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dagas_isaYes, completely and totally replaying FFX-2, not from a New Game Plus (and God knows I've got some uber ones), but from the beginning, with the goal of getting 100% along the way. The Spira story bug is rising, as well as the rant bugs, and my general adoration for Rikku/Paine.
I don't know why I like that pairing. I suppose it just makes sense, at least as much as Rikku/Gippal or Paine/Baralai and it appeals to my inner lesbian. AND in my little imaginary fic universe, I can plot out Rikku and Paine's feelings better as a couple than I can in their straight pairings.
The question of course is in the expression. I can't write fluff; it comes out sounding false, so I usually focus on one characters thoughts or those characters connected to the world.
And thinking about Rikku/Paine in Spira makes me realize that Spira itself is not likely to be homophobic. The game makes the assumption that the vast, vast majority of people on Spira are heterosexual, yet there's nothing in the game that even seeks to condemn homosexuality.
Look at the teachings of Yevon. Nothing is never mentioned about modesty in dress; just look at how some of the followers of the religion are taught. Most of what Wakka-the-religious-fanatic talks about is a hatred of machina, Al Bhed, respecting the temple's authority, and hard work. Sexual morality and conduct doesn't seem to be nearly so big a deal.
I'm sure there are homophobes in Spira, but their revulsion is likely something personal, not something they are taught by authorities. I'm also definitely sure that there are Spirans who do value heterosexual family and production of offspring, Besaid Island, for example. Just look at how eager everyone on Besaid was when Lulu had Vidina. The villiage pretty much is a family, and they welcome new members. Besaiders might look down on someone who chooses not to have a child, or who enters a situation where they cannot have children, but I don't see them condemning anyone outright based on sexual preference.
Then there are people like Cid, who probably doesn't care if most people are gay, but sees such a trait in his children as yet another form of rebellion. Cid values being looked up to and leading people, but he's made some pretty unpopular/bad decisions regarding the Al Bhed and his children. Not to mention with the rise in social status of the Al Bhed in Post-Sin Spira, they no longer have the need to band together. Rin's dream of making his own home, the fact that the predominately Al Bhed machine faction is now one of Spira's largest employers of former Yevonites shows this. In the end, I can see him dreaming to see at least one of his children married well to someone of the opposite sex and giving him a grandchild who will look up to him, even though that's an improbability.
So, while there are some problems that go along with Rikku and Paine being together romantically, I don't consider it to be the point where it has to be the center of a long drawn out plot about how the world rejects them and their kind of love (not to mention, I find those sorts stories about gays and lesbians to be really, really tiring), just those lingering side problems, like how to deal with her father, and the annoyance of people who don't know better automatically assuming heterosexuality.
A personal note: I read/write shoujo-ai to explore my own confused feelings, and thus I write what interests me. Love between women interests me. Portrayals of persecution does the opposite, especially because most are terribly one sided.
So, to sum up the entirety of that rant, I feel this urge to write an extended Rikku/Paine story, but don't want to make it exclusively Rikku/Paine. Which means I need a plot. I've got a couple vague themes, but they definitely need fleshing out and somehow put together in a coherent story.
Anyway, it's late, and I'm tired, so I'm gonna finish watching the Hana Kagari video (song is seriously catchy), and then go join Muu for the the sleeps.
I don't know why I like that pairing. I suppose it just makes sense, at least as much as Rikku/Gippal or Paine/Baralai and it appeals to my inner lesbian. AND in my little imaginary fic universe, I can plot out Rikku and Paine's feelings better as a couple than I can in their straight pairings.
The question of course is in the expression. I can't write fluff; it comes out sounding false, so I usually focus on one characters thoughts or those characters connected to the world.
And thinking about Rikku/Paine in Spira makes me realize that Spira itself is not likely to be homophobic. The game makes the assumption that the vast, vast majority of people on Spira are heterosexual, yet there's nothing in the game that even seeks to condemn homosexuality.
