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dreamprotector) wrote2018-12-11 05:21 pm
dreamprotector) wrote2018-12-11 05:21 pm
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maskormenace
〈 PLAYER INFO 〉
NAME: Icey
AGE: 29
JOURNAL:iceyly
IM / EMAIL: iceboundary [at] gmail [dot] com
PLURK:![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
iceyly
RETURNING: n/a
〈 CHARACTER INFO 〉
CHARACTER NAME: Riku
CHARACTER AGE: 17
SERIES: Kingdom Hearts
CHRONOLOGY: End of 0.2, After leaving with Mickey to rescue Aqua from the Realm of Darkness
CLASS: Hero
HOUSING: I'd like Riku to settle in Maurtia Falls with Sora and Kairi as roommates please!
BACKGROUND: "You see, it's my job to keep him on his toes. Besides, what kind of Keyblade Master sleeps through his test?"
PERSONALITY:
"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."
From young age, Riku has always been certain of what he wants – to leave his home, the Destiny Islands, behind and to grow stronger and become a protector of all things important to him; first and foremost his friends. During this short encounter with Terra, he proves to be curious, smart – recognizing that the other has to be from the Outside World right upon seeing him – and restless; a child in a hurry to grow up and find out what the worlds hold in store for him. Over the years that curiosity turned into obsession – he felt trapped and restless and began to regard the Islands as nothing but a cage – which in return was the first sign of 'Darkness' within him.
When Riku makes actual plans to leave the Islands – not just alone, but with his two best friends – his drive to leave was noted with slight discomfort by Kairi. His determination to leave the Islands is absolute to the point that he is willing to do absolutely anything without even asking about the consequences – when told by Ansem, Seeker of Darkness that opening the Keyhole would allow him to leave, he forces it open, unknowingly plunging the Islands into Darkness.
Before leaving home Riku has always been the strongest person of his friends group on the Islands, fiercely competitive and eager to prove himself. Due this he certainly developed an arrogant streak as well as fierce pride - both would cause him quite a bit of trouble when he first started to explore the worlds.
Riku, at that point, was used to the attention of others (first and foremost Sora's) lingering on him and seeking him out for leadership and advice. Maleficent ends up using that habitual need in order to spark jealousy in his heart and guides him to start relying on the Darkness inside of him. Even as Riku grows more jealous and irritated at Sora's independence and success as the "Keyblade Master", his original intention – to protect his friends – still remains as he searches for a way to return Kairi's Heart; though his utter ruthlessness shows as Riku is willing to justify any means as long as the outcome is satisfactory.
He felt little to no remorse about kidnapping Pinocchio and using him in order to find out more about Kairi's condition and was taken aback when Sora called him on it, even angry that his supposed best friend drew his weapon on him in response to his actions.
His anger would fester and poison their bond to the point of indifference and almost even hate (on Riku’s part), and that – along with his despair over being unable to help Kairi – would drive Riku further and further into the Darkness, until Ansem, Seeker of Darkness became able to posses him, using the weakness he showed the moment he first started to crave strength out of selfishness and pride – in order to best Sora – instead of his desire to help and protect others.
However, Riku has grown from his failures.
Over his journey through Castle Oblivion, he learned to accept his past mistakes and how to bear them, to accept consequences as they relate to his actions, and how to use the Darkness inside him without letting it overwhelm him.
When offered to lock away the Darkness and become the person he was before leaving the Islands, Riku refuses, noting that he has no need for that kind of thing as he was ready to face the Darkness (and Ansem) on his own terms.
Riku often comes across as very serious and mature, even more so after his insights at Castle Oblivion. He is very thoughtful and kind to the people he judges to be deserving of it and seems to have a softer spot for girls.
His maturity shows in his response to Xion when she accuses him of hating her for "taking away" his best friend ("Nah. I guess… I'm just sad.") – instead of assigning blame to her or Roxas, he is just focused on what must be done to awaken Sora again… saddened by his slumber, and also the sacrifices his awakening would cost, but determined to see things through anyway.
