Up Side & Down

Meteorites, it’s time again for the Annual Fanworks Exchange! Sign ups are now open and will close at 11:59 pm EST on June 21st. Sign ups and assignments will be via AO3 (Archive of Our Own). If you don’t have an account, some of the mods do have invitations available. You can message with your email address OFF Anon on Tumblr or Twitter to request an invitation but they are first come, first serve.

Please read through the instructions carefully, and make sure to give us contact information in case we need to follow up on any details! We want to make sure we make the best matches we can.

You can sign up on AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/collections/2026Exchange/signups/new

Tumblr based FAQ: https://ff7central.tumblr.com/exchangefaq

Once sign ups close, the mods will begin the match up process to find you a match! Assignments should be out by end of day July 1st, but if there are any delays, we will let you know.

You will have until 11:59 pm EST July 31st to complete your gift. If you need to drop out for any reason, please let the mods know as soon as you can so we can find a pinch hitter. Don’t worry, we all know that life is a box of uncertainty right now, and there is no shame in needing to step away. Gifts will be revealed August 7th, so we have a bit of time to look after any late pinch hits.

My dad has 4 half siblings and two step siblings. They're all a decent bit younger than him. When I was a teenager, we went to a family reunion, and I realized something—my dad did not respect his siblings. He looked down on all of them. He saw them as fuck-ups and overgrown children. My dad had the American dream: well paying management job, suburban house, wife, and three kids. My aunt and uncles did not. Excluding my aunt, none of them were married or in serious relationships. They hadn't really settled into long term careers. Several of them were working the kind of jobs that get called "Unskilled labor." So he looked down on them because the youngest one was in his thirties (and several were much older), and yet none of them had "settled down" into what he saw as lifelong, permanent careers and relationships and lives. He was polite to their faces, sure, but I heard how he talked about them behind their backs, to my mother.

And then a few years ago, we visited his brothers again for Thanksgiving. And I realized something again--he respected them now. He saw them as equals. Why? Well. All of a sudden, every single one of them had serious, committed romantic partners. They didn't even need to still be with those partners—one of my uncle's fiance passed away from cancer before they could marry—just having had one showed that they matured into a real adult participating in society. In fact, at one point, my aunt was telling my mom about how one of my uncles was no longer living in an apartment she owned, but instead, after having a steady girlfriend for about a year, he moved in with her. And my mom literally said to my aunt, "wow. Look at that. He finally grew up."

One of the lines that frequently gets repeated about anti-aspec sentiment is "why would anyone hate asexuals/aromantics/etc? They aren't even doing anything." And that's exactly it. In the eyes of amatonormative culture, we aren't doing anything. Adults are supposed to do things. That's how you become a member of society.

-- Barret not trusting Sephiroth joining Avalanche at all. That he will betray them at some point. Then when looking where Marlene went off to play while he worked finding her sitting with her stuffies and a very worried Sephiroth around her ramshackle play tea set. That Marlene very simply wrangled him into playing with her and he took it as seriously as any mission, like he could get a good grade in playing pretend. When asked Sephiroth stated Mr Teddy wasn't feeling good so he had to step in. He hoped he did okay and Marlene had fun. She did.

-- Barret trying to find Marlene in a game of hide-and-seek. He sees Sephiroth and decides to check since Sephiroth did play with her during the tea party incident.

"I have not seen Marlene," Sephiroth says very carefully. There is a very quiet giggle. Barret peeks and sees Marlene hiding under Sephiroth's coat as Sephiroth very deliberately does not look at her.

-- Marlene holding out a stuffed animal before Sephiroth has to go out for a few days.

"You should keep him," Sephiroth said, "Your dad said Mr Teddy is important to you."

"This is Mr Bunny," Marlene informs him, "He fights off nightmares. He'll keep you safe!" Sephiroth damn near cries at that.

-- After someone mocks Barret for being too soft when it comes to his daughter, Sephiroth immediately rising to Barret's defense. Stating they all need something to fight for other than hate. That Sephiroth hates ShinRa more than anyone, but to fight for a good cause, for someone you love is a more honorable cause than anything.

"I've lost good friends, I've lost everyone," Sephiroth says, "but I see a glimmer of the future I once hoped for with them when I see Marlene. If you don't have that, you're not fighting for any future."

-- Marlene walking around with a beautiful new hairstyle. Sephiroth walks around with the messiest bun anyone has laid eyes on. He refuses to take it out because Marlene worked so hard on it.

-- Barret talking Sephiroth down from a panic attack after Marlene falls asleep on him and he doesn't know what to do.

"I didn't mean for...she just closed her eyes..."

"It's okay," Barret tells him, "she trusts you, she knows you won't hurt her."

"But you're her dad, shouldn't you-"

"I trust you too."

-- Barret realizing that Sephiroth always covers their retreats. Always. He makes sure as many Avalanche people come back as he can.

-- Sephiroth covering a retreat and suddenly receiving cover fire from Barret. He's not alone.

-- Sephiroth and Marlene have a secret handshake.

-- Barret adopting a shoot first, ask questions never policy when he first meets Hojo. Sephiroth is smitten by then.