FFXV chocobros are filling my brain again
(  ̄▽ ̄)
Have them in a silly little car as Calico Critters
I just love him 😩🖤
That's one handsome man right there 😍
this is why i confiscate your glasses, mister
So reading the regis / nox/ noctis headcannons, snippets, and lil noct notices how nox shies away from ignis and gladious and im wondering when does that stop? Does it stop? It would have to, after prom gets brought in wouldnt it? Like nox starts being in their company a lil longer and a lil longer over and over. Also what are iggy and gladdys reaction to lost prince nox and how he seems to avoid them?
It eventually stops, yes, well after Prompto comes into the picture, though some days (usually in the aftermath of a really bad Quiet Day) Nox still sometimes leaves the room abruptly when they’re around. None of them know why, though they all have theories. Prompto is, perhaps not surprisingly, the closest to guessing, but that’s because of them all Nox has slipped up around Prompto the most when he “first” met him and because Prompto is an artist, and artists tend to Notice Details. Prompto has never forgotten how the kindly prince called him Prom when he shouldn’t have known his name and how he bought a kid a stupid-expensive camera without hesitation. He has ALSO noticed Nox’s earrings, and unlike Gladio and Ignis who think they’re just Nox’s personal preference, Prompto thinks that they are MEANINGFUL in their seeming randomness. Prompto thinks that all four of them remind Nox of himself and three very close friends. That Nox lost those friends well before he was discovered by Regis and that looking at them interacting with Noctis sometimes reminds him too much of the people he’s loved and lost. He never shares this theory with the others or Nox, so he never knows just how right he is.
But on Iggy and Gladio:
-Ignis is … Concerned™. He may be a prodigy child, but he’s still a child andall his intelligence really does is make his imagination more vivid in this instance. He spends the first several months being on Constant Vigilance around Nox in case the teen tries something. In case he wants Noctis’s status as Crown Prince for himself. He doesn’t like how skittish Nox is, or how Nox tends to go quiet when ignis is in the room, or how Nox sometimes just- leaves without so much as a by your leave. He doesn’t like it At All™ and it takes Noctis throwing a tantrum about Ignis “scaring his brother away when he’s just hurt and sad” to make Ignis stop bristling like a cat whenever he’s around.
-AFTER Ignis takes a few chill pills and really starts to look at Nox, observe him from discreet distances and listen to the servant gossip, his opinion changes. Clearly Nox Is Trauamatized™. Clearly he is overwhelmed with his new status and just needs time to adjust. Surely Ignis is imagining Nox’s agitation in his presence. Nox is probably just agitated in general and when he leaves it’s for some other reason than Ignis’s existence.
-But as time goes on, and especially as he looks back on it once he’s older, Ignis concludes that he was NOT imagining things. That Nox really did go to great lengths in the early days to avoid being in the same room as Ignis and Gladiolus and later Prompto (that Prompto was the major reason he finally made an effort to stop that, because Prompto is Sunshine Incarnate and nobody wants to make him cry). Like- Nox was learning to cope in their presence before Prompto, but it wasn’t until AFTER Prompto that Nox would actively seek them out rather than just accept their presence if they entered a room he happened to be in.
-Ignis thinks it probably has something to do with Nox’s past and the mental issues he hears the doctors mutter about, but how Ignis or Gladio set off those things he hasn’t the faintest idea.
-Ignis does, at some point, realize that Nox literally cannot say no to Ignis on 90% of topics. It’s Noctis who figures it out first and shamelessly abuses the fact to get Nox to either take care of himself or hang out with Noctis, but Ignis once Ignis realizes just why Noctis keeps asking Ignis to go ask Nox something … Ignis is curious. And Concerned™. He starts pushing his cooking on Nox and tries not to be Very Alarmed™ when Nox straight up cries (silent and slow but there) the first time Ignis makes him something. Ignis is also one of the only people who can get Nox into a Tux, though sometimes Ignis thinks that Nox gets frustrated with his own inability to say no, so Ignis makes a point not to abuse this knowledge.
-He still wonders though. And sometimes…
-Sometimes, after a day spent in Nox’s company, he sleeps, and dreams, and wakes up crying from a profound sense of loss and regret and love so deep it hurts and the sense of calloused hands holding his own.
-He can never remember what the dreams are about.
-For Gladio-.
-Dislike. Major dislike at first. Nox shows up before Noctis saves Iris from being lost, so Gladio’s opinion of non-Regis LCs is Pretty Low™ from the get-go. He’s also eleven years old and maybe a little arrogant, and he’s just old enough to know that what it means that Nox is from an affair. And that Nox is part Nif because his Uncle is Nif.
-So yes. Bristly bby Gladio who huffs and puffs and is about as threatening as a wet puppy. Nox still avoids him A Lot, Gladio just thinks its because he’s scared of Gladio. Or a flake like Noctis. Or just a wimp in general. Or something.
-Then one day Gladio sneaks into the training arena to watch his dad and Cor train and sees Cor spontaneously challenge Nox to a spar. Nox not only keeps up with the famed Immortal, he BEATS HIM and suddenly Gladio is rethinking all his previous opinions about Nox. Unfortunately, now that he wants to hang around Nox (this prince is way cooler than the one Gladio is stuck with no fair) he discovers that Nox AVOIDS HIM LIKE THE PLAGUE and this is now a problem.
-Gladio being Gladio, he aggressively starts trying to follow Nox from room to room and ends up Really Stressing Nox Out until Axis steps in and threatens to yeet Gladio into the royal pool if he doesn’t Knock It Off and Leave His King Alone. Gladio sneers and demands to know who died and made Axis Shield. Axis’s eye twitches and two seconds later Gladio is both very wet and very miffed and Nox is nowhere in sight.
-Clarus ends up being the one to convince Gladio to stop chasing Nox around the Citadel, but is unable to answer why Nox avoids him so.
-Stuff happens and Gladio eventually gets along with his own prince, and Bonding Via Trauma happens when Cor starts happily throwing Noctis, Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto to the wolves a delighted Nox who forgets all his hesitations the moment Cor says he’s can fight them however he wants. Gladio never does figure out why Nox avoided him in the beginning, or why sometimes even years later he’ll quietly just- get up and leave the room, but that’s okay. That’s just one of Nox’s Quirks and if the dude needs some quiet time sometimes then fine. Whatever. Just as long as Nox shows him how to pull at off that cool broadsword move he used to kick Gladio’s butt in the last spar.
-And sometimes, after a hard day of training with Nox, he sleeps and dreams and wakes up with tears in his eyes and his forehead and chest stinging with scars that aren’t there and a name on his lips he can’t remember. Sometimes he wakes up in time to see the dawn and the sight of the rising sun makes him sob for reasons he can’t remember.
I've been wanting to ask you about Regis's reaction to the Ardyn is an LC reveal (and the Kingsglaive and Titus's) but I know that's something you'll probs want to keep under wraps, because SPOILERS, so instead can I ask how is it that Titus, Cor and Ardyn end up getting along? Like does Ardyn mention doing something Stupid™ that catches Cor's attention and suddenly Titus finds himself looking over the edge of a cliff debating his life choices as the other two egg each other on?
Those are under spoilers yes. So ON TO TITUS, COR, ARDYN FRIENDSHIP.
-Titus is mostly along for the ride in this friendship. Because one is his commander and the other is his King/Glauca’s boss and yet somehow he is the One Braincell™ of the group.
-Cor and Ardyn start to get along for reasons lost on literally everyone else.
-It’s their LC inflicted trauma, if you’re wondering. Cor knows what it’s like to be driven too far by a king and since he assumes that Mors was Ardyn’s tormentor as well-. He sympathizes once he becomes certain Ardyn isn’t going to hurt or be a threat to Regis and Noctis.
-Ardyn accepts his company with vague bafflement at first, since he’s Not Used to Sympathy. But then he figures out why Cor is awkwardly trying to Do the Friend Thing and- well- it’s not really the same. But he appreciates the thought.
-They REALLY start to click after something happens and Ardyn realizes that Cor, for all his serious scowling, is secretly an adrenaline junkie and Fully Down for Chaos of Any Kind (as long as it doesn’t threaten Regis or Noctis or Nox). Ardyn, who is the Ultimate Chaotic Good/Chaotic Neutral figure in this verse, is more than happy to lure Cor into things that give them both an adrenaline high.
-Cor figures out what Ardyn is doing the third time it happens and the tiny part of him that is still the teenager that went to Throw Hands with Gilgamesh is- so very pleased? Like- YES. Someone who understands his need for adrenaline to feel alive. Someone who not only goes along with it but comes up with cool new ideas. Yes this is good.
-Titus Hates Them Both™ (not really). But seriously- YOU TWO ARE ADULTS AND HIGH-RANKING OFFICIALS. STOP DOING STUPID STUFF LIKE THIS. ARDYN AND COR //NO//. Ardyn and Cor as they Do The Thing: Titus, YES.
-Regis honestly finds this very funny. Is mildly alarmed at Cor’s new choice of bestie, but- as long as no bones are broken? I mean- this is probably the first time in years Cor has taken time off willingly when he isn’t hospitalized. Regis is gonna look on the positive side and let Titus and Clarus deal with all the fallout.
-Cor and Ardyn also bond over Quiet Days, surprisingly. Or not so surprisingly, considering Cor is a child soldier who saw War at 13. Sometimes they share a drink. Most of the time if Ardyn is somehow alone in his brooding and titus and Nox haven’t found him yet, Cor will slip into whatever room Ardyn’s in, settle down in the corner and start polishing his sword. No words, no pity. Just- company.
-Ardyn appreciates it a lot.
-He tries not to let it remind him of Somnus and Gilgamesh.
hamelin-born
@secret-engima
*snicker* Just - think of the shenanighans if they both came back as teenagers of the same age! Considering their obviously familial interactions, people would constantly mistake them for siblings - but, oooh. If Nox still addresses Ardyn as ‘Uncle’, that - opens the door for some truly hilarious misconceptions on the part of any onlooker…
*giggles*. Just. Imagine people thinking that Nox and Ardyn are nephew and uncle, and Nox wearily (and Ardyn gleefully) having to tell people over and over and over again that Nox’s grandfather had Ardyn in his old age - Ardyn will be sure to imply all kinds of things about said ‘grandfather’, and end up misleading so many people by telling them the truth.
…it also works out pretty well time-wise. Regis, once he gets over his heart attack(s), will be faced with the unfortunate conjecture that Mors had Ardyn at approximately the same time Regis had Nox - that is, during the Chocobro 1.0 Roadtrip.
Regis: My family is so messed up.
Cid, unsympathetically: Yer royalty, Regis. Pretty sure there’s a lot more screwed up stuff yer family’s done over the years.
Regis: Do not remind me!
Me: *wheezes softly* you’re so lucky I’m looking for some stress relief rn and thus in the mood for another Nox verse. That and this is hilarious.
-Nox still calls Ardyn Uncle. No he doesn’t care they are both physically sixteen (aging Nox up from the 13 of Main so that they’re both “born” while Mors was kicking), this is his UNCLE. He will not call him otherwise. He got used to calling him that in the void.
-Nox and Ardyn still drift in to Hammerhead, this time together, and Cid gets to witness the combined stupid of an uncle-nephew pair of Lucis Caelums who are both going through puberty at the same time.
-Cid is a Screech™ on the inside.
-Ardyn needs a new name since “the Chancellor” is now missing. He snags the name Apollo because he’s a gremlin like that
-Axis is still Nox’s Shield, and Titus is still Apollo’s, but neither realize that Apollo is Ardyn de-aged. Nope, they think that Ardyn was Apollo’s half sibling, one of three, the other being Nox’s mystery mother. It’s a soap opera level backstory, but it works because APOLLO AND NOX NEVER SAY IT. Everyone else just puts those pieces together themselves when struggling with the name “Izunia” and the pair’s insistence on them uncle-nephew.
-In this AU, gremlin child Apollo is the one to give the game away, he kinda-maybe comes across Noctis’s birthday trip to Galdin during the day, WHILE Noctis is in Galdin, remembers what is going to happen that night and is just like “Welp the marilith can’t kill him if he isn’t THERE, right?”, promptly picks Noctis up, knocks him out with a bit of magic, and wanders off using his magic in a manner very similar to his old daemon illusions.
-Nox is not a happy camper when Apollo saunters over to their campsite a few miles away from Galdin with mini-him under one arm.
-So anyway Regis and the guard proceed to wig out when they realize Noctis has somehow disappeared from the middle of his security detail and start combing the area, Apollo and Nox evacuate said area with child in tow because What is Braincell and encounter Axis on a Hunt.
-Axis: “what is that.”
-Apollo, lion kinging the unconscious prince: “A CROWN PRINCE”
-Axis: “NO”
-But Axis doesn’t want to get caught by Regis anymore than Apollo and Nox do so welp off to Hammerhead we go with a small child in being passed around like delicate but unwanted baggage.
-Noctis wakes up about halfway to Hammerhead and would freak out except Nox is wrapping him up in frightened by caring magic and Apollo is laughing his head off as Axis chases him around with a knife and it’s all very three stooges like. So Noctis giggles despite himself and then laughs out loud when the three “kidnappers” proceed to freak out and fall all over themselves to keep him happy.
-Noctis: Are you two … my brothers?”
-Nox: *bluescreens*
-Apollo: Nox is your half-brother yes, but I’m your uncle, actually.
-Noctis: *confused but pleased noises*
-So LONG story short, Cid calls Regis to inform him that his kid is in Hammerhead, Regis rushes over and because Apollo and Nox have already been discovered by Noctis, they swallow their unease and stay put where Cid ordered them while Axis sneaks off before the king can arrive.
-Regis arrives to find not one, but THREE blood relatives waiting for him, once of which is a son he didn’t know he had, the son he DID know he had, and a HALF-BROTHER who is roughly the same age as son number one.
-Regis needs a drink. And a sit-down. Clarus is just about ready to blow a gasket.
-And OH the conclusions they make (with Cid’s help because he’s known these morons for about a year now), oh the RUMORS that start once the pair are returned to the Citadel and eventually announced to the public. OH BOY.
-Apollo is honestly taking a bit too much glee in everyone’s horror at his age and Mors supposed actions. Nox is just- he’s tired. He’s so tired. Can he just go to sleep and wake up when people stop being ridiculous? No. Lovely.
-Cor is vaguely impressed. Just when he thought Regis’s life couldn’t get more complicated thanks to Mors, look what shows up seventeen years later.
-Also Cor: You know so if Ardyn is Apollo’s half-brother, and Apollo is Nox’s uncle, that means-
-Regis, nursing a drink and a mental breakdown: I KNOW COR. DON’T TELL ME COR. LEAVE IT ALONE COR.
-Titus, who has been dealing with the gremlin (read: Apollo) for a while now: I’m not sure if he inherited most of his problems from his mother or from Mors’, honestly.
-Apollo: :3
@secret-engima THESE GIVE ME NOX/LITTLE-NOX AU VIBES!! AS WELL AS CHILD KING NOCTIS AU!!
First Pic: https://www.zerochan.net/2129241
Second Pic: https://www.zerochan.net/2129242
Third Pic: https://www.zerochan.net/2090127
@blackkatmagic @rayshippouuchiha @followthestars @araceil
Gladio as the violin hamster as per my friends request