The Love Triangle of FFVII Part IV: A New Hope

[Dashell]

We don't have a time line Q. Your assuming she ran into Sephy months or more before AC/C. When if we think about it, Sephys advent shows up what a week or two before the main events of the movie? So in all likelihood it was much closer to ACC than FFVII

Wait now I swear someone in this thread, I think it was Mako, said CoLW takes place right after FFVII, lemme find it

Wah-nah:
http://thelifestream.net/forums/showpost.php?p=234370&postcount=111

But maybe Ryu was being sarcastic, Idk

We don't have a time line Q. Your assuming she ran into Sephy months or more before AC/C. When if we think about it, Sephys advent shows up what a week or two before the main events of the movie? So in all likelihood it was much closer to ACC than FFVII.

But Geostigma started right when FFVII ended, did it not? So wouldn't CoLB start when Geostigma did?

 

[Vendel]

But Geostigma started right when FFVII ended, did it not? So wouldn't CoLB start when Geostigma did?

We are not talking about geostigma Q. We are talking about Sephys Advent and Aerith wanting to contact Cloud.

 

[Dashell]

Okay maybe I'm confused (again) but... she must have ran into Sephiroth sometime much before ACC. CoL starts with Aerith noticing Sephiroth is in the lifestream and she realizes he's plotting something. He then starts doing Geostigma-ish stuff. So she knew he was there for a while, right?

 

[Celes Chere]

I really wish I could remember WTF I was talking about last week when I make these posts.

YOU WERE ALSO THE ONE WHO SAID THAT IF YOU TELL THE TRUTH YOU DON'T NEED TO HAVE A GOOD MEMORY.

 

[Dashell]

Technically that was Judge Judy

EDIT
AHA yes, I knew I was telling the truth:

http://thelifestream.net/forums/showpost.php?p=230316&postcount=122
http://thelifestream.net/forums/showpost.php?p=230363&postcount=125
http://thelifestream.net/forums/showpost.php?p=230376&postcount=127
http://thelifestream.net/forums/showpost.php?p=230384&postcount=130
http://thelifestream.net/forums/showpost.php?p=230420&postcount=135

Okay a while back I said Aerith waw NOT obsessed with Zack in FFVII, but it seemed like she was in CC. Most people said she wasn't in CC, but FHS said she was in FFVII and I debated against her saying she wasn't.

So you see? I DID debate that Aerith wasn't obsessed

Spoiler: So I am telling the truth

I DO think it's more like my stubbornness and not wanting to admit I'm fighting a losing battle though

 

[Celes Chere]

So you admit Aerith loves Zack more than Cloud?

 

[Dashell]

I probably would if not for CoLW... oh hey we came full circle

and regardless, I still stand by that she loved them both dearly (also see my previous edit on the other page)

 

[Vendel]

I probably would if not for CoLW...

Yeah all that pining Aerith does for Cloud in CoLW really sets things in stone. Which is why her not hanging out with Zack in AC/C and confessing her love to Cloud makes so much sense.


:jackrape:

 

[Dashell]

Wait wait wait, go back to the other thing. What's this about Aerith ran into Sephy shortly before ACC?... what about her meeting him before he started with his Geostigma stuff?... or is that not what you meant?

 

[Ryushikaze]

It would help your arguments, Quex, if anyone said that Cloud wasn't anything special to Aerith.

Or that she stopped loving his spikey headed ass after realizing she WAS chasing Zack 2.0.
Or if you realized that Zack 2.0 doesn't refer to ZaCloud, but Aerith's perception of the Zack in Cloud.

Strawmen, intentional or not, are not valid targets for rebuttal.

 

[Dashell]

It would help your arguments, Quex, if anyone said that Cloud wasn't anything special to Aerith.

I'm sure someone has said it. Along with the Aerith is a slut and a whore and what not. I'm talking about those who fail to recognize pretty much ANY possible romantic interest from Aerith to Cloud... now while there are not many... in fact I can only sorta think of one person, it still happens.

Or that she stopped loving his spikey headed ass after realizing she WAS chasing Zack 2.0.

It's not this argument so much as the argument that she only loved him because she saw Zack in him. While that's what first attracted her to him, that's not the only reason she loved him.

