Years later and I’m still shipping Gladnoct
I’ve been honest since the very beginning that there was a six year span where I lost my love of video games due to personal reasons, and didn’t discover it again until I met my husband. Because of this, the last console that I owned before 2012 was a Wii, and so I missed out on a lot of amazing games and experiences until I dove back into the digital world in 2017. My husband gifted me with a brand new XBox One S on Christmas Eve, and Final Fantasy 15 was the first game I played on it. I loved the world that I found there.
Taking the controller into my hand, I took on the avatar of Noctis Caelum, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Lucis. The son of King Regis and fiance of Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, Noctis wields the power of Lucian Kings; although it is only half-lifed due to an injury he suffered as a child that deprived him of its full abilities. As the game continues, Noctis is unwillingly pulled into the conflict against the Niflheim Empire, and it’s only due to his friendship with Gladiolus Amicitia, Ignis Scientia and Prompto Argentum that he is able to defeat the evil forces.
Ah, yes. Gladiolus, who I always thought was named “Gladious.” The childhood friend turned Crownguard bodyguard, Gladiolus’ sole job is to literally serve as Noctis’ shield and protect him from harm by any means necessary. This, of course, isn’t a difficult task when considering Noctis comes in at 5’9″ and Gladiolus towers over him at 6’6″. And unlike Ignis and Prompto, Gladiolus holds Noctis to a higher stand, often getting blunt with him and chastising him when he fails to meet his full potential. On the flip-side, The Shield of a man also finds a strong sense of pride whenever Noctis goes above and beyond his call of duty and makes move fit for a future king.
This is perhaps when I started to shipping Noctis and Gladiolus together. There’s a special bond between the two men that isn’t shared with the rest of the Crownguard, and sometimes Gladiolus’ disappointment and idolization of Noctis goes beyond what’s normal for a pair of friends. It seems like Gladiolus’ heart is invested in Noctis survival in general much more than the mission at hand. Disappointment is more of a telling emotion than anger because you have to love someone first before you can possibly be disappointed in them. Is it possible that Gladiolus loves Noctis in a different way than two brothers in arms? I sure hope so.
Opposites attract, as they say, and Noctis and Gladiolus couldn’t be any further polar opposites. Noctis is young, twinkish and isolated due to his fear of losing those he loves. He’s often depressed and unmotivated in spite of his destiny. Gladiolus is three years older, the pinnacle of macho masculinity and often finds humor in the scariest situations. Plus, Noctis is engaged to Luna while Gladiolus finds a way to flirt with anything that walks, often trying to woo riffraff. While they both show affection to women, here’s hoping this was nothing more than a cover so that no one would discover their true feelings toward each other.
Out of the four main characters in Final Fantasy 15, who would you ship together if you could rewrite the story?
About The Author
