☁ cloud strife (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
spikyheaded) wrote2024-04-12 09:14 pm
spikyheaded) wrote2024-04-12 09:14 pm
Entry tags:
canon update | songerein
Character: Cloud Strife
Canon: Final Fantasy VII (Remake Project)
Current Canon Point: Post-Remake
New Canon Point: Post-chapter 11 of Rebirth
Updated Background:
☁️ Story of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, until Chapter 6 (Costa Del Sol)
☁️ As the wiki has not been fully updated with the synopsis of Rebirth at the time of writing, the rest of Cloud's background will be detailed below.
During their trek to Corel, they spot a Weapon in the broken-down reactor. Red XIII explains that they are guardian beasts who only show up when the planet is in danger. Knowing this only strengthens the team's resolve to stop Shinra and Sephiroth from causing further damage. Upon catching up to the robed men, Cloud shows signs of fatigue. Struck by the Reunion Instinct, he zones out, almost stepping off the track and falling to his death before Barret pulls him back. He is forced to take a breather before they continue to the mining town of Corel.
Continuing their pursuit, they all travel to Gold Saucer. Though they have a moment's respite, it quickly comes to a halt after a shooting at the Saucer's battle square. The culprit is said to be a man with a gun grafted to his arm and is thought to be Barret. With only twenty-four hours on the clock, they head to the Dustbowl with Cait Sith in tow searching for Barret to clear his name. After a run-in with Solemn Gus and Cloud winning the Chocobo Races to free the rest of the party, they set out to find Barret. Together with him, they encounter Dyne, who they learn had been behind the shooting. After Barret and Dyne confront each other about their past, the Turks and Palmer show up, and the party only narrowly escapes after Dyne is gunned down.
With no other leads since their escape, Cait Sith suggests that they peek at the run-down reactor of Gongaga. After a terrifying roar rips through the region, Cloud, Barret, Red, and Cait Sith set off to investigate the reactor. Whispers show up as soon as they arrive and Cloud sees Sephiroth beckoning him deeper inside. Upon reaching the core, they find that the roar had been from a Weapon. Scarlet shows up with a team of Shinra infantrymen and several Shinra experiments to retrieve the Weapon and its materia. After battling one of the experiments, Cloud collapses seemingly from the excess mako in the air and sees Sephiroth in the Whispers.
After a large explosion, Tifa and the rest head to the reactor. They do battle with Scarlet and Tifa is separated from Yuffie and Aerith. She attempts to stop Scarlet from getting to the Weapon. Seeing Tifa in danger, Cloud runs to her aid, only to be stopped by a Whisper that projects itself as Sephiroth. His demeanor shifts and, fueled by his anger within him, mercilessly cuts through many Shinra infantrymen. He holds up a stance similar to Sephiroth when wielding the Masamune (which was super cool, okay), moving like the former SOLDIER general in this state.
Seeing Cloud running the infantrymen through, Tifa finds her way to him and tries to stop him. Similar to how he acted at Kalm, he once again believes that Tifa is a fake and pushes her into the mako. It's only after she's devoured by the Weapon residing in the mako that he realizes what he has done, thinking he had pushed her to her death.
After some time, the Weapon resurfaces from the mako and returns Tifa to the party. A sense of relief washes over Cloud upon seeing her alive. Back in Gongaga, the two have a heart-to-heart when Tifa wakes. She recounts when she tried to head to Mt. Nibel with her friends as a child, in hopes of finding her mother there after she had died. She only learns the truth of what happened that day after her time with the Weapon, instead of what she had been told. That Cloud had stayed behind and tried to save her. Cloud confesses that he doesn't think himself a hero despite what Tifa says and battles with his identity and knowing who he really is. He suspects the degradation is at play and is causing him to fall apart. Tifa reassures him that it won't happen and that she will save him this time around before they are interrupted by Yuffie and Cait Sith's whispers. After deciding that their next stop would be Cosmo Canyon, they meet up with a freeflier pilot by the name of Cid Highwind who agrees to take them to the region.
