There they are. Just look at them. He's a Sky Pirate. She's a Viera. (Vieras are part rabbit, part great ass.) What's not to like?

Okay, so maybe I should go into greater detail.

I like Final Fantasy XII. Maybe you don't, but we can still be friends. My sister calls it "The List Game". I admit, lists of spells, items, techniques, gambits, hunts... there's a lot of lists. I like the way the game plays, I like all the things you can do/places to explore/creatures to find.

But that's not what this is about. This is about the characters. Final Fantasy XII is wonderfully voice-acted. You and I both know that in games, in Final Fantasy's this is not always the case. Fortunately, the different characters are brought to life through the talents of the voice actors and the not-terrible dialogue in the game.



Fran is a Viera and as such has a life-span far greater than that of Humes (humans). It has been 50 years since she left her people, and she is shamed for having done that. She no longer hears the voice of The Wood, and she is pained by that lack every day. She has chosen to ally herself with a man who has chosen for himself a new name and a new profession: Balthier, the Sky Pirate. In FFXII "pirate" isn't so much the rape/pillage type (although there is some pillage) but is more... a man without a country sworn to the allegiance of no one. Balthier has his own ship, has left his old life, and can come and go as he pleases. Fran travels with him, further ostracizing herself from the Viera who think little of Humes.



The character of Fran fascinates me. (No, it's not just the aforementioned great ass.) She's like the old Chinese guy in kung fu movies. She's seen a lot, and has a great calm about her. She speaks seldom and she chooses her words carefully, masterfully. During the cutscenes in the game, more than Ashe's hard choices, Basch's loyalty, Vaan's brashness, what I really crane my neck to hear is Fran's wisdom. Balthier is pretty easy going most of the time, but when Fran speaks, he backs her, and solemnly encourages others to do the same. Fran's choice of Balthier as a friend speaks more for him I feel than his action or his veiled past ever could.

I wish I could go more into the specifics of the story, but this blog is about the rare find and precious jewel that this slice of video game storytelling is to me.

It's about something else too...


I'm married to MamaDonna and we have 2 kids (online names TBD). I have learned and grown so much during my near 5 years of marriage and Donna and I have been to the far extremes of life and back, together. I was raised Mormon and Donna converted. We met at church. We were married in the Mormon Church, even sealed in the Mormon Temple. I admit, I've never felt comfortable in my own skin growing up, and I always struggled to fit the mold I was trying to occupy. Through our early married struggles and the resultant until-4am-conversations that you have about life, yourself, and each other I found myself changing. Bit by bit and piece by piece we started making our own decisions about what was okay for us between us. Just us. Not subscribing to someone else's ideas but discussing and determining what we wanted, and what we thought was okay. Eventually we decided to stop going to church, and I have to say that I feel more like myself now than I ever have in my life.

What does this have to do with Balthier and Fran?

Isn't it obvious?

They each have left their previous life behind and they are themselves with each other. No show, no masks, only truth and acceptance. I haven't beat the game yet (I'm at Ragnarok), but Donna and I haven't finished life yet either. I don't know what lies in store for us, or them. But I found in this piece of fiction, this wonderful art, two characters whose lives I identify with, who I am fascinated by, and who I love.