The Glue That Keeps Us Together
The Glue That Keeps Us Together
~from another DA journal of mine
All groups (be they real or fictional) usually have a leader, an idiot (and I mean that in the nicest way possible), the strong man, the reserved and quiet one, and the insanely cheery person. This group dynamic first came to my attention when I started watching Teen Titans, and since then I've realized that it can be applied to Power Rangers, Digimon, Sailor Moon, etc. Sometimes the roles change or blend into one, but they're always there. I have also come to realize that people usually have a strong dislike for the obnoxious, happy person, myself included. I sat down and thought about this. Why do I dislike them? Is it because they are my opposite and annoy the crap out of me? Yeah, probably, but maybe it's because to some extent that I'm jealous that they can be that carefree. However, as I have come to learn, a lot of the time, these characters are not as carefree as they'd like people to believe.
Take the case of Yuffie Kisaragi from Final Fantasy VII. I've met quite a few people that dislike her a lot and I couldn't understand why. Then it occurred to me that they dislike her for the same reason that I dislike Starfire from Teen Titans.....she's cheery beyond belief. So why do I like Yuffie and not Starfire? I like Starfire now, but when I was younger and going through that "I hate everything" stage I couldn't stand her. Going back and watching the cartoons, yes, she is still cheerful but a lot of times it was not because she felt like it but because she HAD to be. Same with Yuffie.
The AVALANCHE group went through hell and back, not once, but three times. All the characters in the group had ghosts that haunted them. Cloud had Zack and Aerith. Tifa was riddled with doubt about her relationship with Cloud and the need to fix him. Vincent has Lucrecia, the experiments, and what he considers his sins. Barret has Marlene and what happened to his arm and her parents. Cid's dreams were ruined by Shinra. Reeve was Shinra's puppet for a time. Red was experimented on by Hojo, just like Vincent. And then there's Yuffie, the hyperactive ninja with klepto tendencies. I don't know why, but it seems that people overlook Yuffie's backstory. It is not told in great detail, but there are some things that we can gather from it.
So what is known about Yuffie?
She was born near the end of the Wutai War, which means that she grew up in a devastated country suffering economic problems and instability. Her mother died when she was younger, which would more than likely have left a scar on her had she been old enough to remember her or not. Her father would certainly have been depressed and Yuffie, being his child, would have been affected by this. She has to watch as Shinra turns her country into a mockery of what it had once been. Maybe it was a combination of these factors that led to her obsession of materia; her home was broken in more ways than one and you can hardly expect someone to come out of a situation like that without a few oddities. So yes, while she may not have Vincent's "sins," Cloud's guilt, and Tifa's doubt, the fact remains that Yuffie has had a tough time.
So why does she keep smiling? Why does Starfire smile? Why does Rikku, from Final Fantasy X continue to smile even after Home is destroyed? Yes, Rikku does have an emotional breakdown, but she returns to her smiling self and continues to help the others, despite the loss of Home and the impending death of Yuna. Simple. They know that without that one person seemingly untouched by tragedy and unburdened by guilt, the group would collapse. People need that one person, the person who smiles while everyone else cries, and believes in the best when everyone else is watching the clock count down to the end. They have to have enough cheerfulness for everyone, and that sometimes comes off as obnoxious. They are the seemingly only sane person in the party of the crazy, wacked people that make up the group.
Remember when Starfire left in "How Long is Forever"? What happened? Did the Titans stay together? No, they did not. As much as I disliked Starfire at the time of originally seeing the episode, it made me see that she was the glue of the group. She might not have been the brilliant tactician that Robin was or the mature person that Raven was, but she was needed just the same. Her smiles kept them together. What about Beast Boy? True, he was the comedic relief, but there is that innocence that Starfire, Yuffie, and Rikku possess that allow them to fill the role the "glue." They needed her.
Yuffie is also hyper and optimistic because of her age. In FFVII she is 16. She is 18 in AC, and 19 in DoC. When I got out of the "I hate everything" stage I was the same way. Smiling is also a defense against one's own insecurities; it creates the illusion that everything is ok and people don't pry. How do I know? Because I was that way, and so were some of my friends. It is quite possible that Yuffie is not as happy as she pretends to be. Just look at Rikku. Under her childish behavior she was worried sick about her cousin. Starfire had her moments when she was greatly distressed about something and hid it from the group as well. Yuffie could very likely be doing the same. Yuffie is the youngest in her group and is such is treated as a child. That probably doesn't do her self-esteem any help. Those insecurities would have to come out sometime, however, and based on what I've seen, it would be an upsetting affair for both her and the people close to her.
I believe that if they continue with the FF VII franchise, we'll see Yuffie in a more grownup and mature light. She was already more mature in DoC, at least in my opinion. She was concerned with Vincent more than materia. Oh, and I'm not just writing this because I like Yuffie with Vincent. Yes, I do like them together for reasons to be explained later.
Yuffie has a monster (pardon the pun) crush on Vincent. It is obvious throughout Dirge that she cares deeply for him. This is probably the first time she has felt something this strong in her life. I don't think Vincent treats her like a child that much either. I think that they are more alike than people would think as well. Just look at Yuffie's backstory. She knows pain, fear, isolation, death, and suffering. She fought Sephiroth, dealt with the events in AC, and was at Vincent's side in Dirge. If they were to continue on, I believe her crush would become something more, something deeper. While I prefer RobinRaven, the same thing goes for RobinStarfire. Robin had a dark, troubled past and he's determined to make up for his perceived weaknesses. Along comes Starfire. She may not completely understand his past, but she is willing to accept Robin as he is and help him like himself. She gets angry with him at times, and Robin gets mad at her. Is that natural? Perfectly so. The same can be said of Beast Boy and Raven (
you may rejoice now).
The idea of Yin and Yang fits Yuffentine, RobinStar, and BBRae to some degree. However, each of the cheery part of the pair has their own ghosts to deal with too. Just because they don't express it doesn't mean it's not there. Without Yuffie, I think that AVALANCHE would be different; I honestly think they all would have gone insane had it not been for the one person that smiled. Same for Starfire and the Titans, and Riku and the Guardians.
If I had to say anything about Yuffie and Vincent, I'd have to say that they are compliments; they accentuate each other. They represent the part that the other is trying desperately to hide. They need the other to keep them grounded to the earth and remind them of who they are. Yuffie is more than a bratty ninja princess and Vincent is more than a mopey beanbag of a gunman.
While I often find that cheery person annoying myself and would like to shut them up, I realize now that that in itself distracts me from my sorrows. Why? Because I'm too busy being irritated! A lot of the times, I end up laughing despite myself and things look better off.
I may add more to this later as things formulate in my mind. A lot of the time I have a lot to say, but can't express it all at once.