★MASTERPOST★

Aerith's ribbon: is it still a gift from Zack?

It has been rumored by some fans that the Crisis Core scene where Zack gave Aerith the pink ribbon is no more canon, because kid Aerith has a pink ribbon too.

I don't mean to sound pretentious but...they're evidently different. Kid Aerith's ribbon has four ends, adult Aerith's ribbon has just two.

Since the original FFVII kid Aerith's had two outfits. She wore the blue outfit in the first part of Elmyra's flashback and the orange one when Tseng tried to convince her to return to Shinra.

In the Remake she wears the orange outfit only in the train graveyard vision and the blue one in all of Elmyra's flashback, from the moment she found her at the station up to when Tseng showed up. It's definitely not very evident because of the sepia tone filter, but we can compare her dress to the concept art and to the orange dress: she has no ribbon on the chest but wears a pinafore dress and a light shirt with bell sleeves.

This means that in the sepia toned scene she was wearing the green ribbon, as we can see from the concept art.

The scene at the train graveyard bears many similarities with the situation described in Picturing the Past, so she was wearing the orange outfit before escaping Shinra HQ.

When Elmyra found her and brought her in Sector 5 she had the green ribbon, not the pink one.

Someone tried to say Aerith stated the ribbon was a gift from her mother when she met Cloud at the church...

Nice try, but she was talking about White Materia. (Leaving a couple of links in case anybody wanted to check: OG, Remake)

So, not only there's no evidence that the pink ribbon is no more Zack's gift but that scene influenced also an important moment of the Remake: Aerith and Cloud's first encounter.

And in both cases the gift was made in order to thank the other for their help

CC: To show you my gratitude for that "hello" that woke me up.

Remake: You know, for scaring those things away.

Ehhh...can I say what a coincidence again?

Different Stories Resonate with Different People

responsible adults

Zack’s Last Stand 

Find the differences!

CRISIS CORE vs FF7R comparison

(Source)

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I was thinking about this part of Trace of Two Pasts and its potential future implications:

There might come a day where she would no longer be 'the last descendant of the Cetra'.

No wonder that so many people got excited at the idea that perhaps this is an hint that Remake takes place in an alternate timeline where Aerith may survive and have kids.

Is she thinking to Cloud as a feasible partner? Maybe, I wouldn't exclude part of the intent here is to set up a future insight on Aerith's romantic feelings.

However I find this part extremely intersting for a different reason, and considering it into an overall view of the story, I'm guessing if the real intention of the writer wasn't to set part of the foundation of a greater theme of FFVII.

I think it's safe to assume that both Trace of Two Pasts and Picturing the Past, despite being purposedly written to enrich the narrative of Remake, are meant to expand the story and its characters as a whole. In other words, these two novels fit both the OG and the Remake, whether the latter is going to have a different ending or not (not going to discuss this here), nothing clashes with the original plot. No mentions of Whispers or glimpses of the future, just an insight and a modernization of the characters' backstories.

As regards the OG we already know what happens to Aerith:

In an extremely short span of time she endures a lot of internal struggles and development.

First of all she's torn between her human and Cetra sides. It's more my personal interpretation for now, but I think that Aerith tried for years to set aside her Cetra heritage. Being the last one, the special one, always turned out to be a negative thing. Her mother endured terrible experimentations that lead her to death, she had to live imprisoned and alone for years and even when she started living in Sector 5 with Elmyra she was constantly under surveillance, all this because of this uniqueness. Her special powers made her the strange one, who could hear voices and perceive people dying, and Aerith didn't want all this, she wanted to be as normal as any other girl. She wanted to work, to ejoy life, to be happy and free. But whenever her powers would have awaken again Shinra was ready to take her back to its labs. This unexpected journey forced her to learn about her heritage and accept the fact that her wish to be human couldn't overshadow her Cetra responsibility. And when she fully accepts herself, her powers and consciousness finally resurface.

Moreover she has to face her inner turmoir concerning her feelings. The boy she loved is dead, although she's unaware of the reason why he didn't come back to her 5 years before, and now she needs to understand what Cloud really means for her. He bears similarities with Zack yet he's not Zack and she perceives there's something different under his cold surface. And she finally resolves she wants to take a step forward and meet the real Cloud, wherever it may lead.

