Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories Reverse/Rebirth - Journal Entry
"A boy who was born and raised on a small group of islands.
Riku dreamt of seeing other worlds, and so he forsook the islands—only to be seduced by the power of darkness.
Enslaved by Ansem, pursuer of darkness, Riku clashed with his childhood friend Sora. But in the end, he was able to regain himself, and together with Sora closed the door to darkness. Still, the dark wounds in Riku's heart have yet to mend."
You know those kids. The ones that act like the kings of the playground. The ones that come up with all the fun exciting ideas. The ones you want, nay almost need to beat in sports competitions. The ones that even the schoolyard bullies fear.
Riku... Riku's one of those kids. Clever, competitive, ambitious Riku. Or rather, he was.
He didn't grow up to be a bad kid, but he definitely set himself apart from the rest of the group and even from his friends. Growing up, he constantly competed against the others, Sora in particular. Whether it be small short races along the beach, fighting with their play swords or playing in the obstacle course, Riku was the kid to beat and he knew it. He's strong, and constantly trained himself to be that way, to be faster, stronger and above all the rest. Even other characters tend to remark on his resolve and power; Donald and Goofy never grew up with Riku and Sora, yet they know the extent of his strength. That rigorous training and will to be the best is a great contrast to Sora, with whom Riku somewhat remarks at being a lazybutt.
Of course, Riku's wanting to be strong never started out being a bad idea. Being the sweet, naive little kid he was, he had made a pact with a very special visitor to their islands. He proclaimed that he wanted to leave, to find the right power, and use it to protect the things that mattered the most to him: his friends. While the memory now would be foggy and he never did get the name of the visitor, it's something that's influenced his early development greatly, even though the exact promise never did fulfill itself the way he initially intended.
It does set up one vast virtue for him though; his ambition. Because of this drive for strength, Riku sought out various ways to get off the island and find that form of power. As a child, he heard of a story of a kid that had left to become strong. When Kairi first came along the islands, he got the clever idea of being able to leave willingly. This has stayed with him for years, and as he's trained himself, Riku has stewed over the idea of traveling for a very long time, something even Kairi admits to observing. When he gets an idea in his head and deems it good, there's little to stop him and he will find a way.
Sadly though, ambition is not always a good thing, and Riku's first mistake was out of desparation and through opening the door of Destiny Islands to the Darkness. It was almost a decision he made with a smile on his face, declaring proudly that he wasn't afraid of the consequences of his actions or whatever the Darkness will do. After all, he's the strongest kid on the island, right? That's always been who he is, and whatever will come, he'll be able to handle it.
WRONG. On so many levels. For all the ambition, the cleverness and being able to think on his feet, Riku's supposed knowledge of the world and title of the King of the Island fell back on him. When they separated and their home was destroyed, Sora found friendly smiles and people willing to help. Riku however, found a guiding hand through the forces of darkness, odd promises that would save only one of his best friends, and spark of jealously that was soon manipulated into a vengeful streak a football field wide. Riku was not nearly as lucky as Sora. He didn't have a weapon, no magic, no friends... just a dark fairy he didn't even trust, but would give him enormous power. It was easy to tap into that jealously and rage, because sometimes being the only kid on the top of the world, the only the kid that ever thought about leaving home or having adventures, it gets lonely. And when your friends make new friends and go those same adventures you've always dreamed of, things get bitter. And Riku was preyed on by that bitterness, turning it into a weapon with the hopes that he would be the hero and save Kairi, and put Sora in his place.
For all of Riku's cleverness and resourcefulness, he never thought once about his actions. He was so knee-deep in Maleficent's and Ansem's plans and with dark thoughts overtaking him easily, he seemed to almost forget his history with Sora. The effects of his actions wasn't really fully realized until it was too late, where he had lost control of his body and Ansem was destroying all the worlds. However, Riku still did what he could against his possessor, caring so much for Sora and Kairi that he stopped Ansem in his tracks and truly didn't allow himself to be snuffed out entirely. His heart gained immense power and strength, and Riku once again found the resolve in that promise that he had made so long ago.
