I was at an anime con a few weeks ago and I was talking about FF7 with a Tifa cosplayer.

Her take on the love triangle is that she thinks that Cloud loves Tifa, but Tifa will never truly love Cloud for who he is. She believes that the only reason Tifa hold on to Cloud is that he is the only connection to her home town she has left, so that's why she wants to be with him. I like this version of Cloti much better than the usual rabid "ZOMG TIFA AND CLOUD LOVE EACH OTHER FOREVER AND EVER!!!!111"

That's a much better take on Cloti, I say (aside from the 'Cloud loves Tifa' part, but it's definetly a step up). Tifa wanted a hero, someone who could look out for her and protect her - and we know that Cloud never really lived up to that image. Also, in COT, she seems very annoyed with the character traits Cloud has always had. She thinks he needs to change, but he's not going to. I think there's a point in believing that Tifa is in love with her idea of who Cloud should be, not who he really is.

Another interesting point - my youth group pastor always said to be careful of long distance relationships. When she and her husband were courting, they sent letters to each other, and she said she had to be wary of building up an image of him that wasn''t really him. Who's to say this isn't what went on with Tifa as she was looking through the newspapers during the five years Cloud was away? He had left her with a promise, and the belief that he'd become the greatest SOLDIER there was. It's easy to understand how she'd forget the shy and cautious person he really was.

Yeah, i really believe that tifa wanted to be with cloud because he represented her past...nibelheim...that is why she would like to have a family with him, for her cloud is her family

Very good point, KeKe. I've always thought that Tifa wanted Cloud to be something that he wasn't. Like you said, Tifa was dreamed of Cloud becoming a brave hero and a famous SOLDIER like Zack because she wanted a strong, brave, and confident hero to rescue her. In CoT, Tifa even referred to Cloud's insecurity and shyness as being childish, whereas Aerith always accepted him for that. I think Aerith admired Cloud's strength and determination, but she was also able to accept his insecurity and hesitancy. Tifa seems to see those qualities as Cloud's "weaknesses", while Aerith accepts and even seems to enjoy them.

I can easily see that, too.

Never thought about it that way before but that is an excellent point. Aerith shows in the game and in MOTP that while she does enjoy the "knight in shining armor" aspect of Cloud she still loves the insecure, nervous, and scared Cloud. That's Cloud and she loves him for himself. This backs up my views of love! To love someone you should love every aspect of them, not just one bit of their personality. Tifa's inability to handle Cloud's problems shows that she doesn't whole heartedly love this man. She just loves the hero in him.

Exactly, NekoDono. You should love someone for who they are rather than for what you want them to be. Aerith seems to love Cloud for who he is, while Tifa loves what she believes Cloud can become.

Tifa seems to love the idea of a hero who's brave, strong, decisive, mature, and secure. Cloud will never be like that, and Aerith totally realizes that. In the meantime, Tifa expects Cloud to develop that kind of personality someday just because he's a hero. Tifa actually has a hard time putting up with Cloud's insecurity and indecisiveness, and keeps expecting him to "grow out of it". Aerith's just happy with Cloud the way he is.

She really does. In MoTP, she even tells Zack that his bad side is that he's not awkward like Cloud. Not only does that tell us that she likes Cloud's personality, that's telling us that it's the type of personality she prefers. ^^

I agree with everthing except this part.
Cloud never loved Tifa from my POV . He admired her for how socially active she was when they were kids.
Now they're just friends (Weren't friends when they were younger) ( Tifa wanted a could be hero who would save her * When they were in the well * ). Nothing more. A total brother/sister relationship if you would call it anything.
:never: - Never in love
:cleris: - Always in love

Wow, I agree with nothing said here. :/ That's not like Tifa's character at all. As a CHILD she expected a lot from Cloud. But it's obvious that when she's a grown woman--- she is not still expecting Cloud to be some-one he's not. She's always supporting him and trying to get him to open up. She never once says "Cloud, I wish you were more like this..." And if Tifa REALLY still expects so much of Cloud, should wouldn't still be so in love with him. I mean, think about it. Cloud is nothing like what she wanted in him as a child... so why is she still clinging to him? Because she loves him truly. In the lifestream scene, she apologizes for all the mistakes she made in the past. Clouds child self tells Tifa that Cloud will be "so happy" to hear her say all of the things that she was saying. About being sorry, and wanting him to find his true feelings and self. And most importantly, that she NEVER BLAMED HIM.

