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[darkinferno]

PLAYER
YOUR NAME: Abilene
18+?: Yup
CONTACT: journeys or PM to darkinferno
CHARACTERS IN GAME: N/A
RESERVATION LINK:

CHARACTER: CANON SECTION
NAME: Riku
AGE: 16/17
CANON: Kingdom Hearts

CANON HISTORY: How about some wiki links?
CANON PERSONALITY: (headcanon in italics, aside from quotes)

Riku is a boy that used to be on top of the world.

Then he fell off.

Growing up, Riku was very much the king of his castle. It was a well-known fact that he was The Best—he could run the fastest, he could jump the highest, he could take on three people at once and beat them all in mock combat. Riku was the instigator, the one with the plan; he was the one everybody looked to when they didn’t know what to do next. Which was fine by Riku, because he always had an answer. He always knew what to do.

As you might expect, this led to Riku becoming a fairly cocky boy. He was in control of every situation—until suddenly, he wasn’t. After Destiny Islands fell to the Heartless in the first game, Riku made a few boneheaded choices rooted entirely in his desire to be in control: regaining that sense of control by finding his friends was his main goal, and he did whatever was necessary to achieve it, in spite of the morality of his actions (such as kidnapping Princess Jasmine and delivering her into the hands of some seriously malevolent villains). Eventually, he paid dearly for it.


“Riku must have realized then: to fight in the realm of darkness, he would have to immerse himself in that same darkness.
And when he did... you saw what became of him. […]
If that was what it took to awaken his friend, he was ready to live in darkness.”

That’s a pretty common theme for Riku: he doesn’t do anything halfway. He commits himself to his decisions mind, body, and soul, no matter where that leads him. He’s willing to throw entire worlds into darkness (along with himself) to save Kairi, and to save Sora he not only plunges himself back into the darkness, but completely revokes the right of two Nobodies to exist along the way. Riku’s willpower is one of his most defining traits: if he sets his mind to something, he goes after that with everything he has. Unfortunately, this leads to him being very single-minded, to the extent that he doesn’t always remember to keep others in the loop. He’ll see something needing done and go after it without a word to anyone else—Riku cherishes his friends above all else but is very much a loner. He’s used to being on his own, if not by nature then by circumstance: after leaving Destiny Islands at age 15 he spent the next two years largely working alone, even if other hands guided his movements. After his initial mistakes he took his solitariness as a sort of both consequence and blessing—atonement for his misdeeds and a way to avoid facing those he felt he’d disappointed.

Riku is a perfectionist. Keeping his unequivocal status as The Best on the islands meant he had to continually show everybody else up. It meant not being able to fail. Failure hits Riku hard, and he tries his hardest not to let anyone see him struggling. It’s a large part of why he spent so long after the events of Kingdom Hearts hiding away; Riku knows how badly he messed up and he doesn’t think he can face anyone because of it. When Kairi lowers his hood and he is revealed to her in Ansem’s form, he can’t meet her eyes—he’s afraid of finding rejection there. Screwing up is bad enough. Being rejected by one of his closest friends, which is almost what he expected to happen, would have been a million times worse. When he is eventually reunited with Sora, still wearing Ansem’s form, he even says, “I didn’t want you to find me. […] I didn’t want to be found. Not like this…”


“Is there some reason you're interested in the outside world?”
“Yeah. I wanna be strong one day. Like that kid who left. He went to the outside world—I bet he's really strong now.
I know it's out there somewhere—the strength that I need.”
“Strength for what?”
“To protect the things that matter. You know, like my friends.”

Riku’s friends are the most important things in all the worlds to him. He makes acquaintances with ease, but it takes a while to become close friends with Riku. However as soon as you reach that level, the boy is one of the most loyal friends you could ever have. Riku will do Whatever It Takes to protect his friends. He will put himself in danger’s way without a second thought, and he will wreak unholy hell on anyone that gets in his way. In the first Kingdom Hearts, his sheer force of will is strong enough that he is actually able to fight back against Ansem’s possession of his body—Riku is the only person shown in the series to have been able to accomplish this feat, and he did it the moment it looked like Ansem was going to use him to attack his friends. “You won’t use me for this,” he said, fighting back and detaining Ansem long enough to ensure he wouldn’t be able to hurt Kairi. The above quote is a six-year-old Riku talking to a visitor from the outside world—even then, his friends were important, to the extent that he was talking about leaving Destiny Islands in order to find the strength to protect them, an idea he not only harbored but acted on nine years later.

Riku’s determination to protect his friends rolls straight back into his loner personality: he wants to be as strong as he can possibly be so that he can protect the people around him, and he doesn’t want to have to put anybody else in danger for his sake. Riku is all about being able to take care of himself; just before heading into the final basement of Castle Oblivion he tells King Mickey “I’ve gotta face [Ansem] alone. […] There’s no point in doing this if I can’t do it on my own.” He’s very focused on strength and the power gained by being strong; at first, he was mostly focused on physical and mental strength, but he’s since learned what it means to have a strong heart, too.


“I think you’ve gotten stronger, but odds are you’re still no match for Riku.
We took him on three-to-one last time, and he whipped us all!”

Competition was once a driving force in Riku’s life, and even though it’s not the same motivator that it once was, it’s still a large part of who he is. Riku was used to competition on the islands, running and jumping and fighting, and it’s what drove him to become as good as he is today. His competitive nature was a secondary influence throughout the events of the first game. While at first he was driven solely by his loss of control, as things between him and Sora deteriorated he became more and more determined to show that he was better than Sora, to find Kairi before Sora could, to prove that he was more worthy to carry a Keyblade than Sora was. Although after he falls into darkness, that facet of him fades (it’s tough to compete when there’s nobody to compete against), it still reappears from time to time: “Come on, Sora. I thought you were stronger than that,” he calls at the end of the first game, trying to goad Sora into not giving in to the darkness. A year later, he repeats that same line as he squares off against Roxas, speaking to the memories Roxas holds. (The fact that Roxas, without missing a beat, snaps back with what is indisputably a Sora Response—“Huh? Get real! Look which one of us is winning.”—speaks to how deep the competitive streak between the two boys ran.) Any more Riku doesn’t feel the same desire to show off and prove his superiority the same way that he once did, but he still finds it hard to back down from a challenge.


“Which is why you, Sora and Riku, are to be tested for the mark of a true Keyblade Master…”
“But that's a formality, right? I already proved myself. Me and the king, and Riku—we can take on anything. Right, Riku?”
“I don't know. I think that in my heart, darkness still has a hold. Walking that path changed me. I'm not sure if I'm ready to wield a Keyblade. Maybe I do need to be tested.”

Riku today has changed a lot from the cocky, arrogant boy he was on the islands. Throughout everything that’s happened since the original storm hit Destiny Islands, he’s been knocked down numerous times, had to rebuild himself almost entirely from scratch. He’s come face-to-face with his own morality, and realized how much he was found wanting. With the shadow remnants of Ansem’s spirit living on in his heart, Riku’s had to examine every decision he ever made and remake those decisions time and time again, constantly pushing past the whispers of doubt and promises that one day he’d fall to darkness again. He’s had to dig himself out of his own grave, and with that has come a sense of seriousness and humility. He’s more willing to accept his own faults, to look critically at himself and to try and improve himself. Where before Riku worked tirelessly to repair the damage he’d caused, hoping to atone for his mistakes, Riku now works just as hard because he knows he can do the right thing. He’s seen the darker side of the mirror, and he wants to stop the darkness in its tracks before it can drag the rest of the worlds into that pit he lived in for so long. Riku’s goals aren’t any less daunting, and he’ll still go after them with everything he has, but there’s no longer the conflict in his heart that once ruled him. For now, he’s reached balance.


“Your darkness belongs to you. Just the same way your light does.
Up till now, I thought darkness was something that should never exist. Then I spent time with you and changed my mind.
The road you chose—I didn't know. Light and dark, back to back. With you,
I think they might meet in a way nobody's seen before.”

