Personal Views

On Just About Everything Related to FF7

I'll state my case on several things here... mostly related to my fanfictions and other arguments I've had with Shi'Iana and Jac'Kee. They mostly have to do with what I like doing in my fanfics. Mind you, Cloud, Aeris, Tifa, Vincent and Sephiroth fans may not like my views, never mind that they're ALL my favourite characters.

Let's begin with the characters I like themselves....

Cloud Strife

Let's face it. He's plain stupid. Seriously! He couldn't get the guts to talk to Tifa when they were kids, and when he doesn't get into SOLDIER, what does he do? He adopts the memories of someone who did! What a great way of remembering his best friend, Zack! And to make matters worse, he gets into the silly love triangle with Aeris and Tifa, never bothering to sort through his feelings for BOTH of them until Aeris DIED. Just how bloody intelligent is that?? Aeris had to die before he discovers he loved her (though all he did was to declare continual hatred for Sephiroth) and in many fanfics, TIFA has to die before he discovers he really does love HER. How remarkably STUPID IS THAT??? Tifa is the best choice for this poor guy, largely because she has the brains (not to mention the brawn too! Hey, someday he might go ballistic, and who's gonna protect Aeris from that??) to deal with this poor, unstable guy. Cloud was a poor substitute for Zack, anyhow.

Aeris Gainsborough

She is my FAVOURITE CHARACTER, OKAY??? But I'll tell you her pros and cons anyway. I found Aeris to be a nice girl, pretty, sweet, gentle, even flirty girl... she had an inner wisdom derived from the Planet, but for all that power she had to communicate with the Planet, she was more into getting in touch with her feelings for Cloud.... to me, Cloud was her substitute for Zack. She loved ZACK! ZACK, FOR GODS' SAKES!! She also had great magic power, and her fighting with the parasol was pretty hilarious. (I watched Shi'Iana. I have NEVER played the game.) She was also very direct with her feelings, something I admire in her. She liked Cloud, and she went striaght for him! She didn't wait to tell Cloud, she showed her affection for him in every way possible. There's no secret about how she feels about Cloud. I really think she's a forgiving person, because she didn't scream bloody murder at Hojo even after what he did to her. She probably would have forgiven Sephiroth for what he did to her, too. That's her magic.... Wind is like that... she can pass through anything because her heart is insubstantial and like wind, gentle. And her relationship with Tifa, that was one of the best friendships I have ever seen! They both loved the same man (or men, if you count the letter from Zack to Tifa) but they remained friends! What a bloody shame that Aeris had to die. I have no doubt that their friendship would have led them to become soulmates (no no no... not THAT way) and yeah, Tifa and Aeris make the best friendsip couple ever!

Tifa Lockheart

She's my third favourite characters, really. I loved Tifa for her toughness.... but let's face it, she was TOO tough. She loved Cloud all this while, but never really revealed it. It's sickening!! Even the well scene! It's so obvious she liked Cloud despite all that happened, making him promise to be her hero and help her someday... in the end, she's the heroine who still hasn't admitted her feelings!! (sighs) If you read Avalanche X's prelude Never Give Up, youll see that I think Tifa and Cloud are a very good couple. Someone plain stupid like Cloud needs someone really street-smart like Tifa. Everyone needs a healthy dose of Tifa's optimism every now and then. It's a damned shame! Tifa SHOULD have gone with Aeris to the City of the Ancients, at least to prevent that tragedy from happening! T_T Tifa and Aeris were such best friends, and that friendship didn't have to be destroyed! I believe they loved each other, so much so, they loved the same man! If Tifa was ever jealous of Aeris' obvious crush on Cloud, she never showed it, but I believe she SHOULD have done something about it, though. Tifa is a cool character. All you Aeris fans, if you really, really love Aeris, then love Tifa as well! Because Tifa and Aeris belong to each other as best friends!

