belight | ★ sticks & bones app.

PLAYER INFO

Name: Rina
Pronouns: she/her
Contact: PM preferred!
Permissions: here
Invite: N/A the power of Friendship

CHARACTER INFO

Name: Noctis Lucis Caelum
Canon: Final Fantasy XV
Canon Point: Early Chapter 9, in Altissia but pre-Leviathan.
Age: 20
Species: Human
History: Wiki
Personality:

✽ What is your character's main motivation? What drives them and keeps them going?

It's a mix of different things, but if one had to ascribe just one word to it, it would probably be duty. It's just that it's duty as a concept that morphs and changes for Noctis through the series, shifting its meaning as he learns more about both the world and himself. Duty is the first motivation that's given to him in the beginning, from others -- he's the True King, the chosen one who will one day save the star and banish the darkness. His father raised him with that, always speaking to him about the responsibilities a king has to his people, and Noctis internalizes this deeply despite that he often isn't great at showing as much. He has doubts about it though, especially after the injury from his childhood leaves him partly unable to draw on the powers of his lineage to the same extent his father or previous kings could. And sometimes he resents it too, despite trying not to.

So in a way, it starts off as something he's striving towards because it's what he was told and the only thing he's known, but while he doesn't not want to do it, it's also... not yet something he wants to do, either, or that he's decided for himself that he will. It's there, but it doesn't fully sink in yet. So in that sense, his entire journey, with the lessons it teaches him and with the ways it helps him grow, is Noctis's actual motivation. It's the friends who remain by his side and are there for him when he needs them, the people who make sacrifices for him along the way, the guilt but also the gratitude he comes to feel, mixed together, and the world he comes to know is out there and deserves a future. This is what truly becomes his driving force. The concept of duty not as it was at the start, but as it finally becomes his own and he grows to truly feel it, to truly embrace it as his own belief, prompting him to choose to make a sacrifice of his own.

So in a way, maybe his purest motivation and driving force are his own feelings, once he figures them out.

✽ What is their biggest regret? Why?

His entire existence is a gallery of wishing he could have expressed his true feelings or said the things that truly mattered to the important people in his life before he either lost them or something else terrible happened, so... take a wild guess. That, and wishing he could have understood them better and had been less ignorant. This is a constant at pretty much any canonpoint, just the person it's directed at might change -- or, well, the list grows. At his current canonpoint here, it's still his father. But soon after that it becomes Lunafreya, and then also the three close friends by his side (Ignis, Gladio and Prompto), in different ways and contexts for each.

✽ What is their worst fear? Their greatest comfort?

The thing Noctis fears most is, probably, loss. It's something that comes hand in hand with always being the one who must be protected, no matter the cost to those around him, which is something that actually makes him uncomfortable.

One could also argue the root of it is a fear of failure, not necessarily as a whole, but specific in the context where he isn't good enough to fulfill his role, so he might fail everyone around him in this single most important thing he has to do. There's a part of him that's all too aware he isn't ready yet, isn't strong or wise or even brave enough to even be a king like his father was, much less the savior of the star. But the reason he fears this is still because it means losing -- it means people dying because of him, his friends possibly no longer by his side, and the light gone from the world. And it's a huge weight to bear when he isn't even sure yet if he's decided he wants to bear it, but he just knows he has no choice. He's scared of becoming alone through those losses, and there's actually a significant portion of the game where he's forced to be by himself and fight on without his friends, specifically because the antagonist guesses correctly that this is the worst possible scenario for Noctis.

On the obvious contrary of the above, his greatest comfort are his friends and the people he cares about, and simply having them by his side and knowing they'll be with him.

✽ Top three strengths?

Kindness. Whether it's just in his nature or he owes it to having had a loving father who raised him with kindness in turn (probably both), this quality shines through in Noctis even despite how bad he can be at showing it sometimes. Although he has a complicated relationship with it in terms of his duty, when unrelated to that, he genuinely wants to be a good person and to help others and see them happy and safe. This manifests in the subtler, smaller things, and is what draws or keeps people by his side (such as when Gladiolus, who didn't like him at first, changes his mind due to the extremely selfless kindness Noctis showed to his younger sister, Iris). Those who are close to him know and can see this no matter how poor at expressing himself in the open he is.