When Xion then asks him what she should do after finding out that her memories are not her own but Sora’s, he advices her to chose for herself but to take care that she chooses what is ‘right for everyone’. After that he makes sure to give her the time and keep her away from outside influences that might sway her from coming to her own conclusion.
Ultimately, a large part of his actions is defined by his will to do anything and everything to make sure that the people he cares about are safe and content – no matter the means and the costs. His absolute loyalty and protectiveness of those he cares about are two of his key traits and his most favorable attributes – if Riku considers someone a friend, he will go to hell and back to help and protect them.
In his time working with DiZ, he has become quite good at keeping himself hidden to observe and act out of the shadows – skills that would later help him in aiding Sora during his second journey through the worlds. In that time, Riku came to realize that Sora's awakening would come at a price (Xion's and Roxas' existences as well as Riku's own physical appearance), and started to prepare accordingly by asking Mickey to guide Sora after his awakening, showing the fair amount of foresight he has gained.
In spite of his remaining pride – he is determined to see the consequences of his actions through by himself, to atone as "castaway from the Darkness" and never return to his home world or his friends – Riku remains insecure about his ability to wield the Keyblade and place among the Light, even after reuniting with Sora and Kairi and returning home. When approached by Yen Sid about taking on the Mark of Mastery, he notes that he may need to be tested, as the Darkness remains within him – he motivation to enter the exam isn't to attain Mastery, but to resolve the question of his own worth.
While traveling the sleeping worlds he is far more detached than Sora - while he is friendly, he does keep distance to most of the people he encounters, is more than willing to help, but never forgets his own motivation in this journey.
3D shows that the previous year of isolation hasn't done much for his social skills; Riku has become somewhat task-oriented as a result; focusing on what needs to be done and walking away after that. Shiki immediately calls him on this, when he rescues her and tries to walk away from her, and Riku even admits to her that he doesn't quite know how to interact with people after helping them out.
He also tends to be slightly thrown when being complimented even in joke, stunned when Shiki calls him her "Knight in Shining Armor", immediately telling her that she has the wrong idea about him, then is tongue tied when she teases him about it.
When confronted with Ansem/Xehanort's Heartless in The World That Never Was, he comes to admit that locking away the Darkness hasn't resolve anything and that rather than that he needs to consume it and return it to the Light.
Ultimately, Riku's journey through the Realm of Sleep has lead him to fully come to peace with himself and his actions, and especially with who he has become as a result of them. He has lost what doubts he has in regard of his worthiness to carry the Keyblade and while he is still very new to his title and responsibilities as Keyblade Master, he has resolved to honor it.
When told about Master Aqua and her sacrifice to save him in the Realm of Darkness, Riku reacts with outrage – openly showing how upset he is with Yen Sid's judgement to keep her story a secret to keep him and Sora from making any rescue attempts – to the point that he is called on the oddity of that reaction by Kairi.
Riku then admits on having tried too hard at being a 'role model' for Sora and Kairi, and voices his resolve to listen to his Heart more, rather than to overthink what he is doing.
After all, he has already gained what he went looking for in first place: The strength to protect the things that matter.
POWER:
Keyblade Mastery:
As the name implies, Riku has mastered the ability to summon and wield the Keyblade and any related magic:
– The default form of Riku's current Keyblade is Way To The Dawn, though Riku has been shown capable of reverting it into its old form (Soul Eater).
– When not in use, the Keyblade stays in a small and handy pocket dimension, from which Riku can summon it at will.
