Cloud Strife
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Cloud Strife |
| Occupation: | Soldier (formerly), Mercenary |
| Relationships: | Tifa (friend/love interest), Barrett (friend), Aerith (friend/love interest), Red XIII (friend), Cait Sith (friend), Yuffie (friend), Cid (friend), Vincent (friend), unnamed mother, Sephiroth (friend turned enemy, precursor), Zack (friend), Leon (rival) |
| Fandom: | Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
This article or section needs expansion. |
Cloud is the protagonist in the Square Enix video game Final Fantasy VII, and a minor character in the Disney/Square Enix video game Kingdom Hearts.
Canon
'Created' by Dr. Hojo as an attempted clone of the 'perfect soldier' Sephiroth, Cloud is much more than the emotionless, battle-hungry mercenary he at first seems.
Having seen one 'friend' burn down his hometown, another die saving his life, and a potential love interest killed at the hands of the first, Cloud understandably has trouble trusting people. Throughout the events of Final Fantasy VII and its many offshoots, Cloud is eventually shown to open up to others and realise that the right people have been there, all along.
Fandom
Being the central character of a very popular video game, it comes as little surprise that Cloud is heavily portrayed in fan fiction. These vary from many alternate universe scenarios, to more in depth explanations of his past, or just simple cameos in other game universes. Much like his existence in Kingdom Hearts
Shipping
Cloud is a popular character in shipping, featuring strongly in both het and slash fiction. Common pairings include:
- Cloud/Zack
- Cloud/Aerith
- Cloud/Tifa
- Cloud/Yuffie
- Cloud/Sephiroth
- Cloud/Zack/Aerith
- Cloud/Zack/Sephiroth
- Cloud/Tifa/Aerith
- Cloud/Aerith/Sephiroth
Common Tropes in Fanworks
- Time Travel Fix-It: Fix-it fics in which Cloud travels back in time in order to prevent the events of the main game (and occasionally Crisis Core as well) from occurring. Other characters are sometimes sent to the past alongside or instead of Cloud, but he’s by far the most popular choice.
Example Fanworks
Fanfiction
Fanart
Meta
- Scratching Inside The Head by bofoddity, a Cloud Strife character essay for Idol Reflections (December 2004)
- Cloud Strife - Becoming Of The Hero by bofoddity, follow-up to the above essay (March 2006)
Fansites & Communities
- omnislash, later Simulacrum, run by Kristen (icemilk) (2000–?)
- Strife (previously at peach-arrow.net), run by Stacey Anne (c. 2002–2011)
- Asperity, later Schism, run by Naolith (delphi) (2003–c. 2010)
- Wolkenstreit, previously Meteor Rain (c. 2002)
- Enchanted, later Pieces of Absolution (c. 2004–2008)
- Scar, for Cloud's Last Order incarnation; later "Scar/Happy Ending" (c. 2007–2011)
- cloud_smiles, founded November 2005
- _cloud_strife_, founded April 2004
- cloudawards, an icontest community, founded March 2010
Other Links & Resources
References