#ffxv fans i summon you

[makapatag]

random screencaps of my current ffxii tza rerun

(i lost my old save file but only really finished the great crystal, now i'm hunting down espers and got Chaos!)

i'm already a huge huge fan of FFXII and Ivalice as a whole, from its non-european-centric fantasy style to its slipstream weird fantasy esque vibes and feelings. it's not so much fairytale as it is "utmost fantasy historia" in a way. its political story captures and it does the classic ivalice thing wherein its political story eventually gives way to earth shattering conspiracies but the best part about ffxii's conspiracy is that even the subject of the earth shattering conspiracy are also having their own conspiracy. it's wild and it's so fun to play through. i'd put its narrative somewhat on the poetry side (alongside things like elden ring or legend of zelda breath of the wild, focusing on the world, immersion, and the moment-to-moment) rather than the narrative prose side (in the vein of things like baldur's gate 3 or mass effect or whatnot, where the writing goes to the characters and is more overt and drags you along with it), though of course being a JRPG it has to conform a bit into prose gaming (forgive the terms i am a literature person first and foremost)

on the gameplay side as someone who loves character action games and simulation rpgs (tactics grid rpgs) i really started out not liking it. but then when i started treating it essentially like ogre battle or unicorn overlord, a somewhat slight autobattler with constant menu pausing to issue different commands, viewing it a bit more like a strategy game, everything really clicked. figuring out everyone's builds with self-imposed challenges (such as having every job in the game be used) is so so so fun as someone who is a sucker for buildcrafting (it's why Final Fantasy Tactics and Elden Ring are the few games I replay!). nothing is more satisfying than seeing a really good build and team comp soar through a grueling boss battle, where you still have to micromanage, casting Dispels and upkeeping Buffs and switching Gambits (and even weapons!) on the fly.

one of the things that FFXII really turned me around on is the whole "you have to both unlock this spell/technick/weapon/armor and acquire it out in the world to equip/use it!" at first i hated it: i already spent time grinding LP to unlock the license, why did I have to still find it in the world?

then i kind of just figured, whatever, i'll explore and just try to find everything if i can. and it worked. exploration in this system was fiercely rewarded: things like Bravery (ATK UP), Faith (MAG UP), and Protectga (AoE Protect) could only be found in chests in the nooks and crannies of the Necrohol of Nabudis. now i have a care for these places i'm traveling around. oh, the nabreus deadlands are called that because nethicite was used here and now it's fantasy fallout new vegas? shit dude that's all you had to say. sorry i wasn't paying attention at first. i wasn't aware of your game. now hand me Silencega and let me get Chaos as a summon

now i can't just rush through the story or whatnot (well, you can! but it's no fun if you do that but it's totally doable and not too difficult which is honestly very accessible). i have to go around the areas i travel around, and exploration is fun because with the gambits system i don't have to keep fiddling with these menus, i can just let my smartly built team do the work. its as if the game rewards you for taking the time to build up and setup your characters! this is a game that rewards team composition and party management, something i feel is sorely missing from modern ffs (ffxv and ffxvi)

to top it all of it's kinda diegetic and immersive. of course these spells and technicks you don't just get. the jobs in this world (also diegetically) only get you to unlock the License to use these things, which are proven by adventuring (and thus, gaining license points). they don't automatically get you that thing. now you have the license, you can use Scathe sure, the most powerful black magick spell in the game, but you have to get into subquest blocked areas of a deep mine to even find it in the first place, and its blocked behind Gilgamesh! so now you're looking for these things and you're interacting with Ivalice and Ivalice feels so alive and lived in because it compromises so little for the player

it's not all perfect of course. so many of the higher spells and technicks and weapons straight up need guides to get, while others are at the whim of RNG. fuck that, but i can't help but completely respect it. it's such an ivalice matsuno choice to do. so many things in this game need guides to do, to the point that while i'm doing it i'm hearkened back to my first elden ring playthrough or my first demon's souls playthrough were i'm partway dependent on those that have come before me to be satisfied with my game. and i don't think that's a bad thing, i think that's something video games are uniquely able to do as a medium.

also i can't help but wish the UI was just a tad bit better, but FFXII was of course made during the menu jrpg era and the PS2 was no doubt already struggling handling so many things that FFXII was bursting with the seams with (something it has in common with its distinguished grandfather vagrant story)

and finally, so many of the things i like about FFXII only really came about in the Zodiac Age (specifically the Switch Version): being able to respec Jobs, finding rare items in the world instead of just buying them from the baknamy merchant in the necrohol of nabudis lmao... but despite all this these are minor detractions to the overall peak experience

though to be fair to the OG it was on a whole a different, perhaps easier game. and i kind of liked the fact that everyone had the same license board. it had that non-self interpenetration buddhist vibe, but also meant that you can go with almost whatever gear and spell setup for whatever team you end up with

what a good game,,, characters are so great too. i love vaan and penelo because they really are both an audience stand-in as well as a masses representation in a cast of knights, princesses, sky pirates and forest shamans

[mandala--moons]

Hello! Thanks for reading. This is part of a collection of head-canon postings I wanted to make regarding my current fanfic’s universe and lore. The fanfic takes place in an altered omen!verse, along with bits and bobs from the alternate ending of Episode Ignis, as well as when FFXV was still Verses XIII. I’ve always been super fascinated by the Omen trailer, and what would have to occur for said trailer to end up happening. Also, I deserve to be self-indulgent. This is a VERY personal, non-factual imagining of my own headworld regarding FFXV and is really not meant to be taken as a legit theory. Please don’t come for me I’m just a nerd. 

——

The origins of the Six, as gods of the Cosmogony are murky at best given the lore we’re exposed to within the game, only giving us bits and pieces through Noctis’ eyes. However, a theory I’ve always liked and enjoyed is the idea that the Six are not innate protectors of only Eos, but have traveled to and fro from various worlds and planets, where they deem themselves needed, or perhaps out of necessity. 

It’s been stated I believe, by a few producers and directors, that FFXV, FFX, and FFVII all take place within the same universe. (FFXIII is probably in here too, but I’m not done playing the series lol)  It’s never really been truly elaborated too much about what this means, or in what way. A popular speculation is that all of these games are within the same universe but, different planets. We see, in the only opportunity we really have in the ruined Insomnia that both Spira, and Shinra are mentioned. It could of course, be written off that these are just winks for final fantasy fans, and implications, I however like the idea that FFX, and FFVII are different instances of the same planet, different time periods. 

I present to you this idea FFVII’s Midgar, is in fact XV’s ancient city of Solheim.

I don’t particularly have any hard evidence for this, mind you, just a collection of loose brain worms that have been clunking around in my mind since XV’s release. 

For my fanfic, the first human, upon whom Ifrit bestowed his gift of fire to, was a longstanding predecessor of Rufus Shinra, and that it is remnants of Shinra’s technology, that form the civilization of Solheim. 

And thus, this introduces us to the real meat of our head-canon/theory, where the six come into play. We see the Six deities, Ifrit, Shiva, Leviathan, Bahamut, Ramuh, and Titan appear as materia summons in Final Fantasy VII initially. The timeline for FFXV calls the period of Solheim, the Cosmogony, the Age of Myth, so let’s start there. 

THE AGE OF MYTH 

I’ve always been a big fan of the idea that the scourge was something infecting the planet, perhaps due to the gods themselves. A lot of people posit that the gods traveled from world to world, and while I like this idea, I imagine gods spend quite a long time on their particular world, and that civilizations don’t particularly seem all that long to them. Shiva and Bahamut in the 2nd FFXV Comic Anthology compare humans to flowers, and state that they’ll only grow if cultivated correctly like particularly grouchy botanists. 

I believe the Six and their messengers and minor deities arrived in a similar fashion to Jenova (I have another head-canon post planned bearing the similarities between the Goddess Eos from Verses, and Jenova and think that they MAY be one and the same)

 they both got lil weird wings. lol The gods are quite eldritch and almost unfathomable in their states in XV, which is one of the things I really like about the series, and I like the idea that the parts of them we see, are in fact their true forms. The summons in VII are more minor forms of the Six that we know and love, perhaps like the way grecian gods interacted with the world around them in their own myths. 

It’s loosely possible, that this was the the beginning of the starscourge, and that even directly interacting with minor forms of the Six could transmit the parasite known  as Plasmodium that causes the scourge. We’re shown in XV that even interacting with the gods for long periods of time had detrimental effects on Luna’s health, and that was her whole bloodline’s purpose. Who’s to say ancient Midgar/Solheim stood a chance.

 However, as Shinra became more more corrupted, and post advent children the more these magical crystals or Materia were used for humankind’s own ends. Ifrit believed this to be a betrayal of mankind, and was a denial of the sacred bond between humans and their deities, thus igniting the war that struck FFVII’s world to ruin, the gods warred over this, and eventually slept to allow themselves a clean slate. Jenova, or Eos, was then imprisoned in what we know as Pitioss. 

Afterwards, the gods then slept, awakening next to bestow the ring upon the Lucis Caelum line some centuries later. 

I'll be updating this with a part 2 soon!

[oveliagirlhaditright]

Regular Pat and some of his friends did a video where they were trying to predict some things that will happen in Kingdom Hearts IV. And for the fun of it, I think I'm going to do the same thing, myself--answering the questions that they did, but with different answers from them (three answers each).

Who do you think the final boss will be? (And for some reason, they didn't think the Master of Masters would be the final boss in KHIV--in later games they think he will be, of course--but they didn't see it as him so early on. So, I think I'm going to follow them and go with that idea, too... Though I really do kind of think it will be the Master of Masters in KHIV.)

My answers are:

The Nameless Star/Stella, because let us not forget she was billed as an antagonist in the days of Final Fantasy Versus XIII, and she had the same powers as Noctis Yozora.

Aced, for obvious reasons--because he was becoming very tyrant-y at the end of Kingdom Hearts X.

Gula, as when he gets desperate, he can do dangerous things... like trying to summon Kingdom Hearts, and collecting too much lux to do so (which in turn caused the other Foretellers to collect more lux, "to maintain the balance," which caused the Keyblade War).

A fourth choice would be Luxord, because of the interesting rivalry KHIII seemed to be setting up with him and Luxu. But I said three answers, and I'm sticking to that.

2. What are three new Disney worlds that you think will be in Kingdom Hearts IV and/or want to be in Kingdom Hearts IV?

Encanto

Enchanted (I don't really think that it will happen, but look: it would work so well with KHIV).

Atlantis: The Lost Empire

3. What are three returning Disney worlds that you think will be in Kingdom Hearts IV and/or want to be?

Neverland (for Peter Pan II: Return to Neverland)

The Land of Dragons (Mulan 2)

The Pride Lands (The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride)

4. Who are some Square Enix characters who could show up in Kingdom Hearts IV?

(I was thinking about this the other night, and I was trying to think of characters [who weren't said in the Regular Pat video] who I think would fit into Quadratum somehow, and for whatever reason I've come up with the following.)

Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca from Final Fantasy XII

Serah Farron from the Final Fantasy XIII series (though moreso leaning towards her XIII-2 self for this)

Rindo Kanade from Neo The World Ends With You

Though I had thought that--since people want Final Fantasy XV characters, and I don't blame them--Lunafreya Nox Fleuret in some ways might be the most likely FFXV to ever appear in a Kingdom Hearts game (if any of them have a chance), and also the least likely. Least likely, because I don't think Nomura is exactly a fan that his character Stella got changed into Luna at all, but that's also exactly how she could be in the games (if he could be so pressured). Because Luna became her own character somewhat different from Stella, role-wise and with a different name and all. I feel like the Verum Rex of it all pretty much kills the chances of any other Final Fantasy XV character getting into Kingdom Hearts, because they'd be too similar to the Verum Rex characters now being implemented. I would love Luna to show up in Quadratum, if such a thing were possible. But again: I don't know if it'll ever happen. But we can dream.

5. What characters, aside from Sora, do you think might be playable in Kingdom Hearts IV?

Naminé. Completely wishful thinking on my part. And I doubt it will happen (unfortunately). But Nomura said he had more to do with Naminé... And if ever there were a time to introduce non-Keyblade wielders into the combat, it would be this new saga. Though watch if they do make her playable, they'll give her a Keyblade. But I'd even be cool with that, to get playable Naminé.

Strelitzia. Surprisingly, this video didn't mention Strelitzia... but I feel like that's a fairly obvious guess.

I have a guess that I hate, which is Xehanort... and I could so see it!

One of the Key Kids, I think. Lauriam or Elrena, for sure. But even Skuld (or Brain, who I have the strange feeling is going to come to the current timeline), or even Ephemer, who I think will somehow come back? (Edit: Ava is also a thought.) Hmm... The obvious choice is surely Lauriam, as he looks for Strelitzia, but I kind of want to say Elrena. But *sighs*. If it's either of those two, it'll surely be Lauriam. Edit: It could also very easily be Skuld, but we'll stick with my Lauriam answer here.

