〈 INFORMATION 〉
Dec. 5th, 2025 06:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
coraza
𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐔𝐃 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐅𝐄
FINAL FANTASY VII: RE
Height
5'8" / 1.73m
Build
lean and fit, muscular
Hair
blond
Eyes
blue (with a light green glow)
Age
21
Canon Point
rebirth: end of chapter 14
Markings
none
Vehicle
Character Information
Cloud hails from Nibelheim, which is in the middle-west of the western continent ( x ). The place itself is surrounded by sharp, unforgiving landscape and is, for all intents and purposes, pretty much as backwater as backwater gets. Growing up there, people lived a peaceful and simple life, separated in part from the war between Shinra and Wutai, though Nibelheim became of particular interest to the electric company due to its riches of the mako variety. This was the first reactor ever built by Shinra, but unlike other reactors, it was Professor Hojo who was in charge of it. This reactor helped improve the lives of those living in Nibelheim, made them comfortable with the Shinra propaganda of the war against Wutai, and it made young boys susceptible to the appeal of going to Midgar, enlisting, and idolizing Sephiroth. Among those was Cloud Strife, who at about the age of fourteen left his hometown for the big city, enlisting to become a SOLDIER.
H̵̡̧͇͖͊̏̒ē̷̓͜ ̷̘̜͌̋n̵̮̚e̶̢̍v̶̦͚͖̆͝ę̴̡͖͙͂̀̈̾r̴̡̗̄̌ ̸̼̀̈m̶̪͚̲̅́ǎ̸̬̣̪̌͂͜d̵̡̳̣͈̑́̓̑ě̶̦̳̳ ̴͔͙̝̿̈́̃̐i̶̛̯̣͇̠̇͐̕t̸͓͖̮͐ ̴̢̡̰̽͜à̵͇̟s̴̛̠ ̶̛͓̰̿͋̔S̵̛̹͍̙̎́̆Ȯ̵͉͌L̷̥̦̭̂̆͝ͅD̶̳̊̌I̵̺͛͂͒͝ͅĘ̶̯̙̣̌R̷̛͇̠͌—̸̞̤͐̃
At sixteen, he returns to Nibelheim, as SOLDIER, alongside Sephiroth. They are on a mission to check on the Mt. Nibel reactor. He reunites with his childhood friend, Tifa, who helps guide them to the reactor. There, something changes within Sephiroth. Their mission on pause as Sephiroth spends his days locked in the Shinra Manor's basement, reading about JENOVA, Cloud fails to see the shift in his fellow SOLDIER's demeanor. Sephiroth loses his mind, burns Nibelheim to the ground, kills Cloud's mother, the inhabitants of the town, as well as mortally wounding Tifa. Thinking he's lost everything and everyone, Cloud storms the reactor after Sephiroth, to confront him. According to Shinra, Sephiroth went missing during a training exercise and then reported that he had been killed in action. Cloud, for his part, doesn't remember what happened.
Eventually, at twenty-one, he dragged himself back to Midgar, as an ex-SOLDIER, now working as a mercenary. There, he linked up with a splinter AVALANCHE cell, which hired him as their muscle for their mission to bomb the Sector 1 reactor. That's how he met Barret and reunited with Tifa, although this was short-lived as Cloud fell from the Sector 5 plate after the mission to blow up that reactor, too. Falling through the roof of a church in Sector 5, he meets Aerith, whom he becomes a bodyguard for.
Cloud is staunchly against Shinra and uses his abilities and strength to aid AVALANCHE in their trying to stop the company from destroying the planet. Cloud's goals were never so altruistic, but he becomes emotionally entangled with the pertaining players in this plight, and after rescuing Aerith, the last Cetra, from Shinra, he finds that his enemy isn't Shinra so much as Sephiroth, apparently back from the dead. Up to his canon point, Cloud has traveled outside of Midgar and throughout most of the continents chasing after Sephiroth. On his way, he has made friends and allies, all while trying to get closer to the truth of what Sephiroth is up to.
