#pro-Clerith

[lamxd99]

It's my 1-Year Anniversary on Tumblr 🥳

I'm gonna be real with yall, I had honestly forgotten that I downloaded Tumblr a year ago until I got a notification reminding me just an hour ago 😅

Interesting that my first (and unplanned) post on tumblr is for my 1 year Anniversary 😂

I might consider posting more on Tumblr, but we'll just have to wait and see 😉

But anyways, here are the Tags I love:

[dutchdread]

Hi, I'm sorry if this question has been answered before, but what are your views on the whole Cloud not answering Tifa when she asks if he loves her. I'm not entirely sure where it's from, sorry.

Sure, it might have been asked before, I know I've answered it before, but I've talked about this subject in many places so it might not have been on Tumblr. Either way, the question doesn't bother me, it's a good question since people bring it up a lot, so having a chance to reiterate the answer isn't a bad thing. The scene you're talking about is from the short story: " On the way to a smile - Episode Tifa". Like with all these supposed rebuttals to Cloti this argument fails when you look at the situation honestly for more than two seconds, and is actually Pro-Cloti. Firstly, this argument suffers from the same problem that I brought up a while back in my article concerning "the most misunderstood quote in the LTD". Namely that for this argument to make sense you already have to admit that Cloud and Tifa are in a relationship. There is not a person on earth who would walk up to random friends in the middle of the night and wake them up to ask them whether they love them. The scene is framed as Tifa being in Clouds bedroom, and since Tifa is never mentioned to go to his room and Cloud seems to not be surprised about her being there Occams razor will tell you the most likely reason she's in his room is because they're sleeping together. So even if we look at this situation in the most pro-Cleriths way possible then we still already have a situation where Cloud and Tifa are in a relationship, because only in a relationship does it make sense to talk about relationship issues. And since the very notion of stories is to have a resolution we can also surmise that by the end of the story these relationship issues are in some way fixed, either by them going their separate ways, or them working it out. And since we've discussed the nature of the issues Cloud is facing in depth on this page and have discussed how they are resolved, we know the answer to these questions. The issues are resolved by Cloud returning to Tifa and the children, as has been explicitly stated by the developers.

Inside, I felt one thing was for sure: Cloud and Tifa would be together. Everybody would be back home where they belonged. ~ Nojima - Reunion files - pg. 70

Let me stress this again, the most PRO-Clerith version of this argument has Tifa and Cloud being in a relationship and working it out by the end. And in reality it's even more pro-Cloti than that. The very fact that Tifa is concerned about Cloud not loving her implies that him loving her is in some way the standard. It's not that Tifa and Cloud are friends and it's going so well that Tifa is wondering "wait, does he maybe like me more as just friends? does he perhaps....LOVE me?" no, the implication is that the accepted state of affairs is that they were two people in love, and that she is now questioning whether that's actually the case. Now note that Tifas insecurities by themselves mean nothing. Tifa can be extremely jealous of Aerith and completely convinced that Cloud is depressed because he actually loves another woman, and yet be completely wrong about that, as is clearly the case. Whatever insecurities Tifa might reasonably have, they're pretty clearly shown to be false by the sub-sequent events of Advent Children and all the quotes surrounding it. We know the reason Cloud was depressed, we know the reason he left. As I have discussed in depth here: "why does Cloud think about Aerith if he's not in love with her" as well as on other articles. In short, Cloud is depressed because of Cherophobia, PTSD, Fear of failure, and guilt, and his ultimate reason for leaving is due to his Geostigma. Tifas romantic worries are shown to be unfounded. Concerning the scene itself, a lot of people pretend that Cloud doesn't answer Tifa, that is incorrect. Cloud is asleep when Tifa asks the quote. When this wakes him Tifa changes the question to "do you love Marlene". The reason she does this is most likely because she's scared of the answer, she chickens out and instead of repeating the question, which he missed on account of BEING ASLEEP, she changes it to something less directly threatening to her heart, "do you love Marlene". The most important thing to note is that Cloud answers in the affirmative, he DOES love Marlene. Most importantly, this answer also serves as an answer to "do you love me?", either because Cloud straight up heard Tifa (I don't think he did, but some people pretend he did) and is answering her indirectly, or because this is how you use storytelling to provide an indirect answer to the viewer. The scene illustrates, in general, that Clouds issues are not due to a lack of love. There is a different problem, what is that problem? Well, I've already provided you with a link showing just that. Let me also quickly touch on what happens later on in the short story in general:

Cloud is looking for a way to atone, which he finds through Denzel.

“So the problem was resolved?” Tifa asked. “Which problem?” Cloud responded. “Your problem.” “Oh…” Cloud thought about it. “It’s ok if you don’t want to tell me.” “I can’t really explain it well…” Cloud warned before starting to talk. “The problem isn’t resolved. Well, I never tried resolving it for a long time, I think. You can’t retrieve lost lives.” Tifa nodded silently. “But maybe we can save the lives who are in a crisis just now. Maybe even I can do it.” “You mean Denzel?” “Yeah.” “Hey, do you remember what you said when you brought Denzel here?” “What did I say?” “A lot of things. Even if I opposed it, you would bring him back with you. I could just feel it.” “That…” Cloud was making a face like a kid who thought he would get scolded. “Tell me. I’ll decide whether I’m angry or not after I listen.” Cloud nodded and continued. “Denzel had collapsed in front of Aerith’s church. That’s why I thought Aerith lead him to me.” Saying all that in one breath, Cloud looked away. “You went to the church.” “I didn’t intend to hide it from you.” “You did hide it.” “I’m sorry.” “I’m not saying you couldn’t go. But next time, I’ll go with you.” “I understand.” “And you’re wrong, Cloud.” Cloud was perplexed as he looked at Tifa. “Aerith didn’t bring Denzel to you.” “Ahh, I only thought that…..” “I didn’t mean it that way.” “Aerith brought Denzel to our home.” Cloud gazed at Tifa and finally smiled. __________________________________

