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thisfairytalegonebad · 1 year ago

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Flare - Whumptober day 14

Fandom: Final Fantasy XV Character: Noctis Lucis Caelum Rating: Teen and up Warnings: None

Read below the cut or on AO3 here.

Noct got lucky, all things considered. Lucky he was born as the Crown Prince, with immediate access to medical attention from the best doctors in the country. Lucky his father shied away from neither cost nor effort to ensure that in addition to the scientific approach, he also got treated by the Oracle, Queen Sylva of Tenebrae herself.

If he were anyone else, he would have never walked again.

This is what he’s been told many times, by doctors, politicians, journalists, even his own father. Lucky, they call him, and he supposes he sees where they’re coming from, but it’s still kind of a stupid thing to say - it’s not like he’s had any control over any of it.

Right now, he doesn’t feel very lucky at all.

Waking up is always a chore, his internal clock’s factory settings are just running a few hours behind and he’s used to that. He hates getting up in the morning, hates how tired he is all day, and hates that this is the case no matter how early he goes to bed.

Today, the moment he sluggishly blinks his eyes open, it’s not tiredness that makes him want to curl up and die. No, it’s the dull ache in his back that spikes into blinding agony the moment he tries to move, and in his half-awake state, he can’t hold back a high-pitched whine.

Even if he wanted to get up, he’s not sure he could. If he had to guess, he’d say probably not, and that’s speaking from experience. It’s far from the first time this has happened, but it’s been months, nearly a year since the last time so he’s almost forgotten how much it hurts.

It’s a Wednesday, he’s supposed to get up for school, and even though he woke up before his alarm this morning - which in itself should’ve made him suspicious - it’s already light out so it’s probably almost time.

He knows he should get his phone, check the time, turn off his alarm and maybe call Ignis, tell him he doesn’t need to bother picking him up for school today - there’s no way he can go like this, he can’t even move - but he simply can’t work up the willpower to twist enough to actually grab it.

So he just lies there for a while, simply existing, and when his alarm finally does go off he tries to turn it off, but moving sends sharp bolts of pain down his spine, and his phone’s all the way on the nightstand and it hurts so much he can’t manage to reach it.

The alarm blares for what feels like hours while Noct grits his teeth and resigns himself to the fact that he’s going to find out how long it’ll go on before turning off automatically.

He doesn’t get to find out, because it’s still blaring next to his ear when his door opens and Ignis steps inside, clearly intending to wake him up.

His eyebrows shoot up in surprise when Noct makes eye contact, which is fair, Noct usually doesn’t even see as far as the door yet when Ignis comes to kick him out of bed.

“Your alarm is going off,” Ignis points out helpfully, then frowns and comes to stand next to the bed when he realises Noct isn’t making any move to turn it off. “Is everything alright?”

“Back hurts,” Noct tells him curtly. Pain makes him crabby and he isn’t in the mood for pleasantries. Ignis will understand, he always does.

“I see,” Ignis says, bending down to turn off the alarm himself. “I’ll call the school, let them know. Do you wish to sleep some more?”

He does, but he doesn’t think he can with his current levels of pain. The dull ache he felt right after waking up has been slowly increasing to the point where it’s impossible to ignore, even without moving.

“Painkillers first, I think.”

“Of course.” Ignis saunters out of the room and returns within a minute with a glass of water and the painkillers.

“No water,” Noct quickly says, because he’s not sitting up enough to not spill water all over himself and he’s definitely not about to get into a position where he can comfortably drink.

He takes the pills from Ignis and swallows them dry, then closes his eyes and waits for them to kick in so he can go back to sleep.

----

When he wakes again, his curtains are drawn - Ignis’ doing, Noct always leaves them open at night so he can see the moon and stars when it’s clear out - and his back still hurts, but the painkillers haven’t quite worn off yet so he’s actually able to sit up somewhat and grab his phone.

It’s late morning and he’s got a bunch of texts from Prompto, concerned but not panicked, so apparently Ignis filled him in. He quickly answers them then puts his phone away and faces an uncomfortable truth: he really, really needs to pee.

Slowly, painstakingly, he turns in bed until his legs hang over the edge, and then he has to stop and take a few deep breaths in anticipation of the pain before he actually pushes himself to his feet.

Even when it’s expected, the pain is enough to take his breath away for a moment, but when it subsides to a more bearable level, he thinks he might be able to make it to the bathroom that’s attached to his bedroom, but when he goes to take the first step, his confidence falters.

If it were just the pain in his back, he thinks he could power through it long enough to shuffle to the bathroom, but his leg feels weak and unstable and he doesn’t really want to risk falling, so after a moment of hesitation, he sucks it up and calls for Ignis.

Ignis, of course, shows up within seconds and is by his side even faster than that.

“Do you want to lean on me?” he asks without preamble, bless him. For all his fussiness, Noct is really glad Ignis knows him well enough to figure out what he needs right now without panicking over him or asking him loads of stupid questions.

“Yeah,” he says and lets Ignis take most of his weight as he slowly, painstakingly limps to the bathroom.

While he’s in there, he also uses the opportunity to quickly brush his teeth because he is not getting up again after this.

When he comes back out, Ignis is there to support him back to the bed, and by the time he’s lying back down he kind of wants to cry with pain and exhaustion and just general misery.

“Do you need anything else?” Ignis asks, hovering by the door.

Noct is about to decline when he reconsiders. “My tablet?”

Might as well entertain himself if he's going to be stuck in bed all day.

----

The day passes in an uncomfortable blur of pain and sleep and boredom, with Noct alternating between dozing and watching mindless videos on his tablet, but by late afternoon, he can’t stand it anymore.

It’s been long enough for him to safely take another dose of painkillers, so he pops some pills into his mouth, and when Ignis comes to check on him the next time, he asks to be taken to the living room.

“Can we watch a movie?” he half-begs as Ignis helps him make his way out of his room and onto the couch.

Ignis hesitates for a moment, long enough for familiar guilt to well up in Noct’s chest - Ignis is so busy all the time, of course he doesn’t have time to watch a movie with Noct, it’s bad enough he’s been stuck babysitting him all day - but then smiles at him, soft and gentle, and says, “Of course, Noct.”

His back is on fire by the time he’s deposited on the couch, legs across Ignis’ lap, but the change of scenery is worth it.

Ignis lets him pick the movie because of course he does, so he picks a childhood favourite of his. It's an animated movie that he remembers Specs liking too when they were kids, hoping that it'll make up for his now messed up schedule a little

At first, Ignis has his laptop on Noct’s legs, working quietly while glancing at the TV screen and occasionally making a comment about the movie, but by the time the movie reaches its climax, he shuts the laptop and just watches.

It’s nice, in a way. Noct’s still hurting and he knows from experience that he’ll be out of commission for the rest of the week, he’s still in for a few days of agony, and after that, he’ll have to take up physical therapy with Gladio again, but he also gets to spend some downtime with Ignis for the first time in forever, and that, at least, makes it all bearable.

----

Read all of my Whumptober prompt fills here.

#whumptober2023 #no.14 #flare #ffxv #final fantasy xv #fic #thisfairytalegonebad's writing #noctis lucis caelum

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queen-yalo · 4 years ago

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FFXV | Headcanons | S/O getting hurt during a battle

Request: Okay then 😌 May I request HCs of the chocobros (separated) with a S/O that gets really hurt in battle? Like, almost dead xD Ohhhh and for extra angsty points, they argued before the battle 👀🔥 Pfff I forgot, with a fluffy ending in the end, like you wanted 😅💕 [by @kirahhhh]

A/N: This is the stuff I need!! ♥ Hope you enjoy!

Pairing(s): Gladiolus Amicitia x reader; Ignis Scientia x reader; Noctis Lucis Caelum x reader; Prompto Argentum x reader

+++

• Gladio could be an ass sometimes, no doubt about that. You always knew he was protective and slightly on the jealous side... but sometimes it just got ridiculous and constricting. You couldn’t take this anymore. While you didn’t want to break up with him, something needed to change. So, you tried talking to him about it. Of course he would dodge all your attempts to talk this out with him. He would never admit that he was jealous. Or that this jealousy was just so intense because he was SO afraid to lose you. He felt so stupid for being insecure like that. But he couldn’t help it.

• So naturally, you two ended up fighting. And fighting with Gladio was never pretty. You two would yell and scream at each other, throwing around insults and finally going over to ignoring each other. It was always a hell of a mess until you two would sit down and actually talk it out, which would usually happen the next day. In the end you could never go long without each other.

• Until that one day where stuff went down before you two could make up. What was supposed to be a normal hunt, nothing extraordinary, ended up being a fight for life and death. Who could have known that a damn Behemoth would lurk in the forests? Gladio could punch himself for not checking beforehand. At least all of you got out of the fight alive. More or less as he had to admit when he saw the huge gash along your side where the Behemoth got you with his horns.

• Gladio hated himself. Why did he say all those awful things to you? How could he ever let that happen? Why didn’t he protect you? You deserved so much better than him. What if those words were the last thing he ever said to you? What if he couldn’t apologize and make things right? Could he live with that kind of guilt for the rest of his life?

• He stayed at your side until you finally woke up. He was a mess. He actually tried to break up with you. Gladio was ready to let you go - to protect you. From himself and this lifestyle. But you wouldn’t let him. It took some time but in the end you convinced him that this is what you wanted. All you were asking for was a little more reason and communication when things didn’t go well between the two of you. Gladio was more than ready to work on that. You both were. It goes without saying that you both never had a fight like that anymore.

• Ignis spent a lot of time at the Citadel. It was frustrating sometimes. You always seemed to be on second place. Of course you knew that his jobwas important. But sometimes... just sometimes you wished you would feel equally important for him. It was almost impossible to really fight with Ignis. He could stay incredibly calm, even in the most stressful situations. Arguments or fights were no exceptions. But even Ignis had his limits. And when he felt like he was about to snap he “officially” ended the discussion and would simply ignore you if you tried to bring that topic up again.

• But there was one time where Specs just... exploded. Not in public of course, but once you two were in the private of your own home. You went out with a friend of yours. A male friend to be precise. On a night that was usually reserved for you and Ignis - but he was working. Naturally you didn’t see a problem with spending that now free time however you wanted. If Ignis could turn you down for work, you could go out with someone else, right? It’s not like this was a date or something. Just two friends having coffee.

• But Ignis was livid. You had never seen him like this before. He was yelling and swearing... and at one point you just walked out. You wouldn’t let him talk to you like that, nor would you get down on his level and talk back like that. How dare he? Treating you like property, pushing you away all the time only to act like he owns you when things don’t go his way?

• When you left, Ignis finally cooled down. This wasn’t fair. It wasn’t and he knew it. He knew he was acting irrational. But he couldn’t help it. He had been botteling up his emotions for too long. He wanted to spend time with you. He hated disappointing you by cancelling yet another date. He hated it. But alas - what could he do? He had a duty to fulfill. But then again... he didn’t want to let you down. He was scared to lose you, which is why he snapped when he saw you with your friend. He couldn’t stand the thought of being without you. The thought of you finding comfort in another man’s arms. No. He needed to talk to you. Now.

• Unfortunately... he was too late. You got involved in a fight just around the corner and were badly injured. Someone tried to rob a bank. Yes, you were able to stop the robber... but at what cost? Ignis was heartbroken when he stood next to your bed at the hospital, watching your unmoving form, being kept alive by those various tubes and machines. It was horrible. Would you ever wake up again? The doctors were unsure. Ignis knew you were strong... but... well maybe that was his punishment for being a disappointment.

• He was so relieved when your eyes fluttered open after countless, excruciating days. He half expected that you would tell him to leave as your eyes landed on him. But to his surprise you smiled at him. Weakly... but it was there. Ignis knew as well as you did, that this was neither the time nor the place to talk about what happened between you two. For now you were both glad you had each other again. Life wasn’t finish with both your stories yet.

• “Princes will be Princes.” Prompto once said. And when it came to this... there was no Prince like Noctis. He was a spoilt brat. And sometimes he acted like one too. And sometimes... that was driving you crazy. He could have the worst attitude if something happened that he didn’t like. It was ridiculous. Frustrating. Nerve-wrecking even. It was like he turned into a pouty 4-year-old. You couldn’t talk to him properly, let alone reason with him. All you could do was to accept his pouting and wait for it to go away... or do what he wants to make him happy again.

• You were so sick of it. Sick of that man-child always getting his way. Sick of always having to act like you were okay with his tantrums. And one night, you had enough. You snapped. Yelled at him. Called him out on his ridiculous behavior. And what did he do? He yelled back. It wasn’t pretty. You had never seen him like that. Did you go too far? No, it was about time somebody did something about his antics. Maybe snapping at him wasn’t the right way to behave. But him telling you that he didn’t need you and that you were annoying anyway, was definitely worse.

• You two had your occasional quarrels, but it never escalated into a fully blown fight like this. Neither of you knew how to deal with that, so you both did what you thought was best: Ignored each other until the other one would cave. Who would have thought, that a Granhorn would run you over before you two could sort things out?

• Yes, your head wasn’t fully in the game when the five of you went hunting - understandably. And the fact, that this Grandhorn was hidden, until the very moment it came out of the bushes and trampled you, didn’t make it any better. You instinctively curled in on yourself and wrapped your arms around your head, but you still took quite a bad beating. Bones were breaking, skin was tearing, and you felt all of it.

• Noctis panicked. This wasn’t supposed to happen. You weren’t supposed to get injured like this? How dare you? He yells at Ignis to do something, to fix you. He can’t stand the slight whimper that escapes your throat, it tears his heart apart. You shouldn’t suffer. Not mentally, not physically. And now you were suffering in both ways - just because of him and his incompetence to deal with his life. He wanted to slap himself. It was all his fault.

• Noctis refuses to leave your side once Ignis patched you up and tucked you into your sleeping bag at the camp. Night had already fallen, so driving back to Insomnia was much too dangerous. The men just hoped that you didn’t have any internal injuries and that you would make it through the night. Noctis felt helpless as he watched your unconscious form, your chest barely rising and falling. His hand stroked your hair gently as he made the decision to never let it come to a point like this anymore. He didn’t want to fight with you. He didn’t want you to hate him. He was determined to fix things as soon as you woke up. Until then, he would just sit there next to you and read you some of your favorite stories. That was the one thing he could do for you right now. After all, you loved listening to his voice.

• Fighting with Prompto was almost impossible. Almost. After all, he was a very soft individual and needed harmony at all costs - which is the reason he never talks back, even if he’s being pushed around. He never speaks up and he does everything to make everyone happy... without looking out for himself. Yes, it was great that he always wanted to maintain the peace and harmony within the group - but at what cost?

• You were trying to help him with his insecurities, supporting him whenever possible, teaching him to stand up for himself and his opinions. But when it came to it, Prompto always caved and took the easy way out of a confrontation by backing down. This happened one too many times now.

• Yes, you were angry. Yes, you yelled at him. Yes, you were a tiny bit unfair to him. And yes, it was unexpected that Prompto found his voice right in that moment. Of course you were glad, that he finally stood up for himself... you just wished it wouldn’t have been like this. It was ugly. You were screaming at each other, throwing around harsh words and nasty insults - neither of you deserved that.

• Prompto felt incredibly bad when you slammed the door shut as you left. He had such a bad conscience about lashing out at you like that. It wasn’t like him. What had gotten into him? Was it because it was a generally stressful time currently? Or was it because you were constantly trying to change him? He had to talk to you about that. He knew that you weren’t actually trying to change him, you wanted to help him. But maybe... just maybe it was a little too much. He needed to make things right with you. Now.

• He sprinted after you - but it was too late. The only thing he found was your unconscious, bleeding form in the middle of the street. Prompto was freaking out. What was he supposed to do? Get you to safety. Get you to a doctor. Find whoever did this. Thoughts were racing through his head. He tried to sort them, tried to find the right thing to do. But... he only came around when someone was calling for help and tending to your wounds.

• It had been the worst couple days of his life, until the doctors finally said that you would be alright. It was close. Too close. But you would make it. You would come back to him. Until then, he would sit right next to you and read your favorite stories to you and tell you about his day, how he finally managed to assert himself in a certain matter. He could have sworn that the corners of your lips twitched slightly when he told you that. Even when being in a state like this, you were still showing Prompto, that you were there for him. You truly were the best thing that ever happened to him.

#final fantasy xv #final fantasy 15 #final fantasy xv headcanons #final fantasy 15 headcanons #gladiolus amicitia #gladiolus x reader #gladiolus amicitia x reader #ignis scientia #ignis x reader #ignis scientia x reader #noctis lucis caelum #noctis x reader #noctis lucis caelum x reader #prompto argentum #prompto x reader #prompto argentum x reader

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nhebi · 3 years ago

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chapter v

warning : major spoiler gameplay, mention of blood, fighting, drinking behavior, sibling quarrels, unrequited love, arranged marriage, strained relationship between major characters (earlier chapter) and major character death (upcoming chapters)

The next tomb lies deep inside a tunnel — or so what you thought. After defeating a group of Sabertusk, you can only pant and have Cor shaking his head at you low stamina during short time battle. Prompto gains a praise from Cor — having a fanboying moment until Cor brings him back to the ground.

"Let's go, princess! We don't have a privilege to sit and pant out after a battle that doesn't take ten of us," he calls out as you let out a groan, drinking down a potion to replenish your energy before following after them.

"Hey— What!" Noctis accidentally let out an arminger — hitting you on the face in the process as he mutters a half-apology before stops in front of a dark cave.

"Are you sure this is the right place, Cor? Maybe your age begins to affect your memories," you shudder, not feeling sure about what lies inside there.

"I'm as sure as my loyalty to you, Your Highness," he replies before giving Noctis a key.

It's a key to open the next tomb as Cor will stay outside here to see if any imperial soldiers are roaming outside and there's no one to protect your back.

You take few steps inside — it's cold and dark, surprisingly not humid. There's no light that can trespass this area, so you have to bring out a flashlight. There's nothing can you really see and enjoy. Just an empty place all the way back.

"Look! There's a.. gate?"

"Seems like this place used to be a shelter," Ignis replies as we enter it cautiously.

It seems so because during the time where war waged between Lucis and Niflheim, many of people sought out a safe shelter and refuged, fleeing from their burning villages and protect what's left with them.

You feel something long and prominent under your foot — noticing a long cable from inside. "Follow this? I might die like those characters from horror movies," you cringe at Ignis' suggestion, but still following it nonetheless — not like you have any better idea about what to do and not to do, though. Unless you have a brain half of what Ignis has — which you do not.

It turns out that the cable is from a couple of generators that stacked up on each other before you finally push some buttons on it, noticing a streak of light coming out after turning on the generator.

Running deep inside the tunnel, you can't help but feel scared for literally everything — including Gladio kicks a can and Prompto shouts at you for that. This is horrific — you're utterly terrified. You need a psychologist to meet after this because it seems like you're in need to talk your mind out about this.

"What's that!" A loud bang on a metal double-door leaves you and Prompto in shock.

The others say it's nothing important but we all can't be sure about what can happen in this underground shelter that had been abandoned for years. Feeling not sure about what can happen, you finally collect some courage to meet something behind the door face-to-face and fight it until one's last breath.

"There's.. nothing," you sigh, feeling disappointed yet relieved that your worry isn't that needed.

Following Noctis to find another hint, you meet a Goblin party that attacks you from behind in this small, cramped area — unable to throw your confetti at them before you finally use your fan at your advantage — watching their blood seeping through your fan.

"Oh, dear, how I hate this creature," you scowl at their bodies before continuing to find the tomb.

After few minutes of running, shouting and fear of kicked cans, you arrive at the mentioned tomb and can't lie about having a feeling of proud to able to stand throughout this journey — something that you wish won't happen during your bachelorette party the time you will get married.

After gaining another power of king, you can only hope that your fear won't contaminate this hope you put on your brother — as he's still young compared to the other kings and have more to explore as someone who just left the city for the very first time as a personal journey.

"How it feels like?" Prompto asks after Noctis gained the axe's power. "Feels like having some cards under my sleeves."

"The copycat king," both of you and Gladiolus chuckle, giving each other a fist bump for having the same thought.

The empire is building a new base at Duscae, so Cor called you to give a head up about it and visit Monica to gain more information about this base.

Monica has marked a spot at map where you can enter the imperial base through the back door. Having them able to be slipped into easily without anyone to see you and cut your head off mercilessly.

Getting inside the Regalia and drive to the border, you sigh in silent while letting your limbs and head hanging outside — trying to cool down your excessive amount of body heat after multiple fights you had beforehand.

"So, who's Monica exactly?" Prompto asks as you try to give him a brief explanation for it.

"A servant of Crownsguards — like Ignis and Gladio, here. She's a colleague of Dustin," you smile lightly, hoping he gets a glimpse of it.

After arriving at the supposed location, Monica splits you into two groups as you and Noctis will be with Cor. "Please don't tell me I'll have my pride turned into a coal after this," you sigh as you follow Noctis to meet Cor at the promised spot.

Looking around to see any troop from up of the roof, you and Noctis begin to ambush them with Cor — not giving them any time to fight as you finish each of them along with your brother.

