#clocks and clouds

[captainhancock727]

Clocks And Clouds - And There Shall Be No Night (Official Music Video)

[aqua-regia009]

· Flight Pattern II, 2012 - oil on panel · Aftermath, 2007 - oil on prepared paper

Art by Rob Evans (American, b.1959)

https://www.robevansart.org/

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Lan Wangji Goes To Lotus Pier AU: Part 4: Deranged Bedfellows

(Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.5)

[daylighteclipsed]

Cloud and Tifa’s dialogue exchanges in Rebirth are banger after banger imo. But one of my absolute favorites is when they’re casually discussing food in the Bodybuilders in a Bind side quest.

I think it’s because it’s an unexpected but delightfully natural conversation? And it goes on for a while? This is a quest about working out, so you’d expect them to talk about workout routines or something. Instead, they end up talking about their food preferences after Tifa muses aloud what she should eat when they’re done. (She’s so real for thinking about food mid-workout btw.) She mentions steak, and Cloud makes a connection to Seventh Heaven’s menu. (This is news to us, as the audience; we never saw the menu in Remake.)

From the get-go, the dialogue communicates a lot without having to outright tell us everything. Tifa is the kind of person who thinks aloud without realizing it. She often plans meals/post-workout meals. She enjoys steak, and she put it on the Seventh Heaven menu, half of which — “the better half” — is (well, was) host to a number of meals she enjoys that Cloud also enjoys, as he laments not eating there more often. Tifa’s proud of her menu and cooking. And Cloud cares about the bar enough to remember the menu. While we’ve seen him express desire to rebuild Seventh Heaven before, this is the first time I really feel like he doesn’t want to rebuild it just to make Tifa happy. He cared about the place too. He misses it too.

The conversation continues with Tifa asking if Cloud’s a picky eater. Cloud replies that in the military, you eat what you’re fed. “SOLDIERs can’t be choosers.” Tifa mentions that she used to be a really picky eater. Cloud finds this surprising, and she emphasizes that she USED to be picky. “Can’t be choosers in the Slums, either.” Cloud, still curious, asks how Tifa feels about crab. She says that she’s not a fan, and he says that he’s not either.

Circumstances have made food more about survival. Cloud and Tifa are not in a position to choose, but they both still have preferences. I think this is interesting because this side quest comes right after Cloud’s side quest rendezvous with Aerith, where he sounds indifferent to what he eats. He expresses a little curiosity about how the clams/oysters/etc. from the shells they’re collecting might taste. Then Aerith says they could ask a local but she doesn’t think Cloud cares that much, and he just agrees. “I don’t. Food’s food.” And the conversation ends.

Cloud and Tifa talk about food almost this entire side quest lol. Clearly, food is not just food. Both characters have preferences, and they want to know each other’s preferences. There’s a sense of mutual interest and engagement, and a mutual ease of conversation flowing between them. (I think it’s fitting and a little humorous that Cloud brings up crab when they’re in a place like Costa del Sol. Crab is probably on every menu in town lmao He’s probably sick of seeing it.) Anyway, the most obvious takeaway from all this is that Cloud and Tifa have the same taste in food. But we’re not done yet.

From here, Tifa asks Cloud what the meals SOLDIERs eat taste like. Cloud replies that they’re healthy but not tasty, making a small disgusted “eugh” sound that earns a laugh from Tifa. Obviously, Cloud was never really in SOLDIER, but it’s safe to assume the average grunt also eats what they’re fed, and it doesn’t taste good. Cloud then begins to reminisce about their childhood. In hindsight, he realizes, they had it pretty good growing up. Tifa agrees. With fresh fruits and veggies, “and great chefs eager to use ‘em,” it’s hard to complain.

This isn’t the first time Cloud brings up their childhood in this side quest — he does very briefly at the start when he playfully asks Tifa what little Tifa would think of her adult self’s eagerness to kick some ass. But what’s so interesting is (if you play the game chronologically) I think this side quest is the first time Cloud brings up fond childhood memories without any prompting? He chooses to reflect on the past and steer his conversation with Tifa that way, to how they ate in Nibelheim, and it’s comfortable. It’s easy. A far cry from Tifa’s memory tests at the start of the game.

