#ardyn meanwhile: can i murder?

[sparklecryptid]

More random thoughts that made me laugh - a Lovecraft-inspired thought about how a Lazarus might respond to a question about Luche’s whereabouts. “In her Uncle’s home on Angelgard Rita’s daughter lies dreaming.”

Auto-correct, the bane of everyones existence!

ahem.

have a thing.

@hamelin-born

-

Cor is good at getting information. He knows he is good at getting information. Cor is one of the best at sniffing out leads and then rending the leads and the trail of traitorous garbage it leads to to ashes. There is no trail he can't follow and no one he can't threaten.

Or at least he thought that was the case, until Luche Lazarus blew up half a battlefield, ripped fate apart in a carnage of magic and blood, and proceeded to vanish off the face of Eos.

Cor can't find her. Her comrades can't find her. Titus fucking Drautos probably knows where she is but is refusing to tell him or Regis where the erstwhile princess is. Drautos had pulled out some bullshit about honoring a 'life debt' when threatened with treason and Regis and Cor had back down because the two of them know what that means.

It's the same thing that binds Cor to Regis after all, punishing Drautos for not tattling on his princess seems to be in bad taste.

So Cor goes to the next available source of information.

He goes to Clan Lazarus. The fact that they're seers means they must have some sort of information on their wayward daughter.

It turns out they do.

It also turns out they do not want to share that information with Cor or the King.

"She's with her uncle," one says, repeating the words others have spoken to Cor in the past three days, "She's safe."

"I need to know where she is," Cor grinds out.

"She's safe," the Lazarus repeats, "That's all that matters isn't it?"

-

Cor finally gets an audeince with the Clan Elder. She's an old woman, the white in her hair overtaking the strands of black that that still show.

Terra is also warm - not in body temperature - in the same way Regis is warm. Like she looks at you and knows that you're a threat but will treat you kindly anyway.

Cor is uncomfortable.

"Where is Luche Lazarus?" He asks Terra.

"Tita's daughter rests in her uncle's home on Angelgard," Terra says and Cor's blood runs cold.

-

Angelgard is unpleasant. The smell of salt in the air and the warmth of the sun that Luche can finally feel on her skin doesn't detract from that. Angelgard is too full of memories, of the echoes of Ardyn screaming and begging for it to be pleasant.

Still Luche is here for a reason. No one will think to look for her here, and although walking into her uncle's home - a small two bedroom cabin that is furnished far too expensively for Luche's taste - had gotten Luche almost sliced open by a scythe she can't say that she minds having Ardyn be a hovering presence as he scowls at her and drags her away from the parts of the island that hold his worst memories.

Luche doesn't mind it.

That doesn't mean she's expecting it when a furious Tredd blasts open the door and is treated to the exact same treatment Luche received when she arrived.

Cor has a blade to her uncle's neck and Luche considers stabbing him for the affront.

[secret-engima]

Okay I don't remember if the place FFXV Gilgamesh is in has doors, but hilarious idea for the Vox Machina in FFXV if so.

Just, the Vox Machina stumbles upon the place, not knowing this is where Gilgamesh is. Meanwhile Gilgamesh is chilling inside, only to hear a bunch of crashing and lots of extremely annoyed shouting. So he goes to check what's going on, only to have to dodge because Grog and Kayleth were trying to tag team his doors. Needless to say there was awkward staring, until Scalan goes "Okay why do they open for this creepy dude instead of us?!" Then that opens the floodgates for the rest of the Vox Machina to complain, so now Gilgamesh is just, normally people react to him in fear, not immediately get distracted by ranting about his doors. Then he sees Ardyn, and, well, let's just say when the Vox Machina realize that this creepy dude did serious emotional and mental damage to their new friend Gilgamesh better start running.

*drags muses in kicking and shouting*, *plops them on chair*, now answer the nice ask left by the nice anon darnit.

asflkj that would be really funny XDDD. Ardyn *warns* them not to go in here but they kind of have no choice? Shenanigans happened like being chased by too many nifs or they just- fell down into the chasm and are looking for a way out. And yes! Gilgamesh's lair has multiple doors, all of them magically sealed with swords of all things. Which means they are more than a little annoyed and happy to blo up the stupid doors while slaying daemons and ghosties along the way.

Gilgamesh comes out to see who dares enter and is just- not prepared for these weirdos. Who are more upset by the existence of a door than him, the giant suit of murder armor.

Of course then he spots Ardyn and opens his big mouth and Ardyn *cringes* in fear and frankly that's all the signal they need to take out their fury on this weird one armed suit of armor. Keyleth especially is more than happy to show why she was once the Voice of the Tempest and that *yes*, if you super charge it enough, you *can* still summon massive lightning bolts while deep underground.

[a-world-in-grey]

Take My Breath au - Altissia I

-Axis shows up in the morning just as they’re about to leave, dressed in plain clothes and looking like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth.

-Sola glares at him anyway, and at a grinning Pelna sitting in the drivers seat of the truck. She turns her glare on Iris and Gladio when they greet their older brother far too cheerfully, and on Ignis because she knows exactly who called her Glaives to tell them their departure, thank you very much.

-Cid simply cackles when Sola tells Axis to get on the Six-cursed boat before they leave him behind. Noctis is very carefully not laughing, but she can feel his amusement anyway. Sola decides Prompto is her new favorite.

-A decision that lasts all of five seconds before Prompto demands group photos. Though Sola admits the shot of her holding Axis in a headlock while Gladio loses his shit is a good one.

-Axis updates everyone on the situation, and Sola rolls her eyes when Axis shamelessly admits that yes, the Glaives cheerfully disregarded her orders not to research the scourge from the very beginning. 

-Axis also gives Sola hell for not wearing the Clan braid even after Gilgamesh cut through it. He produces a replacement braid when Sola points out that her hair is too short, and Sola levels another glare in Ignis’ direction. 

-Only, no, turns out it’s Noctis who tattled, not Ignis, and her brother tells Sola that he’s not an idiot. He knows she stopped wearing the braid in order to protect her Clan by making herself an Outsider. If Sola doesn’t want her Clan to be Kinslayers, then she’s not allowed to die. Sola does not get to give up either. 

-Sola glares at the floor to avoid Noctis’ knowing look. Axis touches her shoulder and tells her that the burden of Kinslaying is a choice. Not one lightly made, but it is a choice all the same, made to protect the Clan. He swore himself as Sola’s Shield, swore to protect her and hers, including from herself if necessary. Sola says that Axis has a family. They need him. Axis counters that his wife understands, and his children, when they are older, will also understand. He is not leaving them alone. The Clan will look after them.

-Sola cries. Noctis hugs her on one side, Axis on the other, Prompto squirming in on a third and Gladio wrapping massive arms around all of them. Noctis tells Sola that she’s always protecting him. Let them protect her too. Sola sobs and calls them idiots. Axis chuckles silently and says that they’re her idiots though.

-The rest of the boat ride is long and uneventful, and Sola and Axis break out the various games the Glaives play during deployment to keep Prompto and the others from going stir crazy from boredom. Arriving in Altissia is a relief, because Gladio looks about two seconds from dumping Prompto overboard and Sola’s not far behind him.

-Noctis wants to immediately find Luna and heal Sola, but Sola advises against it. Ignis backs Sola, reasoning that they have no information on the local area, and they should take care not to bring Niflheim to the Oracle's doorstep. Sola tells Noctis that she can wait until after the Revelation from the Hydraean. A few more days won't make a difference. Noctis frowns, not convinced, but doesn't argue. 

-The Chocobros head off to the Maahgo to gather information. Uncle Wesk runs the place and is the local tipster. If anyone can give them a report on the local news, he can. Meanwhile, Axis and Sola split off from them to scout out Altissia, given that they are far more stealthy than the others and two people are far less conspicuous than four or six. They make note of Nif numbers and pick up the gossip on the street. And note some very familiar faces.

-Sola’s fingers twitch with the desire to murder Ravus and Caligo, but a hand on her shoulder from Axis helps quell the urge. And he’s right - they can’t afford to create a scene right now. But now that they know who the Nif commanders present are, well, they can plan.

-Sola and Axis make for the Maahgo, and report to Noctis. Noctis tells Sola of the requested meeting with Camelia Claustra, and informs them that he’ll be taking Gladio and Sola along. Sola advises Noctis to instead take Ignis. He has far more political acumen than Sola does, and taking along his Hand instead of his Sword will provide a far better implication to Camelia. One less militant.

