#why I don't ship Clerith

[my-current-obsession]

To be fair, the whole, “I’ll come back to you even if you don’t promise to wait,” is a line pulled directly from OG FFVII. It’s mentioned late game by Cid (who hilariously went to see a showing of loveless in Midgar but fell asleep then woke up just in time to view this ending scene 😂). But if you wanna deep dive on the meaning of this line, it’s worth noting that a version of the line is used in FFVIII in reference to the main ship of that installment — Rinoa and Squall — who also happen to be another mage/swordsman pair. And if you wanna go big brain square enix energy, there’s also the famous, “I’ll come back to you; I promise…I know you will,” between Sora and Kairi in Kingdom Hearts when he goes off on another journey while she awaits his return. If you go down those rabbit holes, it seems square really has a type for their main pairs, no?

I don't remember that line in OG FF7, but it's been years since I played it so I'll take your word for it. But you're right that similar lines/sentiments pop up frequently in other FF and KH games, so yeah, Square has a type. I still think the conversation between Cloud and Aerith in KH2 is the quickest and easiest parallel to make here though, considering the same pair can have basically the same interaction, in an entirely different game. Yes, Cloud could also have this conversation in the play with T or Y. But only Aerith's would have the added depth of being a potential callback/reference to another moment the pair shared.

And considering this game liked to callback to several moments between Cloud and Aerith in the previous game (him remembering their first meeting being what snaps him out of Sephiroth's control, the "will you be okay getting back", "if I said I wasn't" in the ending...) I think it's totally reasonable to assume that Square might have subtly referenced at least one Clerith moment from outside the compilation.

[cosmoboba]

[jadenvargen]

i don't as much "ship" sefikura as much as i believe sephiroth is the ultimate problems clown in the cloti relationship particularly after aerith ( cloud's fag hag and girlfriend(cloud is gay but clerith is real) and tifa's makeout teacher and first lesbian experience and first time she felt truly free ), dies and cloud/tifa fully succumb to heteropatriarchal hysteria built upon decades of using each other to affirm their gender and social status whereupon tifa is trapped in the in the classic hetero cope of salvaging their loveless marriage by introducing kids meanwhile cloud has already advanced to lv 99 closeted deadbeat status using the child support to buy parts for his joyride motorcycle cruising a gaggle of sephiroth clone lip filler motorcycle leather twinks. aerith's church location on sniffies✔️, yes absolutely he is DL with an abs picture on grinder✔️ . reno and rude are waiting outside. tifa in shambles his flipphone on do not disturb heathcliffing pussy first at the gravesite not only his beloved or friend but the only link he had to being successfully straight. his homo aura which was sensed only by empath fujoshi aerith was fully awakened when grabbed(sexy) by the sexy wrestling hunk in the golden saucer whereupon he got a boner when barret(sexy) asked him to go back to the room. fantasizing about being zach, a real man... fully throbbing thinking about sephiroth.. dilly dally shilly shally... the last ditch attempt to make out with tifa leaving him so unfulfilled he's seduced idfk what sephiroth's deal is nor why he knows cloud from a random fly on the wall but the devilman yaoi fantasy larp is real. tifa wins but at what cost. longing for another woman and surpressing it. imagining cloud in a dress. so does he. vibes so awful barret cant even be in the house marlene fully crying asking whats wrong with cloud. making up at the end of advent children but tifa has to make up some shit about their new son being aeriths for cloud to even look at him.... they have a laugh at the end of the day at the bar. "we're alright", tifa thinks. cloud smiles at her for the first time in months. when she turns to go up the stairs she hears a sound so faint she tells herself she made it up. the grindr guitar strum.

[deadbydad]

So...

There is a huge cloti vs clerith war going on...still...

I am a clerith shipper all the way, and while I only see Cloud and Tifa as best friends....

Both Cloud x Aerith and Cloud x Tifa are both valid ships, and again it's up to the player to decide which one they like better or they can ship both as well!

But shipping wars are dumb as hell! Yes, there's a leaked scene for Cloud and Tifa (I won't spoil it!) but while yes it's true, it's up to the players choices to get that specific scene. Yes, Cloti is canon to some people but to others Clerith is canon to them.

It's obvious that Cloud loves Aerith and he loves Tifa as well, it's just up to the player to decide which one is romantic feelings and which one is just friendly feelings. There shouldn't be a huge argument about which ship is better, because to be fair....

