#jeez it’s been ages since i’ve drawn digitally

[merriclo]

been warming up w drawing digitally again (for the first time in like. a whole ass year lmao) and thought i’d draw my baby boy Lorule !! i don’t have favorites but i definitely do

i didn’t think too hard abt this one but i kinda like it and i’ll always take the chance to talk abt Lo lmao

[thearkhound]

1998 Metal Gear Solid art commentary from Yoji Shinkawa (revised translation)

Source:http://web.archive.org/web/20050109031649/http://www.konamijpn.com:80/products/metalgear/art/index.html

The following is a translation of various artwork commentary by Metal Gear Solid illustrator Yoji Shinkawa that were posted on the game’s official Japanese website on July 9, 1998. These pages remained online until 2008, when Konami decided to relaunch the website in order to promote the digital download release of the game on the PlayStation Store.

I posted an earlier translation of these blog posts on March 8 of this year (2019) that was missing most of the illustrations being described, since the image files were not archived. I’ve since found the missing image files on another website and took the liberty of revising my translation to fix mistakes or clarify certain statements. I’ve tried to edit the original blog post, but for some reason tumblr didn’t allow me to upload any new images, so I decided to delete it and post the revision as a new blog post.

I’ve also found the images of the scratch Metal Gear REX model sculpted by Yoji Shinkawa that were uploaded on the official site, but unfortunately they were watermarked by a fansite that copied them back in the day. With that said, it’s still better than nothing, so I added them at the end of this blog poster.

Unfortunately, I still haven’t found any of the photos used on the seventh blog post, so that will still remain untranslated for the time being.

Interviewer: First of all, it’s a pleasure to talk to you Mr. Shinkawa.

Shinkawa: Please to meet you too.

Interviewer: I’ll start by asking about the game’s protagonist Solid Snake. What kind of details were you paying attention to when designing his character.

Shinkawa: Well I talked about this before in Konami Magazine Vol. 2, but there were two Metal Gear games prior to this one, so I struggled to find a balance between them. The Snake in the original Metal Gear looked like a young musclebound guy, while in Metal Gear 2 he was more of a bitter middle-aged man. This time Mr. Kojima’s image of Snake was one of having a tough and athletic body like Jean-Claude Van Damme combined with the middle-aged nature of someone like Christopher Walken. As a result, he became something of a middle ground between the two.

Interviewer: I see. What was your work after Snake’s image was decided on?

Shinkawa: The truth is I had trouble designing his costume. At the beginning I was thinking of a conventional military uniform in blue urban camo. But then I thought it might had been a bit too careless to have Snake swim underwater wearing such a uniform. Since the story takes place in the near future, he ended up wearing a costume made of leather and waterproof material.

Interviewer: It’s an amazing attention to detail that you kept in mind Snake’s infiltration route when designing his costume. So there’s a scene where Snake is underwater? What happens if the Ninja lands in a pond or something?

Shinkawa: What would happen? Huh... He would spark up and then yell something like “Water! My weakness!” (laugh) Just kidding.

Interviewer: (laughs) I guess not.

Shinkawa: It’s hard to know when it comes to Mr. Kojima though...

Interviewer: Don’t worry about it. By the way, is there any behind-the-scenes stories about the game’s development.

Shinkawa: Yes. It’s not much of an inside story, but I drew Ninja in a train.

Interviewer: During a train ride?

Shinkawa: Yes, I drew him while riding a commuter train. I was stationed at Osaka at the time. Most of the people there not friendly, so I would spent time observing the college girls.

Interviewer: That’s pretty nice.

Shinkawa:I guess so. But the friendliness here is good though. But Tokyo doesn’t have such a thing, so it feels a bit lonely. How I should say this, but there’s something that could be described as “enjoying the reaction of people watching in my direction” that could be seen not just over there, but here too.

Interviewer: So that’s how you train your sense of observation!

Shinkawa: No, that’s not what I meant. (laughs)

Interviewer: Is there a type of woman that you like?

Shinkawa: I wonder about that.

Interviewer: I’m sorry, that was such a trite question. Let me rephrase that. Is there a particular celebrity that you like?

Shinkawa: I guess I have no choice. My type would be someone like Shinobu Nakayama.

