Paine

Paine is a playable character in Final Fantasy X-2, and the most reserved of the girls. Her past is a mystery and it is up to the player to discover what happened to her two years ago during the events of Final Fantasy X.

Appearance
Paine's manner of dress is different from that of other Spirans, and the cultural distinction implied by her clothing and appearance is never explained. The only known citizen of Spira who looks or dresses anything like her is Lulu, but no other relation is known between the two.

Paine has red eyes, making her resemble Lulu. She has short, silver hair, and most commonly wears a black leather ensemble complete with high-heeled boots, elbow-length gloves and a folded top. She wears a silver pendant threaded with a barbed wire chain. Paine's swords have a skull-motif at the base of the blade that also appears on the belt buckle of her Warrior ensemble, as well as the swords hovering over her head in her special dressphere, Full Throttle. In a bonus cutscene where the girls spend time in a hot spring in Mt. Gagazet, Paine wears a black and white bandeau bikini swimsuit with additional wrist, ankle and neck bands.

Paine's swords are unique in her Warrior, Dark Knight, and Samurai dresspheres, while in her White Mage and Black Mage dresspheres she wields the Malleable Staff and Enchanted Rod respectively. In the Gunner dressphere, she wields Yuna's Tiny Bee pistols and wields an indigo variant of Rikku's dagger blades while in the Thief dressphere. Her deck theme for the Lady Luck dressphere is diamonds and her Mascot dressphere is a Tonberry. Most of her footwear are high-heeled. When applicable, Paine's dressphere outfits incorporate boyish designs; e.g. her Psychic outfit is based on a typical Japanese schoolboy uniform.

Personality
Paine's personality resembles Auron's in the way how she is cynical and reveals information only when she needs to. Not much is known about Paine except that she is quiet and keeps to herself. Paine is tough and loves a good fight, but she is sensible enough to smell trouble a mile away. If she feels her fellow Gullwings are getting overenthusiastic, she uses sarcastic cracks to jolt them to their senses, and despite Rikku's constant prying, she refuses to divulge information about herself, except for always wanting to fly on an airship and hunt for spheres containing records of Spira's past.

In spite of her dry wit and demeanor, Paine values her friendship with Yuna and Rikku, but it is only after spending three months traveling around Spira by herself that she is able to express these feelings. Her physical mannerisms are boyish, perhaps a side effect from her past adventures with Nooj, Gippal, and Baralai.

Final Fantasy X-2


Paine grew up during the time of Sin's reign and came to join the Crimson Squad, an elite group of soldiers set up by Yevon. Around the time of Operation Mi'ihen, Paine worked as a recorder for a group of three men: Nooj, Baralai, and Gippal. When the other Crimson Squad members were killed in the Den of Woe, Paine's group survived but were put up for execution soon after by Yevon for having witnessed images of Vegnagun in the cave.

After Operation Mi'ihen, Paine got separated from Gippal, Nooj, and Baralai and searched for them, while passing by Yuna while she was sending the dead. Finding each other, the four stayed together for a while, with Paine still recording their travels, while learning how to speak fluent Al Bhed from Gippal. They went their separate ways on the Mi'ihen Highroad, but Nooj betrayed the group by shooting each of them in the back. The Al Bhed came across the fallen Paine, Baralai, and Gippal, and tended to their wounds and kept them out of sight from the temples, thus separating them.

Two years later, Paine joins the sphere hunter group, the Gullwings, to uncover the truth of what happened on that day in the Den of Woe, but whenever any of the other Gullwings ask Paine of her reason for joining she claims it was for the chance to fly on their airship, the Celsius. Shortly after Paine joins the Gullwings, Yuna also joins the group. As the Gullwings perform missions, they are frequently opposed by the Leblanc Syndicate—their rival sphere hunters, led by Leblanc.

Leblanc steals Yuna's Garment Grid to impersonate her and perform a concert in Luca. While the real Yuna dons a moogle costume as disguise to keep a low profile, Paine and Rikku infiltrate the concert to capture the "impostor Yuna". Rikku and Paine confront Leblanc and chase her out to the docks until being confronted by her two chief henchmen, Logos and Ormi. Yuna joins the fray and reclaims her Garment Grid and begins dancing uncontrollably as though against her will.

With the mission completed, the Gullwings return to the Celsius and continue sphere hunting until they steal an "Awesome Sphere" from Kilika that records a mysterious machina and an unknown man mentioning someone named Lenne. Upon returning the sphere to either the Youth League or New Yevon, it is learned from Nooj or Baralai that the colossal machina is called Vegnagun. They discover the Leblanc Syndicate had stolen the half-sphere the Gullwings found in the Zanarkand Ruins, forcing them to infiltrate Chateau Leblanc in Guadosalam to reclaim it. To do so, they track down Leblanc Syndicate groups around Spira and steal their uniforms.

During their tracking they come across the Machine Faction and its leader Gippal, but Paine acts as if they have never met before, confusing him. After obtaining enough uniforms the Gullwings infiltrate Leblanc's headquarters and find one of Paine's Crimson Spheres that details the events leading up to, during, and after the incident with the Crimson Squad, but Paine remains silent about its significance. YRP discover Leblanc already had the other half of the broken sphere, and stole their half to make it whole.

