100% the hardest wig to make tbh also Xaldins voice is so nice. He was also one of the hardest boss fights for me as a kid and I can respect him for that, if only we had Belle on our team, she could have taken him out easily.
“Da-ru-ma-saaaaaan GAKORONDA!” Braig said, turning away from the castle wall to see Ienzo frozen in place in the hallway.
The man chuckled and looked back to the wall, “Darumasan-ga-koronnnnnn-DA!” He turned his head to see Ienzo standing on one leg, a bit closer to him.
He looked back to the wall, “Daaaaaa-RUMASANGAKORONDA!” He turned as Ienzo tripped onto the carpet. “You moved!”, Braig went up to him and picked the little boy up. “You’re my prisoner now!”
Aeleus walked down the hall with Dilan. Ienzo noticed them and reached out to them, “Heeeelp mee! The oni has me!” The small boy’s voice was soft and wasn’t loud, it was very rare for him to speak.
“What are you doing Braig? You should be at your post.” Dilan stated, crossing his arms, “What kind of captain of the guard are you?”
“I don’t know who Braig is.” Braig said, putting Ienzo down but held his hand, “I am Daruma-san! If you wish to save the little boy, you must play!”
The man with the dreadlocks scoffed, “Nonsense.”
Aeleus then placed a hand on Dilan’s shoulder, “Dilan. We have to save Ienzo.”
“… What?”
“It is our sworn oath as castle guards to protect the castle and everyone who lives in it.”
“Save meee Dilan.” Ienzo said reaching out.
Aeleus smiled, “Let’s go save him!”
Dilan rolled his eyes, “Fine.”
Ienzo made a childish giggle and pointed, “You start at the end of the carpet.”
The two other guards walked to the end of the carpet and waited for the game to start. Braig smirked and looked at the wall.
“Daruma-san ga koronda!” Braig said, turning his head to see that the two men were already halfway towards him. He then moved his face back to the wall, where Aeleus started to move towards Ienzo.
“Darumasankoronda!” Braig said quicker, turning his head to see Aeleus stumble, “You moved!”
“Oh no! You’re his prisoner!” Ienzo said as dramatically as he could.
The large man chuckled and held Ienzo’s hand and reached out to Dilan, “It’s up to you Dilan as a soldier, to save us all.”
“Oh please, you are dramatic.” Dilan said, rolling his eyes.
Braig moved his sight back to the wall, “Daaaa-ruuuu-ma-saaaannnn kooo-RANDA!” He turned to see that Dilan didn’t move from his spot.
“Dilaaan.” Ienzo whined.
“You’re almost there.” Aeleus stated.
Dilan sighed.
Braig looked at the wall. Dilan crouched down to the floor.
“Daru-ma-san—”
The black haired guard then leaped into the air and glided to the other players and gracefully reached the ground.
“Koran–”
Dilan then chopped Ienzo and Braig’s hands gently to make sure he didn’t hurt the boy, “You’re free.”
Hearing that, Aeleus picked up Ienzo and ran the other way. Dilan was confused for a moment as Braig yelled.
“Daruman-san koronda stop!”
Then they froze and Dilan was still confused.
“How many steps Dilan?” Braig asked, smirking.
The other man blinked in confusion, “Three?”
“Big or small?”
“Small?”
Braig then took a step, “One.”
He took another, “Two.”
And another, “Three.”
He then grabbed Dilan’s arm, “Now you’re the oni.”
Dilan protested, “I am not play—”
“Hurry Braig! You have to start at the beginning with us!” Ienzo shouted.
“Don’t need to tell me twice!” Braig stated as he rushed over.
Dilan who did not want to play this childish game any longer changed his mind when he saw how excited Ienzo was. Out of the months Ienzo lived here in the castle, never did Dilan see the boy so excited for anything. He supposed playing one more game wouldn’t hurt if it was making Ienzo happy.
He turned around and faced the wall. Ienzo ran as fast as he could towards the guard.
“Daruma… san.” He then felt someone hugged his leg. He quickly gazed down to see Ienzo smiling almost ear to ear.
“I caught you!”
Dilan smiled, “You caught me.”
“BORING.” Braig shouted, “That was a quick game!”
Dilan then narrowed his eyes at Braig, “Then we will play another round!”
“I want to be the oni!” Ienzo stated going to the wall and shooed Dilan away, “Go go.”
The man smiled and nodded before heading towards his fellow guards so they could start the game over.
“Daaa-ruuuma-saaann.”
The guards took a few steps to start the game. They played again and again that day, till the sun set and Ienzo was tired. It was a day like this that made the fondest of memories.
…
…
…
So that’s why they fight to get their hearts back.
Lanyard art for the Seeker Saga tarot card bonus merch. We are so close to reaching our next stretch goal! Pre-orders end in 3 days, so order yours by December 10th! Iink in the comments.
What types of desserts would they prefer at the end of the day (or in the middle of it)?
sea salt ice cream doesn’t count
Xemnas:
A good, rich chocolate cake. With a dark chocolate icing, so it isn’t overwhelmingly sweet.
Xigbar:
Cream pie. The flavor depends on the day and the exact time, but he tends to bounce between chocolate and coconut.
Xaldin:
Shortbread cookies, the rectangle ones that are almost crisps with how thin they are.
Vexen:
A not too sweet bowl of cereal and milk. That’s it.
Lexaeus:
Little fruit tarts, where you can’t tell if the edges are almost burnt or not, but the fruit is really good.
Zexion:
Your basic chocolate chip cookie. The perfectly functional, sort of flat ones that everyone has had hot out of the oven. Is incredibly particular, and if anyone tries to spruce them up at all, he refuses to eat it.
Saix:
White chocolate macadamia nut cookies. Preferably hot out of the oven so the chocolate is still melted but will absolutely eat them cold.
Axel:
Has always loved churros, covered in probably too much cinnamon sugar. Appreciates strawberry or raspberry sauce, but definitely doesn’t need it.
Demyx:
Blueberry lemon bars. He’ll never go out of his way to make it, and they’re sometimes hard to find anywhere, but he just loves them so much. Kind of sweet, kind of tart, super good.
Luxord:
Crème brulee, and he is not all that particular about it. Can usually tell that the chef put in effort and is pleased enough at that. Absolutely does the spoon crack thing.
Marluxia:
Chocolate covered cherries, or any baked good that involves both chocolate and cherries. Particularly brownies with a cherry filling.
Larxene:
A good old fashioned apple pie. The sort of slightly tart kind, that way she can put vanilla ice cream on top. Always served hot, never cold for this reason.
Roxas:
Will like most things, but got hooked on coffee cakes. Thoroughly enjoys them, and the better the crumble, the better the cake.
Xion:
Literally anything sweet. She likes cookies, cakes, pies, pastries, and ice cream.
I just can’t bring myself to let luxu go from canon BC I just love him sm. I know people want him to just be bad, no redemption arc but my middle name is redemption au so obviously I’m doing one for kingdom hearts
lol i say i love him then proceed to torture him for several paragraphs
I’m in the “ people deserve to be able to redeem themselves ” and “ you are under no obligation to forgive someone for their actions” can and should coexist camp. ive applied this in this au to xemnas, ansem and even Young xehanort ( ill rambel about him later but tldr he doesnt go back to the past at the end of kh3 like hes meant to, a replica of him does purely because i wanted to keep him in the future but ill elaborate on the story reason for it later.)
Post kh4 luxu definitely falls closer to the “ no forgiveness” end of that scale. AU Xemnas worked hard and eventually endeared himself to people, even kairi who he kinda got killed. ok maybe hes not totally forgiven, maybe he never will be but he’s at least accepted by the majority. Ansem has his own little neich and a casual but friendly relationship with riku, provided he doesnt talk to much. YMX is acting like a kid, finally having the normal youth that was ripped away from him by MOM . Luxu on the other hand just sort of….gives up. He’s not su#idal or anything he just sort of stops caring. the norts try to bring him round, show him if they can do it he can too but… He’s broken beyond measure, he doesn’t have the strength of will to try any more and loses a sense of self/ego. If someone tells him to do something, he does it, if they tell him to go , he leaves without protest. im not even sure hed defend himself if attacked, he probably just stand there and take it or maybe try to run? after going through this nightmare existance for the last 250+ years , for him to be the only forteller left ,for all the misery he caused only for it to mean nothing in the end is soul crushing. needless to say his sense of self-worth is lower than dirt. Luxu really seems to believe he deserves this dogs abuse for what hes done.
I cant imagine how lonely he was before kh4 but now after its all over and hes burned every bridge hes ever walked, hes completly desolate and renounced by everyone. worst part is, its kinda his own fault.
i think he tries to go back to radiant garden, if for no other reason than getting yelled at by people you know is preferable to being compltly abandoned and outcast. he feels a little comfort from being in the castle but the radient garden gang are none to happy to see him. Ienzo is pleasant if short, surprised to see him . the others however are not, ranging from dismissive, rude and cold attitudes from even and Aeleus right up to outright hostile and violent from Dilan. Dilan is normally pretty calm all things considered but when he sees Luxu standing before Lord Ansem, asking for forgiveness and to stay with them for a little its fucking on sight . Aeleus escorts him out before Dilan can REALLY hurt him but not before reminding him he isnt welcome there anymore. He accuses him of just apologising to assuage his guilt and not because he’s actually sorry for all the shit he put them through, which isn’t untrue but he really is sorry if you would just hear him out for 5 seconds . Understandably Aeleus shuts the door in his face. He might want to apologise but they dont want to or arent ready to hear it and he knows trying to force that on them would do more damage than good .Luxu still hangs around castle town for a few days licking his wounds in both a literal and figurative sense before deciding that the others are right to be angry and gives up on them.
(just imagine that simpsons clip with bart and lisa “you can actually pinpoint the second his heart rips in half”)
whats even worse about all this is that i imagine post kh4, luxu has no keyblade. think about it, all the other fortellers have their own keyblades but luxu gets the master of masters old one. its already covered in scratches by the time he gets it so it cant be made from his heart like all other keyblades, it has to be MoM’s. and since MoM is gone now in this au, that means his keyblade is gone too. so lets sumarize. luxu has : no friends, no home, no keyblade and no purpose. i imagine he’s feeling pretty low
but because im horrible im going to make it worse.
You remember the subplot of maleficent looking for the book of proficies? well after all this she still hasnt found it but she does now know Xigbar is luxu and who luxu really is. So, understandably she decides to ask him a few friendly questions on the subject by which i mean string him up and slash him with vines until he tells her what she wants to hear.
Listen ive been talking consistantly about how broken and at a loss luxu is but if theres one thing to bring back his defiant streak its this bs from maleficent. homeboy has been holding his tongue for nearly 3 centuries, hes not going to break for a dramatic witch and her pet furry.
Frustrated with her lack of success maleficent takes him back to radient garden and threatens to chuck him off a cliff into an abyss or maybe the water treatment turbines. Luxu is still defiant, even weak and bleeding from her interrogation. He doesn’t want to die particularly, he’s never read the book of profocies but she doesn’t know that. if it means fucking with maleficent then he’s happy to go and nip her dumb plans in the bud.
now in my little headcanon its my oc shep whos looking out for him. she has a similar backstory, being burdened with a great task, much older than her physical appearance would suggest so she feels a little kinship with luxu, despite how he’s hurt her but for the sake of keeping this somewhat canon compliant so other people can enjoy it lets say dilan takes her place.
Sorry to the luxu stans out there I’m just whumping this man for his life.
Just when it seems like she’s about have Pete fling him over the edge something bonks Pete in the head and clatters to the floor. Luxu might be weak from injury or bloodloss but he’s not stupid, he might have to crawl but he’s getting away from these assholes, kicking Pete in the shins for good measure. Absolutely no prizes for guessing who it is that’s come to rescue him.
The radiant garden gang cannot stand maleficent. Ok they gave up their hearts but SHE was the one to drag radiant garden into the darkness, squatting in their home like a frog for 10 years. Dilan is still mad as hell but he’s also not just about to sit there and let that arrogant witch have her way. They can’t beat her, not even with the 5 of them but thankfully she’s not looking for a fight. She and Pete retreat for now, promising to come back for luxu and some answers. Even Even takes that shit personally and is ready to throw hands with her if she ever comes back. Luxu is just sort of sat in stunned silence even as he’s ushered into the castle to have his wounds treated.
Things are a little bit tense but they can’t exactly leave luxu to die from infection or exposure. Until someone makes a joke Like “ damn even didn’t know you had it in you” followed by some bravado from a usually fairly risk adversed Even, and a little alughter all round. Even Dilan has a small smile and for maybe just a moment everything feels normal again for luxu like maybe there’s a little hope after all.
There’s a quote I’m fond of that is “
You don’t need another Human Being to make your life complete, but let’s be honest. Having your wounds kissed by someone who doesn’t see them as disasters In your soul, but cracks to put their love into, Is the most calming thing In this World.” And damn if luxu doesnt appreciate having a little love poured into his cuts…even if it is followed by stinging antiseptic and some admonishing words.
on that topic i think i will call this the golden au after Kintsugi, the art of repairing broken things with gold. It’s not the same as before but the breaks are part of its beauty
