Zack Fair

〈 PLAYER INFO 〉
NAME: Skyla
AGE: 36
PLURK: skyladoragono
RETURNING:
Luke Skywalker | Star Wars | faithfulson

〈 CHARACTER INFO 〉
CHARACTER NAME: Zack Fair
CHARACTER AGE: 18
SERIES: Final Fantasy VII: Remake
CHRONOLOGY: Just before the Nibelheim mission
CLASS: Big Damn Hero
HOUSING: With Sephiroth wherever.

BACKGROUND: So there was a country boy that wanted to be in SOLDIER… wait, not that one.

The world of Final Fantasy VII is one where magic and science exist in the same place, and frequently overlap. The Lifestream, the life force of the planet and where those who pass on go when they return to the planet, will occasionally bubble up to the surface in mako springs. Naturally, this mako can condense into Materia, and when used by an individual, allows the user to call on the wisdom of those within the Lifestream, granting them different abilities. In the modern age, Shinra capitalizes on the use of mako, draining it from the planet to use for various energy resources and making life more convenient for the populace at large, all while slowly killing the planet, and causing conflicts across the world, particularly in Wutai.

Like many young boys during the war with Wutai, Zack ran off to join SOLDIER and be a hero — quite literally just ran off without telling anyone, if the letter he sends to his parents years later is any indication. He just didn’t realize being a hero meant making the hard choices, including killing his mentor as the man slowly started to degrade thanks to experiments by scientists playing god, as well as fighting against all of said mentor’s friends. He didn’t exactly sign up for being used as a science experiment for four years either, along with half the other events he’s put up with, but he still somehow manages to keep his spirits up.

PERSONALITY:
My honor. My dreams. They’re yours now. You’re my living legacy.

Zack is probably the most positive man in the multiverse. Upbeat and enthusiastic, he always looks on the bright side of things, pushing forward toward a future that he knows will be better; not just because it could be, but because he’s too stubborn to let it be anything else. This can-do attitude couples well with his valuing the dreams and honor of those he meets, and it draws people to him. Key members of the Turks, high ranking members of SOLDIER, even Sephiroth himself, trust Zack to do the right thing for the sake of a better future. For lower ranking members of SOLDIER, he’s looked up to as an inspiration and a strong leader for the same reason.

This doesn’t mean he’s immune to negative feelings or sadness. The most notable time his positive attitude drops is after his promotion to First Class. His dream for many years had been to achieve that rank, but when he does it’s not because of his own merits, but because of necessity. This in addition to how overwhelmed he was by the conflict with Angeal and Genesis led to a slump in his mood and outlook that lasts until he decides that how he attained his goal wasn’t as important as what he did with it.

Zack seems to have an endless supply of energy. Unable to sit still for very long he’s often found pacing back and forth, throwing himself onto the nearest piece of furniture, or doing a seemingly endless number of squats. He injects this hyperactivity into his work going about missions with enthusiasm and glee, although this does lead to him jumping into things without full understanding of the situation at times. This earns him the nickname of “puppy” from his mentor, as he’s always running around excitedly like one.

His open nature also allows him to make friends quickly. He meets Cloud on a mission and the two bond over both being country boys, joking about the name of each other’s towns and how reactors in the middle of nowhere means there’s nothing else out there. Even the Turks aren’t immune to Zack’s charm. Tseng’s interactions with him show the normally reserved man warming up to him and even joining in on the country boy jokes. He is also a bit of a flirt, as his interactions with Aerith show. He meets her after falling through the roof of her church, and despite Aerith’s initial reluctance, his kindness and personality win her over quickly. The two quickly become close and after Angeal’s death, Aerith is the person he goes to in order to grieve, further solidifying their bond.

Zack’s dream was always to be a hero, not just for the glory, but for a strong desire to help people. He views it as a personal achievement; instead of pitting himself against other members of SOLDIER, he strives to be better than his past self. This lack of competition against others is what draws Sephiroth to him, and leads to him trusting Zack with missions concerning missing SOLDIERs Angeal and Genesis, whom Sephiroth was very close with. His heroism most shows past his current point, however, when Zack breaks away from the scientific prison he had been captured in for four years; for all accounts he should have left the near comatose Cloud behind, but he didn’t, instead risking his life and freedom to ensure they would both be able to escape to safety together.

