Application to witchesreign

[chosenwielder]

Name: Mega
Journal: dorked
Contact: AIM - derpisms, plurk - Dorked



OC or AU: AU
Character Name: Riku
Series: Kingdom Hearts
Gender: Male
Age: 15
Requested Sponsor: Amethyst or Carbuncle, if Amethyst isn't available
Entry position (Cadet, SeeD, Instructor, other): Cadet
Appearance: He's basically the same as his KH1 appearance, just with Kairi's lucky charm attached to his belt. :|b So, N/A?
History: This is his canon history. His AU history is pretty different, so I'll elaborate on that below. Hope you don't mind some tl;dr!

The first fifteen years of Riku's life followed canon completely. He still grew up alongside Sora, inherited the Keyblade from Terra, and later befriended Kairi. The trio worked on the raft and expected to go sailing to other worlds. It was the night of the storm, where Riku opened the door, that his fate changed. Though he did doom his world, Sora came to the island much quicker than in the actual game, finding Riku before thoughts of darkness even slipped into his mind. Together, they searched for Kairi while avoiding countless Heartless. After dealing with a large group of Shadows, Riku obtained the Keyblade, and together the trio tried to pass through the door.

This didn't work out so well. Kairi's heart ended up inside Sora, just like in canon, and though Riku and Sora took on the Darkside together, they became separated right as the island disappeared.

As a result, he ended up in Traverse Town and eventually encountered Donald and Goofy. But while canon Sora chose to befriend them, Riku saw the Disney duo as a means to an end. If he could put up with them for a while, at least he'd get to see other worlds. And maybe then he'd be able to catch up with Sora and Kairi. The Heartless and heroics didn't matter one bit, nor did their mission. Not for a long time, anyway.

Meanwhile, Sora ended up in Hollow Bastion and met Maleficent. She manipulated Sora into thinking that she and the other Disney villains were tragic heroes shunned by their worlds and promised to help him find Riku and Kairi... for a price. If he assisted the villains in "saving" a few "helpless" maidens from the oppressive forces in their worlds, then Maleficent would search far and wide to find his friends.

And because the villains were so convincing with their stories and because Sora's always been friendly and a bit naive, he bought their sob story hook, line, and sinker.

So, while Riku traveled to Wonderland and Olympus Coliseum, Sora 'rescued' Alice and learned magic from Maleficent. Naturally, Riku didn't suspect a thing and went on his journey for the sake of thrills.

It wasn't until they met up in Traverse Town that he started to reevaluate the situation.

When the two boys met up in the First District, Riku quickly ditched Donald and Goofy in order to catch up with his best friend. They shared their experiences with each other, and though neither knew where Kairi went, they both decided to keep their eyes out for her. Kairi was smart and could take care of herself until they found her.

Sora even suggested that Riku could come along with him and meet Maleficent, something that he honestly considered until Donald and Goofy found him and dragged him off to take care of things. Sora stuck around for a little while, but after they delivered the book to Merlin in the Third District, he hurried off to 'take care of something'.

Riku still didn't suspect anything was wrong until Leon and his gang explained who Maleficent was and what she did to their world. Suddenly, everything changed. If Sora was siding with one of the bad guys, what was he supposed to do about it? Why would go with her, anyway? He started to worry, even if he didn't show it. Moreover, he learned about Keyholes and their importance as well.

But even after sealing Traverse Town, Riku's priorities remained fixed on Sora. He'd already sealed two Keyholes successfully, and as long as he had the Keyblade, it didn't matter when the worlds got saved, as long as it was before Maleficent got to them.

So once Riku, Donald, and Goofy reached Atlantica and learned of Sora's presence, Riku tried his hardest to find out about his whereabouts, all while fighting Heartless and hunting down the Keyhole. But every time he came close to finding Sora, he missed him. All the while, Sora assisted Ursula in obtaining "her" Trident, even if that plan backfired in the end.

