#Selphie's friend

[foxtrottcantfindshit]

hahhahah please ignore the laziest couch in the world.

[marziafantasia94]

In a universe where Odin Eidolon exists in the same timeline as Ducktales, is part of the billionaires' club, and is Donald Duck's best friend, who would be a real nuisance for him other than Mark Beaks?

[dullahandyke]

i need to replay kh1 and also play the rest of the kh games so i can think thoughts about yuriverse!rikai

[luminosus]

The Plan

“I’ve got a plan!”

That got everyone’s attention. Hearing those words from one who didn’t tend to take charge was enough to garner the interest of those within earshot. Eyes were drawn to the brunette in front of the group, her green eyes shining with enthusiasm. She had a finger pointing toward the sun and was beaming brightly. She knew that her plan was going to work out, come hell or high water.

“Really, Selphie?”

She nodded deeply. “Of course I do! Every good Garden Festival starts with a plan! A plan to try and get more cadets to help out with it and a general theme for the event.”

“Sounds like trouble.”

She shook her head at her heckler. “It’s never trouble!”

“Why should we help out when we haven’t even heard your idea?”

“That’s easy Jonah,” she responded brightly. “We’re going to bring Spring to Trabia Garden this year! Bright pastels, tulips, daffodils, all of the things associated with a nice Spring!”

Jonah, the elder of their group canted his head curiously. He was interested now and wanted to encourage his juniors to keep pursuing their passions. He knew from the brightness in Selphie’s eyes that she was dedicated toward this plan of hers.

Fifteen years old and wanted to see everything in the world. Trabia’s SeeD were always sharing stories with the cadets.

“It sounds like a lot of work,” Jonah continued.

“It is a lot of work,” Selphie conceded. “But it has to start somewhere! Trabia’s next Festival is in the Spring anyway and it’s still the middle of the summer so there’s lots of time! If we start expanding on my idea now, we can pitch it to the student council and get funding! Then, we can make the best Garden Festival that Trabia’s ever seen.”

“Selphie, you say that every year,” a third person in their circle chimed in.

“I know I do Maika and every year, we deliver. Last year had the biggest turnout that the festival has ever seen! We can do way more for the community and Garden as a whole if we keep continuing with this momentum. There’s nothing that we can’t do.”

Maika grinned. “You’ve got big boots to fill this year Selphie.”

“I know I do,” Selphie pressed on. She pointed at each of the six at the table in earnest. “I can’t do it without you guys.

Maika looked to Jonah who was in the middle of considering the youngest of their group. A cool wind blew through the courtyard as the perky brunette pressed on with her idea.

“We can have a grand ball at the end of it and fireworks every single night for the duration of the festival. We can have face painting for the little kids and guided tours of the entire facility. Not only will it give the kids something to take pride in, it will show off all the work that we’ve been doing at Trabia. We can have concerts and scavenger hunts and all sorts of other ideas. We can put a suggestion box in the cafeteria if people have ideas. The Festival from the Spring was such a success because of the input of the entire student body.”

“I see,” Jonah hummed. “You’ve been putting a lot of thought into this haven’t you?”

“I have! And I can’t do it alone,” she carried along. “I was hoping to have the support of you all again this year. The whole Festival might’ve been a super mega disaster without that help you all gave last year. As you know, most of last years committee have transferred to Balamb to write their SeeD exams so there’s—”

“—There’s only you again,” Maika cut in with a grin. “I dunno Selph, it seems like a tall order.”

“And there’s nothing that we can’t do once we put our heads together. I’m sure if you guys pitch in for the committee and help with the planning that we can get the entire student body on board again.”

“Some of us are prepping for exams though, Selphie,” Jonah pointed out. “Some of us simply don’t have the time.”

“I know, I know,” Selphie pressed again. “But like I said, I’ve got a plan and a theme but I can’t do it all by myself. If the senior students at Garden were willing to pitch in then everyone and everything else would fall into place.”

A couple of the others were considering her words seriously as she cast expecting glances at each of them individually. She bent over and rest her hands on the table, her head bowed.

She wanted to do one last festival with her friends before they transferred to Balamb.

“It’s just a few hours a week and there’s still tons of time for you guys to study for your exams. We can do much of the planning on the weekends and every class can contribute ideas for the theme. I just…”

She looked at them with a pleading look. She really didn’t want to do all the planning alone.

“If it’s just a few hours a week,” a fourth jumped in. “I don’t mind lending a hand.”

“Really Michael?” Selphie leaped up from the table excitedly. “You’ll really help me out?!”

He grinned at her. “Of course. I can’t let my dear junior do all the work by herself.”

All it took was one person and Selphie soon had the entire table on board. One after another, her friends all fell into place and her committee was fully formed.

“Great! Thank you so much you guys. It means the world to me that we can do this together.”

It was going to be the best Garden Festival ever.

-----------------

crossposted from jaydesummers @ AO3

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[ultraericthered]

THIS FUCKING SENT ME.

[kairithemang0]

Kairi and the fear of change and low self-confidence

It's a pretty popular joke now in the fandom that Kairi's useless. And sad to say, it's not wrong. And it's really sad to see, the downfall of Kairi was a quick one, it pretty much happened over the course of one game and stayed that way for the rest of the series.

