#they're sleepy because i was so sleepy. battling for my absolute life to get any work done.

[alackofghosts]

dozing off

[thatonesmartkidfromschool]

Ok Mr "I know drayton better than anyone" give us ur headcanons then. Need to test them against mine /lh

Ummm most of my headcanons are just me projecting LMAO.. so maybe they're not all that accurate but idk lmao

So first off. Definitely a burnt out gifted kid. He just gives me that kinda vibe. Like someone who thrived in their youth and completely gave up once things started getting too overwhelming and taking up too much of his personal time. Like idk maybe he felt like he wasn't enjoying his life so he did a massive 180 from one unhealthy lifestyle to another 😭😭

His sleep schedule is absolute shit. Which causes him to be. Maybe a little eepy at times. And by that I mean all the time 24/7 he often struggles to stay awake when not being constantly fed stimuli. But honestly he probably naps a good lot when in the club room. Which doesn't make him any less sleepy but. It feels nice in the moment, at least. I wish I could nap more.

Oh and he just randomly decided to look awful actually. It was all on purpose. One day he thought. What is the worst possible outfit and look I could come up with. And that's how we got toothpaste haired, sweatpants under a skirt boy. Don't trust him when he says it's not a skirt. It's definitely a skirt. He's just messing with you. Like seriously he looks so ridiculous how is this not on purpose.

OH and the toothpaste cut was definitely just an excuse to dress up as a tube of toothpaste every Halloween. He haunts BB academy's freshmen with that shit.

And this one sort of relates to the outfit once but he just. Hates. Having to be serious. It makes him feel awful. It's so much easier to cope with things when you're just joking around acting goofy.

OH and he absolutely adores all the kids in the league club to bits. Just the club as a whole. Means so much to him. Of course, this is kind of obvious given the context of the game but STILL. I guess battling is one of the things that brings him the most joy and he loves sharing that with the club members. And like yeah he hates responsibility so he never actually wants to be president but he wouldn't see helping out the club members one on one as a responsibility.. maybe he just likes to see people enjoying themselves to the fullest like. Yeah. (And also because he just likes showing off his abilities lmao)

Like broooo HE'S ACTUALLY JUST LIKE ME FR??? CHAT????? Anyways there might be more I could add but I can't think of it rn... all of these ideas have been rotating in my head for weeks now thanks for sending this ask.. also gimme your Drayster hcs so we can cross reference them

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Snailspace

Debut: Yo-Kai Watch 3

Wow. A regular, cartoon snail, huh? No frills, nothing? There is no clever concept on display here. I mean, a snail itself is a clever concept! A squishy, vulnerable creature that carries its own armor to retract into? That's awesome! But Yo-Kai Watch 3 did not make this concept. Animals made this concept. This is pretty much nothing but a cartoon snail.

And I love those!!! Yippee!!! You're telling me this monster collecting game lets me befriend a regular cartoon snail and train it to be a STRONG snail? And lets it follow me around town wherever I go? And lets me PLAY as it? Yowza! There must be a catch here... but there isn't!

Perhaps I am just very easy to impress in some regards, but I am very happy that Snailspace is JUST a snail, with no funny business going on. Nothing to detract from it. I can't think of an example of something that would detract. I'm tired. But Snailspace is perfect the way it is, is what I'm saying. ESPECIALLY because it has eyestalks! My favorite feature on a creature!

I would like to talk about a different collectible snail monster for a moment. Hello Magcargo! You are a wonderful snail monster! A snail made of lava with a rock shell is an extremely awesome concept, and executed well! Magcargo even has big drippy mouth drips, reminiscent of a gastropod's tentacles! But it just doesn't have eyestalks, and to me, that is a very big deal. Magcargo's face looks like a frog's, and I love frogs, we all do, but this is a snail monster! I just always think that an animal-based design should take advantage of the unique features of the animal.

In fact, I once did this little edit of Magcargo's original sprite to give it eyestalks, and I instantly love it so much more! Eye positioning does so much for a design's overall personality! Eyestalks are really just one of the coolest anatomical features a creature can have, and I don't know why, so often, they will be completely ignored in fictional snail designs, inevitably making the design LESS striking than it would otherwise be. I know not all snails in real life have eyestalks, of course, but they are really such an iconic feature, absolutely perfect for exaggerating in a design.