This provides further evidence that the issues between Tifa and Cloud weren't due to a lack of love, but were due to Cloud suffering from the guilt of failing to protect Aerith. He doesn't know how to deal with that because this is not something he can take back: "You can’t retrieve lost lives.”. However, he is looking for a way to atone and thinks he's found one by protecting those who are still alive, in this case Denzel. Subsequently his situation with Tifa seemingly improves. But then the story ends with Clouds sudden disappearance, and Tifa wondering if the improvement, and the accompanying smiles, were a lie. The story lets that question linger, it is a cliff hanger, the set-up for Advent Children, advent children is supposed to answer the question, and it does. The answer to the mystery of why Cloud suddenly disappeared when things appeared to be improving, is that he contracted Geostigma.

Cloud never had a candid personality to begin with, and although he started living with Tifa and even started working, he obtained a peaceful living he’s never experienced before, and this conversely made him anxious. And in the midst of this he contracts Geostigma himself, and rather than being able to protect the people dear to him, he instead was forced to face his own death, and so ran away.”-Nojima in AC prologue.

Case closed, Cloti wins again. Like always, whenever you look at any scene in the larger context you come to the conclusion that it perfectly fits the overall story and concepts proposed by Clotis. It's the remarkable coherency of this interpretation that in my opinion is it's best proof. Cleriths propose a very shallow story, they never look deeper than "Clouds actions revolve around romantic love, therefore, every action has to either directly prove romance, or disprove it, there can be no unrelated issues". There is no nuance there, no understanding of deeper concepts. There can't be, because as soon as you try to add those the interpretation falls apart at the seams, you run into a hundred conflicting quotes and a thousand themes that don't fit together or are downright bad. You get stories about a man abandoning sick kids because he wants to die to be with a dead girl, for no other reason than that he knew her for one week and now is obsessed with her. There is no story here, no beauty, no lessons, no morality, just a weird shallow death cult, and the biggest proof that it is a cult is how they can look at a scene like the one you proposed, and delude themselves into actually believing their shallow misrepresentations constitute "a good argument".

[deadbydad]

Clerith and Cloti: Why Both Ships Are Great (Coming From a Clerith Shipper)

Note: Please do not start a shipping war in my comments, I will delete them because that is not what this post is for. This post it to simply give my reasons why both ships are great even if I prefer Clerith over Cloti. I am not hating on Cloti at all in this post, so please do not say that I am.

Clerith and Cloti are the most popular ships in the Final Fantasy 7 fandom, and everywhere I looked, there were always arguments and wars going on.

I will not lie, I have made posts shitting on Cloti and I am not proud of that at all. Taking time away from the fandom and the shipping in general, it gave me time to look at both ships from different perspectives.

Both Cloti and Clerith are amazing and beautiful ships.

While yes I will always love Clerith with my heart, but at the end of the day these two ships are great because of how different they are.

Clerith, in my eyes, is a beautiful ship because of how different Cloud and Aerith are from each other, and Cloti is beautiful because of how similar Cloud and Tifa are.

And both ships aren't perfect, that's a fact, but both are amazing because of their different pros and cons.

Clerith is great because Aerith helps Cloud open up more to people and helps him get out of his comfort one and to try out new things.

Cloti is great because Tifa helps Cloud be more friendly and considerate to others and to give other people a chance even if he doesn't know them.

Cloud and Tifa have a small history while Cloud and Aerith don't and I love that about both ships.

Because Cloud and Tifa have a history they can relate to many things and be able to look at the good things in the past and how they were as children.

Because Cloud and Aerith don't have a history they are able to bounce off of each other and help each other grow with the environment around them.

Does any of this make sense?

I can see why many people love Cloti, I think it's an amazing ship even if I don't personally ship it, and Cloti is just as valid as Clerith is.

Both ships are amazing so why is there a whole war about this? Why do we have to argue about which ship is better when we can just admire how beautifully written they are and how amazingly different they are from each other?

I might start to ship cloti, I might not, I don't know, but I think both ships are great and I love that for them.

Anyway, to the nice Clerith and Cloti fans, I platonically love you and wish you the best in life!

[dojizerker]

ソウルメイトサポート (sourumeito sapotto, Soulmate Support), changed to become Combat Savior in EN.

I posted about Cloud and Aerith having "Soulmate Support" in JP Rebirth before, and how it's definitely intended for a Clerith reading. Here are some screenshots and comparisons.

Above is from JP Rebirth's game itself.

The below are from game8 JP and EN. game8 is a hub for gameplay information, stats and strategies itself, therefore there's no room for subjective and biased documentations like fansites.

The following below is my personal interpretation:

As for why Barret and Nanaki is there, sharing Soulmate Support as well? How do we read this?

By looking at their Gold Saucer date.

Nanaki outright tell Cloud to protect Aerith in his, so having him there can be considered pro-Clerith.

