With the Remake released, I thought I'd add my two cents from the Clerith perspective:
From the moment Cloud falls to Aerith’s Church, all the way to Wall Market, it is nothing but Cloud & Aerith one-on-one. Beauty, fun, flirting, & flowers. Magnetism, electricity, and excitement. Soulmates reunited (the automatic trophy for the "Budding Bodyguard" chapter is "Reunion"):
Aerith’s Church & flower bed is beautiful. Cloud & Aerith poetically run through the breathtaking rooftops. Cloud saves Aerith from falling (holding her like a Prince holds his Princess). They pick flowers together at her house. Give high-fives in the tunnel. Share a date in the park. Fight in the battle arena. Cloud even dresses up as a girl. Aerith watches Cloud dance. The red dress. Fireworks. Magic. Chemistry. Love.
The perfectly constructed romantic progression.
Then, after
ALL that, Cloud is obsessed with rescuing Aerith from Shinra HQ. Cloud has to constantly remind Tifa & Barret that finding Aerith is the #1 priority. He is her bodyguard, after-all.
At the very end, Aerith is the one who confronts Sephiroth and asks everyone to join her in stopping him. Unlike Tifa, Aerith is the main storyline. Aerith propels the story forward with her Cetra heritage.
Cloud x Aerith is literally given a dream scene where Cloud states he wants his
OWN SAY on loving Aerith. The dream scene is also found in the credits (unlike the Tifa hug).
By the time Cloud goes from Aerith’s Church, to Wall Market, to Shinra HQ, Tifa’s lackluster moments are long forgotten.
Tifa is given filler scenes during the first few chapters. Her promise scene is muddied within Jessie’s side-mission. In-fact, everything Tifa gets is overshadowed by Jessie, and eventually forgotten after Aerith comes into the picture.
As a Clerith, the Remake is more than anything I could have ever
DREAMED of.
Remember: in the dream scene Cloud disagrees with Aerith’s proposition that his feelings aren’t real & states he wants
HIS OWN SAY on loving Aerith.
After Aerith says Cloud’s love for her isn’t “real,” he completely disagrees with her:
Cloud wants his own say on the matter.
This is SE’s way of telling us the
REAL Cloud loves Aerith.
This is SE’s way of making it crystal clear that these are Cloud’s feelings;
*NOT* Zack’s.
Again — Cloud wants his
OWN SAY on the matter.
—
In regards to Zerith, in the Remake Aerith states she must move
FORWARD with her life:
In the OG, Aerith said Zack & her were "never serious," that her relationship with him is "in the past now," and that Zack probably moved on because he's a "real lady's man." The Remake confirms this to be true. Aerith wants to move
FORWARD with her life.
Plus, we know from the CxA Gold Saucer date that although Aerith initially liked Cloud because of Zack, she grows to like Cloud for Cloud.
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The great flower debate:
Aerith gives the flower to Cloud.
Whether or not Cloud gives it to Tifa, it still initially represents the reunion between
“lovers” Cloud & Aerith.
Tifa has to inquire about the flower. Cloud doesn’t automatically give it to her without prompting.
Later, when Cloud interacts with the flower, he still associates it with Aerith:
View attachment 5811
Cloud doesn’t want to admit to Aerith that he gave the flower away.
After going to Aerith’s house, which is filled with flowers, Tifa confronts Cloud about the origin of the flower (ie: Aerith). As if she knows Cloud's heart is with Aerith.
—
Aerith brings Cloud’s happiness to the surface — he slowly starts to high-five her on the reg.
In addition, while sleeping at Aerith’s house, Cloud is triggered into a real memory of his Mother telling him to have an “older” girlfriend.
Between Cloud’s memory of his mother, and his desire to be playful with Aerith, we are witnessing Aerith evoking the real Cloud back to the surface.
I mean, hell — Cloud is now willing to sit around and pick flowers for a living. With Aerith, that is, of course.
Cloud even vows to rescue Aerith from Shinra HQ at “all costs” and wants his “own say” on if he is allowed to fall in love with Aerith.
“Gradually, Aerith’s warm cheer begins to melt Cloud’s frosty exterior.
It is the heroine, Aerith, who opens Cloud’s eyes, and helps bring him closer to understanding the mystery that is his past.” ~Square Enix
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The new FF7R Ultimania says some interesting things...
1. It is stated Aerith’s dream scene is “sad” if you know the future (ie: she dies).
How in the world is Cloud gaining his memories back “sad”...? Cloud regaining his memories isn’t “sad” like Aerith’s death is.
Aerith is warning Cloud not to fall in love with her because she dies. It has nothing to do with Cloud’s memories.
2. Cloud is putting on a “facade” to Aerith.
Not because he isn’t his true self. But because he has already fallen in love with her, despite her warning not to.
In other words, Cloud has to pretend he hasn’t ALREADY fallen in love with Aerith by putting on a “facade.”
3. Cloud shows his “true self” to Tifa — that of a childhood friend offering a hug.
How do we know Tifa’s scene is platonic?
Nowhere in Tifa’s scene is the word “love” mentioned. Aerith’s scene, however, mentions the word “love.”
—
Why would SE make a point to show us the real Cloud doesn’t love Aerith in the FF7R Ultimania when...
REAL Cloud remembers Aerith “a lot."
REAL Cloud wants to meet Aerith in the Promised Land.
REAL Cloud lives in Aerith’s Church.
REAL Cloud has his heart break at Aerith’s grave.
We
ALREADY KNOW Cloud’s feelings are
HIS FEELINGS & not Zack’s.
That is why Tifa is jealous of REAL Cloud’s continued feelings for Aerith:
“Tifa was close to Aerith, who can also be called a love rival.
Nevertheless, it is not hard to imagine that she carries complex feelings as a woman toward Aerith, who had built up a special bond with Cloud that was different from Tifa’s. Tifa’s complicated feelings continue even in Advent Children, two years after Aerith had departed the world.” ~10th Anniversary Ultimania
“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.
Upon knowing that Cloud had been residing in Aerith’s Church after leaving the place they had been living in together, her expression becomes complex.” ~10th Anniversary Ultimania
Tifa is jealous of
REAL Cloud’s continued feelings for her
“love rival” Aerith.
Remember: only Cloud, Aerith, and Tifa are listed as official members of the love triangle in the OG gaming manual.
Bringing up Zack “counterpoints” (like Cloud is sad over his death, too) is irrelevant due to Zack not being an official member of the love triangle.
Tifa is jealous of
REAL Cloud’s continued feelings for the other girl in this 3-person love triangle.
Tifa is jealous over her
“love rival” Aerith Gainsborough.
—
As for the character relationship chart showing Tifa...
I'm genuinely curious.
Is it a chart referring to Cloud's past?
How do we know the chart wasn't created after Nomura's drawings?
Just because the chart omitted Aerith doesn't mean Tifa was created first. That is a leap in logic. Pure speculation.
Nomura specifically states Cloud, Aerith, and Barret were created first. Tifa didn't "exist" yet. Therefore, the relationship chart was probably created after-the-fact and is likely referring to Cloud's past.
Plus, the battle demo shows Cloud, Aerith, and Barret. Let's not tarnish Aerith's standing as the original heroine.
Tetsuya Nomura:
“After I’d done the hero and heroine, I carried on drawing by thinking what kind of characters would be interesting to have. The first characters I drew were Cloud and Aerith. Next was Barret.”
“Actually, we had only Aerith at the beginning, and Tifa did not exist.”
“Originally, there were only going to be three characters in the entire game: Cloud, Barret, and Aerith.”
But yeah I agree, it feels a bit wrong to me.
