Hope v 2.0 (Zerith club)

[Unit-01]

Wow all this pictures are new to me.

^Sasseli - In the Remake, the one thing I hope we get is like an "Episode of Aerith" dlc in where it explores what she does in the Lifestream between her death and the end of the game. If this does happen when the Remake releases in like 2020 then I'd bet a year of paychecks to say Zack will be in it.

 

[Sasseli]

Well, I wouldn't go as far as betting on it, but they could really add to and change so much of the game, while still remaining in the original story and I hope they will. There are just too many possibilities, they have to give us more than the OG offered in many respects. I wonder if they will somehow incorporate scenes from CC. Well, apart from Zack's dying scene and the Nibelheim incident, of course. Scenes of Aerith and Zack together, maybe in memories/ flashbacks. And I want her motivation on the wrong stuff she says about their relationship to be clear, i.E. that she said it out of denial, because her accepting his death and his true love would be too painful to bear. Because I hate it when avid Clerith-fans use those scenes especially to belittle their feelings of love and affection for each other. Because those scenes especially show how deep Aerith is in pain. So much that she denies her own knowledge of his death and her own feelings.

 

[Unit-01]

^ If they did want to add Aerith and Zack centered scenes, the only way within the frame of the original game would be to have some DLC that Aerith has a reunion with Zack(that not being the main focus of the DLC of course). In the context of the main game, the only place to put it is Gongaga when the party meets Zack's parents. Even so, there is a reason why Aerith says so little about Zack. Cloud at this point still thinks he is Zack/his memory is merged with Zack, and that revelation comes all the way in Mideel way after Aerith dies. I don't think even with the changes Aerith would go all out and explain/reveal anything more, her relationship with Zack isn't too important because Zack is dead.

I highly suggest you read Maiden that Travels the Planet if you haven't already. It's canon status is unclear(honestly what isn't in question with the compilation), but it goes into what Aerith does after she dies, and she does meet Zack(although if I recall it is a bit short.).

 

[Sasseli]

I have read, or rather, listened to MWTTP and, quite frankly, I hate it and would never regard it as canon, because it has too many mistakes and alters characters to an extent none of the other compilation titles do. To be honest, I listened only as far as the scene where Aerith meets Zack's spirit in the Lifestream. (But even before that I found the story weird, to say the least.) This scene did it for me. To me that was nowhere near their canon relationship, nor anywhere near Aerith's personality. They had too much going on, too many emotions for her to treat him like that and for him to react like he did. He fucking died trying to get to her and she wrote 89 f*** letters, waiting 5 years for him to return.
Why wouldn't Zack matter anymore, because he is dead? That doesn't make any sense at all. Neither in the game not in real life. In the game death specifically has a meaning in the form of the lifestream and the producers even say that the consciousness lives on. And in real life, no matter what you believe or don't believe, people dear to you continue to be dear to you even after they died. That's very normal.
Concerning the game Aerith's relationship with Zack is very important, because it highly influences her relationship with Cloud.
I'm sorry if I misunderstood you. I don't know how such memories/ scenes could be incorporated into the game, but I think it might be possible, without altering the story too much and without revealing too much to Cloud. It would be nice to have a bit more than "He was my first boyfriend" or "He disappeared after a mission and never came back, probably found someone else. He was such a lady's man". Because those lines get misinterpreted so much.

I probably totally misunderstood you, but whatever. I still think Zack is important and deserved more love in the OG. He did have an effect on me, but I think the Remake has the potential to put much more emotions into scenes, so I think they should do it.
An episode with Aerith in the Livestream would be wonderful, if it was different from the Maiden. Then this junk (sorry, That's what it is to me for the larger part) could be buried once and for all.

 

[Unit-01]

Why wouldn't Zack matter anymore, because he is dead? That doesn't make any sense at all.

I should've elaborated more on this. Within the context of the main story of FF7 the physical relationship between Zack and Aerith does not matter because Zack is dead. Until the point of Aerith dying their relationship cannot go anywhere because of the obvious absence of Zack. Also the relationship between Zack and Aerith has little to do with the plot of ff7.

Am I saying their relationship doesn't influence the relationship between Aerith and Cloud? No.
Am I saying Aerith doesn't care about/ doesn't believe Zack matters anymore. Hell No.


