Ardyn’s Kingship and Somnus’ Rulership: an Exploration of FFXV Lore and Etymology

This was not the meta I expected to be dishing out today but here we are. Buckle in folks, this might not be what canon intended, but it is indeed what just exploded from my brain.

(If it’s not clear or you have questions, please come ask me!)

FACT: Aera tells Somnus that Ardyn was to be king

FACT: Ifrit provides the same information to Ardyn

FACT: The Crystal rejects Ardyn as the one who is to be the Founder King of Lucis

Bad storytelling, or is there something more here? A common theory -one I’ve worked with myself- is that the Six are not in fact omniscient and chose Ardyn as their king without consulting the Spirit of Eos, represented by the Crystal, which either chose Somnus from the start or rejected Ardyn because of his corruption by the Starscourge and then chose Somnus as the next best thing. I tend to believe it chose Somnus from the start, because Ardyn gained that taint doing what he was supposed to be doing - curing people.

So, it could be that simple, Ardyn was the Astral’s Chosen, Somnus was Eos’ - but I would like to propose something different, and it hinges around three more facts.

FACT: Aera and Ardyn were engaged to be wed

FACT: Ardyn is Somnus’ older brother

FACT: The word “King” has some very interesting etymology

Let’s get nerdy, folks.

The word “King” comes from a contraction of the Old English word cyning meaning “king or ruler” - the source for all this is HERE if you’re interested, but I’ll be hitting the high points - so far, this isn’t a surprise. But here’s where it gets interesting because cyning doesn’t actually have clear origins. But the best guess currently is that it  is at least related to cynn - another Old English word meaning “family or race” that, as you might’ve guessed, led to the modern word kin.

Now, assuming they’re related this means one of two things might be true - that “king” was either "a leader of the people" or "of noble birth.”

The second of those, we’re going to discard. One, because there was no King in the area prior to Somnus founding Lucis and so it would have been... difficult for Ardyn and Somnus to be of noble birth. The first one though... a king as a leader of the people... could that be?

There’s a lot of Ancient Roman vibes in what little we see of Ardyn and Somnus’ era, but enough that it feels reasonable to build from that. While not of noble birth as we think of it (though likely privileged) Ardyn was the older brother. Whatever their family did have, he was set to inherit and Somnus likely would have struck out on his own.

To be more clear here: Ardyn was the next leader of House Caelum. He was born to lead the family, and Somnus was to go out and establish, not only his own lineage, but a kingdom. This would not conflict with Ardyn, however, because Ardyn was also set to marry Aera Mirus Fleuret of Tenebrae which  would have gone one of two ways: either the Fleurets were established as matriarchal even then, making him the Prince Consort to her Queen - or whatever equivalent terms they had in Tenebrae for “male married to the female ruler” - Or. Or he would have been King, which... well, I do have theories that suggest he could have been back then. If he was King of Tenebrae, though, that would certainly put him more as Somnus’ peer than necessarily competition.

Regardless, Ardyn remains the father of a very important lineage, and not just because they are the rulers of Tenebrae. Remember, there were two tasks given by the gods: 1) create a new nation 2) cleanse the world of Starscourge.

Establishing a nation seemed to go smoothly enough for Somnus to have succeeded - how much moreso without strained relations with Tenebrae at the start? But curing a WORLD of Starscourge? Two people even in a lifetime cannot possibly manage.

But if two people of exceptional magic, capable of passing it down through blood, had children.... say they had two. And their two children had two children. Etc etc. You’d have had over a thousand in the eighth generation, assuming no one had more than two at a time. And that’s not accumulative - the eighth generation alone would have over a thousand people capable of healing Starscourge, a solid 500 and some change in their parents in addition. Things weren’t dire until Noctis’ time as the one hundred and fourteenth.

They could have done it. Not without cost, no, but together, Ardyn and Aera’s family could have healed the world.

To make brief acknowledgment of the attempted Biblical themes in FFXV, I think it would be closer to the truth to say that he wasn’t meant to be Eos’ Jesus: he was meant to be Abraham, the father of a nation, the father of a race of healers whose descendant(s) would save mankind.

Ultimately the point is this: Ardyn Lucis Caelum was NOT the King of Lucis. He was never intended to be except possibly by misinformed Astrals. He WAS “King” as in the head of House Caelum, his right as firstborn. He was also “king” as a leader of people, his family first and foremost but likely a whole school of mages if things had gone on this more favorable route.

Ardyn was supposed to be a king, Aera had that right. But not of the nation of Lucis.

Unfortunately, no one told Somnus that, so we’re unlikely to ever see it play out.

....I might have to write this.

Final Fantasy XV - art history meta

a symbol of romanticism: sylleblossom - the blue flower:

final fantasy xv's sylleblossom has a very special design and meaning. Let's talk about what it stands for and how it can be connected to art history.

More below the cut.

Luna and sylleblossoms

In general, blue sylleblossoms can be seen as a symbol for Luna in ffxv. They grow in Tenebrae and are its national flower, she has a garden full of them. Blue sylleblossoms are her favorite flowers. She gifts Noctis a pressed flower in their notebook and it is a strong visual symbol in her death scene. According to the final fantasy wiki: "Different color variants symbolize different things, but the blue version represents "a heart that does not give up" and "sincerity"." But there might be even more to it.

The blue flower and romanticism

The blue flower is considered an important symbol in art history, and especially of romanticism, an art movement of the 19th Century. It represents the romantic longing for the unattainable and unreachable, the infinite and the unconditional, it is also often interpreted as a connection between man and nature. In addition, the Blue Flower developed into a symbol of wandering, which is also characteristic of the Romantic era (and a main theme in ffxv too :) - the word wanderlust got its meaning in the Romantic Period btw). This motif can be traced back to an old German legend that says that one could find the blue miracle flower at night and would be richly rewarded. Consequently, this miracle flower represents a cause that is difficult to achieve, but longed for by many.