Or if you realized that Zack 2.0 doesn't refer to ZaCloud, but Aerith's perception of the Zack in Cloud.

Okay.. wait there's honestly a difference between Zack 2.0 and ZaCloud? I assumed they were different names for the same thing since I've only heard Vendel use Zack 2.0 and other people use ZaCloud.

 

[Celes Chere]

The LTD is a very complex thing, Quex. =P

 

[ShuShu]

GO QUEX.

*Waves little flag*

:3 <3 But for serious. Your not gonna get through to anyone despite how right you are... How I see it is if ColW didnt do it, NOTHING will. If Aerith's ghost hovered over Cloud at night and asked him if he loved her, it will still get turned into Zerith some way or another.

Must be them suger sticks. ;3

It would help your arguments, Quex, if anyone said that Cloud wasn't anything special to Aerith.

Or that she stopped loving his spikey headed ass after realizing she WAS chasing Zack 2.0.
Or if you realized that Zack 2.0 doesn't refer to ZaCloud, but Aerith's perception of the Zack in Cloud.

ACTUALLY RYU. The last time this stuff went down, plenty of people were saying things along that line on this particular site :3 In fact it wasnt until we moved our lovely debate to TFC that anything got remotely discussed maturely at all :3 <3 Remember?

Aerith saw Zack in Cloud but it was far from Zack 2.0 thats abit strong. It's not like she was calling him Zack, and its not like Cloud treated her anything remotely the same way as Zack, but the fact remains Zack is dead and she has found feelings for Cloud, who she herself said she knew was not acting completely as himself. If she can see the differences between the two of them, and adamantly say they are different and she wants to know the real Cloud, then you can only assume out of logic she SAW Zack in Cloud. Past tense. As in realized he wasnt.

She died loving Cloud moreso than her first love. The 'romance' of course was nothing compared to that hyped up ham fest of animu cliched situations as the one in Crisis Core yes, because Cloud does not return this affection back to her. It doesnt change the originial idea that came out way before the idea of CC that Aerith loved Cloud, and he was her main love interest during the last days of her life, which is the only argument trying to be proven here when it comes to Aerith loving Cloud more than Zack.

 

[Alessa Gillespie]

She died loving Cloud moreso than her first love. The 'romance' of course was nothing compared to that hyped up ham fest of animu cliched situations as the one in Crisis Core yes, because Cloud does not return this affection back to her. It doesnt change the originial idea that came out way before the idea of CC that Aerith loved Cloud, and he was her main love interest during the last days of her life, which is the only argument trying to be proven here when it comes to Aerith loving Cloud more than Zack.

How do you love someone you don't exactly know is my question. I mean, she could tell Cloud wasn't being Cloud, but there wasn't really any point in time where she could, yanno, meet and greet the real Cloud and fall in love with him. She wanted to love the real Cloud, but she never knew him. And then she died. Yeah, she loved him and she adored him romantically, but I don't know how her love for the Cloud she never knew can really compare to the adoration she felt for the guy she wrote 89 letters to.

If anything, I'd say she loved both equally, even if she never really knew Cloud.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

I would guess because she couldn't for some reason. Perhaps she didn't figure out how to do it.

So, if it's fair to use that argument for her not contacting Cloud sooner, why then wouldn't it be fair to say the same of her reassembling Zack? Maybe she didn't put him back together soon because she didn't realize he was dead and didn't go looking for him.

See what we run into with double standards?

It's easiest to simply assume that she could have reassembled Zack at any time and could have contacted Cloud at any time.

My point about Sephiroth was that while he was around, the lifestream probably suffered and went... for lack of better term, kind of wacky for a bit which would enable her to do these things. idk

That explanation is based in metaphysics of the Lifestream we've not been given reason to believe actually apply to the stream. For that matter, if Aerith needs Sephiroth to screw with the Lifestream in order for her to get a line out, what's the good in her being a Cetra to begin with?

And more besides, if Aerith can sic the Lifestream on Meteor, I'm going to call b.s. on her not being able to make a phone call.

She died loving Cloud moreso than her first love.

Now that you mention it, has anything other than Maiden ever attempted attaching a claim of quantity about Aerith's affection for Cloud as compared to Zack? Certainly she died being more interested in Cloud than Zack, but that's to be expected since one of them was right there around her while the other had not been around for several years?

