the irony of tragedy ★

[dawnward]

Player Information
Name/Nickname: Rem
Livejournal Username: rem_sama
AIM/MSN/Yahoo: AIM; Remdatenshi
Timezone: CST
Current Characters: Axel [firebranded]; McCoy [curearainyday]

Character Information
Name: Riku
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Age: 21
Gender: Male
OU, AU, or RU: Roleplay
Assignment: IACC-Uesugi

Appearance: ★ ★

Riku is tall and well-built, though he often hides his musculature and broad shoulders with loose jackets and long-sleeved shirts. Just finishing up his last growth spurt, he's pushing 5'9" and is likely to gain another half inch or two after a few months of uncomfortable nights and back aches. He now keeps his hair clipped to about mid back, often letting it flow loosely in order to hide the black tattoo in the shape of a Nobody symbol on the back of his neck.

He does wear glasses at all times, usually with silver frames, though he's had to change them from time to time due to damage and use. The lenses, on the other hand, are enchanted not to break.

There are some identifying scars, mainly on his hands and arms, as well as very old, pale scars crisscrossing his back, the distinctive crescents left behind by a lash.

History: Original application and pre-Crucible history.

Once there was a boy who willingly gave up his life to evil men so that his friends and his world would be safe.

As he grew, the boy began to forget himself. He fought shadows, monsters, armies, and the innocent, all in the service of his masters. This left deep wounds in his heart, many of which he refused to acknowledge. Their ache stole from him great pieces of him, leaving gaping voids behind that he tried desperately to fill.

But when the boy had almost given up hope of salvation and of rescue, he was taken away to a ship that sailed the stars. There, the boy was able to rebuild his true self, even as he learned the dark fate that awaited him when he returned to his world.

When a way home was found, the boy decided to return, determined to face his future and find his friends once more.

It's always hard to keep a promise to yourself when you can't remember it. When Riku departed the Crucible for his home universe, he left his memories behind. Time and destiny continued on their predetermined course with Riku none the wiser, save for brief flashes of places and people he did not recognize, and the uncertainty of his dreams.

Shortly after his twenty-first birthday, a decision was made by the upper echelons of Organization power. Formerly nothing more than a paltry, temporary concern, the resistance movement originally founded by the historically neutral Magic Kingdom had gained new leadership and momentum in the form of the rogue Keyblade Master, Sora, and his followers. Initially holding little power, Sora had eventually done grievous damage to the Organization, inciting rebellion, disrupting operations, and murdering one of the founding members: Xaldin, the Whirlwind Lancer.

It became apparent to what remained of the original twelve that Sora would have to be removed as soon as possible. However, efforts to that end had been largely unsuccessful. In addition to steadily growing in power, Sora was well-protected, not only by his allies but by his long-missing Nobody as well, the traitor Roxas.

But it was Roxas that provided the Organization with the means of removing Sora from their path. By his very existence, Roxas proved possible something long thought to be pure fantasy: a Nobody capable of wielding a Keyblade. Not only was a Nobody more effective and versatile in battle, proof against magic, illness, and time, the condition of their existence bound them to the Organization and the clockwork hearts that only it could provide.

However, as early tests and previous experience had proved, heartlessness did not automatically guarantee obedience, much less the more coveted loyalty; a lack of emotion did not strictly mean a lack of troublesome morals. As an economic, political, and military power, the Organization could not exist through oppression and tyranny alone. Their centuries' worth of expansion, assimilation, and planned dependence taught them that willing, even enthused, compliance was preferable to the unwilling and potentially rebellious. This body of thought could and was applied to the notion of Nobody Keybladers and what their creation would birth.

The question, then, was how to generate their compliance.

Naminé, they decided. Naminé was the answer.

Riku himself was kept carefully unaware of the Organization's machinations. Sent on long, out-of-the-way missions under a guardian's watchful eye, he knew nothing of the brewing war between resistance and Organization - between Sora and the oppressors that kept him tucked far away until such time as they needed him. The days, for Riku, were strangely peaceful. Axel, replacing Saïx as his direct superior, was different from the other Nobodies. Despite being one of the founding members, he didn't act as they did, didn't even appear to think as they did. At first perplexed and annoyed and outright angered by the Nobody's casual mockery, biting sarcasm, and infuriating games, he dragged out of Riku things he'd that he had forgotten.

Humor. Guile. Intensity and willfulness. Imagination and motivation and curiosity. The pride and confidence that had long been stamped out by obedience. In Axel, Riku began to find some of his own self again and his gratefulness and wonder gradually turned into something deeper and far more intimate.

