#somnus-lucis-caelum

[madeofthreads]

Leander smiled, it seemed that Somnus got the hint about how to eat the strange human food. Dare he think, he almost seemed to enjoy it too... until he started to choke, cough and hack from trying to swallow the bread down.

His eyebrows shot up and he uselessly held out his hand wishing he could help. He would have thumped his back sympathetically if he could. Instead his smile drained and he watched on in alarm, only flinching back when...

When he was told off?

He watched then as Somnus took a comically small bite. It twitched a smile from him.

His answer was to take a more polite bite, which was still a lot more than Somnus. "Hm. I didn't know we were that different." he mused with a shrug. "I mean." He waved his bread at the merman. "Some of you looks human. I thought you could take human bites."

The loyalty of humans among each other was… terrifying. Because it was completely lacking. How did it come that he, a stranger mer seemingly cared more about this man than his fellow humans? This was so strange…

Somnus gave Leander a questioning look – not certain he wasn’t being made a fool here.

Though then his curiosity sparked at the offered food.

Somnus eyed it for a moment, left and right, his earfins straightening up as if he could hear this … bread better like this. Reaching for it, Somnus was careful not to dip it into the water. Dry. And it was warm… That was… strange. He watched Leander taking a bite out of it. It crumbled. It made crackling noises.

Somnus looked at his own bread and then carefully licked over it. Once, twice – then he copied Leander and just took a bite. The taste was… completely foreign. A little like small crabs. But milder. The texture was like sponges… but softer. It tasted… good.

But above all, it was dryer than anything Somnus had ever had between his teeth. It felt like all the fluids of his mouth were soaked up – and Somnus coughed violently, when he tried to choke this bite down. It actually was a quiet amusing sight – how this merman coughed and hacked, turning away with an unhappy expression, though still holding the remaining bread over the waterline to not get it wet. Fighting against this single bite of bread, Somnus finally gave in and took sips of saltwater into his mouth.

Then he could calm.

Turning around to Leander again swiftly, he almost looked upset.

“Why did you take such a big bite? It almost killed me! You have to bite off less!”

And as if to demonstrate, Somnus barely nibbled the crust off of the bread and sucked that between his teeth.

[holyguardian]

@somnus-lucis-caelum | X

That witty comeback hurt her feelings. Aerith's tune changed from a teasing almost-truce back to being difficult with the Lucis Caelum that hadn't rejected her — but wasn't what she signed up for — but also now rejected her.

The smile she mustered Somnus with fell with a scoff as she looked away.

Great. This was great. For the sake of a political alliance she was supposed to waste the rest of her life with this sarcastic jerk?

He wouldn't know joy even if it smacked him upside his boring follow-all-rules head!

Aerith didn't accept his offered arm. Instead she picked up her skirts and charged ahead through the vineyards with or without him, she did not care.

What she did care about was the feast.

That was where she would prove her charming personality. "I'm going to swan over this entire feast!" That was a promise or a threat. "Your guests won't be able to get my name out of their mouths. Ardyn? Aera? A couple known for a royal disaster of a scandal, one that I am going to rise above."

And beyond. She would make public opinion sympathetic towards her, then when their arrangement crumbled it would be House Lucis Caelum with the mark against their good name.

[rebelichor]

@somnus-lucis-caelum | X

It wasn't often that Ariadne inspired such an expressive reaction from her godfather and mentor. Somnus turned on her and tasted the word in his mouth, reacting as if the 'no' was an audacious flavour.

Ariadne crossed her arms over her chest and held his gaze, long and steady. Of course she deeply respected him. Enough for her to give pause and listen to his explanation of the situation at hand as if it meant anything. But it didn't. Not one bit.

In fact, it was altogether a waste of time, and an exhausting one at that where Enok and his stubborn pride were concerned.

"No." she repeated, fingertips of her dominant hand subtly tapping at her elbow as she held her arms-crossed stance. They were all the signs laid out bare for him. She was defensive. On edge. Embarrassed to admit it to him.

"I already took care of him." The scene was plucked from her mouth and no doubt inserted directly into her godfather's racing mind. It wasn't a plucky no that he had to worry about. Oh no. Boy trouble was upon his doorstep.

