#aboutnoctismeta

[bastardsunlight]

Noct how come you get two dads?

He points a finger skyward over one shoulder and casts his line with the other hand. Fishing takes plenty of concentration here where the big ones bite. Honestly, Noctis isn't sure how they've FOUND him all the way out here; it's not exactly a tourist destination.

After a brief struggle with a whopper of a gar, the prince hauls the catch onto the dock and turns. "Guys, how'd this... guys?" He looks around and his mantourage is nowhere to be seen. Only now is he a little worried, but he can handle himself if it comes to that.

"Ah... I've really just got the one.... had... the one..." He's blushing a deep, cherry red, all the way to his ears. Clarus and his father had always been so discreet about it, circumspect in speech and action. "Who are you?"

[bastardsunlight]

For your married muses: What was really transition from partner to spouse like? Did anything fundamentally change about your relationship?

I have a few so hold onto your butts.

[[MORE]]

Master Sergeant Rex “Sandman” Price nee Rogers

“The marriage actually came after the… rest of it… Had to. Fraternization.” He lifts the stump of an arm, too lazy today to wear his prosthesis. “We stopped shootin’ at people, for starters and I got my ass out of Humvees for good. I swear if I never see another one of those shitboxes it’ll be too soon.”

He looks around surreptitiously for the presence of either of his daughters, to ensure they’ve not heard him using foul language.

Piccolo Jr.

He thinks back to the wedding, when it had all become real to him. What had started out as a genuine gesture of solidarity and friendship became his life and his world when he’d laid eyes on the Saiyan Prince. The ceremony itself had been splendid and the reception would have been quite peaceful, had some out-of-town (off-planet) piece of power level-obsessed trash not spoiled it by making a mess of West City mid cake-cutting. The memory brings a smile to the Namekian’s face and he shakes his head.

“No,” he says after a moment. “We just live together now.”

Nathan Christopher Charles “Cable” Summers

“We aren’t married. Wade, please stop signing those divorce papers… ugh…” Pinching the bridge of his nose, the telepath makes a grab for the ream of paper Deadpool is tearfully signing, for some reason, with a splotchy fountain pen. Cable has no idea where he’s found this artifact and is, as usual, just a little impressed—an undertone of his overarching irritation.

Hanzo “Scorpion” Hasashi

“At first, there was little change,” Scorpion admits, “aside from the obvious.” He holds up a hand whereupon a band sits on his ring finger. “The transition—the most important one—occurred when we… when I… retired.”

Surrounded by grandchildren and glowing with pride, it is clear he does not regret this.

The Boy/0.005

“Dolores appeared when I needed her; she was there for me for… shit, half a century? I dunno where I’d be without her. It’s like I… wasn’t there before her and I won’t be here after her.” Is the minuscule assassin drunk and clutching a mannequin? Perhaps.

Daisuke Jigen

He doesn’t know why he agreed to the whole thing—it seems over-the-top, even for Lupin. A fake marriage, ceremony and all, complete with a contract? Well, he can say one thing for his ridiculous friend: the guy never does anything halfway.

“Nah,” he grunts, “it’s all for the payout, as usual.” Oddly enough, he doesn’t sound remotely disappointed with this arrangement. It’s just how they are.

Jessica Rabbit

She thinks about this a moment, pretty, red lips pulling into a pout she cannot help. Finely-plucked brows knit delicately and she makes a musical “hm” sound as she considers this. “What was the transition?” She considers this. “Now I get to wake up next to the man who makes me laugh.”

Jonathan “Johnny Cage” Carlton

“I’ve been married a couple times, and honestly the biggest change—if you’re not a total jackass—is that life’s not about you anymore. It can’t be… ‘specially if there’s a kid in the picture.” In his wallet are a pile of pictures of Cassie and Jacqui as children. The two had been inseparable and he can’t help thinking of the latter as his, in a way.

Loki Laufeyson

“Marriage is a bargaining chip,” he informs the faceless individual. He can respect the shapeshifting ability that has disabled his detection of their identity and right now, expending any kind of energy to actually figure out who they are feels like a cost he does not want to pay. “Nothing changes but the locale… Hmm, and my influence”

Matthew Horner

“The erh… first time, I didn’t even realize it.” He is loathe to recount the events of that fateful night of what he thought was a relatively innocent poker game which led to his marriage arrangement with Mira Han. Flushing deeply, he recounts a bit of the story of his second (and current) marriage.

“I think it really set in when Valerian—err, the Emperor—said he would take mylast name. Imagine that, the son of a merchant from Tyrador IX of all places…” He can’t help chuckling at this innocent picture he’s painted of himself, leaving out the hijacking of Hyperion and all the rebel activity that has made up the most exciting and instrumental parts of his life. “I can’t really put my finger on what changed when we finally said ‘I do’, but it felt like the ground was gone under my feet and the sky was… just so much brighter.”

Valerian Horner nee Mengsk

“When I dealt with Mira Han for Matthew’s hand, I knew that there were no lengths to which I would not go to have him. She knew it too.” His chuckle is wry. “And she took me for much, but it wasn’t nearly a fraction of what I’d have given up… for him. When we were wed, I realized, reallyunderstood that I didn’t have to be my father—that I don’t ever have to pretend to that throne. He’s helped me forge my own and I will always be grateful to him for that.”

Noctis Lucis Caelum

“I’m not—wh… I’m not married. I… not yet! I’ll marry Luna, soon… I think…” Noctis seems unsure of this, not unwilling but certainly not the elated bridgroom one might expect. His thoughts turn to the Galahdi hand-fasting ceremony, to the scant witnesses, the very few who know of the young prince’s most dangerous indiscretion, though Nyx Ulric is an indiscretion he will make over and over, if given the chance. His heart still beats fast in his chest when their eyes meet, but their liaisons are still secret, their love still hidden from the public eye.

Rayden *arranged Marriage AU because I like this one

“I’m a god now, so that’s new.” He snickers, grinning mischievously in the sorcerer’s direction. The myriad of lewd comments and stories he could tell are threatening to burst forth, but he holds them back, like a heavy thunderhead, waiting to rain its contents on the anticipatory ground below.

“I didn’t know Tsung before this, but to his credit, he mad a good effort at pretending I had a choice in the whole thing.” Rayden shrugs indifferently, as if being pitched between realms as a bargaining chip is a normal occurrence. “The little Kahn done fucked up, as you Earthrealmers say.”

Sherlock Holmes

“Not a thing,” he responds succinctly. “Watson and I have always had a companionable relationship. That has not changed one iota, nor, I think, will it. Now, if you will excuse me…” He is neither impolite nor brusque, but clipped, as if his mind is elsewhere and, as usual, it is. Tossing on a coat, the consulting detective disappears out the door of his rooms at 221B, likely on another adventure which his companion will summarily catalogue.

Solid Snake

“Otacon… he… hhnn… in a way I can’t describe, he completes what I was missing. I didn’t know what I could be until I met him.” He recalls vividly their first meeting, the fear, the friendliness… Otacon had been an utterly unique individual in his life, someone unlike any person he had ever met. How was he to know that they were the memetic legacy of their forefathers? At the time, he hadn’t. Now that he does, Philanthropy fights to be everything they were not. “He asked me if love could bloom on the battlefield and I… didn’t have a good answer for him—or… maybe I did, then, but now I’d say that is has to—for people like us, it has to. In a way, then, I think we were married before he asked me… and the only thing that changed was a ring and a promise made aloud that was always there, from the moment we left Shadow Moses.”

Takashi “Shiro” Shirogane

“I think we just.. said what we’d been feeling for a while. The ‘I do’ made it real, but…” Shiro shrugs broad shoulders. “It was always there. Keith’s my best friend—my oldest one—and he knows me, sometimes better than I know myself. I’m… I wasn’t the same without him and I’m better with ‘im.”

Raiden *restored timeline

“My shame…” He thinks a moment, deep, gentle blue eyes closing in pensive consideration. Breathing deeply, settled in a large, ornately-carved chair with a toddler asleep in his lap, Raiden speaks quietly, delicately, so as not to wake her. “I… learned to allow myself to desire and be desired… Tsung tried for years to show me, but his willingness to relinquish the relative freedom of being unattached, well… it made me realize what I was worth to him… and he to me.”

Ulfric Stormcloak

“It isn’t something we can display and… Jorleif assures me he understands, that it does not vex him… but it vexes me. We have always been friends, always been close—we stood before Mara and her priests and told them as much, but we cannot yet stand before our people and say the same, not until this war is over and we need not fight for succession.” That Ulfric has no heir is a point of contention in Skyrim and a point of leverage for the Empire. Rumors have circulated and, despite the overall indifference of the people of Tamriel, certain conventions must be observed and maintained.

Yasuo

“Nope. We went from kicking each other’s asses and fucking to kicking each other’s asses and fucking with rings.” He holds up a hand, knuckles bloodied, mischievous grin on his pretty, if swollen, lips. A gold band reflects with a lusty sparkle. His casual response belies the deep, abiding devotion Yasuo feels toward the Vastayan bastard. In a life of feeling cast out and poorly-fitted to most situations, he has finally found a place and a home.

Kang Lao *games nee Kung

“My name,” he responds simply, “and with it, the burden of that legacy.” It is not traditional for one spouse to give up their name, necessarily, in favor of the other, because of devotion to family and clan. Kung is a name he has happily shed, however, in favor of the name of a nobody of unknown origin and no family whatsoever, save a matronly thunder deity.

Kung Lao *MK2021

“We have a cell together,” he explains, “and we need not pretend we are not what we are.” He gestures, indicating that nebulous, inexplicable thing which is between himself and Kang. To explain it is to cheapen it, the grand champion feels.

Mileena

“The transition? Certainly. Tanya showed me what I am… and that I am beautiful.” Mileena’s past is fraught with violence and confusion, bafflement and rejection. All she has ever wanted is to be accepted and loved and with Tanya, the queen Kahnsort, she has that. Of course, Tanya had always been of this opinion, that Mileena is a goddess of grace and beauty, but for some reason, her verbal affirmation of it coming in the form of a marital oath had been the ultimate tipping point.

Mordecai

“Did it on a dare. Lil said we wouldn’t—we were too chicken shit.” He sneers, spitting. “Showed ‘er.” In essence, therefore, nothing has really changed and Lilith had simply grown tired of Tina’s Mordy-Mom and Brick-Poppa pretending that’s not what they were. Her next step would be to dare them to adopt her, insofar as legal adoptions can take place on a lawless planet like Pandora.

[bastardsunlight]

The smile Regis gives means he absolutely knows how embarrassing this is for Noctis. “Well, I’m partial to little star or little starlight, always have been.”

"Daaad," Noctis whisper-moans, wishing he could pull his collar up and disappear in it. He can't, unfortunately. At least Clarus is the only one present to hear it...

give my muse a nickname

[bastardsunlight]

"Oh, Noctis, yes, of course you can sleep in my bed tonight." Regis scrambles to help the boy up into the massive four post bed, cautious of his back and leg. He knows from experience that nightmares can agitate his old injuries and doesn't want to cause Noctis anymore pain. "No worries little star, rest easy. Clarus and I will keep you company; he helps me sleep safe at night, you see."

Noctis is doing his best to pretend he'd not been crying, but the speed with which he'd run into his father's room, dodging all manner of guards and butler types to do so is telling enough. The lad's eyes are puffy and glowing a strange purplish hue. He's not detected this, of course, too terrified by the strange figure in his dreams. It whispers awful things to him, appearing with hollow, dark eyes whose centers are cores of molten gold which the boy has detected as extremely hostile and utterly obsessed.

[bastardsunlight]

"I know son, they aren't fun, but we need to eat our veggies." Says the king of Lucis that is just pushing his broccoli around on his plate. Maybe if there was some cheese....

"Ugghhhh daaaad... come on, you're the king," declares a young, vegetable-averse Noctis, "can't you outlaw them or something? They're so gross!" He pulls a face only a parent could love and sticks his tongue out at the greens on his plate, as if they have personally offended him. He has tried hiding pees under the rim, brussel sprouts upon the buttresses of the table, and green beans in the depths of a flower pot near his seat. Somehow he is always found out. Clarus, most likely, is the culprit. That, or Noctis is not so stealthy as he thinks.

[bastardsunlight]

Noctis, how did your father teach you to use your warp power in particular?

“First off how dare you speak to me.” 

He cannot maintain the facade of royal offense and it breaks quickly, a smile lighting his features. “Nah, I’m kidding... Uh, actually dad didn’t... I mean I’m sure he could, but I never saw him do it. No, actually he recruited one of the Glaives to teach me--guy named Nyx Ulric? I... haven’t seen him in a while, either.” Noctis pauses, chewing his lower lip, blue eyes downcast. “Dunno if he made it out of Insomnia... lot of people didn’t...” 

He squares his shoulders, then, straightening up and breathing deeply. The people of Insomnia, those lost to death or displacement, are a vital part of why he continues onward, why he can never stop. 

[bastardsunlight]

Noctis, for the multi ask meme!

MULTIMUSE ASK MEME! send in the name of a muse you don’t know at all and i’ll tell you…

their general personality - casual, gentle with a sharp sense of humor, awkward at intervals because he doesn’t people very well if they’re not like, political liaisons, shitty @ small talk

their hobbies - fIsHiNg HoLy ShIt, also video games

things they like - the Mantourage (aka Chocobros), his family, Nyx and his friends, training with Nyx, driving, road trips, CHOCOBOS, f i s h i n g

things they dislike - VEGETABLES AND BUGS, fuck that noise, becoming king at 20 d/t Imperial Assassination Horseshit, the imperial chancellor who gives Noct the willies ‘cause has nothing else to give

some things people do that annoy them - chew with their mouths open, calling him “king Noctis” (even though he IS), when Gladio calls him the Prince of Pain which makes gladio do it more........

how easily they form friendships - not too easily; he’s the prince of Lucis, so he’s been isolated a good chunk of his life (not without reason); that along with his physical disability has kept him SELF-isolated for a while

how easily they get crushes - pretty easily from a distance, keeping it is harder... he’s had a couple of great loves in his life

the kind of person they get along with the best - protective, gentle, mature people who will tell Noct how it is without holding back just because he’s royalty

the kind of person they get along with the worst - people using him and his friends for a hidden agenda 

whether or not they could get along with your (the sender’s) muse(s) - probably! As long as she’s real (and she always is), Noct could have ZERO problem with her

[bastardsunlight]

for @junkdrawerkids, my Glaive 

“Cheer up, Noct,” Ignis chided over the back of the passenger’s seat. He had, for some reason, given over control of the Regalia to Prompto, who had a lead foot and a short attention span. The prince was unsure they’d make it to their destination in one piece, much less alive, but it brought him some joy to see his best friend behind the wheel of his father’s priceless car, so he had leaned back for the long haul, closing his eyes and breathing deeply, trying to clear his mind. 

Evidently, this came with a rather long face, and Ignis had noted it from his spot up front, clouding the rearview. Gladiolus’s book closed and found itself in his lap as Ignis spoke, his attention, too, turning toward Noctis. Even Prompto’s gaze threatened to stray, but for a swat from Ignis.

“Cheer up?” Noctis repeated this in the bleary voice of a man who’s just awoken from a deep slumber. His eyes were faraway for a moment, gazing into nothingness and open sky before they returned to his companions and realized that everyone was staring at him. Prompto’s eyes found Noctis’s in the rearview whenever he thought Ignis was not looking and within them was the distinct air of concern for his friend. “What do you mean? I’m… this’s fun, right? Roadtrip with the mantourage?”

Noctis was nothing if not quick, and sharp to boot. He knew the word would set off gales of laughter in Gladio and Prompto and bring a distasteful frown to Iggy’s refined features. He, too, began to giggle, until he realized Ignis was not going to budge. The other two sobered up quickly and Prompto guided the vehicle back into the right side of the lane. Defensive driving, Ignis had counseled before they left. He was determined to succeed in this, at the very least, though Noct’s mood had him somewhat on edge.

“You’re dodging, Noct,” Ignis pointed out.

“Yeah, well, I’ve… always been good at that.” The prince’s eyes strayed down to the hands folded in his lap.

“You were well-trained,” Gladiolus pointed out, tossing a thick, heavily muscled arm about Noctis’s thin shoulders and tugging him across the back seat to ruffle his wind-tossed blue-black hair. Noctis flailed, but Gladiolus’s strength was unparalleled in Lucis. As far as the prince was aware, he was the only human being capable of wielding a sword of that size without magic. It was always impressive to watch his friend in combat, if a bit unsettling. The guy was a whirlwind of death, and that of course was part of the reason he had been chosen for the crown prince’s royal retinue—his mantourage.

“Oh damn, this’s about Nyx, isn’t it?!” Prompto blurted this particular observation with a very dangerous swerve to the left. Luckily, the road leading out of Insomnia and into the surrounding plains was unoccupied, though this did earn him a scolding look and a hiss from Ignis. Or perhaps it had been the blunt way he’d put forth what everyone was thinking regarding their prince’s dim mood. Noctis broke free of Gladio’s grip and swallowed hard, doing his best to look precisely no one in the eyes. He shook his head, then.

“No, it’s… it isn’t,” he responded. “It’s… gods, it’s this whole wedding thing.” The word came out in an emphasized growl, displaying precisely how the child within the man felt, the boy who’d hardly been allowed to be, before he was swept away with regency, rules, etiquette, and combat, the wielding of the sacred magic that imbued his bloodline with the right to rule Lucis. All of that, since he was a child, had seemed terribly unfair to Noctis. He knew his position conferred upon him many rights and privileges, but also the crushing weight of the Lucii, along with the responsibilities of ruling a kingdom that was at war and looked to stay that way for quite some time.

“You’re not excited to marry Lady Lunafreya?” Prompto seemed almost devastated by this news and once more, Ignis had to correct his trajectory.

“No,” said Noctis, “I mean—not no, not really… I’m excited to see her again; it’s been more than a decade and… we were… really good friends.”

“But?” Gladio sensed the “but” portion and just put it in there to keep Noct talking.

“Look, I know it’s something that’s got to happen. I’ve known since I was old enough to know what marriage was that mine would be political, to strengthen Lucis and her alliances with anyone who wasn’t Niflheim.”

His words, full of the weight of responsibility and just a hint of fear, shook all three of the other men in the Regalia to their core. They’d known Noctis long enough to realize that these were no empty phrases, made in the throes of some sort of feverish fervor or passion. Noctis was analytical, he was cold at times, and very withdrawn; he did not say words he didn’t mean. He was true royalty. Prompto, Ignis, and Gladiolus felt the undercurrent of bitter responsibility in them and did not know how to counter, if there was such a thing.

“Royalty rarely marries for love,” Ignis supplied. Noctis nodded, pinching the bridge of his nose. He didn’t know if he didn’t love Lunafreya. He didn’t know if he did. He didn’t know her. Not anymore. Twelve years changed a person. She’d probably changed and he knew he had. It would be almost like meeting her for the first time and it scared him.

“And I know that,” he put in, “I do. It’s just…”

“You  know what love feels like and you’re afraid you won’t feel it again,” guessed Prompto in one of his rare moments of focused clarity. He was not a stupid young man, but his trains of thought often ran on so many different tracks, even he could not keep them straight. This time, he had. Noctis nodded, having no verbal response. He’d known love, felt it deeply, had almost declared it… He knew love.

And his love was not here.

His love was behind him, the distance growing with each revolution of the Regalia’s wheels.

His future was Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, Oracle.

His past was Nyx Ulric, Kingsglaive.

Noctis Lucis Caelum was terrified.

[bastardsunlight]

truth! Noctis, what was Nyx to you?

“Nyx Ulrich trained me… to use these,” says the young king, summoning one of his many weapons, “and I…” He is red to the ears, cobalt blue eyes downcast, embarrassed and near tears all of a sudden. His stoicism can only hold up against so much battery and this is decidedly too much. “I… he was …. very dear to me.” I loved him. I love him still. I walk tall for him. For all the people of Lucis, but… for him, most of all, I must rule well.

Noctis does not know, not exactly, what Nyx did to stall the Imperial assault, not really. No one is left alive who does. But he knows it must have been the man himself, and he knows that, whatever it was, it has taken Nyx from him. He swallows hard and rubs the back of his arm across his eyes like a child. His jaw is tight and he wishes with all his might that he could stop the choking lump in his throat or the way his heart has begun to hammer with a mixture of frustration and overwhelming sadness.

Truth serum!!

[bastardsunlight]

Noctis, Truth: You must save your father or Nyx Ulric. You cannot sacrifice yourself or anyone else. There are no ways out. You must choose one.

Horror covers the prince’s features for a moment, before he collects himself. Breathing deeply, he stares down the curious one, pulling himself up into a regal posture, or at least one of moderate control. 

“As a prince, I can’t deny the choice--as a... human being, I say gods damn you for that.” His tone is dry ice, chilly and burning all at once, a flame kindling behind blue eyes. “My father has taught me to look forward, to walk tall... so has Nyx, always. They both want me to rule well.” He sighs, shaking his head. “I must choose the future and I can’t build that without the Glaives. I choose Nyx and I bear the burden of my father’s loss as I bear all the losses of my people. I was raised to be a king, Anon.”