Remember Cloud's line as he's thrusting the Buster Sword into the ground? We forgot about it since it wasn't in the Film Festival:

Cloud says: "I decided to live for your sake.
"Yes, it was my decision, however..."

I've heard that the line may be more properly translated as "I decided to live for your share". The idea is that Cloud decided to live his life in a way that would honor someone that died. However, he may now have to fight to the death and no longer be able to honor that person with his life.

There's been debate over whether Cloud said this at Zack's grave, since it appears to be at a location near where Zack died - or whether he says it in reference to Aerith, since yellow flowers blow away as he picks up the sword. Now that we've seen the previews, I think there's more reason to think it's in reference to Aerith.

If Cloud has been living and working with orphans, then wouldn't he be living his life in a way to honor Aerith, rather than Zack? We know that he has Geostigma and that he may intend to destroy Sephiroth for good. He may very well have to fight to the death in order to stop Sephiroth. We also know that he may not live due to Geostigma and not care whether he survives a battle with Sephy or the SHM or Jenova. There were bullets flying right by his head a he encountered the SHM in the Sleeping Forest - he was being reckless, and he didn't care.

So what are your thoughts, now that we have more information? Does this scene actually have to do with Aerith rather than Zack?

I have always believed this statement was about Aerith. What I want to know is what Cloud says after "Yes, it was my decision, however..." :huh: However WHAT, Cloud?!?

However, he's not able to honor her life any more with his way of life because he intends to fight to the death. That's how Naru interpreted it, and FF7Reunion also said that he intended to fight to the death.

Hm. I wonder if it's after his suicidal phase, or if it's sometime early in the movie... It would make more sense if it's after his suicidal phase, but... hmm... let me gather my thoughts first...

Was the city he was overlooking Midgar or Junon? I keep forgetting... since I thought that the flowers blowing there were turtles...

Oh well. I think it's more likely to be about Aerith anyway...

I think it is referring to Aerith.. I don't know.. like if its zack that would sound a little well ..gay (no offence to gays but cloud is not one).. :ph43r: ok man don't usually say this sort of thing to another man... like some clotis like to say the "personal memory" could be zack, I really wanna smack their heads.. cloud is not that gay..

...Aerith?

If it's for Aerith, then he was trying to make himself survive for her sake... for her memory or in honour of her memory even maybe if he thinks that he's better off dead anyway without her.

If it's for Zack, then the person who started the fight against Sephiroth to save the world would've been Zack and not Cloud, and Cloud just decided to live for Zack's sake just so that he could continue the fight that Zack has started.
I don't know... <_<

So I think I'd go for the Aerith thing... Feh.

Cloud says: "I decided to live for your sake.
"Yes, it was my decision, however..."

I think his talking about Zack because his standing were I believe is the place that Zack died also he and Zack had plans of becoming mercenaries together but Zack died so Cloud lived Zack's life, he became a Mercenary. But know he says "however..." I think he is trying to say now I that I now who I'm I have to live MY live not yours.

Someone who is Japanese explained to me that "I decided to live my life for your share" is a phrase used when making a promise to someone who has died that they will live their life in a way that will honor that person's life. Cloud taking care of the orphans, for example, would honor Aerith more so than Zack. This same person went on to say that "Yes, it was my decision, however..." would mean that Cloud could no longer fulfill that promise by living. She said that a person would say that in a situation such as going into a battle that they did not expect to survive. FF7Reunion also stated that Cloud had made a vow to fight to the death in that scene. I asked a second Japanese person if it could mean that, and he said yes.

So Cloud doesn't seem to think he's going to survive the upcoming battle. From what we've learned in the AC previews, I think it's likely that he's talking about a promise that he made to Aerith - to honor her life by taking care of children. He can no longer honor that promise because now he intends to fight to the death if that's what it takes.

I take this as further evidence that he will die in AC, or at least, that he doesn't care whether he does. It's also contradictory to think that the promise was made to honor Zack, since he's saying he can no longer fulfill that promise because he may have to fight to the death. Saying that he may have to fight to the death would honor Zack, wouldn't it? :lol:

So if it's in reference to Aerith, what does this mean? It means that he was living his life in a way to honor HER, and in remembrance of her. Isn't this further proof of her importance to Cloud?

