Entry tags:
→ application for ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
realityshifted.
Player Name: Tsu
Player LJ/DW:![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
dilithium
Email/AIM/Plurk: itspunched@gmail.com // aim; voscillates //![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
boldly
Timezone: CST
Other Characters: York, Yu Narukami and Darren Mackenna
Character: Zack Fair
Series: Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core
Deviance: d1
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Canon Used: The Final Fantasy VII video game series and all of its components, which includes the OVA Last Order. ( Though I'd have to actually canon bump him up to that point, and that won't happen for a very long time, I'm sure. )
Appearance: The FFVII 10th Anniversary Ultimania has him listed as six feet tall, with black hair and bright blue eyes, lean-muscled and strong due to all of that SOLDIER training. He's always seen in his SOLDIER uniform unless you happen to catch him at Costa del Sol, in which case he's bumming around in a pair of ridiculous shorts.
He also frequently looks like a kicked puppy.
Psychology: Let me tell you a little bit about this kid.
Ambition may as well be his middle name. ( It might be, for all we know … ) He left his hometown of Gongaga at the age of thirteen with aspirations of joining the SOLDIER program in Midgar. Thirteen. Didn't tell his parents he was leaving, probably didn't tell his friends anything, either. Even at that age, he wanted to be a hero, wanted to make a name for himself and do something great with his life. And you know what? He was 2nd Class when he was sixteen, still training under Angeal, and after their mission to Wutai, he was recommended for a promotion to 1st.
Which he got. ( Thanks, Angeal! He loves you, man! )
He's the kind of guy that doesn't ever really take things too seriously. Or, rather, he jokes around quite a bit until things become serious, and then it's all down to business. He's rarely ever without a smile on his face, without a kind word to say, and that's a large part of why so many people tend to take a liking to him. I'm pretty sure he tends to think of anyone he comes across as a friend that he hasn't made yet – and it shows in how he speaks to people, how he genuinely wants to get to know them in any way possible. And once he's in your life, you'd better be prepared to have him around for the long haul, because he doesn't abandon his friends for anything. Refuses to.
Which kind of goes hand-in-hand with saying that he may as well be a puppy for how loyal he is. If you make a friend out of him, you have a friend for life. No lie. He will defend his friends with both his life and honor – which, well. Anyone that knows anything about the FFVII series knows in pretty vivid detail. ( Sigh. Damn hero-types, you always go and get yourself killed trying to protect someone you care about, don't you? )
That being said, he is greatly influenced by the friends he makes. Angeal Hewley, both his friend and mentor, made a giant impact on him during their time together. He greatly valued the older SOLDIER's opinion of him, took everything he said to heart – especially his opinion on maintaining one's pride and honor. It's why he stayed with Shinra for so long, even after things started falling apart, after Genesis defected; he wanted to believe that there was still some good in the people he put so much faith in.
Which, it goes without saying that he feels that way about nearly everyone. Even Sephiroth, when they were sent on assignment together to Nibelheim, he didn't want to believe that the other SOLDIER had turned away from what the whole of Shinra stood for. ( Even if … well. Shinra isn't full of sunshine and daisies and goodness. It's kind of their fault that the Planet was nearly destroyed. Thanks, Rufus. You got a lotta 'splainin' and compensatin' to do, bro. )
Zack also has this best friend named Cloud. This best friend named Cloud is also from a backwater little town, also has aspirations of joining SOLDIER and doing something great with his life, doing something better than being an infantryman for the Shinra army. This is the best friend that he defends with his life, the best friend that he protects while in a rather comatose state due to Mako poisoning.
This best friend also spends a good two years of his life convinced that he actually did join SOLDIER and made a hero of himself, but that's another story entirely. The fact remains that Cloud was the closest friend he had next to Angeal, and his loyalty to the younger boy was unfailing to the very end.