– The Keyblade's main power is to lock or unlock most physical, digital or magical door, barrier or even the Heart of a person. (Sora has been seen using the Keyblade to 'hack' programs, so really… just think of it as the ultimate Skeleton Key)
– The Keyblade can be used like a sword, in spite of not having a cutting edge; if its wielder puts his mind to it he can even cut sky scrapers to size (though I'm going to nerf that, Riku isn't going to cut buildings down in-game, that's just ridiculous). Other Keybearers have been shown able to transform their Keyblade into other kinds of weapons (think canons, whips, or even hoverboards); but Riku has yet to unlock that kind of ability himself.
– Over his journey, Riku has developed the power to sense the presence of Light/Darkness in a person. Birth By Sleep has revealed this to be somewhat common place ability among Keybearers. This ability doesn't mean he'll know if someone is good/evil right off the bat, but it may give him a grasp of the key emotion the other person is carrying around, as this ability tends to have a slight empathic quality.
– Riku was named Keyblade Master for mastering the ability to Wake A Lost-Slash-Sleeping Heart. He does this by diving into the Heart and/or Dreams of that person and fighting off whatever has kept them trapped. Doing this is a significant risk to Riku himself though, as he risks getting trapped if he fails to free the Heart in question, so he'll absolutely never do it lightly.
– As Keyblade Master, Riku is technically capable of passing down the Keyblade and naming a successor. Given that he has only been a Master for five hot seconds so far, the chances of that actually happening are currently very close to zero though.
– Wielding the Keyblade enables Riku to use the standard brands of Kingdom Hearts elemental magic. Over the course of his Mark of Mastery exams he mastered Fire, Ice, Lightning, Gravity and Healing magic; he also learned to use to incorporate Wind and Earth magic in some of his attacks. While most of his spells have a certain range – especially his Lightning element spells are capable of affecting his immediate surroundings – Riku can't use magic to affect the weather or cause major damage to his environment.
Parkour Mastery:
Riku is extremely agile and capable of (some more, some less) superhuman feats when it comes to movement on the ground and in the air:
– He can avoid attacks on him by dodge rolling (Dodge Roll) and sliding away (Slide).
– He can jump higher than most people (High Jump) and if that isn't enough to reach the height he is going for, he can make one (1) additional jump by using magic as leverage (Double Flight).
– He can change direction while in the air (Air Slide) and even power up this slide to deal damage when he collides with someone/something twice in a row (Sonic Impact/Double Impact). He can also recover from being flung away mid-air (Aerial Recovery) or counter attack right as he recovers himself (Payback Blast).
– Riku is capable of using his environment to travel faster by pushing himself up off and forward from walls or rails and boost his jumps and slides even further (Flowmotion). He can turn those powered jumps into attacks and even use Flowmotion to fling away most unmounted objects or people that are larger than himself.
Darkness/Light Mastery:
Riku, over the course of the games, has been shown to master the Darkness inside him to the point where even the resident evil incarnate, Xehanort, admits that he has grown immune to the effects and corruption of it. During his (so far) final confrontation with Xehanort's Heartless, he came to the conclusion that the best way for him to fight would be to consume the Darkness and turn it into Light.
He can use the Darkness to create dark flames (Dark Firaga), infuse his Keyblade with Darkness and boost his physical attacks (Dark Break, Dark Aura) or even use the Darkness to teleport over short distances to strike his enemy from behind (Shadow Slide, Shadow Strike). He can also use the Darkness to create a barrier around himself to shield away common physical and magical attacks and blast this barrier apart as counter attack (Dark Barrier, Counter Aura), or use it to power up his dodge (Dark Roll).
While his control of Darkness is by far stronger as that of Light, he has also learned to infuse his Keyblade with Light as well, or even use Darkness and Light in short notice of another.
As (semi) non-canon part of this power I'd like to add the following: After using several Darkness or Light attacks in succession, Riku can infuse himself further with the respective element for a short time (Darkest Fears, Shining Hammer) – (think like 1 minute and 30 seconds?). If he continues to focus on one element, he can power himself further up (Bladecharge, Ghost Drive) – extending himself to maybe a three minutes. I'd love him to be able to extend the state with time and training of it, but even then it should never reach more than five minute power up?
