Kaden Radcliffe

"The pen is, and will always be, mightier than the sword,"

- Kaden, expressing his proclivity for writing.

Kaden Curtis Radcliffe-Roux (or known simply as Kaden Radcliffe) [he/him] is a 2017-introduced and fanon-only character created and developed by  amatoresx . Even though is the son of commoners from the Village of Book End, Kaden is the successor of Karen from the Danish fairy tale The Red Shoes, written by Hans Christian Andersen. He is currently attending his Yearbook Year (otherwise known as his third year) at Ever After High in the Kingdom of Ever After and used to room with Everett Horn, but now currently rooms with Glaucio Pedroso.

Concerning the issue of the destiny conflict, Kaden aligns himself with the royals because his role as a successor is why he is attending Ever After High in the first place. He has some personal disagreements with his fate being set in stone by destiny, but at the end of the day knows that he's at Ever After High for a reason and he has a job to fulfill. He also sympathizes with the individuals who rebel against their destinies and even agrees with a lot of their points. Still, Kaden is personally still royal-aligned.

Riddled with overwhelming guilt from a falling out with a friend gone missing, Kaden tries desperately to maintain his industrious work ethic as he strives to work hard to be at the top of his classes, as well as keeping up his reputation as a well-regarded and fairly popular student. He's a tad uptight and naturally worrisome, but his proclivity for charisma manages to score him likeability points from others, giving him a reputation of being a highly well-regarded student among his fellow classmates and teachers. However, some individuals can't help but see through Kaden, in which they (rightfully) assume that he'll most likely crack from all the stress and strong emotions he keeps bottled up. It's only a matter of time before said bottle breaks...

Childhood & Preadolescence
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Freedom Year
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Legacy Year
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Yearbook Year
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Departure from Ever After High
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Personality & Traits
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Physical Appearance
Kaden is an attractive yet mostly average-looking individual of English and French descent with fair skin speckled with light freckles and shoulder-length, strawberry-blond locks. His eyes are icy, bluish-grey in color with extremely heavy bags under them, which gives away his constant state of exhaustion. He's somewhat scrawny but still maintains a fit build due to being physically active. His height peaks at 5'9 feet.

While it's noted that he's mostly average and plain in appearance, the most striking detail about him are, interestingly enough, the dullness of his eyes. There's something so distinctively sad about his eyes which, as described by his intimates, "used to have so much life". It's safe to assume that the "lights" in his eyes left once his closest friend went missing one night.

Competitive Sports
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Literature
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History
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Traveling
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How The Story Goes

 * Main Article: The Red Shoes

How Does Kaden Come Into It?
As for as he and his parents know, Kaden himself isn't directly related to any character in the fairy tale, though he is in fact the successor to Karen, the protagonist of the fairy tale. In fact, Kaden and his family were simply normal residents living in the Village of Book End.

Normalcy for him and his family came to an abrupt end during a hot summer's day, when word spread that several children from the village were chosen to become successors to fulfill the roles of various fairy tale figures. This also meant the children who were chosen were also chosen to become students of the prestigious Ever After High. Among the chosen children was—you guessed it—Kaden.

His mothers felt honored to hear that their son had been chosen to become the next Karen in The Red Shoes. Kaden felt honored as well and would proceed to spend the rest of that summer preparing for his first year at Ever After High, in which he vigorously studied his fairy tale and other fairy tales. From his research, it was clear that Kaden had a tough role to fulfill, but he was willing to fulfill it if it meant he finally had a true purpose in life.

Opinion on Destiny
As one can tell from previous statements, Kaden is intent on fulfilling the destiny he is bound to, no matter the obstacles. Stemming from his desire to have any sort of purpose in life, Kaden, from the moment he found out he'd be the successor to Karen, was simply elated to have such an important obligation to fulfill. He always knew Ever After High to be a prestigious school for the children of important fairy tale figures, and he'd always envy them for having roles to fulfill in their lives. Never in his life did he believe he would be one of the kids he'd always envied for so long. Because of this, Kaden feels he's absolutely obligated to become the next Karen. He's fully aware of the problems that may stem from fulfilling his destiny, but despite that he's fully intent on becoming the next Karen, and he's intent on doing right.

