aerith gainsborough; (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
hauntsyourphone) wrote2012-07-11 10:26 am
hauntsyourphone) wrote2012-07-11 10:26 am
Entry tags:
Profile Meme;
[Character Name] Aerith Gainsborough
[Canon] Final Fantasy VII
[Point Taken from Canon] Post-Advent Children Complete; after Aerith walks out of her church and into the light, to be exact.
[Age] 22; that was her official age before her death.
[Gender] Female
[Sexual Orientation] Heterosexual
[Eye Color] Green
[Hair Color] Brown
[Height] 5'3'' (163 cm)
[Other] Ummm, none that I can think of at the moment.
[Clothing]
Aerith wears a shin-length pink dress with lots and lots of buttons on it. She only has a few buttons unbuckled, close to the ankles, so she can have room to run and jump without any trouble (Poor thing wouldn't be able to move if she didn't have a little leg room to move). Over the pink dress, she wears a red bolero jacket. Oddly enough, in Advent Children Complete, they added new detaisl to the jacket by giving her two new pockets over the area of her chest. She used to wear metal bracers on her wrists, but it, too, was replaced to leather belts in Advent Children Complete. She still wears her famous pink ribbon that Zack Fair, her first boyfriend, gave to her even it was literally slashed off her hair when Sephiroth totally SPOILER ALERT:stabbed her...yeah, I have no idea why her pink ribbon was slashed off when he merely stabbed her. Go ask SE about that. And a pair of brown boots to finish the Aerith type fashion.
Here are two pictures as example of the chances between FFVII!Aerith, Advent Children Complete!Aerith, and Dissidia!Aerith.
[Background]
[Personality]
It is rather difficult to miss or even sometimes forget Aerith Gainsborough. Her very presence will leave some sort of mark on those who first come across her because of her kind and optimistic nature along with her odd choice of work. At first glance, she can be easily described as a kind and caring individual, who's clearly living in a city she does not seem to entirely belong in. Her burning desire in wanting to bring color and life into the city is well-known by being known as the only flower vendor in Midgar. Aerith believes the flowers will help bring a little cheer to those living in the slums, and hoping it will help the city regain a bit of life from the mako reactors that are sucking the city's living resources. Even her choice in colors and clothing are a clear example of the type of personality one would expect from her -- innocent, sweet, and polite.
But if those three personality traits are the only ways to first describe her, then we clearly do not know Aerith at all.
Before her death, two years ago, Aerith was known as a kind and gentle flower girl. She was the type of person that would help anyone in need. Be it healing a person's wounds or helping them regain consciousness after falling from the sky out of nowhere, promising to take and look after another person's child and then offering her very life in exchange to protect said child, and offering "creative" ideas on how to sneak a guy into a dangerous "playboy-type" mansion without getting detected -- Aerith will do almost anything she can to help others. However, she isn't the type to help just anyone. She isn't entirely naive. Due to living in the slums throughout her entire life, Aerith has gained enough experience in being able to observe and read others. Be it from observing their outward appearance, asking questions, or having a simple conversation with them for a bit, she is able to tell if someone is shady or not by using her intuition and experience in dealing with all types of people in the slums. Actually, she has been doing it for so long that she uses it to determine a certain price for her flowers. A perfect example is during the Wall Market arc, after Cloud walks out of the Honeybee Inn, he finds a group of men surrounding Aerith. If Cloud talks to the men, then each of the men will comment about having to pay a specific price (or receive a free flower and gil, in Johnny's case) for the flowers. It clearly indicates that Aerith has a good eye when it comes to observing other's character as well as a good business sense because she took advantage of her situation by selling her flowers at pretty high prices (which is funny to notice how the men did not feel they were ripped off).
On the subject of having lived in the slums her entire life, Aerith is well-known for being courageous, street smart savvy, and having a strong-will. She is determined to prove that she can, in fact, take care of herself. A line that she reminds the party, especially Cloud, many times throughout the game. Elmyra, her adopted mother, told Cloud and company the story of Aerith's life which included the fifteen years that Aerith has been dodging the Turks, an elite assassin group working for Shinra. Yes, it is true that Aerith is not the strongest of fighters or quickest of runners and it is also true that Cloud has helped Aerith escape from Reno and three other henchmen beforehand, but it does not mean she is entirely weak or helpless. Aerith does not have any qualms asking for help nor does she mind being a damsel from time to time. Aerith is capable of telling the difference between being able to take care of the situation on her own or needing a little bit of help. Even though Cloud was the one who saved her, she did not play the typical damsel role all that well either. Aerith helped support Cloud by suggesting the best way to escape the Church was by using the back way. She does not mind being rescued, but if she is able to lend a helping hand to the one saving her, then she has no problems doing so. It is only when she is in a really sticky situation that she allows the hero be, well, the hero.
Aerith knows her way around the streets and is always in observation mode whenever she is. In Crisis Core, it is clear she had a friendly-enough relationship with her neighbors, who live in the slums. Including the neighborhood children, who are well-known to pickpocket others to the point that she got one of the children to promise to never steal from others again. Yet, it did not stop Aerith from asking Zack if he lost his wallet after a boy "accidentally" bumped into him. It is interesting to note the depth of her feelings of understanding and forgiveness because she later explains to Zack that the boy would not have stolen his wallet without a reason. She even found a way to convince Zack to listen to the boy's story before he did any further action against him.
Another example of Aerith's knowledge of the slums is when she was the one who told Cloud the way to go to Sector 7. Aerith even added that the road to Sector 7 was dangerous. But even so, her love for others, understanding of the harsh living environments others have at the slums, and her easy to forgive nature keeps her from treating others without genuine kindness and concern for their well-being. The only type of people she is usually on guard around are those working for the Shinra, due to her experience with them, and to those who do want to harm her or others for whatever reason -- that includes the local monsters. It is funny to note, even if Aerith feels wary around those who can cause her harm, she still has a place in her heart to not only lower her guard around them, but form a friendship of sorts with them as well. An example of this would be in Before Crisis, after the Player Turk allows Aerith to return home, it is easy to note her guard slightly weaken as she realizes the Turk not only did not recognize her, but they also had a fondness for flowers. The Player Turk even goes as far as risking their life to help Aerith get away from AVALANCHE, who was trying to kidnap her. They even offer to search for Aerith's lost materia that her birth mother gave to her. Just observing the other's actions began to change Aerith's attitude towards them, even with the knowledge of knowing they were part of the Turks. It even went as far as Aerith defending the Player Turk's honor by lashing out against the AVALANCHE members that were speaking ill of them.
Aerith hates to see an injustice being committed in front of her. So, she will not be afraid to speak her mind, and stand her ground when she believes others are doing something wrong. Like needlessly stepping onto the flowers, for example. Aerith is not the type of person to holds back her emotions. She is expressive of her thoughts and feelings regarding a certain topic; including her negative emotions. One can expect a scolding from her if someone angers her enough. Like how when Cloud rejects her help in the beginning because he did not like the idea of receiving help from a girl. Just an act was enough to rile her up by impulsively deciding to guide him to Sector 7, no matter what.
Of course, Aerith is filled with more positive emotions. She isn't the type to lose her patience. She gets easily excited whenever she finds something new and unusual like a child would. Just like she got excited about the sights and sounds of the Gold Saucer and Cosmos Canyon. Being curious and wanting to learn more about the world around her is not odd for her. She values her freedom and will use it to her advantage, such as learning about the world around her. Aerith loves the planet. She cannot help find everything about it fascinating which includes the living creatures, plants, and people residing on it. Another interesting trait of Aerith's is that she can be a tease. Of course, her teasing isn't meant to cause any harm. On the contrary, it is used for some harmless fun. Aerith rather enjoys to make others react for when they do, people react in the most interesting of ways. Her playful side can't help it. But, there are times when her light teasing can go out of hand, so whenever it does she backs off and stops. Aerith does not enjoy awkward situations.
Her optimistic and cheerful nature are her default emotions. She is always looking at the bright side to every situation, no matter how grim things might seem to be. It is that positive energy that cheers up the party from time to time. Even in awkward situations, she remains her cheerful self which can sometimes backfire on her and make her seem selfish and harsh. Like when Barret was reminded of the tragedy of his hometown while Aerith tried to convince him to play instead of over thinking about the situation. Her intentions were good, but it was not the best course of action to take at the time. Aerith is the type that believes a smile can help make any situation seem better than what they really are. Her mindset in being a strong individual comes from being optimistic and not worrying too much about the present situation because she believes wholeheartedly that the future can be saved by the choices one makes. The future can have many different outcomes, and that is the view she constantly uses to cheer up the party whenever things seem to be getting worse.
Aerith is not only known for being brave, kind, understanding, observant, and street smart, but she also has the penchant of getting into all sorts of trouble. Her stubborn and persistent streak in wanting to help others are mostly to blame. She has a tendency to impulsively run head first into danger without a second thought. As long as she feels her friends need her help, then she will "heroically" run to their rescue, even if the one to be rescued is nothing of hers. But as long the person has some sort of connection to her friends, then it still counts. A clear example of her impulsive nature to help others can be clearly seen when Aerith runs off after Tifa without Cloud because she wanted to help save her from Don Corneo's goons in Sector 6, better known as the red light district of Midgar. Another example of Aerith running head first into danger would be when she decided that she was going to stop Sephiroth on her own by heading to the Forgotten City alone. She believed it was a good idea to go alone because she did not want to get Cloud and the others further involved into something only she could do. After all, Cloud was getting close to going into a breakdown, so she thought it was best to leave him and the others alone for a while. She was planning on returning once everything was done.