Not everyone can say they'd be willing to die to keep their friends safe, would they? ( Well, okay, I'm sure there are others I could think of that would say that, but this is also Final Fantasy we're talking about, here. It's kind of a recurring theme. )
Now, let's talk about how he is with the ladies for a moment. He's … a bit of a flirt. ( Okay, a lot of a flirt, but. Well. Yeah. ) That isn't to say he's good with flirting, but it doesn't keep him from it. There are several instances in which he shows off his complete and utter lack of tact when it comes to asking for dates, but no one should be surprised by the fact that nothing seems to deter him. Hell, after he falls through the roof of Aerith's church in Sector 5, he asks her for just one date, and is that really a way to respond to crashing into someone's flower bed? Nope. But he does it anyway, and she's apparently so endeared by him that she puts up with his nonsense.
And he helps her build a flower cart so she can fill the slums with flowers. Talk about adorable.
He's still a terrible flirt, though. End of story.
Despite the fact that he's forced to grow up too quickly, there isn't much that can get him down. By the age of sixteen, he's seen and done too many things that a boy his age should never have to experience, but he still manages to keep pushing forward, to keep up with his faith in humanity as a whole. He might be hopelessly hopeful to a fault, but if it helps him counter the utter bullshit that is happening around him, I can't say his optimism is a bad thing. He never gives up, and it shows in everything he does.
He also humors little treasure hunting girls. And plays along with their ploys of getting him to go find all of these hidden-away-from-absolutely-everything-ever treasure chests, and what kind of guy would seriously even consider going out of his way to play along with that kind of thing? ( Yuffie, you'd better be glad he's such a good sport. Otherwise, you'd have to do all of this hunting on your own. Not that we don't think you would, but your nine-year-old self is kind of crazy. A lot crazy. Whatever. )
So, what do we have here? We have a teenager that doesn't know when to quit, has an inexhaustible amount of faith in mankind and their ability to do the right thing when it all comes down to it, aspirations to do great things with his life and a penchant for not knowing when to call it quits when his flirting isn't exactly doing the job. We have a fiercely loyal, Mako-enhanced SOLDIER determined to make all of the right decisions, to stay above water even when he feels like he's drowning and he's lost too many things dear to him. We have a boy hell-bent on protecting everything that falls under his care, and a dream of a pair of wings that he doesn't have yet.
That's pretty much Zack Fair in a nutshell.
Other Skills/Abilities: SOLDIER training on top of being injected with Mako and Jenova cells which make him a stronger, better soldier. ( How many times can I use that word in one sentence, lord have mercy. ) He can do like a billion squats without getting tired. He has energy enough for probably ten people, might not be the brightest crayon in the box right off the bat but he's pretty quick on the upkeep. And did I mention he was tenacious?
Other Weaknesses: He falls through church roofs and lands on flowers grown by pretty girls that have never seen the real sky. He is also not immune to gunfire and apparently using curative magic is out of the question because symbolic deaths are a thing in Final Fantasy.
History: Zack's character profile translated from the FFVII Ultimania, and his character page on the FF wiki.
Canon Point: Near the end of his mission with Angeal to Wutai, during the altercation with the second Vajradhara. ( Mhm, yep, very specific I know. I do that sometimes. )
Reality Description: In true Final Fantasy fashion, the world in which FFVII takes place is a mix of both technology and magic. The name of the Planet – yes, it's capitalized because it's that important – is called Gaia, and while it is mostly dominated by the human race, there are a few either already-extinct or nearly-extinct races worth mentioning along the way. ( There were the Cetra, also known as Ancients that inhabited the Planet millennia before the events of the series took place. And there is also the unnamed species of Red XIII, a long-lived race of sentient feline-like animals that has been reduced to the existence of only Red XIII himself. )
The technology used in the series is no different from that of our own world, really. There are cars, motorcycles, rockets. Televisions and all manner of firearms. The use of magic, however, is a bit different. ( From other Final Fantasy games, that is. ) Magic power comes from the use of materia – which is just crystallized Mako – and there are five different types, all of which serve separate purposes. ( Magic, Support, Independent, Summon and Command. ) Materia occurs naturally in Mako springs, such as those seen on Mt. Nibel, but given the amount of time that it takes for the process to conduct itself, most materia is produced artificially. it isn't known whether naturally-occurring materia is stronger than that which is produced artificially, but given that they both operate in the same fashion to produce the same results, it doesn't seem to matter.
