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More FF7 fanfic (!?!?!?!?)
Sep. 23rd, 2012 11:47 pmRemember what I said about the last post? Yeah, I spoke too soon. :(
I had a choice between two of this author's stories. I picked this one cause the other one was so horribly bad, my brain threatened to leak out my ears again. :( No really, the other story written by this author is one of the worse ones I've read, on par with that Tatsumi/Watari story I read so long ago. This one... isn't too bad, but it's far from one of the 'best AUs' I've ever read.
Series: Final Fantasy 7
Title: The Last Goodnight
Author: DamagedWorth
Genre:WaahAngst/Drama
Rating: MA
Warnings: Language, drug use (!?), lemon, AU
Couple (if applicable): Zack/Cloud
Plot: 6/10 - Obviously this is an AU, so it's not canon at all to the game plot. But the characters are there or make an appearance from game canon.
But the plot itself... It's a real mixed bag.
So apparently, Cloud is a lead singer for a band. Supposedly this story is based on a real band and the story uses real songs (From said band?), but lord knows if I know about them. Aerith, Vincent, and Yuffie play alongside Cloud while Cid and Barret are like the 'bodyguards' to the band. Cloud's dream was sing to the whole world and he finally obtained his wish. But at a heavy cost. Along the way, he bumps into his childhood friend, Zack. And so begins the angst ridden train to hell.
Seriously, if you read this fic, you will think this is a 'Gravitation' AU, cept instead, after a 'certain incident', the main character goes down on a spiral to angst land. And yes, the drug use is a real warning, because Cloud becomes addicted to it. The others can't get to him, but maybe a childhood friend from his past can. Oh, of course he does, it's Zack. >.>
The story is believable enough, but does it fit with the FF7 characters? Not really. And we'll get to that later.
Writing: 7/10 - The writing isn't too bad. It's a godsent compared to the other fic this author wrote. There's some whacky scene changes that aren't seperated, so you may get confused. And sometimes the story goes to first person as well. But the flow of the writing is there and it looks like it's been beta-ed.
Characterization: 4/10 - This is where the fic fails though. There's Tifa bashing and it's such a shame, because the last fic dealt with the Tifa situation so freaking well. Here, you can tell the author doesn't really care much for the 'canon' pairing and just basically skips it. It would've been better if Tifa was another childhood friend of his instead of the way the author wrote her, and they tried romance, but Tifa couldn't stand how Cloud was, so she broke up with him, but on a good note. Or even give her a minor role like being the woman who owns the bar. Instead, she's made into a greedy money loving whore, which is NOT her character at all. ~_~
Reno isn't exactly in character. I know he doesn't care too much for the characters in game, but to stoop this low? I don't see that at all. I know the story needed a villian, but really shouldn't that go to Sephiroth? Though I don't think it would fit given the plot. And Sephiroth does appear, but in the oddest role. Also, we know Reno had something to do in the murder of Cloud's parents. I was expecting maybe Zack to play PI or something and Reno getting his just desserts and have HIS career ruined that way, but instead, it turns into 'Beat the shit out of him' instead.
Cloud suffers the worst from this. I mean, I thought he was emo in Advent Children, but he's downright angst ridden in this story. I see where the author was going with this, but it doesn't work for Cloud's character. Cloud is a stronger person than how he is here, and using drugs to avoid his problems isn't something his character would do. And it drags the story down, which is a shame, because Zack is perfectly in character and the others are as well.
Plotwise, if these weren't FF7 characters, it makes sense for this to happen, but given the personalities of the FF7 crew, in Cloud's case, it doesn't work, it'd be better if it was original work.
Negativities: Heavily angst ridden, character bashing, OOC Cloud
Summary: Cloud's dream has finally become a reality. But reality never matches up with dreams...
Overall: 5.6/10 - AUs can be good. But the characters have to retain their core personalities in order for an AU to work. While the writing is there, and the plot is a bit clever, the OOCness drags it down. A decent AU, but not really recommended.
I had a choice between two of this author's stories. I picked this one cause the other one was so horribly bad, my brain threatened to leak out my ears again. :( No really, the other story written by this author is one of the worse ones I've read, on par with that Tatsumi/Watari story I read so long ago. This one... isn't too bad, but it's far from one of the 'best AUs' I've ever read.
Series: Final Fantasy 7
Title: The Last Goodnight
Author: DamagedWorth
Genre:
Rating: MA
Warnings: Language, drug use (!?), lemon, AU
Couple (if applicable): Zack/Cloud
Plot: 6/10 - Obviously this is an AU, so it's not canon at all to the game plot. But the characters are there or make an appearance from game canon.
But the plot itself... It's a real mixed bag.
So apparently, Cloud is a lead singer for a band. Supposedly this story is based on a real band and the story uses real songs (From said band?), but lord knows if I know about them. Aerith, Vincent, and Yuffie play alongside Cloud while Cid and Barret are like the 'bodyguards' to the band. Cloud's dream was sing to the whole world and he finally obtained his wish. But at a heavy cost. Along the way, he bumps into his childhood friend, Zack. And so begins the angst ridden train to hell.
Seriously, if you read this fic, you will think this is a 'Gravitation' AU, cept instead, after a 'certain incident', the main character goes down on a spiral to angst land. And yes, the drug use is a real warning, because Cloud becomes addicted to it. The others can't get to him, but maybe a childhood friend from his past can. Oh, of course he does, it's Zack. >.>
The story is believable enough, but does it fit with the FF7 characters? Not really. And we'll get to that later.
Writing: 7/10 - The writing isn't too bad. It's a godsent compared to the other fic this author wrote. There's some whacky scene changes that aren't seperated, so you may get confused. And sometimes the story goes to first person as well. But the flow of the writing is there and it looks like it's been beta-ed.
Characterization: 4/10 - This is where the fic fails though. There's Tifa bashing and it's such a shame, because the last fic dealt with the Tifa situation so freaking well. Here, you can tell the author doesn't really care much for the 'canon' pairing and just basically skips it. It would've been better if Tifa was another childhood friend of his instead of the way the author wrote her, and they tried romance, but Tifa couldn't stand how Cloud was, so she broke up with him, but on a good note. Or even give her a minor role like being the woman who owns the bar. Instead, she's made into a greedy money loving whore, which is NOT her character at all. ~_~
Reno isn't exactly in character. I know he doesn't care too much for the characters in game, but to stoop this low? I don't see that at all. I know the story needed a villian, but really shouldn't that go to Sephiroth? Though I don't think it would fit given the plot. And Sephiroth does appear, but in the oddest role. Also, we know Reno had something to do in the murder of Cloud's parents. I was expecting maybe Zack to play PI or something and Reno getting his just desserts and have HIS career ruined that way, but instead, it turns into 'Beat the shit out of him' instead.
Cloud suffers the worst from this. I mean, I thought he was emo in Advent Children, but he's downright angst ridden in this story. I see where the author was going with this, but it doesn't work for Cloud's character. Cloud is a stronger person than how he is here, and using drugs to avoid his problems isn't something his character would do. And it drags the story down, which is a shame, because Zack is perfectly in character and the others are as well.
Plotwise, if these weren't FF7 characters, it makes sense for this to happen, but given the personalities of the FF7 crew, in Cloud's case, it doesn't work, it'd be better if it was original work.
Negativities: Heavily angst ridden, character bashing, OOC Cloud
Summary: Cloud's dream has finally become a reality. But reality never matches up with dreams...
Overall: 5.6/10 - AUs can be good. But the characters have to retain their core personalities in order for an AU to work. While the writing is there, and the plot is a bit clever, the OOCness drags it down. A decent AU, but not really recommended.
