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[estinininininen]

Song of a 100 Heroes - Day 7 - Cecil Harvey

"I guess it's my fate as a dark knight. Soon, I won't even feel any remorse for my actions." -----Cecil Harvey, Final Fantasy IV

[estinininininen]

So…what do we think of Rydia and Edge? Just in general? I’m curious about what others think of their dynamic/endgame.

[estinininininen]

Ramble, Bahamut Knight edition!

In my own little ffiv offshoot/au/whatever you wanna call it, I have different ideas for Kain. Ofc.

I politely and respectfully (against my will) dislike the Holy Dragoon getup. This idea initially stemmed from my dislike of the armor alone. However, the more I thought about it and as I actually played (and again, respectfully disliked) The After Years, the more the idea/concept developed.

Kain becoming a Holy Dragoon, to me, takes away from his whole spiel of “I didn’t kill off the dark parts of me, I just accepted them as part of me”. The gist of becoming a “Holy” anything is that the dark is completely purged, removed, eradicated— Kain explicitly does not “kill” his Dark Side, rather he absorbs it. The dark is there, but honed and harmonized. Of course, I don’t want this alteration or Bahamut’s involvement to detract from Kluya’s spirit recognizing Kain’s strength. I feel that that detail fiercely emphasized the bond Cecil and Kain share, for Cecil’s dead father to share power he’d once granted to his son to what I can only assume is another son figure for him. I do feel Kluya’s spirit’s involvement is a testimony to their brotherhood and devotion to one another.

I want to connect Kain to Bahamut, first and foremost. As the dragon god of the eidolons, Bahamut’s gotta know something or another about dragoons or, if we’re feeling pretentious, Mr. Highwind himself. Kain fights Lunar Bahamut during his Lunar Trial, and I want to build on that. A lot. Bahamut likely would’ve also known about the slaughter of dragoons and wyverns in the ffii storyline.

In my mind’s eye, I picture Kain defeating Dark Kain during his trial, Lunar Bahamut appearing and, upon its defeat, its scales flake off and the real Bahamut emerges like something of an odd cocoon. Hatching out of an egg, maybe. For symbolism.

(Alternatively, it would be neat for Bahamut to hatch out of an egg and parallel the last wyvern in ffii that baby Kain bonded with…but I digress)

Anyways, the real Bahamut appears in Kain’s trial. Ideally, Kain will have done a bit better in accepting the darker facets of his persona within my au given Thrush’s presence and therefore doesn’t feel the need to fuck off to Mt. Ordeals for ten years. Instead, Bahamut would appear at the end of Kain’s trial and, with Kluya’s lunarian spirit shrouding the room in some sort of magical aura, Bahamut commends Kain for his strength, resilience, and willpower. He offers to boost his strength and bestow upon him the capacity for black magic.

Kain, knowing the regality of the lunar dragon, kneels and accepts. Bahamut then inhales and unleashes a plume of flame onto the dragoon, enveloping him in a biblical cleansing flame. Once Bahamut’s breath flickers out, Kain stands in a brand new suit of armor with a new weapon fitting nicely in his hand.

“Now,” Bahamut begins, his draconic voice emanating from every corner of the room. “I declare you the Lance of Bahamut.”

Kain, as a Bahamut Knight, now possesses the ability to use black magic. He may not bolster tier 3 attack spells, and as a matter of fact, he might utilize black magic in the same way that Cecil uses white. They may lack the most useful spells that Rosa and Rydia harbor, but they make great backups and can still wail out physical damage. Kain, now with Abel’s Trident, finds that his Jump ability has been replaced with Dive Bomb, a skill that when used, adds a selected elemental charge to Kain’s jump while also increasing the damage output. He withstands magic attacks a bit better and is still a deadly quick fighter.

The development of Kain into a Bahamut Knight rather than the Holy Dragoon makes more sense in my mind as it truly does encapsulate the acceptance and control of his inner darks. It is the honing of the very facets of his persona and channeled into carving a path to his future and fully restoring his honor and dignity.

Idk. Thoughts?

