SPOILERS LTD Remake — It's like New Coke except ... no, it's exactly like New Coke

[Shadowfox]

Sorry, should've been more clear -- I think Tifa will be stepping back on the romantic front. Even if Cloud flirts with her like he did in this game, she'd probably have more muted reactions to them. She'll definitely be keeping close to keep an eye on him, try to work out how they got so different recollections of the same event, and try to keep him from falling apart.

 

[eleamaya]

It’s implied Aerith saw Zack’s last stand when the Whispers gathered — the camera zooms out from her after the first Zack appearance — and that seems to be when Aerith makes her choice to defeat the Whispers. This is just a theory, but I wonder if Aerith chose to do so in order to save Zack (even if it’s in an alternate timeline).

I think it's one of her motif, no way she just did it solely for Zack. All in all, it changes the fate of three character, her, Zack, and Sephiroth.
But I can see why she did it, she loves him. In OG, she prefers to think Zack is alive somewhere with another girl if we went with the route Aerith had known he died, as a part of denial. This isn't different with FF7R 'cause Zack is now literally alive in alternate timeline (with her version of this timeline maybe).

(TBH, even in this game, after seeing that Aerith was aware of what had happend in OG & Compilation, I felt a bit put off by her behaviour in chapter 8. Her awareness definitely painted all those OG callbacks -- like her "one date" proposal, and making it difficult for Cloud to leave her house by deliberately trashing the place -- in a very weird light. Or maybe this awareness of the future/past didn't really come to Aerith until the later chapters after this?)

The time Cloud crashed to her church 'til the moment they're about parting before Tifa came in, I'm sure Aerith's motive is tracing remnants of Zack in Cloud. If you played CC, or at least watch the cutscenes on youtube, it's not hard to understand this. Yeah, she sensed his death but meeting another SOLDIER who also fell to her church, wouldn't you think she would let this person go just like their first meeting when she was selling flower? It has nothing to do with her awareness of the future. In the end, she didn't get any closure of what happened with Zack and ready to let Cloud go back to sector 7. But of course, Cloud has been warmer towards her at the point he could do high-five, that he even didn't wanna leave her too. But then they're in rush to rescue Tifa and can't help to spend time longer. That's why she came up later with the line "Don't fall in love with me."

Sorry, should've been more clear -- I think Tifa will be stepping back on the romantic front. Even if Cloud flirts with her like he did in this game, she'd probably have more muted reactions to them. She'll definitely be keeping close to keep an eye on him, try to work out how they got so different recollections of the same event, and try to keep him from falling apart.

Aerith can put it in pieces if Tifa reacted there's something wrong with Cloud's story about Nibelheim since Tifa completely had no idea about Cloud being with Zack. Meanwhile, Aerith....

she must've heard Shinra news or Midgar news reported both Zack & Sephiroth is killed in action but her Cetra power told her it's wrong---> she sensed Zack died--> she's aware Cloud isn't in his true self--> she witnesses Zack and Cloud being together (this is FF7R, remember)--> she knew Sephiroth caused Nibelheim incident from CLoud (next part in Kalm)

The girls better talk about it seriously! I heard there's a deleted scene in OG when the girls talk about it, FF7R should put it again with relevant dialogue. But.... will Aerith has enough courage to talk about Zack with Tifa? will she take advantage of Tifa being stepping back because of this issue to flirt with Cloud?

 

[looneymoon]

In the end, she didn't get any closure of what happened with Zack and ready to let Cloud go back to sector 7.

Just wanted to quote this in response to a different discussion on how FF7 treats death throughout the titles. I have been thinking about the lack of closure that Aerith feels for Zack, and how that's something she passes down (and in fact, doubles up) on Cloud. I think this presents a compelling tragic narrative. Aerith was never granted closure for Zack, and her denial of his death is great subtle character writing. She is the embodiment of how death has no closure. The situational irony is that the lack of closure she feels by losing Zack is bestowed onto Cloud by her own death.

Cloud is likewise never going to have closure for whatever he had with Aerith. Before he even has a fair chance to figure it out, she dies. She is "the one that got away" in layman's terms. I think the article on this site, posted much earlier in the thread, hits the nail on the head. Her death is baked into the appeal of this pairing. The fact that both find a genuine affection for each other amongst all this confusion and impossibility of having a sound conclusion... I honestly feel that speaks directly to the heart of FF7.

