Aerith and Zack in Maiden of The Planet
by Kuraudo
Aerith herself made it clear in several parts of Final
Fantasy VII that she was over Zack, and
that she had accepted the fact that Zack was not coming back for her after Crisis
Core. Despite this, an argument commonly heard in Love Triangle debates is that Zack and Aerith
reaffirm their love for one another once they are reunited in the Lifestream,
and that they appear together as a couple in Advent Children. However, the official novella Maiden Who
Travels The Planet (aka, Maiden of the Planet) makes it clear
that no such thing happens. Although Aerith and Zack do meet up again in the Lifestream,
they do not get back together as a couple.
In actuality,
Aerith’s true feelings for Cloud are established early on in Maiden of the
Planet. This novella shows without a doubt that Aerith’s feelings for Cloud are that of romantic love.
It also shows that,
even though Cloud shared similarities with Zack, Aerith knew them to be very
different people. Furthermore, the story states that Aerith loved Cloud much
more than Zack. Obviously, whatever feelings Aerith may have felt for Zack in the past, are now
irrelevant. The following passage from Maiden of the Planet shows all
of
this quite clearly:
Aerith was in even
greater pain when she thought about Cloud.
She also had good feelings towards him. At first, she thought he somehow had some similarities to her first love. Even so, his looks, voice and personality weren't similar and he also made her think of him as a mysterious person... But it soon didn't matter. She loved him much more than her first love. Cloud was her hero and he couldn’t get away from danger. She saw him as someone full of confidence, cool and had the impression that he would disappear in an instant if she took her eyes off him. She wanted to stay by his side forever if she could. She really wanted to.
~Maiden of the Planet
In this passage, Aerith not only states that she sees how different Zack and Cloud truly are, but she
also conclusively states that she
loves Cloud much more than Zack. She even states that she wanted to stay by
Cloud's side forever,
if it were possible.
Some people claim that Aerith didn't know the "real Cloud", and that she only loved Cloud because of his similarities to Zack. Yet, the passage cited above makes it obvious that Aerith clearly perceives the differences between them when she says that Cloud's “looks, voice, and personality weren’t similar” to Zack's. After all, Cloud’s personality is pretty consistently shown throughout Final Fantasy VII, Case of Tifa, and Advent Children as being that of a quiet and introverted person who is essentially a lone wolf. This is nothing like Zack, who is very outgoing, sociable, and optimistic.
Although Cloud and Zack's personalities were very different, Cloud did
copy some of Zack's actions, such as the way they walked, gestured, and
their shared tendency to do squat thrusts. Because of this, Zack is awakened
from the Lifestream when Aerith recalls memories of Cloud’s actions,
not his personality. This is specifically shown in the following passage:
"I felt something odd
about him but, was everything really just made up and part of his false
character? Cloud wasn't real at all? ...No, that can't be true. There were
things that only Cloud could think of. Things that he done because he was
Cloud. He was never an empty vessel to begin with!"
But she couldn't figure out the truth. Her thoughts just went in circles.
Aerith delved into her memories again. Memories that showed Cloud's
individuality. The way he walked. She remembered all his actions one by
one...
Most of those thoughts merged into the Sea of Mako and awakened a character.
The character recognized the image she recalled and "he" woke up.
~Maiden of the Planet
It is sometimes claimed that Zack was awakened by
Aerith's thoughts of Cloud since she "only knew the Zack in Cloud". However,
the above passage makes it clear that Aerith was only thinking Cloud’s actions, not aspects of
Cloud’s personality. As stated earlier, Cloud did indeed copy some of Zack's
mannerisms, such as the way he walked and gestured. So it is Aerith's
thoughts about Cloud’s actions that awaken Zack, rather than
aspects of his personality.
Now let's look at Zack and Aerith's reunion in the Lifestream to see whether there's any evidence of continued love between them:
Zack: "Aerith... Is
that you?"
At first, Aerith couldn't remember whose voice it was because it was so
sudden. Panicking, she turned round and saw a nostalgic face she hadn't
seen for five years. He was her light taste of first love. He was also
now a very dear friend who she hadn't seen ever since she heard nothing
from him. He had the same character she saw in Cloud. Zack who had blue
eyes that proved he was in Soldier appeared before her. He had an image
inferior to Aerith's solid image.
Aerith: "Zack! Does that mean you're dead too?"
~Maiden of the
Planet
If anything, Aerith and Zack’s reunion in the Lifestream confirms that the
two were not pining for one other. If they were long lost lovers
waiting to be reunited again, one would expect them to embrace or kiss
one another. Instead, they have a simple conversation like that of old
friends. Aerith even describes Zack as “her light taste of first love”,
which is an odd way to describe someone destined to be your soul mate.
Aerith even goes on to say that Zack remains
a “very dear friend to her.” This makes it quite obvious that their romantic
relationship is over, and that Aerith’s heart now belongs to someone else.
