Quote Originally Posted by Karifean View Post
I think the whole point behind saying "Cloud is in love with Aerith" is that had she not died, they would've been a couple. Cloud x Tifa is what happens in the end (hello deleted scene) but you know, hypothetically...
Hypothetically, this would have happened.

Aerith would have continued digging at the inconsistencies and problems with Cloud's psyche, trying to push him out of his Zack-Persona to reveal who the actual Cloud really is.

Upon Cloud's true self finally being revealed, she'd have been happy, acknowledge that he no longer needs her, and moved on.

And he would have wound up with Tifa anyway.


Aerith has no romantic feelings towards Cloud almost anywhere in the story. She sees him as a hurt child who needs comfort and fixing, or a puzzle to be solved, nothing more. If there's any romantic interest, it's because she sees Zack in him, and she did (and, due to her knowledge of the Lifestream and the cyclical nature of life, probably still does) love Zack.