-Ignis tilts his head thoughtfully but Weskham actually speaks up, telling Noctis that Camelia won’t appreciate the slight to her hospitality. Noctis counters that Accordo is a vassal of Niflheim, and it would be stupid to expect her to protect the head of state of an enemy country. Hospitality or no.

-Noctis eyes Sola and asks what she plans to do while he's meeting with the First Secretary. Sola affects an innocent look. Noctis isn't fooled, and he says that he knows her. So spill, because he'd rather not be blindsided by whatever mischief she's getting up to. Sola pouts at her little brother, even as the others snort at her in amusement.

-Regardless, Sola tells Noctis that it's highly likely the High Chancellor is in town, given his tendency to stick his nose into everything related to Noctis. The man has a disturbing obsession with him. Camelia has proven most obstinate towards the Empire. Sola doubts Noctis will be accosted while meeting with her. Which will irritate Ardyn something fierce no doubt.

-Gladiolus says that Sola plans to play bait. Sola waves her hand and says that Ardyn sought her out at both Galdin Quay and in Lestallum. If she finds a discreet spot to linger, Arydn will show up or Sola will eat her glaive. Sola wants Ardyn where she can keep track of him.

-Ignis asks what Sola will do if Ardyn shows up with MTs. Sola meets Ignis' concerned gaze with a half-lidded stare, and says that if Ardyn brings MTs, he'd better bring an army of them. She doesn't think he will - starting a fight in Altissia's streets will not endear the Empire to the locals. Noctis tells Sola to bring Prompto with her and Axis anyway. Sola and Axis eye Prompto speculatively. 

-Sola and Axis spend the rest of the day dragging Prompto around to give him a crash course on stealth. Well, Axis is giving him the crash course, Sola is providing a target for Prompto to practice on as well as distraction for anyone who might be watching. By the time night falls, Prompto is good enough that he won't immediately give away where he and Axis are hiding, and Sola's found a spot to linger in.

-And sure enough, sitting in one of the cafes overlooking a canal, Sola is unsurprised when-

-"Such a beautiful night on the water. It would be a waste to spend it alone."

-"High Chancellor." Sola greets.

-"Your Highness." Ardyn slips into the chair across from her with a charming smile, before raising a brow at the bottle of wine and empty wineglass sitting on the table. "Expecting company?” 

-"Consider it an invitation." Sola cradles her own glass - her second. She's been waiting for some time now. "One of the local vintages I prefer, on rare occasion." 

-There's silence as Ardyn pours himself a glass. It's surprisingly comfortable for two enemies. Sola lets herself enjoy it. She might not get to enjoy all that many more. 

-"Well now, that's a concerning frown," Ardyn says, "What troubles you?"

-Sola eyes him. Really. He has to ask? "I have a list. Would you like it alphabetically or chronologically?"

-Her deadpan tone draws a laugh. "Perhaps the reason behind your invitation then. In the interest of saving time."

-Fair. Sola has enough problems to keep her up all night if she lets them. And well, Sola does have a reason for drawing Ardyn out, beyond what she told the others. "In Lestallum, you knew I was Scourge-infected," Sola says, choosing her words with care, "How?"

-"It's a long-held interest of mine." Ardyn replies. "In Niflheim we call it the Vanishing Sickness."

-"With how its victims turn into daemons, I can see why," Sola says. She swirls her wine and ignores the suddenly sharp look from Ardyn, though she catalogues the reaction for later, "Given your expertise, what do you think I will become?" 

-If she succumbs to the Scourge, that is. But that's not something the High Chancellor needs to know.

-Ardyn hums thoughtfully. "Were you of meager ability and will, I would guess some form of Ronin, or perhaps an Arachne." He chuckles at the face Sola pulls. "I doubt you'll turn into something so simple. No. A woman of your caliber? Nothing short of magnificently unique.”

-And incredibly dangerous, Sola surmises. She takes a deep breath. It won't happen. They'll find a cure - and if they don't, Gladio and Axis will do what is necessary. 

-"I am surprised you haven't sought Lady Lunafreya's help."

-Sola snorts. "Please, High Chancellor, give Secretary Claustra more credit than that. Denying you access to the Oracle and her chosen escort is one thing. Directly aiding Niflheim's enemies?" She slants him a wry look. "There's a difference between bold and stupid." 

-There's a delicate pulse of magic. Axis - the echo of her own sun-fire-fury unfurling like a cloak - using a stealth spell. Her cue to make her way back to the Maahgo, now that Noctis is safely back from the Minister's mansion. Sola takes her leave, already planning how to lose the two Nif agents tailing her.

-She leaves Ardyn with the bill.

[autumnstwilight]

Dawn of the Future summary-Noctis (Part 1 of 2)