Ever since I first saw that I have never been able to make up my mind as while it might most likely be to Aerith it is possible that he is saying it to Zack, as like you mentioned it is pretty much where Zack died. But if I remember correctly there were flowers there in that scene and in my mind flowers in FFVII are always connected to the flower lady, Aerith. :)

But what if he is wishing to honor both Zack and Cloud. He goes there because it's the place where Zack died and he brings the flowers there to honor Aerith. And it is a beautiful spot, the view is breathtaking there. So you cant really blame Cloud for wanting to honor her in that place instead of going to the Forgotten City.
So I would like to believe he is there for both of them, as if it wasn't for Zack I doubt Cloud could have escaped Shinra like he did in the flashback.

Well, Midgar has Aeris name written all over!! It was where they first met, her church, their first adventures together, where the meteor fell and the Planet's move to end that big rock for good, all thanks to Aeris' sacrifice. It's a very important town, not cause of Zack (who I think won't have almost any importance to the movie, only appear in few flashbacks) but because of the flower girl, he's lost love... :wub:

*lightbulb turns on over head* I think it's in rememberence of both Zack AND Aeris. I think Cloud thrusts his sword in the ground, and is holding a small yellow flower thats petals are delicately pulled from the stem in the wind. I do think that Cloud is talking about Aeris when he says he decided to live. I think he knows she never would want him to give up on anything.

Excellent point Cloudsgirl. That's exactly what I was thinking. Any possibility that the quote in its original Japanese could refer to more than one person? After all, Cloud hopelessly mentions his inability to help or protect any of his friends in general. His inability to fulfill a promise that applies to more than one person seems to fit into Cloud's dismal self-assessment.

If the quote is refering solely to Aeris: it seems to me that the quote has more to do with the fact that Cloud has not been able to pull himself together and live life happily since Aeris' death. So, in THAT since, he has failed to "live for her sake." He is merely existing, not living.

The flowers in that scene tell me that he means Aeris. Flowers aren't related to Zack at all. Yeah, it does look like it is the place where Zack died (although I think it looked a bit closer to the city in FFVII, but meh) but I don't think he means Zack. Aeris is more important to Cloud and it's been more than just two years since Zack died. Why is he only doing this now for him? His words are also quite personal and him and Zack weren't as close as him and Aeris.

That little "however" does indeed hint to me that he is ready to fight until the death. Like he did all he could and now he is ready to finish the job, dead or alive.

...I want to see this movie. :ph43r:

funny, i never thought that it had anything to do with Zack. i always thought the line referred to Aerith.

Well it is only logical to think that it has something to do with Zack as Cloud is at the spot where Zack died at the hands of those Shinra soldiers (or at least it sure looks like that place, even though I know few will disagree with me^_^).
And we should never forget that Zack was a very important part of Clouds life in the past, and he is the only reason why Cloud is still alive.
And of course, as it has already been confirmed that Zack is in the movie it should be no surprise if Cloud is talking to Zack as well as to Aerith in that scene. :)

The thing is, he thrusts his sword into the ground. That's a sign of respect(or something like that) for a fallen commrade/soldier in Japan. And it IS Zack's sword...But the flowers.....maybe it IS about both of them. It'd make sense*shrug*

Hmm... to me, during that scene he was referring to Zack as he did thrust Zack's sword at his grave which was overlooking Midgar, but I wasn't really sure about the 'however..." bit.

Maybe it's like Marionette said, he must live his own life and not Zacks. But then again it may not. Maybe it does refer to Aerith as well as Zack. We really won't know till later.

