[bendytimed before Visitation Plot] [what the hell, it's open]

[jesushasayak.livejournal.com]

The Southern Air Temple was pretty beautiful, architecturally speaking. With twisting spires and trees threaded into the framework of the temple itself, it looked half as if it'd grown out of the ground or been carved into it rather than that it had been built there.

The best part about it, though, was the sense of peace the place had. It was very easily the kind of thing that could draw people in and help them find calm, even if they weren't the religious type.

Comments

[guardian-wakka.livejournal.com]

"Yevon," said Wakka glumly. "Told my whole life the reason Sin kept comin' back and killin' everyone was 'cause of machina. Told the whole world. And after Chappu died while usin' a machina weapon, I..."

Oh balls, Wakka mentioned his dead brother to some kid he didn't even know.

"I spent a long time hatin' machina."

[jesushasayak.livejournal.com]

Aang understood loss and his expression showed it. It was sympathetic without being pitying.

"Who's Yevon?"

[guardian-wakka.livejournal.com]

"A lotta things, ya," Wakka answered back. How to say all of this.

"Yevon is... was... the main religion of Spira. It taught that if we were truly penitent for our sins, we could atone for the people who used too much bad machina, and someday Sin would go away forever, instead of comin' back time and time again."

"Yevon was actually a summoner, the one who was summonin' Sin. The most powerful summoner. He was insida Sin for a thousand years. Every time Sin got beat, he possessed the Final Aeon that defeated Sin. And he made a new Sin outta that. We ended up havin' to defeat all the aeons after he possessed all the regular ones, ya."

Wakka what are you talking about.

[jesushasayak.livejournal.com]

"So Yevon is the name of the religion and also the name of the spirit, and the spirit was inside something called Sin. And Sin was something bad that killed people. And...I have no idea what aeons are."

AKA - WAKKA SPOILS FFX

[guardian-wakka.livejournal.com]

"I'm a guardian, so I gotta know this stuff. Also I met some of 'em. Summoners summon aeons from... somewhere. I don't know where, really. I think from their homes in the temples of the fayth. Anyway, an aeon is the soul of a person who decided to devote themselves to protectin' the world, to try and defeat Sin. A summoner can call on the spirit of that person to summon a... a... a power creature that is the soul of that person. Somehow. I don't know how they do it, I ain't a summoner, just a guardian."

Wakka took a deep breath. "Sin was a summon the size of a huge city. It was powered by, like, thousands of people's souls, ya. It ran around and destroyed entire cities and villages full of people, to keep 'em from gettin' too powerful. It could only be destroyed by the Final Aeon, which you gotta go on a pilgrimage to get, and it kills you when you summon it. Summoners went on pilgrimage to trade their life for the lives of everyone in Spira. But 'cause Yu Yevon was inside it, and he could take over the body of a summon, he'd just spend years turnin' the body of the summon used to kill the old Sin into a new Sin, ya."

This makes total sense, Wakka.

Re: AKA - WAKKA SPOILS FFX

[jesushasayak.livejournal.com]

"So there was a giant spirit-monster called Sin, with a spirit inside it, named Yu Yevon, and Yu Yevon kept causing the spirit-monster to be reborn every time someone defeated it. And the someones that kept defeating it summoned their own good spirits to fight Sin, until they died and the last spirit they summoned to try to stop Sin was made into the new Sin."

Aang was surprisingly good at understanding spirit-related shenanigans. Or not so surprisingly, given what he was, but it might be surprising to Wakka.

"So you found out that the thing you believed in, this Yevon--it was bad, wasn't it. It kept making the monster that was hurting people."

[guardian-wakka.livejournal.com]

"Half the guys runnin' it were dead," answered Wakka. "They were unsent."

Wakka, you're saying crazy things again. And at this this point, Wakka started to get visibly angry.

"In Spira if you die, and your soul ain't sent by a Summoner to the Farplane, there's a chance that your soul will get so angry that it gets... gets taken over by bad emotions. Hate. And your body can come back to life. Even though you're dead. Maester Seymore and Grand Maester Mika were both unsent. And they were runnin' Yevon. And they knew about Yu Yevon. And they didn't care. Seymore wanted to become the new Sin."

Yes, Aang. It was bad.

[jesushasayak.livejournal.com]

"It must hurt," Aang said slowly and with great sympathy, "to have believed in something and then found out it was bad."

[guardian-wakka.livejournal.com]

"Yeah. It does," said Wakka.

