#new yevon

[mishyoona]

[machinast]

[painsrequiem]

*chokes*

"Tromell, please dispose of any citrus within the mansion."

[braskide]

i can't tell if this is me talking through my sleeping medication but i just started connecting the dots on : summoners must have traditional dances passed from older generations of summoners before them and whatnot? because of the sending and all that concerns that — and then it hit me like. what if yevon in order to restore the little it has suggests the high summoner performs in traditional garbs as a form to honor her becoming the high summoner that lives. is this anything

[hubmuses]

pilfering a book seemed rather mundane unless the book in question was held up in a super secret location that only Yevon monks would know about. it wasn't HER FAULT when she overheard them whispering about it, nor was she TOO BLAME when she snuck in after them as they mentioned it needed to be escorted somewhere. though she did manage to yonk it out of their grasp, however, that was when the chasing began.

" right! " she yelled out as she tossed the book , one that was clasped shut with a tight lock on it. she watched as Yuna was suddenly the target of their ire. though two monks did stay on her tail, " uhh! meet you back out that way! " rikku yelled out again , this time splitting up -- for now -- heading out a door to her left. she was used to this. the running. the slipping up, and the delightful victory at the end of the road. which would happen to be any minute. once she gets rid of the monks. hiding back in yevon's temple.

it took her a bit, but eventually she got free of those two, and refound @ofmoonlily . throwing her hand up in the air and speaking a bit too loudly, " piece of cake! " she went on to explain what she overheard the monks saying before adding, " think it's got something good written in it? " then she threw her hands behind her head and added, " or should we just sell it? "

continued.

[mekatrio]

ALSO WAIT.... TIDUS DIED FOR THEIR SIN(S)

[moonflowyuna]

New Kabuki FINAL FANTASY X - Clips Master List

Character Introductions

(Tidus) (Auron) (Wakka) (Lulu) (Yuna) (Kimahri) (Rikku)

Tidus and Yuna's Whistle

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4)

The Blitzball Tournament

(Part 1) (Part 2)

Tidus' Laugh

(Part 1) (Part 2)

Seymour's Past

(Part 1) (Part 2)

Fight with Seymour

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4)

Tidus Learns the Truth

(Part 1) (Part 2)

Tidus and Yuna at Macalania ("Suteki Da Ne?")

(Part 1) (Part 2)

To Zanarkand ("Listen to My Story")

Confrontation with Yunalesca

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3)

Tidus Faces Jecht

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3)

Defeating the Aeons + Yu Yevon

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (coming soon)

On the Deck of the Airship ("Arigato") (coming soon)

----------

Updating regularly.

Clip requests and questions about kabuki or Final Fantasy can be sent via ask.

[luckydicekirby]

fun thing I'm enjoying this go round of replaying ffx is like. the fact that braska's pilgrimage was considered a joke at the time, but he's known in the present as this great iconic figure. and in fact you only really learn he wasn't well liked from one of the optional jecht spheres. braska and auron are famous and beloved and remembered as heroes! no one seems to remember that braska's wife was al bhed--it's at least not common knowledge enough that it's news to wakka. no one remembers auron being in disgrace for refusing to marry some important guy's daughter either! (i had also forgotten this and was really knocked over by it. really really forgot that auron is just gay like absolutely for real.) it's just like, yeah, of course that's true—a summoner is more useful to maintaining yevon's power when they're dead, and then anything inconvenient about them can be erased.

[spoiler-alert-andabunchofnumbers]

Let's talk about Tidus and Yuna, shall we?

As someone who enjoys FFX, this probably should have come a long time ago. Tidus and Yuna's characters in the original Final Fantasy 10 are excellent.

Tidus successfully portrays a seventeen-year-old boy in this fantasy situation - slightly annoying, slightly arrogant because of his famous father and his own famous Blitzball career, and utterly overwhelmed by being thrust into an entirely new world without knowing if he can go home.

