backwaterheroics

[backwaterheroics]

one more thought. the party showing cait sith some appreciation by wearing lil red capes

#he may be a robot spy but he’s OUR robot spy #aggressively fishbowl tapping the glass eye camera lenses: we know ur in there reeve 👁️👁️ #everyone has lil pink aery ribbons to honor her after death but cait died too u know :( he’s a robot but he’s still important #to ME #tbd

[backwaterheroics]

i am once again asking who gave the sahuagins processed metal

#tonberry knives make sense bc they can just steal it from your kitchen knife block but What About The FishPeople Tridents #tonberries are vicious little brownies. they don’t accept any of your offerings. milk shoes coins strands of hair your firstborn?? nothing. #except your Brutal Murder so it can lead ur soul to its lil lantern light and eat u up #anyway sahaugins. who is giving them weapons #who gave them weapons and the secondary question of who let them migrate so far inland that they are in the midgar sewer systems #imagining a half dead goldfish from topside got flushed down the pipes and ended up in a mako leak with a fork #they grew Together. and found rage and purpose. together #(the fork trident is sentient too) #(in this scenario) #i’m going back to sleep ty gn gn

[backwaterheroics]

muse quirks - mileage across make & model may vary

a few things that remain standard to cloud strife on this blog at any point (unless discussed otherwise) -- all not necessarily canon or supported by canon, re: take us as we are

no olfactory sense - it was burned out with the involuntary long-term mako soak

vegan (no reason) & always has some type of snack on hand due to prior life issues with malnutrition. suffered through starvation when held captive in nibelheim, which continued while on the run with zack, & then a final time in mideel at mid-point og

enjoys mushrooms the most as a primary source of protein; nuts are next so if you're highly allergic you probably shouldn't come near him. black walnuts are best

85% tethered to reality (has dissociative spells)

sometimes hear/sees things that are not real (usually influenced by sephiroth/jenova, not schizophrenic)

easily angered, but quick to come off it

does bite

speaks in a snarky monotone by default, which can cause problems

is the best potato peeler

can probably help you not bleed out, but doesn't know much else about combat first aid

has 3 pet spiders (naturally occurring)

had never been to midgar prior to og events

met zack when he was a second (subject to zakkusu partners as this effects zack's timeline more than cloud's -- but cc doesn't give them much onscreen time together when they are both lucid tbh and they are bffs so u kno i'm right & square can't keep their stories straight so it's fine, we do what we want)

was not Always in a mako coma those 4 years, but doesn't remember anything of when he was awake. could be forced to remember, but you're playing with gas and a lit match in room with no exits at that point

was in love with zack and aerith while they were alive, but (for the sake of rp) never acted on those feelings (remains unrequited unless rp partner is ok with it, no matter who you're writing opposite to us) ((has NOTHING to do with shipping so help me god))

can and does have an effect on other individuals with j- or s-cells post og as cloud is at that point the primary living repository of them (exactly what kind of effects depends on you!) post-ac the foreign cells are rendered somewhat neutral in his system due to aery's rain

is the biggest fool (no braincells)

doesn't have any money (empty, barren wallet) ((tifa has it))

got his ear pierced because tifa had hers pierced

he will kiss you if you ask, but you have to have enough FP (friendship points)

zero fashion sense, please help him

gets dizzy if he goes to sleep upright

vincent is his bff, they probably talk maybe twice a year

#& that's all i've got atm - just wanted to have a List somewhere #{ i'm not a hero & i'm not famous → headcanon. #rowen's cloud workdesk #tbd #i'm gonna run through my blog and clean it up.... eventually...maybe

[backwaterheroics]

𝘒𝘕𝘖𝘞𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘠𝘖𝘜𝘙 𝘗𝘈𝘙𝘛𝘕𝘌𝘙 𝘞𝘌𝘓𝘓 𝘊𝘈𝘕 𝘗𝘖𝘛𝘌𝘕𝘛𝘐𝘈𝘓𝘓𝘠 𝘔𝘈𝘒𝘌 𝘞𝘙𝘐𝘛𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘛𝘖𝘎𝘌𝘛𝘏𝘌𝘙 𝘈 𝘓𝘖𝘛 𝘌𝘈𝘚𝘐𝘌𝘙!

repost, don't reblog!

