#ANYWAY ARDYN SHOWS UP

[sparklecryptid]

/pfft/ Sorry, just - the mental image of Ace and Luche Regisdaughter coexisting *in the same 'verse*. It would be a *glorious* train wreck - and Ardyn would coo over his new niece (so adorably vicious and spiteful!). (Ace: Uncle, do not kill Shiva. Uncle, Uncle NO -) (Luche: Actually, it'd be great if he killed Shiva. Ace: You're not helping!)

@hamelin-born

(rubs hands together like an evil gremlin)

have a thing?

-

Luche knows of her brother. No, not the prince locked away in Insomnia, not the King of Light and Life.

The other one.

The one weighed down by the loss of his home, the one who is loved regardless of who his uncle is or personal failings. The one whose magic reeks of ozone and petrichor. The one who does not want to be found.

The one who Luche could lose track of easily. She could let him go, she could make her way to Insomnia without ever meeting him.

She doesn't. Luche takes a Hunt that would be risky for anyone else - anyone without magic in their blood - and she makes sure to appear distressed when she leaves.

Her brother will find her, he just needs to be pointed in the right direction.

-

Her brother is dangerous. There's a thread of darkness in him that Luche knows Ardyn could stoke, could turn into a raging fire.

Luche wonders why Ardyn hasn't, Ace is possessive, overprotective and quick tempered. He would be easy to sway. Take his friends, take his lover and he would fall so easily.

Luche thinks it would be something beautiful. Ace burns bright enough that it makes her wonder - even with her Sight - what it would take to douse the flame

(She cannot see him when he is with their uncle. She cannot see how Ace dies.

She merely knows Ardyn has a hand in it.)

Ace is odd. His silver eyes know too much, they reflect light in way that Luche has seen too often in her own family. He knows something.

She can't see what he knows, but he knows something.

"Do you know the play?" Luche asks while on their way back.

Ace tenses. His sharp silver eyes zeroing in on Luche.

"You're a Lazarus?" Ace knows their reputation as well as anyone on Galahd. "What do you know?" How have I changed things is what he means.

"You should have died," Luche tells him, "You have died many times before leaving the islands. But there are times you don't. There are times where you don't even exist at all."

Ace's lips quirk upward in a bitter smile.

"Yet I'm here."

"You are," Luche says and she wouldn't be so casual about this, she wouldn't trust anyone else so easily but she knows she is young and she knows her heart is her weakness, "Your soul is too old for your body. Twice-born. Lightning Marked. Prince of Ruin. King of Shades. You have too many titles."

"I don't have half of the ones you just said."

"You will. Your uncle loves you too much not to give you his Kingdom."

"Ardyn hates me."

"Then why did he save you?"

Ace is silent.

He doesn't have an answer for that.

-

"Stay with us," Ace tells her later, "You're family."

"I'm a Lazarus," Luche says, "And a traitor." She knows that Ace knows what she is. She knows this. Ace can't want a traitor by him.

He can't be that foolish.

But he is.

He brings her into his little family and she is accepted, quirks and all.

It can't last.

It can't last.

But oh how she wants it to.

(Is this what it's like to feel loved?)

[promscamera]

You know, I really like how they did the story of Prompto being separated from the group for a while. I like this for all of them, btw, but specifically for Prompto.

It would've been so easy to make it his mistake. He's the one with the least training, who joined the last, and who gets the most comments on 'coming a long way', 'stay on your feet', etc. And he himself has a lot of doubts about belonging and tries so hard to fit it and 'be worthy'.

And then he gets separated to go on his solo adventure (DLC). But it's not his fault. He is badass! Standing up to Ardyn (even though let's be real Ardyn let him but still), and it's Noct who pushes him off the train.

Which is super sad and heartbreaking, but I just like how it's not something Prompto did. It was clearly Ardyn who caused it, but it was Noctis who 'did' the final push.

I just like it, because it shows that Prompto is capable. It doesn't put extra focus on 'we need to rescue him, as a damsel in distress'. And he did well on his own, too! (With the best girl, of course)

Anyway, main point. Prompto is cool and capable, and I like how it wasn't him messing up and then needing to get him out of his own mess, having to go out of their way because 'the youngest/least trained needs saving'. It's nice.

[ertrunkenerwassergeist]

In Dreams au, what did Ignis' uncle think about Noctis, both before and after he went missing? Because if he is the Chief of Staff at the Citadel then he was the guy that Cor dragged along to suppress the rumours about Noctis being a bastard.

Cinis didn't have very high opinions about Noctis before he vanished, and while he was gone, they were even lower.

From his perspective Noctis just isn't powerful enough to sit on the throne of Lucis. No magical power to speak of. Noctis also actively avoids people and makes no moves to accumlate personal power among the nobles.

Not a good politician. Not a good leader.

But he will be King. Because only the Lucis Caelums can be Kings. So it is a high honour for his family that little Ignis was chosen to be a companion to the prince. With a weak King to be on the throne, if a Scientia belonged to his inner circle, it meant all the more power for them.

He knew Aulea well enough however not to believe a word about the rumours. And he also knows Regis well enough to know that even if they had been true, he would have claimed Noctis as his own anyway. The child passed his Introduction to the Crystal anyway. So that point is moot.

Now, after Noctis shows back up?

His opinion changes entirely. Because while Noctis, at first glance, might look like a wandering vagabond, Cinis has known both Mors and Regis. He can recognise power. And this older Noctis has it.

This older Noctis is confident, settled in his skin in a way the younger never was. There's an aura about him that demands respect and attention. From how he holds himself, he also must have learned how to give orders and have them followed. At least to an extend.

When Cinis first meets Noctis again, he doesn't know the prince is magically powerful. But he sees little Astra making sparkly hands to entertain himself (Ardyn showed him that and Noctis isn't exactly happy about it, but it keeps his son occupied, so he's not complaining) and knows at least he managed to father a powerful child.

[a-world-in-grey]

What is Besithia doing in Spark!Ardyn au? Considering his pet projects got thoroughly torched by an annoyed Astral, along with his lab.

Besithia doesn’t strike me as the type to let an Astral throwing a hissy fit get in the way of his goals. Well, not for long, anyways.

Haven’t played through Episode Ardyn yet and it’s been awhile since I watched a walkthrough, but iirc Besithia books it either when the Royal Guard shows up to have a go at killing Ardyn, or when Ifrit wakes up pissed as fuck. Either way, Besithia is too busy running to avoid getting flambéd to see that Ardyn did not get immolated with the rest of the lab.

So with his lab turned to ash and charred and melted scrap - and assuming Ardyn’s ashes are in there as well - Besithia is back to not square one, but like, square two with his daemon experiments. Only now there’s the issue of Ifrit being awake, and that Astral isn’t known for being fond of humans.

And Besithia doubts he’s on the Astral’s Winter Solstice card list.

First Besithia has to fess up to the Emperor about his colossal fuck up - lost an expensive lab, lost the experiments he’d invested so much money in, and there’s now a pissed off Astral on the loose - and hope Iedolas doesn’t decide to cut his losses where Besithia is concerned. Besithia is in luck. Iedolas isn’t pleased with Besithia, but the Emperor gives Besithia a chance to mitigate his mistake by coming up with a way to counter an Astral.

So begin Besithia’s experiments into countering divine magic. With the added difficulty of finding a source of divine magic to test his results on.

Niflheim can already clone food, surely humans can’t be that much more difficult? Ardyn’s genetic samples all burned up in his lab, so Besithia starts with his own dna to perfect the process.

Once he gets that - the successful subjects are placed under observation to monitor development even as they are placed in various homes - Besithia moves on to acquiring a suitable genetic sample from either the line of the Oracles or Lucis Caelums.

Depending how long it takes Besithia to reach this stage, his options are Sylva’s Fleuret parent, Sylva herself, baby Ravus, Mors, or Regis. At which point Besithia starts trying to clone subjects in the hope of them inheriting magic so he can test countering divine magic on them. Instead of having to test it on a fully aware Oracle or a trial by fire on an angry Astral.

Only, it turns out magic doesn’t really play well with cloning attempts so Besithia’s gonna be at this for awhile.

[reflectionsofacreator]

went on a bender again and now I'm going to subject you all to it.

So this is a slide from Episode Ardyn showing the area that the New Wall covered before King Mors scaled it back, but it's a little unclear exactly how much of the mainland was covered.

Prior to the DLC's release, canon said that only the area of Cavaugh, the island that Insomnia rests on, was covered by the New Wall and King Mors scaled it back to Insomnia's ramparts. (Granted, this is at odds with how you can find an Almanac in the Keycatrich ruins saying that it was protected by the Wall) Now, based on the image above, and following the exact line of how big we're shown, the New Wall covered the entirety of Leide, most of Galahd to the north, and half of Duscae, as shown by the black line.

Notably, the settlements for Lestallum, Galdin Quay, and Angelgard aren't included, as well as it leaves out a decent portion of the bigger island of Galahd. So I propose the white line, which encompasses all of those settlements, as well as the Meldacio hunter's HQ and most of Duscae.

It's entirely possible that the New Wall encompassed the entire continent, but that feels a little farfetched, especially because of how much ocean it would cover. (From what we know the Wall only seems to expand in circular directions.) Anyways, due to the Great War 30 years ago, King Mors pulled back the Wall a significant amount, all the way to the city's Ramparts, shown in red.

Mors died roughly four years after this event, and his passing is noted as "untimely". His actual age isn't known, but we can assume he was in decent health before the Wall was scaled back. It's extremely likely that complications with scaling back the Wall led to his death.

Now, we know that it's canon that the fueling of the New Wall drains the life force out of the reigning monarch, with 50 year old Regis' body failing him and looking to be somewhere in his mid 70s. However, given how this Wall was maintained for 150 years, and likely put up by the 108th King, Optimus Lucis Caelum, otherwise known as The Wise, each monarch would've had it for about 25 years or so.

Based on Episode Ardyn, Insomnia has multiple pylons inside the city that enhance the magic of the Crystal and strengthen the Wall, forged out of Adamantite. You only need to destroy 3 to progress the story, but there's 7 total in a small section of city surrounding the Citadel. Due to the difficulty of their construction, and how many were destroyed, it's likely that Regis' health declined much quicker than it should've, despite managing to rule for about 25 years under the Wall. Presumably, Mors intended to let each monarch live longer under the strain of only protecting a much smaller area, but Ardyn made sure that didn't happen.

I'm going positing that the greater continent and region of Galahd also had these pylons, which is what allowed the Wall to be held for 150 years. Like, it's the only way it makes sense, considering the size that's covered. Furthermore, the invasion of Niflheim in the War of 30 years ago was likely to destroy multiple pylons that were erected on the continent, thus forcing Mors to withdraw the Wall (rather than the assumed "mors was a lil bitch" route). Lucis had already set itself up in a siege position, and had one major city, Keycatrich, that was under the protection of the Wall, as well as outer territories like Galahd. If the Wall was maintained for over 120 years with no real issues (that we know of), what else could've forced Mors to scale back the New Wall to less than half it's original size?

