edgeoflife | Summer Solstice

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Summer Solstice

Summer Solstice Fair

The sun is shining, the Mognet is working again, and the summer solstice fair is here! The WRO hopes to makes this an annual thing, but this is the first year they're doing it. Everything you could ever want from a fair is here and open to the public.

*Fair Rides: Ferris wheels, a mini rollercoaster, that thing that looks like an octopus and spins around--the WRO spared no expense to make sure everyone would have fun here today. There's even a gravity ride that takes you up to the top of a pole and then drops you!

*Food: So much food. So much unhealthy food. Funnel cakes, hot dogs, burgers, ice cream, you name it. And it's all fairly cheap too, since the WRO promised to pay for half of what the merchants sell!

*Carnival Games: And most of them aren't even rigged! The Gold Saucer donated games for the fair and there are so many games. There's your standard shooting games, some basketball games, a dunk tank, hoop tosses, you name it. A few are rigged, though, so buy beware! There's also a few card tables set up in a tent for those who like their games a little less wild.

*Speed Dating: ...yeah, the WRO has no idea. This came with the Gold Saucer stuff, along with a Cait Sith and Moogle mascot pair that will coax anyone they can into sitting down and participating.

*Job Fair: With the influx of new arrivals, both native and Streamers, some employers see a golden opportunity to get some jobs filled! In one corner of the fair is another, mini-fair fill with tables and presentations on various workplaces: the WRO, ShinRa Tech, the volunteer emergency services of Edge, and the Highwind Air Taxi Service, just to name a few. Anyone of working age is welcome to wander in and have a look around.

Of course, the fair is taking up the entire center of Edge, so there's lots more to see and do!

[[Feel free to make your own top levels! Welcome to Edge of Life!]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Finding something to eat," he replied without really looking back. Of course he knew the sound of Cloud's voice.

When he did turn, it was because there was a questioning inflection in the way that Strife said his name. That was when he noticed that something wasn't quite right. Cloud, or at least when he last saw the guy, wasn't this young. There were ghosts and shadows in those eyes and this kid didn't have those.

Yet this was unmistakably Cloud all the same. For now, he rolled with it. Crossing his arms over his chest, he opted to look amused.

"Cloud?"

Yes, he was that juvenile.

That response, both extremely right (how couldn't it be?) and just a little bit off, had Cloud confused (and maybe a bit annoyed, because it wasn't as if he didn't recognise the tactic). He grimaced, frowning up at Zack and wasn't sure at all what to do now.

Shifting on his feet, Cloud almost crossed his arms as well, but the weight of the ice cream in one hand stopped him. Frowning at it as if it was to blame for the current confusion, Cloud looked back to Zack.

Couldn't help but remember the look in his eyes while Zack held him in the reactor, and again what the older version of him had said. Taking a breath, he bit his lip.

"I'm not giving you my ice cream," he said, almost on reflex, then shook his head, "... how old am I supposed to be?"

That should be a dead giveaway, but it'd be embarrassing if he mistook what little difference there were and Zack was just doing well enough today to not need that stick.

What? No ice cream for him? Blasphemy!

"That's not very nice."

Thankfully Zack wasn't going to ask anyway. Who would take candy from a baby anyway? Speaking of, the question did strike him as odd. Zack took a moment to really look Cloud over. How old he was supposed to be... No. There were no traces of that Cloud in this Cloud.

"Early to mid twenties. At least."

Go buy some, you moocher! He already shared his first one with a coeurl.

The comment made Cloud smile, glancing down at the cone in his hand - and had to hurriedly rescue some of it that was trying to escape, half-melted. Looking back up at comment, he shook his head.

"Sixteen," he offered softly, "you belong here, don't you?" That was the easiest way to separate this without having to try and start talking about his older self immediately. Cloud was starting to feel slightly annoyed he'd missed the time that had passed... but well.

That was how the Lifestream worked wasn't it?

"I died in the reactor," Cloud said, giving a little shrug. It was getting easier to say that, but the aching in his chest was still hard to ignore.

