Rinoa: Heart Like An Angel

AN OVERVIEW
Rinoa is a very captivating, friendly, and playful people-person most of the time and does best with the support of other people.
She's spoiled and always gets what she wants. ^_~ She's very stubborn; when she wants something she'll get it or die trying.
At the core, she's a good person. She's driven by her feelings.. in fact she thinks with her heart instead of her head. She's the kind of person who wants everyone to get along..
.. Unless of course she's mad. Her fits of anger are uncommon, but when someone ticks her off (.ie. Squall, being his usual cold self :P), you had better watch out. Because she's driven by her feelings, she speaks her mind without reservation; if you're doing what she sees as wrong, she will attack you for it.
She's very verbal with her opinions, and will make them known regardless of how other people react - despite the fact that she's scared of being alone.

THE IMPORTANCE OF OTHERS
People seem to have an attraction to Rinoa because of her heartfelt attitude.. Her honesty and sweet demeanor make her, I dunno.. "lovable" in some sense. She's so sweet that you can't help but love her. She's the kind of person who would give someone a hug upon first meeting them (even if they don't really want one - SQUALL ^^). She's definately a people person and thrives in situations with other people.
And Rinoa is something of a catalyst. She has the ability to bring out the better in others - she came into Squall's life and turned his world upside down, and made him see how empty his life really was without friendship and love; and it seems that when Seifer was around her he was actually nice and not such an asshole (well, she saw something in him.. :P) and perhaps this resulted from her company. It seems the girl can understand and empathize with people.
But she also doesn't do very well alone, and in Deling City she almost gets killed because she can't fight by herself: "I was scared... Really scared. I couldn't... I just couldn't. I couldn't fight alone..." Perhaps this results from inner insecurites that never surface - she needs people to help her be strong. And maybe she requires affection because her father never supported her.. and of course she had no mother to do so. She is scared to death of being rejected, feared, and isolated. Upon receiving her "powers," she's terrified. And sometimes I wonder if she wanted to get blasted into space not only because she was such a threat (which I'm sure had the most to do with it) but also because she'd rather die than be isolated like that. She loves people and it kills her to think of being feared that way.

I ALWAYS GET WHAT I WANT
Rinoa is VERY spoiled. But only in a material posessions kind of way, and she doesn't ever really.. whine. When observing Rinoa's interactions with those who are her good friends we get to know this new side of the so-called angel, that she only displays with those she's very close to. ^_- Must I restate: Rinoa is very, very, very spoiled. And no matter what that Zone says about being the leader of the Forest Owls, I think it's no contest to see who's really in control around the base: Rinoa. ^^ The only person with her own room, her own friends so scared to wake her up from her nap that they send their new mercenary off to do it..
She's also very persistent in whatever she does. I get the feeling that if Rinoa wants something, she ALWAYS ends up getting it. She's very stubborn. And this is why she manages to charm Squall in the first place - she couldn't have done that if she hadn't kept at it. ^_-
The reason why I think people tend to dislike her is because they blow this part of her personality out of proportion. I think it helps to restate that yes, she's spoiled; and yes, she's stubborn; but she's not bratty or whiny. There's a fine line between the two but I don't think she crosses it.. This is only one half of her personality anyway. (The worse half. ^^;;)

MATTERS OF THE HEART
Rinoa seems unselfish and would do a lot for the people or cause she cares about. She follows her heart instead of her head.. Her emotions instead of reason. She isn't stupid, and can make decisions on her own, but has kind of an "innocent" quality to her. There are some weaknesses that come with this though. She doesn't think of what could happen on account of her actions and she does things without thinking them through, and finds herself in nasty situations because of it. However, she has a mind and can think for herself.. She just tries to do what's right. She'd never go along with something she didn't like or rely on someone else's opinion instead of her own. She can stick up for herself and take care of herself.

I DON'T CARE WHAT THEY SAY..
Maybe because she's driven by her feelings, Rinoa adds new meaning to the expression "wearing your heart on your sleeve". You can always tell what she's feeling.. She keeps no emotions hidden and always expresses her feelings, whether it be sadness, anger, happiness, etc. ^^ If she loves someone, she'll tell them. If she thinks there's something wrong, she won't hesitate to say it. But she isn't moody. She's generally happy, and if she's not, she always gives us a good reason as to why. Rinoa doesn't bitch and whine just for the sake of bitching and whining. :P
This gives her an almost childlike quality.. Remember when you were a kid, and you'd always say what was on your mind; and then as you got older you wouldn't for fear of what people would say, or you thought it wasn't important, or whatever? Rinoa retains this quality. She doesn't care what people are going to say. Or maybe she does care.. but she's strong enough to be herself anyway. I find that very admirable. She's childlike, as opposed to childish!

.. AS LONG AS THEY DON'T LEAVE ME
Yet Rinoa also seems very, very insecure at times and sometimes doubts her abilities. She can be strong by herself, but can be much stronger with someone to be there for her, support her, believe in her, approve of her, or like her. With someone by her side she could take on the world; she admits it herself. And although she fears the thought of being rejected, she still never ceases to be herself and speak her mind. Like I said before.. It's impressive; Rinoa's insecurities have no effect on her opinions - she thinks whatever she wants regardless of what people say. She would never passively follow something if she felt it morally wrong.

AN OPINION FROM YOURS TRULY
(Not that this whole thing isn't opinion.. I guess this is more like "defense" or something. ^^) Some people tend to think of Rinoa as whiny and clingy.. But it's really just a matter of opinion, and of how you look at things. I always thought of her as just really stubborn.. The way she came into Squall's dormitory in the morning and persuaded him to take her for a tour of Garden - was she whiny then? Not in my opinion. Wanting to express her feelings, yes.. Stubborn, yes.. she wanted to be around and get to know him, and so she did. She didn't come in and say "Oh Squall my dear darling~ Take me for a walk, oh please oh please, or I'll die of loneliness!" correct? I didn't think of it as her whining to him, more like her persuading him, but not bitching to him about how she wanted a walk. And some people I suppose find her annoying - but I'd never call Rinoa whiny. Emotional or insecure, yes. Maybe vulnerable. (And spoiled. ^_-) But I don't find her emotionally weak at all! She doesn't expect people to SOLVE her problems for her! She just wants support and help - and even then she doesn't violently demand it. She gives as good as she takes. I just don't think someone who does so much in a resistance movement, and constantly tries to do the right thing for other people, can simply be brushed aside as "an annoying, bratty, and whiny typical damsel in distress." Yes, she does happen to get into life-threatening situations where people come and save her (namely Squall), but she's the game's female lead. :P Doesn't Garnet from FF9 get into at least one similar situation? And besides, 3/4 situations in which Rinoa found herself in weren't her fault. (I don't really think it was her fault that she just happened to be the one that inherited Edea's powers, that she just happened to be standing on part of the Garden that fell apart suddenly, or that it was her fault for getting possessed by Ultimecia. :P) If anything, I think Rinoa would be more concerned with the feelings and problems of those around her, more so than herself. Yes, she does rely on other people sometimes, but it's part of her personality and probably results from her childhood. She isn't emotionally weak, because she can stick up for herself and she has her own beliefs which she firmly stands to.
Sorry.. I just get so sick and tired of this stupid bashing when people refuse to see Rinoa from a different light. >:P

But all in all, she's Rinoa - emotional, compassionate, stubborn, insecure, innocent, the girl who constantly wears her heart on her sleeve. And there really is no other person quite like her.

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