This Damn App Keeps Crashing My Phone 😂😭

Hmmmmm oh dear. I … TRIED to make this cheerful and silly but it turned out pure angst and Tifa ran away with it. Sorry?

-Cloud still gets called, but of course now he’s Prompto Argentum. Sephiroth is also called, but naturally he’s Titus now. Noctis/Zack doesn’t remember doing this ever anyway so he’s mostly chill with this. New adventure! With Cloudy! Yay! Oh wait where’s his pretty girlfriend noooooo.

-Nobody recognizes either Titus or Prompto and treat them like newbies. Titus rolls with it because frankly he doesn’t like these people anyway and doesn’t care what they think. Prompto is … very subdued. More than usual. People are very confused as to why they are all here but Cloud is a no-show.

-It physically hurts Prompto to breathe a little when Zidane bounds up to innocently ask if he’s scene a short brooding blond with a giant sword and a wolf ornament on his shirt. It hurts. It HURTS far more than he ever thought it would, to see these people he fought beside look at him like he’s a stranger. It shouldn’t. They aren’t from the same worlds, and it’s only to be expected, he isn’t Cloud anymore after all, but Prompto. But it still hurts. If he calls out to any of them they won’t know him. It smacks too much of his nightmares and Noctis ends up holding him tight as they hide in the back row, fielding any questions with a cheerful smile that wins smiles in return.

-It guts him to spot Tifa in the crowd. Because Materia calls champions without any real care for timeline, and so while she cannot call Cloud’s past self because his soul is no longer in the Lifestream, she CAN call Tifa as well apparently and it HURTS more than words can say.

-Prompto and Noctis stick together stubbornly, so they end up not following the Warrior of Light around. They end up going with someone else- *spins imaginary wheel* TIFA, because apparently she got added to the game later and I feel like torturing my characters.

-Tifa is a little worried on why Cloud is not present when he apparently was last time, but these two boys are … nice, and someone more experienced has to keep an eye on them. Noctis reminds her of a puppy, bounding around, eager to explore and help Materia. Prompto reminds her a LOT of Cloud, and when she tries to make friends by commenting that he reminds her of a good friend, she’s surprised when his breath stutters and his face shuts down. He chokes out a shy grunt and then hurries to catch up with Zack, leaving Tifa confused.

-Prompto has never been more relieved to run into enemies. If he’s fighting then he doesn’t have to try and fail to talk to his friend who doesn’t recognize him (is younger than he remembers, because he remembers her as a mother, a grandmother, as a old feisty woman with silver hair and a fire that didn’t dim despite her arthritis, the old woman who comforted him about his own conspicuously slow aging when he realized that for every year he seemed to age, his friends had already aged ten or more, another horrible unwanted side effect of Hojo’s experiments). Of course, he doesn’t count on his fighting style, or Tifa’s own observational skills. He has enough presence of mind to not use his fusion sword, instead pulling a regular great sword from armiger, but … still.

-Tifa (who is post Advent Children btw) watches Prompto as he fights and is … unnerved by how similar their styles are, the power in a deceptively tiny frame, the unnaturally fast strikes, the bullheaded doggedness. Then she notices his blue eyes that glitter like stars in the dimmer lights, his black clothing for all he’s wearing that plaid … skirt thing, the ribbon tied around his arm.

-She keeps her thoughts to herself for most of the adventure, just gently tries to coax Prompto out of his shell with minimal success and wondering where Sephiroth is and why this newcomer Titus seems so protective of the boys despite being on the other side. In the end she lets Prompto wander away with Noctis to chat with the other newcomers like Y’shtola, because he doesn’t seem nearly as shy around the other newbies as the ones who are obviously more experienced and she doesn’t want to make him uncomfortable. Not that he doesn’t interact with the older members, but there’s a distance to him with them, like he’s shy, or like he expects them to say something and dreads it when it never comes.

-Then the fight with the planesgorger happens and in the heat of it, Prompto has no choice but to use his skills to their fullest, and Tifa catches sight of him in the chaos, twisting over Exdeath’s head with the Fusion Sword in his hands, splitting it into all sorts of blades and something in her brain goes “click”.

-After the fight, when everyone is saying their goodbyes and gear up to have crystal double made, Tifa sneaks up behind Prompto and starts a casual conversation again, then when his guard is as low as she thinks it’s going to go, she adds, “I guess it’s pretty weird to see me so young, huh?”

-Prompto laughs ruefully, “Just a little-.” freezes, looks at her with something horrified and fragile in his gaze.

-Tifa smiles and says, “It’s okay, I figured it out while we were fighting the planesgorger. Is that your dad’s sword or did he help you make one of your own?”

-Prompto’s shoulders sag and there is something … both relieved and sad in his eyes as he murmurs, “It’s … new. I designed it.”

-Tifa gently ruffles his hair, pretending not to notice his flinch as she smiles, “Well, you did your dad proud out there today.”

-Something warms in blue eyes, shy and still sad, but brighter now, “Yeah … yeah I did. You did- You were awesome too, you know? You’re amazing.”

-Tifa strikes a pose with a laugh, and their conversation tapers off comfortably. Tifa doesn’t ask who his mother is, because she’s already pretty sure it’s not her and either way, she doesn’t want to disrupt the future somehow by knowing too much.