[estinininininen]

Y’all I have a new FF4 fanfic idea. Shoot me now.

[estinininininen]

hi what if he could jump, disappear for five turns, and come back down with a megaflare

it's balanced by long casting time and costs a bit less mp than rydia summoning bahamut

Ramble, Bahamut Knight edition!

In my own little ffiv offshoot/au/whatever you wanna call it, I have different ideas for Kain. Ofc.

I politely and respectfully (against my will) dislike the Holy Dragoon getup. This idea initially stemmed from my dislike of the armor alone. However, the more I thought about it and as I actually played (and again, respectfully disliked) The After Years, the more the idea/concept developed.

Kain becoming a Holy Dragoon, to me, takes away from his whole spiel of “I didn’t kill off the dark parts of me, I just accepted them as part of me”. The gist of becoming a “Holy” anything is that the dark is completely purged, removed, eradicated— Kain explicitly does not “kill” his Dark Side, rather he absorbs it. The dark is there, but honed and harmonized. Of course, I don’t want this alteration or Bahamut’s involvement to detract from Kluya’s spirit recognizing Kain’s strength. I feel that that detail fiercely emphasized the bond Cecil and Kain share, for Cecil’s dead father to share power he’d once granted to his son to what I can only assume is another son figure for him. I do feel Kluya’s spirit’s involvement is a testimony to their brotherhood and devotion to one another.

I want to connect Kain to Bahamut, first and foremost. As the dragon god of the eidolons, Bahamut’s gotta know something or another about dragoons or, if we’re feeling pretentious, Mr. Highwind himself. Kain fights Lunar Bahamut during his Lunar Trial, and I want to build on that. A lot. Bahamut likely would’ve also known about the slaughter of dragoons and wyverns in the ffii storyline.

In my mind’s eye, I picture Kain defeating Dark Kain during his trial, Lunar Bahamut appearing and, upon its defeat, its scales flake off and the real Bahamut emerges like something of an odd cocoon. Hatching out of an egg, maybe. For symbolism.

(Alternatively, it would be neat for Bahamut to hatch out of an egg and parallel the last wyvern in ffii that baby Kain bonded with…but I digress)

Anyways, the real Bahamut appears in Kain’s trial. Ideally, Kain will have done a bit better in accepting the darker facets of his persona within my au given Thrush’s presence and therefore doesn’t feel the need to fuck off to Mt. Ordeals for ten years. Instead, Bahamut would appear at the end of Kain’s trial and, with Kluya’s lunarian spirit shrouding the room in some sort of magical aura, Bahamut commends Kain for his strength, resilience, and willpower. He offers to boost his strength and bestow upon him the capacity for black magic.

Kain, knowing the regality of the lunar dragon, kneels and accepts. Bahamut then inhales and unleashes a plume of flame onto the dragoon, enveloping him in a biblical cleansing flame. Once Bahamut’s breath flickers out, Kain stands in a brand new suit of armor with a new weapon fitting nicely in his hand.

“Now,” Bahamut begins, his draconic voice emanating from every corner of the room. “I declare you the Lance of Bahamut.”

Kain, as a Bahamut Knight, now possesses the ability to use black magic. He may not bolster tier 3 attack spells, and as a matter of fact, he might utilize black magic in the same way that Cecil uses white. They may lack the most useful spells that Rosa and Rydia harbor, but they make great backups and can still wail out physical damage. Kain, now with Abel’s Trident, finds that his Jump ability has been replaced with Dive Bomb, a skill that when used, adds a selected elemental charge to Kain’s jump while also increasing the damage output. He withstands magic attacks a bit better and is still a deadly quick fighter.

The development of Kain into a Bahamut Knight rather than the Holy Dragoon makes more sense in my mind as it truly does encapsulate the acceptance and control of his inner darks. It is the honing of the very facets of his persona and channeled into carving a path to his future and fully restoring his honor and dignity.

Idk. Thoughts?

[estinininininen]

Ramble, Bahamut Knight edition!

