Application for
distantskies
Jan. 13th, 2012 08:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ABOUT YOU
Name: Skyla Doragono
Are you 18 or over?: Sadly yes! D:
Other characters played: NA
CHARACTER
Name: Luke fon Fabre
Canon: Crossover AU; source canon is Tales of the Abyss (game), crossed with Bleach (manga).
Age: His body is 18 years old; prior to the end of Tales of the Abyss, however, he had only lived for 8 years. This is because he was a replica, born when the original Luke fon Fabre was 10 years old. However, since his body has been altered, it has stopped aging, possibly for good. In addition to the indeterminable amount of time that passed from Luke's death on Auldrant to his arrival on Hueco Mundo, it's hard to tell exactly how old he really is.
History: (The reason behind everything that happens to Luke hasn't be revealed in his story yet, and I don't want spoilers to be freely seen online. For that reason, the following is blanked; please highlight to read.)
Thousands of years ago, when the world was still new, the Spirit King came to the barren earth, and brought life to it. Plants, animals... humans were the last of His creations, and he told them to live peacefully, and all would be well. The Spirit King then came to rest in a place high above the clouds to watch his creations from afar, and so there was peace for many years.
It was several hundred years later that the first signs of darkness crept into the world. A masked creature from another domain slipped through the cracks between worlds, and began preying on the humans that the Spirit King created, for they were the most delicious. Dismayed, the humans cried out to the Spirit King for salvation and the King, preferring his children to find their own way out of a situation, called to the humans and told them to find thirteen of their strongest. It didn't matter if they were physically or mentally strong, if they were the most clever, or if they were the fastest; whatever trait was their best, it had to be stronger than anyone else.
When these thirteen humans were assembled, the Spirit King tore their souls from their physical bodies, giving them power they could have only dreamed of before. However, it came at a terrible price, for this act banished the age of humans that could live peacefully for hundreds of years, and began the cycle of Life, Death, and Rebirth. The Spirit King named these souls Shinigami, the Soul Reapers, and sent the thirteen off against the masked demon. After a terrible fight, the shinigami realized that they would not be able to kill the creature, and therefore banished it into another world, one whose endless sands matched its empty heart: Hueco Mundo.
Their task completed and the world saved, the Spirit King returned to his home, though not without taking the thirteen Shinigami with him, and tasking them with the responsibility of overseeing the welfare of the souls that would now be cycling through life and death. These original thirteen became the Gotei Thirteen, and in order of rank they were: Origin, Shadow, Asuka, Luna, Celsius, Undine, Rem, Sylph, Volt, Gnome, Ifrit, Maxwell... and the youngest, Lorelei.
As the ages passed, the thirteen Shinigami were joined by many souls in their haven in the sky, and the world was at peace... but it was not to last. The demon they had banished could not return to the human world as a whole, but in parts... it could just be small enough to slip under the seal that kept it in Hueco Mundo. It tore itself apart piece by piece, each limb creating a new abomination to invade the human world, until there was only its heart left, which it sealed deep beneath the sands to protect it. With no heart, the demons were mindless creatures, surviving only on instinct, and these Hollows escaped their prison, seeking the hearts of humans to fill the void left by their own. Humans were consumed, and those that somehow survived became Hollows themselves.
The Shinigami could not let this continue, but they were far too outnumbered to fight and win. It was Maxwell, in his ageless wisdom, that suggested they recruit the spiritually strong from amongst the souls waiting to be reborn, and make them Shinigami as well. A hierarchy was quickly established, naming the original thirteen as captains, before they and the shinigami army returned to the world to fight the threat. But it was a fight that they could never win, no matter how many shinigami they created.
The centuries wore on, with the endless struggle between Shinigami and Hollow only increasing, as well as increasing the powers of the original thirteen. Concerned that they may have become too powerful, the Spirit King asked them to step down, and let a new generation take on the responsibility of fighting the Hollows. Origin refused, saying that it was an insult to give them power and then to ask them not to use it. Irate, the original thirteen shifted their focus from the Hollows to the Spirit King, only to be easily beaten.
Saddened that his children would rebel in such a way, the Spirit King mutated their forms, giving each a form that matched that which was in their heart, before casting them into the void between worlds. He watched as they were dragged toward a newborn world, empty of all life, before sealing the planet off, so they may never escape. He then returned to his own place in the heavens, weakened by the ordeal, never to be seen by man again.