Neither ship is better than the other.

So while yes, I prefer Clerith over to Cloti, I respect Cloti shippers and I understand why they ship Cloud and Tifa together. It's just not for me and that's my choice and that should be okay!

Everyone has their own opinions and can like they're own ships, but hating people over something like this all because they don't ship what you ship...Is just dumb and it's a petty argument.

And then there's the people who ship both Clerith and Cloti, and good for them! Love that for them!

Also, Tifa deserves better than Cloud in my opinion........

And please don't go screaming at me in the comments about anything Cloti and why it's better, it's not and Clerith isn't better either. They're just ships.

I respect everybody until they give me a reason not to respect them!

And if anything I think Aerti is a better ship than both of these....So is Zakkura....

All ships are valid...

I hope this made sense

[roeyliteratiforever]

"My impression of Cloud and Tifa relationship is that is based on guilt trip, projection and childish infatuation, mostly coming from Tifa."

I'm sorry when has Tifa ever guilt tripped Cloud?? She's been nothing but supportive to him. She's the sweetest girl she's never guilt tripped him at all. She has been worried about him because she knows his mental state is not well, but she has held his hand and helped him through it along the way.

What is Tifa projecting on to Cloud anyways?? She hasn't projected anything onto Cloud.

Childish infatuation?? Tifa has loved Cloud since she was a little girl, but grew up and still loved him and stood by his side despite all the obstacles and trauma her and Cloud both went through!

"This is why I don't like Tifa, because of how she treats Cloud and her jealousy issues when in reality...Cloud never was hers to begin with, so I don't see why she has this mindset that 'he promised to save me so he must still like me' which is false Tifa, in my opinion, needs to grow up and realize that Cloud isn't the only option."

Tifa treats Cloud wonderfully I don't know what game You've been playing, but she definitely does not treat him bad. It's normal for people to get jealous sometimes! Aerith gets jealous all the time and it's cute but when Tifa gets jealous it's not?? Cloud made a promise to her and she held that close to her heart as did Cloud! They both valued that promise because that was the moment they realized the both had deep feelings for each other.

I'm so over the Tifa hate! I love Tifa and Aerith both, and it's perfectly fine if you ship Clerith, but Tifa is an amazing character and y'all are just making stuff up at this point!

[smashbrosodyssey64]

I think the reason why I don't really believe in Clerith as a ship is because I've known girls like Aerith who are just naturally physically affectionate even in platonic relationships and can often be misconstrued as trying to be flirty when they're not. Again that's just my opinion and you're entitled to your own. Plus I think Zack just matches Aerith's energy better overall.

[jackietaylorsghost]

It's weird people act like Clerith doesn't have any leg to stand on or that SE hates them when they appear together in tons of media. Their outfits in ever crisis kinda dance around them as a couple too with him being Zidane and her Dagger/Garnet. They even are paired up in cameo materials . Cloud was looking for her in KH, he recognized her in tactics, they were emperor and empresss in a game, his ending in the original dissidia was in a flower field, in WoFF he tells Terra that her death is why he hunts Sephiroth and she asks him if revenge will honor her memory. Like you don't have to ship it or even acknowledge it but to say it's just one sided is weird when SE goes out of their way with them even though Tifa is the more popular character.

it’s absurd. clerith were written as a star crossed lovers romance at the conception of the game. it’s a romance that’s integral to the story and is used to explore some of the game’s themes; that’s why they have a strand through the entirety of the game, and that’s even more apparent in remake and rebirth since they can expand on characterisation etc. rebirth in particular is insane for it, they’re so important to the story. and i think the people who make insane comments along the lines of it being one sided or nonexistent know that they’re actually so important to the story and it makes them so insecure over their own ship they have to pretend otherwise lmao.

[eerna]

The multishippers are thriving in ff7 rebirth

Fr. I went in as a Clerith main and now I'm slipping further and further into neutral territory. Like why do Cloud and Tifa have such an interesting tension bc of all the secrets and unsaid things. Why is Aerith always trying to improve their relationship. Why are Aerith and Tifa going on a date. The anime harem moments are still there but the cute honest care they developed for each other overshadows them all. That's not even mentioning Barret and Cloud's awkward date and the rest of the ship teasing (not you Yuffie I'm pretending I don't see it)

[themythicsages]

Greetings from a very sleepy and bored roleplayer.

