Episode 40

[jaded_grin]

I humbly beg your pardon for the lateness of this episode! Saturday before last, my internet died an untimely death. It has yet to be resurrected. So, here I am at my sister's, where her wireless is password protected out of my dangerous hands, and where I have managed to force a USB port to put my external HD on so I could put the soaps up! God forbid her husband catch wind of it, or I will be summarily burned at the stake. So, my apologies to everyone who might have gotten dated replies, I am doing my best to catch up and get this stuff out there. No promises for next Monday unless I can sneak back over here! But here is Episode 40, with 41 right on its heels, because I owe you guys big time!

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1                     39                     41

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40

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            Yazoo regained his composure somewhat by the time the car made it back to his home. Rude was a silent, watchful presence across from him, neutral as ever and making no comment on Yazoo’s distress. Yazoo sat up and wiped at his face, the tears stilling at last.

            “Thank you,” he whispered, and laughed softly, murmuring, “I must look a mess.”

            “You don’t,” Rude said, never breaking out of his usual stoic distance.

            “Thank you again,” Yazoo breathed, and took a deep, shaky breath. “That was quick thinking on your part. I only hope no one was hurt.”

            Rude shrugged a little, a gesture that clearly stated he could care less as long as Yazoo was safe.

            “I shall have to call Reeve in the morning and apologize,” Yazoo whispered, and fought back more tears. He dabbed at his eyes with his fingertips and Rude handed him a handkerchief from his breast pocket, which Yazoo gratefully took. “You don’t have to see me inside, I’ll be fine.”

            “If you are sure,” Rude said, doubtful.

            “I am, it’s fine, really,” Yazoo assured him, smiling at the driver when he opened the door. “I’ll take a nerve pill and go straight to sleep, I promise.”

            “I will see you in the morning,” Rude said, and watched as Yazoo was handed out of the car.

            “Yes,” Yazoo told him, stepping back when Rude emerged, large and somehow strangely dangerous tonight. That move with the fire alarm had been quick and calculated, something Yazoo would never have dreamed of trying. It struck him as somehow frightening that Rude considered such ways of escape, but he wasn’t sure why, only that his Jenova instincts seemed to have been kicked into overdrive this evening. He blamed it on the stress.

            “The boy,” Rude said, his voice startling Yazoo. “You truly think he is the missing Prince?”

            Yazoo nodded hesitantly and ventured, “I had no idea you knew anything of Cetran politics.”    

            Rude made a noncommittal noise and frowned before he said, “Reno is not stupid.”

            Yazoo blinked, and then nodded, knowing what Rude meant. If that boy truly was his lost nephew, then Reno would know it, but he wasn’t a stupid man, he wouldn’t keep lost royalty running his whorehouses when he had so much to gain by returning him. And Yazoo knew that Reno had spent ample time with the Jenovas over the last decade refining his business skills, so he would know of the lost Prince.

            “You’re right,” Yazoo whispered, but couldn’t get that boy’s face out of his head, nor the image of Reno pulled taut with pain while that seizure wracked him. He sent a faint, tremulous smile Rude’s way and sighed, “I’m off to bed. Please, be careful driving home, Rude.”

            Rude inclined his head in a brief bow and moved smoothly off into the shadows.

            Yazoo stared after him, wondering what on earth was wrong with him that he would suddenly be so leery of the only man who’d ever been faithful to him.

---

            “I beg your pardon?!” Reeve sputtered in his usual manner before he indignantly said, “I don’t need to prove anything to you!”

            “No, of course not,” Genesis said, inspecting his fingernails, painted a vibrant color to match his garish coat.  “But if you don’t, I shall always think of you as a prude.”

            Reeve stared at him for a long moment before he hissed, “You’re just messing with me! What do I care what you think?”

            Genesis smirked and sighed, “You do make it so easy. Prude.”

            “I am not a prude!” Reeve cried, and cast about for the car for something to do.

