The Love Triangle Debate thread of KNEEL BEFORE ZOD OR SUFFER HIS WRATH (ignore the opening posts at your peril) (Round 6)

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BlankBeat

Pro Adventurer
Blankbeat here is the full Cait Sith quote -




So yeah basically at the end with call me when it all happens is what Ryu was referring to with Cait Sith asking to be invited to the wedding :)

**
Thanks for the full text, Maidenofwar.

I think it's clear that SE decided to include Cait Sith's wedding prediction to build up the romantic relationship between Cloud and Aerith to the gamer.

What's funny is that Aerith is stated to be Tifa's "love rival", Cloud has a "mysterious" feeling when he meets Aerith, Cloud thinks Aerith's eyes are "impressive", Cloud believes paying 1 gil to see Aerith smile is a "good purchase", SE states that Cloud wavers between "two heroines", Cloud and Aerith share *TWO* dates, Cloud has a flashback about an having an older girlfriend in Aerith's house, Cloud tells Marlene he hopes Aerith likes him......

and yet, people act as if this wedding prediction is insignificant (even though SE says this prediction becomes more painful when we know the fate of Aerith). Obviously this prediction was included to highlight the romantic relationship between Cloud and Aerith, so that when she died, it was that much more heartbreaking.

Hmm, somebody elsewhere brought up what I think was a good point, about Amano art, if it's completely unrelated to anything else/has nothing to do with the story/isn't used to supplement the story/Cloud and Aerith's relationship then why is it still used/used for different things for presenting FFVII with and such? It was used for the cover of the FFVII soundtrack (don't know when this was released though), it was used recently in the inside front cover for Amano's book sky, wasn't it also used on the walls or something at the last Square Enix FFVII and type conference/that big event they had in Japan last year as well? I don't know/can't think of any other examples right now but I'll let people know if I find any :) Basically though yeah why do they still use it if it has no meaning and/or never did with regards to Cloud and Aerith being involved?
That is a great point!

SE has continued to use the Cloud x Aerith Amano art long after it was created.

To me, the romantic Cloud x Aerith Amano artwork matches and mirrors the story of FFVII and AC (as it should).

Interestingly, the Amano art is not the only way SE has paid respect to the [romantic] relationship between Cloud x Aerith. SE has also paid respect to Cloud x Aerith through:

Final Fantasy IX
Final Fantasy Dissidia
Final Fantasy Tactics
Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade (Emperor/Empress)
Itadaki Street Special
Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts II
Final Fantasy VII soundtrack
Matching desserts in the Square Enix cafe, Artnia

Not only is there tons of evidence in Final Fantasy VII and Advent Children that supports Cloud x Aerith, but there is tons of evidence outside of FFVII/AC that supports Cloud x Aerith. Plus official quotes (Cloud is Aerith's "koibito")!

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EDIT:
Obviously the merchandise, artwork, and cameo appearances are not the *only* evidence we use to support our ship. But when official SE artwork, merchandise, and cameo appearances compliment and portray our ship, I hardly think it’s a random coincidence.

By SE creating and approving Clerith artwork, merchandise, and cameo appearances, it verifies that a Clerith interpretation to Final Fantasy VII and Advent Children is valid according to the creators.

The artwork, merchandise, and cameo appearances gives us insight into how SE views Cloud and Aerith as a couple. If SE did not believe Cloud and Aerith were a romantic couple in Final Fantasy VII, they would not portray them romantically in their artwork, merchandise, and cameo appearances.

Most of us believe that the artwork, merchandise, and cameo apperances simply support and reinforce what we already believe — that Cloud loves Aerith.
 
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BlankBeat

Pro Adventurer
lawlz

I have multiple accounts with one e-mail. My Cloud x Aerith account is DansantCaparet, but I'm not able to ask questions under that account. I'm only able to ask questions using my main account, so I typically ask questions anonymously.

You do realize you can create multiple accounts with one e-mail, right? Regardless, I stand by what I said to you.

What's funny is that people who complain about anonymous comments ALLOW anonymous comments. You do realize that you can turn anonymous comments off, right? In fact, Tumblr tells you to turn anonymous comments off if they bother you.

I have no sympathy for people who complain about anonymous comments but then choose to allow anonymous comments.

But good job 007!!
 

Roger

He/him
AKA
Minato
Love beyond death is a common theme in Final Fantasy (Tidus x Yuna, Shuyin x Lenne, Laguna x Raine, Ashe x Rasler, etc.) Plus, in Final Fantasy VII, you have Vincent's bond with Lucrecia. Vincent can see her and speak with her in DoC, similar to the way Cloud can interact with Aerith in AC/ACC.
Let's go through that list. Tidus was never dead. Yuna and Tidus continue their relationship when he returns, if you fail to make that happen, the X-2 ending is not about Yuna and Tidus love, it's about Yuna moving on and this being portrayed as positive thing. The Unsent Shuyin's love for Lenne became something twisted that corrupted him. He was eventually convinced to be put to rest. Ashe's love for Rasler was only starting to get unphesised when Rasler's image was used to manipulate her. In the end she too as to learn how to do without him. And lastly neither Lucretia nor Vincent are dead, or only reside in the spiritual world, at least as portrayed in DoC. It was more ambigious in FFVII but in DoC where Vincent's loe for Lucretia gets the spotlight they make it clear that she's still alive, just beyond the help of current science. And even then, it's not exactly portrayed as Vincent's most positive trait.

