Cloud/Tifa

Cloud/Tifa or CloTi is a Final Fantasy VII pairing involving characters Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockhart.
==Canon==
===Final Fantasy VII (1997)===
Cloud and Tifa grew up as neighbors in the small town of Nibelheim. As kids, they shared a promise under the stars that Cloud would always come to her aid if she ever needed him. As an adult, Tifa owns a bar in the city of Midgar but also serves as an operative for the ecoterrorist organization AVALANCHE. She recruits Cloud to work with AVALANCHE on a mercenary basis. Although he does his best to act emotionless and uninvolved, Cloud quickly becomes more deeply attached to the party.
The early part of the game has some light dating sim mechanics that track player decisions expressing Cloud's affection for other characters in the party; the character Cloud has favored the most goes on a date with him at the Gold Saucer. These mechanics are strongly weighted toward either Aerith or Tifa, although dates with Yuffie and Barret are also possible.
As the game progresses, Tifa becomes visibly concerned when Cloud talks about past events they shared in Nibelheim. It eventually becomes clear that Cloud had developed false memories of these events as a result of trauma; Tifa was the only one who realized this, but had been unsure how to talk to him about it. Regretting her failure to help him earlier, she resolves to put Cloud first and cares for him while he's incapacitated, becoming the player character for a significant portion of the game. 
An ambiguous scene late in the game is often interpreted as implying that Cloud and Tifa slept together prior to the final battle. 
=== The Compilation of Final Fantasy VII ===
Supplementary material goes into more detail about Cloud and Tifa's relationship both before and after the events of FFVII.
Trace of Two Pasts adds considerably more detail about Tifa's life growing up in Nibelheim and the development of her feelings for Cloud. Advent Children and On the Way to a Smile depict Cloud and Tifa living together as a family in Midgar after the game, raising foster children together; both show Tifa helping Cloud to work through his lingering guilt and trauma.
==Fandom==
=== Ship War ===
Cloud/Tifa and Cloud/Aerith are two sides of a long-standing ship war in FFVII fandom commonly known as the Love Triangle Debate (LTD), which spawned vicious arguments about whether one ship should be understood as more canon than the other. Character bashing fic where Tifa is portrayed as an antagonist in Clerith fic, or Aerith as an antagonist in CloTi fic, were common. 
In recent years, the LTD has been increasingly regarded in fandom as a source of pointless wank; as a reaction against it, modern fic is more likely to emphasize Tifa and Aerith's canonical friendship, even when one or the other is paired in a monogamous relationship with Cloud.
===Statistics===
* In 2020, Cloti was ranked 78th on Tumblr's Top 100 ships of 2020.2020's Top Ships on Tumblr.
* In 2020, Cloti was ranked 73th on Pixiv's Top 120 ships of 2020.2020's Top Ships on Pixiv.
* In 2020, in a poll on the official account Final fantasy 7 REMAKE, 56% of the voters had Tifa resolution scene.Results of the FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE Post-Play Survey.
* In 2019, in a poll on the official account Dissidia Final fantasy Opera Omnia, Cloti won against the opposing ship Clerith with 74.8% out of 7613 votes.CloudxAerith or CloudxTifa?.
===Trivia===
* After the 2007 release of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, many fan works increasingly featured Zack/Aerith as a complementary pairing to Cloud/Tifa, and vice-versa.
* Cloud and Tifa appear together in other media or video games, such as:
- Kingdom Hearts 2 when Tifa is a manifestation of “Cloud’s inner light”.Cloud and Tifa Kingdom Hearts ALL Scenes and Dialogue.Cloud and Tifa in Kingdom Hearts.
-Dissidia 012 Duodecim when Cloud sacrifices his life to save Tifa.Cloud and Tifa Dissidia 012 Duodecim Scenes FFVII.
* PlayStation Japan promoted cloti for Tanabata day and the theme of love.Playstation JP posted a cloti scene for the Tanabata festival.Playstation JP posted cloti for the theme of love.
* The official account of Square enix liked cloti fanworks and also sometimes even commented.Square Enix commented to a cloti fancam.Square Enix commented to a cloti fanart.
* This hasn't been made official but many cloti shippers have noticed that the Midgar blues song referred to Cloud and Tifa during their promise to the water tower before Cloud departure to Midgar.Translation of Midgar Blues Japanese version.Midgar Blues song in English version.
* Cloud said Tifa 59 times in the Japanese version of FF7 Remake.Cloud said Tifa a lot.
* There is debate what happened between Cloud and Tifa beneath the Highwind before their final battle against Sephiroth⁠—whether they kissed, had sex, and/or simply shared a heartfelt conversation before falling asleep together.A famous Youtuber, Max DOOD, reacted to the Highwind scene.
===Common Tropes & Themes===
* Childhood Friends
* Tifa managing a bar called Seventh Heaven
* Meet again years later
* Cloud set up a delivery business, the Strife Delivery Service and owns a motorbike called Fenrir.