Cloud puts his sword into the ground, in asian culture that usually means like the grave of a solider or like representing something like that , Zack was a solider, well i guess Aeris could of been a solider too.. OH yeah and about the flower thing, everyone usually has flowers on their grave, so it could be Zack .. or Aeris... IM just pointing this out im not siding which one is right because im not sure either.

i think cloud is talking about aeris....i imagie when ff7 was over, cloud took his swords and returned to the place where zack has died..remeber this is the place where cloud tooks the sword, because it was zack swords, not cloud swords. i think he is sealing his past,..and the, whe see in advent children cloud go to the place , took the sword from the ground and fix it...because he is gonig to fight, once more...what do you think?

i was wrong: what he see in this scene in no Midgar, is Junon. why?
firts of all midgar is not early the see, remember? junon is
the canion...junon has a canion
look at it wery wel and you will see its junon, no midgar...so is talking to aeris...

Daga: I'm not being rude, but if anything else comes to mind and no one has posted after you, edit your post instead of posting again! ^^;

The rule is posted here http://s8.invisionfree.com/Cloud_x_Aerith/...p?showtopic=171

And I'm thinking Cloud will probably die from the geo. T_T At least if he does CloTis cannot say "THEY CAN STILL BE TOGETHER" because they claimed to be against CloRith because Cloud cannot be with someone who is dead, so Tifa cannot be with someone who's dead, "simple as" XD

It's really looking like Cloud's gonna die

oh yeah!!! i totally forgot what he says in that part :blink:
but im still wondering in what part of the movie does he say it? :blink:
begining/middle/end :huh:

Sounds like ya all want him to die :D

I thin it happens in the middle... Maybe after the fight versus Bahamut, when Cloud sees that he has to fight (looking at the trailers, figth with Bahamut seems the first time in the movie when Cloud starts to fight seriously...)...
And yeah, I think Cloud will die in AC... Well, at least I hope so ^^U

well...hmm...oh know,if cloud were to die in the movie how would you like him to die (you know in what place)i was thinking about it it would be kinda sweet if he were to die in the flower-bed you know were aeris was always taking care of her flowers :o (wait why did i write this in the first place :huh: :blink: )*hits her head*

The place?? ^^

Well, the flower field in the church would be nice :rolleyes: ... But I would see it more "tragic" if it was in the Temple of the Ancients or in the Forgotten City, just like Aeris died, it would be so beautiful and sad :rolleyes: :rolleyes: ...

I'll love to see Cloud die in a really painful way. Somethin' like he finishes of the badguy, the badguy's dying, then when Cloud and the rest thinks it's all over, the bad guy suddenly rushes up and kills Cloud, bad guy laughs while dying. But Cloud smiles sadly to the badguy's surprise. Cloud has this relieved look on his face that just touches you.. "thank you", oh so he says.

I'm quite the sadist hehe, but woudn't it all be beautiful? and worth it all? To have Cloud suffer so much in life, but in afterlife is where he FINALLY finds peace , which is with Aerith. And Tifa letting go of Cloud has gotta be a beautiful thing to see.

It is a referal to Aeris that much is a dead cert. No pun intended. lol.

"I decided to live for your sake, however"
I don't think this is just reffering to the upcoming battle that is gonna take place. Remember he's infected with the non-curable Geostigma and the outcome is always fatal.

Cloud doesn't expect to survive whether he comes out of the battle victorious or not. He expects to die soon either way...

The fact that he doesn't seem bothered by it is upsetting though, since he can't think of a reason to fight on as best he can against the Geostigma. He intends to just let it kill him remember what Tifa says...

"No that's not it. He doesn't plan to fight at all..."

It's true that in many asian cultures (mine as well), not just the Japanese, that what he does with his sword is a sign of honor and respect toward the dead. From what he says during that scene though, I'm really leaning more towards the idea that he's referring to Aeris, so I agree with Lost Mercenary.

This is just my prediction, but when he says "I decided to live for your sake, however" (I'd imagine that he's saying this line before the big fight...or else at the end of the movie), I think he's referring to the idea that although he could easily have just given up on life, he hasn't because of her. Maybe he wants to live so that he can keep her memories alive, even if he can't be with her physically? *shrugs*

No matter how much I want Aeris and Cloud reunited, I really don't think he's going to die. For one thing...I get this feeling that with that image they always show of Cloud putting his sunglasses on, it may be something at the very end of the movie. I kind of think that he's going to stay a lone wolf and not end up with Tifa at all (as I feel that she's close to him, but only due to the fact that she's such an understanding friend, nothing more). Here's how I picture it at the end: after the big fight, (having somehow healed himself of the geostigma) he puts his sunglasses on, gets on Fenrir and drives away looking very kool, mind you. At this point, he's gotten over his depression and has decided that Aeris isn't really dead as long as she lives on in his memories...a happy ending... B)

Maybe it's the best way Square can kind of stay neutral regarding the love triangle?
Let's just hope my predictions don't come true, otherwise, I've just spoiled the movie for everyone... :blush:

But notice how there's an abscence of the characters in Dirge Og Cerberus, which is set a year after AC's events. And Midgar is in a hell of state suggesting it was destroyed a second time. I'm looking at you Sephiroth.

But the very fact none of the other characters besides Cait Sith appear in DOC leads me to conclude that AC will end in tragedy.

hrmms...I don't know much about DOC as I haven't done my homework on it yet.

I agree that it's very possible Square may have Cloud die at the end of AC...but then, I just get this feeling that DOC may not have much to do with most of the FF7 characters in general anyway. Doesn't it focus more on Vincent's story?

The thing that puzzles me about what you said is that if Cloud's not in DOC because he has died at the end of AC (how tragic)...does that mean that the rest of the cast has also died as well, since they're not in DOC? :unsure:

That would indeed be very tragic then, huh?

It is very posible but I'm praying hysterically that this will not be the case.

so if cloud were to die :o
then why does he say "I decided to live for your Sake..,yes that was My decision How-ever..."
im not saying that cloud might not die its just that im a-little confused thats all :blush:

Well, we don't really know for sure if any of the other characters will be in DC or not. As far as we know, S-E could be waiting to release information on them until after AC comes out. I doubt they would want to spoil anything by letting us all know for sure if Cloud and Co. survive or not. ^_^

i guess your right :gift:

Hmmm...I don't know for sure. The scene and lines are too vague. And maybe its Square way of poking fun at its fans. :ermm:
The way I see it, if Cloud decided to live for someone's sake..than it must be for Aeris's sake. Cloud must had been in a turmoil deciding what to do, so basically, its Cloud's choice but I think even he himself is not sure about his decision.

He may not have a choice. He may choose to fight against the GeoStigma but it could very well overcome him in the end.

hmm...maybe your right :ermm:

I see as Cloud as some kind of refferfnce to both Aeris and Zack. I think it's a bit tragic to underestimate the friendship between Cloud and Zack, Zack was probably the first person to show Cloud any kind of comapssion in his life, being practically starved of possitive human contact as a child would most likely create a family-like bond with the person who'd finally show you kindness, don't you think. And I don't think it's gay-whoever said that.
They were both tortured for 5 years, think about that, they'd have to practically live of eachother's support to survive, 5 years in hell. Zack risked his life for Cloud twice, and he took Cloud with him to Midgar, it would have been a kind thing to do to drop him off to get medical attention on the way to Midgar, but he took him along, perhaps he didn't want to part with his friend. I mean Cloud /became/ Zack.

Cloud had the strongest bond with two people in the game, and perhaps the only two people sto show him understanding, compassion and empathy. And that was Zack who was a friend and maybe evn a brother, and Aeris who was love and perhaps soul mate.

I think maybe in that scene the words are aimed at Aeris solely and the video of him putting the sword in the ground is him honouring both of their memories cos the scenery and sword are mainly Zackish anyway.

I feel sad for Cloud. They never seem to give him a bit of happyness. I'm not so uppity on having him die. I just want his character to find happiness. I was young and he was my first crush you know..

If he had to die, I wouldn't like sadism so much, I'd like something simple, wistful and heartbreakingly sad, with piano music and violins to puntuate the pain when it gets to the saddest bit. I'd like Cloud not to be so aware of his pain, but be dizzy and dreamy.

I wouldn't want Tifa to be anywhere near the scene, I fear she'd kill the moment. Yeah I'd prefer a simple tragic and scene over a dramatic one.