red . zone

“ Me? I’m Zack. SOLDIER, 1st Class. ” he’d introduce himself, probably with a little more enthusiasm than Vincent was ready for before he’d instantly corrected his ‘title’ with a subtle wave of a gloved hand. 

“ Well, I guess I’m more of an ex-SOLDIER now. To be honest, I haven’t really been anywhere near Shinra’s head quarter’s in almost five years, so if there’s anything about the company you’re really looking for in me, I’m sorta out of the loop. Don’t know how much help I’ll be, but- ”

“ At least I do know a thing or two about what Hojo was into right before me and Cloud escaped! Oh! And I’m pretty good at fighting, too, if you need a hand at that. ” 

Though if Zack’s intuition was right, Vincent would probably be the type of brush off any backup he’d received. At their first impressions, he’d come off as the ‘fiercely independent and guarded lone wolf’ type – at least like what Cloud had surprisingly turned into after they’d wandered their way through the wastelands and had ended back up in Midgar. Zack had always owed his friend’s personality shift to his trauma and mako poisoning, but at least it’d given the ex-SOLDIER good practice in dealing with the type.

Just like being with a mako drenched and unconscious Cloud had helped Zack learn how to carry on a conversation by himself if he’d needed to; probably much to Vincent’s dismay.

“ So, what’dya say? You carry the long ranged weapon and I’ll back you back by taking on everything else your bullets can’t hit? We could make a pretty good team for awhile if you’re really up for taking on Shinra. ”

               a first class SOLDIER,  and one he does not know by name.  zack fair,  first class.  at the time,  it was difficult to achieve to the point that most of them gained their own fanbase and following.  it was not uncommon to have that happen in such a highly regarded warmongering title.  the thought cast aside,  vincent finds this to be a boone rather than a bane,  having someone who can fight well enough to keep up with him is better than allowing zack to slow him down.  “ First class  ...  not bad.  “  it’s his only response to that,  having little to say otherwise.  a confirmation that he’d gotten his name and former occupation.

               it’s a good thing he hardly needs information in the immediate moment,  having done very little in the way of obtaining it on his own.  after all,  he was meant to sleep for far longer than a measly thirty years,  if that.  the part with hojo,  however,  piques his violent curiosity.  “  Tell me what you know about Hojo while we leave.  “  after all,  this is what he’s here for.  to kill the man responsible for this situation wholly.  with the cave out of the way,  vincent pads along the rotting wood of the shinra manor,  kicking up dust against the gaudy carpets that pay across them.  the place is in shambles  ...  unlike what he remembers,  he hasn’t been upstairs in quite awhile.

                there’s a glance around,  looking for the stairs up to the main floor. while he thinks about how their battle style might mesh together,  vincent decides it barely even matters.  “  Just do what you want,  don’t worry about me.  “  And stay out of the way,  just in case.  he wants to add that,  although keeping it to himself for the time being.  to be honest,  his bullets can hit anything,  but it wouldn’t do well to drench his comrade in disappointment in feeling lesser than what he is.  “  What is your goal right now  ...  taking down Shinra?   “  or something else ... 

@7theaven​            |  ❛     THEY  SEEM  TO  BE  KIND  OF  FOND  OF  YOU  ...     ❜      sleek   digits   gliding   a   slip   of   paper   which   contained   a   doodle   of   vincent.

               they as in  ...   ah,  right.  denzel and marlene.  he’d forgotten how often he had been visiting due to the errands he had been running for himself.  being in the area has its benefits,  and surely the two children have noticed.  marlene with her eyes sparkling behind a wall with denzel who is just as awe-struck.  unintentional,  for certain,  but he’s not wont to spoil their fun with his dreary background.  instead,  he’ll leave the two of them with their childish dreams and thoughts of who he is and how cool he looks from the sidelines. 

               his eyes rove over to tifa and then the paper with crayon drawings  (   Is this from Marlene or Denzel  ...  ?   )   and a simple background to accompany the three characters   --   that is,  himself and the two children that stay in the bar.  there is a low hum in thought while he lifts it halfway from the bar counter.  briefly,  he wonders if they like gigantic puppies,  but the idea of walking in as a hairy beast might spook them more than interest them.  with a small sigh,  vincent lifts the paper and holds it up briefly to show her. 

               hello!!  my name is julius and i’ve recently returned to the final fantasy fandom with vincent valentine!  i’m looking for some cool people to hang out and rp with who can hang with the dankest memes i can dish out!!  i’m not only looking for other same-series characters,  but also characters outside of ff7 and its compilations!  

              it can range from other final fantasy games and kingdom hearts to genshin impact, to anime series like jujutsu kaisen. if you have a ff7 verse, that’s totally cool, and if not then we can always integrate one for one of our muses!  i’m happy to do crossover rps.  ocs are welcome as long as they have background info and general info altogether,  seeing as i can’t go to a wiki page for ocs!  just make sure to read my rules before following, thanks for taking the time to read this!