Then Zack mentions the Nibelheim incident, and Aerith immediately asks
about Cloud. Even though Aerith has just been reunited with Zack, her
thoughts continue to be focused primarily on Cloud and how to help him. Apparently, being
reunited with Zack in the Lifestream isn’t
enough to take Aerith’s mind off Cloud.
Later
in the story, Aerith brushes off Zack’s attempts at playful flirting
when this conversation takes place between them:
Zack: "Man, you
know Aerith. Out of all the girls I've gotten along with, you truly are
the best. After that mission, we could have stayed the way we were and
might have been able to continue to go out with each other after I
returned home. I hate Sephiroth. And I hate Shinra who's been hiding all
the stuff they've been doing."
Aerith: "Someone who's gotten along with so many girls can never become
a lover."
Zack: "How mean. I'm kind to everyone."
Aerith: "And that's your bad point. You're not simplistic and awkward
like Cloud."
Zack: "Is that what you liked, Aerith?"
Aerith: "Who knows. Things might have changed after five years."
Zack: "Heh."
~Maiden of the
Planet
Even though Zack and Aerith
are able to be with one other again, Aerith’s
thoughts never really leave Cloud at all. In this passage, she tells
Zack flat out that someone “who’s gotten along with
so many girls can never become a lover”, by which she obviously disapproves of Zack's
tendency to be a ladies' man. Here, Aerith basically blows off Zack's attempts to flirt with her,
and she makes it quite clear that she's not
interested.
Aerith then goes on to compare Zack and
Cloud in a romantic sense, which would make little sense
if she wanted to rekindle her romance with Zack. When Zack says that he’s kind to everyone, Aerith
actually says that's his bad point because he's not “simplistic and awkward like Cloud.” Aerith
tells Zack that things might have changed after five years, which is a more
than subtle way for her to say that she prefers Cloud. Despite this, Zack
takes it all in stride:
Zack put on sad
face as if he was sulking but then smiled carefree. It was the unchanged
smile that Aerith knew from when they were young. When she was
seventeen, it was what attracted her to him.
~Maiden of the Planet
Obviously, Zack is neither hurt or offended by her remarks.
If anything, he takes their conversation with good humor. Though their
romantic relationship is now in the
past, Zack and Aerith remain good friends with no hard feelings.
Furthermore,
Zack clearly doesn’t intend to come off as serious when he flirts with
Aerith. It seems that he would have been more serious if he had truly wanted
the romance back in their relationship. Instead, he only flirts with Aerith
lightly and playfully. When she implies that she prefers Cloud, Zack isn’t
taken aback by her response. He
doesn’t try to press her for answers, and he doesn't try to take the
conversation any further. He really seems fine with Aerith's choice, simply
accepting what she's had to say. Afterwards, Zack says this to Aerith:
Zack: "... But whenever you feel lonely, call me, Aerith."
Aerith: "Only if I get really lonely. Goodnight, Zack."
~Maiden of the
Planet
Zack playfully tells Aerith that if she ever gets lonely, she could come and find him. Once again, Aerith turns him down. Clearly, she has no intention of taking him up on his offer, since she says that she'll only seek him out if she gets "really lonely". If Aerith was really so in love Zack, wouldn’t she want to be with him as much as possible? They have the opportunity to be together again, yet Aerith doesn't seem to be interested
Another thing is that, even though Aerith and Zack are both in the
Lifestream, they actually have little time to spend together. Most spirits in the Lifestream sleep much of the time,
and it's shown that Zack does this, too. If you remember, Zack was asleep
when Aerith first awakened his spirit, and later in the story, Zack tells
her that he's going back to sleep. Unlike other spirits, Aerith remains
conscious in the Lifestream because she is a Cetra. As a result,
Zack would be sleeping most of the time like other spirits, while Aerith
stays awake.
Aerith wasn't going
to sleep. Because she was Cetra, she didn't seem tired at all.
She was happy. She
was happy that she now knew the real Cloud and was able to watch over
him, even though it was just for a short while.
~Maiden of the
Planet
After getting a
clear look into Cloud’s personality and past during the Lifestream Event, Aerith still remains in love with him. She
obviously gets to know the “real” Cloud during the Lifestream Event, and
even so, she still loves Cloud for who he is. Her feelings for him don’t
change at all.
As a final point, Maiden of the Planet is considered canon by Square-Enix.
Although it wasn't written by the creators, it was written under
their careful supervision. Also, the story is consistent with the plot
of Final Fantasy VII and the rest of the Compilation.
Maiden of the Planet
was approved and released in the FFVII Ultimania Omega. If it wasn't
considered canon, then why would Square Enix endorse it and allow it to
be released in one of their official books? The question of whether
Maiden of the Planet is canon will be considered further in another
essay on this website called Is Maiden
of the Planet Canon?
Advent Children Love Triangle FAQ
See these essays for further discussion of the novellas:
Is Maiden of the Planet Canon?
Cloud and Aerith in Maiden of the Planet *coming soon*
--------------------------------
~The novella cited in this essay can be found here: Maiden of the Planet