Have a problem with the way I'm playing Riku? PLEASE feel free to leave a comment here, so I can improve. However, if you do, I request that it be constructive. Nothing will turn me off of advice more than wank and flaming.

In addition, my contact information is...

AIM - Mega da Hedgie/gotowardslight
MSN - Mega_zee_Hedgie@hotmail.com

Comments will be screened, IP logging off, anon enabled.

SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER. Please only read this if you have already played Birth by Sleep or don't mind spoilers, for what lies under the cut relates directly to BBS. While it may not be directly applied to the way I play Riku right away, these are my thoughts on the new canon and how I will be interpreting it ICly and how it fits in with previous games. So, without further ado...

( Thoughts on Riku's role in Birth by Sleep )

More general headcanon to come, once I do the meme, most likely. For now, this is just the information I've formulated upon playing BBS along with some tidbits from the Ultimania.

Work in Progress.

( Under the cut )

Wanna interact with Riku at any time? You've come to the right place! This post is for convenient interaction, be it voice, action, or written. Just be sure to include the date and time in your comments. Also specify whether it's voice/action/written.

Riku;

[Okay, maybe he should've seen this coming. Something feels vaguely familiar about the situation. A strange influx of people, general shenanigans ensuing. The village is a heck of a lot more crowded than he last recalls seeing it, and for that reason, Riku's decided to do a little recon.

So, rather than take it by foot, passersby may spot this young man ricocheting off of trees, buildings, and any other solid objects that'd provide enough of a springboard for his Flowmotion. Just be careful to duck if he comes flying your way. We don't want any head-on collisions!

Later that day, he posts a journal message:]

So, has anyone been keeping a tally of all the people here? Looks like they don't have any wings, so there's gotta be some kinda catch, just like every other time this has happened...

[Well, back to scoping out the area, he supposes, but first:]

Lea, this seems like as good a time as any to get some training done. Hope you haven't been doing too much slacking.

Ventus;


[While Riku's taking the crowds with a touch of skepticism, Ven is not. Oh no, he's scurrying through the streets, smiling, waving, and greeting newbies and even offering some treats if people seem nice enough... in part because he has some excess cookies from a recent baking experiment. But don't worry, they're not toxic! Really!]

Rainbow Dash;



[But newbies may instead find themselves awstruck by the rainbow streaks lighting up the sky as Rainbow Dash rockets down towards the village and shouts at the top of her lungs:]

Hey, newbies! Forget all about the crowds, the noise, and just how crazy this place is. If you're looking for something to get your mind off of all the chaos, well, hang tight, 'cause I'm about to wow ya! Just keep your eyes glued to the sky, kick back, and be amazed. It's not every day you get to see Equestria's top flier pull off heart-pounding, death defying stunts like this!

[And once again, she zips off at hundreds of miles per hour, zigzagging through the sky and sculpting the clouds into the shape of her cartoony pony body... in ten seconds flat. And that's just a warm up, folks! There's plenty more to come.]

Filtered from Ino;

So... suppose you've been dating someone for, say, about a year. Your first anniversary's coming up, and you really want to blow them away.

[Heh, heh. It's something that's been on his mind for several days now. A whole year is a big deal for someone whose last romantic affairs ended in utter despair. Or heartbreak, at the very least.]

I've got a few ideas, but... well, I don't want to give her anything short of the best. I want it to be something she'll remember.

So, yeah, if anyone's got suggestions, I'm all ears.

[Whew. There. That wasn't so bad, right?]

Public;

And by the way, for any New Feathers out there... No, you're not dreaming. No, the Malnosso aren't the ones who brought you here. Yes, there are people with magic, talking ponies, dragons, and turtles, and the barrier's unbreakable.

Filtered to Ino;

...Also, can I talk to you for a second? There's something I want to show you.

[ooc: some replies may be slow while I double check a few things! if it looks like I've skipped your tag, don't worry; I'll get to 'em ASAP. :)]

Heh. The end of the year. Time sure flies, huh? This marks the third winter I've spent holed up in this place. Now, I could get all nostalgic about how things changed, but frankly? I'm sure you guys are tired of that by now.