Anyways I don't really have a fucking point to all of this nonsense, except for trying to figure out more of the scant backstory that XV has via very loose lore and vague ideas that only sort of connect. Also a lot of wiki hopping and tracking down sources. Do with this what you will.

[ermora]

Ardyn x Neko Reader

Back again with a random idea of Ardyn being with a neko reader. A bit of a master pet dynamic (just a hint) I guess, anyways hope you enjoy and I’m sorry about Ardyn being OOC.

_______________________________________________

You happily walked around your apartment with your ears and tail out as you cleaned your space, feeling relieved that you got the day off from work. The past week has been stressful and having to hide your ears and tail under different articles of clothing and hats is difficult over long periods of time. You knew you could probably have them showing but neko’s such as yourself were extremely rare in Eos and most times people took advantage of a neko by making them a prized possession of sorts to show off. It reminds you of a rich person showing off their latest accessory or gadget. Your ear twitched slightly as you could hear someone moving through the apartment hallways outside of your door again as it had been happening all morning. You shook your head and the bell attached to the collar around your neck jingles a little bit, you hated hearing all of the little noises but there wasn’t much you could do until your lease was up and you could find a new place to live. It wouldn’t be much longer now either, which was nice, as your one neko friend was willing to let you crash with her right after your lease was up. She was actually coming over today to talk to you about it a little bit more and it won’t be long before she shows up. As if on cue, there was a knock on your door and you put your stuff down before you happily made your way over to the door and opened it up, your stomach dropped as it wasn’t your friend at the door bit your boss, Ardyn Izunia. He seemed a little stunned as he took in your appearance and you bit your lower lip, what the hell is he doing here?

“What brings you here Chancellor?” you asked in an uneasy tone.

“I was coming by to see if you had accidentally put some of my papers into your bag as I happen to be missing some important papers after you left yesterday” Ardyn replied as he looked at your (h/c) ears and tail. You hesitated briefly, wondering why he wouldn’t try to text you instead of just showing up as he now sees you for what you truly are.

“I can check… why don’t you come inside though as I don’t need someone else to see me or wonder why you’re here” you suggested as you let Ardyn into your apartment and closed the door behind him. You quickly went off to your bedroom and grabbed your work bag before returning to your living room and going through your bag in front of Ardyn.

“This is a rather modest place for a neko to have” Ardyn noted as he looked around your apartment, you said nothing back as you found some important looking papers in your bag. You felt your cheeks turn red as you pulled them out and handed them over to Ardyn.

“Here you are Chancellor and I’m sorry about accidentally taking them, my brain must have been in Friday mode when I went to leave” you apologized, Ardyn gently took the papers and gave you a smile.

“It’s quite alright (y/n) I think we’ve all done something silly on our Friday’s, besides, this was worth the trip as I’ve not seen a neko in quite awhile” Ardyn noted as he purposefully tapped your collars bell, making in ring a little bit.

“Yes, well I ask that you please keep this to yourself as I believe the empire would use me as an accessory to show off or some sort of pet” you stated.

“I won’t say a thing but there is something I want in return then… a trade of sorts” Ardyn said as he put the papers down, you swallowed nervously. You could say no but at the same time you need the job you have and you want to keep a low profile, you sighed as the answer was obvious.

“Very well, what do you want?” you asked, Ardyn smiled.

 

“Whenever you and I are alone I want you to look just like this, tail and ears showing with that adorable collar around your neck and in return, I’ll keep your little secret, do you agree my little kitten?” Ardyn asked as he stroked your right cheek with the back of his left hand. His touch sent an odd sensation through your body that was one you loved but hated because it was gentle and yet dominating.

“There’s more to this than your saying Chancellor” you replied, Ardyn chuckled.

“You’re as observant as ever… yes, I do have another agenda but I promise that your secret would not be revealed” Ardyn admitted, your (e/c) eyes met his golden ones.

“You have to tell me what it is or I won’t agree to your deal” you stated, Ardyn's left hand went to your collar and he put his index finger under it and pulled at it a little bit.

“You will be mine my little kitten and will do what I ask without question” Ardyn said in a rather quiet tone. You felt a rock in your stomach  of course he was going to use you as having a neko makes anyone look good.

 

“You do realize that I’m heavily debating as to whether or not this is a good idea or not, correct?” you asked, Ardyn took a step closer to you and without warning he leaned into your right ear.

“Ah, but you do realize that your choices are limited and that at any point this could backfire on you… make the smart choice kitten or I’ll be forced to do something you may not appreciate” Ardyn whispered with a hint of a threatening tone in his voice. Your ear twitched as his hot breath in your ear sent a jolt through your system, your ears were always quite sensitive and you loved it when someone blew on your ears for some odd reason.

“Ch-chancellor, please don’t do that” you breathed in shock, Ardyn chuckled again.

“Please, just call me Ardyn my little kitten and accept my proposal” Ardyn stated as he moved down to your neck, your eyes widened as you realized that he was going to mark you to make you his pet.

“Ardyn, you can’t just…” you trailed off, unable to find the right words.

“Oh but I can and if you’d like to keep your secret safe, I suggest you accept” Ardyn said, you sighed and felt tears in your eyes.

“Fine, you win” you reluctantly agreed, Ardyn smiled and pulled away from your neck, you looked at him in confusion as he let go of your collar.

“Good, I shall see you in my office in a few days and please… if it’s just us, call me Ardyn” Ardyn stated, you nodded and he left your apartment. You stood there in shock, he calls you little kitten and did all that, just to never make you his pet. Was that his intention or is he planning something else? You shook your head to clear your thoughts, it’s no use worrying about it at this point as you’ve got a friend coming over soon.

2 Months later

You entered Ardyn’s office with some papers and removed your hat to show your ears while pulling your tail out of your pants and taking off your turtleneck sweater to show your collar. Ardyn smiled as you approached him and your tail twitched nervously, you’ve been doing this for two months now and you’re finding that Ardyn is quite charming for a human. He does, however, rub you the wrong way by calling you ‘little kitten’ whenever it’s just the two of you.

“Here’s the papers from Ravus you requested Ardyn” you noted as you put the papers in your hand onto the desk.

“Thank you my little kitten, may I please get you to file these away for me?” Ardyn asked as he patted a stack of papers on his desk.

“Of course you can” you replied as you grabbed the stack, went over to the cabinet behind Ardyn and began to file the papers away, as you did so though Ardyn’s hands touched your tail and you jolted as you looked at him and he looked amused.

“Oh my, I didn’t mean to startle you little kitten, I was simply curious as to how soft your tail was” Ardyn said in a not so innocent tone.

“A neko’s ears are far softer than their tail and we typically hate our tails being touched” you explained as you moved your tail away from his hands, he lifted as eyebrow and stood up.

“Are they now? I must test this myself” Ardyn stated as he lifted his hands and gently rubbed your ears, it felt… good as he rubbed your ears and you slowly began to fall into a state where you felt, safe.

“Ardyn… that feels nice” you mumbled in a calm, content tone.

“I know my little kitten, I’m not nearly as uneducated about neko’s as you seem to think” Ardyn quietly said as he leaned forward and breathed into your right ear. You let out a small gasp as the urge to want him as your master began to rise, he didn’t look it but he was extremely gentle with you and has kept your secret.

“Master… please let me be your pet” you breathed without a second thought.

“Oh my little kitten, you’ve been my pet for quite awhile now” Ardyn mumbled as he went down to your neck and gently bit it. You did nothing as he made you his pet and as he released you and stopped touching your ears, your mind began to clear up. A sense of dread followed as you realized that your instincts had betrayed you and you were now Ardyn’s pet and he was your master.

“I… you…” you faltered in your sentence as Ardyn grabbed your collar and sat down in his office chair.

“Your master is demanding that you come sit on his lap” Ardyn demanded, you did as he asked and without missing a beat, Ardyn pulled your collar close to him and your lips met. A jolt went through your system now as you realized that he wanted this the whole time, a master and pet relationship where you would be his and only his. You’d be unable to say no now as he had marked you and you were his pet, his play toy, his… little kitten. Ardyn broke off the kiss and released your collar, the belly letting out a soft jingle as his fingers gently brushed it.

“What do you plan to do now?” you asked, Ardyn grinned at you.

“You’ll find out soon my little kitten and I’m certain you’ll enjoy it” he replied, you felt uneasy but nodded, knowing that you were now at Ardyn’s mercy as his pet. You could only hope that with him as your master that you’d be safe as that’s all you wanted at this point, safety and a nice quiet life with your master.

[lunarlegend]

i really hate Verse 2.

and no, not because Ignis is ~OOC~ in it, since if you play in Japanese, he's not. all his weird "yandere" lines are English-only.

no, i hate Verse 2 because of how obvious it is that it's Ignis' coping fantasy.

look at Ignis' canon reality. he spent his entire life raising a prince to be a King who was destined to die. a prince who barely showed any gratitude towards him until the night right before he died. and Ignis gave up his eyesight for this in the process.

now look at Verse 2. not only does Ignis actually get to be the hero, but Noctis (upon arriving at Zegnautus) somehow does a complete 180, recognizes his own flaws, and apologizes to his friends before choosing to do the "grown-up" thing and go into the Crystal in order to save everyone...the exact opposite of how he reacts to everything in the canon timeline.

it's Noctis who's OOC in Verse 2. not Ignis.

and that's because Verse 2 is what Ignis wished had happened. if you look at Ignis' actual life, everything he did was meaningless in the end. he'd been a servant since the age of six, left with no dreams of his own and nothing to live for once his King disappeared and his job became pointless. so, a fantasy where he's actually appreciated and his sacrifice meant something? Verse 2 is just Ignis coping with his reality.

but, even aside from all that, let's say Verse 2 really is an alternate timeline and not just something Ignis made up to deal with his trauma. that final scene of Noctis on the throne always feels...off to me. almost sinister.

and that's because i don't think it's Noctis on the throne at all. i think it's Ardyn.

if not a coping mechanism that Ignis made up, Verse 2 is a trap reality that Ardyn made up. what better way to torment Noctis' trusted advisor for all eternity?

"Your Majesty."

anyway, i hate Verse 2.

[sylleblosscm]

No wait I lied we're thinking about one more thing: Ardyn didn't actually kill Luna. He wounded her pretty bad, but she was dying anyway, and seemed to understand the tidemother would probably be it for her. It was a whole thing she had to come to terms with, and even up until the end she struggled to let go of what few dreams she had. Were she not so wrecked from the Rites, she probably could have survived. This one's on Bahamut. Of course, Noct doesn't know this because Luna never disclosed the extent of her suffering.