Maybe it's not fair to spend so much of Snailspace's post talking about a different, much more known snail monster. There is stuff to love about Snailspace itself! I love its sleepy eyelids, I love its weird tall mouth, I love its color scheme! I guess it's not just ANY cartoon snail. You know... maybe there's not a such thing as just a cartoon snail. Whether intentional or not, any given person drawing a snail will put their own spin on it, however subtle. And isn't that wonderful? No one draws a snail quite like you do!

If you are not familiar with Yo-Kai Watch, I would like to delight you with some Funny Facts. Firstly, Yo-Kai are organized into "tribes" that each tend to excel in certain battle attributes. Snailspace is a member of my favorite tribe, which is Slippery! A whole official category of slimy and/or wiggly creatures! Snailspace is right at home with snakes, fish, frogs, bananas, and even a bungee jumping teapot!

Snailspace is also classified as a 'Merican Yo-Kai. The third game features the protagonist moving from Japan to America, and meeting American Yo-Kai! The localization, however, had previously tried to convince he had been in America the whole time. How did they get around this? Instead of moving overseas to the USA, he moves further south to a different region, called BBQ! It is so stupid. I love it.

'Merican Yo-Kai are a weird category. Sometimes they're based on American stereotypes, but often it feels kind of like a meaningless title. I don't know why a Snail is specifically an American concept. I mean, I have certainly encountered many snails in America! I guess they're not wrong! But not every 'Merican Yo-Kai can be as iconic for the role as, for example, a baseball-playing chicken nugget.

Anyway, Snailspace is an excellent snail! It does not take much for a snail to make me smile! I hope this is true for you, too! Have you looked at a snail lately? Check under your local rocks in the dirt and maybe you just might find a marvelous mollusk to behold!

[zor-earp]

They're stronger, together.

Chapter 2: Battle Royal

The next morning, like clockwork, Kara awoke to the blaring sound of her alarm going off. She groaned and smacked it, lightly to make sure she didn’t break it, effectively hitting the snooze button. She rolled over and wrapped herself tightly in her blanket. “Rao I hate mornings…” she mumbled quietly before falling back asleep.

When she finally got up, Kara groggily made her way into the kitchen where Alex was quietly sipping her coffee.

Hearing her sister enter the kitchen made Alex glance up. “Morning sleepy head.” She chuckled as she looked at her sister who was definitely not a morning person. If she was being honest, neither was she but once she had a few coffees in her, the early dawn didn’t bother her as much. Caffeine was seriously one of her favourite things in life. Whoever invented it had her eternal thanks.

Kara let out a grumble as she shuffled over to the coffee maker. “Coffee.”

Her sister went back to reading the morning paper as she grabbed a cup for her coffee. “Milk and sugar on the table Kar.”

A peaceful silence fell upon them as Kara made her coffee. It was more like a drop of coffee with spoonfuls of sugar and way too much milk but the last time Alex had opened that pandora’s box she hadn’t been able to close it until she gave the insulted blonde twenty bucks to buy as many doughnuts she could get.

“You leaving for the DEO soon?” Kara asked after a few sips of her coffee.

“Yeah. I was just waiting to make sure you’d actually get up.” Alex chuckled as she finished up her own drink. “And now that I’ve had my morning wake me up, I’m off.” She smiled as she got up, placed her empty mug in the sink and left to go grab her coat.

“Be safe!” Kara shouted as Alex left for the DEO.

The older Danvers yelled back before closing the door and heading off to the DEO. “I will! Always am!”

Kara chuckled and shook her head as a peaceful silence came over the small apartment. She knew her sister’s job wasn’t the safest one in the work but who was she to comment on that when she was literally a superhero that would fly into any battle that came her way.

Once she finished her cup of coffee, the young blonde made her way back to her room to get changed out of pyjamas. She put on a casual button-up, one that could be easily torn open if any Supergirl duties came up, and some jeans. She grabbed her glasses and slipped them onto her face before grabbing her laptop and plopping down at the kitchen counter to get some work done.

She had just finished her article and had gotten some food out of the fridge when her phone rang. She jumped at the startling sound, dropping her croissant. “Dang it…” she muttered before grabbing her cell and answering it.

