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i think the most interesting thing about ff7 is that most of the characters are foils of each other... or are written in a way to be contradictory of other characters. the same is true for T and aerith. T and A both lost their parents at a very young age, they've both had to -
grow up in (relatively) tough conditions, they're both very beautiful and strong (in their own ways) but where they differ is that A is, on the surface, incredibly open but is actually a suffer-in-silence type, whereas T is someone who comes off as shy, but is always -
disclosing how she feels by her reactions to other characters or just outright saying things. that's where i think people get their characters twisted up LMAO... they are similar in many ways but when it comes to showing their feelings, they couldn't be more different.
the whole of T's story in OG is her not being able to say something to cloud (that she knows the truth about his identity) and while avoiding the topic she says "i'm sure aerith would just be able to come out and say it." AND SHE DOES... THAT'S THE FUNNY THING...
aerith literally puts that scene from the lifestream and cloud's breakdown together and in context before T even gets the chance to. she knows that cloud is trying to be like Z before we even know who Z is and cloud admits to this later. aerith essentially tells him the truth -
that T can't by saying "i want to meet... you." and it's amazing that people overlook the fact that they're telling him the exact same thing but only T gets credit for it because "cloud is Z in the gold saucer date scene with aerith" but not T, somehow lmfaoooo
another parallel is when aerith tries (and succeeds) at getting barret's trauma off his mind... vs. T trying to calm nanaki down at the hotel (and failing)
T is constantly comparing herself to A and getting angry when she can't stack up. A never compares herself to anybody.
T is constantly comparing herself to A and getting angry when she can't stack up. A never compares herself to anybody.
not to mention saving both of them in midgar is kind of a parallel... and then both of them feeling alone in the world which is super infuriating in T's case because she has other friends and family (she considers marlene her family) but she acts like she's all alone w/o cloud.
while aerith feels increasingly lonely during the game because she feels the weight of being the last cetra constantly... it's like the very earth is baring the weight of that fact down on her and she's horribly depressed about it but she barely opens up and takes it in stride.
while T constantly gets an outlet and is allowed to feel lonely, even though she isn't alone. she doesn't suffer-in-silence. she is a very open sufferer. and i'm not saying she SHOULD suffer in silence BUT she makes her suffering everybody's business with her angry outbursts...
so, yes. are both women complex characters that have complex relationships with their trauma and pain? obviously. they're essentially foils in that regard... feeling the same/similar pain in VERY different ways. trauma is not always prettily tucked away like aerith's... -
- unfortunately it manifests in ugly ways, like the way T shows her trauma through her anger and self-pity. aerith isolates herself instead... and there's no right or wrong way to display symptoms of trauma but T clearly has character flaws and issues, just like everyone else.
and by writing off those flaws or assigning them to aerith instead because you misinterpreted the way the game was written or you're projecting your insecurities about identifying with T onto A or WHATEVER... it's irresponsible and immature to ignore part of the story like that
