ok tbh, since we& #39;re all on the topic of fake persona cloud vs. real awkward cloud, i think we should bring up the fact that T is the one with FALSE MEMORIES of him in the first place! A has no memories of him in the OG... which MEANS:

cloud has no precedented way to act around aerith that the jenova cells implanted in him can act on. he acts genuine around her because she wouldn& #39;t know the difference, never having met him before. he gets to act like his REAL self around her w/out jenova& #39;s influence on him.

meanwhile, T gets the flirty and completely unnatural cloud (that i should mention - completely disappears by the end of the game & in the subsequent story)

so what should we take from this info? T & C& #39;s entire "relationship" is entirely built upon their false memories of e/o

whereas cloud and aerith& #39;s relationship, built upon real trust & feelings, not deep hidden secrets/memories, is being developed during the game & you get to see how it flourishes in real time.. you& #39;re not TOLD it happened (unlike CT) bc we get to see real cloud & aerith interact.

cloud acts completely unnatural around T. you can force him to flirt with her in the og (along w/ several other perverted options he would NEVER go along with if he weren& #39;t ACTING as his SOLDIER persona lol) and force him to be mean to aerith... but we all know that& #39;s not cloud!

because REAL cloud still spends his time seeking aerith out and spends real time thinking about how, if he had just understood a little bit faster, he could& #39;ve saved her life. he laments this and yearns for her guidance even after her death. real him wants aerith, not T. sorry!https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤷‍♀️" title="Achselzuckende Frau" aria-label="Emoji: Achselzuckende Frau">