Hello Tumblr! I hope the night, or day depending on your timezone, has been treating you well. I come to you today looking for new, long-term roleplay partners for a very small percent of the fandoms that I am currently in and fixating over. I am 21+ and I work most afternoons, so more likely than not my responses will come out later in the night. My timezone is est for reference. Given the few fandoms I'm pulling from for this request, I will unfortunately not want to use ocs since I don't have any real OCS for any of these who aren't just ship children and I personally don't like doing oc x canon, save for specific instances like with BG3 and any other instances with canonized self inserts. While my average reply always falls somewhere between literate and advanced literate, with me averaging between 1 - 3 paragraphs per, I have been known to dip into novella when I get insanely motivated. I only roleplay on discord, and while tupperbox is preferred for this it is not required. Also, being queer myself I have always been more drawn to queer ships since they feel more right to me. And just a given but please don't be afraid to geek out with me in ooc. The whole reason I'm searching for a real person and not just going to ch.ai is because I like being able to shoot ideas off of my partners and just be silly in the background. Also don't just assume that yes romance means yes smut. I don't do that as much anymore.

Now that that essay is out of the way, onto the pairs why don't we?

Jujutsu Kaisen

I am unfortunately anime only, but I do know much of what is to come after Shibuya thanks to how heavily spoiled I was on this series even before I knew I wanted to enjoy it. Feel free to correct me if I get something wrong.

Satoru Gojo

SatoSugu (Romantic. The hyperfix is very real with them.)

Nanago (Romantic)

Gojo + Megumi (Strictly platonic, leaning more familial.)

Yuji Itadori

ItaFushi (Romantic)

ItaJun (Romantic)

Yuji + Nanami (Strictly Platonic, leaning more familial.)

Yuji + Choso (Strictly Platonic. Just brothers being brothers.)

Yuji + Todo (Strictly Platonic. Also brothers being brothers, but different.)

Final Fantasy XV

Prompto Argentum

Promptis (Romantic)

Honestly any ship with him works fine I'm just biased LMAO

Ardyn

Versdyn (Romantic)

Aerdyn (Romantic)

Ardyn + Somnus (STRICTLY PLATONIC. Flashback to when they were young and actually cared about each other.)

Final Fantasy VII

Cloud Strife

Zakkura (Romantic or Platonic. Could go either way.)

Clerith (Romantic)

Strifentine (Romantic)

Sefikura (Romantic. Yes I know they're toxic, tell square to stop making them act like a divorced couple and then we'll talk)

Cloud + Yuffie (STRICTLY PLATONIC. The siblings ever.)

Genesis Rhapsodos

GenGeal (Romantic)

SephGen (Romantic)

SephGenGeal (or whatever their poly is lmao) (could be romantic or platonic)

Vincent Valentine

Vincrecia (Romantic)

Valenwind (Romantic)

Strifentine (Romantic)

Vincent + Yuffie (STRICTLY PLATONIC. They give team father/daughter vibes)

Vincent + Young Sephiroth (STRICTLY PLATONIC. He's his father now. Tie them to a Vincrecia family au and my life is literally yours.)

Rufus Shinra

Rutseng/Tsengru (Romantic)

Yuri!!! On Ice

Victor Nikiforov

Victuuri (Romantic. The husbands ever.)

Victor + Yurio (STRICTLY PLATONIC. Could be tied to a family au, perchance, or as an addition to a romantic Victuuri plot to turn it into a full family au.)

Okay so if any of those sound good to you then feel free to like or reply to this post! I look forward to hearing from you guys!

This is Sage, signing out ✌️.

edits: Added Tsengru/Rutseng, Victuuri, and Plat Victor + Yurio. Also fixed some typos.

[deathberi]

I just need to say that I'm so happy about finding a fellow IchiRuki and Clerith fan, because it's two of the ships I've loved the longest.

Don't know why I sent this, but had to tell you : D

you get it too anon!!! you get ittt 😭💯 thank you for letting me know i got so excitedly happy seeing this in my inbox! 🥹🫶🏻

[silver-wield]

Hi! I feel like I've found my people in you. After beating Rebirth, I've had extremely complicated feelings towards the ending and though it's slowly marinating with me. One of the reasons why the ending has been bothering me is because I've just felt off about Aerith's characterizations.