-Right before they all leave, Prompto hugs her from behind and whispers, “Thank you. For always being there for … you know. He needs all the help he can get.”

-And then he’s hurrying away, back to Noctis and Titus, who both look at him sadly, like they know something heartbreaking she doesn’t.

-When they get back home, Prompto ignores all the worried fussing of the adults who want to know where they’ve been the last week and locks himself in his room.

-Later, Titus will pick the lock and come in to check on him with Noctis on his heels, both worried, because while they knew OF Tifa they hadn’t been best friends with her and they know it had to hurt. Prompto curls into Titus’s gentle bear hug and laughs a little hysterically into the silence. Noctis pets his hair and makes a questioning noise, and Prompto rasps, “Up until the day she died, she always told me I would be a good dad. That I would find someone to have a kid with.”

-Another hysterical giggle and a choked, “She made me promise that when I had a son, I’d name him Prompto.”

(tumblr why are you eating my asks?) into submitting to the prophecy. Only for Cloud to scoff, Zack to yell that they will not let a jumped up summon dictate their lives and Aerith to say ‘surprise we are back!’ with an overly bright (menacing) smile while Seph looms in the background next to Ardyn and Regis intending to protect them just in case.😁 IgnisFelicis

Oh Mood. That’s why I don’t bother with most of the timed quests. Too much hassle.

Hmmmm I can definitely see a scene like this happening at some point. Just- Bahamut realizes that something is Up and descends from the heavens, Regis and 99% of Insomnia is appropriately overawed and frightened and then-

Someone throws a balled up piece of paper at the Draconian.

That someone is Prompto, who is now grabbing a knife instead while his dad has a heart attack in the background. Zack interferes by-

Yelling at the Draconian. When Bahamut tries to intimidate him into his Chosen King role, Zack laughs in his face and says that he wasn’t afraid of Bahamut when he lived in a marble, why would he be afraid of him now while Aerith in the background smiles the sweet, innocent smile of pure Death.

Bahamut who up until this point had NO IDEA that the three were reincarnations because he didn’t do any research before coming down here is … speechless to realize that he’s got three (no wait, four, he realizes as Titus eyes him with a green-tinted like he’s prime beef to carve) reincarnations of powerful and ancient heroes (and villain) on his hands.

While Regis is having a more than minor panic attack over his son and friends being this Reckless, Ardyn is STARING at the tiny, feisty flower oracle he already thought was odd but now knows is downright STRANGE. Then he stares at the should-be Chosen King who is enthusiastically doing squats while yelling at Bahamut, Prompto who is prepping his sword, and Titus who already has his sword out and is Ready To Murder.

Needless to say this conversation does NOT go as Bahamut planned. At all.

Regis, Clarus, Ravus and Cor are so confused and, in the case of the respective dads and brother, FRANTIC. YOU JUST VERBALLY LECTURED AND THREATENED THE HEAD OF THE ASTRALS. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING. HOW ARE YOU ALIVE.

This would be after the entire “neglectful Argentum” drama and the whole “Prompto remembers the lab” drama followed with a heaping helping of Cor trying his hardest to Parent to make up for the guilt he feels and … Prompto is affectionate in his own awkwardly shy way but he IS touch-starved and has two lifetimes worth of memories of NOT KNOWING HOW TO DEAL WITH A DAD, since he had none to speak of as Cloud or Prompto up till this point. So he just- calls Cor “Cor” because that’s all he knows and Cor is … Cor is fine with that. He would never presume to force Prompto to call him anything else.

Cor is gruffly affectionate and Cloud/Prompto absorbs it like a flower starved for water and sunlight and … it’s really easy, if relatively slow, for Cloud to love Cor as a dad, to TRUST HIM because he doesn’t brush off Prompto’s traumas or force him to act differently beyond playing nice with nobles (sometimes) and Cloud has never had a dad figure so Cor slots into that gaping hole REALLY EASILY. Cloud just- doesn’t know it because he has literally no foundation of what a Dad is/acts like aside from Outside POV of Barret (who is nothing like Cor) and his own actions raising Denzel and Tifa’s child (which he doesn’t even think about because Cloud knows he had zero clue what he was doing through 98% of that section of his life).

Then one day after watching the PAINFULLY OBVIOUSLY Dad-Son interactions and having had loving dads in BOTH lifetimes kthanks, Zack takes Cloud aside and puts his hands firmly on his best bud’s shoulders, looks him in the eye and says “You should call Cor ‘Dad’.”

And Cloud is doubtful because … well … Cor isn’t his bio-dad and sure Cloud loves and trusts Cor but what if Cor doesn’t LIKE being called a dad or what if its considering inappropriate because he was adopted or-

Zack just shushes him, pats his shoulders and says, “Trust me. Call him Dad sometime. He’ll love it.” and saunters off.

Cloud holds out for like- a week, not daring to do it but considering it every time he talks to Cor (who notices Prompto’s thoughtful mood but can’t pinpoint what Prompto is thinking about) before there’s just- this moment when Cloud actually lets himself act like the child his body is and is playing with Cor, who is making time whenever he can to hang out with Prompto, and like- Cor picks him up because Prompto is a very Smol 8-9 year old and easy to carry and Cloud just- calls him dad. Says something simple like “Thank’s Dad,” or if Cor is teasing him at the time he just whines “Dad!”

And Cor’s brain CRASHES. His heart swells to bursting, he just- freezes there with Prompto in his arms as his brain gets stuck on an endless loop of “he called me dad he called me dad i’m a dad he cAllEd mE dAd-” And Prompto peers up at him and says something to the order of “Do you … not want me to call you that?”

And that’s it. Cor’s gone. He’s dead. The mighty Immortal has been laid low. Date, time of death, and murder weapon has been established.

In other news he comforts Prompto in a possessive daze, hugging Prompto tight and saying that of COURSE Prompto can call him dad if that’s what he wants to call him, takes Prompto home and puts him to bed and the immediately runs for Regis’s suite, banging on the door with enough urgency that Regis and Clarus (who are sharing a relaxing evening sipping wine and complaining about their day) think an emergency has happened. Cor stumbles in, wild-eyed and shaking like a leaf and they think maybe Insomnia is burning down around their ears without their noticing or something until Cor flops onto the couch with a dramatic noise that hasn’t been heard since he was a teenager and whimpers-

“He called me DAD.”

And Regis starts grinning like a loon while Clarus gently pats Cor’s hand in sympathy because they all had that moment when their kid first called them “dad”, even if that usually happened way younger than Prompto. Congrats Cor, you are now a Dad™.

belle-of-the-battle said: -guilt at Cloud’s prior home life, but what about more in depth? Like, they both care about Cor A Lot, that is /their/ feral murderchild thank you. And he so clearly /loves/ this little boy, that they probably /swore/ to him that he would have a good childhood with the Argentums. And then he…didn’t. Not really. Not in the ways a lot of kids need. Now here he is and he REMEMBERS at least /a little/ of the labs. Which is worse because that means they separated a traumatized and abused baby from-

belle-of-the-battle said: -the only source of kindness and safety he’s probably known in his little life(they don’t know about the reincarnation thing after all, not that it helps). What I’m saying is that neither of them are okay at all and have no idea how to deal with any of this beside letting Cor finally have his kid. Wow that got long and really angsty, sorry! I was having an emotion that I had to share.

Me: *cackles with you* EXACTLY. Also I just love that like- 98% of the fandom (myself included) took one look at this stoic, prodigy soldier background character and went “Ah yes. This is a Dad™.” and we’ve been like that ever since. XD

Okay so- YES Regis and Clarus promised Prompto would have a good childhood with the Argentums. Of course they did. Not only is this an innocent baby, but this is one THEIR Cor saved and cares for and clearly loves. Of COURSE they tried to find a good family. It’s not their fault that they just … picked wrong. Mistakes happen.

That doesn’t stop them from feeling horrible about it.

And THEN they find out that Prompto remembers the labs and they go straight from feeling like failures to feeling like outright VILLAINS. This was a BABY, a baby they insisted be separated from the first person to show him kindness and now they know that Prompto REMEMBERS that. Over time they question him a bit more on it and learn he remembers … a LOT of the labs (part of this is actually Hojo memory but they don’t know and does it really matter? Trauma is trauma) and he remembers a LOT of Cor and he actually remembers the exact even of being given up.

I can see Regis apologizing to Prompto, then in the privacy of his suite or something breaking DOWN as he apologizes to Cor because he had NO IDEA. If he’d had any- ANY clue that Prompto would remember his infancy (and he wonders just what the Nifs did to enhance Prompto’s memory like that, because it can’t all just be “people remember trauma better”, not with Prompto’s level of detail) then he would have NEVER separated them. NEVER.

Clarus, who is himself a dad of 2 kiddos, clasps Regis’s shoulders and stares at the floor with Regret™, probably longing for a stiff drink because he feels like the lowest thing on Eos right now. Because he- he separated a baby from his ONLY SAFE PERSON and gave him to a couple that were emotionally neglectful even if not physically. How much damage has been done, how much of Prompto’s personality is even his OWN anymore and how much is the effects of untreated lab trauma and then being essentially abandoned by his safe person and given to people who only took care of his physical needs and not his emotional ones? Astrals- ASTRALS is it any wonder that Prompto is so quiet and withdrawn and wary of people? It’s a MIRACLE he’s as functional as it is, and Clarus is willing to bet that’s not as functional as he SEEMS. That Prompto is just used to hiding his traumas the only ways he knows how and that just makes him feel worse (like Cor when they first met him, only Cor had been thirteen and Prompto is SEVEN).

Also Regis is realizing all these same things and honestly he is 100% ready to cry his eyes out if he wasn’t trying to keep his sanity for Cor’s and Clarus’s sake. So instead he just- cries a few, slow tears while his hands shake.

Regis is already plotting to have a child therapist arranged for Prompto, but only AFTER Prompto has settled in with Cor because Regis doesn’t think Cor is going to let strangers near his boy anytime soon.

Cor is ALSO feeling horribly guilty, if you will recall, because for all he wants to be mad at Regis and Clarus their logic at the time is STILL SOUND, they just picked the wrong couple (but not the worst) and they had no way of knowing about the memories thing. Cor blames himself because HE should have fought harder to keep Prompto, HE should have stood his ground and outstubborned Regis and Clarus because he knows he could have done that, he just … hadn’t. The one time he should have.

