Application @ fellden

[keytoblivion]

PLAYER

NAME: Icey
AGE: 29
PREFERRED CONTACT: plurk – iceyly | discord – iceyly#7221
OTHER CHARACTERS: n/a

CHARACTER

NAME: Aqua
AGE: physically 18(ish), technically somewhere near 30 (it's hard to pin down when one spends over a decade trapped in a dimension where time doesn't move)
CANON & CANON POINT: Kingdom Hearts | III, after being consumed by the Heartless in the Keyblade Graveyard
RESERVATION LINK: HERE.
HISTORY: "Maybe... I should fade into the darkness here"

PERSONALITY: Caution: Contains Spoilers For III!

"The three of us will always be one."
Throughout Birth by Sleep there are two distinct incentives driving Aqua towards the choices she makes that at time tend to conflict with one another: Her duty and her friends. As Keyblade Master she is first and foremost tasked to protect the balance between Darkness and Light and fight 'agents of Darkness' like the Unversed (or the Heartless) – even at the costs of being at odds with her friends or possibly even battling them, no matter how much the thought distresses her. Even so, her loyalty to her friends holds strong. While she accepts the responsibilities to watch over Terra as he fights the Unversed and to bring him back if the Darkness were to overwhelm him, and escort Ventus back to the Land of Departure, she is primarily thinking of the two of them and their safety when she does.

Despite the potential conflict to her duties Aqua is incredibly loyal to her friends. Her first instinct is always to have faith in them, especially into Terra: When Master Eraqus warns her that he might let the Darkness win over his Heart, she allows for the possibility but can't seem to imagine it ("Of course. I would never let that happen. I promise you I will bring Terra back. Only this time, you'll see he has what it takes to be a Master. He's not as weak as you think."). Similarly, when Terra is accused of stealing Aurora's Heart and later killing Master Eraqus, her first instinct is to defend him fiercely. ("That's absurd! Terra would never!")

While she can be led to doubt, her faith into her friends tends to win out and it's that faith that makes her Wayfinder glow, allows her to destroy the x-blade and lights her way in the Realm of Darkness, saving her from the brink of despair when she is just about to give up. Even years later, when Ansem the Wise tells her of a boy wielding a Keyblade to save the worlds she immediately asks about her friends, even though (to her – and our – current knowledge) Ven should be still fast asleep and Terra's fate remains largely unknown, certain that it surely should be one of them.

As one of the three apprentices of Eraqus, Aqua is the balance between Terra's silent strength and Ventus' cheerful manner – always serious when the situation requires it but rarely unfriendly or unkind. She is the one who worries for them, who mothers and teases them. She is the most level headed of the three of them, responsible, humble and caring.

Outside of her responsible Keyblade Wielder persona, Aqua is very much a young woman – when she isn't fighting or training, she likes to hang out with friends or to pass time with hobbies like crafting or baking (latter being noted by the novels). When confronted with the prospect of romance in regards to herself, she flusters fast and easily – as proven by Zack's impulsive invitation to a date to which she didn't seem to know how to react ("Oh! You mean—No... I have to leave right away... Besides, I still have so much training to do...").

Despite that, Aqua is very comfortable with her identity as a woman. With Terra and Ven she is very quickly to default to a nurturing character and while she tells them that they make "the weirdest brothers", there is no doubt that she herself acts as at least in part sister figure to both of them.

This trait also shines through in her interactions with Kairi, Sora and Riku, shown by her immediate impulse to put a protection charm on first as well as her concerns for the futures of the latter two. She is also quite a bit of a romantic, which is displayed in her re-narration of the paopu legend and her strong belief in the power of dreams (a requirement in order to be able to see the Fairy Godmother) and true love (which she passionately vocalizes after defeating Maleficent – "You don't even know the first thing about it. You're too clouded by darkness to see that there's something greater."). Terra even teases her about this, to which Aqua reacts playfully annoyed ("Oy, sometimes you are such a girl." "Hey, what do you mean, 'sometimes'?").

Of course she is a girl – all the time – and you better never forget it.

Like Terra, she appears to have spent most of her life in the Land of Departure while training under Master Eraqus and the result has left her similarly sheltered as her fellow apprentices. This manifests in a strong black/white mentality, the firm belief that all Light is good and all Darkness evil and that the Darkness can only be fought head-on by force right away.

While the Fairy Godmother warns her to start considering the bigger picture (why does the Darkness exist in people and how does it affect them), Aqua never loses that belief nor stops trying to face threats head-on – when she senses Vanitas on Neverland in late-game she is quick to seek him out, certain that defeating him will keep her loved ones safe despite not knowing anything about his motivations or his intent.