time to see what our boy has apparently been up to in the crystal

-The section opens with Noctis fighting shadows outside the Citadel building, feeling there is something strange. He’s alone, and the scenery is colorless. Ghostly figures in golden armor appear and begin shooting at him, they don’t resemble Niflheim soldiers. He suddenly realizes that Ignis, Gladio and Prompto should be there but aren’t. -He enters the Citadel, but feels that it isn’t the Citadel he knows. The throne is illuminated in blue and he sits. He hears a voice saying This isn’t mine, yet it belongs to no one else, and senses an inhuman presence. Noctis realizes he is dreaming, and Bahamut speaks. “You are within the Crystal, where the soul of the Star dwells. A place for you to gain your power to become the True King. Receive the memories engraved in the Crystal, and fulfill your calling” -Noctis recalls the events in Gralea and Zegnautus Keep, leaving his friends behind to run for the Crystal, being sucked in, and Ardyn introducing himself. He sees a vision of the Crystal being brought to Eos and the skies becoming blue and the land turning green. A hall being built to hold the Crystal, and the population increasing. Ardyn and Somnus’ parents giving them the paired Rakshasa and Yaksha blades in the hope that they would rule together, then the brother’s conflict after their parents death… all of the memories in the Crystal from the beginning. -He sees the memories of Ardyn with Aera, and feels some sympathy, but also that Ardyn’s murder of Luna, for the sake of hurting him, is still unforgivable no matter what good things he did in the past. He then wonders if he is also unforgivable, as forming covenants with the Gods for his sake would have killed her shortly anyway, and sacrificing people for the sake of the kingdom is Somnus’ way of thinking. -He sees Ardyn’s imprisonment, and also Somnus’ establishment of the kingdom and the many kings who came after him, some even crueler, and some too kind. He also sees the establishment of Tenebrae, Niflheim and Accordo, and realizes people are all the same. Ardyn is released by Niflheim, Regis is chosen as one of the Kings of Yore and receives the prophecy, holding a young Noctis in his arms. -Noctis thinks that if Ardyn had not been released around that time, he would have been just another in the line of Lucis. He wouldn’t have been attacked by a daemon, or gone to Tenebrae and met Luna. His relationship with Gladio and Ignis would have been different. Verstael wouldn’t have succeeded with the MTs and thus Prompto wouldn’t exist. Fenestala Manor wouldn’t have been attacked, and Luna and Ravus would have remained there with their mother. And yet, fate is decided by the Gods and there is no other path. -He sees Ignis and Ravus arriving at the altar, Ravus saying that the Oracle’s duty continues after death, and her body vanishing as it does in Episode Ignis. He also sees the memory of Luna forming her first covenant with Shiva, and her escape from Insomnia with the Ring. -He realizes what Luna was going through while he was traveling with his friends enjoying the outside world for the first time - “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t know…” He understands Ravus’ anger now, and feels he was immature and ignorant, not even paying attention to the people who were reaching out to him and supporting him, self-pitying. He recalls Cor and Gladio when they told him to shape up. -He sees Ignis’ sacrifice in Altissia, and realizes Ignis never told him to avoid causing him more pain. He realizes to what extent he was a child, kept safe by everyone, and wonders if he can ever pay it back. -He sees his own future battle with Ardyn, his sacrifice on the throne and his passage into the Beyond, where he disappears. The reality that he must die to save the planet from being consumed by darkness. He grapples with his fate, knowing that it is inescapable, yet being frightened of it, not wanting to lose everything, whether to darkness or to death, wanting to live. -He looks up and sees his father, realizing that his father raised him while knowing his fate, and thus tried to let him live happily, thus sent him off with a smile, and apologizes. Regis says that parents should worry about their children, but children should not have to worry about their parents. “That said, you are not a child anymore…” “A king cannot lead by standing still. A king pushes forward, always, accepting the consequences and never looking back.” -He hands Noctis his sword, saying it is to protect the people and things that he loves, then vanishes when Noctis accepts. -Noctis thinks of the people and things he loves, the people and places he encountered during his journey. More than anything, he doesn’t want to waste Luna’s sacrifice. He wanted to save her more than anything, but if that isn’t possible, he at least wants to preserve proof that she lived. He sits down on the throne, and tells himself to think and choose. He then awakens in Ardyn’s cell in Angelgard. -He meets with Umbra and receives the notebook in which Luna wrote, “I’m safe”, followed by her diary of her travels. He realizes that ten years have passed, and that the Crystal only showed him its memories of up until the day he entered the Crystal. He vows not to lose anyone again like he lost Luna, and tells Umbra that he’ll return the notebook to Luna himself. Her last message says “I’ll wait for you in the Citadel.” -He takes the boat to Galdin, where he meets Sol, who has been checking the area a few times a day for his return. He already knows about her from Luna’s notebook, and says he trusts her. Umbra vanishes, as Sol is there to lead him. Sol receives a call, tells the person she’s with the King, and asks if they want to talk to him, then sighs and hangs up. -The caller was Gladio, who can’t talk because he has a guest [Wait what why did he call then???] But he said to meet in Hammerhead. Noctis asks if the three of them are okay, particularly worried about Ignis, who is still blind, and Prompto, who might have difficulty fighting and aiming in such darkness. Sol tells him that Prompto helps Cindy transport goods, and Ignis says that no one can see much in the dark anyway. Sol says that everyone will be happy to see him. -Sol talks a bit about meeting Luna and how she threw the supplies out of the sidecar of the motorcycle when they first met. She says Luna is bad at card games but incredibly good at five finger fillet (the stab-between-your-own-fingers knife game). Noctis recalls that he used to practice it while Ignis made very unimpressed faces at him. Also Noct started because he saw Ravus doing it. -[they’re all idiots oh my god] -Anyway then Sol says the thing that surprised her most about Luna was her “calling” to fight Ardyn and Noctis is like “WAIT WHAT” -Luna mentioned in the notebook that she was going to the Citadel to talk to Ardyn (which is indeed her current plan), but she never told Noctis that Bahamut had asked her to kill Ardyn. Noctis wonders why Bahamut would have given her such a mission when he has the Ring, which is supposedly the only way to kill Ardyn. He asks Sol, and learns that Luna’s new power is absorbing daemons. Given what he knows about Ardyn’s past, this is concerning. -Sol admits that Luna has become a daemon, and that it’s her fault for asking her to save Aranea. Noctis reassures her that Luna would have helped because it’s the kind of person she is. Noctis tells her to contact Gladio and tell him that he’s going directly to the Citadel to try and save Luna. He realizes that the Gods never grant enough power to save everyone, and if he wants to do that, he’ll have to do it himself. -Meanwhile Luna is not having much success convincing Ardyn to cooperate, he mocks her for thinking he’d work with a puppet of the gods who is supposed to kill him. She says that Bahamut is planning to destroy everything on Eos, and Ardyn says that sounds good to him. He then asks her to leave, since he’s waiting on a different guest. Luna says that Aera Mirus Fleuret asked her to save him, at which Ardyn angrily tells her to shut up. When she pushes the matter, he summons Ifrit. -Noctis drops Sol off at Hammerhead and heads straight for the Citadel [SERIOUSLY? He was right there and didn’t grab the bros first???] He encounters a daemonified King of Yore, who he fights alone, feeling painfully the absence of his friends [who he couldn’t wait two seconds at Hammerhead for, apparently]. He cracks the King’s mask and finds Somnus underneath. -Noctis notices his resemblance to Somnus and how that must make Ardyn feel. Somnus expresses sorrow for his brother, and asks Noctis to save him. Noctis agrees and Somnus thanks him. Noctis questions why the Gods never gave powers like Ardyn’s to Somnus, or anyone else, for that matter. And also why they gave those powers to Luna now. -Meanwhile, Luna is attempting to absorb the Starscourge out of Ifrit, while still arguing with Ardyn. Ardyn maintains that he’s absolutely fine with the world being destroyed, though it would be “perfect” if he could kill Bahamut too. Luna tries to convince him that Bahamut cannot be killed as long as he still exists in the Beyond, and they need to work together, but she is overcome by the pain of fighting Ifrit. -However, she succeeds in freeing the god from the Starscourge and Ifrit turns to attack Ardyn. Luna doesn’t want that fight to happen, so she quickly asks Ifrit to form a covenant with her. At length, Ifrit agrees. -Ardyn claps and says that was an entertaining show. Luna loses consciousness. -Noctis arrives in the Citadel and Ardyn says, “I’m afraid you’re out of luck. You were just a little too late.” Luna has fully transformed into a monster. Noctis demands to know what Ardyn did to her, but Ardyn says that she decided to remove the Infernian’s Starscourge of her own free will. Luna attacks Noctis with her spear while Noctis begs her to recognize him. -A giant sword falls from the sky, and Bahamut voice says that the King’s role has ended. Bahamut granted humans powers to end the Scourge, but they repeated foolish acts and thus he will no longer protect them. Instead, he intends to end life on Eos. That is the new fate that must be accepted. He commands Luna to release her power as queen of the daemons. Luna ascends into mid-air, and releases a blast of energy, destroying the throne room. -Ardyn awakens from being knocked out to see Luna surrounded by what appear to be smaller copies of Bahamut. He realizes Bahamut is readying Teraflare, and also that his existence in both Eos and the Beyond means that he can’t be killed or inflicted with Starscourge. However, if he uses Teraflare and fails, he might be forced back into hibernation (the same way the Gods had to rest after the Great Astral War). -Bahamut raises the Citadel building into the air so that humans can’t reach the Crystal. Ardyn warps up to it, knowing Noctis will also head toward Luna.

[chibi-jing]

Is Somnus truly such an asshole?

Hear me right, everything Somnus did in Episode Ardyn was absolutely despicable. But I can’t stop thinking that it was maybe way too despicable to be true…

 FFXV has a very realistic tone and his characters are all complex. Nobody’s perfect, the “good” guys are making mistakes and the “evil” ones all have strong inner motivations for what they did and aren’t completely manichaean (except maybe for Caligo who is definitely an asshole, period XD). To summarize, they’re all desperatly humans.

 But in Episode Ardyn – Prologue, Somnus is shown only as pure evil. He kills hundreds of innocent people and desires the throne so badly that he betrays and murders his own brother without batting an eyelid. Moreover, if Ardyn truly was the one chosen by the gods, then Somnus is defying them and lying to his people with an uninhibited ease solely on the basis of his personal gain…

This gives us two options. First, Somnus IS pure evil. All the Lucis Caelum are the heirs of the founder king’s sins and they contributed to plunge the world into darkness until the last of them, Noctis, finally washes away his family’s sins and frees Eos from corruption. Or second, Somnus is hiding something and only PRETENDS to be evil.

---

In the first case, if the founder king was a bad person it changes the position of the entire Lucis Caelum royal bloodline, making it illegitimate because it has been built on a lie. And that’s entirely possible: as many people reminded me these last days, Regis wasn’t such a good monarch. He’s shown as a good father and a noble man, and you feel sorry for him when he dies in Kingsglaive. But despite this good image, Regis was also the one who shut down Insomnia’s frontiers during the war, letting countless people defenceless against the Niflheim outside his magic wall, and he also let Insomnia fall on purpose only to give a chance to Noctis. So even if he acted with the best intentions, Regis has blood on his hands.

Regarding Somnus, it’s even worse. His decison to rule and to get rid of Ardyn condamned Eos to centuries of darkness: when Somnus kills his brother in the anime a big cloud of darkness is released in the atmosphere, annihilating Ardyn’s months or even years of work. By doing so, Somnus is contaminating even more their world in addition to all the people he already burned and to all the humans who can no longer be saved by his brother. As Ardyn explained to Noctis by talking about himself: “His body would come to host myriad daemons, that countless lives be spared. But a jealous king […] ostracized and demonized this healer of the people.” or even clearer in French: « Meanwhile the king […] decided to eliminate this man who was however the only one who could save his people. », by murdering him Somnus willingly deprived his people of their only known remedy against the Starscourge.

Do you remember how FFXV begins? No, not the Regalia’s malfunction, not the first cinematic either, no, before. Before we even play. The title screen.

The first time FFXV is launched, the title screen appears on a night sky accompanied by “Somnus – Instrumental”. And when the game is finished, the title screen features Noctis next to Luna on an aurora sky accompanied by “NOCTIS”. It’s very clear that FFXV’s story is to go from the dark to the light. You can also remark that in the letters of the logo the discrete white coming from their bottom begins to expel the black, emphasizing the players’ course and Noctis’ quest.

