;кυяαυ∂σ

Thank the gods I figured out how to record my screen again because I cannot stop laughing at how ridiculous this current summer event is.

Zack will forever always be Zack and this is a beautiful exemplary example of why I love this character so much. Zack, ya big dumb puppy.

(p.s. - can i call you cumulus. like the cloud)

Mako-tainted cerulean hues stared long and hard at the other, blond brows knit together in question. Slowly one brow rose slightly, expression one of confusion and incredulity.

Why? Why. He did not understand why anyone would think this an appropriate question to ask him. He couldn't even think of a proper response, arms crossing after a long awkward silence as he shook his head in quiet disbelief and turned his head away.

"...Just... No."

No on all fronts, specifically. No. He was nobody's 'keeper,' it made no sense to ask him for marital blessings for anyone, frankly. Not to mention, why would--

No. No no. Cloud pinched the bridge of his nose, rubbing the tense muscles between his brows with an exasperated sigh. He refused to leap down this spiral of thought--there was no logic to this request, he did not have the time nor the desire to try and find what did logic did not exist.

When I heard news of FFVII: Ever Crisis’s EOS, I knew I probably ought to play through its content before I no longer had the option. Next thing I know, this game is taking up far more of my free time than I am comfortable admitting. There is much to do and I have been enjoying the experience—a shame it took me this long to download it and an even bigger shame over the circumstances that finally drove me to cave.

All this to say, I have now unlocked some of the exclusive to EC content and am playing through it. These screenshots are from the first episode of Cloud’s story—little supplemental chunks of story that serve to fill in the gaps. This chapter covers that chunk of time between where we last see Cloud at the end of Crisis Core and the beginning of FFVII—specifically, his arrival to Midgar.

Despite his severe Mako sickness, he still somehow manages to drag himself into a train station where he comes into contact with none other than Tifa—her familiar face pulling at some loose threads in his memory and helping him tie some of them together enough to return to some semblance of lucidity. It’s clear he’s struggling to put all the pieces back together, though.

I really appreciate you and you deserve all the happiness in the world. You're not alone and very loved...!!

Okay thats it! ><;;!!! *runs off*

- 🌙

Feeling the light tap on his arm just above the elbow, Cloud quickly turned, senses immediately alert… only to visibly relax somewhat as cerulean hues took in the gray face’s general demeanor. Though the ex-SOLDIER remained guarded and uncertain, he could easily surmise the lack of immediate threat from them. What left him uneasy was… well, frankly, Cloud hadn’t the slightest clue how to process what they were sharing with him.

“Ah… wh-what?” The words came unbidden from his lips, brows furrowed in incredulity and confusion—certainly this anon couldn’t be serious, he didn’t know them and he did not understand from where they could possibly have known him from… right? Not… not truly, at least. But, just as quick as they arrived and professed their thoughts, they were gone with a pattering of anxious feet. This, quite frankly, only puzzled Cloud further, a gloved hand rising to rake absently through blond spikes, head cocked in inquiry as he gazed after the gray face’s retreating form.

“…What kind of…”

The words slipped from his lips, quiet and unbidden, as the words appeared before him. An irritated huff of a sigh escaped soon after and the blond soldier’s brow knit together in query. “I don’t…” Raising a gloved hand to pinch at the bridge of his nose, Cloud fluttered Mako-tainted cerulean hues closed, shaking his head a couple times.

It was less that Cloud didn’t understand the question… and more that he didn’t know how to answer. It required a level of articulation in his own mental and emotional state than he was currently comfortable in communicating. He did not wish to put words to certain thoughts or emotions as that made them too real in a way he felt ill prepared to confront head on, especially with so captive an audience.

The list of things Cloud liked about himself was far smaller than the list of things he disliked, to start—but, it was complicated.

Growing up, it all seemed so much more simple. Cloud was nothing more than a simple farm boy with big dreams—and that…

There was a time when Cloud liked that about himself, but now? Now, he wasn’t so sure. The world was so much more complicated than his sixteen year old self could have ever imagined, signing away his future on his first day of cadet training.

He longed for the simplicity of his youth. He wished fervently for the carefree confidence he held when he set out for Midgar at fifteen, determined to become SOLDIER First Class and travel the world a hero. Where had that boy gone? Had the cruelty of the world so thoroughly crushed him?

Or was it the effects of his memory loss, the fragments of what remained scattered and confused by the memories impressed upon his Mako poisoned psyche through Zack’s many stories?

"...Do you ever regret..."

"...being a fan of Sephiroth...?"

Those words in particular rang through his ears, reverberating through his consciousness, eliciting an inhale as brows knit together in pained thought. The answer, as one might expect, was... complicated.

"If I said no..." A dry, humorless laugh quietly escaped his lips. "That would be a lie." Then, after a pause, mako-tainted hues slid shut and a sigh broke the brief silence. "But... whenever I find myself lost in regret, it... helps to remind myself, it wasn't Sephiroth the man I looked up to. It was an idealized, commodified version of him. An image of a person Shinra sold to the populace. Sephiroth himself also... wasn't always a terrible person. Or, at least, from... Zack's account he wasn't."