First Draft - Prologue and Chapter 1 [Agape in Fugue Minor]
Okay, so ... ugh, where do I even begin? Drew inspiration from frightening amount of sources like an obsessed painter who exhausts delicate amount of details and colors into a single work of art that's yet to be seen as amazing in its infantile progression! Rawr!
(Not that I don't enjoy it, but... damn, overthinking, overkilling my artist self with my evil inner editor - you'll find out how in a moment)
ladyshiba's glorious prologue for The Ascendant inspired this prologue, which I am not ashamed of, however ... The beginning of the entire story puts me on the most monstrous indecisive trip ever, so you know what I gotta put this out there. Prologue + the debatable content of Chapter 1 (it could be 'ending as the beginning', or a Baralai-centric pre-FFX Crimson Squad deleted scene, or something that begins in the middle of everything [Yuna and Baralai 'meet' for the first time; The Road Ahead, Chapter 1], but I don't know).
Also, I almost stole paraphrased lyrics from Linkin Park's fantastic music, most notably Iridescent, but ultimately had to reel the leash in on that suicidal idea before I actually hurt someone, like Baralai and Yevon knows I torture him enough (and will torture him for eternity) in my writing.
Critique! Provide invaluable input! I'm killing myself here and I don't want to repeat this cycle! D: Overall though, the progress I'm making pleases me so far and I wish to showcase my productivity to motivate myself (borrowing this example from you, sephiroth_owa13, :P)
Summary: New Game Plus. Shuyin breaks Baralai on the wheel and he falls into a coma of fragmentary memories. Yuna soul-searches his dreams, recollecting the broken pieces of his mind only to unearth a bond long forgotten... FFX, FFX-2, Shuyin/Baralai/Yuna/Lenne, Crimson Squad
Prologue
Memories of Waves and Light
"I've been chasing my past for so long, sometimes getting it back is all I can think about. Other times, I just want to forget. Maybe we should both let go of our past, and focus more on what's to come."
'So many things seem intertwined, but nothing leads to you. Why be a sphere hunter when what I'm hunting for can never be found?'
…
"The world is changing … New Yevon wishes to help those who feel lost in the winds of change."
…
…
"He is dead, and I am still alive. Coming here really makes that clear."
"I'm sure he was a great guy, but… there'll be others."
…
"Searching the past to find the future…"
Chapter 1 - Hope and Turmoil
Shuyin's glowing silhouette pulls Baralai's body to move and Yuna dares to look into his eyes. Beyond the illusion lies a friend in need. Daunted by this most selfless intimate act, Yuna's gaze wavers, crinkling in sadness. Hands clasp the phosphorescent sphere, which pulses with a heartbeat of its own, yearning to speak up and steal the spotlight. Colorful light recreates a songstress dress, fusing Lenne's will into her imminent words.
Anxiety weighs on her heart, squeezing at her vocal cords. "Shuyin."
Remnants of his strength dwindle, under the mercy of irrational whims. Baralai approaches in speechless plea, hoping for his lady to perceive, striving to say something desperate. "Lenne..."
Delusion of his beloved blinds the retinas, enlightening the mind with memories murky from the millennium. Baralai knows better, he should know better, but he can’t break free using logic and independence anymore.
"There's something I must tell you. Words left unspoken for a thousand years." Dip of the head. Poignant pause. Eye contact implores understanding, and her confession takes his breath away. "I love you... A-And I'm grateful... grateful that you stayed with me, until the end."
"But, I couldn't save you!" He recalls the untimely hour of their demise, the event of their inevitable confrontation. Escape plan foiled by the labyrinthine Undergrounds and Warrior Monks hot on their heels, benevolent ego intercepted by the Gullwings's meddlesome concerns to terminate the Vegnagun menace. Reckless responsibility that proved to be its own downfall. Where does Baralai's story begin or Shuyin's story end?
"It doesn't matter. Please. Don't go on grieving alone." Her empathy soothes his soul, quells his hatred and calms the imminent storm. Yuna reaches out to him, a single praying hand, sentimentality symbiotic in its magnitude. She desires to close the distance, longs for love and intimacy once again. "Rest."
'But... I want to live... please forgive me so I can live again...'
