Shattered Lenses

Personal Information
Name: Neko Sandy
Age: 39
Prefered Pronouns: She/her
Contact: Plurk: NekoSandy / Discord: Neko Sandy#9993

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Character Information
Character Name: Ignis Scientia
Fandom: FFXV (Life Aftr CRAU)
Character Journal: shatteredlenses
Character History: Wiki here!
Character Personality:

Canon:

If a person is going to try guess who the ‘mom friend’ of the main party from FFXV is, their first guess will very like not be the cool, stern, and detached Ignis Scientia. Appointed the prince’s royal advisor at the age of six, the exceptionally bright boy is immediately put into advanced classes on just about every topic one can imagine causing him to very quickly leave childhood behind. It is not just his intelligence that drives him to grow up so quickly, but also his need for perfection and extreme loyalty to Prince Noctis. Ignis knows well that one day the life of the boy he grew up next to may hinge on the plans he puts together.

It’s easy to see how this kind of life will lead to Ignis being cool and detached from others. His teen years aren’t spent going to parties and hanging out with other kids his age. Instead, he continues studying, training, and begins to attend council meetings, summarizing them and passing the information onto Noctis so that the young prince can keep up with what is going on in the kingdom he will one day rule. Early on in his training, Ignis learns that anger and intense emotion won’t get him anywhere, so he hides it all behind a mask of politeness and propriety. Especially around the emotional, if apathetic prince, it is vital for Ignis to keep a cool head, but that is not the only place the skill comes in handy. Navigating tricky political entanglements also requires a cool head and clear thought. Indeed, being cool and detached is almost as vital to his role as an advisor as breathing is to living.

However, much like the Latin definition of his name—fire—there is a warmth in Ignis buried beneath the cool detachment he shows the world. Few see this side of Ignis outside of the party and none more so than Noctis. The prince loses his mother very young, and Ignis doesn’t hesitate to step up, filling the nurturing void that is left by her loss. In addition to his more ‘official’ duties, Ignis spends a lot of time just taking care of the prince. When he is ten and hears about a dessert the prince tried and greatly enjoyed on a visit to Tenebrae, he begins experimenting with cooking in an attempt to recreate the recipe from scratch since the young prince can’t remember what it is called. It takes years and years of trial and error for Ignis to perfect the recipe, but he eventually does and comes to take great pride in his cooking skills along the way.

Thanks to the lack of social interaction Ignis had in his youth, his nurturing and protective qualities sometimes come across as nagging or are delivered in a far too stern or cutting manner. Despite not being the oldest in the group, he is the ‘adult’ and it’s his responsibly to keep people out of trouble even if it means he’s the one ending the fun. For example, when Prompto is driving the Regalia in the cut scene at the end of the Kingsglaive movie and looks back to Gladio and Noctis who he is talking with, Ignis wastes no time very aggressively--both through look and gesture--directing the blonde’s attention back to the road where it should be. They have hardly started on their journey, and it will not do to get into an accident already! It doesn’t help that he is generally the driver himself and rarely gives up the wheel unless Noctis requests it. While he enjoys driving, it also allows him to keep better control over the situation. Considering he is the one who comes up with the group’s plans and strategies, he wants as much control over a situation as possible. No ambiguity is allowed. Crystal clarity is required.

It is devastating, then, when Ignis loses his vision in chapter nine of the game. Suddenly, one of his main tools is gone and along with it, both his pride and his confidence. The one who once nurtured and took care of others becomes the one who has to be taken care of, and that doesn’t sit well with Ignis in the slightest. Helplessness is something he cannot abide by—something he’s never had to abide by before. He doesn’t regret the sacrifice of his vision since the injury occurred in service to Noctis, what he does regret is the fact that his injury becomes a distraction from their goal. Not only that, it becomes a point of conflict, driving apart the very group he has tried so hard to keep together. When Gladio throws Ignis’ injury at Noctis during their argument on the train, it is very clear from the pained look in Ignis’ face and the strength with which he grips his cane, that he is being torn apart by this. He doesn’t contribute to the argument then, but when the fighting dogs them through the quest to the royal tomb in Fodina Caestino, he can’t remain quiet any longer. He drops all pretense of believing any of his vision will return and beseeches them not only to avoid waiting on him, but also to be patient with each other. In the end, he promises that if he cannot stand on his own, he will leave the party before he becomes too much of a burden. After all, that is the worst outcome he can imagine since he prepared his whole life to be the opposite, and he will do anything to prevent it no matter how much it tears him apart inside.


