#noctis and luna's theme together

[theshenami]

On the remarkably consistent childhood friends to lovers romantic trope in the Final Fantasy series

Following my playthrough for FF7 Rebirth, I have been thinking about romantic tropes in the FF series more broadly. The stories that have romantic relationships that develop between the main cast (or at least guest party members) seem to all follow the childhood friends (or, at least, childhood/family connections) to lovers trope. Just wanted to list the examples I can think of that follow this paradigm. (Disclaimer, I have never completed FF6, so cannot speak to that game).

FF3: Ingus and Sara grow up together in Sasune castle, and become a couple at the end, with Ingus declaring that he will follow her anywhere and stay by her side. This is the well-known trope of the knight and princess falling in love.

FF4: Cecil and Rosa grow up together along with Kain, with whom they are in a love triangle. Kain sort of runs off in the end because he can't deal with the other two being together at the story's end.

FF7: I know, it's really the only debatable one due to the narrative and affection mechanics of the OG, but the plot clearly shows that Cloud and Tifa have harbored romantic feelings since childhood, and they are obviously a couple raising a family together in AC and DoC. ToTP and OTWTAS delve further into their feelings, but are really just the devs clearing up things they did/could not get into in the OG. The remake trilogy adds more depth to the relationship as well, since Square couldn't really use tone of voice or body language in the OG to express the clear romantic chemistry and tension between them in the first two trilogy entries. In fact, it is so obvious that other characters and party members actively bring it up (Marle, Johnny, Yuffie, Barrett, even Aerith at times).

FF8: This one is a childhood/family connection one, as Squall and Rinoa's parents had a unresolved love story. It's a bit of stretch, I know, but it does loosely fit in with the other couples' arcs.

FF10: Similar to FF8, this one involves Tidus and Yuna having a connection through their fathers' having been comrades during Yuna's father's pilgrimage 10 years prior to the main story. Yuna even goes so far as to state that it must be fate that brought them together, during their voyage from Besaid to Kilika. It is worth noting that this one is a two-fer, since Wakka and Lulu are also childhood friends who become lovers, especially if you incorporate the 10-2 subplot in which Lulu is literally pregnant with Wakka's child.

FF12: This one only hints at two childhood-friends-to-lovers couples. Basch and Ashe have history as it seems he was a knight in the Dalmascan military when they were both younger, and their history is hinted at rather than directly addressed as in other games. It is suggested that they may develop romantic feelings some time after the main story ends, but are both bound by duty to be apart. Vaan and Penelo fit the childhood friends to lovers trope much better, but their relationship is only ever implied: Balthier constantly teases Vaan about Penelo by calling her "your girl" multiple times (which Vaan never refutes), and the final scene of the game is literally Vaan returning to her as he says "I'm coming Penelo".

FF13: Snow and Serah are the childhood friends to lovers couple here, and they do end up together in the end if you ignore the two sequel storylines.

FF15: Noctis and Luna start off as childhood friends destined to have an arranged marriage, but they develop strong romantic feelings for each other despite being apart for several years (yet again, by tragedies befalling their families/homes), and are reunited in their love both in adulthood and in the afterlife.

FF16: This one is another two-fer, with the obvious pairing of Clive and Jill growing up together and having romantic feelings as children, then being forced apart due to tragic circumstances (anyone sensing a theme here?), only to be reunited and fall in love as adults. This one mirrors FF7 quite a bit, complete with the memory loss narrative elements where Clive and Cloud both forget about the key roles they played in their respective childhood tragedies, only to rediscover the truth while on a journey of self-discovery where they battle with their own subconscious to rediscover their true pasts, with their childhood love interests at their sides. As a bonus, Jill also goes through her own journey of self-discovery at Drake's Breath with Clive at her side, much like Tifa does together with Cloud in the Lifestream. The less prominent pairing is Dion and Terence, who mirror the FF3 arc of Ingus and Sara, with the knight and prince (rather than princess, bold move SE) declaring their mutual love by story's end.

Please let me know if I missed/misrepresented anything, and I hope you find this remarkable consistency in the childhood-friends-to-lovers trope in the FF series as interesting as I do.

[lyssala]

The Sun & The Moon: On the FFXVI Ending

Throwing my thoughts on the ending into the void.

Aka I keep seeing posts about the ending so I need to type out my thoughts to validate myself.

For reference, we played on release and did two full play throughs.

First of all, I am a happy ending person. I want desperately to find the happiness because there was so much suffering so much loss. Saving the world or not, the thought of Clive having come so close to his own happy ending, of having the family and the love he never got to have, so damn close and then still ending up dying alone on a beach leaving the people waiting for him wondering if he would ever come back to them seems so cruel.

But, Lyssa, you played XV too, and Noctis legitimately sacrificed himself in the end to save the world. You’re right, he did, and that ending still makes me ugly cry because I also didn’t think it was fair that he had to do that. The thing were XV and XVI differ is, we see Noctis in the after with Luna, in their wedding attire, finally together. It’s immensely bittersweet, but we see them at peace. We do not get that in XVI SO point by point let’s GO.

(Warning for spoilers, including character death, in other Final Fantasy games as well)

Why I Don’t Think We Can Assume Any of the Three are Dead

1. The Ancient Rule of Storytelling: No body, you say? THEY AIN’T DEAD.

Usually used when a villain “is defeated” but then they can never find a body - guess what, Luffy is going to have to beat their ass YET again. Final Fantasy has never shied away from character death. From Minwu (FFII) to Tellah (FFIV) to Aerith (FFVII) to Zack (FFVII:CC) to Haurchefant (FFXIV) to Noctis (FFXV), heck even other character death in XVI.

Dion to me is the iffiest one, and I say it with a heavy heart because I loved Dion. He fell early and he had death flags on him BUT we didn’t even see him hit the ground so I still standby that if Clive could survive falling from Origin, Dion could too.

Joshua we actually did see die, and it was terrible - both when it happened and when Clive went back to mourn his brother (again for that matter and thanks I’m crying again). The thing is, we also explicitly watch Clive use Phoenix’s power to heal Joshua. Yeah we don’t see him wake up, but literally what was the point of that action if Joshua was just gonna…you know still be dead. They could have just left him as he was. The whole purpose of showing that action, imo, was to finally give Clive the chance to save his brother, which was all he wanted for so much of his life. I don’t believe that was done as just “well you tried but he really dead, bro.” To me it was to show, no, Joshua has a chance to live the life he always wanted too.

Clive, despite all his dang death flags, is still the most secure to me because the last time we see him, he’s still alive. We know he survived the fall, we know he was conscious on the beach, we only saw the curse spread to his hand. If they really wanted to hint he would die there, we easily could have seen the curse spreading to his face. We didn’t though. He was tired, and weak but he was alive. They made an effort to show him alive. If they truly wanted an ambiguous ending they didn’t even need to show him on the beach, just showing Origin fall would be enough. They didn’t though. They showed the man alive, calling out to Jill, not as apology for breaking his promise but a “I can see the moon same as you, I’m still here.”

2. The Ding Dang Themes of the Game

We spend the whole game determined to fight fate, and while yes, fate was defeated when Ultima was defeated, because the human will won…then didn’t because the man who was determined to fight and escape those binds still ended up lost those everyone who loves him…which was part of the fate he was trying to escape? Final Fantasy games have had dark elements before, and they’ve been heartbreakingly sad. They’ve shown loss of all sorts some self sacrifice, and some because the world can be just so cruel. However, once thing Final Fantasy isn’t is loss without hope.

Noctis got to say goodbye to his best friends (yes I am crying again don’t you dare mention Stand by Me in my presence) because he knew what was coming and they knew what was coming. It gutted me, but they all knew and had come to terms with it. It was Noctis’ choice to walk in there knowing he was not coming back. Clive was not the same. He didn’t say goodbye, he said, I’m coming back. While everyone knew there was a risk which is why it was so emotional to say goodbye, he had a life he wanted to return to, one he spoke of returning to. It was never, “You’re coming back right?” And then they skirt around giving a firm answer because they just don’t know. Clive was firm about it, he was coming back, it was his will to come back and guess what won against Ultimia? You guessed it, human will.

Having Clive die alone on a beach after all of that? After all he went through and after all he still wanted? That to me is just cruel, and Final Fantasy has never been cruel. Ren also made the good point that if Clive was to die, Joshua would have fallen with him, so it ended in a reversal of beginning with Joshua watching Clive die instead of the other way around. That didn’t happen either though. He was on the beach, again, still alive (see point 1 as a reminder), additionally, if he thought he was dying, I’d imagine he’d be apologizing to Jill for breaking his promise. In fact that’s what I SWORE he was going to do, but he didn’t. His will to survive was still intact when we left him which to me fits far more with the theme of this game then dying alone on a beach.

3. The Sun and the Moon (It’s Clive and Jill, It’s Just Literally Them)

So yeah I know that the sun and moon imagery is usually used to describe star crossed lovers, never meant to be as the sun and moon rotate. The game already proved that was untrue, they were always meant to be. By all odds they survived and somehow found one another again.

Jill, the moon of course, always said it was because of her prayer to Metia, that every time she prayed for him to return to her, Metia granted her prayer. I say this as someone who grew up religious but now am not, Jill believed it I’m sure but I think it was Jill. Love has also been a huge theme in Final Fantasy, and Jill’s heart filled prayers to keep Clive safe, always had. Not necessarily because a god deemed it so (again, defying gods a huge Final Fantasy theme lol) but her complete and sincere love for Clive, that always kept him safe to come home to her. She prayed for him as he was leaving for origin, just as heart felt as she always had. Why would that fail now the time she probably desired it more than any other time? That also seems so cruel. For him to be torn from her when they were so close to finally being able to have the life they dreamed of together. What purpose does that serve? It wouldn’t except for Jill to have yet another thing in her life to break her heart and leave her to pick up the pieces. I think she would, for Clive’s memory, but again, it feels like loss for no reason but loss. Jill deserves her happy ending too.

You find out later on even more so why Jill cherished the moon, because it brought the sunrise (or you know Clive in the metaphor here) and with the sun the promise the Clive would always come for her. One he never broke. They literally went out of their way to say “the sunrise meant you’d always come for me, I know this.” It was a direct setup for the ending. It was her seeing the star she always prayed on for Clive flicker out, and in that moment I think she did lose all hope because that was the one thing she could always count on to bring him home (to which again, not a god, but her love that brought him home). She is distraught (and so was I so we have that in common LOL) but then, the sun rises, and she smiles. It’s hope. It’s her hope because Clive has never broken a promise to her, and the sunrise has always brought him to her. I have no reason to believe the sunrise didn’t bring him home to her like it always has. Not a single point in this game has given me reason to believe it so why would I?

4. They Did the Thing! The Name of the Game!

A smaller point but one none the less. I sure hope you all played every single side-quest. One particular one, leaves you with a quill to add to Clive’s wall of treasures; one with the sole purpose of when (not if) Clive puts his sword down, that he writes his story. What do we see in the after credits? Literally, a book that is telling his story. Idk how more clear they gotta be that Clive is gonna be okay (tbf I WISH they would have just told me he was gonna be okay too LOL)

Granted, Joshua Rosfield is the author to which, it really could have been him writing Clive’s story in his absence or it could have been Clive and using the name to memorialize his brother’s name. Or it could have been the both of them and they used Joshua’s name because Clive is content living his life behind the scenes. He’s never wanted attention or praise. I don’t think he ever would have used his own name.

Additionally, the ending lines that equates to as my journey ends another one begins to me never meant journey = life. His journey was over, he did what he set out to do. The new journey? Traveling the realms with his wife in a world without the burdens of magic and doing what they do best, help the people who need it.

5. Doggy Knows Best

And finally, my last point is, Torgal knows what’s up. Technically, this is Ren’s point so I give him the credit here but animals, especially Torgal who is more than just a dog (literally an Eikon himself bonded to Jill and Clive, something acknowledged in the game), know when their master is hurt or worse. We’ve seen Torgal when one of them are hurt or in danger or not coming home. Yet at the end of the game, when Jill is absolutely breaking Torgal simply howls.

You know where else he did that? When he was trying to find Clive after Phoenix Gate and he would sit and howl. They were already bonded, he knew Clive (and Jill) were alive but he didn’t know where so he howled for his people until he could find them. It’s the same thing he does at the end of the game. He knows Clive is alive out there, and they are just separated but they’ll find another again because just like Jill, Torgal has no reason to believe otherwise.

And honestly I’m going to believe the dog.

Final Thoughts…For Now Cause I Always Have Thoughts its the ADHD

If you read all this, I hope it brought you some peace <3 I don’t believe a cop out everyone died ending is indicative to the wonderful storytelling this team has brought us in FFXIV. If anything, it reminds me of the ending of A Realm Reborn when you are convinced all the Scions are dead and then ope nope they’re fine just scattered and we’ll find them yeah SOUND FAMILIAR LOL I think they left it open to let people come to their own conclusions but in my heart of hearts I believe they had no intention to let Clive die on that beach because nothing in the story leads me to that conclusion.

If they try to tell me otherwise, well then I’ll go full denial LOL but unless Yoshi-P calls me up and says girl stop you’re wrong, I’ll continue to push my Clive finally gets his happy ending and travels the realms with Jill like he promised her <3 (ONE MORE THING: why the heck would they have Jill just be like mmmm think I wanna leave this realm when its over, lets see the world if they had no future content planned YOU CAN’T FOOL ME she could have easily said anything but she said something that would directly give us more content okay I’m done lol)

[ffxvficrec]

by Queen_Of_Fishing (ChocolaSpring) Prompto stopped that thought there for a moment as she registered that Noct was actually, in the flesh, on her couch. She hadn’t expected to see Noct there, welcome presence though she was. There was a reason she had a copy of the keys, after all. As of late, Nocturne had been…busy, with all her duties as princess. Run-of-the-mill stuff, like visiting charities and hospitals and spending time at the community center - but all that ended up piling on her shoulders and clogging her schedule when she was also doing schoolwork and working five-days of the week at a cafe that passed all the background checks and legalities that the citadel could throw at them. Really, Prompto got to see her two times a day, most of the time, three times if they got lucky. They saw each other at school, at work, and then occasionally were able to get together at either Noct’s apartment or Prompto’s house - provided Nocturne wasn’t busy with royalty things. No, the reason Prompto's brain had begun buffering, was because Prompto had just gotten out of the shower and was practically naked in the hallway, wearing nothing more than her chocobo-themed robe and matching feathery-friend styled squeaky slippers. Words: 6464, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Final Fantasy XV Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: F/F , F/M Relationships: Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum , Prompto Argentum/Lunafreya Nox Fleuret/Noctis Lucis Caelum Additional Tags: Female Noctis Lucis Caelum , Female Prompto Argentum , Male Lunafreya Nox Fleuret , Not present physically other than the notebook , But he's there in spirit , I lied , luna does show up very briefly at the end , This wasn't planned

[chosenbythecrystal]

Not a lecture? That was reassuring, he supposed. He couldn't help but feel like something was wrong though. It was something in the other's tone. They had practically grown up together so Noctis liked to think that he knew Ignis better than anyone.

