#marquis ondore

[cielsosinfel]

I'm well past this part of the game but I'm still spinning this exchange over in my mind. The voice acting certainly didn't make it sound any less horny.

I looked up the Japanese dialogue, wondering how direct a translation this was (Alexander O. Smith gets very creative with his localizations, so it wouldn't be a shock if it was all on him), and it actually turned out to be directly translated?? Though there's a word pun in Japanese that precedes the talk of bridles and whips.

ギース：貴殿とは馬が合うようですな。 オンドール：それはけっこうですが、手綱をつけられるつもりはございませんな。 ギース：ならば鞭をお望みか？

(Ghis: It seems you and [Vayne] are well-suited to one another. Ondore: That's all well and good, but I have no intention of being bridled. Ghis: In that case, do you desire the whip?) 馬が合う is an idiom that means "to get along well with (someone); to be well-suited/matched (to one another)" but literally means "to be [as a rider] a good match with one's horse". It's horny all the way down in in this DILF politicking trainwreck. I do like that the English seems more directly insulting, while the Japanese might be going a more subtle route (though I'm not fluent, so I'm unsure how it sounds to a fluent speaker.)

Anyway I'm still trodding through this game and feeling more and more nostalgic as I go... I've reached Mt Bur-Omisace after a lot of grinding in the Lhusu Mines. I've been rambling on and on about this game on my Twitter priv lmao I should do it more public where I can actually discuss this with other fans.

All I can say is: I love Ashe's character arc where she is struggling to rein in her anger and her grief to do what she needs to do as a revolutionary leader, as a political leader, as the last surviving of an ancient dynasty, as a symbol of hope and peace and prosperity, as someone trying to carry on the legacies of her father and husband and ancestors. That moment where Vaan opens up to her about his own grief regarding his brother got me really bad!! They're such good foils of one another IMO.

Also, I'm enjoying replaying this as an adult and being able to catch a bunch of the allegorical/symbolic narrative elements. Like the whole nethicite being an allegory for nuclear weapons/the atom bomb, and how the story ends up having major anti-nuke themes? I did not catch that as an 11 year old!!

ALSO ALSO I love Balthier, and I love Fran, and I love their relationship, and i wish we got to see more of them being highly attuned to the other's emotional state, how intuitively they read each other, I wanna know more about their past and how they've grown around one another!! I want more of Fran's family drama in Eruyt Village!! Ugh the very brief scene in Golmore Jungle where Balthier can tell Fran's upset about having to return to the village, and then she turns it back on him with the ~your eyes betray your heart~ line and he gets huffy... They're good, I love them.

[angies-writing-blog]

Sunbeams tickled my nose. Awakened my spirit. I felt comfortable and secure, therefore I continued to keep my eyes closed. It took some time before I recalled what had happened before sleep. Like an intuition, I finally remembered the events of the previous night. A smile crept across my lips.

In response, the warm body next to me moved. I felt soft lips, which were bedded on my forehead, before the blanket was pulled tighter over my shoulders and fixed with one arm.

Silence reigned for a long while. Then I heard the rustling of paper. Pages of a book were opened, and I heard the man at my side breathing deeply before continuing with the reading.

"I wanted to see you again, touch you, know who you were, see if I would find you identical with the ideal image of you which had remained with me and perhaps shatter my dream with the aid of reality.”

His pronunciation was smooth and picturesque. That's what distinguished the two of us. I came from the streets of Rabanastre. While he...

Slowly I opened my eyes. Peaking up at him, his radiance flew towards me. I still could not grasp that I was now in Bhujerba. Seeing the nervousness on my face, and after an affectionately wished good morning, he asked the concerned question whose tone of voice made me melt in his arms.

"Please, tell me what is going on in that clever head of yours?"

"In front of me I have the Marquis of Bhujerba," I stammered out breathlessly. As if I didn't know it before. "And I don't understand that."

Halim laughed. It made me lose my heart to him.

[4th-make-quail]

fic: the time will take, the sea will rise

Title: the time will take, the sea will rise

Fandom: FFXII

Ship: Ondore/Reddas

Summary: There are more ways than one to forget, and it just so happens that the Marquis Halim Ondore the Fourth knows one of them very well indeed.

Tags: blowjob, desk sex, missing scene

a/n: happy 16th anniversary, FFXII!! to celebrate, I'm feeding entirely myself with this large bunch of what is basically just my id, all over the place. ta daa!!

finally made good on all the umpteen times i muttered about actually writing these two fucks, because i'm not gonna lie, they got me by the balls, lads. it's bad. don't encourage me, i will be back with more, and any encouraging noises in my direction will be met by a flailing quail colliding with your FACE i'm not even kidding, please i just love them so much ahhhhhh

my friend drew me an art as part of a trade from one scene in this fic, PLEASE PERCEIVE IT!!!

