Owie

[mimi_sardinia]

The plotbunnies are biting again, through they aren't being very original at the moment. Current idea has strong resemblance to bits of this series, particularly One of These Days, and moreso to bard_linn's Equivalent Trade. There's also a part of the plot that may get me castigated for Tifa-bashing.


So, after the events of AC Cloud is pretty good. He's cured of his geostigma, he's come to terms with the deaths of old friends and is starting to be social again.

Without any warning, he disappears. He goes on a delivery and never comes back.

It is several years later that he is found alive - and living with a reserected Sephiroth.

Of everyone's reactions to this Tifa's is the worst. She has never been able to let go of Cloud even though everyone had practically accepted him as being dead. The whole issue of Cloud had become rather obsessive for Tifa - so much so that everyone avoided talking about him in her hearing range.

Of course, finding out he's with Sephiroth immediately sets Tifa off badly - she immediately assuming Cloud's being missing is due to Sephiroth kiddnapping him and holding him captive.

Okay, I don't have the exact course of events set out but Tifa does something to Cloud while he is seperated from Seph - I originally thought something akin to date-rape actually - that Cloud reacts badly to. Badly =/= yelling at her, badly means beating her up viciously and only being stopped because Seph - thanks to a mental link between him and Cloud - arrives just in time (with others following) to stop Cloud from killing her.

This is where the resemblance to the abovementioed fics come in.

Aerith and Zack make an appearance, saying things need to be set straight.

Gaea, the Planet, wanted someone who could hear it, someone to protect it. It picked Cloud because he was already halfway there. The problem is Gaea is barely sentient in it's own right, so when it grabbed Cloud and altered him for it's purposes it did not understand "gentle". The result was that it damaged Cloud's mind - badly. Cloud was angry at the torture the Planet put him through and set out to "punish" it... by summoning another Meteor.

Sephiroth's reserection was Zack and Aerith's doing. Before Nibelheim Sephiroth and Cloud had the beginings of a relationship but between Sephiroth's lack of understanding of how normal human interaction works and Cloud's total lack of self-worth it was not going well. Zack was just about to make the pair of them sit down and talk everything through... after they got back to Midgar from Nibelheim.

To put it simply, Sephiroth's role now is to guard the guardian - to keep Cloud stable. Tifa's interference at a time when Sephiroth was not present was something that could have caused Cloud to go off the deep end again.

So there you go. I'd advise CloTi fans not to read - I'm usually nicer to Tifa but... :) Sometimes you need to vent against an unfavoured character.

Comments

[bard-linn.livejournal.com]

It's like manipulation in reverse. XD;;

[mimi-sardinia.livejournal.com]

Yeah, kinda. With a few tones of Exegesis for spiciness as well.

[bard-linn.livejournal.com]

......T.T Exegesis.

*wanders off to cry*

[mimi-sardinia.livejournal.com]

*Huggle* As I said in my post about that, at least he didn't outright kill someone.

[bard-linn.livejournal.com]

Yet.

[mimi-sardinia.livejournal.com]

True that. Mind you, at this stage I wouldn't mourn Rufus' death in that fic. So long as he doesn't kill Sephiroth, when he turns up.

[bard-linn.livejournal.com]

I'm ALL for that. >0

Kinda wish Tifa would get wind of what was really going on and go help Cloud'n'Yuffie out though. Not like she hasn't blown up reactors before. :)

[mimi-sardinia.livejournal.com]

So do I. ^_^

[fireholly.livejournal.com]

Sorry, but that seems more than a little OOC. I can't see Cloud beating up Tifa under any circumstances except ones that involve either mind control or drugs. No matter what she did to him, no matter how bad she made him feel, he'd never lay a finger on her.

What she did to him in the game was possibly the worst thing anyone could have done to him, and he didn't even yell at her, let alone beat her up so much Sephiroth (?!) had to stop him killing her.

