#Maester Kinoc

[mostfuckableffvillain]

Round 1

this matchup, my beloathed.

Yu Yevon: Giant... tick.

Kinoc: Mid-level bureaucrat.

[capsource]

Final Fantasy X HD Remaster caps

Available for anyone who wants to use them, no credit needed but super appreciated. All these caps are 3840x2160. Most of the characters have sub folders to divvy up the caps into more manageable downloads, but if there are any issues, please feel free to let me know!

In this folder, you will find: Auron | Barthello | Biran and Yenke | Braska | Brother | Cid | Donna | Elma | Isaaru | Jecht | Kelk Ronso | Kimahri | Lucil | Lulu | Luzzu and Gatta | Maechen | Maester Kinoc | Maester Mika | Rikku | Seymour | Shelinda | Summons | Tidus | Tidus's Mom | Wakka | Yuna | Yunalesca

Folder can be found [ here ] Buy me a [ ko-fi ] if you’d like!

[liroyalty]

"... Truly... I am sorry you must keep sending like this." He can say that with such an expression, with such sorrow in his voice, it sounded real. Joseph must of had years to practice reacting to such tragedies. And in spite of the Maester thinking yet the opposite. Ann was such a beautiful dancer, having dozens dies was worth seeing her dance but once.

"Stop, your grace. This is... just part of my duty as a summoner. It's what I learned." Ann's sorrow, on the other hand, was real. Her heart was a bleeding one, & though this tragedy wasn't as bad as it could of been, it didn't make her tremble any less. It's the second time she's seen Sin, yet she feels no braver for witnessing it's power again. For the calamity it could so easily bring.

"Yes, I suppose it is." This is exactly what you learned. "But we owe you all our thanks, myself & Lord Kinoc no less included. Without you & your guardians, the operation could have ended on a much darker note." You are Spira's sole hope. Without you doing you duty, so many would die, the nonfaithful need you to be faithful in their stead, to save them from themselves, to save them from Sin. These were the words he conveyed, without actually having to saying them. And ones not Joseph's own, but those he were asked to convey. 'Do not let the summoner stray'.

"You have my upmost graduate for that, Lady Ann, & your guardians just as so. Yet once more, innocents can go on breathing because of all of your actions." The gesticulation bow followed his words.

"..." Yet for once, Ann did not meet the Maester's eyes, she... could not, she could only look down at the rock road ground... she did not know why, & she felt weak for it. "Please, Lord Joseph..." Is she weak? Is she... doing enough? Could she have done more to save more lives? If she was as powerful as half of her guardians... she can't tell if this is the guilt in her bleeding heart, or fear from how powerless Sin seems to make her feel. ... Twice now, she had to watch Sin do as it pleases, & she could do nothing, only her guardians could. "... I... I would like to return to my pilgrimage. Thank you for your time, your grace, but I really should be going." She wants to get away from here.

".... Hmm." Ann said very little, but her tired & resolved face said so much. Her gas was low, but that furnace in her heart was burning so brightly. And even like this, sorrow painting her face, it was beautiful. So very beautiful she was.

"Then I shan't keep you. I hope we can meet again. Safe travels, Summoner Ann, & may Yevon's blessing go with you evermore."

[ofmoonlily]

i always had a pretty good bullshit detector when i was a kid. -reveromantique

Talk to Yuna? > Yes. | Accepting | @reveromantique

Yuna giggles behind her hand. The way Seifer put sentences together was both silly and clever. It brought Yuna to the conclusion that he really did hail from realms beyond her own. That's not to say she didn't believe him before, but his mannerisms, the way he fought, spoke, and approached certain topics would have never been thought of - even in the last thousand years they've documented human interaction.

"I've never heard it spoken like that before." She chuckles again before observing the Maesters standing proudly at the Bevelle docks reserved in Luca.

"So then, who do you think lying?" It certainly could not have been Maester Mika. He was such a kindly old soul who ushered so much good to the people of Spira.

It couldn't have been Maester Seymour. He voluntarily took his father's place as a maester when no other Guado would - not that they could, anyhow. The way they went about things was a little unorthodox, and Seymour was next in line to obtain the Maester's title anyway.

Though, Yuna would have assumed he'd take the summoner's path, what with his talents in the summoning arts.

Maester Kinoc couldn't have been lying. He leads the crusaders, and oversees the people's safety.

It made Yuna wonder what Seifer saw that he would claim they were all deceptive.

[casualtheoriesandthoughts]

Revisiting Religion in Final Fantasy X (and X-2): Part 2

So I just got to the Moonflow in my current replay of Final Fantasy X, and found another interesting theme: anxiety about technology. I find that this is actually fairly common in Japanese media, but doesn't seem to often be discussed in regard to this game.

Throughout the game, you see characters discuss Yevon's prohibition on the use of machina (or machines). Lulu notes that the Yevon priesthood decides which machina are considered prohibited for public use, and this (largely) includes weapons. Even so, Yevon warrior monks use guns and flamethrowers. While one could read this as yet another instance of hypocritical doctrine on Yevon's part (which is not untrue), it is also worth examining what Wakka says is Yevon's teaching on this: "When humans have power, they seek to use it." He says this when explaining to Tidus how Yevon understands the ruins of cities like those in the Moonflow, as a transgression against nature.

Especially given the prevalence of climate anxiety and the excesses of technological progress in the real world, it's actually quite difficult to argue that Yevon is wrong on this. The abuse of power, especially when enabled by technological advances, is a widespread historical experience in most societies. In Japan, no such event looms in the popular imagination more than the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Lulu describes the war between Bevelle and Zanarkand as follows: "They made weapons so powerful... It was thought they could destroy the entire world." Yuna then says, "The people feared that Spira would be destroyed."

