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Player Information
Name: Archer
Age: 18
Contact Info: magiradyne@gmail.com, skysplitter @ plurk
Other Characters: None!
Character Information
Name: Lea (also replies to “Axel”, albeit grudgingly)
Canon: Kingdom Hearts
Age: Estimated to be around 25
Gender: Male
Canon Point: Post-Dream Drop Distance
Background Link: Lea and his Nobody.
(Note: some events in the below narrative are skimmed over, because the wiki covers them adequately.)
Because Lea is a Kingdom Hearts character, his circumstances are far more convoluted and wrapped in tight black leather than they have any right to be. Lea has spent the past twelve years of his life as a Nobody -- that is to say, an entity without a heart. In Kingdom Hearts, the term ‘heart’ is not used to refer to the blood-pumping organ; rather, it refers to a spiritual construct inside the body that is the center of all emotion. A being without a heart, therefore, is biologically able to function just like any other person… except they have no capacity for feelings whatsoever.
Needless to say, this would hit Lea’s personality pretty hard no matter his age, but it was made even worse by the fact that he wasn’t even done developing mentally or emotionally when he lost his heart. (Assuming he is twenty-five as of the current canon point, he would have lost his heart at age thirteen -- it is hard to go through the typical hallmarks of teenage development without any feelings.)
As a kid, Lea was… actually very normal. He was always bouncing around, always grandstanding, making full use of every form of body language known to humankind, trying to impress his friends so they would never forget him. And he actually succeeded, to a degree. He was always shown hanging out with his best friend Isa, who – despite the endless supply of sarcasm and half-joking insults – he clearly had a good relationship with. Back then, Lea thought he was too cool for school because he had the ‘ingenious’ idea to whap people around the heads with Frisbees; that was just the kind of person he was.
But he was also just too cocky and daring for his own good. As a harmless prank, he and Isa came up with a plan to infiltrate the castle of the mayor-king of Radiant Garden (the city they lived in). Predictably, they got caught by the guards, and were thrown unceremoniously off the front steps. But that wasn’t enough for Lea, oh no. He and Isa later snuck into the castle again – except this time, instead of being caught by a guard, they were caught by a nasty scientist named Xehanort who was performing tests on people’s hearts. Both of them became Nobodies and were drafted into Organization XIII by Xemnas, who was himself Xehanort’s Nobody.
As a Nobody, Xemnas gave him the name Axel to use in lieu of his real one, since he could hardly claim to be “Lea” anymore – his heart was gone. Like most Nobodies, Axel depended solely on his Somebody’s memories to gauge how to act. Because Lea and Isa were so close, Axel acted close with Isa’s Nobody, Saïx. Axel didn’t necessarily like Saïx, and Saïx didn’t necessarily like Axel, but they agreed upon a tight alliance… and another secret plan, this time to get their hearts back, because apparently they didn’t learn their lesson the first time.
When they were younger, Isa was the schemer, since Lea had difficulty thinking ahead -- he was too blinded by his impatience. As a grown Nobody, Axel had nothing to do but think ahead, and he soon discovered that he was very good at it. He learned how to manipulate. He controlled people from behind the scenes, and hid himself so well that he could never be accused. In this way, Axel was shipped off to a distant castle with five other Nobodies, and when he left, he was in some way responsible for the deaths of all of them.
As time went on, Axel drifted away from Saïx, as most relationships based on circumstance usually do. Around the same time, however, he became friends with a kid named Roxas; a new recruit into their Organization. Despite knowing that neither of them could ever understand true companionship (due to the lack of a heart), they -- and a third Nobody, Xion -- all became very close friends. Without realizing it, Axel’s connections with Roxas and Xion actually created the beginning of a brand-new heart inside of him. (He never truly realized this, however; he had always been told that it was impossible to regain a heart all by himself, so he barely even considered it.)
Even as a Nobody with the merest shadow of a heart, Axel couldn’t stand to lose his friends. When Xion learned of her true nature as a synthetic being, she ran away from the Organization in order to discover more about herself; when Roxas confronted an already-distressed Axel about it, he cracked under the pressure and lied to Roxas about Xion, hoping to keep him safe. After all, if something happened to Roxas too, Axel would have been completely alone in the world – and that would be truly unbearable.
