Birds can Fly

You know, speaking of old fics...

This is something I was cowriting with logistika_nyx for the_sandsea on LJ. It has been my turn to write a chapter for, oh, a good six months now? I don't think I would have ever gotten back to it except I was scrolling back through the sandsea stuff trying to see if I had missed any of my fics while updating fanfiction.net, and found the older chapters and thought, "Hey, I should write that."

Links!
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

Written in alternating parts with logistika_nyx.

Title: Those We Know and Those We Don’t – Part 5
Claim: Basch
Rating: PG
Themes: 10. Flying, 17. Gamble, 31. Duty, 32. Laughter, 79. Black sheep
Summary: Ashe has been rescued, and Basch wonders about other people wondering about him.

Looking back on his recent reunion with Ashelia, Basch realized that he should have expected the slap on the face. ( Read more... )

So, having been brought back to my attention by various recent conversations, I've decided to pick up Running again as a writing project. I've spent the past couple days editing the parts I had already written, and will probably post them up on ffxii_fic pretty soon, so I wouldn't suggest reading much from the link I just posted. It's almost the same, but the new one has a few more paragraphs and a few less typos.

It amazes me how much my writing style has changed since I wrote that (largely due to heavy influence from logistika_nyx and sarasa_cat, wheras my style in this particular fic probably shows the most influence from Terry Prachett). Going back through it, I discovered that it was not nearly as bad as my mind had made it seem after I had dropped it the first time. I think it was more that it was getting into a semi-pointless area of amusing fluff and I was having trouble working up a conflict, therefore it really felt like characterization was getting lost. The last chapter I wrote will need some serious reworking, but up until then, I was surprised by how much of my revisions ended up just being adding a comma or picking a different word. Though I have to say that when I reread it, Balthier's hi-I'm-a-17-year-old-boy-ness in that last chapter amuses me to no end. And the travesty that is Chapter 16 is still a travesty, but far too amusing to trash.

But things really need to get darker in this, and quickly. Amusingly enough, this leads me to the conclusion that a new Balthier breakdown is in order. I'm not obsessed. Really. (I am a horrible person). But I've given Balthier over a year worth of mostly happy and carefree, and I know that's not how his life goes. In the next five years of his life, he needs to get to the point where he can calmly deliver the line, "Relax, it's only a corpse." I have yet to decide whether Ba'Gamnan comes into the picture in the scope of this story or not.

I've also been oddly tempted to write a story from Ba'Gamnan's point of view, just for the hell of it.

Alright, let's see what I can do with this...

Because the first was a yes, and the second made me giggle too much not to add it.

Final Fantasy XII, Drace/Gabranth, 54. who will save your soul after all the lies that you told, boy/who will save your soul when you won't save your own?
Final Fantasy XII, Drace/Gabranth, 75. You'd never guess she wears the pants.

Annnd speaking of Balthier being off his rocker.

Title: The Things Fran Doesn't Know
Characters: Balthier, Fran
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 315
Note: For 30_darkfics on IJ. Prompt 25: Broken. In all honesty, I have no idea if this fic makes sense. It was sort of experimental.

( Fran doesn't know that he's awake )

Frustrated!Ashe is surprisingly easy to write when I'm in a bad mood.

Fandom: Final Fantasy XII
Title: Letters
Author: wei_jiangling
Theme(s): Lyrics 02. How could you leave me, when I needed to possess you?
Pairing/Characters: Ashe/Penelo
Rating: T
Disclaimer/claimer: I don't own FFXII, or its characters.
Critiques: Yes
Summary: Ashe writes letters to Penelo.
Wordcount: 944

( It was on days like this... )

Basically copy/pasted from LJ, for those of you who keep track of me on both.

I have been musing over Balthier/Fran, given I had a conversation with sarasa_cat about them last night and she always makes me muse over pairings we talk about. So without further ado, ( I present variations on the concept of Balthier/Fran )

If anyone thinks I've missed something in that, do tell. I'm having fun with this.

I am also horribly addicted to fic challenges, and while scanning through the Yuletide New Year Resoutions request list sort of scared myself with the number of things I looked at and thought would be interesting to write.

( Have a list, a very long list. Click at your own risk. I'm serious.  )

If there's anything on there you would especially like to see me attempt, do let me know, since I have yet to decide whether I actually want to do any of them. First listing under The Princess Bride really should not be as tempting as it is. Mulan just might be a win. Mister Rogers' Neighborhood really desperately wants to be a win except I don't remember those characters hardly at all. Maybe if I happen to have some old tapes laying around. All the President's Men is there not because I was especially tempted but because of oh so many jokes in my 11th grade government class. I find the number of requests on there for historical real people slash disturbing.

...some of these involve watching/reading things I own but haven't had time for yet. *shakes head* I am tempted by fanfic I cannot yet mentally plot. How sad is that?

Title: In Memory of Guilt
Fandom: Final Fantasy XII
Pairing: Reddas/Ashe
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Spoilers through the Pharos.
Request: FFXII, Reddas/Ashe: 57. Things deliberately unspoken.

( Ashe recounts the time she knew him. )

This set is for isentence. Again, claim hasn't even been approved yet, but oh well.

( ”50 )

Done for het_challenge. I'll post it over there once I'm actually listed as having claimed it. It just started writing itself as soon as I saw the prompt.

