That's it!
I am sick of Clotis telling us to "STFU because it's just a damn game!"
I am sick of being told to stop taking things so seriously or to please remove the giant stick up my ass!
I'll be the first to admit that we in this forum can take things to the furthest extremes when discussing our couple. We have threads dissecting the final FMV, Cloud's motivation in AC, his need for forgiveness...we even have threads about a possible sexual relationship between Cloud and Aerith, what it might have been like if she hadn't died, Cait Sith's predictions...
And you know what? I enjoy every single minute of our in depth, sometimes "philosophical" discussions. I enjoy going beyond the surface, speculating what-ifs, bringing more life and depth to a game and a couple that we love. Whether it's trying to map a character's emotions, interpreting events from a different perspective, searching for cultural significance..."philosophizing" is one of the things I love best about this forum. And I do not give a rat's behind if Clotis think I'm being "too f*cking serious!". What the heck, to them it's Cleris mumbo- jumbo that they can hardly digest but to me, it's oodles of fun! This forum is chock-full of deep topics enough to make the most rabid Clotis heads explode! ;)
So here's a club for those of you who love "taking things too seriously" ^_^

Members:
Kusari Yarou
Aerith's_Man
Anastar
AerithResurrected
Hyper-Ballad
Iris
Cloud's Girl
Rikkulicious
Tacofoolio
Luna-Nayru
LeaveOnYourBrightLights
msz aeris strife
FF_Goddess
:CloudSmiles:
Pyra Kurai Akaidra
NekoDono
True Serenity

SIGHN ME UP!!! My CloTi brother says all that. And I like taking it seriously because personally just thinking of it as a game makes it boring. So I will join!

I'll join!!

There's a ton of discussion about things other than the Love Triangle on other FFVII forums as well as this one - such as: who did Cloud's party chase in Disk One, was Sephiroth or Jenova the main villain of the game, was Sephiroth or Jenova in control, did Humanity survive the end of the game (that was a big dispute before AC), where is the Promised Land, Cloud's mental state, was the final battle between Sephiroth and Cloud in Cloud's mind or was it reality, etc. Many things other than the Love Triangle have been discussed and debated about FFVII, and it's continued for years since the game was released. Similar debates exist about works of literature, such as Hamlet, Lord of the Flies, etc. I don't see anyone being criticized for debates like that.

FFVII is a story as well as a game, and it can be analyzed as easily as any work of literature for that reason. They probably say the same thing to students who actually read the books that they write reports on. :lmao: Hurray for "taking it too seriously"!! :woot:

Sign me up!! :dance:

I take things too seriously, I determine to change.

What a great idea, Kusari! I'd love to join!

Anastar made an excellent parallel to the way we study literature today. What about all the teachers, lecturers and professors who've dedicated their careers to certain poems, books and authors/poets/playwrights? Are they pathetic and dull for taking literature seriously?

FFVII is more than just a game to me, and I'm not shy about admitting it, and I don't hesitate to take many aspects of the game totally seriously. Of course there are light-hearted moments, fun games, and we can all laugh and poke fun at even the more serious parts now and then...but the game was still intended as a mature and serious story and deserves to be taken seriously. I enjoy joking around, but I really enjoy our serious discussions - the deeper we go, the better it gets. FFVII is an intelligent, powerful and complicated game with an extremely open storyline - we as an audience are meant to question things, and find our own conclusions. I think it's great to among a group of people who enjoy this as much as I do, who enjoy to discuss analytical, symbolic and philosophical elements in the FFVII story.

FFVII is a rich story, with so much to offer. I feel sorry for anyone afraid to dive into it and take it, its story, and its characters seriously and really thinking about it. It's fun! :fangirl:

I'll join. Out me up there somewhere. My CloTi friend does all of those things

I've added the members. Welcome, everyone!

I like the comparisons that Aly made. We all consider FF7 to be a work of art...how is that any different from the pieces of literature that we like to discuss and dissect today? I really don't like this prejudice wherein you're not allowed to think of videogames "so seriously" just because they're...well...videogames. How can you not take a game you love (especially an RPG) seriously when, for crying out loud, it has a deep storyline and 3 dimensional(literally and figuratively) characters?
True, they are only characters and in the end, it's only an imaginary world. But while I'm in it...might as well have a good time! :angel:
If we like surface-skimming for Japanese symbolism, if we look deeper into the context behind characters' words...well, we can't help it when these things come into play as we debate. It's one of the things that make the game and the pairing fun for us! :cleris:

And another thing...notice how all these analyzing brings us all closer? I mean, I now know many of the values and beliefs of many members of these forum, and I've learned to consider and respect them. C/A has brought us together...hee, sappy but true. Pretty mighty feat for a bunch of pixels :lol:

Lots of people get pleasure out of soap operas, whats wrong with playing on something, instead of watching it? In games, its something to do, it takes strategy,
and thinking, and logic. With TV programmes, you just sit on the couch all day, thinking, "Oh, is Zen going to have an affair with Crystal? Maybe Stone will kill Marty today"
In games you have to use your brain. Who cares if you take it too seriously? ^_^

I'll join! Lovely idea for a club! Something for the hardcore FF fans! :lol:

Sign me up! :woot:


~looks at the fact AM signed up~ :lmao:

We need a banner for this club with Barret or Cid throwing a hissy-fit and saying, "Don't #*@$% with me!! I take it seriously!!" :lol:

I agree with you all... FFVII is an RPG with a complex and detailed plot. People have analyzed it and discussed it for years, just like works of literature are discussed. There was a topic at Gamefaqs that ran for about 17 topics @ 500 posts each where they discussed things like who was in ultimate control: Sephy or Jenova? Who did Cloud's party chase in Disk One: a clone, Jenova, or a mental projection from Sephiroth in the Northern Crater? Was it really Sephy, or was it Jenova disguised as Sephy, who killed Aerith and Pres. Shinra? Was it Jenova or Sephiroth who manipulated Cloud? Was Sephiroth transforming into Bizarro Sephiroth at the Reunion? Why was Sephiroth legless in the Northern Crater? They talked about all sorts of things that didn't even have to do with the Love Triangle... no one called them stupid for taking the game "so seriously". Both Cleris and Cloti's took part in those discussions.

Long essays have been written about different aspects of the plot, such as the Strife Manifesto and Brittenham's essay. No one calls them stupid for taking the game "so seriously". Just Cleris people get accused of that. <_<

I'll join!!!!! I always take rpgs seriously partly because I mostly watch them be played, so what else should I do, lol. I've grown up on them, so to me they're like stories being played out before me. Even on games with no real storyline, I always would create one. It just gives it more point to me.

Allow me to rant a bit:
I love Harry Potter but I was actually insulted when one critic called it "the series that made the videogame players quit". Felt like they were putting my favorite complex, epic RPGs into the same category as crap like Duke Nukem. It was like they were saying "all videogames are the same: just mindless junk to fill our kids' heads" What the heck?! Most RPGs I play are better than some fantasy novels!
Personally, I don't see how anyone can not take an RPG seriously and still have fun playing it. I have some friends who cheat on their first play and breeze through the game with superpowerful stats...just so they can say they beat it on their first try <_< I tell ya,where's the fun in that? RPGs are like playable novels...what's to stop us from treating them as we do literature, right? And that includes it's characters and it's romances.

I completely agree, KY!

Cloud's Girl could do a better job with this... but I had to do it:



:lol:

Marry me, Aly! :lmao:

Awww.... :blush: But you know that Sefie, MB, and Rikku will all get majorly jealous! :lol:

Tacofoolio made an excellent point in the "Dissing C/A Fans" thread:

That's so true! They keep telling us not to be serious, but they spend huge amounts of serious time trying to prove that we're too serious. It's so ironic! If we're too serious, then why are they so serious about us? :lol:

-raises hand- I'll join

It's more than a game when it becomes a fandom. D<

You freaking rock my world, Kusari. Totally loving this idea. Sign me up, and long live the overanalysts! :woot:

And I made a banner. Aeris is so sexy and symbolic. :lol:

Oh, yay! I like this club. Sign me up! It's fun to come up with theories and analyze a game that everyone here clearly loved. Here's to taking RPGs too seriously. :lol:

Welcome, everyone! :huggle:

Totally! Where would a fandom be, if it's fans didn't worship it?

I can't believe I never noticed this club! :lol: Sign me up!

I just now rediscovered this club, and it's in need of a serious bumping! It's too great a concept to let die! :no:

So, anyone up for a deep discussion about something not related to the LTD? :D

Oh, please sign me up. Hardcore FF fans unite!!

Let me join! If a videogame like FFVII got the fandom it has, there GOT to be something going on.

Not only videogames and novels, anime and manga also receive similiar discussions. If there's no such talks, where's the fun in fandom?

Add me up. I've been accused of "taking this too seriously", "being way to into it', and "a total geek with no life aside from FFVII" on many occasions. But remember: the internetz is a seriuz place. an u r a n00b if u dun tak it seriuzly

Whoa, thanks for totally bumping this thread, HB! :lol: <3

Very well said, Kusari. Lovin' it. I overanalyze a lot too, and damn proud of it. ;) Just goes to show how deep FFVII is, yo! So beautiful. ;_;

Sign me up pweez! :3

I've added you all, welcome everyone! And Hyper, thank you for bumping this thread!

Loving the banners!

As for Seriaz Discussion we can get into...hmm...

AVALANCHE: Rebel Heroes, or Just Another Bunch of Terrorists?:shifty:

Resha wants to join... :mellow: CloTis. ugh. They would try anything to you just to annoy you.

I'll join as well! I take things way too seriously in the FFVII realm.