"Princess, I suggest you not to take every single down enemies at sight — leave one to your brother, as his skill still need to be polished," he walks away before you walk to meet the rest of the team, finding multiple troops laying down on the ground motionless.

An imperial airship flies above your head, making you feel less than pleased to see that you still have another enemy to finish off. The rest doesn't look like they're tired — and somehow, you want to smack them for that because you're in need of eight hours of sleep and full-course meal around this hour.

"Well, if this is not Cor the Immortal. It seems like you're not died yet back at the Citadel,"

In a mech suit, this person who wished to see Cor died getting off the airship, not giving himself a second thought to stop this fight and go back home to hear the next order from his higher-up.

"I'll take care of the troops! You all can take care of that mecha," you reply before warping to the nearest troop before summoning a short sword to cut the circuit off.

After finishing the rest of the troops, you hop off to help the others fight the mech and watch it falling down — running away from it before it exploded with a faint 'glory to the empire' in your ear.

"Impressive," Cor looks at you and Noctis. "It seems like I have nothing to worry about you two anymore," turning his back, Cor leaves you with Monica.

You're more than happy, for sure. Because aside from having him to not giving you any single, nit-picking comment that's personal (you swear that wearing skirt doesn't mean you can't fight on air), earning a praise for him to be able to fight your way is something that's enough to acknowledge of strength to protect yourself and the one you love.

"You better,"

You look at Noctis' face, able to put your money on the table that it's Iris — Gladio's little sister and a girl who has a crush on Noctis for the longest time you ever knew aside from Lunafreya.

"Not able to call her own brother, huh? What a pity," you smirk at Gladio, who rolls his eyes at your comment and sharp jab from Ignis consecutively.

"Did— did she say anything about me? A hello, maybe?" Prompto asks, a smile decorating his face.

"Don't bother. Even I'm just a fly in her eyes when Noctis is being around," you sigh, unwrapping your jacket from hips before wearing it to cover your crop top, feeling the sunlight burning your bare shoulders.

"Did you not put any sunscreen, princes?" You avert your gaze from Ignis, avoiding the scold you will earn if you tell him the truth.

"Oh, look at the clock! Iris must be waiting for us," you grin, pushing Ignis to the driver seat before you sit down between Gladio and Noctis — hoping Ignis will let you go for this one time.

Driving to the Lestallum, you can't help but look at everything in awe — all of this is more than amazing, from the various shop ranging from shoes to hat and cafés with sweets to enjoy — filling up your heart and stomach.

Parking down Regalia, you can help but regretting your choice for not putting any sunscreen beforehand because the sunlight here stings you worse than before and you think that getting Ignis to scold you sounds better.

"Gah, this evil light is ruining my skin," you take off your jacket and let it stop by at your arms, earning a raised eyebrow from Ignis before he takes out a small tube of sunscreen.

"Why can't you listen to me and follow what I've said once in a while," he sighs, squeezing a generous amount of sunscreen and rubbing them around your shoulders.

"Your shoulders are red and burning. I shall buy some soothing cream for you," he adds before you get inside the Leville Hotel to meet Iris.

"Gladdy!" She greets, pacing to him as you give her a small smile as a greeting.

"Look at you guys, holding your own out there," she giggles.

'Trust me, girl, I barely made it out' is what you want to say to her. The first thing you might do around here might be sleeping, eating and perhaps, playing King's Knight (you're in your phase as a geeky gamer) with Prompto and Noctis in your room.

Iris brings you to meet Jared, a servant of Amiticia house, with Talcott, his grandson. He helped Iris to runaway from Crown City during the ambush and brought her to safety place at Lestallum before anything bad happened.

"Princess and Prince Noctis, Iris is safe with me," Talcott smiles, placing his hand over his chest.

Talcott is a young boy with blond hair and bright smile. He's dressed in red checkered shirt and brown plus four. It seems like he still new about this protocol for royalty — but, you don't mind about it! After all, you're not any different from him about it.

"Your Highnesses, please forgive him. He has yet to learn about his manner," Noctis shakes his head, telling Jared he likes it.

Jared still refuses and standing on his ground before finally giving you all some private time to discuss about the situation at the Crown City.

"It's not pretty — but, it's a gift for me to be able to leave in one piece," she smiles before hesitating for a while.

"What is it?"

"It's about Lady Lunafreya," Noctis stops his knees from moving. "I heard she was at the city — but able to leave before it's too late. So, I'm sure she's alright by now."

Iris stands up from her seat and looks at all of you, "Well, have a good night's rest," she smiles, leaving the room for you all to sleep after a while.

"Hmm, macaron!" Ignis looks at you with nothing but pure awe and disappointment with this amount of sweets you ate.

From a light-hearted genoise to a thirty-layers of greentea crêpes with cream, you still feel no urge to stop and instead asking to see more place to Talcott.

"Hey, princess, check this out," Prompto holds a small pink-white box with little strawberry and cherry mascot at the hold, making your heart fluttered a bit.

"My promise," he smiles, remembering the strawberry shortcake he promised before you take a big bite of it while sitting down on a bench nearby, devouring the cake with a smile and no remorse.

"How about this store? I heard—" Ignis takes your hand in his, holding in securely so you can't run away to eat another dessert before a proper breakfast.

"Highness, I suggest for you to stop eating dessert before having a breakfast," he asks Talcott for a restaurant nearby for you to have something proper to eat.

Standing in front of Surgate's Beanmine, Ignis asks for an empty table for five and orders what's available on the menu. "I expect the plate to be clean after you eat," he watches you with a sharp gaze, not in the mood for joking about it.

The scene at the restaurant isn't bad — instead, it's your taste. There's nothing that can hurt you in a public place. You can enjoy your meal rest assured and last but not least — not a sight of your dear brother king to bug you off during dessert time.

Finishing the last bite of your chicken, Gladio cleans up the leftover sauce over your lips. "You're not a child anymore," he clicks his tongue, shifting his gaze on Prompto, who's having a time in his life, "Just— I hope all of you enjoy the food," he sighs.

Talcott nods his head, feeling happy that he can try all of these foods with your gang and hope he can have another time with you all to visit other local attractions.

Heading out from the restaurant, Ignis stops you from walking further. "Take off your jacket," he orders before placing some soothing cream over the burning mark, feeling it cold against your skin. "Wear your jacket while we're here and keep this around you," he slips it into your pocket then looking at your with unreadable expression.

"What's wrong, Ignis?"

He doesn't answer you for the first few minutes before he sighed and crossing his arms over his chest, "Was the shortcake.. good?"

You nod your head and can bet that it's one of the best strawberry shortcake you have ever had, thanking Prompto for buying it for you and hope you can have another slice soon.

"I— I see," he sighs before he holds his hand out to you, "I should keep an eye on you, so don't act rash like before," he asks before he takes your hand in his.

You feel more than weird to see Ignis trying to put you on a leash. Of course, he always does it. But, recently, his style has gradually changed. There's no yell, harsh scold or cold shoulders anymore. He pays attention more to you than before.

There's also a certain air surrounding him — maybe because he's inherited the title of a count at such a young age and seemed reliable of almost everything. But, it's more than that, it feels more personal. Something that shaped him as a person instead of as a figure. You can't exactly pinpoint what it is, but you feel more than relaxed around him lately — no feeling of fear and forced respect you used to hold against him.

Arriving at the hotel, you sit down on a sofa to take off your boots — wishing you wear a much more comfortable one for an unexpected event like this. "Not here," Ignis glares at you before he tells the rest that he'll be at the room to help you out with your shoes.

"Sit down here," he points at the bed before rolling his sleeves up, untying your boots carefully. How you wish you brought a better pair.

He slides the shoes off your feet, massaging them gently with his finger pads. "May I?" He points at the stockings you wear before you give him a permission to take it off.

He starts to take off the straps that connects the belt and garter, carefully not to snap it against your thighs. He puts your right foot on his thigh, peeling off the sheer black lace material off your skin and do the same to your the other one.

It seems like your heels get chaffed due to your shoes and leaving unattended blisters, making it bleeding during your walk with the gang.

"Your skin's chafing. Try to wear a more comfortable one without any heels," He puts a bit of ointment over the injuries and moves your foot gently from side to side, asking if certain position hurts you.

"Can you stand up? Hold on me if you're having a hard time to do so," he offers his shoulder for you before taking your left hand in his hold.

For a second, everyone who sees you might mistaking both of you for having a small, private moment to dance in this room. You look up to see Ignis' face, noticing his beauty marks and freckles littering over his face.

From a myth that you have heard once, it's said that each mark is a sign of gift, blessing and kiss from the Astrals. If one has it on the face, it's also a sign of flirtatious person. You disagree with the latter because you know how unwavering his personality and loyalty is. But looking at his skills and abilities, you can agree that he earned a lot of gifts from the Astrals.

You giggle slightly at your thought, earning his attention. "What's wrong, Highness?" You shake your head, giving him a small smile.

"I just realised that you have a lot of beauty marks and freckles," you reply, steading your footing on the ground. "I heard once that they're a gift from the Astrals," you smile before brushing off his falling streaks of hair over his forehead.

"Means that you're a very blessed child since born," you continue before pulling your hand away from his face. Ignis is stunned at your behaviour — something you'd never do when you were younger.

You were always quiet and distant around him. When he tried to approach you, you would run away to your father and cry in his arms. He would throw a small apology to Ignis and asked you to apologise, only to cry harder before a maid picked you up from your father's hold and prepared sweets for you.

You were nine and told to spend your time with child around your age. You couldn't play with your maids and nanny because Regis was worried about your social skills. Having Noctis and Luna around were good, but you needed to meet more people outside this small circle you lived.

"Your Majesty," Ignis greeted your father, landing his eyes on you.

Your father loved to carry you around in his arms while walking through the corridors and flower garden behind your room since you were young. It became a habit after the accident that involving you and Marilith, giving your father an anxiety when you weren't around him while Noctis was still in coma.

"A good day for walk, isn't it, Ignis?" Regis smiled, fixing your position in his arms.

Ignis watched your figure carefully, noticing how small you were compared to children your age that your father still able to hold you with one hand. You were dressed in small, black sundress and had your arms around your father's shoulder. Your hair was tad longer from the last time he saw you, looking soft and light as usual.

You had this displeased look on your face when he came around from the corner. Perhaps he had done something to make you hold such an expression whenever he was around. Noctis always told him it was nothing and that you were still a child, expressing emotion was a big deal for you.

"It is, Your Majesty," he replied before your father placed you down to the ground, guiding you to Ignis.

"Do you mind to spend some time with her? I'm afraid she needs someone to talk to aside from people inside the Citadel," Regis sighed before Ignis took your hand in his, accepting the king's request.

He gently squeezed your hand, feeling your soft skin against his rough one due to a hard training he had been going through. Your eyes kept refusing to meet his, it made him more than worried about it now. He knew that you would pull your hand away before he watched your small frame running to your father, hugging his leg with teary eyes while looking at Ignis.

He realised you were scared of him and it wasn't something he could change easily.

Your father scooped you up and bounced you lightly, telling you there was nothing to feel scared of Ignis — as his family had become a servant of royalty for centuries. "Ignis, please forgive my daughter," he mouthed, caressing your hair in between of the apology.

"Dearie, please apologise to Ignis. He has done nothing wrong to make you cry," he caressed your arm and turned around his body so you could meet Ignis' eyes — alas, you cried harder when his bright green ones meet yours.

After a restless moment of crying, a maid finally came to bring you to the tea room, leaving a distressed Regis and more than anxious Ignis.

"My daughter — please think no ill of her," Regis sighed, placing his hand to reassure the young Ignis. "I hope she could open up more to you like her brother," he muttered under his breath before walking away to give Ignis some time alone.

"I hope so, too," he crossed his fingers.

#final fantasy 15 #final fantasy fic #final fantasy xv #final fantasy series #final fantasy #ignis scientia #ignis fluff #ffxv ignis #ignis x reader

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tiifalockhart · 4 years ago

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Invisible Enemy

Anonymous asked: Hello, I want to request also a Prompto bc i love him 😍 like his insecurities kicking in and then his s/o will kiss them insecurities away, kissing his cute freckles and adoring his stretch marks (i have them too 🥺) just to get sunshine boi smile again, not too saucy, bye thank you *flies away*

Pairing: Prompto x Reader

Word Count: 2k

A/N: hello!! thank you so much for your request. I hope you enjoy it!! feedback is always appreciated

Ao3 || Masterlist

Prompto could brave anything...

After building up enough confidence to do so, of course. He could fight off giant snake women in the deepest caves in all of Duscae, and only feel a bit of anxiety after the fight. His adrenaline would be pumping to the max and he’d actually look forward to the next battle. He’d been frozen, burned, petrified, and even turned into a frog, and yet he still was able to put on this magnificent brave front.

...That is until the enemy he’s fighting is himself.

The greatest curse to him was his insecurities. He hated them so much. His intrusive thoughts would pop into his mind and ruin his joyous mood. They sucked away so much of his life... It was almost devastating. No one knew why Prompto would randomly go silent during conversations in the car, or why he would sometimes distance himself in camp. It was saddening, watching the light leave his eyes sometimes.

It wasn’t the same when he was fighting an invisible enemy. He’d do anything to distract himself. He’d play random games on his phone, maybe go out and practice shooting, sometimes he would even offer to go exploring at night to take his mind away from the berating verbal abuse his mind gave him.

He’d think about the insecurities he’s carried with him since he was a child. Was his weight okay? Did he look okay? Maybe the others were friends with him out of pity. Was he really funny or were the guys just laughing to make him feel better? Maybe he should go on a jog in the morning. These constant thoughts plagued his mind and caused him to unendingly doubt himself until he was swallowed up by his insecure and depressed nature. He wish he could fix it within a snap, he wished that he could just make them go away, but he couldn’t.

When the two of you first met, you seemed so... Confident. He watched the way you walked without a qualm in the world, how you smiled brightly and laughed happily and took everything with a grain of salt. You seemed to love life... It was admirable. Prompto wanted to be like that desperately, to be happy and carefree, but he was sad and cared too much.

As the two of you got closer, he tried to follow your lead but it never worked. Eventually, his thoughts would come back just as he began to feel better. It was a sick circle of doubt.

You began to notice it when he became distant and quiet, how he would stare out the window of the car silently or how he’d laugh hollowly. You would grow concerned and ask him about it, but ultimately receive no answer from him. Usually, he’d brush it off, typically saying something along the lines of “Sorry, I’m just tired” or “Sorry, I didn’t realize.” You understood how hard it was to talk about feelings, but you couldn’t bring yourself to be okay with those answers.

It wasn’t until after the two of you began to date that he began to open up more about his insecurities. It would be random occurrences when he’d mention it. Sometimes it was at dinner, sometimes it was when the two of you were about to sleep, sometimes it was just out of the blue when you both were watching TV. He began to speak his mind more, which you appreciated greatly. It seemed to be healthy for him as well.

That is until he completely broke down one day.

You’d never seen anything like it before, it was like he was a completely different person. He was so on edge and upset about seemingly nothing and refused to talk about it. He tried desperately to bottle it up and swallow it, anything so that he would stop his mind from racing.

That night, you found him in your bed, curled up and crying. It was such a pitiful sight. You couldn’t find the right words to comfort him, you weren’t quite sure what was causing him so much pain. So, to attempt to comfort him, you simply laid next to him and hugged him.

“Wanna talk about it?” You asked after several minutes passed. Prompto let out a shaky sigh as he slowly shook his head.

“No... I don’t want to bother you with my issues.” He muttered, his voice rough. You gave him a sympathetic look before moving closer to him. After planting a very gentle kiss on his cheek, you cleaned away his tears with your hands.

You sat up and carefully pulled him closer, holding him in your arms. “You won’t be bothering me. Tell me about it.” You whispered comfortingly, gently rubbing his arms and shoulders.

He sighed and nodded somewhat reluctantly. “Sometimes... I feel like I’m not good enough, you know?” He murmured, tilting his head back to look up at you. “Like... I don’t look as good, I don’t fight as well, my personality isn’t that good. It scares me... Because sometimes I don’t know if those thoughts are true or not.”

You frowned at his confession, smiling weakly and leaning down. You placed a kiss on his most prominent freckle on his forehead. “I think you’re perfect.” You whispered, pressing another kiss on another freckle. “I also think you’re the funniest person I’ve ever met.” You reassured, pressing another kiss to another freckle. “You don’t have to be sad, because you’re more magnificent than you think.” You whispered, beginning to press more kisses to his freckles. Your lips traveled from his face and down to his sun-kissed shoulders. You massaged his shoulders afterward, a small smile gracing your lips.

He relaxed under your touch, his eyes slowly falling shut. “You think so?” He whispered, a little too dazed to respond properly. You let out a soft laugh as you nodded.

“I know so.” You answered, running your fingers through his hair. “I think you’re lovely.” You continued, shrugging lightly.

“Even for who I was?” He asked, a shaky breath leaving his lips. You raised a brow in confusion. Was he referring to his teenage years..? You sighed softly and shifted so that you were hugging him around his waist from the side.

“Your past defines who you are... But that doesn’t necessarily involve looks.” You murmured, looking up at him. “Experiences make up who you are, looks inevitably don’t matter, especially after the change you went through.”

“But... How do I know that it doesn’t?” He responded, shaking his head and letting his head fall back onto the pillow. You looked up at him, a glint of concern evident in your eyes.

“Well... Because when we met, I knew nothing about your past until you showed me.” You pointed out logically, shrugging. You leaned down and pressed a kiss to one of the stretch marks left on his stomach, causing him to shudder. “Have you heard Noctis, Ignis, or Gladiolus mention it? What about Cindy or Iris?”

He hesitated and nodded slowly. “No... They’ve never said anything about it.” Prompto replied, his brows furrowing.

“That’s right, because no one is worried about it... They’re more worried about being your friend and taking care of you and making you happy. They don’t care what you looked like, they just want to make sure you’re okay.” You explained as you trailed kisses along his stretch marks. He nodded hesitantly as if he silently understood.

“Can we cuddle?” He asked randomly, which caused you to smile.

“Only if I get to be big spoon.” You answered, moving up and wrapping your arms around him from behind. He sighed in relief, his eyes falling shut as he leaned into your touch.

“Thank you...” He sighed, before eventually drifting off to sleep. You admired his peaceful expression and simply held him. Hopefully this would have an impact on him... You hoped that he would be feeling better by the time you two woke up.

The next morning, you woke up to find yourself alone. A confused look formed on your features as you stared at the pillow in your arms. Quietly, you stood and wandered around the house in search of Prompto, until you came upon the kitchen. You raised a brow in confusion as you entered, noticing how Prompto was bent over the oven. “Prompto?” You called out, a confused look on your features.

“Oh-” He tried standing up, but ended up hitting his head on the counter. “Ow... Good morning.” He greeted, pulling out a pan of biscuits. “I decided to make breakfast, I feel really good after last night, you know? I was going to bring it to you in bed, but you ended up waking up. But it’s alright, we can just eat it here. Oh, what kind of jam do you like?” He rambled on, turning to take off the oven mitts and grab plates for the two of you. The confusion never left your features as you took a seat, watching him curiously.

“How... How did you make that? I thought you were awful at cooking.” You began, eyeing the tray of biscuits. “And... I don’t have a preference of jam... Are you sure you’re okay?” You asked, narrowing your eyes at him.

He grinned and laughed, placing some biscuits on your plate and handing it to you, before taking a seat next to you. “I feel a lot better after last night. You helped a lot, you know? Hey, we should go see Noct today!” He explained, spreading jam on the biscuit in his hand before eating it. He seemed to be much more energetic today... Scatterbrained as well.

“Oh... Sure, we can. I’m glad you’re feeling better.” You responded, smiling at his eagerness and beginning to eat. Maybe things were going to be okay for him after all.

After your meal, the two of you got dressed and headed out, meeting up with Noctis, Ignis and Gladio. They seemed to notice the change of attitude for Prompto as well, which made you feel slightly relieved. He was energetic and talkative, and even brought out his camera often, which you missed in the past few weeks. It seems that he’s returned to normal. You were thankful for it.

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havenoffandoms · 4 years ago

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The Witcher Imagines: Phobias

Pairings: Lambert x F!Reader; Eskel x F!Reader; Geralt x F!Reader

Summary: Imagine the witchers reacting to your phobia

Warnings: mentions of katsaridaphobia (fear of cockroaches), musophobia (fear of rats), arachnophobia (fear of spiders); 2nd person POV (reader), some swearing, no beta we die like witchers

Lambert

“Oh, you ugly fucker,” you cursed under your breath from where you sat on the bed, your hands clutching the thickest book you could find and your eyes riveted on the biggest cockroach you had ever seen. You hated the damn things. You could not remember a time when you had not been afraid of cockroaches. Thankfully, living in a city and in fairly hygienic conditions meant that you rarely had to deal with them.