[cyberpawn]

🐰

Spring is Here!! Send 🐰 for me to assign your muse a woodland critter!

In terms of His Royal Majesty, I know I said critters, but I'm including bigger forest animals too! Because Somnus absolutely gives me the vibe of...a deer! Specifically, a melanistic deer! We love deer with abnormally colored coats!! We love gene mutations!!

Kind of echoing a Bambi thought here, but deer have a presence to them! That regal nature, the idea of a deer with a coat as black as night walking his forest, watching over the denizens of his woods! Drawing in light like a void, while also willing to spar and gore any threat to those he loves most. The antlers mimic a laurel crown on Somnus' head too c: !

[anjaofthewild]

@somnus-lucis-caelum | X

Anja wove her fingers together, like the Norns who wove the threads of fates, and rested her chin there with her usual unsettling stare. Men were intimidated by her. It could have been her unusual mannerisms, the dominance of her unblinking stare, the way she lived outside of societal norms and expectations.

Or it could have been that chill of death that trailed her like a shadow. She was a dangerous woman. Though not an unfair one, she thought.

The King's armour landed in a ceremonious clatter. That brave expression fell hard and fast, giving way to the truth rippling beneath the surface.

He was displeased with what had been freely offered. He wanted more.

It was her turn to smile, a wry expression as she remained otherwise unmoving. The nature of man should not surprise her any longer... though perhaps it wasn't surprise this time. Only a dull disappointment.

Anja blinked slowly. Of course their mutual respect didn't die because of one small offence. She recalled how he once helped his soldiers. It wasn't an act of selflessness, but an exchange. He eradicated pests for her and in return his armed forces were shaped back into men.

"You will have to let go." she replied, suddenly moving to rise from the table.

Her chair was wrapped in ivy and moss, small fungi grew upon the surface. It was an unusual marvel just the same as the witch who sat upon it.

Boiling water was poured over a mixture of herbs and what looked like dried pieces of wood. The concoction steeped a short while and she poured it into a small cup, the liquid tinged an earthy colour, a hint of how it tasted.

Anja placed the cup before him, and purposely dragged it slowly, edging it even closer. A strong suggestion without words.

"Your control. How you hold yourself with strict posture because that is how you were raised to sit. How you measure your own expression — you choke your own anger to death and wonder why the carcass haunts you when you find it again. Every thing you do and say because other people told you what to do and what to say. You are going to shed it, and then you will see your own truth."

[writermich18]

@somnus-lucis-caelum x

Sonia gives a short shout out of shock from getting kicked off and then blocked by a shield. She drops to the floor, having already been on her knees, from getting kicked.

She goes to yell at her twin to get rid of the shield and stop being stubborn but stops. She knows the black ichor just as well as Somnus does, flashbacks nearly dragging her under. Somnus would see her eyes go distant in memory and he would know she is thinking of the time the twins got kidnapped by a cult. When they witnessed an entire village's worth of people become consumed by the Starscourge. As if the experience of witnessing that happen every night with their own soldiers, and being forced to kill them, hadn't been traumatizing enough. Sonia slaps herself, snapping her out of the flashbacks.

"How did they even get past Mom's Wall?!" Sonia hisses then shakes herself. "No, never mind that. Current priority: Your wounds."

"Okay. Okay, okay, okay," Sonia breathes. "Like I said, Ardyn-nii is on his way. We just need to hold out until then. Somnus, take a cloth and wrap it around your upper arms, cut off circulation." She rips her own toga with her dagger she keeps holstered to her thigh, creating a mask which she wraps around her nose and mouth. Keeping it tight around her face.

"Release the shield, Somnus. Look," she raises her arms and turns in a circle. "No open wounds, no blood touched my skin. I covered you with my cloak before touching you, remember? Please, I need to see the damage and we need to staunch the bleeding or else you'll bleed to death. I can see your other wounds beside the bites from here."

When he stubbornly keeps the shield up but at least listens to her words about cutting circulation, she grunts in frustration and stands up. Then she looks behind her, moving further up the alleyway, searching the crowd past the alleyway entrance. Nope. Their older brother is no closer to where they are.

Sonia doesn't know how long Somnus has been lying here, bleeding out in an alleyway, alone and scared, but unable to move. Wondering how a daemon managed to get past the barrier, if a traitor had so wanted to destroy the kingdom they'd willingly expose the people to a terrible illness - no, curse. She didn't know if cutting off circulation will actually buy him time or if the black ichor is already circling through his body. Not that that matters for the twins, it won't work anyways, but Somnus doesn't know that. Yet.

But what she does know is this: Sonia isn't leaving her brother to suffer through this alone. She moves back to where the shield is held, and kneels down, putting a hand on the translucent shield. What she does know is that he deserves to learn of what those cult members had done to them after he had gone unconscious, before their family had found them.

She opens her mouth, closes it. Biting her lips, the guilt of keeping this secret crushing through her once again. Then she takes a breath.

"Big brother, let me through," she says quietly. "I'm going to be okay. You will be okay." She slowly moves the right sleeve of her toga up, unwrapping the cloth that has been wrapped around her arm for years. Somnus would know she's been wearing long sleeves for a long time since the kidnapping. She moves her arm up within Somnus's view. "Immune. I'm immune, Somnus."

Her arm has a white and pink bite mark scar, with red veins and faded markings Somnus would recognize as old Starscourge markings. A scar and illness that has never grown or taken root inside of her. "I got this years ago, when we got kidnapped by that cult. They experimented on both of us, my twin. Where they died by Starscourge, transformed into monsters, we survived. We remained human. Remember that scar on your back where it looks like lighting-filled claws slashed you? The one where the scar has long faded into white but the surrounding area remains red and purple like my bite mark here?" She watches the moment realization comes to his eyes.

"We're both immune. Drop the shield," Sonia says, "Ardyn will arrive soon anyways and this will all just be one big nightmare."

When Somnus finally drops it, she immediately pulls him into a hug. "You must have been so terrified. I'm sorry I wasn't beside you. I'm sorry I kept this from you. I wasn't even fully certain myself until just last year." She ignores the wetness on her shoulders just like he will ignore the wetness on his own shoulders. "I'm here. Your twin is here. We're okay. We're gonna be okay."

After a while she moves back, allowing him to take a look at her old scar while she looks over his immediate wounds.

[stingslikeabee]

@somnus-lucis-caelum . from here

Sitting through the games was one of Melissa's least favorite tasks among all of her sacred duties. While violence had been frequently confused with entertainment during most of the Empire's existence, it was difficult for those who dedicated their lives to the hearth to see anything worth of praise and courage in these senseless sacrifices.

Maybe those serving other deities had a better explanation in their faith for the carnage - unfortunately, the vestals did not. It had been part of her training as an initiate to school her features into one of respect and polite devotion while watching limb and bone being torn apart, to acknowledge the sacrifice and bravery as commendable traits of any fighter that desired freedom.

But there was a small mercy - their current emperor, Somnus, lacked the bloodthirst of other rules recorded in their history. Perhaps their times of peace and prosperity had assisted their leader to show mercy to people rather than tyranny, even if those in the stands still demanded more. The blood that tainted the ground from slayed beasts and a handful of gladiators was not yet enough.

But upon hearing the emperor's voice at the ending of that combat, Melissa's eyes blinked and she steeled her nerves - Somnus was close to them; as emperor, he valued their counsel and kept a trusted connection with the priestesses in charge of maintaining the connection between Rome and the gods. If he was assigning them the privilege of deciding someone's fate, then it would be devoid of questioning - a vestal's forgiveness could indeed liberate one from their death sentence.

The women in white shared a glance - and eventually, it was Melissa who stood from her chair and bowed her head to Somnus respectfully, acknowledging his authority and grace. They exchanged a glance there - a fleeting one, less than a couple of seconds and perfectly disguised as a moment of honor rather than impertinence. As the gods had willed it, the young priestess believed in him; her dreams were plentiful, the emperor being the protagonist in many of them.

Melissa was favored by Vesta and the goddess had plans for him - and those hinged on mercy rather than cruelty; no Emperor would be blessed otherwise.

"The Gods have gathered here today to bear witness to the bravery of those honoring Rome," her voice echoed from the stands once Melissa turned around, facing both men on the ground. As much as it pained her heart, her honeyed eyes never strayed from the pair, both arms then reaching out to them as if she was briefly replacing their mothers and welcoming the survivors into the embrace of the generous, kind Vesta, "We are grateful for their guidance and fortunate to live under their mercy. They shall live to protect Rome and the people for another day."

The words left her lips and Melissa bowed her head, hiding her face with the aid of her vestments but aware of the discordant voices all the same. Her decision would be met with protest, no matter which one had prevailed - but sparing a life was the only way out of that predicament that did not leave an even bitter taste on her tongue.

As the priestess took her seat again, Melissa contemplated if Somnus was relieved.

[wondrous-eos]

Spirit Birds I This was supposed to be a serious artistic endeavor but that intention flew out of the window once Ardyn got involved. Anyway, I present to you ffxv characters with their spirit birds. Part II 🚫 Do not repost. ⬇️4K wallpapers here.

[owarinaki]

Somnus Lucis Caelum [Final Fantasy XV]

[holyguardian]

@somnus-lucis-caelum | X

Aerith scoffed at the boy who persistently followed after her. First, he backed away to hide — now he kept thundering on behind her as though she had spat in his eye or tricked him unfairly!

"There wasn't any trick!" she answered in exasperation.

"And were I a siren, you would have already crashed into the rocks." Idiot.

Then she wildly whipped around. Good thing he kept his distance, too, else he would be due another shove. "YOU DROPPED ME. You bastard." Again, she whipped around, and again she continued on her purposeful march.

[rebelichor]

@somnus-lucis-caelum | X

Ariadne immediately beamed when Somnus picked her up, and indeed, giggled as he picked at her space buns and fluffed them back up to some semblance of neatness.

That hadn't been why she asked, though.

"Nooo! Will you come back here after?" she clarified in all of her arm-flapping glory. She truly was still just a kid, somehow. Seemed like one of the rare few who got to cling to a childhood.

Her godfather hadn't let up about her coming with. She even tried to insist that she could talk with the other adults there too — even if she always seemed to end up hiding behind the expensive coat of her mother, father or godfather.

She had to cross her little arms with a squint. She rather would see Somnus himself!... but... if he was going to drop it to her parents, and if she still happened to be awake... her eyes lit up. "DEAL!"

Ariadne thrust out her hand to shake on it. Then she settled in a half-hug, still being held, and her little grin was sharp. "I will just be waiting here! Booooooooooored. Because you left me! All on my own."

[cyberpawn]

🐰 for the woodland critters meme - but first tell us vale's!

Spring is Here!! Send 🐰 for me to assign your muse a woodland critter!

When it comes to Vale, I imagine them as...

A rabbit! Especially in a Beatrix Potter-esque verse where the animals are anthropomorphized, and rabbits have a habit of getting themselves into trouble!!! Stealing from gardens, sneaking into human spaces, and being very quick are all things that bunny Vale would be up to! Plus, they're soft and adorable, just like Vale!! Nobunny causes as much trouble, with as big of a smile, as Vale does!

[noctglaive]

Sons of Sparda Caelum?

[naidleen]

Ardyn Izunia & Aera Fleuret (Final Fantasy XV: Episode Ardyn)

[writermich18]

"I know, I know," Sonia grabs her cloak, moving Somnus's arm and bunching the cloak into the claw wound. She wraps the remaining bit around his abdomen to act as a bandage as she explains, "Truth is, I don't fully know how it works myself. I don't know if we were born immune and the cult event revealed that to me or if the cult did something and that made us immune."

She shakes her head at Somnus's question about Ardyn. "Ardyn is an adult, he made his choice to help in the only way he can and he stuck to it, even if it's hurting him." She lets the quiet extend for a while as she thinks about how to answer, or phrase, her response to Somnus's question about helping with their immunity. Focused on plugging up his wound as much as possible, tying the last bits of the cloak tight.

She rolls her shoulders, uncomfortable. "I don't know how our immunity works. If our blood can be drawn and used in a vaccine to encourage people's own antibodies to create a resistance or if it is for us only - as in, if we are the only ones able to handle the Starscourge to the point of immunity. I also don't know how much of our blood will be needed to create a vaccine in the first place, if they need only a few pints or all of it," here, she breathes out a shaky sigh as she joins her brother, leaning against the wall and hugging him, keeping a tight hand on his wound to help the makeshift bandage plug the wound, "I'm scared. Ardyn-nii isn't immune but I don't know how far our own immunity goes. If it only works for us two or if we can help by way of sacrifice. I don't know if we can help, Somnus."

She hugs him to her upon his words of wanting to go home, leaning her head on top of his and shutting her eyes to block her own tears. She wants ma and da too. She can hear his breathing slowing and not for the first time, she wishes she had healing powers, but she only has her scientific knowledge. Even then she's not a biologist or a doctor.

"For now, keep it a secret, please," she whispers to him just as Ardyn comes running down the corner. She pinches Somnus to wake him up as Ardyn looks at them in shock and horror.

"Nii-san! Over here, please Somnus is in trouble!" she pleads, tears finally streaming down his face. Ardyn runs over and immediately gets to work, healing first Somnus's starscourge bites then checking Sonia over who immediately shakes her head and forces him to focus on Somnus.

"You're okay, Somnus, you're okay," Ardyn says, as he removes the makeshift bandages and gets to work on his claw wound. Sonia helps him lay Somnus down on the stretcher that two knights (who'd followed right after Ardyn) brought forward and laid on the ground. Ardyn cleans the wound, using some purified water, pulling out his equipment from his Armiger. "We need to fix what we can here, then we're bringing him over to my infirmary. Clean your hands, Sonia, then help me out by keeping Somnus calm while I stitch what I can hear." Sonia nods, catching the towel and water container he threw at her. She cleans her hands as Ardyn cleans what he can of the wound.

He looks it over, checking to make sure nothing got into the wound. Sonia moves to Somnus's head, whispering gentle nothings and turning his head to focus on her. She keeps her hands on his cheeks. Then starts humming as he begins hyperventilating. It's strange, he can normally handle this and so can she, but she guesses the events of the day are just catching up to him now that he is in the capable hands of their older brother. She isn't really processing anything, hasn't felt anything really since finding her brother on the floor. She think this is what is called disassociation but she doesn't know for certain, doesn't even know where she heard that before.

After numbing the area with a numbing lotion, Ardyn begins stitching up the biggest claw wound. One thing's for certain, it's definitely going to scar, right alongside his bite marks. A permanent reminder of his immunity just like Sonia's bite mark scar. She gives Somnus a light tap to return his focus to her and switches the humming to a lullaby.

Their favorite childhood lullaby. From the days before they became separated by and aware of heir and spare dynamics and responsibilities. Before the twins were left behind as their older brother became more and more consumed by his Gods-given duties and duties as heir. She watches Somnus's dazed and fading eyes gain a bit more of a spark as he begins mumbling along, breathes steading.

Ardyn puts a temporary bandage on the claw marks and nods to the knights to get moving. He puts healing lotion on the bite marks, mumbling, "Left the rabies shot and antibiotics in infirmary, will have to give it to him there," then covered Somnus in a blanket to hide him from sight as the knights lift up the stretcher and get moving. Sonia follows along, keeping Somnus focused on the song and breathing to not pay attention to their surroundings. Ardyn follows on the other side to cover Somnus from sight on that side, knowing and understanding how embarrassed Somnus would be if their people saw him in a weakened state.

@somnus-lucis-caelum x

Sonia gives a short shout out of shock from getting kicked off and then blocked by a shield. She drops to the floor, having already been on her knees, from getting kicked.

She goes to yell at her twin to get rid of the shield and stop being stubborn but stops. She knows the black ichor just as well as Somnus does, flashbacks nearly dragging her under. Somnus would see her eyes go distant in memory and he would know she is thinking of the time the twins got kidnapped by a cult. When they witnessed an entire village's worth of people become consumed by the Starscourge. As if the experience of witnessing that happen every night with their own soldiers, and being forced to kill them, hadn't been traumatizing enough. Sonia slaps herself, snapping her out of the flashbacks.

"How did they even get past Mom's Wall?!" Sonia hisses then shakes herself. "No, never mind that. Current priority: Your wounds."