 

[Splintered]

but the fact remains Zack is dead and she has found feelings for Cloud, who she herself said she knew was not acting completely as himself. If she can see the differences between the two of them, and adamantly say they are different and she wants to know the real Cloud, then you can only assume out of logic she SAW Zack in Cloud. Past tense. As in realized he wasnt.

I'm going to agree with this. Aerith can love more than two people, and she eventually saw Cloud for who he was and her feelings remained unchanged. Whether or not that the similarity sparked the initial attraction, I would say that her feelings for Cloud was for him and not just because she missed Zack.

She died loving Cloud moreso than her first love.

This I disagree with. And calling it a "hammy" version of animu romance doesn't make it less legitimate, I could say the same thing about Rinoa/Squall. I hate the coupling, but it's a solid romance, and a significant bond. Zack and Aerith had just as an intense, giving relationship as almost every other canon coupling in Final Fantasy. It was sincere and it matured greatly- not just for the relationship but the individuals themselves.

The difference is that Aerith seemingly moved on, because that's the kind of person she is, she doesn't wallow in the past like Cloud does. That doesn't lessen the amount of love, caring, or the depth of the romantic feelings between them.

 

[ShuShu]

How do you love someone you don't exactly know is my question. I mean, she could tell Cloud wasn't being Cloud, but there wasn't really any point in time where she could, yanno, meet and greet the real Cloud and fall in love with him. She wanted to love the real Cloud, but she never knew him. And then she died. Yeah, she loved him and she adored him romantically, but I don't know how her love for the Cloud she never knew can really compare to the adoration she felt for the guy she wrote 89 letters to.

If anything, I'd say she loved both equally, even if she never really knew Cloud.

Right :3 I'm not saying the degree of how much she loved Cloud surpassed how she felt about Zack when their relationship was in their prime. I'm saying alot of time has passed and she wanted to move on. So she would have died with more romantic affection, currently for Cloud. I think when you look at it in the big picture your right, she'd love them both in equal ways, especially if the Lifestream is your conciousness, and Aerith has been stated to love both men romantically, and its her entire conciousness.

She didnt know what was real Cloud and what was fake, but she knew things about him. Like Clouds 'its to dangerous' line, she could even predict when he'd say a certain thing like that, and that is a Cloud, Not ZaCloud, characteristic. So this guy isnt a stranger. By no means. You dont HAVE to be someones Childhood friend to love them, and some people fall inlove on sight, its been seen in the Final Fantasies, at least.

Now that you mention it, has anything other than Maiden ever attempted attaching a claim of quantity about Aerith's affection for Cloud as compared to Zack? Certainly she died being more interested in Cloud than Zack, but that's to be expected since one of them was right there around her while the other had not been around for several years?

Not compared but Zack's total lack of a mention in ColW paired with Cloud being Koibito is kind of a kick in the nads. So yes. An official novellla. It is to be expected that she'd be more into Cloud, thats exactly what I was saying. I'm not saying they had a romance, or that her feelings for Cloud were stronger than her feelings for Zack when they were in their prime. I'm saying before she died it was obvious she wanted to move on, and that her affection for Cloud had grown past Zacks which naturally with all that time would have faded and healed to some degree. Enough to chase after other men, anyway.

This I disagree with. And calling it a "hammy" version of animu romance doesn't make it less legitimate, I could say the same thing about Rinoa/Squall. I hate the coupling, but it's a solid romance, and a significant bond. Zack and Aerith had just as an intense, giving relationship as almost every other canon coupling in Final Fantasy. It was sincere and it matured greatly- not just for the relationship but the individuals themselves.

The difference is that Aerith seemingly moved on, because that's the kind of person she is, she doesn't wallow in the past like Cloud does. That doesn't lessen the amount of love, caring, or the depth of the romantic feelings between them.

Oh no no. I wasnt saying it wasnt legitimate. I was saying compared to what we saw in FF7 they dramaticized and added in alot of things to make the bond stronger than initially planned in the first installment. I personally didnt like the highschool feel to the romance, but that was my opinion, I wasnt saying anything along the lines of them not being serious or in love, or that CC isnt Canon. Quite the opposite. :3 Aerith loved Zack very much, and it was clear to see.

