9/12/2023: HAPPY CLERITH DAY!! ⛅️🌍Inspired by jacksfilms’s guidelines on how to make ethical reaction content, I decided to spend four more hours editing to add the comparative shots and Greek/Roman artworks to make the video more transformative and insightful (check description for links!). I’m very proud of what I produced (especially considering the migraine I was nursing the whole time), so please let me know what you think about this style of video! 💚 Also worth noting that the reunion flowers can also apply to their iconic reunion in Advent Children (both on the way to the Forgotten City and during the credits), as well as cameos/references in Dissidia, Final Fantasy Tactics and World of Warcraft (among others). Long story short, the “lovers reunited” symbolism via flowers has just about ALWAYS been there, Remake just said the quiet bit out loud 🌼 Also, don’t mind the “ACE” typo at the start - I went to write AD but changed it to CE and forgot to remove the A 😅

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

10.12.2023 ~ Thank you all so, so much for 1,000 views! To wrap up Clerith Day, I wanted to share some thoughts on the lyrics themselves (please note that since I'm not active on most mainstream social media my comments may not be 100% original): "I won't say that it was fate, I wont say that it was destiny. But if not, what could it be that drew you towards me? Could it be chance?" is extremely personal to Aerith - she has spent the entire Remake continuity (and, in meta contexts, the last 25 years of FFVII's existence) being defined by her premature death at the hands of Sephiroth. She fears that her death, and Cloud's subsequent suffering, are predetermined events which will thwart any attempts to be together in life (remember "but whatever happens, you can't fall in love with me"!). As a result, she seems to prefer avoiding any sort of allusions to divine influence over her relationship with Cloud, despite how impactful and fulfilling it is. Their meeting is incidental but transcends their prescribed purposes, giving her the courage to hope against her prophesised demise. "No Promises To Keep" probably sounds a bit pessimistic for a love ballad at first glance, until we acknowledge Cloud's promise to protect her as her bodyguard, and Aerith's promise to come back to his side once she was done summoning Holy. Due to her untimely murder both of them were unable to fulfill these promises, which is therefore a major source of trauma and grief for both of them. "[They] won't ever need" such tragic promises if Cloud "believe[s] that [he'll] find [her]" and "never let [her] go", just as he vows in the lyrics of Hollow ('this time, I'll never let you go"). If "[they] can be together evermore", they will love and want for nothing because tragedy won't come between them ever again 💚

@beanik835

6 ай бұрын

@@Kabbaway Square be out here spewing out the two ships everyone wants but is secretly pushing one ship higher and higher up. Sly bastards

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

@@beanik835 what ship is that?

@beanik835

6 ай бұрын

@@Kabbaway You know what I’m referring to. Nudge nudge

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

@@beanik835 I genuinely don’t 😅

Happy Clerith Day! I can’t wait to see Aerith sing for her life in Rebirth! ❤️

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

Me too! Right from a Broadway musical, Aerith’s love ballad will (hopefully) transcend time, space, fate and malicious intent so that the universe itself will grant her a reprieve 😭💚

my gosh, i can not begin to express how i felt first watching the trailer. aerith looks absolutely stunning. i was in awe. the way cloud looked at her, it was all too much for my heart i was in tears❤😭

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

I agree! It caught me so off-guard that they got Aerith to sing and Cloud to stand awestruck in the wings, yet another common romantic trope. The only nitpick I have is that Loren Allred’s voice, while absolutely amazing, feels a bit too deep and powerful to match Briana White’s soft, high-pitched tone so it kinda takes me out of the scene a little bit. To be fair to Loren she seems to have put in considerable effort to reduce certain inflections and to soften her tone for this song, so while the mismatch might break the immersion a little it’s hardly a bad thing or a dealbreaker. What matters is the emotion behind the delivery, and the meaning behind the lyrics, and there is a LOT! 💚

ahh im so excited that scene of them all close up together 😭 got me giggling and kicking my feet fr

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

Briana is very excited about people watching it, and she was similarly excited about the dream sequence in Remake, so…. ☺️💚

The way Cloud looks at Aerith when she falls into his arms 🥵

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

So much angst and mutual pining, it’s killing me 😭💚

Your enthusiasm is contagious, and that laugh had me dead 🤣 I watched the trailer while I was at work and couldn't whipe the grin off my face for the rest of the shift ! Ahhhg! I want to play already dangit!

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

Thanks! I’m glad it was able to make you happy at work, the trailer came out right as I got home from therapy (not to mention in the midst of a migraine) so it made me very happy 💚

😂 my reaction was the same! I screamed when they almost kissed!! ❤CLERITH❤

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

I wonder if there’ll be a real kiss, whether in the gondola scene or somewhere else… they’ve certainly been amping up the romance steadily throughout this project 😄💚

@Locustskies

7 ай бұрын

It looks like the gondola scene that’s either beginning to move or coming to a stop since the lights in the background are seen. Cloud definitely doesn’t pull back but seems to move in… omg my heart! Please kiss… This literally made me smile all day ❤

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

Good point! Since she’s later seen scotching over to him and there’s a picture of them sitting side by side, I’m guessing the near-kiss moment happens at the start of the ride, she sit beside him and then snuggles up to him when the fireworks go. For the sake of natural scene escalation, it’d make the most sense for a real kiss to happen as the fireworks go, but I guess we’ll see 😄💚

Tifa : cloud you made a promise Aerith : no promises to keep😂 it feels that developers indirectly attacked them

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

I interpreted it as more of a reference to the tragic, unfulfilled promises between Clerith (ie him to protect her as her bodyguard, and her to return to him after summoning Holy) and how if they were "together evermore", there'd be no need for such promises. In saying that, I can see the irony... Tifa doesn't own the trademark for "promises" 😅

@shumailazeeshan123

6 ай бұрын

It does makes sense 😮

This might be the most informative minute long video I've ever seen.