Speaking of Ardyn, I also think a lot about how even and calculated he was in his attack. He knew Noctis was watching, and it's probable he did it on purpose to stoke his rage, knowing Luna wouldn't make it. He was happy to be blamed for her death. It's interesting to me how even and calm he was until Luna tried to show him kindness. Stabbing her was a calculated decision. Striking her was a moment of weakness.

[savage-rhi]

Immortal Shield Chapter 28: Oath Keeper

**DM or comment if you want to be tagged in updates on tumblr

**To read previous chapters, hit this link

Tagging: @seradyn​

Caelan rose up from the backseat of the Scepter. Too quickly. She felt a throbbing pain on the top of her skull and yelped. Her hands scrambled to rub at the spot where she accidentally hit herself.

“Damn it!” Caelan hissed. Her hands, too tired to keep up, fell to her sides while she looked around. A sandstorm had come and gone while she had been asleep. It wasn't enough to drown the Scepter, but she accounted for the possibility of having engine problems. From afar Caelan could see the checkpoint where Duscae and the Leide region joined. It was a rather pretty sight, seeing the scorching desert morph into wetland. The positive thought came and went as she shook her head, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Caelan crawled to the front of the Scepter, situating herself in the drivers seat. Her hands reached over to the passengers side, hands carefully picking up a map of Eos she had stored in her glove compartment. Unfolding the paper, she looked over the pit stops and areas she had been to within the week. There were large X’s crossing out certain points heading towards Insomnia. She took out a pen from a storage space near the clutch, and circled the spot she had currently spent the night.

Sighing sadly, she put the map back down, and started the engine up. The Scepter rolled away from the camping post, and Caelan ventured closer to the border between Duscae and Leide. There was a hunt she was fixing to complete. While she wasn’t searching for Ardyn, that is.

Since Ardyn left her behind at Cape Caem, Caelan was beside herself. She took a few days at the cove to reassess her feelings, and figure out how to move forward. It had been a few horrid nights of second guessing not only the relationship but herself. As a person, as a shield, as a guard, everything about Caelan leading to that horrible point challenged her. Despite the fact he had hurt her, and she didn’t want to be near him let alone couldn't comprehend if she had the capability to forgive, Caelan didn’t feel right about Ardyn going on his own to confront the king. Facing someone that formidable--with Astrals on top of it--would be a challenging feat for most. Ardyn, be as he may, wasn’t invulnerable. Recalling how he originally wanted to approach Noctis with force, Caelan knew he might have the gall to pull off something stupid and get himself killed. He wasn’t her responsibility anymore since he broke their contract, but that didn’t stop her from giving a damn about him.

After she left the Cape, Caelan took the route Ardyn and she originally charted. From there, she’d pull the Scepter over at any pit stops or sights. Asking people around if they had seen a man named ‘Adrien’. Nothing. Not a clue. She did get one tip off from a store manager at the Crows Nest, seeing someone that looked like Ardyn traveling westward back to Duscae. Not thinking it through, Caelan went west until she got to the border between Leide and Duscae. There was a small part of her that hoped maybe Ardyn was backtracking, returning to her. There was no trace of him out here. Ardyn was more than likely at Insomnia by now, especially if he teleported some of the way. Caelan figured if she turned the car around and headed to the city, it would be too late anyway to stop him.

Caelan decided after marking the map, she needed to give up. She needed to treat Ardyn as if he was gone, and needed to mourn. Part of mourning was busying herself with hunts and bounties, like she used to do. She wasn’t going to lie to herself though. It felt unnatural going back to the way things used to be before he showed up in her world. The loneliness she had been feeling grew into a void in her heart.

Exiting the Scepter as she came upon the woodlands, Caelan summoned her blade. Her grip tightened on the weapon, remembering when Ardyn gifted it to her.

“Stop it,” Caelan said bitterly to herself. “You know where you stand. You knew it all along, you just played yourself. He’s not coming back and neither are what he took of you.”

Easier said than done. Caelan thought bitterly. She felt uncomfortable using the weapon, half tempted to get her spear again and forget she even had a sword. She debated with herself so much that she missed a mark where a Flexitusk had been lurking by. A hunt required she take down five of them for resource parts. Caelan ventured further into woods and away from the plains, looking around for more signs of the animals.

As she came near a clearing, Caelan heard the snapping sound of twigs. Her body quickly spun around, taking on an attack stance. Knowing the pack mentality of Flexitusks, the creatures were more than likely preparing to ambush her. They didn’t like it when prey attacked first, so she decided to do just that. Caelan rushed with her blade towards the source of the sound, letting out a yell and her sword made a forward slash. She didn’t expect the screeching sound of steel to meet the end of her weapon, followed by a person yelling at her.

“Are you seriously trying to kill me?!” Ardyn exclaimed. His shocked gaze bore into Caelan’s scared eyes. She looked like she had seen a phantom, uncertain if this was an illusion or not. Ardyn couldn’t blame her.

“Cahl, it’s me.” He reassured, backing off with the Rakshasa as soon as Caelan’s blade retreated.

Caelan’s eyes widened, she immediately back tracked after registering Ardyn’s presence. She sprinted into the woods, determined to get away from him. This had to have been a trick. There was no way that was him. Not after Ardyn made it abundantly clear she was worthless to him.

“Cahl, wait!”

An emotional wave ran over Caelan’s mind while she continued trying to put space in between herself and him. Yes, she had been looking for Ardyn. Yes, she wanted nothing more than to embrace the idiot and tell him he was an asshole, but all that courage had been drained from her like a knife absorbing the blood of its kill. If this wasn’t a trick, if that indeed was Ardyn chasing her down, she knew he was only there because he needed something from her, and the last thing Caelan was in the mood for was granting him her services. The last of her negative thoughts dissipated when she felt the world shift beneath her feet.

Caelan felt her body propel forward, having tripped over a rock that was in her path. She let out a surprised scream, only to collapse into Ardyn’s arms as he teleported to her at the last second. He held Caelan tightly while his body swayed, trying to make sure neither of them fell together.

“That could’ve been bad.” Ardyn breathed out, looking down momentarily at some jagged rocks nearby. He grimaced, visualizing Caelan’s face being cut up had he not been there. He looked down at her.

“Are you alright?”

Caelan, upon catching her breath shoved Ardyn away. She watched him gasp out, stammering back. He looked appalled and saddened from her physical disproval of him being around her.

“You have some nerve coming back,” Caelan spat. She didn’t hide her contempt for him. Ardyn took a few hesitative steps towards her. Caelan's eyes watched his feet, noticing his reluctance to proceed before he stopped and acknowledged her remark.

“I know.” Ardyn murmured.

“The hell are you doing out here?” Caelan shouted, gesturing with her arms outward for emphasis before they returned to her sides. She glared at him. “Look, I don’t want to see you. Just get out of my sight.”

“Cahl--”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Right,” Ardyn breathed out. He could feel his anger rise, not at her but himself. An uncomfortable silence hung between the two of them. Caelan didn’t have to say anything for Ardyn to register the gravity of her frustrations towards him. He swallowed. Swearing he caught a gleam of hatred in her eyes. He wasn’t one to get nervous, but his left hand shook before he made a fist.

“What do you need from me?” Caelan broke the quiet, taking Ardyn aback while he furrowed his brows in confusion.

“Beg pardon?”

“That’s the reason you’re here, right?” Caelan huffed, shaking her head. “Don’t play me for an idiot, Ardyn. The only reason why you’d come find me is because you fucked up, and need someone to fix your mess. Serpo said you only saw people as tools. I know I’m not an exception to the rule.”

Ardyn glared, not before letting out an exasperated sigh as he laughed out. “I assure you, I was heading to the steps of the palace. I was perfectly fine by myself. I don’t need help getting to Noctis.”

“You didn’t answer the question.” Caelan said bluntly.

“I--” Ardyn paused. He felt his mind faltering. Everything he had rehearsed in his head seemed to fly out the window. He cursed himself. This was not how he intended things to go. He didn’t like not having control of the situation, but that’s also something he loved about Caelan. She walked to her own beat. Even when he guided her elsewhere, if she wanted to go somewhere else, he’d follow.

“Caelan, this isn’t easy for me.”

“If you need me for shield services I can’t in good conscience--”

“I don’t need you,” Ardyn said bitterly. His shoulders tensed, expression softening as he met her eyes. He hoped she could see his intentions clearly. “I want you.”

“What do you mean?”

Ardyn sighed, closing his eyes briefly before fixing his gaze upon her. “I came here to beg for your forgiveness.”

Caelan was stunned. Her whole body froze, watching Ardyn cautiously take a few steps towards her. She watched him take off his hat, holding to the side. His fingertips squeezing the rim of it here and there for comfort.

“I had a whole speech prepared, but--” Ardyn let out a nervous laugh. His tone however held a heavy sadness. “I can’t concentrate when you’re the only thing in my head.”

“You’re not making any sense.” Caelan murmured begrudgingly. She blinked a few times, trying to compose herself. She could feel the tension between herself and Ardyn grow. There were strings of weird energy either of them were giving off. Caelan felt her palms begin to sweat, uncertain if it was fear or yearning trekking through her body while Ardyn spoke out.

“Back at Cape Caem, I got scared.”

“Scared, that’s your excuse for--?”

“Please, let me finish before I lose my voice to fear.” Ardyn interjected, gesturing out with a hand for her to stop. He watched Caelan debate with herself, looking more angry by the minute before she sighed, closing her eyes and gave a nod before looking at him again.

“I hold you in high regard, and I understand I did a poor job demonstrating that to you. You opened yourself up to me that night at the Cape, and I broke your trust. I discarded you so easily, and I didn’t have the heart to hear anything out. I let my fears cloud my judgement, and I hurt you. I hurt you beyond repair. I screwed up. While I’ve been away, I’ve had time to think about my actions and consequences. I realize I haven’t been truthful with you, about how I’ve been feeling. There’s--there’s so much I want to pour out of myself.” Gods be damned. Ardyn thought. He felt like a coward, unable to say the words he had been desperately wanting to get out to her.

“I was afraid Caelan. I was terrified of what you told me.” Ardyn repeated, shaking his head in defeat. He sighed. “You’re not just a shield. You’re not a tool. You’re--you’re you. And I--”

He shuddered, feeling goosebumps transverse his flesh while his heart thudded deeply in his chest. He was torn between flight or fight.

“Ardyn, I know you mean well but I think it’s for the best we both go our separate ways.” Caelan began, taking the reigns of the conversation. She was gentle about it, watching his expression change to something serious as she breathed out.

“I spent this week trying to find you. Wanting to make sure you were okay. I realize it was stupid. You don’t need me as a shield. I shouldn’t have projected. Our--needs, they don’t align. I can’t uphold what you hired me to do in the first place. I know that more than ever now. Look, I’m relieved you’re okay, but you should just go now.”

Ardyn shook his head, biting his lower lip. He knew Caelan didn’t want him in her personal space, but he followed the thundering pulse of his heart and walked up to her. Even as she summoned her blade out of defense, he didn’t flinch. Ardyn watched apprehension and scare pave way across her face, and then he stopped and fell to his knees. His head bowed.