What Kairi used to be was this sassy kid tomboy who would run around with her two friends playing games. Even then, she had an interesting backstory. No one knew where she was from, neither did she. She was found after a meteor shower and needed to adjust to being swept away from a life she now doesn't remember, and probably still doesn't.

She's a tragic character truly, but she also is afraid of change. That's really her defining character, she's holding onto a life she was comfortable with, but the world is changing so rapidly. Did she even want to go on the raft, or did she just want to be with her friends and was going along with it? She was comfortable on the island, she made a life for herself there but meanwhile everyone around her wants more.

Kairi wants to fit in, I think some amount of peer pressure is driving her to work on the raft. She, like everyone, doesn't want to lose her friends. And sure, she's friends with Selphie and Tidas and the others, but she doesn't spend as much time with them as she does Sora and Riku. They were probably her first friends when she arrived, and being so afraid of change, she stuck by them.

Of course, one of her most iconic lines is telling Sora to stay the same, because she trusts Sora to do that. She's already seeing it with Riku, that bit of aggression, he's starting to give into that darkness, and she can sense it. So, she wants to run with Sora

Sora, throughout everything, is her wall to lean on. She trusts him, she's close to him. I'm guessing she was always a little closer to Sora than Riku. Sora's not worried to grow up, he doesn't have a care in the world. He's fun, he's silly, it's what she needs. She needs that stability because I think the fact the first 4 years of her life, her home and family, have been wiped away, it's had lasting effects on her.

As the series goes on, I think her confidence dwindles. She sees Sora and Riku making new friends, she becomes less of a priority. It's scary to her, like it would be to anyone. She's training to be a keyblade wielder, but she was outright told by Riku she couldn't come to help Sora. She definitely doesn't take it well, she knows she needs to keep training, but she still just wants to be there for her friends. She's watching them drift away, grow up, but she's not ready for that. She's scared, she's lonely, she's worried about losing her friends.

Over the series, Kairi hasn't made too many connections of her own. She also hasn't gotten the chance to but I'm gonna swipe that under the rug because. Well, that makes this less interesting

She's so stuck to these same two friends who are changing, Riku has changed a lot and while Sora may still be the same old Sora, but he has new friends, new people to care about.

Who wouldn't be afraid of being left behind? Especially after being told, she's not ready time and time again. It's gotten to the point where she's begging for her attacks to work, brain goes blank whenever she gets kidnapped. She's powerful, but she isn't treated like she is. It's definitely affected her way of seeing herself, feeling like she can't do it, that she's weak.

Sadly, I doubt we'll ever get a fully realized Kairi with a full arc. If she does though, I want it to be about finding people who aren't Sora to connect with, she has a bit of that with Lea but now Roxas and Xion are back, she'll be pushed away again. Probably the same thing with Aqua, her new master, who just got back to her old friends after 10 years and probably also isn't in the best mindset to raise a new keyblade wielder properly

And that just leaves Kairi. Still alone. Still hoping to get her friends back, who have all moved on

[holleighgram]

Hold onto your keyboards, cause I'm about to get ✨️controversial ✨️

I'd like to preface this by saying all interpretations/ headcanons/ readings/ etc. Are valid and I'm in no way discouraging anyone to change their ways.

I watched (and enjoyed) Baloney's "The Truth About Kingdom Hearts!" And I absolutely adored their take on the series, but one line stuck out to me that I really want to expand on because I don't see it being talked about as often as it should.

Kairi doesn't like Riku.

And I think this is a very RICH and IMPORTANT aspect of the Destiny Trio dynamic. It adds to the complexity of these characters, but especially Kairi.

(Another shout out to @violethowler and their INCREDIBLE Constructing Kingdoms series. The video on"The Girl Who Never Grew Up" made me like and understand Kairi so much more. Highly recommend checking it out.)

Kairi doesn't like Riku, and with some pretty valid reasons, but I'll get to that after I compile all the evidence towards this:

In KH:

Kairi likes her life the way it is. She doesn't desire change, but Riku wants nothing but change. He wants to grow up and move on and see the outside world.

And because Sora looks up to him, Sora has jumped on the bandwagon too. Kairi is going along because Sora is. But it is clear that for Kairi, change =/= good. So what does she say?

"You know, Riku's changed."

Sora asks her how, and she kinda bites her tongue. Clearly she had opinions, but doesn't want to badmouth Soras best friend to him. Later she says, "Sora, don't ever change."

Later, after everything, when Kairi is restored and in Travers Town, she doubts that Riku can be saved, despite the fact that she LITERALLY saved Sora from being a heartless. She almost seems like she's trying to convince Sora not to go, or to at least let her come with-- not to save Riku but because she wants to be there with Sora.

At the end of the game, she obviously return to destiny islands and draws the paopu.

During Chain of Memories, everyone forgets about Sora, but the memories of Riku stay intact. For a year. Kairi is well aware that her "friend" is missing. In fact, last she knew of him, he was still taken by Ansem and presumably dead or at least suffering. She doesn't know.

She knows she's a Princess of Heart and has powers thay can help (as she restored Sora after being a heartless). But the most we get is "he's far away, but I know we'll see him again." Like, do you?