At no point is an active relationship between someone completely dead and someone very much alive seen as an option worth pursuing. Zack even tells Cloud he has no place where Aerith is.
 

Strangelove

AI Researcher
AKA
hitoshura
Cloud left the place, remembering the mysterious feeling he had for Aerith from the small conversation.
(side note, why does 'mysterious feeling' indicate romance?)

わずかな会話のうち、彼女に不思議な感覚を覚えつつもその場を離れたクラウドは、無事にアバランチと合流、彼らのアジトへともどる。

覚える (oboeru), in addition to meaning 'remember', means to feel something when used with emotions and physical sensations. He is experiencing a 'mysterious feeling'.


is there a list compiling all the translations that fly around that are wrong/misinterpreted (i'm thinking 'magical night' and 'engraved in his heart 5eva') so it's all in one handy place for people to then ignore


oh well let's all sing

SIE SIND DAS ESSEN UND WIR SIND DIE JÄGER
シカバネフミコエテ ススムイシヲワラウブタヨ!
カチクノアンネイ キョギノハンエイ シセルガロウノジユウヲ!



Quex said:
Honestly, I have no clue. That's a Tres question. I think the revised CoT came after though. Pretty sure.
The original version was released with the Prologue book, published just before AC's original release, as it was first included in the book.

The revised edition was released years later when ACC was.

'a part' otherwise it means the exact opposite
 

Ryushikaze

Deus Admiral Parsimonious, PHD, DDS, MD, JD, OBE
AKA
Tim, Ryu
I totally didn't know that! The last time I did a full play-through was years ago. But thanks for providing me with even more proof in favor of my ship!! Thanks, Ryu!

You do realize 'Unreliable prognosticator prognosticates a thing that doesn't happen' doesn't actually help you... right?

Who said he is reliable?

I specifically said that I'm not arguing about how reliable his prediction is. I'm arguing about why SE decided to include a wedding prediction about Cloud and Aerith in the game.

... Because they want to set you up for an emotional whammy by A: having a character sacrifice himself and coming right back as per established trope, and B: having the same character talk about the bright future and fulfilled dreams of the character who is actually going to die.

You have absolutely no proof of this.

"In FF7, Tifa is the only one who knows Cloud’s childhood, and furthermore, she holds the key to people involved in the story of Nibelheim’s burning down, which is also depicted in CC. She and Cloud came to realize their feelings for each other in the end of the story, and live together in AC and DC." Tifa's profile, CCU

They come to realize their feelings for each other, and thus live together later. The ideas are linked.
QED

With Barret and Marlene.

So? It's the family they were forming. A family that Cloud and Square-Enix noticably omit Barret from.

Seventh Heaven has always been home-base for those who lived/met in Midgar. Seems only natural that those who met and lived in Midgar would return to Midgar and co-habit/live together.

Which is why Barret leaves immediately and does not live together with Cloud and Tifa for 2+ years.

So is Aerith. How is being an important woman proof of a romantic relationship?

It's not. Not on it's own. But you'll note that Tifa is much more than just an important woman. She's an important woman, the mother of the family she and Cloud formed (in which he is father) , mother to their adopted child, the woman with whom he shares a past, and a future, the only woman he ever opened his heart too, I could go on.

The future they have is not stated to be romantic.

Please, see above.

What after the HAHW scene is proof of a romantic relationship between Cloud and Tifa?

His words to her right after Meteorfall? Them moving in together? Her being someone's beloved while living with Cloud, that they move in, form a family, have relationship problems, all of these things are narrative shorthand for a couple moving in to a new phase of a relationship. You ask why SE would imply a wedding if they didn't want us thinking about a romance, I ask, why would they tell us Cloud and Tifa moved in together, formed a family, have a future together, etc. etc. etc. if we are not excpected to infer a romantic relationship from all this?

Cloud and Aerith have a koibito quote, too.

No, Aerith has a 'Cloud is my Koibito' quote. From her perspective. Tifa has a 'This is what she IS' quote from the perspective of the creator.

So....? All that proves is how Denzel feels towards them. It tell us nothing about Cloud and Tifa's relationship, nor how they feel towards each other.

She sees him as the daddy. He sees her as the mom. They view him as their child. That actually tells us rather a lot, narratively.


Yet SE decided to have Tifa ask if Cloud loved her. This implies Cloud and Tifa may not be in a romantic relationship after the HAHW scene if Cloud doesn't love her. If Tifa doesn't know, how do you know? There obviously must be a reason why SE decided to have Tifa ask if Cloud loved her (and her insecurity issues are not the only reason). Nojima speaks of a premise that things won't go well between Cloud and Tifa, which is probably why Tifa wonders if Cloud loves her.

