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aesop1 · 4 years

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the office documentary [1]

jungkook x reader

a/n: hello, this was something on my mind and i wrote it down.

word count: 7.2k

warnings: none

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jungkook was ecstatic when he finally received the call he'd been waiting for all week: he got the job. it wasn't a very major career or anything, but it was something he thoroughly enjoyed doing and couldn't wait to start his first day of work. it was a long term project, so as long as he didn't fuck anything up, he'd have a steady source of income for a good few years.

what could his job be, you may ask?

he was a cameraman.

his intrigue in photography began at a young age, blossoming into a full fledge desire to capture everything on film by the time he had become a teenager. photos lined his walls, his computer was overflowing with nonsensical videos of his friends or his travels; he loved to be behind the camera. he fully believed that filming and photographing were the most surefire ways to salvage your life's memories. he didn't dare trust his unreliable pea brain to remember the most valuable moments of his life.

photography gave color to his childhood, ensured that he could relive his best of times at the flick of a page in his many albums. filmography intensified those colors tenfold, still leaving him awestruck at how vivid his memories relapsed when rewatching his videos. he knew that he had to hold a camera wherever he wound up in life.

it was actually a friend of jungkook's who suggested he take this job, having come across a 'help wanted' ad on Instagram. he leapt at the opportunity, sending his resume in and awaiting the news. he didn't know exactly what he had signed up for, all he knew was that he was going to be a cameraman for an up and coming documentary titled "The Office." it sounded boring as all hell, but he couldn't care less. he got the job and he was going to take whatever came at him because he loved filming more than anything else.

it was on his first day that he realized how... monotonous his new job was. how wasteful it seemed to be, taking up precious storage and time and for what? some dull, meaningless office supply middle man by the name of "Big Hit." they didn't make their own paper, so he couldn't document the creation of such a reliable resource. there was no action, the whole floor consisting of adults ranging from their 20s to their 60s just sitting in some boring chairs at some boring desks, fiddling with their boring computers all day.

he tried to remind himself that first days were always boring, especially in this case. it was the beginning of the documentary and the film crew had to introduce all of the employees to the viewers. one after the other, the subject would state their name, their occupation, why they started working here, what they want out of life, so on and so forth. jungkook sat back, not having anything to do at the moment and just listening to these people drone on and on about their useless, middle class lives. some people were just not made for the camera, not intended to interact with it at all; from their awkward glances to the crew behind it to their constant periods of silence where their brain shut down on them, he sympathized with the poor, deprived camera documenting all of this. jungkook was about to tear his hair from his scalp the minute a namjoon sat down and kept giggling, rubbing the back of his head nervously, more 'umm's and 'ahh's than actual words coming from his mouth. jungkook hadn't known the true definition of relief until that man finally rose with a bow and evacuated the room.

"these candidates are so dry, aren't they?" another cameraman, taehyung, strode over to where jungkook sat, plopping beside him with a hefty sigh and a lopsided grin. they were the youngest of the crew, and jungkook grew rather close to him during the first hour or so of setting up. "I've been screaming inside for the past half hour."

"tell me about it," jungkook breathed out heavily, slouching in his chair and waiting for the next spectacle to commence. "how can they film a show on such a boring cast of people?"

"well, I would still definitely watch," taehyung retaliated with his signature goofy snicker, patting a rhythm to his corduroy clad thighs while smiling to the younger man. "call me unique, but I see something very... genuine with this production." jungkook narrowed his eyes to taehyung. he was quite the outlier to other people, seeing the world in a shade of yellow which kept his mood extremely optimistic. jungkook admired his outlook on life greatly, never having met someone so naturally radiant, so he sat silently, fully intending to soak in everything taehyung was about to say with a new perspective in mind. "reality shows say they're reality, of course, but we all know they're scripted." jungkook nodded, expelling some air from his nose in a soft laugh. "this, though, this show." taehyung leaned back, eyes darting around the briefing room they were situated in. "it's really awe inspiring. to see the lives of those we wouldn't spare a passing glance to." he looked over to jungkook, a shimmer in his eyes that jungkook truly was envying. "there's just something so beautiful about the ordinary. life consists of the extravagant and the average, and both of them make living worth while."

"you know, you're a pretty alright dude, taehyung," jungkook elbowed the guy beside him, shooting a grin back at him. he wished he could see the significance of this documentary the way taehyung did. before taehyung could respond, the producer shuffled in with a small girl in tow.

she wore typical officer attire; a grey cardigan layered over a simple white collared shirt, tucked into a loose fitting black skirt. her hair was tied back and out of her face, revealing a painstakingly stoic expression plastered onto her face. with one analysis of her, jungkook concluded that she had to have been the youngest soul in this office, dare he say even younger than him. she took a seat before the camera, scanning the room of crew members with that same blank look, her eyes glazed with a sheen of boredom. he couldn't help but feel a pang of shame towards her. to not appreciate the effort put forth to document her life, a position many aspiring stars would kill for.

"okay, so just like I was saying before," the producer, Nick, had began, sitting in a chair beside the camera facing her. "just look at the camera, and introduce yourself. then, we'll ask questions and you just go along with it." she gave a curt nod and directed her attention to said device. jungkook began feeling the flares of jealousy creeping through his system as he took note of her through the small screen behind the camera; she was a natural. her gaze was unnecessarily intense, and he felt he suddenly understood the purpose of America's Next Top Model. how could someone who appeared to be so disconnected from reality draw so much passion from within. yet beneath his broiling rage, he could feel the kindling of an admiration for her and her mystery.

"hello, my name is (y/n)," she began, never breaking from the lenses aimed at her. "I am the youngest in accounting and in the office in general."

"how did you get this job?" Nick questioned her.

"my uncle was a salesman here, and he put in a recommendation for me. he retired a few months ago, though. I stayed."

"why are you working here?"

"I needed a decent job to pay for college."

"what do you want in life?"

"not sure yet. haven't thought that far ahead."

"okay, and what do you think about this show?"

for the first time since she sat down, she paused to consider her words, eyes finally straying from the camera to opt for the ceiling. other than the averting of her gaze, she remained as statuesque as ever. after a mere 5 seconds or so, she returned to the camera.

"I think it's a rather bad idea," she answered honestly, piquing the interest of Nick facing his first bad opinion of the day. "nothing happens here. we're just office suppliers. I don't think anyone would ever want to watch this show." jungkook grew increasingly irritated with her. how ungrateful could someone be? truly, she had to be the most dense human in this city. although he felt the same way about this show, she was the one gaining fame from it. how can a subject from some unknown suburb not leap at the chance for the spotlight.

"alright, thank you for your honesty," Nick chuckled out, gaining a few more laughs from the others. she, however, remained unmoving, offering a wry grin in response. she was dismissed, leaving jungkook steaming in his chair. he didn't understand this show, and now he didn't understand these people. as a result of this confusion, he didn't understand taehyung's words which he had tried so desperately to grasp. in a seething rage, he silently glared at her departing form, vowing to make something of this documentary series; vowing to prove her, and ultimately himself, wrong.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 2 years later *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

"welcome back, everyone," Nick announced, calling for the attention of the crew around him. jungkook sat beside taehyung, pushing back his unruly curls that have amassed over the years. taehyung had dyed his once golden locks to a dark brown, also allowing for a mop of fluff to overtake his features. the two continued to spend their free time hanging out together, earning their title as brothers. their nearly identically long locks hadn't helped their case, but they didn't seem to care. in their eyes, they were very nearly brothers in just two years. "as you all may know, our second season was a complete success." this earned a room full of applause from the production crew, including the two boys seated in the back corner. jungkook had put his heart and soul into filming. it wasn't much, but he put all of his efforts into capturing whatever piqued his interest. it had worked, and he slowly became the lead cameraman amongst their crew. "thank you to everyone. your work is greatly appreciated, but now is the time for season three."