[stingslikeabee]

@5judgements​ found the dancer . chapter 5

An evening to celebrate and honor the passing of another year of the Archadian Emperor, Gramis Gana Solidor, was an occasion that no citizen or imperial guest wished to miss. With the emperor’s health declining over the recent months, there was an additional care to ensure that the commemorations would be remembered by those in attendance, regardless of their ties to the actual ruling house of Archadia.

Judge magisters, the superior officers among their troops, the head scientists from Draklor, diplomats from allied nations, members of the Senate, military personnel serving as liaisons to occupied territories, the capital’s very own elite - everyone received an invitation for a ball held within palace grounds, which again served a double purpose as propaganda and suggestion of intent for those keen on threatening Archadia. Although there was no actual display of power from their best among military ranks such as the tournament held months before, security was impossibly high and Emperor Gramis decided to make an appearance, health concerns notwithstanding.

Melissa was there, among those graced with an invitation - something only possible thanks to the backing and meddling of the Marquis of Ondore, of course. For all intents and purposes, her season was supposed to have ended a few weeks before, when she was even transported to the Sky City with the 8th Fleet, a personal courtesy given the woman’s non-official diplomatic status in the city. However, the dancer returned a couple of days later with news of an extension - for a full year, with an exclusive contract with the local opera house.

While initially her role had seemed to be one to foster curiosity and goodwill for Bhujerba, Melissa explained that her craft had indeed drawn the curiosity of many from the Empire - enough to secure sizeable revenue for the venue promoters who sought to retain her as a fixed attraction. The Marquis signed off on such dealings, evidence of his continued support of the fragile but sincere collaboration of the Sky City and Archades. 

Behind the scenes, however, the intentions of the Ondore administration were very different - Melissa had met with him at their homeland, and explained the status of her assignment in a way to highlight that she needed time - only on the very eve of the meeting had she been successful in breaching Ghis’ final layer of armor and ensnaring him. The delay did not please the Marquis, but the account of her travel instigated him to continue with the charade - and Melissa was able to return with the fanfarre her created persona required, even if deep down she had no intention of following through with the Resistance plans anymore.

The Bhujerban had decided to use the time to find an alternative - anything that could help her country, but not at the cost of her beloved magistrate’s life.

The renewed season, the possibility of meeting Ghis frequently, the life in the capital to which she had been growing used to - all these things filled Melissa with excitement for the evening of the ball, Drace being immensely helpful with recommendations for a good seamstress as well as getting the woman in touch with those who could not only secure her an apartment but also a decent one (after all, a hotel was no longer suitable for the Bhujerban considering her long-term presence). Zargabaath had also provided counsel and the last weeks had been used to finalize her move into a new place, decorated to her preferences (with everything she had brought from the Sky City after her meeting with Ondore).

The only thing missing was speaking with Ghis - since they said their goodbyes at the Bhujerban aerodrome, she had not seen him again. Presumably too busy with the Marquis, and then dispatched elsewhere when she returned to Archades. Melissa was itching to share the good news with him - and to talk about what it represented for both of them; Ghis had hinted at a relationship before - would he still be amenable to it if they both lived in the same city? It seemed like a silly thing to fret over with war on the horizon, but her heart could yearn for nothing else.

However, his colleagues within the magister circle told her to not send word - both Drace and Zargabaath suggested doing so personally at the ball, which Ghis would be sure to attend (as well as all of them). Besides, Melissa’s fresh anxiety in relation to the oldest judge did not escape the trained eye of his peers - despite the dancer never outright gossiping about her trip with Ghis to the Sky City, she had alluded to certain events - Drace immediately understood.

So that brought the dancer to the night at the palace, for once dressed like an Archadian (it was the Emperor’s birthday, after all). Her dress was one of shimmering fabric mimicking the colors of the sunset, with crossed straps around the neck that turned into billowing twin capes trailing after her steps while leaving most of Melissa’s back bare. The front of the dress had no embroidery save for the right side of the waist, where crystals had been sewn into a delicate flower pattern, decorating a small section there where some skin was visible in a tasteful manner (but considerably less if one compared to her usual attire).

The slit for the right side of her legs offered ample movement - and combining with the soft fabric used for the outfit, there was a lot of freedom for her to walk as if wearing one of her own adored costumes. Her long, dark hair was styled with a half braid, the only Bhujerban concession being the jewelry added to her tresses, earrings and arms; nothing else on Melissa hailed from the Sky City, and if not for the choice of vibrant colors, she could perhaps be confused with one of the local ladies in attendance.

With a glass in hand, Melissa walked around the main room, looking for familiar faces - one in particular, which she had failed to locate despite the assurances of the other magisters that he would be there. It was a most curious feeling the dancer experienced then - almost like stage fright, but of an extremely personal nature; the woman felt hot and cold simultaneously, and longed to see Ghis’ face while at the same time hoping he would share her enthusiasm for the news. There was hardly anything she could do but wait more - but the weeks without contact had turned her into someone almost desperate for his presence, and, more importantly, his approval.