CRAU-Life Aftr (Approx 1 year, 7 months):

Canon Point: Ignis' original canon point in Life Aftr was a purposely vague 'when he passed out in Altissia after he lost his vision' because 'Episode Ignis' had been announced, but not released yet.  To prevent the need for retcons when the episode came out, I had Ignis suffer what he refers to as 'temporary memory loss' because of the trauma.   After the episode came out, he was canon updated to 2-3 days after Altissia had happened so he could remember everything, including the talk with Noctis where he tried to get him to turn back.

Below is a list of the significant changes to his traits and relationships that happened while in his previous game.  Please let me know if you need any further details on any of the points.

• Pride: Altissia was a large blow to Ignis' pride as, before that, his plans and actions had mostly resulted in positive results and this was anything but that.  Ending up in an unknown area with unknown dangers should have just made things worse.  Surprisingly, it did not because instead of being stuck rushing forward like he would have been on Eos, Ignis actually had time to address the blow to his pride and how helpless he felt due to his lost vision.  He was also given more assistance recovering than he would have had in canon, allowing him to quickly regain skills it would take him almost 10 years to regain otherwise.
• Self-Sacrifice: In his previous game, Ignis was always the farthest back in time, though he quickly learned of Noctis’ fate from the prince himself.  As a result of being the farthest back and having the most time to change things, he began to consider himself a pivot point and was determined to find a way to change not just Noctis’ fate, but Ardyn’s as well.   Ignis was willing to do whatever he had to, no matter the cost to himself, to achieve this so his self-sacrificing ways remained unchanged from their levels in Altissia for the most part, but since he tasked himself with such an impossible goal, his day-to-day care of himself actually improved because he refused to allow some foolish action on his part to cost him the chance to change things.
• Fears:  Failure has always been one of Ignis' greatest fears and it has only grown since he took on the task of changing everyone's fate.  He really has no idea where to start and being at a loss is something he is very unused to.  Other fears he has developed in game are the fear of falling water (thanks to all the rain and running water in Altissia), and fear of the sound of flower petals/grass rustling thanks to particularly brutal event on Enso.
• Relationship: Gladio - Not long after they arrived on Enso, Prompto told Ignis of the days following Altissia and how Gladio had been so insistent about him staying behind.  This knowledge made Ignis fear Gladio coming to the island.  Where once they were good balances for each other, his lost vision changed all that.  For all he thought about the possible outcomes, he never imagined that the Gladio that would join them would be 10 years older than any of them remembered him, pulled from the future where they were taking Noctis back to Insomnia to fulfill his duty as the Chosen.  Gone was the rash, hardheaded Shield Ignis remember.  Instead, in his place was a deeply scarred man changed greatly by the difficulty and loss 10 years of darkness brought.  After several explosive and tense conversations, they cleared the air between them finally allowing themselves to accept and act on years old feelings they had always pushed away in favor of duty.  Gladio even came to accept Ardyn and his relationship with Ignis though it took a while because Ardyn was downright cruel to him at times.  When Gladio was suddenly sent away from the island, it was like a piece of Ignis' heart was ripped from his chest leaving a hole that could not be filled.
• Relationship: Ardyn - Of all of Ignis' relationships, his relationship with Ardyn changed the most.  Even though Ardyn and Noctis formed a truce after the former appeared on the island, Ignis didn't trust Ardyn to abide by the truce, so he kept a close 'eye' on the redhead, engaging him in several very tense and sometimes cruel conversations that Ignis used to try and learn as much about the mysterious Chancellor as he could in hopes some of the information would aid him in changing Noctis’ fate.  He was surprised when he witnessed a flicker of 'something' not angry and cruel in Ardyn, so he pursued it, seeking answers.  Eventually, the answers Ignis sought were given to him through several events that led to Ardyn saving his life, introducing him to the gentler, kinder healer who once was.  Eventually, this good side faded, but it was already too late as Ignis had gotten confirmation of what he suspected.  Not only that, against his own common sense, he had allowed himself to begin to develop feelings for that lost healer.  Over the following months, he and Ardyn floated back and forth between being enemies and being something more.  They were just starting to settle into the latter more often than not, when Gladio arrived and threw everything into chaos again because Ardyn was convinced Gladio would take his place as he was 'easy' to love and didn't have any of the complications that Ardyn himself had.  It took several more months of accidentally hurting each other and an event that allowed Ardyn's 'light' side to help Ignis convince him to stop rejecting the good in himself, for them to finally learn where they all stood with each other.  Shortly thereafter, Ardyn began remembering the details of what happened to him two thousand years ago, and Gladio was suddenly sent away.  The pain of these twin events cemented the bond between Ardyn and Ignis as they helped drag each other through the difficult time.  Ignis vowed to stand by the slowly healing redhead should any others arrive from Eos without memory of how he's changed and Ardyn, in turn, informed the advisor that he is now 'stuck with him forever.'

