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Will Cloud Ever Know Peace?
Topic Started: Oct 13 2008, 05:23 AM (326 Views)
Drake Clawfang
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Rydia Fanboy
I was just thinking - Cloud's never really had peace and quiet. Think about it.

He's isolated as a kid and jealous of Tifa's friends. Then one day the adults blame him for Tifa getting hurt. He goes and tries to join SOLDIER to prove himself, but falls short and becomes a normal grunt. He falls in with Zack, and returns to his hometown where he can't show his face. The whole razing occurs, he spends the next four-five years as a genetic experiment, and when Zack busts him out, he dies and Cloud takes on his memories. He joins AVALANCHE, then goes back on the hunt for Sephiroth, has Aeris die in his arms, and right after finds out his memories are fake. He finally gets restored to find out Meteor is coming and goes to defeat Sephiroth. Afterwards, he gets Geostigma and is seemingly doomed, and has to contend with the SHM.

My point is, for most of his life, Cloud has always been going through some sort of personal or outside torment. Something Nomura said on the Advent Children commentary struck a chord with me.

"The happier he is, the lonelier he gets".

So do you think that Cloud is *ever* going to be able to have his peace of mind? I know AC ends on a high note, but he still has a lot of personal demons besides Aeris' death and Sephiroth. I'm just wondering if he's even capable of leading a normal life. He clearly tries it in CoT, but that falls through. The fact is, there's always going to be the chance Sephiroth is alive, Aeris is always going to be a part of his life. So I think that, in a real way, Cloud may just end up living his life with a shadow over his head and in the back of his mind. I'm just not sure the poor guy is ever gonna be able to truly have peace and quiet.

What do you think?
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Vanelo
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One Emerged From Shadows Into Light
First things first: What do SHM and CoT stand for?

Anyhow, interesting take on Cloud.

Even in other games like FFT and Kingdom Hearts, he has some sort of shadow hanging over him... a cloud, blocking out the sun. In FFT, he's dealing with what I assume is Mako poisoning, plus finding Aeris, plus finding a way back to his planet.

In KH, he's constantly searching for his "light," and, figuratively speaking, his soul is being sought after by Hades and Sephiroth.

Interestingly though, Cloud seemed relatively at ease in DoC. It's the first time I can ever recall him fighting to help his friends out rather than because he has any personal stake in the battle at all.

I think Cloud will likely lead a "peaceful" life after the events in AC... yet he'll probably never be totally at peace after the horrific events during the first 24 years of his life. I think he'll probably never quite grow out of his introverted shell, and will be afraid to have close relationships with other people after what happened to Zack, his hometown, and Aeris. That's probably what Nomura meant when he said, "The happier he is, the lonelier he gets."
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Drake Clawfang
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Rydia Fanboy
Vanelo
Oct 13 2008, 05:40 AM
First things first: What do SHM and CoT stand for?

Case of Tifa, and Silver-Haired Men aka, Kadaj and his brothers.

Oh, and here's the full extent of what Nomura says about Cloud.

Nomura
 
To me, Cloud...He tried to move on once, but he was hurt by the losses he experienced, in the battles he fought in the game story. Even after all that, he still found a peaceful life. And that made him scared. He lost it all once already, and he could lose it all again. Even though he was there, he couldn't do anything to prevent it the last time. So the happier he is, the more lonely he becomes.


So yeah, he's going to be able to lead a peaceful life most likely, but I think he's always going to have reservations about that life.
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MistaCloudStrife
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"I'll cut them off" O.O
I just want to bring to light something you MIGHT have missed.

His name is "Cloud Strife". xD

His very name describes pain and hardship. That's just who he is and what he was meant to portray. It's his weakness and his strength. The pain he's suffering from is the same reason why he fights. Without that pain he has no reason to fight. It's what he is. Take away his pain and he's no longer Cloud Strife, or at least no longer the Cloud Strife we know from Final Fantasy VII.

Woah... did that even make sense? Sorry I'm a bit tipsy right now. xD
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Alantie
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Dreams the world far away
:lmao: No, you make sense, Mista.

His name alone tells you that he's the kind of guy who carries a lot of pain and emotional angst around with him. There's periods of time where he has those brief moments of peace and happiness, but for the most part, I don't think he'll ever really be free of the shadows over him while he lives a mortal life. The things he's gone through. . . they aren't something easily gotten over. It's quite sad when you think about it. I was really surprised that DoC didn't have some issue with him, but I guess even Cloud deserves to have a break.

Just out of curiosity, that quote about Cloud being more lonely the happier he becomes, where is it from?

It makes sense though if you think about it. He can't help but miss what he's lost, especially the people most important to him- Zack and Aerith. He can be there, laughing and being happy with his friends, but deep down missing Aerith because she isn't there physically to share it with him.
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Drake Clawfang
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Rydia Fanboy
Alantie
Oct 13 2008, 09:31 PM
:lmao: No, you make sense, Mista.

His name alone tells you that he's the kind of guy who carries a lot of pain and emotional angst around with him. There's periods of time where he has those brief moments of peace and happiness, but for the most part, I don't think he'll ever really be free of the shadows over him while he lives a mortal life. The things he's gone through. . . they aren't something easily gotten over. It's quite sad when you think about it. I was really surprised that DoC didn't have some issue with him, but I guess even Cloud deserves to have a break.

Just out of curiosity, that quote about Cloud being more lonely the happier he becomes, where is it from?

It makes sense though if you think about it. He can't help but miss what he's lost, especially the people most important to him- Zack and Aerith. He can be there, laughing and being happy with his friends, but deep down missing Aerith because she isn't there physically to share it with him.

The AC commentary, Nomura.
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