The day after Riku confessed his feelings to Axel, the Organization came for him.

Afterward, as a misshapen, oversized Shadow dipped long, sickle-shaped fingers into his chest to cut his heart from him, Riku would wonder, vaguely, if he had resisted when the black-coated agents had come to his door. His recollections of that time were jumbled, oddly colored and terribly fragile, like wavering bubbles of thought in his mind. All his memories were like that, even the most current and most painful. They came to him in fits and spurts, flashes of Axel's scornful, pitying sneer - "Who do you think you're kidding?" - and the long, empty hours of his missions, full of screams and hatred and his own dull indifference to it all.

How long had he been like that? Not caring, face blank and heart empty; just a week ago he had cut down a village full of rebels and felt...nothing. Absolutely nothing. He'd thought only of what manner of Heartless they would make and how he would remove them once they spawned.

Riku remembered. When they agents had come, and told him of their proposal - a Nobody Keyblader, a foil for a rebel that was troubling them - Riku had considered it a moment, then given his consent. Why not? What else was there.

At the end, as the light in him was carried away to waiting surgeons and the darkness swept across his being, Riku had thought he saw a blond-haired girl, her face pressed into pale hands and her body as light and frail as a flower.

She had been weeping.

Personality: Before Naminé altered his memories so that the Organization could create a willing and loyal Nobody, Riku was, at his core, a good man. Determined, loyal, intelligent, realistic, honorable, and endlessly kind, Riku was as good a friend and as good an ally as any could hope for, though he never really saw himself as such and would never claim to be if anyone asked. So he was humble, too, and often became embarrassed and flustered over things he didn't know about or couldn't get a grip on, as much as he tried not to show it. He had a bad habit of caring a little too much about his own self-image and the air of seriousness that he always tried to maintain. Only around close friends did he relax and let out the calmer, quieter sides of him, and the occasional dry humor and playfulness that was very reminiscent of a certain precocious, brash little boy that used to race his friends on the beach.

Even without his memories of his time on the Crucible, these qualities had slowly reemerged, taking him from a cold, growing dispassion and distance from the world to who he should have been all along: a hero. There were parts of him that weren't so heroic, traces of selfish snobbery and superiority, stick-in-the-mud tendencies that could ruin whatever party he happened upon, and deep, lingering envy of the people that he most admired, but no person could be wholly perfect. With time, Riku had begun to understand that.

But that is Riku as he should have been, not as he is; at least, not as he believes he is. The Organization was very careful when they instructed Naminé. They understood that if Riku's memory was wholly changed Sora, when Riku's Nobody was sent against him, would guess some of what they had done. Key events that only Riku knew of were changed: innocents killed instead of spared, apathy felt instead of empathy, friends forgotten, good times wiped away. Even Axel's feelings for him were removed and so the Riku left behind is far more withdrawn, the strength in his heart quieted.

Reserved, distant, fearful, and guilty, Riku is hampered by deep shame: he willingly gave up his heart to the Organization and can't bear the memory. At times cold, unyielding, and fatalistic, he can fall victim to dark moods and long hours of brooding. Yet the very idea of being alone is unbearable, and so Riku, in desperation, is likely to hide all the cracks and fractures with what he wishes he could be: the same old hero, the same person capable of doing good.

This means he can and will lie, though how much of it is lie and how much of it is truth even Riku doesn't know. The constant conflict in his head and in his heart make him even more prone to obsessive-compulsive behavior and absentminded study than he was before. He'll throw himself into work and duties to help him forget and sometimes he will be successful. In a fight or bent over a book he is at his most relaxed, most like how he should be. But in battle he can and will be exceptionally unfeeling, concentrating only on what needs to be done, rather than the morality of the deed. His memories have told him that he thinks only about accomplishing his goals, not concerning himself with the people in his way. Sometimes he feels as though this isn't true somehow, and so the conflict continues, occupying his thoughts with what is and what shouldn't be.

He still dreams of a girl and her tears. This makes Riku wary and uncertain about dreams, and what they may mean.

Strengths: By the time of his "death", Riku has been an active Keyblade Master for the Organization for about eleven years. Already marked as an S-Class at the time of his graduation from the Keyblader training facility, Riku has only improved since then. Expert with a sword, light and powerful on his feet, possessing considerable stamina, and experienced in battle against foes of all shapes and sizes, he is a formidable adversary in nearly any situation. His fighting style can be likened to fencing; he fights one-handed, moving in and out with shocking speed with the aim of defeating any enemy as quickly as possible in as few strikes as possible. He will always aim for fatal or crippling blows without fail.

