ℵ musings
Not sure why I'm posting this here, but I feel like it's relevant. Why? Because I've figured out what to do if we decide to bring Serah back for good, and it's too large for slapping on the other post.
Let's pretend for a second that this weren't all AU. That she came back at the end of the game and we went from there. I think that Snow and Lightning would be able to wind up together, anyway. How, you ask?
It's simple.
The reason Snow and Serah worked out to begin with was because they had fun. Not because they were suitable to be together forever. They had fun, and they were physically attracted to one another of course. There are a whole mess of signs ingame and in the pregame novel thing that show that Snow and Serah were hardly a serious relationship.
Before the events of XIII, I don’t think anyone really got ‘deep’ with Snow. He's really straightforward, but as such, he comes off as... well, a guy without a ton of layers. Even those he’s grown up with only ever really see gamefaced Snow, so to speak. They talk, but not about anything deeper than NORA’s next strategy. And then Serah came along, but I really think that even with her, things were still ‘surface-level’. They fell in love before they ever really knew each other, as young couples tend to do. Their 'love' was strong, but when things got rough, they still hadn’t gotten out of the ‘new and exciting’ stage. That’s why, when Serah became a l’Cie, she felt like she had to break up with Snow rather than feeling like she could tell him and he’d help her/be there for her. I’m almost positive it’s because Snow didn’t let her any deeper than he let anyone else, and I’m also almost positive that’s because he didn’t know how to. Though they were in love, when things got ‘real’ for her, she felt like he wouldn’t be able to handle it. That started a change that slowly overtook him throughout the game (though, I note, did not change him entirely), one in which he built more depth in himself and his relationships with others, and one in which he proved his infatuation with Serah was more than that.
That brings me to the next point: Snow's changed a hell of a lot since Serah turned into a crystal. He's matured, he's learned how better to handle what life throws at him... And his relationship with Serah is one of the few cases in which that's a detriment. Why? Because she was younger than him to begin with. He was twenty-one and the leader of a group of rebels who fought for a cause. She was... Well, let's be honest, she was a schoolgirl. Before he became a l'Cie, he was immature enough that the age difference wasn't so terrible. But the fact of the matter stands that once he went through the journey to save the world, she was still just a small-town schoolgirl. What was once fun and easy would be... off, somehow. She's mature for her age, maybe, but no matter how mature she might be, she still hasn't been where he's been. Hasn't seen what he's seen. Even if they had been the same age when she'd turned to crystal, he might as well have come back fifteen years older. Because he's seen the world, fought the world, and her biggest worry is going to college.
Don't get me wrong: I know they'd get married. Snow's 'too stubborn to die', and that carries over into all other sorts of giving up. He'd push himself to death and let himself be miserable before he'd end something he fought the world itself to save. And Serah might not even realize the difference in him. Of course, she would some, but... she wasn't there to see him through it, so she can't possibly understand.
But after they're married, things wouldn't be quite right. They wouldn't be connected like they used to be. Serah wouldn't quite understand the gravity of what he could say about his time as a l'Cie, and Snow wouldn't quite be able to worry about her schoolwork like she needs him to. They'd have the hardest time being able to relate about much of anything, anymore. And because of it, they'd drift apart.
In summary, I feel like Snow's time as a l'Cie was homicide on his relationship with Serah, even if it did make him grow a ton as a human being.
But what would happen?
Snow and Serah would stick with it for a while, but Snow would hardly be able to flourish. He'd be like a flower with just barely enough care to survive, not dying but not looking so happy either. Serah's a smart girl; she'd be able to tell that he's somehow unhappy, and it'd kill her inside, because she'd know that whatever it is he needs is something she can't give him.
Lightning would probably talk to Serah, when it got bad enough. She'd be upset that he's not making her happy, but she'd be able to recognize that he's not in the best shape either.
Either way, they'd wind up getting a divorce. Neither of them feel like they can give the other what they need, and that's not fair at all. I'm sure they'd try to be friends still, but the only reason they still talked was because they were married, anyway. She couldn't fight, she wasn't a rebel... There'd be nothing to be friends about.
This is just me, but I can really see Yuj doing damage control... but on Serah rather than Snow. Snow would've blown it off, being more HERO HERO HERO than ever, but Serah's ~sensitive~. She'd be totally receptive to his kindness. And I could actually totally see her and Yuj realistically getting together in the end.
