shera

Here's the thing we have to talk about when it comes to Cid and Shera: he's abusive to her.

Let's just get that out of the way right now, because it's a fact. Cid verbally abuses Shera. None of that "it's not that bad" bullshit. He treats her terribly, in private and in front of others.

Cid: [laughing] Hey! Get your ass in gear! You work like a snail! Even the moon'd get tired waitin' around for your ass!
Shera: I'm... I'm sorry.
Cid: Don't take so much time checkin' that *%$^# oxygen tank! Shera, bein' careful's good, but it won't do any good, no matter how many times you check that oxygen tank. That thing wouldn't break even if hell froze over.
Shera: But...
Cid: No buts!! You're not stupid, so be more efficient!
Shera: I'm sorry......

This particular conversation takes place pre-launch, but is one of the few we have between Cid and Shera alone, so I think it's well worth looking at. For all that Cid is praising her work, it's a backhanded compliment that comes with his belittling of her. He only gets worse in the years post-launch, and while it's true that the occasion the party meets him is a stressful situation, it doesn't excuse him from the way he treats her.

What is vitally important, and just as often forgotten in fandom, is that Shera's acceptance of the way Cid treats her does not make it right. She claims that she cost him his dream, but that doesn't justify Cid being a grade-A asshole to her. She didn't do anything to deserve the abuse he heaps on her.

Should Shera have left him, and left Cid to fend for himself? Yes, absolutely. But guilt is a powerful motivator, and I think that's important to remember, too. She really does believe that she deserves to put up with Cid's abuse to make up for it. And Cid, in turn, can't get over his own anger about the situation (much of it self-directed) and instead lashes out at her. It's a terrible, vicious cycle.

Unfortunately, it's also a very realistic one, which makes it really uncomfortable and difficult to think about. There are real relationships like this all over the world. I think that's part of why people tend to gloss over Cid's abuse of Shera: they don't want to think too deeply about the ramifications.

The fact that Shera saves Cid's life in the rocket, and that she was right about the oxygen tank all along, doesn't automatically make things better. Nor should it. A big issue with Cid and Shera's relationship is that so much of it is offscreen; as minor characters, we simply don't get to see most of what happens between them. If anything, they're even minor characters in their own story, and the information we get is sparse and often told through the eyes of others. I do think that Cid stopped being so abusive after the events of the game given the events of On the Way to a Smile, particularly when Shera contracts geostigma. He's not harsh with her at all, and instead lapses into silence around her.

Cid and Barret set out east from Rocket Town. They walked a full day before reaching their destination. Shera came out to greet the two of them.

"Yo!" called Barret, who was happy to see her again after so long. Shera looked like she hadn't changed at all. But Barret noticed the stigma on her hand right away. She must've sensed it, as she made an attempt to hide her hand beneath her coat.

"Well, does it hurt?" Cid asked gruffly. "Don't push yourself."

We're all gonna run out of time, thought Barret.

Shera does end up surviving the stigma, and at some point she and Cid get married. More than anything, though, the real sign of how much he cares about her is the fact that he names his new airship after her. I hope, for their sake, that married life is happier than the years of guilt and abuse that defined most of their relationship.

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