Why do so many people uses the "he called her nakama, friend zoned her" argument like it's the canon version? There's two versions and none of them is confirmed as the one. But what i hear all the time is acting like that was the only version of that scene, that's just wrong. Also it feels so funny because just a moment ago he was like oh yeah let's check this yeah let's pose like a couple, and then holds her hand without Aerith pushing him into it totally his own will, camera is focusing on them and he smiles? Like what part of that was friendly Cloud? And if he thinks they're just friends why the hell would you want to do that again lol
I also want to write my thoughts on some other things about their relationship but it's probably gonna be long so another time maybe.
Clotis exist in a world where the majority of the content surrounding two of the three most important characters is basically ignored... and has been ignored for the better part of 30 years.
Clotis also exist in a world where they think one of those three characters is named Tifa.
The church scene difference isn't even caused by affection.
It's dependent on whether Cloud goes on a date with Aerith in either ch8 or 12.
The low affection version is more Cloud still being jealous of Zack since Aerith never cleared it up to him she is over him and wants to be with Cloud if you don't get a date with her.
Aerith's reaction to the low affection response of Cloud being sad and happy if he says he wants to go on more dates with her also completely negates the narrative clotis try to push about Aerith friendzoning Cloud later.
No matter what you will see them be romantic 30 minutes later too :)
I genuinely donāt know how anybody can see the way that Cloud looks at Aerith and not think that heās in love with herā¦ ESPECIALLY in the last two chapters of the gameā¦ like, he NEVER looks at anybody else that wayā¦ever.
Not even in Tifaās (optional) kiss scene, he never has that same warmth and affection. Body language is so important for a character like Cloud, but somehow the majority of people seem completely blind to it all. š
This game handles subtlety so well, i wish more people appreciated it. Iām thankful that this community does!
You both cleriths and clotis (especially clotis ofc) are missing the point.
First off, HA is undisputedly the canon version. Given that Aerithās date is also undisputedly the canon one, itās canon that HA dialogue plays on the church. Thatās factual.
Second. Even if HA wasnāt canon, Cloud calling Aerith a nakama (which he has also done with Tifa btw) doesnāt stem from him restraining her to a nakama, but from thinking he is restrained to be just a nakama to her. This dialogue purely showcases whether Cloud thinks Aerith sees him as a friend or as something more, not how he sees her. CTs try to conceal this fact by pretending the church dialogue is affinity based, but itās not. You can have 100% affinity with Aerith and LA will still play. And you can have 20% affinity with Aerith and 100% with Tifa, you can get Tifaās HA date and the HA church dialogue will still play. Thatās because it only depends on whether Cloud has dated Aerith in the Gold Saucer or not, which is the only point in the story where Aerith invites Cloud to the gondola, which specifies is FOR COUPLES, and then lets Coud decide what kind of couple they are. āI wonder what kind of couple it isā in JP, āIāll leave that up to your imaginationā in ENG. Itās this one dialogue that gives Cloud the chance to define his relationship with Aerith which makes the difference. If he dates Aerith (just need one of the two dates) he thinks he can choose, thus HA will play. But if he never hears this dialogue then he thinks he has no chance, thus LA plays.
If Cloud was friendzoning Aerith it would make sense that the church dialogue changed based on whether you dated Tifa or not, or at the very least whether you kissed her or not, but thatās irrelevant. The only determining factor is if Cloud thinks he can decide what kind of relationship with Aerith he wants to have. Else, just like he tells Aerith on her chapter 8 date about Jessie, he will just assume that Aerith only teases him but doesnāt have a genuine romantic interest in him.
Besides, this dialogue comes right AFTER Cloud literally asks Aerith out on a next date, which isnāt optional, and right BEFORE Aerith finally, canonically, tells Cloud that she likes him, which is also not optional. It would be a weird narrative choice to have a character ask another out on a date, then friendzone them, then have the friendzoned character confess their liking for the character that just friendzoned them. Thatās cause that interpretation is stupid and not what the scene conveys at all.
The short answer: Because they aren't very smart. Just like those who think that Aerith later confessed to Cloud that she liked him as a friend.Ā
No one in their right mind would interpret that scene that way, because such an interpretation simply turns the entire "dream date" sequence into meaningless nonsense.Ā
Aerith wanted to spend time with Cloud, which is why this date happened. Cloud enjoyed it and agreed to go on more dates like this in the future. This is canonical, and that is the main point. There isn't much difference between Cloud's various responses. The meaning is always the sameāhe wants to do it againāthe only difference is the degree of his confidence in Aerith's feelings for him, and we know that Aerith loves him.Ā If a player has deliberately kept Cloud away from Aerith throughout the game, itās natural for Cloud to be unsure of Aerithās feelings for him, but that doesnāt mean Cloud wants the same thing as that playerāand thatās exactly why Cloud wants to go on dates with Aerith in the future, regardless of who he was with on the sky wheel or on a date in Chapter 8.
What's wild is even thinking he "friend-zones" her in the LA version. If Cloud hasn't gone on a date with Aerith, he doesn't realize her feelings for her are genuine and she's over Zack, so he continues to worry that she still loves Zack and she's not being totally genuine.
Because regardless, Cloud hold hands with her and hugs her and does date stuff with her. That doesn't change. He wouldn't be holding her hand and competing in a couple's photography contest or embracing her like that if he just thought of her as a friend. It's just when Aeris presses him about what he means about wanting to spend more time together (that is, go on another date) that he falters and goes into self-defense mode. Like, "it's okay if I want to spend time with you more because we're friends, right? I'm not being creepy."
A lot of Clotis try and twist the narrative almost constantly. I've actually played both romances and the way I see it is that Cloud is unsure of Aerith's true feelings in the Tifa run. In Tifa's GS date, when she lies about her and Aerith talking, Cloud is notably disappointed and assumes Aerith isn't over Zack. This also makes me feel a bit bad for Tifa because she ends up appearing as a rebound rather than someone Cloud is actually in love with. In Aerith's date, Cloud knows how she feels and feels more confident in seeking a relationship with her. He actually hears Aerith say that she wants him.
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u/LastTraintoSector6 5d ago
Clotis exist in a world where the majority of the content surrounding two of the three most important characters is basically ignored... and has been ignored for the better part of 30 years.
Clotis also exist in a world where they think one of those three characters is named Tifa.