But like you said, thats Aeriths character. She's strong internally, like she keeps alot of 'Aeriths problems, to herself' like her Cetra stuff. She's playful though, and as much as she loved Zack she wanted to move on. I dont think that does anything to destroy what she had with Zack. If that was true Lockes love for Racheal would equate to nothing. Lulu's engagement to Chappu. Moving on is just another phase of life, but it doesnt discredit your past.

 

[OneWingedDemon]

If Aerith's ghost hovered over Cloud at night and asked him if he loved her, it will still get turned into Zerith some way or another.

Must be them suger sticks. ;3

Or must be the story, which continually shows us that Aeris keeps picking up on the Zack in Cloud.

I'm saying alot of time has passed and she wanted to move on.

Wanted does not equal success. You can&#8217;t blame her, there was no closure from the previous relationship, the dude just disappeared. Then this other guy enters her life in exactly the same way, carries Zack&#8217;s sword and claims to be a Soldier like Zack. She even uses the same line Zack used on her. Throughout the game, she keeps bringin Zack up, only to shut down again saying &#8220;but this is different&#8230;..I swear&#8221;.
It stinks of denial, which the game and subsequent info fully support, particularly since Cloud did adopt certain Zack-like characteristics. We are even told, explicitly so, that Aeris acts the way she does around Cloud because of Zack.

The other things is, Cloud does not have to be a clone of Zack in order for the latter to be the main reason she was interested in Cloud to begin with. No matter how you slice it, the fact remains that the ghost of Zack is something that hangs over any feelings Aeris has towards Cloud. This does not mean that Aeris thought Cloud was literally Zack, nor that Cloud was literally acting EXACTLY like Zack. To say that those two must have happened in order for us to conclude that Zack had any effect on her affections for Cloud is simply ridiculous.

Yes, Aeris cares for Cloud as an individual. She wasn&#8217;t a retard who looked at Cloud and saw a black-haired dude. No one is saying the woman&#8217;s mental faculties are in question.
And Aeris later wants to separate the two, wants to find out what the deal with Cloud is. I think before her death she realizes what she&#8217;s been doing and coupled with the buttfuckery that is Cloud, wants to &#8220;meet the real one&#8221;. This doesn&#8217;t mean she ever did. Being aware of the role her feelings fro Zack have played in her interest for Cloud =/= her feelings for Zack have died/faded and she has moved on to Cloud. If that had happened, her desire to see the real Cloud would be unnecessary

Not compared but Zack's total lack of a mention in ColW paired with Cloud being Koibito is kind of a kick in the nads.

Not anymore than her statement in Maiden was.

 

[Celes Chere]

Must be them suger sticks. ;3

Indeed! It's an addicition. D:

 

[Alessa Gillespie]

She didnt know what was real Cloud and what was fake, but she knew things about him. Like Clouds 'its to dangerous' line, she could even predict when he'd say a certain thing like that, and that is a Cloud, Not ZaCloud, characteristic. So this guy isnt a stranger. By no means. You dont HAVE to be someones Childhood friend to love them, and some people fall inlove on sight, its been seen in the Final Fantasies, at least.

I didn't say you had to be someone's childhood friend, it's just that for someone who's supposed to be moving on from her ex, she brings him up an awful lot. Cloud certainly isn't a stranger, but he's not really being himself either, and she knows this (I think she says he's a mixed up kid on her date, even). I know some people fall in love on sight (Squall and Rinoa's horrid... whatever you call that), but would you honestly say that the love someone felt for someone they loved at first sight would be deeper than that of the relationship of two years said person was in?

 

[Eerie]

OK, replying to Quex' long quote of utter fail.

Me: And I am by NO means saying none of this is true. Zack is very important to Aerith and vice versa, that's obvious. However it IS possible to love more than one person. While Aerith still holds Zack close to her heart and still loves him dearly, I found her actions toward Cloud in FFVII and the next few installments indicated that she truly loved Cloud, and that she loved him more than Zack.

Counter Argument #1.2: There's nothing that says that she loved Cloud MORE than Zack.

Me: Case of Lifestream White states that Cloud is her beloved/lover/sea monkey. I find it odd that there is NO mention of Zack, at all, in CoLW even though she apparently reassembled his spirit for support.