I was endeared by Aerith in remake but in rebirth I totally see the qualities that some people in og did with just how tone deaf she can be. In a way, I find that her character is interesting since she's flawed but her pushiness to cloud just rubbed me the wrong way. If ppl get Aerith in chapter 8's date we see Cloud clearly mourning Jessie and the only thing she cares about is if Jessie was a gf...like girl come on. Do people not see how this comes off?

Which brings me to say, I just don't get Aerith. The devs portray tifa and aerith as close so clearly she knows about Tifa's feelings and even seems to push the two together at times but then she constantly seeks Cloud's affection and even says they went on a date in front of Tifa? That's where her character loses me. Her constant seeming to push CT together yet constantly seeking Cloud's affections despite knowing Tifa has feelings for him and a shared history just doesn't sit well with me.

I can appreciate Aerith recognizes she doesn't know the real Cloud but this is why I'll never understand why Cleriths are so insistent that CA are "romantic" - she dies so she *never* gets to see who the real Cloud is. They clearly have a deep bond that helps enrich the story but the fact that Tifa's role was greatly expanded on in part 2 should be telling but some fans and Cleriths just straight up ignore that. Cloud is also the one who initiates everything with Tifa...the only time he's ever vulnerable and VERBALLY opens up his true feelings is with Tifa (Gongaga) and it baffles me how Cleriths just bypass this entirely. It makes me realize they're just here for the ship and not for the overarching story.

I just feel like I'm being gaslit by Cleriths or some fans who insists that Cloud loves both girls. I'm definitely not denying that the og had more leeway with this but in Remake and Rebirth? I would say the opposite. Tifa is the best suited for Cloud *and* he feels the same way. I am all about shipping whoever you want but CA's are always spewing nonsensical things. The theme songs, the over analyzing hand holding debacle and bringing up japanese culture as if a kiss isn't the most intimate thing between two people regardless of culture. Ignoring the most central theme of the songs which are regret (Cloud's guilt in hollow of failing to save her) ...Yes NPTK is about Aerith TO Cloud but we never see anything from his perspective TO Aerith. Guess who does? Tifa. Cleriths also conveniently ignore that Tifa was pushed to the forefront the entirety of rebirth until the final 2 chapters for obvious plot reasons and they all dismiss Gongaga's near kiss between CT.

Then there's Aerith's dream date at the end...Cloud has no agency in that date, he can't even choose the items himself! It's HER dream and things are predetermined for him. And is it just me or is Aerith basically re-creating her date with Zack in CC? I get why CA's think that dream date is romantic but objectively it doesn't read romantic at all...it just reads tragic because Aerith knows she's about to die - one last ditch effort for her which just doesn't amount to anything other than Cloud caring deeply for her as a person/friend. Or am I just not seeing something that "everyone" else is? Aerith herself sounds unsure how she feels towards him. Yes she has feelings for him but she's never been able to fully define them ("There's liking and there's liking"...huh?) This is also the perfect opportunity for the devs to have both girls in equal footing and cloud still doesn't kiss her or makes his supposed romantic feelings known. I like to understand the "bigger picture" in the narrative and the bigger picture to me is just obviously spells out Tifa in the end - just from a pure narrative standpoint.

And do Cleriths not see how Cloud reacts to Aerith? As someone who actually likes Aerith minus her pushiness to Cloud, even I was surprised at how he straight up told her to stop calling it a date in Costa Del Sol. Cleriths argue it's "cute banter" but this is where they lack media literacy because lmfao if anyone said this to me irl I'd be mortified because Cloud really does not give any indication that he's "joking." And Cloud doesn't even remotely have any kind of dialogue like that towards Tifa at all...even all of Tifa's optional choices are sweet at best and neutral at worst but you can straight up be an ass to everyone else including Aerith.

I just hope that in Part 3, the devs just kill the LTD with finally cementing CT and tying everything nicely with them and Aerith and Zack. Zack is one of my favourite characters ever and I feel like they did him so dirty in this game...having Marlene straight up tell him to his face that Aerith loves Cloud like???? He deserves his happy ending and perhaps WHEN Aerith and him reunite (cause they're both dead they have to right?) then it'll all click to her.

Also, Cloud is a really well written character and I really do not think he'd go after his dead best friend's girl who he just remembered. It's such a disservice not only to Zack but to Cloud's own character. The fact that Cloud says "Zack fair, head over heels for Aerith" is telling, no? Objectively and narratively CT and ZA make the most sense but again I feel like I'm constantly being gaslit into seeing CA when I really don't and the only thing CA has going for them are the last 2 chapters which are Aerith heavy for a reason because you know...she dies lol.

