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deemoyzaI'm sure I'm not the only one. Sometimes, you come across a fictional character or pairing or dynamic that just feels liberating to contemplate and write about, though exactly what you're being liberated from is unclear. I'm not a big shipper in fandom, so it's very little wonder why my current ship obsession never crossed my mind until I saw it in a prompt a few months ago, but after writing just a few short fics featuring it, something about it just clicked with me.
I'm referring to the pairing of Quistis/Rinoa from FF8, which has been an absolute joy to write, a boon to my creativity, and had positive little ripple effects throughout other aspects of my thoughts and emotions. I've wanted to write about this for a while, but it isn't an easy subject to articulate; however, sometimes the best approach is to dive right in, and that is what I'll do here. This post will be long, and a bit personal, so fair warning. ;)
I believe that the appeal of this ship to me stems from the fact that it is the intersection of three significant fannish and personal factors: a long-time favorite character whose personality I admire, a character on whom I subconsciously project aspects of my own personality and thought processes, and the expression of my own conflicted femininity. It's easier to parse each of these separately.
Rinoa is probably the easiest element to discuss, since I relate to her simply as one of my favorite video game heroines (one who held the top spot for almost 18 years). I loved her the first time I played through FF8, and subsequent playthroughs only reinforced that feeling. She was everything a nerdy girl like me wasn't—fun, playful, flirty, and devoted to a cause much larger than herself. I admired her passion for Timber's independence, and the way that she toughed out her early days with SeeD. I cheered her on in her attempts to get Squall to open his eyes to the good in the world, and I cheered even louder when she went back into Time Compression to rescue him from his own dark thoughts.
Does she have her faults? Sure. She can be immature, pushy, and impulsive, but not only did these faults make her more human in my eyes, the fact that she begins to remedy them throughout the story and tries to find a balance between determination and hubris made her even more worthy of my admiration. In short, for many years, Rinoa was the kind of person I wished I had the courage to be, or at least emulate, and any time I write her into fanfic, I relish the opportunity to capture a little bit of her free-spirited attitude on the page.
Quistis is a different story altogether. Because the game itself gives her such short shrift, she really wasn't on my fandom radar until a few years ago, when a silly random title meme led me to write my first multi-chapter fic and focus it on her. While trying to pin down her character for the fic, I realized that she really is something of a blank slate in FF8, with just enough characteristics to give the outline of a character. She's intelligent, a perfectionist, and holds herself to higher standards than she does others around her; she's also lonely and socially awkward, and despite having a freakin' fan club (admittedly comprised of students who only value her on a superficial level), is so desperate for connection that she mistakes a crush for affection and sets herself up for what may be one of the cruelest lines in the game.
So: girl with a promising future who can't quite capitalize on it, isolated from her peers because of that potential, socially awkward and given to bouts of melancholy and frustration? I could definitely relate. And because Quistis' story arc is abandoned so early, there was no canon definition for her character beyond that, and to fill in the gaps, I began to project some of my own experiences and thoughts onto her, and writing her not only became a catharsis, but also, frankly, a bit of a wish-fulfillment vehicle.
(This projection, incidentally, is one of the biggest reasons I chafe at fanon!Quistis, who is often portrayed as a kinky sexpot, far more experienced with guys than her bumbling conversation with Squall suggests. The other reason fanon!Quistis rubs me the wrong way is that it seems to be playing exactly into how the developers apparently envisioned her: a teenager's wet dream, and nothing more. /rant)
Basically, for me, writing Quistis has a similar function to writing Rinoa, albeit coming from an almost opposite place. While Rinoa allows me to tap into her free-spirited and playful persona, writing Quistis allows me to redeem her from her failures and self-doubt, and get a taste of sweet vindication, if only secondhand.
Together, they form a sort of idealized femininity for me, a formidable personality that can afford to be soft because she can cut like glass.
And here's where it gets a bit personal. While I have always identified as female, I've never really been sure how to express my femininity. When I was little, I vacillated between being dainty and being something as close to a tomboy as an athletically-challenged girl could get. I was smart and confident in my smarts, but horribly insecure about my social skills (sound familiar?). During my adolescence, I found a comfortable middle ground by expressing my femininity via cutesy and sporty styles and accessories, and to the extent possible for someone my age, I still hang out in that middle ground.
