#ffiv rambling

[whereismycomputermouse]

Idk why, but I imagine Kain to be the type of kid growing up who was mostly good but had the occasional chaotic neutral toxic friend vibes. Like 12 year old Cecil is talking about how some kid keeps calling him a failure knight and Rosa is like "Don't listen to him, you're a perfectly capable fighter" then Kain is just "Judo flip him onto the ground in front of all of his friends, that'll fucking show him"

[estinininininen]

square loves their slender heroes but consider ffiv golbez and cecil probably would have similar physiques as brothers. cecil harvey growing up a weedy little kid like he missed essential nutrients lunarians need or was sick a lot, barely filling out before he starts dark knight training and then that draws his energy too

then he becomes a paladin, tankiest of tanks, and believes in taking care of himself again and eating right and training up and becomes, to use the technical term, a brick shithouse

the snes couldn't display it properly without combusting on the spot

all of baron when he comes back to save them: holy shit his balls dropped

kain at the airship meeting rockets past all the stages of bisexual awakening confusion and decides to double down and be even more of a dick to cecil, but like a little boy pushing a crush into mud cause he doesn't know what else to DO with his FEELINGS, WHEN DID HE GET BICEPS

rosa the second she is freed: 👀👅

[violadiaries]

Fluffcember Day 26: Forgiveness

@fluff-cember

Fandom: Final Fantasy IV

Pairing: Golbez x Kain

Post-Canon; Golbez (+ Lunarians) live in / close to Baron

"Kain, we need to talk."

Kain stiffened and straightened his slumped form. He hadn't slept a wink, the past night, and while the recruits in front of him might not take issue with his slightly less than perfect form, the one approaching him might. He might not comment on it, might not ask Kain about it, but he would notice. And if Kain were really unlucky, he would go and talk to Cecil about it. Kain turned around and took a deep breath.

"Golbez. What might be the issue?" he asked.

His grip around his spear tightened ever so little in response. He knew that Golbez should be safe. That he shouldn't pose a problem. That he had been as much a victim as Kain had been back then. Yet, seeing him like this, the mental image of the man in the darker than black armour came to his mind. And all the associations Kain had with it.

And Golbez noticed. The way Kain's muscles tensed, the closer he got. The way his expression was forced into one of neutrality. That even though they had made a temporary peace with each other the other day, it hadn't held long. Because Kain's survival instincts were still stronger than anything else. His fear of what Golbez might do was still there. Even if he would never acknowledge it out loud.

"Follow me," he said.

He had stopped a bit away from Kain. And while both knew that it meant nothing with Golbez magic, Kain still seemed to relax a little more. After all, both of them knew it wasn't Golbez' magic Kain was afraid of. Golbez didn't want him to be afraid at all. Though that was something Golbez knew would take some time.

Kain nodded and turned around to face the trainees again. He raised an eyebrow as he saw that everyone had stopped what they had been doing. Just to watch Golbez and Kain. Even Ceodore, who normally was so very diligent with his training. Kain let out a sigh and shook his head.

"Go back to your training! If I hear any more complaints about the cold weather by the time I return I know you've slacked off again!" he screamed.

They had just started for the day, even if their first task had been clearing the training ground from any fresh snow that had fallen. And Kain had already heard enough complaints about the temperature. And how most of them would rather sit inside by a warm fire.

The complaints had been shut down immediately by a particularly annoyed glare from Kain. Because he hadn't slept a wink. Because, of course, his old workaholic habits started to show again. And he really had wanted that report for Cecil finished. Kain turned back around to follow Golbez. He didn't know what he needed to talk to him about, but Kain hoped it would just be about some research. Or reconnaissance. Or something work related. He had been slightly concussed the last time they had talked. Something Kain didn't want to think about. So he wouldn't.

Golbez didn't lead him far, just out of earshot. A secluded little corner, close by the training grounds, Kain knew had been used by teens and adults as a make-out spot. At least in the past, that was. Nowadays, no one dared to do so, in fear that either the young prince or the captain of the Red Wings could walk in on them.

"So? What do you need?" Kain asked.

Golbez stopped walking, a sigh leaving his lips as he turned around to face Kain again. Kain leaned against the wall while he waited. He let his spear go, letting it vanish. He just hoped he wouldn't regret that the moment Golbez started speaking. Hoped that Golbez wouldn't try anything funny with him.