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

Thank you, I’m really glad it was informative! I could’ve included more reunion flower clips from other FFVII entries and cameos/references, but overall I’m happy with how the video turned out 😄💚

This trailer was so Clerith coded 😂 no one can convince me now that they are not the main love story of ff7

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

I know right? The devs have always been implying it, but now they’re practically screaming it with every romantic cliche under the Sun 😂💚

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

@user-ky8nd2rz4f That! Also, regardless of which date and version of the HW scene you get, the game always end with Cloud saying he can meet Aerith in the Promised Land, aka reuniting with Aerith IS what would give him the nirvana-like state that was previously stated to be the Promised Land.

@monca1222

6 ай бұрын

​@user-ky8nd2rz4f Even with that or the HA HW scene, that's not the end of the story. When they need to find their reason for fighting to save the planet, Cloud remembers Aerith. It's no different than Aerith leaving to pray to Holy in order to protect everyone and reaching out to give the person she loved a final message. Love guided her way. The Tifa relationship is important to restore Cloud's identity and they truly care for another, but they truely are family who support each other.

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

Absolutely! Tifa still holds a special place in Cloud's life, even if it's not romantic. If she could resolve her trauma from Nibelheim which has caused her to anxious attach herself to anything related to it (especially Cloud), their friendship could be genuinely inspiring

@gunjinrieper4062

6 ай бұрын

Even the song Aerith is singing clearly is dedicated to Cloud

Really fired up after watching that trailer thank you clerith community for your support since the beginning

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

Same here! It hasn’t always been easy for people to ship Clerith (especially with how pervasive the “process of elimination” mentality is), but the community has maintained faith in the plot and characterisation. It seems pretty solidly confirmed now but whatever ultimately happens, I’m just happy about all the new content (both canon and fan-made) 💚

@shumailazeeshan123

6 ай бұрын

I think aeriths new song no promises to keep is an answer to clouds hollow song 🤔

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

@@shumailazeeshan123 for sure! Not only do they both explicitly talk about never letting go, but both of them lament the destiny, whether through a past or future lens, while vowing to strive for a better outcome. It would be awesome to see if motifs from Hollow play in the same seen as those for NPTP ☺️💚

im having a blast right now, i love being a clerith fan

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

It’s been an awesome few days! 💚

Also, the fact that almost in every media they use Cloud and Aerith as characters for the promotion. They are literally the faces of FF7. It was this way before and after Remake. Funny how even in Kindom Hearts there is a secret "love" credits roll for all the couples in the game, and guess what among all the canon couples they show there, there is the only FF ship they use and it's Clerith. Kindom Hearts is from the same studio as FF7R, and they had to get rights for FF characters to use them in a game. And they used Clerith in the credits roll, wow. ❤

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

Definitely! Even though KH isn’t canon to the FFVII universe, the devs still greenlit the characters’ inclusion and depictions. Official crossovers and spin-offs are a brilliant marketing opportunity for the parent franchise, so it’s in the devs’ best interest to have the characters behave in a reasonably canon-conforming way. That’s why I’m not quick to dismiss cameos, because ones that are approved by SE are very likely to genuinely reflect the characters and their relationships (that can also apply to how Cloud and Tifa interact in KH2, with her aggressively chasing him and him being overwhelmed by her intensity) 💚

CLERITH FOR LIFE!!!

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

Clerith in EVERY life ⛅️💚🌍

kab: everyone shut up baby girl is singing also kab: screams over the entire song lmao keep up the great vids

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

This, to be honest 🤣💚

WE WON THAT NIGHT!! WE FREAKING WON! _WE ARE IN THE VERGE OF GREATNESS!! WE ARE THIS CLOSE!!!_

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

SE have been steadily getting more and more blatant over the years. The Clerith implications have always been there, but especially with this project “leaving less room for player imagination”, they are making sure that nobody can misconstrue Cloud’s character or his relationships. The fact that they saved these scenes for closer to release indicates just how important and spoiler-y they are going to be. It shows how important Clerith has ALWAYS been to FFVII, it’s why it’s been described as their “fateful encounter” and “intertwined fates” so much, both as individuals and as a couple they influence so much of the plot’s events and lens of perspective. They were literally created and designed together at the very start of OG’s development. It’s ALWAYS been them, they’re just done humouring the “love triangle” gimmick which they chucked in OG just for the replayability factor.

You've shown very well the connections between OG and part.1 of the remake with Rebirth. And how can we ignore the yellow flowers and their symbolism ? The devs. seem determined to make the moments they think important even more memorable than in OG, the play will be so much fun 😄

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

Thanks! SE have been pulling out all the romantic cliches for Clerith, from the get-go but especially now in the Remake project. This latest trailer is so undeniably romantic it’d be baffling if anyone could still have doubts 💚

I've been wearing a giddy smile for days now, and your reaction is such a big mood. The way Cloud stares at Aerith on stage with such awe and love. ❤😢🎉 I hope they give us a real kiss because the romantic tension and longing between them is off the charts.

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

I really hope so too, it would certainly be cathartic! Cloud’s face when watching Aerith sing is such a striking parallel to his reaction to her red dress reveal (ALSO promoted in trailers), it’s funny that it’s happened twice now ☺️💚

@FenrirInFlowers

6 ай бұрын

@Kabbaway - Yes! The dress parallel is wonderful. That man has it so bad, and his jaw is once again on the floor. Clerith is always the ship they promote the game with. From trailers to cameos, it's not like they've ever been subtle about it. The amount of denial and mental gymnastics required not to see it is staggering.

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

Agreed, the LTD is only ever “balanced” if one uses “Aerith’s dead, Tifa’s alive” to invalidate Clerith implications. Otherwise, it’s clear that Cloud chooses to grieve for Aerith over settling down with Tifa. FFVII’s story and characters are much more than shipping, but a significant source of angst and tragedy comes from the fact that we experience the story from Cloud’s POV, and so we experience Aerith through their on-screen relationship. Their “fates intertwining” is the catalyst for OG/Remake’s main plot, and Cloud’s guilt/grief for Aerith defines that of Advent Children. From being among the first characters created (together, no less) to their meeting being central to the plot of many entries, FFVII had ALWAYS been a Clerith story; death ends a life, not a relationship (it’s only when the living person decided to move on that it does), a fact certain shippers prefer to ignore or deny.

