avatar help?

[tamlin_kitsune]

okay - group huddle.  Since most everyone I'm hooked up with here is either an author and/or a reader/reviewer that I respect I need some opinions (okay, I need LOTS of opinions).

Is Cloud out of character in avatar?

granted, I know he's not 'really' Cloud and he's playing the role a bit *cough*lots*cough* more aggressively than I should probably make him but, especially in chapter 2, is his core 'Cloud' or not?  I need some solid assessment - pros, cons, stuff like that?  And, if he's horribly off, is it something fixable or should I scrap and start over?  I know there's not much at this point to go on because he's playing things close to the vest - I guess what I'm asking is - does he feel right (as silly as that may sound)?  If I put a different name on him, would he still be recognizably Cloud?

Comments

[sekiharatae.livejournal.com]

This came out of nowhere, so I figured maybe you got a review... and if it's the one claiming Cloud is 'such a perv', I think they are off base.

Cloud in Avatar is more forward than Cloud as he is portrayed in ACC and as depicted when incredibly pixelized. HOWEVER, ACC!Cloud is busy being withdrawn, and can you imagine them trying to render pixel-y Cloud eyeing pixel-y Tifa the way you know he must have?

Because he's Captain Pixel, game time Cloud leaves an awful lot to the imagination. We don't really know how much touching he might have been prone to (most of the game he spends running around on the screen alone). We do know that he had a bad-ass attitude, which would lend itself to flirting and such. And, given that he can choose to say he slept next to Tifa, I don't think Avatar's Cloud is being OC.

I will also note that there seem to be two schools of thought on game-time Cloud: either he is so busy being serious and attitudinal and showing how hard he is that he's unapproachable; or he's casual about his bad-ass-ness (like Zack) and he flirts. I prefer the second approach, although sometimes the first works better for certain fanfic plots. I would also think both Tifa and Aerith would respond to the second more than the first -- what's to be enamored about in an unemotional rock? =P

I also think maybe said reviewer is taking things too seriously. She needs to remember that this is someone pretending to be Cloud (who is pretending to be Zack!), not *Cloud*. AND, that there is something fishy going on in the game and he's trying to keep it from harming Tifa. (Which is a very sexy protective subplot, IMO.) As such, there's some more perverted dialogue going on as a front... I feel the reviewer missed that. ^^; But, anyway... there would be no point in writing it as an Avatar if the character were going to be a carbon-copy. No? The Avatar has to be allowed to bleed over a bit, right?

[iskra-revoir.livejournal.com]

Well hun, in a fic there´s always our very personal POV regarding characters, it can give them some very interesting depths, as long as it respect the basics.
My contact with the FF7 characters come more from ACC, were Cloud is more passive, but in the game he is supposed to be more cocky and confident. In your fic, he is also trying to keep hidden his true identity, and you could say that it´s like when somebody do things with his online identity that would never do off-line. He can let go of his inhibitions and act on his desires. And in an effort to distance himself from his true persona, he hides his shyness and feelings of tenderness, that come from personal meeting Tifa, and gives free regin to his pent-up physical atraction, that´s easily justifiable.
Besides, just take a look at how smug FF7 Cloud-plushie looks every time you write those scenes! He loves to make Tifa-plushie blush. Would you take that away from him? ;P

[knit-lace.livejournal.com]

This is during the time where Cloud is an cocky asshole so I think your characterization is pretty Close. Especially when he said "Fuck that". It's something I can see if say. And Cloud was flirtatious to Tifa with his 'next to you comment' so I can see him acting like he did in chapter 1. But if you're going for the real Cloud playing the avatar Cloud than the avatar should be more reserve. At this point in your story, we don't know the personality of the person controlling the Cloud's avatar, so I think you have more leeway.

[angel90-1.livejournal.com]

I have to agree with Iska here - there's that whole "putting up a front" thing that he's doing, both because he can (its online and its hidden) and because he's trying to prevent "Tifa" knowing who he is. The only problem I can see is the whole "its not really them, its like cosplayers" thing going on with them just being actors, but that again means you can do whatever you want with Cloud. And clearly, he's all in with this, so who are you to deny the savior of the planet? ;P

You've made it clear in the story so far that Cloud is just acting it up a bit to protect Tifa, and protecting Tifa is definitely Cloud, avatars or not. And like Tae said, its hard to be exactly like "canon" Cloud anyway, being made of pixels and an rpg character of all things. But you write a very good Cloud, he's obviously loved by you and your fans (and Tifa ;D), and clearly you can write him very well. I see no need to change him :D

Its kinda like the whole Kunsel/Zack thing too (yes I just finished Tales Within Tales). Its a different name and a different person, but still recognisable as Zack. Actor!Cloud is a different person and different name, but Avatar!Cloud is still our Cloud - he acts like an asshole, he protects Tifa, and he's not afraid to do things differently if it gets the job done (i.e. hacking the game). I say you nailed him :D

[calen-greenleaf.livejournal.com]

Cloud in FFVII is a bit more arrogant. He’s more flippant, trying to appear cool. But at the same time he can be dangerous and protecting. In ACC, he’s matured some, quieter, but still dangerous.

It fits your Avatar!Cloud and the Cloud in my mind. So I think it’s fine.

[the-tower-room.livejournal.com]

I say he's already perfect. He's a wonderful mixture of that arrogant jerk who's only really acting out from the game with the added bonus of being more aggressive towards wanting Tifa. And he's an avatar, and that reviewer is aware anyway that actor!Cloud isn't really Cloud, just someone portraying him in the game, and you've also very clearly stated that "Avatar" is AU. S/he is free not to read further if it makes him/her squeamish, and you're also not obligated to that reviewer to change how you characterize Cloud in this story.
Write him as the story dictates or however makes you happy.