Vincent Valentine

He's plain dead. He HAS to ATONE, REPENT, for his SINS. It's always that! Doesn't he have ANYTHING better to do?? Sometimes, I wish Hojo had just left him dead! I'm a Vincent fan, too, but when you get to the bottom of his personality, he's just so plain dead! And he could've saved Sephiroth the trouble of getting to know his 'mother' just by popping out of the damned coffin and actually TELLING Sephiroth about Lucrecia! Why didn't he?? Isn't that plain stupid?? But frankly, all that self-suffering makes him pretty cool.

Sephiroth

Here's another stupid one besides Cloud, Tifa, Aeris and Vincent. Yeah, SURE SEPHIROTH SYMPHATIZERS! He had a rough life, most likely, and never had any parental love or support... not even friends... he didn't know how to make friends! But for goodness' sake, relying on some old books for information and then going insane! Couldn't he have shaken it out of Hojo?? I mean, seriously, he was so obviously STRONGER than Hojo, how come it never occurred to him that that old schmuck would have AAAALLLL the answers?? What a bloody shame. But seriously, you have to pity that man for all the hell he's been through. In context, Cloud DID become like his idol. They were both rejected by their peers, and both likely suffered from the same insecurity. But while Cloud had Tifa as a security blanket, what did Sephiroth have? His 'mother' who pulled him along like a puppet just like she did Cloud and causing him to kill the girl who might have been his redemption (more on that later). Something good to say? He's cool.... I like the way he holds himself, even when insane. Such dignity! And admit it, he DOES have a sexually delicious presence in the FMV sequences. (You must be an over-14 female to entertain these thoughts. Heh.)

Aeris' Death

In my opinion: THAT WAS PLAIN STUPID. Yes, it is!! I tell you, she SHOULD HAVE at least taken SOMEONE with her!! Tifa would be the best choice. But she didn't! She HAD to leave them, didn't she?? She HAD to go do her Cetra-do-good-for-the-good-of-the-Planet thing, didn't she? What a WASTE!!! Shi'Iana argues, she didn't know it was going to happen! Well, she could've made some calculations about it, RIGHT?? But Nooooo she had to go, and she had to DIE! Some people argued that she HAD to die, so Holy could come and save the Planet... I don't see any good in Holy coming. It didn't totally stop Meteor! And in dying, she broke the hearts of just about everybody on the bloody team! Why did she DO that?? Also, if she HADN'T died, she could've had a good chance in having a good talking to to Sephiroth about what the Cetra REALLY are. DID SHE??? NO SHE DID NOT!! I believe, once dead, always dead. She wasn't of much use once she was dead!!

Yes, I KNOW, I'm an Aeris fan, but that doesn't stop me from trying to improve her character!! Aeris Fans, please don't flame me. This is my honest opinion. I make deragotary rantings about my favourite people... INCLUDING SHI'IANA.... INCLUDING JAC'KEE.... INCLUDING D'BRAH.... Why should Aeris be excluded? Oh, yeah, because she's just a computer game character.

STILL!!!

Pairings

Oh, this is my favourite part:

Cloud / Aeris? : Nice try!!

Pros :

Cloud was a mean, cold-hearted mercenary until after he meets Aeris, then, apparently, he starts becoming more caring about the fate of the entire Planet in general. Aeris asks Marlene questions about Cloud, Aeris shows that she likes Cloud, they went on that date at the Gold Saucer (they actually FORCE you to go on the bloody date) and frankly, they look awful sweet together! When Aeris dies, Cloud swears revenge on Sephiroth for killing Aeris... very noble of him, eh?

Cons :

But remember, Aeris was plain stupid enough to think that she could substitute CLOUD for ZACK! And Cloud was plain stupid enough to adopt Zack's memories as his own! Two stupid people = MORE stupid people! Plus, she died. Which only made Cloud more hateful of Sephiroth, and how good was that? Right. NOT GOOD! Next!! Cloud had an unwholesome mental instability which would hurt Aeris personally as she thinks of Cloud as a replacement for Zack.... not something I would like for my favourite flower girl.

