Just a question...*maybe spoilers for people early in the game*

[Mittopotahis]

Do you think that Final Fantasy VIII truely potrays love? And if so, how?

I believe it does, because you don't see a person like Squall change that much with no influence...Only love can do that to him... The things her does for her...Only love can trigger them...So yes...it does...

[TheAbominatrix]

I think it portrays teen obsession and infatuation.

As I've said many times before, he goes from disliking and being annoyed by her to being obsessed with her. And I really dont care what anyone says about 'looking deeper'. We hear his inner dialogue. He doesnt like her. There's no hint that he does. And then he's head over heels and unable to live without her. True teen angst. And I really think Rinoa is just looking for a challenge and a bit of fun.

[rubah]

I know I for one wouldn't mind being rescued from the depths of space by a hot guy like squall.

[nik0tine]

Everybody knows Squall doesn't like Rinoa at first. That is obvious. However, he does grow to love her later on. I fail to see how that constitues teen angst, but that's just my opinion.

[DMKA]

It did seem to me that it happened rather...sudden and out of the blue that he went from not being able to stand her to OH MY GOD MUST SAVE AND PROTECT, but then, it happened in an instance where it was a "you don't know what you have till it's gone" situation...so I still think it was well done.

But yeah, I'm sure he was dating Quistis and she was dating some dude from Deling City by the next year.

[TheAbominatrix]

Everybody knows Squall doesn't like Rinoa at first. That is obvious. However, he does grow to love her later on. I fail to see how that constitues teen angst, but that's just my opinion.

It was angst because it changed in an instant. He didnt care until she was in a coma, which is beyond angsty.

[nik0tine]

It was angst because it changed in an instant. He didnt care until she was in a coma, which is beyond angsty.

There was a subtle progression. In the begining, Squall doesn't like her at all. After a while, he doesn't seem to hate her anymore. When she goes into a coma, he realizes what he has lost. Thats how I see it, anyway.

[TheAbominatrix]

I strongly disagree, because there is nothing subtle. He dislikes her up until that point. His inner monologue never changes in regards to Rinoa. He starts to open up more, yes, but he doesnt start to fall for Rinoa. It's not subtle or real, it's split-second change. I'm sure others will come to argue this with me, but I'll never change my view. I even replayed the game to be sure, and I dont agree with anyone who says there was subtle change.

It could just be because I dont think anyone could fall in love that quickly, period. I dont think Cloud and Aerith could love eachother after such a short time, nor Locke and Celes, nor even Yuna and Tidus. I see the attraction and the beginning of feelings and the love that friendship brings, but not romantic love. Not in that amount of time. Maybe it's because I'm a cynic. But I see Rinoa and Squall the same way I see the people in high school, after two weeks dating, proclaiming they'll be in love forever. Angsty teen love.

[rubah]

At least they knew each other longer than Romeo and Juliet did.

[TheAbominatrix]

Indeed. I feel the same about those two, really. That's a perfect example of teen angst, mindless rebellion, and infatuation. At least Squall knew things about Rinoa. Romeo saw Juliet and was head over heels.

[nik0tine]

It could just be because I dont think anyone could fall in love that quickly, period. I dont think Cloud and Aerith could love eachother after such a short time, nor Locke and Celes, nor even Yuna and Tidus.

This I will agree with. However, I guess they can't make it too realistic or the game would take forever.

[TheAbominatrix]

They can, sort of. Like with Cecil and Rosa, or Tifa and Cloud. They have long-standing relationships (simply knowing eachother, I'm not claiming Tifa and Cloud belong together or whatever) and it's more believable. But yeah, generally they cant.

[Skyblade]

Personally, I believe that it does. At least, if I assume Squall's mind correctly, it does.