But adulthood hit me hard, with physically-demanding jobs and atmospheres that reeked of sexism, where I often had to work much harder than my male coworkers to prove my worth (at one point, I was the only woman in my department, and made aware of that fact almost every day). I was sent alone to rough neighborhoods at ungodly hours and expected to accomplish on my own jobs that the company would allocate to a two-man team. I hated this, but I needed the work, more so after my father passed away. In this environment, I learned to toughen myself, to hide my weakness and even my injuries, and slowly but surely, a kind of emotional callus grew over every aspect of my femininity.
Thankfully, I'm in a much more fair (and safe!) working environment now, but the callus remains, and I often have trouble expressing vulnerability, even in more positive contexts, such as developing new relationships. In this regard, I am incredibly thankful for the anonymity of sites like Tumblr, Dreamwidth, FFN and AO3, where I feel "safe" enough to actually let loose with all my fandom squee and general girly gushing. And I also find that writing about certain characters helps me tap into that, as well.
Earlier, I mentioned my first Quistis fic. Not only was that fic my first multi-chapter story, but it also featured my first attempt at writing a developing romance. While, in retrospect, my inexperience definitely shows through, it was such a delightful and cathartic story to write. Quistis slowly breaks away from Garden, taking on a research project in Esthar, where she not only learns more about who she is and the work she is truly capable of, but also meets several people who value her as a person, rather than a machine, one of whom eventually becomes a love interest. Total wish-fulfillment, but such a lovely thing to experience vicariously. During the writing of this fic, and for months afterward, I noticed that I was less ashamed of my own femininity, less determined to project unwavering toughness. It was a safe space to be a woman, and I enjoyed it.
Writing Quinoa just took this feeling to a whole other level. In this ship, I'm allowed to delve into the aspects of femininity of both characters, and remind myself that there is no one way, no right way to perform or embrace it. Being playful or serious or powerful or loving is just a single facet of the whole, and it feels good to finally see myself reflected in those facets. With these two, I could write about anything from battle preparations to battles to fears and hopes for the future to coming to terms with oneself to buying cute clothes and eating ice cream and loving on each other, and every one of those scenarios is an expression of femininity. And not a single one of them suggests weakness.
So I can have them dress up equal parts Delia*s catalog and Romy & Michele, and they'd still be the same ass-kicking women I've come to love. I can have them blow away a whole battlefield full of enemies, and they'd still be the same loving, playful women I enjoy.
So it naturally follows that I can toughen up when my life demands it, but still enjoy all the cute and fluffy and pretty things around me, and my enjoyment of those does not preclude me running large equipment or lifting heavy objects or protecting myself and my loved ones. It's a simple statement, one many people come to terms with on their own, far earlier than I did. But I think the difference was that I never had the time or security to test it out in real life, until recently, and got so scared of being perceived as weak—thus "useless" to some of my previous employers—that I constantly shoved my femininity down, to the point where I actually missed it but couldn't manage to bring it back to the surface.
In writing Quinoa, individually and as a couple, I am able to vicariously experience it again, in a safe environment that is totally within my control. And in so doing, I have been able to reclaim the pieces of it that fit into my life now, and reconcile them with who I've become over the past ten or eleven years, and finally begin to bring the disparate aspects of my identity together into someone who can be soft and tough and not apologize for either.
I mentioned at the beginning that writing this ship felt liberating, and I think I may have figured out that that is the feeling of breaking out of self-imposed restrictions and hypocritical definitions, and seeing a version of womanhood that encompasses everything I am, was, and can become.
(And I am now trying very hard to not apologize for being so sentimental. I won't...I won't. I'M NOT SORRY.)
I'm referring to the pairing of Quistis/Rinoa from FF8, which has been an absolute joy to write, a boon to my creativity, and had positive little ripple effects throughout other aspects of my thoughts and emotions. I've wanted to write about this for a while, but it isn't an easy subject to articulate; however, sometimes the best approach is to dive right in, and that is what I'll do here. This post will be long, and a bit personal, so fair warning. ;)
I believe that the appeal of this ship to me stems from the fact that it is the intersection of three significant fannish and personal factors: a long-time favorite character whose personality I admire, a character on whom I subconsciously project aspects of my own personality and thought processes, and the expression of my own conflicted femininity. It's easier to parse each of these separately.
