Fayt/Maria (Star Ocean 3: Till the End of Time)

[krile.livejournal.com]

Title: Someone Like Me
Author: krile
Pairing: Fayt Leingod/Maria Traydor
Fandom: Star Ocean 3: Till the End of Time
Spoilers: The entire game, including the Maria ending

Someone Like Me - In Support of Fayt/Maria

Star Ocean 3:

Till the End of Time, the third (and rumored to be final) game in the sci-fi RPG series known as Star Ocean, starts off similarly to its predecessors: A young man living in a futuristic setting suddenly gets thrust into a world that appears to still be several hundred years behind the times.

In this particular installment, one Fayt Leingod finds himself chased practically halfway across the galaxy in what he thinks is just an attack on the planet he was vacationing on. Little does he know that they were, in fact, looking for him. Maybe Fayt isn’t as average as he once thought...

...And maybe, just maybe, the entire universe as he knows it might not be all that it seems, either...


Fayt Leingod (Fate Linegod in Japanese version):

Fayt: “You performed genetic engineering on her, just like you did to me.”



Fayt is the protagonist of the game - and one of the most “normal” main characters found in any RPG. He goes to college, loves to play video games and slack off, and generally acts like any typical teenager. However, he later learns of his father’s forbidden research - using him, Maria, and later Sophia as test subjects for symbolical genetic modification, Dr. Leingod (his father) hopes that the three of them will be able to save their galaxy from the upcoming attacks from this mysterious “4D Space”. Fayt may be a bit easygoing, but he still fights for what he believes in and won’t rest until he finds out the whole truth about himself, no matter how much it frustrates him. He possesses the power of Destruction.


Maria Traydor (Maria Traitor in Japanese version):

Maria: “Yes. Like Fayt, I too, am the product of Dr. Leingod's genetic engineering.”


Maria, unlike Fayt, did not grow up with a “normal” lifestyle. Abandoned (or, as Maria put it, “scheduled for disposal”) as a baby, she was raised by one of Dr. Leingod’s lab assistants and her husband until she was 12 years of age, when a war took away both her parents. She was then found and raised by Cliff Fittir (JP: Fitter) and Mirage Koas (JP: Coast), members of the anti-Federation organization, Quark, and later became their new leader. After learning about her powers, she sets out to find both Fayt and his father to learn why they were the subjects of such experiments. Personality-wise, she’s a lot more uptight and down-to-business than Fayt is, but deep down she’s still a caring person. She possesses the power of Alteration.


The Relationship:

Maria: “I analyzed every last bit of information in that database and learned the basic outline of the research. That's how I learned there was another subject who underwent symbolical genetic modification, just like me - you.”



Their relationship, though Fayt would never know it, had begun even prior to the game’s timeline. Maria, desperate to find out anything she could about her origins and her mysterious powers after the incident three years prior, searched frantically for anything - anything at all - that would clue her in about her shrouded past.

Maria: “I know who you are. Fayt Leingod. The only son of the universal authority on symbolical genetics, Professor Robert Leingod. Born on Earth, currently nineteen years of age. Favorite sport: basketball, position: point guard. Your favorite food is-”

Fayt: “Hang on just a second, how do you know so much about me...?”

Maria: “I did some research.”

Even while Maria resented Fayt’s father for experimenting on her in the first place, she always felt different towards Fayt himself, though her usual down-to-business attitude disguised her inner feelings well.

During the normal course of the game, their relationship doesn’t seem any different from most of the other characters’ - they become friends and allies, together with everyone else, and get along rather well for the most part, despite the difference in personality.

The inner subtext, however, is what defines this certain relationship - the quick glances, the way Maria looks away and ignores Fayt and Sophia’s reunion, and, obviously, the casual dialogue (as opposed to the direct story script).

Lieber’s Jealousy:

Lieber, though a very minor character in the game, manages to bring out a bit more information about Maria’s feelings towards Fayt we normally wouldn’t see from her - through his own jealousy.

Lieber, quite obviously, has a major crush on the leader of Quark, though he is too shy to confess his feelings for her. It certainly doesn’t help his cause that Maria is completely oblivious to his feelings. And, what makes matters even worse for Lieber, Maria spends a lot of her time thinking of this one “Fayt Leingod” character. Realizing that Fayt is an important person to her, he immediately harbors a strong dislike, almost hatred, towards him.



The above image was scanned and translated from a Japanese gag manga, titled Lieber’s Rival, which is part of an officially released Star Ocean 3 comic anthology. Although this is not actual game-canon, it still holds some truth of how Lieber feels towards Maria, Fayt, and the relationship.

Later, during one of the game’s optional Private Actions, Steeg and Marietta idly confront Fayt about Lieber’s actions, letting him know that there’s definitely major jealousy at play.

Steeg: “All that’s important to him is the fact that our leader saw you as another person in the same situation as herself. At the very least, she felt a certain sense of kinship with you. Maybe ‘affinity’ would be a better choice of words. Either way, you meant something special to her. That alone is enough to set him off.”

