Thank you so much for this lovely comment!!! ♥ ♥ ♥ I feel like Ardyn does actually care about Noct in his own way? Like, Noct is supposed to be the King of Kings that brings light back to the world, so if Ardyn can get Noct on his side instead and turn him against everything he was destined to be, then that's a victory all its own. And maybe it hadn't been Ardyn's original plan, but it's so easy for him to get close to Noct, who everyone has protected and sheltered all his life, except for how it means that Noct is really really lonely and doesn't quite know how to ask for affection. LOL I'm not sure Ardyn succeeding and it ending badly are two different things tbh. I kind of see this going in the direction of the whole world getting covered in darkness, etcetc. since Noct isn't going to fix things now. Because the thing about Noct (for me at least) is that he cares a lot, but he cares on a really personal level. He hasn't gained the experience and maturity to see the bigger picture. (Which I guess is why he needed ten years in the crystal??) But yeah, now that Ardyn's made Noct really dependent on him, sorry world.