* Mutual pining
* They are the adoptive parents of a young boy named Denzel and takes care of Barret's daughter Marlene
* Angst & Hurt/Comfort
* There are three important scenes that can often be revisited either in the Canon or Alternate Universe version: The promise under the stars at the water tower, the Lifestream and under the Highwind.
* Soldier!Cloud
* Tifa is a martial artist, trained by Zangan
* They have either lost one or two of their parents.
* Unresolved Sexual Tension
===Challenge===
* ClotiBigBang
* ClotiEvents
* CloudTifaEvents
* Clotiweek
==Example Fanworks==
===Fanfiction===
* "Exponential" by AllumaNoir (started April 2020 - WIP as of 2023)
* "Cloti Fall Festival 2023" by CyraAngie (2023)
* "Follow You" by Finalheavenlockhart (2023-2024)
* "Fool for you" by Hoegeta (June-Aug 2020)
* "Underneath the hot sun" by Ipona (2024)
* "Late-Night hauntings" by Janeite_of_the_slums (Nov-Dec 2021)
* "Welcome Back" by Karmi (2019-2020)
* "Hold on to What If" by Jordypordy (WIP as of 2024)
* "To catch A Fallen Star" by Lourdes23 (May 2015)
* "Harmonies for the Haunted" by Marjorie_Franklin (2015-2017)
* "Don't Think Twice" by MarleNadia (started 2018 - WIP as of 2023)
* "Cruel Summer" by Mayelisa (started 2020 - WIP as of 2021)
* "Codes of conduct" by MayonakaNoAme (Jul-Oct 2020)
* "Zero days" by Melonpaan (2024)
* "The Newest Family Member" by MoiraShears (2022)
* "What's in a Name?" by Monseoc (Feb 2022)
* "Learning to Live" by OurLadyMuffin (2020)
* "Conquering Annals" by Queenkiller (started 2022 - WIP as of 2024)
* "Anchor" by Qwi-Xux (Dec 2008-Mar 2009)
* "The Truth Will Set You Free" by River_Memories (2024)
* "Not Yours" by Roxicodone (Apr 2014)
* "More Than Words" by Sekiharatae (Oct 2010)
* "A Sea of Silence" by SKEvans (2020)
* "Last Train to Brooklyn" by Somebody_Nightmare (2020)
* "Party Like Your Heart Hurts" by SpaceOdementia (2020)
* "Gala and Ghouls" by UnsettledRepose (started 2023 - WIP as of 2024)
* "Within the Veil" by Waltzforthemoon (Jul 2022)
* "Longing, She Wrote" by You_Light_The_Sky (May 2020)
===Fanart===
* "Doodle #FFVII" by Arialla (Feb 9, 2024)
* "“I know how to help you now”" by Ashlena (Apr 24, 2024)
* "「STARGAZER」" by Babigonice (May 22, 2020)
* "クラティ" by Duoj (Jul 26, 2022)
* "Attraction" by Emy_san_arts (July 12, 2020)
* "幼馴染集やらして " by Hmyo_ (Jun 2019)
* "幼馴染好きアピしていい？いいよ" by _hmyy (Jul 21, 2021)
* "Still on the FF7 train" by HTSA (Jun 2, 2019)
* "Tifa accidentally catches Cloud playing the piano and this brings back sweet memories" by Hyoukane (Sep 24, 2023)
* "My Cloud and Tifa redesign" by Ilabarattolo (Jul 9, 2019)
* ""Let's go back, Cloud. Back to everyone..."" by Jen Bartel (Feb 25, 2021)
* "Delivery" by K (Apr 1, 2022)
* "Binary Stars Revolve Around Each Other" by Linono (Jul 8, 2022)
* "ティファがいつまでも幸せでありますように✨" by もも_Momo (May 3, 2024)
* "I want to protect my dear…" by にく屋 (Mar 29, 2024)
* "クロティ" by にどう＠低浮上 (Jun 6, 2020)
* "Sleep" by Smaii_i (Dec 5, 2020)
* "🐬 x 🐥" by Pudel (Oct 14, 2021)
* "クラウドとティファ～" by Ohse (Jul 6, 2022)
* "Date" by Ria (Nov 29, 2020)
* "あいしてる " by Rito (Apr 25, 2020)
* ""Ok, I'm just gonna go ahead and say it. Cloud...? I..."" by Safaia (Dec 23, 2023)
* "Gold Saucer cloti date but Cloud is Princess Rosa and Tifa is Legendary Hero Alfred instead" by Seilo (May 29, 2022)
* "#クラティ" by _shillo (Jul 20, 2019)
* ""It all starts now. A new..."Cloud looked for the right words."A new life."" by Spykeee (Jun 16, 2020)
* "CloTi-Premium Heart!" by sreliata (Mar 2020)
* ""Please, tell me you can hear me..."" by StrawderryST (Apr 22, 2021)
* ""Tell me you see me...that you hear me..."" by Thar (Aug 16, 2022)
===Video===
* "The Importance of Cloud and Tifa's Relationship" (Apr 23, 2024)
* "27 Years! 100+ Fan Reactions to the Cloud & Tifa Kiss" (Mar 30, 2024)
* "Cloti | Slow Burn 2" (Mar 28, 2024)
* "The Great War || Cloud & Tifa" (Mar 16, 2024)
* "FINAL FANTASY 7 REBIRTH - Tifa and Cloud Full Romance" (Mar 6, 2024)
* "LTD Mythbusters - The LTD Is Over, CloTi is Canon! (Feat. TifaTheMonk)" (Premiered Dec 25, 2021)
* "FF7R" (Dec 22, 2021)
* "FF7 Remake - Trace Of Two Pasts Translation - Tifa Cloud Backstory Nibelheim Cloti pt 1" (Jul 17, 2021)
* "Cloti Podcast FF7 - OG vs Remake Midgar Analysis" (Streamed live on Apr 1, 2021)
* "GMV Cloud & Tifa- Flood of Memories" (Oct 17, 2020)
* "クラウドとティファ『バトル重複ボイス』特集" (Jul 20, 2020)
* "The Romance of Cloud & Tifa (Final Fantasy 7 Remake Cinematic Montage)" (Jun 18, 2020)
* "Cloti | Slow Burn" (May 1, 2020)
* "ᴅᴜsᴋ ᴛɪʟʟ ᴅᴀᴡɴ - ᴄʟᴏᴜᴅ x ᴛɪғᴀ" (Apr 20, 2020)
* "|| Unexpectedly|| Final Fantasy VII- Cloud X Tifa" (Apr 18, 2020)
* "FINAL FANTASY 7 REMAKE All Tifa and Cloud Flirting Scenes" (Apr 9, 2020)
* "Hesitate || Cloud x Tifa" (Apr 9, 2020)
* "Narrative vs plot, FFVIIs illusionary love triangle" (Mar 31, 2020)
* "Cloud x Tifa FFVII - Rewrite The Stars" (Jul 1, 2019)
* "Cloud & Tifa - Listen To Your Heart" (2007?)
===Meta===
* Cloud and Tifa’s relationship in FFVII by Nitezintodreamz (Mai 2024)
* Cloti, a canonical tale. by Dutchdread (june 2022)
* A twenty-five thousand word post about twenty-three year old "debate" by insanehobbit (Jan 2021)
* Opinion of a Clerith shipper by otp-oasis-heavenxearth (May 2020)
* Cloud loves Tifa by enigmaphenomenon (July 2015)
* The Love Triangle of FFVII – An Analysis by Squall_of_SeeD by Makoeyes987 (Sept 2009)
* Mend This Wavering Heartbeat by bofoddity, an essay for ship_manifesto (Dec 2004)
* CLOUD/TIFA/AERIS: A look at the triangle. by Matt Taylor (2003 or before)
===Others===
* 『CLOTI MUSIC ANTHOLOGY - Fantasia - 』告知アカウント a C/T Anthology (2022)
* Because I Have You - a C/T zine (2020/2021)
* クラティオンリーonline　星月夜-ほしづきよ- a C/T Japanese online event (2020-2021)
* Cloti Fics Archive
==Gallery==
File:Loves by DaJiF.jpg|Lovers by DaJiF
File:@arialladraws cloti.jpg|A promise to Tifa, etched in his memory by arialladraws
File:@HTSA art cloti.jpg|Cloud and Tifa going for a "ride" back in Nibelheim by HTSA art
File:@manuelaellela cloti.jpg|AC polygon Cloud and Tifa by manuelaellela
File:@pudelmudel cloti.jpg|Cloud, it's okay, you saved me before, now it's my turn. by pudelmudel
File:@SafaiaArt cloti.jpg|Ok, I'm just gonna go ahead and say it. Cloud...? I... by SafaiaArt
==Sites & Communities==
* Bestofcloti a C/T fan Twitter account
* Petalofreunion a C/T and Z/A fan Twitter account
* Cloti Forever a C/T fan Tumblr account
* The Strifes a C/T fan Twitter account
* Dailycloti a C/T bot Twitter account
* Ct_bot a C/T Japanese bot Twitter account
* Final Heaven a C/T fan Tumblr account
* Braverbeat a C/T fan Tumblr account
* ctlove, a Cloud/Tifa community at LiveJournal
* Cloud-x-Tifa-Club, a Cloud/Tifa fan club at deviantArt
* World of CloTi / Under the Stars on Tumblr
* Two Tales Of Love, a Cloud/Tifa and Squall/Rinoa fansite and archive
* Stars Of Heaven, a Cloud/Tifa shrine on Tripod
==Archives==
* Cloud Strife/Tifa Lockhart tag at Archive of Our Own
* [Cloud S./Tifa L.] pairing filter at FanFiction.Net
* Cloud/Tifa pairing filter at Tumblr
* Cloud/Tifa pairing filter at Pixiv
==Resources==
* Compilation of Final Fantasy 7
* Cloud Strife story
* Tifa Lockhart story
* Cloti article on Shipping Wiki
==References==
Category:Het Pairings
Category:Final Fantasy VII Relationships