Cecil minion in XIV when, SE?

yes I know I can wear his gear (thx Endwalker!) but it annoys me that we have minions of all of the core party members EXCEPT HIM >:(

Now I'm processing the new submaterials

also praying that the server doesn't tip over mid-craft @_@

For what should be obvious reasons, Hikaru's big canon not-MSQ bit of content: the Ivalice raids

especially considering how I threw out the entire Paladin job story and tied Excalibur/Aegis Shield back to Ivalice (which also meant throwing out the entire ARR relic quest) :}}}

The "B plot" of this relates to Hikaru's main job being Paladin and how despite her personality she embodies the spirit of the job far more than most of the straight-laced Paladins encountered in the story.

You don't have to be a camera-ready cheeseburger to taste good!

The only reason she held it up that long is that she feared the backlash if she took off the mask and behaved more authentically.

Turns out, people like her MORE when she's sweary and brash! Almost like they knew it was a facade the whole time. XD

compared to other Hikaru variants elsewhere, her XIV self is a huge deconstruction re: public and private perceptions of a heroic figure. Up until Endwalker, Hikaru felt she had to play the role of "smile and /palmpunch" WoL even though she SUPER hated that mask, as it doesn't reflect her true self.

*TECHNICALLY* the #XIVExtended party has two WoLs, the other being Kupo. But as a Moogle he is considered a speculative scenario ("what if Hydaelyn activated the Echo in a Moogle?") and has no desire to assume a leadership role in the party.

He is happy to defer to Hikaru and just be a DPS :P

it's a colossal pain in the butt when it comes to mixed-DC friend hangouts because often times Aether is clogged up super tight and lately it's even hard to just redirect to Crystal instead.

(something something "squatting on Dacq's lawn" memes)

...granted, THAT came more from her mother wanting a name that could be used for either gender, but it ended up working very well on MULTIPLE levels, lol

(there's also the detail about media outlets not using pronouns so sometimes the public think the Warrior of Light is a man based on the name)

Therapy re: Hikaru's phobia *somewhat* moves the needle in that she's less freaked out at the thought of wearing more feminine clothes (and even a swimsuit) but she still generally favors male/unisex things.

The irony of her having a mostly-gender-agnostic name is not lost on her either.

Cruise Chaser gets severely damaged late into base Dawntrail (right before the Vanguard dungeon) and gets sidelined until postgame, when Numair used electrope to reinforce it against lightning.

there's a lot of Gurren Lagann (and to a lesser extent Trails of Cold Steel) inspiration for this, lol

recap for newbies/those unfamiliar:

in my OC canon, Numair salvaged/overhauled Cruise Chaser to be a dual-pilot robot. Usually Kiros is 2nd chair, but it can be operated in single mode.

Numair can also deploy Cruise Chaser in a limited autonomous mode (as he does as part of his 1st Limit Break).