Luna and Pryna. He had fond memories of them both back in Tenebrae. Things had been easier back then. Even with his injury, their days had been filled with laughter and childhood wonder. It hadn't lasted long though.

His presence had brought death and ruin – a recurring theme, it seemed.

"A vision, hm? I take it from your tone that it isn't good."

After everything that had happened though, Noctis couldn't imagine it getting much worse.

The confrontation between Gladio and Noctis was a clear sign of the stress they were all under. How they were all so close to their breaking points. What he had to say would not help that in any way, and Ignis knew that full well. He wished he could shield Noctis from this, but to do so would only leave Noctis unprepared for what was to come. Something he could not do. He managed a weak smile and shook his head. "No, not a lecture, I assure you."

Falling silent, he took a moment to consider how to phrase what he needed to say. "In Altissia, I tried to reach you and Lady Lunafreya at the alter. I found Pryna there. She was dying, like her master, but before she did, she... gave me a vision of what is to come."

[mistress-light]

Final Fantasy XV OST Volume 2 - Moonlit Melodies 

[noxtivagus]

ffxv ost is still one of my favs mwah mwah 🤍

[caelumfleuret]

"I thought I had expended all of my creative energy on the main game’s soundtrack, but I managed to write and arrange a few more pieces. One such arrangement is “Moonlit Melodies,” the title track from the Piano Collections Final Fantasy XV album as well as the encore number from the accompanying concert. For this piece, I interpolated Luna’s theme into Noctis’s, using music to bring these two star-crossed lovers together once more." - Yoko Shimomura

[marblesphere]

Dream or Reality (Noctis x Reader)

I wrote this fic years ago. So, I fixed up a little and decided to post it here. I have also posted it in devianart under LastMoogleHunter. Happy reading!

“Aaaaahhh….what a boring day, always the same. There’s nothing new, nothing makes me excited.” I sighed for the umpteenth times. I see, I haven’t introduced myself, my name is [Name] [Last Name], I am 12th grade in Destiny High. This is my last year, thus was recommended in making good memories. Though…there is nothing fun, I wish Final Fantasy characters are real people. That’ll so much fun, especially if there is Noctis.....

Kyaaaa!!! I am so embarassed... ahem, let’s put that aside and let’s get onto the story.

This morning also has the same routine, wake up, bath, breakfast, school, home, dinner, sleep and so on. And coincidentally my literature teacher decides it’s fun to see her students suffer, and thus given us a homework about composition. I groan, this is going to kill my brain cells. “God, please let my life get interesting such as Final Fantasy character come to life..... Just kidding, it’s not like it can be granted anyway.” I exhaled. I put my homework and stationery on my desk and start thinking about the theme I am going to write. Not long after I start doze off.

My internal clock woke me up from my slumber. Groggily, I glance my clock and it shows 6.30 a.m. I blink once, twice and rub my eyes to make sure I am not mistaking it. In instant, all sleepiness fades away. ”Aaaahh!! I am late!!” I freaked out and with lightning speed I took a bath. While I was stripping though, something fell from my shorts’ pocket. I pick it up and examine it, it was a golden watch. Curious, I open it and something was craved on the lid ‘aeternam vinculo’ ‘what’s this mean? More importantly when I got this thing?’ I was thinking and completely forgotten the time.

“[Name]! breakfast is ready!” Kaa-san called.

“No way!” I yelped and resumed my activity.

I run down the stairs and eat breakfast quickly, “[Name], there’s still some time.” Kaa-san said.

I gulp down my orange juice, “Gotta go. Bye Kaa-san, Tou-san.” I said as I ran to school. Fortunately, the distance to school from my house is not that far. Upon arriving there, I still see a lot of students leisurely walking to the school. Looks like I am safe. I sigh in relief as I pat my chest. suddenly, I feel a tap on my shoulder and I turn around, but the sight of that ‘someone’ tapping my shoulder made my eyes widenend.

“Morning.” He said, while I blinked once, twice, titled my head and stare at him as he is an alien landing on earth. The person who greeted me is no other than the famous Chocobo head, Cloud Strife.

I keep staring at him without blinking. “You…” I could only manage a word to come out from my mouth.

Cloud looks at me oddly, “What’s wrong?” he asked. 

“Good morning you two.” A new voice called. Our head snap to that direction and find Tifa and Yuffie are walking toward us.

My eyes widened ‘[Name].exe is shutting down.’ I can practically hear a robotic voice said that. ‘What exactly is going on?’

Seeing my confused blank looking face, concern made to Tifa’s face, “[Name], what’s wrong?” She asked.

So, I did the most logical action I could at the moment, I pinch my left hand, “Ow…” ‘It hurt.’ I rubbed my reddening left hand.

“[Name], are you really alright?” Tifa asked again. “Don’t worry Tifa, I bet she just woke up.” Yuffie grinned.

‘It’s not a dream....? t-they are really alive...?’ I am still confused, I am still not sure if I am having a realistic dream or this is the reality. But if so, what about yesterday and the day before yesterday and the days before today? Was that reality a dream? And this is the real reality? My mind is in jumbled mess, but I am happy. My wish has come true, my wish for the Final Fantasy characters are real people and as a bonus I have befriend with them. There’s no more I could ask for.

I feel someone shakes me. “Huh?” I snapped back to the reality.

“Maybe we should get her to infirmary.” Tifa said.

“Whooa. [Name], you really sick?” Yuffie was shocked by the news.

“Let’s go.” Cloud said as he prepared to drag me.

“W-wait! I’m fine, I just dozing because I just woke up.” I said putting a sheepish grin.

“See, she’s just woke up.” Yuffie grinned again, but I can see she was relieved as well.

‘Well, I did wish something interesting like this happen. Well, dream or not let’s enjoyed it to the last.’ I smiled at my thought as we walked to the class.

Upon entering class, I no longer panic on what I saw. There are some FF characters here and there, but I spot no Noctis, ‘Well, I’ll be lying if I am not disappointed.’ I sigh softly. ‘Well, nothing goes smooth now.’

Then I heard giggles and squeals. ‘Don’t tell me this is a famous scene from shoujo manga. The moment when male lead and his group enter the classroom. If so, then… Those girls will be the mortal enemies of the female lead. After the plot milked her usefulness, she and her sidekicks will fall into ruin.’ I blinked as I looked at those girls. ‘What a shame. They look nice enough though. But, I wonder who they’re fangirling about.’ I follow the crowd’s eyes, then the door opened revealing ‘Emergency! Mayday! Mayday! All staffs please evacuate! The ship will sink soon!Eh? EEEEEEHHHHH???!!! What is happening?! Why is he here?! No... I mean… I am happy that he is here. But he being here is a problem itself to me, in many ways.’ The one who opened the door is no other than Noctis.

I stiffen when he walks to me. “Good morning.” He muttered as he walked past me to his seat which is behind me.

“Mo-morning…?” And the problem is I was suttering when I replied, ‘Now I’ve done it…. he officially think I am one of his fangirls.’ I sighed earning a few snickers from Tifa and Yuffie which I give them an odd look.

“Morning, Hime-chi.” Prompto greeted.

I am not sure who is Hime-chi is. But seeing no one responds to him, it must be me, right? “Morning…?” I greeted back hesitantly.

During the duration of the lesson, I can’t concentrate at all. Part of it is because Noctis is sitting behind me. The other part is I am frantically thinking what should I do, what is my relationship with him and the other characters. Just because some of them are my friends, that doesn’t mean all of the characters must be my friends. And I have to be careful how to act around them, so they didn’t notice my awkwardness.

The bell rings signaling lunch break. Finally, me and the group which included almost all of the alvalanche members plus some other go to school cafeteria. Minus Cid and Barret cause they’re too old to go to school anyway which I found out later the two of them are school staffs. Barret as P.E teacher and Cid as engineer. And of course, let’s not forget Zack and Aerith. We go to cafeteria to eat lunch, while the others eat and talking each other, I am thinking about a lot of thing and that mysterious golden watch.

“[Name].” A voice snapped me out of my own world and I found all of them were staring at me.

“Huh?” I blinked owlishly.

“Are you okay?” Aerith asked worriedly.

“Did they bully you?” Prompto frowned.

“Eh? Bully? Who?” I tilted my head not understanding who were they talking about. ‘…For the first time in my life I was bullied…’

“WHAT!? Those girls are bullying my little sister?! How dare they!” Zack raged.

“W-Wait a minute. I am fine. No one is bullying me.” I said quickly calming them down.

“I heard something about bullying [Name]. Who is daring enough to do that?” Another new voice chimed in.

“Ah.” I blinked at the newcomers, twins exactly.

“Stella, Luna. Where were you guys?” Yuffie asked.

“Sorry, the teacher needed us just now.” Stella apologized.

“So, I heard someone is bullying [Name]? Which idiot?” Luna smiled scarily.

“No one was bullying me.” I shook my head quickly. ‘Scary…. Does Lunafreya is this kind of character?’ I sweatdropped.

“If we are talking about bullying, then I am sure it’s no other than her and her little group.” Tifa rolled her eyes.

‘I wonder who and why would people bully me? I don’t think I’ve ever made someone mad enough to be bullied by them.’ I scanned the cafeteria and spot a group of girls glaring at me, ‘Ah. So, they are the bully group.’ Then a mop of blond caught my attention, I narrow my eyes to get better sight, ‘…Who is she? I have never meet her before, but strangely her name popped out in my mind. Tachibana Kirika-san, Noct’s fangirl…. Ah, no wonder.’ I looked at her object of affection.

“Ignore them” Noct said.

“Umm...okay.” I answered.

After that staring contest, all is well. No war break between us. The last bell finally rings, signaling the end of school. And so, as per usual ritual, apparently we always go home together. “See you tomorrow.” I waved to them when I arrived at my house.

“See you.” They waved back. I open the door only to find it is hollow of life. I found a note one dinner table ‘Business trip one week, there’s a leftover for dinner. We’ll get your cousin to stay at the house tomorrow.’ I sighed. It’s still the same,’Oh well, I’m used to it.... wonder who is my cousin. This is the first time I heard about having a cousin staying over.’

Tired and still in term of accepting what has happened today. I am feeling really sleepy, but I didn’t dare to sleep. What if this is just a dream and I’ll wake up in the same position on my desk, as selfish as it may sound I still don’t want this to end yet. So many thoughts race in my head, absetmindedly I take out the golden watch and finally fallen asleep holding that.

I wake up with a start and glancing at my room, then realize something, FF charas. ‘Is it a dream?’ I sighed and I felt something in my hand. The golden watch, it’s still here. That means ‘It’s not a dream.’ I grinned widely, they are real. Thus, I quickly begin my routine of the day.

Arriving to the class, I greet them. Them as in the group. “Morning.” I greeted.

“Morning.” They replied. I sit at my seat and put my bag on drawer, but then a sharp pain creeps through my hand, instictively I take out my hand and trail of blood is dripping from my hand. My eyes flicker at the sound of giggles, there Tachibana Karin stand proudly at what she have done, she even raises her chin up to which I reply with raised eyebrow.

‘Truly, this is the first time I am being bullied for real.’

Seeing my bloodied right hand and still bleeding. Cloud quickly take my hand and examines it. “You okay?” He asked.

“As okay as someone will be with bleeding hand.” I remarked. Zack is definitely pissed off by the look of his face and stalks toward them.

“Why you little-“

“Zack. There’s no need to get angry.” I called to him.

Ignoring my call, he still stalks toward them, that is until Vincent holds him, “Ignore them. We should take her to infirmary.” He said.

“No no no. we can’t let this kind of things go.” Stella stepped in.

“Indeed. We’ll need to teach her a lesson.” Luna easily agreed with the older twin.

“Stella, Luna. Not you two too.” I sweatdropped.

“Let’s just take [Name] to infirmary first.” Tifa said. With that, the group accompanies me to the infirmary.

“The cut isn’t deep, it will heal in few days.” Nurse Quistis said after she finished bandaging me.

“Thank you.” I thanked her.

“It’s my job, now off you go to class.” She ushered.

“Yes ma’am.” I give her mock salute as I get out of the room.

Entering the class, I was bombarded with questions. Quistis kicked all of the out for being so noisy and too much. “I am fine.” I said for the umpteenth time.

Then Tachibana-san comes to me and asks with her sickly sweet voice, “How was your hand? Is it hurt?”

“Well, why don’t we try it to your hand. And then you’ll know whether it’s hurt or not.” I smiled eraning a few snickers from my friends as they heard my reply.

Tachibana-san’s face is red with anger and opens her mouth to say something. But then, the door opened revealing Noctis and Prompto. she quickly puts her sweet façade again to which I know that isn’t fooling anyone with decent IQ. “Good morning.” She greeted him which was ignored and laughter rose from our throats.

“If you didn’t do something like bullying his friends, you might have a chance.” I told her.

“You!” She gritted her teeth.

‘Aaah… She really didn’t get it.’ I sighed mentally. “Good morning you two. How unusuall for you to almost late.” I greeted.

“Good morning, Hime-chi. You see, we are almost late because we met an old woman on the street. She… Hime-chi, what happened to your hand?” Prompto frowned when he saw bandage on my left hand.

“Your hand...”

“Oh, this..” I said as I lift my hand. “Apparently, someone with a bad hobby finds it interesting to get me scream in pain. Unfortunately, they didn’t get what they want.” I smiled. Noct opens his mouth to ask something when the bell rang, signalling the start of class. All of us goes back to our seat. Well, in my case after recieving a hateful glare from Tachibana-san.

