fabulous legs crossed

Just look at this absolutely gorgeous man 😍

No matter what he does, it’s flawless!

I went full extra on this.

How about the original megane of FFXV for a change! I was suppose to be warming up with Luna, but suddenly turned into Ignis and I’m quite content with this! I’ve barely drawn Ignis in the past and it felt nice to change it up and attempt him <3 His hair makes me nervous though lol 

No

I’m not going to stop being critical of Luna’s character and the shoehorned, shitty romance that got shoved down our throats. I will not stop being angry that I am expected to believe that 250 words, most of which is about her duty, creates any kind of relationship that should be “Final Fantasy Romance” worthy.

We deserved better. Their characters deserved a better story. I wanted a character and what I got was a trope that was so badly written we made the main female character into an unintentional bad person.

But I am happy with the divide: I don’t go into Lu/Na/Noct territory and that means they shouldn’t go into mine.

Coming onto my fics and telling me that I should write Lu/Na/Noct because it is canon will not make me write it. Actually, it makes me hate you and your stupid, shitty ship even more.

I don’t give a shit about your ship. I do not care that it is canon. It was a travesty and an insult to the hundreds of thousands of fans who think it was shitty.

In conclusion: the dumbass Lu/Na/Noct troll that keeps posting on my fics: I wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire.

Assorted Glaive Headcanons:

Because I love my wasted potential garbage children and need to Organize my thoughts before continuing my writing endeavours.

gift to @starlitendeavors because she’s on a missions to get more crowe x nyx out there and i’m always down for sailing new ships lmao

The Final Fantasy XV Review (1/2)

This will be my review of FFXV. It will include everything FFXV related I either know about, experienced or played myself. And therefore, I’ll split it up. (I already know I’ll still forget some aspects I want to talk about. There’s just so much to look at.) I won’t summarize the story unless I feel it to be necessary.

Final Fantasy XV Episode Duscae (game demo) Final Fantasy XV Platinum Demo (game demo) Final Fantasy XV A King’s Tale (game)

Final Fantasy XV Brotherhood (animated shorts) Final Fantasy XV Kingsglaive (movie)

Final Fantasy XV (game)

Final Fantasy XV Episode Duscae:

Oh, the hype was real. It was possibly the realest shit I had ever experienced. I bought Final Fantasy Type-0 just for the demo. I did try to play Type-0 but it didn’t do it for me. Instead I invested about 60 hours into the demo, leveled up to 91 and recently went back to play it. And I figured out: The skills I used to have are gone. I’m used to XV’s battle system and when I attempt to go back, I find myself internally flailing my arms because WHICH BUTTON DOES WHAT WTF. I won’t go too much into detail. (I probably will nevertheless, oh well.) The first time the characters appeared on screen, I screamed at Ignis. He was the one, I just knew it. The sole fact of him having a British VA I liked sold him for me, no joke. I usually dislike British accents but Ignis had this… certain charm him which just captivated me. I remember watching the cutscenes over and over again, trying to figure out who the fuck was voicing him. Noctis took second spot. His grumpy attitude in the morning after being woken and him being the good-looking protagonist made him settle behind Ignis. And then there was Prompto and Gladiolus. Sunnyboy and beefcake, my least favorites. Prompto received the label of “Every comic relief character to have ever existed” and Gladiolus was called “Manly man ready to break your neck without any emotion”. I know, I was wrong in the end but we didn’t get much. What left the biggest impression on me? The side quests. There was one for every teammate. Prompto had his Catblepus side quest (which they expanded upon in the game), Gladio went on a training/fighting trip with Noctis and Ignis… Oh God… Hold me, Ignis had a stargazing quest. Fuck. So beautiful, so stunning, exactly my taste. Stars, astronomy, an intelligent, good-looking man… Can you imagine how angry I was when the quest wasn’t in the game? Why did they take it out!? It was already done. Prompto’s mini quest was in game as well, even expanded upon. The main quest was good as well. The whole set up of Deadeye roaming the area and demolishing trees and animals was sick. Why wasn’t it in the game anymore? The same as the side quests. It was already done, why didn’t they include it? Did they have to adapt the graphics or other game mechanics? Such a pity.