“Somnus” was composed for Versus XIII which was supposed to be a very dark game with heavy thematics such death, also explaining why the Lucis’ iconic color is black. I’m not sure Square Enix knew about Somnus’ character from the time Versus XIII became FFXV, but when they had to create him they surely wanted to remain coherent with what was done in FFXV. So I believe that if they chose to give to Ardyn’s brother the name “Somnus”, it’s because it was relevant. They knew about the song, about its meaning, about its origin. So they gave Somnus this gloomy backstory which accords with the game’s main theme: the world is dark, dying, corrupted and only the King of Light can put an end to all of this and cleanse the world sins, in conformity with what Takefumi Terada said about Somnus: “he became someone opposite character to Noctis”. Instead of providing Light, Somnus is spreading darkness.

 ---

With the second hypothesis, Somnus is undergoing the same tragedy as Ardyn and Noctis: life is playing with his fate and dictates him what he has to do even if he doesn’t want to.

As I said before, the antagonists of FFXV all possess something relatable. For example, before being a mad scientist, Verstael was a loyal soldier who desired to help his homeland the best he could. And we know Somnus isn’t born evil either: in the Q&A video, Toru Osanai revealed that the two brothers were in good terms when they were younger, Ardyn protecting his little brother and Somnus admiring his elder. Besides, he also adds that “Somnus does not really hate or despise Ardyn” and that his ambition is to save the world. So despite being a “realist and severe king”, Somnus isn’t portrayed as a bad guy at all.

Some particular shots from the anime support this theory. For example, Somnus takes no glory for burning hundreds of civilians or after murdering his brother. He doesn’t seem to enjoy what he’s doing but to solely execute some orders. If he truly despised Ardyn or wanted the throne so badly, he would have exulted after killing him, exactly like on the frame where he smiles before attacking Ardyn. But nope, he stands calmly in the empty room, watching the light on the horizon with no satisfaction at all. In the same vein when Ardyn turns into a daemon, Somnus is appalled by his brother’s metamorphosis. It’s like he knew Ardyn would became a monster, but isn’t actually proud at all to unveil it.

So why does Somnus appears so sadistic when he attacks Ardyn or despicable when he says Aera was a foolish girl after murdering her? Probably because he’s acting all along.

Somnus’ attitude in front of the crowd reminds a lot Ardyn’s attitude in FFXV where we all know Ardyn is playing a role. Somnus doesn’t only reveal that the gods chose him to the people, he’s also overacting: broad movements, loud voice, elegant argument, everything is meant to be convincing. The smile on his face when he attacks his elder is part of this role too, because why would Somnus be happy to confront his brother if he doesn’t despise him as Toru Osanai said? Because he wants the throne so badly he’s happy to get rid of his elder? If it was the case, Somnus would have had a triumphant attitude after defeating Ardyn but we saw that he hadn’t. Maybe he wants to measure himself to his brother’s skills? I don’t think either, because if Somnus wanted a fair fight against Ardyn he wouldn’t have smiled when his elder had to interrupt himself due to his illness. No, in reality, Somnus is posing as the bad guy on purpose. Each time he’s in public or talking to Gilgamesh, he behaves like Ardyn is the source of all the problems. And when he’s in front of Ardyn, he deliberatly shows his worst face by undermining him and his lover, to the point where Ardyn finally loses control. But once Ardyn dead, Somnus remains all alone in silence like an empty shell. He has no reason to pretend anymore. He did his job and that’s all.

We understand through the interview with the guys from SE that there are a lot of things that are still secrets but will be revealed in the future DLC. It’s obvious something happened between the two brothers before the beginning of the anime, something that can answer why Somnus is hunting Ardyn, or why is he in power while Ardyn is some kind of poor outlaw despite them coming from the same noble family? Why Gilgamesh is helping him? What are the links between the Lucis Caelums and Bahamut? Why Somnus had to act as he was pure evil and expose the worst of his brother? And even if for now we can’t know what happened we can guess that it probably changed Somnus radically, leading him to behave the way he does in the anime, a way that maybe doesn’t reflect his true self at all.

 ---

To conclude, I’m like everyone with this anime: I don’t know who says the truth, if it was Ardyn or Somnus who was supposed to be chosen, if Somnus is just a cold-hearted man or if he has a backstory that explains his attitude like this anime excuses in some way the hatred Ardyn has towards his family during FFXV, or a mix of these options, honestly I don’t know. That’s why I’m making up these theories, to try to understand the story until the DLC will (and I really hope) finally answer all our questions about the Lucis Caelums and their destiny.

[charismastaticarchive]

ok here’s a BRIEF. brief meta about sephiroth vs ardyn izunia representing how the queercoding in final fantasy has changed between ff7 and ff15 and how the remake could ACTUALLY fix some problematic themeatic elements of sephiroth (markedly, anti-semitism and transphobia thru symbols like jenova & the death of aerith)

this is discourse. this is solely discourse. some people may read this and think i am reaching. this is genuinely what i believe tho. i do not hate anybody that disagrees with me. i do not hate anybody who likes ff7. i also like ff7. this is just how i feel given my understanding of cultural and themeatic analysis. please do not read this if u are going to yell at me or hate me lol. this is my blog tho and i’m going to put my opinions out there....

note: i dont actually go into the anti-semitism too much that’s not my area of expertise i’m more knowledgeable about queercoding.

okay to start with. sephiroth is literally the same character as psycho’s norman bates. an obsession with their mother (a being that the rest of the game refers to as non-gendered whose genitals are notably covered in a flex that is admittedly problematic all on its own), that culminates with his mother ‘taking over’ their mind & body and sephiroth trying become a god and MURDER a ‘cis woman’ who has become the most iconic symbol of final fantasy church girl prayer-hands purity and innocence. even more damningly, this biohacked false god / false woman sephiroth has the audacity to go against the lifestream / the symbol of womanhood and NATURE by ‘transitioning’ into a new body. and of course, they want to blow up the world in the process to appease their mother. basically this game is a very reactionary fear to the concept of ‘biohacking’. the only thing worse than the government experimenting on human beings? trans women transitioning---in the narrative of the game’s eyes, ‘experimenting on themselves and going against nature.’ by making sephiroth the big bad of the game instead of shinra, they say that the ultimate evil of unethical technology and a cyberpunk dystopia, is basically trans people.

add TO THAT that even just the name sephiroth is from jewish kabbala and sephiroth is portrayed as a manmade god that u are supposed to destroy instead of a true god... like it just. it’s not great. it’s not a great look.

in their defense. the original game came out in 1992.

the last numbered final fantasy game to come out (not including kingdom hearts which has its own brand of racism and queercoding that it has to work out lmfao) was final fantasy xv.

for all final fantasy xv’s faults, it ALSO had a queercoded villain dripping in religious symbolism. (they all do. its final fantasy lol.) but THIS time, despite ardyn still looking just as if not moreso predatory than sephiroth. ardyn is given a FULL DLC BACKSTORY.

the difference between sephiroth and ardyn is basically that. ardyn in the dlc, where he is meant to be portrayed sympathetically, starts out as a queercoded character. he has basically the same design, except his hair is now in a ponytail, and he wears all white. he starts out as a healer---not a stereotypically masculine role, like a soldier. his hair is still fuckin pink. he wants to heal the whole world, and he absorbs the plague. he thinks he is healing people---instead he is just taking on their illness. (and i have done whole metas about how the plague was viewed as a punishment against humanity for going against god and how that could ALSO be a metaphor for queerness. there’s also a queerness to taking on other people’s disease in my opinion that reads like a metaphor for penetration.) in his inability to actually heal the world (or his failure in a traditionally female role) and his inability to take a decision and excute people with the plague like his more masculine, violent short-haired armor-wearing brother, he is chosen by the gods to be the bearer of the plague, spread it all over the world, and renew the world when the plague dies with him when the chosen male heir of his brother’s long line of heterosexuals kills ardyn. ardyn is rejected from heterosexual maleness by the gods in his own minds if he tries to go against this fate, his girlfriend literally pushing him out of heaven.

but he’s viewed as sympathetic. tortured. unlike sephiroth, who is portrayed as mostly just insane, ardyn is coded not just as monstrous, violent and predatory, but because of the plague metaphor, he is basically explicitly deemed ‘sick.’ and ardyn gets time shown where he is ‘holy’. notably, the game uses christian imagery to describe a kind of ‘sacrifice’ of his brother trying to imprison him in a tomb because he cannot die, and then ardyn waking up from the cusp of death to. technically bring salvation to the people of eos (by first infecting them with plague and bringing about eternal night, but hey, the rapture only comes after the world is destroyed, right).

