lucetilogs | variety is the spice of life

variety is the spice of life

Who: Everyone who wants to be here!
What: Total Recall 2014
When: The first week of the event, roughly April 9th-16th, give or take a few days depending on your character's timeline.
Where: All over Luceti, presumably
Summary: Chaos! Madness! Unreasonable happenings! You know the drill. Alternatively: characters wake up and sigh because god, not this again.
Rating: Varied. Anything frisky goes to appointments as per usual, chums.

Due to the size and variation of this event, it's probably best to have several logs for it to avoid one getting overcrowded and broken. Feel free to have your characters post their own entries, of course, if you'd prefer- you're more than welcome! This is for people who like to consolidate. Another log ought to be posted around the 16th for round 2.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[It's surreal - if he hadn't seen Luke throughout the week, he might have accepted this as the real one. And he does seem to recognize him, which in itself is unusual given that replicas can't retain memories. Who is this man, and what connection does have have to Luke?

Jade just looks on with a soft smile, not letting his composure be affected by this.]

I wouldn't have made it quite so far in my line of work if I were easy to track. [It's best to play along and try to get the truth out of him covertly.] I should feel touched that you put so much effort into locating an old man. Were you searching long?

[Well, at least Jade seems normal enough. Luke shrugs slightly, glancing off to the side. He's still watching for more familiar faces, though he's not confident that he'll find many at this point.]

Nearly a week now. When I awoke I'd been separated from the entire group, and I assumed you'd have answers if I could track you down somehow.

[And Jade observes Luke carefully, trying to pinpoint the differences. The hair is a distinct giveaway, but otherwise, he seems to be acting like Luke.]

It's not a wholly inaccurate assumption. However, as tardy as I've proven myself to be, I take that most of your questions have been answered already?

I suppose so. There is the matter of this "Asch" person that many seem to be mistaking me for... I don't suppose you'd know anything about that?

[It's starting to feel like he has some sort of replica. Which is ridiculous, right? Haha... ha... ha.]

[This question gives him pause. And it raises another possibility. Could this be Asch, altered in some way? Keeping tabs on Asch had proven to be tedious - Jade only occasionally visited Good Spirits, Asch was not a frequent user of the journals, and the only time he risked getting close enough to the home shared by Arietta was for that one April fools prank that was totally worth it.]

Asch is the name of a particularly reclusive and grumpy inhabitant of this village. I suppose if you took a few years off of him, introduced him to a zealous barber and managed to show him the benefits of smiling, he would bare a startling resemblance to yourself.

[He might as well keep him on a need-to-know basis. Especially when he wasn't sure about the true nature of this apparent Luke. He does keep the risks in mind, though. If this wasn't truly a shifted Asch, the real Asch could still be out there, and the last thing they needed was a new replica feud.]

Regardless, it's an irrelevant matter. You're better off avoiding such sour company. I'd much rather like to know the last thing you remember from Auldrant before arriving here.

...Tch. I've no interest in tracking down someone like that.

[Although he should probably tell Jade about the face-twin he has already met... that doesn't sound like the same person, though. Just how many of them are in this place? That twin had called him Asch and presented a very strange (and unbelievable) tale, besides. The whole thing was surreal. He'd rather not think about it.

The other question is easier to deal with, so he relaxes somewhat. Short-lived as his journey had been, it's still a source of pride for him, being chosen as the ambassador of his country. Even if it was just because the Score foretold it, he likes to believe that his hard work helped him earn it, too.]

We were en route to Akzeriuth. We'd only just reached Chesedonia to rest for the night.

[Akzeriuth. Jade's eyes narrow slightly as he realizes it. From the way Luke says it, there's no room left for interpretation: Akzeriuth is still intact. He's from before they went there... but his hair is short. And he is the exact opposite of the temperamental Luke whom he recalls meeting in that time.]

Is that so? My, my. [He retains his usual light-heartedness, but in a tone a bit quieter and faster than usual.] It seems your journey is undergoing quite the delay now.

[There's a lot of factors here, and Jade starts to formulate one theory based entirely around the possibility of Asch's absence. Could this be... Asch as he should have been?]

[The redhead looks annoyed at that, and he doesn't bother to conceal it. He might have feigned it with someone else, but he's tried to be more honest with his traveling companions, and Jade is somewhat trustworthy. As much as someone from an opposing country can be trusted, anyway.]