ColW says nothing of her feelings about Zack - it's not about him, it's about Sephiroth messing up and wanting to mess up with CLOUD which triggers her thoughts of Cloud. For someone she's supposed to still love like that, it's a bit sad that it takes her ennemy to trigger thoughts about him.
It does say that she holds Cloud dear and used to love him - which I don't question, her feelings were real, but the fact remains that it was NOT the real Cloud she knew. This is exactly WHY people cannot believe that she loved him more than Zack, because what she loved in Cloud was the Zack part - a guy she knew for 4 years, and had been in a relationship with, sent 89 letters, a guy who WANTED to marry her, VS a guy she didn't know at heart, who was manipulated by Jenova and messed up badly. A guy the creators SAY black on white that Aerith acts like this towards BECAUSE of Zack.

I don't deny that she loved Cloud, but loved him more than Zack? The Lifestream is a place where the feelings become bland, to me AC/C doesn't show that Aerith is in love with Cloud, it shows her protecting him in such a motherly way that he calls her MOTHER!!! And she's protecting him because he faces Sephiroth and has Geostigma and wanted her forgiveness - but she's also protecting the ENTIRE PLANET!!!

I'm sorry, I still don't get the afterlife love.

Counter Argument #1.3: CoLW isn't about Aerith's love life. She had other things to worry about such as Sephiroth.

Me: If Cloud gets a mention as her beloved while Sephiroth is around, surely the man who she loves more than him would at least get a mention as well especially after she was reunited with him.

Why? It's just you, ColW is just a few paragraphs long, and it focuses on what happened that worried Aerith and made her aware - to prepare her role in AC/C. In the end, we see her joke with Zack and see them leave together. Heck, we even see that Cloud put Zack's sword in Aerith's church, as a testament of the two reunited lovers after death, AND her flowers blooming on his grave.

Me: Maybe cause she had other things to worry about? See what I did there? No but we don't know what she was thinking about before CoLW started because it doesn' tell us

Yes, that is exactly what we're saying. Afterlife love=LULZ NO. And before ColW started, she was doing her Cetra job, aka, taking care of the Lifestream and how it flowed on the planet, noticing that more and more there were angry spirits that refused to go back in the Lifestream. Yes, it's said

Counter Argument #1.5: What about the Dengaki profiles that say that Zack is always by her side?

Me: TBH, I don't consider those as official sources. I mean the one says Cloud set out to find a cure for Denzel and THEN he got sick. If he really and truly left 7th Heaven for that, you'd think he would have told Tifa. It makes much more sense for him to get the disease and THEN run off because he doesn't want to tell Tifa because he's ashamed (which is something I just kind of thought of)

YOU TROLL. I nearly dropped it here

Yes, he went FIRST to find a cure, but he didn't know if he would able to [he wasn't] and didn't want to FAIL their hopes. Cloud did a lot of things to SURPRISE Tifa if you think about it during CoT, and this is just fitting the same pattern. He wanted to find a cure because it was HIS quest - he didn't want to burden Tifa and the kids with it. His own redemption was to cure Denzel - that's what he thought. And then, he got SICK AS WELL, DUH. Just because you can't understand Cloud's character on this doesn't mean that what it says is false

If the Dengeki profiles have been made with the creators, then what it states is true. If it didn't, then I'll retract my statement, but seeing the dudes around who only use creators words, I guess I won't hold my breath for too long

Counter Argument #2 But she never knew the real Cloud, she was chasing Zack 2.0.

Me: Cloud was never quite Zack 2.0 He took some things from Zack, yes, but he was really not that much like Zack. Zack was cheerful and happy go lucky, Cloud was never this. Official sources have stated that while he did take some of Zack's personality, he also held some of his original personality as well.

Yup, he was quite a cold bastard when she knew him What an awesome man to love more than her ex-bf, really. Cloud was happy and go lucky though, only after he knew her. She knew him for TWO WEEKS, THREE AT BEST. Seriously, in less than a month, can you say you truly know someone, especially if you know he's totally messed up? Seriously? Please have at least a bit of good faith here.

