#pro clerith

Also FF7 Remake SPOILERS (duh)

A few days ago I finished the Remake after basically binge-playing it for several days. As I said in a previous post, when I played the original game as a kid I felt that Aerith and Cloud were made for each other. To be honest when I started the game back then I first though that Cloud and Tifa should be a couple in the way a kid sees a lady fancying the hero. But after playing a bit I kinda got the feeling that it was pretty onesided, especially after he met Aerith, for instance that he refused to help Tifa out except for a large amount of money while with Aerith a date was sufficient...or that he was very closed off but with Aerith he actually laughed and had fun. That's why I preferred him with Aerith back then. But enough with the original.

I started the remake blank-faced (if that makes sense) because I successfully avoided any spoilers and didn't know what to expect. Of course I wanted Clerith scenes but I was curious what we would get. I won't draft a whole essay here because 1) English is not my native language and I don't want to offend anyone with my incapability to form accurate English sentences sometimes and 2) I'm not sure if anyone would be interested in such a detailed composition only containing my boring personal opinion and this whole thing is too extensive already.

In the Remake I actually liked Tifa a bit more this time around but she was still pretty unlikeable to me in some parts of the game. Like in the original she kinda forced her attention onto Cloud who seemed pretty unimpressed. The childhood flashback gave me the impression that she wanted to interact with Cloud but would not choose him over her other friends and they weren't particularly close. Cloud sometimes caved in and appreciated her as someone who is dear to him but it didn't feel like a romance. While Tifa was clearly out there for his attention (as was Jessie), he was way more flirty and open towards Jessie even before Aerith came into the picture. Fast forward to the church, Cloud was clearly captivated. He seemed to really enjoy his time with her on the roofs and the further you get into the story the more Tifa slips into the background. I feel like the creators gave their best to make Aerith as gorgeous as possible, her beauty is just unreal to a point where imo Tifa looks plain next to her. (Again, I don't want to bash Tifa, it's just my two cents) Even Clouds jaw drops while he never shows any interest in Tifa. Since I prefer Aerith, I got her scene in chapter 14 but I watched the Tifa one and I saw Cloud comforting a friend, no romance. With Aerith though he looked so soft and he didn't outright refused that he fell in love like he refused several times when he was called "bro". He didn't deny it and that alone said more than any other cutscene ever could. As for the ending, I think and hope that they defeated 'canonverse' and opened up a path where those two can finally be together, because even in the end he is friendly to Tifa but always more concerned about Aerith.

Clerith Word Alphabet FF7r Edition [6/26] • F is for Floriferous

• Clo/Ti that calls out to generic crosstaggers but not to their own friends that do the same thing, most of the time with death wishes for cleriths.

• Clo/Ti hoping the ship war ends, but the first filled with hate for Aerith and Clerith when SE comes up with new stuff.

• Clo/Ti saying that Clerith crosstags too... But without recognizing that: first, 99% of Cleriths don't and DIDN'T, second, Cleriths talks *always* with them saying to erase wrong tags.

While almost everyone following the FFVII Compilation has heard of Case of Lifestream White officially publishing Cloud as Aerith’s kobito which translates to lover, not everyone has seen scans of the official Case of Lifestream White kobito quotes in Japanese, French and German.

Here is are the official translations of Kobito from Case of Lifestream (the English version has not been officially translated which is why I left it as kobito)

ENGLISH: “Cloud was her friend, her koibito — a symbol of what was important to her, and someone to be protected.” JAPANESE: クラウドは女の友人であり、恋人であり / Cloud was the woman’s friend, and lover. FRENCH: “Cloud avait ete son ami, et son amant. / Cloud was the woman’s friend, and lover. GERMAN: "Cloud war ihr Freund gewesen, ihr Geliebter/ Cloud was the woman’s friend, and lover.

I was finally able to get a screenshot of the Official German version of the Case of Lifestream White kobito quote. I also have a screenshot of the Official French version of the Case of Lifestream White kobito quote and screenshots of official copyright given by Square Enix to translate On the Way to a smile (which contains Case of Lifestream White) into German and French in case Clotis try to say its a fan translation.

Here is where you can buy the German and French versions: https://www.amazon.de/Final-Fantasy-VII-Blick…/…/3833222417/ (Official German version of On the Way to a Smile which has Case of Lifestream White) https://www.amazon.fr/Final-Fantasy-VII-Way-Sm…/…/2371020028 (Official French version of On the Way to a Smile which has Case of Lifestream White)

I also managed to get a screenshot of the Official Japanese version of the Case of Lifestream White kobito quote which you can see here:

Official Japanese kobito quote enlarged for ease of reading:

French Official Kobito quote:

German Official kobito quote:

Here is the Official kobito quote of Tifa from the Reunion Files that Clotis use in their claims of Tifa being Cloud’s kobito/sweetheart/girlfriend/lover, despite his name not being mentioned and the kobito sentence containing traits of Tifa’s character. As you can see below kobito is translated as sweetheart which is likely what the official English translation of Case of Lifestream White would be if it is ever officially translated. 