Here's a cornflower as an example. I painted a sylleblossom recently and noticed the similar petal shape and color.

The legend

The symbol goes back to a legend and the poet Novalis. The blue flower embodies the longing for an unattainable thing. In the story, a young man dreams about a blue flower that calls to him and he longs to find it. When he finally sees it, he sees a tender face in the flower. This - as is shown in the course of the story - is that of his later fiancé. In addition, the text teems with symbols typical of romanticism. In romantic works, threshold motifs are often used, i.e. motifs that mark a boundary between reality and the dreamlike, such as twilight, moonlight, or the view into the distance, which is usually carried by an enormous longing of the protagonist.

Noctis and Luna

When we look at Noctis and Luna's relationship, we can find a lot of these motifs. The longing, the wandering and looking into the distance. Luna seems always out of reach but they long to be together. We see Noctis looking at the moon in old previews and when Luna says farewell she tells him to "look to the distance, know that I am there". Even their names represent typical romantic symbols (night and moon).

Night and moon are also typical subjects in romanticism. I really like the similarities here between the official artwork of the ffxv piano collection and the painting by C.D. Friedrich.

Luna's death

Here's a screenshot of the dreamlike death sequence and another painting by C.D. Friedrich, who is one of the most recognizable Romantic painters.

One more interesting thing I'd like to point out is the topic of death in romantic paintings and Luna's death scene. I think it's interesting that you can see ruins and a gate behind Luna. It looks like Tenebrae or maybe Altissia but the gate behind her stands out. In romantic artworks, ruins can stand for the past and especially gates represent the transition into the afterlife. We can find several threshold motifs in this scene. In ffxv, it might show that Luna and Noct are inbetween the world of the living and the dead in that moment. Luna then goes into the afterlife (in the direction of the gate) while Noctis is pulled back into life.

The flower turns into the ring, which shows us that her calling has been fulfilled.

I'm not sure if the references about the romantic movement in ffxv were intentional or not, but in any case it was fun to think about it :). I hope you enjoyed this short meta analysis and look into some art history :)

As promised, tagging @hamelin-born and @ertrunkenerwassergeist

So, when thinking about writing Regis, especially during the last years of his reign I try to keep one thing in mind:

Regis is, at his core, somebody who has given up.

Yeah, I know, how could I say something so controversial.

Well, let's not keep you in the dark.

Prince Regis and his support circle

(Or rather, the lack of thereof.)

We know very, very little about Regis' childhood so I have to extrapolate based on what canon info we have about Noctis.

And none of this is promising. Because it looks like for most of his childhood, his friends consisted of Clarus and Weskham. There is the one mention of knowing Aulea back then, but not much detail of how they met or how their relationship looked like. While he presumably met other noble children, there would always be that undercurrent of politics to any interactions, which isn't exactly conductive to healthy relationships. Not with the chasm between their respective social ranks.

(It exists even in his interactions with his Retinue, too, for all that they manage to forget it most of the time)

Then comes the Road Trip, with Cor dragged along and Cid who joins to keep eye on those goddamn rich city kids. Honestly, that might be the happiest time in Regis' life. He has minimal responsibilities, he's not under constant scrutiny from everyone and he has people who genuinely like him for him around himself. Life looks good, even with the war on the horizon.

And then comes Accordo and Altissia, and the failed treaty negotiations.

And then Weskham leaves.

A lot of people headcanon that Wesk stayed in Accordo to funnel information to Insomnia and act as a Lucian representative to Accordo's government. Whether that's true or not, the fact is that he was unlikely to consistently keep in touch with Regis. Not with how closely all communication channels would be monitored as the war heated up. By necessity, their friendship becomes a distant one at best.

So that's one of Regis' people gone from his life. Cid is the second one to leave him, this time entirely of his own choice.

While there are no actual specifics, the timing makes it clear that Cid was not happy with Mors pulling back the Wall and the Royal Family's policy on the refugees thereafter. Which is a polite way of saying "they left people to fend for themselves". What we don't know is how Regis reacted to it. Did he think his father had to have good reasons? Did he disagreed with him but couldn't think of anything he could do to improve things? Did he agree with Mors wholeheartedly? Either way, Cid storms out of the Citadel and Insomnia, eventually settles down in Hammerhead and, as far as we know, does not see Regis ever again.

(And there is that one hint from Cor how Cid was still angry that Regis kept secrets and refused to confide in his friends. But that's for later.)

Post-coronation and his marriage

(Or, his social circle still isn't great)

So here they are in the year 729 of Modern Era, with one friend on the other side of the world and another currently very pissed off at them, when Mors dies and leaves Regis running Lucis.

Regis is all of 23.

I don't know about you but I wouldn't leave a 23-years-old charge of a local retail shop. Nevermind the entire fucking country. Unfortunately, Regis does not have the luxury of leaving the job to somebody else, so he puts on his big boy boots and the fancy crown, and gets to work.

And there's a lot of work.

We have next to nothing about Mors and his reign, but what we do have points to a person more interested in the results than the means used to achieve them, which is never good attitude in somebody who has absolute authority over other people. It's bound to piss off people in all social strata and create some short-term "solutions" in exchange for a lot of long-term problems. I suspect Regis spent a lot of his early years as a king placating nobles and unfucking his father's various messes with Clarus and Cor's help.

Not that Cor would have been much of a help, being freshly 18 himself - ageism is very firmly alive in politics, even fictional ones - and still a reckless little shit at his heart. For Regis, Cor is firmly a little brother figure - somebody to guide and teach and protect, and to entrust important missions to once he's a little older, but not somebody Regis can rely on to support him.

(Regis never loses this mindset. Not even after Cor has been his Marshall for years. In the end, Cor is never told about the real prophecy, is sent away before the Invasion begins.)