I mean, SELPHIE is the one that says "I sure miss him." That's way more than we EVER get from Kairi.

So for a YEAR, she doesn't spare Riku a single thought. But the SECOND she remembers Sora, she is willing to do anything to see him again.

Here's a little bit of speculation for WHY she doesn't like Riku:

1) Perhaps when she first met them as kids, he reminder her of Xehenort, who kidnapped her and yeeted her into space.

2) Kairi wanted to be best friends with SORA, but not Riku. She's afraid that Sora will follow Riku to the outside worlds (where she doesn't want to go) and leave her behind. If it wasn't for Riku, Sora wouldn't want to leave at all.

3) He (as far as we know) opened the door and damned their home into Darkness. That's probably a point of contention for her. Even though Sora so forgiving.

4) He hurt Sora in KH1, but Sora is still loyal to him. She probably sees that as him taking advantage of Sora-- the person she cares most about.

5) He's the reason Sora never came home. If it wasn't for him, they would have gone home at the end of KH1 together.

I can't say for sure how Riku feels about Kairi. He DID drag her corpse around and give into the darkness to save her, but that can be interpreted as solely wanting to "beat " Sora at being the hero. Even still, we get moment in COM where he reflects on missing her. We even see Namine come to his rescue in her form. I definitely feel like there is less animosity there, but who knows.

That's all.

Roast me, Kairi stans, but I love the depth this reading gives to the story and the potential for arcs and character growth for her and she is forced to face who she is without Sora.

[sevlinop]

The most moving moment in Final Fantasy 8

Earlier this month I finished replaying FF8. It has been a number years since I last played it, and this was my first time playing the remastered version. It was fun, but one moment in particular really stuck out to me this time through. After defeating the final boss, and everyone's drifting through time, Squall ends up back in front of the orphanage. After he sees Edea chasing his younger self, and Squall amusingly mentions that the little boy won't actually run away, Ultimecia shows up. She's on death's door and no longer a real threat. Edea then willingly takes her powers, knowing how much harder her life will be because of it. She does this to ensure that Ellone, Selphie, and Quistis aren't at risk of inheriting Ultimecia's powers. Edea isn't the only one who makes a huge personal sacrifice in this scene though.

After a brief conversation, and Edea outright stating Squall needs to return to his own time, the moment I'm talking about happens. Squall nearly leaves, but then suddenly decides to tell Edea about SEED. He even stops to ponder telling her for a moment, and then decides almost on impulse to go ahead and explain everything to her. Squall sets in motion the events that will cause himself immense suffering. Ellone having to leave him without explanation, his other friends being adopted and leaving him. As well as the hell of having to grow up as essentially a child soldier, and the hardship that entails. Including memory loss, loneliness, and not knowing why the hell Cid and many of the others even expect so much of him.

I'd never thought much of this scene until this play through. I just took it for granted he did it almost as an afterthought, just Squall being diligent as always. I didn't grasp the implications of him accepting his own destiny as The Legendary SEED. And he obviously doesn't do it for the glory, or even just for his loved ones. He's affirming to himself that his life is worth it, despite the pain.

I think it's the culmination of all of Squall's character development. And as much as I love the moments Squall has with Rinoa and the rest of the party, I like that he completes this last part of his journey without them. Essentially affirming his own life, and saying all the pain and suffering would be worth it. Not just because he'd meet Rinoa and reconnect with the others, but also because he's come to value himself again. Or maybe even for the first time.

I'm sure many people have already written about this, and I'm just slow lol. Still, I thought it was a very moving moment and wanted to write about it. I think it's one of the better uses of a time loop I've seen.

[angelosearch]

Happy b-day to my girl Rinoa. I wish I had fic or art ready to post today but I don't :(

All I will say is that writing in her perspective for an extended period of time, and therefore looking at her lines and behaviors over and over again, has just really made me appreciate Rinoa as a character.

A few things I love about her:

As the daughter of what we are led to believe are Galbadia's highest ranking general and one of the world's biggest celebrities, Rinoa is privileged. She comes from a position of power and wealth. She could have just lived a comfortable life but she chooses to use her knowledge and skills to help free a country from violent occupation. Doing so puts her at great personal risk, and although she may not fully understand how risky it is, it is extremely brave and righteous for her to do this. This is why I believe Rinoa is not Ultimecia - because at her core, she is someone who places her values over personal gain when she has power and influence. She can be possessed but I don't believe she corruptible (into Ultimecia, anyway).

On her bravery, we all know that Rinoa fears doing things alone. But many times in the game, she does things alone anyway. Bravery is not the absence of fear but the willingness to challenge it, and our girl challenges it all the time!

Further, she makes the active decision to rejoin the SeeDs after Irvine escorts her out of D-District prison. What I realized in writing my fic, which is an alternate timeline, is that Rinoa actually has no established reason to go to the missile base. But you can assign her to that party. And she will do it without complaint. She is risking her life, not to earn money, or to move her mission in Timber forward, or even to spend more time with Squall. She will go because she thinks it's the right thing to do, and because she wants to help Selphie, someone she has just met.

