#you know because of the ring of fire in the ifrit fight

[avirael]

FFxivWrite 2023

Day 06 - Ring

With a sad sigh A'viloh looked at the ring in his palm as he stood in front of the goldsmiths‘ guild. It was a delicate little thing but also incredibly pretty. A fine woven silver band with flourishes that seemed to form a lily and in the middle of it a bright peridot. He shook his head and decided that he couldn’t do this.

***

Before he had left for Ul'dah Kikipu had stopped him one last time and asked him for a favour. Carefully she had pulled a necklace from beneath her shirt and took a small silver ring of the chain.

"Take this.", she had said as she pressed it into A'viloh’s hand. "Sell it for me when you’re in Ul'dah. I meant to do so for a while now but couldn’t bring myself to do it, but if you go in my place… Well, the money will help us a lot to keep this place out of these greedy bastards hands."

She sighed as A'viloh turned the ring between his fingers. "It’s so beautiful! The stone is so bright, what is it? And where did you get it?"

"A peridot." Kikipu explained. "My fiancé gave it to me a long time ago and told me he chose it because it looks just like my eyes."

The Miqo'te looked and the stone once more and then at Kikipu’s face. "Yes, it’s really close."

Kikipu laughed and said. "But not quite, right? I guess he just couldn’t afford an emerald. Really it looks more like your eyes than mine!"

At that A'viloh had to laugh too but then he picked up on something she had said. He wasn’t sure if it was okay to ask but given the fact that Kikipu wanted to sell this ring it seemed like an important detail to A'viloh.

"You said your fiancé gave it to you. Where did he go?"

"Shortly after our engagement he fell very sick and died soon after.", she explained with a sad look on her face.

A'viloh already motioned to give it back to her. "Then you can’t sell this!", he exclaimed. He felt a little jealous about this memento and upset about the fact she wanted to give it away. He had nothing at all that reminded him of Laqa. Everything they had they either had to leave behind or got taken from them. If he had something like this he was sure he would cherish it forever.

But Kikipu shook her head and pushed his hand back. "Like I said, it was a long time ago. Also, I think he would be happy to know that his present ensures I can keep our home. This place and the people here are more important than a piece of jewellery."

He understood what she said and it made sense but it still didn’t feel right to him. "Are you really sure about this?"

"I am.", she nodded vehemently. "Please go to Serendipity at the Goldsmiths‘ Guild and show it to hear. She‘s a good person and an expert on jewellery, she will give you an appropriate amount of gil for it."

He had agreed reluctantly and then she had shooed him away, warning him that he wouldn’t make it before sunset if he kept on dawdling.

***

When he returned to the Silver Bazaar a few weeks later the stars had just started to appear in the sky. He had spent the afternoon with some tasks in the area and decided to return home for the night before heading to Horizon the next morning.

Kikipu and the other people had been happy to see him return safely and eager to hear about his visit to the city. They all gathered on cushions on the floor in the middle of the bazaar and A'viloh spent hours telling them about all the things he had seen and learned until one after another excused themselves and went to bed. In the end only Kikipu remained.

"About the thing you send me to do.", A'viloh started, pulled a pouch of coins from his bag and gave it to her. "This should be enough to keep this place safe for a while I hope."

She took the pouch with a deep sigh and looked inside. Then she said visibly surprised: "This is a lot more than I expected! You can’t tell me Serendipity gave you this much Gil for that old thing."

"Ah, about that…", A'viloh answered and pulled the little peridot ring from his pocket. "Don’t be mad but I couldn’t bring myself to sell it."

She looked at him with wide eyes. "What? But… How?" she stuttered and looked at him in disbelief. "Where did you get all that money from??"

He smiled and put the ring in her hand.

"I worked for it. I made deliveries, I hunted monsters, I even played the weavers‘ guild mascot for a day. Whatever job I could find, so you could keep this."

Baffled she looked at him and then started to blink. A'viloh could see the tears forming in her eyes as she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight.

"Oh A'vi, thank you so much! This means so much to me! Oh, my sweet boy, I am so proud of you!"

At that A'viloh teared up a little too. To see Kikipu so happy made him very happy too. But to hear her say that she was proud of him? No one had every said that to him.

"Thank you.", he whispered and embraced her tightly.

[iamthecomet]

Hiii Comet!!! Gonna send it again cus my memory issues leave me with anxious thoughts—

Anyway, I've been thinking lately about ghoulish more like tribe-life in the Pit. About all those different habits and traditions that ghouls have in their packs, clans, species.

And I totally have a brain rot about fire ghouls thing. We know how they can be hot-headed, right? Perhaps, they're, or just some of clans are the most aggressive/hostile ghouls out of all. Okay-okay, I know it's a casual thing that maybe other clans and elements can be the same, but let's think like it's at least a general stereotype.

Fire ghouls have harsh rules in their clans, bloody traditions, sometimes their favourite dish is the flesh of their own kind. Conflicts between clans, conflicts between clan members, packmates, they fight to prove their strength, they fight to show off, maybe to find a mate.

So, I've been thinking that some of clans have a tradition, when every ghoul grows their hair. Oh, they love sometimes to weave rings or beads into it, or something else, shiny and pretty. Long and thick hair is a sign of the strength, body spirit, health.. But! If a ghoul would lost a battle, or even a sparring for title, their hair cuts off, fully or just a little bit, depends on the winner. (It would be great if a ghoul would stay alive)

The sign of the weakness, defeat. The longer it takes to grow the hair back the less the ghoul is respected. They seem less attractive, either, because fire ghouls love strength, it's their mantra.

How about Dew? When he became a fire ghoul for sure, taking more their appearance, I think he took this one tradition too? Maybe he heard it from someone, on the Topside or in the Pit, maybe he knew. I mean, even if he had longer hair even before, it looks even more symbolic now. His beautiful long hair. Sign of his victory, even if ghouls don't fight there anymore. Sign that he is not broken, even if sometimes he doesn't feel okay.

He won when he found his place and purpose, won when he finally began to live in the body in which he feels like himself. Newfound peace. Power. Willpower.

And what about other fire ghouls? What about Ifrit? First of all, I think that he's most 'tamed' one. He left all those silly traditions behind, adapting to the new world. The second thing is no matter how I like the thought of meany Ifrit, I LOVE the idea of him being golden retriever boyfriend. Cheerful and friendly.

Perhaps he is from a better clan, who knows. He doesn't seem harsh and rude. He knows about that tradition as well, but prefers to not have that long hair. It's enough for him just to take care of it, making it a little fluffy, shiny. But as you know he appreciates power/strength as well! :^) If you know you know

Hmm, what about Alpha? Honestly, I'm still thinking about him. He is an old one, so perhaps he has his own traditions too..

Have a nice day!!!🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛

So many good fire ghoul thoughts! I agree with you. I think Fire Ghouls in the pit can be nasty. That living as can be hard and deadly and you really do have to prove your worth. And the traditions around hair? WONDERFUL. I like to think there are different factions of them that come from different parts of the pit. I sort of relate the fire ghouls to the different zodiac fire signs (this is because I am one and I can't help it). We have our Aries (Alpha. Oldest. Quick to anger. Wears his heart on his sleeve. Cannot hold his tongue). Our Leo (Ifrit. Middle child. Fun loving. So much self esteem and ego. Loud, and a lot. His decisions are the right decisions always). And our Sagittarius (Dew. Youngest. A little Aloof. Reckless. Blunt. Adventerous). And obviously this mutates and changes, but it makes sense to me in this context. They are so so different and yet...they are made of the same stuff. I'm going to be thinking about fire ghouls and where they come from and all their different traditions and rituals for a while now. THANK YOU, this is wonderfullll.

[crusherthedoctor]

Can you list anything you unironically like in the games (and cartoons and comics) that you don't like?

I won't bother mentioning music, since that goes without saying and is to be expected for a Sonic game... unless you're Chronicles.

Sonic Adventure 2 (mixed gameplay-wise, annoying story-wise) - While I prefer Sonic's SA1 levels for a number of reasons, I still think his and Shadow's gameplay in SA2 is fun on its own merit. I also don't mind the treasure hunting gameplay returning or how big the levels are this time around, since Knuckles and Rouge are still fast and not '06 levels of slow. It's mainly the gimped radar that creates the unfortunate domino effect of making them a problem.

- Introduced Rouge, one of my favourite characters for how playful she is and how she's a lot more nuanced and intelligent than you'd expect.

- Some genuinely good scenes, like Eggman's trap on the A.R.K and Sonic escaping from the G.U.N. helicopter.

- Had some good ideas going for it, like the Pyramid Base and the Biolizard as a scientific monster instead of an ancient one.

- Despite my thoughts on the backstory itself (or rather, its execution), Shadow has enough depth and subtle qualities and occasional unintended hilarity to stand out from the typical dark rival characters you see in media.

- The Last Scene's music in particular is one of my favourite cutscene tracks in the series.

Sonic Heroes (mixed gameplay-wise, loathed story-wise) - The gameplay is fun when you're not being screwed over by repetitive combat, overly long levels and/or ice physics.

- Boasts some of the most consistently Genesis-worthy environments in the 3D games, up there with SA1's and Colours'.

- The in-game dialogue that isn't the same tutorial drivel repeated ad nauseam can be interesting, funny, etc.

- Reintroduced the Chaotix, which provided me with another character I quite like in the form of Vector.

- Bringing Metal Sonic back in full force and front and center in the plot after a long absence (not counting cameos and the like) is a perfectly fine idea. Just... not like this.

Sonic Battle (decent yet repetitive gameplay, mixed story-wise) - Emerl's arc is compelling, and it earns the emotional weight of having to put him down at the end.

- While some characters are iffy (read: Amy), other characters are extremely well-handled. Shadow is probably the prime example.

- Gamma's belly dance healing animation is fucking hilarious.

- When I was young, and the game was first announced, I was really excited about being able to play as Chaos. This proved to be my downfall when it turned out he was arguably one of the worst characters in the game due to being slower than me during the writing process, but I still recall that excitement fondly.

Shadow the Hedgehog (comedy classic) - The sheer amount of legendary stupidity this game has going for it makes it practically impossible to actually hate. It helps that it's not quite as white-knighted on the same level as '06... usually. You know you're in for a unique experience when you hear a gunshot every time you click something in the menu.

- By extension, Black Doom never gained an unironic fanbase like Mephiles/Scourge/Eggman Nega did, which means I'm a lot more willing to take Doom's dumbass brand of villainy in stride. He even has a unique design... a terrible one that rips off Wizeman granted, but alas, even that is a step-up from Fridge Shadow and Bumblebee Eggman.

- Despite being... well, Shadow the Hedgehog, some of the environments would fit right in with any other Sonic game, like with Circus Park, Lava Shelter, and Digital Circuit. Even the Black Comet levels look pretty cool.

- This game understands amnesia better than IDW does.

Sonic '06 (what do you think?) - The obvious one: Shadow's character was handled pretty well, even if it came at the cost of everyone else being a dummy and being forced to interact with Mephiles.

- Like SA2, there are some good moments, like the Last Story ending sequence with Sonic and Elise.

- In the greatest form of irony ever, I like Solaris as a concept and design(s), and its backstory has potential to serve as a parallel with Chaos without being a complete ripoff. Iblis sucks, Mephiles sucks, but I'm fine with Solaris.

- Introduced legendary characters like Sonic Man, Pele the Beloved Dog, Hatsun the Pigeon, and Pacha from The Emperor's New Groove.

The Rivals duology (apathetic outside of Nega-related grumbling) - There were some cool zone ideas in both games that were sadly let down by the restrictive and limiting gameplay. I particularly like Colosseum Highway for thus far being the only full-on Roman level in the series instead of merely having a couple minor hints of Roman, and Meteor Base for the unique scenario of the space station being built into an asteroid. These level concepts and others deserve a second chance IMO. (At least Frontier Canyon got a second chance in the form of Mirage Saloon, amirite?)

- Ifrit has a better design than Iblis. Not saying it's amazing, but the Firebird motif it has going on is a lot more interesting for a fire monster than the Not-Chaos schtick they had with Iblis.

Sonic and the Secret Rings (a very frustrating gaming experience) - Erazor Djinn, A.K.A. Qui-Gon Djinn, A.K.A. Dr. N. Djinn, A.K.A. I'll Take It On The Djinn, A.K.A. Not From The Hairs On My Djinny Djinn Djinn, is one of the best villains not associated with Eggman in the series. He's a Mephiles-type character done right, and there's actual weight and reason to his actions, however sinister or petty.

- I don't have strong opinions either way on Shahra as a character, but the Sonic/Shahra friendship is sweet and well-handled.

- The ending is one of Sonic's greatest moments. The sheer contrast between how ruthlessly he deals with Erazor and how comforting he is towards Shahra speaks volumes... Still gonna make fun of the mountain of handkerchiefs though. (Before anyone lectures me, I understand the significance of it and can even appreciate it from that angle... doesn't mean I'm not allowed to poke fun at it. :P)

- Another game with some redeeming environments. I love the aesthetic of Night Palace, and Sand Oasis looks gorgeous too.

