Tifa & Aerith Reunited!

Talk about a coincidence!

(Previous post here)

On 14th February 2019, Square Enix decided to celebrate Valentine’s day with an article about 

5 great Final Fantasy love stories.

Here we find:

- Noctis & Lunafreya (FFXV)

- Tidus & Yuna (FFX)

- Maria & Draco (FFVI)

- Squall & Rinoa (FFVIII)

and..........

Zidane & Garnet? Celes & Locke? Serah & Snow?

No

Zack & Aerith. Crisis Core. 

Weird. This happened just one year before the release of the Remake, where, coincidentally, there are tons of Crisis Core references. Aerith almost cries while remembering Zack, Zack survives his last stand and there is a beautiful slow-motion scene where Zack and Aerith perceive each other’s presence while Hollow starts playing...

But don’t worry,

It must be just a coincidence!

Advent Children Complete | Last Order

Zack and Cloud / Cloud and Denzel

FF7 Remake ~English/Japanese Comparison Master Post

I have been noting the differences between the official North American English language version of FF7R and the Japanese game. Translation choices are guided by cultural differences and the media tropes, audience expectations, and localized needs that shape the narrative. These small differences can significantly impact how we understand characters and their relationships. I love sharing my observations and guesses with other fans!   I think I am pretty unbiased since this is my first real encounter with the story (husband played the OG so I know a little bit) but know these are still my thoughts on it. I am overall disengaged from the surprisingly vitriolic ship wars. Pls don’t drag me into that.     I have made 10 posts at least 20 about it so far. The earlier ones are a bit sloppily done but as I’ve continued, the later posts got more streamlined and easier to read. Sorry for typos. I’ll update this master post occasionally when more posts come. If you are so moved, there is a link to send me a cup of coffee because I can only really do these late at night.   

20. Tifa’s resolution 19. “You can’t fall in love with me” 18. EVERYONE DIES 17. Interlude: CLOUD AND TIFA LUUURRRVVEE EACH OTHER - I only did a few and they are somewhere in the comments.  16. Untranslatable weird speech things: the case of Reno 15. Untranslatable weird speech things: the case of Wedge ~Shameless request to please buy me coffee. I don’t have a patreon 14. Hide and Seek with Tifa and Aerith, aka Chicks before Dicks  13. We’ve got a bodyguard, don’t forget. MINE. 12. HOHEEEEEEEEE + video 11. Pretty boys, homely girls, nailed it, and is Cloud…kind of stupid? 

~~Pause for a Reeve appreciation post~~ 10: Someone’s got a bit of a crush 9. That’s the perfect type for you I’d say. 8. Is Tifa, like, your girlfriend? 7. Aerith’s personality differences.  6. Not a “Merc” and other observations.  5. You and everybody and their mother.  4.5 note: A great Japanese youtuber compares the Ghost scene. 4. Tifa, the protector. 3. Lovers used to give these when they were reunited… 2. Flirting at the bar. 1. Alone at last.

New headcanon unlocked

Sephiroth is constantly like nonstop scattering feathers in remake/rebirth even when his wing isn't out so either some other part of him is also feathered or he like collects all the ones he molts and tosses them like confetti whenever he wants to make an entrance

okay I just had to back up a bit to verify it was you. How we feeling about Roche

My thoughts on Roche can be found summarized here

To not summarize them:

I love how stupidly consistent with the original he feels. I love Reno's comment in remake that all SOLDIERS are in fact, massive weirdos. I love how gay they let him be. I love that he quotes Romeo & Juliet. Except, in this universe, Loveless is the stand in for shakespeare and there's actually several shakespeare lines in the performance at the saucer. So there's like a 90% chance Roche was just quoting Loveless when he said that. I love that he put in the effort to hire a full brass band for his showdown in Junon. I love his stupid little keychain (yes I had it equipped for like half my playthrough)

Most of all I love that Cloud???? Weirdly respects him???? After their first duel, whenever Roche shows up, Cloud plays by the rules and tells all his allies to stand down so they can 1v1. He genuinely likes Roche and has this begrudging fondness for their random shonen rivalry. You don't see him giving Sephiroth any of that. Cloud has so many random people obsessed with him, and you know the only one he tolerates??? Roche. What the hell.

