CoA; Application

[showmeanguish]

→ OOC
□ Name: Zan
□ Age: 30
□ Contact: AIM - starambola/moogle coffee PLURK - starambola
□ Journal: n/a
□ Do you play anyone in Ariel?: nope!

→ IC
□ Name: Vanitas
□ Journal: showmeanguish
□ Series: Kingdom Hearts
□ Canon point: Post-Death
□ History: http://kingdomhearts.wikia.com/wiki/Vanitas#Story

**Note: The Birth By Sleep Novels are not considered to be game-canon, and I don't treat them to be 100% accurate. I play Vanitas from a more game-canon perspective and the evidence for his personality traits it provides, instead.

□ Personality: There are two sides to Vanitas' personality: one that he projects and one that he hides. His projected personality appears to be very shallow. Due to the fact that his heart is made from pure Darkness and negativity, all positive emotions are beyond his ability to produce and feel. He doesn't even show neutral emotions very often aside from apathy, and even then that's mostly reserved for his Master. But most people find him to be rude, sarcastic and flippant about others' lives. He loves being an antagonist, but he's picky about victims that he actually pursues. So while he might try to get a rise out of a stranger just to test them, most can expect to not fall too far under his radar. Being evil just for the sake of being evil doesn't appeal much to him, as it's not worth his time and energy.

But those that do catch his interest can find him to be manipulative, sadistic and cruel. Ventus and Aqua bore the brunt of his involvement in acting as the driving force behind them doing what he and Xehanort wanted, with Xehanort focusing most of his attention in Terra. From the very beginning, he angered Ventus by telling him, "The Terra you know will be gone forever.", because he knew it would get Ventus out of the Land of Departure and away from Master Eraqus. Most of the time he doesn't try to hide his negativity from others and seems perfectly happy to play the villain. Vanitas also projects a huge ego, and as much as he seems to detest others (he goes so far as to keep a wide berth between himself and his opponents when unarmed, to give himself plenty of personal space) he's also very invested in ensuring his status in the social hierarchy. He'll make boasts to intimidate and frighten, such as cutting Aqua off on their first meeting with, "I'll be asking the questions. Why shouldn't I? After all, between the two of us, I'm the only one who will walk away from here alive," and seems to shrug off defeat without batting an eye. He also studies people and knows exactly how to get under their skin, as when he suddenly laughs at Aqua without warning when she tried to remove his mask, and later breaks Terra's wooden training Keyblade that he'd passed down to Ventus right before her eyes.

This outward image is actually a careful construct and coping mechanism for his flaws. Vanitas has a long history of violence and petulance. After Vanitas' creation, Ventus' heart was fatally damaged by their split and Xehanort took the blond boy away to let him die in peace. But instead of dying Ventus returned healed and with a stronger light inside him than before. This enraged Vanitas and he attacked Ven without prompting, and it was only through Xehanort's interference that he stopped. Xehanort had no choice but to separate them after Vanitas informed him that he was unable to stop himself from wanting to attack Ventus. The Darkness in Vanitas' heart was already strong enough that it was repulsed by his light.

But after Ventus left, Vanitas' training began. Xehanort had to remove any weakness in Vanitas in order to exacerbate his darkness to it's strongest point, so he was most likely severely disciplined at the slightest flaw. In addition Vanitas began to feel emotions from Ventus through the connection of their hearts. He felt Ventus' budding friendships, his happiness and joy--and it made him jealous. At first he semi-longed for those emotions himself, but the longer it went on the more he began to detest Ventus. So much that he began seeing him as a shell or 'cast off' of his true self, when in fact he was the much weaker of the two. This is why he treats Ventus with such contempt; calling him 'idiot' and mocking his friendships.

So Vanitas was caught in a cycle of misery. He began to hate not only Ventus, but all the worlds and the people in them for having normal and happy lives. Partly his hatred was born out of self-contempt, because deep down he knows that he's an imperfect construct yet clings to the idea of being stronger and better than anyone else. The self-contempt is also magnified by the fact that he is no longer in his original body. When Ventus' heart was healed by Sora, the act traveled through their connection and permanently changed Vanitas' body to the same as Sora's, though with different coloration. Imagine how you would feel if you went from not only gaining a different face, but your hair turning from blond to black and your eyes from blue to yellow-gold. Even the lines on his hands are different, which is another reason why he covers himself from head to toe in a body suit--it's partially to act as protection and a barrier against others being able to read him and partly because even he doesn't want to look at himself.

His emotions are also not nearly as restrained as he'd like them to be. Creating Unversed allows them to be released, giving him temporary relief. But as soon as they return after being defeated, they're bottled up again. Without the ability to shed his emotions they would likely build up until they exploded. Even Xehanort comments that, "He has no control over the darkness in his heart. The Keyblade is not his to bear. He's an abomination beyond the hope of salvation."

