Kiht'a Jin - Light and Love

Sprout Artist : Yes Roleplayer : Yes Writer : Yes

KIHT'A JIN

art cred.

Race: Keeper of the Moon Miqo'te

Pronouns: he/him

Sexuality: Bisexual

Occupations: Warrior of Light/Darkness, culinarian, entertainer

Job Classes: DNC main, BRD sometimes, CUL on the backburner

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THE STORY THUS FAR -

Kiht'a Jin was an orphan boy traveling with a troupe of performers, who were all to eager to shake him off in the wilderness of La Noscea. A coeurl mother mistook him as one of her cubs, and that managed to keep him alive long enough for an adventuring party to ferry Kiht'a into the safety of civilization. One Miqo'te adventurer from that group would wind up giving Kiht'a his name before he was adopted by a Roegadyn couple from a small fishing town. His childhood from then on would be gentle and idyllic, filled with salt and sunshine, until his earlier years were forgotten. But while Kiht'a could sail and fish - as was his father's profession - he longed for something more. Following in the footsteps of the adventurer who named him, Kiht'a would travel to Gridania to learn the bow.

From there, history was made. Kiht'a isn't the smartest Warrior of Light, with most of the complex politics of the world flying over his head. The more and more feats he accomplishes, the smaller and smaller he feels. Some people, especially those in Garlemald, see Kiht'a as something like the Scions' weapon of mass destruction - to be pointed at a target and let loose. Sometimes, he feels like it.

But Kiht'a had Haurchefant as... something for a few blissful moments, and he honestly loves the twins after going through so much with them. And not for lack of trying, Kiht'a had Zenos as an enemy and friend.

The Scions are Kiht'a's family away from family, and though there's a lot he'd change about his journey as a hero, he wouldn't change them.

SOME KIND OF HERO -

Kiht'a is rather unassuming until one meets his eyes. He's always been overflowing with light, which shows through in his pale, luminous gaze - and the way Kiht'a is always keeping upbeat. He comes across as open and warm, though with a smile that doesn't quite seem honest. In his quieter moments, especially when Kiht'a thinks no one's watching, he's rather somber.

Even when he's not off slaying primals and saving the world, Kiht'a loves to wander. He's always seeking new experiences and tasting new foods. As a bard and dancer both, Kiht'a is always good for a riveting tale or stunning performance. Though accepting a meal from him can be a bit of a gamble... Kiht'a loves spice and is always concocting a new dish which could be hazardous to eat. He's felled quite a few Scions before they caught onto his trick.

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A BRIGHTER REFLECTION (Dragonson AU) -
In a self-indulgent alternate universe, Kiht'a becomes the Dragonchild. A crueler troupe tries to leave Kiht'a to die in Mor Dhona. He stumbles towards the Keeper of the Lake. The Echo within him rouses Migardsormr, and the child is tasked with being clever and insightful to gain the great wyrm's favor. Kiht'a somehow manages, and becomes child of Migardsormr. While the dragon leaves his son to forge his own path, Kiht'a begs a single scale from Migardsormr when he falls in love with Haurchefant. The shield fashioned from it saves Haurchefant's life and Kiht'a drags his bright-eyed lover into the Scions' story.

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A STRANGER WORLD (JDWTD AU) -
In a funnier alternate universe, Kiht'a defects from Eorzea to fight Zenos. After Haurchefant's death, Kiht'a's grief swallows him whole. Until a friend of his by the name of JD mails him saying he plans to walk to Doma. Kiht'a slips away in the night to join this long journey, crossing active warzones and desolate landscapes. And he winds up in Doma as Zenos reigns over it. Fighting the Prince of Garlemald isn't Kiht'a's smartest decision, but he fights with no regard to his own well-being - and miraculously strikes Zenos. Both of their interests are piqued and they spend their days testing each other. Eorzea loses a Warrior, but Garlemald gains one to whet their bloodthirsty prince's appetite.

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ENDNOTES -
Out of character notes, this is Kiht'a! My son! My boy! Feel free to ask anything. For the most part, everything in the MSQ has happened exactly so for Kiht'a except that he briefly had a situationship with Haurchefant during Heavensward. Also I think it's funny to headcanon that none of the Scions understand why in Hydaelyn's name Kiht'a's attracted to Zenos and have at some point tried to stage an intervention.

The two AUs are just something fun for if people want to ask about them! Because they represent very different facets of Kiht'a that I consider important. In canonverse, he's bearing his title as a weight and he's also constantly shouldering grief, which affects his attitude towards quite a few NPCs. In the Dragonson AU, he's much more into the idea of being a hero, and in the JDWTD AU, well. He and Zenos have an effect on each other. The overall tone for the Dragonson AU is "fairytales" and doesn't necessarily follow canon lore. The JDWTD AU is mostly a comedy in which I imagine putting Zenos into a bunch of MSQ events.

Replies will be in a mix of in-character and out-of-character depending on how honest Kiht'a is. Because he likes to lie about his feelings, although he's an open book regarding everything else.

Aside: JD is the abbreviated character name of an actual friend of mine who played FFXIV, refused to do the MSQ, and walked to every location because he wanted the aetherytes. This spawned quite a few jokes about how JD would walk to the First.

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Kiht'a Jin - Light and Love 55506133_ndaPLljSeysEDd5

Hear, Feel, Think Artist : No Roleplayer : Yes Writer : Yes

(I'm fascinated by your friend and his stubbornness :'D)

So... How did the Scions realize his attraction to Zenos? And did they know about him and Haurchefant?

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Don't mind my pfp, I don't bite! (He might though)

Sprout Artist : Yes Roleplayer : Yes Writer : Yes

Skaar wrote:: (I'm fascinated by your friend and his stubbornness :'D)

So... How did the Scions realize his attraction to Zenos? And did they know about him and Haurchefant?

Kiht'a Jin - Light and Love 52757275_mrKhhC3L5ftAWhg

Kiht'a's ears quickly flick up. "The Zenos thing is a joke, I swear!" He turns his head up, crossing his arms and affecting a cool demeanor. However, his sweeping tail gives him away. "Aughhh, I say once that he's objectively hot and everyone gets concerned. It's not that big a deal." Pouting, Kiht'a considers the other question.

"Weeell... I don't know if they knew during the whole Ishgard thing. We were pretty scattered, I mean!" An ear flicks. It seems like Kiht'a's not that good a liar. "... afterwards, I did kind of tell Alphinaud. I didn't really say anything to the others and we were busy after that so..." Kiht'a presses his ears flat to his head. "I don't know if the Scions know for sure. I think they do, but we don't reeeally talk about this stuff."

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I am incapable of not making Kiht'a/Zenos anything other than a comedy, so apologies for that :3 But during Stormblood, Kiht'a makes an offhand comment about Zenos - who has pretty much only been a firm villain - to the shock of the Scions. Lyse is the most outspoken about how concerning she finds it. After Stormblood, a lot of the Scions were cautious with Kiht'a and his supposed feelings around Zenos, but he was pretty much fine.

Haurchefant and Kiht'a kept their relationship quiet, due to wanting the time and space to figure it out beyond the pressures of war and their respective duties. They didn't quite get that time but Kiht'a's immense grief in the wake of Haurchefant's death definitely clued the Scions in that they were more than friends. Alphinaud is the closest to the truth, with Kiht'a confiding in him that Haurchefant was dear to him. I like to think most of the Scions assume, and the only one who figured out the whole story is Count Edmont. Who Kiht'a avoids at all costs out of a sense of shame.

Thanks for asking!

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Adventurer Artist : No Roleplayer : Yes Writer : Yes

Hi Kiht'a! Two questions for ya: What's your favorite food that you've had in the course of your travels? And do you have any particularly memorable performance stories?

(Also I absolutely love Kiht'a as a character, traveling dancer cats are the best Very Happy

)

Sprout Artist : Yes Roleplayer : Yes Writer : Yes

TheDeerLord wrote:: Hi Kiht'a! Two questions for ya: What's your favorite food that you've had in the course of your travels? And do you have any particularly memorable performance stories?

(Also I absolutely love Kiht'a as a character, traveling dancer cats are the best )

[minor Endwalker patch spoiler]

Kiht'a grins, a full toothy smile showing off both his immense joy and pearly fangs. "I try to eat a least a little of the cuisine everywhere I end up, but Zero's curry still hits the spot every time! Well, I guess it's a curry we made together... sorry, Zero! I did pick the spicy peppers on purpose!" He chuckles to himself. "But where's the fun if it's not spicy, you know? The burn makes you feel alive!"

"Hmm..." Tapping a finger on his chin, Kiht'a wracks his memory. "For the most part, I just dance or sing for whoever. It makes them happy so it makes me happy. I've had people ask before, and you'd thiiink that I'd have a good story to tell. But I dooon't. Anyone 'exciting' I could've performed for, well, we were kind of busy with a lot of stuff." He swishes his tail up into his hands, rhythmically squeezing the fluff. "Aughhh... that sounds like an excuse. Maybe... well, we had a really small celebration, after the whole Praetorium mess. We got Thancred back and everything was going to be just fine! I played some music for the others even though I wasn't really good at it yet. But it was a fun time, and I really started to get to know the Scions better."

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I think you know what I'm about to say: Kiht'a has a soft spot for hot chocolate. He wouldn't rank it as the favorite, but the taste always brings back memories. Also speaking of Haurchefant and hot chocolate. Hot chocolate is a Master Culinarian III recipe. I grind CUL and haven't even gotten that, how did Haurchefant know it? I guess I'm not that super into leveling Culinarian, but still.

Kiht'a has a super skewed view on "memorable" given that he's fighting primals on the daily, so what stands out to him most are moments where the mundane fully seeps through. The end of ARR is his first big triumph and I think that's when he really looked around and thought that he could grow to love the place and the people. HW and SB didn't feel triumphant to Kiht'a. But at the end of ShB, having accomplished all that, in the midst of the celebration for having brought back the night, Kiht'a really thought everything would turn out alright. Both end of ARR and ShB are memorable to him because he could just be happy the whole time.

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