i’ve been doing a lot of ffx lore reading and fic reading lately and it has me thinking:

what if it had only been auron and braska during braska’s pilgrimage?

there’s two ways that could have gone, to be honest. they defeat Sin together, auron becomes the final aeon and then the new Sin. perhaps even a Sin that has enough self control left in its bones to keep from killing quite so many people.

but what would remain of his psyche would be SHATTERED and drenched in guilt. after all, braska is his whole world. auron leaves the warrior monks to be braska’s guardian. he’s viciously protective of his summoner. and as his final aeon would have been forced to kill him.

the other option is if we lean heavily on auron’s meeting with yunalesca. without jecht, he would have been at braska’s side during their meeting with yunalesca. they could have survived together, a failed and disgraced summoner and guardian.

but, like auron in canon, they both would have known the truth. like belgimine before them. braska could have taken yuna to besaid himself, both protected by auron. surrogate parents not just for yuna but for wakka and lulu as well.

kimahri probably would not be one of yuna’s guardians in this reality, but chappu probably would be. with auron’s training he could’ve survived his fight with Sin, or not even been a crusader in the first place.

with training from braska and auron, would lulu have been able to save lady ginnem? could they have defeated Sin and lulu become the final aeon instead? a new Sin full of magic, whistful for a love lost, as she would never return to chappu?

or, would lulu and wakka have succeeded with father zuke? would wakka have put his life on the line to be the final aeon for zuke, leaving lulu, much like auron in canon, to make her way home alone, from zanarkand. wakka would have made for a stubborn Sin, avoiding besaid.

perhaps both pilgrimages still fail. zuke still quits in the calm lands, wakka and lulu head home to besaid, maybe even with a kimahri who has been outcast from his tribe. almost yuna’s full team of guardians.

yuna still becomes a summoner, then. but instead of tidus, there’s chappu. lulu is happy on this pilgrimage, with all her family. braska is 45, but still a magic user. not too old to follow along—and he and auron do so, to the end. they have to see it through.

as a disgraced summoner, braska is not allowed in the temples, but in a pinch the aeons still come to him. auron guards him nearly more than he guards yuna. they’re here as mentors, as family. they’re PROUD of this group of kids that they’ve raised so well.

chappu brings laughter to the journey, he and wakka are idiots that keep everyone’s spirits high. they win the tournament in luca without issue, before continuing onward. lulu is happy, at peace to have her chappu with her. kimahri doesn’t stray from yuna’s side.

braska repairs his relationship with the al bhed on the road, recognizes his niece, rikku, as soon as she washes up on the shore of the moonflow. welcomes her with open arms. wakka doesn’t hate the al bhed now, because chappu lives. rikku feels safe with her new family.

auron never trusted seymour, but didn’t act on it in canon. now, with braska at his side? these two fathers stand as a barrier between a demented man and their dear yuna. when jyscal appears at the farplane in guadosalam, braska and yuna together receive the sphere.

this time, jyscal’s fate isn’t a secret. they proclaim it loudly and yevon can’t cover it up. seymour is sentenced to the via purifico. he makes his way out, maybe even comes after them, but ostracized and against two summoners? one chance is all he gets, and is sent.

they arrange, via word from rin’s travel agency, to meet with cid and brother in the calm lands. no kidnapping, but a family meeting. buddy is there for real, rather than just mentioned. home doesn’t get destroyed by the guado.

braska and auron talk to cid privately, tell him that they have a plan, but first yuna has to see, has to journey the rest of the way and speak to yunalesca. to see the echoes of braska and auron leaving their own pilgrimage. cid agrees, gives them a way to call him if needed.

the group is full of outcasts, but family. yuna gathers every aeon to her except anima, lays to rest belgimine and ginnem. the ronso aren’t slaughtered by the guado, in fact kelk meets them at gagazet with welcome. kimahri has his duel with biran and yenke, wins handily.

together they make their way to zanarkand, no seymour at their heels, and they reach the campsite together. it’s there that the pyreflies spin their visions, echoes. among others they see auron and braska, 10 years younger.

they watch as auron and braska turn from resigned but determined to incensed and betrayed. yevon is a lie and they vow to stand against the cycle of death, together. their current selves follow their young family proudly as they confront yunalesca.

this time, auron’s speech is different. no option to “die and be free of pain”, he and braska shout that they “fight [their] sorrow”. it’s not their fight, and the kids win handily, sending yunalesca beyond. braska and auron are SO proud.

