Rand0mSmil3z

LOL this was undoubtedly me. I swear the typos multiply whenever I open the word doc 😂 but thanks for the heads up! I’ll make the edit once I open my laptop.

Screenshot of Chasing Shadow’s tags. Full copy/paste below: Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: F/MM/M Fandoms: Compilation of Final Fantasy VIIFinal Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997)Final Fantasy VII Remake and Rebirth (Video Games 2020-2024) Relationships: Tifa Lockhart/Cloud StrifeZack Fair/Aerith GainsboroughZack Fair & Cloud StrifeCissnei/Kunsel (Compilation of FFVII) Characters: Cloud StrifeTifa LockhartZack FairAerith GainsboroughBarret WallaceRed XIII | Nanaki (Compilation of FFVII)Cid HighwindYuffie KisaragiTseng (Compilation of FFVII)Elena (Compilation of FFVII)Reno (Compilation of FFVII)Rude (Compilation of FFVII)Vincent ValentineCissnei (Compilation of FFVII)Rufus ShinraKunsel (Compilation of FFVII) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon DivergenceAngst with a Happy EndingFluff and AngstIt Gets Worse Before It Gets BetterFound FamilyZack Fair LivesZack Fair & Cloud Strife FriendshipCloud Strife Needs a HugZack Fair Needs a HugEveryone Needs A HugEveryone Has IssuesEventual Happy EndingEventual RelationshipsOther Additional Tags to Be AddedOther Ships Not Mentioned in TagsWarning: Hojo (Compilation of FFVII) Language: English Series: Previous Work Part 2 of Reunion Cycle

Screenshot of Chasing Shadow’s title, author username, the first author’s note, and the chapter’s first paragraph. Copy/paste below: Chasing Shadows Rand0mSmil3z Chapter 7: high noon helicopters Notes: Last time: Aerith glanced up at him, her green eyes bright despite the shadowed room. “Are you okay?” Zack considered for a moment. Then, without a word, he ducked his head to press his lips against Aerith’s temple. She giggled. “You know what?” Zack finally murmured, smiling. “I think finally am.” (See the end of the chapter for more notes.) Chapter Text Nobody lowered her binoculars with a frown. The robed figures she had been tracking across the eastern continent had finally arrived in Junon, although there were now considerably fewer individuals than had set out from Midgar. The mining system north of Fort Condor had been especially treacherous, and despite Nobody directly interfering to ensure their survival—in clear violation of Tseng’s orders, hence its omission from her report—several of the individuals had slipped off the numerous ledges and to their deaths.

Thanks for your patience! Chasing Shadows: Chapter 7 has been published 🥳 Enjoy!

Ao3 Link: archiveofourown.org/works/552673...

Big thank you to @livlovelaugh7.bsky.social for the beta🌻

I finished my edits, and @livlovelaugh7.bsky.social has gracefully offered to give it a final read before it’s published 🥰

Chapter will be posted tomorrow!

It went less smoothly than I hoped, but I managed to get through 80% today and I’ll finish the rest tomorrow!

I finished writing the chapter 🥳

Now it just needs a good edit, but I’m hoping that part will go smoothly 🤞 Still aiming to publish by tomorrow!

#Fanfiction #FF7 #ChasingShadows

A brief update to say I’m aiming to publish by next weekend 💪

Also—like many of you, I am horrified at the state of my country, the US.

If you are a fan of FF7, yet approve of government-approved violence and kidnappings, know that you completely missed the point of the story

Raven, a black cat, loafs beside a laptop on a lavender-colored blanket. The laptop screen is poorly blurred and the words “One infantryman lifted her” can be made out.

she’s helping me write the next chapter

I just finished the first rough draft of my second WIP, and I’m not touching the second draft until I publish the next Chasing Shadows chapter 😤

Some writing goals I achieved in 2025:
🌳 finished the first draft of my WIP
🌳 started a second WIP while the first marinates
🌳 wrote nearly every day

Writing goals I'm aiming for in 2026:
🌱 write the second draft of my OG WIP
🌱 continue my fun sci-fi story
🌱 have fun with it
🌱 relax!!!!

#AmWriting

Back home from traveling, which means I can make some more progress on Chasing Shadows 🥰

Hoping you feel better soon too!!

An adorable black cat curled up on a cushion. Her yellow eyes are facing the camera

in this household, every day is black cat day 🥰

#InternationalBlackCatDay #BlackCatDay #CatsOfBluesky

Preview of an untitled chapter. Apologies for any typos. Nobody lowered her binoculars with a faint sigh. The robed figures she had been tracking across the eastern continent had finally arrived in Junon, though not without losses. The mining system between the grasslands and the Junon region had been especially treacherous. Even though she had tried to interfere directly, which was in clear violation of Tseng’s orders, several of them had slipped off the thin ledges and to their deaths. Despite being an ex-Turk, she still woke up with nightmares about it. But the other robed figures hadn’t seem to care. They had only shuffled on, their booted feet hardly leaving the ground with their gait uneven and wobbling, and their moaning was nearly as constant. Without a doubt, this was the worst mission Tseng had ever sent her on. Yet the moment the thought crossed Nobody’s mind, she knew that wasn’t true. The worst mission was Nibelheim, or perhaps the worst only occurred on the days that followed: tracking Zack through the wastes, forcing him a corner, telling him that he needed to listen to her or else. In the end she had helped him and Cloud, sure, but not before both men had nearly died out on the Midgar cliffs.