Still, the Keyhole got sealed, making another easy victory for Riku. Even if he missed Sora again, he continued to treat the bulk of his mission as a cakewalk.

At least until he, Donald, stumbled upon a dark and twisted world called Pleasure Island. It was a place where naughty little boys ran amok with "fun and freedom," encouraged to smoke cigars, drink alcohol, and vandalize the place. A cruel Coachman used the island to "make jackasses" out of the little boys and sell them to salt mines and circuses. And to make matters worse, the whole place teemed with darkness, and powerful Heartless attacked without mercy.

Several key events occurred in this world. First and foremost, they discovered Pinocchio, witnessed the transformation of boys into donkeys, and faced Neoshadows and other high-level Heartless.

But the most important event in this world centered around the Keyhole. By the time they found it, several Heartless approached, including a large Behemoth. Spotting Riku and the others, the Coachman tried to turn the Heartless against them, refusing to let some brat interfere with his operation. Instead, the Behemoth crushed the Coachman and devoured his heart, leaving the trio with no choice but to battle the beast or find a way around it.

Donald and Goofy ordered Riku to ignore the Heartless and hurry to the Keyhole, but he refused. They'd fought tough foes in the past, so why take the coward's way out? In other worlds, they managed to beat the boss and save the Keyhole in one fell swoop, even foes such as Cerberus and an oversized Ursula. So, Riku carelessly attacked the Behemoth...

But it and the swarm of Neoshadows overpowered him and seized the Keyhole. Within seconds, the world started to fall apart. Luckily, they made to the Gummi Ship in time to escape, with Pinocchio in tow.

Nontheless, Riku's failure to save PI dealt a serious blow to his pride. Not only did he fail to seal the Keyhole, but he witnessed the world disappear, just like the islands.

It also put everything he learned into perspective. Being the Keybearer wasn't just a game-- it was an obligation, not just to himself or his friends, but the worlds. One wrong move, and countless lives could disappear in an instant.

So at last, he came to accept Donald and Goofy's friendship, promising to help them King, save the worlds, and deal with the Maleficent, so long as they helped him find Sora and Kairi.

Little did he realize, Sora wasn't far. After a crash course into Halloween Town, Riku met up with Sora again. There, he tried to reason with him, but Sora refused to believe that his new friends could do anything wrong. To make matters worse, he later stole Dr. Finkelstein's experimental heart, leaving Riku with no choice but to go after him and set things straight.

When they met up again, Sora openly revealed that Kairi had lost her heart to the Heartless and that he wanted to use Finkelstein's experiment in order to help her. This led to a fierce argument between Riku and Sora. Riku refused to believe that a synthetic heart would help, while Sora was too desperate to give up. Moreover, he begged, even pleaded for Riku to come with him.

But eventually Sora got fed up with the fighting and fled, forcing Riku to trail behind, dealing with Heartless, Oogie's cronies, and Oogie himself on the way. Eventually, Oogie used the fake heart to fuse with his manor, and by the time Riku defeated him and sealed the Keyhole, Sora left yet again.

In Agrabah, Riku caught a brief glimpse of Sora when Jafar used the Genie to bring them, as well as Jasmine, straight to the Keyhole. Sadly, he never got a chance to speak with Sora, as he got too wrapped up in fighting Jafar with his newfound skills in sorcery. By the time the battle concluded, both Jasmine and Sora were gone, and Riku had no choice but to follow them in hopes of bringing her back.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Riku met up with Sora again soon after he left Agrabah, when the Gummi Ship encountered an enormous pirate ship. He along with Donald and Goofy got brought on board, where Sora greeted them and tried one last time to reason with Riku. He even went so far as to show him Kairi's lifeless body. But just like in Halloween Town, Riku refused, telling Sora that he'd picked the wrong crowd to hang around with.

As a result, the trio ended up in the dungeon and met up with Peter Pan. Together, they battled the Heartless and tried to save Kairi and Wendy. The end of Neverland follows canon to a degree; they reach Kairi, but she's quickly taken away, and Sora's nowhere to be seen. Then they fight hook. The main difference is that Sora has no power over darkness or the Heartless; it's Maleficent who transports him back to Hollow Bastion.