At Cosmo Canyon, they learn more about the planet and are somewhat blindsided by the truth about Red, who is apparently still considered a teenager by his race (surprise, he's a youngin). They learn more about Nanaki, Red's given name, and his father Seto's story and, in turn, about the undying race of the Gi who haunt the underbelly of the vale and beyond. They learn Gi tribe are an extraterrestrial race that has grown bitter in death, not being able to truly pass on as their spirits are not of the planet. As such, they created the black materia with the intent of destroying the planet and, hopefully, may be able to pass on. Before they could use it, the Cetra stole it from them to prevent the end of the world. They try to strike a deal with Cloud and the party for them to retrieve the black materia for them. Red XIII vows that he will find a way for the Gi to rest in peace, though not through the return of the materia.
Their priorities shift, needing them to find the black materia to ensure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands. Cait Sith mentions that he can get that information for them through a terminal. The closest terminal is in Nibelheim, Cloud and Tifa's hometown which had burned down five years prior.
Though apprehensive at first, they head to Nibelheim expecting it to be a husk of its former self. Instead, they find that it had been rebuilt, a nearly exact copy of how it was before Sephiroth's massacre. Now owned by Shinra, it functions as a treatment center for people with severe mako of poisoning, all similar to the robed men they had been following throughout their journey. Cloud reminisces about the village as he explores and chats with the rest of the party. He even makes a trip to the Nidhogg Hotel, triggering a memory of Zack upon entering a room. For the first time, he recalls that he knows Zack and that they had returned to Nibelheim together. But his memory of this is distorted yet again, as he remembers they coming together both as SOLDIERs.
Cait Sith is unable to access the information at the terminal and determines that he needs to access another one at Shinra Manor. Needing a keycard with the correct security level, Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie make their way to the Nibel reactor to track down Deputy Commissioner Murasaki. On the way there, Cloud recalls Zack once more, believing that Zack died after being swept away by the rapids on their trek to the reactor five years ago. Tifa insists that she will tell Aerith about this in Cloud's stead, knowing that wasn't truly what happened to Zack. He relents after some hesitance and they push on towards the reactor.
There they find that there had been an encounter between Wutaian forces and Shinra. The three discuss whether or not the cease-fire has been called off, but Cloud urges them to press on. Inside, Cloud checks on Tifa she has a panic attack upon seeing Murasaki's body in the same state her dad had been in after Sephiroth had run him through. They retrieve Murasaki's keycard and head back to meet the rest at Shinra Manor, but not before Cloud has another vision of Sephiroth taunting him that something will happen soon.
Once they regroup, they bump into a man sleeping in a coffin, Vincent Valentine, who claims to be security of the manor's terminal. They access the terminal and while Cait Sith is busy, Cloud roams the area only to be assaulted by another severe headache. In the adjacent room, he hears the voice of Hojo mentioning components of S hair, S tissue, and S blood. Cloud collapses and is ushered out with Tifa's help. They fight Vincent's Galian Beast form after being accused of trespassing.
Learning that they need the keystone for the Temple, they decide to head back to the Saucer to retrieve it from Dio, who happens to be its current owner. But before they could leave, Roche arrived to harass Cloud. His degradation is at the final stages, his skin pale, hair greying, balance uneven. But his last desire is to fight Cloud one last time. Before the fight begins, Cloud sees Sephiroth in Roche and is told to deliver the black materia to him. Once defeated, the other black robes surround Roche and he is turned into one of them. He mutters something about the black materia and how the degradation is inescapable. Though his friends try to calm his worries, Cloud still seems disheartened as they begin to leave for the Gold Saucer.
Updated Personality:
As Rebirth immediately takes right after the end of Remake, there isn't too much of a shift in Cloud's personality. He remains mostly rough around the edges, trying to act the part of a former SOLDIER turned mercenary, which mostly comes off as grumpy and a little prickly.
One main thing is that Cloud has been made aware of the cellular degradation that occurs to those who took part in SOLDIER, undergoing the mako infusion process which greatly reduces their lifespan as a result. He learns of this President Shinra before his death and sees it happen to Broden, an innkeeper from Kalm, and later on to Roche who turns into a black robe before his very eyes. Cloud believes he is feeling the effects of the degradation, which may explain the gaps in his memories.
