Love Triangle Debate

The Love Triangle Debate, often abbreviated as the LTD is a long-running ship war in the Final Fantasy VII fandom between shippers of two different pairings involving: Cloud/Aerith (Clerith) and Cloud/Tifa (CloTi).
==History==
===Final Fantasy VII (1997)===
During the party's second visit to the Gold Saucer, through certain actions and dialogue choices, the player triggers a "date" cutscene between Cloud and one of four party members: Aeris, Tifa, Yuffie, or Barret. Shippers debate which of the scenarios ought to be considered canon. (Barret's scenario is nigh impossible to trigger without doing so intentionally, and thus many fans were unaware that his date scenario was even possible; in the years since, many fans frustrated by LTD drama will claim that Barret is the "canon" date.)
Rumors circulated that there was a way for the player to trigger flags in the game so that Tifa would die instead of Aeris.kawaiileena. Tifa Getting Killed? posted to Eyes on Final Fantasy on 12 June 2005. (Accessed September 2020).
There is debate as to whether Cloud and Tifa had sex beneath the Highwind before their final battle against Sephiroth, and as to whether Cloud’s stated desire to see Aeris again indicates an exclusive romantic commitment to her that transcends even death.
Some shippers have engaged in character bashing to attack the opposing ship. For example, some have claimed that, based on her outfit, Tifa is a "slut", and therefore an inferior love interest.ardwynna, jukeboxhound, et al. anyone care to give me a history lesson on how ff7 fandom was like back in the day? posted to Tumblr circa December 2016. (Accessed September 2020.) Some even erected entire hate shrine sites dedicated to defaming the character belonging to the opposing ship.fury-brand, et al. anyone care to give me a history lesson on how ff7 fandom was like back in the day? posted to Tumblr on 14 April 2020. (Accessed September 2020.)
===Expanded canon and alternate continuities===
After the 2005 release of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, shippers debated whether Cloud expressed continued desire to reunite with Aerith as lovers in the afterlife, or moved on from Aerith to be with Tifa. Some have speculated that Aerith resumed her relationship with Zack within the Lifestream. 
Alternate continuity versions of Aerith, Cloud, and Tifa appear in the Kingdom Hearts series. Cloud/Aerith shippers point to Cloud’s apparent search for Aerith in Kingdom Hearts (2002), and heartfelt conversation between the two in Kingdom Hearts II (2005), as evidence for their side. Cloud/Tifa shippers point to Tifa’s apparent manifestation as “Cloud’s inner light” in Kingdom Hearts II as evidence for their side.
After the 2007 release of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, many fan works increasingly featured Zack/Aerith as a complementary pairing to Cloud/Tifa, and vice-versa. A new, smaller Love Triangle Debate gained traction—this iteration concerned with Cloud/Aerith vs Zack/Aerith.
Around this time period, there may have been something of a reconciliation between some Aerith fans and Tifa fans, who put aside their differences to appreciate both characters and their friendship.
Aerith, Cloud, and Tifa appear in the Dissidia Final Fantasy series.
===Twenty Years of the LTD, and Beyond===
After twenty years of discourse, the LTD has been often referred to in the past tense as a relic of ancient Web 1.0 history. Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020) and its subsequent installments feature an expanded story with additional character interactions, unifying the Aerith fandom and Tifa fandom in shared enthusiasm for Aerith & Tifa as a friendship and Aerith/Tifa as a romantic couple.
Yet the ancient evil still lurks undying in the FFVII fan community. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
As of this writing, the Love Triangle Debate remains alive and unwell.
==Reactions to the LTD==
The LTD has possibly been the biggest source of wank throughout the existence of the Final Fantasy VII community. While a few fans continue to passionately promote and defend their side to this very day, many have grown exasperated with the decades of fighting. Thus, the generally accepted fan etiquette is to avoid raising the issue of the LTD in most community spaces lest a flamewar spark, much like how one would avoid discussing extreme politics at a casual gathering.
Some fans have expressed dismay that the LTD has pitted Aerith and Tifa against each other as bitter love rivals in fanon, ignoring canon evidence of their friendship.
Some shippers may have turned to alternate ships, such as Aerith Gainsborough/Tifa Lockhart and/or Cloud/Zack, at least in part to subvert or spite the LTD. For this same reason, many of these fans flippantly insist that Barret is Cloud's canon date at the Gold Saucer.
==Meta==
===The Case for Cloud/Aerith===
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===The Case for Cloud/Tifa===
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===Third Options and Alternative Perspectives===
*Killing the LTD in Final Fantasy 7 Remake allows for more focus on the other 95% of the story that doesn’t include people trying to sit on Cloud’s D. by iaintyourbro (pro-CloTi source)
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==Communities, Sites, and Points of Interest==
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*Uniting Friends Forever: Aerith and Tifa on Final Fantasy Forums - "This club is about Aerith, Tifa, and their friendship. And not only the friendship of the characters, but of their fans as well. Here, Cleriths and Clotis converse peacefully about their favorite characters' friendship together."
*'Well, this is awkward...' by Bhryn - Subversion of the LTD in which both Tifa and Cloud compete for Aerith's affections
*Screw Cloud let's be lesbians by frankiki, Ali-Kitty, and Strifehart - Cosplay in which Aerith and Tifa eschew the LTD
*FFVII Love Triangle Discourse Generator (archived 2020)
==Further Reading and Resources==
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==References==
Category:Final Fantasy VII
Category:Shipwars
Category:1997 Events
Category:1990s Events
Category:2000s Events
Category:2010s Events
Category:2020s Events