That was your own damn fault for sharing with a coeurl!

Sixteen... Still so young. Did that mean this Cloud never went through all those experiments? Honestly, Zack was thinking about asking. Thinking about it, but likely wouldn't go through with it. It still didn't explain how, exactly, that Could was still so young. Hell, the guy should have been ( technically ) older than he now!

Zack opened his mouth, but as cut short with the next response. He died in the reactor? As in... No. No, that didn't happen. It didn't happen that way at all. So jarring was the claim that he sort of ignored the other tidbit of information that the kid had dropped on him.

"Hold on. You... Died? That's not what happened. I was barely conscious at the time, but that's definitely not what happened."

She knocked it out of his hand!

Oh--- Cloud winced, instantly feeling both guilty awkward. He should probably have said that differently, but saying it outright made it easier for him to actually deal with it (as much as he was dealing with it... could you deal with something like that?). He took a step closer, because different Zack or not, it was Zack.

The hand he'd reached out sort of hovered awkwardly, barely brushing Zack's arm before it dropped back.

"... sorry. It's..." Cloud paused, grimacing a little, "I met my... um, older self here, he said that too. But I... tossed Sephiroth into the reactor and then, I guess, I didn't last long enough." It ended softly, and apparently while it was easier to say he died, how still brought up the feeling of steel going through him and feeling guilty as he looked up at Zack.

Cloud shook his head and looked up at this Zack instead; it made it easier to keep the memory a memory, even if he looked upset.

Oh no. Oh no no no. Zack knew that look. There was no way that anyone deserved to have that amount of guilt on their shoulders. Forget everything that was going on here. Different Planets. Different, but familiar people. Forget all of that. It had nothing to do with this. His hands were immediately on Cloud, just shaking him a little.

"Hey," he said, then a little stronger. "Hey. It wasn't your fault, got that? You've got no reason to carry that on your own. Is the me you know still alive? Is that girl, Tifa? You saved people Cloud. That's nothing to feel bad about, all right?"

If anything, the kid should feel proud. Making the right choice was tough. It wasn't a choice that he, or Zack in the end, should have had to make. Yet they did and because they did, others were able to carry on. That was what was important here.

Sucking in a slightly shuddering breath as he was suddenly shaken a little, Cloud blinked. Nodded almost out of pure reflex only. The words were familiar, if for a situation that hadn't happened before, and he'd been told this, but it wasn't easy for it to sink in.

"But if I just..." If he'd been SOLDIER, if he'd held on a little longer, if--- Cloud shook his head, let the weight of the hands on his shoulders, like the hug when he'd seen (his) Zack again center him for the moment and nodded.

"Yeah. You... he?" a pause and an annoyed frown, "survived. Tifa did too." Cloud didn't even notice he smiled a little, then, happy that both this world's Tifa had survived as well as his. "I... guess that's what counts."

Even if it still did feel like he should've done better.

"You could power an entire Planet on 'what ifs,' Cloud," Zack chided. "It doesn't do anyone any good to keep looking back when you need to keep looking forward."

Shake the dust off of your feet and move on. Never forget, but do not dwell. All time, eventually, leads to the future. No one can go back. That wasn't how things worked. Still, the fact that Cloud relaxed and even smiled a little made it a little better. He released the kid and put his hands on his hips.

"It's not easy doing the right thing," he agreed. "But the people we care about will carry on for us."

Opening his mouth and then closing it on a sigh, Cloud nodded. Glanced away and didn't say that it was pretty impossible to look forward when you were dead, but, well. He wasn't dead right now, was he?

He was, in fact, very, very alive, if in the completely wrong place (and yet it was the right one. Confusing).

"Well... it'd be a better energy source than mako, wouldn't it?" he said instead, his dry little smile growing wider when he looked back to Zack with his hands on his hips. It was... both great and weird that there suddenly were two of them (but well, the same could be said for his older self and him, really).

