#I love Ardyn and to be honest I feel even more for him after finding this information about crucifixion

[eirenare]

FFXV: Ardyn’s limp — A potential explanation (theory)

[Putting this text under a “read more” because it’s a bit extensive.]

First of all I would like to thank @jonphaedrus and @superespresso, both for creating an amazing and exhaustive document about Ardyn's bad leg, and for allowing me to link it and cite it for this post of mine. You can find their work here (a seriously recommended read that provides even more depth to Ardyn Izunia):

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WHReP_7r4OH5ouszQOA9vVi1bJq1C64r3pFyWdE7Uss/edit#

To be honest I didn't realize Ardyn had a bad leg until I read that document, and it's something that's been on my mind ever since I read it. I've asked myself several times about it, wondering how he ended up with his leg like that. It was another interesting piece of information about Ardyn that I wanted to know more and write about.

Now, I think I may have found a feasible explanation for the origin of his limp. And what would that origin be... ?

Ardyn's crucifixion.

You ready to start? Let's go.

The other day I got to start reading a book that my mother and I bought ("Enciclopedia Eslava", by Juan Eslava Galán), about curiosities throughout history of different areas (philosophy, maths, science, history, geography, literature, etc), and there were some pages dedicated to crucifixion.

You see... I'm a huge fan of Ardyn Izunia (probably my favourite character of all time — he's just so fascinating), and every little detail or bit of data I can find is a blessing, so when my eyes landed on these pages about crucifixion (something I wasn't expecting to find), my first reaction was "okay, there could be something interesting in here".

I hoped there would be useful information about the matter, since it's one of the things about Ardyn that I wanted to write about.

And I wasn't disappointed. In fact there was even more than I thought, and if I thought already that it was a cruel process, well... it turned out to be even worse, to the point where my jaw dropped sometimes while reading these pages.

But before I talk about the book's information, I would like to quote first some texts of last part of the document about Ardyn's limp (from the section "Conclusions and takeaways", pages 47 and 48):

<< [...] For a lot of reasons I think he probably wasn’t born with this leg issue; most of his affectations are just that—affectations. Useful, yes, but things he had to add later. When you see him fight, he takes a lot of positions that require the use of his left leg in ways he can’t, which shows how out of practice fighting like that he is—Ardyn learned to fight differently than he does now, and just rolls with it, compensating for his injuries. It’s also just that I feel like it’s probably way more likely someone tried to saw his leg off. (I mean, I would.) Which leads to my guess about what is actually wrong.

His knee honestly seems to work fine. It can bend, lift turn it, and it takes weight without much difficulty at all. It’s stiff, sure, but that seems more from overusing it than anything. It’s got the most motion out of his entire left leg, which makes it seem like nah, his knee is probably fine. So: didn’t get hamstrung. (It would’ve caused him to bleed out, anyway. Not that that really matters. Since he is Immortal. It would just hurt his feelings.)

That leaves the hip and the ankle. Ankle first, because that’s easier and smaller: he has, as has been mentioned earlier, a really tell-tale flat foot. It slides and sticks and jerks, and it looks like he can neither lift nor straighten it properly, which points probably to him having had his achilles tendon cut or torn. It could heal partly, but he’d never recover.

The hip is a lot more. Let’s work backwards: it looks like someone tried, and failed, to cut his leg off. Based on the lack of motion, the stilted problems he has walking, the way he avoids putting weight on it, it seems similarly akin to a permanent dislocation. The bones were probably smashed and never healed (or barely healed), and as such he lost most of the motion with the leg. So, in summary: someone tried, really badly, to cut his leg off or otherwise remove it, and probably at the same time, partly severed his achilles tendon. [...]

[...] SuperEspresso: Also he’s a dirty liar about not feeling it. The character shows signs of some sort of injury in the pelvis-to-leg area. The diagram shows the tendons and bones in the area of the hip and with what you’ve now looked for specifically, you have a better idea of the location of these issues. If the character did have his leg amputated, the tearing of the tensor fasciae latae would facilitate stiff movement from the hip to the knee, while the separation of the iliacus from the femur could easily cause the stiffness seen in-game.

Another area we need to look at is the pectineus, adductor brevis, adductor longus, and gracilis in the case of a total leg amputation. These are the muscles that connect the pelvis to the femur, and in the case of the pectineus and piriformis, hold the femur into the pelvic socket to keep a legs mobility and strength. Considering the character has some degree of movement, and doesn’t fully limp everywhere, it’s likely the pectineus and piriformis were severed, causing a sporadic dislocation of the hip on the characters bad side, which would explain the twisting of the femur and knee-cap due to movement or over-extension. Another possibility is the iliacus and psoas major being inured, which would extend his injury not only to the hip, but to the spine as well. [...] >>

Now, let's head to the book...

In Roman crucifixion, the condemned person didn't carry the whole cross, "only" the crosspiece (patibulum): the upright post (stipes) was permanently mounted in the crucifixion area. Sometimes there wasn't a crosspiece, just the upright post, and they would pin the raised arms of the condemned there. Sometimes the condemned would get lashings before getting crucified as well.

The executioners would undress the condemned, pin his arms to the patibulum with a nail between the ulna and radius, and they would rise him over the stipes. After that they would pin or tie the legs to the upright post. Below his feet they would put a footrest (suppedaneum lignum), a triangular piece.

That process is depicted in this official Ardyn Izunia artwork:

For what it seems, the condemned could sometimes agonize for days before dying.

The tension in the chest and abdominal muscles would force the condemned to breathe with the diaphragm, in a quite incomplete mode. This would lead either to asphyxia or to coronary insufficiency. The thing is, when the condemned felt the lack of air, he would instinctively rest the weight of his body astride on top of the sedile/cornu, which was a thick nail that stood out from the cross at the height of the crotch. That would alleviate the feeling of asphyxia, but the pain of the sedile was so unbearable that the condemned would end up rising his weight for relief, which would put in motion again the process leading to asphyxia or heart attack. Another thing was that, to make things even worse, that sedile, well... sometimes they would put it inside where the sun doesn't shine.

Sounds horrible so far, and it hasn't even finished... It just keeps getting worse.

(Sometimes, though, the condemned ones would be offered anesthesic beverages; for example the posca, a mix of water and vinegar, would mitigate the suffering.)

And now enters a part of the process that will sound very familiar regarding the text above from the document about Ardyn's limp...

The exactor mortis, the executioner that directed the execution, sometimes would make the death of the condemned quicker... by fracturing the bones of the condemned with an iron bar. That would prevent the condemned from "resting" on top of the sedile when asphyxia or heart attack would happen (as a side note, they could make things even more horrible: if they wanted to extend the agony of a too weakened condemned, they would pierce the side with a spear so that the air would penetrate directly to the lung).

And, remember about the footrest? Well... Sometimes they wouldn't give them one. The book mentiones the case of a man that had his heels laterally pierced to the upright post.

Regarding the broken leg, there are some options I've thought about.

It could be that they fractured Ardyn's left leg so that his death would be quicker and that for some reason they stopped before fracturing the right leg (someone or something may have prevented that from happening, or Ardyn could have died before they did it). Or they simply just broke that leg. And since it looks like only the Achilles tendon of his left foot got severed, that would rule out the possibility that they pinned his feet directly to the upright post... unless they didn't place the nail of the right foot in the exact same position and it didn't sever the tendon.

It could as well been that Ardyn arrived to crucifixion with his leg recently broken, but the official artwork of him being lifted for crucifixion didn't show that, so it could have happened way earlier (maybe an injury of when he was younger, even?) or as mentioned earlier, as a "coup de grace" during crucifixion.

We don't know exactly (for now, at least) how Ardyn's regeneration works, but given how his state is according to the document, it could be that he got injured in a time when his regeneration was much slower and difficult (and thus it healed badly or didn’t at all), or that he didn't even have that power back then.

Another option would be that they started with what we consider his good leg, and that Ardyn died with that leg regenerated or almost regenerated and the other one fractured. This would also explain why only one of Ardyn's ankle was severed as well. This is the explanation I find more feasible so far.

There would be another option, as well... A much crueler one and that wouldn't involve a slower regeneration: that Ardyn got both legs fractured and that they kept fracturing them as they regenerated, until he died (which could have resulted in him dying with one leg healed up and the other not having had time enough to heal).

As an interesting detail: in Japanese, when Bahamut talks about Ardyn, he says something that would translate to this, according to the website TheLifestream.net: "a foolish man who was rejected by the Holy Stone for that unclean body and was buried without ascending to the throne" (source: https://thelifestream.net/final-fantasy-xv-lore/final-fantasy-xv-fan-theories-and-observations/observations-about-the-translation-and-localization-of-ffxv/ ).

Buried... So Ardyn would have been dead time enough that they would presume him dead and buried him.

To conclude, this is how I think Ardyn's crucifixion went down:

— they pinned Ardyn's feet to the upright post with nails, severing the Achilles tendons

— they wanted to speed up the process and fractured his right leg

— once they were done, they proceeded with the left leg, and the right leg and heel started to regenerate

— the right leg and heel fully regenerated while they were fracturing the left one

— Ardyn died either before they were done with the left leg, or before it had time to regenerate

— he got returned to the world of the living after not being able to enter the Afterlife

And this is it, the end of the post.

If you've read it until the end you have my gratitude. We don't know yet what happened exactly, but I think that "yet" has its own charm (although in all honesty this wait for Episode Ardyn is killing me a bit, haha): it makes us think, it makes us imagine, it makes us analyze, it makes us share our theories and views, and in definitive, it makes us have fun.

Having said this, I hope you all have a nice day!

See you soon, fellow FFXV fans!

[nightowlfandom]

Ignis Scientia- Little Black Dress

Hey, lemme just say thanks for adding in the prompt lines so I wouldn’t have to go back and look for them lol.

CHECK OUT MY MASTERLIST HERE!

CHECK OUT MY PROMPT LIST HERE!

Also I took the liberty of making this a bit of an Alternate Universe. Hope that’s okay.

Leggo!

...

“Y/N? Y/N where are you-” Ignis was surprised to find you sitting at the edge of the bed. The crumpled up floor length gown you were supposed to wear tonight was throw onto the floor, leaving you in nothing but your undergarments. “You’re still not ready?”

“I’m not going.” you grumbled in reply. “You’ll just have to go without me.”

“Darling. Lunafreya is expecting me to show up with my fiancée. Wouldn’t want everyone to think I’m holding you captive.” he joked. Usually, you would have laughed at his humor. However you were much to down in the dumps to even muster up even a slight smile. “Is something wrong?”

“...I don’t know if-....I’m-” you tried to think of the words to say. “How do I explain it?” you began talking to yourself more than Ignis. “I don’t wanna be around a bunch of stuck up royals.” you finally said.

“Not this talk again.” he sighed. “Y/N...” he glared at you. Not out of anger, but out of concern. “What’s making you feel this way?”

“Everytime I’m around them they always talk down to me!” you got up, ignoring the fact that you were half naked. “They always find something to nitpick at me about!” you explained. “Ignis those people don’t like me!”

“Noctis likes you, Luna likes you, Prompto and Gladio Likes you. I sure as hell can’t get enough of you.”

“What about that asshole Ardyn and his gaggle of groupies who love to follow that sniveling hobo around and do what he says?”

“People like that are just jealous of you, you know that right?” Ignis sighed, picking up your discarded dress. “They’re jealous that you don’t need material things to be happy, that you’re perfectly content with who you are.”

“I don’t know about that.” you shrugged. “How do I know you’re not just saying that to make me feel better?”

“When have I ever been one to lie.” he asked, raising an eyebrow at you. “You know me Y/N...I’m not one to lie...ever.”. Seeing your doubt, Ignis got an idea. “You know, I had a dream about you.” he held out your dress to you.

“Hm, what about?” you reluctantly grabbed your clothes and attempted to get re-dressed. 

“Hm, we were under the stars We were bare skinned under the night sky.” he stepped forward and attempted to help you. “Nothing but the clouds as our blankets.”

“Where are you going with this Ignis?” you raised an eyebrow. 

“Let me finish.” he partially whined, kissing your bare shoulder as he zipped the back of your dress. “We probably had done it up to four times at that moment, our bodies were covered in sweat and-” he paused to chuckle deviously “Other fluids...and it all happened while you were wearing this very dress.” he walked you over to the floor length mirror. “My beautiful future wife made me of all people lose control. Do you want to know what we did?”

“Umm y-yes?” To be honest, you were very curious to know. 

“You led me out to our favorite hiding spot, you then let your hair down and turned towards me.” he tightened his arms around you as he spoke. “It was like you read my mind when you slowly undressed yourself to reveal that regal body to me. Hm It was a shame what happened to that dress after I practically tore it off you.”

Hearing him talk like that made you shy. Hella shy! You took it upon yourself to look everywhere but him.

“Stop looking down, you’re much too pretty to be this shy.” his words caused you to look at your reflection in the mirror. “Damn, you look so good in this dress.”

“Ignis, could you keep it in your pants for one night.” you tried to ignore the roaming hands. “If you take this dress off, it’s not going back on.”

“Does that mean you’re up for tonight?” you felt his lips kiss your temple. 

“Yeah, whatever.” you mumbled grumpily, “but that doesn’t mean I’ll enjoy it!”

...

“Y/N! You’re here!” Luna threw her arms around you. “I’m so glad you could make it.” 

“How could I miss this?” you returned her affections. “What else would I be doing tonight?” you mustered a smile at your good friend.

“Well let me be the first to say, Ignis’s words do not do you justice. You’re the most well dressed person here!” she took a step back. 

“Really?...You don’t think I’m underdressed or-”

“Heavens no! Now that Ardyn character. He could learn a few things from you and Ignis. He always shows up in the same old uniform.” her face fell. “Speak of the devil...”

“Well if it isn’t the future queen and her pack mule!” 

Slowly you turned around to meet Ardyn’s glare. “Hello Ardyn,” you felt your heart tighten. Of course he had to be the one to make you feel insecure. “Fancy seeing you here. Then again you stick out like a sore thumb.”you found yourself saying.

Luna stifled a laugh at your jab at the much older man. Ardyn however, wasn’t laughing at all.

“How dare you speak to a man of my status is such a manner!”

“A man of your status, huh? I wouldn’t know, you don’t really change clothes. Kinda like you carry your entire wardrobe on your back.”

“OOOH she got you old man!”A laughing Noctis walked up. “That’ll teach ya.”

“Hm yes, I agree that your attire isn’t up to par as of late.” You felt a familiar arm wrap around your waist. “Y/N if I may interrupt this friendly meeting, I’d like to ask you to meet me on the dancefloor. I wish to show you off to everyone tonight.”

“I’d love to!” you grabbed his hand. “How’d I do?” you asked honestly as he led you away from the small group.

“Absolutely perfect.” he replied, leading you to the sea of dancing couples. “Shall we these simpletons how it’s done?” he pulled you close to his body. 

(I added implied smut because I felt it was a better fit for this vibe, hope that was okay! Also I am adding these to my queue which means if you don’t see yours that just means it wasn’t auto-posted yet.)

[tsukuna]

Assistant to the Chancellor

Summary: “An outsider with no reason to be given the hefty task of dealing with the Gralean Empire’s flamboyant chancellor has ended up with just that. She’s willing to put up with all the antics, but is there ulterior motives for her obedience that none are privy to? And can they compete with the grim secrets of Chancellor Izunia himself?”

No True Rating Yet • Female Reader • Before the Events of XV • Under the Cut

A couple weeks had passed since you had begun working for Chancellor Izunia and you found yourself growing more comfortable with his flamboyant personality. If nothing else, you could tolerate it. There were even moments where you found yourself giggling at his little antics, to which he’d react with a self-satisfied smirk. You were grateful that these flirty gestures and comments were at least coming from an attractive man, not someone slimy and entirely not your type (which you weren’t quite sure what would even constitute as “your type”). You shuddered to imagine Besithia acting as Ardyn does.

It had taken a couple days and evenings, but you finally finished the paperwork--sifting through what you’d bring to his attention, throwing whatever out, putting official seals on anything that required it. All simple things, but it seemed far too much for someone who didn’t even appear to take the politics seriously. Though who were you to judge when you hardly took the work seriously yourself?

A sigh passed your lips, knowing that it would already be dark outside and thus you would need to go sleep soon after. You placed a soft knock on the Chancellor’s office door.

“Come in, love,” he invited with a sing-song voice.

“Ardyn,” you gave a short bow, “everything you need is ready for you.” You explained the gist of what you completed, hoping it’d make his busy work easier.

“Thank you. You continue to impress me everyday,” he said your name with a warm expression.

“That’s the goal, right?” You offered up the same energy. “I know it’s a bit late, and I wouldn’t want to keep you any longer, but is there anything else you’d like from me before I take my leave?”

Ardyn closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat, obviously considering your request. “Dinner!”

“Eh?” There was no chance of you holding back the shock on your face.

“Your boss is requesting that you share dinner with him,” he chirped. All you could do was blink at him for a few moments.

“I actually had some leftovers I have to finish so they don’t, uh, go bad,” you made an excuse.

“Hm, quite a predicament we find ourselves in,” Ardyn stated, scratching his stubble. “How about this then!” He excitedly put a finger up as if having an ‘Aha!’ moment. “Tomorrow is our day off, yes?” You slowly nodded your head with a quirked eyebrow. “Then we will go out for dinner, a nice dinner tomorrow night!”

“I…” You had no excuses to deny the Chancellor this time, and his satisfied expression indicated he was well aware. “If you truly wish to share a meal with your humble assistant tomorrow night, I shall accept.”

A sly smile graced Ardyn’s lips, “Wonderful, I haven’t had anything to look forward to in quite some time. We can meet here in the evening.” He laughed before waving you away, “That’ll be all for today, my dear. See you tomorrow,” he winked.

You bowed before bidding him goodnight and rushing to your room. Non-work related conversations with the man always left your brain feeling drained as you tried to ascertain what motivations he had under that carefree facade. You crashed unceremoniously onto your bed, not bothering to eat anything, though you technically did have leftovers that were going to spoil.

What were you to wear tomorrow? What conversation points did you have to discuss? Where were you even going to eat? Such questions eventually lulled you into a sleep.

Though not a very satisfying one. You woke up in the late afternoon to a mess of rat’s nest of hair and dried drool caked to one side of your mouth. ‘Maybe I should show up like this,’ you snorted but your better judgement told you to clean up. It wouldn’t be any good to lose your current position, it’s already difficult to get the information you’re looking for as is. You slinked off to the showers, making sure the temperature was as hot as your skin could take before stepping in. The shower routine you had wasn’t too long, yet you still sat there in contemplation long after you were done.

