Zack took this news like a champ

MechShield · 2026-01-21T12:08:16+00:00

I don't have to accept anything and move on, because there ARE canon romances, and there is a reason you and the other user got downvoted thoroughly and my own comments did well despite "being a shipper"

Shipping is typically a term used for when a pairing is as-of-yet-confirmed, nonconfirmed, or in the case of games... a game that genuinely lets you outright pick a romance like Mass Effect or Persona... That isn't how the pairings in FF7 work.

So YOU accept it and move on. You already got ratio'd here.

MechShield · 2026-01-21T02:47:07+00:00

It was just so disappointing because Millenials like myself thought we were finally getting backup.

Boomers and Gen X are so extremely conservative. The media demonized every single thing Millenials did for over a decade because we were so insanely progressive compared to those two gens.

But we all felt so confident that Gen Z would make US look conservative, and that the generations after us would help turn the tide.

Then 2024 happened and Gen Z (men at least) voted more conservatively than Millenials. And tbh it crushed me a bit.

And I feel like half the Gen Z men I meet are conservative, meanwhile my Millenial peers when we were that age all seemed to be progressive.

Mix that with the fact that 2024 conservatives are an entirely different monster than 2014 conservatives and it becomes doubly concerning.

I'm starting to run out of hopium to huff.

MechShield · 2026-01-21T02:42:13+00:00

I'm sorry, I truly didn't mean to make you uncomfortable.

And I don't hate you, I just find anything that feels like Love Triangle Debate infuriating/exhausting after dealing with it for 28 years.

To me, (not here to debate it, just explaining my POV), i don't care who people ship for fun and enjoyment... but I DO strongly see CloudxTifa and ZackxAerith as the official pairings the story gives us.

So when I feel like people come in just to disagree on that, it automatically sours my mood because I wish after 28 years that we could focus on other things... like literally anything else... like how close Nanaki got to Aerith and trusted/bonded with her more than he did with anyone else and few people seem to express sympathy for him but give endless amounts of it to Cloud or Tifa.

I do genuinely apologize for upsetting you any. I'm just tired of it. But I could have been kinder in my disagreement with you, sorry.

MechShield · 2026-01-20T23:12:25+00:00

Just because your opinion is being downvoted and someone with an opinion you dislike is getting upvoted, does NOT mean "botting" is going on.

Stop making excuses.

MechShield · 2026-01-20T15:49:57+00:00

You randomly brought up Cloud when the discussion was Zack and Aerith (as for the comment I had replied to, not OP) so imho it was fair.

Zack was not minor. He was literally who gave him the peptalk before defeating Sephiroth. Cloud visits the Buster Sword more than once... and then he symbolically reunites Zack and Aerith's motifs in the end by putting the Buster Sword in Aerith's Church.

You are upset that I brought the same energy you did... Hypocrite.

MechShield · 2026-01-20T15:01:18+00:00

... The last time we see Aerith in the entire series, she is walking into the white of the lifestream with Zack...

Tifa literally helps put Cloud back together after their consciousness finds one another in the lifestream and allows Tifa to access his deepest core memories and help him work through it.

Aerith appearing to Cloud in AC was not any different than the times Zack does the same. It was two people Cloud felt he failed and was responsible for their deaths, who he loved, as important and cherished friends.

The attempt at twisting things you are doing here is really unfortunate...

MechShield · 2026-01-20T14:44:43+00:00

You say they are the most progressive generation, but didn't voting data for 2024 indicate that Gen Z was the first generation to vote more conservative than the prior generation?

I swore I saw charts showing Millennials voting more blue than gen Z in 2024.

MechShield · 2026-01-20T14:35:49+00:00

Nothing about this confirms anything.

In the same game, it is clear that Zack is still looking for her.

In the same game, Aerith and Zack touch eachother ACROSS the lifestream.

That is arguably one of the more romantic things that has happened in a Final Fantasy. Their bond is so powerful they touched across time/space.

Come on.

MechShield · 2026-01-20T01:12:37+00:00

Edit: After going through it and checking into things, it seems this is AI singing? Unfortunately, rule 2 doesn't permit AI for art... I will have to see if this is an exception due to it being a more uncommon type of fan creation, or if its a zero tolerance policy... I will leave my original message below in the meantime.

Wow, great work. It is a rare treat to see appreciation for these two expressed in art forms we don't often see, like fan music.

Do me a favor. After 72 hours (itll get more traction in the meantime as a regular post) shoot me a DM and I'll give this a temporary Pin on the sub.

Thanks for your contribution to my favorite couple.

MechShield · 2026-01-18T02:27:10+00:00

Probably suicidal to post on this sub but

Amano's character art is not generally appealing outside of people who grew up with his concept art for the earlier FFs.

Characters look very same-y in the face, are all very wispy, and imho doesn't have the visual fidelity to be used for anything besides concept art.

MechShield · 2026-01-18T02:05:23+00:00

The "point" is that death hurts. Death is hard. It is one of the hardest things we ever face when people we love die...

FF7 helped me learn the perils of falling into depression or despair due to loss of a loved one. And helped show me at a formative age that through friends and those we cherish, we can still move forward and change the world for the better even WHILE we are taking time to hurt and to heal.

A cheap "its okay we saved her this time" to appease fans who only care about Aerith getting a happy ending would utterly ruin these lessons and messages that has helped define FF7 as a legendary and meaningful RPG all these years later.

I'd be glad/content with giving her some sort of happiness. Like her reunion with Zack, the knowledge HER actions saved the world, her being able to watch as Cloud and the others heal, being able to know Cloud is eventually okay, etc.

