I know we all love Clerith in here but let's think about it from a business standpoint. Will they ever confirm a ship or they will keep baiting us?

Sorry if it's dumb, but I still don't get it about what was Cloud thinking here when he says "Another time then"

"Another time" what?

I was going through my Rebirth Material Ultimania which arrived yesterday, and of course I was focused on our girl - and then saw a quote from layout artist Hiroyuki Honda about how they have Aerith positioned this way in this specific art because she's anxious about what the future has in store for her and is trying to keep her inner hope from slipping away by holding herself. 😭

Exact quote is "The way she holds herself in the bust CG is an unconscious gesture of self protection driven by her anxiety about the future. At the same time, it also expresses her desire to keep her inner hope from slipping away."

SE, after all she's been through and after all she's experienced and after all she's sacrificed for others for literal decades, she needs a happy ending more than anyoneeeeee else.

Sorry about the glare. Took her hundreds of hours (I didn't know it would come anywhere close to that, or I wouldn't have asked). I think it turned out spectacular.

I love this scene so much. These two crack me up. I think we only see Cloud be this dork and relaxed with Aerith or, at most, with Red a couple of times.

2nd panel: cloud&Aerith fighting Sephiroth (the sun represents meteor).

3rd: rainbow represents creating new timelines , Moogle  represents happiness

The last panel is Cloud with Aerith and their baby ？？？

Yellow flowers = reunion

White flowers = purity, loyalty

More metaphors.

Look at that—which little couple made it to the top of the tower?

Happy Ending for sure

Earth / the land = Aerith
Clouds = Cloud
Cloud’s hair (+ tree) = the flowers of reunion

The Promised Land

This is the most stupidest and brain dead takes of all time. How Tf is she supposed to know Zack was alive after being missing for 3 yrs? Also what is this fandom’s obsession with treating women like men’s property? if they want to move on let them

Found these images on Facebook, but here is the original source.

Nowadays, you can find these artworks from the book 天野喜孝画集<空> ― THE ART OF FINAL FANTASY. However, this specific version features the original 1997 concept captions. They aren't from a standard artbook, but rather from a rare, exclusive bonus supplement included in May 9, 1997 issue of The PlayStation Weekly (Vol. 57) magazine in Japan.

The text under Cloud & Aerith translates to 🌎☁️ :
"Man and woman. Cloud and Aerith. Love and friendship. Hope and despair. Life and spirit."

The text under Tifa translates to 🌌💔:
"The water tower and the stars in the night sky. Jealousy and disappointment."

Although I am pretty sure the third picture are actually home-mades (which is, IMO, extra cool).

I'm not trying to bring people down - my own worldview is just that: mine. Things have been downright bleak for me lately IRL, so it's little surprise that a sense of gloom pervades even my chosen forms of escape. It's pretty much grey skies everywhere.

However, this isn't about me. Rather, as the title says: will the good ending satisfy you? And what I mean by the 'good ending' is more as good as they're going to give us. Which, I assume, is something along the lines of 'Aerith is alive in the same world as Cloud, they've kissed at some juncture, and the future is what you make of it.'

In fact, in spite of my bad outlook on life, this is still the ending I expect for this trilogy (accepting minor variations) - it's the ending Remake set the stage for, and Rebirth did not derail that. So we should still arrive at that station.

But will that satisfy you? Or, perhaps more pointedly, will it heal you?

A lot of us have been on this ride for a very, very long time. And I'm not the only person who feels... wounded... by the whole experience. I think most folks are a little less angsty about it than I am. But the fact remains that I am not alone in regarding the OG and subsequent material - taken as a whole - as having had a net-sorrowful impact on my life (I won't go quite so far as to say 'bad;' but definitely 'happy' is completely wrong-headed). And those kinds of experiences - especially when strung out over such a long period - do leave a mark.

So... will putting a bow (perhaps a pink ribbon) on Revelation reverse that? Or do you think you will you walk away feeling dazed, or incomplete... or empty?

---

*Edit* Let me add a tiny bit more context regarding a somewhat similar real-world event and how it didn't really... quite fix everything.

Back in 2004, the Red Sox won the world series for the first time since 1918. There were people who had lived literally their entire lives - full, complete lifespans - in the time since they had last taken home a title; they had been lovers of the Red Sox since they were children, and had grown old and died without seeing a winning season. It had gotten to the point for fans that losing was an identity - we dreamed of escaping it, but it was what we were.

Following the victory, pretty much everyone in New England was ecstatic. The great deed had been done - mountains had been moved. We didn't ever need anything from Boston sports again.

But... it's never really been the same since. While breaking 'the curse' was a singularly joyful, excellent moment - sports bliss - being a fan of the Red Sox; even of baseball, has never really been the same. Something was gained... but something was lost, too. And that will never really be recaptured. The Red Sox are "just a team" now - just another franchise in a very active sports market. We're all of us sated... but many of us are also hollow.

