Cloud Strife

Player: Skyla
Contact: SkylaDoragono
Age: 41
Other Characters: NA

Name: Cloud Strife
Canon: Final Fantasy VII
Canon Point: Just before arriving at the Temple of the Ancients.
Age: 21

Backstory: Wiki link
Personality:
+Default emotional state and temperament: Cloud frequently comes off as cool and aloof. He's the badass former SOLDIER that has seen things, and he typically keeps up the air of the mercenary that is too experienced for nonsense. On the inside he's a bit of a dork, awkward and easily made uncomfortable by situations that force him out of his outward persona. Around his friends, he's a little more relaxed, and lets down his tough exterior frequently, though he still has a tendency not to hold back on a sarcastic comment or two.
+Motivations and goals: The main driving force behind Cloud at his canon point is going after Sephiroth. Sephiroth destroyed his home, betrayed him, and basically haunts his every waking moment. He doesn't know this drive is because of a call to Reunion, but he acts on it all the same. Outside of Sephiroth, however, he really just wants to protect the people that he cares about, and he knows he has the strength to do that. So no matter what, he's going to use that strength to keep them safe.
+Regrets and fears: Cloud fears failure above all else; he failed to keep his hometown safe, failed to protect Tifa when she needed him the most, failed to save Zack and he can't have that happen again.
+Breaking points: Outside of certain... issues, the thing that is most likely to piss Cloud off, especially at first, is Sephiroth. In Cloud's mind, he's responsible for everything that's happened to him, and he has to pay for what he's done. Also, the loss of a friend is obviously enough to break him down, as it would for anyone.

Regarding those... issues. Cloud will have a lot of difficulty looking at or even hearing Zack's name mentioned for awhile. Seeing him for the first time in the TDM lead to his head exploding with enough pain to make him pass out. It's going to take a lot of work on his part to actually be able to face him (and maybe even work out the issue that he's not who he seems to think he is...).
+Values: Cloud is able to open up to people that engrain themselves into his life. Tifa was his childhood friend, Barret's fierce protectiveness when it comes to his daughter, Aerith's flirtatiousness and her open honesty; all of these things are examples of ways that break through his tough exterior and make him care.
+How do they handle change and trauma: Turning into a monster would probably disturb Cloud initially, but overall he wouldn't be that phased. "He" has seen what happens when people are exposed to too much mako energy, and as a former "SOLDIER", he's also been exposed to that energy. Actually turning into a monster is an almost inevitability to him.
+Closing statements: Overall, Cloud is pretty much your typical JRPG protagonist: hard exterior, soft and gooey interior. He has a lot of mental health issues, however, to the point that real world psychologists have actually diagnosed him with involuntary memory issues due to post traumatic stress disorder as well as dissociative identity disorder. He has a lot of trauma to work through and memories to unpack, and he's going to need all the help he can get to get to a point where he really is himself again.

Powers/Abilities:
Powers:
Science Experiment Mako Conditioning: Having been exposed to Mako as part of the SOLDIER onboarding process, Cloud's physical capabilities are above the average for a human being. He's stronger, has more stamina, can move faster, and generally more physically fit than the average human being. He can jump crazy high, run farther, take harder hits, and overall endure so much more compared to anyone that hasn't been exposed to Mako like he was. He's also managed to fall over a thousand feet, through a hole in a roof, and land on a floor bed with barely anything more than a scratch and a bit of a headache. This doesn't make him impervious to bullets or blades, he's just as mortal as anyone else, he can just take a harder hit and keep going.

There are other powers Cloud is capable of, but just the Mako Conditioning covers enough of the power requirements for now. The only other thing is a side effect of being exposed to mako is that his eyes glow slightly. This is purely a cosmetic thing, and there's really no "power" behind it.

Abilities:
Swordsmanship: Cloud is an excellent swordsman, to the point that even before everything happened, he was skilled enough to have a Turk praise his abilities. He's only gotten even better since then, and wields the iconic Buster Sword like it's an extension of himself, rather than just a weapon.
Combat Experience: As a infantryman SOLDIER First Class, Cloud has a lot of experience fighting; fighting against monsters, machines, and other people. He prefers to fight with blades though he also has experience with guns.
Crossdressing: While Cloud is built like a brick house, he's also slender enough to not only fit well into women's clothing, but do so so convincingly that people either are aware he's crossdressing and are absolutely into it, or they are completely ignorant and absolutely into it. Either way, he slays in a dress, figuratively and literally.
Inventory:
+ SOLDIER uniform with pauldron
+ Buster Sword
+ A pair of earrings
Game Plans: Throw him into a fire and see if he manages to come crawling out or not.

But for real, while Cloud may not outwardly be too bothered by turning into a monster, it's going to mess with the identity issues he's already having so much that he's going to definitely get worse before he gets better. Add to that the cast that's present (especially a certain two SOLDIERs), and poor Cloud is going to Go Through It.

Not only that, but he knows he has to get home, that they have an important task ahead of them, and him being dragged off to find this Nirvana is getting in the way of that. He's going to be very impatient with all this driving at first, very much to his detriment as far as interacting with others is concerned.
Monster Choice:
+Infernal-Cerberus: My main pick, mostly for the loyalty compulsion. At this point, Cloud wants to protect the people he cares about as well as the world, and being compelled to be all the more protective would fit him to a T.
+Zoanthrope-Werewolf: The obvious pick, as much of Cloud's iconography in later (or earlier? Jury's still out on if Remake is in fact a remake or a sequel) parts of Final Fantasy VII has a lot to do with wolves, and he himself retracts more into his lone wolf persona.
+Drakonis-Chimera: A play on the fact that there's more than just him in his own head; Cloud's wild unpredictability when it comes to his mental health would be on full display while being a combination of two or more creatures.
Vehicle Choice: Motorcycle with the Tough quality.
Sample: TDM thread