• app for realityshifted •
Player Name: Saffy
Player LJ: presea
Email and/or AIM: jerkbender@gmail.com // AIM: heroic BSOD
Timezone: PST (GMT-8)
Other Characters: d2!Asch (promisedsomeone), d2!Emil (pactum), and Kratos (cruxified).
Character: Roxas
Series: Kingdom Hearts
Deviance: 2 (The different worlds are floating islands, Nobodies are actually clones, Riku does not turn into Ansem, and Roxas does not disappear.)
Age: Looks 15 (actually 1)
Gender: Male
Species: Human (Soulless/Nobody)
Canon Used: KH1, KH2, 358/2 Days, and whatever else I can get my hands on. I'm allowing Birth By Sleep to tie into this, but I won't be elaborating on the links until I play it myself.
Appearance: Roxas is of average height and weight for his age with a baby face and bright blue eyes. His hair is blonde and spiked in whatever direction it feels like, though it’s short in the back and longer on top. He looks almost exactly like Sora. His 'work' outfit consists of boots and a tailored leather duster, while his casual wear is a peculiar mixture of steampunk and skater boy.
Psychology:
Roxas is, at first, very much like Sora in appearance and personality. He has a stubborn streak a mile long and he doesn’t give up on things very easily. With the right amount of encouragement, he can go far beyond what’s expected of him. And while he can get very gloomy while remembering the past, he also has a strangely optimistic view of the future. There are some key differences, however... things that lend him a 'darkness' that Sora lacks.
The most notable thing is anger. Roxas isn’t really an angry person; he’s even reasonable most of the time. He tries to keep his view of people as objective as possible (at first). He says his please-and-thank-you’s. But mess with him or his friends, or compound his life with secrets, and he will unleash a Keyblade Master’s dark fury like nothing else. This combined with his determined streak made him a formidable opponent for Riku-- enough that he nearly overdosed on darkness trying to beat the rogue Soulless. When he gets that angry he thinks of nothing but getting rid of it.
Rage aside, Roxas tends to be a little quieter and lets others dominate the conversation. He’s also not above being a bit of a smartass though it never turns into the kind of arrogance that other failed clonebodies display. Spacy as he might be, Roxas is decent at recon and he knows how to work through puzzles on his own. He's no genius, but he applies himself to tasks with enviable diligence.
There are still concepts that Roxas doesn’t understand despite having another person’s memories. Experiencing them for himself gives him a childlike innocence and curiosity about otherwise normal things: laughter, hanging out with friends, and going to the beach, to name a few. It’s like he’s learned how to live backwards and wants to return to the basics. His naivete makes him seem 'real' to Axel. Straightforward and honest, Roxas is eager to believe in appearances; if a friend lies to him, he won't question it or push the issue unless he has a reason to be concerned.
Sora is determined to save the world but Roxas is more proactive, poking and prodding at the things he finds out to see if they’re true. He completes tasks for the Order but he does it while wondering about the why, and the questions he asks don’t always have easy answers. Eventually, he rebels hard against the fate forced on him. Not knowing everything goads him on even when he could turn back and live simply.
Roxas has a hard time accepting orders when he doesn't agree with them. Though he supposedly has no heart or true feelings, he has a strong conscience. Several times, he has to choose between doing the right thing and focusing on his mission. It obviously bothers him to walk away from people in need, and later on when he's unsupervised, he has no problems ditching his mission to help someone he owes favors. He is honest and straightforward, and it bothers him when people are not.
He is motivated to find the truth of things, but his friends have a profound impact on his short life. He wants to find the truth to help Xion, to find Axel. When he stands up to his superiors, it's out of deep-seated concern for his best friends. Soulless aren't supposed to have feelings, but Roxas is special. Judging by his actions, he fears being left alone, and being unable to save his friends.