Remember what you are saying, you want more screen time for the couples in Remake. In terms of ZackxAerith, Square could show them meeting in the Lifestream. If Aerith in her time alive mentions too much about Zack it would mess with the whole plot reveal later, and also be very out of place. Aerith listens to the whole Nibelheim incident from Cloud knowing that's where Zack last was. She doesn't mention anything, the writers intentionally made that decision, and as with all the changes in the Remake I don't believe that will be one, again it messes with Cloud's character arc.

To this extent if Square decides to add content into the game of Aerith's travels through the lifestream, this is the way they would add all of the flashbacks/ more screen time. It's the way that makes sense too, because lets say this is a DLC, the focus will be on Aerith, they can do whatever, and I can't imagine them making a hypothetical Episode of Aerith, and for Zack not to make an appearance in it. They could also make it sidequest content too.

Another way would be to have more screen time of Zack and Cloud's escape from Shinra. You could have Zack thinking back to everything he had done with Aerith. Hell part of his whole reason to get to Midgar was for Aerith.


I'm a bit surprised you personally haven't though of anyways to put these extra scenes into the Remake, it's 1/2 the fun of thinking they'll add scenes to it.

It's funny even though Crisis Core was the origin for any interaction between Zack and Aerith, I really feel like there should be more scenes of those two then what we got. I would love to see more Zerith in the Remake, there has never really been a proper conclusion to their relationship and that could be the chance to give fans a tearful reunion of the two. From Advent Children we know they meet back up in the Lifestream, but we never have seen it.

 

[Roger]

I have read, or rather, listened to MWTTP and, quite frankly, I hate it and would never regard it as canon, because it has too many mistakes and alters characters to an extent none of the other compilation titles do. To be honest, I listened only as far as the scene where Aerith meets Zack's spirit in the Lifestream. (But even before that I found the story weird, to say the least.) This scene did it for me. To me that was nowhere near their canon relationship, nor anywhere near Aerith's personality. They had too much going on, too many emotions for her to treat him like that and for him to react like he did. He fucking died trying to get to her and she wrote 89 f*** letters, waiting 5 years for him to return.

Call it a disagreeable direction, not a mistake. The 89 letters thing did not exist anywhere at all in canon when MWTTP was written.

Concerning the game Aerith's relationship with Zack is very important, because it highly influences her relationship with Cloud.
I'm sorry if I misunderstood you. I don't know how such memories/ scenes could be incorporated into the game, but I think it might be possible, without altering the story too much and without revealing too much to Cloud. It would be nice to have a bit more than "He was my first boyfriend" or "He disappeared after a mission and never came back, probably found someone else. He was such a lady's man". Because those lines get misinterpreted so much.

Her only having those lines in life is important too. Zack obviously wrote his parents about her and was coming to Midgar for her, he was clearly serious about her despite his status as a playboy but Aerith doesn't just magically know everything. She has insecurities and uncertainties about her relationship with Zack. Adding lines or flashbacks boldly stating that "yeah, we were completely in love." before Zack's tragic end is revealed is a mistake to me.

 

[Sasseli]

@Minato: I know all this. It's just that I somehow wish for more. Adding something after Aerith dies/ without affecting Cloud would be one possibility, though I find that highly doubtful. I guess they will stick to the original as much as possible, at least story-wise, without adding too much new content. And adding Aerith in the Lifestream would be some huge new content.
It's not possible , I guess. *sigh*

Though there is this lengthy new monologue when Aerith first sees Cloud. If they really add this to the Remake, it'll be a huge change, too. And might they not as well somehow show pieces of memories with Zack that you only see as Aerith/ without Cloud knowing? Like little flashbacks Aerith has after visiting Zack's parents or her seeing Zack's face the moment she dies or anything like that. (Probably not, since the player plays Cloud and not Aerith...*sigh*) I'd be happy with any small hint (apart from those that are in the OG) that shows that Aerith really had strong feelings for Zack and that it wasn't just a flirt for either of them. I did say that I'm not really sure if that's even possible, I'm just dreaming around. Unit-01 is right, that's half of the fun.

 

[Roger]

Just like Advent Children Complete, there's a high chance fundamental changes will be made to the story ib order to place greater empathesis on Zack's role in it, including his relationship with Aerith.

 

[Sasseli]

Hmm, you think so? I'm really not sure how many changes they can make without risks. I'd be happy about some changes, minor changes, to the story, but major changes? I don't know... Could they do it without angering the fans of the game?
Could you explain what you mean with ACC and the connection to the Remake? What changes do you mean?

 

[Roger]

Hmm, you think so? I'm really not sure how many changes they can make without risks. I'd be happy about some changes, minor changes, to the story, but major changes? I don't know... Could they do it without angering the fans of the game?
Could you explain what you mean with ACC and the connection to the Remake? What changes do you mean?

