★ Character Information ★

Character Name:Axel AKA Lea. Prefers Axel.
Character Age: 28-ish
Character Species: Human!
Current Health: Minor concussion, potential wrenched shoulder, otherwise good!
Outfit: Long black coat, muscle shirt underneath, probably a cincher over that, and a pair of long pants and boots. Designed to repel darkness; does not work. Picture here.

Character Canon: Kingdom Hearts (3)
Link to History: As Lea
As Axel
Canon Point: When he hits his head towards the beginning of the Keyblade Graveyard arc.
Canon Iteration: Original canon

★ Folkmore Roles & Attributes ★

Skills: Things that they are good at. Should be short & sweet. This should be learned skills and not abilities. Can be bullet points.
-Frisbee
-Chakram use
-fighting
-fire magic
-trained in keyblade use
-ignoring people
-sass
-walking in heels
Canon Abilities: As a keyblade wielder, Lea can “unlock sleeping worlds” and summon a keyblade, the Flame Liberator. Keyblades can purify monsters they slay if they’re based on human hearts. He was a nobody, a human without an emotional heart (or so they were told) for a while, but got better. He is a gifted fire mage, and a terrible influence. He also has a natural talent for sass. He fights well, and is FAST to both act and react.
Role: Familiar
Role Qualities/Attributes: Scales, tiny antler nubs, and fuzzy ears. He will be able to turn into a kirin and a fox most naturally.
Role Reasoning: Axel is a supporting character in all that he does. He has equal talent for heroism and villainy, but only seldom shows personal drive that could push him either way. He is a follower more than a leader, and has not developed a leadership skillset. He leans on others more than he relies on himself; in canon, he’s clingy to those he considers friends, over apologizes to those he’s wronged, and, though he’s a punk initially, has a tendency to bend far before breaking. He served Xemnas (to a questionable degree), he trained under Merlin and Yen Sid instead of going his own way, and he only stands up for himself when his friends are on the line or when asked to. Examples include when he died as Axel to protect Sora, or when he tried to protect Kairi just before his canon point.

★ Personality ★

Please choose one of the follow options for your personality section. Please clarify which option you have picked and, if option 2, which questions you are answering:

Option 2. Choose FOUR-FIVE of the following questions to answer and expand upon. You may choose a fifth question if you feel it is integral to your character's personality. Each answer has a 100-300 word requirement.

OPTION 2 QUESTIONS (PICK 4-5) 100-300 WORD LIMIT EACH:

What was the most traumatic experience your character endured? How did this change them?

Axel has died twice at his canon point, but his most traumatic experience was definitely the loss of his friends, so close to one another. Even if he can’t truly remember Xion, her loss shook him to the core. His apparent abandonment by Roxas within days of the event left him broken and clingy. But he grew stronger for it! He toughened up, re-evaluated what was important, and eventually got his shit together enough to follow Roxas’s example and leave the Organization entirely, even going so far as to sacrifice himself for Sora, Roxas’s original Somebody; he didn’t expect to recover from that one, but when he did, he had truly gotten his ideals in order. Though he didn’t ditch the coat, not yet; he makes that 'fit look good!

What experience challenged your character's core beliefs? How did they handle this or change from it?

When Axel found himself protecting Sora, and knowing he had to make the ultimate sacrifice to protect someone he ostensibly resented for being the reason his best friend (that he could remember) had to sacrifice himself, it was a challenge to his fundamental ideals. He couldn’t let Sora die, not knowing that Roxas had given up his very existence to give the kid another chance, but he didn’t want to sacrifice his own life, either. Friendship’s a funny thing, though, and Axel ended up giving his own life for Sora’s, only to recover his full heart and reappear in the castle where he was originally killed by a heartless, as a teenager.

What is the most important and defining relationship(s) in your character's life and why?

Axel’s friendships define him. Roxas, Sora, Xion, Kairi, even Isa’s relationships with him are deep and powerful, and the feelings within complicated and sometimes painful. He is not a deeply romantic person, but his friends are worth more than his life to him, and maintaining those relationships - protecting his friends - is the most important thing. That’s why he never gave up on any of them, not even when Isa-as-Saix had all but lost himself to Darkness, not even when he couldn’t remember Xion, not even after Roxas sacrificed himself. Those emotions, which for a long time he believed were lost, are so important to him that they mean more than his own life.

What does your character feel like they struggle with still? Where could they improve? This could be physically, mentally, emotionally, or otherwise.

Axel struggles to control his emotions; they’re stronger than when he was a Nobody, and they rule him utterly. Whether losing himself to happiness, frustration, sorrow, or rage, he is fiery and deeply emotional. He really wears his heart on his sleeve, and has no sense of subtlety when it comes to emotional expression. He needs to work on getting his passions in check, and acting his age, instead of the impetuous teenager he was when last he had his heart. Though he’s improving, he’s still easy to offend and impatient as well, though he’s also quick to forgive. He is overly invested in people and relationships, and needs to learn to stop over-apologizing and how to tell when he is forgiven. Basically he’s a mess, but less of one than he could be.

What would your character sacrifice to get what they want or to reach their potential? What have they sacrificed already?

In a word, everything. Axel would sacrifice his everything to get his friends to safety and happiness. He’s historically not above sacrificing people he doesn’t care about, either, which is a point of moral ambiguity that defines his character. He invests a lot in a few. He gave up his freedom to make friends with a girl in his youth. He sacrificed his life to make sure she and Isa were safe. He sacrificed the “Organization XIII’s traitors” to further their plans in order to get back what he and Isa lost. He sacrificed himself to protect the one Roxas gave his reality up for, and even after he came back as Lea, he almost threw his new lease on life away to protect Kairi, who reminded him so much of Xion, even though he could never put his finger on that. It doesn’t take much to become his friend, but once he’s your friend, he’s your protector for life. If you don’t put in the effort, he’s willing to hurt you badly. Got it memorized?