Then, on the next page, we watch a little girl in a snowy village catch the attention of Lady Ginnem when she brings her moogle doll to life.
Guardian is a Final Fantasy X comic by Mintywolf
. It is a Perspective Flip of the game's story, following Lulu from early childhood into the events of the game. It details many things left unexplored by the game: how she became a guardian twice before the age of twenty, how she met Yuna in the first place, and why her fashion sense is so different from everyone else in Spira. It is also somewhat of an Alternate Universe version (as the author details here).
The comic is now complete and can be read here, or on Tumblr and DeviantArt.
Tropes:
- Affectionate Gesture to the Head: Lulu often expresses affection towards Yuna by stroking her hair.
- Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: As in the game, Lulu embodies this trope in appearance and personality. While she does warm up to her adopted family on Besaid over time, she remains the most reserved and mature of the female members of Yuna's pilgrimage party.
- Alternate Universe: Most of the comic falls in line with canon (apart from a couple of minor edits) once it catches up to ingame events. The divergence point turns out to be immediately after the moment on the first pages. Lulu offers to become the Final Aeon; rather than refuse and fight Yunalesca, Yuna and the others accept this decision and the transformation is made.
- All-Loving Hero: Lulu describes Yuna as someone whose heart can hold the whole world.
- All of the Other Reindeer:
- Even as a young girl, Lulu is a bit of an outcast due to her affinity for black magic.
- Yuna is mistreated by the temple clerics for being half Al Bhed... until Braska defeats Sin.
- Anti-Climax: Zuke's pilgrimage is shown to be fairly quiet because he starts in Bevelle and, unlike Ginnem or Braska, has Yevon's official backing.
- Art Evolution: 2012 vs 2016.
- Ass Kicking Pose: Lulu and Yuna assume one before the final fight with Seymour.Lulu: "Let's end this."
- As You Know: After Yuna demonstrates white magic, Wakka starts to point out that her dad was a summoner. Lulu cuts him off mid-sentence with "I know."
- Backstory: The first three chapters offer this for Lulu, and to a lesser extent, Yuna, spanning a period of time from their childhood together to the night before the game begins.
- Bag of Spilling: The comic offers an explanation for how someone who's twice traveled with summoners starts the game with level one magic spells. She stopped using magic after Ginnem's death and only returned to it on Zuke's journey, which was too uneventful for her to get much practice.
- Beach Bury: Yuna is seen doing this to a sleeping Kimahri as a child.
- Big Damn Heroes: Kimahri roars into the cave on Besaid and tosses aside a wolf-like fiend with one swipe, rescuing Yuna and Lulu.
- Bitch Slap: Lulu hits Luzzu hard enough to hurt her own hand when he confesses he convinced Chappu to enlist.
- Bittersweet Ending: Unlike the primary canon, Yuna opts to use the Final Aeon, in this case Lulu, to defeat Sin. This causes Lulu to kill Yun and begin turning into the next Sin. But by the time Sin returns, a unified Spira lead by the main party (including survivors Tidus and Auron, and all wielding their celestial weapons) is able to destroy Sin for good, and allow Lulu to reunite with Yuna in the Farplane.
- Black Mage: Lulu's role in the pilgrimage party. We see her as a child growing into her powers under Ginnem's tutelage.
- Black and White Magic: As in the game, Lulu and Yuna's individual powers contrast and complement each other like this.
- Blood from the Mouth: Yuna gets walloped across the battle arena attempting to confront Braska's Final Aeon without summoning her own, trailed by a dramatic arc of scarlet from her mouth.
- Break His Heart to Save Him: Lulu volunteers to be Zuke's guardian, though she knows it will upset Yuna, because it might prevent Yuna from having to follow the pilgrimage herself.
- Call-Forward:
- Lulu casually speaks of "going home" after Ginnem's pilgrimage is over and goes uncorrected, much like Tidus during the game.
- Paine is one of the temple orphans in Lulu's home village.
- Yuna's first performance of the Sending dance reproduces a shot from the FMV.
- A panel on this page replicates Lulu and Yuna's poses in Lulu's character poster.
- Centipede's Dilemma: The first time Yuna walks on water, she falls in once the others point it out.
- Child Mage: Lulu is an elemental magic prodigy, which is one reason why she accompanies Lady Ginnem despite being twelve.
- Children Are Innocent:
- Lulu during her first pilgrimage. Though she's an orphan and has seen the effects of Sin's attacks, she has no idea what the ending involves.
- Yuna is very much an innocent when they live together on Besaid, which is part of why Lulu has so much affection for her.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Narrowly averted. While imprisoned in Bevelle, Lulu is pressed for a confession by the Yevon Inquistion, but before the torturer's blow can land the scene is interrupted by Seymour. (Not that his intentions for her are particularly benign, however.)
- Comforting Comforter: Auron gives Lulu his coat when she finds Braska's group outside Yojimbo's cavern.
- Deadly Nosebleed: Used, along with blood from the ears, to show the devastating psychic damage caused by Anima.
