I don't agree with everything C/T fans say. I don't think that 'ying/yang' thing in AC means anything, or Zack and Aerith walking out of the church means they're back together, and the 'dim love = secret' thing. But why does disagree with C/A ideas = Cloti?
My pink billed platypus, surely the ying/yang can't be contended? The symbolism was so blatant I wasn't sure whether a brick of thick concrete subtext had been squared right at my forehead. Certainly I won't say it means they are wuv, but from my understanding of design, I can't see such a careful and iconic positioning can be simply "they look nice like that". A central, directed image like that on an act out of all places doesn't just get done because its purdy. Shame on you Hito, shame on you. Now you're banished from TLS, forced to wander no-mans land translating for fan subs of the very weakest anime.
Seriously, I think the difference between ACF/TLS and PinkieHeaven/ClotiHell is a very simple one: I don't think the people here have ever been interested in anything that doesn't ally with the story. The reason there are these outlets of frustration occasionally come from a history of making salient points over and over to be countered by emotional, non-substantiated arguments which are then quite often cast aside as being "Cloti". Now if these arguments were made in a shipper forum, then perhaps one could make such an aspiration - true or not - but here, and at ACF, they were done on neutral ground, we weren't a group of devoted shippers, which however you cut it, FF_G's kingdom is anchored by - and then people were being called shippers for offering rational debates.
For me, that has always been a bone of contention for me. I've never given a damn about who ships what. I'm not a romantic man (tried, failed), I don't have that mentality and it IS infuriating when your rational, after copious posts on a subject is whittled down to being a "biased Cloti". I even remember being called that for posting in Faith on ACF - a Cloti club that really wasn't filled with shippers, but mainly people who had got to know each other in the LTD debates and shared the same rational. The posts were evident, but no, the same comments were made.
It is of course possible for people to exist at CXA and not be shippers, some might be there for being mates of shippers, but those types aren't the ones that came over and spouted the same old mantras (often, a specific "bible" mantra laid out by their leader) and then tried to break the rational arguments by looking to level all the debaters as being mirror opposites of themselves. It was a dirty tactic to diminish any attempt at common sense as being as emotionally burdened as their own.
Which pretty much leads me to my point: we're not debating the same thing. That's why you can't find unity here - one group here is debating story and character relationships within that story using consistency, logical and evidence, the other is debating from their heart.
Both get sort of snarky, but the fact of the matter is that an FF7 forum shouldn't be presumed to be a biased ship-hole. Those who live in a biased ship-hole, well, you're probably going to be shippers. So how about you don't presume I'm a shipper, and I won't presume you're a rational objective analyst of story narratives?
And I think that's our bottomline. Either one side embraces the notion that Cleris is a possibility and ignores the consistent evidence throughout the Compilation, or the other embraces the constant, rational evidence and turns their back on their emotional fantasy. Not going to happen.
Yes, I'm being a little blunt, but I think anything else is wishful thinking. Personally, I can respect any shipping - what I'm a stickler for is evidence and narrative exploration, both firmly deny any romance between Cloud and Aeris. If Cleris are happy to accept their notion is as real as Clack or Cluffie then super - I can invest in their perspective and discuss the possibilities behind that fantasy, but while they look to subvert the narrative by looking to put their wants beyond their own subjectivity I can see no way people here can give them the respect they would probably enjoy.
Which is a shame, because I quite like exploring other ideas and possibilities between the characters - just not as a platform to validate or look for credibility in rationalising a fantasy pairing.
sensitive
I've grown more into the 'trying to laugh at insults' rather than being offended by them. Because they aren't going to stop, and it's just not worth being upset over. (Though, I can get irked by them)
I think that romance is implied with the scene, but I think Ying/Yang is pushing it.
Look at the emoticons, they express how terribly sorry I am.