Sorry if I sound rude, but it's insane to say that Tifa loves Cloud for someone he's not, and that she doesn't know him. She's the one that knew more about him, than Cloud himself did! Tifa was the only one that was able to help Cloud remember who he truly was.

Now, I'm not saying that Aeris doesn't love Cloud for who he is. I believe that she really does, as someone said Maiden really does show this. I think that Aeris and Tifa both helped Cloud, and loved him for who he was and didn't expect him to be anyone, and didnt blame him for anything.

CLOUD I repeat CLOUD is the only one who thought Tifa didn't like him and that she wanted him to be a hero. The fact that he tried so hard to impress her while he was a cadet is remarkable. He couldnt even face her when he went back to Nibleheim because he wasn't in Soldier yet.
Same goes for Aeris, and even Zack.
CLOUD is the only one who thought he needed to be forgiven.

Tifa knew and loved Cloud for who he was, so did Aeris.
And hell, so did Zack.

I'm done nao.

:winner:

I think what people were saying here is that, as a child, Tifa fell in love with an ideal version of Cloud. She initially fell in love with Cloud while dreaming of him becoming a First Class SOLDIER. She never knew him before all of that, only speaking to him once before. Even after initially meeting Cloud in AVALANCHE, Tifa acted as though Cloud should still be that First Class SOLDIER, someone that would come to her aid when she asked. However, she received a shock when he refused to help her (at first) and demanded payment to help her. After that, I believe Tifa started to get to know the real Cloud and to fall in love with who he really was. As an adult, Tifa grew to know Cloud's true self.

Still, after all of that, Tifa doesn't understand Cloud. In CoT, there are a few times when Tifa wishes Cloud were different, which makes me think she wishes he were that "ideal Cloud" she initially dreamed up. I think this later leads to Tifa's romantic feelings maturing into that of family. "Big kid" Cloud becomes more like a son to Tifa, who is the mother of the little Seventh Heaven family. And she seems quite happy with this role.

Ah, thanks for that clarification, because I certainly agree. Tifa even admitted that she wasn't close to Cloud in the past. And yes, it's very true. That as an adult, she begins to realize what she really loves about Cloud, and not what she expected as a kid. Now that you mention that scene where Cloud asks for payment, Tifa says:
"C'mon, you have to keep my promise!"
This may also be showing that she still is expecting something from Cloud... like she did as a kid. At that point, anyway.

As for Tifa wishing Cloud was "different", I got the impression that she wished Cloud was more open with his feelings, you know? Of course she is happy... with her family. ^^
I don't think her love for Cloud changed in any way, but she does hold qualities of a Mother, and Aeris does too. They are both like mothers in their own different ways. Even if Tifa does love Cloud, that doesn't mean he returns her feelings of course, but she's satisfied when he is, and I think that would be enough for her if he does indeed, love Aeris. :]

I agree tifa did exactly that, Cloud never had a crush when they were kids he just wanted friends and Tifa,Jesse, biggs and Wedge pushed him away :cry: poor cloud:cry: then he finally found a true friend......Aerith! :cleris: oh.....and cloud does'nt love Tifa <_<

Yes, he did. It was confirmed in one of the Ultimanias that Cloud "dimly fell in love with" Tifa when they were kids. In other words, he had a childish crush on her.

:blink: Tifa and her friends in Nibelheim might have pushed Cloud away either intentionally or unintentionally. However, those friends were not Jesse, Biggs, and Wedge. One of Tifa's childhood pals was Johnny. The others sort of remained anonymous. Jesse, Biggs, and Wedge were members of AVALANCHE and, I believe, welcomed Cloud quite warmly.

Yeah, they did. Cloud was the one who acted like an ass to them. You could say they were ready to welcome him into their Avalanche "family," and he pushed them away.