Similar concerns were raised when the atomic bomb was first developed. Now, let's get to how this this concerns religion. It's clear that in the universe of FFX, society has come to associate the destruction of nature and humanity with the use of machina, a connection made manifest through Sin. Sin is a manifestation of Yu Yevon's resentment of Bevelle, which developed weapons of mass destruction to use against Zanarkand. Over time, Sin's destruction of machina-based cities figured into Yevon's teaching that the human use of machina would only lead to destruction. This is not an unreasonable development, in my opinion.

That being said, Tidus and Lulu's comments about machina only being as bad as their users still stands. It's not as if machina like the sphere pool or the elevator-like apparatus at the Moonflow are harmful to humans or to nature. Furthermore, the Al Bhed, the only society in Spira known to be familiar with machina never use it to wage war, even though they very well could (especially with the airship). Instead, they made their Home in a fortified base in the desert.

Does that mean that Yevon's view of machina as encouraging people to abuse power and technology is wrong, though? I would say that these are not mutually exclusive. True, not much stops people from abusing technology to do all manner of things, but the same goes for conscientious and non-violent use as well. The fact that people like the Al Bhed and the Yevon Warrior Monks (esp. under Maester Kinoc) exist makes this clear. Heck, the party even ends up using the airship to broadcast the Hymn of the Fayth to pacify Sin before blasting a hole in Sin's mouth with a laser cannon.

If that's not a complex portrayal of the relationship between technology, power and faith, I don't know what is.

That being said, FFX's narrative really doesn't go too deep on this technology-and-power bit, especially after you acquire the airship. The consequences of technological progress aren't really a focal point, partly because Spira is a technologically stunted world. Even so, I think that the narrative is pretty clear on the way that the pursuit of power corrupts and that technology is frequently its instrument. An inability to account for the dynamics of technology's enabling of power is the primary reason that Sin (and the main conflict of FFX more generally) even exists, and it continues to influence society even in the present.

It's worth noting the events of FFX-2, particularly the rise of political parties. The Machine Faction, while portrayed as politically neutral, clearly has a stake in trying to make the use of machina mainstream (which includes weapons). The Youth League and New Yevon are not much better in this regard, as they both make use of machina for their own purposes. In fact, the tension over Vegnagun (as much as it's driven by Shuyin's shenanigans) can be understood to revolve centrally around the just use of weapons of mass destruction, and how politics instrumentalizes this question rather than directly treat the human costs entailed in it.

The first game spends a lot of time trying to build up the complexity of human flaws, and how they produce a number of responses to suffering, including despair, faith, cynicism and resolve to change. The party members are the main people through whom we experience these developments. However, none of the people of Spira who look up to Yuna in FFX-2 really experienced what she or anyone else in the party did. No one else went through the crisis of faith or found the courage to find a new way to defeat Sin the way the party did (with the possible exception of some of the Al Bhed, like Cid).

All of this should absolutely complicate the way that technology is adopted in FFX-2, and it explains a lot about why Yuna has such misgivings about the way that Spira changed in two short years. I will admit here that FFX-2's narrative handles this some what sloppily. The story often portrays Yuna mostly as some kind of sentimental Luddite who struggles to get with the times, while compelling you to side with the Youth League over New Yevon in order to uncover the bloodiness of both parties. Not to mention, the game tries to make Gippal out to be a cool guy, when his leadership of the Machine Faction really should be held in greater suspicion.

Even so, we have to look at the number of missions involving machina malfunction, changing of Spira's natural landscape and the development of more machina weapons (the Experiment anyone?!), not to mention the whole thing with Vegnagun. Technology plays a big role in generating the moral tensions of the second game, and the absence of Yevonite reverence (in addition to hostility towards it) only magnifies the importance of the kind of spirituality that I identified in FFX in my previous post.

[starvingtongue]

All the spheres Paine recorded during her time with the Crimson Squad were given to Maester Kinoc after they were done. The Squad was formed as an elite group intended to surpass the Crusader’s, so their progress had to be reported back somehow. The aim of this was to make sure that things were running smoothly and the squads were making progress. Kinoc's intention was to get a verbal response from the recorders of each 'group' within the squad as well, but quickly found that the spheres also made a good way to monitor progress too.

This is why the Crimson Spheres were scattered all over Spira during X-2. Kinoc disposed of them after the events at the Den of Woe, prior to his death, as he didn't want anyone to know the details of the failed experiement. The only one that Paine managed to save was the one she had in the recorder when Nooj shot her, Baralai and Gippal. This also got lost after she left the Al Bhed.

[ethernalium]

[p-artsypants]

I Do...I Guess (2)

Mushroom Rock

Ao3 | FF.net

--

The chocobo eater was a great team building exercise, though Yuna’s new Aeon did a lot of the leg work. 

What was the name again? Ifeert? Oh well, Hot Dog it would be to Tidus. 

Zanarkand was really missing out on those Chocobos though. They were fun to ride, and pretty easy to handle...though they were a little smelly. 

Of course, Tidus tried to imagine riding one around back home, among the motorcycles and the cars...and thought that maybe the chocobos were fine here in Spira. 

The birds allowed for much quicker travel of the High Road, and they made it to the crusaders blockade before lunch. 

“A blockade?” Wakka wondered aloud. “But how else are we supposed to get to Djose?” 

“I’m sorry folks,” one of the nearby crusaders explained. “The road will be closed off during our operation. We’re very sorry for the inconvenience.” 

“We have to get through,” argued Lulu. “This is Summoner Yuna, and you are hindering her pilgrimage.” 

