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

[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.

 

[minami758]

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

Yeah, Cloud in the Remake seems much more open about his jealousy than in the OG, if by virtue of simply expanding upon his feelings for her in Midgar because there wasn't space to before. The Item Store Owner interactions, Chocobo Sam, the Barret resolution... Cloud is pretty possessive of Tifa, isn't he.

Also, how did he recognize Tifa in a different outfit from like 100 feet away when she rides by on the Chocobo carriage? It's like her side-boob and the back of her head...

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?

As @ForceStealer said, she'd looked in the newspapers a lot after he left and thought about him. Also after rewatching the Promise scene, it's pretty clear that she kind of expected him to confess at the water tower, and was pretty disappointed when he said he was leaving town instead. Only, Cloud didn't see her sad expression and he himself was upset that she wasn't more upset. They're both idiots who have crushes on each other and are oblivious to the other's feelings.

Tifa also definitely tried to befriend Cloud when they're children, if the flashback during Chapter 1 is any indication. Tifa's like, "Are you ignoring me?" (In Japanese she actually says, "Are you ignoring me again?") I don't think they were "close friends" by any means, but not without a lack of trying on Tifa's part, if that flashback is to be taken at face value.

 

[Strangelove]

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

i can't find the tweet (because i'm too lazy to look) at says the reason barret is always wearing sunglasses is so the player doesn't get lost in his eyes

 

[Odysseus]

I forgot about the newspaper bit. I wonder if the real thing lived up to whatever she must have imagined back then.

 

[Eerie]

As I said in the FC, I wonder what will replace that tidbit in the Lifestream scene, because normally she tells young!Cloud there the truth, and he tells her to tell it to his true self later (which she did not, to my grand disappointment). So it's neat that she did tell him about it at the start of the game, but that's a bit that's going to have to get changed later on (maybe how she bugged Zack with the letters?).

I wonder where that tidbit of young!Tifa calling out Cloud fits: if it's before or after he gets scolded by her father (I'm guessing the latter). She does say that they didn't know each other much, after all, but she still noticed that he did get in fights a lot. I wonder what first time players think about that, with the little info they have on their friendship.

 

[Graymouse]

If you actually play the game with Japanese VA you can really start to see that a lot of the dialog throughout the game leans heavily on the Tifa X Cloud side of the triangle. This is why a lot of people are claiming that SE is really pushing Tifa and Cloud.

The English localization has taken a lot of the Tifa and Cloud edge out of some of the conversations between the characters an example of this is the famous train graveyard where Aerith says:

English, "it'll be fine. We got a bodyguard. Mine" This is absolutely not what she said in Japanese.
Japanese: "Daijoubu, sugoi de no bodyguard, irukara." It will be ok because we got a great bodyguard here, right?"

In this instance there is no reason for Tifa to be jealous. When others try to make it out that Tifa was jealous in this scene, it doesn't make any sense at all. It was already previously established that Tifa is terrified of ghosts. That is what Aerith is playing off of in this scene, but in English for some reason they changed the entire contex of the scene.

Before you go to Wall Market is another example, when Aerith insists on rescuing Tifa:

English: Aren't you worried about what might happen in there?"
Japanese: たいせつ な ひと でしょ？ ( isn't that the person you cherish, right?"

For contex, this could be understood as someone who cherishes someone because it is the same phrase that Aerith told Elmyra when her husband passed away in one of the flash backs.
大切 な 人 が 死んじゃったよ (an important person who you cherished has died)

If you start to re-analyze the entire Remake, you will be shockingly surprised how much liberty the English localization team took from the original Japanese Remake script and twisted and quite honestly changed a lot of the context in a lot of the scenes. Of course there are some things that don't translate well into English, and also some things have be be fixed because of the mouth animation and the timing and all. I just feel that a lot of the context of the scenes are lost in translation for lack of better words.

 

[Yumelinh]

The English localization has taken a lot of the Tifa and Cloud edge out of some of the conversations between the characters an example of this is the famous train graveyard where Aerith says:

English, "it'll be fine. We got a bodyguard. Mine" This is absolutely not what she said in Japanese.
Japanese: "Daijoubu, sugoi de no bodyguard, irukara." It will be ok because we got a great bodyguard here, right?"