Although the two of them catch Xion and mend their relationship, she soon runs away again… this time, Axel doesn’t try to stop her, thinking that maybe she’s better off by herself. Such an act of selflessness is highly unusual in a Nobody; though the sacrifice was bittersweet, Axel accepted it nonetheless, hoping that maybe Xion would use the opportunity to make her life a little bit better.
As it turns out, Xion was planning to use the opportunity to find Roxas and have him assist her in her own suicide. What’s worse, Roxas discovered that Axel had lied to him about Xion’s true nature as an artificial being. Their relationships went sour very fast; Roxas decided that since even his best friend had betrayed him, there was truly no reason to stay in the Organization anymore if he wanted answers, so he upped and fled. Already seriously affected by this, Axel confronted Xion in Twilight Town, where he learned what she was planning to do. At that, Axel utterly lost his temper; all he had been trying to do the entire time was keep Roxas and Xion safe and in a position where they could stick together. Roxas and Xion, on the other hand, had both decided to leave him and put themselves in danger anyway.
Because of the final battle between Roxas and Xion, Axel’s memory was wiped clean of Xion’s existence. Therefore, during KHII, he only had one goal: to find and make amends with Roxas. He… never really succeeded with that; in fact, he failed horribly. But along the way, he ended up recovering his heart in full, so all of his problems were solved!
(Not really.)
Inventory: Lea’s only real possession at this point is his Black Cloak. The Black Cloak does have magical properties that will be nullified in Snowblind, but it’s still very warm and cozy. That’s real leather, you know. The pockets are empty except for a useless pouch of munny and a popsicle stick.
Personality: Don’t let the impeccable hairspikes and variety of assassination skills fool you; Lea is a goofball at heart. A goofball who spent most of his teens and about half of his 20s as an unfeeling shadow of a person who lived in a castle full of people suffering from chronic backstabber’s disorder, but a goofball nonetheless.
Also, yes, he was one of the backstabbers.
When he’s in a good mood (which is often nowadays, since he no longer lives under the banner of the Organization), most people who meet him will find a charismatic, quick-witted, and lively individual. Despite his spotty personal history – or perhaps because of it – he’s keen to give people the benefit of the doubt. Lea is affable and charitable towards new people, and is quick to become friends with many of the folks he meets. He especially has a fondness for younger kids, if Xion and Roxas are any indication; he thinks of himself as their big brother and protector, as well as their best friend.
Lea is a firm believer in the philosophy that, if you ever have to do anything, you should at least get it done with style. His language is full of slang and witticisms, because he fancies himself to be too cool for school, and he frequently uses body language to supplement his spoken words. Even when tensions run high, he takes new developments in stride, keeping his cool until the very end. He is highly dependable in almost every situation because of his ability to remain calm under pressure. Of course, he does break in a few circumstances, but mostly ones that involve his closest friends putting themselves in danger; when it comes to taking out enemies or protecting the people who are valuable to him, however, Lea puts in extra effort to make sure he’s got you covered.
Lea is the one who throws the good parties, seems to know someone everywhere he goes, and just generally reads as a Cool Guy. (Even if he does bust out the sarcasm and light-hearted ribbing a bit too often for some people’s tastes.) His coolness seems effortless to onlookers, but in reality, Lea goes through extra effort to be so kickin’ rad – when he puts down his carefully-constructed mask of adultness, he goes back to being a goofy, playful thirteen-year-old. He’s spent countless hours after missions fooling around with Roxas and Xion at the clocktower when he should have reported directly back to the castle. Unfortunately, this side of him is hard to coax out, as it only appears around the very closest of friends.