CLERITH ON TOOOOOP

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

You could say we’re on top of the WORLD 🌍🎀 on CLOUD NINE, even! ⛅️🔪 😉

I'm so happy to see a Clerith video made by you. We had a Clerith feast with this trailer!!!

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

Thanks! It’s been a while, but there’ll be plenty more to come in the coming months 😉💚

This trailer was amazing. It gave me the things i wanted, while avoiding revealing too much. And obviously, i love the clerith in the trailer. But it also make me more worried if they'll go for tragic love like last time or do something new.

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

If they do go through with the tragedy, I doubt that it'll be permanent again. It would just be backtracking on the established themes of defying fate just for the sake of subversion. Square Enix isn't a great company, but they (especially the devs that have been there since OG) respect FFVII more than that. If it helps, this song is actually quite optimistic by design - it was made to convey the essence of Aerith, completely removed from her OG fate ~ finalweapon.net/2023/12/07/nobuo-uematsu-loren-allred-share-comments-on-no-promises-to-keep/ I'll post my own thoughts on the lyrics tomorrow, after I try and sleep off this migraine 😅💚

@xmant8842

7 ай бұрын

@Kabbaway I agree. I see so many fans go "having her survive goes against the whole point of the original", but thats kind of the point. The remake games want to defy destiny.

@McClerith

7 ай бұрын

Mmhmm exactly. These are separate timelines. Og is still canon but so is this. It’s a win win for everybody

@fergiefernandez7224

7 ай бұрын

@@KabbawayI’m fkn dead 😂😂

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

We’ll all be watching on from the Lifestream 😂💚

OMG Kabba I can’t wait to watch you play this! Happy Clerith day 🔥 💅

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

Thanks, and you too! 💚

Kabbieeee! I DIED! I DIED SO MANY TIMES. THE SONG. AERITH SINGING. THE CLERITH MOMENTS. CLOUD. AERITH. THIS SONG HAS TO BE A RESPONSE TO "HOLLOW".

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

I couldn’t agree more! They’re both the theme song of their respective games, they’re both from a main character’s perspective and both explicitly share a climactic line about never letting go. Furthermore, despite Hollow being themed around loss and grief in the past/present while No Promises To Keep offers a hopeful future, they both allude to changing the past/destiny in order to reunite and be together for the rest of their lives. They definitely compliment each other, and if this were a musical NPTK would definitely be Aerith’s response to Cloud’s mournful vow to defy fate to save her (Hollow) 💚

@nohemi6899

6 ай бұрын

@@Kabbaway It's amazing what they've done here. The connection between these two songs and how both songs represent Cloud and Aerith so well. These moments they get to have together in Rebirth are going to be incredible. I am dying to see their journey together to meet this "fate".

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

@@nohemi6899 I’m sure we’re in for a lot of angst, but I’m hoping it’ll turn out wonderful in the end 🤞💚

CLERITH!!!

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

Indeed, Clerith fans were well served in this trailer! 💚

I give 1000x like!!! Im a clerith fan since 1999 😂❤

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

Thank you so much and wow, I was just a baby then 😂💚

Your reaction mirrored me exactly 😂 with added tears 😢 God I ❤❤❤❤ Clerith so much....

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

I love them so much too, I might actually cry once I play through the full game 😭💚

This was a awesome trailer for Clerith fans! Now to not play the game because I want to live in the fantasy that we can save Aerith somehow…..😢😢

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

It would be pretty shitty writing for them to make a entire decade-long, multimillion dollar project based blatantly on the premise of defeating fate just to not do that for the sake of a double-subversion. If they do go through with her death, I doubt it’ll be permanent. This is a whole new story from OG, with the characters going through similar motions but having much more situational awareness. But most of all, ALL the party (especially Cloud and Aerith, whether as individuals or as a couple) deserve peace and happiness after everything they’ve been through in various timelines 💚

@jonashartman3059

7 ай бұрын

@@Kabbaway Absolutely!!! My best hope would be that that there is a way to change her fate, even if it’s extremely difficult to get. I’m okay with that, it should be hard!!! Plus, going from the plot of the old game; if this Sepiroth is a future version that has come back through the livestream, why would he want the person who truly defeated him to die and get back to the same situation that he was in? He’s not a idiot, right? That’s my hope, but I worry. 😆😆😭

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

Absolutely, and it’s worth emphasising that Aerith NEVER had to die in order to harness Holy and/or the Lifestream, with a lot of the tragedy of her death being derived from the senseless brutality of it. Aerith was alive when her prayer to Holy was granted (it was only delayed by Sephiroth’s influence), and the Cetra are stated to use the Lifestream in numerous ways while alive, from fertilising the land to sealing away Jenova. OG Aerith simply didn’t develop her Cetra wisdom and abilities enough to harness the Lifestream before her premature death, but Remake Aerith is already much more powerful and knowledgeable than her counterpart so she has a decent chance of learning how to do this without dying. Aerith was never meant to be an intentional martyr, she knew the risks but wanted to survive and return to the party - her last words to Cloud in his dream vision prove that 💚

@jonashartman3059

7 ай бұрын

@@Kabbaway oh, I didn’t know that. I always assumed that it was Aerith retaining her mind in the life stream after her death that allowed her to commanded it against Meteor. But, I’ve only just started digging into this series. 😆

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

@jonashartman3059 oh yeah, people with especially strong wills or unfinished business can retain their conscience in the Lifestream for a while (this is how Sephiroth operates throughout the franchise even while dead). When one “merges with the Lifestream”, their conscience seems to go dormant and their soul/essence becomes indistinguishable from other souls/essence, like tipping a cup of water into a river. Cetra in particular are said to be able to resist the urge to return to the Lifestream for longer, since they have a special connection with the Planet (side note, some interpretations of the Promised Land concern returning to the Lifestream, others think it’s a physical place, while others still see it as a personalised nirvana-like state) 💚