Travels all around Eos led you to no further information on what you were seeking--information about the lost and long-forgotten Astral you heard stories of as a child; stories that were deeply rooted in your existence. Eventually, the only place you hadn’t checked was Niflheim. And so here you sat, in the last place you could hope to check.

Your skin was raw from the hot water by the time you finally exited, but hey, at least you were clean now; however the clock was ticking against you, you slept in far too late and showered far too long. “Ah shit,” scolding yourself, you quickly got to work on finishing up your appearance.

It was nothing special, frankly speaking. You didn’t want to look like you tried too hard for your kinda-but-not-really dinner date with your superior. Donned in a black, sleeved, and laced dress accented with gold, you accessorized only with your pendant. The only styling your hair received was a decent blow drying. Nodding as you checked the mirror last time, you headed towards the office, but not to work this time.

Truthfully, you expected the Chancellor to be late like he often is at work, so your heart skipped a beat to see him waiting. “Apologies for making you wait for me,” you bowed once you finally reached him.

Taking you by the chin, Ardyn lifted your head up and gave one of the signature smiles, “Not a problem. I would be happy to wait a thousand years for a beauty such as yourself,” he kissed the back of your hand with a wink. Though it was nothing out of the ordinary for him to say, there was something about it that felt chilling. “I see you’re as lovely as ever,” he offered as a compliment.

“I see you’re looking… the same as ever,” you quirked a brow. He wore his typical dark, layered outfit, though you were a bit relieved to see that he ditched the fedora for the night. ‘I quite prefer his wine-red hair uncovered,’ you admitted to yourself.

“Apologies,” he chuckled, “Believe it or not, I don’t own very many outfits.” Seeing how eccentric Ardyn was, you did believe him and nodded as confirmation. “Well then,” he said your name in a rather sultry way that made you blush, “shall we get going?” The chancellor offered his arm to you, which you timidly took.

The two of you shortly arrived at a low-lit, rather intimate restaurant. It was intimidating to an extent, you’d never bothered to go somewhere nice. Your life had been about eating quickly, eating cheap, and only eating when necessary. “I don’t know if I belong at a nice place like this,” you remarked with a laugh as the two of you were seated.

“Nonsense, it is my duty to treat my ever faithful assistant to something out of the norm,” Ardyn gestured around the room.

“Treating?” You opened your eyes wide. “That won’t be necessary. I can pay for it. Though I appreciate the thought,” you put on a smile.

“Absolutely not! I am the one who invited you after all.”

“Well then next time I have to pay!” You quickly smacked your hand over your mouth, realizing what you said and the implications of it.

“You are one of the most entertaining humans I have ever met,” Ardyn stifled a laugh. “But fine, if you are to ask me out, I will allow you to pay.”

“Ever the gentleman.”

The chatter the two of you kept over dinner was rather innocent and not professional, but not overly colloquial either. There were, however, multiple incidences of him reaching over the small table to get touches of your hand in. To be honest, you weren’t too shocked at the gesture, but it did garner a bit of surprise out of you when he instead clutched your pendant between his fingers.

“Such an interesting little thing,” the Chancellor pointed out. “Such an interesting little gem.” He examined the green crystal, the designs within, and the metal twining with fervor. “You wear it daily.”

You nodded. “It is very special to me, it is all I have of my parents,” a soft smile came to your face. “It was actually an anniversary gift to my mother, but after their death, it ended up in my hands.” You paused before continuing, “It is the only earthly possession I truly care for--my most precious treasure.”

“To care for something is quite a gift,” Ardyn spoke absentmindedly almost as if you weren’t there, but you hummed affirmatively anyways. The waiter brought the check, breaking the man out of what appeared to be deep thought. It was a fast transaction, and finally, the night was winding down to an end.

Ever the chivalrous man, Ardyn walked you to your living spaces. “Thank you for tonight,” you bowed deeply. “It was an honor to spend alone time with the Chancellor,”  the pleasantries slipped from your lips. It was a shock to find his fingers flicking your forehead, and you recoiled at the slight sensation.

“I thought I told you long ago not to act so, hmm, how to say… kiss-assy with me just cause you work for me,” the man rarely swore so you couldn’t fight the full smile and laugh that was drawn from you. He seemed pleased to have garnered such a reaction. “Sorry,” you managed to get out after another laugh.

“Well, dearest, it appears the night out is over. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.” You nodded in agreement. “I shall see you once the work week begins,” the ever cheeky Ardyn leaned down to give a kiss to your forehead where he had previously flicked it before quickly turning and waving goodbye.

As you tried to sleep, your face heated every time you thought of the peck. You were aware that the majority of his flatteries were empty, but it still gave you butterflies. You had never let anyone share contact like that with you after all. A deep sigh rose out of you, you had to brush off all the strange feelings before work began as usual; however, you didn’t know if Ardyn would ever let you do so. The man certainly knew how to press buttons you didn’t know existed.

‘What a pain.’

[bgn846]

Renewed Hope A FFXV Fanfic ft: Promnis

Fic link in the comments if you want to read on ao3 instead.

It all happened in an instant, the daemon he was fighting simply dissolved into a cloud of black miasma. Prompto knew what that meant; Noct had done what he’d promised. He’d saved the Eos from eternal darkness. The other indication that things had shifted was his gun he couldn’t dismiss into the armiger anymore.

However, at that exact moment, Prompto didn’t know for certain whether or not Noct had survived his battle against Ardyn.  Their plan to stick together until the end hadn’t worked out. Ardyn had easily separated them and left Gladio, Ignis, and him to fight a daemon army alone. The onslaught had been so great that Prompto had lost track of his friends.

In a panic, he began to run around looking for signs of life. He knew where they’d all head to, they’d check on Noct first. Ignis had figured out how Noct could beat Ardyn without having to die in the process, but that didn’t mean it had played out that way.

It was in his frantic run up the battered steps to the citadel that he spotted Gladio limping towards him. “Do you think he made it?” Prompto asked with worry.

“Dunno blondie, we gotta get there first to check. Where’s Iggy?” he huffed in obvious discomfort.

Prompto scanned the area but saw no sign of the advisor. The urge to look for him was overwhelming but he also needed to see Noct. Forcing the thoughts away that suggested death and loss he forged ahead. Gladio refused aid when they were near enough; he practically shoved him away and up the steps.

“Don’t wait for me, we need to find Noct and Iggy.”

“On it!” Prompto replied as he sprinted up the stairs. Gladio’s grunts of pain sounded out behind him as he ran towards the throne room.  That was the last place they’d seen them. Noct and Ardyn.

Ripping open the door Prompto’s breath caught in his throat. There in the middle of the room was Noct, lying on the floor.  Yelling out loud in a gut reaction Prompto raced forward and fell to his knees next to his friend.  Unsure of what to do he gently placed his hands on Noct’s shoulders and gave them a squeeze. The prince, no, their king groaned and scrunched his face up in discomfort.

Letting out an undignified squeal at the sight Prompto couldn’t help but smile and promptly start crying. They’d done it, Noct was alive and Ardyn was gone. Noct seemed to finally have enough energy to open his eyes to take in his friend losing it.

“Prom, I’m alright,” he said weakly.

“Prompto! What – thank the gods,” Gladio exclaimed as he steadied his body against the door frame. “Don’t scare me like that!” he hollered.

Noct didn’t attempt to get up but managed to roll his head to the side. “Gladio, you made it. Where’s Ignis? Is he alright?”

Prompto was about to comment that they still hadn’t found the advisor when a scraping noise nearby caused him to look up.  There in another doorway stood Ignis, he was hunched over holding his side. The sheer relief at seeing him alive made Prompto shout loudly, again.  His emotions were threatening to overtake him.  Everything was happening too fast but not fast enough.

Gladio was still working to get over to them when Ignis appeared. The shield's excitement at seeing him was just as animated. He tried to hobble over to help Ignis but ended up falling over halfway there. What a sorry looking lot they all were, beat and battered from battle.  “Can you make it alright?” Gladio asked as he panted heavily from where he’d crumpled on the floor.

Ignis didn’t answer verbally but continued to shuffle slowly towards them. He seemed to be afraid until he spotted Noct looking up at him. Their small moment of relief lasted a few brief seconds, but it was enough to set Ignis at ease.  Prompto watched as Ignis’ shoulders sagged, he’d been unsure of the outcome, just like them.

He didn’t say anything as he carefully walked closer, his eyes still locked with Noct’s. “It’s done, you did it,” he breathed reverently.

“We did it,” Noct corrected from his position sprawled across the broken marble floor.

A small bubble of laughter spilled from Ignis’ lips right before he began to fall sideways. Without pause Prompto shot up and caught the man, guiding him down slowly so he wouldn’t hit the floor. Looking quickly to see if Ignis was hiding any severe injuries Prompto could only see surface bumps and bruises. “Iggy, don’t die or anything, what’s wrong?” Prompto asked in a rush.

“Got in a fight,” was all he offered with a small smirk.

“Look! Oh my gods, look!” Gladio blurted suddenly.

Glancing up, Prompto noted what Gladio was getting so excited about. There was sunlight, real honest to astrals sunlight beginning to pour in through the windows of the throne room.

“No one can call me lazy ever again,” Noct sighed with a smile.

“I wouldn’t dream of it princess,” Gladio said happily.

“Iggy, can you see it?” Prompto checked as he tried to hoist the advisor upright a little more.

Ignis blinked a few times, his green eyes catching the first rays of light and making his eyes water. “it’s lovely,” he uttered softly.  Then without any warning, Ignis grabbed him by the neck and pulled him down into a kiss.

Unable to process what exactly was happening Prompto sat frozen in place. Ignis pulled away just as quickly and smiled up at him. “Wha – what?”  However, Prompto didn’t get an answer as Ignis promptly passed out in his arms.

“Guys, guys! What just happened!? Ignis kissed me and now he’s unconscious--- help,” Prompto whined.

“Huh? What are you talking about? Specs kissed you? Like he’s happy we’re alive and thanks for helping kinda smooch or different?” Noct asked quickly, his penchant for distracted rambling coming to the surface despite their serious setting.

“It was on the lips,” Prompto offered still in shock at the turn of events.

“Wait, you mean he just kissed you?” Gladio checked as he dragged himself closer. “He’s breathing okay, right? You’re freaking me out again Prompto.”

“Yes and yes, you both missed it, but he grabbed me and kissed me, on the lips.”

“Huh, I guess he wasn’t kidding.”

“Kidding about what, explain!” Prompto ordered though it was hard to focus on everything that had just happened. They’d survived Ardyn, Noct was alive, and the sun was shining for the first time in ten years. Prompto was slightly overwhelmed.

--

Prompto couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away from the window. He’d been sitting and staring out at the sun-drenched landscape all day. A makeshift hospital had been set up in one of the less damaged areas of the citadel. This meant his current view overlooked what used to be gardens. The area was torn up from 10 years of war and darkness, but that didn’t change the fact that it was being blessed by light again.

Things that used to glitter in the sun were allowed to regain their life once more. Turning away for a moment Prompto peered across the room to check on his friends. Of all of them, he’d been lucky enough to escape serious injury. Gladio had a few busted ribs and a sprained ankle.  Ignis appeared to have a bruised rib along with a bump to the back of his head.  Noct was alive and simply beat making him a total pile of mush.

The three of them were resting peacefully; even in the tiny crownsguard issued cots they’d been provided. The arsenal of old and new recruits that had stormed the place after the final battle had been startling. Cor had led the small crew and was taking charge of organizing their next moves. Everyone was tired, but Prompto figured Noct deserved a break. He’d beat a cranky two-thousand-year-old immortal relative. That act alone should merit some downtime.

The four of them had been ushered into the space as soon as it had been cleared and readied. Cor seemed to understand that they needed some alone time. This was how Prompto found himself sitting on a cot staring out the window and pondering the future.

The only noise to be heard in the small room was Gladio and Noct snoring, a true sign of their utter exhaustion.  They were safe and that’s all that mattered at the moment. Though, when Prompto had decided that he wanted to sit on the cot nearest to Ignis no one challenged him.  Now that the frenzy was over Prompto had time to think. He could go back and analyze the way Ignis interacted with him. The advisor had always been kind but maybe there had been something more, and Prompto had missed it somehow.  Glancing over at to the man in question, Prompto was happy to see he was resting comfortably.  Covered in blankets up to his chin, Prompto watched the steady rise and fall of his chest as Ignis slept.

Was there any possibility that the kiss had been purely friendly in nature? They had just finished saving the world so maybe Ignis had been really, really happy about it. Or without his glasses, he thought Prompto was Noct. Shaking his head at the thought Prompto debated about what to do when Ignis woke up again.  He might not even remember the incident, though Gladio had indicated it wasn’t as spontaneous as Prompto thought.

Ignis had told Gladio one night years ago that if he ever saw the sun again he’d act on his feelings.  Whatever those feelings might have been no one knew except the man sleeping in the cot next to him. Unfortunately, Ignis hadn’t told Gladio anything more after that. Prompto would have to figure out the real meaning behind the kiss on his own.

Thankfully, he didn’t have to ruminate for much longer, when Ignis let out a long breath and moved slightly. Hopping off his cot, Prompto dropped down on his knees next to Ignis. “Hey, how you are feeling?” he asked quickly hoping to dispel any lingering fears as Ignis woke.

The first sound that tumbled past the advisor's lips didn’t sound like words, but he did manage to open his eyes.  “Mhnnn, m’not dreaming am I?”

“No! It’s really over, we won.”

“Good, I don’t think I can get up, I need to sleep for another week,” Ignis sighed.

Laughing at how uncharacteristic the comment was Prompto couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, I think Noct is gonna win that game.”

Ignis turned to look around and huffed out a small breath. “He’s always been excellent at taking naps. He’s not injured is he?” he checked quickly, the thought seeming to have just come to mind.

“Not that we can tell, he was grumbling about being sore, but he’s alright otherwise.”

“Good, and Gladio?”

“Same, he’s a little more beat up than the rest of us but he’s fine too.”

“And you? You seem in good spirits.”

“I’m fine, still sorta shell shocked that this is all real. I’ve been staring out the window looking at the sunlight, gods Iggy we did it!”

“That we did,” Ignis smiled and held his gaze. Vibrant green eyes roamed his face but never looked away. “I hope you didn’t mind my display earlier.”

Perking up at the subject Prompto shuffled a little closer. “You mean when you kissed me?”

“Yes, that. I’d promised myself a little something self-indulgent if we ever managed to see the sun again. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I simply couldn’t deny myself any longer.”

“I wasn’t uncomfortable, um – just surprised,” Prompto offered quietly. “I didn’t know you liked me that way.”

Ignis laughed softly and worked his arm out from under the covers. “I’ve liked you that way for a few years,” he said while reaching out his arm to grab a fist full of Prompto’s shirt. “I assumed I’d be forgiven given the circumstances. If you weren’t interested, that is.”

“Uh – but I don’t want to forgive you.”

“Oh, for what reason exactly?” Ignis asked puzzled.

Prompto was sure the grip on his shirt had gotten incrementally tighter. Ignis was still looking at him, though he appeared to be nervous if his slightly furrowed brow was anything to go on. Taking a deep breath Prompto said what he felt was right. “I don’t think people have to forgive someone if they aren’t upset.”

Unable to brace himself, Prompto fell on the cot when Ignis pulled him forward. Their noses were only a few inches apart now and Prompto could see every beauty mark on Ignis’ face in stunning detail.

The advisor swallowed hard and took a steadying breath, “Might I be correct in assuming I’ll be given another free pass should I act so brazenly in the future?”

Prompto could only nod his head and wait. This was all so new, but he would be lying to himself if he said he didn’t like the idea. Ignis had been one of his best friends for over a decade. The chance to explore something more with him was exciting.

Without realizing it, the gap between them had shrunk. Ignis had maintained his grip and didn’t appear to be letting go anytime soon. Deciding to just go for it, Prompto leaned in the rest of the way. The kiss was soft and delicate. Nothing at all like Prompto was expecting. The brief taste he’d had earlier was nothing like this.

The moment Ignis released his hold; Prompto surged up and held Ignis’ face in between his hands. The advisor's arms were twined around his waist and pulling him close. Not wanting to crush the man Prompto had to break apart to brace himself on the cot. “Careful there,” he rasped, “I don’t want to crush you.”

“I’m sturdier than I look,” was the husky reply he received.

“I know you are, but maybe you should rest some more?”

“Only if you join me, I simply can’t let you slip away, not after,” Ignis paused and licked his lips, “not after that.”

Prompto didn’t have to be asked twice, grinning like an idiot he quickly shucked off his shoes and gingerly crawled under the covers. “Tell me if I hurt you at all, kay?”

“You could never hurt me.”

“I’m serious!” Prompto huffed as he worked to situate his legs comfortably.

“You’re doing splendid, don’t worry about it.”

Snorting at Ignis’ attitude, Prompto finally came to rest with his arm across the advisors’ waist. His injury was further up and Prompto was being extra careful not to jostle the man.  “I still can’t believe this is happening.”

“What, the light coming back, Noct surviving, or us kissing?”

“Oh em gee, all of it!” Prompto yelped but not loud enough to wake the others.

“It appears the dawn has brought with it renewed hope,” Ignis uttered right before his eyes slipped shut.

Prompto knew he had to be tired, he’d only been able to rest for a few hours. Ignis most likely needed a few days to sleep and recoup his energy. Smiling at the idea that they would get to repeat their previous activities, Prompto snuggled closer and allowed his body to shut down. They had more to talk about and more to do but it could wait. Life was going to get better, it already was better.

[a-world-in-grey]

More Sunshine au please? Maybe everyone's reactions when Sola first gets published? I can definitely see Ardyn being a proud, bragging Uncle about it all. But just more of that verse in general would be amazing!

Alright, now that I’m not half-dead from work (three eight hour shifts in a row guys, eight hour morning shifts), I can properly answer this!

.

Reactions to Alata’s first papers getting published! (Two of her papers are published at the same time. Her personal research determining that miasma is destroyed by the UV radiation in sunlight, and the research by the medical task force in creating a treatment for early Vanishing Sickness using UV radiation.)

-Adryn is absolutely proud of his Dear Niece. And yes, he does brag to everyone about it. Because for years, Ardyn has very much been an Outsider among Niflheim high society. No one knows anything about this man who suddenly showed up and got the position of High Chancellor. No known lineage, much less a respected lineage, no history, no family, nothing. The nobility respect the fact that Ardyn is clearly a dangerous man, but they have only disdain for the man himself, for the filthy commoner who somehow has so much influence with the Emperor.

