"You keep using that word..."
-Scorched earth rant time-
"Loser."
I am so fucking tired of seeing people apply this word incorrectly to Cloud. You have to wonder, are their vocabularies simply stunted? Is it a lack of empathy? Because either way, it's clear that they don't have the requisite mental capacity to describe complex, multifaceted characters like Cloud Strife in any more meaningful language, so they fall back on regurgitating the same tired clichés, clichés which, by the way, originated with dumbass Sephiroth* fans who genuinely believe Sephy's self-serving bullshit and take the villain's wildly misguided worldview as gospel. (*You know, the character who is literally WRONG ABOUT EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME, especially Cloud.)
"ur taking it way too seriously; why can't we just have fun wahhh!!!"
Fun for who? Because seeing one of your favourite characters get treated like this sure isn't much fun as far as I'm concerned. And it's always just him. No-one else is on the receiving end of this kind of disrespect. Not Shinra's retinue of fascist bootlickers. Certainly not the antagonist who exhibits ACTUAL loser traits like holding a petty grudge, blaming others for all his problems, bragging about killing defenseless people, and generally acting like some pathetic school bully. Not even Tifa or Aerith with all the misogynistic garbage that gets thrown their way because of the idiotic shipping war that's been going on for three fucking decades now. It's only ever Cloud. It's curious how "fun" or "it's just a joke" always seems to translate to "I just wanna mock the protagonist with impunity".
No.
How about you fuck off and go play something else? You clearly don't deserve this story in the first place.
Consider the reason why people use this particular word: Because they think being awkward or dorky on occasion makes someone a loser. Shows how mature they really are. Cloud Strife was a shy, awkward kid who got kicked around all his life and still stood up when it counted. He demonstrates unmatched bravery, is unfailingly loyal to his friends, and keeps taking on fights he shouldn't win only to come through, regardless. If that's your idea of a "loser" you need to grow the fuck up. And if you're the kind of twerp who simps for Sephy while calling Cloud a "loser" you're a fucking moron. There's no other way to describe people who came away with the polar opposite understanding of everything the story was trying to tell you.
So, with no due respect, piss on your "fun".
There really is no nice way to say this: If you've ever applied this word to Cloud, whether seriously or in jest (and ESPECIALLY if you are wingboi stan), you can absolutely go fuck yourself. Let's get something straight here, once and for all: Cloud Strife standing up to Sephiroth during his rampage at Nibelheim, when he had no hope of winning, no chance in hell of even surviving the encounter, is the single most heroic thing anyone's ever done in this story.
That's not a "loser". That's a fucking badass.
And fuck anyone who thinks otherwise.
