consider Axel getting sick and sleeping on the common room couches (like he does in the manga once) and the whole time everyone is getting their assignments and everything, Saïx basically pretends he doesn't exist and everyone just assumes Axel is getting the cold shoulder as punishment but as soon as it's all cleared out, Saïx finally walks over and tells him to go take the day off because he managed to assign his work to other people without anyone complaining. Axel asks if he put any extra pressure on the kids but Saïx promises him it was mostly Demyx who got extra work
"but then my work's not getting done today anyway"
"which just means that Demyx will be in trouble, and you will be well-rested enough to do tomorrow's work without issue"
and by lock in I mean hyperfixate on and off all day cause only took breaks to rest and eat aksjdhaksjhdkajsdh but I took plenty of breaks!!! will eat as soon as I post this!!! take care of yourself even when making art, makes your art better in fact
ANYWAYS IT'S THEM!!! I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!!!!
will ramble about actual design details below cut but in any case SO HAPPY WITH THIS!!!! IS SO AWESOME!!!!! WE CAN DRAW THIS IS AWESOME also notice how Axel's the only one with like. solid fucking anatomy I'd say because we're actually fat and are familiar with what fat bodies look like! smaller bodies idk. we've been fat for so long at this point is what we're used to
this is proof you can do whatever you want. make that au. draw that art. write that fic. you often love it so much more than you thought you would
OKAY DESIGN INFO!!! BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY THIS PIECE IS VERY STYLISTIC AND NOT EXACTLY A REF SHEET AKSJHDAKJDH
Saïx
big scar over his left eye, vaguely in the shape of an X but lopsided and asymmetrical. that eye is closed by default but he's capable of opening it
he has a solid mix of snakes and hair, so the snakes can be hidden or on display. they also shapeshift and can look different at different times
he would actually accessorize WAY MORE THAN THIS!!! but this is like the first time we've ever done serious character design we'll have to learn as we go
Axel
tattoos other than the stars on his face don't have any canon or anything. they're kinda just whatever for now akjsdhkasjhd might as well be shapeshifting until we design them. even once we design them might go off-model whenever want
he definitely has other tattoos all over legs and back, and his hair is red these are just limited colours
he is FAT!!! like all these darlings have actual visible body fat but Axel is FAT!!! HE SQUISHES WHEN YOU HUG HIM!!!! he is massive and soft and heavy and Saïx actively adores this about him
Xion
this is a very low-grade crocodile day. this is basically the minimum creature she's going to be on any given day, but based on deep space energy and electromagnetics and stuff (her body is an n64 getting bits flipped) so she can be way more monstrous than this. it's virtually random so can be anything at any time - though the transformation is gradual and happens over the course of hours, if not days
messy hair! swamp girl! I love her!
she is STRONK!!! beefy lizard girl!!! she is not frail or small she has muscle and fat on them bones she is built!!!
Roxas
he runs kind of small because of his ravenous appetite and crazy metabolism but rest assured this boy has body fat, Axel works to keep this kid fed well enough that he is happy and healthy
these are just example mutations, it can be literally anything ever! if it's animalistic then he can mutate it!
the mutations kind of scale with his hunger, but really he can be up to like 50-70% mutated before it becomes a marker of genuine hunger and NEEDING food. if left alone his body would naturally run around 40-50% mutated, but he often eats well enough that it drops below that
honestly in general we aren't super concerned with having the MOST strict designs on these four, we just want it to be fun and awesome and oh my god love them all so much!!! builds can always be fatter than depicted here rest assured akshdkajhd but otherwise just gonna kinda vibe these four out until maybe there comes a day we get proper ref sheets going on
okay tysm love this au so much this is awesome and we definitely gotta draw them more often!!!!