Sonic Chronicles (my personal least favourite game in the series) - Uh...

- Um...

- Er...

- I like Shade's design?

Sonic Unleashed (overrated game and story IMO) - The obvious two: the opening sequence and the Egg Dragoon fight deserve all the praise they get.

- Seeing Eggmanland come to life was an impressive moment to be sure. While part of me does feel it didn't quite measure up to what I had in mind (ironically, the Interstellar Amusement Park ended up being closer to what I had in mind), it still looks badass and works well for what it is. I also don't mind the idea of it being a one-level gauntlet... key word being idea.

- Obviously, the game looks great. Not a fan of the real world focus (real world inspiration is fine, but copy-pasting the real world and shoving loops in it is just unimaginative), but it can't be denied that the environments look good.

- This game pulled off dialogue options a lot better than Chronicles did, since they didn't rely on making Sonic OoC.

Sonic and the Black Knight (just kind of boring all around) - Despite my gripes with the story (Merlina wasn't nearly as fleshed out as her unique anti-villain status deserved, which ends up severely undermining the ambition of the plot in more ways than one, and the other characters go from being useless yes men for King Arthur to being useless yes men for Sonic), I will admit it provides interesting insight into Sonic's character.

- Like '06 and Secret Rings, the ending is very nice... well, aside from Amy being an unreasonable bitch ala Sonic X at the very end.

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 (apathetic) - The admittedly few new concepts sprinkled within had promise. They may not have been as fleshed out as they could have been, but level concepts like Sylvania Castle and White Park, bosses like Egg Serpentleaf and the Egg Heart, and story beats like the Death Egg mk.II being powered by Little Planet, all could have been brilliant had they been better executed.

SatAM (apathetic outside of SatAM Robotnik-related grumbling) - I'm not a fan of the environments on the whole due to them looking too bland or samey, but there are some exceptions that look pleasant or interesting, like the Void.

Sonic Underground (apathetic) - The character designs make me feel better about myself.

- Does "large quantities of unintentional meme material" count as a positive?

Sonic X (mostly apathetic outside of Eggman's handling) - Helen was a better human character and audience surrogate in her one focus episode than Chris was throughout his entire runtime.

- Actually, most of the human characters not named Chris were legitimately likable. Including everyone in Chris' own family not named Chris. Hilarious.

- Despite arguably having the most Chris in it, I actually don't mind the first season that much, partly due to slight nostalgia from seeing it on TV when it was new, but mostly because Eggman actually acted like a villain for the most part, and certain other characters weren't quite as flanderized yet. It's season 2 and onwards where things started going off the rails IMO. (Incidentally, Helen's episode was part of season 1...)

The Boom franchise (apathetic) - Along with Chronicles, the games provide yet more proof that just because someone isn't SEGA/Sonic Team, that doesn't mean they're automatically more qualified to handle the series.

- The show had some good episodes here and there, and Tails' characterization was probably the most consistently on-point out of the cast.

- Despite not exactly being favourite portrayals for either character, even I'll admit that many of Knuckles and Eggman's lines in the show on their own were genuinely funny.

Archie Sonic (pre-reboot is mostly terrible, post-reboot is mostly... bland) - Whenever I doubt myself as a writer, I think back to Ken Penders, and suddenly I'm filled with a lot more confidence.

Sonic the Comic (apathetic) - Fleetway isn't a comic I tend to recall much of aside from how much of a loathesome cunt Sonic is, but IIRC, Robotnik's portrayal is pretty good. Different, but good.

IDW Sonic (stop pissing me off, comic) - Putting their handling aside (and being too obviously "inspired" by MGS in the latter's case), Tangle and Whisper are good characters IMO.

- Same goes for Starline, before he was killed off-screen and replaced with Toothpaste Snively.

- Execution aside (noticing a pattern?), the zombot virus was a fine concept on its own and an interesting new scheme for Eggman.

- I get to remind myself that I've never drawn scat edits and posted them publicly on Twitter.

[bytheangell]

Hello Elle, after our lovely convo on discord, Alec's Friday nights suddenly got busy. For an hour he disappears and doesn't tell anyone where he goes, just stating he's just going out for a bit. What the others don't know is that he's been going over to Simon's and the duo have been trying to get through *insert generic coop video game here*. You can decide if the others find out or not (*^3^)/~☆

What Friends Are For  (Read on AO3)

Alec shrugs on his jacket and grabs the messenger bag from where he casually tossed it by the door on his way in that morning. He has this timed down to the second - being Head of the Institute has a few perks, including when the best time to sneak out during shift changes and while the cafeteria is open for dinner is to avoid anyone noticing him as he slips out. It worked well for a while… until it didn’t.

Lately, it feels like his family and friends must have some sort of tracker on him because this is the third week in a row one of them stopped him just shy of the front doors while he attempts to sneak out unnoticed on a Friday night.

“My big brother, going somewhere other than patrol on a Friday night? I don’t believe it.” Izzy teases good-naturedly. “Date night?”

Alec considers saying yes, but he can’t risk someone needing him or Magnus for something and discovering the lie.

“No,” Alec admits. “Just going out for a bit.”

It’s the same thing he said two weeks ago when Clary assumed he was going to grab a coffee and asked him to bring her back one, too, and the same thing he told Jace last week when Jace tried to get Alec to cover for him so he could go clubbing with Izzy.

Izzy raises a skeptical eyebrow, but Alec’s already turning back towards the door with a dismissive, “Sorry, gotta run!”

That’s the trouble with Shadowhunters - once they notice a pattern, they can’t let it go. It’s ingrained in their training to pick up on things like that, normally in a battle or tracking sense, but it can be applied everywhere. And unfortunately, Alec’s friends seem to have their minds set on applying it to him.

That’s a problem for another day, though, because he’s already out the door and on his way before he can worry too much about it.

---

The following Friday, Alec is halfway through the ops room when he hears a voice speaking behind him loudly enough to get his attention while he walks with his eyes down, determined not to make eye contact with anyone who might try to stop him on his way out.

“If I didn’t know any better,” Alec hears Jace’s voice say. “I’d think you’re cheating on Magnus or something.”

“That’s absurd,” Alec says, rolling his eyes.

“Of course, it is. That’s why I said ‘if I didn’t know any better’,” Jace points out. “The problem is, I don’t really know better, because you keep disappearing every week without telling anyone where you’re going. And I’m not saying you aren’t entitled to your privacy or anything but… it’s just weird, for you.”

Alec’s glare softens a little. They usually don’t ask, and Alec doesn’t offer anything besides out for a bit’, but he should’ve known that could only last so long. He supposes that’s what he gets for suddenly changing his habits after two decades of always being around. “I swear, there’s nothing to worry about.”

Once it’s clear that’s all Alec plans on saying on it, taking Jace up on the ‘you’re entitled to your privacy’ comment, Jace looks resigned for now. “Alright. See you in two hours?”

Alec shakes his head a little, cursing that knack for routine catching. Or maybe he should just stop being so predictable. “See you then.”

---

In the back of his mind, Alec knows that he should’ve left a while ago. He isn’t sure how much longer than his usual hour or two he’s been here because he can’t take his eyes off of the screen in front of him. It’s like watching a car crash in slow motion, first one thing goes wrong, then runs into another, and soon everything is backed up and piling on top of one another in an inevitable train reaction. Alec’s strategy training should be enough to get him through this, but there’s no accounting for the people you have to work with, and-

Alec is so in the zone that he barely registers the sound of the knock on the door until Simon’s moving in a blur away from him to open it and back, all barely in the blink of an eye. Alec assumes it’s Raphael, because who else would it be?

He assumes wrong.

“You know, for someone with vamp speed, you’re moving PRETTY SLOWLY ACROSS THE DAMN KITCHEN,” Alec says, his voice tense, doing his best to unclench his fingers when he sees the tips of them pressed so tightly they’re whiter than usual.

Simon practically growls beside him, “Yeah, well, for a Shadowhunter, you have a SEVERE LACK OF COORDINATION. How did you drop that?”

“Who the fuck cooks sushi at the same time as burgers anyway?” Alec demands. “This is absurd.”

“...because the rest of the game where you cook food hopping between two sides of a river or on a hot air balloon is not absurd. Got it,” Simon huffs, and only when Alec decides to spare a glance to the side to level Simon with a proper glare does he realize it is not, in fact, Raphael who came to the door.

Izzy, Jace, and Clary all stand just inside the front door, fully gaping at the sight of Alec sitting on Simon’s sofa in sweatpants and a t-shirt, his bare feet curled up underneath his legs, holding a video game controller.

“Alec? Alec! What the- great, we lost,” Simon sighs, glancing around at the lot of them. “If I knew you were going to save some sort of existential crisis at the sight of your siblings, I would’ve left them in the hallway. Wait, is something wrong?”

Alec opens and shuts his mouth because he doesn’t have an answer to that. Nothing is wrong in the sense that they’re probably not here because the Institute is on fire, but…

“Oh. My. God,” Clary laughs.

“This is where you’ve been sneaking off to?! We thought you were in some, like, underground fight club or got mixed up in some Ifrit drug ring or something,” Jace says. “Especially when you stopped answering your phone.”

Alec fishes his phone out of his pocket to see that it’s off and doesn’t turn on when he hits the power button. It must’ve died on him since he hadn’t planned on being away from the Institute this long and forgot to charge it before he left.

“I can’t believe you never told me Alec’s been playing video games with you,” Izzy rounds on Simon, sounding betrayed.

“You never asked!” Simon defends.

“I did ask you,” Izzy points out, turning on Alec.

Simon frowns. “You lied about hanging out with me?” He sounds a little hurt.

“No!” Alec insists. “I just said I was-”

“-going out for a bit,” Clary, Jace, and Isabelle all finish in unison with Alec.

Simon seems slightly more comforted by that answer, at least.

“It was just supposed to be one time,” Alec says. “I was just going to help him get past one level, but he got stuck on another the next week, and it just… turned into a thing. I know everyone hates the Friday patrols, and I didn’t want to get shit for skipping out on them to play games.” The guilt at getting caught is enough proof of that. Every week he told himself it’d be the last one, but in all honesty, he didn’t want to stop. They were fun, and Alec didn’t know how to deal with actually wanting to ditch out on work to have fun every so often.

He barely realizes he’s already thinking of it in the past tense because now that they know there’s no way he’s getting away with keeping this Friday night routine up in the future.

“And now you’re best friends with Simon,” Jace smirks.

“We’re not friends-” Alec says. “I just come over once a week to play video games. Well, every week except last week - we watched an episode of some cop, comedy, thing?, so I’d understand a reference he kept making.”

“Every time I said ‘Noice’ instead of ‘nice’ he looked like he was going to have an aneurysm,” Simon supplies, mostly for Clary’s benefit, and Clary snorts out a laugh.

“Yeah, you’re best friends now,” Clary confirms.

“I-” Alec starts to insist that they’re absolutely not, but stops, looking confused.

There’s a lull during which everyone levels Alec with the same look.

“...have you never had a friend before?” Clary asks, not unkindly.

Sure, Alec visits Simon once a week, but he sees Raphael once a week when he comes over to Simon’s after sunset, and that doesn’t make the two of them friends, Alec’s sure of that. The only difference with Simon is that they play video games when they meet up, and sometimes Simon orders takeout for him, or have a drink if Alec doesn’t have a patrol to get back to, and they have occasionally been texting lately, but--

“Raziel, we’re friends, aren’t we?” Alec realizes.

“Not with that attitude,” Simon huffs.

“No, sorry, it’s not-” Alec flounders. “I haven’t, really. Had proper friends.” It sounds sad to admit it like that, but there’s no way around it. Izzy and Jace are his siblings so they hardly count, even if they did the sort of things he’d probably do with actual friends.

“I guess we are friends, then,” Alec admits finally.

Alec is a little embarrassed for Simon watching how intensely he beams at that statement, and that’s saying something coming from the guy who just admitted he never had a proper friend before. Still, Alec can’t deny the bit of warmth he feels at knowing Simon wants to be friends with him, too.

Alec clears his throat. “Great. Now that we got that settled, I guess I should go back and actually, you know, run the Institute since you two are incapable of covering for me for a few hours.”

“Not a chance,” Izzy says, shaking her head.

“You never take time off, or have fun, or-”

“Okay, okay, I think we get it,” Alec cuts Jace off.

“Do you know how long Iz and I have been trying to get you to take time off for yourself? In fact, from now on, I’ve got the Friday night shifts. You two enjoy your game nights. Have a beer or something. C’mon,” Jace motions to Izzy and Clary. “Let’s let them get back to their video game bonding.”

Alec’s sure there’s some sort of catch here, but honestly, the idea of a full night off instead of going back to finish paperwork or clean up any messes is too tempting to pass up just then, so he takes it.

“Just don’t forget to do the dishes this time,” Alec pleads, the others already forgotten as Simon restarts the round.

It’s only later, when he finds out that Izzy, Jace, and Clary have been drilling Simon for anecdotes of Alec being ‘adorably normal’ (in Clary’s words) that he momentarily wonders if it’s worth it.