Which brings me to a rather important bit of information about the Planet itself. ( Ominous music intensifies. ) The Lifestream! The Lifestream is the ethereal liquid substance that flows beneath the surface of the Planet, and contains the essence of the Planet itself. Memories, emotions and the knowledge of every living thing on Gaia are held within the Lifestream, and the Cetra were once able to control it in order to bring life to the whole of the Planet itself. It also serves as the Planet's immune system of sorts, flowing where there are cracks and scars and healing what needs to be healed.
If the Planet is ever in danger of being destroyed, it will summon the Omega WEAPON – one of the many "monsters" made to protect Gaia when Jenova fell – which will then destroy all remaining life on the Planet, return it to the Lifestream and go in search of a new planet that is capable of sustaining life. ( Trippy, huh? As if the summoning of Meteor wasn't bad enough. But oops, that hasn't happened yet. )
Okay, let's talk about the Shinra Electric Company for a second. Because they're pretty much the entire reason shit gets real and goes awry and things go to hell in a handbasket. Shinra figured out a way to siphon the Lifestream and turn it into energy, which is where Mako reactors come from, and subsequently where the term "Mako" itself comes from. They also figured out that injecting humans with pure Mako enhanced their abilities, and thus this is where we get the elite SOLDIER force – just regular soldiers injected with Mako and Jenova cells to turn them into super-human warriors. ( You remember Jenova, right? The calamity that fell from the sky and will end up being the harbinger of destruction? The alien that Sephiroth thinks is his mother? Yeah, that thing. Someone thought it would be a good idea to inject her cells into human beings. Thanks bro. )
Now, extracting the Lifestream from the Planet means that the surrounding land pretty much dies. ( Because you're taking its life force away. Duh. ) Which is bad. And Shinra should feel bad. And it takes Rufus like forever and a day to realize that he has a lot to atone for, but I guess the important thing to point out is that he does realize that he did a dumb and needs to start making up for it.
So. You've got your magic, you've got your technology, you've got your aliens falling from the sky two thousand years in the past and messing things up for the entire Planet. You've got your elite soldiers injected with cells from that alien that fell from the sky and the SEC draining the Planet's life force and turning into energy for its own use.
And just outside of Midgar you have a lonely little chocobo farm where everything is hunky-dory and giant flightless birds that look like they could be the distant cousins of chickens eat gysahl greens and kweh because they don't know any better.
First Person Speaking Sample: [ he's already taken care of one of these things. this one's gonna be a piece of cake!
( because it totally doesn't matter that he only has five minutes before the place goes up in flames. he's got this in the bag and he's going to show director lazard that not only is his dream of becoming a hero not unattainable, it's just within his reach. )
he takes a swing at the thing – man, you're ugly! – and it goes down just as the one before it had. with a heavy thud and a settling of even heavier limbs, and zack thinks he's pretty well-deserved in the way he strides up to the body, swinging his sword back into place over his shoulder. ] Gotcha, didn't I, you –
[ smack!
a heavy hand comes up, catches him right across his front and sends him flying backward. oh, crap, not good. so not good –
and where he expects to get up close and personal with one of the pillars that circle the outermost space of the room he'd been in, the impact doesn't come. he ends up sprawled on his back, arms and legs akimbo, and ow okay sword digging into my back ow ow ow. he sits up, shakes his head and winces when a sharp little stab of pain forms right behind his eyes, looks around to see just what on gaia had happened. ] … Huh? Wait, this isn't – [ this isn't fort tamblin.
this isn't wutai at all.
unless wutai had always had a floor made up of stars and he just hadn't noticed. maybe he'd been too busy taking out their soldiers, or something, because that has to make a bit of sense, doesn't it? ( no, it doesn't. it doesn't have to make any amount of sense, zack fair. ) ] Where … hellooo? Angeal? [ he pulls himself up to his knees, wincing again as that pain behind his eyes creeps up on him a second time. ]
Director? [ nope. nothin'. ] Jeez, that thing must've hit me harder than I thought. [ he finally manages to get to his feet, rolling his shoulders and reaching behind him to ensure that his sword is securely in place, stretching himself out with a couple of squats just to be sure – because you never know, he's pretty much convinced that there's always going to be time for squats – and he takes a few steps forward, still peering down at the floor like he's never seen stars before.
which. he has, naturally. it's just that they're usually in the sky and not on the ground and how is that supposed to make sense. ( here's the thing, zack … stop trying to make sense of things already. you'll save yourself a lot of headaches along the way if you just go with it. ) ] Hey, uh … Anybody here?