The Shinigami, finding themselves vastly deformed and on a world completely void of everything, bickered amongst themselves, except for Lorelei, who was the only one whose form had not changed. Finally, Origin forced the others to order, stating the obvious: that they are powerful beings in a completely untouched world. After coming to an agreement, the thirteen Shinigami set out to make the world into one they could call their own. Maxwell, Asuka, Luna, and Rem set out to the heavens, creating the stars and the sky, and setting the pace of time. Ifrit and Gnome carved the land, while Undine gave it life and Celsius froze the north and south poles. Volt and Sylph went up to the sky, controlling the weather, while Shadow descended into the earth, watching over the world from the darkness.
Lastly, Origin took on the role of the Spirit King, creating all the creatures, including humans made in his own image out of arrogance. Lorelei, however, chose not to create anything in the new world, and instead walked amongst the new humans as one of their own, privately nurturing and encouraging them to grow, giving them the knowledge of law and life.
The eons passed, and the new world (which had changed names many times) was not without its own conflicts. It came to the point that Origin was beginning to get disgusted with humans, and how they were taking advantage of the gift of life he had given them, and after watching humans destroy each other in war, decided to destroy them and start over again. The others would have nothing of this, as they had become settled in their roles on the planet itself, and were closer to understanding why humans were the way they were, unlike Origin, who only watched from afar. While Maxwell and the others that had forged the heavens had opted to stay away from the conflict, the others rallied behind Lorelei, who had formed a deep love for everyone on the planet.
A powerful war between the thirteen original Shinigami shook the planet, and many humans were caught in the crossfire. Finally, not willing to sacrifice anymore lives, Lorelei made the ultimate sacrifice: he unleashed the power of his zanpakutou into his own body, becoming a burning flame that forced Origin away from the world, sealing him in a small space between the seal from the Spirit King's world and their own. To protect the seal, Lorelei cast himself out around the world, never again to set foot amongst humans...
...until a young girl named Yulia Jue called out to him.
Fast-forward two thousand years, to the birth of the original Luke fon Fabre, his scion, and the events that surrounded them. Everything happened as it was meant to, until it came to the death of Luke and Asch, and the assimilation that was supposed to happen.
Lorelei made the two of them a promise: help him with a task, and he would grant them the peaceful life they had been denied. Not seeing much choice in the matter, they agreed to help, though it quickly became apparent that what Lorelei needed done was a little beyond their strength: thanks to Van's meddling with Lorelei, the seal between the worlds had weakened considerably. Despite their best effort to aid the Seventh Fonon, the seal began to crack and Asch, who did not have enough mental and physical strength as it was from the trauma of his death, was caught up in the resulting storm. As he was being dragged away, Luke, in a desperate effort to do the right thing, grabbed Asch and threw him back into Lorelei's grasp. Lorelei tried to hold on to him, but it was too late, and Luke was sucked away from Auldrant, ripping away a part of Lorelei with him. This part of Lorelei shrouded him, protecting him as he traveled between worlds, cracking and stressing the barriers that divided them even more, until only a thin veil was left behind. It is difficult to tell how much time passed; he was unconscious the entire time and has no memory of the trip, nor did he have a clear memory of what happened that caused him to be torn away from Auldrant.
Sometime later, the instruments in the great lab of Las Noches picked up a brilliant flame streaking across the sands of Hueco Mundo. Confused as to what it was, and why his instruments were registering it as human, Szayel Aporro Granz left his post and pursued the anomaly. It turned out to be Lorelei, who stopped to confront Szayel once it realize it was being pursued, seeing a future that it did not like once it set eyes on the arrancar. Lorelei attacked, forcing Szayel on the defensive. He managed to capture it in one of his wings... but instead of containing it, Lorelei began to absorb power from Szayel. When it felt like he would die, Luke awoke, forcing Lorelei to stop. Luke was ejected from Szayel's wings, naked, but very much alive again.
At first, Luke was fairly positive and upbeat about being alive again, even if he wasn't entirely sure why or how. This quickly changed, however, as Szayel's true nature immediately made itself apparent. A number of experiments were performed on Luke, among them being a successful effort to break down the language barrier between himself and Szayel. Luke attempted to escape not long after that one, revealing his abilities with the Seventh Fonon and Hyperresonance in the process. Szayel intercepted him as he ran, refusing to let him go until he found out the source of Luke's mysterious power. Luke was more than happy to show him first hand, blasting him point blank with Radiant Howl, though it had little effect, and he was captured again. Intrigued that a mere human could generate power potentially more damaging than a cero, Szayel altered Luke's mind, taking away his free will, though he left his consciousness intact, leaving Luke a prisoner in his own body. As time passed, with Luke left only to mentally scream as his body went about following Szayel's orders, his ego eventually broke down and his mind "shattered", leaving a shell of what he was behind.