It may not by any means be a love triangle (though Lieber certainly thinks so), but it still brings out a third-person view of Maria’s feelings, giving us some more insight on how she feels about Fayt.

The Maria Ending:

Maria: “I want to live peacefully in a place where nobody knows who I am. I'm...tired of fighting. I want to find a special person, grow old together, and live out my life like anyone else.”

At the end of the game, if you managed to obtain the Fayt and Maria ending, you get to see one last scene between the two. This ending is, most likely, the most straightforward in terms of possible future relationships. Maria basically states, although not at all bluntly, that Fayt is her special person - the one she wants to spend the rest of her life with.


(Click here to see the rest of the screen captures.)

While no actual confessions of love take place, the flow of the script alone tells us that Maria has definitely fallen for Fayt, even if he does seem clueless about it. Fayt, after all, was the one who gave Maria hope - the one person that reminded her that she was certainly not alone.


Why It Works:

Unfortunately, Star Ocean 3 tends to remain on the slightly ambiguous side in terms of Fayt’s personal interactions with others, even with Private Actions (mostly so any possible ending he could have with others would seem plausible). On the plus side, this means that Fayt can work well with just about any of the characters if he were to ever commit to a relationship with one of them.

it’s Maria’s own personal feelings, though, that brings out their own interactions and possible relationship more into the open. While Fayt could work well enough with many of the game’s cast, Maria herself seems best fitted with Fayt, and only Fayt. And it only seems natural that Fayt and Maria would work well together, considering their connection and interactions.

Fayt/Maria may be a difficult pairing to understand on the outset, but all the implicit evidence in the game indicate that there’s definitely something there.


Siblings?:

There is much debate on whether or not Fayt and Maria are actually long-lost brother and sister, mostly triggered by the fact that they look a bit alike. Though the direct subject never even begins to surface in-game (besides the fact that Maria was adopted), there are still enough vague hints floating around that give the impression that there may be more than meets the eye.

While the evidence presented in the arguments seem valid enough on their own, however, they don’t really help in answering any of the questions; they just result in creating even more questions.

Even if it were true that they were related, the fact remains they never find out about it - there’s absolutely no indication whatsoever that any of the characters would even begin to think about the possible connections. As such, as far as Fayt and Maria are concerned, they aren’t related.

My personal thoughts? I really don’t care either way if they are related or not. Incest, while considered wrong to many, doesn’t faze me the slightest if under the right circumstances. So I’m all for Fayt and Maria’s relationship, regardless.

This line may be cliché and somewhat cheesy, but it still holds true - love knows no boundaries.


Why Support It?:

I’ll admit, I started liking the pairing immediately after hearing Maria’s first words spoken to Fayt. She knew every little detail about his general information, as if she had looked through and read his personal profiles over and over, and over yet again. It amused me that she was obviously infatuated with him upon a certain degree, even if it wasn’t romantically. Of course, the seemingly polar-difference in their personalities and lifestyles helped me like it, as well, since I’ve always had a personal preference for those kinds of relationships.

I only liked the pairing even more after their private conversations about their powers, showing how Maria had spent a considerable amount of time looking specifically for him. And after finding out from some of the other characters that Fayt was, in fact, special to Maria, I knew I had found my OTP (one true pairing).

Their ending was just rich, delicious icing on the cake - the only ending where anyone even begins to admit a certain amount of romantic feelings towards the other.

If anyone else should support it, it should be for these reasons, as well. After all, they have a ton of potential, both in game and for fan-based material. Expanding between the lines of the of the relationship is only part of what makes Fayt/Maria so intriguing in the first place. Take it from me.

(Another non-canon (but official) scan from the comic anthology)

Fayt: “First, let's introduce ourselves. I'm Fayt. This is Maria.”

Maria: “These guys are also with us.”

Cliff: “Hey, I have a name, too, you know!”


Fandom:

Unfortunately, the fandom over here is pretty small. SO3 fans tend to treat it more of a side-pairing in their works (if they write the pairing at all) than a main focus, and there is very little fanart. Incidentally, however, there used to be a fanlisting dedicated to the relationship, and had around 55 members before it closed down.

The Japanese, however, support the pairing a lot more. Although not official, Fayt/Maria seems to be one of the most popular het pairings in terms of sites, stories, and art dedicated to them, second only to Albel/Nel.

Fanfics:
- Only You by Sapphire Prism
- Always In My Heart by Sapphire Prism
- Fates Intertwined by James Ray Edwards
- Rekindle the Fire by Twilight Blues
- Swaying Emotions by Maiyoko Iwagashi

Fanart:
- Till the End of Time by kittycatmatt
- FaytxMaria - SO3 couple by everything-anime
- FaytxMaria by Oribella
- Fayt and Maria -digital- by Sailor-Nova-s
- SO3 On Styx by Nayru-chan

Sites:
(Note: all will be in Japanese; please don’t use any of their work without proper permission)
- Fate x Maria Revolution
- 銀竜亭
- Sweetie
- 瑠璃椿
- Wing Base
- キャンデリング

Comments

[alison-swift.livejournal.com]

GRAH. Now I just want to beat the game to see this all the more.
This sounds like a great pairing, very well written! I love it!

