Dude I can’t imagine being Tifa in AC.
I know it’s not confirmed that her and Cloud are in a serious romantic relationship, but if they are - she’s deserves better.
She knows that Cloud never got over Aerith and in his worst moments, he ghosts her for months so he can die alone and squat at the property of “the one who got away”.
Tifa knows that Cloud high key hopes for death/returning to the planet so he can be with Aerith.
I just cannot imagine being in a relationship with someone who still reminisces about the one who got away. There is no security in the relationship.
Even at the end of Advent Children, Cloud still plasters his wall and desk with printed photos of flower fields and grass. Not because he picked up a liking to photography, but because he still only connected flowers and landscapes to Aerith alone. This is even after everything. He can’t just see it for what it is because if he did, he would be on the right track to healing.
For those who experienced a breakup, maybe you don’t get over a person fully but you know you are on the right track when you don’t entirely connect one thing like an object to your ex and obsess over it. Again, you just see it for what it is. It’s a flower. They existed long before Aerith. Cloud only appreciates flowers now that Aerith died.
Going back to Tifa, I think she knows she’s second-best in Cloud’s mind. He put so much energy into a memory. Sometimes I feel like he’s written in a way that he’s never going to move on. If you’re in a relationship, you don’t talk about exs and unrequited loves with your partner. Not only that but have your partner be very aware about it too.
The moment Cloud ever tells Tifa that Aerith spiritually talks to him sometimes, it’s over lol. Imagine your current partner admits he’s still in contact with his ex.
and it sucks because Tifa and Aerith were really good friends. It’s honestly just Cloud. He loves both of them but I personally would not accept that because no one else does what he does so openly.