-So Ardyn takes great glee in bragging about Alata’s accomplishment. Getting published in any academic journal of notable repute is no easy task, and Alata’s work is in four journals in Niflheim alone, with reputable journals from Tenebrae, Accordo, and Lucis looking to publish the article as well. He brags partly as a way to thumb his nose at the nobles - my family is better than yours - but also as a way to advertise his niece’s research. The nobles are all but starving for any information about Ardyn, and Ardyn has just presented the bait of a previously unknown relative.

-And the nobles fall for it, hook, line, and sinker. They read Alata’s research. They contact the others involved in the research, asking about Alata. And if none of the scientists and doctors mention Alata’s age, well, she’s a sweet kid, and none of them want to toss her into the shark pit that is Niflheim politics. So an image of Ardyn’s niece is painted - a brilliant and kind-hearted humanitarian, with the ambition and determination to tackle the mysteries of the Vanishing Sickness.

-A possible chink in the High Chancellor’s armor, some think. A way to gain the Chancellor’s - and therefore the Emperor’s - favor, others believe. So they clamor for Ardyn to bring his niece to court. Such a bright and talented individual deserves opportunities to forge connections.

-Ardyn waits until the nobles almost think he won’t, then introduces Alata to court. Using the celebration of Prince Icarus’ betrothal to introduce her to the biggest possible crowd all at once.

-Alata shatters the nobility’s expectations. Yes, she’s bright and kind and ambitious and determined. She’s also fiercely passionate, sharp tongued and bluntly honest, with her uncle’s political acumen but no desire to pander to the song and dance of Court and stubborn enough to plant her feet and let any opposition break against her, like a wave breaking against a mountain.

-She’s also all of twelve years old.

-Ardyn is Smug.

-Besithia is an Outrage. He’s never liked the brat Ardyn picked up in Insomnia, not since she insulted his life’s work. But now, now this child has been acknowledged twice over by some of the highest academic journals worldwide. For the same research he’d scoffed at and dismissed as the idealistic ambitions of a six-year old.

-Besithia increases his efforts in his own research. He Refuses to lose to a child who isn’t as smart as he is!

-Queen Sylva is curious about this Alata Mederi. She didn��t personally attend Prince Icarus’ betrothal celebration, so she only has what her delegation and gossip can tell her. And Alata’s research, and does that spark Sylva’s curiosity. Because the research details how the Vanishing Sickness - referred to as miasma in her research - is destroyed by the UV radiation in sunlight, leading to the later medical research project in treating early Vanishing Sickness with UV treatments.

-Sylva can see how Oracle magic - Bahamut’s Blessing of Light - is able to cure the Starscourge where medicine and Lucis Caelum magic fails. But Sylva is curious how Alata discovered the Scourge’s weakness to sunlight at all. Prior research not published? 

-In Lucis, Regis is not expecting to get a call from Weskham. He’s been too busy the past few months worrying about his son - who the Astrals have declared will die to cure the Starscourge, and Regis refuses to lose another child - and researching everything he can about the Starscourge. Going as far as asking Queen Sylva for any knowledge the Oracles have.

-So when Weskham calls and tells him of the article about the Starscourge in a Niflheim academic journal, Regis and Aulea leap on the opportunity. They secure copies of Alata’s research. It’s no miracle solution, but it’s the beginning of one, and Regis almost cries when he finishes reading it because- because this is proof that something can destroy the Scourge. Something that doesn’t require magic, doesn’t require his little boy sacrificing his life.

-If Regis decides to discreetly invest in Alata Mederi’s research, even as Lucis begins planning research of their own... well, niece of the High Chancellor or not, this research could save Noctis’ life. 

And some other stuff!

-When Ifrit Blesses Sola, his Blessing replaces Bahamut’s. Because a) Ifrit is that petty, and b) his Blessing is Fire and Purity. The Holy Fire heals by destroying everything and anything that does not belong.

-(‘Reborn anew from fiery death.’ Sola burns in a pyre of white fire, and steps from the ashes with sun-gold eyes and white marks spiraling up her arms like fire from where Ifrit held her hands to bestow his Blessing. And when Sola later heals Titus of the scourge? Titus and Sola disappear in a firestorm of pure white, and well, as I said earlier, it’s rather hard on the glaives’ nerves. And oh does Sola healing Titus have unintended consequences.)

-Sola loses the Lucis Caelum magic. So do Loqi and Ravus, gifted with Sola’s magic as they are. No healing, no Elemancy save the Holy Fire unless Sola finds an Elemancy node, no warping, no shields, no armiger.

-Sure, Ifrit had Sola empty her armiger before he Blessed her, but he didn’t tell her why and now she can’t carry all of her weapons.

-Sola is still miffed about that.

-Half the people who meet Sola and learn of Ifrit’s Blessing are... shocked to say the least. Because, look. Sola is not reverent in any sense. Not to Ifrit or any of the other Astrals. Half the people in earshot choke on their own spit the first time they hear Sola call Ifrit a petty jerk.

-In this AU, Sola doesn’t pick up much Galahdian culture. She unnerves more than a few Galahdians wearing white and black. Combined with her red hair - that she keeps cropped short at jaw length, Sola hates dealing with her hair - and the white almost tattoo-like marks on her arms and the veritable armory she somehow stashes on her person (because I love the trope where a character pulls out weapon after weapon and everyone else is like, where are you keeping that?) Sola makes for an ominous picture to any Galahdian.

-And then they spend about five minutes in her presence and realize that she’s a massive nerd. Whose passion is linguistics, cultural development, and the reflection of such in literature and folk tales. That Loqi and Sola continue a previous debate on the accuracy of a translated historical work as they travel to Costlemark Tower, Ravus groaning in exasperation and Selena snickering, goes a long way towards easing Tredd, Luche, and Axis’ nerves.

-Noctis and Sola regularly write each other about once or twice a month. Sola doesn’t tell Noctis where she is or about her research. Not that she doesn’t want to, but she doesn’t know if Papa or Mama also read Noctis’ letters and she doesn’t want them trying to take her away from Uncle. Now that she’s older she understands why they would, but good intentions or no, Sola won’t let them stop her from reaching her goal.

-Noctis... kind of doesn’t tell anyone that he’s regularly writing to Sola. At first because it’s a secret, and managing to keep something secret from everyone makes eight year old Noctis giddy. Then it becomes something he’s possessive about. His letters with Sola are his. No one else’s, and Noctis is possessive of his new older sister and doesn’t want to share.

-Eventually Noctis does feel guilty about keeping his letters with Sola secret, once he’s a bit older and realizes how much Regis and Aulea and Cor desperately miss Sola. But he still doesn’t tell them, because how he doesn’t even know what he’d say. Oh, he’s been writing to his missing older sister for years now and never told anyone? Noctis is only eleven, but he’s not stupid. His parents would not be happy. Worse, they’d probably be disappointed.

-Then Noctis has the idea that if he convinces Sola to come home, his parents will be too happy about that to be mad or disappointed that Noctis didn’t tell them about the letters!

-Unfortunately, Sola tells him that she can’t come home yet. She has a very important promise to keep. And one should always keep their promises. But Sola promises Noctis that she’ll be home for his coming-of-age. Even if she can only visit. Noctis pouts and tells her that he’s twelve. That’s forever! 

[secret-engima]

How would it go if certain people (who is up to you) found out that Ardyn and Nox are from a future that went so completely to shit that there are no words to describe it, that Nox is actually Noctis, who's so happy and bubbly that they can't quite imagine what happened to make him like that. A few of Nox's traits and quirks would definitely make more sense though, as would some of Ardyn's.

Hmmmm hmmm ohhhhh this is- hmmmmm. Okay heads up NONE of this is considered canon atm for Nox but if anyone found out it would be Cid, Weskham, and like- Prompto (this may change, depending on how much I feel like making Nox suffer, but for now these are non-canon).

-For Cid- he’d find out that Nox was from the future when he accidentally walked in on Nox sharpening his Ultima Blade. Now- Cid might not be THE most observant person, but he knows his own handiwork like its a part of his soul and THAT SWORD, that sword that looks like its been dragged through the depths of the abyss and back, that sword that Nox cradles like its his child as he polishes and sharpens the blade-

-That is his handiwork. His blade. His tweaks and mods and balances and bits of flare to the point he could already tell you every step he went through to make it.

-He’s never seen that sword before in his life.

-Or ... not this life.

-Nox looks up at him with too-old eyes and a weary, frightened face, “I ... I can explain.”

-Cid stares, stares at the face of Reggie’s eldest and can hear the unspoken I really, really don’t want to and knows that what he is going to hear is going to break him even more than losing Mid and Melba.

-He’s right.

-Nox doesn’t tell him much, tries so HARD to keep the final pieces from clicking, but Cid is no fool and he can hear the gaps.

-The gaps that Nox is NOCTIS. Reggie’s little bright eyed boy. That Nox was the Chosen King and that everything went to the pyre when he was just a newly turned adult. That whatever happened between him and the Accursed (the way Nox uses the title only and no names makes Cid think of Ardyn’s own bitter declaration of past abuse toward his nephew and feel cold) ... broke him.

-Then Nox tells him, honest and quiet, that he died. Nox, this boy, this child Cid has helped raise and helped put back together (yet not a child at all, if what Nox is saying is true, and it is) went and died so that the world would be saved, even though there was so little left TO save at that point and then ... woke up. Younger and different and here.

-And he doesn’t want to believe it, except despite the inherent insanity of the story it MAKES SENSE. All of Nox’s odd “similarities” with Noctis, the secrets and the way Nox stares at Reggie like Reggie is a ghost come back to life.

-The blade that started this entire confrontation.

-Cid has no words to explain what he feels in that moment, looking at the fragile, sharp-edged remains of what could have been (hopefully will never again be) Noctis’s future. He just pulls the boy close and doesn’t let go for a long time.

...

-For Weskham, he puts the pieces together because he is both smart, openminded and ... something of an outside observer. He meets Noctis and Nox at the same time, with fewer preconceptions, and notices the oddities. The similarities that go deeper than “oh just like their father” or “what a coincidence” and instead go screaming off the edge into creepy.

-They like the same foods and hate the same foods, though Nox is better at being mature and eating it anyway. They have many of the same tells in the way they blink, or look away, or rub the backs of their necks. He hears of the marilith attack and through various accidental circumstances happens to see their scars.

-Nox and Noctis have identical scars on their backs, though Noctis’s far more faded and small, and Weskham has this- moment where he thinks of the identical scars and the story of how Nox heard “rumors” and rushed headlong to defend family he supposedly didn’t even know, from an attack that “just happened” to be identical to one he had suffered around Noctis’s age and something inside him goes OH.

-He watches for a long time and tells no one, and while he can’t fathom why he’s indulging the theory it ... makes sense. The tells, the similarities, the face shapes. He imagines Nox with short hair and almost creeps himself out with how identical Noctis and Nox would look if the elder did not have his long hair and earrings and was a few years younger.

-He already knows magic can do many impossible things. Both good and bad. So he keeps the impossible theory to himself, nursing it and compiling more and more little bits of evidence in his head, never intending to SAY anything until he stumbles across Nox during a Quiet Day, watching the world with too-old eyes and blurts, “How did it end?”

-Nox looks at him slowly, like Weskham’s only a dream, “What?”

-Weskham doesn’t like the dead look in Nox’s eyes, not when he mentally compares it to little, cheerful, bright-eyed Noctis and wonders what could have possibly destroyed him and remade him into Nox in just a few short years, “Whatever sent you back. How did it end?”

-Nox stares at him with knowledge old and terrible, then laughs, rusty and slightly unhinged, “Father died. Clarus died. Luna -the Oracle- died. Insomnia burned and the world soon followed. The night devoured the day and the daemons roamed unchecked, people died in droves while I SLEPT in Crystal and when I woke up all I could do was say goodbye to my brothers one last time and then let the Old Kings kill me so that whoever was left would at least have a dawn by which to rebuild the civilization of the world. And then I woke up.” Nox faltered, swallowed hard, “I woke up, and I’ve been wondering why ever since.”

-Weskham breathes past the knife-sharp feeling in his throat, the horrible memories of WAR he can see reflected in Nox’s eyes.

-He manages to walk away without stumbling by sheer dint of will. Collapses in his suite to shake in a chair and wish he had never noticed, never asked. Never known.

...

-For Prompto, the biggest clue was their first meeting. When he was crying over his camera and Nox was desperate to cheer him and babbled and called him “Prom” as warm and loving and familiar as if they were family and not a little crying boy and a nice stranger on the street.

-He never forgot that meeting. Never really believed Nox’s excuse of memorizing who Noctis’s classmates where.

-Nox is weird. Nox is ... really weird. Always has been. But that’s okay, because he’s Nox, he’s Noctis’s big brother and kinda Prompto’s big brother after Cor adopted him so ... so it’s okay.

-Except for the time it isn’t.

-Except for the time Prompto makes the mistake of binging way too many sci-fi shows in one sitting and then spots Nox and Noctis together and notices how similar their voices were now that Noctis wasn’t a little kid, how they wrinkle their nose in the same way when they’re baffled and- and-

-It’s a really dumb idea okay? He gets that, he KNOWS that. Except ... it makes a lot of sense too. The more he thinks about it, the harder he shoves the preconception of “of COURSE they’re two different people” in a little box, the more he realizes it MAKES TOO MUCH SENSE.

-Nox’s habits, his ticks, the way he KNOWS Noctis and Ignis and Gladio and Prompto. The way he looks at them sometimes like they’re fragile glass pictures that are going to shatter. The way Axis has said once that he wasn’t Nox’s FIRST Shield, but that Nox’s original Shield was gone-.

-Prompto maybe spends the next week hyperventilating in his room when no one is looking and trying very hard to NOT blurt out the question “are you a time traveller” whenever he sees Nox.

-Eventually he can’t resist, eventually he tests. Runs up and slaps Nox on the shoulder with a friendly, “Yo, Noctis!” when they’re both alone in a hallway of the Citadel and something in his stomach drops out when Nox doesn’t go “huh?” but instead just chuckles and goes, “Hi Prom,” before Nox FREEZES.

-Its the freeze that really sells it in Prompto’s mind, the look of confusion and devastation on Nox (NOCTIS’S) face that makes him instantly regret trying anything. Prompto babbles something about tongue slip and meaning Nox, OBVIOUSLY, because OBVIOUSLY they were two different people, being brothers and all and seven years apart and-

-And there is something so very sad in Nox’s eyes as he murmurs, “You always were a bad liar, Prom.”

-Oh. Oh dear. Prompto swallows and hunches in on himself without thinking, “So ... I was right then.”

-Nox nods slowly and the silence is ... awkward. Tense. Filled with something Prompto can’t name or describe and suddenly he’s apologizing. He’s apologizing and almost in tears and when Nox, baffled and alarmed, asks why-

-“I don’t remember you. You look at us and you remember, and we’re your brothers and we PROMISED ‘ever at your side’ but I don’t REMEMBER you and Iggy and Gladio don’t even know-.” He stops, he sniffles and another horrible thought comes to him and since today is the day for turning off his brain to mouth filter apparently he whispers, “Did we die? Is- is that why we didn’t come with you to the past?”

-Nox takes a shaky breath and runs it through his hair, “No-, no you all- you all lived. As far as I know. Up until the point I ... came back, you were all alive and ... well. Just a little banged up, but okay.” Nox (Noctis, a broken Noctis, a Noctis from a future that had to have been horrible because Prompto’s SEEN some of the scars and he doesn’t want to think about that-) blinks wet eyes and suddenly blurts, “Don’t tell anyone. Please? Especially not- especially not the others.”

-Prompto nods, because of course, he’s not an idiot and he doesn’t think they’d believe him anyway. Nox coughs awkwardly in his throat and starts to walk away with hunched shoulders and Prompto will never know why he opened his big mouth again or why, of all things, he chooses to say, “Yo, Nox?”

-Nox (not Noctis, because they ARE two different people now and Prompto prays it stays that way) blinks over his shoulder and Prompto musters up his biggest grin as he blurts, “Thanks, you know? For ... everything. You’ve really Walked Tall.” He doesn’t know what those words mean, or why he chose “walked tall” of all things but he knows in a second his words MEAN something more than he can ever comprehend because Nox’s eyes go wide-

-And suddenly Nox is hugging Prompto. Clinging to him like he’s an anchor in a storm and all Prompto can do is hug back as fiercely as he can while tears drip onto his shirt, and Nox shakes like he’s about to fall apart and somewhere in the harsh breathing of the time-traveler-brother-friend in his arms, Prompto could swear he hears Nox whisper, “I miss you so much, Prom- I can’t-,” but then Nox goes silent, and astrals Prompto’s crying too, because he always was a crybaby and something inside him hurts in a way that makes it hard to breathe (is this what Nox was feeling? Is this what he felt those days he looked at them with too-old eyes? No wonder he always left the room, Prompto wants to scream already and Nox has felt this for years-).

-Nox pulls away, rests his forehead on Prompto’s for just a second and it feels like a thank you.

-It feels like a goodbye. But not to him. It’s a goodbye to the weight falling off Prompto’s shoulders, like hands letting go as a shadow fades away.

-Nox retreats, disappears around the corner without a word and with a too-bright-too-old look that means Prompto’s set off a Quiet Day and Prompto-

-Prompto goes back to his room and hugs his old chocobo plush tight. He’s not in the mood to go play video games with the others right now.

-Days later Nox finds him again and wordlessly, gently, passes him a leather-bound book. A memento, Nox calls it sadly, I’ll want it back when you’re done, he murmurs before slinking away.

-Prompto hides it where even Cor wouldn’t think to look because he doesn’t dare put it in armiger (the armiger Noctis gave him, the armiger Noctis might find it in accidentally). He hides himself under his covers like he’s a little kid again, holds his flashlight tight in one hand and his chocobo plush under his other arm as he flips it open and sees-

-Photos. His photos. His style, with all of them (Ignis, Noctis, Gladio, himself) in them. He doesn’t know the context for them but- it’s a journey. It’s a roadtrip in film and Prompto spends hours carefully flipping through each page, staring at snapshots of battles not fought and fishing holes not visited and silly moments not laughed at anymore. It’s Nox’s life in a nutshell, Prompto thinks as he looks through photos taken in dark dungeons and sunlit deserts. Injuries and health, insomnia and energetic smiles. The last photo is of them, on a campground he recognizes. It’s the one just outside Insomnia, where you can see the bridge leading to the island and the lighting is usually amazing. This one is at night, and they all look older, thirty or more whereas in the others they are only twenty or so. Noctis- Nox, is in the center, smiling with the soft, sad eyes that Prompto remembers from that first meeting, Gladio looming behind him and Ignis at his side with a visor that doesn’t hide the scars on his face. In the middle, one arm slung over Ignis’s shoulders and the other over Nox’s like he can KEEP them there, forever safe and happy if he just holds on tight enough, is himself.

-There are no other photos.

-Prompto doesn’t need to be told why.

-He returns the book to Nox the next day, and refuses to acknowledge Noctis’s puzzled look when he hugs Nox tight and doesn’t mind when Nox hugs him back. Then Prompto smiles, because that’s his job in the group, to be the one who smiles when things are dark, and he drags Nox over to play Kings Knight with the four of them. And maybe things aren’t perfect, because now Prompto KNOWS and he can never un-know, but things are better. Because Nox is here, and Nox fixed things, and Nox is never going to let Noctis become him, so Prompto doesn’t have to worry about that and can instead focus on keeping both of his kings smiling and laughing and happy.

-He can hold on, and this time, no blood or road trip or daemon-infested future will be able to make him let go.

(hgfdhg congrats I just made myself cry. Everyone suffer with me. @wolfsrainrules @hamelin-born @ean-sovukau @rayearthdudette @sparklecryptid COME SUFFER WITH ME.)

[tarotdeckshuffle]

Headcanons for the chocobros meeting their future child (4yrs old) with the reader even though they're not even together yet. Each kid has a different quirk like Notcis's kid just instantly falls asleep when held longer than 2 minutes by him, Prompto's is terrified of Chocobo's due to their father's obsession, Gladio's can read way above their reading level, and Ignis's already drinks ebony due to an accident and loves cooking with him! please and thank you! and congratulations on the wedding!!!

Thank you so much, Anon! 😘

Let’s be honest, these are tiny fics, not hcs lol. 

There are even some bonuses! I hit some writer’s block and couldn’t think of what to do for the other characters, today. If anyone wants me to do Ardyn, Cor, Aranea, and/or Nyx, just let me know. 

Taglist: @idiotflowerex, @laststory1013, @sayaoqueen, @jophinabean

If you like what you read, please consider supporting me on Patreon or buying me a Ko-fi!

Scene: Shiva visits each of the following characters individually in their sleep. She wants to show them the future they’re fighting for, and that happens to include a child. In this dream, they get to interact with their future child, even if neither will remember it when they awaken.

Noctis

His child instantly falls asleep when held longer than 2 minutes by him

Like, they can sleep anywhere.

But he loves it.

He stands there, just holding them.

Their little arms around his neck.

It warms Noct’s heart that they WANT to be held by him.

In the dream, there’s no hesitation.

The child sees him and walks right up to him, arms outstretched.

Noctis isn’t sure what to do with kids, normally.

He’s one of those “I’ll break your baby” types.

But this kid is easy.

They simply want to cuddle.

Noctis absolutely loves it.

He stands there, bouncing the child lightly and petting their hair.

Their every sound and movement is adorable to him.

Eventually, he would sit down and nap with them.

When Shiva returns to him, beckoning him to the waking world,

Noctis sets the child down in a bed,

It rubs its eyes with little fists, but goes back to sleep.

“Sleep well, little one. I’ll see you when you wake.”

Prompto

His child is terrified of Chocobo’s due to their father’s obsession.

Prompto appears in a child’s bedroom in the dream.

It’s brightly lit, with stuffed animals everywhere.

A little child looks up at him from the floor.

They’re playing with toy vehicles.

“Er…hey there!” Prompto greets.

They’re silent, shyly looking up at him.

Prompto would sit down next to them, asking about their toys.

Eventually they play together.

It doesn’t take long after that before Prom has the child in giggling fits from his sound effects.

“But you know what this game really needs?”

Prompto gets up, looking around the room.

Any child of his HAS to have tons of these.

It takes him awhile, but he finds what he’s looking for stuffed in a cupboard.

“A Chocobo!” He presents the yellow plush with jubilence.

The child looks horrified.

They start to cry!

“Oh no! OH NO! Oh no!”

Prompt is panicking!

He made a kid cry!

His kid!

“What’s wrong? Oh, don’t cry, it’s ok! See?”

He trys to bring the plush closer to the child, but they scoot across the floor away from him.

Finally, it dawns on Prompto.

“Look! No more chocobo! It’s gone!”

The child still has tears in their eyes and looks scared.

But they let Prompto get close.

“Come’ere,” he says, sitting on the floor.

They come over and cuddle up next to him.

“What’s wrong?”

“Chocobo’s are scary!” The child states matter of factly.

“They’re what?!” Prompto is honestly shocked.

“They’re mean and they don’t like me!” The child is full on pouting now.

“Why do you think they don’t like you?”

“Because they peck at me.”

Prompto can’t help but laugh. He was scared of things as a child, too.

“I’ll tell you what, how about we find you a really really nice one.”

“No! I don’t want one.”

“Ok, ok, no chocobos.”

Well, there goes Promp’s dreams of owning a chocobo farm.

But this kid might be worth it.

“I want a moogle!” The child pipes up.

Prompto laughs.

“You like moogles? Tell me more!”

Prompto listens as the child regales him with “facts” about moogles and how much they love them.

He loves their enthusiasm.

When it’s time to leave, the child gives their (future) father a big hug.

Prompto is shocked at first, but hugs them back.

“Take care, bud. I’ll see you soon.”

Ignis

His child already drinks ebony due to an accident and loves cooking with him

Ignis appears in the kitchen of a home.

The sun is rising outside.

A small child is awake, standing in the middle of the kitchen.

“Well, hello,” Ignis greets it.

The child doesn’t even look at him.

Instead, it goes straight to the fridge.

It has to throw it’s body back to open the stubborn door.

At least half of the fridge is just cans of Ebony.

The child takes one.

Using both hands to support the can, they start to drink.

Barely stopping to breathe.

“I doubt that is recommended for a child.”

Ignis crosses the kitchen to them.

“Dad lets me.” Finally! They speak!

Ignis is doubtful.

“I drank his once when I was a baby, now he lets me drink them.”

“Why would your father leave coffee where you could get to it?”

“He didn’t, he gave it to me.” The child finishes the rest of the can.

“What?!”

“He wasn’t awake and put coffee in my cup instead of milk.”

Ignis’s head is in his hand.

Is HE truly going to do that?

“Duly noted…”

They stand in the kitchen, simply staring at each other.

This is not a touchy child.

“Well…Do you want some breakfast,” Ignis asks, figuring he may as well do something.

“Sure! I’ll get ready.” They perked up at this idea.

Iggy is expecting them to get washed and set the table.

Instead, they get out a child’s apron, a stool, and a colorful whisk.

With some struggle, they bring the stool over to where Ignis is standing and set it down next to him.

“OK! What are we making.”

The whole scene is honestly adorable.

Ignis decides to make them pancakes and fruit.

Everything he does is met with, “I want to help!”

The child pours cups of ingredients into the batter and stirs everything.

Ingredients go everywhere, but the child is trying their best. 

At first, Ignis won’t let them near the stove.

But eventually he gives and lets them flip one pancake.

He certainly won’t let them near the knives!

Fruit pieces do go missing from the counter as they continue making breakfast.

Ignis’s heart is so warm.

He’s smiling ear to ear when they sit down to eat.

As they finish their food, Shiva returns to take Ignis away.

The child looks scared as he gets up to leave.

They jump up and hug his legs.

“Don’t go!”

The scene breaks Ignis’s heart.

“I’ll return soon, little one,” he whispers as he kisses the top of their head.  

Gladio

His child can read way above their reading level

Gladio is in the library of the Amicitia Estate.

In among the towering dark shelves and countless books,

He sees large stacks of random books on the ground.

Small eyes peer out at him from behind them.

He crouches down to be level with them.

“Hey there.”

“Hi,” is all he gets back.

“Whatcha reading,” Gladio asks, taking a nearby book.

“Stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?”

“All of it.”

Gladio smiles. They respond just how Iris used to.

“Cool.” He sits down and takes a nearby book, opening it up to read.

“That’s not a good one,” the books squeak.

Gladio looks up before examining the cover of the book.

“The Metamorphosis…Nope! It certainly is not.” Gladio sets the book down suddenly.

What was that doing in a child’s book pile?

“This one is better!” Finally, they come out from behind their books.

They bring an old red leather bound book to hand to Gladio.

He takes it.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream, huh? Have you read this?”

The child sits down next to Gladio.

“Yeah. I liked it.” They lean up against him.

“Well…ok,” Gladio cracks open the book and starts reading.

The child is reading over his shoulder.

He smiles at them and starts reading out loud.

He makes all the voices and uses his best dramatic reading skills!

They love it! Laughing often.

They’re to the second act when Shiva returns.

Gladio sighs as he stands, handing the book back to the kid.

“Can we finish it later,” they ask, looking up at him.

“Absolutely, kiddo.” He ruffles their hair, looking down at them lovingly.

He starts to walk towards Shiva when he feels them tackle his leg.

The scene makes him want to cry.

He picks them up, hugging them.

“Daddy will be home soon.”

Bonus

Ravus

Oh baby, this kid has the scowl down pat!

They stand in Fenestala Manor, staring at each other.

It’s a scowl off.

But, just like Ravus, they can’t hold it forever.

They turn from him, suddenly taking off through the halls!

“Get back here!” The High Commander of Niflheim chases after a child through his own home. 

They run off towards the conservatory, slipping through the doors just before Ravus.

He pushes the great doors open, stopping for a moment as the feeling of the room hits him. 

It is warm and humid with the smells of flowering plants from all across Eos.

It’s silent, except for birds chirping high overhead.

All the eye sees are greens and bright colors from the flowers. 

Breathing deeply, Ravus can taste the flowers in the humidity.

This was always one of his favorite rooms.

If this truly is his child, it’s no surprise that they ran here. 

Ravus and his mother had tended many of these plants.

It was always a place where he could feel closer to her memory.

The bushes rustle.

Ravus takes a moment to close the great doors, before walking the halls between the great plants.

More rustles.

He follows the noise.

He comes upon a very unique bush.

The plant is massive, stretching from floor to the 30 foot tall ceilings and at least half that in width.

The branches are greenish bark, bushing out from the ground.

The leaves on it are small, especially in comparison to the palm sized white blossoms that appear amply over the bush.

Currently, the bush looks to be more blossom than leaf.

This particular plant is extraordinary and only an expert would know it’s secrets.

Ravus can hear small noises behind the bush. 

He whistles. It’s a half second long high note made between the tongue and the lips.

The plant shakes, coming to life.

Swish!

All of the flowers close, the petals folding inwards to protect the pistil.

The child is revealed, their hiding place behind the bush now obsolete.

They look utterly shocked.

“How did you do that,” they demand of Ravus.

He can’t help it.

He smiles at the scene.

Many years ago, he said similar words to his mother when she showed him the trick.

“There’s much you don’t know about the occupants of this room.”

“Show me!” The child creeps out from behind the bush to stand before him.

“Only if you say please.” Ravus can hear his mother saying those exact same words.

“Please…” The child adds.

“Come.” Ravus begins to walk the halls of the great conservatory, stopping at each plant to discuss it with the child.

“What about that bush…will it be ok,” the child asks, looking back on their hiding spot.

“Yes, with a little time, the flowers will open back up.”

As Ravus makes for another plant, the child takes his magiteck hand, holding it.

He’s shocked!

His instincts almost kick in to push them away.

But something else holds him back.

They walk through the gardens, hand in hand. Ravus answers every question the child can think of.

Coming full circle, they see that the bush’s flowers have reopened.

“Look!” The child bounces excitedly.

“I see!” A smile graces his harsh face.

Shiva appears, framed by the great flowers, holding a hand out to Ravus.

“NO!” The child folds into him, gripping his leg. “Please, don’t go!”

You can hear the High Commander’s heart shatter.

Images of his mother’s smile flash in his mind.

He leans over, wrapping the small child in his arms.

“When you awaken, I will be right here, little blossom. I will never leave you.”

Luna

Luna’s child is mischievous, just like she used to be.

Shiva takes her to the doorway of a grand bedroom.

It’s a child’s bedroom; there are toys everywhere.

But it appears no one is here.

“Hello,” Luna asks the room.

Silence.

Luna takes a step forward.

“BOO!” A child jumps in front of her from behind the door.

Luna gasps, startled, hand flying to her chest.

The child giggles.

Then Luna does.

“Gotcha,” they tease.

“Yes, you did!” Luna bends over to greet the child, a warm smile on her face.

The child smiles back.

“Want to color with me?”

“Yes!”

They settle on floor cushions at a low table, crayons and paper spread out before them.

“Here, you can use this one!” The child hands Luna a silver ink pen.

“Thank…” Luna responds before the pen shocks her!

The child laughs at their prank.

“You really are a trickster, aren’t you?” Luna is giving them a mocking side eye.

“Yep!”

Luna does her best to come up with a way to trick the child.

“Do you want a snack,” they ask some time later.

“I’d love one,” Luna responds.

“I’ll go get us one!” They take off running out of the bedroom.

In that time, Luna switches the caps on all of the markers in the box the child was using.

Then, she hides in the closet.

The child returns with fruit.

They’re quiet at first.

“Are you still here,” they call.

Luna watches, waiting.

The child puts the tray of fruit on the coloring table.

“BOO!” It’s Luna’s turn to jump out in front of them!

They squeal.

“You got me,” they shout through toothy giggles.

They both laugh and settle in for snacks.

Luna gives them a look before biting into an apple.

“It’s safe! I promise,” they plead.

She smiles and bites into it.

The child goes back to coloring.

Soon, they dramatically sigh.

“What is it,” Luna asks.

“I have a purple sun…” the child holds up a purple marker with a yellow lid on it and their paper with a large purple circle in the corner.

Luna starts to giggle.

“You did that,” they shout, giving her a fake pout.

Both of them laugh and enjoy the day.

When Shiva returns, Luna stands to leave.

“Wait! Here!” The child hands her their drawing.

It’s of the two of the under a big purple sun.

Luna smiles fondly at it.

“So…you don’t forget about me,” the child says.

“I could never forget about you, little star.” She holds her future child tight.

[nerieda]

Lost to the Darkness

This is my submission for the first day of Aerdyn week over at @aerdynweek.  I hit on all 3 prompts for today:  first meetings, daemonification, and the song lyric “Did I love you too much?” from Black Lake by Bjork.

He still remembered that day, one of the most pivotal in his scant 23 years.  His father and mother calling him to a private audience that morning; to tell him they had chosen a bride for him.  He was already travelling much of his time, roaming the kingdom, healing and speaking with those afflicted by the Starscourge.

 “She’s a good woman.  The eldest of the Fleuret clan’s daughters.”

 “I don’t have time to spend courting a girl, barely more than a child.  The scourge is spreading, our people need me to be out there helping them, healing them like I was called to do.”

 “Oh Ardyn,”  his mother sighed deeply.  “Healing them is important, but Aera is called upon by the Astrals as well.  She’s already been chosen as the Oracle.”

 “And as such, it is important that we join our houses together.  You or Somnus one will be selected by the Astrals as king.”  His father’s stern glare brooked no further argument.

 Ardyn sighed looked away.  “Very well.  Will I at least have an opportunity to meet with her before the announcement?”

 His mother smiled softly.  “Of course dear, she’s in the private gardens now I believe.”

 He bowed his head once to both his parents and strode out of the room, making his way quickly towards the family’s private gardens.  It was still early, this part of the manor quiet.  Around a small bend in the paths he could see a figure clad in white.  He slowed his step as he approached her, coming to a stop as she turned.  

 The early morning sun created a illusory halo of light around Aera; turning her hair to spun gold. As she faced Ardyn, a soft smile formed on her lips.  “Good morning, you must be Ardyn.  Your mother said she expected you would want to find me after they spoke to you.”

 She had been…in a word: perfect.  They spent the time before the official announcement forming the basis of a fast and seemingly effortless friendship.  They had so many plans and ideas for how to help the people and worked well together in their duties.  The only hindrance to them was the worsening Starscourge, first claiming his own parents while he was away. Then, keeping them both so busy at times they had scarce moments together; the date for the long awaited wedding pushed further and further back.  

 His memories of their years together, the bits and pieces of happiness they claimed the only thing that helped keep his sanity in his long internment on Angelgard.  Now here in the Niflheim capital, seeing Ifrit the end of it all was bearing down on him for the first time in a very long time.

 That golden hair he had loved to run his hands through was limp, the ends quickly staining red.  A weak cough spilled more crimson from her lips, down the sides of her face into her hair.  Ardyn watched helplessly as the woman he loved fell still in his arms. With nothing left but rage, grief and confusion in his mind, the all the scourge he had pulled from others as he healed them came roaring to the front, turning him into a daemon in front of the assembled citizens.

 That’s how Ardyn remembered events:  he knew that was how they ended, and from that point until waking some time later chained in Angelgard his mind was a blank slate of nothing but swirling darkness.  And yet, in this new memory (hallucination?  He wasn’t completely sure anymore), Aera was there, able to speak.  

 “Did I love you too much, Ardyn?  In my happiness for you, for US, I defied the will of the Gods and revealed to Somnus you had chosen to be king.”

 His mind was reeling with everything:  he was supposed to be king; his own brother tried to kill him, to paint him a traitor and daemon to take the throne; and his love blamed herself for all of this?   And then the scene turned even darker, Somnus forcing him to wield the blade that killed her this time around.  The gods turned deaf ears on his screams for answers.  If he was their chosen, if she had been their Oracle, why the silence?  He could feel the darkness rising in him again like he had in the throne room that day.  Burning away everything good in him; his love, his grief, his goodwill and honest desire to heal.  Leaving only the rage, the hatred, the desire to watch it all come crumbling down.

 He came back to himself, his purpose solidified.  If he could do nothing else to his millennium-dead brother, he could destroy every last shred of what the man had left behind.  If Ardyn had no legacy of his own, by the time he was done, neither would Somnus or the Gods who had turned their backs on him.  

 By the time he was done, ARDYN would be the only one laughing.

[reggxe-a]

Necklace | Ignis Scientia x Reader

So Iggy is either my first or second favorite character in all of FFXV (his only rival is really just Ardyn sksksksk) and honestly there’s not many XV fanfics on here so take my horrible fluff :) Actually, not many authors include the fact that Iggy wears his skull necklace and I disregard it to so here is my way of remembering it.

Where Ignis Scientia accidentally leaves his skull necklace at Noctis’ apartment and finds out Y/N is wearing it.