Now, the reason that Shinra has been chasing after Aerith for so many years has to do with an important part to her personality: being an Ancient. The Cetra, the official name of the Ancients, are known to have knowledge about the planet and a special place known as the "Promised Land". The Promised Land is a place that is filled with unlimited amounts of mako; Mako that the Shinra supply to the whole world, and they wanted more of it. Aerith is part-Cetra, and the very last of her kind. Due to having the ability to speak and understand the planet, she was being hunted down by the Turks throughout her life. Aerith hates the Shinra so she does not want to cooperate with them, no matter what the circumstances. Aerith is very vocal about her dislike for them. However, it does not stop her from dating a person that works for them and creating lasting friendships with them as well. Even if she creates relationships with those who work for the Shinra, she does not tell them her deepest thoughts or feelings. In a way, she remains guarded about her true identity. Then again, Aerith never accepted her heritage when she was younger.
In Crisis Core, a young Aerith expresses that being normal is better than being different. She remains with the same sort of mindset until she learns more about the Cetra on her journey with Cloud and the others. After her death, Aerith finally accepted her heritage and self even more. She has had two years to think about it while using her abilities to the max as well. Being able to communicate, listen, and understand the Planet are not her only abilities or benefits in being a Cetra. Aerith's abilities to grow flowers in Midgar and use healing magic are benefits in being a Cetra along with her intuition, observations, and thinking as well. Ever since she was small, Aerith has had the ability to see and communicate with spirits that have died and are visiting their loved ones, so she has had a lot of time to accept things more quickly than others have. The experience that she gained with her abilities and situation has made her a more open minded individual that does not usually judge others (the keyword is "usually" because she does judge Vincent's decisions hardcore). Even her odd quirks are an influence from being a Cetra, too. Like being convinced to go on a journey because the wind told her to. Another quirk of hers is telling Zack that the flowers only want to be tended by her and being afraid of the sky too. Those are all quirks Aerith had and some she has outgrown, but her fascination with flowers, nature, and the sky are not long gone either.
Aerith Gainsborough is usually an open individual. However, whenever it comes to herself and her true feelings, Aerith tends to be a bit guarded because she does not want others to feel concerned over her feelings. After all, she places other peoples needs above her own. Hiding her emotions with a smile is not unusual for her. Aerith is the type to avoid problems instead of facing them head on. The only way to get Aerith to spill her feelings is when she has no other choice, but to tell the others the whole truth once she feels cornered. Otherwise, it would be rare to catch Aerith when she is in her weakest point. Aerith is only able to open up to others if she feels the most trust in them, which she learns to feel for Cloud and AVALANCHE. But even so, she still keeps a few thoughts and emotions to herself. She rather prefer to feel concern over other's problems than her own because the less she thinks too much about them, then the less she has to worry.
Another weakness of Aerith's is having foot in mouth syndrome. She has no problem speaking her mind even when the opinion might come off a bit judgemental. Yes, there is nothing wrong with being expressive and feeling concern for others, but there are questions that should never be asked. Aerith has the tendency to ask personal questions and getting a little too involved with other people's situations that it might make her seem nosy. Well, to be frank, Aerith is nosy. Of course, she does things with good intentions, but they can go out of hand from time to time. For someone who is guarded about herself, she has no problem wanting to learn a little more about others. Sometimes her tactics might work while other times it might not. It usually has a high chance of backfiring than actually working.
Now, after two years of being part of the Lifestream, there has not been much change in Aerith Gainsborough. She is still the playful, spunky, kind, and outgoing individual that she was known as before her death. Her smile, warmth, and concern for others are still intact. Even her teasing and optimistic view of the world has not changed. But, she has slightly matured from the type of girl she was before her death. Aerith is more accepting of herself as the last Cetra, she now puts more emphasis on thinking before reacting, and her concern for others makes her seem like a motherly figure than an older sister figure. Of course, she still has her weaknesses, but in the end, Aerith is still the same kind and caring individual that will do anything and everything in her power to help make the future even brighter for her friends and everyone else residing on the Planet.
[Specialties/Abilities]
Aerith is, by default, classified as a white mage, a character type that is always ready to support her party members during battle by using offensive or supporting magic. As a white mage, her physical abilities are weak in comparison to the rest of the party, but she makes up for the lack of physical abilities in having high levels of magic and defense points along with having useful limit breaks that protect the rest of the party members from being knocked out so easily.
Her default weapon as a white mage are different types of staves. It's the player's decision to decide on the type of armor and other accessories that will be given to Aerith along with the types of materia too. Most people, by default, give Aerith supportive materia that will protect the party members along with a few offensive spells. Whenever I play the game, I usually give Aerith three offensive magical materia (such as Ice, Lightning, and Earth), along with a couple of supportive materia (such as Restore, Heal, Seal, and Sense), and a summon (the Choco/Mog one, to be exact).
Before her death, most of Aerith's abilities were centered around the type of materia she held in her possession; along with the type of armor and weapons required to use a limited amount of it. Only a handful of people in the FFVII world have the knowledge or skill to successfully use materia, but Aerith has known how to use materia long before she met Cloud in the original game. As long as she holds the required magic, healing, or summoning materia, then she is able to use their power without any trouble (before someone used the silence effect on her, that is).
Due to having enough experience living at the slums, Aerith knows how to defend herself from normal human beings, such as thieves, and lower level monsters. Her abilities to fight are not top notch unlike the rest of the party, but it gets the job done to survive.
