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

[Every fiber of his body tenses. The situation just went from bad to worse and of course it's his fault. Asch has apparently lost his fucking mind, what else is new. A couple years here and that's probably expected, but...

... This isn't how he wants it to end. Maybe a year ago he would've simply laid down and let it come, but this isn't a memory he wants either of them to have.]

Wait! Don't-- don't do this--

[He's pressed so hard against the wall but it isn't doing anything. It isn't giving him any more room. If he so much as swallows, he's afraid he'll bleed out and suffocate right there. If he were in a less prone position he might try for an arte or something, but he doesn't want to fight Asch and he definitely doesn't want to lose his head.]

I didn't kidnap you. Let me explain!

[Asch glowers, but he doesn't press the sword closer. As good as he is at feigning his intent, he doesn't want to kill his impersonator; until his recent venture into Malkuth, he'd never killed another human being in his life, and he didn't enjoy the experience one bit.

Nice to know that his threats are convincing, though. It's gotten him what he wants.]

Explain, then. Quickly.

[Luke could insist that it's Asch who has the problem, but he knows what it's like to be told he usually acts differently. And he's not a hundred percent sure that this isn't... another Asch. It wouldn't be beyond the Malnosso to pull something like that, if everything Luke's heard is true.

It's better to treat him like he's a New Feather, just to be safe.]

We were all kidnapped. The Malnosso put wings on us, that's part of the experiments they run. This town is where we have to live. It's called Luceti.

[He tries to keep his breathing steady. It won't due to have a goddamn panic attack, though it's tempting. Luke doesn't do well with forced interrogations.]

A-as for why we look alike, it's kind of a long story. You're... going to want to sit down.

[Asch's brows widen momentarily at that, only to narrow again. That's vague. Far too vague to satisfy him.

The first part... well, it isn't the first time he's heard that explanation. So maybe this impersonator has more people telling the same story. Or, maybe, it's true. He hasn't decided yet.]

Let me be the judge of that. Long explanations leave room for too many lies. Tell me now, and tell me truthfully: why do you have my face?

[Welp. Asch isn't going to like what he has to say, that much is for sure. He closes his eyes briefly, remembers being at the mercy of Asch's blade in Yulia City.]

... Seven years ago, Van kidnapped the son of Duke Fabre. He made a replica so he could overthrow the Score. He took the real Luke to Daath while everyone was focused on the kid they found. [At least, he's pretty sure that's what happened.]

That was me. I'm your isofon, hyperresonance and everything, but I'm not you. Everyone knows the truth now.

[...What. What.

He's never heard anything more ridiculous in his entire life. Although it does alarm him that someone knows about Van's plan to take him back to Daath after they save Akzeriuth. Besides Natalia, who'd promised to keep it a secret, no one should know about that.

It makes this guy dangerous.]

First you claim my identity, and now you attempt to defame a well-respected officer of the Oracle Knights? Not to mention that absurd story... if you're going to make up lies, at least have the sense not to fabricate a history for the person you're speaking to. Who would very well know none of that ever happened.

Why would I lie when you've got a sword against my throat? [This is frustrating for Luke, too.] I can prove I'm your replica, but-- wait, you weren't kidnapped?

[Shit, is that even possible? Is it his memories being screwed with, or did the Malnosso bring in an Asch from a world similar to his?]

[Asch's expression doesn't change, and his grip tightens, though thankfully he doesn't move the sword to start cutting.]

I was not. Certainly not seven years ago, and not by Van, either. He's been my master and a true and loyal friend to the Fabre family all my life. If you value your life, don't speak ill of him.

[Luke isn't sure about that, and it's in his eyes, but he doesn't say any more on the subject of Van's allegiances.]

Then... then I can't be from your world, [he says finally.] Ours are different.

[He literally could not exist otherwise.]

I guess the Malnosso can take people from worlds just like ours, but with differences.

[His world? The Malnosso? What the hell?]

I have no idea what you're talking about.

[Oh my god, Asch, your listening comprehension.]

Like I said earlier, the Malnosso are the people who kidnapped us. That's where the wings come from. We're not on Auldrant anymore... and our Auldrants are different.

[It's a lot to take in, but Asch is the one holding him hostage. He kind of had to skip all the flowery details.]

There are some other people from Auldrant here, too: Natalia, Tear, Jade, Anise, Ion... You can talk to them if you don't believe what I'm saying. Guy's here too, but I haven't seen him in a while.

[Those familiar names give Asch reason to pause, and he jerks back abruptly, eyes wide. This person... he even knows the names of his allies? His friends? This is getting stranger and more dangerous by the minute.]

You... that's absurd. All of it is. There can't be two different versions of the same world...

[Hearing that the others are nearby makes him worry and wonder. Should he find them instead? Should he really let this ridiculous farce continue, or should he just rid himself of the imposter now?

....

What if he's telling the truth?]