            “Darling, of course you are!” Genesis assured him, and tucked his arm through Reeve’s, dragging him down the line of parked cars. “Consider this, Reeve -  of all of those things I said to you, you focus on morally rigid? Honestly!”

            Reeve said nothing, but his mouth thinned with irritation.

            “It clearly struck a nerve,” Genesis observed. “Prude.”

            “Will you stop calling me that?” Reeve cried, having had just about all he could take of antics for one night. “You publicly announced that we’re an item, shouted from across the Gallery like a harpy, and got into a catfight with your best friend – if you haven’t ruined everything for me, then I’m a Cetran cenobite!”

            Genesis burbled with laughter and sighed, “Oh, Prude, you’d make a terrible cenobite!”

            Reeve stopped so suddenly that he yanked Genesis back a step and lowly demanded to know, “Alright, what do I have to do to keep you from calling me that?”

            Genesis smiled slowly and shrugged a bit, saying in an overly innocent voice, “Why, I suppose you shall have to spend the night in my room with me.”

            Reeve flushed brick red and heatedly said, “Absolutely out of the question!”

            Genesis fluttered his eyelashes and patted Reeve’s shoulder, consoling him with,
 “Why, that’s just fine, Prude. No need to get upset.”

            Reeve fairly seethed with fury, but managed to say between gritted teeth, “Alright. I’ll do it. But don’t think I’ve forgiven you!”

            Genesis laughed and said, “Of course, I don’t, darling!”

---

            Elena sighed with annoyance and looked up at Rufus, who was unsteady on his feet and seemed to be keenly interested in the ball game on the television across the room instead of the woman currently doing her best to suck his floppy cock.

            “You’re too drunk,” she informed him, and flicked his half-hard erection with her fingertips.

            “I beg your pardon?!” Rufus cried, and looked down at her, wobbling a little. “I believe it’s you, you twelve-year-old-boy excuse for a hooker! If a man can’t get an erection, it’s the woman’s fault.”

            Elena rolled her eyes and breathed, “If a drunk can’t get an erection, then it’s the drunk’s fault.”

            “I am not a drunk!” Rufus informed her, and managed to set his shot glass down.

            It promptly fell off the edge of the bar and hit the floor, splashing Elena with alcohol.

            “Oh, for fuck’s sake!” she snapped, standing up and swiping at it. She glared up into his shocked face and hissed, “You’re a goddamned alcoholic and you can’t get it up and that is not my problem!”

            She turned and stalked back to her clothing, furious.

            “Where are you going?” Rufus asked, bracing one hand on the bar.

            “To find a man who can get it up,” she spat, jerking her bra on. “And then I’m going to ask Yazoo for the money.”

            “I can get it up, you half-schooled whore!” Rufus shouted, but flushed when Elena gave his crotch a pointed look. “Alright, so I’m having some difficulty tonight, but that’s perfectly natural.”

            “Rufus, the only time it is perfectly natural for a grown man to not get an erection around a naked woman of any kind is when he’s gay!” Elena snarled. “Are you gay?”

            “No!” Rufus gasped, horrified. He recoiled as if she might somehow make him gay by suggesting it.

            “Well, then, I say it’s the booze,” Elena told him, matter of fact about it. “You’ve even got a pot belly, you drink so much. When was the last time you went a day without a drink?”

            “That isn’t your business,” Rufus said, but his flush said everything. “And stop blaming your poor whoring skills on the alcohol, woman!”

            Elena shook her head and wriggled back into her dress before she sat down to put her shoes on, ignoring him.

            “Are you really just going to go out to find some man to fuck?” Rufus asked, intrigued. “Don’t you get enough of that with your job?”

            “Reno hires his babies for a reason, Rufus,” Elena said, wincing a little when she fed her toes back into the pinching shoes. “And the ones he keeps whoring out are the ones who can’t get enough.”

            “So, you’re like some kind of sex addict?” Rufus asked, all worries over his erectionless attempt forgotten.

