Genesis then got to partake in the most delicious cream of mushroom soup he ever had, to which Zack said "Not as good as with fresh Mangoga mushrooms, but it'll do!"
I needed to write something so bad. final fantasy 7 has me by the balls rn so animal boy time!! Who kissin they Shinra experiment rn!!! mee!! mememe!!!!
cw: SFW hybrid au, they have animal tails and ears, animal behavior, very lightly suggestive in some spots, belly rubs, cute boy zack, tried to be as in character as I could but pretty lax, crisis core sephiroth, what can I say I love my boys haha
• the men in SOLDIER First Class have started to undergo some changes.. the increased mako dosage has made them all exponentially stronger however its started to change them in more ways than just muscle density..
• the mako experiments and infusions were quickly taken over solely by Hojo once things like extensions of the tail bone and canine teeth were noted. Hojo tried to reverse the effects, or at least stop them, but it was too late. his precious SOLDIER were falling victim to side effects of the mako, ones that he had not planned for.
• the lifestream seems to assign the animal. perhaps by looks perhaps by personality, no one has managed to pinpoint that reasoning yet.
• with the damage already done and the changes already well underway, they had no choice but to start working around it. and that started with getting them used to their new lives and new... appendages
• part of those knew changes is going to the certified "Shinra Licensed Hybrid Grooming Specialist." which was a lot of fancy words to say you helped the men keep their fur properly maintained. deep cleaning, trimming, keeping general heath of their fur and/or any changes. all of those extra details were to be reported to hojo at the end of every month. however your worker/client relationship seems to be getting a little more friendly than anticipated
Sephiroth
• mrow?
• of course hes a cat hybrid. what else would he be? more specifically a snow leopard hybrid. agile and strong, built to conquer even the harshest of terrains, sounds like Sephiroth to the lifestream (and me)
• his poor ears are on permanent airplane mode. he always looks like hes angry about something, but hes really not. he just keeps hitting them on doorframes.. the only time you ever see his ears at full attention is when hes about to pounce on something or someone, sword usually in hand.
• you thought his hair care routine was bad as a [not-so] regular human; it has only gotten even more intensive. long silver hair long silver and white fur, they both require a lot of care. thankfully sephiroth has the time to spare on his grooming routine, and the cost is covered by shinra. gotta keep up the good PR. cant have their #1 SOLDIER running around with matted fur.
• Sephiroth brushes his tail himself and has a special set of grooming supplies to do it. metal comb for getting the undercoat, slicker brush for the extra lose hair. every Wednesday exactly at 1130 he visits your grooming station. if he's on mission, he schedules as soon as he gets back. literally. he goes from helicopter to get his fur tended to.
• requests his fur shampoo that smells most like his hair shampoo. he prefers to have a very cohesive scent, woodsy but clean like a wet forest made of soap.
• Sephiroth has unfortunately found one of his favorite things is when youre scratching the base of his tail. he tries to keep his back straight and his eyes forward, but when your nails start scratching down to his skin he can feel his back bending into your touch. he rarely ever blushes or even shows much emotion, but you can tell from the way his slitted pupils dart around to look anywhere but at you says enough.
• he doesn't talk much, especially not during the first few sessions. hes trying very hard to not make you uncomfortable. he sits railrod straight on the grooming table and keeps his hands folded or his arms crossed. hes polite.. for lack of a better term. its less politeness and more he doesn't squirm or complain and says thank you. he just doesn't have much to say to someone who he doesnt have much common ground with. being born and raised in the confines of shinra labs has mildly stunted his ability to be normal cut him some slack. though eventually the closeness of being arms deep in his luscious tail fur gets him chatty sooner or later.
It starts with soft purrs under his breath, his chest rising and falling slowly. it feels like his purrs could shake a whole house with his much reverb they have
"does the water feel ok?"
"yes. thank you." he nodded.
"your tail has gotten so long, pretty soon we'll need a whole bottle of shampoo!" you were trying to keep some conversation going. warm him up a bit.
