Imagine parallel universes exist! "FFXIII gang meets their doppelgangers" or "Fang and another Fang switch places on and off while party members on both sides look for solutions to prevent Lightning and/or Vanille from becoming the time traveler's wife(s)". Post-game AU. Gender-bending included. Rated T with implied adult content.
Hey, gang! I did a thing! It's pretty niche. Should have done this months ago rather than idly waiting for Fangrai fiction to pop up.
Sorry for all the long posts lately. Just been in a sort of nerdy nostalgic mood here....The Final Fantasy XIII trilogy is truly underrated IMO. Maybe I have that opinion because I’ve never really thought the series had a certain set in stone way that they absolutely had to play out to be considered “a true Final Fantasy” game. It was always my understanding that they with each new installment, something different would be introduced to mix up the formula.
I’m not saying that the FFXIII trilogy didn’t have its flaws. It has such a massive and rich story and lore....but sadly it was presented overall in such a haphazard way that many people couldn’t really appreciate it. Especially for the fans that aren’t from Japan that had to rely on fan translations of the many, many web novels that half the story is presented in (Episode Zero, Fragments Before and After, A Dreaming Cocoon Falls Into The Dawn, Reminiscence, etc). However, one of the things I’ve always appreciated about these three games is their tendency to put the player directly into the position of the characters emotionally (so you feel the same frustrations of being forced down a linear path or truly understanding the despair a particular character may be feeling) for better or for worse which is one of the reasons why this ending is among my favorites in the FF franchise. Oh and this isn’t my video! I just left a comment in the link about a year or so ago and like I said, nostalgic mood right now so I figured I’d just blog about it here on tumblr. Be mindful of spoilers if you haven’t played the trilogy.
One of the most beautifully tragic things that I love about this is how the ending was clearly foreshadowed throughout the game (Serah dying because of her Seeress abilities as well as what would happen if the Goddess Etro's Heart was pierced) and yet, even though the player was warned multiple times, it STILL catches the player completely off guard for a heartbreaking effect for many reasons:
1) Most of the FF games end on bittersweet but overall positive note and you half expect Noel and Serah to be able to find a way to avert Serah's death or finish with the time jumping before it's too late and 2) the player actually did save the future from Noel's bleak time line and because of that and seeing Hope's new ark rise just as Cocoon falls (as well as knowing they got Vanille and Fang out in time, the player is lured in a false sense of security and 3) The way the ending starts is on such a high note one doesn't expect it will all come crashing down so suddenly right at the end with the melancholy (but overall very hopeful) lyrics and melody of the theme song.
I've seen a lot of people say that the lyrics and the melody don't really fit what's going on during the cut scene but I would disagree to an extent. The theme song isn't just about what's going on in the moment of the ending. It's supposed to reflect the OVERALL journey of the characters and the underlying themes of the whole story and "New World" does that very well for both Serah and Noel. BOTH characters were more or less journeying with nothing but hope in their hearts that at the end they would find the people that they loved waiting for them in a New World that doesn't end up the way Noel's timeline does, (a crisis they do actually save the future from, but unfortunately with Caius possessing the Heart of Etro, he had back up plans) and yet towards the final chorus of the song Serah suddenly dies and Noel holds her lifeless body in his arms.
At this point the song's overall "tone" (for want of a better word) does seem quite a bit out of place, however, the song is still playing because despite losing her life, Serah was never a character to be crippled by despair for long and was very dedicated to her goal for her desire to find Lightning again so they could live together as a family (notably the song ends BEFORE the truly bad things start happening with the Chaos being set lose on the world) and even if that wasn't possible, she was still not going to sit by and let the future fall into despair just to save her own life. She believed that a brighter future (A New World) could be born. And later in Requiem of the Goddess this notion is proven true because she says to Lightning word for word that she has no regrets about what happened to her and believed with all her heart and soul that she and Lightning could be together again. I mean REALLY read the lyrics and see if they don't sum up how Serah feels about Lightning's departure or how Lightning feels about being away from Serah or what happens to her later. Not to mention Noel and Serah's journey and how he was working to avert the disaster that was his timeline in hope for a better tomorrow and being reunited with his Yeul.
"New World"
Staring the stars, feeling the winds every time
I cannot stop thinking of you, since you've been gone away from here
Shedding the tears, crying out loud for once
Cause you are such a precious part of me
And there's no one who'll fill my broken heart
Oh but now, I have realized
The reason why I live in this world,
Even you have left me here alone,
I found the way where I can get hope for the future
Baby, I'm gonna see the new world
With nothing but the love you gave me
Only thing I can do, is to trust the time we shared
Baby, I'm gonna go to the new world
With nothing but the strength you gave me
There's nothing to be afraid of,
I know your love will lead me where I should be
Even if it is dark and hard time for me,
I don't wanna give up my hope
Having a dream, basking in the sun everyday
I'm starting to thank that I'm still here,
Though the pain of loss still hurts me
Making me smile, making me laugh many times
Everything is gentle to me, because you are making it so
Then now I have realized the reason why I live in this world
It's not to lose what I truly need
I will make, sure to build the beautiful days together
Baby, I'm gonna see the new world
With nothing but the love you gave me
Only thing I can do, is to trust the time we shared
Baby, I'm gonna go to the new world
With nothing but the strength you gave me
There's nothing to be afraid of,
I know your love will lead me where I should be
Even if it is dark and hard time for me,
I don't wanna give up my hope
Pray for all the things in this world
And believe in the power of our love
Sing a song of tomorrow
Now we are not alone
And we come to life again
A new day will come to you, for you and me
Baby, I'm gonna see the new world
With nothing but the love you gave me
Only thing I can do, is to trust the time we shared
Baby, I'm gonna go to the new world
With nothing but the strength you gave me
There's nothing to be afraid of,
I know your love will lead me where we should be
Even if it is dark and hard time for us,
I don't wanna give up our hope
Despite me praising SE for foreshadowing an ending so obviously and yet still managing to catch players off guard in the the best and worst way, I still felt sad and angry (just like Noel did) that things turned out this way for both Serah and Noel after everything that they (and by extension the player) went though to avert one bad future (and being successful in that goal) only to inherently cause another one right at the end...Fortunately, in the final game Lightning Returns, everyone gets their well deserved happy endings....
