I'm throwing my hat in with the "Cloud wasn't emo" crowd.
Pre-reveal, Cloud was a dork. He was trying to be the anti-hero. Part of it was his childhood dream, part of it was Zack's influence, and part of it was just trying to look cool. The thing was he wasn't really anti-hero material, so he just came off as looking kinda dorky, which made it kinda humorous. I think most of us players remember that.
Now of course later we see how fucked up that kid really is, and why that weird kinda mishmash of personality is IN that head of his. He has his pre-crisis, which culminates in him just trying to do SOMETHING so he doesn't lose his f'ing mind. Which he does anyway, poor guy.
Post-recovery, he's a man who has had a new identity, and a new TRUTH about existence thrust onto him. He also has all the memories about what he's done, and what is happening now to the world basically because of him. He's understandably timid and nervous and cautious! He doesn't like making the big decisions anymore, and when the party asks him to lead, what does he come up with?
"Let's mosey."
I think Cloud is just a victim of Flanderization, primarily due to Advent Children. And even that can make sense. The despair from "I thought we saved the world, but looks like the Planet is telling us to go fuck ourselves anyway." It's like.. all that work and death and ruin for NOTHING. I'd be a little emo, too.
Pre-reveal, Cloud was a dork. He was trying to be the anti-hero. Part of it was his childhood dream, part of it was Zack's influence, and part of it was just trying to look cool. The thing was he wasn't really anti-hero material, so he just came off as looking kinda dorky, which made it kinda humorous. I think most of us players remember that.
Now of course later we see how fucked up that kid really is, and why that weird kinda mishmash of personality is IN that head of his. He has his pre-crisis, which culminates in him just trying to do SOMETHING so he doesn't lose his f'ing mind. Which he does anyway, poor guy.
Post-recovery, he's a man who has had a new identity, and a new TRUTH about existence thrust onto him. He also has all the memories about what he's done, and what is happening now to the world basically because of him. He's understandably timid and nervous and cautious! He doesn't like making the big decisions anymore, and when the party asks him to lead, what does he come up with?
"Let's mosey."
I think Cloud is just a victim of Flanderization, primarily due to Advent Children. And even that can make sense. The despair from "I thought we saved the world, but looks like the Planet is telling us to go fuck ourselves anyway." It's like.. all that work and death and ruin for NOTHING. I'd be a little emo, too.
