[Character Application] Asch the Bloody, Luceti
Basic Information
Name
Asch
Fandom
Tales of the Abyss
Gender
Male
Age
20 (originally 18)
Time Period
Eldrant / Endgame
History
Aselia Wikia Link
Titles
God General
A commander of the Oracle Knights and Locrian Colonel of the Order of Lorelei.
Loving Son
No matter how long or how far apart.
Abyss Silver
"Evil noble"? I'm going to kill whoever said that...
Personality
TL;DR Essay
HUGEASS CHARACTER/RELATIONSHIP ANALYSIS HERE.
OTL so long. Also very Luceti-specific.
"Some day, when we're grown up, let's change this county."
Asch was born Luke fon Fabre in the kingdom of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear. He was raised for ten years as the child of a duke and the king's sister, told for years that as the tertiary heir to the throne and afianced to his cousin, Princess Natalia, he would one day grow up to become the king of Kimlasca. Because of this he was educated in the fine art of being a nobleman: how to speak, how to think, how to live. He learned Kimlasca's history and poured his heart into learning everything he could, all for the sake of pleasing his family and trying to earn the love and respect of a father who only seemed inclined to look the other way. Over time he developed his own sense of what it means to be a truly great ruler of the people; even at such a young age, he was wise enough to know that those in power depend on the happiness and welfare of the people who live below them, and taught Natalia to see the situations of her citizens more clearly.
"Seven years ago, I was kidnapped by a villain named Van."
Kidnapped at age 10 and replicated, Asch received a new name and identity from his sword master, Commandant Van Grants, and not long after became Asch the Bloody, the sixth God-General of Daath. Because of his kidnapping and subsequent replication, Asch lost everything he had in his childhood - friends, family, inheritance, and with all of that went a good portion of his kinder personality traits. Asch grew up angry, bitter, and hateful, most of his ire directed towards the replica whom he believes stole it all. Lacking friends and people he could trust only made him more bitter and lonely, resulting in his blind trust to Van's direction and leaving him open to the man's manipulation. He followed Van's orders blindly for years, and only in the last year or so in his canon world did he start noticing that something was up, and from then on he began to work independently in order to find out just what Van was doing.
"You'll only find the truth by looking with your own eyes, walking on your own feet."
Asch has a determination and will that is difficult to measure. He was raised to care for people, as he was an heir to the throne of Kimlasca, and has always believed that even people of low rank deserve attention, care, and dedication than the rich and powerful. He knows how important it is to support his citizens, and that belief carried over to his life as a soldier, whether he likes it or not. When he had a choice to abandon people or save them, he sacrificed all to help the replica he hated save the world. That's a little sliver of Asch: he's a jerk, but a jerk with a purpose and a heart of gold. ... It's just a bit tarnished, is all.
People, Places, and Character Traits
His Replica
From the start of canon, Asch showed resentment, disdain, dismissal, and sometimes downright hatred for Luke. He was disgusted by the replica's very existence, but more than that, he hated Luke's failure to live up to his own high standards. Luke was whiny, naive, spoiled, annoying, and reckless in Asch's eyes, foolishly and blindly following everything that Van told him to do. Aside from mocking and misleading him (and on two occasions trying to kill him), Asch took it upon himself to use Luke's trust in Van against the commandant, manipulating his replica in order to spy on Van's movements. He forcibly had Luke's fon slots opened in order to communicate him, completely disregarding the fact that it caused Luke pain and deceived him, thus putting Luke and his companions in danger repeatedly. A lot of Asch's behaviour is outright cruel, and Luke is his favoured target. He even used his control over Luke to attack one of his friends, just to play with him.
As time passes, Asch reveals some of his motivations, and the conflict between himself and Luke develops, though to what, it's difficult to say. Rivals, allies, companions, almost. They work together on numerous occasions (lowering the Outer Lands, hyperresonating the miasma, exploring Mushroom Road) but they still act independent of one another, though Luke wishes he would change his mind. Throughout the game, Luke develops a lot while Asch's changes are more subtle, almost too subtle to really notice, and overall he doesn't grow that much at all. At the end of the game he still resents Luke and treats him like dirt. But at the same time, his final words were to support Luke and place his trust in the replica he'd hated all this time; whether or not he likes it, he's accepted Luke for who - and what - he is. ...Yet the relationship is ridiculously awkward.