There's... something else on my mind, though. Something I've thought about for a while, about the way this place works.

[He pauses for a few seconds, mulling over how to properly phrase this...]

Anyway, I'm sure most of you guys are familiar with the way people vanish out of the blue just like I'm sure you're used to people showing up without a single memory of their time before. Assuming they'd been here, anyway. But sometimes people come back with memories fully intact or those memories return after a quick reminder. I've even seen a few cases of somebody coming back as a blank slate and showing up again later with memories from a visit before the last.

Maybe I'm over thinking it, but have you guys ever thought that maybe the people who show up without memories might be different versions of someone rather than the same person with those memories wiped out? Now, I'm not saying people actually remember this place back home; I've gone back twice and I sure didn't. And, sure, timelines probably factor into it, but who's to say there can't be, say... twin versions of the same world?

Just some food for thought, I guess.

( And some action stuff! )

[Well, there's no point in dodging this now. Especially after that entry Ling made. Despite his reservations, Riku opens the journal and begins with a short, sweet message.]

Kairi's gone.

[There's a drawn out pause. After all, Kairi'd been there since he first showed up in Luceti, and she'd always been with him and Sora before. And Sora hasn't even shown himself in months. Xion moved. Besides Roxas, everyone else from their universe is off living with Ven.

Sigh.]

It's kind of crazy. People come and go all the time, but Kairi was here longer than me. At least three years. Just goes to show how unpredictable this place is. Some people leave in a week. Others years. Some people come back again and again. It's like a constant guessing game.

[...Man, maybe he's thinking too hard on it. Either way, he needs a distraction. Badly. Much as Kairi's departure's upset him, he doesn't wanna make it too obvious. What good would that do?]

But enough about that. No point in crying over spilled milk, right? At least she's not wrapped up in the experiments. That last one was bad enough, and don't even get me started on that 'Count' guy. If he ever met Mickey, I bet he'd rethink his insults a little.

[So, in light of Robert's recent post and that last experiment, Riku's decided that now would be the best time to explain a thing or two.

So, yes, he's actually using the journals again. Gasp.]

So, I take it that most of you dealt with the star-shaped fruit from last month. Well, first of all, they're called paopu fruit. Second, the paopu at the beach were not normal by any means.

Paopu don't mess with your heads usually. They definitely don't give you the sudden urge to make friends at the drop of a hat. That's not to say they're just ordinary, but they're definitely not harmful. So, since somebody might be harvesting them, I wouldn't stress it.

[Hmm... He pauses for a moment, pondering something real quick, and then he continues.]

What I will say is that the paopu are a pretty big deal back home. There's this whole legend about them. Basically, if two people share them, their destinies become intertwined. They'll remain a part of each others' lives no matter what. Some people see it as romantic, others just treat it like an unbreakable connection.

And whether it's true or not... well, I'll just put it this way; I've seen a lot stranger things in the worlds I've visited than a legendary fruit. Could all be superstition, but who knows? Maybe it's legit.

[And with that he will finish with one final thought.]

Still, I wonder why the Malnosso have a weird fixation with Valentine's anyway.

You know, it's kind of crazy to think about. When I first showed up here, I was fifteen, completely powerless, and all I ever wanted was to see the outside world. Everything about this place was new to me. I thought it was a dream come true.

[Mostly, anyway. He had some rough times back then. Selfishness, arrogance, mistakes... It's never fun.]

My friends were a year ahead of me. Learning about the future wasn't easy, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who's been in that position.

But it's been almost three years. I know my future, and when I leave, I'll probably go right back to where I was. The thing is, I just don't see myself as the same guy my friends know from their time. Not completely.

[There's a pause, followed by a soft 'hm'.]

Anyone else feel that way? Like, after being here for so long, your identity's just kind of changed?

[And with that out of the way, Riku can be found chilling in the battle dome after creating a simulated version of Destiny Islands. After some hanging out there, he'll just be wandering the village. Probably going to hang by the plaza, maybe drop by the library. Anything goes!]