Episode 24

[jaded_grin]

Wow, thank you everyone who has commented and made this soap so much more fun to write! I couldn't do it without you guys and your awesome, fantastic suggestions! And thanks, too, for being supportive of new writers! I really appreciate everyone doing all they can and supporting one another! Thanks again!

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1                    23                     25

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24

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            “I can assure you, we will do everything in our power to rectify this grievous error in judgment,” Ifalna said, her nervous eyes darting from one huge bodyguard to the other and, finally, to the languid man lounging tiredly in the chair before her desk.

            As Editor in Chief of FLASH! Magazine it was her job to put the seal of approval on everything that made FLASH! what it was; so, naturally, that was why she was currently alone in her office with two frightening bodyguards and one very dangerous, well-known mobster.

            “Look, I understand your interest, I even appreciate it to a point,” Reno said, sounding far less cultured than she had always imagined. Being in the same room with him was just a tiny bit on the terrifying side because she realized that “mob boss” meant business in real life, however harmless it may seem on paper. Those startlingly blue eyes pinned her and he added, “But what I don’t appreciate is you smearing Yazoo Jenova, you got me? Say what you want about me, I don’t give a shit, but you don’t touch her.”

            “Of course not, I never…we…” Ifalna sputtered, embarrassed and afraid. “Sir, Yazoo ShinRa is one of Midgar’s darlings! We would never do anything that would harm her, the public backlash would be catastrophic! FLASH! would be burned to the ground—”

            “Yeah, you remember that when you publish photos where she’s concerned,” Reno purred, and she shut up, paling at the threat in that low voice. “You fuck up her life, you make trouble for her, you ruin her reputation, and I will make sure this little two-bit rag sheet of yours takes a nosedive so fast none of you got time to grab your parachutes, you trackin’?”

            She nodded, mute with shock.

            “Good,” he shortly said, and lit a cigarette, just looking at her for a long moment before he said, “Get that photographer in here.”

            “Yes, Sir,” Ifalna said, and reached for her phone with trembling fingers. “Right away…”

---

            Kadaj was practically fuming on his way to find Zack.

            So, he was expected to live side by side with Reno’s Wutain, she-male girlfriend and not make a peep of protest?

            Oh, he didn’t think so!

            “Zack!” he loudly said, banging on the back door. One of the boys had told him that Zack was fixing the stoop and he didn’t want to add injury to insult by throwing the door open and knocking him down. “Zack, are you out there?”

            The door opened and Kadaj’s temper cooled with concern when he saw how strained and pale the other man was.

            “Zack, are you o—”

            He cut off abruptly when he saw the large, dark-skinned man standing on the cobbled path, hands folded and face stern.

            The souba was out in an instant because the only thing that Kadaj could think of was that the man had finally come to kill Reno for touching his lover. Kadaj had always feared such a thing would happen—only every time he’d seen this man in photographs standing behind Reno’s mistress and wondered about their relationship.

            “Kadaj!” Zack yelped, and put a staying hand on his.

            The big man didn’t so much as flinch, but a slow smile curved his full lips.

            “Kadaj, could we please get through a single hour without you losing your mind?” Zack cried, and pushed his hand down, forcing the dual blades to bite into the old wooden floor. The muscular young handyman shook his head at Kadaj and said, “Honestly, you need to calm down!”

            “What do you want here?” Kadaj hissed, still tensed to fight.

            “Nothing that need involve you,” the man said, his voice rumbling, the smile fading. “Get on about your business.”

            “This is my business!” the boy tightly informed him, and Zack once more pushed against his straining hands.

            The huge bodyguard smiled again and suddenly inquired, “Where were you born, Cetran?”

            Taken aback by the odd shift in conversation, Kadaj didn’t answer.

            “Just stop!” Zack loudly said, glancing from one to the other. “Kadaj, this isn’t anything that concerns you, okay? He’s just passing through…”

            A sudden, very Cetran thought occurred to Kadaj then and he turned hurt, horrified eyes on Zack, who shifted as if he was guilty.