‘More importantly I wonder… Why is she targeting me? I mean, Noct’s female friends are not only I. There are Luna and Stella too…. Does she know I like him…? Well, I do like him as character in games before. And meeting him right now does make my feeling stronger… but, I am not sure if I like him as man… Besides…’ A certain scene from the game flashes in my mind. It’s overlapping in a scene I’ve seen here. ‘I am such a fool… obviously they are together…’ A bitter smile graces my lips.

The lessons went well, save for the ocasion hateful glare... okay scratch that, hateful glare all along. Lucnh break bell rings..... “Okay class, that’s all for today... oh and there is winter ball on the 28th December. All of you MUST come, it’ll be the last event for you. Class dissmissed.” Then the teacher goes out of classroom.

I groan inwardly, ‘Great… a ballroom.’ Note the sacarsm. The students scatters, chatting about the ball, while the group (girls only) advance to me.

“Soooo.....” Yuffie begins the conversation. “Who is going to be your date?” she asked excitedly.

“I don’t want to go.” I groaned again.

“You shouldn’t idle too long [Name], he will be snatched away.” Aerith said gigglig slightly.

“He? Who?” I titled my head. ‘Do I like someone?’

“Of course it’s him.” Yuffie answered.

“Tsk tsk tsk. As if [Name] will like another boy except from him.” Stella raised her brow.

“That dense man is too dense.” Luna giggled.

“Who is he exactly?” I frowned. But to them, my expression right now is quite funny because they are giggling.

“Don’t play dumb [Name]. all of us already know who is he. He is the one who gifted you the golden watch on your birthday.” Tifa said.

 ‘So, that was a gift from someone. And that someone is my crush so to speak…’ I blinked. ‘Who is…’ Suddenly the answer appeared itself in my mind.

*Poof* my face explodes to a blush. ‘It’s him. That man who is a trouble to me just by being here.’ I covered my face looking away from the evil grins on their faces.

“That time he was so shy. It’s funny, right?” Yuffie exclaimed.

“Hey, you guys.” I was saved by Reno. “Who are going to be you girls’ date?” He asked excitedly.

“Not again…” I groaned. “Reno, you don’t have any delicacy at all.” I whined.

“What happened to her?” Reno blinked.

“Just girl trouble.” Stella giggled followed by the rest of the girl.

“I mean you guys have fixed date already. Is there any point to ask?” I pouted. “I’m sure Tifa is going with Cloud, Aerith and Zack, Yuffie with Vincent. Stella is with Prompto and Luna will be going with No-.” I said.

“My date is a secret.” Luna cut my sentence.

“Secret?” I blinked.

“Yep. You’ll know when the time comes.” She smiled mysteriously.

“So, what about you [Name]? Wanna be my date?” He winked.

I snort, “No, thank you.” I flat out rejected him. “If I go with you. Your group of angry girlfriends will be waiting for me. Nuh-uh. I still want to be perfectly healthy, thank you.” All of them excluding Reno who is now sulking are laughing at his misfortune. “I am probably going alone. There’s no rule I can’t go alone.” I smiled. “…What’s wrong?” I blinked when I found them stared at me oddly.

“[Name]… You are quite dense…” Tifa sweatdropped.

“Huh?” I titled my head.

“[Name] you know, you are quite popular. If you say you are searching for a date. Everyone will probably line up.” Aerith giggled.

“…You are teasing me, aren’t you? I have a plain face you know. The one that is neither pretty, beautiful or cute. Besides, if I mean if I am quite popular, how come no one talk to me or better yet flirt to me?” I put an unamused face.

‘That’s because a certain someone made sure no one will not talk to you more than necessary. How can they have a gut to flirt with you with him hanging around you like a guard dog.’ All of them sweatdropped.

“Enough about me. What about the prince?” I turned my question to the prince that walked past me back to his seat.

“About what?” He sat back down.

“The winter ball. Who are you escorting?” I asked.

He snorts. “I don’t want to go.” He said.

“Me too. But we are forced to go.” I chuckled.

“I am waiting for someone.” He answered shortly. His answer makes the boys laugh. I raise my eyebrow at their odd reaction.

“You should hurry and ask her out, or else she’ll out of your reach.” Zack chuckled.

“Yep. After all the effort you put into.” Cloud nodded.

Zack’s word make my chest stings a bit. ‘What is this feeling?’ I blink the I shake my head to ignore it and chat with the rest of them.

Zack’s word is still ringing in my head. I am indeed curious as who is he going to ask, but I am more curious about the feeling in my heart just now. ’They are just characters from game, right? So, why did I have this feeling? Besides, I am sure he is going to ask Luna. No need to think that hard. They obviously are going to reveal it at the winter ball.’ I finally asleep while thinking about this.

Again, I wake up from my peaceful slumber before the alarm rings. I rub my eyes to get rid the alimighty power of sleepiness. The calendar on my wall made me realize this is Saturday. ‘Oh, it’s finally this day.’

As usual, I did my everyday routine, and then off to school. My peaceful day was once again ruined by Tachibana-san and the rabid fangirls follower.

“You! You dare to embarass me the other day, in front of my Noctis no less.” She screehed.

“My...Noctis...? Wow, I am not sure how to reply to that statement... Besides, weren’t you the one asked me about my hand, I just answered that it would be better for you to experience it first hand.” I answered effortlessly.

“You bitch!” She swung her hand to slap me. I am ready to dodge and prepare some wise words. But, her hand was caught midair by a more masculine hand.

I turn my head to get a better look of my savior. ‘Squall.’ I blinked at the unexpected character. ‘Rinoa shouldn’t be too far from Squall.’ I giggled inwardly at my own thought.

“You better stop this or you’ll get more than just slapping.” He growled. Tachibana-san turns pale. She and her follower quickly retreat back.

Then suddenly a girl pops out from his side. “Are you okay, [Name]?” Said girl is no other than Rinoa. ‘As I thought, Rinoa is not far.’ I chuckled at my own thought.

“I am fine.” I answered. “But, why are you two here?” I asked, I am not surprised with the characters popping out as my friends anymore. Last time, I found out Ignis is our Chemistry teacher and Gladioulus as our school security guard.

“Listen well! this isn’t over! I’ll make your life a living hell!” Tachibana-san sreeched which we of course ignored. The she stomps out here with her rabid fangirls follower.

“Just like always, you are a trouble magnet.” Squall Leonhart, which like to be called Leon sighed.

“You haven’t answered my question... Squeon.” I added my personal nickname just to annoy him.

“Your parents were worried, so they asked me to take care of you.” He said ignoring my nickname.

“I am fine, Squeon.” I said again.

Squall snorts, he lifts my bandaged hand, “And you said this was okay.”

“[Name], you are injured. What happened?” Worrywart Rinoa asked.

“I am okay. It’s just a small wound, Quistis said it will heal in 2 or 3 days.” I said calming Rinoa down.

Then, we heard some footsteps running toward us. The group are rushing to us. “Squall! Rinoa!” They exclaimed happily when they saw them.

“It’s Leon.” He grunted.

“Nooo, it’s Squeon.” I laughed. Squall only glares at me using his infamous glare.

“Long time no see.” Rinoa smiled.

“[Name], are you alright? I heard from some people Tachibana was bullying you, what did she do to you?” The now panicking Tifa asked.

“I am okay. she was just going to slap me, but Squeon stopped her.” I answered.

“WHAT?! She was going to slap you?! That damn bitch! How dare she!” Zack cursed.

“Calm down. I am not strupid just standing there waiting her slaps me.” I snorted. ‘Besides, which idiot will stand still when they are going to be hit.’

“By the way, if Squall and Rinoa are here. Does that mean they are going to be your care taker again?” Cloud asked.

“Yes, they are.” I said grinning.

“Oooooh, it’s rare that we can gather here together. So, how about we go to Chocobo Land  tomorrow?” Yuffie exclaimed excitedly.

“Chocobo Land.... Well, it’s been a while, the last time we go together was on [Name]’s birthday.” Aerith said. With that said, all of us decide to go to Chocobo Land tomorrow. Unbeknwon to me, I am playing right to their trap.~”~

“Eeeeehhhh~ Why can’t you go with us?” I asked, dismayed at the fact we couldn’t spend time together.

“Rinoa isn’t feeling well.” Was Squall short answer.

But I can’t shake the feeling that something is off. “She was fine yesterday.” I mumbled.

“Yesterday and today are different.” But all I did was stare, stare and stare. He sighs, “Just go already, you don’t want to be late, right?” He ushered me to go.

“Yes~” I sulked.

Arriving at the Chocobo Land. Only Noctis is at the rendezvous point. “Hey, Noct, where is the others?” I asked.

“They still haven’t arrived.” He answered.

‘Weird. They are usually on time. Maybe Yuffie will be a little late.’ I blinked at the unusual happening. And suddenly our phones ring at the same time signalling there are messages in our group chat.

Tifa

“Sorry, my parents are out of town suddenly. Need to housesit.”

Yuffie

Some brats in neighborhood are hunting my treasure. Need to safeguard it.

Zack

Am grounded. T.T

Luna

“Sis and I have trouble escaping from arranged marriage.

Stella

“Have fun. We will arrive there late.”

Aerith

“The shop is crowded. I can’t go out yet.”

Squall

“Rinoa is sick. Need to take care of her.”

Rinoa

Sorry guys.

Cloud

“Fixing my bike.”

Vincent

“…Sleepy…”

Prompto

“Helping acquaintance in photoshoot.”

‘What kind of hellish timing is this?’ I sweatdropped. ‘…No matter how I think, they are definitely setting us up.’ I sighed softly.

The two of us look at each other and sigh. “We were set up.” He said. “So, what should we do? Should we go home?” He asked again.

“Hmmm… We’re already here anyway. So, let’s just play. Just the two of us.” I grinned. A small smile is tugging on his lip hearing my sentece. But, unbeknown to us, we were followed by eight enthusiastic stalkers plus two reluctant stalkers and cameras.

Everywhere and anywhere as far as I can see, all I can see is Chocobo. The excitement is building up. “Chocobo♪~ Chocobo♪~.” I hummed out with sparkling eyes.

“Your love for Chocobo is something else.” Noct sweatdropped.

“What can I say, I just love Chocobo.” I giggled. “Then, our first ride will be that.” I pointed to the Chocobo Jet that was quite far from our meeting point.

“Figures you will ride that first.” Noctis chuckled.

“Let’s go!” I giggled excitedly. ‘Just for today. Let me spend a quality time with him. Yes…Just for today.’ The Chocobo Jet is really exciting. “I want to ride it again.” I said enthusiastically.

“Let’s ride the other attraction first. We’ll ride the roller coaster again later.” He sighed helplessly.

“It’s a promise, okay. I won’t go home if I don’t get to ride it again.” I stuck my pinky to him.

“Yes, yes. It’s a promise.” He hooked his pinky to mine. And then seamlessly warps his hand around mine and tugs me along.

I blink at the action. ‘Alert, alert. The parameter is rising.’ A slight blush adorns my cheeks. I quickly put a hand on my cheek to cool it down.

“What’s wrong?” He asked when he saw my weird action.

“Nothing!” I squeaked in high pitched voice.

He blinks, “You are so weird.” He laughed.

“I don’t want to hear that from you.” I stuck my togue out to him.

The next ride is Chocobo Cup. “Spin faster!” I laughed cheerily as I spun the cup faster.

“You’ll get dizzy later.” Noct smiled.

‘Hm…?’ from the corner of my eyes, I think I caught a glimpse of a familiar chocobo head. ‘Was I mistaken?’

“What’s wrong?” Ncoct asked when he realized I stopped spinning.

“Ah, nothing, I thought I saw Cloud.” I shook my head. “It must be my imagination. I mean this is Chocobo Land.” I laughed. All of the visitors are wearing Chocobo headband which we get as a free gift in the entrance.

“What do you want to do next?” He asked.

“Hm…Oh!” My eyes are drawn to the shooting range not far from us. More accurately, drawn to the prizes in that shooting range. “That! Let’s compete!” I turned to Noctis.

“Yes?”

“Let’s see who will get the grand prize first!” I exclaimed.

“Yo, ojou-chan, an-chan. The point for the grand prize is 150. The rule is easy. Your gun has 3 bullets. Knock down the plate with the point written on it. collect 150 points and you have the grand prize. Easy, right?” Baku explained.

“Yep!” I nodded.

“One game is 150 gil.” He smiled.

“Give us two guns.” Noct said as he handed him the money.

“Haiyo!” Baku handed us the bullet.

“The game is on!” I grinned.

~One Round Later~

“Not fair….” I sulked. In the end, Noctis wins with overwhelming victory. I don’t understand how he managed to get 200 points, while I couldn’t even get the 10 points plate down.

“Bwahahahaha! Ojou-chan, you are the best! Your skill is one in one hundred!” Baku laughed merrily.

“Sh-shut up!” I cried out.

“An-chan, your skill is amazing. Usually, the guests will spend more than 3 games to get a hang of this game.” He smirked.

“This is just a fluke. My friend happens to be good at this kind of game. I was only following his advice.” Noct answered.

“Heh. I want to meet this friend of yours.” Baku smirked.

“Next time, I guess.” Noct shrugged his shoulder.

“Bahahaha! I can’t wait!” Baku laughed harder.

While those two are chatting. I am already at my own land of misery. “I am sorry Chocobo. I can’t get you. I am sorry I am such a failure.” I murmured.

“So, what happen to Ojou-chan?” Baku sweatdropped.

“She just happened to love Chocobo a bit too much. Too much that I am jealous.”

“Bwahahaha! You win the game, but lost the war. I really pity you, An-chan” Baku patted his shoulders.

“Haahh…” He sighed. “[Name]. Here, this is yours.” Something is shoved to my face. It’s the grand prize of the shooting range, Golden Chocobo.

“For me?” I blinked.

“Of course.” He rolled his eyes. “If I don’t give it to you. You’ll keep staring at me as if you are having a grudge on me.” He smirked.

“I-I will not.” I flushed.

“Ojou-chan!” Baku called.

“Yes?”

“Here. A consolation prize.” Baku gave me two droppy chocobo hat. “Thanks to Ojou-chan, I have a great laugh today.” Baku grinned.