It doesn’t take him long to decide that it is. So what if the others give him a bit of good-natured harassment for it once and a while… after all, he’s quickly learning, that’s what friends are for.

[johannstutt413]

(requested by anonymous)

Flamebringer walked into the Doctor’s office with an annoyed expression. “Doctor.”

“Ah, yes, Flamebringer.” She tapped her notes, a smile on her face. “As I’m sure you’re aware, you were reprimanded by your squad lead for gross misconduct in the field. You’re here for your sentencing.”

“I did nothing wrong, and you know it-”

The Doctor held up her hand. “This is not about your guilt, only your punishment. Which, in this case, is this: You will be spending the next two months out of the field minding Ifrit.”

“...Babysitting?” His left eye began twitching. “You want me to spend the next two months babysitting-”

“Be glad that’s all I’m doing, Flamebringer; last time something like this happened, the guilty party lost a week’s pay.”

He sighed. “This is bullshit.”

“Tell it to your team lead.” The Doctor checked her notes. “Ifrit should be in her room right now. Get to it.”

“I swear by my ever-thirsting blade, you’ll pay for this.” With that Flamebringer left to find his charge, cursing his luck. He’d heard about Ifrit from some of the other Operators, and while he’d never met her...He had his concerns.

He found her in her room as suggested, writing in a notebook. “Ifrit?”

“What do you want-” She looked up at him, blinking twice. “I don’t know you.”

“I’m not surprised. The Doctor said I’m looking after you for the next two months.”

Ifrit’s eyes lit up. “They sent another one? Yes! I love when they give me victims!”

“Victims?” Flamebringer scoffed. “What do you do to these caretakers of yours?”

“Put them through a trial by fire.” She snapped her fingers, and a small flame appeared on her fingertips.

He smiled. “So you like to make trouble, then?”

“I like doing what I want and having no one stop me!” Ifrit’s hand snuffed out as she turned back to her paper. “Which, right now, is coloring this picture for Silence.”

“Heh...Alright. Let me know when that changes.” With that, Flamebringer closed the door behind him and leaned against the wall.

She looked back at him. “You mean you’re not gonna try and tell me what to do?”

“Why should I stop you from coloring?” He shrugged. “Just don’t make things worse for me, and we won’t have any problems.”

“Huh. Guess they’re getting soft, aren’t they?”

Flamebringer sighed. “If this is soft, I’d rather they just flay me.”

“Hey, I’m not that bad-”

“Not about you,” he interrupted. “I have battles to fight and foes to slay, but instead I’m watching a devil-child play.”

Ifrit set her colored pencil down. “That’s rough, buddy. They’ve kept me cooped up in here since I burnt down the cafeteria that one time.”

“That was you? They had fish tacos that day, so I didn’t eat there, but it sounded like a roaring good fire.”

“They didn’t give me my second pudding,” she smirked. “You mess with the Ifrit, you get the inferno! Fwoosh!” As she made the sound, she threw her hands in front of her, and a gout of fire rushed towards the ceiling to no detrimental effect.

Flamebringer nodded. “Relatable...I’ll be here if you need me.”

“I won’t, but thanks!”

-

A few weeks later, Flamebringer took Ifrit with him to the Garden. “You promise you won’t set anything on fire?”

“Why would I? I like plants.” She had one hand in his, the other swinging back and forth merrily. “Besides, we’re going to see your girlfriend, right?”

“That we are,” he admitted.

“Hey, I get it. Don’t wanna spend all your time with me, so I get a field trip and you get a little alone time with your girl.” Ifrit smirked. “Not the first time my ‘sitter’s done that one.”

He laughed. “I thought you put them through ‘trials by fire?’”

“Well, yeah, but after awhile you gotta let them off the hook so the next time you get them, it stings more.”

“You’re a devilish girl, aren’t you?” Flamebringer ruffled her hair, earning a glare but no burns. “If you behave, we’ll get ice cream later.”

She saluted him. “I’ll be an absolute Sankta.”

“Good...Before you run off, though, let me introduce her to you.”

“Oh! Okay.” Ifrit squeezed his hand. “You know, I heard some people talking about you at lunch awhile ago. Said you were a hothead yourself. Is that why they put you in charge of me?”

He glared in the general direction of reality. “They framed me for destroying something that wasn’t my fault. I think they do it whenever Silence is going out of town.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right...I wouldn’t mind if you stuck around after she came back, though.”

“Oh yeah?” The glare disappeared, replaced with a smirk. “Because I don’t give a damn about your threats and treat you like a person?”

She winked. “Because you give me ice cream.”

“About the same, really. Lena, I’m here!” Flamebringer called out into the verdant paradise called the Garden.

“Flame?” She peered out from behind a nearby rhododendron. “Ah. I see you brought a guest?”

He nodded. “Lena, this is Ifrit, my ward for the next month or so; Ifrit, this is Lena, whom I love very much.”

“Hi!” Ifrit beamed at her.

Perfumer glanced between the two of them. “Flame, can I talk to you for a moment?”

“That’s why I’m here,” he agreed before turning to Ifrit. “Remember: no fire, ice cream afterward.”

“How could I forget?” With that, she wandered off into the greenery, and Flamebringer was left alone with his beloved.

Lena kissed his cheek before looking off in the direction the fire-breather had run off along. “Is it safe to let her freely roam the Garden like this? If I remember correctly, she doesn’t have the best control of her abilities.”

“Her control is fine. It’s her temper that bests her most often.” He smiled. “However, if this experience has taught me anything, it’s that I’m more than prepared for fatherhood when the time comes.”

“Fu-fu-fu. Is that a proposal I hear?”

Flamebringer’s face fell slightly. “Once I have a ring, it will be-”

“Hey, Flamebringer!” Footsteps dashed over to them, followed by an Ifrit. “Miss Lena, can I take a flower with me? I wanna give it to Silence when she gets back.”

“Hmm...Show us the one you want, and we’ll see what we can do.”

She walked them over to a sunflower fully in bloom. “I want this one!”

“That’s...difficult.” Lena looked to Flamebringer. “Are you willing to help her keep it alive that long?”

“It’ll be a good project for her. You willing to take care of it yourself?”

Ifrit nodded. “You make it sound fun.”

“Flame,” Lena gently scolded him, “you shouldn’t lie to children.”

“She’s not a child in that sense, and I didn’t lie.”

She sighed. “No, but I imagine you made it sound easier than it will be for her.”

“Hey, I can take care of things!” Ifrit took a crayon out of her pocket. “I’d had this for over a month and haven’t melted it yet.”

“...Heaven help you, Flame. We’ll set it up so you can take it home.”

Ifrit nodded. “Thanks! You can go back to your alone time, though. Find me when you’re done!”

-

Over a month later, and still, Flamebringer hadn’t had a single issue with Ifrit. She was temperamental, but so was he; she’d suffered some outright egregious things, but so had he; she loved burning Reunion goons to a crisp, and he relished the chance to cut them down. It was good conversation, good training for when he was ready to start his life with Perfumer, and most importantly, it wasn’t nearly as punishing as the Doctor had made it out to be.

Until, that is, on the last day of their allotted time together, when he walked into her room and found the sunflower they’d work so hard to care for the past month in ashes, and Ifrit crying on her bed. Flamebringer took a deep breath, channeled it into a deep sigh, and walked over to her. “I see the flower is dead. What happened?”

“She’s not going to be back for another month,” she sulked. “She promised to take me to the festival, and she’s not going to be back for another month.”

“And what did the flower do?”

Ifrit turned to glare at him. “The flower did...nothing.”

“That’s right.” He sighed. “We worked really hard on that, didn’t we?”

“We did...I’m s-sorry.” She pulled him towards her to bury her face in his jacket, crying.

Flamebringer, a little awkwardly at first, wrapped her into a proper hug. “It’s alright, Ifrit. I understand.”

“B-but today’s your last day with me, and that was all I had to remember it by!” She cried harder. “I didn’t mean to kill it, I promise!”

“I know, I know...Is that really all you had of our time together?”

Ifrit’s response was a chorus of sobs.

“Well, then.” He let her finish the worst of it before pulling away to look her in the eye, wiping stray tears with his hand. “We should fix that.”

“What do you mean? What can we do in one day?”

Flamebringer smiled. “We can go to this festival of yours.”

“B-but it’s off-base, and tomorrow, and-”

“So what?” He ran a hand through her hair. “You want to go, don’t you?”

She nodded.

“Then we’re going. I’ll be back tomorrow, alright?”

“Okay.” Ifrit by this point had calmed down. “I’m going to draw you a picture today, then.”

He smiled. “Alright. Can I have a pencil and a paper as well?”

“Yeah...so long as it’s not red.”

“Hmm...” Flamebringer sighed. “Black will be fine then.”

She grabbed a paper and a black pencil, but before she handed them to him, she gave him another hug. “You’re the best, bro.”

“Bro?”

“You’re way better than any of the other people who’ve come to take care of me,” she asserted, “and I’ve always wanted a brother, which won’t happen since Saria and Silence won’t stop fighting, so...You’re Bro now.”

He thought about it for a moment before smirking. “Whatever you say, Sis. Whatever you say.”

[a-world-in-grey]

The Ring of Lucii

@secret-engima 

A what-if in which Sola puts the Ring on instead of Nyx, is just as irreverent, and gets herself a new Appellation. (This is not canon guys. At least, this meeting isn’t.) Under the cut because this got long.

The world darkens, and Sola gasps as something pulls on her very soul. Old-light-steel-domineeringwill-

“Grandfathers!” Sola shouts, struggling to her feet. “Grandmothers! Answer me!”

A heartbeat, then-

Flares of ghostly white fire, one after the other, until fourteen figures tower before her. Magic bears down upon Sola’s senses, sending her to her knees under the onslaught of ancient-will-life-death-memory-power. Sola wheezes, struggling to push her own magic out far enough to breathe.

“You call upon the wards of this world’s future, mortal.” One of the Kings intones, deep and draconic, and vibrating down to Sola’s bones. A cry rips itself from Sola’s throat. “If you come lusting for power, you must first stand in judgment.”

Hands scrape against shadowy cobblestones, and Sola grits her teeth against overwhelming pressure. “Our people die, yet you do nothing. Summon the Wall!”

“You do not command us!” The King snaps, and this time Sola braces for the pain of hearing voices not meant for mortal ears. “You who have repudiated all claim to your royal blood.”

The Mystic King, Sola realizes, finally tracing the voice back to the central King.

Another voice, lower, the rumbling of earth and stone. “It does not fall to us to guard your city.” The Fierce?

The Conqueror speaks, shifting double-bladed axe that is over twice Sola’s height. “She is a fool creature. Clinging to the past and cowering from the future. Wasting her strength on bygone days.”

Fury gives her strength, and Sola hauls herself up to glare at her forefathers. “What future do you protect, that doesn’t include our people?”

“So short sighted.” The Mystic sneers. Sola bares her teeth in return. The Founder King is an asshole. Good to know.

“And cursed never to rise above it.” The Conqueror agrees. 

“Wait.” Sola freezes, breath catching in her throat as she turns to the last King. She knows that voice, layered with power as it is, she knows that sword. “I have seen what this brave soul is prepared to do. She, too, seeks to safeguard the future.”

“Papa?” Sola whispers. But her father does not turn his gaze from the Mystic. And its with horrible, dawning realization that Sola sees that this is not her father but The Father King. Sola is but a supplicant, come seeking the power of the Lucii, and not his child.

And Sola wishes this wouldn’t be her last memory of him.

The Mystic gives a slight nod to the Father. “Very well, Young King, we will weigh your warrior’s worth.” He turns back to Sola, a note of challenge bleeding through the layered tones. “But our boon does not come cheap. The cost is a life.”

Spectral images of Libertus and Lunafreya fade into being on either side of her.

“His or hers.”

Sola cannot breathe. Her heart, or Noctis’s. How can she choose?

No. She can’t. She won’t.

“Curse your boon to Ifrit’s Pyre.” She spits. “Asking I sacrifice my people for power? You call yourself Kings!”

The Mystic is unmoved. “Your worth has been weighed and found wanting. Now burn.”

Fire ignites from the Ring, purple and blue and searing though Sola’s flesh. Sola screams.

It’s an act of pure will that sees her remain on her feet. She will not kneel. Not to these callous mockeries of kings. And she laughs, dark and bitter because she had so foolishly hoped the dead would care for the living. That these beings of power would care for fleeting mortal lives.

But if it’s not the living they care about. “They will take the Ring.” She tells them. And oh, do they deserve such a cruel irony. “Insomnia. Lucis. Galahd. My king’s people will burn, until there’s nothing left for him to rule.” 

Sola’s soul wails with furious sorrow. Her people don’t deserve this, and her brother doesn’t deserve to come home to naught but ash and grief. She stares the Mystic with fire-fury-conviction in her soul. “Abandon us to the Pyre. Or save us.”

The Conqueror seems amused by her defiance. “You mean to barter for your life.”