“Hello?”

“Kara?”

“Yeah Winn? Obviously, it’s me. You called my number. Obviously, I’d be the one who’d answer the phone.”

“Hey, easy there. Why so snippy?”

“...”

“Kara? Hello? You still there?”

“I dropped my croissant…” she mumbled into the phone. She let out a small groan as she heard her friend snicker on the other side of the line. “Stop laughing Winn. You know how much food means to me. It’s so sad… and because I answered your call it’s been way past ten seconds. So now I have to throw it out...”

“Sorry sorry. I’m done.” He chuckled before continuing in a serious tone. “Anyway, Supergirl is needed on the corner of East Plaza Boulevard and Highland Avenue. You need to get there ASAP.”

“I’m on my way,” she answered quickly before ending the call and super speeding into her super suit. She looked down at her sad croissant on the floor and sighed, tossing it into a trash can before leaping out the window and making her way to the location Winn had given her.

When she arrived at the scene, multiple black vans were blocking off the streets while agents rushed this way and that. She landed with a thump on the ground and looked around for Alex.

“Director Danvers!” she called out, walking over to her sister who was standing talking to a few people clad in heavy duty guns. Alex turned around, a small smile gracing her lips as she saw her blonde dressed in red and blue.

“Oh good. You’re here Supergirl. I’m glad Agent Schott managed to get ahold of you so quickly.” She said as she motioned to the agents to leave them to talk. “I hope this isn’t ruining your day of doing… well, whatever you do.” She chuckled and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Nope. I’m always available to help out National City when they need me.” The Super said, imitating Alex’s stance. “So give me an update. What’s so urgent that you needed my help?” She asked, glancing over at some agents trying to keep reporters away from all the commotion.

“We’ve got some deranged alien holding hostages in that building,” Alex explained, pointing towards the building that was currently being surrounded by agents with shields. “We don’t know what it wants but we’ve got it cornered. The problem is that if we make a move, we might be putting the hostages in even more danger.”

“I can hold off the alien while your people get the hostages out.” Kara offered.

“No can do. Winn- I mean Agent Schott has detected some kind of substance that may be kryptonite. We can’t put you in a situation where you’ll potentially be of no use to us.”

“Gee thanks…”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it. Supergirl, we can’t risk you getting exposed to kryptonite. We aren’t even sure if it’s green or red. Either way, it looks like it’s in that building so you are to not go in it. Do you understand?”

“Director Danv-”

“That’s an order from your superior Supergirl,” Alex said, cutting her off with a hard look on her face. “I got Schott to call you here because we need you up in the skies looking into the building. I’m going to go in and try to negotiate with our alien friend.” She spoke clearly, making sure Kara was listening before she continued. “It’ll either go two ways. One, we talk it down and it lets the hostages go and we can arrest the alien with minimal charges because all it’s done so far is steal from the bank. Our second option would be for some of our stealth agents to come in while I’m talking to our notorious criminal and get the hostages out and then we can take out the alien without worrying about hurting the captives.”

“Alex... I mean Director Danvers… I think it would be a smarter move to let me go in. I know these aliens better than you all do. I’m also… well… stronger.” Kara said, trying desperately to get in on the action.

“Absolutely not. Not with possible kryptonite in there.” The older Danvers would not give in. She was not going to be responsible for Kara getting hurt because she was trying to be a hero. “You may be stronger but if there is kryptonite, you’ll be worse than Agent Schott.”

“Hey! Excuse me?! I’m still on the comms.” Winn said into their earpieces.

“Sorry Winn,” Alex mumbled. She had completely forgotten that Winn could listen in on their conversation.

“As hurtful as that comment was, she’s right Kara. We can’t risk you being close to the kryptonite,” Winn responded, agreeing with the DEO director.

Kara let out a defeated sigh before nodding. “Fine.” She muttered quietly, pouting slightly. “I’ll stay in the sky to be your… lookout then…”

“Thank you. Now let’s get this operation moving!” Yelling out the last part so her agents would get into position, Alex gave Kara a small smile before making her way over towards one of the black vans.

Before long, everything was ready. Supergirl was in the sky, keeping them updated on the alien’s movements in the building. Even though she couldn’t see any kryptonite with her x-ray vision, she chose to listen to orders, not wanting to stress out Alex more than the redhead already was.

“All set?” She asked through her commlink.

Alex answered with a simple “yup”. The eldest Danvers was clad in a black suit, looking highly professional. Her DEO badge looked like an FBI ID, thanks to Winn’s tech, which was then hung on her breast pocket. She glanced over at her agents who were all in stealth suits ready to get in and out without being seen by the alien.

“I’m going in.” She stated before walking past all the security and looking at the building. She entered cautiously and looked around. “This is Director Danvers. I’m coming in unarmed.” She said loudly, keeping an eye out for the alien.

“He’s in the room just ahead of you.” Both Kara and Winn mumbled over the comms.

“Thank you,” Alex mumbled under her breath. She glanced down at her watch. She had ordered the agents to go in if she didn’t give any signal in the next ten minutes. She didn’t have any time to waste, so she quickly made her way to the door in front of her.

She peeked her head through and her eyes widened significantly. The alien was huge. “Didn’t see that one coming…” She thought as she tried to determine her next plan. And here she was hoping that today would go smoothly for once.

“Hello? I’m Director Danvers. I’m here unarmed. Let the hostages go and we can come up with a reasonable compromise together,” she said as she walked into the room, arms up in a non-threatening way. “All I ask is we work together here. I don’t want any harm to come to any of us.”

The alien looked at her and glared. “I don’t trust you,” he stated, keeping a strong stance in front of all his hostages. “I’m not going down without a fight.”

“I don’t want to fight. I just want to help,” she explained. She wasn’t lying when she said she didn’t want to fight. She may be a good fighter but she doubted that she’d be able to take on this large beast alone. “Let them go and we can talk.”

“Let me out of here peacefully and no one gets hurt. All I want is the money.” He snarled, gripping the bags of cash he had in his hands.

“We both know I can’t do that. You broke the law. First, you stole from National City’s bank and then you took hostages. I’m going to have to arrest you but depending on how you cooperate, the charges might not be as severe as they could be,” she tried to reason.

“No way in hell am I going back to another prison. Fort Rozz was enough.” He growled, backing up closer to the hostages.

Alex glanced down at her watch. Shit. Her agents would start moving into the building in the next five minutes. If she didn’t want a blood bath on her hands, she had to get this massive alien out of the way so her people could help the hostages.

“Come on. I really don’t want to fight you. I’ve got backup waiting and you’ll be screwed if you mess with a federal agent,” she said, keeping a steady tone, though she was starting to get anxious. She really didn’t want to have to fight this damned alien. God, she could go for a cup of coffee right now.

“I’ll fight you if it comes down to it Agent. You really think I’m scared of some girl with a suit? You must be pretty dumb to think someone like me will just surrender to someone like you.” He muttered quietly, glaring at the woman in front of him.

“That’s Director to you.” She sighed, going to grab her gun from the holster on her waist. “And you really should be scared, because I’m Alex Fucking Danvers.” She smirked before whipping out her gun, which was set to stun, and shooting him right between the legs where… well, hopefully, you can guess where she shot him. And let me tell you, she did not miss.

His eyes widened and he howled in pain. “You bitch!” he yelled, dropping the bags of cash and lunging towards her.

She stepped back just in time to miss his oncoming attack. “Oof, you missed,” she said with a cocky grin. She stepped out of the room, hoping he’d follow her away from the hostages.

As she suspected, the alien’s pride got the better of him and he went after her, leaving the cash and the hostages in the other room as he moved to chase after her.

“Get in and get them out,” she mumbled into her commlink to the agents waiting outside as she tried to get as far away from the captives as possible. “Come and get me dumbass!” she yelled back at the alien, currently running after her.

She led him out to the main entrance where there was way more room to maneuver in. She turned a corner before mumbling a quiet “crap”. She had run into a dead end. “Shit shit shit…” she whispered to herself as she hid behind a wall.

The alien wasn’t too far behind her but she had managed to get ahead of him enough that he didn’t quite know where she was. “What a great plan…” she thought, trying to come up with another strategy.

“Come out, come out wherever you are… so I can tear you limb from limb…” The giant alien growled as he made his way into the main entrance. He sniffed around and looked around. That’s when he heard a small squeak coming from one side of the room.