This time, you were faced with an exceptionally large specimen which looked in no rush to leave your bedroom anytime soon. You tightened your hold on your book, raising it above your head as if bracing yourself to drop it on the nasty invader. You decided against it, letting out a frustrated groan as you felt hot tears well up in your eyes. How difficult could it be to kill a tiny cockroach? All you had to do was drop the book, and you would be rid of the beast forever. Instead, your muscles were unwilling to respond as fear took over every fibre of your body.

“Hey doll?” you heard Lambert’s familiar voice call out from downstairs. A string of curses left your mouth as you willed your heart to slow down. You knew that Lambert would instantly clock onto the fact that you were scared. He would be so disappointed in your when he realised that your reaction had been brought on by something as ridiculous as a cockroach.

“Doll, is everything okay?” you heard Lambert ask you, his voice growing louder as he made his way upstairs to your bedroom. Your eyes never left the cockroach as you brought your thick book over your head once again. You would not appear weak in front of the witcher. You refused to let him see you in such a lamentable state. You took a composing breath and dropped the book. You watched it fall to the floor in slow motion, but to your utter terror, the book landed inches away from the cursed cockroach. The startled insect ran under the bed at breakneck speed, pulling a terrified scream from you as you scrambled off the bed haphazardly and bolted for the door in a desperate attempt to escape your room. To your dismay, you collided with the one person you wished to avoid.

“Lambert?”

“Doll, what the fuck is going on here? Are you okay?”

Lambert’s tone barely concealed his worry as his amber eyes scanned the room for any sign of intruders who would be out to harm you. Without waiting for your answer, he manoeuvred you so that you stood behind him while he unsheathed the dagger he kept at his hip and braced himself for an attack. You barely managed to conceal the tremor in your voice as you explained the situation to him.

“La-Lambert I-I’m fine, I promise. It’s just… it’s…”

“What is it?” Confident there was no immediate threat to your life, Lambert turned around and placed two steadying hands on your shoulders, his eyes seeking yours. His brows furrowed when he noticed the wet trails on your cheeks.

“I thought I could kill it with my book, but then it ran under my bed and now I’m so scared, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry Lambert, I know this is pathetic but I’m just so terrified of the damn things,” you rambled, nearly choking on your own words as your breath hitched in your throat. You heard the distinctive pitter patter of feet on the wooden floor, causing you to instinctively cuddle into the safety of Lambert’s arms. The witcher cast a look over his shoulder as his arms pulled you closer to him. You instantly knew that he had found the cause of your turmoil when an undignified snort pushed past his lips.

“It’s not funny, you dick, I’m genuinely scared!”

“Of that thing?” Lambert questioned in disbelief. He let go of you and went to catch the no doubt terrified cockroach, watching it crawl all over his hand looking for an escape route. You felt a shiver run down your spine at the sight of the pest on your lover’s hand.

“Get it out, get it out,” you urged Lambert, who seemed far too amused by your predicament for your liking. Your words made him look up at you, and noticing your current predicament, Lambert decided to have mercy and let the cockroach escape through the open window. Once you were confident the beast was out of your room, you hurried to the window and slammed it shut so the cursed thing would stay outside. Lambert chortled at your actions.

“It’s more scared of you than you are of-“

“Spare me, asshole,” you snapped at him, turning around to glare at his smirking face. He was enjoying this far too much. “How dare you make fun of me when I’m scared?”

“Doll, don’t be like that,” Lambert tried to reason with you, but you stepped away from him in a huff. “Oh come on, I didn’t mean to be nasty about it. It’s just… well the thing was tiny.”

“For a big burly witcher maybe! To me it looked humongous,” you argued, feeling your cheeks heat up as fear made way for embarrassment. Your blush did not go unnoticed by your witcher.

“Well thankfully you had a big burly witcher come to the rescue,” he said in a sultry voice before stepping closer to you once again and pulling you into a tight hug. You kept your arms crossed before your chest, still not ready to forgive him for mocking your phobia. However, you found yourself melting into his touch when his lips left a trail of soft kisses along your cheek and throat.

“You’re lucky I missed you,” you said as you begrudgingly returned the embrace, a small smile tugging at the corner of your lips at the thought of your witcher finally being home.

“Mmh, why don’t you let your big burly witcher show you how much you were missed in return, doll?”

You gladly let Lambert lead you to your bed.

Eskel

It was the first time you stayed at Kaer Morhen for the winter. Although you were pleased to officially be introduced as Eskel’s girlfriend to his brothers and to Vesemir, the man who was like a father figure to him, you felt a sense of foreboding overwhelm you as you settled into bed the first night. Eskel had warned you that you might need some time to adjust to the cold and darkness of the place. You had tried to reassure him that as long as he was close you could face the blizzards and the pitch-black nights that characterized the deep north. It was not, however, the thought of freezing your ass off or to sleep in the dark that worried you.

Your fear was far more mundane, but certainly far more present in your mind. Kaer Morhen was a vast and old place. Vesemir was already busy most of the year patching up leaky walls and mending broken windows, so you knew that you could not realistically expect him to keep on top of the keep’s overall cleanliness. Not by himself, at any rate. Which meant that Kaer Morhen would not only be home to four witchers, Geralt’s child surprise, a bard and yourself this winter, but most likely to the beasts you feared more than anything else on the Continent.

Rats.

You had never told Eskel about your fear. You were surprised that the topic had not come up in the two years that you had known him. Rats were a pretty common occurrence, well, anywhere, yet somehow Eskel had never witnessed you chasing the damned things with a broom or screaming bloody murder until one of your neighbours decided to check on you and help you with the pests. This time, you would be spending several months in the same place as Eskel and you knew the topic would have to be broached sooner or later. You did not want to mention anything for fear that Eskel might make fun of you or decide that he could do better than a silly farmer’s daughter who could not even stand the sight of a tiny miserable rat.

You huddled impossibly close to Eskel’s large frame as soon as blew out the candle, casting the room in complete darkness. You felt him place a soft kiss on the top of your head before resting his head on the pillow and letting out a content sigh as all the muscles in his body relaxed. You pitied the fact that you could not admire his features which, you knew, would look so peaceful as the witcher was finally allowed to let his guard down after a year spent on the path.

“Are you alright, love?” you heard Eskel ask, his voice soft and barely above a whisper, “your heart is racing. You seem restless.”

“It’s okay, Eskel,” you lied, “it’s unsettling sleeping in an unfamiliar setting. I’ll be fine.”

“Would you like me to light a fire for you?”

You pondered Eskel’s offer briefly before agreeing. A bit of light and some warmth would probably make you feel better, you thought.

“If you don’t mind.”

“Of course not.”

With these words, Eskel got out of bed and placed some logs into the hearth. He navigated the darkness easily thanks to his enhanced vision. You sat up in bed, wrapping yourself in the covers as you watched Eskel’s shadow work on getting the hearth ready for the fire. That’s when you heard it, the distinct pitter patter of tiny feet scratching the bare stone. You froze at the sound, your eyes fruitlessly scanning the room as if you could distinguish anything in the darkness.

“Love? Is everything okay?”

“I- uh, yes, everything is fine,” you stammered, your ears picking up the noise once again. If you could hear, you knew Eskel could too. Perhaps he was so accustomed to the sound after all these years that they had become familiar. In any case, you were still hesitant to mention your fear.

“The fire is almost ready,” he said, and mere seconds later flames began licking at the logs. You guessed Eskel had used Igni to accelerate the process. Suddenly, you noticed movement out of the corner of your eye, followed by the scratchy noise once again. You felt your heart drop in your chest as fear turned your blood to ice. You vaguely heard Eskel cursing something unintelligible before kicking away a stray rat that had wandered too close for comfort to his bare feet.

A blood-curling shriek resonated in the room, and it took you a little too long to realise that you were the source of the mindless shouting.

“Get it away from me, get it away from me, oh dear gods take you all the way to hell you cursed thing!”

You were now kneeling in the middle of the bed, your face buried in your hands as you let out broken sobs at the thought of having your worst nightmare running freely around the room. Your panic was so intense that you flinched when Eskel went to touch your arm. In that very instant, you had mistaken Eskel’s touch for a rat jumping onto the bed and attacking you.

“Get off me, get off me you monster!”

“What the hell is going on in here?”

A second person, whom you recognised as Vesemir, entered the room and was demanding to know what all the shouting was about.

“Eskel, get rid of that rat, please I’m begging you!” you begged, your hands blindly reaching for Eskel who had retreated far away from you after you recoiled from his touch. Your eyes finally met his, and at the sight of your tears, Eskel finally stepped closer to the bed.

“The rat… oh, the rat,” Eskel repeated as realisation dawned on him. The monster you were so terrified of was not him, but the rat he had just kicked across the room.

“Yes, the fucking rat,” you snapped urgently, hugging your knees to your chest for comfort. You saw Eskel briefly focus as he no doubt used his witcher senses to locate the pest. Vesemir sighed and muttered something about being too old for this shit before shutting the door behind him. In your state of panic, you made a mental note of apologising profusely to him in the morning. When you turned to Eskel again, you noticed that he was holding the rat by the scruff of the neck. You shuddered at the sight, flinching when Eskel had to walk past the bed to let the rat escape through the window. Only when the pest was out of sight did you release the shaky breath you had been holding for far too long.

“I’m so sorry,” you instantly apologise, curling into yourself as you waited for the inevitable mockery, “I… I should’ve told you.”

“Yes, you should’ve. Would’ve avoided waking up the old wolf. He’ll be grumpy tomorrow,” Eskel remarked, but his soft smile indicated that he was not upset with you. You let out a relieved sigh as you slowly stretched out your legs and shyly reached out for Eskel. The witcher joined you on the bed, if somewhat reluctantly.

“I’m sorry Eskel, I’m truly sorry. I know a brave witcher like you doesn’t deserve a low peasant girl like me, who on top of being ordinary is also scared of rats…”

“Hey love,” Eskel’s hands came to cup your face as he stared into your eyes, “no, no please don’t say that. I was just surprised, that’s all. I… I thought you were reacting this way because of… because of me.”

You frowned at his words, unsure whether you understood what he was trying to say.

“What? Why would I be scared of you, darling?”

“I… I’m just glad it wasn’t me that caused such a panic. I promise you I’ll check the room for rats every night. And I’ll hunt every damn rat in this keep down if it’ll make you feel safer. Alright?”

You couldn’t help the enamoured smile that graced your lips at sweet Eskel’s words. You leaned in to place a chaste kiss on his lips, chuckling softly as your actions pulled a pleased sigh from your witcher.

“Any other fears I should know about before you decide to wake the dead again with that banshee scream of yours?”

“Shut up witcher, and hold me now would you!”

Geralt

“You want to sleep in the woods? On the ground?”

“We could also sleep in a tree if you prefer,” Geralt suggested sarcastically, not even sparing you or Jaskier a glance as he unsaddled Roach, “don’t know if the branches will support our weights, though.”

“Alright, smartass!”

You would have much rather slept in an inn, even one of the shitty inns that you had stayed in recently would do. You hated the idea of sleeping on the forest ground. The thought of insects running all over you at night when you were trying to sleep did not sound relaxing in the least. In fact, it was the thought of a very specific beast crawling all over you that bothered you the most.

Spiders.

Ghastly things. You hated them, always had, always would. Any shape, size, colour… you didn’t discriminate, you hated all of them. You would never tell your witcher that, though. Geralt was the most powerful witcher on the Continent. He would surely laugh at you for being scared of spiders. You were certainly not about to tell Jaskier either, because telling the bard would have the same effect as shouting it from the rooftops. If Jaskier knew, the whole Continent would know within days and your arachnophobia would undoubtedly become the theme of his newest ballad.

Nobody could know about your fear of spiders. You would just have to suck it up for one night. Maybe if you volunteered to keep watch all night you would not have to sleep and could keep an eye out for the creepy things. Or perhaps you could sleep away from Geralt for one night. You quickly dismissed that idea, knowing that the witcher would instantly be suspicious and ask too many uncomfortable questions. Keeping watch it was, then. When you pitched the idea to the crowd, Geralt was quick to crush your hopes.

“You kept watch last night. You need to sleep,” he told you, a tired sigh pushing past his lips when he noticed that you wanted to argue.

“You have years of sleep to catch up on, I’ll keep watch.”

“Y/N…”

“That’s that settled then, I’m keeping watch tonight.”

“No, you’re not.”

“If I may interject,” Jaskier suddenly interrupted your discussion, causing both you and Geralt to snap your heads in his direction, “I believe it is my turn to keep watch. You two are clearly very cranky and you both need your sleep.”

“Jaskier, as nice as it is for you to offer, I-“

“Done,” Geralt decreed before you could have a say in it. You opened your mouth again to tell Geralt that you could make your own decisions when you noticed the way his eyes softened as he placed a warm hand on the small of your back and pulled you close to his body. “Jaskier’s right, dove. We’ve both been snapping at each other a lot lately. Let’s just take a night off, you and me.”

“I-“

“Please dove, I need to feel you close to me tonight,” Geralt pleaded you as he nosed your hair affectionately. You sighed in resignation at the tender gesture. You could never refuse your love anything, especially not when he was so sweet.

“Fine. I can’t wait for the winter when we’re back at Kaer Morhen,” you whisper into his armour, taking in the scent of leather and rain that clung to Geralt like second skin.

“You and me both, dove.”

That night, you and Geralt squeezed onto the same bedroll and managed to cover both of your bodies with a large blanket. You were on edge, tense, and Geralt could feel it. His arms held you close, but even your witcher’s proximity was not enough to reassure you. Your thoughts kept wandering to a certain eight-legged beast that you hated so damn much. You tried to ignore the invading thoughts, but it seemed like you were surrounded by an aura of anxiety. Geralt could feel your turmoiled state, but for the longest time he did not raise it with you. You were grateful for it, although you briefly considered telling him about your phobia.

No. Stay strong. It’s just for one night, you reminded yourself.

You almost convinced yourself that you could do this when you felt something crawl all the way up your bare arm and get tangled in your hair. You instantly froze, fearing that your worst nightmare had become reality. Your terrified eyes met Geralt’s, and the witcher’s brows furrowed in concern as he felt the change in your demeanour.

“There’s something in my hair. Geralt, there’s something in my hair I can feel it, gods get it out of there whatever it is, please,” you rambled, your voice growing more panicked with each word you spoke. Geralt nodded, his eyes betraying his confusion, but he diligently did as you told him and pried whatever beast that had become tangled in your hair loose.

“It’s nothing, sweet dove. Just a spider, nothing mo-“

At those words, you bounced onto your feet and started itching yourself all over. It suddenly felt like a million spiders had found refuge under your skin and were trying to break free. You were delirious with panic, halfway between dream and reality, as your brain tricked you into believing your own hallucination. You were so far down your own panic that you did not immediately hear Geralt calling your name in a desperate attempt to get you to snap out of it.

“Y/N? Dove, can you hear me? Listen to my voice, you’ll be okay.”

You batted his hands away, let out a startled sound between a scream and a moan as you stumbled away from Geralt and clawing at your skin, willing the sensations away. You itched your skin raw until it became painful, at which point you began sobbing.

“Y/N, calm down,” you heard Geralt’s voice resonate in your mind, like a distant echo. You instantly felt your muscles go slack and the panic lifted as quickly as it appeared. Geralt was staring at you, concern written all over his face. You guessed by the position of his hands and fingers that Geralt had just used Axii on you.

“You’re going to take deep breaths and calm down, dove. You understand?”

You merely nodded as your body complied with the command. When Geralt’s hold on your mind subsided, you blinked several times as if to focus your mind on the now and then. Your witcher stayed a fair distance away, giving you space to get back to your senses. You suddenly felt your cheeks heat up in shame when you realised how silly and exaggerated your reaction to the spider had been.

“I’m… gods, I’m so pathetic aren’t I?”

“Is she going to be okay?” you heard Jaskier ask, his voice barely above a whisper as if he was scared to startle you.

“Yes,” Geralt responded without taking his eyes off you, “you’re going to be okay, dove. You hear me?”

“It was just a stupid spider. Why am I like this? All of this just for a stupid spider!”

“Ah, arachnophobia,” Jaskier said like an afterthought to himself. You glanced over your shoulder at the bard who offered a reassuring smile. “Bear with me, dear heart, I believe I have something that might put your mind at ease.”

You watched wordlessly as the bard disappeared, leaving you alone with a still shook Geralt. The witcher took several tentative steps towards you, extending his hands gently as if coaxing a young foal to come to him. You gladly fell into the witcher’s arms, clinging onto him for dear life. Geralt indulged you as one hand came to rest on the small of your back and the other at the back of your head.

“Is that why you didn’t want to sleep in the woods?” he asked, not unkindly. You nodded, nuzzling the base of his neck to hide the blush creeping up your cheeks and the tears welling up in your eyes. “Sweet dove, you should’ve said.”

“And then what? You spend all your coin on a room just so I don’t have to sleep with spiders? Geralt, don’t be ridiculous.”

“I just wish you’d told me.”

“I was afraid. I was afraid you’d find me laughable,” you admit shyly, biting your bottom lip to stop the tears from spilling. Instead of pushing you away like you had expected, Geralt pulled you impossibly closer.

“It’s okay to be scared sometimes. It’s healthy. I’m scared of some things too.”

“No you’re not,” you argued.

“I am. I’m scared of anything happening to the people I care about. I’m scared of anything happening to you. And to Jaskier, but don’t tell him that or I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“I knew you were fond of me, old man,” you both heard Jaskier exclaim loudly, which pulled an amused chuckle from you and an irritated groan from Geralt. “I already have the title of my new ballad. The Witcher Who Very Much Cared About…”

“Drop it,” Geralt grumbled, allowing you to pull away from him but keeping an arm wrapped around your waist.

“Alright, alright. Here you are, dear heart.” Jaskier handed you a little pouch which gave off a strong scent of eucalyptus and peppermint. You scrunched your nose as the smell invaded your nostrils. “Although I am particularly fond of eucalyptus and peppermint, I happen to know that spiders hate it. I also like to keep the creepy crawleys at bay when travelling with my dear friend Geralt. Spiders especially. They don’t bother me when I have my trusted pouch with me.”

A radiant smile brightened your face at Jaskier’s gift.

“Oh Jaskier, thank you.”

“Don’t even mention it, dear heart. Wouldn’t want you losing precious sleep over monsters, right Geralt?”

“Hmm,” was all your witcher said as he placed a firm kiss on your temple, “speaking of sleep, all this excitement tired me out. Let’s lie down, dove.”

You fell asleep easily in the safety of your witcher’s arms and clutching onto Jaskier’s miracle spider repellent.

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secret-engima · 4 years ago

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*kicks down door* WHO WANTS TO READ ME RAMBLE/RANT ABOUT THE GRALEA LEVEL IN FFXV AND WHY IT ACTUALLY WAS A GOOD LEVEL AND EVERYONE SHOULD PLAY THE NOCTIS ROUTE AT LEAST ONCE RATHER THAN THE GLADIO ROUTE EVEN THOUGH IT’S TERRIFYING AND FRUSTRATING.

No one?

WELL TOO BAD.

(Unless you haven’t played or watched the game yet and don’t want spoilers in which case TURN AWAY NOW).

...Ahem. *deep breath* Okay so I will forever stand by my opinion that chapter 13 of the game (the one that takes place on the train and then in Gralea) is Good™ and does exactly what it's supposed to in the narrative. That is not to say I don't hate it with a passion and didn't cheer when they added the Gladiolus route for those of us (like me) who didn't want to replay the Noctis route again, but I will stubbornly insist to anyone that wants to listen that the chapter's difficulty and wildly different tone and pacing was THE POINT of the darn thing and deserves some respect for it.

See, the game up to that point is, if not always lighthearted (because it's not), has still been something of an Adventure Story™. Yes there's horrible tragic things like Insomnia falling and Regis dying, but for the most part the gameplay is exploration and cool combat mechanics and the relationship between the four brothers. It's ... happy for a good chunk of it. There's this light at the end of the tunnel, this comfy assurance that there can be a happy ending, that this can all be fixed and tied up in a neat little bow somehow.

Then Altissia happens. Luna dies, Ignis is blinded, and the game puts you on literal rails, forcing you to go hurtling toward A Different Tone. Everyone is stressed, everyone is scared or angry. You’d THINK that this is the lowest point of the story and that surely there’s going to be an emotional reconciliation between Noctis and Gladio and then we’ll get back to exploring and saving the world and all that jazz.

Except we don’t.

The train scene with Ardyn and Shiva happens, and the entire heartbreak with Prompto happens, and that’s when things start to seriously crack. You lose all access to your magic while stuck in this narrow train, then you lose the Regalia, your symbol of freedom, your main way to travel through the game (even when you fast travel, the animation of arrival shows you getting out of the Regalia). You are now trapped in Gralea. In dark, hostile territory with one of your party missing, one of them blind, the other angry at you, and still no magic. Then a few minutes later you are forcibly separated from the rest of your party, the characters you’ve spent all game getting attached to, and leaning on, and laughing with. They are your last anchor points to the brother dynamic that has kept the whole game on a lighter note and now they are GONE. You have none of your weapons or skills, you have no idea where the others are (first time playing the game without spoilers anyway), you have NOTHING. No hope. No backup. No distractions from the fact that, oh yeah, this is a story where the Bad. Guys. Win. Are winning, have won, and all Noctis (all you) can do is take out the Ring that slowly killed Regis, that Luna died for, the thing that represents everything going wrong and all NOCTIS must do to fix it even when he is painfully, woefully unprepared ... and finally put it on.

Noctis (and by extension you, the player) MUST shoulder the responsibility of being the king of a lost kingdom, of acknowledging that he IS the king, his dad was MURDERED, and Luna was killed for the thing you are now wearing and everything it means. It’s your only option until you eventually find the dead Ravus and take back Regis’s sword toward the middle/end of the level, which you can’t use recklessly because every swing drains your very life-force, forcing the Ring to still be your “best” option in many cases.

Most of that level is spent running, and hiding, and praying that the MT Units on the floor don’t leap up and try to murder you, or that the daemons don’t notice you, or that the teleporting daemon doesn’t find you, or that Ardyn will just SHUT UP because his taunts are really unhelpful right now.

The only hope you have left in this level is to grit your teeth and get through it with the Ring until you can reunite with your brothers and get magic back and go get the Crystal, the mcguffin of this whole game, and put the game back on the normal track of brotherly dynamics and fun quests. Just get to the Crystal, and everything will somehow start going back to normal.

And then that turns out to be a trap too.

Welcome to the final act of a tragedy, and your character is the one living through it. There will be no restoration of the norm until you’ve seen this to its final conclusion. There will be no light save for the one Noctis dies for.

Even when I first played that level (vanilla, not even a day one patch version btw because I was an idiot like that) and hated it because it was terrifying, I never thought it didn't belong in the story like ... quite a few comments I saw on the internet later insisted it didn’t. This is Noctis's story. This is Noctis's tragedy. THIS is the level that strips every last distraction and security blanket and shelter away from him and makes him put on the Ring and thus shoulder everything it represents. There is- terror here, there is trauma, there is GRIEF. This is practically Noctis's headspace without his brothers, because let's not forget that while we the players are having fun fishing and catching frogs for a silly scientist lady, Noctis is a refugee from an empire that MURDERED HIS FATHER and the FATHER OF HIS SHIELD-BROTHER, destroyed his HOME and then, right before Gralea, murdered Luna, the girl who he's known and talked to and confided in via letter for twelve years. This is a world falling into literal darkness (and if the player hadn’t noticed how the daytime cycle in the game kept getting shorter and shorter before this point YOU CERTAINLY NOTICE NOW) and it's up to Noctis- JUST Noctis, ONLY NOCTIS thanks to a Prophecy made long before he was ever born, to somehow Fix It™.

One person. Just one.

And he has to fix ... all of this.

How?

He doesn’t know. During the Gralea level he DOESN’T KNOW. All he (all we) know is that the Crystal is the key, but since the Crystal only answers to Lucis Caelums, that means Noctis is the key, and Noctis (and you the player) is painfully aware of how Not Ready he is.

And the weight of that is enough to render you helpless in the face of it. The fear of that is a maze. The terror of it is a monster following you down the halls that you cannot escape from and cannot kill while it laughs at your misery.

All of that is GRALEA. The capital city of the people who overthrew his home, killed his father, killed his fiancé, and isolated him from the last safety nets he had.

The entirety of chapter 13 isn’t meant to be enjoyed. It’s meant to make you scared. It’s meant to frustrate you and make you feel helpless. It’s meant to make you feel sick when you learn what the daemons and MTs you’ve been killing really are. It’s meant to make you RAGE against Ardyn, and the Empire, and this entire situation because you’re one person and you’re not prepared for this and it’s NOT FAIR and you just want things to go BACK TO THE WAY IT WAS AND ALL OF THIS SUCKS.

Yeah. It does.

And who else do you think feels like that?

Noctis.

Chapter 13 isn’t meant to be fun. It’s meant to make you feel like Noctis does.

And what emotions would you expect from someone who has just lost everything and is expected to fix everything for everyone else, and now has no distractions or shields between him and his grief?

I remember reading an article about “why this chapter failed” and it was basically to the order of “this game is about a fun road trip with your bros and reuniting with your fiancé and chapter 13 breaks away from that too hard” and I respectfully have to disagree.

This story isn’t about a “fun road trip” and it isn’t just about “reuniting with your fiancé”. From the very first cutscene we are told that it’s not in Regis’s desperate (and soon revealed as last) words to his son about setting forth on a journey and not being able to go back. We are told it’s not in the first hour or so when Insomnia burns and Noctis cries and Cor tells us that “in his last moments together he didn’t want to be your king, he wanted to be your father”. How is that a “fun story about a road trip?”. Yes the road trip IS fun for us, and it IS about the brother relationship, but in a large, LARGE part-

Final Fantasy XV is about a young man setting out into the world and facing the hardships of it. It’s about loss. It’s about regrets. It’s about how no matter how much you want them to, some things can never go back to the way they were yet you must keep going anyway. It’s about how the darkness of the world will just keep taking-taking-taking until someone is willing to pay the price to make it stop, and that sometimes a happy ending for the people you love most means giving up your own personal happy ending on their behalf.

Final Fantasy XV never really hid the fact that it was a tragic, bittersweet story.

But it’s in chapter 13 that the story refuses to let you mistake it for anything else any longer.

Could the chapter have been structured a little better so that the gameplay itself wasn’t so frustrating? Probably. I know almost nothing about game design so that’s not really my call. But does the chapter, for all its frustration and anger-inducing inversion of pacing and tone, brutally get the point across?

Maybe it’s just my opinion, but I’d say yes. Yes it does. Because this video game was the one that fully 100% convinced me, in a way that no other video game had before, that the platform could tell heart wrenching stories, could give me characters I would care for, cry over, rage on the behalf of.

And a big part of that clicked for me at the ending, but it likely wouldn’t have if I hadn’t first struggled my way through chapter 13 and all the emotions it causes and represents just like Noctis did.

...

There. I’m done. Thanks for reading my long-suppressed rant on the most hated chapter of FFXV.

#Secret Engima Rambles #SE rants #ffxv #storytelling things #writer things #I will die on this hill

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berrydoodleoo · 3 years ago

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big bro gladio

This was just supposed to be a few quick headcanons? Instead it’s a fic. Less dialogue and action than I usually put in my fics, but eh. Anyway, have my thoughts about Gladio and his relationships growing up.

***

Like Noct, Gladio has spent his life on guard against false friends.

When he was seven, his dad pulled him aside after weapons training. “I don’t want you hanging out with that boy Lycus anymore,” he said, apropos of nothing as far as Gladio could tell.

Shocked and angry, Gladio pestered him for an explanation, and eventually Dad said it was ‘a potential security issue’. Gladio spent hours trying to visualize how Lycus could be a threat to him -- Gladio was bigger and stronger, Lycus was hilarious and fast on the field but had no combat training whatsoever -- when he realized that wasn’t the point at all. Lycus could be a threat to Noctis. And as ever, anything that happened to Gladio was actually about someone else instead.

He imagined that his Dad had caught Lycus doing something when he stayed over. Going through his office, maybe, or trying to get into the weapons cabinet. He doesn’t mean to, but somehow the rest of the class turns against Lycus as well, and he stops speaking up in class, stops being funny and starts being mean. But not to Gladio; Gladio doesn’t talk to him anymore. As ordered.

Later, he learned that Lycus’ dad was in an argument with the King about infrastructure development in his district. That was all it was.

It’s not that he doesn’t forgive his father -- there are lots of things he’ll never forgive him for, but he’s learned to live with them -- it’s that he’ll never stop resenting him for it. Hating him, for making Gladio an instrument of his thoughtless cruelty.

It’s not that he envies Noct. Yeah, Gladio has to guard him, but Noct also has to guard himself, all in preparation for his future as the King. And Gladio has seen how the King lives.

Early in his training, he spent a lot of time trailing his Dad around, just seeing how things worked. After Noct’s thirteenth birthday, the press suddenly shifted their attention from the Prince (who they speculated about wildly -- was he doing well in school? Did he have friends, a girlfriend, post-traumatic stress disorder? Did he cry at his mother’s grave every year?) to the King. Was he planning to remarry?

Remarry? The King?

Gladio wasn’t sure where the question came from, but when it hit, it hit everywhere. Every state banquet was suddenly an opportunity for photos of the King and his conversation partners, accompanied by endless speculation about what that smile meant, that hand shake, that choice of drink, or tie, or watch, and so on. If the person they targeted didn’t answer their questions, they became the target of even more speculation. It wasn’t just the gutter press, either. Gladio turned on the TV at prime time one day and was shocked to see an hour-long special about the King, his courtship and marriage with the Queen, and the potential legal issues surrounding his (rumored) remarriage. They were going to have a special segment about the Prince, with a psychologist to talk about step-families and trauma.

Gladio turned it off, feeling voyeuristic. Everyone in the Citadel was tense after that, bristling with rage, but there was nothing they could do about any of it.

Gladio, in his role as his father’s obedient shadow, was also made privy to a top-level conversation on the topic between Clarus, Cor, and Drautos. Some of the figures pursued by the press had merely been caught in the crossfire, they concluded. Others were attempting to use the publicity to their advantage, which was not a problem for their offices. A few, maybe, had real aims on the King, and ‘love’ didn’t seem to be an option they even considered. Clarus ordered thorough security checks and surveillance on the biggest names, and the whole thing made Gladio sick.

But it didn’t end there. A few weeks later, to Gladio’s horror, the Council had their own version of this discussion, this time with a political slant. All directly in front of the King himself. His Majesty didn’t seem perturbed by the discussion -- he exchanged a Glance with his Shield, but remained otherwise unreadable -- and yet Gladio burned with embarrassment and indignation for him.

So as much as Gladio resents Noct sometimes, he also pities him. And so he guards himself, socializes carefully, makes friends among the children of his father’s associates, and never gets too close to anyone.

In high school, he falls in love once, and he’s too busy with dates that ended in making out and heavy petting to notice at first. When he did, he broke it off immediately, cited some excuse about his duties and his dad not thinking the relationship was a good idea. All he could think about was getting away, getting away, getting away. When he got home, his heart was still pounding, and he checked all the locks and codes twice. Was he scared, or guilty?

When they told him they’d confronted his father, his heart stopped. He was certain he was about to be caught in his lie. But the rambling, teary argument that followed revealed that Clarus had been sympathetic but firm, and had invented a completely false conversation to back up Gladio’s falsehoods.

Afterwards, he never brought it up with his son, and Gladio never asked.

After high school, in the Crownsguard, Gladio makes a new set of friends. Many of them are older than him and worldly in ways he isn’t. They have their own routines, which Gladio is indoctrinated in. The whole idea of ‘friends with benefits’ was a pretty sweet deal, he felt, especially since these ‘friends’ often went out on assignment afterwards and he never had to see them again.

(Except Ignis. They only hook-up once -- okay, twice -- or maybe three times -- but they don’t talk about it. More than the weapons training or survival courses, it’s the most dangerous thing they’ve ever done.)

At the same time, fifteen-year-old Noct makes his first friend. Prompto. Weird kid, goofy, but likeable. Not cool, really, but then, neither is Noctis. They spend their time goofing around, playing video games and doing homework. Unlike Gladio’s ‘friends’, Prompto stayed, and Gladio was happy for it. Noct needed a friend.

Not like Gladio. Gladio didn’t need anything.

During his training with the Kingsglaive, Gladio developed a reputation of sorts. He was known for taking people on flashy dates to exclusive clubs (getting in was effortless, for him), hooking up, and then moving on. All perfectly friendly and above board. He worked himself to exhaustion all week, spent most of his weekend in bed with someone new, and went back to the routine again on Monday. Never the same person twice.

His peers admired him for it. His Dad asked a few questions, and when Gladio snapped, he backed off with a scowl. Iris … Gladio convinced himself she didn’t know what was happening.

Noct and Prompto started dating then, too. It was a terrible idea, and Gladio knew it, but it was clear the kids were in love and besides, he’d seen how the King lived. How Noct would one day live. Hell, he was already half-inside the bubble anyway. He covered for them, even from Ignis for a while (and boy did Ignis give him shit for that), and then he and Ignis covered for them together.

It was good. Nothing was missing, everything was in its place. It was good.

When the treaty discussions start up, Gladio ends his dalliances with his fellow Glaives and ‘Guard members. He needs to be focused. No holes in his, and thus in Noct’s, security; no gaps someone could wriggle their way through. It’s easier than he thought it would be. He takes up reading to fill his sudden spare time.

Before the betrothal is announced, Prompto and Noct stop … doing whatever they’d been doing. Noct called it ‘hooking up’, but couldn’t quite pull off the lie. Prompto started training with the Crownsguard, and Gladio had to stand by and watch Prompto run, face-first, into the same hook-up culture he’d just left behind. It was different, from this angle. He didn’t like that Prompto was getting off with people he didn’t know. He didn’t like how they didn’t care about him, how they used bad pickup lines and groped him in public. How they didn’t know about his photos, or his parents, or the kitchen scale on his counter, or his obsessive knowledge about calorie counts and chocobos.

They didn’t love Prompto, but Noct did. From a distance. The kid had turned into a good actor at some point

Prompto got pulled into the wash cycle of hook-ups and break-ups fast enough, but Noct continued on alone. More and more his eyes came to resemble panes of glass, from which something shadowy and mute peered out in silence.

After Altissa, Gladio starts sleeping beside Ignis. Just sleeping. They end up spooned together most of the time, Gladio at Ignis’s back, looking out into the darkness that Ignis can’t see. Guarding him from it. Ignis is weird, strangely muted and palpably discouraged, but he clutches back at Gladio as hard as Gladio clutches him.

In Zegnautus Keep, Gladio wakes one morning to see Noct and Prompto talking. They know he’s up and moving, their conversation soft and halting behind him. He hears when they fall into a kiss, and stays turned away, giving them their privacy. His face is burning but he’s also amused, a little heartsick, and quietly happy for them.

It’s the last morning the four of them will have together, although they don’t know it yet. Further in the Keep, the crystal and the darkness are waiting. Even further in the distance, a blood-stained dawn calls their names.

As they set out into the Keep again, Noct pauses and looks at him. At Gladio. His eyes are full of questions and uncertainty, like a kid who needs to hear that everything will be okay. That he’s done everything right.

“What?” Gladio asks, confused.

Noct just sighs. “Nothing.”

Gladio stares at his downturned face a moment longer, trying to figure him out. He doesn’t think he’s done anything to make him mad.

“All right,” Gladio says finally -- dubiously -- and without another word, he leads the way.

#ffxv #ffxv fic #my fic #gladiolus amicitia #noctis lucis caelum #prompto argentum #ignis scientia #weird headcanon fic mashup thing #~2000 words

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longing-and-heartache-and-lust · 3 years ago

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the drug, the dark, the light, the flame, Ch.VI

[previous] [next] [Ao3]

A brand new chapter opening the second week of posting of my work for this year’s @geraskierbigbang in collaboration with the incredible @gen-syz-art as my artist ✨

__________________

The morning brings a thunderstorm with it.

The treetops of the tall pines of the forest outside bend under the gusts of wind, and the heavy, dark clouds cover the sky as far as eyes can see.

Geralt wakes from a clap of thunder, sitting up on the bed and pulling the fur blankets up to his chest to keep out the cold draft that seeps in through the window that he’d cracked open for the night.

Heavy raindrops clatter against the glass, and just as Geralt gets out of bed to close the window, unwilling to get the curtains wet, the steel-grey sky is cut through by a bolt of lightning that crawls across the clouds like a spiderweb.

Ever since Kaer Morhen, thunderstorms have been Geralt’s favourite kind of weather, the sheer force of nature tangible in the air itself.

He comes closer to the window, taking in a deep breath, just letting the rain-heavy air linger in his lungs for a long moment before closing the window.

In this weather, there aren’t many places that he could go.

Even if Jaskier was willing to let him ride into a storm like that, which Geralt doubts, Roach would sooner bite him than leave the warm, dry stables.

And though Geralt knows that he should be perturbed by his inability to leave, he just can’t bring himself to be.

He fixes the covers on the bed and dresses up quickly, leaving his weapons and armour in the room after contemplating for a few long moments whether or not that would feel like claiming it for himself. Sleeping in a room is one thing, he’d changed more inns that he could even begin to count, but leaving something in a room to then come back for it is another.

But spending another day in full armour when he doesn’t need it, like he did yesterday, seems unbearable, so he sighs but opts for just his worn black shirt before leaving the bedroom and heading down the hallway towards the stairs and into the library.

It’s really the only place that he can think of when looking for Jaskier.

The mansion is quiet, safe for the sounds of the storm outside, and like this, it seems even bigger than it actually is.

Geralt makes his way down the long hallway of the ground floor, thinking - though in the very back of his mind - that he’s getting used to this place, but when he reaches the library, he finds it empty.

It’s only a little before midday so surely, Jaskier must be out of bed. And if he isn’t, how is Geralt to find him in an estate this big?

Geralt stays in the library for a few more minutes, recalling everything Jaskier had told him about the mansion yesterday and trying to decide where to look for him, until he picks up the sound of the younger man’s voice, coming from somewhere at the other side of the mansion.

Having no other options, Geralt follows it, making his way through rooms and hallways, until he finds himself in front of one of the doors that lead to the garden, Jaskier’s voice now clear and close as he calls for his dogs.

By the gods, Geralt thinks, Is he really out in the garden in this weather?

He pushes the door open, the wind fighting him as he does, and steps outside, into the heavy, pleasantly cold air.

Jaskier doesn’t seem to hear him over the rain and wind, standing at the edge of the porch, where he’s still hidden by the roof, and calling for Asra and Lucio to come back to him, laughing as he watches them chase each other in the rain, wet to the bone.

He’s wrapped in an emerald-green dressing gown that billows and flaps in the wind like giant wings, and Geralt has to duck to the side not to get caught in the folds of the fabric as he comes closer. Though he tries his best to make his presence known, Jaskier still yelps in surprise when he reaches out to touch his shoulder.

“Oh, Melitele,” he mutters, the smile never leaving his lips even as he presses a hand over his heart. “Do you always sneak up on people, Witcher?”

He doesn’t look cold but his hands are freezing when he reaches out to shove Geralt in the shoulder with no real force, and despite himself, Geralt wants to pull him closer.

“I wasn’t trying to scare you,” he says instead, lifting his hands in surrender. “I thought I’d find you in the library. What are you doing outside in this weather?”

Jaskier pulls the robe tighter around himself and gestures to the dogs rolling in the wet grass, their fur stained seemingly beyond all salvation.

“They’re usually well-behaved,” he sighs. “But today they just ran away from me as soon as I opened the door of my bedroom. I don’t know, maybe they’re so excited because you’re around and they think that they’re now allowed anything they want.”

Another lightning tears through the sky, and Jaskier lifts his eyes, fascinated, only to gasp at the clap of thunder that comes a second later, so loud that Geralt feels like the windows of the mansion shake in their frames.

“Do you want me to help you get them back inside?” the witcher asks when the last rumbles fade.

A gust of wind nearly rips one side of the robe out of Jaskier’s hand, but he manages to keep hold of it, laughing.

“What’s the point now?” he asks. “They’re already dirty, might as well let them enjoy it.”

That’s… well, that’s true, Geralt supposes.

He still can’t stop thinking about the previous day, about all those little touches and smiles, about the morning in the library, and he’s both dying to see what would happen if he were to just reach his hand out, and is absolutely terrified of that idea, all at the same time.

He wonders what Jaskier would do if he were to wrap his arms around him, keep him from the cold. Or, alternatively, what he would do if Geralt were to pull him out into the rain right now. The dogs were, after all, having a lot of fun, soaking under the downpour.

No, Jaskier would probably never forgive him for that.

“Let’s go inside,” he says instead, reaching out before he can stop himself to put his hand on Jaskier’s forearm, getting his attention. “It’s cold out here.”

Jaskier’s eyes snap up to meet his, and though he hesitates for a moment, giving his dogs a wary look, another gust of wind makes him nod, leaving Asra and Lucio to themselves.

As he turns to the door, Geralt’s hand slips down his forearm but before the contact is lost, Jaskier catches his fingers, locking them with his own to pull the witcher after him back into the house. Geralt follows obediently, though his mind races, trying to catch up with the sudden warmth that spills through his body.

“Oh, you’re right, this is so much better,” Jaskier sighs once the door closes behind them and they’re met with the warmth of the hallway.

He’s still holding Geralt’s hand, and that’s all the witcher can concentrate on as they make their way up the stairs and into one of the smaller libraries which is really more of a reading nook now that Geralt thinks of it.

There’s a velvet settee by the fireplace but Jaskier just snatches the cushions from it and throws them onto the soft rug right in front of the hearth, plopping down onto one of them.

“We’ll be much warmer here than downstairs,” he says, letting go of Geralt’s hand.

He moves his wrist, the fabric of his dressing gown moving in waves of silk, and Geralt’s medallion suddenly stirs against his chest, but before his mind can fully register it, it stills again, and Jaskier is reaching for the matchbox on the mantel to start a fire.