NAME : rowen

PRONOUNS : she/her/my liege; we is also common i.e. 'we here at strife industries' etc but it's really just for self-reference

PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION : carrier pigeon maybe? i'm really bad at all kinds of communication tbqh. we can get some walkietalkies tho & i promise i haven't ever forgotten about u /phil collins voice, u'll be in my heart

chatting on tumblr ims is fine & i do have a discord ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ u can even have my whatsapp if u want, but standard messaging & data rates may apply. talk to ur doctor if rowenix is right for u

NAME OF MUSE(s) : this here is my boy kuraudo sutoraifu-waifu but i've written a few other characters here and there; cloud is the only rp blog i have any semblance of presence on atm tho - he is my forevergirl, my homeslice, my big chalupa. for ffvii specifically, i've also written rp for elena and rufus

BEST EXPERIENCE : you! i've met all my best friends through rp which is probably why i'm still even around in the rps

RP PET PEEVES / DEALBREAKERS : i don't like it when ppl say they do not like the chara i am literally writing at that moment. so like, if you don't like cloud, why are you here..... we don't have any money... we've got nothin for ya.... pls smash that unfollow button and do not hit the notification bell....,other than that tho, i don't really care. it's the internet. i've seen 4chan

MUSE PREFERENCES : paris hilton voice; i'll take five more of these little blonde bitches; fr tho i like charas who have issues with the self/who have a man vs self literary conflict kinda thing going on. i also like side-chars who don't have a lot of lore coz then i don't have to start from scratch like with an oc, but i still have freedom in the preassembled sandbox u kno?? i don't have time for a rowenverse

PLOTS OR MEMES : spontaneous stuff is easier for me; plotted stuff can get too detailed and then i freak myself out about it bc of anxiety about quality & expectations. that aside, i'll do either. if we go plotted i'd rather go 'lightly plotted' as in we talk about an idea and then just run with it, with minor course corrections as we go should the plane not take off as expected

LONG OR SHORT REPLIES : i personally tend to match length but sometimes the words just gotta come out and your one to three liner will have a 500 word reply. i have no preference from what i receive to what i give. it just is what it is and i'm grateful ur even taking the time to spend it with me

BEST TIME TO WRITE : when something else more important needs to get done. we love executive dysfunction. like right now, i should be finishing up a work project for tomorrow's meeting and yet....

ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S) : our sense of humor is the same, or at least similar... cloud's social awareness is probably better than mine. neither of us talk a lot. is that good enough????

TAGGED BY: vctlan & then everyone i'm following who is still active has already done this i'm pretty sure... so if you haven't been tagged before and u see this, then i'm tagging u ok -- tell me abt u and be my friend

#tbd #i also need to clean my carpets and the kitchen and the wood floors... laundry.............. all the various adhd Doom Piles of Things #we're here tho & it's fine

[backwaterheroics]

have i said this anywhere, idk — but cloud had never been to midgar prior to events of OG. he was recruited and stationed in junon, with no need to go to midgar bc he wasn’t a SOLDIER

#no need for those fancy soldier facilities psshhh #tbt #blog canon that is not necessarily supported by The Texts but we do what we must 🙏

[backwaterheroics]

"Wanna make out?" — Kunsel, deadpan.

bro, you do not have nearly enough FP ☆ @vctlan & @sentmail

He has these dreams. And not always when he's asleep--so from one waking moment to the next, he is someone else - the scenery has shifted, and he is no longer in control. Do you remember the picture that we took? He is absent from himself and his limbs are numb, fingers tingling, vision blurred around the edges and tinged a ghostly blue, a sickly green. Static clings in his ears, a never-ending crescendo buzzing and buzzing and buzzing.

Sometimes he sees himself as he was, a little gangling spitfire or a half-built ghost, a puppet. Sometimes he knows it's all fabrication. It's been getting easier to tell the difference, between one cracked and precious memory and the little tabloid fragments of what the little toy soldier in his past used to paint a picture of their life. Sometimes it's something else, a monster under the bed in the dead of night. Bones in a closet, rattling and moaning and crying. How can there be any meaning in the memory of such a being?

