OOC ✿ INFORMATION

[thorns]

name: Marluxia ( alias: XI; the Graceful Assassin )
fandom: Kingdom Hearts
timeline: Post-death || after the events of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
gender: male
age: Unspecified, but physically he appears to be in his late twenties.

appearance:

✿ conceptual artwork
✿ Re: COM/KH: Final Mix game render
✿ 358/2 Days game render

personality:

Like a flower, who Marluxia really is lies beneath the petals of his grace and charm—but only the most astute (or those who are just plain unlucky) ever manage to catch a glimpse of his true nature. He strives to project to others what you might call a "good" personality: intelligent and confident, he appears to be a fairly approachable person at first glance. Indeed, his charisma is such he makes it seem like he is friendly and sincerely cares about matters not affecting him directly.

Which—being a Nobody and vicious even by the standards of the Organization—he isn't and he doesn't. Façade aside, Marluxia is actually somewhat of a megalomaniac. He loves being in command to the point that he dislikes being told what to do unless it already coincides with his own interests. Those under his authority know better than to question his words, though that is clearly not the case with his own superiors, as Marluxia is the type to give his own opinion whether or not he is asked for it.

Such self-belief is ironically his deepest flaw, often leading him to underestimate the potential of a person or situation. It also creates a bit of a perfectionist complex, in that he cannot tolerate being less than the best at whatever he's doing. If he (or anyone else) doubts in his work, he will go out of his way to make it faultless. Or to eliminate whatever's making him imperfect altogether. Unsurprisingly, he absolutely despises being told he's at fault and will usually put down the person who did it. But he is not so arrogant to simply ignore the subject and any mistakes he might have made, assuming that everything he does is right—no, he will work diligently at rectifying them, both to satisfy himself and to destroy any notions of further challenging his supremacy.

He is often aware of where the line is and what the consequences are for crossing it, but the only times when he will act contrary to his own desires is when the risks of dissenting remain too high despite his attempts at lowering them. And more often than not, any compliance is merely an act—opportunities to gain knowledge about others in order to use it against them.

He is absolutely ruthless when pursuing his own goals, not hesitating to use blackmail or even murder if it means getting what he wants. Fortunately, the latter is usually a last resort (unless he can persuade someone else to bloody his/her own hands for him), as the concept of grace is an important one for Marluxia—and he'll seldom waste an opportunity to demonstrate that. He disdains crudeness in any form, whether it is in another's behavior or plans. He prefers to use manipulation to fulfill his purposes, always subtle and always done with a fine touch. Though he will not shy away from forcing others to do what he wants, he generally views those people as weak and is not at all reluctant to making them feel so. Even willing allies are nothing more than means to an end; if he chooses to grant them his protection, it is done entirely for his own benefit. To Marluxia, trust is a double-edged blade. And he does everything he can to ensure he is not on the receiving end.

abilities:

Marluxia possesses an affinity with all things flora. This link gives him the ability to control plants to obey his every whim, whether it's something as innocent as restoring a ravaged garden or malicious as having vines strangle someone to death. He can access the corridors of darkness, using them to travel between worlds or simply teleport within a single area. Marluxia also wields a scythe with which he can inflict almost always fatal wounds.

However, though his scythe may be powerful, but something of that size takes time to swing. Though he wields it with surprisingly more speed than one would expect, it still takes a longer time for him to attack than with a smaller weapon. It might only be seconds more, yet even those seconds can prove fatal in a battle. Marluxia also doesn't have many long-ranged attacks, thus placing him at a disadvantage if someone can get inside his defenses and too close for him to immediately retaliate.

Marluxia has the following specific moves ( from re: Chain of Memories and 358/2 Days ):

• full bloom
  atk. Marluxia strikes multiple times with his scythe.
  
• petal blade
  atk. using his scythe, this creates shockwaves from a distance.
  
• flower storm
  atk. three whirlstorms containing petals made from energy are created, spreading out over a wide area. Those who are caught will receive extensive damage from both the petals and Marluxia's scythe.
  
• blossom shower
  sleight. Marluxia strikes three times with his scythe from above, and then he drops to the ground, unleashing a shockwave while petal-shaped energy rains down from above.
  
• deathscythe
  sleight. with his scythe, three shockwaves surge upwards from the ground.
  
• drop shot
  sleight. Marluxia strikes down with his scythe from above, the blade and force of the blow creating a large fissure in the ground.
  
• bloom-out
  sleight. A two-part attack. A large, jagged black ring first forms around Marluxia as this attack builds energy. Once it is fully charged, he swings his scythe many times around him in a devastating circle. A variation on this is teleporting to the victim before the initial attack, accompanied by the release of an arc of energy afterward.
  

He also knows the following spells ( from 358/2 Days Ultimania ):

• aero
  LV2 Magic that shoots a swift gust of wind at a foe. Air-tossed enemies take triple damage.
  
• aerora
  LV2 Magic that sends a gust of wind to stalk your foes. Air-tossed enemies take triple damage.
  
• blizzard
  LV2 Magic that shoots an ice crystal which pursues foes. Frozen enemies take triple damage.
  