Sola snorts. “No. My life is nothing, compared to so many.” She turns, taking the agonizing moments to meet the gaze of each Lucii. “I would die for my people. For my king. But that’s not what my duty requires.”

She brings her gaze to rest on the Mystic, and tilts her chin up, daring him to challenge her next words. “You’re right. I abdicated. I do not want the duty of the crown. I am content to fight for hearth and home. But I am Sola Ostium Lucis Caelum, The Ardent of Fire and Fury, and I have a duty to Lucis. And Lucis, Hearth and Home, is not a place. It is the people.” 

A burning hand over her heart. “It’s their future I will fight and live for.”

Laughter, chiming like bells from The Just. “Spoken like a true Queen, granddaughter.” She says fondly.

The Fierce hums, considering her. “You do not fear, even if that future is doomed."

“If the future is doomed,” Sola counters fiercely, “I will fight until it is not.” Sola refuses to give up on her people. She will die first.

“If that is true, perhaps you are worthy.” The Fierce says.

The Pious nods. “We will grant you our Light.” He decides. “But know that it will set when the sun rises.”

“The price will be the end of your line.” The Mystic decrees.

No red haired Ostiums then. No Lucis Caelums with Libertus’ face and her magic. 

Adoption, then. The Ostiums will continue, if not the Lucis Caelums.

“Agreed.”

“Then rise, Regent Queen, until the Chosen returns to claim his throne.”

[starswornoaths]

Top 5 favourite MSQ events.

@lightsmercy I sat on this one for a while, in part because I sort of had to mentally sift through them for the ones that I really liked/liked the way they surprised me, but mostly because I had to track down their quest names (and lemme tell you how hard it is to just look up “that one quest where that thing happened” and get what I need ;_; but thank you so much for your patience!!!) I’m going to stick to ARR quests for the sake of my own sanity (otherwise this list would be impossible to make. There’s too many, dammit) and I’ll be listing them from 5 to 1, with 1 being the one I liked the most (or in this case, “like” is more “it shocked me in a way I wasn’t prepared for but made sense in the narrative so I liked it, even if it destroyed me”) (also under the cut bc I got real rambly about it. I just like talking about literary themes/foreshadowing/symbolism in game stories, sorry ;_; HERE WE GO!!!)

5. “Escape from Castrum Centri” This one…hoo boy. The entire quest arc leading up to this is amazing, for the record (I’m also a sucker for rescue missions and the planning thereof, but I always have been,) so I was hyped as we were led up to this quest. The whole breakout of the scions was fun, but man the whole while the Scions and myself were just going around like, “but Thancred??? Where is Thancred???” and it solidified that though they give him endless amounts of shit, the second the chips are down they’re all there for each other- you know, like a family or something, and then when we saw he was possessed by Lahabrea, and that that was what had led to them being captured, even! MY HEART!!! (Also I would like to submit a formal complain to SE for making Minfilia sad enough to cry out to her possessed father figure. Why would you do that to her. How dare you, SE. She didn’t deserve that.) Thancred’s possession didn’t feel like it came out of left field, either, something that I loved: there was a lot of foreshadowing that he was going to burn himself out in a very dangerous way even as far back as our fight with Ifrit, and even his optional dialogue if you speak to him was just him not coping with anything. It still surprised me, but not in a way that made me feel like the rug was pulled out from under me in a bad way, and I love those kinds of surprises in stories. 

4. “Yugiri’s Game” This one caught me off guard (and solidified that these kids were unofficially adopted by the Scions, too and were adored and doted on at every turn,) because Yugiri had managed to teach these little kids, who had only just recently escaped their war-torn home, the basics of being a shinobi while masking it as just a game of hide-and-seek. She was teaching them how to keep silent and hidden in the event of the Garleans finding them. Having such an innocent children’s game turned into a method of teaching survival was as clever as it was heart breaking, knowing that it was a necessity, that the kids knew why they were taught this way, and that the kids were still optimistic and cheerful in spite of that knowledge. The Doman Adventurer’s Guild is run by some wonderful kiddos, and this was a wonderful way to show that.

3. “Blood for Blood” helped cement that though Haurchefant, while the staunchest ally for building relations between Ishgardians and the outside world, he was not the only one that was willing to accept the aid of an outsider when they know their own people are failing them. Really, much of the Ishgardian quests within ARR did a beautiful job of leading up to Heavensward in that it showed that thought the government was rigidly against working with the outside world, its citizens- especially the working ones who just wanted to get by and not get into the political bullshit- were more than eager to work with those outside of Ishgard, though it also did an equally amazing job of showing how scared the population was of the Holy See and its Inquisitors- with their unilateral (and as is exposed with this questline, frighteningly unchecked validity of its own) authority, they can accuse anyone who disagrees of heresy, and their trial is literally a fucking witch trial. There’s no winning in such a trial: either you die and you’re proven innocent, or you refuse, in which case they kill you. These quests really solidified for me that going into Heavensward, we were going to have to save the Ishgardian people from it’s own government just as much as we would have to save them from the dragons. 

2. “Recruiting the Realm” was…eye opening. It did a wonderful job of really cementing the world’s view of the Scions, the Leveilleur name, and what everyone really thought of Alphinaud’s altruistic but ultimately doomed endeavor. The moment it was revealed that not only did Alphinaud obtain funding from the Syndicate, but that he was utterly disinterested in neither disclosing that to us, nor entertaining our concerns about it, it confirmed two things for me: 1) that though he (and really, at that point everyone that was a major NPC in a political position) genuinely cared for us and considered us a friend, we were, before anything else, the Weapon of Light (yes, Weapon, but I’d be here all day dissecting my thoughts on that and why I come to that conclusion) and weapons aren’t exactly asked for their opinions on the wars in which they are used, and 2) that A Realm Reborn was only going to end in betrayal and tragedy because all of the players involved thought they knew better when they didn’t.

1. “All Good Things”

Look. I’ve rambled at this point for several paragraphs more than anyone likely ever wanted me to, but holy shit I can’t articulate how much this gutted me- and how I liked the way in which it gutted me without writing a thesis on it so I’m sorry again in advance but from a writing perspective I love this quest so goddamn much.

Because it could have been easier for them to just have us ring up Minfilia following our success and have the attack on the Waking Sands already happening. It would have been easier to instill a sense of urgency and “Holy fucking shit we need to go now” to get us to the Waking Sands quicker, only to find the scene that we did. That would have been the expected trope: I mean, really, how many times has that sort of thing happened in video game stories before?

But they completely subvert that by having you report in to Minfilia as usual, and she’s always so bright and cheery and relieved that you’re okay, and her dialogue was just…in hindsight, it was fucking artful.

“Pray return to the Waking Sands, where you shall receive a hero’s welcome!”

And you have a moment, where you first get to the Waking Sands, where you realize that Tataru isn’t in her usual spot on the stool at the table by the door. And you think, “oh, that’s to be expected, she’s probably with the others downstairs waiting for me!” So you go down the steps and through the door like every other time before. You expect it to be warmly lit and densely populated. You expect everyone there cheering and glad that you’re alright.

You load in, and then your stomach drops. 

The lights are off, the vases that were otherwise just background pieces to fill space are knocked over and askew, and there are dead bodies in front of you- one of which is in a Garlean uniform.

I can’t properly articulate the way I felt cold when my brain caught up with what I was looking at. And I saw that the quest marker was pointing to Minfilia’s chamber, but I didn’t go down that way. I turned left first.

More bodies. Bodies of many of the NPCs that had always been there. Characters that had dialogue that updated with your quests, characters that were working on their own accomplishments and goals alongside you, characters that cheered you on as you went about your duties. Dead.

I couldn’t remember any of their names. I couldn’t remember any of their dialogue that stood out to me at the time. I even cried over the lalafell mender that usually stood on top of the boxes in there, because I couldn’t find him, either. 

Then I went to the Antecedent’s chambers and…hoo boy that Echo. That Echo. There’s a whole new type of helplessness when you’re watching a recording of a tragedy, personal or not, where you just wish you could reach out and just make it stop, but you can’t. You just watch in horror as people are gunned down, or stabbed, or taken away. You watch as Minfilia, at the ripe old age of fucking nineteen, doesn’t flinch when Livia fires a shot near her face, tries to negotiate sparing the lives of those she’s responsible for. You watch as Livia shows the levels of cruelty to which she will sink in the way that she not only denies that negotiation, but just kills a few more people- one of her own included- just because they annoyed her.

And then you watch poor little Noraxia, who had only ever done their best, die because you couldn’t save them, either. 

The quests that follow are ones of grief, ones of mourning. Ones of a lost person meant to carry the weight of all the hopes and dreams of the dead with them as they tried to rescue those that were not yet lost, but this quest…this quest continues to hit in that specific wound for the Warrior of Light: the further into the game and expansions that you go, even and especially recent content, you’re reminded that though woe betide those who stand against the Warrior of Light, those who stand with them are no safer.

[silvahscientiah]

In-Progress/ Abandoned/ Finished FFXV Prompts / Stories

These are all mine. If you want to use one, PLEASE ASK FIRST, so that I can know who’s doing what, and CREDIT ME at @silvahscientiah on tumblr or Silverhaunter on AO3. Each UNDERLINED title is a link to a story, abandoned work, or prompt of mine. Each italic long piece is an excerpt.

ALSO PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHICH IS YOUR FAVOURITE IF YOU DO READ THEM SO I CAN MAKE MORE CONTENT LIKE IT

I was dead this morning.

“I was dead this morning.” Noctis says, and Ignis pipes up, “And I blind.”

    “And you know, thirty years old!” Prompto gasps, and Gladiolus nods, crossing his arms.

    “So, what the hell?” Gladiolus snaps, his temper from his youth returning in full swing.

Niflheim! Ignis:

“There’s a man that’s been running with the Empire, he deals in multiple kinds of magic, we’re not sure what his stance is yet.” Cor says, carefully, and Noctis raises an eyebrow, “He appears unassuming, but he was, according to the few survivors, there when Insomnia fell, fighting alongside the Empire.”

    “He appears not to be dangerous. He,” Cor grimaces, like he’s remembering something unpleasant, “Is most certainly one of our biggest threats.

A Stop in Tenebrae.

“I’ve been having visions of the future.” Ignis sighs, “of people dying. Aside from that, I know for a fact there will be ten or more years of darkness before the Chosen returns,” he stays distinctly distant from the matter,  “I am not leaving forever. Just for now. I cannot prevent what’s about to happen to Noct, but I can prevent what’s about to happen to” he stops.

    Prompto’s brain clicks, “Ravus.”

    Ignis nods solemnly, “Ravus.”

“I owe him my life and Noctis’, and I will not just let him die.” Ignis’ eyes close to the darkness, “not like that.”

    “I will be getting off the train at Tenebrae.” He says, “It’s been decided.”

Niflheim! Ignis II

The man barely seems to move, but his wrist is at Prompto’s throat, a blade sliding from a hidden gauntlet. The daggers are a distraction, it seems, and his form crackles with electricity, likely how he moved so quickly. The blade ignites with flame, and Prompto squeaks.

    “That is quite enough.” The man says, his eyes barely visible behind the dark lense.

    “Goodness.” Ardyn’s voice cuts the tension, and Ignis immediately steps away, and waves at Ravus and pushes past him, shoulders brushing, and Ravus sheathes his sword.

    The man stands beside Ardyn and removes his visor, unseeing eyes opening just long enough for Noctis to see the silver cloudiness.

    He mouths something, and his eyes skitter over to where Noctis is.

    ‘Walk tall, my friends.’

Him. (Ignoct)

“I- I can’t let this go on any longer, majesty. I apologize.” Ignis gently extracts himself, and moves away, “I’m dead. I know I am dead, I gave my life so that I might save my King and his Oracle. You died, Noctis, on the altar. You and Lunafreya were dead when Ravus and I arrived, she traded her life for yours, and I traded mine for hers. The only way we interact is,” Ignis seems to hesitate, “if I project myself using the ring. The Kings were not pleased with me, Noct,”

    UNFINISHED AND ABANDONED: Castlevania FFXV AU (Ignoct)

“I can save your child, but I cannot save you.” Ardyn says to Auela, “Your life for theirs, I can gift them with your humanity, and save them with the curse of vampirism. Your child will be born a dhampir. Half of it your husband, half of it the curse I will gift to you. You will not survive the birthing.”

Auela nods. “Do it.”

Noctis Lucis Caelum  is born later that night, and Auela passes on silently, half-son breathing quietly in her arms.

Noctis’ heartbeat is so loud in Ardyn’s ears, and he hates him for it. For the noisy beat of his heart and the fact that he is still alive and Regis is not.    

    Ardyn raises his scythe, as Noctis turns around, and the blade sinks into his vertebrae. His mouth opens, but no sound leaves him, as he falls onto the castle floor,  his blood hot and red and pooling onto the floor a his body shakes with shock, and his heartbeat loud and stunted and his face all too much like Regis’.

    Blood sprays across the wall, and a jet of flame burns Ardyn’s hand as Ignis, wild and cat-eyed raises his polearm, he does not speak, but the flame of his dagger sinking into his flesh and ripping open his body is more excruciating than even the pain of seeing Noctis bleed out with wide eyes on the tile floor.