Interviewer: Is that so? Personally I’m a fan of Yuki Uchida if you’re curious to know...

Shinkawa: Yeah, she’s not bad.

Interviewer: Ah!

Shinkawa: Well, let’s put that subject aside. The truth is that the character of Mei-Ling was actually modeled after Nakayama herself. I used to watch her drama series.

Interviewer: Ah! That’s such an interesting thing to learn. Now that you say that, Mei-Ling really does resemble Nakayama looking at her closely, doesn’t she?

Shinkawa: Mei-Ling was written to be a bubbly college girl. She tends heavily to my taste, since she’s in the right age range and has my ideal image.

Interviewer: That’s nice. Having your preferences tied directly to your job.

Shinkawa: It’s not just mine. The character of Dr. Naomi Hunter was made to suit Mr. Kojima’s preferences too.

Interviewer: I see. Huh? At this rate, will you have a type for everyone?

Shinkawa: That wasn’t the intention, but... (laughs)

Interviewer: When was this drawn?

Shinkawa: I think it was around the end of last year. Huh? Around six months ago. Time sure fly quickly! I drew it for a magazine ad.

Interviewer: I heard the Ninja was your idea.

Shinkawa:That’s right. But originally there was a trio. They would say something like “Worya! Trinity Attack!” and they were going to have random kanji characters on their backs such as flame (炎) or horse (馬) without any particular significance.

Interviewer: “Fire” doesn’t seem so unreasonable, but why “horse”?

Shinkawa: I’ve mentioned “horse” as a joke, but that sort of thing happens very often, doesn’t it? When it comes to the image of Japan from a foreign perspective, while the outline is the same, the finer details differ. I like that kind of thing. The finalized design of the Ninja is and isn’t a ninja. If nobody told you he was a ninja, you wouldn’t think of him as one. But if someone points out that he must be a ninja because he has some ninja-like parts if you look at him closely, then you might think of him as one.

Interviewer: Is that so? That’s the Shinkawa magic!

Shinkawa: (laughs) What’s that?

Interviewer: I think I’ve seen this artwork a long time ago.

Shinkawa: It was first published around a year ago.

Interviewer: I see. So why did you draw it like an American comic book?

Shinkawa: Well, in reality I was going for a BD-style. Doesn’t it look like that?

Interviewer: I’m sorry, but what does BD mean?

Shinkawa: It stands for bande dessinée, which is the term for graphic novels in France. It means “sequential art”.

Interviewer: Huh, I did not know. So, is there a particular reason why you chose the BD-style?

Shinkawa: Of course! There is a reason. While talking to Mr. Kojima during the early stages, he said “Alright! Let’s turn Metal Gear into B.D” as a conceptual image. So I drew a few illustrations like that. This one was used as promotional art.

Interviewer: I see. So that’s the reason. And this one was perfect for a promotional artwork. Huh! Why is Gatse Becker [the BCPD chief from Policenauts] there?

Shinkawa: That’s not him. (laughs) It’s the Secretary of Defense [Jim Houseman]... Jeez... (While saying this, Shinkawa’s mouse keeps hovering on Mei-Ling for some reason.)

Interviewer: (nervous face) Uhh... Mei-Ling’s skirt seems awfully short... By the way, will you be able to shake the female characters’ breasts like in Policenauts?

Shinkawa:...That’s classified information!

Interviewer: Well, here’s REX. Is there anything particularly different about this Metal Gear model?

Shinkawa: The Metal Gears in the previous two games had weak legs, so this new version has a strengthened lower body. During the initial planning I came up with several illustrations and settings, but the finalized version was settled pretty quickly.

Interviewer: How so?

Shinkawa: Since it was going to be turned into a polygon model, I made it into an actual model in order to solidify its conceptual image and verify its functions.

Interviewer: Is that so? Please show the model to me.

Shinkawa: Of course! REX was designed purely as a weapon, so it’s not exactly a heroic mecha. I decided on a dinosaur-like design like this one, since it conveyed a scary and grim image.

Shinkawa: There are three types of enemy soldiers shown here. From left to right: we have the light infantry, the heavy infantry and the arctic warfare soldier (nicknamed Yukinko by the developers). There’s also a gas mask-wearing fourth type.