            “You could say that,” Elena breathed, and stood to shake out her dress and finger-comb her hair. She gave him a biting, vicious smile devoid of happiness and purred, “I just like to fuck. Now, excuse me, I know there’s younger, fitter, and far better men out there with healthy erections just dying to stick their cocks in my cunt, so see you.”

            Rufus stared at her in stunned shock, never having heard even the least educated of Reno’s whores talk in such a way. As Elena made it to the door of his suite, he called out, “Hang on!”

            She turned, irritated, her body forming a long, lean line.

            Rufus looked down and she followed his gaze, both of them surprised to see that he was, indeed, at suitable attention.

            “Well,” she said, and smirked. “So you do have a kink after all…”

            “I suppose,” Rufus said, sounding rather amazed. He looked up at her and said, “Best hurry while it lasts.”

---

            Cloud sighed as he was transferred for the umpteenth time by the Midgar Police’s incompetent switchboard, but this time when the line clicked and the man spoke, he knew he’d gotten somewhere.

            “Midgar Police District One Chief Angeal Hewley,” he said, his voice a deep and even rumble, calm and soothing. “I’ve been told you’ve been quite persistent tonight, Mister Strife, was it?”

            “Chief Hewley, yes, Cloud Strife,” Cloud said, pasting on his biggest smile even though he knew the man couldn’t see him over the phone. “Good evening, so sorry to bother you.”

            “No bother, I’m just short on time,” came the gruff reply. “Is there something I can help you with Mister Strife?”

            “Actually, there is,” Cloud told him. “I had a question for you. Do you still work with Interpol?”

            “We’ve distanced ourselves at the President’s request,” Chief Hewley said. “As I understand it Interpol has become something of a criminal circle itself.”

            “That’s an interesting take on it,” Cloud laughed, a little surprised by this stance. “It’s just that I happen to know for a fact that a very dangerous man is currently the bodyguard of Yazoo ShinRa.”

            There was a long silence before Chief Hewley asked, “And how do you know this?”

            “Connections,” he answered, and wondered if he was doing the right thing. “I have it on good authority that he is Rudolph Doležal, a Chechislanian warlord responsible for the public execution of Maximilian Blanc.”

            There was another long, weighty silence.

            “I’m just letting you know, Chief Hewley,” Cloud said. “I doubt very much that he’s here for President ShinRa seeing as he’s been in the country for damned near a decade and done nothing—but it’s never wise to let the President’s family be in the hand of danger, is it?”

            “Well,” Chief Hewley said. “Thank you very much for the information, I’ll keep tabs on him. Have a nice night.”

            Cloud laughed a little in disbelief and asked, “Don’t you even care that you have a violent, murdering criminal in the ShinRa household?”

            “Not particularly,” Chief Hewley said, and hung up the phone.

            Stunned, Cloud slowly put his cell phone down, murmuring, “Well hooray for dirty cops, then.”

            He rubbed his forehead in consternation, but after a moment he opened a file on his computer and started to piece together the information he had, determined to keep track of everything that fell into his hands on this. After all, he had a personal angle to this – Doležal had been his first story, really; well, the reason for his first story. How strangely coincidental that he would show back up where Cloud was. And one thing was for sure, Cloud didn’t want to see him again over the corpse of another human being. If the police weren’t interested in it, then Cloud would do what he could. It wasn’t the type of story to interest his magazine, but it might make headlines if he farmed it out, which he fully intended to do.

            That accomplished, he uploaded all of the night’s pictures onto his computer and started working on his article about the Gala. Flash! Magazine would have the first story on it, and Cloud was determined to make it good. And hell, just for Yuffie – the annoying idiot – he’d put a spin on it being outlandish and exciting. It was something that the upper crust would go along with, thrilled to have been present, and ensure that Reeve wasn’t left out in the cold thanks to Yuffie and Genesis.

            “The things I do for that stupid Princess,” he sighed, and shook his head.