A small preview of Chasing Shadows: chapter 7

Did I not promise last chapter that I’d try to be better at posting updates???? So this is me trying 😭 Thanks for being so patient—you all are the best🌻

#FF7 #FF7Fanfic #Cloti #Zerith #ChasingShadows #HalcyonDays

A black cat inspecting her own reflection in a sliding glass door. She has a puffy tail.

My sweet cat got spooked by her own reflection 😭 look at her puffy tail

#BlackCat #CatsOfBluesky #Caturday

A line graph that depicts months May, June, July, August, and September along the x axis, while the y axis depicts numbers ascending by 20000 up to 140000. The line begins in May at around 100, and then steadily increases to 150556 on August 23, 2025.

Back in May I was possessed by a muse and ended up writing 150k words in about 4 months 😂

Good news is that my first draft is complete! Better news is that now I get to edit it, and make it sound like I knew what I was doing all along 🥰

#AmWriting #AmEditing #WIP

For all updates:

This account (Rand0mSmil3z) is for all things fanfiction related, while…

…my other account (@v-k-velasco.bsky.social) is for my personal writing

You may notice that I haven’t used both in ages 😂 rip

I’m so bad at keeping my social media alive it’s not even a joke 🫣 but I’ve read all of your lovely comments (all of them!!!) and will try to be better for you all 💪

Chasing Shadows - Chapter 6 is available on Ao3! This is a shorter chapter that will wrap up The Longest Night arc ☺️

➡️ archiveofourown.org/works/552673...

because of Ao3 going down, or the other horrors 🫠

Chasing Shadows: Chapter 5 has just been posted!

For now it’s only on Ao3; hope to get it on fanfiction.net soon.

archiveofourown.org/works/552673...

Please mind the tags. Enjoy!

#ff7 #ff7fanfiction #cloti #zerith

Screenshot of Final Fantasy VII. President Shinra stands in his office in the Shinra Building. His dialogue is edited to read "My company makes great products that people love and I've never physically hurt anyone. So why the hate and violence against me?"

✨ ADDRESS CHANGES — LAST CALL 📦

Hi everyone! This is the last call to notify us of any address changes by March 23rd ☺️

After the deadline, we can't guarantee any further changes and recommend that you set forwarding of mail. Thank you so much for all the support! 💛

The most content black cat in the world sits on her human’s lap, her bright yellow eyes looking up to her human (not shown in the photo). The cat is cozy in her human’s light brown cashmere cardigan, and a hand rests on her side to make sure she doesn’t slip.

my writing buddy 🥰🐈‍⬛

#AmWriting #PetSky #CatSky #BlackCat

Chapter 5 The Longest Night Part 2 The Present Day “Eventually, we went back to the inn,” Zack continued, “but when we got there, Sephiroth locked himself in his room.” Everyone—Aerith, Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and Red—watched him with rapt attention. Or most of them did, anyway. Cloud’s gaze was downward, their faint maki glow illuminating his clenched hands. Tifa’s eyes, like usual, were on Cloud. Zack turned away. Throughout his recounting, he had been pacing around the room, but now he leaned against the wall, his arms crossed tightly over his chest and his fingers drumming against his forearm. He hadn’t minded telling everyone the story of Nibelheim—at first, anyway. They deserved to know what they were getting into. Now, his every inhale tasted bitter with dread. This story didn’t have a happy ending, and he was one of the lucky ones. He hadn’t lost anyone except himself. Tifa and Cloud, on the other hand… (additional text is included in the screenshot)

2000 words later 🤍 first preview is included below

#Ao3 #ChasingShadows #FF7 #Cloti #Zerith

A photo showing a word processor on a laptop, which is currently displaying Chapter 5: The Longest Night Part 2. Beside the laptop is an iced coffee that looks better than it tastes, and the background includes colorful floral bouquets.

I’ve been distracted long enough!! Finally starting chapter five of Chasing Shadows 🌻 let’s see how far I can get today!

#AmWriting #Fanfiction #FF7

To make money off of it, unfortunately 🥲 It’s really scummy of them, but thankfully there are copyright laws that protect against this sort of thing.

I’m so glad you enjoyed the story 💙💐

Wordstream supposedly took down my fic after many reports and emails, but as you can see, it still shows up on their website with a simple google search:

Basically, they actually didn’t remove it—they just hid it from view. Really frustrating.

Who else had their work stolen?

#WordStream #booksky

From the AO3 community on Reddit: How to Request a DMCA Takedown re: Word-Stream.com Explore this post and more from the AO3 community

If your work was stolen on word-stream OR any other website, this is a great link:

www.reddit.com/r/AO3/commen...

It’s definitely a step in the right direction! And it looks like their app was taken off the App Store too, so that’s even more good news. I’ve emailed them directly & also submitted all the reports I could think of, so 🤞 hopefully the situation gets resolved soon