He’s never going to forgive himself for that.

(have an unedited look at the first official one-shot I’m doing for Clouds and Moonlit Skies verse!!! It’s from Cor’s POV. Angst and Drama inbound. Also warning for reference to … very immoral science things. Nothing really gory but … yeah. Edit: Tagging @a-world-in-grey for Vengeance. I have something far angstier planned in another verse to yeet at you for vengeance over the Hanahaki thing but FOR NOW-. XP)

…

     Cor swiped the keycard and muttered thanks as the door slid open with a hiss. He slipped inside, let the door lock behind him despite his screeching instincts as he inspected his new surroundings. It smelled strongly of disinfectant and that odd reeking scent all MT units had that made his hair prickle. There were tanks of the purple sludge MT units ran on lining the walls, a filing cabinet with papers stacked on top from the overflow, and even an operating table and surgical tools. He paused at that observation. This was a specialized lab then, possibly for organic subjects? But the MT sludge was right there…

     Titus had said they used people in their experiments a lot more than they let on. And considering the Glauca armor he had … this could be one of the labs for that kind of project. This could be exactly what he was looking for.

     He narrowed his eyes in suspicion even as he pulled out his phone and approached the filing cabinet. He was never this lucky without there being some kind of nasty consequence. Never. With one ear trained on the door for the cavalry to arrive, Cor rapidly pulled out papers and snapped pictures of them, barely taking time to skim them himself as he took two pictures of each page for Regis and the intel analysts to go over later. Still, he was able to skim the gist of it.

     Subject N-iP01357-05953234, apparently meant for a different project, showed odd reactions to a compound that had far too many numbers and hyphens for Cor to bother memorizing. It had been removed from the rest of the subject pool for further testing and had continued to show odd reactions, absorbing the compound without any of the usual symptoms or side-effects, and blood tests showing no alteration, as if the compound was being destroyed as soon as it entered the subject’s system. None of the other subjects in its “batch” had possessed this anomalous reaction and testing had proceeded to determine the source of the anomaly. 

     Subject had been isolated in this lab and submitted to multiple tests including more injections, reaction tests, and even-. Cor paused, double checked that he’d read that right in his skimming. Live dissection. Disgusting. There were no pictures in this batch of reports —thank the Astrals—, but Cor suspected the photos were somewhere in the filing cabinet —he’d hunt them down in a minute. Maybe—. The dissection had never been complete, and the Subject had been put to sleep during the process and then put back together rather than killed each of the five times, which somehow made it worse just to think about.

     Cor tried to ignore the sickness in his stomach when he read the notation of how three of the five operations had been complicated by the subject waking up earlier than anticipated and needing to be restrained and sedated again until they figured out the proper dosage to keep it under.

     Subject had also shown unusual swings in awareness, sometimes only minimally aware as was expected of a subject that age, other times displaying potential signs of increased awareness and energy, often vocalizing or thrashing during those periods until it became aware of the scientists’ presences before falling unusually still and silent for a Subject of that age.

     Other reports detailed increased muscle control and advanced intelligence, able to distinguish … letters…

     No.

     No.

     He was not reading that right. He couldn’t. Titus had been twenty-three when he was captured and experimented on. Surely they didn’t-, they hadn’t-, they couldn’t-. Cor took a deep breath, set the papers down and pressed his hand against his mouth, felt acid in his throat.

     This was Niflheim. What was stopping them?

     With a feeling of intense dread, Cor abandoned the papers and reexamined the lab. The … Subject was being stored in here, so there should be … something. He felt all the hair on his neck stand up, felt Regis’s magic tingle dangerously in his hands as he spotted the container he had missed the first inspection. He had taken it to be just another part of the machinery in the room, but now that he was looking … it was properly shaped to hold a small Subject. Roughly the size of a house cat, or a small dog.

     Or a-.

     A-.

     With dread and anger increasing each step he took, Cor forced himself to approach the container. It had a myriad of tubes attached to it, and he thought he heard the hiss of an air pump cycling oxygen into the container. The container was at the average waist height, presumably so scientists could easily look down into the container through the thick glass lid, but the walls were high enough that he couldn’t get a good look into the thing until he was directly over it.

     Vivid blue eyes peered up at him and a pale, pale face scrunched up in confusion as little limbs kicked and wiggled, thumping against the too thin padding that was clearly only there to ensure the being inside didn’t bruise or cut itself while wiggling around. The human baby in what was basically a glorified shoebox stilled when it registered Cor’s attention. He saw the tiny chest hitch and jerk in a whimper he could barely hear through the glass and saw tiny fingers reach tentatively for him, fear and hope in those eyes that was so clear Cor could almost hear the plea for help.

belle-of-the-battle said: -age because he’s /very/ fond of Cloud at this point and Regis is probably going to cry again. Also, I did send you some asks awhile ago, one had Tsuna!Noct’s Dissidia adventures and all the chaos that went with them, and the other was a taur ask asking for brother bonding before you decided to make Ardyn a lady in that verse.

