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Fang and Vanille...is it canon?

Aq8uIcn.png
 

SolVanderlyn

Thanos acquires the fully powered Infinity Gauntlet in The Avengers: Infinity War, but loses when all the superheroes team up together to stop him.
I saw it as friendship that got exaggerated because they were the only two Pulsians left. You'd attach yourself to the other last living survivor of your civilization too.
Unless they happen to be kinda nuts like in the Caius/Noel situation that follows

Fang was a great character all around. XIII-2 was a better game but it suffered from not having Fang in it. Vanille, on the other hand, was hands down the worst character in the game, so I guess it balances out.
 

zeopower6

Member
Masterful rebuttal.

Oerba Yun Fang
Oerba Dia Vanille

I've never played the English version so I don't know what liberties were taken with the story, but in the Japanese version it is plainly stated numerous times that they are sisters. I never even heard of people needing them to be lesbian lovers until Gaf

IIRC, there was a lot of talk about the end cutscene of XIII when it first came out in Japanese screens/streams and what it represented. And they definitely are not sisters. Not sure why the Japanese one would state that when it's not true. They did grow up together in an Oerban orphanage though.
 

syncyes

Member
Not even a question for me.

Episode Zero supports it (Vanille literally says she'll atone for Fang's sins if they let Fang live), and in-game the intimacy of their words/actions are very overtly romantic. If Fang was male and she said things like "I'd tear down the sky to save her" while Lightning said "they're bounded together by something stronger than family" absolutely no one would be questioning it.

I saw it as friendship that got exaggerated because they were the only two Pulsians left. You'd attach yourself to the other last living survivor of your civilization too.
Unless they happen to be kinda nuts like in the Caius/Noel situation that follows

Supplemental material shows that they were close before everyone on Pulse died out, though.
 
Personally I never got the impression that they were lovers. There was nothing I saw that really hinted at it. Just seemed like they built a strong bond through the hardship they had to endure together. I would say Fang was more of a motherly figure to Vanille than anything honestly.
 
Aerith and Cait Sith from FFVII, Tidus from FFX after he learns his fate and hides it, Harle and Radius from Chrono Cross, Aerie from Baldur's Gate II, etc. Even Locke from FFVI to some extent.

Tidus isn't trying to hide that he has to
kill millions or face eternity as a monster
.

I don't remember cat sith or aeris having the issue crisis ether. Harle is close, but distinct in well, her origin. Vanille was a normal girl given a task against her will, and tried everything she could to run from it. Radius was a solder, Aeris doesn't seem like the same (I haven't played the game, going off her in game bio). Locke also doesn't have the same sort of past it seems.
 

Anko

Member
Masterful rebuttal.

Oerba Yun Fang
Oerba Dia Vanille

I've never played the English version so I don't know what liberties were taken with the story, but in the Japanese version it is plainly stated numerous times that they are sisters. I never even heard of people needing them to be lesbian lovers until Gaf
They're just sisters

This lesbian lover thing comes from shit localization and fanboy delusions

I saw no such thing. I actually think the Japanese dialogue is more suggestive. And the Japanese picked up on the subtext as well. You're going to have to show me the exact line that suggests that they are sisters. Disclaimer: I played the English version and watched the cut scenes in Japanese on niconico.
 
Masterful rebuttal.

Oerba Yun Fang
Oerba Dia Vanille

I've never played the English version so I don't know what liberties were taken with the story, but in the Japanese version it is plainly stated numerous times that they are sisters. I never even heard of people needing them to be lesbian lovers until Gaf

Receipts? Anyone can make a claim like this. I want proof. Transcripts.
 
I don't think they're biological sisters. They're clearly deeply attached and consider each other family. Could be they're romantically entangled. Could also be that this type of non-biological family relationship was totally commonplace in Oerba.

The more I think about it, the less important it seems to my understanding of the characters. Fang is a well dressed badass who protects Vanille, and Vanille is a squeaky-but-surprisingly deep teen with nasty death magic and some kind of killer fishing rod. Works either way.
 

10k

Banned
Why is it anytime two females are close and engage in hugging or hand holding in a video game it means they're lesbians? I saw them more as sisters or two women from the same clan cursed with the same L'cie fate.
 
I definitely got this vibe as well with these two characters. Especially at the end when they
solidified
. Lol.


I wouldn't want them to be because, it's Final Fantasy. But it's definitely funny to think about it as a "what if."


