Hm. You know what surprises me?
Jul. 26th, 2006 12:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
auronluThere's quite a lot of people who specifically consider Wakka/Lulu one of their favorite Fandom pairings.
(Spoilers to FFX-2)
When I first heard that Wakka and Lulu got married, I thought, "Say WHAT? What is Square THINKING?" It seemed like crack, it seemed cruel to Wakka, and it seemed disrespectful to Lulu. I came to the conclusion that it was a marriage of convenience for the game designers, getting Wakka and Lulu out of the way so that they wouldn't rush to Yuna's defense when the going got tough.
Crack because he was this nice ordinary guy, a heart-of-gold jock athelete, and she's a frickin' force of nature, with a deadly implacable streak. Neither one of them is on the same wavelength as the other. I certainly can understand their friendship; they have a lot of shared history and common ground. But that which makes them most themselves is not something the other will ever really relate to.
I could see playing them off against one another in fanfiction CRACK, the way one might put Selphie and Seifer, or, well, things like Aurikku where part of the game is that they're so different that it's bizarre. I know the whole opposites attract schtick. Wakka and Lulu are very, VERY opposite, and from what I've seen, those differences would put far too much strain on a relationship.
The second and biggest thing for me is that it seems mean to Wakka. He will always feel inferior around Lulu, and she will always be in a position of authority and power, even when she chooses to defer to him in the hopes of kicking him to make up his own mind. He loves her, sure. But he's scared of her. I don't see any sign in X-2 that he's grown a spine and is no longer in the "yes ma'am" mode he was in FFX (a phrase he did say to her).
I just don't think it's good for poor Wakka to be in a permanent partnership with Lulu. It's an unequal relationship where she holds the leash, unless she denies her own self-power and authority, and decides to let him be in charge. That's one of the big reasons why Auron/Lulu works so well -- neither one dominates the other.
I can see Wakka falling for her, but he would have done better with Rikku, where they'd fight and argue and get mad and neither one would feel eclipsed by the other.
Third is the hypocritical factor for Lulu. In FFX, she made it bluntly clear that they were incompatible on at least two occasions where Tidus hinted at something between them.
First response: "You don't want to finish that sentence."
Second response: "Getting along isn't enough. Not even close. You need to learn something about women."
"Okay, I won't forget."
"I won't forget either."
It's the second one that's really, really firm to me. Lulu knows herself. She is trying to instruct Tidus to pay a little closer attention to what people are like. She's trying to make a very important point (often lost on fanfic and other writers), that one can have male/female friendships that are not romantic.
Lulu says she's not going to forget. Then, according to X-2, she does.
I know people can lie to themselves, I know they can protest too much, I know they can have a change of heart -- but I hate it that Lulu turns out to be a total hypocrite, a fickle woman who doesn't know her own mind and heart. I'm tired of the "fickleness of women" plotline. I don't want her words to turn out to be a lie.
Also, honestly, I don't understand why she would've had a change of heart in how she feels about him. Getting over her frustration of Wakka to trust him as a friend, yes. Falling in love with him? No. Chappu was an ordinary guy (opposite, again) but he seemed to have a life, a spark in him, and I could see how that exact kind of magic and love and "come on, Lu, let's go!" might have helped her draw her out of herself. But Wakka's insecurities only draw out Lulu's frustrations. At best, she has to tolerate and gloss over his neurotic worries, his annoying habits, the things she finds foolish. I don't see anything in Wakka to ignite a romantic spark in a woman with Lulu's temperament.
Watching the two of them married, I see that Lulu has diminished herself and given up on a piece of herself in order not to hurt him. I see Wakka is still under her thumb, unable to be his own lovable self without a sense of shame. That's sad for both of them.
I can imagine writing the ship as an alternative to canon, playing with "what if the impossible happened and Lulu fell for Wakka the way he's fallen for her?" but as canon, it's disappointing. I have the hunch that most of the Wakka/Lulu shippers would not see it that way.