[krile.livejournal.com]

You have to work at getting the Maria ending, since you get a different ending depending on whoever has the most affection for you at the end of the game (determined by certain choices you make during the game; my first playthrough I messed up so I had Fayt by himself), but it's worth it.

Anyway, thanks! Glad you liked it.

[alison-swift.livejournal.com]

Oh thats so cool. I'm still trying to navigate through Kirlsa Caverns. XD i'm terrible at these games.

[annwyd.livejournal.com]

Fayt/Maria has always been my favorite het pairing in SO3. :) So it was awesome to see this essay here. I love the unspoken connection between them, the weird but inescapable bond they have, and I think you did a great job of capturing that.

[krile.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Yeah, Fayt/Maria definitely wasn't an in-your-face pairing, but looking between the lines you could really see the unspoken connection, as you put it. It's a big reason why Fayt/Maria is my favorite pairing in the first place, after all. ^_^

[(Anonymous)]

Personally, I don't believe in Fayt/Maria because my theory is that they're siblings. It's quite implied within the game itself, and another reason would be that my guilty pleasure is actually Albel/Fayt.

[krile.livejournal.com]

I'll agree with you there, it is implied, it's just not definite. For me, I don't care either way; they never find out anyway during the game even if it was true. Siblings or no, I fully support Fayt/Maria.

(Albel/Fayt isn't my OTP like Fayt/Maria is, but it is a guilty pleasure pairing of mine too, heh.)

[dirtberry.livejournal.com]

ZOMG I LOVE YOU FOR EVER FOR WRITING THIS MANIFESTO.
glomps you, and shoves flowers in your hands and all.

It's been a YEAR since i recall claiming and branding FaytxMaria as my blue-haired otp. (the one and only!) A year since I last played Star Ocean III, and by chance, I stumbled upon this one year ago, and haven't exactly brought myself around to read it and delve into what you've come up with all this while. And I'm glad I've finally decided to take this opportunity to revisit this manifesto...and boy, this is TOTALLY AWESOME material you've managed to rack up! I share similar sentiments with you on alot of aspects involving this blue-haired couple. (I like to call them the blue-two. Insert sheepish grin and all) Back then, when I went crazy for FaytxMaria, I was more than occasionally frustrated at the small (read: TINY) fandom and fanworks that sprouted in lieu of this blue-two. More often than not, I was often left alone to speculate on theories and crazy analyses involving those two. I'll never forget those days.

And here is your manifesto - reading this made me recall those awesome days again. (boy, I'm getting nostalgic) Maria remains my number one favorite female character of all time, and still is. There's no other like her in the RPG world, is there? XD Strong, sturdy, Quark leader, yet hiding a vulnerable, selfless heart deep within. And Fayt - often clueless to the extent he becomes funny. OTP? More than that. Fayt and Maria so totally belong together!

XD Sorry I'm babbling on and on. By any chance, you wouldn't even chance by what I've written since this has been posted a loooong time ago, but it's just hopeful little me. - grins -

Now that you've inspired me...maybe I just COULD give STTEOT another go on the ps2. faytxmaria! GLOMPS.

And yes, if it wasn't for Maria, I wouldn't have been fuelled with the desire (read: burning!) to complete the game with such fervor. Trust me on this one. It wasn't up till the point of the game where she appeared and materialized before Fayt and company, that totally got to me, and I went like :HOLY CRAP I'VE GOT TO FINISH THIS GAME JUST TO SEE FAYT AND MARIA END UP TOGETHER.

XD And I haven't regretted those moments once at all. Even though I didn't get the ending (SOPHIA! SOPHIA! rolls eyes and falls dead) I would have wanted, those subtle tiny moments between FaytxMaria in the game were enough to make the ride all worth it. Plus the stunning game plot and battle system Tri-Ace came up with itself.

Kudos to you. A manifesto I won't ever likely to forget for a while.

[krile.livejournal.com]

Hey, glad you liked it! ^_^ Fayt/Maria is one of my favorite OTPs of all time as well - I don't care about the little details or anything, they just ARE that good to me. It saddens me they don't get as much love as they should, but it's nice to hear from fans like you who truly enjoy what I enjoyed writing. OTP indeed ♥

You were lucky to get the Sophia ending, as I got the Fayt-by-himself ending my first playthrough. XD; But yes, the Maria one is one of the best, if not THE best. Because she's so honest, and he's so clueless... it's cute.

AHH now you make ME want to go back and play the game again. XD