I think about this stuff all the time actually it's kinda funny.
 

zeopower6

Member
Alright, I think I'm too old...

What does canon mean in this context?

"Official" as in originally intended by the producers/directors. Like how Serah/Snow was a canon relationship but something like Lightning/Hope is more of a fan creation and is not canon.

I think they put a lot of hints here and there but all they ever did was suggest it. It was never actually confirmed by SE or anyone working on XIII but it seems like most people saw romance between the two of them.

Why is it anytime two females are close and engage in hugging or hand holding in a video game it means they're lesbians? I saw them more as sisters or two women from the same clan cursed with the same L'cie fate.

I don't think it's just that at all. Just how many lesbian relationships (or even just two females being close friends) do you see in games anyway? I feel like it happens way more with male characters but simply because there are more of them and there's more situations where you can read it as such.
 
I saw no such thing. I actually think the Japanese dialogue is more suggestive. And the Japanese picked up on the subtext as well. You're going to have to show me the exact line that suggests that they are sisters. Disclaimer: I played the English version and watched the cut scenes in Japanese on niconico.

Receipts? Anyone can make a claim like this. I want proof. Transcripts.

I haven't played the game since it came out, and I'm not about to hunt down lines to win an Internet argument

Enjoy your lesbian ship
 

Lady Bird

Matsuno's Goebbels
Why is it anytime two females are close and engage in hugging or hand holding in a video game it means they're lesbians? I saw them more as sisters or two women from the same clan cursed with the same L'cie fate.
When they act like a romantic couple (sans outright stating it).

Fang's and Vanille's relationship is the only thing in the entire story where the writers pull off some interesting ambiguity.
 

zeopower6

Member
I haven't played the game since it came out, and I'm not about to hunt down lines to win an Internet argument

Enjoy your lesbian ship

Uhhh wha? You can't just say things like that and then ditch. D: I am very sure you're mistaken though so there are no lines to find anyway since I don't think SE ever clarified in any language in any game just what Vanille and Fang were.
 
Romance between Lightning and Hope? No wayyy.


Lol. Hope is hopeless.


Lightning is like a single independent woman. Hope has no chance. Snow would be a better pick for Lightning (lol sorry Serah, not really though, cuz Serah seems to be with Noel anyway) lolololol.



I guess anything is possible, I mean Wakka from FFX was able
to get with Lulu
afterall.


But still Hope is just ughhhh.
 

jgwhiteus

Member
Why is it anytime two females are close and engage in hugging or hand holding in a video game it means they're lesbians? I saw them more as sisters or two women from the same clan cursed with the same L'cie fate.

The reverse question is - why is it when people see two members of the same sex engaging in behavior that would be considered romantic in a heterosexual context, they often come up with alternate explanations that avoid the possibility of homosexuality and same-sex romance, sometimes to the point of absurdity? ("They're saying they love each other and kissing in a platonic, friendly way", "they're just bros who are declaring their love and willingness to die for one another out of a sense of fraternity, that's all.")

Yes, it's possible for two members of the same sex to have a deep and intimate relationship that's entirely platonic, just as it's possible for a man and woman to have a deep and intimate relationship that's entirely non-sexual and non-romantic. But romantic same-sex relationships are also a valid possibility and shouldn't be construed as a far-fetched or negative interpretation to be avoided, especially since many creators nowadays are more interested in and willing to depict (or at least "hint" at) same-sex romantic relationships than they were in the past.
 

Turin

Banned
If anything, Sephiroth would have had a strange oedipal fetish with Jenova.

I just assume he's asexual though.

I mean.. I just assumed they were. Sure it was never admitted outright, but it's very strongly implied, IMO. And
Fang gropes Vanille's boob (or vice versa) in one of the cutscenes
.

I didn't play it long enough to really notice but I believe it. I just couldn't with that game.

I know there's a fan base that ships Lightning and Hope. >.>

Also Vanille and Fang are the true main characters of XIII.

Might as well be.
 

PK Gaming

Member
Yeah, it was pretty blatant. They take it to the molecule-length of the line during the course of FFXIII, and i'm pretty sure there was a line in LR that said something along the lines that Fang and Vanille share a bond that goes beyond family.

I took out the Sephiroth bit from the OP before anyone else go their masculinity bruised. Now, back to the topic at hand.

lol
 

quesalupa

Member
But they're both thousands of years old, right?

What did you think of the relationship between Snow and Sarah? She looked 12.