Though the party is following the robed men with the hope that they will lead them to Sephiroth, a part of this is because Cloud himself is answering the call of the Reunion Instinct. Due to the Jenova cells in his body, Cloud may also be answering the call albeit subconsciously. This has also made him much more susceptible to Sephiroth's suggestions, making him second-guess his memories even more. A few instances happen in Kalm, when he questions Tifa's existence, then again at the Gongaga Reactor. While under Sephiroth's influence, he cuts down numerous Shinra infantrymen and goes as far as pushing Tifa into the pool of mako, believing once again that she is a fake and that the real Tifa died in Nibelheim five years ago. His memories continue to falter because of this, even leading him to believe that he did know Zack and that he had died five years ago during their climb up Mt. Nibel.
When these suggestions come, Cloud barely has a chance to fight against them. Sephiroth appears to him, taunting and mocking him. Using the robed men, he projects himself for Cloud to see, though the rest of the party do not see the same. This causes them to worry about Cloud, who urges them to press on before they can voice out their concern for his well-being and sanity.
During his travels with his friends, he has shown his softer side to them as it sometimes slips through the cracks of his calm and cool exterior. He even shares the story of when he left home when Barret asks, recounting how he'd left with only 2000 gil to his name from his mom. It shows how Cloud is a lot more sentimental than he lets on as he jokingly says he'd charge Barret the same amount for his mercenary services.
His more playful side also shows when the party first arrives at the Saucer and he is pitted against Dio in the 3D Brawler game in front of a large crowd. Upon winning, Cloud is unable to contain his excitement, all smiles as Dio celebrates his win for everyone to see. Cloud even scans the crowd to see if Tifa had been watching the whole time.
More things happen to Cloud in the later chapters that shift his personality, both big and small, but that will be detailed further in a future canon update.
Any other updates: Cloud now knows the limit break ability Finishing Touch where Cloud inflicts a series of slashes on the enemy, conjuring a cyclone that engulfs other opponents in its wake.
Regain Baubles? No baubles being used. This will be involuntary.
Questions/Other: Backdating this so he disappears from Songerein from April 5 to 7. He should've been back on the 8th.
Canon: Final Fantasy VII (Remake Project)
Current Canon Point: Post-Remake
New Canon Point: Post-chapter 11 of Rebirth
Updated Background:
SPOILERS for Final Fantasy VII Rebirth up to Chapter 11
☁️ Story of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, until Chapter 6 (Costa Del Sol)
☁️ As the wiki has not been fully updated with the synopsis of Rebirth at the time of writing, the rest of Cloud's background will be detailed below.
During their trek to Corel, they spot a Weapon in the broken-down reactor. Red XIII explains that they are guardian beasts who only show up when the planet is in danger. Knowing this only strengthens the team's resolve to stop Shinra and Sephiroth from causing further damage. Upon catching up to the robed men, Cloud shows signs of fatigue. Struck by the Reunion Instinct, he zones out, almost stepping off the track and falling to his death before Barret pulls him back. He is forced to take a breather before they continue to the mining town of Corel.
Continuing their pursuit, they all travel to Gold Saucer. Though they have a moment's respite, it quickly comes to a halt after a shooting at the Saucer's battle square. The culprit is said to be a man with a gun grafted to his arm and is thought to be Barret. With only twenty-four hours on the clock, they head to the Dustbowl with Cait Sith in tow searching for Barret to clear his name. After a run-in with Solemn Gus and Cloud winning the Chocobo Races to free the rest of the party, they set out to find Barret. Together with him, they encounter Dyne, who they learn had been behind the shooting. After Barret and Dyne confront each other about their past, the Turks and Palmer show up, and the party only narrowly escapes after Dyne is gunned down.
With no other leads since their escape, Cait Sith suggests that they peek at the run-down reactor of Gongaga. After a terrifying roar rips through the region, Cloud, Barret, Red, and Cait Sith set off to investigate the reactor. Whispers show up as soon as they arrive and Cloud sees Sephiroth beckoning him deeper inside. Upon reaching the core, they find that the roar had been from a Weapon. Scarlet shows up with a team of Shinra infantrymen and several Shinra experiments to retrieve the Weapon and its materia. After battling one of the experiments, Cloud collapses seemingly from the excess mako in the air and sees Sephiroth in the Whispers.