She gives people the benefit of the doubt. There is no denying that Squall is a huge jerk to her at times early game, but she is emotionally intelligent enough to realize that whatever he is projecting is not about her. And then she tries, over and over, to reach out to him. She is so patient. But also, she gives Deling the benefit of the doubt - they were trying to reason with him on the train, not even blackmail him or threaten him, but just have a conversation. She tries to not kill Edea TWICE. She tries to use the bangle to circumvent assassination and then tries to get the SeeDs to find another way to face her. She even returns to Esthar after they were hostile toward her. She believes in the good of people. Maybe that's being naive but if we were all as cynical as some other characters in this game, the world would completely fall apart.

Rinoa is always thinking. She is crafty, she comes up with interesting plans, and she can even be a bit of a schmoozer. Rinoa is only 17, and so some of this is not always executed in the best way; but I think she is extremely intelligent and creative. And, I mean, you GOTTA BE if you can teach your dog all those amazing tricks.

Don't you DARE call her a damsel in distress. She is just as much the hero of FFVIII as Squall is and YES I will die on this hill. Does she get into some pretty nasty situations? Yes. Are some of these situations caused by mistakes on her part? Absolutely. But this girl is far from helpless and goes all out to save Squall, her friends, and ALL OF TIME AND SPACE. She was willing to go to Edea by herself with a bangle that she had idea if it worked to help her friends. She was at peace with being locked away for probably the rest of her life if that meant keeping the world safe. She was willingly possessed by an evil sorceress for a second time after having a traumatic more-than-near-death experience the first time (she hadn't even experienced an Ellone dream before so imagine how scary this entire prospect was??? Like yes you need to lose your conciousness to some future bitch again and then you have to go into this other bitch's head in the past in this dreamscape you've never even been in and then yeah all of time is gonna collapse if/when you come to, you cool with that, Rinoa?). At the end of the game, she physically travels between dimensions/time/space/realities to find Squall and revive him, and then transport them back to their own reality which is obvious savior stuff. But she also saves Squall throughout the game by staying by his side, asking the right questions, listening to him, and giving him validation that, while he doesn't accept, he needs to hear. And oh yeah she fucks up Irvine to go get Squall out of prison. There's a reason they only call her "princess" once in the game - because she's NOT just a princess.

She cute as fuck js not just physically but also the things she says and her mannerisms. She's just so charming! No wonder Squall fell toss-myself-into-space in love with her! Me too tf

Tbh there are more reasons but this post is already longer than I thought it was going to be. Apparently I just have a lot of Rinoa feelings okay?! Okay.

Love you, happy birthday you absolute angel you ❤️

[freckledhylian]

Riku actually held that KH1 paopu for a whole day.

In KH1, the paopu tree seems to have space for holding 4 fruits. Yet, only 3 are shown. The first person we’re shown alongside that tree is Riku. And what does he gives Sora at the end of the day?

“Maybe he took it just before leaving”

That’d be a possibility, but, the next day, not a single paopu is missing on the tree.

Which mean, Riku actually had the fruit before the sunset scene. Not only that, but the spot where the 4th paopu should be, would actually be the easiest one to pluck. Then what was he doing with it for so long? Well, during that sunset scene, Kairi said that to Riku;

He sure did. Remember what Selphie said about not plucking a Paopu fruits without being serious about it? Riku would never just pluck it for “just a joke” especially if he knows one of his friends would be upset over it. He spent all this time thinking about whether would he share one with Sora or not. He apparently chose to, since he plucked the fruit, but ended up not doing it for some reasons that I still don’t know for sure. He maybe took a tiny bite and gave it to Sora in hope that he would just take it home and eat it, who knows?

To back this up I also have a manga panel where Riku is shown regretting not trying “that paopu thing”

(Pic from @/blowingoffsteam2)

So; Riku actually plucked that Paopu fruit surely after finishing working his part of the raft and just sat there, looking at the sea, thinking about if he would share it with Sora or not. Or more like would he find the force to actually do it. Time went by and the sunset scene happened. For some reasons, he just tossed it to Sora, maybe either hoping Sora would just eat it or just watching what would his reaction be.

About the reasons that maybe made him “give up” I have a theory:

Remember when Riku says if he win, he’ll share the paopu with Kairi? I’m pretty sure that’s what he used in his own mind to determine if he would share the Paopu or not, but with the sparring one. He was probably so lost that he just ended up using what they always used to decide something; sparring, or just competing against each other. “If I win, I’ll share a Paopu with Sora.” Now, I don’t know the canonical result of the sparring, but I think Sora won and hence why Riku stayed true to his words and didn’t share it with him. Not so sure about that one though.

Thinking about Riku looking at the fruit and imagining himself sharing it with Sora, just for him to see the paopu drawing the next day just shatter my heart.

[gulava]

You know, I was only really thinking of Riku feeling Terra within Ansem SOD when it came to the "a true friend will see you for who you, no matter the face you wear" quote at the time but...that also pertains to quite a few more moments.

He initially sees Xion with Sora's face but he still acknowledges her as her own person and treats her as someone with the agency to make her own decisions. He recognizes Ansem the Wise even though he wears Ansem SOD's face and recognizes Namine even though she was wearing Kairi's face.

