FFX-3 Chat

(A/N): Apparently Tidus isn't the only one being bashed by Nojima.  There's very little love for Brother in here, so I decided to lighten up on the hate. XD Oh, and the radio that Shinra (and Bria) mentioned is apparently meant to be the Commsphere, so I fixed that detail as well (I shall return to Chapter 2 to do the same).


The Celsius sailed through the air in slow velocity; it couldn’t fly any slower without the risk of stalling or worse, crashing. Paine sighed, stuck inside the ****pit listening to everybody’s high-speed conversation. Shinra, the only other one disengaged, sat at his post in front of the monitor, his back turned towards them while immersed in his task. Maybe typing essential calculations for their flight or killing his time with a puzzle, she couldn’t tell. Behind his goggles and full facial mask, nobody could read his expression.
   
“Is the storm approaching in this direction?” Paine said, exploiting their pause in conversation to speak. Buddy, Brother, and Rikku, the three adult Al Bhed who chose to communicate in their native tongue, spoke too fast for Paine to follow. In spite of her decent fluency for the language, she found it almost impossible to understand their belligerent bickering from the actual discussion.

Rikku kept a close watch on the radar. “A huge downpour is heading south where Besaid is. It’s definitely going to blow hard.”
   
“We must inform them at once!” Brother said.
   
“The Commsphere doesn’t work,” Shinra said in a detached tone. “Even though I made sure to replace the last one that broke not too long ago, I’m not receiving any video or audio feedback.” Brother screeched his dissent, but the boy genius contented himself with a shrug. “It’s actually working less and less as time goes by, and it’s not only in Besaid. It’s Kilika as well. I wonder if it’s just in this region, because of the storm.”

Buddy folded his arms, ducking his head in concern. “Why?”
   
“I don’t know. I’m just a kid.”
   
As annoying as the boy could be at times, nobody here knew machines better than him. Paine held him in high regard due to his unparalleled skills. Sure, Gippal knew how to fix them faster and better than anyone back in Djose, as evidenced by repairing Shinra’s rogue communicator which broke in the Farplane, but Shinra’s intelligence far outstripped each and every Machine Faction member combined. Definitely smarter than Brother by a long shot, whose only special talent consisted of venting the most obnoxious rants she had the misfortune of enduring. Paine had no idea what their leader prattled on about, but his constant shouts and wild gestures were already getting on her nerves.

“In this case…” She decided to speak up, yet nobody heard her. Impatient, she snapped. “Shut up!”
   
Brother froze in place, stuck at a ridiculous pose as he jerked his head in her direction, scowling. “...Yes?”
   
“Shouldn’t we hurry back to Besaid before the storm hits? You’ve seen the village, right? Their homes are made of hessian. We have to warn them about this.”
   
Rikku acquiesced without complaint. “If the wind takes their tents, they will lose everything.”
   
Brother looked about ready to cry, collapsing straight into his pilot’s seat where only loud sobs could be heard. Even though they had departed from Besaid like thieves in the night, flying away at top speed, they had nowhere else to go, yet Buddy had made the call in consideration of his friend’s obvious distress. He preferred to keep the heartbroken Brother away from the reunited lovebirds as far as possible. At any rate, the Gullwings continued their discussion without pause, because Brother’s pity party warranted that much little respect from them. How could they when he made it so difficult to be taken seriously?

Paine put a hand to her chin, deep in thought. “But then again, it’s just a storm. I’m sure the inhabitants have survived worse.”
   
“You think so?” Rikku said, skeptical. “Hmm, according to the radar… Oh! It went off! What’s happening? Is the engine overheating?”
   
Shinra twisted around to lean over the top of his seat, shaking his head. “This girl’s have had the last of her days. It's the end of the road for her. A sudden breakdown isn't out of the question, considering it’s supposed to be a millenary device.”
   
“Then, can’t you just build a new one? It’s all right here. You can learn what makes this thing tick and make another one,” Paine said.
   