Cloud/ Tifa? : Hmmm....

Pros :

Tifa said, I wanted to be near you so I could protect you. Ain't that sweet? Cloud liked our dear Tif since childhood, joined SOLDIER just to impress her, promised to return to help her someday. And in effect, I believe he did. He returned to give her a purpose in life, which was, basically, to protect him. Look at the FMV sequences, at the part where Tifa has to hang on to Cloud! She looks at him, and her heart's in her eyes! ITS SO OBVIOUS SHE BELONGS TO HIM!! And besides, because Cloud left to join SOLDIER because of Tifa, he became a hero. Indirectly, Tifa's promise out of him made him a hero!! Cloud's A HERO BECAUSE OF TIFA!!!

Cons :

If you've read Madam Hydra's Conflicts of Interest, there's one part where Tifa thinks "Don't you see, Yuffie? It's not the things which I did to to Cloud.... it's the things which I DIDN'T do." Cloud would have been happier if Tifa had just talked to him during their childhood days in Nibelheim! He would have become less screwed as he got older. His mother always wanted him to have an older girlfriend, anyway (that's always Shi'Iana's contention). And seriously, Cloud's mental breakdowns would be so upsetting to Tifa she might lose her optimistic attitude.

Sephiroth / Tifa : BWAHAHAHAHAHA

Pros :

Both are strong, and pretty formidable in combat. If these two were to become a team, WHOA. Note how Sephiroth has light coloured eyes and Tifa has dark eyes, while Sephiroth's hair is silver, hers is black... she could easily have become his soulmate if it weren't for what happened. Her soul is light, her looks dark, while his soul is dark, his looks light.... symmetrical... I like! Also, consider how her cheerful outlook would have benefited this dark, soulless monster...

Cons :

She..... hates...... his..... guts..... no, not nuff said yet! Sephiroth killed her father, and mortally wounded her, also pulling her heart's love around like a freaking puppet throughout the entire game (until the Lifestream part). They're BOTH pretty unforgiving and stubborn. If those two were to disagree on something, man, I don't wanna be there! Frankly, that in itself would destroy their relationship, because deep down inside, they're too similar..... in a very, very bad way.

Sephiroth / Aeris : OOooooOooo.....

Pros :

Note their similar pasts.... their fathers were scientists, they lost their parents when very young, they were the only ones of their kind... also, they look very nice together. Aeris would be forgiving of his frank, brutal attitude, and he would definitely be grateful for her gentle support of him in whatever good deed he does. He can revert to hero mentality, and Aeris would be able to stand it, largely because she needs a hero herself. He held the Black Materia, while she held the White... their opposite characters definitely would have made an impact on each other. Also consider how Sephiroth admired Professor Gast. If Sephiroth had known Aeris was Gast's daughter, don't you think he would have done something to protect her? Sadly, he never realized that the daughter of the professor he admired was all along in Midgar being chased by the same man that experimented on Sephiroth himself. Also consider this : If Ifalna had been in the laboratory at the same time when Sephiroth was being experimented on, don't you think that he would have noticed Aeris? Couldn't he have been the one to release Ifalna?? Huh?? Didja ever think of that? I know there are people out there who are Aeris-intolerant because of the badass comments Aeris fans make about Sephiroth killing her, and Sephiroth-intolerant people because he killed Aeris... but please... Aeris could probably forgive even JENOVA... Aeris would be able to see good in anybody (whether because she's just naive or plain innocent, I don't know, but it adds to her charm) and she will be able to help in healing Sephiroth, which she does in many of my fanfics.

Cons :

He killed her. Damn. She's also another stupid one, risking her life when she could've saved dozen of others simply by trying to reach Sephiroth. But Noooo.... they had to entwine her with CLOUD. Yuck. Bleeuurrggh. *pukes royally*

Vincent / Lucrecia : Disaster Zone!!

Pros :

It's very obvious that they care for each other, and that Vincent loved Lucrecia, and Lucrecia must have returned his feelings, because why else would Hojo experiment on Vincent rather than just leave the poor bugger to die? Vincent and Lucrecia would definitely have made better parents than Hojo was to Sephiroth.

Cons :

Lucrecia was likely married to Hojo, and possibly Hojo loved his wife. Although he refers to Lucrecia as 'the woman with my child', he must have had some redeeming quality to get Lucrecia in bed with him!!

NOW CONSIDER THIS:

Just about any male character / just about any other attractive male character :

The thing about it is :

Yaoi is so much more romantic than les fics! At least the canonical ones. Gosh, for a guy to hold me like that for once! *swoons* And face it, in many doujinshi, *sigh* Don't you just WISH real life guys are just as sexy as them!! So far, the most popular couples I've seen are Sephiroth/Cloud, Cloud/Vincent, Sephiroth/Vincent, Vincent/Cid. Hojo actually looks cool in some yaoi stories, too! I've seen him in a Hojo/Vincent pairing.... you rarely get to see Hojo THAT sexy!

My Favourite Villians

HOJO

Hojo's definitely my most favourite villian in the entire game. It's not because I'm insane, but he's so intelligent, he let himself get carried away! Wheeee... at least THERE'S a man dedicated to his work. In fact, I wonder how he ever managed to pull himself away from his microscopes to muster the energy needed to make Sephiroth. He was a total badass, had no morals whatsoever, and yeah, I find him good-looking in certain lights (ie. fanarts)

Don Corneo

He's a pervert. Nuff said. I wrote a fic about having his job. He's the one who got Tifa and Aeris to meet, after all. He's got a cool job, too. Hehehhehehehehe.

Rufus Shin-ra and the (male) Turks

Wheeeeoooooo! Rufus is good-looking, has impeccable taste in clothes and is a selfish jerk. Reno is a scruffy looking man with a cute butt and GREAT eyes, while Tseng is so darn serious I wonder just what Elena did to get him to ask her out! Rude.... well, Rude..... Yeah, Rude.... errr..... By the way, did you know that while Rude liked Tifa, Reno actually liked Aeris? They said so! Play it again! Anyway, what Shi'Iana did was to get Tifa to attack Rude and Aeris to attack Reno continually.

More On Aeris

I like seeing things from Aeris' point of view, largely because she's my favourite character, and like me in some very obscure ways. Aeris believes in getting things for herself, and sees the greater good in most things. For example, she saw the greater good in sacrificing herself for Holy (most people's opinion) and although I don't agree with that, and that I believe that people do more good alive than dead, I suppose I've gotta respect that point of view. But I do agree with her showing Cloud affection, considering that Cloud possibly NEEDED it. Aeris opened up a stagnant wound.... but frankly, I believe that Tifa was the one that totally healed that wound.

Aerith means "wind" in Latin, and that explains her forgiving attitude.... and her flightiness, I suppose. Wind blows Clouds where she's going, and sometimes it's just fate, that the Cloud happened to be there when she was blowing past. (It's Cloud's fault for ruining her flowers when he crashed into her church!)

You may ask what I'm doing trying to connect the Tree of Life with Wind, and frankly, I can't find any connection between the two either. It's just that Wind can blow through its branches easily and ruffles its leaves for a bit, therefore Aeris' gentle presence *would* definitely make an impact on Sephiroth's life, right, even if in some soft, unobstrusive way? Aeris has faith in human nature, you know. She wouldn't give up so easily if she saw that she had a chance in stopping Sephiroth.

Aeris also appreciates beauty, something which is shown that no matter how harsh life may be in the slums, she still sold flowers, one gil each, bringing beauty to the slums itself. She graces the dark part of the city with her love for beauty itself, which shows in the church how much effort she puts into tending her flowers.

