AU Rinoa (ff8)

mixing the fake headcanons that she's Ultimecia with the truth

Trigger warnings:  nothing comes to mind.

Canon divergences / my portrayal

A straight up AU dark Rinoa from ff8 who (and this has zero to do with the game itself) gets trapped in the loop that should turn her into Ultimecia: she's alone for who knows how long in the void, then gets shot into a future time from her original timeline, alone, feels abandoned, scared, and there is the past/future Ultimecia whispering in her ear that she should turn to the dark arts, that she's unwanted, that everyone she loved died, including the knight that was meant to keep her safe.
She caves, and then she's sent back into the past - except, still a couple of years after the events of the game, where she wreaks some havoc once again before finding out everyone is alive.

She feels she doesn't fit in anymore, but the old Rinoa's love for her friends and for Squall is fighting it, so she's hiding in the darkness, looking for ways to return to her future because it hurts less than to stay in a past where she doesn't belong anymore. 

Added: June 21st 2026