Profile
CHARACTER
THE BASICS
NAME(S): Riku - as known here
CANON & TIMELINE: Post-Kingdom Hearts 2, about 3 years later
CHARACTER TYPE: Canon
AGE: 19
THE CHARACTER
APPEARANCE: Riku is tall, with vibrant green eyes and light skin. Due to years of wielding all sorts of heavy weapons, as well as a general love for physical activity and games testing physical prowess, he is also quiet sinewy. His glistening silk-silver hair reaches several inches below his shoulders, and falls in thick, layered strands when he moves. His youthful facial features are normally smooth, though vaguely creased in some areas from a year of angry contortions. As for clothes: in canon, he’s last seen wearing baggy blue cargo-jeans, a sleeveless black slip-up shirt, and a white and yellow open vest on top, with sneakers. However, assuming he changes his clothes three years post-canon, I imagine him to wear loose jean or cargo shorts, underneath which he wears blue swimming trunks, with a yellow sleeveless or loose t-shirt, along with those same sneakers or sandals.
Here’s a picture.
PERSONALITY: Two years after the worlds have been restored to order, the Organization destroyed, and the Islands trio--Riku, Kairi, Sora--gratefully united, Riku hasn’t changed much in the way of general personality. Still cocky, ambitious, and competitive as ever, much of his days are spent contesting with Sora or else developing his physical abilities on his own. He also spends considerable time studying, in an ongoing effort to “catch up” academically. Tending to occupy a lot of his time alone, he is constantly sinking deeply into his mind and struggling perpetually to find a balance between his inner light and darkness. Still, he’s learned--the hard way--that the greatest joy is found within his friends and home, not with power, and is determined to be grateful for every moment spent together.
Perhaps what sets Riku apart from Sora and Kairi is his stronger sense of independence, as well as a deeper wisdom of the balance between darkness and light. He’s always had a keen awareness of possibility, and though he’s at least learned that “bigger and better” is not worth plunging into darkness and sacrificing his friendships for, Riku still feels that gnawing pull towards exploration and great discovery. Unlike Sora--though he sometimes wishes he was like Sora--Riku struggles to appreciate the little things and, instead, seems fixated on what could be.
Due to his unique knowledge and personal experience in both dark and light realms, Riku is quite clever and quickest to catch on among all his friends. He has a quiet open-mindedness that even King Mickey has come to appreciate and learn from, as well as a powerful drive to succeed on the sweat of his own back. Not only brave enough to pursue darkness in search of answers and truth, Riku demonstrates the courage, fearlessness, and drive needed to admit fault, learn from mistakes, and push through even further in the pursuit of making things right.
Despite the gravity of most of his thoughts and experiences, Riku really is quite friendly! Although not necessarily as outgoing and immediately trusting as his comrade islanders, and perhaps a little intimidating, it doesn’t take long for him to warm up to strangers. After all he’s been through, Riku can basically distinguish the good from the bad in people, and is even more willing to accept both than most are initially.
HISTORY & WORLD-BUILDING: [This is somewhat abridged, because I’m sure you don’t want the entire story of Kingdom Hearts (spanning four games and three consoles!) in writing. I try to focus on Riku pretty much exclusively, except where more context is needed. If, however, more detail is needed, I’m more than willing to oblige.] Riku grew up on a small cluster of islands known as Destiny Islands, and that’s where he spent most of his young life. He passed one lazy, carefree day after another with his two best friends, Sora and Kairi; their youthful activities included wood-sword fighting, racing, and daydreaming of the possibilities waiting for them in worlds beyond.
While Riku grew through his teenage years, the daydreams he had as a youth became a burning, recklessly uncontrollable ambition. Kairi’s presence on the island seemed to fuel his growing obsession: she had actually appeared from a different world during a meteor shower, and was at a loss of how to get back. The trio decided on an adventure: they constructed a small raft--it was an admittedly sturdy one, thanks, mostly, to Riku’s hard labor--and planned to set sail in pursuit of unknown, exciting, and inevitably pleasant discoveries. But a terrible storm struck the islands on the eve of their departure: Riku, impatient and hungry for real adventure, had opened the world’s door and dark creatures known as Heartless poured through, devouring their home. He plunged into darkness, convinced it was the only way to pursue great discovery, and consequently the Keyblade--a powerful weapon capable of defeating Heartless, which had originally chosen him as its master--was lost to him, and fell to Sora, who found Riku just before he made his blind descent. All the worlds were shattered, consumed by darkness, their inhabitants scattered. The trio was violently split up.