“I’m sorry. Summoner or not, I have strict orders not to let anyone pass.” 

It was then that Wakka made the startling discovery. “Hey, there’s Al Bhed here.” 

“The Al Bhed and the Crusaders are teaming up?” Asked Yuna. 

Wakka frowned. “What kind of operation needs the Al Bhed a part of it?” 

“I find myself asking the same question.” A wispy voice interrupted. 

The party turned to see Maester Seymour joining the fray. He seemed none too bothered by the presence of those so-called heathens. 

He almost looked excited. 

“Lady Yuna? Is there something the matter?” 

Tidus felt an uncomfortable crawling sensation in his veins. This blue haired clown really made his skin crawl. Jealousy, the others might say. But no, he could read those sleazy bedroom eyes from a mile away. 

How old was this dude anyway? Should he be allowed to look at Yuna like that? 

Why did he care? He wondered. He was a guardian now, so obviously he was watching out for her. 

And a pending marriage proposal, his subconscious reminded him politely. He had managed to forget about that all morning. 

“We need to get through to continue my pilgrimage,” Yuna said simply. 

Tidus really admired that she didn’t try any persuasion at that moment. No beating her enchanting mismatched eyes, or pitching her voice up like so many girls had done to him.

She didn’t even say please. 

“I’ll take care of it.” Seymour smiled. 

Tidus mimed a gagging motion at Kimahri, but the joke was wasted on the stoic ronso. 

Miraculously, Seymour did take care of it. They were waved on almost immediately, much to the chagrin of Dona, who was asked to stay back. 

They were prompted forward, down the Mushroom Rock trail, to the beach and the command post, where everything was going down. 

The Mi’ihen Highroad was lush with greens. A perfect day with ideal blue skies, with happy chocobos fluttering around. 

But the closer they got to the operation, the grayer the sky, the drier the ground, and the more fierce the fiends. 

Yuna shivered slightly as they entered a valley. 

“You okay, Yuna?” Tidus asked. 

“Oh, yes. Just got a chill up my spine.” She came a little closer to him and admitted. “I don’t know why, but I got a sense of dread all of a sudden.” 

“What’s the operation all about, anyway?” 

“I’m not sure. But I suppose we’ll find out more when we reach the command post.” 

They found out plenty when they crested the hill and found a half a dozen machina canons all lined up and pointed out to sea. 

The horror on his teammates faces proved that whatever was going on was likely very heretical. 

“What are all these Machina doing here?” Asked Wakka. 

A crusader answered. “We Crusaders and Al Bhed share the same dream. To be rid of Sin forever! And if we can take the burden away from the summoners, we’re going to try!” 

It was a noble cause, Tidus thought. He had seen the devastation that Sin was capable of. Were these little canons good enough?” 

They were explained the situation. A huge canon sat on the cliff side, easily big enough to wipe out a city if they weren’t careful. And there was an army on the beach, ready to fight and distract with swords. 

He hoped this would all work, maybe then Yuna could stop her journey. 

Maybe Sin would come to shore and he would go home, and then he wouldn’t have to come up with an answer for Yuna’s marriage proposal. 

He felt like maybe all these things were unlikely, and that only the worst was to come. 

The army was still preparing, and there was no sign of Sin, though the bait was set and waiting. 

Tidus spotted a familiar merchant standing back, behind the cliff wall. 

“O’aka, right?” 

“Ah, so my name is catching on, eh?” 

“Well...maybe. We rode in the boat over from Kilika, remember?” 

“Oh yes. I never forget a face! You lent me a pretty penny, and for that, I’m grateful. Are you after anything? I have a special rate because of the operation.” 

“Do you...have any rings?” 

“Rings? Ah yes, all sorts of magic wards. And they’re pretty too!” 

Tidus had been given an allowance for such an occasion. 

O’aka displayed his tray of jewelry, with about a dozen different choices on it. Golds and silvers, with all sorts of jewels. 

“What about this one?” He pointed to a silver and blue one, with a very intricate design. 

“Excellent choice! A real heavy hitter! Stone, water, fire, and lightning proof, and it's blessed!” 

“How much?” 

“For you my friend, only 9999!” 

Tidus opened and closed his mouth in shock. “Uhhh...” 

“What are you doing?” Auron asked, coming up behind him. 

He yelped in surprise, and then tried to school his expression into something that didn’t look like he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “Uhh...just looking at rings.” 

“For Yuna?” 

O’aka’s eyes widened. “For Lady Summoner Yuna? My my, how interesting!” 

“Mind your own business!” Tidus scolded with a blush. 

“So you decided to say yes?” Auron asked. 

“Not...completely. I’m still thinking things through...I just want to be prepared. You know? I thought, maybe having it would help me think.”

“A wise decision.” Auron took out a sack of Gil and handed it to O’aka, then took the ring, and a thicker, plainer band. “You get one too.” 

“Oh. Right.” For now, Tidus just pocketed them, and decided to concentrate on the mission. 

A mission that was doomed to fail, according to Maester Seymour and Kinoc. 

“Let them keep dreaming.” They said. It was almost an admission to a genocide. 

Everybody here, crusaders, Al Bhed, and a few Yevonites, they were all fighting for peace. For calm. 

And yet, these ‘Holy Men’ had laughed behind their backs. 

Tidus had nothing against the temples. Faith and prayer were vital in keeping hope in such a dismal world. But these Maesters smelled heavily of nepotism and flagrant thirst for power. 

In Zanarkand, such men would find places of power. In government, in business, on boards and councils. But of the religions back home, he thought of them as pious and self sacrificing. 

Not whatever these two men were. 

How many others were like this? How many others were willing to sacrifice people? 

