Ashe and Basch (spoilers)

[Tokimadoushi]

I'm not too sure if this has been discussed before, I did look it in the older threads but didn't see one. So I apologise if there is already a thread on this topic.

If you haven't finished the game, here's another spoiler warning. Bye bye.






Anyway, do you think that there was any kind of romantic feeling that developed between Ashe and Basch near the end of the game? I know the emphasis on the game was not on love, yet it's clear that Vaan and Penelo are closer than friends, as well as Fran and Balthier. It seems silly to judge on a picture but on FF wiki there is artwork of the game's cast, with Vaan and Penelo sitting in a tree, with Fran and Balthier together on the right and Basch and Ashe together on the left. This seems to suggest the 'couplings' that happened in the game, even though no partnerships or romances were directly dealt with in the story.
At the end of the game, Penelo says in her letter that Ashe misses the team, and Basch especially (or something along those lines). Ashe and Basch also appear together in one of the sequels (FW or TA2). I haven't played the sequels but I have been reading up on the characters in FF Wiki and I just noticed that there seemed to be a leaning towards a Basch/Ashe coupling in the same way as there was a leaning towards a Vaan/Penelo and Balthier/Fran coupling.
Any thoughts on this?

[Violet]

I thought I heard them getting married in Revenant Wings, but I guess that's a rumor? Either that or he becomes her guardian or something. There is definitely something there, according to one of my friends that played it. I'm currently playing RW.

[Dodie16]

I don't think that Ashe and Basch were meant to be seen as a romantic couple. Basch was a knight of Dalmasca and Ashe was the Princess. He had more of a duty to protect her and the country he served more than having a romantic connection, imo.

SPOILER!!:

Also, Basch carried the body of her dead husband from the battlefield... I think he feels her pain of losing someone greatly loved, so he feels more inclined to protect her

I do see what your saying though, but this is just one of those things that make for fanfiction writers to eat up and churn out thier work. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[Tokimadoushi]

It's been a tradition in FF for 'guardians' or 'knights' to eventually become romantically involved with the princess/woman they're protecting, e.g. Tidus and Yuna, Squall and Rinoa, etc. The exception was Steiner and Garnet. Perhaps you could compare Basch and Ashe's relationship to theirs. I really want to play RW now...

[Violet]

You don't see them till later in the game, so you'll have to be patient .

[loaf]

Ashe and Basch is a little complicated. I see them more as the big brother little sister type of relationship out of everyone else. He wants to protect the kingdom and by doing that he must protect the Lady Ashe. That's how I see it.

[Tokimadoushi]

There have been several of those relationships throughout the series, some lead into love, others don't. Vaan and Penelo seem to have a similar relationship, and you see it in FFVII with Cloud and Tifa as well. I think it is was a good move on SE to not have your cut-and-dry knight/princess romance scenario and rather focus on a more complicated relationship. Actually now that I think back, I wonder if Ashe and Vossler had a thing going before he betrayed them?

[Violet]

Tcht, they ALL want a piece of Ashe. This is proof: YouTube - Final Fantasy XII in a Nutshell Skip to 1:20 unless you wanna watch the entire thing. How could any sane man resist her whole towel-skirt thing going on there?

[Tokimadoushi]

Got a point there Violet. Vaan and the guys must have found it VERY hard to concentrate on the task at hand with Ashe's skelt and Fran's metal thong in their faces 24/7.

[Che]

Ashe is a total slut. I now regret ever playing this game.

[Tokimadoushi]

She's quite a bitch, too. Not very likeable, in my opinion. Didn't really seem to give a sh-t about her teammates unless it was in her best interests.

Edit: Basch, I'm available, btw ;-)

[Toxo]

I never really saw them as a romantic pairing (only as a crack in fanfiction); he's old enough to be her father. x'''D And I'm not surprised if she missed him as pretty much all others in the palace from her life pre-FFXII are dead.

And if we were to judge from artwork, there's a picture of Vaan and Ashe in Bhujerba and the rest of the cast missing. THEY MUST BE CANON. Or not. There's also two CG pictures with Basch, Vaan and Penelo and another one with Balthier, Fran and Ashe. Must mean threesome, eh? Okay, I'm just kidding, don't take this seriously. But I think they are "paired" in artworks as they are, because Penelo and Vaan are obviously friends, Fran and Balthier are partners and Basch is Ashe's bodyguard. Before the game Ashe didn't know who Vaan was or Fran who Penelo was etc., so it's only natural to "pair" them with those who they actually know.

[Choco_Lover]

I think it can be argued easily both ways because we know it is his duty to protect her and watch out for her, yet I think that they have kind of a forbidden relationship. I mean how often do princesses marry the average knight? I could see Basch and Lady Ashe having an affair. Also I think it is a little more than knightly dedication near the end because she isn't the nicest person to deal with, afterall Basch himself even says that she is difficult to watch over and how many times does she smack him and give him the evil eye?

[Unknown Entity]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who saw the possible couplings. I liked to believe that Ashe and Basch did have something between them, seeing as it was pretty obvious there was something with Fran and Balthier. They both kept going on about being partners. Sure, it could have been a platonic partnership, but to me they seemed rather fond of each other.

DON'T read unless you've seen the ending!!!:

Especially at the end when they stay behind on the Bahamut to fix the engines. Fran is hit by a piece of falling debris, and Balthier carries her. Despite the situation they're in, they can still smile and makes small jokes.

With Vaan and Penelo, I think they were more close friends if anything. After reading the wiki, it does say that Penelo is his love interest, but I saw their relationship as being more of a brother and a sister. From what I remember, she came across as the older sister, and scolded him when he did wrong - like when he stole money at the start. Perhaps there was more, but I didn't pick it up.

I think it would make sense if Ashe and Basch got together. Basch has been forever loyal to Ashe after her husbands death, and I honestly think she understands that, and developed feelings for him.

I don't know... it has been a while since I've played, but these were my opinions from when the game first came out-ish.

[Sharpshooter]

I would have like to see the two of them together, but the odds are tough
I mean Ashe has a duty to fullfill, now that she is the queen of Dalmasca and everything
and Basch promised his brother he would protect Larsa, which means he has to stay in Archadia. The both of them are very busy, I doubt they have enough time to even write each other a letter. But who knows, I heard that they are making another part in FFXll, maybe the two will be brought together

[lady ashe]

i dont like to admit this but yeah, spite the age difference, i think Ashe and Basch have grown close, as to say

[Firefly]

I also think Ashe and Basch will end up being in a relationship.Heck,I thought everyone was in a relationship,Penelo and Vaan & Balthier and Fran.So imo I believe that they harbor more than a 'just friends' feeling about each other.

[Judge Magistrate]

Okay, I'm going to look at this from a guys point of view. Throughout the whole game I never sensed that Basch was romanticly interested in Ashe. She might have been though, sometimes it's hard to tell from an outside perspective.

[The_Dream_Recluse]

I don't think it's a romantic relationship in that sense. I believe it's more of a Samwise/Frodo partnership if that makes sense. Basch and Ashe obviously care deeply for each other by the end of the game, but i think it has to do with the fact that Basch is the only remaining person from the palace nobility/guard that is alive during her time growing up and living there before the Archadian invasion.

[Elise]

It bothers me when some people try to forcefully stick two characters together. Relationships are not either/or and each one is different, so saying it's a knight-princess relationship sounds ridiculous to me, sorry, but it does!

Basch and Ashe share a very deep loyalty and devotion to a cause greater than themselves; Dalmasca, everything that it was and all that it could be. None of the other characters can reach their level of patriotism; two pirates and two kids! Both of them lost their countries, Basch's greatest regret is not being able to protect his homeland and then failing his adopted country and his prince who died in his arms; Ashe's husband, who is the last descendant of the Dynast King who would throw her life for Dalmasca and its people. Basch's sense of honor and mission in life is to redeem himself and ask for forgiveness, in a sense, from Dalmasca and Ashe, so he sacrifices his life to reunite the kingdom with its queen. Ashe, being the leader of the Resistance admires this rare loyalty to Dalmasca, Rasler, king Raminas and to her as a queen, especially after Vossler's betrayal. I would say their relationship is a very rare and unique friendship, based on mutual respect and understanding.

I love how this game was more political than romance-based, but if there is someone who is remotely romantically involved with Ashe it would be Balthier, simply because he is the one who helped her move on and not let the ghosts of Rasler defeat her. And as I remember the one Ashe misses in the ending credits is Balthier, not Basch.

Fran and Balthier's relationship is an epic friendship! Just because they were sitting under a tree next to each other doesn't mean they are romantically involved. There are friendships greater than romantic love you know, theirs is one of them, a truly epic partnership! And I completely realized this when the game went into their history. This pirating thing is an escape for both of them, from their lands, lives and what they were 'destined' to be.

As for Vaan and Penelo, yes maybe they have romantic feelings for each other or will develop it in the future.

[The_Dream_Recluse]

I agree. I don't believe that Ashe and Basch were in any way going to end up romantically involved during or after the events of the story. Sure, they were close, but nothing more than close friends who had both lost people dear to them and to the kingdom.

Vaan and Penelo were probably the only 'couple' out of the cast that could be deemed to be the closest to 'romantically involved' after the events of XII. Fran and Balthier i pictured more as a traveling pair - not so much romantically involved but moreso about traveling the world together, maybe having something more deeper but left ambiguous for the viewer's imagination.

[Hero without a Name]

I agree. I don't believe that Ashe and Basch were in any way going to end up romantically involved during or after the events of the story. Sure, they were close, but nothing more than close friends who had both lost people dear to them and to the kingdom.

Vaan and Penelo were probably the only 'couple' out of the cast that could be deemed to be the closest to 'romantically involved' after the events of XII. Fran and Balthier i pictured more as a traveling pair - not so much romantically involved but moreso about traveling the world together, maybe having something more deeper but left ambiguous for the viewer's imagination.

I was always curious the relationship between Balthier and Fran though I think you said it best, they're just travelling partners who look cool when stealing stuff. As for Vann/Penelo....penelo could do much much much much much much better. But to the task at hand.

Bottom line is, speaking from a royalty standpoint, it would be odd if Basch and Ashe became an item, there's the age difference to consider for one. But also the fact that she's a queen and he's a knight, a freaking good knight mind you, but it's to a point that he was more of a protector than a lover....like Red XIII to Aeris....cept Red XIII was a different species, but you catch my drift.

[Elise]

*points to my post in the previous page*
The last post on a page never gets read -__-

I agree. I don't believe that Ashe and Basch were in any way going to end up romantically involved during or after the events of the story. Sure, they were close, but nothing more than close friends who had both lost people dear to them and to the kingdom.

Vaan and Penelo were probably the only 'couple' out of the cast that could be deemed to be the closest to 'romantically involved' after the events of XII. Fran and Balthier i pictured more as a traveling pair - not so much romantically involved but moreso about traveling the world together, maybe having something more deeper but left ambiguous for the viewer's imagination.

Traveling pair is a nice way to put it ^^
As for something deeper, well my understanding tells me that Balthier ran away from his post as a Judge, he stole an airship and changed his name to cut ties with the past. Fran left to see Ivalice and her hometown was the one that wanted to cut ties with her. I think they are opposites in a very similar way, and they have their traveling and adventures as common escape or something. I like their partnership and their mutual attitude, I think they have a sky-piratey quality lol

Also, Balthier only understood after meeting Ashe that the only way he could really cut his past from himself is by confrontation, so in a way Ashe helped him as much as he helped her.

[The_Dream_Recluse]

Also, Balthier only understood after meeting Ashe that the only way he could really cut his past from himself is by confrontation, so in a way Ashe helped him as much as he helped her.

Agreed. One of the main themes i found in the story was of redemption and the past. Everyone on the team faces their past in one way or another - whether it's Vaan and Penelo's childhoods of being taken over by the empire (and Reks' death), Balthier's abandoning of his role as a judge, Ashe's loss of her husband and empire, Fran's sacrificing of her home in order to travel the world and Basch's homeland and kingdom of Landis. Everyone in the party was fighting to not so much 'right the wrongs' of their past but to make their peace with it and move on (except in Ashe's case since she was fighting to restore her old kingdom).

[lady ashe]

actually with ashe and basch, its gone off a little lately on facebook. its now ashe and vaan, and penelo and balthier, and basch and fran