In this instance there is no reason for Tifa to be jealous. When others try to make it out that Tifa was jealous in this scene, it doesn't make any sense at all. It was already previously established that Tifa is terrified of ghosts. That is what Aerith is playing off of in this scene, but in English for some reason they changed the entire contex of the scene.

I got this impression as well in my first playthrough with Japanese dub/pt subs. And, while my Japanese is pretty terrible, from what I could gather the pt subs are a little bit more faithful to the original text than the English one.

In this particular scene, I also got the idea ( from their context/conversation and the sound she makes in the jap dub when Aerith speaks and takes Cloud's arm) that Tifa was more exasperated and scared than actually jealous at that moment. However, after seeing you guys commenting about this scene I went to see the English version and they indeed make it sound like she was actually jealous.

I don't even have a problem with Tifa being jealous at that scene( there was a reason if she was) and I thought I might have just interpreted the scene in a wrong way since the English one was so straight forward, but after read @Graymouse comment, I thought I might throw my two cents and back her up on this bc she wasn't the only one who got this impression from this scene.

 

[MasterMoogle]

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.

It's definitely partly due to the fact that Cloud is all that's left of her childhood. However, I also think Cloud activates her maternal instincts. Cloud makes her feel needed. On top of that, Tifa also has this 'savior fantasy' she measures men by, and the fact that Cloud simply wanted to fulfill that fantasy seven years ago was enough to get her invested in his growth as a person.

 

[Yumelinh]

i can't find the tweet (because i'm too lazy to look) at says the reason barret is always wearing sunglasses is so the player doesn't get lost in his eyes

Those glasses are clearly damage control! How else are we supposed to focus on anything else on the game with Barret looking at us with those beautiful eyes at all times!?? Beyond impossible!

 

[looneymoon]

Is it weird to describe Barret as a daddy when he actually has a child.

Is that a hard boundary not to be crossed.

 

[Shadowfox]

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.

I think that even though they weren't very close (or not that close, as the line went), Tifa's liked him since she was little; she mentioned in the OG that she thought he was cute back then. But since Cloud kept to himself so much and had something of an attitude towards the other kids, she probably thought that he wasn't so interested in her. She only got a glimpse of his interest on the night of the promise.

Also, how did he recognize Tifa in a different outfit from like 100 feet away when she rides by on the Chocobo carriage? It's like her side-boob and the back of her head...

He has spent a lot of time watching her, after all. Didn't we used to joke about stalker Cloud when he was a child?

 

[minami758]

Is it weird to describe Barret as a daddy when he actually has a child.

Is that a hard boundary not to be crossed.

Every time Barret called himself "daddy" in the game I was torn between yelling "Yes you are!" and cringing at the use of the word.

 

[Yumelinh]

I see we're all on the same page when it comes to Barret. Good...

 

[MasterMoogle]

I just got done watching a streamer make the argument that Aerith makes Cloud happier than Tifa can, and then a thought entered my mind: can Cloud even make Aerith happy? I'd argue not, which is one reason why I never believed their relationship to actually be romantic.

Aerith brings him too much out of his comfort zone without any regard to whether he actually enjoys being pushed that hard, and it's at this point where Clerith shippers confuse COMEDY for CHEMISTRY. They aren't the same thing. One is done for the sake of the audience, and the other exists when two people are able to communicate. Aerith's approach towards getting Cloud to open up by squelching his ego would probably annoy most introverts.

As for Aerith, I think Cloud would eventually just bring her down. If Tifa didn't need to be saved, Cloud would have never gone to the Honeybee Inn and danced, which she found entertaining. I think what Aerith wants is a partner-in-crime/best friend sort of relationship, but the truth is that Cloud would never be that guy for her unless the circumstances demanded it of him. Cloud isn't the sort of guy who wants to spend his life going on an adventure and aspire to something greater. He's the provider who wants to settle down and take care of someone, and probably start a family.