But all these quick realizations break off in the worst way possible. After more or less one week Sephiroth kills her. The White Materia falls in the waters of the Forgotten City and as far as we know it loses all its powers and becomes useless.

In this case those lines would...end in nothing but just stress on Aerith's will to be a normal human girl? The usual and obnoxious "red herring" that often fans apply to Aerith's character arc, as if everything concerning her feelings and expectations for the future were just a literary device to make her death hit harder?

I think there's something more.

Let's be clear, even IF the Remake will take a different direction than the OG and leave Aerith live, I think there are no chances Meteor won't be summoned. If anything because it's...the symbol of the story itself, it may sound simplistic but it's a matter of fact.

On a deeper level I'd point out that the symbolic dualism between Aerith and Sephiroth - that later will lead to Holy vs Meteor - has already been abundantly shown in Remake part 1. Aerith and Sephiroth are the two key characters with knowledges about a post AC future, they both present features and motivations that stem from Case of Lifestream Black and White. I'd say this is also a good reason to believe Aerith's fate can't be changed because her role as Sephiroth's counterbalance is set in stone, and I think this is quite the point of this character, accepting to be the embodiment of the spirit of rebirth and preservation, the true Cetra against the fake Cetra, the son of Jenova, who symbolizes oblivion and destruction. The yin and the yang of the FFVII universe, while Cloud, a completely normal human being who happens to be both the "living legacy" of a hero related to Aerith and the perfect Sephiroth clone, is in an unsteady balance between these two forces.

But I'm getting off topic.

Contextualizing that line in the original flow of events, I think it can take a way deeper meaning and the answer is already before our very eyes.

Common human beings descend from the Cetras, yet lost all their powers. They can be considered as a bad evolution, a sort of involution due to the loss of the connection with Nature in favour of an easier materialistic life.

This lifestyle culminated with the creation of Midgar (deriving from the epic Midgard, the "realm of humankind") and the reactors that suck the lifeblood of the Planet itself in exchange of comfortable lives.

The Cetras managed to save the Planet from the Calamity from the Sky at the cost of their own lives, and now humanity is draining the Planet of its most precious element, reactors are turning the Lifestream in a tainted substance that causes the rapid growth of monsters. Even without Sephiroth and Jenova, the planet would die prematurely. Groups of dissenters joined into Avalanche to try to stop this process in an aggressive way that caused deaths and destruction as well, the salvation of the Planet often turned as a pretext to take revenge against Shinra.

Holy is the ultimate resort, whose role is not only to contrast Meteor but to cleanse the Planet of all threats. And this kind of parasiting humankind would be doomed for sure if it were not for this little group of people, each one on their own internal journey to discover and embrace the importance of preserving the Planet and the Lifestream. Aerith is the lead of this journey of rediscovery (and self-rediscovery) that she passes on all the others after her death.

No one but a delicate yet strong flower girl finally saves the Planet leading the Lifestream to support Holy and reject Meteor, and the Planet decides to give humanity a second chance.

The price is high though, during the following two years people struggle to start over. The survivors of Meteorfall are now decimated by Geostigma and Aerith alone can't stop Sephiroth's plans. Geostima affects especially children, those who didn't die because of the disease got under the control of the Remnants. The only kid who seems to be spared is Marlene, the one who more than anyone else carries on Aerith's legacy.

It has been rumored more than once that Marlene could be a Cetra. I'm starting to guess if the point could actually be that Marlene is instead a human girl who has learnt, through her special bond with Aerith, how to find that lost connection with the Planet that drew the line between humans and Cetras.

Sephiroth tried to rise again using kids, parasiting their minds to find the remains of Jenova; the same way Aerith announced Sephiroth's defeat through the kids, asking them to wait for Cloud to come back from the Lifestream. Hundreds of kids are framed enlightened by a warm light while they get to the church, Marlene and Denzel in the lead.

Not causally the name of the movie is Advent Children, and not causally Crisis Core and the Remake kept linking her to children.

I think that this is what that line is hinting. Not a biological kid to whom physically give the globe of White materia, but a new generation aware of what has to be done to deserve the survival allowed by the Planet, conscious of the importance to preserve the cycle of life. People willing to find the lost connection with nature and live in harmony with it.

Aerith's living legacy.

Just my two cents.