Warnings: None

--- 

You quietly stared at the small chain necklace laying on the glass coffee table, fumbling with the buttons of the dress shirt you had on. Sunlight warmed your back and spread all around you throughout the vast, modernly decorated room. The small dents and curves of the skull pendant were glazed with rich highlights and dark shadows. The actual chain of the necklace was a little short, nevertheless a charming accessory.

Giving a quiet sigh before leaning back into the couch, your thought train was interrupted by the voice of your best friend. “What are you looking at?” Noctis questioned while weaving his way around the couch to face you and the small piece of jewelry. His lazy blue eyes made their way to the skull and he smirked once he figured out why you were so quiet. “Iggy left his necklace.”

“Yeah.” You huffed before standing up, taking hold of the school blazer on the couch and enveloping yourself in it. The jacket was your friend’s, or really, the prince’s. Your closest friend was the future king of Insomnia—and you were happy with that. More time to stare at his beautiful royal advisor.

You had always been close friends with Noct. Ever since your childhood, you and him would constantly banter and trail each other around. His kingly father even took note of your relationship and invited you to one of the royal galas a few years back. Your eighteen-year-old mind still can’t really comprehend why your little thirteen-year-old self was so stupid back then

You had worn a simple dress that night and seemed a bit childish due to its loose fit but heck, you were thirteen. The whole night was filled with trailing Noctis around until one of the songs. The prince had gleefully introduced you to his shield and advisor, who was a total cutie even back then. A small face was framed with quite large glasses and despite you thinking he was stuck up, you didn’t know you would fall in love with him now. Noctis ended up forcing you to dance with the fourteen-year-old advisor that night and boy did you hate it. You simply wanted to stay with the prince that night and you ended up ditching him at school the next day.

The present is a different story. Ignis Scientia, a prim and proper royal attendant, had stolen your heart. So as you returned your gaze to his own necklace that was in your reach, you thought about possible scenarios on how he would react if he saw it in your possession. Before you could elaborate more on your ideas, Noctis bent down and snatched the chain as you started to reach out for it. He gloated confidently as your eyebrow rose in annoyance.

Noctis wagged a finger in front of you before straightening. “It’s better that I return it. After all, I am his prince.” He beamed while you scoffed and stood from your place on the couch, grabbing your bag as well. “Unless,” He started while walking forward towards the door. “my great friend here would like to wear it for the day. She’s got a small crush on him anyway.” Your face reddened at the teen’s statement before you stomped in front of him, taking your place at the elevator after you exited the flat.

“It’d be a shame if she missed out on this opportunity to finally hint that she likes him.” Noct beamed as you seemed to grow even more annoyed. Your feet brought you outside to feel a slight gust of wind rush against you and the sun intensely firing down. As you walked in silence, Noctis sped ahead of you to gloat even more once he started to walk backwards to face you. “I bet little Y/N here would love to know if her crush liked her back.”

You have had enough of this boy! Noctis had been dangling the necklace loosely at chest-height the whole time so as you grasped the thing by the skull, you found it very easy. Unlocking the chain, you bowed your head and had it circle around your neck. Due to Noctis fondling with it the whole time, the chain was warm but the skull was cold against your skin. As you finished adjusting the accessory, you looked up at Noctis before raising your arm. “Tease me again and I won’t be afraid to rip your oh-so-precious jacket here.” You threatened but Noctis nonchalantly laughed it off.

“Please do. Ignis will just buy another one or repair it.” You swore to the Six that you would torture the future king yourself one day. The school building came into view quickly and as Noctis started to meet with his own friend group, you rapidly dashed to class.

Throughout the whole day you had been questioned about your new necklace. People swarmed around you to see the new type of fashion you had acquired and you brushed them off with “oh, I just found it lying around,” which wasn’t lying, but surely wasn’t telling the whole truth either. Prompto did have the nerve to boldly state that he knew who the necklace really did belong to and you had to bribe him to get him to shut up. Now with the new information, the gossipers of the school started thinking about who you were ‘dating’ if it wasn’t the prince. You had to quickly dismiss their thoughts once they came to you during lunch.

However, with the necklace, you felt safe. A weird feeling for you to have with a necklace. During language arts, you started thinking about the feeling, wondering if you and the royal advisor were connected somehow. You deemed it to be inappropriate to have these thoughts and tried pushing them away but they kept coming back.

Not only were you questioned about it, but you kept messing around with it too. While taking notes in math, your hands magically found their way up to the skull and rolled it along. It was calming to say the least. Some people took in the sight of you playing with it and made it evidence that you were very fond with it. They weren’t wrong but you didn’t want to admit that.

Now, you sit patiently at your desk during homeroom, waiting for the tardy bell to ring as students scampered in. Usually, you would have band during this period but all students had to work on their festival decorations. Leaning back, you closed your eyes and felt a weight on your desk. Grimacing, you opened them to find one of your friends (other than Noctis and Prompto, of course) crossing her legs and smiling down at you. You confusedly peered back as the tardy bell rang and your homeroom teacher announced to just work on the class decorations. Your friend smirked before leaning down. “I bet you are dating someone, aren’t you? You’re just hiding it because your boyfriend’s a sugar daddy.”

You angrily pouted and playfully punched her shoulder. “I’m not dating anyone. Plus, if I was, he wouldn’t be a sugar daddy.” You stated while getting your supplies out. She jumped off your desk and plopped into a chair from another one while sighing and crossing her arms. You felt like she was acting quite weird as she maliciously glared at you trying to get work done. Noctis and Prompto started to goof off while working so you had no one to run to for help. You tried to focus on cutting and coloring but her gaze was simply stabbing you. You bit your lip as your pencil’s tip broke, causing your hand to shake as you sketched a line.

“You’re lying to me. To us. To this whole school. You know, I wouldn’t mind if you just spat out that you’re dating his Royal Highness. At least you would be honest.” She devilishly stated. You gawked at her behavior but tried to keep on working on the project. “But I think the prince would never go for someone like you. He’s much more deserving of a—” “Don’t you have work to do? Like, the festival decorations?” You cut her off while skimming across your to-do list. How could you think this girl was your friend?

You felt a strong urge to punch her but instead your hand came up to squeeze the small skull resting upon the hollow between your collarbones. The small craters and dips of the object instantly calmed your nerves and you felt happy once again. However, your happiness was cut short as the girl jeered another insult. “I’ve got better things to do like listen to your sad love life story of how you deny having a boyfriend.” Oh, your blood boiled now. “I think that skull is just a memory of how your relationship is right now—sad and dead.”

Your eyebrows knitted together and you really wished the boys could help you. Giving a glance towards their direction, you saw them laughing about. You screamed in your head as you found the teacher laying back in his chair, taking a lazy nap. Pursing your lips, you rolled your shoulders in anticipation and stiffness.

A wish briefly crossed your mind. It was that the one and only Ignis would come to your rescue from whatever was happening right now.

Alas, things like that don’t happen in Insomnia. The girl cocked her head to one side and also seemed to become more and more frustrated. This caught the attention of some people as the girl started another rant. “Why don’t you just spit it out already!? It isn’t going to hurt anyone! Just say you’ve got a boyfriend.” She quipped with venom lacing her words. You stood from your chair abruptly, garnering the consideration of the rest of the class. Your flaming scowl pierced her soul now as you stood at a taller height than her.

At least the teacher finally noticed the situation as a visitor knocked at the door of the class. You widened your eyes and quickly sat back down. Your classmates mirrored your action as you impatiently waited for the door to open. Presuming it to be the principal, you tried to look like you were doing your hardest with your construction paper.

Remember when you dear author wrote down the words, “alas, things like that don’t happen in Insomnia.”? Ah, well this situation was an exception.

The teacher hollered for whoever was out there to come in and when a shiny, leather, dress shoe made it’s first step into the classroom, Noctis immediately knew who it was. He rose from his desk loudly and expressed a face of disbelief. “Iggy?” He queried as the tawny haired visitor entered the area fully. His hair was slicked back, a new style for the advisor that came about a few days ago, but a few strands still fell onto his forehead due to the lack of time invested into the hairstyle this morning. His sharp eyes were hooded by his glasses and were directed towards you and the girl still looking like she was going to murder you. His usual vest that accompanied his white button-up was gone but his slacks and shoes remained. He even had his gloves hanging out of one of his front pockets.

Your hardened exterior softened but you soon realized that his necklace was out in the open for him to see. The girl noticed your change of mood and looked behind her to see the royal advisor judging her. She quickly turned her face away to look at something else for the period of time he would be there.

Ignis wasn’t an uncommon sight at the school. If anything, he had his own secret fan club there. Be that as it may, he did not come to disrupt classes like this. “Ah, hello Mr. Scientia. If you need Noctis, he’s all yours.” The homeroom teacher welcomed him. Ignis swiveled around to smile gently at the man before nodding and returning his thoughts to what was going on. He gave a small grin at you and his eyes hinted at the little necklace around your neck. He sighed contently as you gave off your own little smile and recomposed himself to glare at Noctis. “Your Highness, you have been called by the council to visit Tenebrae. I have come to escort you though,” he paused and gave a little time to ponder for a moment. The class attentively had their attention on standby. “—I think the king would love for your friends to come along. It’s Friday and the end of the school day, after all.”

Noctis bit his lip in excitement not only to see Lunafreya, but to bring along some other people. He aligned his posture and skimmed along the waiting faces of the classroom. It wasn’t a joke to say they all expected to be brought along. You, on the other hand, wanted to be brought along for a reason different from theirs.

Noctis looked to his side to Prompto. “I pick Prompto and Y/N.” He gave you a look as you gasped at his choice. “Very well. I suggest you three to pack now.” Ignis stated and backed out of the room to wait in the hallway. You quickly gathered your belongings and exited with Prompto while Noctis had to take a little longer due to the chips he spilled on the floor.

As you exited, you felt a thousand frowns follow you and you sighed once you went out to stand by Ignis. He held his hand out to hold onto your suitcase of school supplies and you reluctantly handed it over. He already had Prompto’s in his other hand and planned on holding Noctis’ in that hand as well. You looked the other way, trying to avoid his eyes as much as possible as your fingers unlocked the chain from behind your neck. A voice stopped you. “Leave it on. It looks ravishing on you, Kitten.” He smiled and you felt your cheeks get a little hotter. You had heard Ignis call you the pet name before but it felt way more humiliating now. You clicked the necklace on again and let your hands fall by your sides as you leaned with your back against the wall, imitating the advisor’s stance next to you.

The door opened to reveal Noctis hunching over with his arm holding his bag over his shoulder. Multiple students rushed to see what was happening in the hallway and, without you noticing due to Ignis now resting his right arm on your left shoulder, had been brought back to their seats due to your friend’s intense gaze that made them feel it was fixed on them.

The four of you started to saunter your way to the exit of the school, Noct and Prompto snickering at the site of Ignis walking closer and closer to you. The action made your heart flutter and your thoughts crash into each other. The duo continued to walk in front of you and the advisor, making you feel much more comfortable with the nineteen-year-old at your side.

Ignis handed the school bags to a chauffer waiting patiently at the door of the building, freeing his arms of the weight. He then instructed him to drive to Prompto’s apartment before going to yours, you saying nothing out of pure nervous unease. The walk to the vehicle was tiring and awkward. That was, until you felt an arm wrap around your waist protectively. “I heard the ensuing insults thrown at you earlier, kitten. It truly pains me to know you had to suffer such a thing.” You giggled childishly, not leaning into Ignis’ embrace due to your own feelings. “I should have never thought of her as a friend—”

“I mean, how could a woman as beautiful as you have no significant other? It really is a sad thing.” You stopped your sentence once Ignis cut you off. He‘s talking about how you’re single!? His accent coated his words heavily but you could understand every single thing he was saying. Eyes widening, you looked up at the man. “Though,” He paused, stopping his steps as well. You instinctively looked down once he also tried to catch your eyes with his own jade green ones. The cement was a wonderful sight to you at the moment.

“...I could fix your little relationship problem. Yesterday, a child claiming to be the prince told me that the person who I fancy, has been in love with me as well for the past two years.” Do you want to slap Noctis right now? Yes and no. Thanking your best friend mentally, your mood changed from embarrassed to excited with the news.

“So do tell me, kitten, would you accompany me to a dinner at Tenebrae once we arrive? After all the important meetings, that is.” Ignis questioned smoothly before continuing. “It would also be a great time to return the necklace. I could ask for it right now, but it suits you so well I can’t bring myself to. Who knows? I may fail to ask for it again at the dinner.”  You felt a smile tug at your lips as you finally returned your gaze to meet his. “You little smooth snake!” You exclaimed enthusiastically while blithely slapping his chest. “I would take you as my ‘significant other’ any day, Mr. Scientia—even without that little dinner date!”

“So, I’ll take private supper at Tenebrae off the to-do list?”

“What? No! I still want to do that! That was just a joke—I mean I’m serious about having you without the fancy dinner because I just love you that much but like, I want the food—”

“I was kidding, my dear Kitten. And, I love you too.”

AN: I’m sorry this turned out so bad but I’m tired and I do not want to rewrite anything hhhhhnnngggg

[nadziejastar]

What’s the relationship with Disney like? Disney’s attitude to games has changed in recent years to become focused on mobile and social games. Have you noticed their attitude change much?

The relationship with Disney has [remained] the same. Actually the contact person at Disney is still the same person from Kingdom Hearts 1, and Disney has given us lots of requests in terms of the Kingdom Hearts franchise and they did mention some smaller titles for other platforms, but our common, most important goal was to [complete] Kingdom Hearts 3. So it’s the same.

Oh, for sure. I get sad when I see Nomura’s old interviews. The above quote is from June 2013. He was so much more upbeat. KH3 actually had a plot back then, too. Sora would look for the ‘Key to Return Hearts’.  

Disney has changed tremendously since 2006. Obviously Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, totally different style of animation. How your relationship with Disney and its properties evolved over the past 10 years or so in the context of Kingdom Hearts? Tetsuya Nomura: I can say that it has actually been increasingly difficult to get approvals from Disney. That's mainly because in the past Kingdom Hearts titles, the creator wasn't around anymore or the team that used to create those titles wasn't there anymore. There was just this one person that we would just have to go to and they would approve it and we'd be fine and good to go. But because we've been featuring recent titles, they still have existing teams for existing creators that are still working in Disney and still working on a certain title. That feedback process just has been a little bit more difficult than before. And each team would have a different set of rules and guidelines and they would say different things, or they would look at different things. It's just been a little different that how it used to be because Kingdom Hearts is a bigger title than it was before. I think that whenever we would bring our previous titles, a lot of people at Disney, and this is my assumption, but I do assume that they probably didn't know what Kingdom Hearts was. They'd go, "What's Kingdom Hearts? I have no idea." But now that it's become a bigger title, a lot more people have been involved in than before. In that sense the relationship with Disney has changed quite a bit. Emotional changes I don't really know if there has been any changes emotionally for me. But at least physically I can say those were the changes that we had with Disney.

After Versus XIII got cancelled, he became a lot more negative in his interviews. This is from June 2018. Five years later. Around the same time as Versus XIII, BBSV2 got cancelled. And also his relationship with Disney changed. So in a way, even KH3 was kinda taken from him, like Versus XIII was. Nomura was trying to dodge the subject of his emotional changes toward the KH series, but there obviously were some.

You've grown up as a person and as a designer alongside the players and it's been so long since the last Kingdom Hearts was released. How has your perspective on making the game changed over time? Do you still have that passion for it? Or is it just like you feel more of a responsibility to people to make it and end it?

I'm getting older now, so my body really can't take all that difficulty anymore. When I was younger I was definitely more aggressive and I was the one pulling everyone forward, but now there's a lot more energetic staff around me who are more aggressive, so I feel like I'm more like a sage now. Like I'm in the sidelines just telling people what to do. The Kingdom Hearts series has become a huge title nowadays and back then it was more like I was making it secretively in the corner, but now that a lot more people are involved I do feel that it's not my title anymore, it's everyone's title. And just talking about all this … It actually kind of makes me really sad.

This is another interview from June 2018. He said that with all the people involved, KH3 wasn’t really his title anymore and it made him really sad. At this year’s E3, Kitase said that the FF7 Remake was the first game in a long time that Nomura has been really heavily involved with. So, it sounds like Nomura wasn’t as heavily involved with KH3 as he was with past KH games.

Kingdom Hearts means a lot of things to a lot of people. For some, it represents their childhood or it's a story about friendship. What does Kingdom Hearts mean for you?

It's probably the title that represents who I am. When I was a starting as a developer, like I wasn't an industry veteran yet, when I was creating Final Fantasy titles with Mr. Sakaguchi, the father of Final Fantasy, and at that time, he said that Final Fantasy is a game that has everything in it. I don't think that there are that many people left in Square Enix that have actually worked with him on Final Fantasy. Of course, Final Fantasy is still continuing on--they still are committing to push out titles. But when I started creating Kingdom Hearts, that was when I kind of had this time away from Final Fantasy. And of course, I am working on a Final Fantasy title right now, but it was at a time when I was not working on a Final Fantasy title, and I really wanted to realize what Sakaguchi-san said about Final Fantasy, that it is a game that incorporates everything, to Kingdom Hearts. So I brought that idea to Kingdom Hearts. Currently looking at the newer Final Fantasy titles, to be honest, I don't think it really incorporates that idea of having everything. So I think that Kingdom Hearts, to me, is a game that has everything in it.

Nomura actually said that Versus XIII was more of his preference than KH. He enjoyed working on it because it was a break from the super happy, always positive KH universe. 

Nomura: "Kingdom Hearts is not too realistic, but I do want my players to grasp a sense of reality from it as well. For example, I'm sure you had friends when you were young, a good group of friends, but as you grow older things change and it doesn't always stay the same." 

And I think that’s why Lea is (was?) my favorite KH character. Versus XIII was a “fantasy based on reality”. I got the sense that Nomura used Lea/Axel to inject a lot of himself and his preference for realism into KH, since he was so different from other KH characters. He was an adult with a dark backstory. He and his best friend were human lab rats. His best friend later became a sociopath and is possessed. But he longs for the times when they were innocent and happy. Axel was very complicated. I DID get that sense of realism Nomura wanted to convey in his character. That’s why I loved him so much. There was such genuineness in his dialogue.

But I think what Nomura was doing with him and Saïx was so subtle it went over most people’s heads and they couldn’t appreciate it. It sucks because the subtlety made it even better. He basically lived inside the world of his memories. But he hid all of that from everyone (even the player) by smiling. Because he knew happy-go-lucky kids like Roxas and Xion wouldn’t be able to understand him. He was the most realistic and human character for me. He had a dark backstory, but he was still charming, intelligent, and funny. He had many layers. It was devastating to see him get dumbed-down and turned into a caricature of himself in KH3. Flat comic relief whose dark backstory was totally stripped from him. Just like that...poof. Gone. Now it’s all about Retcon X.