The key plotpoint of AC is that Sephiroth and Aerith need to go through some arbitrary loops in order to interact with Cloud in a complete form. The Lifestream White and Black stories of On The Way To A Smile is about their respective struggle to interact with the Planet's surface in even a reduced form. ACC drops this obviously, Zack is here, completely, exactly as he was in Crisis Core, death having only the thinnest hold on him, it's not important why and how, it was only important that he had to be there somehow.

In AC Sephiroth asks Cloud what he cherishes most, making him flash to a compilation of all his friends and relations who support him, prompting him to answer that there is not a thing he doesn't cherish. In ACC Cloud raison d'etre changes considerably; the same question prompts Cloud to think of Zack and Zack alone, and after a conversation with him asserts himself as Zack' legacy and then only fulfilling that role as conduit for Zack, FFVII's primary all loving hero, gives the answer that there is not a thing he does not cherish.

FFVII's story will inevitably be expanded on in the Remake and I'd bet money on that Zack is one character they will capitalise on for this.

 

[T@ctic]

Well, I wouldn't go as far as betting on it, but they could really add to and change so much of the game, while still remaining in the original story and I hope they will. There are just too many possibilities, they have to give us more than the OG offered in many respects. I wonder if they will somehow incorporate scenes from CC. Well, apart from Zack's dying scene and the Nibelheim incident, of course. Scenes of Aerith and Zack together, maybe in memories/ flashbacks. And I want her motivation on the wrong stuff she says about their relationship to be clear, i.E. that she said it out of denial, because her accepting his death and his true love would be too painful to bear. Because I hate it when avid Clerith-fans use those scenes especially to belittle their feelings of love and affection for each other. Because those scenes especially show how deep Aerith is in pain. So much that she denies her own knowledge of his death and her own feelings.

i hate it when not only cleriths but ANYONE downplay their relationship in CC. i don't see the point for S/E to make all those scenes in CC just for it to be regarded as useless. it's fine if people don't like CC but not regarding it as a canon is just a big fat no. you don't throw crucial points in a story away just because you don't like it. that's called denial. just as aerith did in VII

 

[Tennyo]

People like to forget that at the end of CC Zack became all about getting back to Aerith. He was devastated when the letter he read said it was the final one, and asked her to wait for him.

That and his memories of her were the ones he held on to the longest in the final battle.

 

[T@ctic]

the compilation is a funny business. zack was barely paid attention to in the game, now he has his own game and turns out he's the start of VII.
oh wait! it's actually angeal. no wait, it's not even him, it's his uncle who is responsible.
honestly what will the RM tell us next, yuffie's third cousin 5th removed is the start of it all?

also idk if it's been posted so i apologize for the repost:

Spoiler

also, because pictures aren't working for me for some reason, here's the link is case you can't see it.
https://www.deviantart.com/wlop/art/23-tiny-wishes-717982390
i have it as one of my chat BGs ;_;

BTS vid here:

 

[T@ctic]

looking at this on tumblr, i wanted to post this here and give my own thoughts.

Spoiler

(https://enigmaphenomenon.tumblr.com/post/130853916279/why-i-believe-aerith-was-not-over-zack)

I don’t have a problem with people wanting Aerith to move on and find new love.

But this is basically about the things I’ve seen that suggest to me that Aerith was not actually over Zack at all during the events of FF7. I will include some quotes just to show

Now, some of these claims stem from Aerith’s behavior in the game.

She says she wasn’t serious with Zack.
She says she doesn’t care that she hasn’t heard from him.
She says it bothered her that Cloud acted so much like Zack.
But honestly….what the creators said about her and what SHE says about Zack doesn’t add up. So it comes down to, do I believe the creators? Or do I believe Aerith?

Who is unbiased and objective? Aerith or the ones who wrote this information?

So basically, it’s been confirmed that Aerith wears pink because she’s waiting for Zack, as demonstrated in FF7.

I think, if she was truly over and moved on from Zack, she would not still be awaiting his return to her.

A suggestion by Zack to Aerith, to make a promise each time they have
a date, for when they meet again on their next date.Zack’s specific suggestion was that Aerith wear pink. Ultimately this promise was not fulfilled, but Aerith–who continued to wait for Zack’s return–starts to wear pink after making this promise (as demonstrated in this game, “FFVII, “”BC”, etc).-Crisis Core complete keyword guide.