while at the Organization, they never really started dating so they never really broke up. if asked, Axel would say they'd "kind of been dating" since they were teenagers and considers them as emotionally sleeping in different rooms at the moment. Saïx would say they started dating as they settled into the Organization and functionally broke up a few years ago. they in fact kissed at fifteen and never really talked about it, and still make out on a regular basis
this leads to a miscommunication post-kh3 where Saïx works up the courage to ask Axel if he'd be interested in trying to date again and Axel is like "what? we've been dating this whole time"
Axel gains weight working for the Organization, cause the stress of like... everything, and the specific despair of being a Nobody, it helps him to tell himself he's taking care of himself if he eats well. Saïx notices the mood shift after meals and will absolutely track down Axel if he notices him skipping a meal cause something must be VERY WRONG if he's not at supper
Saïx thinks that they keep it lowkey and that their coworkers don't really know about their history. Axel knows damn well that everyone knows and if he's been too soft lately he starts getting teased for being Saïx's guard dog
(Axel still tells Saïx that nobody knows so that he doesn't try harder to hide)
oh we have too many... more beneath the cut
Axel's indicator that Things Are Bad actually is if Saïx just asks him for a hug. like sometimes they're alone and getting gay about it but if he just asks for a hug? oh, things are so bad. it's a cheat code for their relationship really, for Saïx to ask for a hug and they both immediately act like nothing's wrong. they set it aside and just be there for each other. it's fleeting and brief but god, Axel is here for him when he needs him
Axel's always bitching about his not-quite-boyfriend to Larxene and Marluxia because they're the hater trio and he knows they listen. Larxene tries to keep them together because she'll go INSANE if there aren't two toxic gay men to keep her entertained, and Marluxia just keeps giving the most esoteric advice because he likes how confused Axel looks about it
Larxene specifically bullies Axel for enjoying it when Saïx is mean to him. Axel doesn't deny this
Saïx never so much as utters aloud what he and Axel have going on, he just kind of Yearns or Seethes depending on the kind of day he's having
if asked, Axel would say their relationship is based on recreating the kinds of closeness they had as awkward teenagers exploring their gender and queerness together. he'll laugh off any suggestion that he has feelings about it all, pointing out that it's just habit for habit's sake. to pretend they're still alive
(yes they're t4t)
Saïx would obviously deny it outright, but if truly truly pressed he'd probably claim it's just to hold onto Axel. deny all his own investment in it, act like he's just keeping Axel close so that when they get their hearts back they can truly resume what they once had
Saïx actually avoids spending too much time with Axel at once - since he's deathly afraid of running out of things to say - so it's just a lot of microdosing dates when Axel manages to stop him for more than thirty seconds at a time
when they do spend a lot of time together? it's when Saïx lets himself rest, he doesn't try to talk, he just shuts down and listens as Axel talks about anything and everything until the end of time. Axel could talk forever if he were allowed, and sometimes Saïx lets him, and they both soak up such valuable time
once Roxas and Xion are at the Organization though...
Axel is really pressed for time, and while he tries to keep spending time with Saïx, he starts to reconsider his priorities and is less willing to put up with him being truly mean
Saïx, unfortunately, starts being mean more often because he's lashing out about feeling like Axel is abandoning him
also since Roxas and Xion keep up with Axel way more than anyone else, it's gotten harder for them to stay hidden without really going out of their way to be secret about things
honestly this where they get PEAK divorced vibes. Axel starts to resent Saïx for how he's acting these days, Saïx obviously resents Axel for abandoning him to go hang out with this kid and a puppet, even when they DO spend time together it's genuinely so spiteful
peak toxic yaoi honestly. they hate each other so much and they kiss about it
Roxas and Xion are too busy hating Saïx to realize that Axel is gay for him and honestly that makes it even HARDER to reference at all because Axel doesn't want to teach these kids how complicated this world is. give them some more time before they have to learn how easily the people you love can turn out to be terrible
(cough cough weird I wonder if Axel would put himself in this category...)