While Barret doesn't pick a name, he likely have an idea who (from observing Cloud's actions and behaviour since Remake) and urges Cloud to make a decision soon. Along with caution to protect your loved one before it's too late (his experience with Myrna).

tldr Barret and Nanaki are Clerith wingmen and cheering for them

Personally, I find it very surprising that JP Rebirth get shipped out with this. It's incredibly bold, when you consider the narrative that supports the Clerith reading.

[silver-wield]

SE sent 2 devs to Saudi who are known to be more pro Aer (clerith maybe)

Um, what? Did this person seriously not hear the obvious cheers from the audience literally every time Tifa was mentioned and spoken about?

How the interviewer admitted that "She (Tifa) is definitely my favorite to play as"?

When the translator said "Since we've (Kitase and Hamaguchi) been here, Saudi people love Tifa", and the audience instantly cheered loudly, meaning that Tifa is, in fact, very beloved and popular in Saudi?

Only for instant literal silence when the interviewer very briefly mentioned the backstabbing corpse?

Where is this BS claim 'Saudi's are known to be more pro Aer / Cler'? I don't trust that Anon, they sound super suspicious

https://x.com/zayana973/status/1824536228898935119

Full official interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yUCjiRkTZ4

^ Boom. Instant evidence to prove this Anon wrong.

You know it's a lie whenever anyone claims articles is more popular or loved than Tifa. She's just not. Who tf would support a rancid two faced back stabbing bitch who throws herself at her friend's love interest every fucking second? Normal people are disgusted by her and that's been reflected in her tanking popularity since rebirth.

They're right about Hama though. He is a dumbass for artih and that's why he's constantly surprised when Tifa's the popular girl and the corpse isn't. Luckily Nojima writes the script, so even if he wanted to do something skanky he can't.

[princess-starscourge]

Feel free to say why you like what you like too!

I’m pro-Cloti because I think it’s cute that they were friends (ish) as children and had mutual crushes on each other that matured into something more as they grew up

[elegantmadness]

Eternal RP Search Not Looking Anymore

As the title indicates, I'm pretty much always on the lookout for some new RP partners! Please keep reading if you might be interested! c;

Basic Info:

I'm (old af) 33 now, so I'm only looking to write with partners 18+. This is non-negotiable.

I default to third person past tense; I'm happy to switch to present tense if that's your preference, but I won't write in first or second person for RP purposes. In the same vein, I can't write with a partner who uses first or second person. Sorry guys!

Expect there to be some NSFW content; I don't fade to black. That said, I'm happy with smut-focused threads or plot-focused ones with NSFW as more of a side feature. Please let me know your limits so I don't step on any toes! Also expect at least some mention/discussion of kinks.

I'll write over email, in gdocs, or on discord. Please do not ask me to join your server/group RP or to RP here on tumblr.

My post length tends to fluctuate from 4+ paragraphs to novella, though I'll never give you fewer than 4 paragraphs. I cannot tolerate one-liners or super short paragraphs; I absolutely want someone who can give me at least 4 paragraphs per character.

My posting frequency can, admittedly, be a little sporadic, though I won't make you wait more than a few days for a reply. Ideally, I'd like a partner who can offer something similar -- 3-5 posts per week. I don't generally do rapid-fire, and if posts get slower than once per week I start to lose motivation.

I tend to prefer m// and m/f pairs, though in certain circumstances I'd be happy to double with f//. I'm also happy to include trans, nb, and characters that otherwise fall outside of the binary.

I will not exclusively write tops for your bottoms, men for your women, or canon characters for your original characters. I am, however, happy to double/triple/write casts/write poly so we can each write what we like.

Fandoms:

Here I'll list all the fandoms I'd be interested in writing; I'm going to keep the info bare-bones to avoid making this post any longer than it already is, but I'll also add in a gdoc link with more comprehensive info. Characters in red are ones I wish to write; if no one's in red, I'm fine with writing any.

Final Fantasy VII (Crisis Core-focused)

I'm only interested in writing/writing with canon characters. Doubling is absolutely on the table, but please note I have zero interest in writing Clerith, Cloti, or Zerith; otherwise, please don't be offended if I have no interest in a pairing you offer.

I could also be potentially interested in including characters from other Final Fantasy games (Squall, for instance, or Lightning). I'm familiar with 7, 8, 10 + 10-2, 12, and 13 (but not 13's sequels).

AGSZC (Angeal | Genesis | Sephiroth | Zack | Cloud polycule)

AGS (Angeal | Genesis | Sephiroth polycule)

Angeal/Zack

Sephiroth/Angeal

Sephiroth/Genesis

Sephiroth/Zack

Angeal/Genesis

SZC (Sephiroth | Zack | Cloud polycule)

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

I'm also familiar with Three Hopes, though, admittedly, I'm not hunting for pairings with Shez or Arval. You're welcome to ask about them if you'd like to double, though! I'm only interested in writing/writing with canon characters.