Willpower. This is a bit of a double-edged sword, since sometimes he can be too stubborn, and also not immediately apparent due to his many struggles with what he truly wants to do and whether he feels capable of it or not. But despite this, once he manages to sort out his own doubts and he sets his mind to it with the proper resolve, Noctis can go to the greatest lengths for the things he believes in and for the people he loves, and won't give up on what's important no matter what stands in his way. With the right motivation and support, he always eventually picks himself up from even the greatest of losses or tragedies, and continues on for the sake of what he's decided.

His unpretentious character, which gives him a sort of earnest charm he might not even be aware of. Noctis isn't at all like what you'd expect of royalty, tending to find pomp and decorum and special treatment more stifling than desirable in any way, so he interacts with those around him regardless of status, preferring to see them more as equals. It's another recurring struggle of his, considering how he's sometimes required to act his proper part as a prince (and later, king), but this simplicity also makes him a lot easier for others to approach, trust and like.

✽ Top three weaknesses?

Impulsive. He's bad at handling his emotions and not acting on them or lashing out when he shouldn't, often leading to reckless action that puts either himself or others in danger. This is especially bad when anger is involved, but on occasion other things like impatience, pride, competitiveness or his need to prove himself can do it too. He rarely stops to think before he acts when left on his own, relying mostly on other people to do the former for him, and even then there's no guarantee he'll listen and not just leap in head-first while ignoring advice. He's made pretty much all of his most critical mistakes over the course of the game in this manner.

Although he's open-minded and accepting of change and new things, the fact remains that Noctis is pretty sheltered due to the over-protective upbringing he received, and also somewhat spoiled. There are struggles or problems out there he just doesn't understand or wouldn't have thought of because he never had to deal with them, and he has trouble thinking through the point of view of others until someone else explains or points it out. He lacks self-reliance to an extent as well, because he's used to having people always there for him, watching his back and picking up the slack. This is why sometimes he can act lazy, or more carefree and relaxed than he should, or give some matters less focus than they ought to have.

Emotional immaturity, which leads to a lot of poor communication. Noctis tends to bottle up too much and faces difficulty in expressing himself. He feels his struggles a little too intensely and personally to be able or willing to share them well, which has the downside of making him seem as if he isn't thinking or trying when he should be. It also fails to get his feelings across to those around him, things such as appreciation and gratitude, which he experiences deeply but is very bad at conveying even to his closest companions. Because of how heavy a burden this inability to share these things puts on him, he also often ends up avoiding his problems or putting off thinking about important things because he doesn't know how to be ready to face them. This avoidance, coupled with the fear of not being enough and of disappointing, plus other smaller factors in the same vein, can lead to him coming off as abrasive, curt, or even rude and ungrateful, when these things couldn't be further from his true feelings.

✽ What was their last lie?

Something small and mostly harmless probably, that he might have already forgotten about by now. Either hiding his identity on the road out of caution, or maybe acting tough when he was actually worried or unsure ("I can do it just fine" / "I don't need you to tell me that"), or trying to mask the way he was feeling in some situation or other, out of embarrassment and/or to avoid being teased. Generally, his lies are pretty transparent and he doesn't lie about important things unless forced to.

Inventory:

1. His main sword, the Engine Blade. This sword is light, designed for one-handed use, and was a gift to Noctis from his father, for his 16th birthday. It enhances Noctis's magic and MP a little, and can extract a small amount of elemental energy for him to store from enemies he defeats with it.

2. A fancy fishing rod, complete with reel, line and a small set of lures for different fish types.

3. 5 x Magic Flask, one filled with three charges of a Fire spell, the other four empty because I want him to work for it.

4. His smartphone, which will have no reception and probably run out of battery soon enough because yeah.

5. A Carbuncle figurine; which probably counts more as a companion or pet than an item. This was a gift a three-year-old Noctis received from his father. After the daemon attack that left him injured in his childhood, while he was in a coma, Noctis had a dream in which Carbuncle appeared before him and guided him to waking up, leading to him actually doing so in reality. He took this figure with him when he left Insomnia at the start of the game, as a protective charm for the road, and while he personally isn't sure it has any real power (since what happened before was basically just a dream in the end), in the game itself Carbuncle sometimes shows up in photos taken by Prompto, and when playing in Easy mode it can pop up when Noctis is incapacitated in battle, healing him and buffing his combat abilities for a short while.

