rpandstuff | Riku app @ high

[Name]: Maxine
[Age]: 27
[Contacts]:
♦ DW:

maxine_chan
♦ AIM: maxchan0125
♦ Plurk:

serasarahhhh
♦ E-mail: maxine_gw0125@hotmail.com
[Timezone]: EST (GMT-5)
[Other Characters]: Applying for Sanji from OP.

[Name]: Riku
[Canon]: Kingdom Hearts
[Age]: 16
[Gender]: Male
[Canon Point]: After the end of Kingdom Hearts II, so before KH3D.

[History]:
Big, long history taking you through all gazillion games in the KH series is here!

[Personality]:
The Riku we see in the beginning of the series and the Riku that exists now are two very different characters. Though he's only gone from 15 to 16-years-old, nearly two years have passed in-game and the changes within Riku are very obvious.

In Kingdom Hearts, the original game in the series, Riku is living on Destiny Islands with the game's main protagonist, Sora, and their mutual friend, Kairi. Riku is shown to be a confident, competitive teenage boy, often coming off as aloof and never missing a chance to tease or poke fun at Sora, especially over the crush he may or may not have on Kairi. Riku is the epitome of "cool", and he and Sora share a strong, albeit friendly rivalry with each other. They grew up together and are best friends, though they often challenge each other to races and sword fights.

Right from the start, you learn that Riku has an extreme curiosity for the outside world, so strong that saying he's "obsessed" with trying to visit other worlds would not be inaccurate. This is due in large part to Kairi. She's not actually from Destiny Islands, but rather showed up there after a meteor shower several years prior and has lived there ever since. It is her arrival to the island that proves to Riku that there are other worlds, and he so much wants to visit them that he begins to see Destiny Islands as a prison. He, Sora, and Kairi come up with a plan to build a raft, thinking they will be able to sail away to these other worlds, but that plan quickly goes awry when darkness overtakes the island.

Riku is also a little fearless in the beginning, because he all but dives headfirst into that darkness, with little care for what happens to his friends, family, and home. That willingness to give up his loved ones for the darkness causes the Keyblade intended for Riku to choose Sora instead, which begins Sora's journey. Meanwhile, Riku becomes his counterpoint throughout the first game, the darkness to his light, and the two of them actually end up battling several times throughout the game. Riku quickly grows jealous of the fact that the Keyblade chose Sora, and feels that Sora has "replaced" him with new friends. The more Sora grows, the worse off Riku's jealousy and anger become. During this time his mind and heart were also being corrupted by outside forces, to the point that he is persuaded to kidnap Kairi (who lost her heart when Destiny Islands fell), thinking that joining forces with the game's various villains will actually save her.

Eventually Riku succumbs to the darkness that has been taking over his heart, and he becomes possessed by Ansem, one of the main villains throughout the entire Kingdom Hearts series. At this point, Riku begins to realize the mistakes he's made, and as you head into the end of the game he does his best to try to rectify his mistakes by helping Sora out. He ends up sacrificing himself in a way, locking himself behind the Door to Darkness so that Sora can escape and get back home to Kairi.

After this, Riku continues to go through a series of realizations. He admits to himself that he let his heart grow weak, and becomes determined not to fall to the darkness again. However, that decision means that Riku ends up shying away from the darkness in his heart, which isn't a viable choice either. Lightness and darkness are two sides of the same coin, and one cannot exist without the other. Riku eventually learns this, and once he does he finally begins to accept that he cannot get rid of the darkness in his heart, but he can utilize it without turning away from the light.

So Riku, entering the second game, is already a much more mature character than he was just a year or so prior. His obsession with finding new worlds has lessened immensely, and he's much more content to play a supporting role in Sora's journey, quietly helping him along the way. He spends a lot of this game in the background, partly because he doesn't want Sora to see what he's become.

This is because, before the game's start, Riku was trying to reunite Sora with his Nobody, Roxas, so that Sora could become whole again, and to do so he had to give in to the darkness once more so that he could defeat Roxas in a fight. When he did so, he gave up his physical body and once again took on the form of Ansem.

The other large reason that Riku doesn't want Sora to see him is because he feels incredibly guilty over his actions in the first game. He repeatedly shows his regret once Sora does finally find him, almost refusing to return home to Destiny Islands. It's only Sora's unwavering faith in him that finally brings him back, teaching him that the power of friendship is never something to be underestimated. Riku then realizes that his friends are actually a huge source of strength, and that they give him something to fight for.

Throughout all the remaining games, Riku is extremely protective of Sora and their friends, largely because he doesn't want them to end up like he did when he kept succumbing to the darkness. He often helps Sora out, and actually seems to have a bit of a self-sacrificing streak in him as he would do anything to save Sora. Riku was always fiercely loyal to those close to him; this was depicted in the first game when he was honestly trying to save Kairi, but was not shown as much in regards to Sora since his mind was being corrupted by his growing jealousy. However, as the games progress his loyalty comes back in full force, and he and Sora now have a bond that is stronger than ever before.

