Firion

Remember those symbolism posts I made with some characters from FFVII a while back? Time to move out of that circle. And seriously, I can't begin to describe how perfect the connection between these two is to the point where it's just really disappointed that Firion never got a FR with Tidus, even more with Firion being a protagonist (although, there were other protagonists/face of a game that also didn't have a FR, sadly). But anyway, I said connection to allow anyone to look at them however they see fit, be it mere friendship or the next step, such details are not really important for this.

Where to start, where to start...... Let's start by talking about Firion, as his symbolism for this is a single thing (although, there might be a little second thing) while Tidus is two.

So, Firion. The flower guy. That's what his contribution to this relationship is: he's the flower, the living being, the roots. Firion looks at a Wild Rose as a symbol for hope, renew, bring back what was lost. But let's not forget that flowers are a fragile being, easily squashed and destroyed, and if not treated well, not given the nutrition it needs, it will die (close attention at this end part). Firion isn't to be taken as someone in constant need of protection though, as roses have thorns to keep anything that touches them at bay, and Firion is just as sharp.

Now, Tidus. Tidus is important to maintain this relationship as he is the essential nutrition a flower requires: water and sun. The water part everyone can tell comes from how much he is associated with it, for a multitude of reasons. As for Sun, said symbolism is present in his whole character, directly mentioned in his Celestial Weapon needed materials (Sun Crest and Sun Sigil). He is a very bright person, sociable, energetic, often optimistic, though when he breaks down, he breaks down hard, as if going supernova. You get my point.

All that said, you can see why these two are always together in the Dissidia series. Sure, in Dissidia 012, Tidus was actually on the enemy side and didn't really met Firion, but that game focused more on his relationship with his father; besides, although Firion wasn't present, The Emperor was, so that still makes FFII's presence known, though then again, it's The Emperor, so it's more of a bad omen than a good one. As for Opera Omnia, I don't recall there being many Firion-Tidus scenes, though I believe there were a few, and it's a shame really, but given its wide cast of characters, it's no surprise I guess.

Firion is the roots, the life of it, and he needs Tidus in order to survive, to keep going, he needs the water and sun as any other flower. It's worth mentioning that Firion is calmer than Tidus, opposing his athletic energy. As the water, you might've thought Tidus to be calm, but again, water is just an association for him, there's not really symbolism behind it, unlike the sun. Flowers themselves, as static being due to their roots, bring a sense of calm in others, thus the opposition of Firion's and Tidus's behaviours drawing them closer.

There's actually a lot of opposition between these two that can go unnoticed. Besides the one I just said, there's the fact that Firion is alive, and his flower symbolism brings even more life to the table, while Tidus is dead, just a spirit, a Dream of the Fayth, but still a shining light regardless (I mean, sure, he's back to life after FFX-2, but Dissidia often doesn't count that one and neitheir am I for the sake of argument).

Another one I like to think of, though it is imperfect, is Firion being associated with Fire. It initially started because of Record Keeper, as one of his associated elements was Fire (the others were Ice and Holy), but it then evolved to his own name. Seriously, have you noticed Firion's name? It's a bit similar to Fire, namely if you take the last three letter out and leave it at Fir (which I do like to imagine Tidus calling him that as a nickname). Furthermore, Firion's game literally starts with his town on fire, so there's gotta be something here. Now, I said imperfect opposition as this Fire association would contradict Tidus's Water one, but it's imperfect as usually what's considered the opposite of fire (namely in games) is ice, and not water (which instead serves as an opposition of thunder). That doesn't change the fact that in the real world, fires are extinguished with water, plus ice is water, just in its solid form, so there's still an opposition of sorts here. Worth noting that this is just between associations and not really symbolism itself, as if that was the case, they'd have to be switched actually - Firion, as the calmer one, would have to be Water, while Tidus, as the energetic one, would have to be Fire.

Man, I love these two. I hope we get more of them.

This is all over the place, but these posts usually are. I mean, this is stuff that comes to me while I try to fall asleep, so I think that says a lot of how unprepared I go for these, but I enjoy them regardless. Hopefully you do too.