Characters I'm absolutely not looking to write/write with: Bernadetta, Annette, Marianne, Rhea, Flayn, Hanneman, Constance, Manuela, Petra, Mercedes, Hilda, Ignatz, Raphael, Ingrid, Seteth, Lysithea, Caspar, Hapi, Monica, Leonie, Alois, Cyril

Sylvain/Felix (I'm willing to play Sylvain if you want to play more than one Sylvix thread)

Hubert/Ferdinand (I'm willing to play Hubert if you want to play more than one Ferdibert thread)

Lambert/Rodrigue

Miklan/Glenn

Yuri/Sylvain (I might be inclined to play Sylvain depending on the plot)

Balthus/Yuri

Dimitri/m! or f!Byleth

Claude/m!Byleth

Claude/Linhardt

Star Trek

I'm familiar with TOS, TNG, DS9, VOY, AOS, PIC, and PRO. I'm personally looking to write an original character opposite a canon, and while I'm happy to double up I'm fine if you want a canon/canon pair or canon/oc in return.

Please note that I have no real interest in writing characters from TOS/AOS or PRO. I'm also less-than-enthusiastic about PIC, so I'd really like to stay away from those storylines.

I would, however, thoroughly enjoy a more complete crossover of TNG/DS9/VOY (or any of the two).

Please do not ask me to write Chakotay/Seven of Nine.

Data/f!OC

Julian Bashir/f!OC

Hakuoki

I've played through everyone's routes, though I'll probably want to reacquaint myself with whomever you ask for since it's admittedly been a while.

I'm shamelessly asking for poly here, but please don't be alarmed that I'm asking for 4 -- I don't imagine they'll all be played in the same scene often if at all ^^; I will happily write any of the other LIs in return, however!

f!OC/Sanosuke | Saito | Souji | Hijikata

The Wayhaven Chronicles

What I'm looking for here is a little hard to explain, so please bear with me! While I'm not averse to simple doubling, I'd really enjoy a poly or polycule situation with the male love interests (Adam, Nate, Mason, & Felix).

In the case of a polycule, however, I wouldn't want to focus on the romantic/sexual side of things between the boys, though I like the idea of the intimacy and closeness it potentially lends itself to the RP. In such an instance I would absolutely love to write an MC or OC, but I'll happily discuss it and compromise so we're both content!

Touchstarved

I know it hasn't been released yet -- and won't be for quite some time -- but I love the idea of playing in the world. I absolutely want to include all the LIs, and like above would be happy to indulge in poly, simple doubling, or a polycule (to be completely honest, I'm most interested in the polycule here).

I'd even be happy to focus only on the canon characters and not include OCs at all, but I'm glad to include them too. I just really want the opportunity to explore the boys and the world better.

That's pretty much it for fandoms I'm actively searching for, though you're welcome to check my gdoc for more information and for other fandoms I'd potentially be interested in! (Persona 5's in there, as well as some other IF titles and otome!)

If you're interested or have any questions, please feel free to reach out either here on tumblr (through a DM is preferred, tho asks are okay too) or on discord (Resoan#4408). Hope to hear from some of you soon!

[fairykery]

Imagine Cloud goes to promised land after being happy with Tifa, and they accidentally see Zerith shagging 😭✋🏼

[clerithraven]

This is the first and the last time I will talk about this, so please hear me out.

A couple of days ago, a clerith shipper went Anonymous and submitted this ask to a blog that primarily caters to the c/loti ship (though the owner has said it is open to multi-shipping).

Here is what the CA anon said:

Hello! I'm a Clerith fan and I just have a short story to tell. ( I'm afraid of opening this up on the CA forum/twitter/tumblr because I might get bashed D: ) I've been a CA fan ever since I first played FF7, and I've actually been seeing a lot of Tifa hate in the CA fandom. I for one liked Tifa, and Zack for that matter (because a lot of CA fans hate him also), but it feels like if I want to get along with my fellow CA shippers, I have to hate those two. I feel alone in the fandom :(

astoryofalove has already made her statement about this, and I would like to add mine.

It is deeply saddening that a clerith would feel unsafe in turning to fellow cleriths about an issue like this. So I would like to address the statements this CA anon has said in defense of the whole clerith community.

1) I'm afraid of opening this up on the CA forum/twitter/tumblr because I might get bashed D:

As far as I know, we, the ones who are currently active, do not go after our fellow clerith shippers for an opinion that may differ from ours. We make it a point to be open to everything, no matter our personal preferences. I do not know which community this anon has been involved in to give him/her an idea like this. But I, for one, do not stand for this kind of treatment. I know I’ve already made a statement regarding my dislike of Tifa and Zack (for reasons I may or may not have already stated but will not put in here), but that doesn’t mean I will be mean toward someone who does just because. And a lot of other CA shippers share the same sentiment.

While we are at this subject, for the clerith shippers who are currently reading this, I implore you:

Talk to us. Open up. Share your opinions, even if it’s different. Don’t be afraid to speak out against something you consider to be hurtful for you that the fandom is involved in.

astoryofalove and I, among others, will surely be there to listen to you and support you. And if either of us goes too far with what we say, please don’t be afraid to tell us about it. Inform us of any clerith who misbehaves in any way (harassing or insulting others, being mean or hateful, etc), and we will deal with it as needed. Point us in the right direction, and we’ll be sure to do something about it.

We are not claiming leadership of the fandom. Nothing of the sort. It is only that we would like to be able to actually do something to help stop the negativity from the clerith side as we are active on the clerith fandom.

We do not want the clerith community to be viewed in a negative light. That is not what we stand for. As a fandom that represents Cloud and Aerith’s love, we do not condone any unwarranted negativity toward anyone, whatever the fandom they are in.

2) I for one liked Tifa, and Zack for that matter (because a lot of CA fans hate him also), but it feels like if I want to get along with my fellow CA shippers, I have to hate those two. I feel alone in the fandom :(

I said it in the reply I gave to his/her ask on my main blog, and I’ll say it again.