"can you believe it's already the third season," taehyung leaned over, listening intently to their producer who began discussing plans for this season.

"I really can't," jungkook responded. the first season was very... vague. as it should be, the personalities of the workers having to build and develop for the viewer. jungkook was praised for his abilities to catch the best moments. whether it be the chaos surrounding the office, the humourous occurrences that would've never been seen, or the most endearing of moments between lovers, Nick had begun relying on him to capture the focal point of each episode. which is how their second season had accumulated thousands more viewers over the summer hiatus.

"jungkook, taehyung, I'm going to need you two for this season," Nick pointed over to the two, scanning his papers once more. "we've compiled our focus group results for the past two seasons and have found our one weak point that you guys have to fix this year. are you willing to take the challenge?"

"of course, sir," taehyung answered for the both of them, knowing how competitive jungkook gets when he hears the word 'challenge.' he already knew his friend was ready to bury himself in his work.

"great, so I'm going to need at least one of you two on (y/n) at all times," Nick stated, causing jungkook to finally sit up for the first time since the meeting began.

"uhh, Nick," jungkook began, leaning an elbow on his knee to lean closer from his distance. "yeah, I don't know if you know this yet, but (y/n) is an impossible feat. I've already tried to find some semblance of... personality from her, but she lacks any."

"yeah, poor girl," Nick sighed, finally looking up from his paper to stare at the wall across from him. "which is why I need you two on that. I really want some positive reviews on her by our next focus group testing, so get on that." without another word on the matter, Nick continued on, giving more roles to his crew.

jungkook groaned to himself, falling back onto his chair and shutting his eyes. how was he supposed to draw any charisma from her? for the years he's known her, she follows the same routine every day. get to work, do work, eat lunch at desk while working, then work some more. she rarely ever gets up to mingle, keeping to herself most days or only whispering to the other accountants around her. jungkook had only captured one entertaining moment from her, and he was praised for a good month afterwards. albeit, all he did was zoom in on her drinking coffee in the break room whilst ignoring a full fledged argument beside her, but it briefly became a meme. how could he beat the 'that's none of my business' meme he managed to bring to life? he was brought out of his dissociating by a hand resting on his shoulder. it was taehyung, alerting him that it was time to leave. production would start in one week, so jungkook had one more week of relaxation before having to embark on his most tasking duty.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

jungkook leant against the filing cabinets beside him, camera resting on his shoulder, but not recording. his aim was on (y/n), as it was forced to be, and neither of them enjoyed it. it had already been about a month of production; a month since jungkook was obligated to partner with her and a month since she was his designated subject for the season. taehyung was free to roam around and record whatever his heart desires, but jungkook was grounded to (y/n) and (y/n) only.

what a waste of his talents. of film. of the productions time. he wanted to leap out of the window beside him just to take him out of his misery of accounting. he kept promising himself that he'd smash his camera right then and there if he heard one more click of the calculator, yet each time the calculator was pulled out, jungkook found himself grumbling quietly and fiddling with whatever he could get his hands on.

the other young accountant on their team, namjoon, was actually quite the riot for jungkook. well, when it came down to accountants. he made jungkook laugh quite a bit, and knew to get back to work whenever their bosses were around. workers weren't allowed to waste company time, and production crew members weren't allowed to converse with the subjects. did they really obey to that rule? not really, considering jungkook and taehyung have begun going out with jimin from the mailroom and hoseok from sales. he made a mental note to add namjoon to that list after the man had run about the office like a headless chicken when he spilled some tea on his khakis. of course, (y/n) just stared blankly, head resting on her propped hand as her coworker hollered for napkins before the beverage stained (which it most likely wouldn't have, considering it was leaf water).

the end of the day finally arrived, the clock having finished it's mocking towards jungkook. he packed his camera haphazardly, ready to head home and entertain his dying brain. if he were a sim, his fun levels would be nearly red. the thought of hopping onto his pc and gaming till daybreak tickled his mind and he couldn't think of a better way to end his miserable week.

when he thought he was home free, the beacon of sin known as Nick appeared from the doorway of the manager's office.

"jungkook," he summoned, motioning to enter the room with a head tilt, lips pressed in a tight line of disappointment. anxiety welled up in jungkook's stomach as he made his way into the room.

upon arrival, (y/n) was already seated and slumped over in a chair before her manager and his. wordlessly, he sat beside her, not bothering to look her way as she hadn't for him.

"before we begin, we sincerely apologize for the... inevitable outcome of this meeting," her manager, Thomas, stared downwards at his desk, pushing aside some papers from the center of his desk.

"jungkook, it's been a month since this season has started, and you still haven't given me anything on (y/n)," Nick chastised, leaning against the wall behind the managers desk.

"it's literally not my fault, I have the camera on her every second of every day and she gives me nothing," jungkook defended. he didn't dare glance her way, knowing that her jaw would be tightened as it always becomes when she's frustrated.

"I can confirm that," she instead agreed, raising her hand in agreance.

"and while I do applaud you for your resilience in work, we need you to make a larger effort into this documentary." Thomas informed, finally looking up to meet (y/n)'s gaze.

"why?" both (y/n) and jungkook questioned. they glared at each other for a second before focusing on their bosses once more. (y/n) was just an accountant, she felt no need to smile for the cameras raiding her workplace. jungkook found intrigue in the other inhabitants of the office, he didn't understand why this girl specifically needed the spotlight.

"what you guys don't understand is that she's integral to the show," Nick pushed himself off the wall and staggered over to the desk. "we don't have to focus on the warehouse workers because they're not constantly in the limelight." Thomas nodded, sitting straight in his desk as he listened to his colleague. "she, however, is in the office, a documentary on ///everyone/// in here. the first two seasons were funny with her as a silent role, but viewers are curious, they want more of her. they want to know more about that beautiful girl who stunned the audiences with just her eyes. we must listen to the viewers."

"I'm pretty sure my absence from the show won't drastically affect the views." (y/n) crossed her arms indignantly, a blush creeping upon her face nonetheless. Thomas analyzed her for a moment, searching for any sign of wavering before sighing aloud and signalling for Nick to close the door.

"(y/n), do you remember years ago when our department became nearly barren?" he asked, to which she nodded. "do you know why we became so empty?"

"everybody was being transferred around," she answered simply with a careless shrug.

"they were being transferred because of that form you had to sign. I remember talking to you about this because I had only mentioned being transferred, and you signed the papers because you didn't want to be transferred. you didn't hear the conditions."

"what are you getting at?" she muttered, her resolve faltering as she began picking up what he was hinting at.

"you signed the form as a complacency to participate in this documentary and become an active and willing subject."

(y/n) went pale, realizing what she signed herself into. she was young, and she couldn't stray far from home. now that she's older, she'd be willing to move, but at what cost? giving up her comfortable apartment? a sustainable job? to move to a foreign city hours away from her home just to steer clear of this documentary? she felt her stomach tie in knots and her head hung low in disappointment.

"I'm sure you realize the circumstances of your lack of cooperation."

