#hollow skies

[quartercirclejab]

in the original Final Fantasy VII, Cloud Strife didn't have a theme of his own, per se. one might say the "Main Theme of FFVII" was meant to serve that purpose, but i feel that this is overlooking the possibility that Cloud's lack of his own dedicated theme was intentional. every other member of the party has one, which usually reprises for moments of key development. their themes reflect their character, their hopes and dreams- but Cloud's grasp on his own identity is tenuous. as the game progresses and his mental pillars of sand come down, he loses any real sense of who he is, and struggles to rediscover it

in that sense, Cloud could actually be said to have two themes: "Who Are You", the mysterious theme that accompanies Cloud's moments of confusion when he encounters his buried subconscious, and the companion piece, "Who Am I", the theme that plays during Cloud's mental breakdown.

"Who Am I" is something of a dark reprise of "Main Theme of FFVII", which lends credence to the theory that the main theme is, in fact, Cloud's theme, but i think it might be more accurate to say the main theme is the theme of Cloud's false identity. it's a sweeping, bombastic anthem of heroic adventure, encompassing all the traits Cloud wishes he had.

this view also makes sense when you consider that the moment Cloud gets lost in the Lifestream and his false identity collapses is also the moment "Main Theme of FFVII" disappears from the game, to be replaced by "The Great Northern Cave." no more heroism, no more pretending... just dread, and a great cosmic sword of damocles hanging over the earth. even when Cloud regains his sense of self and returns to the party, "Main Theme of FFVII" doesn't return with him. he's not running from reality anymore, there's no more hiding under a false sense of bravado. the reckless courage of facing the bitter truth is all that remains.

for Remake, Nobuo Uematsu wrote a new vocal piece called "Hollow." while it's not explicitly stated to serve as such, the new piece is pretty clearly meant to be Cloud's theme, putting his feelings of uncertainty and fear into words and melancholy guitar chords

it's a little on the nose, i think- part of what made the OG's twist so impactful was that Cloud really wasn't particularly uncertain or afraid. up until he begins to directly encounter Sephiroth, he doesn't seem bothered by the gaps in his memory, his unexplained headaches, or the sudden flashbacks that accompany them. his fall from sanity is incredibly rapid, which makes it all the more shocking

Remake has changed this dynamic by having Sephiroth appear earlier than he did in the original. his more aggressive approach to exploiting Cloud's confusion has lead to Cloud's characterization being much less confident in his own mind, and the certainty of his reality

"Hollow" reflects this new interpretation of Cloud, as does "Hollow Skies", the instrumental version that plays in some parts of FFVII Remake's overworld. it's a mournful, lilting piece that tells us much about where Cloud's head is at right know: he knows something's wrong with him, but he can't articulate what it is, and the only solid ground he can really find is in placing his trust in someone he knew a long time ago

[k1ngdomfa11]

<3

[seraphworks]

Sleepy Noct + Nova fullbody for his wip refsheet

[shorterstrides-fasterpace]

A very good evening of skiing! I was able to ski right along my running trail!! I was 4 other Skiiers out and chatted with them a bit. Two of them are part of the running club I see in the mornings. Very cool. I definitely feel like I am in the right town. Well, or as close as I can get for now. It is a really good place to live.

[comradecowplant]

so things are not going well with my new elderly socdem friend unfortunately.

[feathered-moths-ablaze]

Mothface put Buzzardkit down! You're going to end changing his entire fate- oi get back here! >:0

[galaxofmuses]

Hookay!! It's time for me to talk about this Persona AU for Leon! So basically every Persona AU is basically like a timeline.

Also I will tags some warning because his tragic past is mostly going to be intact. Warning there will be dark content.

Persona 3: His family gets killed by a criminal and unable to fend himself because of his young age, but luckily he was alive thanks to a police cop. Grateful for the save, but yet lost so much as he jumps from foster to foster until the Kennedys took him in.

The Kennedy family decided it might be a chance of pace to move to Japan. The past seems like blur to him and trying to bury the trauma and so many years of therapy. Leon struggled for awhile and it doesn't help that he was seen as a tourist then a citizen of Port Island. Eventually Leon finds his footing despite his insecurity, yet his naivety and friendly nature always seems to charm people and quickly to strike up friendships. In the end, he is still a good kid and surprisingly fiercely loyal and protective when someone is in trouble.

As he grew up at the age of 18, he decided to go and attend college to become a police officer because he was aspired from the officer who saved his life and his sense of justice and duty always seems to shine through wherever he goes.