I can most definitely assure you that you are not alone in this regard. Which community gave you this notion?

I admit I don’t like Zack and Tifa, and I’m vocal about that over on twitter. I’m not the only one, as well. But there are CA shippers on twitter who like them both that join in on discussions, and they don’t suffer any negative treatment from me or any other CA shipper who don’t like Zack or Tifa. In fact, the whole contrast makes for a great discussion between CA shippers. So, do understand why we found that particular claim unbelievable as we are the ones who are active on the clerith fandom.

And let me add: the clerith shippers who do like Tifa and Zack do have tumblr accounts as well.

Also, the CA anon mentioned the CxA Forums. They have moderators who monitor the forums, and any sort of bashing is relegated to a specific bashing section so that it will not be prominent in any other. The only way someone would see hate there is if that person went into the bashing section itself.

Since we’re already on the topic:

What counts as “hate” for Tifa and Zack? What do fans deem as insulting to these characters?

I honestly can’t remember calling them names, or saying nasty things about them just for the sake of spreading hate for them. I may have been aggressive in some of my posts that can be viewed as anti, but it was never for the sake of just hating on them.

What I also remember is that I’ve been vocal of the reasons why I don’t like them, adding in known facts to support my own reasons for my personal dislike of the two. It was not done to garner hate toward them, but merely to express my own opinion. My fellow cleriths do not have to agree with everything I say, nor am I asking that of them. In fact, I would welcome their honest feedback or any discussion they would like to raise. Clerith fans have already done that on twitter.

With that said, if you do come across any of my posts, or any other cleriths’ as well that you deem is full of meaningless hate and animosity, bring it to my attention and I will try to address the issue as much as I can, with astoryofalove’s help as well.

And I’m sorry, but that CA anon followed-up and submitted another ask to the same blog that said this:

Hi! I'm the Clerith fan who confessed about the Tifa/Zack hate in the fandom. Thank you for being nice to me! I thought of telling my rants to someone who doesn't hate Tifa and Zack, that's why I wrote to you. I'm sorry you're getting hate because of me >< I can prove that I'm a true blue Clerith fan though, I just don't know how without getting bashed by these defensive Cleriths, so if you know any means please do tell! And I'm glad to have come across your blog! I see you aren't biased at all

This is after that blog commented on astoryofalove’s post containing her reaction to the CA anon’s confession.

My issues about it are these parts:

1)  I'm sorry you're getting hate because of me ><

Which is just untrue. I checked. Aside from my comment when I reblogged it with my response to the CA anon, Cali’s response, and a fellow clerith’s response to Cali’s post, all of which are in no way directing hate towards the blog’s owner, the rest are c/loti and clerith fans who agree with the owner and had only nice things to say for him/her and the CA anon.

So I have to ask, where did this anon get this idea? Because I most definitely did not see any proof of it.

2)  I can prove that I'm a true blue Clerith fan though, I just don't know how without getting bashed by these defensive Cleriths, so if you know any means please do tell!

Have we bashed this anon since he/she has made the confession? Any name-calling or nasty comments thrown his/her way? None. I admit I have doubted his/her credibility as a clerith fan, but I did say why: Because what he/she said he/she has experienced was not what I have seen in the active clerith community. Of course, this is only on the platforms that I am actively participating in. But as the sites that the CA anon has listed (CxA Forums/twitter/tumblr) are all places I am active in (tho I now rarely visit the CxA Forums due to network problems), I was highly doubtful of his/her claim.

And excuse us for being defensive. Years of hate and animosity towards us has made it so, especially for those of us who has been in this fandom almost all our lives. If that is taken against us, we can do nothing about that except to say that we have our own reasons for being so.

Moreover, why ask a c/loti blog how to prove one is a clerith? The answer is quite simple: Go off anon and send me, or anyone else, a message owning up to being this CA anon. You will not get any backlash, I assure you. Your approach to this whole issue would have made a world of difference.

And I would also like to take this opportunity to defend astoryofalove against the blog owner’s response to Cali’s post:

This is not about you and you shouldn’t make it about you. This is not about your history or your essays, but this is about the anon’s experience and about the people who got fed up by hatred towards Tifa and Zack that caused them to avoid the fandom. Nothing in my post argues against Clerith, criticizes Aerith or mocks any Clerith’s interpretation of canon.

astoryofalove had asked that the clerith tag be removed from the post containing the CA anon’s confession, and went on to give her reason for not believing in this confession which was based on her own experience.

astoryofalove has been the target of hate for years because she is the most vocal among us. And yes, her defenses may have been raised in response to what the owner of the c/loti blog said to the CA anon about ALL the essays for clerith being hateful toward Tifa or the relationship between Cloud and Tifa as the reason the owner turned away from the clerith ship. But do understand that it was because she was vocal about her dislike for Zack and Tifa, thus was of the belief that it was her whom the owner was pertaining to. After all, no one else posts essays for clerith anymore these days aside from astoryofalove, and lately me.

I also do not understand why the owner’s response said this:

Nothing in my post argues against Clerith, criticizes Aerith or mocks any Clerith’s interpretation of canon.

Because astoryofalove’s response never mentioned anything about it, nor did she even allude to it being a reason for her to ask the removal of the clerith tag and changing it in that post. The request was not done because it argued against clerith, criticized Aerith, or mocked any Clerith interpretation of canon. The request was done because the CA anon’s confession was unfounded in our eyes, and thus paints the clerith community in a negative light with no proof, which we do not need in the clerith tag.

