Thank you Yumelinh.
I've really seen the the worst of takes on the internets like Aerith forces herself on Cloud, is an abuser, a sexual predator, physical/emotional/sexual/mental abuser, mind f*cks Cloud, mentally sexualy abuses him, etc, I won't use the strong word people use because I know it can be triggering for some but yeah, all this and more. All this some think SE make one of their beloved characters be. So many people love her, she's beloved, many on the dev, the staff team love her too. Some think they'd really make that the truth of her? That was not her or their intention.
So I apologise if it seems I've been coming across as a bit short or defensive here or in the other thread, I try to keep my patience and not get depressed, upset or snippy, but it's hard at times
There are two things here that are often conflated. The intensions of the developers and what is being shown.
Obviously we are meant to like Aerith and obviously Cloud is meant to eventually warm up to her as well, I'd say somewhere during the track to sector 7.
So when people say that Cloud hates her attention and all that I think that's a little far fetched, clearly all the playable characters are supposed to like the way all other playable characters interact with them at some point. Final fantasy isn't a series about a bunch of people continuing to dislike each other. Even Zidane and Steiner like each other by the end. Or Barret and Caith Sith
That is different from saying that moment to moment Cloud is happy with everything that goes on, he's clearly uncomfortable at points, but as has been stated, you can feel uncomfortable at times and still generally like a person. Hell, you can even feel uncomfortable, and still kinda like something, in the same moment.
But even with all of that being said it's still valid to go "I think this behavior is unacceptable, even if Cloud ends up being ok with it and even if SE intends for me to find it endearing". To me, what Aerith does is at times really messed up, and depending on how accurate some of the leaks I've read are, and depending on context, are downright despicable, and that's completely valid, and it's also valid to feel like that negatively impacts the story. For example, if Aerith, while knowing Tifa and Cloud have a history and are going through some sort of courtship, tries to become friends with Tifa while also trying to get between them, then I find that inexcusable.
There is also the real life vs story aspect to consider. IRL flirting with someone else after not seeing your BF for 5 years is of course completely fine, and if Zack wasn't a seen character in the story it would be fine in the story as well. But since we put focus on Zacks attempts to return to Aerith we are creating a story, and Aerith flirting with other men while Zack is desperately trying to get back to her is not the most enjoyable story to watch. Ergo, Aeriths actions make the story less enjoyable, aka, worse, aka, she's a bad character. And it's ok to not like bad characters.
So even though we're supposed to like Aerith, and many do, it is also completely justified to look at Aerith and not like her personality or her character.
Who the hell is going that far with their insults? That's like... Super not okay. I'm pretty certain that must be a minority because that's completely unhinged.
Silverwield is at the very least, she F-ing HATES Aerith, and genuinely acts as if Cloud does too. But yeah, it is the minority of course. You never hear from the majority. Even the people here are part of the 1% most extreme shippers, because the vast bulk of people don't care enough to even have a civil discussion, they're just....the silent majority.
By necessity the loudest people are the ones you hear most from, the most extreme parts of any group are also the most motivated, so whenever any group gets to a certain size there will be outliers on the bell curve that just take it too far. It's a well known propaganda tactic to shine a camera on that 0.01% that exists in any group to then claim that "this is what that group is". While taking the opposite group and essentially doing the reverse "99% of this group is fine, so if you shine a light on the 1% and use it to define the group you are a bigot".
All that matters really is who holds the spotlight.
R; The Sleeping Forest date is not a clumsy friend zoning, it’s Aerith confronting the grief she’s been burying inside and coming to terms with her feelings for Cloud. That’s just my take. Your mileage may vary.