Ooh, finally got around to reading the majority of this. There are parts I'll have to come back to, as I haven't finished the game (just gotta round up some weapons and hunts before heading to the final area). It's a nice manifesto! It's funny, but Balthier/Ashe is one of my least favorite pairing ideas, but reading over this has made me stop disliking it. XD I think really the only reason I didn't like it before was because I ship Balthier/Penelo and I have this little theory that Penelo feels inferior to Ashe (who is a beautiful, important princess). But honestly, I really like Ashe, so I guess that line of thinking isn't really fair to her or Penelo.

Anyway, I was highly amused by the scene in Balfonheim, when Balthier is so annoyed by Al-Cid. It's like he was thinking "Sheesh, I'm so much more subtle than this guy!" XDD