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In chapter 7:

And then in chapter 14:

All the dates were changed except Aerith’s date — Toriyama wanted Aerith’s date to remain faithful to the original FFVII

"You needn't promise that you'll wait. For I know that I will find you here."

1997: The Year of Star-Crossed Lovers

Two of the most famous, modern-day examples of star-crossed lovers came to us in the year 1997: Jack and Rose from the 1997 mega-hit Titanic & Cloud and Aerith from the 1997 mega-hit Final Fantasy VII. And yes, I’m citing Wikipedia. However, I actually got to thinking. These star-crossed lovers had more than the year 1997 in common – many of the scenes were similar, too:

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT:

テトラ

Rose catches Jack’s eye, and his buddies mock him for thinking he has a chance with her. Cloud buys a flower from a mysterious Flower Girl in the slums, and recalls later in Final Fantasy VII Dismantled that her eyes were “impressive” and that her smile was a “good purchase.”

DESTINY:

教会に咲く花

Destiny brings these star-crossed lovers together again. Cloud falls to Aerith’s Church, while Jack finds Rose at the stern of the Titanic. 

DEVELOPING TRUST:

Jack convinces Rose to trust him and she agrees to go back aboard the ship, while Aerith trusts Cloud to protect her from The Turks. Cloud becomes Aerith’s bodyguard, much as Jack is to Rose throughout Titanic.

This is the typical beginning of a love story: love at first sight, and the hero protecting his heroine through a series of miraculous events only explained by fate. 

DEVELOPING WORLDS:

Jack and Rose start developing a world together, much as Cloud and Aerith do in Final Fantasy VII.

A KISS: 

魔手璃亜

Jack kisses Rose’s hand before first-class dinner, while Cloud kisses Aerith’s hand during a play while on their canon date at Gold Saucer.

HOLDING HANDS:

The act of holding hands between love interests is intrinsically romantic.

STAR-CROSSED:

Both Jack and Aerith were taken from us too soon, which is the curse of star-crossed lovers.

REUNITING:

Both couples reunite in life after death. Rose returns to Titanic to meet Jack, while Cloud will one-day return to Aerith in the lifestream – his Promised Land.

The Phantom of the Opera

original: