Fic and birthday stuff

Love the icon. X3 Lisa made it.

I had a weird dream the other day, involving Zack (and me, but let's forget that part) panic-stricken because Sephiroth was missing and had apparently perished in some kind of disaster. I think it may have been a flood in the dream? But anyway, by the end Seph was found, alive and well. I woke up and thought ... FIC.

But instead of water, it's fire, and Seph's wandering dazed and wounded through Wutai, unable to find anyone willing to help the General who quelled the Wutaian rebellion.

Let It Be has become the image song for the fic. I'm not entirely sure how that happened, except that I was thinking of Aubrie's AMV with Valon and the fire in that and the Let It Be song and I wondered if it would fit my story. So I went and listened and decided it did.

Took me a while to figure out exactly how, though. After all, Zack and Seph could not let the fire disaster be, without trying to rescue those involved. And Zack could not let his belief that Seph was still alive be, and give in to the beliefs of others that Seph was dead. But, the Wutaians needed to get over their hatred and let that be. It was angry rebels who started the fire, and then of course, Seph had a terrible time finding anyone who would help him, when they despise SOLDIERs so much. (Someone finally does help him, later on.) And the "there will be an answer" line makes me think of Zack being convinced that Seph is alive, no matter what, and hoping to find him. As well as a more general thing of an ethereal assurance that there will be an answer for this madness.

Last night I was trying to write Sephiroth's flashback and get it just right. It would not cooperate. I needed to make sure that whatever happened to separate him and the kids would make him look noble and not weak. And I wondered what kinds of disasters might happen in the fire. No one I talked to then seemed to know, so I spent an hour or so looking through something I found called the Gas Explosion Handbook. It didn't help much, except that I decided Almost Anything Goes, within reason. And finally, after turning things over in my mind many times, by morning I knew how to re-write the scene.

It's ... less than a week to my birthday now, as the clock changes to midnight. I was finding myself rather apathetic about it until a few days ago when I was mentioning to Mom what I wanted to do (go shopping, of course; I don't do parties) and that I wanted to get a pizza. Then I started to get excited again. But I still don't even know what to ask for. Last year, when I graduated, I felt like I'd entered the adult world. That birthday, I only asked for one thing, knowing we didn't have much money. Things were a bit better at Christmastime. This year would be the same ... or it would be if I could think of anything at all. What I can think of is what I want to buy myself, either by trying to find it in retail stores (like the KH Cloud figurine and the Within Temptation album) or what I want online (like the AC soundtrack). I was going to ask for the second Darkwing set, but I didn't see it at Wal-Mart and I ended up feeling kinda Eh about it. It has some episodes I'd specially like, but what about the others? I know I won't (and don't) like all of the offerings. Of course, that would be the case with any TV show, but I'm trying to decide if it's worth it right now.

Truthfully, what I wanted most, I've got. **cuddles plush.**