#lusid

Lucient's type is both very specific and very broad at the same time. Fray was not his usual type physically, as Lucient had more of a thing for tall strongly built men who could cast a shadow on him (how lucky for him that he works as a knight dragoon, where he's surrounded by handsome strong men). So without the existing emotional connection and just focusing on physical traits, he may have gravitated towards Sidurgu more than Fray. But personality wise, Fray is almost a perfect match. Lucient's tastes in personalities is actually uncannily similar to Fray's tastes, but with a few key differences. He won't fight back against a problematic partner if they otherwise fulfill his other basic needs (always there for him, unconditional love or "love", takes care of him and/or lets him take care of them) because at least they make him feel something, and he's not as much of a control freak as Fray, prefering to relent and go along with his partner's wishes. He vastly prefers people who are straightforward with their feelings and intentions or wants, as it's exhausting to try to parse all the social niceties and figure out what people are like behind their facades. He also prefers people with more domineering or outgoing personalities, since having someone to look up to and decide things for him is comforting and familiar.

14. What are their core values?

Okay firstly, consent, consent, consent. Even in AUs where they're not in their usual shared body arrangement like the one where Lucient returns earlier and becomes a Dark Knight (which I haven't much publically with... oops), having mutual respect for each others' wishes and coming to agreements is absolutely key. Before Lucient makes any decision that isn't just menial stuff like "what to eat for breakfast", he always consults Fray and asks for his honest opinion, even if it ends up being "I don't mind, do what you want". Likewise, Fray doesn't take the wheel or do anything in Lucient's body without Lucient's permission, whether consciously (Lucient actively calling Fray forth to help him in a bad situation) or unconsciously (Fray leveraging their connected souls and his Echo to discern exactly when Lucient subconsciously asks him to take control). Fray can tell when Lucient is no longer comfortable in a situation or with him, so he can often hand back control or step away entirely before Lucient even realizes he was in distress.

In "canon", the absolutely traumatic way they fused together and treat each other (biggest example is the fact that every encounter they had in that period is some form of dubcon due to either Fray goading him constantly and tormenting Lucient into submission or Lucient unintentionally warping Fray's personality into an abuser out of self-hatred and to lessen his own sense of guilt over desiring Fray's company) horrifies Fray in retrospect once he recovers his sense of self, to the point where for a majority of Stormblood he's essentially radio silent inside Lucient. He knew he'd fucked it all up (Lucient's own effects on his soul notwithstanding) and couldn't trust himself not to hurt Lucient further while his soul was still unstable, so his withdrawal was the closest thing to penance he could do without outright ejecting himself from Lucient's body (impossible at that point due to how mixed their souls had become). At least in his eyes. Lucient didn't see anything Fray did as being wrong, instead blaming himself for everything and seeing his project to reverse engineer arcanima an create Fray's first construct as his own penance and a declaration of love in one. He wanted to make the construct self-sustaining so Fray could have the choice to walk away and live as his own man again (well, as much as he can with a good chunk of his soul missing and most of the gaps filled with a good chunk of Lucient's soul). But Fray chose to stay with him, forever until death claims them again, and then he'll fight life and death itself so he can be with Lucient in every life after that. Another core value, choices and understanding. The ability to make the choice to forgive and grow from their past errors while acknowledging the effects those errors had on them.

Related to that, Lucient is the kind of person to just roll over and show his belly at the first signs of conflict, and Fray has a pathological need for control and micromanagement to feel safe, so if left to their own devices they'll become horribly enmeshed and end up with one person always relenting and the other always dictating their lives (hi nobility AU!). So they always need other people to keep an eye on them and challenge them so they don't get absorbed into each other. In "canon", that's everyone Lucient has been in frequent contact with and Sidurgu and Rielle on Fray's side. In the early return AU, that's mainly Ompagne and Sidurgu. That's another core value for them in "canon", having those outside connections to ground them and fill the needs that they might not get from each other. Sure, they could just turn inward towards each other and live in a world where they're the only mfers who matter to each other (and fwiw, they both find that idea incredibly hot. for whatever that says about their mental states), but they do absolutely care and yearn for the company of others. They need friends, they need other examples of love to balance their intense all-consuming passion for each other out.

24. Would they want to have kids at some point? Or do they already have them?

as if rielle isn't already the drk's collective kid /exploded by a swiftcasted Glare

Oh you bet your bottom gil Lucient wants to be a dad. He wants to hold a baby in his arms and teach his progeny all he knows and give them the care he should have had himself as a child. Shame that his tastes in partners means that 99% of the time he'll be fawning over someone who makes that dream a biological impossibility. But adoption is always on the table if his job doesn't get in the way of being a good dad, and he does volunteer and do charity work with orphanages in both the Brume and the Firmament, which fulfills his paternal instincts quite nicely. A majority of his craftsmanship skills, when not put towards Ishgardian Restoration, are being honed through sewing clothes and other fabric things like pillows for the kiddos and helping repair the orphanage buildings or the furniture inside. He's quite well liked and admired by staff and orphan alike for this!

Fray does offhandedly joke that if Lucient wants to have a child so much, he might as well down a Fantasia and be the mother himself. It WAS supposed to be a joke, but for a split second, Lucient DID look over at Sidurgu and seriously consider it. Much to Fray's disbelief and horror.

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Why is the good Temple Knight here in this room? Uh... parleying with some unruly Brume folk, taking care of a possible "uprising", getting these so-called Dark Knights to submit to the might of a Temple Knight...yeah. Nothing to be worried about, you didn't see anything. 🏃‍♂️💨

Some bonus shots; a close up of Sidurgu fighting a pounding headache and Fray teasing him over it, and a better look at Lucient's underarmour.