It's difficult to say what Vanitas truly wants. His former goal was to create the X-Blade from his and Ventus' hearts, but it's unclear why he went along with Xehanort's plan other than the fact that he knew Xehanort would kill him if he failed. It's the only hope for survival he could cling to and he pursued it with obsessive drive. But now that that is out of his reach, the possibilities are endless.

□ Age: Technically: 4, Physically and Emotionally: 15, Mentally you could argue for 18-19.
□ Gender: Male
□ Appearance: In some ways, Vanitas looks fairly average for a teenage boy. He's on the shorter side, and his bone structure is relatively slender. His facial features are 'cute' but not particularly handsome--they're a little on the feminine side, for a guy. His musculature, however, is very sculpted, toned and obviously athletic. Usually, he wears a suit of flexible armor that covers him from head to toe, and as a result it's made his skin pale. It contrasts sharply with his black hair and gold-yellow eyes, which are his most striking (and somewhat uncomfortable) features. If given a choice, he likes to keep his face hidden to disguise his expressions and make him harder to read. Out of his clothing, he probably has a few scars here and there, from constant training and fighting.

The way he carries himself, too, is fairly distinct--he walks (or prowls) with his shoulders back and his hands balled into loose fists at his side, perpetually alert and ready to escape or fight. The only time he allows more casual poses is when he's in the presence of someone he knows isn't a threat to him.

Picture References: (masked) http://www.kh2.co.uk/images/games/kingdom-hearts-birth-by-sleep/characters/vanitas.jpg (unmasked) http://images.wikia.com/kingdomhearts/images/archive/6/68/20100918201010!Vanitas_and_X-Blade.png

□ Abilities/Powers: There are almost too many to list. Vanitas is a Keyblade Apprentice, wields a keyblade named 'Void Gear', and shows complete mastery over the powers of Darkness that exist in his universe. The suit he wears is created from Darkness itself (and as such, will leave him naked when he loses it). He can open, close, and travel through portals that link the 'Light' side to the 'Dark' side, and seemingly disappear when he does so. He's even able to teleport mid-air and re-materialize, sometimes in quick succession if he's attacking and avoiding parries.

As far as Magic goes, he can cast dark variations of thundaga, firaga and blizagga--lightning, fire and ice based attacks--as well as create 'canons' of energy to fire at opponents.

His pain threshold is extremely high, and so is his stamina. He can take a vicious beating and still fight back until he wins, or is pushed so far he passes out. He also shows an inhuman amount of strength and dexterity -- in a fight, he's constantly on the move, and can perform dozens of jumps, flips, and other acrobatic feats with ease. For a video reference of his fight style and moves, go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVAyW4wfooo

And perhaps his most useful and devastatingly effective ability, is creating creatures called 'Unversed'. Only semi-sentient, they attack and destroy everything in their path, but most can be easily killed. They represent Vanitas' emotions given form, and implicitly obey his will. When they are defeated, Vanitas absorbs them back into his being, gaining with them any experience they collected while detached.

It should also be mentioned that he can under the right circumstances, merge with Ventus to create a weapon called the X-Blade, which is incredibly powerful. But, he and Ventus must be at the same level of power and he must be able to create Unversed to do so. He is also able to feel Ventus' emotions through a link between them, though it does not seem to work both ways.

Overall, he is extremely aggressive and tough opponent, and should not be taken lightly.

□ Personal Items: None. Since he is taken post-death, his body and anything on it prior to his arrival in Ariel would have been dissolved in the energy blast created when he merged with Ventus.

□ First Person Sample: [The entry opens with Vanitas somewhere in the market, buying a plum from a vendor. But he doesn't eat it immediately--instead, he walks along, tossing the fruit idly in his hand as he talks.]

This stinks. And I don't mean the fish peddlers...

Kidnapping. Implanting a chip into everyone's brains that alter their feelings and wants, making them lie to themselves and everyone around them. Invading into their privacy in the worst ways, and if you don't like it? They'll pick you up and cart you off to the bowels of their torture chambers, turn you into a slave or puppet or whatever.

[With that, he takes a bite of his snack and chews thoughtfully for a second, before continuing.] But that's not even the worst part. The worst part's the fact that it works--they're getting everything they want, whatever that is. And despite all your whining and grumblings, you let it happen. Over and over, with just vague protests like, 'this is wrong' or 'how dare you'. But you never do anything to stop it.

That's why you're all pathetic. That's why you'll all die here, after they've wrung every bit of energy out of you they can muster.

[Another bite, and his voice levels again to a more placid tone.] Just some food for thought.


□ Third Person Sample: http://theloonybin.dreamwidth.org/15468.html?thread=8829548#cmt8829548