With Clarus busy with work and Cor not suitable, Regis would have to look to somebody else for emotional support. Enter Aulea. Around this time, their relationship shifts from friends to actual courtship and then to a marriage in 732 ME. Finally, Regis has someone who isn't his subordinate and doesn't need to be kept at arms length, who is actually his equal, who he can confide in and rely on, and be happy with. His best friend's also gotten married recently and had a little boy. Life is looking great!

And then Noctis is born and Aulea dies.

(There's a lot of IRL research about how men rely almost entirely on their wives for emotional support, and how badly they cope once it's gone.)

Noctis as the Chosen One

And then we come to this cluster fuck of a prophecy.

Because Regis learns his son is going to die.

Because there's nothing he can do to change it.

Because how do you defy a god?

(You don't. Not on your own)

But there's more!

Not only is his son going to die very painfully, first the world has to be plunged into complete darkness for who knows how long. Demons will run everywhere and people will struggle to survive. In the end, Eos will be devastated and Lucis is not guaranteed to survive.

That's bound to influence his decisions, and not always consciously.

Like, we know Noctis had an unprecedented amount of freedom for a Crown Prince, going to a normal high school, having commoner friend and living outside of the Citadel. Going by his complete unfamiliarity with life outside of Insomnia (he didn't know what a gil was) and not recognising Ardyn (a high ranking member of foreign court), I would say he also didn't receive much of a training that would be expected of a prince.

(It's not like he's going to rule anything, ever)

Then there's how that knowledge would affect Regis and his policies.

Oh, I don't think he actually realised that but. Why would he try to improve anything if it's all going to be destroyed anyway? Why bother to fix the system, it's not like it's broken, it works correctly?

(It's not working correctly. It's very much broken and rotting under his feet. He just can't see that from his place at the top.)

What does it have to do with Galahdians?

Freaking everything.

Starting with Mors' shitty refugee policies that likely never were repelled in full, through the fact that Regis likely had to make a lot of concessions to nobles to secure his reign, to his negligence of and ignorance about the issues arising among the lowest classes.

After all, corrupt officials will not suddenly decide to stop on their own. They can and will only get worse, because they feel more and more untouchable with every stolen yen and every bribe taken.

And resentment builds up.

I don't have anyone to talk about this so I will ramble about something that takes too much place in my already overcrowded brain before it implodes. It's not a polished idea but i need to put it into words.

So it's a follow up on this post on entropy and Manwë and Melkor.

In it I highlight that Melkor's ultimate destruction about the end of the Great Battle doesn't fix Arda (or the universe in the larger scope regarding entropy) but in the end, is the trigger for its destruction.

It's one of my most fervent headcanon since I read the Silm all these cursed years ago. But to me the end of the Dagor Dagorath isn't a happy ending. The destruction of Evil itself (without inferring with jirt religious views, or the existence of ultimate evil, because I am no believer in both topics.) Should bring about the Healing and usher the era of Remade Arda (Unmarred only implies a reset. Which I always interpreted the D.D as not a reset. It is a deconstruction.)

So, Melkor (or Morgoth - the Evil Dark Lord, Nihilism personified) is finally defeated. Except. Except it breaks the World (as in the entire system housing the Dwelling).

And not because the Battle (in whatever form it will take) creates physical damages to Arda, to the point its fully ruined beyond the skills of the Valar to repair, but because Melkor is part of the equation of Existence.

Light and darkness, life and death, creation and destruction. One can not exist without the other. You kill one, you break the equilibrium. The Breaking of the World is triggered by Melkor's destruction.

What is happening beyond this is something we can use our minds to picture. A new Song? As in a new big bang for Eä ? Why not. The tale is about Arda (as the system) but the Aratar came beyond it and as Melkor is also part of them (despite their most valiant tentative to deny it.) The damage of his destruction must create ripples that go beyond Arda's scope, not unlike gravitational waves traveling through the cosmos. (considering I liken Melkor to a black hole, i like this allegory as well)

But also :) not to dive into the Information Principle because I will refrain from boring most of you, but nothing is supposed to be destroyed and lost forever. Unless you want to take a huge swing at the most cherished law of physics (but you and I are going to have A Talk then.)

The finite destruction of Melkor is unnatural. It goes against the most fundamental law of the universe Eru is said to have created.

And maybe Melkor's role in all of this was to be the trigger for a new era, a better one. He's a tragedy in itself, if so. Heck, he is the most tragic character in this. But in a way he also is the most important of Eru's creation, his most important child, the one that will end up being the cornerstone for the realisation of Eru's vision.

That ended up being a disjointed rant but my point is that I have a lot of feeling about the Dagor Dagorath and the roles of all its participants and the role of Melkor in the larger picture. *makes vague gestures*

ardyn exists to make verstael's life a living hell, he hates that man on so many levels and there's so much to unpack with how ardyn came to realize that verstael gaslit him into so many things? and ok it's too late for ardyn to go back and UNDO the damage done on that front, but my GOD is he angry about it.

just like bahamut, verstael backed ardyn into a corner and left him with little options. ardyn only knew of the world what verstael showed him for the LONGEST TIME. he was likely given SPECIFIC people to daemonify and take memories from, which inevitably would start a process of corrupting him beyond him being MAD at somnus, and by the time he goes to destroy things on founder's day, he's already at a breaking point where instead of saying "fuck you bahamut, i'll do my FIRST CALLING" he says "fuck you bahamut, i'm going to KILL EVERYONE"

that in itself loops into ardyn trying desperately to resist his fate and still walking right into it, so yeah bahamut did that but verstael got him to that horrible mentality to fall for bahamut's bullshit in the first place and ardyn will never forget that. ever.

relistening to Genesis Girl Gretel and it's taking everything in me rn to not start actually writing something for my ffxv/evillious au like, rlly trying here to at least commit to and finish this one bit of my jaune timeloop fic

Final Fantasy XVI

I have just finished the game, that I started in July after I finally managed to get a PS5 (yes, I'm slow).