In my own little ffiv offshoot/au/whatever you wanna call it, I have different ideas for Kain. Ofc.

I politely and respectfully (against my will) dislike the Holy Dragoon getup. This idea initially stemmed from my dislike of the armor alone. However, the more I thought about it and as I actually played (and again, respectfully disliked) The After Years, the more the idea/concept developed.

Kain becoming a Holy Dragoon, to me, takes away from his whole spiel of “I didn’t kill off the dark parts of me, I just accepted them as part of me”. The gist of becoming a “Holy” anything is that the dark is completely purged, removed, eradicated— Kain explicitly does not “kill” his Dark Side, rather he absorbs it. The dark is there, but honed and harmonized. Of course, I don’t want this alteration or Bahamut’s involvement to detract from Kluya’s spirit recognizing Kain’s strength. I feel that that detail fiercely emphasized the bond Cecil and Kain share, for Cecil’s dead father to share power he’d once granted to his son to what I can only assume is another son figure for him. I do feel Kluya’s spirit’s involvement is a testimony to their brotherhood and devotion to one another.

I want to connect Kain to Bahamut, first and foremost. As the dragon god of the eidolons, Bahamut’s gotta know something or another about dragoons or, if we’re feeling pretentious, Mr. Highwind himself. Kain fights Lunar Bahamut during his Lunar Trial, and I want to build on that. A lot. Bahamut likely would’ve also known about the slaughter of dragoons and wyverns in the ffii storyline.

In my mind’s eye, I picture Kain defeating Dark Kain during his trial, Lunar Bahamut appearing and, upon its defeat, its scales flake off and the real Bahamut emerges like something of an odd cocoon. Hatching out of an egg, maybe. For symbolism.

(Alternatively, it would be neat for Bahamut to hatch out of an egg and parallel the last wyvern in ffii that baby Kain bonded with…but I digress)

Anyways, the real Bahamut appears in Kain’s trial. Ideally, Kain will have done a bit better in accepting the darker facets of his persona within my au given Thrush’s presence and therefore doesn’t feel the need to fuck off to Mt. Ordeals for ten years. Instead, Bahamut would appear at the end of Kain’s trial and, with Kluya’s lunarian spirit shrouding the room in some sort of magical aura, Bahamut commends Kain for his strength, resilience, and willpower. He offers to boost his strength and bestow upon him the capacity for black magic.

Kain, knowing the regality of the lunar dragon, kneels and accepts. Bahamut then inhales and unleashes a plume of flame onto the dragoon, enveloping him in a biblical cleansing flame. Once Bahamut’s breath flickers out, Kain stands in a brand new suit of armor with a new weapon fitting nicely in his hand.

“Now,” Bahamut begins, his draconic voice emanating from every corner of the room. “I declare you the Lance of Bahamut.”

Kain, as a Bahamut Knight, now possesses the ability to use black magic. He may not bolster tier 3 attack spells, and as a matter of fact, he might utilize black magic in the same way that Cecil uses white. They may lack the most useful spells that Rosa and Rydia harbor, but they make great backups and can still wail out physical damage. Kain, now with Abel’s Trident, finds that his Jump ability has been replaced with Dive Bomb, a skill that when used, adds a selected elemental charge to Kain’s jump while also increasing the damage output. He withstands magic attacks a bit better and is still a deadly quick fighter.

The development of Kain into a Bahamut Knight rather than the Holy Dragoon makes more sense in my mind as it truly does encapsulate the acceptance and control of his inner darks. It is the honing of the very facets of his persona and channeled into carving a path to his future and fully restoring his honor and dignity.

Idk. Thoughts?

[estinininininen]

Requested by anon

[estinininininen]

zoom

[estinininininen]

A little comic about Final Fantasy IV. Even as a kid, I remember finding the concept of a space whale pretty…suspicious. But in a really satisfying, “we’re literally just doing whatever the hell we want!” kind of way. I can’t play these kinds of games anymore because a) they’re too complicated for these old bones and b) shitty angsty teen protagonists. Gross.

