Random is random is random under the cut.
Tag: fic rec
Prompt by @miyuki4s: Episode Ignis Alt. Ending:
A politician attempts to use Ignis for political gain and get outmaneuvered by Noctis.Thank you so much for the prompt! Hope you enjoy it! ❤
Title: forging ahead
Rating: G
Word Count: 3485
Summary: It figures that the one council member to survive the
attack on Insomnia would be the one who’d attempt to frame the Grand
Chamberlain, a man who quite literally saved the world, for
embezzlement.It also figures that Noctis is a much more intimidating royal after ten years of practicing his King Voice™ in a rock.
Falcis Impedito was a cockroach. Or, he might as well
have been, given that he had the impossible survival streak of the
small, squishy insect no one wanted around. Ignis was half-convinced he
was able to survive the ten years of darkness through somehow bribing
the daemons off, as the conniving man had the brute strength of a twig.
He’d only been able to survive the attack of Insomnia by slithering
through a secret set of tunnels out of the Citadel, fleeing when
everyone else had stayed to fight against the Empire and taking no
civilian with him. If the Grand Chamberlain recalled correctly, he was
only in the council due to his noble heritage and tossing his family’s
money around like candy to the more susceptible advisors. Unfortunately,
those advisors had been unable to evade the destruction of the
Crown City, but fortunately, their easily-bought alliances were no
longer an issue.Impedito’s haughtiness and
self-serving nature were only two of the many strikes that barred Ignis
from reinstating him into the reconstructed royal council. His lack of
worldly knowledge and experience that suited the Secretary of State for
International Development, especially given his lack of leadership and
efforts during the ten years of darkness, made him generally unsuitable
for his old position. He could no longer use his inheritance to buy a
seat on the council, through Ignis or the rest of the council, who were
made up of people now used to bartering and trading instead of using
currency, and valued hard work and initiative over wealth anyway. No one
cared that he was a descendent of the prestigious Impedito family line,
either. Thus, no one was unhappy that Falcis was not reinstated into
the council, except for, of course, Falcis himself.
For a one word prompt ‘cross-stitching’ 😋 Also can I just say, I’m so glad we get you in this fandom too! Absolutely love your writing style 💛
“It’s a family sampler,” Bilbo explains, shuffling nervously on his feet as Thorin stares silently down at the gift. “Look–if you follow the branches? There’s your family, your father, your grandfather, Frerin and Dis and the boys, and here’s where mine starts, my parents–left off all eleven of my mother’s siblings, no need for all that, and here’s us, where the two sides meet.”
“It’s a tree,” Thorin says.
His voice is blank, which means … something, even if Bilbo’s not sure what yet. Bilbo’s known Thorin long enough to know that his voice, usually so lyrical and expressive, is never blank if he’s not trying to hide something.
Bilbo shifts again, his trepidation growing heavy in his stomach. He puts his hands on his hips and tries to talk over it, to convince himself that it’s no matter whether Thorin really likes it or not. Unease makes him sarcastic, though, and he winces before he’s even finished saying, “Of course it’s a tree, Thorin Oakenshield.”
Thorin runs his fingers over the stitching, feeling the imprint of the tiny crosses, rubbing at the edge of an emerald chip that’s serving as a leaf. A crease has appeared between his brows. “Your craft,” he says slowly, “with my materials.”
“Yes,” Bilbo says. He was especially proud of that feat, too: thin gold and copper wiring serve for the bark, and he’d chosen emeralds and peridots and malachites to serve as the leaves, carefully chipped and buffed into shape and attached with gold wiring through tiny holes in the each end. It had been no small trick to cross-stitch and embroider with metals and gems rather than threads and beads, but he’d hoped Thorin would like it.
He isn’t so sure, now.
“Fili taught me,” Bilbo confesses, trying to fill the silence. “And Kili helped to shape the gems. And Dis, of course, she gave me all the names.”
“Your family,” Thorin says, as if he hasn’t heard Bilbo at all, “your family with mine.”