Why wasn’t anyone speaking up? 

They shouldn’t have come. They should have stayed at the blockade, or gone back to stay another night at the Travel Agency. 

But no. Now Tidus was in the water, rapidly chasing down his old man. The beach was littered with bodies and shrapnel of destroyed Machina. The operation had failed catastrophically, and yet, all he could do was swim on, chasing. 

He wouldn’t let this opportunity pass him by. 

But Sin was gone. Just as Jecht had vanished from his life, so had the beast once again. Giving no answers, leaving more questions, and leaving oblivion it's wake. 

How long had he been passed out for? Minutes? Hours? He wasn’t sure. The wet sand pressed against his back as he washed ashore. All his chasing and he was back. 

“There you are! You good, brudda?” Wakka hurried to him and pulled him to his feet. 

“Yeah. Just...I just fell.” 

And he had. He had been up top fighting that Sinspawn before he fell below. So it wasn’t a complete lie. He just didn’t want to explain to Wakka that he had tried to chase down the biggest menace on Spira because of a childhood grudge. 

“Where’s Yuna?” He asked instead. 

“Talking to Maester Seymour.” He pointed up towards the ridge. Yuna stood there, head bowed as Maester Seymour stood too close, speaking to her. 

“I gotta go.” 

“I don’t know man, seems like a private conversation.” 

“Like I care!” Tidus staggered to his feet and hurried over to her. He stood below the ridge, just out of sight, but not out of earshot. 

“…so you mustn’t cry.” Seymour preached. “You must be a beacon of light to Spira, you must be strong for these survivors.”

“I know,” Yuna said, in a tender voice. “But some of these people were my friends, and I want to grieve their loss.” 

“Yuna, being a summoner means removing your emotions from those around you. You can care, but not too much. You know that, right?” 

Tidus wanted to grab that cretin by the robes and push him into the sea. Maybe Sin would come back and swallow him. Was that too much to ask?

“I understand. Thank you, Maester Seymour.” 

The man patted her head, like she was a dog, and moved on. 

Yuna stood there for a moment, just staring at the ground. 

“Yuna?” Tidus spoke behind her. 

She turned, and saw him just below her on the ridge. She nodded with resolve and sat down on the edge. “Will you help me down?” 

He held his arms up for her, and she took hold of his shoulders. She slid down, to stand with him, keeping her eyes locked with his. “Thank you.” 

“Anytime. You okay?”

She just nodded. Then added, “I have a sending to do.” 

So he let her go, and watched as she began her dance. 

A dance devoid of joy, of fun, of merriment. It was still graceful, and haunting, but the tightness in her face contrasted with the fluid movement in her body. 

Sobs and wailing filled the air, as survivors of the massacre witnessed their friends and family rise as Pyreflies into the air.

If it was up to him, she’d stop dancing. So she could stop hiding her sorrows. 

Her strength did amaze him, though. He watched as she danced up and down that beach, long after the sun had set. She wouldn’t allow one soul to not be sent. They already suffered, they didn’t need to remain as fiends. 

Long after Seymour and Kinoc left, long after the other guardians set up camp, Tidus still followed Yuna down the beach. All the way to the other end, before she collapsed in exhaustion. 

“Yuna?” He asked softly. 

“I just need a moment,” she breathed.

She sprawled out on the sand, and Tidus wondered if she cared about it getting in her hair. 

She looked exhausted. Her lips pulled into a tight line, and her eyes were shut hard. 

“Why did this have to happen?” She asked aloud, mostly hypothetical, but loud enough for him to hear. 

“Because people were sick of Sin. And death was a better alternative to sitting and twiddling their thumbs.” 

She sighed. “My mind knows that, but my heart...”

He sat in the sand beside her, just a hands length away. “You know, it’s okay to cry.” 

She shook her head.

“Even I let out a few tears back there, and most of these people were complete strangers. You knew some of them.”

“I have to be strong. Summoners are a pillar of strength to the people of Spira.”

“So I heard,” he shrugged. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t ever cry.” 

“I don’t want to.” She protested. “I want my journey to be full of laughter, and you’ve been so good about helping with that. Don’t tell me to cry.” 

“Fine. I’m not going to make you cry. Just...sometimes, being happy isn’t possible. Then it’s the best to just be less sad.” 

Yuna turned to look at him, but didn’t say anything. 

“Maybe I don’t know anything about Yevon, or hardly anything about life. But I think grief is when you love too much, and you can’t give it. I think if I saw a summoner cry from loss, I would feel better. My future, my world, is in the hands of someone who loves.” 

Yuna hummed softly, garnering his attention. She had streaks on her cheeks, but he politely chose not to mention it. “What happened here was a tragedy, but for a moment, everyone was United and working together, and I thought it was really beautiful. So maybe it was bad...but not all bad.” 

“Feel better?” 

“Yeah...not happy, but less sad.” She sat up, dusting the sand from her clothes. She admired the stars above and the crashing of waves before pushing to stand. “We should get back soon, before they worry.” 

“We will,” Tidus assured. “But I want to ask you something first.” 

“Alright?” 

With resolve he hadn’t felt in a while, he took the ring out of his pocket, and got down on one knee. “You know, it might feel like weird timing, but I want to help.” 

“Tidus?” 

He held the ring up to her. “Yuna, will you marry me?” 

She just stared at him for a long time. 

“I know you asked me, but back home, it’s kind of tradition for the guy to ask. Hope you don’t mind?” 

“So...you’re accepting my proposal?” 

“Only if you accept mine.” 

She laughed, a genuine smile breaking out on her face. “Alright. I accept!” 