---

            The thought of Kadaj being his family occupied Yazoo’s mind to the point of distraction. He took his nerve pill and took off his shoes, sitting in his bedroom staring at the roses Reno had sent him, trying to decide what he would do.

            After much deliberation, Yazoo retrieved his cell phone and began dialing his eldest brother’s number. At the first ring he nearly cancelled the call, but Sephiroth’s low, smooth voice came purring over the line in their native language, saying, “My darling little Persephone, snatched away to the Underworld. How are you, dearest sister?”

            “Well enough,” Yazoo said, and uttered a breathless little laugh.

            “What is it, then?” Sephiroth asked, amused. “You’re troubled, I can hear it. Would you like me to come murder that jailor of yours, my pet?”

            Yazoo laughed again, but he was too nervous about what he was going to bring up to feel any real amusement.

            “My dearest darling,” Sephiroth purred. “Pray gather your tender nerves and tell your devoted brother what has stirred you to grace him with your melodious voice.”

            Yazoo blushed lightly. As courtly and lovely as Sephiroth’s words were, they were always delivered with wry, droll amusement as if he was secretly making fun of whomever he was talking to. The irritation of being thus spoken to goaded Yazoo to have his say. He was not especially fond of his eldest brother, and the man’s overbearing condescension did nothing to endear him to his sibling.

            “Do you think that there is a chance that he lives still?”

            The utter, cold silence from the other side made Yazoo think that his brother had hung up on him.

            “Yazoo,” Sephiroth said, his voice dangerously neutral. “Why would you ask such a thing?”

            “I…I just…” he stammered, and said in a breathless, tearful rush, “I saw a boy who looked so like him! He is just the right age, and he has our eyes, Sephiroth, and your mouth! And he has the look of her – ”

            “Stop,” Sephiroth breathed, all wry amusement gone. “Yazoo, Sojzha is dead. He has been dead for almost two decades. This boy you saw is but a remnant of our line’s love for life. He does not have my mouth; he does not have the look of her.”

            Yazoo flinched, knowing he had broken the cardinal rule: never speak of Sephiroth’s young wife, so tragically lost in childbirth so very long ago. It was a rule that Yazoo had learned as a child, just after little Sojzha was born. Only years later did he hear the rumors that Sephiroth’s Chechislanian-Princess wife had died under suspicious circumstances, and that it was widely believed the baby Prince had been taken by her royal family.

            “You are overwrought,” Sephiroth assured him, his own voice so steady and calm, a cover for deep and seething anger. “And I am late for an appointment. Think no more on it, my pet. The child was taken. The child is dead. All else is simply…misplaced hope.”

            Yazoo released a pent-up, shuddering breath and asked, “Will you not even see him?”

            “Goodnight, my love, and sweet dreams to my darling Persephone,” Sephiroth whispered, and hung up his phone.

            “Goodnight,” Yazoo murmured, and put his phone away with a thoughtful frown.

            He happened to glance into the mirror and saw his own face, shockingly like the boy, Kadaj’s. The resemblance was uncanny, but Sephiroth himself insisted that there was no possible way…It could be pain, Yazoo knew. It could be that he was unwilling to put himself through the agony of thinking his son alive only to discover that the boy was not remotely related to them.

            “I will have to figure a way to find out,” Yazoo murmured, feeling tired and drained. What a long and awful day it had been! And poor Reeve! He felt horrible that his attempt to launch Reeve had gone so terribly awry.

            He sighed and dialed Reno’s number, hoping that someone would answer and tell him that the man was okay. One more worry to add to the others. Yazoo wasn’t sure if he could handle much more – his head throbbed mercilessly and he felt wrung out, used up.

            While the phone rang and rang, he wondered how he could find out if the boy was his little nephew, if there was a way to discover his parentage without having Sephiroth’s own cells to compare to. Was being a sister to the parent close enough? Or would he remain forever on the fringes, simply because Sephiroth feared believing? Yazoo would prefer to do it all in secret, that way if it turned out the boy was just a throwback to their line, he could sweep the whole thought of it away and no one would be the wiser.

            No one picked up the phone, and so Yazoo hung up with a sigh, miserably thinking that he never knew what to do or how to do it. Drained by his day, he changed into his nightgown, washed his face, and went straight to bed.

---

            Just as Zack dropped the last of his clothing, Reno made a soft sound and began to wake. His bright, sharp blue eyes focused on the room and he roughly rasped, “What the fuck is going on?”

            “Hush,” Mei Li purred, and coiled at the side of the bed to fetch her pill-tin. She removed a small pill and put it on the tip of her tongue before she spilled back up Reno’s body to offer it to him.

            He resisted, holding her back by her shoulders to take another hard, rapidly angering look at Zack.

            “Kadaj,” he said, his voice dangerous and his eyes snapping to the boy at his side. “Don’t you fucking dare – ”

            Mei Li slid her tongue into his mouth and Reno’s resistance vanished. He turned into her kiss and sucked at her tongue, taking the Blitz without a murmur of protest.

            “There, there’s my darling boy,” Mei Li breathed, and stroked her hand down his lean belly, her nails raking lightly. “Let’s see what Mei Li can do to make you happy, hm?”

            “You shouldn’t give him that,” Kadaj protested, but it was used up, worn out, and old. He’d said the same thing every single time he’d caught Mei Li feeding Reno’s addiction to his favorite drug, but ultimately the decision rested with Reno himself, and the man seemed content enough to take them.

            “It doesn’t harm him, my sweet,” she said, and chuckled as Reno’s eyes grew large and glassy, hazy with it.

            Zack, who had frozen the second those blue eyes fluttered, was made even more uncomfortable by the presence of the drugs. He never polluted his body with such things – he was a well-oiled and sensitive machine, kept in top condition through meditation and exercise. Drugs were a necessity of the weak and pathetic, or at least he’d always thought so.

            Kadaj moved to the foot of the bed to shift against him and leaned up to breathe into his ear, “I have no idea what will happen, and I can’t protect you here. You should never have stayed.”

            Zack leaned back to look down into his sad, worried face and said, “I wanted to, Kadaj. Call it curiosity, but I needed to see for myself what keeps drawing you back.”

            Kadaj threw a look over his shoulder at his lover and his lover’s lover, and sighed, “Not this, Zack. Just him…”

            “I’m sorry,” Zack whispered, and Kadaj looked back at him, startled. With sincere regret in his big blue-violet eyes, Zack added, “It must hurt you, to love him so much.”

            Kadaj smiled wryly and said, “Then I suppose I must be a masochist.”

            Reno made a low, deep noise and they both looked to see Mei Li stroking him to life, her full red lips pursed as she cooed at him. She reached back with her free hand and pulled Kadaj close, and gestured for Zack to come nearer.

            “I know how it hurts you, my precious boy,” she purred, and gave Reno a hard squeeze that made his teeth clench and his back arch, his fingers tightening in the sheets. “How you long to have me, how it drives you insane to see others take me while you are never, never allowed.”

            She turned her head and ran her tongue along Kadaj’s jaw just as she let her hand fall from Reno’s strutted cock down to cup his full sack. With vicious intent, she sank her nails in and won a strangled, pained noise from him, but his hard flesh pulsed responsively, trembling against his belly.

            Zack swallowed hard, appalled and aroused, intrigued by what was happening but nervous of it all the same. When Mei Li touched him, he started, and she laughed lightly, that little-girl laugh that gave him chills.

            “Come, Zack,” she said, and cocked her head coyly. “Come make love to me.”

            Reno shook his head a little and sat up, his movements languid and slow. He opened his mouth as if he would speak, but Mei Li pressed her talon-tipped fingernail to his lips and said, “Hush, I know! You don’t want me to, do you? How you hate it! But, that is what this is all about, isn’t it? I frustrate you, but you keep coming back for more…”

            “Please,” Kadaj said, and moved around to Reno’s side, caressing his face with a gentle hand and giving Mei Li an imploring look. “He’s had a bad evening, can’t you just – ”

            “Do you think he enjoys that you remind him of his sickness?” she asked, suddenly very, very serious. “Do you think that making him rest and treating him as if he is an invalid is what he truly wants? No, Kadaj, my little sweet one – Reno wants to forget, and that is why he will come to me instead of you time after time.”

            It was said utterly without malice, but Zack could feel the tension between them. Reno seemed oblivious to it; he simply tried over and again to pull Mei Li away from Zack, a troubled look on his lean face.

            Mei Li laughed and shoved him back, scratching her nails down his chest to the tip of his quivering member in a way that made him writhe, gasping.

            “Stay,” she told him, and added, “And maybe tonight will be the night I let you finally have me.”

            She turned to Zack and flowed up against him, all big, dark eyes, large breasts, and startlingly perfect penis. She tugged on his hands and pulled them up to cup her, urging him to rub his thumbs over her hardened nipples while Kadaj crooned to Reno and tried to hold him.

            Zack backed away, pulling out of her grasp. The mood in the room had changed, was suddenly charged with a kind of tension he knew well. He wanted no part of what might happen here tonight, and with Reno drugged there was no telling what sort of things he might want to have done.

            He took one last look at Kadaj’s sad, strained face and turned to leave.

            As it had the last time he’d chanced to stumble into their games, Reno’s strong white fist locked around his wrist and hoisted him back, supple strength increased by drugs and determination, taking Zack off of his guard for a split second.

            It was the only second Reno needed to drag him down onto the bed between his own hard, lithe body and Kadaj’s pale, lean one.

---

1                     39                     41

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Comments

[etrix.livejournal.com]

Woot! I'm so happy now and I'll be happier once I read it. =p

(back in a bit)

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

Hehe! I can't say enough how much I love that icon *noms the Sexah Rude*

[sussurous.livejournal.com]

!!SEPHIROTH!! I was so happy to see him I Yelled Out Loud. I really did. What a sad backstory he's got so far. Poor thing. I'm anxious to see what happens next. I hope he shows up lots.


I giggled like a crazy woman at Genesis/Reeve. They are so much fun, I can't wait to read about their night together. I wonder how much sleep Reeve is actually going to get *evil grin*

I'm sorry about you losing your internet. I hope you can get online soon. I'm sending good luck vibes to you ~~~~~~~

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

Sephiroth will be showing up a lot more towards the end of Yazoo's story, no worries! I'm glad you liked his intro, though!

And lol, yay that you giggled at Gen and Reeve! Those two are so fun together!

My net is all better now, and thank you for the well-wishes and your patience! *snuggles you tight tight*

[etrix.livejournal.com]

Grrr, stupid work thingy taking away my precious soap time. B[

One quick note before I go on to the rest of it, the link to chapter 41 doesn't work. (I shall have to look it up manuall. pfff)

I'm very worried right now; for Zack, for Cloud, for Yazoo... mostly Zack but that's understandable as you left him right there! He could enjoy it, or it could turn into a truly horrifying rape... or both.

Nice way to add Angeal to the mix. Chief of Police is the perfect place for the 'by the book' SOLDIER. Except that you kinda suggest that this Angeal is maybe, not quite so 'by the book'. Either that or he hates the stuffing out of the ShinRas and wants them all to die. A notorious warlord and killer is living at the mansion and he's all shrugs and 'who gives a shit'??? Or maybe he works for Rude and Cloud's name is being exchanged as I type...

Yazoo. Poor, sad Yazoo. Reno may love her, but he'll never love only her. At least she tried to talk to some of her family about Kadaj but... maybe I'm a conspiracy nut, but Seph's reaction was a bit off. It didn't strike me that the topic of Kadaj was taboo because it caused Seph too much pain, but that he was trying to cover up/hush up a secret. Was he the one to get rid of Kadaj?

