application.
Series: Kingdom Hearts
Series' Medium: Video game
Character: Riku
Age: 16
Sex/Gender: Male.
Canon Role: Riku plays a number of roles in the Kingdom Hearts series. First, he's an antagonistic figure in the first game, and though he is not the main antagonist, he is close to it. After all, the main boss ends up taking over his body. In Chain of Memories, the side of the story that's Reverse/Rebirth, he's the protagonist. As he goes on from there, he becomes the enemy of the Organization and is therefore an antagonist in 358/2 (of course, the Organization themselves become antagonists, so this is a rather interesting role for Riku). In Kingdom Hearts 2, he's a not particularly visible ally to Sora and his friends, until the end of the game. One might argue that he's a deuteragonist throughout the games (358/2 excepted, where Xion most definitely takes that role), due to his visibility and development. Simply put: he's the best friend of the main protagonist, Sora, even if he goes astray sometimes.
"Real" Name: Adam Aarden
Are you personally familiar with your character's canon?:
Yes! I've played all the available games in English (meaning: sans Coded, which I have read summaries of but they aren't really relevant to Riku), and I've also read summaries of the novels (despite not technically being canon) and bits of the manga.
Not included in the original application, but for the sake of completion: I'm also familiar with Birth by Sleep, as well as any spoilers regarding Riku within that. Not personally played, but I watched 3/4 of the streams, and caught what videos I missed within the streams themselves.
Please give us a personal history of your character's life and explain to us in detail how they grow and develop over the course of their canon:
In the world of Kingdom Hearts, there are multiple worlds connected to one another. Originally, these worlds were supposedly separated, but the introduction (or intrusion of heartless) changed everything. While the past is hazy, it sets up some understanding for the world and how detrimental heartless, creatures of Darkness, are to its existence. Darkness is a force that, while not necessarily problematic, can be when others use it as a force of evil. Naturally, light is the opposite of this, and there are very few individuals who have no Darkness lurking within their hearts-the seven princesses of heart.
Beyond this, it should be added that there are warriors of the keyblade in this world. Their ability to have these weapons is unclear, probably due to the strength of their heart.
While not immediately important to Riku's backstory, it will become that way.
The beginning of Riku's life was rather ... normal for the first five years. He grew up on Destiny Islands with his best friend, Sora. His behavior when he was a kid was pretty much the same as he grew up. He was bratty and a bit of a dreamer, believing that there was a world outside. One night after a meteor shower occurred, Kairi ended up there. This, along with the door that he and Sora found (with the Destiny Islands keyhole), proved that there was a world outside the Islands. It meant that they had to get out there.
This was a bad thing for Riku. He longed for a world outside, to the point that it took a negative toll on him. The only person to notice this was Kairi, who mentioned that Riku was changing. A strong fighter, he was an intense dreamer, as well as a leader who wanted his friends to come with him when he left the Islands. Even if he was pushy when it came to his relationship with his friends (even teasing about Sora being the rival in his relationship with Kairi), he cared about them. It was just that Riku had to get out, to build that raft, and had to show his determination to see another world. Again, this was Riku's downfall.
The night everything changed, Riku embraces the Darkness as it starts to spill out over the Islands, because it serves as an escape. Riku faces the Darkness without fear in his eyes. He sees the Darkness as an escape and gives into it. Sora tries to hold on to him, but can’t, getting the keyblade instead. Later, it’s revealed that Riku was meant to wield the keyblade, but lost that when he gave in to the Darkness.
Riku ends up in Hollow Bastion, where Maleficent picks him up and starts manipulating him. Already a jealous and arrogant person, Maleficent plays to his flaws to strengthen his attraction to the Darkness. She starts telling him that Sora replaced him and Kairi with Donald and Goofy. Though unbelievable, Riku comes to see this after he meets up with Sora in Traverse Town, because Sora gets distracted by Donald instead of giving Riku attention. Riku is determined to help Kairi, who’s lost her heart, and he still does care about her. But Sora needed to do things his way, and Sora didn’t seem to understand that Riku was testing him when they met (which was unfair of Riku, but he wasn’t beyond petty behavior in this state). Afterward, Riku gives in to Maleficent’s manipulation.
Later, Riku meets Sora in Monstro while seeking Pinocchio because he was a puppet who lost his heart. Riku claims he's just playing with Pinocchio just like Sora seems to be running around and playing with the keyblade. Riku's jealousy and misunderstanding of the situation is very obvious here, but he does team up with his friend to fight a heartless, and later, he asks that Sora come with him, taking Pinocchio as a way to go figure out how to help Kairi. Sora claims that Riku doesn't have a conscience, as he's willing to hurt Pinocchio, but to Riku, this looks like Sora doesn't want to do anything to save Kairi. Riku asks Maleficent if Kairi really is like a puppet, and she tells him that she's going to give him more powers, granting him the ability to control the heartless and create them. The fact that this was seen as a good thing by Riku was a sign of him giving himself over to the Darkness, as he was that desperate to help Kairi and resented Sora for abandoning her.
In the interim time before Riku meets Sora again, he gets better at using the Darkness to his advantage. They meet again in Neverland and Riku is in charge of the mission. He orders Captain Hook around, showing his new aggressive position. He asks Sora why his new friends come first, instead of his old, and it’s obvious that his jealousy is rampant now. He tells Sora he’s not afraid of the heartless because he controls them, and shows Sora he can create them by creating the anti-Sora. Despite what he does to Sora, Kairi still remains Riku’s key focus. Riku flees, sending the anti-Sora after Sora, and takes Kairi back to Maleficent through the dark corridor. It tires him out immensely, and though the Beast poses a threat, Maleficent tells Riku it’s time to show the true Darkness within him.
The next time he and Sora meet, Riku taunts Beast first, before he asks Sora for a battle of the keyblades. Riku reveals that he was meant to be the keyblade master all along, with Sora being the “delivery boy.” Riku is cruel to Sora, taking the keyblade and throwing a toy sword at him, telling him to play like he used to. Riku believes that Sora was never strong enough to save Kairi. Sora tracks after Riku, who soon attacks him. Goofy saves Sora from the attack, and Donald joins up, too (as they had to follow Riku, as he was the “true” keybearer). Sora claims the keyblade again, and Riku’s heart is not as strong as Sora’s in that instance. Frustrated, Riku retreats, and Ansem contacts him from the Darkness. With a promise of power, Riku allows the Darkness to swallow him.
It soon becomes apparent that this is all a lie. Riku appears again, this time with a keyblade made up of the six princesses' hearts, which is better because it can unlock the heart. He stabs Maleficent, and she turns out to be a tool. It's not long after that Riku is obviously not Riku anymore, and instead Ansem. Possessed, he fights Sora, but Sora wins. All the same, Sora stabs himself, releasing Kairi's heart, and becoming a heartless himself. In an adult form, Ansem returns again, but Riku fights within him to try and stop him, using all that he can to keep the Heartless that controls him from hurting Kairi. It's obvious that even now, Riku does not want Kairi hurt. Riku loses this struggle over his body. It's a good thing that Sora goes to the End of the World to fight Ansem (also known as Xehanort's Heartless), in order to defeat him at the Door to Darkness.
Soon after, Riku appears on the other side of the door, and is somewhat more at peace. Sora wants Riku back, but Riku understands that he has to stay on the other side of the door. Mickey joins him, and they close the door. Before he says good-bye to Sora, he asks him to take care of Kairi, revealing that he now understands that Sora is capable of that.
Riku stirs once more in what appears to be a void of Darkness, but is actually Castle Oblivion. A voice talks to him, telling him to go back to sleep, but Riku takes a card that promises to be gateway to the truth (and interesting, too). While Sora rushes up toward the top, Riku moves through the basement and battles with his own Darkness.
He plunges on toward the card’s place of memory: Hollow Bastion. There, the voice taunts him, telling him he’s rejected everything for the Darkness. Riku insists that he's rejected the Darkness in his heart, but this place seems to indicate otherwise. There are only creatures of Darkness in his memory (heartless and Maleficent). The taunting voice turns out-or seems-to be Ansem, and Riku says he's not surprised. He attacks Ansem instead of surrendering, and when he stands no chance-even brushing off that he's weak-Mickey comes to his rescue and says that he'll help him, and that he won't be alone. Afterward, Riku says he won't lose to Darkness.
The significant parts of Riku's journey through the basements before coming to terms with the Darkness in his heart are as follows: he goes to various worlds and fights heartless and boss battles, comes up against the manipulative Organization XIII, and faces his replica. The first isn't as important to his changes, but he does go through them and doesn't falter. The Organization XIII members Vexen, Lexaeus, and Zexion all try to use Riku in their own ways. The first individual uses the data from their battle to create a replica of Riku, the second is a point of weakness for Riku, because Xehanort's Heartless takes him over and attacks Lexaeus. After this occurs, Riku starts slipping into the Darkness, where Ansem tries to take control, but Mickey interferes again. The third, Zexion, forces Riku to believe that Sora has turned against him, and that he is only someone Sora would destroy now. Naminé comes to Riku (as Kairi) and says he'll never be lost, and that the Darkness in his heart is a good thing. Riku takes her words of encouragement and uses them to his advantage, turning and fighting Zexion when he has a chance. Defeated, Zexion returns to his chambers.
Backing up a little, Riku meets his replica and the replica says he's willing to embrace the Darkness, calling Riku a coward. This is especially significant for Riku, who has always claimed he wasn't afraid of the Darkness. He tells the replica that he's not a coward, and while the two fight, he doesn't seem to acknowledge the replica's existence. At first, he calls him fake, and he continues with that, callously mocking him about his right to exist (and justifiably so: having it thrown in his face that he's a coward and weaker can do a number on him). The replica goes through Sora's side of the events before returning with Axel, with Axel taunting him that he has a right to existence. The replica draws upon Zexion's power and goes after Riku, who's already in Twilight Town and has learned that the voice at the beginning of his journey was not Ansem, but DiZ. He tells Riku that his next leg of the journey lies with Naminé, and while Riku looks for her, the replica finds him and attacks him, claiming that he's stronger, that he can win, and that he'll get rid of the original Riku so his existence is real. Though the replica was once a fake to Riku, his opinion changes while the replica is dying, doing his best to comfort him (which Riku is actually bad at sometimes). The replica then fades into Darkness.