Interviewer: Were you given any sort of references to use?

Shinkawa: I had books and photos that were given to me by Mr. Motosada Mori (MGS’s military advisor).

Interviewer: All the enemy soldiers have their faces covered up. Was that decided because they were terrorists?

Shinkawa: That’s certainly something that could be think of, but there’s actually more important reasons.

Interviewer: Huh? Explain!

Shinkawa: Simply put, we needed to reduce the number of polygons.

Interviewer: Is that really the reason?

Shinkawa: If you want to draw faces on your characters, you have to use quite a few polygons to get them to a satisfactory level, which ends up consuming too much resources. When taking into consideration the game as a whole, you got no choice but to trim certain parts. It’s a shame, but in the end I think the finalized designs suit the enemy soldiers better.

Interviewer: It’s a matter of balancing supply and demand. By the way, I really like the helmet worm by the Heavily Armed Troops. You don’t see them often in the game though.

Shinkawa: Well that helmet is an original design. Like everything, I try to keep things intuitive for game-playing purposes. The enemy soldiers are color-coded from left to right: brown, green and white, plus yellow for the gas mask-wearing soldiers.

Interviewer: There are indeed a variety of schemes. By the way, the arctic warfare soldiers are layered with clothing. Snake spends most of the game in arctic environments, but he isn’t wearing that much. Why is that?

Shinkawa: He’s wearing a high-tech suit.

Interviewer: You said it so bluntly... (laughs) One last nitpicky question. Who does the laundry in the base?

Shinkawa: They use a laundry machine. (laughs)

Metal Gear REX Model Photos

[hyliancutiepie]

Day 7 | Stay With Me/AU

“In which Prompto was born a Prince and Noctis grew up as a citizen in Insomnia. No war, just love and fluff and good things. Mostly.“

only kinda 'stay with me' but more towards the end. very very loose, but it still fits so i'll say it counts xD! there is a little non-graphic NSFW stuff about... 2.5k words in. nothing too heavy but it is there, just so you know uwu

this is also the last prompt for promptis week... i'm kinda sad it's over but i'm glad i was able to get my butt into gear so i could participate! it's also been amazing reading and viewing all the content everyone has posted :D i’d also like to thank the admins at @promptisfanweek for organising it! you guys are the best!!!

Also on AO3

“I can’t believe school’s almost finished…” Prompto whined, collapsing on the neat, brick ledge around the perfectly maintained garden. “Just a few more exams and that’s it. We’re done.”

Noctis laughed, settling down beside his best friend. “And here I thought you’d be relieved.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I totally am, but I’m not too, you know?” Prompto explained and then groaned in annoyance, Noctis casting him a clueless expression on purpose. “Asshole.”

A grin formed and Noctis lightly shoved Prompto at the arm. “Don’t worry about it, dude. I get it. It’s scary going out into the world, amiright?”

“So right.” Prompto agreed with a drawn out sigh. “Except… I’m not.”

“Nah Prom, you’ll probably see more of the world than I ever will.” Noctis said with a pat on Prompto’s back. “And you already have, seeing as you’ve actually left Insomnia.”

“It’s not so great out there really.” Prompto offered. “But I should take you to that Chocobo farm I visited once.”

Noctis had begun digging around in his backpack, searching for something. “You keep saying that.” He commented, pulling out two cans of soda, one of which he offered to Prompto as he continued. “But you never follow through.”

“I will. There’s some time between graduation and my birthday so I say we convince Iggy and Gladio to sneak us out of the city.” He suggested, opening the drink at arm’s length. It made a fuss, foam spilling down the side. “How much did you shake these, jeez!”

A sheepish chuckle later and Noctis set his drink aside instead of opening it. “For what it’s worth, if they won’t do it then I will. It’ll be our first real adventure.”

Prompto’s eyes lit up at the offer, smiling encouragingly. “Oh Noct, you have no idea how great that sounds.” And although the words sounded like an invitation, Noctis could hear the tone Prompto always used – the one on his breath whenever Prompto knew there was no way he’d be allowed. “If only it was that easy.”

“You know it can be.” Noctis told him. “They can’t keep you couped up in this city for the rest of your life!”