“Thank you!” I quickly put it on my head, while keeping the headband I got on my small backpack I brought. “Noct, you wear one too.” I gave the hat to him. The said man obediently bends down his body so I can put it on him. “We match!” I laughed happily, completely missing his softened look to me.

“Bahahaha! I pray for your success, an-chan.” Baku laughed.

“Thanks.” Noct replied. While I completely don’t understand what they were talking about. “Let’s go. We still have many attractions to ride.” He tugged my hand along.

“Yes!” ‘I think whether this is a dream or reality, this will be the happiest day of my live.’

Our next destination is, “Chocobo House!!!” I shrieked at the sight. I rush to the house, wanting to see it up close and personal.

“Hey! Don’t run!” I heard Noct’s warning.

“Don’t worry! I am not a child. I won’t fall down. Hurry up! Hurry up!” I urged him.

“We need to buy tickets first.” He sighed.

“Ah.” I blinked, completely forgotten that. Noct rolls his eyes as he pays for the tickets.

“Thank you for the purchase. Please enjoy the house.” The staff smiled.

Chocobo House, truly befitting the name. The house is basically Chocobo den. Look right, there will be a lot of Chocobo. Look left, there will be a lot of Chocobo. Look up, there will be a lot of Chocobo lantern. Look down, the tile is Chocobo pattern. And in the center if the house, there is the fat Chocobo.

“���.Can I take that home?” I muttered out loud.

“Will it fit in your room?” Noct sweatdropped.

“I have an unused room. It will fit there. I can just move my Chocobo shrine there.” My eyes sparkled.

“Oi oi oi. Will they even let you buy it. Rather, even if they are willing to sell. Does your pocket money enough?” Noct sighed.

“Hmmm…. I should really get a part time job.” I muttered as I trying to calculate how much the Fat Chocobo will cost.

“Wait! Wait! They are selling the miniature version of Fat Chocobo. Let’s take a look.” Noct dragged me to the merchandise counter. In the end, I buy the Fat Chocobo plushie. More precisely, it was bought for me.

“I could buy it myself. You’ve paid for the rides and tickets. I can at least buy the merchandise myself.” I pouted and frowned as I hugged the plushie.

“It’s fine. I just want to. My father told me I need to spoil you to win your heart. He even willingly and happily to let me spend money to make you his daughter in law.” He muttered.

“Hm? What did you say?” I couldn’t hear the second part of his sentences.

“Nothing. Let’s ride that next.” He pointed to the Chocobo-go-round.

“Okay!” ~”~

“I am hungry~” I whined as I sat on the park bench.

“It’s already 1.00 p.m.” Noctis said as he looked at his watch. “The food court is over there.” Noctis said.

“Yosh! After lunch, we are going to continue.” I beamed, while my companion just shook his head at my antics. “Hey, don’t tell me you don’t enjoy it. Because we know it’s a lie.” I pointed my finger to him.

“I never said I didn’t.” He chuckled.

“Then all is well.” I grinned.

We are sitting in the food court, waiting for our order. The topic of our conversation is the hellish timing our friends have. “They are definitely…” I trailed off.

“…Doing this in purpose…” He finished.

“There’s no way they have this kind of convenient timing of not going. Well, in Zack’s case… he might be really grounded.” I giggled as we glanced secretly to the seats behind us.

“He-hey! Don’t be too noisy, they’ll find out.” A familiar voice of Tifa was heard.

“But, I can’t hear what are they talking about.” Yuffie whined.

“What a sloppy tailing.” I sniggered.

“They really… have too much free time.” Noct sighed.

“They seem don’t know that we’ve know they tailed us from the start.” I laughed merrily, really enjoying this charade. From the corner of my eyes, I can see now they are fighting for food, Zack and Cloud plus Yuffie. “Let’s caught them red handed later.” I laughed.

“Here are your orders.” A kind waitress set down our food.

“Thank you.” We thanked her.

“Please enjoy!” She smiled cheerily.

“Thanks for the food.” ~”~

“Noct. Let’s go over there.” I pointed to an ice-cream stall.

“Didn’t you just eat lunch?” He blinked.

“If it’s for ice cream, I am sure my stomach will make more room.” I answered.

“….What flavor?” He could only helplessly ask.

“Sea-salt ice cream!” I said excitedly.

“Wait here.” He told me and he is off to the stall.

“Ah, I want ice cream too.” I heard Yuffie whined.

“If we go now. We’ll be caught.” Stella reminded.

“But… ice cream…” I could already imagine her face looked like a kicked puppy.

“We need to endure.” Luna said sternly.

“Here.” Noct came back with an ice cream.

“Where is yours?” I blinked as I took the ice cream.

“I am good.” He said.

“Is that so?” I licked the ice. “Mmmnn… It’s delicious.” My eyes sparkled. “Here. Have a taste. It’s delicious. Delicious food should be shared to double the deliciousness.” I grinned.

“…Then, I’ll be happy to oblige.” He smiled softly as eat the ice from my hand.

“How is it? Isn’t it delicious?” I asked animatedly.

“Yeah. It’s delicious.” A ghost smile on his lips.

“See! I told you, you should buy one for yourself.” I said smugly. I quickly devour the ice cream until I realize what have I done. *Poof* ‘He ate mine…. Indirect kiss… No no no, let’s not think about it.… Okay, breathe in… breathe out… It’s okay. It’s just indirect kiss. No biggie….NO! it’s not okay for my heart! Does he even realized what he has done! I know I was the one offered it to him, but…’

“Why is your face red? Is it heatstroke?” He frowned.

“No! I am fine! Completely fine. It’s only a little bit too hot! It’s not a heatstroke!” The completely flustered me squeaked out. “Let’s go there!” I randomly pointed a ride and hurried there, missing the knowing smirk on his face.

The clock has shown 5.30 p.m. the only remaining ride is, “Hey, Noct. Let’s ride Chocobo Wheel.” I dragged him to the line. The said man allows me to drag him, he’s suprisingly obidient.

The Ferris Wheel stops when we are at the top. “When are we going to catch them red handed?” He smirked.

“You’ll see.” I grinned mischievously. “As expected from the highest point. I can see all of them park from here. It’s beautiful.” I was awed by the breathtaking view.

“Indeed…” What I didn’t know is, he wasn’t talking about the view.

The ride has ended. We are back on the land. “Ah! I have to call Squeon, first. I am worried about Rinoa.” I said out loud, letting our stalkers hear. “If he has something he needs, I can swing to the nearest drug store.” I fished out my phone from my bag. Can practically hear the nervous choked sounds from our stalkers. I push the speed dial button number 1. A familiar ringtone rings. My smile widens when I heard that.

“Hello!” I waved to them. We catch our stalkers red handed. “I thought you all have some kind of troubles.” I raised my brow.

“Ahahahha… We were just...uh…worried about you two. Yes, we were worried.” Zack laughed nervously, which then elbowed by Aerith for stuttering.

“So, did you guys get nice pictures? Because I am expecting it.” I snickered.

“I thought you were grounded, Zack.” Noct smirked.

“Hey, everyone! The photos are done. What are- “Yuffie stopped in mid sentence when she saw us. “Ahahahaha. Hello, [Name].” Yuffie greeted me.

“Geh! Noct!” Prompto gasped.

“Yuffie~, Prompto ~ What about those pictures in your hands?” I asked with a smile etched on my face.

“O-oh, th-this is..” She trailed off, senaking a glance on me, I still waiting her answer with a smile. “Eheheheh.... Okay, I give up. Here, all yours.” She gave us the photos they took. To put it simply, those are our candid photos. There are also the others but mostly about me and Noctis.

“Awww, this one is soo cute.” Tifa cooed. The pictures she chooses is the one when Noct was eating my ice cream. The angle is good. It’s just quite embarrassing.

“Heheh. Mine is this.” Luna chose the time when I put Chocobo hat on Noct.

“Oh. I like this one.” Stella picked our competition in shooting range.

“This one is good.” Aerith liked the one where I hug the huge Fat Chocobo in Chocobo House.

“Oookay. Let’s save this for later. For the last ride, we’ll go on Chocobo Jet. I will not allow any objection.” I exclaimed happily. For the last ride. We are fortunate the ride is enough for all of us.

“It was fun! It’s been a while I play this much.” I stretched.

“We should come here together again.” Rinoa smiled.

“Agreed! But no more stalking.” I laughed.

Time sure flies fast. It’s already one week before Christmas, we the girls are shopping for Christmas gift. ‘Sooo, what should I buy? Let’s just buy what they can use everyday.’ The other girls already busy choosing their own gifts. I am just strolling in the accesorries shop. After all of us finished, we head back to home. ~”~

It’s finally Christmas. The girls agreed to gather at Tifa’s house and give a make-over to each other, while I opted to not involved which is not an option. I am also dragged in to the whole fiasco. Exactly 7 p.m. We heard the knock, signaling the boy group has come.

“Merry Christmas.” Zack said excitedly.

“Merry Christmas.” We greeted. After we greeted each other, the party starts. I give them their respective gifts. Earrings for Tifa, bracelet for Yuffie, a necklace for Stella and Luna, a phone case for Vincent, a dress for Aerith, a google for Cloud, another dress for Rinoa and a for Zack, my self proclaimed brother, I gave him a pair of shoes. For my dearest cousin, it’s a leather jacket.

I am now down to the last person, but the said person isn’t in the room. The gift is still clutched in my hand. I see Tifa tilts her head to the yard, I nod and flash a grateful smile.

I found him gazing stars. “Not going to enter?” I asked.

Noctis glances at me and then back to the stars. “Too noisy.” Was his short answer. I laugh lightly at his short, but clear answer.

There is a comfortable silence between us, until I remember the reason I searched him. “Here.” I gave him the small blue box.

“For me?” I nodded at his question. Then he also pulls out something small from his pocket and gives it to me. I look at the gift curiously. I try to guess what’s in this little black box. Seeing the blatant curiosity on my face, Noctis chuckles. “Open it.” He said. With that said, I open the box excitedly. There, in the black box there is a ring necklace. My name is carved on the ring. My eyes widened and let out a small laugh. Noctis only stares at me with raised eyebrow.

“Open my gift.” I said still laughing. With a strange look he opens the box. His eyes also widen, there in the blue box I gave him, there’s also a same ring necklace. the only difference is the carved names. Then a small laugh also escapes from his lips.

“Will you allow me to escort you in the winter ball?” He asked.

This question caught me off guard. I never thought he will ask me let alone think about it. I look left, right and then behind me to see if someone is there. “…Are you practicing so you can ask Luna?” I blinked.

“Why are you bringing up Luna?” He frowned.

“Eh? Why? Because isn’t that so?” I was taken back.

“It’s not.” He sighed exasperated.

“Then… If you are fine with me. I’ll be happy to take on your offer.” I smiled. ~”~

The day before the ball. The girls agree to meet up again in Tifa’s house right after school. They are going to match the dress they’ve bought with their accessories. “Hm? [Name], where’s your dress?” Luna asked.

“Ah, I don’t have one I was sure I am going alone, so I didn’t buy dress. I am going to wear school uniform. The rule didn’t specifically say the dress code is an evening dress.” I smiled sheepishly.

“School…” (Stella)

“Uni…” (Aerith)

“…form” (Tifa)

“You said?!” (Luna)

“Huh? Isn’t Noctis escorting you?” Yuffie blinked.

“He did two days ago. It’s just, I don’t have time to pick up dress. So, I am going to wear school uniform.” I nodded.

“Change of plan.” Stella said seriously.

“Yes. We have a change of plan.” Luna agreed.

“Huh?” I blinked.

“We are going to shop for your dress right now.” Aerith smiled.

“Eh? Right now. We don’t have that much time…anymore.” I finished timidly, seeing their scary smiles.

“Sorry [Name}. Even I can’t help you.” Yuffie said. ~”~

At last, the most dreaded day that I wish never come is finally here. 28th December, that means the winter ball. ‘Why it has to be a ballroom, can we just change to more casual party?’ I groaned.

“[Name], you shouldn’t put that kind of face. You are the prince’s date, are you not?” Zack teased.

“The said prince has the same opinion as me.” I said unamused. The girls and the boys wear a matching color, including Noct and I. Apparently, Luna called Noct and asked, no demanded him to wear a cobalt blue suit, so he can match with my dress.

The hall is decorated just like a real ballroom. There are also snacks and drinks there. Once we enter the hall, Reno instantly flies to the other side of the hall sweet talking to a group of girls. The others asked their dates to dance with them. Being a gentleman he is, our favourite prince also asks me to dance. “I can’t dance.” I smiled wryly.

“Don’t worry. Just follow my lead. Waltz is an easy dance.” He said taking my hand. We dance peacefully until someone with the name of Tachibana Kirika ruins it.

“Noctis dear~” She called with such coquettish voice that it actually made me had a goosebumps. “I am sure I can be a better partner than this plain looking girl.” Tachibana-san winked at him.

“Sorry if I am plain looking. At least, you should learn how to wear a proper make up. The color doesn’t suit you.” I rolled my eyes.

“No, thank you.” He refused politely.

But that sets Tachibana-san in rage. “Exactly what did you see in this girl?” She screeched and pointed her finger to me. “I am prettier and a ton of guys asked me to be their date.” She yelled.

Noctis narrows his eyes. “Then, you can have them to accompany you. Listen, I am tired of your antics. Don’t you dare badmouth her! The next time you do so, I won’t forgive you!” Noctis snapped. Then, Noct storms out from the hall, leaving the said girl there standing dumbfounded and biting her fingernail.

‘Wow, this is the first time I see him angry.’ I too, quietly leaving the hall searching for my partner.

“So, you are here.” I said after I found him on the rooftop. He only stands there unmoving. “Still angry?” I asked.

“Not anymore.” He answered.

“I doubt she will stalk you after your outburst just now.” I laughed.

“She better be.” He let out a snort.

“Hey, Noct.”

“Hm?”

“What was the meaning of the word carved in the golden watch?” I asked as I took out the watch from my dress’ small pocket.

“Are you curious about that?” He asked.

“Very.” Was my answer.

“That is-” He walked closer to me without breaking the eye contact. He stands right in front of me, making me wait with bated breath. He bends down so his mouth right beside my ear, and whispers softly. “Eternal bond.” After saying that, he stood straight. A small smile on his lip, satisfied with my now blushing face.