No matter what future may come to Zack, in the end he is a true hero, one that puts others before himself, and strives to make the world better for no other reason than he can.

POWER:

SOLDIER 1st Class: Like all those deemed worthy of joining the ranks of SOLDIER, Zack has been genetically reinforced and infused with Mako, making him stronger, faster, and infinitely more durable than a normal human, and are distinguishable from them by the faint glow their eyes have. It’s what allows Zack to swing around 80 pounds of solid folded metal like it’s just a wooden stick, and has him running hard and taking more hits compared to the average human.

Unlike the big name SOLDIERS, however, Zack was not originally intended to also be a Jenova experiment, so he doesn’t have any of the other “benefits” that the Big Three have. Yet what he lacks in alien cell infusion, he makes up for with sheer determination and enthusiasm, putting him on par with Angeal and Genesis, though when it comes to Sephiroth he can barely keep himself from getting killed.

Digital Mind Wave (DMW): SOLDIERs are encouraged to reflect on their past experiences and current emotions in order to improve their battle prowess. Zack’s emotions and his bonds to others are so strong that they come out in mini bursts of power, or limit breaks. He has one for each of his strongest bonds, though one of those would not be accessible at MoM for the obvious reason of summoning a Shinra helicopter for an airstrike would be a little impossible.

Chain Smash: A flurry of multiple, not very strong (or coordinated) sword strikes.
Octaslash: Based after Sephiroth’s own attack skill; a series of eight slashes ending with bringing the sword down hard on the enemy.
Rush Assault: Zack abandons using a sword entirely, instead rapidly pummeling an enemy with his fists, leaving them stunned briefly.
Lucky Stars: Gives Zack the chance of hitting harder for a brief time.
Healing Wave: Taking after his girlfriend, Zack takes a moment to just steadily heal up any damage, taking up to 20 seconds for a full heal.
Meteor Shots: A magical attack that allows Zack to call down meteors over an expansive area.

Squat King: Zack has so much energy, he’s known throughout Shinra for his ability to do squats just for the heck of it. In MoM, Zack’s squatting power will help him buff up his other abilities. For every ten squats, he’ll gain a buff up in strength. So ten squats, his power goes up by 1.5, twenty his power is doubled, thirty it’s tripled, ect, up to a maximum of a hundred squats. The power buff only lasts for the extent of one attack, before being reset.

〈 CHARACTER SAMPLES 〉
COMMUNITY POST (VOICE) SAMPLE:
[ When the picture comes on it’s… upside down. In Zack’s defense, the last kind of phone he had was a flip phone. He totally didn’t realize that it wasn’t the right way though, backing up and flashing the phone his biggest grin. ]

Hey, guys, I’ve got a big request that’s super important! I need someone to show me how to build up a flower garden.

[ He paused, like that was really all he needed to say and everyone would come flocking to his request, and it took awhile to realize that… probably wasn’t going to be the case. He let out an awkward noise, folding his arms over his chest. ]

Uh… I guess I should give a reason, hunh? So, I know we’re not really supposed to wish for people to come here, right? But the slums back home aren’t exactly the best place, and… well, this someone deserves a lot better than that place.

And she absolutely loves flowers, right? So I think that if I build up a biiiiiiiiiiiig enough flower garden, the porter will be nice and bring her over! But I’ve never done anything like this before, so I’m really going to need all the help I can get.

LOGS POST (PROSE) SAMPLE:
With Rude on the TDM

FINAL NOTES: So, technically Zack’s canon point is from before anything that changes in the Remake. But when I inevitably end up canon updating him in the future, I already have my heart set on following Remake timeline, which is why I’m listing him as being from that. I just didn’t want to start out as him being from where things get changed in the Remake, because I have no idea what’s about to happen, and I don’t want to play myself into a corner in the future.