This isn't related to any conversation currently going on. I'm just airing my thoughts.

 

[Final_Heaven]

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.

It starts with the promise at the water tower.

There was an Ultimania that gave an answer that amounted to because Cloud is her last link to Nibelheim and more importantly because he indulged in Tifa's fantasy of being the hero to her princess which made her look at him in a whole different light.

Tifa also misremembers Cloud and her as having been close as kids because she romanticized their relationship.

And it's only at Mideel where Tifa realizes that they weren't that close.


There's another Ultimania that mentioned that Tifa was the only kid that he got along with. So I mean they interacted and talked frequently, I'm sure, but mostly because it's a small village.

 

[Graymouse]

I just got done watching a streamer make the argument that Aerith makes Cloud happier than Tifa can, and then a thought entered my mind: can Cloud even make Aerith happy? I'd argue not, which is one reason why I never believed their relationship to actually be romantic.

I would be interested in knowing how they have come to that conclusion.

 

[Yumelinh]

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.

This is a hard thing to track tbh.

I think he picked her interest with the promise and, as we came to see in some other stances in the compilation, she starts to think of him in a romantic light since then.

She probably held onto these feelings until the beginning of the game when he came back to her life and from there on, even among her own confusion about who he truly was at that time, her feelings for him started to grow and solidify.

I don't think there's an actual reason why she loves him ( nor that I think she needs one), but it's probably a lot of factors tied into one: he's the last link to her hometown and the last person who knew and loved what she used to be bf everything went to hell and bf she became this burdened person she is now. My bet is that Cloud feels the same way.

It's quite nice to know these two came to have feelings for each other when they were so young and free, without any of the pain they came to encounter later in the lives, only to meet again and find solace in these feelings one more time. The good and the bad times indeed.

 

[MasterMoogle]

I would be interested in knowing how they have come to that conclusion.

I believe it was simply because Aerith forced Cloud out of his comfort zone and because their interactions were funny.

 

[Yumelinh]

I would be interested in knowing how they have come to that conclusion.

I believe is because of how Aerith is as a character. She has this ability to get closer to people and make them open up w/o them even realize it in the first place. She draws people in very easily. So, I don't blame people for getting to this conclusion if you looking solely on her interactions with Cloud.

Having said that, It's good to realize that she pretty much has the exact same effect on Tifa.

She was kinda wary of Aerith in the beginning but by the end of their short time spent together she was already very much attached to Aerith ( I just wanted to say AERTI RIGHTS here ).

 

[Graymouse]

This is a hard thing to track tbh.

I think he picked her interest with the promise and, as we came to see in some other stances in the compilation, she starts to think of him in a romantic light since then.

She probably held onto these feelings until the beginning of the game when he came back to her life and from there on, even among her own confusion about who he truly was at that time, her feelings for him started to grow and solidify.

I don't think there's an actual reason why she loves him ( nor that I think she needs one), but it's probably a lot of factors tied into one: he's the last link to her hometown and the last person who knew and loved what she used to be bf everything went to hell and bf she became this burdened person she is now. My bet is that Cloud feels the same way.

It's quite nice to know these two came to have feelings for each other when they were so young and free, without any of the pain they came to encounter later in the lives, only to meet again and find solace in these feelings one more time. The good and the bad times indeed.

I think you hit the nail on the head with this. Growing up with someone and having childhood memories of that person in your home town will always have a special place in your heart. This is even more true in real life. This is one of the reasons why I support the Tifa and Cloud pairing just on that premise alone. It just makes more logical sense to me. (time is very important to a relationship) You can make a case that Tifa didn't really think about Cloud in a romantic way until he left the village, which you could argue, but using that as a counter point to disproof Tifa's feelings for him is very disingenuous to that fact that those feelings did indeed develop even more so when he left. (It is kind of one of those things that you don't know what you got until it is gone) Cloud and Tifa are connected on a different level of existence because of this.