I'd be more concerned if I hadn't been told - repeatedly, I might add - that time stops for our world while we're here. Is that true? Is Akzeriuth safe until I return? I refuse to let a war break out between out countries because I failed as a diplomat.

Luke. [He himself is surprised by using that tone - the same tone he'd use for the "real" Luke when trying to calm him.]

I'll handle your concerns one at a time. [He glances towards Luke, with the hint of sincerity in his eyes.] It's true that time at home is stopped while we are here, as much as I like to joke otherwise. Akzeriuth is safe for the time being.

[He pauses a moment, wondering how much more to say. It's not exactly a matter of trust; it's of preserving what could be this Luke's innocence.]

The situation is much more complicated than we initially took it for. Yet, I can assure you that these complications we may experience won't be due to any deficiency on your part.

[In a sense, it is true. This is definitely not the same Luke who would destroy Azkeriuth. And if this is truly Asch, then he's someone who did work as hard as he could to save Azkeriuth. ...Then again, he wouldn't say much for his diplomacy skills.]

You'll do your best as a diplomat.

[The tone surprises Luke a little, too, though after a moment it settles into a more easy and calm expression. Jade may be blunt and unpleasantly mocking at times, but the way he can get to the point so quickly in a conversation - an important one, anyway - is part of what Luke appreciates about him. He hates diplomats with a million flowery ways of saying nothing at all. Facts, truths, honesty and certainty. That's what a king needs.]

Thank you, Jade. It's... reassuring to hear that. Though it does leave me wondering just what I'm supposed to do here.

[Reassuring. It's not the type of role he's the best at. But he'll assume it for now - for this odd, lost Luke. He wonders if his approach really is right.

But he feels confident that this Luke is just the result of a shift. In that context, it seems right to help this Luke's limited existence to be as peaceful as possible.]

Oh? Perhaps a brochure of options should be prepared. It's true that there's no Kimlasca-Lanvaldear to look after in this world, but there's no limit to the worlds you can learn about here. You can also do what you can to prepare yourself for the Malnosso's unpleasant surprises. And I'm sure that the rest of our friends here would appreciate your attention.

Ah- that's right!

[He'd been unsure before, and it hadn't been his top priority, but with his fears about Akzeriuth appeased he feels safer about asking.]

I met someone who had... my face. Not this Asch person, though. Someone else. He said he was from another world, a different Auldrant, and that our other companions could confirm his story. What about you? And do you know where I can find everyone else? I've only seen you and Natalia so far.

[If anyone would know, it would be Jade.]

[Leave it to Luke to unpredictably muss up his plans, even when in service of another Luke. He wouldn't put it past Natalia to have slipped up, as well. They really needed a lesson in handling unexpectedly shifted people...]

It would seem that there's currently a shift in effect. Not everything may be what it seems, and not everyone is currently remembering everything correctly. It could be possible that there is more than one Auldrant... or, we have all been changed to believe in different accounts of our world. [Jade still trusts in his own memories above all; but he doesn't want to invalidate this Luke.]

Most of us live in the same house here in Luceti. It's particularly crowded, but I can show you there.

That might be helpful. Even if the others don't... remember things correctly, familiar faces might put me at ease.

[He doesn't like to admit how lost and uncomfortable he is in this place, but he'd been pretty secluded in the manor, though not as badly now as he'd been as a child. Still, that sudden hyperresonance into Malkuth had been the furthest from home he'd ever been, and this is so much further, it seems.]

Very well. Come this way, Luke. [He turns, his hands folded into his pockets, as he starts to lead the way, only acknowledging Luke as he speaks with glances over his shoulder.

He's leading a Luke he hasn't known, a Luke who may have been raised without being replicated. It was fascinating to consider everything that could have gone differently. Was Van still scheming? Would they be able to stop him while defying the Score? Or... is this the Luke who would live up the original prophecy, and fall with Akzeriuth?]

While we're moving... Why don't you tell me more about your life back home? It would be helpful in sorting out everyone's different stories.

[Luke falls into step beside the man, studying his surroundings as they walk. He's not as lost in this place as he had been from the start, but it's still so unfamiliar. The sooner he gets his bearings and adjusts, the better he'll feel.]