In my own writing, which is firmly FFX most of the time, I enjoy very much writing Wakka and Lulu as friends, and Wakka with a crush on her (poor Wakka). I will sometimes write on the assumption that maybe after the pilgrimage, Lulu gave in and let herself marry Wakka because he's there, because he's a friend, because she trusts him, because he at least understands her a little. But it's not an ideal match, and he'll never entirely live up to her expectations or fill the gap in her heart.
ETA: Wakka/Lulu fans, I am sorry that I got a little too forceful in stating my opinion in a few places here. There are definitely different ways of looking at all this. Please see some of the thoughtful replies below.
(Spoilers to FFX-2)
When I first heard that Wakka and Lulu got married, I thought, "Say WHAT? What is Square THINKING?" It seemed like crack, it seemed cruel to Wakka, and it seemed disrespectful to Lulu. I came to the conclusion that it was a marriage of convenience for the game designers, getting Wakka and Lulu out of the way so that they wouldn't rush to Yuna's defense when the going got tough.
Crack because he was this nice ordinary guy, a heart-of-gold jock athelete, and she's a frickin' force of nature, with a deadly implacable streak. Neither one of them is on the same wavelength as the other. I certainly can understand their friendship; they have a lot of shared history and common ground. But that which makes them most themselves is not something the other will ever really relate to.
I could see playing them off against one another in fanfiction CRACK, the way one might put Selphie and Seifer, or, well, things like Aurikku where part of the game is that they're so different that it's bizarre. I know the whole opposites attract schtick. Wakka and Lulu are very, VERY opposite, and from what I've seen, those differences would put far too much strain on a relationship.
The second and biggest thing for me is that it seems mean to Wakka. He will always feel inferior around Lulu, and she will always be in a position of authority and power, even when she chooses to defer to him in the hopes of kicking him to make up his own mind. He loves her, sure. But he's scared of her. I don't see any sign in X-2 that he's grown a spine and is no longer in the "yes ma'am" mode he was in FFX (a phrase he did say to her).
I just don't think it's good for poor Wakka to be in a permanent partnership with Lulu. It's an unequal relationship where she holds the leash, unless she denies her own self-power and authority, and decides to let him be in charge. That's one of the big reasons why Auron/Lulu works so well -- neither one dominates the other.
I can see Wakka falling for her, but he would have done better with Rikku, where they'd fight and argue and get mad and neither one would feel eclipsed by the other.
Third is the hypocritical factor for Lulu. In FFX, she made it bluntly clear that they were incompatible on at least two occasions where Tidus hinted at something between them.
First response: "You don't want to finish that sentence."
Second response: "Getting along isn't enough. Not even close. You need to learn something about women."
"Okay, I won't forget."
"I won't forget either."
It's the second one that's really, really firm to me. Lulu knows herself. She is trying to instruct Tidus to pay a little closer attention to what people are like. She's trying to make a very important point (often lost on fanfic and other writers), that one can have male/female friendships that are not romantic.
Lulu says she's not going to forget. Then, according to X-2, she does.
I know people can lie to themselves, I know they can protest too much, I know they can have a change of heart -- but I hate it that Lulu turns out to be a total hypocrite, a fickle woman who doesn't know her own mind and heart. I'm tired of the "fickleness of women" plotline. I don't want her words to turn out to be a lie.
Also, honestly, I don't understand why she would've had a change of heart in how she feels about him. Getting over her frustration of Wakka to trust him as a friend, yes. Falling in love with him? No. Chappu was an ordinary guy (opposite, again) but he seemed to have a life, a spark in him, and I could see how that exact kind of magic and love and "come on, Lu, let's go!" might have helped her draw her out of herself. But Wakka's insecurities only draw out Lulu's frustrations. At best, she has to tolerate and gloss over his neurotic worries, his annoying habits, the things she finds foolish. I don't see anything in Wakka to ignite a romantic spark in a woman with Lulu's temperament.
Watching the two of them married, I see that Lulu has diminished herself and given up on a piece of herself in order not to hurt him. I see Wakka is still under her thumb, unable to be his own lovable self without a sense of shame. That's sad for both of them.
