Rikku's entry to the team

[Formalhaut]

So my boyfriend is playing his first FF game (X, obviously) and he's past the point where Rikku joins the team.

I've forgotten how easily she joins! Tidus had a probationary period to become a guardian, while Rikku barely meets the team and is drafted as a full guardian.

Did you guys ever feel surprised by this? It surprised me.

[Mirage]

Not really. She's related to the boss after all.

[Ayen]

Not really. She's related to the boss after all.

Pretty much this. Never thought much into it beyond that.

[Sephiroth]

Not really. She's related to the boss after all.

Rikku is not related to Auron.

[Karifean]

Not really. She's related to the boss after all.

Rikku is not related to Auron.

(formulates "Chuami = Rikku" theory)

[Sephiroth]

(formulates "Chuami = Rikku" theory)

Formulates Cid => Auron theory with Aniki being the shame of Auron's family.

[Christmas]

She got boobs and there's never be enough for boobs in a team. :bigsmile:

[Karifean]

(formulates "Chuami = Rikku" theory)

Formulates Cid => Auron theory with Aniki being the shame of Auron's family.



so Auron was close to Braska even before Braska's wife died and he became a summoner. That would make sense of how the two of them knew each other. Cidauron decided that having an obvious Al Bhed accompany Braska would be bad for the pilgrimage so he created the persona "Auron".

After Braska's pilgrimage Cid was dead and went to D-Zanarkand and left his children in Spira for 10 years. They thought he just up and left them and could never really forgive him for that so they started building up a grudge towards their father.

When "Auron" meets Rikku at the Moonflow he is not sure of her identity at first, so he asks her to show him her eyes. He notices she is his daughter so he approves of her accompanying Yuna so he can watch over her. Rikku is oblivious to Auron's true identity. Tidus, at this point, however, realized Auron's true identity.

When Wakka said "wait, Sir Auron's not Al Bhed too, is he!?" on Lake Macalania, he was actually spot on. Thankfully Tidus managed to convince him otherwise, else Cidauron's cover would've been blown.

Let's look at Bikanel. This is where "Gippal's Sphere" comes into play. If you haven't seen it in X-2 (it's ridiculously well hidden), here is a video of it (http://youtu.be/kD1ZbOfJtuk). Gippal knew about Cidauron's dual identity, maybe he just found out right here, and thus temporarily had everyone in Home believe that Cid had returned.

All the while Cidauron travels with the rest of the group sans Yuna to Home and this is where the "magic" happens. The group witnesses Cid at the entrance to Home. But none of them were actually looking at Auron. None of them noticed that Auron wasn't actually standing there. Cidauron sends them inside the Home and then pretends to advise them over transmissions from afar, even though he's actually right next to them.

Now on the ship Cidauron has internal conflicts over whether to have Yuna continue her journey or stop her. You may remember a scene in which Auron and Cid argue about this. This is actually just a metaphorical representation of Cidauron's inner struggle and did not actually take place. The reason we see this scene is because Tidus is aware of Auron's dual identity and Cidauron relays his thoughts to Tidus. The game does not explicitly show us this because apparently Ryukishi07 was one of the storywriters behind the scenes.

Thus the illusion is still kept up: none of the other party members notice that they never actually see Cid and Auron at the same time and are thus further oblivious to his true identity.

During the Evrae fight "Cid" appears to respond to Tidus and Rikku's commands. However, in reality, the reason Cidauron speaks over an intercom is not so that Tidus and Rikku can hear him: it's so that Brother at the wheel can hear him! Because he's actually right there on the deck fighting alongside the others.

Fast forward to the Ruins of Zanarkand, when the airship picks up the party. Once again the same kind of situation as last time occurs. None of the party members look at Auron, they just see Cid and don't notice anything out of the ordinary. Yuna is the exception here: she realizes "Auron"'s absence, and in one silent scene she finally realizes that Cid and Auron are one and the same.

With Tidus and Yuna's help the illusion is further perpetuated without much trouble. You always see Auron standing further away from the other party members in the airship, right? This is also metaphorical - none of the other guardians see Auron (because he's not actually there), but Tidus can "see Auron", that is talk to him outside of his Cid persona. When Auron says to Tidus "our stories will end together" he is referring to his plan to finally lay the Auron persona to rest once Sin is defeated and live on only as Cid.