October 2014

“If I had to pick, I am a person more on the dark side like Xehanort and co., I harness the burning anger in my heart into what I create,” “Kingdom Hearts 3 current development explodes very much in this sense.”

When I first saw this quote, I had no idea what Nomura meant by channeling his anger into KH3. After playing KH3, I finally understood. That’s why there was so much breaking the fourth wall. Axel was Nomura’s mouthpiece. He was basically acknowledging that the story was crap, like during the scene where he reunited with Ventus and was commenting about how stupid the whole situation was. That B.S. ending? The result of Nomura’s depression. Things aren’t the same anymore. They’ve changed. The whole game just felt like it was phoned in. Nobody who actually cared about the story would do what they did with Kairi and also Lea and Isa’s backstory. KH3 was just so depressing for me because of that. Reading Nomura’s interviews just made it sadder.

2018 Famitsu interview

Tetsuya Nomura's cats were included. He speaks of how his cats cheered him up when he was depressed and how they inspire his work on Kingdom Hearts 3. -The reason he got these cats: Our family really loved cats and dogs, so we always had them in the house. For this reason, when I got a little depressed I was recommended to get cats.

I was really looking forward to Versus XIII when it was announced. Everything about it just sounded so cool. The story was supposed to be the saddest FF, but it would still have fun and humor in it. It was going to be like a road-trip. Noctis’s family was involved in organized crime, like the Yakuza. I still remember the tagline that was a quote from Hamlet. “For there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” Nomura said Noctis wasn’t going to be super serious like Squall. He was shy and awkward. Somnus is still an awesome song. The Noctis in the above picture just felt totally different from the Noctis in FFXV. They give off a completely different vibe. 

After I beat KH3, I was so disappointed with it, I started looking for a bunch of info on Versus XIII, since that game’s cancellation obviously influenced KH3 so much. I have seen a lot of stuff from people who claim to have leaked info about Versus XIII. I find this particular leak to be credible since the person correctly leaked the plot of FFXV six months in advance:

The game centered about death, ghosts and hallucination/dreams. Noctis killed the female protagonist before the game started but he didn't remember. Ardyn was Noctis ancestor and he was responsible of the crystals disappearing over time (the only one left was Lucis crystal). Regis died in front of Noctis because his bodyguards betrayed him. The protagonists had to leave the capital because their nation lost the war.

The game didn't focus on summons that much (they still existed) and instead there were actual gods which didn't appear physically. One of the gods was the main antagonist of the first FF game. Each nation was inspired by a different capital of the world. The empire was using ghosts as weapons. Ravus wanted to kill Noctis for having killed her sister. The game ended in another dimension which was supposed to be their version of the after-life.

This sounds a lot like what Nomura would do with a story, and is consistent with the info and trailers about Versus. I think I remember one where people were being turned into ghosts/monsters. The goddess Etro was supposed to be worshiped in Lucis. And I remember one of the things that interested me most about Versus XIII was that Noctis was able to see some light in the sky that others couldn’t, and it was due to having had a near-death experience as a child. That sounded SO cool.

I can believe the whole Stella being a ghost thing, because Tabata said they had to create Luna because Stella just wouldn’t make sense in the new story. The dreams/hallucinations part sounds cool to me, but is probably thought of as being “too weird” for a mainstream game. Also, the fact that the game ended in the after-life stood out for me. KH3 already had something similar with the Realm of Sleep. But they tried to connect it more with the after-life, even though Nomura previously said there was “no concept of death” in KH. This made me think he was still hung up on Versus while making The Final World. 

I definitely think that the original Versus XIII would have been a much more interesting game, since Nomura was SO passionate about it. The script was finished, too. It was jsut scrapped. The voice actor of Noctis, Suzuki Tatsuhisa, mentioned during the release date live stream that he still has the Versus scripts at home that he reads on his days off. And he said he couldn’t figure out how to move from the Versus Noctis to XV Noctis and struggled to find middle ground. 

He said he had a hard time getting into the character towards the end of the game, so he had to re-do his lines from the middle of the story again a few times to get it right. The fact that he still reads the Versus scripts tells me that he was really disappointed when Versus became XV. It sounds like he enjoyed what Nomura/Nojima wrote a LOT more and had a hard time masking his displeasure.

I stand behind what Sakaguchi said about big budget games development: it’s not worth it anymore. But they are also very disorganized. The staff -200 souls- had to work when the story still wasn’t completely defined. In fact, this story kept changing every 3 months and the definitive delivery date for the game was for the end of 2014. ---Roberto Ferrari

Sadly, the big budget style of production seems to be at the root of why Square Enix’s console games have been so soulless. KH is not for everybody, but it was a series that was made with passion. I actually enjoyed the handheld KH games more than KH3 because they felt like Nomura was able to do what he wanted creatively, instead of feeling like it was made to appease a focus group. I would give up the super fancy graphics in a heartbeat to get KH0.5 and the original vision Nomura had for KH3.

[sephirotha]

I am here once again with a request! ~ Noctis x S/O. They have met during high school and she has been there for him through thick and thin, just like Prompto. On the last day of high school, she left Insomnia to move to Lestallum but before that, she gave a letter to Noct to express her feelings. Knowing his fate, she could never bring herself to do it face to face. Now the chocobros are in the cavern close to Lest. to find the royal weapon. There,they meet Noctis' so fighting against deamons.

Hey, Noct…

Noctis looked around the cave that was behind the waterfall.  The light on his coat turned on as Ignis adjusted his glasses, commenting on the frigid environment.

I’m sorry my moving out of Insomnia was sudden but it was necessary…

Noctis skidded down the ice as Prompto shouted in surprise, sliding down with him.  They landed awkwardly at the bottom, Ignis and Gladiolus following them.  He spotted something out of the corner of his eye and bent down to grab a charm bracelet.

It looked familiar.

I didn’t have much time to give you a proper goodbye and it’s really not what you deserve…

The party stopped when they heard fighting deeper in the cave.  Ignis recognized that one of the fighters had to be human and they picked up the pace, running down the rocky paths.

But I have to say that I like you.  More than a friend.  

Noctis skittered to a halt as he saw a young woman, tanned and fighting three mindflayers.

“Vera?!”

The woman turned and widened her eyes.

“Noct?!”

“Behind you!”

Noctis grabbed his blade and threw it, striking the mindflayer that was looming over her.

And I know you won’t reciprocate my feelings since I know how you feel for Luna.

“That was a close call!” Prompto sighed then grinned at Vera.  “It’s been a while.”

Vera looked at the group, brows knitted in confusion.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Talcott said there might be a Royal Arm here,” Prompto said as he brushed some dirt off his jacket.

“What brings you down here, Miss Berg?” Ignis asked, adjusting his glasses.

Vera looked around then leaned down.  Noctis scrunched his nose as she took out a small bottle, collecting some mindflayer blood.

“Some research,” she said, swirling the glass bottle and holding it up.

“…Still weird as usual.”

Vera glared at Noctis and slapped him up the head.

“Still spoilt as usual,” she mumbled, putting the bottle away.

Noctis rubbed the back of his head as they continued to venture deeper into the cave.

So, that’s all I can say.  I love you, Noct.  But I understand that it’s one-sided, so…I should leave.

Three hours later, the group had set up camp under the stars.  Noctis and Vera sat by the camp, watching Prompto struggle with push-ups whilst being next to Gladiolus.  They held an identical smirk, propping their heads up on the arms of the camping chairs.

You’re a spoilt brat, but you were a good friend. I’ll never forget you.

The campfire was nothing but a pile of ashes, sending remnants of smoke into the starry night.  Noctis and Vera were still awake, looking up at the night sky.

“Two years, huh?”

Vera blinked and glanced at Noctis.  The young king closed his eyes and sighed.

“I…honestly didn’t know how I got by without you.”

Vera snorted.

“You’re surrounded by others who baby you.  I’m sure you handled fine.”

Noctis chuckled dryly.  Vera smirked and sighed.

“…”

“…”

Noctis took out his phone.

“Still play King’s Knight?"

“Never played it in the first place.”

“Really?  Because there’s this new character that’s come out.  She looks a lot like you.”

Vera frowned and leaned over to look at his screen.

“Really…?”

Noctis took the opportunity to kiss her cheek.  Vera snapped back with wide eyes and red cheeks.

“What?!”

Noctis smirked a little and shrugged.

“I…may be engaged to Luna,” he said as Vera opened and closed her mouth. “But…it didn’t mean I didn’t reciprocate your feelings.”

Vera glared at him.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Same reason you didn’t.”

They looked away from each other, a faint blush dusting their cheeks. Vera scooted her chair a little closer.

So that’s it.  Goodbye, Noct.

Vera

“Um…before I forget?”

Noctis looked at Vera and she shifted in her seat.

“How’s Stella?”

P.S. take care of your sister, OK?  She looks after you enough, try doing something for her for a change…

—

“You should be more honest with your feelings.”

Stella pressed her back to the cave wall, holding one of the Pistols of the Eccentric at the ready.  She looked around the corner, catching her breath.  She gasped as a knife sailed through the air and she ducked back to avoid getting hit.

“It’s not that simple, Stells.”

“Oh, Stells~!” the voice rang out in the cave.  “Come out and play~!”

Stella gritted her teeth, held her pistol around the corner, closed her eyes and pulled the trigger.

“But it can’t be good to keep them all bottled up.”

Stella was lucky that her firearm didn’t backfire and she ran around the room, throwing herself behind the nearest rock that could shelter her.  She peered around the rock, aiming and firing again.

Only, she had no bullets left.  She had to wait for her mana to be restored to fill the slots.

“Oh, oh?  Out of ammo?”

Stella disappeared back behind the rock, dismissing the pistol.  Her heart was in her throat.

“So, princess, this is goodbye.”

“Dearest, there is no need to be afraid.”

Stella could see the entrance to the tomb.  If only she could find a way to get past him…

“Take care, Vera.  Noct will miss you.”

Stella’s heart leapt when she found a magic flask containing Thundara. Iris must have given it to her before they parted ways.

She held the flask close, closing her eyes and praying her Shield was safe somewhere.

“As if.  I bet he won’t even notice I’m gone.”

Stella jumped to her feet and threw the flask at her opponent.  There was a loud boom of energy and she took the Dagger of the Mother out.  She threw it at the entrance of the tomb and disappeared inside, throwing herself over the coffin.

“You know that’s not true.”

Stella let out a fierce battle cry as she swung her new Royal Arm: the Hammer of the Judge.

Ardyn grinned as he caught the head of the hammer with both hands.

“Now, now, my queen,” he purred as they wrestled for control over it. “This isn’t ladylike behaviour at all.”

Stella’s blue eyes brimmed with tears as she gritted her teeth.

“Just don’t get yourself killed over him, kay? You do too much for him.”

Vera belongs to: @rosie-mable

[hanalwayssolo]

Somewhere Between The Music and Lyrics: Ch. 2 - End

A/N: Songs featured for this last half are: Jordan Rakei’s Eye to Eye, Justin Timberlake’s Say Something, Tori Kelly’s I Was Made For Loving You.

Tagging pals! @blindedstarlight @raspberryandechinacea @gowithme @valkyrieofardyn @emmydots @hanatsuki89 @noboomoon @lazarustrashpit @animakupo @mp938368 @boo-dangy @bleucommelhiver

(Links in AO3) Alternate Universes in Which You and I Belong Together: Noctis | Gladio | Prompto | Ignis | Nyx | Cor | Ravus | Ardyn

The primly cultivated front garden and the violet bougainvillea that crept up the walls of the house before you looks nothing like a recording studio. At least, that’s what you have assumed from all the films you’ve watched, anyway. You reread the address on your phone: 1130 Citadel Road. As far as your adequate knowledge of Downtown Insomnia is concerned—plus the guidance of Moogle Maps—you’re certainly in the right street. The numbers 1130 plastered by the metal railing clearly says you’re in the right lot, too. The only thing keeping you now from ringing the doorbell is the anxiety churning in your stomach like a raging sea. Overhead, a security camera is watching your every awkward move.

Maybe it’s not yet too late to turn back, you think.

And as soon as the thought leaves you, you hear the sound of your own voice belting out from a passing car, its windows rolled down and its speakers all the way up for the entire neighbourhood to hear.

Your fingers tighten around your phone. This is the fourth time you’ve heard yourself on someone else’s radio, and it is bloody jarring to say the least.

A part of you is still reeling in from everything that has happened ever since that video got out. Who would’ve thought that the band you admired from the comfort of your earphones would suddenly appear right outside your doorstep? And have you lost your mind that you agreed to collaborate on a song with a band as popular as The Lost Boys? You still wonder how on earth they can consider someone like you after one fucking cover when, in fact, you have no formal training in music in the first place. Besides, you have already been perfectly honest with them—with Prompto, most especially, since he had been the one most eager to know more about you—regarding your background and what you do for a living. Which, frankly, had been a tricky discussion since you’re not that fond of talking about yourself without the hint of self-deprecation. But you did manage. As succinctly as you could, you told the boys that you’re simply a bumbling corporate slave by day and a struggling songwriter by night, with hopes of consistently paying your share on rent and amenities with your pesky Internet-famous friends.

Maybe this is all a mistake, you think this time.

You glance at your phone again to check the time. Or rather, you’re hoping to see a message that they have cancelled the deal. But there’s nothing on your lock screen from any of The Lost Boys except the time that beams four-thirty p.m., a couple of unopened messages from Nyx (“u go blow their minds away but call me as soon as they fuck shit up” the initial sentence says, then followed by three eggplant emojis), Libertus (“drop by @ ostium’s tonight & we’ll celebrate!”) and a missed call from Pelna. Even with your friends’ show of support, you feel like you’re still dreaming. But what if this is really just a dream? What if right now, you’re actually still—

A low voice sneaks up behind you. “Can I help you?”

Startled out of your wits, you turn around and you find a tall man in a gray coat, eyeing you with great concern. He’s carrying a bag of groceries on one arm and a handful of books on the other. There’s something awfully familiar about his stern face, his silver-shaved head and magnetic blue eyes, that you cannot quite put a finger on it yet.

“I, uh—” you hesitate for a moment, scratching your cheek— “I don’t know if I’m in the right place, but would you know if there’s a recording studio nearby?”

“You’re actually standing in front of one.” The man flashes you an amiable smile. Your cheeks begin to burn red. Then, he says, “Wait, are you here for Prompto and the boys? I heard they’re expecting someone coming over.”

You nod. “Well… yes.”

“Perfect.” He jerks his head towards the gate. “I was just about to head inside myself. Please, come in.”

The man ushers you along the gravelly path, up the staircase, and into the blue door. Inside, you are welcomed by the sight of a lovely foyer, its pristine white walls tastefully decorated with framed photos and vinyl albums. A sharp aroma of black coffee wafts through the air. It is impossibly cold.

As the man carefully unloads his things on the center table, he tells you, “They should be in the booth right now. Follow me.”

You trail behind the man down the narrow carpeted hallway. You look around and you see more framed records hanging on the wall. You recognize some of it, and it’s like taking a stroll along an impressive hall of legends: The Beatles, Jackson 5, Joy Division, Nirvana, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, and a few other names that you’re certain have made it in the Billboard charts. But you notice that most of the photos on a couple of shelves are that of the five-man band The Regalia, and you remember how your mother used to play their songs on the your old stereo, all because she could not get enough of Clarus’s vocals and...

The realization hits you like a speeding freight train.

“Holy fuck.”

The crispness of your words echoes throughout the corridor that the man turns around to look at you with a confused smile on his face. “Is something the matter?”

“I’m sorry. I, um… you’re...” You sigh, trying to quell your utter disbelief. Gods, how could you have been so blind? “You’re… Clarus Amicitia.”

His smile turns into an amused grin. “I am, indeed. At your humble service.” He regards you with a brief nod. “And you’re the fellow with the lovely voice.”

Your heart leaps into your throat. Gods. Did the Clarus Amicitia—living legend of the Insomnian local music scene—just call your voice lovely?

This is too much for you to handle in one day.

“Uh, well, I—um, thank you. Sir.” You smile at him, but you lower your eyes on your shoes, realizing that your words of gratitude came out in a torment. If Clarus had noticed it, he was kind enough to pretend that he didn’t.

“No need to call me sir—Clarus is fine.” He smiles again right back at you. You’re quite certain that your mother would fucking flip if she finds out about this.

As Clarus leads you to the last door at the far end of the corridor, you can already hear an indistinct melody and the swell of the bass vibrating from the room.

“Here we are,” he says, opening the door. “After you.”

Entering the studio oddly feels like stepping into a different dimension. From the homely elegance of the hallways, the whole room is an air-conditioned sanctuary of hardwood floors and neatly-arranged equipment: massive speakers, rack systems, audio mixers and soundboards, and a bunch of other controls you can hardly name. A pair of acoustic guitars are tidily displayed beside a black couch. Here, strangely enough, the air is thicker with the scent of coffee.

And here, behind the glass panel and amidst all the polish is The Lost Boys, oozing a velvety riff and a soulful tune, steered by a flawless voice that belongs to none other than Prompto.

It’s the birth of a star Earlier than sunset It’s the galaxy’s water Flowing like a riverbed

You hold your breath, immediately drawn to Prompto’s honeyed melodies and the guilt of poetry in the lyrics. Of all the times you have listened to their music, you immediately notice how the rhythm departs from their signature sound. Then again, they have been known to take risks, may it be in their own songs or otherwise.

This, you realize, is their true magic. The minutes seem to have stopped ticking. Behind you, even Clarus has fallen silent.

Yes they shine bright like a million Let them bleed twice for a minute Pleasure to have met you You’re my star tonight—

The music stutters into a halt when Prompto’s gaze falls on you, his eyes meeting yours. A bright grin spreads all over his face, and he waves a hand at you, beckoning you to join them.

Clarus waves back at the boys, and rests a hand on your shoulder. “Make yourself at home. Don’t be afraid to let me know if these grown ass men cause any trouble for you. My son, most especially,” he says cheekily. “And might I just say—“ he folds his arms over his chest, his voice now employing a pensive tone— “I’ve had the pleasure of listening to your rendition of Prompto’s song. All these years, and my ears have not failed me. I know a good singer when I hear one.”

A rush of heat rises to your cheeks. “You’re far too kind to me,” you say, unable to help the smile that tugs the corners of your mouth. You spare one look and nod at Clarus as he leaves, while you awkwardly make your way inside the booth.

