Secrets & Mysteries | Aeris and the Loveless Play

An obscure relationship exists between the Loveless play and Aeris' death. Read the words of an anonymous contributor, who made the discovery:

One thing that everyone seems to leave out about this Aeris' resurrection thing is : right before you enter the North Cave, go back on to the bridge of the Highwind. Talk to Cid, and he'll ask you "Hey Cloud, have you ever seen the play Loveless?"

Reply "Yeah".

Cid will then say, "I did, once, when I was interviewing to be a pilot in Midgar. I thought it would put me to sleep, and it did. Near the end, the guy next to me woke me up saying my snoring was too loud. All I remember is the end: the sister of the lead tells her lover 'I'll come back, even if you've moved on, because I know you'll be waiting.'"

- anonymous

Re-read the last sentence, "I'll come back, even if you've moved on, because I know you'll be waiting." This seems rather coincidental, considering the other 'coming back' comments present in the game. These have been listed below:

During Cloud's dream of Aeris before her death:

Aeris: "...Then, I'll be going now. I'll come back when it's all over."

(excerpted from article 'Aeris Resurrection')

While Tifa, Cloud and Bugenhagen travel towards the Ancient City aboard the Highwind:

Tifa: "I wonder what Aeris felt... when she was on that altar...?"
Cloud: "I'm sure she wanted to give her life for the planet..."
Tifa: "Really? I wonder? I don't think that's it at all. I think she didn't think she would die at all, but that she planned on coming back all along. She always talked about the 'Next time'. She talked about the future more than any of us."

(excerpted from article 'Aeris Resurrection')

Is the ending of the Loveless play a coincidence, or another cunning ploy by Square to tease the player?

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Update (October 2005): A few weeks after the Japanese release of Advent Children, we got the following email from Dale, which points to something in the film that might further tie Aeris to Loveless:

I recently read the article on your site under the Secrets and Mysteries page about Aeris and the Loveless play. I was capturing screenshots from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children when I came to the point in the film when a huge sign falls onto Rude's head. This is none other than a Loveless sign with a picture of a young woman on it who looks a lot like Aeris! (Just before her death when she is praying at the altar and has her eyes closed) Quite interesting.

Here are a few screenshots of the sign, courtesy of Dale. The woman on the sign does bear a strong resemblence to Aeris, especially in regards to her apparent hairstyle and the ribbon she wears.