After watching the restored sphere it is learned Vegnagun hides underneath Bevelle, and Paine is unsurprised that Bevelle "still has its fondness for secrets". Realizing they are on the same side, the Gullwings and the Leblanc Syndicate form a truce. Together they infiltrate Bevelle and enter the underground passage formed after the fayth's disappearance finding the Bevelle Underground, a secret complex filled with machina. They fight their way past Baralai to an empty room where the sphere had shown Vegnagun to be. Instead of finding Vegnagun the group fights the Dark Aeon Bahamut and Vegnagun is gone with a large hole left in its place.

Returning from the escapade, the Gullwings learn that Nooj, Gippal, and Baralai have disappeared, and are soon caught fighting fiends and Dark Aeons in the Besaid, Kilika, and Djose Temples. Through the hole in Djose Temple's Chamber of the Fayth Yuna falls into the Farplane, where Nooj and Gippal give Yuna two more Crimson Spheres, telling her to give them to Paine. Back on the Celsius, Yuna tells everyone about her encounter with Shuyin while on the Farplane, learning that Lenne wore the Songstress dressphere over a thousand years ago.

Only when pressed on the deck of the Celsius does Paine reveal a little of her past with Nooj, Gippal, Baralai, and the Crimson Squad, telling Yuna how the four of them dreamed about having an airship, traveling Spira. Later, she assists with finding Tobli to set up Yuna's concert in the Thunder Plains, as a way to calm the tensions rising between the Youth League and New Yevon. During the concert Lenne's spirit appears, and it is revealed Shuyin and Lenne were lovers who were gunned down by Bevelle soldiers after she stopped him from activating Vegnagun. Lenne was a famous songstress and summoner from Zanarkand, who was called to the front lines during the Machina War and Shuyin tried to use Vegnagun to save her. The Gullwings receive a Crimson Sphere, this time from Leblanc herself.

With the final Crimson Sphere obtained, Paine, Rikku and Yuna enter to the Den of Woe and discover the truth behind the events two years ago involving Paine's team. Den of Woe is the place where Shuyin's spirit lingered for a thousand years, and his painful memories and anguish were imprinted on the abundance of pyreflies in the den. When the Crimson Squad entered the den the pyreflies possessed them driving the squad members to kill one another. Shuyin escaped the den by possessing Nooj, which was why he shot his comrades in the back, severing their friendship. Emerging from the den with renewed purpose, Paine is determined to free her friends of Shuyin's influence. Realizing that during their meeting under Bevelle with Baralai and Nooj, Shuyin's spirit left Nooj's body to possess Baralai, Paine asks the Gullwings to help her face Baralai and defeat Shuyin. Now knowing the holes in the temples lead to the Farplane, Yuna plans to tell Shuyin how Lenne felt before they died to calm his spirit.

The Gullwings and Leblanc Syndicate enter the Farplane and defeat Vegnagun and Shuyin in a joint effort. Lenne emerges from Yuna's Songstress dressphere to console Shuyin, convincing him to rest in peace before they return to the Farplane together. The Gullwings drop Nooj, Baralai, and Gippal at Luca but leave to return Yuna home to Besaid. When Rikku worries about missing a big party back at Luca, Paine says they party enough. Paine later joins Rikku in watching Yuna and Tidus reunite with each other.

Final Fantasy X-2.5 ~Eien no Daishō~
After Yuna and Tidus reunite on Besaid shore everyone returns to Besaid Village for a celebration. Rikku introduces Tidus to Paine. Later Tidus and Yuna go missing, and a man named Briar who was sent to Besaid Temple from Bevelle to look after the elders attacks Shinra. Paine helps subdue him by tying him up at the temple.

Final Fantasy X-2: Last Mission


Over the next three months the Gullwings have gone their separate ways. Each receives a letter that calls them back together at Luca to explore the recently discovered Iutycyr Tower. As the trio explores the ruins they discuss what they had been doing since they had separated and why they hadn't stayed in contact. Paine speaks of how Nooj, Baralai and Gippal are doing and when Rikku asks Paine if she and the guys could ever be a team again, Paine says they are too busy doing their own things. She says there is something she needs to say to them but won't reveal what.

As the girls talk about their mission to reclaim Yuna's Garment Grid from Leblanc, Paine reveals she is writing a book about their adventures. When Paine asks what Rikku wants to do with her life, Rikku is unable to answer, and expresses jealousy towards Yuna for settling down. Paine gets between them but Rikku claims Paine only cares about herself. Paine eventually raises her voice to ask what's the point of reuniting if they are only going to fight, and reveals she was the one who sent the letters because she felt something was missing as she traveled around Spira by herself.

Paine talks of the day Nooj shot her, Gippal, and Baralai and explains how she still remembers it despite trying to put it behind her, and how she and the others had to start anew after parting ways. The girls learn they have changed and fear growing further apart and that they probably never got along to begin with. Atop of the tower, the group finds a broken-down machina and the girls realize that during their time apart, they had become different people and decide to go their separate ways but always cherish the memories of their time together. With their friendship renewed, the machina springs to life and their adventures continue...

Gameplay


Paine can change dresspheres before and during battle. She can use any of the common dresspheres and her Special Dressphere is the Full Throttle. Her Mascot dressphere is a Tonberry, and her Trainer's pet is a bird named Flurry. Paine's default dressphere is the Warrior.

A possessed Paine can be fought as a boss.

A Sphere Break coin based on Paine can be won from the Bevelle Core Sphere player in the Luca Stadium.

Creation and development
Paine was a newly introduced character, having not appeared previously in Final Fantasy X. "With the two (Rikku and Yuna) being a lot more talkative, there had to be someone with a calm, cool demeanor who could put a halt to their excessive chattiness. If it were Lulu in that role, she would have completely shut them down, and the story wouldn't have advanced at all. But in Paine's case, she's someone who can remain neutral, keep the others focused, and help the story carry on together with these two girls".

In regard to the dresspheres, and the warrior classes in particular, only Paine carries a unique sword. "This is her own weapon", says Alternate Costume Designer Tetsu Tsukamoto, "It doesn't belong to anyone else". The symbols on all three of Paine's warrior-class swords are similar.

From a design standpoint, Paine's Dark Knight is Tsukamoto's favorite. "I handled a lot of monster designs prior to working on the costumes for Final Fantasy X-2", he says. "It feels like the scales of the monsters apply to this design. That's why I like it a lot". He reveals each of the girls' head pieces reflect their personalities, with the sharp edges of Paine's head piece reflecting her prickly outlook.

The reason why Paine's Songstress costume is so different from the others is because the team could not decide whether she should be rock 'n' roll or Top 40, so Tsukamoto split the difference. For the Thief job Tsukamoto designed Paine and Yuna to have as much sex appeal as Tetsuya Nomura's original design for Rikku's default character. For the Trainer job Paine was originally supposed to carry a snake, but a programmer put the idea away because the animation would be too difficult to pull off.

Voice
Paine is voiced by in Japanese and  in English. Yeo has stated in an interview her favorite line from Paine is, "All I want to do is hurt you".

In the Final Fantasy X-2 HD Remaster Paine will occasionally say lines in Japanese during battle. The lines were done by her English voice actress, Gwendoline Yeo. This is because in the original Final Fantasy X-2: International + Last Mission Square got the English voice actresses to record the new English battle dialogue for the Festivalist and Psychic dresspheres, and recorded Japanese quotes one might hear any time during a battle. For Paine these new battle quotes are: Shimete yaru (I'm going to get you), Jyaana (Bye!), Sayonara (Goodbye) and Sore! (Take this!).

Paine shares her Japanese voice actress with Elena in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Elena's older sister in Last Order -Final Fantasy VII-, Qun'mi Tru'e from Final Fantasy Type-0, and from the  series.

Musical themes
Paine's theme is "Paine's Theme." Vocal versions of her theme also exist, called "Misty Eyed" and "Nemuru Omoi..." ("Dormant Feelings..."). Despite her Punk Metal-like outfit both of her themes are more reminiscent of the Blues. Both vocal versions of the themes are sung by Megumi Toyoguchi as Paine. A piano arranged version of "Paine's Theme" is also found on the Final Fantasy X-2 Piano Collection album.

Other appearances
Paine has made appearances in the following games in the Final Fantasy series:
 * Final Fantasy Tactics S as a playable character.
 * Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call as a playable character.
 * Pictlogica Final Fantasy as a playable character.
 * Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade as a summonable Legend.
 * Final Fantasy Artniks as a series of cards.
 * Final Fantasy Record Keeper as a playable character.
 * Final Fantasy Trading Card Game as a series of cards.

Non-Final Fantasy guest appearances
Paine has made key guest appearances in the following non-Final Fantasy games:
 * Kingdom Hearts series as a support character.
 * Itadaki Street series as a playable character.

Etymology
This may be appropriate considering her status as a new character. The English pronunciation (versus the more phonetic "pine" in Japanese) has the added connotation of her aggressive look.

Trivia

 * In the E3 2013 trailer for Final Fantasy X|X-2 HD Remaster, Paine's model in the Celsius scene has her with another mouth placed at the belt strap on the neck. Paine in other scenes in the trailer has the correct model.
 * As demonstrated by her ability to play blitzball, Paine can hold her breath for at least five minutes.
 * Many of Paine's battle quotes reference real-world pop culture; such as the quote "Ice, ice baby", the title of a song by, and "You. It's what's for dinner", a play on an ad campaign for beef. She is occasionally heard saying "Knowing is half the battle", a reference to the G.I. Joe cartoon's Public Service Announcements.
 * Paine is the first playable character shown during the opening FMV scene.
 * It is unknown if Paine could fight before Final Fantasy X-2, as she is never seen doing so in the Crimson Records. She is only seen in the final record that shows the group of four on a boat talking about their futures.
 * Only Paine is never shown wearing another dressphere in cutscenes; Yuna and Rikku wear their Songstress outfits at least twice.
 * Paine's has text in Yevon script on the background that reads: "Tell me why did you pull the trigger".

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