And it's because of how Cloud appeared to her that she chased after him YES, because it was exactly like ZACK. DUNDUNDUN. Fact is that his personality didn't match Zack's, but it was not his true personality either - this was the kind of hero he though would impress... TIFA!

Makes it seem like to me that she wants to get to know the real Cloud. IF she was just chasing after some guy who was just like Zack, why would she want to get to know the real him?

Yes. She wants to MOVE ON. She wants to know the real him. She is attracted to him - the feelings she developped for him when she saw Zack in him are still here, lingering. I'm not saying that she doesn't love Cloud, because she DOES, but she knows it's not the real Cloud either. I think she could sense the real Cloud and was attracted to him, but she didn't KNOW him, she never knew, and thus she could never truly move on. She did love him though, I don't dispute that fact.

Counter Argument #3 Aerith was in denial over Zack's death! This proves she loves Zack more.. or something... I dunno I just wanted to address this.

Me: TBH I'm still not ENTIRELY convinced of this. Yes the ending of Crisis Core shows her reaction to his "death" and she can perceive other's deaths, but I'm not convinced that for some reason she couldn't perceive Zack had actually died. This quote:

At the time this story begins, Zack is already dead, but Aerith does not perceive/comprehend/know this truth.

sounds like she just doesn't know to me. But if someone can provide some explanation using the Japanese on why this means she was in denial, I'll be happy to hear it.

I'm not sure that it's not a small retcon on their part there, but if you want to go there, the best way to take this quote is exactly that: that she doesn't comprehend this truth because she doesn't want to accept it. This is how denial works.

As for latest argument, see my point of how the Lifestream is not a place where you have fluffy love. At best, you can be reunited with your lover in death, but even then, your feelings tend to get blurried and washed away, leaving precious memories. Why do you think they removed Aerith from the credits? It's because it messed up with this idea, messed up with the fact that she got reunited with Zack in death, and messed up with the idea of Lifestream and her role in general. Oh and made some people believe she and Cloud were seeing each other or stuff, lulz.

Major tl;dr but there was a lot of fail there. >___>

 

[DrakeClawfang]

And now I get to reply to show how biased this post is and why everything you just said to disprove Clerith proof is entirely WRONG.

OK, replying to Quex' long quote of utter fail.


ColW says nothing of her feelings about Zack - it's not about him, it's about Sephiroth messing up and wanting to mess up with CLOUD which triggers her thoughts of Cloud. For someone she's supposed to still love like that, it's a bit sad that it takes her ennemy to trigger thoughts about him.
It does say that she holds Cloud dear and used to love him - which I don't question, her feelings were real, but the fact remains that it was NOT the real Cloud she knew. This is exactly WHY people cannot believe that she loved him more than Zack, because what she loved in Cloud was the Zack part - a guy she knew for 4 years, and had been in a relationship with, sent 89 letters, a guy who WANTED to marry her, VS a guy she didn't know at heart, who was manipulated by Jenova and messed up badly. A guy the creators SAY black on white that Aerith acts like this towards BECAUSE of Zack.

I don't deny that she loved Cloud, but loved him more than Zack? The Lifestream is a place where the feelings become bland, to me AC/C doesn't show that Aerith is in love with Cloud, it shows her protecting him in such a motherly way that he calls her MOTHER!!! And she's protecting him because he faces Sephiroth and has Geostigma and wanted her forgiveness - but she's also protecting the ENTIRE PLANET!!!

I'm sorry, I still don't get the afterlife love.



Why? It's just you, ColW is just a few paragraphs long, and it focuses on what happened that worried Aerith and made her aware - to prepare her role in AC/C. In the end, we see her joke with Zack and see them leave together. Heck, we even see that Cloud put Zack's sword in Aerith's church, as a testament of the two reunited lovers after death, AND her flowers blooming on his grave.