Pyreflies tug at his body, pulling to be free from physical restraint. Baralai collapses on his hands and knees when Shuyin rips apart from his host at long last. Nausea distorts his dim surroundings as clicks sprint in the background, halting by his side. Failure. Baralai kneels and breathes on the personification of his failure, his failure to diffuse a near-Armageddon crisis. His past mistakes, his hatred, his hidden agendas, the past several years of his life mock his weak strength of character.
Strong hands pull and push him to stand, but he can no longer make sense of the world around him. Baralai remembers brisk kindness situate him against cold, organic metal of his evil making, before closing his eyes to rest.
“We can finally fade... together...”
Sounds fade, the voices fade, the colors fade, the faces fade ... death never does fade ... but does a happy memory fade? Does ghosts, and politics, and mad men, and pain and anguish fade over time? Does death ever fade? Does it?
"Yuna. I'd like you to study this alphabet. Can you do this for me?"
The girl nods, beaming, holding her mother's memento close to her heart. Her father departs for his daily meditation and she surveys the temple, left to her own devices. Yuna approaches Yunalesca's statue and discovers a boy her age has stolen her favorite spot. He sits cross-legged and straight, eyes trained on the script of a scroll, face so pretty and serious she blushes. Tracing the crisscrossing lines of her mother's native language, murmuring the phonetic letters and spelling out a happy memory, Yuna soon scavenges the courage to sit beside him.
He spares a glance, catching the strange symbols faster than Yuna can conceal them out of shame. "Hello. Er, can I see?" Curiosity guides his boldness to pull the tablet onto his lap, disregarding her timid fussing. "Can you read this? Truly? Will you teach me?" Yuna stares, uncertain. Baralai leans close and whispers as a priest walks by. "It's the Al Bhed alphabet, right? I tried to read it in secret, but Lord Zuke found out and burned the book Father Braska gave me."
Tiny hands wring on her lap, twisting her skirt, and Yuna dares to share something forbidden. "...please don't tell anyone. I don't want someone to burn it..."
Praying in Yevon, he smiles. "Cross my heart and hope to die."
Baralai smiles into darkness, remembers all the sadness and frustration - and lets go. Righteous violence echoes across oblivion, and a lone teardrop falls.
A/N: I know the flashback scene shows inconsistency since I wrote Third Person leaning toward Baralai's POV, but is it really an inconsistency? Perhaps I left it like that on purpose? ;3
(Not that I don't enjoy it, but... damn, overthinking, overkilling my artist self with my evil inner editor - you'll find out how in a moment)
ladyshiba's glorious prologue for The Ascendant inspired this prologue, which I am not ashamed of, however ... The beginning of the entire story puts me on the most monstrous indecisive trip ever, so you know what I gotta put this out there. Prologue + the debatable content of Chapter 1 (it could be 'ending as the beginning', or a Baralai-centric pre-FFX Crimson Squad deleted scene, or something that begins in the middle of everything [Yuna and Baralai 'meet' for the first time; The Road Ahead, Chapter 1], but I don't know).
Also, I almost stole paraphrased lyrics from Linkin Park's fantastic music, most notably Iridescent, but ultimately had to reel the leash in on that suicidal idea before I actually hurt someone, like Baralai and Yevon knows I torture him enough (and will torture him for eternity) in my writing.
Critique! Provide invaluable input! I'm killing myself here and I don't want to repeat this cycle! D: Overall though, the progress I'm making pleases me so far and I wish to showcase my productivity to motivate myself (borrowing this example from you, sephiroth_owa13, :P)
Summary: New Game Plus. Shuyin breaks Baralai on the wheel and he falls into a coma of fragmentary memories. Yuna soul-searches his dreams, recollecting the broken pieces of his mind only to unearth a bond long forgotten... FFX, FFX-2, Shuyin/Baralai/Yuna/Lenne, Crimson Squad
Prologue
Memories of Waves and Light
"I've been chasing my past for so long, sometimes getting it back is all I can think about. Other times, I just want to forget. Maybe we should both let go of our past, and focus more on what's to come."
'So many things seem intertwined, but nothing leads to you. Why be a sphere hunter when what I'm hunting for can never be found?'
…
"The world is changing … New Yevon wishes to help those who feel lost in the winds of change."
…
…
"He is dead, and I am still alive. Coming here really makes that clear."
"I'm sure he was a great guy, but… there'll be others."