“I fall before you.” His trembling arms raised up, presenting his palms to her. Caelan was unsure of what Ardyn was performing, but that didn’t take away the weight of his display. This meant something grand to him. She could see the vulnerability in his body, how easy of an opportunity it was to take advantage of the situation if she so wished. She could strike him down and he wouldn't have a fighting chance. Her blade disappeared soon after.

“Ardyn,”

“Use me as you will.” His voice broke. Ardyn was at the cusp of tearing, knowing how close he was to losing her for good. “Until my last breath, I want to be at your side. Please. Allow me to return to you.”

Caelan was silent. She was uncertain what to make of the situation, and unable to process the extent of her feelings. Her mind wanted her to run again, but her heart kept steady. Steady while she slowly crouched down, getting on her knees. Her hands cautiously reached out to his arms still raised, pulling them downward. Once his palms were on the ground, her hands went to Ardyn's shoulders, thumbs trailing small circles in them.

"I don't know if I can honor this," Caelan whispered honestly. "I'm too hurt."

Ardyn raised his head, looking straight into Caelan’s eyes. They were inches apart. He could feel the ghostly whisps of her breath against his face, could see the care and devotion that lit up her eyes. He fell apart inside, resisting a compulsion to grab and kiss her right then. He didn’t want to do anything that would mess this up. This moment of clarity that he didn’t lose her. Not yet. The battle was far from over. If she begged him for a thousand apologies, he'd gladly sacrifice his mouth for the cause.

Before he could say a word, Ardyn felt a stabbing throb to his right shoulder. He yelled out, his left hand grasping towards the spot where it hurt.

“Ardyn!” Caelan screamed, panic struck her while she pulled Ardyn close before forcing her body up. She couldn’t protect him if she remained on the ground.

It took Ardyn a few moments to register he had been shot, and his head followed Caelan as she rose, summoning her blade again and took a defensive position.

Ardyn quickly scrambled to his feet, wincing from time to time. The exit wound hurt very much so. He summoned Rakshasa, instinctively pressing his back to Caelan’s while they awaited for their assailants to come out from hiding. His daemonic aura started to pulse. Shadows of darkness already permeating areas of his body while the whites of his eyes were overtaken by black.

“Are you okay?”

“K-keep your eyes focused, Caelan.” He said firmly. Sharing a sentimental moment could wait.

Sure enough, their enemies revealed themselves. The last of the Einherjar and Tempus emerged from the surrounding areas of the woods. Their weapons drawn out and ready. From their stances alone, both Caelan and Ardyn understood there was going to be no negotiating. Everyone was poised and ready to kill. All either of them could do was bide time, and hope they could cut through the last of the Julian’s army.

“This is getting old,” Tempus spat as he stepped forward. In either of his hands were axes.

“I’m glad we can finally agree on something.” Caelan said as a matter of fact. She swallowed, visibly nervous while Tempus flipped one of the axes for show, and the other pointed towards her throat.

“We’ve decided to bring you both in, dead. Corpses would be best for the king to deal with than carry on a trial.”

“You know this means you’re going in the ground,” Caelan glared. “And you’re not taking either of us.”

“We’ll see about that, won’t we?” Tempus smirked. His voice became low and steady, not before he burst out into a run straight at Caelan. “This is for Julian and all the people you’ve taken from me!”

“No you don’t!”

Caelan heard Ardyn exclaim. Before Tempus could make impact with Caelan’s sword, he was met with Raksasha.

“You won’t lay a finger on her.” Ardyn warned. There was a primal anger that leeched through his words. The blade of Rakshasa hummed with a violent energy as Ardyn sneered at Tempus. Deadlocking his daemonic eyes with the man’s shocked expression. Tempus managed to break out of the block and began swinging, and Ardyn decided to take charge fighting the dishonorable crownsguard.

Caelan, in visible shock at Ardyn taking the offensive on her behalf, suddenly was thrust back into the present as a group attacked her. She blocked, parried and stroke. Blow meeting blow, and steel meeting flesh. Caelan screamed out with every hit she dealt, and remained committed to her kills. The temptation to let her opponents struggle in vain hit her hard. She could feel the barbaric side of herself wanting to revel in the Einherjar’s agony and grief, yet she persisted on her own terms. She didn’t have to reach into that dark place to kill. Not when she had someone she wanted to protect more than her own skin.

She was a shield, and though they had their problems, she was going to protect Ardyn. No matter the cost.

Ages seemed to pass during the battle. At some point, Ardyn had lost his fire and he had to resort to switching back and forth between his daemonic energy and the royal arms. His dark aura pulsed while the blades of his arsenal collided and skid across the weapons of the men who dared to challenge his prowess in combat. He lost track of Tempus too, becoming overwhelmed by the other men and women who wanted to tempt fate at subduing him.

Despite holding off several, and helping Caelan kill a few, Ardyn wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep up. His powers had been hindered. Not being around to heal Caelan of any ailments and closing himself off from helping others during the time they separated kept the full ferocity of his daemonic abilities from coming out. The darkness of the scourge needed something negative to fester off of, and Ardyn hadn’t delivered.

From afar, he could see Caelan was struggling on her own with some of the men. Worry plagued his black and gold eyes. The distraction was enough to allow a soldier to strike his shoulder, the very one he had been shot at. A thin cut trespassed through his clothes and met Ardyn’s flesh, causing him to yell out in pain before he pursued and slaughtered the troops.

With a final plunge, Caelan stabbed through two of the men she was fighting at once. Their bodies slid down the length of her blade before she violently yanked the weapon out from their abdomens. Blocking another, she heard the sound of Ardyn’s brief wail and all focus went on him.

More of the Einherjar were gunning for Ardyn instead of her, and Caelan was beside herself watching the scenes of carnage unfold. Her eyes bounced between everyone, calculating where she should strike next in order to help give Ardyn an advantage. They were separated a great distance now, and she mentally beat herself up for not paying attention to that for either of them were more exposed.

CH-CHKT.

The clattering sound of a gun being cocked caught Caelan’s attention, seeing Tempus pointing the weapon directly in Ardyn’s range. It seemed he had given up his axes during the altercation. Her eyes widened, hands trembling while she choked on her own spit and ran with everything she had. Tempus had a clear shot, and she didn't foresee Ardyn making it out of this one.

With the last of her own strength, Caelan warp strikes a few feet from Ardyn. The bellowing noise of the gun shot into the atmosphere, unleashing several rounds. Caelan threw her arms over Ardyn’s shoulders. Her body became a shield as the rounds pierced the soft flesh of her back, tearing through her clothes like knives. Her body flailed against Ardyn’s, coming to a halt when the firing ceased.

Ardyn was mortified. The darkness of his eyes pulsed, gaze piercing through Caelan’s paled expression. He felt his knees wanting to give out while his left arm instinctively wrapped around her waist as she began to slouch and fall.

“A-Ardyn,” Caelan could feel her body going into shock. Her breathing quickened as she let out a pained scream feeling the pressure of Ardyn’s arm upon the maimed flesh. She felt weightless in his arms. He dropped the Rakshasa and warped the two of them away, not far enough to where they were out of danger, but it would by some time.

“Son of a bitch! Find them!” Tempus bellowed. The troops went on the move, slicing through anything in the woods where they could be hiding out.

From afar, Ardyn was losing whatever sanity he had. His whole body shook, hands quaking while he cusped Caelan’s cheeks. Blood began to pool from her mouth, he snarled as tears fell down his eyes.

“Cahl! Cahl? No--no, Cahl!” Ardyn screamed, his teeth grit as he tried in vain to keep himself under control. He rapidly looked around, gesturing for the royal arms to pursue anyone close by as he tended to her. Moving her body so she was lying flat on her stomach, her pleading whimpers strangled whatever composure he had left.

“I’m going to move you. Cahl! I know, I know it hurts. I have you, sweet girl, please. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I know it hurts Cahl. I’m going to fix this--I’m going to--Cahl! You stupid girl, I wasn’t worth this! I could’ve taken it! Cahl, I’m sorry--I’m sorry, shh, shh, I got you.”

“It hurts--really bad,” Caelan said through choking. Blood in her mouth began to intermingle with tears that fell from her eyes. She had been stabbed, poked, and prodded before in combat but never flayed like this. It was unlike anything she had ever faced, and as her body began to fluctuate between warmth and bitter cold, Caelan felt the pulse of survival kick, especially when she could feel the beginning stages of the calm Ardyn had showed her at Lestallum. The experience everyone who was dying would feel at some point during the process.

“I--I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die Ardyn. I’m---I’m not ready for the n-next place. I don’t--want to feel--I'm--scared.” She pleaded as he stripped away her clothing, her bloodied back now bare to him while Ardyn used the last of his willpower not to destroy everything in sight.

“Cahl, hold on. Please--”

Ardyn’s hands shuddered as he brought his palms to Caelan's back. He applied an immense amount of pressure to the entry points, letting out a piercing yell while he took her ailments unto himself. His daemonic powers and natural healing abilities absorbed the wounds. Ardyn's back flinched, the muscles underneath his flesh moved unnaturally as it mimicked the torn skin, muscle, and bone Caelan had felt upon impact.

“Oh, Gods!” Ardyn’s voice was inhuman while he experienced the full might of Caelan’s experience. He looked down, his fingertips dug into Caelan’s back while he watched the holes recede. Alas though, he could feel his energy start to wane. The process stopped when it was nearly complete, and Ardyn fell to the side and attempted to collect himself. What she settled for on his behalf, he wouldn’t wish on anybody. Guilt ravaged Ardyn's mind, knowing the stupid act was done out of the affections she held to him. It made the fact that he hurt her recently more damning.

"I'm---coward."

"No, no you're not." Ardyn forced himself to reply. He was surprised her words made sense, let alone she was talking to him.

"Am--"

"Cahl, please shut up. You're no such thing."

Panting heavily, Ardyn hoisted himself up. He gathered Caelan into his arms, cradling her close while he examined her face. He prayed that even with his grotesque features, Caelan could see how relieved he was to be looking upon her. His right hand, caressed her cheek as his bottom lip trembled.

“You alright?” He choked, his tone soft to not cause more panic in her.

Caelan nodded a few times, tired and aching. Her vision stabilized while her body continued to flex between warm and cold.

“I’m---still here.”

“Caelan,” Ardyn muttered. His voice broke. “I dare not take away your vengeance, but I must ask if I may I kill Tempus on your behalf. Can I do you this honor?”

Caelan shuddered, her eyes fluttered open and close. She could barely think, let alone process in full what he asked. Yet Caelan's mind through it all reminded her of the resolve she made back at Lestallum: she had to pull off the band aid. She had to put the Einherjar and Tempus behind. It was the only way, the true way, she could move on. It didn't matter in the end whose hand dealt the killing blow, what mattered was the fighting was finished.

