Post by Riku Replica on Dec 21, 2010 11:23:00 GMT -5
RIKU REPLICA
Must be nice, being real.
The real Riku’s a wimp who’s afraid of the dark!
FULL NAME:
Riku Replica
NICKNAME(S):
Riku
AGE:
Appears 15, actually only about a week old
REVIVAL:
Over a year now
HOME WORLD:
Castle Oblivion
ALIGNMENT:
Neutral
JOB:
Gadget Apprentice
DISTRICT:
Percussion
APARTMENT NUMBER:
314
I don't remember ever asking you to rescue me.
APPEARANCE:
The Replica has always and will always be a carbon copy of Riku, with his silver hair and aquamarine eyes and buff shoulders. Since he arrived in Symphony shortly after his death at Castle Oblivion, he’s spent the year Sora was asleep growing just as Riku had. He’s also a fan of the skintight and sleeveless, so barring the exact make and appearance of his clothes the only visible difference between the two would be the fact that the Replica keeps his hair consistently shoulder-length.
PERSONALITY:
For the most part, little has changed about the boy Vexen created, but his impulsiveness mirrors Riku’s—fast and flickering at the beginning, guttering and dimming as he grows older. Of the two, Riku is probably still more fun to hang out with, because in spite of maturing the Replica hasn’t picked up much in the way of manners. He’ll defer only where he absolutely has to, since a year without friends has him jaded. Even making friends is difficult, because he can never seem to just relax and share without wondering if the memory he’s drawing on belongs to him or someone else.
That said, he’s let his name go. Riku is the only name that sounds right to him even if he knows it’s wrong, and Riku Replica isn’t so much a name as a simple fact. Even if he insisted on that, people would still shorten it, so he’s pretty much gotten used to introducing himself as and answering to Riku even though every time someone says it he only hears “Fake.”
BIOGRAPHY: [copied from my account at I Felt Heartless]
Xion wasn't the only Replica Vexen had on the operating table--in fact there were several--but the unfinished version he brought to Oblivion eventually became the Riku Replica. Vexen and the others had no way of controlling Sora, who was quickly falling to Naminé's charms, and they didn't trust Marluxia enough to lend him that kind of power unchecked. Vexen engaged Riku, seeking to use him to combat Sora if necessary, but ultimately Riku would not be swayed and Vexen used the collected data in his Replica to create a superior version. This Replica would not fear the darkness that Riku fought with and he would be on the side of the Organization, making him a logical defense against Sora and Riku both.
The Replica was sent out to fight Riku first, and returned amused at his original's fears and confident in his superiority. But in order to thrust him at Sora in turn, Axel and Larxene suggested Vexen have Naminé fill the Replica with Riku's memories to confuse Sora's heart. Vexen agreed for SCIENCE and the Replica, aghast, attacked Larxene to try to stop it from happening. He was unsuccessful, and once he was equipped with memories of Sora and Naminé he went down to deal with the Keybearer. Through a series of encounters, the two of them grew more and more irritated with each other as the Replica persisted in trying to keep Sora from Naminé and Sora grew more frustrated with "Riku's" unreasonable claims. Naminé kept an eye the whole time, and when Sora pulled out his charm as proof of Naminé's affection, she quickly rewrote the Replica's memory on the spot and conjured one for him as well.
Eventually, Axel let Naminé run to save the helpless victim of her powers and Sora came to realize that there was someone far more deeply important to him than Naminé. But before she could explain, Riku Replica interrupted, finally through with Sora's ruined memory and Sora's devotion to Naminé and Sora's stupid Sora. The two fought and when the Replica gained the upper hand, Naminé had no choice but to smash his heart to keep him from smashing Sora's. This turned him back into the limp doll that Larxene flung into a corner, getting him out of the way while she explained every last lie to Sora and advanced to destroy him. He stayed there, watching sightlessly, as Sora and his friends defeated Larxene and Naminé explained beginning to end what she had done--and when Marluxia came to collect her in Sora's absence, he still couldn't move. But once Sora went through Axel and Naminé stood on the verge of destroying Sora's memory at Marluxia's order, the Replica found the strength to attack, if not the reason for his existence or any proof of his identity. Once they defeated Marluxia together, it turned out that it was just a shadow and Marluxia was really behind the last door on the last floor. Sora left the Replica to protect Naminé and returned triumphant, but it was a bitter victory for the boy who could never be Riku. He walked out on all the lies, taking what little truth he could glean from them, and straight into Axel's hands. Since he was seeking a new identity, he listened to empty promises of power granting him the ability to be someone else and destroyed Zexion on command. But it didn't change anything, and that left one more individual in his path.
Riku.
This constant struggle between being Riku and wanting to be someone not at all him had driven the Replica to the point of insanity. He wasn't going to destroy himself--if Riku managed that, that would just seem right--and as long as the original was gone, the copy couldn't be compared to anything. But Riku's acceptance of the darkness and his ability to use it without letting it corrupt his light was enough to combat the Replica's new power, and with a caustic farewell to a life too worthless to bother living, the Replica faded from existence.