This one is in the middle. It's a magazine cutout and an encyclopedia entry. It's having his hair ruffled and an arm slung around his neck to bring him and a real SOLDIER closer together. It's C'mon, guys! Kiss and make up! I am not having my two best friends fight all day. In this house, we love and respect each other, alright? He would do anything for that arm around him again, anything for that voice to be real.

Caraças, that's so corny, why'd you have to say it like that? but he agrees. It's Zack, it's always Zack.

And he's small and weak and neither of them should even be giving him the time of day, but he's not a coward.

His lips taste like cocoa and ash.

Cloud wonders if he remembers that. Cloud can't even say any of it is even real. So much of before is lost to him, he relies on other people and their accounts to make sense of his own. So the stolen moments, the private ones.. they've all been washed away in the tides.

Things that aren't his get shoved in boxes, tucked away and meant to be forgotten. He has no right, especially if they're real. He'll never know if they are. Parts of him now never see the light of day, and he is too scared to expose any of it to someone else. In case it is real. Because then—-Then.... Not even given a number.

Sometimes it's the feel of a sword twice his weight and heavy in his hand, but light in the air and power rushing through his veins. Other times it's a weightless drift of motion for moments known only by sense memory. In waking moments, he knows he's never been there. He's never seen this or that, never done such and such thing.

Well—-he hasn't, right?

He wasn't a SOLDIER. So how could he know the exact layout of the SOLDIER floors in the Midgar ShinRa tower? Why can he remember an alcove in between the junction of some junk offices and meeting halls, where he pressed a body high and hard against a glass window? Muscled thighs tight against his waist, muddy boots hitting his back. Rough, cocoa lips and the light waft of blood because missions were never perfect. A frantic rush of relief leading to hearts finally finding a steady rhythm, equilibrium in the push and pull of there and back.

Coming down from that manic high, the relief. Leaning against each other, happy in that momentary safety. Kunsel's forehead pressed to his collarbones, arms hanging low and draped about his hips, his helmet clanking against his ankle.

Then the flashes fade and Cloud can't shove this one in a box right away. He's still feeling even though he shouldn't, like he's not supposed to. You have no right—! The pressure of Kunsel all around him. The feeling of security.

He wishes, maybe. He wants that too, those feelings. All of a sudden, he can't remember the last time he felt like that, like he was being sheltered, safeguarded. But that's just his problem, isn't it? Remembering.

He forgets. He forgets a lot. He tries to remember. Leaves himself notes. Keeps dutiful logs and excuses it all away by saying he just likes to be organized. It's nice to run a self-composed delivery company. No one can tell him what to do or how to do it, and he never really needs to make excuses for writing so many things down.

But here they are, circled back to a similar orbit and this time there's no one there to knock their heads together and force them to get along. What kind of question--?! Kunsel is going way off script, off road and not even on any kind of designated trail. Or, maybe he's just messing with him — but they don't operate like that with each other either. At least, Cloud didn't think they did. None of his notes have ever said they did.

And, well — Cloud doesn't mind kissing his friends. A bit of affection here and there never hurt anybody, but he and Kunsel are not friends. He's not even sure if they've even approached that sort of territory. Completely off grid!

"Y'ain't my type," he mutters. But he knows exactly how their lips would slot together, how his hands would feel about his face or on his shoulders, through his hair. He has to clear his throat before he can talk again, not quite able to look Kunsel in the eye anymore, arms crossed over his chest. The bar fan overhead creaks in its lazy rotations. "Didn't think I was yours, neither."

#make out???? we already have. several times. in my hallucinamemories #vctlan #sentmail #if this is similar to something i've already written you in the past then no it isn't #also i haven't read this over and i refuse to read it over bc i haven't written a gdmn thing in 6 months probably #{ no sweat. just leave everything to me. (well now what?) → asks. #kissin cloud barlow for ts

[backwaterheroics]

Cloud saving Yuffie FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH (2024) dev. Square Enix

#YOINK! #cloud tag #yuffie tag #gif warning. #ffvii rebirth #rebirth spoilers #still haven’t played it but this is cute ahhhhh #always protect ur rogue smh

[backwaterheroics]

crisis core act i part i

genesis: augh! the horrors!

angeal: experiencing the horrors all by yourself, handsome?