"I understand, sir," she sighed out, leaning forward to bury her face in her hands.

as much as jungkook hated it, his heart ached for her. she really didn't ask to be put in this position. she just needed a job. he began feeling the ebbs of guilt rising up, and he quickly turned his face to his lap in shame of his neglect to her over the years. he forgot that many people don't want to be famous.

"and (y/n), you really are essential," Nick rushed in to interject before the atmosphere got too sullen. "many people are curious about you! they want to see more of you."

"it is true, I've read a lot of the reviews of the episodes," Thomas added, offering a small grin to the girl in question. this did nothing to alter (y/n)'s current state, chewing on her bottom lip and fiddling with her skirt.

"the people want more of you, (y/n). give us the opportunity to offer to the viewers what they want."

she stayed silent, almost as if she hadn't even heard a word that was said to her, but she heard every word, struggling to digest it all whilst also battling the conflicting thoughts occurring in her muddled mind. she already knew her answer, but she couldn't fess up to it. jungkook felt remorse for her, surprisingly understanding her situation and her grief. a small part of him reached out to her, promising to make this trial of hers easy for however long it took. oh how this simple girl has affected him so.

with a broken 'okay' from (y/n), the duo were dismissed. jungkook found himself naturally accompanying his subject, not as a cameraman, but as a coworker. the ride in the elevator and the walk to the parking lot was deathly quiet, but he made sure she got in her car before he followed suit into his own vehicle. puffing out an exhausted sigh, he watched as she retreated from her workplace and her problems temporarily. with her absence, it allowed him to soak in everything which just happened.

"tomorrow will be an eventful day."

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* the next day *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

"so what's your plan exactly?" taehyung asked, biting into his granola bar with a tilt of his head. jungkook pursed his lips together, knowing that what taehyung was eating was actually his whole breakfast. deciding to ignore the lack of nourishments his friend was receiving, he continued setting up his camera.

"I'm not sure," he stated simply. "I just need to get her more interesting footage."

"yeah, I get you." jungkook stood and began making his way down the hall to accounting, taehyung following suit. "I can slip a note to namjoon to set her up or something?"

"no, I want it to come naturally. that's always the best content."

"you're really serious about this, aren't you?" taehyung nudged jungkook reassuringly before diverting into the sales room to visit his friends.

jungkook switched his camera on, resting it on his shoulder as usual. he studied the grey carpet beneath his feet through the small screen, making sure everything was in order before he finally pushed the accounting door open.

upon entering, he was greeted by the sight of all the accountants laughing and cheering. he froze in his steps as he spotted (y/n) at the front of the enthused crowd. she rolled a paper ball in her hands intently, eyes trained on an object on the wall and completely disregarding jungkook's presence at the door. with a small hop in her step, she tossed the ball into the air, jungkook naturally following the makeshift ball with his camera as it landed flawlessly through the miniature basketball hoop positioned on the opposing wall. a resounding chorus of hurrahs washed over the small group and jungkook captured all of it, including the beaming grin across (y/n)'s face. namjoon massaged her shoulders encouragingly as the others began high fiving her and congratulating her.

jungkook grinned to himself as she continued to glow, brightening the room with a dazzling, one-in-a-million smile. her eyes shone with such mirth, akin to a child's wonderment at an amusement park. jungkook found himself admiring her raw joy, giving himself a moment more to soak in her radiance before continuing his filming. namjoon finally took note of jungkook and retracted from (y/n), bouncing over to him instead.

"do you want me for the interview to explain why we're pumped, or would you like (y/n)?" namjoon asked once jungkook lowered his camera. jungkook glanced over at (y/n) who was currently speaking to one of the other older accountants, that damned smile still affecting jungkook in ways he hadn't known were possible.

"I'll take (y/n)."

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

"okay, so just like you've seen everyone else, just casually talk to the camera like you would namjoon or someone else." jungkook had realized a little too late that this was (y/n)'s first personal camera moment. they had pulled everyone else for confessions at some point through the series, but (y/n) was never given the opportunity.

"okay, I understand," she answered with a curt nod. jungkook studied her one last time before nodding and starting the camera. at the sight of the green light, she straightened up and began. "usually, the end of the fiscal year consists of loads of work for the accountants as we have to wrap things up pretty quickly. usually namjoon and I work ahead so we can work leisurely towards the end and help the other accountants." she took the briefest of moments to glance back behind the camera to jungkook, almost as if for reassurance. he gave her a twitch of a smile and she then turned back to the camera. "without any deliberation, the accountants had all finished their work early. so now we have a whole day of doing nothing. we've decided to occupy ourselves as best as we can."

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

it was as if fate had finally decided to work with jungkook and (y/n) for once, as jungkook had received plenty of footage for his weekly report and (y/n) seemed to be completely recovered from yesterday's bad news. today showed a whole new (y/n) different from the prior seasons. a (y/n) who managed to make a tower of index of cards that almost reached the ceiling. a (y/n) who reached nearly 5000 on the Google dinosaur game. a (y/n) who performed a one woman interpretation of Shrek 2 in less than 45 minutes.

a (y/n) who has completely changed jungkook's opinions of her.

he was somewhat proud of himself, but almost entirely of her. how she was able to overcome such an obstacle of fear in one night and become an entirely new person, but at the same time keep her own unique traits that never really showed. jungkook had realized the camera truly did love her, she just contained herself at all times. today, she blossomed as a rose bloom would; such refined integrity in each step, beauty in her own individual way.

jungkook was about to leave the office when he was once again summoned to the manager's office, his nerves alighting like a campfire. he closed his eyes in gratitude as he didn't spot (y/n), meaning she was clear for the night. at least he hoped. instead, taehyung sat with his leg propped over the other.

"jungkook, we've decided to have you and taehyung stationed at (y/n)'s house," Nick said, not even allowed jungkook to digest his words. "you both will be there until 8, which I believe is a reasonable time, hopefully you'll catch something good–"

"Nick, I already have a lot of footage from today," he interjected, gesturing to his camera bag leaning outside the door.

"I'm sure you do, as you always manage to pull something together," he continued, a slight tone of annoyance spiking his intonation. "however, tomorrow is the day we give our first focus group of season three the raw footage. I need to make sure we have something. so tonight, you're both going to her house to get some last minute footage in case today wasn't enough."

"will do, sir," taehyung answered, standing and lugging jungkook out of the room before he could snap back. "dude, just go along with it. no harm in getting extra footage."

"I realize that, taehyung, but..." jungkook trailed off as he spotted her in the distance, walking out of accounting with namjoon. her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail, some strands escaping the confines of the hairband to obscure her vision, to which she pulled them back with a delicate touch across her cheeks to behind her ear. ebbs of joy still lightened her mood, a small smile gracing her features. happy looked good on her. very good.

i don't want to tarnish that smile.

jungkook couldn't voice his thoughts as she grew closer to taehyung and him, and yet jungkook remained staring at her.

"hey guys," namjoon nodded his head to the two before him, (y/n) lingering beside him. "what's going on?"

"nothing of significance," taehyung replied coolly, turning down to face a startled (y/n). "jungkook and I are on (y/n) duties tonight, so we'll be at your house til 8. is that okay with you?"

"I guess," she replied quicker than she intended, processing the words told to her after her response. she glanced at the three boys before her and then turned away to the elevator. once she was out of earshot, namjoon clicked his tongue disapprovingly.

"I love her, I really do," he began, crossing his arms and keeping his gaze on the lift she disappeared into. "but she can be so dry." shifting to face taehyung, he tilted his head in question. "you really think you guys can get anything good tonight?"