HELP ME YOU ARE SO REAL, I LITERALLY SCREAMED WHEN I SAW THAT SCENE LIKE STOPPPPPPP OH MY GOOOD JUST FUCKING KISS

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

Even during the next 5 hours I spent editing this video, I couldn’t help but squeal and giggle every time I saw that shot 😂💚

@mikkiw1065

7 ай бұрын

@@Kabbaway NO BC HE LITERALLY COULD'VE TURNED AWAY AT ANY MOMENT BUT HE JUST STARED AT HER LIKE PLEASE AAAAAAA

@nohemi6899

6 ай бұрын

@@Kabbaway I keep looking at that part and noting the small details from Cloud. 😳😳😳 I have never seen him look so serious, so all-consuming when in physical contact with someone. The way he immediately puts his hands on her back when catching her. How he pulls her up and leans into her to meet her gaze, even pursing his lips..!! That's our Cloud who is so socially awkward, avoids physical touch, and usually looks away from Aerith when she makes eye contact! The same guy who took ages just to hug Tifa while she was crying! Knowing Cloud and seeing him like this just makes me squeal even harder!!! LIKE WHO ARE YOU BUT DON'T STOP!

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

@mikkiw1065 not only that, but he actively turned his head to look at her on the bumpy gondola! 😄💚

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

@nohemi6899 I couldn’t agree more! Cloud’s had plenty of awkwardly close moments with Tifa and Jessie, especially during or after an action sequence, but he just about never lingered in the moment longer than he needed to. Whereas Cloud initiates close proximity and physical contact with Aerith much more often and with much lower stakes, while also lingering in them longer (especially hand holding, so it’s BEAUTIFUL that hand holding is also a major part of NPTK’s lyrics) 😭💚

Her dress and the flowers are so pretty. Like a gorgeous Greek goddess!

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

I’m so happy Aerith’s getting so much appreciation lately ☺️💚

I'll keep coming back here to make myself happy

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

Aw, that makes me happy too! 😄💚

@AiLoveHue

6 ай бұрын

@@Kabbaway 💚❤️♥️

THIS SONG GOES SO HARD I LOVE IT SO MUCH

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

I’ve been playing and singing it non-stop! 🎶💚

Hope Aerith lifes and Clerith can marry and be happy and adopzing Denzel!

@Kabbaway

5 ай бұрын

That would be so wholesome! I also hope Aerith gets to revive the Cetra (or at least their culture) through education the public on how to reconnect with the Planet (humans are descended from Cetra who defected from the nomadic lifestyle to establish modern civilisation). Her and Barret preaching planetology together would be so cool to see. I just want to see her freely travel the world and get to experience all the joys of life, with Shinra trying to exploit her or Sephiroth trying to kill her 💚

OKAY CAN I JUST FANGIRL WITH YOU AND EVERYONE ELSE HERE 😭😭😭

@Kabbaway

4 ай бұрын

Of course, Cleriths are in good company here! One more sleep til Rebirth! 😄💚

😂😂😂 this video made my day and your laugh is so contagious! Girl I’m right there with you, let’s scream about this pair together haha

@Kabbaway

4 ай бұрын

Thank you, I love vocally stimming about Clerith 😂💚

@willowkat27

4 ай бұрын

@@Kabbaway SAME. 😂 I see your channel is full of clerith content and I am starving for it haha. You got a subscriber! :D

@Kabbaway

4 ай бұрын

Thanks! I won’t be putting out more videos until I finish Rebirth (I’m up to Chapter 3 at the moment so no spoilers please), but once I’m done I’m sure there’ll be lots more Clerith content for me to share 😄💚

@willowkat27

4 ай бұрын

@@Kabbaway my lips are sealed! Can’t wait to see what you make of it though! :D (I don’t have a way to play the game so sadly I’ve just watched the cutscene compilations available.)

When I watched the trailer for the first time, I didn't expect them to drop so many clerith moments. So wholesome. The first few trailers had cloti moments. I've seen people in Twitter talking about it and how that one quote from Sephiroth is referring to Tifa. I think it was something about what Cloud loves. I haven't see any clerith talks after this particular trailer. I kinda wanna hear Briana's own voice singing this in the actual game. And Maaya Sakamoto for the japanese version.

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

Me too, it was a pleasant surprise to come home from therapy to immediately see the song trailer! 💚

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

If I remember correctly, I remember Cleriths saying that the original Japanese dialogue didn't mention anything about hate/fear/love; it was simply Sephiroth stating that Jenova can impersonate anyone you know. As far as I'm aware, nobody was really fazed by it - Remake did a very similar thing of showing Cloti action moments in earlier trailers, and then promoting Clerith scenes closer to release, so Rebirth's marketing doesn't come as much of a surprise.

I've been watching this pretty much every day as Rebirth gets closer, I had the same reaction to this trailer so I love your enthusiasm. Got my time off approved, and I've pre-warned my family not to expect any replies from me for a few days. I aint dead, just basking in FF7 and Clerith 😎 I'm ready! (but also not ready lol)

@Kabbaway

4 ай бұрын

Thank you so much, I’m glad my enthusiasm resonates with you! 😄💚 That’s not a bad idea actually, disconnecting from the world (especially the Internet) to get fully immersed in the game. I might do that myself - I’m a slow player/editor, and chances are someone’s gonna comment spoilers under any videos I post after Feb 29th 😅

@sansakitty9650

4 ай бұрын

@@Kabbaway I had actually sent this video to my sister about a month ago and she said something like "Omg I thought you were a dork for screaming over a trailer but clearly you're not alone" 😂 And you're speaking to my heart! I'm also a slow player, and I've been avoiding new info. Haven't seen the newest trailer and I frantically scroll past articles before I can read the title because I don't want any potential spoilers lol

@Kabbaway

4 ай бұрын

@sansakitty9650 it’s the autism in my case - FFVII is one of my special interests, and I tend to yell as a vocal stim 😂 I’ve been doing my best to avoid spoilers. I’ve played the first part of the demo they’ve released so far 💚

Not a shipper personally. I think after playing Remake, it’s pretty clear that the creators do want to finally fully realize Cloud & Aerith’s romance story in full. They’ve done a great job. This trilogy could have one of the best romances in gaming in a long time.