“Oh... crap…” Alex mumbled, having just slid slightly on a wet part of the floor. She glanced up and facepalmed when she saw a sign that read “Caution! Wet floor”.

“Found you girlie!” The alien exclaimed as he rounded the corner and went to grab Alex by the arm. The DEO director managed to dodge him and barrel-rolled over to the side. She grabbed her gun and shot at him but he managed to avoid each shot.

She looked around frantically trying to find some way to get herself out of this mess. She slid under his legs as he swung a large fist at her and shot back up onto her feet, kicking him in the back.

This made him lose balance and he fell forward slightly but regained his footing. Apparently kicking him wasn’t such a good idea for Alex because now he seemed even angrier than before. The redhead went in for a few punches and used her speed to her advantage, getting in some good hits.

Outside of the building, the stealth agents had rounded up all the hostages and were treating them to any wounds they had.

“Winn, I’m going in. Alex needs my help.” Kara had grown impatient, watching the whole fight from the skies. “She’s going to get hurt. That dude is ten times bigger than her. If you think I’m going to stand by and watch some monster beat up my sister you are out of your mind.”

“Kara you can’t go in there. There are still traced of kryptonite. If you go in there you’re putting yourself at risk and you might even put Alex at risk. She’ll have to protect herself and you if you end up being incapacitated.” Winn was trying to keep calm. He knew Kara should go in there but knew that it was a danger to both Danvers sisters.

“This is such a horrible plan…” Kara mumbled as she continued to watch her sister with her x-ray vision.

Back in the building, Alex had just flipped over the giant alien, avoiding a “hulk smash”. She knew she wouldn’t be able to hold him off for long. He was way bigger than she was and way stronger too. She had speed on her side but that wouldn’t last long if he managed to get ahold of her.

She gave a swift kick to his ribs and that’s when it all went downhill. He grabbed her leg and swung her into the wall.

“Oof…” she muttered. Thank god Winn had made this suit so it would protect her from big impacts. She went to get up but the alien was on top of her in seconds. He grabbed her and held her up against the wall. She struggled to get lose but his hold on her was extremely firm.

“You thought you could defeat me? Look at yourself! You’re nothing but a puny little girl!” His shit-eating grin was wiped off his face when Alex spat in his face. “Oh, you son of a bit--”

“GET YOUR GRUBBY HANDS OFF MY SISTER!”

His eyes widened at the booming voice behind him. He didn’t even have a chance to turn around before he was smashed into the ground, effectively making him drop Alex who was quickly caught by Supergirl.

Kara was beyond pissed. The second he had laid a hand on her sister is when she saw red. Winn’s pleading to not go down there was drowned out by her anger towards the giant alien. No one touched her sister. Ever.

She gently placed Alex down on the ground, against a wall before turning her attention back to the alien who had gotten up and was dusting off some rubble.

“Who the hell are you?!” he shouted, staring at the blonde.

“I’m Supergirl and you just messed with someone I care for and now you are absolutely screwed.” She glared at the gigantic monster before charging at him. She punched him in the chest with both fists, making him fly to the other side of the room. “Don’t you ever, EVER, lay a hand on my sister!”

“Kara, get out of there. I’m getting a kryptonite signal and it’s getting stronger,” Winn said over the commlink. “Get Alex and get out. The other agents can handle him.”

The blonde chose to ignore whatever Winn had said and walked slowly towards the alien who was struggling to get up. She had stood idly by, watching the older Danvers fight, not being able to do anything and that had hah stressed her out immensely. But when she saw the alien throw her sister into a wall, that had been the final straw. She had rushed in, not caring about the warnings about nearby kryptonite.

She had lost so much in her life. Her family, her home planet. She was not about to lose the one person she loved more than anything. Her sister was her life. They had gone through so much together. She had always been there for Kara. And Kara had vowed the day she arrived on Earth that she’d protect the Danvers family with her life. And right now, she may be putting herself at risk but Alex was her sister. She would fight to the end if that meant protecting her from an arrogant alien.

She threw punch after punch, though many of those punches were avoided by the large alien. Her anger was getting the best of her and her aim was getting lousier by the minute.

She finally managed to get in a good hit right to the alien’s chest. He stumbled back and looked up at her.