That starts a whole new chapter in Riku's life and personality. The competitiveness he once grew up with seemed to fade away. Now the idea for getting stronger wasn't about being the best, but more it was about protecting his friends. Overcoming his demons and defeated the lingering fragment of Ansem in his heart isn't a bad thing either, but suddenly Riku's purpose turned into protecting his friends. He ruined his friendship with Sora in such a way that Riku sought him out, wanting to rectify things and ensure the other boy's safety. This resolve, powerful and right, becomes Riku's mantra for life for over the next year, so much so that he barely worries over himself or his state of being. Instead of the self extreme he once was, he become incredibly self-sacrificing, with every action and decision being made in the hopes of helping his friends, without regards to his own safety. That makes him a force to be reckoned with, and with the lingering power of Ansem at his disposal along with his own strength and power over darkness, hurt his friends and he'll hurt you.
However, being self-sacrificing still isn't easy and it still doesn't make things right exactly. He doesn't have much to loose in terms of himself, but when everything comes out to be alright with Sora and Kairi, it's Riku that shies away. No longer as proud as he once was, he is impeccably shameful at what he's done. For the better part of the second game, he hides from Sora, hiding his newly transformed face behind a hood and never speaking a word to the other boy. He couldn't bring himself to do so, thinking it woul;d be better to just masquerade around as Ansem and help from the shadows then face his friends and their worries over him. Things might be okay with his friends and they may be safe, but because of Riku's vast pride, he doesn't see his mistakes as being so easy to correct. People might forgive him, the worlds might be restored and safe, but Riku can not forgive himself for his actions, and that is another reason for his hiding and brings out a new fear for him. He may never forgive himself.
For all of his seriousness and the extremes in his personality though, Riku is actually still sort of a normal kid. A lot of the downtime pastimes spent as a kid was play fighting and races, something that now he probably wouldn't even think of doing without a little bit of prodding. But he still has a sense of humour, teasing Sora about his hidden feelings for Kairi and calling his friends things like lazy and hopeless. As he matured, his humour has become somewhat self-depreciating. He comments on how Sora never chose the best or smartest kinds of friends, and Donald takes that as an insult, when rather Riku has making a reference to himself. Despite his sobriety and solemnness, if someone was able to get Riku into the right mood and frame of mind, he'll likely relax a little.
There's no way for the old Riku to come back, with the crazy competitiveness, confidence and pride he once had. Too much has changed for him, but after hitting rock bottom, he can only hopefully improve with time and the right kind of prodding.
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Reverse/Rebirth - Journal Entry
"A boy who was born and raised on a small group of islands.
Riku dreamt of seeing other worlds, and so he forsook the islands—only to be seduced by the power of darkness.
Enslaved by Ansem, pursuer of darkness, Riku clashed with his childhood friend Sora. But in the end, he was able to regain himself, and together with Sora closed the door to darkness. Still, the dark wounds in Riku's heart have yet to mend."
You know those kids. The ones that act like the kings of the playground. The ones that come up with all the fun exciting ideas. The ones you want, nay almost need to beat in sports competitions. The ones that even the schoolyard bullies fear.
Riku... Riku's one of those kids. Clever, competitive, ambitious Riku. Or rather, he was.
He didn't grow up to be a bad kid, but he definitely set himself apart from the rest of the group and even from his friends. Growing up, he constantly competed against the others, Sora in particular. Whether it be small short races along the beach, fighting with their play swords or playing in the obstacle course, Riku was the kid to beat and he knew it. He's strong, and constantly trained himself to be that way, to be faster, stronger and above all the rest. Even other characters tend to remark on his resolve and power; Donald and Goofy never grew up with Riku and Sora, yet they know the extent of his strength. That rigorous training and will to be the best is a great contrast to Sora, with whom Riku somewhat remarks at being a lazybutt.
Of course, Riku's wanting to be strong never started out being a bad idea. Being the sweet, naive little kid he was, he had made a pact with a very special visitor to their islands. He proclaimed that he wanted to leave, to find the right power, and use it to protect the things that mattered the most to him: his friends. While the memory now would be foggy and he never did get the name of the visitor, it's something that's influenced his early development greatly, even though the exact promise never did fulfill itself the way he initially intended.
It does set up one vast virtue for him though; his ambition. Because of this drive for strength, Riku sought out various ways to get off the island and find that form of power. As a child, he heard of a story of a kid that had left to become strong. When Kairi first came along the islands, he got the clever idea of being able to leave willingly. This has stayed with him for years, and as he's trained himself, Riku has stewed over the idea of traveling for a very long time, something even Kairi admits to observing. When he gets an idea in his head and deems it good, there's little to stop him and he will find a way.
