𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜

fun + cool cloud strife facts

cloud has an autopsy scar, aka a y-shaped incision down the torso. cloud also has no memories of where it came from :)

cloud’s had a snapped neck before and should’ve died right then and there but the power of j-cells™ renders actual death impossible.

cloud sometimes phases through walls and floors. also levitates at random intervals.

the roman numeral seven is tattooed on cloud’s neck. cloud is completely unaware of this tattoo, and it’s rather unfortunate that hojo had forgotten about it, too…

HOWEVER, cloud does occasionally respond to being called “number 7″, usually in the midst of a mental breakdown (and in rarer instances, “number 7″ will be the only thing cloud responds to!)

cloud may or may not have attempted to merge with one or two of the other clones in nibelheim.

cloud still thinks about the reunion from time to time, and there’s always that urge to go to it…

cloud always referred to jenova as “mother” (and still does, sometimes), despite knowing that it’s wrong to do so.

and one extra fun last one:

cloud doesn’t know what it’s like to not hear voices all the time.

Beautiful.

Cloud’s special bond with Aerith

Everyone knows by now that Cloud and Aerith have a special bond, even those that deliberately ignore it. We know that Aerith can see Cloud for who he is, despite he himself not even understanding it at that point, due to her unique abilities. I want to examine this a bit further, however. I think that Aerith could sense “the real Cloud” for an even deeper reason than the fact that she was the last Cetra. Why? Well… Cloud and Aerith are soulmates! And the Lifestream backs me up on this…

Let me explain. I know the narrative simply necessitates that some of these moments are the way they are but… it’s written like that for a reason, no?

Aerith has no real reason to be in Sector 8 so late at night selling flowers, does she? She says herself, or at least insinuates, that almost no one stops to buy them, anyways. Probably not a very good marketing strategy, huh? She knows her stuff, too! The guys in Wall Market even compliment her on how good of a business woman she is. So then… Why does she linger around Sector 8 after an explosion and when people are running around chaotically and pushing her over? 

I think it’s because she could sense that she was going to have an important meeting with someone. She was listening/talking to the Lifestream in an alleyway before moving out into the street and sticking around for who-knows-how-long while Cloud and Avalanche were blowing up Mako Reactor 1, right? What other reason does she have for sticking around if no one is buying her flowers and she doesn’t even realize what’s going on? 

She lets Cloud buy one of her precious flowers for only a gil, indicating that she’s at the very least attracted to him … or maybe she’s just happy he isn’t trying to ask her on a date? Maybe it’s because she knows that he’s going to be important to her later on. 

Cloud falls from Mako Reactor 5 and into the abandoned church that Aerith tends flowers in. Talk about a hell of a coincidence, huh… She instantly recognizes him and even remembers whether or not he bought a flower from her. 

Now… everything up to this point could be attributed to Aerith recognizing Zack’s sword and armor and maybe even general demeanor and SOLDIER-y-ness (y’know… the stuff she admits to later during their date) but I think there’s something more there. 

Suddenly, she asks if Cloud has any materia. Weird thing to bring up outta the blue… She just wanted to talk about her materia, for whatever reason. It could be a reference to the beginning of the game when she was talking to the Lifestream, since she says she knows how to use it but that it doesn’t do anything. She brings up her birth mother to an absolute stranger, clearly feeling safe enough around him to mention a topic she has issues with talking about. She certainly didn’t talk about her birth mother with Zack. 

She asks him to stick around and talk to her for a while since they’re “meeting again and all”. Cloud’s presence makes her feel safe and secure and I think, even if she doesn’t know how important he’s going to be to her later, that she can sense that she needs to stay near him. She lets him in on little details about her life like her mother and her materia but doesn’t want him to know that she’s a Cetra just yet. Probably the plot just foreshadowing that there’s something special about her, I guess.