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

I agree - even before I started shipping Clerith, FFVII always felt like it was their love story - the story is centred around them (both together and individually), and it’s a significant component to the tragedy of her death and Cloud’s grief throughout the Compilation. Romance isn’t all there is to FFVII, not by a long shot, but it’s undeniable that it adds an extra layer to its profound sense of loss. In my opinion, Remake project wouldn’t exist as a sort of ultimate do-over and be pushing Clerith so hard if the tragedy of OG/Comp didn’t greatly stem from their time together (and potential romance) being cut short. Being queer, I rarely ship cishet-presenting couples (they’re often poorly executed and full of red flags), but Clerith is a notable exception for me. Maybe it’s the emphasis on emotional/spiritual connection; maybe it’s the queer-coding of ill-fated star-crossed lovers; maybe it’s the cross-dressing and the gender-nonconformity of Aerith being the more assertive one. Regardless, there’s just something quite special about them that I resonate with 💚

The people have already started fighting about in the FF7 IG comments 😂😂 & I can only imagine Twitter 😂 Square has started the war again

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

I can imagine! Luckily for me, I don’t have either of those 😅

WE LOVE YOU BABY GIRL AERITH ♥ WE WIN ♥ CANON SINCE 1997 ♥

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

It’s been a long, tumultuous journey but whatever happens from here it’s been so worth it 💚

Nojima San got so many Twitter threat by clotis because of this lol, I'm no surprise at all

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

Wait, what? Really? 😰 That’s really uncalled for, hope he and the other devs are doing alright 💚

@sosis123

6 ай бұрын

@@Kabbaway I've read and watch somewhere about this issues but I guess he sticks faithful with his origin story doesn't care about fans shipping base which is good

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

I’m glad, creators shouldn’t be intimidated into changing their works for the sake of fan service 💚

Great reaction :) Complete opposite of mine...which was a silent jaw on the ground and eyes popping out of my head. They're running out of fireworks over at SE.

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

Lots of visceral emotions! I love that Clerith not only have had the gondola ride fireworks since OG, but they also had the fireworks in Wall Market during Remake 🎆

@dalegleneagles5072

6 ай бұрын

@@Kabbaway I just ran aross this: Cloud and Aerith's synergy attack is Firework Blade. No lie.

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

Perfect 😌🎆🔪

THIS WAS LITERALLY ME LMFAO

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

I imagine a lot of people had a similar reaction as well 😂💚

My reaction exactly!

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

Lots of visceral emotions all across the fandom, it seems! 💚

@rellepainite

6 ай бұрын

@@Kabbaway Visceral is an understatement lol

LMFAO love your reaction

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

Thanks! 😄💚

The Greek and Roman artworks are pretty cool, the connections to fate and tragedy are spot-on! As the rest of the video shows there’s a lot going on here!

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

Thanks! Even if that shot of Jessie is from a separate scene, I feel like they’re still part of the same show so the overall theme is still looming over the performance 💚

❤❤❤❤

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

💚💚💚💚

This is the greatest video on KZread

@Kabbaway

5 ай бұрын

Thanks! 😄💚

AHHHH SCREAMING SO HARD!

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

Rebirth is gonna be such an emotional roller coaster… an emotional GONDOLA, even 🤣😭💚

Jessie looking like Megara and Aerith looking like a Spring version of Elsa is EVERYTHING! 😍

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

Straight out of a Disney love story 😊💚

There were once people who said clerith is nothing because cloud hit aerith when he was mind controlled but those people are now silent because they saw with their eyes the scene of cloud going to stab tifa 😂

@Kabbaway

4 ай бұрын

Yeah, I was wondering about that. I’ve seen some people twist that scene into a domestic violence situation which is so disrespectful to DV survivors in real life, to use that as an argument of why Cloud (the supposed abuser) should be with another woman instead. If Cloud was physically abusive, why would they want him with ANYONE? They joke about that scene and her death because they want her violently taken out so nobody stands in the way of their ship, morals be damned. I don’t particularly like Tifa, but she absolutely does NOT deserve to be beaten up either. I understand why the devs did that for OG - Aerith is the least capable of fighting back in this situation, and based on her and Cloud’s bond (including him promising to protect her as her bodyguard) she is the LAST person he’d willingly hurt like this (his child self was literally crying and screaming the whole time). It’s tragic irony, shock value and an incentive for Aerith to strike out alone to summon Holy and spare Cloud further breakdowns. Despite the Sephiroth/Jenova puppetry context, it’s still not a nice scene to watch and I do think there were better ways to convey that (eg stopping at the shove and just pointing his sword towards her until the other party member stops him). With the rating I don’t think they’ll make any equivalent scene as graphic, but it is interesting that Cloud seems to be turning on Tifa. Of course we won’t know until Rebirth fully releases, but it does seem like Aerith (knowing future stuff) is encouraging Cloud and Tifa to communicate sooner so that his identity crisis can’t be as easily exploited by Sephiroth to manipulate. However, Sephiroth may also be aware of this and so plants the idea of Tifa being a Jenova clone in their heads to combat this. I’m really hoping that whatever fallout they might have isn’t too graphic (Tifa’s much more capable of fighting back, but she shouldn’t have to be put in that situation for the sake of drama) and I hope that at least this plot line leads to some ACTUAL resolution between them. As far as the OG continuity goes, they both continue to fundamentally misunderstand each other until Cloud leaves to live in Aerith’s church. It would be nice to see them actually communicate and resolve some or all of their issues 💚