Kain lightly shook his head, just to push himself out of that particular headspace. Golbez wouldn't. Kain knew that much. If he wanted to hurt him, he had his ways to do so. And he would have already done it. Not that Kain would go down without a fight, but Golbez had his ways to hurt Kain.

"I realized I never asked you," Golbez said.

Kain snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Golbez again. He raised an eyebrow, wondering what that was about now. Never had asked him what? Golbez didn't need to ask him for anything. As far as Kain knew, was he holding himself still on probation as well.

"Asked me what?" Kain said.

Kain had no say in what Golbez would be allowed to do. That was entirely Cecil who could make those decisions. Especially because Kain knew fully well that his fears were irrational at best. Golbez was a victim as well. Zeromus had been the one screwing them over in the past. Not Golbez. Both Kain and him had just been his puppets. Puppets who now tried to atone for the things their puppeteer had made them do.

Golbez let out a long sigh. He didn't look at Kain. Rather opted to stare at the ground, fiddling with the hem of his shirt. A rather tight-fitting, black shirt. Without sleeves. More fitted for someone doing physical labour and not a head of a mages unit. Or magic research unit. Kain didn't mind. It did suit him.

"Your forgiveness. For everything," he said.

Kain's eyes widened at that. He had expected a lot, but not this. Never this. Because Golbez didn't need to ask for his forgiveness. He didn't need to apologise to him. Kain was more than aware that Golbez wasn't at fault. Even if his mind occasionally tried to tell him otherwise.

Yet, seeing Golbez standing in front of him, eyes turned downwards, asking Kain to forgive him, was…freeing. In some weird way. Kain still didn't particularly like that feeling. Maybe because he knew more than well enough, that Golbez could have achieved Zeromus's goal, if he had been fully serious about it. Kain had seen what he was capable of within the Tower of Zot after all. Something he supposed everyone else wasn't really aware of. Just how strong he really was. And yet, he was basically cowering in front of Kain right now. No, Kain didn't like that at all.

He let out a sigh and shook his head. He looked around, making sure they were alone. Actually, really alone. Partly because he didn't want anyone else to see Golbez in such a state, partly because he didn't want anyone to report this kind of situation to Cecil. That would be too much of a hassle for Kain. Once he was sure, he stepped closer to Golbez.

"You don't need to," Kain said.

Golbez looked up immediately, eyes widened the slightest bit. Kain was standing close enough that he needed to look up at him now. Maybe a little bit too close. Though they both knew they had been closer before. Much closer than this. In both the recent and the distant past.

And Kain knew it wasn't only the things Zemus had made Kain do, which everyone knew about, that Golbez was apologising. The order he had given him back then. It was also the things no one knew about. The punishments he had dished out, simply to remain in control.

"I don't have any forgiveness to give you, simply because there is no need for it," Kain added.

Golbez had opened his mouth to say something, as Kain interjected. It became truly clear to Kain once again, how utterly broken they both had been. Kain noticed, once again, how much of a hypocrite he was himself. Kain crossed his arms in front of his chest, looking away as he let out another sigh. He really tended to be an idiot.

"I know my…behaviour towards you is not justified. I know, I tend to behave irrationally, but know that I am trying to-"

Golbez had interrupted him by pulling Kain closer. Pulling him into a hug that was almost a little bit too close for comfort. Almost. Kain took a deep breath and allowed himself, forced himself to relax. Forced himself to stop being this tense. Golbez wasn't a threat any more. Just like Kain wasn't a threat any more. At least not to Baron and Cecil and everyone else. Kain closed his eyes, slowly placing his arms around Golbez as well.

It was comforting in some way or form. Especially when Kain tended to push plenty of people away these days. Cecil was still his friend, and yet, it wasn't like it used to be any more. Because Cecil was also his king. Just like, Rosa was still like a sister to him. And yet, she was his queen. No matter how much those two wanted it, their dynamic couldn't go back to what it used to be. Kain allowed himself moments, allowed himself to tease them, just like it had been in the past. Only when no one was around. He was already toeing the line too much by not standing straight enough when Cecil was there. And by not always talking in the most polite tone to him. That much he allowed himself in front of others. Nothing more.