"Angeal, stay back. I'll take Sephiroth alone."

"Uhhhh yeah, Genesis so you don't want to do that because that sword that he's holding is bad news you see we basically went into this spooky temple and there were a bunch of statues and monsters and purple shit and everyone started talking like a lunatic and gaslighting the hell out of me and Seph and I kept dreaming about our moms and he was acting like a huge asshole and we had a slapfight and anyway the sword is cursed but not cursed but maybe kind of cursed and Seph went apeshit getting it and had to undergo all these bullshit trials with ghosts because the sword was kinda-sorta-maybe forged from an alien meteorite and has some freaky-deeky shit behind it and Seph was meant to have it or whatever but you really don't want to fight him because I remember what a nightmare that was and I'm not going near that sword ever again be glad I never even brought up Alissa because I'm pretty sure Seph would go into convulsions and does anyone even REMEMBER what happened to Bachman but seriously Genesis don't fuck around with Seph while he's using that sword you're gonna get--"

A Glimpse into Cloud's Mentality in Advent Children

This is kind of meant to serve as a companion piece to my three-part series on Cloud's psychology in Final Fantasy VII. I haven't addressed Advent Children Cloud yet, who arguably has an entirely different set of psychological problems to deal with. While OG Cloud was certainly driven by trauma, trauma was not his primary demon. Yet I often hear people say that AC Cloud definitely has PTSD or disorder XYZ. So, I thought I'd use my clinical background to break down what happened in Cloud's head during AC. I will not be discussing disorders here, since I'm saving those for another post.

Trauma

I know I literally just said trauma wasn't OG Cloud's primary demon, but that's why I specified OG Cloud. AC Cloud is in an entirely new context with a new set of problems, part of which involves how trauma affects his life after the main conflict is over. So to start, let's first answer the question of "Why does trauma stay with a person even after the cause of the trauma is no longer there?"

Think of the traumatized brain as a brain stuck in survival mode. It learned from a past traumatic experience that you can't afford to turn off this survival mentality, that you need to constantly be on alert. This is part of the primitive fight, flight, or freeze response that humans have, and for someone who is in a traumatizing situation, that response is absolutely necessary for coping with it. But, when you are finally safe and no longer in a dangerous situation, the traumatized brain may not know how to turn survival mode off. Therefore, it continues to provide a trauma response even in the absence of danger. This kind of mentality exhausts you and is why traumatized people still struggle even after they've been removed from their traumatizing situation. It's not that they don't realize they're safe now, but it's that their brains are stuck in this pattern of survival.

Although I wouldn't necessarily describe Cloud this way, this is still a great framework to explain what happened to him. During the events of FFVII, Cloud was in a perpetual state of survival. Once the planet was saved and Cloud could finally settle down in a place to call home, he was no longer in a state where he needed to constantly fend for his life. Cloud might still travel the planet for his delivery job and defend himself from monsters on the road, but the difference post-Meteorfall is that he now has a safe and secure home to return to in Edge. On the Way to a Smile: Case of Tifa even clarifies that Cloud was hopeful for the future right after the OG ended, that he had optimism towards the prospect of starting his newly peaceful life. Yet, he becomes unsettled by this peace partly because he was too used to surviving for so long. His trauma mindset couldn't turn off properly even when he wanted to relax and enjoy the peace he's earned, setting Cloud down a path of cognitive distress.

Oftentimes, when someone who has experienced trauma finally has the opportunity to process it, he is prone to something called rumination. In clinical terms, rumination can be described as a maladaptive perseverative cognition, or in simpler terms, a repetitive focus on distress. It's typically connected to catastrophic thinking (pondering about the worst possible outcomes/scenarios) and a fixation on loss. The American Psychological Association describes it as "obsessional thinking involving excessive, repetitive thoughts or themes that interfere with other forms of mental activity." Another working definition of it from the National Center for Biotechnology Information describes it as "a detrimental psychological process characterized by perseverative thinking around negative content that generates emotional discomfort" (Sansone & Sansone, 2012). The key to rumination is that though it can be self-reflective, it more often resembles brooding. Rumination is a feature of many different disorders, but most commonly associated with anxiety and depressive disorders.