“Let me think…” Shinra settled back down into his seat, leaning over his custom-made keyboard in rapt thought. “Hmm… I don’t see why not. After all, it’s true that the Al Bhed are comfortable working on machines, but we only know how to use them. Of course, in order to exhume them, discern their functions, recondition them, and understand how to operate them, we had developed an extensive knowledge and skillful dexterity for them. But oddly enough, we still cannot build new ones. Sometimes, I wonder why that is. Don’t you find it kind of strange? I mean, even though Yevon loathed them, people still contributed to their use, yet none of us ever thought to retain a single plan to build machines from the ground up. We might have been able to rediscover new rules and theories of calculations, but only out of a sense of necessity. Our ancestors have left us with nothing, or maybe they were unable to leave anything behind.”
   
Overwhelmed by the scope of his words, Shinra sighed. “Why? Well, I’m afraid that’s the greatest mystery of all.”

I agree with you, UltimaGriever. There's just not enough words to adequately describe the utter frustration we feel towards the astonishingly negative reception of FFX-2.5. I always imagined Yuna and Tidus would have those kind of arguments, based on their different priorities and values growing up. I liked it actually, because it revealed Yuna's true feelings about post-Sin Church and what she wants to do about it. I mean, really stop to think about this:

Yuna disassembled Vegnagun (with the help of her friends, again). She put Shuyin to rest. She saved a friend from the clutches of a psychopathic Unsent. Things were different this time around. She didn't have to lose friends in order to win. She saved them. Then she ran into Bahamut, who made a ridiculously vague offer disguised as a rhetorical question: "Do you want a moment to walk with him again?" /something to that effect, and she said yes because who wouldn't? Wishful thinking. Yuna bids goodbye to her new friends and decides to go home, leaving the Gullwings (without seriously considering she may actually seeing Tidus again). We know from Last Mission, that all she does is babysit Vidina and feel wistful watching her best friends be a happy, little family. In the three months since the game ended. And in the novel, her argument with Tidus heavily implied she had been planning to restore the idle clergy, or at least answer the old folk's concern.

Reuniting with Tidus had more repercussions than we thought, because that changes Yuna's priorities entirely.

I think we've severely underestimated the internal conflicts Yuna struggles with. Yuna's the type of character whose wants and needs are always in conflict, ever since FFX. Not downplaying the importance of Tidus/Yuna or anything, but I'm thinking about Yuna as an individual and how her world keeps constantly changing, for better or for worse. Yuna post-FFX-2 has such fascinating, potential issues that are never seen in plain sight, but they're always there, just bubbling beneath the surface of her smile.

It wouldn't be entirely taboo to do something like this with such a versatile universe like Spira, right? A lot of animes like Evangelion and Clannad do this as well. You have the 'Master Canon' that is FFX and FFX-2, then after their events the timeline splits into two different universes. In one universe, Tidus and Yuna aren't entirely happy and 'accepted' upon returning to Besaid, hence the events of Price of Eternity and Will. On the other hand, he and his friends lead a much more enjoyable future which leads into a separate universe.

I know, Nojima's the Word of God and we should all treat his work like holy scriptures, but at least if I was intent on milking the universe of Spira VII Compilation-style without p*ssing off all of the fans, I would consider something like this.

If the events of Will and Price of Eternity are the result of the Good Ending, ultimately leading to the Perfect Ending, and that's what we consider the unhappy timeline for Tidus/Yuna, then what does that make the Sad/Normal/Bad Ending? Where Tidus never comes back? Does that mean the timeline where Yuna and friends are happier and in a much less messed up world is the Sad Ending? We know that with the Bad Ending, sure, everyone in the Farplane is alive, but everybody else on the surface are decimated, ruining the chance for FFVII to happen in canon. And then there's the Normal Ending, which to me is the only real ending, because that one never changes. No matter how you look at it, Tidus and Yuna were never meant to be. Which is really cruel, because apparently it wasn't enough hammering that bleak point home in FFX. They just gotta beat the dead horse until it's unrecognizable. 

Hey Danko! First of all, I didn't mean to offend you in any way, nor did I intend to use the term "fan-fiction" in a derogatory manor. I simply called it fan-fiction because to me, that's essentially what you're doing. You're taking the "official" (or whatever you want to call it) book and expanding upon it with your own interpretations and ideas of how events, narrative, characters, dialogue, etc... should play out. Once again, that's fan-fiction to me.. Or fan-expansion if that's more accurate.