"Not sure... I tried to kill him because it was the right thing to do, though." Cloud's gaze flickered from Zack, to the ice cream and then away. He'd wanted (still wanted) his mother and Nibelheim back, even if Sephiroth also had to be stopped anyway.

But it hurt too, because he'd looked up to the man so much, and then... that.

Zack groaned, rubbing at his face. Yet grinning, just a little. "That's a horrible joke."

Still, it was a little bit of a joke. That was better than nothing. Zack wouldn't tolerate anyone stewing in their emotions for too long. It wasn't healthy nor did it really help or change anything. That sort of negativity? No one needed it.

"Hey, it wasn't easy," Zack admitted. "But he went off the rails, Cloud. By the time any of us realized it, it was too late."

Unfortunately that was the sort of negativity Cloud pretty much lived on a lot of the time... Which probably made it a good thing that he had Zack, whether that be before he died or here.

He ducked his head a little, pleased he'd managed this much at least, but he sighed and nodded, frowning at the ground.

"Yeah. But maybe if we could've done something earlier..." Again with the 'what ifs', but it wasn't fair. To anyone, even if Cloud was still angry at what Sephiroth had done.

"... doesn't matter, I guess. I mean, it happened the same way both here and for me," Cloud looked up with a little grimace. Was it unavoidable, or was there, maybe, a place where things had happened differently? Cloud liked that idea, even if it wasn't one they knew.

There he went again, with the what ifs... At least Cloud stopped himself this time. There was no need for him to chide the other again. Unfortunately, life wasn't - ha - fair. There would always be a price and a consequence to everything. One just needed to make the most of what they had when they had it.

"I'm sure that, somewhere, what happened at the reactor didn't happen at all. With all this, it's not impossible, right?"

Zack shrugged. He wasn't really big on the whole science thing and that seemed that's what this thing was. A science thing. Personally, Zack also liked the idea that somewhere out there, things went right for everyone involved.

Maybe he shouldn't be surprised that Zack would be the type to have the same thought, but would also voice it. Cloud nodded, belated remembering his ice cream and going to rescue some parts of it.

"I was wondering about that," he said after he'd made sure he wasn't going to end up with ice cream all over his hand, "I hope so."

Glancing up at Zack, Cloud grinned briefly. Sure, he'd said he couldn't have the ice cream, but...

"Do you... want a taste?"

Cloud wasn't sure if it was strange to offer - he didn't think so, but he shifted on his feet and glanced away for a moment. He'd have done the same for his Zack, of course, but he was not present at the moment.

"Do I wha-"

Oh. Oh. The ice cream. Honestly Zack completely forgot about that. He threw his hand over his mouth to keep his laughter muffled. A snicker was better than a full fledged laugh, right? Now who would offer a grown ass man a taste of ice cream? Cloud flipping Strife, apparently. No, it wasn't that it was strange, it was just that...

Well his mind wasn't completely innocent, all right?

"N-no," he replied, finding words. "I'm all right. You enjoy your ice cream, little boy."

Cloud huffed, embarrassed but at the same time the laugh was familiar enough he knew Zack was just amused and not necessarily laughing at him. But it didn't help his earlier nervous reaction, the reason for which he was now firmly squashing without even acknowledging it. But the last two words brought on a full-on scowl.

"Zack," Cloud said even as he knew protesting would probably just make Zack's point for him, "... fine, I will."

The mutter was somewhere between mutinous and exasperated as Cloud rolled his eyes and did, partly out of pure annoyance, bite off a few bits of it... and then winced, the cold hitting his teeth and piercing his brain.

"... that was dumb."

Then Cloud did that and made it even worse. Or better? Hard saying. Now Zack really was laughing. Full, bright, and at Cloud. "That completely backfired!"

Trying to look tough and petulant really didn't work for the teen. Nope. Though to make him feel a little better about his life choices, Zack snatched Cloud's wrist. Yes, yes he was going to take a bite or two just to give himself brain freeze. Maybe that would make him feel a little better.

"Such a brat..." He said, wincing.