all of this leading up to Axel betraying the Organization is really what makes Saïx think they're like, done. he convinces himself that Axel wouldn't care even if he did have a heart and tries to assume this is all pure history
you cannot stop us we're getting to kh3/post kh3 rq. we still call them Axel and Saïx though
obviously Axel loves Saïx more than anything, god he loves him so much and he wants to save him so badly. but also it's weird how like... he assumed he'd love him MORE once he stopped being a nobody, once he had his heart back, but it's the same? it's like he never lost the ability to love him in the first place
(we don't know enough about the later storyline to know if Axel understands how the heart stuff works for Nobodies yet, but even if he does this would be jarring regardles)
Saïx is off coping. desperately ignoring how much he cares about Axel. he's so good at it he's convinced himself at this point, even if it's so hard to ignore that pang of pain every time he thinks about him
they didn't kiss when Saïx died is because Axel was scared to take advantage of a dying man, and Saïx was scared to doom his heartful self with feelings he might not be ready to confront
Saïx does, in fact, tackle Axel in a hug the moment he sees him and they like. no hesitation kiss. they have a lot of lost time to make up for, and a lot of it will be spent in each other's arms
they are so miserably in love and for the first time in over a decade, Saïx has no image to upkeep. he doesn't really have to worry anymore. he can just love Axel, out loud, without hesitation
and does Axel ever match him, he makes Saïx look reserved by comparison with how unabashedly he makes sure everyone who ever so much as looks at him knows how much he loves the moon to his star
Roxas and Xion are just happy to have a stepdad, even with the history they've gotten, and Saïx will probably never get over how infinitely kind it is to welcome him into their life after everything that happened back at the Organization
Axel is so impossibly thankful that he's finally got Saïx back, with no fine print or restrictions, just love with no qualifications - but he's just as thankful that they get to be an actual family, that the people he loves aren't split in two. he gets to love them all at the same time
maybe they finally get to be okay
okay this started with headcanons and turned into the outline of what it'd look like if we completely rewrote kingdom hearts from akusai's perspective. I can't fathom this is what you were asking for but it's what you got so hope you enjoyed
maybe with this out of our system we can get around to a post that writes ACTUAL lighthearted headcanons, but also if you want to prompt us with anything specific you go AHEAD that'll keep us on topic instead of basically writing fanfic in response to an ask aksdhaksjhd
thank you so much for this ask though, this was awesome to write, I was in a TERRIBLE mood this morning but god this made me feel so much better. I'm gonna post this then go take care of myself extra good so I can answer more asks afterwards
man I love it here, thank you to everyone sending in asks!!!!!
okay been doing lots of brain storming and LOVE WHERE THIS ALL IS GOING!!!! OKAY LET'S GO
formatted like mtg cards because that kind of naming convention feels inspired for this au and maybe we'll fuck around and make fake cards for them, who knows!!!
Saïx, Serpentine Moonlight
gorgon with stunning blue snakes as hair, often swept back into the collar of his shirt or hidden entirely. will do some research to figure out what specific snake he has going on (but probably like, not in-canon, and possibly colour-shifted depending on colour and shape combination desired) and he's got some scars on his face from a few times that people have discovered his true nature. he's got one bad eye that's usually laying closed, but is still functional if he puts in the effort to hold it open
as established in previous post, he can only turn someone to stone if both he and his snakes make eye contact with someone. pretty easy to avoid doing that by accident, though it also means he has to reveal himself if he plans to do anything with his powers
lives outside of town, and most trips into town are alone even though he talks about his daughter a lot. she's rather sick, and terribly sensitive to the sun, so people understand that she rarely strays too far from home. he's well-respected within the community even if everyone is quietly terrified of how intimidating he is
not sure how long ago he's adopted Xion, but it wasn't recently by any means. they love each other and they're such a solid little family unit, he is such a girldad he absolutely adores her
Xion, Crocodilian Waterdweller
sweet little swamp monster, all scales and teeth and lashing tail. she's humanoid but has asymmetrical scales patterned all across her body and the scariest teeth possible. she spends longs days floating in the water and soaking up sunlight but reluctantly sleeps inside with her lame-ass dad because he's scared of what might happen to her
doesn't know if she's a girl turned croc or croc turned girl, her long term memory is hazy on a good day, but by god she loves her dad and humid rooms