He finally looks up, and to Bilbo’s utter surprise, his eyes are wet. “Thorin,” Bilbo says, stepping forward and then drawing himself back, waving his hands a bit helplessly, “I–I’m sorry? I thought–if we are going to be married, I thought–”
“Bilbo,” Thorin says, his voice thick, “Bilbo, come here.” He lays the careful stitching on his lap and holds out both his hands. Bilbo goes, and lets Thorin draw him in until their foreheads are touching. “You really would bind us together,” he says, and now behind the blankness in his voice Bilbo can hear awe, and wonder, and endless hope. “You would bind us together in everything.”
“Of course I would,” Bilbo says, nudging his nose against Thorin’s. “My craft and yours, my family and yours. My life and yours, Thorin. That’s sort of why I said I’d marry you. Did you doubt me?”
Thorin laughs, quiet and a bit breathless. “I have learnt better than to doubt you, ghivashel,” he says, and he kisses Bilbo with the shape of his smile still on his lips.
A ffxv/ignoct Rock Band!AU (that nobody asked for, currently without a title)
This was supposed to be a drabble, believe it or not, but it grew way beyond me. So have this for now I guess.
Noct can feel the vibrations of the bus all through his body as it cruises down the highway, the low rumbling a constant drone in his ears. Somehow it only makes him more tired, and the muggy overcast sky visible through the windows does nothing to help his mood. Driving out of Insomnia is nice in theory, but being stuck on the road for most of it really kills the enjoyment, even if it is their first tour with stops outside the city.
The four of them have been sitting on the couch that’s curved around the back wall of the tour bus for the last two hours watching the dusty plains of Leide roll by. While their morning had begun with more energetic conversation and watching some sitcom on the overhead tv, things had quickly turned quiet as their exhaustion from all their overnight gigs in the Crown City had begun to kick in.
Now they’re all simply lazing around until their next stop. At some point Noct has moved to sit sideways across Ignis’ lap with his knees tucked up and his boots discarded on the floor, and he’s switching between scratching away on his note pad and flipping his pen around between his fingers. If he could burn a hole in the paper he would be for how hard he’s glaring down at his messy writing.
“This
ship is a blight on Eora, a putrescent
carbuncle festering with buffoons, hooligans, and dunderheaded
tosspots.”Concelhaut
whirled sharply as he neared the starboard side of the hold and
continued to pace, as much as a disembodied skull could pace, anyway.“Xaurips
in the rigging, imps in the forecastle, drunkards at the cannons and
the helm! Bah!” he spat. “And always the belching, the
caterwauling, the slop of spilt drink, the vacant eyes of
open-mouthed mastication and the ever-present, unending reek of
hagfish. Disgusting, all of it! I would be doing the world a great
favor if I excised this malignancy by chewing through the hull and
sinking this abominable vessel to the bottom of the sea!”“NEMNOK
AGREE WITH TALKING SKULL, EH! NEMNOK WILL HELP DROWN NASTY
GOUNDSTINK!”Nemnok
rushed through Edér’s legs, skittered across the floorboards, and
began to aggressively scratch at the wall of the hold.“Oh,
buddy, don’t listen to him.”“Yes,
Nemnok! Do it! Together, we shall bring them all down!”Edér
sighed, then walked over to scoop up Nemnok.
For alphabet prompts how about y for ignoct (if you want to of course!)?
y – “ya’ll are acting as if you’ve never seen this before.”
“Y’all
are acting as if you haven’t seen this before.”The
advisor placed a hand on his hip as he stood outside the caravan, having just
emerged from changing."Because
we haven’t,“ Prompto said. “And no offense, dude, but that was the worst accent I’ve ever heard.”"Well,
he has to be bad at something, I guess,“ Gladio conceded with a smirk.Ignis
sighed, taking the cap Dave had lent him off his head to run fingers through
his ruffled hair. He wasn’t used to wearing hats, but then again, he also wasn’t
used to any article of clothing he was wearing now, from the hunter’s tank top
to the scarf tied around his neck. Yet, as the advisor to the Crown Prince was
high recognizable among the Niflheim Army with his usual attire of glasses,
Crownsguard fatigues, and perfectly primped hair, Ignis had to properly
disguise himself if they wanted to attain the information they needed.His
accent, unfortunately, made him even more identifiable, and so he tried in vain
to mimic Cindy Aurum’s Leidan drawl."I
don’t know what y’all are talkin’ about,” Ignis attempted the voice again,
this time a few octaves higher in pitch. “Ah’m simply speaking like yer
Miss Cindy, after all.”"How
dare you!“ Prompto cried. “Cindy has the voice of an angel! Not…
whatever daemon’s trying to crawl out of your mouth!”"Not
to encourage Prince Charming over here,“ Gladio said, "but he’s got a
point. Think you could manage just an Insomnian accent? It’s not as unusual as
your usual, at least.”Ignis
spoke normally, “I suppose you’re right. What do you think, Noct?”The
prince, who Ignis would have anticipated jumping in on the banter by now, was
silently staring at his outfit. Ignis glanced down at his clothes, hoping he
hadn’t made any embarrassing error in putting them on. Everything seemed in order."Noct?“
he tried again, a little louder.Noctis
startled out of his daze. "Oh. Uh… it looks good, Specs.”If
Ignis wasn’t already blushing at that, Gladio’s snort would have done it.
“I don’t think His Highness’s opinion is going to help with this one.”"Just
try sounding like Noct,“ Prompto suggested. "I mean, you’ve known
each other forever. You’ve gotta be an expert at copying his voice.”Noct
seemed a tad sheepish, so Ignis tried to rein the mockery in to the lightest of
teasing. “Man, it’s hot!” Prompto was right: he did a fair job of recreating
Noct’s voice. “Let’s go fishing! I could use a nap.”Prompto
cackled. “Ha ha! He’s totally got you down, Noct!” He elbowed his
friend, who smiled despite his red cheeks."Naturally,“
he mimicked Ignis’s voice just as well, causing all four to dissolve into
giggles."It’ll
be good enough for Ignis to pose as a hunter at the blockade,” Gladio
said. “If it all goes well, he shouldn’t have to talk for long.”"The
shorter I have to wear this scarf, the better,“ Ignis said, tugging at
said accessory. "It’s beginning to itch, I’m afraid.”"I’ll
go tell Cor we’re ready,“ the Shield announced, heading towards the other
side of Meldacio Outpost. Prompto sent a thumbs-up ̶ whether it was to Ignis or
Noctis, the chamberlain wasn’t sure ̶ before following at his heels."You
sure you’re up for this?” Noctis asked, stepping closer. “We’ll be
right outside, but we won’t be able to follow you into the building.”"I’ll
be fine, so long as I don’t ever use a Leidan accent again,“ Ignis assured
him, smiling. He did appreciate Noct’s concern. He felt comfort at the fact the
prince wouldn’t be in the midst of the action for this plan, however: if his
disguise fell through, at least Noct wouldn’t have a chance of getting hurt.Noctis
took the cap from his hand, and Ignis had the rare experience of feeling his
bare fingers with his own, since his disguise didn’t call for gloves.
"Here,” he said, placing the cap atop Ignis’s head. “You look
good.”"So
you said,“ Ignis said, amused. "Thank you.”Noctis
turned to walk away, muttering softly, and Ignis could have sworn he was
saying, “You should wear tank tops more often.”(Thanks so much for the prompt!)
“So he was an owl, and now he’s a spider,” Caduceus said slowly, tilting his head back and forth as he stared at Frumpkin from his perch on Caleb’s shoulder, “but usually he’s a cat?”
“Except for when he’s an octopus, but yes,” said Nott.
“He prefers being a cat,” Caleb added, taking a half step back. Caduceus has been inching steadily closer over the past few minutes, apparently too interested in the currently spider-shaped Frumpkin to realize that he was invading Caleb’s personal space. Up close, Caleb could pick up a damp, earthy smell about him, odd but not unpleasant. “I’ll turn him back to normal later.”
“He’s a lot cuter as a cat, too,” Nott said. “If you ask nicely, Caleb might let you hold him once he’s back to being fluffy and cute.”