Sorry I didn't mean for this to be long but just wanted to have some engagement on the topic (I know you always get asks but just wanted to get something off my chest!) Thank you so much!

Couple points: hollow isn't about Aerith in any capacity. Hollow is set before Cloud arrives in Midgar and an instrumental of it plays in the wasteland outside Kalm near where Zack died, so yeah, not about her.

And nptk is about zack. If it wasn't then why tf is she crying at the end? If it's about Cloud then why doesn't he acknowledge this obvious confession in her date or any other? Why does he take Tifa's hand? Literally the opening verse about how she didn't know how much time passed until she saw someone who reminded her of Zack is the only part featuring Cloud and it's hardly complimentary. It highlights she only took an interest in him because he reminded her of Zack. Idky anybody would want something that skeevy.

Tbh I hate both songs. They're shit.

Gaslighting is what those dumdums do. They don't play the game, they skim YouTube and lie about the clips they saw.

The best thing to do is block and ignore them.

[my-current-obsession]

Something I both love AND hate about FF7 (the original game and everything after, including the Remake trilogy) is that it is just ambiguous and/or player-driven enough that no matter which side of the love triangle you fall on (assuming you do in fact ship Cloud with one of the girls), the majority of fans for that ship are 100% CONVINCED it's the correct/canon option.

Like, certain scenes are definitely up to interpretation, and people are going to thus have varying reads on those scenes and the characters/relationships the scenes are about. It doesn't help that several scenes change depending on the player's choices, which acts as a confirmation bias as you naturally get more time and romantic moments with the girl of your preference. It really seems to me that MOST people who ship Cloud and Aerith have one solid interpretation (with a plethora of supporting evidence) of the series and the romance, while most people who ship Cloud and Tifa have their own solid interpretation with plenty of evidence that is VASTLY DIFFERENT from the Clerith reading of the game.

This is not a case of "one ship is clearly, explicitly canon and fans of the opposition just like their pick better and/or think it made more sense narratively and WISH it was canon" - for an example of that, look to the Avatar the Last Airbender shipping wars. This is a case where both sides literally interpret the story just differently enough that they come to entirely different conclusions about which girl is Cloud's true love. And if either side reaches out to try and explain their viewpoint to the other, they're just met with "uh, no. You're wrong." Try and explain what Cloud might be thinking in a given scene with one of the girls, why he acts a certain way... "That's not it at all, where are you getting this? Are you delusional?"

Like, I am a Clerith shipper. I have played all the games in the compilation and watched Advent Children. I tried to be as completionist as possible, even. And I came out on the other side of really digging into the story of this game loving Cloud and Aerith's dynamic and pretty firmly convinced they were canon. Or as canon as possible in the timeline where she died.

As any Clerith fan who participates in the fandom would know, if you try and explain your interpretation of these characters and the romance to a diehard Cloti supporter... you're met with a lot of "you're misinterpreting! Cloud and Aerith were just friends! She loved Zack to the end and Cloud loved Tifa since childhood and never stopped! Also Aerith is actually BAD for Cloud because she's too pushy/abrasive. She's not helping him open up, she's just forcing him to go along with her and making him uncomfortable!"

All of this is of course infuriating, but I'd like to think I'm self-aware enough to know we are kind of guilty of the same thing. The majority of Tifa fans are SO happy about the kiss in Rebirth, while we're over here dismissing it because, one it's optional, and two Cloud is "obviously" using Tifa as a rebound or settling for her since Aerith is seemingly unavailable. But that's not how Cloti fans see it at all.

We can talk until we're blue in the face about how TIFA deserves better than Cloud because she shouldn't be the second choice - the one he settles for. But I think most people who really love Cloti genuinely don't see it that way. In their eyes, she's NOT second-best. Cloud loved her all along and this kiss is finally confirming that. And nothing we say will dissuade them, just as nothing they say will actually change OUR minds about Clerith.

It is honestly really difficult for me to try and see the story and romance the way Cloti fans do, but I know the reverse is also true. Both groups of fans interpret the characters and relationships differently. The compilation ALLOWS us to interpret them differently. And this is why the ship war for a game from 1997 is still raging on.