Riku, confused and alone, fell under the wing of a dark witch named Maleficent when he appeared on her world, Hollow Bastion. Although, as the oldest, he was considered smart and strong among his friends, he was still quite naive: Maleficent tricked him into thinking Sora had not only found new friends (which was true), but had just as easily forgotten him and Kairi, who had lost her heart to the Heartless. He became enraged and vengeful, and instead of joining Sora, Riku joined forces with Maleficent, believing he could use the power of darkness to restore Kairi’s heart and protect her thereafter, without Sora.
Riku had a strong heart himself, but he also had a reckless, insatiable hunger for the power of darkness. As he fell more deeply into it, he became exploited--and ultimately possessed--by a powerful Heartless named Ansem. However, after a confrontation with Sora, Ansem’s possession came to an end: Riku was more or less restored to his original self, though feeling quite humbled.
He joined forces with King Mickey, and together they sealed the Door to Darkness--from the inside, to keep the Heartless from pouring out and attacking the worlds. Riku instructed Sora to take care of Kairi before the doors finally closed. The worlds now restored, the three friends were, once gain, separated.
Riku drifted into the twilight--the realm between light and dark--and woke up in a fortress known as Castle Oblivion: the headquarters of Organization XIII. Sora was also there, still searching for a way to reach Kairi, but the Organization had other plans: they used Naminé to destroy Sora’s memories and make false ones, in order to use him as their puppet. By the time Riku reached Sora, Naminé had already revolted against the Organization: he was already sleeping, so that Naminé could put his memories back together again. [Again, super abridged, but I can also provide more info on this, or there’s this link for a detailed summary of this part of the story, if needed.]
In the castle, Riku was forced to confront the lingering darkness inside his heart, which manifested itself in the form of Ansem. He was eventually given the choice, by Naminé and DiZ, to have his memories and his heart sealed away and protected from darkness, like Sora; he chose to confront and defeat Ansem by himself, to strike his own inner balance between light and dark, and to keep his memories (in order to chastise Sora for being lazy, later). He thereby gained the trust of DiZ, earned himself the revere of the King, and emerged from the castle fearless of the dark and more familiar with the light. He made his way not on the road to light, nor the road to dark, but on the road to dawn.
At the behest of DiZ, who was supporting Naminé’s reconstruction of Sora’s memories in order to pursue his own vengeful mission against Organization XIII, Riku set out to capture Roxas. He was only successful after fully embracing darkness; but, in doing so, his appearance changed into that of Ansem, and he became unrecognizable to those who knew him. He was still Riku--not possessed, this time--but didn’t physically appear to be so.
That changed, however, once Kairi, Riku, and Sora were reunited in Castle Oblivion in a joint mission to find each other, destroy the Organization, and protect Kingdom Hearts. Riku was ashamed of his appearance and hoped that neither Sora nor Kairi would find him at all; he preferred to live behind the scenes, protecting and restoring them to their home but not necessarily joining them himself. However, Sora and Kairi both eventually recognized him, even through the form of Ansem, and convinced him to join them in their fight. Riku’s appearance was later restored, mysteriously, after DiZ’s instrument to capture Kingdom Hearts exploded.
The Organization was destroyed following the death of its leader, Xemnas. Riku and Sora ended up on a mysterious, ominous piece of land next to a dark body of water. After making their amends, and admitting how much they meant to each other, a letter in a bottle, written by Kairi before she embarked to find them, floated by:
Thinking of you, wherever you are.
We pray for our sorrows to end, and hope that our hearts will blend.
Now I will step forward to realize this wish.
And who knows: Starting a new journey may not be so hard
Or maybe it has already begun.
There are many worlds, but they all share the same sky--
One sky, one destiny.
-Kairi
The Door to Light materialized in front of them. When they stepped through, Riku and Sora were, finally, home.
“What a small world,” Riku remarked, in pure amazement, watching the sunset after a tearful reunion. After so much time, nothing’s changed on Destiny Islands.
“Yeah, but part of one that’s much bigger,” Sora added, wisely.
Riku smiled, content. “Yeah.”
THE DETAILS
STRENGTHS/SKILLS/ABILITIES: Because of his strong, open heart, Riku was chosen by the Keyblade to be a Keyblade wielder--Key to the Dawn--making him capable of defeating Heartless and other dark beings. His heart is made stronger because of its connection with Sora’s and Kairi’s, and that gives him a source for strength and a stronger spirit for adventure. He is also capable of wielding other powerful blades, such as Soul Eater and regular swords, due to years of physical activity (like sword fights with Sora) and having to rely on fighting to survive. Having a wealth of knowledge of both light and dark realms, Riku is uniquely able to use both as a sources of strength and power. His physical strength is above average too, because of years of physical activity and combat, and he is a hard worker who puts forth all his energies into getting tasks done. Furthermore, Riku is reasonably intelligent and a quick study, able to catch on and adapt to changing and dangerous situations fast. His fierce will and ambition makes him a formidable foe, as well as a staunch ally.