He smiled too, and pushed to his feet. Then he held out for her hand and slipped the ring on for her. 

“I never thought I’d propose to a girl I wasn’t dating.” He joked. 

“Already getting cold feet?” 

He shook his head, before gathering her into a hug. 

Yuna was startled for only a moment, before snuggling into his arms. 

“Whatever you need, you come to me, okay?” He asked. “If you need to laugh, or cry, or a hug. I’m your man.” 

Yuna smiled into the embrace. “Yes, you are my man.”

[roleplay-abiogenesis2]

[Muse Active] Auron

This muse is now active for roleplay on this blog!

Name: Auron

Species, World, Nationality: Human, Spira, Bevelle

Date of Birth: (Unknown)

Roleplaying Age: 35 (default), any other age if specified.

Headcanons: Click here.

-

Fandom: Final Fantasy X (Squaresoft / Square Enix)

Fandom Genre: JRPG

Open for AU / “What If”s: Yes.

Wiki Link: Here.

Covered Sources: Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy X-2

-

Available for ships: Not at present.

With Canon Characters (CC);

With Original Characters (OC);

With Cross-over Characters;

With Same-Muse Characters.

Canon Verses:

My Story: (Age: 10-25)  As a young man of 25 years, Auron was a devoted warrior monk of Bevelle, well-regarded by Yevon's upper echelons groomed for a high-ranking position within the clergy. His personal convictions halted any career ambitions he might have had when he refused to marry the daughter of a high-ranking priest. Auron fell out of favor with the Yevon elite, and the promotion went to his friend Wen Kinoc, who would eventually become a Maester of Yevon.

Our Story: (Age: 25)  Auron was enlisted by Summoner Braska to serve as a guardian on his upcoming pilgrimage to fight Sin, the monster that has terrorized Spira for a millennium. Auron was drawn to Braska due to his noble character and honest intentions to defeat Sin for the sake of Spira, developing a fierce devotion to him and his cause, addressing him with honor, and defending him to detractors. Throughout the pilgrimage, Auron grew to trust Jecht despite his flaws, and the three became close friends.

His Story: (Age: 25-35)  Dream Zanarkand is a summoned city modeled after the Zanarkand of a thousand years ago conjured into existence by the ancient summoner Yu Yevon who exists inside Sin. There, he mentored and watched over Jecht's only son, Tidus, keeping the promise he made to his friend.

Your Story: (Age: 35) Auron reunites with Tidus in Luca during a fiend outbreak secretly organized by Maester Seymour Guado, joining Braska's daughter Yuna on her pilgrimage.

AUs:

-

Writing Sample:

Pyreflies were still swarming around his body, pale spheres of whispering soul shards. His soul, slowly returning to his form, giving him life anew. If an unsent could be said to live... by any means.

He had long since stopped being astonished by his condition, his preternatural limbo between life and death. Moving a careful step forward, the warrior monk lifted his gaze, taking in the shocking surroundings of this new world.

At least, here he was. Zanarkand. Not the ruins where his closest friends had forever given up their lives to save Spira. But a lively, crowded city wrapped in a night cloak that was costellated with hundreds of thousands of lights. Homes and buildings filled with people, going about their cosmopolitan, carefree routines. Technology he had never fathomed could exist created traffic on large suspended roads made of concrete.

Everything around him was overwhelmingly busy and chaotic. In this bustling city so full of people, could he really hope to easily find a single child?

It may be a difficult search, but this was his mission now. He had a promise to keep.

And so, he marched on.

Find my rules on my blog HERE.

[mostfuckableffvillain]

Round 1 - Eliminations:

Today, we must say goodbye to Feolthanos, Maester Wen Kinoc, Spiritus, Baralai, Judgemaster Cid, Dycedarg Beoulve, Kum'Lanaut, Leon, Mag'molada, and Xande. There were some... bizarre matchups in this round, that's for sure.

Congratulations to Barbariccia, Yu Yevon, Vayne Solidor, Astos, Ultros, Dr. Cid Bunansa, Queen Remedi, Shuyin, Bhunivelze, and Elgo! We look forward to seeing you in Round 2!

Here are some of the reasons some of these bad boys were nominated:

Spiritus: The story sucks but he's sexy and also would probably fuck you if you asked and he thought you did a good job fighting people

Kam'lanaut: that long hair. those face markings. that slutty body. everything

Leon: He may have ended up good, but he really tried to be a villain, and probably fucked. Just not his sister.

Dycedarg: Beautifully douchey hair. Extreme waist to hip ratio. Loves drinking wine and plotting assassinations. Collapses dramatically on multiple occasions. Cooks a mean mushroom dish.

[chaos-in-rush]

Just thinking about how after Yuna was tossed into the dungeon, Seymour was like, "let's keep her alive" and the other Maesters were like, "nah." So he said, "fine let me kill her" but Kinoc didn't trust him for good reason...

Seymour WASN'T going to kill Yuna. He was going to kidnap her and force her to go to Zanarkand and make him her final aeon.

And I can't stop thinking about an alternate ending (so to speak, it's in the middle of the story) where Yuna's guardians all die or fail and he actually manages to take her and escape Bevelle with her. How would she escape? Could she have escaped? Would he have got his way? Would Yuna's remaining guardians have been able to save her? Or avenge her death?