The past has been so tricky for Cloud and Tifa to navigate. It’s nice to see them reminisce about something so mundane and relatable like home-cooked meals. There’s some sadness in knowing neither of them can have that from their parents again… But there’s also the hope of rebuilding Seventh Heaven down the road. They — and their friends/found family — can always start a garden and enjoy homemade meals together someday, right? (Later in Gongaga, Barret mentions maybe starting a garden with Marlene. I think a shared/family garden when things settle down would be really sweet, but I digress.)

I think the dialogue in this side quest demonstrates the chemistry between Cloud and Tifa and quietly highlights their growing connection/reconnection. It flows so naturally (credit to the VAs for that as well). It really feels like two people hanging out and enjoying each other’s company, like they’re just going for a jog or grabbing a bite to eat or something instead of battling monsters. It paints a picture of what their casual/candid/low stakes dynamic is like, and it tells us more about them as individuals. It’s delightful. I love it.

[rainmacaroni]

On their very knees , for their short Queens ~

Ha , but of course Ichigo just has to be a bit extra about it

[bruisedviolette]

i will be sooooo fucking annoying when season five comes out because i was fighting for my life on instagram with the gay will byers agenda and byler being a mere possibility in 2017 when the only evidence we had was crazy together, will bring awkward at the snow ball and mike touching will’s hand when he was tweaking out

[onion-makes-stimboards]

helloo!!! could you do a winnerclock stimboard? :3

!!Winner X Clock Stimboard!!

1--2--3--4--5--6--7--8

[fieriframes]

[Purple socks argue with the spaghetti moon. The sky whispers algebra into a bowl of soup. Bananas wear hats and sing to forgotten trains. A toaster floats by, dreaming of electric clouds. Elephants knit sweaters out of melted clocks. The sidewalk hums like a jellybean in space. Chairs do the tango with invisible birds. A watermelon tells secrets to a laughing shoe. Time hiccups and spills mustard on the stars. The universe sneezes, and the trees turn blue.]

[katkat030]

Obsessed with Impulse’s complete change in tone and demeanour in that one bit of Pearl’s episode. It’s so clear he was barely holding back on not only murdering the first non-ally to come into his sight, but actually seeking Ren out for revenge.

[mourning-at-night]

IF IT (the fabricated nature of the reality you’ve been sucked into/the creeping realization you should be somewhere and someone much worse) SUCKS, HIT DA BRICKS!!

[willyhoos]

"shadows are inverted flames" -> wilsons hair is made of shadow -> YOUR BOYFRIEND'S HAIR IS MADE OF FLAME??? PETPETPETPET

also wilson can't leave the throne so he just has to deal with her doing this 24/7

[packs-pngs]

[slimeystimboards]

(took a long break, might return to making regular stimboards but no promises!!)

Pepsicola Stimboard

x | x | x

x | x | x

x | x | x

[daylighteclipsed]

I just realized how much these scenes mirror each other. There’s the obvious standing at a railing; night vs day; facing left vs right; bringing up Midgar as a way to start conversation. There’s more physical distance between Cloud and Tifa compared to Cloud and Aerith, and he doesn’t respond to Tifa’s attempt at casual conversation. He knows they’re about to have a difficult, personal convo, and he initiates it by voicing his doubts that Tifa is real. Aerith, on the other hand, catches Cloud off guard by bringing up Tifa. He’s expecting casual conversation, not a personal talk, and he’s reluctant to open up about what’s going on. Aerith ultimately doesn’t get much out of him.

I also think it’s neat that when Cloud is recounting (what he thought was) Tifa’s death, you can see the clock tower lit up behind him. The clock tower he climbs the next day with Aerith — the girl who does actually end up killed by Sephiroth later.

[hsundholm]

Maria on the Mount by Henrik Sundholm Via Flickr: A church overlooking world heritage town Hallstatt in Austria.

[contac]