After he escorts her home and she volunteers to take him to Sector 7 the next morning, her mother, Elmyra, tells Cloud to leave because Aerith “doesn’t need her feelings hurt again”. Cloud leaves and then finds Aerith waiting for him near the entrance to Sector 6. She doesn’t know that much about him at this point… they’ve only hung around each other for half a day at most… so why would she know he was going to go on his own? I think this one could be attributed to her hearing Elmyra, though. Even though… she already knows the name of Tifa’s bar without Cloud ever having mentioned it.

Then they end up in the park where Aerith and Cloud tall about the first guy she ever liked. He asks her what his name was, citing that he probably knew him, and she said it doesn’t really matter. Then, Tifa comes through the gate in the back of the chocobo carriage and, after Cloud yells out to her, Aerith goes running after her all on her own. What reason would she have for running after a complete stranger that this other almost complete stranger knows? I think she doesn’t hesitate because Cloud has already become important to her and any friend of his is a friend of hers.

Marlene, too. Aerith endangers herself to go find the daughter of a man she hasn’t even met just because she’s important to Tifa who Aerith has only known for a few hours… I don’t think it’s because she’s selfless, though she is. Tifa recognizes that Aerith was always looking forward to the future more than any of them and undoubtedly wanted to live. Aerith is selfless, but only when it comes to the people who are important to her.

Aerith’s story becomes very focused on her history and finding out everything she can (usually on her own) after the party leaves Midgar. Though Cloud can see she’s feeling lonely and struggling with being the last Cetra and the weight that puts on her soul, everyone is too busy worrying about Sephiroth and Shinra to notice how upset she truly is. The important thing is that Cloud recognizes that she feels alone and that he tries to rectify that after her death by putting his feelings aside and finishing the job for her.

Cloud’s heart is in shambles after she is taken away from him. Aerith can feel Cloud’s heartbreak and sorrow, even after her death.  Sounds to me like they have a stronger bond than just “platonic friends who are sad about not being together anymore”. It’s stated that her consciousness lives on inside of him… but “how is that possible exactly?” 

Well, let’s look at this from Cloud’s side now. 

What’s special about Cloud is that he has insane amounts of mako energy inside of him, even more than a regular SOLDIER. As we all know, mako energy is just the Lifestream turned into a renewable energy source. Aerith is able to directly communicate with the Lifestream. That’s how her consciousness, which moves on into the Lifestream after her death, is able to live on inside of him. That’s how Aerith knows that Cloud’s current ex-SOLDIER persona isn’t his real self. They can communicate through their souls by way of the Lifestream.

Cloud can feel Aerith (and Sephiroth) in his soul. He can hear Aerith calling to him from faraway places. He can share dreams with Aerith. He instinctively knows where to find her. All of this indicates that they have a strong bond within, not only themselves but, the Lifestream, too. 

So why is that important? Tifa puts Cloud’s shattered mind back together in the Lifestream, after all. The Lifestream reveals the truth about everything. It is also where all of the souls from Gaia come to rest after their deaths. If Cloud and Aerith could communicate their real feelings through the Lifestream before her death and his breakdown, then they clearly have a strong bond to the Lifestream and each other, no? Tifa was mostly just a bystander while Cloud repaired his own fractured psyche, she said so herself.

It’s probably due to Aerith that neither of them died when they entered the Lifestream, seeing as how she can control the ENTIRE energy of the planet to stop a meteor from crashing into it, all because she loves her friends.

So! The Lifestream is the reason behind Cloud and Aerith’s deep soul bond and the reason that they aren’t parted, even after her death. That’s why they’re soulmates :)

Many sacrificed all for the King, so must the King sacrifice himself for all.

I just love him 😩🖤

Part 1: Enter, Ex-SOLDIER! [A Complete Analysis of Final Fantasy VII]

Masterlink here.

Welcome! This is the first post in my chapter-by-chapter analysis of the entire Final Fantasy VII. Each chapter will be primarily based on the original 1997 game, with discussion of the compilation works where relevant – ie. when they pertain to the original (OG). Aside from a spoiler-warning for the entire FF7 (this is the only warning I’ll give), I want to note a few things before we start.

Keep reading

Noctis>> you

Would do anything for this baby