APPLICATION: IN THE NIGHT

[arsarcanum]

PLAYER INFO

Player Name: Mawi
Player Contact: mawiles, plurk upon request
Character(s) In-Game: n/a

CHARACTER INFO

Character Name: Sora
Age: 19. Mentally has somewhere between 35-40 years total in him, but majority of those years are just the childhood/adolescences of different people.
Canon: Kingdom Hearts

World Description: The Universe of Kingdom Hearts from Wikipedia. For the CRAU, here's the setting document and the FAQ.

History: The KH story from Wikipedia. For a more roleplay focused version, here's the write up for another application I made for Sora. It's missing KHIII because... I haven't quite finished playing it yet. I'm working on it!

Here's a write-up for Skyler's history in Save The Earth. If this needs to be more indepth, let me know.

CRAU: You know how Roxas got a week to enjoy being a normal kid? Skyler Veracruz, as Sora's reincarnation, got 17 years of being cruel, miserable, friendless, and more or less alone. After his echoes began to give him Sora's soul, nothing really changed; it was a year and a half of the same, but with much more life and death situations involved. All the while, the universe was merging him with someone who had, by what he could tell, taken over the bodies of those he'd merged with before. It turns out that this is what happened to him! Just not for the reason he'd been expecting.

As a result of being Sora reborn in another universe, Skyler shared his personality, but not his character development. As Skyler collected bits of Sora's soul, the personality elements that they shared - their devotion to their friends' wellbeing, their spirit, their empathy - strengthened. In return, the reasons Skyler had to be cruel became less and less important - not necessarily because he stopped being insecure, but because Sora had grown past his doubts long ago, and Skyler had no choice but to follow along. The addition of new memories themselves had little to do with their strange, parasitic merge; most other network members learned to compartmentalize, or took to rebuilding themselves as new people with more memories. However, Skyler is Sora, so their hearts are the same. And in the same way Sora changes because of the hearts inside of him, Skyler began to change because of Sora within him as well. And he didn't want that. And because Skyler didn't want that, neither did Sora.

But the merge went on, filling Skyler with more of Sora's soul, until, one day, it didn't make sense to be in control anymore. He didn't like himself, and Sora was much better at being kind and resilient than him. Sora and Skyler shared memories, emotions, and to an extent, the same motivations. If Sora took over, he'd just be him, but kinder, able to make allies and actually save the earth. It made sense. Skyler let Sora take over, and the decision was a relief. Frankly, Skyler still wanted his autonomy, but was too tired to fight for it anymore. He'd broken his body and spirit trying.

The part of him that was becoming Sora, on the other hand, became aware that the longer this went on, the more Skyler would disappear in the merge, much in the same way Xion was meant to become Sora. He was not pleased by this. He'd had enough of others trying to decide that his life was worth more than another's. When Skyler decided to let Sora handle saving the world, Sora, in turn, decided to let what remained of Skyler sleep in their heart the way Ventus did years ago. This allowed the two to slow the merge down; since Skyler wouldn't be awake for what Sora experienced, Sora could gather more of his soul and find a solution to their situation without interfering with Skyler as a person, and Skyler could sleep and stay himself.

This new person is Sora, at least in theory. He feels, reacts, and laughs the same way Sora does, even if he doesn't quite remember everything about who he is, where he's been, or who he's met. He loves Riku and Kairi as much as he always did. Those things are the same.

It's the little things that are different. This Sora's a fan of the Oakland Raiders. This Sora knows harsher words, even though he won't use them, and ways to make weaker people cry, even though he wouldn't. He remembers Northern Luzon more clearly than the Play Island. Both are equally important to him.

This is still Sora, all things considered. He just has one more person to free from his heart.

On a more mechanical note: While his official STE regained history as it stands isn't over 50% (it's more like 40% at best), I intend to play him as 85% Sora, personality, memories, and all. Due to the nature of STE, there was absolutely no way to roleplay out getting everything back in the time we had. I propose patching this problem with some dice rolls! (These will be making a return in the powers and items sections.)

When I encounter a situation where he would have to refer to a memory that he, as a normal Sora, would have, but does not already have on this list, I'll roll a 1d20, 7 or more to hit. If I roll a 7 or more on a 20 sided die, he already had the memory back in Locke City and brought it with him into death. If I roll 6 or less, he does not have the memory and will have to wait until he experiences a similar event that triggers that memory. (Just for fun, on a 20, he experienced the memory in question and another related memory in Locke City; on a 1 he did not and has never experienced another similar memory before.) I'll phase out this mechanic when it seems like he's gotten an appropriate amount of his memories back respective to his time in both games, but I'll continue the regain process for as long as he still has memories missing.

Death: About two years after Wise Snake attacked Locke City at the end of the first season, Sora got them both killed by an alien supersoldier. A little anti-climactic, but hey, that's war.

What are your plans for this character in-game? I dropped from STE too early! I never got to play out the consequences of Sora having a heart child who was technically him but in another life where he was miserable. He's also never been in a place where people don't have the presupposition that he's Skyler - will he have imposter syndrome? Will he enjoy being in a place where 80% of the population doesn't hate him on sight? Will he take to being Sora like a duck to water? I dunno!

I was also surprised by how willing the mods were to consider this very specific CRAU! I want to work with you guys so we can make a strange case like this make the game more interesting and fun for everyone.

What aspects of this game and/or its setting are you most interested in having this character engage with? I love games about exploring! My friend calls my favorite genre "walking sims", and I can't argue. I love being able to experience new places and atmospheres, especially through narrative. I don't need rewards for going to new places as long as the experience is interesting in ways that challenges characterization or moves the plot forward. I'd probably say that for any app to this game, but for Sora, this the first time he's been off-planet in more than memory. I'm excited to play him as someone who wants to go exploring and try to save a world in a way he couldn't back in STE. (Also, I am REALLY into the aesthetic of customized lanterns. I have so many ideas. LOOK AT THESE!)

How does your character generally get along with other people? Sora's as friendly and spirited about new faces as someone who takes strength from friendships would be! However, because of Skyler's life decisions, he's more aware of when he's being manipulated and if he's in a relationship where friendship isn't actually the right answer. (Not that that will necessarily stop him! He's Sora, not Skyler.) He'll also be more thoughtful about and a bit more suspicious of strangers than in canon, even if they don't mean him harm. It's not that he doesn't have his naïveté! He's just got a little more experience with how cruel some people can be even if they aren't a Heartless or a Nobody, including himself. Meeting someone unnerving but not completely suspicious will give him a little more pause, and he won't want to become instant pals until it's clear the other means no harm.

Still, even if they ended up taking different paths in life, both Sora and Skyler have a tendency to want to like people and be liked in return, and that will never change. He just might not be as forthcoming as he once was about starting something new.

What is your character's mental state upon entering the game? Disappointment and sadness that he couldn't help one last member of the Sora Heart Hotel. He also feels some of Skyler's grief - now that he's dead, he's got a very low chance of going home again. Just overall pretty glum. (And maybe a little curious as to where he's gone to now.)

Skills/Abilities: (this is about to be the longest skill/ability section i've ever written. you guys are troopers and i thank you for considering this application.)

Save The Earth specifics: Since Sora's from a regain game, a lot of his abilities are incomplete! I've included an appendix of OU Sora's skills and abilities at the end of this section, but as for what he definitely has when he arrives because of in-game STE regains, a list of those can be found here. These will all be nerfed as per the rules of ITN (Spark and Salvation no longer work as light spells, Thunder and Fire no longer have the ability to shed light, all spells will be limited to their first levels, etc).

A list of his abilities as a cyborg can be found here! To summarize: twice as fast, dextrous, strong, and tough as a normal human being, which is additive to his abilities as Sora, not multiplicative. I think some of these may need to be nerfed, but I don't know to what degree - if it comes down to it, entirely is fine! I'd enjoy playing Sora running around with a lot of useless robotics in him. The nightvision and the infrared will be useless as per the rules of ITN. The autotarget isn't something that is centralized on one particular ability, and to be honest, I'm not certain how to nerf it? I never utilized it in his home game. I always thought of it as a likelier chance to hit unlikely targets, but if that's too much, I can always nerf or remove it.

In order to make a CRAU character that's more suitable for this game, I've taken him a little from his own future in STE. However, that means I've skipped ahead to a time when he would realistically have more ability regains as well. To patch this, if he ever needs an ability from his canon list that he does not have on my current STE regain list, I propose I roll a 1d20. On a 12 or above, he had it in Locke City and brought it with him when he died; on an 11 or below, he does not and will have to wait until he regains it during the regain process. Once I get him to a point where he has about 60% of the magic and abilities he could have brought to ITN anyway, I'll discontinue the rolling process and leave the rest to the regain process.