(It kinda makes Ansem the Wise's treatment towards him even sadder.)

Riku sees Ventus in 3D and realizes he's not Roxas.

Riku only considers Roxas as truly Sora's Nobody once Sora responds from within Roxas despite ATW telling him directly that Roxas is (meaning he saw him as his own person) and Riku tells Replica Riku he's not him despite Replica Riku's claim otherwise.

In KH3, I feel like Riku was teasing him by saying "the other me" bc this above was one of their last interactions in COM and it's actually in character for him to do that to people he's fond of (he even leaves the guy a weapon to defend himself with). It wouldn't make an ounce of sense for him to act like Replica Riku is another him after all of this. He treats him as someone with agency in KH3 ("take the time you need"), continuing his thread of behavior like with Xion.

I also want to suggest that maybe Riku was more susceptible to Ansem SOD because of all this. He trusted Terra after their meeting in BBS and Terra was very much present the entire time.

A, uh, perhaps not so happy extra note is he failed to notice Kairi inside Sora in KH1. As far as we know, of course. If he did know, it'd reframe an incredible amount of the game so I wouldn't be too shocked. Whether Riku knows what Kairi smells like is kind of up in the air because of what he says in COM and RE:COM. He could've simply been talking about the illusion of Kairi as it wouldn't make much sense for Namine and Kairi to smell the same...as they are different people and he recognized Namine as someone different.

Otherwise, Riku was simply saying they smell the same and somehow he told the difference despite that. Not quite sure that checks out. Why would he even bring up their smell at all if so? Could he feel their hearts were different or something? Where's the original Japanese for this? I tend to read this scene as the former because Riku failed to recognize Selphie, Tidus, Wakka, and Kairi as mere illusions in COM Destiny Islands until they disappeared. He also, quite sadly, thought Zexion was truly Sora at first. That could've been simply because he was desperate to see him though. Sora was the person Riku wanted to see the most, after all, and Riku does end up smelling Zexion (someone he ends up interacting with quite a bit in KH3).

So what's the point of this post? Nothing much, I guess. I just really like this aspect of Riku's character. He'll say positive things about others that could easily be applied to himself too. Humble guy. I'm looking forward to his relationship with Yozora.

Maybe he'll see his true face.

[iffylogic]

Tagged by @deemoyza thankya friend~! 💃

Make a poll with five of your all-time favorite characters and then tag five people to do the same. See which character is everyone’s favorite! :D

Since the majority of people who see this are probably FF fans, should I have picked more FF characters? I feel so clueless atm but these five probably pay the least rent in my head. Unless I forgot someone which I probably did

I don't know who's already been tagged by now, so feel free to join if you want to!

[suleikashideaway]

Time Will Tell Writing Update

My friends! And by that I mean, to the four wonderful people who read Time Will Tell!

I have indeed fallen behind on my posting. Probably no one is surprised, least of all me, but the good news is that so much of this story is very very close to being posted - it just needs a final polish. Truthfully, I thought chapter 16 was going to go up on Thursday, but I still haven't had a ton of time to really sit with it and bring it to the level I really want.

Most of my time has been spent handcrafting decorations for my kid's birthday party and recovering from said party (I am a chronically ill Selphie apparently). And now with Halloween this week I am quite busy handmaking costumes for me, my husband, and our two kids. And our dog. Oh, and handcrafting decorations for my other kid's school Halloween party. I am insane. I love it. And like, I have to work on top of it, so there's that.

I guess this is a big ol' accountability post! If you are a silent reader out there, I would ADORE to hear from you. Your kudos, comments, and frankly whatever interaction you give is highly motivating, and likely to spur me to open up my Google Docs instead of Stardew Valley (which I am overly wont to do these days).

(Also if you're wondering about that, I am still going for Elliott, but Harveyyyyy I miss youuuuuuu 🥺 I may need another save file to get my nerdy doctor after all.)

[harukirai]

Queer history of Final Fantasy

I am replaying all the old final fantasies(mostly psp psone releases), first time with english localization and not the original jp.

Now i get it.

It all make sense now.

I couldn't understand the wave of "why shove the gays in our face" backlash of 16(even though, the non homophobic felt it was lacking since they didn't want to 'push it in yall face'). Like apperantly moat of the implication or straight up fruity moments in the old game was completely removed, or changed to the point of it being a 'silly thing'.

So lets clarify -

*Cecil(iv), your homeboy- an Non-binary (language is the best indication, but yeah i think it was a decision made for both female and male players to be able to relate to them, but yeah funny outcome non the less)

*Bartz(v)- outright bisexual, they didnt even hide it- next person on this list gonna make it make sense.

*faris(v)- an ftm transgender( at least in the original version, i know in some new iterations they scrapped the whole concept, but left it in in others?)- mainly speak about himself with (ore/boku- which is conventionally usally by male speakers), after finding out soem of the cast either use a female pronounce on him, but bartz constantly either avoid it or use male pronounce(or the nonbinary version which is usually reffered to kidz) but yeah, bartz was crushing on faris where he thought he was a cis male and unlike the other guy didnt shy away.

Lets jump a bit to 8-

Irvine(viii)- even though considered very handsome to the point he could get with any girl hed want, was even flirted with by selphie i think i need to remember, but he usually brush it off.