(It’s worth noting though that even if Riku’s a lot more serious and mature than he started out the games, he’s still retained a good deal of his snarky nature. It just kind of slips out—at The World That Never Was, during a Serious Conversation about why Riku was hiding himself from everybody else, Sora asks him why he tried to do so much on his own when he’s got all these friends to help him out. It would be heartwarming, if not for Riku’s smirk and response: “I’ll tell you why. ‘Cause I’m not a total sap like you!”

Old habits die hard.)

SKILLS/ABILITIES:

• KEYBLADE. KEEEEEYBLAAAAAAAADE. Basically a shiny blade that functions as a deux ex machina when it comes to anything ever that can be locked or closed. (No seriously, apparently you can awaken people from comas with this thing.) (Okay okay so it's by using the blade's empathetic nature to resonate with that person's heart but YOU GET MY DRIFT.) As such, it's able to open almost any lock it comes up against, from that lock keeping your diary from being read to the locks that keep the various worlds separate from one another.
  • Rustproof, dustproof, tarnishproof, bluntproof... basically doesn't require much upkeep, as it isn't ever kept in the open when it isn't being used. When the Keyblade is dismissed it goes back to rest in the wielder's heart—it’s pretty much an extension of his own heart, as without a strong heart you can't wield the power of a Keyblade, and Keyblades normally aren’t handed off; the power to wield or create one is passed on from those who came before.
    • Seriously, entirely bluntproof. They've been used to cut through skyscrapers before.
  • Can use Keychains to change the overall appearance and (to an extent) its capabilities.
• General swordplay/combat skills. Riku is very much a lightning bruiser; he fights one-handedly and hits hard and fast. He's able to take out Xion with a single well-placed hit to her lower back, so in addition to swordfighting he's got some experience in hand-to-hand combat as well.

• Acrobatics/movement. Some form of dance training. Nobody will ever convince me otherwise.
  • Also he can do things like one-handed back handsprings while still wielding his weapon against an enemy.
  • Equipped with KH physics, which means No Fall Damage and Ridiculously High Jumping. (In 3DS Riku starts out with a relatively "reasonable" jump of about head-height. Then with High Jump he's able to clear semis. Add in Doubleflight (basically double jump), and suddenly he's able to come level with second floor windows. SURPRISE!)
• DARKNESS. Riku can do all sorts of things with it—he can sense it on people, he can utilize it as a tool to help him move faster, he can see through it no matter how dark the world around him, and he can't be harmed by it.

• Special Abilities. Riku has a slew of different abilities he gains throughout the course of the Kingdom Hearts games, which can be divided into a few different categories:
  • Attack. These are abilities that allow Riku to attack in various ways outside of standard attacks. Examples of these include Dark Aura, which allows Riku to use the darkness to warp around an enemy in a number of rushing attacks; Strike Raid, which allows him to throw the Keyblade spinning end-over-end at an enemy and have it boomerang back to him; or Sacrifice, which allows Riku to expend energy in an extremely powerful attack at the cost of his own wellbeing. A full list of attack commands can be found at this link.
  • Magic. Riku's not as big a magic user, but he's got access to the full range of spells, which include elemental (fire/blizzard/lightning/wind/dark in varying levels), healing (cure/esuna), and status (blind/poison/mini/bind/slow/stop/sleep). Perhaps his most used spell is Dark Firaga, allowing him to mix fire magic with the powers of darkness he possesses. A full list of magic commands can be found at this link.
  • Movement. Throughout his time traveling through the worlds, Riku gains the abilities to use darkness to "slide" through the darkness (Dark Roll), to slide through the air (Air Slide, Sonic Impact, Double Impact), and to swing through the shadows to evade and counter an enemy's attack (Shadow Slide).
  • Defense/Reprisal. Riku can use Dark Barrier, which allows him to create a sphere-shaped barrier around himself to block attacks. He also has a number of responses to being attacked: Counter Aura, which he can strike back with after blocking an attack successfully; Payback Blast, which shoots a dark burst of energy at an enemy after being knocked airborne, and Aerial Recovery, which is exactly what it says on the tin. A full list of defense/reprisal commands can be found at this link.
  • Flowmotion. Basically a step up from abilities like Air Slide and Doubleflight, Flowmotion allows for bursts of energy that power moves such as bouncing between walls or sliding down/across railings, ropes, or anything similar. It can make hard-to-reach places accessible through repeated rebounds off walls, and provide more power to attacks. More information on Flowmotion can be found at this link.