Powers and Abilities:

Mundane Abilities:

• Cooking - Ignis has been cooking since he was ten years old, and because of that, he is not only highly skilled at it in a variety of settings, but also in creating his own recipes from whatever can be found around him.
• First Aid/General Survival Skills - While Gladio has trained much more thoroughly on these topics than Ignis has, his need to prepare for any eventuality means he has made sure to learn at least basic survival and first aid skills. Having magical curatives is great, but what happens when those run out?
• Driving (Unusable) - Ignis has been driving the prince and other members of the group around since he first learned how and takes the responsibility very seriously, to the point that in canon he refuses to drive after dark due to the increased danger of daemons spawning on the road.
• Trained Tactician/Strategist - Ignis started at age six preparing to be Noctis' advisor and strategist. Making plans and finding the good in a difficult situation is as easy as breathing most of the time, even if his lack of real world experience sometimes means the plan is as simple as 'Stay out the light and don't get caught.'

Fighting Abilities: While Ignis has spent more time preparing to become Noctis' advisor than he has learning to fight, he did start training when he was 15 years old. He was accepted into the Crownsguard three years later and has only continued to improve his abilities since then.

• Dual Dagger Use/Throwing Dagger Use - Daggers are Ignis' primary weapon. He is so comfortable using them that they feel like they are an extension of himself.  Ignis uses a pair of daggers that look like this.
• Polearm Use - Ignis' secondary weapons are polearms of all sorts. He can use them almost as well as his daggers, but will default to daggers whenever he has the option.
• General Fighting Skill - Unlike Gladio who favors strength in his fighting style, Ignis' fighting style focuses on acrobatics and quick movement. Flips, cartwheels, and daring leaps over his teammates' weapons allow him to duck in and out of close combat so that he can be where he is needed most as the team's primary healer. After being blinded, he had to adjust his fighting style to be more long range, but he is still deadly in close combat.  He just prefers to avoid it when possible.
• High Jump - Ignis channels his inner dragoon and jumps up really high. What goes up, must come down and landing does a small amount of AOE damage just from the force of the blow. This is a non-magical attack and requires a spear to do.
• Total Clarity - In canon, this skill literally magically multiplies Ignis' attack allowing him to hit multiple targets at once due to extreme focus. For use in game, it is a more realistic and non-magical state of extreme focus that allows him to strike several quick blows to nearby enemies in the time it would take a normal person to strike one. This attack requires total focus to pull off--even more so after losing his vision--and as a result, can only be used a few times before exhausting him.

Magical Abilities: In FFXV, only those of royal blood can use magic on their own. Everyone else, while they may have an affinity for it, can only access it through connection to one of royal blood. Per game rules, Ignis will only have access to the below magical skills should there be a Noctis in game or if he forges a bond with another of royal blood (for example, Ardyn).