What it implies is that things are not going well for them at that time. Which, given Cloud's survivor's guilt and self blame for the death of several good friends, is understandable, it being the reason he grew distant from Tifa, Marlene, and Denzel, despite how happy living with them made him. In point of fact, it is that very happiness that makes him feel so guilty and makes him draw away.


Yet SE decided to show a bed in Cloud's separate room.

Yes, because offices in houses often do double duty as guest bedrooms. My parents' house had an office/ guestroom. My house has an office/ guestroom with a bed. What they don't show us is a dresser, a closet, or any amenities one might expect of a proper bedroom, including sheets on that bed. Or cot, rather, since that's barely a mattress.

Yet SE decided to tell us Tifa was irritated about Cloud visiting Aerith's Church in a passage about her jealousy towards her "love rival".

Let's look at the actual quote.
"Tifa’s complicated feelings continue even in AC, two years after Aerith had departed the world. This was due to the fact that Cloud, succumbing to the notion that Aerith’s death was his fault and condemning himself, construed that Denzel was “the child which Aerith brought here” and took care of him. In addition, Cloud had also gone away to the church that Aerith had been in. The thing which she is unable to hide in her irritation towards Cloud is the fact that he isn’t merely dragging the past around, but because that reason might perhaps be related to Aerith."

Seems more to do with that he's dragging his self condemnation around and that's dishonoring Aerith's memory, not that OMG he's still thinking about Aerith, because TIFA HERSELF IS STILL THINKING ABOUT AERITH.

"Tifa, smiling towards Aerith’s presence. Cherishing Aerith is Tifa’s honest feeling."

Yet Nomura said, "For example, I was frequently asked if there had been romantic relationship between Tifa and Cloud for two years, after FF7 ended, but I don't have any clue." ~Nomura, Dorimaga interview, published at Flaregamer

One, that quote is so old that you trying to use it to disprove everything that's been decided in the, what, eight years since it came out is absolutely hilarious.
What's also hilarious is that you keep quoting Sheila's site when you use this quote, which would amuse her to no end, since she thinks quoting this to try and prove the compilation could not have gone Cloti is one of the dumbest things you Pinkers do.

Yet SE decided to call Cloud and Tifa, "childhood friends" in both the FFVII and Advent Children relationship charts, even though they provided different descriptions for Cloud and Aerith in both charts. If Cloud and Tifa's relationship changed from FFVII to AC, why were they given the same description for both charts? Why wasn't their description changed like Cloud and Aerith's were? In addition, Cloud and Tifa NEVER have mutual favor arrows in any relationship chart.

Once again, argumentum ad flowchart. Once again, I fail to be impressed and point out that several other couples get the 'childhood friends' treatment in these flowcharts. Including people who have kids later. Very friendly, those ones.

You have ZERO evidence that Cloud and Tifa are in a romantic relationship after the HAHW scene. Living together =/= romantic relationship (Cid and Shera lived together. Were they in a romantic relationship?)

Yes. A twisted and broken one for a long time, but yes, actually, I'd say they lived together in part because of the unresolved sexual tension that they finally acted on. You do know they get married, right?

Seventh Heaven is home base for those that met in Midgar. Tifa, Barret, Marlene, and Cloud formed a family together in a place where Cloud has a separate room and his own bed. To assume that Cloud and Tifa are in a romantic relationship is a huge assumption on your part and flies the face of Nojima's premise that things won't go well between them and Nomura's quote about not knowing the status of their relationship.

Actually, you assuming they don't have a relationship is what flies in the face of Nojima's premise. The statement 'Things won't go well between them' is, rather like the statement 'She wears the pants' reliant upon a romantic relationship being implicit in the context to make sense. It's narrative shorthand that never gets used for platonic pairs, and honestly sounds bizarre if you try and use it between friends.

Look, we know Cloud and Tifa have romantic feelings for each other. These get unveiled in the lifestream sequence. It's the Highwind scene where they say anything about them- and we know they do so because of a multitude of quote that take them doing just that as a given, including Tifa's profile in the CCU.

You ask what do the two do that's romantic? My answer is everything. Everything they do post-FF7 is what you would expect a young couple to do. They move in together. They raise kids (sooner than most, but still), they have fights, issues, and reconciliations. They have a future together. If I was writing a story about a couple with an adopted child while fostering another, I could easily use Cloud and Tifa as my template. Because stories require conflict. And while AC is largely about Cloud's inner turmoil of guilt and fear of loss, it's also about how that turmoil is affecting his family, just dressed up in one hell of a whiz-bang action flick.

So, yeah, gonna echo GLD here. You use a lot of words to say nothing, BB.
 

Dashell

SMILE!
AKA
Sonique, Quexinos, Pinkie Pie, Derpy Hooves
Where are we told that they are living together because of romantic reasons?
Ryu provided it above.

"In FF7, Tifa is the only one who knows Cloud’s childhood, and furthermore, she holds the key to people involved in the story of Nibelheim’s burning down, which is also depicted in CC. She and Cloud came to realize their feelings for each other in the end of the story, and live together in AC and DC." Tifa's profile, CCU

And I didn't say "Because of romantic reasons" I said "because of the feelings they shared"


I have multiple accounts with one e-mail. My Cloud x Aerith account is DansantCaparet, but I'm not able to ask questions under that account. I'm only able to ask questions using my main account, so I typically ask questions anonymously.
Wait, why can't you ask questions under your main account?
 
