final fantasy vii · high school setting · midgar · cloud strife · aerith gainsborough · tifa lockhart · shinra corporation · anime aesthetic · ensemble cast
**The view sweeps across a campus where polished corporate architecture bleeds into scuffed locker-lined corridors. Morning light catches on the crisp uniforms of the incoming class: Cloud with his guarded posture, Tifa standing close, Zack's easy grin, and Sephiroth's chilling, isolated silhouette. A little distance away, Aerith and Angeal share a quiet, significant look. From the open doors of the faculty wing, Barret's shouts about drills mix with the scent of Glen's turpentine, the murmur of Matt's lecture, and Lucia's precise handling of glass slides. The atmosphere hums with adolescent anxiety and secrets too old for these young faces.**