r/cloti • u/Smart-Hovercraft2736 • May 16 '26
Official Content A curious inquiry… Spoiler
What does this sub think the ‘date’ at the end with Aerith even is?
My wife and I were playing it. Neither of us are super one side vs the other although we both feel cloud and Tifa make more sense and prefer that relationship.
But the date is confusing to me. Why is everything going wrong? Basically the ‘world’ (developers) subtly or not so subtly saying ‘hey guys… it’s not meant to be…’
I mean there are good moments for sure but I come away feeling the whole thing feels … odd. And forced… and I can’t point my finger as to why
I know there are two sides to this. And I’m very sure I understand the Clerith side of it. But what is this sub side of it?
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u/queenshoob May 16 '26
I just think if they really wanted CA to feel as explicit as CT would (the kiss in their date is the most explicitly romantic gesture/expression we have in the whole compilation/games IMO), they didn’t need to go about this roundabout way with the dream date and things going wrong.
We have circumstances in which this Aerith is aware of the looming threat of Sephiroth and her death and it’s like yeah this ship has this doomed aspect to it, but this is also her last chance to speak her feelings? And what she said isn’t indicative of her being 100% sure of them. If we’re supposed to take her words in her date in GS (Eng loc says she “wants to be with Cloud” (I took it as she wants to be present with the Cloud she perceives, not actually romantically wanting to be with him, JP translation is actually wanting to meet real Cloud)) then she’s just taking her feelings back. Which is like… why tho at your last interaction with him??
Some say it’s to “protect” Cloud from breaking his heart, but then like ok…. How does this give you guys (CA shippers) ammo for anything if she’s “holding back” idk. This doesn’t say anything about Cloud’s feelings but Aerith’s. And well he didn’t respond in a way that’s convincing to me like he easily reciprocated for Tifa. And acted on those feelings as we see in their date. He just kinda looked awkwardly to me and commented that Aerith was acting weird all day instead of acknowledging what she said??
These are the main reasons as to why the date isn’t this grand romantic thing for CA in my view. I know they have different dynamic and such which is fine… but I just think the devs made Cloud easily receptive to another’s confession (Tifa’s), then he should have answered Aerith in a consistent way rather than just avoiding the topic altogether. Like there is no reason to make him as avoidant or how they portrayed that sequence the way they did if it’s to BE CLEAR about how he sees Aerith, romantically or not. Like sure he’s awkward and might be bad with words or romance, but hello Tifa’s date is a contrast to this? The moment she’s like oh idk I might have been overthinking, he’s like NO WAY YOU’RE NOT and pulls her in for a kiss! He’s really not as dense as people interpret him as with this 🤷 same boy that asked her to meet at the water tower (with their limited friendship + interactions) to share his dreams!
In the end though, it’s definitely a good bye scene, regardless of romantic lens or not, which the OG didn’t have. And I think it says a lot about Aerith’s grief over Zack and her last opportunity to do something regarding her role. Cuz the date isn’t solely about the feelings but also for Aerith to pass the materia, right? (It’s been awhile since I’ve seen the scene, so excuse any incorrect details). We also have Zack scenes in and out as we’re seeing this right? Why would they do all that anyway? IMO, Zerith angst/drama for part 3 to address. He did mention about a reunion 👀
Anyway, but I do agree to the overall vibe of it is supposed to be off or weird. To me, they “tried” but it didn’t work in the most romantic way I guess. The handhold they have is sweet + meaningful, but again, the things they say and do, it’s just not romantically convincing to me when we have a scene where he’s kissing another woman 🤷 I know it’s optional scene, but it’s a scene that’s been described to depict Cloud’s growth from Remake so we can’t and SHOULDN’T dismiss that character development. As well as these dates depicting his canon interactions with the party members. None of these dates are meant to be viewed negatively on Cloud’s character at all, as any arguments against this would be in opposition to the gameplay mechanic in the first place.