"Kickin' Yu Yevon's see-through ass helped some, though."

[jesushasayak.livejournal.com]

"There are other things to believe in, though," Aang said helpfully. "My people believed that we could all achieve spiritual enlightenment and free our spirits by detaching ourselves from the earthly desires and attachments. The monks taught me that all life was sacred, and that we should try our best to love other people and believe in the compassion and kindness that all people are capable of."

Aang leaned back on his elbows and Momo jumped up on his shoulder, wrapping his tail around Aang's neck.

The monk asked thoughtfully, "Did you find something else?"

[guardian-wakka.livejournal.com]

"I got sucked up into this place five minutes after we defeated Yu Yevon. Didn't even have time to celebrate destroyin' the thing that took over my world," said Wakka. "Don't know how I'd find time to find somethin' new to believe in."

[jesushasayak.livejournal.com]

"Stacy has a funny way of giving people more time than you'd think," Aang said with a slight smile.

"By the way, what's your name?" he asked. "I'm Aang!"

[guardian-wakka.livejournal.com]

"Yeah maybe," said Wakka. "I dunno."

"Name's Wakka, bruddah," said Wakka in his most islandy voice.

[jesushasayak.livejournal.com]

"What's your world like besides all the bad stuff?" Aang asked curiously. "My people lived and trained in the temples, but otherwise we were nomads. We traveled everywhere! I love hearing about all different places."

[guardian-wakka.livejournal.com]

"I grew up on Besaid Island," started Wakka. "S'tropical. Lots of ocean and beach, waterfalls. Besaid Temple's the start of every summoner's pilgrimage. Was, I guess. I'm a blitzball player. Captain of the Besaid Aurochs. Was, I guess. Ain't anybody here other'n Tidus that knows how to blitz. Need five for a team. Luca's got the only blitzball stadium, they're a big port city. Bevelle's bigger 'cause it has the main temple of Yevon there, but last I heard Bevelle was in chaos, what with Yevon fallin' down on top of itself. Mt. Gagazet's the tallest mountain in the world, always covered with snow, and home of the Ronso, big blue cat warrior people with horns. Macalaina Forest's fulla sparkling crystals and butterflies."

[jesushasayak.livejournal.com]

Aang looked enthralled, especially with the bit with the crystals and butterflies.

And with the sports.

"It's hard playing games when only some people know how," Aang said ruefully. "Sister Nima is an Air Nomad like me and she knows how to play Airball, but other than that, no one else on board can. That was a problem back home, though, before I came to the ship and didn't even have Sister Nima."

[guardian-wakka.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, hard to find blitz players. You gotta be able to hold your breath for five minutes. It's all played underwater, ya," Wakka said, wishing he were playing blitzball.

[jesushasayak.livejournal.com]

"Do you Waterbend to play?" Aang asked, raising both eyebrows.

Well, if you think about it... sort of, yes.

[guardian-wakka.livejournal.com]

"Do I what to play?" Wakka asked, not getting it at all.

[jesushasayak.livejournal.com]

"Waterbend."

He made a smooth little gesture with his hands.

"Control the water?"

People can do that, Wakka.

[guardian-wakka.livejournal.com]

"Control the water? You mean like with an elemental reel? I ain't allowed to use that stuff when I'm blitzin', ya. Techniques like Venom Shot or Nap Tackle yeah, but, I don't think I control nothin' to do with water," Wakka answered.

Oh well that makes perfect sense. Wakka has special powers related specifically to when he's swimming in the water. It's nothing at all like waterbending.

[jesushasayak.livejournal.com]

"So how well you play depends on how well you can swim, and you have no control over the water? It must be a really hard game."

It sounded like a lot of fun to watch.

[guardian-wakka.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, the ball loses a lotta energy in the water if you don't know what you're doin'," said Wakka.

Wakka, however, played an absurd amount of games to get the crest for his World Champion ball (that he still doesn't have yet). Wakka has become a shockingly skilled blitzball player. Not that does him any good whatsoever here.

"And, there are only, I dunno, maybe eighty people who play it professionally? Most people can't hold their breath that long, ya."

[jesushasayak.livejournal.com]

"Can you show me how to play sometime?" Aang asked. "It sounds fun!"

[guardian-wakka.livejournal.com]

"Well, we can work on the exercises, yeah, but it'll probably take awhile before you can play. We gotta get you to the point where you can hold your breath for at least two minutes before we can really do much underwater."

Oh Wakka. It's so adorable that you're absolutely clueless.