He confronted Sephiroth again in the Forgotten Capital, and after defeating him a̶̢̳̠͈̭̩̱̪̅͒͠f̷̥̦̥̝̬̌̒̇̃͂͐̀̂t̵͉̖̗̭̘̯̼̎́̽e̷̘͙̬̰̽̄̀ͅȓ̸̮̯͓̖̼͖̼̅͠ ̸̥̞̦͙̙͈̺̝͋͌͗̔̀͋͗Á̶̡͍̰͎͈̜̌̋̽̌̓͜͠e̶̢̮̮̯̳͇͋̑̉͋r̷̪̟̬̺̭̣͇̗̈̉̓̌̆̚̚͝ȋ̶̡̢͎͈͚̜͉̄̃͗̾͆ͅt̸̛̼̠́͜͜h̶͕̙̬̜͋̉ͅͅ—̵̲̐̕ ̶̬̫̳̱̮̈́͋̍̊̍ͅṅ̸̡̖̖͕̭̠ö̵͉͔̳̮́͜,̴̢̩̪̳̞͠ has set out to the Northern Continent, while Aerith prays to The Planet in order to stop Meteor.
H̵̡̧͇͖͊̏̒ē̷̓͜ ̷̘̜͌̋n̵̮̚e̶̢̍v̶̦͚͖̆͝ę̴̡͖͙͂̀̈̾r̴̡̗̄̌ ̸̼̀̈m̶̪͚̲̅́ǎ̸̬̣̪̌͂͜d̵̡̳̣͈̑́̓̑ě̶̦̳̳ ̴͔͙̝̿̈́̃̐i̶̛̯̣͇̠̇͐̕t̸͓͖̮͐ ̴̢̡̰̽͜à̵͇̟s̴̛̠ ̶̛͓̰̿͋̔S̵̛̹͍̙̎́̆Ȯ̵͉͌L̷̥̦̭̂̆͝ͅD̶̳̊̌I̵̺͛͂͒͝ͅĘ̶̯̙̣̌R̷̛͇̠͌—̸̞̤͐̃
At sixteen, he returns to Nibelheim, as SOLDIER, alongside Sephiroth. They are on a mission to check on the Mt. Nibel reactor. He reunites with his childhood friend, Tifa, who helps guide them to the reactor. There, something changes within Sephiroth. Their mission on pause as Sephiroth spends his days locked in the Shinra Manor's basement, reading about JENOVA, Cloud fails to see the shift in his fellow SOLDIER's demeanor. Sephiroth loses his mind, burns Nibelheim to the ground, kills Cloud's mother, the inhabitants of the town, as well as mortally wounding Tifa. Thinking he's lost everything and everyone, Cloud storms the reactor after Sephiroth, to confront him. According to Shinra, Sephiroth went missing during a training exercise and then reported that he had been killed in action. Cloud, for his part, doesn't remember what happened.
Eventually, at twenty-one, he dragged himself back to Midgar, as an ex-SOLDIER, now working as a mercenary. There, he linked up with a splinter AVALANCHE cell, which hired him as their muscle for their mission to bomb the Sector 1 reactor. That's how he met Barret and reunited with Tifa, although this was short-lived as Cloud fell from the Sector 5 plate after the mission to blow up that reactor, too. Falling through the roof of a church in Sector 5, he meets Aerith, whom he becomes a bodyguard for.
Cloud is staunchly against Shinra and uses his abilities and strength to aid AVALANCHE in their trying to stop the company from destroying the planet. Cloud's goals were never so altruistic, but he becomes emotionally entangled with the pertaining players in this plight, and after rescuing Aerith, the last Cetra, from Shinra, he finds that his enemy isn't Shinra so much as Sephiroth, apparently back from the dead. Up to his canon point, Cloud has traveled outside of Midgar and throughout most of the continents chasing after Sephiroth. On his way, he has made friends and allies, all while trying to get closer to the truth of what Sephiroth is up to.