Part of what sent Cloud spiraling was a pattern of ruminative thoughts in the absence of immediate external threats. He's living a peaceful life, but his survival mentality can't shut down easily. He has the time to ruminate on his past failures to the point of interfering with his ability to enjoy his life. If Cloud had used this rumination to put more effort into his job and his family, then he would've been using self-reflection. However, what he's fixated on is his own regrets, which created a pattern of brooding and pessimism. This type of regretful thinking surrounding death even has its own term.

Survivor Guilt

Survivor guilt used to be a diagnosable disorder in the DSM-III, but the DSM-IV reconceptualized it as a symptom of PTSD and the DSM-5 removed it as a symptom entirely (Murray, Pethania, & Medin, 2021). I believe it's because survivor guilt isn't a well-defined or well-researched phenomenon, currently putting it in an undefined territory between a disorder and a symptom. Once there's more empirical research in the field exploring survivor guilt, it may be reintroduced into the DSM, but otherwise it's an open avenue of continuous exploration. Regardless, this doesn't make survivor guilt any less significant or valid in the field of mental health, especially since it is often a part of complex trauma and grief.

Despite the grayness surrounding survivor guilt as a term, I can't think of a better one to describe what Cloud went through. Definition debates aside, survivor guilt generally applies to people who "survived" a traumatic event when others did not. Even though guilt is already a common symptom of PTSD, people with survivor guilt usually feel responsible for another person's death or injury, even when they never really had any power or influence over the situation. Cloud ruminates over Zack and Aerith's deaths due to survivor guilt, and he explicitly states his survivor guilt over Aerith's death in AC. Though neither death was directly his fault, he feels responsible for them in different ways.

For Zack, he felt helpless about how his mako poisoning left him completely dependent on Zack. Zack didn't have to save Cloud. He didn't have to carry him across the world for a year, only to die when they nearly reached their destination. Cloud's guilt surrounding Zack's death is very much in the thought of "it should've been me." Cloud should've been the one to perish, or if Zack simply abandoned Cloud, perhaps he would've made it to Midgar alive.

For Aerith, Cloud feels a greater sense of responsibility for her wellbeing. Their dynamic was established with the notion of Cloud being her bodyguard, as someone whose job is to protect her. Yet, he hurt her at the Temple of the Ancients, and he almost struck her when the party finally reunites with her at the Forgotten City. He was doing the exact opposite of what he was supposed to do. To cap it off, Sephiroth impales Aerith right before Cloud's eyes. Was Jenova preventing him from moving forward to try and save her? Or was Cloud just too paralyzed in the moment to act? Cloud would probably never truly know the answer.

Even when Tifa urges him to think of the present, Cloud feels weighed down by the past. He also asks Vincent if sins can be forgiven, showing that he feels deeply responsible for the deaths he could not prevent. We know that neither Zack's nor Aerith's deaths were Cloud's responsibility, yet he shoulders them anyway as though the blood was on his own hands. Survivor guilt is tough because it always concerns something that happened in the past that can't be changed. It's a product of rumination, of thought patterns stuck on the what-ifs and should-haves.

Grieving and Healing

The reality is, Cloud will very likely continue to struggle with this guilt throughout his life. He will never be able to answer the what-ifs, and never know what the should-haves could've done to change the course of history. If Cloud's going through a particularly tough emotional patch, he might fall back a bit into his old pattern of rumination. The dual process model of grief, depicted above, portrays how healing from grief is not a linear, one-way process. Rather, it can be a lifelong process where Cloud must grow around his grief, rather than letting it become a fixture in his life.

So, how do we know that Cloud is truly on the way to healing at the end of the day? At the very end of AC, after all the credits have rolled, we hear one final exchange between Cloud and Denzel.

Denzel: Is this somebody’s grave? Cloud: No. This is where a hero began his journey.

If I'm not mistaken, this may be the first and only time we've seen Cloud truly acknowledge himself as a hero. While this line can also refer to Zack ("Would you say I [finally] became a hero?"), this also clearly refers to the moment that Cloud took on Zack's legacy, therefore his hero's journey by extension. This is a far cry from "I'm not fit to help anyone."