I find the commercial pictures of her depicting her as rather insipid, but in certain fanart, now, there's a girl to draw! Even in screenshots, she has a certain peaceful quality, something which I was disappointed that I couldn't find in screenshots of her disappearing into the lake. Honestly? That's why I like pairing her with Sephiroth. Even if he lacks hormones enough not to notice her physical attractiveness, he most certainly can't miss her gentle nature. (If he does, he's an idiot.)

You may notice I don't talk much about Zack in here, but as far as I can tell, Aeris loved him very, very much, because he was the only boyfriend she ever had, therefore, her first love. Shi'Iana tells me that Zack was a womanizer, which he might have been, considering the letter he sent Tifa. But as I haven't played the game, I couldn't say for sure. Remind me to grill Shi'Iana for more details on that letter.

Aeris and Tifa

Face it. As best friends go, they belong to each other. They had strengths to substitute each other's weaknesses. Tifa was physically tough, therefore could back Aeris up in any combat scene. I think the two of them alone would have made a really great team. Aeris was also emotionally strong.... if she herself wasn't so caught up with Cloud, she could have given Tifa the courage to tell Cloud about her feelings. It was kinda unfair for the game creators to put them in such a spot. Tifa was a bar-tender, and she dressed.... well.... there's a slang in my school for her type of dressing... BRUTAL! Tifa was a very mature sort of attractive, whereas Aeris was very child-like in her charm. That sort of combination would have made them a hot team!

Seriously, if you asked me who's more attractive, I'd say they're attractive in their own ways. You either prefer worldliness or naivete. I like both. That's why they're so suited for the two main guys in the game. A guy as hopeless as Cloud needs someone worldly and mature to help him through. While someone as disillusioned as Sephiroth would scorn innocence, he would definitely be drawn to it as well.

As for their mutual crush on Cloud, I say, let there be peace between Aeris and Tifa fans.... Aeris was the one to open his uncleaned wound, and both washed it, while Tifa helped close it entirely. Both women are essential in Cloud's healing. It is a plain, simple truth.

But Tifa was not ready to confess her feelings for Cloud, and that led to all the yelling over who loves Cloud more. If Aeris had known just how deep Tifa's love for Cloud was, she certainly would have backed off. It's a feeling sort of thing.

Tifa and Aeris : Friends Forever!

Anti-Shrines

For all intents and purposes, anti-shrines are not really nice. They are mean, deragotary and sometimes downright nasty. But there are SOME people out there who put up such shrines simply because of entertainment, because no one laughs at people's good as much as they do at faults. I have been to several anti-Aeris, anti-Cloud, and anti-Sephiroth sites, and they ARE very funny. Hojo shrines, I have visited two of them.... and I must admit their excellence. We must all be prepared to laugh at ourselves.

When things get really nasty, however, that's where I draw the line. It's fine to laugh, but whole-hearted hating? PLEASE. If you don't like a character, state your reasons, and move on! There are some shrines out there who bash other characters.... and that's not good.

Such as Aeris Shrines.... I have been a good few..... but the worst have been those which bash Tifa. For heaven's sake, Cloud and Tifa belong to each other, there's no point beating up on Tifa because it would have hurt Aeris to know how her friend was being bashed up in her name. I think Aeris would be horrified to find that her best friend was being insulted simply because of the love triangle. If you want Cloud to be with Aeris, then maintain her good name! Don't bash Tifa! And please, Tifa shrines... there ARE Aeris shrines who DO prefer the Cloud/Tifa pairing. You just haven't bothered surfing enough to find them. One of them is Great Gospel. You can find it in the Links page.

So, shrines visitors, if you don't like a shrine or anti-shrine, then for heaven's sake get out of there immediately in stead of pointing fingers and accusing the other for not being understanding, for being ignorant... blah blah blah. Self-righteousness? Do you think your favourite characters would like their fans being like that? Think about it!

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