@shumailazeeshan123

4 ай бұрын

​​@@Kabbaway in the state of play trailer aerith tells cloud while giving him the holy materia that she wants to protect the planet and cloud . I don't see any one talking about this line

@Kabbaway

4 ай бұрын

Apparently in Japanese she only mentions that the Holy materia will save the world. Some people are claiming English purposely mistranslated this line to play into shipping wars, but in my opinion it’s just spelling out the subtext of Clerith’s story. In OG, when Aerith struck out on her own to summon Holy, she wanted to avoid further breakdowns for Cloud and for him to let her handle Sephiroth. She was trying to save him as much as the rest of the world. Maiden Who Travels The Planet especially reinforces this, so this English translation of that line is NOT just like that for no reason. The English-speaking fandom is notorious for wilfully perpetuating Cloti-biased translations and talking points, so it’s only reasonable that the project that is meant to “leave less room for interpretation” is being less literal for the sake of dumbing everything down for the fandom that fails to understand the nuanced storytelling of the Japanese story.

Despite how clerith coded both this song and hollow are, im still running into some people insisting they're for zack and aerith. I just dont get why some people refuse to see the obvious. Heck, i saw someone say, "In the video where they specifically said hollow was written with the image of cloud in mind, they were lying because they didn't want to spoil who zack is. It plays in sector 5 alums because his soul is trying to find its wat back to aerith, and it plays in the end as they pass each other." and "no promises to keep is clearly aerith singing for zack. She doesn't really have feelings for cloud like that. She just sees zack in him."

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

People are certainly free to believe what they wish… although in my opinion the writing has been on the wall for a long time, maybe even from the start. Why would Remake’s theme song be about a character who is barely featured or mentioned? Why not wait for a future game where his role is more relevant to make the theme song about him? SE have already “spoiled” Cloud never having made it into SOLDIER, Aerith’s death and Sephiroth’s Meteor scheme; Zack’s a fan favourite, but to pretend that his role is somehow more important and worthy of hiding than that of the main hero, heroine and antagonist is pretty far-fetched to me. Besides, spoilers are fair game because the Remake project is a SEQUEL not a 1:1 remaster, so that argument doesn’t make sense. This is why I emphasise that Occam’s Razor should be applied to any serious theory crafting - the explanation with the least amount of contradicting or unsubstantiated claims is usually the most plausible one. The devs have stated Hollow is from Cloud’s POV, the imagery closely compliments Clerith moments (including ones AFTER Cloud finding his “real” self), and it plays whenever Cloud is separated from Aerith (both in Sector 5 and right at the very end of the game). If they’d wanted to allude to Hollow being from Zack’s POV without spoilers a) they wouldn’t have attached Cloud’s name to it at all and b) they would’ve accompanied the song with motifs more specific to him and his relationship with Aerith - eg the flower carts (which the devs consciously discarded from Remake) or even the stationery Aerith used to write her 89 letters to him, perhaps even copies of the letters themselves. Another argument I’ve seen is that because Hollow is played on an acoustic guitar like The Price of Freedom it MUST be about Zerith. I can see why they’d think that, however just because Crisis Core had an acoustic soundtrack that doesn’t mean guitar melodies are a motif exclusive to Zack; people are forgetting that Cloud is ALSO a country boy from a “backwater” town (in fact, this shared experience is what they bond over). Even if acoustic guitar melodies were a confirmed Zack-exclusive motif, that alone doesn’t stand up the overwhelming amount of evidence behind the Cloud (and by extension Clerith) reading - as the FFVII story has proven time and time again, retcons or evolving understandings of the story are not unheard of.

@dalegleneagles5072

6 ай бұрын

Tell them that Uematsu said Hollow was from Cloud's perspective, basically using the imagery from AC - standing on barren ground as rain starts to fall (you know, like when they show rain falling at the end of Remake and during the credits). All of the lyrics reference his mindset and actions in OG. Then the singer for NPTK said she had to research Aerith and Cloud to "connect" to the song. There's opinion and there's cognitive dissonance.

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

Also, “had I realised, had I thought it through would you be here in my embrace” is strikingly similar to what Kitase once said about her death: "In the real world things are very different. You just need to look around you. Nobody wants to die that way. People die of disease and accident. Death comes suddenly and there is no notion of good or bad. It leaves, not a dramatic feeling but great emptiness. When you lose someone you loved very much you feel this big empty space and think, 'If I had known this was coming I would have done things differently'. These are the feelings I wanted to arouse in the players with Aerith's death relatively early in the game. Feelings of reality and not Hollywood". Not to mention, as far as I’m aware, Aerith never “healed every wound” of Zack’s - they were barely able to spend time together, she didn’t even tell him she was a Cetra so she didn’t use her powers to aid him when he was alive. Hollow talks about reaching (Clerith reach out to each other in OG and AC), howling (a wolf represents Cloud’s grief in AC) and says “you’re long gone” which wouldn’t make sense if it was sung by Zack because he died first.

WE WONNNNN

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

⛅️💚🌍🎉

How’d you get audio of me watching the trailer for the first time?

