TheReasonableClerith

I don’t think people realise what they’re doing when they say the Buster Sword represents Zack. The Buster Sword is one of the most iconic pieces of game design ever created. It’s both the first and last thing a player of the OG sees. For many players, it’s shorthand for the incredible experiences they had with FF7 growing up, a symbol tied to some of their most memorable moments in gaming. It’s intrinsically attached to the FF7 brand. Arguably even more so than the meteor in the logo itself. Specifically, it's a symbol of Cloud, the protagonist taking you on this beautiful journey. Zack is an important part of the story. He’s the missing link for Cloud, a key motivator and the person who saved his life. He starts Cloud’s journey. He’s also a great addition to the series: a ray of sunshine in an otherwise bleak world. He’s an important part of Cloud’s character. But having a character who played only a small role in the original FF7 (largely due to development constraints) subsume so many of these symbolic elements risks undermining what made those moments special. It slowly detaches long-time fans, the people who have been there since the beginning, from some of their core memories of the game. Yes, supplementary material expanded Zack’s role. But we shouldn’t pretend those works reached the same audience. The novels, and even Advent Children, were experienced by only a fraction of the players who played the mainline game. For many fans, Zack represents the era where the Compilation wasn’t firing on all cylinders. A period where some creative missteps were made, especially when compared to the Remake titles. If we start attributing core imagery and symbolism to characters other than the protagonist people originally connected with, it risks undermining the very foundation that made all that supplemental material possible. The Buster Sword was owned by Zack. Before Zack, Angeal. But it has always been and will always be, the symbol of Cloud and his journey. Anything else feels disingenuous to those who remember the magic of the original: when Square were creating legendary IP that helped define a console generation. That's why the flower and sword, may evoke memories of Zack, or signify a journey, or even represent a fragmented mind - but ultimately, those two objects represent two of the OG's most enduring characters. Cloud and Aerith. *Beautiful image by NCCRYPT - purchase here redbubble.com/people/nccrypt

@RadiantAntiHero Cloud's too big. Can you make him smaller than the Chocobo?

@JosemariBa53012 @RadiantAntiHero Tifa's too small.

@RadiantAntiHero Fixed it for her

Who’s gonna tell her that Tifa had about 40 minutes of plot relevance in Disc 2, then is largely forgotten by the story after the LSS… you know, just like the rest of the regular party members? Aerith remains important until the very end, and Zack even has his own side story.

@GlobalFC5 Irony, I assume?

In my opinion, it wasn't a foul🙄. It was an accidental collision between both players. 😞 The referee made the wrong decision—it should never have been a red card.🤬

Maybe they'll like this one.

@47_blackwolf @RadiantAntiHero TBF, Cid has just as much right to that accolade, surely?

@RadiantAntiHero You know you are literally lying right? Tifa is almost the mc of most of disc 2

The trio

If you want to lean into the Japanese hard, that's absolutely legitimate. But equally, it means you have to accept the Marlene conversation with Zack, in Japanese. There it's much, much clearer that Aerith has romantic feelings for Cloud, with no reference to "because you weren't there."

Disagree, the Japanese is official imo. Also, in English saying you want to be with someone while you are already next to them has a different implication than what she actually conveys. She is searching for the real Cloud, which she hasn’t found yet. Cloud says, “I’m right here” and she is like, no, you’re not basically. This sentiment is then echoed in the forgotten forest, where she tells Cloud again to find his true self, the one she has been looking for.

Why do people feel the need to say that "Hollow" can't just be about Cloud's song for one person? Isn't "Eyes on Me" about Julia and Laguna? Doesn't "Suteki Da Ne" express Yuna's feelings toward Tidus? So why not just admit that "Hollow" is simply about Cloud and Aerith?

@ShutUpWilll The problem is that in the picture, Cloud has clearly stolen Zack's sword.

I think the problem is that they made Aerith too small.

It's too easy to be mean about this so I won't. But what I will say is that it's impressive how many hoops people will jump through to try and find a "logical" interpretation of the song just to avoid accepting the one that is staring at them right in the face.

the cloud and aerith plushies oh my god... i'm going to cry they are so loved

@trabisescorte28 @bluthundyr @DarkAvenger0000 No, you read it that way because you are sensitive to it. Because you, like me, are a shipper. The way I meant it was actually supporting your argument that he actually wasn't as healthy then and it could be construed as him being worse, mentally.

@thereasonablecl @bluthundyr @DarkAvenger0000 Don't give me that now. You felt the need to bring Tifa into it, you know full well what you were doing, lol.

"Holding hands is just platonic." Then why do so many of you immediately question it?

@trabisescorte28 @bluthundyr @DarkAvenger0000 No. And I don't see the shipper label as negative in any way. What I do too take umbrage with is Shippers who don't admit it.

@thereasonablecl @bluthundyr @DarkAvenger0000 "Speaking as a shipper", is it telling the truth right now, or saying that Tifa is described as the anchor? When someone goes against your illusions, they’re all just shippers, lol. I get it now.

@trabisescorte28 @bluthundyr @DarkAvenger0000 *no choice

@trabisescorte28 @bluthundyr @DarkAvenger0000 The single scene is all we have, so we have to choice but to make assumptions from it. And he didn't when Tifa was about to fall?

@trabisescorte28 @bluthundyr @DarkAvenger0000 Okay, "sigh" That makes more sense. You wrote "sight" twice. Personally I don't hear it as that conclusive, but in all likelihood, that's not the same Aerith, anyway.

@thereasonablecl @bluthundyr @DarkAvenger0000 this what i'm talking bout... the sigh is obvious and so is the punctuation in the text box. check out the jp version, especially the expression

You are the one drawing that conclusion. All I said was that Cloud is broken out of Sephiroth's control by a memory of Aerith - which is true. Which explains my view that Cloud wouldn't have been able to do anything to hurt Aerith, this time around. Which plays into my main argument of him being more mentally stable versus the OG.

@thereasonablecl @bluthundyr @DarkAvenger0000 Even Barret himself helped cloud once or twice in the game when it comes to this, but for these fans, Aerith has some kind of exclusivity in that regard. you treat it all like a competition among the girls.

@trabisescorte28 @bluthundyr @DarkAvenger0000 I don't really see how this is linked to our debate?

@thereasonablecl @bluthundyr @DarkAvenger0000 it's always the same old story and the same old scene they keep using💀 It seems like they're ignoring the whole game, when Tifa is always there to shake him up. Even Aerith herself admits that in the Temple of the Ancients.

@trabisescorte28 @bluthundyr @DarkAvenger0000 See, now you're talking like a shipper. I just said "make of that what you will." And drew a valid comparison to two things. I don't even really know what you are arguing at this point? I thought we were just talking about whether Cloud was more or less stable?

@thereasonablecl @bluthundyr @DarkAvenger0000 he doesn't care about tifa right?💀 i swear you people choose to ignore what's literally infront of you... she is literally his anchor, most of the game she is there grounding him/break him out of sephiroth control, did you even play the game? shippers being shippers i guess😑

@trabisescorte28 @MargotxAerith @bluthundyr @DarkAvenger0000 O! I see.

@thereasonablecl @MargotxAerith @bluthundyr @DarkAvenger0000 there is rabid shippers and then there's "reasonable" shippers, that's what i meant.