“Noct, it’s okay.” Prompto said with a reassuring pat on his shoulder. “I’ll get out there eventually. Besides, once I’m King, I don’t think anyone’ll be able to stop me from leaving.”

Noctis knew that was a lie, but knew it was the kind of lie Prompto told himself to reassure himself, so Noctis didn’t point it out. He sighed though and turned his eyes away. “We’ll have the best adventures, you and me. Imagine the photos you’ll be able to take.”

“That’s what I’m looking forward to the most.” Prompto agreed with a firm nod of his head.

Noctis gasped, hand coming to his chest in mock offence. “And here I thought spending time with me would be the most exciting part.”

A tinge of pink brushed over Prompto’s freckled cheeks and he avoided eye contact, smile on his lips small and nervous. “Well yes, that too.”

“You know, Prom.” Noctis began, changing the subject to save Prompto feeling embarrassed. “I get that you’re probably scared of what will come after we finish school, but in the end, we’ll always be best friends. You know that, right?”

Prompto nodded. “For life.” He vowed, then took a long sip of his drink. “To think, we almost weren’t friends at all.”

“And I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Noctis told him.

“I actually wanted to talk to you sooner...” Prompto admitted, sheepishly smiling as he scratched the back of his neck. “Buuuut... I was scared you wouldn’t want to talk to me.”

“Are you kidding?” Noctis said, lightly elbowing him. “You’re the Prince!”

Prompto nodded, nervously cracking his knuckles and each finger in succession, unconscious to how the action brought Noctis’s eyes to the soft digits. Noctis smiled a little, knowing the tell-tale sign that had always been there, wanting to lay his own hand over them, hold them tight. “Y-yeah but... I saw in primary school how you avoided people. Like, on purpose. And I figured if I talked to you then the other kids would start harassing you so... I decided not to.” He chuckled at himself, staring up at the sky. “It sounds so stupid saying it now”

“It is pretty stupid.” Noctis agreed, nodding with a grin. “Anyone would be honoured to have the Prince approach them.” He told him. “But hey, your heart was – in its own way – in the right place.” A broad smile formed across Prompto’s freckled face and Noctis turned his gaze away, hoping to hide the flush on his cheeks. “S-so... why did you start talking to me then?”

“Eh, well I figured it was now or never.” Prompto said with a shrug. 

“Now or never?” Noctis repeated, frowning at the words. 

“Well, when I finish school I have my coronation and then I'll be King. All my studies will be done at the Citadel, rather than on a college campus and... well... I knew I’d never get the chance to see you again.” He explained, tilting his head as he watched Noctis’s face. “I also kinda had a massive crush on you.” He admitted with a flush on his cheeks. “And Iggy told me “if you never do something, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life”. So... I decided that if I never talked to you then I’d always wonder what might have happened.”

“And?” Noctis probed. 

Prompto frowned. “And?” 

“You talked to me.” Noctis clarified. “So, what happened? Was it everything you wished for?”

Freckled cheeks reddened even further and Prompto averted his gaze. “Well yes and no... You became my first real, friend that’s not related to me by royal duty. But… I also fell in love with you.”

Noctis smiled warmly, his cheeks heating up. “Is that such a bad thing?”

“I’m a Prince, Noct.” Prompto replied, leaning his chin into the palm of one hand. “The last of my line. There’re expectations and responsibilities that I have to fulfil and I have no choice in the matter.” He sighed. “I’m not allowed to fall in love.”

He shifted closer to the prince, sliding his hand and fingers between Prompto’s. At the action, Prompto’s other hand fell from under his chin and he stared at their linked hands with stunned eyes. “Prom…” Sunshine gold hair almost completely obscured bright blue eyes as the Prince turned his gaze to find Noctis’s. He smiled reassuringly, letting his eyes flutter shut, leaning in, tilting his head just so. Prompto’s eyes began to shut too, fingers tightening in their grip on his hand just as their lips touched.

Prompto let out a soft sigh, pressing into the kiss, his body twisting towards Noctis’s, fingers of his free hand tentatively touching under his friend’s jaw.