Geralt shakes his head, coming back to his senses, and casts Igni, the logs in the hearth catching fire immediately.

“Trying to impress me with your little witcher tricks?” Jaskier teases, undoing the belt of his robe and shrugging it off.

Geralt hates himself for being disappointed by there being a chemise underneath.

“Perhaps,” he says, leaning back to rest against the settee. “Depends on whether it’s working or not.”

He wonders, distantly, if Jaskier would come closer if he were to open his arms and invite him in, but he can’t bring himself to try. Being led here by the hand doesn’t mean he’s allowed anything more. It might not mean anything at all.

“Well,” Jaskier murmurs, turning to face Geralt and resting his shoulders against the warm bricks of the fireplace. “Since it looks like we’re going to be here for a while, why don’t you show me what else you’re capable of, and then we’ll decide, hm?”

Fuck, Geralt thinks, Is he flirting with me or is he just being nice?

He shrugs with one shoulder, watching the younger man from under his lashes.

“Isn’t much that I can show you right now, I’m afraid,” he says. “I wouldn’t want to use Aard inside, and mind control has never really been my thing, so Axii is also a no.”

He thinks about Yrden, for just a second, and the picture that flashes in his mind is so tempting that he raises his hand to cast the Sign well before he gets the chance to actually think it through.

“I could do this, though,” he grins, watching the way Jaskier gasps as his magic forms into a glowing chain of purple, binding the younger man’s wrists together.

Geralt only allows it to last for a heartbeat, and then it’s gone, but the image imprints somewhere deep in his mind.

“Well, well, well, Witcher,” Jaskier murmurs, rubbing at his wrist. “Consider me impressed.”

There’s more distance between them than Geralt would necessarily like right now but, as if having read his thoughts, Jaskier shifts a little, until he can brush his ankle up Geralt’s shin, letting it rest somewhere close to his knee, still touching.

Geralt’s heart skips a beat at that but Jaskier doesn’t seem to be paying it much attention, like it’s as easy for him as breathing. And it probably is, Geralt assumes. People living in estates like this are born courtiers.

But it’s impossible not to play along, so carefully, still unsure on whether or not he’s allowed, Geralt reaches out to wrap his fingers around Jaskier’s ankle, brushing his thumb back and forth over the protruding bone.

Jaskier’s eyes sparkle in response but he doesn’t do anything else, just allows for it, closing his eyes and resting the back of his head against the wall of the fireplace, warming himself with its flames.

It’s quiet, safe for the storm outside, and Geralt almost feels peaceful like this, close enough to touch but far enough for him to be able to breathe. He shouldn’t be here, he knows it, but if he is, he might as well let himself have this.

A few minutes go by in comfortable silence, the warmth of the fire slowly filling up the room, and it’s only when there is another loud clap of thunder outside that Jaskier asks:

“Where are you going after you leave here?”

That is a question that Geralt had been asking himself through the good part of the night before he’d fallen asleep yesterday.

“Gelibol,” he says because that is still the only option that he can think of that makes sense. “Or back towards Roggeveen and Novigrad, there are always lots of drowners and water hags in those areas this time of year.”

He thinks, suddenly, about how he never mustered up the courage to ask Jaskier about those rumours of him being an illegitimate prince. Not that he would tell, of course. Things like that weren’t meant for anyone’s ears, Geralt was sure of that.

But perhaps, if he were to tread lightly.

“I don’t usually gravitate towards Tretogor, but maybe this time around I will pass through, see if there are any contracts,” Geralt says with a shrug. “But that town is just too big, don’t you think?”

Geralt watches Jaskier’s emotions carefully, strives to register every single one to get his answer. The kings of Redania have been residing in Tretogor for what seems like forever. And a prince - legitimate or not - would surely have been to court, walked through the city.

But Jaskier’s expression gives him nothing.

“I do prefer Oxenfurt,” he says, locking his hands above his head and stretching with a soft little rumble that finds its way under Geralt’s skin. “Tretogor is too political, the only place you can find music or any sort of fun there is the court. I wouldn’t be able to live there for longer than a few weeks.”

The only place you can find music or any sort of fun there is the court, echoes in Geralt’s mind.

A thrill of both excitement and horror runs through the witcher, and he darts a quick look down, where his thumb is still brushing over the bone of Jaskier’s ankle, thin and delicate.

Would it change anything if he really was who the people in town thought he was? Would Geralt have to let go of him then?

Carefully, he asks:

“And you’ve been to court a lot?”

Jaskier shrugs.

“Enough to know that it’s too big. The ballrooms alone are so vast that it’s impossible to concentrate on anything, too many people and sounds and colours mixed into one.”

He shifts just a little and with him shifts the fabric of his breeches revealing a thin strip of pale skin on his ankle. Geralt sneaks a glance down, dying to run his thumb over it, feel the warmth of Jaskier’s skin, and when he finally does, it sends sparks up his fingers.

Jaskier watches him with a gleam in his eyes, his bottom lip caught between his teeth, and though Geralt knows that it’s deliberate, he also can’t deny the fact that it’s working. That it makes him wonder what it would feel like to touch his own lips to it.

What it would taste like.

Except, of course, he’s not allowed to find out.

“Why are you asking about court?” Jaskier asks, his head tilted slightly to the side.

Because the harder I try not to think about it, the more I feel like you really are a prince, Geralt wants to say.

But before he can think of what to say instead, Asra and Lucio, dripping wet, run into the room, splashing water and dirt everywhere, their paw prints all over the polished wooden floors.

Jaskier laughs, shielding himself from their wet noses, and jumps up to his feet, out of Geralt’s reach.

And just like that, the magic is broken.

#the witcher #geraskier #geraskier big bang #geralt x jaskier #geralt/jaskier #geralt of rivia #jaskier #the drug the dark the light the flame #my writing #calton writes

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midnightluck · 4 years ago

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I'm just. Can you imagine the chaos that would happen if the Chocobros(version 1 or 2) or the Glaives ended up in the One Piece world with their magic? The chaos that would cause, especially considering that the Royals would both like to have absolutely nothing to do with more ruling, especially over large amounts of people. A single crew? Maybe. Anything more? Heck no.

“This isn’t nearly as fun as video games made it seem,” Prompto says, squinting into the wind.

Noct makes a mmm noise like he’s listening, even though Prompto can totally tell he’s not.

“No, really, like, I’ve played pirate games; they were fun. This? This is less fun.”

“Shut up,” Gladio says, walking by and tossing a bundle of rope at Prompto’s head. “Get back up the rigging, we need to furl the sails again.”

“But I just--!” Prompto fights his way out of the rope and flails down from the railing. “I just unfurled them!”

“You did,” Ignis agrees. “And then the wind changed, and now we need to furl them again.”

Prompto makes a high pitched whine in the back of his throat. “I miss the Regalia.”

“You’re on the Regalia.”

“This is the Regalia Junior! It doesn’t count!”

“We’re not calling it that,” Noct says, and it’s the first thing he’s said all day. He manages to haul himself up to standing, takes a second to breathe, and then says, “C’mon, then, Prom. Let’s go...furl the sails.” He looks up, takes aim, and throws his sword to the top of the mast, warping after it.

“Not. Fair,” Prompto repeats, heading for the ratlines. His hands are all callused and gross now; he misses lotions and cameras and cars and--

“We all do,” Gladio says, hands on his hips as he watches Prompto start the climb. “Unless you can see Altissa from up there, we’re still lost, so shit up and climb.”

“Can’t see Altissa, but that doesn’t look good,” Noct says, and Prompto climbs doubletime to hang next to him.

“Huh. Is that a pirate flag?”

“Sure looks like one to me.”

“Have you two got this?” Ignis shouts up at them, and Prompto waves a thoughtless hand.

“Go ahead,” he says, already drawing a gun from the Armiger. He’s never been so glad they stocked everything in there, including sniper rifles.

Noct grunts, lines up his shot, and flings his sword onto the deck of the other ship. He follows, Prom lines up his first shot, and the whole thing starts all over again.

They’re most of the way through when Prompto tightens his grip and yells down, “Uh, problem!”

“What problem, you don’t get to have problems right now, Prom!” Gladio yells back, and Prompto doesn’t take his eye from the scope but he can tell he’s catching glares anyway.

“Well, I shot the lady and she isn’t dead, okay? I call that a problem!”

“He isn’t--?”

“Oh, look! Noct cut her head off! And she’s laughing!”

“I really hate it here,” Gladio says, and Ignis sighs and spins the wheel; Prompto can feel the ship changing course and corrects for it automatically.

“I’m afraid I quite agree. No sign of Altissa, is there?”

Prompto lets out a short bark of noise that’s almost a laugh and says, “Lady! Headless! Laughing! Noct!”

“Yeah, yeah,we’re on it,” Gladio says. “Ugh. Worst roadtrip ever.”

#Noctis Lucis Caelum #prompto argentum #gladiolus amicitia #ignis scientia #ffxv #one piece #dumb crossover ideas #answer in the form of a story #i need a better asks tag

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thepetulantpen · 4 years ago

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(A short addition to my blind!Geralt AU! Bit of a sickfic, this time.)

“You’re sick.”

Jaskier startles at Geralt’s voice, bed creaking beneath him. He’d been writing in his notebook- hard at work with another song, if Geralt had to guess- apparently thinking Geralt was asleep.

“What? No, I’m not.”

Geralt sits up and thumps Jaskier lightly- though, not lightly enough judging by his responding grunt- on the back. The vibration rattles in Jaskier’s chest and reveals exactly what he’s already smelled.

“Yes, you are.”

Concentrating, Geralt can hear Jaskier’s mouth turn downward in a frown. It’s not very hard- he’s not sure whether the exaggeration is a product of Jaskier’s personality, or an attempt to make it easier for Geralt to “see”. More likely a healthy mix of both, coupled with Jaskier’s considerable need for attention.

“And how can you tell that?” Jaskier sounds genuinely curious, but doesn’t wait for an answer, “Can you hear the mucus? Smell it? Feel the tiny bacteria in the air?”

“Something like that.” Geralt smiles, hearing Jaskier’s heartbeat pick up in a way he’s taken to interpreting as indignant.

“I won’t stand for this blatant invasion of my privacy. Keep your witcher-y senses to yourself, you-”

Geralt hums and pulls Jaskier towards him, against his chest, making him interrupt himself with a surprised yelp. He bats at Geralt’s hands weakly, laughing as they trace up his doublet, feeling for the pattern.

“I’m not exactly reading your diary, Jaskier. I’d find out later, with or without your confession.”

“I’m not convinced you wouldn’t read my diary, if you could.” Jaskier shifts Geralt’s hand slightly, moving it to an embroidered flower. “It’s gold, by the way.”

Geralt nods, satisfied he’s solved the mystery of Jaskier’s fashion choices for the day, and gets up, using one hand to push Jaskier back down when he tries to follow. “You’ll stay here and rest.”

“I’m fine.”

“For now, maybe. We’ll see how you feel tonight.”

Jaskier groans and falls back against his pillow, the thump echoing through their small room. He grumbles under his breath about boredom, but he may as well have said it out loud- it’s all the same to Geralt.

Convinced that Jaskier isn’t an immediate flight risk, Geralt turns to pack up his bag, running his hands over everything to double check. It’s well-organized, which he can thank Jaskier for. He wouldn’t have thought to rearrange it with a less visually dependent system- he hadn’t changed much, in recent years, figuring his senses would compensate.

Jaskier, to put it lightly, had thought this was lunatic.

“Why not give yourself shortcuts? You’re taking an extra minute to do something when you could just help yourself out beforehand.”

“I don’t need-“

“It’s not about need, Geralt. Let me show you.”

One of many instances of Jaskier improving Geralt’s life through sheer force of will. He’s adopted an insistence on convenience and efficiency that Geralt can’t- or won’t, to save himself the indignity- argue with.

He’ll be able to return the favor by taking care of Jaskier today. With any luck, it’ll be a simple cold, cleared up with rest before it truly sets in. He’s going to run errands, pick up human medicine, and be back by midday to check on him. His hunt can wait until the afternoon, once he’s confident Jaskier will be alright.

“Think about it as a chance to rest your voice.”

Jaskier flicks him off and Geralt doesn’t bother letting him know that he can sense that.

…

Before he even enters the room, Geralt can tell Jaskier’s gotten worse. The scent of sickness is stronger, his breathing worse. He’ll need to check Jaskier’s temperature, and make sure he hasn’t taken a drastic turn for the worse.

It’s challenging, between the barrier of the door and the relative lack of sound in the room, but Geralt focuses on the draft as it bounces against things, outlining the scene and giving him an idea of what he’s walking into. Jaskier is curled up on the bed, writing quietly in his journal- slower than the fast, presumably messy, scratches Geralt is used to.

Jaskier must hear him step up to the door because he tenses, writing coming to an abrupt stop. Geralt opens the door before he can worry and starts pulling out what he’s bought, kicking the door shut to keep his hands free.

“Geralt,” Jaskier greets, voice more hoarse than it was this morning, “how’d it go?”

“I’ve got stuff for tea.”

He has... something for tea. The store had been so packed with herbs it was difficult to distinguish between them, and he didn’t want to sniff every ingredient with the owner watching. He thinks he’s found the right things, more or less.

Jaskier pulls back the covers and climbs out of bed, crouching beside Geralt and his bag to supervise. “Your tea is always nasty.”

“My tea is healthy.” He pushes Jaskier’s hand away, knowing he’s just going to complain about whatever he ends up putting in.

“For someone with a great nose, you really haven’t grasped human taste buds. Would it kill you to add some honey, once in a while?”

“Well,” Geralt tries not to smile, turning away to start mixing, “I was going to use a little of this fresh honey I bought, but I think I’ll have to save it for someone more grateful.”

“Geralt-“ Jaskier starts, but breaks off with a cough, ending his whine before it can reach the truly annoying, high-pitched range. It would be a blessing- if the coughing stopped.

Geralt pats Jaskier on the back through the coughing fit, fumbling for his water-skin with his other hand. Jaskier finds it first, unscrewing the cap with shaking hands and almost choking from drinking too fast.

When he’s done, Jaskier pauses to regain his breath and goes quiet- it takes a second for Geralt to concentrate enough to realize he’s smiling, trying to reassure Geralt.

Geralt frowns and puts the tea aside to face Jaskier- for all the good that’ll do. “I’ll stay with you tonight.”

“No, no,” Jaskier coughs again, and clears his throat, forcing his voice to sound almost normal, “Your hunt is more important. It’s just a cold.”

“Jaskier-“

Jaskier puts his hands on Geralt’s shoulders and leans on, so their foreheads touch. “Geralt. The people here need you more than me, right now.”

He takes Geralt’s hand and places it on his chest, under his shirt. The skin is warmer- slightly hotter than it should be- and the rhythm of his breathing isn’t great, but it’s steady. It’s a cold, nothing that Jaskier can’t handle, after these years of travel.

“I’m still going to make you tea.”

Jaskier laughs, the sound broken up by his sore throat. “I suppose it wouldn’t be that easy to get out of, would it?”

Geralt doesn’t respond, just adds a more generous dollop of honey.

...

It’s a miracle that the hunt ends successfully at all- he’s distracted the whole time, thinking about Jaskier. He gets lucky with a few strikes, more reckless than wise, and ends it quickly, collecting his coin without counting it.

The smell of sickness is obvious at the top of the stairs, from the opposite end of the hallway.

Jaskier is in bed, under the blankets, and shivering, despite the heat of his skin. It permeates the air around him; Geralt doesn’t even have to touch him to feel the temperature. He puts a hand to Jaskier’s forehead anyway- running a fever, but not a dangerous one, yet. Any higher and he’ll have to seek out a healer, but there’s no point dragging Jaskier out of bed for the same tea they can make here, where he’s relatively comfortable.

His teacup sits empty at his bedside, and Geralt picks it up to fill it again, mixing stronger herbs, this time. Jaskier stirs and props himself up as Geralt works, blinking slowly, blearily.

“Ger-“

He cuts off with a cough, a deep, harsh sound. It makes Geralt’s ears ring, and he almost doesn’t notice Jaskier waving, gesturing for something.

“What is it?” He hates to make him talk, when his voice is clearly shot, but he can’t tell what he’s pointing at.

“Candle.” Jaskier clears his throat, trying again, with more success, “Some light, please.”

He spends a second debating whether Igni is too dangerous for a small target, then another fumbling with a match. He’s pretty sure he’s lit it, based on the heat around the wick, but Jaskier makes a low hum, confirming.

Once the candle is placed on the bedside table, next to a new cup of tea, Geralt sits at the edge of the bed, all his senses focused on Jaskier. He helps Jaskier sit up and drink, then goes still as Jaskier leans against him, under Geralt’s arm.

“I’d read you a bedtime story, but,” Geralt waves, vaguely in the direction of Jaskier’s notebook, now abandoned, “well, that’s usually your job.”

“Next time, I’ll slay the drowners, and you write the story,” Jaskier rasps and laughs, a breathy exhale.

They fall into silence for a few minutes, none of Jaskier’s usual chatter to fill it. He’s still awake- Geralt can tell from the pattern of his breathing- probably too uncomfortable to fall asleep. In the meantime, he’s making a valiant effort to drain the teacup. No amount of honey disguises the bitter medicinal herbs, and Jaskier’s sore throat makes him wince with every swallow, so it’s slow going.

“I’ll tell you a story, anyway,” Geralt offers, before he can second guess himself, “Of one my older hunts. Before I was blinded.”

It’s a strange memory to relive- the details are fuzzier than he thought they’d be. He’s struggling to recall the visual elements that Jaskier tends to prioritize when describing things, by habit. He does his best, and decides the color of the monster doesn’t actually make a difference. Jaskier has never been picky- always happy to know how things sounded, how they smelled, how they felt.

“Your world,” Jaskier told him, once, “is so vivid. I can’t even imagine it.”

“It’s missing a little something, too,” Geralt joked, only half-kidding.

“No,” Jaskier insisted, “it’s all of mine and more. Sounds and smells and textures I’ll never experience, except through you. Thank you, for sharing it with me.”

Jaskier hums contentedly now, starting to nod off halfway through the third story. His hands twitch, as if aching to take notes, but sleep finds him before he can fidget too much.

Geralt sits by him all night, carefully monitoring his breathing, heartbeat and temperature. He’s listening carefully for any change for the worse, but the medicine in the tea takes hold and Jaskier only improves as he sleeps.

(In the morning, Jaskier uses his newly healed voice to yell at Geralt for staying up all night, lecturing him again on taking care of himself.

It’s worth it, just to hear his voice again.)

#the witcher #geralt of rivia #jaskier #geraskier #blind!geralt #ive got at least one more of these in my drafts #been kind of burned out lately after i finished a long personal project

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nightowlfandom · 4 years ago

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Yandere! Ignis Scientia- Freedom

So I’ve been gone less than a month and it’s been so boring smdh. So hey I’m here to write something.

Disclaimers- yandere, blood, gore, violence, mentions of abuse, a man getting turned on my his own violence. I will include line breaks with notes of where the violence will get pretty intense. No smut here, maybe in another post, but yeah.

This was based off a nightmare I had a few nights ago. What may be a nightmare for me might be a distant fantasy for some...do what that what you will with this info I don’t know.

If you readers like my yandere stuff and want more, feel free to let me know by just dropping me a message. Hopefully you’ll catch me on a day where my computer or phone won’t act up like the useless circiut board it tends to be at times. (Just kidding i love my computer, please don’t shut down on me.)

CHECKOUT MY PROMPT LIST HERE!

Leggo.

...

For you, this was normal treatment. Your good for nothing "siblings" always thought the worst of you, and they treated you as such too. You were the dirt they walked on. Even after you moved out and managed to escape them for half a year, they never really escape your life. Why? Why the fuck would you know?

It was like your life didn’t belong to your anymore and it nearly drove you crazy.. Well, almost. You had one person who didn't make you want to scream bloody murder. Your long time closest friend, Ignis. He was the best guy friend you could ask for in a world that seemed like it hated you. He was your rock. You could go to him for nearly any and everything. He was your only source of happiness in your messed up bubble you called a life.

For you to be left at the side of the waters, crying into your fists while they all laughed at you. You could hear echoes of “Good one Emile.” “She deserved it.” “That’ll teach her.”

You were humiliated by the people you were supposed to call family. You didn’t know how to feel anymore. You only had one person you could go to.

...

By this time, it was pouring down rain. The thunder was nearly shaking the sidewalk and you walked like a zombie down the street. You were getting soaked but you didn’t speed up. You felt completely numb like you were hollow inside. There was nothing.

Ignis was busy cleaning up his space when he heard the knocking. He didn’t recognize it. Five evenly spaced dull sounding raps against the door.

“Who the fuck-” he grumbled lowly. Ignis slowly walked over to the door, picking up a freshly polished blade off of the coffee table. It wouldn’t be the the first time someone tried it with him in his own palace. “Who is it?”

He didn’t hear a response, which caused him to grow annoyed. He hated annoyances. They were so inconvenient. Hiding the blade behind his back he yanked the door open. His face instantly twisted from angered to worried when he saw you standing there staring at your feet.

“Sweetheart what are you doing here? Did you walk here in the rain?!” he asked.

You couldn’t answer, instead you tried to step back to prepare yourself to walk away only to nearly fall. It didn’t help that you had managed to hurt your ankle on the way over. Ignis dropped the blade and stepped forward, putting both his hands on your shoulders. Not caring if your clothes were soaked, he pulled you to his warm chest.

“T-they broke it it.” you shuddered. “They b-broke the crystal.” you croaked. You voice sounded so hoarse that you didn’t want to speak again. “T-they-”

“Shhhh.” he cooed. He knew exactly what you were talking about. A long time ago for your birthday. Ignis had given you a necklace. A crystal charm that he said was ‘an emblem of his care for you’. You never took it off. That is until you made Emile angry enough to yank it off your neck and throw it off a small cliff into the creature infested waters not too far from your home. You had watched it shatter into bits and pieces as it hit the sharp rocks at the bottom. She had walked off with a satisfied smile on her face as you were left to scream at what she had done. “Y/N if you shake any more you might faint.”

“I’m so sorry Ignis. I should have- I could hav-”

“Y/N.” he said sternly, causing you to cease all talking. “You couldn’t have done anything.” he explained. “I’m not mad.”

“You’re not?” you found the wits to look up at him. He took note of your bloodshot eyes, dilated pupils and red nose.

“No! I’m more upset that you risked getting sick just to come here and tell me this.” he shook his head at you. “Get inside.” he let you up the steps, an arm wrapped protectively around your waist.

As soon as you were inside he shut the door causing you to jump.

...

Ignis left you alone to get changed. You had put your wet clothes in the sink. Lucky for you, forgetting your old clothes at his house was a habit. So much so that he started keeping them in a drawer for you when you would need a change of clothes for whatever reason.

You stared at the stranger in the mirror, unable to recognize yourself anymore. You didn’t glow like you used to, you didn’t smile as much as you used to, you weren’t as ambitious, as bright eyed, as curious...as happy as you once were.

All because of them. Those assholes who made it clear that their one and only intention was to make sure you never smiled again. You sat down on the bed, kicking your legs.

“Y/N?” Ignis peeked his head in the room. “May I come in?”

“Oh...Iggy.” you jumped a little. “Y-yeah. I’m all set.” you tried to muster a smile. “Thanks for putting up with me. I shouldn’t depend on you so much.” you sighed. “I feel like i dump my problems on you.”

“Never.” Ignis smiled that handsome smile of his. “If it was up to me, you’d never leave my side.” he chuckled. “I’d lock you up in this house and protect you all the time.” he joined you, sitting down beside you.

“You say such strange things.” you giggled in reply, thinking he was joking.

“...I’m serious.” Ignis’s smile fell. “I’d take you away from it all. You’d never have to feel miserable again. In the middle on the night, when everyone’s asleep, I’d pick you up from your bed...and take you away just so you could be with me forever, and you wouldn’t have to worry about a thing.” he held your hand tightly.

“I wish that was possibly. Those assholes would make sure that would never happen.” you shook your head, looking away from him.

“So we’ll tiptoe around them, get them out of the way.” he slipped his fingertips under your chin, turning your head towards him. “I can’t stand by and just watch this happen to you.”

“Well what can you do.” you gave in and leaned into his touch, resting your palm over his knuckles.

“One day, we’re gonna pack up all our things, and I’m gonna take you somewhere nice. Where ever you want. We’ll settle down and just live. You wouldn’t have to worry about another thing ever again.” he hummed. When he saw you confused face, he couldn’t help but leaned down and kiss your forehead. “Come here.” he wrapped an arm around your shoulder, allowing you to lean on his shoulder.

“We’re gonna go on a trip, sweetheart. I’m gonna take you to somewhere beautiful. We’re gonna forget about all those troubles in your pretty little head. Would you like that, darling?”

You didn’t answer, as you had already fallen asleep.

“I’ll take care of you, Y/N. I’ll take care of everything.”

... (This part gets violent. Skip this part if you’re squeamish)

You woke up the day pretty late in the afternoon. Ignis had laid your now clean and dried clothes at the end of the bed. You couldn’t help but smile a little at the little poorly drawn heart note he left amongst your things.

You got dressed without a hitch, only to realize you had heard banging in the distance. It sounded like someone was struggling. Was Ignis in trouble?! How long had this been going on?! Your curiosity led you to the basement, where a showdown was taking pace.

His loud psychotic laughter echoed off the walls, penetrating your ears and sending off all kind of alarms on your head. You watched as Ignis stared at Emile still laughing. He put his head in his hands before running his fingers through his hair, staining both his face and sandy brown locks in blood. You had noticed his hair fell in his face, making it hard to see his true expression. He wasn’t laughing as if he had heard a joke, that was for sure.

"I was saving you for last." He moaned as if this was giving him pleasure. He shuddered, biting down on his lip. "I wanted my Y/N to have a few words with you before she watches me end the life that made hers so miserable all the fucking years." He giggled. "Aahh fuck." He winced. "I wonder if your blood tastes as disgusting as you are as a person." Your eyes had adjusted to the dim lighting, allowing you to see who he was talking to. Emie!?!

You knew her voice anywhere, you estranged tep sister of sorts. If you could even say it that way.

You covered your mouth in distraught. Fear ran through your veins a million miles a second. What was he doing? He was waving around his weapon, pointing accusingly at her and spitting on her everything she opened her mouth to scream for help. What was he doing?

“You’re sick!” Emile growled. “She’ll never love you, especially not if she sees what you’re doing to me.”

Where they talking about you?

“Please.” Ignis scoffed. “I’m merely doing her a favor.” he sighed. “I just wonder if my darling is getting a good view from where she's hiding." He sang. Your heart instantly dropped. Your shaking body didn't dare make another sound. You were you petrified to even consider an escape plan. “She really isn’t good at being quiet. Her shoes make too much noise.”

You stared down at your boots, wide eyed. You were tip toeing! How the hell did he-

"Y/N...come out before I come and get you myself." His cheerful tone dropped an octave or maybe even two. “I don’t want to play cat and mouse right now. I have business to take care of.”

Deciding you had no other choice, you limped around the corner.

"Iggy" you began." You don't have to do this." You whimpered. You could barely stand, so you kind of just hopped over. “Please don’t-”

"Y/N look what they've done to you!" He motioned to your lack of ability to walk comfortably, the bruise on your shoulder. Well technically that was all you...but the rest was their fault.

“Ignis please!” you tried to reason with him. “She isn’t worth it, none of them are. Don’t do this...”

“I’ve watched you put up with these people for too long, my sweet.” he glared. “You want to show these people mercy when they wouldn’t show it to you?”

“That’s not how that works.” you choked. “The wrong thing for the right reason is still the wrong thing.”

“It could be. It could very well be the right thing, Y/N.” he held the dagger out to you. “You could end your pain and suffering. She’s the last one.”

“You mean- Dina...Dexter-” you choked. “Yumi, Wes?”

“All six feet under my darling.” he cackled. “I made sure none of there organs went to waste though.” he motioned over to a pot on the table. “I’ve been using them to keep Emile here alive and well.” he laughed.

“You cooked my family? YOU SICK BASTARD!” she gagged through her cries.. “Y/N HELP ME, PLEASE. I’m sorry for how I treated you in the past but you have to help me!”

Emile? Pleading for mercy from you? You must have been dreaming.

You took the dagger from him, assuming he wouldn’t lower his arm until you took it. You looked between Emile and Ignis. Both of them looked like they expected you to stab the other.

“Y/N we’re family!” she tried to reason. “We’re supposed to look out for each other, remember! That’s what Uncle Sammy would have wanted!”

Call it sadistic, but for whatever reason, that made you mad. Using the only family member who ever showed you affection against you?

“Family?” you glowered. “Since the day I met you, you’ve done nothing more than make my life a living hell.” you pointed out. “And now-” you strode past Ignis. “Now I’m your family? You’ve effectively taken everything from me...even the clothes off my back at one point and now you want to call me-”

You didn’t know what was going on, but you felt an influx of rage building up in your soul. It didn’t feel good at all. You actually felt like you were going to throw up.

You suddenly began having flashbacks. Everything you had endured, everything you had lost, or had taken away from you. Your true family, your real family , your friends, pets, the abuse you had to endure day after fucking day...all because of them. They were the reason you couldn’t ever escape...and it was about to change forever.

“Y/N, my dear.” Ignis sang. “If it’s too much...”

“Do it.” you cut him off. turning away from Emile. “Do it Ignis.” you whispered. “Free me from their grasp.” you pleaded through hooded eyes. “End my suffering and take me away from here...do it.” You handed him the dagger. “Do it Iggy.”

The moment the words left your lips, Ignis smiled a sinister grin. He leaned forward and pecked your lips gently. “Your wish is my command, darling.”

“No...Y/N please-AAAAAAAHHH”

You turned away from the sight as Ignis got in front of you. You ears will filled with screams followed by sounds of ripping flesh.

(OKAY YOU CAN LOOK NOW)

Ignis finished the job. Emile’s body slumped over, still and dead. You thought you would feel disgusting, a sense of dread or hatred towards Ignis or even yourself. You felt nothing but warmth building up in your chest.

“Sweetheart.” Ignis said from behind you. He expected you to be scared and upset at him. He was taken aback when you spun right back around and hugged him tightly.

“Thank you.” you spoke shakily. you had no idea what else to say. You were finally free. Albeit in the craziest manner, you were still free.

“Like I said Y/N...anything to protect you.” Ignis stroked your hair. “Now...do you remember what I said about running away together?”

(....I got goosebumps while writing this...and not in the best way. Like I said this was based off of a nightmare I had a few nights back.)

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broomballkraken · 3 years ago

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Title: A Dullahan and a Firewolf Walk into a Café...

Fandom: Cafe Enchante

Pairing(s): Kotone/Canus/Ignis

Word count: 3309

Warnings: None

Summary: ...and they eventually fall in love with the sunny and upbeat owner. This is a cause of tension between Canus and Ignis, who are normally the best of friends...that is, until they realize that they are in love with each other as well.

Enchanté had always been a place where Ignis could escape the constant fighting and the bitter cold of Bestia. Relaxing in the quaint café atmosphere with a nice drink and a filling homemade meal was always something that he had looked forward to.

This time, however, he was feeling anything but relaxed.

Ignis’ grip tightened around his glass of soda as he stole a glance to his right, where Canus sat sipping on his smoothie, his discomfort obvious due to the deep blue color of the flames that were ever-present around his neck.

They were currently the only regulars present today; Il was locked in his room playing the latest otome game, Misyr had business in the demon world, Rindo had offered to escort Kariya to his checkup at the GPM, and Kotone was off shopping for groceries. The fact that Ignis was alone with Canus only made this awkward silence between them more deafening. There was also a palpable tension in the air, and it had everything to do with the beautiful human who owned the café.

Ignis would be the first to admit that he had been wary when Kotone had taken over the café. Enchanté was his escape from the constant fighting in Bestia, and he didn’t know if it would be the same without Souan. However, he soon realized that his worry had been unfounded, because Kotone’s Enchanté was every bit as cozy and welcoming to non-humans as her grandfather’s had been.

It was even more so actually, as unlike Souan, Kotone had shown great interest in visiting the non-human worlds, even though she had ended up in the middle of a few terrible situations, especially in his own world of Bestia, and Canus’ home world of Medio. She had helped Ignis break free from his fate of becoming Vanar, so it was no surprise that he had fallen in love with her along the way, and luckily for him, she felt the same way.

This had surprised him, because while they all were helping Canus deal with the threat that Yggdrasil posed to Medio, Ignis watched as Kotone and Canus fell in love with each other. He had never considered the fact that she could be in love with two people at the same time, but that wasn’t really a problem.

No, the problem wasn’t that they both loved Kotone, it was that Ignis was also in love with Canus, and he didn’t know what to think of that. In Bestia, the beast-folk took on one mate for life, and Ignis had never heard of anyone forming a polycule of any kind before. He wasn’t sure what humans thought of that, and from what he had gathered about the fairy customs concerning romance, he really couldn’t fathom a guess at what Canus’ thoughts about it were either.

The more Ignis thought about it, the more he realized that he had probably been in love with Canus far longer than he had with Kotone, and he had just been too dense to realize it. He didn’t need to see Canus’ face to know that he was attractive; his kindness, loyalty, and passion for protecting others was more than enough to cause Ignis to fall in love with him.

When Ignis had found out about the horrible burden that Canus had been forced to bear for Medio, he had felt physically ill at the thought. Someone as kind-hearted and gentle as Canus had no business being forced to kill innocents against his will. Ignis had been more than happy to lend a hand in burning that bastard tree Yggdrasil down to nothing but a pile of ash.

Canus had been a big part of helping Ignis out with his own bullshit trauma, and Ignis really couldn’t thank him enough for helping Kotone keep him from passing that point of no return. They had developed a very close bond, and Ignis had realized that the line between friendship and love had been blurred for a long time. Now that he knew that line had indeed been crossed, he didn’t know what to do about it.

When Kotone had confessed her love for him, Ignis thought that would solve his problem once and for all by overwriting his love for Canus. However, those feelings persisted nonetheless, and it only confused him more when he found out that Kotone loved Canus too.

Ignis’ patience with this dilemma was wearing thin, and he knew that he needed to talk about this with Canus. He hated this awkward air that lingered between them now, and he decided that he was going to put a stop to it right now, one way or another.

Ignis downed half of his drink and slammed his glass onto the counter harder than he needed to, startling Canus. “Ugh, alright, we’ve gotta talk about this already,” he said, waving his hand in front of him as he turned to face Canus head on. Canus stiffened and he turned as well, letting out a deep sigh.

“Indeed. We have put it off for far too long.”

“So, you love Kotone, and I love Kotone.” Ignis decided to not beat around the bush at all, and he continued when Canus nodded, “And she loves both of us.”

“Yes, she has told me as much.” Canus crossed his arms over his chest, and his flames turned a radiant yellow in color, causing Ignis’ face to heat up at how pretty they were. “It was easy to fall in love with such a gentle, caring soul.”

“Yeah.” A soft smile crossed Ignis’ face as he placed an elbow on the counter and rested his chin on his hand. “She’s so compassionate, too much for her own good sometimes. Kotone really pulled us both out of some really dark places, huh?”

Canus’ flames flashed dark blue briefly, and Ignis winced as the awful memories resurfaced briefly. They both really had been through hell by being forced to kill against their will, albeit with different overall circumstances. All of their friends had been a great help, but Kotone had been at the center, for both of them, and had been a key factor in giving them both a happy ending to their ordeals.

“But,” Ignis continued as he worried his bottom lip between his teeth, “is it really okay for her to be with both of us at the same time?”

“Hm, I believe so. Human relationships are varied and complicated. I have read in a few of the romantic magazines that Kotone has given Titania that some do in fact form polyamorous relationships.” Ignis was curious as to why Canus was reading those magazines in the first place, but he decided against asking about it. Instead, he sighed and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Tch, humans are stranger than I thought...I guess I can live with her being in love with both of us…” Ignis trailed off, failing to hide the disappointment in his voice, not at the fact that he had to share Kotone, but that he also wanted to be with Canus. Ignis wasn’t sure if he could stand to watch Canus give Kotone affection when he wanted it badly from him too.

But Ignis would try, because he loved them both, and if he had to suppress his feelings for Canus to make them happy, then he would make that sacrifice, no matter how painful it was. He stole a glance at Canus out of the corner of his eye, and even though he couldn’t see his face, Ignis could feel Canus’ intense gaze boring into him as the flames around his neck suddenly turned a light pink in color.

“...Yes, but with that being said...I do believe that I may have similar feelings for you as well, Ignis.”

Ignis had unfortunately been in the middle of taking a generous swig of his drink, and it immediately ended up all over the counter as choked on it and spit it out. His coughing fit was eased when Canus smacked a firm hand to his back a few times, and Ignis finally managed to squeak out a response after he wiped his arm over his mouth.

“...H-Huh??”

Canus lifted his hand to his invisible face and cleared his throat, his flames turning an even deeper shade of pink. “I, ah...I’m in love with you too.”

Ignis just stared at Canus, with his jaw hanging open with shock. He couldn’t help but wonder if fairies possessed some kind of mind-reading magic that he wasn’t aware of, but the thought was pushed from his mind as an incredible warmth erupted within his chest. Canus...really felt the same way about him, huh? Ignis definitely hadn’t expected that at all.

“If you do not feel the same about me, that is...quite alright.” The flames around Canus’ neck betrayed his actual feelings as it turned a deep shade of blue, and Ignis frowned at the sight. “I will suppress my feelings for you and we can focus on making Kotone happy-“

“Whoa, whoa, back up. Don’t just assume things without hearing what I have to say first,” Ignis interrupted, pouting as his eyes narrowed, “Because, ah, actually do, kinda, maybe feel the same way…” Ignis fumbled with his words and his voice trailed off at the end, and Canus just stared at him.

“I...don’t understand-” he started, and Ignis let out a frustrated noise as he shook his head.

“Gah! I love you too, alright?” he blurted out, his gaze falling to the counter as he rubbed at the back of his neck. He heard Canus suck in a sharp breath, and Ignis almost didn’t hear it over the roaring of his heartbeat in his ears.

“O-Oh, you...you do, really?”

“Yes, really.” Ignis forced himself to look back up at Canus, “I’ve...loved you for a long time now, actually.” He swallowed thickly and sweat began to bead on his forehead as Canus stared at him, before his flames turned a bright yellow.

“I am so happy to hear that, Ignis. I...was honestly scared to tell you, given your relationship with Kotone.” He paused and rubbed at the back of his neck sheepishly. “I didn’t know if there would be room in your heart for me.”

“Oh fuck that, Canus,” Ignis said with a roll of his eyes, “For you, there was always a place in my heart. I was just too dense to realize it sooner, you know. You’re just...really easy to love.”

Canus’ flames turned a dark blue as he let out a deep sigh. “I never really thought that I was deserving of love, back when I was doing my duty as the Fairy of Death, but you and Kotone made me realize that I was wrong, and I cannot thank you both enough for that.”

Ignis snorted and shrugged his shoulders. “I mean, I’m surprised that you two still gave me the time of day after the bullshit you saved me from...but I’m really glad you two didn’t give up on me either.” Ignis smiled as Canus’ flames turned pink again, and he hoped that this wasn’t a cruel dream, because damn he never felt so goddamn lucky and loved in his entire life.

Canus reached across the counter and placed his hand over Ignis’, causing the latter to make a strangled noise in the back of his throat, while his cheeks turned a bright pink in color.

“You are rather adorable when flustered, Ignis.”

“S-Shut up.”

Canus laughed as his flames turned a lime green, and that was enough to cause Ignis’ face to flush an even deeper red while his heartbeat quickened considerably. He couldn’t stop a smile from crossing his face, however, and he entwined their fingers together as he gave Canus’ hand a light squeeze. His smile morphed into a grin when Canus’ flames turned pink again, and even though Ignis couldn’t see his face, he could just tell that he had the brightest of smiles on his face.

Suddenly, the bell at the door rang, prompting Ignis and Canus to look to see who would enter…

---

When Kotone pushed open the door to Enchanté, she hadn’t expected to see Canus and Ignis sitting together at the counter, and her eyes widened when they both turned to look at her. It had been very awkward this morning, when she had served them their drinks and quickly made up an excuse to rush off to the marketplace. She knew that she was the source of the awkwardness between them, and that made her feel immensely guilty.

She didn’t know how it happened, but she had somehow managed to fall deeply in love with both Ignis and Canus. She knew that it wasn’t fair to them to not pick a side, but her heart kept telling her that it was big enough for the both of them. Kotone was honest about her feelings when she talked to them, and they seemed fine with her also being with the other. However, she couldn’t help but feel like it would be better if they all could be in one happy relationship, but she had no idea how likely that was…

That is, until her gaze wandered to the counter, where Ignis and Canus’ hands were clasped together, and she let out a light gasp as she hurried towards them, as they both shot up from their seats.

“Ah, K-Kotone!”

“Er, hey…”

Canus and Ignis both turned and greeted her nervously, with the former’s flames flashing between dark blue and pink, while the latter’s eyes darted anywhere but to meet her own. A smile slowly spread across Kotone’s face when their hands remained clasped together in spite of their flustered states.

“You two are holding hands!” she blurted out, and Canus’ smoke flushed completely pink and Ignis glanced down at their entwined hands, before they both finally looked at Kotone.

“W-Well, yes...We, ah…” Canus mumbled, his free hand fiddling with his collar as he stumbled over his words.

“Ugh, we found out that we love each other too, okay?” Ignis interrupted Canus to blurt out a blunt explanation, and Kotone giggled, her chest flooding with an immense warmth. Knowing that they all loved each other equally was a dream come true, and Kotone couldn’t contain her happiness as she pulled Ignis down for a kiss, and then did the same to Canus.

“That’s wonderful!” Kotone exclaimed as she stepped back, and she looked back and forth between them a few times. Canus and Ignis just stared at her, looking a bit confused at her eagerness. She laughed and placed her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow at them.