The creators say, she is still waiting for Zack in Final Fantasy 7, demonstrated by wearing pink.

Aerith says she was bothered by how much Cloud acted like Zack, but the creators say:

Aerith’s first love is Zack, the object of Cloud’s basic personality of being an “ex-SOLDIER.” . We could say Cloud’s speaking and acting like Zack is a big reason why Aerith started to have good feelings towards Cloud. -pg. 29, FF7 Ultimania Omega

Although in the beginning, Aerith felt close to Cloud is because he behaves like Zack, her interest in Cloud himself grows and she is attracted to him. -pg. 31, FFVII Ultimania Omega

Aerith has good feelings towards Cloud BECAUSE he acts like Zack. In fact, him acting like Zack is a BIG reason she started to have good feelings towards him. Good feelings is not being bothered by it.

She also felt close to him because of his behavior like Zack.

Aerith’s collectacard from Theatrerhythm says, she searches for traces of Zack within Cloud.

“The Promised Land… A fateful encounter sets in motion the pendulum of fate. As Aerith searches for the traces of Zack living on in Cloud, the innocent love in her heart will make her destiny’s plaything…”- Aerith’s CollectaCard from Theatrerhythm.

And then finally, Zack and Aerith are irreplaceable to each other, as confirmed by the creators.

Aerith, the girl whom he met at the slum’s church. The existence of the girl, who had earnestly come to love Zack with sincerity, eventually became irreplaceable to him. -Zack’s Profile 10th AU.

The destined encounter with Zack makes them becomes the irreplaceable existence to each other. -Aerith’s profile, FF 7 CC Ultimania

People can go ahead and ship and believe what they want, but to me, I personally don’t believe she truly got over Zack. If she was, she would not have had a 50 affection rating when she met Cloud, and would not have been so eager to date him and spend time with him if him behaving like Zack bothered her.

This is just my own conclusion however. People can come to their own, I just wanted to share mine.

ignoring the quotes all of us have read many times over, i just wanted to say that i don't believe aerith ever got over zack, but that she was prepared to get over him when she came to her senses that cloud wasn't and would never be him. that preparation just never faced the test. i do believe she could have fallen in love with cloud eventually though. but there was no way she would have felt anymore than a deep interest at best by the time she died.

 

[T@ctic]

Spoiler

i'm so triggered omg stop hurting my boos ?? although this would have fit better in that "hard to swallow pills" meme though lol

 

[Theozilla]

Seems weird that the article ignores the other Compilation entries, which firmly establish Zack and Aerith as a couple (and even then the OG Japanese was just vaguer about their relationship, it didn’t definitely say they weren’t a couple, especially with Zack’s letter to his parents saying he got a girlfriend), while the entry on Don Corneo surviving his fall, cites the Compilation Turks novel.

 

[T@ctic]

i agree somewhat on aerith and zack never being a couple, since it was never ~confirmed~ by their words or any explicit things like kissing and the like. but it's obvious the vibe the compilation did that those things weren't needed.

 

[T@ctic]

http://soldierhero-and-flowergirl. tumblr.com/post/158884217554

 

[T@ctic]

okay but wtf is this disney'd version of zack and aerith i have come across it's way too cute and i am not okay
http://juvenile-reactor. tumblr.com/post/171832506459/sky-blue-eyes
http://juvenile-reactor.
tumblr.com/post/171694221314/hey?is_related_post=1
http://juvenile-reactor. tumblr.com/post/173418920539/the-flower-cart?is_related_post=1

 

[T@ctic]

oh my god

^this one got 12k+ notes, wow i didn't know zerith had this much love within the fanbase

http://juvenile-reactor. tumblr.com/post/175404136924/i-havent-been-here-for-so-long-that-i-forgot-my
http://juvenile-reactor. tumblr.com/post/172921495879/in-my-imagination-the-tangled-version-of-crisis/embed

#WE NEED ZERITH DISNEY SHORTS 2k18

 

[T@ctic]

aerith and zack finding useful ways to use their time in the livestream (NSFW)

Spoiler

https://www.deviantart.com/sakimichan/art/Areth-Zack-Social-737571045

 

[T@ctic]

Spoiler

 

[T@ctic]

really cute.

also shut up this is zack and aerith no matter what you think idc what your arguments are

 

[T@ctic]

bdndhdidkdhd

 

[T@ctic]

bruh apparently there's a FF card game??? i saw it around but i brushed it off as old but apparently it's new??? someone saw this on zack's card:

this is so cute i'm ?