"... yeah, it did," Cloud muttered, wincing again. Of course Zack just had to make it worse, but Cloud was busy trying to breathe through his own brain freeze to do more than aim a definitely-not pout at him.

And then he snorted, muffling it and hiding the smile behind his free hand. That did make him feel better, but really, Zack?

"Not my fault," he defended himself, and then laughed softly, not even minding being called a brat this time.

See? Shared pain and suffering makes everyone all around feel better. At least, if anything, it got a few chuckles for them both. Zack rubbed at his head, hoping to ease away the pain that quickly faded.

"Completely your fault."

It was sorely needed, really, even if today wasn't bad. If he hadn't actually met Zack - and his own, at that - beforehand, Cloud would absolutely have been far more upset during this meeting.

"Not," Cloud said, rolling his eyes, "you're two---"

Then he stopped, frowning, and thought it over. He'd been wondering, but with the time that just kept being added, first four, then more, Cloud had gotten more reluctant to figure out how much time he'd actually lost.

"... at least five to... what... eight years, older than me. You both are." Cloud stopped and looked away. He'd known this, vaguely, already. Looking at both this Zack and the one that came from the same Planet as him, it wasn't hard to figure out.

But he did the math, now, and suddenly the years were just... Zack had said he'd missed him, but that was such a nebulous and yet weighty statement. That was a lot of time.

"... so I think I'm not... really responsible for what you do," Cloud finished gamely, even if it was suddenly very quiet and the smile he tried for pretty much failed.

Ah. There it as again. Cloud thinking too much. Zack placed a hand on the kid's head, giving those blonde spikes a ruffle. Again, it didn't matter about this Zack or that Zack - this Cloud or that Cloud. All he saw was someone dealing with things that they shouldn't have to. All that Zack cared about was helping out in what way he could, if he could.

"I wouldn't put too much weight on that," he shrugged. "What's really weird to think about is the fact that the Cloud I know is older than me now. How messed up is that?"

He didn't know if this Cloud knew that he didn't survive, but it didn't matter. Numbers were numbers. Time was lost and they wouldn't get it back.

"All this means is that we both have a lot of lost time to make up for. No big."

"Hey---" Startled out of the darkening spiral of his thoughts, Cloud ducked his head out of pure reflex, though not far enough to avoid getting his hair ruffled. Maybe he didn't really want to avoid it, but he still frowned up at Zack, even if it didn't quite contain the usual amount of displeasure.

"... he is?" Cloud paused, thought of what his older self had said, and then he nodded slowly, "... right, he would be. That is weird." And it was, because Zack just wasn't younger than him.

Of course, for him he wasn't, but Cloud wasn't going to think too much about that again.

"... I guess," he agreed softly, frowning a little. "... you know, I think Zack. Um, the one I know, is older than you too."

He would be, wouldn't he, since he'd lived through all of this too...

"I guess that would make sense, huh?" If things were reversed, then yeah. Yeah this Cloud's Zack would be quite a bit older than him at this point. "Don't suppose he'd let me call him 'grandpa' or 'old man' huh?"

Yes, that was his attempt at getting back to more lighter subjects.

"... Zack." Cloud shook his head slowly, his expression going a bit incredulous - and trying not to smile. "You can't call yourself grandpa."

Really, that was just too weird, but there was a sparkle of amusement in Cloud's eyes now, brightening the formerly muted blue. Then he cocked his head an arched an eyebrow.

"And I don't know... Would you want to be called 'old man'?"

Cloud wasn't really the type, but he hoped he put enough innocence in his tone to imply it, finally grabbing onto the offered attempt and trying to let it buoy him back to where he'd been earlier today.

"He's me, but he's not, right? We kind of have had different lives," he shrugged.

Cloud grinning. Wasn't that one of the best things in the world? That was all Zack ever really cared to do, honestly. He wanted to make things better for people. Right now he'd just work on people. One at a time, if he could.

"And if I was an old man, I wouldn't mind. But I'm not. He is."

Summer Solstice

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short tag but i can't think

/pets

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