[antepenultimatefantasy]

FFX Playthrough Part 14

Smoochin’ in Lakes and Beatin’ up Ghosts

-So somehow Auron has cleared our names? Are we still fugitives? We just double murdered a maester and escaped from dumb execution prison maze underwater funtime theme park

-Anyway, Tidus and Yuna have A Serious Conversation™ waist deep in a pond

-Joking aside, this is a very sweet and terribly sad scene that shows how Tidus’s status is an outsider makes him uniquely qualified to cheer her up in this situation and help her imagine a world different from the one they reside in, where she doesn’t have to die for a country with a truly corrupted belief system

-Imagining this other world, though, is what ultimately makes Yuna decide to continue on her pilgrimage

-She is still fundamentally a selfless person and thinks that she can give others this fantastic world if she dies 

-Her kissing Tidus does show that she is allowing herself at least one “selfish” thing at what she thinks is the end of her life

-She still wants to fully experience love, not just for her country, but for him

-But duty takes precedent over individual love so she must continue

-This is so heavy:

-In the end, though, this is where we see that her resolve was never based in Yevon. She’s carrying on without it, possibly stronger and more driven than before

-Anywayyyyy

-The Calm Lands are legit nice

-Lol Auron’s like “Summoner’s lose focus here” and Yuna’s like “time to lie in the grass!”

-I realize now that he probably means that many have a change of heart and realize they don’t have the will to carry out their sacrifice

-Ope, some rando named Father Zuke says that Mika has blamed Kinoc’s death on the team

-So we’re definitely fugitives

-Father Zuke? More like Daddy Zuke

-Also, we’re way too late in the game for new NPCs! 

-Wakka and Lulu used to be guardians for Daddy Zuke but it didn’t go so well 

-We find that Belgemine is just a ghost living in a spooky house all by herself picking fights with passing summoners

-That’s the kind of energy I aspire to

-Also? There’s like a monster arena with a live Blue Eyes White Dragon just like wriggling half in the mountain? 

-It looks literally like no other fiend in the whole game?

-Who is she?

-So the Guado summon like a golem thing to stop us

-Fight your own battles, you cowards! 

-Love those shoulder pads though. Very 80s. 

-The introduction to the Chamber of the Stolen Fayth is very ominous, with Lulu’s first summoner having died there

-Makes it all seem much more real and dangerous than just getting knocked to 0 HP

-(Which I am verrrrry used to in this run…)

-Lulu’s (now zombie) summoner is dressed so similarly to Belgemine

-What’s up with these dead ladies and their cinnamon bun head pieces??

-Is that why Dona opted for fishnets and stilettos?

-Yojimbo is the second most stylish aeon after Shiva

-I love how this dude decided he and his dog would become divine spirits together

-And how he makes summoners haggle for his services

-He’s living that freelance life! Taking on odd jobs, hanging out with his dog, dealing with clients that haggle too much

-That’s probably how Lulu’s first summoner died

-“Oh I was going to pay you in exposure! When everyone sees you help beat Sin they’ll want your services!”

-Anyway, I’m naming him Himbo

-When we were partying, he studied the blade

[fulgensun]

CHARACTER FILES

BASICS.

FULL NAME:  Tidus  ( originally Tiida, which means ‘sun’ ) NICKNAME :  // GENDER :  male HEIGHT :  5′9′‘ // 175 cm AGE :  17 ZODIAC :  his true date of birth is unknown, so we can’t be sure. if we follow the trend of also Zidane and Squall etc DOBs, Tidus would be born on October 10th and be a Libra. but given he’d be the most dysfunctional Libra ever I personally doubt it ahah I headcanon him being born on July 19th, the day FFX was first released, so his zodiac sign here would be Cancer. SPOKEN LANGUAGES :  common Spiran, tiny bits of Al Bhed learnt during the pilgrimage.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.

HAIR COLOR :  blond with darker roots EYE COLOR :  deep blue SKIN TONE :  tanned BODY TYPE :  athletic, yet slightly underweight and slim DOMINANT HAND :  right POSTURE :  straight, healthy MOST NOTICEABLE FEATURE :  his vivid eye-color, probably the contrast between skin tone and hair color too; weird clothes

CHILDHOOD

FIRST WORDS :  probably the common ones all toddlers learn first, or his own name SIBLINGS :  none PARENTS :  unnamed mother & Jecht PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT :  his mother would difficultly care and hardly give proper attention to Tidus whenever her husband was home from work; but she was still a very docile and condescending kind of parental figure to the boy, when raising him till the age of 7-8. She’d often cater all her strengths and attentions to Jecht, sometimes ignoring or neglecting the boy’s cries or pleas till her husband would make her notice; as a child, Tidus simply didn’t notice this side of her, and instead thought his father would keep her away from him on purpose - a fact that did add fuel to his hatred for Jecht. His father would be home way less than Tidus’ mother, because of his work. He was a rougher and brusque type of parent and despite loving his son, he could not express it clearly. Still, hid father did sparkle in Tidus his sense of competitivness and his passion for blitzball, no matter if the man would often verbally belittle his weak son’s poor attemps with a blitz ball -- that’s the type of father he has believed to know. Still, Jecht was involved in his growth, the novel even reveals it was him who taught Tidus how to swim as a child. Once Jecht disappeared, Tidus’ mother fell cronically ill and depressed, ceasing most likely to care or tend to her son as time in solitude went by, and eventually died shortly after Auron came to Zanarkand. From age 8 onward, Tidus has been in Auron’s care.

ADULT LIFE.