Additionally, the Keyblade, as a magical item, is very effective against dark-tinged creatures, people, weapons, and spells. At the same time, his Keyblade, shaped like a single long wing edged in sharp metal feathers, has changed from the dawn-colored gold it became at the end of Crucible to a uniform steel. The darkness lingering in his heart has obviously affected it and so it is not as effective as it had once been, though this does mean - as little as he may have realized it - that he can employ darkness as well as light in battle.

Riku himself has become proficient in the use of many spells (primarily of the Final Fantasy strain) and possess a goodly amount of magical strength. He prefers single-target attack spells and non-lethal status spells, often casting buffs like Haste, Shell, Protect, and Bravery throughout any battle.

To go along with his experience and learned skills Riku has in his favor focus and intelligence. He's just as likely to charge an enemy and wear them down as he is to develop a clever strategy to over come them. He's a thinker and a planner and always tries to think several moves ahead.

And then, of course, there's always fists. He isn't built for nothing and he's done a lot to improve in the realm of hand-to-hand, employing kicks and swings and good ol' fashioned tackles when necessary.

Weaknesses: But for all his prowess and cunning and so forth, he still possess quite a few fatal flaws. Without his Keyblade or some other sword-like weapon his effectiveness is halved, or more than halved, immediately, and he has little to no knowledge of any other weapon types. He can swing a club or a chair but hand him a halberd or a firearm and well...he might have been better off with the chair. Should his Keyblade ever become unavailable to him, Riku is a mediocre fighter at best, especially against armed opponents.

Then, of course, there are his glasses. Riku is terribly nearsighted and while it's impossible to break the magicked lenses, taking his glasses renders him nearly blind. His deficiency also makes him more apt to rely too heavily on sight as a means to prove to himself that it is not a weakness; this makes his other senses, physical and magical alike, less keen than they could be. He can vaguely sense the presence of darkness and light, but this ability is stunted, along with all other extrasensory styles, more or less making him a dub in the realms of the supernatural.

He's also but one man and loses ground quickly when there are too many enemies at once for him to deal with. He lacks really powerful area-of-effect spells and though he does have a few finishers in his arsenal, they are extremely draining and difficult to use in succession.

His habit of planning can be something of a double-edged sword as well. Always needing to think before he acts, he can hesitate at crucial moments and lose important opportunities, ones that his opponents can take advantage of.

Sample: [pits of deep shadow, ringed with machinery, great, empty yellow eyes that swallowed him up, bright as inverted stars--

Riku's dreams cut abruptly, all jarring pain and gasps. he shoves himself up with scrambling arms, his eyes wide and seeing nothing] Where, where-?!

[then the nausea hits him and he's down again, groaning through the hand he has to press against his lips. the room, gleaming white and dim, swirls around him. it seems like forever before he can move again. cautious, moving carefully this time, he rises again, wiping the sweat from his brow with trembling fingers]

Where am I...? I thought I was...the castle? No, that's not right. I was somewhere else.

[he presses his palm to his eyes, shaking] The Bastion...

[yes. yes, the Bastion. full of shadows and waiting figures in black. Riku starts to hunch, his shaking worsening, his expression twisting--

and then a familiar face appears, wavering and flicking like light. a hologram. a message] ...Orion? But--

[Riku sees the window then, the vast expanse of stars] Oh.

Oh.

[for a long time he listens, silent, his eyes on his hands where they rest on the bed. when Orion finishes, something shows in his eyes, secret and guilty. he waits a while, letting the weakness in his limbs fade and his thoughts run their course.

then he smiles, hard and understanding at the same time and gets to his feet to touch the blue panel] Of course I'll help. This doesn't leave us much choice, does it? We can't just leave things as they are.

I just can't believe you let it get stolen like that. I thought you told the Doctor that you were going to have it destroyed? Look what's happened now, because something as unstable and dangerous as the gate was still around.

But you don't need me to reprimand you, do you?

[he shakes his head, resolute despite his weariness. the terror from before has been banished. hidden] Still, we shouldn't have to keep fixing things for all of you, especially after we had to do it once already. We've got our own worlds to--

[a brief, painful frown and a stark cast to his expression, though he swiftly wipes it all away]

...I guess there's nothing we can do about that while we're stranded in this dimension.

Just tell me what I need to do.