As soon as you step inside, Prompto greets you with a warm hug.

“Glad you made it!” he says as he pulls away. You actively ignore how good his cologne smells, or whatever scent he is wearing. “I was starting to think you changed your mind.”

“No. Actually… well, I thought about not coming here,” you admit sheepishly. “I got really nervous.”

“Hey, don’t be!” Prompto says brightly in reassurance, looping an arm around you. Okay, he really does smell nice that you can actually forgive his lack of consideration for personal space.

“And you have nothing to be nervous about,” Noctis adds, fiddling with the strap of his bass guitar.

“Did my old man scare you on your way here?” Gladio asks from behind the drums.

“Oh, no. Not at all.” A lie, kind of. But Gladio looks like he’s buying it. To be fair, Clarus didn’t exactly scare you, though scare is synonymous to intimidate—because who wouldn’t be intimidated in the presence of Clarus fucking Amicitia? “Though he did say I should be careful of you,” you say truthfully.

Prompto and Noctis erupt in a gale of laughter. Even Ignis is amused. Gladio shakes his head and with an apologetic smile, he tells you, “Please don’t mind my dad. I promise, I’m completely harmless—”

“I think your father is less concerned with your inclination to violence and more on your inclination to romancing… well, anything that moves,” Ignis chides as he returns his electric guitar on a stand, taking a seat next to the speakers.

Prompto unloops his arm around you and rests it on your shoulder as he says, “Don’t worry about this monster—I got you." At that, you feel like your heart skipped a beat. You could only wish that you're not blushing like a fool. "Though best believe he’d flirt with a lamp post if you dress it right.”

Gladio quickly shoots Prompto a threatening glare, and then he smiles at you. “Please don’t believe them.”

“I can’t promise anything, but I’ll try, I guess?” You laugh, and they do, too. It’s bizarre how being around them reminds you of being around your circle of friends. You shift on your feet a little, hesitant to the comfort of their company. Then, turning to Prompto, you gingerly ask, “Um, by the way. Were you guys recording a new song earlier?”

“Oh, that?” Prompto gives you a sheepish smile. “Not really—we’re just experimenting on some of the lyrics I wrote.” His eyes widen. “Speaking of, not to put you on the spot but—” Prompto dashes to take a mic stand and sets in front of you— “I was thinking this might help you ease into… all of this.”

You glance at Noctis, Gladio, and Ignis, all three of them looking at you expectantly. You narrow your eyes at Prompto. “Are you… trying to make me sing?”

He tilts his head. “Um, yeah. What else?”

“Really? Like right now?”

“Yes, like right now.” Prompto is grinning at you. First, he smells nice and now he’s being painfully charming. “Name any song. We’d play it with you.”

You cross your arms over your chest. “Any song? Seriously?”

“Yup.” Prompto laughs. “Why, you doubt we can’t play something mainstream like Rihanna? Or Queen Bey, even?”

“No, it’s not that—alright, then.” You chew on your bottom lip, and heave a long, shuddery sigh. Static rings from the microphone. You look around and out of the corner of your eye, you spot a spare guitar—in an instant you know it’s a Les Paul, gods bless your poor ass soul—sitting beside a Steinway piano. To Prompto, you say, “Can I borrow that guitar?”

He nods. “Yeah, sure.”

You take the blessed thing, equipping it as carefully as you can. You’re finding it hard to concentrate when all eyes are glued on you. Prompto, most especially. You draw a deep breath, and release your inhibitions in a loud exhale.

Then comes the crisp strum of your fingertips against the chords. The steady pace and pulse. You catch a glimpse of Prompto smiling at you, and that unmistakeable glint of recognition in his eyes. He knows the song. The rest of the boys know it, too. And as if by some form of telepathy, Gladio prepares the percussions. Ignis tunes his guitar, Noctis readies his bass. Prompto picks up another guitar to accompany you as you sing.

Everyone knows All about my direction And in my heart somewhere I wanna go there

It’s almost frightening how easily you slip into their dynamic, as if you have been a part of them for as long as can remember. You can feel yourself slowly relax, the nerves leaving your body and aptly replaced by the swelling notes. The cadence intensifies. It is when Prompto sings along with you that a jolt of electricity runs down your spine.

Everyone knows all about my transgressions Still in my heart somewhere There’s melody and harmony For you and me tonight

This, you realize, is a different kind of sorcery. His voice blends with yours so perfectly that you see Noctis and Gladio exchange wide-eyed glances. Prompto’s eyes locks on yours, and he flashes you that charming smile of his.

And all you can think to yourself is: Where have you been all my life?

Prompto knows that this was supposed to be a temporary arrangement. Still, he finds himself stealing away most of your days.

Not in a bad way, of course. After your first session with the band, he had insisted to accompany you home—quite a long walk, sure, but you said you were fond of walking and he wanted to spend more time with you—which somehow ended up with the both of you hanging out in your couch, exchanging playlists and punch lines and feasting on your Kenny Crow’s leftovers. Thankfully, your roommates didn’t seem to mind him being around the apartment, though he could not help but notice how they would purposely stay longer by the kitchen counter across the living room just to keep a watchful eye on you. Prompto found it equal parts endearing and frightening, but he really could not blame them. If he had someone like you, he would probably do the same thing.

Every second with you, he'd always find himself wanting another. So he treasures each day with you as it drifts onto the next, and all the nights that come along with it. With the limited time you spend with him in the studio writing and making music, he would make it a point to always walk you back to your place, if this is what it takes to be with you a little while longer. If he had to admit, apart from your insane talent, he adores your smile, and how it crinkles the corner of your eyes whenever you talk about your friends or any of your favourite things. He adores it even more when you do it on occasions he tells you a corny joke or two. He adores how your eyes brighten whenever your beautiful mind works its wonders into music. But he adores your laughter the most, how it's like a soothing melody he wants to listen to on repeat, so he tries to crack you up with an abundance of his silliness just to hear that bubbling laugh.

But he has seen you at your worst, too. If he could, he would trade all of his good days just for you to overcome your bad days. He’d write all the songs for you until his hands bleed, if need be.

Such a constellation are you to him. Who would have thought that his own song would lead him straight to you? But still, Prompto wishes he had the courage to say all these things. But as his adoration for you blossoms into something else, he lets his feelings known the only way he knows how: by letting the words leak into the page, letting it dry into a song.

Even though we may be hopeless hearts Just passing through Every bone screaming I don’t know what we should do All I know is, darling, I was made for loving you

You are startled to find Prompto alone in the studio, tuning his guitar.

“Where are the others?” you ask, as if by way of greeting. You drop your things by the couch, taking a seat beside him.

“Um, they’re—they went out to buy some food! Or something,” Prompto says nervously. He avoids your eyes. Weirdly, his nervousness is making you nervous, too. “I, uh—” he takes a piece of paper from his jacket and hands it to you— “I wrote down a couple of lines to complete the chorus. You wanna give it another go?”

You unfold the piece of paper and read the lyrics.

Shit. It’s beautiful. It’s too beautiful that you cannot help but wonder to whom he wrote it for. In the weeks you have known him, you’re aware that he isn’t exactly seeing anyone. The thought of the song has been written for another person makes your heart wince.

“Wow, this is… really good, Prom,” you say as evenly as you can. “I guess whoever’s on your mind when you wrote this must be a lucky person.”

Prompto looks up at you. “Well, yeah. But I think I’m luckier ‘cause I have them by my side right now.”

A strange silence settles between the two of you. The only sound you can hear is your own heart racing in what seems to be a hundred miles per hour. You want to say something, but the words are locked somewhere down your throat.

Prompto sighs. “Look, I’d totally understand if you don’t feel the same way. I just want you to know what I feel—”

“Actually, I do feel the same way,” you say. You bite your lip to stop the smile trying to escape your lips, only to fail miserably.

“Wait, really?”

“Yes, really.”

“Are you serious—”

“Prom, if you don’t stop talking and if you don’t start kissing me right now, I’ll hate you forever.”

In that moment, he crosses the space between the two of you, cupping your face in his hands. This time, the silence sings. Its music dances at the beat of your own heart. Prompto takes his sweet time as he presses a kiss on your forehead, traveling down to the tip of your nose, and slowly but surely, his lips finally finding yours.

[armada-of-ships-against-antis]

Gush about some of your favorite ships please

Sorry for the long wait, but I think I might be ready for this now. (and before anybody wonders, of course it is in the middle of the night and I should go to bed now! Cause it’s the best time to gush over your ships!)

Okay lets begin with Spirk - man I was raised being a Trekkie and to be honest I never saw the great appeal of Kirk, cause my fucking younger than 10 year old heart already belonged to that vulcan! And I bailed my eyes out when he died! But after Kirk and the crew did everything to bring him back, I was like: Okay Kirk is a good one, okay! Nobody will ever be able to seperate them, only over my dead body. Back then it was more about the friendship but I’ll be dammned if I didn’t become a Spirk shipper some 10 years later when rewatching it. But why stop there, get Bones into the fun, too! Try to provoke that human side of Spock, trigger some unlogical feelings, try to beat him in 3d chess!

Okay bear with me there are three other Star Trek ships I wanna gush about!  I pretty much watched the series in the order they came out, so next was TNG that I saw, and although I loved data to every bit and byte of his android being, I was at a loss for a love interest for him. Okay there is always Geordie I guess or Picard, but TNG never hold a deep appeal for me in that field. So on to DS9. When I saw it as a kid, is was boring shit with all that politics and religion. I was around 18 when I rewatched and then in only the fourth episode I became suddenly aware of how motherfucking much Garak flirted with Julian Bashir! And I fell so deeply in love for their weird dynamic of a young and easily impressible human doctor with a mysterious cardassian spy tailor. I ran around showing scenes with them to people who were not shippers and they agreed, that there was tension. And right there was my first time finding background informations about my ship. It was there! I didn’t just interpret too much!  Andrew Robinson, the actor said himself he thought of Elim Garak as an omnisexual character who had a certain interest in Julian. It was absolutely mindblowing to me (also I started to google what omnisexual meant and found about pansexuality, so this is kinda part of finding my own identity, thanks to the closeted representation of a queer alien in sci-fi show from the 90s)

Okay two more and I’m done with Star Trek. But both are from Voyager. Throughout the series I loved the chemistry between Janeway and Chakotay. The slightly forbidden, the pressure, the loneliness of being captain of a ship so far away she probably would never see her husband again. Tragic shit and so perfect set up.  And then came Seven of Nine and manged to shake things up. Suddenly I was a multi shipper, because I couldn’t decide if she or Chakotay should be with Kathryn. The one was loving, supporting and the other was awkward, learning new things about finding humanity again. One was frowned upon because of their ranks and the other because Seven was still more borg than human in how she behaved. So pretty cold, while also confused a ton of times and Janeway ALWAYS had the time and nerves to explain it to her. Just like the doctor (who speaking between us is also a solid shipping option for Seven!)

Damn I tricked you by forgetting myself, that I did develop a shipping crush on Q x Picard. Damn have you ever seen those two interacting. The cockiness in the room, the mocking tone, the resistance. Have you seen those scenes you could perfectly take out of context and already have a “morning after sex” scenario?

Good now let’s take a deep breath and come to the Harry Potter fandom. Or in my case Severus Snape’s playground to be shipped to literally everybody! If it had Snape in it, I would read Everything during that time. Snarry was my most favourite, followed by Snape x Lucius, Remus, Sirius. But I also was looking into x Hermione, Draco, Lily, James, McGonagall, Dumbledore, Ron, Neville (Oh what a small and angsty ship), Bellatrix, Voldemort, Narcissa, Tonks, hell I even read one with Hagrid! (Okay I admit I didn’t enjoy that). Snape was my shipping bitch. Beside that I was of course loving Sirius x Remus.

Okay we move a tiny bit backwards in my life timeline, because before I started to excessively ship my ship bitch with everybody that was breathing, I had a rare ship in Final Fantasy (VII to be more precisely). Hojo x Vincent. You know just your ordinary crazy, mentally instable old (as in probably 60 years old) mad scientist having his way with a young agent from a special task force who canonly had a love interest in his wife… yeah. You know the totally normal stuff you ship every day!  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  

I mean I also had the regular Cloud x Sephiroth, Cid x Vincent, Cloud x Tifa, Tifa x Aeris, Reno x Rude or Rufus and so on, but hell yeah I wrote one of my longest fanfictions with most of my OCs for Hojo and Vincent and someone commented on it. That person became my fucking best friend for now over 13 years who went with me through so much shit but is still my shipping partner in crime till now.

Together we discovered the movie Megamind and watched it more than 10 times in one week! We were so instantly on board with Megamind x Roxanne that it nearly hurt. And when we started an rpg, we shipped the fuck out of them, gave Minion a mermaid to love and that was the most perfect and sweet shit. They are just adorable! He’s such a goofball, sick with love only hold back because of his supervillain image.

I also met my second girlfriend via fanfiction comment. I had written a smut one shot about Tarrant Hightopp, the mad Hatter with ‘his’ Alice. That was also the first one I attempted to translate into English. When we met for the first time, we also watched Alice in Wonderland around 10 times together and we were in love with the lovely dynamic. We were frustrated when we found out, there was even a kiss in the script that never made it to the fucking screen! It was outrageous! I started to learn how to write a scottish accent and strew in some scottish words in our rpg to make it more authentic.

(And after that I managed to pull her into the pit of the Harry Potter fandom, hell I even pulled her into the pit of shipping mlm which she didn’t like until Snupin. But our main ship was suddenly Snape with her OC and we wrote a lot. Like between 2-8k word for one single post in our rpg! In the end we had enough to fill two books. We did even cosplay as them.)

Let’s get back to the Final Fantasy fandom a bit and let me gush over the other ships I had over the years. I’m still a huge Squall x Quistis shipper from part 8 and Laguna x Kiros! I also have an eye on Cifer x Fu-Jin (hah one eye, cause she has a an eyepatch, urgh I know that was a bad joke). And while I started as a big Auron x Tidus shipper, it shifted more to Auron x Rikku. I shipped them when I was about 15 (her age) and I thought I wasn’t allowed to do that, so I made a whole fucking AU where she was older and it developed into a totally original story of my own, which I have never ever written down even one page). With X-2 I satisfied myself with Paine x Rikku, they were such cute opposites of each other, I couldn’t resist! Only some years ago I played FF 15 and damn it was a shipping paradise again for me. Like all of the four protagonists are a match for each other! And then Ardyn appeared and made me weak in the knees. So Ardyn x Noctis but also just because those the truly most favorite characters: Ardyn x Ignis. Not exactly the fluffy happy stuff, I can tell you that. Manipulation, angst, abuse it had it all.

I can’t talk about Final Fantasy and leave Kingdom Hearts out, so yeah I started as a typical Sora x Riku (not Rikku from FF 10) fangirl and with part 2 I also feel for Axel x Roxas. I know, I know but at least with Organisation 13 you had a whole bunch of shippable characters. Just make one or two of them your shipping bitch, in my case Xemnas and Xigbar and ship the shit out those guys with everybody you can think of in the organisation.

And when we are already talking about Kingdom Hearts, I just jump into Disney a bit. Like every girls dream was to find their prince, ect and I was like: yeah Mulan and Shan Yu seem to fit nicely… Frollo is a fucking ass creep, but damn that scene in the cathedral when he sniffs Esmeraldas hair… Jasemine you look good in that red slave outfit for Jafar to be honest and dear Adam, you should have stayed a beast for Belle. Happy ruining your childhood. You’re welcome. :D Not that I shiped those during seeing those movies the first time, but you know I rewatch stuff!

Good okay let’s check the watch… good 1 hour later…. I’m not gonna finish this any time soon…. I’m sorry. I just tried to make a list of ships that seem important to me and I would probably write another hour or two. I just hope this satisfies you for the moment ;)

If you or anybody else wants to hear about more video game, movies or series ships and me writing an essay about that shit… feel free to ask I guess LMAO

Good Night dear people (or maybe not I see 15 messages on my dash)

[thedarklordmegatron]

Ignoct Gift Exchange!

Happy New Year @spelldaggered ! I hope you enjoy this and can forgive me for the angst <3 @ignoctgiftexchange

Heads up, Noctis says the f word once towards the end of this ;)

If there was one thing that never ceased to amaze Ignis, it was the resilience of the human race. Listening to the cacophony of sounds, the laughter of children and the joyful singing of their parents, one could almost forget that they had just survived a decade of darkness and desperation. That not months earlier they had been on the verge of famine, the lack of sunlight having killed off a large portion of the fauna and flora, whilst the UV lights over time ruined the nutritional value of the crops they did manage to grow.

He had long since accepted that his sight would never return, such was the price of wielding the power of the Kings, and moved beyond wishing for even a little vision. However, sitting on a bench, or what he presumed was one, listening to the sounds of the joyful New Year’s celebrations occurring around him; Ignis once again felt his throat tighten and the longing return. Somewhere out there, among the throngs of people, were Gladio, Prompto and Iris. Early that evening he’d waved them off, telling them to enjoy themselves and celebrate, that he was more than content to rest a while and listen. He was not content. In truth, he had not been since Noctis had been taken into the Crystal all those years ago.

“You should be celebrating,” A warm voice says from his left, startling him from his thoughts was a featherlight touch to his shoulder.

“You’ll have to forgive me Majesty, but I don’t quite feel up to it.”

“Iggy” Noctis chides “Just this once, please, try to enjoy yourself.”

“Perhaps I do not wish to!” Ignis snaps before dropping his head into his hands with a sigh “Forgive me. I did not mean to shout at you.”

“It’s alright.” But it isn’t. It can’t possibly be alright. “Gladio’s walked past ten times in the last hour, he stops, looks at you and carries on.” Noctis comments, brushing up against Ignis’ side so gently that the movement could almost have been mistaken as the gentle caress of the wind. “He’s worried, they all are.”

“They’ve been worried since Altissia,” Ignis replies sharply “It’s nothing new, but I am perfectly capable of caring for myself.”

Noctis’ sigh is almost inaudible “You know that’s not what they’re worried about Iggy.” And he does. Both Gladio and Prompto had been less than subtle over the past few months, often appearing on his doorstep without warning and insisting that they spend the days together, insisting that he stay with them for a couple of days. It’s too much. He’s hardly about to throw himself from the top of the Citadel, there’s still far too much work to be done and a world in need of fixing. “Ignis?” Noctis prompts.

“I’m fine,” The lie rolls smoothly off his tongue. He’s loathed to admit it but over the past decade he’s become something of a liesmith, in another life a most admirable trait for the King’s Advisor and Spy Master, in this one? A detriment to his own physical and mental health if he’s completely honest with himself.