if she gets fully garbed up for an outing, complete with a too-big hood and a modified backpack to hide her tail in, then it's possible for her to walk among humans and pass as the weird girl who probably grew up killing farm animals every night for dinner who's got some kind of illness that warrants all this protection
Roxas, Chimeric Mystery
absolute freak of a boy. seemingly human most of the time but has a virtually-endless craving for raw meat, and will get sick if he eats anything else. sadly he yearns for mortal sweets and pastries so Axel has to keep a close eye on him or kid in a candy store will throw up glowing stomach bile, and neither of them can handle that kind of attention
if he ever starts to get seriously hungry - which happens pretty often, he's got quite the metabolism for someone so small - then he starts to sprout unpredictable bits and pieces of a chimeric body plan. it's not so noticeable at first, small mutations to joints and skin and hair, but left unchecked he'll get more and more monstrous until his hunger takes over and he'll go find something to eat himself
most of the time he's just maxed out on energy and wants everything all the time at the speed of light. Axel should probably have him on a leash but he can't bear those sad little puppydog eyes so Roxas is free reign if it isn't an absolute emergency. though he knows well enough to stick by his dad's side as soon as the sun starts setting, because he's terrified of getting lost because he doesn't know what'll happen at this point if he loses himself to a hunger he can't sate
Axel, Devoted Mortal
actually not a monster! like, just a regular-ass guy. all he's got is a heart of gold that made him lock the fuck in and help the poor wolfish Roxas he once met on a mountain trail, half-feral and starving but looking at him with every ounce of terrified pity to be found in a child who ran away from home. watched him throw up everything Axel tried to offer him until the monster-boy finally managed to stomach the deer he'd recently killed and Axel realized this kid really needed his help
Roxas being so unpredictable and chaotic makes it pretty hard to keep his monstrous nature on the down low. Axel's very used to booking it out of town the moment a new incident takes place, but he'll never let Roxas know how much it stresses him out because he'd do anything for this kid. they're all but on the run with how easily suspicion arises, but it's all worth it to see Roxas smile
outside of being god's strongest single dad, Axel's charismatic to a fault and struggles to make meaningful connections because even when he's not being run out of town protecting his son, he's so busy wearing a mask and trying to impress anyone that he's never really gotten good at letting his guard down. naturally he is extremely vulnerable to the gaze of a soul-staring man with beautiful blue hair, and might just open up for once
OKAY YAY I LOVE THEM SO MUCH AKSJDHAKSJHDSAKJDH
feel free to send us asks or reblog with comments/ideas/whatever or anything you want we are so excited about this askjdhakjshd
will probably try to get going some actual drawn designs in due time, and figure out exact setting we want this in because we've definitely been drawn to a lowkey-fantasy setting without modern technology (because this is heavily inspired by all the legends/secrets of deltora fanfic we wrote as a kid) but!!! we will be figuring everything out as we explore this and get things established
in conclusion YOUR HONOUR I LOVE THEM!!!! LOVE THEM SO MUCH!!!!
Yoooo I got a scene idea: little Lea and Isa sharing a paupo fruit that they found whilst visiting the islands for whatever reason (vacay? Wtv)
Thought it would be cute :D
"Hey, you're never gonna guess what I got!"
Lea crashes into Isa, still uncoordinated even if he's yet to get any kind of growth spurt that'd justify how little he knows his own body.
"I won't, tell me."
"You're not fun."
He sighs, "Did you somehow get that ice cream that was out of stock because you slept in too late?"
"You could've woken me up!"
"I tried."
"Didn't try hard enough! Anyways you're wrong, and you hurt my feelings, so now you have to make it up to me!"
"Just because I-"
"You have two more guesses, by the way."
Isa realizes only one hand is hidden behind his back, the other one resting on the edge of Isa's lap.
"Fine. Is it... some kind of jewelry?"
"Do you want jewelry?"
"You just always try to buy it for me, even if I never wear it."
"You're a crovid, you love collecting shiny things."
"Corvid."
"That's what I said. Not jewelry, though."
Isa sighs, at his smile cast in orange light. The setting sun is different here - maybe because it can drop lower towards the horizon before disappearing before it, or because of the colour bouncing off the ocean waves, or the sand itself disrupts the colour cones in his eyes - and it makes Lea look warmer than ever.
Isa's apparently dropped some weight as his body turns fat into height, bone and muscle and whatever else is needed to grow taller. He hopes Lea never stops being soft.
"You're thinking really hard about this one, huh?"
Lea grins, with one tooth missing, because his baby teeth held on until the very end, until a dentist tore the last one out and told his jaw to grow up.
"It needs to be a good guess."
"All your guesses are good! They're just wrong."