Due to Kaden being a student at Ever After High pre-Rebel Movement as well as being a year older than the main cast (Raven Queen, Apple White, etc), he was already conditioned to the overall attitude of embracing your destiny due to Headmaster Grimm's insistent enforcement of such. Kaden embraced his destiny and insisted that others embrace theirs as well, so he was often quick to critique others who questioned it. Once the Rebel Movement gained prominence during his third year, Kaden was mortified. He's always held his destiny and the very concept of destiny in such high regard, so he couldn't fathom the very thought of even questioning both. He's very critical of the movement and its second year vanguards, but he is especially critical of his classmates who show support for the movement, and finds it "pointless" to rebel against destiny when he and his classmates have already signed their names in the Storybook of Legends during their Legacy Day.

After the events of Way Too Wonderland, Kaden felt absolutely heartbroken when he realized that all the work he put into becoming the best successor he could be was essentially pointless. After receiving the page with his name on it, all he could do was blankly stare at the page and crumple it up in frustration after he finally was able to register everything that happened. Truthfully, a weight had been lifted off his back and he could resume his normal life while still finishing his studies at Ever After High, even if he didn't have to fulfill his destiny anymore. Yet, a familiar feeling of guilt and hurt found its way to Kaden once again when he realized that his insistent embracement of destiny may have been one of the catalysts for the falling out that occurred between him and another individual...

Parallels

 * Kaden, after finishing his Freedom Year, would progressively become more obsessed with his image and put more focus into superficial things (such as his wardrobe), which would eventually be the catalyst for his failed relationships (i.e. his break up with Cybelle or his falling out with Everett). This is juxtaposed with the character Karen from The Red Shoes, who favored her material riches instead of going to church, which is the catalyst for why she has to repent for her sins (and then get her feet chopped off).
 * To further juxtapose him with his fairy tale, Kaden isn't religious and holds rather atheistic beliefs, so as a result he is opposed to the religious elements featured in the story.
 * The use of "red" in his surnames is a nod to his story The Red Shoes (see the trivia section).

Royal Student Council
Despite not actually holding any status pertaining to royalty, Kaden's reputation among the students of his grade as well as his teachers has earned him a spot on the Royal Student Council for three years straight, from his Freedom Year to currently his Yearbook Year. He's the elected secretary for the Yearbook Year council, which is and has been the highest possible position the school were able to allow him to run for in all of his three runs, with his non-royal status kept in mind. Kaden is perfect for the role of secretary, as he's able to utilize his extensive knowledge of writing to contribute to the meetings and assist with improving his grade's overall status and wellness. Although, his duties as the council's secretary has caused him increasing stress, especially with the uprising of the Rebel Movement from the students currently in their Legacy Year.