Final Fantasy XV Platinum Demo:

Noctis’s dream world was stunning. It really felt like I was turned into the child and found myself exploring every small inch of the world. It gave us a peek into the journey ahead, with Leviathan and Titan peeking in and out, day and night changing up and us turning into monster we would end up facing. I doubt there was anyone hating or disliking Carbuncle. Our companion lead us through the short story and tried to protect us. When Regis was placing a small Carbuncle on Noctis’s nightstand, we saw Regis cared and loved his son. A short, yet sweet and warm bonding moment Regis exchanged with the sleeping Noctis. Altissia though, oh boy. With Gratia Mundi playing in the background (which is one of my favorite soundtracks of FFXV) I got completely lost in the city. (Even now I easily get lost in Altissia, jfc. Does anyone even know the map by heart????) The transition to the Iron Giant boss fight was cool. Because we learned how to fight as younger Noctis, we felt mature when the weapons and magic switched over to the real deal and we felt strengthened when we were warping around and taking the Giant down. Sadly, it was extremely short. They had already adapted the battle system so I had less trouble playing through it when I started the demo last week. Magic had a playful feeling to it. Firecrackers, raindrops… It was a different take on magic from a child’s eyes.

Final Fantasy XV A King’s Tale:

This part will be even shorter. I didn’t play A King’s Tale but watched other people enjoy it quite a lot. While many find the 2D pixel look appealing, I’ve never been one to grow fond of older graphics. I’m a visual whore when it comes to games. I want it to look good, I want to see clearly. So visually, A King’s Tale doesn’t appeal to me. I’ve only played a few games, but from what I have played, I prefer better visual quality. Nevertheless I found the story absolutely adorable. It gave us a view into Regis’s human side which deeply cares for Noctis. It’s a struggle every parent has to face: The child doesn’t want to sleep so you have to “bribe” your child. Regis does this through telling a bedtime story. Lovely, adorable, heartwarming and yet, the battles are fast-paced and flashy just like the game. As far as I know this game is free so if you want such a feeling in your chest, go and play it!

Final Fantasy XV Brotherhood:

Before I do anything, I’ll express my anger. Why? Because Brotherhood has so much background information about the characters. Information we need to feel and connect to the characters. Why was Noctis in a wheelchair? Why was he in Tenebrae? How did he and Prompto meet? Solely by the game, you don’t get the entire image. Instead you have to rely on additional sources. Thankfully Brotherhood is for free. Maybe you can already guess a trend developing here: Splitting the story up wasn’t a good idea. Kingsglaive, as much as I love the movie, wasn’t a good idea. When you buy the game, you want the entire content to be in there. I paid 90€ for the Deluxe Edition of the game but there was still more information out there. It makes me angry, okay? The dependence on further source isn’t good. The game should be fine standing on its own but considering how bad the story-telling was, it wasn’t doing fine. In fact, it was already on the ground after being kicked in the balls. Nevertheless, you should watch Brotherhood before you play the game. Or do it for the lulz, I don’t know. It’s lovely. There’s an episode on each of the boyband and a little bit more information and battles. To be honest, I loved it. It was just enough to know how Noctis met his companions. Watch it for yourself.

Final Fantasy XV Kingsglaive:

Ah, my bread and butter. The amount of posts I made on Kingsglaive are almost overwhelming. Maybe you can guess: I really enjoyed the movie. Don’t get me wrong; It still had some major flaws (which I had already mentioned). The whole set up of splitting the story up, demanding money for the movie (unless you buy the more expensive version of the game) and putting important information in it was… wrong. It wasn’t good. In the time of DLCs being pumped out almost all the time, we gamers become pissed off very fast. No one likes DLCs because it means important parts of the game are missing (because that’s how DLCs are used when it comes to FFXV). Same goes for Kingsglaive. It’s like an expanded DLC dealing with the story before we jump into Noctis’s shoes. But that isn’t all. We’re introduced to a pile of members of the Kingsglaive. They’re well-designed, each has certain characteristics going for them so we naturally want to know more about them. Now, the problem is… The movie only takes 120 minutes. 120 minutes trying to deal with politics, the struggles of the Glaives, yet wanting to be entertaining and appealing. 120 minutes aren’t enough. They should’ve done either or. Anyway. I’ll elaborate on the characters a bit further. Nyx: Protag, big heart, our hero. Cocky af when it comes to his duty and dealing with the king’s magic. I avoid doing an analysis post on him because he’s the protagonist of Kingsglaive. It’d blast my head off. Libertus and Drautos took three posts; What would Nyx be like? Seven? Eight? Probably. I’d say he was fine being the protagonist, but I feel like I’ve dealt with too few protagonists to really evaluate what a good protag is. I like him, we can relate to him. On the one hand he’s loyal, on the other hand he’s still evaluating the events around him, trying to decide on the best action to take. Libertus: No, I don’t hate him. (I C U, anon.) Nyx’s childhood friend and best friend, very emotional and therefore, acts on emotions which causes a lot of trouble. He’s the one to give out important information to Niflheim’s spies (that’s what I’ll call them) which help sneaking in explosives at the day of the signing. The first half of the movie had me wanting to punch him because he’s just so dumb in my eyes, but thanks to the analysis posts, I finally noticed how bad he really felt for his mistakes. He knows he fucked up, he tries to make up for it. Immediately. In the end, much more likeable and made me want to squish him. Crowe: She deserved better, indeed. Bigger character potential than Libertus since she was introduced as a witty, strong female character who doesn’t need a man to survive. Sadly, she was killed off screen by Luche, that douche. I watched the movie with my mother and she was devastated after Crowe’s death. My mom is usually indifferent about characters in FF movies. (The action overwhelms her, oops). So when she’s actually showing emotion and disbelief, it’s a good indication the character had potential. I’m not saying it’s proof, just an indicator. Crowe was used as a plot device, which is sad. I also explained why Crowe deserved better in one of my posts. Pelna: Ah, our little sunflower and sunshine. With Luna, the only two people I genuinely cared for and felt sad when they died. His death was especially cruel since we saw the impact of Ultros grabbing him. His body just went… lifeless, crushed. Yikes. Pelna was interesting. While working on his analysis, I noticed he emotionally moved me because I unconsciously related to him. He cracks a joke every now and then, still works extremely hard and his friends are absolutely important to him. It was shown through his actions and words which usually only implied his feelings. I love him, okay!? Luche: I’ll try and avoid being biased. He got the most focus out of all of the traitor Glaives. He was part of the protagonist group, yet felt villainous from the very start. Always criticizing, always a party pooper, in the end murdering Crowe and not even caring for what he did. Instead, he even severely injures Nyx and continues following Niflheim’s empty promises. Most of his character was revealed during his last speech after he shot Nyx. His words were overflowing with anger and bitterness towards the king. He was meant to die. Looking back at his death, his was ridiculous because at the moment he needed his intelligence the most, it left him and he gave in to the promise of power. Oopsie daisy. Tredd: His monologue was sick af. I loved the metaphor of the rats in the sewers. In the beginning, I expected him to be comic relief similar to Prompto, but oh boy, I was wrong. He was the second most focused traitor of the Glaives so I felt like he had some weird dynamic going on with Luche. (Maybe I’m wrong.) We didn’t get jack about him though. Most of my analysis was based on assumptions. His analysis post was also the one to have started the series. Drautos: Daddy D, the main antagonist of the movie. He had major reasons to betray the king and everything he stands for. There’s a lot left in the dark when it comes to him so we have to settle for headcanons most of the time. What a pity though. But in his last moments, the last minutes of the battle between him and Nyx, we get a good image of why he betrayed Lucis. We still have to interpret a lot but I think there’s a nice overview of Drautos if you asked anyone in the fandom. Regis: We already knew he was a very emotional king and not the cruel ruler enslaving his city. He had to balance Noctis’s fate and politics in his hands which took his life in the end. The interactions with Clarus were lovely as well. It gave us a feeling of their friendship and relationship. Most of Regis’s emotions were shown when it was about Luna. We could feel how important Luna was to him so Regis tried to keep everyone safe. His death was cruel as well. At first Glauca sliced off a finger, then rammed the sword through the king’s body with excessive force. Almost disgusting. Luna: Many people pointed out how different this Luna feels from the in-game Luna. Someone pointed out the Luna in the movie wasn’t meant to be Luna. Instead, the developer team intended to integrate Stella to the plot. I’m sure a lot of changes were brought up in the last stretches until the release so that would explain the major difference of the two Lunas. It wasn’t meant to be Luna from the beginning but they had no other choice but to go for her. What a pity. I enjoyed her character. Sure, she was dependent on Nyx but she still carried a strong will and her duty on her shoulders like a strong character would. (For further discussion, I recommend you check out my posts about her. There’s much more anger concerning how she was treated overall in there.)