- Definitely Just a Cold: Yuna attempts to downplay her illness in order to press on with her summoner training despite being Obviously Not Fine. Lulu is not persuaded.
- Didn't Think This Through: Lulu says this herself when she saves Yuna by calling a fiend's attention onto herself.
- Doomed by Canon: Ginnem and Chappu.
- Dramatic Irony: Lulu and Wakka console themselves by saying Yuna will be safe on Besaid when they journey with Zuke. Naturally, Sin attacks while they're away.
- Dude Magnet: Lulu's Ms. Fanservice status is shown to be true in-universe as well, with her wryly noting that most of the boys on the island (including Chappu) have been interested in her since she arrived at thirteen.
- Elegant Gothic Lolita: Lulu's casual style is this in spades, with lots of dark colors, ruffled skirts, corsets, and even a parasol at one point. As in the games, it heavily contrasts with the rest of Besaid: however, it's justified since she's shown sewing her own clothes.
- Empathic Environment: The dreamlike atmosphere inside Sin changes to reflect the mood and memories of the Final Aeon at its core. For Jecht, it appears as a decaying blitzball stadium. for Lulu, it's a lonely, snowy mountaintop.
- Failure Knight: Lulu characterizes herself this way in the narration, describing Ginnem as "the first summoner I failed."
- Fist of Rage: Lulu's hand is shown clenched in the fabric of her sleeve one panel before it is used to sock Luzzu in the jaw.
- Fix Fic:
- Lulu's clothing matching nobody else's is explained by her coming from a different part of Spira (with Paine, the only other person with the same kind of clothing, having a cameo appearance in Lulu's old village) and moving to Besaid later, and she's shown sewing her in-game outfit herself.
- Chappu's being the "spitting image" of Tidus is resolved by showing him with a new haircut after he signs on to the Crusaders.
- Yuna gives her goodbye message to Auron, rather than Tidus chucking it away on the airship.
- Flashback Nightmare: Lulu's last memories of her parents are revealed this way.
- Go Out with a Smile: At peace with her long-awaited fate of being killed by her own Final Aeon, Yuna reaches out to Lulu with a smile and tells her, "If it had to be someone . . . I'm glad it was you."
- Healing Hands: Yuna is able to revive a cat that was killed by some teenagers. Later on after being ordained as a White Mage she is seen using her healing magic on others, most notably to heal Lulu after the events of Bevelle.
- Inverted when Lulu, a Black Mage, uses her Elemental Powers to revive Yuna from drowning.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Lulu and Yuna become very close over the years. Even during the pilgrimage, the two rarely sleep outside of the same bed. And while Lulu's love for Yuna borders on obsession, it's never implied to be romantic or sexual, just pure platonic adoration.
- How We Got Here: The comic begins with Lulu volunteering to be the Final Aeon, a moment revisited at the start of each chapter. It doesn't catch up to canonical events until chapter four.
- Grim Up North: Lulu's home is a forgotten, snowy village in the north of Spira, its temple having lost its fayth.
- Guilt Complex: Lulu has a hell of a one. She blames herself for Ginnem's death, any time Yuna is physically or emotionally hurt, Chappu joining the Crusaders...
- Improbable Weapon User: The moogle doll's "weapon" function is given a nod in Part 2 when Lulu, her magic skills rusted away, opts to chuck it at a fiend's head.
- I'm Standing Right Here: Wakka kids Chappu about Lulu bringing the moogle on their honeymoon... while Lulu is practicing magic twenty feet away. Her next lightning bolt topples a tree.
- Jade-Colored Glasses: After Ginnem's death, Lulu becomes prone to resentment, notes the hypocrisy of the Church's treatment of Yuna after her father's death, and somewhat resents Yuna for her father's success.
- Jumped at the Call: Frequently in Lulu's life. The comic opens when she volunteers to become Yuna's Final Aeon. She was also eager to join Ginnem's pilgrimage as a child, and doesn't think long before joining Zuke.
- Kindhearted Cat Lover: Yuna keeps the cat...like creature she revives as a pet.
- Knight in Sour Armor: Lulu becomes cynical about Yevon's teachings, but never wholly abandons them—instead she transfers the greater part of her faith to belief in Yuna.
- Lady of Black Magic: Lulu, iconically.
- Lap Pillow: Yuna rests with her head in Lulu's lap on a few occasions.
- Lies to Children: Ginnem declines to fully explain the pilgrimage to Lulu, not wanting to destroy her innocence.
- Limited Wardrobe: Averted; the party actually gets cold-weather gear when they go to icy Macalania. The first three chapters also showcase a variety of outfits for the Besaiders before they settle into their canon appearance at the start of Yuna's pilgrimage.
- Long Hair Is Feminine: Lulu's hip-length hair contributes to her air of elegance. As in the game it is usually kept braided but occasionally shown unbound, and even longer.
- The Mentor: Lady Ginnem is portrayed as Lulu's first teacher of magic.
- Moment Killer:
- A non-romantic version when Zuke tells Lulu he's going to start his pilgrimage. Lulu volunteers dramatically. Wakka immediately follows by saying "Me too." She's visibly miffed.
