#ship: vincent & cloud

[volos-wish]

Old not-vampire man struggles with technology and gets help from his boyfriends fursona

[skyekitsuneart]

had to share this bcuz i am so correct

cissnei doesnt have another woman to be shipped with bcuz there are no other (logical) wlw ships in ff7 besides aerti but its okay bcuz she embodies yaoi energy all by herself

[protemporescitor]

Cloud: …

Vincent: …

Cloud: …

Vincent: …

Cloud: …

Vincent: Good talk.

Cloud: Yup.

[getvalentined]

Strifentine Is Real screenshot dump!

Did I acquire these screenshots through literal hours of running around in Gold Saucer figuring out how Vincent is programmed to move and react to Cloud's actions and using that behavior to my advantage? Obviously.

Do they still count? Of course they do.

(While nothing in here is truly a spoiler in any major capacity, I am nonetheless tagging it as such for those people who don't even want to see screenshots with no context until they've finished the game.)

[ff7-has-taken-me-over]

Randomly, I had a thought on how likely it would have been for different characters to have fallen for Cloud and why they would have fallen for him and now I’m here! Once more! So going in no particular order let us begin (this is just the main sort of batch of characters, let me know if you wanna see any of the side ones like the Turks or Rufus)

Also keep in mind this is just me, my opinions and my blog. Don’t like, don’t read, don’t bring your ship hating or ship wars in here or I’ll punch you. Please and thank you!

Zack: I am being mildly biased with my own shipping head canons when I say that he would’ve fallen head over heels upon first meeting, but also it is canon that he was a chronic flirt and had multiple ‘girlfriends’. So I say it’s not entirely out of the question.

Sephiroth: before he lost his mind there wasn’t a chance in fucking hell it would’ve happened I think. Besides the whole difference in rank thing Seph was already far too traumatised and probably would have just seen Cloud as another guy that saw him as nothing but a war hero. He might have entertained the thought of sleeping with him, maybe, but I really don’t think it would’ve happened. We all know how he is after he loses his mind so I don’t think I gotta delve into that.

Angeal: probably not. He definitely would’ve taken some sort of liking to Cloud, whether as a friend he could find good conversation with or a sort of protege like Zack, I dunno. But ultimately I don’t reckon they’d have too much of a connection, not without some form of poly going on or something. Which leads me to this next one.

Genesis: I for sure reckon he would’ve fallen for Cloud. It would’ve been fucking messy and drama filled and more than likely would have stemmed from an enemies to lovers cause they’re both so incredibly stubborn and head strong, but they would end up loving each other. They’d definitely still butt heads and get into useless arguments but there were far too many pros to even think of giving up on the other.

Aerith: without the whole Cloud resembling Zack thing, maybe. There’s a chance that she could have but it would have been slow. Would’ve been one of those things where they hung out and talked and did all this stuff together so often that one day she would’ve turned around and realised she was in love with him. Like a full on ‘oh’ moment.

Tifa: this is another thing that’s mildly biased based off my own head canons but I honestly don’t think Tifa would have fallen for Cloud. If not for the Nibelheim incident and Cloud being exactly what she always wished for as a kid I do not think it would’ve happened.

Barret: definitely fucking not 😂 besides the fact that he hated Cloud when they first met, Cloud is so far beyond his type it’s not even funny. Plus I feel like Barret would either be one of those guys who’s like ‘my wife was the only woman for me’ or he just wouldn’t wanna put Marlene through the stress of suddenly gaining another parent.

Biggs: maybe. Like a heavy ass possibly honestly. I feel like it would have been the most generic romance in history and it would’ve been so unbelievably normal and it most likely would have been short lived, but maybe.

Wedge: I’m not gonna lie. Wedge gives me aromantic vibes for some reason. I dunno why, he just does. He’d definitely befriend Cloud (eventually) and be willing to wingman him or something if he needed it but yeah, I don’t think Wedge would’ve fallen for him.

Jessie: she absolutely loves flirting with Cloud and teasing him and being all over him, but she is definitely a lesbian. Don’t even argue with me! That woman is a full fledged lesbian and she only flirts with guys so heavily cause it’s funny to watch them scramble.

Vincent: nah, not really. Would they have a friends with benefits thing? Probably. But I feel like Vincent is far too emotionally unavailable and traumatised to even entertain the idea of being with someone again.

Cid: I feel like this is similar to Angeal. He’d definitely like Cloud and they’d bond over mechanic shit and complain about the people they chose to surround themselves with, but he definitely wouldn’t fall for him either. Cloud is way too young for him and not nearly his type in a guy. Plus he has a wife.

[xdevilrushx]

Yuffie: You gotta admit - it's been awesome having me on the team, right?

Cloud: Hasn't been boring.

Yuffie: (fondly) You can say that again. It's been a real trip.