I know you didn't mean to offend anyone at all, it's just... er, well, I got pretty defensive, because the main reason why I embarked on this project was to provide a better, if not tolerable version of a mediocre novel for those who do want to read it and are curious to know the details, but are scared of being disappointed or horrified. Anyway, I'm gonna stop now, because I sound like I'm whining at this point. XD

Quote from: Danko Kaji on September 07, 2015, 02:36:05 am

In concern to Kush and her habit of 'vous,' what would be more appropriate?

Giving her a French accent and retaining that pronoun, or replace vous as 'my lord/lady' (and any other appropriate title)?

And as for the names Valm, Bria, Johit, Alb, and Ifahnal, should we retain them as thus (I do prefer them this way) or as how the FF Wiki prefers? Velm, Briar, Joit, Arb, and Ifarnal respectively?

Well, the pronoun 'vous' is often used in the novel, but I decided to use it only for Kush since she has a special behavior. Furthermore, there's a line in the novel where Bria remembers that special behavior - the use of the polite 'vous' - so... And you MUST ban 'my lord/lady' when it comes to Kush, that wouldn't fit at all!

As for the names, I think those from the FF Wiki come from the japanese version ? But since I'm not sure, I think it's better to use those from the french translation

Aw, geez, I keep forgetting the French language does not pronounce every single letter in a word. The 's' is silent! I've been saying 'vous' wrong in my head this whole time. I'm such a dummy. XD I do remember reading that wonderful little detail as well; in that case, I suppose I'll retain Kush's polite vous and give her a French accent. There are many NPCs with ambiguous, foreign accents in the FFX universe. (On the other hand, having Kush call Valm 'my lord' in a childish, cute, whimsical tone is so adorasjhdfgjh. I don't know what to do! XD Am I the only one getting super playful and flirtatious vibes from her? Her dialogue evokes the most imagination as I write, more than any other character.)

Alrighty, then. The names from French translation shall stay!

Well, about Yuna and her tendency to keep **** from everyone else, it's perfectly foreseeable. After all, she did keep Jyscal's sphere from her guardians and proceeded to marry Seymour fully knowing about his being a murderer and his schemes, and, had that nun not found the sphere, they would probably find out about her plans right at the last minute.

This reminded me of the talk Tidus and Auron had about Yuna's decision to marry. He had said that she wanted to "negotiate" with him, but he never said what exactly. Later when I replayed the game, it occurred to me that the "negotiations" were actually regarding to Seymour being willing to become Yuna's FA... Just an idea.

You know what, I think a lot of fans underestimate Yuna's ability to angst. So many of us, even Square Enix, arrive at this assumption that Yuna's this young girl who loves to dream and chase after her one true love without falter, who's one selfish wish was to live a normal life, free of obligation, and have a future with this dazzling boy who rocked her world; yeah, I guess that's the positive way of looking at it. There's even two happy endings given to us to cement that impression into our minds. But honestly, I think a lot of people are afraid to put her in any miserable, tragic situation that they feel is the slightest bit unwarranted, because she's already been through too much in-game. Or at least, find themselves unwilling to or incapable of portraying her depression/angst/issues realistically and IC. Or are content with keeping her perfectly happy with Tidus, because how could there possibly be any more issues between after everything they endured?

Really, it's so saccharine, I get nauseous. I never considered Yuna a "pure" or "dark" character, just neutral. That right balance of hope and passion and melancholy that's stuck between the extreme, opposite spectrums of Tidus (bright, sunny, inquisitive, child-like soul) and Seymour (corrupt, cynical, tortured, lost soul). We see Yuna run towards the light, in FFX-2, and now we're seeing her fall into the dark, in FFX-3. I think the series really portrays her character development in such a flawed and fascinating light. Besides Tidus, I think Yuna can easily be a broken base in fandom.

Or is that my unpopular opinion cuz I don't believe in fairy-tale happy endings and I'm a nerd for realism?