If anything he is either asexual, or gay(its very subtle, but its what called queer coding, and well see that allot from now on cause japan caught up to westerns norm on media)

Quina Quen (ix)- literally, a nonbinary- but i think they kept it in eng as well cause they are not human, but like black mages they have no sex, but unlike black mages they are 'genderless' and dont care for human norms.

Kuja(ix)- either gay/intersex/both.

Look at him.

Seriously that character confused a whole generation sexuality.

Like sephiroth, but unlike sephiroth he also have effeminate mannerisms, and until it was revealed by text it wasnt so obvious.sephiroth in jp have a confusing language because he himself is possed by jenova, so evem though i love this headcanon, sephiroth isnt trans actually.

Auron(x)- ahh yes, your favourite broody guy and probably where im gonna get tons of hate.

Auron is very subtle, but once you notice it its hard to deny.

I think Auron is gay, unlike jecht or braska- he did not have kids, denied arranged marriage, and followed jecht to dream zanarken just to save jecht only son- it was pretty obvious that auron loved jecht. He also loved braska but not as much, and it shows- that for auron it was more than friendship. You can see it with his attitude towards yuna vs tidus- with yuna he is nicer, politer. Liem you act when you babysit your friends /cousins child.

But to tidus, he is a full father figure.In their journey together they grow, and i think if he wasnt the boy of the man he loved he wouldn't treat tidus as his own. With all the scoldinngs in mind.

Paine(X-2)- qlmost forgot her, but yeah she's pretty gay for riku

I dont remember much though because if the mission structure of the game.

Larsa(xii) - ohh i see you boy, i see u. He is sus as hell. He is a kid so its pretty innocent(and relatable to us queer kidz)

Its pretty obvios that he is crushing on basch, innocently though. I know some ppl who shipped him with penelo, but canonically by spinoffs at least she and vann are an item.

Also they made sure it was obvious cause japan have this thing that a young character is crushing on a teacher,mentor , older characters in general(aka cc sakura- her friend crushing on a teacher, syaoran & sakura crushing on yukito, also happens in tons of pop culture media at that time, so im not surprised, but im happy this time its one sided, THANK GOD)

But yeah if you reached the ending its pretty obvious.

Fang & vanille(xiii)- the first lesbians couple! Terra(VI) was supposed to be the first but they were afraid it will make her less marketable so they scrapped her gf. They made them clear, but at the same time they tried to make sure pple wont be fetishizing them(they tried, at least).

I want to explain their story more but i think ill mess it up since i tend to mix up 13's lacie, falcie and all that jazz.

So ill just say that basically there are 2 world in 13, pulse and cacoon. Pulse is basically earth and cacoon is the moon. There is a god for each world called a falcie.

Few of them but ine for each major ones. Our main gand from cacoon, branded by a falcie to be slaves(lacie) vanille and fang are from pulse, and slaves of pulse lacie, so basically they are with the task of creating Ragnarok which is like the end of time and but limw they dont know cause the gods in this game is like 'yeah imma give you a mission but wont tell you beside weird non undersandable feaver dream and you need to figure out and fast or youll become this universe version of zombie, and if you do complete it you become a ceystal living forever but like, sleeping beauty style. So lose lose situation.

The focus of them both is different from the gang, caus the falcie of cacoon is evil so he gove them focus destroying cocoon while if fang& vannile mannaged to ruin that falcie and bring ragnarok theyll become a crystal, and they used it to save coccon from falling and crushing killing all the people in it, basically became a pillar in eternal sleep when they hheld each other.

But they are saved in later game only to... Lightning return which we wont talk about cause i hate timers.

I love the story of xiii, big part of it is vanille & fang, i havent played in english yet, but i will say, their story is one of the more meaningful on this list, very well developed and i will do it disservice if id try to explain it in few sentences - so do yourself a favour and play or watch the playthrough.

Ignis& gladio(xv)- here is when localization ruimed it. I know cause i palyed on jp dub with eng sub and heard the differences live- first of all gladio and ignis are completely different in jp, as individuals and as a pair- they were supposed to be the first dion& terrence moment, but it got scrapped and they went the vannile& fang route, only that bec they are men, the localization team missed the mark.

Gladio got pissed at noctis in the train because of ignis.

In jp its clear their bond is beyond friends, and not mention the fact that their AI is always stuck together, and that gladio isnt a womenizer in jp at all, and there is no fiancee/girlfriend.

In jp he said suggested there is someone he wants to be with but bec of the state of the world and them both being constantly in the battlefront he couldnt ask.

(and ignis clear his throat when everyone is like oh great, very subtle but it was leading to that)

Every stop of the train or erea post blindness gladio was with ignis not leaving him .

Also tabata san also said that they are more than friends. So there's that too.

But its no secret 15 localization is tereible, the massacared prompto, he is so cringy in english, in jp yeah he is funny but like he says more stuff then random pop colture references, he breaks the 4th wall occasionally but not on the same level of the localization. Also, jp noctis is a little shit because he can and will, in localization he is more relatable while ignos and gladio are kimda mean. In jp its the other way around and up until chap 13 (when he is alone) noctis is a bratt. He has some moments when he is nicer, but when struggle shows he is a bratt about it- and its done purposely since he is a spoiled pronce who never done anything alone in his life.