The kiss parted, but Noctis didn’t let Prompto go much further than a centimetre away, staring at closed eyes, counting blond eyelashes just before they fluttered open. When their eyes met, smiled broke upon their lips and they chuckled together, pressing foreheads, noses touching. “Oh Prom… I feel like I’ve wasted so much time.”

“Why?” Prompto asked, dragging his fingers into Noctis’s hair.

“I’ve loved you for years.” He confessed. “But I never said because… god I was so scared you’d turn me down. And now… school is ending and I won’t see you much anymore.”

Prompto pulled Noctis’s head against his shoulder, fingertips pressing comfortingly against his scalp. “Noct, it’s okay.” He breathed. “I actually… I actually had an idea. I wasn’t gonna mention it to you yet but...” Pulling back, Prompto kept their hands intertwined as he used his other to rummage through his bag. “I’ve been holding onto this for ages.” He commented as he pulled out a form, printed out on a sheet of expensive looking paper.

Scanning the page, Noctis noted the top of the page read “Crownsguard Application Form”. “What is this?” He asked with a frown, not understanding.

“Joining the Crownsguard means that you would live in the Citadel, in the soldiers barracks of course, but if you apply and get accepted before my Coronation, then I’ll be able to choose you as one of my personal guards.” Prompto explained. “And then you’d live in the same wing as me, Ignis and Gladio.”

“Is it really that easy?” Noctis asked, unable to believe it.

“Ignis thinks so. I am allowed to have three close guards in my retinue.” Prompto explained. “Of course… it’ll be really hard work for you. So I understand if you don’t want to – ”

Noctis picked up the form, determination filling his features.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 The King’s Coronation was the greatest event in the decade. Representatives of all over Eos and further had travelled there, from as far as Tenebrae, the Lady Lunafreya taking front seat. The great hall of the Citadel was filled to the brim with delegates, nobles and literally everyone Noctis could imagine.

And he was nervous as fuck.

He hadn’t seen Prompto all day, their sleeping quarters still so far away from each other, but Ignis had infiltrated his barrack early that morning and brought him up to a room he announced would be his. And then the Prince’s advisor had dressed him in the formal uniform tailored just for him, styled his hair and reminded Noctis how he was to act at the ceremony.

“Remember, do not speak until you’re asked to vow your allegiance to the King. Only say “I do”, understand?” Ignis said firmly.

Noctis had grinned, despite his nerves. “It sounds like marriage vows.”

Ignis had smiled back, a fond expression. Since Noctis had become friends with Prompto, the advisor had grown closer to Noctis, trusted him with Prompto’s safety through their school years and now, they considered each other good friends. “Maybe someday, they will be.” Ignis said to him.

“You must be Noctis.”

Noctis felt his eyes go wide as the soft, beautiful voice spoke to him, and he turned his head to see that Lunafreya, Lady of Tenebrae, had moved down the seats to sit directly beside him. The ceremony wasn’t to start yet and many were talking to one another to pass the time. “Uh.. yeah, yeah I am, my Lady.” He said, bowing his head awkwardly.

Lunafreya offered him a warm smile. “I am pleased to finally meet you.” She greeted. “Prompto has spoken about you often.”

“H-he talks about me?”

“Certainly.” Lunafreya replied, her eyes squinting slightly as her smile broadened. “And he speaks highly of you. I hope we can be good friends as well, Noctis.”

“I – uh – yeah, of course.” Noctis promised.

“Ah, it’s about to start. Please excuse me.”

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 “Uuuuuugh! I’m so glad it’s oveeeeeeeeeer!” Prompto groaned, collapsing onto his bed with an overdramatic ‘oomph’. He rolled over, arms above his head, still dressed in his formal robes.

Noctis had spent a lot of time in the Princ – King’s chambers since he’d entered the Crownsguard. They’d sit on the bed and play video games into the early hours of the morning when Noctis would reluctantly kiss his boyfriend goodnight and return to his barracks to a roar of teasing whispers from the other Crownsguard. They all knew his friendship with the Prince and surprisingly, showed no animosity about the fact. They had supported him, assisted him through the tough days of training, gave him tips.

Now that he wouldn’t be going back there, he already kind of missed them. But there would still be training to do, so he was sure to see them again soon.

“Noct! Get over heeeere! You must be exhausted too!” Prompto called, patting on the bed beside him.