We also were introduced to the Old Wall/Old Kings which are bitchy as well considering they don’t care about the city and Lucis at all. (Thankfully Nyx and Regis both manage to convince them so Insomnia is saved. Kind of.)

The most positive aspect of the movie clearly is its appearance. It feels like the characters are real, not animated, but actors with flesh and bones in front of the camera. It’s incredible. This might be the biggest selling point for the movie. While the fighting scenes are a mess, they’re still impressive and beautiful to look at. Magic is stunning. Every spell feels different from each other and depending on its user, it changes even more. For example: The king’s lightning is one, massive bolt dishing out an incredible force of pain while a Glaive’s lightning spreads into many smaller bolts, focusing on rather the AoE than the power. I don’t mind the advertisements. Considering how much money went into the movie, they need to earn money in return. And it makes Insomnia look much more realistic when we see a brand we recognize. Inside of the city, I love how different it feels when we explore the upper and lower areas. The higher levels are all about luxury, jewelry, cars and art. Once we explore the levels where Nyx lives, it becomes a bit more plumb. Restaurants, bars, street vendors and karaoke bars give us the impression of a much more simple, cheaper life.

And I love the ending. It leaves us with a bittersweet taste on the tongue. While it may seem like a won battle, we know it’s useless and we have to get into Noctis’s shoes to reclaim our throne. My mom is absolutely in love with the Prologue theme btw. Recently she was diagnosed with incurable cancer so she’s already searching for songs to be played during her funeral. (Yes, life is disgusting at times.) And what’s on her track list? The Prologue of Kingsglaive. Why? It captures the hopelessness of the war against Niflheim flawlessly. My mom prefers such songs. (And yet, she loves the Chocobo theme just as much but I think I’ll talk about that once we dive into the XV game review.)

Overall, I loved the movie. Absolutely. It makes me think about the characters we’re introduced and maybe come up with my headcanons about them. If the developers aren’t giving us more, we are forced to use our imagination. It’s also proves over and over again how overflowing with potential the entire universe of FFXV is and I’ll gladly try to pick apart any question being tossed into my direction.

In the next part, I’ll be picking apart the game itself. I’m sure this part will be even longer than this post.

If you have any further questions, feel free to ask them. I’ll always explain myself if I can.

I won’t cry, I won’t cry No, I won’t shed a tear

20170418 doodle.

~ None of your scars can make me love you less~ (click image for bigger res)

I had to draw him with his hair “down”.