Hello, friends! I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to submit a note to me. I read them all, though it’s tough to find the time to respond to each and every one. For this FAQ roundup, I tried to pick out ones that felt more like questions I could respond to, but to everyone who just left a nice comment – thanks so much! It keeps me going!
Is Cloud asking Tifa to close the bar to be with her and Denzel and Marlene proof they end up together? Many CT have been saying this.
Not at all. The whole point of Advent Children is that Cloud, Tifa, Denzel, and Marlene (as well as Barret, though he is away on a quest at the moment) are a “found family”. In the novel, Tifa herself refers to them as a “family of friends” – they are a group that has no other home nor family, after all. Those bonds are important, even if they are platonic, but Cloud, who has been suffering from depression and thus has been both physically and emotionally isolating himself, neglects those bonds. Cloud, at the end of the Reminiscence, is able to make a gesture of embracing them, rather than neglecting them as before.
Recall as well that Nomura himself said he has no idea if Cloud and Tifa enter a relationship in the context of Advent Children and wants people to decide for themselves. So at best, people who like the Cloud/Tifa ship can perhaps imagine that one day those two will actually get together, but to reduce the “family arc” to Cloud and Tifa’s romance really misses the point, I think. Families don’t have to be built on heteronormative principles – Cloud, Tifa, and Barret are adults who are sticking together and making a home when they have none other. (Remember, Tifa herself has maternal feelings toward Cloud as well.)
Plus, how can Cloud be asking Tifa out on a date here when Marlene and Denzel are invited, too? It’s a family activity, not a romantic getaway.
Hi, I fkn love your blog (excuse the language). I only just discovered it. I’ve been a clerith officially for 5 years, but I remember watching FF7 Advent Children when I a teen at my cousin’s house without any context to the whole FF7 story. I remember thinking my gosh… Cloud and Aerith? Now that’s a love story. I’ve been committed ever since.
On to my question.
Coming off of Rebirth ending, do you have any theories as to what will happen to Aerith and/or the relationship between Cloud and Aerith in the final instalment of FF7R? I’m seeing a lot of weird ass people saying she’s perma-dead and Cloud is just having hallucinations of her so we’ll see her as nothing but a memory or only bits and pieces of her when she talks to Cloud through the Lifestream.
I’m paying them no mind, but super interested to know what you think will happen now that we have this FF7 Multiverse haha.
Thanks so much! Glad to meet other Clerith fans!
Theories are tough, honestly, since at this point, we’ll mostly be working with added Aeris content that wasn’t in the original game. Do I think she’s going to play a huge role? Absolutely, without a doubt – the scenario at the end of Rebirth deliberately set her up to continue to be an active player in the final game’s narrative. Do I think she and Cloud will have scenes together? Yes, without a doubt. Regardless of if she’s alive in another word (this is where I lean), or a Lifestream spirit, or both – she’s not “dead” in any traditional sense.
As for the theory about Cloud simply hallucinating her at the end – I think that one fails to explain why Red XIII also sensed Aeris’s presence in the ending.
What are you thoughts about the whole “Nakama” thing or the friendzone nonsense between Clerith? I feel like it’s nowhere other than a baseless misinfos to dismiss romantic potential between Cloud and Aeris.
So, if I understand correctly, some folks are saying that Cloud “friendzoned” Aeris in the Japanese version, because he called her his “nakama.” Three issues with that:
- That line only occurs in the “low affection” version of the date, and only after Cloud implies he wants to go out with Aeris again by challenging her to give him a harder one “next time.” It’s when Aeris gently presses “next time?” that he flounders and awkwardly says “we’re nakama after all.” It’s just Cloud being awkward and lacking the courage to directly express his feelings something he does do in the high affection version.
- “Nakama” isn’t a “friend-zone” word. That’s not how one friend-zones someone in Japanese. Nakama means “companion” – and doesn’t necessarily preclude romance. Cloud’s just fumbling, which is why the English version went with “I mean, why not?” Had Cloud said to Tifa, in a comparable scenario, “we’re childhood friends, right?” I don’t think those same folks would read it that way.
- Regardless of Cloud’s dialogue there, Aeris will confess her feelings right after this and embrace him. Cloud returns her embrace and they stand there hugging. If he were “friend-zoning” her, that would be beyond inappropriate. He’s accepting – and returning – her feelings based on his non-optional actions.
I am not generally a shipper but my girlfriend referred me to this sub to get enlightened as she puts it lol. I haven’t read everything you wrote yet(or even a third of it since there are so much stuff here, sorry) so you might have addressed this somewhere before. But considering what happens to Aerith, for Clerith to work, wouldn’t Cloud have to reject Tifa for the rest of his life? Isn’t that assumption unrealistic?
Hey there! Thanks for reading despite not even being interested in Cloud/Aeris. To answer your question – I always feel like this is an inherently uncomfortable position to put Cloud in. Does he have to get with another woman to find happiness – is being in a relationship the only way to lead a fulfilling life? If he isn’t interested in Tifa, why would he need to one day give in to her approaches? Furthermore, even if he does hypothetically get with Tifa (or anyone else) down the line, why does Clerith “not work”? Do you stop loving your deceased beloved if you one day feel ready to enter another relationship?
Different Clerith fans may have different feelings on how they envision Cloud’s romantic life going after Aeris passes. I think all will agree though that Clerith is about what they had – and the spiritual connection they continue to have – together. That won’t change no matter how Cloud chooses to live.
Do you have any advice for people who have been harassed or targeted by people in the Cloti community? I know blocking and reporting helps, but sometimes it doesn’t always work.
I’m so sorry that so many Clerith fans get targeted and harassed by particularly toxic Cloti shippers. Definitely block, don’t bother engaging – they’re looking to pick fights, and you’ll only get stressed out dealing with their bullshit. Certainly, if you feel comfortable, by all means call out bad behavior, but a lot of these are troll accounts who won’t care anyway. There’s not much else that can be done besides remember the Clerith community is super supportive overall, and not all Cloti fans are like this – unfortunately, it’s only the bad apples that cross picket lines, but many of them are also disgusted by that kind of behavior and block asshole accounts, too.
Hi, I was wondering why Aerith said Tifa didn’t tell her about Zack or anything important when Cloud asked her in the gondola during their date at the Gold Saucer
I imagine it’s because Tifa doesn’t feel ready to confront Cloud about his false memories and asked Aeris to hold off on saying too much. Zack did not fall into a river and drown, so that’s absolutely not what Tifa actually told Aeris. Tifa may not have told Aeris much more than “so Cloud does remember Zack but it’s weird since he’s gotten the details mixed up and I have no idea how he would even know any of that since he wasn’t there.” With that in mind, when Cloud asks, Aeris doesn’t really have much to report, and the alleged memory discrepancies aren’t really her conversation to have with him – that’s Tifa’s responsibility.
Earth & Sky: A Cloud x Aeris Love Story 