Kuja (Tribal)
Spoilers for Final Fantasy IX Ahead!!!
Kuja (Tribal) is the main antagonist of the videogame Final Fantasy IX, which released on the Playstation 1
in 2000. He is exactly 24 years old and in the majority of official media he is referred to as male. Kuja is what is called a Genome, an artificial race
created by the character of Garland with the express purpose of housing the preserved souls of the alien civilization called Terrans come a later time. In particular, Kuja was a special case, as he was
one and the first of three Genomes created by Garland and imbued instantly with a soul, with the purpose to act as 'Angels of Death' to the inhabitants of Gaia, where the game takes place. Kuja was created to
sow chaos and discord among the Gaians to expedite their dying off, so that the Terrans could then take over the planet.
Despite Garlands supposed plans for Kuja, not too long after his creation,
Garland came to the conclusion that Kuja was a defect. Specifically, due to Garland creating Kuja as an adult rather than a baby or child that would grow, Kuja was seemingly emotionally stunted, and this
prevented him from accessing certain abilities Garland wanted of him. Soon Garland created another Genome 'Angel' that he deemed perfect/correct, and all but discarded Kuja. Kuja, rightfully pissed off,
decided to rebel against Garland, going against his plans and instead deciding to try at taking over and ruling Gaia himself. This ends up leading him to working with the Queen of Alexandria as she goes about an
imperialist conquest. Working as a weapons dealer for her, this is where the main party of the game first meet him.
Personality
If your into such things, it might be fun to know that Kuja has been deemed to be an ENFP with a 4w3 enneagram type. Despite his calculating plans, uncaring nature towards others,
and general villainous behaviors, it is understood and shown in game that he is deeply introspective, unsure in his identity, envious, and in the end prone to dramatic emotional outbursts. He's often described
as a narcissist, tending to show a general lack of empathy and over-inflated sense of self-importance. It has often been discussed if a lot of the way Kuja turned out was a [trauma] response to the way
he was treated by Garland. Nonetheless, this attitude of his carries on up until just about the very end of the game, where his ego has finally been broken and he ultimately shows remorse for his actions to the
main party/characters.
Existentialism
Truthfully, the entire game of Final Fantasy IX discusses and deals with topics related to existentialist thought,
so Kuja isn't the only one with those themes. However, his relation stands out to me more than almost every other character (except perhaps Vivi). Probably
the biggest deal with Kuja and the reason why he acts the way he does is to assert his individual identity (albeit with a touch of narcissism), which is compelling considering the nature of his creation.
Despite the fact that Kuja is meant to be this all-powerful Angel of Death which should grant him superiority or at least grand praise, not long after his creation he is basically rejected.
Meant to believe that he was a mistake, made wrong, essentially not worth the life and will he was given. So, what else can he do but set out to prove such statements wrong.
To prove not only that he has a true individual identity and will, but that his existence is worth something (perhaps more than others, in his mind).
I honestly don't have the writing skill to properly give justice to the profound writing that I find in Kuja's character. His struggle with his ultimate mortality and giving meaning to his life when
he was told there basically was none for him any longer as a defect is highly resonant I believe, and it actually carries me into the next theme of his I want to touch on.
Queer and Neurodivergent Coding
Off of Kuja's appearance alone, it's not hard to see why some may see a character some flavor of queer. But I want to talk beyond just that. I will go ahead and say that
I read Kuja is an agender being, and this largely comes once again from the nature of his existence. It's a common enough trend of reading non-human characters as agender or nonbinary in some form, especially
those that are 'created' rather than 'traditionally born'. After all, if you are not human, and especially not made to truly be like one, what need do you have for putting yourself into their socially-constructed
categories and roles? But more than even this, what also reads as queer (and neurodivergent) about Kuja is his story of being told that something is fundamentally wrong with him
and overall being treated as some type of mistake. While this is thankfully not every queer or disabled person's experience, it is unfortunately a very common one. And Kuja's path of rebellion against these perceptions from Garland
and setting off to both live his life as he sees fit and to prove Garland wrong parallels many real experiences as well. Kuja's experience of being denigrated for his emotional stuntedness in particular
parallels with some of the common rhetoric many aro/acespec and neurodivergent people deal with.