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The Twilight Mexican

Ex-SeeD-ingly good
AKA
TresDias
I still want to know why we're taking Amano's art seriously at all. He drew one piece depicting Squall and Rinoa together (the dance) despite the numerous pieces he did of Zidane/Dagger and Tidus/Yuna, but then also drew one of Squall and Selphie together and entitled it "Serenade."

http://www.espritduo.com/Amano/FF08/Serenade%20(Lithograph).jpg
http://imgur.com/cAxGOLv.jpg
http://imgur.com/h8wdwBl.jpg

I'm pretty sure he knows next to dick about the games he does promotional art for. Given the focus on Selphie early on in VIII, if he gave the game itself any attention at all, he probably completely misunderstood who the theme of love would revolve around.
 

BlankBeat

Pro Adventurer
Ryushikaze said:
... Because they want to set you up for an emotional whammy by A: having a character sacrifice himself and coming right back as per established trope, and B: having the same character talk about the bright future and fulfilled dreams of the character who is actually going to die.
Cait Sith's wedding prediction was included by SE to build up Cloud and Aerith's romantic relationship so that when Aerith died, it was that much more painful to the gamer. The proof of this is when SE says this wedding prediction becomes "more painful" when we come to know Aerith's fate.

Why would a wedding prediction become more painful after we know Aeriht's fate? Maybe because Cloud and Aerith had romantic feelings for each other that could have led to a marriage :excited:

Ryushikaze said:
"In FF7, Tifa is the only one who knows Cloud’s childhood, and furthermore, she holds the key to people involved in the story of Nibelheim’s burning down, which is also depicted in CC. She and Cloud came to realize their feelings for each other in the end of the story, and live together in AC and DC." Tifa's profile, CCU

They come to realize their feelings for each other, and thus live together later. The ideas are linked.
QED
The ides are not linked.

Nowhere does it say that they live together *BECAUSE* of their mutual feelings. That quote is simply providing us with a summary of events. Nothing more, nothing less.

Ryushikaze said:
So? It's the family they were forming. A family that Cloud and Square-Enix noticably omit Barret from.
SE includes Barret in the formation and creation of the family in Edge:
“Yeah, let’s go home” Cloud agreed.
“Where to?” Barret asked.
“Our suspended reality.”
“What the hell do you mean by that?”
“Our normal lives.”
“And where do we have something like that?”
“We’ll find one.”
Cloud looked at Tifa and said, “Right?”
“Yeah!” cried the cheerful Marlene. Tifa nodded too, but just like Barret, she wondered where they had a normal life.
~CoT

SE includes Barret in the family in this quote:
"Upon finding out that Edge was under attack during the midst of his travels, he rushed over towards the crisis faced by his family and companions." ~Barret Wallace's Character Profile

SE includes Barret in the family in this quote:
“I’ll take care of Cloud and Tifa!”
Barret turned round and shouted, “Do your best!” His voice was a little shaky. “Unite the family’s strength and keep at it!”
~CoT

In fact, Marlene INVITES Cloud into her family:
“A family.” (Tifa)
“Yeah.” (Marlene)
Marlene cheerfully answered in response to Tifa’s murmur.
“I’ll put Cloud in our family too.” (Marlene)
“I appreciate that.” (Cloud)
~Revised CoT

PS: I've already answered why Barret is omitted from the prologue quote. And does anyone know if that prologue quote came before or after CoT?

Ryushikaze said:
Which is why Barret leaves immediately and does not live together with Cloud and Tifa for 2+ years.
So? How long Barret left for is irrelevant because he will *always* be Marlene's Father. In addition, when Barret heard Cloud, Tifa, and Marlene were under attack, he rushed back to defend his "family" (ie: the family he helped create in Edge). In addition, Barret tells Marlene to "unite the families strength" while he is gone.

Ryushikaze said:
It's not. Not on it's own. But you'll note that Tifa is much more than just an important woman. She's an important woman, the mother of the family she and Cloud formed (in which he is father) , mother to their adopted child, the woman with whom he shares a past, and a future, the only woman he ever opened his heart too, I could go on.
Why do you insist on removing Barret as Marlene's Father?

Nowhere is it stated that there are two families. Since Cloud, Tifa, and Barret formed the family together in Edge, it is clear that this "family of friends" has two Father figures and one Motherly figure. Barret is Marlene's Father, Cloud is Denzel's Father figure, and Tifa is the Motherly figure to both children.

Stop trying to make Marlene belong to two families and have two Father's.

Ryushikaze said:
Them moving in together?
1. Cid and Shera in FFVII show us that living together =/= romantic relationship.
2. Seventh Heaven has always been home-base for those that reside in Midgar.
3. Cloud has his own room with his own bed.

Ryushikaze said:
that they move in, form a family,
Cloud and Tifa move in with Barret and Barret's daughter, Marlene. This family was formed *WITH* Barret in Edge, and was not formed out of romantic reasons. Then, Cloud and Tifa adopt a kid that Cloud believes was brought to him by Aerith.

