I really like Cloud and Aeris, I think they're adorable together from the moment they leave Midgar to the moment she dies.
But... she dies.
More than that, the romance between Cloud and Aeris is mostly left to my imagination. I was replaying the game after writing oodles of fanfiction and an elaborately expanded novelization of FFVII, and I was surprised at a) how little dialogue there was between the two and b) how clumsy and sucky it was.
They don't seem to have ANY chemistry! Aeris is a giggling mess and Cloud is either acting like a jerk or a fool, or being still and silent. There was nothing charismatic about their dialogue in the date scene, it was Aeris acting like a boorish kid and Cloud's sprite animator skipped work that day. And then Cloud beats the crap out of her at the Temple of the Ancients, and she shrugs it off. That's like Anakin killing not-just-the-men-but-the-women-and-the-children-they're-animals-and-I-slaughtered-them-like-animals-I-hate-them! and Padme's all whatever.
That being said, the imaginary realm of Cleris is really great. This is why I like fanfiction, and fandom, because I tend to read more Cleris than Cloti, and I do that because it takes place in-game instead of in the shitty Squeenix sequel-verse. Because of this, Cleris fanfiction does what fanfiction is *supposed* to fucking do, which is expand on the universe. This expansion by a few good writers has greatly elevated my appreciation for these two.
BUT!
I like Cloud and Tifa as well. It seems like their relationship could work... with a lot of work. Cloud and Tifa have a possible future together, whereas with Aeris, Cloud only has his past. Isn't the game partially about making peace with your past and moving on?
So yeah, during Disc 1, I'm an avid imaginary Cleris shipper. After that, I'm in the Cloti camp. And maybe it's because I think Tifa's just a great character, maybe my favourite final fantasy character ever. I like her so much because I feel for her, man. I think she just goes through the worst stuff. Everything that happens to Cloud happens to her, she loses Aeris and lives a lie, but in both instances, she has to deal with a lot of guilt and shame whereas Cloud gets to be the victim.
Both characters, and their relationship, are redeemed in the Lifestream, the emotional climax of FFVII. After that, whether or not they had that steamy night on the rocks, they could definitely work as a couple. They both have an obvious and canonically stated longing for one another, and assuming Holy didn't wipe everyone out, they've got a lot of potential for a life together. I hate that AC envisioned their immediate future with a couple of annoying kids, but the look that Tifa gives Cloud at the end of the movie almost redeems the film. It was great to see a CG character emote so much with a smile, it was very subtle and very... Tifa.
Unfortunately for happy family post-game Tifa, I'm of the iron-age opinion that Holy wiped everyone out and there is no post-game, so there's not much potential there. Cloud and Tifa in the game have a really rough time, it's rocky and destructive and full of pathos and I love it. But I can't honestly say that it's a pleasing romance. It's too real, it's too painful. At the game's conclusion, Cloud's still babbling about dead girl and Tifa's only solace is in her prehensile boobs. I like this kind of dramatic story a lot, but is it enough for me to say that I ship them? I don't know. As I said, I don't read much Cloti because so much of it takes place post-game, which isn't my bag. So the relationship hasn't been really expanded for me, and I have to rely on the shoddy dialogue and clumsy exposition of the game script.
Surprisingly, I've recently gotten into the Tifa/Aeris viper den. Amidst pervy pervy stuff, the two characters have a lot of relationship potential. I kind of love their relationship, whatever it might be. Sisterly, friendly, romantic, whatever. They show more canonical love towards each other than either do to Cloud. But I don't think that's what this thread is about so I'll just go over to the clubs section I guess.