After all this occurs, the important part of it is that Riku comes to terms with the Darkness and comes to accept it as a power that he can use. No, he doesn't want to let himself be handed over to Ansem, but he realizes that the Darkness is as important to him as the light within him. He goes and speaks to Naminé, and she gives him a choice: go to sleep and forget the Darkness or stay awake. Not wanting to be lazy, he decides to do things the hard way, because he claims he always has. Naminé appears to have expected this of him, and Riku says he knows she was the one who helped him before. This handled, Riku goes on to talk to DiZ and receives an Organization jacket, because it's a way of hiding from them. They will be after him. Not done yet, Riku goes on to fight Ansem-alone-because he tells Mickey that this is something he needs to do. Riku keeps trying to insist that if he loses, that Mickey destroy him, but Mickey keeps telling him that he'll be there for him. Riku wins the fight, but is swallowed by Darkness. Mickey helps him, and afterward, Riku tells DiZ that he's taking the middle road (the road to dawn). This is because Riku has to keep going while he has Darkness in his heart, and it's something that he needs to learn to control.
As it turns out, Riku isn’t capable of controlling the Darkness within him and abandons Mickey’s side. He takes up a blindfold to help. During this time, Riku goes through the worlds, but most importantly, does tasks for DiZ and keeps tabs on Sora because he wants his friend to sleep safely. Things don’t go well when it’s found out that there is a replica of Sora, Xion, taking his memories. Riku meets up with her once and calls her keyblade a sham, telling her to abandon the Organization. Riku’s own problems are shown when he leaves, saying he’s the biggest nobody of all. Naminé soon tells Riku that Xion and Roxas both need to be brought together and brought back to Sora, as bringing Sora back will take years. Riku and Xion are together for a while, and they talk about who Kairi is, and whether Riku is mad at Xion for taking his friends away. He says no, that he’s just sad, and that she needs to consider her place-whether with her friends who need her, or with Sora, who also needs her. Later, it’s made explicitly clear by DiZ that Riku needs to go get Roxas, and it’s shown that Riku gave Xion time to come to terms with things, as he was considerate about her pain. He meets up with Mickey, and while he’s Xehanort’s Heartless, he changes back and informs Mickey that he might not survive a fight with an Organization member. It’s not long after that Riku meets up with Roxas, and after grabbing away the keyblade, Oblivion, Xion speaks to him through it and asks him to help Roxas. The two talk, with Riku aggressively mocking Roxas about not being able to remember Xion, and eventually showing his connection to Sora. In these moments, Riku seems cruel, desperate, and when he loses his fight to Roxas, he gives in to the Darkness in his heart to win, becoming Ansem in order to capture him. Naturally, with this, he forgets about Xion.
Afterward, Riku goes around as Ansem for a while, still working with DiZ while he restores Roxas’ memories, and working within the Twilight Town simulation to do so. Riku seems rather disconnected from himself, but he can’t really turn back (because he needs the strength of the Darkness right now). After Sora is restored, Riku continues at this task, doing what he can during Sora’s journey to protect him (and Kairi). He even removes himself from DiZ’s prejudiced goal, protecting Naminé instead of killing her. He provides Sora with the information needed to find The World That Never Was and helps out in the Land of Dragons. Riku leaves things to Sora there, and they don’t meet up again until The World That Never Was.
While there, Riku arrives to protect Kairi and Naminé. Kairi finds out that Riku has taken on the form of Ansem, but doesn’t mind, and though Sora seems bemused by this, he tries to make Riku realize that he matters and wonders why he’s given into the Darkness like that. Riku tells him that he still needs the strength. For a while, Riku travels with Sora and his friends in his Ansem form, until DiZ, revealed to be the actual Ansem, goes to destroy the “Kingdom Hearts” that Xemnas created. This circumstance leads to “anything” happening-which, in this case, it strips Riku of his Darkness.
Standing up, Sora tells him to take off his blindfold and asks why Riku did so much alone. Though Riku plays it off like it’s nothing, they’re disrupted. He abandons his cloak and blindfold and follows the others, heading toward a series of battles with Xemnas. It’s very obvious during this time that Riku is guilty, uncertain of how he should face his friends. Sora does his best to make him lighten up and succeeds in making him laugh. Soon after, almost everyone leaves thanks to a portal from Naminé, and Riku and Sora are left to team up and fight against several stages of Xemnas’ power. They manage to defeat Xemnas, as well as a pack of Dusks, and Riku is weak at the end. He asks Sora to carry him, and the two head out. Stubborn, Riku falls despite claiming that he was strong enough, and then Sora carries him to the water.
During this time, Riku and Sora finally talk. They reconcile their differences and seem to accept where they are, a place that’s undoubtedly the Darkness. Riku says that he’s glad to have a friend like Sora, and soon after, they pick up a bottle that carries a message from Kairi. Both Riku and Sora head toward the Door to the Light that opens, and they appear in the water outside Destiny Islands as shooting stars. They swim toward the shore, and though Riku seems hesitant and somewhat detached, he turns happier and seems okay with the sight of Sora with Donald and Goofy, revealing his true growth: his jealousy is gone and he’s happy to be home.
What point in time are you taking your character from when he/she appears at Landel's and why?:
Post-Kingdom Hearts 2, but before the scene where the bottle shows up with the message from King Mickey.
The reasoning for this is two-fold. First, the simple one: There is no actual description of what the letter says, and it might actually be relevant to future games. The second one isn't as simple. Riku has gone through a wealth of development by this point in time. The games themselves handle his development quite well, putting him through the various motions of having to deal with the jealousy, wanting to get out, his willingness to embrace the Darkness, overcoming that, accepting the Darkness within him, and eventually being able to face his friends despite all of his follies. It's obvious in the final scene that, despite all this development that he's gone through, he's still changing and growing as an individual. It doesn't mean that he's going to be prone to sitting in his dark room at Landel's alone, pondering the meaning of his Darkness, but he'll have to come to terms with his happier, more balanced existence, and still move past his various complexes and come into himself. He's dealt with so much that it seems unlikely that Riku has a hold on his own identity. After all, he's still a teenager. But he's a teenager who will fight, go on adventures, and do what's necessary to protect the people important to him. Being in Landel's will just help cement that.
As this relates to canonmates depends on who it is. With Sora, he'll be doing his best to actually work with his friend instead of taking things in stride. But old habits will be hard to kick, and Riku will probably try to handle some things on his own, while sharing information with Sora all the while. Sora is his best friend, and the two of them work better together, instead of desperate. He won't let himself get down often, and he'll tease Sora a lot of the time. It seems unlikely that he would return to his behavior before they left the Islands in the first place, but half his relationship with Sora is the good-natured competition that was there. Only now, it will be a healthier competition, with him accepting that Sora is as good as, if not a lot better, than him in a lot of ways. This will show a massive change from how he was before.
Then there is Naminé. She knew him pretty well at a point, and the two of them worked together and Riku sees her as an important facet of Kairi. She understood and helped him embrace his Darkness, and it's obvious that the two of them are friends. While his relationship with Sora will involve protection, he knows Sora can take care of himself (and will know that even better since Sora's been at Landel's for a while). In contrast, Naminé isn't as physically capable, so Riku will take an active role in taking care of her-not just because she is Kairi's Nobody, but because she is a friend and someone who helped him before. He definitely feels a bit of guilt after taking down Roxas, and this extends to Naminé as well, making a part of him want to secure her existence. After the end of everything that happened, it's fairly obvious that Nobodies aren't all "that bad," but Xemnas and his Organization were clearly messed up individuals.
As for Roxas, things will probably be tense and awkward. Riku forced himself to use a method of "the ends justify the means" in capturing Roxas and returning him to Sora. He knows for a fact that Roxas had an individual identity, and it was this reason that he had issues with eliminating Naminé when DiZ asked him to do so. Furthermore, Riku doesn't understand Roxas' motivations for leaving the Organization or appears to be confused by it. Since he cannot remember Xion, that throws a further wrench into the situation, because he took down Roxas on Xion's request. Of course, aside from all this, Riku will want to keep Roxas safe. Roxas' safety is something that's necessary, because Sora will need him, too. Knowing that Roxas comes from earlier in the timeline will make that even more important to Riku, because he hasn't gone through the things in order to get Sora back (and there might be something done to stop that from occurring). Riku might handle Roxas roughly at times, but this is because, as shown in their fight, he needs to in order to stand his ground. It seems more likely that he'll see Roxas as a side of Sora that needs to be secured, even if things will never be completely easy for them.
The rest, of course, are Organization members. Riku doesn't appear to be very fond of them. No, he doesn't want to be involved in their absolute elimination at first, but he also thinks that they need to be defeated. Most of the existing members aren't exactly good guys. Sure, they aren't the same ones in Castle Oblivion, and they also aren't Xemnas, but the majority are bad. He doesn't believe they should have no right to exist, but their actions speak for them. The only one he might be on different terms with is Axel, because he and Axel are both focused on Sora and Roxas. Axel definitely doesn't rank up there as someone who has done bad and should be destroyed, but Riku has also protected his friends from Axel's goals when it's necessary. Also, if he ever finds out that Axel led the replica after him, he will be unhappy with him.
