Author Topic: Kid's Clothing and Background  (Read 8062 times)

Magus22

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Kid's Clothing and Background
« on: May 09, 2006, 11:21:28 am »
Having read the encylopedia (amazing) and reflecting on how to describe how the warm-hearted little girl before the burning house incident with Lynx, changed to a radical rough and tempered girl. Do keep in mind that I am aware of Kid's overwhelming revenge on Lynx. The timeline in which I am talking about is the gap in between when Lucca's Orphanage was burned to the ground until we met up with Serge on Cape Howl.

A couple general questions to go in depth about.

Kid's articles of clothing represent confusion, but was it her free mind or expression about something that made her wear clothing of that type? Was it a outside influence with someone she met up with after Lucca's Orphanage incident?

The white make-up she wears on her arms and face, do they represent something other than just random expression?


I was wondering if we could break away from the current topics we have engaged in and try and reflect on something we all know about.

V_Translanka

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Re: Kid's Clothing and Background
« Reply #1 on: May 09, 2006, 05:18:17 pm »
I always figured that her clothes represented her, Kid being a ho & a theif. The white paint was obviously some kind of markings representing her willingness to take it in the face...?

Zaperking

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Re: Kid's Clothing and Background
« Reply #2 on: May 09, 2006, 06:57:48 pm »
I always figured that her clothes represented her, Kid being a ho & a theif. The white paint was obviously some kind of markings representing her willingness to take it in the face...?

I LOLED!

Thats is soo true XD

Schala > Kid.

Lynx

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Re: Kid's Clothing and Background
« Reply #3 on: May 09, 2006, 08:14:57 pm »
what I think

Her outfit is mostly red beacuse red is a color assosatied with anger and passion
The white marks on her face are war paint she is at war with Lynx to get revenge, as to where she got the idea for these clothes I do not know.

grey_the_angel

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Re: Kid's Clothing and Background
« Reply #4 on: May 09, 2006, 09:51:22 pm »
I always figured that her clothes represented her, Kid being a ho & a theif. The white paint was obviously some kind of markings representing her willingness to take it in the face...?
actually I don't think she's a ho. I mean, she threaten serge's ass if he tried anything.

hell, I think she's a virgin.

(actually, truth is, I don't like people bad mouthing my girl and my boy.)
« Last Edit: May 10, 2006, 03:45:12 am by grey_the_angel »

Burning Zeppelin

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Re: Kid's Clothing and Background
« Reply #5 on: May 10, 2006, 05:09:38 am »
The outfit is mostly to do with the Thief class. In every Square game a [female] thief would have that kind of clothing. Examples:

And, err

...you get the point. That style of clothing is supposed to be agile (less clothes does not necessarily mean more freedom in movement) and therefore suits a thief.

And plus, they're all ho's anyway. I mean, Zidane did pinch Garnets ass.

Magus22

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Re: Kid's Clothing and Background
« Reply #6 on: May 10, 2006, 11:11:47 am »
Thanks for the feedback all.

Can anyone offer up their assumption as to why though (of course she's a thief and dress code is obvious as to other RPG games) like how or why she had done those things to herself?

Lynx, I like your idea a lot.

I was wondering if she came into like a pirate group or other rouge bands before the Radical Dreamers. She is skilled with a knife and thievery. Any more ideas other than her being a ho or a virgin? :o

grey_the_angel

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Re: Kid's Clothing and Background
« Reply #7 on: May 10, 2006, 07:18:21 pm »
The outfit is mostly to do with the Thief class. In every Square game a [female] thief would have that kind of clothing. Examples:

And, err

...you get the point. That style of clothing is supposed to be agile (less clothes does not necessarily mean more freedom in movement) and therefore suits a thief.

And plus, they're all ho's anyway. I mean, Zidane did pinch Garnets ass.
I dunno, she kinda reminds me of rikku: she dresses the part, but doesn't completely act it.

Like I said, tara strong (rikku's VA) with an aussie accent: TOTALLY KID, no?

Burning Zeppelin

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Re: Kid's Clothing and Background
« Reply #8 on: May 11, 2006, 04:55:46 am »
What, doesn't she remind you of Zidane?
Any more ideas other than her being a ho or a virgin? :o
No. I mean, we have to prove either that she is a virgin, or that she is a ho. You can't be both.



Can you?

grey_the_angel

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Re: Kid's Clothing and Background
« Reply #9 on: May 11, 2006, 06:03:46 am »
What, doesn't she remind you of Zidane?
Any more ideas other than her being a ho or a virgin? :o
No. I mean, we have to prove either that she is a virgin, or that she is a ho. You can't be both.



Can you?
The swift kick in the balls to serge was enough for me.

Magus22

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Re: Kid's Clothing and Background
« Reply #10 on: May 11, 2006, 11:11:10 am »
(sigh) Nevermind...


Well, in Radical Dreamers, she was never kissed before, in fact she hated it. So I am probably guessing that Kid really hasn't done anything yet. But by all means, let the speculation continue! Kid is NOT a ho-bag but I don't think anyone cares rather she has had sexual relationships with other people.