LIMITATIONS: Riku is perpetually struggling to strike a balance between the light and dark within himself; because of his blind plunge as a youth, he is somewhat more vulnerable to falling into darkness than others, like Sora, who have pure hearts. Independent to a fault, he’d rather die than become enslaved to darkness, for instance, but is even then hesitant to accept assistance from friends in the fight.
Though happy to be home, Riku’s adventurous spirit hasn’t died. While he isn’t exactly eager to be off world again, this spirit permeates every day circumstances: he could be exploring caves (both in Omphalotus and Destiny Islands) to train in, and happen across quite unexpected--silly, dangerous, embarrassing, etc--situations.
Lastly, while he’s adept in many types of combat, his sword skills are of little use in a gun fight!
EQUIPMENT/PETS: Riku finds himself in Omphalotus carrying an old beige knapsack, inside of which are faded blue swimming trunks, worn brown sandals, a loose, white t-shirt with the beginnings of holes in them, a small bottle of sunscreen, never opened, SPF35, and an assortment of fruit. His Keyblade, Way to the Dawn (as seen above), is also mysteriously present, although he didn’t summon it. He’s currently wearing long, sagging blue cargo pants, a sleeveless, yellow shirt, and sneakers.
THE WRITING
SAMPLE - LOGS:
It was several minutes after climbing through the cracked wall and stepping into the dark, unfamiliar tunnel that worry began ebbing at Riku.
He’d been walking at a leisurely pace for several minutes now. Mulling over the situation, he remembered taking a boat to the small island just offshore Destiny Islands’ mainland where heavy, almost tangible memories haunted him. He had made it, and had even resolved to step into that small cave--their secret place--where the world’s Door hid. To spend time remembering.
When Riku got through the brush and emerged into the enclave, it was surprisingly peaceful. His racing mind slowed to a calm, meditative hum. His grassy eyes settled on the Door, which was strangely luminous even in the dark.
Memory was a phantasmagoric blur after that.
He must’ve fallen asleep, because when he woke up a harsh light bid his eyes closed as quickly as they had opened. His head was resting on the knapsack he brought with him, and his Keyblade was mysteriously wedged in his hand. Sand was falling in gentle cascades all around him. Wisps of smoldering wet heat poured in with the light, which came from a wide hole cut out of the top of the cave. The static of the place pricked at him as if it were aware of his presence and was reluctant to accommodate it. It dawned on Riku that he had woken up in a cave vastly different than the one he had drifted to sleep in.
He spotted a small fissure in the rock walls. Upon closer examination, the crack seemed to open itself into a passageway, dimly lit and refreshingly cool. Riku considered his options, and resolved to try his luck with the tunnel before attempting the demanding ascent through the top hole.
Light was faintly radiating from the walls, which were smoothing out promisingly as he continued his slow walk. It was several minutes later when, shouldering the knapsack and clutching his weapon, he stepped through an open threshold and emerged into one of the most impressive sights he’s ever come across.
Tiny, room-sized caves were cut out of sloping rock all along the towering rock walls. Vibrant flora bloomed and glowed all around him, and gave off mesmerizing light. A vast, shining garden, which seemed too still for something that was buzzing with life, flourished at the center. Riku could only stand there, stunned, gazing up in wonder at the radiant sky giving light to the entire structure.
It was only when a stranger caught his eye that he reluctantly stepped forward, feeling the pulling need for answers.
SAMPLE - MESSAGE:
[The sound of metal dropping against stone reverberates through the mercury, echoing back and forth with the cave. Faint, almost hesitant, shuffling follows. If anyone listens closely enough, Riku’s barely perceptible gasps of wonder can be heard.]
What? I can hear... people, through the liquid.
[A long pause from Riku’s end, while he listens to the living sounds of other people. Then, he hears someone delivering a message to someone in particular, and draws back in awe. Quiet shuffling can be heard after a while, as he adjusts into a comfortable seating position. Clearing his throat, he begins shyly.]
Well, uh, my name is Riku. Looks like I’m stuck here, probably like everyone else. [He pauses, wondering if anyone is listening, before continuing.] I’m not sure how I got here, but it looks like the only exits lead into a desert.
[He catches the end of a transmission when someone suggests exploring.]
If you can hear me, whoever you are, I’d... like to explore this place, too. [Another pause, and then a light-hearted chuckle.] Anyway, I could really use a bath. Any suggestions?
[More quiet shuffling can be vaguely heard for a few more minutes, followed by a grunt and light footsteps. Then, silence.]