Interesting to note is that while he’s joking with his friends, it becomes much easier to see his connection to the thirteen-year-old boy who lived in Radiant Garden. The logical next step of thinking, then, is how he went from that thirteen-year-old to the significantly darker person he is today. To put it simply, Lea can’t express himself as freely as he used to be able to as a kid. After over a decade of trauma and lots of holes where his feelings should be, he’s lost his innocence and forgotten how to accept his feelings for what they are. He tries to analyze and overthink his feelings, which results in them being harder to express. At his current canon point, he’s made a few steps towards regaining the genuineness that he had as a boy, but there’s still a long road ahead.
However, Lea does take his friendships very seriously. Even though he doesn’t always see the consequences of his actions, he always does things with good intentions towards the people he cares about. He will gladly put himself in harm’s way if it means that he can get his friends out of the line of fire. Near the end of Dream Drop Distance, while putting together a plan to rescue Sora from Xehanort’s dream-trap, he claimed that “Dark Rescue is [his] middle name”. This shows that he’s willing to go up against the massively powerful Darkness for the sake of rescuing others, but it’s also relevant in another way: it shows that he still plans on rescuing his friend Isa from the Darkness, even though it’s been so long that all hope of redemption seems lost.
One thing Lea has a problem with is that he has a hard time without his friends – or at least other people – around. As a child, he wanted everyone to remember his name (which is still true); when he became a Nobody, with all the twisted perceptions that came along with it, he began thinking that he couldn’t bear to be left behind or forgotten. And when Saïx slowly ditched him for Xemnas, well, that fear was confirmed. He will go through hell and high water for his friends’ well-being, but sometimes his emotions blind him to the right course of action. After all, most people would agree that hiding the truth from Roxas was a really bad idea, including Lea if you asked him now – but he didn’t realize that. His intentions were pure, but things just didn’t work out in his favour.
Considering his lax attitude and tendency to let his heart get in the way of his logical thinking, one might be tempted to pass Lea off as an idiot... and that would be the first mistake.The very first thing that he taught Roxas during Organization training was the importance of being aware. Lea is always keeping an eye out for all of the things happening around him, piecing together the clues in his head. What’s more, he knows how to take that info and use it to achieve his goals… no matter what. Axel wasn’t put in control of the Assassin-class Nobodies for nothing. He was easily one of the most dangerous members of Organization XIII because of his knack for putting on a show; he knew how to lie, cheat, and backstab like the best of ‘em. For much of his stay there, he was able to conceal his intentions so well that no one in the Organization knew what he was thinking but Axel himself. As a Somebody, Lea’s still got all of those skillsets, though he’s not as keen to use them.
If it’s backstab or die, though?
…Well, jury’s still out on that one.
Flavor Abilities: All of Lea’s abilities would give him an advantage in the setting, so he’s got nothing, except for the miraculous ability to maintain perfect hairspikes wherever he goes. Lea will sacrifice many things in this game, but dammit, his hairstyle is not one of them.
Suitability: Lea is going to be an absolute disaster in Snowblind. He is a highly social person and clings to friendships even when it may be more logical to leave them – this means that the strong isolation elements of Snowblind will put him on edge. Furthermore, since his powers in canon are based around fire, it can be assumed that he has a strong affinity for heat… this will be a problem in Snowblind for obvious reasons. Lea’s adventures in the game will be permeated by two of the things he hates the most, which will make the psychological horror that much better. Plus, who knows – maybe he’ll even learn to cope with loneiness or cold over the course of the game.
On the other hand, Lea is not completely useless out in the wild. In the Organization, some missions required him to be out in the field for weeks or even months, so he has picked up a variety of survival skills over his twelve years of service. Plus, despite all of his shortcomings and lackadaisical attitude, Lea is actually a very clever person; he will be well-equipped to figure out what the hell is going on in the town of Norfinbury.
Snowblinded also excites me because it will give Lea ample opportunity to make strong connections with people. Even though this seems contradictory to the previous statement about isolation, it is common knowledge that friendships forged in hardship are often especially strong; I hope Lea will grow emotionally through his interactions with all of the other characters (the majority of whom have not been damaged by Nobodyhood), and maybe even start to feel like a human again. After all, being human and feeling human are two very different things.