[bard-linn.livejournal.com]

I'm not really talking about whether something is OOC - because to put it bluntly, it's a fic-bunny which means it's not fleshed out, though it could possibly be done in an IC way but it would take a lot of work and Cloud isn't very sane pe say is this bunny you'll note - but as to WHY so many fans (including myself) have a problem with Tifa is really a singular instance.

Tifa didn't tell Cloud the truth.

She KNEW what he told everyone else had happened in That Incident was a lie. She knew and didn't say anything, but just let Cloud continued to believe an untruth. Wouldn't you be pretty happy if someone allowed - possibly encouraged! - you to embrace a falsehood?

Yeah, so that's why I don't like Game!Tifa. Movie!Tifa softened my opinion towards her and I try not to bash her very much, but there still is that very true concern.

[fireholly.livejournal.com]

Um, it's not the anti-Tifa vibes I'm complaining about. It's the fact that Cloud isn't going to beat her up, no matter how big of a problem you, me or anyone has with her. I can see him carrying a really, really big chip on his shoulder over the whole lying incident, but the truth is that Cloud isn't going to physically attack her without a DAMN good reason.

It's not the fact that Tifa gets beaten up, it's the fact that Tifa gets beaten up by CLOUD.

And as I said, Tifa's lying was possibly the worst thing she could have done to him. It shows Cloud's incredible strength of character that he's able to forgive her (scene under the Highwind, anyone?). Of course, he's got lots and lots to be mad at her for, but the fact that he didn't actually kill her, or attack her, or even shout at her shows the sort of person he is. Whether Cloud genuinely likes her, or whether he's faking it for the sake of keeping the peace, is up to you, but he would never actually attack her unless something was terribly, terribly wrong.

[bard-linn.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but point number one: Cloud. Is. Not. Sane. The planet has altered him in this bunny and it could easily have changed the very way his mind WORKS. If you're familiar with Madam Hydra's COI series at all, this Cloud reminds me a bit of Strife (who, it has been recently shown, definitely wants to beat her up at the least). Remember, this is NOT the game!Cloud. This is post-Hojo+planet-altered Cloud. So his head isn't on straight.

I think you're right that in normal circumstances Cloud would never hurt Tifa. But this ISN'T normal circumstances.

[mimi-sardinia.livejournal.com]

Linn's assessment of the plotbunny is pretty right - Cloud is not sane and Tifa is not totally stable either. Niether are quite In Character for either the game or AC.

I will also agree with Linn's comment that normally Cloud would not attack Tifa but the circumstances outlined in this bunny are not normal.

[jessara40k.livejournal.com]

Actually, I think that might be a pattern for her, letting people believe what they wanted to believe if it was convenient for her. For instance she did the same thing with her father after she was hurt going into the mountains 'to look for her mother', she let him blame Cloud and assume she was following him.

[mimi-sardinia.livejournal.com]

In that situation she was in a coma for 7 days afterwards so she didn't have a chance to correct her father when he first took it out on Cloud. On the other hand there's also no evidence she ever did tell her father otherwise when she did wake.

[jessara40k.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I know she was in a coma, but she should have told him when she woke, and I'm pretty sure it would have been mentioned if she had.

[jessara40k.livejournal.com]

Iv'e actually started a bit on this plot bunny. What do you think? (Split over two comments for length0

Sephiroth was pulled from his sleep as he felt his lover's mind slip into its feral state, the mixture of fury and arousal he could sense through their link making adreneline surge sympathetically through his own body.

"She's done something stupid, I don't know what, but I have to stop Cloud. You'd best get Tifa out of the way once I distract him, and arrange to have some meat heavy meal, with enough for two delivered as well, to calm him down." Sephiroth spoke to Vincent, the pale skinned man had seemed the more reasonable of the two that woman had ordered to keep him occupied while she was with his mate, and apparently the urgency in his voice got through to him, since he kept the dark skinned man from trying to stop him. It might have helped that Sephiroth left Masamune behind, but he knew the sword wouldn't be any help, would probably endanger him.