Thats why in chap 13 he has a change of heart, because he was alone and learned to appriciate his friends when he was stuck alone in the dark with no weapons and i think it was a good call storytelling wise, but yeah the english localzation ruined it and made the whole chapter pointless .

Those are the implied/canon gays of final fantasy up to 15(we got a kiss so its obvious).

The series has always been kinda Fruity and i know some of yall will be like, 'but there's no proof'. Well, japanese speakers(who arent homophobic at least) will agree with me that we tend in media that is not specified like BL or GL to make things subtle. So what in the west is called 'queer coding' is very common in japanese media and it comes in way more shape and forms.usually implied with a desper conncetion relationship or linguistics.its funny cause in the 80's and very early 90's gay pple wasnt hidden in jp pop culture (no kisses or anything but it was straight out told to the viewer/player)

And only later 90's there was a trend of removing us completely from the media, but around that time a specific genre was created so it wasn't out completely.(like yaoi/yuri as erotic mangas existed aince the 80's but usually only love stories or main gay characters were mixed in with the straight media, kimda like what netflix does today, but around 96, 97 the shounen ai and shoujo ai genres rose in popularity(mainly cause of clamp) and things got seperated. In games- because it became a bigger deal in the west square took caution with how clear they gonna make stiff not to piss of the christians after the backlash of Pokemon (idk how it was really but through japanese media and news it seemed at the times that the american patents were pissed so game companies started sensoring their games from all things might piss off christians/monotheistics ).

*also i dont live in japan but i am mixed so i grew in a jp speaking house and family from there always sent games on holidays and birthdays+nhk was always running in the backround to check on the motherland😂

[starsurface]

CG Irvine w/ Regressor Squall: Too Loud, Too Much Pt 1 (Fic)

pt 2

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

It was loud, so loud.

Squall couldn't think. He couldn't breath.

Why did he come? Why was he here? Because he was commander. Because he had to be here to represent SeeD.

The music was so loud, vibrating in his chest. Normally it didn't bother him. But it was happening for so long, too loud and too much.

And the place- It was packed. So many people, bumping into him, talking over his own thoughts. He hated parties, he hated people, he hated the shouting, and the singing, and.

Where was Rinoa? She said she was going to go find Selphie and she'd be back. She wasn't supposed to be gone this long.

No, he had told her to stay with Selphie. Have some fun and go party.

Why had he told her to stay? He needed her. She helped ground him. He could focus on her voice or hold onto her arm. And now she wasn't here.

When did he become so independent? He shouldn't be so dependent. Or weird. Or be affected by the loud music.

But no, instead he was standing in the corner. In the middle of all the music, and the noise, and the panic, and the-

"Hey Squall!" Irvine said as he walked over. "Rinoa sent me to come check on you."

Squall nodded. He didn't trust his own voice. 

What if it came out shaky? 

What if he sounded small?

"Alright, you wanna go get drinks with me?" Irvine asked, Squall shook his head. "Fair, the punch doesn't taste too great anyhow. . . You sure you alright?"

Rinoa always said he should be more open to his friends.

Squall nodded.

"Alright, you say so," Irvine said, although he didn't look so impressed. 

Stupid Squall, he should have told him.

But then he'd be weak. Because he'd have to admit that the sound bothered him. And that the vibrations were too much. And he was about to throw up. And he-

"So, there a reason you're hiding in the corner?" Irvine asked, pointing in some direction. "Rinoa's over there. I'm sure she wouldn't mind you joining her and Selphie."

Squall shook his head again.

He didn't want to ruin Rinoa's time. Sure, she probably wouldn't mind having him. But he didn't want to invite himself when there was no invention.

Suddenly there was a cheer among the crowd. Squall's hands went straight to his ears. Something must have happened or been said to cause. Squall couldn't make out words, only that they were loud. And there were so many people. And they all wouldn't shut up-

"Squall?" Irvine asked, gently putting his hand on Squall's shoulder. "How about we go outside and take a breather? It's getting pretty loud in here, ain't it?"

Squall almost wanted to whine in response. Yes, it was getting loud in here. He's been waiting for someone to notice.

He'd love to leave if he could. It'd be quieter outside. It'd smell cleaner. His head wouldn't be throbbing, and he wouldn't be hunched in some corner.

But Rinoa was here, and he couldn't abandon her.

"'Noa," Squall said weakly.

"I'm sure Rinoa wouldn't mind if we hung outside for a while. I'll even text her to let her know where we are," Irvine smiled. Squall tried to decipher it. It didn't look forced. Almost comforting, gentle even. "It's nice and quiet outside. Would you like to take a walk with me?"

Squall nodded. He'd do almost anything to get out of this stuffy room.

But it was truly a horror getting outside, for both men at that.

They kept on running into random people, bumping into some and trying to dodge others. Squall would panic and hide in Irvine's shoulder. Gripping onto Irvine's coat for dear life.

Irvine would apologize and keep on movie, trying to comfort Squall as they walked. He didn't expect Squall to cling to his coat the entire time, but he did. Like a small child trying not to get separated from their parent.