• Weapon Summoning - As a member of the prince's retinue, Ignis has access to the royal armory which is just a fancy name for canon's version of hammerspace. Just about anything can be put in there, which really defeats the purpose of being in a survival game when it comes down to it. Fortunately, the moon's phases will limit what can be accessed when so that it won't be overpowered.
• Analyze/Libra - This is a very basic skill that allows Ignis to uncover strengths and weaknesses of an enemy target. How much he can learn depends on how long he spends channeling the skill, and it is very possible for the skill to fail completely or return very limited information if an enemy is strong enough.  As this is a magical ability, it doesn't require eyesight to use.
• Regroup - In canon, this ability calls all party members back to Ignis' location and imparts a regenerative and critical hit boost at the same time. For game purposes, I play the skill so that it applies a 10 second regeneration buff and also raises the moral of those near him. As actually moving everyone to his location is not feasible, it works as an AOE spell hitting approximately 15 feet around him. Bad side of this? It's going to draw the attention of both friend and foe to him. Oops!

Note: Ignis doesn't currently know the below skills, but may learn them later so I am including them for ease of reference.

• Enhancement - This skill allows Ignis to add an element (fire, ice, or electricity) to a weapon so it deals more damage.  For game purposes, he can enchant only one weapon (not his own) at a time and the effect ends upon the conclusion of a battle or when he cancels it.
• Libra Elementia - For very little energy cost, Ignis can scan an enemy for weakness and direct an elemental attack at them that corresponds to that weakness (limited to fire, ice, or electricity). He doesn't need vision for this, thanks to the Analyze/Libra skill's magical nature.
• Sagefire - Ignis imbues his own daggers with a strong fire attack. Should the attack hit his target, the target will be consumed in a large fiery explosion. Missing will create a pillar of fire that can still do area of effect damage to nearby targets. Due to the strength of this ability, it can only be used once per battle.

Spellbound Daggers: The below skills Ignis can apply to his daggers and only his daggers.

• Flamebind: Imbues his daggers with fire which deals high damage to single targets and would do extra damage to anything with a fire weakness.
• Frostbind: Imbues his daggers with ice which does do AOE damage allowing him to hit multiple targets gathered around him. It would also do extra damage to anything with an ice weakness.
• Stormbind: Imbues his daggers with lightning. Damage is not the main focus of this binding. Instead, it allows Ignis to close the distance between himself and a target very quickly. Consider it a weaker version of the warping that Noctis uses. It would also do extra damage to anything with an electrical weakness.

Inventory:

Arrives Wearing:

• This shirt and a worn pair of black track pants. (His PJs basically as he was sleeping.)
• His necklace.
• His translation bracelet. This is a magically enchanted bracelet that allows him to read things by scanning them and then translating them into braille which is scrolled across the large gem in the center of the bracelet. The bracelet can also take other non-verbal communication and translate it in a similar fashion. Finally, should some kind of emergency beacon/flare go off nearby, the bracelet will heat slightly and then scroll a short message telling him what the signal was and what direction it was in. (Per game rules, all magic tied to this item will wane and wax with the moon.)
• The hand carved walking stick Ardyn made for him. (Free due to medical equipment clause.)

Weapons: Ignis will arrive with his set of daggers.

Inventory Slots:

Slot 1: His firebird, Aurora (Rory).  She has been trained to guide and fight with Ignis.  She also can light things on fire (most notably, herself).
Slot 2: His adolescent chocobo, Leilani. (She's pale blue!)
Slot 3: Grace's Visor: A magical trail reward that allows Ignis to dash forward several steps in the blink of an eye. (Magic will wax/wane per game rules.)
Slot 4: A pouch containing his 'first aid kit' or what serves as it that is.  Most of the remedies and treatments within are native to the islands of Life Aftr and won't be recognizable by anyone who hasn't been to its shores.
Slot 5: His knapsack (It even has his name on it!)

• A small bag of 'emergency' seeds.  This bag contains coffee beans, apricot pits and several other plant seeds (like corn and wheat) that can be used should something happen to wipe out a majority of the gardens/fields that have been set up on the islets.
• This plush.
• A pair of sunglasses.
• A magical pair of glasses that allow Ignis to regain his sight.  Magic will wax/wane with the moon per game rules.
• A well maintained barber's shaving razor.
• Slots 6-10: This outfit. (Shoes, gloves, pants, shirt, pouch.)

Samples:

Sample One
Sample Two