As a Cetra, Aerith has gained a few more unique abilities that no one else in the world has. Ever since she was younger, Aerith has had the ability to be able to hear the Planet's voice, which is mostly the spirits of the Lifestream, and the voices of nature. She has admitted to being able to speak and understand the flowers along with being able to hear the wind. In Crisis Core, there is a scene where Aerith seems to have been communicating with one of the Angeal copies, but it is hard to say for sure if she was able to. We only have little hints, but nothing more. Along with having these abilities, she seems to have the ability to travel into other people's dreams. At least, she was able to leave Cloud one last message before she ran off to the Forgotten City through his dreams.
After death, however, Aerith's abilities are based mostly on her strong-will and influence over the Lifestream. It is explained in two novels that the Lifestream is a difficult place to retain one's own identity and consciousness for very long due to the place being filled with so many different types of spirits, knowledge, and other factors. It all depends on a person's strength of will on how long it will take to become one with the other spirits. Not only that, but if the spirit retains a powerful enough will, they will be able to visit their family and loved ones as a ghost, of sorts. Aerith Gainsborough had the necessary items needed to be part of the Lifestream without having any issues remaining solid due to her strong-will and Cetran heritage.
In FFVII, after her death, she was able to use the Lifestream to help Holy, which she successfully summoned before her death, push Meteor back before it annihilated the planet. In "On a Way to a Smile -- Lifestream Black and Lifestream White", it is further explained that Aerith has the ability to heal all sorts of spirits from harm and be able to summon other Cetra spirits, who have not successfully fused with the Planet, to help her. It even goes as far as pointing out that Aerith has the ability to create remnants as well.
Now on Advent Children Complete, Aerith still has the ability to go inside people's minds as she did while she was still living. She was able to communicate with Cloud by meeting him in his mind. Her ability to heal others was not removed from her, either. Along with her limit break, Great Gospel, which she used to cure those affected with geostigma by making it rain holy water. Other than having the ability to heal others, she also has the ability to boost other people's power. An example would be in Cloud's fight against the summon, Bahamut, where Aerith held his hand and gave him the needed energy to defeat it. In the end of the movie, Aerith's spirit somehow called all the children living in Edge to head to her Church, where they will find not only the cure for geostigma, but Cloud too (at the time, Cloud was in limbo, between life and death, due to getting exploded on by a very injured Yazoo and Loz, and Aerith was currently healing Cloud back to his feet).
Now in Somarium, Aerith is only keeping a few of her limit breaks known as Healing Wind and Seal Evil. Her powers in haunting people's ohones, making it rain holy water over the city, and being able to boost people's power to the point of not only going through blue fire balls but slash up a giant dragon into two are gone. She'll only be able to heal others by using her limit breaks, freeze people into place for a minute, and being able to hear voices will remain intact. However, she will arrive to the world without any weapons, armor, or materia because she's been dead for so long and all.
[Affection]
Aerith is a out-going and very friendly individual. She will love to offer all the hugs in the world to those that need it or deserve them. Platonic flirting, bantering, and teasing are okay in her books, as well. After all, she tends to do all those things and sometimes invade other people's personal spaces from time to time. However, if your character doesn't appreciate it, then let her know, so she can stop from picking on them so much. Depending on the character and relationship will depend if she will listen or not, though~
Oh, right. Most of the free hugs will be given to children. Aerith has a great fondness for children, so she will offer them all the hugs and affection, if they are unhappy. Well, okay, all the hugs, treats, and story time fun! She has a lot of great stories to tell the young ones!
Kissing. Well, we might need to have a few rules about that. Kissing in the cheek or forehead are only given to those she not only trusts the most, but is very close to relationship wise. She is not usually the type to give that sort of affection, but it can happen. Now, she will get pretty flustered if someone decides to surprise her with a kiss on her hand or lips. Hand kissing is sorta close to being kissed on the cheek for her, so...warn me OOCly, if your character is thinking of kissing her hand (unless it is a gentlemen sorta a thing, then don't worry about it). Now, kissing on the lips is strictly for romantic interests, and I would appreciate the heads up on it too (if they are not dating or it was not planned beforehand).
[Fighting]
Aerith....I wouldn't call her a terrible fighter, but she isn't the best figher either. She knows how to handle her own with staves or umbrellas. If she somehow finds herself forced into fight, then she will try her best to defend herself. There is no way she will go down easily...but if the character is super-human, then she is going to lose. sob. She can handle well against normal humans or monsters/fiends without any special/super powers.
Now, if a character wants to either pick a fight with Aerith, wants to harm her, or kill her, then we will need to talk about how everything will go down OOCly. After all, Aerith isn't always alone, so whatever happens to her might not sit well with some of her castmates. Yes. There will be IC consequences, no matter what happens.
[Other Permissions]
Ummm....I can't really think of anything at the moment. Aerith can't read minds, hearts, or anything extraordinary. She is just a normal character that is intuitive and pretty observant about people due to her experience with dealing all different types of people in her life, so....I can't think of anything at the moment.