She is extremely polite and very respectful towards the elderly and figures of authority – she is incredibly flustered upon realizing perceived forwardness towards Queen Minnie, and quick to apologize and introduce herself formally ("Oh, please excuse me, Your Majesty. Where are my manners? My name is Aqua."). However, when faced with an adversary, her tone shifts and becomes sharp and judgmental – certain in her position of righteousness and the lack of shades of gray between Light and Darkness ("Try all you want, but you'll never defeat a heart filled with light.").

The efforts she takes through the game to protect her two friends aren't met with understanding as Terra closes himself off further and Ven accuses her of having become arrogant due her new status as Keyblade Master when they find out about her assignment during their reunion in Radiant Garden. As her journey progresses from there, Aqua starts to realize that even while separated, their bonds are too strong to be broken easily, which bolsters her faith in both of them. ("Whatever it is that binds us together isn't going to break so easily...and that's our real treasure.")

However that doesn't make her any less protective of them in the face of threats like Vanitas or Xehanort. She is utterly reckless when their safety is concerned, to the point of self-sacrifice even as she doesn't hesitate to reach for Ven when he is blown away by the force of the x-blade or to jump after Terra's body when it is drawn into the Realm of Darkness and send him back at the cost of being trapped there herself.

Aqua is fully aware of the potential of conflict between her loyalty to her friends and her duties as Keyblade Wielder and attempts to spare the next generation, Sora and Riku, from suffering a similar fate by refraining from passing on the Keyblade to former, and asking him to stay close to latter so that Riku wouldn't be alone if he ever lost his way. ("One Keyblade is enough... for any friendship.")

Even though Aqua is fairly mission oriented and usually resolved to stay on-task, she can become distracted and be drawn into shenanigans – when she accidentally makes herself leader of the Lost Boy's treasure hunt and finds herself unable to pull out without causing the entire expedition to be cancelled, she decides to join them rather than to ruin their game.

While Aqua is primarily considered to be an agent of the light, she certainly has a dark side. She is very capable of becoming angry and even furious, especially when people important to her are threatened. She is unforgiving towards anyone that attempts to bring harm to her friends or server the bonds between them – to the point where she becomes confrontational and challenges them without another thought ("Go ahead if you want to waste your time. Keep trying to drive us apart with your mind games. It'll never work!").

Even though she hides it well, she is also plagued by uncertainty – she constantly worries over Terra and Ven, doubting and second guessing herself and her actions even if she believes to act for the wellbeing of others. She rarely actually shows those doubts – and when she does, they manifest in silence, drifting glances and a tight grip around her Wayfinder (the good-luck charm she made for Terra, Ven and herself before the Mark of Mastery exam that acts as symbol of their bonds) as if to reassure herself.

While she is the first (and only) one of Eraqus' apprentices to pass the Mark of Mastery Exam, her new title and status doesn't quite seem to register with her initially. The novels reveal that she considered herself unworthy of becoming a Master before the exam ("Becoming a Keyblade Master means having one's Heart tested, but my Heart is shaking so hard. There is no way I'm worthy of becoming a Master, surely!") and that most of her thoughts after passing were spent worrying for Terra. However, by the end of the game she refers to herself as 'Master Aqua' when confronted by Terra-Xehanort, previous hesitation and doubt put aside.

Aqua can be fairly angry and confrontational when faced with an enemy (see Vanitas and Braig), but she doesn't actually get lost in that anger or forget the reasons she's fighting for (combating the Darkness, protecting her friends and the worlds), holding onto the lessons taught to her by Master Eraqus.

Further, while she believes into the dogmas and lessons taught to her over the years, she isn't entirely close minded enough not to consider new ways, even if it may take a while to convince her: When the Fairy Godmother advised her not to just fight Darkness with Light, Aqua decides to follow her advice to aid Jaq instead of confronting Lady Tremain forcefully like she had planned initially. While Aqua admits to not understanding the lesson taught before leaving that world, she doesn't dismiss it either and is advised to continue her journey and find the answer through experience.

During her time in the Realm of Darkness, her self-doubts resurface as she is left wandering alone with only herself to talk to – while she is still confrontational and impulsive when encountering her phantom-self ("My heart is strong! I'll prove it!"), she admits her doubts to herself after defeating it ("I know I'm alone here. Have the uncountable hours in the shadows whittled away the courage I never really had?").

Furthermore, the time alone has brought out more of her impulsiveness – when confronted with Terra's and Ven's phantoms, she chases after them with little more than the certainty that she misses them, uncaring of whether they are true or false, despite her earlier trouble with her own phantom.