“Y-yeah,” Caelan nodded. “F-fuck him up--for me.”

Ardyn smiled. The sadness remained in his eyes as he sniffled. “I give my oath I will.”

Ardyn’s head shot up as he could hear Julian’s men bounding towards their location. With sorrow and a pained hiss, he glanced at Caelan a final time before lying her gently to the ground and standing back up.

“I’ll come back to you,” Ardyn promised, his body disappearing into a mirage of black. There would be no survivors when he would step back into the arena. He would make sure of it and then some.

Screams and pleas tore into the night as Ardyn slaughtered the remaining men and women. He himself sustained injuries, but nothing could tamper down the bloodlust he felt coursing through his veins. Not even deep gashes and blows. Caelan’s wounds had been enough of a charge for the scourge, and he fully invested himself into becoming a monster and acting on primal impulse.

With Caelan’s pain at the forefront of his mind, Ardyn made certain the men would suffer as she did by being torn limb from limb. His promise to himself to spare people went out the window. Damn them all and screw taking them in for evidence on behalf of Caelan's crimes. Once they made their intentions known they planned to murder her, it was game over for anyone involved. Ardyn lost count of how long he had been at it, and by the time the screams settled, he could feel his daemonic abilities slow. There was still one person missing: Tempus. He felt on an intuitive level he needed to head back to Caelan. As Ardyn finished ravaging the corpse of one of the fallen Einherjar, he sprinted back the way he came.

Caelan’s breaths were shallow while she closed her eyes. The pain remained intense, but she was far away from jumping off the precipice of death. She wasn’t thinking about anything other than trying to keep her mind preoccupied so she could survive the ordeal. Whatever Ardyn did to help her, Caelan felt would keep her at bay, but she needed further help if she was going to live.

A snapping sound of brush and rock picked up in her ears. She opened one eye, keeping her face on the ground.

“A-Ardyn?” She muttered his name. As soon as the word fell from her lips, a plethora of pained screams exited from her frail body. Her eyes widened, seeing an ax had been embedded into her upper left shoulder. Caelan panted heavily, wincing while she attempted to crawl away from the assailant. She let out a yell feeling her hair being pulled and dragged up. She met face to face with Tempus. He was a bloodied mess, his eyes enraged and filled with a singular purpose: to kill.

“The Adagium may win the battle,” Tempus’s voice became predatory as he lingered close in Caelan’s personal space. “But he’s going to lose the war. You were one of us. We die together, Zamfir.”

Caelan’s right eye looked over Tempus’s shoulder, and though it was happening fast, she could see Ardyn’s daemonic clawed hand reaching out to grab him. Her focus went back onto her former comrade. Pity filled her eyes as she whimpered.

“S-say hi to dad for--both of us.”

“What?”

A horrific screech emerged from the shadows, and Tempus was ripped away from Caelan as she was let go of. Her body tumbled down, the ax breaking out of her back and she gasped. From afar she could hear Tempus’s inhuman screams. The sounds faded into a white noise while she closed her eyes. Gods, it was over.

Ardyn flung Tempus onto his stomach. Broke both the legs, and climbed atop of his body. He slowly began to claw, maim and carve into Tempus’s back. Inflicting what he imagined was the same pain that Caelan endured. Ardyn ripped and pulled off flesh until the only thing that could be seen were Tempus’s muscles and bloody tissue wiggling about as the latter tried to crawl away. Ardyn grabbed a hold of a bone sticking out, which was assumingly part of Tempus’s spine. The man screamed as he was flung onto his front, and Ardyn grabbed Tempus by the throat and shoved his body to the trunk of a tree.

“This isn’t even a fraction of what I’ve wanted to do to you,” Ardyn hissed, his blood boiling with grievous contempt. “I’m choosing to be merciful. You’ll understand soon enough. Caelan is no longer yours to torment.”

He looked Tempus in the eye, his daemonic eyes pulsing with an insatiable rage that left Tempus in tears. He was so caught up in his own screaming that Tempus didn’t register Ardyn had slit his lower abdomen open and his entrails were leaking from the spot. It was only when Ardyn dropped him where he stood did Tempus scramble to try in vain to put the organs back where they came from.

“Gods! Make it stop!” Tempus shrieked. His desperate cries were so damning that he begged a darkness would envelope him and that it would all be over soon.

Ardyn shook his head, then took his leave. The farther away he got, the duller the screams became until there was not a single noise left within the vicinity. The peace and quiet didn’t last for long, for his ears picked up on a straggler.

Ardyn tilted his head to the side upon picking up a whimper. No longer was he in the mood for soothing primal urges. His body brimmed with energy while he gripped tight onto the hilt of the Rakshasa upon summoning. Fingers trembled as he approached a wounded Einherjar soldier that hadn’t yet met death. Ardyn struck the tip of the blade right through her skull, twisting the handle to sever the head from the neck. Letting out a grunt, he ripped the blade back up and blood flew onto the grass below.

Ardyn closed his eyes. He took in a few deep breaths and his daemonic powers receded. Sharp gasps left his mouth as the process completed. The Rakshasa blade dissipated, and he began his journey back to where he had last left Caelan.

When Ardyn returned to the spot, Caelan was out cold. At first, he panicked, fearing she had slipped off into death while he avenged her. The sign of Caelan’s pulse thumping away in her throat offered relief after he checked with two bloodied fingers.

With one arm under her legs, and the other supporting her back, Ardyn held Caelan close to his chest while he carried her out of the woods, the Scepter in his sights. He could still feel blood pooling from the wounds on her back, but it was nothing in comparison to the violent onslaught he witnessed beforehand. She would survive if by the grace of the gods, she didn’t lose her fighting spirit. That was something he admired greatly about her. How she never gave up. His grip upon her body tightened, almost as if he was afraid he would drop her.

Heart pounding heavily in his chest, Ardyn grappled with the fact he almost lost her in more ways than one today. She nearly died in the same fashion as Aera, taking a blow for him at the last second. His body went cold at the memory and how both their expressions were a near-perfect match upon blood being shed.

“Ardyn,” Caelan murmured, her head lolled to the side and into his chest.

“Shh, shh, shh,” Ardyn coaxed, bending his head down to place his lips to her head. “Rest. You need your strength.”

He could feel her murmur ‘okay’ against him before passing out.

Ardyn stopped shortly to look upon Caelan once again. His gaze glossed over her. She had almost perished on his behalf, and he didn’t deserve it. Not after how he treated her like she was nothing but dirt under his feet. Holding himself accountable and making amends was why he sought Caelan out after days without speaking to her, but now it felt more personal than anticipated. Saving her was not enough.

He loved her. With every fiber of his being, he loved her. As much as he despised the Astrals, and everything he once stood for as a healer in his time, Ardyn prayed. He prayed he would get the chance to set things right. Even if she no longer wanted anything to do with him, he needed to tell her. She had the right to know that he held her to the highest. He lost one love already in his miserable existence. He’d be damned to go through it again. As much as it pained him to acknowledge such a thing, Ardyn didn’t care at the moment. All that mattered was keeping Caelan safe while she recovered.

[altrxisme]

Niflheim General!Johanne hcs!!

She and her father got captured by Niflheim when Galahd was invaded. He gave her the family history breakdown while they were imprisoned before he was recognized by the Niflheim Chancellor, Ardyn Izunia, was reinstated into the Imperial Army as a Captain.

Jo was partially raised in Altissia by her grandparents. Eventually she decided to remain with her dad in Gralea around the time she turned ten due to a feeling. She remained in the capital until her father's mysterious death and was moved to Tenebrae for a time being until she could start her military service. She knows that Verstael Besithia and Ardyn Izunia had something to do with it the death of her father, and despises them.

Her duty is to the people, not to the emperor. The "disease" that's causing the people of Niflheim to disappear upsets her so fucking much because she knows what's happening to them. The same happens with the prisoners of war they have, which is why so much of her unit is made up of them. She's trying to spare them from a dehumanizing death.

How she was able to gain the right to conscription is through a very old treaty her ancestors made with the Emperor at the time. She managed to find it through the Imperial Archives and demanded the Emperor honor it. He agreed to it, with some minor exceptions that Johanne had to concede to enable to use it.

There has been a few times that she's been called in to do public executions though. She despises having to do it because this is also what most people out of Niflheim see her doing. It's the Emperor and Ardyn's way of making sure that if she attempts to make any alliances against them, she'll be refused bc of what they've broadcasted.

In between deployments, she and her unit take over watch duty in Niflheim prisons. This is when she recruits prisoners if they're willing or simply give them the actual care they need before she leaves. There's been only one account of this happening from a prisoner that was able to escape.

There's only been a few people that haves either bested her or forced her into a draw in a fight. Cor Leonis is one of them and he's the one that gave her the long diagonal scar on her back.

Absolutely hates the others in the Imperial Army who are dicks out for the Empire. People who don't count are: Ravus bc he's somewhat tolerable, Aranea doesn't count bc she's a genuine friendo and same with her guys, and (even tho she's not in the army) she adores Lunafreya so much

She has a complicated understanding of Glauca. She understands the frustration of the King's efforts, but not why he decided to become a double agent anyway.

Trained to use big ass murder axe. Much more adept with bigger blades in this au and refuses to use a gun

Valkyrie themed armor, helmet only shows her mouth p much. The armor looks heavy but it's actually fairly light to her, making it easy to throw off opponents that expect her to be slow. Underneath her helmet, there's red and blacks streaks that go across her face in line with her eyes. She wears lipstick that matches her hair bc it's one of the few things that make her happy.

Her armor have runes of an old, ancient language etched onto it that help protect her from magical attacks.

The treaty signing was the last straw for her, she defected when she found out what happened bc no one told her about it

Somewhat gruff voice bc she doesn't talk often except around friends.

They way she moves is akin to a stalking bird of prey. Especially when she has you cornered. She doesn't play with her food, but she'll make you squirm.

She's known as The Reaper, The Executioner, or the Harbinger of Death.

It's thread-dependent but she may have access to Ardyn's Armiger and magic due to an arranged political marriage with him and this is his wedding gift to her. She has yet to give hers to him.

[synshubblog]

𝐓𝐄𝐍 𝐐’𝐒:  

1. When are you usually online?

Afternoons when I’m done work, and sporadically when I’m on my days off. Since I always work mornings, don’t expect stuff then.

2. What verses are you involved in?

Since Dagon is fandomless and Ardyn is able to hop between universes and dimensions at will, they can be in any verse as it is. I like to keep my options open.

3. What is your biggest RP pet peeve?

Don’t typecast my muses. Don’t typecast anyone’s muses.

I get it. My muses are not good people by any stretch of the term. They are not heroes, but they’re not villains either. There is a lot of complex moral greyness here that is essential to their character. You can’t just take that away for your own narrative. 