Abilities:

As a blanket term, Noctis's abilities fall under something known in the world of Eos as the Power of Kings, magic granted by the Crystal to the Lucis Caelum bloodline specifically. It stands to be noted, however, that Noctis sustained an injury when he was eight years old, in a daemon attack, which is stated to have left him unable to draw upon the full extent of this power. Anything lacking will be noted where applicable (or known, since not a lot is specified in canon). Some of this magic can also be shared by its wielder with his retinue and those who fight alongside him, so Noctis is able to grant this to others if he should choose so. In canon, all three of his party members use some of his powers to an extent.

Things included under this:

★⋮ Phasing. This is the ability to avoid attacks and/or impact with solid objects by kind of just passing through them, leaving a silhouette of the user made up of blue light in the location where the strike would have made contact. This costs MP.
★⋮ Warping. Same principle as above, but with full teleportation over a longer distance. A weapon needs to be thrown at the target spot first, following which Noctis can warp behind it directly to that point. Warping to an enemy with an attack is known as a warp-strike, and the hit will be empowered proportionally to the distance traveled. Noctis can also leave a blue light silhouette of himself where he started, to linger there as a distraction.
★⋮ Airstep. This works in a similar way to the above, except it's basically Noctis stepping on empty air while airborne, in-between attacks. He can only do this once or twice, unless you unlock a very expensive AP node that I'm not gonna give him in here.
★⋮ Storing & producing items out of thin air. The kings of Lucis are said to have wielded weapons forged from thin air since the most ancient times, and this is true of Noctis as well, in the sense where he has free access to all gear he has accumulated (weapons, restorative items, enhancements, his crafted spell bombs, treasure picked up, even his fishing rod and lures, etc.) out of a hammerspace-like storage. He can summon them into his hand at will, where they materialize out of blue light, and can be unsummoned or swapped quickly for each other in the same fashion. This can also be done by those of his retinue that he has chosen to share his powers with, and they can also access the same full inventory or store things in it.
★⋮ Royal Arms. Of note as part of the above ability are the Royal Arms, powerful weapons that belonged to previous Lucian monarchs, which Noctis collects some of as part of the story. These weapons can be wielded physically by anyone, but they will only impart their true power to those of the Lucis Caelum bloodline. When touched by a person they recognize as such, the weapon will glow briefly before turning into a crystalline, "phantom" version of itself and entering their body by piercing through them. This adds them to the inventory above, in physical form, but also to that person's Armiger (see below) in a more spiritual manner. The physical version can be summoned and wielded at will, standalone just like any regular weapon from the inventory, as long as it's present there. Using a Royal Arm in its physical form drains Noctis's HP (so, presumably, uses his lifeforce), which doesn't appear to be the case with other kings so this is possibly a lingering effect of his injury.
★⋮ Armiger. This is a state Noctis can enter after filling up the Armiger Bar, from using normal attacks and from phasing or warping in battle, and is essentially FFXV's version of a Limit Break. In this state, he's able to levitate in the air, his speed and strength are increased, all his movements are warps by default with no cost to MP, and he can summon spectral versions of all of the Royal Arms he's claimed so far at once, which circle him in mid-air and move along with him, attacking in combination. Apparently, these spectral versions can still appear whether he possesses the physical version or not at the time. He can only sustain this state for brief periods of time in one go, before needing to charge it again.
★⋮ Elemancy. Another type of magic only available to the Lucian royal line. This allows Noctis to draw out the elements of fire, ice and lightning from deposits that occur naturally throughout the world, and store them in his possession. Others, such as his father and the Glaives drawing power from him, are seen to be able to shoot this magic directly out from their hands, but Noctis lacks that ability so this is another assumed problem lingering from his injury. However, Noctis is able to refine these energies, optionally adding other items as catalysts to empower them or confer special effects, into a number of various spells (all listed here if wanted) stored in spherical objects called Magic Flasks. These flasks contain a limited number of charges before they run out and must be filled again. In actuality, they function more like grenades and are referred to as "spell bombs" because the user throws them, and they release a charge as an explosion upon impact, covering the surrounding area with the stored spell effects. These can be used by those of Noctis's entourage that he is sharing his power with, as well.
