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While deceptively strong, Tifa is empathetic and emotionally shy. While identifying and responding to the feelings of others, Tifa does not express her feelings often, and when she does she struggles doing so. Tifa has motherly qualities, acting as a support for others, and keeping the others around her optimistic.
In Final Fantasy VII, Tifa is a hard worker and spends her time caring for everyone but herself, keeping the feelings of uneasiness towards Cloud locked up. She offers sanctuary and protects those in need, and is often an emotional crutch for the other AVALANCHE members to lean on. Tifa finds them to be kindred spirits seeking to end the tyranny the Shinra Electric Power Company has brought unto the Planet, although initially she joined the rebel group to seek revenge for the destruction of her hometown and the deaths of her family and friends therein. Tifa helps Cloud along the way in his soul-searching to find himself, while reminding the other party members to "be strong."
Unlike the other party members, she does not explicitly have a backstory to tell the others, which can partly be attributed to her shyness, and partly to how much of it is shared with Cloud, as they hail from the same hometown. This forms a bond between the two, and Cloud is Tifa's emotional link to the old life she used to lead in Nibelheim, which was destroyed by Shinra's influence.
In Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Tifa has grown more forward and tries to keep their family unit together when Cloud falls into depression. She acts like a parental figure towards the children in her care, both defending them in battle and giving them emotional support. Though not clingy, she appears hurt by Cloud's distantness. Tifa pushes him to take action and to stop brooding with what he considers to be his past failings.
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