Seph definitely likes to pull back, digest what's happen, form a plan, and then come back and make you hate your life, oh yes. He likes to wait until you are lulled into a state of complacency, and then.
And hey, it explains AC, too, especially the idea of it being as escalating prank-war. He did talk about giving Cloud a 'gift' of the kind you don't really want, after all.