[Other Facts] I am terrible at these, so I will add all sort of facts a bit later. I am still trying to get used to this character type, after all. xD;
[Canon] Final Fantasy VII
[Point Taken from Canon] Post-Advent Children Complete; after Aerith walks out of her church and into the light, to be exact.
[Age] 22; that was her official age before her death.
[Gender] Female
[Sexual Orientation] Heterosexual
[Eye Color] Green
[Hair Color] Brown
[Height] 5'3'' (163 cm)
[Other] Ummm, none that I can think of at the moment.
[Clothing]
Aerith wears a shin-length pink dress with lots and lots of buttons on it. She only has a few buttons unbuckled, close to the ankles, so she can have room to run and jump without any trouble (Poor thing wouldn't be able to move if she didn't have a little leg room to move). Over the pink dress, she wears a red bolero jacket. Oddly enough, in Advent Children Complete, they added new detaisl to the jacket by giving her two new pockets over the area of her chest. She used to wear metal bracers on her wrists, but it, too, was replaced to leather belts in Advent Children Complete. She still wears her famous pink ribbon that Zack Fair, her first boyfriend, gave to her even it was literally slashed off her hair when Sephiroth totally SPOILER ALERT:
Here are two pictures as example of the chances between FFVII!Aerith, Advent Children Complete!Aerith, and Dissidia!Aerith.
[Background]
[Personality]
It is rather difficult to miss or even sometimes forget Aerith Gainsborough. Her very presence will leave some sort of mark on those who first come across her because of her kind and optimistic nature along with her odd choice of work. At first glance, she can be easily described as a kind and caring individual, who's clearly living in a city she does not seem to entirely belong in. Her burning desire in wanting to bring color and life into the city is well-known by being known as the only flower vendor in Midgar. Aerith believes the flowers will help bring a little cheer to those living in the slums, and hoping it will help the city regain a bit of life from the mako reactors that are sucking the city's living resources. Even her choice in colors and clothing are a clear example of the type of personality one would expect from her -- innocent, sweet, and polite.
But if those three personality traits are the only ways to first describe her, then we clearly do not know Aerith at all.
Before her death, two years ago, Aerith was known as a kind and gentle flower girl. She was the type of person that would help anyone in need. Be it healing a person's wounds or helping them regain consciousness after falling from the sky out of nowhere, promising to take and look after another person's child and then offering her very life in exchange to protect said child, and offering "creative" ideas on how to sneak a guy into a dangerous "playboy-type" mansion without getting detected -- Aerith will do almost anything she can to help others. However, she isn't the type to help just anyone. She isn't entirely naive. Due to living in the slums throughout her entire life, Aerith has gained enough experience in being able to observe and read others. Be it from observing their outward appearance, asking questions, or having a simple conversation with them for a bit, she is able to tell if someone is shady or not by using her intuition and experience in dealing with all types of people in the slums. Actually, she has been doing it for so long that she uses it to determine a certain price for her flowers. A perfect example is during the Wall Market arc, after Cloud walks out of the Honeybee Inn, he finds a group of men surrounding Aerith. If Cloud talks to the men, then each of the men will comment about having to pay a specific price (or receive a free flower and gil, in Johnny's case) for the flowers. It clearly indicates that Aerith has a good eye when it comes to observing other's character as well as a good business sense because she took advantage of her situation by selling her flowers at pretty high prices (which is funny to notice how the men did not feel they were ripped off).
On the subject of having lived in the slums her entire life, Aerith is well-known for being courageous, street smart savvy, and having a strong-will. She is determined to prove that she can, in fact, take care of herself. A line that she reminds the party, especially Cloud, many times throughout the game. Elmyra, her adopted mother, told Cloud and company the story of Aerith's life which included the fifteen years that Aerith has been dodging the Turks, an elite assassin group working for Shinra. Yes, it is true that Aerith is not the strongest of fighters or quickest of runners and it is also true that Cloud has helped Aerith escape from Reno and three other henchmen beforehand, but it does not mean she is entirely weak or helpless. Aerith does not have any qualms asking for help nor does she mind being a damsel from time to time. Aerith is capable of telling the difference between being able to take care of the situation on her own or needing a little bit of help. Even though Cloud was the one who saved her, she did not play the typical damsel role all that well either. Aerith helped support Cloud by suggesting the best way to escape the Church was by using the back way. She does not mind being rescued, but if she is able to lend a helping hand to the one saving her, then she has no problems doing so. It is only when she is in a really sticky situation that she allows the hero be, well, the hero.
Aerith knows her way around the streets and is always in observation mode whenever she is. In Crisis Core, it is clear she had a friendly-enough relationship with her neighbors, who live in the slums. Including the neighborhood children, who are well-known to pickpocket others to the point that she got one of the children to promise to never steal from others again. Yet, it did not stop Aerith from asking Zack if he lost his wallet after a boy "accidentally" bumped into him. It is interesting to note the depth of her feelings of understanding and forgiveness because she later explains to Zack that the boy would not have stolen his wallet without a reason. She even found a way to convince Zack to listen to the boy's story before he did any further action against him.
