Rico Ricardio

Rico Ricardio
Played by:	Bokkunthechoa
Appearances:	The Survival Games The Weaklings' Masks
Debut:	The Survival Games
Full Name:	Rico Ricardio
Sex:	Male
Age:	10
Height:	4'1" (124 cm)
Weight:	56 lb. / 25.4 kg
Birthday:	July 23rd, 2033

Rico Ricardio is a 10 year-old kid with a love of heroes, often dressed in his own homemade hero costume. A cape, a standard black mask, tights (boxer shorts actually, because it would be weird if he ran around in briefs), and a funny looking cap (which may be a knock-off of headwear worn by certain cartoon characters, but he doesn't know that. He just thinks it looks cool).

He's a good kid, truly wishing to be a hero when he grows up. Unrealistic, sure, but he's still young.

Background

Rico's background isn't very complicated. His parents are both Mexican, but he's lived his whole life in Brooklyn. He's always liked to play hero, pretending to be his own made up character Power Boy. He doesn't have many close friends, being a bit shy when not in costume and a bit much when he is, but he's not a total outcast.

The Survival Games

The original depiction of Rico Ricardio

Rico was kidnapped from his home, brought to a mysterious facility where a death game was taking place. He woke up tied to a chair across from another child, Tyler Tolkien. The ceiling began slowly lowering, threatening to crush them both if one of them wasn't dead in a short amount of time.

After freeing themselves, with only Tyler getting injured in the process, and making a few attempts to stop the ceiling, Rico enacted the most brilliant plan ever concocted in any work of fiction. He lied down on the floor and played dead.

When that obviously didn't work, he had another brilliant idea. One of them just needed to die, and then after the door was unlocked the other would use CPR to bring them back to life. It was a genius move, with only one minor flaw. Neither of them really knew how CPR worked, with Rico's knowledge only going as far as "hit me in the chest".

Rico died, believing fully that he would wake up a minute later after Tyler revived him. Tyler would have to go on with the knowledge of Rico's death, but he got to die ignorant.

The Weaklings' Masks

(Note: TWM is a separate canon, unrelated to all other SO timelines.)

In The Weaklings' Masks, Rico is a passenger on the mythical train on a personal journey to sort out the issues that brought him there. Despite his journey being personal though, he isn't alone.

When he was younger, Rico had an issue with bullies. They went after him because he couldn't pronounce the letter 'R' correctly, a pointless reason but all the excuse they needed. He came up with the persona of Power Boy to help him face them. In his own words:

"Power Boy is invincible, so you can say anything you want to about him. He can take it."

Eventually, the bullies stop hassling him. Instead, they go after his best friend, Tyler Tolkien, for his odd obsession with wolves. Seeing his friend go through the same things he did is too much for Rico, so he tries to stand up for Tyler. When the bullies call his bluff and challenge him to a schoolyard brawl, he runs and hides in the bathroom at the scheduled time. The train picks him up, whisking him away to a strange new dimension, and giving him a strange glowing number on his hand. His starting number is 44.

From there, Rico meets with fellow passenger Irvin Kemp and train denizen Princess, a talking pink mouse. Together, they travel through many train cars, working to get their numbers down by facing whatever trials the train throws at them. From riddles, to school, to mirror mazes, to comedy clubs, they encounter a great deal of hardship, but overcome it all.

After the Arcade Car, Rico's number finally hits 0, granting him his exit. He says his goodbyes to Irvin and Princess, promises Irvin to let his friend know he's okay, and leaves the train. His story ends their, with Rico resolving to work on his flaws.