He glanced at you with his thin pupils, a soft smirk on his face. "hm.. perhaps we will."
you returned the smile while you soaked his downy fur in water. you pushed shampoo as deep as your fingers would allow into his thick layers. the process was easy, almost autopilot. he asked for the same thing every time. shampoo, deep condition, trimming and shaping the tail to come to a soft round pillow at the end. you happily accommodated, using your curved scissors to carefully round the shape of his fur. Occasionally you could swear Sephiroth was twitching his tail away from you, catching a smirk out of the corner of your eye
• regardless of conversation, Sephiroth was a good tipper. everything covered with funds from Shinra's PR (propaganda) department he wasnt exactly strapped for cash, but he wasnt really spending it much anyway given the lack of free time.. add in the fact hes a little desperate for friends and hes not above sweetening the deal. even if all you do is sit in comfortable silence with him while you help de-shed his winter coat, hes happy to have you around.
• sometimes you can get him to chat very briefly about his own likes an interests. he mentions some books, training with the others and secretly a chocoberry pastry from a small bakery on the west side of the upper plate of Midgar. it was so niche and unexpected you stopped trimming the whispy furs at the tops of his round ears. at his next appointment, you gift him with a small box of the treat. you watch happily as his kitty cat eyes dilate to big round circles
• you werent above sweetening the deal a little either.. the very rare smile on his face made the walk to the bakery all worth it.
Angeal
• awoo!!
• Angeal is a pack animal. he cant survive on his own. no lone wolf trope here no sir. its why he goes after Genesis. it's why he goes after Sephiroth. he needs all his packmates in order lest something goes wrong.
• he carries himself in the way you'd think a wolf would. a bit regal from the outside but ultimately friendly to those he's closest with. you hardly ever see his ears pinned. unlike Sephiroth, Angeal keeps his ears raised high at attention. you can see them swivel into your direction whenever you speak to him. hes very attentive.
• Angeal is likely the easiest to care for in terms of grooming. his fur stays relatively short, but it needs a good deshedding often. Angeal can manage washing his fur himself, but Shinra insists on using your services to stay presentable. youre more than happy to assist, carefully raking through his tail's thick fur with a metal comb. dont comment on any gray strands in his charcoal black fur. hes not ready to admit how much his job stresses him out yet.
• hes not nearly as particular as Sephiroth when it comes to scents or even styling, but he does have his preferences. a middle point of sandalwood and laundry detergent is where he lies most of the time. sometimes theres a whiff of polished leather, but you think that's from being around Genesis so often.
• he doesnt give much feedback or criticism when you shape and trim his tail, but he does get a little pink across the bridge of his nose when you hold it at the base. he does ask you to shave the top of the base where it connects to his spine. he says it itches when the fur gets too long but Genesis told you the truth. Angeal is very ticklish on the small of his back. he holds it together well, but if you take too long evening out the shave you can see gim squirm a little.
• Angeal is arguably the most chatty out of the firsts. he always asks you about your life before this job, what you want to do after. hes happy to tell you about his past, always bringing up stories about Sephiroth, Genesis and himself as children and young SOLDIER. he insists Sephiroth has a very playful side.. youre inclined to believe him given the chocobo pastry, but imagining Sephiroth goofing off feels illegal somehow.
"Dreams and honor, huh? I think my dream is tooo.. retire to a sunny beachside town. maybe with a bunch of woodland creatures.." you laughed a bit, plucking the shed fur from your brush.
"woodland creatures at the beach? yes this certainly sounds like a dream," Angeal laughed with you, wagging his tail a bit to get a feel for the shave.
smooth as always.