I’m working on some longer comics! Weirdly enjoying the amount of work it is, but as someone who is a pathological cutter of corners, I’m continually being bitten in the ass by own laziness further on. Painful lessons….being learned…

[estinininininen]

I am not even annoyed or anything but it's a little funny to me when people characterise Cecil Harvey (ff4) as someone who can't possibly have a mean thought or like he never did anything wrong in his life (exept maybe being a little naive) Can't have a redemption arc if you're clean in the first place (i suspect that maybe it comes from his Dissidia characterization, especially since in there his "dark knight side" does not mean what it means in ff4 and....well let's be honest i love Dissidia but everyone is very, very simplified in there)

Anyways, fanfics that explore the fact that he is not perfect and can still seriously mess up even as a paladin = my beloved (Also the guy was a military captain, i think he can be strict and harsh if needed)

[estinininininen]

@st-highwind

Twin Moon Eclipse

[estinininininen]

i'm thinking it out as i go, i more just noticed Kain is actually a chatty cathy in the opening and then thought how funny it is that people - like myself and the animators for the DS opening - apply the silent moodiness to him before he really shows it in-game. it really hit me in the face how much everyone does it when i tried to sit down and write an AU fanfiction scene where he ends up with Rydia and Cecil on the other side of Mist and thought, "wait . . . wait, who WAS he before all the mind control?"

i agree, it's not at all clear-cut, and not a total encapsulation of both of their characters. there's other stuff going on. i really don't know what Kain would have done if Cecil hesitated for a moment about killing Rydia, or just wanted to abandon her and return to Baron like nothing had happened. on the one hand, Kain would be totally, 100% unquestionably in the moral right to fight Cecil (or take Rydia and run), which is in hindsight a wild thing to realize about Mr. Betrayal McBetrayalpants. the jealous part of him would probably enjoy it! on the other hand, if he does that, he will almost certainly not get Rosa out of Baron, much less convince her to love him instead. which he maybe didn't even realize was a goal he still subconciously held?

i feel like Kain had either made an instant, concrete, split-second decision about what he's going to do purely on instinct, or he was stalling for time for Cecil to also figure it out. the only thing i know for sure is that "i feel like you'd say that" is an insanely composed thing to say when you are in the middle of a raging inferno and discussing treason and infanticide! Kain had something cooking in his noggin and he's honestly relieved Cecil came to the same conclusion he did. Maybe he was thinking about leaving Baron on the road there?

@st-highwind reading your tags the moment that first jumped into my head where they meet and "eclipse" each other is the airship parley. to me (my opinion) in zot it seems cecil has fully ascended and kain is crashing down to earth morally when tellah meteors golbez. (he dips into the underworld behind the horizon when he betrays them again.) but trying to fit it perfectly is a little squishy if it has to be a scene where they're both present together for ~symbolism~.

i think the moment more happens offscreen when golbez and kain decide not to return when cecil arrives in baron. they take the airships and fucken' bail. or maybe that scene when golbez and kain learn he's become a paladin and kain offers up rosa - kain's darkest moment besides stealing the crystals, as he couldn't actually kill cecil. it's maybe him trying to get her away from zot but if that's true then - ooooh I had not thought of this - it directly conflicts with later when he says he "wanted to stay by her." maybe's he's lying to himself? sorting things out? anyway im rambling

Hey FFIV fans, do you ever think about:

• Kain Highwind actually talks a fair bit at the start of the game, was ready to interrupt the meeting with the king, readily gives Cecil unasked for emotional support, and despite holding in his love for Rosa for at least some time, once shit hits the fan he almost immediately blurts it out in Mist

whereas

• Cecil sometimes even late in the game has a real hard time collecting his thoughts and saying them out loud. He freezes up in personal interactions with Golbez and just sorta . . . follows Fusoya's lead on the moon. Our first glimpse of him is brooding on the Red Wings airship and he doesn't say anything to his upset men until they are actively questioning their orders, a big deal in a military to even reach that point. He always moves on quickly to the next goal in conversations (as much just limited dialogue constraints on the SNES but you know). People in Baron were afraid of him as a Dark Knight and Cid and Rosa have to seek him out to get him to talk