“You-! Can just say it normally.” I glared at him. The futile glare only makes him smiles. He pulls me toward him. “Wha-” I blinked rapidly as he pressed his lips to mine.

‘Unable to process. [Name].exe crashed.’

I suddenly wake up from my nap and look at my surrounding. I am in my room, the same room before all of that happen, my workbook is still on my desk untouched. “I see, that was a dream after all.” I said disappointed. I blush again remembering the last part of the dream. “What an outrageous dream I had.” I sweatdropped. I put my finger on my lips as if I can still feel the warmth.

“[Name], you idiot. That was just a dream.” I scolded myself. “Rather than thinking about it, I should take a bath.” I mumbled walking to the bathroom. Unbeknown to me there are a ring necklace with my name and a golden watch with its lid opened on my desk.

“Our bond is eternal”

[clairefiredragon]

My FFXV Rare Pair Fics for August 2021

So on Twitter for the FFXV Rare Pairs week, I wrote a fic for every day! Here are all the fics in one central location. 

Day 1 Title: This Night Enchanted  Theme: Fairies  Pair: Ignis/Ravus Tags: Alternate Universe, Fae & Fairies, Fairies, First Meetings, Fairy Ravus, Summary: Ignis has been asked by King Regis to go out on a diplomatic journey to the fairy realm, to the fairy kingdom itself. The two kingdoms wish to make ties and peace between them, and so Ignis is sent to be the main representor for the humans. While there he meets the royal fairy family, including prince Ravus who seems to have a lot of distain for humans. Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/33436774

Day 2 Title: Ice and Fire Theme: Demi-Gods Pair: Prompto/Ravus Tags: Alternate Universe, Demigods, Demi-God Ravus, Demi-God Prompto, Fluff, First Meetings Summary: Ravus was a demi-god, a child of an Astral. He was a child of Shiva and throughout his years he had a bit of a reputation for not being the friendliest. Whether this was a trait of Shiva or just something that was his own, but he was always rather distant and cold towards others. He had the hardest time trying to befriend someone else, whether they were demi-god or not. Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/33462118

Day 3 Title: The Mysterious Behemoth Theme: Spell gone wrong, Familiar, Witch Pair: Gladio/Luna Tags: Alternate Universe, Witches, Witch Luna, Magic, Spells & Enchantments, Fluff, Cute Summary: Luna is a young witch out to find herself a little familiar. She comes across a mimi Behemoth and she thinks she feels a magical connection. Taking it home she finds that her new behemoth isn't actually what she thought it was. Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/33466999

Day 4 Title: When in Limbo Theme: Ghosts, Limbo Pair: Noctis/Ravus Tags: Alternate Universe, Assassination Attempt(s), Coma, Limbo, The Nox Fleurts don't exist in this universe, Ravus is a overseer in the Limbo realm, Angst, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, minor mentioning of blood and injuries Summary: After an assassination attempt, Noctis is left in a coma. But during that time, he finds himself in a realm that is limbo. Between life and death he waits to see what will happen, but he isn't alone. He finds that he will have someone to keep him company. Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/33488782/chapters/83199118

Day 5 Title: Miqo'te Shenanigans Theme: Animal Transformation  Pair: Prompto/Y’jhimei  Tags: Alternate Universe, Post-Canon, Fluff, Cute, Animal Transformation, Miqo'te Prompto, Dimension Travel, Post-Episode Ignis Verse 2 Summary: Prompto and Y'jhimei have finally decided to test the teleporter to take them to her world. They figured it would still work both ways, so they decided to give this a try and take a little vacation together. The only thing they didn't expect was how Prompto looked when they arrived in Hydaelyn. Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/33517108

Day 6 Title: The Hunt for the Adagium Theme: Monster Hunter Pair: Ardyn/Verstael  Tags: Alternate Universe, Monsters, Monster Hunters, First Meetings Summary: There has been legends of a monster known as the Adagium. Verstael believed he could be the one to finally find the creature and defeat it. He didn't expect the encounter to go quiet like this. Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/33611932

Day 7 Title: Betrayal at Paradise  Theme: Secret Relationship Pair: Loqi/Noctis Tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Prophecy (Final Fantasy XV), There is peace between Niflheim and Insomnia, Angst, Fluff, Kidnapping, Assassin Creed Festival, Secret Relationship, Happy Ending Summary: Noctis is at the Assassins festival, enjoying his time there. But the day takes a bit of a turn when Nifheim soldiers show up to try and capture him. Part of him worries that word had gotten out about him being here, but the only one who could let the Niffs know would be none other that his secret boyfriend; Loqi. But is it true? Is Loqi even here? That's what Noctis has to find out. Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/33629779

[shielddrake]

Psychonauts: Setup and Payoff Done Well (If Not Perfectly)

So about a year ago I posted a long lecture about how Final Fantasy XV and Kingdom Hearts 3 had major problems in the story department when it came to setup and payoff. I basically said that Final Fantasy XV had lots of scenes with payoff that were not set up very well and Kingdom Hearts 3 had some excellent moments that set up story elements but never followed through on them. And while I think some of those issues have been addressed with some of the DLC released for both games (I reserve my right to be a little salty Episodes Aranea, Luna, and Noctis were canceled) I still stand by my statement that these games have big problems with this.

 During the past year, I have received a couple of comments regarding my position on this, ranging from “Can you give a good example of setup and payoff?” to “Well, if you’re so smart, why don’t you come up with a better example?” And I thought, well, what kind of game would be a good example of excellent use of setup and payoff? What game or series would I say does the job so much better than any writer has or does, video game or otherwise?

 And then, the middle of a repeat playthrough I always do before a game’s sequel comes out, it came to me:

 Now Psychonauts has been out since 2005, so a spoiler warning might seem a little silly here, but I think a lot of gamers have been playing it for the first time since the sequel was announced, so just in case: Major spoilers for the original Psychonauts game under the cut.

 Whenever someone tries to argue whether or not video games can be considered art, one of the first games that comes to my mind is Psychonauts, and not just because of its amazing aesthetics. It has some of the best storytelling, script writing, level design, music, voice acting, and art direction I have ever seen. This game is possibly one of the best video games I have every played, despite the flaws that it does have (I’m looking at you, Meat Circus), and it is easily on my list of top ten favorite video games.  Is it really any surprise that Psychonauts 2 reached its crowd-funding goal of over $3,000,000 in about a month? And yes, I admit that I am one of those backers, just to put out there any bias I know I have.

 But this isn’t meant to be a review of Psychonauts.

 I replayed Psychonauts a few months ago with the idea of the first game being fresh in my mind when the sequel comes out, which is supposed to be sometime this year of 2020. I was absolutely inundated with examples of effective setup and payoff as I played, so it seemed like the obvious choice to go over how this story-telling technique can be used not only well, but also to the point where it’s almost like there are far too many examples.

 Honestly, I could go on and on and on about setup and payoff in Psychonauts’ story, but for our purposes here most of the focus is going to be on just three big things that are really important to the main storyline: Linda the Lungfish, bunnies and meat, and Raz’s dad.

 One thing about setup and payoff is that the setup has to actually happen in a way that the audience, in this case the player, can’t miss it.  There are several moments in the game that Linda is mentioned, the first time being in the opening cutscene, where Bobby teases Dogen about the monster at the bottom of the lake.  You can’t miss the setup when it is thrown in your face that way.

  But that’s not the only time we get references to some sort of lake monster. Before going into Basic Braining, the first official level of the game, if Raz talks to Mikhail, the adorable Russian psychic mentions a “giant, hairless bear” in the woods, asking if Raz has seen it and wanting to wrestle with it. Now, it’s not said for certain if Mikhail is talking about Linda or if he’s just referring to the telekinetic bears you meet later on, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if it’s supposed to be the former.

  The first time the player heads for the lake, Elton will run up to Raz and mention the “brain-eating fish” that supposedly lives there. Well, now we’ve got both a mention of the lake monster and the fact that it goes after brains.  Hmm, sound familiar in retrospect?

  Optionally, Raz can also talk to Elton about the fish being spooked by something in the lake.

  Although only the first lake interaction with Elton is mandatory (whether it’s when you go to see Milla or before then), both of these moments act as reminders of the setup of the lake monster established in the opening cutscene.  

 And then there’s the scene in the woods between Raz and Lili on the way to Sasha Nein’s Secret Lab. Raz says that something was watching him, a shadowy being that smelled like pond scum.

  I absolutely love Lili’s face in this scene, by the way.

 We kind of get distracted by their interactions and Lili basically trolling Raz, but that’s part of what makes good writing. The scene is foreshadowing something without making it overly overt…not that the game is subtle every time, but the point still stands. This game does a great mix of the obvious and the subtle.

 The game also has optional dialogue with Coach Oleander and Raz reporting on a UPE (Unidentified Paranormal Entity), which he suspects is aquatic in nature. And Oleander seems oddly insistent that the lake monster does not exist, that it’s just a camp fable.

 Finally we get to the Brain Tumbler Experiment. Needless to say, it’s in this level that a lot of the elements come together. We come across a demon in the form of a big, shadowy figure that spits out a diving helmet. Again, does that sound familiar at all?

  There is a minor mention of the lake monster in the mental vault below the spooky thorn tower (more on that near the end of this post), but other than that there’s a break in the game where the lake monster isn’t mentioned for a while. We don’t get another explicit scene about it until Raz and Lili meet Linda properly at the edge of Lake Oblongata…where Lili gets kidnapped, we go through the boss sequence under the lake, and enter Linda’s brain of Lungfishopolis.  And the final payoff occurs with the Hideous Hulking Lungfish transporting us to Thorney Towers and giving Raz her real name, Linda.

  Now would any of that be nearly as rewarding if we had never heard of the Hideous Hulking Lungfish of Lake Oblongata prior to her official appearance? Every single player would just have visible question marks hanging over their heads if Linda just showed up out of nowhere. Deus Ex Lungfish, anyone? But that’s not what the developers did.  They spent plenty of time building up to Linda, making her reveal not only make sense but also weaving her into the story so that her reveal is more than satisfying.

 There is just one thing I’ve always been curious about, a sort of chicken-and-egg scenario. Did the legend of the lake monster start because genetically-altered Linda showed up and starting attacking campers?  Or did the legend already exist and Oleander used it as an excuse to write off any “sightings” of the monster? Any ideas?

 Moving on from Linda, we come to the imagery of meat and bunnies.

 Without knowing the full ending of the game, most players would think that it’s a bit strange I would stick meat and bunnies together in the same category. Sadly, the connection between these things is a bit on the morose side, and they are actually first introduced at the same time as well.

 When I first played Psychonauts, the first time I actively thought about bunnies and meat being related somehow was during the Brain Tumbler Experiment, but that’s actually not the first time the game introduces these. Anyone else notice that Basic Braining has figments of meat cleavers, butcher knives, a pig, a duck, and a fox? I could logic that a meat cleaver and butcher knife fit with the whole army theme, but a pig, duck and fox?

  Kind of odd animals would be included in all this, especially animals that are either butchered or hunted. At least that’s what I thought at first.

 It is in Oleander’s mind that we first see the “meaty plant” that Lili saves from being squashed by Raz. It’s also here that we see bunnies hopping around the snowfield with the Gatling gun. This early in the game, is this important or just set dressing?  I’m ashamed to admit, but I thought it was just weird set dressing when I first played, but it makes more sense as the story goes on.

  Turns out it’s important all right, since the next time we see both meat and bunnies is in the Brain Tumbler Experiment. “Mr. Bun” seems like a rather random animal to have in Raz’s brain, but then again bunnies showed up in Basic Braining as well.  Is there a connection somehow? Sasha tells Raz that an animal may represent a primal fear or memory.

 He’s right on the latter, although a player going through the game for the first time might not know why (and I admit, on my first playthrough, I didn’t). And there’s more meat and meaty plants here. Raz doesn’t directly mention these (at least he didn’t during my most recent playthrough, to my recollection) but they are pretty obvious, to say the least.

 So that’s two things connecting the Brain Tumbler Experiment and Basic Braining.  Is this a normal occurrence? Maybe these things just show up in brains? Lili does mention she had been dreaming of meat plants, after all, both in Basic Braining and in the cutscene before Raz enters Milla’s mind. Maybe it’s a primal need for meat? Don’t tell the vegans I said that. The Vegan Police would be very unhappy with the final level of this game.

 After the Brain Tumbler Experiment is finished, we know that the brain interference was coming from Oleander, but it’s not explained why there are meat and bunny references up until that point.  There’s actually no mention of either at all in the subsequent levels until the last.  Lungfishopolis, The Milkman Conspiracy, Gloria’s Theater, Waterloo World, and Black Velvetopia are devoid of all meat or bunnies, which possibly leads the player to forget about the whole thing for a while (and when I say “the player,” I really mean me).

 In fact, we don’t see any sign of either until the final level of the game, Meat Circus. And, oh boy, Meat Circus.

  Yeah, it should come as no surprise that I hate this level. I hated it so much that on my first playthrough of this game in 2005, I rage quit and didn’t look at Psychonauts for several days. I eventually went back to it and beat it, but let’s say I was more than a little relieved that they lowered the difficulty for it in subsequent releases.

 But I digress.

 We reach Meat Circus, the combined consciousness of Raz and Little Oly, and the payoff of all the meat and bunny stuff we’ve seen thus far. We have Frankenstein-esque meat bunnies, platforms made of steaks, rail grinding on bones, trapeze and trampolines of bones and skin, and of course the dark versions of both Raz’s and Oleander’s fathers, who not only are evil but also become a giant two-headed monster.  When Sasha said that problems seem larger in your head than in real life, I should have known it would be taken more literally in this game.

  I mean, is it really any shock that Oleander is carrying some trauma after seeing his bunny friend be decapitated by his own father? It’s never said how old Little Oly is, but considering his behavior he is clearly younger than Raz, so this happened when he was in the single digits of age. That’s really not something a little kid should see. That’s just asking for PTSD.

 Anyway, back to setup and payoff, which is pretty obvious at this point. We have plenty of mentions of both bunnies and meat throughout the game, leading to the final boss that is both creepy and downright terrifying. Not only does this boss conclude Oleander’s trauma with his father being a butcher and killing his favorite bunny, but it also allows Raz to defeat his inaccurate mental image of his own father.  Both of them are able to move forward from that point on. Defeating this monstrosity acts as the ultimate payoff and conclusion for both Raz and Oleander.