Cute Clouffie moment during the Jenova Lifeclinger fight.

They both have such a hard time admitting it, but they really do care for each other a great deal more than they're willing to let on (especially Cloud, with his usual too-cool-for-school attitude). Even though they might squabble like siblings at times, it's obvious that they have a soft spot for each other.

[thebirdqueen]

Can't stop thinking about Cloud/Aerith/Vincent. I'm rn working on thumbnails for two comics of them.

Oh yeah I'm stuck on the name. Idk what I should call it. I'm going maybe with Clerithtine though idk if that sounds or feels right.

[bronzewool]

Minor pet-peeve I have about FF7 - There are no tall women.

There are plenty of tall men in the game, to the point the height difference actually gets ridiculous whenever the girls are standing side by side with the men. It's so outrageous by this point, Cloud, a perfectly normal 5'7" man, is the shortest guy in a cast of giants.

But I don't understand the game designers' reluctance to include tall women. Tifa is the tallest of the main three and she is only 5'4", respectable for a Japanese woman, but comically tiny in this world.

Give me an amazon warrior Square >:(

[[I lie. I think Scarlet is the tallest of the women, but I don't know her canonical height. She feels tall tho.]]

[star--nymph]

I am begging the ff7 fandom to be normal about the new trailer and not make it about shipping I AM ON MY KNEES BEGGING

[finalfantasyfics]

FFVII: Time Range 1.2

Summary: Time travel AU. An alternate Nibelheim breakout.

Ships: Zack & Cloud, Vincent & Cloud

Originally posted here.

XxX

Waking up in a mako tank was never a pleasant experience, even less so when the memories of the past (present?) poured into him and informed him exactly where he was.

When he was told he'd be sent back in time, he wasn't expecting this. He'd hoped, foolishly, it would be years earlier, in time to save his mother, and Sephiroth, and many others.

He hadn't expected it to be soon after Hojo had given up on him, declaring him a failed specimen and leaving.

Him and Zack.

Breaking out was hard, even though he had been sent back as he would be and not as he was, the extra strength from his dips in the Lifestream still within him. Harder, perhaps, because he kept being distracted by memories.

His own memories, clear and whole. He had double vision type ones where his and Zack's overlapped, he had unexpected ones of missions with Turks or other SOLDIERs he hadn't gotten from Zack's copied memories. Two years of Midgar that Tifa could never give him that he wanted to cling to and relive, wanted to exalt in until he knew every little detail.

But he couldn't, not yet. He had to save Zack.

"Get up, Chaos, you asshole, we've got a Calamity to stop," he shouted into the coffin room, figuring the entity would know what Cloud was, if not have memories of him.

But when the lid flew back and Vincent sat up, he was staring at him. "Cloud?"

His own response caught in his throat as he realized this was Vincent, his Vincent, and who was more perfect to have here with him than the other person who knew first hand not only what it was like to be one of Hojo's experiments, but also the constant fear of having himself subsumed by another, foreign presence within him.

"Vincent, we need to get out of here. I've got Zack, he's recovering but it's sooner than it was before, he's still out of it."

Without needing to say another word, Vincent assisted with taking out the security they needed to worry about while Cloud fetched clothing for him and Zack. His hands hovered over the SOLDIER uniforms for a long moment, before he reluctantly dug around for civilian gear, instead. The uniforms hadn't saved them before and he'd take anonymity over the slight protection of the armored pieces for now.

He did still pack two in the bags he found for their supplies, though. Vincent didn't comment on the show of nostalgia (he knew he had no room to, not with that cape of his making it through so many years).

Zack was awake enough to walk as they set out, bundled in the best winter gear despite his protests about Cloud's well being.

"This is nothing, jungle boy," Cloud joked, though he knew he'd be suffering if he weren't so augmented.

Sometimes, when he caught Vincent watching from the shadows, he could feel the weight of his opinion: that they should find a safe place to stash Zack and go on their own, that a normal SOLDIER like Zack would slow them down. Cloud pretended he didn't understand and Vincent let him.

Three nights out and Zack, pressed against Cloud to share warmth, brushed his lips against his ear and whispered, "There's someone following us."

For a moment, Cloud almost panicked, and then he realized that was impossible--yes, people could find them, but to follow them when Vincent was the one keeping watch?

Except Zack hadn't seen Vincent, yet.

"Vincent," Cloud called in the direction he could feel Chaos and moments later he was there, causing Zack to pull away and go for the Buster Sword, putting himself between them. "It's fine, Zack, he's a friend. He was...he was there, too, in the labs." Technically true, which Reno would claim is the best sort of truth.

That relaxed Zack only a little. "And he's been following us this whole time?"

"He's been with us. You've just been out of it, so we thought it better if he didn't come too close."

Zack shifted so he could see both of them, frowning. "When did you have time to get so buddy-buddy?"