Ryushikaze said:
No, Aerith has a 'Cloud is my Koibito' quote. From her perspective. Tifa has a 'This is what she IS' quote from the perspective of the creator.
You honestly don't think "koibito" almost always means mutual romantic feelings?

Ryushikaze said:
She sees him as the daddy. He sees her as the mom. They view him as their child. That actually tells us rather a lot, narratively.
The way Denzel views Cloud and Tifa tells us nothing about how Cloud and Tifa view each other.

Ryushikaze said:
Yes, because offices in houses often do double duty as guest bedrooms. My parents' house had an office/ guestroom. My house has an office/ guestroom with a bed. What they don't show us is a dresser, a closet, or any amenities one might expect of a proper bedroom, including sheets on that bed. Or cot, rather, since that's barely a mattress.
The lack of other furniture is irrelevant. How does the lack of other furniture prevent Cloud from sleeping in that bed?

Until Cloud and Tifa are shown sleeping together, or until someone else is shown sleeping in the bed found in Cloud's room, it is only logical to assume Cloud sleeps in that bed.

In addition, where is your evidence that Cloud's room is used as a double duty guest bedroom? Which guests have we seen sleep in there?

Ryushikaze said:
"Tifa’s complicated feelings continue even in AC, two years after Aerith had departed the world. This was due to the fact that Cloud, succumbing to the notion that Aerith’s death was his fault and condemning himself, construed that Denzel was “the child which Aerith brought here” and took care of him. In addition, Cloud had also gone away to the church that Aerith had been in. The thing which she is unable to hide in her irritation towards Cloud is the fact that he isn’t merely dragging the past around, but because that reason might perhaps be related to Aerith."
If you look at the context of the quote, it is in the same passage that talks about Tifa letting her "peevish" feelings slip when she sees the "world" Cloud and Aerith were forming together. Given the context of the quote, it is clear that SE is telling us that although Tifa doesn't hate Aerith as a person, she does get jealous over the romantic relationship Cloud and Aerith share in both Final Fantasy VII and Advent Children.

Ryushikaze said:
One, that quote is so old that you trying to use it to disprove everything that's been decided in the, what, eight years since it came out is absolutely hilarious.
What's also hilarious is that you keep quoting Sheila's site when you use this quote, which would amuse her to no end, since she thinks quoting this to try and prove the compilation could not have gone Cloti is one of the dumbest things you Pinkers do.
IMO, the compilation does not contradict Nomura's quote.

Ryushikaze said:
Once again, argumentum ad flowchart. Once again, I fail to be impressed and point out that several other couples get the 'childhood friends' treatment in these flowcharts. Including people who have kids later. Very friendly, those ones.
Most of the relationship charts you speak of are all-encompassing relationship charts.

However, SE decided to provide two relationship charts in the same book -- one relationship chart for Final Fantasy VII and one relationship chart for Advent Children. In other words, instead of doing the typical all-encompassing relationship chart, SE decided to break the Final Fantasy VII compilation into two charts. These two charts would have been the perfect opportunity to show how Cloud and Tifa's relationship changed from FFVII to AC. But the sad reality is that SE used the same relationship description for Cloud and Tifa in both charts -- "childhood friends".

Interestingly, Cloud and Aerith have a different relationship description for the FFVII chart and the AC chart. This was meant to highlight the changes Cloud and Aerith's relationship went through between FFVII and AC. Why didn't SE do the same for Cloud and Tifa? Answer: Cloud and Tifa's relationship didn't change between FFVII and AC on a canon basis. Therefore, this tells me that Cloud and Tifa's relationship did not move beyond childhood friends and matches Nomura's quote where he states he has no clue if Cloud and Tifa are in a romantic relationship.

Ryushikaze said:
Yes. A twisted and broken one for a long time, but yes, actually, I'd say they lived together in part because of the unresolved sexual tension that they finally acted on. You do know they get married, right?
Yes, I know Cid and Shera get married.

What's funny is that Cid and Shera get married. This unequivocally moves them from friends to lovers. Do Cloud and Tifa ever get married? Nope.

You've yet to provide any evidence that moves Cloud and Tifa from friends to lovers after the HAHW scene.

Ryushikaze said:
Actually, you assuming they don't have a relationship is what flies in the face of Nojima's premise. The statement 'Things won't go well between them' is, rather like the statement 'She wears the pants' reliant upon a romantic relationship being implicit in the context to make sense. It's narrative shorthand that never gets used for platonic pairs, and honestly sounds bizarre if you try and use it between friends.
The mutual feelings expressed during the HAHW scene never turned into a fully fleshed relationship.

Nojima's premise that things won't go well between Cloud and Tifa becomes a reality when we see Cloud visiting the Church of Tifa's "love rival", when Cloud ignores months of Tifa's phone calls, and when Tifa has to ask if Cloud loves her. All of this evidence supports Nomura's quote and tells me that the compilation *DOES NOT* contradict Nomura's quote.
 