Somewhere among the crowd, a child screams in laughter and Ignis automatically curls in on himself, reaching for a weapon he knows will not appear. He hasn’t felt the smooth, familiar texture of his daggers in close to six months, the weapons having been stored in the Armiger at the time of the Accursed’s demise. The hand on his shoulder moves and Ignis finds himself held in a gentle embrace.

“You’re safe,” Noctis says softly, close to his ear “It was a little girl. Her sister grabbed her from behind.” While not necessarily needed, the explanation is most welcome as it successfully calms his rapidly beating heart. “It’s nearly midnight,” He continues on, “There’ll be fireworks soon.” It’s a warning disguised as an off-hand comment, that should he need to hide away from the undoubtedly loud noises that are to come there is little time to do so.

“I suspect Prompto will come and collect me before then, or at least shortly afterwards.” Ignis replies calmly. Fireworks are of no concern, he’d already sat through several shows since the coming of the Dawn. Silence descends upon them as Ignis returns to listening to the crowds, content in the arms of his partner.

After what feels like hours but in reality cannot be more than a few minutes, the musicians had only just finished their most recent song, Noctis speaks once again “I was going to propose you know.” His heart is suddenly in his throat and Ignis finds himself lost for words. “Before I went into the Crystal I had it set in my mind, once Ardyn was dead and I was on the throne, I was going to take you to the top of the Citadel and propose. Dino made the ring for me before we went to Altissia.” Why is Noctis telling him this? Did he want to cause him yet more pain? “Couldn’t imagine myself being with anyone else, not after everything we’d been through.” A tear rolls down his cheek, shortly followed by several others. “I love you Ignis, always have done and always will.”

“I love you too,” He chokes out, barely able to speak past the lump that has formed in his throat, “Gods I love you Noct.” Ignis moves to take hold of one of the hands resting on his stomach but is only met with the familiar heavy fabric of his coat. His head drops and the tears flow freely now, accompanied by barely restrained sobs. “I cannot do this without you.”

“Yes you can,” Noctis whispers into his ear, one ethereal hand moving up to hold his cheek “You’re stronger than you know Iggy, but you’ve got to want it. You’ve got to move on, forge your own path and find some happiness for yourself.”

“Happiness?” He cries through his tears “How am I meant to find happiness when you’ve gone to the one place I cannot follow?!” The music and voices of Insomnia’s citizens fade into the background, drowned beneath the sound of his own sobs.

“Because I know you,” Noctis says firmly “You’re Ignis Stupeo Scientia and you’re the most stubborn, most wonderful man I know. You aren’t one to give up because things are tough. If it’d been me who lost his eyesight, I know I’d have just said fuck it and given up. I’d have let the world go to hell in a handbasket because I wouldn’t have cared; between losing dad, Luna and then my eyes? There’s no way I’d have kept going. You though? You lost just as much as I did, even more, and you kept going. You put on the Ring of the Lucii, knowing full well that it would probably kill you, you fought Ardyn, Ardyn, because he threatened me! While I slept, you fought. You fought back and came out stronger than any of us.” He pauses and Ignis feels a familiar pair of lips ghost of his cheek. “You deserve to be happy Ignis, and if you can’t do it for yourself, do it for me.”

“Noct-” Ignis pauses. What could he possibly say to that?

“I wish things could have been different Iggy, I really do. In another life, you’d be my husband and I’d spend every moment trying to make you happy. But right now? In this life, I need you to be strong.” Noctis whispers “I need you to keep going and carry on. It’s going to be hard but that’s why you have the others. They’re your brothers just as much as they were mine Ignis. Let them help you.” Ignis sobs once again, desperately seeking the physical contact that he knows he will not find. “I love you so gods damned much Iggy.” And now he’s sure there are tears in Noctis’ voice “So much. When the time does come I’ll be waiting for you, but you’ve got to promise me that you won’t do anything stupid. That you’ll take care of yourself and try to be happy.”

“I promise,” He croaks out through his tears “I promise.” The arms around his body move away “Noct!” He stumbles to his feet and almost immediately goes crashing to his knees, “Noct!” He throws one arm out in the hopes of reaching the spectre, only to feel said hand he engulfed by coldness and a pair of icy lips touch his skin.

“I love you.” Noctis repeats once more before the chill fades away entirely. Ignis lurches forward, gasping for breath and grabbing hold of the wooden structure he’d been sitting on. He can barely hear Gladio’s voice calling out his name, it’s only when a pair of warm arms surround him does he fight back. No! Their shared body heat is quickly removing Noctis’ chill.

“Iggy!” Gladio shouts, fighting back against the hands digging into his face “Iggy stop!”

“He was here!” He protests “Noct! Noctis!” Later he’ll look back on that moment and be appalled by his frantic behaviour, and the subsequent cuts he leaves upon Gladiolus’ face. To his credit, Gladio doesn’t say anything further, he simply tucks Ignis’ arms up against his chest and holds him tightly as the fireworks signalling the start of the new year go off around them.

“It’s alright Iggy,” He soothes “It’s alright.” It’s not. It never will be. However, curled up in Gladio’s embrace, he notices a distinct weight on his left hand and upon inspection, he realises exactly what it is. A simple gold band. A ring. Bringing it up to his face he kisses it and thinks to himself that while he will never be alright, he might just be able to be okay.

[the-truth-will-light-the-sky]

The Habits and Mannerisms of Ravus Nox Fleuret, Part One

Ravus Headcanons about control, emotions and general snarky-ness

This is going to be a long post so I’m putting a cut to save your dashboards from the Ravus overload. I really want to squish his cheeks for some reason, though that probably won’t bid well for me, haha! 

This one is also for @ravus-week too. :) Please take a visit over and see all the lovely content for our dear prince of Tenebrae. He deserves more love. 

Ravus doesn’t feel cold. He overheard one of the officers in Gralea joking that it’s because his heart is already cold. But that is not the case.

The lord of Tenebrae grew up surrounded by cold gales and nightly wind storms. Fenestala Manor is high up above the rest of Tenebrae and the temperature is too cold. He’s grown used to it.

He doesn’t mind embracing V when she feels cold and she always does. He finds it as an excuse to cuddle.

Despite his want of affection from his lover, and gentle hugs from his sister, Ravus Nox Fleuret hates to be touched. 

One would not be surprised to hear a curt ‘Don’t you lay your grubby hands on me!’ if someone decides to touch his hands or his hair. He’s very protective of his personal space.

He has a habit of ignoring people’s eyes, too. He doesn’t like to be stared at, and most definitely hates it when he catches them doing so intentionally. He won’t stop himself from being snarky about it.

Scowls, glares, spiteful side-glances, Ravus Nox Fleuret is the master of them all.

As an imperial commander, it falls unto Ravus’ shoulders to train his subordinates. He’s merciless both in training and in the battlefield. He doesn’t hesitate to dismiss anyone who doesn’t put an effort into anything.

Ravus ignores every woman and man who sidles up next to him. And they hate him for it. He’s turned down everyone who asks him on a date or asks for any suggestive sexual favors. To him, there is only one person for him, and that is his lover.

People are afraid to enter his private office for a report because the snarky imperial commander doesn’t shy away from shouting and general heartlessness. 

He doesn’t hold his tongue either. He tends to be rather ruthless with his words, using insulting words if necessary. He does this expertly though, hiding his ruthlessness behind his sarcasm. 

He’s a completely different person when he’s within Imperial presence. It’s his way of raising his defenses. He’s survived because of this, along with his cunning and strength.

His hand always finds the sword his father gave him, his fingers curling around the handle absent-mindedly.

If someone dares to lift a sword against him, expect a quick parry. He’s trained with the empire for years and before that he trained extensively with his father, Sonus, and with his lover, V. He’s got quick reflexes. Try throwing even just a paper ball at him, he’d duck straight away. Though whoever throws that will have to face dire consequences. Lord Ravus hates to be made fun of.

Ravus is an emotional man. He tries his best to hide it and with success, too. Yet those who are dear to him know that his cold facade is just a cover up. 

Given this, his emotional outbursts are intense. One must be made of sturdy mettle just to be able to witness him at his rampage. Despite this, however, he never resorts to hurting anyone even though his rage has taken a violent emotional turn.

His emotions are never at a middle-ground. It’s always either extremely soft and vulnerable or an earth-shattering intensity. It’s a wonder how he can keep his composure. When he’s very much vexed and would want to punch somebody in the face if he can, he’d try to stop himself, except if it’s Noctis or Ardyn. But then, he won’t do that, of course. He’s a proper lord. Unless he deems it necessary, however.

If it’s an enemy however, they must be prepared to dig their own grave and hide, because Ravus would be merciless.

He’s very honest and won’t stop himself from speaking what is on his mind, even though he knows it can hurt. He puts absolute trust in his loved ones that they know he doesn’t mean any harm. 

This gif makes me laugh! I’ve written a post where Ravus eats all of the lemon madeleines during his tea time with Lunafreya and Queen Sylva. This fits it so well! Link to the story is at the end of the post.

He can be quite controlling at times. He never does it for harm though. He expects perfection from every one he adores. But most of all, he wants to control his life. 

Speaking of control, V knows how things will always go inside their private room. And it doesn’t mean she’s the one in control. A needy Ravus is an intense Ravus. So when Ravus goes home to Tenebrae for his vacation, expect the next few nights (or days) to be *ahem* quite sleepless.

The lord of Tenebrae hates it if a decision has been made without his knowing. He lets the others decide, but he wants to be in on it too. After all, for Ravus, communication is key.

Table manners for Ravus are a must. He’s one of those people who would judge anyone’s character just by their table manners.

He eats with an air of royalty and always conducts himself properly around everyone. Please don’t chew loudly. It irritates him to no end.

Ravus has a habit of apprehending people who disobey rules and instructions. Be it a soldier or an officer in Niflheim, a Tenebraen retainer or even Umbra and Pryna, nobody escapes his scoldings. 

Lunafreya usually gets scolded by her older brother, not because of any bad habits, but for pushing herself too far too much. He hates seeing her getting weaker by the day. Noctis, to him, does not deserve his sister’s suffering. 

Ravus apprehends V for swearing. She’s grown accustomed to living alone and accompanying men bigger than her on hunts that she’s picked up a few bad habits. Being a man of etiquette, Ravus sees this as his duty to straighten out his lover’s unruly behavior. Of course, he lets her slip a few curses here and there, but if he catches her on her own and cursing a table for stabbing her toe, he’ll have none of it. He loves her nonetheless. He thinks it’s amusing to find a woman both so feminine and masculine at the same time. 

Ravus is very meticulous about his surroundings, particularly his study and bedroom. 

His bedroom must always have matching bedsheets and blankets. Also, there should be no dust or else Ravus would turn into a sneezing mess, and no one wants to see him with watery eyes and sniffles. Although V thinks he’s quite cute when he has his allergies. He becomes extremely childlike, basking in V’s efforts in trying to make him feel better. 

His bathroom should be spic and span. No hair on the drain, please. 

There are no particular scents in his bedroom except for the natural scent of flowers coming from outside. He likes to relax surrounded by the perfume-like scent.

He hates it when people leave a mess in his study, or when they rearrange his books. Speaking of books, he keeps them in alphabetical order and by genre. If Ravus was not a prince, he’d either be a librarian, a naturalist, a healer or a scholar...with a penchant for sword wielding.

I think I’ve gone overboard again. Ravus might accuse me of over-sharing, to which I admit I am very much guilty of. I suppose I am going to have to cut it here again and proceed to put the rest in another post. Can’t help writing long things, to be frank. I hope to write posts with as much sacrosanct words as possible. I do hope you don’t mind me posting such long posts. 

Lord Ravenous Nox Fleuret : Tea & Madeleine post

https://the-truth-will-light-the-sky.tumblr.com/post/179556088178/tea-madeleines

[bgn846]

FFXV Fic - Blue Skies

Nyx finds out how enlightening it can be going on a picnic with his girlfriend's uptight brother.

A fic I did for the Final Fantasy XV White Day Exchange      

Here is the link for AO3 if you prefer. 

Luna looked practically divine stretched out on the blanket that was spread on the grass.  The wind picked up for a brief moment moving her hair in a gentle sweeping motion causing Nyx to smile.   He loved that she was finally relaxing after a long day.

Not everyone was comfortable taking naps in front of other people.  Granted it was just him and Ravus but Luna still looked amazing.  Unlike a certain someone they both knew who would nap away with their face smashed into a pillow complete with a line of drool.  Noctis would always deny he did this but they’d all seen it at one point or another. The royal had a penchant for taking naps and it didn’t matter where he was either.

Saving the world saps your energy for sure, Nyx had seen as much with Luna.  It’d been nearly a year since all the daemons and Ardyn had been cast away.  Peace was finally the only thing rampant throughout the world instead of the scourge.   Enjoying a picnic a year earlier would have seemed like a ludicrous idea but here they were soaking up the sun and being lazy.

Even Umbra and Pryna were flaked out beside Luna.  Umbra was on his back with all four legs up in the air.  Nyx assumed running around a giant field chasing them earlier had done the trick.  Pryna looked a little more dignified and was snoring lightly.

Nyx was seriously debating about lying down next to Luna but he could already hear Ravus whining in the back of his head.  He needed to loosen up, they’d been dating nearly two years but that didn’t stop her big brother from being a total bummer sometimes.  

“Oh just do it already.” Ravus sighed from the corner of the blanket he was sitting cross legged on.

“Why so you can gripe about it in the background.  No thanks, I’ll keep my cuddling efforts private.” Nyx huffed.

“That’s not what I was talking about.”

Nyx was confused now, what the heck was he going on about. “You’ll have to elaborate there for me I’m not following.”

“I know you have a ring for her, I’ve seen the box.  Why haven’t you asked yet?  You’ve had that box for nearly two months now.” Ravus asked with a serious face.  “Do you not think my sister will make you happy?”

Nyx was stunned, the last thing he was expecting was for Ravus to be questioning him about his future plans with Luna.  Finally his thoughts ordered themselves in some semblance and he responded.  “Ravus I love Luna with all my heart and she’s already made me the happiest man alive.  Honestly I haven’t asked her yet because I couldn’t figure out how to get your permission first.  You can be a bit of a tool sometimes.” He finished with a smug look.

“Hmmphff, I hadn’t considered that.” He huffed.  “Well then ask me.”

“What so you can say no!” Nyx whined.  

“So If I honestly told you no you would stop dating my sister?” Ravus asked with a look of shock.

“Um – not quite but it would seriously put a damper on my future plans.”

“I repeat again, ask me.”

Taking a deep breath Nyx sat up a little straighter from where he was sprawled on the blanket.  “Ravus, I would very much like to marry your sister and take care of her for as long as I live.  I would be eternally grateful if you were to give your blessing to our union.”  The glaive finished with a somewhat shy look.  Ravus was correct and if he said no Nyx would still be with Luna but it would change the vibe, that wasn’t something he wanted to have happen.

Ravus took nearly a minute to respond he was clearly enjoying torturing Nyx with the delay.  “I’ll have you know that if you ever make my sister unhappy I will personally come find you and destroy you.”  Pausing for effect more than anything he finally continued.  “I will however grant you my blessing.  Though I am loath to admit it I believe Luna truly does love you.”

The squeal that erupted from behind Nyx caused him to flinch and yell out loud.  Luna shot straight up from where she had supposedly been napping with the biggest smile Nyx had ever seen on her shining face.

“Do you mean it Ravus?” She asked while waving her hands around like a little girl.  “You have to walk me down the aisle and I will want to dance with you as well.  Oh please tell me you are being serious!” Luna pleaded.

Umbra was up and barking since Luna was so excited.   Pryna lifted her head and after licking her chops decided that napping would be a better choice and promptly returned to that activity.

“I wouldn’t joke about something like that Luna.  I want you to be happy as well.” Ravus added with a frown.  “If this glaive makes you feel that way then I will of course be more than willing to do as you ask.”

“Eeeee I’m getting married!” Luna breathed excitedly.

Nyx felt a little out of the loop as he sat and watched them discuss his proposal that hadn’t even happened yet.  Surprisingly it was Ravus who held his hand up and motioned to Nyx. “I believe you may be getting ahead yourself Luna.  I think Nyx has to ask you something first.”

Luna closed her mouth so quickly her teeth clicked.  Nyx would swear later when he retold the story to all his friends that Luna was actually vibrating in place with anticipation. Taking a deep breath he dug into his pants pocket and pulled out a small blue velvet covered box.  It only took a moment to reposition himself on one knee in front of the oracle.  She was wide eyed and shaking slightly.  “Luna, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?  Will you marry me?” He asked with a calm voice.        

“Yes!  Of course I accept!” Luna squealed as Nyx took her hand and placed the ring on her finger.  The second the ring was in place Luna threw her arms around his neck and started kissing his face.  “I can’t believe this is happening to me right now.” She breathed in between kisses.

“Get a room.” Ravus added dryly but his smile betrayed his true feelings.  “Perhaps when you are both done sucking face we could eat the food we brought.  This was supposed to be a picnic wasn’t it?”

“I might need a nap first!” Nyx exclaimed. “You two and your antics wore me out!”  For the first time in the history of Eos Nyx witnessed Ravus and Luna laughing at the same time.  They both honest to gods giggled and it was almost too much to bear.  

Ravus took pity on him and stopped teasing them.  He instead began setting up the food as they came down off their high.   Soon enough the three were silently munching away on cute sandwiches and chips.  Luna perked up after a few minutes with a devious look in her eyes.  “I think I know who would make the perfect ring bearer.”

“No.” Ravus cut in.  “That is silly.”

“What is? What are you two talking about?” Nyx asked trying to catch up.

“Oh come on it would be so cute.” Luna trilled.

“Who are you talking about?” Nyx asked again.

“Umbra obviously.” Luna offered like it was the most normal thing on the planet.

“What if he decides to time hop while walking down the aisle?” Nyx asked horrified.

“Don’t be such a stick in the mud babe; Umbra wouldn’t do that to us.  Right?” She asked while looking at the dog in question.  Umbra simply barked and wagged his tail.

“Ravus help me.” Nyx pleaded with a small smile.  “Isn’t that what brother in laws do?”

Ravus to his credit did try and talk his sister out the idea but in the end Luna had only added Pryna to the mix.  Claiming two dogs were better than one so both men gave up and decided to take a nap instead.

Lying on the blanket and staring at the clouds going by Nyx couldn’t wait until the big day.  He was so happy that Ravus had given them their blessing and that Luna had said yes!   Now the only thing left to ponder was whether their magical ring bearing dogs would be coming on the honeymoon.