RP Samples:
Thread one
Thread two
Name: Archer
Age: 18
Contact Info: magiradyne@gmail.com, skysplitter @ plurk
Other Characters: None!
Character Information
Name: Lea (also replies to “Axel”, albeit grudgingly)
Canon: Kingdom Hearts
Age: Estimated to be around 25
Gender: Male
Canon Point: Post-Dream Drop Distance
Background Link: Lea and his Nobody.
(Note: some events in the below narrative are skimmed over, because the wiki covers them adequately.)
Because Lea is a Kingdom Hearts character, his circumstances are far more convoluted and wrapped in tight black leather than they have any right to be. Lea has spent the past twelve years of his life as a Nobody -- that is to say, an entity without a heart. In Kingdom Hearts, the term ‘heart’ is not used to refer to the blood-pumping organ; rather, it refers to a spiritual construct inside the body that is the center of all emotion. A being without a heart, therefore, is biologically able to function just like any other person… except they have no capacity for feelings whatsoever.
Needless to say, this would hit Lea’s personality pretty hard no matter his age, but it was made even worse by the fact that he wasn’t even done developing mentally or emotionally when he lost his heart. (Assuming he is twenty-five as of the current canon point, he would have lost his heart at age thirteen -- it is hard to go through the typical hallmarks of teenage development without any feelings.)
As a kid, Lea was… actually very normal. He was always bouncing around, always grandstanding, making full use of every form of body language known to humankind, trying to impress his friends so they would never forget him. And he actually succeeded, to a degree. He was always shown hanging out with his best friend Isa, who – despite the endless supply of sarcasm and half-joking insults – he clearly had a good relationship with. Back then, Lea thought he was too cool for school because he had the ‘ingenious’ idea to whap people around the heads with Frisbees; that was just the kind of person he was.
But he was also just too cocky and daring for his own good. As a harmless prank, he and Isa came up with a plan to infiltrate the castle of the mayor-king of Radiant Garden (the city they lived in). Predictably, they got caught by the guards, and were thrown unceremoniously off the front steps. But that wasn’t enough for Lea, oh no. He and Isa later snuck into the castle again – except this time, instead of being caught by a guard, they were caught by a nasty scientist named Xehanort who was performing tests on people’s hearts. Both of them became Nobodies and were drafted into Organization XIII by Xemnas, who was himself Xehanort’s Nobody.
As a Nobody, Xemnas gave him the name Axel to use in lieu of his real one, since he could hardly claim to be “Lea” anymore – his heart was gone. Like most Nobodies, Axel depended solely on his Somebody’s memories to gauge how to act. Because Lea and Isa were so close, Axel acted close with Isa’s Nobody, Saïx. Axel didn’t necessarily like Saïx, and Saïx didn’t necessarily like Axel, but they agreed upon a tight alliance… and another secret plan, this time to get their hearts back, because apparently they didn’t learn their lesson the first time.
When they were younger, Isa was the schemer, since Lea had difficulty thinking ahead -- he was too blinded by his impatience. As a grown Nobody, Axel had nothing to do but think ahead, and he soon discovered that he was very good at it. He learned how to manipulate. He controlled people from behind the scenes, and hid himself so well that he could never be accused. In this way, Axel was shipped off to a distant castle with five other Nobodies, and when he left, he was in some way responsible for the deaths of all of them.
As time went on, Axel drifted away from Saïx, as most relationships based on circumstance usually do. Around the same time, however, he became friends with a kid named Roxas; a new recruit into their Organization. Despite knowing that neither of them could ever understand true companionship (due to the lack of a heart), they -- and a third Nobody, Xion -- all became very close friends. Without realizing it, Axel’s connections with Roxas and Xion actually created the beginning of a brand-new heart inside of him. (He never truly realized this, however; he had always been told that it was impossible to regain a heart all by himself, so he barely even considered it.)
Even as a Nobody with the merest shadow of a heart, Axel couldn’t stand to lose his friends. When Xion learned of her true nature as a synthetic being, she ran away from the Organization in order to discover more about herself; when Roxas confronted an already-distressed Axel about it, he cracked under the pressure and lied to Roxas about Xion, hoping to keep him safe. After all, if something happened to Roxas too, Axel would have been completely alone in the world – and that would be truly unbearable.