Moving on to other matters...

astoryofalove had asked that this post be removed from the clerith tag. And I have asked the same of the owner of the blog, in private. The tag has since been removed, but the owner told me it was not done because we requested it so, but for the owner’s own reasons.

I have to admit, I was curious as to what these reasons were. And what I read further saddened me. And I want to address the owner’s reasons here:

I took out the tag because the message of my post is 1] automatically invalidated due to being published in a C/loti blog 2] Because Cleriths who agreed on my post are in risk of bearing wave of retaliation.

1)  the message of my post is 1] automatically invalidated due to being published in a C/loti blog

It was not “automatically invalidated” because it was published in a c/loti blog. Cleriths who read it from Cali’s post found it “ridiculous” or perhaps unbelievable simply because it was. This is due to the fact that, like I’ve said, there are CA shippers who like Tifa and Zack, maybe even more than those who dislike them. We are not in every site, every social media platform, so we may not be aware of the Tifa or Zack hate on these places, but in the sites where our presence is active or known, we do not see this unless it is of our own doing-which, I repeat, is only our own opinion and not done to foster hate among the fandom or single out those whose opinions differ from ours. And it’s not that often that we voice our dislike anyway.

2)  Because Cleriths who agreed on my post are in risk of bearing wave of retaliation

I checked. And no, not one of those who agreed to the owner’s post with the CA anon’s confession was given any indication or a hint of getting attacked or garnering any retaliation of any kind. And even after my and astoryofalove’s posts, nothing of the sort has happened. So I have to ask, why did this person make this claim? What was his/her basis of saying so? Where was his/her proof? I may never know the answer, but I will say this:

We speak up only when provoked. We do not start any sort of drama, and those who are proven to have been doing so will be dealt with as long as they are brought to our attention. That is how seriously we treat cases like this.

In addition, once the whole post regarding the reason why the clerith tag was removed from the original post is read, readers would see this:

What was disappointing is that there are real points that were ignored:

Massive hate on Zack and Tifa causing shippers to move away

Not treating Cloud and Aerith as individuals (even in the Zerith pair

And that Cleriths are diverse and can disagree with each other, and that they are can also be critical of their own fandom

The entire post is taken emotionally and stripped of its value of discussion. It has already reached an audience who expressed agreement, but it’s pointless to keep it there.

1) The point about “Massive hate on Zack and Tifa causing shippers to move away” was ignored

We did not ignore this. We just cannot believe it. I have yet to see this “massive hate on Zack and Tifa” that is implied to be widespread among the clerith community. Like I’ve said, astoryofalove and I have expressed our dislike of the two, and we’ve seen cleriths agree and disagree with us, all in a healthy environment with a positive discussion. No bashing, no criticism, no harassment has ever resulted from it.

We also addressed the CA anon’s concerns about feeling alone in the fandom. I would have wanted the chance to try and make it so he/she would feel secure in being part of the fandom—if only he/she had come to me. And I believe other clerith shippers would share the same sentiment. The CA anon had only needed to take her concern to us, and we would have gladly listened, no matter the difference in our preferences.

2) The point about “Not treating Cloud and Aerith as individuals” was ignored

This was never brought up by that CA anon. I don’t understand how this even came to be a point. Still, I will say something about it.

Please do not say that we do not treat Cloud and Aerith as individuals, as separate entities that can exist without the other. That is not what we do. Sure, most of our posts are us celebrating how Cloud and Aerith’s appearances in the OG and other games are somehow deeply connected to them being a pair, but that does not mean that we are stripping them of their individuality. It is just that we tend to focus on them as a pair most of the time as shippers. If cleriths want to discuss their individuality, one only needs to start the discussion, and the rest will surely follow.

Excuse us if we’re too excited about the clerith fluff we get that we do not talk about their individual characters as often, and instead fangirl over their portrayal as a pair. We’re called shippers for a reason. Doesn’t mean that we never talk about them as individual characters.

3) The point about “And that Cleriths are diverse and can disagree with each other, and that they are can also be critical of their own fandom” was ignored

I have already said that we are aware of cleriths who have differing opinions, and that contrast makes for a good discussion. This is something we are already aware of. And we also welcome any criticism that is directed at us by fellow shippers, as long as they approach us in a good way. We will not turn them away or rebuke them. In fact, I’d daresay that we’d welcome it instead.

4) The entire post is taken emotionally and stripped of its value of discussion. It has already reached an audience who expressed agreement, but it’s pointless to keep it there.

We did not strip it of its value of discussion. We did not discourage cleriths from speaking about voicing their experiences that relate to the original post about the CA anon’s confession. You, blog-owner, even said it already. It has “reached an audience who expressed their agreement”, and a discussion was actually starting. What came of that discussion, or what did not come of it, was not in any way our responsibility or doing.

In fact, astoryofalove and I have made our own posts with our own responses, trying to address the issue with fellow cleriths. And considering that astoryofalove has a number of Clerith followers, those who had anything to say had already done so, whether by simply liking the post of making a comment. It is not our fault that no one else wanted to chime in, for their own reasons.

Having said all of that... For my fellow clerith shippers:

If my or astoryofalove’s posts have too much hate on them for Tifa or Zack in the rare times we do give them our attention, you can always unfollow and block us. We will not hold it against you. It just means you do not want our content on your feed, and that’s fine with us.

We’re here to speak and advocate for Clerith, for the love between Cloud and Aerith. If you do see hate on our posts, frankly, most of it is really directed toward the rabids who invade our tag with their brand of negativity, and so we retaliate.

Cleriths have stood by and have been silent for years. But that is no longer the case. As new fans fall in love with the love story of Cloud and Aerith, and old fans are brought back into the fold, you may see more of us. But I assure you, it will not be about hating on Zack and Tifa.

We are “Cleriths”, not “Zack and Tifa haters”. Just because a number of us dislike these two doesn’t mean the whole fandom does. So try not to generalize, the same way we distinguish the rabids from the good ones.

Thank you for reading this very long post. Happy shipping to all of you!

[baerchenkoenig]

Disclaimer: Pro Clerith, not out for a shipping war, this is only my personal opinion on the FF7 Remake. Ship whatever floats your boat. (huehuehue)

Also FF7 Remake SPOILERS (duh)

A few days ago I finished the Remake after basically binge-playing it for several days. As I said in a previous post, when I played the original game as a kid I felt that Aerith and Cloud were made for each other. To be honest when I started the game back then I first though that Cloud and Tifa should be a couple in the way a kid sees a lady fancying the hero. But after playing a bit I kinda got the feeling that it was pretty onesided, especially after he met Aerith, for instance that he refused to help Tifa out except for a large amount of money while with Aerith a date was sufficient...or that he was very closed off but with Aerith he actually laughed and had fun. That's why I preferred him with Aerith back then. But enough with the original.

I started the remake blank-faced (if that makes sense) because I successfully avoided any spoilers and didn't know what to expect. Of course I wanted Clerith scenes but I was curious what we would get. I won't draft a whole essay here because 1) English is not my native language and I don't want to offend anyone with my incapability to form accurate English sentences sometimes and 2) I'm not sure if anyone would be interested in such a detailed composition only containing my boring personal opinion and this whole thing is too extensive already.

In the Remake I actually liked Tifa a bit more this time around but she was still pretty unlikeable to me in some parts of the game. Like in the original she kinda forced her attention onto Cloud who seemed pretty unimpressed. The childhood flashback gave me the impression that she wanted to interact with Cloud but would not choose him over her other friends and they weren't particularly close. Cloud sometimes caved in and appreciated her as someone who is dear to him but it didn't feel like a romance. While Tifa was clearly out there for his attention (as was Jessie), he was way more flirty and open towards Jessie even before Aerith came into the picture. Fast forward to the church, Cloud was clearly captivated. He seemed to really enjoy his time with her on the roofs and the further you get into the story the more Tifa slips into the background. I feel like the creators gave their best to make Aerith as gorgeous as possible, her beauty is just unreal to a point where imo Tifa looks plain next to her. (Again, I don't want to bash Tifa, it's just my two cents) Even Clouds jaw drops while he never shows any interest in Tifa. Since I prefer Aerith, I got her scene in chapter 14 but I watched the Tifa one and I saw Cloud comforting a friend, no romance. With Aerith though he looked so soft and he didn't outright refused that he fell in love like he refused several times when he was called "bro". He didn't deny it and that alone said more than any other cutscene ever could. As for the ending, I think and hope that they defeated 'canonverse' and opened up a path where those two can finally be together, because even in the end he is friendly to Tifa but always more concerned about Aerith.

(sorry for the long text even though I could go on and more in depth but well, if I knew how to put that under a cut on mobile I would. Also sorry for any potential spelling errors.)

[callmederok]

I FINISHED FF7 ORIGINAL GAME

BLOODY HELL! 

NOW I TRULY UNDERSTAND WHY EVERYONE SAYS IT’S THE BEST FINAL FANTASY EVER MADE!

i did everything! Golden Chocobo, all the limits, Ultimate, Emerald and Ruby Weapons. Knights of Round Materia, got all the possible materias, level 99 with every character(but Aerith but she dies in CD1...good luck levelling her up at that point without exp plus or without save editors), got the cool submarine, dated Tifa, got all the huge materias at the first try which means that i did Cid’s and Barret’s character arcs, then i did everyone’s character arc, got a huge affection with Tifa so at the end of CD2 i get the most romantic dialogue with Cloud(yeah there are two: if you have less than 50 affection points Tifa is a bit colder, but i had her over 50 so she was so nice and cute) i did bloody everything perfectly!

Okay now that i bragged let’s get serious:

I loved the plot...like seriously i love pretty much every Final Fantasy before FF10 with a few nitpicky exceptions 

But Final Fantasy 7? i love everything of it...i hate the minigames but at the same time love them!

I loved the characters...i can’t really say much bc i enjoyed them at their max...although my party was constantly Cloud + Tifa + Barret(aside from when i was levelling up the characters) only once i had Cloud + Tifa + Aerith willingly: Cosmo Canyon @silver-wield​ i swear Bugehangen(Red’s step-grandfather) makes a long monologue about the lifestream and Aerith doesn’t even speak once! I mean she is the Ancient along with Red/Nanaki but not even a word!