After numerous experiments to see just how Luke was able to create this Hyperresonance, Szayel believed his usefulness as a specimen had been exhausted. Curiously, Luke had started developing different shades of a personality despite the control he had over him, and instead of discarding him, Szayel kept him to use as his personal servant, sending him about Las Noches on minor tasks. This caught the attention of a couple números, who greatly disliked having a human being invading their sanctuary. One day, these two attacked him, and while he fought very hard to continue to obey the orders Szayel had given him before the confrontation, Luke found himself fighting back, finally breaking free of the control that was placed over him. However, he was only human, and even with the appearance of the Sword of Lorelei, he was not very effective against them. They brutalized him, one of them even cutting open the right side of his face, and they would have killed him if Szayel had not arrived. Despite his new freedom, Luke did not try to run away from Szayel and instead embraced him, referring to him as "master".
The experience made the scientist realize Luke's potential usefulness, and what followed was several months worth of experimentation. The biggest of these experiments and the most noteworthy is when he altered Luke's DNA, fusing it with the closest compatible match: his own. This resulted in the greatest physical change; Luke became paler than normal, and the cut up side of his face started to form a bone mask. He did not inherit any of his master's physical features except for a lock of pink hair, which is kept carefully hidden -- if it were to be discovered that Szayel used his own DNA in the experiment, it is likely they both would have been killed. The transformation disrupted Luke's connection with the Seventh Fonon, however, and Szayel did the only thing he could think of: cut off Luke's hearing before he accidentally blew up all of Las Noches. After this experiment, he was permitted to seek revenge on the arrancar that had tormented him. The one that did the most damage was granted a quick death -- Luke sliced him in half. The other he chased down, cutting off body parts until he couldn't stand anymore, before ripping his heart out of his chest and crushing it. Afterward, he ate what was left, not even leaving bones behind.
Luke needed to get his abilities under control, and he was able to force his ability to use Hyperresonance into the Sword of Lorelei, turning it into a pseudo-zanpakutō and also restoring his hearing. The conversation that followed made Szayel realize that his lack of knowledge would most likely be an issue, and he altered Luke's mind again to increase his intelligence so he would be of more use to him. Unfortunately, Szayel would have to alter his mind yet again not long after, as recreating him into a hybrid of human and arrancar was forcing the human side of Luke to quickly degrade, a physical void forming in his chest that was attempting to consume his human soul.
The results left Luke temporarily mute as the two sides of himself fought for dominance, his arrancar side eventually winning as his potential was being tested by Aizen himself. In control, Luke was able to unleash his resurrección, utterly obliterating the arrancar he had been forced to fight. His victory led Szayel to being returned to the Espada as the Octava, and the scientist immediately named Luke as one of his fracción. Luke remained unnumbered, however, as he did not feel it was appropriate for him to accept a number from Aizen, as he was not brought into Las Noches by him.
Months passed, during which time Luke established a sort of love/hate (and more hate because of his master's influence) relationship with Yylfordt Granz, Szayel's elder brother, as well as his fellow Sexta fracción. It was this relationship that led Luke on many "grand" adventures, the last of which was a special "project". Said project brought Luke to the human world and Karakura Town for the first time, where he joined Yylfordt in confronting "that red pineapple", Abarai Renji. Despite Luke's presence, he could not keep the shinigami from destroying his friend before his eyes, and he may have died too if Tousen had not come to recover both him and Grimmjow, the only two survivors.
It took Yylfordt's death to make Luke realize how much he had considered him a friend, and he was rather depressed afterward. Not long after, he was forcibly introduced to Luppi, the new Sexta after Grimmjow had been demoted. His dislike for him was instantaneous, and after witnessing the rebirth of Wonderwiess, the two of them ended up in a fight after Luppi not only invaded Luke's personal space, but also had the nerve to insult Grimmjow and Yylfordt. Luppi pretty much wiped the floor with Luke, and he was about to unleash his resurrección when Szayel intervened, reprimanding Luke and sending him back to the lab. The fight had severe consequences on Luke's body, however; the void growing in his chest nearly exploded, shattering his ribs and almost damaging internal organs. Szayel was forced to operate immediately, encasing the void in spirit absorbing sekki sekki rock and machinery to stabilize it, before rebuilding everything that had been damaged. The ordeal made Szayel realize how close the two of them had become, something he had difficulty understanding despite his brilliance.