Another example of Aerith's knowledge of the slums is when she was the one who told Cloud the way to go to Sector 7. Aerith even added that the road to Sector 7 was dangerous. But even so, her love for others, understanding of the harsh living environments others have at the slums, and her easy to forgive nature keeps her from treating others without genuine kindness and concern for their well-being. The only type of people she is usually on guard around are those working for the Shinra, due to her experience with them, and to those who do want to harm her or others for whatever reason -- that includes the local monsters. It is funny to note, even if Aerith feels wary around those who can cause her harm, she still has a place in her heart to not only lower her guard around them, but form a friendship of sorts with them as well. An example of this would be in Before Crisis, after the Player Turk allows Aerith to return home, it is easy to note her guard slightly weaken as she realizes the Turk not only did not recognize her, but they also had a fondness for flowers. The Player Turk even goes as far as risking their life to help Aerith get away from AVALANCHE, who was trying to kidnap her. They even offer to search for Aerith's lost materia that her birth mother gave to her. Just observing the other's actions began to change Aerith's attitude towards them, even with the knowledge of knowing they were part of the Turks. It even went as far as Aerith defending the Player Turk's honor by lashing out against the AVALANCHE members that were speaking ill of them.
Aerith hates to see an injustice being committed in front of her. So, she will not be afraid to speak her mind, and stand her ground when she believes others are doing something wrong. Like needlessly stepping onto the flowers, for example. Aerith is not the type of person to holds back her emotions. She is expressive of her thoughts and feelings regarding a certain topic; including her negative emotions. One can expect a scolding from her if someone angers her enough. Like how when Cloud rejects her help in the beginning because he did not like the idea of receiving help from a girl. Just an act was enough to rile her up by impulsively deciding to guide him to Sector 7, no matter what.
Of course, Aerith is filled with more positive emotions. She isn't the type to lose her patience. She gets easily excited whenever she finds something new and unusual like a child would. Just like she got excited about the sights and sounds of the Gold Saucer and Cosmos Canyon. Being curious and wanting to learn more about the world around her is not odd for her. She values her freedom and will use it to her advantage, such as learning about the world around her. Aerith loves the planet. She cannot help find everything about it fascinating which includes the living creatures, plants, and people residing on it. Another interesting trait of Aerith's is that she can be a tease. Of course, her teasing isn't meant to cause any harm. On the contrary, it is used for some harmless fun. Aerith rather enjoys to make others react for when they do, people react in the most interesting of ways. Her playful side can't help it. But, there are times when her light teasing can go out of hand, so whenever it does she backs off and stops. Aerith does not enjoy awkward situations.
Her optimistic and cheerful nature are her default emotions. She is always looking at the bright side to every situation, no matter how grim things might seem to be. It is that positive energy that cheers up the party from time to time. Even in awkward situations, she remains her cheerful self which can sometimes backfire on her and make her seem selfish and harsh. Like when Barret was reminded of the tragedy of his hometown while Aerith tried to convince him to play instead of over thinking about the situation. Her intentions were good, but it was not the best course of action to take at the time. Aerith is the type that believes a smile can help make any situation seem better than what they really are. Her mindset in being a strong individual comes from being optimistic and not worrying too much about the present situation because she believes wholeheartedly that the future can be saved by the choices one makes. The future can have many different outcomes, and that is the view she constantly uses to cheer up the party whenever things seem to be getting worse.
Aerith is not only known for being brave, kind, understanding, observant, and street smart, but she also has the penchant of getting into all sorts of trouble. Her stubborn and persistent streak in wanting to help others are mostly to blame. She has a tendency to impulsively run head first into danger without a second thought. As long as she feels her friends need her help, then she will "heroically" run to their rescue, even if the one to be rescued is nothing of hers. But as long the person has some sort of connection to her friends, then it still counts. A clear example of her impulsive nature to help others can be clearly seen when Aerith runs off after Tifa without Cloud because she wanted to help save her from Don Corneo's goons in Sector 6, better known as the red light district of Midgar. Another example of Aerith running head first into danger would be when she decided that she was going to stop Sephiroth on her own by heading to the Forgotten City alone. She believed it was a good idea to go alone because she did not want to get Cloud and the others further involved into something only she could do. After all, Cloud was getting close to going into a breakdown, so she thought it was best to leave him and the others alone for a while. She was planning on returning once everything was done.
Now, the reason that Shinra has been chasing after Aerith for so many years has to do with an important part to her personality: being an Ancient. The Cetra, the official name of the Ancients, are known to have knowledge about the planet and a special place known as the "Promised Land". The Promised Land is a place that is filled with unlimited amounts of mako; Mako that the Shinra supply to the whole world, and they wanted more of it. Aerith is part-Cetra, and the very last of her kind. Due to having the ability to speak and understand the planet, she was being hunted down by the Turks throughout her life. Aerith hates the Shinra so she does not want to cooperate with them, no matter what the circumstances. Aerith is very vocal about her dislike for them. However, it does not stop her from dating a person that works for them and creating lasting friendships with them as well. Even if she creates relationships with those who work for the Shinra, she does not tell them her deepest thoughts or feelings. In a way, she remains guarded about her true identity. Then again, Aerith never accepted her heritage when she was younger.