"Okay. Okay, okay, okay," Sonia breathes. "Like I said, Ardyn-nii is on his way. We just need to hold out until then. Somnus, take a cloth and wrap it around your upper arms, cut off circulation." She rips her own toga with her dagger she keeps holstered to her thigh, creating a mask which she wraps around her nose and mouth. Keeping it tight around her face.

"Release the shield, Somnus. Look," she raises her arms and turns in a circle. "No open wounds, no blood touched my skin. I covered you with my cloak before touching you, remember? Please, I need to see the damage and we need to staunch the bleeding or else you'll bleed to death. I can see your other wounds beside the bites from here."

When he stubbornly keeps the shield up but at least listens to her words about cutting circulation, she grunts in frustration and stands up. Then she looks behind her, moving further up the alleyway, searching the crowd past the alleyway entrance. Nope. Their older brother is no closer to where they are.

Sonia doesn't know how long Somnus has been lying here, bleeding out in an alleyway, alone and scared, but unable to move. Wondering how a daemon managed to get past the barrier, if a traitor had so wanted to destroy the kingdom they'd willingly expose the people to a terrible illness - no, curse. She didn't know if cutting off circulation will actually buy him time or if the black ichor is already circling through his body. Not that that matters for the twins, it won't work anyways, but Somnus doesn't know that. Yet.

But what she does know is this: Sonia isn't leaving her brother to suffer through this alone. She moves back to where the shield is held, and kneels down, putting a hand on the translucent shield. What she does know is that he deserves to learn of what those cult members had done to them after he had gone unconscious, before their family had found them.

She opens her mouth, closes it. Biting her lips, the guilt of keeping this secret crushing through her once again. Then she takes a breath.

"Big brother, let me through," she says quietly. "I'm going to be okay. You will be okay." She slowly moves the right sleeve of her toga up, unwrapping the cloth that has been wrapped around her arm for years. Somnus would know she's been wearing long sleeves for a long time since the kidnapping. She moves her arm up within Somnus's view. "Immune. I'm immune, Somnus."

Her arm has a white and pink bite mark scar, with red veins and faded markings Somnus would recognize as old Starscourge markings. A scar and illness that has never grown or taken root inside of her. "I got this years ago, when we got kidnapped by that cult. They experimented on both of us, my twin. Where they died by Starscourge, transformed into monsters, we survived. We remained human. Remember that scar on your back where it looks like lighting-filled claws slashed you? The one where the scar has long faded into white but the surrounding area remains red and purple like my bite mark here?" She watches the moment realization comes to his eyes.

"We're both immune. Drop the shield," Sonia says, "Ardyn will arrive soon anyways and this will all just be one big nightmare."

When Somnus finally drops it, she immediately pulls him into a hug. "You must have been so terrified. I'm sorry I wasn't beside you. I'm sorry I kept this from you. I wasn't even fully certain myself until just last year." She ignores the wetness on her shoulders just like he will ignore the wetness on his own shoulders. "I'm here. Your twin is here. We're okay. We're gonna be okay."

After a while she moves back, allowing him to take a look at her old scar while she looks over his immediate wounds.

[akirakirxaa]

Brother from another Mothercrystal.

I've been playing FFXV again and it reminded me of how much I absolutely am convinced that Noctis is an Azem shard and how good of friends he and Akira were in the short time they had to hang out. So I had to make a pose for them. Fun fact, I consider him in Akira's canon to be one of the 'heroes from beyond the rift' that heeded G'raha's call to aid her against Hades at the end of ShB.

LEE DO NOT READ BEYOND THIS POINT UNTIL YOU'VE FINISHED XV.

LEE I STG THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO LOOK AWAY.

I also like to imagine that Akira was able to visit his shard again (Eos? I think Eos was Noctis' world's name) but because of how time passes differently, it's the post game. She finds out via echo vision that he's dead and how he died. 🙃 Yes, I can't even give Akira a friendship without finding a way to make it tragic it seems.

Also I personally have it that Akira suggests the Blade of Light to Noctis, since the final scene vs Ardyn is so close to the whole Blade of Light thing that it might as well be.