OOC ☢ PROFILE
basics.
NAME » Axel
NICKNAMES » VIII, The Flurry of Dancing Flames
GENDER » Male
SPECIES » Nobody
HOMETOWN » Radiant Garden (Human), Twilight Town (Nobody)
CANON POINT » Post KH-II
HAIR COLOR » Red
EYE COLOR » Green
HEIGHT » 6'2'' (189cm).
BLOOD TYPE » Unknown
DISTINGUISHING MARKS » black inverted teardrop tattoos below his eyes
DOB » Unknown
AGE » Unknown (mid-twenties)
ASTROLOGICAL » Unknown
appearance.
Quite tall and whipcord thin with a wiry frame and long legs, Axel is a figure that's hard to miss in a crowd. Couple his build with a mane of mid-back length bright red hair that is swept backward into spikes but still tries to stick out in all directions and you've got someone who is damn near impossible to overlook. He's fairly fine-boned for his height and his features are sharp with a complexion that is incredibly pale. Besides his hair, his most distinguishing features are the black facial tattoos in the shapes of upside down teardrops inked beneath each almost radioactive green eye. You'll most often find Axel sporting a shit-eating grin or any number of sly smiles, though his range of expressions are primarily an act. If you catch him unawares, his face has the totally blank set of one without a heart. Wardrobe wise, Axel most often wears the black uniform of the Organization: black hooded coat, black boots, black gloves, black pants. When left to his own devices, Axel much prefers to dress a bit more casually and colorfully, but this is rare.
social.
INTERACTING WITH AXEL » Axel can be a bit of a tough cookie to puzzle out, so don't give yourself a headache trying. Interaction with Axel can be inconsistent, and that's as fair a warning as you're going to get. Generally though, as far as what to expect: Axel is a mimic. He doesn't have emotions, so he mirrors the reactions of others or responds in ways he thinks will be appropriate. So, if you're nice to Axel, he'll probably be nice back. If you're an asshat, he'll be an asshat. If you're obnoxious for the sake of it? Well, you get the picture. He can often come across as mercurial or kinda bi-polar because of this, but it's normal for him. Expect him to be LOLBFFS one minute and to send you up shit creek the next because if fucking you over will get him something he wants, he will. He also tends to prefer to be left alone when he's not in the mood to be playful, and is often short or terse with people because he knows it will put them off and make them go away. Just remember that none of it's personal because he isn't capable of being anything but indifferent anyway, so don't worry that he hates you. He doesn't; he just doesn't actually care about you, either.
SEXUALITY » Axel is a Nobody and sexual concepts are tied deeply into feelings. In this regard, Axel is asexual. He enjoys sex as much as he can enjoy anything, which is mostly to say it's all the same to him. He has no gender-bias because of this, but he's generally adverse to physical contact, and sex obviously has a lot of that, which he's not terribly keen on. In direct contradiction, Axel is acutely aware of the power sex and sexuality holds and he is not above using it as a tool to his advantage. He is very often flirtatious or even outright lewd in speech and mannerisms, encroaching on other's personal space, dropping innuendo, or whatever else he things might stir someone up. It should be pointed out that the difference here is control, and Axel having it. As a side note: There are only two people Axel has actually ever expressed love for, and they are Roxas and Xion. Still, the concepts of love and the emotions surrounding it are very elusive to him.
RELATIONSHIP STATUS » n/a
NOTABLE RELATIONSHIPS »
ROXAS & XION » The only people Axel truly considers friends, Roxas and Xion are the only thing he can actually feel affinity (and even love) for, thus they constitute his greatest weakness and are important to him above and beyond anything in the entire world. To them, Axel is recklessly loyal, and there is absolutely nothing he won't do to keep his friends safe and close to him, no matter the consequence, including risking his own life and resorting to extreme and desperate measures when he feels he must.
SAIX » Before Axel was a Nobody and he was Lea, Saix's former self, Isa, was his closest friend. Some remnant of camaraderie was carried over in their early days in the Organization, but Axel is no longer capable of feeling friendship toward him, nor does he see reason, as Saix is not the person he was. However, due to their past history, Saix possesses a somewhat uncanny ability to see through Axel's masks and this frightens Axel because it throws him off-guard.
XEMNAS » Scares the everloving shit out of Axel.
personality.
LIKES » fire, things that can be set on fire, sea-salt ice cream, Roxas and Xion, sleeping, dancing, waffles, things that explode after being set on fire, B movies
DISLIKES » things that can't be set on fire, morning, water, being wet, cats, being ignored, things that don't explode after being set on fire
(more in personality below)
PERSONALITY »In a nutshell, Axel is a slippery character. Unabashedly scheming, eternally playing a part, he's the type who would sell you down river in a heartbeat if he thought that it would give him any sort of upper hand. However, this isn't all there is to this shady character. Beyond Axel's shady exterior lies a dual nature. Truly, Axel is snarky, charming, charismatic, and manipulative. Ever confident, cool and collected, he loves to show up, drop a catchphrase (Got it memorized?) and leave on a cocky note with a dangerous smile and a witty remark. He's the type to have backup plans for his backup plans and is absolutely never caught out of his element because he makes a point to always be at the top of his game. He's got an easygoing sort of swagger and a multitude of casual acquaintances who he keeps around mostly just in case he ever has to call in that old favor. He's a coldblooded assassin who will cheat, lie, steal, and kill and then go home for dinner without a shred of remorse. He's also got a knack for playing simple, acting dumb and harmless and getting in close before you figure out that he was your enemy all along. So yes, generally not a very trustworthy character and completely without qualms when it comes to twisting things or people around to suit his own ends.
The personality Axel has created for himself is impressively well-rounded with a quick temper, a vigorous enthusiasm, a snide wit, and a devil-may-care attitude along with a trouble-making tendency and a penchant for invading personal space. He likes things flashy, fast, and over the top and it's only worth it if it will be remembered.
Now, before you can understand the flipside to Axel's nature, you have to understand that he is a Nobody and that Nobodies lack a heart. Thus, Axel is unable to experience emotions of any kind and the behaviors that he exhibits are based solely and completely on the workings of his mind and absolutely not on true desires borne of feelings. Many of the things Axel does that are not to further his own interests or in self-preservation are simply because they are things that he thinks that he should do. In essence, he is acting. All Nobodies assume personas like masks, but for Axel he excels at his above and beyond. He smiles, he laughs, he jokes, he pouts- all a show, and one that he muchly enjoys putting on probably because of the way it gets to those around him or perhaps because they are reflections of things that he remembers doing long ago when he had a heart. On a related note, like most Nobodies, Axel does remember his former self fairly clearly. However, Lea, the person he was before, is not someone that Axel connects himself to now and he doesn't like to talk about his past and will always find a way to change the subject or flippantly avoid it. This evasion doesn't stem from regret or sadness, which Nobodies can not feel, but stands purely on the fact that Axel is truly so divorced from Lea that he finds the topic irrelevant and prefers to be known purely as the person (or Nobody) that he is now.
As a part of his emotional incapacity, Axel is also unable to experience things that are possible for those who have their hearts. This includes perusing friendships, trusting others, or having loving relationships, though it's not unusual for him to seek physical pleasure purely for physical relief.
The reverse side to Axel's carefully crafted personality is that beneath the calm waters on the surface, he's got a turbulent mind that's a lot less confident than he lets on. He does in fact have doubts, and he tends to question things (especially himself) mercilessly. Having been in Organization XIII so long and lacking that heart, it's natural that he is paranoid, mistrusting, and completely guarded at all times. He's deeply cynical too, and carries a strong bitterness that is as black as the hooded cloak he wears. The only cracks that are seen outwardly in Axel's air-tight shields are the times when he is prone to odd moments of seemingly careless introspection and that he tends to avert his eyes from direct contact when he is lying, though he's practiced enough that it's often too smooth to be noticed, even by those who know him well. Is this arrogance or part of a plan? Or perhaps it's an ironic way of attempting to reach out without opening himself up to attack.
Eventually, as times goes on and he meets Roxas (and by proxy, Sora), Axel's motivations begin to change in a most subtle and secret way. His drive alters once he has let someone close to him and he begins to feel the need to protect him. He beings to feel the threads of friendship and the sensations of actually caring about the well-being of another. When Xion enters the picture, Axel feels a subtle sense of jealousy before he befriends her too. At this point, it is his friends that becomes his greatest weakness. He becomes obsessed with holding onto these feelings that he's found when Roxas leaves, and he pursues him with a single-minded determination that leads him to betray the Organization itself. So, there you have it. Axel: murderous, heartless bastard and undyingly devoted and loyal friend.
Though a Nobody can't really have a true affinity for anything, Axel has taken up pursuing various past-times in order to break the monotony of time between missions. This has mostly entailed setting his drinks on fire to show off, but has actually ranged to other things including cooking (at which he's not half bad but is sometimes naked), gambling (or rather perfecting the art of cheating), reading (everything he can get his hands on- novels to cereal boxes), magic tricks (which he IS half bad at), and following soap operas (which he won't admit to). A few of his likes consist of firecrackers, lightening storms, spicy food, dancing, sleeping, chinese take-out, inventing mixed drinks, the smell of matches, and things that explode. He's rather impartial to cats, swimming (or really water and getting wet in general), early mornings, being cold, getting beaten and Guitar Hero, being ignored, children, and fussy women.
history.
BASIC HISTORY » Wiki cause I'm lazy
abilities.
SKILLS » Like all Nobodies, he can use the power of Darkness to create Corridors that allow him to teleport from one location to another and like all Nobodies, he has an elemental mastery. In Axel's case, his element is fire and he can manipulate it totally. He can form pillars or walls of flame as well as set his weapons (twin chakrams called Eternal Flame that can appear and disappear at will) ablaze. His chakrams, typically used for long-range attacks, can do multiple hits of damage in a single throw and can also be used as shields or melee (slashing) weapons. Fire doesn't harm him, but of course, he's weak to water. He's also very fast and agile, able to maneuver surprisingly well for his height. He can summon and command the Assassin Nobodies as well as minor Creepers and Dusks.
Being an Assassin, it should be noted that Axel is not a front-line fighter. He utilizes the advantages of a surprise attack and his speed but is disadvantaged when attacked head on or when lured into a long battle that requires endurance. His physical strength is also lacking, so he tries mostly to avoid fights with those that are a good deal bigger than he is.
Again like all Nobodies, Axel is extremely susceptible to damage when attacked with a Keyblade.
other.
SPLENDOROCITY RELEVANT »
POSSESSIONS » Organization uniform (black coat, black pants, black boots, black gloves), chakrams, Money key (to his room), Communication seal
HOUSING » Golden District: Tenna Villa
QUICK LINKS »
-Tagged »MainComm
[Notes: A lot of this is my personal head!canon, so if you disagree with it well, cool, it's just how I play him. Concrit in the dropbox and all that jazz.]