Yeahh and I think the canon physical age is 18 and 21. I still say creepy because Vanille looks and acts like a little kid.
I didn't think Serah looked that young tbh.
 
There is this that was mentioned earlier and it isn't so bad... but then right after, Fang lifts Vanille's skirt to check her brand, lol.



Why do you think that it's as simple as you think it is? There are so many hints that it's more than just friendship or sisterly bonds.

Ambiguity and implications, it is why we have this topic in the first place.

So you basically interpret it the way according to your personal beliefs or preferences but OP asked if it's canon!?
 

Shard

XBLAnnoyance
So you basically interpret it the way according to your personal beliefs or preferences but OP asked if it's canon!?

That is the thing when it comes to gay and lesbian relationships as they are often times written in coded ways to hide that very thing because of unfortunate rationales. If we are talking about the subject of canonicity, then find me the statement from the creators stating that Vanille and Fang are or are not a couple. If none such exists then this entire thread has been filled when personal interpretation that has varied wildly.
 

zeopower6

Member
Yeahh and I think the canon physical age is 18 and 21. I still say creepy because Vanille looks and acts like a little kid.
I didn't think Serah looked that young tbh.

Vanille certainly looks older than Serah, lol. It's mostly 'cause Serah's frame is so small... especially her upper body. Though Vanille is an inch shorter than Serah despite being a year older. (or at least appearing a year older)

WWFB1yo.jpg


That is the thing when it comes to gay and lesbian relationships as they are often times written in coded ways to hide that very thing because of unfortunate rationales. If we are talking about the subject of canonicity, then find me the statement from the creators stating that Vanille and Fang are or are not a couple. If none such exists then this entire thread has been filled when personal interpretation that has varied wildly.

That's the thing though. They've never really commented on it despite dropping hints all over it. Heck, they even
end up living together in some cattle ranch-y desert post Lightning Returns.
That on top of the Lightning's "Those two were bound by something stronger than family." and this from Vanille's Japanese voice actress from Ultimania Omega:
2zb3vtz.png


Fukui: In addition to that, it would make me very happy if the fans perceive the priceless bond between Vanille and Fang as something more powerful than friendship.

It's hard to see them as being anything else IMO. Honestly, I wonder if the cast was told they were lovers but to never actually state that they are in interviews.
 

jgwhiteus

Member
So you basically interpret it the way according to your personal beliefs or preferences but OP asked if it's canon!?

I think "canon" means "intended by the creators", not "so obvious and blatant that there's no room for debate as to meaning or interpretation".

The creators can intend something but still have it be ambiguous or open to interpretation by the audience. In this case people are discussing whether it was the creator's intention for the relationship to be romantic, and they're pointing to different scenes and evidence to support their view that this was the creator's intention.
 
I pegged it as the sort of soft-lesbian romance you see in a lot of anime/manga. SE wasn't brave enough to have a straight up lesbian couple, so they resort to the usual subtext.

A lot of my friends who played it pretty much thought of it the same way.

Always thought it was funny, though, that a lot of the fanfiction around FF13's release was all Fang/Light. I guess FF writers loved to see the two strong females together.
 

Shard

XBLAnnoyance
I pegged it as the sort of soft-lesbian romance you see in a lot of anime/manga. SE wasn't brave enough to have a straight up lesbian couple, so they resort to the usual subtext.

A lot of my friends who played it pretty much thought of it the same way.

Always thought it was funny, though, that a lot of the fanfiction around FF13's release was all Fang/Light. I guess FF writers loved to see the two strong females together.

Also a better choice then Vanelle.
 
That is the thing when it comes to gay and lesbian relationships as they are often times written in coded ways to hide that very thing because of unfortunate rationales. If we are talking about the subject of canonicity, then find me the statement from the creators stating that Vanille and Fang are or are not a couple. If none such exists then this entire thread has been filled when personal interpretation that has varied wildly.

It's in the name of the thread "Fang and Vanille...is it canon?".
 
I think "canon" means "intended by the creators", not "so obvious and blatant that there's no room for debate as to meaning or interpretation".

The creators can intend something but still have it be ambiguous or open to interpretation by the audience. In this case people are discussing whether it was the creator's intention for the relationship to be romantic, and they're pointing to different scenes and evidence to support their view that this was the creator's intention.

So we are back to highschool where we discuss if one expression of the cute girl/boy meant this or that.
 
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