They also had to walk past the speakers.

Maybe Irvine should have taken a different path. He didn't realize they were close to the door. Squall didn't look mad at him as they walked past the booming music. But Irvine swears he could almost hear a choked sob come from him.

Perhaps that was why Squall was looking at the ground, hiding his face from the sharpshooter.

It was cold when they walked outside. Although that worked in their favor. No one wanted to stand in the cold, so there was barely anyone outside.

The further they walked, the further they could hear the music. Irvine didn't want to lead him into the town, so he made sure to stay in the Garden. Although even at the entrance they could hear the music inside.

"See? Nice and quiet," Irvine said as he sat Squall on the steps. "You alright there, Darlin'?"

Squall nodded, quickly wipping his eyes. He felt better now that he wasn't in the middle of the chaos.

It was calm outside. Yes, the music could be heard, but it was background noise.

He felt light, dizzy almost. He didn't want to throw up anymore. But his hands felt shaky, and his knees felt weak. He was glad he was sitting.

"Well I'm glad," Irvine sat beside him. "Gave me quite the scare, I won't lie. But it's all good now. Didn't know parties did that to ya'."

Squall shook his head, "Not parties."

"Not parties?" Irvine asked, laying down slightly so he was resting upon the stairs. Squall was happy he didn't question how quiet or high pitched his voice was. "Then what?"

"Loud," Squall mumbled, hugging himself.

"Oh," Irvine frowned.

And Squall wanted to cry all over again.

Squall squeezed himself tightly, not wanting any more tears to fall. It felt silly, crying over something stupid like noise. Or people. Obviously Irvine could see how stupid it was. How silly Squall was being.

Irvine took off his hat, setting it beside him, "Well that's no fun. Would have gotten you out of there sooner if I knew you were getting upset."

"Huh?" Squall looked confused.

Gotten him out of there? But Squall was being silly. He was overreacting again.

But then Irvine smiled at him.

And it was that same damn smile from earlier.

"I wished you had gotten one of us earlier, or taken a break out here," Irvine said gently. Squall noticed he was watching his tone. Making sure he sounded gentle, not angry or upset at him. "You were clearly in pain. And that's no fun."

Squall wanted to agree. It wasn't fun being here. He wanted to go to his room and cover himself in his blankets. Cuddle with Angelo who was probably asleep by now.

But he had overreacted. He made a scene that Irvine noticed only got bigger. He should still be in there. Probably hanging out with Rinoa and Selphie. Or Zell and Quitis. Hell maybe even Seifer.

"It's silly," Squall frowned.

"I don't think it's silly. I think you tried pushing yourself past your limit," Irvine put his hand on Squall's shoulder. Squall focus on the pressure. "Loud noises can be scary, or even painful. You didn't look too good in there. You looked scared, and in pain."

"But I ov-over-overre-" Squall struggled. Words were so hard, and they weren't getting any easier. He huffed angrily and buried his face into his hands. "Silly!"

"I don't think your overreacting. I think you need to take some deep breaths and calm down," Irvine began to rub his back. "You'll feel better when you focus more on your breathing."

Squall shook his head, wiping his face again. 

There was no need to cry anymore. He was out of the party by now, the noise was gone. His head still hurt, and his chest felt heavy, but he was out of there.

Plus he was outside, he was already breathing. Irvine was talking silly.

"You wanna breath with me?"

Such a stupid question.

And yet Squall nodded.

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

I actually wrote this over a year ago, when I was at the biggest football game of my school year. It was so, SO, freaking loud, and the only support I had was with her band friend during half time. I just needed a venting outlet and never posted it. If anyone asks, I'm not sure if I meant this to be written with sensory issues, or just a mini breakdown. It wasn't my intention to write Squall with autism, because I don't have it and I don't want to claim that I meant to write it with a certain intention, only to write it incorrectly or stereotypical (but in a bad way), but also think whatever you may like!! It is (kinda) open to interpretation!! The glove part in the 2nd chapter is based off of Dragons_and_Jellies "Little Lion" story on AO3!! Go check it out, it's so cute!!! Also! Just to be clear, there is absolutely nothing wrong with autism or sensory issues or anything related to that sort!! I know many neurotypical individuals, both my own family members and close friends, and I just want to state that there's nothing 'wrong' with having anything. They're people like everyone else and deserve love and respect just like your everyday person. <3

[wait-still-rendering]

You know what I genuinely love? So in KH1 when Sora loses everything, his entire world is gone. Kairi is in a coma and can barely respond, and Riku has ditched him out of jealousy and because of Maleficent's manipulation. For all he knows, he'll never see his other island friends (Tidus, Wakka, Selphie) or family again. They could even be dead. He's fourteen and doesn't know what's going on. He's fourteen and completely out of his element even if he has had small sparring sessions with his friends on the island. He's fourteen and his sparring sessions don't prepare him in the least for what he's about to face. He's fourteen.

And he's alone.

Then come along Donald and Goofy with their, "Our ship runs on happy smiles," or whatever the line is. Sora is most likely in a huge depression right then, but he still musters up the courage to smile.

(This can also be detrimental to his character with him saying he can take on everyone's pain in later games, of course.)