"all we can do is try," taehyung replied.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

as jungkook drove, following the monotonous droning of his phone guiding him to (y/n)'s apartmemt, all he could think of was what he was about to experience. the quietest girl in the office and what she does after work.

what could she possibly do during her free time? she doesn't seem like the type to go clubbing, or the type to have girls nights to gossip. she doesn't seem like the sociable type, but they always say to watch out for the quiet ones.

silently, he prayed to get some good footage. he was beginning to like her, and he just hoped the audience could follow suit. see the true nature behind this background character and her undeniable charm. he began grinning as he reminisced on that golden smile of hers. she was a happy virus, he'll give her that. even if nothing comes of this late night endeavor, he knew that she'd gain quite the crowd with just her laugh from today.

he pulled into an apartment complex, checking his phone for the floor and apartment number before heading into the building itself.

303, 304, 305

he stopped before a 306, taking a moment to gather his semblance of professionality before raising his fist and knocking at the door. there were a few seconds of silence before the door swung open, revealing a taehyung bearing his signature squared off grin.

"welcome to casa de (y/n)." jungkook rolled his eyes and trudged past his friend, tossing his camera bag on the closest kitchen counter. "she's changing right now. I scolded her for still wearing work clothes when this has to be natural."

"good, thanks for being ahead of the game." jungkook scanned his surroundings. a quaint apartment, mute tones. it was definitely cozy, a welcoming embrace already trying to lure him into sitting on the couch watching TV all day. however, even jungkook could see someone else lived in this domicile. books neatly stacked in bookshelves while magazines were strewn across the coffee table. some small plants were very much real and taken care of, and then there were some fake plants collecting dust. and if those indicators weren't enough, there were also many shoes of varying styles and sizes adorning the front door, and he knows (y/n) would never step foot out of this apartment with those glittery red heels that caught his eye before brushing past taehyung.

another thing jungkook couldn't help but notice was the lack of masculine items in the room. no pictures of boyfriends, or oversized hoodies laying about. either they were well hidden, or both of these girls were single.

"stop snooping, she'll come out any minute," taehyung scolded, emerging from the kitchen with a water bottle.

"I'm not snooping, I'm acknowledging," jungkook sassed, stepping back nonetheless to unpack his camera. "wheres her roommate?"

"she went out to a friend's house, Snoopy."

"Snoopy. how long did it take you to come up with that?"

"it was in the heat of the moment, but now I'm kind of regretting not saying Snoop Dogg."

"that would've been better, but I wasn't snooping. I'm just a very good analyzer."

"oh, yeah, sure, of course..." taehyung paused, racking his brain for any new variation of 'snoop' he could use. with a snort, jungkook shook his head and powered on his camera.

"take your time–"

"I'm back." jungkook whirled around in time to spot (y/n) plodding out of her room with sweatpants and a t shirt. "I didn't want to be too informal, I know you said– oh hi jungkook."

"hello," jungkook sighed out, eyes falling upon her relaxed form. her hair was loose, falling over her shoulders in soft tendrils, framing her face in such a delicate manner, jungkook was left breathless. she adorned the softest of smiles, a smile that would put the mona lisa to shame. she embodied the grace of a marble statue, crafted by the hands of michelangelo himself. his jaw fell agape at the sight of the comfortable appearance, as if she hadn't a care in the world while on the contrary she carried so much weight on her.

"so what do you want me to do?" her question knocked jungkook right out of his stupor and he forced his eyes away from her.

"we need you to just do your everyday thing," taehyung explained, giving her a reassuring grin. "it would be easier to get some footage if we had another person with us, but we'll make do."

"I can call my neighbor," she offered, shrugging her shoulders. "she's usually not doing anything." before the boys could answer, she was already making a beeline to the apartment across from hers, allowing for taehyung to turn to jungkook with a raised brow.

"what was that all about?"

"what do you mean?" jungkook took a seat at one of the barstools, fiddling with the worn leather handle of his camera.

"dude, you were ogling," taehyung leaned next to him, scanning for any sort of give away that he may be too distracted for this task.

"it's nothing, I've just never seen her let go before. it's refreshing." jungkook thanked the heavens above that he managed to find his words and not make it seem completely creepy that he was indeed staring.

"oh, you're right," taehyung chuckled, pushing himself up to stand straight again. "for a second I thought you were crushing. you're right, though. it is nice to see her when she's not completely straight faced."

jungkook's eyes widened. crushing? he would never. that was their one rule; don't interact with the subjects. that's a big no with Nick. of course taehyung breaks that rule to hang out with his friends, but that's friendship. love would change the playing field entirely. he couldn't imagine one of the crew just willingly throwing away their job to pursue some romance with no potential.

before he could dwell any longer on his thoughts, she ran in with a girl in tow.

"everyone, this is Cindi, she's willing to help me."

"yeah, she promised to cook me dinner one of these days, and I feel this is a perfect opportunity," the friend explained, smiling over to (y/n).

"great idea," taehyung gave a thumbs up excitedly before pulling his camera up from the table. "okay, let's get to the kitchen."

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

jungkook was pleased with the footage he was getting. there was nothing extravagant, but it really showed her humanity. how she interacted normally with friends, her genuine laughter, all of it was gold to him. he had to bite his lip when he had managed to catch her choking on cilantro, zooming into her face just as she gagged and started choking. why she decided to try raw cilantro, he didn't know. nonetheless, he was undeniably satisfied with how smooth everything was coming out (and his potential new meme).

"how fast can you chop the celery?" Cindi asked, stirring some noodles by the stove while (y/n) was prepping the vegetables. she looked up towards the cameras, looking to taehyung and jungkook for a second as if verifying she had heard correctly before turning back to her cutting board.

"not to brag, but I am a mean dicer." within 10 seconds, the entire celery stick was chopped, albeit slightly messy. jungkook's muscles relaxed, having clenched unknowingly during her risky endeavor. Cindi nodded, examining her friend's work with gusto.

"not bad, mean dicer," she chuckled out, taking the cutting board to add the celery to the noodles. (y/n) leaned into her counter, twirling her knife between her fingers.

"what can I say, they don't call me the mean dicer for no–" the knife stuttered in her fingers, causing her to lose grip of it. the utensil hopped about from one hand to another until she finally got a grasp of it. unluckily for her, it was the sharp end, causing her to immediately release her death grip on the blade with a gasp.

jungkook was frozen. his eyes strayed from the screen to her hand in real life. she was clutching her wrist in pain, examining her splayed out, trembling palm. jungkook tightened his hold on the device, waiting for something, anything, and at the first sight of crimson, he was tossing his camera onto the counter and rushing over to her before he could think. he took her hand from her, watching as more blood began to accumulate across the plane of skin.

he began dragging her away, down the hall to the only open door of the house which just so happened to be the bathroom. placing his hands on her hips, he lifted her up and placed her on the sink counter before digging through her drawers and medicine cabinet for a first aid kit. once attained, he pulled her hand beneath the faucet to wash away the blood before then wetting a rag with alcohol.

"this is going to hurt, please don't cry," he whispered to her before pressing the cloth down. she winced, biting her lip and closing her eyes as she soaked in the stinging sensation. jungkook removed the alcohol soaked rag from her and began tying bandages around her hands before blood could build up again, and with a knot at the end, jungkook finished in record time. "are you okay?" jungkook cradled her injured hand in his, staring at his work as if it could come undone any moment.