The intention of the long form narrative is to show that Cloud and Tifa end up together. During the time where this coupling becomes difficult, as portrayed in AC, the memory of Aerith is haunting. Both had important relationships with this person who provided a key role in saving the world, but there is the added complication that the three of them were in a love triangle. That is something that will inevitably rear its ugly head at some point, especially in a long term relationship.

As much I dislike Advent Children as a whole, its writing is quite subtle in portraying this point. Some parts add up to a sort of beauty, if you are willing to go through some cross-media narrative to get to that point (which is inherently a very poor choice imo).

Personally, I think the narrative would have been benefited in trying to drive this point home a bit more explicitly, rather than rely on the trope-y shorthands that put Cloud and Tifa into for the sake of the message. I used to be pretty hardcore C/T when I did ship more fervently. Nowadays, I find the way that Tifa is written so much like an overwhelmed mom/patient wife (Yamato Nadeshiko if you will) that AC-Tifa is such an off putting characterization. I understand its a pretty down to earth depiction in a lot of ways. I think maybe it has to do with the fact that I, personally, would never think to be as complacent and patient as she is with my long term partner's somewhat shitty depressive behaviour. That kind of character writing feels less realistic in my older age, than when I was younger and found it more profound.

Even when I kind of relent and accept that this is a realistic portryal... the implications of that might just be a little too depressing to appeal to my current tastes? I dunno.

Anyways those are just some thoughts about the writing of the LTD than any actual debate. Hope that's cool.

 

[minami758]

Personally, I think the narrative would have been benefited in trying to drive this point home a bit more explicitly, rather than rely on the trope-y shorthands that put Cloud and Tifa into for the sake of the message. I used to be pretty hardcore C/T when I did ship more fervently. Nowadays, I find the way that Tifa is written so much like an overwhelmed mom/patient wife (Yamato Nadeshiko if you will) that AC-Tifa is such an off putting characterization. I understand its a pretty down to earth depiction in a lot of ways. I think maybe it has to do with the fact that I, personally, would never think to be as complacent and patient as she is with my long term partner's somewhat shitty depressive behaviour. That kind of character writing feels less realistic in my older age, than when I was younger and found it more profound.

I have a lot of mixed feelings about AC/C overall. My honest thoughts are that, by filmic standards, AC/C is a mediocre to bad film — awful pacing, character regression, and nonsensical plots. And a whole lot of action sequences that just show off their tech rather than adding anything to the story. I understand what they were trying to do with the characters, i.e. showing the aftermath of "happily ever after," but many of the issues that Cloud and Tifa struggle with in the film were already addressed toward the end of the OG, and while I understand relapses and survivor's guilt and the like, much of it felt like drama for the sake of drama.

Like, "We need a movie! Drama! Big explosions! Cutting through buildings! So everything's shitty right now and things will not be shitty by the end." This isn't to say there should be just a happy ending and be done with it (I don't think FFVII's world is capable of a straight up happy ending), but I think several misconceptions about Cloud and Tifa's relationship in AC/C exist simply because the creators chose to show only the angst and a bare minimum of the "good times." And the rest of those good times were shoved into some companion novellas that most people haven't read.

This is all to say that I think the Remake is doing a very good job so far at establishing Cloud and Tifa's care for each other since the beginning. We didn't really get that in the OG because the story was only 40-50 hours long total, so Tifa took a backseat in the beginning (which made it difficult for some players to accept her importance later on), whereas here we get 40-50 hours for Midgar alone. And Tifa plays a big role in the majority of it. You can see, plain as day, the casual and natural rapport she and Cloud have with each other, even if it's underlain with sexual tension the whole way through.

Like @Yumelinh said, I think the Remake is attempting to clarify some misinterpretations and expand upon what already exists. Filling in the gaps, if you will. And since Remake is somewhat of a sequel (given the nods to AC/C), I wouldn't be surprised if the ending is slightly different this time around, leaving AC/C's story in the past and moving toward a different kind of epilogue.

 

[odekopeko]

Personally, I think the narrative would have been benefited in trying to drive this point home a bit more explicitly, rather than rely on the trope-y shorthands that put Cloud and Tifa into for the sake of the message. I used to be pretty hardcore C/T when I did ship more fervently. Nowadays, I find the way that Tifa is written so much like an overwhelmed mom/patient wife (Yamato Nadeshiko if you will) that AC-Tifa is such an off putting characterization. I understand its a pretty down to earth depiction in a lot of ways. I think maybe it has to do with the fact that I, personally, would never think to be as complacent and patient as she is with my long term partner's somewhat shitty depressive behaviour. That kind of character writing feels less realistic in my older age, than when I was younger and found it more profound.