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*Makes brief post with no intention to enter this discussion 100%*

In the original game, there is a love triangle. Aerith likes Cloud and Tifa likes Cloud. I personally think that the love triangle is a bit underplayed, but it's there. The narrative does not tell us who Cloud likes more, but leaves it up to the player who they give attention to.

The way I see it, the bit with Cait Sith's wedding prediction is there for two reasons.

1) Further affirm the love triangle's presence
Aerith is the one who says “Hmm, let's see how compatible Cloud and I are!” which clearly shows her interest in their compatibility, but Cloud's point-of-view is not given as he just stands there with no lines or animations.

2) Make Aerith's death feel more sudden and unexpected
The wedding prediction holds a similar narrative purpose to that of Aerith's desire to get on board the Highwind someday.
Aeris
“That was REALLY something.”
“Hey, do you think I could get on it?”
> I'll take you someday
> I dunno…
It is there to express the ultimate loss and thievery of possibilities that death can be.


The prediction is not there to say with certainty that a wedding would have happened if Aerith had lived. Cait Sith's assumption that Aerith would live was wrong and equally he could be wrong about the wedding even if Aerith had lived. So quite frankly I don't think this item is of any relevance at all in the discussion about which two individuals is the true couple.
 

Geostigma

Pro Adventurer
AKA
gabe
I dont get how you can argue that a robotic spy cat was capable of "predicting" the future and seeing a wedding but was unable to see one of the participants in said wedding dying pretty prematurely.

Weak argument is weak.
 

BlankBeat

Pro Adventurer
No one is arguing about Cait Sith's reliability. I've made that very clear. We are simply discussing SE's intent and reason for including a wedding prediction between Cloud and Aerith.

To me, the fact that SE says that this wedding prediction becomes "MORE PAINFUL" after we know of Aerith's demise, suggests that Cloud and Aerith's feelings for one another had the potential to result in a marriage.
 

Dashell

SMILE!
AKA
Sonique, Quexinos, Pinkie Pie, Derpy Hooves
The mutual feelings expressed during the HAHW scene never turned into a fully fleshed relationship.
Serious question here, I'm not trying to start shit or anything. But what exactly do you think happened under the Highwind? I'm a little confused on that
 

Geostigma

Pro Adventurer
AKA
gabe
No one is arguing about Cait Sith's reliability. I've made that very clear. We are simply discussing SE's intent and reason for including a wedding prediction between Cloud and Aerith.

To me, the fact that SE says that this wedding prediction becomes "MORE PAINFUL" after we know of Aerith's demise, suggests that Cloud and Aerith's feelings for one another had the potential to result in a marriage.
If were going to talk SE's intention then also take into account they decided to kill her off then pair Cloud up in every installment after that with Tifa...

Thats not really helping your case at all :monster:
 

BlankBeat

Pro Adventurer
(side note, why does 'mysterious feeling' indicate romance?)

わずかな会話のうち、彼女に不思議な感覚を覚えつつもその場を離れたクラウドは、無事にアバランチと合流、彼らのアジトへともどる。

覚える (oboeru), in addition to meaning 'remember', means to feel something when used with emotions and physical sensations. He is experiencing a 'mysterious feeling'.


is there a list compiling all the translations that fly around that are wrong/misinterpreted (i'm thinking 'magical night' and 'engraved in his heart 5eva') so it's all in one handy place for people to then ignore
You are assuming this mysterious feeling happened in a vacuum.

This mysterious feeling came after we know Cloud thought that paying 1 gil for Aerith's smile was a "good purchase" and that her eyes were "impressive".

Why would SE say all of that about Cloud's initial meeting with Aerith if it wasn't meant to be taken romantically? It's not that hard to read between the lines.

THEN, after Cloud and Aerith's initial meeting where Cloud leaves with a "mysterious" feeling (while thinking Aerith's eyes were "impressive" and that her smile was a good purchase) Cloud agrees to be Aerith's bodyguard for the price of one date.

THEN, Cloud has a flashback in Aerith's house about having an older girlfriend.

THEN, Cloud and Aerith share a date in the park where the topic of romantic relationships gets brought up.

THEN, Cloud tells Marlene he hopes Aerith likes him.

THEN, Cloud and Aerith share a date at Golden Saucer.

THEN, SE includes a wedding prediction about Cloud and Aerith's future.

Oh, and SE has also tells us that Aerith is Tifa's "love rival" and that Cloud *WAVERS* between two heroines.

It's not that hard to see what this "mysterious" feeling is, especially when you look at the context of everything.

I really think people should stop looking at everything in a vacuum and start looking at everything as a whole. When you look at the order and progression of events, it paints an undeniable picture of romantic attraction between Cloud and Aerith.
 
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Geostigma

Pro Adventurer
AKA
gabe
This mysterious feeling came after we know Cloud thought Aerith's eyes were "impressive". The mysterious feeling came after Cloud thought that paying 1 gil for her smile was a "good purchase".

Why would SE say all of that about Cloud's initial meeting with Aerith if it wasn't meant to be taken romantically? It's not that hard to read between the lines.

That scene is also an analog to a sailor getting on the docks and looking for a cheap hussy for a good time. I wish ACF was still around there was a pretty great thread about how Aerith could easily be analogous to a prostitute :monster:

Said mysterious feeling could have been narrative shorthand for pitching a tent.