… At all? [ no? :| ]
Third Person Writing Sample: His vision was blurring – he could barely see the figures directly in front of him, the earth beneath his boots as his gaze fell. The sword was heavy in his hands as he slowly set one foot in front of the other, blue eyes bright even as he felt the fluttering of his heart begin to slow. It wouldn't be enough, would never be enough if he gave up now.
I won't let them take you.
I swore to protect you. I can't break that promise.
His breath coming in short gasps, the sound of footsteps over dry, cracked dirt met his ears … and it began to rain. His shoulders slumped and his grip loosened; it was the culmination of everything he feared, losing control over that which once had been so sure. He threw one last look over his shoulder, at the form braced limply against the mountainside. Was it his own fault that he felt cheated? That this life wasn't enough, and that no matter what Angeal had said about pride and honor, the only thing that really mattered to him was –
Cloud.
I got you this far. You're going to have to make it the rest of the way home on your own.
Think you can manage without me?
The air was still. He ground his teeth as he waited, the rain beginning to fall even harder around him – the taste of blood and sweat tainted his tongue with bitter sweetness, like so much pain and regret that he'd long since lost the ability to feel. A low, intermittent hum in the back of his mind … but that could have been the drowned-out sounds of gunfire. He couldn't be sure.
And even then, it didn't seem important.
It was as though the world wept for him – Gaia herself, at the loss of her son. Tears lost within the Lifestream, glittering like diamonds in the sand, and she welcomed him home.
He faltered in his descent, hearing somewhere in the back of his subconscious mind such a dejected cry of utter loss that he didn't … didn't want to let go. He couldn't –
You gave me the wings I needed to fly. Now I need you to live …
"For the both of us."
You were everything I needed in this life.
Don't miss me too much … okay?
Did you read the rules? Yep!
Player LJ/DW:
dilithiumEmail/AIM/Plurk: itspunched@gmail.com // aim; voscillates //
Timezone: CST
Other Characters: York, Yu Narukami and Darren Mackenna
Character: Zack Fair
Series: Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core
Deviance: d1
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Canon Used: The Final Fantasy VII video game series and all of its components, which includes the OVA Last Order. ( Though I'd have to actually canon bump him up to that point, and that won't happen for a very long time, I'm sure. )
Appearance: The FFVII 10th Anniversary Ultimania has him listed as six feet tall, with black hair and bright blue eyes, lean-muscled and strong due to all of that SOLDIER training. He's always seen in his SOLDIER uniform unless you happen to catch him at Costa del Sol, in which case he's bumming around in a pair of ridiculous shorts.
He also frequently looks like a kicked puppy.
Psychology: Let me tell you a little bit about this kid.
Ambition may as well be his middle name. ( It might be, for all we know … ) He left his hometown of Gongaga at the age of thirteen with aspirations of joining the SOLDIER program in Midgar. Thirteen. Didn't tell his parents he was leaving, probably didn't tell his friends anything, either. Even at that age, he wanted to be a hero, wanted to make a name for himself and do something great with his life. And you know what? He was 2nd Class when he was sixteen, still training under Angeal, and after their mission to Wutai, he was recommended for a promotion to 1st.
Which he got. ( Thanks, Angeal! He loves you, man! )
He's the kind of guy that doesn't ever really take things too seriously. Or, rather, he jokes around quite a bit until things become serious, and then it's all down to business. He's rarely ever without a smile on his face, without a kind word to say, and that's a large part of why so many people tend to take a liking to him. I'm pretty sure he tends to think of anyone he comes across as a friend that he hasn't made yet – and it shows in how he speaks to people, how he genuinely wants to get to know them in any way possible. And once he's in your life, you'd better be prepared to have him around for the long haul, because he doesn't abandon his friends for anything. Refuses to.