    He has never hated anything more than he hates Noctis at that very moment.

“Fine. I’m Prompto Argentum, by the way? You’re Gladilous, Amicitia, right?”     “I don’t c- Argentum? Not Leonis?”

    “I’m adopted.”

    “Of course you are. Not like I’d actually get to save Cor fucking Leonis’ real fucking son.”

    “Hey!”

Good and Tasty Vampire Ignoct.

Ardyn Izunia approaches, puts his hand to Noctis’ throat, and Ignis can’t help but eye him wearily. His hands are cold when he pushes Ignis’ aside, almost like-

    “You’re a-” Ardyn backhands him, and he’s sent reeling, his head hitting the stone. His vision swims, and he tries to focus on Ardyn’s bored expression as he tries to lift himself to his feet, but a boot lands on his chest. Ravus stands to fight, and is blown back by a blast of dark energy and flame.

    Ignis’ vision swims, and like a light bulb going dark, he blacks out.

Mermaid Ignoct

The wheelchair hits his back and his breath leaves his lungs as he collides with the water.

    A figure darts out to reach him, and he’s soon deposited on the bank, a young boy, only a little older than him gentle cradling him as his back inches onto the sand. The boy- no, creaute- is making whistling and clicking noises, followed by chortling.

    The sound becomes more and more human, and suddenly the boy is crying, “Help! Please, someone, help!” a clicking punctuating his words, “King Regis, please!”

    A tail shifts to sit him up, pressed against the creature’s chest, at an angle good for his back. The creature lays him on his back oh so gently and presses their lips together, “Breathe, please, highness.”

    Noctis’ lungs filter through the sea water and he coughs while the young siren rubs his back.

    Suddenly the boy has legs, and is moving to pick up and carry him. He sways a bit on new legs, and is dressed in a simple suit. “Stay alive, please. Your back has been injured by the wheelchair when it hit.”

The Ring’s Flash

    The only warning they receive is the brightest flash of light they’ve ever seen. Ignis pitches the car to the side and slams on the breaks, with a yell of, “Is everyone alright?”

Gladiolus and Prompto both respond with varying shades of cursing, but Noctis does not respond at all, and when Ignis turns around, he is slumped forward, with what looks to be Regis’ sword embedded deeply into his chest.

    Prompto screams, and Gladiolus pulls away Noctis’ shirt as quickly as he can to assess if the blade can be pulled free.

    Ignis goes still, but not purely because of the blade lodged in his charge’s sternum. Noctis is taller, his legs tucked behind Ignis’ seat, and he’s wearing what looks to be a Royal Raiment. His hair is longer, too, styled differently, if at all, stray locks falling into his face. Beautiful in death, he reminds Ignis of the Kings of olde. He’s got a beard, which is most definitely a change from the clean shaven he’s used to, and the planes of his face are more angular with signs of adulthood. He’s paler, too, if that’s possible. Like he’s stopped going out in sunlight altogether.

Noctis would not cope well with Ignis dying.

Ardyn sits down opposite him on the train, “Should’ve killed the Oracle, I suppose.” He muses, and Noctis just looks out the window.

    “Noctis, you’re disappointing me.” he bites his lip, “Stick a knife in me. Do something.”

    Noctis whispers, “I just. Don’t feel like it.”

    Ardyn bites his tongue and disappears.

What you wanted.

    It’s immediately afterwards that Noctis plunges a blade into Regis’ stomach, his eyes glittering fire-orange, irises glassy, he pulls the blade from Regis, and looks at it cautiously. Regis falls to the ground, and presses his wound closed as quickly as possible, with his fingers, sloppy with gore, he’s too shocked to call out, his son had just called upon his armiger, there’s no way it isn’t him.

    The worst part, in Regis’ mind, is not that his son just stabbed him, but is that he is now gripping the blade with both hands, and has it pointed directly at his own body, just under his ribs, angled up toward his heart.

Reverse Au? Sort of.

Ardyn sinks his blade into Noctis’ stomach, angling it high up into his ribs, and letting it sit until he violently yanks it free. Noctis lurches with the icy pull of the wound, and claws at Ardyn, pressing his fingers to the knife, gasping, his hands clambering for purchase, trying to seal his skin together. Ardyn yanks the knife from his body, cutting open the sides of Noctis’ hands, and blood gushes from the wound.

“Noct! Get away from him!” Ignis rises to his feet, summoning his daggers from the rings on his middle fingers, calling them to him from where they rest just out of sight.  

    “Strange world, this.” Ardyn muses, “Oracle turned King, King turned Oracle, Advisor turned messenger. Ifrit was always the most powerful.”

Noctis trembles silently on the wet stone, “Ardyn, you don’t have to keep doing this, if I can just heal you in this world-”

“You can’t.” He hisses,

“We wouldn’t have to keep-!” and Ignis presses his hands to Noctis wound, murming the familiar line of, ‘forgive me’ and calling his magic to him, and burning Noctis’ wound closed as he screams and blacks out.

“Rest now, majesty.” Ignis murmurs, and cradles his head, lying him down.

“Once again, you change his destiny.” Ardyn hums, “Powerful indeed.”

Ignis clasps his hands around Noctis’ and awaken the astrals and kings and queens of Lucis to protect Lunafreya.

[starcunning]

This Beast That Rends Me: 25 Apr

Whenever I want you, all I have to do Is dreeeeeeeeeam, dream dream dream~

Previously: Week One, Week Two, Week Three Previously: 22 Apr, 23 Apr, 24 Apr

The ring of steel greeted them as they drew abreast of the throne. The audience chamber had become the site of a pitched battle. However improbably, Sri Lakshmi floated there, imploring those before her to surrender to bliss.

Some had clearly taken her up on the offer; the Qalyana barricaded the far door, but they did not hold it alone. There were Resistance guards beside them as well as against them, the counterattack rallying behind the Bull of Ala Mhigo. Unable to retreat, the civilians present had huddled together—the Miqo’te of the mountain tribes; the village elders; the Vira; even the Qiqirn had come to the table. Alphinaud was with them, trying to protect them as best he could, but physical harm was the least worry when one fought with a primal. And the only thing shielding them now was the intervention of the Echo. Arenvald had thrown up a barrier, but it was flickering and faltering, and Shpoki looked half-dead on her feet, flinging shards of ice at her enemy. Shasi closed the gap, drawing her sword from its sheath.

“About time you showed up,” Shpoki greeted her. “I was waiting for a personal invitation,” Shasi bellowed back. “I didn’t think that entitled you to a plus-one!”

Lyse rushed past them, wading into the fray against the Qalyana. Zenos hung back a moment, observing the situation. His gaze was not the cold assessment of a reptilian predator, not entirely; there was too much hunger in the curve of his lips. Still, unarmed, he took up a position behind Shasi.

It soon became obvious to Shasi that the Qalyana had summoned with different intentions this time—it mattered, as she had learned so long ago, facing Ifrit anew. This was not a being of grief; it was the soul of greed itself, hungrier for worship than any primal she had fought in some time. It was not one burst of tempering aether that she loosed, but dozens, over and over, and it was exhausting to dart back and forth, covering the civilian population.

“She’s keeping us on the back foot,” Arenvald said, shouting to be heard over the din. Shasi glanced aside, just for a moment, and when she fired her next spell, it burst against the foot of the throne, the super-heated air rippling the violet banner overhead. “Where is she?” Shasi demanded of the empty air. Primals didn’t just disappear. She wasn’t that lucky.

Not that lucky indeed, for Sri Lakshmi corporealized anew in the midst of her followers, and now the four of them were not between her and the civilians; the civilians were between her and them. Raubahn roared, lurching forward in a charge as Lakshmi lifted her hand, sweeping it before her like a dancer.

Shasi knew what followed, and she sprinted ahead, vaulting through the crowd to try to get out in front—and Shpoki beside her, and beyond her, Arenvald, Arenvald in that silver armor that A’aba had commissioned, that she had had to deliver on his behalf—Arenvald was flagging. Whether it was the weight of the armor or something else.

He threw up his barrier, planting his feet just a moment too soon, and Shasi saw M’rahz Nunh standing just outside it, suspended in a moment of terrible inevitability.

Then a form—red and gold—slammed into him, knocking him back, behind Arenvald, to safety, and she almost drew breath again, but Shpoki was screaming. “Lyse,” she shrieked.

The globe of aether burst against Lyse’s back, its remnants washing harmlessly against Arenvald’s Echo-blessed barrier. Lyse’s smile went from beneficent to malicious in an instant.

The doors burst open, a moment too late, and Shasi saw her friend round on the reinforcements come to the throne room.

“Alphinaud,” Shasi bellowed, “get the rest of them out of here.” “Right,” the scholar agreed. Their guests didn’t need much more encouragement than that, and he shepherded them away.

All but Raubahn, who was doing an admirable job wrestling with Lyse for a man a hand down.

“General,” she said, “the window on your retreat is fast closing.” “Let it close, girl,” he said. “This fight I will not abandon you to.”

It is too much to ask for you to kill a friend, he was thinking, and Shasi pictured Ilberd in her mind for just a moment.

That did not satisfy Lakshmi in the least. “Why do you struggle so?” she asked, blowing her vril at Raubahn like a kiss. “Far, far better to dream.” It was Zenos who interposed himself between the primal and the pair. “If you are intent upon staying,” Zenos said, “I would suggest you stay close to your eikon-slayer.” “I’ll take it under advisement, Garlean,” Raubahn spat.  He swept his leg, tangling it with Lyse’s. She hit the stone with an audible thud, and Raubahn brought his knee down on her breastbone, pinning her in place. Lyse lifted her hands, scratching at the gladiator’s thigh, writhing beneath him as though to dislodge his body weight from atop her, to no avail. “Stay your blade at least,” Zenos said, then turned away from the pair.

“She’s tempered!” Arenvald called. “I thought you knew what that meant.”

Zenos said nothing, rushing away from the Flame General as the Scions closed ranks. There was nothing recognizable in Lyse’s face, and Shasi fought back the despair at losing another of their people. Papalymo’s death had not been so long before.

With no weapon and no armor, Zenos charged Sri Lakshmi, broader and vaster still than he himself. He ran and leapt, as though he might tackle the primal from the air, but she did not fall.

Nor did he come down.

There was a stillness in the room interrupted only by the beating of Lyse’s heels against the stone. “Zenos?” Shasi called. “Better if it were finished quickly, eikon-slayer,” said Sri Lakshmi’s voice. She blinked, understanding dawning. “Go,” Shasi said to her companions, pulling herself into the fray on a thread of aether.

The blade felt good in her hand, now that she had a moment to consider such things. Its balance was perfect, and its aetheroconductivity was excellent, allowing her to channel more force behind each blade stroke. With Lakshmi subsumed and subdued, they no longer had to worry much about her tempering influence on Raubahn, but Lyse …

Lyse was beyond her reach. Shasi resolved to witness her end, as she had so many others. Blinking back tears, Shasi threw herself into the adrenaline instead. She became spell and sword, a force of nature more than a mortal woman. She already knew where to put her foot; she’d already seen it. She knew where to strike; she had seen too where the blows would best land. Her grief found vent, never passing her lips but channeled from her heart down her arm and into the tip of the sword.

“Stop,” said Lakshmi-Zenos, and it surprised her so much that she did. “What are you doing?” Shpoki demanded a moment later. “Letting go,” he said.

“Raubahn,” a hoarse voice said. “Let me up!” “Is this some foul trick?” the Flame General demanded, looking back at the primal. “Kill her if she proves false, then,” Lakshmi-Zenos said, “but if it is a trick it is not mine.” Raubahn rose, blade at the ready. Lyse struggled to her feet. “What happened?” she asked. “After,” was Raubahn’s assessment. “There’s a job yet to finish.” “Right,” said Lyse, and led with her right fist.

The force of the blow shattered Lakshmi’s composure, dissipating in a spray of aether, and Zenos fell, hard, against the tiles. Blood spattered his white chiton, and Shasi rushed to his side. “You saved her,” Shpoki said. “Why?” Arenvald asked. “How?” “Because,” Zenos said. “Someone taught me to.”

Silence reigned in the throne room for just a few moments, and then there was the sound of feet outside the door. Hearing the sounds of battle no longer, the people without eased the door open a crack. Not seeing the primal, they took their first steps in.

Shasi tried to imagine what they saw. Three Scions, the leader of the Resistance, and the Flame General, perhaps these things were expected. But then there were the whispers.

“The Viceroy,” they said. “The Garlean tyrant.”

If Zenos heard—and surely he must have—he gave no sign. Shasi stepped out in front of him, as though her lithe form might hide his bulk, as if she could shield him from their stares.

“Get him out of here,” Lyse said softly. “Raubahn and I will handle things here.”

She put a hand to his back and led him into the shadows behind the throne room, looking back a few times to be sure they were not followed. Not knowing where else to go, she brought him back to the conservatory.

“I didn’t know you could do that,” Shasi said. “Nor did I,” Zenos murmured. “But you told me yourself that Bahamut released its temper from Nael van Darnus, so I knew it was possible. It is a matter of influence, as is the matter of commanding an eikon in the first place.” “Teach me,” she pleaded. Zenos smiled at that, sardonic and sad, and bent his mouth to hers. “How cruel the fates that set us against one another. Did the gods rightly fear what we could have accomplished, had we been sooner joined?”

She had no answer for that, and no need of one, for he kissed her then. She could taste iron on his lips; the blood of their ordeal. The adrenaline that trembled through her veins after a battle flooded her anew, and she threw her arms around him.

“Thank you,” she said. “Thank you.”

[amidalogicdive]

I was tagged by @geekgoddess813 who was interested in hearing what I would say lol. IDK why, I'm such a pleb asdfghjkl  XD  hahaha! But, I did it for you!

Instructions:

To celebrate a year of FFXV and the end of the first year of updates, let’s spread the FFXV love! I haven’t seen a tag meme like this for FFXV yet, so I decided to make one. If you see this and want to, copy/paste this list and share what your favorite things about FFXV are.

Favorite Chocobro:

Oh, my god, this isn’t fair, so I can’t say Nyx?! Lol, ok no seriously.  If Noctis counts, he’s my favorite. If it has to be one of the other three, it would be Ignis. I’ve always loved Ignis and (fun fact) before I was a huge NyxNoct shipper, I was an Ignoct shipper. If ya look back I have a few Ignoct fics...that I still need to finish.  >.<

Favorite Guest Party Member (including Ravus and Libertus from DLC):

Oh damn, this is hard. This is really hard, I’ve deleted my response like three times cuz I keep on going ‘oh but what about…’ Ugh, do I have to pick, can I plead the fifth? Ugh fine…

Ravus - Because I loved getting more backstory on him. This poor boy was so wronged, and while he did come off as an ass, everything he was doing was for Luna.

Aranea - Girl got some sass and I love it, she was fun to listen too and I’m glad she was tossed into a DLC as a guest party member. We needed more Aranea in FFXV

Cor - Damn son, I love this man here. I need to know more, I want more backstory. Seriously, he got the respect of Gilgamesh!! GILGAMESH TALKS ABOUT THIS LITTLE IMMORTAL LION! *flails*

Yeah, I couldn’t pick  :P

Favorite Minor Character(s):

Can I pick two? CAN I?! Biggs and Wedge - Ok ok, they weren’t in it a lot but I loved them. They were funny and their loyalty to Aranea was just, ugh. I really liked them and I wanted more of their back and forth, especially with Aranea lol. When she asked them to drive a train into a daemon-infested city - which was basically a suicide mission for all they knew and they are just like, oh that's all? Yes boys, yes!  

Favorite Villain:

This is so easy, frikin Ardyn ‘Trash Jesus’ Izunia. What, you didn’t hear me, let me repeat: ARDYN ‘TRASH JESUS’ IZUNIA. Ok, let me explain something here. This boy, this BOY WAS SO WRONGED. He did everything that was asked of him, and what happens? He gets fucked over by his brother, the crystal changes his mind and the gods - not only do they turn against him, but they won’t even let him pass on into the afterlife. Dragonbutt needs to get some balls, but damn son, you did nothing! You caused this problem to happen!

This man had 2000 years of suffering, hatred, and betrayal built up inside of him and he went off the deep end. Like he said, it wasn’t even about Noctis. He was just the poor sap that was born to be the King of Light. This was revenge against a crystal that denied him and the gods that turned their back on him. And you can see it, you can see he’s still hurting, you can see there is a good man that’s been tainted by thousands of years of torment. When he tells his story to Noct, you can see the pain, and when Noct beats him, you can see that he thinks Noct’s going to do the same thing the Gods, Crystal and his brother did. Erase him. I love this trashy man, and I can’t wait for this DLC.

Favorite Kingsglaive Character:

No Surprise: Nyx. Do I really need to explain why? He’s an amazing, cocksure, humble, hurting little ball of fire that fights like the daemons and just makes my heart do weird things in my chest. This man is so frikin badass, even the Kings had to bow down to him and let him take charge. This dry sense of humor and self-sacrificing nature is just asdfghjkl and though all of it he never forgot who he was and what he was fighting for. Like he said, his life means nothing but giving a future to those who wanna see it is everything. Oh, baby, your life is everything, and he deserved better, damn it.

And don’t even get me talking about the fact that three, THREE frikin people put on that ring (four of you count Luche, but eh…) and all three asked the Kings for their strength and two of them for sure (Nyx and Ignis) offered to sacrifice their life and only NYX FRIKIN DIED.

No, don’t get me started - cuz we are talking more salt then the dead sea here…  >.<

Favorite Astral/Divine Being:

Funny thing, I have always loved Shiva since like FFVIII. She’s my Queen, I bow down to her… but before I realized that Gentiana was Shiva, I was in love with Gentiana. When I saw her in clips before the game came out I was thinking: Woman I don’t know who you are, or what your role is, but please I love you. Her being Shiva, my Queen, my everything… that just made it even better. Lol, so obviously - Shiva.

Favorite Character Overall:

Noctis. He is a very self-sacrificing and strong character who goes through a lot and honestly, finds his courage and self-worth. I think he had a lot of issues before, I think he was depressed and didn’t feel like he was right for the throne, and he was just playing a part. Once he was out there, once he realized what had happened and that he was now King, things changed. He because braver, and stronger. He started putting his trust in others as much as they put their trust in him. He realized that he didn’t have to do things and save people for the recognition, just doing was enough. You can see the impact that it had in comrades, where people (just random NPCs) talk about a boy or four boys in black who saved them, or helped fix their car or did some random act for them and how much it meant. He goes from a kinda sheltered boy to a King who knows what sacrifice is. I love his change, and how he keeps going. Like he told Iggy, they can’t stop, they have to keep going or everyone who sacrificed their lives for him, it would be pointless.

Noct is a good boy.  :3

Favorite Weapon:

Nyx kukri that you get in Insomnia, oh don’t act like you’re surprised lol. Noctis always has them on him and I use them a lot.

Favorite Location:

Omg, so many people are gonna disagree and be like: What?! *flails* - I like Altissia lol. It was confusing at first, but now I know my way around pretty well, and I love the 3x exp from the hotel.  >.>

And I love the arena and gambling lol, and that was the first time I head the whole “this place is so romantic” “And you're here with us, all three of us, you are a lucky man” and about died. Lol

Favourite Quest/Questline/Hunt:

The fishing questline. Hush, don’t laugh at me… I honestly really love fishing in this game and I loved the fishing questline with Navyth.

Favorite Boss:

Ardyn, lol. He’s such a shit and I love to listen to him shit talk Noctis as they fight. Ifrit was a good fight too, so kudos to that fiery SOB. lol

Favorite Monster/Monster Family/etc:

Tonberry, I’ve always loved Tonberry with their cute little lanterns and their stabby frikin knifes. They are small, cute and ruthless. It's like that scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail “Aww it's just a little Bunny Rabbit…. RUN AWAY RUN AWAY!!”  Yeah, Tonberry!  :D

Oh, and Coeurls. Just cuz I like cats and much respect for something that can one-shot me with lightning from its whiskers lol.

Favorite Song:

Please like I can pick just one… So like here are my top whatever:

Nox Aeterna: So short but so much emotion. Nox Divina: Badass summoning music, yes, please! Noctis: It was not what I was expecting, and it was a very pleasant surprise!   Prayer De Luna: This is just asdfghjkl she’s got a beautiful theme and ya gotta respect it. Dewdrops at Dawn: So beautiful, simple and just all the feels. Just makes me think of the people seeing the sunrise after such a long time, or for the first time for some… and realizing what Noct gave up for them. Somnus: The original, the beauty that it is. This song is a godsend, I love it and I love her voice.

Favorite Boss Theme:

Does Somnus Ultima count? I mean its basically the second part of the... fight? Damn, I love that song! Ok if not, Magna Insomnia is epic, and love it. Also, Hellfire, damn that opening (the first like 18 seconds) sounds so ominous like wtf did I get myself into here lol.

But honestly, all around this soundtrack and all of the music is epic - honestly, there is no song I hate, except maybe Stand By Me - but only because it makes me FEEL THINGS PPL SJHAFKLHSJ!! Just kidding I love it too. ;-;

Favorite Non-Episode DLC/Update/Event:

Assassin’s Festival was awesome and I want them to put the whole roof thing into Lestallum full time so we can run up there and have fun lol. Think of all the NPC’s and shit they could put up there and quests they could add. Yes, please lol.

Favorite Episode DLC:

Ugh, ok. It’s a toss-up. 

I love Episode Ignis because it adds so much to the story and the alternate endings, yes, please. I love that SE made the end of this game so transparent and said that the ending of the main game was simply an Alternate Reality, something that could have happened. Now they start tossing in all these other endings and you realize that one choice, one thing did differently could have changed the whole outcome of the game asdfghjkl. I know some don’t like it, but like Episode Ignis said: Possibilities.  And I love those possibilities.

That said - Episode Prompto, and him finally finding out who he was, dealing with it and coming to terms with it. Finally having the courage to tell his friends, look this is what I am. Not only to see them accept him but for him to accept himself… it was great!

Other Favorites of Note:

I love:

flying the Regalia, except when I crash and kill them all. 

hitting the breaks when Noctis is sitting on the trunk and seeing him getting all pissed off.  

the fishing and I need to catch them all. 

the shit talking they do while fighting

the new character switch during battle and the geeky things they do and say.

just driving around and listening to the soundtracks.

the pics that Prompto takes.

Idk, there is so much to list. I mean is it a perfect game? No. But do I love it and do I enjoy playing it? 100% Yes. 

Anyway, I sometimes like all the plot holes that they leave all over the place. Perfect for me to build a fic around and let my own imagination inspire me. I haven’t loved a Final Fantasy game like this in a long time, and I'm glad that I do. It made me meet some really nice people and fall into a perfect little life raft of feels that makes up the NyxNoct fandom!

So, let's see what y’all gotta say now. I tag (and you don’t have to do it lol especially if you already did!): @prettyprompto @aithilin @courtingdestruction @grimmvertigo @jazzraft @midnightpyres @rsasai @argent-the-moderately-useful @ghostl0rd @ignoctgirl @cardigan-carm @glaivenoct @nicolareed @nicrt @stylishchocobutt  @bezier-curve

[his-pair-of-spare-glasses]

FFXV Favourites Meme

I came across this via @lhugbereth and thought I needed to do this!

instructions:

To celebrate a year of FFXV and the end of the first year of updates, let’s spread the FFXV love! I haven’t seen a tag meme like this for FFXV yet, so I decided to make one. If you see this and want to, copy/paste this list and share what your favorite things about FFXV are.

Favorite Chocobro: Ignis. It’s always Ignis.The man is good looking, stylish, dedicated and just the right amount of dork. Find me a husband like that.

Favorite Guest Party Member (including Ravus and Libertus from DLC): That’s quite hard actually, because all of them are so neat. But I think I’ll have to go with Aranea, sassiest woman in the house.

Favorite Minor Character(s): DINO. Totally. That flamboyant guy is just too hilarious for anything.

Favorite Villain: Excuse me while I scream Ardyn from the top of a dark misty mountain with all my might, loud and clearly. This wonderfully twisted man with dark past and excellent humour is the fanciest and sassiest badass villain I ever met. I would let him step on me.

Favorite Kingsglaive Character: I’m sorry for the mainstream, but: Nyx. I thought about Regis, I really did. But it came down to Nyx. (And Luna in that combo)

Favorite Astral/Divine Being: Ifrit. Somehow I got reluctant to take Shiva. She’s beautiful but lately she’s giving me the creeps. Ifrit is the answer. I want to imagine a tragic fate behind him turning against the other Gods. And I like fire as element in general.

Favorite Character Overall: IGNIS. I will never waver or back down on that one. He’s the one. There are so many good characters, like: I really like Cor? But Ignis just beats all of them.

Favorite Weapon: Daggers and polearms in general. I just love the fighting style. In terms of power it of course would have to be the Ring of the Lucii.

Favorite Location: Altissia, I guess. I am living trash for Venice, so the first time I saw Altissia I was just blown away. I love that city. It might have gotten outshined by Tenebrae I think, but as you don’t really get to see it ingame...

Favorite Quest/Questline/Hunt: I liked the Quezalcoatl one pretty much. The surroundings with the water above in the ruins were really beautiful.

Favorite Boss: The Melusine (was that what she was called?) update quest was great. I will never forget the bitchslaps for Noct.

Favorite Monster/Monster Family/etc: Coeurls. Those felines are just beautiful and so deadly...

Favorite Song: Stand by me? I mean... yes? The OST overall is wonderful but that song always brings the feels.

Favorite Boss Theme: “Stand your ground” is great, same as “Veiled in black” but my absolute favourite is Apocalypsis Noctis.

Favorite Non-Episode DLC/Update/Event: The Assassin one was great. I loved it.