Rinoa is probably the easiest element to discuss, since I relate to her simply as one of my favorite video game heroines (one who held the top spot for almost 18 years). I loved her the first time I played through FF8, and subsequent playthroughs only reinforced that feeling. She was everything a nerdy girl like me wasn't—fun, playful, flirty, and devoted to a cause much larger than herself. I admired her passion for Timber's independence, and the way that she toughed out her early days with SeeD. I cheered her on in her attempts to get Squall to open his eyes to the good in the world, and I cheered even louder when she went back into Time Compression to rescue him from his own dark thoughts.
Does she have her faults? Sure. She can be immature, pushy, and impulsive, but not only did these faults make her more human in my eyes, the fact that she begins to remedy them throughout the story and tries to find a balance between determination and hubris made her even more worthy of my admiration. In short, for many years, Rinoa was the kind of person I wished I had the courage to be, or at least emulate, and any time I write her into fanfic, I relish the opportunity to capture a little bit of her free-spirited attitude on the page.
Quistis is a different story altogether. Because the game itself gives her such short shrift, she really wasn't on my fandom radar until a few years ago, when a silly random title meme led me to write my first multi-chapter fic and focus it on her. While trying to pin down her character for the fic, I realized that she really is something of a blank slate in FF8, with just enough characteristics to give the outline of a character. She's intelligent, a perfectionist, and holds herself to higher standards than she does others around her; she's also lonely and socially awkward, and despite having a freakin' fan club (admittedly comprised of students who only value her on a superficial level), is so desperate for connection that she mistakes a crush for affection and sets herself up for what may be one of the cruelest lines in the game.
So: girl with a promising future who can't quite capitalize on it, isolated from her peers because of that potential, socially awkward and given to bouts of melancholy and frustration? I could definitely relate. And because Quistis' story arc is abandoned so early, there was no canon definition for her character beyond that, and to fill in the gaps, I began to project some of my own experiences and thoughts onto her, and writing her not only became a catharsis, but also, frankly, a bit of a wish-fulfillment vehicle.
(This projection, incidentally, is one of the biggest reasons I chafe at fanon!Quistis, who is often portrayed as a kinky sexpot, far more experienced with guys than her bumbling conversation with Squall suggests. The other reason fanon!Quistis rubs me the wrong way is that it seems to be playing exactly into how the developers apparently envisioned her: a teenager's wet dream, and nothing more. /rant)
Basically, for me, writing Quistis has a similar function to writing Rinoa, albeit coming from an almost opposite place. While Rinoa allows me to tap into her free-spirited and playful persona, writing Quistis allows me to redeem her from her failures and self-doubt, and get a taste of sweet vindication, if only secondhand.
Together, they form a sort of idealized femininity for me, a formidable personality that can afford to be soft because she can cut like glass.
And here's where it gets a bit personal. While I have always identified as female, I've never really been sure how to express my femininity. When I was little, I vacillated between being dainty and being something as close to a tomboy as an athletically-challenged girl could get. I was smart and confident in my smarts, but horribly insecure about my social skills (sound familiar?). During my adolescence, I found a comfortable middle ground by expressing my femininity via cutesy and sporty styles and accessories, and to the extent possible for someone my age, I still hang out in that middle ground.
But adulthood hit me hard, with physically-demanding jobs and atmospheres that reeked of sexism, where I often had to work much harder than my male coworkers to prove my worth (at one point, I was the only woman in my department, and made aware of that fact almost every day). I was sent alone to rough neighborhoods at ungodly hours and expected to accomplish on my own jobs that the company would allocate to a two-man team. I hated this, but I needed the work, more so after my father passed away. In this environment, I learned to toughen myself, to hide my weakness and even my injuries, and slowly but surely, a kind of emotional callus grew over every aspect of my femininity.
Thankfully, I'm in a much more fair (and safe!) working environment now, but the callus remains, and I often have trouble expressing vulnerability, even in more positive contexts, such as developing new relationships. In this regard, I am incredibly thankful for the anonymity of sites like Tumblr, Dreamwidth, FFN and AO3, where I feel "safe" enough to actually let loose with all my fandom squee and general girly gushing. And I also find that writing about certain characters helps me tap into that, as well.
Earlier, I mentioned my first Quistis fic. Not only was that fic my first multi-chapter story, but it also featured my first attempt at writing a developing romance. While, in retrospect, my inexperience definitely shows through, it was such a delightful and cathartic story to write. Quistis slowly breaks away from Garden, taking on a research project in Esthar, where she not only learns more about who she is and the work she is truly capable of, but also meets several people who value her as a person, rather than a machine, one of whom eventually becomes a love interest. Total wish-fulfillment, but such a lovely thing to experience vicariously. During the writing of this fic, and for months afterward, I noticed that I was less ashamed of my own femininity, less determined to project unwavering toughness. It was a safe space to be a woman, and I enjoyed it.