Which kind of goes hand-in-hand with saying that he may as well be a puppy for how loyal he is. If you make a friend out of him, you have a friend for life. No lie. He will defend his friends with both his life and honor – which, well. Anyone that knows anything about the FFVII series knows in pretty vivid detail. ( Sigh. Damn hero-types, you always go and get yourself killed trying to protect someone you care about, don't you? )
That being said, he is greatly influenced by the friends he makes. Angeal Hewley, both his friend and mentor, made a giant impact on him during their time together. He greatly valued the older SOLDIER's opinion of him, took everything he said to heart – especially his opinion on maintaining one's pride and honor. It's why he stayed with Shinra for so long, even after things started falling apart, after Genesis defected; he wanted to believe that there was still some good in the people he put so much faith in.
Which, it goes without saying that he feels that way about nearly everyone. Even Sephiroth, when they were sent on assignment together to Nibelheim, he didn't want to believe that the other SOLDIER had turned away from what the whole of Shinra stood for. ( Even if … well. Shinra isn't full of sunshine and daisies and goodness. It's kind of their fault that the Planet was nearly destroyed. Thanks, Rufus. You got a lotta 'splainin' and compensatin' to do, bro. )
Zack also has this best friend named Cloud. This best friend named Cloud is also from a backwater little town, also has aspirations of joining SOLDIER and doing something great with his life, doing something better than being an infantryman for the Shinra army. This is the best friend that he defends with his life, the best friend that he protects while in a rather comatose state due to Mako poisoning.
This best friend also spends a good two years of his life convinced that he actually did join SOLDIER and made a hero of himself, but that's another story entirely. The fact remains that Cloud was the closest friend he had next to Angeal, and his loyalty to the younger boy was unfailing to the very end.
Not everyone can say they'd be willing to die to keep their friends safe, would they? ( Well, okay, I'm sure there are others I could think of that would say that, but this is also Final Fantasy we're talking about, here. It's kind of a recurring theme. )
Now, let's talk about how he is with the ladies for a moment. He's … a bit of a flirt. ( Okay, a lot of a flirt, but. Well. Yeah. ) That isn't to say he's good with flirting, but it doesn't keep him from it. There are several instances in which he shows off his complete and utter lack of tact when it comes to asking for dates, but no one should be surprised by the fact that nothing seems to deter him. Hell, after he falls through the roof of Aerith's church in Sector 5, he asks her for just one date, and is that really a way to respond to crashing into someone's flower bed? Nope. But he does it anyway, and she's apparently so endeared by him that she puts up with his nonsense.
And he helps her build a flower cart so she can fill the slums with flowers. Talk about adorable.
He's still a terrible flirt, though. End of story.
Despite the fact that he's forced to grow up too quickly, there isn't much that can get him down. By the age of sixteen, he's seen and done too many things that a boy his age should never have to experience, but he still manages to keep pushing forward, to keep up with his faith in humanity as a whole. He might be hopelessly hopeful to a fault, but if it helps him counter the utter bullshit that is happening around him, I can't say his optimism is a bad thing. He never gives up, and it shows in everything he does.
He also humors little treasure hunting girls. And plays along with their ploys of getting him to go find all of these hidden-away-from-absolutely-everything-ever treasure chests, and what kind of guy would seriously even consider going out of his way to play along with that kind of thing? ( Yuffie, you'd better be glad he's such a good sport. Otherwise, you'd have to do all of this hunting on your own. Not that we don't think you would, but your nine-year-old self is kind of crazy. A lot crazy. Whatever. )
So, what do we have here? We have a teenager that doesn't know when to quit, has an inexhaustible amount of faith in mankind and their ability to do the right thing when it all comes down to it, aspirations to do great things with his life and a penchant for not knowing when to call it quits when his flirting isn't exactly doing the job. We have a fiercely loyal, Mako-enhanced SOLDIER determined to make all of the right decisions, to stay above water even when he feels like he's drowning and he's lost too many things dear to him. We have a boy hell-bent on protecting everything that falls under his care, and a dream of a pair of wings that he doesn't have yet.
That's pretty much Zack Fair in a nutshell.