& then they were both awol

#i don’t loooooooooove cc. but i am thinking abt it for meme reasons i guess #tbd #mun shit for ts

[backwaterheroics]

yknow, if cloud didn’t have sephiroth sonar installed, the directions to go “north past mt nibel” would really have not been conducive to destroying the world in a timely manner

#cloud: sephiroth said he’d be waiting in The North #tifa: that’s a whole mountain range cloud #barret: well i guess we’re just shit outta luck! #seph standing in a cave slowly being snowed in while he waits 🧍‍♂️ #tbd #sephiroth critical for ts

[backwaterheroics]

She's being cancelled on Twitter

#‘shes all that’ energy #don’t question me on that. it’s just true and out there now #seph tag. #illustrations. #he’s doing his best

[backwaterheroics]

ngl if I had to get sky high exhausted on mako for five years with my roomie having the zoomies I'd also slip into a catatonic coma the second I could lay down

#mwkfucbakdnfj #op ur mind 🙏 #illustrations. #cloud tag. #zack tag. #do u think about whales

[backwaterheroics]

chad cloud 🫦

#thank you so so so much op #truly doing the lord’s work #giving him a protein shake as we speak #illustrations. #cloud tag. #can’t believe he’s kabedonning teefs… what balls LOL

[backwaterheroics]

what other.......... muses could you see me writing? asking as a purely rhetorical question, of course, of course...

#squinting at you #//teasing ofc… unless??…. no jk

[backwaterheroics]

Cloud Strife in Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020)

Zack Fair in Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (2024)

#polite country bumpkins #when ur mama teaches u right #betcha ​sephiroth doesn’t say yes ma’am #gif warning. #cloud tag. #zack tag.

[backwaterheroics]

“I’ll never be like him.”

#illustrations. #cloud tag #my lad…..

[backwaterheroics]

✨memes, memes? memes for the poor?

#i.e. like this & we’ll send u some meme #tbd #probably several. for variety… no pressure to respond to all of them… it’s for Having Options #& if u wanna make threads out of them that’s cool too ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ #sneezing from all the dust around here ngl.. who runs this place anyway. geeze….

[backwaterheroics]

PROMPTS FOR ASKING FAVORS *  assorted dialogue, adjust as necessary

would you just stand there for a second? don't move.

i need you to do something for me.

can you keep a secret?

hand me that over there, would you?

i need your help with this. seriously.

just give me five minutes of your time.

i've always helped you out. why can't you help me?

could you bring me a glass of water?

there's no one else i can turn to.

i'll show you, but you have to promise you won't tell anyone.

would you pick that up for me?

just stand there and don't move. i won't hit you.

please turn the music down.

here, would you sign this for me?

take this to [name] and say it's from me.

you drive. i've done enough driving for the week.

there's something important i have to ask you.

what if i said i needed you to do one more thing?

could you stick around and help me for a while?

i can't do it without your help.

before you go, there's something else i need.

can you grab it from the top shelf? i can't reach.

i just need you as a stand in.

would you cover for me?

could you swing by and help me?

it's a big ask. i don't think you're ready for this.

i need to run into town to grab a few things. will you come with me?

hold this for a second.

i need you to lure them somewhere.

i could really use your help if you're willing to give it.

no one else wanted to help me.

can i ask you to do something for me?

i need a favor. it's urgent.

could you tuck me into bed?

i'd really like some advice from you.

i can't sleep. would you stay here a while?

there's no one else i can ask.

if they ask, tell them you're me.

you owe me a favor.

i need you to go in my place.

i'm asking a favor. a big favor.

i don't like asking you for help, but i don't have a choice.

this is a big ask. are you sure you're willing to help?

i need more than just words. i need action.

i'm having trouble lifting this. can you help me?

i'm terrible at making a bed.

you didn't have to help me out there.

#most of these will end up with u owing us money #meme tag #long post for ts