Even when I kind of relent and accept that this is a realistic portryal... the implications of that might just be a little too depressing to appeal to my current tastes? I dunno.

I finally got around to watching AC. Not that great of a film. I think playing the Remake first kind of ruined it for me. But while I agree Tifa was patient, she was definitely not complacent, and I never got that vibe from her. It seems to me like she is mentally tough, tougher than Cloud, and no matter what happens to her, she never gives up. Aerith is like this too. The girls are always teaching us (and Cloud) to look forward, not back. I love that. I guess we walked away from the film feeling differently about her character.

 

[Edley]

I finally got around to watching AC. Not that great of a film. I think playing the Remake first kind of ruined it for me. But while I agree Tifa was patient, she was definitely not complacent, and I never got that vibe from her. It seems to me like she is mentally tough, tougher than Cloud, and no matter what happens to her, she never gives up. Aerith is like this too. The girls are always teaching us (and Cloud) to look forward, not back. I love that. I guess we walked away from the film feeling differently about her character.

That dissonance you felt between AC and FF7R is the same dissonance OG players felt watching AC, esp. the 2005/6 version. I think that speaks more to how looneymoon felt about the movie.

Nowadays, I find the way that Tifa is written so much like an overwhelmed mom/patient wife (Yamato Nadeshiko if you will) that AC-Tifa is such an off putting characterization.

Blame it on mako fumes and a concussion. OG players know our girl would have dragged Cloud's sorry ass out of that church post haste. That film has so many issues with direction and exposition that I really try not to hold it against the characters. I'm glad remake is around so AC no longer has to be the last word.

 

[ForceStealer]

I don't think it's that weird/crazy that she would try and let him figure stuff out for himself a bit. Especially before she knew he was sick, that piece of information would have likely (and did) change her outlook on the situation.

 

[Eerie]

I think I liked AC:C better than AC because it fleshed out characters better, but it's still lacking especially when you compare to FFVII Remake - in the scope of the OG it makes somewhat sense though - it is frustrating to see Cloud falling into depression, but it is understandable.

When I look at FFVII Remake, the characterisation is TOP NOTCH, I don't think there's a character they botched. The main trio from the LTD are all lovely, and each arrow of the triangle is well developped. To me, in a story, having great characters is a must - the important thing, that make you enjoy a story even more. In that regard, I can tell that the devs went back to the OG and crafted the characters with a lot of care.

Now that's said, and we talked about it in the FC so I thought it would be good to have a convo here about this, regarding the LTD, there's one scene that actually made me blink twice: it's when they end up in Aerith's room, and Cloud awakes, finding Tifa on his bedside, with Aerith much further away in the room. That made me go "why isn't Aerith there beside Cloud's bed too?". Back in context, this scene is replacing the cell scene where Aerith does flirt with Cloud and Tifa is jealous. Yet here, Aerith is... retreating? Usually this kind of depiction is used for (potential) girlfrfiend, especially in Japanese setting, so it was surprising to me that only Tifa was here. I think it's the kind of little thing that make people think that Aerith isn't as much interested in Cloud as she was in the OG. I really have no answer, except that:

- everyone accepts that Cloud and Tifa do have a special relationship, one that Aerith already aknowledged twice after all
- Aerith is retreating, for various reasons - I suspect that her own feelings towards Zack are still holding her back, even after the ch14 scene.

Anyway posting this here to have more opinions about this scene.

 

[looneymoon]

I think my position changed a bit after listening to the Case of Tifa audio book last night. The basic characterization is fine, it just really needed to be part of the movie to give everything much needed cohesion.

I think I mainly... feel bad that she's become the Marge to Cloud's Homer. Like, not Homer when he's being sweet, but dumb Homer. Even in the novel, the honeymoon phase of the relationship isn't super explicit, and shown through Tifa as an unreliable narrator, so the dramatic contrast for when the relationship gets rocky is a bit... odd. It just makes me wonder what she ever got out of the relationship at all. I think it also does a kind of poor job showing Cloud developing some emotional maturity, and what his POV is through all this. I guess he plans a picnic in the mid credits? Kinda weird choice to have the emotional payoff to the central conflict tucked away until after the credits roll.

Even then its like... Aerith is there. Yeah she's watching over him, but it's also completely within reason to say she's on his mind too. Like, what are you trying to say here, movie!?