Golbez was closer to him in station. Which had been why no one had batted an eyelash so far, at the caution Kain had shown him. At the sometimes even cold demeanour, Kain had showcased. Cecil being the exception, of course. Because with Golbez, Kain could allow himself these things. Neither of them was higher in status than the other. Both commanders to their units. With Golbez, he could allow himself to relax. Kain just needed to get that into his skull. Golbez could be a save haven. A thought which had occurred to Kain so many times, both in the recent and distant past. Because even back then, when Golbez had been above him. When Kain had answered to his commands, they had been the same.

Golbez pushed Kain away as suddenly as he had pulled him closer. Undoubtedly noticing what he had just done. Kain didn't even know why, he had done it. Though Kain was probably also the only one, he hadn't talked to like this yet. He couldn't help but smile as Golbez started to stutter out apologies. Ultimately, clearing his throat, as Kain opened his eyes and looked up at him again. They were still close. Closer than Kain allowed himself with most people. It wasn't too close.

"I got ahead of myself, Kain. Please forgi-"

"Golbez," Kain interrupted him.

Golbez mouth snapped shut immediately as Kain raised a hand. He chuckled at the sight in front of him, and again when he noticed the way Golbez' eyes widened at the sound.

Yes, maybe he was behaving too much like an idiot stuck in the past. Especially when that man in front of him could make a face that adorable. The smile fell from Kain's lips as he processed his thoughts, his face heating up slightly. He looked away and cleared his throat.

"How about…lunch," Kain said.

He looked behind himself and then up at the sky. He supposed that could be a nice solution. Talking about this whole thing some more. Kain did know it would make Cecil happy. And maybe it would do him some good as well. To let someone closer. Someone he actually could share a lot of his problems with.

Golbez had an eyebrow raised when Kain looked back at him. Confused about his statement. Kain nodded and took a step away. Even though his eyes did stay on a strand of hair being out of place for a little bit too long. Resisting the urge to reach out and brush it back.

"How about we eat lunch together. At least like this, both of us would have an alibi, if Cecil wants to accuse one of us of skipping meals," Kain suggested.

Golbez blinked at him, before a smile made its way onto his face. A soft smile, causing the tiniest wrinkles to appear by his eyes. Somehow Kain found himself jealous of how slowly Lunarians, or even Half-Lunarians aged. At the same time, he couldn't find himself to mind that much, when Golbez still looked that handsome nine years his senior.

He nodded and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Both of them knew that the second part of Kain's suggestion was more of a reassurance for Kain, than it was for Golbez. If Golbez would still be by his desk during lunchtime, Cecil or FuSoYa would drag him away to eat something.

"That sounds good. I will see you then?" Golbez said.

Kain nodded and looked back over his shoulder again. He should get back to see if everyone was still training, or if they had decided to slack off again. He really didn't want to have to explain to Golbez later why his voice was suddenly hoarse, just because he would need to scream his idiot unit into submission again. Not only that, but he didn't even like doing it.

"Yeah, it's a date," Kain said.

He didn't look back at Golbez as he turned around. Didn't see the way his eyes widened at the wording. Didn't see the light flush spreading on his cheeks, as he opened his mouth to say something. Kain didn't even really notice his words, himself. He just turned around and waved over his shoulders, letting his spear reappear as he jogged back to the training grounds. Definitely in a much better mood then when he had woken up. Something about this conversation had lifted his spirits. And if Golbez wanted his forgiveness, Kain thought it would be easy to give it to him.

[estinininininen]

it'd be very messy as a dragoon in the air! even corraled into a ponytail! i have headcanons that baron men and dragoons especially have an emotional attachment to their hair. not everyone buys into it in baron, it's like an old tradition and superstition, but kain probably would.

it's not like "no uncovered hair except around family" like some real-world cultures, including most of historical medieval europe fantasy rpgs are based off of, it's more like they associate loose hair with being out of armor/off the clock as soldiers. so sometimes people at court wear it out, for formal events (fun hair time!) and also casual time, and the king does because he's king, he has people to fight for him. it's another reason why the mages have hoods (for baron anyway), they are culturally subconciously acknowledging they're subordinate soldiers and on active duty. nobody cuts their hair short unless they're losing it which is then just a sign of aging. it's seen as a bit progressive/shocking/foreign/rebellious/presumptive of command when cecil comes back with no helmet and hair out. just a headband, very himbo. when they see adult rydia with her bright green hair frizzing every direction some gasts are flabbered until they learn who she is