The other beautiful aspect of this final scene is that it visually shows up how Cloud dealt with his guilt and grief. Look at Zack's final resting place at the start of AC compared to after. Before, Zack's grave was more or less neglected. The buster sword was left to rust and the ground is completely barren. The wolf, meant to represent Cloud's guilt and regret, is present there. Afterwards, when Cloud took the buster sword away, flowers bloomed in its place. The wolf is also no longer present. I like to think of this as a representation of how Cloud made the transition from guilt over Zack's death to celebrating Zack's life. Celebrating the life of a loved one who passed is one of the key ways to work through grief over loss in a healthy way. Rather than fixating on the what-ifs and regrets, grief work focuses on how to honor the loved one and keep their memory close.

The final shot then, with the buster sword placed in the tranquil Sector 5 church, is nothing less than a memorial to Zack and Aerith. The buster sword is clean again and free of rust, now in a sheltered place surrounded by Aerith's healing rain. It is now surrounded by life, in the place where Cloud was welcomed back by his loved ones and resolved to move forward. He can now think of the beautiful parts of Zack and Aerith's lives and cherish their memories, rather than ruminate on them. I can't say that Cloud's journey is a pinnacle example of healing from guilt and grief, but it certainly has a beautifully symbolic depiction of what healing looks like.

Tifa’s journey and resolve

As we’ve previously discussed, when Tifa first discovered Cloud at the train station, she found herself faced with a dilemma: she could heedlessly tell Cloud what she knows and risk losing him physically or mentally; or she could build up her resolve and wait for the opportune moment to tell him, hoping that with proper timing, she’d be able to tell him without losing him. Tifa chooses the latter.

Tifa wrestles with her secret across Midgar, Kalm, Gongaga, and Cosmo Canyon, but her worries finally push her over the edge at Gold Saucer’s Ghost Hotel. While Red XIII worries that he may go mad, Tifa is the only one who realizes that this is likely what is happening to Cloud; that Cloud may very well be going mad already. In her fear, Tifa snaps:

Red XIII: Cloud… I’m number 13. Am I going to go mad too?

Tifa: I don’t know what Hojo did to you, but you’ve been all right so far, right?

Red XIII: But…

Tifa: Be strong.

Red XIII: But, I…

Tifa: Stop it, Red XIII! Be strong!

Cloud: Tifa?

Tifa: You’re not the only one who’s worried!

(Source)

This uncharacteristic outburst convinces her. She has to talk to Cloud–and if she can’t find the opportune moment, she’ll make one.

So… she asks Cloud out on a date.

And the opportune moment reveals itself on the gondola:

Tifa: Ok, I’m going to just go ahead and say it…

Cloud: …what?

Tifa: Aeris would be able to just come out and say it, probably. Cloud… Sometimes being old friends is hard. I mean, timing is everything.

Cloud: Yeah…

Tifa: Cloud…? I……

Tifa: ………………….

(Source)

The gondola script looks like an attempted romantic confession–but much like everything else pre-Lifestream, looks can be deceiving. Given Tifa’s earlier emotional outburst, it’s far likelier that her words are hinting at her worries. But regardless of the interpretation, as “Interrupted by Fireworks” swells in the background, Tifa can only think of one thing: “I need to tell him.” Be it her doubts or her affections, could it be that now is finally the right time?

Surrounded by the flash and glitter of the Gold Saucer, Tifa hesitates… and before she knows it, the ride is over. Tifa lacks the confidence and resolve to be open with Cloud, and she allows the opportune moment to slip through her fingers.

Like Tifa said, timing is everything, and she never gets an opportunity like this again. As soon as they get off the gondola, Cait Sith’s actions set off a rapid-fire chain of events that culminates at the Norther Crater.

And suddenly, all of Tifa’s worst fears are realized. She loses Cloud mentally. She loses Cloud physically. He is gone. All of her careful, calculated efforts were for naught. Tifa is left bereft and depressed.

Which brings us to Mideel:

Tifa: What’s the matter? Are you all alone?

(dog whimpers)

Tifa: You got lost didn’t you? Separated from someone you love? Silly thing…

(Source)

This moment is huge for Tifa. This is the first time she is able to articulate, even indirectly, any of the thoughts locked away in her heart. Between Northern Crater and this moment, Tifa has changed.

And just in time. Tifa learns that Cloud may be alive and near. Filled with hope, “Interrupted by Fireworks” swells in the background and harks back to that moment on the gondola, when Tifa could only think of one thing: “I need to tell him.” And this time, Tifa is not going to let the moment slip through her fingers.