OCCUPATION :  Ace Player of the Abes Team back in Dream Zanarkand; Guardian when brought to Spira; post X-2, Tidus returns being a Blitzball player (most likely playing for the Aurochs) and quickly regains his once-lost fame. CURRENT RESIDENCE :  Dream Zanarkand, boathouse in A-East district (childhood) // Besaid Island, then Bevelle (post X-2) CLOSE FRIENDS :  all the other guardians, plus Yuna, really, especially Wakka and Rikku; a part of me really wants to add Clasko to this, too, while he’s obviously not as close as the others, for Tidus. RELATIONSHIP STATUS :  single, then in a relationship with Yuna DRIVER’S LICENSE :  Dream Zanarkand had cars and all but I guess he never got a license back there, and that kind of stuff just don’t exist in Spira; he has the chocobo riding license! CRIMINAL RECORD :  by Spiran Temple standards and teachings, he’s accused of heresy for having entered the sacred Cloisters when still not a guardian twice; he’s also accused of having conspired with Al Bhed and joined their insurrection back at Home, and of having interrupted an important Yevon matrimony in the holy capital. He’s probably also accused of having opposed and most likely killed warrior monks during the wedding crash, not to count Guado guards in Macalania and Home. He escaped prison and became a ‘most wanted’, too, with a bounty on his head. Plus, opposing Yunalesca and Yu Yevon could be associated with (Spiran/Yevonite) blasphemy -- despite them really being both the bad guys of the situation here. I guess the accusations all fall with the crisis of the Temple Spira faces and the disappearance of Sin but... god, Tidus... [update: I’ve been reminded in my notes I forgot to mention he did partake in the murder of Seymour, a Maester of Yevon, and of his accusations of treason, not to mention the fact Spira did believe Tidus and the others had killed Kinoc too. The situation just keeps getting worse HAHA ]

MISCELLANEOUS.

CHARACTER THEME SONG :  here it is because I’m basic, in 4 different, beautiful versions HOBBIES TO PASS THE TIME :  swimming, playing blitzball, cooking and eating, reading Al Bhed primers, practising fighting and time-related spells, napping, daydreaming MENTAL ILLNESS :  anxiety disorders, fear of abandonment PHYSICAL ILLNESS :  none

tagged by  @baajisms​ aaa ty! <33 tagging:  okay, steal this from me and if you do tag me because i wanna read your muse’s criminal records now ahaha

[wingsyouburn]

Fic: When A Heart Knows Fear, Chapter 3 (Final Fantasy IV/X)

Title: When A Heart Knows Fear

Fandoms: Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy X, World of Final Fantasy

Characters: Rydia (Final Fantasy IV), Yuna (Final Fantasy X & X-2), Auron (Final Fantasy X), Lulu (Final Fantasy X & X-2), Wakka (Final Fantasy X & X-2), Seymour Guado, Kimahri Ronso, Cecil Harvey

Pairing: Rydia/Yuna

Rating: Teen

AO3 Tags: Pre-Relationship, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe, Alternate Main Character, Crossover, Crossover Pairing, Panic Attacks, No Tidus, Families of Choice

Summary: Now a guardian on Yuna's pilgrimage, Rydia has to find her place among the group - and learns the world and politics of Spira are bigger than she knows.

A direct sequel to Left Your Mark On Me.

Notes: I told @runicmagitek that I would write them a sequel to this story at some point, and now it's taken on a life of its own. I hope you all enjoy!

The version of Rydia is based on how she appears in World of Final Fantasy, and as such, she does not go through the rapid aging process as she does in Final Fantasy IV.

He stared out over the water. In the distance, the sea was starting to change color, growing darker, like the sun was about to set. “Kinoc and I served as warrior monks together,” he said, after a long moment. “No love lost between you then.” That much was obvious. “He became a maester, and you… became a guardian?” “A legendary guardian. So they say.” Someday Rydia was going to ask Yuna or Lulu what exactly was so legendary about him. Maybe Auron would tell her now. “What did you do to earn such fame?” He turned that glare onto her. “Do you always ask this many questions?” Rydia shrugged. “Must not have been that legendary.” Silence hung between them. Finally, Auron sighed. “I stood guard while Yuna’s father defeated Sin and brought Spira peace.” The Crusaders worked through their battle paces. The Al Bhed checked their weapons again. These people were preparing for war. “This doesn’t look much like peace,” she admitted, softly. “Then maybe Yuna will do what Braska could not,” Auron said, hefting his katana onto his shoulder. “The operation will begin soon. We must stay with Yuna.”

Read Chapter 3 at AO3!

[ previous chapters: 1 | 2 ]

[cygnahime]

FFX Relivebloggening, Part ???

I started this post at least a week ago, probably two. Such is the power of new obsessions.

