(no subject)

Because I needed just a small break from the tsunami of DT7 that has washed away the rest of my life, and the surging crush on Owen Wilson who, incidentally, I have mentally cast as Reno of ShinRa (it's the snark, you see,) and Eddie Dean of DT (the snappy comeback)...

A most terrific webpage on Cloud Strife, with essays on why Cloud is and always will be one of the most complex, fascinating and all-around awesome characters ever written.

Awesome essay on Sephiroth and why he is not the real villain. I completely agree with what this writer says, and have said the same things myself in the past. Very interesting: "It really sucks for Sephiroth to be stuck between a space-alien who has control over him and a crazy motherfucker like Cloud, who's just stubborn enough to rise from the ashes and fuck Seph over when he least expects it. Jenova uses him for her bidding and Cloud, consciously or not, exerts his frustrations on Sephiroth and work towards conquering him in order to absolve personal conflicts that he holds."

A concise yet accurate account of Cloud's background in the game and how it shaped him. This essay-writer gives due attention to Cloud's five years as a lab-rat for Hojo. Surprisingly, many FFVII fans tend to miss this most important detail.

Cloud is messed up, but funny and odd. This is so true, and is also often overlooked. Kudos to this writer for pointing it out.

Cloud is a well of insanity and fear. The writer puts forth the idea that maybe he was even lying about his Mom. Why not? He lied about everything else. "His lies were an obvious need to be loved and accepted-- as Zack was-- was his mother's caring attitude a lie as well? She compliments him, worries about his health, and tells him she'll always love him, all in brief flashes. It's set up in this odd way that feels exaggerated. If Cloud's mom was really the way she was shown, where was she when he was being outcasted and picking fights? Couldn't her love easilly and logically just be another false comfort?" The writer also delves into the significance of the often-overlooked scene in which Cloud is blamed for Tifa's accident and consequent coma. And once again the writer goes into Cloud's time in Hojo's lab. Also, this page has a lovely drawing of FreakedOutBondage!Cloud; if only I could see the whole thing, and clearer!

Cloud doesn't "become" strong, he is strong the whole time. "He thinks that he needs a title to be able to prove his worth, but he has it inside of himself all along and he's blinded by his misconceptions. The truth is, he never needed the Zack facade to be better. I loved him so much for that one scene with Sephiroth. Sephiroth stabs him through the chest and lifts his body into the air, and Cloud literally grounds himself, wills himself back to the floor and shoves Sephiroth to the bottom of the reactor. It's really quite an amazing feat, and he did it without MAKO, without a SOLDIER title, without Zack. Damn. The essence of my FFVII fic and Cloud's characterization, put so nicely. ^_^

The also often-overlooked awesomeness of Zack, and how Zack was Cloud's savior and idol.

WHO SHUD CLOD B W?!!!!!! The writer addresses the uselessness of 'ship wars. The closing thoughts are hilarious.

Cloud's sexuality from this page is also hilarious. This writer nails what I dislike about much of the FFVII yaoi fandom: The thing about yaoi fangirls is their flagrant disregard for the character's personality and their obsession with aesthetic beauty, which is often overblown and not true to the original character design anyway. In short, a lot of them are annoying, prepubescent girls who really need to figure out how to jack off so they can release their sexual frustration and stop raping (both figuratively and literally) these characters with their preconcived notions of homosexuality. Oftentimes I find their views offensive; they think that homosexual men cannot be actual MEN. They are all pretty, womanly, thin, sickeningly so. The message is clear: if you're a gay man, you're obviously a woman. No muscle mass for you! Put on that lipstick! Thank you, writer.

And Menage A Trois made me giggle for maybe longer than I should have.

Nice, nice site. Have fun!

(no subject)

Because I needed just a small break from the tsunami of DT7 that has washed away the rest of my life, and the surging crush on Owen Wilson who, incidentally, I have mentally cast as Reno of ShinRa (it's the snark, you see,) and Eddie Dean of DT (the snappy comeback)...

A most terrific webpage on Cloud Strife, with essays on why Cloud is and always will be one of the most complex, fascinating and all-around awesome characters ever written.

Awesome essay on Sephiroth and why he is not the real villain. I completely agree with what this writer says, and have said the same things myself in the past. Very interesting: "It really sucks for Sephiroth to be stuck between a space-alien who has control over him and a crazy motherfucker like Cloud, who's just stubborn enough to rise from the ashes and fuck Seph over when he least expects it. Jenova uses him for her bidding and Cloud, consciously or not, exerts his frustrations on Sephiroth and work towards conquering him in order to absolve personal conflicts that he holds."

A concise yet accurate account of Cloud's background in the game and how it shaped him. This essay-writer gives due attention to Cloud's five years as a lab-rat for Hojo. Surprisingly, many FFVII fans tend to miss this most important detail.

Cloud is messed up, but funny and odd. This is so true, and is also often overlooked. Kudos to this writer for pointing it out.

Cloud is a well of insanity and fear. The writer puts forth the idea that maybe he was even lying about his Mom. Why not? He lied about everything else. "His lies were an obvious need to be loved and accepted-- as Zack was-- was his mother's caring attitude a lie as well? She compliments him, worries about his health, and tells him she'll always love him, all in brief flashes. It's set up in this odd way that feels exaggerated. If Cloud's mom was really the way she was shown, where was she when he was being outcasted and picking fights? Couldn't her love easilly and logically just be another false comfort?" The writer also delves into the significance of the often-overlooked scene in which Cloud is blamed for Tifa's accident and consequent coma. And once again the writer goes into Cloud's time in Hojo's lab. Also, this page has a lovely drawing of FreakedOutBondage!Cloud; if only I could see the whole thing, and clearer!

Cloud doesn't "become" strong, he is strong the whole time. "He thinks that he needs a title to be able to prove his worth, but he has it inside of himself all along and he's blinded by his misconceptions. The truth is, he never needed the Zack facade to be better. I loved him so much for that one scene with Sephiroth. Sephiroth stabs him through the chest and lifts his body into the air, and Cloud literally grounds himself, wills himself back to the floor and shoves Sephiroth to the bottom of the reactor. It's really quite an amazing feat, and he did it without MAKO, without a SOLDIER title, without Zack. Damn. The essence of my FFVII fic and Cloud's characterization, put so nicely. ^_^

The also often-overlooked awesomeness of Zack, and how Zack was Cloud's savior and idol.

WHO SHUD CLOD B W?!!!!!! The writer addresses the uselessness of 'ship wars. The closing thoughts are hilarious.

Cloud's sexuality from this page is also hilarious. This writer nails what I dislike about much of the FFVII yaoi fandom: The thing about yaoi fangirls is their flagrant disregard for the character's personality and their obsession with aesthetic beauty, which is often overblown and not true to the original character design anyway. In short, a lot of them are annoying, prepubescent girls who really need to figure out how to jack off so they can release their sexual frustration and stop raping (both figuratively and literally) these characters with their preconcived notions of homosexuality. Oftentimes I find their views offensive; they think that homosexual men cannot be actual MEN. They are all pretty, womanly, thin, sickeningly so. The message is clear: if you're a gay man, you're obviously a woman. No muscle mass for you! Put on that lipstick! Thank you, writer.

And Menage A Trois made me giggle for maybe longer than I should have.

Nice, nice site. Have fun!