Other Skills/Abilities: SOLDIER training on top of being injected with Mako and Jenova cells which make him a stronger, better soldier. ( How many times can I use that word in one sentence, lord have mercy. ) He can do like a billion squats without getting tired. He has energy enough for probably ten people, might not be the brightest crayon in the box right off the bat but he's pretty quick on the upkeep. And did I mention he was tenacious?
Other Weaknesses: He falls through church roofs and lands on flowers grown by pretty girls that have never seen the real sky. He is also not immune to gunfire and apparently using curative magic is out of the question because symbolic deaths are a thing in Final Fantasy.
History: Zack's character profile translated from the FFVII Ultimania, and his character page on the FF wiki.
Canon Point: Near the end of his mission with Angeal to Wutai, during the altercation with the second Vajradhara. ( Mhm, yep, very specific I know. I do that sometimes. )
Reality Description: In true Final Fantasy fashion, the world in which FFVII takes place is a mix of both technology and magic. The name of the Planet – yes, it's capitalized because it's that important – is called Gaia, and while it is mostly dominated by the human race, there are a few either already-extinct or nearly-extinct races worth mentioning along the way. ( There were the Cetra, also known as Ancients that inhabited the Planet millennia before the events of the series took place. And there is also the unnamed species of Red XIII, a long-lived race of sentient feline-like animals that has been reduced to the existence of only Red XIII himself. )
The technology used in the series is no different from that of our own world, really. There are cars, motorcycles, rockets. Televisions and all manner of firearms. The use of magic, however, is a bit different. ( From other Final Fantasy games, that is. ) Magic power comes from the use of materia – which is just crystallized Mako – and there are five different types, all of which serve separate purposes. ( Magic, Support, Independent, Summon and Command. ) Materia occurs naturally in Mako springs, such as those seen on Mt. Nibel, but given the amount of time that it takes for the process to conduct itself, most materia is produced artificially. it isn't known whether naturally-occurring materia is stronger than that which is produced artificially, but given that they both operate in the same fashion to produce the same results, it doesn't seem to matter.
Which brings me to a rather important bit of information about the Planet itself. ( Ominous music intensifies. ) The Lifestream! The Lifestream is the ethereal liquid substance that flows beneath the surface of the Planet, and contains the essence of the Planet itself. Memories, emotions and the knowledge of every living thing on Gaia are held within the Lifestream, and the Cetra were once able to control it in order to bring life to the whole of the Planet itself. It also serves as the Planet's immune system of sorts, flowing where there are cracks and scars and healing what needs to be healed.
If the Planet is ever in danger of being destroyed, it will summon the Omega WEAPON – one of the many "monsters" made to protect Gaia when Jenova fell – which will then destroy all remaining life on the Planet, return it to the Lifestream and go in search of a new planet that is capable of sustaining life. ( Trippy, huh? As if the summoning of Meteor wasn't bad enough. But oops, that hasn't happened yet. )
Okay, let's talk about the Shinra Electric Company for a second. Because they're pretty much the entire reason shit gets real and goes awry and things go to hell in a handbasket. Shinra figured out a way to siphon the Lifestream and turn it into energy, which is where Mako reactors come from, and subsequently where the term "Mako" itself comes from. They also figured out that injecting humans with pure Mako enhanced their abilities, and thus this is where we get the elite SOLDIER force – just regular soldiers injected with Mako and Jenova cells to turn them into super-human warriors. ( You remember Jenova, right? The calamity that fell from the sky and will end up being the harbinger of destruction? The alien that Sephiroth thinks is his mother? Yeah, that thing. Someone thought it would be a good idea to inject her cells into human beings. Thanks bro. )
Now, extracting the Lifestream from the Planet means that the surrounding land pretty much dies. ( Because you're taking its life force away. Duh. ) Which is bad. And Shinra should feel bad. And it takes Rufus like forever and a day to realize that he has a lot to atone for, but I guess the important thing to point out is that he does realize that he did a dumb and needs to start making up for it.
So. You've got your magic, you've got your technology, you've got your aliens falling from the sky two thousand years in the past and messing things up for the entire Planet. You've got your elite soldiers injected with cells from that alien that fell from the sky and the SEC draining the Planet's life force and turning into energy for its own use.