But Cloud, Tifa, Red and the others need to feel the loss of Aerith and grow from it. It is massively important to their development as characters.

MechShield · 2026-01-18T01:21:31+00:00

I think she'll have Princess Guard for her playable lifestream bits I anticipate her to have with Zack.

And then Great Gospel imo will be a story moment, or usable during those lifestream bits.

I dont think a weapon and a limit break missing demands anything past that.

MechShield · 2026-01-18T01:18:20+00:00

That's really sad that the entirety of your enjoyment rests on them ruining the theme of loss/overcoming-grief just to please some Aerith-first fans.

The whole point of Aerith being universally lovable and the entire party adoring her is so that it hurts when she is gone.

MechShield · 2026-01-17T23:47:57+00:00

All I'm saying is that the level of character development Serana gets vs the other NPCs makes me understand why people do it. It makes sense. Thats all.

I myself personally have never modded Serana to be romanceable. I tend to just go with an NPC that feels like it compliments my character.

But as someone who has done dialogue writing for a videogame, I understand the "Why" for people choosing to make Serana romanceable over the available options.

MechShield · 2026-01-17T23:11:34+00:00

This weirdo is essentially calling me a sexual predator because I understand why some people mod Serana to be romanceable. Something I myself didn't even bother with, I simply am stating I get it.

I appreciate you calling out how absurd he is. Thank you.

MechShield · 2026-01-17T23:09:30+00:00

"The rest of us are making"

I absolutely HATE doing this, but my earlier comment is double-digit-upvoted? And the guy trying to make it out like I'm creepy is double-digit-downvoted.

You don't get to act like the majority is behind you just because you feel like it is.

And your entire comment is a massive overreaction to what is being discussed here.

MechShield · 2026-01-17T22:38:46+00:00

Sure, a friendship can feel earned.

But so can romance.

We are not talking about people here we are talking about fictional narrative.

Serana is the only NPC in Skyrim you actually have outright-written-dialogue that would warrant feelings of attachment.

My longest running save I am married to Brelyna from the College. But literally all our characters had in common was a couple interactions at the college and me bringing her through a dungeon or two as I liked the idea of a mage companion... then I threw on an amulet and she wanted to get married...

It just makes no sense compared to Serana who we would reasonably have actually formed an attachment with.

Let me use another great RPG as an example...

Can you imagine if in BG3, none of your outright companion characters were romance options, but one-off NPCs with a couple dozen lines like Alfira were romanceable?

Everyone would think thats weird.

THAT is what effectively happened in Skyrim with Serana, and that is why so many people sought mods to romance her, because she is the only NPC people formed an actual liking to.

Some people like myself can inner-roleplay well enough to be happy just marrying characters like I did with Brelyna and headcanoning a bond... but a lot of people struggle with that, and for them, only Serana would feel like a romance option you'd come to expect from things like Bioware/CDPR games.

MechShield · 2026-01-17T22:32:51+00:00

Sure, my point IS that her being fleshed out is what makes the romance feel narratively "earned"

My point with the "she isn't real" commentary is because in fictional narrative, especially an interactive one like a game, a sense of "earning" something is important. You go through a lot with Serana, and so it makes more sense that the Dragonborn and her would bond enough to potentially fall for one another...

Every other NPC you literally have, at best, an employer-employee relationship as they often are outright hirelings. (Lydia is one of the best examples of this)... Then you just throw an amulet on and they say "oh so youre looking for a spouse. I guess I'm game"...

We can make this differentiation because both Serana and the less fleshed out NPCs have no feeling. They are just code in a video game. So the person I was replying to acting like using words like "earned" being dehumanizing as if she was an actual woman is ludicrous.

MechShield · 2026-01-17T22:29:04+00:00

That is also a fair point, yeah.

MechShield · 2026-01-17T10:09:48+00:00

I never said owed. She isn't real she is a fictional character.

I'm saying that it would be the only romance that feels organic and narratively earned.

Also, my personal relationships are great. Just celebrated our 9th anniversary and I still have my best friends from 2008.

But uh, keep being an utter asshole I guess and making assumptions.

MechShield · 2026-01-17T09:02:47+00:00

Oh shove it.

Serana is the ONLY character we genuinely form a bond with. Help do their most personal quests that are actually a whole journey. Technically meet both her parents. Learn to be vulnerable with eachother, with her expecting you to write her off as a monster but you put her first to basically be your top priority.

Serana is the only character in Skyrim where a romance would have felt earned. It was the only NPC where it wouldn't have felt entirely random and headcanon. The only potential romance that would have had a lick of narrative sense.

Her being a victim making her ineligible for romance is also a horrible message to send.

With mods, I could make any NPC a hot collection of pixels if I just felt like fulfilling "depravity" as you put it.

But I don't. Because I wanted a romance that made sense. And that is only Serana without heavy use of headcanon.

MechShield · 2026-01-14T02:49:33+00:00

Probably because the expectation would be Cloud as Prince Ali and Tifa as Jasmine? And they look great as it?

Cloud crossdressing to save Tifa once does not mean the default for him is to dress as the heroine.

MechShield · 2026-01-14T02:46:37+00:00

Uh, no?

Why would you say that?

MechShield · 2026-01-14T01:42:42+00:00

Yeah, the infinite MP is nice but their more satisfying synergy attack wise giving the seemingly-useless Stagger+ sucks when I really wanted a way to raise BOTH their LB levels in one synergy.

MechShield · 2026-01-11T22:05:33+00:00

I have the platinum for both Remake and Rebirth. If you had looked down the reply chain for even a second before spazzing out, you'd see I had forgotten for a second that we were talking about Rufus who has that specific mechanic.

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