Do you ever just want to play a game that was only released in Japan and also doesn't have a translation ROM so you buy the game and then play it with your wife (@avalypuff 💖) despite not knowing any Japanese so the two of you play through it by manually translating every dialogue by taking pictures and putting it through Google Translate, or are you normal?
Anyway, here's a reference of an alternate Siduri from the world of "Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book: The Witch, the Girl, and the 5 Heroes"! I also have a reference of that game's Gilgamesh because there is no high quality art of his final form, and I'm taking some artistic liberties so I don't go nuts trying to figure out his design!
Lady Siduri is a formidable knight of the "Black Wolves", one of two armies of the Barnard Kingdom led by Captain Volg. Siduri comes off as a bit dim-witted, but can be frighteningly perceptive at times. Her life was turned upside down after the assassination of the king.
Captain Gilgamesh of the second army, "Hell's Gate", not only manipulated Volg's second-in-command, Enkidu, into assassinating the king and then framing Volg, but he later kidnapped the princess and attempted to force her into marrying him. Volg would team up with a mysterious chocobo who had wandered into the kingdom and together they would defeat Gilgamesh, foiling his plans.
Gilgamesh, having been stripped of his role as captain, was to be tried for his crimes, with Lady Siduri being the one to escort him to the court. That is...until the two were spirited away by a Zu, no doubt attracted to Siduri's shimmering armor (but actually it was Gilgamesh's brightly-colored robes that drew in the fiend).
Although Siduri managed to free herself and Gilgamesh from the clutches of the winged beast, they were taken far, FAR away from the kingdom, and that's where the story of their own adventure to return to the Kingdom's capitol begins.
Some stuff I posted on my yume account on Bluesky, but not here, oops!
The text in the first image is provided under the cut. :3
How They Met
Siduri and Gilgamesh technically had two "first" meetings. One was when Siduri attempted to scold the Sand Giant for causing major damage to the Gold Saucer's reactors as well as scaring away many of the park's patrons, resulting in pay cuts for all employees, including Siduri.
Siduri was one of the first people brave enough to confront the Sand Giant, but he crumbled away before she got a word in.
The two would later meet again on Gilgamesh Island, with Siduri having joined Cloud and his party after overhearing that they would meet the one behind all the damage in the Corel Desert. Siduri managed to force--I mean, convince the bladesman to travel with the party until he pays off his debt.
How They Fell in Love
It was a bit of a slow burn for both Siduri and Gilgamesh, as the two did not meet on good terms. In fact, Giglamesh was designated as a "bodyguard" for the other party members who weren't as skilled in combat as Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Yuffie, and Vincent.
However, the more the party traveled together, the closer the two got over time. Although Siduri found Gilgamesh to be a bumbling idiot at times, she learned that he can be wise and is also surprisingly in-tune with others' feelings, usually knowing the right thing to say. Despite Gilgamesh having feared Siduri at first, he turly admired her braver and kindness towards others.
It wasn't until an incident in Junon did the two start developing feelings for the other.
How They Confess Their Love
Some time after Cloud and Tifa reunite with the party, all of them decided to make some time to prepare for the final battle against Sephiroth, with Gilgamesh and Siduri making their preparations on Gilgamesh Island.
With the world's end becoming more imminent as Meteor inches closer towards the planet, Siduri decided to take the chance to finally confess to Gilgamesh. However, before she was able to do so, Gilgamesh softly took her hands and confessed his love for her.
Though surprised that she got beaten to the punch, Siduri reciprocated his affections with a passionate kiss.
I probably should've waited to reveal more details about Siduri and let people get to know her better before drawing any romantic stuff but...uh. -looks at writing on hand- "It's my blog, I do what I want"?
