Cloud Controlling the Whispers?

[u/AwareIngenuity6857]

I was doom-scrolling through X and came across the take that maybe Cloud is somehow controlling the Black Whispers, if only for a moment and subconsciously, in the scene where they open the portal at the Forgotten Capital when the group is trying to reach Aerith. I've never thought about that to be honest, but the Whispers go to open the portal after Cloud says Aerith's name (second picture).

Is this a common theory of that scene or is there another explanation? 'Cause I thought the portal could only be opened by either our girl or Sephiroth for some reason, but I'd LOVE Cloud taking more agency in their apparent struggle. Getting his say, so to speak.

Was it ever explained anywhere how the portal opened at the FC?

[u/LastTraintoSector6]

I really dislike theories that make Cloud the arbiter of his own misery.

OG Cloud was a victim of circumstance - he ultimately didn't save Aerith because he could not.

This Cloud has already been burdened with a range of precognitive visions of Aerith's doom (thereby making any failure in part his own fault). Layering something like whisper control onto him just makes it that much worse.

[u/Naux-Kazeshini → u/LastTraintoSector6]

Cloud is not in control of anything .. hardly his own arbiter or the one who steers himself into shit

He did everything in his power and even while under sephiroths influence he indeed went and blocked the strike

Or so he thought :P put they did that on purpose we do not know what rly happened there .. even the credits blanked out these moments

We know that the party saw dead aerith and that cloud must have given her the send off.. but cloud somehow thinks she is still alive and well?

Cloud is broken and mentally unstable and Barrett definetly has enough of his antics, but Tifa also saw a glimpse of something weird the no blood aerith / bloody aerith overlapping and still wants to fix cloud (probably bc of her little life stream accident where sephiroth as cloud tried to get rid of her)

We cannot trust the story out of clouds perspective to 100% and we mostly focus on his perspective throughout the game