My muses do not exist for your muse(s) or even you muns to project your character wants onto. They do not overrule my own. My muses are flexible, but they are not blank slates. They are not yours to reshape for your own narrative.

Don’t push them into roles you want for them.

4. Are you drawn to specific types of muses?

Generally no. Dagon would have interacted with every kind of person there is in his long lifetime. Nothing would surprise him, but he isn’t for everyone. He’s an acquired taste. 

Ardyn is much the same, just with a lot more flamboyance involved. And the creeping doubt that he’ll just steal your memories and your face.

Scratch that. Patient muses get a priority. You’d need to be for these idiots.

5. Are there reoccurring themes in your writing that people might not notice?

Humour is my big thing. I often like to add little jokes in to my replies and even in little snippets about the muses. Kinda like having an omniscient narrator cracking wise in a video game. It’s really just me trying to add a bit of levity to what is typically a serious situation. 

I know my muses are very grim people. They don’t have much to smile about, let alone laugh. That’s a bit of why I do the jokes. To show a human side to these otherwise inhuman monsters.

Aside from that, the other major theme is the definition of good and evil. Both Dagon and Ardyn do bad things but for good reasons. Do the ends justify the means? Is ruthless calculus a necessary evil? The difficulties of a grey world are a major focus here.

6. What are your favourite RP trends?

Fancy promos. The fancier the better. Seriously it is really something to see someone work so hard at these things. That shit is amazing.

7. What is your process for starting a new story with someone?

Given how generally difficult to downright unpleasant my muses are, interactions with them can very easily come off as stiff as best and disastrous at worst. I am open to plotting but expect introductions to go bad quickly. They are not the friendly sort. Not at first anyway.

I post memes, open starters, and starter calls. I send in memes, like calls, and reply to opens. Give us a whirl.

8. How do you feel about duplicates?

Well since Dagon is an OC this is redundant in his regard but for Ardyn, I’m game. I’ll do my reading on your Ardyn and we’ll see what we can cook up.

9. How long have you been involved in roleplaying?

A while. Let’s leave it at that.

10. Is there a muse or verse you could write in, but haven’t?

Muse wise, the muse I have always wanted to write and always came up short with is Doctor Doom. Seriously, he’s my favourite fictional character. Of any medium. My main problem is that Doom is a very complicated individual and I can never do him justice. Plus I have a hard enough time with Dagon and Ardyn, I don’t need him rattling around in my head calling me a bad face.

Verse wise, I’d just like to go somewhere my muses can just pretend to be common people instead of an omnipotent immortal and a diseased maniac. Could be anywhere really. 

Tagged by: @chronicparagon

Tagging: Everyone everywhere.

[sparklecryptid]

*snickers* Oh bleep, imagine the *utter hilarity* of bi!Luche-as-Miriel and the All The Bastards Ace+Ardor+Thanatos as the Finwe Boys coexisting in the same universe. (Random individual: do you hear banjos somewhere?)

Luche is ignoring everything. She is ignoring her paperwork. She is ignoring the MANY MESSAGES on her phone from her siblings. She is ignoring all the things that she does not have time for because Luche currently has her face on her desk and is mourning her title of second weirdest of her siblings.

Ace is the weirdest is with everything. Or he was. Luche now thinks that she might be the weirdest given her curse, her breaking of the curse, and the fact that she was apparently an elf queen once upon a time.

Fuck her entire life.

-

Ignoring those messages is a mistake.

Ignoring those messages is a big mistake because when Luche comes out of her self pity mode she discovers that 1) her siblings are going insane 2) they are going insane over the fact that Ace, Ardor, and Thanatos have been kidnapped by someone named Eönwë and 3) Luche is going to have to go and kick someone’s ass.

Luche types out a quick reply telling them not to worry about it and does something horrifically stupid.

She reaches past the threads of the world that separates this one from Arda and Luche latches onto the source of Eos magic that are currently bubbling with anger in Tirion.

She shows up just in time to watch Thanatos punch Eönwë in the face.

“Well,” Luche says, “Looks like you guys have this handled.”

[lynbaccha]

Who is your favorite OC and why?

I honestly love all my three main babies and others very equally...

BUT, if I have to pick THE favorite, it's this mf;

I created Alois for a Burning Wheel-game in 2018. He then became both OC and a character I occasionally play as in TTPRG's.

Basically, he is most-developt one out of the bunch.

Also, his personality. When I created Alois, I based a lot of his personality on Ardyn Izunia from Final Fantasy XV, which was my obsession before Ghost. He has gained a lot of stuff, but three basic things from Ardyn are him being openly mischievious (like, idk how else to describe that), working for his own gain first and foremost and odd speech pattern (this man rarely shortens his speech, isn't turns into is not with him, and he uses decorative language. Excellent? No, that is marvelous with him).

Alois is many things, including cocky and arrogant... But perhaps the thing I like with him is that he is very honest. He doesn't like something, he speaks up. No matter who he is against. He isn't there to make friends or allies? He doesn't deny it.

And yet, he still can get most things he wants with talking and compromises. That is how he get involved with Secondo in the first place, too. Exploiting Secondo's new retirement boredom and showing both arrogance and respect, knowing what the other can do.

Yeah, he's a people reader too. You kind of have to when one of your parents is a short tempered asshat.

Anyway;

Perhaps Alois is my way to excecute my deepest wants - to work hard to get something and being able to keep it. Being able to explain what I want and try to negociate to get that. Maybe he's just fun character to me play, and write to an extent it has been comforting too. Perhaps both.

But yeah. To answer to this question is - Alois Crintoliste, because he is - well - Alois Crintoliste.

[a-world-in-grey]

This is gonna be pretty much stream of consciousness because I Have An Idea But Words Are Hard. Anyway.

In Spark verse, if Ramuh is aware that the prophecy was irreversibly derailed because Ifrit happened, he might be willing to intervene more directly in the world. Not by showing up in his Astral form, oh no. But, more subtle stuff could be happening. (Let it be know that Astrals have a different definition of "subtle" than humans.)

Like say. Niflheim's initial invasion, the one right after the Wall got pulled in, getting completely wrecked by some storms.

Everyone thinks that it's just hurricane season starting early but still. The emperor can't just order another invasion right away, because they just lost a huge amount of resources with literally nothing to show for it. In fact, if Besithia's research was sufficiently derailed by Ardyn and Ifrit's escape, those were human soldiers and not MTs who died in the invasion. So the support for war is also low.

Anyway, this is where your post about Lucis-Galahd fealty comes in. Because this Galahd still has access to their copies of the treaty. And they are not above bringing out diplomatic guns to get some help from the Mainland. They don't think Mors will actually send soldiers but sending some financial and medical aid would be nice.

Mors' answer is Very Much Not Diplomatic.

In fact, it's pretty much just saying "you are on your own" but with fancy wording.

The Chiefs all look at each other, look at the treaty and shrug because it that's how Mors wants to do it then ok. Hard way it is. They send another message, this time stating that they consider Mors to be breaking the terms of the treaty that assured Galahd's conditional fealty to the King. (Copies of this message might be send to various regional governors of Lucis. And to Tenebrae. And to Altissia.)

And then they put stop to all export of Galahdian goods to Lucis. Because if we are not part of the kingdom anymore then all those trade agreements are not valid anymore, you know how it is, they say to all traders who complain. This all will have to be negotiated again.

Meanwhile nobles and commoners alike are side-eyeing Mors, because they might not care about some island savages but the price of chocolate just increased 10 times. And prices of spices, and of silk, and of gemstones, and of exotic hardwoods and...

(Basically Mors gets screwed over but Eos' equivalent of brexit)

Not sure if this is the direction I'll take this fic in, but I am always entertained by Mors getting screwed over by his own poor decisions. Now, if only more of his poor decisions affected him instead of everyone else that would be fantastic.

[freyayuki]

Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia Dimensions’ End Transcendence Tier 1 New Team

I’ve already cleared the Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tier 1 quests in the Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia (DFFOO) mobile game. But I decided to redo some of the fights here. Why?

Lufenia quests are Level 200 while Lufenia+ ones are Level 250. These used to be the hardest kind of fights in DFFOO but they’ve basically been powercrept by now.

Now the hardest kind of fight in Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia are the Shinryu quests. These are Level 300.

If you bring a char equipped with a Burst or BT weapon to a Transcendence battle, the entire party’s stats will be enhanced.

Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tier 1 Old Teams

For the Dimensions’ End: Transcendence, Tier 1, Crucible 1 Lufenia quest, my team was Paladin Cecil Harvey from Final Fantasy IV, Arciela V. Adoulin from Final Fantasy XI, and Ardyn Izunia (Ardyn Lucis Caelum) from Final Fantasy XV.

For the Dimensions’ End: Transcendence, Tier 1, Crucible 2 Lufenia quest, my team was Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII (#ad), Keiss from Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers, and Dark Knight Cecil Harvey from Final Fantasy IV.

For the Dimensions’ End: Transcendence, Tier 4, Reckoning Level 220 quest, my team was Cloud, Keiss, and Paladin Cecil.

I talk more about the above fights in this post.

It was a long time ago when I cleared Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tier 4. Now Tier 12 just arrived in the Global version of the game. The Japanese version has up to Tier 15 now and IIRC, Tier 16 is coming soon there.

Since Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tier 12 came out, we got a time-limited mission that wants us to clear the Reckoning quest of said Tier with Seymour Guado from Final Fantasy X in our party.

Seymour is the main featured char for Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tier 12. When said Tier showed up, a banner featuring all of Seymour’s weapons appeared as well.

Was able to clear the aforementioned mission as well as all the quests in Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tier 12. I talk more about that in another post.

IIRC, future Transcendence Tiers will also have the aforementioned time-limited mission for their featured char. Let’s see. The featured chars for the following Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tiers are as follows:

Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tier 13 - Dark Knight Cecil Harvey from Final Fantasy IV

Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tier 14 - Kurasame Susaya from Final Fantasy Type-0 

Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tier 15 - Rem Tokimiya from Final Fantasy Type-0 

Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tier 16 - this Tier hasn’t come out yet but it looks like they already announced that Setzer Gabbiani from Final Fantasy VI will be the featured char here

So I want to free up Dark Knight Cecil from Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tier 1. While I’m at it, will see if I can also free up more chars from this stage.

Dimensions’ End: Transcendence, Tier 1, Reckoning Quest

The Dimensions’ End: Transcendence, Tier 1, Reckoning Level 220 quest has 2 waves. The mission requirements include winning within 95 turns and taking 15k or less HP damage.

To increase the Lufenia orbs in the first wave, you need to inflict 2 or more debuffs in 1 turn.

For the second and final wave, the counts of the Lufenia orbs will be paused when “player HP at least 100%”. The orbs will be paused as long as at least 1 char in your party has max HP.

I recently saw a video of this fight being soloed by a Level 90 and Crystal Level 90 Cloud Strife. IIRC, that Cloud was fully built as in his BT has been Greened, his High Armor’s been Blued, etc.

