#FFXII

[ethernalium]

FINAL FANTASY XII + Yoshitaka Amano

[agentnoun]

I had another reblog of this where I was kinda flippant, but I thought it might be fun to actually write down what I think about this sort of faux-archaic writing and how I think it can be effectively used.

quick note about my own biases here: I think there exist no hard and fast rules for writing. everything is contextual. anything that could be Bad Writing in one context can be Good Writing in another--even if that Bad Writing is bad in 99 out of 100 situations, there's still that 1, and sometimes taking formal or tonal risks can give your work a really distinct identity (and sometimes it falls apart entirely but that's why it's a risk!).

so let's say you really like when language Goes Hard like this and you want to know how to make it work. here are some questions you can ask yourself to get a general idea. you still won't actually know until you try it and maybe until you get some feedback from readers/editors, but this can get you started.

let's use this monologue from Final Fantasy XII as an example:

does it fit in your world at all? does it make sense for anyone in your world to use language this way? would anyone deliver a monologue like this, or write something like this? there can be multiple reasons it would make sense. for example, maybe the whole work has this sort of heightened tone and isn't going for realism (this is the version that's really tough to pull off). or maybe this type of language makes sense for certain people in the world. this is the case for FFXII above: aristocratic characters, especially those from the Archadian Empire, often use this "elevated" pseudo-archaic speech, so by the time you reach this scene, this kind of language doesn't come out of nowhere. (you also see similar language from non-Archadian aristocratic sources, such as Marquis Ondore's memoir that serves as occasional narration.)

does it make sense for this specific character to speak this way? we sort of covered this in the above bullet. for Judge Bergan, a high-ranking member of an elite group whose very word is law in Archadian society, it definitely does, but if, say, Vaan or Penelo started to bust out a monologue like this, it would be jarring (in a way that would be funny but also wreck the tone). the more colloquial, modern mode used by the commoner characters, or those who have abandoned their aristocratic origins (like Balthier), fits those characters better than the faux-archaic language used by the Judge Magisters.

does it fit the scene? in the scene above, Bergan is trying to intimidate the heroes while proclaiming his liege's right to rule. he is also, crucially, fucking losing his shit due to having mind-altering magic stones bound to his skeleton. so yeah, I'd say an over-the-top monologue makes perfect sense here. but on top of that, it's a dramatic scene that comes after a tense walk through a ruined refugee camp, an exclamation point punctuating a demonstration of Archadian brutality. Bergan speaking this way makes sense in this context, but it might not in others. if he went on like this to some random guy on the street in the middle of the day it would again risk crossing over into the comical.

and here's the big one: does it even make sense? like, the actual words? one of the biggest problems with this elevated prose that tries to Go Hard is that, well, a lot of modern writers don't actually know how this kind of grammar works, or how to use the archaic words that sound really cool. for my fellow Ivalice fans, this is sort of my problem with the FFT War of the Lions translation--I think it's less successful at using this type of archaic, elevated prose than Alexander O. Smith's work in games like Vagrant Story and FFXII. Smith understands English grammar, both contemporary and archaic, well enough that he can play with it and bend it to create monologues like this one. even if it would be reasonable for language like this to be used in a work, all of that falls apart if the actual sentences are confusing or outright nonsense. another way to say this is that you should make sure to understand the grammar you're bending before you bend it.

(also a note on the last bullet: Final Fantasy XII's original Japanese script is not faux-archaic like this. it's something that Smith and the rest of the FFXII English localization team added, and that Yasumi Matsuno, the game's original director, likes quite a bit. if you're wondering why I credited Smith with this type of prose here and not the original Japanese writers, that's why.)

[queendeltarune]

Pls someone get it

[kazbob]

wanna talk about balfran... like, i think u could easily chalk up their relationship as the "obvious het ship" in ffxii, and i do think you'd be right if you imagine that everyone who ships them pictures them getting married and having little half-viera babies and settling down, but like... my siblings in occurian rule, that is not true to either of their characterisation

i think the appeal of balfran IS that they have an ambiguous relationship. it IS that they could be friends, lovers, or just partners in crime. and i personally think they are all at once. i can't imagine either of them would want to settle down or even have an "official" status. balthier obviously left a life of rules and confinement where he was ignored by a father who wanted him to just fall in line for his own convenience. fran similarly left a fairly rigid community that she can never truly return to because she craves freedom. sky pirating is a metaphor for freedom from typical life. i imagine neither of them even talk about what they are. one night they are friends in a bar talking about which of the city guard is a bottom, the next they sleep together. to me, that is the appeal- the idea that the platonic, romantic and sexual crossover so casually for them. i certainly don't imagine them as monogamous, and i dont think their relationship should ever preclude other ships (filthy little multishipper)

this doesn't even count the queer headcanon's for balthier and fran. i think their stories lend themselves to queer 'running-away-from-home' type narratives, so its no surprise you see people chuck around bi for bi and t4t headcanons. i think these headcanons sing in harmony with fran and balthiers atypical relationship, rather than against it.

idk where i was going with this- i'm glad i've never seen anyone do the whole "het relationships are inherently boring uwu" thing with these two. i love atypical relationships that don't fit neatly into boxes

[aerinis]

evil FFXII horsies I love you so much. you are my everything

[krzchn]

Balthier & Fran, a power couple if there ever was one ✸

[megamog]

Final Fantasy XII & Magic the Gathering

[a-dream-seeking-light]

fran and the viera by kumanz

[afi-mukami]

I have been replaying Final Fantasy XII this winter and, oh boy, I still love this game so much. Back in the day, I played through it several times and wrote several fics about it (both one-shots and long stories).

Even though some people say that the characters are paper thin, I feel differently. They have depth but it's subtle. I just really love the cast of the game, especially Fran and Balthier. The story is great, too. Though, I wouldn't mind if there was more of it. Maybe that's one reason I enjoyed writing my fics so much.

Of course, the world is amazing. It's wonderful to walk in Ivalice again and lose myself in the scenery. Even though I don't have new story ideas for FFXII, my heart kind of yearns to write something just to spend more time in the places I love.

There is no bigger point in this post. I simply wanted to share my recent thoughts... and my love for this game. I don't even know if there is fandom around it anymore or if I'm screaming into a void. 😅

[yellowtrinity]

something about shields and cages

[reminder-that]

This image has a lot of wonderful things in it (including the True Hero of FF12, his hair, his bare hand!, and some platisheep plushies, all bathed in aesthetic lighting), please enjoy it.

The background for this one is genuinely amazing too. Imagine walking into the angel's office in Dalmasca, light shining and reflecting in magical (literally and metaphorically) ways on all that's around you, and a bunch of platisheep plushies strewn about amongst the surroundings.

[ethernalium]

When I was 13, fran victory fanfare bow pose was cunty peak for me

[catiuapavel]

he really hit him with

[leopardmuffinxo]

I play the leading man, who else?