And just outside of Midgar you have a lonely little chocobo farm where everything is hunky-dory and giant flightless birds that look like they could be the distant cousins of chickens eat gysahl greens and kweh because they don't know any better.
First Person Speaking Sample: [ he's already taken care of one of these things. this one's gonna be a piece of cake!
( because it totally doesn't matter that he only has five minutes before the place goes up in flames. he's got this in the bag and he's going to show director lazard that not only is his dream of becoming a hero not unattainable, it's just within his reach. )
he takes a swing at the thing – man, you're ugly! – and it goes down just as the one before it had. with a heavy thud and a settling of even heavier limbs, and zack thinks he's pretty well-deserved in the way he strides up to the body, swinging his sword back into place over his shoulder. ] Gotcha, didn't I, you –
[ smack!
a heavy hand comes up, catches him right across his front and sends him flying backward. oh, crap, not good. so not good –
and where he expects to get up close and personal with one of the pillars that circle the outermost space of the room he'd been in, the impact doesn't come. he ends up sprawled on his back, arms and legs akimbo, and ow okay sword digging into my back ow ow ow. he sits up, shakes his head and winces when a sharp little stab of pain forms right behind his eyes, looks around to see just what on gaia had happened. ] … Huh? Wait, this isn't – [ this isn't fort tamblin.
this isn't wutai at all.
unless wutai had always had a floor made up of stars and he just hadn't noticed. maybe he'd been too busy taking out their soldiers, or something, because that has to make a bit of sense, doesn't it? ( no, it doesn't. it doesn't have to make any amount of sense, zack fair. ) ] Where … hellooo? Angeal? [ he pulls himself up to his knees, wincing again as that pain behind his eyes creeps up on him a second time. ]
Director? [ nope. nothin'. ] Jeez, that thing must've hit me harder than I thought. [ he finally manages to get to his feet, rolling his shoulders and reaching behind him to ensure that his sword is securely in place, stretching himself out with a couple of squats just to be sure – because you never know, he's pretty much convinced that there's always going to be time for squats – and he takes a few steps forward, still peering down at the floor like he's never seen stars before.
which. he has, naturally. it's just that they're usually in the sky and not on the ground and how is that supposed to make sense. ( here's the thing, zack … stop trying to make sense of things already. you'll save yourself a lot of headaches along the way if you just go with it. ) ] Hey, uh … Anybody here?
… At all? [ no? :| ]
Third Person Writing Sample: His vision was blurring – he could barely see the figures directly in front of him, the earth beneath his boots as his gaze fell. The sword was heavy in his hands as he slowly set one foot in front of the other, blue eyes bright even as he felt the fluttering of his heart begin to slow. It wouldn't be enough, would never be enough if he gave up now.
I won't let them take you.
I swore to protect you. I can't break that promise.
His breath coming in short gasps, the sound of footsteps over dry, cracked dirt met his ears … and it began to rain. His shoulders slumped and his grip loosened; it was the culmination of everything he feared, losing control over that which once had been so sure. He threw one last look over his shoulder, at the form braced limply against the mountainside. Was it his own fault that he felt cheated? That this life wasn't enough, and that no matter what Angeal had said about pride and honor, the only thing that really mattered to him was –
Cloud.
I got you this far. You're going to have to make it the rest of the way home on your own.
Think you can manage without me?
The air was still. He ground his teeth as he waited, the rain beginning to fall even harder around him – the taste of blood and sweat tainted his tongue with bitter sweetness, like so much pain and regret that he'd long since lost the ability to feel. A low, intermittent hum in the back of his mind … but that could have been the drowned-out sounds of gunfire. He couldn't be sure.
And even then, it didn't seem important.
It was as though the world wept for him – Gaia herself, at the loss of her son. Tears lost within the Lifestream, glittering like diamonds in the sand, and she welcomed him home.
He faltered in his descent, hearing somewhere in the back of his subconscious mind such a dejected cry of utter loss that he didn't … didn't want to let go. He couldn't –
You gave me the wings I needed to fly. Now I need you to live …
"For the both of us."
You were everything I needed in this life.
Don't miss me too much … okay?
Did you read the rules? Yep!