Maybe there's something to be said about masculinity here I think I just find the Nojima/Nomura combo are wildly inconsistent with how they handle female characters, and this is one instance where I call that into question.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

Nobody ever said Cloud and Tifa's relationship had to be healthy. Considering the sheer amount of trauma they've been through together, one would be surprised if it was.

This is just my headcanon, but I always felt they were bound together by everything they've experienced. Because they've had these shared experiences, they "get" each other in a way no one else can.

Here's a thing I just realised about Cloud. Yes, by the age of 21 he'd been through more horror than most people experience in a lifetime... But he is never really alone. Whenever he doesn't have Tifa, he has Zack.

 

[Odysseus]

OG players know our girl would have dragged Cloud's sorry ass out of that church post haste.

Maybe it's just because I have the compilation coloring my view, but I don't think Tifa was ever this character. Her entire arc in the original revolves around her own failure to take action regarding Cloud's mental state and inconsistent memories. She never calls him out on it, she just waits and watches because she's afraid of what will happen if she does anything. This comes to a head at north crater when Cloud is falling apart. He reaches out to her for reassurance but she has none to give. It's all very sad. Obviously she has time to do things right during the lifestream sequence, but that doesn't make her the "fix your shit" tough girl I see people make her out to be. That was always Aerith. Tifa has always been reserved and hesitant.

I see her failure to reach out to Cloud as an extension of her original arc. She's scared if she takes action, she'll just push him further away. Case of Tifa admittedly does a much better job illustrating this than the movie itself does, so well as showing her struggles with her own depression and guilt. These are imperfect people trying to live as best they can, they don't always make the "obvious" choices.

I like Tifa, she is a good.

 

[Graymouse]

It seems like the entire cast of FF7 are a huge group of tragic characters. In all honestly you would think that Devs were going through some major shit in their lives at the time of the developing the OG story-line. If you look at the entire game, it is quite depressing.

I might be the only one here that thinks this but I am kinda glad that TIfa and Cloud are not a perfect couple. One hesitates when she shouldn't the other is just to immature to pick up on her obvious romantic interest in him.

However in the Remake and the way the Characters are presented I think that the Devs are trying to make it less ambiguous than before. I am very interested in the next part. Since they head to Kalm right after leaving Midgar. Is Tifa going to confront Cloud about his memories? Probably not directly. Although if the first game is anything to go by Tifa isn't as reserved as she was made out to be in the OG. So, who knows, Tifa might call out Clouds BS and confront him.

 

[Edley]

Tifa is definitely a young woman going through a lot at once. Even though she's reticent and doubts herself, I still think she would take an active role in trying to help Cloud in the light of what her passivity wrought in the OG. The "guess that only works in real families" line really irks me. That reeks of fatalism and isn't the character I know. She sure as shit wouldn't let a sick, depressed Cloud go alone to Northern Crater to rescue the kids. Even if she thought she might get killed. I need to stop digressing to AC though.

I'm really interested to see how new fans react to Tifa once we get to Northern Crater. I always wondered if she was comparing herself to Aerith in those moments.

 

[looneymoon]

Also, I am not trying to say that C/T should be a perfect couple. There's no way they should be.

I just think AC/CoT has odd presentation issues, and has so much confused direction that it's to the detriment of a lot of things, including character presentation.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

I think it might become more ambiguous in Part II as Aerith's feelings for Cloud grow in spite of herself, while Tifa retreats inwards after hearing his version of the Nibelheim incident. She's not someone to accuse others of lying, not when something much wierder than a lie seems to be going on. When he talks about Nibelheim, he talks like an eyewitness. She knows he wasn't, but that leaves her with no explanation for how he knows the things he knows. She's operating a wait and see policy, and I would do the same.

Didn't she send him off to the Northern Crater because she knew he needed to rescue somebody in order to restore his self-belief? Given that he's brooding over his failure to save Aerith. If Tifa went along with him he might duck his duty at the last minute (because of not believing he can do it) and then she'll have to do it and the cure she hoped for him won't materialise.

 

[minami758]

So many different things being discussed at the same time! Hard to keep up in this thread. Gonna just tackle the Remake stuff for now...

I'm curious to see where the Remake takes these characters, as Tifa is much more fleshed out in terms of her insecurities and indecision toward Shinra and Avalanche. I'm really enjoying her characterization so far — she occupies a morally gray area, which I'm a fan of in characters; makes them much more compelling and human.