〈 CHARACTER SAMPLES 〉
COMMUNITY POST (VOICE) SAMPLE:
"So, what's up with all those Santas in this world?"
LOGS POST (PROSE) SAMPLE:
It's weird, being back in school.
Riku had already thought so in the few months between getting back to the Islands and Kairi fishing Mickey's letter out of the sea – the pressures of getting perfect grades, the constant need to prove himself as a student, and as an Islander that Riku used to feel long ago, back before he had left the Islands… it's gone.
It all seems so petty and insignificant now – school life is supposed to prepare you for what the outside world is like, for taking your place in society; Riku is now more aware of that than he ever was before, and he thinks it's all nonsense.
Nothing could have prepared him for the Outside World beyond the Islands – certainly not Destiny Islands' High School. He's pretty certain that nothing in this world's school can prepare him for the craziness he's heard hinted at either… so why they are required to go is really beyond him.
He'll give it a spin for Kairi's sake; she had seemed relieved by this bit of normalcy in this situation – suddenly being summoned into an entirely different world, and being unable to leave – and very intent that he and Sora continue their schooling as well, even after all they had missed over the better part of the last three years.
"No point in putting in too much effort though," he mutters to himself as he takes the stairs up to the hallway to his homeroom. He'll do the classwork if it's put right in front of him, at least. Homework… well, that might be an entirely different story – he has better things to do after all. (Training Kairi comes to mind.)
He settles in the free window seat in the back of the room, propping his chin on his hand as he glances out the window into the bleak, gray winter sky and tunes out the quiet whispers around him… for the most part anyway.
His new classmates seem somewhat used to new students showing up in the middle of the year already, know that Riku has to have some kind of power… but somehow it's his hair they are getting hung up on.
Same old then, Riku thinks, and reaches down to pull out his class schedule… to see what the day has in store for him.
It doesn't matter ultimately… but he might as well give the appearance of making an effort; for his friends' sakes if nothing else.
FINAL NOTES: n/a
NAME: Icey
AGE: 29
JOURNAL:
iceylyIM / EMAIL: iceboundary [at] gmail [dot] com
PLURK:
RETURNING: n/a
〈 CHARACTER INFO 〉
CHARACTER NAME: Riku
CHARACTER AGE: 17
SERIES: Kingdom Hearts
CHRONOLOGY: End of 0.2, After leaving with Mickey to rescue Aqua from the Realm of Darkness
CLASS: Hero
HOUSING: I'd like Riku to settle in Maurtia Falls with Sora and Kairi as roommates please!
BACKGROUND: "You see, it's my job to keep him on his toes. Besides, what kind of Keyblade Master sleeps through his test?"
PERSONALITY:
"Strength for what?"
"To protect the things that matter. You know, like my friends."
From young age, Riku has always been certain of what he wants – to leave his home, the Destiny Islands, behind and to grow stronger and become a protector of all things important to him; first and foremost his friends. During this short encounter with Terra, he proves to be curious, smart – recognizing that the other has to be from the Outside World right upon seeing him – and restless; a child in a hurry to grow up and find out what the worlds hold in store for him. Over the years that curiosity turned into obsession – he felt trapped and restless and began to regard the Islands as nothing but a cage – which in return was the first sign of 'Darkness' within him.
When Riku makes actual plans to leave the Islands – not just alone, but with his two best friends – his drive to leave was noted with slight discomfort by Kairi. His determination to leave the Islands is absolute to the point that he is willing to do absolutely anything without even asking about the consequences – when told by Ansem, Seeker of Darkness that opening the Keyhole would allow him to leave, he forces it open, unknowingly plunging the Islands into Darkness.
Before leaving home Riku has always been the strongest person of his friends group on the Islands, fiercely competitive and eager to prove himself. Due this he certainly developed an arrogant streak as well as fierce pride - both would cause him quite a bit of trouble when he first started to explore the worlds.