• Angeal has absolutely howled during more than one session. the first time was totally by accident. you had left some music on in the background and it hit just the right frequency making Angeal tilt his head back and 'Rrrrrroooooo.." you tried not to draw attention to it but Angeal could feel your hands stop and you could feel your cheeks twitch into a smile. admittedly you have played the song again just to get a little muffled howl out of him
• after a few years of grooming sessions the 2 of you naturally grew closer, close enough that Angeal could ask you to help him fix a little.. mishap.. Angeal is great at trimming his own face, no bumps or knicks with a razor, but he cant say the same for his chest and happy trail. being a hybrid comes with some extra hair, so with red-splotched cheeks he asks if you can give him a bit of a touch up after he accidentally buzzed a rectangular patch in his chest hair. he tips you extra extra after you even him out and trim up his happy trail to match. you couldve gone a few more hours with him shirtless on your grooming table, but you try to keep it professional..
• Angeal is starting to want to throw professionalism to the wind as he redresses, face still tinted a warm peach.
Genesis
• yip!!
• a sly fox hybrid. as elusive as his snow leopard friend, but not nearly as standoffish once you do manage find him. a permanent grin and a tilt in his voice that makes you want to follow him into any uncharted forest you may or may not be near. Genesis is a natural charmer and you are almost immediately hooked
• always showers before he comes to see you. he is adamant to make sure you dont see him as incapable of taking care of himself. even if you reassure him that its not a big deal, that you've cleaned sticks and dried blood out of Zack's tail fur before, its all part of the job, Genesis refuses and will shower every time. you have managed to convince him to let you deep condition his fur at the very least. he doesnt like leaving it without conditioner for very long so he essentially gets right out of the shower and straight to you. you cant complain much since he always smells nice. leather, something sweet and cinnamon
• Genesis may be the most mentally challenging to get through a session with solely because he will quiz you on LOVELESS. you suppose it's partially your fault considering you asked about it, but in your defense you werent expecting a full iceberg analysis and director cut with commentary. with Genesis tho, that's exactly what you will be getting. he always asks you the most in depth questions about themes and writing style when you're trimming his ears. you think he does it on purpose.. you know he does it on purpose. you can practically hear speak him with that sly grin as you lose your focus in shaping his fur.
• however out of all of them Genesis is probably the easiest to finish a session with physically. its partially because he takes care of the washing himself, but also because he sits even more still than Sephiroth. his fur is rarely ever unruly. Genesis sits with a straight back and hands in his lap or on his book. even Sephiroth will get a little restless, but not Genesis. hes statuesque when he needs to be..
• and he rarely needs to be. Genesis can be a little more playful than Sephiroth and Angeal, but its mostly him twitching his tail this way and that as youre trying to trim it or maybe placing something just out of your reach on a tall shelf thqtbhe eventuallywill retreatfor you after you spend a minutelooking for it. you can see his eyes squint at the edges when he smiles behind his book. if you threaten to shave his tail bald he'll stop.. but not for very long. he knows you wont follow through on it. (turn on the clippers to make the threat more imminent if you want no more funny business until the next session)
"Same time next week I hope?"
Genesis shook his head, slipping his long red cloak back on. "unfortunately Angeal and I will sent out for a mission."
Your face dropped, though you tried to prevent it. hardly anyone had the luxury of naivety in this environment and the threat of death was real whenever they were shipped off. Despite your somber response, Genesis smiled mysterious and mischievous. he extended his arms, slowly and dramatic.
"you needn't worry about us. we'll be fine and you'll see us as soon as we return."
you let out a huff of resolve, a silent promise that you would hold Genesis to his word. he gently patted the center of your head as if you had fox ears yourself before he started slipping out the door.
"There is no hate, only joy
For you are beloved by the goddess"
your voice blended and carried along with his, quoting the book youve come to know by proxy.
• Genesis brings you a copy of LOVELESS as a gift when he returns. when you're waiting for his conditioning treatment youll read along with him. hes a bit more theatrical when hes reading the story to you rather than just reciting the words off the dome. he smiled when you jump in for spots youve remembered after he "beat it" into your head just like the rest of the ppl in his life.
• Have we all come to understand Genesis likes teasing? he cant help himself. sometimes he pretends to forget his wallet to tip you after, insisting youll just have to come with him to go get it and he'll even cover dinner as an apology. but when you skip right by the hall to get to the SOLDIER barracks and head right for dinner that smile finds its way back to his face.
• His next objective is to grin and get you to agree to his invitation to a showing of LOVELESS after a bite to eat. Will you let him?
Zack [the Puppy]
• woof!
• sorry if you expected a subversion of the plot here but Zack couldn't be more dog if he tried. friendly, energetic, good with kids, your moms, your dads, your aunts, your other dogs. Zack is a very excitable flat coated retriever hybrid. his soft floppy ears get lost in his spiked hair and his tail is always wagging at 100 mph. he loves the water, loves swimming and loves his grooming sessions with you! he is never shy with you even in your first few meetings. its Zack's 2nd nature to be welcoming, but he wont lie about his affinity for you in particular.
• Zack Motormouth Fair over here. Will never stop yapping ever. he will talk forever for hours for days. tells you all about his family, his favorite swimming spots, his favorite foods, Angeal's secret cuddling habit.. you choose to pretend you dont retain that knowledge, but the thought of all of the Firsts being in one big cuddle pile does give you pleasantly pink cheeks. dont take this as implications he doesnt ask about you or listen to your life stories. for all his words hes just as good as being a listener, especially as you reminisce when youre cutting his fur. you assume its the part dog thing, but really its just who he is.
• Zack prefers his fur very short for tactical purposes, but Shinra can have some strict guidelines sometimes. no full shave job unfortunately. SOLDIER, especially the Firsts, have to keep up with appearances especially when attending Shinra sponsored military balls. (Zack says we've got to get a better name for extravagant parties) he says how much he hates his tail fur to be so long so you do your best to keep it as short as you can while still toeing the guidelines. otherwise Zack really enjoys the crisp edge you carve out with your scissors.
• messiest out of all the Firsts. while you wont find fleas or tics you WILL find everything else. sticks, leaves, dried blood, crumbs from the lunch hall table. in Zack's defense they werent his crumbs. he leaned against the table and being the waggy guy he is he was essentially dusting the crumb covered table with his tail. when Kunsel pointed out the literal pretzel piece sticking out Zack was on the phone asking if you could pencil him in... immediately..
• thankfully Zack sits very well for his sessions. no twitching, no moving his tail away. he hardly even tilts his head away from your body when you lean in close to clean up his ears. if you didnt know any better you'd think Zack would nuzzle right up into you if it wasnt "unprofessional." we all know Zack will push those lines, but he doesnt want to overstep your boundaries so he doesnt. he does linger close to sniff whatever perfume/cologne you have on tho.. he cant help himself. he even started guessing the brand or scent names as a little game to keep him preoccupied.
• politely asks if you can wash his hair along with his fur because he really likes how your nails get down to his scalp. Puppy dog eyes if you show signs of maybe saying no. theres no rule against it and you certainly dont mind more time to talk to Zack so inevitably you say yes and hes over the moon. you somehow became a hairdresser as well as a groomer. you ask Zack to keep that service on the DL, not wanting to be tasked with trying to style Genesis's hair. Zack absolutely has a spot right at the base of his skull that makes his leg thump when you scratch it.
"oh my god is that it?" you didnt mean to have such an excited tone, but you finally found Zack's 'spot!'
you dont know how youve missed it until now, but now that you found it, you hone in on it. your blunt nails pleasantly scratched over the short hairs at his hairline making Zack lean into your touch.
zack tail excitedly wagged through the hole in the back of the chair and his heavy boot thumped in sync with it. if he was any more dog his tongue wouls be rolling out of the side of his mouth..
• good boy alert. gives you all the tips, brings you drinks and snacks he buys from in the city. thrives on some praises and thank yous so he never gets enough of watching your face light up when he brings you a little middle of the day pick me up drink! he once brought you a pickle slushee and, while delicious for 2 sips, you asked him to never get it again. he obliged.. sort of. he now buys them for himself and gets you something else.