Edit: I forgot I was thinking of Nameless Star/Stella as an answer for this, too, but I said Lauriam, so like I said above: we'll stick with that.

Edit 2: I just remembered my actual third pick while watching the video--that I forgot until now--was Player. Oh well.

[bleachpanda]

DFFOO - Regrets and Memories

I haven't updated this space in a long time because I've mainly been playing visual novels and I already put down my thoughts in those posts, but now I have something for this blog!

Anyway, even though Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia (DFFOO) has become too grindy for me, one thing I love and appreciate is the story. I 100% recommend it because it gives you a lot of "what-if" scenarios I wish we could see. For example, for Final Fantasy Type-0, I really hated Machina by the end of the game. Apparently, you had to play it again on new game + to properly see his reasons blah blah, but I hated him so much, I couldn't be bothered lol. But in DFFOO, they used one chapter(?) of the story to convince me how much Machina regretted his actions, how much Machina cared about Class Zero, and how much he wanted to make it up to them. I honestly didn't think I would be able to forgive him, but after reading it, I really did, and I actually really like Machina now lol! It really goes to show how much effort the people behind DFFOO's storyline, and it also shows how much they understand and love each of the games because they show the emotions, personalities and thoughts of each character so so well. Another thing that's great about DFFOO is how it fleshes out characters who didn't have the opportunity to be explored more in their respective games. For example, Ultimecia from FFVIII is a recurring "villain" in the game, but her interactions with Noel from FFXIII-2 and Zidane from FFIX show much better depth to her character and how lonely she feels than it does in FFVIII.

Anyway, I started this post because I wanted to talk about Jecht from FFX. Obviously, if it's about Jecht, it's going to be spoilers so just a heads up~ Seeing Jecht think that he and Braska and them died for "no reason" after knowing how Yuna and them were able to stop the cycle of death with Yu Yevon and Yunalesca, it really breaks my heart. As Yuna and Tidus said, it was because of Jecht and them that they were able to find another way and have the will to destroy a system they believe is wrong. But it's true though, if I was Jecht, I would probably think the same thing. There was a method all along and yet they went along with the Final Summoning thinking it was the only way. Regardless, it still saved people and they did it for everyone, but it must feel crap knowing that they could have lived and been a part of Yuna and Tidus' lives.

Another thing I like about DFFOO is how "beginner friendly" it is. They don't expect you to know or remember everything about every single FF game, so they incorporate things like lost memories or regrets with different characters to tell you the context without it being a word vomit. It makes sense within the game, and it helps people who haven't played the respective game before understand the character, and for the people who know the stories and characters, it gives off a nice sense of nostalgia whilst refreshing your memories haha.

And the best thing about DFFOO? Honestly, if you're a fan of FFVII, you'll love how many characters there are in this game. For me, I love getting to see the Turks work alongside Cloud (for now), and I love getting to see more of their interactions with others, especially with people that we'll never get to see them interact with again e.g. Zack. But really, just seeing people who are "dead" get to live another life in this world/game already makes me so happy because they're all so appreciative of having this opportunity to see the people they love again and do things they could never do before is just so sweet. I mean, I love seeing Jecht bond with Tidus, I love seeing Machina apologise to Class Zero and form a better relationship with them, I don't even know Galuf but I love seeing Krile and him get to interact again, and I don't even know Cecil but I think it's so cool that he gets to see a grown version of his son Ceodore haha. And even though I barely played FFXV, it's nice to see that Gladiolus and Ignis have their memories of the "ending" of FFXV (but Noctis doesn't), and they just want to continue protecting Noctis and are happy that they can still fight alongside him. I just really like all these little things, and I think it's such a treat to FF fans. Btw, I don't know why but this ended up becoming a review post even though all I wanted to talk about was how sad it was sad to see Jecht feel regrets over whether his decision was right. I can never talk about what I want properly lol but I guess yay, mini review of DFFOO🤭

[iaintyourbro]

The Unknown Journey Continues

Part 1

I know it's been a while... but I've been going down a rabbit hole with @starlight-samurai regarding time loops, Jenova, Minerva, and more fun. So I figured I'd try to put it into one post to get the insanity out of my head. Everything in here is based on things we've found by either going through more obscure Ultimanias, learning more about Dirge of Cerberus and trying to decipher what the hell Jenova is by putting together various sources - including other Square Enix games - and how they handled freakishly similar scenarios.

Did you know there is a companion mobile game for it that was out on the good old flip phones? Did you know there was an online mode in Dirge of Cerberus only available in Japan, but had story elements that were not in the main game?

The sad part is, there's still so much to go through...

(I've also had various discussions with @ourfinalheaven, Manu, who doesn't have Tumblr, so here is her Twitter. and Somebody's Nightmare (here is her Twitter). So I wanted to tag them here, as it's much more fun to discuss these ideas as a group, since it'll only help you build on and strengthen your own ideas.)

Please be aware, there will be Spoilers for FFVII - Almost all Compilation titles, Xenogears, and NieR Automata throughout this.

So let's go on a journey where we explore what actually already exists in the compilation - including the idea of the whispers and timeloops - how Minerva may play into everything, and what exactly Jenova is capable of doing.

I asked Sesi if he'd ever played any of the NieR games, because he'd said something that made me wonder if they were going to take a similar approach. As a very, very quick high level summary: NieR Automata deals with a time loop type of idea. The androids will be rebooted and repeat the same things over and over again. This is broken when 2B is killed by A2 because she becomes infected with a virus. That being said, you have the option after Ending E to either erase all of your data and end the cycle OR you can try again. The Pods have a discussion, and one asks, "But won't they just do the same thing again?" and the other replies with "Maybe. But it could also be different this time."

Here's Sesi's message back to me when I asked him about this (cleaned up a bit since we were having a casual conversation over Discord):

Maybe I could just guess based comparatively on the Dirge storyline, because that was sort of SE's first flirtation with “robots and androids” since they’re all programmed and locked behind like task managers and shit that can shut them down. The story of the online mode for DoC that came out in Japan, we never got to see it, you’re basically an Android OC and you have to get to “the end of the level” and then essentially die, and a new one takes its place. This keeps happening until Weiss is essentially freed from being able to be task managed by the guys who are suppose to be able to control them and I know from tons of years with Square games that they’re verrrrry bad at differentiating their narratives they tend to just keep “ripping themselves off” so is it anything close to that?

Cuz if so I think I kinda know what you’re saying and yeah, I agree, I think with CC bringing in its poetic symbolism and LOVELESS, and DoC bringing back the cyclic nature of the lore, whispers, premonitions and future visions, proto-Materia and the perversion of this next cycle since the planet can no longer cleanse and protect itself and its will is weakening lesser and lesser to the point where it’s fate is “in a true sense of jeopardy This time essentially it’s all tied in together and sort of played as though it's a fated track; a cycle of events and something has hitched it, thus the whispers manifesting and Sephiroth's higher implied control over his destiny. Of course, even all that is just their new red herring game, but it’s definitely a part of the lore they want to play with, in order to go back and reMAKE the OG with the comp inserted from inception. Also gut punch a lot.

Time Loops

I was somewhat surprised to find out that this concept is NOT new to FFVII's universe. It's discussed in Dirge of Cerberus... probably one of the least played and least understood of the compilation. (Trying to sell a third person shooter with terrible controls to a market of mostly people used to turn-based combat wasn't going to go well.)

On top of it, we didn't even get all of it, since online mode was never released outside of Japan, and the Dirge of Cerberus Lost Episode was on Amp'd Mobile and Verizon flip phones back in 2006. Were you around for the cell phones in 2006? I had the ones on the list, and how somebody could play a game on those blows my mind.

Square has a tendency to reuse themes from their other titles. Probably one of the most blatant is the similarities between Xenogears and Final Fantasy VII. They were both being developed at the same time and a lot of ideas that didn't make it into FFVII ended up in Xenogears.

NieR

So how does this work? In NieR (both Replicant and Automata), you play the same path multiple times. Each time, it's slightly different depending on what side quests you did your first and second playthrough, but there's also other subtle differences throughout the story. In Automata, you get to play as 2B your first playthrough and 9S for your second. They follow the same path, but you get it from his perspective the second time and it reveals a bit more of what is going on. However, even with some slight differences, the main plot points stay the same and the ending result it also the same.

Then on your third playthrough, you wake up in the Bunker, and you're getting ready to go on a new mission. This time, though, 2B is killed and shit hits the fan. Things get crazy, you play as a new character: A2. In the end, pretty much everyone "dies", but you can choose to "reboot" and try again. You also can say you are done and let them all rest and delete your save data (the game gives you the option for both Automata and Replicant, and with Replicant, it actually leads to a new ending).

The striking thing for me is... There are certain events that will always happen, no matter what.

Fixed Points in Time

It's been years since I've watched Doctor Who, but there was something that stuck with me, and that was the fixed points in time. You can read about all of them here, but here's the basics:

Now, of course Doctor Who goes into this with much more detail and it's a recurring theme. However, as you read through that page, you'll probably find many aspects that have been used in various JRPGs that you've played. And Doctor Who most likely pulled some of the idea from classic Science Fiction novels. Each story puts its own spin on it.

How does this relate to FFVII Remake? Well, when they say that the major plot points will stay the same, it reminds me of this. No matter what, Cloud must fall into the Sector 5 Church, the Sector 7 Plate must be dropped, Aerith and Zack both must die, and Meteor has to be summoned, to name a few. So, with a time loop, those things would still have to take place in order to prevent a complete collapse of reality (at least in how Doctor Who uses it).

Therefore, the Whispers are ensuring that the Will of the Planet is followed.

One of the major themes in FFVII is that of loss. People die and they do not come back. Yes, other FF games do allow this to happen (FFX, FFXIII, FFXV), but VII is not those games. It was written with that idea in mind, that once a person dies, they, just like in real life, are dead and cannot be brought back.

I've previously written that I think they'll make us believe we are able to change fate, but we will eventually be slammed with the reality that we can't. That is because the planet has determined that certain events are fixed points.

Xenogears

Xenogears takes a bit of a different approach to the loop idea. Instead of repeating the same time period over and over, it has the characters reincarnated, and the same outcome happens each time: Elly dies. However, each time it's different. After all, they're in various time periods, in some cases thousands of years apart.

In all of the lives of Fei (who will have a different name in each time period) and Elly (who is always Elly/Elhaym), Elly will end up dying trying to protect Fei and the others. In one life, she is a religious figure at a totally not Catholic church, in another she's the wife of a scientist who was working to create children from nanomachines due to mass infertility issues. But she is ALWAYS with Fei, even if his name changes.

In her Mother Elhaym time, this is when Lacan (Fei) finally snaps. Though he's not fully aware of his past lives, he becomes aware, the anger consumes him, and he becomes Grahf. Fei is then reborn into the time period you play the game in.

There's a lot to unpack with this, so I won't go into it. Grahf wants to destroy God (Deus) because he thinks if he does, then it'll stop the suffering (his suffering).

If you do want to read more about Grahf, you can do so here, but it probably won't make much sense unless you've played Xenogears up to that point... Since it's much later in the game that this is all explained.

Lacan's desire was to stop the cycle of Elly always sacrificing herself for his sake. Though Grahf is not a perfect existence - he's not fully "The Contact", he sacrifices himself in order to let Fei move forward, and hopefully stop the cycle, by destroying the Deus system. (Elly also tries to sacrifice herself here, but Fei goes after her and stops her.)

Now, some people may think I'm saying that Cloud or somebody is going to do this in order to save Aerith or Zack (or his village or mom), but in FFVII if they do the loop method, I don't think Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and the others are aware of it. Most likely, it's only 'Sephiroth' and Aerith who are aware of it.

How this Could Be used for Final Fantasy VII

I'm stressing could because there's so many different possibilities on how they use this (if they are using this), so please, don't take this as fact. This is based on speculation based on what we know.

A time loop is a great way to explain away the differences in the story that we've seen: Biggs being alive, Wedge living for longer than he should have, etc. Since these are not major plot changes, they can simply say that this time it'll be slightly different... but your fixed points (major plot points) will remain the same.

It's a way to pull in some of the more obscure themes from Dirge of Cerberus and also play with the LOVELESS lore.

It could all simply be a big red herring and it's really just a remake of OG, but with the compilation tied together nicely... since it works much better when it's combined and not in 50 different games, books, movies, etc.

I don't think it's a "sequel" per say, not in the way I generally perceive a sequel. It's more of a loop of the same thing. The question is, when is the loop started and what will cause it to end? When will the planet (if it even is the planet) determine that it's good enough to begin moving forward?