After a large explosion, Tifa and the rest head to the reactor. They do battle with Scarlet and Tifa is separated from Yuffie and Aerith. She attempts to stop Scarlet from getting to the Weapon. Seeing Tifa in danger, Cloud runs to her aid, only to be stopped by a Whisper that projects itself as Sephiroth. His demeanor shifts and, fueled by his anger within him, mercilessly cuts through many Shinra infantrymen. He holds up a stance similar to Sephiroth when wielding the Masamune (which was super cool, okay), moving like the former SOLDIER general in this state.
Seeing Cloud running the infantrymen through, Tifa finds her way to him and tries to stop him. Similar to how he acted at Kalm, he once again believes that Tifa is a fake and pushes her into the mako. It's only after she's devoured by the Weapon residing in the mako that he realizes what he has done, thinking he had pushed her to her death.
After some time, the Weapon resurfaces from the mako and returns Tifa to the party. A sense of relief washes over Cloud upon seeing her alive. Back in Gongaga, the two have a heart-to-heart when Tifa wakes. She recounts when she tried to head to Mt. Nibel with her friends as a child, in hopes of finding her mother there after she had died. She only learns the truth of what happened that day after her time with the Weapon, instead of what she had been told. That Cloud had stayed behind and tried to save her. Cloud confesses that he doesn't think himself a hero despite what Tifa says and battles with his identity and knowing who he really is. He suspects the degradation is at play and is causing him to fall apart. Tifa reassures him that it won't happen and that she will save him this time around before they are interrupted by Yuffie and Cait Sith's whispers. After deciding that their next stop would be Cosmo Canyon, they meet up with a freeflier pilot by the name of Cid Highwind who agrees to take them to the region.
At Cosmo Canyon, they learn more about the planet and are somewhat blindsided by the truth about Red, who is apparently still considered a teenager by his race (surprise, he's a youngin). They learn more about Nanaki, Red's given name, and his father Seto's story and, in turn, about the undying race of the Gi who haunt the underbelly of the vale and beyond. They learn Gi tribe are an extraterrestrial race that has grown bitter in death, not being able to truly pass on as their spirits are not of the planet. As such, they created the black materia with the intent of destroying the planet and, hopefully, may be able to pass on. Before they could use it, the Cetra stole it from them to prevent the end of the world. They try to strike a deal with Cloud and the party for them to retrieve the black materia for them. Red XIII vows that he will find a way for the Gi to rest in peace, though not through the return of the materia.
Their priorities shift, needing them to find the black materia to ensure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands. Cait Sith mentions that he can get that information for them through a terminal. The closest terminal is in Nibelheim, Cloud and Tifa's hometown which had burned down five years prior.
Though apprehensive at first, they head to Nibelheim expecting it to be a husk of its former self. Instead, they find that it had been rebuilt, a nearly exact copy of how it was before Sephiroth's massacre. Now owned by Shinra, it functions as a treatment center for people with severe mako of poisoning, all similar to the robed men they had been following throughout their journey. Cloud reminisces about the village as he explores and chats with the rest of the party. He even makes a trip to the Nidhogg Hotel, triggering a memory of Zack upon entering a room. For the first time, he recalls that he knows Zack and that they had returned to Nibelheim together. But his memory of this is distorted yet again, as he remembers they coming together both as SOLDIERs.
Cait Sith is unable to access the information at the terminal and determines that he needs to access another one at Shinra Manor. Needing a keycard with the correct security level, Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie make their way to the Nibel reactor to track down Deputy Commissioner Murasaki. On the way there, Cloud recalls Zack once more, believing that Zack died after being swept away by the rapids on their trek to the reactor five years ago. Tifa insists that she will tell Aerith about this in Cloud's stead, knowing that wasn't truly what happened to Zack. He relents after some hesitance and they push on towards the reactor.