Look at the teachings of Yevon. Nothing is never mentioned about modesty in dress; just look at how some of the followers of the religion are taught. Most of what Wakka-the-religious-fanatic talks about is a hatred of machina, Al Bhed, respecting the temple's authority, and hard work. Sexual morality and conduct doesn't seem to be nearly so big a deal.
I'm sure there are homophobes in Spira, but their revulsion is likely something personal, not something they are taught by authorities. I'm also definitely sure that there are Spirans who do value heterosexual family and production of offspring, Besaid Island, for example. Just look at how eager everyone on Besaid was when Lulu had Vidina. The villiage pretty much is a family, and they welcome new members. Besaiders might look down on someone who chooses not to have a child, or who enters a situation where they cannot have children, but I don't see them condemning anyone outright based on sexual preference.
Then there are people like Cid, who probably doesn't care if most people are gay, but sees such a trait in his children as yet another form of rebellion. Cid values being looked up to and leading people, but he's made some pretty unpopular/bad decisions regarding the Al Bhed and his children. Not to mention with the rise in social status of the Al Bhed in Post-Sin Spira, they no longer have the need to band together. Rin's dream of making his own home, the fact that the predominately Al Bhed machine faction is now one of Spira's largest employers of former Yevonites shows this. In the end, I can see him dreaming to see at least one of his children married well to someone of the opposite sex and giving him a grandchild who will look up to him, even though that's an improbability.
So, while there are some problems that go along with Rikku and Paine being together romantically, I don't consider it to be the point where it has to be the center of a long drawn out plot about how the world rejects them and their kind of love (not to mention, I find those sorts stories about gays and lesbians to be really, really tiring), just those lingering side problems, like how to deal with her father, and the annoyance of people who don't know better automatically assuming heterosexuality.
A personal note: I read/write shoujo-ai to explore my own confused feelings, and thus I write what interests me. Love between women interests me. Portrayals of persecution does the opposite, especially because most are terribly one sided.
So, to sum up the entirety of that rant, I feel this urge to write an extended Rikku/Paine story, but don't want to make it exclusively Rikku/Paine. Which means I need a plot. I've got a couple vague themes, but they definitely need fleshing out and somehow put together in a coherent story.
- A lack of Sin and a growing reliance on technology is making the 'magical' phenomena of Spira disappear.
- Rikku and Paine become sphere recorders looking for lost memories among the ruins of Zanarkand
- Someone seeks to create a world for Aeons and dying magic.
- A faction-neutral sphere library being set up somewhere.
Anyway, it's late, and I'm tired, so I'm gonna finish watching the Hana Kagari video (song is seriously catchy), and then go join Muu for the the sleeps.
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no subject
Date: 2006-07-16 08:03 am (UTC)(The Ultimania guide contradicts the game on certain details -- contradictions one absolutely can't reconcile. Yes, one can indeed get 100% on the first run through. Many folks have done so.
Isn't it cute when people come in playing know-it-all in order to stomp on others?)
One minor thought cluster in all of this discussion:
Homosexuality doesn't exclude children, unless a) you assume exclusive homosexuality, which is acutally fairly rare in most cultures (whereas bisexuality is rather widespread), and b) you exclude adoption.
Considering the number of orphans in Spira, I could see adoptions and unusual family structures popping up. Obviously, Mom/Dad/Kids would be a longed-for ideal in a place where single-parent families seem common. It looks to me like the culture has adapted to deal with the reality that most children don't have parents -- just look at all the children in the temples. Besaid rallying around Lulu and Wakka demonstrated the "it takes a village to raise a child" approach, and Yuna being lodged there by her father is more evidence that one judged a settlement as a potential parent, in case individuals were lost. In other words, there were highly-visible and viable alternate child rearing mechanisms in place which didn't rely on or assume a heterosexual family unit.
A thought about characterization: In FFX, Rikku expressed a keen wish to Tidus to be a mom and have kids, because she was wistful about having lost her mother and only having one sibling. I can vouch that being a lesbian in no way negates such wishes: my ex is a veritable mother goddess. But Paine doesn't strike me as family-oriented. I'm not sure if that would pop up in the story you're pondering.
no subject
Date: 2006-07-16 09:32 am (UTC)