Van
Van is one of the the worst sources of bi-polar decision-making for Asch. On one side, he has a wonderful, strong, caring teacher, the man he looks to for support when he receives none from anywhere else. Van wanted Asch to stand by his side in Eldrant, at the end of everything; he chose Asch, continued to plead for Asch's support even after giving up on Tear, his own sister, and vowing to show no mercy. After years of getting no love from his own father, Van was the male figure of strength that Asch needed while growing up, and the respect Asch has for him is constantly battling against his resentment for what Van is trying to do throughout the game. Yet even at the end, Asch still has that strong desire to be the student Van wants him to be, and if it weren't for the inclusion of replicas in his plan, Asch would have supported him all along. It makes for a very conflicting person - to let his hatred for replicas outweigh his desire to see the world safe and protected, and his love for the people who rejected him (in his mind) outweigh the love he has for the man who replicated him, but took him in, sheltered him, needed him and not just a copy... yeah, Asch is messed up.
People in General
Asch is weird with people. Generally they get shafted into three categories - 1) people he cares about, consisting of Natalia, his mother, and Guy, 2) people he can use, such as the Dark Wings, Luke and company, Ginji, anyone he works with, really, and 3) people he has no interest in, which is almost everyone else. He's extremely dismissive with most people, and they should consider themselves fortunate (or unfortunate, depending) if they get more than a look or a grunt out of him. He only bitches at people who challenge him or give him a reason to do so (eg. by teasing), or if he's already pissy about something. For the most part he just plain doesn't care about your average Joe because he's too busy rushing around dealing with the Big Picture. Besides the small handful of exceptions to the rule, everyone Asch meets is secondary to whatever he's working on at the time of their meeting. If he has nothing else to do, they're more likely to get something out of him, but the times that Asch isn't busy are few and far between.
Kimlasca
His home, that place he used to live, the land he should have returned to. There is so much about Kimlasca that Asch loves, and some part of him will always remember the way he felt about the country of his childhood. His parents live there, his kingdom is there... Natalia is there. Once upon a time a little boy took a little girl into the city and taught her how to love her people, and that little girl went on to create jobs, build hospitals, and fight for the rights of those who lived in that city- and those people grew to love her so much they defied the king himself to protect her. So Asch had a passion for Kimlasca once, and that passion is part of what drives him so hard to keep it - and its people - from being destroyed and replicated. Even at the cost of his life.
Daath
Spending seven years in the world's center of religion and militia, the independent continent, left Asch in a much darker, more strict, and colder than he might have been in Kimlasca. Forced into Daath's Order of Lorelei almost right from the start, it didn't take him long to rise through the ranks to become the sixth God-General, leading the Special Ops faction. This is most likely due to a combination of Asch's own gifts and Van's manipulation; in order to conceal Asch's true identity and continue manipulating him, he had to keep Asch close, as well. It's unclear as to what exactly the Special Ops existed for, but it's easy to assume that they took care of any espionage missions, heretic uprisings, anything the Order wanted to keep quiet. It's very likely that he's killed plenty of people on these missions- he's not Asch the Bloody just for his hair. He's become comfortable with the idea when it's necessary or it's something he truly desires, but he doesn't find any joy or satisfaction in it. He does try to kill Luke three times in canon, though.
Driven
Asch will push, and push, and push, and never stop. He forces himself to work towards whatever his goals are, no matter what the cost is. He's traveled across the world and pushed himself to the very limits of what his body can handle; sometimes even going beyond that through pure thick-headed willpower alone. On the very brink of death he charges into an enemy stronghold, alone, and wants a one-on-one battle with his best ally just to prove a point even though he knows the final battle is up ahead. If all that doesn't show his determination, I don't know what will. Unfortunately it ties into the next point...
Stupid
Okay let's face it, Asch is not actually a stupid person. But at the same time so much of what he is... is just dumb. He's illogical, irrational, rude, violent, naive, and has zero sense of self-preservation. He refused to let himself be healed when wounded. He traveled through a dangerous Sephiroth passage with said wounds. He criticized Luke for suggesting that he die and then ran off to sacrifice himself in Luke's place. He faced off against a group of Oracle replicas after giving away his only weapon. Numerous times he shows that he's pretty smart and knows what he's doing, and then he'll destroy that image without even realizing it by making completely obtuse comments (Such as being mistaken for Luke and giving the excuse of "my hair grows fast", or telling the group how the difference between the medicinal Rugnican death cap and the poisonous Great Rugnican death cap is, in fact, the poison. Derp.), which only results in the party wondering if just maybe Asch isn't as smart as he seems. He doesn't rest, doesn't relax, doesn't explain himself- he's brilliant and proud and noble but he really is such an idiot.
Passionate
It's very difficult to see at first glance, or even if you look deeper, but once you get past all the rage and bitterness and sullen disposition, you find a young man who really, honestly does have the heart of a king. He defends, protects, advises, and watches over the woman who means the most to him in all the world. He guides the replica he hates to become a better person by watching his own actions. When inspired he makes a speech to encourage Natalia to be the princess he knows she can be. He knows how to live and die like a hero. If he had any confidence in himself at all he could probably be really sweet and romantic, but he's always so damn busy. ...And angry.
Strengths
Physical
Most of Asch's strength comes from his physical prowess; he's been practicing the art of the Albert style of swordsmanship since childhood (prior to age 10), and spent seven years in Daath both training and working as a soldier of the Oracle Knights. He is a true professional in skill and talent, so formadible that he's earned the nickname "Asch the Bloody". He also has a few fonic artes mastered, and has full control over the seventh fonon in the form of his hyperresonance ability. In Luceti he's learned the basic healing magic of the spirit Nala, though his power in that area isn't very strong. He can heal minor wounds at best. He also has an incredible pain tolerance- the guy won't so much as grimace unless he's in extreme pain or on the brink of falling over.
His artes and skills are here. I've also listed them in detail below (with alterations for the Luceti power cap) for convenience.
Mental
As stated above, Asch is ridiculously focused on his mission, and he's stubborn as all hell. He's an accomplished leader who knows how to guide and organize other people into helping him reach his goals. Hell, he spent half the game pretty much manipulating Luke and his team to do exactly what Asch wanted, mostly by giving off the impression that he knew what he was doing, regardless of whether or not it was true. He can recognize when someone is useful or useless, and can even turn that around if necessary, such as how he helped Luke to see the epic fail of his actions after Akzeriuth by letting him piggyback in Asch's mind for a while. He also has the most amazing willpower, practically forcing his body to go above and beyond that should logically be the limit, just to continue fighting and reach the end of his journey, eg. being badly wounded by Van and then traveling with that injury to the bottom of the Radiation Gate, alone, in order to help Luke lower the Outer Lands. And then climb back out. And then spend the next month traveling around the world instead of resting. Good grief.
Emotional
Whatever Asch feels, he feels it pretty strongly, almost to an admirable degree. When he loves people, he loves them passionately and devoutly, though quietly, and that love can lead him to do crazy things (such as traveling through the most dangerous area in Auldrant to get his mom some medicine, or taking on Kimlasca's military to save Natalia from an execution). He can also mask his emotions unless you set him off, and thus can hide what he's really feeling from people. Kind of a strength with an ingrained weakness, because it's not that difficult to set him off, unfortunately. Small fuse on that one.
Weaknesses
Physical
Asch isn't the fastest swordsman ever, and in a serious fight, he tends to rely too much on his fonic artes, which leaves him open to physical attacks (and interruptions) often. Thankfully he's a speed-caster, but it still takes a few seconds to get a spell off, and in a fast-paced battle, that could mean certain death. And though his hyperresonance is powerful and could probably lay waste to almost anyone, he lacks the control to use it in battle. Additionally, Asch's body isn't in great condition; his replication and the life he's led has taken its toll, and his fonons (essentially the cells of his body) aren't holding together very well. A side effect of fomicry is taking place in his body (dissonance, which may or may not lead to the Big Bang), which causes occasional fits of weakness and pain, resembling a heart attack. These fits are usually brief and Asch shakes them off, but they can be dangerous if they come at the wrong moment. (In the TotA drama CD, one of these attacks led to Asch's death.)
Mental
Asch tends to work in extremes, no matter what he thinks, believes, or does. He's overly focused and he doesn't really play around or joke, so his sense of humour is pretty screwed up. He's easily made uncomfortable, and when that happens he becomes aloof, distant, and arrogant (all of which he is normally, but the nastier ways of showing it reveal themselves the more annoyed or uncomfortable he is). He really isn't well suited to deal with people on anything deeper than a professional level, so when that happens and he's out of his comfort zone, watch out for that temper. He tends to be very contrary and grows more illogical and thoughtless with his words the angrier he is. He's terrible in arguments, and his first instinct is to tell someone to shut up or insult them.
Emotional
His biggest weakness, honestly. Asch is emotionally unstable. Either he falls into the extremes or he's about as emotional as a rock. He's subject to mood swings at the drop of a hat, he's pretty brooding and cryptic ALL THE TIME, he's suspicious of practically everyone and trusts no one but himself, he can be ridiculously crude and obnoxious if you piss him off... overall he's about as unstable as you can get. When he's in a deadpan mood it takes a fair bit to get him to show anything but his neutral grouch face ( >:| ), and he clams up on how he's feeling in almost every circumstance, which can frustrate the hell out of most people.
Basically Asch is a complicated mental case of growing up too fast and not growing up at all; mentally, physically, and going by his experiences, he's been through much more than a teenager his age ought to have gone through. But emotionally, he's inexperienced and still a lot like a child. It takes a lot to win him over and he's liable to throw a tantrum if things aren't going his way.
Asch's Artes (Base, Arcane, Fonic, and Mystic)
Power Cost Levels
TP cost 1-9: Level 1
TP cost 10-20: Level 2
TP cost 21-30: Level 3
TP cost 31-40: Level 4
Mystic arte: Level 5
Base Artes
Arte Name
Description
Power Cost Level
Fang Blade
A downward slash immediately followed by an upward jumping swing. (Hits: 2-3)
1
Sonic Thrust
A single, horizontal thrust. (Hits: 1)
1
Demon Fist
A simple uppercut punch. (Hits: 1)
1
Havoc Strike
A downward sword strike performed from the air. (Hits: 1)
1
Raging Blast
An energy burst emerges from an outstretched palm. (Hits: 1)
2
Steel
A self-strengthening arte; critical hit and health recovery rises for a short time.
1
Rending Thrust
A forward thrust followed by an uppercut or upward slash. The uppercut has a multi-hit energy blast. (Hits: 4)
1
FOF Artes
Arte Name
Description
Power Cost Level
Lightning Tiger Blade
An upwards slash, followed by a jump, and a summoned bolt of lightning. Wind element. (Hits: 2-3)
1
Burning Havoc
An upward jump followed by a flaming kick. Fire element. (Hits: 2)
1
Frigid Blast
An energy burst emerges from an outstretched palm. Water element. (Hits: 2)
2
Coil
A self-strengthening arte; physical attacks increase in power 5% for 30 seconds.
1
Rending Quake
A forward thrust followed by an uppercut or upward slash. The uppercut causes a small earthquake beneath the enemy. Earth element. (Hits: 4)
1
Arcane Artes
Arte Name
Description
Power Cost Level
Lightning Blade
A single thrust combined with a summoned lightning strike. Wind element. (Hits: 2)
1
Slag Assault
Strike the earth and send rock fragments flying towards the enemy. Earth element. (Hits: 2)
2
Sonic Blast
A retreating slash, followed by a forward thrust. Wind element. (Hits: 2)
2
Fang Blade Havoc
Fang Blade + Havoc Strike. (Hits: 4)
2
Fang Blade Rage
Fang Blade + Raging Blast. (Hits: 4)
3
Guardian
Raises defense a great deal for a brief period of time.
3
Raging Havoc
Havoc Strike + Raging Blast. (Hits: 4)
3
Guardian Field
The sword is used to draw a circle of light on the ground, then thrust into the ground to summon a fonic burst, healing the user and harming nearby enemies. (Hits: 5)
2
Rending Fang Blade
Fang Blade + Rending Thrust. (Hits: 4)
3
Rending Havoc
Havoc Strike + Rending Thrust. (Hits: 6)
3
Rending Blast
Raging Blast + Rending Thrust. (Hits: 5)
3
Light Spear Cannon
A spin attack followed by an upward stab, with bursts of light that 'spear' the enemy. (Hits: 5)
2
Devil's Inferno
A downward slash with a fireburst to knock enemies away. Fire element. (Hits: 2-3)
2
Swallow Fury
Slash the enemy into the air and continue to attack repeatedly before landing. (Hits: 6)
2
Arcane FOF Artes
Arte Name
Description
Power Cost Level
Guardian Frost
The sword is used to draw a circle of light on the ground, then thrust forward to summon icicles from the ground to stab at the enemy. Water element. (Hits: 5)
2
Light Blast
A spin attack followed by an upward stab, with a spiral of light blasting out for extra damage. Light element. (Hits: 5)
2
Devil's Maw
A downward slash with a burst of rock/earth to knock enemies away. Earth element. (Hits: 3)
2
Shadow Fury
A flurry of slashes and kicks, followed up by a blast of dark fiery energy. Dark element. (Hits: 6)
2
Fonic Artes
Arte Name
Description
Power Cost Level
Stalagmite
A giant piller of stone drops down and damages the enemy. Earth element. (Hits: 4)
"O maddening gale of the spirits of the earth! Stalagmite!"
2
Icicle Rain
A flurry of icicles raining down on an opponent. Water element. (Hits: 4)
"O frigid blades pour forth! Icicle Rain!"
2
Explosion
A fireball descents from above and explodes on target. Fire element. (Hits: 1-2)
"Bring all to ash and ruin! Explosion!"
3
Thunder Blade
A large lightning blade falls from the sky and stabs into the ground and nearby opponents. Wind element. (Hits: 1)
"O darkened storm cloud, loose thy blade and run mine enemies through! Thunder Blade!"
4
Mystic Arte
Arte Name
Description
Power Cost Level
Rending Saber
The enemy is tossed into the air via a set of light rays; Asch then thrusts his sword into the ground, summoning a glyph that causes more energy to blast upwards for extra damage. (Hits: 17)
5
[OOC]
This is the permissions list for OOC (out of character), activity.
Answer the following questions with "yes" or "no", as well as additional information if desired.
1) Backtagging: Yes.
2) Threadhopping: Yes.
3) Fourthwalling: Ask first unless it's part of an event.
4) Canon puncture: No.
5) Offensive subjects (elaborate): Mostly yes. He can be pretty offensive himself.
[IC]
This is the permissions list for IC (in-character), activity.
Answer the following questions with "yes" or "no", as well as additional information if desired. With IC permissions, it's a good idea to elaborate on what other players can expect from your character if they choose to do any of the following:
1) Hugging this character: At your own risk.
2) Kissing this character: At your own risk.
3) Flirting with this character: Yes, but don't expect much lol.
4) Fighting with this character: Yes, but be fair and consider his own abilities. He's no pushover.
5) Injuring this character (include limits and severity): I'm cool with minor injuries and if his opponent is strong enough, major ones. No maiming, though, and don't cut the hair. :|
6) Killing this character: Ask first. He's died enough already.
7) Using telepathy/mind reading abilities on this character: Probably yes, he doesn't have a way of guarding against that.