A smile spread across Noctis’s mouth and he slid out of the constricting blazer to drape it over the nearest chair before joining Prompto on the bed, flopping down beside him, the mattress bouncing and bringing a laugh from the new King. “I can’t believe you’re actually King now.” He muttered, reaching for Prompto’s hand and giving it a squeeze.

“Honestly? Neither can I.” Prompto replied. “But I’m glad you’re with me, Noct. I don’t think I’d function without you here.”

Noctis smiled, leaning in to lightly kiss Prompto’s forehead. “Like I’d ever leave you alone.”

And from that moment on, he rarely did. Sure, Gladio is Prompto’s Shield, is at his side from dawn until dusk, but Prompto also insisted on Noctis being there too, hovering on the King’s other flank. More than once, Ignis had asked Prompto if it’s necessary for Noctis to be there all the time, but it’s Noctis who replied that there’s no where he’d rather be.

Sure they couldn’t express any of their affections whenever anyone is around, but Prompto managed to sneak in lingering touches whenever Noctis hands him an item or makes eye contact whenever he’s in a meeting and Noctis is stationed at the door of his office. It’s the little things. Not to mention that Noctis had barely used the room assigned to him, settling into Prompto’s quarters and against his side every night.

Noctis kinda wished he could take Prompto out on a proper date again. They managed a few before the Coronation, but now, five months in, it’d be impossible.

So that is why he enlisted Ignis’s help.

“I know he has dinner with us every night, but he also eats in front of other servants and maids and he can’t be himself, Ignis. He can’t be with me. I know he’s the King, Ignis, I’m so aware of it and I’m so proud of him but more than just a King, he’s Prompto.” Noctis said, pleading in his voice. “Let him have one night without the servants watching over his shoulder, please.”

It turned out that it didn’t take much convincing for Ignis to agree and not a week later Noctis was leading Prompto to a secluded, no servant’s allowed area of the royal wing where Ignis and Gladio had set up a table for two. Even Noctis stared in awe, captivated by the hundreds – it had to be hundreds, there were so many – that illuminated the area, four large bunches of roses sat at appealing distance around the circular room with a single one in a vase upon the table.

Prompto had gasped at his side when they’d stepped in, his eyes growing wide at the sight. “Oh… em… gee… Noct… did you do this?”

Noctis slid his arm down, Prompto’s hand moving from his elbow and into his own hand. He squeezed it, watching Prompto’s eyes swirling with wonder. “I arranged it. Specs and Gladio helped me out.”

“B-but… why? What’s this for?”

“I wanted to take you out on a date.” Noctis replied simply. “Leaving the Citadel isn’t possible right now, but, there’s no reason why I can’t bring the date to you.” He explained, guiding Prompto into the room. “C’mon, sit down.”

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Prompto is shy, but eager in bed – or rather, Noctis decided, that he is eager but incredibly shy about showing it. The King had been the one that dragged him away as soon as they had decided the date was coming to an end – they had eaten food brought in by Ignis, held hands over the table as they sipped at the wine, talked about everything and anything, avoiding politics where they could – and shut the door to his chambers with a kind of haste that has Noctis raising eyebrows at him.

“Noct.” Prompto had said, approaching him with careful steps. “I want – ” He’d immediately flushed to the colour of a strawberry and his sentence broke off, as if he realised exactly what he was about to say. “I-I mean… I… uhm…”

Noctis didn’t need any encouragement or explanation and although he was shy too, uncertain about how to do anything like this, he had stepped forward and got the ball rolling with a fierce, stronger and hotter than any kiss they’d had before. It had led to clothing being haphazardly removed and tossed away, garments trailing their movements towards the bed where Noctis lay the naked King down and hoped to the Astrals he didn’t ruin this for Prompto.

For the most part, they had gone with whatever felt good, eased into the motions and both flushed scarlet when Prompto said Ignis had given him some supplies that had been in the bottom drawer of his side table ever since they’d started going out.

Turns out, Ignis knew exactly what he had been supplying and lube warmed up as Prompto moaned and tightened around him, fingers clinging to the silken sheets as he bucked into each thrust. Each breath was a gasp of Noctis’s name and Noctis had to remember to breathe as he was drenched with wave after wave of emotion and pleasure that ended with a gasp and a groan, nose buried into the crook of Prompto’s neck and shoulder.