THEN, after this initial meeting where Cloud has a "mysterious" feeling after thinking Aerith's eyes were "impressive" and thought her smile was a good purchase, Cloud agrees to be Aerith's bodyguard for the price of one date.

THEN, Cloud has a flashback in Aerith's house about having an older girlfriend.

THEN, Cloud and Aerith share a date in the park where the topic of romantic relationships gets brought up.

THEN, Cloud tells Marlene he hopes Aerith likes him.

THEN, Cloud and Aerith share a date at Golden Saucer.

THEN, SE includes a wedding prediction about Cloud and Aerith's future.

You cant have a love triangle without building up the relationships. Building up sentimental attachments for the player isnt indicative of the characters over all choice between the two potential partners.

Oh, and they've also told us that Aerith is Tifa's "love rival" and that Cloud *WAVERS* between two heroines.

Well it would be weird triangle if there was only a straight line to Tifa.
No ones debating that Aerith wasnt a potential interest, but merely that she lost out to Tifa in the end :reptar:
 

BlankBeat

Pro Adventurer
I am looking at the context of Cloud and Tifa's relationship because:

A. I'm taking into consideration Nomura's quote.

B. I'm taking into consideration that Cloud has a separate bed in his room.

C. I'm taking into consideration that Tifa get's jealous that Cloud is visiting Aerith's Church.

D. I'm taking into consideration that Cloud ignores months of Tifa's phone calls.

E. I'm taking into consideration that Cloud, Tifa, *AND* Barret formed a family together and that the family was not formed from a romantic place.

F. I'm taking into consideration that Seventh Heaven has always been home-base for those that reside in Midgar.

G. I'm taking into consideration Nojima's premise that things, "won't go well" between Cloud and Tifa and that the children might not be enough to help them sort through their problems.

H. I'm taking into consideration the relationship charts.

I. I'm taking into consideration the fact that Tifa has to ask if Cloud loves her.



All of this tells me that a romantic relationship does not exist between Cloud and Tifa after the HAHW scene. Nomura's quote alone proves this, but all the other reasons simply verify and support his statement.
 

The Twilight Mexican

Ex-SeeD-ingly good
AKA
TresDias
No one is arguing about Cait Sith's reliability. I've made that very clear. We are simply discussing SE's intent and reason for including a wedding prediction between Cloud and Aerith.

To me, the fact that SE says that this wedding prediction becomes "MORE PAINFUL" after we know of Aerith's demise, suggests that Cloud and Aerith's feelings for one another had the potential to result in a marriage.

And I don't think anyone has said their feelings didn't have that potential. If they have, please point me at them, because I will give them a firm finger-wagging.

However, that's not what you actually seem to argue for with this whole wedding prediction. You use it to build a case for an ongoing love with an ever-developing relationship post-mortem.

And that's just daft.

Honestly, I don't know what's worse -- this argument or that of the Harmony shippers. One argues that authorial intent was to build an ongoing romance despite one participant dying; the other argues that authorial intent was to build an ongoing romance despite both participants falling in love with other people, marrying them and having children with them.

It's just the same business of knocking on the door but refusing to step inside that I commented on earlier, Blank. You'll make a connection like "the wedding prediction shows that the developers intended marriage was a possibility for Cloud and Aerith," but then somehow miss their intention in her separation from Cloud by death, her own acceptance of this as meaning she will never have the relationship with him that she wanted, and Cloud also starting a family with another woman.
 
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Geostigma

Pro Adventurer
AKA
gabe
Prove it.

lol.

The point is your arguing "intent" of a company based on decisions they made and put in the game, i.e. the wedding prediction. Clearly they put that in the game because it must be true, cloud is aeriths one true love, yada yada.

With this logic we must also consider SE's intent when they chose to kill aerith, then put cloud in an extremely obvious adult relationship with the other person involved in the LTD, Tifa.

I would be inclined to agree with you if say they put Barret or Nanaki in the house with Cloud instead of Tifa. Because then given the back story it would make no sense.

It how ever makes no sense to imply that a company would intentionally build up a love interest with Cloud (read : Tifa) , then form an adult relationship in the extended universe content (read: the compilation), only to make us assume nothing is going on.

Common sense would dictate. They're together.
 

Roger

He/him
AKA
Minato
You are assuming this mysterious feeling happened in a vacuum.

This mysterious feeling came after we know Cloud thought that paying 1 gil for Aerith's smile was a "good purchase" and that her eyes were "impressive".

Why would SE say all of that about Cloud's initial meeting with Aerith if it wasn't meant to be taken romantically? It's not that hard to read between the lines.

THEN, after Cloud and Aerith's initial meeting where Cloud leaves with a "mysterious" feeling (while thinking Aerith's eyes were "impressive" and that her smile was a good purchase) Cloud agrees to be Aerith's bodyguard for the price of one date.

THEN, Cloud has a flashback in Aerith's house about having an older girlfriend.

THEN, Cloud and Aerith share a date in the park where the topic of romantic relationships gets brought up.