“Well, I think he’s pretty cute right now,” Caduceus said cheerfully, stepping a bit too close again. “And he’s got real nice markings! I supposed it’s because he’s magic, but I’ve never seen a spider like that before. And I’ve seen plenty of spiders. They’re always welcome friends in the garden!”
Caleb felt the slightest hint of a smile twitch at the corner of his mouth. It was always nice to have people appreciate Frumpkin, but no one ever had anything nice to say about him in this particular form. “Do you want to hold him now?”
“Oh, can I?” Caduceus asked eagerly, already reaching out his large hands to Frumpkin.
Caleb gave a slight wave of a hand and sent Frumpkin scuttling off his shoulder and into the firbolg’s waiting hands.
“Hello there, little guy!” Caduceus said fondly, bringing his hands up closer to his face for a better look. “Aren’t you a pretty fella! Look at those eyes! Oh, heehee, don’t crawl up my arm, your little feet tickle!”
Caleb took several generous steps back, glad to no longer be crowded by a spider-loving firbolg, and watched for a while. He was strange, certainly, but everyone in their odd little group was strange in one way or other. And anyone who liked Frumpkin so much when he wasn’t even in his best form probably wasn’t a bad person. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to travel with Caduceus Clay a little longer.
((So I have a headcanon that Caduceus loves all sorts of living things in nature, including ones often considered creepy or gross. They’re all very important to the natural world!))
For alphabet prompts how about y for ignoct (if you want to of course!)?
y – “ya’ll are acting as if you’ve never seen this before.”
“Y’all
are acting as if you haven’t seen this before.”The
advisor placed a hand on his hip as he stood outside the caravan, having just
emerged from changing."Because
we haven’t,“ Prompto said. “And no offense, dude, but that was the worst accent I’ve ever heard.”"Well,
he has to be bad at something, I guess,“ Gladio conceded with a smirk.Ignis
sighed, taking the cap Dave had lent him off his head to run fingers through
his ruffled hair. He wasn’t used to wearing hats, but then again, he also wasn’t
used to any article of clothing he was wearing now, from the hunter’s tank top
to the scarf tied around his neck. Yet, as the advisor to the Crown Prince was
high recognizable among the Niflheim Army with his usual attire of glasses,
Crownsguard fatigues, and perfectly primped hair, Ignis had to properly
disguise himself if they wanted to attain the information they needed.His
accent, unfortunately, made him even more identifiable, and so he tried in vain
to mimic Cindy Aurum’s Leidan drawl."I
don’t know what y’all are talkin’ about,” Ignis attempted the voice again,
this time a few octaves higher in pitch. “Ah’m simply speaking like yer
Miss Cindy, after all.”"How
dare you!“ Prompto cried. "Cindy has the voice of an angel! Not…
whatever daemon’s trying to crawl out of your mouth!”"Not
to encourage Prince Charming over here,“ Gladio said, "but he’s got a
point. Think you could manage just an Insomnian accent? It’s not as unusual as
your usual, at least.”Ignis
spoke normally, “I suppose you’re right. What do you think, Noct?”The
prince, who Ignis would have anticipated jumping in on the banter by now, was
silently staring at his outfit. Ignis glanced down at his clothes, hoping he
hadn’t made any embarrassing error in putting them on. Everything seemed in order."Noct?“
he tried again, a little louder.Noctis
startled out of his daze. "Oh. Uh… it looks good, Specs.”If
Ignis wasn’t already blushing at that, Gladio’s snort would have done it.
“I don’t think His Highness’s opinion is going to help with this one.”"Just
try sounding like Noct,“ Prompto suggested. "I mean, you’ve known
each other forever. You’ve gotta be an expert at copying his voice.”Noct
seemed a tad sheepish, so Ignis tried to rein the mockery in to the lightest of
teasing. “Man, it’s hot!” Prompto was right: he did a fair job of recreating
Noct’s voice. “Let’s go fishing! I could use a nap.”Prompto
cackled. “Ha ha! He’s totally got you down, Noct!” He elbowed his
friend, who smiled despite his red cheeks."Naturally,“
he mimicked Ignis’s voice just as well, causing all four to dissolve into
giggles."It’ll
be good enough for Ignis to pose as a hunter at the blockade,” Gladio
said. “If it all goes well, he shouldn’t have to talk for long.”"The
shorter I have to wear this scarf, the better,“ Ignis said, tugging at
said accessory. "It’s beginning to itch, I’m afraid.”"I’ll
go tell Cor we’re ready,“ the Shield announced, heading towards the other
side of Meldacio Outpost. Prompto sent a thumbs-up ̶ whether it was to Ignis or
Noctis, the chamberlain wasn’t sure ̶ before following at his heels."You
sure you’re up for this?” Noctis asked, stepping closer. “We’ll be
right outside, but we won’t be able to follow you into the building.”"I’ll
be fine, so long as I don’t ever use a Leidan accent again,“ Ignis assured
him, smiling. He did appreciate Noct’s concern. He felt comfort at the fact the
prince wouldn’t be in the midst of the action for this plan, however: if his
disguise fell through, at least Noct wouldn’t have a chance of getting hurt.Noctis
took the cap from his hand, and Ignis had the rare experience of feeling his
bare fingers with his own, since his disguise didn’t call for gloves.
"Here,” he said, placing the cap atop Ignis’s head. “You look
good.”"So
you said,“ Ignis said, amused. "Thank you.”Noctis
turned to walk away, muttering softly, and Ignis could have sworn he was
saying, “You should wear tank tops more often.”(Thanks so much for the prompt!)
59. “Wow.”
“Are you ready, Noct?” Ignis calls, adjusting his tie. He frowns at his reflection, slicking up a flyaway strand of hair. “We’re going to be late if you take any longer.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Noct’s voice calls back. There’s a grunt and he curses. “I’m coming, I’m coming.”
Ignis raises his brow and his lips twist as he fights a suggestive smirk. “Save it for later, if you please. I’d like to enjoy it up close and personal.”
“Hardy har,” Noct deadpans. Ignis imagines how his face flushes in embarrassment. “You’re so funny, Specs.”
Finished with himself, Ignis leaves the bathroom and goes to the living area. He makes sure the stove is off and their dinner is sitting on the warming tray to be reheated when they get back. He grabs his keys and a can of Ebony, sipping at it while he waits.
“Alright. I’m done.”
Ignis turns, a quip on his tongue, but it slithers away with his breath. He has to make a conscious effort not to drop his drink, and he sets it on the coffee table as he stands.
Noct dips his head, shy, and holds his arms out. He spins slowly in place and gives Ignis a small smile. “How do I look?”
His suit is bespoke, a deep onyx with hints of blue in the satiny lapels that pops with his eyes. It’s tailored to hug his body in all the right places, accentuating his shoulders and legs in a way that draws the gaze. His hair is styled–a new trend hitting the streets–spiked in the back and falling around his face in a gentle caress.
Ignis lets out a slow stream of air, blinking. “Wow,” he breathes, and Noct rolls his eyes, cheeks red, but he looks quietly pleased.
“That bad, huh?”
Ignis shakes himself from the stupor, smiling as he goes to Noct and wraps him in his arms. “You’re beautiful,” he says truthfully, pressing a kiss to Noct’s hairline, hair tickling his nose with the scent of rain and storms. “I cannot fathom how I’ve gotten so lucky.”
Noct mutters, embarrassed, but presses closer. “Yeah, well. I’m not much.”
Ignis pulls back, looking into those blue eyes, endless like the ocean. “You’re everything,” he says, full of conviction. “And I am the luckiest man on the planet to call you mine.”
His cheeks flush darker, and Noct ducks his head, swatting Ignis lightly on the shoulder. “Stop it. We’re gonna be late.”
“As long as I get to spend the night by your side.” Ignis steps back and offers his arm. “Shall we?”
Noct links their arms with a grin. “Let’s go.”
NEW CHAPTERRRR!!!!
MistakenMagic has posted a new chapter of that android AU of ours and it’s hilarious and wonderful and we meet some new people ❤
*cough*durins*cough*
so go read! ❤
serenbach86 