Team Avalanche

Team Avalanche
GENERAL
Final Fantasy
Character	Cloud Strife
Character	Tifa Lockhart
Character	Barret Wallace
Canonical?	Fanon
Status of Relationship	Allies/Friends/Co-Workers
IN FANDOM
Type (?)	Poly
Also Known As	Avalanche Trio, Clarrifa

Team Avalanche is the poly ship between Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart, and Barret Wallace from the Final Fantasy fandom.

Canon

Cloud, Tifa, and Barret are all members of AVALANCHE, currently residing in Midgar. Tifa and Barret have both suffered terrible loses in their pasts, at the hands of Shinra. Both lost their hometowns and their loved ones, and that is what drove them to join AVALANCHE. Cloud joins the team initially only as a mercenary, upon the insistence of Tifa, his childhood friend. Barret is at first wary of Cloud and his reasons for joining, and Cloud himself even intends to quit the group after their first mission. However, Tifa convinces him to stay, and Barret soon warms up to Cloud after he proves to be a valuable asset to their team. The trio work together to destroy a Mako reactor, but are separated and Cloud is presumed dead. Both Tifa and Barret are surprised to see Cloud alive, and Tifa is overjoyed to know he survived.

The trio, alongside Aerith Gainsborough, try to defeat Shinra in Sector 7 but are unsuccessful. Tifa is shown prioritizing the life of Barret's adopted daughter, Marlene, during the fight. Their other comrades are killed in battle, making these three the only survivors of Barret's cell of AVALANCHE. Aerith is captured by Shinra after moving Marlene to a safe location, and the trio storm the Shinra Headquarters to get her back. Their differences in fighting approach are seen here: Barret wants to storm into the building, guns ablaze, but Tifa wants to enter quietly. Cloud makes the final decision on which entrance tactic they use.

The trio, now joined with Aerith and Red XIII learn about Sephiroth and the Promised Land. Together, they agree to try and stop Sephiroth from ruining the Planet. Tifa and Barret continue to be Cloud's closest allies, as the ones that have known him the longest. They convince him to keep going whenever he begins to doubt the mission that they are on.

Tifa and Barret are eventually captured by Shinra and set to be publicly executed as a show of their power. Tifa is taken first, and Barret tries desperately to fight to free her. Tifa eventually manages to escape, thanks in part to Weapon's attack on Junon, and reunites with the rest of the crew on Cid's Highwind. She is named the new leader of the party, since Cloud has been missing for approximately a week. The group eventually finds Cloud in Mideel, where he washed up on the shore after escaping the Lifestream. He is in bad shape, suffering from a Mako overdose, and Tifa decides to stay with him. This choice seems to disappoint Barret, but he understands. Cid is named the new temporary leader in both their absences.

Cloud eventually recovers and rejoins the team. Together, they defeat Sephiroth, destroy Meteor, and save the Planet. Depending on the way the player chooses to play the game, Tifa and Barret may be part of Cloud's final party and help him put a stop to Sephiroth once and for all.

Final Fantasy VII Remake

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Fanon

Team Avalanche is a well-liked relationship in the Final Fantasy VII fandom. As they are the first characters introduced in the game, as well as the characters with the most history behind their relationships, fans like to see the trio as close friends. Some enjoy building on their backstory, creating fanwork for the characters set prior to the events of the game. Others choose to focus on their relationship after saving the Planet, and the bond that blossoms from the trauma they shared together.

Some fans like to see the trio as being the parents to Marlene, all three raising her together after the events of VII. Others see them only as friends, potentially with Cloti as a couple while their relationship with Barret remains platonic.

There are currently over 25 works for this pairing on AO3. There are over 15 works for the platonic version. There are over 80 works on FFN tagged with all three characters. It is Barret's 8th most popular ship, but does not crack the top 10 for Cloud or Tifa.

Fandom

FAN FICTION

Cloud & Tifa & Barret tag on AO3

Cloud/Tifa/Barret tag on AO3

Cloud & Tifa & Barret (FFVII) tag on FanFiction.net

Variations

Barrifa refers to the ship between Barret and Tifa

Clarret refers to the ship between Cloud and Barret

Cloti refers to the ship between Cloud and Tifa