"yes, thank you," she breathed out, her eyes glued onto the man before her. never has anyone gone to such an extent to assure her well being. she could've easily just clutched a towel for a few minutes and dealt with the pain later, but here she was being nurtured by a man she's known of for 2 years, but is only just now beginning to meet properly.

at this proximity, she really noticed how... endearing he looks. soft lashes encircling large, round eyes. curly black locks falling over his forehead. light, dewy skin that just screams, "dermatologists hate him." he was rather handsome. why hasn't she ever noticed him before?

"I'm sorry to cut this little game of doctor, but I think Cindi is going to somehow burn the noodles," taehyung whispered out, having been standing at the entrance of the bathroom the entire time.

"oh, my bad," (y/n) hopped down from the counter before rushing off to the kitchen, trying to erase whatever just happened from her memory. meanwhile, jungkook felt the stabs of anxiety piercing his heart, knowing that he just broke the cardinal rule; interacting with the subject.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

jungkook felt like throwing up come Monday. they had to turn in their memory to the editors of the show who would compile the best of the raw footage to show the focus group. which meant that chanyeol, the lead editor, would definitely put in his little knife mishap just for giggles. he almost dreaded to see said man, knowing that he'd just give knowing smiles to him everytime they passed each other.

jungkook's fears seemed to prove correct as he was immediately called into the manager's office again where Nick and Thomas sat patiently. he found himself sighing from relief again as (y/n) was no where in sight, meaning it had nothing to do with her and her footage; just him and his disobedience.

"sit, jungkook," Nick started. "we wanted to talk about the footage you got last week."

"look..." jungkook began, already leaning forward in his seat. "i–"

"you did great," Thomas interjected, mouth stretched from ear to ear to show his approval. "never in all the years that I've known (y/n) knew she was such a sweetheart."

"it really was incredible footage, and you already know a promotion is on the way." Nick continued to which jungkook replied with a dramatic jaw dropping. "now here's the... interesting part." jungkook closed his mouth to gulp, folding his hands in front of him nervously.

"the focus group loved (y/n)." Thomas explained, Nick nodding behind him.

"they did." Nick looked down to the ground, arms crossed over his chest. "and they also loved you." jungkook was completely shocked. his stomach didn't know whether to flutter from gratitude or drop from nervousness. "jungkook, you broke our main rule."

"i-i know." jungkook looked down at the desk, tracing the dark lines of the mahogany with his eyes. "it was just in the heat of the moment, I panicked. she was hurt. I didn't know what the protocol was for that."

"you're not in trouble." Nick reassured, looking up and extending a hand as an offer of peace.

"actually, your promotion has some... strings attached," Thomas twiddled his thumbs to fill the awkwardness building up. jungkook awaited the fine print, not thinking anything bad of it. with one last sigh, Nick stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"you're going to have to date (y/n)."

#jungkook fanfic #jungkook fanfiction #jungkook x reader #bts fanfic #bts fanfiction

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signorformica · 4 years

Photo

Ladies and gentlemen! Bibliothèque Infernale is proud to present —again!—under the big top tonight!:

*THE BIBULOUS BABY*

Another bizarre, freakish short story by the Master of the Grotesque — TOD ROBBINS!

***

“THE STRANGEST event in my life happened last summer," said my traveling companion. "I have only ventured to tell this story to my wife and brother. It is so unique and apparently so beyond human belief that if I published it broadcast I would be looked upon by the world as an impostor of the first water."

"And did your wife and brother believe you?" I asked.

"Well, not exactly. Yes and no. They believed that I thought I was telling the truth. The one imagined that the tale sprang from the effects of strong drink; the other blamed the strength of the summer sun. But I assure you it was neither. I had had a few glasses of absinth, certainly; but I have been accustomed to this drink since childhood. The sun, indeed, was very hot; but it was as nothing compared to the heat I have experienced in the tropics."

"The story, doctor?", I ventured.

"Ah," said he, "you will laugh; but nevertheless I will give it to you. Mirth is the reward one gets from the world when one gives something new to it. People laugh entirely too much, and smile only with their lips. Look into a man's eyes — they alone are the true mirrors of emotion.

"On the fifteenth of last August I was living at a seaside resort not far from the city. It was the warmest day of the summer, and the people had taken to the water. Sitting on the veranda of the hotel with a glass of absinth on the arm of my chair, I could see the blue expanse of ocean stretching out from the beach like a velvet rug lying on a floor of whitest marble.

“Not a breath of air ruffled that placid surface; not a wrinkle of thought rested on the calm forehead of the sea. And above it the sun hung stationary in the heavens, resembling an open porthole of a burning ship seen through the blue haze of evening.

"On the beach, men and women were running about, caricaturing by their grotesque, awkward movements the play of children, as grown people do when they attempt to cheat could be seen bobbing up and down like pieces of cork, and it seemed strange that these little globes should be moving about, guided by the brains that they contained; and stranger still that, if one should suddenly sink out of sight for several moments, a great excitement would turn these shouts of laughter into screams, these movements of animal joy into gesticulations of horror.

"Sitting all alone on that hotel veranda, I continued to sip my absinth and to meditate on the scene before me. Suddenly I saw a very pretty young girl approaching, pushing a baby carriage before her. The child was evidently sleeping and was concealed under a canopy of mosquito netting; the girl looked longingly out to sea, while two lines of irritation furrowed her forehead.

"Acting on a sudden impulse, I spoke to her: 'You'll pardon me, but couldn't I be of some assistance? I see that you like bathing, and it's quite a wonderful day for it. I could take care of the baby while you have a plunge.'

"She hesitated and again looked out to sea. 'I'm very much obliged,' she began, 'but mother told me to take care of — at this she hesitated, and I thought I saw her face darken — 'of my little brother,' she finished.

"'But I could take care of him for a time. He won't be any trouble. He's fast asleep.'

"'Yes, he is asleep,' she said, lifting the mosquito netting and looking down at the little red face lying on the lace pillow. 'Thank you so much; I think I will go in bathing.' And, wheeling the baby carriage up beside me, she turned and hurried off toward the bath houses on the shore.

"Again my eyes returned to the bathers, and my hand lifted the glass of absinth to my lips. How black and tiny some of the heads looked far out on the water! Here, in this bathtub of the city, life was a precious thing; yet there was an abundance of it, a superfluity of it. I had been in thinly populated countries where it was not thought of so highly.

"'I beg your pardon, sir,' said a voice beside me which sounded like a key turning in a rusty lock, 'but I'm very thirsty and absinth is my favorite drink.'

"I turned about in surprise, and was thunderstruck to see that I was apparently still alone. No one stood back of my chair; no one was behind the pillar on my right, and no one crouched behind the baby carriage, as I had first suspected. But as I stared about me the voice again spoke in its strange, quavering tones.

"'Lift up the mosquito net over the carriage,' it said.'It's damnably hot in here!'

"Almost mechanically I did as I was told, and in a moment more was looking down into the little, red, wrinkled face of a baby. As I gazed at the shapeless nose, at the bald head and loose-lipped mouth, the eyes opened and looked up at me. What I felt then you can never imagine, my friend; I cannot describe it to you. I can only say that it was horrible — horrible past belief. I had expected the frightened, innocent stare of awakened childhood; in place of it I saw the vicious, knowing leer of wicked old age. With a cry of horror I reeled back and put my hands before my eyes.

" 'Well,' said the voice again, and now I knew that it, too, was old — as old as an echo in a haunted house; 'well, my young friend, do I get a taste of your absinth or not?’

"'What are you?' I cried as soon as I could speak.