Writing Quinoa just took this feeling to a whole other level. In this ship, I'm allowed to delve into the aspects of femininity of both characters, and remind myself that there is no one way, no right way to perform or embrace it. Being playful or serious or powerful or loving is just a single facet of the whole, and it feels good to finally see myself reflected in those facets. With these two, I could write about anything from battle preparations to battles to fears and hopes for the future to coming to terms with oneself to buying cute clothes and eating ice cream and loving on each other, and every one of those scenarios is an expression of femininity. And not a single one of them suggests weakness.
So I can have them dress up equal parts Delia*s catalog and Romy & Michele, and they'd still be the same ass-kicking women I've come to love. I can have them blow away a whole battlefield full of enemies, and they'd still be the same loving, playful women I enjoy.
So it naturally follows that I can toughen up when my life demands it, but still enjoy all the cute and fluffy and pretty things around me, and my enjoyment of those does not preclude me running large equipment or lifting heavy objects or protecting myself and my loved ones. It's a simple statement, one many people come to terms with on their own, far earlier than I did. But I think the difference was that I never had the time or security to test it out in real life, until recently, and got so scared of being perceived as weak—thus "useless" to some of my previous employers—that I constantly shoved my femininity down, to the point where I actually missed it but couldn't manage to bring it back to the surface.
In writing Quinoa, individually and as a couple, I am able to vicariously experience it again, in a safe environment that is totally within my control. And in so doing, I have been able to reclaim the pieces of it that fit into my life now, and reconcile them with who I've become over the past ten or eleven years, and finally begin to bring the disparate aspects of my identity together into someone who can be soft and tough and not apologize for either.
I mentioned at the beginning that writing this ship felt liberating, and I think I may have figured out that that is the feeling of breaking out of self-imposed restrictions and hypocritical definitions, and seeing a version of womanhood that encompasses everything I am, was, and can become.
(And I am now trying very hard to not apologize for being so sentimental. I won't...I won't. I'M NOT SORRY.)
no subject
Date: 2021-05-14 07:22 pm (UTC)And legit? Same. Like the whole trying to come to terms with your identity, whatever the hell that may be, via fandom is just amazing. Life is hard, especially when there are bullshit societal "norms" people like to attach to us based on how we look or whatever and it's just delightful to slip into fanfics and not care or worry about any of that. Rinoa and Quistis should absolutely indulge in their femininity and kick ass at the same time! And I love that you and others have made things like that possible just by willing it into existence. How awesome is that!
Also I 100% feel you regarding Quistis in particular 😥 she was so relatable for bitty me and then she turned into a throwaway character. AND I ALSO DO NOT LIKE SEXY KINK POT FANON!QUISTIS UGH. Something something screw the male gaze regarding her and she deserves better like morning snuggles with her sassy rebel sorceress girlfriend!!!
So many hugs to you, too, for all those shitty moments you had to go through, but also it warms my heart to see how liberating this ship has been for you! That's amazing! You enjoy that good shit! 💕💕💕💕💕
no subject
Date: 2021-05-19 09:52 pm (UTC)I thoroughly enjoy not only the potential for exploration and indulgence in fanfic, but also how it's encouraged! It makes me wish I'd gotten into fic a lot sooner than I did. It might have made the period I described above a little more bearable. And helped a ton with sorting out my identity!
And yes, Quistis deserves better from both canon and fanon! I swear, sometimes I think people see her whip as her primary characteristic. XD Let's give her the ending she really deserves!
Thank you again, so much, for the encouragement and well wishes! 💕💕💕 Another great thing about fandom is meeting others who understand what you're getting at, and are kind enough to offer their support! :)
Once again, I should've gotten into all of this a whole lot sooner!
This was relaxing to read
Date: 2021-05-15 10:05 pm (UTC)This was truly something very sweet to read that I greatly enjoyed reading. Self-identity between ourselves and the fictional characters that we connect with. There will never be a right or wrong way to express yourself, even though generations past will tell you otherwise. Our generation is slowly shape-shifting out of that dated way of thinking and trying to showcase that any form of masculinity and femininity can be expressed differently. We deserve to have freedom in the expression of our own identities, not what others think it should be.
