Lovers? [SPOILERS UP TO CHAPTER 11]

[Laddy]

LightningxFrocobo?

[VeloZer0]

I sincerely hope that SE doesn't ruin this by handing down an officially verdict. Though I personally couldn't care less it is nice to see a game that has something controversial that could be debated for years.

(I mean if they are lesbians is controversial, not that they could be)

[finaloblivion]

i mean, fang does say they're partners...i mean this could mean several things, but i was under the impression that they're intimate. together. in bed. big sis/lil sis is definitely a possibility, but they just act more like lovers. they way they speak about each other, how sazh is asking Vanille if she has some one special and she says "no....(but i was lying...)" i mean i got close friends, but i don't refer to them as my special somebody.

[finaloblivion]

LightningxFrocobo?

yes....its all very clear. but the frocobo likes the nautilus sheep.

[Wolf Kanno]

You are all just wishful thinking.

[NeoCracker]

You are all just wishful thinking.

Conveniently I don't really like Fang, so I"m not wishful in the slightest.

Now a little big strong white man on scrawny black man action I could go for....

[Wolf Kanno]

You got that with Kiros and Ward in VIII.

[NeoCracker]

You got that with Kiros and Ward in VIII.

Now lets try it with likable characters.

[Rodney]

I think they're lovers. Definitely. At least in the Japanese version, since the Japs aren't afraid to "go there."

But in the English and European versions? Probably just a big sister/little sister thing.

[Loony BoB]

How can you not like Kiros and Ward!? Especially Ward. He's awesome.

How different is what they say in the Japanese version? And if they are lovers, why would Square hide it so well? Because really all they do is hug. People made a massive deal out of one touching of boob in a dramatic reunion and the rest? Eh, nothing much. Partners can mean anything, so I'd again be interested in what they said in the Japenese version. But yeah, back to it: If Japs aren't afriad to "go there", why do they not kiss or mentoin the word 'love' amongst each other or, you know, say anything that lovers would say to each other? If you look at all the relationships that have existed in FF games, they've always been incredibly obvious. I have no idea why, if Japanese are so unafraid to "go there", they would make it so incredibly unobvious that they are lovers.

I agree with WK that people are just having wishful thinking. If not wishful, they're certainly looking at a couple of tidbits of interaction.

I'm yet to see the evidence that points towards them being lovers rather than family or even just "like family".

EDIT: Further spoilers for those who haven't reached Oerba.
(SPOILER)It should also be noted that they lived in a completely different culture to those who lived in Cocoon. I would compare Cocoon to the larger cities of Japan, Europe and America. Oerba seems like a much smaller locale, and they mention that they live differently - everyone is part of one big family who don't have dedicated housing etc. With this in mind, I think it would be a little more similar to religious communities, partially developed African towns (and I'm not talking the starving types in Ethiopia... probably closer to Kenyan, although that's a guess based on my limited African information). I think these communities can be incredibly tight-knit. They may have grown up together and even if not sisters would be very, very close to each other - without the need to be lovers in order to demand that kind of closeness.

Not only that - they are the only people out of their community/family left alive. Now, I don't know about you, but if there was a large group I'd lived with all my life and then suddenly you find yourselves the only ones left alive... I'd hold onto them as close as I could. For Vanille and Fang, fellow l'Cie excepted, they are all each other have left in the world.

[Moon Rabbits]

She was clearly into Fang until she realized she and Vanille are a thing. Jeez, pay more attention.

Actually, before the whole VanillexFang reunion and Fang and Lightening met each other I was totes like "omgz lessers?"

[The Summoner of Leviathan]

But yeah, back to it: If Japs aren't afriad to "go there", why do they not kiss or mentoin the word 'love' amongst each other or, you know, say anything that lovers would say to each other? If you look at all the relationships that have existed in FF games, they've always been incredibly obvious. I have no idea why, if Japanese are so unafraid to "go there", they would make it so incredibly unobvious that they are lovers.

Just to point out the fact here, but Japanese society is not the most welcoming towards homosexuality. Heck, with the exception of Tokyo, most places can, without legal repercussions, discriminate against you for being homosexual. So yeah, they are not really one of the most forward going nations when it comes to gay rights. It has never been as big of an issue there as it has been in North America and Europe.

If you take mainstream examples in anime (note, I am excluding works that explicitly homosexual such as yuri and yaoi since they are not mainstream), they never explicitly say "I love you" even when it is a well known gay relationship. Touya and Yukito from Card Captors? We all know they have a thing for each other but all they say is that the other is their "number one person" or something to the effect. Same series, Tomoyo is totally lesbo for Sakura, but she never comes right out and says it, let alone "I love you." Same thing goes for Sailor Moon's resident lesbians: Michiru and Haruka. Oh, you can tell that they are into each other but they never say "I love you".

Gay characters outside the yuri and yaoi genre are rare finds and often are implicit not explicit. :/

So to say that in a Japanese game they would come right out and say it is not true. They would never say it outright. They would come close to it but never be explicit. :/

[Moon Rabbits]

Yeah, I was confused why everyone is all "omgz the Japanese put the gays in everything."

Do Michiru and Haruka ever even kiss? I don't think so.

[Loony BoB]

I've just finished reading the translation of the short story surrounding Vanille & Fang. It's pretty neat, actually, I suggest you guys check it out. There are others for Sazh/Dajh and Lightning/Snow there, too.

I was swayed slightly towards the idea that they might be lovers when I read this bit from chapter three in the short story

They had promised so long ago. They would be alright as long as they were together. They would never be parted. It was a promise she never wished to break.

But then I read this and felt myself pushed further away from the idea. short story chapter five

Just like when they were children, together against a world of enemies. So long as they were together, they could stay alive. So long as the were together, it didn’t matter where they ran...

So in the end I'm sticking with the "been friends since they were little kids and are effectively (if not actually) family, and have a closer bond than most."

I seriously suggest reading those short stories if you've finished the game. The Vanille/Fang one shows you just how different the cultures are in the two worlds, far more than I thought. I'll probably read the other two tomorrow or something.

[eestlinc]

I get the "partners for survival" vibe from them, as BoB suggests from the story quotes.