Please give us a detailed description of your character's personality:
Like every boy who started off dreaming big and eventually turning unstable, with the need to find himself again-and even learn what "himself" is-Riku has changed a lot since he first left the Islands. As a boy growing up, Riku had been the one who would always talk big, and while he wasn't overly loud about it, he wasn't beyond the point of being boisterous about leaving the Islands, going on adventures, and bringing his friends with him. By time he was fifteen years old, it was this big talk that eventually led to a somewhat unstable personality. Though most of the time, he was the same person he'd always been: calm, collected, talking big, and always taking the lead, there were moments when darker parts of his personality reared their head. His teasing personality would take on callous mocking, and at times, he would be jealous of his two best friends, pushing them and competing with them in incredibly unhealthy ways (or rather, with Sora). But he always managed to care for his friends beyond his instability, and they were always meant to be there by his side. Determination-which would always be a factor in who Riku is-would always factor into his personality, leading him to being the one to build the raft, come up with the plans, and never give up on leaving the Islands. In a sense, it wasn't the goal that was so much unhealthy, but the degree to which Riku pursued it, as if he would give up anything to leave the Islands. At the time, it didn't seem like Riku was willing to let go of his friends for this dream, as they were just as important.
If anything, this factored into his inevitable changes. The Riku who left the Islands at first was someone who was determined, headstrong, a bit stubborn, and unstable to the degree that his dream was so big that he couldn't let go of it. He wanted his friends by his side, so much that he would be willing to do anything to get them there. If they rejected that position, he would act irrationally and hurt, with a large bit of jealousy and needing things to be his way. His behavior in handling these things was always with varying degrees of behavior. There was always a healthy amount of teasing on the Islands, and this slipped into his behavior afterward, returning cruel and malicious when he kept giving in to the Darkness in his heart. It was unstable teasing, an unstable power, and uneasy, and held on to belief that he was always better than Sora and he didn't need Sora. All of this coming together just fed into the power that he was allowing to take hold of him.
All those negative traits and instability were what made it possible for him to look into the Darkness without fear in his eyes and let it take control of him. They were also the things he had to overcome when he realized what was really important to him: his friends and protecting them, and not his big dreams, adventures, and seeing the world outside. Riku went from dreaming big and almost putting that dream before his friends, to realizing that his friends were more important than the dream. Protecting them had really been his driving point the entire time. Even if he got outside and let the Darkness take hold, he immediately shifted toward wanting to find Kairi, to wanting Sora to give him attention instead of Donald and Goofy, and wanting to get Kairi's heart back. It wasn't about seeing the big world anymore, but seeing them to safety. Eventually, Riku realized this, too, and he focused his motivations on what truly mattered, but that wasn't without all the baggage that came with the decision.
For all the changes from who he once was, Riku hasn't completely separated from who he once was. On the surface, he's the same cool and collected boy who's determined and willing to do anything in the long run to help his friends. His friends are the core of his concerns, as he will do anything to support and protect them (and even his fighting style tends more toward support than offensive when he fights at Riku's side). His behavior has lost its instability, coming closer to being like his namesake: grounded, more in one place, and able to handle a lot of things. He's still prone to being somewhat mocking and teasing, but this behavior has definitely toned down a lot. While Riku had a healthy dose of arrogance to go along with boisterous behavior, he has changed, downgrading this to sarcastic remarks and a healthy sense of humor. If anything, the keyword for Riku now would be stability-at least, on the surface.
Beneath that, he has changed a lot, as well. For all Riku has gone through, for the fact that he faced the Darkness and allowed it to sweep out over the Islands, and because he couldn't do what was necessary to overcome this part of him when he had a chance, he has become rather guilty. There was a time when he wasn't certain about how he would be able to face his friends after everything he did. His eyes couldn't lie and he wasn't willing to face himself. Of course, Riku had already been in a position where he deserved recognition for everything he did. He removed himself from the ends-justify-the-means mindset that DiZ (Ansem the Wise) performed; furthermore, he did everything he could to help his friends keep safe, helping Kairi away from Axel and eventually aiding Sora in ending up where he belonged. Once jealous, he recognized his best friend's capabilities and even saw him as better than him. The most significant part in all this was that Riku had a tendency to take things on all by himself, carrying a steady burden on his shoulders. It's unlikely that this has changed completely, despite Sora's insistence that he has other people with him. But Riku is stubborn and sometimes a creature of habit. Sure, he sees that he and Sora work together better now, but that doesn't mean he's unlikely to believe that there are some things he should handle himself-it's just a lot more tempered from before.
Along with the guilt complex, Riku is also chock full of insecurities. It's a complete contrast to who he once was, with his big head and way of handling things. It's unlikely that Riku doesn't think he can still take on most people in a fight without thinking twice, but there are some situations where he second-guesses himself a lot, and doesn't always see his existence as one that deserves to be saved. He gives in to the Darkness and accepts it as part of who he is. Of course, having two light-bearing best friends who are always there for him, as well as a mouse-like King, can do a number for a guy and make him not second-guess himself. But it's obvious, in how he tells Sora that he thought he used to be better at things than him, that he isn't the same person he used to be. At the mid-point in his journey, he even asked Mickey to destroy him if he lost to the Darkness, and another time, he feels like he's undeserving of his friend's attention. With a gentle nudge, or a funny face from Sora, Riku is able to move past this, but it doesn't mean he's moved past it completely. Being a teenager who has always been rather obstinate about moving forward-and at times, has even regressed-it's unlikely that all the work when it comes to his insecurities is done. Overall, though, Riku just likes to make things difficult for himself. He likes doing things the hard way.
Aside from these things, he's pretty quick-witted, but definitely not in the way of being bookish. Riku is someone who traveled for over a year alone, and he did it with very little assistance from other people. It was an act of Riku being remarkably stubborn, but at the same time, he was able to keep himself together. He's resourceful, able to run away and keep himself in one piece, and use what things are available to him at any given time. He tells Xion that he's doing everything to keep Sora safe, just so he can let him sleep peacefully, and while he obviously doesn't recall this conversation, it is a reflection of him as a person. So while he's stubborn, it doesn't mean he's incapable. Riku has a lot to be confident about. He knows he can fight, handle things himself, and has a great deal of street smarts due to everything he's gone through. Undoubtedly, he's good at gathering information and using it to his advantage, rather than sitting around and doing nothing. But this has always been there for Riku. While it was a downsized version of it, his determination to find worlds outside of the Islands and learn how to build a raft to leave were both indications of how he's willing to do anything, and how he's probably smart enough, too. His unwillingness to use his intelligence and bring people along with him does limit him to some degree.
As he relates to other people, Riku is understandably a bit guarded. Even around his friends, he showed this behavior, but he changed a bit. His interaction with others isn't necessarily rude, but he's definitely the type of person who is prone to saying dry remarks or being sarcastic to deal with a situation. He doesn't always play up niceties when he doesn't have to. In comparison to his softer interaction with Kairi, Sora, or even King Mickey, he's a lot more guarded than Sora and Kairi might be when it comes to new people. His personality, while not necessarily pessimistic, does tend toward realism, and it keeps him on edge in these situations. In a way, it's just another thing he's done to keep himself safe. Instead of building up a wealth of relationships, he tends toward the few people who have been close to him, and even with them, he's sometimes guarded and unwilling to spill his heart out. It's likely that he wishes he could be a lot more open like Sora (as he regards Sora as better than him at a number of things, it seems logical to conclude that Sora's ease with making friends counts in this category), but he's always been more boisterous, while not entirely revealing the true nature of his heart. If he put aside his issues, he'd probably be capable of being a lot more social. Yet again, that might be the easier route, and Riku needs to do things the hard way.
All this should logically add up to someone who's not actualized and is incredibly unstable, but in a way, Riku is stable in his instability, and he's actually somewhat happy with himself. He can laugh and be at ease with his friends. He got them home, and he's able to see that. Yes, he's a hard-headed individual at heart, but he's also come a long way, and he's able to start figuring out who he is. Finding a balance to his personality is important, and he seems to be getting there by opening up to his friends and admitting as much. In proper situations, he'll be prone toward the more serious aspects of his personality, but it's unlikely that they'll show openly to people who don't know him well. And above all, he knows Sora, Kairi, and King Mickey want him to be happy. That's something he would never be able to shy away from. He's a lot more grounded than he's ever been, and he's come to terms with who he is: a little Dark at heart, but that's okay, too. There can't be light without darkness, and he's there to serve as the balance to his friends' incredible light. He may be doing it with a wry remark or teasing them, or even a race on the beach, but some things don't always change while some change so much. If trouble calls, he might be willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of his friends, but his loyalty and care toward them always comes first. He just realizes that there are probably better ways to do things than that, at least by now.
Please give us a physical description of your character:
Riku is tall for his age, and he definitely shows the build of a boy who has been fighting with play swords or keyblades all his life. His arms are lightly muscled, and his build is that of someone who is springy and fights a lot, even if it's not completely apparent. Outside of this, he has long, silver hair that falls into his eyes, and his eyes are a teal-green. His skin is a paler color, fitting his lighter image.
What kinds of otherwordly abilities does your character have, if any?:
Given his connection to the Darkness, but also while still having a strong heart, Riku is able to use a number of different abilities. Most importantly, he's able to summon his keyblade, Way to the Dawn, which appears to have evolved from his original weapon, Soul Eater. Darker in appearance, it has a notable difference from Sora's keyblades (especially his final keyblades, which are certainly lighter in appearance). Along with that, he can use the Darkness to his advantage, making it possible for him to use shields (dark shield), shoot off attacks (dark aura), and withstand a number of different attacks in battle and showing a more or less defensive and supportive stance in a fight, staying alive and performing a number of different healing strategies in order to keep the person he's fighting with in one piece.
Aside from that, Riku is quite agile, able to take a fall, jump, and any number of things. However, since he no longer can use the Darkness in the same way, he can no longer use portals or turn into Ansem. He can still smell the Darkness, as it's a part of who he is.
If present, how do you plan to tweak these powers to make your character appropriately hindered in the setting of Landel's?:
First off, all of Riku's "life saving" abilities are gone, with the exception of cure, making him a lot easier to take down. His agility is close to that of a normal person's, and if he does too much, he'll get tired quickly. He can still summon his keyblade, but only against a monster. The limitation here is that he can't summon his dark shield or dark aura while using the keyblade, so he cannot be both defensive and offensive at the same time. The dark shield is weak and flawed, as are the blasts of aura, making him get tired rather quickly from using them and rather easy to combat if that's all he's using. The blasts of aura can only be used after someone else has attacked and only once per night. The cure potion ability is the same, only it's a normal cure and able to restore someone's strength a little, but not entirely. It can only be used once a night.
Concisely: he can summon the keyblade in danger. His shield and aura cannot be used the same time as his keyblade, with the aura only available once per evening. His shield, also available only once a night, is weakened and easy to take down and weakens him considerably, and his cure ability can only be used once while only restoring a bit of strength to one person (the strength coming in a burst of energy). Furthermore, his agility is that of any normal human.
Along with this, he can still smell darkness, but it’s a faint smell, and he’d not be able to sniff out anything specific beyond “this stinks.”
Does your character have any non-otherworldly abilities/training that surpass the norm?:
Though not a genius in anything by any means, Riku is capable in combat with what could be considered a sword, and he's tactical and capable of handling himself in a number of different situations. The fact that he's survived as long as he has is a show of this, because he's done the majority of his journeys alone. While he is no genius, Riku is quick-witted enough in any number of situations and able to adapt to them as best he can.
What do you see your character doing in the scope of the game and how do you plan to use the setting of Landel's Institute to develop them and affect their psychology in a unique, interesting way?:
Above all things, Riku is a resourceful individual who will do everything in his power to get him and his friends out of the Institute. Unlike Sora, he's someone who will willingly play along and sometimes do the ends justify the means-that is, as long as someone doesn't get hurt along the way (because he's already made that mistake in the past). It seems likely that he'll understand that there is already a network of information set up and he'll use it to his advantage, finding out as much as he can from Sora and others so he can start out. Above all things, Riku is a very active and determined character. He might be grounded in his sensibilities after everything, but he isn't one to just lie down and take everything like a man. He'll fight, probably even going out of his way to seek out battles at times. Most of the time, it seems likely that he will be closest to Sora's side, because he understands that being there with Sora is important, and that the two of them are meant to fight together.
Of course, there are things that Sora can't do. Sora isn't like Riku in his subtlety and ability to gain information, at least in Riku's eyes. He will grow and understand what Sora is capable of, and use that to their advantage. It seems likely that Riku's willingness to see Sora as a hero and strong enough in his own right will make them a good balance to one another as they work through the institute. This makes him rather Sora-centric, but that's an important facet of his personality. In a way, Riku has always measured himself up to Sora, and there is no reason it should change now. Their brief fights with Xemnas weren't enough for Riku to truly come to work with Sora and come to see what he can do, and while he helped him along toward his own fights during his last journey, they'll be on this one together.
That won't get rid of the protective side of his personality. There will be a part of Riku that will always be seeking to protect Sora instead of himself, or protect Naminé, or-in the event that it occurs-protect Roxas at times. It will be with the understanding that Sora and Roxas can both take care of themselves, but Riku is someone who is defensive and supportive at heart. He is meant to be there for other people, rather than working independently. He may be a leader, capable of working alone and working with tactics, but he's the type of leader that would ensure that other people were safe while putting himself on the front lines. All of this plays back to the "makes things harder" part of his personality, but it's a tempered aspect of it.
All of this comes down to the fact that Riku will be active. Never resting, never still-it's just as he's always been, and even if he was glad to be back at the Islands, he wouldn't sit around longing for home when he could be beating his way out of Landel's to return his friends there again.
Given that this RP takes place in an unsettling and outright horrific environment, how do you justify your character as being appropriate in both body and mind for this kind of setting?:
Bluntly: Riku has been through a lot of situations. He's been the unsettling and outright horrific person himself, allowing himself to be possessed by the Darkness, dealing with the Darkness, dealing with adult themes of potential genocide and prejudice, and managing to come out mostly in one piece. He's fought monsters, fought himself, fought his best friend, and done what he could to protect others. He's also served as the villain in a number of situations. Basically, Riku has been through enough horrific situations already that Landel's will just be another one for him. He may be a teenager, but the weight of things that have been on his shoulders is very large. A lot of things have been there as things he handled on his own, and it seems that he's more than capable of taking them in stride.
---
Third-Person Sample:
It was home.
Not just some fabrication, a memory released in a card, and not just some place he came to briefly, but actually home. He slipped off his shoes before long, allowing himself to feel the sand beneath his feet. Unlike the water they had been close to before, the sand here felt warm, while the water from the ocean seemed to complement it perfectly. Riku felt weird standing here, recalling the way he would come out every morning and night, peering out over the water toward the horizon in some hope that he might see another world. There had been some time in which his hands were rough and calloused from gathering supplies and hammering them together into a raft. Now, the raft was gone, destroyed by the Darkness that swallowed it up. He had a feeling that all that remained were the plans in a drawer, locked away and forgotten in the many ways that he was gone.
Both Kairi and Sora were looking in the direction of their homes, but Riku continued to look out toward the water. "We can go there in a bit," he told them, dropping down on the ground and letting the water splash over his feet. "I'd kinda like to sit here for a while, just like we used to."
In a way, he was surprised when they both joined him, one at each side, but at the same time, he wasn't. In the distance, the sun started to settle, and though Mickey and the others were waiting, Riku wanted to sit for a while. Embrace being there again. Even though it had been so long, he could easily remember his last conversation with both Kairi and Riku in this very same spot. Though it unsettled him, the theme had been the same as it should have been: he wanted to go somewhere with his friends. They had left somewhere. The place they had gone was one where they were needed, because without them, things would have changed. For all his failings, he was able to see that, able to understand what little successes they had along the way. Sitting on the beach, he didn't mention them. Why bother? Why get caught up? Why sit in the past?
Or rather, he didn't want to see one of those ridiculous faces Sora had to make just yet when he got too thoughtful and withdrawn. Maybe in a bit, but right now, he wanted to act like everything was okay. It was okay. They were home.
*
A shoreline or even his bed are nothing in comparison to the cool feeling of the institute at night. Though he was resting peacefully, the smell of the Darkness of the location hit his nose immediately, suffocating him and jerking him out of his sleep. Everything had a little bit of Darkness within it, but nothing like this place. He couldn't hone in on what was bothering him, and the more he breathed deep-in, out, in, out-he realized it wasn't the smell of the Darkness that bothered him but the sudden change from what he had before. The Islands were a peaceful place to sleep, and though explaining where he had been for so long to his parents had proved to be a difficult task, they let him back in and welcomed him home. "I promise I'm home, for good," he had told them, despite knowing that some other adventure might pull him and his friends away if they were needed.
This place contradicted that. It didn't feel like an adventure, though. Darkness aside, it didn't have the same feeling of Castle Oblivion or any of the other locations he visited in the past year or so. Riku jerked out of his bed and stood up immediately, glancing around the dark room in hopes that he might find some answers. It was strange, because it wasn't a large room, but it wasn't so bad. Like Hollow Bastion, a little-but of course, he always had a nicer room there. And now, he'd trade any room for the smell of the ocean pouring through his cracked window again. He'd trade it for knowing that he could climb out his window and dash a few houses away to climb a tree and look through Sora's window to find him sleeping. After all, Riku was sure that was where his friend was right now. Sleeping, soundly, lazily-like always. Or, perhaps, he'd be here, too.
It was bad to hope his friend was there, and even considering the thought wasn't good, either. Sora wouldn't be brought to a place like this. But if he was there, Riku knew he'd find him, and they would figure this out together. The bigger worry was whether Kairi was dragged into this again. Before worrying too much, he'd need to get out of this room, find out what was going on, and see if he could get a grasp of this situation. Thus, leaving was on his agenda, but first he decided to investigate his belongings. Desk first: a journal, a radio, some pencils to write things down. How helpful. He returned to his bed and glanced around it for any indications of chests or any other belongings, and he lifted up his pillow to find ... a flashlight. "Helpful," he remarked, but not with any enforced dry sarcasm. It was helpful.
The search completed, it was easy for Riku to conclude there was nothing here. He smirked and turned toward the door. "Better to be prepared, right?" he commented to himself, ready to wield his keyblade immediately. He extended his right hand forward to do so, while his left one flicked on the flashlight, and it did-nothing. No keyblade, no Way to the Dawn. He frowned, trying again. "Very funny!" he called to the darkness of the room, so sure that whatever wise guy that brought him there, they'd be listening. They always seemed to enjoy watching, waiting, and mocking. It was just their kind of thing. "Just because I don't have it doesn't mean I'm not gonna come and find you," he pressed on, voice thick with ease and arrogance. Better to play as if he was comfortable instead of powerless. He wasn't powerless. He wouldn't let himself be.
Riku bowed his head forward a little toward his flashlight. It'd have to do for now, and it wasn't any different from a toy sword in usability. He'd make do what with he had for now.
That conclusion drawn, Riku started toward the door to step out into the dark halls of Landel's.
First-Person Sample:
Keeping a journal to keep track of things. It might help to give something to Sora to look at. Hey, Sora. I bet you're looking at this now. Didn't think to write down everything you knew about this place? Or do you need a cricket to do your dirty work?
Anyway.
People From Our World
Category 1: Allies
Naminé
Roxas??
Axel??
Sora
Riku
Category 2: The Organization
Xigbar
Demyx
Luxord
Other Significant People
[here would be a list of people important to Sora and Naminé, friends of the Organization members, roommates, and things like that]
Martin Landel
The nurses?
Landel's Institute
Three floors + basement?
Bulletin board for information (censored)
... Write down what else you know, Sora. It'll help a lot. But make sure I can actually read it, all right?
