An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII
Relationships: Selphie/Irvine, Selphie & Original Character
Characters: Selphie Tilmitt, Irvine Kinneas, Edea Kramer, Original Characters
Tags: Character Study, Childhood Trauma, Guardian Force Lore, Childhood Friends to Lovers, Boatloads of Headcanon, Canon-Typical Violence
Summary: After the fated battle against Ultimecia, Commander Squall Leonhart has tasked Selphie Tilmitt with an important project: figure out how to mitigate the memory issues caused by using the guardian forces. Her research leads to startling revelations about her past.
Why Selphie likes blowing things up.
This was written for Selphie’s FFVIII Character Week, inspired by the prompts “First Guardian Force,” “Trabia,” and “Special Magic.”
This is now my second in-depth character study one-shot and friends, it has been immensely fun and gratifying.
I’ve been looking forward to Selphie Week for a long, long time. On the one hand, I adore our little Explosion Girl. She’s charming, cute, and her penchant for violence is balanced by her silly love for rock bands, parties, and trains.
On the other hand, though, I feel like Selphie screams out something so much harder to grasp – her lightheartedness often toes the line of toxic positivity, and her fierce independence makes me question her ability to really connect with people.
When I look closely at Selphie, I see a mask that just barely conceals a loneliness that likely roots back to when she was a tiny kid. I loved exploring that in this piece, and I hope you enjoy it, too!