Me: Well- to be fair, I knew SOMEONE was going to bring it up once I put it in there but yes. Cor, once he’s adopted Prompto and the memory thing is known, does wake up one night, shaking and horrified at the thought that his bby remembers the dissections. After all, the reports said that THREE of the five times the sedative wore off early. But he doesn’t dare ask, because if by some miracle Prompto doesn’t remember, Cor is NOT going to be the one to bring it up.

Seph … Seph knew Cloud was reborn in a lab and it was bad, but he- he didn’t- know about the dissections until Cor brings it when questioned by Regis and Clarus (Seph either overhears or is present for the questioning). But he takes it…

Yeah “Not Good” covers it pretty well. Because Hojo did that to Seph too and he’s never forgotten it. Seph … Seph needs to go hit Many Things for a while. Later he goes and asks Cloud about it because he’s not afraid to and knows Cloud won’t take it wrong and Cloud kinda blinks and then slowly admits he thought it was his Hojo trauma mingling with his reborn in a lab trauma and hadn’t actually happened.

Seph needs to go break more things kthanks.

*sigh-laughs* I’m not mad, I’ve known for a while now that Tumblr is filled with enablers and the moment I yote a new AU into existence it would get asks about it XPP. Alright then buckle up NEW FICLET:

-It takes them a while to figure it out, not because Cloud/Prompto is … particularly hiding it, he just makes sure to never mention it because he doesn’t want any drama and the adults at first assume everything is fine.

-When Prompto stays over for sleepovers with his new friend the Prince, they are mostly concerned with security, not with the boy’s home life. They assume his parents gave permission, because- well- the Citadel, of course their child would be safe there.

-But then he keeps coming over for sleepovers more and more frequently, to the point one day Cor sits up and realizes he hasn’t seen anyone take Prompto HOME in about two weeks now and THAT raises red flags. He discreetly asks around and all the servants confirm that no, Prompto hasn’t gone home in two weeks. He goes to school with Prince Noctis and then comes to the Citadel with him.

-Alarm bells fully ringing now, Cor goes to ask Prompto about it himself, because surely there’s an explanation that isn’t the one poisoning the tip of his tongue.

-Prompto looks up from the video game he’s playing with Noctis when Cor enters, and something in Cor screams. He’s been politely avoiding the boy for the most part, one because his job does genuinely keep him busy and two because he doesn’t want to … put expectations on the boy that shouldn’t be there. This is not the baby he gave away for the boy’s own safety, not the baby he grew so attached to hauling him out of the lab and to safety in Insomnia over the course of months. This boy is one who has been raised from age 1 in a loving, proper home environment, who has no memory of who Cor is beyond the “Immortal” persona the media touts. Cor SHOULD be looking at a happy, gentle child, if a shy, quiet one from all reports of the servants.

-So why is he looking into the eyes of a soldier?

-Noctis pauses their game and bounds up, eagerly asking why Cor has come to visit. Cor idly pats Noctis’s head without taking his eyes off Prompto, who stares back with assessing blue eyes. There is warmth there, a sort of trust Cor assumes must come from Noctis’s stories (because there is no way the boy remembers those months on the run, no way), but aside from that spark, there is no childishness. No naivety. He doesn’t see the shyness the reports mention, he sees the cool assessment of a soldier, watching the world for threats.

-Cor begins to feel sick.

-He hides it and gently asks Prompto about what he’s noticed, about the two weeks of unbroken sleepover, and does Cor need to call his parents? Is everything alright? They DO know where he is, don’t they?

-Prompto shrugs, like it doesn’t matter. He tells Cor that everything is fine, Zack (Prompto’s nickname for Noctis, though Cor has no clue as to the logic behind it) just wanted him to stay over this long, that’s all. No, Cor doesn’t need to call his parents, everything is fine, he likes being in the Citadel with his friend.

-Prompto doesn’t answer the last question. Cor asks it again. Prompto’s gaze flickers away with something akin to … hurt. Not the guilt of a child, but the unease and simmering anger of someone who is thinking “why now? Why do you care now?” and Cor feels dread as Prompto shrugs.

-That’s not an answer, he tells Prompto.

-Prompto sighs and shrugs again, “I left them a note. I don’t know if they’ve read it by now or not. Depends on if they came home before heading to their next conference.”

-And Cor’s world drops out from under him.

-Cor asks more questions until Prompto seems to get distressed and suddenly Noctis is there, bristling protectively, a too-old glint of magic in his eyes that only happens when a genuine tantrum of all tantrums is on the way. Noctis tells Cor to get out and Cor evacuates. He has research to do anyway.

-It takes him a week to compile all the clues and reports and evidence (a week Prompto spends with Noctis, a still unbroken “sleepover” that is now alarming in its length). It takes him several hours in the training room before he is sane enough to present his findings to Regis.

-He glares at Regis and Clarus the entire time they read. Tries very, VERY hard not to sound accusing when he asks what they want to do now (tries hard not to let his fury leak into his voice or manner, his urge to scream at them because THEY were the ones who vetted the couple that adopted Prompto, THEY were the ones who were supposed to know what decent parents looked like and pick a good home life for the baby Cor brought home, not the child soldier, not Cor, and look at where it’s led).

-He is mildly gratified by the look of guilt on Clarus’s face and the horrified anger on Regis’s.