(A/N): Whee! I had so much fun rewriting this. Definitely my favorite chapter by far. <3 Also, I decided to play around with Kush having a French accent to replace her habit of 'vous,' along with some painfully polite terms that'd make Seymour or Baralai proud. XD Joking aside, I hope this is adequate.


“There’s something on the roof!”
   
They were cuddling on the mattress of their designated room when the man let his woman separate from him. Sitting up, they held their breath, keeping their ears wide open for the suspicious sound, and soon enough, it echoed above them from within the air duct, a dull sound that reverberated throughout their walls at a consistent rhythm like a hard object hitting metal.
   
GONG, GONG, GONG…
   
“What is it?” Kush said in a whisper.
   
“A bird,” Valm said after a long, tense moment of silence. “A sea gull, judging from the strength of its knocks.”
   
Kush reclined back on the cushions when his answer reassured her, expressing her wish to laze around some more, but Valm rose to reattach his light armor. She watched him adjust the leather pieces over his chest, admiring the smooth movement of his muscles, and smiled. “And how does my lord know that sound came from a gull?”

“Only birds and monkeys can reach the top of these cliff faces. It must be a very large animal, going from the loud volume of its strikes. Between a monkey with a sharp tool and a bird with a strong beak, it’s more than likely the latter. You see, there are no monkeys here, only gulls.”
   
“My lord is correct.” She gave him a pretty smile, pleased by his informative answer. “What does my lord think it desires?”
   
He chuckled, fastening the straps nice and tight. “Maybe you should ask it.”

Shifting to lie on her side, she giggled. “My lord is correct yet again.”

Her coquettish lilt tickled his ears pink, and Valm smiled in spite of himself. Hard to believe this sheltered young lady held the weight of her government’s expectations on her small shoulders. Kush had been chosen to undertake a Summoner’s course since early childhood; a Bevellian citizen born and raised, she came to this distant island from an industrial haven, the only place she had ever seen outside the Citadel. It came as no surprise why she took every one of Valm’s opinions to heart.

When they first met three years ago, he thought she enjoyed mocking him. He despised her in silence, recognizing his duty to protect someone that he considered to be utterly insufferable, a spoiled brat who wore the face of a noblewoman. Once enlightened about her personal history, sympathy sought to melt his cold heart and, to his amazement, his affection for her transformed into love. Never in his life, before Kush, would Valm ever thought that he’d fall for a Summoner.

These people were sensitive to a common phenomena called pyreflies, or spirits of the deceased. Valm used to imagine them as ominous, eccentric people who practiced necromancy and were obsessed with death, but after he learned that Kush, along with all of her comrades, felt the same kind of emotions as normal people, she and Valm were not so very different from each other at all. In spite of that misconstrued truth, the authorities had gathered people gifted with this talent, creating an elite corps of Summoners subject to strict regulations.

None of them were volunteers; Summoners, or those proficient in the rare craft, were not in the position to refuse their calling. Kush and her fellow Summoners had been forced to sacrifice themselves for the sake of their government; in exchange for their compliance, they were guaranteed the safety of their closest family, up to twenty-five years after the death of the Summoner.

Although Kush spoke in a formal and polite, if not foreign dialect, always dressed to the nines in her extravagant silk gowns, embroidered shawls, and fine jewelry, she came from a poor family, which gave Valm another reason to connect with her, originally from a similar poor background himself. He never left the island for broader lands, but his oath to remain had rescued others such as himself from poverty.

Recalling why he stood up in the first place, Valm sighed, annoyed. “I shall head downstairs first. The Bedohl,” he spat out the word in disdain, “must have had enough waiting for me.”
   
“Could we not see each other without them next time?” She pulled herself up with a pout, leaning over pale, slender legs drawn up to her modest chest and naked except for the sheer blanket wrapped around her petite frame.
   
“Why? Do they annoy you?”

“Not at all.” She smiled, dismissive. “I just want one time where I can meet with my lord, just the two of us.”
   
“And who will carry your palanquin? Me, all by myself?”
   
She laughed, cradling her head in the crook of her elbow. “I can walk as well as my beloved lord Valm. No, even better.”

