Auron/Lulu

==Overview==
The Auron/Lulu pairing (shortened to Aulu) explores a possible relationship between Auron and Lulu in the Final Fantasy X fandom. Fandom for this obscure pairing is confined to isolated fanworks posted on fanfiction archives, chiefly FanFiction.Net, cosplay, and a few very small clusters of fans sharing their fanwork with one another.
==The Pairing==
There is no hint of a romantic relationship between Auron and Lulu in canon, only a professional one. Both are serious, cynical, competent fighters scarred by the deaths of their first summoners. They serve as mentors to the hero and heroine of the story.
Aulu fans tend to see their relationship as one of mutual respect. Some fanworks toy with the idea that they let their hair down in private. Other fanworks explore the poignancy of a relationship in which one or both of them are fully aware that Auron is dead, an "unsent" ghost who will vanish at the end of their quest.
Auron/Lulu fandom sometimes uses the symbols of Mars and Venus, assigned to them in the game via astrological "Sigils" and "Crests" corresponding to each player character.
==Phases of the Fandom==
There appear to be two distinct cusps of Auron/Lulu fandom activity, each occurring when a small, active group of Aulu fans connected with each other and began producing and sharing fanwork for this pairing.
=== 2003: Auron x Lulu on Yahoo Groups ===
In June 2003, x_rocketgurl_x established the Auron_x_Lulu mailing list on Yahoo Groups. The mailing list remained active for about a year. Members uploaded fanart and fanfiction to the group's files, discussed the pairing, or shared links to related works posted elsewhere. x_rocketgurl_x also maintained an AuronxLulu C2 Community, an index of Auron/Lulu stories posted on Fanfiction.Net from December 2001 through August 2004.
During this phase, Aulu fan Ruby created a small AuLu fansite hosted on Geocities, including several pieces of fanart that could be considered "the classics" in this very obscure fandom.
=== 2006: The Aulu LiveJournal Community ===
In March 2006, another small cluster of Auron/Lulu fans discovered each other on AdultFanfiction.Net and LiveJournal. Auronlu created The Auron/Lulu Shrine and started networking fans. In April, Livejournal user muggy_mountain created the Aulu Livejournal Community for discussion and sharing fanwork. Other founding members of the Aulu Livejournal Community included TrekQueen and Saharasnow. Members tend to post fanwork on their own Livejournals, then archive stories on Fanfiction.Net or on Ficwad or AdultFanFiction.net for explicit work.
Participation tapered off in 2007, but a few members still keep an eye on The Aulu Livejournal Community and post there sporadically.
==Pairing Affinities and Conflict==
Auron/Lulu fans sometimes posit a complementary, un-canonical Rikku/Wakka pairing, especially in AU stories where Auron is not sent. Canon's Lulu/Wakka pairing in Final Fantasy X-2 may be challenged or ignored, or Auron/Lulu fanon may assume that Lulu became reconciled with Wakka (with whom she squabbled in Final Fantasy X) some time after Auron's departure.
Some (but not all) Auron/Lulu fans criticize the immensely popular Auron/Rikku (Aurikku) pairing due to qualms about their age difference. Likewise, many Aurikku fans are vehement critics of the Auron/Lulu pairing. For the most part, these fandoms coexist without much overlap or friction. However, Auron/Lulu fans are advised to tread carefully in Aurikku circles and remember that Aurikku is practically a OTP for Final Fantasy X fandom.
For example, the profile of The Dead Boyfriends Society Livejournal community proclaims itself a community for "those special people who love the Final Fantasy ships featuring girls with dead boyfriends", but the community actually restricts itself to Auron/Rikku and Yuffie/Valentine of Final Fantasy VII.
==Auron/Lulu Fandom Essays and Articles==
Articles related to the Auron/Lulu relationship.
* auronlu. The Million Gil Question: Why Auron & Lulu?! published on 8 March 2006 at Auronlu's Livejournal. (Accessed September 2009.)
* Kitt, aka Jack_of_Spades. About Face - Logic Gap: Lulu and Wakka in the first game versus them in the second. published on Kitt's Synthesis fanart site. (Accessed September 2009.)
Category:Het Pairings
Category:Final Fantasy X
Category:Final Fantasy Relationships