Maidenofwar
They/Them
... and then there were two
Funnily enough, I thought their dynamic at least in Remake was kind of similar to the sibling-dynamics I've seen in manga/anime. (Stress on the word manga/anime, ha ha.) Like, Aerith is the ditzy older sister who flirt-teases her oblivious younger brother and Cloud's the long-suffering younger brother who yells at her to put her pants on. But that was just me and I'm honestly not saying it to dismiss CA as a ship.As is her relationship with Cloud. I don't think they are anything like siblings for example.
I see it more like the Jessie/Cloud dynamic personally. I think half the fun of the bold and flirty girls in this game is how flustered it makes Cloud lmao. I honestly imagine Jessie and Cloud would have had a similar dynamic had she lived. That said - I think the underlying Zack connection deepens the bond/confusion in the bond between Cloud and Aerith.Funnily enough, I thought their dynamic at least in Remake was kind of similar to the sibling-dynamics I've seen in manga/anime. (Stress on the word manga/anime, ha ha.) Like, Aerith is the ditzy older sister who flirt-teases her oblivious younger brother and Cloud's the long-suffering younger brother who yells at her to put her pants on. But that was just me and I'm honestly not saying it to dismiss CA as a ship.
Yep, I thought the same about Jessie and Cloud and Aerith. There were also a lot of similarities between their interactions and how they were framed.I see it more like the Jessie/Cloud dynamic personally. I think half the fun of the bold and flirty girls in this game is how flustered it makes Cloud lmao. I honestly imagine Jessie and Cloud would have had a similar dynamic had she lived. That said - I think the underlying Zack connection deepens the bond/confusion in the bond between Cloud and Aerith.
Now Cloud and Yuffie... That is peak sibling dynamic lmao
Cloud gets so flustered when openly flirted with haha I love it. That's what makes it extra adorable when he (rather clumsily) pulls out the moves for Tifa lmao. Squeezing the life outta her or just yeeting her into him lmao he's hilarious.Yep, I thought the same about Jessie and Cloud and Aerith. There were also a lot of similarities between their interactions and how they were framed.
Lol, I've seen bits of Yuffie and Cloud's Gold Saucer date and it was indeed cute. Never thought that Yuffie would've had a crush on Zack but that was cute too.
Those parallels aren't by chanceIt's even visually copied:Loren Allred got famous from doing the vocals for the song 'Never Enough' in the Greatest Showman. I don't actually think there are any parallels at all personally. But the character who sings the song in the Greatest Showman has her love unrequited. If there is any parallels - I believe it's just a coincidence. Loren Allred is just a very talented singer.
The interpretation that Tifa is his second choice has been around since 1997, and it was stupid even then. No one can look at the OG honestly and seriously think that was ever a reasonable interpretation. It was always a case of people assuming their assumptions are correct. "But they looked in love" no they didn't, people just assumed that from prior experiences with storytelling where the "meet cute" girl is always the love interest or where the most important female to the story is always the love interest. They couldn't wrap their brains around the fact that the reason Aerith had more prominence in the early game MIGHT be because she wouldn't be around for the second half, and they couldn't wrap their heads around the idea that just because a characters focus is during the early game, while another characters focus is in the second half, that that does not mean the first girl is the love interest, or that she'd have more focus in the second half as well, had she lived.I mean personally I feel like "moves on" insinuates that he never loved Tifa beforehand and only decides to be with her because Aerith isn't an option which I don't believe is true personally. Think from everything we know whether its the games, the supplementary material or the compilation it's that Cloud loved Tifa since young and the only reason he really ever did what he did was because of Tifa. Now that's not to say he didn't love Aerith, I believe he does/did in a platonic way. Hell he may even have some interest romantically. But real Cloud only ever loved Tifa.
Not suggesting you believe this btw I just find it interesting that even reasonable Cleriths apparently seem to suggest Tifa is only a thing because Aerith got taken off the board, which is completely false. I think Rebirth has shown that even with Aerith on the board his real romantic interest lies with Tifa
Yes in a second playthrough if you choose to skip Zacks scenes it skips the S5 date and the Church scene.Guys, i heard that if you select chapter 14 but without zack's interlude story it will skip the dream date right to sephiroth speech about multiverse. Is it true ?
Ohhh true. To be fair to me, I was just thinking of the wife/singer/Barnum dynamic and didn't even consider the actual love story in the film. I didn't even think to compare the handhold. Man, I need to watch that movie again. It's so good.Those parallels aren't by chanceView attachment 14796View attachment 14795It's even visually copied:
Yes in a second playthrough if you choose to skip Zacks scenes it skips the S5 date and the Church scene.
Now watch CA going unhinged about it because it's not optional and prove that CA Is CanOn- sooo that dream date is optional??? OMG I gonna remember that on my second playthrough THAAAANK YOU!!
.Hi! Thanks. I am in general curious about what CA think Cloud should do post game, even post ACC…cause the story ends there but the character goes beyond. And he does cameos in other games a lot I can’t ship CA because she is dead. But that also makes me a bad Cloti, since the only reason I don’t ship CA is because she is dead.
Man I hope he gets a happy ending though. Zack is the best. He was quite literally too good for the world.
I feel like Cleriths ship shafts everyone so bad. For them it's like Aerith is cool because she's waiting for her manz to die, Zack is just in an eternal and really depressing friend zone (cause he literally died trying to reunite with her) Cloud is just miserable and waiting for death to be reunited with Aerith and Tifa is being used as a stand in girlfriend/co-parent/housewife with literally none of the benefits. Like Jesus Christ, what a depressing ship.
I'm all for people being like 'man I loved Cloud and Aeriths dynamic and wish she lived so we could've seen their potential relationship develop' and writing fanfics and generally being hyped about this idea but like... Heck... The ones who end the story thinking Cloud has such a miserable ending. Ick. I hate it.
This is a great balanced take. I definitely get the feeling of “What if”, like what if Aerith didn’t die, what if Tifa or Zack wasn’t a thing. I think maybe that’s what’s so interesting or appealing about their story really, i would be intrigued for Part 3 (if it is indeed CT ZA and not CA) for them to somehow address the elephant in the room properly and say something like in another lifetime who knows, but that never happened and that’s okay because the time they did share together was amazing and in the end they both ended up where they were supposed to or really wanted to be. I think some kind of “closure” on the LTD is not only fair on the characters but also the fans at this point, whichever way they choose to run with it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ok so MY perspective : I think regardless of what I interpret his relationship with Aerith is or isn't both Cloud and Tifa realize their feelings for eachother in the LS, the Ultimania confirms it and so will the trilogy. And as I always say Cloud was thrown in a tube at 16 so time basically stopped for him. He had feelings for Tifa when he went in the tube and I don't think those just went away when he woke up. Remake states it's been very little time since he arrived in Midgar. A day or so when you're talk to Marle.
I think even if his feelings for Tifa are probably confused with all that mental strain they wouldn't be gone. And Rebirth shows rather clearly he does have feelings. Then and now. And so I don't consider his feelings for Tifa in the "past". They're part of the current situation whether he realizes it or not.
So it wouldn't exactly "be moving on with Tifa" after Aerith dies as it would be realizing feelings he always had but the situation locked away. I don't think him being with Tifa has anything to do with Aerith's death but about feelings he had before hand that are now coming to the forefront. And this is regardless of what I make think about his feelings are regarding Aerith.
In life you can realize suddenly that you loved someone all along and they loved you regardless of what else is going on. You also can be oblivious to what feelings for someone mean. Feelings don't really run on a clock. And in this case even if he was unaware of his feelings for Tifa before the LS he wouldn't be for much longer.
And in that case whatever his feelings for either girl he would make a choice to act on those feelings. Not in these sense of choosing a person to be with as I don't subscribe to seeing people as menu options. But in the sense of choosing to act on feelings to bring a friendship to the next level. And with Tifa I believe the events after this and Ultimanias show he did.
With Aerith this just never happened. He was oblivious and confused about her feelings and stayed that way. He thought she was a great friend and cherished her and I believe there was attraction but that doesn't a romantic relationship make.
And then the Aerith dies so whatever development there could have been or not is now forever stopped.