Title: Humming
Fandom: Final Fantasy XII
Characters/Pairing: Balthier/Penelo, a little bit of Fran
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 805
Prompt: Balthier/Penelo, 73. Music in the night.

( Balthier awoke to a strange noise. )

For het_challenge:

FFXII, Balthier/Penelo: 73. Music in the night
FFXII, Reddas/Ashe: 57. Things deliberately unspoken.
X/1999, Aoki/Karen: 64. intoxicated as much by each other's skin as by the champagne

...I may have to brush up on my X/1999 for this, though probably not.

001.	Autumn.	002.	Spring.	003.	Summer.	004.	Winter.	005.	Amused.
006.	Balance.	007.	Betrayal.	008.	Bunnies.	009.	Cemetery.	010.	Chocolate.
011.	Cranky.	012.	Curious.	013.	Decisions.	014.	Destiny.	015.	First Glance.
016.	Love.	017.	Lust.	018.	Energetic.	019.	Famous.	020.	Fight.
021.	Flame.	022.	Found.	023.	Lost.	024.	Frustrated.	025.	Giggly.
026.	Gun.	027.	Knife.	028.	Heartache.	029.	Justice.	030.	Leather.
031.	Education.	032.	Lessons.	033.	School.	034.	Teacher.	035.	Encounter.
036.	Naughty.	037.	Monsters.	038.	Movie Night.	039.	Need.	040.	Otherworld.
041.	Peaceful.	042.	Promise.	043.	Ritual.	044.	Silk Sheets.	045.	Sinful.
046.	Skating.	047.	Years.	048.	Space.	049.	Toys.	050.	Watching the Clock.

Claim = Basch

I just sort of felt like posting this because I'm fairly sure I never actually did outside of anonymously on the kinkmeme. And it's kind of fun.

Title: Dance With Me
Fandom: Final Fantasy XII
Characters: Penelo/Tomaj
Rating: M
Summary: Take Penelo, remove all inhibitions, let brain run wild.
Request: Tomaj/Penelo. Dub-con, don't care on whose part. Silk ties for some light bondage? And bonus points if Tomaj can't separate business from pleasure. Double bonus points if they do it in the Sandsea after hours. Triple if someone catches them. (Quadruple if it's Balthier.) Quintuple for the creative use of a liquor bottle?

( Graceful and elegant, folds of sheer scarf floated through the air to caress the body of a girl )

LYRICS:

01. I am the storm and I am the wonder

02. How could you leave me, when I needed to possess you?

03. They spun a web for me

04. We've got the dreamers disease

05. The chariots of angels are colliding

06. Our valued destiny comes to nothing

07. We breathe it in and try to dream again

08. A candlelit shadow on a wall near the bed

09. Though you're miles and miles away I see you every day

10. All will feature on the freakshow

11. Please could you stay awhile to share my grief

12. She's often inclined to borrow somebody's dreams till tomorrow

13. See these eyes so green I can stare for a thousand years

14. Who are you? Who am I? Wind in wings; two angels falling

15. Take me to and lead me through oblivion

16. Oh look at the strange boy: he finds it hard existing

17. My head is stuck on something precious, let me know if youre coming down to land

18. Pieces of valentine and just a song of mine to keep from burning history

19. Memories revive your eternal flame burning again secret

20. Give me life, give me pain, give me my self again

21. Miracles will happen as we speak

22. And the sky was made of amethyst, and all the stars were just like little fish

23. He'll never see the lie he wants to see

24. All alone in space and time there's nothing here but what here's mine

25. Heatwave to nightshade--Oh I'm feeling swept away

26. Through shadows falling, out of memory and time

27. Only time will tell if you can break the spell back in your own world

28. My box of ghosts bids me goodnight; clockwork spirits have the last word

29. She isn't sure where she's gone

30. Wanna fly her away where the sun & rain come in over my face, wash away all the shame

Claim = Ashe/Penelo

NIGHTS:

01. blind	02. ebony	03. escape	04. flicker	05. flower
06. forest	07. fountain	08. garden	09. goodbye	10. grave
11. howling	12. lamp	13. lonely	14. mirror	15. moonlight
16. moth	17. river	18. shiver	19. skin	20. sleepwalking
21. shadowy	22. stars	23. strangers	24. torch	25. thought
26. trap	27. vampire	28. winged	29. window	30. wraith

Claim = Ashe and Penelo, not as a pairing.

...somehow, I feel that I am going to regret this.

#01 - Slow #02 - Steady #03 - Breathe #04 - Relax #05 - Friends
#06 - Candle #07 - Light #08 - Stars #09 - Sunrise #10 - Daylight
#11 - Stroll #12 - Food #13 - Rain #14 - Emotions #15 - Dance
#16 - Lost #17 - Letter #18 - Colors #19 - Soul #20 - Binds
#21 - Links #22 - Music #23 - Drinks #24 - Hot #25 - Cold
#26 - Conversation #27 - Blanket #28 - Jewelry #29 - Pride #30 - Lace
#31 - Curious #32 - Windy #33 - Parents #34 - Duty #35 - Crying
#36 - Share #37 - Keep #38 - Close #39 - Simplicity #40 - Grave
#41 - Tomorrow #42 - Run #43 - Flying #44 - Whisper #45 - Window
#46 - Apologies #47 - Bugs #48 - Sleep #49 - End #50 - Doors

Claim = Balthier x Penelo, because something has possessed me