Waking up in Symphony after all that wasn’t exactly a welcome relief, but it’s just not in Riku’s nature to go around killing himself and the same holds for his Replica—except in terms of killing the real Riku so the fake can take his place. Aside from being cut down, he wasn’t giving up, and if this was really where both their hearts were supposed to go then the Replica was killing Riku’s as soon as possible. The Elegies didn’t understand his goal so he left them behind, not keen on accepting another authority figure so soon after the Organization anyway.
He didn’t find Riku. It didn’t mean the guy wasn’t here, somewhere, but the Replica didn’t find him or Sora or Naminé or anyone. Things got tough, and then they got unbearable, and then they got worse; without a job or roof or money or sometimes food, he considered and reconsidered the Elegies’ offer, but never went through with it because he just wasn’t able to let go of his pride. Plus, school generally cost money, anyway, and if there was one thing he didn’t have it was money. Salvation came in the form of another authority figure—a Gadget Master who didn’t take any of his crap—and in between arguments the Replica discovered a knack within himself for fitting gears and wires together until they all worked. He’s still learning and isn’t anywhere near out from under the master’s wing, but he takes responsibility for a portion of the master’s commissions and makes just enough now to maintain his own living quarters and have a smidge left over.
Nothing else matters, not a thing.
SKILL(S):
Physical dexterity and mental agility both make him capable of gadgeteering, and his strength allows for a range of heavy materials. He has a natural curiosity about the world that he can focus into machinery, experimenting with each part until he uncovers the exact use, and while he generally drops his gaze and mutters that he can’t remember much when asked about his past, his memory is actually very sharp. (Perhaps amnesia is to blame.)
POWER(S):
Darkness - Unlike Real Thing, his Replica just isn't afraid of the darkness or using it, which means like the rest of the Organization he has access to dark portals and dark powers and Riku's old dark zoot suit from Hollow Bastion.
Dark Firaga - Like Firaga, this ability is a flame that flies at the opponent and is most effective from a close range. Unlike Firaga, this flame is made out of darkness and it will screw you up.
Dark Aura - This attack takes a little time to charge that means the Replica is vulnerable, but at the end of it he just goes postal on the whole area, appearing and slashing at his opponent(s) and vanishing in quick succession. If the first attack is blocked it may break his combo, though.
Helm Split - Self-explanatory, really--this Replica wants to crack open your skull. This means aiming for an opponent's head from above and also results in a shockwave once he hits, whether that opponent takes it or not, but a moving target is less likely to result in a successful attack.
WEAPON(S):
Soul Eater; a blade like a bat’s wing, barbed with claws and deep purple in color.
Where will my heart go…? Does it disappear?
CHARACTER THEME SONG(S):
Half-Life – Imogen Heap
I’m Still Here – Goo Goo Dolls
Just Like You – Three Days Grace
Lies – Evanescence
FACE CLAIM:
Kingdom Hearts - [s]Riku (Replica)[/s]
OoC NAME:
Axie
HOW'D YOU FIND US?
Kitty~
PASSWORDS:
Blocked
ROLEPLAY SAMPLE:
The Replica had not won that fight.
He didn't even have a full memory of the end, just dim recollections of jolting pain, sickening falls, and his entire body clenched around impact. The darkness had shielded him from most of the magic; it had been his strength, his ally, and his weakness when Zexion turned it against him.
Blue-black fingers flicked the water disgustedly. He hadn't won. The battle, maybe, but not the war. It wasn't over.
Leaning in the doorway and waiting for it to start all over again, he considered the fighters on the field at the moment. Here he was, cloaked in darkness. Giving in to it for a second meant he could lose his heart, but rejecting it meant throwing away his only strength. It could shatter him like a porcelain doll, or it could keep him alive. Wasn't everyone like that, though? Everyone carried chemicals inside that a single rupture, a single malfunction, could release and kill them. Everyone walked around without even thinking about it, delicate machines of flesh and blood, gears fixing themselves and pulleys knitting back together. It would take nothing to kill them. Nothing.
But they lived anyway, he thought as the stubby goat-man started to address the crowd and they all cheered without even feeling their vocal cords deteriorating, eardrums straining, dying just that little bit more with every passing second. One day they'd be deaf from this. Did they care? Would they, if they knew?
I don't think they would, he thought as he headed out with a nonchalant wave, Soul Eater resting across his shoulders just for show. Normally he wouldn't, either--if he were Riku, he wouldn't, because what was there to care about? He was here, it was now. Maybe he'd die right here on this arena, but he didn't know that yet.
So instead he looked to his opponent. His first thought was of Larxene, but she didn't have that malicious air--in fact, she reminded him more of Naminé, if Naminé were a lot more serious and icy. She was no Sora, but that didn't mean he couldn't have fun with this. If he didn't, there was no reason to stick around. He shot her a smirk that wasn't Riku's--not Sora's, or Kairi's, or Vexen's, but his. "Already?" he asked in a tone meant to rile, shifting his weight almost idly. Then he moved in at a run, direct as always, because he'd noticed her weapon and knew she wanted him far away and he wanted her close up. A feint from up close and then he flipped up over her head to bring Soul Eater down from above, and for an instant in the air, he thought, I get it now, Sora.