While her chance-reunion with Mickey and the resulting quest to close the door between the realms of Darkness and Light as well as the news about Sora and Riku do much to rekindle her hope and spirit, deep within Aqua, feelings of loneliness, despair and bitterness have festered over her time in the Realm of Darkness. When overwhelmed by the Darkness of Xehanort's Heartless, these feelings are brought to forefront and turn Aqua into her corrupted form (Anti-Aqua).

While Sora cleanses her off that corruption, the feelings it was based on remain within her. As a result, Aqua has become more prone to despondency; while she still attempts to show strength when confronted with Terra-Xehanort the first time and watching him attack first Ventus and then the rest of their friends, she lets the Demon Tide rip her Heart from her body without putting up any resistance.

Ultimately, even with her faith turned brittle and her doubts rooting deep in her Heart, Aqua continues to believe in her friends – in Terra as he continues struggle with the Darkness, in Ven and the ability of his Heart to find its way back home again.

After all... they share an Unbreakable Connection.


ABILITIES/SKILLS:

Note: I'll rate all skills' frequency of use on a 1-5 scale (1=lowest frequency, 5=highest frequency) at the end of each bullet point!

Keyblade Mastery:

As the name implies, Aqua has mastered the ability to summon and wield the Keyblade and any related magic:

– Her own Keyblade's default form is Rainfell (which was later upgraded to Stormfall), but after using it to send Terra back to the Realm of Light, she had to fall back on her Master's Keyblade Master's Defender. When not in use, the Keyblade stays in a small and handy pocket dimension, from which Aqua can summon it at will. (5/5)
– 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, Aqua isn't going to cut buildings down in-game, that's just ridiculous). (3/5)
– Other Keybearers have been shown able to transform their Keyblade into other kinds of weapons (think canons, whips, or even hoverboards); Aqua used to be able to transform her old Keyblade into a glider that she was also able to use as bow-like-weapon, but has never shown any transformation of Master's Defender. (2/5)
– Like all Wielders of her generation, Aqua is able to sense the properties of one's heart (ie. whether it is leaning more towards the Light or towards the Darkness and what primary emotion is connected to that), she seems to be quite versed in that ability as she is easily recognizes the Darkness inside of Lady Tremaine and is able to sense Vanitas from all across Neverland. (4/5)
– As Master of the Keyblade, Aqua is able to perform the Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony and pass on the Keyblade to a person she determines as worthy. Though, she has done so once intentionally, she may pass the power, if she finds a person worthy to be trained in it. (1/5)


Magic (elemental and otherwise):

– Aqua is capable of a wide range of magic spells, including but not limited to the standard brand of Kingdom Hearts elemental magic. She has mastered Fire, Ice, Lightning, Wind, Gravity, Magnet and Healing magics to the third tier level (-ga) and is capable of also using the fourth tier (-ja/-za) in dire situations. She can also create magic barriers that she can use to attack or defend herself. (4/5)
– Outside of her battle magic, Aqua is also capable of casting protective charms on objects; she was able to weave magic into the Wayfinders, granting them their special abilities, and laid a protection charm on Kairi's necklace just by touching it. (1/5)
– Aqua can weave magic into her movement abilities, such as cloak herself on fire as she cartwheels or ice as she slides through the air. (3/5)
– After using certain attacks or magic, Aqua is able to strengthen her attacks by slipping into a Style Change for a short moment of time. Her default Style Change is called Spellweaver, and allows her to use her magic with greater efficiency. (3/5)
– Aqua is capable of focusing her magic into a long distance attack called Shotlock, which is capable of targeting multiple enemies. While she is shown learning several different styles of this attack, as of 0.2/III her default Shotlock is Prism Rain. (2/5)


INVENTORY/COMPANIONS:

– Her Keyblade, Master's Defender
– The clothes on her back
– 3x Elixir
– Her Wayfinder

FACTION CHOICE: Court of Stars

REASON: Aqua is described as being similar to Sora for good reason: she is ultimately a very emotion-based decision maker. She tends to react to the things that happen around her and is someone who trusts and follows her gut instinct (even if she second guesses that instinct in hindsight). Furthermore, she is a very idealistic person, who believes in the powers of true love and dreams, and – of course – in the bonds with her friends most of all.

TATTOO: Bismarck, on the left side of her upper back

SAMPLES

NETWORK: "Though, Ven and you can help out if you want!"

LOG: "Oh no, please, I couldn't! I don't even know the steps."

NOTES, QUESTIONS, COMMENTS: