(no subject)
OOC:
Name: Alison
Are you over 16?: Yes!
Personal LJ: katharon
Email: prongster at gmail.com
Timezone: Eastern
Other contact: my partner haro on AIM, but I rarely use it.
Characters already in the game: N/A
How did you find us?: I've been familiar with the game for a while, but more recently, though Naminé and Xion's players.
IC:
Character name: Axel
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Timeline: Post-death in Kingdom Hearts II
Age: Approximately twenty-five
~*Magical*~ abilities and strengths: Axel's main element is fire, and he's capable of using it rather well to his advantage: attacking people with it and using it as an additional part of his chakrams. He is able to summon his pair of chakrams out of nowhere, their appearance coming often with a flames, and with ashes moving to hit the ground. Furthermore, he is a Nobody with a connection to darkness, so he is capable of opening dark portals in order to travel between numerous locations. Like most Nobodies, he is capable of using magic as long as he has it on him, but he probably won't ever use anything aside from the fire, as it's his signature move (and Axel's rather fond of signature things). In connection to this, he's able to become rather explosive due to his fire and he can do minor healing, as indicated in Days.
Other than these, Axel is rather good at espionage and being an assassin. He's manipulative and good at playing with and seeking out information when it serves his purposes. He can go rogue for a while and keep his head on, and he has a good amount of self-preservation backing him. On a whole, Axel can see the world as a chess board and use it to his advantage if he needs to.
How would they use their abilities?: It depends! If Axel is cold, he might use it to warm up, or if he's angry at someone, he might use his abilities to fight them. Due to the fact that he's an assassin, Axel is particularly trained in the ways of going all the way and killing someone, without holding himself back. If someone attacked someone important to him (IE Xion, Sora, or Naminé at this point in time), he would also likely go after them. But maybe not all out right away.
Appearance: Rather tall and thin, Axel is the type of man that few would be able to miss while walking down a street. He has bright red and spiky hair, black marks under his eyes, and green eyes. His way of carrying himself is with the most dramatics possible. He waves his arms around dramatically at times when he's giving a good show. Other times, when he's rather awkward or uncertain, he tends to rub at his head. Undoubtedly, Axel is a rather emotive individual, but he's capable of masking how he feels with another emotion, and it's hard to tell what's going through his head by simply looking at him.
Background/Personality: Very little is known about Axel's background aside from the fact that by time he's fifteen, he's already using a pair of weapons (frisbees at this time) and he's walking the streets trying to cause trouble. Naturally, Axel's name wasn't Axel at the time-it was Lea. See, this was in a world before Nobodies existed, before many worlds, including his home, were swallowed by Darkness in the way that Sora, the main protagonist of Kingdom Hearts, would later go to find and have to save. But Lea was a fifteen year old ten years prior to that, living a seemingly carefree life trying to do everything in his power to be remembered. That really ties into his catchphrase that he uses: "Got it memorized?" This teenager meets another boy with blond spiky hair by the name of Ven, and the two spar, hitting it off and laughing after he improves upon Ven's mood. They become friends, and then Isa and Lea go off. The closing cutscenes for the game show Isa and Lea getting thrown out of the castle where the still not Nobodies members of the Organization do science, and they sit around and eat sea salt ice cream together-as that's something friends do.
This is where some exposition is necessary. The aforementioned Organization started as a group of scientists that worked to examine a feature called Darkness in the world. The initial six members took things a little too far, and each one of them ended up losing their hearts. When a strong-hearted individual loses their heart, they become a Nobody: someone with all the memories and thoughts of a normal person, but apparently minus all of the feelings. (This is convoluted, especially in the case of Axel.) The Organization goes on to start obtaining other Nobodies for the sake of getting their hearts back. It ends up with thirteen members, fourteen if Xion is included (though she doesn't technically count).
It's unclear what happens in the time that passes. At some point, both Isa and Lea lose their hearts, becoming Nobodies, and they join the Organization after the original six, becoming seven and eight, respectively. Something changes them; the light-hearted way of carrying themselves becomes completely altered. Isa goes cold, obsessed with taking down the Organization from the top down and he becomes the key organizer. His name is now Saix. Lea does something similar: he becomes outwardly cunning and manipulative, obtaining the name Axel as a point of significance for his lost past. Neither of them seemed to have any goal aside from their destruction of the Organization so they could eventually reobtain their hearts. They worked together in this goal-all up until a certain, similar-faced blond boy showed up.
As for that, it's also unclear as to whether or not Axel connected that boy from his youth. Either way, Axel isn't telling. (The odds are that he does, especially due to his shown uncertainty about Roxas' status in regards to his heart at a couple of moments.) What does happen is this: Axel is assigned to train and watch over Roxas, who goes on to befriend someone named Xion (the "fourteenth" member of the Organization). Axel is sent away to take care of the traitors at Castle Oblivion, which is really a method for Axel and Saix to work together to take down the people there. While at Castle Oblivion, Axel is not the kindest of individuals. He manipulates Sora to do his dirty work and even take down Marluxia and Larxene. And down in the basement, he manipulates the Riku Replica into killing Zexion, attacking Riku, and essentially using all of that to his advantage. The end result is bizarrely Axel remaining fond of Sora, and taking care of business, so to speak. He cleans up his mess entirely, but he lingers around to make sure, which leads Roxas and Xion to believing he's dead.
However, lo and behold! That was not the moment of Axel's death. He comes back and starts spending time with Roxas and Xion after initially having some difficulty with it. He has clashes with Saix over the fact that he comes to care about them, and it leads to some distressing conclusions made on Axel's behalf. He lies to both Roxas and Xion to protect them, and even one time, in order to bring Xion back, he attacks her right in front of Roxas. However, he truly cares about the two of them, having spent a lot of time with them. It's truly a point of conflict for Axel, especially as his nature prior to this point is somewhat contradictory to this. Eventually, both Xion and Roxas abandon the Organization, but Axel, who is still protecting himself, doesn't do the same. He's left wondering about that.
The end result is Roxas is captured by an enemy of the Organization named DiZ (actually Ansem, their former leader ten years prior when they were still human). The man has a major grudge against the Nobodies and seeks to destroy them, and they need Sora back to do it. During all this time, Sora has been asleep, with someone named Naminé-who, since it's not been mentioned, was also manipulated by Axel-trying to piece him back together. In order to achieve this, Roxas is placed into a simulation Twilight Town, where he had a lot of his important moments with Axel and Xion (though by now, Xion's death at the hands of Roxas has led to her being forgotten). Axel gets sent after him and somehow ends up in there, and after a couple of failed attempts, he ends up fighting Roxas and says he'll see him in the next life. Whether Roxas remembers Axel here or not is unclear.
This is where Axel slips off the edge. Axel goes rogue from the Organization and attempts to get Roxas back through any means necessary. This means even trying to turn Sora into a Nobody. He tries to, albeit unsuccessfully, use Kairi as bait for Sora, and this doesn't work out when Saix comes and attacks him. This is the attack that eventually leads to his death. But this doesn't come right away, as Sora goes to head to The World That Never Was, and Axel is there. Instead of attacking Sora, he does the opposite: Axel helps him fight the heartless there, and in the process, he has to perform an act that is essentially his suicide. In his final moments, Axel tells Sora that Roxas made him feel almost like he had a heart. And that Sora does the same.
Afterwards, there's a series of sequences where Roxas awakens inside of Sora, fights him in his mental mindscape, and then Roxas and Axel say their final good-byes to one another there. Axel goes off peacefully, smiling.
Personality: The key component to everything that Axel does is presentation. While he doesn't carry on the show most of the time obviously-with the clapping and the behaviors that really make it obvious that he's someone attempting to be remembered-he's fairly conscious of most of his actions, even in modes when he might be able to relax. Around friends, he still keeps his cards close to his chest, and around enemies, he's careful not to let his mask fall. If he does, even for one discernible second, he's quick to try and snatch it back up. Whether he's successful at any of this is anyone's guess, but much of his disposition has been built around this bravado since he was a troublesome teenage boy picking playful fights and claiming that he wanted to be remembered forever. Obviously, Axel has come a long way from those carefree days. Less one heart and replaced with an existence in the nefarious Organization XIII that gives off the impression of eat-or-be-eaten, his behavior is far different. But in the end, much of it ties up together in a neat package. It works out quite perfectly given that the greater idea behind Nobodies is the act they put on. In comparison to the rest, Axel may even be one of the best at all that.
As it is, Axel's key drives are due to his selfishness, which does link back to his arrogant childhood-not that he's any less arrogant now-as well as his cunning behavior that motivates that selfishness. While he has performed a number of acts that may be perceived as selfless-stopping Xion and Roxas from fighting, trying to sort out that situation without it blowing up, trying to stop Roxas from leaving the Organization, and even, in the end, sacrificing himself for the sake of Sora when he realizes he can't get his friend back-they all tie back to the way he is. Axel struggles with these selfless behaviors, too, as they curb toward that more than what he's naturally inclined toward. In the end, though, even his friendships are selfish, and the way he handles them hardly someone who's mushy and gooey on the inside. He isn't uncaring, but Axel toes the line carefully between protecting himself and protecting his loved ones. And when he has moderate fondness for someone (Sora), he'll go toward achieving what has a greater worth to him (Roxas). Even his handling of this situation is a careful display of Axel's inability to step away from his selfishness and cunning behavior; it upsets him so much that he eventually broaches on irrationality in order to achieve what he wants-until, at the end, he isn't getting that at all.
Much of his natural behaviors line up with this, because he's always weighing the options about what's best for him. The way he turns around situations, even in kinder, more polite company, sometimes reflect on his ability to file reports. In other instances, he acts ruthlessly to get what he wants, but in such a way that no one sees it coming. Above all things, then, it should be noted that while he's lacking quite a bit in the emotional intelligence area-for obvious reasons-he's incredibly intelligent, and he knows how to play people into positions so things work out in the end. This can happen with people he cares about, to ensure that they are safe and not walked into a death trap, or even in situations where he's trying to take down some of the most effective members of the Organization. Either way, he's manipulative in conjunction with this, assuring that he can push puzzle pieces into the places where they belong. And if he fails-or when he fails-he doesn't stop planning and trying to see loop holes. That's a large part of the way that Axel's mind works. It's part of why he makes a capable assassin of the Organization; someone with his ruthlessness and planning can carry out an attack without a problem.
There are, of course, two major contradictions to this flawlessly planning individual, because if he were actually flawless, Axel would not be dead. The first contradiction is where he allows his situation to overwhelm him, or the situation he's confronting, and he ends up responding in an angry, irrational manner, unbefitting of someone in his position. Secondly, there are his friends. The things he does for them generally influence his actions toward irrationality, and it becomes much difficult for him to be the planner when he realizes they're important to him. For Axel, that realization only becomes a matter of ensuring their safety and keeping them in mind for his planning ways, rather than using them as accessories.
That aforementioned anger is undoubtedly why he is dead, but it's indicative of a large part of who Axel happens to be. So much of his identity is built upon control and an edge that keeps him going that when he slips, it's anger that tends to take over. Anger pushes him through when he realizes he's losing his friend, and it's what makes it possible to attempt to fight him when he has to face him without his memories. Anger is what carries him when he has to say good-bye to Roxas, believing that they might see each other in another life. And anger, of course, is what leads him to defect from the Organization. It's what throws him off the edge when he was a planner before, trying to keep everything in order. It's a direct sign of his loss of control in handling the situation, and his way of looking out for himself. It is also a sign of his attachment, and how he couldn't keep everything in order while he developed that attachment.
And that attachment is, of course, his friends. As such, these two parts of him tie together. But in a lot of ways, Saix, his first friend (once known as Isa) ties into this, as well. One represents the past: the selfish need to shine and be in control, as well as to regain something that was a lost glory (and maybe forget that in the process). The other represents the present, the changes and what he has to contend with. Axel sets his own preservation before those of his friends much of the time, which is what tilts him over. He doesn't think of their own opinions and thinks for them. In a lot of ways, his handling of his friendships is a true sign of how he handles most interpersonal relationships: even when he cares, he doesn't drop the act. Even when it's a moment where things should be easier, calmer, he continues to lie because of the overall benefits that could be reaped. And when that fails, that's when he slips. Axel is the type to try until he gets there.
Altogether, Axel is the type of character who never puts his mind to rest, except when he's sleeping (which he obviously likes doing a lot). Then again, even his surface level laziness probably works in part with his image-giving off a nonchalant image, playful part of him only makes the underlying deceiver less obvious. Mostly, Axel is someone who thrives upon the contradictions that he presents. Each contradiction is for a purpose, and he's someone who chooses most of his words and actions carefully-until everything slips out of his control and there's no turning back. Even then, it's not like he stops acting, and that seems to be a large part of who he happens to be. Axel always had a goal in mind when he joined the Organization, it just changed. That didn't make him less of who he was, and it certainly didn't change his approach to situations. If anything, it muddled things, because Axel himself never quite adjusted to it. And it’s probably even harder to adjust when he's a contradiction in other ways; after all, he's a Nobody, but there are things in his life that make him feel like he has a heart. There are other times when it looks like he just flat-out feels, even from his most ruthless mission in Castle Oblivion.
It's going to take him a while to work this out, but he's definitely working on it.
Why should that character be in this game: For OCs only.
Why do you want to continue their history here: For characters from other games only.
For applicants considering an alternate version of a character already in game, please use this as your chance to explain the key differences between your character and the one already in play:
Have you read up on how the game works?:
The guide is called the Flaming Ferret. Axel can acquire money through theft, missions, and mooching from other people.
1st person sample:
It's fascinating the things you learn when you come upon a new place. There are so many new customs, designs, ideas of how one singular world can differentiate from all the others. It's amazing how we just end up here. Plucked from one place. Plucked from another. It's almost a matter of suspicion, isn't it? But it's not one that concerns me all that much, I admit. I'm here, and for whatever reason that is, I suppose I should thank the kind individuals of this ship who have now allowed me to become a refugee.
After all, it beats the alternative, doesn't it?
All right, all right, I'm done beating around the bush. Cryptic speech doesn't really suit me, anyway. I'm here to have a good time like anyone else. I'm a little surprised we aren't all lamenting our losses, but I suppose things are a little more complicated than that. I'll try to keep up.
Until then, consider this a nice, formal introduction. The name's Axel. Got it memorized?
-Of course, some of you might already have that by now. I know I've been here before, and isn't it just interesting to see who I befriended during that time? I'd like to make your acquaintance again, of course.
3rd person sample: The only issue he has with this ordeal is the ins and outs that he has to learn. From his brief scanning of information, he's already absorbed who's there, though most of them aren't that surprising. Sora and Riku-of course. Why would the keyblade wielders be anywhere else? Axel considers that an unsurprising piece of information. Naminé isn't surprising, either; to a point, Axel is actually relieved, though he isn't entirely certain what that all means. Given everything, maybe she didn't deserve the alternative. And then there were the confusing pieces. Xigbar without the Organization. That made him an enigma, an uncontrolled piece on a board. A problem. How loyal was Xigbar in the bigger picture? All signs Axel had pointed to "fairly loyal," but he admits he doesn't trust anyone in the Organization to be trustworthy. After all, he was proof of that. And then there were the real unknown ones. A girl named Xion, whose face and voice were familiar enough, but he just couldn't place them-and that boy. The boy from his youth. He struggles to grasp at the fullest extent of the memory these days, but it still sits on the edges of his memory, a rowdy fight with laughter, a promise to be friends.
But that's in another life. That's impossible now, isn't it? Then again, Axel isn't sure why he includes either of these two final individuals in with the rest of the important people. He doesn't know who Xion is, exactly, but he association is close, very close, and that familiarity ... As for Ventus, it's confusing in another way. Time changes people, and that's the only way he reconciled all that with Roxas. (Among other reasons, but it's a done deal, gone, buried, unnecessary.) Why's it matter now?
He considers his options. Sora might be willing to reveal all and anything to him, even after their rather convoluted last run-in. But discretion doesn't seem to be a key part-pardon the pun-of his way of handling himself. So, no, he strikes that one out. The others are too unknown, with Riku perhaps presenting himself as a resource, but even then, it's unstable. Riku is someone who cares for certain people first. He won't see a need to keep certain things quiet. It all rests on Naminé. In the end, perhaps it's unkind to see her as a resource, but if there's anyone who knows something, it will be her. That is what she does quite well.
Axel inhales and exhales. Before he reveals himself, he has to do this work. Miracle though this may be, Axel isn't so sure he's blessed just yet.
Questions?: None that I can think of!
Did you put your characters name and fandom in the subject: Yes.
Name: Alison
Are you over 16?: Yes!
Personal LJ: katharon
Email: prongster at gmail.com
Timezone: Eastern
Other contact: my partner haro on AIM, but I rarely use it.
Characters already in the game: N/A
How did you find us?: I've been familiar with the game for a while, but more recently, though Naminé and Xion's players.
IC:
Character name: Axel
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Timeline: Post-death in Kingdom Hearts II
Age: Approximately twenty-five
~*Magical*~ abilities and strengths: Axel's main element is fire, and he's capable of using it rather well to his advantage: attacking people with it and using it as an additional part of his chakrams. He is able to summon his pair of chakrams out of nowhere, their appearance coming often with a flames, and with ashes moving to hit the ground. Furthermore, he is a Nobody with a connection to darkness, so he is capable of opening dark portals in order to travel between numerous locations. Like most Nobodies, he is capable of using magic as long as he has it on him, but he probably won't ever use anything aside from the fire, as it's his signature move (and Axel's rather fond of signature things). In connection to this, he's able to become rather explosive due to his fire and he can do minor healing, as indicated in Days.
Other than these, Axel is rather good at espionage and being an assassin. He's manipulative and good at playing with and seeking out information when it serves his purposes. He can go rogue for a while and keep his head on, and he has a good amount of self-preservation backing him. On a whole, Axel can see the world as a chess board and use it to his advantage if he needs to.
How would they use their abilities?: It depends! If Axel is cold, he might use it to warm up, or if he's angry at someone, he might use his abilities to fight them. Due to the fact that he's an assassin, Axel is particularly trained in the ways of going all the way and killing someone, without holding himself back. If someone attacked someone important to him (IE Xion, Sora, or Naminé at this point in time), he would also likely go after them. But maybe not all out right away.
Appearance: Rather tall and thin, Axel is the type of man that few would be able to miss while walking down a street. He has bright red and spiky hair, black marks under his eyes, and green eyes. His way of carrying himself is with the most dramatics possible. He waves his arms around dramatically at times when he's giving a good show. Other times, when he's rather awkward or uncertain, he tends to rub at his head. Undoubtedly, Axel is a rather emotive individual, but he's capable of masking how he feels with another emotion, and it's hard to tell what's going through his head by simply looking at him.
Background/Personality: Very little is known about Axel's background aside from the fact that by time he's fifteen, he's already using a pair of weapons (frisbees at this time) and he's walking the streets trying to cause trouble. Naturally, Axel's name wasn't Axel at the time-it was Lea. See, this was in a world before Nobodies existed, before many worlds, including his home, were swallowed by Darkness in the way that Sora, the main protagonist of Kingdom Hearts, would later go to find and have to save. But Lea was a fifteen year old ten years prior to that, living a seemingly carefree life trying to do everything in his power to be remembered. That really ties into his catchphrase that he uses: "Got it memorized?" This teenager meets another boy with blond spiky hair by the name of Ven, and the two spar, hitting it off and laughing after he improves upon Ven's mood. They become friends, and then Isa and Lea go off. The closing cutscenes for the game show Isa and Lea getting thrown out of the castle where the still not Nobodies members of the Organization do science, and they sit around and eat sea salt ice cream together-as that's something friends do.
This is where some exposition is necessary. The aforementioned Organization started as a group of scientists that worked to examine a feature called Darkness in the world. The initial six members took things a little too far, and each one of them ended up losing their hearts. When a strong-hearted individual loses their heart, they become a Nobody: someone with all the memories and thoughts of a normal person, but apparently minus all of the feelings. (This is convoluted, especially in the case of Axel.) The Organization goes on to start obtaining other Nobodies for the sake of getting their hearts back. It ends up with thirteen members, fourteen if Xion is included (though she doesn't technically count).
It's unclear what happens in the time that passes. At some point, both Isa and Lea lose their hearts, becoming Nobodies, and they join the Organization after the original six, becoming seven and eight, respectively. Something changes them; the light-hearted way of carrying themselves becomes completely altered. Isa goes cold, obsessed with taking down the Organization from the top down and he becomes the key organizer. His name is now Saix. Lea does something similar: he becomes outwardly cunning and manipulative, obtaining the name Axel as a point of significance for his lost past. Neither of them seemed to have any goal aside from their destruction of the Organization so they could eventually reobtain their hearts. They worked together in this goal-all up until a certain, similar-faced blond boy showed up.
As for that, it's also unclear as to whether or not Axel connected that boy from his youth. Either way, Axel isn't telling. (The odds are that he does, especially due to his shown uncertainty about Roxas' status in regards to his heart at a couple of moments.) What does happen is this: Axel is assigned to train and watch over Roxas, who goes on to befriend someone named Xion (the "fourteenth" member of the Organization). Axel is sent away to take care of the traitors at Castle Oblivion, which is really a method for Axel and Saix to work together to take down the people there. While at Castle Oblivion, Axel is not the kindest of individuals. He manipulates Sora to do his dirty work and even take down Marluxia and Larxene. And down in the basement, he manipulates the Riku Replica into killing Zexion, attacking Riku, and essentially using all of that to his advantage. The end result is bizarrely Axel remaining fond of Sora, and taking care of business, so to speak. He cleans up his mess entirely, but he lingers around to make sure, which leads Roxas and Xion to believing he's dead.
However, lo and behold! That was not the moment of Axel's death. He comes back and starts spending time with Roxas and Xion after initially having some difficulty with it. He has clashes with Saix over the fact that he comes to care about them, and it leads to some distressing conclusions made on Axel's behalf. He lies to both Roxas and Xion to protect them, and even one time, in order to bring Xion back, he attacks her right in front of Roxas. However, he truly cares about the two of them, having spent a lot of time with them. It's truly a point of conflict for Axel, especially as his nature prior to this point is somewhat contradictory to this. Eventually, both Xion and Roxas abandon the Organization, but Axel, who is still protecting himself, doesn't do the same. He's left wondering about that.
The end result is Roxas is captured by an enemy of the Organization named DiZ (actually Ansem, their former leader ten years prior when they were still human). The man has a major grudge against the Nobodies and seeks to destroy them, and they need Sora back to do it. During all this time, Sora has been asleep, with someone named Naminé-who, since it's not been mentioned, was also manipulated by Axel-trying to piece him back together. In order to achieve this, Roxas is placed into a simulation Twilight Town, where he had a lot of his important moments with Axel and Xion (though by now, Xion's death at the hands of Roxas has led to her being forgotten). Axel gets sent after him and somehow ends up in there, and after a couple of failed attempts, he ends up fighting Roxas and says he'll see him in the next life. Whether Roxas remembers Axel here or not is unclear.
This is where Axel slips off the edge. Axel goes rogue from the Organization and attempts to get Roxas back through any means necessary. This means even trying to turn Sora into a Nobody. He tries to, albeit unsuccessfully, use Kairi as bait for Sora, and this doesn't work out when Saix comes and attacks him. This is the attack that eventually leads to his death. But this doesn't come right away, as Sora goes to head to The World That Never Was, and Axel is there. Instead of attacking Sora, he does the opposite: Axel helps him fight the heartless there, and in the process, he has to perform an act that is essentially his suicide. In his final moments, Axel tells Sora that Roxas made him feel almost like he had a heart. And that Sora does the same.
Afterwards, there's a series of sequences where Roxas awakens inside of Sora, fights him in his mental mindscape, and then Roxas and Axel say their final good-byes to one another there. Axel goes off peacefully, smiling.
Personality: The key component to everything that Axel does is presentation. While he doesn't carry on the show most of the time obviously-with the clapping and the behaviors that really make it obvious that he's someone attempting to be remembered-he's fairly conscious of most of his actions, even in modes when he might be able to relax. Around friends, he still keeps his cards close to his chest, and around enemies, he's careful not to let his mask fall. If he does, even for one discernible second, he's quick to try and snatch it back up. Whether he's successful at any of this is anyone's guess, but much of his disposition has been built around this bravado since he was a troublesome teenage boy picking playful fights and claiming that he wanted to be remembered forever. Obviously, Axel has come a long way from those carefree days. Less one heart and replaced with an existence in the nefarious Organization XIII that gives off the impression of eat-or-be-eaten, his behavior is far different. But in the end, much of it ties up together in a neat package. It works out quite perfectly given that the greater idea behind Nobodies is the act they put on. In comparison to the rest, Axel may even be one of the best at all that.
As it is, Axel's key drives are due to his selfishness, which does link back to his arrogant childhood-not that he's any less arrogant now-as well as his cunning behavior that motivates that selfishness. While he has performed a number of acts that may be perceived as selfless-stopping Xion and Roxas from fighting, trying to sort out that situation without it blowing up, trying to stop Roxas from leaving the Organization, and even, in the end, sacrificing himself for the sake of Sora when he realizes he can't get his friend back-they all tie back to the way he is. Axel struggles with these selfless behaviors, too, as they curb toward that more than what he's naturally inclined toward. In the end, though, even his friendships are selfish, and the way he handles them hardly someone who's mushy and gooey on the inside. He isn't uncaring, but Axel toes the line carefully between protecting himself and protecting his loved ones. And when he has moderate fondness for someone (Sora), he'll go toward achieving what has a greater worth to him (Roxas). Even his handling of this situation is a careful display of Axel's inability to step away from his selfishness and cunning behavior; it upsets him so much that he eventually broaches on irrationality in order to achieve what he wants-until, at the end, he isn't getting that at all.
Much of his natural behaviors line up with this, because he's always weighing the options about what's best for him. The way he turns around situations, even in kinder, more polite company, sometimes reflect on his ability to file reports. In other instances, he acts ruthlessly to get what he wants, but in such a way that no one sees it coming. Above all things, then, it should be noted that while he's lacking quite a bit in the emotional intelligence area-for obvious reasons-he's incredibly intelligent, and he knows how to play people into positions so things work out in the end. This can happen with people he cares about, to ensure that they are safe and not walked into a death trap, or even in situations where he's trying to take down some of the most effective members of the Organization. Either way, he's manipulative in conjunction with this, assuring that he can push puzzle pieces into the places where they belong. And if he fails-or when he fails-he doesn't stop planning and trying to see loop holes. That's a large part of the way that Axel's mind works. It's part of why he makes a capable assassin of the Organization; someone with his ruthlessness and planning can carry out an attack without a problem.
There are, of course, two major contradictions to this flawlessly planning individual, because if he were actually flawless, Axel would not be dead. The first contradiction is where he allows his situation to overwhelm him, or the situation he's confronting, and he ends up responding in an angry, irrational manner, unbefitting of someone in his position. Secondly, there are his friends. The things he does for them generally influence his actions toward irrationality, and it becomes much difficult for him to be the planner when he realizes they're important to him. For Axel, that realization only becomes a matter of ensuring their safety and keeping them in mind for his planning ways, rather than using them as accessories.
That aforementioned anger is undoubtedly why he is dead, but it's indicative of a large part of who Axel happens to be. So much of his identity is built upon control and an edge that keeps him going that when he slips, it's anger that tends to take over. Anger pushes him through when he realizes he's losing his friend, and it's what makes it possible to attempt to fight him when he has to face him without his memories. Anger is what carries him when he has to say good-bye to Roxas, believing that they might see each other in another life. And anger, of course, is what leads him to defect from the Organization. It's what throws him off the edge when he was a planner before, trying to keep everything in order. It's a direct sign of his loss of control in handling the situation, and his way of looking out for himself. It is also a sign of his attachment, and how he couldn't keep everything in order while he developed that attachment.
And that attachment is, of course, his friends. As such, these two parts of him tie together. But in a lot of ways, Saix, his first friend (once known as Isa) ties into this, as well. One represents the past: the selfish need to shine and be in control, as well as to regain something that was a lost glory (and maybe forget that in the process). The other represents the present, the changes and what he has to contend with. Axel sets his own preservation before those of his friends much of the time, which is what tilts him over. He doesn't think of their own opinions and thinks for them. In a lot of ways, his handling of his friendships is a true sign of how he handles most interpersonal relationships: even when he cares, he doesn't drop the act. Even when it's a moment where things should be easier, calmer, he continues to lie because of the overall benefits that could be reaped. And when that fails, that's when he slips. Axel is the type to try until he gets there.
Altogether, Axel is the type of character who never puts his mind to rest, except when he's sleeping (which he obviously likes doing a lot). Then again, even his surface level laziness probably works in part with his image-giving off a nonchalant image, playful part of him only makes the underlying deceiver less obvious. Mostly, Axel is someone who thrives upon the contradictions that he presents. Each contradiction is for a purpose, and he's someone who chooses most of his words and actions carefully-until everything slips out of his control and there's no turning back. Even then, it's not like he stops acting, and that seems to be a large part of who he happens to be. Axel always had a goal in mind when he joined the Organization, it just changed. That didn't make him less of who he was, and it certainly didn't change his approach to situations. If anything, it muddled things, because Axel himself never quite adjusted to it. And it’s probably even harder to adjust when he's a contradiction in other ways; after all, he's a Nobody, but there are things in his life that make him feel like he has a heart. There are other times when it looks like he just flat-out feels, even from his most ruthless mission in Castle Oblivion.
It's going to take him a while to work this out, but he's definitely working on it.
Why should that character be in this game: For OCs only.
Why do you want to continue their history here: For characters from other games only.
For applicants considering an alternate version of a character already in game, please use this as your chance to explain the key differences between your character and the one already in play:
Have you read up on how the game works?:
The guide is called the Flaming Ferret. Axel can acquire money through theft, missions, and mooching from other people.
1st person sample:
It's fascinating the things you learn when you come upon a new place. There are so many new customs, designs, ideas of how one singular world can differentiate from all the others. It's amazing how we just end up here. Plucked from one place. Plucked from another. It's almost a matter of suspicion, isn't it? But it's not one that concerns me all that much, I admit. I'm here, and for whatever reason that is, I suppose I should thank the kind individuals of this ship who have now allowed me to become a refugee.
After all, it beats the alternative, doesn't it?
All right, all right, I'm done beating around the bush. Cryptic speech doesn't really suit me, anyway. I'm here to have a good time like anyone else. I'm a little surprised we aren't all lamenting our losses, but I suppose things are a little more complicated than that. I'll try to keep up.
Until then, consider this a nice, formal introduction. The name's Axel. Got it memorized?
-Of course, some of you might already have that by now. I know I've been here before, and isn't it just interesting to see who I befriended during that time? I'd like to make your acquaintance again, of course.
3rd person sample: The only issue he has with this ordeal is the ins and outs that he has to learn. From his brief scanning of information, he's already absorbed who's there, though most of them aren't that surprising. Sora and Riku-of course. Why would the keyblade wielders be anywhere else? Axel considers that an unsurprising piece of information. Naminé isn't surprising, either; to a point, Axel is actually relieved, though he isn't entirely certain what that all means. Given everything, maybe she didn't deserve the alternative. And then there were the confusing pieces. Xigbar without the Organization. That made him an enigma, an uncontrolled piece on a board. A problem. How loyal was Xigbar in the bigger picture? All signs Axel had pointed to "fairly loyal," but he admits he doesn't trust anyone in the Organization to be trustworthy. After all, he was proof of that. And then there were the real unknown ones. A girl named Xion, whose face and voice were familiar enough, but he just couldn't place them-and that boy. The boy from his youth. He struggles to grasp at the fullest extent of the memory these days, but it still sits on the edges of his memory, a rowdy fight with laughter, a promise to be friends.
But that's in another life. That's impossible now, isn't it? Then again, Axel isn't sure why he includes either of these two final individuals in with the rest of the important people. He doesn't know who Xion is, exactly, but he association is close, very close, and that familiarity ... As for Ventus, it's confusing in another way. Time changes people, and that's the only way he reconciled all that with Roxas. (Among other reasons, but it's a done deal, gone, buried, unnecessary.) Why's it matter now?
He considers his options. Sora might be willing to reveal all and anything to him, even after their rather convoluted last run-in. But discretion doesn't seem to be a key part-pardon the pun-of his way of handling himself. So, no, he strikes that one out. The others are too unknown, with Riku perhaps presenting himself as a resource, but even then, it's unstable. Riku is someone who cares for certain people first. He won't see a need to keep certain things quiet. It all rests on Naminé. In the end, perhaps it's unkind to see her as a resource, but if there's anyone who knows something, it will be her. That is what she does quite well.
Axel inhales and exhales. Before he reveals himself, he has to do this work. Miracle though this may be, Axel isn't so sure he's blessed just yet.
Questions?: None that I can think of!
Did you put your characters name and fandom in the subject: Yes.