Aerith Gainsborough/Tifa Lockhart

Aerith Gainsborough/Tifa Lockhart (commonly referred to as AerTi) is a popular pairing of the characters Aerith Gainsborough and Tifa Lockhart from the video game Final Fantasy VII (1997) and its subsequent media franchise.
==Fandom==
The Final Fantasy VII (FFVII) fandom has primarily been dominated by male/female and male/male ships from the very beginning. In the early days of the fandom, the main conversation concerning Aerith and Tifa jointly was the Love Triangle Debate (LTD), an infamous feud between Cloud/Aerith supporters and Cloud/Tifa supporters. The idea of AerTi—and Final Fantasy femslash in general—was entertained by relatively few fans at the margins.
Over time, as the popularity of femslash in fan culture grew, so too did interest in AerTi as the most prominent femslash ship in the FFVII fandom. AerTi may be considered a complementary pairing to slash ships such as Zack/Cloud (Clack) and Sephiroth/Cloud (SefiKura).
Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020) brought new fans and renewed interest into the Final Fantasy VII franchise. The expanded story featured additional character interaction, particularly showcasing the strong bond between Aerith and Tifa. AerTi has grown to be a "mainstream" ship with a popular following.Gramuglia, Anthony. Final Fantasy VII Remake: Why People Are Shipping Tifa & Aerith. CBR.com. 22 Apr 2020. (Accessed Feb 2021.)
===Notable Fanon and Tropes===
*Bonding over the loss of their mothers in childhood
*Protecting each other in battle
*Aerith tending to Tifa's injuries
*Cloud as a third wheel
*Tifa mourning the loss of Aerith
==Exemplary Fan Works==
===Fan Fiction===
*"Silk" by Fraulein Hilde
*Last of the Cetra by Proteus DMC
* by tasalmin
===Fan Art===
*In Forgotten City by yukinkzk
*ほぼ二人詰め合わせ and 対称 (Symmetric) by tsubobot
*when this is all over, let’s go shopping. by amorizel
* by risingoflights, 2020
* by rei-is-hiding, 2023
===Cosplay===
*Screw Cloud let's be lesbians by frankiki, Ali-Kitty, and Strifehart
===Meta===
==Gallery==
===Fanart===
File:Aerith and Tifa by Allimack.jpg|Aerith and Tifa by Allimack
File:Friends by BarsOrigami.jpg|Friends by BarsOrigami
File:Dandelions and forgetmenots by CherryInTheSun.jpg|Dandelions and forgetmenots by CherryInTheSun – Tifa frustratedly trying to make a flower crown while Aerith wears a completed one. 
File:Tifa x Aerith by CherryInTheSun.jpg|Tifa x Aerith by CherryInTheSun 
File:Academy Fantasy 02 by chibiasta.jpg|Academy Fantasy 02 by chibiasta – High School AU fanart from 2009.
File:Tifa and Aerith by datcravat.jpg|Tifa and Aerith by datcravat
File:Friendship by Diavolo 013.png|Friendship by Diavolo 013
File:How to talk to a short person by GigaSlime.png|How to talk to a short person by GigaSlime – A much taller Tifa holding Aerith against a wall, based on the "Tall Woman Lifting Short Woman" meme.
File:Aerith and Tifa by Carolina Vilhena.jpg|Aerith and Tifa by Carolina Vilhena
===Cosplay===
File:Aerith Tifa Cosplay 5 by KiaraBerry.jpg|Cosplay of Aerith (KiaraBerry) and Tifa (SweetAngelCosplay).
File:Aerith Tifa Cosplay 4 by KiaraBerry.jpg|KiaraBerry (Aerith) And SweetAngelCosplay (Tifa)
File:Aerith Tifa Cosplay 3 by KiaraBerry.jpg|KiaraBerry (Aerith) And SweetAngelCosplay (Tifa)
File:Aerith Tifa Cosplay 2 by KiaraBerry.jpg|KiaraBerry (Aerith) And SweetAngelCosplay (Tifa)
File:Aerith Tifa Cosplay 1 by KiaraBerry.jpg|KiaraBerry (Aerith) And SweetAngelCosplay (Tifa)
==Links==
===Archives and Communities===
*FanFiction.Net (FFN)
**FFVII stories marked [Aerith G., Tifa L.]
**Kingdom Hearts stories featuring Aerith G. and Tifa L. (any context)
**Dissidia stories featuring Aerith G. and Tifa L. (any context)
**Fields of Fire: Tifa/Aeris
*DeviantArt (DA): Tifa-x-Aerith
*Archive of Our Own (AO3): Aerith Gainsborough/Tifa Lockhart
*Tumblr: Petals and Piano Keys (AerTi Week)
*Reddit: r/TifaxAerith
*Pixiv: #エアティ
==References==
Category:Final Fantasy VII Relationships
Category:Pairings
Category:Femslash Pairings