i've heard people wonder how kain crams all that hair into his helmet, but i've also seen people trying to fit a wig mistakenly make thick braids and pin-curls that make fitting a wig on worse. braids add thickness! actually with board-straight fine hair, like kain's seems to be, the easiest thing to do to fit a helmet is exactly what he does: pull it through in a ponytail. if you have to fit it all under you club it, folding it flat and pinning it tight in a few smaller tails, and use a headband to catch flyaways. i think loose hair should stream out at the back like the crest of a dragon which dragoons want, but controlled if possible, so maybe a few braids. so dragoons have more reason to grow hair long, and lean into it, but they gotta be good enough to not get it caught on anything. so it's about showing off skill as well

i know there's a fanfiction somewhere on ao3 where kain remembers his father disgracing a dragoon found guilty of something or another by cutting off their hair in public. i don't know if i headcanon it that far, where they cut it for extreme punishment, regret, or mourning (again, like some real-world cultures do), or if maybe older generations did that

anyway this is all just an excuse to add some more emotional impact, but in an unsaid way kain won't think consciously about, to kain taking off his helmet in the ending scene. he wears the helmet all the time, wound-up about being under control and also admitting he's following cecil, which he thinks is displayed openly by wearing a helmet around cecil, which rosa and cecil pick up on but edge and rydia don't. rosa and cecil let him have the helmet safety blanket even though it'd be nice to see his face sometimes, meanwhile edge and rydia are thinking "what the hell is wrong with this guy still?"

but on mt ordeals he is open, he is working on himself, he is following only his own will. however he acknowledged cecil's command over baron by waiting until he's truly alone to let the hair fly free. kain was the other adoptive son of odin, and older. baron's monarchy seems loosely inherited with some electoral approval from others? so no one was going to make kain king at that point, but in the most brutal political interpretation of the situation, for establishing cecil's rule it's important if kain leaves baron to not leave that thread hanging, so kain waits until up mt. ordeals to admit he even has a scalp again, outside of bathing

Not enough people draw Kain with fun hairstyles (myself included)

[zottower]

Last night, I listened to the Barret and Dyne suite from FF7 Rebirth two or three times in a row, thinking about Cecil's transformation scene into a Paladin. I wish I could imagine it more dramatic than it actually is in the game. It's quite a similar trope, really. We find ourselves with the recurring idea of the "double evil twin", representing the mistake or dead end the character might make or could have made. In fact, Barret and Cecil end up witnessing and even suffering from seeing their own logic of destruction promising them a grim fate, which forces them to question themselves. That's a matter of life and death for them. They have to face their demon on their own and ask their friends to stay back. In both cases, they are separated from a child they had sworn to protect after surviving the great disaster they provoked without knowing : Marlene in Barret's case, and Rydia in Cecil's case. One might wonder what the child represents: the hope of a future, which is invisible for a while? Ultimately, each one reunites with his little girl when he accomplishes his mission: Cecil when he defeats Golbez (or at least gains the upper hand over him), and Barret when he saves the Planet. I find that the duel between Dyne and Barret has a tragic aspect that is maximized in Rebirth because at the end of the fight, Barret relinquishes his weapon and allows his nihilistic double to mistreat him as he wishes. It is when he is vulnerable that the double dies on its own after expressing all his anger. Just like the Dark Knight disappears when Cecil sheathes his sword. It's as if ceasing to fight against anger and allowing it to be expressed is the key to understanding and mastering it. By putting themselves in the shoes of those who suffer from their vengeful logic, they can recognize their faults. But they are also compelled to delve deep into their emotions, fully comprehending them so they are no longer controlled by them and can move on. Long story short, I'm rambling about what Cecil might experience while battling his double, and the sense of betrayal he likely feels for abandoning the dark arts discipline that connects him to his adoptive father, in favor of embracing the Paladin role offered by his biological father (representing his deep identity vs social identity).

[looker-bureau]

Buy the ds version of ffiv I said, it'll be fun I said.

I'm never beating this game am I?

I should have just gotten the pixel remaster and used the cheat codes 😔

[scarm]

Barb, examining everyone's chipped nail varnish a week in: sometimes I think I'm the only one who cares about shiny and elegant nails! X(

The guys are apologizing profusely of course. Unfortunately their jobs are dirty. Scarm digs in dirt a lot, Cag is... Well himself and rubi... His nails are very well taken care of. He'd love a new coat actually. Red and blue this time maybe? Gold next time? Surely there's a time and place for white too!