The plot goes as it should but really in the fandom(thanks to FF7R’s fans) the old Clerith vs Cloti shippers is more alive than ever...and i don’t understand the Clerith’s fans...like really Aerith (in the Original Game) is important only in CD1 Cloud met her in Midgar, she goes with him then..she is a background character until Gongaga and it’s only for like 3-4 lines of dialogue...because Zack is her boyfriend then the next important Aerith's scene is in the Ancient Temple close to Mideel, where she translates the ancients’ language inside the Temple, then Sephiroth controls Cloud like a puppet who beats the living hell out of her, Cloud gives the black materia to Sephiroth, she runs away to the Forgotten City(the city of the Ancients/Cetras) she charges the White Materia...and then she dies... 

Then we have a comatose/catatonic Cloud in Mideel, the entire CD2 until like the last ten minutes where only then Aerith is mentioned to be one of the reasons why everyone is fighting (i mean that every single character has a personal reason + avenging Aerith) and this thing is mentioned a couple of times in CD3 and she appears in the ending of the game(post-Final Battle) the same way she appears at the beginning of the game...that’s it.

I don’t hate Aerith, i’m okay with her character and personality...i’m not into her, but i like her in general but really, her death is iconic but not so emotional...she barely has any screen time in the game, i didn’t manage to develop a full emotional connection with her(you know, that thing when you love a fictional character and you feel bad when they’re unhappy or they die), visually speaking that scene is awesome and powerful, but emotionally? Meh! I couldn’t care less i was more concerned for the materias i left on her, if i cried it was because i didn’t know if i would lose all the materias i gave her XDXD

Now we talk about Cloud and Tifa...god, they’ve tons of moments together, they share a past together, they even shared a mental connection together(because they fall in the Lifestream under Mideel and Tifa fixes Cloud’s mind) they shared everything together, same town, many moments in tons of flashbacks, in Crisis Core we really see Cloud all shy and concerned because he feels bad for not being SOLDIER...they share that moments under the Highwind and they spends a day together(somewhere i even read that it’s implied that they do lewd things together at that point, i don’t believe it...probably a few kisses but nothing really lewd...just some hand-holding without gloves...maybe XD)

I’m not saying Aerith is bad for Cloud or else...just they met and spent very little time together and for half of that time Cloud felt guilty and ashamed because he beat her and then almost killed her with the Buster Sword(canonically Cloud never changed weapon in FF7) so imagine the shock of almost killing your best friend's girlfriend with his sword(yeah the sword is Angeal’s but Cloud doesn’t know about that part) after you punched her multiple times, yeah he can excuse himself by saying “Sorry but i was controlled by Sephiroth there is nothing i could do back then so...i moved on” <-- do you really think Cloud is that superficial? Enough to leave Nibelheim promising everything to the girl he likes only to live tons of dramas, almost dying while he saves her. I mean even with his memories mixed up Tifa is the only person in his mind that it’s not changed...like the common thing between Cloud’s persona and the actual events and real memories of Cloud. In the lifestreams(but even in Kalm Town during the first flashback of Nibelheim, and in the flashback about the promise) Tifa is the only thing that never changed inside Cloud’s mind, he has a meltdown(and becomes catatonic) when at the end of CD1 Tifa hesitates about what happened (for real) in Nibelheim...literally Tifa holds so much power over Cloud to literally destroy his mind with some hesitations...it’s scary as hell but in this situation is also nice and cute because it really shows how much Cloud trusts her and takes her in consideration...

i’m dismantling Clerith but guys seriously, Zerith is so much better than Clerith, Zack and Aerith actually spend time together in Crisis Core, Aerith wrote 89 letters over the arc of 4-5 years, still waiting for him, that’s the nice thing, the cute things i love(and i’m about to play Crisis Core soon enough u.u i wanna try it) but seriously, leave Cloud alone...(possibly with Tifa or Barret if you dated him at the Golden Saucer or you like Rabtoon’s parody XDXD) 

Ps: Cloti for me can also be just a friendly relationship...but Advent Children shake its head like “Nope Derok, they’re a couple, don’t try to sugarcoat it for the sake of Clerith’s fans!”

In all honesty, there is not much else to talk about because the rest of the game is so damn good that there are no opinions, interpretations or doubts...the facts around the game are so clear that i don’t think can be verbal wars about stuff...only comments about facts and unchangeable things...XD

[beyondaantares]

Clerith Word Alphabet FF7r Edition [6/26] • F is for Floriferous

floriferous (adj.) (of a plant) producing many flowers

[blooming444]

lol even when you choose tifa in the sewers the conversation is still about aerith

[kaylcie]

Coloured version to an earlier sketch!

[astoryofalove]

As a lesbian myself it’s getting rather annoying that accusation is being thrown around especially since KHIII and the fact that a lot of bad sor*ku shippers cried heteronormativity and how forced sokai is even though that relationship has been building for years. Alas, thats usually the case with people who craft their entire identities around fictional relationships that have no basis in canon. Have your fanfics and your head-canons, just don’t get mad when they aren’t true.

[silver-wield]

how can barret be remotely pro clerith if his strongest bond in the group is between him and tifa??? there is no hidden meaning and there’s no other way to interpret it, there’s no way barret is going to screw tifa over (and he knows about her feelings for cloud) because some clown is over there snuggling up to cloud as much as she can. honestly do barret and aerith even have any relationship building moments?? or is she spending every waking moment getting info on cloud and trying to get his attention

Tifa literally used all her savings to put a roof over Barret and Marlene's heads and people think he's talking about that bitch in his GS date with Cloud?

Make it make sense.

Idk, all I've seen is her laughing at him in a sailor outfit and the stupid sunglasses synergy.