If we're talking about his final fight, let me just say: Ow.

Beautiful in every universe

Shepherd of Memories (Reaper Aerith concept)

Now I can officially say my birthday falls on Final Fantasy VII day 🥳

I’ll be going now. I’ll come back when it’s all over.

I can't grasp the reason why on this website there's this sort of unwritten rule that doesn't allow you to use the Clerith (or Cloti, I guess?) tag unless you're going to celebrate that one ship (does it work this way for every argument or is it just a FF7 LTD related thing?). Otherwise some self-proclaimed tags-controllers will order you to change your writing, in spite of basic common sense and freedom of expression.

As if this sort of cultic anon intimidations could actually scare anybody.

It's tremendously silly, why can't someone tag clerith if the enterity of their article is going to be about clerith and the tone, despite their opinion, is being polite and unagressive? If someone doesn't agree and really can't live with it, there's a useful, easy tool called "block button".

In a way it's hilarious, if the anon was reacting to OP's recent post, they missed the chance to say something productive and give an alternative answer to his last ask, explaining how and why clerith is the end-game pairing.

But, weird, it didn't happen.

All flash, no substance.

Bruh, we don't want to hear about your negative views about cleriths. Cloud loves Aerith and he always has. He lives in her church because he loves her. He thought of Aerith a lot in OG , On the Way to A Smile, and AC. He went to live in her church. Why tf would he go live in her church if it wasn't for Aerith? There are millions of places he could've gone but he chose the church. You don't have to believe our way of thinking if you don't want to, but don't tag clerith in your posts.

Thanks for your question. I think it's important to have these conversations so we can clear up these misunderstandings. Clouds motivations have been well documented so it's unfortunate that large swaths of the fandom seemingly are still in the dark about something that has been known for quite a long time, and I blame lack of communication. Before I answer your question though I'd like to address the style of it, since I find it amusing that in response to my article concerning productive conversation styles you not only used one of the styles I described, but even the same exact argument. This is a nice confirmation for me that I am right on the money. In my article, I said that the "dishonest inquiry" is the Clerith conversation style of choice. The example I gave was as follows:

The dishonest inquiry: “Why don’t you admit that Clouds actions in AC show that he doesn’t love Tifa?”

You mirrored this approach by saying "Why tf would he go live in her church if it wasn't for Aerith?". The defining characteristic of the dishonest inquiry is that the question isn't asked with the goal of seeking clarification, but as an offensive tactic meant to attack the others position, you're not trying to evaluate your position, you're trying to get others to re-evaluate their position under the guise of a question. If we look at the rest of your post we can see the indicators I described for someone who has reached the last stage of the debate style. "Cloud loves Aerith and he always has. He lives in her church because he loves her". As I noted in my article:

If assertions are backed up, they are backed up with other assertions designed to dissuade rebuttals, rather than investigating veracity.

This "argument" had no actual arguments, it was a meaningless assertion. Stating that you are correct in an attempt to avoid having to actual show that you're correct. "Cloud loves Aerith and he always has. He lives in her church because he loves her": This is what you're trying to prove, you can't state what you're trying to prove as your starting premise.

If you're honestly interested in learning more about FFVII then leave out the baseless assertions, they literally just waste peoples time and makes them less willing to engage with you.

If I had to rephrase your question in a way that's more inviting for a productive discussion it would be something like this:

"Why do you believe Cloud chose Aeriths Church as his hiding place in AC? He thinks about Aerith a lot, what do you think the reason is for that if it's not love?".