An assassin turned soft - if only Ondore knew how well his own agent had lied to him.

[5judgements]

@stingslikeabee​ asked:

❝ All I’ve ever desired is a country where war and hunger are unknown. ❞

   Zargabaath had grown accustomed to her presence within Archades, inside the palace itself as her interests in a certain Judge blossomed. That part of him which wanted those around him to find their own slice of happiness in the world, had been overjoyed to see the other man bearing a smile that met his eyes so often when speaking over her as the subject. Unfortunate as goes the trials of those in their position, that same man now laid hanging on the thread of his life. He hadn’t ever wanted her to see the role he must play now, as a hangman wrapping the noose around her throat, staring through an emotionless helmet and casting his judgment so heavily. 

   She had played them all for fools, if he were to believe Gabranth’s summaries of her purpose under the Marquis’ plot. It was a hard tale to trust after every evening that they had spent discussing her adoration for Ghis, the way her eyes twinkled with the idea of a life to live out at his side, but the evidence was damning. 

   When the news had come across them that the entire fleet had been decimated just shortly after leaving the skyline of Bhujerba, it wasn’t a far reaching assumption to say that the nation had openly been involved. Ondore’s swift departure from his leading role quickly became nothing more than a confirmation and Gabranth needed nothing less to run a raid over her home. He had his suspicions for well over a year now, but without plausible cause, anything up to this point would have been beyond his jurisdiction. 

   Zargabaath thinks of the dagger that they had uncovered, wrapped within a tight sheath bearing the intricate coat of arms, and its blade dipped in a volatile poison. It was not a weapon meant for self defense, as one could argue; that knife was given specifically to kill and ensure that even the smallest nick would provide long lasting, devastating, results. 

   “All I’ve ever desired is a country where war and hunger are unknown,” she sobs as a plea, and his response is only to sigh. 

   He wholeheartedly wanted to believe that she meant well beyond whatever insidious actions might be suggested, but, it is a difficult endeavor to shoulder. Uncrossing his arms and motioning towards the guard at the door behind him, he begins to turn to leave. 

   “Words mean little when your actions betray your heart, and if the choice were mine, we would simply extradite you back to Bhujerba for no direct harm becoming of your presence. Pray to whichever god you favor that his excellency survives his wounds, else your life will be the empire’s first retaliation against this travesty, much as it pains me to speak of such things.” 

[tarnishedxknight]

Headcanons: Ashe's Changes in Personality Expression Throughout Her Life and What They Mean

{out of dalmasca} I've been thinking a lot about why Ashe comes out a lot differently when I write her before the events of the FFXII main game and when I write her in her MCU verse, verses when I write her during the events of the game and in her own native world. Her personality in-game is very driven, serious, regal, haughty, fiery, etc., whereas her personality as I write it before the game is very tomboyish, adventurous, rebellious, and childlike. In her MCU verse, I feel that sometimes she comes out a bit silly, also childlike, and very curious and enthusiastic in an innocent sort of way a lot of the time. I was just going to write down for myself why this is, but I figured I'd put it here too for anyone who was interested.

At first I was afraid that I was getting her character wrong, changing her to be something she isn't, or that I was otherwise screwing her up, heh. But after early on trying to change how I was writing her to better align with the game, I came to realize that the way she is in the game and the way I write her outside of game circumstances actually aren't different people, they're different facets of the same person who is finding herself under different sets of circumstances. What I mean is, Ashe's personality doesn't change from one time in her life to another, but rather she expresses different parts of herself according to what she's being told or pressured into doing/being, what is going on in her life at the time, and what she's free/safe to express at that time. This is why she seems to be a drastically different person at the different stages in her life, or during different verses/AUs, because different parts of her are drawn out under certain circumstances and with the different people who influence her throughout her life.

Before sixteen years old, Ashe was not old enough to understand that the way she was being told to be wasn’t optional, rules weren’t negotiable, etiquette wasn’t just for fun, and blood and class matter. All she knew was that she loved her parents and what brothers she got to know, she loved her friend Basch, she loved Dalmasca, and she just wanted to play and explore. She wanted to run and climb and read and learn and do all the things, and didn’t understand why they weren’t permitted. But she found ways to do them anyway. Basch helped her accomplish them sometimes, or at least covered for her while she did. With him, she could be herself to far more of a degree than she could with anyone else, even her father or brothers. She would often grab his hand and lead him places, or hug him, or speak informally to him, and she didn’t care what anyone thought about it. To her, he was just her friend, like family, someone she’d grown up knowing and who had always been kind to her. She always felt safe with him, so she didn’t understand why her father would sometimes admonish her for being “familiar” with him.