He didn't know where that woman had taken Cloud, but it didn't matter, he could sense the man just as he'd once been able to sense Jenova, the mother who'd planned to use him and throw him away. Only he knew Cloud would never throw him away, and so he ran to find him, and keep him from killing the woman he'd seemed to care for.

No one stopped him when he ran into the village inn, the locals all knew about his role in keeping their volatile protector stable and they weren't going to interfere when he wasn't even carrying his sword. Cloud wasn't in any of the downstairs rooms, as much a blessing as a curse, because from the bloody satisfaction coming down their link he was doing something that would have made someone try to intervene if they'd seen it. Sephiroth ran up the stairs seeking the sense of his lover's mind...except he didn't need to, he could smell the scent of blood from the hallway and he froze for a second as he caught sight of what had been hidden behind the door he threw open.

His mate had been systematically beating the dark haired woman to death, he'd obviously done something to keep her from speaking first, and now he glanced over at Sephiroth before dismissing him, and returning to what he'd been doing. Sephiroth swallowed, and focused on the burning, artificial arousal he coudl feel through their link, drawing it into himself and making it own, opening himself to the instincts the Planet had instilled in him to make him more acceptable to its Chosen.

He dropped his coat and belts on the floor as he stepped over to Cloud, kneeling just out of the way, and reaching up to tentatively touch his arm.

"Please Cloud...I need you." Cloud immediately dropped the woman, and turned to him, pulling him to his feet by the hair and bending him over backwards to kiss, tearing at his pants and literally tearing them off his body. His instincts told him to enjoy it, to purr in pleasure, when Cloud dumped him in the pool of blood from the interloper, but he forced himself to whine instead, letting a hint of fear enter his voice and scramble awkwardly away, remembering that he had to distract Cloud properly. But he froze when Cloud growled and whimpered in now-genuine fear, fear that he'd displeased his lover enough that he might demand Sephiroth accept another in their bed, that he'd failed in the task he'd been set. But Cloud seemed appeased, picking him up and tossing him over to a bed he hadn't noticed against one wall and following him, ripping his own clothes off as he did, lifting one of Sephiroth's legs and pushing into him, biting him at the base of the throat to keep him still.

[jessara40k.livejournal.com]

Sephiroth knew better than to do anything now, not until Cloud released the grip on his throat, so he just lay back, enjoying it, and thanking Zack and Aeris for making sure he was equipped to take this safely. He'd been brought back less human than he had been before Nibelheim, but at least this time he knew he'd stay as he was, not change further, he would keep his mind, and his master now was far kinder than his 'mother' had been. He noticed Vincent entering the room first, pulling out a green materia when he saw Tifa's condition, looking at him with shock in his eyes and knew he had to warn the man.

"Get her out of here first. Cloud will take that as a threat." Sephiroth wrapped his arms and raised leg around his lover desperately, purring in the back of his throat, and lifting his hips as best he could to spur his mate to greater efforts.

xx0xx

[mimi-sardinia.livejournal.com]

Wow! There's dimensions you've added to that which I never even thought of. The extent that Sephiroth was altered to bind him to Cloud and make him able to distract Cloud's attention.

I love the almost animalistic nature Cloud seems to have as well, it works very well.


I am honestly flattered you've written even this much of this bunny, knowing my own writing problems it's so great whenever I see someone else take on one of them.

[jessara40k.livejournal.com]

Glad you like. I figured the easiest way to have Cloud damaged was making him basically revert to the mind-state of a large predator, and since my Sephiroth is very uke, not to mention this one's been broken by Jenova in a fundamental way, and in altering Cloud the Planet will have made him one hell of a lot stronger...

Basically the only way Sephiroth can control Cloud is sexually.

This shippet comes from the middle of the story, probably, it's just a one-shot, and will end with either Cloud killing Tifa, because she won't accept that he has a mate, or Vincent and Barret taking her home 'heartbroken'.

[mimi-sardinia.livejournal.com]

I can't wait to see the rest of it, you've done great work with it. ^_^