Once they sealed Neverland's Keyhole and returned Wendy to London, Riku, Donald, and Goofy left Neverland and returned to Traverse Town to prepare for their arrival in Hollow Bastion. While Cid installed some new Navigational Gummis, Riku took some time to consider everything that happened so far.

He had mixed feelings on the whole situation and plenty of uncertainty. Not only would he have to face Sora, but Maleficent as well. Once they arrived in Hollow Bastion, there'd be no time to play around; the stakes were high, and he'd have to be on his toes in order to set things right.

Hollow Bastion brought some of the greatest challenges Riku would face. First and foremost, Riku's fear of fighting Sora temporarily cost him the Keyblade, though he later regained it, once he mustered up the courage to face his friend and knock some sense into him. The two boys fought, with Riku coming out on top, but Sora didn't come to his senses until the dragon Maleficent fight, when she attacked both him and Riku.

After the fight, Riku, Sora, Donald, and Goofy all headed to the incomplete Keyhole, where they found an unconscious Kairi. Sora and Riku took some time alone to discuss everything that's happened, and Sora revealed that Kairi's heart is inside him the whole time (see: notes on Sora below). Though the only way to free her heart was for Sora to sacrifice himself, it took a lengthy argument for Riku to finally accept this. But before Sora's sacrifice, Riku challenged him to one last spar, for old time's sake.

With the final Keyhole complete, Ansem appeared in his weakened form and tried to take over Riku's body. Fortunately, Riku managed to push Ansem away, with some help from Kairi. But while Riku retained control of his body, there was little time to seal the Keyhole. By feeding off of Riku's darkness, Ansem's form stablized, and he summoned a massive horde of Heartless. This forced Riku and co. to flee and return to Traverse Town. On the way back, he apologized for all his mistakes and promised to make up for them. More importantly, he swore that he'd find a way back to Sora-- provided he's still alive.

Unlike canon, Kairi didn't stay behind in Traverse Town. Instead, she followed Riku, Donald, and Goofy, in spite of the dangers at Hollow Bastion and End of the World. It was only before the final fight with Ansem that Riku made her stay behind, fearing for her safety. But while Kairi didn't follow Riku to the final face off, she did give him her good luck charm. Later, she'd be pulled straight into the Endless AByss by Ansem in an attempt to toy with Riku.

But in the end, Riku defeated Ansem, letting him burn in the light of Kingdom Hearts. However, when it came time to close the door for good, he flaked. Leon mentioned how sealing the door would separate the worlds; even Gummi travel would be rendered useless. Everyone would return to their homes, and Riku might never see Sora again. He became torn between doing the right thing as Keybearer and keeping his promise to Kairi.

In the end, he left the door wide open, using all his strength to finally give into the darkness to save his friends. He pulled them through a dark corridor, leading them to a grassy crossroads.

So they wandered aimlessly for days, until one night they were met by a mysterious man in red named DiZ. He spoke of a great danger, and how the worlds were slowly being swallowed by the darkness, all due to the fact that Kingdom Hearts remained open. Though it took some persuasion before the entire group believed, they eventually accepted this, and DiZ took them to a place known as Twilight Town, where he further informed them of the situation. There he further explained the state of affairs in other worlds, the fact that King Mickey had mysteriously gone missing, and how a new threat, the Organization, was on the rise. In addition to this, they were given a new Gummi Ship and a new mission indeed; they would need to stop this Organization at all costs, all while fighting off the immense effusion of Heartless released from Kingdom Hearts.

Before they could begin, though, there was the issue of Kairi. She didn’t know how to fight, which would only hinder them in the long run. Therefore, Riku decided to teach her some basic techniques in order to help her keep up, while Donald shared his knowledge of magic. After some basic training, they took off at last to their first destination: Hollow Bastion.