While FFX tries to fake you out into thinking it's a time-travel story where he has been thrust 1000 years into the future, the city of Zanarkand is a physical location in Spira that just requires you to be made of pyreflies to enter (aka dead or a summon). This makes Tidus essentially a summon, which is an interesting theory for another day. This means Zanarkand is just a place that hasn't changed in 1000 years, likely in some infinite loop imagining and reimagining people who had once lived there - warping them slowly over time, but ultimately just trying to keep the city alive (which is how we got Tidus from Shuyin, I think, idk I really don't care for 10-2's plot). The fayth were trying to imagine what would happen if Zanarkand was never destroyed, but I think they simply would have started running out of ideas for new people who lived there, so it did end up looping old characters into slightly newer forms. Like fanfiction characters, honestly.

But it's so great to see Tidus's journey. He starts the game a confused outsider just trying to survive, someone who doesn't mind speaking up about how he feels and what he believes. His outsider perspective provides a means for the audience to be introduced to Spira's world building as well, and we also get to see an unbiased point of view to Yevon's religion - and not necessarily a disrespectful one. Tidus, though he doesn't preach Yevon as a devout follower for his entire life, still tries to make an effort to be respectful of the good parts. When Shelinda corrects him, "That's MAESTER Seymour, or LORD Seymour", he says "Sorry, I'll be careful."

He dashes into the Cloister of Trials to save the summoner who might be in danger, regardless of the rules or presincts, because he's got a childish outlook life and a good heart despite his many inital arrogant qualities. He wants the best outcome, he's willing to believe in doing the right thing even when it's hard, and yeah it's unrealistic at times, but it's a breath of fresh air for the people of Spira who live rather docile lives always in fear of Sin and dedicating themselves to the kindness of Yevon's teachings. He admits "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea" after he breaks the rules for the first time, and watching Yuna on her pilgrimage and how she interacts with the people who admire her for her father and her own summoner status allows Tidus to humble himself while still remaining fundamentally defiant to anything he doesn't agree is right - aka Yuna sacrificing herself.

Religion isn't always a bad thing, and FFX makes a point to emphasize this. The people of Spira are kind and respectful, banding together in the hard times and unting together to have hope. Yuna is initially a beacon of hope - all summoners are - making people smile and flock to her wherever she goes, and she gives people respect and encourages them to have faith not only in her, but in themselves as well. Even when she's branded a traitor, a significant number of people recognize Yuna's dedication to the people and immediately believe the next tale about it all being an evil Al-Bhed rumor.

Yevon's corruption is just a few people abusing their power, twisting a good message into a cult-like dedication. Wakka is the most notable case, but technically all of the characters go through a period of blindly believing in the teachings and Yevon and eventually finding their own path. Even Tidus, who didn't grow up believing in Yevon or knowing its teachings, finds that the people's way of life living in rightful fear of Sin has them NEEDING Yevon and the messages of kindness and compassion it preaches. Maybe they shouldn't believe in everything the Maesters say Yevon is, but he can understand the intentions behind it and how the regular, uncorrupt people just live their lives trying to be good.

Now that I think about it, the parallels between Yevon and Blitzball actually make a lot of sense - Blitzball is the entertainment people go to in order to forget about the fears of Sin, and Yevon is the religion people worship in an effort to band together and have hope against Sin. Huh. No wonder a Blitzball sign for victory became a religious thing.

Anyway, Wakka eventually apologizes! He recognizes that the Al-Bhed are just people. They don't believe in Yevon's ways BECAUSE they care, just from a different perspective. Just because they don't believe in Yevon doesn't mean they're savages, and when their Home is destroyed by merciless Guado, he hears them singing the Hymn of the Fayth to respect their fallen as well. Wakka admits he didn't want to hear anything he didn't agree with, that he was a jerk, and Cid agrees that he's hated Yevonites just for being Yevonites too.

Here's a Wakka glare just for our collective amusement.

Who were we talking about? Ah, Tidus.

