LNK
Pro Adventurer
- AKA
- Nate
One thing to note about what Marlene is saying to Zack. Yes, she says Aerith likes Cloud, but she ends it with "because you weren't there."Let's leave aside that Marlene and Zack's conversation is done teasingly and is stereotypical of the sort of thing girls of that age do. I think it's safe to conclude she spoke the truth regardless: Aerith likes Cloud. She says so herself. Her entire arc culminates in her realizing she does like Cloud but doesn't quite like-like him; after two whole games of continually forcing him to be the Zack she's yearned for ever since the real thing abruptly exited her life. Again, as the devs have now repeated for the slower among us, there are various different levels of relationship and liking at play in the games.
I think that's an important piece of dialogue to acknowledge when talking about Aerith's feelings for Zack. It adds more nuance