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[thawed_pride]

Player Information

Name: Jess
Age: 29
Contact details: firebenderjess or firebenderjess#1255
Other characters: N/A

Character Information

Name: Vexen
Canon: Kingdom Hearts
Canon Point: Late-3, after sending Demyx to collect Repliku's emptied vessel
OU/AU/CRAU/OC: OU
Age: 40-ish

World Information: Series wiki

Personal History: As Even, as Vexen

Personality: To understand the current Vexen, one must first understand both Even and the previous Vexen. Even was a man of science, driven by an eager curiosity to uncover answers to all the World's mysteries. He approached everything in terms of questions to answer and theories to test, showing intrigue even when apprehension might have been more appropriate, but was by no means a bad person. Rather the opposite, he was a kindhearted and fiercely protective individual who cared deeply for those around him, even if his methods of showing it could sometimes edge toward the overbearing. Though somewhat arrogant and condescending, and occasionally temperamental, he was appreciative of others' actions, and not one to accept thanks simply for repaying a favor. It was, after all, not a desire for gratitude motivating his actions, but a simple desire to use his talents to help people.

Despite his somewhat unnerving lack of caution in the face of curiosity, his overall behavior seemed to have earned him the respect of his fellow apprentices, as he was able to treat Aeleus and Dilan as if they were his subordinates without so much as an objection. In particular, his mentor trusted him with the care of the young orphan Ienzo, who he swiftly bonded with and came to see as his own son. The child became the most important person in his life, someone he would risk his own safety without hesitation to protect, even if it meant risking attack by vicious monsters to search for him when he'd wandered off in dangerous times.

Much of that changed when he lost his heart the first time. Without a sense of empathy to restrain him, and steeped in the darkness he researched, he turned cold and even cruel. The focus of his experiments shifted from benefiting others to simply pursuing knowledge for its own sake, even if it meant doing horrific things to innocent people. Once he completed a project and learned all he could from it, it became of no interest to him, even if the fruits of his labor were then used to lay waste to entire worlds. Indeed, he participated in many twisted experiments, including artificially transforming hapless test subjects into new, more dangerous forms of Heartless that would then go on to wreak havoc across the known World.

Paradoxically, his relative lack of genuine emotions led to a sharp increase in both his arrogance and his temper, and generally high strung and anxious behavior. He treated most others as beneath him, and would angrily lash out and chastise anyone who tried to give him orders, or even simply act as though they were his equal...with one exception. Xemnas, the Nobody of the man responsible for his transformation, terrified him, and the mere threat of his involvement was enough to stop Vexen in his tracks. It was this fear, rather than any genuine loyalty, that kept him in the Organization, despite constant disrespect from younger members. Given the opportunity, he was perfectly willing to reveal information that would undercut the Organization's goals, if it helped to sabotage a particularly loathed rival.

His lack of compassion in his first time as a Nobody also exposed a gleefully mocking, borderline sadistic part of his personality. Given the opportunity, he took great entertainment in baiting people with incomplete or confusingly phrased information. Words became a different sort of scalpel for him, one he used to cut at raw nerves and draw out reactions from people.

The current Vexen is a different Nobody altogether, far closer to his human self than the unfeeling academic. Regaining his heart caused him to look back on his previous actions with horror and shame, and he held on to the shadow of his feelings when he gave his heart back up, aided by the fact that Nobodies can naturally regain their emotions over time. He retains some of his quick temper, but realizing his mistakes and the horrible depths of his own potential depravity was a humbling experience, and talking him down is as easy as pointing out the impulsiveness of his actions.

More significantly, his regained empathy gave rise to an overwhelming sense of guilt and regret. More than his curiosity, he is now driven by a need to atone for his misdeeds, to make right what he can and to make up for what he can't. His own desires and even fears are secondary, as he would give up his own chance at comfort or normalcy, and even risk Xemnas' ire, to help those he hurt. Rather than wallowing in self-loathing and recoiling from his passions, he instead uses both to propel him forward and motivate him, setting goals for himself based on his specific regrets. If he did immeasurable harm before, he'll simply have to do immeasurable good now.

Key themes: Failure, distortion of self, regret

Main Motivation: Atonement, to repair as much of the harm he's done as he can and to balance the rest by using his research to help as many people as possible.

Skills:
MAGIC: Vexen is a primarily magical fighter, with manipulating ice and cold being second nature to him. Not only is he immune to both natural and magical cold, but ordinarily dangerously low temperatures and magical ice actually heal him. As an experienced mage even in his human life, he is also capable of using other JRPG-style magic, scanning magic that can identify the balance of light and darkness in someone's heart as well as analyze their heart's makeup and their physical abilities, and other spells that can be used as plot devices when necessary. Instead of running, he often uses his magic to float, levitating at a speed comparable to a fast runner.

His magic also includes the ability to summon a large, bladed shield called Frozen Pride at will, which he can manipulate telekinetically, along with storing it and other objects in a sort of limbo. As people often use this storage magic to carry ice cream, it seems to include some sort of stasis.

He is also capable of using dark magic, most notably, creating corridors of darkness that connect any two points he desires. These corridors are uncomfortable and possibly even dangerous to use without protection, as they can corrupt travelers' hearts with darkness and negativity that doesn't belong to them.

SCIENCE: Vexen is genuinely brilliant, to the point that it was considered his defining skill in the Organization. He dabbles in just about everything, but his main focus is on the theoretical workings of the heart and psyche, with a strong enough grounding in biology that he can create fully functional artificial bodies that, once animated by a heart and soul, are indistinguishable from natural humans. This makes him competent as a medic as well, at least for injuries and non-rare afflictions.

MAGIC SCIENCE: Radiant Garden is a world where magic and technology exist side by side, and the line often blurs. As such, Vexen is adept at both using his magic for mundane applications, and creating and maintaining magitech. This includes treating alchemy as simply a specialized branch of chemistry, and he makes a habit of stocking himself with magical restoratives, though he's unlikely to have access to necessary reagents on the train.

Nobody Stuff: As a Nobody, Vexen isn't entirely 'real', and thus can't be harmed by purely physical objects. Any attack without some form of magic behind it passes right through him, as if he wasn't really there. He also is far stronger than his build would suggest, able to swing a massive blade of ice with enough force to shatter it and create a small shockwave, despite being fairly emaciated and on the physically weaker end for Organization Nobodies.

Misc: While generally fairly socially inept, Vexen does understand human psychology very well. If he takes time to learn how someone thinks, he can be surprisingly effective at manipulating or negotiating with them. As a complementary skill, he can lie and act extremely well, even if he's trying to display an image contrary to his basic nature.

As a parent of an anxious and homeschooled child, he is especially good with kids, and has experience teaching. This includes some level of caretaking abilities like cooking, although any recipe he attempts has to be substitution and experimentation friendly.

Item: His personal item is a black outfit, with a leather coat that guards against darkness and prevents it from creeping in from external sources. His hammerspace contains his shield; his Gummiphone (a smartphone that normally works between worlds, but doesn't have that function here); a set of notebooks, pens included, containing research notes on the Replica Program that are nigh illegible to anyone not experienced in deciphering Vexen's personal notes, a set of five hi-eithers (one use potions that completely restore a drinker's magical energy), and an elixer (a powerful, one use potion that heals all injuries, cures all afflictions, and fully restores the drinker's magical energy).

Sample: TDM threads

Notes: Because of his ice affinity, he is weak to fire and heat. Dangerously high temperatures make him sick faster, and fire burns him more readily. He also has PTSD regarding being burned alive, which manifests partially as a phobia of open flames.