Cag could shapeshift his nails obviously. But he kinda likes taking the time to get his nails done. They spend their time gossiping and I mean... A lot of shit happens behind the scenes in baron castle.

Scarm just gets dirty a lot. It's in his element, he can't help it. He's very handsy in the sense that he digs etc etc. While he likes doing things manually he also knows barb isnt the biggest fan of it. Still, he takes the "your nails!!!" And the "am I the only one who cares :(??" And sits through the polishing etc etc. He's just happy to spend time with people :)

[petite-guignol]

FFXIV has the most backstory Scarmiglione has ever gotten, and he's revealed to have been catboy, which is very funny to me. It's also an arc inspired entirely by Golbez's shadow dragon that gets like 45 seconds of total screentime in FF4, which is funny to me because "Void arc riffing on extremely minor FF4 detail where Scarmiglione is a catboy and Golbez is kind of gay" is almost certainly what i'd do if someone asked ME to write an FF4-inspired arc for FF14 lol. (i would've had Zero commit onscreen crimes prior to class-changing that would've raised the ESRB rating through the roof tho so its good i wasn't in charge)

The fights are really good, too, and the Rubicante boss fight features an arrangement of the Four Fiends theme by Kenichi Maeyamada (perhaps better known as Hyadain) and lyrics by Takashi Tokita, one of FF4's original writers. There's also a cool version of Another Moon with a piano in place of the alien synth noises of the original (I really liked FF14's red moon, btw, it creeped me out really bad for some reason. The color of it is just SO unnatural and then you look in the sky to see the boiling grey planet above you and its like...wow. something real fucked up happened here huh).

Also the theme from Fell Court of Troia (a castlevania-ass arrangement of Troian Beauty with harpsichords in) has been on loop in my FC house for over a year at this point and it still sparks joy for me and i will not change it until someone complains.

fandom goals ummmmmmm

I'm working on a translation of some sections of the FF4 novelization that I think are interesting, at least from the first volume which is the only one i've got currently. predictably, that would be the Edward section for me, which is surprisingly extensive and perhaps most interestingly features a great deal of Anna. It's REALLY slow going for a lot of reasons: my Japanese is not great, there's some Personal Issues that push me toward dragging my feet on this particular project (long story, dont worry about it), I want at least one translator friend to look it over for me before i talk too much about it in case i got something egregiously wrong, and i'm a loc editor so i got a pesky case of Standards for making it sound good in English. But i'd like to have it out sooner rather than later, and maybe i can poke at some other stuff from it after that.

other than that i would like to make a fan shrine, because i have had some serious old web nostalgia lately, and beef up my personal website, clear out some WIPs, maybe try drawing a bit again?

I think what i'd most like to do is get at least SOME of this Feymarch Edward AU longfic project out there. i had considered posting it as i went, but didnt and that turned out to be a good idea because i keep revising the outline and it keeps getting increasingly convoluted and strange, but i'm kind of invested in it and it would be nice to have SOME kind of longer project under my belt with a moderate degree of success (here defined as "having it exist in a form other people can read"). its hard to shake the feeling that its all very silly and theres still so many plot snags and ????s i've been writing around but...idk its not gonna work itself out, is it?

FFIV Week: Bonus discussion!

What are your ambitions for the fandom in 2025? Would you like to see more of here on AO3 and Tumblr? More art and writing theme prompts and challenges? Weekly/monthly meta discussions? A discord channel?

OR:

As a Final Fantasy IV fan, what of its media do you recommend? Is there a fanfic you absolutely love? Artwork in your inspiration folder? A series of prompts you’d love to see used by the creatives in the fandom? If someone hasn’t played an of the other FFIV games (TAY, Dissida, etc) where do you recommend they start?

OR:

Take this space to discuss anything you want! Tell us about a wild fan theory, your current WIP outline, your actor headcanon castings, ANYTHING!

[afniel]

There, I did this!

I have more room on Tumblr to ramble than in a Youtube description that nobody's gonna read, so...if you're real into pointlessly technical things, read on, I guess?

I learned some tricks that aren't all that interesting to anybody who isn't using Famitracker while messing with this. Like that you can replicate some heavy slap bass on the sawtooth channel by using V00 for normal volume (0-F as usual) and V01 to achieve MAXIMUM EARBLAST volume with no option to regulate it until you set it back to V00. It seems like volume output-wise, the VRC6 channels are treated as one category that compete with each other for a share of the volume, and the default 2A03 channels are a separate category, so if there's not much going on with the other VRC6 instruments, slapping the V01 command on the saw channel will be overpowering as hell. However, if you're using the other channels, it's not too bad, and you can use it as kind of an F+ volume. As far as I can tell it just expands to fill the remaining volume allowance for the VRC6 channel set.

I used a fairly moderate 10 instruments on this, mostly because VRC6 channels use separate instruments.

As for the sprite art, it's FFIII-based, and the Magus Sisters are heavily heavily edited from their FFIV incarnations. The Tower of Zot background is entirely from scratch, though, as are the weapons everyone's holding. It actually obeys foreground palette rules! It does, however, break the background palette rules by one palette extra. I could have resolved that with fewer colors in the Magus Sisters (swapping the yellow/purple/brown/transparent palette for more yellow/red/brown/transparent would do), but hell naw. I don't think anybody but me will care that much anyway.

Other than that, you could in fact display this on an NES if it were set up properly for it. You'd be sacrificing a kind of ridiculous number of background tiles for the Magus Sisters, but that's okay, they're cool. The music would similarly work if you threw it on a cart with a Konami VRC6 sound chip.

Kinda cool, right?

[styrmwb]

Favorite Final Fantasy Music (FFIV)

part 4 moon part

FFIV is finally going to be easy for me cause there's consistent uploads and I think the SNES sounds good so woooooo this soundtrack goes dummy (every game goes dummy)

5. Mystic Mysidia This song is so goofy. This is definitely one I recommend listening to the PR version of cause that one is extremely weird (in a good way). I love the little bouncing backing, and the xylophone melody, it sounds perfect for a silly little mage town where you get some silly little mage twins that DEFINITELY won't have a tragic moment nope

4. Golbez, Clad in Darkness Man I love Golbez, he's like my favorite FFIV character. This is such a perfect "EVIL VILLAIN" theme with the organ, I love how the melody is later used for Tower of Zot, but this version has the organ solo too which is super cool.

3. Battle 2 This is my favorite Super Mario RPG song. But actually though I think the biggest reason I like this song is cause of Theatrhythm, cause they make you play the off beats, and in my head I always think of those and so it feels like, bouncy. This is also a song I think the SNES sounds really good with (I am a sucker for some compressed trumpet (yes I like pokemon ruby and sapphire too)) Also the bass??? boo doo boo doo boo doo boo doo (the ramblings of a madman) the last thing I will make a nonsensical rambling about is the ending of the song how it goes higher and higher and then smoothly loops GOD it's so good

2. The Final Battle This is a song that I think the SNES version got the best; the intro is outstanding. It starts out with that build, then the heavy drum hits. Then you get like, the start of the melody, and like, only in this version do they get the echoey sounds going, other ones sound like it just kinda hits multiple times but this version has an echo and I love that!! After the beginning it goes into this other part that sounds kinda menacing but also there's like a heroic sounding horn fighting against the evil, fitting perfectly for a final boss battle, and the end of the song does this too. I love it man

1. Battle with the Four Fiends This is absolutely my favorite song in this game, it's like, if you made a tier list, the rest of this list would be A tier and this would be S+, that is the gap to me. The buildup, the melody, the part where it goes DUN DUN DUN DUN doo doo doo doo doo doo LIKE THE WHOLE BOUNCY HORN THING (I WISH I KNEW MUSIC WORDS BETTER BUT I HOPE YOU GET WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY) THIS SONG IS SO FUN and I could listen to it on repeat always. Not once have I heard a version of this song that I have disliked at all. Plus there's the funny Hyadain version and I always think of "gentleman, gentleman" but that's not really a reason for liking the song that's just bonus also can someone tell me why I'm terrible with tumblr formatting

[psychicdragoncoffee]

Final Fantasy - After the Playthough [Just rambling.]

So I finished the very first game. As I said in a previous post I ended up liking the version in the Pixel Remaster more than I did the GBA port. Though I do partly think I would have preferred playing on a larger screen anyway. [Even though I had no such issue with FFIV or FFV.]

[Before I go onto the ramble I want to say that these are worth playing and are pretty good.]

That might have been part of the reason I opted to get the Ps4 version of the collection instead of the Switch. [I have a Switch Lite, so it'd be another handheld.][That's not really the main reason. When it comes to games I tend to lean toward what I can play on my PlayStation. Which is probably why my Switch collection isn't go great. Even now I don't think I have more than 5 games not including what I downloaded from the network.]