Unfortunately, their arrival wasn’t well received. The residents of Hollow Bastion treated Riku with distrust; even Leon and his gang were resentful towards Riku, claiming that he’d been causing trouble in the town, even though he’d destroyed many of the new Heartless that arrived. When Riku explained that he hadn’t visited Hollow Bastion since they sealed the Keyhole, this only led to confusion, even when Kairi, Donald, and Goofy vouched for him. In the end, they all decided to search the nearby town for answers.

They got answers, alright. According to many of the townspeople Riku and a mysterious boy in black terrorized the town, causing destruction worse than many of the Heartless and even going so far as to attack people along the way. Further proof of this appeared soon after, when a strange, blonde boy in a black cloak appeared atop one of the rooftops.

This strange boy accused Riku of being a “replica” and even went so far as to attack him and his friends. A fight followed, as Riku, Donald, and Goofy all fought this boy with some help from Kairi. In the middle of the fight, Riku was struck down by another boy in black… one with his face.

This Riku-lookalike summoned barriers to keep everyone except for Riku and the blonde out of the fray. He also accused Riku of being a replica and claimed that he’s the reason the blonde boy lost his heart. Furthermore, this doppelganger referred to the blonde as “Sora”. Before Riku could question them, another fight ensued, both boys fighting off Riku with great strength; the lookalike even had a Keyblade of his own.

Riku managed to win, albeit barely, but before he could get any answers, the lookalike and “Sora” vanished through a Dark Corridor without another word.

After the fight Leon’s group apologized for their suspicions and promised to inform the town of the Riku lookalike. The damage still remained, though, and Riku and his friends decided to stick around long enough to fix at least some of the damage. It was the least they could do.

Upon returning to Twilight Town, DiZ ordered Riku and his friends to focus on the Organization, viewing the Replica as a distraction at best. Reluctantly, Riku agreed, all while keeping his eyes out for more information.

As they traveled to other worlds, Riku and his friends learned more about the Organization's actions, all while dealing with the heartless hordes across the worlds and encountering the Replica and "Sora" from time to time. While the Organization remained out of sight, they used the villains of new and uncharted worlds (like the Jungle Book, Sword in the Stone, and so on) as a means to spread emblem Heartless around for Riku and his Replica to defeat. Whenever Riku visited worlds he'd seen before, such as Agrabah, the Replica was never too far behind. If he hadn't already tarnished Riku's reputation, he'd try and get back at him, such as using Genie Jafar to create a massive sandstorm.

But it wasn't until Riku and his friends got swallowed up by a giant whale that they truly understood the Replica's intentions. They encountered him alongside Pinocchio, deep in the whale's stomach. There, he confirmed that the blonde boy was Sora's Nobody, and his goal was to regain his heart at whatever cost. The reason he trashed the worlds was because he considered the real Riku to be a fake who stole his life away, and just like before, he blamed Riku for the loss of Sora's heart.

It was a lot to take in. Though Riku and his friends stopped the Replica from kidnapping Pinocchio, he escaped in a corridor of darkness, leaving Riku to ponder what he'd just learned. When they finally returned to Twilight Town, he had to face the facts that "Sora" now worked with the Organization. He was an enemy, once again.

World History: He's from an AU version of the Kingdom Hearts universe, so there aren't any drastic changes from the way the universe works. Still, here's some additional info:

Notes on the AU's Sora

While he did end up working with the Disney villains, Sora never gave into darkness or ever held a grudge against Riku. The whole time, he was tricked into thinking the Disney villains were tragic heroes who wanted the best for the worlds and that he was 'rescuing' the princesses instead of kidnapping them.

I already mentioned that Sora retains Kairi's heart in this Universe. This plays a big part in what becomes of him as the plot progresses. Due to the extra light from Kairi, he was unable to use darkness, much less control the Heartless. This, in turn, prevented Ansem from possessing him later on in the plot. As a result, Sora's special abilities consisted of regular KH magic, though he did obtain the Dark Keyblade from Ansem anyway.

I should also note that, since Sora was the one who used the Dark Keyblade to save Kairi, there was no battle at the final Keyhole. By the time dragon Maleficent was defeated, Sora figured out that Kairi's heart was inside him for two reasons. First, he kept seeing/hearing Kairi, even when she wasn't around. Second, wielding the Dark Keyblade left him with him with an odd feeling in his chest.

Lastly, when Sora became a Heartless, he stayed a Heartless because Riku and the others left Hollow Bastion in a hurry. He managed to gain a humanoid form (think Anti Sora), and for a while he helped fight off heartless in Hollow Bastion behind the scenes. However, he decided to follow Riku after he faced the Replica, quietly helping out from the shadows (no pun intended). He doesn’t want to be seen as a Heartless because he fears that they’ll worry about him, and Sora just wants his friends to be happy. At this point, he's trying to find a way to change back to his old self.

Notes on Riku Replica

The Replica is the Organization’s greatest asset. He’s a perfect replica of Riku, right down to the Keyblade. The only things he lacks are Riku’s summons and his Keychains. They created him in order to have a means of collecting hearts, although he doesn’t realize that he’s a fake at all. On the contrary, Riku Replica has a false set of memories that are nearly identical to Riku’s, save for the exclusion of Kairi and the inclusion of a girl named Namine, who he’s sworn to protect. In these memories Namine disappeared from the islands during a meteor shower and wasn’t a Princess of Heart at all, instead going completely missing. As for Sora, rather than sacrificing himself, the memories depict a replica using the Dark Keyblade to steal Sora’s heart.

The Replica believes the real Riku to be this replica and is convinced that said “Fake” stole not only Sora’s heart, but his entire life and all his other friends. To that end he’s very resentful towards Riku and will do whatever it takes to get back at him, such as trashing the very worlds he believes he saved. The Replica also considers Sora’s Nobody to be his best friend and views Namine, the Organization’s XIVth, as a love interest in a similar way that Riku does Kairi. However, where Riku keeps his feelings to himself, the Replica acts upon them, considering Namine to be ‘special’ and doing whatever it takes to make her happy, all while keeping his phantom promise.

At this point in the story, the Replica is the main adversary, as the Organization is lurking in the shadows. Later on, however, he will become a sort of anti-hero and change from being vengeful to accepting his existence as a replica and forming his own identity. This will become more important if I ever decide to canon update Riku.

Notes on Roxas

Sora's Nobody is the Organization’s thirteenth member. Unlike in canon, he does not adopt the name Roxas until much later, going by either “XIII” or “Sora”, nothing more. He shares the same set of memories as Riku’s Replica, but is much less vengeful than his best friend. Despite being a Nobody, he still believes strongly in his friendship and seems less obliged to cause destruction than the Replica. XIII believes that Riku’s memories are a lie and refuses to accept any proof otherwise. Above all else, he wants to be with his friends and refuses to let anything compromise this.

Like the Replica, he’ll later on learn the truth about his memories and eventually seek out Sora in order to find some answers. During this time he’ll leave the Replica and Namine, but later reunite with them for some time. This won't happen until well after the current arc.

Some Notes on the worlds

The kH1 world visits didn't follow the games completely. Agrabah and Wonderland, for example, incorporated elements from the films in addition to the Kingdom Hearts plotlines. Wonderland featured a croquet match between Riku and the Queen of hearts, rather than a search for evidence. Because Agrabah occured at a much later time period, by the time Riku and co. got there, Aladdin was already parading around as Prince Ali. Also like the film, Jafar became an all powerful sorcerer before he took on the form of a Genie.

Additionally, Sora visited every Disney world except for Olympus Coliseum and Pleasure Island.

The events of Deep Jungle and Monstro didn't occur in the KH1 plotline. Pleasure Island took the place of Monstro, which appears later on in the aftermath of KH1.