On her sixteenth birthday, she’s immediately expected to act like a lady, to be an adult, to prepare for her duties of marriage and producing heirs, because the age of adulthood in Dalmasca is sixteen. She was basically sat down by her father and Marquis Ondore and told look, you have to get serious now, you have to stop your shit, heh. They told her, you cannot be climbing and playing like a boy, you cannot be so familiar with Basch, and you cannot be eavesdropping on important meetings you have no business being in. You have an important role to play, and play it you must. They allowed her to bend the rules and do certain things because they could chalk it up to her being a foolish child, but now she was legally a woman and would be married soon and this behavior had to stop. It wasn’t a choice or a suggestion or a request, it was an order, and it blindsided her. Suddenly her rebelliousness and independence had real consequences and punishments attached to them if she expressed them at all, and she was constantly threatened with her future being ruined if she did not fall in line and keep up her public image as well as ingratiate herself to Rasler and the King of Nabradia. It frightened her and scared her straight, so to speak, for a while.

At seventeen, her marriage becomes real and she really has no other choice, whether she wants to or not, she has to marry Rasler. So she tries to make the best of it and is forcing herself to be this docile, poised, perfect wife because this is what has been instilled in her as her value as a person, her duty, her lot in life, and she’s be ungrateful, lazy, cowardly, selfish, etc. to deny it. She’d also be labeled as a “difficult” woman, which would screw her chances of marrying anyone else. She parrots her father and uncle a lot, regurgitating things they said to her to help mold her into the person they told her she ought to be. She was doing this when she spoke to Rasler of the roles they both had to play, shortly before they were married.

What was so difficult about this was that she was promised to Rasler when they were little kids, and he’d been her friend all that time. She didn’t know him very well, but she thought she knew him well enough. Over the years, however, he became more distant, a bit colder, a bit harder to read, and Ashe could see where he was becoming more and more like his father, who was a misogynistic, stern, unbending man who believed in the superiority of both royalty and those of Dynast Blood over all. Ashe had been influenced by Basch who was far kinder, more tolerant of different classes and races, who grew up in a land where men and women were equal, and who had helped her learn the sword, read books, and learn concepts that had been barred to her. So coming from that and realizing that she was now marrying a man who would consider her his lesser and expect her to basically sit there and look pretty was… soul crushing to her.

Not to mention the fact that she had always been attracted to men and women equally and never had the freedom to speak of her bisexuality let alone explore it. Although her father was merely disapproving of it and preferred to just not speak of it at all, Ashe came to learn that if Rasler or his father were ever to find out, they would likely end the arrangement over it. That also scared her into silence and fitting this predetermined role she’d been forced into.

In addition, she thought when the last of her brothers fell in battle (or so she thought, Caelen, you liar, haha) that she was now the heir to the Dalmascan throne, only to find out… no, she was supposed to go live in Nabradia with Rasler for the rest of her life and never see her home again, along with being his consort, not queen of her own kingdom. That broke her heart.

When she’s seventeen, Rasler dies and it breaks her brain a little for so many reasons. In so many ways, this was something that was completely outside the realm of what Ashe was expecting from her future. He was so young, he was her friend, and this was not supposed to happen. This wasn’t part of any plan, and now everything was up in the air and uncertain. Suddenly that boring, comfortable, certain, predetermined life she’d rebelled against and resented so much seemed safer and more desirable than it ever had before because now her life was being thrown into absolute and frightening chaos. At this point, she realizes that she had been taking a lot for granted, and that she was very naïve about things. It was a loss of innocence moment for her, for sure.

Also at seventeen, her father is assassinated and Basch is blamed, charged, convicted, and sentenced to death for it. This breaks her brain even more. Her father was her last surviving family (she thought... Caelen, seriously? XD) and she loved him, so there’s that, but beyond that… as long as he was alive and in power, she didn’t have to face adulthood and reality fully. As long as he was there, Dalmasca was in good hands, she always had someone above her, and there was always stability. With Basch, there was always warmth and smiles and laughter, but also happiness, learning, conversation, friendship, and someone she could trust and turn to with anything. He was her emotional support and the one person she could be herself around. Having her father gone and that one person she trusted supposedly be the one to take him away from her was so damaging to Ashe’s view of people and the world that it makes her defensive, angry, haughty, and abrasive as coping mechanisms. Suddenly the future of all of Dalmasca, the hopes and dreams of all her people, and the survival of her entire bloodline rests on her decisions, actions, words, etc. She wasn’t a child anymore, knights were not heroes, anyone can lie, the world is dangerous, no one is safe. This is partially why we get the serious, intense, and often obnoxious Ashe we get in the game, heh. She feels a need to prove herself, and feels compelled to fight for her right to rule in a world she'd lost a lot of faith in.

