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livvyplaysfinalfantasy:

Once again, Vaan proves why he could never be the Occuria’s chosen. This is the first moment that any of the party have seen the Occuria, and Vaan immediately views them as a subjugating, controlling force to be rejected. Vaan’s experiences with the Empire cause him to automatically distrust these higher beings who use their influence to order Ashe around. He has moved past his immense anger at those who conquered his homeland and is now concerned with ensuring that such an event will never take place again. For better or for worse, however, Ashe doesn’t think like Vaan. The Occuria have appealed to her heritage and her strong value of family pride. As Raithwall’s descendant, Ashe believes that it may very well be her duty to do whatever it takes to achieve “peace.”

This moment is also a continuation of one of the most important relationships between female characters that Final Fantasy XII has to offer. Throughout the game, Fran is quick to judge Ashe for her decisions and actions. Fran is one of the only characters with enough gall to flat-out ask Ashe if she plans to take revenge against the Empire, and she does so whenever she feels it is necessary. Ashe usually responds with something akin to a guilty look, but the face she makes here can almost be described as pleading. Ashe cannot look Fran in the eye and tell her that she wants to destroy an entire nation. Fran is often passive-aggressive, but this interaction happens because Fran contributes something to the group dynamic that no one else can. She’s not condescending like Balthier, nor is she a follower like Basch. For one brief moment, Ashe is able to connect to Fran as a person instead of as a queen with something to prove.

This echoes what I wrote in this post and it is important to point out that Vaan is indeed the first to object to the Occuria

livvyplaysfinalfantasy:

This short bit of dialogue from Fran can only be accessed for a very limited amount of time. Lots of people I know who have played XII have never found this part of the scene, simply because Fran only speaks to Ashe if the party reaches the Necrohol of Nabudis before traveling to Archades.

But although this bit of dialogue is very short and so optional that most people don’t know it exists, it’s always what comes to mind whenever someone asks me about relationships between female characters in XII.

We really don’t see XII’s female characters interact all that often, even though Fran’s relationship with Penelo is anything but insignificant. But in this short little scene, we see that Fran is one of the only people in the entire game who has enough nerve to flat-out ask Ashe if she intends to take revenge against the Empire.

The Necrohol of Nabudis itself consists of what was once the Nabradian Royal Palace. This was Rasler’s home, and it’s not out of the question to assume that Ashe visited the palace once or twice in her life. For a while, she can’t bring herself to look at her surroundings, and she can’t meet Fran’s gaze even when she mentions revenge. This is an emotional moment for Ashe, but Fran doesn’t go easy on her. Though she never says so outright, Fran highly disapproves of Ashe’s quest for power. She doesn’t give Ashe any special treatment because of all that she’s been through or simply because she’s the princess.

While this isn’t the most uplifting of relationships between female characters in the Final Fantasy series, it’s pretty powerful in its own way. Fran is definitely Ashe’s friend, and it’s for that exact reason that she makes her disapproval perfectly clear.

livvyplaysfinalfantasy:

I’m actually really sick of people using this scene as a moment to make fun of Vaan.

For the past two years, literally everyone in Dalmasca has cursed Basch fon Ronsenburg for killing King Raminas. People have more hate for Basch than they do for Gramis or Vayne, because Basch was a beloved hero who betrayed his country for his own personal beliefs.

What’s more, Vaan still hasn’t fully recovered from Reks’s death. It was announced that Basch was executed by the Empire for his crimes. Seeing Basch alive even though Reks is dead is a huge insult to Vaan; of course his first reaction would be to want to cause Basch as much pain as possible.

Just take a look at the expression on Basch’s face; he never breaks eye contact with Vaan or tries to interrupt because he knows that he deserves to hear every word Vaan says. And then there’s Vaan’s face in the very last screenshot, which looks more anguished than angry.

This is one of those moments that shows Vaan as both a Dalmascan and an individual, and yet people only call him immature for making a scene.

Accentable

finalfantasytrivia:

The English localisation team of FFXII could choose the accents of characters and their voice models:

Vaan is based on Leonardo DiCaprio from Titanic

Fran on Bjork, the Icelandic singer

and Balthier on Aragorn from Lord of the Rings

Additionally, Vaan and Penelo use casual English and Japanese, in contrast with Ashe, Balthier and Basch, who speak in a more formal way.  

@chaoticrice If I remember well you like the Titanic AU so here for you !

livvyplaysfinalfantasy:

There’s so much to love about this scene, starting with Basch’s subtle changes in expression as Penelo teasingly accuses him of complaining.

But this is also our first real indication that Basch has formed a strong bond with Vaan and Penelo. Considering Vaan and Penelo have believed for the past two years that Basch was the one who killed Reks and betrayed Dalmasca, it’s remarkable that Basch has become a sort of older brother figure to them both.

Then there’s the way he talks about serving royalty; even though he admits that it can be frustrating, you just know that there’s nothing else he’d rather be doing with his life.

It’s a bit of a mystery why Ashe is smiling even though she’s the subject of Basch’s joke, but maybe it has something to do with seeing Basch look so happy. He’s in Archades, where his brother has lived for the past nineteen years, but that doesn’t seem to be on his mind at all. Maybe Basch is acting more like he used to before the war. For Ashe, who has lost everything and everyone else in her life, it must be comforting beyond belief to see the Basch she remembers from her childhood.

chaoticrice:

chaoticrice:

Larsa shopping in the Muthru Bazaar.
Scene from my fic “The Burden of Rule”

Wowww hey ya’ll this is a doodle I did for chapter 2 which is out now and it amazes me that this scene was just an idea in my head that I daydreamed almost four years ago.

I’m not used to making my dreams a reality so this is all surreal to me. I know, it’s just fanfiction, but to me it’s an important first step.