Also, we now know that Tifa had feelings for Cloud before he left for Midgar. In the Remake during the water tower scene, When Cloud tells Tifa that he is leaving for Midgar, Tifa turns her head and a look of distraught flashed across her face. It looked like her heart was broken in two. Take a look at the scene for yourself. (I guess this can be up to the individual on how that scene can be interpreted)

The genesis of the entire FF7 story is based of one simple fact. Cloud wanted to join solider to get Tifa to notice him. There is no disputing that fact. As a child Cloud was head over heels for Tifa. That is one of the reasons why Cloud followed Tifa up to Mt. Nible in the first place. Cloud knew that Tifa was grieving about her mother and knew that Mt Nibel was a dangerous place. He followed her up the Mt. to make sure that she will be alright. All of Tifa little group of friends refused to go across that bridge after Tifa, and yet Cloud braved the danger and yes, Tifa did slip and Cloud tried to save her and they both fell. Afterwards, he felt that Tifa blamed him for this and he felt that he isn't strong enough to protect the one he loves.

Without any of the above events previously happening there will be no FF7.

Edited to correct sentence structure.

 

[Final_Heaven]

I believe is because of how Aerith is as a character. She has this ability to get closer to people and make them open up w/o them even realize it in the first place. She draws people in very easily. So, I don't blame people for getting to this conclusion if you looking solely on her interactions with Cloud.

Having said that, It's good to realize that she pretty much has the exact same effect on Tifa.

She was kinda wary of Aerith in the beginning but by the end of their short time spent together she was already very much attached to Aerith ( I just wanted to say AERTI RIGHTS here ).

Well....if you don't know what happens to Aerith and have never played the OG FFVII game, people thinking Aerith is the primary love interest at first isn't uncommon. I mean that was the intention with the OG FFVIi game until the plot pulled the rug from under us and killed her off at which point the true love interest is firmly established at Mideel.

I think you hit the nail on the head with this. Growing up with someone and having childhood memories of that person in your home town will always have a special place in your heart. This is even more true in real life. This is one of the reasons why I support the Tifa and Cloud just on that premise alone. It just makes more logical sense to me. (time is very important to a relationship) You can make a case that Tifa didn't really think about Cloud in a romantic way until he left the village, which you would be correct, but using that a counter point to disproof Tifa's feelings for him is very disingenuous to that fact that those feelings did indeed develop. (It is kind of one of those things that you don't know what you got until it is gone) Cloud and Tifa are connected on a different level of existence because of this.

Also, we now know that Tifa had feelings for Cloud before he left for Midgar. In the Remake during the water tower scene, When Cloud tells Tifa that he is leaving for Midgar, Tifa turns her head and a look of distraught flashed across her face. It looked like her heart was broken in two. Take a look at the scene for yourself.

The genesis of the entire FF7 story is based of one simple fact. Cloud wanted to join solider to get Tifa to notice him. There is no disputing that fact. As a child Cloud was head over heels for Tifa. That is one of the reasons why Cloud followed Tifa up to Mt. Nible in the first place. Cloud knew that Tifa was grieving about her mother and knew that Mt Nibel was a dangerous place. He followed her up the Mt. to make sure that she will be alright. All of Tifa little group of friends refused to go across that bridge after Tifa, and yet Cloud braved the danger and yes, Tifa did slip and Cloud tried to save her and they both fell. Afterwards, he felt that Tifa blamed him for this and he felt that he isn't strong enough to protect the one he loves.

Without any of the above events previously happening there will be no FF7.

I watched one streamer when they got to the Mideel with Cloud and Tifa when the realize hit them "You mean the main plot happens because Cloud wanted Tifa to NOTICE HIM!!!!"

 

[Yumelinh]

Well....if you don't know what happens to Aerith and have never played the OG FFVII game, people thinking Aerith is the primary love interest at first isn't uncommon. I mean that was the intention with the OG FFVIi game until the plot pulled the rug from under us and killed her off at which point the true love interest is firmly established at Mideel.

Yeah, I played the OG bf and I agree with what you said about their primary intentions there.

But the question was about how Cloud was happier in his time w Aerith than w Tifa and not necessarily about her as a romantic interest, no?