At heart, Roxas is a teenager who longs to live like he never can-- with his own friends, his own school, in his own town. Living in Sora’s shadow made him long for these things even more, but he found them in Axel and Xion, if only for a while. The Keyblade is a burden to Roxas and seems like the only reason the Order employs him at all. He questions this frequently: what is a Nobody? What is his purpose? A measure of peace comes to Roxas only after he begrudgingly accepts his role as Sora’s other half.
Other Skills/Abilities: Roxas’ signature weapon is the Keyblade, an unbreakable weapon that can supposedly open any lock and can sometimes pierce barriers. Its shapes and attributes change depending on the keychain equipped. Keychains themselves are usually sentimental items imbued with strange magical power. In this ’verse the Keyblade represents everything unknown about the world’s origins and the existence of magic, but also a guiding light that can push back the mist and reclaim what was lost.
Physically, Roxas is fit and lean. He’s agile and strong, but most of his power is in combinations and surprisingly effective style of dual-wielding Keyblades. On the ground or in the air, he’s a whirlwind of steel and not easily bested by anyone. Disarming a Keyblade wielder is difficult since he can call back his weapons in a flash, the same way he can summon or dismiss them.
Roxas has a fundamental understanding of elemental magic and he can usually heal himself of medium to light injuries. He can form portals to different worlds and teleport short distances without warning, and he can also summon the Samurai breed of Nobodies if desired due to his power over the darkness. His power over light is greater, however; he can conjure up powerful beams of light and zip between them with slashes while casting, though he definitely needs his Keyblade to do this.
Other Weaknesses: Roxas is a durable kid. He can be slashed, frozen, set on fire, electrocuted, etc., and be fine in a few seconds. Call it RPG physics. Without his armor and panel slots, he's more like a sitting chocobo. If someone stabs him through the heart with his own keyblade, he'll become a Heartless and the cycle will begin again... That would be bad.
Aside from that, he's perfectly human. He'll bleed if you beat the crap out of him, and he's definitely killable. He has no way of defending himself against people talking in his mind or anything. If you want to pin down an elemental weakness, it's probably Darkness-- but he's strong against it, too.
History:
In a world of storms and mystery, long ago, a little redheaded girl named Kairi washed ashore. The denizens of Destiny Islands took her in and she was raised as one of their own. She also befriended two boys in the process, Riku and Sora, Riku was plagued by dreams of a strange door, and he became restless, even obsessed with what lay beyond the mist. It led the three of them to work on building a boat that they thought could glide beyond the edge of the world where the water curved, and finally disappeared into nothingness. Unfortunately, the boat was not to be. The storms encroached, bringing with them the deadly mist that was said to form the world below the floating islands. On one fateful night, Riku was given the supposedly mythical power that could part storms-- the Keyblade-- and with it, he opened the door. Kairi’s heart was lost, Riku was swallowed up by the mist, and Sora woke up on an island he’d never heard of.
The rest went according to canon. Except that the End of the World was the world beneath the mist, and Monstro was a flying lunar whale.
And then there were Nobodies.
Years before, Ansem the Wise got the idea that the mist could be harnessed and its magic used to help protect the floating island-worlds he knew existed. He had several assistants working under him, and when he realized the research was dangerous and abandoned it, they continued it without his permission. These people used the mist to create copies of themselves, infusing them with strange power, and then tried to transfer their minds and souls over to the new forms. But it failed. The original researchers fell apart, but their wishes lived on in the Soulless, otherwise known as Nobodies, who now sought a way to find the hearts and memories they’d lost.
There were special Nobodies made during Sora's time, however. When Sora impaled himself with the Keyblade to return Kairi's heart to her body, it triggered a clone-like process that made Roxas and Naminé. However, they each had their own hearts, and they possessed their own memories in addition to the ones given by Sora and Kairi respectively. Roxas had access to Sora's keyblade and powers, and Naminé could manipulate the memories of Sora and the hearts connected to his. Roxas awoke in Twilight Town confusing his name for Sora’s, and Xemnas gave him a new name and took him in. Thus Roxas' life began.