We shouldn't be able to travel to different worlds, either, but here we are. [He shakes his head a little, but he doesn't want to make too sudden a movement in case that sword gets tight again.]

... I don't think your memories are any less valid than mine. If they're yours, then that's all I need to know that you and my original are different people.

[It takes a long moment, but Asch backs away, finally releasing him, although he doesn't sheath his sword yet. Instead, he keeps it pointed at Luke as he backs up.]

It's... true that our being here is just as impossible. But that doesn't mean I can just... believe you. You could be a fake, an imposter sent to disrupt our plans. If you're trying to make me lose trust in Master Van, or... to take my place... no. I won't allow it!

['You could be a fake.' After he's explained that he's a replica, that's a pretty hilarious turn of phrase...

But it's no worse than what Asch has hurled at him regularly since before his arrival in Luceti, so he faces Asch's anger and passion with patience, keeping his distance and keeping his voice low.]

I don't want to take your place. I don't want to steal anything from you. [He's nothing if not sincere.] But that doesn't erase the fact that I'm your replica.

[He takes a deep breath. Though it's dangerous to him, he figures he can spare this so that Asch can believe him.] Watch this. I'm only going to do it once. [He doesn't want to force his way into Asch's head (and he's not even sure it'll work), so instead he bends down and holds out his hands. There's a little scraggly dandelion nearby, so it works out. A soft, golden glow crawls across his fingers, accompanied by a familiar humming he can feel deep in his core.

All at once, the dandelion vaporizes. There's nothing but a little dip in the ground where it used to be. Luke frowns, because he thought he had finer control than that, but he supposes a lack of practice and the general weakness he felt upon arrival has something to do with it.]

[That makes Asch's jaw drop, his sword falling to his side, eyes wide. That sight, that sound, the feel of it in the air... it's unmistakable.]

...You... that was... that was hyperresonance. How...

[Luke remains crouched where he is, resting his elbows on his thighs.]

If you were never kidnapped, then I couldn't exist. But we're here-- both of us.

That's why I think we're both right.

Edited 2014-04-29 04:40 (UTC)

[Asch looks uncomfortable more than angry now, and slowly, reluctantly, he sheaths his sword. He hopes he doesn't regret that decision later, but right now it seems... the most rational. His fonic artes could be copied, but hyperresonance? The solo sort, one that only he can create by himself? That can't just be replicated like that.]

I... perhaps... we should talk. There's a lot I don't know, it seems...

[Luke would be lying if he said he wasn't relieved. It's always good when he and Asch can come to a sort of understanding. He definitely feels for him right now. He's been kidnapped before, a victim of circumstance. He's met someone who looks just like him. But he's determined to change things this time.

After a moment, Luke gets up. He smiles a little, then holds out his right hand.]

It's okay. Why don't we start over?

[Asch hesitates again, frowning, but... his own face on this replica is so disarming. And that uplifted hand... is the replica an opposite of him, or just courteous? He can't remember when the last time it was that he used his left.

Either way, he finally reaches out to take it, shaking in a way he hopes comes across as calm. His nerves are still pretty frayed.]

...Yes. I'm Luke fon Fabre of Baticul, heir by betrothal to the Kimlascan throne.

[No, he's definitely left-handed and he's just trying to be nice. Still, he's happy enough just to be talking with Asch in a way that doesn't involve swords or possibly stepping on some landmine he knows nothing about.]

I'm Luke. [Just Luke.] If it's too weird, you can call me something else. Like... uh, Red. [That seems fair.] I'm not really picky.

[He was hesitant to even take that name as his, after finding out what he was. When the handshake is over, he returns his hands to his hips.]

And before you ask... I'm not engaged to anyone.

Edited 2014-04-30 22:42 (UTC)

[Another Luke... it's so strange to imagine, someone with his face and his name. He's not sure how to feel about it, other than severe discomfort. Rather than responding directly, he opts not to react to the name or use it at all. If he needs to call the other at some point, he'll decide at that time what to do.]

I see... so you never wed Natalia. I'm not sure whether to be pleased that you haven't taken my fiancee or concerned for the future of our country.

[Probably the latter since all the Fabre sons are dead. Of course he's not gonna say that. There's another reason though, and he kinda blushes as he thinks of it.]

I wasn't the one who made the promise, so I'm not her fiance... A-and anyway, there were bigger things to deal with.

I... can imagine, with replicas playing a part in the world.

[He has no idea what this could mean. Is it something that will never happen in his world? Or will it happen in the future? Is Van really a part of it? Or is the man he's always loved and trusted different from the one this replica knew?

He hates the very idea of not trusting the one person he always knew he could rely on, so he tries to shrug off his concerns. Better not to think about it.]

[Yeah, and Luke's not gonna push it. He wonders what Asch's world is like, but interrogating him isn't really something he wants to do. Especially after... that.]

... Um, do you... want something to drink? It might be a little weird explaining to the others, but I can bring something out here if you want.

[... He's trying really hard to be nice. He's trying REALLY HARD.]

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