I think both girls were well established as romantic interests in Part 1. I was just stating that if you somehow got the impression that Cloud was like happier with one than the other was prob because Aerith has a more outgoing personality compared to Tifa, hence being able to get him to be more comfortable around her simple and fast w/o him even realize it in the first place. It's cute really.

 

[MasterMoogle]

Yeah, I played the OG bf and I agree with what you said about their primary intentions there.

But the question was about how Cloud was happier in his time w Aerith than w Tifa and not necessarily about her as a romantic interest, no?

I think both girls were well established as romantic interests in Part 1. I was just stating that if you somehow got the impression that Cloud was like happier with one than the other was prob because Aerith has a more outgoing personality compared to Tifa, hence being able to get him to be more comfortable around her simple and fast w/o him even realize it in the first place. It's cute really.

I've said this before, but what people interpret as Cloud and Aerith's "chemistry" is simply a combination of HER charm and jokes at his expense, which is funny to us the audience. That's comedy, not chemistry.

I'm not sure how much real life should factor into this, but in real life an introvert would find Aerith abrasive, and I've heard some people call Aerith annoying.

 

[minami758]

I've said this before, but what people interpret as Cloud and Aerith's "chemistry" is simply a combination of HER charm and jokes at his expense, which is funny to us the audience. That's comedy, not chemistry.

I'm not sure how much real life should factor into this, but in real life an introvert would find Aerith abrasive, and I've heard some people call Aerith annoying.

I agree with most of your thoughts on the matter.

Obviously this is all hypothetical because we don’t actually know what a romantic relationship between them would be like, but I think what appeals to a lot of CA shippers is the cliché of “opposites attract.” It’s a popular trope in anime/manga and the like, so I can see why people gravitate toward it.

But at the end of the day, in real relationships, opposites don’t usually attract. People generally get along most with people they’re similar to and have similar interests with. If we’re going by basic personalities, Aerith and Zack are very similar, as are Cloud and Tifa.

Aerith and Zack: extroverts, cheerful, optimistic, down for adventure and general shenanigans.

Cloud and Tifa: introverts, calm, more guarded and insecure, long for stability and a home.

Aerith is naturally outgoing and pushy (not necessarily in a bad way), and it forces others around her to adapt — including Cloud (and Tifa, for that matter.) She’s a very “go at my pace” type of person. It’s what makes her so endearing (or annoying to some), and what attracts people to her in the first place. So Cloud is forced to go along with her shenanigans, but while he’s exasperated, he doesn’t hate it. It’s a cute and funny dynamic to see play out on screen.

However, once you place them in a long-term relationship, things aren’t so clear cut. It’s not that I don’t think Cloud and Aerith wouldn’t work per se (if I were younger I might actually prefer their dynamic because it’s very “Disney”), but, in my opinion, Aerith doesn’t understand Cloud on a fundamental level — what he needs in a partner. And vice-versa. Their relationship is very one-sided, in that Aerith does most of the work while Cloud just kinda deals with it.

Aerith doesn’t really know when to stop pushing Cloud’s buttons, and if he were in a funk he would lash out at her attempts to make him feel better. (We actually see this in the Remake, when he snaps at her in Elmyra’s house.) She can see what’s wrong with him, but doesn’t know how to fix it.

If Aerith were feeling down, Cloud isn’t one for sweeping romantic gestures and I think he’d find it very difficult to comfort her in a way that she needs. He’d probably shy away from the situation and just piss Aerith off. She’d get angry and he’d shy away even more. We also don’t know what she would’ve thought of real!Cloud because she never met him.

Cloud and Tifa’s issue is a lack of verbal communication, but they also just get each other. You can see this in the Remake — Tifa is established as Cloud’s second-in-command and he intrinsically trusts her to have his back. But the clearest showcase of this is the entire Lifestream sequence, which is the most intimate narrative sequence in the entire game. Tifa literally dives into Cloud’s subconscious and learns his deepest secrets, fears, insecurities.