Then regardless he in Rebirth With Tifa they both got to share mutual feelings. And I believe the Remake trilogy will also show this. And this stands whether ppl think he did or didn't have these feelings up to that point.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now based on this what he should do afterwards? I don't think the story lines up than he would be living his life completely single or searching for the ghost of Aerith forever. Especially Aerith whose entire theme is living in the moment and has this sense of cherishing what's in front of you it doesn't align with what she stands for either. To have a guy forever stuck on her unable to get over her or her death doesn't match the themes of his or her story.
And I don't think romantic reunion is the point of the PromisedLand personally.
As I have stated before. He and Tifa both together refer to Aerith at the end of OG in a "look if we die there's always hope in death. We will see Aerith and everyone we lost" kinda way.
This is not I believe a declaration of oh so ok now I will wait to die to be with said loved ones but an expression of hope that no matter what everything will be ok because worst case scenario they'll meet Aerith and everyone else. Death's not the bad end. If that makes sense?
And also
Even if we say oh he loved her romantically he still didn't know her feelings because he was oblivious the entire time he was with her and then we see what she says in Rebirth that's gonna confuse him even more. So what motive would there be to think he would reunite with someone who he didn't even piece together loved him like that?
So I don't agree with the idea after death he is actively waiting to die in ACC or anything like that. Nor do I believe he is searching for her across dimensions.
I see it as Aerith in a sense has a semblance of "mono-no aware" in her story with Cloud. The idea that things in life are transient and aren't forever and that there is beauty in these fleeting moments. That things we cherish don't have to be forever to be meaningful. And I think this idea Cloud must look for her forever clashes with that.
I think he cherished her in the moment. And afterwards he appreciates the time they did spend together and I don't think he needs to be pining after her ghost or forever single to do that.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now about Had Aerith lived:
Now had she lived Nojima himself had said well maybe it would have gone well but she had a responsibility to the Planet implying that it probably couldn't have happened even if both wanted it to. And even if she had lived this responsibility as a Cetra wouldn't just go away. And I do think Rebirth nails that idea of wrong place wrong time for both of them. And with the revelation of their feelings for Zack and Tifa it's even harder to think it would have happened in this timeline with this situation. Could it have happened had things been different? I don't think it's impossible.
But in that same vein there isn't much use in worrying about alternative outcomes because I don't think they influence the story. We're talking about this story and based on this one those above are my thoughts.
And to be honest I don't ship things because they're canon. For me canon is completely seperate and then I ship whatever I like. So I don't think Aerith dying or living influenced the fact that I ship them. And her dying also didn't stop me. I am just explaining my thoughts on the story.
I hope that is clear and I have given some perspective in this topic.
And I hope you enjoy what is to come! ^^
I don't think people pretend that there aren't romantic scenes, but what matters is the context and purpose of the scenes.if you say there aren’t then I think you’re being willfully ignorant
And i think this is a recent information that's why people haven't been discussing it, but still it's an interesting choiceA potential reason for the Sector 5 date and church scene being optional on a second run, is that the Aerith in these scenes is heavily implied to not be the same Aerith we’ve been travelling alongside throughout Remake and Rebirth, that she is either an alternate Aerith or outright the original Aerith, that has been hiding in this universe to safeguard her White Materia in a gambit that pays off in the end with Rebirth’s Aerith being able to retrieve it from Cloud once he returns to his universe.
I’m still surprised it’s skippable alongside the Zack scenes. It’s kind of an essential scene, not to mention a coda for the Cloud and Aerith relationship across the entire compilation, whereas the final back to back hand hold after defeating Sephiroth and then the farewells at the Tiny Bronco act as the resolution to Rebirth Cloud and Aerith’s story and relationship.
I would hold my homies hand in a loving gesture for a bunch of reasons, and yes, that would definitely be one of them.Sooo, any thoughts here ?
View attachment 14797
With Aerith's death, any attraction that Cloud may have felt for her is now bundled with his guilt over her death. This can be very difficult for the audience to sort out the difference. If you want to believe Cloud loves Aerith, you might just straight up not make a distinction at all.