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Cloud and Tifa, often said to be the main couple in the game. Generally, fans of Tifa support this pairing, while those who prefer Aerith go for CloAer instead: and usually, supporters of the two pairings generate insult wars among themselves. Why? Because, basically, this love triangle just can not be solved. A lot is left for the player to decide while Aerith is alive, turning every possible solution into a very relative, subjective one. Whether we want it or not, the truth is no pairing involving Cloud can be considered canon in the game. Squaresoft never made one of the two main couples official, neither did it (arguably) show any kind of preference towards either girl.

The tendency has always been for fans of Tifa to support CloTi, because they want to see her happy with the "love of her life", and for Aerith lovers to believe in CloAer, trusting the flower girl to be the only woman our hero actually did love in the game. Let's face it, though: Aerith is dead, bringing her back to life would spoil the very essence of her existence and no pairing involving her is possible within the context of the game, CloAer included; therefore, both couples should be analyzed considering only which girl Cloud would love more or be happier with, instead of the actual possibility of either of them to happen. This also requires an open mind, and, obviously, some distancing from the love you might feel more strongly towards one of the two female characters involved.

Personally, CloAer appeals to me a lot more. This could be because Aerith is my favorite character in the game and I always end up getting her on the Gold Saucer date, but even after objectively analyzing the whole situation, I still think it would make more sense for Cloud to love her (during the time she was alive, of course) rather than Tifa. Why? Mainly because it seems to me that Tifa has missed out, lost all her previous chances with Cloud, from her childhood and teenage years, due to her own shyness and difficulty in expressing her true feelings. This doesn't make her any less worth Cloud's love, but I'm afraid it does make it hard for him to keep loving her unconditionally, especially considering what he goes through after he leaves Nibelheim to join SOLDIER.

The Cloud we first meet in the game is a confused, lost one who doesn't even know his own identity. I don't think I need to go any further to explain why he is not capable of loving at this point. However, and thankfully, he does change through the course of the game, due to help and care from both girls. Yes, whether you like it or not, they're both important in Cloud's process of finding himself again, along with his very capability to feel. And in my mind, optimistic, pure and bubbly Aerith is the one touching his heart this time. Maybe he didn't romantically love her, but I believe that, prior to her death, he was close to, or at least closer than he was to developing any kind of deeper feelings for Tifa at the time. She showed him a couple of good things in life, gave him faith (which remained with him even after her death) and taught him the importance of love and care in all its forms. She made him laugh, which, I think, is pretty good for a guy who doesn't even know who he is. And this was exactly what he needed.

However, while I strongly believe in Cloud and Aerith as the best couple within the possibilities, I also believe in moving on. Cloud has definitely had some sort of feelings for Tifa in the past, most likely love (we can't be sure whether it was merely a strong crush or something more significant, though I personally believe it to be the latter), and maybe she could bring them back just by being there for him and truly loving him as she always has. Even when the game ends, Cloud is still a fragilized person who needs some serious healing (in many ways) before focusing on a love relationship. Besides, if he did develop some kind of love feelings towards Aerith while she was alive, he won't move on so easily. In my opinion, Cloud needs time about as much as he needs love, by the end of the game. And maybe if Tifa can provide him with those two factors combined, a mutual love relationship will be possible between them someday. I'm not against it in any way.

Basically, I think Cloud and Tifa is a pairing that might work, as well as, obviously, the only one possible (in the game's context) out of the two analyzed above. And while CloAer makes a lot more sense in my head and just "clicks" more clearly, I see CloTi as a logical option as well, and one that doesn't bother me in any way, as an open minded person.

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