From ages seventeen to nineteen, she went into hiding as Amalia with the Resistance. She realized for the first time that this position of power (becoming Queen of Dalmasca someday) that she’d believed she’d been entitled to but denied by marrying Rasler was now being dropped into her lap and she felt a sharp need to prove that she could do it, and that she was worthy of it. However, the Marquis and so many others just wanted her to wait at home. To stay safe. That drove her crazy and made her even more serious, joyless, focused, and pressed. What we were getting during the game was an Ashe who was tired of being oppressed, being told no, being denied, and being told to sit and stay safe. Despite all her irresponsible rebellion when she was little, Ashe does possess a lot of strength and bravery, and when she wants something, she suddenly gains a determination and focus she never had before in order to achieve it. She was not going to have this power taken away from her again, but she was also not going to let Dalmasca down. The idealism of being queen one day collided with the reality of what that truly meant and entailed, and Ashe was determined to rise to the occasion.

This is why we get a more serious, fiery, pushy Ashe during the game, and a more tempered, elevated, proper Ashe at the end of the game. They’re the two halves of what being a queen entails, the inner strength and the image, and Ashe was now choosing to fill those roles whereas before she’d been forced to and was rebelling against it. The difference was that it had no meaning for her when she was a child beyond being told that it did. But through all these tragedies and jarring events and being forced to suddenly grab life by the throat and carve her own path, she found that meaning that was missing before, the reasons that would make her choose that kind of life for herself.

Okay now deviating from the game, at nineteen (although for shipping purposes I do modulate her age up a bit, but I’m just mentioning ages for people who know the game so they can follow her timeline), before the end of the game and before she ever becomes queen, while she’s still nineteen years old, Ashe is flung into the future in her MCU verse. She’d gone from a naïve and sheltered child to a driven and ambitious woman in just two years, only to have it all taken away from her again. All that meaning I was just talking about? All that enlightenment about why it was important for her to fill certain roles for Dalmasca and its people, and her choosing to willingly take on those roles? Yeah, all that meaning is gone now because Ivalice is lost to the past. Once again, her life is completely turned on its head, and she’s very lost because of it.

It isn't all bad though, in a strange way. Why does she begin to act more childlike again in this verse? Because she’s free to be herself in a way she never was before, not even as a child. Not only is she free of the possibility of ever being queen, but Dalmasca is gone, Ivalice is gone, everything and everyone she knew (unless they ended up going with her) is gone. So there are no expectations, laws, rules, social constraints, classes, bloodlines, political distinctions, religious designations, etc. from her time that apply anymore. She’s free of all of it, and that grants her a personal and emotional freedom she never had before.

But she doesn’t really want that. She’d accepted her responsibility, she wanted to be queen, she was ready to become what she had been molded to be all her life, and now she had this horrible freedom she didn’t know what to do with. It was anticlimactic and she grieved terribly, but on the other side of that grief came this strange moment of… I can be myself. My true self. I can be anything I want to be. Maybe that isn’t what she would’ve chosen for herself, since she’d decided to give up a lot of her own freedoms and individuality to fight to become Queen of Dalmasca, but if that isn’t possible for reasons outside of her control, then… why not go on a journey of self-discovery instead? It was a way for her to work past the grief, because she could replace her sadness at what she’d lost with the joy of being free to do and try and experience everything she couldn’t before.

She could be whatever sexuality she felt she was without having to hide it. She could behave any way and say and wear anything she wanted. She could read any book, listen to any song, go anywhere at any time… without fear of punishment, shaming, or disappointment, public or private, in a way that would mean anything to her. So Ashe regresses a bit and becomes very innocent again, almost childlike sometimes in her goofiness, her wonder, and her interest in things. This is that rebellious, curious, and life-loving child coming out again, after having been locked up in a cage since she was sixteen.

It’s a little sad for someone outside looking in, because what you’re seeing is someone who has been very repressed, oppressed, and sheltered, then catapulted by emotion and necessity to fill a daunting role, who is finally having that time they should’ve had as a young child to discover who they even are. She’s doing in her early twenties what most people do before age ten or fifteen. And there is a bit of learning how to life all over again because she’s in a time period she doesn’t know, heh, so that does play some part in it too. She’s learning about herself while she’s learning to live in modern times.

It's a difference between who Ashe is at her core and who she would have been had she been born some nondescript peasant, verses who she became during times when extreme pressures and controls were exerted on her from outside sources. So I no longer hate the way she comes out in prologue verses or her MCU verses, when she is a bit goofy, more erratic and rebellious, or more innocently curious, because that's the real person coming through. Or at least, it's the real person trying to find herself, free of constraints, expectations, or perceived pressures.

If you've made it this far, thank you for coming to my TED talk on analyzing Ashe's behavior and personality, heh. =)

[sky-pirate-penelo]

would you hang out with them

[krozinworks-blog]

Rough week so I decided to draw these fellas. I don’t know why they’re my go-to for good feels, hah. Didn’t finish but maybe later this week.