Series' Medium: Video game
Character: Riku
Age: 16
Sex/Gender: Male.
Canon Role: Riku plays a number of roles in the Kingdom Hearts series. First, he's an antagonistic figure in the first game, and though he is not the main antagonist, he is close to it. After all, the main boss ends up taking over his body. In Chain of Memories, the side of the story that's Reverse/Rebirth, he's the protagonist. As he goes on from there, he becomes the enemy of the Organization and is therefore an antagonist in 358/2 (of course, the Organization themselves become antagonists, so this is a rather interesting role for Riku). In Kingdom Hearts 2, he's a not particularly visible ally to Sora and his friends, until the end of the game. One might argue that he's a deuteragonist throughout the games (358/2 excepted, where Xion most definitely takes that role), due to his visibility and development. Simply put: he's the best friend of the main protagonist, Sora, even if he goes astray sometimes.
"Real" Name: Adam Aarden
Are you personally familiar with your character's canon?:
Yes! I've played all the available games in English (meaning: sans Coded, which I have read summaries of but they aren't really relevant to Riku), and I've also read summaries of the novels (despite not technically being canon) and bits of the manga.
Not included in the original application, but for the sake of completion: I'm also familiar with Birth by Sleep, as well as any spoilers regarding Riku within that. Not personally played, but I watched 3/4 of the streams, and caught what videos I missed within the streams themselves.
Please give us a personal history of your character's life and explain to us in detail how they grow and develop over the course of their canon:
In the world of Kingdom Hearts, there are multiple worlds connected to one another. Originally, these worlds were supposedly separated, but the introduction (or intrusion of heartless) changed everything. While the past is hazy, it sets up some understanding for the world and how detrimental heartless, creatures of Darkness, are to its existence. Darkness is a force that, while not necessarily problematic, can be when others use it as a force of evil. Naturally, light is the opposite of this, and there are very few individuals who have no Darkness lurking within their hearts-the seven princesses of heart.
Beyond this, it should be added that there are warriors of the keyblade in this world. Their ability to have these weapons is unclear, probably due to the strength of their heart.
While not immediately important to Riku's backstory, it will become that way.
The beginning of Riku's life was rather ... normal for the first five years. He grew up on Destiny Islands with his best friend, Sora. His behavior when he was a kid was pretty much the same as he grew up. He was bratty and a bit of a dreamer, believing that there was a world outside. One night after a meteor shower occurred, Kairi ended up there. This, along with the door that he and Sora found (with the Destiny Islands keyhole), proved that there was a world outside the Islands. It meant that they had to get out there.
This was a bad thing for Riku. He longed for a world outside, to the point that it took a negative toll on him. The only person to notice this was Kairi, who mentioned that Riku was changing. A strong fighter, he was an intense dreamer, as well as a leader who wanted his friends to come with him when he left the Islands. Even if he was pushy when it came to his relationship with his friends (even teasing about Sora being the rival in his relationship with Kairi), he cared about them. It was just that Riku had to get out, to build that raft, and had to show his determination to see another world. Again, this was Riku's downfall.
The night everything changed, Riku embraces the Darkness as it starts to spill out over the Islands, because it serves as an escape. Riku faces the Darkness without fear in his eyes. He sees the Darkness as an escape and gives into it. Sora tries to hold on to him, but can’t, getting the keyblade instead. Later, it’s revealed that Riku was meant to wield the keyblade, but lost that when he gave in to the Darkness.
Riku ends up in Hollow Bastion, where Maleficent picks him up and starts manipulating him. Already a jealous and arrogant person, Maleficent plays to his flaws to strengthen his attraction to the Darkness. She starts telling him that Sora replaced him and Kairi with Donald and Goofy. Though unbelievable, Riku comes to see this after he meets up with Sora in Traverse Town, because Sora gets distracted by Donald instead of giving Riku attention. Riku is determined to help Kairi, who’s lost her heart, and he still does care about her. But Sora needed to do things his way, and Sora didn’t seem to understand that Riku was testing him when they met (which was unfair of Riku, but he wasn’t beyond petty behavior in this state). Afterward, Riku gives in to Maleficent’s manipulation.
Later, Riku meets Sora in Monstro while seeking Pinocchio because he was a puppet who lost his heart. Riku claims he's just playing with Pinocchio just like Sora seems to be running around and playing with the keyblade. Riku's jealousy and misunderstanding of the situation is very obvious here, but he does team up with his friend to fight a heartless, and later, he asks that Sora come with him, taking Pinocchio as a way to go figure out how to help Kairi. Sora claims that Riku doesn't have a conscience, as he's willing to hurt Pinocchio, but to Riku, this looks like Sora doesn't want to do anything to save Kairi. Riku asks Maleficent if Kairi really is like a puppet, and she tells him that she's going to give him more powers, granting him the ability to control the heartless and create them. The fact that this was seen as a good thing by Riku was a sign of him giving himself over to the Darkness, as he was that desperate to help Kairi and resented Sora for abandoning her.
In the interim time before Riku meets Sora again, he gets better at using the Darkness to his advantage. They meet again in Neverland and Riku is in charge of the mission. He orders Captain Hook around, showing his new aggressive position. He asks Sora why his new friends come first, instead of his old, and it’s obvious that his jealousy is rampant now. He tells Sora he’s not afraid of the heartless because he controls them, and shows Sora he can create them by creating the anti-Sora. Despite what he does to Sora, Kairi still remains Riku’s key focus. Riku flees, sending the anti-Sora after Sora, and takes Kairi back to Maleficent through the dark corridor. It tires him out immensely, and though the Beast poses a threat, Maleficent tells Riku it’s time to show the true Darkness within him.
The next time he and Sora meet, Riku taunts Beast first, before he asks Sora for a battle of the keyblades. Riku reveals that he was meant to be the keyblade master all along, with Sora being the “delivery boy.” Riku is cruel to Sora, taking the keyblade and throwing a toy sword at him, telling him to play like he used to. Riku believes that Sora was never strong enough to save Kairi. Sora tracks after Riku, who soon attacks him. Goofy saves Sora from the attack, and Donald joins up, too (as they had to follow Riku, as he was the “true” keybearer). Sora claims the keyblade again, and Riku’s heart is not as strong as Sora’s in that instance. Frustrated, Riku retreats, and Ansem contacts him from the Darkness. With a promise of power, Riku allows the Darkness to swallow him.
It soon becomes apparent that this is all a lie. Riku appears again, this time with a keyblade made up of the six princesses' hearts, which is better because it can unlock the heart. He stabs Maleficent, and she turns out to be a tool. It's not long after that Riku is obviously not Riku anymore, and instead Ansem. Possessed, he fights Sora, but Sora wins. All the same, Sora stabs himself, releasing Kairi's heart, and becoming a heartless himself. In an adult form, Ansem returns again, but Riku fights within him to try and stop him, using all that he can to keep the Heartless that controls him from hurting Kairi. It's obvious that even now, Riku does not want Kairi hurt. Riku loses this struggle over his body. It's a good thing that Sora goes to the End of the World to fight Ansem (also known as Xehanort's Heartless), in order to defeat him at the Door to Darkness.
Soon after, Riku appears on the other side of the door, and is somewhat more at peace. Sora wants Riku back, but Riku understands that he has to stay on the other side of the door. Mickey joins him, and they close the door. Before he says good-bye to Sora, he asks him to take care of Kairi, revealing that he now understands that Sora is capable of that.
Riku stirs once more in what appears to be a void of Darkness, but is actually Castle Oblivion. A voice talks to him, telling him to go back to sleep, but Riku takes a card that promises to be gateway to the truth (and interesting, too). While Sora rushes up toward the top, Riku moves through the basement and battles with his own Darkness.
He plunges on toward the card’s place of memory: Hollow Bastion. There, the voice taunts him, telling him he’s rejected everything for the Darkness. Riku insists that he's rejected the Darkness in his heart, but this place seems to indicate otherwise. There are only creatures of Darkness in his memory (heartless and Maleficent). The taunting voice turns out-or seems-to be Ansem, and Riku says he's not surprised. He attacks Ansem instead of surrendering, and when he stands no chance-even brushing off that he's weak-Mickey comes to his rescue and says that he'll help him, and that he won't be alone. Afterward, Riku says he won't lose to Darkness.
The significant parts of Riku's journey through the basements before coming to terms with the Darkness in his heart are as follows: he goes to various worlds and fights heartless and boss battles, comes up against the manipulative Organization XIII, and faces his replica. The first isn't as important to his changes, but he does go through them and doesn't falter. The Organization XIII members Vexen, Lexaeus, and Zexion all try to use Riku in their own ways. The first individual uses the data from their battle to create a replica of Riku, the second is a point of weakness for Riku, because Xehanort's Heartless takes him over and attacks Lexaeus. After this occurs, Riku starts slipping into the Darkness, where Ansem tries to take control, but Mickey interferes again. The third, Zexion, forces Riku to believe that Sora has turned against him, and that he is only someone Sora would destroy now. Naminé comes to Riku (as Kairi) and says he'll never be lost, and that the Darkness in his heart is a good thing. Riku takes her words of encouragement and uses them to his advantage, turning and fighting Zexion when he has a chance. Defeated, Zexion returns to his chambers.
Backing up a little, Riku meets his replica and the replica says he's willing to embrace the Darkness, calling Riku a coward. This is especially significant for Riku, who has always claimed he wasn't afraid of the Darkness. He tells the replica that he's not a coward, and while the two fight, he doesn't seem to acknowledge the replica's existence. At first, he calls him fake, and he continues with that, callously mocking him about his right to exist (and justifiably so: having it thrown in his face that he's a coward and weaker can do a number on him). The replica goes through Sora's side of the events before returning with Axel, with Axel taunting him that he has a right to existence. The replica draws upon Zexion's power and goes after Riku, who's already in Twilight Town and has learned that the voice at the beginning of his journey was not Ansem, but DiZ. He tells Riku that his next leg of the journey lies with Naminé, and while Riku looks for her, the replica finds him and attacks him, claiming that he's stronger, that he can win, and that he'll get rid of the original Riku so his existence is real. Though the replica was once a fake to Riku, his opinion changes while the replica is dying, doing his best to comfort him (which Riku is actually bad at sometimes). The replica then fades into Darkness.
After all this occurs, the important part of it is that Riku comes to terms with the Darkness and comes to accept it as a power that he can use. No, he doesn't want to let himself be handed over to Ansem, but he realizes that the Darkness is as important to him as the light within him. He goes and speaks to Naminé, and she gives him a choice: go to sleep and forget the Darkness or stay awake. Not wanting to be lazy, he decides to do things the hard way, because he claims he always has. Naminé appears to have expected this of him, and Riku says he knows she was the one who helped him before. This handled, Riku goes on to talk to DiZ and receives an Organization jacket, because it's a way of hiding from them. They will be after him. Not done yet, Riku goes on to fight Ansem-alone-because he tells Mickey that this is something he needs to do. Riku keeps trying to insist that if he loses, that Mickey destroy him, but Mickey keeps telling him that he'll be there for him. Riku wins the fight, but is swallowed by Darkness. Mickey helps him, and afterward, Riku tells DiZ that he's taking the middle road (the road to dawn). This is because Riku has to keep going while he has Darkness in his heart, and it's something that he needs to learn to control.
As it turns out, Riku isn’t capable of controlling the Darkness within him and abandons Mickey’s side. He takes up a blindfold to help. During this time, Riku goes through the worlds, but most importantly, does tasks for DiZ and keeps tabs on Sora because he wants his friend to sleep safely. Things don’t go well when it’s found out that there is a replica of Sora, Xion, taking his memories. Riku meets up with her once and calls her keyblade a sham, telling her to abandon the Organization. Riku’s own problems are shown when he leaves, saying he’s the biggest nobody of all. Naminé soon tells Riku that Xion and Roxas both need to be brought together and brought back to Sora, as bringing Sora back will take years. Riku and Xion are together for a while, and they talk about who Kairi is, and whether Riku is mad at Xion for taking his friends away. He says no, that he’s just sad, and that she needs to consider her place-whether with her friends who need her, or with Sora, who also needs her. Later, it’s made explicitly clear by DiZ that Riku needs to go get Roxas, and it’s shown that Riku gave Xion time to come to terms with things, as he was considerate about her pain. He meets up with Mickey, and while he’s Xehanort’s Heartless, he changes back and informs Mickey that he might not survive a fight with an Organization member. It’s not long after that Riku meets up with Roxas, and after grabbing away the keyblade, Oblivion, Xion speaks to him through it and asks him to help Roxas. The two talk, with Riku aggressively mocking Roxas about not being able to remember Xion, and eventually showing his connection to Sora. In these moments, Riku seems cruel, desperate, and when he loses his fight to Roxas, he gives in to the Darkness in his heart to win, becoming Ansem in order to capture him. Naturally, with this, he forgets about Xion.
Afterward, Riku goes around as Ansem for a while, still working with DiZ while he restores Roxas’ memories, and working within the Twilight Town simulation to do so. Riku seems rather disconnected from himself, but he can’t really turn back (because he needs the strength of the Darkness right now). After Sora is restored, Riku continues at this task, doing what he can during Sora’s journey to protect him (and Kairi). He even removes himself from DiZ’s prejudiced goal, protecting Naminé instead of killing her. He provides Sora with the information needed to find The World That Never Was and helps out in the Land of Dragons. Riku leaves things to Sora there, and they don’t meet up again until The World That Never Was.
While there, Riku arrives to protect Kairi and Naminé. Kairi finds out that Riku has taken on the form of Ansem, but doesn’t mind, and though Sora seems bemused by this, he tries to make Riku realize that he matters and wonders why he’s given into the Darkness like that. Riku tells him that he still needs the strength. For a while, Riku travels with Sora and his friends in his Ansem form, until DiZ, revealed to be the actual Ansem, goes to destroy the “Kingdom Hearts” that Xemnas created. This circumstance leads to “anything” happening-which, in this case, it strips Riku of his Darkness.
Standing up, Sora tells him to take off his blindfold and asks why Riku did so much alone. Though Riku plays it off like it’s nothing, they’re disrupted. He abandons his cloak and blindfold and follows the others, heading toward a series of battles with Xemnas. It’s very obvious during this time that Riku is guilty, uncertain of how he should face his friends. Sora does his best to make him lighten up and succeeds in making him laugh. Soon after, almost everyone leaves thanks to a portal from Naminé, and Riku and Sora are left to team up and fight against several stages of Xemnas’ power. They manage to defeat Xemnas, as well as a pack of Dusks, and Riku is weak at the end. He asks Sora to carry him, and the two head out. Stubborn, Riku falls despite claiming that he was strong enough, and then Sora carries him to the water.
During this time, Riku and Sora finally talk. They reconcile their differences and seem to accept where they are, a place that’s undoubtedly the Darkness. Riku says that he’s glad to have a friend like Sora, and soon after, they pick up a bottle that carries a message from Kairi. Both Riku and Sora head toward the Door to the Light that opens, and they appear in the water outside Destiny Islands as shooting stars. They swim toward the shore, and though Riku seems hesitant and somewhat detached, he turns happier and seems okay with the sight of Sora with Donald and Goofy, revealing his true growth: his jealousy is gone and he’s happy to be home.
What point in time are you taking your character from when he/she appears at Landel's and why?:
Post-Kingdom Hearts 2, but before the scene where the bottle shows up with the message from King Mickey.
The reasoning for this is two-fold. First, the simple one: There is no actual description of what the letter says, and it might actually be relevant to future games. The second one isn't as simple. Riku has gone through a wealth of development by this point in time. The games themselves handle his development quite well, putting him through the various motions of having to deal with the jealousy, wanting to get out, his willingness to embrace the Darkness, overcoming that, accepting the Darkness within him, and eventually being able to face his friends despite all of his follies. It's obvious in the final scene that, despite all this development that he's gone through, he's still changing and growing as an individual. It doesn't mean that he's going to be prone to sitting in his dark room at Landel's alone, pondering the meaning of his Darkness, but he'll have to come to terms with his happier, more balanced existence, and still move past his various complexes and come into himself. He's dealt with so much that it seems unlikely that Riku has a hold on his own identity. After all, he's still a teenager. But he's a teenager who will fight, go on adventures, and do what's necessary to protect the people important to him. Being in Landel's will just help cement that.
As this relates to canonmates depends on who it is. With Sora, he'll be doing his best to actually work with his friend instead of taking things in stride. But old habits will be hard to kick, and Riku will probably try to handle some things on his own, while sharing information with Sora all the while. Sora is his best friend, and the two of them work better together, instead of desperate. He won't let himself get down often, and he'll tease Sora a lot of the time. It seems unlikely that he would return to his behavior before they left the Islands in the first place, but half his relationship with Sora is the good-natured competition that was there. Only now, it will be a healthier competition, with him accepting that Sora is as good as, if not a lot better, than him in a lot of ways. This will show a massive change from how he was before.
Then there is Naminé. She knew him pretty well at a point, and the two of them worked together and Riku sees her as an important facet of Kairi. She understood and helped him embrace his Darkness, and it's obvious that the two of them are friends. While his relationship with Sora will involve protection, he knows Sora can take care of himself (and will know that even better since Sora's been at Landel's for a while). In contrast, Naminé isn't as physically capable, so Riku will take an active role in taking care of her-not just because she is Kairi's Nobody, but because she is a friend and someone who helped him before. He definitely feels a bit of guilt after taking down Roxas, and this extends to Naminé as well, making a part of him want to secure her existence. After the end of everything that happened, it's fairly obvious that Nobodies aren't all "that bad," but Xemnas and his Organization were clearly messed up individuals.
As for Roxas, things will probably be tense and awkward. Riku forced himself to use a method of "the ends justify the means" in capturing Roxas and returning him to Sora. He knows for a fact that Roxas had an individual identity, and it was this reason that he had issues with eliminating Naminé when DiZ asked him to do so. Furthermore, Riku doesn't understand Roxas' motivations for leaving the Organization or appears to be confused by it. Since he cannot remember Xion, that throws a further wrench into the situation, because he took down Roxas on Xion's request. Of course, aside from all this, Riku will want to keep Roxas safe. Roxas' safety is something that's necessary, because Sora will need him, too. Knowing that Roxas comes from earlier in the timeline will make that even more important to Riku, because he hasn't gone through the things in order to get Sora back (and there might be something done to stop that from occurring). Riku might handle Roxas roughly at times, but this is because, as shown in their fight, he needs to in order to stand his ground. It seems more likely that he'll see Roxas as a side of Sora that needs to be secured, even if things will never be completely easy for them.
The rest, of course, are Organization members. Riku doesn't appear to be very fond of them. No, he doesn't want to be involved in their absolute elimination at first, but he also thinks that they need to be defeated. Most of the existing members aren't exactly good guys. Sure, they aren't the same ones in Castle Oblivion, and they also aren't Xemnas, but the majority are bad. He doesn't believe they should have no right to exist, but their actions speak for them. The only one he might be on different terms with is Axel, because he and Axel are both focused on Sora and Roxas. Axel definitely doesn't rank up there as someone who has done bad and should be destroyed, but Riku has also protected his friends from Axel's goals when it's necessary. Also, if he ever finds out that Axel led the replica after him, he will be unhappy with him.