OU and ITN specifics: The following won't be a comprehensive list of his abilities and equipment because there's been like 15 games and he's been in almost all of them. If it isn't here, it shouldn't have an impact on everyday gameplay. I have also included a set of links to the unofficial KH wiki that details all of his abilities and magic, but those are there only to show you what I'd be working with with regards to regains. Even if I've included them in this list, this list at strikeraid is the only list of abilities he has for sure in ITN. Everything else must come from the roll mechanic (which will be bound by the rules of ITN - no advanced level spells or abilities, etc) or must be regained during the natural regain process. There is no guarantee that he'll get them back at all, and I intend to play him whether he gets them all back or not.

That being said, here's a curated list of what Sora has as of the latest canon!

The Keyblade: The keyblade acts as both a sword and a blunt, bludgeony object. Sora keeps it stored in his heart and summons it whenever he needs it, so he doesn't need a sheath or a holster. It's sharp and durable enough to slice through skyscrapers (although I think this should be nerfed down to regular sword capabilities - it won't break but he can't just whack through buildings with it.) Other abilities include:

- Universal key: Can unlock most conventional locks. As per the rules of ITN, it cannot handle any more than that.
- Empathic weapon: The keyblade is connected to Sora's heart and cannot be taken from him unless his faith in his friends weakens. If Sora is separated from it, he can summon it back to his hand, even if it's locked up somewhere else - it disappears and reappears in Sora's possession.
- Can turn into other versions of itself/Form Changes: As of right now, Sora has several (but not all - see the item section) of the keychains he gained from the worlds from KHII, KHIII, and the Dreaming Worlds from DDD. Each keychain turns his keyblade into another form with different stats and abilities. As per the rules of the game, this will be nerfed to mostly cosmetic changes, especially with regards to Form Changes. No superpowered Rapunzel tower for you, kid.

Magical abilities:
- Curaga: A cure spell. Can heal a good amount of damage of physical damage, but cannot repair completely broken bones (he can do fractures at most), unconsciousness/incapacitation, sickness/poison, or death. Due to the rules of ITN, this spell will be nerfed to minimum capability.
- Esuna: Can cure sickness, poison, and non-physical forms of incapacitation (confusion, sleep, temporary blindness, etc), but not genetic diseases/disabilities, unconsciousness, or death. Due to the rules of ITN, this spell will be nerfed to minimum capability.
- Element spells: Fire, ice, thunder, wind, water, and light (Firaga, Blizzaga, Thundaga, Aero, Water, and Sparkga/Faith). He's very proficient with these spells and can hit wide areas with any one of them. On the downside, the bigger the spell is, that harder it is for him to aim... Due to the rules of ITN, the Spark/Faith spells will no longer work and the Lightning and Fire spells will no longer cast light. All of these spells will be limited to their minimum capability.
- Rage form: This is the only drive and form change that I'm going to consider available and mostly untouched out of what he has. Since this is a mechanic that works without his friends and runs on the power of the darkness in his heart, I feel like it would be an appropriate ability to regain at some point within the context of the game. He cannot cast spells or use combat abilities with this form; he can heal himself by hitting his enemies, but I'm willing to nerf this ability a bit.

The following list is magical spells I'm willing to remove from his regainable list outright. I've proposed nerfs for each as necessary, but please let me know if you'd like them out of consideration.

- Poison: Temporary poison. Flushes out from the system quickly.
- Mini: Temporarily makes opponent small. Their attack capabilities goes down significantly. I'd say this no longer can shrink "living" things, Beaconite and forest spirits alike, and the time things spend smaller is two seconds at most.
- Magnet: Draws in opponents. Sora can localize this spell to hit only his opponents. Would like to dampen this effect down to a more resistible pull.
- Zero Gravity: Sora creates a weak event horizon that causes things/opponents in the area to float. This spell is localized around him. Would like to make this limited to a couple of seconds; it's more like making everyone jump a bit longer than possible than an actual float.
- Stop/Slow/Haste: Stops, slows, and speeds up the flow of time. These spells are localized to small areas around them and cannot permanently change the flow of time. Since his time spells essentially mess with the fabric of reality around him, I am especially willing to nerf their efficacy or remove this line from his regainable list.
- Balloonga: Balloons that hit like homing missiles, then multiply and hit again... Reduced to Balloon, and is now much more avoidable.
- Sleepga: Puts people to sleep. Reduced to Sleep; probably can be resisted by a normal human being if they're determined enough.
- Time Bomb: Turns opponents into time bombs. They walk off, and then... boom! Willing nerf it down to a less deadly explosion.
- Tornado: Wind attack, Sora summons and controls a small tornado. Willing to nerf it to a much more manageable wind.
- Shotlock: This thing. If he gets it back, it will not give off light and cannot hit more than a handful of targets.