there is something to be said about the sympathetic christian imagery and ‘holiness’ / ‘goodness’ of ardyn’s sacrifice and pain vs the antisemitism of sephiroth as a false god. but ardyn’s queercoding starts at the very beginning of his story. meanwhile---we don’t really get to SEE the beginning of sephiroth’s story. we get to see cloud’s story. and zack’s. and we kind of get like a whole story about like lol vincent for some reason lmfao

but we never get to see sephiroth experience signs of lgbt-ness at The Start Of His Story, where he is still viewed as sympathetic and wholly good and wholly tragic at the same time.

this is where the remake comes in.

i believe the remake can make sephiroth more than a predatory trans/queer coded character. i think they can fix this by making sure 1) sephiroth doesn’t kill aerith, thereby eliminating the trans woman vs nature AND trans woman vs poor defenseless cis girl narrative (i play aerith as trans and jewish but thats not technically canon even tho it should be lol) 

2) instead of sephiroth having an UNHEALTHY relationship with womanhood through an alien creature representing inhumanity, sephiroth has a healthy relationship with a jewish-coded goddess-like human woman that they COULD’VE GROWN UP WITH AND BEEN FRIENDS WITH AS A CHILD WHILE THEY WERE BOTH CAPTURED BY SHINRA, and through their friendship and relationship with her both as someone they experience the same trauma AND as someone who seems to understand time travel the same way as, we see their backstory and bond grow and sephiroth stops being obsessed with a canonly cishet man (cloud) and starts having a healthy loving relationship with their planet-protecting peers where sephiroth can start to represent a holy relationship with loving themself and the planet the same way aerith does. and it can be very jewish for bonus points bc i cannot get over the way that sephiroth is considered a false god / only a half angel and happens to be named that. that’s fucked up.

ok thanks for coming to my ted talk sorry for the discourse on main

[charlottedabookworm]

You can ignore this if you want but what, uh, would happen in a fusion of Fractured Lighting and The Cruelest Cut where Cruelest Cut!Nyx is the one captured, tortured, and fathers Prompto? And Prompto is rescued by Cruelest Cut!Cor who's magic says Prompto is family? Then tries to adopt him but the Council is "What if he's a threat and you are too busy?"

Angst

What would happen is angst

...I love it :D

But anyway, in all seriousness, there would be so much angst

Cos it wouldn’t have been the first time Nyx was captured, not the first that he was tortured, but he hasn’t been this helpless in a very long time and he feels like he should be able escape but he can’t because he’s injured and they know he has magic and Niflheim has rudimentary magic dampening tech

And then there’s Prompto, this little baby boy who makes his magic sing, who is his, who is family - tangible family in a way that Nyx hasn’t had in literal millennia

The hole in his chest, in his heart, hurts just a little less when he looks at his son

(And suddenly he understands everything his parents had done for him)

But it hurts so much more, to see what Prompto is subjected to, to be forced to watch as he screams and sobs and shakes

Nyx wants nothing more than to cradle his son - who he has had so little contact with, always separated by glass walls - but he can’t

He can’t

He can’t and that makes him rage, makes him plan, makes him plot, makes him cold even as his magic is warm and gentle against his sons

And then they take his son from him literal days before they can escape

The lab burns that night

But the bond dulls and Nyx thinks his son dead and he mourns.

He rages and then, when his rage has dwindled and he only feels empty grief, he returns to Galahd

Nyx doesn’t leave until his home Falls

Meanwhile, Cor raids another lab and finds a toddler in a tube, a toddler who looks up at him with blue eyes that spark something that he doesn’t quite recognise and Cor can’t quite help himself

He’s always ahd a soft spot for kids

Cor pulls the kid out and, as he holds him, there’s a familiar zing down his spine that sings of family, a softness in that gaping void in his chest where his husband and son once sat - a void he’d become so used to that, some days, he almost didn’t notice it at all

And there’s no way that this child is actually family, Cor knows. Because his family died millennia ago and even those of Lucis Caelum blood did not feel like this.

But the kid feels like family and he could be

He could be

Staring down at those wide blue eyes, at the trusting way the boy relaxed into his arms, Cor realises that he’d quite like that

A lab blows up that night

(Like faeder, like son)

A couple weeks later, Cor - now completely attached - rocks up back at Insomnia, fully intending to adopt Prompto

The Council disagrees

And Cor wouldn’t have listened to them, most of the time he’d rather murder them anyway, but they manage to hit a lot of his sore spots anyway

They talk about the danger, from the child (what if he becomes a threat? what f you’re too busy to act? what if you become so attached that you don’t notice) and to the child (you have a lot of enemies, you can’t always be there, can you condemn a child to that sort of danger)

They talk about the danger and they talk about their concerns and, really, they’re blowing smoke through their arses and if Cor fought back then he’d probably win

But Cor doesn’t

Cos they managed to bring up so many memories involving Somnus, involving Nyx and Ardyn, involving every time Cor failed

(Do you even know how to look after a child?

Cor’s voice falters as he opens his mouth to answer, wordless in the face of a surge of grief wearing the face of a boy with dark curls and blue eyes and bright smile

Of that same boy, older, still and bloody and silent in some shallow pit somewhere)

And suddenly he doesn’t quite trust himself not to ruin this child who feels like family

Cor doesn’t trust himself and the fight drains out of him

So he gives him away, to a family that will love him, and forces himself to both stay away while always keeping as close as he dares

He regrets that, years later

[hamelin-born]

Another Semi-Crackish Revelation Scenario

@sparklecryptid

Set in the Royal Bastard AU - another version of the Revel Scenario that was burning in my brain all the way home. I decided to try and write it down - maybe I didn’t capture the feeling (I was pretty burned out by the time I actually got to my computer) but it was a fun thing to come up with.

The scenario is that Nyx is in trouble.

This is not an uncommon occurrence. Nyx gets into trouble on a regular basis - getting into trouble is, quite literally, his job sometimes. Not like this, though. Not like this.

Not when he is outside the Wall, and he and some of his fellow glaives have run into an enemy force that outnumbers them and outmatches them by - far too many to one. Far, far too many - they fight. They’re the Kingsglaive, they’re Galahdian, and they will fucking fight to their last breath to tear out the enemy’s throat with their teeth if need be. But everyone is faced with the grim all-but-certainty that they’re not coming home from this one. 

Furthermore, in order to showcase their defeat, the enemy commander (is it Caligo? I want to say it’s Caligo) decided to literally televise the fight and openly broadcast it in real-time to every receptive channel. The whole world is watching. 

Ironically enough, that’s the factor that ends up saving them.

It’s not quite time for the Last Stand, but it’s getting far too uncomfortably close, and Nyx is fighting with everything he’s got in a display of skill and strength that, in other circumstances, would leave onlookers very very impressed indeed. But it’s not enough. It’s not enough, against an endless hoard of enemies, and he trips and he stumbles and

And there’s a sudden explosion of purple across his vision.

And Ace is there. Ace is there, through the judicious use of desperate, semi-experimental long-distance warping and running like hell and maybe stealing a car or two along the way, because like fuck was he going to watch his boyfriend be killed on live television. And all Nyx can do is stare at him, eyes white in his grimy face as Ace steps forward.

The Armiger blazes to life around him, unfolding like an ethereal purple flower, weapons twisting and glimmering in what almost seems to be anticipation as it swirls around the lanky brunette. There’s no expression on Ace’s face - only a look of intent, of a man telling the world that this is the way things will be. Of Ace demanding the world re-configure itself to his will - and it does. It does.

Ace is walking towards the enemy. And Nyx, at least, recognizes the particular set of his face and the shift in his gait that lets him recognize it as The Murder Walk.

Ace, meanwhile, is thinking about something Ardyn told him once. About how, when, if he ever had to really fight, to fight. Don’t be just you, his Uncle had said. Be a force of nature.

“...be a fucking hurricane.” Ace mutters absently to himself, and attacks.

It’s a little while later when he and Nyx have a chance to talk. The rest of the glaives are shamelessly listening in.

“You okay?”

“...you have magic. And I know you’re not Crownsguard or Kingsglaive. How do you have magic?”

“Um. You know how the King went on a roadtrip to Galahd when he was still Prince?”

“Yeah.”

“He had sex with my mom.”

“...are you saying that King Regis is your father?”

“Look, my Mom said he was, and I have magic.”

“Why didn’t you fucking tell me?!”