Tidus is indeed a whiny character, childish, toeing the line between humor and annoyance. But he matures throughout the course of his journey, caring for the entire crew but Yuna especially. When they reach Zanarkand and learn the truth about the Final Summoning, Lulu tells him, "If you want everything, you'll end up with nothing," and he replies, "But I want everything!" His unwavering hope and optimism even when everyone is telling him it's impossible is necessary for the story, to tell the characters that yes, your sacrifices will be pretty and give temporary relief, and you'll be dead and martyred and remembered - but how can it be right? It's not.

From his basic, outsider, new perspective on this world he only just joined, it's not right. He didn't grow up with this being normal, so even in comparison to the Al-Bhed, he knows that it's not.

There's a saying somewhere that I forget the source, but basically it goes like "Children are raised to believe the world is good and fair but are outraged when they grow to learn it is not." Tidus asks what an ADULT would do, sacrificing a summoner and just moving on with their lives like it was fine to give one life for many, just happy it wasn't them. Adults are indoctrinated into a way of life and a way of thinking, and it's extremely hard to get people to change their minds - but not, as FFX proves, impossible. Both he and Yuna are still kids, kids who are still able to grow up to see the world for what it truly is.

Yuna was betrayed by Yevon, all her beliefs torn down and the hope she had placed on the system shattered. But she continued her pilgrimage. She dreamt of all the fun things she could do if she quit, knew that all of her friends and Guardians would accept her choice, but she knew she could never let it go. She stood up to the Ronso saying that she was fighting for the people, not the temples or Yevon - impressing Kelk Ronso who says she has an iron will that towers over Gagazette's peaks.

She has given her everything to this trip, but it's not fair. Just because it's the right thing to do doesn't mean it's right - and you need a character like Tidus to put his foot down and say no. Everyone is willing to sacrifice themselves, everyone is willing to be the one to die so that others can be happy. But it's not fair. It's not right to let anyone die, even if they're willing, even if it's one for many. It's a temporary fix, it's feeding an endless cycle of lies and false hope. It's not real.

But it is YUNA who ultimately makes the choice to say no. All this time, she's been insisting she keeps going despite both Rikku and Tidus's protests and desperate attempts to get her to change her mind. She's been the most resolute out of all of them to go through with this, but in the end, it's not Tidus or Rikku who kill Yunalesca before she can get the chance or present her a stirring enough argument or some alternative. No, it's Yuna who asks directly what the cycle of the Final Summoning and Sin mean, hearing that the hope they offer is false, and when asked who will be her fayth, everyone is silent, waiting for her answer - because it is Yuna'a choice, Yuna's pilgrimage, Yuna's story. And she says, "No one."

She would have gladly died for the people of Spira, but she is done. She isn't going to join into this cycle of death and lies. Her father chose to become a summoner and defeated Sin, but it was because he truly believed that it would make a difference. He died because he had hope, and maybe it was indeed false hope, but somewhere deep down, he really did want to find a way to stop Sin for good. He and Jecht went into that battle hoping that Jecht and Auron would find a way to break the cycle. And let's be honest, they did. Tidus and Yuna were brought up differently, but they end up seeing each other's sides of the story and agreeing on so many things. The people are worth fighting for even when they're being misled.

Yunalesca's argument is that sorrow will always exist, and false hope is all anyone can offer to soften the blow. But Yuna is ready to live with her sorrow and brave whatever comes from it. She will find her own hope, even without knowing there will be another way, and she knows she will conquer it. She proved it long before she reached Zanarkand, after enduring Yevon's betrayal; now her methods have changed, but her end goal is as resolute as it's always been. She's going to defeat Sin, and she's going to give people REAL hope, even when it's hard.