Thus concludes my rambling. o7
Let's pretend for a second that this weren't all AU. That she came back at the end of the game and we went from there. I think that Snow and Lightning would be able to wind up together, anyway. How, you ask?
It's simple.
The reason Snow and Serah worked out to begin with was because they had fun. Not because they were suitable to be together forever. They had fun, and they were physically attracted to one another of course. There are a whole mess of signs ingame and in the pregame novel thing that show that Snow and Serah were hardly a serious relationship.
Before the events of XIII, I don’t think anyone really got ‘deep’ with Snow. He's really straightforward, but as such, he comes off as... well, a guy without a ton of layers. Even those he’s grown up with only ever really see gamefaced Snow, so to speak. They talk, but not about anything deeper than NORA’s next strategy. And then Serah came along, but I really think that even with her, things were still ‘surface-level’. They fell in love before they ever really knew each other, as young couples tend to do. Their 'love' was strong, but when things got rough, they still hadn’t gotten out of the ‘new and exciting’ stage. That’s why, when Serah became a l’Cie, she felt like she had to break up with Snow rather than feeling like she could tell him and he’d help her/be there for her. I’m almost positive it’s because Snow didn’t let her any deeper than he let anyone else, and I’m also almost positive that’s because he didn’t know how to. Though they were in love, when things got ‘real’ for her, she felt like he wouldn’t be able to handle it. That started a change that slowly overtook him throughout the game (though, I note, did not change him entirely), one in which he built more depth in himself and his relationships with others, and one in which he proved his infatuation with Serah was more than that.
That brings me to the next point: Snow's changed a hell of a lot since Serah turned into a crystal. He's matured, he's learned how better to handle what life throws at him... And his relationship with Serah is one of the few cases in which that's a detriment. Why? Because she was younger than him to begin with. He was twenty-one and the leader of a group of rebels who fought for a cause. She was... Well, let's be honest, she was a schoolgirl. Before he became a l'Cie, he was immature enough that the age difference wasn't so terrible. But the fact of the matter stands that once he went through the journey to save the world, she was still just a small-town schoolgirl. What was once fun and easy would be... off, somehow. She's mature for her age, maybe, but no matter how mature she might be, she still hasn't been where he's been. Hasn't seen what he's seen. Even if they had been the same age when she'd turned to crystal, he might as well have come back fifteen years older. Because he's seen the world, fought the world, and her biggest worry is going to college.
Don't get me wrong: I know they'd get married. Snow's 'too stubborn to die', and that carries over into all other sorts of giving up. He'd push himself to death and let himself be miserable before he'd end something he fought the world itself to save. And Serah might not even realize the difference in him. Of course, she would some, but... she wasn't there to see him through it, so she can't possibly understand.
But after they're married, things wouldn't be quite right. They wouldn't be connected like they used to be. Serah wouldn't quite understand the gravity of what he could say about his time as a l'Cie, and Snow wouldn't quite be able to worry about her schoolwork like she needs him to. They'd have the hardest time being able to relate about much of anything, anymore. And because of it, they'd drift apart.
In summary, I feel like Snow's time as a l'Cie was homicide on his relationship with Serah, even if it did make him grow a ton as a human being.
But what would happen?
Snow and Serah would stick with it for a while, but Snow would hardly be able to flourish. He'd be like a flower with just barely enough care to survive, not dying but not looking so happy either. Serah's a smart girl; she'd be able to tell that he's somehow unhappy, and it'd kill her inside, because she'd know that whatever it is he needs is something she can't give him.
Lightning would probably talk to Serah, when it got bad enough. She'd be upset that he's not making her happy, but she'd be able to recognize that he's not in the best shape either.
Either way, they'd wind up getting a divorce. Neither of them feel like they can give the other what they need, and that's not fair at all. I'm sure they'd try to be friends still, but the only reason they still talked was because they were married, anyway. She couldn't fight, she wasn't a rebel... There'd be nothing to be friends about.
This is just me, but I can really see Yuj doing damage control... but on Serah rather than Snow. Snow would've blown it off, being more HERO HERO HERO than ever, but Serah's ~sensitive~. She'd be totally receptive to his kindness. And I could actually totally see her and Yuj realistically getting together in the end.
Thus concludes my rambling. o7