And I think it's interesting that while Tifa does still hang back and absorb the information around her, she still takes initiative to ask questions. She's very perceptive in the Remake. There are a few instances off the top of my head (not verbatim):

1. After Cloud says, "It's been 5 years," Tifa is visibly confused. And she later tries to confront him about it in their "Alone At Last" scene — "So what happened after you left the village?" — but drops it because she can tell it makes Cloud uncomfortable.
2. Tifa asks Aerith, "Is there something you're not telling us?" in the sewers re: the plate fall, and Aerith deflects.
3. Aerith mentions Marlene before Tifa even brings up her name, and Tifa has a moment of confusion.
4. In the Drum, Tifa wonders about Cloud's wellbeing as he's "acting weirder than usual."
5. There's another instance where Tifa questions Aerith's knowledge, but I can't remember exactly where and when. I'll have to find it and come back maybe.

So while Tifa does operate under "wait and see," she's also not opposed to confronting the situation. She just backs off if there's pushback because she doesn't want to hurt others.

 

[Odysseus]

That is true, she is more confrontational in the remake. It will be interesting to see how she reacts to Cloud's story this time. I guess the difference with him and Aerith is that she's very clearly hiding something where Cloud is fully convinced he's tell the truth. Maybe she'll try to press but stops when she sees its making him uncomfortable, like maybe she's the one insistent about hearing about his mom instead of Barret suddenly taking interest.

 

[Graymouse]

One thing for sure, the character dynamics are going to be very interesting in the next game. If the first game is any indication of what is to come we are going to be in for a treat when the next game hits.

 

[MasterMoogle]

I think it might become more ambiguous in Part II as Aerith's feelings for Cloud grow in spite of herself,

I don't think that's gonna be happening this time around. The focus of the story is gonna be twofold: Cloud's broken mind and Aerith's mission. It's only natural the devs use Zack since he can contribute to both of these story threads. This entire debate about the triangle treats the triangle itself as a focus of the story, when it never was to begin with.

I wouldn't be surprised if Zack pops up and the devs use him to glitch out Cloud's mind even more and distract Aerith from her mission at the same time. Thus, in the same way the devs are using Clerith moments to setup Cloti, I think they'll use Clerith moments to setup Zerith as well. It'll be more "you remind me so much of Zack" moments. Zack will probably try to save Aerith, and probably succeed, at least temporarily. As a wild card, Seph probably recognizes Zack as a threat, so he'll use Cloud(one or both of them) to get rid of Zack. This will create a whole bunch of drama between them.

That's what I think will happen anyway.

 

[eleamaya]

Now that's said, and we talked about it in the FC so I thought it would be good to have a convo here about this, regarding the LTD, there's one scene that actually made me blink twice: it's when they end up in Aerith's room, and Cloud awakes, finding Tifa on his bedside, with Aerith much further away in the room. That made me go "why isn't Aerith there beside Cloud's bed too?". Back in context, this scene is replacing the cell scene where Aerith does flirt with Cloud and Tifa is jealous. Yet here, Aerith is... retreating? Usually this kind of depiction is used for (potential) girlfrfiend, especially in Japanese setting, so it was surprising to me that only Tifa was here. I think it's the kind of little thing that make people think that Aerith isn't as much interested in Cloud as she was in the OG. I really have no answer, except that:

- everyone accepts that Cloud and Tifa do have a special relationship, one that Aerith already acknowledged twice after all
- Aerith is retreating, for various reasons - I suspect that her own feelings towards Zack are still holding her back, even after the ch14 scene.

Aerith may acknowledge it... beside, this is what I always tell about the dream sequence "Dont fall in love with me", there is no CxA moment, Aerith is retreating since then. It seems, she has her words. Has nothing to do with Zack 'cause I believe her words "Gotta move forward, not back" indicate it.... well, 'til last chapter.

guess he plans a picnic in the mid credits? Kinda weird choice to have the emotional payoff to the central conflict tucked away until after the credits roll.
Even then its like... Aerith is there. Yeah she's watching over him, but it's also completely within reason to say she's on his mind too. Like, what are you trying to say here, movie!?

The Reminiscence of FF7 when Cloud plans for picnic is an addition on ACC, which no Aerith in credit roll anymore. I guess it's clear?