Riku, at that point, was used to the attention of others (first and foremost Sora's) lingering on him and seeking him out for leadership and advice. Maleficent ends up using that habitual need in order to spark jealousy in his heart and guides him to start relying on the Darkness inside of him. Even as Riku grows more jealous and irritated at Sora's independence and success as the "Keyblade Master", his original intention – to protect his friends – still remains as he searches for a way to return Kairi's Heart; though his utter ruthlessness shows as Riku is willing to justify any means as long as the outcome is satisfactory.
He felt little to no remorse about kidnapping Pinocchio and using him in order to find out more about Kairi's condition and was taken aback when Sora called him on it, even angry that his supposed best friend drew his weapon on him in response to his actions.
His anger would fester and poison their bond to the point of indifference and almost even hate (on Riku’s part), and that – along with his despair over being unable to help Kairi – would drive Riku further and further into the Darkness, until Ansem, Seeker of Darkness became able to posses him, using the weakness he showed the moment he first started to crave strength out of selfishness and pride – in order to best Sora – instead of his desire to help and protect others.
However, Riku has grown from his failures.
Over his journey through Castle Oblivion, he learned to accept his past mistakes and how to bear them, to accept consequences as they relate to his actions, and how to use the Darkness inside him without letting it overwhelm him.
When offered to lock away the Darkness and become the person he was before leaving the Islands, Riku refuses, noting that he has no need for that kind of thing as he was ready to face the Darkness (and Ansem) on his own terms.
Riku often comes across as very serious and mature, even more so after his insights at Castle Oblivion. He is very thoughtful and kind to the people he judges to be deserving of it and seems to have a softer spot for girls.
His maturity shows in his response to Xion when she accuses him of hating her for "taking away" his best friend ("Nah. I guess… I'm just sad.") – instead of assigning blame to her or Roxas, he is just focused on what must be done to awaken Sora again… saddened by his slumber, and also the sacrifices his awakening would cost, but determined to see things through anyway.
When Xion then asks him what she should do after finding out that her memories are not her own but Sora’s, he advices her to chose for herself but to take care that she chooses what is ‘right for everyone’. After that he makes sure to give her the time and keep her away from outside influences that might sway her from coming to her own conclusion.
Ultimately, a large part of his actions is defined by his will to do anything and everything to make sure that the people he cares about are safe and content – no matter the means and the costs. His absolute loyalty and protectiveness of those he cares about are two of his key traits and his most favorable attributes – if Riku considers someone a friend, he will go to hell and back to help and protect them.
In his time working with DiZ, he has become quite good at keeping himself hidden to observe and act out of the shadows – skills that would later help him in aiding Sora during his second journey through the worlds. In that time, Riku came to realize that Sora's awakening would come at a price (Xion's and Roxas' existences as well as Riku's own physical appearance), and started to prepare accordingly by asking Mickey to guide Sora after his awakening, showing the fair amount of foresight he has gained.
In spite of his remaining pride – he is determined to see the consequences of his actions through by himself, to atone as "castaway from the Darkness" and never return to his home world or his friends – Riku remains insecure about his ability to wield the Keyblade and place among the Light, even after reuniting with Sora and Kairi and returning home. When approached by Yen Sid about taking on the Mark of Mastery, he notes that he may need to be tested, as the Darkness remains within him – he motivation to enter the exam isn't to attain Mastery, but to resolve the question of his own worth.
While traveling the sleeping worlds he is far more detached than Sora - while he is friendly, he does keep distance to most of the people he encounters, is more than willing to help, but never forgets his own motivation in this journey.
3D shows that the previous year of isolation hasn't done much for his social skills; Riku has become somewhat task-oriented as a result; focusing on what needs to be done and walking away after that. Shiki immediately calls him on this, when he rescues her and tries to walk away from her, and Riku even admits to her that he doesn't quite know how to interact with people after helping them out.
He also tends to be slightly thrown when being complimented even in joke, stunned when Shiki calls him her "Knight in Shining Armor", immediately telling her that she has the wrong idea about him, then is tongue tied when she teases him about it.
When confronted with Ansem/Xehanort's Heartless in The World That Never Was, he comes to admit that locking away the Darkness hasn't resolve anything and that rather than that he needs to consume it and return it to the Light.
Ultimately, Riku's journey through the Realm of Sleep has lead him to fully come to peace with himself and his actions, and especially with who he has become as a result of them. He has lost what doubts he has in regard of his worthiness to carry the Keyblade and while he is still very new to his title and responsibilities as Keyblade Master, he has resolved to honor it.
When told about Master Aqua and her sacrifice to save him in the Realm of Darkness, Riku reacts with outrage – openly showing how upset he is with Yen Sid's judgement to keep her story a secret to keep him and Sora from making any rescue attempts – to the point that he is called on the oddity of that reaction by Kairi.
Riku then admits on having tried too hard at being a 'role model' for Sora and Kairi, and voices his resolve to listen to his Heart more, rather than to overthink what he is doing.
After all, he has already gained what he went looking for in first place: The strength to protect the things that matter.
POWER:
Keyblade Mastery:
As the name implies, Riku has mastered the ability to summon and wield the Keyblade and any related magic:
– The default form of Riku's current Keyblade is Way To The Dawn, though Riku has been shown capable of reverting it into its old form (Soul Eater).
– When not in use, the Keyblade stays in a small and handy pocket dimension, from which Riku can summon it at will.
– The Keyblade's main power is to lock or unlock most physical, digital or magical door, barrier or even the Heart of a person. (Sora has been seen using the Keyblade to 'hack' programs, so really… just think of it as the ultimate Skeleton Key)
– The Keyblade can be used like a sword, in spite of not having a cutting edge; if its wielder puts his mind to it he can even cut sky scrapers to size (though I'm going to nerf that, Riku isn't going to cut buildings down in-game, that's just ridiculous). Other Keybearers have been shown able to transform their Keyblade into other kinds of weapons (think canons, whips, or even hoverboards); but Riku has yet to unlock that kind of ability himself.
– Over his journey, Riku has developed the power to sense the presence of Light/Darkness in a person. Birth By Sleep has revealed this to be somewhat common place ability among Keybearers. This ability doesn't mean he'll know if someone is good/evil right off the bat, but it may give him a grasp of the key emotion the other person is carrying around, as this ability tends to have a slight empathic quality.
– Riku was named Keyblade Master for mastering the ability to Wake A Lost-Slash-Sleeping Heart. He does this by diving into the Heart and/or Dreams of that person and fighting off whatever has kept them trapped. Doing this is a significant risk to Riku himself though, as he risks getting trapped if he fails to free the Heart in question, so he'll absolutely never do it lightly.
– As Keyblade Master, Riku is technically capable of passing down the Keyblade and naming a successor. Given that he has only been a Master for five hot seconds so far, the chances of that actually happening are currently very close to zero though.
– Wielding the Keyblade enables Riku to use the standard brands of Kingdom Hearts elemental magic. Over the course of his Mark of Mastery exams he mastered Fire, Ice, Lightning, Gravity and Healing magic; he also learned to use to incorporate Wind and Earth magic in some of his attacks. While most of his spells have a certain range – especially his Lightning element spells are capable of affecting his immediate surroundings – Riku can't use magic to affect the weather or cause major damage to his environment.
Parkour Mastery:
Riku is extremely agile and capable of (some more, some less) superhuman feats when it comes to movement on the ground and in the air:
– He can avoid attacks on him by dodge rolling (Dodge Roll) and sliding away (Slide).
– He can jump higher than most people (High Jump) and if that isn't enough to reach the height he is going for, he can make one (1) additional jump by using magic as leverage (Double Flight).
– He can change direction while in the air (Air Slide) and even power up this slide to deal damage when he collides with someone/something twice in a row (Sonic Impact/Double Impact). He can also recover from being flung away mid-air (Aerial Recovery) or counter attack right as he recovers himself (Payback Blast).
– Riku is capable of using his environment to travel faster by pushing himself up off and forward from walls or rails and boost his jumps and slides even further (Flowmotion). He can turn those powered jumps into attacks and even use Flowmotion to fling away most unmounted objects or people that are larger than himself.
Darkness/Light Mastery:
Riku, over the course of the games, has been shown to master the Darkness inside him to the point where even the resident evil incarnate, Xehanort, admits that he has grown immune to the effects and corruption of it. During his (so far) final confrontation with Xehanort's Heartless, he came to the conclusion that the best way for him to fight would be to consume the Darkness and turn it into Light.
He can use the Darkness to create dark flames (Dark Firaga), infuse his Keyblade with Darkness and boost his physical attacks (Dark Break, Dark Aura) or even use the Darkness to teleport over short distances to strike his enemy from behind (Shadow Slide, Shadow Strike). He can also use the Darkness to create a barrier around himself to shield away common physical and magical attacks and blast this barrier apart as counter attack (Dark Barrier, Counter Aura), or use it to power up his dodge (Dark Roll).
While his control of Darkness is by far stronger as that of Light, he has also learned to infuse his Keyblade with Light as well, or even use Darkness and Light in short notice of another.
As (semi) non-canon part of this power I'd like to add the following: After using several Darkness or Light attacks in succession, Riku can infuse himself further with the respective element for a short time (Darkest Fears, Shining Hammer) – (think like 1 minute and 30 seconds?). If he continues to focus on one element, he can power himself further up (Bladecharge, Ghost Drive) – extending himself to maybe a three minutes. I'd love him to be able to extend the state with time and training of it, but even then it should never reach more than five minute power up?
〈 CHARACTER SAMPLES 〉
COMMUNITY POST (VOICE) SAMPLE:
"So, what's up with all those Santas in this world?"
LOGS POST (PROSE) SAMPLE:
It's weird, being back in school.
Riku had already thought so in the few months between getting back to the Islands and Kairi fishing Mickey's letter out of the sea – the pressures of getting perfect grades, the constant need to prove himself as a student, and as an Islander that Riku used to feel long ago, back before he had left the Islands… it's gone.
It all seems so petty and insignificant now – school life is supposed to prepare you for what the outside world is like, for taking your place in society; Riku is now more aware of that than he ever was before, and he thinks it's all nonsense.
Nothing could have prepared him for the Outside World beyond the Islands – certainly not Destiny Islands' High School. He's pretty certain that nothing in this world's school can prepare him for the craziness he's heard hinted at either… so why they are required to go is really beyond him.
He'll give it a spin for Kairi's sake; she had seemed relieved by this bit of normalcy in this situation – suddenly being summoned into an entirely different world, and being unable to leave – and very intent that he and Sora continue their schooling as well, even after all they had missed over the better part of the last three years.
"No point in putting in too much effort though," he mutters to himself as he takes the stairs up to the hallway to his homeroom. He'll do the classwork if it's put right in front of him, at least. Homework… well, that might be an entirely different story – he has better things to do after all. (Training Kairi comes to mind.)
He settles in the free window seat in the back of the room, propping his chin on his hand as he glances out the window into the bleak, gray winter sky and tunes out the quiet whispers around him… for the most part anyway.
His new classmates seem somewhat used to new students showing up in the middle of the year already, know that Riku has to have some kind of power… but somehow it's his hair they are getting hung up on.
Same old then, Riku thinks, and reaches down to pull out his class schedule… to see what the day has in store for him.
It doesn't matter ultimately… but he might as well give the appearance of making an effort; for his friends' sakes if nothing else.
FINAL NOTES: n/a