Character: Ky Kiske
Canon: Guilty Gear, post Guilty Gear -Strive-
Age: 30
Background Information: Guilty Gear Wiki

Personality:
1) Tell us about who your character is and what someone’s first impression would be upon meeting them.

At first glance, Ky Kiske looks like a goody two-shoes who cannot see the grays in his black-and-white world, blindly following who orders him around. He also looks like someone who will do anything to reach out to others and make them see the joys of life without a second thought to what they have experienced. It’s mostly due to his boyish (feminine, when he has long hair) appearance, and the bright light in his eyes. It is true that Ky is a man who tries to be the best person he can be, and he has the natural talent for that. He is both kind hearted and charismatic, and can definitely lead a crowd when he needs to. After all, a king needs those skills to be able to lead his people. When interacting with him, Ky can come off as polite and formal to the point of ridgidness, but he genuinely does mean well.

Despite his bright-eyed look, he's also experienced pain and heartache, more than he'd like to admit. Due to being orphaned at 5 at the hands of Gears, he’s experienced nothing but the horrors of war for most of his life. When he joined the Holy Order at age 10, he struggled with maintaining any relationship outside of cordial greetings- it comes with the territory of being significantly younger than anyone else, plus his quick earning of the title of prodigy isolated him even further. But he continued forward, pursuing a future of peace in a time where the war against Gears, known as the Crusades, felt like peace was outside of their lifetimes. In the end, it was Ky’s leadership as well as his skills as a swordsman during the Battle of Rome that led humanity to victory against the Gears, especially after the Holy Order’s old commander stepped down and left the role to Ky. It cemented him as a leader who will do anything for peace, which rightfully earned him the title of First King of Illyria in the future, regardless of the fact that it was a position he was strong armed into.

Ky is also- for all intents and purposes, a family man. He cares deeply for them, even as he continues his pursuit for peace. As king, he struggled with the weight of the crown due to the fact that if he didn’t, his family- Dizzy and Sin- would be in grave danger. It tore him apart to think that the people who were blackmailing him would hurt his family if he didn’t take the throne, but doing so would isolate him even more from his family than he already was. This internal conflict tore him apart so badly that he turned to his faith to guide him. He couldn’t find his answer within his faith, but in the end it was Sin who pushed him in the right direction after a fight with Sol. Ky made his choice right after: he was elected First King and made to sit on the throne, electing to use the newfound political power to advance his goals for peace and improving human-Gear relations in the country. It was at least there he comforted himself with the idea that he could eventually live with his family happily, without hiding the existence of his wife and son. It cost him precious time with his family (for a time, Sin wouldn’t even call him “dad”, simply by his name or “shitty king”, which tore Ky apart), but he still did everything to ensure that happy ending.

He’s not there yet, but he’s closer than he’s ever been, especially after the events of Strive.

2) What is a driving force your character has? What goals do they have, what motivates them, etc?

The driving force of Ky is his desire for peace for his people, an exemplar being his character theme for Strive, Roar of the Spark.

Under the sacred briars
Never stop, just go
I don't care how many more scars I get
Bearing the pale fire
I'm going as far as I can
I hope my path will be
A guide of light for someone to follow
The roar of the spark

Ky had fought through a long, painful war, strong armed into being a king by the Conclave (aka anime Illuminati), forced to keep his entire family a secret due to stigma, and overall has been beaten down over and over for the entire series. However, it’s a known fact that Ky is a devout Christian, and it’s his faith in the best of humanity that keeps pushing him forward. It’s one of his guiding lights that makes him continue fighting for a better future, even though he knows that he’s got a rat’s chance even doing that much. It’s his faith that has been his rock when he was fighting just to survive during the Crusades, and why he always treats all people with kindness and respect, when his prodigy status isolated him from making any sort of connection. This kindness eventually extended to those he once hated, as his time with Dizzy is a huge influence in his life. Because of her, he’s also learned to always try his best to communicate his feelings and opinions so there’s no misconceptions, which in shorter words means he’s honest to a fault.

Bringing peace to his people is the other goal he strives for (ha), and it’s rarely influenced by his faith. After having his morality and beliefs in justice shaken by the leader of the Gears during the Crusades (ironically called Justice), he’s struggled to find his own definition in a world that was now dyed all sorts of grey instead of the black and white he was accustomed to. It was during this time where he tried to find his way that he met the Maiden of the Grove, Dizzy, and how to truly treat others as people, not as things to be exterminated or righteous beings to be honored. His meeting with Dizzy changed him for the better becauseshe is a Gear, the very creatures Ky despised- and killed- for most of his life. It made him realize that it was not just humanity that deserved the love and kindness his faith said to give. As Ky slowly fell in love with the Maiden, he started to want for peace for all- not just for humans, but for Gears as well.

Ky’s pursuit of peace and justice for all is a source of ire for all those in power, as he will question all authority if he finds them corrupt, wielding Thunderseal with frightening accuracy. He’s not one to blindly follow what he’s told- his ascension to the throne was mostly a choice made on his own, even though he was forced to do so in the first place. He’s found that solving issues with diplomacy was a lot easier than solving them with violence. And if his skill can overpower even the strongest warrior in canon, then yeah, that’s a good thing. (He knows he’s got the skill to back it up too.) To that goal, he will listen to anyone’s troubles and is always willing to lend a hand, and when evil strikes, Ky is on the front lines, putting up a fight that would strike fear in anyone’s hearts.

He struggles with his lofty ideals even now, when he’s able to be open about his family and his role as King. It’s the questions of how and can he that plague his mind. It’s even earned him some mockery, since it’s an ideal no one can accomplish in a lifetime. But he doesn’t let questions and mockery stop him from following his dreams for peace. He’s gained wisdom through the constant conflict in his life, especially as King, which makes him aware that trying to save everyone is a fool’s errand, but if he can at least be a light of hope for someone, then he’s done good.

3) What are their flaws as a character? What is something they've messed up, or have done that they regret?

Ky is a man of structure. He cannot really function when he has to think outside the box. Even as First King in a triad of kings, when he can bend any rule to his whim, he will follow the rules. The best example of this is when Ky was assisting Sol in thwarting Ariels’ plans with Justice- he will try and uphold the Third King’s orders and commands, even if he himself does not agree and will delay them whenever possible. When the Second King offers a provision to overrule the Third, Ky denies it, stating that it’s not needed. Understandably, the Second King is furious at Ky’s callousness about his own safety, but accepts it nonetheless.

His other vice is his anger. While not quick to rage like his rival turned in-law Sol, Ky's anger leads him to acting rashly and rather carelessly. It took Sol insulting his wife for Ky to give into his anger and decimate Sol in what was supposed to be a fair battle, even when he's said over and over that he wishes to leave the past- the past where he was known as an efficient killer- behind him. If one looks closer at that: it was his anger that lead Ky down the path of being a Holy Order Knight, and kill every single Gear that lead him to that. It was his anger that led Ky to become that brutally efficient killer that brought Sol Badguy, the man who became an iconic fighter in his own right, down to his knees in fear. It was his wife who pulled him away from that mentality, as it was her who allowed Ky to slowly come to the realization that the species he was killing were truly sentient.

4) Optional: What is something unique and interesting about them, or what is a fun little tidbit that sets them apart from the crowd?

OKAY SO I LOVE THIS FACT ABOUT KY BUT-

For all his life, he's only known war and bloodshed, living his life on the battlefield and expecting to live there for the rest of his life. Justice even comments on this, saying that Ky has “known nothing but the battlefield”. It would be normal, even expected to have little to no hobbies, but his favorite thing to collect... is teacups.

I interpret Ky's collection of teacups as the last connection he has to his family outside of his mother tongue being French- his mother was an avid collector and had a large collection before it was destroyed during the events that left him orphaned. It's slowly built up throughout the years, but he carefully displays each cup with precision and care- something that would definitely confuse his son if he saw. He's definitely got the standard cups, but he has teacups that are out there for most people.

Also, Ultimate Sever is just a visual representation of all Ky players.

Abilities & Inventory:Using the Guilty Gear Wiki as a reference to his abilities, the only thing that needs to be nerfed is his Dragon Install ability. It enhances his abilties tenfold and doesn't have a set time limit if we take a page from Sol's book, so a possible nerf is a transformation per day/week?

If you consider his magic prowess (he controls all five elements (fire, water, wind, lightning, and ki, for GG)) as a power to be nerfed as well, then I would say limit it to just lightning magic, as it's the one he's most iconic for, plus the one he feels the most comfortable wielding.

As for inventory, the only thing he would be carrying is a recent photo of his family (his wife and son, as well as his sisters in-law, (technically? we don't know where Ramlethal and Elphelt land in this family-)) as well as the Thunderseal, which does amplify his lightning magic.

Paladins! The main reason is because for all intents and purposes, it aligns with his ideals, but only in appearance. Once Ky discovers the parts of the armada that are very much corrupt or dealing with the same kinds of black and white justice he used to deal with, he will start plans to dismantle or downright destroy those groups. Ky has a penchant for freedom that he isn’t even aware of, so seeing how some parts of the armada are downright tyrannical? He will strike it down without any sort of hesitation. If he joins a faction that stands for justice and order, then by god will he make sure it stands for it.

Test Drive Sample: TDM

Questions: n/a