After Luke recovered, he encountered Inoue Orihime, whom he mistook for Tear at first. The two had a conversation where Luke spoke of his memories of Auldrant before Ulquiorra chased him away. Returning to the lab, he learned of the people invading Las Noches, and while he was ready and willing to defend the lab, Szayel would have none of it. Not wanting Luke to get hurt, he sent him away into the desert to collect samples, so he would be far away from the conflict that was to come.
Point in canon: AU; in Bleach canon, it would come just before Ichigo and friends invaded Las Noches.
Window Location: In his personal quarters in Las Noches, hidden behind his dresser.
Universe: BLEACH! Where Auldrant exists!
Las Noches was once a palace that had no walls and no roof, for all of Hueco Mundo was the palace of the lord of Hollows. However, once Aizen came, Las Noches became a real palace, with many twisting corridors, some of which could be moved. It is in the center of these moving corridors that the great lab can be found, and where Luke spends the majority of his time. Everything and anything can be found there, from dissected specimens, to advanced machinery in the process of being built. Just be careful not to become an experiment yourself...
Abilities: As a hybrid of a human and arrancar, Luke's strength, speed, and endurance are above the norm for someone that appears to be human. He is nowhere near Espada level in terms of power, but he's slightly above an average números, even more so in his resurrección state. It's difficult for other arrancar to sense this, however; to them, and to Shinigami as well, his spiritual pressure feels insignificant, though not so much when he releases his sword. As mentioned, his intelligence has also been increased; not to the point of genius level (there is still a lot he doesn't know, and is still learning), but enough to make him an effective lab assistant. He also retains his skills with the sword, as well as his ability to use the Seventh Fonon. In addition, he has a number of abilities specific to Bleach and arrancar:
Regeneration: Luke does not regenerate automatically like some arrancar, but what he is capable of is "weaving" the Seventh Fonon together with his spiritual pressure and project it outward. This is capable of healing others as well.
Sonído: An ability used by all arrancar that allows them to cover the distance of several feet in a matter of seconds; it creates a static-like sound when used. Luke is limited to only a few feet, with a rest period of a minute in between due to his human body. Despite this, he tends to abuse this ability despite the toll it puts on him.
Hierro: An invisible shield of spiritual energy around an Arrancar's body that prevents them from being harmed. Luke's is especially weak, however; this is not just because he's human, but because his DNA was fused with Szayel's, whose hierro was also very weak. While he shrugs off mundane weapons like they're nothing, anything that is remotely spiritual or powerful (like Jade's Forbidden Fonic Artes or a Complete Key of Lorelei, for example) will hurt him.
Resurrección: The release command for Luke's resurrección is "Howl", and it allows him to use his hyperresonance -- a hyper stimulation of sound that results in a blast that can destroy most anything. He loses access to his sword in this state, and therefore is vulnerable to sudden close range attacks. For a normal arrancar, a resurrección returns them to a form similar to when they were mere hollows. Because Luke was never a normal hollow, he believes this is the best his resurrección will ever be. This is not true, of course, but his still human body could not handle his real released form, and it would destroy him if he ever discovered he could use it.
Possessions: The Sword of Lorelei, and a bag full of plant specimen gathering supplies.
Personality: When Luke was human, he was a sweet and loving individual that always tried desperately to do the right thing, no matter how painful it was. Because of his desire to change from the selfish brat he used to be, he could sometimes go overboard with his selflessness, doing things that most people would consider stupid just so he could bring someone in need some happiness. He had a habit of not thinking things completely through, and sometimes ran headlong into danger... and then headlong away once he realized he was about to get creamed. While he considered sword fighting one of his favorite hobbies, when it came to fighting with the intent to kill, he was excessively reluctant, as he never wanted to be responsible for someone else's death.
That Luke, however, is buried deeply in his subconscious, and very few people are privileged enough to see him for who he is. Yylfordt came close, but it's his brother and Luke's master, Szayel Aporro Granz, that finally had the honor of seeing the real Luke. The two of them have a close bond, despite the fact that the Espada is the one that changed his life so much, and Luke is loyal to him to the point of being fanatical. Part of Luke knows that he should hate him for what he did to him, but even his human side can't bring himself to: he gave him a purpose and a place that he could call his own, and not something that had belonged to someone else previously.
It is very possible for another person to get that close to Luke, but it will take a significant amount of work.
One thing that has remained the same, however, is Luke's reluctance to kill. He doesn't like it, even being half dead himself. He also holds himself back during fights, refusing to use his resurrección unless it seems like he has no other choice. Unfortunately, this can be overridden, as evidenced by the fate of the arrancar that brutalized him when he was still human, and also the fact that he was within seconds of flying into a murderous rage when Renji killed Yylfordt.
