Posting it here since I don't want to hijack the other thread completely.

Quote Originally Posted by Kawaii Ryűkishi View Post
There's no applicable answer, because the subject of the question is all in your head. Perhaps take a few steps back from the fumes of whatever it is you're burning in sacrifice at the altar of a video game character.
No, it really isn't all in my head. I wouldn't be this spastic if it weren't for things I've SEEN looking around online. I've seen people claim Rosa dated Kain and dumped him for Cecil because she's loose for whoever has the most power in Baron. Worse than that, I've seen plenty of people believe it; I could be mistaken, but I think this very board is one of the places where I saw it happen. I know ffrepublic is one of them.

I've seen people call her clingy, weak, vapid, stupid and wimpy, along with plenty of other negatives. I've seen people say Cecil could have done better than Rosa (that came straight from the questions thread of this board), and representing the extreme end, one person saying they wish Rosa had died and Rydia had married Cecil. I've seen a select few hate Rosa because she's blonde. I've seen plenty call her a stereotypical white mage, ignoring the fact that she was the first white mage in the series with the personality she has (sometimes ignoring it even after being told outright).

And I've seen Square-Enix drop her like a pox on the series the moment they learned from the poll results at the Square-Enix party that Rosa's so disliked, she ranks fifth in the roster, just below Cid. I've seen Rydia get a DS kit strap, three variations of a wallpaper specially made for her, and her being the very first episode in The After to come after the prerequisite intro and Ceodore episodes. All while Rosa gets relegated to a bit part.

I've seen the badmouthing of Rosa and the incessant praising of Rydia. I've seen the thousands of pieces of fanart and fanfiction people write for their green-haired goddess, and the mere handful for Rosa. I've gone places, tried to point out her good qualities, had them shot down as fanciful imaginings of a rabid fanboy all while everyone talks about how awesome Rydia is for getting over her fear of fire (speaking as if she did it all by herself) or appearing just barely in the nick of time to save Cecil's party in the underworld (yet somehow, the fact that Rosa manages to keep Kain from killing Cecil in Fabul is inconsequential).

I'm a massive fan of Rosa. I'm not afraid to admit that. I'm one of a mere handful, too. But you know what? I wouldn't be this crazed if Rosa got even a sliver of the attention and respect Rydia receives. A year ago, I didn't care that Rydia was more liked, I didn't mind... then I saw the badmouthing, and the blatant disrespect, and Square-Enix dropping Rosa like a bad rash and hopping on the Rydia bandwagon. I've lost the appreciation I once had for Rydia, because it comes at the cost of Rosa getting any appreciation at all.

That doesn't mean I hate Rydia. She's a good character. It means that I have to hear about how much people adore her to pieces so often, and hear about how badly people hate or dislike Rosa so much, that I literally can't appreciate the things that make her a good character.

Someone might say this post runs the risk of making Rosa more of a character to steer clear of because nobody wants to be like "that crazy, obsessive nutso PaladinCecil guy," but nobody was going to start liking Rosa anyway, and she can't possibly be brought any lower in the eyes of gamers than people have already made her, so nothing is lost for the character by me making this post and saying these things.

Bottom line, if Rosa were actually liked and respected instead of put down most of the time, I wouldn't be thinking this way and having these feelings, and you wouldn't have to bear with this post.

This might sound like a desperate plea for more fan attention to Rosa. It's actually a rant, for a simple reason: it's too late for Rosa to get anything close to resembling respect for her as a character. The view of her as this empty waste of a character is sealed in the minds of gamers, and there's no changing it. I'm being realistic. Square-Enix doesn't care about her, and the people who already see her as a complete failure will never want to listen to a word I have to say that says otherwise to how they see her. So, on with the glorification of Rydia. That's all anyone ever wants to see or hear.