Comments | ff_exchange: for Zoila, beta-gift -- Collection -- FFXII, Balthier/Ashe

mithrigil in ff_exchange

for Zoila, beta-gift -- Collection -- FFXII, Balthier/Ashe

Apr 08, 2007 15:12

Title: Collection
For: Zoila, as thanks for being a sponsored beta!
Medium: Prose
Request(s): Balthier/Ashe, happily ever after.
Fandom(s): FFXII
Characters/Pairings: Ashe and Balthier
Rating/Warnings: PG, for women who sleep with swords and men who wear cologne.
Feedback: Concrit always welcome
Spoilers: For the game entire.
Word Count: ~1100
Summary: ( Read more... )

! [round 001] .gifts, [medium] fic, ff12 [all] final fantasy xii: ogc, ! [round 001], ff12 [ship] ashe/balthier, ff12 [char] ashe, [tag] m/f, ff12 [all] final fantasy xii, ff12 [char] balthier

Comments 32

katmillia April 8 2007, 19:41:24 UTC

This was a really interesting take, and I liked it, though it seemed a bit sad all the way through. :D

mithrigil April 8 2007, 19:46:16 UTC

Yeah, happily-ever-after for these two depends on a lot of sadness first, I think. But thank you! I do strive to be interesting.

lassarina April 8 2007, 21:49:47 UTC

....♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

*purr*

mithrigil April 8 2007, 21:53:11 UTC

Heeee. ::grins:: People keep pestering me to write more of him. I might listen.

solitaryjane April 9 2007, 00:22:32 UTC

Huh. Interesting. So I guess Balthier is as much old and shriveled as Ashe is? Can they still go skypirating when they're like, suffering from arthritis and glaucoma and stuff?

Good piece, though.

mithrigil April 9 2007, 00:46:39 UTC

Thank you. I left it intentionally ambiguous--is he actually there? is the question. And where is he taking her?

solitaryjane April 9 2007, 02:54:30 UTC

...

Dude, I haven't even thought of that.... wow, now it's just morbid because it could mean she's like, dying, and finally sees him in her hallucination right before she dies and he goes and takes her off to heaven, or deadland, or wherever people go in FF12. Ohmigod. Now I'm sad.

mithrigil April 9 2007, 03:02:05 UTC

Hence, ambiguity.

Or it could be real, and he could actually be so old, and they could retreat to the skies forever.

mariagoner April 9 2007, 04:27:21 UTC

Ah, ambiguity for the win! I actually can't decide whether or not I'd rather he be a hallucination Ashe experiences before she dies or whether they're actually ready to set off on the last leg of an adventure together... both seem oddly fitting for Ashe, no? And I love the gentleness and lack of posturing this Balthier has (at least compared to the Balthier of the game). Is it Ashe's mind supplying it? Is it old age? And does it even matter?

And oh, are you ready to work on more non-Swansong pieces now? The possibilities thrill me greatly. XD

mithrigil April 9 2007, 11:44:23 UTC

This one was quite the challenge; most of the ideas that I have it thick for rght now are still Schwanengesang-related. But I've been open to doing not, just not...inspired.

mariagoner April 9 2007, 20:55:23 UTC

I admire your focus! I'm just your polar opposite... I've got roughly 38379 ideas to juggle on a daily basis and they all go scattering every which way everywhere. It's hard to know what I'll be working on in any given week (oh Project Break My Own OTP-- whither are you in my hind brain?!) but I find being unpredictable rather fun in it's own way...

kilraaj April 9 2007, 04:43:32 UTC

I am another who didn't see the ambiguity, although after reading your comment some of Ashe's thoughts do seem a little more iffy (the part about fairy tale princes and princesses). I'm firmly going with Balthier being there because there's enough angst in Balthier/Ashe already. XD Very nice read.

mithrigil April 9 2007, 11:45:25 UTC

Thanks kindly!

And that, I think, is the best reason to not believe she's dying. Or with Alzheimers.