“Well? Are you two going to kiss now?”

Kotone brought a hand to her face as she tried to suppress another giggle when the two men before her bristled at the suggestion. They glanced briefly at each other before quickly turning away, Ignis’ face flushing a bright red to match his hair, while Canus’ flames turned a deep pink.

“Um, I...suppose that would be the next logical course of action…” Canus mumbled as he sheepishly rubbed at the back of his neck.

“Y-Yeah, but...this is...embarrassing…” Ignis crossed his arms over his chest, his fingers digging into his skin.

“Oh?” Kotone cocked her head to the side. “But you two kissed me just fine.”

“T-That’s different!” Ignis sputtered with a firm shake of his head, “You already knew how we felt about you. Canus and I just confessed our feelings for each other…”

“Oh, then all the more reason for you two to have your first kiss now!” Kotone drove her point home by smacking her fist into her other hand and smiling sweetly. The sincerity in Kotone’s words must have reached them, because Ignis and Canus both fixed their gaze on her, both nodding as the former swallowed thickly, and the latter took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“...R-Right...”

“...U-Understood…”

They turned to face each other, and the comically serious expression on Ignis’ face combined with Canus’ stiff posture had Kotone snorting as she tried not to burst out laughing. Ignis stared at the ‘empty’ space above Canus’ neck with an intense look, his eyes narrowing as he slowly lifted his hands up.

“...Can’t even tell where your lips are…” Ignis mumbled, a grumpy pout crossing his face as he lightly smacked his hands against the spot where he thought Canus’ cheeks were.

“Ignis...there’s no need to hit me.” Canus’ flames flashed a dark blue in color, before snapping back to pink in an instant. Ignis opened his mouth to respond, probably with a snarky retort, but he froze when Canus’ hands moved to cup his face. Kotone watched the scene unfold with great interest, and a gentle warmth seeped into her cheeks when Canus lowered his face to Ignis’ and guided his lips to the proper place. She hadn’t really been sure if these two would love each other as much as they loved her, but looking at them now wiped all doubts from Kotone’s mind, especially when she saw Ignis’ lips curl up into a smile.

When they pulled away from each other, Kotone did not fail to notice the fond looks that the two men exchanged, before Ignis’ face scrunched up and he scratched at his chin.

“Huh, strange…”

Canus jerked backwards as his flames immediately turned a deep shade of blue. “Was it...really that bad?”

“What? No, that’s not what I meant at all!” Ignis quickly explained, shaking his head as he grabbed Canus’ hand, “It’s just...you’re ah, warm…” Kotone giggled at the exchange and nodded.

“Yeah, Canus’ kisses are always warm to me too,” she chimed in, and Ignis joined her in laughing when Canus sputtered, embarrassed, “It’s a bit strange that we can’t see your lips though.”

“I, ah, do have them, it’s just that no one but I can actually touch them, or any part of my head for that matter. But,” Canus’ flames turned a vibrant yellow as he placed his hands on Ignis’ and Kotone’s shoulders, “I...can feel how soft both of your lips are against mine and...it is a pleasant feeling.”

Kotone smiled brightly and laughed as she wrapped her arms around both of them, hearing them both make a startled noise as she pulled them into a tight hug. “I’m so happy that we all feel the same about each other! I really love you both so much!”

“Ah geez,” Ignis grumbled, and Kotone glanced up to see that his pouting face was flushed red, “I, er, love you both too.”

Kotone felt a rumbling chuckle roll through Canus’ chest, and she giggled when he leaned down and placed a kiss on her cheek, before doing the same to Ignis. “I love you both as well, with all that I am.” His arms wrapped around both Kotone and Ignis and he pulled them against his broad chest. “I never thought that I would return to Enchanté to find not just one, but two people who I’ve come to cherish more than anything else.”

“Ugh, that’s so cheesy,” Ignis grumbled, hiding his beet-red face against Canus’ chest, but Kotone still caught the beautiful smile that was on his face, “Thanks for loving me you two, in spite of all the bullshit I’ve put you through.”

“Of course, you both are so easy to love…” Kotone said, letting out a content sigh as she melted into the embrace of the two men that she loved the most. As they stood in the middle of her Enchanté, Kotone would forever be thankful for the dullahan and the firewolf who walked in one day, and changed her life for the better.

#cafe enchante #kotone awaki #canus espada #ignis carbunculus #kotone/canus/ignis #hello yes here i am with my otome game ot3 #fanfiction #jade writes fanfiction

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glon-morski · 4 years ago

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FF XV - the missing reconciliation post chapter 10

Alright, everyone who has ever played FFXV knows the game’s not perfect. Whether you love it or hate it, the game has some issues you can’t just pretend not to see. I personally adore the game, but that doesn’t mean I wave away its issues. Especially not the glaring ones, like the story-telling, which really could use some work at times, what with all the ‘missing scenes that should be there’, the plot holes and stuff.

One such moment of ‘atrocious story-telling’, as is widely accepted as fact by fans and haters alike, is in the second half of the game: the rather infamous chapter 10 and the chapters that follow. For context reminder, chapter 10 of FFXV’s story is right after the catastrophe that is the covenant with Leviathan in Altissia. It’s the chapter about Cartanica, the chapter where our four main characters (and friends) are at odds with each other, treating each other to stony silences unless they’re arguing, the latter being especially the case of Noctis and Gladio, with Gladio throwing a few quite vicious comments Noctis’s way. With everything that happened right before, the character dynamics in this chapter really hit hard. By the end of the chapter, Ignis has had enough and snaps, telling basically everyone off for being at each other’s throats during a time when they should be more united than ever. And after that… things pretty much go back to normal in the group. Which is all well and good, except for one thing. The arguing, and Gladio’s vicious attitude especially, may come a little out of nowhere, but it’s still understandable if one puts just a little thought into it. Noct is grieving Luna’s death and blaming himself both for the fact she died and likely also Ignis’s blindness, he’s overwhelmed by his emotions which cause him to shut himself off emotionally. Gladio is feeling guilty, too. He is Noctis’s Shield and it is his duty to protect him, with his life if he has to. But he hasn’t been there to protect him after Leviathan was dealt with and Ignis did his job for him, getting severely injured in the process. That shouldn’t have happened. In Gladio’s mind, Noctis either should have been strong enough to not need Ignis to protect him (and making him able to defend himself is Gladio’s job as well, since he’s been training Noct since he was a kid), or Gladio should have been there to protect him instead of Ignis. But he wasn’t. He had failed as a Shield and he’s reminded of that fact and the guilt that comes with it every time he looks at Ignis or Noct. And Gladio had always covered up his negative emotions, guilt included, with anger. So he lashes out. It comes a bit out of nowhere and takes some thought to understand, but it’s not something that can’t be figured out.

The sudden shift back from the end of chapter 10 to chapter 11, however, is less acceptable and as far as I know, everyone was saying how the reconciliation was poorly handled and there should have been at least a short scene where Gladio apologizes to Noct, if nothing else. A scene where they talk it out, where the argument actually gets closure and we can believe the characters move on. We don’t get any of that, though, and it’s apparently a ‘narrative nightmare’, which is likely the main reason there are so many ‘missing scene’ fanfics out there that attempt to rectify it, to write a fitting scene that could actually connect the character’s attitudes from the end of chapter 10 to chapters 11-13. And honestly, for the longest time, I agreed with that assessment, because there really should be a proper reconciliation scene.

Unless there shouldn’t be. Unless it’s not a ‘narrative issue’ this time, but something that has been done on purpose. Because what if… Please consider, what if Noctis and his crew didn’t actually properly make up before the end of chapter 13 and Noct’s ten-year-long absence?

Hear me out.

I) “Guys Don’t Talk About Feelings”

Fair point, and it does stand to reason considering what we see in the game. Noctis is the kind to clam up and he doesn’t talk easily, Gladio and Ignis pretend they don’t feel much of anything (except anger in Gladio’s case) and Prompto hides everything behind his happy-go-lucky joker mask. So yeah, a valid assumption to make. Except that it’s not true, because there are instances where the boys talk about feelings and Noct in particular is willing to have these kinds of conversations, even if he doesn’t always (or ever) initiate them. Proof in the game itself include:

- the talk with Prompto when you sleep at a motel and he ends up opening up about his insecurities. Sure, you can have Noct answer in an absolutely dickish manner and conform to the stereotype, but the game rewards you for having Noct listen to his friend, take him seriously and reassure him, which in all honesty sounds a lot more like Noct to me anyway. Sure, the guy can be a bit standoffish at times, particularly in the anime, but there’s no denying he cares and he’d never be a dick to his friends on purpose.

- post-credit scene of Episode Ignis, where Ignis is the one to open up a little (he opens the conversation with a broken ‘we have lost so much’, you can’t tell me the entire exchange isn’t driven by emotion even if part of it is Ignis testing Noct’s resolve) and offers Noctis to abandon their journey. Noctis refuses.

- post-credit scene of Episode Prompto, when Noctis properly apologizes to Prompto over what happened on the train and reconciles with him before they talk about ‘uniting all of Eos’ so no one has to suffer like Prompto has simply because they happened to be born in a different country.

So no, the boys do talk about feelings. Maybe not often and maybe not always as extensively as some would prefer, but they do talk about it when it really matters. Most of the time.

II) Chapter 11 Loading Screen

As FFXV is wont to do, instead of showing us stuff to connect chapters of the story together, we get loading screens with a short text, so more of a ‘tell not show’ approach. Which is a shame, but in this particular instance, it works to my advantage as far as analyzing stuff goes. Here’s the loading screen in question:

This is a peculiar word choice, isn’t it? ‘Ignis’s resolve forces a reconciliation’. Correct me if I’m wrong, but you can’t actually force a reconciliation. It doesn’t work that way. You can force two people to stop arguing all the time, maybe, but you can’t force them to see eye-to-eye, you can’t force them to apologize and mean it, you can’t force them to make up. Ignis’s words and resolve could and definitely did force Noctis and Gladio to see how stupid they were being, how they shouldn’t be divided at this point in time… but it can’t force them to forgive and forget. Especially if you consider Gladio’s reactions.

After Ignis’s outburst, he’s still angry. He doesn’t outwardly agree with allowing Ignis to come along, but he also doesn’t bite back at his words how it’s not up to Gladio to decide when Noctis will take up the mantle as king properly. He shuts his mouth and storms off. And that the last interaction we get before the ‘normalcy’ at the beginning of chapter 11, before Gladio and Ignis go off.

At this point in time, I’m pretty sure Gladio hasn’t actually apologized. Hell, I’m persuaded he doesn’t actually think he was out of line that much. Nothing that Ignis said would have made him realize just how much of an ass he’s been. Ignis told him off for pushing Noct for something he’s not ready for and reminded him it’s not up to Gladio to decide when he will be, whether they have the time to wait for him to be ready or not. Gladio doesn’t agree with that precisely because they don’t have the time and Noct has to act like the king he’s supposed to be. Still, Ignis’s words do make him realize the way he’s been pushing is (at least in part) the reason for the growing rift between the four of them and he agrees they can’t afford in-fighting, so he backs off. A little. He’s still a bit confrontational when they go back to the train, but doesn’t lash out quite as badly anymore. I mean, look at his response when Noct actually asks if they can make a stop in Tenebrae (for the first time actually mentioning wanting to, as far as we’re aware). Gladio’s answer is a flat ‘as long as it helps him move on.’ It’s not understanding, it’s not supporting, it’s more ‘fine, if it gets your ass in gear, we can do it’, but said in a less dickish manner. He doesn’t agree to the stop in Tenebrae because he cares for Noct’s feelings, he agrees as a means to an end – Ignis won’t get on his case again and Noctis will (hopefully) ‘pull his head out of his ass’. In short, Gladio is less confrontational, but his mindset clearly hasn’t changed much if at all. He doesn’t act like he thinks he should apologize, either, so it would be no stretch to assume that he simply doesn’t. He acts like his earlier attitude never happened instead and Noctis follows his lead on it. (Or maybe Noctis is the one who starts and Gladio follows his lead, both are likely.) In fact, the first (and only) moment where it might seem like Gladio actually realizes he may have gone too far only happens in chapter 13 Verse 2, when they find the recording of how Ravus died. Gladio remarks that Ravus ‘even called Noctis “his king”’, then lowers his head and stares at the ground for a bit. Don’t know about you, but the posture he adopts looks kind of ashamed to me. Which makes sense, because this is Ravus. The guy who has been going on and on about how Noctis is undeserving of his title as Chosen King, or the Ring, or his father’s glaive or Luna’s help, and he openly admits Noctis is ‘his king’, the Chosen King. He sees a king where Gladio hasn’t and I think that really resonated with him and made him realize just how overboard he’s gone. Because how can it be that a man who used to think Noct unworthy of his title as Chosen sees him as the King he is before even his Shield does? Gladio is supposed to be one of Noct’s closest confidants, the one he trusts most, the one to keep him upright when he can’t stand up, the one to focus when Noct can’t etc. etc. Being a Shield is a difficult duty, but it also means being extremely close to the King, it means he should know him well enough to see things others don’t, he should always be supporting and protecting him. And yet Ravus, of all people, saw what Gladio had failed to see in that instance: that Noct already is king and he is acting the part to the best of his abilities. Ravus believed in Noctis more than his own Shield did. And it’s in that instant, I think, that Gladio truly realized he’s crossed a line (or several lines) and that while he might have had a point in there somewhere, he went the entirely wrong way about making it. In that singular instant, he feels a brief moment of shame and actually realizes he might need to apologize at some point, I think. But they’re in Zegnautus Keep, in the middle of enemy territory and Noctis isn’t even with them, so a heart-to-heart obviously will have to wait for a better time.

Furthermore, there’s the bit how through ‘forcing a reconciliation’, Ignis’s resolve ‘restores harmony to the group’. Another curious choice of words there. If they had really made up properly, couldn’t it be ‘restores the bonds between the four friends’ or something like that? Something more telling that things are actually ok again, that they’ve made up and everything is well? Instead it’s just ‘restores harmony’, which doesn’t really mean much beyond ‘gets rid of the discord’, meaning Noctis and Gladio simply stop fighting. But it doesn’t mean they’ve actually made up, that they’re back to how they’ve been before Altissia. They aren’t. But for the sake of ‘harmony’, they act like they do. After all, ‘a king moves ever forward’ and his Shield is supposed to be by his side, come Hell or high water, right?

III) Game-Play-Story-Integration

Out of all the games I’ve played, Final Fantasy XV is still the one with the best and most extensive game-play-story-integration I’ve ever seen. From the fighting system to the quips between the bros to how the AI acts in combat in certain parts of the story, the attention to detail is unreal. It is especially noticeable in chapter 10, not only because of how Ignis always stays behind for obvious reasons, but also how Prompto never strays from his side or the way Gladio only goes half-way after Noct if the player goes on ahead (though not without bitching about ‘staying together’). It’s also visible in combat.

So… let’s look a bit at the game-play of chapters 11, 12 and 13, when the boys have supposedly been forced to make up, shall we?

Chapter 11 – we get a short cut-scene with Ignis and Gladio where they talk about gathering some information about the going-ons in Tenebrae and Gralea. Noctis is attentive, but still rather subdued. Gladio acts mostly like his normal, confident self. No discord in sight… but also no true unity if you ask me. Ignis and Gladio leave soon after. Noctis doesn’t try to stop them or follow them and neither of them attempt to make him. In fact, no one comments on his lackluster attitude at all and while that’s better than the fighting from before, it doesn’t actually look like a group of three friends, more just three men working together because they’re supposed to. Ignis may just be trying to give Noctis time to grieve properly, it’s what he’s been doing for the entirety of chapter 10 as well all while dealing with his own problems, but Gladio just simply pretends he doesn’t see it. He doesn’t give an indication it bothers him in any way, not in terms of making him angry or worried or anything. He just pretends not to see and lets it roll off his back.

And that’s it for Ignis and Gladio. We don’t see either of them for the rest of the chapter. We don’t see much of Prompto, either, because Ardyn decides to switch places with him. We get one little fight together with fake!Prompto but other than that, throughout the chapter and the fighting on the train, Noctis is alone.

Chapter 12 – it doesn’t actually get better. The chapter starts in Tenebrae station, which counts as an outpost and thus a safe place. You can opt to just follow the other characters and advance the story by talking with everyone you need to talk to, but you can also explore the station first to gather some items and, in the Royal Edition, to gather almanac entries. Now, in any other outpost or city in the game, while there might have been short moments where Ignis, Gladio and Prompto wandered off and behaved a bit like curious NPCs, they always followed Noct once he got a certain distance away. For the entirety of the game up until Altissia, you hardly had any moment when they didn’t follow Noct unless it was story-dictated that they didn’t. That’s not the case in Tenebrae. There’s no real reason for them to remain ‘in NPC mode’ if you decide to explore the station, but they do. They don’t follow Noctis at all. Once again, he’s alone and he remains that way even once they’re on board the train even though Ignis and Gladio are technically still part of the party (you can see their HP bars and stuff).

Once again, much like with fake!Prompto in the previous chapter, we get a fight where the three men fight together. But once it’s over? Gladio calls Noctis to ‘come and see something’, then doesn’t wait for him to follow. The next thing we know, Noct is encountering Ardyn and Shiva and once again, he is alone. At any other point in the game, no matter what was happening, Ignis and Gladio did everything they could to stand by his side – figuratively as much as literally by being physically there. But in this chapter, they don’t. Even post Shiva, when Noctis tells them to go check on the front of the train, they both do without complaint. Noctis is on his knees, half-frozen like they are and he very clearly still looks out of it, but neither of them protests being send away despite the fact that Gladio could have checked on the drivers alone and Ignis could remain with Noct without issue to make sure he’s alright (or so they could both make sure the other is alright). But that’s not what happens.

After Shiva, we get another short cut-scene as the train reaches Gralea and demons pop up while Noctis and co. realize they’re weaponless. Noctis is so shell-shocked by that discovery that he almost takes a Goblin’s claws to the chest, but Gladio pulls him back and kicks the demon away. He protects Noctis. He does his job as a Shield. Noct’s reaction? A split second of relief before he tries for a grin and briefly compliments Gladio’s blow, visibly trying to loosen up, to act normal. That split second of relief is really telling, though, because it implies he might not have expected for Gladio to act. He might have worried he wouldn’t help him. Which he has reason for as apparently, in chapter 10, if Noct happens to be caught by an enemy (you know, that button-mashing moment to get free), Gladio’s AI apparently doesn’t even try to help. I say apparently because I didn’t get the chance to test it on my new play-through, I was on NG+ and over-leveled to Hell, so the characters could one-shot-kill everything long before one stray enemy could grab on to Noct for me to test that. But assuming this little bit of game-play-story-integration is true, it would make sense considering Gladio’s general attitude in chapter 10. Still, we’re talking about chapter 12 now, where the boys have supposedly reconciled, so… why would Noct worry about whether or not Gladio would help him if he needed it? Why would he be relieved when Gladio simply did his job? If they’ve actually made up, then he has no reason to worry or be surprised and relieved about it, right?

Chapter 13 – I don’t think I need to say much about that one. Zegautus Keep. Noctis is separated from his friends for most of it and is once again alone. Nothing more needs to be said on that front. Except maybe one thing. There are two points in the chapter where Noctis has to leave his friends behind. One in the hangar towards the end, when he’s about to reach the Crystal. He hesitates then, looks back once he’s gotten through the closing door, but moves on. The other is way at the beginning of the chapter, when Noct gets separated from Ignis and Gladio by the collapsing train. Not only does he not hesitate to run and leave them behind then (understandable, as he’s surrounded by daemons and unarmed), but he also doesn’t wait for them once he’s in the Keep. That first room he’s in is huge and open and you can see there aren’t that many daemons prowling about. Noctis had locked the door behind him and since the Goblins haven’t broken it down before, there’s no reason they would now. Ignis and Gladio are still out there and Noctis should probably assume they’d try to follow him or find a different way in. So… why does he go on alone? Why doesn’t he wait? Or at least call/text them to see what their plan is so they can agree to try and regroup somehow? In fact, for the entirety of this chapter, why doesn’t Noct try to contact Ignis or Gladio once? His phone still works as far as we know even though he’s no longer in Lucis, chapter 12 proved that when Ignis called him after Noct pushed Prompto off the train. So why don’t they even attempt to communicate when, as far as we know, they have the means to?

I don’t know about you, but for a part of the game where the three of them are supposed to be tight-knit once again and have supposedly made up, the story and game-play goes way out of its way to contradict it by ensuring Noctis is alone at nearly all times, when the normal behavior of all of his friends is to stick close to him at any given time, be it for running around the wilderness, combat or even exploring a safe outpost. And when Noctis’s normal behavior is to try to stick with them, too, and yet in these chapters (and chapter 13 in particular) he goes out of his way to not do that.

