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.))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Floating lanterns? Is that how you found out about the lost princess?

That's right. They held a festival in the castle town on that day in her honor, and they sent off the lanterns at night, hoping its light would guide her back home some day.

[A faint smile.] I guess it did.

[Ha... must be nice to not be replaced.

No, no, don't start thinking like that, you'll never stop.]

Congratulations.

[He even tries not to sound bitter about it. She's a nice girl; she deserves a happy ending.]

How does it feel, then? To be a princess.

It's weird. [It's as honest of an answer as she can give right now, anyway.] I only got to meet my parents for a few hours before I was sent back here. I don't really know anything about being a princess, but my friend Arthur says it's the duty of royalty to be brave for their people and make whatever decisions are best for them. He said we can't make mistakes.

[The thought of that kind of pressure is a little terrifying. At least her kingdom seems like a reasonably peaceful place.]

...That's a stupid thing to tell someone.

[Asch scowls faintly, leaning back in the bed and shaking his head.]

There's no such thing as a perfect ruler. They're human, and all humans screw up sometimes. You prevent mistakes by having people around who can support and criticize your decisions.

[He's a hypocrite, saying something like that, but it's necessary. People are imperfect beings, and that's a fact. Striving for perfection just causes more problems.]

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.

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.

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.]

[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.

[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.

...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.

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.]

...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.]

I'm not doing this because I'm taking pity on you. [Her voice is suddenly stern, and her hand nearly flinches away, but she keeps it there determinedly.]

You're my friend, Asch, and I just...want you to be happy. And if there's a way for me to help that, then of course I'm going to try it.

[....

Yep, still weirded out when he hears that said to him. It's not that he believes that he has no friends, he just... doesn't get why. He sure as hell hasn't earned it.

After a moment's pause, though, he does nod. Because- okay. If she wants to think of him as one, he won't argue. He won't understand, and he won't say the feeling is mutual, but he won't argue.]

[She'll gently squeeze his arm before withdrawing her hand and smoothing out her skirt. That's good enough for her. He's heard her out, and she's hopefully made some kind of a positive difference to him.]

Would you like the leftovers? You should have them.

I suppose it's better than the usual trash that they serve here.

[Harsh, perhaps, and a bit of an exaggeration, but who could correct him?]

[And she smiles to herself at that. As hard as it may be for him, he's still Asch.]

I hope so! I have more I could bring, too.

...Like I said, do whatever you want.

[Stubborn as he is, it was good pie. He wouldn't say no to more of her cooking.]

It's all yours, then. I'll stop by with more in a day or two. [She slips off of her chair, taking a deep breath. Okay. Things were going to be...okay.]

Take care, Asch. I know everything will be alright eventually.

[He hesitates for a moment, mulling it over, then nods reluctantly. Four months. He has four months to wait, and then everything can just go back to the way it was.

It's true that nothing lasts forever, even in this miserable place.]

[A nod is more than enough for her. So she just smiles to herself and starts towards the door.]

I'll talk to you soon.

[And she's out.]

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

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