Now let's skip ahead to just beyond the final battles, when Auron is sent. Yuna notices her sending is affecting Cidauron and stops. Cidauron uses this chance to finally say goodbye to the Auron persona and have it seem like it disappears into pyreflies. Notice that Yuna is not actually doing any sending as Auron disappears, so he couldn't have been sent. He just dissolved his body into pyreflies and manifested somewhere else as Cid. Tidus realized Auron's plan which was why he looked at him with that expression. Auron just says "it's been long enough" which is ambiguous.

From now on he would always be Cid, and Tidus and Yuna know that and are not sad at Auron's departure. The others are satisfied with the explanation of the unsent Auron leaving the realm of the living and never ever question the matter. And so the illusion is eternal. Never would Rikku find out.

I thought way too deep into this.

[Sephiroth]

That sounds better than the Audio Drama.

Also Cid-Auron = Cauron = Sauron. BAM BAM BAM.

BUT Rikku finds out as she is Chuami and says it herself that she is Auron's daughter. When Rikku found Yunalesca in the Via Infinito for the second time she got to know about the fake plan of her father in which the legendary summoner was involved and helped faking Auron's death. Rikku was so mad that she said "you dirty snake!" and Yunalesca again transformed and said "let me show you how snake-like I can be!". She was already suspicious during the Calm as Aniki had that big argument with Cid. That was because Aniki found out about Cid = Auron and both were fighting about the fact that Aniki may not come too close to Yuna, so Cid-Auron's sister's daughter and Cid's truth of Auron as him still being alive and actually the same guy not getting revealed. As they both had too much too counter they both did nothing and avoided meeting each other.

[Mo-Nercy]

If Rikku had been subject to a probationary period, she surely would've failed at the Thunder Plains.

[Mirage]

Not really. She's related to the boss after all.

Rikku is not related to Auron.

It's Yuna's pilgrimage. She has the final word, even if she might be weight Auron's opinion heavily.

[Sephiroth]

It's Yuna's pilgrimage. She has the final word, even if she might be weight Auron's opinion heavily.

It seems you didn't understand it.

[Christmas]

I do understand that Auron has smooth armpits (http://home.eyesonff.com/showthread.php/157271-How-does-Auron-keep-his-armpits-so-smooth). :bigsmile:

[Psychotic]

Standard three female rule.

[Mirage]

It's Yuna's pilgrimage. She has the final word, even if she might be weight Auron's opinion heavily.

It seems you didn't understand it.

What was there to understand?

[Quindiana Jones]

You guys are acting so non-chalantly about the unmasking of the blatant misandry and gender bias in this game!

[Sephiroth]

What was there to understand?

The joke. That was no story-reply about Auron's role in the team.

[jeo2388]

If Rikku had been subject to a probationary period, she surely would've failed at the Thunder Plains.

She can customize weapons and armor, the only one who can use steal and use (so far) and has an awesome overdrive. So even if they gave her a probitionary period she would have still passed easily. Her skills are special. Tidus on the other hand was a complete noob like the only true level 1 among the group.

[Shiny]

Yuna a was like "dat ass doe" and said ok come along. I was gonna say Tidus but it's funnier imanging Yuna saying that.

[Mo-Nercy]

If Rikku had been subject to a probationary period, she surely would've failed at the Thunder Plains.

She can customize weapons and armor, the only one who can use steal and use (so far) and has an awesome overdrive. So even if they gave her a probitionary period she would have still passed easily. Her skills are special. Tidus on the other hand was a complete noob like the only true level 1 among the group.
Oh yeah, I forgot that she teaches the group how to Customise. Fair point.

I remember my first playthrough and when Auron gives Tidus his first sword in Zanarkand and he stumbles about like he doesn't know how to hold it, I remember thinking that the bar had definitely dropped for protagonists. We went from mercenary to military school student to alien monkey thief to guy with uneven shorts who can't hold a sword.

[Mirage]

well he is a civilian jock from a big city, what can you expect?