advent children;
................Y U U S H A

ADVENT CHILDREN: as a continuation of the game, after his dive in the Lifestream and with the help of Tifa to repeice his memories, Cloud finally recalls Zack-- and the huge sacrifice Zack made for him. As a result, Cloud, as he should, feels a great deal of remorse and guilt for Zack's untimely death. But ever the kind friend, Zack, as Aeris, stays loyal by Cloud's side, although he cannot interact with Cloud the way Aeris can, he finally makes himself seen at the end of the movie, waving a nonchalant goodbye to his friend; no malice, no blame. His friend is finally at peace with his past, and Zack is happy for Cloud.

LUPINE?: A lot of sites, especially shrines to Cloud, say the wolf is a manifestation of Cloud's lonliness or guilt. I object. If Cloud and crew wear the pink ribbon in Aeris' memory, then the wolf gives presence to Zack.

My first aurgument: Cloud no longer uses the Buster sword, that sword was proof of Zack's existence in the game. He left it on the cliff as a grave marker, and by the rust, it's been there for some time. Cloud never sees the wolf, the wolf only appears when he is gone or unconscious. With Zack's dark spiky hair, side burns, widow's peak, and piercing blue eyes there is something very lupine about Zack's very appearance.

My second aurgument: There are many legends and myths of wolves, but I will only discuss the ones I am familar with. In Native American belief, the wolf, or ómahkapi'si, represents loyalty,perseverance, and stability. They are messengers, guides into the spirit world, teachers of healing arts. I want to stress the fact they are guides.The howl of a wolf is said to be the wolf communicating with the spirit world. Wolves are social animals and families of wolves stay together until death, wary of the well-being of their packmates. It is clear by the stance over Cloud when he passes out in the church that he is 'guarding' or watching over him. Also, when Cloud 'dies', both Aeris and Zack are with him, and it is Zack that tells him it isn't his time to go yet.

My third aurgument: Zack only shows up in places he had been in life. In Crisis Core, we learn Zack had been to Aeris' church and he appears, as the wolf, on the cliff overlooking Midgar where he died. At the end, once Cloud releases all his guilt, we finally see Zack, and after Zack waves goodbye, the wolf is no more.

The church, flower fields, and the healing water are all physical manifestations of Aeris, so the wolf is Zack's. The church and the pool of water that became Aeris' grave is a reminder of her in the FFVII game, but at the point Cloud had yet to recall Zack, so Zack shows up as the wolf in AC. Just as Cloud wears the pink ribbon for Aeris, he wears the wolf engraved peices in memory of Zack. Only Cloud would wear them because the only other members that knew of Zack was Aeris, and Tifa really didn't know Zack that well. Maybe Vincent knew of Zack since he was a Turk, but that's questionable. In closing, the wolf is Zack NOT Cloud.

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