            “You’re no handyman, are you?” he whispered, recalling his first impression of Zack—a graceful machine, a lithe blade, a warrior. “He’s sent you to kill Reno, hasn’t he?”

            “What?” Zack asked, flustered. “Kadaj, no—”

            The boy jerked away and backed against the door, the souba leveled at them both.

            “I swear to you that if you so much as think about touching a hair on his head, I will cut your head off and give it to him on a platter,” he growled, heart thundering with adrenaline.

            “That is not the way of it, little Cetran,” the bodyguard cut in, and moved a step closer, one hand lifting to push his sunglasses back on his nose. “We have a mutual interest in this, I believe.”

            Wary, trembling with the need to lash out, Kadaj only gave him a quizzical look.

            “Neither one of us wants your lover pursuing Yazoo ShinRa,” the man told him, and Kadaj slumped against the door in utter, disbelieving surprise.

---

            When Reeve woke again he had a headache, which wasn’t surprising, considering. Only through sheer force of will did he get up, get showered, and get to his studio.

            The Impossible Painting still waited for him, challenging his ability to remember the place in detail. Reeve’s paintings were an exercise in memory for him, and only when he’d done all he could from memory would he check his reference photographs. Of this particular one, however, he had no photographs, only the memory itself…

            “Thank you for paying me back.”

            For the second time Reeve found himself surprised in his haven of solitude and uttered an inglorious, rather shrill shriek, turning to both face the intruder and back against the nearest wall.

            “Rhapsodos! You scared the holy crap out of me!” he gasped, one hand pressed to his chest as he drew in a shaky, deep breath.

            The leonine redhead laughed lightly and sighed, leaning against the doorway in a negligent, obviously practiced pose.

            “What are you doing here?” Reeve demanded, irritated with him now. Still shaking a little from the shock, he took his temper out on his paintbrush, mashing it furiously against a wire coil at the bottom of his bucket of water to clean it. “I thought my note said it all! I don’t want to be around you!”

            “Well, your note did say quite a bit,” Genesis admitted, smirking at his furious action. “But I wouldn’t quite call it all. You’re mangling your brush, Reeve.”

            “I know how to care for my brushes!” Reeve hissed, and withdrew the bedraggled, maimed brush from the water to dry it on a stained cloth, bristles flying. “Please leave!”

            “You know, I had concocted this enormous plan for us to meet again,” Genesis told him, ignoring his demands entirely, drifting into the room as if he was moving across a stage. He gave Reeve a warm, mischievous smile and went on, “I would see you at your opening, I would wait for you to recheck the caterers for the fifth time, and I would just happen to run into you on your way out. I would drop my glass, you would be all apologies—”

            “I don’t double check caterers!” Reeve protested, offended that Genesis would imply he had a control issue.

            “You would, of course, fetch me another glass,” Genesis went on, smirking at him and coming to light against the wooden table where Reeve kept his paints. Apparently not worried about soiling his magnificently eye-catching coat, he perched there on the corner and sighed, “And we would live happily ever after…or, at least until one of us gets bored anyway.”

            “What on earth are you on about?” Reeve questioned, confused, still dwelling on the catering. He hadn’t even considered catering! Would Mrs. ShinRa think of it? Surely, she would! Perhaps he should give her a call and ask, just to be sure—

            “Our first date, Reeve,” Genesis said, yanking him violently out of his worried thoughts. “I am on about our first date.”

            Reeve stared at him, eyes rounding, mouth dropping open. Finally, he managed to squeak, “Are you out of your mind?! You date raped me!”

            “Oh, piffle, I did not,” Genesis laughed, waving his hand. “But I could have, you remember that.”

            “Remember that?!” Reeve cried, outraged. “You’re making up stories about a first date we’ll never have but you want me to remember that you’re capable of raping me while I’m unconscious?!”

            “No, don’t be absurd,” Genesis told him, pursing his mouth. “I want you to remember that I behaved myself when an opportunity presented itself. Now, about our first date—”

            “You’re nuts, you know that, right?” Reeve asked, and looked down in bewilderment when his brush fell to pieces in his hands.

            “Yes, according to my father, may one of his beloved apples fall and crack him on his ugly noggin,” Genesis sighed. He tipped his head to one side and smiled sweetly at Reeve, saying, “I think you’ll find that I suit you far better than Yuffie.”

            “Isn’t she your friend?” Reeve asked, flushing. He didn’t discuss his sexual preference with sexual predators, it was just a rule to live by in his book.

            “Yes, she is, and as her friend it’s my job to keep her from irreparably wounding people she has a fondness for,” Genesis told him, and gave him a coy look. “Now, about our first date…”

---

            Scarlet’s first impression was that Yazoo was even lovelier in person than she was in photographs. She had the fine, sculpted features that only a long history of good breeding could bestow, and those beautiful, unique Jenova eyes. With her stunning face framed by that spill of soft silver hair, Yazoo was breathtaking, and had it not been for the fact that she was rather tall, Scarlet might’ve been tempted to label her delicate.

            “Good morning,” she said, and her throaty voice held only a faint trace of her home accent. She held out a dainty hand, bereft of jewelry except her wedding set, and softly said, “I am Yazoo ShinRa, Rufus’s wife…whom he doesn’t discuss.”

            Even though it was said in a teasing tone, her green eyes slid to Rufus in a way that Scarlet thought was anything but playful. She clasped Yazoo’s cool hand in her own and warmly said, “I am Scarlet, Rufus’s mother.”

            Yazoo’s eyes widened in surprise and Rufus groaned out a complaint, wriggling around in his seat to hide his face under his forearm.

            “I beg your pardon, Ma’am,” Yazoo said, obviously shocked. “Rufus had always led me to believe that you…were no longer with us.”

            “Well, not in the sense he implied,” Scarlet said, and smirked at her son. She drew Yazoo with her to the chairs and sat down, insisting that the other woman sit next to her. “Tell me, Yazoo, how do you like this country? You’ve been here nearly nine years now, haven’t you?”

            “Mother, don’t!” Rufus snapped, sitting up, a cranky expression on his face that hadn’t changed since he’d been in diapers with colic. “Yazoo, aren’t you supposed to be going somewhere?”

            “Yes,” Yazoo said, nodding a little but clearly fascinated by the woman who looked so like her husband. “I stopped by to tell you that I was going to Preston Hall to arrange an opening.”

            “Great, bye,” Rufus said, waving his hand dismissively.

            “Stopped by to tell you?” Scarlet questioned, one brow arched.

            Yazoo blinked innocently at her and Rufus flushed.

            “And they wonder why there is no heir,” Scarlet said, glowering a little at her son. The rumors of his philandering must be true if he wouldn’t even sleep in the same suite as this gorgeous, rather soft-spoken young woman. She squeezed Yazoo’s hand a little, aware that the young lady herself was now blushing. “Rufus, I want you to go shower, put your suit on, and go to work. We will talk later today.”

            “But, mother, I—”

            “Rufus, I didn’t ask you to argue with me,” Scarlet pointed out, and her son glared at her before he stomped off towards his bathroom. She turned her attention to Yazoo, who was nervously fiddling with a choker around her throat. “As for you, young lady—would you mind if I joined you on your outing? I would like to get to know you better away from this house.”

            “Yes, I would like that,” Yazoo said, her jade eyes soft and gleaming. She gave Scarlet a smile that was equal parts breathtaking and sad, and added, “I would like that very much.”

---

            Mei Li made no sound as she slid after Kadaj, her dark eyes fixed on the boy’s angry, tense form.

            “Oh, just to see my lover,” he’d said, and so she had followed, just to be sure he didn’t actually mean it.

            She watched him carefully from the shadows as he inquired about Zack, and paled a little at what that might mean. She liked the man who had helped her inside—he was kind and she didn’t quite understand it, didn’t understand what would drive him to help a stranger, to expose himself to trouble on that stranger’s behalf. It was a type of honor she had no experience with and it intrigued her…to find out that he was, potentially, this lover of Kadaj’s whom she would have to kill…

            Her full lips tightened with determination. Shifu wanted this boy’s other lover removed from the picture, and he would have it.

            Kadaj’s haste and emotional upset made her suspicious that this was the case, but the way he pushed it aside in his concern merely confirmed it. She didn’t creep up to the back door once it had closed, she didn’t need to hear the conversation. Kadaj had betrayed himself with his own responses, and Mei Li found herself in the awkward position of having to eliminate someone she actually liked.

            Sighing, she crept away just as silently, gliding through Reno’s huge house to one of the side doors to make her phone-call to Tseng.

            “It is Zack, Tseng Shifu,” she murmured respectfully when he picked up. “He is the boy’s lover.”

            There was silence from the other end, no sound to betray his emotion.

            “I will tend to this, Master,” she told him, and ignored the unsettled feeling in her stomach. “And when I have done so, may I go home?”

            “Yes,” he answered. And after another long pause, he added, “Wait awhile, yet, Mei Li. Things have changed since last we spoke.”

            She breathed a soft sigh of relief and softly, sweetly said, “I wait on your word, Master.”

---

            Rude arrived at the ShinRa house just as Yazoo and another woman were coming out.

            Yazoo waved at him, the movement languid but sincere, as was her smile. The tall blond woman smiled at him, too, but the tone of it was of a different nature.

            Rude inclined his head to them both and swept open the limo door, handing both ladies inside before he took his seat up front to give them their privacy.

            He stared out of the window as the driver took them into the city, but his thoughts were elsewhere.

            The little boy, the Cetran, he was the one in Rude’s thoughts. He knew Jenova eyes when he saw them. Even before taking his role as Yazoo’s protector, he’d known every nuance of Jenova eyes. That boy was undoubtedly of their line, and he looked enough like Yazoo to be her twin.

            If that boy was who Rude believed him to be, he could be a very good means of leverage against Reno if Rude so required it…

            He smiled, recalling the boy’s immediate shift to suspicion, his abrupt turn on Zack, the immediate change from concerned and friendly to deadly and threatening. If he was who Rude believed he was, then Kadaj was very much like his father.

            Rude had known how to save Zack’s place in Reno’s house, which was where he needed him. He’d known just what to say to startle the boy out of his anger and pull him to their side. And it was partially true, yes—both of them did have a vested interest in what Reno did with Yazoo, but Rude was resigned to allowing it to happen. However, he needed Zack’s information to know when Reno would make his move, when the man would finally turn on Yazoo and hurt her as he would inevitably do. Timing was everything, Rude knew, and his patient waiting was finally drawing to an end.

            The boy, Kadaj, would not hinder Zack, now. He might even help him, if his passion for Reno was any indication. And if things did not go as Rude planned, then he could arrange something else. He could inform the boy’s father just where exactly he was, who exactly had taken him, what peasant work he was forced to endure.

            If there was anything left of Reno for Yazoo to love after that, Rude would be one very surprised man.

            Either way, once Reno had done his work breaking Yazoo’s heart—either by his own hand or by his violent death—then Rude could do his own…

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Comments

[ldyavalon.livejournal.com]

Oooooooh, the plot thickens... It's getting scary for the "good" guys...

Still lovin' this <3<3<3<<3<3<3<3<3

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

LOL! Yeah, and one of those "good" guys is the writer - HELP! My SOAP has a mind of its own!!!!!


Glad you liked it! How is work going?! I need to catch up on your journal *slaps self for being a bad friend*

[ldyavalon.livejournal.com]

Soaps generally do. Will I get to see Kadaj causing a masacre??? xD

I haven't written in ages, I'm on holidays at home in Spain, and then I'm going to see Scotland for a few days ;)

[zilldk.livejournal.com]

Woohoooo! Suspense!!!!

I want to know more about Rude!!! I want to know what his plans are, and why he's after Reno! I want to know more about Zack, and the plan and everything

You are teasing with all these leads and no answers to the questions, and I'm loving every second of it!

I love the fact that Yazoo and Scarlet like each other. It's bound to cause Rufus grief!

And we get to meet the delicious little photographer soon.... yummmm...

Oooh this is what Mondays are for!!!