Random comments below the cut

The Good

Yes, favourite character is Dion, obviously, but I was surprised by the tiny margin he has for me over...Clive. That I like Clive more than Joshua was also a surprise.

Dion is just...the best?? He is so awesome?? I fail to understand how Squeenix produced such awesomeness?? He's just so magnificent?? Clive may be the protagonist, but Dion is the one who's coded as the (tragic) hero of this game. And yes, he died, but Clive dies too, I don't think it's fridging the gays in his and Terence's case (yes, I am aware that Terence is technically not listed as dead after Twinside got absorbed into Origin, but what exactly do you think is the cause of Dion's desperation when learning from Clive what happened to the city he recently sent his lover to?????); also, the other two gays survived, so that's something at least. Dion is just an unbelievable character with a fantastic arc, I was waiting for Squeenix to stumble with him, and was so pleasantly surprised when it didn't happen. I would have liked to see more of his relationship with Terence, and more of Terence in general, because I do have some issues with the power imbalance in their relationship. They're adorable together, but Dion also has a lot of chemistry with Joshua, who he recognizes as his equal. Apparently in the Japanese version Terence is listed as The Love of Dion's Life (TM), but...I mean, I don't think I'm imagining there was something there, on Joshua's part, at least.

Clive is just...a solid mass of good? He's relentless without being cruel, caring without being overprotective. That he manages to learn to trust people again despite the entire shitshow of his life after Phoenix Gate and before Cid, is saying everything about him. Also, he's just...a gentle person, with very few hangups, and those mostly get resolved. I think that he didn't set out for Origin with the intention to die there like Dion did, he truly meant to come back if possible. He wasn't sure that he could, but he would have if he could have. That's why it's such a sad blow for him when he realizes his body is going to give up on him after all. Yet he doesn't hesitate, because that's not who he is. I do think he's dead, though; I actually don't understand how people can claim otherwise after that ending. Yes, we don't see his whole body turned to stone, and something could have happened to revive him after Jill realizes he died. But. He was meant to write that book, Harpocrates wanted him to; since it ends up being Joshua who writes it, instead, I don't think he made it. Besides, the only person who could have revived him was perhaps Joshua himself, if Clive handed him back some magic besides healing his body, and we know that Joshua can heal flesh, but not that he can turn people back from being stone. I don't think it's possible for Clive's death to be retconned in a DLC in a logical way either.

(Sidenote: I love Noctis more than Clive, but I do believe Clive is the better protagonist, and arguably the better person. The two timeskips work in Clive's favour, because he was given the time to grow as a person. Noctis spends his single timeskip alone, and had no such luxury. Although they both sacrifice themselves for the good of the world, Clive got to live the life that Cid gave him, while Noctis totally lost those ten years --"grant [...] one more day inside this life" indeed.)

Joshua is lovely too, but we never see him struggle and resolve his personal issues like we do for Clive and Dion, we always witness him having resolved them already, and that makes it more difficult for me to relate to him. I just adore how much he and Clive love each other, though, it's so nice to see other types of love being validated so much in any media form. Joshua would have totally been the playboy character had this been a different game genre. I do believe he loves Jote; but he 1000% has something going on for Dion, too. Clive knows Joshua feels something important for Dion, he wouldn't have made his condolences to Joshua upon Dion's death otherwise. Also, Joshua is even more well adjusted than his brother, possibly because he at least was actually loved by their mother.

I didn't believe I could love another Cid as much as Raines, but okay, this one got me. ^_____^ And if the whole Benedikta stuff had been handled better, I actually think I'd have loved him more than Raines, but as it is, they're on equal footing. He's just such a fun character that his depth is totally unexpected. What a role model.

Uncle Byron is love!!!!!!!! The game improves SO MUCH after he's introduced. He's just a ray of sunshine.

Three over four of the most badass NPCs are women, and one of them is a madam in a brothel. It's so nice to see female characters with real agency, and they are so different from each other too! Martha with her pan was so iconic?? And Isabelle was so much better as a diplomat (and as a person in general) than stupid Quinten. And Eloise was smart and tragic, I hated that she got the short end of the stick.

Most of the scenery is so fucking gorgeous

The Bad

All the most powerful dominants belong to men, and female main characters are generally sidelined. Shiva is technically the first boss, but not really. Jill just gives her up to Clive because she loves him. Jill had the potential to be an iconic character like Yuna, and instead she got deliberately benched (read the interviews). Did they think that she would eclipse Clive or something if they gave her more screen time and developed her more than her extra short arc? That's like, not having faith in Clive as a character. I mean, we got more quests for Mid than for Jill, there's clearly something wrong there. Why do we never find out what happens to Lady Marleigh? Don't tell me Jill just left her in the Ironblood's hands without even a second thought! Benedikta is the first real boss for a reason, Garuda is a joke. Benedikta is probably the worst-handled character in the entire game, while she could have been a solid villain like Anabella.

It irritates me so fucking match that elemental magic has no place in this game!!!! If there's a Bomb and I'm freezing it, you need to have me make more damage, FFS!!!!

Why is called "party" when I can't control party members?? Playing as Jill or Cid would have rocked. At least we got to play as Joshua a couple of times, but it really sucks that XVI followed in FFXV's footsteps on this matter.

(this is just a pet peeve of mine) Why is Leviathan "lost"????? Lost where????? I want my favourite element!!!!