The answer to this is pretty simple of course, it's been restated several times, this is not something that is some grand mystery, it's not even an aspect of FFVII that's particularly ambiguous. The reason he stays in Aeriths church is the same reason he's seen lingering at Zacks "grave", it's guilt. As stated in the 10th anniversary ultimania, and several other times:

when Cloud contracts Geostigma he disappears. Behind these actions lies feelings of guilt towards his past failure to protect people who were important to him

While this is an element of the story that has been explicitly confirmed through ultimanias and quotes, this is not an element of the story that was ever in any way unclear, its a direct continuation of Clouds character arc in FFVII. Infact, Clouds mental health issues are the central part of the fake persona storyarc, and is arguably the core of the story. The rough order of events shown in FFVII, on the way to a smile, and Advent children (and also CC) concerning Clouds mental health is as follows. 1: Cloud as a boy want to protect Tifa. 2: Cloud fails to protect Tifa. 3: Cloud and townspeople blame Cloud for Tifas injuries. 4: Cloud internalizes this and beats himself up over his failure to protect Tifa. He develops a fear of failure. 5: Cloud starts acting up, starts wanting to prove himself, and decides to join Soldier to impress Tifa. 6: Cloud fails to get into Soldier, develops an inferiority complex. 7: Cloud is too ashamed of his failure to face Tifa. 8: Cloud fails to save his mother. 9: Cloud fails to save Nibleheim. 10: Cloud fails to save Tifa, again. 11: Cloud fails to save Zack. 12: Cloud develops a soldier alter ego that is everything that he isn't, as a defense mechanism. He hides from his own weakness. 13: Even as a soldier, Cloud fails to save Aerith. 14: Cloud regains his memories in the lifestream, and discovers he did fulfill his promise to come save Tifa. Here we basically end FFVII, and go into on the way to a smile. At this point Cloud has overcome the alien parasite messing with his mind by establishing a stronger sense of who he is. However, now that he's lost his fake soldier defense mechanism he's forced to deal with the past. His past failures haven't been fixed, he doesn't suddenly think he's a great person now, he simply can no longer use his fake persona to hide from his own weakness, and is forced to confront it. 15: Cloud still blames his own weakness for the deaths of Aerith and Zack, he thinks that he needs to atone for his sins, and thinks that the only way to do this is through living* 16: Cloud starts living with Tifa and experiences happiness and peace for the first time in his adult life.** 17: Cloud develops cherophobia and survivors guilt. He feels ashamed for being alive and happy while Aerith and Zack are dead because of him.*** 18: Clouds mental health deteriorates because of these feelings.**** 19: Cloud finds Denzel and sees him as a way to atone, having found a pathway to redemption, Clouds situation improves.***** 20: Cloud is unable to save Denzel from geostigma, and contracts it himself. 21: Clouds mental health worsens again, he failed again, he is unable to save Denzel, he is even unable to save himself, he won't be able to atone for his sins through living. He potentially brought an infectious disease into the house and as a result of his actions Tifa and Marlene will now lose him. 22: Depressed and ashamed, Cloud runs away. He thinks Tifa and Marlene are better off without him, he doesn't want them to see him waste away and die, he feels like he doesn't deserve to be happy and should instead die alone, Etc. Classic depression. (Some quotes concerning the *** are at the bottom of the article)

As for why he thinks about Aerith and Zack a lot, and hangs around the places that are connected with them, what else do you expect? Of course he's thinking about them, they're the people he failed, they're DEAD because of him. Cloud is a caring man, he beats himself up over it, of course he'd be thinking about them. And where else would a man wallowing in guilt and self-pity go than to those places? But the important thing to remember is that none of this is supposed to be seen as romantic. It's supposed to be viewed as sad and negative. Every internal character arc has something to overcome and this is what Cloud has to overcome in Advent children.****** Tifa to Cloud: "have we lost to our memories?" Cloud to Sephiroth: "Stay where you belong, in my memories" A well written story has internal and external obstacles to overcome, and ties the two together. In the case of advent children, the return of Sephiroth is the physical representation of Clouds internal character arc, which is that he should stop living in the past, and should move on. The past here isn't a positive thing he wants to get back to, Clouds past has always been a thing he's ran away from, but then is forced to accept. The past in Clouds case is a bad thing, his failures, and is something he should stop dwelling on. If you've ever seen the lion king, this resembles the scene where Rafiki hits Simba with a stick. "What does it matter, it's in the past", "yeah but it still hurts", "Oh Yes, the past can hurt, but the way I see it you can either run from it, or learn from it".

When Cloud returned to his normal self, he stopped running from the past, but as a result, he started dwelling in it. That's what he's doing in Aeriths church; dwelling in misery.

If we juxtapose Aeriths church with the 7th heaven, we can start to see where peoples misunderstandings are taking place. When some people look at the events of ACC they think that 7th heaven is a place of sadness, which Cloud leaves to be happy at Aeriths church, the place of happiness. The "have we lost to our memories" is then seen as a confirmation of this and that the memory, which they think corresponds to Aerith, is better than life with Tifa. This character arc then concludes with Cloud being happy by finally leaving Tifa behind, and riding off in the sun-set in search of Aerith at the end of the movie. But this interpretation falls apart as soon as you apply context to it, both narratively, and factually, it doesn't fit with with developer quotes, as well as the fundamental story themes of FFVII. 1: If 7th Heaven/Tifa is a place of sadness, then why has Cloud been consistently quoted to experience happiness there? 2: If 7th Heaven/Tifa is a place of sadness, and Cloud leaves at the end of the movie, then why has it been stated to be his promised land, aka, his land of supreme happiness (the reason it's literally called 7th heaven), and why is he stated to return there? ******* 3: If Clouds "memories" are positive, why is the plotarc resolved by Cloud telling the villain to "stay there"? 4: If Cloud is happy at the church, why is he living in self-deprecating squalor? 5: If Cloud loved Aerith and thought Denzel was sent to him by her, why did he abandon him? 6: Do you really think SE would write a story about a "hero" whose main emotional hurdle concerning the past comes down to. "I am sick of the girl I am with, I prefer the one that is dead, so I will get over the past by letting go of the girl I am with, as well as my adoptive children, to go chase the dead girl"? 7: Don't you think this would do Tifas character a tremendous disservice and do you think SE would be that preferential in their treatment? I could go on, but I think the point is clear. While the "Aeriths church is a happy place" interpretation is semi-coherent when looked at in isolation, it becomes exceedingly bizarre as soon as you place it in context. As I am fond of saying, this is not a matter of personal interpretation, it's a matter of lying to yourself vs not lying to yourself. I also suspect that this is the reason why SE changed the ending to advent Children, because people were misinterpreting it in this bizarre way, so they made it more in your face. In context, the following interpretation is much more fitting. Aeriths church is a place of sadness that Cloud runs to because of his guilt and depression. The "memories" line refers to Cloud dwelling on his past mistakes, as evidenced by his constant quotes about needing forgiveness. The character arc of moving on from the past is then resolved when he forgives himself, and as a result, defeats sephiroth, the metaphorical demon of his past. This allows him to return to his place of joy, his promised land, the 7th heaven, with a more positive outlook on the past. Instead of tarnishing Aerith and Zacks memories by wallowing in the past he instead moves on from it, thereby allowing it to become beautiful, which is represented by him planting Aeriths flowers on Zacks grave, and placing Zacks sword in the church. Instead of Zacks grave being the place where Zack died, it is now the place where a hero was born. Cloud has moved on, he has let his mistakes go, and has learned to come to terms with himself. I think it's hard to argue that this version of events is much less shallow, and much more meaningful than the story of a lovesick guy who abandons his partner and adoptive kids to go chase after a dead girl, but that's just me, what's more important is that it's the only version of events that's corroborated by the evidence. Thanks for the question. __________________________________________________

Corroborating quotes (not comprehensive)

* from case of Tifa: "“I’m going to live. I think that’s the only way I can be forgiven. All sorts of things…"

** Nojima in AC prologue: "“Cloud never had a candid personality to begin with, and although he started living with Tifa and even started working, he obtained a peaceful livinghe’s never experienced before, and this conversely made him anxious. And in the midst of this he contracts Geostigma himself, and rather than being able to protect the people dear to him, he instead was forced to face his own death, and so ran away.” (among other quotes)

*** 10th anniversary ultimania: "when Cloud contracts Geostigma he disappears. Behind these actions lies feelings of guilt towards his past failure to protect people who were important to him"

Aeriths 10th anniversary profile : Aerith still lives on in the hearts of her friends who saved the planet. And in particular to Cloud, as a symbol of his failure to having being unable protect those dear to him, she was a major factor in causing him to close himself off. -Aerith’s 10th anniversay profile.

And more, really this is reiterated constantly.

**** From case of Tifa: "During that time, it was Marlene who noticed a change in Cloud. She told Tifa how Cloud would sometimes space out and not listen to her.

Transporting mail around the world meant he was traveling around his past too. She knew that Cloud was in great pain because he couldn’t protect Aerith. Cloud was trying to overcome that and live on. But, going back to the place where he parted from Aerith might mean that his sorrow and regret was going to tear his heart again.

It was night, and they had closed the bar. Cloud was drinking alcohol even though he rarely did. He drained his glass. Tifa thought about it before going over and filling his glass.

***** From case of Tifa: "Tifa wondered if they became a real family after Denzel appeared. Cloud was clearly taking less jobs. At night, he would always make sure he had time to spend with the children. The silly little conversations he had with Tifa were also back."

****** Reunion files, page 58: "As long as Cloud blames himself for Aerith’s death, he won’t be able to move on with his life. One of the first ideas we had for Advent Children was to have Cloud overcome and resolve that immense feeling of guilt. For Cloud, no one other than Aerith can solve that problem for him."

- Takahiro Sakurai pg. 15 reunion files: After Cloud was told, “Which is it? A memory or us?: by Tifa, he tells Sephiroth, “Stay where you belong. In my memories,” just before he defeats him. I think Cloud finally becomes free at this moment. Deep down, Cloud knew that he shouldn’t be so hard on himself, but at the same time he couldn’t let go of those feelings of guilt for what happened to Aerith and Zack, or the thought that he could never forgive himself for it. But then his companions made him feel better by telling him to let go. ******* "The place where he awakens—- That is Cloud’s Promised Land As he sleeps, Cloud hears two voices. The voices of two people very dear to him, who are no longer with him. Playfully and kindly, they give him a message: he doesn’t belong here yet. When he awakes, there was his friends. There were the children, freed from their fatal illness. Tifa and Marlene, and Denzel asking for Cloud to heal his Geostigma— his family were waiting. Engulfed in celebration, he realizes where he is meant to live."

"Aerith lends her power to the people suffering from Geostigma in Edge, and personally provides for Cloud’s recovery. Geostigma is cured. Cloud returns to Tifa and the children."

-  FFVII 10th Anniversary Ultimania Complete Timeline

A Clinical Analysis of Cloud's Psychology, Part III - Reintegration and Unconditional Love

This is the conclusion to my series on Cloud's psychology, where I will discuss identity reintegration. The original was posted on Reddit. You don't need to have read the other posts to understand this one, but it's highly encouraged so you can follow my overall train of thought. I'll still include a quick and dirty review of the important concepts from Part II that will be relevant here. To provide some background, I'm currently training in clinical diagnosis and psychotherapy to become a psychologist. I want to apply what I know to break down our understanding of Cloud in a clinical context.

Part I - Trauma, Dissociation, and Psychosis Part II - Identity, Self-Concept, and Mako Part III - Reintegration and Unconditional Love [you are here]

I find the term reintegration very fitting, considering that Cloud's recovery is portrayed by multiple Clouds coming back together again into one whole person. We've established how Cloud's sense of self was shattered through a combination of trauma, Jenova cells, mako poisoning, and his innate desire for strength. In the real world, he'd likely need therapy over his entire lifetime in order to reorganize his identity. But since this is Final Fantasy, Cloud has access to a special metaphysical experience. When Cloud and Tifa fell into the lifestream, he was able to literally pull Tifa into his subconscious and enable her to help organize his memories. I'm going to discuss how and why this works, as well as why Cloud needed Tifa specifically. I'm NOT trying to put a shipping angle on this, I'm just primarily interested in what it took for Cloud to heal, and it's impossible to ignore Tifa's importance in this case.

Quick Recap of Self-Concept

Self-concept, or your understanding of who you are, is made up of three main parts:

Ideal Self - Who you want or aspire to be

Real Self - Who you actually are

Self-Image - Your mental picture of yourself

A good self-image relies on congruence between the ideal self and the real self. Basically, the more similar they are, the better your self-esteem. If they are dissimilar, then it creates incongruence that reduces self-esteem.

Cloud's ideal self wants to be strong, but his real self never made SOLDIER, resulting in incongruence and low self-esteem for much of his life. After Zack's death, Cloud's ex-SOLDIER persona was born inspired by his ideal self, made to help him process his trauma. This boosted congruence but caused him to dissociate from his real self, leaving him vulnerable to manipulation.

The Importance of Tifa

The cornerstone of identity reintegration in the real world is relational support. Because the individual can't rely on himself to reorient who he is, he needs someone else that is able to do that for him, to contain his uncertainties. This often refers to the therapeutic relationship between a patient and his therapist, where the therapist's assurance provides support to the patient and helps him gain the confidence to safely explore his identity. It's clear that for Cloud, the person who helps him reorient his sense of self is Tifa. While Tifa serves the important role of helping Cloud clarify his memories, this alone isn't sufficient for reintegration, the same as how confronting people with the truth doesn't resolve their delusions. It's Cloud's relationship to Tifa that gave him a source of stability to ground him.

In Cloud's subconscious, Tifa helped Cloud remember key parts of his past that explain who he is in the present and why he knows the things that he does. In psychology, the subconscious contains information that isn't immediately part of a person's awareness, therefore this tells us that Cloud indeed still has his real self buried within him. One of the Clouds is different, a child version of him that is meant to represent his true feelings and therefore can be thought of as his real self. This child Cloud ends up explaining the roots of his identity, primarily his ideal self and how it came to be. Child Cloud explains to Tifa that the reason he wanted to join SOLDIER was because he failed to protect Tifa from falling at Mt. Nibel. This tells us that Tifa is at the root of Cloud's ideal self, something that I will keep emphasizing as the key to her importance.

Because Tifa is the root of his ideal self, she is also a massive determinant of Cloud's self-image. This is precisely why Tifa ended up being the final key to Cloud's breakdown at the Northern Crater. When a relational support is feeling anxious or overwhelmed, this spills over to the person relying on her. Prior to Cloud's disappearance after he gave Sephiroth the black materia, Tifa wasn't able to fully be there for Cloud because of her own confusion and apprehension towards Cloud's ex-SOLDIER persona. This only escalated when Sephiroth used her memories against Cloud, casting doubt on whether or not the Cloud she saw in front of her was Cloud from Nibelheim. Remember, the looking glass self draws self-esteem and self-image from how other people see the individual. When Cloud was unsure of who he was, he attempted to look to Tifa for reassurance, and in the moment she was unable to provide that.

Once they're in the lifestream, a large part of what Tifa did was help Cloud affirm that his memories are real. The spent a lot of their time in Cloud's subconscious comparing his memories to Tifa's. But, it was only when Cloud recalled memories that even Tifa couldn't recall that they truly began to make progress with Cloud's identity reintegration. Tifa didn't dig up Cloud's memories, but notably she prompted Cloud to recall why he wanted to join SOLDIER in the first place. Through this, Cloud was prompted to remember the failures that led to his enlistment. Cloud seemed hesitant to talk about his childhood memories related to this, but Tifa provided continuous encouragement as he walked through what happened. And, by recalling why he wanted to join SOLDIER, Cloud was reminded that he never lived up to that dream, directing them to reflect on the Nibelheim Incident again.