“Okay. No more mister nice guy.” He let out a growl and took something out of his back pocket. He slid the sheath off and that’s when Kara felt it. Her powers were beginning to weaken. She knew she was screwed when she saw that familiar green glow.

Kryptonite.

“Didn’t see this one coming now did you?” He smirked and lunged at her. She barely managed to avoid the glowing green knife. She jumped back and got into a defensive position. He threw a hard punch with the knife in hand. She wasn’t fast enough that time and hissed when she felt the blade cut through her suit and into her arm.

She grabbed the part of her arm that had been cut and quickly dodged another incoming attack. She tried to think of a plan but was interrupted when she saw the alien’s knife coming down for another assault. She put her non-injured arm up in hopes of stopping the hard blow that she was about to receive. It worked… for like two seconds.

She looked him in the eyes and used her foot to kick him swiftly in the chest. Even in her weaker state, she was still able to make the huge alien fall back. With the alien on the ground, she did the first and only thing that came into her mind. She jumped on him and punched him in the nose.

Big mistake.

With a bloody nose, he grabbed Kara by the neck and held the knife up to her face. He smirked as she struggled, her powers weakened by the kryptonite so close.

“I’m going to finish you off and then… I’m going to kill your precious sister…” he whispered with an evil smile.

Her eyes widened as he plunged the knife right into her abdomen. She gasped for air when he dropped her onto the cold hard ground. She fell to her knees, her eyes filled with tears from the pain. She looked up slightly to see him walking slowly over to Alex who was still sitting against the wall.

She had been watching the whole thing, trying desperately to get up to help her sister but her muscles wouldn’t budge. She was stuck watching her sister fight… and then watching her sister get stabbed… all because she had been too cocky when it came to fighting an alien ten times bigger than herself.

The large alien made his way over to the redhead and picked her, slowly crushing her neck in his mammoth hands.

“Say goodbye…” he whispered as his hold on her neck tighten.

“No. You say goodbye, you asshole,” he heard from behind him before a knife was plunged into his back. His eyes widened and he dropped Alex before falling to the ground. The knife had been pushed into his back, all the way in and had hit his heart.

He lay on the ground and looked up. Kara was standing over him, one hand clutching her stomach. She glared at him. Even in her weaker state, she could still look very menacing.

“Next time, go for the head,” she murmured before punching him right in the face, effectively knocking him out.

There would be no next time for him.

“Kara!” Alex yelled as she watched her sister collapse next to the dead alien. She stumbled as she made her way over to the blonde. She picked up Kara’s head and placed it on her lap. “You are not allowed to leave me, Kara Zor-El Danvers. Not like this!” She held her sister close, taking off her suit jacket and placing it on Kara’s wound, hoping it would stop the bleeding.

“I’m glad you’re okay…” Kara whispered, a small smile gracing her lips. “Look who protected who now…”

“Shut up you idiot… that was the dumbest thing you’ve ever done. You got yourself stabbed…” Alex muttered, shaking her head as she pressed down on the wound.

“Yeah well… I’d do it over and over again if it meant saving you.” Kara let out a small cough and grabbed one of Alex’s hands. The older Danvers squeezed it gently and Kara squeezed it back, a small smile forming on her lips.

Then everything when black.

[fortheloveofeos]

Older Noctis x Reader are married and while they're on a date, Ardyn shows up and wants revenge on Noctis so suddenly Noctis leaves to get desserts and Ardyn appears and kidnaps the reader and takes her away. Then Noctis finds out and goes aftet Ardyn to get his wife back. And Ardyn almost beats the reader for not telling him where the crystal is.

I changed this a little to work in my crazy brain, I hopethat’s okay.

Major warning here. This story contains some Ardyn x readerabuse and just some general Ardyn being an absolute creepy freak. I honestlygot chills writing this. Please don’t read this if any of this bothers you. Don’tworry, Older! Noct is there to save the day.

(Also, sorry I didn’t post this correctly the first time.)

XXX

Becoming a queen had never been part of your life plan.Hell, falling in love had never actually been in your plan either. Then, onedark haired, sleepy prince with a smirk that could break hearts and a smilethat could cause the Astrals to swoon had passed through your sleepy town allthose years ago and everything you had ever wanted for yourself and every planyou had ever made flew out the window just like that.