I can imagine writing the ship as an alternative to canon, playing with "what if the impossible happened and Lulu fell for Wakka the way he's fallen for her?" but as canon, it's disappointing. I have the hunch that most of the Wakka/Lulu shippers would not see it that way.
In my own writing, which is firmly FFX most of the time, I enjoy very much writing Wakka and Lulu as friends, and Wakka with a crush on her (poor Wakka). I will sometimes write on the assumption that maybe after the pilgrimage, Lulu gave in and let herself marry Wakka because he's there, because he's a friend, because she trusts him, because he at least understands her a little. But it's not an ideal match, and he'll never entirely live up to her expectations or fill the gap in her heart.
ETA: Wakka/Lulu fans, I am sorry that I got a little too forceful in stating my opinion in a few places here. There are definitely different ways of looking at all this. Please see some of the thoughtful replies below.
Re: Please note that I don't mean to sound, well, mean at all, and I apologize if I do:
Date: 2006-07-27 04:28 am (UTC)Though I'd say I've seen people on both sides of the matter. *shrugs* I think it's something everyone has something of an opinion on, yet dont pay much attention to.
Aurikku makes me scream too. And punch. And... other equally bad things. >_>
Wherin Parron tries to contribute, and ends up tangenting!
Date: 2006-07-27 04:59 am (UTC)It was a miscommunication to be sure. No harm intended. Peace indeed. ^^;
On the subject of crack pairings and attacks, actually - this is somewhat off topic, but it just struck me. No one has ever once attacked me for my ships. Whether they be Baralai/Nooj or Paine/Leblanc or, oh, Rikku/Yunalesca. But in "less" crack alt.pairings, like A/L or whatever, it seems that there is a fair amont of attacking, doesn't it? I always hear about it. This is interesting to me, somehow. Is there a range? "This ship strikes a little too close to home?" What makes Auron/Lulu more offensive than Auron/Kinoc? What's the problem with Wakka/Rikku compared to Rikku/Nooj? Baralai/Yuna versus Nooj/Yuna? Logically, I'd have to say that the weirder pairings would be the more attacked. Maybe I - and the people I know - are just surrounded by a magical force field that protect us and our super crack ships... but I'm sort of getting curious as to why that curve seems to exist.
Re: Wherin Parron tries to contribute, and ends up tangenting!
Date: 2006-07-27 05:26 am (UTC)I have a guess on that.
I assume when I see a crack pairing that the author's well aware that it's waaaay different from canon, and they're trying an experiment. In fact, crack stories often require an author to be able to write canon characters well enough to make them recognizably themselves in a quite startling situation, as when cupcake drops Rikku and Auron down in a well and forces them into a very unlikely situation! It's a bit like parody -- it can't be done unless you know what you're doing. (Usually. There's an odd Seymour AU on the front page of ff.net today that's trying to be funny, but falls flat, IMO.)
Whereas almost-canon-but-not-quite pairings tend to be a) what people wished for, and didn't get, so they have some feelings about it, or b) puts a slightly "off" spin on some part of the main story, when the main story is what drew fans to it in the first place. Guaranteed, whatever's been "doctored" will bug someone who found that part especially meaningful.
E.G. Auron is an incredible loner. I focus on other aspects of him. But I can so easily understand why someone would go, "Awgh! How can you make him have a 'ship with anyone! The whole point of Auron is that he's so tragically alone!" or even "are you crazy? He was so in love with Braska, he practically killed himself out of grief!"
Whereas if I was writing Auron as totally gung ho for Shelinda, people would go, "heh, now that's different!" and click on the link out of curiosity, or "um.... right" and move along.
Wherein Parron stops contributing and just rambles to herself!
Date: 2006-07-27 05:37 am (UTC)I do get your point, I'm not pretending I don't. But I still don't understand the driving princible behind it. It's true people get protective about the characters they love most, and couples to a certain extent, but what, when you get down to it, makes a serious, well written Auron/Lulu story "worse" then a Auron/Seymour story of the same quality? Of course - I'm basically talking to myself now, don't mind the intrusion - it could just be a curiousity thing. Rarity is just that, so people could possibly be more willing to overlook bias and give something strange a chance just because it is that...
