Okokokokok, I think I've waited long enough to talk about it, but here I am, talking about Ravus and Noctis. Yep, here I go. Despite the game portraying as adversaries, which they are, in all honesty, there are actually a lot of hints to them being possibly close when they were young.
Sorry, I just wanna yell about my brotp and point out some of the interesting things they did which kind of made me think, ‘maybe they weren’t just childhood acquaintances.’
During Episode Ignis, and I've made a joke about this before, all Ravus calls Ignis is ‘boy.’ and actually never says his name. With Gladio, it’s much the same, as he only sneers his title before launching him into a car. But with Noctis, we have them both saying the others name, even with Ravus remarking that it’s been a long while. Something that I think is an interesting thing to note, as it seems to imply that they’ve interacted more than a brief meeting. Noctis’ response of Ravus is just as interesting to me, it’s kind of wary and unsure, it’s likely Luna’s told him of her brother’s downward spiral and while he is aware of that, he also sounds like he’s wondering if this won’t end in conflict. Especially with the facial expressions...but that’s up next!
Another thing, also coming from Episode Ignis, is that end scene where Ravus begrudgingly replies, “And you as well...Noctis.” there's respect in his tone now, yes. But it also sounds a bit like one of those begrudging make-up’s that siblings do. Also, since there isn’t too much to cover here, it’s interesting to note that when talking about his calling, he smiles up at the sky, before looking at Noctis, smilie seemingly still in place.
Yee, here it is, Facial Expressions:
Like I mentioned before, Noctis’ facial expressions when Ravus walks in are actually pretty interesting, as they look more confused than not:
And even kinda melancholic at one part.
Now, if I cluttered this thing with pics, it’s mostly likely to not be very coherent, but during Zegnatus when you stumble across Ravus’ body,
Noctis looks as if he’s trying not to cry. And I severely doubt he’d do it for any person, especially not his enemy. With Jared, he got a little depressed, and that was an old family friend. But with Ravus, we have this attempt to hold back tears, or so it seems. I’ll get into this scene more with the body language section!
Which will be riiiiiiiight below!
Notice how most of these are about Noct? Well, aside from being ‘Main Character-sama’ he also is the most expressive of the two. Not to say that Ravus isn’t expressive. But Noctis is clearly the one who holds less feelings of animosity in this relationship, and if anything he still remembers the times they spent together without a bitter light.
As for Noctis, in the scene I spoke of above, it actually takes him a long while for him to turn away from Ravus, it’s like he’s frozen to the spot and is just staring down at him. At a few points, he looks away before looking back again. And the pause that holds after you receive the Sword Of The Father, he’s clearly shaken/torn up about this death.
A little-r thing, is during the first encounter, when Ravus and Ardyn leave, Noctis let’s Iggy do the talking, but he gives this small little nod, keeping his eyes down and actually looking a bit sad? Is this because of the way Ravus treated him? Or was it because he felt like Ravus was disregarding Luna/being a dick to his friends? Something else to comment is that Noctis immediately gets defensive when his friends start making jibes and talking about Ravus, and basically refuses to comment.
HERE’S WHERE IT GETS INTERESTING FAM. IT’S RAVUS TIME.
At the end of Episode Ignis, like I pointed out before, was the fact that Ravus begrudgingly but willingly forgave Noctis. Not only that, in the Alternate Verse, he gets them to Niflheim right away, without hesitation, without hostility. Which might be because time is of the essence, WHICH BY THE WAY HOW DID HE KNOW WHERE ARDYN TOOK IGNIS?? MysillyOraclepowers/Versustheorybangsbackintoexistence
But probably more telling, is the way Ravus spoke of Noctis to Iedolas, deferring to him as the true king and being sound and assured that Noctis would bring the Light.
But then, the Ardyn!Noct scene plays, where Ravus speaks to Noctis with a strange familiarity, showing relief he has come and admitting he was wrong in some sort of indirect way, even showing loyalty by calling him ‘His King’
Conclusion thing? As well as some headcannons?
I think it’s quite possible that Ravus and Noctis were close as children, being likely that Ravus would try and show Noctis some sword tricks, and perhaps even teach him how to fish! After all, it’s never outright stated, although I could be wrong. And if Noctis spent those days in Tenebrae fishing with Ravus and Luna, of course he would want to keep doing it in order to keep the memory. And perhaps even aim to out fish Ravus one day.
One thing that needs to be remembered is that Ravus was called a “Kind and welcoming” child, so of course when there’s a younger prince, he’s going to understand some of the frustrations and pressure, so he’s likely to be more involved than not with Noctis.
And when Tenebrae goes up in flames and that heart is twisted, his view of Noctis is going to be shadowed, but Noctis is going to continue to remember the kind natured boy who helped him during those weeks. Which quite possibly explains why Noctis appears so conflicted when Ravus is on screen.
I hope this somewhat makes sense??