Because both camps are certain they're right, they defend their position viciously. Sometimes that means invading the "other side" to tell them how wrong they are. This discussion/rant was prompted by a Cloti fan on a Clerith vid who wanted to debate MY comment about how wonderful the ship was and how good they were for each other. He was "confused" and "concerned" because Clerith fans were reading the story wrong or warping it to suit our ship.

I wanted to tell him, "buddy that's what YOU'RE doing". I wanted to write a goddamn essay explaining why Clerith is canon actually. But considering in my INITIAL comment that he first responded to I'd already brought up why I thought Clerith was great, and he was IGNORING that... I knew it would be pointless. There is nothing I could possibly say that would change his mind. There is nothing he could possibly say that would change my mind.

As long as both sides of this war are fully convinced they're right, this war is going to be endless and brutal. And that's why my absolute biggest fear for part 3 is an open, ambiguous ending regarding the ships. Maybe it will canonize nothing. Maybe it will canonize BOTH by having the actual ending change depending on which girl the player favors.

Either route will offer no relief to this eternal battle. I would honestly prefer for Cloti to explicitly and unambiguously win than an ending where neither girl does. Because I can accept a loss. I can accept being told that actually I WAS interpreting the story wrong, but I'll only accept it from the text itself. If anything, a Cloti ending might encourage me to go through the entire compilation again trying to view it with that canon couple in mind. I'm sure I'd see things differently, even if I'd always have a place in my heart for Clerith. And I sincerely hope that if Clerith were to win that Cloti fans could do the same.

All I know is that I'm sick and tired of this ship war. I personally have never gone after Cloti fans or engaged in Cloti content with the intent to debate or hate on the ship. But I don't speak for all Cleriths. I'm sure at least a few fans of my ship are guilty too. I have seen many obnoxious Cloti fans invading our spaces to disparage us - mostly on YouTube and Twitch, less here on Tumblr - but I KNOW there are plenty of kind Cloti fans who just happily enjoy their ship and leave us to ours as well.

At the end of the day, regardless of how part 3 ends things, I just wish we could live in peace. Please enjoy your ship. Your interpretation of the text and romance is valid. But so is mine. If neither side can agree, then the best thing to do is leave each other alone.

[crimsonxe]

FF7 Rebirth spoilers below the cut:

I don't have a clue wtf just went on with Cloud deflecting Masamune but also not leading to Aerith's death but not. Its a such a bullshit thing that tries to have its cake and eat it too; but at least the other Aerith is still technically alive waiting to be woken up in one of the multiple worlds. And I guess "ghost Aerith" is technically still around too. Regardless to the "Aerith has to die" crowd: FUCK YOU. The reality is that she didn't actually need to die, there's not a damn thing that required that outside of edgelord incel shitbags that have a death kink. Which ironically fucking enough the ending of Rebirth even backs up cause there's even fucking LESS shown as to why she died. She sure as hell isn't going to be stopping Meteor nor would that require her dying; instead she does so because incel shitbags wanted it & the OG game did it. Interesting originality be fucked, instead stick to the same goddamn bad end route bullshit as the OG game. I'll stick around to see the trilogy finished, but I'm openly stating now that I'm 1/3rd checked the fuck out. Also just going to put this out there: don't even mention Cloti anywhere near me cause that's been thoroughly ruined and I don't look forward to whatever happens in part 3. And just ftr no I'm not a Clerith and actually ship Cloti in OG, but not in the R-trilogy where Aerti has shined far more via their closeness.

Hope it was worth it writers, you had the chance to actually do an interesting alternate route that rewards people that have been hoping for a "good end route" and who liked/loved Remake for its unique interesting new storyline. But instead chose to throw it away in such a bullshit manner to appeal/line up with the same shitheads that bashed Remake for daring to do its own thing; or to repeat the same goddamn story as before rather than forge a new path. And I can't stress enough how the way it was done is such a shitty ass manner. Either Cloud deflects Sephiroth's sword and Aerith lives or he fucking doesn't and she dies; either fate is changeable or its not; either there's a multiverse of unlimited potentials including Aerith living or there isn't; etc. Fuck 5% of Rebirth, the other 95% is great. Such a goddamn waste. If Nomura is the one responsible for Remake's "fuck Fate, let's make our own path" aspect, then plz let him be the main one heading up Part 3 to try to course correct back from the betrayal of the concept that Rebirth's last 5% did. Show the timeline where Cloud did indeed save Aerith and have that Aerith join the team; have them break Fate instead of treating it as some immutable thing cause fuck that; and no more bullshit like having someone block a strike then having the story backhand via shitty ass reality rewrites (a la Masamune stuck in the ground to the side from an unharmed Aerith that suddenly is reality warped to have blood on it and Aerith being hit with a phantom stabbing cause "Fate"). I'll easily take Remake's vision over Rebirth's last 5% (I have to stress this cause 95% of Rebirth is fantastic, its only the last 5% that is incel edgelord nihilistic garbage to justify killing off a character cause "that's what happened in OG".