The Ugly

I'm very glad the whole "Final Fantasy's answer to Games of Thrones" thing was mostly exaggerated, but I really could not stomach the sexual violence in this game. I couldn't stand it in FFXIV either, and seeing it make a comeback here soured me a lot. It was bad already with Benedikta, but... I'm sorry, but seriously. Child rapists in Final Fantasy is a huge squick for me, it's the one reason why I'll never love this game as much as some other ones. Yes, it's more explicit in the Japanese version, but what exactly do people think Jill meant when she told Clive what she expected would have happened to her if she hadn't awakened as a Dominant???? Jill was 13 at the time she was taken by the Ironblood. And the child they use as leverage against her was much younger. What do you think she would consider so abhorrent as to murderously literally skewer Imreann over it??? These horrifying things happen all the time in the real world, I don't need them to happen in the videogames I play as well.

controversial opinion time

as i play through the game yet again, i doubt the "love story" between Noctis and Luna even more (and i know it was rushed and thrown together due to the complications of the game's release, so for the sake of these observations i'm leaving FFXV's meta out of it and focusing solely on the in-game lore).

Lunafreya has been a prisoner of Niflheim for most of her life. even if she had not been kept in captivity, she is still a public figure due to her role as the Oracle, and has never gotten to live a normal life or experience regular human relationships (unlike Noctis, who did get to experience these things growing up in Insomnia, however limited).

the memories Luna has of Noctis are so old. they're from when they were kids, and Noctis is four years younger than her. i feel like those memories (and the remaining correspondence with Noctis via the notebook) are important to Luna because that's all she has.

when your life is shit, and your future is shit, and you're constantly surrounded by people who treat you like shit, of course your mind is going to want to keep going back so it can cling to one of the few healthy connections you had.

but, i don't see how any of this would lead to "true love", like the story wants us to believe.

Umbra's messages aside, Noctis and Luna, as adults, don't know each other. they've never actually interacted as mature people, just as young children. the views they have of each other are based on those childhood memories, and on wishful thinking. they both have a lot on their shoulders, and are both destined for fates they don't want...neither of them have any choice in the matter. the illusion of an ideal wedding that would fix everything and bring peace to the world is just that--an illusion.

i see Luna's love for Noctis as her escape from her miserable life. and i see Noctis' love for Luna as an escape from suffering like his dad. i don't think either of them is in love with the other one...they're in love with the idea of the other one. and with the possibility of a happier future, which they both already know is impossible but choose to keep believing, because it's all they can do.

i think Noctis has great chemistry with Prompto. and i think Luna had great chemistry with Nyx...both people who they met as adults (well, Noct & Prompto really started hanging out as teenagers, but i digress), and whose presence impacted them in present day, rather than through hazy memories of happier times.

i dunno, this game is eight years old now, and this issue has been picked apart a hundred times already, but it becomes more and more glaringly obvious to me each time i play. contrary to popular belief in the fandom, i don't think Luna herself is a useless or empty character (she deserved waaay more screen time and her friggin DLC though), but i do think trying to make her a love interest for Noctis rather than a guide/mentor/maternal figure/etc. was a bad move. and especially in a game where most of the focus is on brotherhood/platonic bonds, it really didn't need a love story to begin with, i don't think.

i'd even argue that Noct & Luna's relationship would've been more impactful had it been written as platonic, because at least then it would've been believable...missing a childhood friend who was removed from your life in a traumatic way and wanting to help them is already a very powerful motivation to have; turning it into a longstanding crush on someone you haven't actually seen since you were a kid, that's...pushing it. and in my opinion, it does nothing but detract from the connection.

I don't think I've read enough meta or fics that touch on the complete dissolution of faith in the Six that has to be going on in ffxv.. first the empire go after Shiva, then Titan - Ignis wasn't shy in stating that those that worship Titan do so because he's visibly in the disc, holding the meteor up. People's faith really does have to be shattered, and going into the long night... how many people believed they had been abandoned by the gods? After witnessing Leviathan's end as well, and then the actual death of the Oracle....

GET TO KNOW THE WRITER - VAL EDITION !

what  made  you  pick  up  the  current  muse(s)  you  have?   i  first  played  ffxv  back  in  the  fall  of  2017  and  fell  head  over  heels  in  love  with  the  game.  to  this  day  i  don’t  think  there’s  ever  been  a  cast  of  characters  that’s  had  such  a  lasting  impact  on  me  as  the  boys  have,  and  at  this  point  ever  will.  i  actually  first  started  off  writing  prompto,  sometime  in  early  2018  and  shortly  thereafter  kind  of  fizzled  out  of  that  because  i  was  new  and  super  shy  and  didn’t  really  know  anyone  in  the  community.  i  was  around  18/19  then  and  actually  took  a  break  from  tumblr  for  a  little  while,  but  always  kept  in  touch  with  the  xv  community  on  twitter/instagram  so  the  love  i  had  never  went  away.  fast  forward  to  2020  and  after  replaying  the  game  i  decided  to  pick  up  noctis  who  at  that  point  had  been  my  end  all  comfort  character  for  a  few  years.  he very quickly became my little pincushion and then unintentionally a processing tool i used to process a lot of issues in my own life. i notice  a  lot  of  nuance  in  my  old  notes  and  ramblings  that  100%  reflect  my  struggles  at that  time and its like huh! wow! didnt know it did that. regardless, noctis is the muse i hold most dearly to my heart and someone i will love for the rest of my life. < he 3

is  there  anything  you  don’t  like  to  write?  ive  seen  it  all  brother.  i  can  be  convinced  with  one  skimmed  over  ao3  tag  and  then  some.  regardless,  i  don’t  have  any  hard  no’s  that  aren’t  the  incredibly  obvious,  and  i  think  rp  is  a  great  way  to  develop  and  analyze  your  likes  and  dislikes  in  a  safe  environment.  it’s  okay  to  be  into  something  in  one  thread  and  then  change  your  mind  later,  that’s  something  i  had  to  learn  the  long  way  but  i'm  better  off  for  it!

is  there  anything  you  really  enjoy  writing?  i  really  love  angst.  not  sure  what  happened  developmentally  to  get  here  but  we’re  here.  i  think  that  shows  a  lot  in  my  preferred  range  of  media  i  write  in  (or  just  consume  casually,)  there’s  just  a  certain….  je  ne  sai  quoi  🤌  in  writing  your  character  going  through  the  absolute  extremes  of  the  human  experience.  besides  that,  i  really  go  crazy  with  character  analysis/general  meta.  i  love  to  deep  dive  into  mundane  (or  otherwise)  aspects  of  a  character  and  build  up  traits  to  fully  flesh  out  a  muse. 

do  you  write  in  silence  or  do  you  play  music?  i  need  complete  silence  or  i  will  literally  never  finish  a  sentence.  i  am  way  too  scatterbrained  to  focus  on  two  things  at  once  and  need  to  lock  the  fuck  in  when  i’m  writing  a  reply. 

do  you  plan  your  replies  or  wing  them?  who  do  i  look  like  shakespeare.  i’ve  never  planned  out  a  thing  in  my  life  im  consistently  operating  strictly  off  vibes. 

do  you  enjoy  shipping?  im  a  dirty  little  shipping  whore. shipping is god's gift to the planet what else would i do if not daydream about my two little guys passionately kissing in a field of wheat.

what’s  your  alias/name?  val  :3  my  psn  tag  is  a  variant  of  valkyrie,  and  after  i  was  tired  of  my  old  alias  i  looked  there  for  inspiration.  say  thank  you  god  of  war  (2018)  for  shooting  me  into  another  norse  mythology  frenzy,  feels  just  like  middle  school. 

age  &  birthday?  my  golden  birthday  is  this  july  (25th)!!!  ((mild  existential  dread))

favorite  color?   green,  brown,  black  and  purple❗️

favorite  song?  recently  rediscovered  since  u  been  gone  by  kelly  clarkson.  having  daily  religious  experiences  for  it. 

last  movie  you  watched?  lord  i  have  no  idea.  i  don’t  watch  too  many  movies  and  the  last  one  i  can  place  is  catching  the  second  half  of  47  meters  down  when  i  was  having  dinner  with  my  dad  a  few  weeks  ago.  yay  sharks.  and  mandy  moore!!!!

last  show  you  watched?  i  love  a  good  netflix  documentary  and  i  just  finished  one  called  the  program:  cons,  cults  and  kidnapping,  which  was  about  exposing  the  troubled  teen  industry.  it’s  a  super  interesting  watch  but  deals  with  quite  a  few  heavy  topics  so  if  you’re  interested  please  heed  caution!   i  also  just  started  american  nightmare,  but  im  only  about  30-ish  minutes  into  the  first  episode….  gotta  lock  in. 

last  song  you  listened  to?  according  to  spotify  it  was  safari  song  by  greta  van  fleet  but  according  to  the  fortnite  festival  session  i  just  had  it  was  carry  on  my  wayward  son  by  kansas.  literal  war  flashbacks. 

favourite  food?   dude  there’s  this  fucking  sandwich  place  by  my  house  and  they  literally  make  the  best  chicken  sandwich  i’ve  ever  had.  imagine  grilled  chicken  on  a  brioche  bun  w  cheddar,  bacon,  a  corn  salsa  and  slathered  in  chili  aioli.  walk  with  me.  it  sounds  wack  but  it’s  SO  GOOD.  i  dream  about  her…

favorite  season?  i  love  winter  i  love  being  cold  and  tucked  into  my  electric  blanket  listening  to  the  rain  outside.  all  of  you  summertime  elitists  need  to  get  off  my  lawn. 

do  you  have  a  tumblr  best  friend?   i  have  my  gaggle  of  tumblr  friends  turned  irl  friends  in  my  pockets  at  all  time  and  i  wouldn’t  trade  any  of  them  for  the  world.  i  met  one  of  my  oldest  friends  in  ye  olde  supernatural  rp  back  in  2013?  and  over  ten  years  later  WE’RE  STILL  FUCKING  HERE.  so  many  of  the  most  important  people  in  my  life  i’ve  met  through  tumblr and the amount of shit we've seen through the rpc's we've been in has bonded us all for eternity lmfao.

tagged by: @13nth thank u tea my love :* tagging: my homies @sherez @tactition @liegacy + anyone who's interested :3