For everyone else, Luke responds accordingly. For those that he respects and looks up to, he is calm and collected; he defers to those in authority, and is always willing to serve. The only exception to this was Luppi, whom he outright despised from the moment they met. To those he does not know and therefore, does not trust, he is usually short and blunt, coming off as cold and aloof. If he really doesn't like someone, he can be extra snippy and sarcastic, saying just about anything he can to get under a person's skin. This makes it seem like he enjoys picking fights, however it is the complete opposite; he just hasn't yet found a good way to tell an idiot to stop breathing his air.
He has picked up a number of bad habits from Szayel, chief among them being his tendency to talk down to others that are not as intelligent as he is, speaking to them as if they were inferior. Considering how he used to be, he really has no room to talk, and gets extra snippy when someone points this out. He has also picked up on Szayel's dislike of non-Hollows, and he especially does not care for Shinigami after Yylfordt's death. His dislike for humanity varies; he really does not care for his human side, and would prefer that he was a complete arrancar, however after his talk with Orihime, he is gradually coming to accept it, as she reminded him of how things used to be before he came to Hueco Mundo.
Considering what he went through, it's no surprise that Luke's not entirely stable mentally. Outwardly, he seems fine, but internally his soul is a mess, because his arrancar side is fighting to consume and control his human side. This affects his daemon as well, who is also rather weak (see below).
Thread Sample: Luke complains, and then acts like jerk to EVERYONE. = Recent
More complaining! = Even more recent.
The cake is a lie. = One of the most hilarious entries I've done with him. :x
Prose Sample: In the privacy of his room, Luke had shrugged off his coat and shirt, preparing himself for a bath before heading out to fulfill his master's orders. Instead of that bath, however, he found himself staring in the mirror, his eyes flicking up and down as he took in the bone mask on the side of his face, curving up along it, to the scars that littered his chest. Change... he had changed so much, too much... it was overwhelming to think about it. He usually did not think about it, and he was fine with this; it was much easier to live his existence flowing from one of Szayel's orders to the next and not having to worry about anything else.
But he just had to talk to Orihime.
Luke reached a hand up, placing a hand over his heart. He could still feel it, hear it beating, even though it was slower than it used to be. Slow, but not gone... so he still had some humanity, right? Is that why he cared so much that his master was ordering him to leave, when he knew he should be staying? Is that why he even cared?
He let out a faint sob, clutching at his head. It hurt, it was too much to think about, and he forced himself away from the mirror, grabbing his change of clothes and rushing into the bath. Once in there, he turned the water on as hot as it could go, forcing him to only think about getting clean, and not the fact that the scalding hot water barely hurt. The thought of taking as long as he could crossed his mind once or twice, to stay long enough so that the shinigami made it to the palace and he wouldn't be able to safely leave, but he didn't want to incur his master's wrath, as he would no doubt be annoyed by that.
By the time he came back out into his room, he was feeling slightly better, forcing the thoughts of humanity and how much he cared to the back of his mind. It wasn't until he was fully dressed again, however, that he became aware of eyes watching him from the doorway. Luke paused, peering over... before he realized who it was at the door and went over, opening it enough for Lumina and Verona to roll into the room. The two looked up at him, worried faces both, and a bit of a smile worked its way onto his face as he knelt down before them.
"I guess you know I'm leaving until this is over, hunh?" he asked softly, both of them nodding by bobbing up and down, in opposite sync of each other. "Don't worry, I'm sure everything will be fine."
They did not look convinced; probably because they were picking up on his own worry. Even as lesser Arrancar, it was probably easy to pick up the unease written all over his reiatsu. He let out a sigh, reaching up and resting a hand on Lumina's head.
"You'll look after Szayel Aporro-sama for me, won't you?"
"Look look," Verona agreed sadly.
"Yeah, look look," Lumina echoed, head bobbing.
Luke let out a soft sound, smiling sadly. Strange, he knew the two of them would be about as effective as throwing flowers at Shinigami, but somehow, he felt better. He stood, grabbing the bag of supplies he would need, before heading out of the room, glancing back at them.
"...I'm going now."
Plans: Oh dear god, I've been dying to try him out in a real, active game. This Luke is a wonderful character to get a lot of character development out of, if people want to take the time to chip away at his tough exterior. Despite his extensive history and many differences, he has a lot of room to grow and change, and a full game will give him this opportunity.