Tropes
(shout-out to spades for inspiring me to include this in the pages of my ocs !  🐸💕)
 * Academic Athlete - Kaden is both academically and athletically skilled.
 * The Ace - Kaden's perpetual drive for success causes him to be very skilled in various different areas, particularly with athletics and writing.
 * Adorkable - He's very passionate about his interest in history and literature, often making references to both in passing.
 * Affectionate Nickname - Kaden referred to Everett as "Pythias" while Everett referred to Kaden as "Damon".
 * Appeal to Tradition - While not directly connected to The Red Shoes or its protagonist Karen, Kaden is still dedicated to fulfilling his role as Karen's successor and is a staunch advocate of embracing destiny.
 * Big Brother Instinct - Towards his cousin, Peggy.
 * Bookworm - He enjoys literature and often spends his free-time reading.
 * Broken Ace - He's popular among his peers and well-respected by the students and teachers of Ever After High for his strong drive to succeed and academic success, but he's deeply overwhelmed by the pressure of successfully fulfilling his role as a successor and his friend's disappearance.
 * Broken Bird - He's riddled with guilt from the circumstances surrounding Everett's disappearance, and is especially jaded from the insincere condolences his classmates gave him, which caused him to become cynical of other people's intentions whenever he interacts with them.
 * Child Prodigy - In his youth, Kaden was considered a bright and precocious child who was always excelling in his studies.
 * The Confidant - His cousin confides in him (he also confides in her as well).
 * The Cynic - He's skeptical of other people's intentions whenever they interact and is rather pessimistic himself.
 * Deadpan Snarker - He has a rather sharp tongue that he often shows off, particularly to individuals he dislikes.
 * Fatal Flaw: Cynicism - Jaded from circumstances surrounding the disappearance of his friend, Kaden has found it increasingly difficult to trust others and see their interactions as sincere.
 * Flat-Earth Atheist - Anything is possible in the world of Ever After, but despite that, Kaden considers himself an atheist and doubts the religious aspects of his fairy tale.
 * The Foil - To Glaucio. Kaden is persistent in his dedication to fulfilling his destiny, but resents Glaucio's insistent rebellion towards his role. They are each other's intellectually equal, but feel they both are opposites in every way (Kaden feels this especially).
 * Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold - Though he can come off as cold and cynical, Kaden genuinely cares deeply for the people who are most important to him, such as his close friends and family members. He also has strawberry-blond hair.
 * Hot-Blooded - Especially when concerning the destiny conflict; Kaden is very quick to critique and antagonize anyone who shows any bit of rebellion towards destiny.
 * Jade-Colored Glasses - His cynicism is a prominent trait of his.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold - Though he means well, Kaden can come off as rather callous when he attempts to be genuinely compassionate with others.
 * Messy Hair - He has messy, strawberry-blond hair that is particularly untamed.
 * He adopted this style after Everett disappeared.
 * Motor Mouth - In both conversation and in writing, Kaden is wordy and tends to ramble.
 * Noveau Riche - Upon his entrance into Ever After High, Kaden became closer with the royal students and was able to gain their trust and support. As a result, he later began dressing in fancier attire and adopting a more "posh" mindset.
 * How he obtained the money to dress in such a way is... a secret ;)
 * Red is Heroic - His associated colors are dark shades of red, which often appear in his attire. This also relates to his fairy tale The Red Shoes, and as well as his surname meaning "red cliff".
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni - Kaden's pragmaticism and loyalty to his destiny (blue) to Glaucio's idealism and rejection of his destiny (red).
 * Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness - Mostly a front he puts up to appear smart; very apparent in his writing and sometimes his dialogue.
 * Teen Genius - Kaden prides himself in his intelligence and academic success, which is often noticed and praised by his peers and teachers.
 * Tragic Bromance - His friendship with Everett comes to a heartbreaking end when Everett goes missing the same night both of them got into a heated argument pertaining destiny.
 * Even more heartbreaking is Kaden and Glaucio's search for Everett coming to an end when the two of them find Everett's remains.

Trivia

 * For the meaning of his name, "Kaden" is a Modern American name that is sometimes explained to as meaning "fighter" or "battler",
 * It is also of Arabic origins and can mean "companion".
 * His name is one letter off from literally being "Karen", which is the role he's meant to fulfill in his destiny.
 * His surname first, "Radcliffe", is an English surname meaning "red cliff"; his second surname "Roux" is a French surname meaning "red".
 * His former surname was "Rød", which is Danish for "red".
 * While he's more inclined to writing letters, Kaden does use messaging apps on his phone to hext others, though he isn't as eloquent when corresponding over hext messages.
 * Kaden's earliest iteration was mentioned in an extremely old blog post from August 2015 as a concept idea alongside a concept idea for a different original character (who would soon become Iolanta Feya).
 * His personality type is ESTJ.
 * His favorite drink is Fay-Torade™ (Gatorade™).
 * Language-wise, Kaden grew up speaking English but understands the rudiments of French enough to hold small conversations with individuals like his mother, aunt and uncle, who are of French descent.
 * He's also fluent in Latin.
 * He is English from his mother Helena's side and French from his mother Eloise's side—overall, he is broadly European (and also just a white dude).

Quotes
"The pen is, and will always be, mightier than the sword."

- Signature

"Truly, the prospect of having to question everything you were taught as being "correct" is awfully horrifying at its worst, and wildly inconvenient at its best."

"Dear Everett, you've wounded me terribly. I could've sworn you were supposed to be my Pythias?"

"You've asked if my "eloquence and cyncicism" are merely part of my so-called "façade", howrver I could also raise you that same question as well, Pedroso."