Balthier a. What initally prompted me to like the character enough to write about him/her: What's not to like? Mostly I like his witty, wry way of talking. Also his backstory makes me full of happy squee. b. One of his/her best traits: A slightly warped sense of chivalry and a talent for witty conversation. c. One of his/her worst traits: Obsession with what he left behind, though he tries not to show it. d. How easy/difficult I find it to write the character: I'm actually horribly intimidated by writing anyone in FF12 fandom, just because of the language and the richness of the setting. Balthier intimidates me more than most, because in addition to that certain pattern or lilt to the way the educated and highborn characters speak, it has to be clever and very Balthier. Plus since he's such a popular character, I fear flames from unhappy fangirls. Meep. e. The story/chapter/paragraph/phrase where I feel that I truly captured the character: This was actually a comment to one of cadence_zero's springkink pieces, which was about Balthier having, um, a personal moment out in the open. In the comments someone remarked on what if that was how he met Fran, and I got very bunnied to sketch out that little scene. I don't think it made it onto my writing LJ, though; I should hunt it down. I do also like him very much in "Out of Place," where he showed up quietly and refused to be shown the door. f. My plans (if any) to write the character in the near future: I actually have a fairly long Balthier/Ashe fic brewing in the back of my mind, inspired by VNV Nation (specifically, the line from "Beloved" that goes "We were once young and blessed with wings/No heights could keep us from their reach/No sacred place we did not soar.")
Celes a. What initally prompted me to like the character enough to write about him/her: She caught my attention from the moment I met her in South Figaro, but the reason I ended up playing FF6 at all was because my dad showed me the Opera scene from his play-through. She intrigues me because she views herself as cold and hard, but underneath is a lot of uncertainty. (She discards the Empire, but keeps the white-as-snow cloak that was her hallmark as a general. Hmm.) I also like that she's an eighteen year old with the military experience of someone twice or thrice her age, but the emotional development of an eight year old. There's so much that's interesting to play around with there. b. One of his/her best traits: Determination. She gets things done. c. One of his/her worst traits: Reserve. She doesn't know how to interact with people, so she shoves them away, and that means she won't *learn.* d. How easy/difficult I find it to write the character: Celes is probably the second-easiest character for me to write (after Kain of FF4) just from sheer practice. e. The story/chapter/paragraph/phrase where I feel that I truly captured the character: Oh, definitely Rain (no notable spoilers since you've passed the Opera) or Uncomfortable Silences (the latter has spoilers through the Phoenix Cave, so that you are fairly warned.) f. My plans (if any) to write the character in the near future: I definitely plan to write more with her, and I have actually a very dark fic arc in mind, but I'm not sure I can quite do the story idea justice.
Balthier
a. What initally prompted me to like the character enough to write about him/her: What's not to like? Mostly I like his witty, wry way of talking. Also his backstory makes me full of happy squee.
b. One of his/her best traits: A slightly warped sense of chivalry and a talent for witty conversation.
c. One of his/her worst traits: Obsession with what he left behind, though he tries not to show it.
d. How easy/difficult I find it to write the character: I'm actually horribly intimidated by writing anyone in FF12 fandom, just because of the language and the richness of the setting. Balthier intimidates me more than most, because in addition to that certain pattern or lilt to the way the educated and highborn characters speak, it has to be clever and very Balthier. Plus since he's such a popular character, I fear flames from unhappy fangirls. Meep.
e. The story/chapter/paragraph/phrase where I feel that I truly captured the character: This was actually a comment to one of cadence_zero's springkink pieces, which was about Balthier having, um, a personal moment out in the open. In the comments someone remarked on what if that was how he met Fran, and I got very bunnied to sketch out that little scene. I don't think it made it onto my writing LJ, though; I should hunt it down. I do also like him very much in "Out of Place," where he showed up quietly and refused to be shown the door.
f. My plans (if any) to write the character in the near future: I actually have a fairly long Balthier/Ashe fic brewing in the back of my mind, inspired by VNV Nation (specifically, the line from "Beloved" that goes "We were once young and blessed with wings/No heights could keep us from their reach/No sacred place we did not soar.")
Celes
a. What initally prompted me to like the character enough to write about him/her: She caught my attention from the moment I met her in South Figaro, but the reason I ended up playing FF6 at all was because my dad showed me the Opera scene from his play-through. She intrigues me because she views herself as cold and hard, but underneath is a lot of uncertainty. (She discards the Empire, but keeps the white-as-snow cloak that was her hallmark as a general. Hmm.) I also like that she's an eighteen year old with the military experience of someone twice or thrice her age, but the emotional development of an eight year old. There's so much that's interesting to play around with there.
b. One of his/her best traits: Determination. She gets things done.
c. One of his/her worst traits: Reserve. She doesn't know how to interact with people, so she shoves them away, and that means she won't *learn.*
d. How easy/difficult I find it to write the character: Celes is probably the second-easiest character for me to write (after Kain of FF4) just from sheer practice.
e. The story/chapter/paragraph/phrase where I feel that I truly captured the character: Oh, definitely Rain (no notable spoilers since you've passed the Opera) or Uncomfortable Silences (the latter has spoilers through the Phoenix Cave, so that you are fairly warned.)
f. My plans (if any) to write the character in the near future: I definitely plan to write more with her, and I have actually a very dark fic arc in mind, but I'm not sure I can quite do the story idea justice.
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