Cloud and Tifa have an understanding of each other in a way no other characters in the game do. And while they struggle with words, they make up for it in action. Sure, their romantic relationship might not have fireworks or butterflies, but they’re equals. The embodiment of “in sickness and in health,” so very much life partners, in that way.

(It’s also why I don’t agree with people who say that if Aerith had lived, Cloud would choose to be with her. Post-Lifestream sequence leaves no room to question in my mind. It wouldn’t make narrative or logical sense to have Cloud and Aerith become a couple after you learn the reason that Cloud is even on this journey is because of Tifa.)

But this is all digression off the Remake... Barret is best daddy.

 

[Final_Heaven]

I agree with most of your thoughts on the matter.

Obviously this is all hypothetical because we don’t actually know what a romantic relationship between them would be like, but I think what appeals to a lot of CA shippers is the cliché of “opposites attract.” It’s a popular trope in anime/manga and the like, so I can see why people gravitate toward it.

But at the end of the day, in real relationships, opposites don’t usually attract. People generally get along most with people they’re similar to and have similar interests with. If we’re going by basic personalities, Aerith and Zack are very similar, as are Cloud and Tifa.

Aerith and Zack: extroverts, cheerful, optimistic, down for adventure and general shenanigans.

Cloud and Tifa: introverts, calm, more guarded and insecure, long for stability and a home.

Aerith is naturally outgoing and pushy (not necessarily in a bad way), and it forces others around her to adapt — including Cloud (and Tifa, for that matter.) She’s a very “go at my pace” type of person. It’s what makes her so endearing (or annoying to some), and what attracts people to her in the first place. So Cloud is forced to go along with her shenanigans, but while he’s exasperated, he doesn’t hate it. It’s a cute and funny dynamic to see play out on screen.

However, once you place them in a long-term relationship, things aren’t so clear cut. It’s not that I don’t think Cloud and Aerith wouldn’t work per se (if I were younger I might actually prefer their dynamic because it’s very “Disney”), but, in my opinion, Aerith doesn’t understand Cloud on a fundamental level — what he needs in a partner. And vice-versa. Their relationship is very one-sided, in that Aerith does most of the work while Cloud just kinda deals with it.

Aerith doesn’t really know when to stop pushing Cloud’s buttons, and if he were in a funk he would lash out at her attempts to make him feel better. (We actually see this in the Remake, when he snaps at her in Elmyra’s house.) She can see what’s wrong with him, but doesn’t know how to fix it.

If Aerith were feeling down, Cloud isn’t one for sweeping romantic gestures and I think he’d find it very difficult to comfort her in a way that she needs. He’d probably shy away from the situation and just piss Aerith off. She’d get angry and he’d shy away even more. We also don’t know what she would’ve thought of real!Cloud because she never met him.

Cloud and Tifa’s issue is a lack of verbal communication, but they also just get each other. You can see this in the Remake — Tifa is established as Cloud’s second-in-command and he intrinsically trusts her to have his back. But the clearest showcase of this is the entire Lifestream sequence, which is the most intimate narrative sequence in the entire game. Tifa literally dives into Cloud’s subconscious and learns his deepest secrets, fears, insecurities.

Cloud and Tifa have an understanding of each other in a way no other characters in the game do. And while they struggle with words, they make up for it in action. Sure, their romantic relationship might not have fireworks or butterflies, but they’re equals. The embodiment of “in sickness and in health,” so very much life partners, in that way.

(It’s also why I don’t agree with people who say that if Aerith had lived, Cloud would choose to be with her. Post-Lifestream sequence leaves no room to question in my mind. It wouldn’t make narrative or logical sense to have Cloud and Aerith become a couple after you learn the reason that Cloud is even on this journey is because of Tifa.)

But this is all digression off the Remake... Barret is best daddy.

I agree with this.

FFVIII kind of gives you that story of Aerith and Cloud ending up together with Rinoa and Squall.

Rinoa may look like Tifa but she has a lot of Aerith's characteristics and Squall has a lot of Cloud's characteristics although Squall is himself and not a basket case like Cloud.