CHARACTER: AU SECTION
AU NAME: Dante Rantanen
AU AGE: 19
PHYSICAL DIFFERENCES: Physically leaner, without nearly as much muscle. His hair is pale blond rather than silver, and his eyes are an icy blue rather than aqua. He looks much more Nordic than he does Game Genetics.

AU HISTORY:

• Has an identical twin brother! That he's pretty ostracized from, actually.


• Born to semi-famous parents: his father a pianist and his mother an opera singer. They married only due to her pregnancy. Since their marriage was one of convenience, Dante's parents separated mutually a couple years later, each taking custody of one of the boys. Within a few months Papa Rantanen was married to his publicist--whoops! (Dante considers his stepmother to be his mother, since he never really knew his actual mother)


• Grew up mainly with his grandmother until he turned 11, encouraging him to think for himself and play and explore and take care of those around him. She'd take him out on walks and let him explore the woods to his heart's content and although his parents spoiled him rotten, she raised him.


• His parents realized that they barely knew their own son and, on his eleventh birthday, Dante left to travel with them.


• He hated it. With his grandma he'd been able to be a child and explore; as Papa Rantanen's son he was expected to behave and be the poised, perfect son. They only got to see the tourist attractions, not the true essences of the cities they visited, and he was never allowed to explore on his own. He learned the piano from his father during sound checks, and attended press events with his mother. Dante was never able to make real friends his own age, as his family was rarely in one city for more than a week at best. (Though there were a couple exceptions!)


• As he got older Dante grew into the mold given to him, growing from an innocent little boy with an ornery streak into a self-confident (if not downright cocky) young man who thought he had the world at his fingertips. His parents would give him anything he asked for so long as he behaved well around them, and he began skipping out on tutors and other obligations in search of more exciting pursuits.


• Started getting into mischief with the local kids his age, first sneaking alcohol at other similarly-privileged kids' houses, then sneaking out with them to bars and getting a fake ID, partying and getting high a couple times.. and at one point being caught with his new "friends" transporting a couple of paintings that had been recently stolen from the downtown galleries. (Dante was able to claim ignorance and his parents paid very well to make sure the story never broke.)


• Unsurprisingly, sent back to live with his grandmother after that, at age seventeen.


• Dante was pretty okay with going back, surprisingly, as his relationship with his grandmother was still good and his background gave him a bit of an allure at the local high school he enrolled in.


• Aaaaaaaaaaaaand then his grandmother died in her sleep from a stroke in the middle of the night :(


• Dante took it really hard as she was one of the few people he'd actually formed an emotional bond with.


• Stayed there in the house on his own until the end of the school year and his graduation from high school, then moved to Recollé for university.


• Now has an apartment (that his parents pay for) and is in his sophomore year while having no idea what he actually wants to do with his life. In spite of promises that they'd chat more often, he only talks to his parents about once a month over Facetime.

AU PERSONALITY:

The biggest change to Dante's personality is that he's never been burned by his arrogance. At least, not to the extent that Riku was burned by it in the original canon. His preincarnation pretty much lost his heart to the darkness and came face-to-face with not only his hubris but his mortality (and morality). In this incarnation the worst it's done is lose him a few friends. In fact, his self-assuredness has actually helped more than hinder him—when he traveled with his parents, his air of confidence made him an instant hit with most people he met. So this Riku is in no way as contrite as his preincarnation. In fact, he's kind of a jerk.