Thanks errybody for the kind words lately, especially @lokiswitch, @unbreakablerebelgirl and @wantedtiride for the compliments on my work and my ships. :>

Hope you’re all well.

[ayamasa-eu]

did some FFXII drawings innit

[lives-in-a-harpsichord]

Some heads of state out on a stately stroll!

Also please enjoy my Moomin mug. It's actually pink

[4th-make-quail]

your honour, he's fucking beautiful

[stingslikeabee]

@5judgements​ found the dancer . chapter 4

Six months deep into enemy territory had once seemed to be an impossible task - Melissa had armed herself with nothing but colorful silks, props and a need for revenge to set foot within a country which she held no affection for despite the imperial blood in her veins. By Ondore’s estimations before her act was publicized and personally sponsored by the Marquis, it should have been time enough for the allure of her performance to draw in the magister which frequently held Bhujerba by its throat and terminate him, creating chaos and giving the Resistance a tactical advantage that their smaller troops would never achieve in the battlefield.

But the Marquis had heavily miscalculated - not only because Jarvis Ghis had been much more professional than either of them expected and snaring the judge required additional time, but because of the feelings born in the heart of his own agent. It was inexplicable - Melissa should just loathe Ghis for the fear he brought over her homeland, for the pain he had inflicted to many other Bhujerbans like herself, for the misery and hopelessness that Archadia showed to those who dared to fight back their control. 

But she didn’t - not anymore. Originally, staying close to him had been a well-rehearsed act, not unlike the show for those who came to the theatre where Melissa was holding her season. But little by little, the dancer found herself genuinely drawn to him. Once the helmet was removed and the man came forth - he was not the monster she pictured once. He was respectful, kind to her, most protective of her craft and interests. Rather than displaying some vicious bias towards the dancer (be it for gender or origin), Ghis had extended his power over her to ensure safety and well-being. Their meetings over a meal had grown more numerous when he was in town; the judge had even visited the Bhujerban during a performance or two and brought beautiful flowers with him, a word of admiration for the spectacle meaning more than the blooms he had selected for Melissa.

Drace and Zargabaath both assured the woman that her efforts were not in vain - and yet, neither of them knew of the immense conflict she carried in her heart, knowing that the time to discuss matters with Ondore was near and the only thing in her mind was staying - prolonging her season, living that lie which felt so real over the last couple of months, allowing her to grow closer to Ghis. As much as Melissa missed the Sky City - everything she had adored about it was gone; her family was no more. Her apartment in Archades was not nearly as hostile as at the beginning - with the unlikely friends in the other magistrates, the ever pleasant afternoons with Larsa and the small discoveries about the town...

Archades wasn’t so dreadful, really - particularly when Jarvis Ghis was on soil rather than dispatched somewhere else.

Boarding an airship and being airborne was always a moment of happiness for a Bhujerban; however, that night held a special meaning since she was taken to the Leviathan, one of the Empire’s flagships and the one commanded by the magistrate the woman was so fond of. Many in the Resistance had discussed these impressive vessels before - there was no shortage of cells to hold captives, vast rooms and hallways with all sorts of detection mechanisms and weaponry, and yet Melissa did not trail around as a prisoner - but as a guest.

The 8th fleet had been designed for yet another visit to Bhujerba, and it coincided with Melissa’s original time to return. However, such news were brought to those in charge of diplomatic channels and somehow, the dancer was invited to accompany judge magister Ghis if she so desired - the ship would be doing that route anyway, and it would be their honor to escort her home if she was inclined to join them.

Melissa accepted in a heartbeat - a part of her knew that it was a precious chance to collect intelligence on another of the Empire’s weapons, but most of her focus was on just enjoying the internal decoration and design of the Leviathan. It was unlike anything she had ever been transported in - and although there was a guard at her sides at all times to prevent a civilian from straying to places they had no business being, it couldn’t really remove the fascination from her eyes.

The Bhujerban asked for a pause on their tour when they approached a window - and Melissa moved closer to the glass panels, dressed as she tended to be habitually: evidently proud of her roots, but without the flair exhibited for dinner dates or participation within imperial tournaments. In such a heavily militarized environment, the woman was like a lonely flower amidst metal, persisting despite the absurdity of the sight, and sighing heavily at the movements of everyone outside ensuring their departure would occur smoothly.

Melissa was about to leave Archades for Bhujerba - a trip that was supposed to bring joy to her heart, and not to make it feel as heavy as a stone. There was no denying anymore: a part of her had truly found a home within the imperial capital (or perhaps in an imperial individual) and maybe the mission Ondore hoped to achieve had been compromised.

[eirenare]

FFXII TZA: a little detail about Basch (and some thoughts on his role)

[SPOILER TIME (from the Bhujerba events)! This time I’m putting the post under a “read more” because I’m attaching some screenshots.]