Yuna says no to Yunalesca. She joins in the fight to destroy the Final Summoning forever, and slowly she learns that she can function beyond Yevon's teachings. The team who made 10-2 seemed to think that Yuna needed to toughen up and become some kind of badass (which they failed at portraying, Yuna is an utter wreck in that game and let's not talk about how Rikku devolved), but she was already a freaking strong character! She stood up for herself the entire game as a strong-willed summoner willing to give her life for the cause, but she also stood up for herself by declaring she would LIVE. It's entirely in character for her, even when she's changing her mind and broadening her horizons. Yuna was the character who smiled even knowing she was on a long, slow journey that would end in her death, who was willing to do it if it would make others smile too. That is a strong character right there.

I do agree that she might not know what to do with her life now that she doesn't plan to die, but come on, don't make her into a wanna-be who tries to pretend like she doesn't care only to reveal yup she cares, what a pushover. Her caring nature is what makes her great to watch! Frustrating when she tries to do everything on her own with the Seymour thing, but entirely in character. Empowering when she makes her own choices and decides for herself. I don't know why she does nothing for two whole years during Eternal Calm but okay maybe I can see it. But for her to try doing a 180, respecting no one and no one respecting her even though she DEFEATED SIN was such a mistake. Plus the mini games in 10-2 are utterly atrocious. Anyway, tangent over.

But then the script has flipped at the end of 10. Tidus is the one that realizes Zanarkand is what Sin is protecting, that defeating Sin will make the whole city and everyone made from the dream disappear. He is the one who has to sacrifice himself for Sin to be defeated. Unlike summoners, however, Sin won't come back if he does this. He's grown across the journey just like Jecht did, following a summoner and learning what it means to want to give your life living in hope that it'll save everyone else.

Yuna has to sacrifice the Aeons she's forged her own bond with - which, remember, every summoner makes a unique bond with the aeons. She has to say goodbye to Auron, see Sir Jecht only one more time as he gives his life as an Aeon and uses the last of his power to give his sword for the final battles to fight on (did ya notice that?). Then, in the final tragic scene, Tidus becomes intangible and tries to say a cheerful goodbye, apologizing for not being able to show her Zanarkand like they had pondered when Yuna was dreaming of the things she'd do if she abandoned her pilgrimage and lived. Now, Yuna is the one having to say goodbye to the one sacrificing their life. The soft piano, the wailing of the colorful pyreflies as they disperse with all the dead, it's freaking beautiful man.

Yuna's final line hits hard too, her speech about how everyone has lost homes, dreams, and friends. They can build new homes and new dreams, even if they can't get back lost friends. "The people and the friends that we have lost...or the dreams that have faded...never forget them." Get it? Be...Because Tidus is a dream that faded? Anyway I'll just be crying in the corner over here don't mind me.

In the end, it's sort of understandable why Yuna just sits around in Besaid after the end of 10 during Eternal Calm. Maybe. Not only did she have no plans for her life after Sin was defeated (thinking she would be the one to die), but she lost her entire purpose in life AND she's reeling from the fact that even though she made the choice not to sacrifice herself just for everyone else's false hope, someone still had to give their life - Tidus. Someone still ended up dying for the cause, even after all she went through deciding to live.

The ONLY moments I actually respect Yuna from 10-2 is during the end, when Nooj volunteers a plan to give his life to win the battle (which was already stupid even before Yuna's speech because we're talking about an Unsent, Nooj your plan does nothing to stop someone who's already dead, idiot). Yuna's lines are extremely good and well voice acted too: "'We had no choice.' Always 'We had no choice.' Those are our magic words. We repeat them to ourselves again and again. But you know... The magic never worked! The only thing we're left with is regret. No. I don't want this anymore. I don't want friends to die...or fade away. I don't want battles where we have to lose in order to win."

It also demonstrates better than that stupid minigame how difficult it was for Yuna to have destroyed the aeons she had forged a bond with. What I'm saying is, fuck Beclem and everyone else who dares disrespect Yuna, summoners, and everything they went through. Even though that time and age in Spira might be over, that's NO reason to immediately scoff in the face of everything all those people went through - everything YUNA sacrificed and endured for the sake of these ungrateful whelps.