And because Kingdom Hearts remains open, there is a great number of pureblood Heartless across all the worlds, giving Riku an added urgency and a need to seal more Keyholes. It also means that worlds such as Beast's Castle and Destiny Islands remain locked within the realm of Darkness. As a result, I've mixed in some new Disney-based worlds for exploration. From the point I've taken Riku, he's visited the worlds of the Jungle Book and the Great Mouse Detective. However, if this isn't acceptable, I can avoid making direct references to these worlds; Jungle Book was at least meant to appear in Birth by Sleep.

Garden History: N/A
Abilities & Physical Abnormalities: Since he's the Keybearer, Riku has his share of abnormal abilities. The most obvious is his Keyblade, a sword-like weapon he can summon at will and use to lock or unlock just about anything from chests to Keyholes in worlds. It can also be equipped with a number of keychains that change its shape and power.

Additionally, the Keyblade allows him to use an assortment of elemental magic including fire, blizzard, aero, gravity, thunder, cure, and stop. Each of these spells is powerful, as he's worked them up to the third level (*ga). However, their use requires MP-- in other worlds, he can't spam magic constantly and must recharge every once in a while. Beating up foes or taking damage helps, oddly.

Additionally, he can use special abilities in battle. Here is a list and a brief overview of what they do:

• Sonic Blade - Slash an enemy while rushing past. Select followup attack at right time for a combo. [2 MP]
• Ars Arcanum - A formidable attack. After a combo, select followup attack again for a double combo. [3 MP]
• Ragnarok - After aerial combo, select followup attack at right time to unleash Ragnarok. [3 MP]
• Strike Raid - Hurl the Keyblade at an enemy. Select followup attack at right time for a combo. [2 MP]
• Sliding Dash - Riku does a quick slide, pulling himself near the enemy and damaging them.
• Vortex - Close the distance to nearby enemies with this powerful spinning attack.
• Aerial Sweep - Leap at an airborne enemy and strike a mighty blow.
• Slapshot - When facing more than one enemy, Riku swings his Keyblade with a large arc and finish it with a upward thrust.
• Counterattack - Strike back after parrying an enemy blow. Successful counterattacks restore MP.
• Blitz - Strike enemies ahead of you with a powerful finishing combo.
• Zansetsuken - Riku holds Keyblade vertically reversed and strikes through enemy, very powerful finisher.
• Ripple Drive - When several enemies surround Riku, this ability knocks them back.
• Stun Impact - Riku strikes his Keyblade downwards, creating a small explosive sphere protecting him and stunning nearby enemies.

Like magic, he can't spam these constantly.

Lastly, he has the ability to glide and jump higher than the average human. These require no MP and can be used at any time.

Personality: On the surface, Riku is a cool, collected teen. He’s generally laid back, a bit blunt, and a touch arrogant as well. His sense of humor might come across as mean sometimes, especially when he teases his friends, but he generally sticks to playful jabs rather than something truly mean spirited. Back on the island, he'd poke fun at Sora's crush on Kairi and how much he slacked off. And when it comes to Donald, he's mocked him for his temper quite a bit. And at first glance, one might assume he has an overinflated ego, for he often behaves in a confident manner, and in the past he was very full of himself. Since he started his journey, he's toned down his arrogance at least a little, but bad habits die hard; if nothing else, he likes to put up a strong front.

Another key trait of Riku's that hasn't changed is his competitive spirit. Back on the islands, he'd challenge Sora and the other islanders to sparring matches every day and partake in other challenges like racing. For a good while, he treated his journey like an elaborate game. Battling Heartless was dangerous, but also a good challenge that put his skills to the test. While he no longer views heroics as fun and games, he still enjoys being challenged.

Moving on, while Riku may be rough around the edges, there's a lot more to him than his snarky exterior. True, he may act cool, collected, and sometimes prideful, but deep down he's got his share of insecurities-- mainly jealousy. Ever since he was a kid, he's admired his friend Sora for his carefree disposition and the way he lives life following his heart. While Riku became restless and unhappy with his life in his small little world, Sora stayed positive, living in the moment instead of worrying about the future.

