----
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
Sora is short, not only because he is young but compared to the other people he meets or is around--even those of his own age, or near that--he's falling under the average here, so generally slight and slender but not necessarily weak by any means. I admittedly chalk up what body weight he does have to being largely muscle from all the running around and fighting he does, but he also seems to have the childish affection for foodstuffs, so throw in some baby fat for the roundish cheeks and there you go!
2. How old is he?
Age annoys me a little in Kingdom Hearts, but the pieces fit together well enough. Supposedly at the beginning of Kingdom Hearts he is fourteen. All the events of that particular game transpire and then he goes through the events of Chain of Memories which, basically, no one played---well not really, I'm exaggerating, but still---at the end of which he gets tossed into a cryogenic type of sleep where he is supposed to have his memories restored, basically puzzling him back together again. When he wakes up he has clearly grown from the boy we met before, not only in voice but in body as his clothes don't fit him at all, and the game's information tells us he is supposed to be fifteen, which makes sense considering the time he was in stasis for. That said, we are not told what part of fifteen he is at, which might seem nitpicky to people but I think that often one age to another can be hugely changing, even if largely mental in that shift. According to the events of 358/2 Days, Sora arrives on day 24 and enters the sleeping chamber on day 49, which tacks on about a month--so okay, fine, not a big deal--unless his birthday is somewhere in that 25 day cusp. Also, I never quite was able to pin down days for the first game--how far from fourteen he got before even getting to Castle Oblivion--and how many days further were spoken for in KHII, which may or may not have moved 15 to 16 or close enough. So written stuff says 15, but he feels older to me in KHII as well, so, at any rate I would factor that in.
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
Sora is a teenaged boy with a lot of energy and a touch of over-exaggeration to him that is often manifested in wide gestures or even something not unlike flailing, but in general if you mean in conversation, I'd say it's average, not super straight up and not slouching either--unless he's making fun of someone...cough.
4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Very fit, very in shape. Look he has to run across worlds and fight crazy things and...yeah no, this is a short answer in that it is: healthy yes, can-do.
5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
Weird, weird, weird. Sora can be clumsy and when he is younger he is somewhat--I always thought--inhibited by his combined admiration and pedestal-placing of Riku who, to him, is just the best, the best, the best. At the same time, it doesn't stop Sora from competing with him despite his sometimes inferior skills. When we meet him primarily for each game, however, the way it seems to work is that he has a very boyish manner to him in general, not clumsy enough to be a total klutz and not graceful and still the way I see Riku at the end of the three games. Sora has his own motion, if you will, something defined by quirks and half-seen nods and smiles that express themselves in more than a mouth and eyes, whether that's his tendency to encroach on peoples' space with a pat on the back or, well, what-have-you. He does tend to rush into things and some of that I think gets poorly translated because since it IS a game we're always 'running' into scenes, or a lot of the time, but his movement also depends on when you pick him up. He's more laid-back in game one, whereas I think he's more fidgety in game two, worried in a way that the extra year better conveys.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
He's...cute? I don't know I mean I think he's positively adorable but that's me and the rest of the Solar System speaking. For Sora's self-perception, I don't think he looks at himself that much. His main notes of himself tend to be oriented around having clothes that fit (thank you good fairies) and sometimes giving himself a pep-talk before going into something scary and unknown, not so much looking into a mirror to say 'hey not bad' or some such. To say he has no idea of it is not accurate, because Sora has some idea--I think--that he can sort of finagle his way through things by saying 'please' and just looking at a person, which denotes a certain self-awareness of the cute-factor, but I don't think, as a teenaged boy he really would particularly enjoy that so much as just accept it because truth be known it's just not all that important to him. Gotta save Kairi. Gotta find Riku.
Want to go home.
He's not looking at himself that much, not because he's super modest but because he's otherwise oriented towards something that has nothing to do with noticing it in the first place.
7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
Fair skinned, not pale, but very fair, and one would think he would have scars from all the fighting, especially earlier days when he didn't know what the hell he was doing, but nothing is directly addressed concerning that, unsurprisingly. Headcanon for Sora says he has some, but they are predominantly those slender white glimmers of scars, you know after they've healed a great deal and could easily be overlooked on a fair-skinned boy. Some fresher ones on conveniently concealed places like back maybe or shoulder, but nothing super traumatizing, just something that makes all the fighting and all of the insane battles this FIFTEEN YEAR-OLD went through...more palpable, tangible.
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
Spiky. Brown. Hair. And let me tell you it's RIDICULOUS getting real hair to do that. I had hairspray in my hair for...at least a week. It was gross. I digress.
It seems, especially in the cinema cuts, soft and dare I say bouncy? Thank you video games. But, really, it stands out at just the most unbelievable angles and directions, and somehow he manages not to look like a crazy person because he's just that blessed with adorability, but yeah, the hair is nuts. In a cute, semi-contained, Sora-has-to-look-like-this kind of way.
9. What color are his eyes?
Bright blue, beautiful deep sky blue, not blue-sky like you think either but closer to when midnight crosses into one in the morning and the blacker night turns into that gorgeous, confusingly bright blue you think isn't possible in the middle of the night. They are part of what makes him look older, especially later on---to me at least.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
No? His eyyyes are wonderful though, and his smile!
11. What are his chief tension centers?
He tends to cross his arms when he's not sure of something or worried or confused, but I don't know that that makes them his tension centers. If anything I'd say his chief tension center is--and don't laugh--his head. Think of it this way, Sora focuses, sometimes hyper-focuses on the matter at hand, and when he doesn't know what to do he'll stare and think and stare and think, and while there is strain on the eyes where it affects especially is the head, aching and such, so a bridge between eyes and the head they sit in.
12. What is the character's wardrobe like? Casual, dressy, utilitarian? Bright colors, pastels, neutrals? Is it varied, or does he have six of the same suit?
Bright colors of blue, red, yellow...on top of black and white? Yeahhh. He does have variations though on it, ones that are as follows, predominantly: red, blue, yellow, and white/silver! But those are treated less like aesthetic wants and really just as signaling changes for the battle level/mode/gauge of ability.
13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
Yes, and yes, but don't ask me how 8C....no I'm kidding. I would live in that outfit too.
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
It APPEARS to be the same, but we don't really get comparisons unless one wants to harken back to the days when he was a wee Sora and then we can assume he tosses in all the belts and shoulder protectors for board shorts and soft cotton tees from time to time.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Boxers d;lsgv9upiewgjksldheiklds honestly sob wtf ldmflds;skf;s////
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
It was kind of high pitched in game one but in game two it was like oh um lol oops he got older, which works since the character got older too, but still it's not the same as anything deep or hoarse, and often his voice cracks in a way that suggests his ongoing puberty which, is, you know, just the way things are. Ummm on the higher side though, overall, if you had to pin it down.
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
Not necessarily soft but not super loud unless he's excited or emphatic about something. He does talk easily, comfortably, unless he isn't sure of something in which case it makes the move from easygoing to pausing and a lot of verbal crutches like 'Uhhh...wellll' and so on. But he's a genial boy, he likes talking to people, to creatures, to just about anyone not out to get him and even them sometimes though he doesn't really know that caveat until after the fact. Aha...hm.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
Noooooooooooooooooooooooo. Lol.
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
English. American rather if you want but yeah lol hur hur....
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
/hits the red button for N
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
Sora is a spontaneous fellow, so I would say yes, but he hasn't exactly had to get up and make any grand speeches, so if you mean more like an extemporaneous sort of inspiration, then maybe less so but I'd still go more with the first than the latter, because Sora thinks about what he says but not in a /TAKES TEN MINUTES kind of way.
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
Eloquent in that fifteen year-old boy way? Uhhh sure, when he's talking about his friends, but 'eloquent' is soooo not the right word here, but he isn't inarticulate either! D| H-he's just a regular boy in this fashion, I think, not extremely well spoken but not a verbal putz either.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
Street smart and with the potential for book smart but frankly I think Sora would be an average student in some things and really excellent in others, never the A+++++ and never the D- on the other side of things. Much of his knowledge base comes from what he has experienced rather than anything he's gotten out of parchment, and this suits both the spirit he represents and the things he has to accomplish over the course of the games.
2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
He can do both but he tends toward the former.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Intuitive and idealistic, absolutely, though the idealism is tempered in a way by the end of the second game. That is, important to note, not the same as it being changed beyond idealism itself but say, added onto.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
....um.
5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
14. What does he fear?
15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
6. Does he have other close friends?
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
3. Does this character have a personal code of morals or ethics? If so, how did that begin? What would it take to compromise it?
4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
3. Where does he live? House, apartment, trailer? Is his home his castle or just a place to crash? What condition is it in? Does he share it with others?
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
5. What does he do for a living? Is he good at it? Does he enjoy it, or would he rather be doing something else?
6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:
1. Color? Blue
2. Smell? Ocean
3. Time of day? Dawn
4. Season? Summer
5. Book? The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
6. Music? Atlantis
7. Place? Home
8. Substance? ?
9. Plant? Paopu
10. Animal? Lion
END
{{ Get the HTML here so you can do it yourself. }}