"'Young man,' said the baby, squinting evilly at me over his blanket, 'I'm about the dryest child in the world. Do you know what I've been getting to drink lately? I've been getting milk — milk from a dirty, blue-nosed bottle! Everybody takes advantage of me be- cause I'm too old to kick up a disturbance. Why, my own grandchild — the one who was wheeling me just now — takes advantage of me. Family pride is all very well, but what is getting me is I've only got four more weeks to live, and I might as well be a live one till the very end.'

"'Just a moment,' said I, taking a long drink of absinth to steady my nerves. 'Now you can tell me every- thing. You may unburden yourself to me as though I were your father.'

"'Well,' he snarled. ’If I tell you the story, will you empty the milk out of my bottle and fill it up with absinth?'

"'Yes, readily,' I answered.

"'So I'm selling my family pride for a bottle of absinth,' said he. 'Well, no matter, here it goes. My grand- father owned a large plantation before the war. Like many another Southern gentleman of that time, he preferred the joys of the body to the joys of the spirit. Wine in plenty, women in plenty, tobacco in plenty — that was his idea of life. But there was one thing that worried my grandfather.'

""What was that?' I asked.

"'Old age,' said the baby solemnly. 'It was his one fear. And when it finally came — when gout laid hold of his feet and time pulled out his hair — he was a pitiful object to behold. Lying on his back, he cursed life and said that it started from the wrong end; that if men were born old and grew younger year by year, then they'd have something to live for, instead of cursing every day that came. And on the night when he died he sold his soul to the devil, or so my old negro nur.se used to say. On the following morning I was born.'

"'And how long ago was that, my little friend?' I asked.

"'Eighty-five years ago last December’, said the baby. 'Of course I can't remember as far back as that. My first recollection is of standing before the mirror while my mother combed out my long gray beard. Yes, I had a beard then; and they say it was snow white when I was born. But when I remember it first it was gray —a beautiful silver gray. That was a long time ago, and I wish I had one now.

"'And yet, even then I wasn't happy. I'd try to get the old men in the village interested in blindman's buff and tag; but they wouldn't play with me and I felt lonely. People began to talk when they saw me rolling my hoop in the street or playing marbles with the boys; so mother had to tell them that I was an uncle of hers in his second childhood, fearing that they might guess the truth. Sometimes the old men would beckon me into the tavern, buy me some absinth, and, when I had drunk it, send me home tottering on my feet.

"'And so time passed. Gradually I grew taller and stronger; the gray began to fade out of my beard in patches, and mother was now thought by strangers to be my sister. I no longer played marbles with the boys or rolled my hoop along tire pavement. No, now the girls whom I met on the street would make my heart beat all out of tune. But they never looked at me; or, if they did, they would say, "He is old enough to be our father," and pass by. But there was one who said, 'What young eyes he has!' I married that girl and settled down with the optimistic belief that nothing could shatter my happiness.

"'But the years went by, and each one that passed made me younger and my dear wife older. Finally we met on the tide of life, each drifting toward a separate goal. And we could not hold each other. We passed by swiftly, unable even to clasp hands. I must have suffered then, yet my hair lost all its gray; I was growing to be a comparatively young man. And I had children, and they soon grew older than I ; and they had children, and they grew older than I — till now all that is left me is a taste for absinth, the taste that I acquired when the old men used to send me home from the tavern in the days of my drunken, gray-haired childhood. How I used to cry when they wouldn't play marbles with me!

"'Ah, well, ah, well, now I'm eighty- five and a baby with the tastes of an old man. Yet they won't give me my absinth, and expect me to say nothing about myself because of family pride. It seems I am a monster — something to be hidden away in a perambulator. Ah, but the ladies give me privileges sometimes which they'd scarcely give if they knew my age! I have four more weeks of life. How do I know ? Why, the doctor of the hotel examined me this morning and said that I am just four weeks old. But give me your absinth, sir. Don't take advantage of me because I am old and helpless.'"

"And did you give him your absinth?" I asked.

"Yes," said my friend. "I filled his milk bottle with it. He was so weak that I had actually to put the nipple in his mouth. Then I went up to my room, leaving him sucking peacefully. Four weeks later I read his death no tice in the paper. Well, what do you think of that, sir?"

"I think it is quite remarkable," I answered.

*Tod Robbins: The Bibulous Baby. First published in The Thrill Book. July 1, 1919 • via Bibliothèque Infernale on FB

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allofeos · 6 years

Text

So, in my post yesterday about the Episode Ignis DLC, I know I didn’t address the ring, and I didn’t go into further detail regarding the whole backstory, origins conundrum properly.

So, here it is, and includes the two ATRs mentioned in a prior response.

As before, it is below the cut.

More or less the start of the problem with using the Ring of the Lucii is that they effectively spoiled this particular key point of the DLC within the teaser trailer, and the official Twitter accounts prior and during the release of the Episode.

Typically the key reason to play the DLC was: to find out how Ignis was wounded. Yet, by spoiling this in the promotional materials there is effectively no reason to play it with that in mind. At the same time, the problem with it is that it’s effectively encroaching on Kingsglaive with Nyx’s actions within the film. It could be taken as undermining the potency of his sacrifice, or that it isn’t effectively unique for Ignis’ own actions. (It can go either way for various opinions on that front, that’s just two particular sides of it for me). At the same time, when you compare the characters’ individual high points for moments (backstory, development rather than cinematic value) it becomes fairly easy to see that each character, and NPCs have unique stories. The problem with this is that Ignis is lacking in his own, and whatever has been provided could potentially encroach in a manner to the backstory of other characters. For example, Prompto isn’t from Lucis and/or Insomnia, but is still regarded as being from the region, and certain comments made prior may have been seen as perhaps being too similar. Previously in an ATR, Tabata has made a particular statement about Ignis when he was asked the question of: “Who is your favourite character out of the main cast?” during the Active Time Report - London - 26.02.2015 ATR. This is queued specifically to the start of the question being brought up by Dan Seto. I have transcribed what was said via Tabata’s translator, please note that I’m not transcribing the JP currently as I’m under the weather at the moment. Hajime Tabata (via a translator):

Yeah, I mean we're in London today, so if you've played the demo (Episode Duscae) you may be aware that one of the main characters speaks in proper British English. Ignis!

So, obviously Ignis among the main party of four characters, who you go through the game with he's from a slightly different part of the world to the other three characters. So to differentiate that, we made him speak in a very British way as opposed to the other three characters who speak in American English.

I really do like Ignis as a character though, he is maybe more of a sort of "elite" type, maybe intelligentsia kind of character, and I'm not sure if he really likes it or not, but he's certainly very good at cooking!

He's got all of these little details, he's a very interesting character to delve into, I think. I do really like Ignis.

However, we have gotten another comment from him during the FINAL FANTASY XV Active Time Report February 2017, when he was asked the question of: “If Noctis never left his homeland until the beginning of the game, why does he speak American English, while his father speaks British English?”

Dan Inoue, one of former localization leads and writers of Kingsglaive was providing translation during this ATR.

Hajime Tabata (via Dan Inoue):

So, technically speaking his father doesn't necessarily speak British English, but the reason for the way Regis speaks has to do with the fact that he is in the Royal Court, and he is bound by their traditions, and their way of behaviour.

So if Noct were your typical prince, he would speak the same way, but Noct's always been a man of the people. He's always kind of hung out with the commoners, so his accent reflects his life experiences.

And then you look at Ignis, and Ignis is steeped in the traditions of the Royal Court, and so Ignis uses that manner of speech, and that's how we kind of arrived at it.

The only other comment that we have regarding Ignis’ homeland was via one of the Loud Annoying / LAVA streams (which isn’t online, unfortunately) when Adam Croasdell provided information that @blinding-awesomeness has kindly transcribed over on the /r/FFXV Reddit from an archive of the stream.

Ignis Scientia 23 years old; 33 later. 6'0". Homeland is Lucis. Class is a noble.

Personality The man with the plan. Calm. Collected. In control. Always the smartest person in the room and never one to let anyone forget it. He goes from the assertive wit of Cumberbatch's Sherlock to the suave nonchalance of Connery's Bond.

Voice Reference Deep but still youthful. Tom Hardy as Eames in Inception is a good reference, though ideally a voice that plays a bit younger. British.

As a fun note to point out, Adam did specifically say twenty-three, and thirty-three during the stream. So this is another moment of inconsistency in Ignis’ age mentioned.

Anyway, I digress.

My point is that Ignis’ backstory and/or general information is lacking, whereas other characters that have similar details have been discussed in more depth in contrast to him. As I’ve already gone over Prompto’s, the next would be how this could be too similar to Gladio’s. The brief profile provided by the Reddit dataminer may have rung too close to Gladio’s own family backstory. The origin of the following profile was provided privately by the dataminer, and is apparently from a removed and incomplete loading screen from Episode Ignis.

Removed Episode Ignis profile:

Ignis Scientia

Born into a household that has advised the royal family for generations, Ignis has followed in his forebears' footsteps, serving as friend and confidant to the crown prince since age 6. Ever since Noctis lost his mother, Ignis has acted as a caretaker of sorts, keeping a close eye on his companion.

With Parting Ways, we have a conflict on the role of adviser as Ignis’ uncle (unnamed) doesn’t appear to be doing this, in contrast to Gladio and Iris’ father, Clarus discussing certain things with Noctis’ father, Regis.

So with that in mind, and with my aforementioned previous post that did briefly discuss this, there’s no real active notion that Ignis, or his family are advisers to the royal line beyond what has been mentioned within Ignis’ official profiles.

So that raises quite a number of questions:

How and why was Ignis assigned his role at the age of 6, if his family are apparently not royal advisers and/or tacticians, but rather royal stewards / attendants? (This is in contrast to what is known about Gladio’s family and their role to the royal family).

If Ignis is not from Insomnia, then where in Lucis is he from, and why would he be assigned to attend to the royal line if he is merely of nobility?

If Ignis was assigned due to the prophecy, then why is the outsider influence in things only ever discussed for Prompto in regards to his actions with Pryna, and Lunafreya? (This is of course, under the assumption that Gladio is already accounted for within the prophecy due to the role of the Amicitia line to the Caelum line).

Why is Ignis so entirely steadfast in his intent to see his duties through, when we’ve gotten absolutely no basis for this whatsoever? (This is keeping in mind that we also have in Nyx’s own profile (via the cosplay guides) that he was saved by Regis in his youth and feels indebted to the king).

Why do we know so little about a main party member, out of a four-man team? Why is it that the same dataminer has been able to provide further cut profiles for characters, such as Cor that still cover far more than Ignis’?

COR LEONIS

Son of a less-than-affluent household, Cor enlisted in the Crownsguard at the tender age of 13. His impressive physical prowess earned him the respect of his superiors as well as a position as one of King Mors's personal bodyguards, making then-15-year-old Cor the youngest to ever serve on royal security detail. He came under fire from his Crownsguard colleagues when he lambasted the Lucian armed forces for their retreat from Accordo, calling the entire army, including Crown Prince Regis, "a bunch of cowards."

During their expedition across the Lucian continent, Regis, Clarus, Weskham, and Cid came upon a curious cave in the heart of Scotham Clough. They later discovered these grounds were the final resting place of the Crownsguards who served the Founder King. Countless intrepid explorers braved the tortuous trials in hopes of procuring the lost souls' power, but all men met with the same fate: death. Fearing further casualties, King Mors forbade access to the cave, and none have dared enter since that day. Forced to scale back the Wall in response to imperial encroachment, King Mors sought to stave off the Niflheim army's advances by deploying Lucian forces to some of the kingdom's outlying territories.

Cor accompanied Regis and his retinue at Acton in a brutal battle that afforded a slew of civilian casualties. The prince took into his protection a young orphan by the name of Drautos Familia, hoping to atone for the destruction wrought on the village, but Cid insisted the damage was done. He argued it was the king's callousness that cost so many innocent lives, and vowed to never set foot in the Crown City again.

With the Wall firmly settled around the Crown City and the war against Niflheim at a standstill, the young Cor hungered for combat. Turning a deaf ear to protests from those around him, he ventured into forbidden territory: the Tempering Grounds. His audience with Gilgamesh was cut short when the Blademaster's sword nearly rended him asunder. Gravely injured, Cor managed to escape with his life, but he was less successful avoiding the derision of those whose warnings he ignored.

Quite frankly, at this point I have to say that it’s a bit ridiculous to be quite so lacking in backstory. In addition, to the usage of the Ring of the Lucii being what I personally feel is detracting from Nyx’s moment and sacrifice in Kingsglaive. Because really, we know that Nyx is loyal and have actual reasoning for his actions. For Ignis, we know that he is loyal and willing to go so far for his duties, but we have absolutely nothing for the cause of his loyalty. It’s why to me, to be blunt, it feels cheap and bit of a cop out to have gone the route of the ring. Mainly because Ignis’ circumstance wasn’t the same as Nyx, but at the same time there’s in-game lore reasoning that can serve as a source of contradiction for the necessity to use the ring, or at the very least raises the question about the Kings of Yore and their capability to effectively serve as gatekeepers of the Ring of the Lucii.

Ring of the Lucii from the Ultimania Scenario Side (from The Lifestream):

The proof of the rightful successor to the throne, wherein dwell the souls of the line of kings. It is said in the event of someone who does not meet the requirements putting on the Ring, rather than coming to command the Crystal’s magical power, they will be instantly consumed by flame.

The Old Wall (from The Lifestream):

Stone statues that protect the Crown City and also serve as caskets housing the souls of the kings who have died constitute the Old Wall. Twelve humanoid statues built in the Crown City of Insomnia approximately 2000 years ago

We don’t really have any specifics in regards to how these powers function, beyond the fact that after being granted an audience with the Kings of Yore, that even without wearing the Ring of the Lucii that their influence is maintained regardless from what we saw with Nyx in Kingsglaive. However, this tidbit from Comrades adds to the confusion of how the Kings of Yore powers actually function:

So, it raises bit of a question of if the Kings are capable of helping out, why are they only providing assistance to the Kingsglaive? Item descriptions provided by the dataminer for accessories for Cor, and Iris seem to suggest that Regis was capable of enchanting items with his powers. With this in mind, and the fact that we know that Noctis’ powers were not being jammed by the Wallbreaker Wave at the time, it does make me wonder: why Ignis has to use the ring?

Why do these enchantments by the kings seem to only be functional for other characters, when Ignis is in service and a member of the Crownsguard all the same?

Why, if the other kings are capable of providing assistance, and Ignis seems to be well informed of them, is he all but disregarded in the moment of service to not only the rightful King of Lucis, but the Chosen King himself?

Sure, one reason may be that he was exhausted, but one reminder would be: the recovery of Altissia is entirely optional. In addition, I would like to bring up that Ignis held his own against Ravus and that’s quite a contrast to Gladio in Chapter 5.