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

I guess we must’ve been in the same room! /joking 😂

@laylita64

6 ай бұрын

@@Kabbaway It was just so good it extracted the same sounds from us all i guess😩

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

A symphony of pleasantly startled cries of vindication 😭💚

The trailer has only been out for a few days and ive already ran into people saying "this is a zerith song. Clerith isnt real and cloud only likes tifa." Hopefully no one like that finds this video, but in case they do, they should read this. 1. there is no "zack cloud persona" or anything like that. Cloud didn't "get" anything from zack except the sword, and he isn't mimicking zack. He based his false memories on stories zack told him, but his "false persona" is simply one he made based on how young him viewed a super cool, super strong soldier would be. He doesn't act like zack at all. And "real" cloud honestly tends to come out a bit quite often in remake, especially when around aerith due to her ability to see through his act and break down his barriers that he put up. Ship who you want, but don't tell lies. 2. Cloud loves both of them. But "real" cloud (real in quotes because "real" cloud and "fake" cloud *are not* different people. They share memories and they share feelings.) was really distant from tifa and could never be happy with her(to my knowledge, this was said by the creator. They said that they couldn't see cloud and tifa in a happy relationship, even without aerith. But dont take my word for that because i cant actually find the source). After spending a night with tifa, he says that his his promised land is somewhere where he can see aerith again and he wants to see her again. In the books(i believe it was case of tifa specifically) and in advent children, he insisted on drinking alone when she offered to drink with him because he was upset and reminded about aerith, he couldn't bring himself to say he loves her(even though he does. But he also couldn't move on from aerith), he moved into aerith's church without anyone knowing, the only one who could ever comfort him was aerith, he keeps pictures of aerith's flowers in his office, and advent children ends with him riding by fields filled with aerith's flowers and it shows aerith. 3. Aerith loves both cloud and zack. This should be obvious. Even in og, aerith said that the similarities between zack and Cloud were basically superficial and that she wanted to get to know the "real" him. And that was og aerith, while remake aerith seems to know who "real" cloud is and bring him out more and more the more time the two spent together during the game. 4. While this song could possibly be about zerith, it's honestly not likely. Aerith's song is meant to be a bit of a parallel to Hollow. Hollow was Cloud's song about aerith(the song was even stated to be from cloud's perspective and the person he describes only fits for aerith). It was written by the same man and we know this song is aerith's song. Now, to reiterate my earlier point, ship who you want, but don't tell/spread lies to try and de-legitimize other ships.

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

I agree, the denial and damage control is a bit much… it’s perfectly fine to ship Cloti and/or Zerith if you want, but trying to undermine the canon to fit your preferences is a whole other thing. 1. You’re correct, Cloud only takes on Zack’s role in the Nibelheim incident. And even then, almost all of the memories he has of Nibelheim match up with what he himself actually witnessed, since he accompanied Zack and Tifa for most of it. This persona was created partly from Jenova copy-pasting Tifa’s romanticised childhood fantasies of Cloud as well as her memories of Zack (someone who ACTUALLY embodies the sorts of things she projects onto Cloud) to fill in the gaps for moments where Cloud wasn’t there. Outside of Nibelheim, Cloud can only give basic/vague details about Soldier life, most likely based on what Zack told him or that he overheard from other people. Otherwise, Cloud doesn’t “remember” more personal stuff about Zack - his parents, hometown or even Aerith. Outside of player choice, Cloud is not a womaniser (in fact he’s quite awkward with affection by default) and doesn’t fight for the fame or glory. He joined the military as a 14 YEAR OLD KID because he was desperate to prove himself to all the people who bullied him or enabled the mistreatment (Tifa included). He wants to help and protect people, to distract himself from how worthless he feels in himself. Even if his fake persona is partially based on Zack’s POV, it’s still very much Cloud in there. 2. The quote you’re referring to was by Nomura for Case of Tifa: “First off, there’s the premise that things won’t go well between Tifa and Cloud, and that even without Geostigma or Sephiroth this might be the same.” On a separate occasion, he also said that he had no clue if Cloud and Tifa were a couple by the end of AC(C). Not only that, but CoT depicts Tifa growing more maternal towards Cloud and this is corroborated by dev statements as well, differentiating Tifa’s maternalism from Aerith’s through saying that Tifa’s extends to Cloud as well as the kids. And in the Dirge of Cerberus manual/guide (the latest entry in the OG continuity) Tifa is still only referred to as a close friend. In fact, it’s implied that Cloud never really went back to live at Seventh Heaven after moving out in CoT, although he’s probably still using it as a base for his delivery service and crashes there from time to time (she’s said to “keep in close contact” with Cloud and Barret). If Cloti was ever meant to be canon/endgame, the post-OG Compilation was the place to do it. But the devs never felt like that relationship was important to develop, instead letting it settle into a “family of friends” deal. It was ALWAYS overshadowed by Cloud’s grief and heartbreak for Aerith. If Cloti was meant to be canon/endgame, why does Remake project need to exist, especially with its theme of defying fate constantly being tied to romantically framing Clerith? Why dub the OG continuity “the bad ending” if the Cloti fantasy of Cloud living the nuclear family life with Tifa (that’s not what actually happened, but it’s what many people assume) was the ideal outcome for him? 3. Aerith and Zack were basically friends with a bit of romantic tension. Contrary to OG’s English translation of the park scene, they were never actually together - Zack was “the first guy [she] liked/loved”, NOT her boyfriend. At the time she thought it would’ve been nice but he took a job and never came back, with her assuming he’d run off with someone else since he was a womaniser. She was hurt by his (unintentional) ghosting, as insinuated by her 89 letters to him written over 4 years and Elmyra’s overprotectiveness in reaction to Cloud proclaiming to be an ex-Soldier. However, she has made it clear several times that she has moved on from him and despite noticing the similarities between Cloud and Zack (these similarities “bothered” her, by the way), she wants to have a relationship with Cloud as his true self. Many Zeriths ignore and downplay Maiden Who Travels the Planet because in it Aerith rejects Zack to his face, saying she prefers how Cloud is “simple and awkward” unlike Zack being “friendly” with everyone. SE have said it’s an official part of the canon and it has barely any retcons (in fact it helps fill a lot of OG’s plot holes), but many still try to move the goalposts by saying it’s not canon because it wasn’t written by the devs (despite the devs commissioning Ben to write it and he’s written other canon works in the Final Fantasy IP) or that Aerith’s acting “out-of-character” in it (again, only works if you deny the many times she and SE have made it clear that she no longer loves Zack).

@shumailazeeshan123

6 ай бұрын

I do remember that devs said cloud and tifa relation cannot work even without geostigma and sephiroth

It's too good...

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

I know right? I can only imagine how the full game will be! 😅😭💚

Zack who!?!?!?!?!