And then they ended the evening with Noctis’s mouth bobbing down upon the King, testing with experimental swipes of his tongue and presses of his fingers, ultimately granting the King his first orgasm.

“W-well… shit.” Noctis mumbled, still catching his breath as he collapsed beside the recovering King. “That was… ”

“Noct, will you marry me?”

“I – say what?” Noctis exclaimed, snapping from the post-orgasm fog. “What did you ask me?”

Prompto was fidgeting with his fingers, gnawing on his already flushed and abused bottom lip. “I-I just… I asked if you would marry me.”

Oh gods, did he want to give the most enthusiastic reply ever, but he knew exactly what Ignis would say. “Prom – ”

“I know.” Prompto mumbled with a sigh. “It’s stupid.”

Noctis scrambled to prevent Prompto from rolling onto his other side, to stop him from turning away, he took Prompto’s hands into his own, kissing the knuckles, adoring each finger as he felt tears well up in his eyes. “It’s not stupid. You’re never stupid. And wanting that isn’t stupid. Astrals, Prompto, if I thought it would be possible I’d have proposed months ago.”

Prompto saw the tears and Noctis hadn’t even noticed they’d begun to fall until Prompto forces a hand free from his grip to wipe it away. “Noct…”

“I love you so much, Prom. More than anything in the world. I want to spend every moment of my life with you and I… I want to have everything with you.” Noctis babbled, beginning to sob as he presses his face into Prompto’s hands. “I love you but you’re not mine to have.”

It was the first night Noctis spent in his assigned quarters and it was the coldest night of his life.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 He woke to a weight at his side, Prompto’s form squished beside him onto the much-too-small-for-two bed Noctis was given.

It’s only then Noctis realised that it had been a cold night for the King as well.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 “I heard Prompto proposed the other night.”

Ignis was never good at the subtle approach, always jumping straight to the chase at any given moment. At least, Noctis thought, he waited a few days before bringing up the topic.

“Yes.” Noctis replied.

“And you turned him down.”

Noctis sighed. “He knows I want to, but he knows it’s not possible just much as I do.”

“Why exactly isn’t it possible?” Ignis asked, frowning at Noctis like he’d just spoken the strangest sentence in the world.

“Oh Specs, you know why. He’s the King of Eos, I’m just a part of his retinue. And a guy.” Noctis pointed out, wondering why it would be so hard to understand, especially for someone like Ignis.

To his surprise, Ignis started to chuckle. “Oh, Noct, there are no laws preventing a King from marrying a man. In fact, Prompto wouldn’t be the first to do so if you took your head out of your ass and accepted his proposal.”

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Prompto was in his office, Gladio behind him, Noctis by the door as always, when Gladio suddenly announced his departure. Noctis kept his gaze on Prompto as the King watched with wide, disbelieving eyes as Gladio gave Noctis a pat on the shoulder and left, closing the door behind him.

“Noct?” Prompto asked, tentative. While he had forgiven Noctis for his brash and hurtful departure from his chambers only a week previous, there was a part of himself that held a little ache in his chest. “What’s going on?”

Noctis approached his desk, his steps careful, but certain as he rounded the polished wood and came to stand before the King. “Prom, last week… you asked me a question. It was a loaded one, with your heart on the line – ”

Prompto couldn’t help the snort that left his mouth. “Did Ignis give you a script?”

Laughter passed between them and Noctis knelt down, smile beaming. “He did. But it’s all right. I shouldn’t have shut you down so fast. I don’t think I ever actually apologised for it.”

“Don’t worry about that.” Prompto insisted.

“Let me make it up to you.” Noctis said, expertly pulling a small, black, velvet box from his pocket. Prompto had gasped before the rings were even presented to him and Noctis lay a hand on the King’s jittering knee to try and settle him. “Can I accept your proposal? Even though I’m a little late?”

Arms were thrown around his shoulders and Noctis toppled backwards, Prompto landing on top of him, mouths crushed together over and over as eager kisses were planted by a King who had begun openly sobbing above him. “Yes, yes, yes a thousand, million times, yes!”