Both Tidus and Yuna were excellent protagonists of X, despite both of them having a lot of growing to do. In conclusion, let me make use of this fun poll feature if you made it this far down:

[genericpuff]

Hey when im writing a story how to talk about the lore without exposition dumping and why is exposition dumping a bad thing?

Ouu, fun writing question!

There's no easy single answer to just "avoid" exposition. In some cases, exposition dumping isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it can be used improperly, like any other writing device. Really, your goal isn't necessarily to outright avoid exposition, but to find a way to naturally implement it into the story without grinding the pacing to a halt or creating confusion for your reader.

To name a few methods to implement exposition naturally:

You can have a main character act as the "surrogate" for the audience. Good examples of this are Harry Potter or Final Fantasy X - both of which are plots that involve the main character entering a world that is not their own and having to learn about that world through their own experiences. Now, you do have to be careful with this as, in the case of Harry Potter, using a character PURELY as a surrogate for the audience like that can result in the character themselves having little personality. Harry Potter himself is one such example, in the beginning we find out so much about the wizarding world through him that we never really get to know him. That's why I include FFX as another example - Tidus is a character who has his own personality, his own motives, his own quirks, while being a stranger in Spira who doesn't know how their world works, but they use that to the advantage of his character writing by making him this sorta doofy dumbass who doesn't take things quite as seriously as the people of Spira do (such as the religion of Yevon) but as such, is able to identify all the problems Spira is suffering from specifically BECAUSE he's an outsider looking in and hasn't been brainwashed like everyone else who grew up in that world.

If you don't have a main character who's new to the world, then you have to find ways to naturally implement exposition. Thing is, if your character and the people around them are familiar with the world they inhabit, why would they describe their world at length to one another? This is where a lot of poorly handled exposition dumping happens especially from writers just starting out. They'll have their characters explain things to each other that they really shouldn't have to have explained to them, and as such it can make it feel really clunky and wordy (and makes the dialogue feel unnatural). You can use shortcuts around this, such as taglines like "Did you forget? Xyz..." or "How can you still be confused, it's xyz..." but those are still tricks that can be overused or feel ham-fisted if not used properly, it really only works if the character who it's being explained to is "out of touch" or if there's reason for them to not be privy to the information being explained to them.

As much as your readers will need things explained to them, don't treat your readers like they're stupid - half the fun of experiencing a story is the discovery process. Not everything needs to be spelled out to your readers, some things can just exist and not have to be explained. The only time explanations should be made is if it's absolutely necessary to your plot, otherwise, having something just be in the background or mentioned casually is more than good enough. To go back to the FF X example, Tidus doesn't need blitzball to be explained to him, it's the one familiarity he has in Spira. Therefore, there's zero reason to have Wakka explain blitzball to Tidus as a way to explain it to the audience. Instead, we get an opening cutscene that shows us enough of what blitzball is for us to understand that it's a sport, and later on we get dialogue from Tidus explaining how he's living in his father's shadow and how his dad had this crazy move that he would never teach him and that back in Zanarkand, Tidus was the "star player". We, the audience, can infer enough from what we've been shown that blitzball is a sport in this world, we do not need it to be explained deeper than that, not until we learn the rules of how to play blitzball through the minigame itself, and still those rules aren't that important in the grand scheme of the plot, it's just a strong part of Tidus' characterization and the one thing tying him to the world of Spira when he washes onto its shores. Blitzball is the first thing we see him do in the game and it's the first thing that introduces him to the world of Spira.