Riku isn't like that. He's not some cheerful, upbeat hero that goes around making tons of new friends, nor is he the type to go out of his way to befriend complete strangers-- not without a reason, anyway. He does care about his friends, and they mean the world to him, but he's often reckless for the sake of his own ambitions. He opened the door to his world in a desperate attempt to escape, and at the start of his adventure, he completely disregarded Donald and Goofy's mission in order to explore the worlds they visited and, later, hunt down Sora.

It's taken some serious emotional as well as physical challenges in order for his outlook to change.

When he first left his world, he thought that traveling around would be easy. This didn't change once he learned about the Keyblade. In fact, for the longest time, he acted as though he could handle anything the Heartless or Disney villains threw at him. So what if they were tough? He had the Keyblade. To make matters worse, his early experiences across the worlds were quick and easy. He battled some Heartless, dealt with creeps like the Queen of Hearts and Hades, and made it out in one piece. True, Donald and Goofy helped, but he only saw them as nuisances and an excuse to get around.

But as time went on, his perspective shifted. First, he found out that Sora'd "befriended" Maleficent, thinking she was one of the good guys. Then he found out about the Keyholes and just how important they were. Even then, he tried to stay cool, acting as though he could handle everything...

Until his carelessness lead to the destruction of another world, and countless hearts fell to the darkness.

As a result, he's had some second thoughts about the Keyblade. It's not that he doesn't want it; Riku completely accepts his position as Keybearer, but sometimes he does wonder if he really lives up to the role. When Terra passed the Keyblade onto him, he was supposed to "champion the ones [he] loved," but he ended up treating it like a trophy instead. But rather than mope around, Riku's taken his mistakes and worked his hardest to make up for them. He no longer sees Donald and Goofy as idiots and works alongside them for the sake of their mission. In turn, they've helped him with Sora and Kairi. Granted, he still does poke fun at them sometimes.

That being said, he's still not as friendly or outgoing as Sora. While he has made some new friends on his journey, he's still fairly picky. Just because someone looks nice doesn't mean they're trustworthy, and he tries not to get too close to someone without getting to know them first. To become Riku's friend, one has to earn his trust. Fortunately, he's opened up a little and isn't too hard on others.

And once Riku befriends someone, he becomes very dedicated to them. Though he's not the sort to preach about the power of friendship, he'd go to great lengths to protect the people he holds dear, even if it means making the wrong choices. This is reflected in the AU a bit differently. Instead of working with the villains, Riku simply wasted a lot of time looking for Sora instead of focusing on the Keyholes. He also considered using Pinocchio to help Kairi at one point, but he reconsidered very quickly. Further proving his loyalty, he left the door to Kingdom Harts wide open, refusing to return home without Sora and Kairi.

This makes the situation with Sora's Nobody incredibly difficult. It was bad enough when Sora worked with the Disney villains, but now that he's a Nobody with false memories, Riku's facing yet another moral dilemma. Does he destroy the Nobody due to his Organization status, or does he try to find a way to fix his memories and find his heart? Presently, Riku refuses to destroy the Nobody, holding firmly to his promise against all odds. After all he's been through, he just wants to be with his friends again.

When it comes to beliefs and values, Riku is very strongly opinionated and downright stubborn at times. I've already explained this when it comes to his friends, but the same holds true for just about everything he believes in. For example, light and darkness. While Riku knows the darkness is dangerous, he honestly doesn't care about it or the light; an enemy is an enemy, and he'll put a stop to them regardless of their preachy monologues or what kind of power they use. He even tapped into the darkness in order to get out of the Endless Abyss. Sure, it was reckless and hardly something he's proud of, but he's more than willing to take risks from time to time.

Lastly, let's go over some of his flaws. Like I mentioned before, he can be pretty arrogant sometimes. This usually happens when someone belittles him (or his close friends), he's faced with orders that clash with his values, or he's faced with a challenge he just can't beat. He's mellowed out, to be sure, but Riku still hates failure, and he's had his share. While he's opted to move forward and make up for his mistakes, he's still ashamed of them and doesn't want to have anything else pile up on his shoulders.