You had denied your feelings for months as you traveled onand off with the young King and his friends/personal guards. The two of youflirted, stole kisses, and reveled in the innocent love that blossomed andthrived between you. When things got tough, you were right there to fight anddefend your king along with everyone else. It was standing on the undergrounddock at Cape Caem with Iris and Talcott that finally broke down the walls thatguarded your heart. Your threw your arms around a very surprised Noctis astears poured from your tightly shut eyes. He stumbled but managed to catch youand hold you closely while the tears fell. He reassured you that no matterwhat, he would come back to you and that he felt everything you did for him aswell. His kiss stole your breath before he was forced to part with you and headfor Altissa and ultimately Gralea where he would begin to fulfill the prophecy.

Those ten years were hard. You lost nearly everyone close toyou and found yourself in Hunter HQ with Gladio, Prompto, and Ignis where youlearned to fight and to be a proper hunter. All the while, you kept the hope inyour heart that you would see Noctis, that he would return to you just as hepromised. When he finally did return, you refused to allow him to face his futurealone. It was by the grace of the Six that Noctis survive the final battle withArdyn against all odds and finally took his throne and his kingdom.

The wedding was beautiful and small with only a handful offriends – just the way the two of you had wanted. You found the crown weighedheavily upon your shoulders, though not nearly to the same degree as yourhusband, and the two of you found strength in one another in the darkest oftimes. Nightmares still plagued you from the journey that had left you with thelove of your life and a title of your own. Noctis usually found himself, withthe help of a certain adorable fox-like creature, within your dreams world andwas always the one to pull you out of the night terrors.  

Ardyn Izunia was the monster you couldn’t shake. The way hehad sneered when he saw you enter the throne room just behind Noctis with alook of determination made your skin crawl. He had attempted to entice you tochoose him over your love, promising that he would protect you from thedarkness Noctis could never hope to dispel. His words still filtered throughyour mind and made you want to wretch with their forced sweetness. The worstpart was that it was always so hard to know when you were dreaming.

The word “exhaustion” took on a new meaning after you becomequeen. You did everything in your power to lighten Noctis’ load and the two ofyou often fell into bed during the late hours of the night only to rise withthe sun a few hours later. There were the rare occasions where the two of youwould shirk your duties and find time to yourselves. Your favorite place was asmall restaurant that specialized in pastas and desserts, tucked into abackstreet of downtown Insomnia. The small shop was rarely too busy and the twoof you enjoyed the near privacy the shop afforded you. The twinkling lights ofthe patio mimicked the nearly invisible stars of the night sky blocked by thelight of the rebuilt city.

“I’ll go in and grab our dessert,” Noctis kissed you sweetlyfor a moment before pulling back. “Do you want the usual?”

Giggling you brushed some of his eternally messy hair fromhis dark blue eyes and nodded. “How about we try the strawberry this time,though?”

“I like the way you think,” he stole another quick kissbefore slipping back inside the small diner to purchase a dessert for the twoof you to share. You couldn’t help staring lovingly after your king as he went,resembling a loves truck school girl as you rested your hand on your head.

The door had no more than shut, leaving you on the isolatedpatio when chills raced down your spine and your breath hitched as the voicethat whispered so softly into your ear. “Come now, my sweet little queen, donot let such an…unfortunate king keep you from me,” Ardyn traced a finger alongyour exposed shoulder and up to your neck. Terror kept you frozen beneath histouch and your fear widened eyes remained locked on the door Noctis had justdisappeared through. “I’m going to take you away from here and when your dearlittle prince comes looking for you, he’ll be forced to tell me where thecrystal has been hidden.” The power and the dark joy hidden in his singsongvoice nearly had you gagging.

Finally coming to your senses, you opened your mouth toscream when a large hand covered your mouth and pinched your nose so that youcould not breathe. “Ah ah,” Ardyn tutted into your ear, “can’t have youspoiling our fun before it’s begun.” You struggled beneath his grip as yourheart hammered into your chest. You could feel the oxygen in your veins wearingthin as you began to feel dizzy, your efforts to free yourself only making itworse. “Sleep, little queen, and I’ll be waiting when you awaken,” he lickedyour earlobe as your world faded to black.