JENOVA, Sephiroth, Genesis, and Minerva - Oh My!

Let's be real... Genesis isn't exactly the most popular character in the FFVII Compilation... but what if they make him one of the most important to the story? //Ducks as various fruits and vegetable are thrown in my direction//

I think what Genesis is probably most known for is his love of LOVELESS. He has the entire thing memorized and randomly says lines from it throughout Crisis Core. LOVELESS lore is still something I'm trying to grasp, so I am not going to comment much on it. Once I understand it more, I'll update this.

...And then this happens. The secret ending for Dirge of Cerberus, where Genesis picks up Weiss. Weiss, who has now been introduced along with Nero in FFVII INTERmission and is an optional ridiculously hard boss in the Shinra battle simulator in chapter 17 of the main story. There is some lore associated with the battle sim - so if you don't plan on beating it or you just can't, you can look up the pre-battle and post-battle cut scenes on YouTube. They're very short, but interesting. (I beat this asshole last night - it's a hell of a fight.)

....To Be Continued because apparently Tumblr won't allow more than 10 images per post now.... Next will be more on JENOVA and Sephiroth along with Minerva.

[bladesandstars]

fanfic writer tag game

Tagged by @mathclasswarfare - thank you, this was fun!

What’s your all-time favorite ship? Choosing one is hard. Impossible, even. The top-level, makes me emo about songs in my car even to this day, are: highspecs, ignyx, sylorenz, claurenz. How many works do you have on AO3? 146! Mostly FFXV and FE3H, but various fandoms and some original work, too.

What’s your total AO3 word count? 375,683 What are your top 5 fics by kudos? push till it breaks, a very E-rated Tadashi/Adam (SK8) fic that was so fun to write. I loved exploring their dynamic and personalities. I wrote this at the height of SK8 frenzy - I think it might still have been airing, even. I love all the energy from Tadaai fans and will definitely write for this pairing again.

and all for the want of a horseshoe nail, T, Sylvain (FE3H) character study. Ah, I’m so happy I looked and that this is #2! I love Sylvain so much, and early in playing this game had the “you NEED TO SEE how important you are to your friends’ lives!” instinct to shake him by the shoulders. Heavily, heavily inspired by It’s a Wonderful Life, one of my favorite movies of all time. I might even call this a crossover.

More fun under the cut!

Sounds Like Fun, E, Fleurentia & Prompto (FFXV) - I’m ALSO so delighted this is in the top five, it was hilarious to write. Poor Prompto can’t tell WHEN to interrupt his grossly-in-love roommates. I adore all of them.

An Unexpected Complication, E, Claude/Byleth (FE3H). This was a really early fic when I was playing - I think Claude is hella sexy, and apparently you all do too, based on this result. I see you! Sexy man having his plans interrupted by someone distractingly attractive is a real good vibe. I love people taking Claude by surprise.

The Dragon’s Dagger, E, Highspecs (Ignis/Aranea, FFXV). My first longfic! Just under 20k, it’s not all that long by some standards, but plotting and completing 10 chapters was an amazing accomplishment for me, and I’m still proud of it.

Do you reply to comments, why or why not? Yes! I promise! It may take an incredibly long time because sometimes I get weird and self-conscious, but I do respond to them all. Flailing and yelling over writing was one of the first ways I made fandom connections, and that will always be valuable to me.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? Dagger hurts because the end precedes Ignis heading to the Leviathan summoning. But in terms of sharp-ass feels, I think it has to be In Between Days, because Ignis is certain he’s lost the love of his life and he just...grieves. I’m not sure I could have written it if I hadn’t already been sure I was going to give Nyx back to him, but Ignis didn’t know that at the time, and it was sad and painful but very cathartic to write.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending? I wrote a couple of gifts for Christmas, one Claurenz and one Mercievain, and both have incredibly happy endings. Excited to give them tomorrow! Do you write crossovers? I do! I wrote a Pacific Rim crossover starring Sylorenz for the FE sci-fi zine, and in my WIPs are Westworld and Person of Interest crossovers. 

Have you ever received hate on a fic? I’ve gotten a few comments that were odd, but nothing I would categorize as hate.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Hell yeah! One of my favorite things about fanfiction is exploring personality dynamics, and how they are the same or different with different romantic or sexual partners. Sex has an intensity I really enjoy writing, much like action scenes. And it can (though it doesn’t have to) provide a really good environment for emotional connection as well. I’m enthusiastic about sex and think it’s something that is good and fun to think about, so yeah! I write it a lot!

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I’m aware of! Please don’t, though.

Have you ever had a fic translated? Amazingly, yes?! My Ignyx fic Impossible Things was translated into Russian here. I still think that’s such a neat thing to have happened. (Also, this was the fic that took me from “damn, I ship Ignis with Nyx, that’s such a good ship” to Flaming OTP Status.)

Have you ever co-written a fic before? I have, and I adored the experience, and I’d love to do so again. Got at least three projects on the horizon where co-writing is part of things.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? Aranea/Nyx lawyer AU.

What are your writing strengths? Banter, spice, dialogue, and characterization, including the level of characterization where the details that aren’t dialogue really “sound like” the POV character. Also PLAYLISTS! I can slap songs onto anything.

What are your writing weaknesses? Me and long plots are Not Friends right now.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? This stirs up all my sexy “Faerghus as Russia” headcanons, as well as French Canadian Gautiers.  All super good, but I don’t speak another language well enough to try it.

What was the first fandom you wrote for? FFXV. Forever grateful to this fandom for bringing me to writing! I love it a lot!

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written? I’ve mentioned a lot of faves already, but let me also hype the three-part Ignyx series I wrote, the odes to Lorenz and Ravus, and the Sylorenz Leicester Falls AU that’s consuming me lately. Tagging @heyitsrosencrantz @lunchtops @omgkalyppso @tehrevving @neist (only if you wanna, of course), and anyone else who wants to do this!

[nadziejastar]

If BbS V2 really was what you theorized they might have been better off planning it as a series of shorts. A game about filling in the gaps of other games was probably a very hard sell for executives, regardless of how much the overall saga would benefit from it. With shorts it would be perfectly normal to jump around, there wouldn't have to be a flimsy excuse to shoehorn in Disney worlds if they weren't necessary for the story, and it might even be cheaper if 2D animation was acceptable.

— So what will it be?

I can’t say that quite yet, but it will be more “official” than a side story. I actually told the producer this recently, and he said “…what?” It’s the mystery KH. (laugh) Of course, I am also thinking about KH3.

— In an interview in the KH Days Ultimania, you said ‘I’m thinking of a mystery KH that made the producer go “what??”‘. Was that KH3D?

No, it wasn’t. I originally planned to make that after KHBBS, but we ended up making KH3D and the project was stopped. It’s a shame, but we won’t be starting that project again.

I think you are correct. The premise of the game seemed very weird and that’s probably a big reason why it got cancelled. But the story still really needed all the loose ends tied up in some way. FFXV got a short animated series called Brotherhood. I totally think KH3 could have benefited from something like that to fill in all the blanks. And fans would love seeing a 2D animated version of KH. I know I would.

The biggest issue the series had was that it was spread out across so many different handhelds. But the HD collections solved that problem. If the shorts were included in the HD collection, or made freely available, it could have worked really well. It’s no worse than making so much of KH3′s plot tie into Union X, which is less accessible than Brotherhood, for example.

A game about “blank points” was probably just too weird from a gameplay perspective, which I understand. I also agree about the Disney worlds. That also seemed like it might have been an issue. KH games suffer when the Disney worlds aren’t incorporated well. This isn’t an issue in games that feature new worlds like KH1, KH2, KHBBS, or KH3D. Even Days was mostly fine IMO. The worst offenders were CoM and Re:Coded which felt like the Disney worlds were just obligations and their plots were tired rehashes. KHUX Disney worlds were also very strange, too. Even 3D was weird since it used sleeping worlds. Stuff like that is why the series gets lambasted as being too confusing/convoluted.

— What about the missing 0.3?

We thought to tell the story of 0.5 with all three characters, but instead we decided on 0.2 with a focus on Aqua.

Honestly, I can’t even think of how Disney worlds would be incorporated into a lot of the “blank points” story. Nomura said KH0.5 was supposed to feature all of the wayfinder trio. Does that mean they would be playable? I dunno. Aqua was in the Dark Realm. That was a very unconventional world. It had Disney-themed locations, but it’s still not technically a Disney world. Story-wise, it was also unconventional, since she just spent all that time talking to herself until she briefly teamed up with Mickey.

I have no idea what Nomura planned to do with Ventus. Dream world? Or flashbacks to how he met Xehanort? Or he just wasn’t gonna be playable? Then there’s Terra, who was living as apprentice Xehanort and possessed. I don’t see how that functions gameplay-wise, unless it was something weird like you playing as the Lingering Will or something. There was the whole subplot of Namine communicating to the Lingering Will, which was poorly handled.

— Which worlds did Pluto travel when he had that letter?

I can say that he appeared in worlds that do not appear in the game [KH1]…. well, other than the current worlds, there are other worlds that the Heartless erased. The End of the World did not exist at first and is a world that is made up of erased worlds put together. Also, there is that place the door to Kingdom Hearts appears. At first that was another world, so that means that Sora and the others are now residing in that world which returned to what it once was.

— After debugging Traverse Town, the King says to Sora, “That day, your travels began here. Also on that day, I was here too.” Does that mean that the King was in the same place at the same time as Sora adventured into Traverse Town in Kingdom Hearts I?Seems so. What he was actually doing becomes the previously mentioned “blank time period”, but in this title, it’s implying that the two crossed paths in the same place.

Mickey probably would have been playable. In Blank Points, we saw him in the Dark Realm, and his blank period in Traverse Town was something Nomura specifically said he wanted to show. I guess he might have visited Disney worlds with Pluto and we could have played in those? I don’t know if that world that was shown in the end of KH1, the grassy place with the crossroads, was supposed to be important. It sounded like Nomura wanted to explain why Pluto was there with Mickey’s letter, though.

— About the World of Darkness and such, you haven’t gone into detail. Could you possibly talk about some of these things? Does the beach at the beginning and end of KH II have some connection to the World of Darkness?

Presently there are 4 main untold stories to consider: “the period of the King’s absence”, “the period of Riku’s absence”, “Roxas’s time in Organization XIII” and “Xehanort’s past”. In this case, the story of “the period of the King’s absence” is set in the realm of darkness. I am examining a way to tell these 4 stories so I might be able to find a way to tell them soon.

Young Xehanort’s past was another blank period. Him visiting Disney worlds is…possible, I guess. The best candidate for visiting Disney worlds is Riku, though. Nomura said he wanted to cover Riku’s period of absence, which probably includes KH1-2. In KH1, he was a bad guy and in Blank Points, he was shown in Neverland. Monstro is another possibility and that might have been intended to connect to the Monstro subplot in KH3D with Dark Riku. We also saw Riku in Twilight Town watching Roxas and Xion, so his Days period is open. Then there’s his period of absence in KH2, which opens up those worlds. In the novels, we know Riku spent most of his time in KH2 with Namine and Axel, and he also kept an eye on Sora, like during The Land of Dragons and the Beast’s Castle.

I didn’t notify you but you might’ve already heard from Yen Sid-sama. I’ve come to train to become a Keyblade wielder. Until now, I’ve only been waiting for you guys to come back from your journey. Maybe with this I can at least help out a little.

The magician Merlin-sama can use magic that surpasses time. Here, we can forget about the flow of time. Isn’t it great? Lea’s training with me. He apologized to me over and over again. It’s alright, I’d say, but he’d keep on apologizing…

At first I was a bit scared but as we trained together we started talking to each other. I found out Lea also has a best friend he wants to save. I felt like, he’s not a person that I can bring myself to hate…

Sometimes….. He’d stare at my face, so I’d ask him, what’s wrong? “I don’t know, but I feel like it’s something I must recall”, he’d say…

Your journey is a journey that will help many people and the people you’ll meet from now on. I have a feeling these people you meet will also need your help. The journey might be hard but please stay as the cheerful and bright Sora I know. Because your smile, will save many hearts…..

Then there’s Lea and Kairi. I guess we could have played through their training and the world could be based on The Sword in the Stone? I figured that was what the forest area in KH3 was supposed to be, but I dunno. Then they could have flashbacks during their training. I think we were definitely supposed to get more scenes of Lea and Kairi talking to each other, where she learns that he has a best friend he wants to save. It was obviously referring to Isa. KH3D was all about Lea looking for him, and he summoned his Keyblade immediately after learning that Isa was a vessel.