He confronted Sephiroth again in the Forgotten Capital, and after defeating him a̶̢̳̠͈̭̩̱̪̅͒͠f̷̥̦̥̝̬̌̒̇̃͂͐̀̂t̵͉̖̗̭̘̯̼̎́̽e̷̘͙̬̰̽̄̀ͅȓ̸̮̯͓̖̼͖̼̅͠ ̸̥̞̦͙̙͈̺̝͋͌͗̔̀͋͗Á̶̡͍̰͎͈̜̌̋̽̌̓͜͠e̶̢̮̮̯̳͇͋̑̉͋r̷̪̟̬̺̭̣͇̗̈̉̓̌̆̚̚͝ȋ̶̡̢͎͈͚̜͉̄̃͗̾͆ͅt̸̛̼̠́͜͜h̶͕̙̬̜͋̉ͅͅ—̵̲̐̕ ̶̬̫̳̱̮̈́͋̍̊̍ͅṅ̸̡̖̖͕̭̠ö̵͉͔̳̮́͜,̴̢̩̪̳̞͠ has set out to the Northern Continent, while Aerith prays to The Planet in order to stop Meteor.
Appearance
APPEARANCE Cloud stands at 5'8", lean and muscular, with blond hair and blue eyes. Something particular about Cloud is that his eyes have a light-green GLOW to them, which should most definitely come off as unusual. He always stands with a straight back, stiff shoulders, seemingly always in control of his every movement. Others will very well recognize this as something drilled by the military. ( x ) ( x )
CLOTHING Cloud will be wearing his SOLDIER uniform most of the time, but can be found changing things about it depending on the weather and the occasion. He may exchange the shirt for something different while wearing his uniform pants or vice versa. That is to say, as it becomes clearer that he is bound to this place for longer than he'd like, he will start dressing more casually in clothes that gear toward the more athletic and loose aesthetic. His clothes will follow a mostly dark colors scheme—black, navy blue, the sort. It is worth noting that he'll have gloves on most of the time, and that he will always be carrying the Buster Sword with him unless stated otherwise. ( x ) ( x ) ( x ) ( x ) ( x )
DEMEANOR As far as first appearances go, Cloud will seem pretty cold and curt to people. However, further interaction will reveal that it's just a front to cover up how awkward he can be under new or uncertain circumstances. That is not to say, though, that he doesn't have an air of 'cool' about himself, as it only takes him a bit to gather his bearings and act all confident and certain.
AURAL Cloud speaks with a pretty neutral American accent. He huffs and sighs a lot, but ultimately he's trying to sound cool most of the time. His voice fluctuates when he's being humorous, and it's pretty obvious when he's joking around. Still, he's always going to try and sound like the most serious person around. ( x )
OLFACTORY Cloud won't be bothering with cologne or scents, so he smells pretty much as natural as they come: a little sweaty and like however plain soap and shampoo he uses. For those with a more sensitive nose, there will be something of a chemical or fuel-like smell about him (it's all that mako, baby).
Skills & Abilities
While he isn't SOLDIER, necessarily, Cloud always been noted as being particularly good with a sword. He wields BROADSWORDS with ease despite their weight and size, forging a series of systemic attacks with them that require not just wielding the weapon but agility, core strength, and some amount of acrobatics.
COMBAT ABILITY
LIMIT BREAKS In game, Cloud has three limit breaks: Cross-Slash (damages the foe while making an ominous symbol with the slashes), Ascension (focuses on a single enemy and delivers several powerful strikes, significantly increasing stagger), and Finishing Touch (evokes the power of a raging cyclone to strike the enemy).
MAKO ENHANCEMENT Even before being exposed to mako and Jenova cells, Cloud was considered to be pretty strong for a cadet. Now, though, Cloud is not just proficient in combat, but he can do superhuman feats (like jumping long distances without issue and cutting through a slab of street concrete to get through) with ease. It's also enough to allow him to heal, recover his strength, and go a while without nourishment.
MAGIC USE With the help of materia, Cloud can make use of magic at the cost of energy/mana. In this case, he currently has four (4) with him: wind, fire and ice, elemental, and steadfast block.