IV) Friends And Retainers In One

There’s a very specific part of chapter 13 that really stuck out to me on my latest play-through. Once you reunite with Ignis and Gladio, find Prompto and finally get your weapons back, the boys have their one (ONE!) on-the-field conversation in the entire chapter. Where before Altissia they constantly quipped at each other and you had those short conversations once every couple minutes, this is basically the only piece of dialogue outside of a cut-scene you get this entire chapter (Ardyn’s taunting notwithstanding).

It starts with Prompto pointing out that Noctis is wearing (and using) the Ring of the Lucii. Noctis response is a rather bland ‘I had to. No weapons. No friends. No choice, really’ and goes on to say how he had to find and save the rest of them and for that he had to be able to fight so he had to use the ring. This entire 5-second-explanation is delivered in a low, kinda dead tone, too. There’s barely any inflection to it, let alone any sort of emotion. He just sounds tired and wrung out and completely done with it all. The one who responds is Gladio… with a comment along the lines of ‘you finally sound like a King’ with a ‘took you long enough’ heavily implied if not stated outright. Noctis doesn’t respond to that and neither does anyone else. Once again, it does not sound like an exchange between friends. It sounds more like what a Shield would say to his King.

And that’s exactly what’s going on, isn’t it? What has been going on since chapter 10, actually. In the aftermath of Altissia, Gladio pulled back from everyone, but Noctis in particular. He was no longer his friend, he was his Shield, through and through.

Now, Ignis and Gladio always had some trouble with navigating their relationship with Noct because of its duality between being his retainers and being his friends, something the game touches upon a little (though it’s way better portrayed in the Brotherhood anime). Ignis has more trouble with it, though, because in his case, the line between friend and retainer is extremely blurred and it’s easy to fall from one into another seamlessly and without noticing. From chapter 10 onward, though, while Ignis tried to keep some ‘friend’ aspects to his demeanor, he still acts more like an advisor. This is likely due as much to the fact that he wants to prove to everyone (himself included) that he isn’t a burden and can keep going with them, as it is to Noct needing a little advisory needling to stay on course and not fall back into his apathetic behavior from earlier.

In Gladio’s case, the line is a lot more cut and dry and easy to distinguish. There’s a clear difference between Gladio the Friend and Gladio the Shield. During chapter 10, Gladio is only a Shield. A retainer to his King. Not a friend. Which is part of why he’s so vicious in his comments. During chapters 11-13, he dials it back more and more, but still stays more on the side of ‘Shield’ than ‘Friend’.

The only person who doesn’t have that struggle is Prompto, because while part of the Crownsguard, he’s still Noct’s friend first and foremost. But he’s absent from chapter 11 onwards. So for most of chapters 10-13, Noct is alone. It’s a moment in time when he lost too much too quickly and he desperately needs a friend to help him, but he doesn’t get that. He can’t go to Ignis because he feels like Ignis has enough of his own problems to deal with, he doesn’t want to burden Prompto who’s already very clearly stressed by the situation in general and tries to help where he feels most useful (with Ignis) and he only has an angry Shield in Gladio, not a friend. All that game-play I pointed out earlier where Noctis is suspiciously alone? That’s a show of how he feels as much as the physical situation of it. He is alone when he’s separated from his companions and he feels alone even when they’re there. Because the ones following him now are not his friends, they’re his retainers and he’s not supposed to be Noct the Person, but Noctis the King.

Going back to that little piece of dialogue I mentioned earlier, well, it’s not part of a cut-scene, so we don’t really get much in terms of clues to interpret the characters’ feelings besides the voice acting. There’s no expression and little body language to go by. But the fact that Gladio’s comment is met with silence from Noct is already very telling. To me, it feels like he’s looking for at least a little comfort from them. He’s looking for reassurance from his friends. He’s been alone, unarmed, basically at daemons’ mercy and had no choice but to put on the ring everyone saw he could hardly bring himself to look at, much less wear. I wouldn’t be surprised if the answer he was looking to get then was something as simple as ‘you’re not alone or defenseless now, it’ll be ok, we’re here with you’ or something like that. Instead, what he gets is a comment about how ‘he finally acts like a king’ from the person who has been raving on him for not being ‘kingly’ enough the most before. And I think that might sort of cement it for him (like it also sort of does for the player): he isn’t surrounded by friends at this moment in time, no matter how desperately he wants and needs it, even if they share some friendly banter in a cut-scene or two before that. He’s surrounded by retainers and he has to be their King, no matter how impossible it seems for him to do that.

And then, of course, the icing on the cake: getting sucked into the Crystal. Noctis is alone at that point as well, barring Ardyn. By the time Gladio and the others catch up, he’s already disappeared.

Here comes the kicker: Gladio, Ignis and Prompto proceed to attack Ardyn and try to kill him… and it’s honestly the first proper show of emotion all three of them have since chapter 11 that actually proves they care for Noct as a person, not just a king. They act like they lost not a king, but a dear friend and they’re understandably angry because of that. Which is heartbreaking because it happens at a point in time when Noctis can’t see it anymore. Just as the three of them were too late to see Noctis get sucked into the Crystal (and maybe try and fail to stop it from happening), they were too late in dropping the façade of retainer and act like Noct’s friends instead. (Again, with the exception of Prompto, because he doesn’t have that issue.)

It’s doubly heartbreaking when you consider Regis’s last order to them, too. ‘I ask not that you guide my wayward son. Merely that you remain at his side.’ Which is really just a fancy way of saying ‘I don’t want you to accompany him as his retainers, I want you to be his friends.’ No one seems to catch on to that, however, and when shit truly hits the fan, they do the exact opposite instead.

V) Reconciliation

Finally, one last point, tying somewhat to point I to finish this entire word vomit off. As we all know, there is no reconciliation scene between the four friends in the game, a fact that has been very bemoaned by fans. That’s just it, though. There’s no reconciliation scene between the four of them or at between Noct and Gladio… but there is one (even two) between Noctis and Prompto! In the main game, once you find Prompto in Zegnautus, he asks Noct if he was worried about him. Noct can respond with a choked up ‘of course I was… what kind of question is that?’ or try to tease and act like all is normal (the second one backfires slightly) but in both cases, it’s followed by an apology, which Prompto accepts and responds to with ‘everything is alright now’. It’s not perfect, but there was an apology, there was forgiveness, there was understanding and closure and actual reconciliation. If that’s not enough for you, Episode Prompto adds the post-credit scene I already mentioned above.

So, we do get a proper reconciliation between Noctis and Prompto. But not between Noctis and Gladio. Or Noctis and Ignis, considering they should have really talked about how Noct feels guilty for Ignis’s injury, too, in my opinion, even if they haven’t really fought or anything. There’s still a kind of rift there. Which means Noct reconciles on-screen with one friend out of three. You really think the developpers would make one scene and then ‘leave out’ or ‘forget’ another? I find that hard to believe.

In conclusion

As many narrative and story-telling issues as FFXV may have, I honestly don’t believe the lack of a proper reconciliation between Noctis and Gladio (or Noctis and Ignis if you think they need one) is one of them. It looks far more like it has been done on purpose, because while they both try to act like they’re good and everything is back to normal, the fact of the matter is that it’s probably not true. They’re still at odds and Gladio only really realizes he might have gone too far in Zegnautus, but at that point, he doesn’t really get a chance to talk with Noct before the latter disappears for ten years into the Crystal. Which would mean the two of them never actually made up between chapter 10 and the end of chapter 13. This fight of theirs remained unresolved until it was too late to do anything about it, something that gives Gladio even more reason to attack Ardyn as savagely as he does in the Crystal’s chamber. Because he can finally admit to himself that maybe he was a bit out of line and he probably wanted to talk it out with Noctis, maybe even wanted to apologize, but in the end, he never got the chance.

Then ten years pass during which Noctis is in Reflection and Gladio gets to live through the World of Ruin while waiting and hoping for his king to come back. Ten years is a freakishly long time to not see a dear friend of yours and bringing up a fight you never got to get closure over after that much time is just not something people do. Especially since it’s a post-apocalyptic world and they have world saving to do… and Noctis knows he’ll die. He likely doesn’t want to bring up the painful past at that point because really, what would be the point? He already has very little time left as it is. Best try to use it to have at least a semblance of happiness in what’s essentially his last moments with his friends. As for Gladio, after stewing over it for ten years, a part of him might need to talk it out, to get proper closure, but if Noctis prefers to pretend it never happened and that everything was fine, then who is Gladio to begrudge him that in what’s essentially his last moments? In that regard, I feel like Gladio’s character made a complete one-eighty in chapter 14 (and I’m obviously only looking at the original chapter 14, not the additions the Royal Edition made because those feel tacked-on and like you’re playing a mesh-up of two different time-lines, but that’s a rant for another time). Where in chapters 10-13 he was nothing but a Shield, in chapter 14, he tries to be a friend more than a Shield, though he obviously still takes his duties seriously.

TL;DR: There are many details in the game that seem to point to the conclusion that the lack of a proper reconciliation between Gladio and Noctis post chapter 10 was on purpose. That they never actually made up and that while their bond didn’t break, it suffered some serious damage, which shows clearly in later chapters. That Gladio realized he might have gone too far a little too late and that by the time he was planning on sitting Noct down and talking things out with him and apologizing once things calmed down, it was a lost cause because he lost his chance the moment Noct was sucked into the Crystal without any indication if or when he’d come back out. Which is honestly depressing and heartbreaking, but at the same time, looking at character interactions and stuff, it makes a sad amount of sense.

#Final Fantasy XV #Glon's meta wordvomit #meta analysis #Character Relationship Study post chapter 10 #Kind of depressing #On fighting and reconciliation

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bgn846 · 4 years ago

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Satum Novum Chapter 5: Revelations of the Heart FFXV Gladnis

<Previous Chapter 4

The blond seemed to be demanding an answer, not that Gladio was going to give one, but Prompto had begged an interesting question.

“I wouldn’t say that.” Gladio defended.

“Ah come on, you let him sleep in your cabin when we picked him up. You stayed with him the whole time while he was resting. Not to mention whatever the heck was going on earlier today, when his head was resting in your lap!” Prompto enthused. “I’d say that means you like him.”

“I wanted to make sure he was alright. There’s nothing wrong with that!”

“Gladio, admit it.” Prompto sighed. “I mean it’s obvious he likes you too.”

“Wait, you think so?” He asked quickly.

“Oh emm geee you’re terrible. Go check on them again, it’s been a few hours since we left the island. Maybe Ignis woke up and needs something, like another hug.” The blond added with a smirk.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this to me blondie, I thought we were friends.” Gladio huffed.

“We are! I’m your wing man and I can’t stand here and watch you mess this up. Go be the nice guy I know you are and sweep him off his feet.”

“Dork, I’ve already done that, twice.”

Rolling his eyes Prompto turned back to stare out the window. He didn’t say anything else but Gladio could tell he had a smile on his freckled face. The kid was enjoying his teasing, but he did make a good point. He should go check on their guests.

Rolling over, Noct tried to figure out why his bed had shrunk when everything came flooding back. He’d been kidnapped and rescued. Popping his eyes open revealed a small but clean cabin with two bunks. Ignis was in the other one and in a deep sleep.

The prince had never seen his advisor in such a state. The man did look comfy though, the t-shirt he was wearing was three sizes too big and sliding off one of his shoulders. Even his mouth was parted slightly, he was clearly exhausted.

Noct was in a funny place mentally, he was tired but not enough to go back to sleep. Maybe he needed to eat more. He remembered Gladio had fed them so there must be food somewhere. He got up slowly and thankfully Noct had enough energy left to walk properly, albeit slowly. A thought occurred to him that he should tell Ignis what he was up to. The advisor would probably wake up and freak out if he wasn’t there.

However, he would need to wake him up to do that and he felt bad even considering it. Noct’s memory flashed back to when Ignis had literally passed out earlier that day. His advisors face had gone slack and he looked so lost. The prince didn’t want to interrupt his sleep but he figured he could at least try.

He shuffled over to Ignis’ bunk and gingerly sat on the edge. “Iggy?” He called out softly. If Ignis was lightly sleeping, though Noct doubted it, he would hear his name being spoken. The advisor didn’t move a muscle. He tried again but a little louder. This time Ignis moved an eyebrow ever so slightly. “Can you hear me? I’m gonna go get some more food so don’t worry okay.”

Noct waited to see if this would garner another response. He was about to give up when Ignis narrowly cracked open his eyes, revealing two tired green eyes.

“Hnnggnn.” Was all he managed to produce in regards to speech.

“Don’t wake up the rest of the way, I’m safe and I’m getting more food okay?” He tried again.

“Mmmhmmm.” Was the response.

“Rest, I’ll be back.” Noct finished as he made a point to tuck the blanket around Ignis’ shoulders better. This seemed to do the trick and he closed his eyes. Noct waited a minute to make sure his breathing would even out, signaling he’d fallen back asleep. It took ten seconds at most and Ignis was conked out and lightly snoring.

Now he had to figure where to find more food. Pulling the door open slowly he stepped out into the hallway and looked around. Unsure of what direction to go, he turned right and hobbled along using the wall for support. He’d opted to leave his boots behind as his socks were thick enough to cushion his feet.

When he saw a pair of stairs leading up to a brighter area he got excited. Fresh air sounded really good right about now. However, the second he stepped on the bottom step a shadow appeared at the top.

“Hey are you alright?” A deep voice asked.

Noct was waiting for his eyes to adjust but the voice sounded similar. The accent was off but it sure sounded like Clarus. Oh, right Gladio had been there when he’d been rescued. “I’m good, um – I’m hungry again.”

“Oh that’s an easy one, can you follow me?” Gladio asked.

Noct nodded and slowly walked upstairs. He hated having to go so slow, but his body was protesting every movement. Clarus’ son lead the way down another hallway and finally into a larger room. He saw a kitchen and he immediately got excited.

“I can cook you something or you can pick what you want.” Gladio offered.

“Are you a good cook?” Noct asked curiously.

“Prompto doesn’t complain.”

“Um – I don’t mind if you cook, so long as you don’t add vegetables.”

Gladio laughed and shook his head. “No sweat off my back highness, have a seat and I’ll see what I can do.”

Thirty minutes later and Noct was chowing down on a yummy steak with fries. This was just what he needed. “Do you think I could sit upstairs for a little bit?”

“Sure I don’t mind, do you want to be on the bridge with Prompto or by yourself?”

Noct thought back to other man that had been with Ignis when he was rescued. A shock of blond hair and friendly demeanor were coming to mind, as Noct reminisced. “Will he mind me crashing if I wanna sit on the bridge?”

“Nah, so long as you don’t mind the nonstop talking.” Gladio added as he cleared the dirty plates away.

Smiling Noct shook his head and stood up. “Lead the way.” The prince was a little nervous about trying to make a new friend, but he figured it was worth a shot. Five minutes after Gladio introduced them, Prompto was chattering away like he’d known Noct for years.

It was refreshing to have someone ignore his title and treat him normally.

Gladio watched as Noct started to open up to his friend. Prompto was an easy guy to talk with so that helped. It only took five minutes before he felt comfortable enough to leave them alone. “I’m gonna go check on Ignis, page me if you need me.”

“Sure thing big guy.” Prompto replied.

Gladio continued on his way towards Ignis’ cabin. He wasn’t sure what good it would do to check in on the man. He was supposed to be sleeping not taking visitors. By the time Gladio was standing in front of the cabin door, he decided to knock once and then peer in to make sure all was well.

Of course after his knock nothing happened, Ignis was sleeping! So Gladio slowly and quietly opened the door. The advisor was out cold, resting comfortably under the blankets. Well that was easy, his job was done. However, Gladio kept standing in the doorway staring at Ignis, willing him to wake up.

Finally after a few minutes he gave up and turned to leave. He had almost closed the door when he heard a small noise. It had come from inside the cabin and Gladio pushed open the door once more. Ignis appeared to still be asleep but his face seemed different, it wasn’t calm and relaxed anymore.

Gladio wracked his brain trying to figure out what was wrong. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks, Ignis was having a bad dream. His only experience with nightmares was Prompto. The kid would yell and cry it was intense. Thankfully they’d lessened considerably since the blond first arrived.

Now as he watched Ignis quietly battle with his inner daemons, Gladio had to figure out how to wake him up. Taking a seat along the edge of the bunk Gladio tried calling his name. The first time didn’t elicit a response but the second time Ignis sucked in a breath and turned his head. The advisor’s eyes were still closed but it seemed as though he was struggling to wake up.

He groaned and rolled over towards Gladio. “I don’t want to die.” He whispered.

“Ignis, hey wake up. You’re safe, you’re not gonna die.”

The advisor opened his eyes at Gladio’s statement and looked at him. “What happened?”

“You’re safe and so is Noct, we are headed back to Altissia to catch the bad guys. Remember?”

He paused and blinked a few times. “Oh, yes that’s right.”

“Did you have a bad dream?”

“I was out at sea again, except you didn’t rescue me so I was drowning.”

“Shit that’s scary, but you’re safe and not out at sea.” Gladio offered trying to help. Ignis seemed so stressed by the dream and Gladio wasn’t sure how to help. Thinking back on how he’d had to learn to deal with Prompto’s nightmares, he asked another question. “Um – do you need a hug?”

This caught Ignis’ attention right away. “You don’t mind?” He asked with wide eyes. “I think that would be very helpful.”

Without answering Gladio extended his arms and pulled Ignis upright and into a hug. His body was hot and Gladio could feel Ignis’ heart pounding as they embraced. Taking a deep breath Gladio decided to try something a little more and began rubbing the advisor’s back.

“Mmm –.” Ignis mumbled from where his head was buried in Gladio’s shoulder.

“Do you have bad dreams very often?”

“No thankfully, I fear the stress of my current situation has affected me negatively.” Ignis answered softly as he swung his arms around Glaido’s neck and squeezed.

“Someone trying to kill you and your best friend would do that.” Gladio surmised with a small nod.

“You feel good.” Ignis added after a moment.

“So do you.” He answered without thinking. Shit, what did he just say? He wasn’t the one that needed comforting, Ignis was. The advisor didn’t react and didn’t move away, maybe he hadn’t heard him.

“Thank you for being so kind. I really can’t express how much it means to me.”

“No thanks needed I’m happy I could help.” Gladio replied honestly as he held Ignis close. The feeling of muscles and limbs shifting slightly caused Gladio to panic, was Ignis pulling away already? Instead the advisor tipped his head back to look at Gladio directly. He didn’t say anything but held Gladio’s gaze with light green eyes. They betrayed his true condition, exhaustion, despite their beauty.

Gladio was sure if he was questioned later, he wouldn’t have an answer for what happened next. Maybe he was caught up in the moment. Before he could stop his brain, he’d squeezed Ignis even tighter and leaned down to kiss him. The man in his arms melted the instant their lips connected.

The first few kisses were chaste but it didn’t take long and Gladio could feel Ignis’ tongue seeking entrance. He parted his lips with a moan as they intensified the kiss. Ignis’ slender but strong fingers were pulling at his hair. A lightheaded feeling had taken root in Gladio’s head as they kissed, it was euphoric. He never wanted this moment in time to end, it felt so good.

A broken sigh caught Gladio’s attention next as Ignis pulled away. “I – I feel – dizzy.” He finally conceded in between breaths.

“Me too, but I think yours might be amplified by losing blood yesterday.” Gladio quipped.

Ignis laughed softly and leaned in again to rest his head on Gladio’s shoulder. “Don’t let go.” He pleaded. “I can’t – I can’t – I need you with me.” He tried.

Gladio thought he might understand the surge of emotions Ignis was going through, as he was experiencing something on a similar level. “I’m not going anywhere, I won’t let you go.”

“Please.” Ignis begged again. “I need you.”

As they sat there Gladio tried to pour of all his emotions into the hug. He wanted Ignis to know he was safe. A small nagging thought in the back of Gladio’s head finally surged forward. Ignis needed to rest, and this current activity was hindering that. “Hey Ignis.” He tried gently. “You need to get more sleep.”

Ignis instantly squeezed harder and whined. “I don’t want to be alone.”

“I don’t want to leave you; I want to hold you while you rest.” Gladio tried to explain as they sat tangled together. It took a minute before Ignis answered with a small nod of his head. It was a slight struggle to get situated in the bunk. The advisor didn’t really want to relinquish his hold, and neither did he if he admitted it.

Finally though, after he’d managed to shed his shoes, he got them both comfortable. Ignis was safely situated between the wall and Gladio’s bulk. “Is this good?” He asked as Ignis glommed onto his body like a starfish.

“You don’t have to stay after I’ve fallen asleep – I understand if you have work to do.” Ignis admitted sheepishly.

“Shhh I’m stayin, you feel so good right now and I think we could both do with a break.”

Ignis released a deep breath; the advisor had been worried about his answer. That pained Gladio a little, he wasn’t going anywhere. Leaning down he kissed the top of Ignis’ head as he snuggled further into the covers and against Gladio’s body.

This had been an unexpected development. He knew they’d be discovered like this, Prompto would have a field day asking questions and trying to get the down low. It was worth the good hearted ribbing; Gladio couldn’t help but feel something special when he was around Ignis. Now, at least, he knew the advisor felt the same way.

>Next Chapter 6

#ffxv #fanfic #gladnis #gladio #ignis

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