It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to see where that subplot was going. Lea was training to rescue Isa. Roxas being Axel’s “best friend” in KH2 was supposed to be a red herring—a pretty well-written one at that. People just didn’t pick up on it due to Roxas’s popularity bias. I doubt Lea would have told Kairi all the details of him and Isa being human test subjects. Like, she still didn’t understand why he didn’t wanna take off his black coat in KH3. But he’d tell her enough to know that he has a best friend who is a vessel and we’d learn what happened. It would have made their closeness in KH3 a lot more understandable if Kairi knew about his past. In his heart, he could tell that Kairi was Xion, too. And that’s how I’m gonna do it in my fanfic. :)

After KHBBSV2 was cancelled, Lea had no backstory anymore, so I guess we were just supposed to conclude that Lea was referring to Roxas in Kairi’s letter when he said he wanted to save his best friend. Which is just…dumb and insulting to the audience’s intelligence. Lea knew even in 358/2 Days that Roxas looked like Ventus. He said he kept it a secret from Roxas, so he obviously knew for a long time. It sounded like he realized it as soon as he met him, which is why he got so nostalgic for his childhood right after meeting Roxas.

Before he started his training with Kairi, he also knew that Ventus was one of the lost Keyblade wielders they were all looking for. Up until Yen Sid’s tower, Lea thought that Ventus was going to remember him as Axel. That’s how he was going to reunite with “Roxas”. He had no reason to think he needed to rescue “Roxas”, since that was Sora’s job and he was handling that. Of course he was referring to Isa in that letter.

Eh, I dunno. It’s possible we’d get to play as young Lea during his flashbacks in Radiant Garden. During the experiments, maybe he was tasked with Heartless clean-up duty inside the castle. He doesn’t have a Keyblade, though. Just his frisbees. It’d be unusual to have him be playable, but not impossible. If so, that opens up the castle, like the Hollow Bastion areas from KH1. All in all, the gameplay part of BBSV2 seemed pretty strange and the Disney worlds didn’t seem completely necessary, either. I think a series of animated shorts could have worked phenomenally well.

[derekscorner]

Between KH2 and KH3, which game did you like more, both story and gameplay-wise?

Ah is this that KH2 vs 3 debate I hear is ongoing? Well if you’re in for a sit I can answer that.

Gameplay:

From this angle I quite bluntly find KH2 Final Mix more fun. I’m not going to argue what was arguably better or worse, gameplay preference is a matter of…well preference no matter how many wish to deny this fact.

Not that you do but I”m sure some lover or hater of one will see this and try to retort. o3ob

Anyway; I felt Kh2 final mix was more technical and “harder” if I had to describe the feeling. Like 3 KH2 is normally overly easy but when put on critical mode it’s technicalities shine.I had to learn tactics, I couldn’t spam X or △, and I learned uses for summons. Which I found ironic since the 2 summons are far more useful when you dont initiate their moves.

Like if I let Stitch wander the screen he’ll deflect projectiles and keep my MP full. Chicken Little is a great early Magnet substitute and Peter Pan+Tinker Bell gives you a Phoenix Down.This was an improvement to KH1 in which only Tinker Bell was a spell with decent combat use. 1′s other summons had more supplemental uses imo.

KH3′s summons were nearly win buttons I felt. Simba in particular, while damn spectacle, felt broken. I never bothered to learn them as I didn’t need them. Which I’m sure they have their own uses but I’m not really fond of many control schemes for them so I opt out of it.

In terms of the magic system I felt 2 and 3 were opposites. In KH3 magic is far too powerful, something many have noted. And while you dont ‘have’ to use it that’s not an excuse for a problem. You should choose not to use it not force yourself to ignore it for challenge.

KH2 on the opposite spectrum made magic nearly useless I felt. Many enemies didn’t stun nor have elemental damage. Fire’s AOE animation was good for early Critical game and Blizzard helps that first Hollow Bastion visit but many enemies shrug the base spells off later.In contrast, KH2′s Magnet and Thunder spells can be OP. Reflect in of itself is practically the only spell you’d ever need to use due to it’s nature.

So while many have long rants on either’s magic system I dont really think one trumps the other. each one is equally flawed with issues I dont see ever being addressed.

In terms of keyblade combat I preferred KH2′s because I felt like Sora was automated in 3. I spam X cause I’m a scrub at timing presses (DMC5 is helping me overcome that) and due to this I noticed real quick that Sora’s combos just felt really automated.

Like I’d press X for one hit and get three. In contrast, KH2′s combat is harder. Sora animates combos as fast as my lazy ass can spam X and I’m not floating around like a final fantasy god.

I’m not really sure how to put this feeling into words but I do feel Kh2 keyblades are funner or snappier to combo whereas in KH3 I’m playing a watered down FFXV with it’s hold/press X for combo string.

Both games are so similar outside this issue that I dont see no reason to list likes or dislikes. If anything, from here, KH3 had great quality of life changes. The menu system was easier on the eyes and I’d be a damned soul if I didn’t admit I like switching keyblades mid-combat.

I also really appreciate KH3 finally using Re:Coded’s keyblade ideas. It’s been there since that DS game yet no one every expanded on making keyblades unique since. It was a very foolish step backward to me.

I love that keyblades level up, I love that each one has a preference and the only way that could’ve been better is if they adapted Coded’s system entirely and gave each keyblade (or most) it’s own unique combo.

KH2 quite frankly just falls short in a hindsight perspective since keyblades were “stat sticks” and you only ever chose weaker ones for an ability. Which, back then, was a huge step up from KH1.

So KH3 wins in this area I also dont really hate on Kh2 for it since KH2 is a product of the era. This idea of keyblades growing with you didn’t happen till Re:Coded.

As for Shotlocks…I dont like them. I hated them in BBS and I hate them here. It’s not even a comparison to KH2 type of opinion. I hate Shotlocks, I never use shotlocks so I’m going to skip those.

I mean sure, KH2 had limits but the only limits I use are Knocksmash so I can’t exactly praise KH2′s half of that either.

And when it comes to Forms vs Transformations I think both have pros and cons the other lacks. For example, some Transformations are really cool, I love the hammer weapons or the dual pistols.

I also believe the staff transformation is what KH2′s wisdom form should’ve been in terms of how it does magic or basic attacks.

That said, I also really dislike many second forms keyblades have. I never evolve the pistols into the bazooka, I never turn the hammer into the drill, I have those second forms. It’s to the extent I prefer keyblades that have one form such as the staff.

I’m also not fond of the Kingdom Key’s 2nd form change. It’s a neat throwback and I love the outfit recolor but I dont find it fun to use.

Between the two games my favorite forms are Valor Form, Anti-Form, and the Staff Transformation. Odds are I wont use anything else unless I feel particularly bored.

I might use others more often if KH3 forced me to rely on them for tactics but as of right now it does not. This may change with 3 gets it’s Critical Mode DLC. Similar to how KH2FM forced me to rely on forms I hate like Wisdom or Final.

As a concept I will admit that I dislike transformations. I dont like the idea of keyblades becoming magical swiss army knives. KH3 pulled the idea off better than I expected but I dont like it all the same.

The only, and I mean only, thing I felt KH2 did better was tie forms to a meter. In KH3 the commands appear randomly (and often) and I dont gain consequences for using them.

In KH2 this was tied to your Drive Gauge. You had to plan what you used and this is an issue I felt KH3 had as a whole. Rather than shotlocks, I’d have preferred that Focus Gauge to be reserved for my summons and forms so that I could have better control of what I picked and to reduce how broken they are in-game.

The rest is miscellaneous opinions so I’ll rapid fire:

Gummi Ships: always hated them, BBS did Gummi Ships best. Point goes to KH3 here since I can at least skip most of it.

Minigames: I’ve never found a KH minigame fun. No one wins here

Worlds: KH3 wins this aspect too. World towns have actual people in them and when it uses original plots the worlds are quite good. I also appreciate the power to explore and soft platform again. It gives me a more immersive feeling than later titles ever have. (although I feel KH1 was still better than both here)(entirely because of how many small details/cameos/secrets a KH1 world had compared to sequels)

I dont really have a more technical opinion than that. I do however think Arendelle was a horrendous world and I hate to even be there. For a myriad of reasons….reasons that would be a rant post of it’s own.

Lil Chef: I never use the food. I dont care if it’s a good spot for ingredients. If I want to cook stuff I’ll do some irl or play FFXV.

Enemies: KH3 used nobodies more than KH2 did and I find that a damn crying shame. I also felt Unversed were underutilized. KH2 still takes the point here due to the combat points I mentioned above.

KH3 fodder is prettier and can be more elaborate but KH2 is funner to play and destroy them in so KH2.

The Disney Rides: I don’t use them, they break the game. I do like the choo choo though since it’s situational to specific battles. KH2 has nothing akin to these so there’s no comparison, I just wish the rides could be disabled or that they worked more like the train. (set to key fights)

KH2 vs KH3 Commands: Eh both aren’t that good. KH3 spams you commands to shift through and KH2 has so many for spectacles sake that the games get easy. There is no winner here, if anything KH2 should’ve restricted these like KH3 restricts the Train ride summon.

Final Fantasy: I dont like FF games but I consider the ones of Kh1 part of the main cast. Their alternate KH selves are important to me. The lack and fading of FF over the years is quite honestly something I dislike and 3′s total lack of them is inexcusable to me. KH2 takes this point since I got to at least meet Leon and crew again.

Then there’s the story.

Anyone that’s followed the blog or met me knows I strongly dislike the direction of KH’s story. It’s not a matter of things others debate, I do not like it. I hate it and I’m still teetering on quitting.

I wont even go into the points cause I’ve made a whole series of posts about my story gripes. I wont link them since this isn’t a shameless plug, I just want to iterate that my issues with the story has driven me to make 20+ tangents plus the older more angry rants.

Others liking it is fine I think, I get easily annoyed if someone tries to excuse something out of nostalgia or adoration, but generally anyone that likes it while admitting faults or agreeing to disagree is fine. (you do you folks)

If I had to rank them I feel KH2 is where a lot of issues started and I feel a lot of issues got worse after since the sequels tried to “fix” that mess. If left alone KH2 would’ve been a poorly written entry and a good stopping point for any disillusioned fan.

KH3 as a contrast tied up everything after 2 up til 3 itself. I do not consider the story good, the pacing is very jarring because it lacks a mid point, it’s weighed down by all the BS prior to it.

I do not feel attachment for the “trios” of the series, I find the repetition of them annoying. I find it a shame most have more dev time than the originals they’re cloned based on.

And I frankly dislike Xehanort as a villain. He’s not interesting, his motives seem to switch with several report entries and I dont eve get the satisfaction of ending him like I did Xemnas or Ansem.

I was entirely indifferent to the entirety of this game’s narrative as I played it. Something that worried my friend @blackosprey because I was so tired I could not even care enough to hate it.

I did fine the trios reunions well done. I dislike them for a list of reasons but they were coming back anyway, their fates sucked prior, so those were well done. I finally felt hype when the LW appeared (only to vanish, fuck you nomura) and in the final battle.

The ending was confusing to me. So many got a happy ending so I fail to see the logic of Sora vanishing. The Luxu reveal, which I found fucking hilarious, was the only sequel bait needed.To have Sora just up and die felt like a stupid decision and I’m sure many more found it insulting.

And when mentioning Luxu I dont mean it in a sarcastic fashion. I genuinely find him funnier in retrospect due to this retroactive change. Nearly every line or scene he’s said is now funny as hell because he’s this ancient troll. I consider it the first legitimately earned twist Nomura has made in ages.

Still, KH2′s writing and story isn’t great either. I could rant why, I have ranted why, but despite it’s flaws it was an “ending” to me.So if asked 2 or 3 I will pick 2. The writing in Kh2 is bad for lots of reasons but if I ignore the Ansem reports it’s no a story about Xehanort.

Ignoring one KH2 report let’s me live this simpler story of Sora and a scientist gone mad and the journey to stop him. It had a lot of stupid things or one of the worst “twists for twists sake” moments ever in the ‘two ansems’ reveal.

But still, I can play Kh2 and be in a KHverse where Xehanorts, Keyblade Wars, Ceremonies, timelines, sleeping worlds, data world abuse, and clones upon clones dont exist.

It’s not nostalgia so much as everything I came to dislike was post KH2. KH3 was all about these things I dont like. My favorite for key and nostalgic reasons is KH1, my pick of the question is Kh2.

KH3′s best assets that can’t be contested was it’s graphical evolution. I played KH3 three times back to back due to this, I came away from KH3 wishing KH1 or 2 looked like this. No game prior contests the look.

So all in all, as I reread this, it’s largely a mixed bag. Neither game is grand but I prefer KH2 because combat is more fun to me and it’s not tied down by a narrative and mythology I’ve come to hate.

I can play KH1, CoM, and KH2 and never be annoyed about something I loved going in a direction I hated.

[gwiiyeoweo]

I just wanted to share: I came here from Grey Dust to Sparkling Gold, and my slow internet loaded the Natsume's Book of Friends gifset first. So now I'm sitting here with my head on my desk trying to figure out if I can even make that crossover work in my head. I think I need to find a way to watch Kingsglave to write something that would fit the vague idea I have. (Thank you for the inspiration, and may your writing be simpler!)

aaaaAAAAAAAaAAAAAA

I’m sending inspiration ~vibes~ because d00d i would LOVE to see natsume/ffxv crossover. And now that you mentioned it, i kinda want to have a go at it too LOL. I just... have to... write all these other ideas first... aha.. /screams/

But like, Noctis as Natsume sounds pretty rad, just because i’m a noctoboi fan. and having the other bros/kingsglaive/cast poppin’ in as the yokai who get attached to him =w= And the astrals. Ohhhh, the astrals. That’d be something fun to play around with too. perhaps they’re one of the higher/stronger yokai or some sort of deity and shabam, the whole summoning the gods thing all over again when nocto just kinda picks a random name out of the book or maybe he’s in a pinch and seriously needs some help at the time (so he literally picks a god and prays LOL).

(Okay but like, maybe regis, ardyn, or somnus as reiko??)

But also him as nyanko-sensei??? Natsume!bro (or whoever) knocking over some crystal thing and breaking the seal on nocto, and he pops in one night like ‘yo can i have that book’ and the other being ‘um no’ after a half-hearted attempt at trying to nab the book, noctis is lazy so he just... hangs around and sleeps and fish. 

Ah man, anyway. Good luck to you and hope you somehow manage to hash out your ideas. And thanks for the well wishes, bahahaha

[xylianna]

Also favorite FF summon and/or magic spell?

Oh, MAN.  UGH. CAN I JUST SAY ALL OF THEM RE: SUMMONS??

I was one of those kids who played FFVI by grinding out AP until all my dudes knew Ultima and went into the final battle spamming it over and over, so I guess that’s my favorite spell for nostalgia reasons?  XD

For summons… I mean, there are so many cool animations now, and I honestly can’t keep them all straight.  Purely because I just saw it again last weekend, I’ll say Leviathan from FFXV.   As a bonus, I’ll tell you my least favorite summon animation: Shiva in almost every game. I’m over the whole ‘hurr hurr lets have her be practically naked’ fan service (and that’s speaking as someone who appreciates naked ladies very much).

Thanks for asking!

[ryanmeft]

Wish List: Final Fantasy VII Remake

Rumors flying around suggest the first part of the FFVII Remake could see release in 2019 or 2020. This means it will be nearly 25 years on before we see it, and much to the chagrin of the truly obsessive sects of the original game’s fanbase, it is going to be a very different experience than the original was. Most people, however, seem to have embraced this necessity, and are ready for a fresh look at the world of FFVII.

As such, I decided to explore the things I think would be of most benefit to upgrade, alter or just plain change in the remake. This is strictly a list of good things I want, and that which you should want to since I am obviously always right. I didn’t include any “Don’t do this”s, because you can go to any forum if you want a long list of demands of what not to do.

WARNING: This post includes minor SPOILERS for Final Fantasy VII.

A More Thorough Open World

FFXV made strides toward taking the series off the linear path it has always been on, which was wise, seeing as FFXIII was roundly criticized even by supporters for being basically a straight-ahead path through the entire story. However, Square’s lack of experience with the genre was evident. Players were heavily limited as to where they could go at any one point, side quests were rarely engaging (though still a step up from XIII), and traversal was much more of a chore than it needed to be.

With clear dystopian inspirations ranging from Metropolis to Blade Runner mixed with more traditional fantasy settings, FFVII has always had one of the more intriguing worlds in a series where world-building was never a core tenet. The times being what they are, a remake will have to be less linear, and if Square is going to do it they should do it up right. The nature of the story means that you can’t just drop us in and let us go wherever we want immediately, but Square can work within the boundaries of the story to make the world feel more alive by modern standards. For instance, although being confined to Midgar for the first several hours is essential to the atmosphere the game sets, it would be great if we could opt to explore the entire city, rather than just the designated sectors. Once you’re out in the world, it would be a simple matter to make all the towns and “dungeons” accessible from the get-go, while simply holding the story beats over for when you’ve progressed that far.

Camaraderie

Some things in FFXV worked and some did not, but by far the best and most well-implemented idea the game had was the way your main party interacts with each other. FFVII has one of the most iconic casts in video games, but due to technical limitations, they never interacted outside of scripted scenes or FMVs. The remake should have everyone in your current party visible at all times, traversing the world with you, talking to each other, pointing out interesting or dangerous things in the environment, etc. Each character having something non-battle-related they were good at, like cooking or fishing, was one of the more popular aspects of XV and should be repeated in VII…and not just because I want to see Cloud burn the toast. Unlike XV, however, you should be able to take direct control of any party member at any time, because fans have waited a long time for this, and will want to step into everyone’s shoes directly. Make it feel like everyone is fully present, all the time, and not simply waiting for the plot to get around to them.

Change the Skill System

That’s right; I’m going there. The Materia system was a step forward for the genre at the time it released, but it is now in need of a serious overhaul, especially if the game goes the modern action-RPG direction it appears to be heading. Making each player unique in battle, rather than a mostly-interchangeable vessel for skills loaned from an item, is going to be essential, since most of us will want the different fighting styles of the characters to be highlighted in actual gameplay. The easiest way for this to happen is to move the limit break system to a tiered special skill set, similar to what the characters in FFXV used. Cloud’s Braver, for instance, is no longer visually impressive, and should probably be a standard skill he can activate and then recharge.

As for the Materia itself, some of the skills it imparted just won’t be useful in an action battle system, while some such as Toad won’t be feasible to recreate in a 3D engine. Streamline the existing spell and skill list, while adding a few nifty new ones for good measure. Tie the performance of different kinds of magic to a character’s aptitude and make them able to get better at it with use, which still lets anyone equip anything while encouraging unique styles for each character. And for Ramuh’s sake, make the summons cool again. Hell, make them like FFXII, temporarily able to replace your entire active party except for the summoner. That would be boss and stuff.

Make the Side Content Matter

Prior to FFXII, side content in the series was robust and complex, and while it could sometimes be more trouble than it was worth (I don’t know about you, but I don’t care if I catch all those butterflies), it was at least unique from what you spent the rest of the game doing. Stuff like Triple Triad and Chocobo Hot and Cold were both fun, and offered substantial rewards for sticking to them. Then it got replaced by “Go here, kill this monster, come back, get some gold and an item you don’t need.” It has been more or less that ever since. If we’re going back to FFVII, let’s go back as well to a time when heading off the beaten path not only led to discovering entirely optional parts of the world, but the pay off for that exploration felt worth it.

Make the Sub-Villains more Complex

Any hint of messing with FFVII’s pristine pinnacle of storytelling gets met with backlash from certain fans, but here’s the thing: as good as it is, it isn’t actually perfect. Notably, most every secondary villain, primarily the heads of the ShinRa corporation, are about as developed as a man in a black hat tying a woman to the train tracks. They’re cartoons, and all the depth in the secondary villain category comes from the Turks. If the game is going to work in the modern day and maintain the gritty, morally ambiguous world it originally affected, folks like Rufus, Scarlet and Heidegger are going to need to be more than cackling baddies. In fact, it couldn’t hurt to re-write most of their characters from the feet up.

Have the Story Make Sense

Again, FFVII’s story had more flaws than fans want to admit. Chief among these was an atrocious translation that will almost certainly not be an issue once the script is overhauled to work in a modern game, but it’s also true that without outside assistance, it was very, very hard to follow parts of the convoluted story, especially as it related to Cloud and Sephiroth. It seems clear from both the direction the game is taking and the reaction that it is built to appeal to those who never played the original, and making sure they aren’t scratching their heads trying to figure out what the hell old Sephie is talking about would go a long way towards that.

Make Vincent and Yuffie Essential

This one is pretty straight forward. Vincent, especially, actually has a huge role in the overall lore of FFVII, and having him be optional didn’t make a lot of sense to begin with. Plus, does anyone really want to do that stupid safe-cracking minigame again? If you do, I question the state of your sanity.

[oldbridget]

I didn't know there was a limit to answers. Therefore, I will write the answer in this way.

@electronicwastelandking

yep, I know. Somehow, it's easy to make quick sketches to keep the idea what I want to draw, but I hardly finish what I draw tbh. It's not only about laziness, I want everything at once. And that's why I do not succeed in what I do. I want final result is to be really good and as much as I expected it. When I realise I go wrong, I just leave it be and I do not waste my time on it anymore. Sadly. I'm now into practicing lights and shading, so the process would be very slow.

Well. I keep them as ideas for better time. When better time is about to come? Idk. >:0 I have some unfinished work of Jonathan and Myrddin Wyltt as his summon. I love this idea of summoning, you can see a final fantasy fan here, yeah. I like the idea that Jonathan's maker would like to guide him and Jonathan is about to demand his power from a mighty creature he has bounds with.

And I wanted to draw Jonathan surrounded by his weapon like Noctis from FFXV. And there's sketches of Jonathan and Mary, of Richard Nithercott and Camelia and many others. Once I was really inspired by vampyr. I still am. But I have a lack of self confidence... And lack of time. Wish me luck, my dear friend ❤️

Just a few sketches I made, I have some ideas, so they won’t be lost I guess.

I wanted to draw Bridget with Lunafreya’s trident or Yuna’s, but, ok. This is just one from other sketches. And I finally drawn myself with Bridget, cuz I love her so very much. (actually it is my oc, one of those who most impersonizes me )

I was inspired by Yuna performed sending, just like when I was kid. I love that cutscene. So that it is possible that except my beloved Bridget, there will be some new final fantasy related art

[spectreblanc]

Why Episode Ignis SUCKS!

So, here I am.

Episode Ignis is morally corrupt AND bad for the gaming industry. I'm serious. This kind of catering to the fans could seriously ruin the gaming industry if it isn't ruined already.

I wasn't originally going to say anything about what I thought of Episode Ignis, and I'm aware that this will probably earn me a steady stream of hate on this blog, but I don't care because I really hate the way Tabata just keeps vomiting out whatever he THINKS we want to see. And when said "vomit" comes in the form of some VERY disturbing themes- not only within the narrative, but in story-telling itself- that's when I just gotta say something.

None of this is fan theories or trying to figure out what's really happened or trying to fill in plot holes. It's clear both endings have plot holes. This blog is just WHAT'S WRONG WITH EPISODE IGNIS AND WHY I HATED IT. And why, in my opinion, it didn't fix anything.

I've compiled my reasons into one little...big blog. Divided into chapters for organization.

(I'm not borrowing anybody's opinions or theories, btw. I wrote this blog before I even knew anyone had similar fan reactions to mine about the alternate ending.)

The date I started writing this in One Note was Dec 14, in case anyone is interested. No? Okay.

So buckle up, and don't say I didn't warn you...

HEAVY SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT

CHAPTERS:

1. IGNIS IS OUT OF CHARACTER 2. IGNIS IS A SELFISH PRICK 3. IGNIS TAKES OVER EVERONE ELSE'S ROLE 4. THE ORIGINAL STORY'S BUILD-UP AND CLIMAX IS GROSSLY OFFSET 5. WHY THE ORIGINAL STORY IS BETTER 6. COMPARING FFXV'S STORY TO OTHER GREAT EPICS 7. BAD MORAL/MESSAGE 8. THIS ENDING IS NOT CANON 9. PURE FANSERVICE 10. LINGERING QUESTIONS 11. OTHER THINGS I PERSONALLY DIDN'T LIKE 12. IN CONCLUSION

Okay, saying episode Ig sucks is kind of shameless clickbait, I admit. The episode proper was actually great and I really enjoyed it. It was compelling, exciting and answered enough questions. The alternate ending part... Not so much.

Keep in mind that most of my criticism is directed toward the Alternate Ending, and from a story-teller's vantage point, but there is a bit directed toward the main episode as well. And this is just STORY criticism. The gameplay elements of Episode Ignis and the visuals and music were great. No complaints there.

So, let's get started!

1. IGNIS IS OUT OF CHARACTER

We're all familiar with the bespectacled, level-headed, pensive advisor that is Ignis Scientia. With his cool logical methods, he is the one the bros- and most importantly Noct- rely on as their anchor. The voice of reason in the medley of chaotic situations which they often find themselves. But, watch out! Throw a magic ring and a prophetic vision into the mix, and he becomes a one-man recipeh for disaster, who's ready to literally burn the world! See what I mean:

-Ignis doesn't use any of the cool decision-making skills we've come to expect from him in the main game. He's all raw emotion and flights of fancy now.

-He's never shown signs of obsessive protectiveness over Noct before. He cares, yes, but one little vision makes him completely lose his ability to examine the situation and think clearly. This is a direct contradiction to everything we've previously learned about his personality!

-The creators of episode Ignis also based the alternate ending on the comradeship that was built up in the story parts that THEY CUT OFF. The close bonds that the bros come to forage during the later parts of the game never happen, thus making their actions (and especially IGNIS'S actions) unrealistic. Remember, all that's happened to the bros at this point is a few hours on the road trip in the regalia, they've captured a few summons, collected a few weapons... Nothing has really happened. No death, no vision loss, Ignis and the others act like the story proper has already taken place.

2. IGNIS IS A SELFISH PRICK

The alternate ending seems innocent enough. Ardyn threatens to kill Ignis, and he has little choice but to put on the ring and defend himself. But it's what Ignis says first that is highly disturbing. Ignis's words are at best emotionally compromised-- at worst, EVIL. Let's listen in on some quotes:

-"This world means nothing to me. Do with it as you wish!" (To Ardyn) (TO ARDYN!!!!)

-"A world without him isn't worth saving!" ??? What about Prompto and Gladio? What about Iris, Cindy, Cid and Aranea, you BLATHERING BOBBY-SOCK??? ...Actually they never make nice with Aranea if this happens, do they... Huh.

-"I refuse to let Noctis sacrifice himself!" Again, "I refuse to do this." "I refuse to do that." Ignis isn't thinking about what is really best for Noct and the others. He's thinking about himself and what he wants or doesn't want. Isn't that Noct's choice? Did you ask him? Ig only wants it to go HIS way. Like, Dude, just because your bud might die, you'll let the world burn? That's not your choice!

And I'm sorry, this isn't self sacrificing or beautiful. It's DANGEROUS for Ignis to be thinking this way, much less get praised for it. He's willing to throw away everything everyone has sacrificed up until that point. Regis, Luna, Nyx, EVERYBODY. Ignis didn't 'rebel against fate'. He acted selfishly without consulting any of his friends, and only by the good grace of Tabata did it work.

-Ignis doesn't believe in Noctis. Regis and Luna both believed in him, but Ignis sees one vision and freaks the hell out. He is like: "No, I will make all these decisions for Noct. I will not allow him to decide if he wants to go through with it. I'll risk burning the world down instead." Whatever happened to "Stand by Me"?

-after he learns of Noct's potential death, Ignis tries to make Noctis discontinue his journey. Even though he knows now that Noct is the only one who has the power to save the world! And just as Noct is beginning to realize how important it is! Just on the heels of Luna's death! He's only thinking that he doesn't want Noct to die because he's SELFISH.

-Ignis treads dangerously close to the same path as Ardyn in the alternate ending and it's NOT RIGHT that he can do the same thing, yet have a better result. Selfishness ALWAYS leads to harming those we wish to protect most.

-I CAN'T BELIEVE THE LUCII FOUND HIM WORTHY OF THEIR POWER WHEN HE JUST DECLARED HE WOULD LET ARDYN BURN THE WORLD DOWN! Sense made: 0%

3. IGNIS TAKES OVER EVERONE ELSE'S ROLE

Say hello to you new protagonist everybody! Ignis Scientia effectively usurps the lead position from Noctis. (And everybody else's positions too.) Watch this:

-Ignis takes over Noct's role of the game's protagonist/hero.

-Ignis takes over Gladio's role as Noct's guardian. He says something like: "I swore an oath to protect him!" No, Ignis. That's Gladio's job. You are a cook, remember? Now be a good boy and come up with a new recipeh for us.

-Ignis takes over Prompto's role as Ardyn's hostage in Gralea.

-Ardyn reveals his true identity to Ignis (a complete stranger) and Noctis never finds out??? Idk.

-Ignis takes over Ardyn’s role as the guy who’s gonna burn the world.

-Ignis takes everyone's role for himself except his own, which was to be the pensive, intelligent and dependable advisor. He totally takes leave of his brain!

4. THE ORIGINAL STORY'S BUILD-UP AND CLIMAX IS GROSSLY OFFSET

-The train ride to Gralea, Noctis coming to terms with Luna's death, finding the strength to wear the ring-- all this character development and story arcs NEVER HAPPEN! Noct just decides on the spot that he's gonna hop right into the crystal and... That's basically it. No doubts or fears or hesitation like he had in the original story. Nope, we skip all the development and cut right to the chase. The previous build-up made him a human, relatable and interesting character. It made us stand up and cheer for Noct. Now, just the sight of Ignis messed up on the ground and BOOM! Skip straight to the ending. Character development and struggles be damned! Such an immediate decision as Noct makes is not only highly unrelated to his character, but doesn't even make for a good story. I don't know how people say it does.

-Everything becomes too easy. Luna's death and Iggy's vision loss stirs up some serious turbulence that the bros have to work out before they continue their journey. All this is skipped in the alternate ending.

-Ignis's vision loss becomes just a tease.

-There's no penalty for using the ring's ultimate power to banish Ardyn for good. Noctis's survival doesn't make any sense. It's kinda easy to defy fate when there's no consequences for any of your actions, eh? Seriously, there's no consequences to putting on the ring and summoning the Knights of the Round to defeat Ardyn and restore light. This is wildly out of whack with every way the ring's magic has worked until this point. (That is: draining life force in exchange for magic.)

-Noctis doesn't die defeating Ardyn now? Just because Ig used the ring on him ten years ago, doesn't mean he's still weakened all this time later. And if it does, then we should just do this all the time. There's no good explanation for this that I've seen.

-And why would Ardyn still go through with his plan. I mean, you can't exact revenge on your own bloodline and the crystal if you're not strong enough to at least take him down with you, Ard.

-Luna and Noctis's "love story" (big fan) is stepped all over. Not that it was well written to begin with, but now her death has no effect on Noctis or anything that comes after. I guess Tabata's no good with commitment to relationships.

-Ignis trying to "change fate" is like saying every other character didn't try to figure out EVERY possible way to save Noctis. Do you think Luna wouldn't have tried to find a way to save her only friend? DO YOU THINK REGIS WOULDN'T HAVE TRIED TO FIND A WAY TO SAVE HIS OWN SON?? No, they were basically stuck-up bigots who were willing to sacrifice Noct because it was convenient. Yep. Not buying it. I mean, Ravus looked for years for another way for Luna to fulfill her calling without spending life force (even selling his own soul in the process) and couldn't do it, and suddenly Iggy just snaps his fingers and BOOM! "I've come up with a new way to fix everything!" Imma call bogus on that one.

-Now the Genesis artwork makes no sense, because Noct never had a blind companion.

-Luna's t- t-...tr...TRUE feelings for Noct are never disclosed via Gentiana/Shiva.

-Ardyn is now on the losing end for the bulk of the game. Horrible dramatization!

-The world of darkness now has reduced meaning because everyone now knows Noct is gonna be back and kick Ardyn's backside in a bit.

5. WHY THE ORIGINAL STORY IS BETTER

I say "story" and not "ending" because it's pretty obvious how much of a change there is to the story, depending on which ending you choose.

So, there's a generally accepted fan theory that Noctis never had a choice in his destiny and was basically funnelled down the path to complete it by the prophecy and/or the Astrals and/or the Knights of the Round. Not going to name any names, of course, but there's this thing that the FFXV fandom says: "Noctis never had a choice but to sacrifice himself. That he was the slave of the prophecy and the Astrals were using him." That he was a victim of circumstance. That it "wasn't fair". Like somehow the prophecy and Astrals were forcing Noct to kill himself.

I've never seen any real evidence to support this. On the contrary, no one is forcing Noctis to do this. The prophecy's not something you can rebel against. A prophecy is just a foretelling of something that is to come. It doesn't force anybody to do anything. In fact, it's only fair that Noctis know what's coming if he chooses to go through with his destiny. A last chance to turn and run from it if he so wishes. In fact, it would be unfair if he had no warning whatsoever.

The magic of the ring is what kills Noct. We know that the more magic one uses, the more life force is drained (see KG and ep Ig). Like simple Physics: what goes up must come down. He who uses the magic must sacrifice life force. That's what magic runs on. (like king Regis ages more quickly as he uses magic to keep up the new wall) It's nobody's fault. As the only one with the power to use as much magic needed to defeat Ardyn, (even the Astrals can't) Noctis has a choice to make. Surrender his life force to kill Ardyn, or give up and run. THAT is Noct's choice.

And he makes conscious decisions to sacrifice himself many times throughout the story. This is what makes our heroes and heroines worth looking up to. Putting aside their own desires and doing the best for everyone.

"I think I can do it... I won't let you down!" He tells Luna.

Still, Noctis had many chances to run. He could have turned from his responsibility and turned back. But he knew his Dad and Luna and the bros and the WORLD was counting on him. By the time he emerges from the crystal we see his resolve. He's made his decision and he'll see it through.   Because only HE can. Only the chosen. By the ending campfire scene and when he takes Prompto's photo as a keepsake, it's clear he'd made his choice. And the bros RESPECT IT. They STAND BY HIM. There's none of this second-guessing stuff or making decisions for Noct.

As for being a victim of circumstance, aren't all heroes?

Ardyn, for one. Here we have an example of a man who could have been a hero, but his jealousy of his brother led him to do things that led him to hurting those he once swore to help. Noctis didn't let this responsibility drag him into the depths of despair and spite like Ardyn did.

The important thing is that Noctis makes the right choice. If he didn't, he would have ended up like poor, corrupted, jealous Ardyn.

As I said before, Ignis treads dangerously close to the same path as Ardyn in the alternate ending, and it's NOT RIGHT that he can do the same thing, yet achieve a better result. Selfishness ALWAYS leads to harming those we wish to protect most.

A direct corruption of morals.

6. COMPARING FFXV'S STORY TO OTHER GREAT EPICS

Seems like a good time to reference Lord of the Rings, since it's obvious Final Fantasy gets a lot of inspiration from there:

For example: It was never Frodo's choice to inherit Sauron's ring of power, but as the story progresses, he learns to accept his burden, because he understands that if he can't destroy it, then no one will. Even as it becomes abundantly clear that it will cost him his life. It's the doubt and fear that Frodo overcomes that makes him a true hero. He's faced with a situation no one would choose, but isn't that how all heroes are made? In the end he chooses to do what's right.

Likewise Noctis: As the chosen King of light, Noctis finds himself in a situation no one would choose. But it's how he handles it-- forces on in spite of everything -- because he knows it has to be done. And like Frodo, he finds himself the only one who has the means to do it. And he does it because it's the RIGHT thing.

And that's the ONLY kind of hero worth looking up to.

Other elements of the two stories match up too, like four protagonists set out on a journey, one with a very special mission, although they all will have to sacrifice part of themselves to see it through. 

Speaking of which, let's take a look at the similarities between the theme songs:

In Dreams, by Howard Shore:

When the cold of winter comes,   Starless night will cover day, In the veiling of the sun , We will walk in bitter rain, But in dreams, I can hear your name, And in dreams, We will meet again,

And now Stand by Me, by Ben E. King:

When the night has come, And the land is dark, And the moon is the only light we'll see, No, I won't be afraid, Oh, I won't be afraid, Just as long as you stand, Stand by me,

As you can see, both songs tell of the world being enveloped in darkness, but the bravery of the heroes spurs them on to complete their task with the help of their friends, because the world and all good things in the world DEPEND ON IT.

And, yes it's nice if there's an easy way out. A quick way to escape hardship and possible death. And in real life this even happens a lot, but those are the stories you never hear about because there's no sacrifice, effort and determination in them. For instance, if the Great eagles were to grab the ring of power, fly over to Mt. Doom and plop it in the lava, that wouldn't be a real story worth listening to.

Likewise, if Iggy were to put on the ring of the Lucii FOR Noctis, and defeat Ardyn halfway through the game, pretty much skipping the journey and the evolution of the characters, then that wouldn't be a good story, would it?

Why do you think you're so heart broken when Noctis finally does decide to sacrifice himself? Because, you got to know him and his friends throughout their journey. Their struggles. You felt like you were actually there through the ups and downs, observing all their actions. Taking part even. Through their hardship you learned to LOVE these characters and care about the choices they make.

That's how it should be. That's what makes every good story GREAT.

Look around. All your favourite stories follow the same pattern. It's not something we can dispense with to make ourselves feel better. It's OUR responsibility not to.

Okay, that got a lot deeper a lot faster than it had to, but you have to see, that Noct's sacrifice is in no way unfair or bogus. It's HIS choice.

7. BAD MORAL/MESSAGE

-So, the message the alternate ending portrays is basically: "Just act irrationally and irresponsibly on your own whims and desires. Without consulting your friends and the people who's decision this REALLY is. Things will come up aces ;)"

-Throw out your rational-thinking self-sacrificing heroes boys and girls, because here's one hot-head who NONE of the rules apply to!

-Heroes are made by the great deeds they do, and the obstacles they overcome. I guess heroes don't overcome their struggles anymore. They just go berserk and look for the quickest, easiest way out. And yay! They find it! What d'ya know. ;p

-The theme of Final Fantasy is not necessarily to "rebel against fate, or the powers that be". The theme of Final Fantasy has always been to overcome your obstacles, push forward and to do WHAT'S RIGHT, no matter the circumstance. No matter what the cost. Even if it's your own life. That's what's always been important about the Final Fantasy games I'VE played. That's the message I've always taken away from not only the Final Fantasy stories, but all great adventures in general. That's the true message to be learned.

8. THE ALTERNATE ENDING IS NOT CANON

-People have noted already that the ending is called "Possibilities" therefore indicating that you can take it or leave it. Like something that might have happened if Ignis had taken Ardyn up on his deal to come to Gralea.

-You can only play the alternate ending if you ALREADY played the first one, which leads one to believe that that's how the game is supposed to be played.

-You're seriously gonna make me invest in a DLC to get the "Canon" ending? (A whole year after the game came out?)

-Square Enix has even confirmed that the ending is not canon, but rather a 'possibility'.

9. PURE FANSERVICE

-Just because fans bugged hard enough for an easy way out. A blatant suck-up! At a time when fan service is butchering the industry! Calling this disaster "canon" is giving Tabata an easy way out of his responsibility. A responsibility to do it right the FIRST time, not just patch all your mistakes later. (If you can call this "patching") We paid for the GAME, not fan service.

-We all wish for that perfect ending where nobody dies and everything turns up roses, but at the cost of proper development, REAL heroic sacrifices and grievances and battle scars, I say NO.

10. LINGERING QUESTIONS AND PLOT HOLES

-So, remember that part when Noctis is lying there on the ground, and Ignis is lying there too and Ardyn offers to take Ignis to Gralea to lure Noctis to the crystal...? The key words were: Noctis is just lying there... Yep.

-What's up with those visions? Luna sending them? There's no way she would send those to him, because why? He's a random stranger who will just freak out and burn down the world if he sees them. It seems only to set up the alternate ending. And that makes me really mad. There's no way Luna would give Ignis the idea to turn from his path. Not after how strongly she and Regis and everybody believed in Noct. There's NO reason Ignis needs to know this. UGH!

-Why does the ring hurt when Ig puts it on? It didn't hurt Nyx.

-Ardyn reveals his true identity to Ignis (a complete stranger) and Noctis never finds out??? Idk.

-Why does Ardyn taunt Ignis (a total stranger) into thinking he's going to kill Noct? What purpose does that serve?

-Why was Ardyn shocked to see the ring in the alternate ending, but in the main episode he wasn't worried?

-Why could Noctis command the crystal so easily in the alternate ending, when it was ignoring him in the main game?

-What happened to the Niflhiem Empire? Did Ardyn still kill Iedolas?

-Why doesn't Ardyn kill Ravus/turn him into a demon? So much for wiping out the bloodline of the oracle. :p

-How come in the original story, Ravus is fooled by Ardyn disguising himself (as Noct),and Ardyn then kills him, but in ep Iggy, he sees right through the fake Gladio?

-And to top it all off, Iggy walks up to Noct at the end and mouths "Your Majesty", which is already starting to spark theories that that was ARDYN! Personally, I don't buy into the theory, but why the tease?????

11. OTHER THINGS I PERSONALLY DIDN'T LIKE

-It was short. Come on, we waited until December for and hour and a half of gameplay? Episode Prompto was way longer and fuller. (And raised a lot less questions...)

-All fangirl squealing aside, Iggy's outfit changes were kinda lame.

-All that money spent on an alternative ending when the main game is starving for patches...?

-Throughout the episode proper, we get dumb clips that intentionally set up the alternate ending. Like those visions and Ravus not dying/turning into a demon. They don't even serve a purpose into the main story.

-The blatant disregard for commitment to a story.

-The voice acting was a bit off in parts. Like, sometimes Iggy is just standing there screaming. Lol

-Ignis didn't come up with ONE new recipe!

12. IN CONCLUSION

-Tabata is spineless!

-Ahem, sorry. So yeah. Everything in this new ending is pretty messed up. The first one had it's issues, but this one to me is 10,000,000,000,872.5 times worse. It's hollow, with no backbone, and plays out like a cheesy fan fic I would pass up on AO3.

-Look, I love sweety, fluffy, nonsensical endings and happily ever afters and shippy ships too, but if Tabata sees the rate at which we're lapping up this sugar and rainbow vomit, he'll wonder why he should even waste time developing fleshed out characters with real struggles and cohesive stories, and we'll be stuck in this cheap fan service HELL forever! And that's disrespectful to true story tellers and well established character arcs everywhere! Disrespectful to the name of Final Fantasy!

-So yeah. That's all I wanted to say. I'll say no more on why I hate the alternate ending, because I know a lot of people liked it. I just wanted my friends to know why I'm won't be hopping up on this alternate ending train any time soon. ^^

Thanks for reading. Stay epic, you guys!

[heartlessfujoshi]

Title: ‘Serve Your King’  Fandom: FFXV  Pairing: GladNoct (Gladio Amicitia x Noctis Lucis Caelum)  Rating: Explicit (NSFW - PWP - mild Dom/Sub tones) Word Count: 2075 Prompt: Throne Sex

Summary: Gladio is summoned to the throne room by the King, which can only mean one thing - debauchery at its finest.

A/N: A good friend is a little down, so I wrote this to cheer them up. :’) This can be seen as taking place during the alternate timeline. Please enjoy!  

Gladio’s phone buzzes, pulling him out of boring paperwork as he looks at the message that’s just come through. A request from the King, asking for him to join him in the throne room. Putting his pen away, he pushes his chair back and heads out of his office.

“Going somewhere?” Ignis asks him, as he passes by his friend’s desk. “Weren’t you working on a report?”

“Duty calls.” Gladio nods his head towards the throne room, trying to hide his lack of ambivalence.

He hears Ignis snort. “Is that what they’re calling it these days?” Choosing to ignore his words, he keeps walking forward down the long hallway, pulse beating quick as he keeps his steps even, anxious to be with his King. He knows that Ignis is aware of his ‘fling’ with the King, as does Prompto, but none of the other staff knows, which he intends to keep it that way.

Announcing his presence with a quick loud knock on the door, he walks into the throne room, and sees Noctis perched high above him. “Gladio.” His King nods to him, an ethereal look to him, the sun streaming through the large windows to the sides of the throne, bathing the King in a warm light. “What took you so long?”

“Sincerest apologies, Your Majesty.” He stays in his spot, bowing his head towards Noctis. “I can only walk so fast through the Royal office.”

“Walk faster next time.” He bites back a retort, but knows that this is part of their game. “What if I had been in real trouble?”

“Then I suppose that Armiger of yours would be put to good use.” He glances up at him, and sees a smirk on the King’s face, leaning back on his throne with a look of defiance that Gladio dreams about at night. “What would My King request of me, now that I am here?”

“You know damn well what I want.” The bored look on Noctis’ face stays in place, as the King exhales an annoyed sigh. Legs spread on the throne, the subtle shift of the King’s robes moving to show Gladio that his cock is pulled out of his pants, stiff as a board. “Do I need to order you to come up here, Shield?”

The hair on the back of his neck rises at the derogatory use of his station to the King, fanning the flames of his arousal. “If My King wishes to order His humble servant to approach the throne, then His servant must obey.” He bows his head, concealing the smirk on his lips as they both push each other’s buttons more.

“Get up here. You know how.”

Cruelty drips from the King’s voice, another part of the act that Gladio has fallen so hard for. He lowers himself down on his knees, and begins to crawl up the steps, showing no sense of shame in the act. Acts that should be deplorable, but with him he craves it. Approaching the throne on his knees, he stares up at his King, making no show of hiding his arousal as he sees more of Noctis’ cock now that he’s much closer to him. He licks his lips without thinking, and hears a low chuckle.

“Do you wish to service your King, Gladio?” Noctis sits on the edge of his throne, pushing the tip of his cock towards Gladio’s face, who has his mouth at the ready. “Lick it a few times, and I’ll let you fuck me up here.”

The eagerness is hard to control, but he keeps his wits about him as he begins to lick up the length of Noctis’ cock, starting from the base. He can smell the heavy musk that belongs to the King, his mouth watering as it infiltrates his nostrils. He slobbers all over Noctis’ cock with his tongue, pulling the tip to rest against his lips. He stares up at him, and sees Noctis’ eyes are closed, hands curling on the edge of the armrests of his throne, low moans leaving his throat as he teases the small slit with the tip of his tongue.

“Swallow me…” His King moans, trying to force more of his cock into his mouth. But his grip is stronger, and he makes sure Noctis recognizes it. “Hhngh… Don’t make me order you, Shield.”

He pushes his lips all the way down the length of Noctis’ cock, the demand making this game become very, very dangerous as he knows it’s going to explode in a moment. They’re both chasing after that rush, the release of endorphins in his blood already making the world a little hazy. He moans around Noctis’ cock, bobbing his head, knowing that if he continues in such a manner, he’ll be tasting the sweet nectar of his King soon. He reaches down to push down his own arousal, his pants painfully tight, but then stops when he feels a boot kick against arm.

“No. Suffer.”

Staring defiantly up at him, he makes a show of holding his hands up and away from his body, keeping Noctis’ cock in his mouth. Suffer isn’t the word he’d use right at this moment. No, the word he would use to describe his current state of being would be ecstasy. Pure, utterly hedonistic ecstasy.  Gladio puts his arms behind his back, and locks his arms, his mouth moving back down towards the base of Noctis’ cock. He hums low, and hears the Prince moan as the vibrations hit him. He pulls his mouth back up to the tip, and tortures the sensitive head more with the middle of his tongue, droplets of his essence beginning to leak from the slit.

“If I come...you will make me come again…”

Their eyes lock together as he keeps sucking on the tip of his cock. Gladio gives a small nod of his head, the order one he was going to make happen regardless if it had been announced or not. He pushes his tongue back down towards the base, the tip of his nose brushing against the kinky curls at the base of the King’s cock, his mouth watering as that musk hits him full force. He feels a hand grip onto his half ponytail, fingers clutching in the strands in a poor attempt to execute some force over him. He sucks harder on Noctis, recognizing his tells - longer, louder moans begin to leave the King’s mouth as he gets closer to his orgasm. Gladio moves his mouth and tongue up and down his length, pushing the King right to the edge. He hears Noctis’ moan echo in the throne room, as waves of cum begin to flood his mouth, two hands holding onto his head as his throat working fast to swallow the gift of his King’s essence.  

The cock in his mouth begins to grow slightly limp, his cue to move his mouth off of him. He licks him clean, pressing a soft kiss to the top of Noctis’ cock, and sits back on his knees, the hands on the back of his head dropping away. “What will My King ask of me now?”

“Get your pants off, and let me ride your beautiful cock.” Breathless, the King stands up from the throne, and puts a bottle of lube into his hand. “Don’t make me wait.”

Already unzipping his slacks, he pulls his pants and underwear down, revealing his thick girth, hard and ready for the taking. He sits down on the throne, pouring lube onto his palm as he gets his cock prepped. Noctis faces him, straddling his thighs as he starts to rub his ass over the tip of his cock, his hand still transferring more lube to it.

“You don’t have to worry about me.” Noctis drapes his arms on top of his shoulders, hips pushing down to tease the both of them some more. He moans low, as he feels it’s already wet and ready for receiving him, no easy feat. “Put it in me, Gladio...I need to feel your cock inside of me…”

Moaning low, he rubs the tip against Noctis’ rim, then slips it inside of him. “Is this what you want, My King…?” He speaks low near his ear, the way the Prince moans in response lets him know he’s got him just where he wants him. “You want my cock?”

“Nnngh… Yes…”

He pulls his hand away, and with one quick thrust, he’s penetrating Noctis with a low moan. His lips gravitate towards Noctis’ Adam’s apple, as his head is tossed back - no doubt feeling the same bittersweet satisfaction that he’s now feeling. It’s always a wild ride getting to this moment, and every single time the build up is different, but always so incredibly satisfying. To be buried back inside of Noctis’ body again, it’s the best feeling in the world. Every single thrust draws a needy moan from his King, the man that people love and respect. The man he loves and respects.