• blizzara
  LV2 Magic that sets an ice mine which explodes on contact. Frozen enemies take triple damage.
  
• thunder
  LV2 Magic that rains down a row of lightning bolts. Jolt enemies to set them up for additional damage.
  

history:

Little is known about Marluxia before he joined the Organization other than he was recruited into it by II and III, Xigbar and Xaldin, and that his other's name is some combination of the letters M, A, R, L, U, I, and A (not necessarily in that particular order). From then on, he was known as XI, the Graceful Assassin. He was told his new home would be the Castle of the World that Never Was, a peculiar realm between light and darkness.

Leaving those facts behind, one can only speculate about his experience in the Organization up to the events depicted in Chain of Memories. Still, he certainly he must have proven himself to be a valuable asset—and ambitious to be sure. But there is a limit to wanting to be the best one can be... before it turns into wanting to steal the highest position for one's self.

Such was the line Marluxia was beginning to draw dangerously close to. When Larxene joined the Organization after him as XII, the Savage Nymph, he found he was not the only one who toyed with the idea of rebellion. Loyalty in the Organization is at best a concept wrought from faded memories, the links stronger for its founders than the newcomers. To Marluxia, it was nothing more than a tool—useful for bringing him power but a thing to be discarded should it get in his way.

Power was what he truly sought, and he found it in the possession of the next Nobody to arrive—number XIII, Roxas. He watched as the boy wielded a Keyblade against creatures known as Heartless, a weapon that could peel back their darkness and release the Hearts they had devoured—ones that were similar to those all the members of the Organization had lost. But Marluxia was hardly interested in that; no, it was the formidable strength that was unleashed by the Keyblade that caught his attention. With such might in his grasp, he could make the Organization topple as easily as a card castle. Yet despite that, and his success in manipulating the temperamental Larxene into becoming a faithful ally and lackey, he still lacked the opportunity to carry out his plans to take over the Organization.

Then came Castle Oblivion.

The leader of the Organization, Xemnas, placed the Graceful Assassin in charge of their newly-discovered second base. However, his motives for doing that remain unclear. Clearly, Xemnas must have thought Marluxia the best candidate for such an important task. Yet giving the position of Lord of Castle Oblivion to an obviously ambitious neophyte seems to imply that Xemnas already suspected Marluxia of wanting to usurp his command, and thus he was simply trying to tempt said Nobody into giving him solid evidence of his treasonous tendencies. The Organization members he chose to compose the rest of the Oblivion group appear to reflect this as well. Particularly the inclusion of one VIII, Axel, whom he sent along with Marluxia and Larxene to take up residence on the upper levels of the castle. To Axel he gave the order to earn the trust of the other two and watch for any signs of treachery. And eliminate them if they should arise.

Though Marluxia did not suspect Axel of being a double agent, he kept his plans solely between Larxene and himself. During the beginning of the group's stay in Oblivion, there was relative peace and few conflicts between what was known as the Aboveground members (Marluxia, Larxene, Axel) and the Underground members (Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion), who stayed in the basement levels of the castle. That is, until Marluxia discovered a girl by the name of Naminé - who possessed an extraordinary ability to alter memories. Specifically, the memories of the fabled Keyblade Master: a boy named Sora.

With that, the Graceful Assassin now had what he needed for his coup d'etat. He lured Sora, who was searching for his friend Riku, to Castle Oblivion with the cryptic words: "to find is to lose and to lose is to find." Once Sora and his companions arrived, Marluxia ordered Naminé to rearrange their memories with the intent of making Sora into a puppet he could use for his takeover. An addendum to this plan was having Vexen create a replica of Riku to ensnare the boy further, though the reason he gave to the other member was that he would be used as a tool for the Organization. Which was a lie, as Marluxia was in fact planning to use Sora against the Organization rather than for it. But it went undetected, save by those who knew of his intentions. By this point, Axel was privy to that information along with Larxene, as he had also stated his desire to overthrow the Organization.

Yet that, too, was a lie. However, Marluxia had thought little of the Superior’s command that Axel should accompany them; the redhead was simply one more factor to account for, one more member he could deceive into joining his cause. At first, Marluxia appeared to be right. When Vexen threatened to reveal Marluxia’s intentions to the Keybearer, Marluxia ordered Axel to eliminate him under the pretense that by doing so, Vexen was betraying the Organization. With the successful assassination, the Flurry of Dancing Flames was finally "welcomed" into the traitorous fold and gained the "trust" of his co-conspirators Marluxia and Larxene. But as Sora neared the top floors of Castle Oblivion, Axel freed Naminé from Marluxia’s control and thus effectively ruined his plan to turn Sora into a tool against the Organization. Larxene’s attempt to remedy this ended in her death, underscoring Axel’s betrayal.

When Marluxia confronted Axel about this, they were interrupted by the arrival of Sora. Marluxia managed to buy himself a little more time by holding Naminé hostage and turning Sora’s anger towards Axel, but it was for naught. In the end, Sora defeated Marluxia after a trio of battles, sending him to that oblivion of true nonexistence feared by all Nobodies.

Somewhere along the way there though, Marluxia found himself alive again. And this time in a very strange place.