The focus of the story is gonna be twofold: Cloud's broken mind and Aerith's mission. It's only natural the devs use Zack since he can contribute to both of these story threads. I wouldn't be surprised if Zack pops up and the devs use him to glitch out Cloud's mind even more and distract Aerith from her mission at the same time.

That's good point I haven't thought before. Zack is deeply connected to both of them. And instead of fixing Cloud's mind as this role would always be given to Tifa, now I can imagine Zack could make it worse. Distracting Aerith's mission as well, especially if it was Sephiroth who show the vision of Zack's Last Stand to Aerith before she decided to open portal and fight the Fate as Seph's plan.

 

[Yumelinh]

Also, I am not trying to say that C/T should be a perfect couple. There's no way they should be.

I just think AC/CoT has odd presentation issues, and has so much confused direction that it's to the detriment of a lot of things, including character presentation.

I very much agree with this. As you said, it isn't even the story itself, but how it is presented that bothers me sometimes. AC (and to a much less extend AC/C) could have solved a lot of things, but since it only focused on a very dark time for these characters, it just created more confusion and fueled more misconceptions about C/T.

And I say all this as someone who is very much confident in Cloud and Tifa's relationship. Cloud may be such a shy/reserved person with a lot of problems but still, he's a very sweet guy and really deserves all the effort these people make to help/love him. I'm pretty sure once he let go of his guilt in AC/C, he was very much back to his 'shy/sweet' self and will treat Tifa well.

As for Tifa, she's still the only one who Cloud (officially) has been confirmed to have romantic feelings for (before and after the main story), so she is loved by him and loves him as well ( but then again... I'd prefer a million times that they had shown us more of this and not just tell us in Ultimanias and complementary works such as novellas).

But still, either because it was left a little bit more to interpretation (OG) or because it focused on a dark part of their relationship (AC), we still see a lot of people interpreting their relationship in all the wrongs ways. I mean, to have to read people say that Cloud 'settled' for Tifa (not even 'moved on' but 'settled') because the other one died like she's nothing but a replacement up to this day is unacceptable, imo. So, I guess you can say I have more of a problem with how the general fandom tend to interpret their relationship sometimes (as a consequence of these problems mentioned above) than with the writing of their relationship itself.

That's why I keep saying here that I very much hope Remake ties this up in a better way (something I feel they're already doing as per Part 1). We'll prob see the LT unfold in the next games and Cloud will waver between both girls... these are all valid and ok but once decided to end it (as they did in OG), I just hope they do it in a way that leaves no room for these types of interpretations, whatever side they decided to go this time.

 

[Yumelinh]

Sorry for double-posting, but I wanted to bring something from the Remake to be discussed here yesterday but I got sidetracked

So....it was discussed a few pages ago about Tifa being shown as being slightly jealous of Aerith a few times (something that also happens in OG), but how about Cloud being jealous of Tifa? I mean this is something new, right!?! I never pictured him as being the jealous type of guy, but I found it hilarious how he would react at people showing the slight interest in Tifa lol

Barret's resolution has another example of this:

Cloud's outraged reaction after hearing someone tried to make a move on Tifa only to act all smug when told she turned the guy down..what was all that for??

(also, Barret's beautiful and sweet eyes <3)

I mean, I think it does help in showing that there's something building up between them since it's such a raw reaction from Cloud, even if he's not aware of it as of now (for reasons we know). Also, while it is jealousy, it's being shown in its most silly and funny form, it’s so cute somehow

(Tifa's jealous on the other hand has a ping of sadness in there, but it comes from her own doubts and insecurities and she's fully aware of her own feelings as well... It's a normal feeling to have, but I feel sorry for her.)

 

[Odysseus]

Here's an open question that I was thinking about: Why does Tifa love Cloud (at the beginning of the game?) They are established to have not been close as kids, and Cloud hasn't been in sector 7 long, so what is the attraction at the time? Is it an emotional attachment due to him being the last remnant of her lost home, or are these feelings she's been hiding since her youth?

I'm no anti Cloti, so this is pure curiosity. People are pointing to things from very early on as indication of her feelings, so I'm wondering when people think those feelings developed.

 

[ForceStealer]

It is established that they weren't close, but Tifa says that she did think about him a lot once he left. Might have built up a crush in her mind over that time.

 

[Eerie]

It's typically one of the childhood's lovers trope; she only noticed him when he left, but those feelings grew while he was away, so she held onto them - which is why she turned all the guys and bugged Zack with Cloud in her letters lol.

That's the saying that distance makes the heart grow fonder, and I think it fits Tifa.