Riku, despite the many ups and downs of his journey, still has his sense of humor and continues to tease Sora. He is much more calm and collected now, and though he's not as cocky anymore he still tends to show the rest of the world a slightly more cool attitude and can come off as a bit of a loner. Except for when girls try to flirt with him -- Riku actually seems to be a little bit shy and awkward when that happens! He's also smart and often the voice of reason throughout the later games.

Going into KH3D, which takes places after the point from which Riku will be played at High Seas, Riku's part in the story grows tenfold. He actually becomes a playable character in the game, splitting the storyline with Sora and getting equal screen time. In what might be seen as a twist ending, Riku ends up being the only one of the pair to pass the Mark of Mastery exam and become a Keyblade Master. Though, since way back in the beginning the Keyblade was originally intended for Riku, this is actually a pretty accurate outcome and it means Riku has come full circle.

He was chosen as a child to receive the Keyblade; he thirsted and yearned for an escape from his home, to be able to visit new worlds, and let the darkness overtake him to be able to do so; he turned on his friends, let jealously and resentment take hold of his soul, and fought against Sora even when they both had the same end goal regarding Kairi; quickly after he realized his mistakes, regretted his decisions, learned that it would be impossible to ignore the darkness inside him completely and instead decided to acknowledge and embrace it without turning away from the light; and in the end, with the support of his friends and allies, he accepted his own flaws and gained important relationships worth fighting for, relationships that he'll now always be able to protect as a Keyblade Master.

[Abilities / Strengths & Weaknesses]:
Riku's most obvious skills involve his ability to fight with a sword. At least, growing up that's what he and Sora fought with -- wooden swords. But this is Kingdom Hearts, so of course what Riku fights with now is a Keyblade! Riku is somewhat unique in this because, since he was originally chosen as a child to be a Keyblade Wielder, Riku can actually use other people's Keyblades as well as his own. Riku uses his Keyblade in a one-handed style, as opposed to Sora who holds his Keyblade with both hands or Roxas who can actually wield two Keyblades at once. Growing up, Riku was the strongest of the kids on Destiny Islands. He's still a powerful fighter, as well as being very fast. Since Riku isn't really a playable character throughout most of the first few games, he doesn't gain as many abilities or use combo attacks quite like Sora does. He's more straightforward in his attacks, leaning a bit more toward a hack-and-slash style with only a couple special attacks that are usually dark-based. This obviously changes in KH3D when he gains more abilities the farther you get in the game, but luckily that doesn't matter since I'm playing him from before that!

One thing Riku doesn't do is use a lot of magic, which is a big difference from Sora. At least, not in KH2. In KH3D he has more access to various spells, as well as their dark-based counterparts (i.e. Firaga, which Sora can use, but also Dark Firaga, which Sora can't use). He also doesn't have the ability to glide.

Riku's biggest weakness will probably always be his struggle with darkness. While he has accepted now that it's a part of him, he still feels guilty that he once let it take over his heart. That bit of guilt will likely remain with him for a long time, regardless of the fact that Sora has well and truly forgiven him. It also has an impact on his confidence sometimes, making him wary to utilize all his abilities when he knows that some of them are dark-based, and there's also the underlying worry that since it happened once, it could happen again.

Despite all this, he's grown massively as a character by the end of KH3D, being more than willing to risk himself for Sora's sake, and having much more faith in himself to be able to judge right from wrong and act accordingly.

[Limited Powers]:
Riku will still be able to summon his Keyblade, and...honestly, he probably won't be too limited. His attacks won't be as powerful, but otherwise all the basic sword skills are still there. If he were to use any special attacks, he'd feel drained more quickly than usual. And he won't be arriving with any Cure potions on him, so there's that!

[Other Important Facts]:
Nothing that I can think of at the moment!

[Samples]:
♦ Thread: He was here on the test drive, and then also had a thread here with Sora.
♦ Post:

[Yay, a journal post!]

I'm not sure why I'm writing in this exactly, except that I woke up holding it and I figure that's got to mean something. Right? This is...strange. It's not my first time being in a new world, but it's kind of the first time I've ever ended up in one without having any clue how I got here. Thought I fell asleep on the beach back home at first, but. The pirate ships in the harbor were the first hint that definitely wasn't the case.

I need to get home. Sora's going to think I've disappeared on him again.

Good thing I've got some experience with boats and stuff. More reasons to be thankful I grew up where I did.

Figures.

If someone out there is trying to teach me a lesson, you should know I've learned this one already!

Riku app @ high_seas