- She sees Tidus as one long, extended moment killer for her last journey with Yuna.
- Mundane Utility: Yuna sometimes summons Valefor just to fly around. Lulu occasionally uses her black magic for purely practical reasons: conjuring flame to carry as a light in dark locations, sending up lightning as a signal flare for Wakka, and chilling water to cool Yuna's fever.
- My Girl Back Home: Lulu for Chappu—he joins the Crusaders so that she won't be guardian again. She's not thrilled.
- Nightmare Sequence: Lulu does not sleep very soundly after everything (witnessing the forced marriage of Yuna to Seymour, being captured and held prisoner by Yevon, nearly being Oblivion'd to death by Anima) that happens in Bevelle.
- No-Sell: Yojimbo's cavern has been unvisited for so long that the fiends have multiplied in power. The skeletal monster that kills Ginnem and Imogen easily rebuffs swords, magic, and even Shiva.
- Obviously Not Fine: See Definitely Just a Cold above. Also, Lulu herself later tries to insist that she's fine after receiving near-fatal injuries at the hands of Seymour. Yuna disagrees.
- Oh, Crap!: Lulu recognizes Yuna's ability to walk on water as a sign of summoner talent, and she is not happy. Yuna also has one of these moments when she sees Sin approaching the island.
- One-Winged Angel: Lulu's form as the Final Aeon is an elegant, lupine creature the same size as Anima.
- Opposites Attract: Lulu eventually falls for Chappu because he's such a teen goofball.
- Parting-Words Regret: After trying to patiently explain to Yuna why she can't join Zuke's pilgrimage, Lulu eventually snaps at her and Yuna runs away crying. The moment haunts her frequently on the abbreviated journey.
- Pietà Plagiarism: Lulu's final act as herself before becoming Sin is to cradle the dying Yuna in her arms and sing to her a last lullaby.
- Prequel: The first three chapters serve as this to the game.
- Prone to Sunburn: As an effect of her complexion (and her penchant for baring her shoulders), Lulu is seen protecting herself with a parasol after she moves to tropical Besaid. Later on, when the party is dropped unexpectedly into the Sanubia Desert, she does indeed get sunburned.
- Psychic Nosebleed: The intense strain of summoning her Final Aeon has this effect on Yuna.
- Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: One of the things that sets Lulu apart from the native Besaiders. Flashbacks show that her mother also had this look.
- Scars Are Forever: Lulu bears the scars she receives on her ill-fated first pilgrimage for the rest of her life.
- Separated by the Wall: Or rather, separated by the panel border. While Yuna and Lulu lie awake in their respective rooms in Guadosalam, each reaching out to the place where the other would be, the drawn line of the blankets evokes the image of a shared bed.
- Shout-Out: Yuna wears a classic White Mage's cloak for warmth in Macalania.
- "Shut Up" Kiss: Chappu kisses Lulu to stop her from protesting his enlistment.
- Sick Episode: Yuna spends a few pages ill with pneumonia after nearly drowning during her summoner training.
- Significant Wardrobe Shift: Lulu creates her present-day outfit with its iconic belts and corset to symbolize the bonds of her vow to Yuna and determination to keep her fears and doubts locked inside.
- Silence Is Golden: The page where news of Chappu's death is delivered contains no dialogue.
- Sleep Cute: After Yuna moves to Besaid, she shares Lulu's bed like a little sister.
- So Proud of You:
- Lulu tells Yuna this after Yuna successfully performs a summoner's dance, though it's full of sadness.
- Ginnem tells this to Lulu during her black mage training. Echoed later after they encounter her as an unsent in the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth.
- Summon Magic: The essential part of Yuna's identity and duty as a summoner, naturally, involves the summoning of aeons. It becomes particularly relevant to Lulu when Yuna accepts her offer to become her Final Aeon, so that they may fight Sin together.
- Taking the Veil: Lulu is sent to the temple to become a cleric after Ginnem's death, since she has nowhere else to go, but Father Zuke sends her to live on Besaid when he sees she's unhappy there.
- Tearful Smile: When Lulu impresses on Yuna the importance of hiding her grief in order to appear as a beacon of hope for the people of Spira, Yuna replies with this.
- Time-Passes Montage: Lulu's adolescence on Besaid in Part 2 is shown with several silent panels.
- Training from Hell: The Yevon priest has Yuna practice her water-walking over the deep parts, though Yuna can't swim, and sends her out again as soon as she's revived from nearly drowning. When Lulu protests, he threatens her with penance for interfering in a summoner's training.
- Trauma Button: Lulu refuses to explore a cave on Besaid with Wakka and Chappu.
- Warrior Monk: Ginnem is given a swordswoman sister named Imogen.
- You Shall Not Pass!: Imogen keeps the skeletal fiend occupied long enough for Lulu to escape the cavern.
- Yuki Onna: Lulu's appearance while she is Sin evokes this, a winter-pale woman with long, loose black hair, wandering a snowy, mountainous dreamscape reminsicent of her old home.
