Cadet Days

The Cadet Days are a collection of short stories about Squall's life - and sometimes the others of the Orphanage gang - before Squall made SeeD. I don't write them in any particular order, but I try to keep them archived in chronological game-time order.

Thunderbird
takes place when Squall's about six, with the ending occurring when he's about thirteen or so.
And as you might guess from the name, it's about how Squall gets a Guardian Force, and why.

Cherry Blossoms
takes place when Squall is roughly twelve years old, nearing thirteen.
I'm rather proud of it; I tried to write a Squall roughly halfway between
the sweet innocent boy you see in the flashbacks,
and the cold, practical mercenary you want to beat the daylights out of at the start of the game.

Day of Choice
is about the day when the cadets choose their combat specialty -
answering the age-old question of why on earth Squall would choose the gunblade.

Cupboards and Caverns
takes place a few months after Day of Choice.
Things appear to have settled into a nice routine,
but Zell needs to break the cycle.
Zell and Shiva, by Eclier Cie.

First Blood
takes place when Squall's about fourteen years old.
It's about his first battle against human opponents, and what it does to him.

Blood Party
is a rarity in this series in that it takes place directly after the events of First Blood.
An unofficial Garden Tradition is to throw a 'Blood Party' to honor the cadets who've survived their first real battle.
Only, not all the cadets survive the Blood Party...

Fighting Dirty
takes place when Squall is fifteen, and explains the origins of Squall's Infamous Wardrobe.
This is the only fic I've ever been criticized for, but I'm still rather proud of it.

Discussion Board

for rants, comments, questions, whatever.