“Hold on tight, Noctis…” He murmurs low into his ear, as he lifts them up off the throne. He sits back down, dropping him onto his cock, the caterwaul scream music to his ears. “That’s good, isn’t it?” He lifts them both up, and then drops back down, sinking himself deeper into Noctis’ body with each lift.

“Hhhngh!!”

His King puts his hands on Gladio’s knees, allowing him to lean back against the throne. “Ride it, King. Fuck yourself good and hard on my cock.”

Noctis rolls his hips, blunt nails digging into his knees as he lifts him up, then drops back down onto Gladio’s cock, mimicking what he’d just done. “Gods….you’re so….”

“You love it.”

“Fuck yes, I do.”

He bucks his hips, staring at the expressions on Noctis’ face, savoring each little nuance he sees. When he flexes his cock deep inside of him, the King’s mouth drops down with a wanton moan. When he pushes his cock further in, the King’s eyes roll back in his head as heated words are shouted - some of love, other times his name. And when he puts his hand back around his stiff length, the pleasure-filled scream that comes from his King reverberates in his ears for hours.

One to always obey an order, he brings the King to another orgasm, the warmth of his release covering his fist, his lips connecting to the pulse point on Noctis’ neck. He can feel his erratic heartbeat, and then when he’s coming down, he starts to bounce him hard on his cock, hitting him in that spot, bringing more loud moans from his King’s throat. Gladio grabs onto the back of his head, and forces him to stare at him as he begins to come, foreheads touching as they share this moment together.

It takes the two of them a few moments to collect themselves, both breathing hard from their limited workout. He uncurls his fist, and leans back against the throne, a smile on his face. “You feel better now, Your Majesty?”

“I feel perfect. Thank you, Gladio.” Noctis smiles - a real smile, one that sets his heart rate racing. “Do you have more work to attend to?” The game is finished; their true feelings for one another begin to spill out during their post-coitus haze.

“Just boring reports for your lackeys.” He smirks, lifting him up off of his spent cock. He pulls Noctis’ pants back up, using a handkerchief to clean him up as best he can. “What about you? You gonna head upstairs soon?”

“I think I might.” Gladio gets himself situated, and removes himself off the throne, Noctis reclaiming his rightful seat, but not before the two share a long hug - neither ready to say goodbye to the other. “Come up later with the others?”

“It would be my pleasure.” He bows his head, crossing his right arm over his chest. “We’ll bring dinner.”

“Sounds perfect.”

He heads back down the stairs, and makes his way to the double doors. He turns around, and sees Noctis leaning back on the throne, his eyes closed - no doubt asleep now, their rounds usually tuckering the man out. It brings a smile to Gladio’s lips, knowing that he is the cause of that look on his face. He heads out of the throne room, and makes his way back to his office with a little bounce in his step.

***

Cross-posted to AO3

[bascojinn]

Astrals and Izania (no, that`s not a typo)

Shame on me, but only with help of certain article I noticed Astrals in the final cutscene of FFXV. I feel embarrassed for posting such an obvious thing after year since game’s release, but recently I had a conversation with different people, who also pointed how useless are covenants, considering lack of Astral’s presence during final battle. So it’s not only me, but plenty of fans were confused. 

I blame poor cutscene direction, because Astrals had appeared for good 2 seconds right at the moment when Noctis summoned Kings of Lucii and most this time it was focused on Bahamut, who looks like another King’s ghost. It’s really easy to mistake them for Lucii Brats.

The article claimed that Astrals likely sacrificed themselves as well as Noctis, but I’m not 100% sure. Well, they’d better to commit sacrifice and do something helpful for once.

I wish I’d find this site sooner, because part about difference between Japanese and English versions of the game also blew my mind. 

A parallel to Ardyn’s story is found in some of the game’s NPCs. You may remember Ezma from the Meldacio Hunter HQ. She’s Dave’s mother, and the leader of the Hunters community. “Ezma” is what the English localization calls her, but in Japanese, her name is “Izania” (イザニア) — strikingly close to “Izunia” (イズニア), the surname Ardyn took from Noctis’s ancestor, who he claims betrayed him.

During Dave’s last quest, “The Witch of the Woods,” we learn that Izania vilified her sister, Kimya, spreading lies that she was a witch, and causing her exile into a forest.

It may be already discussed by trashman fans, but I haven’t see it anywhere yet, unlike endless speculations based on random “leaks” or Pitioss Theory, which still circulates among the fandom. I highly recommend you read original article with more details regarding Izania’s sisters and how it possibly foreshadows Ardyn’s backstory (Izania ostracized her sister, who provided healing potions for Hunters HQ and caused her exile). 

From myself I can add only one thing, which wasn’t mentioned  by author. “Ezma’s” full name is Izania Auburnbrie. In case you don’t know, auburn is specific dark red hair colour:

... and we all know how non-subtle Square Enix with their naming.

[blazefire-engine]

The Ever Regal Regalia

Based (loosely) on a side quest given by Cindy in Chapter 2 of FFXV.

AN: For fun, I suggest listening to Cindy’s theme while reading this.  I swear it’ll be worth it.  

The sun started to set as the Prince and his retinue made their way back to Hammerhead.  Sweaty, dirty, and exhausted from their journey on foot to retrieve the car wax, they were met with an unusual site in front of the garage.  The scene caused Gladio’s voice to rumble deeply, the tone making Noctis almost shiver.  “Well, I’ll be.  And I thought the desert couldn’t get any hotter.”

With a low, wolf whistle, Prompto picked up his slacked jaw and fished out his camera.  This was just too good to pass up.  It had Ignis fiddling with his glasses, cleaning the lenses with the fabric of his shirt and putting them on once more as if he thought he witnessed a mirage.  While Noctis pulled at the neck of his shirt, which suddenly began to feel too tight.  As the four males watched the scene between the two females, it seemed that time had slowed down.

Her golden skin exposed in all its glory, Cindy had rid her yellow, cropped jacket and clad in a red bikini top.  She giggled with a water hose in hand.  Her thumb pressed at the hose’s opening and the water sprayed all over the place, including the stoic Glaive.  Lightning, who ditched her Glaive coat, settled on only her sleeveless turtleneck that clung tightly to her skin.  With pale and milky skin uncovered, her toned arms rose as she feebly tried to shield herself from the spray.  Her face contorted in amusement and a chuckle escaped her lips.

At a flick of her wrist, Lightning summoned a watera, which resulted in a drenched female mechanic.  Cindy countered by releasing her thumb from the hose’s opening, subjecting the Glaive to the full force of a water jet.  Soaked to the bone and pieces of pink hair flat on her face, Lightning’s leather outfit clung to her every curve more than before.  She laughed refreshingly, a sound the Prince had not heard in a long time.  

“Looks like we got an audience.”  Cindy grinned and waved her hand.  “Hey there, Prince!”

“And what are you two lovely ladies doing?” Gladio swooped in, garnering attention from the mechanic.

“Givin’ the ole girl a wash.”  Cindy replied, donning on her jacket as she felt a chilly, evening breeze.  “Poor thing ain’t as shiny as she is with all the dust lyin’ around.”  

“Hey.” Lightning greeted, running her fingers through wet hair, combing it up and away from her face.  The action left Noctis frozen as he witnessed a different side of Lightning, who always kept a part of her face covered due to her hair’s natural style.  

“H-hey.” He said back with a sheepish hand rubbing the back of his neck and looked away.  Without hair framing her face, the color of her pale blue eyes were more intense than usual.  “You’ve been busy.”  He nodded towards the Regalia.  Everything from the windows to wheels were spick and span, except for the front.  

“Mm, yeah.” She replied and walked forward, bending to pick up the bucket of soapy water, in which the Prince coughed and looked away again.  Her bodysuit was not helping with his situation.  He could only watch as she dipped a rag in the bucket and proceeded to wipe the Regalia’s windshield.  As she bent once more, he saw Prompto’s flushed face behind her, both eyes and mouth wide open.  

“So, you found that car wax?” Lightning grunted a bit as she stretched to wipe the upper portion of the windshield.  Noctis watched her toned arm, the muscles working beautifully, and his eyes travelled to her form, back arching as he stammered. “Y-yeah.  The daemons were a bit troublesome.”

She raised an eyebrow.  “You sure you’re not injured or anything?  You look stiff.”  As she finished washing the front, she proceeded to the hood of the car, bending almost at a 90-degree which made her arched back more noticeable.  He swallowed, throat feeling as bone dry as the desert.  “Just tired.  It was a bit far on foot.”

“You rely on the Regalia too much.”  She scoffed, a bit amused.  “I’m sure Gladio enjoyed the small detour.”  

“Prompto wouldn’t stop complaining.”

“I’m sure.”  Lightning replied as she rinsed the hood with the water hose.  Cindy happily bounced to her side, holding a red bucket of the car wax they found and wanting to service the Regalia immediately.  Popping the hood open, the two females gathered close and inspected the engine and parts underneath.  

Prompto and Gladio stood next to Noctis as they watched the women work.  “Man, am I dreaming?” The blonde cameraman sighed blissfully, while the King’s Shield countered, “Oh, I hope I’m not.”

“There’s just something hot about women and cars.”  Prompto continued in a somewhat euphoric state.  

“Said women are drenched as well.”  Ignis suddenly appeared behind them and Noctis spun around to  look at him in horror.  His advisor never made quips about these kinds of topics.

Gladio whistled lowly and teased.  “Iggy likes what he sees.”

“I think we all do.”  He replied in a murmur, adjusting his glasses as if to get a better look.  “There’s no harm in spectating.”

“I can’t believe this.”  Noctis nearly groaned as his friends created an awkward situation that was borderline voyeuristic.  With nothing else to say, he continued to watch the two females, mainly his Glaive.  She tucked a damp string of hair behind the ear and bent down on the hood, her strong arms flexing as they supported her weight.  His stomach flipped at the realization she was damn attractive, and she wasn’t even doing it on purpose.

Pursing her lips, she did something with Cindy’s instructions and he was almost in awe with how every muscle in her body was dedicated to the task.  He was entranced with how she licked her lips and bit on her bottom lip.  “Uh-oh.”  Gladio sang at his side, voice still in teasing mode.  “Lover boy’s got it bad.”  He ignored his Shield’s jibes as he was totally transfixed on Lightning.

The spell was broken as Cindy slammed the hood shut, slapping her palms together which was a sign that her work was done.  “Now that I’ve slapped some of this wax in your car, y’all be glidin’ down the road and saving gas too.”   

“I greatly and deeply appreciate your work, ladies.”  Ignis came by and inspected the Regalia, shiny, sleek, and beautiful.  “She is looking as regal as ever.”

“We’re really grateful, Cindy.”  Gladio thanked and went to inspect the newly cleaned car, while Prompto began to take pictures.  

“Thanks a lot.”  Noctis said genuinely, lightly squeezing her shoulder.  

“It was my pleasure, Prince.  Lightnin’s been a huge help.  I have half a mind to hire her.  But I figure, you wouldn’t have liked that.”  The belle of the body shop gave him a cheeky smile and when she winked, Eos help him, she just knew.  “Glad you enjoyed the show.  If she were a car, she’d be a pretty damn fine one.”

He groaned once more.  “Not you, too.”

She giggled.  Her eyes travelled to Lightning, who was currently rubbing a towel in her hair.  “The look you had is like when Paw-paw sees a mighty, fine car.”

“She’s not a car.”

“That she ain’t, but I know love when I see it.”  She winked once more and stretched an arm above her head.  “Hey, Light!” She called out.  “Wanna grab some grub?”

Laying the towel around her neck, Lightning gave her a small smile.  “Sure.  I’m hungry.”  As Cindy nearly skipped to the Glaive’s side, she wrapped an arm around Lightning’s and made their way to Takka’s Pit Stop.  But halfway there, Lightning turned around and looked Noctis in the eye.  “You coming?”

His body moved before his mind could think and his mouth could speak.  It was then Noctis realized, he could never say no to anything she asked.

AN: This got so out of context.  But I needed a car wash scene.  I also needed Light and Cindy being BFFs because they’re goals (and nosebleeds).  And I needed the boys gawking at them because those two are just damn sexy.  

And shout out to @loveiscosmicsin.  If you are looking for another car wash Lightis, here’s the AO3 link.  This popped up way back and I remembered reading it and it’s super lovely~

For Lightning’s Glaive garb, I imagine it’s a mix between her Lightning Returns’ outfit (Equilibrium) and Crowe’s in Kingsglaive.  It would be more like Crowe’s except that she’s wearing her sleeveless turtleneck inside and a crimson cape behind her. (But if it’s a formal event/super cold, she’ll wear the black frock coat like Nyx’s).  There’s also this one too (link) made by a fan, which is pretty awesome and yummy and I can totally see her wearing this.