I shall have to go read the next chapter. (Glad you have even this limited access to the net. I was beginning to wonder what had happened.)

Gen and Reeve.

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

Hehe! The link works, I think you may have read this before I got 41 up and the address to link to? Perhaps.

Yes, I had hoped to make maximum Must Wait A Week GRRness out of Zack's predicament, so publishing two in a row sorta snatched that away, but ah well!

Hey, thanks about Angeal! He's already shaping up to be darker than we all know him to be, but he's in a soap now, so meh :D Hehe, interesting theories...we'll just have to wait and see! *ebol laugh*

Yazoo's situation is sad and is only going to get worse. And you're right, Seph's response was off the charts odd. Something is not right there, so now we have to wonder of Tseng and Reno which of them is actually telling Kadaj the real truth. ;)

[zilldk.livejournal.com]

Oh wow, the tension! That was... *wipes brow* I can't wait to see what happens! Mei Li is an amazing character, and I love the power she seems to have over them all. This is going to be good!

Oh man, Rude really scares me, and I'm not sure I'm gonna like what's coming from him...

And WOOT! Enter Angeal! I have been waiting for him! Heh, you know he's one of my soft spots...

I wonder if we're going to see a certain Sephiroth in Midgar before long? Hm? WOOT, excellent new developments in the plot!

Amazing as always, honey! I'm SO glad to see you back, even if it's just on borrowed time. I can't wait to have you back for reals! *snuggles*

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

Hey, thank you, boo boo! Mei Li is complicated, far more than I first gave her credit for. I'm curious about how she will develop as a character.

Rude is OMG scary! And no, I don't think we will like what's next...

Hehe, yeah, you and your Angeal, lol!

Yep, Seph will be there at the end of Yazoo's story, and boy will he be pissed!

Thank you so much, honey! You know I love ya!

[whiskeynshinra.livejournal.com]

Hey, I missed ya! I LOLed at the Rufus/Elena. Too funny. And he's into sex addicts, nice. hahaha.

OH MAN, Sephiroth! XD And Angeal! Yaaaay. lol. It also amuses me that Cloud has more moral fiber than most of the cops, even though he insists he's not doing it for morals XD

*runs off to read the other one*

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

I missed you, too!

Hehe! Glad you like Rufus with Elena, those two were made for one another, lol!

Yes, Seph showed up in the same episode as Angeal, woot! And that IS funny, now that you mention it! Who knew a reporter would be morally superior to law keepers? lol!

[white-jenna.livejournal.com]

Delighted to see you back, and to know you're okay (even if your connection isn't).
Continue to adore Gen and Reeve all to pieces. :D Love the introductions of Seph and Angeal, and the whole Jenova subplot is one of my favorites (now with more drama!)
On to the next chapter!

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

Sorry for the scares! But I am back and crazier than ever, so WOOT!

Hehe! I'm really glad you're still liking the soap! The plot just keeps thickening. Any more and we'll have gravy on our hands...ew, I need a paper towel...

[f-mystic.livejournal.com]

Sephiroth! Wooooot! And I'm not even a huge Sephiroth fan. But he was sooo perfect here. We'll be seeing more of him at some point, yes? And Angeal. How perfectly cast was that?

Can I slap Zack now? Can I please? PLEASE? I mean, if he want's a little kink, I'll find something to entertain him besides what he's getting into!

But Elena can KEEP Rufus! Ew. She really is desperate.

And my favorite! Genesis, you sly minx, you. I can't wait to see how that turns out.

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

Hey, thanks so much! Glad to see that Sephiroth is as desired ;). And we will be seeing more of him as Yazoo's story unfolds and draws to a close, which is soonish. And YAY Angeal! I thought he'd make the perfect Chief of Police, lol!

Yes, you may slap Zack, but I think everyone can see a little of themselves in his decision. Most everyone has been there, done that...well, maybe not with a shemale...

Hehe, yeah, Elena and Rufus were made for each other *flicks them across the room*

Genesis is kicking ass and taking names, he has my full support, hehe!

[sephbuttons.livejournal.com]

First of, a big thank you for your hard work even through hardships of extinct internet connections and evil warlords trying to ban works of genious :)

I wanted to let you know that you have my utter most support; albeit, lagging a bit behind. I have finally found some time to read anything longer than a paragraph (why do we have to work? *whine*) so I am going to leave you a big fat comment...

So, yeah, onto the commenting. I guess it would be way too tame of me if I screamed SEPHIIIIROOOOOOOTHHHHHHHH!!! on top of my lungs, right? :) Maybe a *squeeeee*, *WOOT*, "yes, yess, yessss" would give you a better idea of how I feel about mr. sephiroth? ;)

Even though Cloud is banging a gril, and Seph is 'implied-banging' a girl, and they are not banging eachother, I forgive you. I forgive you for a simple reason that your Seph in this chapter is oh so wonderful, just the way I like him.
I've waited for so long to read his name, pathetic, to hear him speak, horribly pathetic, that I am so happy and greatful to you right now that words can't even express it.

I really love the direction your soap has taken. Such complex characters and exciting story lines just keep me waiting for more. Reed and Genesis were as funny and cute as ever and I love to read their dialogues. And poor Zack! geez, can he get any weirder company there? lol Reno is starting to get on my nerves a bit, just take Yazoo and go and be happy somewhere, far away hehehe

ok, I'll shut up now and go read 41 before I fall asleep...

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

Aw! Thank you so much! You're so good to me :D

Thank you for the big fat comment! I adored it! And yes, Sephiroth is coming, so hang onto your hat, lol.

People in my soap are remarkably not hung up on gender (for the most part, with a few exceptions) so there is every possibility for every possible pairing, no problem!

And thanks again, I'm glad that it is managing to be complicated without being tiring, and that people are still having fun with it! And you're not alone where Reno is concerned, more and more people are starting to cry for his death, lol!

[natila.livejournal.com]

Hugs to you Jaded ! :D I am so sorry to hear about your internet. I lost it myself a few weeks ago and it was like the end of the world or almost ;) Hope you get it back very very soon ! And that your in-law doesnt find out :p (password protected computer ? ummm.. suspicious ! :p)

Good to see that Yazoo instincts are finally awakening.
As for Cloud and dirty cops.. Will he get in trouble now ? I would be worried if I was him.

Sephiroth seems very very suspicious on the phone. I wouldnt be surprised if he sold his own kid himself ! ;) And I had a good laugh picturing Yazoo discreetly trying to pull a hair out of Kadaj head for DNA testing ! XD

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

Oh my gosh! That's hilarious! I could totally see Yazoo doing something like that, too! LOL! *Snugs you back* It's good to finally be back! I have a lot of catching up to do still, but I'm enjoying every second of it :D

[superkalifragi.livejournal.com]

Yay, Seph and Angeal entered the stage!!! And I laughed so hard at Rufus again, he´s just hilarious!!!

[jaded-grin.livejournal.com]

Aw, I'm glad you laughed at Rufus! I thought he was quite clever, but people tend to genuinely dislike him! *snuggles you* We can be the lonely two in his club, yeah?

[superkalifragi.livejournal.com]

Absolutely, he´s too entertaining to hate XDDDDD

[afuri-kurage.livejournal.com]

I think Yazoo needs to find another man instead of Reno. I meant, the previous chapter, he called daj's name instead of Yaz. Oh thats kinda heartbreaking!
And yay for Seph! He sounds so charismatic. He needs to visit Yaz sometime..
I wonder why no-one of his families protect him from Rufus' cruelity in the past.
And hey, Cloud seems like a caring guy!