Spells completely off the list:
- Summons: Has them in all of the games. Not in Locke City or here!
- Attraction Flow: These are so pretty, but Sora will not bring Big Thunder Mountain or any of the others here.

Other abilities:
- Can jump pretty damn high! Think... his own height (then another half more because he's a cyborg.)
- He can jump again in midair in what is called a double jump.
- Can fall from very high up and not get hurt. The other Sora player said this was probably a Keyblade thing and honestly, I don't see why not.
- He can glide! He can't fly, but he can kick off from a high point and glide until he hits ground again. If he gets high enough, I will definitely consider that he'll hit the threshold for flight rules in this game and he'll be affected like any other flier.
- Slide-dash! It's this really long slide. Handy for dodging things!
- Dodge Roll! It's a roll. He uses it to dodge things. He can roll forever. He's got some really good inner ear equilibrium.
- Flowmotion! If he gets this back, it will not give off light. I think it'd be fair to say that it also wouldn't come back with the magical combat elements. As the other Sora player pointed out, this just makes it fancy parkour.

A note on some non-combat powers that are addressed in the game:
Sora has an empty heart which allows him to carry several other hearts with him, whether in spirit or through actually physically carrying another heart inside his own. The hearts that are with him in spirit give him enough strength to wield his keyblade; he would otherwise be unable to carry one, since an empty heart is also representative of a lack of strength of personality and willpower, key traits of a keyblade wielder. Hearts that are actually inside his own heart influence his personality greatly, to the point where his personality overlaps with the other hearts' personalities, making it hard to tell where his personality ends and another personality begins sometimes.

He can also cook! Sort of. Thanks, Little Chef.

As for non-combat abilities Sora has because of Skyler... he could actually cook, which should make up for the lack of a little chef. Skyler also played lacrosse at a varsity level and can speak English as a native language, Tagalog more or less fluently, and Japanese at a intermediary level. He is also CPR certified. (He also swam freestyle at a varsity level but he can no longer swim! Details on that later.)

appendices:

keyblade write-up
magic spell details
combat abilities
drive forms

If I've missed any spells or abilities, specifically from KHIII, I'll bring them up with the mods in the case they need additional nerfing other than bringing them down to first level.

Flaws/Weaknesses: Sora's not as easily manipulated as he used to be, but he is more suggestible - artificially so. As a part of his cybernetics, he has a metal stake in his brain that makes him more suggestible - people can't outright tell him do what they want him to do without him pushing back, but even strangers can make him think things that aren't necessarily true. For example, if Sora without cybernetics comes across a person with obviously bad intentions who brings up a lie they want Sora to believe, Sora won't initially put too much thought into it and his friends can usually talk him into just thinking about something else. However, Sora WITH the cybernetics will give even a clearly obviously villainous stranger the time of day. His friends will have to sit with him and explain why they're wrong or else he'll quickly come to the conclusion that the lie was right all along. However, this works both ways! Positive affirmations count as much as negatives do in this process. In the moment, though, it does make him a little more susceptible to mind games.

Also as a result of his cybernetics, Sora cannot swim. He can tread water with great difficulty, but too much of him is made of machinery for long term swimming - his lungs' buoyancy can't carry him. He will sink quickly and he will drown.

Sora has Riku and Kairi who can and have been used against him. Take them away and it's a bad time. To a lesser extent, everyone he is friends with and holds dear to him can be used in the same way. He's also died twice (?), been through an apocalypse, been betrayed by his closest friends, and fears being unable to help those who he's decided is his responsibility. It's not exactly a weakness, but he is charmingly dull. (So's Skyler, but it's less charming.)

As a result of his unconventional merge with Skyler, he's also absorbed affection for Skyler's little sister, Arielle, and his family back in Locke City. To a certain extent, anyone on Skyler's old CR list with a heart in their profile can be used in the same way, but Kotetsu, Karl/Richard, Killian, and Holly are the most likely candidates for this process. Please note that while these characters are also reincarnates and do resemble their preincarnates much more closely than Sora and Skyler, I will tone down or remove the dynamic with any Kotetsu Kaburagis, Kratos Aurions, Kilis, or Sakura Kinomotos who don't want to play a one-sided preexisting relationship. Skyler is a very odd and sometimes contentious character and I don't want to put the pressure of being a bad dude's moral compass on someone who doesn't want to play that dynamic, even if Skyler never wakes up at all.