Favorite Episode DLC: I might be repetitive but: IGNIS. So much story. So much content, so many feels. Thank you SE.

Other Favorites of Note: The graphics and the beautiful artworks or this game. Everything is so detailed, well thought out and things are not left to chance. Even with its flaws, this world is so complex and well thought through, I love it. That realistic hair and clothing stuff, the nature... I could go on for years, but to cut it short: visuals and the closeness to reality.

FFXV threw me into my very first fandom experience and I’m not going to leave here. I feel welcomed and at home. It’s the reason I started tumblr, the cause for meeting many wonderful people, hours of fandom talk and good fanfictions and art. Guys, thank you so so much for all the fun. Feel hugged and I can’t wait for more of the good fun next year.

Do the meme if you like, leave it alone if you don’t. If you do: feel free to let me know <3 Let’s continue to walk tall, my friends.

[moonraccoon-exe]

This will probably be an odd request, but is there any chance you'd do one for smol kid Ifrit? Please? I'm sorry, I'm just so obsessed with him. Dhsgja;kglhaja;

You requested nicely through a question and added a Please so you go first! Oh politeness, you make the world spin around ☆ ～(‘▽^人)

Don’t worry, anon. Good neighbor raccoon ain’t judging anything you guys send in. Unless it’s some disgusting or innapropiate or wrong thing, I DO am gonna ignore, but yours is only a request for your favorite character, so no need to get flustered. It is a pretty odd request, I wasn’t expecting anything like this, but it’s not wrong or bad or anything. So don’t worry, anon. We all love something. :3

Hm, this is rather interesting since I don’t think the gods were once babies, and there’s really not much info about him to work with, so it may turn a little short. But…as I said, you asked nicely and you like Ifrit, who am I to judge or say no?

This one goes all specially for you, anon. Let’s see what happens! (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ

(Adding a Keep Reading)

Smol child Ifrit:

Smol child Ifrit doesn’t like onesies.

They’re too hot :’(

Indeed, he generally doesn’t like clothes.

He’s too hot in them, don’t dress him up. 

Smol child Ifrit grows the horns eventually, like babies grow teeth.

And like babies grow teeth, smol child Ifrit feels itchy and uncomfy when the horns start growing.

He doesn’t like that either :’(

There’s smol, tiny child Ifrit, scratching at his head.

There’s smo, tiny child Ifrit, putting his head to a wall and rubbing it against it.

He’s trying to ease the itch.

He looks silly.

He looks adorable.

Smol kid Ifrit constantly carries a stick around to scratch at the little bumps of his head.

Smol kid Ifrit is a bit frustrated cause IT ITCHES :’(

He’s eventually getting used, don’t worry

Smol child Ifrit likes to follow smaller animals.

He’s a smol child but still an Astral, so he’s kinda big. Hence, a small animal could be dogs, like we see hamsters or something?

Smol child Ifrit is crawling behind a pack of garulas.

He wants to see where they going. 

Smol child Ifrit doesn’t get along with Astral siblings.

They bigger and scary to him :’(

Smol child Ifrit still tries to play with them at times.

But no Shiva >:(

“Shiva too cold. Shiva so cold she harms meh :’(”

Smol child Ifrit doesn’t like water bodies. 

Smol child Ifrit won’t get close to them.

Smol child Ifrit swears the ocean wants to kill him.

Smol child Ifrit likes to burn stuff.

You have to understand this is a God kid made of fire; he doesn’t have bad intentions, just born this way.

Smol kid Ifrit is starting to develop his fire powers.

So, he’s discovering and enjoying of burning things up.

Look, it’s a branch.

Burnt.

Oh look, that’s a bush.

Burnt.

Omg this grass is super green, wonder what happens if-

Burnt.

Smol kid Ifrit is having ideas.

“Imma burn this evil lake! >:(”

It didn’t work.

Sorry smol kid Ifrit, doesn’t work like that :’(

Just wait till you grow up, you can turn it into steam, though. It’s something. But right now he’s too smol for that.

Smol kid Ifrit likes to play with fire.

Smol kid Ifrit’s making a fire ball to toss around.

Smol kid Ifrit’s making a fire maze just for fun.

You don’t do that, you’ll harm the humans D:

Smol kid Ifrit just wants to have fun.

He’s doing jugglery.

WITH FIRE.

They told him to stop, so he did.

Now he’s doing jugglery.

WITH SWORDS.

Don’t worry, he’s a god, he can handle this.

He actually does some pretty stuff.

Smol kid Ifrit likes to make fire rings in the air.

Smol kid Ifrit likes to make fire bubbles.

Fire bubbles. They exist. For him, at least, he’s the god of fire.

Smol kid Ifrit’s constantly picking on smol kid Shiva with the fire bubbles.

These two have constant children fights.

Fire bubbles against snowballs.

Smol kid Ifrit doesn’t like to be so smol in comparison to his siblings.

Smol kid Ifrit’s asking Titan to stop growing.

Smol kid Ifrit likes Titan cause Titan will carry him on shoulders so smol kid Ifrit can feel super giant.

Speaking of playing with fire:

Smol kid Ifrit likes to make drawings by burning things up.

You know like he drags a finger across a surface and it burns under his fingertip, so it’s a black trace of ashes.

Smol kid Ifrit likes rocks.

Smol kid Ifrit likes to burn rocks.

Smol kid Ifrit bathes in lava because he can.

Smol kid Ifrit adores the lava.

Smol kid Ifrit also loves pretty stones :)

He likes the gleaming ones best.

Smol kid Ifrit has a collection of rubies

“THEY ARE SO PRETTY”

“THEY RED LIKE ME.”

Smol kid Ifrit doesn’t want anyone to comb his hair.

He likes it free and wild and long.

Smol kid Ifrit likes to go around collecting bones of the mortal creatures.

“Why do you do that, Ifrit?”

“Bones pretty.”

Please don’t question him.

Smol kid Ifrit has his collection of rocks, one of precious stones, and one of bones.

Why does nobody notice there’s something wrong with this child.

Smol kid Ifrit likes to eat volcanic rocks.

He’s a god, doesn’t need to eat, but

There you have it

“Please don’t do that”

“Raaaawr! >:(”

That was a baby roar.

It was adorable, but don’t tell him that. Pretend to be scared.

Smol kid Ifrit doesn’t like sister Leviathan either.

She’s always in water and dripping and EW.

Smol kid Ifrit likes bro Titan and bro Ramuh

Bro Bahamuth is a bit too strict and the biggest/tallest, so NOPE

Smol kid Ifrit’s constantly poking Big Bro Bahamuth to annoy him.

Smol kid Ifrit wants to cause pain >:(

He doesn’t like to be smol, comprehend him :’(

Smol kid Ifrit laughs and claps every time a volcano erupts.

Smol kid Ifrit laughs every time a volcano does anything.

Even a little “Poof”

It’s hilarious to him.

HE LOVES VOLCANOES. 

To be sincere, I have no idea what else to add, haha. 

It was a bit weird, but I hope it’s good. Hope you liked it, anon. Tell me if you did :)

[cartridgecharge]

OKAY SO HOW ABOUT FFXV ZESTIRIA AU? PART ONE: THE LORE BECAUSE I HAVE NO SELF-CONTROL

in which my friend said “shepherd prompto” and i went batshit insane on twitter and started rebuilding the entire ffxv lore and fusing it with zestiria lore

ALSO @chocobaes​ I JSUT REMEMBERED FRAN LIKES TALES OF ZESTIRIA SO HERE YOU GO

THIS IS ALL I HAVE FOR NOW BC THIS IS TOO LONG AND ILL SEE IF I COULD DUMP WHAT I HAVE FOR NOCT AND PROMPTO (bc this shit started with SHEPHERD PROMPTO) AND YEAH WOOO NOW WATCH THIS POP UP IN AO3 WITHIN THE NEXT FEW DAYS

note: i completely disregarded tales of berseria lore because i havent played it yet and i refuse to be spoiled. 

notex2: spoilers from final fantasy xv below! and maybe zestiria, too, but i can’t really tell which of them is toz spoilers.

notex3: this is also part one of part one: lore bc i missed a LOT of stuff here (read: ARMATIZATION, divine artefacts, the ring of the lucii and its use in this au, etc)

THE SIX GREAT LORDS, THE ASTRALS

- each astral is a seraph representing a certain element, known to be the most powerful to wield them. they are the most powerful of their kind to the point that they rule eos as gods.

titan, the archaean, the most powerful earth seraph

ramuh, the fulgarian, the most powerful and first lightning seraph

leviathan, the hydraean, the most powerful water seraph

shiva, the glacian, the most powerful and first ice seraph. she is also the first seraph to come down from the heavens since ifrit’s defeat to grace the human race and to forge divine contracts with them, allowing them control over ice and the power of purification. upon lucis’ founding, though, she settles down there, and she’s been the kings’ prime lord since then, covering the entirety of lucis with her blessing. humans come to know her as the lady of the lake, because instead of residing within her vessel, she takes residence in a small, man made lake at the heart of the citadel.

ifrit, the infernian, the most powerful fire seraph. while the one to give man fire, he’s also the first and only great lord to fall to malevolence. he’s the first dragon, the symbol of corruption and havoc, and is the one who brought malevolence to eos, turning humans and seraphim alike to hellions.

bahamut, the draconian, the only seraph of void. the most powerful of the astrals, he’s the one who seizes ifrit and, filled with compassion for ifrit because theres no way to return a dragon back to a seraph, banishes ifrit somewhere no human can find. the man who’ll become the first lucis caelum forged a contract with bahamut and became the first shepherd to make this possible.

LUCIS CAELUM BLOODLINE AND THE COUNTRY OF LUCIS

- after ifrit’s downfall, bahamut blessed the first shepherd and ushered him forth to an era of prosperity, and with him is a seraph whom bahamut also blessed with the ability to bestow the power of purification, becoming the oracle. together, with shiva’s blessing, they founded lucis, and the first shepherd ruled lucis with the oracle as his guide and the glacian as lucis’ protector

lucis caelum is a royal lineage of shepherds, blessed by the gods themselves

they founded lucis which became a country wherein seraphim and humans can live together in harmony, and because of this, the lucis caelum bloodline became royalty. the king/queen of lucis is always a shepherd. its part of their ascension

its always important that the crown prince has a powerful resonance before ascension, because to be a shepherd is to be able to communicate with the seraphim, the divine beings that cannot be seen by normal humans. the shepherd’s role is to be the bridge that will connect humans and seraphim together

lucis is a country of magic, mostly driven by seraphic artes. while the country is magically advanced because of this, they’re also mostly behind when it comes to technology. this proved to be the country’s weakness against niflheim.

they do have cars and stuff though. lucis in this au is also still lucis from the game, except people can talk to seraphim and is more magicky than from lucis in the game, especially insomnia.

seraphim and humans mingle together in this country. if you know tales of zestiria, this country is probably sorey and mikleo’s dream come true :-)

shiva is the lord of the land of lucis while also serving as the king’s prime lord. her domain protects lucis from niflheim, but as time goes by and the war got worse, the domain is forced to cover only insomnia, and this is when people all over lucis start losing resonance and get plagued by hellions. hunters are hired to kill these hellions, since no shepherd or squire is going to come to purify them.

THE ORACLE

- a seraph who had been with the first shepherd in his journey to defeat ifrit. after the great battle, bahamut blessed her with the powers of purification and powers divine, making her almost at the same level as the astrals. she’s the shepherd’s guide, helping them through tough decisions and guiding them away from the path of malevolence. she’s lunafreya nox fleuret, and she resides in lucis with her brother, ravus.

she and ravus are older than regis in this au lol

the fleurets have always been in lucis since the old times, and because of this, tenebrae never existed

she’s been with noctis since he was a wee baby, and has been watching over him, helping him make his resonance stronger so he could be a fine shepherd once he’s taken over the throne

she also helped prompto build his resonance, because any niflheim refugee has almost zero resonance, and that means not seeing practically half of lucis’ population

in a fit of desperation, she becomes noctis’ prime lord instead of shiva

luna is a seraph of fire (SHOUT OUT TO LAILAH MY BEST MUM), blessed with bahamut’s mark and the ability to wield the void element. upon becoming shepherd, noct wields the power of kings and the ability to warp. its bahamut’s blessing and his mark.

THE SHEPHERD, MALEVOLENCE, AND THE POWER OF PURIFICATION

- the shepherd system in this au is different from zestiria, though it still borrows elements from it

there is always only one shepherd at a time, even though multiple shepherds is possible in this au, because the shepherd will always be the king of lucis

however, because there’s only one shepherd, squires are enormous in number. they’re scattered all over lucis to spread shiva’s blessing, all the while helping local seraphim become lords of the land in towns and villages, keeping the country prosperous.

squires aren’t just randomly picked, though. to be a squire, one has to be naturally gifted with resonance and a mental fortitude that can withstand malevolence. in short, squires are trained soldiers and the best of the best.

as time went by and the war against niflheim continue on, though, squires and seraphim defending the country are either killed off or become corrupted by too much malevolence that simply mental fortitude can’t handle, and instead of keeping lucis safe, it gets razed over by hellions instead. squires were then called back to insomnia, and shiva’s blessing is maintained in the crown city since then.

kingsglaive are regis’ squires to fight the war

instead of the starscourge, malevolence is the big issue in this au. malevolence is different from the starscourge in that it preys on people’s strong emotions, twisting them to be so negative until it consumes the victim and they become a literal monster.

the idea of malevolence is so broad, though, because it doesn’t simply means bad and evil. those with good intentions can still be corrupted by malevolence and those who’d done nothing but evil can remain pure. it also affects everything: people, animals, plants, your underwear.

purification can destroy malevolence without killing its victim. except for a dragon, purification can bring back anyone and anything plagued by malevolence.

the power of purification can only be wielded by the shepherd, the seraphim they have a contract to, and their squires. the seraphim who bestows the power of purification cannot wield the power alone; they need a shepherd to act as their conduit. not all seraphim can bestow the power of purification, either, only those blessed by the astrals and the astrals themselves can. so far, only luna is the only seraph who is not an astral can bestow the power of purification.

the ability to wield a certain element cannot be achieved by making contracts with seraphim who wields that element like in tales of zestiria. to wield seraphic artes of a certain element, the shepherd must go through an astral’s trial to be given their mark, thus allowing them to wield the element (aka noct still has to go through every astral’s trial like in the game to be able to wield the other elements: fighting titan to be able to wield earth-based seraphic artes, running a marathon for ramuh to wield lightning-based seraphic artes, etc. now imagine leviathan destroying altissia bc she doesn’t want noct to be able to wield water. what a bitch)

as extension from the one above ^ it’s practically impossible to wield fire-based seraphic artes because, well, you know. ifrit’s a fucking dragon.

- random note that i have no idea where to put: while people without resonance can’t see seraphim, everyone can see hellions, regardless of resonance.

[dozingcarbs]

FFXV-2 Gralea Extra

↼ Read Niflheim Nation - Vogliupe Region: Through Snow

The Empire against Astrals

We don't know if the giantess Shiva is really dead.

All we have is the Empire stating so like they did for Titan and Leviathan. Shiva's body still being there is already odd. An infinite snowstorm has been covering more than half of Niflheim ever since. Over 11 years by now.

From the Ultimania we have on the timeline page about her awakening in Ghorovas Rift and then attacking Imperial Territory (no reason explained) and then being killed by the Empire. That was M.E. 745 (11 years ago) which is the same year Luna was taught about covenants as stated on her character biography page. It uses the name Shiva instead of Gentiana too.

The Empire lost a majority of their forces and began developing special Magitek that would oppose the Gods at a better efficiency. I assume these are the Magitek Lances and the Magitek ships that fire giant lasers (of which in the game, we don't even encounter but only see it in the sky.)

At least it did something in the movie.

Image(s) link

In chapter 2 there was an Empire cutscene (the only cutscene of them together.) There was Verstael the scientist behind the revived Magitek technology (with Ardyn's help), stating the Six wield power beyond their imagination and implies they need the Oracle alive for secrets about them. He doesn't seem confident in their current forces to kill an Astral.

In chapter 13 you could find a document on the Zegnautus about a Wallbreaker Wave Test Report. One of those documents hint that they used it on their encounter with Shiva and anticipate that it weakens them. Meaning it's not completely proven.

This tech was what locked Noctis' Lucian magic away. And yet the Ring of Lucii(Light) was still potent. Both the Ring and the power of Kings were gifted by the Gods. The "Wallbreaker Wave" is not perfect.

After learning Ravus’ story, I don’t think the Empire even wanted to have anything to do with the Astrals. All the Emperor wanted was for Niflheim to prosper. And to do that, he needed the Crystal’s power, which could only be drawn via the corresponding Ring of Lucii.

The whole slaying Gods thing just came out starting as a rumor you hear during the train ride. Ravus only tried to kill the Astrals because he thought that would prevent Noctis from fulfilling his calling so Lunafreya wouldn’t have to continue.

Gentiana & Shiva

Gentiana is not Shiva, at least not directly. The Ultimania has a section telling Gentiana who lives with the Nox Fleuret family is one of the 24 Angels and deeply connected to Luna. (Angels = Japanese name for the Messengers. Apostle is also an option.)

A page hat can be found at Taelpar Resting Area  titled:

The Hexatheon and Their Divine Host -  It is said that, in the beginning, the six fought side by side with mankind. Even so, the deities themselves seldom appeared before mortals, and instead sent loyal servants to convey their divine will to the Oracle. These servants are known as Messengers, and they number 24.

The Divine Host could be referring to the Oracle. But the Oracle already has a separate chapter. This is the only page about Messengers, so it's more likely the Divine Host referred to in the title are the Messengers/Angels.

Neither the Gods or Angels die. If you fight Ifrit, Shiva has dialogue at the end about Ifrit already having died before. 

In an early cutscene with kid Luna and Noctis, you'll see the Cosmogony book opened. Here you see the Chosen King, the Oracle, and about 6 Angels present. One being Gentiana and the two being Luna's dogs matured. I don't believe Pryna completely died. We have seen Pryna as a puppy before. The Gods and Angels reincarnate forevermore.

Image(s) link

Do I think Shiva really got killed? No.The timeline in the Ultimania is written from an in-game lore point of view, just as many things are in a timeline chart. Not a player lore view. 

An example: Luna being taught how covenants work at 13 years old (11 years ago) isn't written in the timeline but is in her character biography because nobody else in their world knows about that.

Even Gentiana's little section in the Ultimania is written like an interview for in-game people as she tells everyone she visited Tenebrae when Luna was born and stayed close by her in the shadows ever since. Which also hints at her being omnipresent in a way.

Note that Gentiana’s interview translation does not match her English manner of speech simply because it’s completely different in Japanese. Fan translators don’t do fancy English-Japanese localization. We would need experts who do that as a paid profession if you want it perfect. 

Did you know in Japanese, she refers to Noctis as just Noctis and not by King of Kings? She never calls Noctis’ name in English.

Yet another important bit not included in the Timeline chart but is in Ardyn's character biography (which unfortunately does not contain any information prior to joining Niflheim 34 years ago.) 

“11 years ago: Suppressed Shiva in Groves Valley” (Japanese name for Ghorovas Rift.)

There’s also in-game: Ardyn's uninterrupted dialogue to Gentiana/Shiva in chapter 12 was "The face you wore the day you died" 

Or "The same beautiful face you wore when you got killed." in Japanese.

It’s weird. That contradicts with "suppressed", doesn't it? Maybe he wasn't referring to 11 years ago but something 2000 years ago. Either way, there is no way of knowing really.

Read Niflheim Nation - Gralea Part 1: Fleet Battle ⇀

[dozingcarbs]

FFXV-2 “??? Eos” Finale

↼ “??? Eos” Ending - Final Quest part 4

"Crystal Eos" Ending - Final Boss

After a good second or two of just a black screen, you will hear Ardyn speak. Noctis startles awake and will want to know how it's possible for Ardyn to be present here. A short back and forth conversation commences about what Noctis' goal.

The battle commences and you play as Noctis. You fight this battle as you would a normal battle, so no Super Armiger/Power of Light Noctis. The only aid you do get is during quick time events in which you will see Noctis summon the powers of the Gods via the Ring. Bahamut's swords again, Ifrit's flames and blade, smaller scale Gaia's Wrath, and so forth. This fight looks to be very one sided for Noctis.

Ardyn is utterly defeated and falls to the ground. Such is the power of the True King AND the Six. Noctis walks up to him and stabs him through his stomach with the Sword of the Father. You're given one final button prompt that will finish this battle. You press it and Ardyn has died. Or so the games makes it seem like.

There were figures grabbing onto Noctis and clinging onto his body right when you pressed the button prompt. These were the dead bodies of Lunafreya, Regis, Nyx, and the Emperor that Ardyn supposedly fished up and preserved. (Real bodies according to the Ultimania.) Noctis startles and shakes them all off quickly. They fall like ragdolls.

You hear Ardyn's voice telling you to be gentle with his "prize" collection. He has stood up and his wound already healed. His tilted fedora covers his face but as he fixes it and tilts his back head up, you'll see the face of a daemonized Ardyn.

Phase 2

Ardyn's speech had become unintelligible and photophilic particles were leaking from the cave system underneath the island and from the entrance of the Stone Prison. Any sound that comes from Ardyn's mouth can not be understood by Noctis. It's like a wild animal(daemon) making noises. This was no longer just a Battle of Kings.

Noct activates the Crystal Armiger along with the power of the Six besides it. Ardyn does the same but along with the power of countless daemons absorbed within him. 

Enjoy the daemon powers you got a taste of when you played as Ardyn terrorizing Iedolas and Verstael during Gralea Part 1.

You play as Noctis. And after each QTE attack, you suddenly switch to Ardyn, and vice versa. This phase is timed. You can't kill your opponent. HP recovers for a decent amount after each switch but not to full so it still gives off a sense of "beatable" for the player. You can still die. The timer is essentially the photophilic particles starting to slow down and engulfing the place.

Intermission

Phase 2 ends. And Noctis is unable to maintain his powers, something is wrong. Ardyn's back to normal again. The Ring of the Lucii is scorching Noctis' flesh and body. It starts on his right arm, slowly travelling to the rest of his body. It’s the worst scorching we’ve seen so far.

Noct doesn't know why the Ring is working against him and the Old Kings are unresponsive. Noctis suspects Ardyn did something. But he did nothing. Noctis caused this to himself. And Ardyn will lay it out for him.

In short, The Ring is a tool that channels the Crystal's power. And Noct had made it so that the Crystal would take the powers of the Gods as well. However, right now, the Gods have been infected by the scourge as they laid exposed to it for 10 years. The plague that has been leaking is also being absorbed into the Ring via the Crystal by nature

Why would Ardyn side with the Gods? He isn't. He is ruining Noctis' goal on his own accord and pleasure. Ardyn will quote The Hexatheon chapter from the Cosmogony to Noctis.

Titan, the Archaean, steadfast as stone. Ramuh, the Fulgurian, sharp as lightning. Shiva, the Glacian, gentle as snow. Leviathan, the Hydraean, relentless as tides. Bahamut, the Draconian, unbending as iron. Ifrit, the Infernian, fickle as fire. Since time immemorial, they have watched over Eos.

Ardyn can relate to Noct's spite for the Gods of Eos. But there was one flaw in his judgement. Noctis treated the Six as if they were humans. The thought process of Astrals and humans are far too different. They can not comprehend humans just the same as we can't comprehend Astrals.

Everything was laid out for Noctis to ascend the throne and save the world from its darkness. If only Noct didn't stray from the prophecy, none of this would have happened. And what of Noct's friends who are awaiting their king? They are fighting outside while their king has been sleeping this entire time. Some of them are probably already dead. Basically, Ardyn will be aggravating Noctis quite a bit.

Final Phase (with its own sub-phases)

The scourge envelops the Ring. With a flash of blinding light, the scenery has changed into darkness. You play as Ardyn, gotta walk forward. Within lies phase 3 of this true final battle.

The final boss is a giant agglomeration of all the Six Astrals. The primary body resembles that of a knight. You can say this is how Noctis would look like if he were part of the KotR but with darkness shrouding him. The body is pulsating the scourge throughout and will morph into each of the Six, sometimes only pieces of several Astrals so it's like a mix of Ifrit and Bahamut.

The Final boss will lose the use of each Astral as you progress. He can summon each of the Royal Arms (in giant form) and evoke a temporary Armiger attack that's pretty much an unblockable insta-kill/danger zone if you don't avoid it.

You fight this battle without Ardyn being in a continuous Armiger and fly around. It will come in switches between sub-phases.

And instead, you have to warp strike onto platforms that come from debris like Bahamut's swords. You have to heal (absorb) the scourge. All of it. Ardyn becomes stronger while "Noctis" becomes weaker. But you'll also have issues moving properly and hallucinate because of it. In the later parts, Ardyn becomes unable to use the Armiger at all and will be slower, but "Noctis" is losing abilities as you go as well.

One sub-phase is when the giant agglomeration kneels, it will be healing and repairing a piece you destroyed. Like a piece of Titan’s arm comes back. 

It sounds tedious but you can interrupt it. A human sized figure comes out of its large body while it’s in this sub-phase. Its silhouette is literally a shirtless Noctis. If you defeat that Noctis you have a chance of interrupting the agglomeration’s restoring of a former sub-phase, and by that, its health.

As for the background, it's the same as how it was inside the Crystal but purple and black instead of the blue and light.

In this final fight, all the physical Royal Arms will break and shatter apart, which then also disables their Armiger forms. Meaning Ardyn won’t be able to use them either. These can not be restored. 

Ardyn will lose the Trident as it got smacked up high in the air in a scripted event.

The fight ends with both sides completely exhausted and with Ardyn having to push himself to absorb all of the remaining scourge and return the realm to normal. It's rather anti-climactic for a final "attack". It may be a risky development choice but you are technically the "villain" here.

Read  “??? Eos” Ending ⇀