I didn’t notice it straightaway when I played this part of the game, but when Basch and the others are in Ondore’s mansion, before Basch and Ondore pretend the first is attacking the last, after Balthier says to Basch “wait!”...

... Basch just SMILES while saying “sorry, can’t be helped”. 

Basch. SMILING. Being all “sorry not sorry lol”. I’m LIVING *internal screaming noises* How did I not notice THIS before?

Just look at the screenshots below, look at his face, at his lips curling up like that, he can’t fucking hide his happiness that Ondore’s lending them a hand so that they can go rescue Ashe. 

The best thing is that Basch DOESN’T know that Vossler has been talking with Ondore and infiltrated on the Leviathan, they DON’T know what will be awaiting them there, they KNOW they’re at disadvantage in every sense (and again, only Ondore knows that Vossler is in the ship, but still it’s just one man more to add to their ranks) and they DON’T have an escape plan.

Like, it’s a risky plan, almost a suicidal one, but Basch’s like, smiling and not giving a flying fuck about all that it seems, because it means they have a chance to rescue Ashe. 

And also can we talk about how ironic it is that Basch said that phrase? It’s like he’s mocking the fact of him being falsely accused of assassination. That adds sassy points in my opinion.

Gods, I love this man.

Just look at his smile:

Also there’s something about Basch that I’ve noticed as well, and it’s that his behavior, while silent, tells quite a bit when you notice (or at least for me, because I tend to act a bit like him sometimes, silent, listening and observing). Still there are some small details, subtle things that I barely thought I saw, or that I noticed only while re-watching a scene.

As a last point, can we talk about the fact that king Raminas entrusted ONLY Basch with the location of the Dusk Shard? Basch was Captain of the Order of Knights of Dalmasca, yes, but damn, not even Ashe knew of the Dusk Shard’s location, it seems. That implies A TON of trust, and that there must have been a close relationship between Basch and the royal family (and this is why I headcanon the king tasking Basch especially with Ashe’s protection when she was little).

11 years ago I probably said at a certain moment that Basch was bland and/or boring. Oh boy, I was so mistaken. I just needed some years for my sight to sharpen and my perspective to widen.

And nobody can convince me that Basch isn’t the best 💛

[5judgements]

@stingslikeabee​ asked:

"It was the Marquis' idea," Melissa murmured in a whisper, her usual melodic voice sounding broken in-between sobs and fits of cough brought by the earlier crying; finally admitting to Ghis about everything was both a blessing and a curse - it was treason, of the worst kind, and yet she couldn't bring herself to hide the truth from him anymore. It was like lifting a burden off her shoulders - even if it could send her to the gallows.

"I had just returned home and... There was nothing there. My family, they had... They left Bhujerba fearing the approaching war to seek refuge here, but they were caught in a raid over Nalbina. No one... Survived. I had... Nothing to live for, Jarvis."

Sniffling miserably, Melissa used the back of her hand to wipe insistent tears away, sighing deeply before raising her eyes to meet the ones of the judge - he had almost died once, but returned to her; the Bhujerban knew how it felt, to lose everything... And yet what fueled her to remain alive had not been love, but rage. Pure hatred towards Archadia, simple spite to see the Empire crumbling.

"Ondore found me a few days later and... He made the offer. Under a new name, with his backing and looking harmless enough, I could get to places no one in the Resistance could. If I did my job well enough, I could make Archadia pay for what they did to us. I didn't care if I died along the way - I no longer had a home to go back to," and despite the absurdity of it all, her hand sought his - bloodstained fingers with the torment of others like her, and yet his grip was the only thing that soothed the turmoil of emotions in Melissa's heart.

"You were my mark - Bhujerba's personal nightmare; the constant reminder of Vayne's shackles. But then... Well, you know the rest of the story," a sad smile followed, almost out of place considering how lively Melissa tended to be in public, "I failed. I couldn't do it then - I can't do it now, not ever. I love you."

   Had she come to him with this revelation months prior, not even her bleary eyed face could have suppressed the eruption of rage, which now only sat simmering beneath the surface. Ghis was not a man known for his anger, quite the opposite in fact. It would take only an act of the gods for him to lose his temper before anyone outside of lashing words- she had been witness once to that fury. In the time of an Imperial tournament she had been harassed, and not only was Melissa there for the occasion, but a number of other high standing individuals. Was it not for the word of a man accounting for the very few that could stay Ghis from violence, Melissa would have been a firsthand at knowing the Judge had never made idle threats intentionally.

   However, right now, it is all he can think of.

   In his grasp, a calloused thumb runs over the woven leather handle of a dagger. He had come across the weapon by accident and, initially, thought nothing much towards it being in her possession. A question better left unasked, for the both of them, but a secret this grand wouldn’t have stayed hidden forever anyways. He had watched the color drain from her features, pale, like she was seeing a ghost.