And that plays into my fears regarding FF7. I want the good ending - I really do. But I also, in this strange, perverse way, fear it. Or, maybe more to the point: I fear it won't fix how I feel in the right way.

There’s just no point anymore. Tried explaining that there’s more to Cloud than just Tifa, but I guess her stans are everywhere. You can’t even reasonably debunk their “Tifa is the most important character” take in main FF subs and external subs, this is the only sub where where you won’t get bashed on if you don’t glaze Tifa to the moon.

Their reasons weren’t even good, they all just got defensive and brought up Aerith for no reason despite me never mentioning her once.

Being newer to the franchise, the remakes being the only games I've played, but as I'm watching so many endgame theories, I can't help but notice how many people would rather Aerith stay dead. It's very sad since she is my favorite. I thought the point of the remakes was to have hope for a happier ending than the ones in the og franchise, yknow like defying fate. I don't understand why people want it to turn out the same after spending the game trying to fight and all the little changes. It feels like a lot of it may boil down to shipping or just a genuine dislike/indifference to Aerith when I read the comments. Just sucks seeing all the mistreatment my girl is getting cause even though Aerith is my favorite, I still do also love Tifa. Tbh my preferred ending would be Aerith living and the love triangle still ambiguous, since as much as I love Clerith, I love it because I love Aerith and I think she really shines with Cloud and vice versa so I would rather her have an ending alive than not to solve some shipping war. I wouldn't mind a happier advent children style ending where the gang all lives together and opens a new bar yknow. I'd love to hear what ending y'all would want.

I don't think I need to say much. But the main character design pattern is pretty similar. From past animes and other things, it was usual to have such designs and even more so for main characters (from my knowledge at least). The main characters are meant to stood out. There's so much things to know that these three are literally the ones. And how zack is literally inspired from cloud.

A while ago when the first trailer dropped for Revelation, I remember hearing Zeriths say “oh my gosh!! Aerith’s lillies and Zack’s favorite flowers which are sunflowers are blooming together here!!” (In the pic above) Am I the only person to know those white flowers look NOTHING like sunflowers and if ANYTHING look like daises?? Correct me if I’m wrong but I SWEAR this is something they were saying and felt like this was a safe place to ask about this. I felt this scene was very much more fo a clerith moment if anything 😭

One thing that doesn't quite fit in my head is about Cloud in the alternative timeline:

1. We know the Cloud that exists in the terrier world, the one where Zack is alive, is the one that he, Zack, brings back oncounscious with him right?

2. So, how does Elmyra and Marlene knows him? And why shinra is looking for a terrorist with a giant sword? Because, in my head, If Cloud was with Zack, he could not be the one who partcipated in the events with avalanche, because he was not in the city. Right?

If someone could clarify this for me It would be very helpfull

Ps: Sorry about any typos.

*spoilers read at own risk*

It seemed like this post I originally made for the other Clerith community would be appreciated here. I didn’t want to flood the fandom with the same post just in case. I already had one request to tag. I figured maybe for anyone who didn’t see it, might enjoy some masochism by getting their emotions ripped out over here too. I’m sorry.

I acknowledge I wrote this and brought it to everyone’s attention. With luv

Think about it, Marlene wears her hair like Aerith right? We see it in AC.

She loved that woman. Aerith’s mother had been taking care of her after they left Midgar. She probably felt like she found new family and heard a bunch of stories.

Imagine her broken heart when she found out that she would never see her again.

Cloud, Tifa and Barret lived under one roof.

Cloud had to listen to Marlene cry for Aerith.

This man had to endure that with his own deepening grief.

Picture him leaning against the other side of the door as he listened to Marlene whimper “Aerith” in her sleep, just loud enough Cloud heard it through thin walls. Her weak soft and pleading quiver caused his knees to buckle under him, down to the metal ground. Darkness encroached upon him as he was unable to grasp; that he can’t hold her anymore. Cloud’s chest heaves in a silent breakdown with tears running down his face; as he rested the back of his torso against Marlene and Tifa’s bedroom door.

He probably had to listen to it for two years. Cut to AC

Bro - it makes AC so much more depressing

Edit: grammar

Not just in reddit but any app they try to silence people who like clerith, even with streamers they try to pressure them into catering to their choices. I just came from the main sub, and it's crazy how they try to silence anyone who says that remake is a sequel. They also delete posts related to Clerith, and people aren't even allowed to discuss the “who you cherish the most”. Yet somehow they are allowed to invent entirely new scenes because of a black screen. Unfortunately this is going to be their loss in the end. The bigger the expectations they create, the harder the disappointment will. It will be funny to see their meltdowns like they during the dream date

He definitely did not try to protect any one specific person when they found themselves in danger.

Cloud’s VA said it’s an emotional roller coaster. Uh oh… das not sounding good lol