Lost Childhood
I could go on and on about the intricacies I find in Kuja. Another really interesting thing I find about him is specifically his struggle to comprehend a world existing without him in it.
While this mostly gets written off as mere narcissism and him being egomaniacal (which I get), I'd also say it mirrors the behavior/thinking of a child trying to comprehend the same thing. And that has layers
when remembering that Kuja was "born" as a full adult, not actually having a childhood. Remembering this fact can recontextualize a lot of what he does, painting him more in the light of being a child/teen
in the body of an adult. He's going through the phases and revelations one typically has as a child or teen all at once, and without the proper support system of, oh I don't know, a proper fucking parent, it leads him to
insanity. I guess this theme/topic interests me so much because of the weird psychology of it all. Like how a child covering their eyes believes you can't see them because they can't see you. A child
can't yet understand the idea of the world existing and carrying on outside themselves and their perception, of an existence disconnected from their own. Reading Kuja in this way adds more depth (and gives more
grace) than merely sticking to the narcissistic egomaniacal villain trope.
Background
Alright, so if it wasn't obvious enough from the pretty decent sized button up there that says Yumeship, I am a selfshipper. So, where do I even begin with
talking about all this? Well for one, this is actually my first time I've ever self-shipped with a character. Oh I've definitely had fictional crushes galore throughout my life, have no doubt, but up until the
beginning of July 2026, I'd never thought to self-ship. Most likely cause I never fully understood what it was or could entail. But now I do, and I honestly owe my learning and subsequent opening
up to doing it myself to - funnily enough - two Sephiroth yumeshippers I've encountered (and now follow). And I won't act like them both being Black women had nothing to do with my opening up to the idea. While
I obviously don't identify as a woman, it does mean something to see Black people like myself doing these kinds of things. While theoretically I know we can do whatever we want, it's always different to actually
see us doing this stuff. So shoutout to them! Now enough introductory yapping, let's get into the Why I love Kuja enough to self-ship/what I get from this, and a bit of my Yumesona.
Why I Yumeship
As I mentioned earlier in the shrine, Kuja has quite a few themes and characteristics going on that I relate to and draw me to him. His need to assert his personal identity and his deep existential fear
of his own mortality are things I know a bit or two about (hello to my fellow people out there with thanatophobia). As well, while he's a huge asshole as we'd expect, he clearly feels things very deeply and has the capacity to show remorse
and self-reflect on his actions. Such things I also relate to. No honestly, I've been called both an asshole and the nicest person someone knew in equal amounts. Now to this you might ask, "Gee why not just kin him
instead?" And my answer to that is, "Idk, I just don't want to." Also to be honest, I already have a character for that (looking at you Brainiac 5). And I just get more out of shipping.
Now like I said
I'm still pretty new to all this so I'm still working out the kinks of my yumesona's story and all that, but as for what I look forward to and already get out of this, it's the getting to have a sort of safe space for
my aroace identity. Along with being lesbian, me also being aroace comes with its own set of anxieties and social issues. Actual relationships are something I have a lot of anxieties and doubts about,
particularly when it comes to if I won't act the right way in them, or if I even truly want one deep down. Getting to essentially 'play around' with this ship that I see as queerplatonic between two aroace people helps me in possibly
seeing what I'd want in a relationship, even if it's not real and there are limitations to that. And, as I haven't shut up about it, I relate and resonant with Kuja's character so so much. I remember on my first playthrough
of FFIX getting emotional when getting the story of Kuja and beginning to understand him. There is a level of comfort I find in his character that further provides a safe space for me to just be me and feel
as if there is someone or something out there that just gets it.
Yumesona
I mentioned earlier that I'm still working out the particulars of my yumesona, but as for right now they go by Zora and are a student scholar from a smaller town who is studying at a
more prestigious university in Lindblum (only Lindblum could offer the best). It has honestly been a while since I last played the game so there is quite a bit I've forgot. I want to flesh out my story more and to
do so I want to replay the game a bit. So it might be awhile. But as for how Zora and Kuja met, I'm working with the idea that somehow Kuja was saved/managed to survive the final battle to be brought to a hospital in Lindblum.
Zora, who is well-versed in natural medicine and healing magic and thus often volunteers at the hospital, finds him there. The rest is to be written. I'll update as my sona evolves, and possibly even share some of the art I make.
