Profile

Character: Cid Highwind
Series: Final Fantasy VII, Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, Kingdom Hearts, Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts II
Version: Final Fantasy VII, shortly after the events of Advent Children
Age: 34
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Straight
Appearance: Between his blond hair and blue eyes, one could almost mistake Cid for a native of Paixao were it not for several things. The most obvious is the fact that his choice in clothing looks nothing at all like one would expect to see in a native, as he tends to wear a blue t-shirt and dark green pants. Along with this he wears a faded brown jacket - usually around his waist - as well as a pair of heavy leather gloves that come to just below his elbows. A pair of goggles set jauntily atop his head completes the outfit. Also of note is the fact that on occasion he has a slight tendency to be spattered with oil and grease, since he takes a rather hands-on approach to mechanical repairs.

Personality: Gruff and uncouth, with tendencies to both foul language and losing his temper, Cid isn't always the easiest man to get along with. However, despite all this Cid is actually a fairly nice man, if a bit bitter and jaded, and is usually willing to help his friends if they need it, although he'll most likely be complaining a fair bit of the way. He doesn't necessarily mean anything by it though - it's just the way he is. However, he can be something of a stubborn idiot at times and is willing to hold on to his dreams as long as takes to see them through, even if it takes years.

Also, despite how he might come off, he is both fairly smart - he's capable of building airships in his spare time - and is also capable of taking leadership-type roles even though he sometimes would prefer not to.

Abilities/Weaponry: When it comes to fighting, Cid's weapon of choice is a spear, although he has been known to use other things on occasion. In addition, he is also capable of an assortment of Limit Breaks - attacks that are stronger than normal physical attacks, but can only be used on occasionally at best.

In a non-combat vein, he is capable of both building and repairing airships, and is also an accomplished pilot.

Weaknesses: Cid's gruff and uncouth exterior has a slight tendency to drive people away before they can realize that underneath the gruff and occasionally bitter exterior is a relatively nice guy. His foul mouth and tendencies to lose his temper don't exactly help, either. Also, the fact that he is something of a stubborn idiot tends to make
him not be all that great at dealing with people most of the time, which doesn't really help either as far as making friends is concerned.

Taking away any semblance of a means to fly also has a profound effect on Cid - to him flying is, essentially, what he's also dreamed of doing and taking that dream away from him tends to make him even more more gruff and bitter then usual. This is even more prominent when there's either a person or group who have taken away his chance to follow his dream - as this gives him someone to hate for taking his dream away.

History: Much of Cid's earliest history is relatively unknown, save for the fact that he had a fascination with the sky even back then - even to the point where he dreamed of being the first man in space. This dream almost came true when he was chosen to the pilot of ShinRa
Space Program's first (and only) rocket. However, shortly before it was scheduled to lift off it was discovered that one of the mechanics was still performing a last-minute check on the oxygen tanks. To continue with the lift-off at that point would have been to kill her, and so Cid aborted the launch sequence in order to save her. Not long thereafter, ShinRa decided to scrap their space program for something 'more profitable' - Mako energy, leaving Cid and his dream in the dust.

Approximately three or so years later, ShinRa again shows up on Cid's doorstep, this time looking to borrow the Tiny Bronco - the last means of flying that Cid still has available to him. Not too surprisingly, Cid refuses to let them have it, having grown more than a little bitter over the fact that ShinRa stole his dream from him in the intervening years. Instead, he goes with the small band of adventurers that have shown up at the same time and, as a result is drawn into the epic battle to save the world from Sephiroth and eventually Meteor.

Two years later, he - along with his newest airship, the Shera - again comes to help defeat the newest threat to the world - the silver-haired 'remnants' of Sephiroth. Fortunately, the problem is relatively easily taken care of and the party is once again free to go their own separate ways. It is after this that Cid finds himself abruptly transported to a world he had never imagined could exist: Paixao.