Although the two of them catch Xion and mend their relationship, she soon runs away again… this time, Axel doesn’t try to stop her, thinking that maybe she’s better off by herself. Such an act of selflessness is highly unusual in a Nobody; though the sacrifice was bittersweet, Axel accepted it nonetheless, hoping that maybe Xion would use the opportunity to make her life a little bit better.
As it turns out, Xion was planning to use the opportunity to find Roxas and have him assist her in her own suicide. What’s worse, Roxas discovered that Axel had lied to him about Xion’s true nature as an artificial being. Their relationships went sour very fast; Roxas decided that since even his best friend had betrayed him, there was truly no reason to stay in the Organization anymore if he wanted answers, so he upped and fled. Already seriously affected by this, Axel confronted Xion in Twilight Town, where he learned what she was planning to do. At that, Axel utterly lost his temper; all he had been trying to do the entire time was keep Roxas and Xion safe and in a position where they could stick together. Roxas and Xion, on the other hand, had both decided to leave him and put themselves in danger anyway.
Because of the final battle between Roxas and Xion, Axel’s memory was wiped clean of Xion’s existence. Therefore, during KHII, he only had one goal: to find and make amends with Roxas. He… never really succeeded with that; in fact, he failed horribly. But along the way, he ended up recovering his heart in full, so all of his problems were solved!
(Not really.)
Inventory: Lea’s only real possession at this point is his Black Cloak. The Black Cloak does have magical properties that will be nullified in Snowblind, but it’s still very warm and cozy. That’s real leather, you know. The pockets are empty except for a useless pouch of munny and a popsicle stick.
Personality: Don’t let the impeccable hairspikes and variety of assassination skills fool you; Lea is a goofball at heart. A goofball who spent most of his teens and about half of his 20s as an unfeeling shadow of a person who lived in a castle full of people suffering from chronic backstabber’s disorder, but a goofball nonetheless.
Also, yes, he was one of the backstabbers.
When he’s in a good mood (which is often nowadays, since he no longer lives under the banner of the Organization), most people who meet him will find a charismatic, quick-witted, and lively individual. Despite his spotty personal history – or perhaps because of it – he’s keen to give people the benefit of the doubt. Lea is affable and charitable towards new people, and is quick to become friends with many of the folks he meets. He especially has a fondness for younger kids, if Xion and Roxas are any indication; he thinks of himself as their big brother and protector, as well as their best friend.
Lea is a firm believer in the philosophy that, if you ever have to do anything, you should at least get it done with style. His language is full of slang and witticisms, because he fancies himself to be too cool for school, and he frequently uses body language to supplement his spoken words. Even when tensions run high, he takes new developments in stride, keeping his cool until the very end. He is highly dependable in almost every situation because of his ability to remain calm under pressure. Of course, he does break in a few circumstances, but mostly ones that involve his closest friends putting themselves in danger; when it comes to taking out enemies or protecting the people who are valuable to him, however, Lea puts in extra effort to make sure he’s got you covered.
Lea is the one who throws the good parties, seems to know someone everywhere he goes, and just generally reads as a Cool Guy. (Even if he does bust out the sarcasm and light-hearted ribbing a bit too often for some people’s tastes.) His coolness seems effortless to onlookers, but in reality, Lea goes through extra effort to be so kickin’ rad – when he puts down his carefully-constructed mask of adultness, he goes back to being a goofy, playful thirteen-year-old. He’s spent countless hours after missions fooling around with Roxas and Xion at the clocktower when he should have reported directly back to the castle. Unfortunately, this side of him is hard to coax out, as it only appears around the very closest of friends.