“I didn’t want you to get hurt! Look, we were kids when I found out, and I knew that Libertus couldn’t hold his mouth shut to save his life - shut up Libertus - and I figured that what you don’t know people can’t hurt you to get at! Besides, I was doing my best to ignore it all! And by the time we’d grown up enough to really get secrets, it would have been just - too hard to tell you!”

“...you’re an idiot, Ace. Even for a Lucis Caelum. Especially for a Lucis Caelum! And - ohshit, does King Regis even know about you?!”

“Well, he does now. That camera’s still broadcasting.”

“Oh fuck.”

“S’okay, I knew it’d come out one way or another - “

"Why didn’t you tell him?”

“What was I supposed to do, just walk up to the Citadel and say ‘hi, I’m Ace, my Mom was Katrina, you had sex with her before you got married to the queen, I’m your bastard son’?! It’d be a fucking mess - royal bastards are always a fucking mess, can you imagine what we’re going to be walking back into when we head home? We’re probably gonna be taken into custody the instant we get back behind the wall, if we’re not outright arrested. I didn’t want to have to put up with all the damn trouble that would come of it, the - the politics and the scandal and fucking everything. I didn’t want to be trouble, I didn’t want to be trouble for the King, and the Prince - gods, that poor kid, can you imagine what it’ll be like for him? I’m happy being a bartender, I didn’t want -”

“Fuck it, Ace, c’mere, I’m sorry, shh, I’m sorry, okay? I’m so fucking sorry, this is all my fault.”

“Screw you, Nyx. I’d do it a hundred times over to make sure you’d be okay.”

“Not worth it, Ace.”

“You are.”

“No I’m - wait a minute.”

“What?”

“Your Uncle.”

“What about him?”

“You said he was a relative of your dad’s! But King Regis doesn’t have any - ”

“Okay, so the relationship’s a bit more distant, I call him ‘Uncle’ to simplify it - by a lot - but he’s still a blood relative and - “

“Ace. Tell me that your crazy asshole of an Uncle isn’t a Lucis Caelum. For the love of all that’s holy, please, please tell me that he isn’t - “

“Look, who do you think taught me how to use the Armiger?”

“Your Uncle. Who is nuttier then a ton of fruitcakes. Who has the worst fashion sense of anyone I’ve ever known. Who is fifty tons of crazy in a fucking trashcan of a bad coat is a Lucis Caelum?!”

“He’s also probably watching this broadcast right now, you know.”

“Oh shit!”

“You know he’s just going to show up out of nowhere sometime soon and just go ‘Rude.’”

“It’s creepy when you sound just like him. I keep expect to turn around and just see him grinning at me out of nowhere. And - wait. Your uncle is from Niflheim, how the fuck can he be a Lucis Caelum?!“

“Half the refugee quarter has relatives in Nifleheim! I didn’t think it was that big of a deal! It’s even down on my paperwork - somewhere - and I think he wasn’t born there, he just works in the Empire. And - look, Uncle’s a crazy fucking bastard, and I’m more then half convinced that he just works in Nifleheim because he thinks it’s so fucking funny. Not because he’s loyal to them or anything, I mean, he keeps telling me stuff about troop movements over coffee and he’s like literally one of my best sources of info about what’s going on in the Empire. The man’s a damn cat, you know, the way he just seems to think that, that - “

“That the world’s a big joke and he’s the only one who knows the punchline, and he’s holding it over your head every hour of every day?”

“That’s Uncle, yeah.”

“And just like that the number of Lucis Caleums in the world has abruptly doubled. Any other things you want to tell me?”

“I died once.”

“WHAT?!”

“I got brought back pretty quickly, I think, it was from before you and I met each other - “

“Ace, we met each other as kids, are you telling me that - “

“It’s a long damn story, and we should probably start heading back soon.”

“Heading back? Look, now that you’ve - pretty much dumped a lightning storm in the middle of the army, we can break through and make our objective in minutes. Who’s heading back? There’s a job, and we’ll get it done.”

“You reckless fucking bastard. Lead the way.”

[codeprint]

but yeah okay.

god of war au because why not.

bullet points.

ardyn decides fuck the prophecy he’d rather just kill the gods themselves to have his revenge. sincerely, fuck them? and everything they stand for?? he kills shiva but, y’know, she can just get back up. he needs a more permanent solution that they can’t immediately counteract with bullshit.

like his bullshit.

oh he can use this

solution? starscourge.

in a child

verstael has some kids

and some starscourge

lets make the reese peanut butter cup of science

welp, borrowing one of those.

meanwhile the gods are like WELL OKAY THIS IS NOW A PROBLEM WE HAVE TO RETHINK OUR PLANS? and go to regis like hey, uh, remember how we were gonna have you and your son sacrifice yourselves to take out ardyn? we gotta change that.

so noctis gets raised as a paladin instead of a sacrificial lamb.

prom gets intensive training -- he’s still not very physically imposing, but he’s a hell of a shot and can work with most any weapon. the gameplan is when noctis goes to awaken the gods physical forms he’s going to show up to take them out.

maybe friendship happens during rivalry?

or maybe they just really hate each other and have to fight to the death

WHO KNOWS

ardyn’s like mm yes that’s my boy murdering the astrals just like i taught him to

prom’s like murdering gods is really hard and they’re like those little russian dolls because every time you kill one they show up smaller and meaner 

[cygnahime]

Okay, by unpopular request, Troll Final Fantasy XV. Under a cut because I love you and want you to be happy, or at least not forced to read my Certified Bad Opinions.

So, let’s start in the center and work our way out. The central story is clearly the tale of Prince Noctis And His Pale Harem. Like, it’s 100% a self-indulgent Harem AU of itself. Because, see, ever since Noctis was little he was basically Assigned Ignis and Gladio as his moirails, because obviously as the Crown Prince his physical and emotional stability is too important to be left to chance. [N.B. Noctis is clearly a tyrianblood, like, that’s not remotely up for debate. Unusually short-lived tyrianbloods? The Crystal drains their energy, making their lifespans unnaturally brief? IDK it’s Troll Fiction.] Ignis is there to take care of his physical wellbeing and support him emotionally, and Gladio is there to protect him and be honest with him.

BUT! One of the awkward things about growing up in an arranged moirallegiance with someone is that it isn’t always all that romantic. And Noctis is kind of a shit moirail to both of them, because he doesn’t know what the fuck he’s doing and also they’ve just. Always been there. So he doesn’t completely think of them as romantic relationships that he has to put work into. I mean, obviously he supports them financially and politically, but that just sort of happens without his active input.

Enter Prompto! This lowblood [Probably some kind of weird Niflheim-specific blood caste passing as a Lucian lowblood? Fortunately the game doesn’t show blood spatter, so it’s easy to conceal from the audience, but the fandom has to bend over backwards to explain how the other characters don’t notice.] comes into Noctis’s life after a lot of Brotherhood-era drama about being Good Enough to be frenemies with The Crown Prince, but the important point is that Noctis is suddenly seized with the urge to support and protect him and has no idea what to do. Meanwhile, Prompto swears he just wanted to be frenemies! Really! But he wants to be there emotionally for Noct, who seems so lonely!

Most of the previous paragraph is wild fan speculation, but like. That motel roof scene is the palesmut equivalent of sex in semi-public places. GET A PILE, YOU TWO! There are some people who redship it, but imo the writers intended it to be pale.

What really gets the fans into heated debate and/or wild flamewars is how the rest of the group’s relationships shake out. How do Ignis and Gladio feel about this serendipitous relationship pushing them aside? Is it a big pale orgy, or is there quadrant-swapping there? There’s a compelling argument to be made that Gladio and Noct fumble toward a black relationship, which fits their actual adult feelings much better than their arranged moirallegiance. There’s also an argument to be made that that shit goes rotten after Altissia, to the point where Ignis steps in to auspisticize. And then of course Noctis gets sucked into the Crystal and it all becomes kind of a moot point. :c

(The Troll Animaterrorists put in the time to animate some fucking hugs on their last night together, because despite being, you know, members of troll society, they’re not monsters.)

SPEAKING of arranged relationships, the forced/arranged matespritship between Noctis and Luna is still a thing, and the game is very coy about whether we’re supposed to think it’s serendipitous or not. I mean, they seem fond of each other, and they know each other’s vulnerabilities, but they haven’t met since they were children, so it’s hard to see if the concupiscent attraction is there. Fandom is divided: is it red? Is she pale for him too, because Noctis is just that much of a mess that everyone wants to comfort him? Are they platonic and both shipped red & pale with others? Fandom fight!

Speaking of Luna, I struggle to explain how trolls would depict her relationship with Ravus, because as we know trolls have no siblings. I mean, they’re clearly in a situation where they were raised together and are very attached to each other and are of the same bloodcaste [violet probably], but what does that...mean? I’m hesitant to say this, but troll culture might go for moirails. Like, really rubbish moirails, because Luna’s ability to control Ravus’s poor decisions and Ravus’s ability to protect Luna are both highly in question, but they’re trying. Extremely trying, in Ravus’s case. I’m not entirely comfortable putting siblings in a romantic relationship, but trolls don’t really have a concept of incest, so ??? Let’s not think about it too hard.

While I’m talking about things that make me uncomfortable, I’m not even going to try to explain Gladio’s and Iris’s relationship. They’re the same bloodcaste and were raised by their mutual ancestor and Gladio is supportive of Iris’s red crush on Noctis. Unless in troll AU it’s a black crush, which would at least be interesting. Let Teen Girls Have Innocent Black Crushes 2k17.

Circling back around, Prompto is the fandom pale bicycle. [I can tell because there’s an entire tag on AO3 devoted to his suffering. It’s science.] There’s definitely a small but enthusiastic Prompto♦Aranea fandom since Episode Prompto came out, though it’s hampered somewhat by the fact that Aranea is written as kind of flat in her self-sufficiency. There’s also definitely some Prompto/Noctis/Luna in some red/pale combination or other, which I personally am all about. I mean, I’m the pale orgy person, it is I.

I’m sad to say that Ardyn♠Noctis is definitely a thing, canonically speaking. That’s what complicated murder/suicides are all about, in troll terms. It’s also literally destined, so there’s really no getting away from it, even though it’s manifestly an unhealthy relationship that does no one any favors. That or it’s Noctis♣Ardyn/the Astrals and/or the world at large, which you could also make a solid argument for. I think I prefer that, because that’s not how blackrom works at all. I’m pretty sure Ardyn is gunning for Noct’s pitch quadrant regardless, though not as hard as Loqi is gunning for Cor’s. With an actual gun. It’s doomed to be unrequited, because you will take aroace Cor from my cold dead hands. So I guess in troll AU he’s aconciliatory/aconcupiscent. (I say this just to demonstrate how little of the quadrant-specific vocabulary I have forgotten.)

Kingsglaive is a hard movie to pin down, quadrant-wise. Like, I definitely feel like there’s some kind of spark between Nyx and Luna, but it’s hard to pin down to one side of the red/black divide. There’s probably fic for both tbh. I guess canon keeps it ambiguous as well. I mean, they clearly respect each other, but also there’s a lot of sharing deep-seated insecurities. Personally, I’m all for healthy blackrom, as you know. Lunafreya could use a chance to clash with someone for fun.

Libertus is much more popular in the troll fandom than the human fandom. (Am I salty about the lack of fan content for my fave? Why would you say that?) He’s so soft and in such emotional distress! Your pale self-insert goes here! [Obviously all the Glaives are rust- or brown-bloods. The magic probably is replaced by unlocking latent psychic abilities. Or else they keep magic and this is a ~strange world~ where there are ~no psionics~.] Nyx and Libertus and probably Crowe are like...how Vriska and Terezi used to call each other ‘sisters’? Long-term stable nonquadrant cahootship? That’s them. I realize I had one use of ‘siblings’ in this post and I used in on characters who aren’t actually siblings, but nyeh. Maybe Gladio and Iris are also Troll Siblings. Cahootfriends. It’s not my fault Luna and Ravus kind of suck at being in cahoots.

And that I think covers most of the cast! This is only twelve million words long! I have so many thoughts, apparently! If you also have thoughts, please come share them! You are also a giant nerd and we should be friends!

[sparklecryptid]

*pocking Ace and Ardyn*

What would it take for you two to actually admit you care about each other?

Bold to assume these guys would ever admit to caring for one another! Ardyn would rather have his teeth pulled out than admit that he’s all but legally adopted his nephew! Ace would rather face down Bahamut 100x than admit that he let himself be adopted by a mad hat man because said he views said mad hat man as a father figure! Neither of them are going to speak to their true feelings and just show how much they care for each other through actions!

Like murder.

(Ardyn: do you need me to kill someone for you because I can totally kill someone for you

Ace: not today

Ardyn *whose love language is acts of violence toward other people* >:(

Meanwhile:

Ace: me reverse engineering ancient Lucian food means nothing

Nyx: sure

Ace: don’t give me that face Nyx

Nyx: *who has accepted the fact he’s become part of a clusterfuck of a family* what face I’m not giving you any face)

[secret-engima]

I present, in the Little Nox Dissidia: Little Nox is understandably distressed at being in this place again, as a toddler. Noctis would like to register a complaint, as he carefully balanced a baby LC on his hip, this is not how he wanted to discover a long awaited baby brother. SWORD, big sword, why sword, HELP! Ardyn comes down like the wrath of the Astrals manifest to rescue his nephew(s), & Crystal-o-Vision is how the Citadel discovers they have a few LC extra wandering around.

hgfdhgfd YES. Let’s just- let’s just ignore the usual Little Nox age gap and say that Noctis is 17-ish when Nox is like- 5 for this particular Dissidia blurb. Just for the lols.

-Little Nox is ... AWARE that he knows this place. In a dreamlike sort of way, and he knows it is Not Good that he is here. Let’s pretend, for the sake of Drama™, that Nox shows up with like- Materia’s Champions rather than Spiritus’s this once, and Cloud is honestly a very quiet Die™ when he stumbles on this ACTUAL SMOL CHILD staring out at the desert with a wobbling lip and big eyes.

-Cloud awkwardly hauls the kiddo to Materia’s tower and nearly gets the life scared out of him halfway there when Nox starts throwing a mini-tantrum that involves Armiger (that’s a lot of swords that’s TOO MANY SWORDS-). Luckily for Cloud, Nox is not really a tantrum kind of child so it quickly trails off to miserable sniffling.

-Even so, with that display of magic in mind, when Cloud spots Noctis, who looks so similar to the child Cloud is awkwardly holding and also has the blue sparkle magic, Cloud is all too relieved to speed walk over there and plop Nox into a stunned Noctis’s arms with a gruff, “Found your baby brother outside,” and then speed walk off, leaving Noctis to stare in shock-horror-WHAT at the mini him in his arms who is already relaxing into his grip and tangling young magic with Noctis’s, making it utterly unmistakable that YES. This smol child is, in fact, related to Noctis.

-Someone help him.

-Noctis ends up propping Nox on his hip for a while and getting cooed over by the female champions while someone kindly rigs him a backpack/sling thing out of a cape (WoL is happy to donate his cape to the Baby Cause and all the Champions are an Outrage that there is a CHILD HERE. Not like Onion Knight, who knows a sword and is at least 12, but a FIVE YEAR OLD, Materia is apologetic and confused, because she could have sworn she only summoned old souls that knew combat).

-Ardyn, meanwhile, is a Rampage. He quickly scares the living daylights out of 80% of the crazies under Spiritus’s command and recruits a bemused Sephiroth to the Hunt For Darling Nephew (because Ardyn isn’t optimistic enough to believe Nox is still safe and sound in the hotel room they’d been in moments ago) and even Spiritus is wide-eyed at how Feral this new Champion is.

-Noctis does Not want to go out there and fight things with a newly discovered baby brother on his back, but he also wants to get home asap with said baby brother, so he tentatively leaves the tower with a hovering group of Champions trailing around him (which include Lightning, WoL, Cecil, Y’Shtola, and Cloud Nox-keeps-crying-when-I-leave-his-sight-someone-help-me Strife).

-Naturally, a group of Champions that large gather attention and they get attacked.

-Noctis is doing pretty good holding his own, especially since the other Champions are working hard to keep the enemy AWAY FROM THE SMOL CHILD, when one of the Big Guys (what’s his name- Golbez? Exdeath? WoL’s rival) breaks through the line and goes after Noctis as “the weak link”.

-Noctis can barely start to raise his sword when there’s a shockwave of magic so thick and murderous it sense everyone but him to their knees. There’s a flare of red magic and the snap-crack of a warp and suddenly there’s a Murder Hobo in their midst, tearing apart Spiritus’s champions with bared teeth and blood red magic running down his face in a parody of his old Scourge Face.

-Materia’s Champions can only watch as this new coming shreds the opposition like paper and sends them packing, then stands there breathing lightly with a red armiger spinning dangerously around him.

-The wary silence is broken by Nox leaning as far as he can past Noctis’s shoulder, reaching toward the Murder Hobo with a soft, relieved pulse of magic and a little cry of “Uncle!”