Of course, another reason for this may be that Ravus did ask Ignis to stand aside and went easy on him, but in this same line of thought it would be best to also bring up the fact that Ardyn’s remark in Chapter 13 would contradict the general thought that Ardyn would actually kill Noctis in the moment.

If we also factor in the Extra Verse / V2 of Episode Ignis (as much as I personally hate to bring it up due to being aware of the localization differences that /u/chuansleisheng has been so kind to transcribe and translate on /r/FFXV), choosing the Play Along option results in Ardyn not killing Noctis in the moment. So, personally I am not exactly inclined to make assumptions that Ardyn would have in the exact moment with both the Chapter 13 dialogue, and the alternative route officially provided, but either way I’m going to consider these thoughts as subjective and continue on.

Now, another reason is that as it is shown within the first phase of the battle with Ardyn: Ardyn is stronger than Ignis at that very moment, Ignis is overwhelmed by himself and that this would be why he used the ring. However, if we also consider V2 again: Ravus was apparently aware of Ardyn taking Ignis to Zegnautus Keep somehow, despite Ignis not knowing where he was apparently being taken by Ardyn.

Now, within V2, Ardyn’s plans to apparently lure Noctis to Zegnautus Keep are brought up once more, and are more or less corresponding to the main game canon... which ultimately brings me back to the loop around about not being inclined for certain assumptions of Ardyn, potential for timeline inconsistencies, and on the overall I am still left with questions as to why Ignis had to use the ring?

Not to mention, the fact that it was discussed during a fan event that there was a debate over what would happen with the ring, and another mention that usage of the ring hadn’t been entirely decided at the time only increases my urge to question why the ring had to be used, and why not another means to the same end?

To go the same route as Nyx, and to undermine the impact of his actions and sacrifice is disappointing for me in regards to Nyx, and more-so in regards to all but retreading this with Ignis.

I’m honestly not expecting to get anything, in the benefit of the doubt assumption that there even was anything to begin with when also being mindful of the fact that Ignis wasn’t featured in much of the old trailers in contrast to Prompto and Gladio.

It just would’ve been nice to have something unique to Ignis’ progression, that wasn’t in the shadow of Nyx’s. That is why I personally disliked the utilization of the ring in Episode Ignis, and why I feel things are lacking in a way for him specifically.

It’s just sad to see dossiers put together like this: Noctis Lucis Caelum

Family: Aulea Lucis Caelum, Regis Lucis Caelum. Birthplace: Insomnia, Crown City of the Royal Kingdom of Lucis. Siblings: Stated to be none.* Hobbies: Fishing, video games. Relationship status: engaged to Lunafreya Nox Fleuret. Notable information: Lost his mother as an infant (FFXVEN Twitter), chosen by the Crystal at the age of 5, was injured by a daemon at the at the age of 8, protected by the Messenger Carbuncle within his dreams, and was eventually taken to Tenebrae to be healed by Sylva Via Fleuret. Noctis met Lunafreya, and the Messenger Gentiana there.

*This is stated in one of the early versions of the radio report on the invasion of Insomnia, dating back to 2014. I don’t have the exact trailers on hand currently, but the text was included in one of the Pastebin links in the most recent Reddit datamine topic.

Gladiolus Amicitia

Family: Clarus Amicitia, mother’s name is unknown. Birthplace: Unknown, but assumed to be Insomnia, continent of Lucis. Siblings: (Known of) Iris Amicitia, younger sister. Hobbies: Camping, hiking. Relationship status: unknown, but has multiple lovers apparently.* Notable information: Got a scar when protecting Noctis when younger, becomes a daemon hunter during the World of Ruin, eventually steps into his father’s role and leads the Crownsguard.

*This is in the data for the game. The ladies he’s hanging out with are apparently labelled as “Gladio_Lover” in the file lists from the Assassin Festival, or at the very least the leftover files for it on PC.

Prompto Argentum

Family: Verstael Besithia, adoptive parents whose names are unknown. Birthplace: First Magitek Production Facility, somewhere on the continent of Terraverde, in one of the regions (Pusciello, Ghorovas Rift, Vogliupe) of the Nifilheim Empire. Siblings: None. Hobbies: Photography, video games. Notable information: was brought to Insomnia, adopted by the Argentum family at the age of 1, saved and tended to the Messenger Pryna, and was thanked by Lunafreya in return, and encouraged to befriend Noctis. Suffered weight problems as a child, and took to exercise. Needs medication for an undisclosed stomach problem.*

*In-game ad-libs where Prompto makes a comment, and Noctis reminds him about his medicine.

Ignis Scientia

Family: Uncle whose name is unknown, only mentioned in Parting Ways. Birthplace: Unknown, not assumed to be Insomnia due to 2015 ATR comments. Siblings: Unknown. Hobbies: Cooking, may not actually enjoy it from the 2015 ATR comments. Notable information: was assigned to attend to Noctis at the age of 6, joined the Crownsguard at the age of 18.

There is nothing else for Ignis. At all. In any of the main, or supplementary materials, media.

I seriously don’t see how it could be put in any possible way when outright noted like this, that Ignis has equal information to Gladio and Prompto.

It’s this sort of thing that made it ultimately disappointing for the failure of the original press release mentioning “Ignis’ heartbreaking backstory,” when we effectively got Chapter 9, Verse 2. Especially when the entire reason to play Episode Ignis was blatantly spoiled prior to release of the DLC. Then, the wound was to have the reason basically being in the shadow of another character, and therefore not even wholly unique to Ignis. Ultimately, leaving us without having learning anything about him with, or without his DLC.

The salt in the wound this year has been a few things in the mix, and what seems to be something that even the more casual players have noticed:

Ignis’ outfit with Episode Ignis was originally only him without his gloves on:

This was filed as a bug repeatedly by players, when the PS4 save editing community showed that there was no other functional costume for him beyond that, and that the Casual Crownsguard, and newer Wild Hair versions aren’t even functional in Insomnia beyond removing his gloves from his default attire.

The Casual Crownsguard version was shown off in the New Years tweet by FFXVJP/EN, but it wasn’t available until the January/February update (version 1.21).

The bizarre Royal Edition posts on Ignis’ birthday that has earned remarks of “Cursed Masks,” and “Dignis” due to comments made by the FFXVJP Twitter account on the first of the tweets, on top of being started before Ignis’ birthday with a tweet which is quoting comments from the community regarding the only other birthday tweet for Ignis in 2017. Not only that, the FFXVEN account wasn’t free of this either. Really. The other reason for the “Dignis” name was that everything seemed to be making fun of the fact that Ignis has nothing beyond his duties, and cooking.

The 2018 one had BOTH sides of the community beg for them to stop posting the tweets. Only for the same mask to pop up again for SQEX Cafe merchandise marketing in March. (Link to a topic from /r/FFXV to show the community reaction). Ignis being completely left out of the Valentine’s Day posts by the FFXVJP Twitter account, ultimately only mentioned when we saw an influx of comments that seemed to result in the reposting of the Episode Ignis promotional render on the FFXVEN Twitter account.

Before it is potentially brought up, whilst the English account didn’t post anything on Gladio’s birthday, we did actually have a render posted on the FFXVJP account as to highlight the utter weirdness of Ignis’ one.

That’s also not factoring in that most people seem to be tired of the one meme all but continually being used to the death of it.

I mean, honestly! To say there is disappointment, and frustration in my own feelings, those I have observed from others, would be an understatement.

My apologies if I have gone in circles to try and explain it, as it’s just got so many layers into the mix after the release of Episode Ignis.

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