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This Is an Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca Appreciation Post
In my post about Balthier's Hot Dad, I referred to Vayne as "the game's primary (kind of?) antagonist." This is because I think FFXII's real antagonist is Ashe.
Livvyplaysfinalfantasy makes a very good point in her post about Ashe's theme music, which is that it "sounds more like a villain’s theme than a leading lady's." Ashe wants freedom and agency, and she wants the power to protect herself and her people, and for most of the game she is willing to do whatever it takes to assert her independence and achieve independence for Dalmasca. She is willing to destroy Archadia, and she is willing to destroy Rozzaria, and she has seen what nethicite can do with her own eyes, and she says (to Reddas, of all people) that she's not afraid to use it.
What I appreciate about Ashe is that it takes five sympathetic party members, two sympathetic party guests (we don't talk about the third one), and an entire cast of sympathetic NPCs to prevent Ashe from essentially becoming Ganondorf. She almost - almost! - becomes a villain anyway, though, and not a single person would have respected her less if she did.
Every morning I drink a tall glass of Respect Ashe juice, and it helps me get through the day.
However! I know this is very shallow - and I apologize - but who in their right mind let Ashe leave the house looking like that? Of all of Vossler's many sins, Ashe's outfit is the most reprehensible. Penelo can dress like that because she's sixteen and can do whatever the hell she wants, and Fran can dress like that because she's (at least) sixty and can do whatever the hell she wants, but I don't think it's sexist or misogynistic to say that "surfside lingerie casual" is a strange look to wear when you're on a tour to meet with all of the political leaders in your region in order to negotiate the independence of your kingdom. In Ivalice, the political power of humes seems to be marked by how much clothing they're wearing, and Ashe is wearing a gauzy negligee and a red handkerchief. It's like, Come on girl, dress for the job you want, not the job you have!
Anyway, what's really interesting about Ashe is that, in not only refusing to take the power offered to her by the Occuria but also eliminating its only accessible source, she is responsible for rise of religious zealotry and the resulting Cataclysm that destroys Ivalice and permanently limits the level of its civilization, all of which probably occurs within Fran's lifetime. It turns out that Ashe made the absolute worst decision she could have possibly made; but, in her defense, she made it for all the right reasons.
Livvyplaysfinalfantasy makes a very good point in her post about Ashe's theme music, which is that it "sounds more like a villain’s theme than a leading lady's." Ashe wants freedom and agency, and she wants the power to protect herself and her people, and for most of the game she is willing to do whatever it takes to assert her independence and achieve independence for Dalmasca. She is willing to destroy Archadia, and she is willing to destroy Rozzaria, and she has seen what nethicite can do with her own eyes, and she says (to Reddas, of all people) that she's not afraid to use it.
What I appreciate about Ashe is that it takes five sympathetic party members, two sympathetic party guests (we don't talk about the third one), and an entire cast of sympathetic NPCs to prevent Ashe from essentially becoming Ganondorf. She almost - almost! - becomes a villain anyway, though, and not a single person would have respected her less if she did.
Every morning I drink a tall glass of Respect Ashe juice, and it helps me get through the day.
However! I know this is very shallow - and I apologize - but who in their right mind let Ashe leave the house looking like that? Of all of Vossler's many sins, Ashe's outfit is the most reprehensible. Penelo can dress like that because she's sixteen and can do whatever the hell she wants, and Fran can dress like that because she's (at least) sixty and can do whatever the hell she wants, but I don't think it's sexist or misogynistic to say that "surfside lingerie casual" is a strange look to wear when you're on a tour to meet with all of the political leaders in your region in order to negotiate the independence of your kingdom. In Ivalice, the political power of humes seems to be marked by how much clothing they're wearing, and Ashe is wearing a gauzy negligee and a red handkerchief. It's like, Come on girl, dress for the job you want, not the job you have!
Anyway, what's really interesting about Ashe is that, in not only refusing to take the power offered to her by the Occuria but also eliminating its only accessible source, she is responsible for rise of religious zealotry and the resulting Cataclysm that destroys Ivalice and permanently limits the level of its civilization, all of which probably occurs within Fran's lifetime. It turns out that Ashe made the absolute worst decision she could have possibly made; but, in her defense, she made it for all the right reasons.
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Ashe's rage is so quality and it's so rare for a female character to be allowed that rage, and I agree entirely with the last paragraph. (I have to wonder, in the FFT version where Balthier oopsies his way into Ramza's life, what he thinks about all of that? Shit, now I want to write that--and whether, upon returning, he would still have encouraged Ashe to do as she did, or would he tell her to take the damned Stone?)
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