Love Her and Despair: FFX Fanfiction
Ranked #1,074 in Books, Poetry & Writing, #49,316 overall | Donates to Room to Read
A Fan-Made Anti-Sequel to Final Fantasy X
LHAD has inspired reader fanart (left, "The Lady's Garden" by cumuluscastle), earned nominations for best AU and best action/adventure, and won the latter category in the 2009 Genesis Awards for Final Fantasy X fanfiction. I'm still waiting for TVtropes rec page to add it (hint, hint).
This serial novella attempts to recapture the original game's magical landscapes, action-packed battle sequences, ensemble cast, themes of loyalty and love beyond death, complex political and religious clashes, and the beautiful and terrifying world of Spira. It borrows the best characters of Final Fantasy X-2 -- Baralai, Gippal, Paine and Nooj -- while returning to the epic storytelling style of Final Fantasy X.
Love Her and Despair is a dark alternate future to FFX based on an alarming premise:
Final Fantasy X: An Alternate Ending...
...and a terrifying new beginning
Cast of Love Her and Despair
Auron, Isaaru, and dozens of secondary NPCs from both games
Maroda, Pacce, Isaaru, and Auron
"The Dancing Memorial"
by SchmutzigeBanane on DeviantArt
~ illustration for chapter 2
"It's a sign!" Pacce said.
"Yes, but of what?" Maroda said.
Isaaru knelt before Yuna's statue and cupped his hands above and below his heart in Yevon's prayer.
Love Her and Despair: An Excerpt
After Auron washes up on Bikanel Island...
"Rrrgh. Getting usable intel out of you is like getting intelligence from my brother." Rikku looked up from the potion she was stirring. "So anyway. My real question is, what brought you here? And if you say 'Lulu,' this spoon is going right up your nose."
Auron applied himself to the scouring-rag.
"Hmph," she mimicked, rolling her eyes. "Okay, Mr. Legendary Pants, I want an answer. Lulu's steered clear of Bikanel for years. In fact, we think she's been trying to shield us; she targets Yevon's ships every time they come this way. So... did you put her up to this? Why?"
"Yes. You know why, Rikku," he said. "I need your help. I need Wakka's advice. He knows her best."
"Wakka won't help," Rikku said. "Unless you've got a plan to free her...but even then, he wouldn't trust you."
"Do you?"
"Of course not!" Rikku rapped the back of his head with the spoon. "You'll do whatever it takes. Whatever you think is necessary. We've got family to think about. And Wakka, he..." she sighed. "Look. It's not fair to leave Lulu like this. But killing her isn't the answer. After the kids are grown, maybe Wakka and I can find a way to get her out. But we're not gonna help you kill Lulu just so you can put someone else in her place. Who's it gonna be this time, Auron? That Elma lady... is that why you're travelling with her?"
"The Lady's Garden" - Auron encounters Lulu within the dream-world of Sin
by cumuluscastle on Livejournal
"No. Her abduction by Sin was an accident, I think. But Lulu needs our help now. It's not just Djose that's been hit; Lulu's been targeting all the temples. Soon, summoners will no longer have any fayth left to fight her."
"Well, good!" Rikku said. "Wish she'd listened to me sooner. I don't see the problem, Auron."
"Dozens died at Djose, Rikku," he said. "Hundreds more on the southern islands. She obliterated Besaid. This isn't what Lulu wants."
"Ugh." She addressed herself diligently to the foul-smelling concoction, pondering. "I'm sorry, Auron, but that's what Sin does. You know what your problem is? You know Yevon's a sham, but you still think you've got some righteous mandate to fix everything. You can't stop the weather, you can't stop people being idiots, and you can't stop Sin. They're just--" Rikku paused. "Ah, hell. She's targeting the temples?"
"Yes."
"Vilg." She dropped a lid over the pot she had been stirring. "Watch this. I need to make a call. If it starts to boil over, turn the heat down to sixty. If it does boil over, run."
Map of Isaaru's Pilgrimage
Map of Spira by Auronlu / Table of Contents (Click to View)
About the Title of the Story
This Tolkien quote inspired my vision of Lulu as Sin
“In place of the Dark Lord you will set up a Queen. And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair!”
~ Galadriel in Lord of the Rings
Where to Read Love Her and Despair
This is it. This is their story.
Illustrated version: Auronlu's FFX Livejournal
Archival version: Archive of Our Own
or, if you prefer: Fanfiction.Net
More Reader-Submitted Fanart
From Ayrania-chan and Schmutzige Banane
"The Lady's Face"
by SchmutzigeBanane on DA
Isaaru examined the bone charm intently. At a distance, its triangular silhouette could easily be mistaken for a shark's tooth. With economy of line, the stylized carving captured the shape of a woman's head and shoulders. There was a haughty arch to the brows- or rather, brow, since the left side of the face was cut away at a slant. Empty space showed where the hair should be.
"The same face," he mused. "Always the same."
Elma smiled at Sir Auron, who was carrying Yuna in his arms above the tickle-range of her siblings. The girl had wrapped herself around his neck and seemed to be falling asleep, face mashed against his collar. "Looks like you've found a friend, sir."
He grunted. "Yuna."
"Yuna?" Isaaru said, turning to look at her appraisingly.
....
"Legendary Pillow"
(Auron and Rikku's daughter)
by ayrania-chan on DA
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My Own Illustrations for LHAD
I'm a Better Writer Than I Am an Artist, But...
Auron and "Yunie Junior" by auronlu
"S-Sir Auron?" Yuna clambered onto his knees, clutching at his belt. "Are you going to make the Lady go away?"
Auron said nothing, contemplating the small, tear-stricken face before him. Her mismatched eyes were a haunting reminder of her namesake and the fate that had claimed her.
"She wants you to," Yuna said softly. "She feels sick inside. Can't somebody fix her?"
Juno (Paine) and Nooj
"If I had sought you out, don't you think he would have made sure you were dead?" Years of pent-up frustration lanced through Nooj's voice like a fish-hook. "If you lived, you were a threat to him. Gippal and Baralai, too, but you most of all. Sooner or later, you would have realized I wasn't myself."
Juno exhaled, breath frosting over his head. "Nooj." She cradled the name gingerly. "I'm sorry I stopped looking for you."
"No Matter How Dark the Night"
What's That Link Again?
Assuming I haven't driven you away with the excerpts...
Illustrated version: Auronlu's FFX Livejournal
Archival version: Archive of Our Own
or, if you prefer: Fanfiction.Net
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by Helluin
aka AuronLu, widely-known Final Fantasy fanatic. See my Final Fantasy livejournal for other fanfiction, too. more »
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Final Fantasy X: A Classic Game
Final Fantasy X
Amazon Price: $10.58 (as of 06/03/2012)
Ten years on, the animation of this classic game is starting to look dated. The voice acting in the first game ever to have spoken dialogue throughout was patchy in the American dub. Nonetheless, it was a good combat system, and the world and story are unforgettable. In fact, the only complaint anyone ever seems to have with this game is that it was too linear, too much like participating in a movie!