Must you know for your devilish dream fantasies??
« Last Edit: May 11, 2006, 11:18:04 am by Magus22 »

Zaperking

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Re: Kid's Clothing and Background
« Reply #11 on: May 11, 2006, 06:38:09 pm »
In RD, Kid was much more innocent. She was the direct reincarnation of Schala. Look at her clothes different to CC. They're more modest, less revealing and looks normal. Just like adventurer clothes.

ChronoMagus

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Re: Kid's Clothing and Background
« Reply #12 on: May 11, 2006, 06:40:38 pm »
Everyone knows modest clothes dont sell to the larger market portion...

So maybe its a marketing technique? 

ZeaLitY

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Re: Kid's Clothing and Background
« Reply #13 on: May 11, 2006, 10:25:00 pm »
This topic went to hell, and the premise was tenuous anyhow. I've moved it to Chrono / Gameplay to save myself some trouble when I have to read through all of these analysis topics made since March 2006.

Lord J Esq

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Re: Kid's Clothing and Background
« Reply #14 on: May 11, 2006, 11:32:05 pm »
When it comes to discovering any underlying meaning in Kid's clothes--no wisecracks, Zeppy--a good place to begin would be Radical Dreamers. Here is where Kid first appeared, and her incipient character development may shed some clues on this enigma. From our very own Encyclopedia Chronotica, here are a few Kid screenshots from RD:



Right away we can see that the short skirt was there from the beginning, but that her outfit featured rich greens with vibrant red accents rather than a heavy red dominance.

Kid's short skirt, if I were to guess, is short first and foremost because she's the female lead--and one of only two significant women in the entire game. That's just de rigueur in contemporary RPGs, I'm afraid. Japan's entertainment media have been as guilty as America's when it comes to salaciously underdressing women for the purpose of satisfying cultural norms, indulging the writers' imaginations, and boosting audience size. Showing off overly-skinny women's thighs is as Japanese as green tea and baseball. It doesn't matter if those women are surgeons, armored warriors, space cadets...

But is there an in character explanation for Kid's clothing style? Maybe. Look at Serge's and Magil's clothes. Both of their attires are ornate and elaborate, and yet quite conservative when it comes to showing off their bodies in a sexual sense. These males look concealed and powerful--you wouldn't want to fuck with them. Contrast that to Kid's much bawdier outfit, which makes her look spunky and striking. That's supposed to be attractive. That's a woman whom you--as a male--would like to get to know better. Consider that the playable character, Serge, has a crush on Kid throughout the game, and voila! Quod erat demonstrandum. To me it all suggests gender stereotypes in play. In this case the men are represented by their clothes, and Kid by hers. The gender stereotypes in question associate power with males, and beauty with females. Kid's bright colors and exposed thighs reinforce not only her beauty, but the (stereotypical) concept of feminine nature.

Of course there are many kinds of gender stereotypes. Kid's "bad girl" or "thief" attire is just one of many ways in which women are stereotyped. So let's focus on it in greater detail, to try and flesh it out. The "good girl in bad clothes" schtick is a common technique in Japan as well as in the United States. In Japanese culture in particular, depicting a nubile woman as tough-looking, hard-as-nails, and bawdy often implies that she conceals some deep pain in her past, or shoulders some other kind of burden that has inevitably forced her to develop that harsh exterior. This certainly fits Kid's description: She wears skimpy clothes, fights with a knife, steals things, disrespects authority, and uses crude language--and yet she is still good on the inside. We saw proof of that in all three Chrono games. Her predecessor, Schala, was a stereotypical "pure and virtuous female," and Kid's spirit is made out of the same stuff as Schala's--the difference being that Kid has lived a hard life and has mostly been "on her own." But in the end Kid is still a soft, sensual, vulnerable, and virtuous woman, which is in accordance with what I know of Japanese gender roles. (It isn't so foreign a concept to the American model, either.)

So Kid is harsh, and, with respect to our conversation in particular, she dresses bawdily. Does this imply she has a sex life? Maybe, but only if my speculation thus far has been wrong or incomplete. If Kid is a "good girl in bad clothes," then she has probably not been promiscuous. I say this from the perspective of those who designed the game, mindful of their cultural values. Personally, I find it sexist and derogatory to judge a woman's character on the basis of whether she has had sex. Nevertheless, many people do make that judgment, and in Japan these prejudices lead to feminine ideals not unlike our own. Taking the entirety of RD into consideration, I would therefore suppose that Kid's skimpy garb is ironic rather than literal. (It's been awhile since you saw "irony" used in the academic sense, hasn't it?)

That covers the Kid from Radical Dreamers. Now what about the Kid from Chrono Cross, whose skirt is even shorter and whose face is painted white, as aforementioned in this thread? I for one see little difference between the two. Her story is basically the same in both games, and her mannerisms are also quite similar. So in the end I would conclude that CC's Kid's bright red outfit with the short skirt is indicative of the troubled difference between Kid's ideal form and her present life.