                              |          magnum bullets          |

               hello!!  my name is julius and i’ve recently returned to the final fantasy fandom with vincent valentine!  i’m looking for some cool people to hang out and rp with who can hang with the dankest memes i can dish out!!  i’m not only looking for other same-series characters,  but also characters outside of ff7 and its compilations!  

              it can range from other final fantasy games and kingdom hearts to genshin impact, to anime series like jujutsu kaisen. if you have a ff7 verse, that’s totally cool, and if not then we can always integrate one for one of our muses!  i’m happy to do crossover rps.  ocs are welcome as long as they have background info and general info altogether,  seeing as i can’t go to a wiki page for ocs!  just make sure to read my rules before following, thanks for taking the time to read this!

                              |          magnum bullets          |

you are.  the disillusionment arc.

it's hard to imagine yourself when you were young. maybe you were meant to be a hero; maybe you could have been, in another world, but this world only made you sad. there seemed to be too many problems to fix and too much cruelty and too many hard lines that you did not know how to soften. the world turns and it is bloody and hard and you sit on your bed, thinking about the blood and the hardness and all you failed to do. i know it feels like you could sleep until the end of time, but i hope you don't. i hope you lift yourself out of bed one day, not to save the world, but to peel an orange and to walk in a forest; to find all the softness you could not create.

“ Afraid? ” Zack almost immediately follows that up with an unamused huff, “ Yeah, you’re telling me that after you’ve already pointed a gun at me? Most people wouldn’t exactly call that a friendly greeting, y’know! ”

Still, he’d follow along; almost thankful it seemed like he’d escape this room without a fight after learning the…person he’d found sleeping inside the stone coffin he’d prodded on was still, well, alive. Zack’s instincts would still force him to give the other a respectable distance between the two of them though, with at least a few step separating him and the stranger.

“So, it kinda sounds like you’re out for your own revenge, too? Not that I can blame you. If you went through anything like what we did, then you probably had it pretty rough, too.” 

That’d explain the other’s attitude, Zack mused to himself, because even Cloud had fallen back on relying on a tough attitude to get by after the fact; never mind Zack found even himself steeling his own feelings more than he’d like now days. 

“ Oh! By the way, I don’t think I ever caught your name…? ”

               turning his head forward once again,  vincent decides it’s best to leave the surprise for what it is,  giving the indication that he has something to hide.  after all,  “  Neither is waking up a monster.  “  or in his case,  a den of monsters living within,  although he keeps that part out entirely,  leaving up to his imagination what that might imply.  the exit to the shinra manor is not too far from where they are,  having seen this place and lived in it for quite awhile before he encased himself underneath it.  the memories of a clean basement is home to spiders and creatures now,  reminiscing silently on the way it looked in comparison to the tired setting that lies in front of them.  as quiet as it is now,  

               the stranger keeps chatting,  better for him to speak more as he has nothing to add particularly,  instead hopping onto the ladder when he gets to it and hearing the last remaining words he has to say while he’s supposedly following him out of the manor.  there is no intention to stay there any longer than he has to.  revenge.  it feels much more than that,  something akin to rotten karma nipping at the heels of hojo’s eventual death.  by his hand,  hopefully.  that was the intention,  at least.  if he dies otherwise,  then he will be happy but in some twisted way,  dissatisfied.  does he want to explain something about himself  ...  ? something vague but with the mild interest of his audience of one?  perhaps some food for thought,  something to give him.  morsels,  as they would call them.

               “  I don’t know what you went through,  “  vincent starts off, drifting off into the white light of foggy memories.  a woman in white.  an expression unreadable within the confines of a tube.  groaning and screaming in a pitch black void.  blindness.  the numbness and extreme blurred vision.  a man’s voice he can only discern as hojo’s.  lucrecia speaking so frantically,  and then pain.  how does he explain something so vague  ...  ?  “  but if you had anything to do with JENOVA,  we’re not the same.  “  rough is not even scratching the surface.  after the fatal bullet wound,  it was all over for him.  no one could have saved him but her  ...  and she chose not to.  but he never blamed her,  not once.  it wasn’t out of malice she chose to do the things she did,  there must have been something else.  saving his life,  perhaps,  if he could think of anything.