-UNCLE? Noctis thinks frantically as the man turns around and stares with that horrible red mask of magic. A blink and the mask is gone and the man is stalking forward, swords tucked away in armiger as he reaches for Nox with a relieved, “Nephew!”

-What.

-What is going on.

-“Ummmm,” says Noctis, shifting a bit to keep Nox out of the man’s grip. The man just blinks at him, then smiles, “Ah, you must be my OTHER nephew!” He doffs his hat and bows, “Ardyn Izunia, at your service. Now if you don’t mind,” He straightens up with a smile that means Death, “Give me back the nephew I’ve been raising since he was a toddler.”

-Not an idiot, Noctis hands Nox over. He can feel Ardyn’s magic swirling around them anyway, all but screaming protective and loving instincts. This man, for all he’s scary and very dangerous, is no threat to Noctis’s baby brother. He’s also Noctis’s uncle? Apparently? Has to be with that magic and his age.

-Noctis is Very Confused, but kinda relieved to have a Murder Hobo Uncle on his side during this insanity.

-Meanwhile, the Chocobros 1.0 who are watching via crystal-o-vision (XD) are all just- this does not compute. This DOES NOT COMPUTE. That is another SON when Regis is certain he did not HAVE another son (a son that looks just like Noctis at that age, eerily so) and now- now the CHANCELLOR OF NIFLHEIM stands before his sons with magic of his own swirling around them and calls little Nox his NEPHEW. That he’s been RAISING.

-It’s Cor who breaks the silence, Cor who remembers the little blond boy he rescued from a lab and puts the pieces together as best he knows how, leaping to the only conclusion that makes SENSE.

-“He’s a clone.”

-And Regis’s world crashes down around his ears.

-All this time ... all this time he’s had a brother, had FAMILY and now he finds that not only is Niflheim’s chancellor his brother but that Niflheim has taken his son’s blood and MADE A CHILD with it.

-Regis is so furious he can barely breathe.

-The Chocobros 1.0 (plus Titus who is an Internal Die™ when he sees what’s happening) watch the Dissidia adventure with bated breath, watch Ardyn fall into Noctis’s orbit as easily as breathing, DOTING on the enemy prince with a whimsy that spoke of menace but with eyes so soft and calm, with magic that makes Noctis’s shoulders ease without thinking, that all Regis can see is a man who loves his nephews more than anything in the world.

-And they listen, too, as Ardyn tells his story (his cover story, anyway) about running away from the Empire with the little clone boy he found, about how Ardyn himself had been tortured by “Regis’s predecessor” (this only spoken of after a nasty fire spell ruins his shirts and reveals his scars).

-By the time they are all sent back, Noctis showing up in the Citadel and Ardyn and Nox back in their hotel far away, Regis and Co are fully on the warpath and ready to bring the wayward LCs safe home.

[secret-engima]

SongGhost!Nox is giving me the best feels, i love it. what about Lucian Hunters on a Haven getting him on video? his singing, i mean. but no visual on him, just lots of dead daemons. they weren't even trying to catch him! they were just goofing around, and. they heard singing, at like 3 in the morning, in the middle of Bumfuck Nowhere, Lucis. /cheery/ singing, at that! (Nox had been cooped up in the Citadel too long, and need to get out and fight/kill things. stupid nobles and their /arrogance/)

Hmmmmm maybe? Not quite the theme I have going for the music drabble (the Nif trolling part is actually a bit of a break from the overall tone) but ... maybe? At the very least I might come back and ramble HC on this. Because it would be FUNNY.

But honestly I can picture that. Just- they’re asleep in their tents, or maybe one got up for a drink and just- there is singing happening out there. SongGhost is out there. SONGGHOST IS SINGING OUT THERE IN THE MIDDLE OF DAEMON HAPPY HOUR WHAT THE- But then by morning when they can safely check Nox is gone and there’s hardly even any sign of the copious daemon murdering that went down. XDD

Nox meanwhile got some very valuable stress relief. And maybe had too much fun imagining Certain Nobles when he carved up the daemons but shhh that’s between him and the little voice in his head that sounds too much like Ardyn.

[sparklecryptid]

hamelin-born replied to your post: “OKAY but- you know that thing i wrote with somnus’ ghost appearing...”:

ALL the scandal and drama and politics. The first King of Lucis wasn't actually the first king? He got the throne via kinslaying and murder (and he didn't deny it...) Well. It's not /unknown/; a 2000-year old dynasty has had its fair share of politics and intrigue and black guards, but this is /Somnus/. The Legendary First King. He /made/ Lucis - and it was all a lie.

ALL OF IT!

 Historians go digging for anything they can find relating to Somnus’ family and find the mention of the Lucis Caelum family’s first-born and how that child had a younger brother named Somnus. They find no name but they find pieces of history that give them more evidence that Somnus did have an older brother, that that brother was a King and in later texts is later gone.

Everything after Somnus claims the throne erases the man completely. And that fact that historians find all of this is shocking because it was so well buried but there is also debates about the right Somnus’ line has to the throne now and some groups support the claim Somnus’ line has to the throne and others call for Regis to do the right thing and step down  and hand the throne over to the other line of Lucis Caelum’s and it’s a bloody mess.

(And now- if we really want to add drama, we could say that the idea of Somus’ line giving up the throne even if they don’t intend to infuriates Bahamut. We could say that Bahamut appears while Jean is either approaching the Citadel or in the Citadel and he impales Jean with dozens of swords either to attempt to make the public think Jean a monster when Jean survives or to try and get rid of Jean entirely.)

(on a lighter note- the idea of Luche and Crowe staring Jean down because they know who Ardyn is and there isn’t any way Ardyn could have survived 2000 years. Jean. Jean. Is there something you aren’t telling us? Jean.

Jean meanwhile is sipping a  dainty cocktail and watching all the drama unfold around him and is far too amused.)

[charlottedabookworm]

hamelin-born replied to your text post:

lol. Aldercapt!Kid: Can I defect? Please? I hate my fucktard of a father, and the Chancellor would just use me as a puppet until my usefulness expired, I don't WANT the fucking empire and I don't have any good info. Can I /please/ defect? Or do I have to pack up and run AGAIN? 

Aldercapt!Kid: Look, I legally came to Insomnia as a refugee years ago, I have my papers in order, I've been /living/ in the Niflheimr immigrant sector! I'm currently applying to the Kingsglaive! 

Aldercapt!Kid: Also, if you have me back over to the Empire, I'm pretty sure they going to hand me over to Verstael Besithia, and I am not joking when I saw that I /will/ kill myself before I let that happen. Isn't there some rule about handing over people to foreign governments when you KNOW they'll be murdered and/or tortured upon receipt? 

Aldercapt!Kid: And before you say that my very presence here is an incitement to war, /grow up/. You know as well as I do that the Emperor will take /any/ excuse to press the attack. 

Aldercapt!Kid: On the other hand. You now have Aldercapt's /heir/ within your ghastly clutches, and while father dearest may not give a single fuck about me, he has to /

/pretend/ that he values me if he wants to keep any popularity with the nobility. 

Aldercapt!Kid: Quick question. If the Emperor dies tomorrow - who inherits? 

Noctis, meanwhile, is /stunned/, because this friend of his was a prince who literally /ran away from being a prince/, and GOT AWAY WITH IT. 

@hamelin-born

Lol. I mean, basically. 

The kid - who I’m considering naming Aris, because it’s apparently the modern form of Ares and Aldercapt totally strikes me as the type to name his son after a war-god - is very unapologetic about the fact that he’s technically in Lucis under false circumstances and refuses to go back to Niflheim no matter what - he’ll disappear again first

Lit the only reason anyone even found out  that he was there was because of Ardyn since the kid faked his own death using a bomb - and he’s lucky that his old best friend was a demolition expert, cos someone certainly would have noticed him looking up how to make a bomb - in his room and blood bags

Also, I’m leaning towards making this a Sentinel/Guide AU (because I’ve already decided that I’m going to write this) and having the kid being a guide - who, in Niflheim, are basically slaves - and that’s why he had to run before he could kill Aldercapt, because he was starting to come online and people noticed he was a guide and Aldercapt was just going to give him over to Besithia because he was useless to him now and the kid was like fuck that and you. Ardyn was probably there being creepy as well.

The people interrogating him have no idea how to deal with him and it’s hilarious.

And Noct totally asks his friend how he got away with it and he pauses, thinking about the literal trail of bodies that he left in his wake when escaping and the months hiding, never staying in one place for more than a few nights, and the fact that only his memories of his past life had let him get away with it, and goes “yeah, I don’t think my way will work for you, sorry Noct.”