I wanted to see if my Cloud can solo this quest too even though he’s not fully built. If my Cloud can’t solo this fight, then I’ll have to see about pairing him with another char or 2.

Anyway, right now, my Cloud has his 15cp, 35cp, Ex, LD, and BT fully MLB. He’s at Crystal Level 90 and Level 90. He doesn’t have his Force weapon or Force Enhancements yet, unfortunately.

Have Cloud’s Bloom Stone. He has triple perfect Artifacts and triple real Spheres. All of his Summon Boards and Character Enhancement Boards have been completed.

He has his High Armor and it’s been Realized to 0/3. His Burst weapon has been leveled to the max so I have its passive but what I haven’t bothered to do is Realize it and Green it. Also opted not to Blue his High Armor.

Since my Cloud isn’t fully built, it’s been a long time since I last got to use him. This fight’s been powercrept by now though so hopefully, Cloud will be able to handle this on his own.

I actually have a Level 5 of 5 Greatsword Ultima Weapon so for now, I equipped this to Cloud. This will help to further increase his damage output.

Brought my Level 40 Alexander as my summon for this fight. Alexander raises the max HP of chars by 15%. Once a char’s HP falls below 80%, Alexander will give them an HP Regen buff that will last for 10 turns. When summoned, Alexander restores the party’s HP back to full.

Cloud can’t heal himself which was why I chose to bring Alexander. If I didn’t need healing in the last wave, I would have brought one of my Level 50 summons instead for more damage.

The Call ability I equipped to Cloud was Rydia’s from Final Fantasy IV. Rydia’s regular Call imperils enemies with the water element while giving the party a water enchant buff that lasts for a few turns.

Rydia’s LD Call gives the party a buff that will allow them to evade 3 attacks. This buff has no duration. It will only disappear once a char has evaded 3 attacks.

Cloud is a physical, non-elemental DPS. He has a low chance of paralyzing 1 enemy with his Cross Slash skill. The upgraded version of this skill is guaranteed to paralyze 1 enemy.

Cloud can initiate launches with his Finishing Touch skill. After using Finishing Touch, his Cross Slash ability will be upgraded to its plus version.

Blade Beam, Cloud’s LD ability, can delay all enemies by 2 turns. Meteorain, Cloud’s Ex ability, charges really fast. This allows Cloud to alternate between using one of his skill and his Ex ability.

As soon as the battle started, made use of Rydia’s LD Call already. Then I used Cloud’s LD to delay the enemies.

By turn 2, the enemies were down to 73% and 57% HP. Welp, this fight really has been powercrept by now.

Once the enemies dropped below 79% HP, they gained thousands of brave but wasn’t worried at all since Cloud does have the buff from Rydia’s LD Call. Plus, the enemies weren’t even set to move yet thanks to Cloud delaying them.

Cloud was able to deal a lot of damage every time he moved. Used Cloud’s LD again but I eventually had to let the enemies move since I wanted to save the rest of Cloud’s Blade Beam for the final wave.

Thanks to Rydia’s LD Call, Cloud was able to evade all the attacks of the enemies.

Eventually, the Lufenia orbs showed up. Cloud can’t debuff the enemies but the orbs weren’t really a problem since Cloud was able to finish off the enemies before the counts could go down to 0.

By turn 7, the enemies were down to 21% and 12% HP while the Lufenia orbs were at 12 and 7.

Had used Cloud’s Additional Ability earlier and it was still active now. His Ex was charged so had him use that. This attack was enough to finish off one of the enemies already.

The last one was left with 1% HP. LOL. Too bad Cloud hadn’t been able to finish off both enemies at the same time. Ah, well. Anyway, IIRC, had Cloud use his HP Attack++ to end the first wave.

The enemies in the second and final wave have this annoying flames aura that they tended to put up upon reaching certain HP percentage thresholds. This aura will cause them to restore a lot of their HP every time someone moves.

This aura will also sap a bit of the HP and brave of chars every time they move. To get rid of this aura, each enemy needs to be launched.

Cloud can easily launch the enemies but I still found this aura really annoying anyway. It’s such a hassle to deal with the enemies healing themselves and Cloud’s HP being drained every time he moved. This is why I need the healing from Alexander.

Just like with the first wave though, the enemies here were easy enough to deal with. This entire quest has been really powercrept by now. LOL.

Just made sure not to let the enemies here get a turn since I’d already used up all of Rydia’s evasion buff on the first wave. So I used Cloud’s LD to delay the enemies. Made sure to use his Finishing Touch every time the enemies got their flames aura.

When the enemies were down to 66% and 79% HP, activated Cloud’s Burst mode already. The Lufenia orbs were at 7 and 10. They showed up once the enemies dropped below 80% HP.

The Lufenia orbs weren’t much of an issue even though Cloud wasn’t currently at full health since the counts started at a pretty high number and they only went down by 1 each turn.

It also helped that Cloud was able to deal a lot of damage every time he moved so the HP of the enemies was quick to go down.

Anyway, by the time Cloud was about to cast Omnislash Version 5, his finishing Burst move, the enemies were down to 3% and 63% HP.

Cloud was only able to deal 4506458 total HP damage during his Burst phase which is really pathetic. But it was only to be expected considering he wasn’t fully built and he didn’t even have other chars supporting and buffing him.

Had Cloud target the enemy with 63% HP with his Omnislash Version 5. The boss with 3% HP ended up dying thanks to the splash damage from said attack.

A few turns after the end of Cloud’s Burst mode, summoned Alexander already. This instantly brought Cloud back to full health.

The last boss was down to 12% HP. So Cloud’s attack was more than enough to finish off this enemy already, ending the battle on turn 15.

Got the score and all the other mission requirements. Really super pleased that I was able to solo this quest with Cloud.

Dimensions’ End: Transcendence, Tier 1, Crucible 2 Lufenia Quest

The Dimensions’ End: Transcendence, Tier 1, Crucible 2 Lufenia Quest has 1 wave with 2 enemies.

As part of the mission requirements, you need to win within 75 turns and you need to have a Blue Crystal char in your party. To increase the counts of the Lufenia orbs here, you need to launch the enemies.

Since I was able to solo the Dimensions’ End: Transcendence, Tier 1, Reckoning Level 220 quest with Cloud, I thought I’d be able to solo this Crucible too.

Cloud is a Blue Crystal char who can easily launch enemies so he’s perfect for this fight. Still had Cloud equipped with Rydia’s Call. But this time the summon I brought was The Brothers who is at Level 50. This summon raises the party’s MAX BRV by 30%.

This fight was as powercrept as the Tier 1 Reckoning quest. Basically just had Cloud spam his moves. The Lufenia orbs weren’t an issue at all since Cloud can easily launch the enemies whenever he wants.

The enemies got to move a few times but they weren’t able to harm Cloud thanks to Rydia’s Call so it didn’t matter even if they got thousands of brave.

When the enemies moved, they were able to buff themselves but this didn’t matter either because Cloud can also dispel buffs.

When the enemies were down to 44% and 41% HP, activated Cloud’s Burst phase already. The Lufenia orbs were at 12.

By the time Cloud was about to cast Omnislash Version 5, the enemies were down to 10% and 13% HP and the Lufenia orbs were at 20.

Cloud was able to deal 5293113 total HP damage during his Burst mode. Still very meh but slightly better than his total damage on the Tier 1 Reckoning quest.

Cloud’s finishing Burst move left the enemies at 8% and 2% HP. The enemy with 2% HP was currently paralyzed so I thought I might as well have Cloud paralyze the other one too.

So had him use Cross Slash+ on the enemy with 8% HP. Now that enemy was down to 1% HP. So Cloud’s next attack (IIRC, it was either his LD or Ex) finished off both enemies at the same time, ending the battle on turn 10.

Didn’t even get to use my summon. Heck, my summon didn’t even get fully charged. LOL.

Got the score and all the other mission requirements, which also got me the Perfect.

Yay! So glad that I was once again able to solo a quest with Cloud. And doing this let me free up Keiss and Dark Knight Cecil so I can use them for future Tiers, if needed.

Dimensions’ End: Transcendence, Tier 1, Crucible 1 Lufenia Quest

The Dimensions’ End: Transcendence, Tier 1, Crucible 1 Lufenia Quest has 1 wave.

As part of the mission requirements, you need to win within 65 turns and you need to have a White Crystal char in your party. To increase the Lufenia orbs here, you need to deal holy damage.

Since I was able to solo both the Reckoning and Crucible 2 quests of Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tier 1, I thought I’d try and see if I can solo Crucible 1 as well.

I remember hearing that Arciela can solo this quest. My Arciela isn’t fully built but I decided to give it a try anyway.

After all, I was able to solo 2 of the Tier 1 quests with Cloud although mine wasn’t fully built. So maybe I’ll be able to do the same with Arciela.

Have Arciela’s 15cp, 35cp, Ex, and LD fully MLB. Her Ex has been Purpled. She has her High Armor. She’s Crystal Level 90 and Level 90. She has her Bloom Stone.

All of Arciela’s Summon Boards and Character Enhancement Boards have been completed. She has 0 Force Enhancements. She has triple perfect Artifacts and triple RF Spheres.

Arciela is a support slash healer slash debuffer slash buffer. She provides pretty good party-wide buffs and auras. She can afflict enemies with a number of debuffs, including HP attack disable.

It’s been a while since she was last updated though and she doesn’t even have a Force weapon and/or Burst weapon yet so she’s been powercrept by now.

Arciela’s weapon type is special or unique so I was able to equip her with my Level 5 of 5 Special or Unique-type Ultima Weapon. Brought The Brothers as my summon.

The Call I brought was Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca's from Final Fantasy XII. Arciela deals non-elemental magical damage so in order to deal with the Lufenia orbs here, I needed to bring a Call that can enchant its user with the holy element.

Ashe’s LD Call imperils enemies and enchants the party with the lightning and holy elements.

Like the other fights in Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tier 1, this quest has been powercrept by now.

Even though my Arciela wasn’t fully built, she was still able to deal a lot of damage per turn. Having a maxed out Ultima Weapon definitely helps.

Didn’t have any way of delaying the enemies so they got to move pretty often. This wasn’t really a problem though since I always made sure that Arciela’s HP attack disable debuff was on them before letting them have a turn. So they were never able to deal any HP damage to Arciela.

The main issue I found on this quest was with the Lufenia orbs. They appear on battle start and they can’t be cancelled. Every time an enemy takes holy elemental damage, the count is increased by 5. The max count is 15.

Each time a char moves, the orb counts will tick down by 1. Each time an enemy moves, the counts will tick down by 2.

Only Ashe’s LD Call can enchant the party with the holy element and this only lasts for like 6 turns.

Maybe if my Arciela was fully built, this would be enough but since mine wasn’t, I found that sadly, I couldn’t finish off both enemies before the orbs became a problem.