Cloud met Vincent's eyes and they had a silent conversation over a few seconds before turning their attention back to Zack. "A lot of weird shit happens when scientists mess around with alien parasites and demons, Vincent and I already knew each other before I broke out and got him."

"Alien what?"

Distracted by a thorough explanation of what Jenova was and a far less thorough explanation of what Hojo had done to Cloud, Zack didn't pry for more details about Vincent.

They decided to leave Zack in Cosmo Canyon (with Nanaki, where he could hopefully protect him if necessary) and promised to bring Aerith to him--he was former First Class, more recognizable, Cloud reasoned with him, whereas Cloud could pull off being some nobody Third if it came down to it.

When Zack pointed out that Vincent looked like the villain in some off-Loveless play, Vincent had simply said, "On Loveless Ave, surely," and made Zack jump because he hadn't realized he was there, proving their point.

Then they started towards Midgar in truth, working through what must currently be happening and what they needed to change. It wasn't the best case scenario, Jenova and Sephiroth would still be out there, Deepground was too far along not to be an issue, but it was better than what they'd had.

They'd make sure of that.

[stupidgenius]

Sephiroth cannot help the puff of air that escapes as he tries to swallow a chuckle. Genesis still catches him, arms crossing over his chest and hip cocked.

“What’s so funny?”

“I cannot imagine you mentoring anyone.” He admits.

“Oh, dearest,” Genesis smiles again, deceptively sweet. “I wasn’t talking about myself.”

---

Sephiroth has never, not once in his time at SOLDIER, ever wanted to become a mentor. He doesn't think that will ever change, until, somehow, it does.

[getvalentined]

Realizing that I ship Genesis with a pretty broad selection of very different characters. I wouldn't call him my fandom bicycle, because I do have two specific ships that I vastly prefer for his endgame, but I do respect the fact that he reads like the kind of character who has a lot of game and isn't afraid to use it.

(Also really pleased that you can literally see my progress in utilization of contrast in monochrome work through these pieces, since they wound up placed in reverse chronological order. I get pretty down on my work, but it is nice to be able to see that I've improved.)

[ceaselxss]

//veld, rufus, reeve and vincent 

[dangoulains-devotion]

every time I have to wade through inane ship wars where people are willfully ignorant to the depth and facets of cloud strife's character, circumstance, and story just so I can find some cool screenshots or fanart my 'cloud is ace' agenda simply grows more potent out of spite

[heavenlyascent]

You can tell what the ship war/Tifa vs Aerith/Whose the “True” Heroine/Love of FF7 is about because it never includes Barret, despite him being a romance candidate (even IF the OG boiled it down to one big antiblack gay joke), or Yuffie (thankfully because of her age though I shutter to think how she would have been treated if she was an older, viable candidate), or Zack despite his bond with Cloud, or Jessie for that matter. All these are background elements to the ongoing fight over who is the default love interest and thus true love of Cloud.

Which is boiled down to, which one of these women are meant for this man.

It doesn't care that Final Fantasy 7 is a world-spanning story about humanity, genocide, imperialism, and trauma. It ignores that while Cloud is ultimately our main character, it's a story of an entire cast of main characters who are just as important to the ever moving plot as Cloud.

And really, as it insults Tifa and Aerith by trying to suggest one's story is more "important" than the other, it also insults Barret by completely ignoring that his efforts are the instigating factors OF the story and that the running theme of saving the planet? Is because Barret was the first one to scream it in the narrative. It ignores Yuffie's and Red XIII's fight to preserve their dying cultures in a world that actively wants to destroy them for the sake of capitalism. It ignores Cid as someone whose dreams were crushed by capitalism and become so consumed by his pain, he hurt everyone around him. It ignores how Vincent played an active role in Sephiroth's birth and the core corruption of Shinra.

And I think it absolutely misses the theme of FF7 and Cloud in general. Cloud loves everyone. He loves all his friends. If the Remakes and Rebirth did anything, it put on display that there's not one single person that Cloud loves--but all those he has met. Yes, he loves Tifa and loves Aerith and maybe in one or both, he has romantic feelings for them but he clearly loves Barret, Red XIII, Yuffie, Zack, Jessie, Bigs, Wedge, Reeve/Cait, and--as we'll see later--Cid and Vincent.

If any of them died, Cloud would have been devastated. Aerith is special and he mourns her in a specific way because she's AERITH. Not because she's the ONE. SHE'S AERITH. Irreplaceable just like Tifa, just like Barret, just like Yuffie, just like Red XIII, just like Zack, and Cait/Reeve, Cid, and Vincent.

For the last near 30 years, the ship wars have rewrote Cloud's intense love for the people around him as just a heteronormative love story and it's gross.

None of the characters deserve that, but specifically Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith who are so much more than players in a stupid love triangle.

[thebirdqueen]

Might delete this WIP later

This dress is quite something