"You're so confident that I-"
Isa blushes, at a flash of bright yellow. Lea's faltered, his arm tired, and the surprise quietly reveals itself.
Nobody's around, the distant beach holds everyone else while they sit quiet and alone hidden behind scattered foliage. Isa sought it out for genuine respite, to quell his overstimulation and find a moment of peace before putting up with the chaos of heading back home after a day so warm and sandy.
Now it's private enough that he only briefly considers throwing Lea into the ocean out of sheer panic.
"A paopu fruit?"
"Yes!" He beams, revealing it with a flourish, "You're so smart, Isa."
Smart as he might be, Isa remains frozen as Lea wordlessly tries to tear the sweet star in half. He pulls at either side like there's a seam built down the middle, as if he's never seen anyone do this before, and Isa supposes he hasn't. It's not as if he knows any better.
He'd suggest Lea try to snap it in half with more leverage, but he's too busy trying not to pass out.
Fate-binding flesh lies inside the fruit, and Lea can't free it.
"I'm so lucky I found one." He digs his nails into the star instead, "Now we can be together forever!"
The world disappears, and only the lapping ocean waves accompany the sound of Lea's excited huffs.
"We'll be..."
"I thought you knew, Isa!" Lea laughs, but goes pale when he tears a chunk out of the fruit.
He holds it, living gold stuck beneath his nails, and Isa can see tears forming.
"Does this still count?"
They stare down at the gored paopu, claw marks in one side of a star point and a fatal wound on the other. Isa always thought they'd be like bananas, with a thick layer on the outside, but he can't tell where the skin stops and fruit starts. They might be like tomatoes, or pears, or have a rind like watermelon that matches the whole fruit inside out.
"It does." Isa promises him, because it has to be true, "You could do anything and it still counts."
Lea sighs, dropping a threat of lifelong consequence from his shoulders.
"You can pick your own piece, then."
He hands over the fruit, sacred and affectionate, and Isa considers which arm he could break off to match. Take his own handful of sweet flesh, devour their respective halves in slow motion and erase the fruit by sundown.
Instead he grabs the piece with claw marks that Lea couldn't dig into, and snaps it off where Lea's chunk came from.
"It might work better if we eat the same corner."
"Good idea." Lea's share hovers in front of his mouth, "I bet most people don't do that."
"I don't think they do." Isa smiles, "Ours will work even better this way. We'll be together forever."
CRYING AND SOBBING THIS WAS SO FUN TO WRITE... YOUR HONOUR THEY'RE TWO TEENAGE GAY BOYS WHO DON'T KNOW THE TRAGEDY THAT WILL SOON BEFALL THEM... I didn't plan for it at all but Lea straight up messing up and nearly destroying the paopu is so choice. he WOULD, wouldn't he? and then Isa comforts him... oh, we could write about these sweet teenagers all day
it may have taken nearly two weeks to get around and write but I am so incredibly proud of this, tbh we really do need to explore their childhood more, what they were like before they lost ten developmental years to the cult they thoughts would help them
rah I love them so much... your honour... they are sun and moon they love each other they will be together forever
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
behold!!! the monster au fic is REAL, WE JUST POSTED THE FIRST CHAPTER, OH IS SO GOOD LOVE IT SO MUCH DEVELOPING THESE CHARACTERS IS SO FUN AKJSDHAKJSHDAKSJHD
am very quickly about to leave for a doctor's appointment but managed to get this posted and AM SO HAPPY!!! THIS IS SO AWESOME WE'VE WORKED SO HARD ON THIS FIC NOW IT'S BECOMING REAL ASKJDHAKSJHDAKSJDH
dunno how slow chapter progress will be, let alone posting of the other two fics but!! am so happy to have this done :] hope everyone enjoys
Sudden vision. Of the back alley of Twilight Town Bistro where cooks take a smoke break and Axel is there - yeah he'll light up your cigarette for you. Fire magic 🔥 is lovely.
If the Sea Salt squad can't get their sea salt ice cream. What are the options for "I need a smoke break but I don't smoke"?