  Speaking of Raz’s dad…

 Raz’s relationship with his father at the start of the game is strained, to say the least. When Raz goes to learn Levitation from Milla, the very mention of his father showing up to take him home from the camp makes him nervous. Not the best sign here, and his other comments regarding his dad don’t make it much better.

 Once Raz reaches cadet ranks ten and twenty, we get cutscenes of Raz talking with Cruller in tutorials for Pyrokinesis and Telekinesis. During Pyrokinesis, Raz first mentions that his father, Augustus, hates psychics and trained Raz in acrobatics to the point where Raz worried his dad was trying to kill him. During Telekinesis, Raz reveals his suspicions that his father is psychic as well. The memory vault we see of Raz running away from home only reinforces Raz’s perspective.

  We’re led to believe that Raz’s statements are the truth, which is a logical conclusion since he’s the game’s protagonist, but the end of the game shows otherwise. At first I thought this meant Raz was simply an unreliable narrator, but that turns out to not be the whole story. While Raz is an unreliable narrator in that there are a lot of things he just doesn’t know, it’s not malicious in any way. Raz simply doesn’t know that he father really does care about him. That’s the magic of using the third-person limited point of view.

 Up to this point, we’re led to believe that Augustus is a neglectful father at best, but it turns out that Augustus does love his son. He’s just apparently really bad at showing it. The very fact that he is the only one able to break into Raz’s “hard to penetrate skull” shows that there is a deeper relationship between them.  And Augustus is clearly distraught that his own son sees him as a monster in his mind. Poor Augustus.

  I think that a lot of the interactions between father and son in this game was cut out due to both budget and time constraints, because I feel like there is more to be said with these two than what we get in the final product. (I’m thinking we’re going to get more of that in the sequel, but that is up in the air at this time.) This doesn’t bother me too much though, since we do get effective enough setup and payoff that it doesn’t seem like it comes out of nowhere.  They do finally talk to each other and express their concerns, mending their relationship…in the middle of a battle with a two-headed father monster.

  Clearly these two have communication issues. The morale of this story is that it’s important to talk to one each other.

 And this is certainly paid off in the end cutscene of the game.  When Sasha says they want Raz to come along to rescue Truman Zanotto, Raz doesn’t just run off with them again.  He turns around and gives his father puppy-dog eyes, clearly asking for permission to go this time. And Augustus not only gives it, he gives Raz his blessing and encourages him to “show them all.” Contrast this to the backstory of the game, where Augustus flat out forbids Raz from having anything to do with the Psychonauts and Raz running away in secret.

  And if that’s not satisfying use of setup and payoff, I don’t know what is.

 That’s not to say that all of the setup and payoff in Psychonauts is perfect. To be fair, there are times when the setup can be missed, and therefore the payoff that comes later can be confusing. The most obvious example of this is the nightmare that attacks you in The Milkman Conspiracy. When I first played the game all those years ago, my first thought was, “What in the world? What is this thing and where did it come from?”

  Of course, on subsequent playthroughs, I did find the demon room in Milla’s mind, showing the same nightmares she had caged away. This is the difference between a sane mind and an insane one.  Milla has all her demons under control (although notice that they have not gone away) while Boyd’s run amok because he has no way of mentally dealing with them, since his brain is a little bit busy with this, well, milkman conspiracy.  The nightmares that attack in Boyd’s brain make more sense after I saw the ones in Milla’s brain. In this case, the payoff wasn’t bad since the nightmare miniboss wasn’t a bad fight, but context in the form of the setup made the payoff better.

  Other times the setup can be missed?  The other big one is the resolution of all the campers’ storylines. Unless the player spends time going around camp throughout the game and seeing the interactions the other campers have with each other, the little scene you have with each one once they are re-brained won’t make a lot of sense. The love triangle between J.T., Elka and Nils? J.T. and Chops having conflict about J.T. abandoning his best friend for his new girlfriend? Crystal and Clem attempting suicide to become more powerful? Chloe thinking she’s an alien? Maloof basically becoming a mob leader with Mikhail as his right-hand man? Elton and Milka’s blossoming love? …Just to name a few? Yeah, the context of all that is missed if the player doesn’t bother to talk to the other campers throughout the game, but I attribute that more to the player than the game.  The developers accounted for this in the story, so it’s more the player didn’t look for the setup rather than Double Fine just not bothering to include it.

  That’s just some examples of setup and payoff that I feel are probably the most important to the main storyline of Psychonauts.  They are far from the only examples. Really far from it. Oh boy, could I go on about the scenarios of setup and payoff that happen in this game.

 Dogen talking to the squirrels, who tell him that the short man is going to kill everyone, only for them to really be talking about Oleander?

 Elton saying that Oleander’s recruiting office in Basic Braining resembles a dentist office, only to find out that one of the main antagonists, Dr. Loboto, is in fact a dentist?

  Oleander having a mental vault trapped behind some mental cobwebs? Well, he has something to hide, despite him saying he doesn’t when you first play through Basic Braining. Of course, getting angry at Raz for snooping around a room with a curtain doesn’t give off the idea that Oleander has something to hide. Nope. Not suspicious at all.

 Agent Crueller having all the different personalities around the camp, hinting as his unstable mental state?

 The Hand of Galochio appearing in the lake as a reference to Raz’s family having a curse to die in water, and said curse just so happens to show up not only as a gameplay element but as a story element during Meat Circus?

 Raz being able to read Lili’s thoughts when she doesn’t mean for him to, then for him to do it two more times near the end of the game?

 How Lili’s cold stops her from sneezing out her own brain?

 Sasha’s hatred of tacky lamps having to do with his past working in a tacky lamp factory? Or the shoeboxes indicating his father was a cobbler? Or the bed as the location of where his mother was horribly ill and died?

 Raz needing to climb the “creepy thorn tower” in the Brain Tumbler Experiment, only to later need to climb Thorney Towers Home for the Disturbed?

 The mention of the town of Shaky Claim on the giant tree stump at the camp entrance referring to the sunken town that is (somewhat) explored during the boss sequence under the lake?

 Raz talking about being back in high school in Black Velvetopia despite being ten years old? Not to mention the stories the dogs tell about Lana/Lampita and Dean/Dingo?

 Lastly, do I really need to mention the incredibly weird and seemingly out of place mental vault below the creepy thorn tower? A brain chicken hatches out of an egg, meets a fish in water, goes to a circus, gets placed in a teacup, and blasts people to death? Kind of a summation of Raz coming out of the egg in the Brain Tumbler Experiment, meeting Linda at Lake Oblongata, entering the Meat Circus, and getting placed in a brain tank and defeating two people? Was the mental vault a foreshadowing of the main plot of Psychonauts? I don’t know.  What do you think?

  *Takes a deep breath.* See what I mean when I say I could really go on and on about setup and payoff in Psychonauts? There are so many examples that it’s kind of ridiculous. It could be said that there’s too much of this kind of storytelling in the game, but I fail to see how that is a problem.  There is such a thing as too much of a good thing, but when it comes to setup and payoff, Psychonauts is not it.

    Credits 

Screenshots courtesy of the following:

Comic Foil, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN-Y6XDe0oWyhgjcGunJqGw

 Global Gaming, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pjsxNSwSSA

 StoryGamer, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXZ1vDFp_dw&t=139s

 ThatNotSoAznKid, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ford0MGvWIc

[silver-wield]

Nomura definitely loves contrasting aesthetics when he designs LIs. Look how good, aesthetically, Cloud and Tifa look next to each other. Light and dark. Now look at Cloud and Aerith - both too light, they kinda wash each other out. Zack, however, is the aesthetic dark to Aerith's visual light. It's the same with Squall and Rinoa (her blue to his black) and Stella and Noctis. Dunno if he was involved in Luna's design, but they kept up the contrasting aesthetic there from the OG Stella/Noct ship.

I gotta agree, they look great together. Cloud with the blond and blue and Tifa with black and red and then they wear contrasting coloured outfits too that are the opposite of their physical appearance. There’s a nice symmetry to them.

Well, Squall and Rinoa are a bit of an exception in that they’re both dark haired, although Rinoa is shown as very alabaster skinned so that gives her the lighter tonal accents, and then there’s her outfit which is sky blue so definitely gives the impression of being light to Squall’s dark. He’s very earthy toned, except for his eyes which are that brilliant blue colour, so I think that’s also where the complementary tones come in.

Yeah, again you’ve got this contrast of dark hair and red/blue eyes along with blond and blue. It’s a definite theme happening and I gotta admit it’s a nice look for FF couples to have.

What’s interesting is that of the latter pairing’s it’s the “weaker” character who has the lighter colouring, but with Tifa and Cloud, he’s got it. Now, what we know of his character I’d believe that this is a nod to his weaker characteristics, compared to Tifa’s stronger ones. She’s the one who ultimately saves him after all. 

[phoenix-downer]

Thank you so much for the asks! I think I'm going to write Ashe and Rasler or Noctis and Luna for the "out of necessity" one, if I get a chance. But could you do the "in public" one for SoKai? Or perhaps the "out of lust" one? Because I guess I want to challenge you. Haha. Since both of them are sort of the opposite for SoKai, and I want to see how you'd handle it while probably still making it feel 99.9% canon.

Thank you for the prompt ideas, @oveliagirlhaditright! I decided to combine them both into one fic. Hope you enjoy!

No Return. ~3000 words. Set years in the future. Master of Masters!Sora AU.

“Riku, I still don’t think this is a good idea,” Kairi said one last time as she adjusted the top of her dress. She was amazed it still fit after all these years, but it was one of the more revealing dresses she had in her arsenal, so she’d decided to wear it tonight. The slit traveled most of the way up her leg, and the neckline plunged so low that the fancy necklace around her neck, with its array of rubies connected by silver loops and chains, rested completely on bare skin. The dress didn’t have much of a back, either, and it was the exact shade of red that looked good with her hair color. It had been a gift, but the giver himself hadn’t seen her wear it in years.

That was all about to change. 

“He said he wanted to meet you here,” Riku pointed out, being careful to keep his voice low as people in their evening finest streamed past them and entered the art gallery. “This is the best chance we have of catching him and stopping him.” 

Kairi sighed deeply. She’d never wanted this; never wanted to be used as the bait to catch Sora with, like he was some kind of rabid animal that needed to be stopped and put down. But here she was, outside one of the World’s most beautiful art museums where the gala of the century was being held, all because he’d invited her himself and their friends decided it would be the perfect opportunity to catch him.  

“He’ll hate me, Riku,” she choked out. “He’ll despise me forever for what I’m about to do to him.”

Riku raised an eyebrow as he adjusted his tie. “Hate you? Sora could never hate you.”

“That just makes this so much worse.” 

A part of her wanted him to despise her. That was what she deserved. Of course, they couldn’t just… let him continue on his current path, but surely there was a way to capture him that didn’t involve such cruelty, such lying and deception—

Riku touched the earpiece in his ear, and Kairi’s heart sank as she watched his expression change, as his lips pulled into a taut line. 

“Xion’s spotted him inside,” he said under his breath a moment later, though the words were unnecessary. She fidgeted with her necklace for good luck. There was no going back now. 

“Everyone’s in position?” she said, trying to stall just a little longer. Their friends were all here, too, dressed for the occasion with a little extra help: Donald’s magic to disguise all of them. All except for her. Even Riku looked different than normal; his eyes were the same color, but his hair was strawberry blond, and his face looked different. 

“Yes.” He took her hands in his. “Kairi, listen. I know this is gonna be tough. But stop for a moment and think. The real Sora, the true Sora we all know and love—what would he want us to do? Allow him to continue like this and keep hurting everyone he loves, or put a stop to him?”

“I think this is the real Sora now,” she said sadly as she turned her head to look inside the building. Sure enough, she thought she could make out his figure on the balcony, waiting patiently for her above all the crowds. “Asking questions like that is just pointless.” 

“I understand. But if it helps, think of how he used to be.” 

She sighed deeply. “That’s more painful than thinking about what he’s like now.” 

“We’ll come for you the moment you give the signal,” Riku said as he released her hands. “You can do this, Kairi.” 

She nodded. She could do this. She had to. The Sora she’d fallen love with was long gone, and in his place was a twisted shell of a man. Capturing him would be a mercy. 

She took a deep breath and straightened, then emerged from their hiding place, strolling gracefully towards Sora like a predator stalking its prey. Every movement deliberate, measured; every step drawing closer to the man who had once held her heart. With each foot forward, she put that much more distance between her and Riku. She was inside the building now, and the guards checked to make sure she was on the guest list, then checked to make sure she carried no weapons.

There was no way for them to check for her Keyblade… or for how she intended to get Sora at her mercy.  

She strolled around the main floor for a while, admiring all the beautiful artwork. There was so much of it; endless piece after endless piece. Some pieces depicted sweet, tender affection, others more passionate scenes, but they all fit the theme “Love or Lust” quite well. She was sure Naminé would be examining each piece with a true artist’s eye, wherever she was in the crowd right now. 

She could feel Sora’s eyes on her long before she intended to talk to him. The more she drew this out, the more he would want to see her, and the more desperate he would be. So it was in her best interest to make him wait as long as possible. 

She strolled over to the food and drink tables and nibbled on the finger foods but skipped the alcohol. She needed her full wits to handle what was coming up ahead. As she was about to put another little sandwich into her mouth with ham and provolone cheese and tomato and this delicious sauce she couldn’t quite identify, someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around, and the man who greeted her was strong and bulky and wearing a similar outfit to the guards. Perhaps he was one of Sora’s bodyguards.

“Madame, would you like to see a special painting on the upper floor?”

She smirked and set the little sandwich back on her plate. “I’d love to, but I’d like to finish eating first. Tell your master that I will come to him when I’m ready.”

The man bowed slightly. “Very well, Madame. He eagerly awaits your company.” 

“Oh, I know he does.”

She took her time finishing the little sandwich, then went back for another one. After that she took thorough stock of the desserts and settled on a piece of chocolate cake and a little cup of tapioca pudding. But at last she was full, and she figured she’d made Sora wait long enough. A quick trip to the bathroom ensured her makeup was still impeccably applied, and then she glided towards the stairs and began her slow ascent to Sora. 