Please give us a detailed description of your character's personality:
Like every boy who started off dreaming big and eventually turning unstable, with the need to find himself again-and even learn what "himself" is-Riku has changed a lot since he first left the Islands. As a boy growing up, Riku had been the one who would always talk big, and while he wasn't overly loud about it, he wasn't beyond the point of being boisterous about leaving the Islands, going on adventures, and bringing his friends with him. By time he was fifteen years old, it was this big talk that eventually led to a somewhat unstable personality. Though most of the time, he was the same person he'd always been: calm, collected, talking big, and always taking the lead, there were moments when darker parts of his personality reared their head. His teasing personality would take on callous mocking, and at times, he would be jealous of his two best friends, pushing them and competing with them in incredibly unhealthy ways (or rather, with Sora). But he always managed to care for his friends beyond his instability, and they were always meant to be there by his side. Determination-which would always be a factor in who Riku is-would always factor into his personality, leading him to being the one to build the raft, come up with the plans, and never give up on leaving the Islands. In a sense, it wasn't the goal that was so much unhealthy, but the degree to which Riku pursued it, as if he would give up anything to leave the Islands. At the time, it didn't seem like Riku was willing to let go of his friends for this dream, as they were just as important.
If anything, this factored into his inevitable changes. The Riku who left the Islands at first was someone who was determined, headstrong, a bit stubborn, and unstable to the degree that his dream was so big that he couldn't let go of it. He wanted his friends by his side, so much that he would be willing to do anything to get them there. If they rejected that position, he would act irrationally and hurt, with a large bit of jealousy and needing things to be his way. His behavior in handling these things was always with varying degrees of behavior. There was always a healthy amount of teasing on the Islands, and this slipped into his behavior afterward, returning cruel and malicious when he kept giving in to the Darkness in his heart. It was unstable teasing, an unstable power, and uneasy, and held on to belief that he was always better than Sora and he didn't need Sora. All of this coming together just fed into the power that he was allowing to take hold of him.
All those negative traits and instability were what made it possible for him to look into the Darkness without fear in his eyes and let it take control of him. They were also the things he had to overcome when he realized what was really important to him: his friends and protecting them, and not his big dreams, adventures, and seeing the world outside. Riku went from dreaming big and almost putting that dream before his friends, to realizing that his friends were more important than the dream. Protecting them had really been his driving point the entire time. Even if he got outside and let the Darkness take hold, he immediately shifted toward wanting to find Kairi, to wanting Sora to give him attention instead of Donald and Goofy, and wanting to get Kairi's heart back. It wasn't about seeing the big world anymore, but seeing them to safety. Eventually, Riku realized this, too, and he focused his motivations on what truly mattered, but that wasn't without all the baggage that came with the decision.
For all the changes from who he once was, Riku hasn't completely separated from who he once was. On the surface, he's the same cool and collected boy who's determined and willing to do anything in the long run to help his friends. His friends are the core of his concerns, as he will do anything to support and protect them (and even his fighting style tends more toward support than offensive when he fights at Riku's side). His behavior has lost its instability, coming closer to being like his namesake: grounded, more in one place, and able to handle a lot of things. He's still prone to being somewhat mocking and teasing, but this behavior has definitely toned down a lot. While Riku had a healthy dose of arrogance to go along with boisterous behavior, he has changed, downgrading this to sarcastic remarks and a healthy sense of humor. If anything, the keyword for Riku now would be stability-at least, on the surface.
Beneath that, he has changed a lot, as well. For all Riku has gone through, for the fact that he faced the Darkness and allowed it to sweep out over the Islands, and because he couldn't do what was necessary to overcome this part of him when he had a chance, he has become rather guilty. There was a time when he wasn't certain about how he would be able to face his friends after everything he did. His eyes couldn't lie and he wasn't willing to face himself. Of course, Riku had already been in a position where he deserved recognition for everything he did. He removed himself from the ends-justify-the-means mindset that DiZ (Ansem the Wise) performed; furthermore, he did everything he could to help his friends keep safe, helping Kairi away from Axel and eventually aiding Sora in ending up where he belonged. Once jealous, he recognized his best friend's capabilities and even saw him as better than him. The most significant part in all this was that Riku had a tendency to take things on all by himself, carrying a steady burden on his shoulders. It's unlikely that this has changed completely, despite Sora's insistence that he has other people with him. But Riku is stubborn and sometimes a creature of habit. Sure, he sees that he and Sora work together better now, but that doesn't mean he's unlikely to believe that there are some things he should handle himself-it's just a lot more tempered from before.
Along with the guilt complex, Riku is also chock full of insecurities. It's a complete contrast to who he once was, with his big head and way of handling things. It's unlikely that Riku doesn't think he can still take on most people in a fight without thinking twice, but there are some situations where he second-guesses himself a lot, and doesn't always see his existence as one that deserves to be saved. He gives in to the Darkness and accepts it as part of who he is. Of course, having two light-bearing best friends who are always there for him, as well as a mouse-like King, can do a number for a guy and make him not second-guess himself. But it's obvious, in how he tells Sora that he thought he used to be better at things than him, that he isn't the same person he used to be. At the mid-point in his journey, he even asked Mickey to destroy him if he lost to the Darkness, and another time, he feels like he's undeserving of his friend's attention. With a gentle nudge, or a funny face from Sora, Riku is able to move past this, but it doesn't mean he's moved past it completely. Being a teenager who has always been rather obstinate about moving forward-and at times, has even regressed-it's unlikely that all the work when it comes to his insecurities is done. Overall, though, Riku just likes to make things difficult for himself. He likes doing things the hard way.
Aside from these things, he's pretty quick-witted, but definitely not in the way of being bookish. Riku is someone who traveled for over a year alone, and he did it with very little assistance from other people. It was an act of Riku being remarkably stubborn, but at the same time, he was able to keep himself together. He's resourceful, able to run away and keep himself in one piece, and use what things are available to him at any given time. He tells Xion that he's doing everything to keep Sora safe, just so he can let him sleep peacefully, and while he obviously doesn't recall this conversation, it is a reflection of him as a person. So while he's stubborn, it doesn't mean he's incapable. Riku has a lot to be confident about. He knows he can fight, handle things himself, and has a great deal of street smarts due to everything he's gone through. Undoubtedly, he's good at gathering information and using it to his advantage, rather than sitting around and doing nothing. But this has always been there for Riku. While it was a downsized version of it, his determination to find worlds outside of the Islands and learn how to build a raft to leave were both indications of how he's willing to do anything, and how he's probably smart enough, too. His unwillingness to use his intelligence and bring people along with him does limit him to some degree.
As he relates to other people, Riku is understandably a bit guarded. Even around his friends, he showed this behavior, but he changed a bit. His interaction with others isn't necessarily rude, but he's definitely the type of person who is prone to saying dry remarks or being sarcastic to deal with a situation. He doesn't always play up niceties when he doesn't have to. In comparison to his softer interaction with Kairi, Sora, or even King Mickey, he's a lot more guarded than Sora and Kairi might be when it comes to new people. His personality, while not necessarily pessimistic, does tend toward realism, and it keeps him on edge in these situations. In a way, it's just another thing he's done to keep himself safe. Instead of building up a wealth of relationships, he tends toward the few people who have been close to him, and even with them, he's sometimes guarded and unwilling to spill his heart out. It's likely that he wishes he could be a lot more open like Sora (as he regards Sora as better than him at a number of things, it seems logical to conclude that Sora's ease with making friends counts in this category), but he's always been more boisterous, while not entirely revealing the true nature of his heart. If he put aside his issues, he'd probably be capable of being a lot more social. Yet again, that might be the easier route, and Riku needs to do things the hard way.
All this should logically add up to someone who's not actualized and is incredibly unstable, but in a way, Riku is stable in his instability, and he's actually somewhat happy with himself. He can laugh and be at ease with his friends. He got them home, and he's able to see that. Yes, he's a hard-headed individual at heart, but he's also come a long way, and he's able to start figuring out who he is. Finding a balance to his personality is important, and he seems to be getting there by opening up to his friends and admitting as much. In proper situations, he'll be prone toward the more serious aspects of his personality, but it's unlikely that they'll show openly to people who don't know him well. And above all, he knows Sora, Kairi, and King Mickey want him to be happy. That's something he would never be able to shy away from. He's a lot more grounded than he's ever been, and he's come to terms with who he is: a little Dark at heart, but that's okay, too. There can't be light without darkness, and he's there to serve as the balance to his friends' incredible light. He may be doing it with a wry remark or teasing them, or even a race on the beach, but some things don't always change while some change so much. If trouble calls, he might be willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of his friends, but his loyalty and care toward them always comes first. He just realizes that there are probably better ways to do things than that, at least by now.
Please give us a physical description of your character:
Riku is tall for his age, and he definitely shows the build of a boy who has been fighting with play swords or keyblades all his life. His arms are lightly muscled, and his build is that of someone who is springy and fights a lot, even if it's not completely apparent. Outside of this, he has long, silver hair that falls into his eyes, and his eyes are a teal-green. His skin is a paler color, fitting his lighter image.
What kinds of otherwordly abilities does your character have, if any?:
Given his connection to the Darkness, but also while still having a strong heart, Riku is able to use a number of different abilities. Most importantly, he's able to summon his keyblade, Way to the Dawn, which appears to have evolved from his original weapon, Soul Eater. Darker in appearance, it has a notable difference from Sora's keyblades (especially his final keyblades, which are certainly lighter in appearance). Along with that, he can use the Darkness to his advantage, making it possible for him to use shields (dark shield), shoot off attacks (dark aura), and withstand a number of different attacks in battle and showing a more or less defensive and supportive stance in a fight, staying alive and performing a number of different healing strategies in order to keep the person he's fighting with in one piece.
Aside from that, Riku is quite agile, able to take a fall, jump, and any number of things. However, since he no longer can use the Darkness in the same way, he can no longer use portals or turn into Ansem. He can still smell the Darkness, as it's a part of who he is.