It was the feeling of a hand on your cheek, gently caressingyour sleeping face that woke you. Your eyelashes flutter open as you pulledyourself to sit, surrounded by the plush covers of your bedding. You expectedthe navy galaxies of sprinkled silver that were Noctis’ eyes but were met withthe frozen golden depths that haunted your darkest moments. You gasped andattempted to flee the room but found yourself chained to the bedpost.

“There, there, my little queen. No need to be frightened,”Ardyn dipped his head slightly as he offered you a trademark smirk.

You had to swallow several times before you could finallyfoce words from your throught. “What do you want? Why are you doing this?”Tears of anger and frustration leaked from your eyes. “Why can’t you just leaveme alone?”

The façade Ardyn so often kept of an eccentric gentlemanfaded as his eyes hardened. A slight frown pulled at his lips and his voicedeepened to a near growl. A hand wrapped around your throat as he forced you tolook at him. His grip tightened enough to restrict your air supply and hold youin place. “Why am I doing this?” he scoffed. “Because this,” he swept a handwide as if to indicate everything around you, “was meant to be mine. Was mine,until it was all taken from me.” His grip tightened around your throat and youknew there would be bruises later. “Tell me where the crystal is and I will letyou live. You can even keep your crown and be my queen once I’ve taken backwhat was supposed to be mine.”

Mustering every ounce of strength that remained in yourbody, you managed to spit directly into the face of your enemy even as yougasped and clawed at his hand for release. “I would never betray Noctis,” youstammered and gasped between each word.

Ardyn laughed and tightened his grip enough to cause yourvision to crumple around the edges before releasing you. Falling into a gaspingheap onto the bed you cradled your neck. You were jerked forward by a firm gripon your hair and tears stung at your eyes once more. Your face snapped to theside as Ardyn connected the back of his hand to your face in a swift smack, themetal of his ring splitting your lip in the process. “You are trying mypatience, little queen. I will not ask you again,” he seethed through histeeth.

Licking a drop of blood from your split lip, you stillattempted to even out your breathing. The burn in your neck was nearly as muchas bad as the stinging of your face. “No.”

There was no stopping the whimper that escaped you as Ardyn’shand connected with your face once more. This time, the pain centered aroundyour left eye, certain a blackened eye would be in your future. Ardyn seemed tobe in a daze as he struck you several more times. His face never betrayed anysort of emotion as you accepted your punishment, your body too tired and oxygendeprived to put up a proper fight. You closed your eyes and awaited the deaththat would surely meet you at the hands of this crazed man.

A bright light sparked just behind your closed eyes beforesoft hands cradled your face and you were enveloped by the comforting scent ofyour king. Trembling fingers wiped away the tears that naturally leaked fromyour eyes. “Shh,” Noctis hushed you, “I’ve got you.”

Sitting up with a start, you glanced around the darkned roomof your royal bedchambers. Noctis immediately wrapped you into his strong armsand pulled you against his chest. “He was here, Noct. I-I, oh Six,” you sobbedas you clung to him. “I was going to die. He was going to kill me.”

You could feel Noctis shaking as he held you so close it wasdifficult to know where you ended and he began. You could tell by the silentwracking of his body that he was also crying into your hair as he rocked thetwo of you. “I would never let that happen. It wasn’t real. I promise you’resafe,” he mumbled again and again to reassure you both.

One the two of you had calmed, Noctis released you enough tolook at your face. He traced an unsteady finger over you lip and you wincedthough there was no physical mark. You lip throbbed exactly where you werecertain Ardyn has struck you in your dream. “You looked so broken,” Noctisbreathed. “I thought I was too late this time,” he hung his head in shame.

A breathy laugh escaped you as you snuggled against his chestonce more. You were beginning to regain some sense of composure as the remnantsfrom your dream began to leave you. You inhaled deeply the musky scent of yourking and tangled your hands into his shirt. He was warm as his arms encircledyou carefully and the two of you lie there. “You always find me.”

“I made you a promise once. One that I will always keep. You’remy queen, my love, and my life,” Noctis breathed against your forehead beforekissing you there, his mouth gradually trialing southward in a wake of kissesbefore taking your own lips with his. He kissed you with enough gentle passionto chase away the lingering pain and fear of the dream.