When she reached the top of the stairs, an enormous painting caught her eye. It was of two lovers wrapped in each other’s arms, naked except for the wings sprouting from their backs and a single red cloth wrapped between their legs. They floated against a starlit sky, and matching laurels rested on their heads. The man gazed at the woman, and she likewise gazed into his eyes, like they were the only two people in existence. 

No wonder Sora had wanted her to see this. It was truly a magnificent painting.  

“Kairi.”

She took a deep breath. This was it. She turned around, not entirely sure what to expect.  

For once he’d ditched the black robes and wore a suit with a red vest instead. It was well-fitted, and as much as she was reluctant to admit it, he looked good. His hair was still spiky, and he carried himself with the confidence that had drawn her to him in the first place. Her eyes roamed over him like she couldn’t look away. And his one golden eye roamed over her in return, clearly appreciating what he was seeing. The other eye was hidden behind an eyepatch, but even the eyepatch matched the rest of his clothes. 

A smile spread across his face, and for a moment, she almost forgot who she was dealing with here.

“I’m glad you came,” he said. 

She forced a smile. “Of course. I wanted to see you. And this art exhibit is truly incredible. This painting in particular took my breath away.”

That much was true at least. She’d never been good at lying, so it was best to stick to the truth as much as possible. 

“I figured you’d like it,” he said as he stared at it for a few moments, then looked back at her. She was vaguely aware of the people around them moving away as he gestured to the guards without breaking eye contact with her. Even though his remaining eye was yellow, she still found herself getting lost in his gaze. 

“I wanted to see you too,” he finally said, once they were alone.  

“So much that you would risk meeting me?” she asked, her eyebrow raising. “You know the others don’t approve. They’d come after you in an instant if they knew you were here.”

“But they don’t know,” he said with a grin. “And I know you’d never betray me. The others might, but you never could. After all this time, you still care about me.” 

“Is that why you called me here?”

“Is that why you came?”

She fell silent and turned away from him to stare at the painting. “I… I don’t know.” 

She heard him take a step closer to her. “I think you do. You just don’t want to admit it.” 

Why had she agreed to all of this, really? Was it because she wanted to put a stop to Sora, like Riku had said? Or had a part of her deep down longed to see him, no matter what the cost?

“You despise yourself for still loving me, don’t you,” he murmured in her ear as he put his arms around her. Her breath caught at his boldness, but her body responded instantly to his touch. It still remembered what her heart was trying so hard to forget. He brought her flush against him, and never had being so close to him felt so wrong and yet so right the same time. 

“How could I still love you?” she choked out. “You’ve done such terrible things—”

“All to save you. All so we could finally be together. I got tired of losing you. I got sick of being separated from you over and over again.” 

“Doesn’t matter. How could you ever justify what you’ve done?” 

She tried to wriggle out of his grasp, and he finally released her. When she turned to face him, she was surprised by the honesty in his expression. 

“When did I ever say what I’ve done is right or good? I just don’t care anymore, that’s all. The only thing that matters anymore is being with you.”

His words tugged at her heartstrings, appealed to the twisted romantic deep inside her. His words were horrifying, and yet they were also one of the most honest declarations of love he’d ever given her. 

“You can’t cheat death forever, Sora,” she said sadly. “Not yours, and not mine.”

“No one can cheat death forever. But who says death has to stop us?”

He gently cupped her face and stroked her cheek. She hated herself for melting into his touch, for refusing to move away. 

“Do you remember our last date?” he asked softly. 

She nodded. That evening was still vivid in her memory. It was the last happy time they’d spent together before everything had gone wrong. A date back home on Destiny Islands to enjoy the autumn festival that turned into them strolling on the beach alone and then ended with—

“You were wearing the exact same dress you’re wearing now,” he murmured as he stepped behind her and his arms went back around her.

“I was.”

“And you look as beautiful now as you did back then. No, even more beautiful.” He nipped at her ear and teased the sensitive skin of her neck with his mouth, and her hand went over his. 

“You… you look very handsome, too,” she admitted. Even with only one eye that constantly reminded her of his corruption, she couldn’t deny it. 

“Well, the years have been kinder to you than they’ve been to me,” he said with a chuckle. His breath was hot on her cheek, and her heart was pounding in her chest.

“If only they’d been kinder.” 

“No more wallowing in the past,” he said as his lips rested at the corner of her mouth. “What matters is that we’re together again.” 

“Yes,” she said, then turned around and pressed her lips against his. He stiffened at first, then melted against her persistent mouth and allowed her tongue entry. A muffled moan escaped him as she kissed him, and he wrapped his arms around her waist and brought her directly against him, one of his hands wandering dangerously low. There was nothing shy or reserved about this kiss; neither of them had the patience for that. They kissed each other with all the pent up desire and passion their years of separation had brought because they both knew there was no guarantee there would even be a next time.

As the kiss grew more passionate, she realized she didn’t want it to end. He was right. She still loved him, after all this time. The foolish heart of a foolish woman beat in her chest, but it didn’t matter. That heart was his. Always had been, always would be. She was as hopelessly in love with him as the woman in the painting was besotted with her lover.

She brought her hands to his face. She had to tell him, tell him everything. How she felt, why she was here, everything. 

“Sora—”

She felt him stiffen. 

“Gotcha,” came a voice that made her blood run cold. Sora was pulled from her arms just like all of those other times he’d been taken from her, and his sharp cry tore at her heart. Axel pulled his arms behind his back as Ven bound him with magic. She spotted Terra and Roxas confronting some guards, and she figured everyone else was also subduing guards as quickly and as quietly as possible. Thanks to Aqua’s magic, hardly anyone noticed anything was amiss.  

“Good work, Kairi,” Riku said as he rested a hand on her shoulder, and never had she felt horrible for receiving praise from someone. 

“Sorry, Sora, but we couldn’t just let you keep doing what you were doing,” Ven said sadly as he cast another spell on top of the first round to make sure Sora couldn’t escape. “This was the only way we could think of to stop you.” 

Sora’s eye met hers, shock and disbelief in his gaze. “Kairi? You were in on this?”

Her lower lip trembled and her eyes watered, but no words would come out of her mouth. 

“You betrayed me,” he said softly, as if he couldn’t believe what he was saying. “And here I thought you never could.” He barked out a laugh. “Guess I was wrong about that. I really can’t trust anyone after all.” 

“I didn’t want to do it!” she cried. “I was going to tell you, I wanted to warn you—”

“Sure you were,” he said, and his eye was cold. Their friends pulled him forward, and his eyepatch slipped down. She gasped and put her hand over her mouth. The sad, empty socket of his other eye was laid bare; the eye itself was completely gone. The skin around it was scarred, and she wanted nothing more than to kiss it, to make up for the awful pain he must’ve endured to lose an eye like that. 

“Sora?” she said as she reached towards the missing eye. 

“That’s the Master of Masters to you,” he said coldly, and she couldn’t help the tears that slid down her cheek. Somehow his words hurt worse than everything else that had come before. 

“Enough of this, Sora,” Riku said as he grabbed his arm. “Kairi’s telling the truth. She didn’t want to do this and only agreed to it on the condition you’d be treated well.” 

“A betrayal by any other name is still a betrayal, Riku,” he said. “You of all people should know that.”

Riku stiffened but didn’t lash out. “Think what you want, but Kairi didn’t betray you. She never gave us the signal to close in. We captured you of our own accord.” 

Sora’s eye met hers once more, and there was a hint of something besides coldness in it.

“Riku’s right,” she said with a sniff. “And you were right, too. You were right about me. About us.”

Comprehension flickered through his eye, and he opened his mouth to say something when Axel interrupted him.

“Enough. We can talk about this back at the Tower. Our activities are getting us some unneeded attention.”

Sure enough, there was a group of people heading their way, even with Aqua’s magic counteracting this very thing. The sooner they left, the better. 

“Please, let me stay with him,” Kairi said. “That’s all I ask. I can’t… I can’t bear any more separations.” 

Riku and Axel and Ven exchanged glances, then nodded, and she let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you,” she told Riku as they led Sora along. Sora was quiet and didn’t put up a struggle, just walked along with them despite being their captive.

As her eyes met his eye, she thought she saw a spark of blue. Could it really be…?

Well, real or not, she would stay by his side. Capturing him was for the best, and she knew it was foolish to dream he wouldn’t face punishment. After what he’d done, he couldn’t just get off scot-free. But if there was even the hope that the old Sora, the real Sora, would return, she would stay by his side however long it took.

She cast one last glance at the beautiful painting behind them. Hoping that things could ever go back to the way they were before was foolish, but maybe someday, or perhaps in another life even, the vision before her would be more than just a dream. 

——————————————————————————————-

A/N: Thank you again oveliagirlhaditright! I know you like Phantom of the Opera, Versus XIII, and Master of Masters!Sora a lot, so I drew inspiration from them all three of those elements to write this story for you. Hope you enjoyed!

I’m still working on the rest of the kiss prompts (thank you to everyone who sent them in!), but if you’d like to read the previous ones, they include, “A kiss to pretend, “A good morning kiss,” “A kiss on a falling tear,” and “A kiss in secrecy.” Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!

[ffxvficrec]

Hurt Noct Week Round Up 1

Here we are with the first round up for @hurtnoctweek​! 

- We have listed relationships [platonic and romantic], ratings, and Archive Warnings - With that in mind, please tread mindfully! Remember to look at the tags before reading.

You can also check out the AO3 collection: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/HurtNoctWeek2021/works

Day One: Captured Prince 

Bird in Hand by Mokulule

Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Noctis Lucis Caelum

Iedolas Aldercapt

Verstael Besithia

Mature Rating

In which Noctis generally doesn’t have a good time.

Fight or Flight by Nyxx_Kess

Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Noctis Lucis Caelum

Ignis Scientia

Prompto Argentum

Gladiolus Amicitia

Mature Rating

But trussed up against something solid, hands stuck too far behind him to get any real leverage, he hasn’t figured out a way to disentangle himself from that.

Gladio’s going to need to add this one to the training drill list.

Seen Not Heard by everylemon

No Archive Warnings Apply

Noctis Lucis Caelum

Ignis Scientia

Gladiolus Amicitia

Prompto Argentum

Teen Rating

Whatever his kidnappers had done, they’d done as if to intentionally steal the Prince’s voice—an unsavory blend of fairy tale and horror story.

Of course, they hadn’t killed him. They clearly could have.

But Noctis never spoke again.

Deals in Darkness by GuineaGoon

No Archive Warnings Apply

Ravus Nox Fleuret/Noctis Lucis Caelum

Teen Rating

Everyone knew the Caelum family was odd. Their eccentricities were remarked upon in history books going back to their founder king. Anyone who spent enough time with the family knew this. Most people dismissed it as a quirk of being royalty and usually accepted it without too much trouble.

“If you truly want an interesting time, catch yourself a Caelum. I assure you, you’ll learn a great deal about daemons, and how to utilize the Crystal’s power,” Izunia mused while looking at his nails.

They only had one Caelum to catch, and they had been having a hard time tracking down Noctis Lucis Caelum in the wilds of Lucis ever since the fall of Insomnia.

Longing For the Sweet Oblivion of Death by star54kar

Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Major Character Death

Explicit Rating

Blisteringly bright, white pain, worse than anything he’d experienced in the entirety of his existence, consumed Noctis’ being as he was dragged back to consciousness with a harsh gasp.

He Endures by sabishisa

Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Teen Rating

Noctis suffers extreme electrocution for the sake of science. Made for Day 1 of Hurt Noct Week, the theme of which was Captured Prince.

Day Two: Relationship Woes 

Cross My Heart and Hope to Die by everylemon

No Archive Warnings Apply

Prompto Argentum & Noctis Lucis Caelum

General Rating

But the buzz cut guy's not giving up, and he’s definitely got Prompto in his sights, too—which, great, gotta love that. He shoulders into their way, forcing them to stop because there’s no way around him in the crowded hallway, and gives a mocking little half-bow. "Prince Noctis! This here your royal consort?”

Nif by somewherealight

No Archive Warnings Apply

Teen Rating

Someone in Noct's retinue is a traitor.

Not Like This by sabishisa

No Archive Warnings Apply

Lunafreya Nox Fleuret & Noctis Lucis Caelum

Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum

General Rating

Noctis meets Luna in Altissia and finally makes a major confession that shatters their relationship.

Things Change by quartzguts

No Archive Warnings Apply

Noctis Lucis Caelum & Ignis Scientia

Prompto Argentum & Noctis Lucis Caelum

Gladiolus Amicitia & Noctis Lucis Caelum

Teen Rating

When Noctis wakes up, his friends aren't the people he remembers them to be.

My Comfort in You by Nyxx_Kess

No Archive Warnings Apply

General Rating

Noctis keeps trying to reach across the gap, but his father seems to stay just out of his reach.

But Who Am I? by GuineaGoon

No Archive Warnings Apply

Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum

Teen Rating

Many days Noctis found himself almost staring at everyone in a daze and trying to find a way to truly connect with them again. They had ten years of experiences together he had missed. There were comments and jokes he didn’t understand, and he couldn’t bring himself to ask what the reference was to.

So he stayed quiet and on the side. He watched and tried to learn, feeling like a stranger in a foreign land.

Prompto did his best to include him, but there was only so much the blonde could manage. He realized that while they had worked to keep him alive, his three friends had also drifted apart in their own ways. He could see the deep fissures they were trying to repair now that everyone was attempting to bring back Lucis to the glory they had had before.

Too Late To Say by Fantasywriter

No Archive Warnings Apply

Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum

Prompto Argentum/Cindy Aurum

Mature Rating

Noctis is too late when he finally decides to open up telling Prompto how he truly feels about his best friend.

[moonwaif]

FFXV Halloween Week 2020: Day 7

@ffxvhalloweenweeknsfw

Monster of the day: Witches

Theme: Spells/Potions

Scenario: Halloween Party (games, pumpkin carving, etc)

Mod’s choice: Black Cats/Familiars

NSFW: Costume play 

Pairings: Gladnis

Rating: M

Tags: Sex Magic, No actual sex, Awkward Conversations, Getting Together, Paranormal Investigators AU, Enthusiastic Consent 

(Also on Ao3)

---

As an official member of the C.D.D.S. (a.k.a. Chocobro Daemon Destroyers Squad, as dubbed by Prompto), Gladio has a pretty flexible relationship with the word “normal.” However, even he has to admit that nothing about the current investigation is anywhere near the realm of normal.

