A couple of reasons:

-       He isn’t entirely partial to self mutilation. He’s far too enamored ( read: busy smothering his inferiority complex with constant self-aggrandisation ) with himself for such measures. Much easier just to cover it up.

-       As furious and bitter at Garland as he is, he still takes a certain amount of pride in his Terran heritage. He was created to conquer Gaia and renovate it in the image of the superior people of Terra. He denounced this mission when Garland exiled him, but… continued to serve him while plotting his downfall regardless. He still clung to his given purpose, I think that’s incredibly significant. The tail is a symbol of his origin which he simultaneously hates and values.

PRE-ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP MEME 0.2

send me a  ✿  and i’ll fill out the template below. bold for things i could definitely see or want, italics for things i could see or am unsure of and striked out for things i don’t want or cannot see.

FRIENDSHIP.     childhood friends  /  work buddies or coworkers  /  family friends  /  friends with benefits  /  smoking buddies  /  adventure buddies  /  fake friends  /  recently friends  /  party buddies  /  friendship of need  /  dying friendship  /  circumstantial friendship  /  partners in crime  /  old friendship  /  [ your muse ] is the good influence  /  [ your muse ] is the bad influence  /  [ my muse ] is the good influence  /  [ my muse ] is the bad influence  /  opposites attract  /  ride or die  /  frenemies  /  roommates or flatmates  /  penpals  /  exes to friends  /  enemies to friends  /  other .

ROMANCE.     childhood sweethearts  /  [ your muse is mines ] childhood crush  /  [ my muse is yours ] childhood crush  /  exes  /  exes to lovers  /  forbidden lovers  /  highschool sweethearts  /  secret relationship  /  opposites attract  /  long distance  /  unrequited [ from your muses side ]  /  unrequited [ from my muses side ]  /  unrequited [ from both sides ]  /  skinny love  /  friends to lovers  /  enemies to lovers  /  spurious relationship  /  power couple  /  newly entered  /  soulmates [ metaphorical ]  /  soulmates  [ literal ]  /  awkward  /  turning toxic  /  toxic love  /  cheating [ on your muse ]  /  cheating [ with your muse ]  /  other .

FAMILIAL.     siblings [ half ]  /  siblings [ step ]  /  [ my muse ] is an older sibling figure to your younger sibling figure  /  [ my muse ] is a younger sibling figure to your older sibling figure muse  /  [ my muse ] is a parental figure to yours  /  [ my muse ] is a child figure to your muse  /  guardian figure  /  legal guardian  /  adoptive child  /  foster child  /  [ your muse ] is taken under mines wing  /  [ my muse ] is taken under yours wing  /  other .

“     hey  now     ,     hold  on     ––––     let  me  come  with  you     .     ”     she’d  caught  him  red - handed     ,      and     ––––     in  typical  nosy  nature     ––––     wasn’t  going  to  let  him  get  away  with  slinking  off  to  be  alone  without  some  sort  of  explanation     .     aerith  was  at  least  considerate     ,     finding  the  fine  line  between  inquisition  and  invasiveness     :    had  he  been  forceful  enough  about  wanting  solitude     ,     by  all  means  she’d  let  him  get  his  way     . . . .     but  it  was  cloud     ,     who  could  be  about  as  lukewarm  as  it  got     .     she  trailed  behind  him  as  cloud  seemingly  fled     ,     propped  up  on  her  tip - toes  to  see over  his  shoulder  as  they  walked.     “     where  do  you  even  go  when  you  take  off  like  this     ?     ”

tarot cards– i mean, icons!    /    accepting.

the fool: beginnings, innocence, spontaneity, free spirit              holding back, recklessness, risk taking

the tower: sudden change, upheaval, chaos, revelation, awakening                 personal transformation, fear of change, averting disaster

He's cleaning Hyperion, a meticulous task all times, but Strife chooses the one time he's got the cylinder disassembled and working with a fine wire brush to scrub out the debris to demand affection.

The brush slips, bends in a grip suddenly a little too rough; Seifer swears, but it's mild. It's just wire, it'll smooth out. He sets the parts down on Tifa's nice coffee table, now layered with paper towels so she doesn't try to kill him like last time.

i’m not sure what happened, but i was laying in bed and suddenly had a huge urge to write yen, so here i am. im gonna queue some more stuff. 

Send ‘Look into my eyes’ and my muse will bold what they see

CAPTIVE      FOR      OBSERVATION,              experiments       to       satiate       a        greedy       knowledge       to       comprise        an        extinct        race         [   ...   ]        what        would         happen        if              JENOVA’S      FLUIDS      INFUSES      IN      HUMAN      VEINS     ?                that’s       what       Hojo       pursued       :       a        method        for        developtment.         there        were        no        traces        of         her        capture,       even        if       it       did        Shinra        would        easily        cover       any       suspicion,       to       introduce       a       search       which       only       luck        could       solve.