THEN, Cloud tells Marlene he hopes Aerith likes him.

THEN, Cloud and Aerith share a date at Golden Saucer.

THEN, SE includes a wedding prediction about Cloud and Aerith's future.

Oh, and SE has also tells us that Aerith is Tifa's "love rival" and that Cloud *WAVERS* between two heroines.

It's not that hard to see what this "mysterious" feeling is, especially when you look at the context of everything.

I really think people should stop looking at everything in a vacuum and start looking at everything as a whole. When you look at the order and progression of events, it paints an undeniable picture of romantic attraction between Cloud and Aerith.

What you describe is not the whole just yet. Let me add to it. After those events, Aerith dies. Cloud recovers from having his mind controlled by Jenova throughout everything you just said. Aerith herself is the one in the game that points out that Cloud she spends time with is not the real Cloud. After Meteorfall Cloud and Tifa move in together. YES WITH MARLENE AND BARRET. As you insist on, Cloud isn't Marlene's father. Nor was Seventh Heaven ever his home. Nor is he all that much closer to Barret then all the guys that took off. He does however say he'll be okay because he has Tif this time. Tifa says he's always had her, he replies that he means it in a rather different way this time around.

Meanwhile we get Aerith's perspective in the Lifestream. Starting a romantic relationship with Cloud is not on her list of things to do. Like, at all. In Reunion Files Nomura talks about ideas like having Aerith be the last message on Cloud's cellphone and having her hop on the back of his motorcycle. He declines because he does not want Aerith haunting Cloud like a ghost.
 

BlankBeat

Pro Adventurer
It's just the same business of knocking on the door but refusing to step inside that I commented on earlier, Blank.
Lol did you come up with that all by yourself?

You'll make a connection like "the wedding prediction shows that the developers intended marriage was a possibility for Cloud and Aerith," but then somehow miss their intention in her separation from Cloud by death,
Then after Aerith's death...

Cloud visits Aerith's Church before and after getting Geostigma. Then, in a passage outlining Tifa's jealousy over Cloud and Aerith's relationship, we learn that Tifa is irritated with Cloud not just because he is dragging around the past, but because the reason might, "perhaps be related to Aerith". Given the context of the passage, it is clear that Cloud visiting Aerith's Church is meant to have romantic undertones due to Tifa's jealousy.

Furthermore, after Aerith's death...

Cloud and Aerith share a spiritual connection at the end of Final Fantasy VII and Cloud says, "An answer from the Planet… the Promised Land… I think I can meet her… there."

Why do Cloti's keep denying Cloud's desire to re-connect with Aerith after she dies? The inconvenient reality you face is that Cloud wants to reunite with Aerith in the Promised Land and continue a spiritual connection with her after her death. Then, in Advent Children, there's the hand reach scene between Cloud and Aerith that is referred to as a "homage" by SE. To me, this highlights the romantic relationship between Cloud and Aerith that has continued into the spiritual world:

"The ending scene of the battle with Bahamut, the scene where Aerith reaches out her hand, is homage to the last scene from a previous production. It was Tetsuya (Nomura)'s idea…." ~Nojima, Reunion Files

Furthermore, during the ending credits of AC, Cloud is shown riding his motorcycle through numerous flower fields. Although Cloud is a delivery boy, he is shown riding his motorcycle through flower fields. Nomura said in the Reunion Files that, "…we filmed the video for the ending credits in Hawaii. There are fields of flowers on both sides of the road, and the colors - yellow and white - are the same as the flowers in Aerith's church."

Nomura also states, "With Aerith, 'flowers' have been her image throughout the series."

And finally, Cloud visits Aerith's Church. Aerith's Church is stated to be Cloud's "Promised Land": "The place where he awakens. That is Cloud's Promised Land……" ~Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary Ultimania, Square Enix

Cloud says he wants to find Aerith in the Promised Land at the end of FFVII. Then, during AC, Cloud realizes that Aerith will always be with him, so his Promised Land is wherever Aerith is — which is why it says Cloud's Promised Land is the place where he awakens (ie: the place where he sees Aerith).

And the reason I connect this quote more to Aerith is because of Cloud's line at the end of FFVII where he says he thinks he can meet Aerith in the Promised Land.

Cloud also starting a family with another woman.
Wrong. Cloud started a family with Tifa, Barret, and Barret's daughter.

You are also ignoring all of this evidence that DESTROYS the idea that Cloud and Tifa are a couple after the HAHW scene:
--Living together at Seventh Heaven (when that has always been home-base for AVALANCHE in Midgar) does not prove Cloud and Tifa are in a romantic relationship.

--Cloud, Tifa, *AND* Barret decided that they would reside there.

--Cloud has a separate bed in his own room at Seventh Heaven.

--Nomura doesn't know if Cloud and Tifa are in a relationship after FFVII ends

--Nojima speaks of a premise that things won't go well between Cloud and Tifa

--Cloud leaves Seventh Heaven and visits Aerith's Church before his diagnosis

--Cloud ignores months of Tifa's phone calls

--Tifa is jealous of Cloud visiting Aerith's Church and the connection/bond they have

--Tifa doesn't know if Cloud loves her
 
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