[st-highwind]

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?

[whereismycomputermouse]

The inconsistent character design in FFIV is going to be the death of me. Like everyone generally agrees that Cecil's hair is supposed to be white but it's been shown to also be blue and blond, Rydia's eyes somehow went from green to blue when she grew up, Kain has been depicted with at least 3 separate eye colors, and that's not even getting into how many outfits changes the entire cast has been given throughout the different re-releases. Seriously, pick a design and stick with it this is driving me INSANE

[cherry-eight]

First of all, I don't know English well, I often use a translator, so if you read the ramblings, give me a 50% discount ;)

As it happens, in my thirties, I made no friends. And this publication prompted my lily-livered ass to write a comment about this not-so-funny story.

I live a quiet, perhaps even boring life. I work remotely, I don't attend social events where people usually find friends in adulthood.

I tried to find friends in MMORPGs, actively communicating by correspondence, sometimes chatting in Discord. But people want to communicate more either about the game or about memes ) In general, I am not very easy to communicate, too serious at times, rather like they show in the movies of parents "Do not do so, it's bad. Put on a hat, it's cold outside."

My girlfriend asked me to start playing FFIV, the game itself is not really my taste, but the fact that there are such sociable people interested me.

I bought a subscription so I could socialize, and went around the cities of the magical world pestering everyone with communication, gestures… Anyway, it was sad. I felt like a puppy begging to be taken home. After one girl texted me "Fuck off dude! Are you high?", I just quit the game and haven't wanted to play it since.

If you have friends, appreciate them, they are damn hard to find for some people. P.S.

Do you know why the post is in English and not Russian or Ukrainian? Because I hope that at least someone will read it and want to at least talk about it)

just trust me you’ll be fine

[imperial-nuisance-rudje]

Thinking about it, I think part of the reason why I just did not give a fuck about furthering msq despite knowing I was on a timer (besides, like, just really disliking a character who keeps getting screen time where I am not allowed to tell him we are Not Friends and the writers do not see his flaws at all and it makes me want to push him into the fucking sea)

Knowing that there would be a complete lack of characters I actually have a shit about

Most of my favorites are in optional content, and the writers are just fucking allergic to using their new tools to bring in characters from sidequests even when it actively weakens the writing (current msq and the Warring Triad characters, for instance)

So I do optional content, find charcaters I like, annnnnnnd then once i finish it they're banished to the fucking abyss, never to be seen again

Why the fuck would I want to see more of the story when so far it's just Hey Remember FFIV, Also Watch Us Pretend The Gulf Between How We Treat Zenos And How We Treat Other Villains Who Are Just As Bad If Not Worse Doesn't Exist if they're not even going to bring in my son Unukalhai for a cameo?

Like. I actively hate one current member of the scions enough that his presence in one of the sidequests makes me not want to unlock the alliance raids once I scrap together enough cash to resub, and most of the rest are either so fucking boring I can't bring myself to give a shit about them or aren't given enough screen time to really shine. Why would I give a fuck about the msq when that's the primary cast? They're not even allowed to have actual conflict with each other, so they stay boring!

I just... wish they'd stop writing around the time bubble at least for the expansion before last, so that we could see optional content characters again.

Obligatory "please microchip our catdad he wandered off after RDM 70 and we can't find him :(" joke, but also. I want to see Rielle grow up. I want Sid to be a prickly soft-hearted bastard. I want Esteem and Myste to speak up again. The bard boys at least had a brief cameo in EW but I want more of them. I want to see my BLM buddies. If they're not going to expand on the extant questlines they're in, my only option left is MSQ.

I dunno. Like... I get why this is happening, but it's also increasingly one of my biggest problems with the writing. There's big threads all over the place they won't touch bc it's in a place nobody has seen.

Im more negative about it than usual but that's because I'm just in a bad mood and I'm trying to purge it, hence the "no this ramble goes under a readmore". Like, im hoping Dawntrail pleasantly surprises me in many regards! Buuuuut im not holding my breath, because they have this many expansions of not actually looking at optional stuff when writing the msq (the beep vs middy stuff was established in msq, remember) and it's... not something they're going to overturn without an explicit timeskip at this point, and they're so afraid of aging up the twins that they're probably never going to do that.

Bleh.

[looker-bureau]

HES OUT OF HIS HOSPITAL BED!!!!!