Yes, that is exactly what we're saying. Afterlife love=LULZ NO. And before ColW started, she was doing her Cetra job, aka, taking care of the Lifestream and how it flowed on the planet, noticing that more and more there were angry spirits that refused to go back in the Lifestream. Yes, it's said



YOU TROLL. I nearly dropped it here

Yes, he went FIRST to find a cure, but he didn't know if he would able to [he wasn't] and didn't want to FAIL their hopes. Cloud did a lot of things to SURPRISE Tifa if you think about it during CoT, and this is just fitting the same pattern. He wanted to find a cure because it was HIS quest - he didn't want to burden Tifa and the kids with it. His own redemption was to cure Denzel - that's what he thought. And then, he got SICK AS WELL, DUH. Just because you can't understand Cloud's character on this doesn't mean that what it says is false

If the Dengeki profiles have been made with the creators, then what it states is true. If it didn't, then I'll retract my statement, but seeing the dudes around who only use creators words, I guess I won't hold my breath for too long



Yup, he was quite a cold bastard when she knew him What an awesome man to love more than her ex-bf, really. Cloud was happy and go lucky though, only after he knew her. She knew him for TWO WEEKS, THREE AT BEST. Seriously, in less than a month, can you say you truly know someone, especially if you know he's totally messed up? Seriously? Please have at least a bit of good faith here.

And it's because of how Cloud appeared to her that she chased after him YES, because it was exactly like ZACK. DUNDUNDUN. Fact is that his personality didn't match Zack's, but it was not his true personality either - this was the kind of hero he though would impress... TIFA!



Yes. She wants to MOVE ON. She wants to know the real him. She is attracted to him - the feelings she developped for him when she saw Zack in him are still here, lingering. I'm not saying that she doesn't love Cloud, because she DOES, but she knows it's not the real Cloud either. I think she could sense the real Cloud and was attracted to him, but she didn't KNOW him, she never knew, and thus she could never truly move on. She did love him though, I don't dispute that fact.



I'm not sure that it's not a small retcon on their part there, but if you want to go there, the best way to take this quote is exactly that: that she doesn't comprehend this truth because she doesn't want to accept it. This is how denial works.

As for latest argument, see my point of how the Lifestream is not a place where you have fluffy love. At best, you can be reunited with your lover in death, but even then, your feelings tend to get blurried and washed away, leaving precious memories. Why do you think they removed Aerith from the credits? It's because it messed up with this idea, messed up with the fact that she got reunited with Zack in death, and messed up with the idea of Lifestream and her role in general. Oh and made some people believe she and Cloud were seeing each other or stuff, lulz.

Major tl;dr but there was a lot of fail there. >___>

...........................

no u

 

[Makoeyes987]

It's like Que totally forgot the added scenes of Advent Children Complete that confirm Cloud left to find a cure, and not because he was sick.

Awesome fail right there.

 

[Ryushikaze]

Quex, Cloud departing to look for a cure without telling anyone fits exactly the pattern already established. He does things without mentioning them. He doesn't make a big deal out of what he's doing.
Cloud leaves to find cure for Denzel, gets sick, panics, worries he will bring those he cares about down with him, goes into exile. Simple as that.

Also, discounting the Dengeki profiles in this instance is irrelevant, since those are hardly the only instance where Zack is described as being 'With' or 'along with' or 'by her' regarding Aerith in the lifestream.

BTW, you're also comparing apples to oranges when comparing lack of Zack in COLW and Aerith's lack of mention as Cloud's important woman etc. Zack and Aerith was a confirmed, actualized, relationship, that went on for two years and which fomented the very fucking attraction Aerith had for Cloud to begin with. Cloud and Aerith NEVER HAPPENED. That Aerith still feels for Zack while also falling for Cloud based on her lingering feelings for Zack is another kettle of fish ENTIRELY compared to proving Cloud loved Aerith in the most backassward fashion possible.

 

[Splintered]

to me AC/C doesn't show that Aerith is in love with Cloud, it shows her protecting him in such a motherly way that he calls her MOTHER!!!

For the most part I don't disagree with the post above but this is my pet peeve.

Saying that Cloud/Aerith or Cloud/Tifa is a motherly love is creepy and completely untrue. Come on guys. If this is your idea of family dynamic, you must have one hell of a family...

I've got no problems with the idea either of these women having a definite maternal and protective side, especially since I think the C/A has a definite feeling of spiritual guide. But next time I see "awww, Tifa has motherly feelings for him, it would be terrible if they got together!" or "Cloud thinks of Aerith as a mom" I'm going to use my super internet powers and through my indomitable will, manifest a hand to punch the poster in the face.

...........................

no u

This post is amazing. Mind = blown.