   Ghis hadn’t moved during the length of her sorrows, her reasons, her every single word dripping against the fabric of his thoughts and shattering a distant cacophony of unrest growing inside him when she reached out. Even then he doesn’t offer any reciprocation, not as she protests a love which had stayed her hand, which perhaps was the only reason the same blade he holds hadn’t been drawn taut against the soft insides of his throat.

   He will stick that same blade through Ondore’s eye.

   The situation leaves them both in an incredible state of danger. Him, with the knowledge that not only had the Marquis planned his assassination, but the person to carry it out was now the only source of joy in his life. So too was she a weakness which could be exploited against him upon a whim if the Bhujerban leader grew less than fond of Melissa’s change in heart. For her, the very confession was nothing short of grounds for bloodshed between the nations, and a subsequent execution likely to follow. Yet, the situation was wholly unique in that she had not been caught in the act, stayed from slaying the Judge, but had gone on her own volition to disobey the task given. He could offer clemency, a pardon in trade for information, but he finds it unlikely Melissa would be as forthcoming with anything that might bring greater peril to her homeland. Perhaps asylum, then, the barest of an exchange for what she has brought to light. It is a troubling problem and one he would certainly require an audience with the other Judges to solve.

   “You understand that I cannot allow this to go unpunished,” he finally says, though there is no warmth in his voice. The tone he employs had seldom been heard while she was around, the voice of a man poised to kill, and determined at that. “If your very purpose in Archades had always been this as the goal, you as a spy, an assassin.. The Empire won’t forgive such a drastic affront. I will not abide to stand motionless with this information, Melissa, you’ve damned Bhujerba to war.”

   There is a pause, Ghis furrows his brows briefly and considers the weapon he wields. It is not his own, it feels foreign in his grasp, like every wrong spoken syllable that had befallen Melissa in the short minutes which passed.

   “No, I am incorrect; Ondore has condemned everything he cares about, his people, his city, his life. He will bear witness to the land he sought to protect be ravaged if surrender is not his first act. How many more Bhujerban lives will that snake of a man be willing to lose? I will see to it that his own is amongst their numbers, only after his bid for victory is revealed to be complete annihilation at the hands of the Empire,” he declares with a rising tone of irritation.

   “And you-” Ghis turns his gaze onto Melissa now, the desire for violence unfolding behind the hardened stare he shares. “You are..”

   Again he falters to make anything of himself, sighing a harsh exasperation and bearing a wry smile, shaking his head as if the words he wants to commit to are unbelievable. Where his shoulders sag it is an admission that has wound itself around his very heart.

   “You are still the wind beneath my wings.”

[tarnishedxknight]

❛ after you died i could no longer hold a funeral. so my life became the funeral. ❜

@kettuskinchanger

Basch's heart constricted painfully to hear such words from Kettu. Their friendship-turned-romance had barely the time to blossom before the Archadian Empire invaded Rabanastre, King Raminas was assassinated, and Basch was wrongly charged and convicted of murdering his own king. Like many, Kettu had believed the lies told by Vayne Solidor and Marquis Ondore that Basch had been sentence to death and executed.

Years later, Basch now found himself living another life... his brother's. He bore a different name, wore a helm that obscured his face, and spoke with Noah's voice, thanks to Balthier's emulator installed inside that helm. It was exhausting living the life of an Archadian Judge Magister and pretending to be someone he wasn't, but it was even harder to do so while mourning the death of his twin.

Unable to mourn openly, or to be himself in any way, Basch was entirely sustained emotionally and sometimes even physically by Kettu's loving care. She'd found him again, endeared herself to Emperor Larsa and the Senate, become well-acquainted with Archadian nobility... and helped Basch to not self-destruct from stress and depression.

Behind closed doors, he could be himself with her. She spoke his true name, had no fear of touching him, encouraged him to eat properly and drink enough water, and otherwise tended to him as the loving person she had always been to him. And sometimes she put him in his place, too, for she was nothing if not feisty as well.

And yet... sometimes the usually bubbly, positive, and warm little fox woman was overtaken by her emotions. There was much pain that she bottled up on a daily basis, much like Basch did, except she didn't usually let him tend to her in the way she did him. She seemed to want to always remain strong, cheerful, and impervious to pain and sadness... until she wasn't. Her words broke his heart, especially since he knew she spoke about a pain he had caused her. Removing his helm, for they were currently alone, Basch sighed softly.

"I am sorry, Kettu..." he said. "If I could take away that pain from your heart, I would. There is much from those years that I would change, if I could. Alas... neither time nor fate allows us second chances." He took her small hand in his. "But your life is no funeral. You bring light and love, hope and kindness, healing and comfort, everywhere you go," he said with a smile of admiration and gratitude. "I know you carry much sorrow, but to others, you bring only joy. That is all you have ever brought me. Forgive me, that I have not been able to do the same for you. It has not been for lack of wanting to."