Confused from the people going missing through the island and he even tries to figure out what has been happening, but no avail. Leon does go to the park to meet up with Koromaru and noticing that sometimes there are kids that always seems to be there.

Persona 4: Graduated from college and got an opportunity as a rookie cop in Inaba, but he was more like an intern then arresting people. It was rather a small quiet town, not that he complains about it. He does his paperwork in time and connecting with the community and a regular at Junes. Even though his supervisor Ryotaro Dojima always challenge him and well to his surprise that Leon always manages to get things done. Unfortunately the peace doesn't last long because of the mysterious murders and missing people. Frustrated that he has been noticing this pattern through most of his life and, yet he has no idea why. Leon knew some of the kids in town, but he never really manage to pry anything.

Persona 5: An opportunity came for Leon to join the police force in Tokyo. He excitedly accept the offer and has been working there for 6 years with Mr.Nijima. The two seems to be unstoppable and of course there are occasional bar meetups and eventually he did meet his daughters even if it's just for a moment. Until one day, his partner and coworker gets killed by protecting him. With much regret and pain he had to break the news to his family and he never forget the harsh words from Sae.

As the years go by his heart hardened a bit and became a workaholic and going to the bar often. Until the incidents of people starts to get killed from by a mysterious death or a possible outbreak. Frustrated that these events always happen to him, he needed to find out why this is happening, but he was completely thrown off once the Phantom Thieves arrived.

Persona 5 Strikers: It's been 6 months after the incident. Things were back to normal and he has a much more close and stable relationship with the Nijimas. It was beginning to become rather droll until the mentioning of the Phantom Thieves struck again. Raising a brow as there is a mysterious app going around as well, this made him truly go investigate and excuses himself as he's going on a vacation.

[dead-dove-orchid]

Island Skeet: Stubborn In The Sun.

I really like the idea for this draw but my execution fell flat- I may start over with this idea and do a similar draw but complete it, one of these days! So have the unfinished first version~ island skeet, my beloved, bites bites bites ,

-⚓️

[thorsenmark]

Sometimes Magic Is Not Needed; It's Already Here! (Shenandoah National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: While taking in views and walking around the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center in Shenandoah National Park. This was along the Fox Hollow Trail with a view looking to the southwest across a meadow to this one Flowering Dogwood tree. For me, the setting was almost perfection with the way the tree rose along this little rise in the ground, and then there was the blue skies with some clouds as a backdrop to highlight the setting. Magical, to say the least! The rest of the image was composing it to find that right backdrop with the clouds and blue skies, as well as metering the image to not blow any highlights while still being able to bring out the more shadowed areas later in post production. This was also the first full day of me using a Nikon Z8 Mirrorless Camera and was definitely loving the experience in another national park!

[emmafallsinlove]

i wanna edit literarti + invisible string but i got no ideas all i know that is their song

[xehabaldera]

sci-fi fantasy furries and fascism with a hint of spirituality and psychology, or "Tetsuya Nomura And Tetsuya Takahashi, When I Get My Hands On You, You Will Pay For What You've Done To My Heart And My Art"

EVERYONE QUICK describe your oc story in the worst way possible

[xehabaldera]

raw (data) feel

[mortallychoppedgalaxy]

Ya'll, i'm doing sims 3 world commisions, small, medium, large, or just edits/scrubs, whatever, including lots and families or not. Find me on Fiverr.

[gbhbl]

Under Blackened Skies Returns with Powerful New Single "Hollow Tyrant" and Live Performance

After a decade-long hiatus, metal enthusiasts rejoice as Under Blackened Skies announces their triumphant return with the release of their highly anticipated single, "Hollow Tyrant."

After a decade-long hiatus, metal enthusiasts rejoice as Under Blackened Skies announces their triumphant return with the release of their highly anticipated single, “Hollow Tyrant.” The band’s first brand new single in ten years comes alongside the announcement of their first live performance since 2015. ‘Hollow Tyrant’ will be released on Thursday 27th June 2024. Formed in 2008, Under…

[strangerskies-wfiles]

16 Feb 2024 04:25 PMA Dream If A Tall Man In A Black Suit.mp3

"A Tall Man in a Dream in A Black Suit"

Unedited Audio #1

Blackbird's Hollow Almanac and Travel Guide to Peculiar Places, Spaces and Fleeting Moments Across Time and Space

Sci-fi plotline podcast

[feathered-moths-ablaze]

Uh oh the kids overheard some lore