I find it funny that Rinoa was yours because she was different from who you were. Meanwhile, Selphie was mine because me and her were similar in some aspects but very different in others that she kept me fascinated. LOL
I'm so happy that you were able to discover yourself further through writing these two. Enjoying these characters to the fullest extent in the process. Definitely cannot wait to see more works that you write from these two. Showcase that these women are great together just as they are individually. I give you all the hugs and love~ 💕💕💕💕💕
-- Cue Rant Incoming About Fanon!FF8 Character Portrayals
Also I'm with you, I have a LOT of beef with how fanon!Quistis is, but frankly? I have a lot of beef with how most of the FF8 cast is portrayed.
Fanon!Selphie is a pixie girl turned up to the extreme. She's exceedingly more annoying than she is in-game. This is definitely a sign of bad writing and character bashing, but we all knew that.
Fanon!Zell falls in the trap of "Players find out the character's favorite/preferred food and they make it their personality trait" and that's literally what happens to Zell depending on what type of FF8 fanfiction you consume.
Fanon!Irvine is a horndog all the time because that's what happens when you make a flirtatious character. They only think with their genitals. I personally still think that Irvine talks big game and is a huge virgin (which is fine), but don't get me started on that. I have a whole rant about that too lmfao.
Fanon!Laguna is treated like the BIGGEST idiot. Never mind the fact of his contributions to the war and how he became President because the people of Esthar believed in him.
Fanon!Squall is one of the few that you would need to read further into a piece of fanfiction to see the changes because they are usually very subtle until it becomes apparent. He either retains parts of his Disc 1 personality without any sort of mention regarding his opening-up process that he experiences in the game. Or he's too open to the point that it's a bit cringe and you wonder who is this man and where is the real Squall Leonhart? If he has a romantic interest, the writer likes to make him annoyingly paranoid and overprotective of that person. Going so far as for him to treat his friends poorly and glorify his love interest. Bonus points if they add very toxic traits to him and romanticize it in a way to show that "hey, this type of behavior is ok and there's absolutely nothing wrong with it!" which... I have to just log out. I can handle other characters being written questionably until my limit has reached. But writing Squall poorly? I definitely will be upset. LOL
Fanon!Rinoa is a bizarre experience because this entirely depends on what you read to encounter this. Considering a lot of fandom in the early 00s hated her and would constantly over-exacerbate her very "in your face" personality to the point of making her overbearing. Depending on what you read, that still exists in some aspects. Nowadays the wave seems to be ignoring all faults (which genuinely makes her human) and making her more of a saint, than anything. That there's nothing wrong with her and she's very much the angel due to her angel motif.
But I do applaud the post-canon fans that do give her the character development and growth that was entirely skipped out on in the game. Some of those tend to be my favorite and it's probably why I hold Rinoa to an even more unfair standard than everyone else lmfao.
Fanon!Seifer is usually villainized depending on what you read. Seifer/Squall shippers don't know and probably don't want to know how he's being portrayed outside of that pairing. It's usually the same schtick as it is in-game. Which sucks because not everyone wants to give Seifer some nuanced meaning or understanding. But I also just chock that up to character bashing and bad writing. It's really easy to just not write a character you don't like LOL.
Anyway my mini FF8 fanon rants over. So many long years of reading in the fandom and I just.. have so many things to say. LMFAO
Re: This was relaxing to read
Date: 2021-05-21 08:46 pm (UTC)When I first played FF8, Rinoa offered me a way to vicariously experience being assertive and strong. Coming fresh off of mostly SNES games (and no previous FF), I'd never seen a video game heroine that wasn't afraid to speak her mind, and wasn't afraid to argue with the hero, and I was IN LOVE!
And yes, there will be more Quinoa on the horizon from me. I'm loving these two ladies together, and I'm glad to see that you and others are enjoying it too! :D
Regarding fanon characterization of the FF8 cast, you really hit the nail on the head! I'll admit to having been guilty of some of these (namely, unhinged Selphie and Zell+Food), but you raise excellent points about the other characteristics these characters possess. Both Selphie and Zell are incredibly loyal and competent, and totally capable of displaying a range of emotions, when they're allowed to.
