A few notes to my dear readers:
Current Item of Concern: Cloud seems to be acting like something of a sissy.
I noticed this too. Here's the deal. Cloud wasn't trained or raised for this kind of situation. In Nibelheim, slaves are property. They are worthless as human beings and treated as objects. Fear is trained into them. Obedience by fear is the way they serve a master. Cloud is scared and confused; he doesn't understand how to act in a society where he is considered worth something. Fighting among slaves stops as soon as they are sold, because no one wants to return to the kennels and auction houses.
Cloud is also smaller than everyone he deals with. We know that he'd shorter, probably no taller than 5'8''. When contending with Sephiroth, who's at least 6'3", he's in trouble. Cloud's build is for speed over strength, and while he is very strong, he's no match for the Mako enhanced speed and power Sephiroth possesses. Remember, Sephiroth is a physically large man; even without the Mako and SOLDIER training (and we mustn't forget that training- it gives him another edge), he's more than a match for our spunky blonde.
Cloud is the youngest. He is, at most, 19ish in this story. The men he lives with are all in their mid-twenties. Evyn, the youngest, is twenty-two. Vincent, the oldest, is twenty-six. Therefore, Cloud is painfully inexperienced. The others have seen and done things that he hasn't, and may never.
Cloud recognizes safety. Vincent is safe. Tseng is safe. Zack is safe. It's a trick he learned in the auction house and kennels. If he finds someone who isn't likely to hurt him, he'll be better off. It's a survival instinct. They are his safeties.
And, finally, Cloud has grown up in a society where the only things he can truly call his own are his emotions. The rest of him is bought and sold by other people. As a result, he tends to be overly emotional at times because he knows, subconsciously, that no one can physically make him stop, whether he's laughing, crying, or in a rage. It's just a part of who he is, and he is slowly learning to tame it.
And there you go. That's why Cloud is acting the way he is. It's not that he's being a wuss, it's that it's how he's grown up. In time, perhaps he'll mature enough to get away from it.
AND ANOTHER THING!
There's a poll on my profile that I'd like you to take. I need a little mental stimulus, and nothing does that like people-requests.