I haven't posted in a while because a) no one was responding anyway and more importantly b) my friends got me into FFXIV and I've been playing that intensely. Not that I've gotten very far in the plot, but there's so much Stuff one can do. Also it's nice to be run through dungeons by people who have verbally agreed to put up with me not knowing what to do. But it's down for maintenance tonight, and I'm unwillingly awake, so back to the Thunder Plains it is! I'm underleveled, or less overleveled than I'm used to, this time. Yuna doesn't even have Cura yet, and Auron's not dealing the damage I'm used to expecting. I love Maechen's discourse on Bilghen, particularly that, as an Al Bhed, he isn't mentioned in Yevon-sanctioned history - something that is not without relevance to our modern world. Tidus tells Shelinda there won't be a wedding, because he really wants Yuna to turn Seymour down, even though what she's said definitely suggests that she won't. "I must do what everyone wants, not just what I want." Auron's milkshake brings all the boys to the yard, and they're like, "I wonder if you remember me." I guess Rin's Calm Lands Travel Agency was there even back then. (They're in the Jecht spheres, so I guess they were.) And Auron doesn't want Rin saying things that might lead people to realize he did in fact die that night. Tidus is downright terrible at eavesdropping - but then, Yuna is equally terrible at not being eavesdropped on. It takes her a full five seconds to realize she should turn off the sphere. "I know one way to take care of him." Unbeknownst to Tidus, that's exactly what Jyscal meant, and Yuna's stressing over it. It's not a slightly mean joke to her. Wakka may be oblivious to Rikku's race, but he knows Yuna well enough to know when there's something on her mind. He's just kind of given up on getting it out of her - she's not a good liar, but she's stubborn, and Wakka's sure not the kind to subtly worm info out of a person. Poor Rikku. She's doing better with being surrounded by her phobia than most adults I know, and she's only 15. None of Yuna's nearest and dearest want her to marry Seymour. Even Wakka, who you'd think would be all for a maester, is like, "Do you have to marry him?" Tip: if all your friends hate your fiancé, DUMP HIM. (Of course, Yuna knows he's no good, so that tip won't help.) And because a summoner can do whatever she wants, all she has to do is say it's a personal matter, and everyone has to...not be okay with it, any more than they're okay with her being a summoner in the first place, but not try to stop her. Tidus is the only one who doesn't know why everyone is concerned about Yuna's decision-making process, which is ironic given that he's the reason. Lulu says it, if you get her convo in Guadosalam: she would want Yuna to marry for love, even though she'd have to object to her marrying "the one she loves". (Which I've always interpreted as, she shouldn't marry someone who doesn't know she's going to die. It's really not fair to Tidus.) I seriously need to grind some more levels. I am just not getting the damage output I need. "She's naive, serious to a fault, and doesn't ask for help." Much like someone Auron remembers being. He's not thinking of Braska; Braska wasn't any of those things, at least not by the time Auron knew him. But from what we see, Auron was. No wonder he finds her so easy to read. [Some grinding time later] Dona's made good time, at least up until she got caught. And Barthello doesn't know the Al Bhed grabbed her, so they must have really "gotten separated" at some point. Did they have a fight? Or just need a little privacy for one thing or another? You don't want to always live in someone's pocket, no matter how much you love them. At least I wouldn't. And Rikku, of course, is not thinking "good luck", she's thinking "sorry". It's to protect Dona, she can be sure Dona's fine, but Barthello doesn't know that. I wonder how Jecht's sphere got left behind here. Really, I wonder how all of them except Braska's got where they are. (Braska's I assume Auron dropped while crawling down the mountain.) Auron was expecting to find this one here; he says Jecht left it here. I wonder why. I guess by then Jecht had accepted that the only way Tidus was ever seeing him again was in Spira. Auron at the beginning of the journey wants to hurry through it - I think what he says to Jecht offscreen is telling him about all the people Sin is killing while they dilly-dally. Not that he wants Braska to die sooner, but he is on board with the noble sacrifice. But then, by the time they get to Zanarkand...Well, we'll see. And Jecht is the reverse. At first, as Auron says, he's planning to go home, thinking of Spira as an adventure that doesn't really matter overall. But then by Zanarkand he too is very different. Auron has to be the one to tell Tidus that Jecht loved him. And Tidus does want to hear that, but he wanted to hear it from his father, when he needed it, not from someone who came to hear more about Jecht's emotions than his son ever did. Now, this being the HD/International version, I need to go back and get those spheres now, because once I fight Seymour, some of them will be locked behind Dark Aeons, and we don't want that. So, it's the Grand Mini Reunion Tour! (We're gonna stop for the moonlilies.) Thunder Plains: Jecht. Jecht no. This is just kind of a quiet moment, but Jecht made Braska laugh, which is always good. Wait, shit, there's another one in Macalania, isn't there? I'll get it on my way back. Moonflow: This one is from their first time through the Moonflow, the drunken shoopuf attack Auron described for us earlier. Jecht's introduction to Consequences! Not just Auron lecturing him, but Auron making it clear that a mere apology won't cut it if he doesn't change his behavior. Mushroom Rock: Insight into Auron's and Kinoc's relationship. It definitely sounds like Auron refused to do something shady (maybe that marriage, to a woman who didn't want him/he didn't want) that led to him not getting the promotion, and Kinoc did whatever it is, so he gets to advance through the ranks. ...It's really queer, just, the tension between honesty/being out and suffering the consequences vs going along/staying in the closet and getting the benefits of assumed straightness. At least that's what I think. Maybe it's because of the marriage element. Marry the high priest's daughter, advance in your career...or be true to yourself and be cast out. Mi'ihen: Apparently the Chocobo Eater is a chronic or at least recurring problem. I wonder if Team Braska got knocked off the cliff. The sphere is down on the Oldroad, after all. Luca: Sometimes you are suddenly attacked by missing people out of nowhere. I think this is more likely to be on the way back than the way down, but we're getting pretty close either way. Winno: This is clearly on the way to Besaid, because Jecht asks about where they're going after that. Still, Auron and Jecht have warmed up to each other a lot already. And I think by now Jecht definitely knows that Braska's going to die. Besaid: I suspect one of Besaid's good points, to Braska's mind, is that it is literally as far from Bevelle as it is possible to be. It's not like it's far from the "conflict" with Sin; I suspect it's a more political conflict he means. I'm really sad about the cat and dog in Luca waiting by the stairs for their person, a Crusader who's probably never coming home. Babies... Macalania: The very first of the spheres, and I'm kind of curious how any of them got ahold of the security footage from the Bevelle jail. I'd think it was their memories naturally crystallized, but it's shot from over their shoulders. Jecht is an easy sell, especially when he's in the drunk tank and probably also about to be arrested for blasphemy. Meanwhile, Braska loves his irony, and also the rag-tag bunch of misfits trope. And now that I'm back at the end of Macalania Woods, I'm going to end this post finally, after several weeks. If you want to see more in a more timely manner, comment and chat with me? I want! To talk! About video games!