…
"Searching the past to find the future…"
Chapter 1 - Hope and Turmoil
Shuyin's glowing silhouette pulls Baralai's body to move and Yuna dares to look into his eyes. Beyond the illusion lies a friend in need. Daunted by this most selfless intimate act, Yuna's gaze wavers, crinkling in sadness. Hands clasp the phosphorescent sphere, which pulses with a heartbeat of its own, yearning to speak up and steal the spotlight. Colorful light recreates a songstress dress, fusing Lenne's will into her imminent words.
Anxiety weighs on her heart, squeezing at her vocal cords. "Shuyin."
Remnants of his strength dwindle, under the mercy of irrational whims. Baralai approaches in speechless plea, hoping for his lady to perceive, striving to say something desperate. "Lenne..."
Delusion of his beloved blinds the retinas, enlightening the mind with memories murky from the millennium. Baralai knows better, he should know better, but he can’t break free using logic and independence anymore.
"There's something I must tell you. Words left unspoken for a thousand years." Dip of the head. Poignant pause. Eye contact implores understanding, and her confession takes his breath away. "I love you... A-And I'm grateful... grateful that you stayed with me, until the end."
"But, I couldn't save you!" He recalls the untimely hour of their demise, the event of their inevitable confrontation. Escape plan foiled by the labyrinthine Undergrounds and Warrior Monks hot on their heels, benevolent ego intercepted by the Gullwings's meddlesome concerns to terminate the Vegnagun menace. Reckless responsibility that proved to be its own downfall. Where does Baralai's story begin or Shuyin's story end?
"It doesn't matter. Please. Don't go on grieving alone." Her empathy soothes his soul, quells his hatred and calms the imminent storm. Yuna reaches out to him, a single praying hand, sentimentality symbiotic in its magnitude. She desires to close the distance, longs for love and intimacy once again. "Rest."
'But... I want to live... please forgive me so I can live again...'
Pyreflies tug at his body, pulling to be free from physical restraint. Baralai collapses on his hands and knees when Shuyin rips apart from his host at long last. Nausea distorts his dim surroundings as clicks sprint in the background, halting by his side. Failure. Baralai kneels and breathes on the personification of his failure, his failure to diffuse a near-Armageddon crisis. His past mistakes, his hatred, his hidden agendas, the past several years of his life mock his weak strength of character.
Strong hands pull and push him to stand, but he can no longer make sense of the world around him. Baralai remembers brisk kindness situate him against cold, organic metal of his evil making, before closing his eyes to rest.
“We can finally fade... together...”
Sounds fade, the voices fade, the colors fade, the faces fade ... death never does fade ... but does a happy memory fade? Does ghosts, and politics, and mad men, and pain and anguish fade over time? Does death ever fade? Does it?
"Yuna. I'd like you to study this alphabet. Can you do this for me?"
The girl nods, beaming, holding her mother's memento close to her heart. Her father departs for his daily meditation and she surveys the temple, left to her own devices. Yuna approaches Yunalesca's statue and discovers a boy her age has stolen her favorite spot. He sits cross-legged and straight, eyes trained on the script of a scroll, face so pretty and serious she blushes. Tracing the crisscrossing lines of her mother's native language, murmuring the phonetic letters and spelling out a happy memory, Yuna soon scavenges the courage to sit beside him.
He spares a glance, catching the strange symbols faster than Yuna can conceal them out of shame. "Hello. Er, can I see?" Curiosity guides his boldness to pull the tablet onto his lap, disregarding her timid fussing. "Can you read this? Truly? Will you teach me?" Yuna stares, uncertain. Baralai leans close and whispers as a priest walks by. "It's the Al Bhed alphabet, right? I tried to read it in secret, but Lord Zuke found out and burned the book Father Braska gave me."
Tiny hands wring on her lap, twisting her skirt, and Yuna dares to share something forbidden. "...please don't tell anyone. I don't want someone to burn it..."
Praying in Yevon, he smiles. "Cross my heart and hope to die."
Baralai smiles into darkness, remembers all the sadness and frustration - and lets go. Righteous violence echoes across oblivion, and a lone teardrop falls.
A/N: I know the flashback scene shows inconsistency since I wrote Third Person leaning toward Baralai's POV, but is it really an inconsistency? Perhaps I left it like that on purpose? ;3