Skyler has a lot of memories about joining a cyborg gang, hiding his secrets from his surrogate uncles and friends, and generally being wildly paranoid and depressed about his own state of affairs. He also has a lot of memories of being cruel for no reason other than clout, and fears change in a way Sora takes in stride. None of these things are as strong for Sora as they were for Skyler, but Skyler, in some cases, feels more strongly about these things than Sora would probably be prepared for. In the case that Sora has a Skyler-related kneejerk reaction to something, he probably wouldn't be prepared to stop it.

Personality: Skyler with Sora at the helm is just as playful, kind, willing to try to empathize with complete strangers, and up for new challenges as vanilla Sora. Sora doesn't have much faith that things will turn out well on his own, but he knows that with the help of his friends, he has enough strength and courage to fight for anything he needs to protect. He isn't perfect! He gets angry and disappointed, and sometimes he gets led around by the nose because he likes to think other people know what they're doing. He is, however, the type of person who gets excited about whatever his friends get excited about, and what they got excited about was exploring and doing the right thing, so he followed. He's a good kid.

This Sora has fewer memories of who he is, which will make for a few gaps as he starts meeting the preincarnates. He has mental baggage that doesn't necessarily belong to him, which, while that isn't new for him, does impact his relationship with Skyler differently from Roxas or Ven. Sora was the preincarnate, but Skyler was living his own life first; Sora joined him, not the other way around. This means Sora lived Skyler's memories as much as Skyler did because, for a long while, he was Skyler. Sora understands Skyler's motivations as though they were his own, even at his worst (which was almost definitely attempted murder.) He's humbled by the fact that Skyler his direct reincarnation - a person Sora could have been if his circumstances had been the same - and won't make the same boasts about being a hero, or at least he won't be as loud about it. He knows things could have easily gone the other way around.

Basically, this is just Kingdom Hearts Problems, Real Life Consequences. Sora's the same but knows who Beyonce and Justin Timberlake are.

In interest of full disclosure, here are some info posts about Skyler specifically - they shouldn't matter in terms of day to day gameplay, but they DO affect the way Sora, the reincarnated cyborg from New Jersey, sees the world and how he relates with it. (I've made a huge stink about Skyler in this app but I want to emphasize that I intend to play Sora the reincarnate, not Sora with a split personality.)

STE Application
General info post + full regain list
STE CR chart
shitposting

Items: He's wearing opaque mirrored ski goggles and a red bandana around his neck, a grey Oakland Raiders hoodie, shorts, and a pair of scuffed but otherwise well cared for Nikes. He has a wallet in his pocket with a small amount of American money/credit cards, a couple of spare coins from Japan and the Philippines, Skyler’s driver’s license and high school ID, and a few pictures of Skyler’s family and friends. He also has the Cosmic Chain from KHII. (On that note, he did not bring his KHII outfit or the frowny face t-shirt in his record. There is no reason he would have had them with him when he died.)

If he has a need for any other equipment that he would in theory have on him but I didn't have him regain back during his time at STE, I'll do a 2d20 roll for it. If he gets a 12 or above on the first die, he'll have had it in Locke City; if he gets a 17 or above on the second, he'll have had it on his person when he died. Otherwise, tough luck - his pockets can't have held everything. Too bad he can't regain items while he's dead.

Sora can summon the Kingdom Keyblade, but does not have many of the keychains that came with it. During the course of the game, he had regained the keychains for Follow the Wind and Fairy Harp. Using the dice rules I established in the item and ability sections, I determined that he left Follow the Wind at home, but he brought and can use Fairy Harp.

appendices (for potential items i could roll for him but he may not necessarily have. i am up for having any of these nerfed or removed from consideration - ultima weapon comes to mind. i won't use this mechanic to sneak op equipment in with him, promise.)

other weapons
accessories
armor

SAMPLES

Log Sample: Link
Network Sample: Link

To summarize the gameplay specific questions I proposed in this app:

- Cybernetic enhancements: Nerf?
- Time abilities (specifically because they bend reality): Nerf/remove?
- Abilities in general: Nerf? Other abilities that I think should be under consideration for nerfing are ones that increase his strength for a short time or allow him to endure a killing blow.
- Memory: If he does not have the memory in his STE record, 1d20, 7+ to hit; otherwise, he needs to regain it naturally.
- Ability: If he does not have the memory in his STE record, 1d20, 12+ to hit; otherwise, he needs to regain it naturally.
- Item: If he does not have the item in his STE record, 2d20, 12+ to hit on the first die and 17+ to hit on the second. If one of the two dice do not hit, he does not have it and cannot regain it as a part of the regain mechanic.

(p.s. wherever it's relevant, i am also users oathkept and strikeraid. please let me know if you need me to send you pms from either account to confirm!)