His impulsive side often leads him into trouble as well. He tries to be more of a team player these days and put some thought into his actions, but if he's angry or stressed, he'll often leap right into danger without much thought. Plus, he's a risk taker, which isn't always a good thing.

In short, while he's the Keybearer in this universe and has grown due to his experiences, he's still very much Riku and still has some growing up to do.

What are your plans for the character in-game?

First of all, he'll need to adjust to the new setting and get used to the fact that he can't leave. He might be a little on-edge for a while, but that's because his 'canon' point is a particularly rough spot for him. I'd like for him to grow and develop beyond his flaws, a lot of which remain even though he's not as arrogant or impulsive as he used to be. I hope for him to gain some meaningful CR. I also see Riku as the sort to want to explore the land and take cadet training very, very seriously. In time, I wouldn't mind seeing him as a SeeD.

Anything else? I'd like to apologize for the insane amount of tl;dr in this app. XD;



Complete TWO out of the FOUR options.
i) IC Questionnaire (can be found on the application page)

What do you prefer to be known as?
Just call me Riku.

How old are you?
Fifteen.

Do you have any history in combat?
Oh, I've saved a few worlds, battled against the forces of darkness... yeah, I think that counts as a history.

If so, have you ever killed?
Mostly just Heartless. I've taken out a few villains, but only one or two actually died.

i) How do you feel when you get involved in some project that calls for immediate and rapid activity?

Please, I do that all time. Happens when you're doing hero work.

ii) Do you organize and initiate leisure activities?

Kind of, but nothing huge. I'm the one who decided to build the raft back home, but otherwise I stuck to small stuff. Racing, sparring matches... you get the idea.

iii) What role do you take when working in a group?

Leader, at least back home. After seeing other worlds, there've been some cases where I had to follow someone else's orders, but I didn't always listen. It's a long story, so I won't bore you with the details.

iv) How talkative are you around other people?

[He shrugs.]

Pretty talkative, I guess, but I'm not a chatterbox. Sora, on the other hand... [He laughs, though it's a bit dry.]

Anyway, I'll hold a conversation, but don't expect me to run around looking for friends.

v) What three things would you want to have with you on a desert island? State your reasoning.

[A desert island... oh man, that's rich.]

It just had to be an island, huh?

[Well, since they asked...]

Food, water, and supplies to build a raft. Food and water because I wouldn't want to die out there, and supplies so I could get away.

vi) Is it important to be liked by a wide range of people?

It's not a bad thing, but I don't need a huge circle of friends. Too much attention's just plain suffocating. Better to have a few friends you trust, if you ask me.

vii) When the odds are against you, is it worth taking a chance?

Hey, what's life without risks? I take chances all the time, and it's always paid off.

[Well, not always, but like he's going to explain all his spectacular failures here.]

viii) Do you consider yourself to be an impulsive person?

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. Let's leave it at that.

ix) Would you agree that planning things ahead takes the fun out of life?

Sometimes it's good to plan ahead. Gives you something to work towards.

x) Do you like surprises?

Depends on what they are.

xi) Do you sometimes wonder if there is something wrong with you?

Maybe I do, maybe I don't. You're getting kind of personal here.

[Translation: He totally does, but why explain to someone he doesn't know?]

xii) Do you consider yourself to be smarter than your superiors, and disagree with their decisions?

Sometimes. Depends on who they are and how they handle things. I'll just put it this way; I used to hate being ordered around. Now? I've gotten better at it, but don't expect me to follow blindly. I'm not dense.

xiii) Lastly, how do you feel about cabbages?

... Cabbages? Are you serious?

ii) Prose sample (can be general or a response to the post's prompt).
iii) Bracket/Comments
iv) Thread link Note, some of these threads use my old journal for him (gotowardslight).

One, two, three, four!