He was a bit of a "zombie" at first, hardly conversational, and still completely new at everything except walking and eating and breathing. Unlike most Soulless, the memories of his past life were foreign to him, appearing only in flashes. He formed an attachment to Axel before the latter was sent off to Castle Oblivion. Everything else went as according to canon. A new girl appeared, the fourteenth member of the Order. She had a Keyblade like Roxas, and though quiet and reclusive (and zombie-like, just as Roxas had been), she eventually opened up. They became fast friends, helping each other on missions, and eventually Axel took a liking to her, too.
Something troubled Xion, though. As Roxas began to regain memories of Sora, so did Xion. Her powers waned. Roxas fell into a deep sleep for some reason, but he recovered. Later, Xion did the same thing... These strange events prompted Xion to look into the circumstances of her birth, a quiet investigation that would eventually culminate in Xion deserting the Organization.
Canon Point: Day 256: when Xion hasn't appeared for a few days, and Xemnas announces that she's gone rogue and no one is allowed to pursue her.
Reality Description:
The technology is generally Industrial Age/turn of the century influenced, with added elements of magic (elemental and Final Fantasy-based: fire, blizzard, thunder, aero, etc.) and more advanced technology (zeppelins, guns). Instead of visiting different worlds, there are various continents both floating and on the world beneath, all of them isolated for several hundred years by the world's terrible storms. As far as is known, the ground and ocean beneath the thick layer of mist is uninhabitable and nothing can live there. In truth, beneath the mist lies the dark side of the world, filled with all sorts of unpleasant creatures and every city that ever fell to the Heartless. The worlds present in the original Kingdom Hearts canon can be visited with the aid of an airship or the dark portals that Soulless can summon.
Terms
Heart - The heart is the beginning of magic and power. Generally regarded as a myth by most people, those who possess the most powerful hearts can wield keyblades and fight back the mist.
Heartless - Creatures who are said to come from the mist, their existence is closely tied to that of the Soulless. Everything the mist touches is claimed by the Heartless, who are called such due to the gigantic holes in their shadowy bodies, lack of emotion, and all around lack of vital signs. When a world is taken by the Heartless, the magic that causes it to float fails and the residents dissolve and disappear into the mist to become like them.
Highwind - Otherwise known as the gummi ship in canon, traveling from island to island is done by using the armed and armored zeppelin, Highwind, Cid's pride and joy. It's the only vessel that can navigate the fierce storms that have claimed other ships for ages. However, it cannot go to worlds untouched by the Heartless since it follows the paths formed by the dark mist-- without it, the storm-barriers are impossible to pass.
Keyblade - Mysterious weapons that generally form the shape of keys, powered by magic. Some of them might have cogwheel elements. They represent the untamed world of magic and mystery that originates beneath the mist.
Kingdom Hearts - It's said that this door represents a seal keeping the mist from overwhelming the world. Ansem's Heartless wanted it to create a world of beautiful darkness, and the Soulless want it so that they can reshape the world to be one that every Soulless can fit in and feel whole... without the originals.
Soulless - also known as Nobodies, the Soulless are a series of failed experiments to create soldiers with innate and powerful magic. The ones who become corrupted by the mist-magic turn into strange monstrosities, but the most famous ones belong to the Thirteenth Order.
The Order/Thirteenth Order - Also known as the Organization, the Thirteenth Order is a rogue squadron of clones infused with the mist magic with their own 'alignments'. They're also a bit crazy and hell-bent on using the Keyblade Wielders to control the mist and everything, save for some small exceptions. They have their own hearts and memories in addition to the originals' imprints forced on them (again, exceptions) so they're a little crazy.
People:
Axel - Roxas' other best friend while in the Order. He has different motivations than the rest of them, but he's also far more aware of what's going on.
Kairi - A princess of heart, her magic represents everything the mist can't. However it's impossible to harness except in certain ways. All that's known is that the darkness simply can't stand against her strength. Roxas has yet to meet her in person but he's seen her in dreams.
Naminé - She has the strange power of memories, and can tamper with the memories of anyone who's met Sora. This made her instrumental in both executing half the Order's plan and undoing what happened so that Sora could continue with his proper memories.
Sora - Roxas' other half. Roxas shares his memories, even while Sora is awake. They exist separately but have that sort of... creepy twin-ish bond. Complete with creepy random telekinesis when it's needed. Sora is determined to understand Roxas, who has been hurt deeply by the people who took him in. However 'dark' he may be, though, Roxas and Sora are pretty much halves of the same coin.
Riku - Sora's best friend, and the one who started it all. His heart is strong-- maybe not as pure as Sora's, but he has the darker side of power that Sora needs in order to fight the Order. He is also dedicated to protecting Sora and Kairi at all costs, even if that means kicking Roxas' ass and dragging him to see DiZ in order to wake Sora up. Fooling around with the mist has made him have a sort of light sensitivity, so he wears a blindfold.
Xion - Roxas' other best friend while working for the Order. Unfortunately, her existence began to decline (like many soulless) and she simply... fell apart when it became clear that Roxas was the dominant twin. It was either that or absorb Roxas into herself, and she couldn't do that to him.
First Person Speaking Sample:
[A hooded teenager wanders around the Coliseum, wearing a signature black leather coat that looks so inconspicuous it actually arouses /more/ suspicion.] What is this place? [He turns around slowly, taking in the buildings in the distance and the splendid night sky. He touches his chin in thought.] I was supposed to go to Neverland, but this looks more like the Coliseum. Maybe that one guy is around...
[He finds the entrance soon enough, but there's no sign of the cranky faun with the Boston accent.]
No trophies, no trainer. This isn't the same Coliseum at all. [He sighs.] I've never been this lost before. But if I don't complete my mission, Saïx will get mad.
[He holds up his hand to summon a portal to Neverland properly. Of course, this is a separate plane from his world entirely and... nothing happens.]
H-hey, why isn't it working? [He tries a few more times, concentrating...] Come on... Come on!
Great. And I was hoping for a routine mission so that I could look for Xion.
Third Person Writing Sample:
The usually obedient tool of the Order seethed as he sat beside the window. How could Saïx say that? Once again, Roxas was beside himself with anger. Not only did Saïx call Xion broken, but he'd forbidden anyone from searching for her. Those were orders from the top. Roxas couldn't disobey orders.
But he wanted to. If Xion was so valuable to the Order, then why did they let her go without even sending a search party? How could they dismiss her so casually? Xion was his best friend. He couldn't let her run off like that. What if she was in trouble?
To compound all of his problems, Axel was being incredibly evasive. Roxas hated when he disappeared without talking to anyone, though he was starting to get used to it. Still, Roxas had a feeling that he knew something. Xion had been asking about Castle Oblivion before she left, and Axel had been sent there on missions before. There was some connection between Xion and C.O.-between all of them-that Roxas couldn't figure out.
So he had thrown himself into his work. He was cold and distant to Saïx as much as he could bring himself to be, and he continued to perform admirably. With his friends running off and keeping secrets from him, it was the only constant in his life-the only thing he knew.
It was the same for Xion. What could tear her away from home? He felt a familiar tightness in his chest when he thought of it, the same anxiety that he carried when Axel went missing at Castle Oblivion. Soulless weren't supposed to have feelings, but he worried for his friend nonetheless.
What had changed?
Xion mentioned having dreams of a kid wearing red. It was just like Roxas... He'd never heard of two Soulless having the same dreams, but Xion left before he could figure out how to ask about them. Sometimes, he even had them when he was awake: the kid in red speaking to the fairy, or that weird purple cat, or fighting in the Games. It made Roxas question himself as well. Was he following orders or the footsteps of someone else?
Questions, questions, questions. He wanted answers, but he didn't even know where to start.
Did you read the rules? haaaaaai.