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

Haha! Rude is my special pal, he hardly talks at all to tell me what he's got planned, lol! He's after Reno to protect Yazoo, but he's also USING Reno to get Yazoo where he needs him, so it's...sticky and messy!

Yazoo and Scarlet will probably end up friends, they both know what it's like to have asshole husbands, hehee!

And Reno had demanded to see Cloud, and what Reno wants, he gets...:D

I'm glad you liked it!

[sephbuttons.livejournal.com]

Loved Reno throwing a 'bitch' fit at the editor. He was a one hot redhead!!! Really excited about the next chapter.

oh, by the way, you know I am patiently awaiting for my Sephy to enter the scene, and I am starting to wonder if the said sexy beast is none other than the "Papa Jenova"!?!? O_O

The plot is amazing and I can see the promise of a loooong run soap... well, I hope it will :)

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

Ha! Yeah, Reno was like, "We shtop dis shid rhy nah!" He don't fuck around where Yazoo is concerned *fans self*

And Sephy is coming, I can only tempt you with that promise! He shows up at the end of Yazoo's plotline, and we still have lots of yummy smut to get through before that! Be patient, and enjoy the porn :D

And yes, this soap will undoubtedly run a very long time, lol! At least, I hope so! WOO HOO! Thank you so much, I'm glad you like it!

[karadin.livejournal.com]

Went back and read from the beginning! Fabulous, calling it a 'soap' doesnt' really do this fic justice, waiting for the next update. ;D

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I didn't know what else to call it at first, lol! I came up with a wild hair about it and some of my LJ friends said go for it and 24 episodes later we're still going strong!...Good lord, did you really start at the beginning?! Kudos to you for that, I can't imagine! I'm really glad you liked it all, and thank you so much again for your kind comment!

[white-jenna.livejournal.com]

*sigh* Poor Reeve. :)
Love the initial interaction between Scarlet and Yazoo. Could easily see it going on number of ways as the story progresses.
Very curious to know who Yazoo and Kadaj's father is. :D

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

Hehee, I feel a little bad for Reeve, too, but when I think of everything Genesis could get him into, I just grin!

Yazoo's family will remain a little fluid for now until I can get it worked out a little better, but it's coming! Glad you liked it!

[sussurous.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I can' wait for Cloud to come into this. I can't see him being a push over. I bet that Reno showing up with bodyguards is just going to make Cloud think that something is really going on and he's going to seriously start investigating. I mean Midgar people have a right to know the truth!

Rude's part in this is giving me a headache. Who is he? What does he want? Why doesn't he just call up Kadaj's dad and tell him where his son is?

I'm guessing his dad is Sephiroth :) yeah?

Genesis was so cute. Reeve is all like I hate you, go away, I never want to see you again and Genesis is all like let's go on a date. I bet that he'll get that date too and Reeve is going to end up being one very confused dude.

Great episode, it put a smile on my face.

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

Hehe, Cloud is going to be something else, that's for sure! I don't think even a mob boss will scare him!

Rude has his own plans, and for now it's better to leave Kadaj where he is. He has no interest in restoring the boy, and no obligation to Kadaj's family, so he is content to let things fall as they will for now.

Genesis and Reeve are starting to get interesting for me. I never saw this coming, honestly! I'm still surprised :D I'm glad you liked it and super glad it made you smile! I'm just doing my part to make Monday's a little less crap! TY!

[nivell.livejournal.com]

Dun dun dun.....things are getting more dramatic and Rude is getting scarier~

Oh my, I can't wait for the rest of the Jenova family members to show up.

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

I loves me some scary Rude :D

Glad you liked it!

[natila.livejournal.com]

excellent chapter but very creepy ! :o What are they up to ? (Rude and co..)
Did I detect Sephiroth somewhere ? (Kadaj`s dad ?) Cant wait ! :D

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

*shakes Rude* Nope, he still won't tell me :D

All else will be revealed with time, lol! Glad you enjoyed it!

[neurotoxia.livejournal.com]

Reno threatening the editor is awesome, can't wait to see what happens when he gets a hold on Cloud.

