#caelum & friends

[emy-san]

At peace.

[wishingstarinajar]

A scribble of Caelum and Monoceros bothering Scribe in his (supposedly!) impenetrable library.

Bother, bother bother-

Scribe belongs to @stankychee

[foxtrottcantfindshit]

My interest took a hard left, all the way back to when I was a teenager and this game came out in 2016!!!

Still one of my top favorite games of all time I’m almost sure this is #1 or #2 and of course, my favorite was Noct

[shelbyroundthemountain]

My favorite thing about Noctis fishing is that none of his friends fish. He’s like “let’s go fishing!” And it’s literally just him fishing while his three buddies watch him

[this-corner-is-my-safe-space]

"oh no. i think i'm catching feelings"

(this is what i do instead of my very important assignments.

Suggestive near the end, but not descriptive

title from 'sex' by eden)

Freelancer can practically see the steam rushing out of Gavin's ears.

His face is red and his eyes were glaring holes into them. If they didn't know any better, they'd say he was mad at them.

But they saw the way Gavin's lips fought a smile. The corners of them tugging up without his approval, entirely giving away his facade.

They've grown awfully fond of him, and it almost scared them. Almost. No one could really be scared of such beauty, in their humble (and very correct) opinion. And if that didn't convince them, Freelancer would take any and every opportunity explaining how wise, endearing and kind the man in front of them was.

"Are you even listening to me?"

That snapped Freelancer right out of the clouds. They paused for a second, before coming clean.

"Nope. Sorry, handsome."

If Freelancer said Gavin's face managed to get even more red, he would deny it.

"You-" he starts, putting his face in his hands, breathing in and out to calm himself, "I am going to kill you."

If Gavin meant that, he didn't show it. Perhaps one could argue the blushing, smiling and wide eyes filled with adoration were all a ruse to hide his murderous intent. If that was the case, Freelancer had definitely fallen for (him) it.

Unfortunately for Gavin, Freelancer had one last card up their sleeve.

"And what are you going to do, Gavin? Fuck me to death?"

What were they here for again? Magic history tutoring? A movie date? Finishing the leftover pizza and wings they ordered the last time Gavin was over?

It didn't matter anymore, because Gavin was forcing them out of their seat, grabbing their face and kissing them breathless. All while maneuvering the both of them into their bedroom.

When Freelancer took a breath, they were on top of Gavin, legs on either side of his waist, one hand pinning one of his arms down while the other was resting on his chest. They stared at him as they felt his chest falling and rising, his heart beating beneath their touch.

They remembered what that meant, when a demon took the time to form a heart beat with magic. Slowly, they leaned down to kiss his chest, right where a real heart would be if he was human.

They looked up at him, and in their brief eye contact, Freelancer thanked him. For his help with DAMN stuff, for trusting them enough to be this vulnerable with his emotions.

For being in their life.

If Freelancer was asked if they started to cry in that moment, hiding it from Gavin by meeting his lips with their own again, they'd say it was drool.

[ryoko-san]

[lilfuturescars]

So… when does one get over FFXV? 👉🏼👈🏼

Asking for a friend.

[pearl-kite]

So new Vega audio, right. Heads up this got WAY longer than I meant so uh. Prepare to scroll, I guess ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

In advance, I don't even really know when things get posted to youtube time-of-day-wise, so this is probably technically spoiler material, etc etc, and a bit heavily flavored by particular headcanon for the Warden, especially the details of their job.

You work at the Department, your favorite part is psychology-related casework. Sure, the serenity demons have got that corner covered, but you enjoy helping when they're short-handed in between the times you have to do demon-specific tasks like ward maintenance, etc.

You get this fucking file, red flags ALL over it, but you're good at your job, you know how to keep your personal shit separate and not fall for manipulation tactics, but the guy is good. You're also good enough to see through it all, but oh man is he pat.

Shit happens and suddenly you're kidnapped, sort of? And you can see every time he tries to be subtle and nudge you to think one way or another, but he is actually helping you, which yeah, sure that's a manipulation in and of itself, but he's almost nice? You don't agree with a lot of what he says, but there are some points he has that you've had before, but you'll be damned if you're going to let him know that. You can see what he's doing and you're not going to fall for it (maybe that's the problem though, you think you can see it but does that make you overconfident?)

And then when you're finally better he just. Lets you leave. But he gives you an option, and it sounds not only logical, but nice (ah shit did you start to like him? You know he's manipulating you, remember?). So you stick with him. You can leave anytime.

But you don't leave, because maybe you started to forget that he's manipulating you, you saw through it all at the beginning, after all, and there's plenty of evidence that he's not lying about shit going on with that cult.

One day he says he values you, and you immediately think it's a trick, and you can't read his emotions the way he can read yours, but something feels honest about it, and suddenly you believe it when he says you matter, and you like that, you like it a lot, and you think maybe you're a little fucked because you might do anything he asks you to at this point.

And then not even a half hour later something fucking disintegrates him in front of you, which shouldn't have been possible, and it terrifies you and you run. You forget that you can fucking rift away in an instant and you use your fucking feet and sprint, you're so terrified.

Where the fuck are you supposed to go? You ditched your job, even if you were abducted in the first place, do you even have any friends outside of work?

To make things more confusing, some fucking piece of paper materializes out of nowhere for you, and you read it. It feels like a confession, but it's from that bastard so how are you supposed to believe it, and it tells you to just forget him and move on and what the fuck, man, how?

So you read it again, and another couple times, and maybe you end up back at the safe house you had been abducted to at first and you reread it enough that maybe you start to memorize it. And when you finally put it back down to reconsider what you're supposed to do, the thing that killed him suddenly pops in with him alive next to it like he didn't just disintegrate in front of you hours ago.

And he doesn't remember it. He doesn't remember you. He doesn't address you properly, doesn't remember your name and doesn't call you darling. But he does remember? He remembers you but nothing about you? And he begs you to explain what's going on because his memory is about 2000 years old at this point and he doesn't know if there's anyone else that can catch him up.

He's begging, and you don't think this is a trick anymore. For the first time, you're positive he isn't manipulating you, he's pleading.

He asks what your relationship was (good question). You try to hedge and he calls you out. You tell him it's complicated.

What do you mean complicated.

You don't really know how to say "Well, I was your department-appointed therapist of sorts, you abducted me, but then you offered to have me tag along on your mission to save the world and you've manipulated me so much through the whole thing that I can't really tell what was real and what wasn't and then you died in front of me and left me this note that honestly just made it more unclear what we were," so you stick with "You died and left me this note" and hand him the piece of paper you already memorized to read.

And he doesn't just read it to himself, he reads it out loud, so you get to hear the fucking thing in his voice now, and why does he sound so shaken by the request to forget him, does he hate reading that part as much as you did?

He finishes the letter and doesn't understand why you said it was complicated, that made it sound pretty straightforward, why would he have called you darling and dearest and praised you like that if it hadn't been straightforward?

You don't know what else to say, and thank god he drops it, but even though he knows now what he called you he keeps addressing you wrong and you hate it, you're not just an inchoate you're his warden, but he asks if you'll keep helping him and you almost want to say of course you idiot but you just say you will.

Anyway I was very insane about this last night, I don't know if this accurately gets that across, but then again it's about 5 times longer than I meant so maybe that's the insanity.

I've never really been good at putting my reactions into words, it never quite gets across the vibrating flailing aaaaaa feel that my brain goes through, but be assured my brain is vibrating flailing aaaaaa

[themeridian]

YALL I GOT MY FRIEND HOOKED

and then i sent her every single pocket caelum art

[glitchdecay]

i saw this scene being uploaded in english the other day and i can't not rewatch the japanese version because, you know, seiyuu brainrot and whatnot. translations (completely my own) under the cut.

Prompto: What're you doing?

Noctis: Nothing, really. Just spacing out.

Prompto: Huh. I see.

[ Leave him alone / Talk about something random / Wait for him to speak ]

Noctis: Hmph—

Prompto: We went through so much today, huh?

Noctis: Everything's so new to us, too.

Prompto: You can say that again. Things have been super hard, but I didn't expect every day to be so much fun. Y'see, everything I see is new to me.

Prompto: I never expected things to turn out this way or to go out on a trip together.

Noctis: Yeah.

Prompto: How long have we known each other again? It's since high school... So five years?

Noctis: But I've known you for longer. Was it since elementary school?

Prompto: Eh? How'd you remember that?

Noctis: 'Course I'd remember. You stared at me so much.

Prompto: Ugh. [nervous laughter] You see, that's because I have my reasons...

Noctis: But you were still like, "Nice to meet ya!" at the high school entrance ceremony.

Prompto: I had to really brace myself to talk to you that time.

Prompto: [sighs] Kinda takes me back.

Noctis: You could've just talked to me, you know.

Prompto: I know it's easy for you to say— You wouldn't understand, Noct.

Prompto: Back then, I—

Prompto: Sorry, man. It really is nothing.

[ Ask him out of concern / You're concerned but you don't force it out of him / You won't get mad so ask him to be honest ]

Noctis: What is up with that? Just say it.

Prompto: [sighs] All right.

Prompto: You see...

Prompto: I used to be unable to reach out to other people.

Prompto: And I... didn't have anyone that I could call a true friend.

Prompto: I was always by myself.

Prompto: So sometimes I end up thinking maybe I'm not worth anything.

[ "You're joking." / "I kinda noticed." / "Didn't expect that." ]

Noctis: You've always gotten hung up on loads of things.

Prompto: Hehe.

Noctis: See? You're getting hung up on something right now.

Noctis: Like, "I'm the only commoner," or "I'm weaker than the others..."

Noctis: "At least I gotta try to make it so everyone feels at ease," so that's what you've been doing, right?

Prompto: Ah—

Noctis: Being considerate of others is pretty cool by itself. It doesn't come easily.

Noctis: The fact that you do that is just like you, and it's a good thing.

Prompto: Huh? You're saying I can just be myself?

Noctis: Yeah. What's wrong with that?

Prompto: Yeah... well... Sorry if I said anything weird.

Noctis: Besides, I'd never let anyone useless hang around me in the first place.

Prompto: Eh? Why are you mad about that?

Prompto: ... Thanks.

Prompto: Oh, man. I feel like a weight's lifted off my shoulders.

Noctis: Heh. What's up with that?

Prompto: Right, I'm gonna keep doing my best with the things I can do.

Noctis: I'd appreciate it.

[ Obtained the "Pop" photo filter effect. ] ※ Yep, you read that right: This photo filter is called "Prompto" in the Japanese version.

[savage-rhi]

[cosmic-metanoia]

A Potentially Interesting Friendship

*Spoilers for FFXV & FFXVI :)*

I couldn't help but notice that Noctis (FFXV) and Joshua (FFXVI), while different from each other in terms of motivations and personalities, have a lot in common in terms of their backstories:

*Both are the chosen ones in their respective kingdoms - Noctis as the One True King and Joshua as the future Archduke of Rosaria/the Phoenix's Dominant

*Both lose their fathers suddenly and tragically.

*Both have to deal with their own physical limits as children - Noctis with a knee/leg injury and Joshua with his overall health.

*Both live sheltered lives of royalty until their kingdoms are toppled over.

*Both of their fathers believe in them and their legacies push them to become the leaders that they were born to be.

*Both are gone for a period of time from the public eye - Noctis becomes dormant in the Crystal for 10 years while Joshua is away for 18 years while under the care of the Undying.

*Both emerge from their period of absence better than ever in their glow up era!

*Both sacrifice themselves in order to save humanity.

*Both hate carrots/vegetables (come on, you KNEW this was coming!)

*Both have dedicated retainers that take their own roles VERY seriously and would die for their masters. Ignis for Noctis and Jote for Joshua. (I have a HC where Jote and Ignis would get along and have a mutual understanding between each other regarding their duties. Maybe they'd even offer each other helpful advice on dealing with their stubborn masters, lol!)

It would be interesting to see Noctis and Joshua form a friendship based on the bonding of their mutual struggles and heavy burdens.

[triotascha]

I need more Luna being a girlboss. My very personal headcanon is that she just slipped that ring on because whatever, her dress doesn‘t have a pocket and the Lucii didn‘t dare to say anything.

[holly-natnicole]

Naminé: "Here's some advice."

Sora: "I didn't ask for any."

Naminé: "Too bad. I'm stuck here with my thoughts and you're the only one who talks to me."

[guildwarsgirl]

One of my friends has described Ardyn Izunia as "a sexy Tom Baker" (aka the 4th Doctor from Doctor Who), and now I can't unsee it, nor can I stop laughing 🤣

Must be the hat. Also the layers of clothing.

Is my friend implying that we should shove Ardyn into the TARDIS?

[raven-6-10]

As promised, tagging @hamelin-born and @ertrunkenerwassergeist

So, when thinking about writing Regis, especially during the last years of his reign I try to keep one thing in mind:

Regis is, at his core, somebody who has given up.

Yeah, I know, how could I say something so controversial.

Well, let's not keep you in the dark.

Prince Regis and his support circle

(Or rather, the lack of thereof.)

We know very, very little about Regis' childhood so I have to extrapolate based on what canon info we have about Noctis.

And none of this is promising. Because it looks like for most of his childhood, his friends consisted of Clarus and Weskham. There is the one mention of knowing Aulea back then, but not much detail of how they met or how their relationship looked like. While he presumably met other noble children, there would always be that undercurrent of politics to any interactions, which isn't exactly conductive to healthy relationships. Not with the chasm between their respective social ranks.

(It exists even in his interactions with his Retinue, too, for all that they manage to forget it most of the time)

Then comes the Road Trip, with Cor dragged along and Cid who joins to keep eye on those goddamn rich city kids. Honestly, that might be the happiest time in Regis' life. He has minimal responsibilities, he's not under constant scrutiny from everyone and he has people who genuinely like him for him around himself. Life looks good, even with the war on the horizon.

And then comes Accordo and Altissia, and the failed treaty negotiations.

And then Weskham leaves.

A lot of people headcanon that Wesk stayed in Accordo to funnel information to Insomnia and act as a Lucian representative to Accordo's government. Whether that's true or not, the fact is that he was unlikely to consistently keep in touch with Regis. Not with how closely all communication channels would be monitored as the war heated up. By necessity, their friendship becomes a distant one at best.

So that's one of Regis' people gone from his life. Cid is the second one to leave him, this time entirely of his own choice.

While there are no actual specifics, the timing makes it clear that Cid was not happy with Mors pulling back the Wall and the Royal Family's policy on the refugees thereafter. Which is a polite way of saying "they left people to fend for themselves". What we don't know is how Regis reacted to it. Did he think his father had to have good reasons? Did he disagreed with him but couldn't think of anything he could do to improve things? Did he agree with Mors wholeheartedly? Either way, Cid storms out of the Citadel and Insomnia, eventually settles down in Hammerhead and, as far as we know, does not see Regis ever again.

(And there is that one hint from Cor how Cid was still angry that Regis kept secrets and refused to confide in his friends. But that's for later.)

Post-coronation and his marriage

(Or, his social circle still isn't great)

So here they are in the year 729 of Modern Era, with one friend on the other side of the world and another currently very pissed off at them, when Mors dies and leaves Regis running Lucis.

Regis is all of 23.

I don't know about you but I wouldn't leave a 23-years-old charge of a local retail shop. Nevermind the entire fucking country. Unfortunately, Regis does not have the luxury of leaving the job to somebody else, so he puts on his big boy boots and the fancy crown, and gets to work.

And there's a lot of work.

We have next to nothing about Mors and his reign, but what we do have points to a person more interested in the results than the means used to achieve them, which is never good attitude in somebody who has absolute authority over other people. It's bound to piss off people in all social strata and create some short-term "solutions" in exchange for a lot of long-term problems. I suspect Regis spent a lot of his early years as a king placating nobles and unfucking his father's various messes with Clarus and Cor's help.

Not that Cor would have been much of a help, being freshly 18 himself - ageism is very firmly alive in politics, even fictional ones - and still a reckless little shit at his heart. For Regis, Cor is firmly a little brother figure - somebody to guide and teach and protect, and to entrust important missions to once he's a little older, but not somebody Regis can rely on to support him.

(Regis never loses this mindset. Not even after Cor has been his Marshall for years. In the end, Cor is never told about the real prophecy, is sent away before the Invasion begins.)

With Clarus busy with work and Cor not suitable, Regis would have to look to somebody else for emotional support. Enter Aulea. Around this time, their relationship shifts from friends to actual courtship and then to a marriage in 732 ME. Finally, Regis has someone who isn't his subordinate and doesn't need to be kept at arms length, who is actually his equal, who he can confide in and rely on, and be happy with. His best friend's also gotten married recently and had a little boy. Life is looking great!

And then Noctis is born and Aulea dies.

(There's a lot of IRL research about how men rely almost entirely on their wives for emotional support, and how badly they cope once it's gone.)

Noctis as the Chosen One

And then we come to this cluster fuck of a prophecy.

Because Regis learns his son is going to die.

Because there's nothing he can do to change it.

Because how do you defy a god?

(You don't. Not on your own)

But there's more!

Not only is his son going to die very painfully, first the world has to be plunged into complete darkness for who knows how long. Demons will run everywhere and people will struggle to survive. In the end, Eos will be devastated and Lucis is not guaranteed to survive.

That's bound to influence his decisions, and not always consciously.

Like, we know Noctis had an unprecedented amount of freedom for a Crown Prince, going to a normal high school, having commoner friend and living outside of the Citadel. Going by his complete unfamiliarity with life outside of Insomnia (he didn't know what a gil was) and not recognising Ardyn (a high ranking member of foreign court), I would say he also didn't receive much of a training that would be expected of a prince.

(It's not like he's going to rule anything, ever)

Then there's how that knowledge would affect Regis and his policies.

Oh, I don't think he actually realised that but. Why would he try to improve anything if it's all going to be destroyed anyway? Why bother to fix the system, it's not like it's broken, it works correctly?

(It's not working correctly. It's very much broken and rotting under his feet. He just can't see that from his place at the top.)

What does it have to do with Galahdians?

Freaking everything.

Starting with Mors' shitty refugee policies that likely never were repelled in full, through the fact that Regis likely had to make a lot of concessions to nobles to secure his reign, to his negligence of and ignorance about the issues arising among the lowest classes.

After all, corrupt officials will not suddenly decide to stop on their own. They can and will only get worse, because they feel more and more untouchable with every stolen yen and every bribe taken.

And resentment builds up.