Sadly though, ambition is not always a good thing, and Riku's first mistake was out of desparation and through opening the door of Destiny Islands to the Darkness. It was almost a decision he made with a smile on his face, declaring proudly that he wasn't afraid of the consequences of his actions or whatever the Darkness will do. After all, he's the strongest kid on the island, right? That's always been who he is, and whatever will come, he'll be able to handle it.
WRONG. On so many levels. For all the ambition, the cleverness and being able to think on his feet, Riku's supposed knowledge of the world and title of the King of the Island fell back on him. When they separated and their home was destroyed, Sora found friendly smiles and people willing to help. Riku however, found a guiding hand through the forces of darkness, odd promises that would save only one of his best friends, and spark of jealously that was soon manipulated into a vengeful streak a football field wide. Riku was not nearly as lucky as Sora. He didn't have a weapon, no magic, no friends... just a dark fairy he didn't even trust, but would give him enormous power. It was easy to tap into that jealously and rage, because sometimes being the only kid on the top of the world, the only the kid that ever thought about leaving home or having adventures, it gets lonely. And when your friends make new friends and go those same adventures you've always dreamed of, things get bitter. And Riku was preyed on by that bitterness, turning it into a weapon with the hopes that he would be the hero and save Kairi, and put Sora in his place.
For all of Riku's cleverness and resourcefulness, he never thought once about his actions. He was so knee-deep in Maleficent's and Ansem's plans and with dark thoughts overtaking him easily, he seemed to almost forget his history with Sora. The effects of his actions wasn't really fully realized until it was too late, where he had lost control of his body and Ansem was destroying all the worlds. However, Riku still did what he could against his possessor, caring so much for Sora and Kairi that he stopped Ansem in his tracks and truly didn't allow himself to be snuffed out entirely. His heart gained immense power and strength, and Riku once again found the resolve in that promise that he had made so long ago.
That starts a whole new chapter in Riku's life and personality. The competitiveness he once grew up with seemed to fade away. Now the idea for getting stronger wasn't about being the best, but more it was about protecting his friends. Overcoming his demons and defeated the lingering fragment of Ansem in his heart isn't a bad thing either, but suddenly Riku's purpose turned into protecting his friends. He ruined his friendship with Sora in such a way that Riku sought him out, wanting to rectify things and ensure the other boy's safety. This resolve, powerful and right, becomes Riku's mantra for life for over the next year, so much so that he barely worries over himself or his state of being. Instead of the self extreme he once was, he become incredibly self-sacrificing, with every action and decision being made in the hopes of helping his friends, without regards to his own safety. That makes him a force to be reckoned with, and with the lingering power of Ansem at his disposal along with his own strength and power over darkness, hurt his friends and he'll hurt you.
However, being self-sacrificing still isn't easy and it still doesn't make things right exactly. He doesn't have much to loose in terms of himself, but when everything comes out to be alright with Sora and Kairi, it's Riku that shies away. No longer as proud as he once was, he is impeccably shameful at what he's done. For the better part of the second game, he hides from Sora, hiding his newly transformed face behind a hood and never speaking a word to the other boy. He couldn't bring himself to do so, thinking it woul;d be better to just masquerade around as Ansem and help from the shadows then face his friends and their worries over him. Things might be okay with his friends and they may be safe, but because of Riku's vast pride, he doesn't see his mistakes as being so easy to correct. People might forgive him, the worlds might be restored and safe, but Riku can not forgive himself for his actions, and that is another reason for his hiding and brings out a new fear for him. He may never forgive himself.
For all of his seriousness and the extremes in his personality though, Riku is actually still sort of a normal kid. A lot of the downtime pastimes spent as a kid was play fighting and races, something that now he probably wouldn't even think of doing without a little bit of prodding. But he still has a sense of humour, teasing Sora about his hidden feelings for Kairi and calling his friends things like lazy and hopeless. As he matured, his humour has become somewhat self-depreciating. He comments on how Sora never chose the best or smartest kinds of friends, and Donald takes that as an insult, when rather Riku has making a reference to himself. Despite his sobriety and solemnness, if someone was able to get Riku into the right mood and frame of mind, he'll likely relax a little.
There's no way for the old Riku to come back, with the crazy competitiveness, confidence and pride he once had. Too much has changed for him, but after hitting rock bottom, he can only hopefully improve with time and the right kind of prodding.