I actually love writing Irvine for the exact reason you stated. I believe his flirtation is a big overcompensation for insecurity and loneliness. I think if a woman ever really responded to his advances, he'd just freeze. XD But I do love exploring what makes his character tick, as well as what drives his attachment to Selphie (if it was just hormones, he would've given up on her a long time ago!)
I personally find Laguna relatable because, given his history with Timber Maniacs, the game implies that he is quite articulate in writing, but struggles with verbal communication. I know that feeling very well! But yeah, he might be goofy, but he's far from an idiot. A bit impulsive, maybe, but he's got a big heart (maybe too big!).
Oh, Squall. I have a terrible time writing Squall, because it's hard for me to get a good grip on who he is. Like you said, his change is actually quite subtle, and it's hard to say exactly how he'll act once the adrenaline wears off. Forced to choose between extremes, it's easier for me to believe in reticent Squall than in a totally open, in-touch-with-his-feelings Squall. And I can't imagine him being overprotective; if he's learned anything from Rinoa, it's that the harder you try to hold on, the harder the other person's going to try to prove you wrong.
Ahh, yes, early 00s Rinoa-bashing. I hated that, and spent far too many words "defending" her character (or, more accurately, my enjoyment of her character) on message boards. This, I think, has scared me off of reading much Rinoa-centric fanfic from authors I don't really know, so I haven't really seen the other extreme fandom has gone to. But it's hard for me to wrap my head around saintly Rinoa--I mean, she pushed Irvine down a flight of stairs (after scratching and punching him) and punched Squall in the gut because he said he missed her! She's a spitfire and I love her that way.
And yes, she really had a lot of growth and coming to terms with her new identity that was pretty much glossed over in canon, due to it happening so late, so it's very nice to know there are people out there who are willing to delve into what her evolution might look like.
Seifer is a strange case for me, in that I'm not really a fan of him in the game, but I just love his story arc. There's so much at play there: potential, pressure, ego, ambition, insecurity, and mind control, just to scratch the surface. I would have loved to have seen scenes between him and Edea/Ultimecia, just to see where her control ended and his ambition began. And I love that despite all of his questionable traitis, he's still capable of affection, and seems to genuinely care about Raijin and Fujin. I've only tried writing him a few times, but it's a lot of fun trying to unpack all his personality baggage.
Yikes, this got a bit longer than I anticipated! Thanks again for your support, and for your rundown on fanon characterizations. I guess I had more opinions on that than I thought; it feels good to talk FF8 this way, kind of a throwback to the message boards of "old". :D
Re: This was relaxing to read
Date: 2021-06-04 12:29 am (UTC)Sorry this took a lot longer to reply back to. I was in writing smut/editorial hell for Dick or Treat. If you saw a lot of Squall/OC stuff, sorry. That's me and that's all my bad.
Also there's nothing wrong with getting the ability to gush over FF8! The fandom is already insanely small and it becomes smaller based on the content one chooses to consume as well. And since I have a lot of content to create that I want to see, I'm about to be in Fix-It hell... maybe indefinitely? At least until I feel like I'm satisfied. LOL
Squall is honestly the easiest character I found my voice with since I definitely relate to him the most. Ironically enough, I relate to Irvine the least but yet I have fun writing him when I get the opportunity to. Writing for Rinoa, Squall and Selphie were the characters I understood the most when I initially started writing for the fandom either in RP or fanfiction I never posted because I was ashamed of them at then time LMFAO.
I can see why Squall would be difficult for people that don't have the emotional hangups he does and more reserved in their emotional displays and internalized reservations. My only recommendation is more than likely reading Squall outside of your preferred ship to observe how everyone else writes him. It's nice as a means to double check to analyze him further through the gaze of another writer or even just replaying FF8 again to try to understand him. Study him, ya know?
Genuinely, fanon characterization usually drives me up a wall, so I haven't had to deal with it much since returning to the fandom. Only if I bored read certain fics will I remember why I don't read them anymore. The price I pay for waiting on fics to update and wanting to read for the same fandom. TT___TT
Also I can understand you having to defend Rinoa because she is a character a lot of people (even to this day) don't really understand or enjoy her. I just call them the Squall-types that aren't remotely into Rinoa. The trope of the Savvy Guy and Energetic/Manic Pixie Girl (since that is her archetype) didn't get coveyed enough for them to enjoy them. So you gotta use your voice to showcase your love for her!
My mind keeps wandering and that's not good when trying to section of the bits I wanted to talk about. LOL But ye~ I'm always down for the passionate FF8 conversation. c: