dissonates | [Written...? / Action, May 20th and beyond]

[It starts with a hum.

It's quiet, barely perceptible, like a fruit fry buzzing away in someone's ear. Across the village, it starts flickering to life in the mind of one Luke fon Fabre, miles away, awake and unaware and waiting for it.

The hum becomes a whisper. Wordless noise. An echo of something that used to be alive and loud and binding. Intrusive, almost, and yet not- because something missed, needed, eagerly and anxiously awaited is rarely unwanted.

The whisper becomes words, messy and jumbled and confused, a thought process born of desperation, fear, pain, loneliness. The words of the dead, or the dying, or the living. Of all three at once.

I'm here.

imhereimhereimherereplicaimherewhereareyou

help me

Alive. Alive.

And calling for him.]

[It's much later - after he's found, after he's awake and aware of his new situation - that Asch finally touches the journal. He toys with the controls, flips through the pages quietly, listening to everything that's open to hear. It feels... startlingly normal. Just your average day in Luceti. Life does go on without you- but then, he knew that long ago. This is nothing new.

...Well, almost nothing. It's hard to do much of anything when you can't see the world you're used to seeing around you. Not for the first little while, anyway. By touch and trial-and-error he finds the camera eventually, and he scribbles out a bit of nonsense in what he thinks is the entry area that almost looks like words, he sends out a few misfired comments to complete strangers, and in the end he thinks the entire journal system isn't nearly user-friendly enough. Eventually he gives up and sets it aside, leaving it open. Just. Listens.

It's not much. But for the moment, it'll do.]

((ooc: okay so here's the deal- Asch is back from the dead and blind. He'll be in the clinic for a while while he gets used to it, so feel free to use this post as a catch-all in case people want to visit/stumble upon him for the entire week. His scribble entry is also sort-of posted with a slightly-obscured picture, so if you'd rather use the voice function to bug him, feel free |D Word will probably get around that he's back one way or another.

Luke may or may not be with him depending on the time of visit; more often than not, he will be ~~attached at the hip~~ keeping an eye on Asch and helping him to see. He might also be asleep or taking a break. Feel free to specify; if he is there, he probably won't speak much (to save Kukki's inbox and to simplify things), so it's just a matter of whether or not your character will be seen.))

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

I think he just meant...if a ruler fails, their people lose faith in them. [Because it could cost people their lives. Livelihoods. It's a lot of pressure that she just doesn't quite understand.]

If I'm even in a situation like that, though, I'll be sure to keep people around me who can help. That's what friends are for, after all, right? To help keep you right.

[In the relative quiet, Ginji begins to wonder whether Asch is going to say anything else - the huff, after all, might have been the closest thing he's going to get to an answer. In fact, if not for the sounds of the pattering rain outside and of food being eaten, the slowly stretching silence would eventually drive the ex-pilot, ex-employee crazy. And then there it is.] Ah...Sure thing.

Thanks, Mr. Asch. [Thanks, because an apology would make it sound as if he's sorry. And, aside from causing extra irritation for the redhead, Ginji isn't. Not really. Not for speaking up, and definitely not for caring.] So is there anything in here that needs to be taken to the house?

... Even if that's true, I still want you to see when you can. If that means my dying happens faster, then...

[It's okay.

At least he can do something good for his original for once.]

No seafood... got it. I can do that. But are you sure there isn't anything in particular you want?

You shouldn't be letting me take advantage of the link like that. I won't adjust to this properly.

[Which is what he says, but he's not severing the link, either. It feels wrong to do so now, after everything that's happened.]

...You're an idiot. You're still... such an idiot.

[Asch glances away, visibly annoyed. Luke's words are meaningful - they're supposed to be meaningful - but he can't help feeling irritated by it.]

Stop weighing your life against my inconvenience. It's pathetic.

It doesn't necessarily have to be friends. [But he can see the appeal.] A good leader needs to be ready to accept help from anyone who can be trusted, regardless of their personal feelings.

[Thanking him for giving him work to do? You're so weird, Ginji. Asch shrugs it off, though, gesturing in a vague direction, since he has no idea where Tsuae has wandered off to.]

Not much. Cat food- my journal. Some clothes, and... this.

[His hand makes it to the bedside table, where a stack of cards with letters and little bumps is resting within easy reach.]

Why are you making such a big deal out of food?

Right. But I'd think I'd like to make friends out of whoever wants to help me. And maybe I could make friends out of our enemies, too!

[Hey, it's entirely possible, okay.]

Huh? I just thought it might cheer you up a little bit, that's all...

[Wow is that ever... optimistic. You can't be friends with everyone, Rapunzel.

Although she has yet to do otherwise from what he's seen... dammit.]

Kings and queens can't rule their country with such rose-coloured glasses, you know.

Well, stop it. Just bring over whatever you want.

[He's not so easily cheered, sorry bro.]

Okay, I will!

[And sure enough, about 45 minutes later Emil will make his way to the clinic in search of Asch, a plastic container in hand.

THERE WILL BE CHEERING WHETHER ASCH LIKES IT OR NOT.]

[She'll have the Malnosso in the palm of her hand soon enough.]

Maybe it's not...very realistic. But that doesn't mean I can't try.

[He'll have to pry that cheer from Asch kicking and screaming, because right now he's lying in the bed looking bored out of his mind. He's flipping through his journal trying to find something interesting to listen to, but he's had no luck so far. Hence: boredom.]

...Tch. [He can't get mad at her for being an idealist, even if he doesn't understand it, but he doesn't have a good response to that, either. Finally he shrugs, going back to his pie. Some people just think too differently.]

[She'll show you one day, Asch. Being optimistic is much better than the alternative!]

Anyway, it's not really worth worrying about while I'm here, anyway. I'm just as regular as everybody else, here.

[As far as Emil can tell, Asch is just bored, which is... pretty normal for him. There's nothing unusual enough to give him cause for suspicion just yet, so he'll give a cheerful wave as he walks into the room, completely unaware that Asch can't see him at all.]

I'm here!

Mm- I suppose so. But there's no harm in preparing for the future, either.

[He seems content to drop the subject, though, finishing off his piece and cautiously setting the plate on the table beside the bed. He... should probably say something. Yes.]

...Thanks. For bringing it over, I mean.

[She smiles, and even if he can't see it, it sounds in her voice.]

You're welcome, Asch. I just really hope you know...if you ever need anything? Anything at all? You can ask me.

[She even put a reassuring hand on his arm. She's not sure how he'll respond to being touched, but she's a touchy feely person, and this is a touchy feely moment.]

[Sheridan breeds eccentrics, what can we say. Not that his gratitude is centered around the extra workload. Ginji halfway follows the gesture, looking around the room again, before slowly pulling himself to his feet - duty calls.]

Cat's over by the window right now. Let's see...If you'll handle those and the journal, I'll take care of the rest. Whenever you're ready.

I've got the afternoon off, and most of tomorrow. Doesn't look like it'd take more than a trip and a half anyway.

[Well, he is bored, but when Emil announces his arrival, Asch only glances over slightly, lips pursing, unable to meet Emil in the eye. This is going to be a little awkward, isn't it.]

Hey.

...Tch. I seem to have become a charity case.

[He's not liking this idea, though he doesn't push her hand away. Blind or otherwise, he has no desire to be some kind of invalid for the residents of Luceti to take care of.]

...Hm.

[He pauses for thought, lips pursing, then straightens up in his bed, drawing the covers aside to drop his legs out over the edge. Hopefully without kicking Ginji in the process, because he's not apologizing if he does.]

Now. I'm sick of this place, and I want to be in my own house.

[He snaps his fingers, and Tsuae looks up, meowing reluctantly. Really? They have to leave? It's so cozy here.]

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[Written...? / Action, May 20th and beyond]

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