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

Zerith had a bit of soft flirting, but they were never officially dating and he was never able to be there for Aerith emotionally - both because of his job and his womanising tendencies (Aerith said this herself numerous times in OG). She has repeatedly rejected her past feelings for Zack in favour of the more mature feelings she has for Cloud, and I'm sure SE are hoping the Remake project FINALLY lets people accept that. It's valid to ship Zerith, but it's a whole other thing to erase Cloud and not respect the word of a female character who says no.

I honestly waited for you to react to it hahahaha🎉

@Kabbaway

5 ай бұрын

Thank you! 💚 I reacted to it literally two minutes after the Final Fantasy KZread channel uploaded it. I could’ve uploaded my reaction as is straight away, but I decided to put in a few more hours to edit in some comparisons. I feel it makes this video more transformative than just a basic reaction ☺️

@daphreyes8859

5 ай бұрын

@@Kabbaway i agree everything what you said! ✨

❤❤❤❤❤

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

💚💚💚💚💚

Anyone else getting the vibes from " eyes on me " from ff8

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

A little bit, yeah! 💚

@shumailazeeshan123

6 ай бұрын

I am now hunting for things since now I have holidays and am finding alot of interesting things and I also found out that the singer of aeriths song had to learn about story of ff7 and aeriths connection to the protagonist cloud to sing the song😮

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

She did! SE definitely aren’t messing around! 💚

Hahaha!!!lclerith won!!!

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

I would say so! It’s always been winning, but I really believe Rebirth will seal it 😄💚

@kanzakichikage586

7 ай бұрын

@@Kabbaway How nice to have you!!We will see in the game!Must be fantastic for clerith!

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

@@kanzakichikage586 thank you, and I’m looking forward to it! 😄💚

@kanzakichikage586

6 ай бұрын

@@Kabbaway Hey Kabba, do you use X?

@Kabbaway

Ай бұрын

I used to, but between Elon and the general toxic engagement stuff I stopped using it in November 2022. I've got a Mastodon account now, although I mostly share other people's posts 😅💚

Also, have you seen the state of play(if you haven't, just don't respond), because there was one scene in the state of play trailer that i found interesting. In the state of play trailer, they show aerith giving cloud the Holy materia. Didn't this never happen in the og? It was in her ribbon the whole time during og until *that* moment. Small as it might seem, to me it seems like something major so i wanted to get your thoughts on it

@Kabbaway

4 ай бұрын

Yes, I saw this at the end of the Nibelheim portion of the demo. There is SO much that this scene could possibly mean - I’ve seen some say that the Aerith that does this is the Zack timeline’s one because her hair is out. They also say this is one of those time-stopping visions like the ones he gets in Advent Children, and that it’s occurring just before THAT moment - with it functioning as a follow-up to the dream sequence in Remake, with her telling him more explicitly that she is “destined” to die and maybe with him convincing her she doesn’t have to. We also get the briefest shot of the Buster Sword swinging towards a downwards-pointing Masamune against a bluish background so I like to hope Cloud’s gonna block it this time. Further theories include putting Holy into the Buster Sword which would be fun. Either way, I don’t think any of us are ready for what’s in store! 😭💚

@xmant8842

4 ай бұрын

@Kabbaway i am desparately hoping cloud blocks the attack this time. all of those ideas sound really interesting. If the "holy in buster sword" theory you mentioned does come true, I hope it's like a hidden team up move for cloud and aerith, since they're implementing team up moves

@Kabbaway

4 ай бұрын

I like to think it’d function like his Meteorfall Limit Break but with mini Holy discs raining down on their foes 😂💚

Huhu😭😍

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

🚠💚🎆

@AiLoveHue

6 ай бұрын

@@Kabbaway 😭♥️❤️😍💚

Wow is areith now is the canon love interest not tifa right 🤔 because I’m her team now 🥰 cloud and aerith cute together

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

In my personal opinion, the Clerith implications have been there all along but so far Remake project seems to be suggesting it even more strongly 💚

I recently encountered someone who told me that cid and barret basically confirmed cloti being canon by a remark saying tifa wears the pants in their relationship. Is that true? While I've become pretty knowledgeable on stuff, i don't know everything in ff7 yet

@Kabbaway

4 ай бұрын

That is a quote form a scene in Case of Cid, but the context of the scene is that Cloud and Tifa are geographically together at Seventh Heaven. Let’s not forget that Cid is one of the older members of the party who is prone to making jokes like that, and as we see in time are detail in Tifa’s story their relationship is far from romantic (Tifa’s feelings are turning maternal towards Cloud, she gets resentful about him going off to find reminders of Aerith without her and he ultimately leaves when she tries too hard to insert herself into that). In any case, one single quote from a guy who’s prone to boomerish jokes about romance like that, has little-to-no context on their ACTUAL relationship and whose own love life is extremely unhealthy (he verbally abuses Shera (who is also his workplace SUBORDINATE) all the time up to a certain point) was never gonna be the gotcha some people think it is.

Anyone else hear one winged angel in the back ground no ? huh must just be me lol cant wait

@Kabbaway

7 ай бұрын

Nah, I just hear the sound of a love ballad sung by Aerith while Clerith scenes play. Although, I swear I can hear the tiniest chime of “Remake project is a sequel showcasing an alternate timeline, not a 1:1 remake of OG” sprinkled in there too 😉💚

Who is This Crazy person that screams like that? Imposible to watch

@Kabbaway

2 ай бұрын

Thanks for the algorithm boost! 😄💚

Clerith always makes me happy despite it being a doom ship 😭 It's special to mee i want them to have the best times together 🥹🫶

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

I agree! The angst, the mutual pining, the tragedy… but I want them to have some happiness at long last 😭💚

Happy Clerith Day! And i still stuck in this not move on🫶✨😭

@Kabbaway

6 ай бұрын

You too! The song’s been stuck in my head since I first head it, I find myself singing/humming it all the time! 💚