• accidentally found out he loves getting his belly rubbed. he flopped on your grooming table, hands behind his head. you often wondered how he could stay so carefree with such a dangerous job.. you quickly patted his stomach to make him sit up and almost immediately did that excited puppy look cross his face. his leg kicked in like a rudder, foot tapping against the metal leg of the table.
• Zack starts stopping by more often to get some daily scratches.. Angeal has absolutely caught you two.
---------
ive read enough. give Sephiroth snow leopard spots in his hair. is this bad? be honest. actually dont ill cry.
anyway i don't think any of the 1sts actually do well in the cold i think it fucks them all up in different ways. 3/4 of them are from the tropics they are only coping through years of wilderness training. Angeal is the closest to vibing, he's willing to just endure the cold and he does actually like the snow, and he also runs pretty warm most of the time so he's fine. Zack LOVES the snow but he has to bundle up to the point he just becomes a ball of coats in order to go outside without dying if it's under 40F/4C. Genesis is miserable and constantly complaining but even Angeal won't give him shit for it because his body will actually start shutting down if he's out in the cold for a while. I'm talking stiff hands and fingers so bad he can't hold things without it hurting. Sephiroth meanwhile has this weird thing where so long as the temperatures are above freezing he barely feels it but the SECOND it drops below that he is GONE. you will find him in his room building a burrow to protect himself because the Jenova in him remembers being in a glacier and it does NOT want back in there
Thinking about ags + z going on a roadtrip, what ever could go wrong?
Angeal: Is our designated driver because of course he is. Spends most of the trip stressed out of his mind making sure the "kids" don't fight. Never takes his eyes off the road for a second and refuses to stop for snacks because Mr. Dreams and Honor is frugal and doesn't want to waste time or money. Would honestly be enjoying this a lot more of the car was nice and quiet and he got to listen to his radio country music in peace without Genesis constantly playing with the knob, but oh well. By the time they reach their destination, the man looks like he hasn't slept in five days.
Genesis: Forced to sit up front with Angeal since he CANNOT BE TRUSTED sitting next to Zack or Sephiroth. Genesis revels in this, pleased that he gets shotgun, occasionally tilting his head over the seat to smugly smirk at the glaring passengers behind him. He hogs the radio listening to pop music while occasionally reciting Loveless to everyone's collective misery. Angeal also put him in charge of distributing packed snacks since he refuses to drive through anyplace. All in all, Genesis is VERY pleased with his current set of circumstances...until Sephiroth figures out that Gen being in front of him means license to kick.
Sephiroth: Mostly just spends his time sleeping, looking out the window, kicking Genesis, or talking with Zack. He doesn't get out much so he's actually causing Angeal the least amount of grief during the drive. Being stuck in the car is a good way for him to squeeze in a much-needed nap. He and Zack will occasionally play cards. Zack will even let him fiddle around with one of his handheld game devices. Really, Sephiroth is an absolute angel of a passenger until the car breaks down and Angeal has to stop in the middle of nowhere to change the tire. Turns out you can't leave Sephiroth unattended for more than five minutes before he's making a run for the woods because he thought he "spotted something of nutritional sustenance running by". Guess he was sick of juice boxes and crackers.
Zack: "Are we there yet? Are we there yet? How bout now? Are we there yet?" An entire WEEK of this. Zack has a very hard time sitting still, squabbling with Genesis whenever the latter chucks a juice box at his face, bored with constantly looking out the window and growing increasingly cramped and pent-up. Really, roadtrips are kind of a nightmare for him and he can't imagine the place they're going being worth the hassle. He gets car-sick a few times and Angeal has to make a LOT of bathroom stops for him. Eventually, Genesis suggests that they introduce Zack to "Uncle Benny" which has the poor kid zonked out for the rest of the trip. Luckily, Sephiroth doesn't seem to mind the extra quiet and they can both be seen sleeping against each other. Awwww.