-The Argentums are a very respected couple, upstanding members of their community, hard workers, and donators to charity. They are well liked by their colleagues and peers, trusted by their employers to the point they get sent often on business trips on behalf of the company, and while they are by no means RICH, they are comfortably middle class.

-None of the people Cor’s agents had interviewed, not even the ones who considered themselves close friends of the Argentums, even knew they had a child. If it weren’t for the school attendance records, yearly checkups at the local hospital, and periodic purchase of toys for Christmas and birthdays, there would be no evidence that Prompto Argentum even EXISTED.

-Toys were not a replacement for love and presence in a child’s life, and the Argentums were definitely NOT doing that.

-“Cor-” Clarus starts, Cor growls at him, feral and furious and hurting, his fingers itching with the memory of holding the child he saved from that lab, his heart shuddering with the memory of how the boy had reached for him and cried when he handed him off to what Cor had been PROMISED would be loving, gentle parents.

-“You will FIX this,” Cor snarls wetly.

-Regis nods, his magic unfurling to settle on Cor’s shoulders like an apology and sympathetic anger all in one, “We will contact child services immediately and have him removed form their custody. I will personally ensure this is kept quiet and away from the media. The Argentums are not … unreasonable people. Once they are shown the evidence of their own- their own neglect, I’m certain they will give him up without a fight. We’ll find suitable-.”

-“You will give him to me.” Clarus and Regis stop and stare at Cor. Cor who’s hands are balled into shaking fists and his lungs stinging with the fury he thought he’d worked out in a training room, “We did it your way and Prompto has been neglected all his life. Give him to me.”

-Regis’s lips thin in worry, “Cor, raising a child is- a huge responsibility, they require a great deal of time-,”

-“Time the Argentums never spent?”

-“There is also security to think of, it has been seven years since you broke into that lab, but there is still a chance someone will look at his age and realize what he is.”

-Cor can feel his teeth grinding, “Just say it’s because he’s Noctis’s friend. I took him in for security purposes, to ensure the prince’s best friend was well protected. He can even keep the Argentum surname. He looks like them, no one will think of the lab baby that disappeared.”

-Clarus reached out and gently touched Cor’s shoulder, “And if he does not want to live with you? You’re a stranger to him, Cor. A FAMOUS and intimidating stranger.”

-Cor comes so close to punching Clarus in the mouth it’s a miracle he doesn’t. He shakes off Clarus’s hand and storms out, back to the training rooms to try to get a measure of his sanity back.

-The entire process is kept very, very quiet. With the king himself backing the order and Prompto’s original origins weighing in the back of their minds, the Argentums fold to the claims and give up Prompto without a fight. Cor thinks there is genuine regret and heartbreak in their eyes, genuine surprise and horror when their crimes are listed before them. As if they hadn’t realized until that moment just how MUCH time they spent away from the house and the little boy they claimed to love. Cor feels nothing but anger toward them.

-Prompto is informed of his removal from their custody only after the fact and he goes very, very still. Something cold lingers in blue eyes as he quietly asks if he’s going to be placed in the foster system. Cor is angry again that Prompto doesn’t ask about his parents, doesn’t demand to go back to his “mom” and “dad” (is angry that he calls them “the Argentums”, like he never thought of them as parents in the first place). Noctis is clinging to his best friend with wide eyes and instantly begs Regis to adopt “Cloud” so they can be brothers. Regis smiles sadly and explains he can’t do that, it would put a spotlight on Prompto that he doesn’t need, and that Prompto deserves to go to new parents who can spend time with him.

-“I don’t want them.” Everyone stops and looks at Prompto. Prompto glares at the floor, works his jaw and carefully outlines each word on his tongue before saying it, “I don’t want to go to new parents. My last ones didn’t care, what will make the new ones any different? They’ll keep me away from Zack. Or just want to adopt me for my connection to the royal prince. I don’t want new parents.”

-Regis reaches out a hand and starts to gently explain that Prompto HAS to have parents, that this time will be better, Prompto just hunches his shoulders and glares harder at the floor. There is something cold and broken in those blue eyes, something Cor KNOWS down to the fibers of his soul.

-Why do I bother saying anything when I know no one will listen to what I want anyway? My opinion doesn’t matter.

-I don’t matter.

-He’d seen those eyes in the mirror for a very, very long time until he ran away and joined the Crownsguard at thirteen, desperate enough to MAKE something of himself, to BE someone, that he was willing to risk death in the military. If only because joining was HIS choice, not someone else’s.

-Cor is speaking before he can think better of it, “What do you want then?”

-Every stops and stares at him. Noctis is already beaming hopefully at Cor, and Prompto looks … surprised, wary. Cor kneels down in front of the seven year old, equalizing their heights as much as he can, and murmurs seriously, “You need a guardian of some kind, it’s the law. But if you don’t want new parents, what DO you want? Is there anyone- is there anyone you would prefer as a caretaker? One of your teachers, or … even one of the servants here in the Citadel? We could ask if they would be willing to adopt you. At least until your age of majority.”

-Prompto stares at him, the looks down at the floor. He blinks rapidly as tears start to form and mutters something Cor could have sworn was “stupid child hormones” under his breath before sniffling loudly and ….