with spira’s help, Sin is gone for good. the same Sin that braska failed to defeat. yuna becomes High Summoner, the last, and for their roles in it all, braska and auron are heretics no longer. they retire to their old home, to bevelle.

maester mika eventually moves on, leaving kelk and kinoc. new yevon still rises, with baralai as praetor, but with two maesters surviving and the guidance of braska and auron. kinoc leaves to help the rise of the youth league. auron leads the warrior monks, braska the priests.

the Eternal Calm is a long-awaited reward. braska loudly supports the al bhed as they become a part of spira at large, and both of them encourage yuna to be her own woman. the gullwings happen, but yuna chases lenne instead of shuyin.

tidus ends up in spira—after. with jecht. they became self aware as the dream broke, made real by pyreflies and the mess of shuyin with vegnagun. dream zanarkand is in spira, real, and they have much to share. yuna falls in love, in her own time.

I GUESS TLDR AURON AND BRASKA BECOME GREAT DADS TO A BUNCH OF IDIOT KIDS AND SAVE THE WORLD.

unafraid to hold hands as they follow the group of young heroes in the parade bevelle throws after. two men in love, proud of their kids, finally at peace.

and all they had to do was not adventure with jecht, lmao. to be fair, it probs turned out better for jecht, who could raise his own dang kid instead of auron raising tidus. they never do explain how jecht ended up in spira anyways, it makes more sense for vegnagun to mass summon

vegnagun mass summons dream zanarkand to reality, just like he tried to do with the aeons. succeeds with zanarkand where he failed with aeons. gullwings and zanarkand kick shuyin and vegnagun’s asses, the end.

wakka and chappu travel to zanarkand because blitz stadium. lulu and chappu have a kid together, named after zuke or ginnem, depending. wakka still befriends tidus, they get in a scrap when the aurochs play the abes and they’re both beat to shit but it works.

tidus is drawn to yuna because he’s the dream’s version of shuyin and yuna, well she’s lenne’s reincarnation. the game makes both very obvious. but yuna isn’t rushed, doesn’t fall for him out of desperation but instead falls in love slowly, naturally.

jecht meets auron and braska at the wedding of tidus and yuna in bevelle. it’s huge, the high summoner marrying the star player of the zanarkand abes. braska and auron make sure bevelle pulls out all the bells and whistles for it. half of spira shows up for it.

auron and jecht actually get along immediately in this reality. they get drunk together at the reception, toasting the happy couple, and braska has to bodily carry auron most of the way home. with help, because he’s nearly 50, and auron may be nearly 40 but he’s all muscle.

kimahri becomes elder later, after kelk passes naturally. trommel leads the guado for a time but eventually elects someone young and fresh. the leblanc syndicate doesn’t take up in guadosalam, instead elsewhere, most likely the remiem temple if it still stands, or luca.

gippal still leads the machine faction naturally, encouraged by others. kinoc selects nooj to lead the youth league, since we all know kinoc is to blame for the crimson squad anyways.

speaking of kinoc, he and auron eventually reconcile. after all, they grew up as best friends, brother monks in bevelle. auron ends up at the youth league sometimes, drinking with kinoc until sunrise, until the gullwings take him home.

at home, auron and braska have each other. they always do. they’ll grow old together, revered as elders in bevelle. through the kids (tidus/yuna, lulu/chappu, riku, wakka) they’ll have grandchildren, even great grandchildren. their home is filled with love and life.

in their lifetime, with a large help from braska himself, they’ll see al bhed in bevelle. rebuilding the machina city once more. luca, home and zanarkand grow strong and proud as machina cities on their own. the ruins of the moonflow are excavated, recovered.

jecht and his wife never lose each other, and jecht gives up the drinking when his first grandchild is born. cid eventually falls in love again, though it takes years and much encouragement from the whole family. the gullwings never break up. it’s a family business.

paine becomes one of the kids as well in the end. distantly, so do gippal, nooj and baralai. braska considers baralai an apprentice of sorts, councils him throughout his time as praetor. kinoc feels responsibility for nooj, councils as best he can. gippal is gippal.

twilight years come and go, and both braska and auron eventually die of old age. nearly the same time, as a matter of fact. like lovebirds, one can’t be without the other. they’re welcomed in the farplane by long gone friends and family. and yuna’s mother. lives well spent.