Squall is actually in love with her long before the space incident. You can definitely see that he has emotions for her during the scene from Trabia. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so upset when Rinoa suggests that they try a plan other than violence. Squall believes that, being a SeeD raised in Garden since approximately the age of five, he is a warrior who knows nothing but combat. So he thinks of Rinoa's rejection of violence as a rejection of him personally, which is why it upsets him so much.

Also, Squall has lived his life shutting himself away from people, avoiding friends of any type for as long as possible. Part of the reason he picks fights with Rinoa is to push her away from him. He doesn't want to fall in love, because he believes that if he falls in love, he will lose the person he loves (and thanks to the GF, he doesn't even really remember why he feels that way). So he denies his feelings for her even to himself. It's not until he loses her to Ultimecia's powers that he is forced to confront his feelings for her head on. Then he realizes that no matter how hard he has tried to avoid it, he has fallen in love, and he has indeed lost her as he feared he would.

With this realization Squall also realized that he cared too deeply for her to lose her, and he throws away practically everything he has ever believed in an attempt to prove himself wrong: that if he tries hard enough, he won't lose her after all. When he finally gets her back, only to have her taken from him be Esthar, he gives in to despair and falls back to his old habits, which is why it takes the presuasion of his friends to get him to go after her again. He left his home, traveled around the world, into space, and back down in a seventeen year old starship and still doesn't get her back. He has little else to think except that he was right, and that he would lose her even if he did manage to recover her again. Especially since her leaving him was her choice, as far as he can see (even though it wasn't what she truly wanted).

Also, the others are quite right in that sometimes you don't know what you have until you've lost it. As long as he had her by his side, he didn't have to worry about a thing, but whenever he was in danger of losing her, his true feelings became all too clear. Such as when she is in danger of falling to her death during the Garden Wars. His feelings for her become painfully obvious during that incident as well.

Certainly, Abominatrix, we are privy to his internal monologues. If that is enough to convince you, I offer you my most sincere sympathies. No one that I have ever encountered is so simply as to think things through that clearly or that simply. What we heard was what he told himself. He denied his love for her to assure his own saftey. Do you really think that he only has one level of thought? I know that I have several levels at any one given time that I am aware of, which doesn't even count my subconcious. The mental talks that he has with himself are simply him trying to reassure himself that he doesn't love her. In reality, he loves her very much. But he was brought up as a warrior, which is certainly not the best place to learn to understand one's own emotions (if you want a good comparison, try watching Farscape. Aeryn's feelings for John are fairly obvious to anyone watching the show, but she pushes him away because she is unsure of her own emotions. Love is alien to her; she doesn't understand it and it doesn't fit with anything that she has felt before, so she rejects it. That doesn't mean that the feelings aren't there. I believe that Squall's feelings for Rinoa are much the same), and he has had a fairly poor past when it comes to dealing with those he loves. You really can't blaim the poor guy for living in a constant state of denial. Especially since, as long as Rinoa is ok, living in denial is acceptable. He's not in danger of losing her. As long as she's safe, he can keep his true feelings hidden, even from himself. This changes because he is forced to face his feelings from her, and once they are brought out so that they are obvious even to him, there is little point in hiding them again.

Well, that's all for now. I'd better go before I start repeating myself too much.

[TheAbominatrix]

If he doesnt reveal it outwardly, and he doesnt reveal it inwardly, than I dont believe it's there. You can say it is all you want, but as I said, I dont believe it.

[Skyblade]

If he doesnt reveal it outwardly, and he doesnt reveal it inwardly, than I dont believe it's there. You can say it is all you want, but as I said, I dont believe it.

He does reveal it outwardly. I saw it right away. So did Irvine, Selphie, Quistis, Zell... Heck, even Cid notices it. I think the only one who didn't know how he felt about Rinoa was Squall himself. Rinoa certainly knew it. She was just waiting for Squall to admit to himself. Personally, I fail to see how you could have seen it. It seemed obvious to me. Of course, I admit that I am not the most normal of people in the world (and the game characters you will probably argue had out of character knowledge), so I doubt that I can convince you.