In Crisis Core, a young Aerith expresses that being normal is better than being different. She remains with the same sort of mindset until she learns more about the Cetra on her journey with Cloud and the others. After her death, Aerith finally accepted her heritage and self even more. She has had two years to think about it while using her abilities to the max as well. Being able to communicate, listen, and understand the Planet are not her only abilities or benefits in being a Cetra. Aerith's abilities to grow flowers in Midgar and use healing magic are benefits in being a Cetra along with her intuition, observations, and thinking as well. Ever since she was small, Aerith has had the ability to see and communicate with spirits that have died and are visiting their loved ones, so she has had a lot of time to accept things more quickly than others have. The experience that she gained with her abilities and situation has made her a more open minded individual that does not usually judge others (the keyword is "usually" because she does judge Vincent's decisions hardcore). Even her odd quirks are an influence from being a Cetra, too. Like being convinced to go on a journey because the wind told her to. Another quirk of hers is telling Zack that the flowers only want to be tended by her and being afraid of the sky too. Those are all quirks Aerith had and some she has outgrown, but her fascination with flowers, nature, and the sky are not long gone either.
Aerith Gainsborough is usually an open individual. However, whenever it comes to herself and her true feelings, Aerith tends to be a bit guarded because she does not want others to feel concerned over her feelings. After all, she places other peoples needs above her own. Hiding her emotions with a smile is not unusual for her. Aerith is the type to avoid problems instead of facing them head on. The only way to get Aerith to spill her feelings is when she has no other choice, but to tell the others the whole truth once she feels cornered. Otherwise, it would be rare to catch Aerith when she is in her weakest point. Aerith is only able to open up to others if she feels the most trust in them, which she learns to feel for Cloud and AVALANCHE. But even so, she still keeps a few thoughts and emotions to herself. She rather prefer to feel concern over other's problems than her own because the less she thinks too much about them, then the less she has to worry.
Another weakness of Aerith's is having foot in mouth syndrome. She has no problem speaking her mind even when the opinion might come off a bit judgemental. Yes, there is nothing wrong with being expressive and feeling concern for others, but there are questions that should never be asked. Aerith has the tendency to ask personal questions and getting a little too involved with other people's situations that it might make her seem nosy. Well, to be frank, Aerith is nosy. Of course, she does things with good intentions, but they can go out of hand from time to time. For someone who is guarded about herself, she has no problem wanting to learn a little more about others. Sometimes her tactics might work while other times it might not. It usually has a high chance of backfiring than actually working.
Now, after two years of being part of the Lifestream, there has not been much change in Aerith Gainsborough. She is still the playful, spunky, kind, and outgoing individual that she was known as before her death. Her smile, warmth, and concern for others are still intact. Even her teasing and optimistic view of the world has not changed. But, she has slightly matured from the type of girl she was before her death. Aerith is more accepting of herself as the last Cetra, she now puts more emphasis on thinking before reacting, and her concern for others makes her seem like a motherly figure than an older sister figure. Of course, she still has her weaknesses, but in the end, Aerith is still the same kind and caring individual that will do anything and everything in her power to help make the future even brighter for her friends and everyone else residing on the Planet.
[Specialties/Abilities]
Aerith is, by default, classified as a white mage, a character type that is always ready to support her party members during battle by using offensive or supporting magic. As a white mage, her physical abilities are weak in comparison to the rest of the party, but she makes up for the lack of physical abilities in having high levels of magic and defense points along with having useful limit breaks that protect the rest of the party members from being knocked out so easily.
Her default weapon as a white mage are different types of staves. It's the player's decision to decide on the type of armor and other accessories that will be given to Aerith along with the types of materia too. Most people, by default, give Aerith supportive materia that will protect the party members along with a few offensive spells. Whenever I play the game, I usually give Aerith three offensive magical materia (such as Ice, Lightning, and Earth), along with a couple of supportive materia (such as Restore, Heal, Seal, and Sense), and a summon (the Choco/Mog one, to be exact).
Before her death, most of Aerith's abilities were centered around the type of materia she held in her possession; along with the type of armor and weapons required to use a limited amount of it. Only a handful of people in the FFVII world have the knowledge or skill to successfully use materia, but Aerith has known how to use materia long before she met Cloud in the original game. As long as she holds the required magic, healing, or summoning materia, then she is able to use their power without any trouble (before someone used the silence effect on her, that is).
Due to having enough experience living at the slums, Aerith knows how to defend herself from normal human beings, such as thieves, and lower level monsters. Her abilities to fight are not top notch unlike the rest of the party, but it gets the job done to survive.
