INTRODUCTION
This is a gender-bended version of the events of the video game Final Fantasy VIII. The gender-bending is done by lead character Squall Leonhart. During their fight in the opening FMV, instead of just giving Squall a cut across the face, Seifer breaks a seal which has locked female Squall away (of course, Squall does not know this, she just thinks something about the fight turns her into a girl) for years. And, hopefully, everybody won't be surprised by the whole "Squall's a Sorceress" plot twist that should come obviously from anything related to FF8. (If you're reading this introduction, be pissed off at me for revealing several key plot moments.)
I'm not gonna lie to you. Just like the actual FF8, Love Can Ignite the Stars is a love story (duh), and one of the two lovers is Squall. Though still the main character in every way, Squall somewhat fills the "Rinoa" role of being the Sorceress that a character falls in love with. This character being Original Character Shibiru Hakashi. He and Squall fall in love in a big way (though it starts out quite stupid, I've gotta work on my romance a little, but it fills out okay for something I never intended to get this far), and that love is integral to the story. It forms a good portion of it.
Another portion is Squall's family. SPOILER ALERT Anybody who's played FF8 probably knows that Laguna is Squall's father. I'm just going to take a big risk and assume that everybody who reads this story has beaten (or at least gotten to disc 3 of) FF8. You should all know that Raine (from Winhill) is his mother, Laguna's his dad, and Ellone is his step-sister. This story takes some liberties. Laguna and Raine have two daughters in this story, Ellone and Squall. Both are actually biological kids (meaning they both came out of Raine and Laguna's their daddy). I use the conceit of Laguna taking leave in Winhill during his army service and he and Raine fall in love, pop comes Ellone, five years later, pop comes Squall and pop goes Raine. Along the way I tie in other pre-existing characters and introduce new ones.
The story unfolds in two paths (similar to the game). That of Laguna and how he raises his kids and why he has to leave them and those repercussions; and that of Squall and how she comes to terms with her family, what her future will be and those repercussions. Along the way, the two paths mirror one another in certain ways (like any good story telling two tales). Neither story is separate, yet you can enjoy both individually without destroying the other. I will warn you: Laguna's story is peppered throughout Squall's story (like the game), so you're probably gonna have to read Squall's and see what I've changed there to read Laguna's and see what I changed there.
If anybody wants to bitch, drop me an email or something. Honestly, I don't care. I didn't even write this story to put it on this site, so it's not really for fan enjoyment. It was more for me to see if I could do it and keep the story straight. I hope people enjoy it, but if you don't, I'm sorry. Understand this, I have a great love for this game and its story, and this was written with a love of the game. Sure, I changed shit, and I'm sorry for that, but that's what it is.