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02 ♪ written/action ♪ weak and powerless
[written;]
[After the excitement of the past couple weeks, Luke is ready to call it quits. Everyone except him seemed to be under some kind of curse, or something... Shifts? Yes, that's what it was called. Whatever the reason, things have been hectic and weird and confusing and he's ready for things to go back to normal.
But... he hasn't seen Guy around, not before the Shifts happened nor afterward. No notes were left behind, no nothing. He thought maybe Guy just needed some space (despite how hard he had clung to Luke in the snow)-- but this is suspicious, and he's wondering if maybe... maybe, he went home.
It takes him a while to muster up the courage to open the journal. He can't trust his voice not to shake, so he tries writing in it instead.]
Hi, everyone. This is Luke.
For those who know him, Guy's not here anymore. I haven't seen him since before things got weird. He would never leave without telling someone, and we sleep in the same room, so I would've known if he got taken somewhere.
[He tries to think of something else to say. It's weird to think that Guy isn't here. Guy is always here, through everything. He was there when Luke said goodbye and he was there when Luke said hello, too.
Still, seeing it in front of him just cements it. He feels his reserves crumble a little. He's a little angry, even though he has no right to be. Guy would never leave unless he was forced to, he knows that, but... he's still mad at someone. Mad at the Malnosso. Luke wants to be home, laughing and traveling with Guy and his friends. Now Guy has to be-- be somewhere else, without Luke. Maybe even without knowing he's alive.]
... I'm sorry.
[He leaves it at that and closes the journal.]
[action;]
[In the end, Luke doesn't go too far. He's in the woods behind House One, curled up against the gnarled face of a big tree. His knees are pulled to his chest, his head resting on his arms.
His eyes are closed, but he's not asleep. He can't sleep in the middle of the day, and especially not when he's caught up wondering what happened to his best friend.]
[After the excitement of the past couple weeks, Luke is ready to call it quits. Everyone except him seemed to be under some kind of curse, or something... Shifts? Yes, that's what it was called. Whatever the reason, things have been hectic and weird and confusing and he's ready for things to go back to normal.
But... he hasn't seen Guy around, not before the Shifts happened nor afterward. No notes were left behind, no nothing. He thought maybe Guy just needed some space (despite how hard he had clung to Luke in the snow)-- but this is suspicious, and he's wondering if maybe... maybe, he went home.
It takes him a while to muster up the courage to open the journal. He can't trust his voice not to shake, so he tries writing in it instead.]
Hi, everyone. This is Luke.
For those who know him, Guy's not here anymore. I haven't seen him since before things got weird. He would never leave without telling someone, and we sleep in the same room, so I would've known if he got taken somewhere.
[He tries to think of something else to say. It's weird to think that Guy isn't here. Guy is always here, through everything. He was there when Luke said goodbye and he was there when Luke said hello, too.
Still, seeing it in front of him just cements it. He feels his reserves crumble a little. He's a little angry, even though he has no right to be. Guy would never leave unless he was forced to, he knows that, but... he's still mad at someone. Mad at the Malnosso. Luke wants to be home, laughing and traveling with Guy and his friends. Now Guy has to be-- be somewhere else, without Luke. Maybe even without knowing he's alive.]
... I'm sorry.
[He leaves it at that and closes the journal.]
[action;]
[In the end, Luke doesn't go too far. He's in the woods behind House One, curled up against the gnarled face of a big tree. His knees are pulled to his chest, his head resting on his arms.
His eyes are closed, but he's not asleep. He can't sleep in the middle of the day, and especially not when he's caught up wondering what happened to his best friend.]
[fonic link kinda] late mofo fight me
Asch doesn't know how to feel about this, his emotions and thoughts conflicted all over again. As much as he can feel the loss of a childhood friend and any of the potential for healing old wounds between the two of them, he can feel phantom pains from the scars of the wound that had killed him, the wound made by Guy's father's blade just shy of two years ago. Or perhaps the dissonance was acting up again; lately, with his body, it's been hard to tell.
It doesn't... hurt, though. Emotionally, mentally, whatever. Guy's disappearance. It doesn't make him feel any kind of loss or unhappiness, bitterness or anger. Not like the last few times. Mostly what he feels is numb.
Maybe I've stopped caring. Maybe I know what a waste it is to feel that way.
Maybe I'm just tired.