Notes: I guess the major note, if it wasn't obvious enough already, would be that Luke is going to know people that don't know him. I don't expect anyone to just play along with him; I want people to go, "wtf are you? :|" It will start to piss him off on so many levels, and force him to develop on his own.
DÆMON
Name: Fenix
Sex: Female
Form: Red Avadavat
Additional notes: The fact that Luke is part arrancar and part human is what makes him unique. His human side enables him to still have a soul, however, it is very weak because his arrancar side is trying to consume it. Therefore, his Daemon is weak as well, and appears sickly, never leaving Luke's shoulder. She won't even function as she should, and sometimes Fenix's powers could fail. Depending on what happens in game, it's even possible that Luke's Daemon could disappear along with his humanity.
Why this form: The Red Avadavat, while originating in Asia, has one of the largest inhabiting areas in the world, a nod to how Luke has two places he calls home. Also the head and crest are reminiscent of the form Luke will take later in his story (after his canon point), when he becomes a full Hollow.
Name: Skyla Doragono
Are you 18 or over?: Sadly yes! D:
Other characters played: NA
CHARACTER
Name: Luke fon Fabre
Canon: Crossover AU; source canon is Tales of the Abyss (game), crossed with Bleach (manga).
Age: His body is 18 years old; prior to the end of Tales of the Abyss, however, he had only lived for 8 years. This is because he was a replica, born when the original Luke fon Fabre was 10 years old. However, since his body has been altered, it has stopped aging, possibly for good. In addition to the indeterminable amount of time that passed from Luke's death on Auldrant to his arrival on Hueco Mundo, it's hard to tell exactly how old he really is.
History: (The reason behind everything that happens to Luke hasn't be revealed in his story yet, and I don't want spoilers to be freely seen online. For that reason, the following is blanked; please highlight to read.)
Thousands of years ago, when the world was still new, the Spirit King came to the barren earth, and brought life to it. Plants, animals... humans were the last of His creations, and he told them to live peacefully, and all would be well. The Spirit King then came to rest in a place high above the clouds to watch his creations from afar, and so there was peace for many years.
It was several hundred years later that the first signs of darkness crept into the world. A masked creature from another domain slipped through the cracks between worlds, and began preying on the humans that the Spirit King created, for they were the most delicious. Dismayed, the humans cried out to the Spirit King for salvation and the King, preferring his children to find their own way out of a situation, called to the humans and told them to find thirteen of their strongest. It didn't matter if they were physically or mentally strong, if they were the most clever, or if they were the fastest; whatever trait was their best, it had to be stronger than anyone else.
When these thirteen humans were assembled, the Spirit King tore their souls from their physical bodies, giving them power they could have only dreamed of before. However, it came at a terrible price, for this act banished the age of humans that could live peacefully for hundreds of years, and began the cycle of Life, Death, and Rebirth. The Spirit King named these souls Shinigami, the Soul Reapers, and sent the thirteen off against the masked demon. After a terrible fight, the shinigami realized that they would not be able to kill the creature, and therefore banished it into another world, one whose endless sands matched its empty heart: Hueco Mundo.
Their task completed and the world saved, the Spirit King returned to his home, though not without taking the thirteen Shinigami with him, and tasking them with the responsibility of overseeing the welfare of the souls that would now be cycling through life and death. These original thirteen became the Gotei Thirteen, and in order of rank they were: Origin, Shadow, Asuka, Luna, Celsius, Undine, Rem, Sylph, Volt, Gnome, Ifrit, Maxwell... and the youngest, Lorelei.
As the ages passed, the thirteen Shinigami were joined by many souls in their haven in the sky, and the world was at peace... but it was not to last. The demon they had banished could not return to the human world as a whole, but in parts... it could just be small enough to slip under the seal that kept it in Hueco Mundo. It tore itself apart piece by piece, each limb creating a new abomination to invade the human world, until there was only its heart left, which it sealed deep beneath the sands to protect it. With no heart, the demons were mindless creatures, surviving only on instinct, and these Hollows escaped their prison, seeking the hearts of humans to fill the void left by their own. Humans were consumed, and those that somehow survived became Hollows themselves.
The Shinigami could not let this continue, but they were far too outnumbered to fight and win. It was Maxwell, in his ageless wisdom, that suggested they recruit the spiritually strong from amongst the souls waiting to be reborn, and make them Shinigami as well. A hierarchy was quickly established, naming the original thirteen as captains, before they and the shinigami army returned to the world to fight the threat. But it was a fight that they could never win, no matter how many shinigami they created.
The centuries wore on, with the endless struggle between Shinigami and Hollow only increasing, as well as increasing the powers of the original thirteen. Concerned that they may have become too powerful, the Spirit King asked them to step down, and let a new generation take on the responsibility of fighting the Hollows. Origin refused, saying that it was an insult to give them power and then to ask them not to use it. Irate, the original thirteen shifted their focus from the Hollows to the Spirit King, only to be easily beaten.
Saddened that his children would rebel in such a way, the Spirit King mutated their forms, giving each a form that matched that which was in their heart, before casting them into the void between worlds. He watched as they were dragged toward a newborn world, empty of all life, before sealing the planet off, so they may never escape. He then returned to his own place in the heavens, weakened by the ordeal, never to be seen by man again.
The Shinigami, finding themselves vastly deformed and on a world completely void of everything, bickered amongst themselves, except for Lorelei, who was the only one whose form had not changed. Finally, Origin forced the others to order, stating the obvious: that they are powerful beings in a completely untouched world. After coming to an agreement, the thirteen Shinigami set out to make the world into one they could call their own. Maxwell, Asuka, Luna, and Rem set out to the heavens, creating the stars and the sky, and setting the pace of time. Ifrit and Gnome carved the land, while Undine gave it life and Celsius froze the north and south poles. Volt and Sylph went up to the sky, controlling the weather, while Shadow descended into the earth, watching over the world from the darkness.
Lastly, Origin took on the role of the Spirit King, creating all the creatures, including humans made in his own image out of arrogance. Lorelei, however, chose not to create anything in the new world, and instead walked amongst the new humans as one of their own, privately nurturing and encouraging them to grow, giving them the knowledge of law and life.
The eons passed, and the new world (which had changed names many times) was not without its own conflicts. It came to the point that Origin was beginning to get disgusted with humans, and how they were taking advantage of the gift of life he had given them, and after watching humans destroy each other in war, decided to destroy them and start over again. The others would have nothing of this, as they had become settled in their roles on the planet itself, and were closer to understanding why humans were the way they were, unlike Origin, who only watched from afar. While Maxwell and the others that had forged the heavens had opted to stay away from the conflict, the others rallied behind Lorelei, who had formed a deep love for everyone on the planet.
A powerful war between the thirteen original Shinigami shook the planet, and many humans were caught in the crossfire. Finally, not willing to sacrifice anymore lives, Lorelei made the ultimate sacrifice: he unleashed the power of his zanpakutou into his own body, becoming a burning flame that forced Origin away from the world, sealing him in a small space between the seal from the Spirit King's world and their own. To protect the seal, Lorelei cast himself out around the world, never again to set foot amongst humans...
...until a young girl named Yulia Jue called out to him.
Fast-forward two thousand years, to the birth of the original Luke fon Fabre, his scion, and the events that surrounded them. Everything happened as it was meant to, until it came to the death of Luke and Asch, and the assimilation that was supposed to happen.
Lorelei made the two of them a promise: help him with a task, and he would grant them the peaceful life they had been denied. Not seeing much choice in the matter, they agreed to help, though it quickly became apparent that what Lorelei needed done was a little beyond their strength: thanks to Van's meddling with Lorelei, the seal between the worlds had weakened considerably. Despite their best effort to aid the Seventh Fonon, the seal began to crack and Asch, who did not have enough mental and physical strength as it was from the trauma of his death, was caught up in the resulting storm. As he was being dragged away, Luke, in a desperate effort to do the right thing, grabbed Asch and threw him back into Lorelei's grasp. Lorelei tried to hold on to him, but it was too late, and Luke was sucked away from Auldrant, ripping away a part of Lorelei with him. This part of Lorelei shrouded him, protecting him as he traveled between worlds, cracking and stressing the barriers that divided them even more, until only a thin veil was left behind. It is difficult to tell how much time passed; he was unconscious the entire time and has no memory of the trip, nor did he have a clear memory of what happened that caused him to be torn away from Auldrant.
Sometime later, the instruments in the great lab of Las Noches picked up a brilliant flame streaking across the sands of Hueco Mundo. Confused as to what it was, and why his instruments were registering it as human, Szayel Aporro Granz left his post and pursued the anomaly. It turned out to be Lorelei, who stopped to confront Szayel once it realize it was being pursued, seeing a future that it did not like once it set eyes on the arrancar. Lorelei attacked, forcing Szayel on the defensive. He managed to capture it in one of his wings... but instead of containing it, Lorelei began to absorb power from Szayel. When it felt like he would die, Luke awoke, forcing Lorelei to stop. Luke was ejected from Szayel's wings, naked, but very much alive again.
