Line #76 Webcomic/Guardian


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/guardiancoversmall.png]]
2	The party has arrived at Zanarkand. Yunalesca explains to Yuna what she must do now: the summoner chooses one of her guardians to become the Final Aeon. Then she will call that person forth, battle Sin, and die. It is time for Yuna to select the companion that will bear this fate. Lulu steps forward and volunteers.
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4	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.
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6	''Guardian'' is a ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' comic by [[https://mintywolf.tumblr.com/ Mintywolf]]. It is a PerspectiveFlip 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 AlternateUniverse version (as the author details [[http://mintywolf.tumblr.com/post/110480795398/i-get-a-number-of-comments-on-guardian-saying here]]).
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8	The comic is now complete and can be read [[https://guardian.mintywolf.net/ here]], or on [[http://guardian-comic.tumblr.com Tumblr]] and [[https://www.deviantart.com/summonermintywolf DeviantArt]].
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10	----
11	!!Tropes:
12	* AffectionateGestureToTheHead: Lulu often expresses affection towards Yuna by stroking her hair.
13	* AloofDarkHairedGirl: 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.
14	* AlternateUniverse: Most of the comic falls in line with canon (apart from a couple of minor edits) once it catches up to ingame events. [[spoiler: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.]]
15	* AllLovingHero: Lulu describes Yuna as someone whose heart can hold the whole world.
16	* AllOfTheOtherReindeer:
17	** Even as a young girl, Lulu is a bit of an outcast due to her affinity for black magic.
18	** Yuna is mistreated by the temple clerics for being half Al Bhed... until Braska defeats Sin.
19	* AntiClimax: Zuke's pilgrimage is shown to be fairly quiet because he starts in Bevelle and, unlike Ginnem or Braska, has Yevon's official backing.
20	* ArtEvolution: [[https://mintywolf.tumblr.com/post/150521905678/guardian-hd-remaster 2012 vs 2016]].
21	* AssKickingPose: Lulu and Yuna assume one before the final fight with Seymour.
22	--> '''Lulu:''' ''[[https://guardian.mintywolf.net/comic/page-190/ "Let's end this."]]''
23	* AsYouKnow: 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.'''"
24	* {{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.
25	* BagOfSpilling: The comic offers an explanation for how someone who's twice traveled with summoners starts the game with level one magic spells. [[spoiler: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.]]
26	* BeachBury: Yuna is seen doing this to a sleeping Kimahri as a child.
27	* BigDamnHeroes: Kimahri roars into the cave on Besaid and tosses aside a wolf-like fiend with one swipe, rescuing Yuna and Lulu.
28	* BitchSlap: Lulu hits Luzzu hard enough to hurt her own hand when he confesses he convinced Chappu to enlist.
29	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: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.]]
30	* BlackMage: Lulu's role in the pilgrimage party. We see her as a child growing into her powers under Ginnem's tutelage.
31	* BlackAndWhiteMagic: As in the game, Lulu and Yuna's individual powers contrast and complement each other like this.
32	* BloodFromTheMouth: 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.
33	* BreakHisHeartToSaveHim: 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.
34	* CallForward:
35	** Lulu casually speaks of "going home" after Ginnem's pilgrimage is over and goes uncorrected, much like Tidus during the game.
36	** Paine is one of the temple orphans in Lulu's home village.
37	** Yuna's first performance of the [[http://guardian-comic.tumblr.com/post/94839439847/emotionally-devastated-but-proud Sending dance]] reproduces a shot from the [=FMV=].
38	** A panel on [[http://guardian-comic.tumblr.com/post/116680527427/ this page]] replicates Lulu and Yuna's poses in Lulu's character poster.
39	* CentipedesDilemma: The first time Yuna walks on water, she falls in once the others point it out.
40	* ChildMage: Lulu is an elemental magic prodigy, which is one reason why she accompanies Lady Ginnem despite being twelve.
41	* ChildrenAreInnocent:
42	** 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.
43	** Yuna is very much an innocent when they live together on Besaid, which is part of why Lulu has so much affection for her.
44	* ColdBloodedTorture: 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 [[FromBadToWorse particularly benign]], however.)
45	* ComfortingComforter: Auron gives Lulu his coat when she finds Braska's group outside Yojimbo's cavern.
46	* DeadlyNosebleed: Used, along with blood from the ''ears'', to show the devastating psychic damage caused by Anima.
47	* DefinitelyJustACold: Yuna attempts to downplay her illness in order to press on with her summoner training despite being ObviouslyNotFine. Lulu is not persuaded.
48	* DidntThinkThisThrough: Lulu says this herself when she saves Yuna by calling a fiend's attention onto ''herself''.
49	* DoomedByCanon: Ginnem and Chappu.
50	* DramaticIrony: 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.
51	* DudeMagnet: Lulu's MsFanservice 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.
52	* ElegantGothicLolita: 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.
53	* EmpathicEnvironment: 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. [[spoiler:for Lulu, it's a lonely, snowy mountaintop.]]
54	* FailureKnight: Lulu characterizes herself this way in the narration, describing Ginnem as "the first summoner I failed."
55	* FistOfRage: Lulu's hand is shown clenched in the fabric of her sleeve one panel before it is used to sock Luzzu in the jaw.
56	* FixFic:
57	** 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.
58	** Chappu's being the "spitting image" of Tidus is resolved by showing him with a new haircut after he signs on to the Crusaders.