Rude confuses me more and more and now, he dragged Zack with him into the confusion. What the hell are they all up to?

Scarlet bossing Rufus around is wonderful. Serves him right! And it looks like she's going to make friends with Yazoo, so that makes a great double misery for Shinra jr :D

And Reeve should start running.

Great episode! Next monday is too far away :D

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

I think Reno won't be able to bulldog Cloud--that boy will be in his face in a heartbeat! LOL!

Rude is keeping his business to himself, but he's letting me in on it a little more now, so I'm starting to see where he's going with it.

Scarlet HAD to be a bossy-pants, I think. I mean, she DID stay married to Mr. ShinRa for quite awhile and she also gave birth to Rufus, so she's probably got some backbone in there :D With Yazoo she will probably wind up getting Rufus semi-presentable.

And poor Reeve *pets him*!

I'm glad you liked it! Thanks so much for the comment!

[etrix.livejournal.com]

I started reading this yesterday and only got partway through due to an emergency where I got dragged out from in front of my computer to rescue my daughter's BFF from across town--I wish she'd get her driver's license, but at least it wasn't snowing then. Oh look... I have my own little soap going. =p

Since I was interrupted yesterday I reread it this morning and I'm sitting here smiling like a doofus wondering where you're going to take us next.

Are Reno and Cloud going take one look at each other and be allies... or enemies? I have to agree with a previous comment that I don't see your Cloud being a CC/AC push-over, but the kick-ass fighter from the original game. Maybe he'll be a she-male and Reno can ditch the deadly Mei Li who, although not a skank like Elena, just isn't trustworthy. (Hmm, you've got Yazoo and Kadaj but no Loz. Maybe Loz can be a she-male? *mind break* Okay, forget that idea.)

Rude. He's so quiet and self-effacing that you forget he's actually a deadly and devious bastard. Poor Zack to get caught up in his schemes. Poor Kadaj too. He may have spunk but he's a pretty straight-forward kind of guy. (Oh look there's a problem. Kill it!)

Reeve & Genesis is laugh-out-loud funny. Gen is going to have that man in a relationship without Reeve having said one word of consent. I love it.

I'm also liking the Scarlett-Yazoo alliance although I'm worried how Scarlett will react if/when she finds out that Yazoo is actually a male. She might be upset on Rufus' behalf or she might be cool with it (entertainment industry background, after all). And Rufus is completely small-voiced and 'Yes, mommy'. It didn't surprise me to learn that he'd taken money to say that he'd rather be with his father. That sounded just like him (the wiener).

Only problem is, now I have to wait for the next chapter. I think I'll go pout for a bit. Maybe get some work done since I have nothing better to do. *sigh*

Very satisfying chapter.

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

Holy cow, kid! I realize this was a few days ago, but I hope the stranded kid was safely retrieved :D

Loz as a shemale *shudders* that's just SCARY! LOL! He wouldn't compliment a sheath dress, I think, it'd have to be frills and petticoats! No, Cloud is going to be sassy and not something Reno is expecting. I doubt even the threats of a mob boss will put him off, and his tenacity is important later on as Yazoo's plot comes to a close. We'll have to see how it comes out in the next episode, I'm rather wanting to know myself *smacks self for not writing yet*!

Rude is becoming more and more pivotal and as things slowly coalesce I think we will find him rather at the center of things ;) Getting Zack involved is just good planning on his part! And Kadaj IS really straightforward in his own crazy little way - he loves Reno (or thinks he does) and will do anything to keep him safe. He saw Rude as a threat and perceived Zack as one, and the obvious action was to get rid of them both. He never even thinks about what will happen if he CAN'T kill people...But that's another plotline :D

Yes, Reeve is in it and he has no idea, but those two will keep things light and I'm having fun letting Genesis bully Reeve into a relationship, it's going to get interesting, especially when Yuffie finds out!

Scarlet is a wild-card, I'm still not sure what is going on with her. She DOES love her son to distraction, but she's put up with his like before (ShinRa Senior) and isn't going to tolerate it now. Still, having him tricked into a marriage with another man probably wouldn't sit well with her. We'll just have to see how close she and Yazoo get and how badly Rufus aggravates her. She sure knows how to crack the whip! And Rufus is still scared of her, lol!