Then, of course, the line between crack 'fic and crack pairings is one I, at least, find very different. XD Crack pairing is just "unlikely, really unlikey," and means nothing about the writing style or story's content. Crack 'fics are, to me, just unlikely and meant to be funny.
Re: Wherein Parron stops contributing and just rambles to herself!
Date: 2006-07-27 05:02 pm (UTC)Further, there's a difference in terms of reader reactions between writing crack!pairings with characters who are not canonically involved with anyone and writing crack!pairings with characters who are. With the latter, you get a lot of reviews going, "ZOMG didn't you know Character A is really with Character B? You bad person!" Except with worse spelling. With the former, it's just "interesting".
Re: Wherein Parron stops contributing and just rambles to herself!
Date: 2006-07-27 05:18 pm (UTC)Folks who do the Evil Sexy Twisted Bishie + Our Hero probably have different tastes from those who would write a "here's a het relationship that might work" story. Slash tastes don't always preclude het tastes, but often does, for one. And for another, the Evil Sexy Twisted Bishie + Our Hero stories either dwell on the s/m scary aspects for their juice, or may be a "redemption" story where said bishie is Misunderstood and really wonderful, sweet, tormented, etc.
Those are both really common types of fanfic. They test boundaries, challenge canon, and, to some authors are daring and brave things to write. (There is a certain mystique in writing slash that I'm not sure het can muster; to some extent, I think, yuri is also missing that extra glamour.)
Certain characters are not as well loved. Lulu doesn't quite have the same hate as Rinoa in FF8, but she's not The Stuff for most people, so they'll find pairings with her irritating. ("Oh, you're just doing it because of her boobies.")
As for Paine/LeBlanc as "interesting", that's probably people not quite sure what to say, intrigued you'd try it, and again making the assumption that you KNOW it's weird, but are daring to make it work, whereas with Paine/Yuna they may be thinking you think it could work, and they're telling you, "this to us is a crack pairing" on the assumption you don't know that.
I'm reminded of my grandmother using "interesting" as tactful non-response for student pieces whose content didn't appeal to her a bit.
Agreed on both counts about the self-selection process -- that is true for ALL pairings; the Gippal/Rikku fans don't generally have the same tastes as Auron/Seymour, Auron/Rikku, or Yuna/Tidus -- and pairing canonically-paired characters with someone else.
Another funny thing: LeBlanc is such an ignored and despised character that I doubt you'll see many Rikku/Nooj or Nooj/Paine stories where reviewers say, "that would NEVER happen; Noojie-Woodgie totally has the hots for LeBlanc, remember?!"
Oh. Dear. Oh. Dear.
I just thought of Shuyin/Maechen, Shuyin/Jecht, and various other "they're on the Farplane and maybe Shuyin would..."
Meh. I did see one very good Shuyin-possessing-Gippal / Rikku story.
Re: Wherein Parron stops contributing and just rambles to herself!
Date: 2006-07-27 07:44 pm (UTC)point the second: Lulu, hated? I have yet to see anyone say anything to that effect. :O Mostly it's Rikku, Tidus and Wakka I see bashed, sometimes Yuna. At worst, Lulu tends to be ignored (but then, we travel in different circles of fandom, huh?).
As to the use of the word "interesting" in a review - I fully agree that the context was more towards the "that's pretty unqiue" than "I loved it." But all the same, it was never "that's pretty unique, nice for trying, now stop." If that makes sense. And I'm not trying to pretend that my writing is good enough that it stops people from running away (far from it, haha). But in other fandoms, too, I've noticed the same thing. People are more likely to give a really, really crack pairing (say, Yuna/Nooj) a chance than a less crack pairing, involving the same character/s. Yuna/Gippal, for example. It just strikes me as mighty weird, and my wee little brain can't figure it out properly. XD I think I'm just repeating myself by now, tho.