First there’d been that weird purple envelope with the heavy wax seal. Inside was a letter from one Ardyn Izunia, written in flowing script and kindly soliciting their services at Zegnautus Keep—an old castle, located somewhere in the distant mountains of Niflheim. This was also weird. Sure, the C.D.D.S. may have been well-known exorcists in Lucis, but they weren’t exactly world-renowned. On top of that, Izunia claimed to be an acquaintance of Lord Regis, yet Noct didn’t know him. Gladio didn’t know him. Neither did Ignis, or any of Lord Regis’s old acquaintances. And when Prompto did a websearch, it came up empty.

That probably should have been a sign, Gladio thinks, striding through the castle halls. He glances at the giant portrait of Izunia smirking down at him, framed by cobwebs and moldering tapestries. Its eyes seem to follow Gladio as he passes, its smile shriveling in the shadows. The real Izunia had been just as disconcerting when they’d met him. But Noct had been in a slump since his father’s death. Noct had been depressed. That meant Ignis and Prompto were depressed too, and this seemed like a good chance to get away from it all. Besides, Noct was curious. He wanted to know more about this mysterious acquaintance of his father. So they stuck around, and when they were unexpectedly joined by the Nox Fleuret siblings, who Izunia had also commissioned—well, they figured the more the merrier and tried to be on guard.

 What catchy name will Prompto give this particular case, Gladio wonders? Something about hubris, maybe. Something about old gods. Before anything specific can crystallize, Gladio is already at the set of massive, iron-laid doors. They groan as he yanks them open and steps into the castle library.

 Ignis is still exactly where Gladio left him—hunched over a desk, hidden behind a stack of books. “How are they?” he asks, not even bothering to look up.

 “Stable,” Gladio answers, “at least for now. The curse on Ravus is spreading. Luna still isn’t responding. Cindy’s looking after them.”

 “And still no sign from Noctis?”

 “The planchette hasn’t moved in the last half hour.”

 “Dammit!” Ignis slams the book closed and tosses it aside. He makes a steeple with his hands, pinching the bridge of his nose. “We should never have come here.”

 Gladio draws up behind Ignis’s chair. In the dim light, he can see loose papers full of obscure runes, time-weathered pages penned in tightly-scrawled ink. If this were a normal gig, they’d have wrapped everything up by now. They’d have subdued the spirit, and if that wasn’t possible, exorcised it. The client would be shoving fistfuls of money at them and weeping tears of joy. Ignis would have food on the grill. Gladio would be setting up camp for the night. Prompto would be complaining about EMF detectors and other technical jargon while uploading the latest footage to their blog. And Noct would have been loafing around, watching all of them with a contented smile, asking when dinner would be ready.

 Gladio gives Ignis’s shoulder a squeeze. “What’s done is done—no use beating ourselves up over it. We’ve gotta keep our heads clear if we're gonna help Noct.”

 Ignis sighs heavily. “You’re right. I’m sorry, Gladio. I lost myself for a moment.”

 “Don’t sweat it. Now are you sure you haven't found anything?”

 Ignis drops his hands to leaf through a book. “Nothing about those marks on Ravus’s arm, or what could be strong enough to entrap the most powerful medium in Tenebrae.”

 “What about the portal?”

 “No definitive answers, but nothing that contradicts our initial theories, either. Noct and Prompto are most likely caught between the two realms.”

“Which means Luna’s still our best shot at reaching them. Damn.”

“About that . . .” Ignis shifts in his seat, turning to face Gladio fully. “There is one thing—an old tome, written in Solheim runes.”

Gladio perks up. “You think there’s something in there that could help us get to Noct?”

“Possibly. There is . . . a spell.” Ignis removes a book from the stack. It’s dark and fat. Any markings on the cover have been completely worn away. “A ritual, to be precise. It enables the caster to send spiritual energy to a soul trapped between Eos and the spirit realm.”

“All right! I knew we could count on you, Iggy.”

Gladio claps him on the shoulder. Ignis slumps under the weight. “I’m afraid it’s not that simple.”

There’s something about Ignis’s expression that Gladio can’t put his finger on, but he doesn’t have time to parse it. "Which components are we missing? Anything we can substitute?"

"We have all the necessary items. It’s just, this spell—well, it requires two people."

Gladio nods. "Cool, so we'll tag team it out."

Ignis winces. "I really wouldn't be so quick to say that if I were you."

"Why? Does it require a sacrifice?"

"Of sorts.”

Gladio raises a brow. Ignis closes his eyes. When he opens them, it’s with steely resolution.

“It's a book of sex magic, Gladio."

 ---

It takes less than five minutes to move all the furniture, less than ten to finish drawing the array around the bed. After all, Ignis isn’t the high witch of the Lucis Caelum clan for nothing. He lights the candles with a snap of his fingers while Gladio sets out the bowls of sylleblossom petals and animal fat—six in total, one for each of the Astrals. Then both of them step into the array.

Gladio removes his jacket. He suppresses a shiver as Ignis draws his thumb along his chest and abdomen, leaving behind a maroon sigil. He stays very still as Ignis unbuttons his own shirt, and when it’s his turn to copy the sigil, he tries very hard not to stare at Ignis’s pecs, or the freckles on his stomach.

Ignis clears his throat. His entire face is red, from his neck to the roots of his hair. “Next we present the offerings. If you don’t mind, I can go first.”

“Be my guest.”

Ignis reaches into the pocket of his trousers. “This pendant was given to me by Lord Regis when I was still a child, in honor of my appointment as the high witch’s apprentice. I have since kept it with me out of respect for the Lucis Caelum line as well as for good fortune. I offer it today as a token of gratitude and good will to the Astrals and to the elements, that they may grant Lord Noctis their aid.”

He sets the pendant in one of the bowls of sylleblossoms (Gladio definitely does not admire the muscles in his shoulders and back when he bends over).

Gladio reaches into their satchel of supplies to remove his own offering. “I brought cup noodles.”

Ignis stares at him.

“Um.” Gladio shifts uneasily. “These delicious noodles are for the Astrals, so that—”

“Just put it down,” Ignis snaps. “In one of the bowls.” He waits until Gladio is finished. When he speaks again, his voice is somewhat softer. “Gladio, before we go any further, are you sure about this?”

Gladio squares his shoulders. "You said it should be the two people closest to the target of the spell. Out of all those conscious and present, that's you and me."

"I know, but you shouldn’t feel obligated. There may be other ways. I could keep looking. I could—”

"Ignis. I want to do this."

Ignis exhales deeply, with a sort of resignation. "Very well."

"What about you?” Gladio asks. “Are you good? If not, me and Cindy are pretty tight. She hasn't known Noct for that long, but maybe if I talk to her, she and I could—"

"No.”

The response is forceful—loud, even. Ignis pauses to adjust his glasses.

“The principal caster should be an experienced magic user,” he continues calmly, “which is me. And if it has to be anyone, I'd rather it be the two of us."

Gladio decides not to read too much into that last statement, but he does feel a little smug.

"So," he asks, "what next?"

"Eager, are we?" Ignis remarks dryly. "Just stand there, for now. And follow my lead."

He turns to retrieve two goblets from the bedside table and hands one to Gladio. The liquid is fragrant with cloves and other herbs. Next, Ignis links their arms together, so that they're each holding the goblet before the other's lips.

"Repeat after me," Ignis says. "Ic bescence þe mīn ferþ . . ."

Gladio repeats, understanding only every other word. But he trusts Ignis, so when the goblet tilts toward his lips, he drinks until it's drained.

"Now then." Ignis's entire torso is flushed now, and Gladio is sure it has little to do with the wine. "I suppose this is the part where we go to bed."

"If that's what the spell says," Gladio concedes.

The mattress creaks as they both take a seat on the edge. Ignis perches very stiffly, arms and legs drawn close to his body.

"So." Gladio leans back on one hand, stretches his legs—pretends to be much more relaxed than he really feels. "How specific are the details of this spell?"

"Any act of intimacy will suffice," Ignis says quietly. "So long as the fertile essences are spilled by both parties."

Well then, Gladio thinks. It shouldn't hurt to look, right? He is, after all, an expert in looking at Ignis—though mostly through stolen glances, or carefully neutral gazes. Now he lets his eyes roam freely. Ignis is slender without his shirt—his shoulders broad and sinewy, his waist narrow. Myriad freckles and moles pattern his skin. Gladio wants to reach out and run his hands over every single one. Instead, his eyes snap up to Ignis's face. Ignis stares back, expression inscrutable. He leans forward, and Gladio inches toward him, arm raising instinctively as he prepares to—

"I've never done this before," Ignis blurts.

Gladio falls back. He blinks, then scratches his head with a chuckle. "Yeah, this is my first occult sex ritual, too."

"No, I mean, I've never done this with anyone, ever—being intimate."

Oh.

"Is that a problem?" Ignis presses.

"Of course not," Gladio says. "I'm just . . ."

Ignis's lips curve in a rueful smile. "Surprised? The role of the supreme high witch doesn't allow much time for romantic escapades. Unfortunately, I'm not very experienced. I hope it won't be too unenjoyable for you."

He says this with his typical flat, sarcastic affect, but there's something tender underneath. Something dark and edgy.

"I'm sure I'll enjoy it," Gladio assures him. "You're perfect, Iggy. Everything you do is perfect. But are you really okay with this? Kind of an intense first time."

"I'm okay with it. Actually, I . . ."

He pauses, gaze darting to the floor. Gladio waits with entirely feigned patience. By the time Ignis looks back up, his entire body feels like it's on fire.

"I've always wanted it to be you," Ignis says.

A raspy, trembling breath escapes Gladio's lips. With it goes the last few tattered shreds of his composure. "Iggy. Fuck, I—I'm gonna take such good care of you. I want to make you feel good, Iggy."

Ignis takes Gladio's hands and guides them to his waist. "I know," he says. "I trust you."

[angelkitty54]

Some general Lunoct headcanons! Because I wanted to do something  Valentines day themed, but didn’t really have any ideas, and then I forgot about it, and now the date’s kinda passed... But whatever! Here’s some stuff anyways!

Everyone sees Luna as being innocent and completely vanilla when it comes to sex, but in truth, she’s total fetishist

Like, she’s into some really wild stuff man, you don’t even know.

And though she lacks in experience, she has done a lot of research and has an incredibly vivid imagination.

Everyone thinks Noctis is the one with the kinks, who corrupted their poor sweet Oracle, but nope! He was an innocent virgin until Luna got her hands on him.

Like, his entire porn stash consists of one(1) adult magazine that he and Prompto bought together that one time they dared each other to enter an adult shop, which wasn’t even that raunchy, and some King’s Knight fanfiction.

His internet usage was monitored, okay! Even reading fanfiction made him nervous! He’d had The Talk four times already (each one more awkward and embarrassing than the last) and really, really didn’t want anyone else sticking their nose into his non-existent sex life!

Luna introduced him to the world of kinks and boy, what a wild roller coaster ride that’s been.

Noctis is happy to let Luna take the lead in sex, coz a) it’s kinda really hot, b) she knows what she wants better then he does and he likes pleasing her, and c) he’s been really into the things they’ve already tried so far, except for maybe one or two things that didn’t work out here and there

Luna likes to talk dirty.

Okay, like, it’s hilarious whenever Luna swears (just picture her in her full Oracle getup saying something like “titties”), but she can be downright filthy in the heat of the moment and it’s a major turn on for Noct.

Luna can hold her liquor better than Noctis, and he’s no lightweight.

She completely loses her filter when even a little tipsy though, and everyone is shocked, every single time, by what comes out of her mouth

She is very unapologetic about it too.

Also, Luna is really good at beer pong.

Scarily good.

She’s the reigning champion, knocking Gladio off his throne, something he’s still sore about. He continuously tries in vain to regain his title.

It’s just another thing that Noctis can swoon over.

He’s a rather emotional drunk, and, gods, he loves his wife, like, so much man! Sooooo much!

Luna is quite terrible at normal ping pong though.

[tarotdeckshuffle]

(congrats sweetie!) SO! headcanons Noctis Prompto Gladio Ignis Ravus and Luna having the biggest crush on the reader who is a female version of Markiplier she's hilarious dorky and awesome 'you do you and i'll do me and we won't do each other... probably' 'have you heard of my 'b to blow' skillz' 'i might be a potato but i have standards!' 'life's full of wasted opportunities' 'i'm going to show you my 'fairly' fool proof plan!' 'hello? *creepy noises* I DIDN'T EXPECT A RESPONSE!' thank you!!!!

Neither my brain nor my internet are working well today, so I think Spectral and the Astral Series will continue tomorrow. 

You know, I’ve never actually watched Markiplier’s videos, but you make them sound hilarious! The general theme will just be a funny/random/charismatic reader due to my lack of knowledge on the subject. I hope that works for everyone!

Taglist: @idiotflowerex, @laststory1013, @sayaoqueen, @jophinabean, @mysme-already

If you like what you read, please consider supporting me on Patreon or buying me a Ko-fi!

Noctis

Laughs at everything you say!

At first, it’s surprising!

He’s not the type of guy to laugh at a lot of things, 

But everyone notices.

And everyone is rooting for the two of you to get together just a little bit more

Because of how much joy you bring each other. 

Totally becomes more of a nerd

And let’s his dorky side show 

Because of you. 

Prompto 

Would totally join in!

Makes a fool of himself,

But it’s cool,

Because he’s with you!

Infectious laugh together.

Honestly, dream streaming team. 

Gladio

No one realizes how much of a nerd he is,

Until he’s with you. 

Great foil to your humor

And super supportive.

To watch his face split into utter joy and laughter

Is one of the wonders of the world. 

Ignis

The BEST foil to your humor!

PUNS.FOR.DAYS.

You get to see Iggy’s humorous side come out.

It’s fairly dry, 

But oh so witty. 

Mirrors anyone he admires or is in to,

So you truly do bring out the best in him. 

Ravus 

Why is he into you?

No one knows.

But you’re the rare person that can actually make him smile!

And once in a great while,

Laugh!

Luna

Giggles at everything,

Even the bits that flop.

It’s a sweet, cute giggle.

That occasionally devolves into snorts.