MISC This would encompass a number of skills your typical JRPG protag would be good at. Cloud, in particular, has been denoted to be good at riding motorcycles and chocobos, snowboarding, and—hailing from a mountain town in the middle of nowhere—hiking and scaling rough terrain, as well as dancing, card games, and a myriad of minigame skills if he sets his mind to it.
NOTE ON ATB/MP USAGE:
COMBAT ABILITY
◈ BRAVER Cloud leaps into the air and strikes an opponent, dealing burst damage in an area of effect;
◈ FOCUSED THRUST a lunge towards a single target with his sword, hitting multiple times and dealing significant stagger damage;
◈ TRIPLE SLASH attacks three enemies in quick succession with a cleaving slash, the damage improving with each subsequent blow;
◈ INFINITY'S END a charged attack with a long preamble that results in a devastating overhead strike;
◈ DISORDER a focused strike delivered like a homerun baseball bat strike to the chosen enemies torso;
◈ BLADE BURST a charged attack where Cloud leaps to fire a burst of Mako energy across the floor towards multiple enemies;
◈ COUNTERSTANCE Cloud will double back and unleash a devastating counterattack on an enemy, dealing massive damage;
◈ FIREBOLT BLADE Cloud jumps towards the targeted foe, hitting twice with Lightning damage before hitting a third time with Fire damage;
◈ PRIME MODE once activated, this makes one of Cloud's basic attack combos (Punisher Mode) stronger and gives him a different and longer attack string;
◈ AERIAL ONSLAUGHT while in the air, Cloud does several powerful slashes before striking downwards and landing.
LIMIT BREAKS In game, Cloud has three limit breaks: Cross-Slash (damages the foe while making an ominous symbol with the slashes), Ascension (focuses on a single enemy and delivers several powerful strikes, significantly increasing stagger), and Finishing Touch (evokes the power of a raging cyclone to strike the enemy).
MAKO ENHANCEMENT Even before being exposed to mako and Jenova cells, Cloud was considered to be pretty strong for a cadet. Now, though, Cloud is not just proficient in combat, but he can do superhuman feats (like jumping long distances without issue and cutting through a slab of street concrete to get through) with ease. It's also enough to allow him to heal, recover his strength, and go a while without nourishment.
MAGIC USE With the help of materia, Cloud can make use of magic at the cost of energy/mana. In this case, he currently has four (4) with him: wind, fire and ice, elemental, and steadfast block.
MISC This would encompass a number of skills your typical JRPG protag would be good at. Cloud, in particular, has been denoted to be good at riding motorcycles and chocobos, snowboarding, and—hailing from a mountain town in the middle of nowhere—hiking and scaling rough terrain, as well as dancing, card games, and a myriad of minigame skills if he sets his mind to it.
NOTE ON ATB/MP USAGE:
◈ Cloud won't be able to do his abilities nor make use of magic through the materia if he is too tired. His mana/MP will equal to his energy levels and whether he's had enough food and sleep/rest at any period of time. If he has only taken a nap here and there in a few days, he won't be able to make use of a lot of his abilities and magic until he actually does sleep a healthy 6-8 hours. Note that he will be able to cast magic, for example, but just one spell (first or second tier) before depleting his MP reserves; he would be unable to do the third tier of spells (like Aeroga, Firaga and Blizzaga).
◈ As his (combat) abilities don't require MP usage as much as just having an ATB bar filled up, this will translate, too, into two aspects: how rested he is how long he's been fighting for. Just like with using materia, if he is too tired, he won't be able to perform his combat abilities as his 'ATB bar' will 'fill up' rather slowly. He will have to be fighting for a lot longer to get the bar to fill up. If he is, however, rested and has high energy levels, the 'ATB bar' will 'fill up' quicker, allowing him to make more use of his abilities.
◈ I'm going to make Limit Breaks simple for myself and say that he won't be able to use them unless he has been fighting for a long time + has been taking a beating + has enough energy for it. The more dire the situation, the higher the tier (Cross-Slash is tier 1, Ascension is tier 2, and Finishing Touch is tier 3).
KIRA ◈ GMT-5 — PM