Canon Riku is an introvert, but this incarnation of him is even more so. Being uprooted at eleven and never staying in the same place more than a couple months at a time didn't exactly leave much time for making meaningful friendships. Even after he moved back to his grandmother's, he only had a little over a year before he graduated high school and left for Recollé. This has left him good at meeting people, but bad at forming long-lasting relationships. It's not worth putting in the effort when he doesn't know how much longer he'll be around. Even the people he's met and stayed in touch with over social media throughout the years don't mean that much to him: they only know him through the images he projects. He only knows them through what they post. Social media is a way of cultivating an image to Dante, not a way of truly making or keeping friends.

All of this means that Dante isn't moved by people in the same way that Riku once was. People are like toys to him, an object he can interact with and play with and then leave behind when he next moves on. Off the top of his head there's no one he would lay down his life for, and while he'll joke around with others, he doesn't expect anybody else to have his back either. Dante is a one-man show, and all his emotions are perfectly contained (at least, he thinks so). Anything that doesn't mesh with the image he's trying to project is balled up and shoved into the deepest corners of his mind, where he doesn't have to deal with them.

Overall this version of Riku is a lot less intense than his preincarnation was. He's not got a chip on his shoulder or something to prove to the rest of the world, and he doesn't feel like he needs to go out of his way for any real reason. Neither has he cultivated the desire to protect his friends as he did on Destiny Islands, a desire that was so important to Riku that it guided every action he took, from falling into the darkness to returning to the light. Dante doesn't care about protecting others or gaining strength, and is honestly pretty content to go with the flow, so long as the flow is headed in the direction he wants. If not, he'll just saunter off and do his own thing without preamble or permission. Life's too short to bother with things he doesn't care about—and he doesn't care about a lot.

SAMPLE

Dante took a seat in the private box reserved for his family's use, unimpressed by all the elegance around him. The columns at either side of the box were rip-offs from the recital hall in Milan, likely wooden studs covered by the plastic facing. It was a decent fake, veins of dull color running through the white-grey plastic like marble, but that didn't make the seams disappear any faster. The curtains swooping down over the top edge of the box were dusty, too, even though the seats looked freshly cleaned. Someone cared about this old performing house, even though the details were missed.

He hid a yawn as he leaned casually into one hand, casting his eyes over the audience with a practiced look. From here he could see the range of people coming to listen to his father perform, from young men and women wearing ill-fitting suits and dresses that were an obvious attempt at dressing up, to the elderly couples clearly practiced in protocol and decked out in the appropriate level of dress, to the obviously wealthy that modestly flaunted their status through their clothes and understated jewelry. Dante chuckled to himself, watching an older gentleman escort a much younger woman into the box across the audience. The familial resemblance was strong enough that he could assume she was his daughter, her haughty posture telling him in an instant that this was her first time seeing a world-class artist perform. She was taking the idea of "see and be seen" a bit too seriously, in his opinion.

Dante kept an eye on her as his mother swept into the box, all grace and elegance and certain of her place in this world. "Dante, sit up," she instructed him, shaking a head. "Stop flirting with the girls here by pretending to be some bad boy. You'll wrinkle your suit jacket."

Dante lifted an eyebrow even as a single laugh escaped him. Pretending to be some bad boy? All right, sure, maybe he wasn't robbing convenience stores and riding motorcycles, but neither was he the model son she thought he'd become.

Still, he sat up, a smirk crossing his face as he considered the gulf between what his parents thought him to be and the person he was. He glanced toward the girl in the other box, privately amused to find that he'd apparently caught her eye. She was staring at him, even though she was trying not to be obvious, and her haughty demeanor had slipped a bit. As he watched--almost as though she'd realized she had his attention--she twisted her chin away, turning her attention to the stage.

His smirk widened, and Dante leaned forward, standing up to walk to the edge of the box. Her face turned back his way--slightly, but enough.

Dante winked at her, before lifting both brows in her direction.

She'd certainly be at the reception afterward. Tickets were always given to those in the box seats to join the reception afterwards.

Maybe tonight wouldn't be so boring, after all.