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I found interesting how Cloud hated Sephiroth for what he'd done, but at the same time viewed him as an idol (he pracitcally says so, when he (SPOILER)slices Sephiroth with Zack's sword in the Jenova room. Could anyone see themselved feeling both hate and respect towards someone at the same time?
I think part of Cloud's hatred was that Sephiroth was a false idol. He felt betrayed, and realized Sephiroth obviously didn't deserve his idol worship. I don't think he felt both hate and respect. I think he felt hate, and a deep loss of respect. But yes. I can imagine it. Happens all the time in real life. Idols aren't special. They're just people. We give them weight with our views. And like people, they make mistakes. Heroes can disappoint. I have a thing for it when its written into fiction. Helps with characterization and growth so that people aren't so two-dimensional
On the outside, Sephiroth was a pretty cool guy. (In Crisis Core, even his own friends didn't find anything odd about him.) He was a war hero and a fantastic role model. But then he killed Cloud's mom along with the rest of the village, so as you can imagine Cloud had no problem trying to kill him :|
I feel like Cloud had a natural reaction to the betrayal of his role model and idol. The important question to ask is if he still felt like Sephiroth was previously a role model to him later on in the story and during the course of the game.
you mean after the whole getting dropped into the lifestream thing? the final battle wouldn't make much sense if he still wasn't. Cloud was only able to defeat his idea of Sephiroth at the very end.Quote:
Originally Posted by Roogle
I always felt that Cloud idolised what Sephiroth had been rather than what he was. Bear in mind that, when he was very young, Cloud wanted to emulate Sephiroth, who at the time was a rational person capable of heroic deeds. In getting to know Sephiroth he experiences what many of us experience when we get to know people we admire - their bad side, their weak characteristics. But that doesn't make that childhood admiration go away and it doesn't stop Cloud wanting to be what Sephiroth had once been. In his mind, he probably still fought a little bit for the time when Sephiroth was a hero, and worthy of worship. Wanting to destroy what Sephiroth has become does not mean he cannot still worship what Sephiroth once was.
I think the notion of idolizing requires you to ignore or downplay that person's faults and weaknesses. Beyond a certain point Cloud would be unable to do that. Part of his psychological problems stemmed from him trying to avoid dealing with that. But its certainly possible that he maintained a love/hate relationship with Sephiroth up to the end.
That sentence makes me think of bad Yaoi fan art. O_oQuote:
But its certainly possible that he maintained a love/hate relationship with Sephiroth up to the end.
I don't mean romantically.