Bastion has been on my mind for a while and as such I wanted to dive into certain moments of the game and providing meaning for these scenes. More or less everything in Bastion has a definitive purpose because of it’s streamlined approach leaving nothing useless and not related to the world (except maybe that one turret which is hopefully not canon).
This guide is full of spoilers, I created it hoping someone will find enjoyment or a useful realization.

The Bastion has exactly two purposes. It can either reset the timeline and set you back to a point in time before the calamity striked the world of Bastion. It will be like exactly in the past, nothing will be different and everything is going to play out the same. Including the reasons for the calamity which will strike again.
If you choose to evacuate, you just keep living in a broken world and the Bastion becomes your ship, if you want to call it like that.
These are the decisions you can make.

The calamity itself is weapon that was developed by the Caelondia (Rucks’ and the Kid’s people) who wanted to beat the the Ura for the last time with a final solution. The weapon itself was developed by the Ura Venn, Zia’s father, and only realized only in his final days the intention of how it was going to be used. He warned Zia to hide and changed the target to Caeledonia which explains why they all died, but the Ura survived who were the actual intended target. As such he died by his own creation. The weapon maybe was more powerful than intended and also split the world in fragments, a side effect they did not see.

Hate penetrated the Caelondian society so much that they were ready for genocide. The thing with war is it’s never ending fuel. As long as 2 people are alive, someone wants someone dead. Trying to kill literally backfired and not growing past the past signed the end. Bastion showcases perfectly how the calamity is something innate in human nature: rejecting alien cultures and destroying them in the process. No solution exists to fix the past and it will remain with humans as long as they will not change.
A loosely related influence was probably the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Especially the dust/shadows is closely related to the phenomena of atomic shadows
(example: https://www.openculture.com/2016/03/the-shadow-of-a-hiroshima-victim-etched-into-stone-steps-is-all-that-remains-after-1945-atomic-blast.html).
It is probably one of the biggest human tragedies and Bastion sends an explicit anti-war message in a believable scenario.

The Ura are probably the most mysterious aspect of Bastion. A foreign human culture that is a lot more tribal and ferocious. While all these statements are true, they humanity shines the brightest in a single moment. After trying to save Zulf from the Kid, they realized the manpower needed was too big and he may would kill all of them, if they did not give him up. So they did.
And now two decision are possible: Leave Zulf to die and fight your way through. Or care for Zulf and take him with you, but have no means of defending yourself. By all means:
The second decision is suicide. The Ura are there and revengeful for all the people you have killed, just to get the shard. Not realizing that you actually meant no harm. A real tragedy.
If you decide to leave, you fight hard and then leave Zulf to his fate which is death, coming back to the mother, just like the lyrics foretold.
But if you take him with you and walk slowly further you get attacked from every side. No way of defending yourself, you can just block the arrows for Zulf and maybe protect him. But the enemy might becoming overwhelming showcases they could absolutely kill you without your weapon.
Yet they stop. In a moment of the highest chance to kill you, the demon kid who took so much of them. They just see you protecting a friend and rescuing from certain death. This is probably the most sincere scene in the whole game:
Ura and Caelondians can not communicate in any form (an important plot point), but human nature and true feelings are universal. The wish to protect and save transcended the hate feeling of hate and connected them. Deep respect was born.
Until one Ura decides to continue to attack. And he gets instantly stopped. This message will not connect to everyone instantly, but the seed for a better future and trust has been planted. Stopping the attacker by knocking him out is still ferocious, but this seems to be normal to them.
And you get to leave with your honor and the admiration of the Ura.
This reminds me of Martin Luther King who still died despite trying to stay peaceful at all times (he got shot which explicitly reminded me of this). His selflessness still moves people, he will not be forgotten and maybe the tale of the Kid saving Zulf connects with some similar themes.

As I described:
The Stranger stands for the peaceful bliss of the past, ignoring the underlying hate of the past. But also wanting to return to an easier time. It was a lot simpler, for sure. And he lost everything. How could he possibly move on. But is it right?
Resetting will lead only to a blue pill situation and back to this decision for an infinite loop.
On the other hand we have Zia who is ready to risk it all. She has seen both sides and is optimistic. Hopeful for the future. Idealizing reality and ready to start anew. But she is naive and has lost only so much. How can she be right?
Both options are understandable.
Despite that there is something we forget:
Humans don’t give up and will always press on. Humans are a part of life and life will finds it way. We found a friendly squirt, Queen Anne’s child or the pecker and even more.
They all came to us over time and the Bastion became a place to be called home for the humans. They were born at the worst possible time, but still decide to defend the Bastion from the Ura. Because it is their home too. This is their life too and they will try to protect it with anything they got.
Life will continue to exist, unless you go back. Looking back is easy, the future uncertain. It will take sacrifices. Old dogs will need to learn new tricks, did you hear that Rucks?
Which means the actual good ending is to press on and live in this broken, but beautiful world. The past may have devoured it’s own future. Creating a new one is still possible and within their grasp.
Which makes this the good ending. It may lead to death, sadness and sorrow. Still it got potential and carries on the torch of life.
We see Zulf haunted by his past, preparing the meal for later. We see Zia looking far into the broken sky, we can not see and also her reaction is a mystery.
The kid working so hard he can not even make himself a bed, but in the care of Rucks who has grown close to him.
And Rucks somewhat uncomfortably acting as the captain of the Bastion.
Living in the past is easy, but living for the future is the human nature.

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