Interesting to note is that while he’s joking with his friends, it becomes much easier to see his connection to the thirteen-year-old boy who lived in Radiant Garden. The logical next step of thinking, then, is how he went from that thirteen-year-old to the significantly darker person he is today. To put it simply, Lea can’t express himself as freely as he used to be able to as a kid. After over a decade of trauma and lots of holes where his feelings should be, he’s lost his innocence and forgotten how to accept his feelings for what they are. He tries to analyze and overthink his feelings, which results in them being harder to express. At his current canon point, he’s made a few steps towards regaining the genuineness that he had as a boy, but there’s still a long road ahead.
However, Lea does take his friendships very seriously. Even though he doesn’t always see the consequences of his actions, he always does things with good intentions towards the people he cares about. He will gladly put himself in harm’s way if it means that he can get his friends out of the line of fire. Near the end of Dream Drop Distance, while putting together a plan to rescue Sora from Xehanort’s dream-trap, he claimed that “Dark Rescue is [his] middle name”. This shows that he’s willing to go up against the massively powerful Darkness for the sake of rescuing others, but it’s also relevant in another way: it shows that he still plans on rescuing his friend Isa from the Darkness, even though it’s been so long that all hope of redemption seems lost.
One thing Lea has a problem with is that he has a hard time without his friends – or at least other people – around. As a child, he wanted everyone to remember his name (which is still true); when he became a Nobody, with all the twisted perceptions that came along with it, he began thinking that he couldn’t bear to be left behind or forgotten. And when Saïx slowly ditched him for Xemnas, well, that fear was confirmed. He will go through hell and high water for his friends’ well-being, but sometimes his emotions blind him to the right course of action. After all, most people would agree that hiding the truth from Roxas was a really bad idea, including Lea if you asked him now – but he didn’t realize that. His intentions were pure, but things just didn’t work out in his favour.
Considering his lax attitude and tendency to let his heart get in the way of his logical thinking, one might be tempted to pass Lea off as an idiot... and that would be the first mistake.The very first thing that he taught Roxas during Organization training was the importance of being aware. Lea is always keeping an eye out for all of the things happening around him, piecing together the clues in his head. What’s more, he knows how to take that info and use it to achieve his goals… no matter what. Axel wasn’t put in control of the Assassin-class Nobodies for nothing. He was easily one of the most dangerous members of Organization XIII because of his knack for putting on a show; he knew how to lie, cheat, and backstab like the best of ‘em. For much of his stay there, he was able to conceal his intentions so well that no one in the Organization knew what he was thinking but Axel himself. As a Somebody, Lea’s still got all of those skillsets, though he’s not as keen to use them.
If it’s backstab or die, though?
…Well, jury’s still out on that one.
Flavor Abilities: All of Lea’s abilities would give him an advantage in the setting, so he’s got nothing, except for the miraculous ability to maintain perfect hairspikes wherever he goes. Lea will sacrifice many things in this game, but dammit, his hairstyle is not one of them.
Suitability: Lea is going to be an absolute disaster in Snowblind. He is a highly social person and clings to friendships even when it may be more logical to leave them – this means that the strong isolation elements of Snowblind will put him on edge. Furthermore, since his powers in canon are based around fire, it can be assumed that he has a strong affinity for heat… this will be a problem in Snowblind for obvious reasons. Lea’s adventures in the game will be permeated by two of the things he hates the most, which will make the psychological horror that much better. Plus, who knows – maybe he’ll even learn to cope with loneiness or cold over the course of the game.
On the other hand, Lea is not completely useless out in the wild. In the Organization, some missions required him to be out in the field for weeks or even months, so he has picked up a variety of survival skills over his twelve years of service. Plus, despite all of his shortcomings and lackadaisical attitude, Lea is actually a very clever person; he will be well-equipped to figure out what the hell is going on in the town of Norfinbury.
Snowblinded also excites me because it will give Lea ample opportunity to make strong connections with people. Even though this seems contradictory to the previous statement about isolation, it is common knowledge that friendships forged in hardship are often especially strong; I hope Lea will grow emotionally through his interactions with all of the other characters (the majority of whom have not been damaged by Nobodyhood), and maybe even start to feel like a human again. After all, being human and feeling human are two very different things.
RP Samples:
Thread one
Thread two