Final thoughts:

This makes Cloud’s clone status all the more heartbreaking. Just when Tifa thinks that Cloud is safe and she can finally make up for missed opportunities, Cloud is not ready to hear her. Once again she’s lost her chance and she’s lost Cloud. We all know Remake is going to rip our hearts out with this scene.

Damn this doctor is extra af, way to twist the knife (and explain why Tifa stays with Cloud):

“Timing is everything.” Tifa is right–from Cait Sith’s treachery through to Cloud’s clone violence, Tifa never gets the chance to talk to Cloud in private. By the time Cloud wakes up at the Gongaga Inn, his ego is at the brink of collapsing into full Sephiroth Copy mode–and if he got even a hint that Tifa doubts him, his ego would simply collapse sooner, same as it does later at Northern Crater. Tifa senses this, and hopes that fake confidence in Cloud will tide him over. This is also why she asks to stay in the party when the group goes to take on Sephiroth–she wants to keep an eye on him and support him, not just “settle things with Sephiroth.”

“Timing is everything,” reemphasized. Through the Lifestream sequence, we realize that even if Tifa had opened up to Cloud earlier, nothing would have changed–Cloud wasn’t ready to face his own flaws and work resolutely towards the truth with no reservations. The right time really is after Northern Crater and in the Lifestream. 

In an upcoming (mostly written!) post I’ll talk more about how “Interrupted by Fireworks” is actually a clever device to subvert our expectations… for both girls. There’s a lot of interesting symmetry that makes the divergences even more striking.

Special shoutout to @janeiteoftheslums​ who pointed out a detail I missed in the first (extremely short-lived!!) version of this post. Thank you so much! Everyone, if you’re craving some cloti goodness, head on over and read some of her fics.

I want to express just a quick and superficial thought about the impact of Zack on SOLDIER-Cloud's personality since I've recently had a discussion about it.

Some months ago I stated that in this scene (not only here btw)...

... Cloud is mimicking Zack's attitude.

The person I was discussing with mentioned the quote from the Ultimania according to which "Cloud puts up a cool facade with Aerith and shows his real self when he's with Tifa", so what I had written had to be nothing but a great nonsense. Probably they thought I was trying to invalidate any romance between Cloud and Tifa in favour of Aerith, even if it would be a total contradiction since the fiercest CA fans spent more than two decades trying to loosen the connection between Zack and SOLDIER-Cloud... But I wouldn't be surprised to hear these kind of theories since the upcoming Ultimania Plus is seemingly going to show the same concept...

ANYWAY, no time for digressions.

I'd like to add a comparison with one of Cloud's DMW sequences from Crisis Core

I think it's hard not to notice the similarity with Tifa's resolution and the scene in Cloud's room in Chapter 4

But let it be clear, this doesn't mean - and I've never meant to say it - that Cloud is acting through Zack's intentions. As long as the devs don't provide further info, all we know is that Cloud didn't inherit Zack's memories, let alone his feelings. If so probably he would be much more devoted to Aerith.

Zack knew Cloud liked Tifa, he would have never flirted with her. Never.

Cloud's always been socially awkward, insecure, uncapable to approach Tifa in any way. Now I don't want to go too much into SOLDIER-Cloud's convoluted personality but he acts through his own intentions - confused intentions at this point of the story, but still his own. Only the way he expresses himself mimics Zack's.

That quote from the developers says that "when he talks to Tifa his real self briefly emerges". BRIEFLY. Stating that Cloud with Tifa is always his real self goes totally against this story and the dynamics behind the creation of his alter ego. His feelings for her are sealed deep into his subconscious, Cloud himself says "I don't know how to explain" when he's asked about what Tifa means for him.

That line has to be contextualized to make sense. I think this concept just shows something that was already in the OG: the player could choose to be rude with Aerith, even during her date (probably to show his conflicted feelings), but never with Tifa, he's always been istinctively soft with her. He gets jealous, he lets her into his personal space, he touches her and lets her touch him, and when they're in dangerous situations he's istinctively protective.

And not because Tifa is better than Aerith but because real-Cloud's character arc revolves around Tifa, like it or not. There's no need to twist a simple line from the devs nor to diminish the impact of Zack on SOLDIER-Cloud to prove it.