And let me be clear on this: my anger isn't where it should be which at Sephiroth as the one that did the deed as the villain aka proper narrative writing. My anger instead is aimed at the bullshit method of how it was done, which isn't how a narrative should come across. All I see if the very blatantly check off box that was bent to reach. Remake was 95% good, 5% mindblowing and getting me heavily invested; Rebirth 95% great, 5% bullshit and throwing away an entire section of investment. I really am having to work to give a shit about the remaining characters, cause the writing's failing caused that level of collapse.

Since this is the rant post: While I give credit for mostly shying away from sexist incel tropes in regards to the femme characters; don't even think for a second I didn't notice the little things that are there still. Shiva having jiggle physics; and even Tifa being hit with them during particular side quests. Edit: So from what I've gathered the main case of Tifa having them is a matter of you're expected to have her swimsuit on at that point, instead of her regular one; so while still annoying cause jiggle physic shouldn't be there at all its at least not in defiance of her sports bra that'd be more egregious.

I'm fucking done.

The really infuriating part is that I'd STILL give Rebirth like an 8/10 or even 9/10; cause as I've repeatedly mentioned 95% is just THAT damn good.

[altocat]

honestly i'm always complaining abt female characters not being appreciated in fandoms but aerith and tifa are treated very well?? i've seen both girls being loved for being themselves rather than cloud's romantic counterpart.

...also i genuinely don't understand why people would be mad at cloti being canon. i loooove clerith but my girl is in the lifestream with her boy zack please let's let cloud be happy with his tifa :(

Aerith and Tifa have been, as far as I can tell, some of the most revered and beloved female characters in gaming. And, optimistically enough, for more than just their aesthetics. Both have incredible writing and the game's story would absolutely fall apart if you took either of them out of the equation. They are integral to how the story moves and I love them for that. They work great as both individuals, as well as vital pieces to Cloud's character arc.

I ship Cloti as probably my endgame ship for both Cloud and Tifa, mostly because it just makes the most sense in terms of character and the overall story. Plus Aerith is kind of super dead soooo yeah.

I also just think Tifa is very healthy for Cloud overall, as it was Tifa who pulled him back from the brink. Her unwavering support for him his very wholesome and she essentially helps him embrace who he truly is inside. I also think it's safe to say he is equally dedicated to her, given how highly he values her opinion. Their mutual respect and dedication to each other is just very cathartic. I love them so much.

[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!

[roeyliteratiforever]

(Rebirth Spoilers) I am so tired of shippers in the fandom trying to cheapen Cloud and Tifa's kiss, and say "Cloud only kissed Tifa because he was rebounding." Rebounding from what?! Cloud has known Tifa almost his whole life and has had feelings for her for such a long time at this point! He knew Aerith for what a couple of weeks?! I'm not saying that Cloud and Aerith don't have a cute bond, but I'm tired of people trying to to cheapen Cloud's feelings for Tifa or acting like she is some rebound. If she was such a rebound for him why didn't he kiss Aerith?? Someone was trying to tell me that the almost kiss between Cloud and Tifa in Gongaga was also him rebounding "because he was so hurt because he though Aerith still has feelings for Zack" (which yes she does she will always love Zack but that's not the point) Cloud and Tifa had a moment in Gongaga after he thought he nearly lost her and stayed up all night watching over her to make sure she was okay and then they have a heart to heart where Cloud opens up to her and gets vulnerable for the first time ever with anyone! Cloud has never opened up his feelings to anyone else, and in that moment he wanted to kiss Tifa because that's how he felt not because he was rebounding! Look it's fine if you ship Clerith that's valid, but it's so annoying when shippers try to gaslight us into thinking Cloud doesn't really have feelings for Tifa or she is just a rebound when clearly that is not true! Cloud kissed Tifa because he loves her and always has! If you really think Cloud is the type of person to use someone that has always loved him like that then I really don't understand why you would want him with Aerith anyways.