Was able to get the enemies down to 35% and 37% HP before I had no choice but to just quit the fight because the Lufenia orbs were down to 2 and 7.

I’d already used up Ashe’s LD Call earlier so didn’t have any more ways to get the orb counts up. My summon wasn’t even fully charged yet so couldn’t use it to buy some more time.

Checked out a vid of Arciela soloing this quest to see if I could get some ideas or something. The vids I saw all had Arciela equipped with Enna Kros’s (from World of Final Fantasy) Call.

Apparently, both of Enna’s Calls can enchant its user with the holy element. Sadly, I don’t have Enna’s LD (actually, don’t have most of her weapons at all).

I could try changing my summon to Alexander since, when summoned, he will enchant the party with the holy element, but in my previous try, wasn’t even able to summon The Brothers.

IIRC, both summons charge at about the same speed so it looks like I really need Enna’s Calls if I want to be able to solo this quest with Arciela.

Ah, well. It sucks that I can’t solo this quest with Arciela, at least not right now but at least I was able to free up Keiss and Dark Knight Cecil from this Tier.

And at least I was able to solo 2 of the fights here with Cloud. If I ever manage to get Enna Kros’s weapons, I’ll try soloing this fight again with Arciela.

Conclusion

So, how ‘bout you? Which characters did you use to clear Dimensions’ End: Transcendence Tier 1? What do you think about the quests in this Tier? Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions by leaving a comment below or by reblogging this post.

Notes:

screenshots are from my Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia game account

[ermora]

Alright, I am back again with another Ardyn x Reader post, sorry about the long wait as I’ve been quite busy with a lot of stuff and so getting around to writing can sometimes be iffy. Anyways I hope you all enjoy this one as it was just a random idea I had at night and it wouldn’t let up until I wrote it out. Again my apologies for an ooc Ardyn.

----------------------------------------------------------

You took a deep breath as you sent out a text to your boss and lover saying that you weren’t going to be in today due to feeling under the weather and could only hope that he believed you. You had been feeling a little off at work lately but hadn’t realized that the full moon was approaching until you overheard one of your coworkers yesterday mention that they were taking their girlfriend out on a date out today as she wanted to have a romantic evening under the light of a full moon. You were normally on track with the moon cycles to avoid situations like this but spending time with your boss, who is also your lover, has caused you to lose track of the moon cycles. You snapped out of your thoughts as your cell phone went off with a text message, you looked at your cell phone and quietly cursed to yourself as you got a reply back asking if you were alright. You lied and sent a text back saying that you had just come down with the flu, feeling ashamed that you couldn’t tell him the truth in fear that he’d be terrified of you. It hurt you knowing that he only knows you as a human and not as the werewolf you truly are. At the same time though it’s better this way as you don’t want to hurt him by accident and while you weren’t normally a feral werewolf, there were some days where you let your instincts go wild and you’ve allowed yourself to be free when you’re away from people. Tonight would not be one of those nights as you haven’t even gotten ready to leave for today and you’re normally gone by this point. You sighed and knew that this would be a day where you’d be stuck inside and would have to do everything you could to not cry out when you transformed so that you don’t alert your neighbors, perhaps it would be best to use a sleep potion for tonight. It wasn’t an ideal choice but it was all you had at this point since leaving the city after you lied to your boss would be bad, especially if he decided to come over and check on you. Your cell phone went off again at this point and you looked at your phone again to see that your boss wished you to get well soon, you knew that it would only be a matter of time before he showed up at this point as he’s always come by to see you when you’ve been sick in the past. You slowly began to move around your apartment and kept a careful track of the time, it was still morning but your werewolf side typically liked to come out slowly over the course of a day in small ways with the worst of it happening at night. Perhaps you’d get lucky though and your boss would stop by early enough where you can still go out as even the small changes were painful. It then dawned on you that if your boss didn’t come soon, then you’d really have a problem to deal with because he would see the changes in you.

“Shoot, what do I do?” you asked yourself as you began to pace in your apartment. Oh this was bad! As your panic began to well up you felt pain beginning to shoot through your nails, you stopped where you were and looked to your hands to see that your nails had already grown a little bit longer and sharper. You took a deep breath and knew that the panic is what was causing this and you needed to calm down NOW! You began to force yourself to calm down and take deep, steady breaths and the pain died away in your fingers, leaving you with slightly sharper nails. With a sigh you went into your bedroom and pulled out a sleeping potion from your bedside table, you may need this sooner and wouldn’t hesitate to drink it. You lied down on your bed and stared at the roof with thoughts running rampant through your head. What happens if the sleep potion doesn’t work tonight? What if you go feral in your apartment? What if someone finds out about you? What if your boss and lover found out about you? Would he scream? Run? Abandon you to your awful fate? You groaned and hated feeling like this right now because you were starting to feel like you were living a normal life for once, only for this to happen. You lied on your bed for quite awhile and didn’t move a muscle as you were consumed by your thoughts and wanted to be dead to the world right now. You eventually snapped from your thoughts as pain shot through your mouth and you barely suppressed a cry as a loud, sickening, cracking noise came from your mouth. You could feel your canine teeth growing sharper and longer, it didn’t last long though as the pain disappeared and you got up from your bed and went to the washroom. You looked in the mirror and saw that your canine teeth had definitely gotten bigger and longer. You felt uneasy and could only hope that your boss wouldn’t come see you at all because it was getting harder and harder to hide the truth. As if on cue, there was a knock on your bedroom door and you swallowed nervously as you knew that knock.

“(Y/n), are you awake?” came the one person’s voice you had hoped to not hear, you bit your lower lip gently so that you didn’t hurt yourself by accident and knew that if you didn’t answer the door, he would come in.

“J-just a minute” you replied in a fake sick voice as you left your bathroom and put on your sick blanket to try and see about fooling your boss. You could only hope that he wouldn’t notice anything physically wrong with you at this point and would leave if you pretended to be sick. You went over to your door, unlocked it and let out a fake cough as you cracked it open slightly to see your boss and lover Ardyn Izunia there.

“Hello my little bird, I came by to see how you were” Ardyn gently greeted with a smile, you forced yourself not to smile back as you couldn’t show him your teeth.

“I’m feeling a little under the weather… I’ll be back to work in a few days” you said in the fakes sick voice you could muster, Ardyn frowned though and you felt a rock in your stomach.

“You’ve never sounded like this when you’ve been sick in the past… you aren’t lieing about being sick for a day off are you?” Ardyn asked, you shook your head.

“No, I wouldn’t lie to you Chancellor Izunia” you replied as panic began to well up in your chest again.

“(Y/n)” Ardyn said in a tone that you knew was one he used when he caught someone lieing to him.

“I’m sorry but I can’t explain my illness” you mumbled and tried to close the door, it was no use though as Ardyn had put his hand on the door and prevented it from closing.

“I can’t just excuse your sudden absence over something that you can’t explain” he said, you felt your head beginning to pound and you knew that more changes were going to start happening soon.

“Please don’t pressure me” you pleaded in a quiet voice, Ardyn’s gaze softened.

“Little bird…. What’s really going on?” he asked as he gently began to push on the door. You hesitated and knew that you couldn’t resist him when he got like this, you pushed the thought away and knew you’d have to try and be firm for his safety.

“You wouldn’t understand” you finally admitted, Ardyn sighed and you gasped as he pushed the door open a little bit more.

“Try me little bird” he dared, your (e/c) eyes met his amber ones.

“I can’t, you’d hate me” you flatly and coldly stated, Ardyn rose his right eyebrow at you, he went to say something but a sharp pain went through your head and you flinched, damn it… you’re going to have a minor change now?! You released the door and knew you had to go to you bathroom NOW in hopes that Ardyn would leave, you went to run off to your bathroom but it was too late as Ardyn had come inside, closed the door behind him and grabbed your arm. You tried to pull away but Ardyn quickly embraced you and fear soared within your chest as you had to get away from him before he saw the truth.

“Calm down (y/n)” Ardyn said in a firm voice, you tried to warn him to release you but you let out a cry as you felt pain shoot through your head and you held your hands to your head. No, this can’t be happening in front of him, not now! Ardyn locked up as there was a cracking noise in your head and you felt your ears lengthen and grow a little bit. When it stopped you had tears in your eyes and the tears rolled down your cheeks.

“I’m sorry, I can’t be around you right now, please leave” you damn near sobbed in hopes that Ardyn would leave you be now.

“(Y/n), look at me” Ardyn said with a gentle voice now, you slowly looked up and saw that there wasn’t any sign of fear in Ardyn’s eyes.

“Ardyn, you can’t be here” you stated again, Ardyn shook his head though as he released you, grabbed at your hand on your head and lowered them from your ears which you were sure weren’t normal now either.

“I am here though and I can see why you called in sick now too… why didn’t you mention this to me sooner?” Ardyn asked in a calm tone, you felt stunned.

“How are you so calm about this Ardyn? I’m a werewolf… a monster” you replied, Ardyn shook his head.

“Monsters are only creatures that kill like mindless machines and I’ve not heard about any deaths from creatures recently so you’re not a monster. To me you’re still my precious starlight, no matter what you are” Ardyn stated, more tears left your eyes.

“Ardyn…” you trailed off, unable to form a proper sentence right now as his statement caught you off guard.

“It’s alright, I’m here with you my little bird and everything is going to be okay” Ardyn promised, you nodded.

“Thank you” you breathed as the fear inside of you began to subside, Ardyn chuckled.

“You’re welcome, now let’s get you off to your bed as night will soon be here and it’ll do you no good to be on the floor when you fully transform” Ardyn stated. You nodded and Ardyn led you to your bedroom and had you lie down on it.

“You never answered my question from earlier, how are you so calm about this?” you asked after a few moments, Ardyn chuckled.

“I have seen many strange things in my life and nothing shocks me anymore” he replied, you nodded and the two of you waited there in silence until night fell and pain surged through your body. You curled up into a tight ball and cried out in pain as your body rapidly heated up and the rest of the changes began to unfold at a rapid pace.

“Ardyn…” you growled in a pained tone as he watched you grow and transform before his eyes with an interested look. Your clothes began to stretch and tear in a few places as your body grew and shifted with painful cracks and snaps echoing through your room with your cries. When your fur finally came through and nothing but animalistic noises came out, you knew that the worst part was coming. Your tailbone lengthened into a tail and your face began to push out into a muzzle, making your cries a howl. When you finally finished transforming you unfurled from your ball and looked at Ardyn who was only smiling at this point.

“Beautiful, you truly are magnificent my little bird and made only for me” Ardyn said, your tail twitched a little at that and you sat your head in Ardyn’s lap. He chuckled and began to gently pet your large furry head, you let out a content sigh and was thankful that Ardyn seemed to be okay with what you truly were. You also knew that you wouldn’t leave Ardyn’s side again for this because in this world, he understands you more than anyone else and that’s all you want, for now though, you’ll enjoy tonight by being with the man you truly love and adore.