“Probably.” He smiled, humoring her. “But venomous insects dispatched by the enemy are known to roam the region, worse are vastly increasing in population." And then his smile dropped, making way for a grave frown. "I fear that…”
   
“Are their bites dangerous?” Her smile wavered, frightened by his tone.

“Infernal.”

“Oh, you!” His blunt remark inspired her to explode into broad smiles. “Hell does not appeal to me at all!”

His grim demeanor broke under the spell of her melodic laughter, and he grinned.

Valm knew of the ‘Hell’ his lover made light of. His grandmother used to invent these wild and crazy stories during nights he refused to sleep, since she loved frightening him as a child with grim fairy tales -- such as this horrible place of endless throes where those who dared to defy the Gods were Sent, dead or alive. He who wanted to avoid this kind of unforgiving fate must obey the will of the Gods his whole life. Bria believed that after death, he would be reborn in the form of a flower that only blossomed in the nether world, as per his eternal reward for his faith and loyal servitude. Hell or flowers, Valm always considered those two ends as equal in weight, if not consequence, but his grandmother hoarded a treasure of anecdotes to justify every rule imaginable, making it impossible to argue with her.

He had been very young, then, always hanging on her every word, but once he grew to become a man, he understood -- she devoted herself entirely to obeying the authorities, a choice she had no say in the matter. If you wanted to survive in this world, you must obey the government who made themselves out to be virtual Gods in this tangible world.

Kush’s lilting voice anchored him to the present. “Is it not possible to avoid these insects without resorting to the Bedohls?”

“Maybe.” He shrugged, crossing his arms. “That is, I could always carry you when crossing dangerous areas.”

She clapped her hands together. “That would be wonderful!”

“Good. Now, dress up.”

Valm headed for the spiral staircase now, intending to go down and speak with the Bedohls. Just before he placed his foot down on the first step, he stopped to glance over his shoulder, stealing one last look at his beautiful, mystifying lover. Kush stood up from bed, wandering to the partial opening of the window they had boarded up for safety to gaze outside. Her petite body resembled that of the Goddess Luchera save for her hips, which were rounder, and Valm almost wondered why she adorned no wings to express the angelic innocence she carried within. The delicate item she threw over herself had slipped, revealing the unique birthmark ornamenting her lower back on the right side; an adorable silhouette of a heart.

Birthmark, scar, or tattoo, he did not know, but he did know one thing: Valm’s the only man alive who laid eyes upon that mark.

Kush’s sudden, urgent whisper awakened him from his thoughts. “There’s someone at the water’s edge!”

He rushed to her side, wrapping his arm around her tense shoulders. The moonlight allowed them to make out the solid details of the landscape; a cove surrounded by shallow water and tall buildings painted in resplendent orange, which towered upon the rock cliffs covered in lush greenery. "...Where?"

“Over yonder, on the pontoon.”

A mysterious, young man stood beside a shabby boat, which rocked with the steady, calm influx of waves.

‘A refugee,’ Valm thought. ‘But why sneak inside the island? Doesn’t he know this is an active war zone? It’s suicide.’

Without taking his eyes off him, Valm urged Kush to finish clothing herself. He lifted his forefinger and thumb to his mouth, about to whistle for the Bedohl, but held his breath. The man’s body language seemed nervous as he unloaded a bag from the boat. After a moment of struggling to untie it, he unearthed a round object.

‘A ball?’ He dropped his arm, confused.

This unknown person turned in direction of their tower and raised his eyes to Heaven.

Valm clenched his teeth, furious. ‘This is a ruse! He knows that I’m watching him! Damn him!’

Snatching Kush by the waist, he shoved her away from the window, and their bodies slammed against the pillar located in the middle of the room. As Valm proceeded to drag her down the stairs, the device exploded behind them, which caused him to lose balance. He clutched her head to his chest by instinct right before his back hit the railing going down. Releasing a whine of pain, Valm felt himself falling, and acted fast to squeeze her tight. Once his head bounced against an indiscernible, hard surface, he fought to keep himself from fainting, inhaling the unmistakable smell of gunpowder. He knew he couldn’t avoid it, but the moment he regained consciousness, he would go find that damn murderer and kill him.

He refused to let this territory fall into the hands of that heretic sage.