To go on a bit of a tangent, I feel like this is where a lot of fantasy writers in particular tend to struggle. While romances will focus more on the characters and thus not be victim to exposition dumping quite as often (though they can be victim to some... very outdated or otherwise toxic tropes) more detail-oriented genres like fantasy and sci-fi can really tend to get lost in the trees. I've beta-read so many fantasy books that have opened with pages upon pages of world information, from languages the creator invented to the different calendars of the different regions to the races and species and yadda yadda it's literally the worst thing you can open your fantasy novel first because it's quite literally putting the cart before the horse. They get so washed up in the details because they forget their audience is there to read a story, not do homework on fictional dialects and food preparation methods. I feel like this is especially a problem for writers who read books like Lord of the Rings and A Song of Ice and Fire and see all the supplemental material, but seem to miss the point that the supplemental material came later, Tolkien didn't start by writing The Silmarillion, he started with The Hobbit which was a simple story of friendship and comradery meant for children. Only later as his audience grew more connected to the characters and the world they inhabited was he able to release the supplemental stuff because the people those details were meant for were already invested in the story. You have to get people invested first, then give them the details, and that starts with a simple idea.

Anyways, all that aside, the best way to see good exposition is to just go read books, watch movies, expose yourself to stories that handle exposition in their own way. Again, it's not a bad thing to have to dump information on people, but you gotta find a way to do it that won't overwhelm your reader or bore them before they've even gotten hooked. Start small and branch out from there. Write the details as they pertain to the characters who would be privy to them. Don't underestimate the intuitiveness of your readers, reading and writing is equal parts communication and discovery.

[mishyoona]

[slightly-gay-pogohammer]

no no no i want to see it in a final fantasy x / demon's souls kind of final boss

like you go ahead and defeat charlie. somehow. she turns into a big monster and tries to superkill everyone but you manage to defeat her, and just as she slowly returns to herself... BOOM, phase 2, caused by one of wagstaff' machines. the grue turns into a mismatch of darkness and science, attacks relentlessly, and despite all odds our guys manage to take her down, turn off the machine, bring charlie to what she used to be

and then the final boss shows up and it's the old science man equivalent of this sanctimonious blob that fights you with his fists and runs around the arena like when you engage in pvp and dies with the usual dont starve PEWWWWwwwww..............

like look at me and tell me it wouldnt be hilarious. look at me and tell me it wouldnt be SO satisfying to have the one guy responsible for so much nonsense go down with, like, two hits with a normal base spear. that it wouldn't be the most don't starve thing ever to not really have a final boss, just like maxwell in don't starve story mode. cmon. cmon.

Been away from don't starve for a while, so is the only reason Wagstaff is single player only because he won't be beat up by everyone? Seems like he's behind a lot of things or at least involved based on the trailers.

by now i sure believe that tbh

like i'm not going to pretend that he's the real Final Boss:tm: buuuuuuuuuut. :)

[nerianasims]

The FFX/FFX-2 bundle happens to be on sale on Steam for more than half off, so I spent some Christmas money on it and gonna play it now. Well, once it's installed. I'm not going to play FFX again (which I've finished I think 3 times) first. I'm going to play FFX-2 and FINISH IT. I have not finished it even once because, as much fun as I find it, I kept getting sidetracked trying to get perfect the first time, which means I have put enough hours in it to finish it like 5 times without actually doing so. I blame ADHD. I will instead set my sights on getting to 100% with a combined playthrough.

It's easiest to do this if you side with New Yevon in one of the playthroughs but. I don't think I can do that. We'll see.

[braskide]

𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 — 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻, in truth, the one yuna had been waiting to see from her. the woman dona had become and the one she had made herself to be had drifted on shores that seemed so far away, and yet at the very end, yuna would carry the weight of her boat all the way back, hoping that in their contrasting hearts they could find the young girls they had once been, if they were ever allowed to be. tonight, this was it. yuna was offering dona a branch to hold onto, a tedious one that seemed to bear many thorns even in saving. but she would not deny it, no matter what — and so, she smiles at her words, the movings of her body suggesting that the child in question was, at once, justified. ❝ i refuse, ❞ the brigthness of her curled lips is directed at the half shadowed face of dona, now half turned towards her.

at once, her consciousness gains the field, and yuna's fingers start maniacally, yet silently toying with the rosé strings of her sleeves, absorbed in thought following a brief silence. she yields the motion at once, in favor of turning around to reach for the cups that would hold the bevellian tea that dona surely would end up hating, alongside everything that the city had to offer ( once, she must have hated her too, did she not? her and her father, so very characteristically from bevelle too ), her weak bite stuck in the bottom lip.

❝ dona... do you truly think it's so unreasonable? ❞ the question gwarls at her core, although the subject is still veiled. there's some clashing sounds as she makes sure all is soon ready to serve, the pacifist tea that would perhaps calm the spirits, and yet yuna stokes the flame once more and with intent. ❝ — that i would want to restore what yevon once was? ❞ the question fills the air of her living space with a heavy load. surely they had found field to fight upon this before, in the many years past when yuna decided to return to the city that had hurt her deeply ... yet, in her heart she knows dona to be the only one unafraid of telling her once more if needed be: if she were to cross lines that should remain untouched, if she had dreams that seemed so out of reach. ❝ not the lies, or the deceiving teachings... ❞ that is what she was working day and night for, wasn't she? uncovering the truth, learning secrets that were so deeply rooted in corruption and hurt; and that is what dona was advocating against just as much, yet yuna can't help but wonder if there was ever a part of her that missed the comfort of home — perhaps that was more her father than her creed. ❝ the warmth, the love — ❞ so, which privilege should one aspire to? the comfort of having loved and lost, or never having had?

[ @starvingtongue ] : continued from here.

[ethernalium]

after yevon's betraying yuna, she realized she wasn't doing for a religion after all, she was going to defeat sin for the people, to bring calm even for a few years, to bring a slice of hope and mend new stories and smiles, she was 100% sure that if the cost of her life would give this to spira...

it would be enough...

[vyriadurav]

Final Fantasy X and Forged in the Light of New Stars, my magitech isekai

I'm remembering FFX and specifically the worldbuilding of it and I think it is not only giving me ideas for Forged, but inspired Forged originally (Forged has always been partly my homage to FF's magitech worlds, but I think the archipelago is due to X) Spira has this really rich feeling culture, the way that the faith of Yevon is woven into everything, the way that Summoners aren't just heroes on a mission, but the medium between the living and the dead, the way that tragedy leaves scars, the whole deal with Sin, it's so good!

the Al Bhed as a distinct culture trying to push back against the narrative of Yevon, the way Yevonites absolutely break their own taboos while justifying it in the name of power, the whole system is just really well set up especially when you see it all through Tidus, a stranger.

So how does this relate to Forged?

Well, Forged is an isekai about a trans woman and a rotten egg, Gwen and Brian respectively, who are transported to Tellara: a world of magitech and wonder that bears the scars of a great cataclysm that shaped the current state of the world. Tellara takes place in an archipelago where people have rebuilt since the oceans rose and wild magic ran free due to the vanishing of the Goddess of Chaos, Teara.

Magic is a central part of Tellaran life. Wielding it directly is dangerous, because of the warping influence of wild magic, so it is wielded through the art of Alchemy, which contains the magic within arrays and language to achieve specific effects safely, and by Mages, who wield magic as Tellarans of old did, directly and intuitively, by changing the nature of their souls to be inviolate by the effects of wild magic. Doing so also changes them permanently into something new.

There's a cultural festival that has taken place in the story thus far, Shatternight, which honors the memory of the lost gods and those who perished in the cataclysm, while also celebrating those who survived and the flourishing that has taken place since. I am contemplating a priesthood of sorts that is inspired by Yuna's sending dance, where they take the idea of remembering the gods further and seek to provide solace to the dead by ensuring their memory is saved for as long as possible.

Spira is one of the best worlds I think Final Fantasy has ever had and I am going to be doing a lot of thinking about the lessons I, as an author, can learn there. (If you want more info on Forged and where to read it, please check out my pinned post: here)