As a Cetra, Aerith has gained a few more unique abilities that no one else in the world has. Ever since she was younger, Aerith has had the ability to be able to hear the Planet's voice, which is mostly the spirits of the Lifestream, and the voices of nature. She has admitted to being able to speak and understand the flowers along with being able to hear the wind. In Crisis Core, there is a scene where Aerith seems to have been communicating with one of the Angeal copies, but it is hard to say for sure if she was able to. We only have little hints, but nothing more. Along with having these abilities, she seems to have the ability to travel into other people's dreams. At least, she was able to leave Cloud one last message before she ran off to the Forgotten City through his dreams.
After death, however, Aerith's abilities are based mostly on her strong-will and influence over the Lifestream. It is explained in two novels that the Lifestream is a difficult place to retain one's own identity and consciousness for very long due to the place being filled with so many different types of spirits, knowledge, and other factors. It all depends on a person's strength of will on how long it will take to become one with the other spirits. Not only that, but if the spirit retains a powerful enough will, they will be able to visit their family and loved ones as a ghost, of sorts. Aerith Gainsborough had the necessary items needed to be part of the Lifestream without having any issues remaining solid due to her strong-will and Cetran heritage.
In FFVII, after her death, she was able to use the Lifestream to help Holy, which she successfully summoned before her death, push Meteor back before it annihilated the planet. In "On a Way to a Smile -- Lifestream Black and Lifestream White", it is further explained that Aerith has the ability to heal all sorts of spirits from harm and be able to summon other Cetra spirits, who have not successfully fused with the Planet, to help her. It even goes as far as pointing out that Aerith has the ability to create remnants as well.
Now on Advent Children Complete, Aerith still has the ability to go inside people's minds as she did while she was still living. She was able to communicate with Cloud by meeting him in his mind. Her ability to heal others was not removed from her, either. Along with her limit break, Great Gospel, which she used to cure those affected with geostigma by making it rain holy water. Other than having the ability to heal others, she also has the ability to boost other people's power. An example would be in Cloud's fight against the summon, Bahamut, where Aerith held his hand and gave him the needed energy to defeat it. In the end of the movie, Aerith's spirit somehow called all the children living in Edge to head to her Church, where they will find not only the cure for geostigma, but Cloud too (at the time, Cloud was in limbo, between life and death, due to getting exploded on by a very injured Yazoo and Loz, and Aerith was currently healing Cloud back to his feet).
Now in Somarium, Aerith is only keeping a few of her limit breaks known as Healing Wind and Seal Evil. Her powers in haunting people's ohones, making it rain holy water over the city, and being able to boost people's power to the point of not only going through blue fire balls but slash up a giant dragon into two are gone. She'll only be able to heal others by using her limit breaks, freeze people into place for a minute, and being able to hear voices will remain intact. However, she will arrive to the world without any weapons, armor, or materia because she's been dead for so long and all.
[Affection]
Aerith is a out-going and very friendly individual. She will love to offer all the hugs in the world to those that need it or deserve them. Platonic flirting, bantering, and teasing are okay in her books, as well. After all, she tends to do all those things and sometimes invade other people's personal spaces from time to time. However, if your character doesn't appreciate it, then let her know, so she can stop from picking on them so much. Depending on the character and relationship will depend if she will listen or not, though~
Oh, right. Most of the free hugs will be given to children. Aerith has a great fondness for children, so she will offer them all the hugs and affection, if they are unhappy. Well, okay, all the hugs, treats, and story time fun! She has a lot of great stories to tell the young ones!
Kissing. Well, we might need to have a few rules about that. Kissing in the cheek or forehead are only given to those she not only trusts the most, but is very close to relationship wise. She is not usually the type to give that sort of affection, but it can happen. Now, she will get pretty flustered if someone decides to surprise her with a kiss on her hand or lips. Hand kissing is sorta close to being kissed on the cheek for her, so...warn me OOCly, if your character is thinking of kissing her hand (unless it is a gentlemen sorta a thing, then don't worry about it). Now, kissing on the lips is strictly for romantic interests, and I would appreciate the heads up on it too (if they are not dating or it was not planned beforehand).
[Fighting]
Aerith....I wouldn't call her a terrible fighter, but she isn't the best figher either. She knows how to handle her own with staves or umbrellas. If she somehow finds herself forced into fight, then she will try her best to defend herself. There is no way she will go down easily...but if the character is super-human, then she is going to lose. sob. She can handle well against normal humans or monsters/fiends without any special/super powers.
Now, if a character wants to either pick a fight with Aerith, wants to harm her, or kill her, then we will need to talk about how everything will go down OOCly. After all, Aerith isn't always alone, so whatever happens to her might not sit well with some of her castmates. Yes. There will be IC consequences, no matter what happens.
[Other Permissions]
Ummm....I can't really think of anything at the moment. Aerith can't read minds, hearts, or anything extraordinary. She is just a normal character that is intuitive and pretty observant about people due to her experience with dealing all different types of people in her life, so....I can't think of anything at the moment.
[Other Facts] I am terrible at these, so I will add all sort of facts a bit later. I am still trying to get used to this character type, after all. xD;