and

• the Baron monarchy seems to be elective. Kain has his own inheritance from his biodad. That's the sharp difference between Kain and Cecil's beginning as young men - Cecil has only what the King is able and willing to give him. And the dragoons are a long and storied order, but using dark knights is new for Baron and makes everybody uncertain. Kain ends up angsting over his connection to his dad at the end of the game but he seems emotionally centered with it in the opening, enough that Cecil comments he envies him and Kain doesn't say that's weird of him to feel. And Rosa's mom apparently liked Kain for Rosa instead of Cecil

so . . . it may be that . . . Kain and Cecil before the game starts are the inversion of their popular archetypes that creep into a lot of fan portrayals of them, my own included! Fun! Cecil was the awkward brooding loner and Kain the open, communicative golden child at court. Then everything goes to hell in a handbasket and we see them switch over the course of the game

[estinininininen]

kiss. i think they kiss. it's the first time rosa sees him as a paladin and it's the summation of everything she quietly believed he was capable of. they were together before this but decided not to continue dating because he became a dark knight, right? kiss.

it's also important for why kain explicitly turns away. there's a lot going on in his head in that moment i'm sure, but i don't think kain would necessarily feel the need to turn around if it was just a hug. adds to why rosa is afraid when she says "kain?!?" ----> "oh god did he just watch us kiss? that'd definitely set him off!"

I don't know, do they kiss or hug in Tower of Zot ? Hug would be more logical, that's what happens in the 3D version. But on the GBA version (the one I played many times), it's unclear. Maybe one day I'll make an other version with Rosa's green outfit and Cecil's blue-grey armor and just the hug.

[estinininininen]

Hey FFIV fans, do you ever think about:

• Kain Highwind actually talks a fair bit at the start of the game, was ready to interrupt the meeting with the king, readily gives Cecil unasked for emotional support, and despite holding in his love for Rosa for at least some time, once shit hits the fan he almost immediately blurts it out in Mist

whereas

• Cecil sometimes even late in the game has a real hard time collecting his thoughts and saying them out loud. He freezes up in personal interactions with Golbez and just sorta . . . follows Fusoya's lead on the moon. Our first glimpse of him is brooding on the Red Wings airship and he doesn't say anything to his upset men until they are actively questioning their orders, a big deal in a military to even reach that point. He always moves on quickly to the next goal in conversations (as much just limited dialogue constraints on the SNES but you know). People in Baron were afraid of him as a Dark Knight and Cid and Rosa have to seek him out to get him to talk

and

• the Baron monarchy seems to be elective. Kain has his own inheritance from his biodad. That's the sharp difference between Kain and Cecil's beginning as young men - Cecil has only what the King is able and willing to give him. And the dragoons are a long and storied order, but using dark knights is new for Baron and makes everybody uncertain. Kain ends up angsting over his connection to his dad at the end of the game but he seems emotionally centered with it in the opening, enough that Cecil comments he envies him and Kain doesn't say that's weird of him to feel. And Rosa's mom apparently liked Kain for Rosa instead of Cecil

so . . . it may be that . . . Kain and Cecil before the game starts are the inversion of their popular archetypes that creep into a lot of fan portrayals of them, my own included! Fun! Cecil was the awkward brooding loner and Kain the open, communicative golden child at court. Then everything goes to hell in a handbasket and we see them switch over the course of the game

[estinininininen]

in a hotel room very cautiously removing my clothing slowly and constantly looking around the room shifty and scared as fuck anticipating attacks while a beautiful pair of women sitting side by side on the bed in matching lingerie excitedly but restrained with carefully lowered vioices cheer me on. they say Yes thats it thats how sex works! youre doing it right yeah! youve got it keep going! and im finally down to a sports bra and one tube sock when a car alarm putside startles me and i lunge for the empty handgun on the floor and put it in my mouth while they panic and scramble trying to calm me down petting my hair and cooing gently

[estinininininen]

They say the kindest person can be the most terrifying when angered.