Axel keeps a stash of s'mores supplies at work and makes them in the side alley where no one's allowed to smoke but it's still quiet enough to use some fire without anybody worrying. everyone loves this so much and he's starting to wonder if he's a good influence on his smoking coworkers because his rule is you can't smoke if you're getting s'mores and by god some of them sacrifice a smoke break to get a sweet treat
(the chocolate is too sweet for Saïx so Axel makes his s'mores with only marshmallow and graham crackers. it's his favourite)
when Saïx needs his breaks though, he excuses himself for spiritual ceremony. it's close enough to religious that nobody bothers about it, and it describes the relationship he's come to have with the universe around him. embracing the fact that he will never truly understand how everything works brings him comfort, so he stands outside basking in moonlight or sunlight regardless, whispering his thoughts and feelings to the ruling celestial bodies so that some uncaring void might process his experiences on his behalf
he doesn't understand everything, and that's okay. nobody does
Roxas and Xion meanwhile free roam around the Bistro - dishwashers in title, but jitterbugs in function. they'll carry out any task given, even if it's Roxas tearing up over bulk onion peeling or Xion wandering out alongside servers to help clean off tables of the rare customers rude enough to be asked to leave. in the same vein are their breaks so flippant and impulsive - sometimes it's following Axel outside for s'mores, climbing up onto the roof to mimic Saïx's conversations with the moon, or dodging both their dads for long enough to tackle-hug friends spotted on the street and hold the longest conversation possible without getting in trouble for missing work
not that either of these two angels could ever get in trouble, all puppy-dog eyes and pleading tones
You know you can buy frozen mice to feed your pet snake? They're called pinkie mice and they come in different sizes/ages depending on how much your snake can handle.
Axel and Saix reach for the same bag of pinkie mice in the freezer of the local pet store. Call that a frozen meat cute.
Roxas is snacking on pinkie mice, refuse to share with that hoodie girl. Xion steals a bite, goes "oh! I recognize these!" :) then wait... "My favorite! Do you like the fuzzy ones? They're a little crunchy!" And shows off her teeth. Roxas has a heart attack but then laughs. Arfid siblings!
HOW DIDN'T WE THINK OF PINKIES???? frozen meat cute... this is so genius love it so much
Roxas hasn't seen other creature people in so long that when Xion flashes her teeth he's so jumpscared until suddenly IT MAKES SENSE!!! HE ISN'T ALONE!!!! ARFID SIBLINGS MUNCH ON THE MICE!!!!
honest Xion would probably clock Roxas the moment she catches body language that most people assume is just autistic (which he is but that's not only reason why he moves like an animal) she recognizes CREATURE!!!! JUST LIKE ME FR!!!!!
she's definitely stalking him through the store while their dads get caught up because Saïx is perceptive enough to recognize that Axel Has Something Going On while Axel is both trying not to fall for the gorgeous man talking to him and panicking over how this is a lot of attention to get the moment they roll into a new town and is gauging whether or not he and Roxas should just pass straight through to avoid trouble
finally when Roxas sneaks out to chomp down on the pinkies he definitely-bought-don't-worry Xion follows him right out and they end up snacking once he realizes she's safe
(Axel has long since taught him that we do value local businesses and try to avoid getting in trouble but if Roxas has to eat then he has to eat)
this comes to a stop when Saïx suddenly realizes his daughter is nowhere to be seen, not even in the store, and nothing matters other than making sure she's okay. Axel immediately tags along out of genuine concern and also fear that Roxas might have something to do with this-
they've never been so relieved to see their kids with blood-stained teeth, and thus starts the who-knows-how-long endeavor that Saïx is desperately trying to figure out what kind of monster Axel is without outright asking because That's Rude, He Can't Just Ask (he doesn't know a lot of monster people he's just kind of making up rules and following them)
oh... oh the angst... at this point Roxas would be so used to drifting from place to place that he can't help but assume his time with Xion is limited, so he's gotta hang out with his new best friend as much as possible, and tries to be on his best behavior in hopes that they stay as long as they can, tries to figure out how mail works so he can send letters to Xion even if Roxas won't be able to ever get letters back-
gonna fucking CRY over this stage of their friendship, when Roxas is scared that everything is temporary but doesn't know how to talk about it because he's not really used to making friends
meanwhile he is completely unaware that Axel is doomed. he wants to be with Saïx so bad. you guys aren't going anywhere, Roxas, I promise