These pictures are from The Lifestream Forums where the translators of Case of Lifestream translate kobito for Clerith as "beloved” rather than sweetheart/lover/boyfriend when they have no problem doing it for Noel and Yeul and Serah and Snow and Freya and Fratley which are official canon couples as you can see from the quotes and link to the the Lifestream forums where people can judge it for themselves.

“On pg. 10 of the FFXIII-2 Ultimania Omega guidebook, Noel and and Serah are only described as “partners” (パートナー) while Serah and Snow are still described as “koibitos” (恋人) — meanwhile, Yeul is identified as Noel’s “taisetsu na sonzai” (大切な存在), or “important person.”

Added to that, Yeul is referred to as Noel’s koibito on pg. 18 of the same book:

(translation by hitoshura) — “Your time-gazing friend” Noel, a descendant of the Farseer tribe, has heard about Valhalla and the gates from Yeul, the Farseer maiden from his time and his lover. Because Lightning also knows this, she is hinting at Yeul with the expression “your time-gazing friend.” —

Japanese text: — 「時を視る彼女」 時詠みの一族の末裔であるノエルは、ヴァルハラやゲートについて、同時代の時詠みの巫女であり恋人だったユールがら聞いていた。ライトニングもそれを知ってい るため、「時 を視る彼女」という表現でユールのことを示唆している。

“Meanwhile, Final Fantasy IX’s chart from the same book (pp. 272-273) links Steiner and Beatrix with “Rivals (later, favors)”/ライバル (のちに好意), Freya and Fratley with “koibitos”/恋人 (see the rest of this analysis for more on this word), and Zidane and Dagger with the “important existence/person” identification (scans again courtesy of Celes and Balthea).” The book in the quote is the FF 20th Anniversary Ultimania.

Source of Noel & Yeul, Snow x Serah and Freya and Fratley kobito quotes plus kobito definition by TLS (The Lifestream Forums):

https://thelifestream.net/…/dilly-dally-shilly-…/old-ghosts/ https://thelifestream.net/reviews-analysis/dilly-dally-shilly-shally-an-ltd-analysis/a-puppet-who-can-see-the-strings/

Snow and Serah called “koibitos”/恋人:

Noel and Yeul called “koibitos”/恋人:

Freya and Fratley called “koibitos”/恋人:

One person asked The Lifestream forums why the translator hitoshura did not translate kobito 恋人 as lover since they have translated kobito as lover with regards to other canon couples as the quotes and links above have shown and this was the response that hitoshura originally wanted to translate it as lover but didn’t because beloved is prettier/more romantic.

If that is the case then why are Snow x Serah, Noel and Yeul and Freya and Fratley not called beloved especially since the Clotis at The Lifestream Forums gave this as their own definition of the meaning of kobito:

“Of greatest significance here is the word “koibito” (恋人) — a Japanese word usually meaning “lover,” “boyfriend” or “girlfriend” depending on the context. When examined as its separate components, “koi” and “hito”/”bito,” one sees that the literal meaning is “loved person.” Given the purely romantic/sexual connotations of “koi,” it might be better read as “desired person.”

If “koibito” (恋人) means lover to them for multiple canon couples then why would they not translate it as lover when Case of Lifestream was translated? Could it be because the Clotis do not wish to admit that Cloud is Aerith’s lover/sweetheart and boyfriend because it would invalidate their long standing claim Cloud being Tifa’s boyfriend/sweetheart/lover?

They have even tried to make multiple definitions for kobito. One definition being mutual for Cloti and every other canon couple in Final Fantasy yet its only one sided love with regards to Case of Lifestream where they translated that kobito means “beloved” when used by Aerith implying its only talking about her feelings with regard to Cloud.

However this would contradict their own definition of kobito: “What’s important to understand about the word is that it reflects the feelings of one person toward another. In other words, this sentence says that one of Tifa’s roles is that of one loved/desired by another. Furthermore, while the antiquated understanding of the word — the technical meaning, one might say — is that this only confirms a one-sided love, as it is used today, the word carries a connotation of mutuality. Essentially, it is identical in meaning and usage to the English “beloved”, where beloved has mutual meaning although that might simply be the case cause its an analysis of Tifa’s kobito quote from the Reunion files (see above picture) and anything Cloti is mutual but Clerith is one sided even “koibito” (恋人) which is mutual regardless of pairings.

Source of The Lifestream question about hitoshura‘s translation of kobito as beloved for the Case of Lifestream White kobito quote:

Clerith Word Alphabet FF7r Edition [7/26] • G is for Gemütlichkeit

I think people need to understand that FF7 and KH exist in different continuities/universes. The writers of KH story aren't obliged to 100% follow everything from the FF7 universe.

A. Go away.