Very well. I was born in Baticul to the duke and his royal wife, thus I have been pledged all my life to the princess, Natalia. I spent most of my life in the city or nearby, preparing myself for the day I would wed and become the prince, then eventually the king. I was never... kidnapped as a child, by Malkuth or the Oracle Knights as my facetwin explained to me.

[Not replicated, either, but he's concerned about saying it aloud. It's still pretty unsettling to him.]

My experience with the Oracle Knights had been limited to lessons with Commandant Van Grants and his men until a hyperresonance between myself and his sister sent us to Malkuth.

[Jade picks it up easily enough. No kidnapping - no replication. This man was Luke as he should have been. The original ash of the sacred flame. So he comes from - or rather remembers - an Auldrant in which Van did not utilize fomicry. It would be too far-fetched to imagine fomicry in general not being developed; if Luke recognized Jade the way he is now, it would be impossible for an alternate Jade to end up the same way he was without the background in fomicry.]

I see. And I imagine that it wasn't long after that when you met our merry band on your little vacation. [His tone isn't light-hearted, however, even if his choice in words is; he speaks as if reporting facts. He's still analyzing the situation and deciding on the best course of action: to tell Luke the truth or not. He might as well see how much more he knows, first.]

Indeed. We returned to Baticul together, and then set out for Akzeriuth a few short days after. We were on our way there when I was taken from Auldrant and woke up here.

[Poor bastard has no idea what he's in for.]

[Jade trods quietly along as they reach the bridge on the way to House 1. He weighs the choices in his mind. What does he owe this Luke? Ignorant bliss, or the truth?

He comes to a stop in the middle of the bridge, his hands in his pockets.]

Luke. We haven't traveled together for long, so it's understandable if you haven't realized this about me.

You see... I happen to be a particularly terrible friend.

[He remembers the last time he kept the truth from a Luke. And he remembers that ultimately... it may have played a role in shaping a tragedy.]

[That... was a cryptic and unexpected response. Luke pauses a few steps ahead of Jade, glancing back over his shoulder, and then smiles somewhat uncertainly.]

Why, Colonel Curtiss, I had no idea you thought of us as friends. Terrible or no, I should feel honoured.

[It's unusual - and fairly unsettling - to look at Luke like that. A Luke who is neither Luke nor Asch - someone who may be bound to a tragic fate, yet not the same one that either one will experience. One who might not be capable of making the same mistake that Luke had.

"...I never knew that you thought of me as a friend."

"Really? I suppose that's understandable. I am a terribly cold person."]

Perhaps. It's not a term that I tend to use lightly. [There's only hints of sarcasm in his tone that fade away for something more serious.] Especially not when...

[When he barely knows this Luke. He hasn't done anything to earn his friendship beyond existing.]

I've been lying to you, Luke. You're not the one I know.

[Luke's laughing expression fades at that, and he goes quiet for a long moment, allowing those words to sink in. Finally it returns in the form of a tiny, barely perceptible smile, and he glances away, looking resigned to the truth.]

It's the replica, isn't it? He's your friend. You're from his world, not mine.

[The way his replica had spoken... the way he'd talked about the others from his world... it fit. And it feels as if one more pillar of stability has just dropped from under his feet.]

[He glances quietly towards Luke. "The replica". He must have heard something like the truth.]

I'm afraid so. I apologize for my deception. But it may be better for you to learn about this now.

[He pauses a moment. Even if this is a different Luke, this is what he really wanted, isn't it? The truth, no matter how much it would hurt. So Jade will deliver this truth to this Luke. He won't be kept in the dark.]

As far as I know, everyone from our world who is here in Luceti remembers the exact same version of events.

[He feels like he should be surprised by that - pathetic, too, for having been too blindly hopeful to realize it before. His father would be ashamed of his naivete.

Too late now, though. All he can do is deal with it now that he's aware.]

Why did you lie to me? To protect me from the truth, or... to protect yourself?

[Now that he knows this isn't the Jade he knows, he feels uncomfortably suspicious about everything he might have said.]

I don't employ lies to protect myself. For that, I use action. [Even if he'll hide a lot about himself, he prefers to be truthful when it comes down to it. He believes that he deserves to be judged for his actions, after all.

He adjusts his glasses.]

Of course, you're free to believe what you want. But regardless of whether or not you're the Luke whom I know, you still are a Luke. I did see to protect you, and perhaps it took me too long to recall why that approach was wrong for me to employ in the first place.

variety is the spice of life

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you and your gagtags

you know me!

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