Probably the most likely of options, that. He's been here too long, seen too many familiar presences vanish without a warning. As usual, forming attachments has only caused him pain. It's a wonder he bothers anymore.
His replica, though... that, he can feel a little, through the link they share. That loss. It's all the more prominent because Asch himself isn't experiencing it. And although he'd like nothing more than to close himself off and ignore the whole issue, create a wall around him to avoid getting closer (and therefore getting hurt again), with Luke...
...dammit. Dammit all to hell.
The link is open. Just a little, not enough to hurt but enough to offer up his presence in case Luke has need of it. The metaphorical door is unlocked and he's here, waiting.
Just in case.]
[fonic link] only if a dancy instrumental version of Karma plays
It takes him a while, but eventually he responds in kind, touching his original's mind like hesitant fingers on his shoulder and opening the link.]
Asch?
[He'll always sound that unsure, but... he's trying. Asch is trying, too, if his presence there is any indication.]
[fonic link] I had to go looking to see if one existed
I'm here.
[That's all he's got for the moment. If Luke wants him gone, now's a good time to demand it... but Asch suspects that won't happen, even if he might half-wish for it.]
[fonic link] all i found was this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DY54Dc11Lds
Thanks.
[Wait, saying 'thanks' won't make him like, try to kill Luke. Will it? It's been too long for that, he thinks.]
... Weren't you and Guy friends, too? Are you okay?
[And here Luke is, ruining the moment.]
[fonic link] ...i would not call that dancy but it is pretty
Friends? He nearly-
[Shit, this Luke wasn't around for that. Dammit, dammit. Backpedaling.]
...He's wanted me dead since we were children. Someone like that wouldn't have called me his friend.
[fonic link] it is :|a
I don't think that's true, [he says after he's steadied himself. He was there in Asch's head when Guy chose to go wait for Luke, but...]
You're both different people now. Guy doesn't want revenge anymore-- he told me that himself.
[fonic link]
...I'm sure Guy tells you a lot of things to make you feel better. Doesn't make them true.
[hooked on fonics]
... When we were still trying to lower the Outer Lands, Sync put something on Guy called a curse slot. Guy went crazy and-- and he tried to kill me. That's when we found out who he really was.
He put all of that behind him, but there's always going to be some anger. I mean, Father-- Father killed his whole family. Even if Guy likes us and trusts us, that won't change.
But he understands what you've done. He knows how you helped us, and he knows you're important to me and Natalia. I bet you're important to him, too.
[Luke's fingers tighten in his sleeves as he sits there, kind of hugging himself. If Guy ever comes back, Luke can talk to him about it again... but he's not sure how likely that is.]
[like the fonics monkey]
[There's too much emotion in that phrase, and it's difficult to rein it in. Being murdered can do that to a person. And the emptiness in Guy's eyes, the sound of Sync laughing, is something he'll never forget.]
And I don't think I can believe that anymore. Maybe once, I could have, but-
[It's too much. He knows too much now, about love and hatred and friendship and revenge. He's seen sides of Guy that he couldn't fathom as a child, or even just a few years ago. Not even when Van had told him about Guy's origins had he imagined how much unknown hatred lay between their family names.]
I don't expect him to ever want to be my friend. And that's fine. I don't need it.
[oh dear]
He doesn't like Asch sounding like that. He doesn't want to push Asch into sounding like that.
So he lets it go. If he sees Guy again, he can ask-- or he can trust in Asch and wait for him. Either way, he's not getting anything more out of him today.]
... Okay.
[That's it. Just soft acceptance. Part of him wants to ask if he could ever be Asch's friend, but he figures he'll be yelled at. Still, he's thinking it, and he kind of wants to communicate it... but not be obvious about it.]
Hey, is the bar open? I promise I won't make a bunch of noise or anything like that. I just... don't want to go back yet.
[He feels like spending one more minute in that stuffy room he's got-- the one he shared with Guy-- will make him scream.
He's never been good about being locked up.]
[luke can use that he could learn ancient ispanian]
Hell, maybe they could both use a drink after this. To Asch, at least, it's very tempting. Drown himself in a couple of the mixes Guy had taught him and just... forget for a while. He'd never let himself do it before, because he's seen it in so many other soldiers during his life- the ones who start drinking to drown out the pain, and the ones who forget how to stop. Because it feels good to forget. It feels good to... feel good. He never indulges that sort of thing because it hurts too much to lose it afterwards.
....]
...I can open it.
[Just once.]