There they find that there had been an encounter between Wutaian forces and Shinra. The three discuss whether or not the cease-fire has been called off, but Cloud urges them to press on. Inside, Cloud checks on Tifa she has a panic attack upon seeing Murasaki's body in the same state her dad had been in after Sephiroth had run him through. They retrieve Murasaki's keycard and head back to meet the rest at Shinra Manor, but not before Cloud has another vision of Sephiroth taunting him that something will happen soon.
Once they regroup, they bump into a man sleeping in a coffin, Vincent Valentine, who claims to be security of the manor's terminal. They access the terminal and while Cait Sith is busy, Cloud roams the area only to be assaulted by another severe headache. In the adjacent room, he hears the voice of Hojo mentioning components of S hair, S tissue, and S blood. Cloud collapses and is ushered out with Tifa's help. They fight Vincent's Galian Beast form after being accused of trespassing.
Learning that they need the keystone for the Temple, they decide to head back to the Saucer to retrieve it from Dio, who happens to be its current owner. But before they could leave, Roche arrived to harass Cloud. His degradation is at the final stages, his skin pale, hair greying, balance uneven. But his last desire is to fight Cloud one last time. Before the fight begins, Cloud sees Sephiroth in Roche and is told to deliver the black materia to him. Once defeated, the other black robes surround Roche and he is turned into one of them. He mutters something about the black materia and how the degradation is inescapable. Though his friends try to calm his worries, Cloud still seems disheartened as they begin to leave for the Gold Saucer.
Updated Personality:
SPOILERS
As Rebirth immediately takes right after the end of Remake, there isn't too much of a shift in Cloud's personality. He remains mostly rough around the edges, trying to act the part of a former SOLDIER turned mercenary, which mostly comes off as grumpy and a little prickly.
One main thing is that Cloud has been made aware of the cellular degradation that occurs to those who took part in SOLDIER, undergoing the mako infusion process which greatly reduces their lifespan as a result. He learns of this President Shinra before his death and sees it happen to Broden, an innkeeper from Kalm, and later on to Roche who turns into a black robe before his very eyes. Cloud believes he is feeling the effects of the degradation, which may explain the gaps in his memories.
Though the party is following the robed men with the hope that they will lead them to Sephiroth, a part of this is because Cloud himself is answering the call of the Reunion Instinct. Due to the Jenova cells in his body, Cloud may also be answering the call albeit subconsciously. This has also made him much more susceptible to Sephiroth's suggestions, making him second-guess his memories even more. A few instances happen in Kalm, when he questions Tifa's existence, then again at the Gongaga Reactor. While under Sephiroth's influence, he cuts down numerous Shinra infantrymen and goes as far as pushing Tifa into the pool of mako, believing once again that she is a fake and that the real Tifa died in Nibelheim five years ago. His memories continue to falter because of this, even leading him to believe that he did know Zack and that he had died five years ago during their climb up Mt. Nibel.
When these suggestions come, Cloud barely has a chance to fight against them. Sephiroth appears to him, taunting and mocking him. Using the robed men, he projects himself for Cloud to see, though the rest of the party do not see the same. This causes them to worry about Cloud, who urges them to press on before they can voice out their concern for his well-being and sanity.
During his travels with his friends, he has shown his softer side to them as it sometimes slips through the cracks of his calm and cool exterior. He even shares the story of when he left home when Barret asks, recounting how he'd left with only 2000 gil to his name from his mom. It shows how Cloud is a lot more sentimental than he lets on as he jokingly says he'd charge Barret the same amount for his mercenary services.
His more playful side also shows when the party first arrives at the Saucer and he is pitted against Dio in the 3D Brawler game in front of a large crowd. Upon winning, Cloud is unable to contain his excitement, all smiles as Dio celebrates his win for everyone to see. Cloud even scans the crowd to see if Tifa had been watching the whole time.
More things happen to Cloud in the later chapters that shift his personality, both big and small, but that will be detailed further in a future canon update.
Any other updates: Cloud now knows the limit break ability Finishing Touch where Cloud inflicts a series of slashes on the enemy, conjuring a cyclone that engulfs other opponents in its wake.
Regain Baubles? No baubles being used. This will be involuntary.
Questions/Other: Backdating this so he disappears from Songerein from April 5 to 7. He should've been back on the 8th.