-Reaching out to tentatively hook his fingers around Cor’s sleeve.

-“Can I … pick you?” Blue eyes peer at him shyly, cautiously, “Can I pick you as my guardian?” And Cor feels like his chest is going to burst.

-He wants to say yes instantly, but instead he asks, “Are you sure? You don’t know me. I am the Marshal of the Crownsguard, my duties will keep me very busy. I WILL make time for you whenever you need, but I won’t be able to spend as much … as much time with you as you deserve.”

-Prompto’s lips twitch into something like a smile, “You’re safe,” he whispers and then looks away like he’s embarrassed. Then he opens his mouth and shatters Cor’s world, “You took me away from the- the men in white coats, and the cold, and the green.” The boy shudders with MEMORY that he should have and glances at Cor again, “I trust you.”

-And Cor can’t breathe.

-Regis and Clarus both look like a stiff wind could knock them over (just like how Cor feels) and Regis manages a strangled, “You were just a baby…”

-And Prompto shrugs, lets go of Cor’s jacket to fidget with the band around his wrist (that covers his barcode, covers the one visible remaining sign of the trauma and experiments they had done to him and oh ASTRALS how much does the boy remember), “It hurt a lot. People remember things that hurt better than they remember nice things. It was cold, and … scary. They kept making me sick. Then Cor came. He picked me up and took me away. He brought me here and … I know the Argentums weren’t very good parents. But they never hurt me. They never-” Prompto’s eyes blow wide and his breath stutters like he’s remembering something truly terrible and he shrinks mindlessly into Noctis’s tight hug, shaking like a leaf in genuine terror before he shakes his head and looks pleadingly at Cor, “I trust you,” he whispers again and its a knife to Cor’s heart, “please. Don’t send me away this time.”

-Noctis is still clinging to Prompto like a protective limpet, so when Cor reaches out and snatches Prompto against his chest, he’s clutching Noctis as well, but he doesn’t CARE. Because Prompto REMEMBERS the lab and the flight, somehow he remembers (has to remember, because the Argentums were never told any of that, there was no one but Cor to tell Prompto about those things and Cor hadn’t spoken to Prompto in all those seven years) all the trauma and fear and that Cor had LEFT him and Cor knows he will never forgive himself for this.

-But he will make it right.

-“Okay,” he breathes into Prompto’s hair, “You can stay. You can stay with me.” He inhales shakily, raises his head and GLARES at Regis and Clarus, daring them to disagree this time. Oath or no oath, king or no king, Cor will fight them this time if they try to take Prompto away.

-Regis dips his head in a shaky acknowledgement, still off-balance from the revelation that Prompto remembered “I’ll have the paperwork brought up.”

-Cor buries his face in Prompto’s hair again with a shaky sigh and a tight squeeze. Prompto is his.

*ancient plunny revives with a scream* *I slam the lid back down on it with a surprised screech*

WHY YOU DO THIS TO ME. BUCKLE UP WE’RE GETTING A FREAKING FICLET.

࿐ ◛┆masterlist

love and deepspace ✉︎ᯓᡣ𐭩

smaus

when you accidentally mislead them

when you find them crying

when they see hearts everywhere

when you're wearing their clothes

their sanrio counterparts

when they're jealous

when you leave a hickey on them

you chose their perfume

when you pamper them

you get gravely injured pt.1 pt.2 pt.3

when you meet their past/alternate lives

when you call them 'yours'

when they notice your self harm scars

when you call them by their full name

when you're being toxic

when you favour their plushie versions

when you tell them to take care of themselves

when you back out of intimacy (and when you're ready)

when they get turned into catboys

when you've been skipping meals

when they send you pictures of themselves (and again)

LADS vs university group work pt.1

when they're needy

Catch 22 smau pt.1

when you're obsessed with an otome game

late night texts they send

when you think you're being too talkative

when you argue pt.1 pt.2 | ending 1 | ending 2

writing

you still love me anyway | zayne

I only want sympathy in the form of you crawling into bed with me | caleb

LADS social media headcanons

genshin impact ✉︎ᯓᡣ𐭩

writing

the night, she calls me | neuvillette (continuation)

I've been devoting myself to you, monday to monday and friday to friday | wriothesley

Check out the first Lads Non-MC Fic Recs list here!

Sylus

☆ Imagine being Sylus's non-mc significant other - by dark-night-hero (link here, part two, part three)

☆ the cure to his curses - by makingfanfictionstosleep (link here)

☆ LOVE IN THE DARK - by a-casxandra (link here, part two, part three)

☆ Crow Family Shenanigans - by dissociativewriter (masterlist)

Zayne

☆ THE CUT THAT ALWAYS BLEED - by a-casxandra (link here, part two)

☆ zayne x non-mc!fem reader -- married - by cno-inbminor (link here, last part)

☆ he leaves you out like a penny in the rain - buy icarusignite (link here)

Caleb

☆ Imagine being Caleb's non-mc significant other - by dark-night-hero (link here, part two, part three)

☆ once upon a time - by velaenam (link here)

☆ gravity hurts (you made it so sweet) - by kitimeq (link here)

☆ Oblivious boyfriend Caleb! - by sweetcalebb (link here)

Rafayel

☆ You're not his muse - by adeptustemptations (link here)

Xavier

☆ Imagine being Xavier's non-mc significant other - by dark-night-hero (link here, part two, part three)

☆ HOMESICK - by hanimanny (link here)

◇ I can't put a link in the other one anymore, so I made a new list. 😅 This is where I will be putting my non-mc fic finds from now on!

◇ To the authors mentioned, THANK YOU FOR YOUR AMAZING WRITING/WORKS AND I LOVE YA'LL 🙈💗

◇ Links/ List will be updated!

Last Edited July 09, 2025 09:32 pm

My Writings' Guide:

Red: Incomplete / Editing / Drafts

Blue: Complete

Chapters: In chronological order

Unknown: Not in any particular order

⚠️Please mind the Content Warnings put in place, especially for Mature*-related posts.

[ Reader discretion advised. ] ⚠️

——oOo——

Solo Leveling

Trial Player AU

Status: Ongoing, Main Project

Preview: Daydream

Chapters: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14], [15], [16], [17], [18], [19], [20], [21], [22], [23], [24], [25], [26], [27], [28], To be continued . . .

Unknown: [Nighttime Musings], [?.2], [?.3], [Happy Birthday, Jinwoo], [The You I Love], [Same AU, Different Stages]

Related Asks:

TP!Reader's powers explained: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5]

How I write this series: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12]

Miscellaneous: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7*], [8], [9], [10], [11*], [12], [13*], [14*], [15], [16]

Illustrations/Fanarts: [1], [2], [3]

Inspirations: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13]

Others: [1], [2], [3], [4], [4.5], [5], [6]

Recent Updates:

Added fight scene in the draft of chapter 6, parts of the original moved to draft of chapter 5 [13/11/2024]

Added more details in the draft of chapter 10, parts of the original moved to draft of chapter 11 [16/11/2024]

——oOo——

K-Pop Demon Hunters

Ghost in The Mist

Status: Ongoing

Chapters: [1], [2], [3], [4], [5] To be continued . . .

——oOo——

Want to know more about my stories? Or share anything else? Feel free to ask and I shall answer them in the tag: #Hollow's Talks

as what the title says :D

note. some fics that you will see may contain yandere, dark or nsfw content. happy reading! a big appreciation to the writers as well for their effort and *chef's kiss* writing ;'), keep up the good work! also if you want to add something to the list or if any of the links are wrong or not working, please lmk!

verdandi's love and deepspace archive

— my favorite sylus fan fictions

(last updated 2025.06.26)

roomie!sylus au by @comatosebunny09

and then they were roommates (main fic)

sylus takes up an online ad for a roommate

roomie sylus caring for you while you're on your period

getting roomie sylus to help you build your first pc

cooking for roomie sylus

conversation in the kitchen the morning after you and roomie sylus have gotten more cozy

roomie sylus giving you explosive, mind-alternating head in his bed

trying with all your might to wrench open a pickle jar, but it’s not budging.

roomie sylus offering to do the laundry

movie night with roomie sylus

movie night with roomie sylus pt.2

domestic roomie sylus

jealous roomie sylus

you’re at a friend’s house for an impromptu party

you come home from work to see him packing

water balloon/gun fight with the neighborhood kids that results in sylus using you as a human shield

roomie sylus putting dishes away in an overhead cabinet and his shirt rides up

roomie sylus' reaction to us climbing on top of the counter

roomie sylus being your wedding date

model/artist au by @blessdunrest

prologue

you only need to ask

nebula

to be cherished, to be held, to be loved - @blessdunrest

never will i let you go - @blessdunrest

here we go again - @blessdunrest

i see you - @terriblesoup

the things she spoke into being - @terriblesoup

passing through - @terriblesoup

the red-eyed stranger - @peascribbles

safe in your hands - @peascribbles

go on, cry for him - @peascribbles

deliveries in the n109 - @peascribbles & @thechaoticarchivist

club onychinus - @aethercoreheart

vampire!sylus | just a bite - @aethercoreheart

vampire!sylus headcanons - @mwphisto

sweet temptations - @mwphisto

bloodlust - @humanjarvis

mr. magician - @humanjarvis

the world when you're with me - @humanjarvis

if i were your boss - @humanjarvis

serenade - @humanjarvis

you’re injured during a car shoot out and try your best to hide it from sylus - @frogbogus

he was what the water promised - @sylus-shivanika

finding a photo of his ex - @blueivyy99

return to you - @reilemon

resonance - @catbolt

say yes to heaven - @kitimeq

risqué sketches - @rika-mmendmethings

birds don't sing - @thestarsaboveme

next door distraction - @everlastingserenitys

sweet mess - @everlastingserenitys

do i wanna know? - @everlastingserenitys

my summer disaster - @everlastingserenitys

sweet like cherry wine - @abxssalwrites

i can handle it - @cosmiic-world

my dragon - @kissandtellus

from me and the twins to you - @yapperingtinaa

sylus always answers your calls - @heartswithinreach

have you been eating pineapple? - @delirious-donna

capture my heart and frame it, won’t you? - @memephi

lads men x reader who's really into horror movies - @thestarsaboveme

when you ask him for a divorce mid-argument - @kaiist