Oh but I liked this.

I really enjoyed reading this a lot. The description is exquisite.

This is a great story. Just amazing!

Wow. That was... nice. Great work and story. ::hands you internet cookies::

Wow! That was amazing, I loved it!

This was just perfect.
Congratulations on this great job!

i promise not to use it, but in my story, Hearts of Destiny, Tifa is still going to be terrified when she sees the scars. anyone would be terrified by them. Am i right?

i liked this story! Even though Vincent smoked but i still like it! ^_^

TifaValentine99

Oh man, this is one powerfull fanfic. I'm utterly speachless.

Hi!! I loved your story, it was so wonderfull!
Hope than you write another

...wow.

I couldn't say more. So...so...awesomely written. Subtle and yet...and yet...argh! Amazing, I would say! I love this! A LOT!

~Lian

Very nicely put together. Love it.

Gorgeous. I believe my favorite line was, "She met with velvety wet muscle and the citrus-permeated taste of aged juniper, masked with a thin veil of ash." They seriously need to make a category for authors like you and Tiramisu so I don't have to sift to find gold.

An awesome story! It goes deep.

Wow. There are no words to express how good of a read this was. Personally, I don't understand why people act the way they do, and being the type of person I am, perhaps that's a good thing. You, however, seem to possess the gift that I am lacking. You can readily get inside a character's head, and vividly express what he/she is thinking. I applaud you for that.

mm.

That description you wrote? The image of Vincent in the reflection? It - it would be too small a thing to call it powerful. I'll call it blinding. It's overwhelming. It's like drowning. -I- felt my legs give out beneath me.

Blinding, that's the only word for me.

I admit that some of the description is a bit thick, especially at the beginning of the story and throughout the middle where Vincent had gone missing. This is one of your older stories though ... Sometimes you used a few cliches, here and there. Or, maybe it's wrong to call them cliches. But phrases like 'the depths of his mind's eye' or some such (I can't remember the line) ... they seem a bit verbose for what you're trying to say? Your description is stunning in places ... but it doesn't -always- need to be thick.

I'm sure that you know that though. This is an older story.

After that stunning description in the room ... it's their conversation on the steps that floors me. I loved that Vincent was the one who started the conversation. I loved the mask that Tifa -could- see there ... and the vivid -brutality- of what you describe in those paragraphs. You almost have to look at what he's saying sideways because if you think about it too much - if you see it the way Tifa did - how could you help but cry? It's only -human-.

Actually, I loved the small emphasis you put on Vincent's human quirks. Sure, it's a repetitive theme ... but this is Vincent Valentine. He's the one who said he was becoming less human in game. Sometimes I feel like we need to pick up the small pieces we have of him and see: look, see this? This is the -essence- of humanity.

That's why I rather love this story. It was just a touch over the top in some places but it doesn't take away from what you were trying to say. That description you wrote sort of says it all. If a Turk mantra can be that they're violent people than maybe Vincent's could be 'people do terrible things'. It's true and they do ... but it doesn't always take as much away from us as we might imagine.

... Did I mention that I loved the emotional aftermath of it? At the time I was wondering why he didn't just ask her to leave. You clearly know much better than I do ... but that aftermath, where you wrote that hot anger (and yes, perhaps that hint of shame?). It's -invasive-, in a very deep, personal way what Hojo did to him. The most humiliating thing that a person can go through is losing control of their own body. That's what Hojo did; he invaded and -changed- what he had no right to touch. A very strong line in this was 'think smaller'. That's what made it so insiduous. Every little joint, everything thing that mattered to Vincent, Hojo -changed-. It's not a very pleasant image but it's a bit like a rape, that complete and utter violation. You wrote that extremely well.

Again, it could've been really over-the-top ... if you'd spelt it out too clearly? But instead Vincent said that 'he'd had a lot of work done'. That way, you managed to write it beautifully.

The last line felt a bit like redemption (but redemption is a heavy word in this fandom. After all, Gackt wrote a song about it). I'll say instead that it feels like coming clean. It feels like justification for the entire thing. Hell and back, you could say. I love it because it's not an 'I love you' or anything else that tries to give a closed ending. It's honest, it's Tifa, and it's very -human- of her. Of -course- she was afraid that he would leave. But, in some strange roundabout way, that little bit of humanity that you're showing there - Tifa and Vincent together like that - it kinda reinforces what you were saying earlier. Vincent's just human and so is she. After everything that was done to him, that hasn't changed. Tifa's the right person to see it.

'Thank you for not making it bigger than it has to be' indeed. It's just lovely. ;)

-T. pirate