So, I'm glad you liked it! I really appreciate you taking the time to comment after having to wait so long to read it! Thanks again, you're the best!

[etrix.livejournal.com]

Yes, my daughter's BFF was fine. It was an emotional crisis rather than a physical one (although stuff was being thrown. It may be repeated in the future though. *sigh*

Loz in a pink bustier and hot pants. Maybe some go-go boots. I'm just saying...

[superkalifragi.livejournal.com]

Gah! Finally!!! You won´t believe how stressed I was to not get my weekly soap fix on monday! But now I´m a happy girl *huge stupid grin*

I bet Cloud is in for something, I am SOOOO curious how you´ll interpret his characters: if he´s nosy, or indifferent or emo... I think as a papparazzi (just don´t look to hard at the spelling...) he needs some rather 'offending' qualities, as a very quiet guy he won´t make it far. Or maybe he does?

I really am happy that Scarlet will be with Yazoo. She seems like a nice lady and I could imagine that she could become a good and trusted friend of Yazoo. And she will keep Rufus´ asshole-ness at bay, I hope.

If I didn´t find it so hilarious I´d have pity with Reeeve, but I just can´t XD I now so want Genesis to have his way!

Rude scares me a bit and I hope whatever plan they have it will backfire at them!

Ah, another great chapter! And only 4 more days till the next one^^

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

Aw! *pets* You got it, kiddo, Cloud is going to be something else! He's a journalist and a photographer, so Reno probably won't be able to bully him...I hope :D

Scarlet is a strong woman, but I'm not sure how she will react if/when she finds out Yazoo's true gender. After all, as much of a twit as he is, Rufus is still her son and she wants to protect him. We'll just have to see how it goes!

As for Reeve and Genesis - Reeve doesn't stand a chance! He's just not forceful enough to resist Genesis, but maybe they will be good for each other, lol! I try to keep those two comical, to offset what else is happening, and it's working so far!

Rude's plans run pretty deep, and he isn't leaving anything to chance, hence his dragging Zack into things.

I'm really happy that you liked it! Thanks for the great comment, and I will talk to you soon!

[sphinxofthenile.livejournal.com]

And so the plot thickens... Oh, Genesis. Incorrigible. XD

I'm betting Kadaj and Yazoo's dad is Seph... it just seems all too logical. Gotta wonder who the mother is then. Could very well be Aerith. I can see her all too well, pampering her little 'daughter'.

And it just occured to me, how little we know about the past of the characters... the story can have so many twists still just because of that.

Rushing to catch up with the other chapters. :)

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

YAY! Yes! I left everything vague so I could make stuff up on the fly, lol! I'm glad to see it's working! WOOT!

[subcon-ruler.livejournal.com]

Oh gods. This is getting so heavy! The more I want freedom and happiness for Yazoo with Reno and Scarlet and such, the less I do, because it seems ever more apparent that she's but a pawn in a huge, huge game of chess... like, the Harry Potter kind where the chess pieces kill each other!

I'd like to also mention that your attention to detail is incredible. I'm not sure I have the memory as a writer to create such an intricate world as this, and I'm very impressed. Soap opera, hmph! It's so much more than that... :)

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

Why thank you so much! I'm flattered you think so! It's certainly become much more than just a soap opera to me :D And look at you, you're just coming right along through all of these! LOL! I want to go back and read from the beginning, but I just quail at the thought!

[subcon-ruler.livejournal.com]

Lol yeah, I just got super hooked one night and was like fuck it I'm catching up on this shit. XD

[afuri-kurage.livejournal.com]

So daj's father is Seph? I thought Seph is Yaz's brother.
Well.. Is it only me who think that Mei Li and Tseng could make a good couple? I secretly hope they will be a couple. Lol. But she likes Zack here.
Oh, wait, I remember something, I'm really curious about what kadaj said to Yaz in previous chapters. Something like bitch?