User Profile

Character name: Cloud Strife
Fandom/series: Final Fantasy VII
Character age: Twenty-three
What point in their timeline?: Just before the end of Advent Children, after defeating Sephiroth.
Abilities/powers: Able to wield ridiculously huge/multi-piece fusion swords with the greatest of ease. Then, of course, he’s capable of several powerful limit breaks and aided by materia.



Cloud by Kyunai

Personality: Oh, Cloud Strife… as his name implies, he has a few issues, to put it simply. From an early age, he dreamed of becoming a hero, much like the great Sephiroth, partly to impress Tifa and partly for the sake of his own ego. To do this, he tried to join SOLDIER but failed, never making it past the rank of an ordinary ShinRa infantryman.
However, a series of events and experiments, as well as a great deal of shame, caused him twist that dream and his own memories with those of a true First Class SOLDIER, Zack Fair, until he genuinely couldn’t distinguish between them. For a time, Zack’s existence was forgotten entirely and, in his place, Cloud adopted the ideal image of himself. It was only after a complete breakdown, the help of Tifa and a good dip into the Lifestream that he managed to separate his real past from the fantasy. Unfortunately, that revelation was accompanied by terrible and practically unshakable guilt.

Despite his self doubt and solemnity, Cloud has a way of coming through for those who need him (though it may take some time to finally get through to him). For example, during the events at the Mt. Nibel reactor, he was able to muster both the courage and strength to take off the helmet he hid behind and face Sephiroth, seeking revenge for his burning hometown and the injuries inflicted on Tifa and Zack. Not only did he strike at Sephiroth when he could’ve simply cowered and wallowed in his helplessness, he was able to fight back with surprising tenacity even while impaled on the end of the Masamune.

Although he rarely answers his phone, preferring to be somewhat reclusive and listen to his calls after they’ve gone to voicemail, he’s also rarely without it, never wanting to be completely cut off from people altogether. He’s lonely, but reluctant to open up easily to others. He’s nearly consumed by the desire for forgiveness, considering himself to be at fault for the deaths of Zack and Aerith, yet chooses to carry the heavy burden alone. That’s right, he’s quite the ray of sunshine.

Haibane Feather: Mostly white, possibly tinged with a little grey (somewhere between 2 and 1 on the scale) considering how severely confused he’s been about his own identity, the amount of guilt that weighs him down, and how selfishly he’s isolated himself from others as a result.

History: There’s a lot of ground to cover here… After the incident on Mt. Nibel, Cloud and Zack were taken to the basement of the ShinRa mansion while unconscious, where they were experimented on for several years. Professor Hojo injected them with cells and exposed their bodies to mako until Zack finally managed to break out. Cloud was more severely affected by Hojo’s tests and was unresponsive and helpless during the escape but Zack vigilantly defended him every step of the way. Eventually, however, the First Class SOLDIER was outnumbered. On the verge of death, Zack pressed the Buster Sword into the hands of Cloud, who’d just broken out of his near catatonic state, and told him that his legacy would live on in him. Traumatized and weakened, mentally as well as physically, it was at this point that Cloud’s memories began to distort.

At the start of Final Fantasy VII, Cloud claimed to have joined the anti-ShinRA terrorist group, AVALANCHE, for the money rather than the sake of the planet, but, once his false persona faded away, it was discovered that he genuinely cared. Despite his jumbled memories, his vendetta against Sephiroth for burning Nibelheim remained almost fully intact (aside from the fact that he took Zack’s place in his version). Embarking on a journey with several others, he learned of the Lifestream and the damage the harnessing of mako has done to the planet, as well Sephiroth’s descent into madness , the intended “reunion” and his plan to use the black materia, Meteor, to inflict a significant wound on the planet. By doing this, Sephiroth intended to soak up the energy of the Lifestream, as a massive amount of it would be needed for the planet to heal its wound, and thereby become a god. He manipulated Cloud into giving the black materia to him (twice actually), making him believe that he was nothing but a clone. Passing out shortly thereafter, Cloud had a vision that Aerith would be able to stop Sephiroth, but, when he awoke, she was nowhere to be found. Although afraid of being used again, Cloud joined the rest of the group to search for her. Unfortunately, he ended up being a little too late.
As Aerith prayed at the Forgotten Capital, Sephiroth appeared and drove the Masamune through her from above. While she was lost and laid to rest, it was later discovered that she had successfully managed to summon Holy just before her death, a powerful white magic capable of defeating Meteor.

Yet again, Sephiroth managed to toy with Cloud’s mind, presenting him with visions of what actually occurred at Nibelheim, thus shattering his already tentative grasp on reality. Combined with equally shocking news from Hojo, Cloud suffered a terrible break down as a result. After he and Tifa plummeted into the Lifestream (and deep into his subconscious), his memories were finally sorted out once and for all. And, with the support of Aerith (from… beyondzegrave…) and Holy, he and the group were ready to confront Sephiroth and Meteor.

Before the beginning of Advent Children two years after Sephiroth’s defeat, Cloud contracted Geostigma, a plague caused by Jenova’s cells, while searching for a cure for the same affliction in Denzel. This left him feeling especially worthless and reclusive. His guilt worsened by the sickness, and his failure, Cloud found himself repeatedly tormented by memories and visions of Zack and Aerith.

Meanwhile, three “remnants” of Sephiroth started to kidnap children poisoned with Geostigma in order to have them lead the way to Jenova’s remains. Once again, Cloud was hindered by his own tortured psyche and, once again, Tifa managed to talk him into taking action, asking if she and his other friends have lost compared to the painful memories that occupied his mind. Similar benefit was derived from a later conversation with Vincent, concerning the forgiveness of sins.

While Cloud failed in his first attempt to dispatch the silver haired clones, he nonetheless returned to Midgar with a great deal of weight lifted from his shoulders. As he and the group worked to fight off the Bahamut SIN Kadaj had summoned, Cloud willingly accepted the help of each of his friends (including Aerith), prevailing because of them. But, at that point, Kadaj had taken possession of Jenova’s head. After a high speed chase and battle, the leader of the clones absorbed Jenova into himself, fulfilling his true purpose by transforming into Sephiroth himself.

For the final time, Cloud was forced to face his past and most formidable enemy. Just when all seemed lost, he remembered that he was not truly alone and, strengthened by thoughts of those important to him, he was able to triumph, sending Sephiroth back to the only place he belonged, as nothing more than a memory.

Character Journal for haibane_hollow
Layout by thefulcrum

Friends (54):

Friend of (26):