Undead Lyn AU + FEH Unit Concept

Sometime after leaving Caelin to the care of Marques Hector, Lady Lyndis would venture to find her friend that she had found on the wayside once upon a time. She would travel across Elibe, but no matter where she looked, her friend was nowhere in sight and no one seemed to know what became of them. Regardless, Lyn continued her search, leaving behind Elibe and would search across several worlds. At an unknown point, death would claim her after succumbing to the fatal wounds she sustained from an ambush. But she wouldn't rest. No matter what, she wanted to see her friend again, no... She had to see them again... The Sacaen's mutilated and defiled corpse stirred, materializing ghostly limbs where her arms had originally been cut off, a new blade materializes to the opposite side of the Mani Katti and Sol Katti she's kept on her for so long, and so, her journey resumed once more. But eventually, she would forget why she strayed so far from her homeland, her world, and would be reduced to a phantom husk, haunting areas that reminded her of the plains, killing anyone unfortunate enough to run into her. People would call her “The Wind Scarred Wraith”, wielding a blade that harvested the souls of all she slayed, and though her eyes remained shut, some could feel a faint sense of sadness from her, as if she's still desperately trying to remember what she had forgotten, what was missing from her now hollow "afterlife"... ============================================================ Lyn Wind Scarred Wraith A Sacaen noblewoman that wandered the Outrealms searching for her long lost friend. She never gave up in her search, but eventually she forgot why she was wandering in the first place. Appears in Fire Emblem: Awakening. Sword - Infantry Weapon - Reaping Katti [Mt. 16, Rng 1] Accelerates Special Cooldown (-1). If unit's HP ≥ 25%, grants +7 Atk/Spd during combat and also, when unit deals damage to foe during combat, restores 7 HP to unit. Special - Harvesting Winds [Cooldown 3] Boosts damage by 30% of unit's Spd and heals by 40% damage dealt. Passives A - Distant Solo A/S B - Persistent Hunter Inflicts Spd/Def-4 on foe during combat. If a skill compares unit's Spd to a foe's or ally's Spd, treats unit's Spd as if granted +7. If unit's Spd > foe's Spd, reduces damage from attacks during combat and from area-of-effect Specials by percentage = difference between stats x 5 (max 50%). Neutralizes effects that prevent unit's follow-ups and guarantees foe's follow-ups. C - Fatal Blow After combat, inflicts【Deep Wounds】and deals 7 damage to foe and foes within 2 spaces of target after combat. ============================================================= This was an old concept I shared with friends a year or so back that I came back to revitalize. Amusingly even with the state of FEH’s meta, I’m still holdin’ myself back when it comes to how much shit I put in my unit concepts lol The AU itself was made from a dream I had where I was in some unknown world, didn’t seem to be Elibe, and out in the fields was Lyn who would start chasin’ after me anytime I got near her, but would never pursue beyond the plains and forest area. Like FFXV’s Gilgamesh, she was missin’ both arms, but was able to materialize ghostly ones to handle her weapons. I distinctly recalled that her eyes were actually missin’ but the eyelids were shut too, and she never seemed to utter a single word. It was pretty unnervin’ to say the least tho, I dunno what happened for her to wound up in that state, but I couldn’t help but feel as sad as I was scared... Anyway, that’s all, I hope you enjoyed this. I had wrote up dialogue for her, but maybe she’s better off silent to add to the fear factor... Also, she would count as both a FE7 and FE13 unit since she also wears her Swordmaster outfit from her DLC Einherjar self in Awakening!

👽👨‍👨‍👧‍👧🗝🥂

It is Munday, my dudes || @vitrumbra

👽 AUs

Dude are you KIDDING??? I love AUs so much that back before I shortened my alias to not be an embarrassing Google Translate mishap, a running joke with my friends was (in the voice of "randy your sticks") NEGAU YOUR AU!!!!!

I'm a sucker for them. I love them. ESPECIALLY ones that stick guys from one fandom in the universe of another. My Madoka AU for the Evangelion kids is my precious baby brain child that I will cherish for the rest of forever and hopefully one day actually finish a fic or doujin or SOMETHING of. Bonus points if I can take the lore and fucking run with it like we're doing with the FFXV guys in Pokémon :^)

👨‍👨‍👧‍👧 fankids

Again: are you kidding? Not to put an RP partner on blast here, but @novuscaelum is a joy for me to interact with and bounce off of. Fankids are great! Just...with the caveat that it's mostly (not entirely but mostly) on the fankid to make sure that they're not forcing the parent to compromise too much on their portrayal. A little give and take on both ends makes for a happy RPing, but chances are if you're the fankid, you came up with your OC based on some preconceived notions you have about the canon parent(s) which you may not share with the person you're writing with. TL;DR: Communication is key!

🗝 selectiveness in the RPC

I think there's a tendency to equate selectiveness with elitism, which. It's just Not. People have boundaries, and it's important to make your own clear and respect those of others. I've been the person who didn't get followed back or got softblocked before, and it sucks!! I know it does!! But nobody on this website owes you RP interactions, and for every one person that passes on you, there will be five others that are more than willing to write with you.

🥂 my favorite part of the canon

I'll go with KH since that's one of my main things right now and you didn't specify LOL /nm

It's hard to pick one favorite thing no matter how I interpret this question. I could go with meta-wise what's my favorite thing about KH as a series, or in-universe what's my favorite plot beat, lore, etc. I'll go with the latter interpretation for the purposes of this meme, and for KH...one of my favorite things is how very not chosen one Sora is. The story goes out of its way to say that Sora is an ordinary kid who likes taking naps on the beach and is content with his life on the islands, if anything mostly going along with Riku's hunger to see what else is out there. For fuck's sake, the Kingdom Key was meant to be RIKU'S at first, and it chose his heart instead in the wake of what happened to the Islands. "I know that the Keyblade didn't choose me, and I don't care. I'm proud to be a small part of something bigger — the people it did choose."

The fact that he's just a kid who, through sheer force of will and desire to protect what matters to him, strong armed his way into being the hero is way more powerful than the Chosen One trope will ever be, in my humble opinion. It's why I'm so scared of the murmurs of theories that Sora will have some grand ties to some UX / ML era characters or be reincarnated or some shit, that would be such a massive shit on everything that the previous games set up and I hope to GOD it doesn't end up happening.

... if Eos' days and nights are exactly the same length through the entire year (to the point that shorter days are a sign of oncoming apocalypse), it would mean that its planetary axis is not tilted like Earth's.

except the axis tilt and the resulting changes in the amount of sunlight that hits the various points of Earth's surface are the main reason behind the seasons.

which means Eos Doesn't. Have. Seasons.

... this is gonna affect worldbuilding So Much.

On the technicals. I am really enjoying the parts of this game that feel like ffxv again - going around in the open world picking up sage on the roadside and filling a dozen mindless tasks to get to know the world better. I am also enjoying on a meta level the fact that these missions kind of fail to make thematic sense - something something we have replaced stupid grinding with another kind of stupid grinding that tries to be entertaining rather than making itself optional.

I am enjoying particularly that they gave everyone an actual presence in the world and, instead of just adding hitbox conflict, gave also a little diegetic explanation for why you can't go into the tiny crevices and climb ladders at the same time as your teammates - you're staying behind to keep them safe!! What a good soldier you are!!! I love that the teammates who don't fight with you are still walking with you, just a little further away.

And I also love a certain clunkiness to the movements that goes with it, characters sliding into place when they have to fall in line. or moving in erratic manners when they try not to hit each other. It all breaks immersion again but in a different way, a way that still allows me to retain the impression of characters as whole objects rather than image projections. Still missing the luminous engine and annoyed when interior/exterior transitions completely blind me, but, I'll live it down eventually.

I haven't touched ffxvi at all, so I don't know, but it's interesting that rebirth feels so much like a game that came out in 2016 on a different engine, quirks of the technology included. Idk, something about a remake of a 1997 game already feeling "dated". I'm having fun

a scattered meta analysis with this meme remade for a single purpose, because this is the energy of the pepe silva meme in verbal form

ok so this came to me not even in a dream although i could say it came to me in a dream, but it's just my constant galaxy brain activating and making things make sense in my lore, i'm doing the lords work when miyazaki started and didnt finish.

per my Fun Laputian Facts: the purebloods are made of the earth. they can mimic humans in shape but they're nothing like humans on the inside, they are an entirely different species. they were made by greater gods from the heart of the planet and saw themselves as the guardians of the planet and thus believed they had the authority to just deliver divine punishment upon things. they turn back into mud when they die. they have almost no weaknesses except for the thing that bassboosts their power, and the condition of the planet as a whole. they have a weird hivemind while also maintaining individuality. they can fly by weird magic. they put their souls in crystals outside their bodies. they can cast super megadeath magic ray. muska may or may not have built most of the robots, some for gardening and some for firing super megadeath magic ray. the robots have an organic nervous system (thats canon like my god its sorta fridge horror when they die and fall apart)

facts about the god warriors that are literally canon in the nausicaa manga: they are also bipedal and sorta human in shape but also definitely not and are an entirely different species. they were made by other beings as gods and saw themselves as arbitrators and judges of the earth. they turn into mud when they die. they have like no weaknesses except their own power which rots their bodies. they have a weird hivemind but also maintain the ability to manifest individual personalities. they can fly by weird magic (warping reality). there's a control stone involved. they can cast super megadeath magic ray. it's super fridge horror when they die and fall apart

now, 99% of those things are just common things shared between the two species. the problem then is "but knight the laputian purebloods except muska died out 700 years ago when the world got fucked by being ravaged by constant wars bc the crusades sucked ass" yes that is very true, but also the laputians put their souls in magic rocks and their physical bodies returned to the earth.

looping back to "laputians are gods made by other beings (other gods)" the same principle applies to the god warriors, except i guess they were made by humans to be gods, but clearly thats super fucked up and they turned out really wrong. so consider,

humans can't properly use aetherium, that's made clear in the dialogue in castle in the sky, where only the laputians had been able to fully harness the power of aetherium. so here come some humans who decide lmao gotta yeet all things and say they are able to find "control stones" (read: dormant aetherium crystals with laputian souls) and they decide to make some gods with that.

if muska, a laputian, can't revive the laputians, what makes humans think they can do it right? clearly, they ... they didn't. it's super wrong, because what they got was giant ass bioweapons that decided to cast turbodeath upon everything for 7 days straight nonstop, before they died because the godlike power rotted their bodies.

and speaking of godlike power that corrodes the body, muska wasn't born blind! he went blind because his godlike power destroyed his physical health, even tho he could fight 50 grown men and win, he's far from peak health by his species standards. he's suffered "stunted physical growth" man's 6'4 what was this species even. muska didn't die of his power because he's linked to the main crystal core as all the rulers of laputa have been (i can have a little ffxv as a treat! "king of the stone/king of kings")

now, what's even MORE fucked up and will get its own post is how the heedra could also be attempts at fucked up laputians because they also have control stones and are immortal unless you destroy their cores and their bodies also fall apart and turn into mud if you kill them hM!!!!

The picture-perfect Asgardian family 

Keep reading for headcanons and design choices! 

The Aesir: An incredibly diverse group of big cats, all with godly powers. Interestingly, males are unable to grow manes, but long-furred pelts are common in place of them. (NOTE: Kratos also does not have a mane, but this is in no relation to the Aesir; it was genetic from one of his mortal ancestors). They all have saber teeth, a symbol of old power and generally a status symbol when in the presence of other Aesir or mortals. 

Thor: Thor is one of the only Aesir gods that has a mane due to his Giant genes, which he then passed on to his children. Size-wise, he is more like a Smilodon than a lion with his impressive height and strength. His hammer is more of a meta-physical thing; he can summon it, swing it, and then have it disappear until he needs it again (think of the armiger in FFXV). Thor hardly resembles Odin in any way; his red/brown pelt comes from his mother. 

Sif: The mate of Thor and Odin’s diplomat. Sif has long fur around her neck, but it is not to be mistaken for a mane; she simply has long fur (we see her hair is long in-game, and I wanted to reflect that). 

Thrud: Thanks to her father’s genes, she grew a partial mane (Giants have incredibly strong mane genes, as we will see with Faye, Angrboda, and Gryla. Atreus, only being part Giant, still has a way to go with his mane). She is smaller than her brothers, but much faster. 

Modi: Like his model, Modi gets most of his characteristics from Thor, but has colorations like Sif. Now, the elephant in the room: how does Atreus kill Modi if he’s got that Giant’s grade-A mane in the way? That would be thanks to his knife. Atreus has a small sheath he carries around his neck during the events of the first game, and it is positioned in such a way he can grab it with his paws (no bows and arrows in this AU though!). Manes are good protection, but unfortunately for Modi, it was not enough.

Magni: He takes after his mother with his pelt colors, but has patterns seen on his father.