59	** Yuna gives her [[http://guardian-comic.tumblr.com/post/123382999047/it-always-bothered-me-that-tidus-kept-listened goodbye message]] to Auron, rather than Tidus chucking it away on the airship.
60	* FlashbackNightmare: Lulu's [[https://guardian.mintywolf.net/comic/page-86/ last memories]] of her parents are revealed this way.
61	* GoOutWithASmile: [[spoiler: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 . . . [[https://guardian.mintywolf.net/comic/page-224/ I'm glad it was you."]]'']]
62	* HealingHands: Yuna is able to revive a cat that was killed by some teenagers. Later on after being ordained as a WhiteMage she is seen using her healing magic on others, most notably to [[https://guardian.mintywolf.net/comic/page-175/ heal Lulu]] after the events of Bevelle.
63	** Inverted when Lulu, a BlackMage, uses her ElementalPowers to revive Yuna from drowning.
64	* HeterosexualLifePartners: 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.
65	* HowWeGotHere: 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.
66	* GrimUpNorth: Lulu's home is a forgotten, snowy village in the north of Spira, its temple having lost its fayth.
67	* GuiltComplex: 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...
68	* ImprobableWeaponUser: 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.
69	* ImStandingRightHere: 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.
70	* JadeColoredGlasses: 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.
71	* JumpedAtTheCall: 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.
72	* KindheartedCatLover: Yuna keeps the cat...like creature she revives as a pet.
73	* KnightInSourArmor: 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.
74	* LadyOfBlackMagic: Lulu, iconically.
75	* LapPillow: Yuna rests with her head in Lulu's lap on a few occasions.
76	* LiesToChildren: Ginnem declines to fully explain the pilgrimage to Lulu, not wanting to destroy her innocence.
77	* LimitedWardrobe: 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.
78	* LongHairIsFeminine: 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.
79	* TheMentor: Lady Ginnem is portrayed as Lulu's first teacher of magic.
80	* MomentKiller:
81	** 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.
82	** She sees Tidus as one long, extended moment killer for her last journey with Yuna.
83	* MundaneUtility: 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.
84	* MyGirlBackHome: Lulu for Chappu--he joins the Crusaders so that she won't be guardian again. She's not thrilled.
85	* NightmareSequence: Lulu does not sleep [[https://guardian.mintywolf.net/comic/page-174/ 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.
86	* NoSell: 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.
87	* ObviouslyNotFine: See DefinitelyJustACold above. Also, Lulu herself later tries to insist that she's fine after receiving near-fatal injuries at the hands of Seymour. Yuna disagrees.
88	* OhCrap: 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 [[https://guardian.mintywolf.net/comic/page-83/ Sin approaching the island.]]
89	* OneWingedAngel: [[spoiler:Lulu's form as the Final Aeon is an elegant, lupine creature the same size as Anima.]]
90	* OppositesAttract: Lulu eventually falls for Chappu because he's such a teen goofball.
91	* PartingWordsRegret: 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.
92	* PietaPlagiarism: [[spoiler: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.]]
93	* {{Prequel}}: The first three chapters serve as this to the game.
94	* ProneToSunburn: As an effect of her [[RavenhairIvorySkin 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.
95	* PsychicNosebleed: The intense strain of summoning [[spoiler: her Final Aeon]] has this effect on Yuna.
96	* RavenHairIvorySkin: One of the things that sets Lulu apart from the native Besaiders. Flashbacks show that her mother also had this look.
97	* ScarsAreForever: Lulu bears the scars she receives on her ill-fated first pilgrimage for the rest of her life.
98	* SeparatedByTheWall: Or rather, separated by the panel border. While Yuna and Lulu [[https://guardian.mintywolf.net/comic/page-134/ 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.
99	* ShoutOut: Yuna wears a classic White Mage's cloak for warmth in Macalania.
100	* ShutUpKiss: Chappu kisses Lulu to stop her from protesting his enlistment.
101	* SickEpisode: Yuna spends a few pages ill with pneumonia after nearly drowning during her summoner training.
102	* SignificantWardrobeShift: 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.
103	* SilenceIsGolden: [[http://guardian-comic.tumblr.com/post/106948848342 The page where news of Chappu's death is delivered]] contains no dialogue.
104	* SleepCute: After Yuna moves to Besaid, she shares Lulu's bed like a little sister.
105	* SoProudOfYou:
106	** Lulu tells Yuna this after Yuna successfully performs a summoner's dance, though it's full of sadness.
107	** Ginnem tells this to Lulu during her black mage training. Echoed later after they encounter her [[spoiler:as an unsent]] in the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth.
108	* SummonMagic: The essential part of Yuna's identity and duty as a summoner, naturally, involves the summoning of aeons. [[spoiler:It becomes particularly relevant to Lulu when Yuna accepts her offer to become her Final Aeon, so that they may fight Sin together.]]
109	* TakingTheVeil: 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.
110	* TearfulSmile: 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.
111	* TimePassesMontage: Lulu's adolescence on Besaid in Part 2 is shown with several silent panels.
112	* TrainingFromHell: 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.
113	* TraumaButton: Lulu refuses to explore a cave on Besaid with Wakka and Chappu.
114	* WarriorMonk: Ginnem is given a swordswoman sister named Imogen.
115	* YouShallNotPass: Imogen keeps the skeletal fiend occupied long enough for Lulu to escape the cavern.
116	* YukiOnna: Lulu's appearance while she is [[spoiler:Sin]] evokes this, a winter-pale woman with long, loose black hair, wandering a snowy, mountainous dreamscape reminsicent of her old home.

Context Webcomic / Guardian