Unconditional Love

If we're trying to look at this from a psychology angle, I'd argue that confirming Cloud's memories isn't the most important thing Tifa did for him. The treatment modality that real world therapists use for identity reintegration is called unconditional positive regard, which is unconditional acceptance of a patient as he is. This is telling the patient, "I'm not here to judge you, I will see you and accept you for who you are." This is how the therapist helps the patient manage his fears and anxieties, creating the space for safely exploring his identity. But Tifa isn't Cloud's therapist, she's a dear friend who has a personal relationship with him. When talking about how loved ones help people experiencing identity problems, we say that their unconditional love is what supports the individual. This is why Cloud needed a loved one to be there with him in his subconscious, so that he could find the courage to explore it. Tifa's devotion in particular is so strong that she decided to stay with him in Mideel, when he was at his weakest. Cloud can easily find assurance that she is there to stay and that even when he is weak, she will still accept him. Also, it's worth mentioning that by allowing Tifa into his subconscious, Cloud is expressing unconditional love for her as well. He doesn't blame her for doubting him and still seeks comfort and reassurance from her.

Remember that Cloud's self-esteem is built upon his ability to protect those he cares about. However, Tifa's unconditional love allows him to reshape how his looking-glass self works. Crucially, she affirmed that Cloud did keep his promise, that he did protect her during the Nibelheim Incident. It's a fairly quick moment in the OG, but arguably one of the most important things Tifa says in the story. Cloud felt like he's been failing Tifa for years, but once Tifa tells him that he kept his promise after all, she is telling him that his real self is more congruent with his ideal self than he thinks. Remember, Tifa is at the root of Cloud's ideal self, which is why he cares so much about what she thinks. By providing affirmation, Tifa gave Cloud a means to reconceptualize his self-esteem in a more positive manner. Her unconditional love is also what gives him the courage to openly admit his facade to the rest of the party later on. There also, when Cloud explains how his ex-SOLDIER persona was an illusion, the party doesn't judge him or chastise him for it. They listen to him openly and accept him for who he is, providing unconditional love through their unyielding support for the main mission. This is another rather quick scene, but very necessary for Cloud nonetheless.

Tifa provided Cloud with unconditional love and affirmed congruence between his real self and ideal self. This positively affected his self-esteem and overall self-image, giving him a pathway back to accepting his true self and reintegrating it into his self-concept. It's very clever how the true retelling of the Nibelheim Incident manages to clear up their memories and provide Cloud with affirmation at the same time. I think this is why Cloud is able to reintegrate his identity so shortly after revealing that he was there at the Nibelheim Incident.

Final Thoughts

Something else that came to mind while thinking about Cloud's reintegration is the fact that mentally, he is still around 16 years old. Developmentally, Cloud is still in a period where he would be exploring who he is and looking to the people around him to affirm him. Self-esteem is important for everyone, but especially volatile during adolescence. Teenagers are especially sensitive to other people's opinions, which only highlights the fact that Cloud truly needed to hear affirmation and encouragement from someone else. Because of this, and because of the emotional growth that Cloud experiences, I'd argue that in some ways you could think of his character arc as a coming-of-age story.

Cloud's personal journey is my favorite part of FFVII, and it's amazing to me how well it fits in with real world psychological concepts. I believe that it will be largely preserved from the OG, with expansions to add depth and nuance to Cloud's experience. He's the hero that was never really meant to be a hero but ended up saving the world anyway, and one of my favorite characters in fiction. I hope that my analysis successfully conveys the deep appreciation I have for Cloud's character.

I also might do a similar analysis on Sephiroth eventually?