★⋮ Creating restorative / enhancement items. Part of the same magic as the above, this is the ability to imbue regular drinks (such as soda and energy drinks) with various effects, which turns them into Potions, Elixirs, Antidotes, and so on (basically any item on this list). The official guide states these "have a restorative effect due to their properties being altered by Noctis’s magical powers" and the item descriptions support the claim. Noctis keeps these in the same inventory space as weapons, to be freely used by either himself or anyone he's granted access to it. They seem to emerge from there as vials that can be broken, upon which particles of magic are released and bestow the stored effect on the user or their chosen target.
★⋮ Summoning. This requires a covenant to be forged between the True King and one of the Six (the gods of Eos, also known as the Astrals) first, by winning their favor via trial, before he'll be able to, under special conditions and when the deity in question sees fit, call upon their power in battle. These summonings have extremely large-scale, devastating effects upon the entire area when performed, differing from one deity to another depending on its element and nature. At this canonpoint, Noctis has covenants formed with Titan and Ramuh, but presumably he won't be able to summon them here anyway since they're only available in Lucis, and this isn't even the same world/planet.
★⋮ Ring of the Lucii. Being of royal blood, Noctis is naturally able to use this item. It's a ring that allows its bearer to command the power of the Crystal, originally created by the Astrals and entrusted to the Lucis Caelum bloodline. When a King of Lucis dies, their soul comes to reside inside this ring. Anyone can pick it up, but those not of royal blood who attempt to wear it will be judged by the souls of the kings and most likely burned to a crisp as they are rejected. There can be some rare exceptions, usually when the interests of the kings align with those of the person (i.e. protecting Noctis or the Oracle), but even then the sacrifice for gaining its power temporarily will be great, usually the cost of the wearer's life. When someone from the royal bloodline wears it, the Ring gives them access to magic called Arcana that they could not wield otherwise, but also exacts a massive toll on them and their lifeforce. Each wearer seems to gain different powers from using it. Noctis gains three specific spells:
— 1. Death. This is a spell that allows him to drain life-force from a living target, disintegrating it in the process while healing himself.
— 2. Holy. A spell that strikes anyone attacking Noctis with sacred energy in retaliation.
— 3. Alterna. A powerful spell that takes a long time to cast, but can tear the fabric of reality and open a gate to another dimension, banishing the target through it completely at the cost of all of Noctis's mana.
★⋮ (Warning of massive FFXV story spoilers.) The True King, who acts as a vessel for the Crystal's power, has the ability to banish darkness from the star by employing the Royal Arms, the Crystal and the Ring of the Lucii. At the cost of his own life, taken at the hands of the souls of previous kings stored within the ring, he can cross over into the beyond and wield the light of Providence to defeat the darkness at its core, in its actual form. Please note at the current canon point Noctis is unaware that he has to die, he's trying to get the Crystal back from the Empire so he can save the star, but doesn't know the process or its cost yet.

Sticks & Bones Specific Notes:
Aka I'm outlining my own nerfs to make your job easier, but if more are necessary, that's also fine.
- Since Noctis's inventory is limited on arrival to the items listed, he won't have physical use of any other weapon than his Engine Blade until he obtains more in game via whatever method and stores them.
- The 5 Magic Flasks in the inventory are the exact number main story forces you to have by this point, but (per my choice) only one has a spell in it because idk I guess he was lazy on the road, so he won't have any others until he finds elemental energy to craft more.
- No restoratives are currently in the inventory, so none of that until he makes some IC.
- His Armiger would have at least 3 Royal Arms mandated by story by this point, but realistically (with detours he would've taken at the advice of his friends) he probably owns something like 5. They'll only matter when/if Armiger ever activates, since he doesn't have the physical copies.
- No summoning the Astrals for obvious reasons.
- At his current canonpoint, Noctis would not have the Ring of the Lucii (it's still with Luna) so he doesn't have access to any of its three spells.
- If Carbuncle ever comes out more long-term, it will probably charge his smartphone since that's what it uses to communicate with him.

★ sticks & bones app.

things i might need for my own ref