If present, how do you plan to tweak these powers to make your character appropriately hindered in the setting of Landel's?:
First off, all of Riku's "life saving" abilities are gone, with the exception of cure, making him a lot easier to take down. His agility is close to that of a normal person's, and if he does too much, he'll get tired quickly. He can still summon his keyblade, but only against a monster. The limitation here is that he can't summon his dark shield or dark aura while using the keyblade, so he cannot be both defensive and offensive at the same time. The dark shield is weak and flawed, as are the blasts of aura, making him get tired rather quickly from using them and rather easy to combat if that's all he's using. The blasts of aura can only be used after someone else has attacked and only once per night. The cure potion ability is the same, only it's a normal cure and able to restore someone's strength a little, but not entirely. It can only be used once a night.
Concisely: he can summon the keyblade in danger. His shield and aura cannot be used the same time as his keyblade, with the aura only available once per evening. His shield, also available only once a night, is weakened and easy to take down and weakens him considerably, and his cure ability can only be used once while only restoring a bit of strength to one person (the strength coming in a burst of energy). Furthermore, his agility is that of any normal human.
Along with this, he can still smell darkness, but it’s a faint smell, and he’d not be able to sniff out anything specific beyond “this stinks.”
Does your character have any non-otherworldly abilities/training that surpass the norm?:
Though not a genius in anything by any means, Riku is capable in combat with what could be considered a sword, and he's tactical and capable of handling himself in a number of different situations. The fact that he's survived as long as he has is a show of this, because he's done the majority of his journeys alone. While he is no genius, Riku is quick-witted enough in any number of situations and able to adapt to them as best he can.
What do you see your character doing in the scope of the game and how do you plan to use the setting of Landel's Institute to develop them and affect their psychology in a unique, interesting way?:
Above all things, Riku is a resourceful individual who will do everything in his power to get him and his friends out of the Institute. Unlike Sora, he's someone who will willingly play along and sometimes do the ends justify the means-that is, as long as someone doesn't get hurt along the way (because he's already made that mistake in the past). It seems likely that he'll understand that there is already a network of information set up and he'll use it to his advantage, finding out as much as he can from Sora and others so he can start out. Above all things, Riku is a very active and determined character. He might be grounded in his sensibilities after everything, but he isn't one to just lie down and take everything like a man. He'll fight, probably even going out of his way to seek out battles at times. Most of the time, it seems likely that he will be closest to Sora's side, because he understands that being there with Sora is important, and that the two of them are meant to fight together.
Of course, there are things that Sora can't do. Sora isn't like Riku in his subtlety and ability to gain information, at least in Riku's eyes. He will grow and understand what Sora is capable of, and use that to their advantage. It seems likely that Riku's willingness to see Sora as a hero and strong enough in his own right will make them a good balance to one another as they work through the institute. This makes him rather Sora-centric, but that's an important facet of his personality. In a way, Riku has always measured himself up to Sora, and there is no reason it should change now. Their brief fights with Xemnas weren't enough for Riku to truly come to work with Sora and come to see what he can do, and while he helped him along toward his own fights during his last journey, they'll be on this one together.
That won't get rid of the protective side of his personality. There will be a part of Riku that will always be seeking to protect Sora instead of himself, or protect Naminé, or-in the event that it occurs-protect Roxas at times. It will be with the understanding that Sora and Roxas can both take care of themselves, but Riku is someone who is defensive and supportive at heart. He is meant to be there for other people, rather than working independently. He may be a leader, capable of working alone and working with tactics, but he's the type of leader that would ensure that other people were safe while putting himself on the front lines. All of this plays back to the "makes things harder" part of his personality, but it's a tempered aspect of it.
All of this comes down to the fact that Riku will be active. Never resting, never still-it's just as he's always been, and even if he was glad to be back at the Islands, he wouldn't sit around longing for home when he could be beating his way out of Landel's to return his friends there again.
Given that this RP takes place in an unsettling and outright horrific environment, how do you justify your character as being appropriate in both body and mind for this kind of setting?:
Bluntly: Riku has been through a lot of situations. He's been the unsettling and outright horrific person himself, allowing himself to be possessed by the Darkness, dealing with the Darkness, dealing with adult themes of potential genocide and prejudice, and managing to come out mostly in one piece. He's fought monsters, fought himself, fought his best friend, and done what he could to protect others. He's also served as the villain in a number of situations. Basically, Riku has been through enough horrific situations already that Landel's will just be another one for him. He may be a teenager, but the weight of things that have been on his shoulders is very large. A lot of things have been there as things he handled on his own, and it seems that he's more than capable of taking them in stride.
---
Third-Person Sample:
It was home.
Not just some fabrication, a memory released in a card, and not just some place he came to briefly, but actually home. He slipped off his shoes before long, allowing himself to feel the sand beneath his feet. Unlike the water they had been close to before, the sand here felt warm, while the water from the ocean seemed to complement it perfectly. Riku felt weird standing here, recalling the way he would come out every morning and night, peering out over the water toward the horizon in some hope that he might see another world. There had been some time in which his hands were rough and calloused from gathering supplies and hammering them together into a raft. Now, the raft was gone, destroyed by the Darkness that swallowed it up. He had a feeling that all that remained were the plans in a drawer, locked away and forgotten in the many ways that he was gone.
Both Kairi and Sora were looking in the direction of their homes, but Riku continued to look out toward the water. "We can go there in a bit," he told them, dropping down on the ground and letting the water splash over his feet. "I'd kinda like to sit here for a while, just like we used to."
In a way, he was surprised when they both joined him, one at each side, but at the same time, he wasn't. In the distance, the sun started to settle, and though Mickey and the others were waiting, Riku wanted to sit for a while. Embrace being there again. Even though it had been so long, he could easily remember his last conversation with both Kairi and Riku in this very same spot. Though it unsettled him, the theme had been the same as it should have been: he wanted to go somewhere with his friends. They had left somewhere. The place they had gone was one where they were needed, because without them, things would have changed. For all his failings, he was able to see that, able to understand what little successes they had along the way. Sitting on the beach, he didn't mention them. Why bother? Why get caught up? Why sit in the past?
Or rather, he didn't want to see one of those ridiculous faces Sora had to make just yet when he got too thoughtful and withdrawn. Maybe in a bit, but right now, he wanted to act like everything was okay. It was okay. They were home.
*
A shoreline or even his bed are nothing in comparison to the cool feeling of the institute at night. Though he was resting peacefully, the smell of the Darkness of the location hit his nose immediately, suffocating him and jerking him out of his sleep. Everything had a little bit of Darkness within it, but nothing like this place. He couldn't hone in on what was bothering him, and the more he breathed deep-in, out, in, out-he realized it wasn't the smell of the Darkness that bothered him but the sudden change from what he had before. The Islands were a peaceful place to sleep, and though explaining where he had been for so long to his parents had proved to be a difficult task, they let him back in and welcomed him home. "I promise I'm home, for good," he had told them, despite knowing that some other adventure might pull him and his friends away if they were needed.
This place contradicted that. It didn't feel like an adventure, though. Darkness aside, it didn't have the same feeling of Castle Oblivion or any of the other locations he visited in the past year or so. Riku jerked out of his bed and stood up immediately, glancing around the dark room in hopes that he might find some answers. It was strange, because it wasn't a large room, but it wasn't so bad. Like Hollow Bastion, a little-but of course, he always had a nicer room there. And now, he'd trade any room for the smell of the ocean pouring through his cracked window again. He'd trade it for knowing that he could climb out his window and dash a few houses away to climb a tree and look through Sora's window to find him sleeping. After all, Riku was sure that was where his friend was right now. Sleeping, soundly, lazily-like always. Or, perhaps, he'd be here, too.
It was bad to hope his friend was there, and even considering the thought wasn't good, either. Sora wouldn't be brought to a place like this. But if he was there, Riku knew he'd find him, and they would figure this out together. The bigger worry was whether Kairi was dragged into this again. Before worrying too much, he'd need to get out of this room, find out what was going on, and see if he could get a grasp of this situation. Thus, leaving was on his agenda, but first he decided to investigate his belongings. Desk first: a journal, a radio, some pencils to write things down. How helpful. He returned to his bed and glanced around it for any indications of chests or any other belongings, and he lifted up his pillow to find ... a flashlight. "Helpful," he remarked, but not with any enforced dry sarcasm. It was helpful.
The search completed, it was easy for Riku to conclude there was nothing here. He smirked and turned toward the door. "Better to be prepared, right?" he commented to himself, ready to wield his keyblade immediately. He extended his right hand forward to do so, while his left one flicked on the flashlight, and it did-nothing. No keyblade, no Way to the Dawn. He frowned, trying again. "Very funny!" he called to the darkness of the room, so sure that whatever wise guy that brought him there, they'd be listening. They always seemed to enjoy watching, waiting, and mocking. It was just their kind of thing. "Just because I don't have it doesn't mean I'm not gonna come and find you," he pressed on, voice thick with ease and arrogance. Better to play as if he was comfortable instead of powerless. He wasn't powerless. He wouldn't let himself be.
Riku bowed his head forward a little toward his flashlight. It'd have to do for now, and it wasn't any different from a toy sword in usability. He'd make do what with he had for now.
That conclusion drawn, Riku started toward the door to step out into the dark halls of Landel's.
First-Person Sample:
Keeping a journal to keep track of things. It might help to give something to Sora to look at. Hey, Sora. I bet you're looking at this now. Didn't think to write down everything you knew about this place? Or do you need a cricket to do your dirty work?
Anyway.
People From Our World
Category 1: Allies
Naminé
Roxas??
Axel??
Sora
Riku
Category 2: The Organization
Xigbar
Demyx
Luxord
Other Significant People
[here would be a list of people important to Sora and Naminé, friends of the Organization members, roommates, and things like that]
Martin Landel
The nurses?
Landel's Institute
Three floors + basement?
Bulletin board for information (censored)
... Write down what else you know, Sora. It'll help a lot. But make sure I can actually read it, all right?