Heya! I really liked this ficlet, but it got kind of confusing in the middle, which I eventually (heh) figured out was Denzel and Vincent arg- well, not arguing, but I think you know what I mean. I loved the ending and the grammar and spelling was great, which always makes me (and many others) happy, so:
good work!

This is poetry! Pure and simple. I can find no fault in one word of the artistic piece. It is unfair that you should have as few reviews as you do.

'Lo Dark,

This is apparently my 'time to read goodfic' day.

I admit that your story is a bit choppy at the start. The phrasing seems a little too heavy. 'Disgrace our family bond' doesn't really feel like it sits right ... it's small things though. Once you get into the story, I feel like you catch onto how you wanted to phrase things more.

I will confess that the transition between Yuffie and the scene where Vincent's in the room was pretty confusing too. -But- at the same time, when I realized who she was talking to and what she was talking about, I kind of enjoyed the fact that you didn't state your transition very clearly.

-I- cringed when Denzel told Vincent off in that scene. Mostly because you and I seem to have fairly similiar ideas about how bloody -terrible- what Hojo did to him was. Of course, the boy has no idea ... but, wow, did I ever cringe. :/

I -really liked- your Vincent in this. Full of heart indeed. I liked how smooth his voice sounded and the little gestures you wrote between him and Tifa. They felt like they fit together, like two pieces of the same small puzzle. What Denzel probably needs to learn is that he fits in with them too. We know it and Tifa knows it ... he just needs to figure that out.

Sabe's right - it did feel like Tifa coming full-circle. I think that it's a lovely feeling. We all grow up eventually.

(As a ps, your mention of the angry young Tifa breaking china and woodwork made the martial artist in me cringe. Kids like that need to watch their anger. I confess that it makes me muse about teenage Tifa stories. Perhaps later. ;) )

I caught the same line that Sabe did too: "You still are, only a quieter, hidden something, poking through the stitching every now and then when you're gracious enough to let me see it...". It is, really, a very lovely line.

I'm personally glad you left the conversation between Tifa and Denzel out of this. Including it ... probably wouldn't have added much to the story. We -feel- like things will be alright. Since this story is about coming full-circle, we feel like they will in all the ways that matter. Denzel will be alright because Tifa (and Vincent, sneaky suck) love him. It's hard to be anything but 'alright' when you're surrounded by good people who care for you.

Considering the context in which you wrote the story ... you could really feel a unique personal touch in this story. -I- couldn't have written it; my parents have been together for 25 years. But because we feel like it's coming from a personal experience of yours, it gives a lot of emotional depth to the story. That's why the ending feels so perfect; it's this lovely completion that doesn't give us anything concrete to go on but somehow lets us feel like we -know- that everything will be alright.

Lovely as always.

-T. pirate

That was too beautiful. Sorry, I don't have a lengthy review - but it really was beautiful.

Wow, Rach... this comes full-circle beautifully. Tifa's final line is excellent, and her narrative voice is both strong and empathetic; as a storyteller, she pulls us through the years really well. Some of the phrasing is breathtaking (literally, because I'm an emotive reader) like this:

"You still are, only a quieter, hidden something, poking through the stitching every now and then when you're gracious enough to let me see it..."

That sounds like Vincent in a nutshell, and his patience with both Tifa and Denzel is beautiful. Props to you for taking on the family dynamic... romance is lovely, but it's good to remember that that's only one kind of love.

Kudos and wow~
~Sabe.

The story is very good, but the only thing it's hard to follow specially while shifting from Yuffi to Densal. it threw me off for a bite before I caught up.

First of all let me just say that this fanfic was very well written. I can see that it was very well thought out. It's going to my C2 archive. Some CCs-I hope you don't mind. I like how you mirrored Tifa's relationship with her dad with the situation about Denzel resenting Vincent. However the situation with Yuffie resenting her father seems a bit redundant, and breaks the flow of the story with regards to the Vincent/Tifa/Denzel situation. There was also a bit too much introspection and I think showing more of the scene would be more effective. A spelling error-"ammend" should be spelt as "amend".

Other than that it's very good. I like the issues you brought up and the general mood of the fic.

Simply beautiful. I liked it. :3

Sorry I haven't reviewed Agape in a while! I'm still reading each new post as it comes out! Work has been crazy.
This story was so amazingly sweet! I truely enjoyed it. I would love to see more of the setting; of Tifa, Vincent, Denzel and maybe Marlene. Their interactions, their day to day life. You do that so well. You take a "mundane" situation and you give it depth, and layers and life and all I want to do sometimes is be there, in that world you created.
Please write more Vincent x Tifa... You do it like no other.

Wow. This one was...amazing.

I loved how deep the emotions ran. It's only a short story, but still, you're drawn in and you begin to feel how the characters are feeling; yet another testament to your beautiful descriptions. The sheer emotion that fuels each of your stories is what keeps bringing me back every time I get that little author alert in my inbox. It's the fluffiness there at the end, with the "I love you"s and the inner dialogue, that helps to reinforce it. Wonderful.

It's been a while since I've read a story written from Tifa's point of view...it was a nice change, actually.

And I couldn't help but notice that the Denzel that I expected to see in Agape showed up here, the one that resented Vincent and idolized Cloud. I really can't explain why, but that's really the way I'd expect him to be even in canon. I suppose I have the shallow character development and lack of character interaction in Advent Children to thank for that.

It's a beautiful story.

Thank you.

Okay, now that just tugged at my heart so badly I thought I was going to choke on a tear. How do you do that!? Well, I'm glad you have that sort of pull on others with your stories but my God...

Anywho, read this and of course you know I loved it. I couldn't get over how long it's been since I sat down and read something of yours that made me feel like that. Thank you Rachel a thousand & one times over :)

Beautiful and interesting parallels between Tifa's past and her present, and a very wonderfully written Vincent...In character, good dialogue, this is perfect :) I'd ask for more VinTi in the future, perhaps some angstfluff and a longer centric story, but it's really your own prerogative. As it is, I savoured and enjoyed this story, and I certainly hope to see more from you in the future.

Heya. I tried to review this earlier but I had too much crap going on. I hope you get more reviews. Right now it doesn't seem like people are reviewing. Ass monkeys.

I really like the conflict with Gloria, and how Tifa deals with that. And I love the father-daughter conversation. I don't often see family values emphasized in fanfiction these days, so that was a welcome change from the norm. Nice little bit of VT at the end too. The dialogue and Tifa's thoughts are pretty realistic and believable, so complaints there.

Nothing gratuitous or sex to cheapen this. But Vincent is still sexy. How does he manage that? Cool fic, D.

There is so much to say about this short story. In very many ways, it is beautiful and touching. The way you've written in Tifa's point of view significantly changes the emotions I can feel with each paragraph and makes them so much more personal. I love the feeling of being able to identify exactly what a character is thinking, and that is the reason I've fallen in love with first person point of view. And here, in this story, it is so fitting!

It also seems as if you chose each word carefully and made them fit together almost perfectly. Despite my parents being married for twenty-six years, I found no problems understanding what is felt when a parent loves someone after a relationship is broken or a loved one is lost. This is all because you've described it so vividly!

The ending is beautiful, and it's very nice how things come full circle. The warmth between Vincent and Tifa really lights the story. Her resolve to tell Denzel and try to help him understand is very real and I appreciate that.

Before I write a short story here, I must say well done. I love it.

*claps* Wow! That was AWESOME. I love your works, and I love the way you write. You're amazing. I ADORE "Agape" and I can hardly wait for the next chapter! Keep it up! -Solita