At first, Luke was fairly positive and upbeat about being alive again, even if he wasn't entirely sure why or how. This quickly changed, however, as Szayel's true nature immediately made itself apparent. A number of experiments were performed on Luke, among them being a successful effort to break down the language barrier between himself and Szayel. Luke attempted to escape not long after that one, revealing his abilities with the Seventh Fonon and Hyperresonance in the process. Szayel intercepted him as he ran, refusing to let him go until he found out the source of Luke's mysterious power. Luke was more than happy to show him first hand, blasting him point blank with Radiant Howl, though it had little effect, and he was captured again. Intrigued that a mere human could generate power potentially more damaging than a cero, Szayel altered Luke's mind, taking away his free will, though he left his consciousness intact, leaving Luke a prisoner in his own body. As time passed, with Luke left only to mentally scream as his body went about following Szayel's orders, his ego eventually broke down and his mind "shattered", leaving a shell of what he was behind.
After numerous experiments to see just how Luke was able to create this Hyperresonance, Szayel believed his usefulness as a specimen had been exhausted. Curiously, Luke had started developing different shades of a personality despite the control he had over him, and instead of discarding him, Szayel kept him to use as his personal servant, sending him about Las Noches on minor tasks. This caught the attention of a couple números, who greatly disliked having a human being invading their sanctuary. One day, these two attacked him, and while he fought very hard to continue to obey the orders Szayel had given him before the confrontation, Luke found himself fighting back, finally breaking free of the control that was placed over him. However, he was only human, and even with the appearance of the Sword of Lorelei, he was not very effective against them. They brutalized him, one of them even cutting open the right side of his face, and they would have killed him if Szayel had not arrived. Despite his new freedom, Luke did not try to run away from Szayel and instead embraced him, referring to him as "master".
The experience made the scientist realize Luke's potential usefulness, and what followed was several months worth of experimentation. The biggest of these experiments and the most noteworthy is when he altered Luke's DNA, fusing it with the closest compatible match: his own. This resulted in the greatest physical change; Luke became paler than normal, and the cut up side of his face started to form a bone mask. He did not inherit any of his master's physical features except for a lock of pink hair, which is kept carefully hidden -- if it were to be discovered that Szayel used his own DNA in the experiment, it is likely they both would have been killed. The transformation disrupted Luke's connection with the Seventh Fonon, however, and Szayel did the only thing he could think of: cut off Luke's hearing before he accidentally blew up all of Las Noches. After this experiment, he was permitted to seek revenge on the arrancar that had tormented him. The one that did the most damage was granted a quick death -- Luke sliced him in half. The other he chased down, cutting off body parts until he couldn't stand anymore, before ripping his heart out of his chest and crushing it. Afterward, he ate what was left, not even leaving bones behind.
Luke needed to get his abilities under control, and he was able to force his ability to use Hyperresonance into the Sword of Lorelei, turning it into a pseudo-zanpakutō and also restoring his hearing. The conversation that followed made Szayel realize that his lack of knowledge would most likely be an issue, and he altered Luke's mind again to increase his intelligence so he would be of more use to him. Unfortunately, Szayel would have to alter his mind yet again not long after, as recreating him into a hybrid of human and arrancar was forcing the human side of Luke to quickly degrade, a physical void forming in his chest that was attempting to consume his human soul.
The results left Luke temporarily mute as the two sides of himself fought for dominance, his arrancar side eventually winning as his potential was being tested by Aizen himself. In control, Luke was able to unleash his resurrección, utterly obliterating the arrancar he had been forced to fight. His victory led Szayel to being returned to the Espada as the Octava, and the scientist immediately named Luke as one of his fracción. Luke remained unnumbered, however, as he did not feel it was appropriate for him to accept a number from Aizen, as he was not brought into Las Noches by him.
Months passed, during which time Luke established a sort of love/hate (and more hate because of his master's influence) relationship with Yylfordt Granz, Szayel's elder brother, as well as his fellow Sexta fracción. It was this relationship that led Luke on many "grand" adventures, the last of which was a special "project". Said project brought Luke to the human world and Karakura Town for the first time, where he joined Yylfordt in confronting "that red pineapple", Abarai Renji. Despite Luke's presence, he could not keep the shinigami from destroying his friend before his eyes, and he may have died too if Tousen had not come to recover both him and Grimmjow, the only two survivors.
It took Yylfordt's death to make Luke realize how much he had considered him a friend, and he was rather depressed afterward. Not long after, he was forcibly introduced to Luppi, the new Sexta after Grimmjow had been demoted. His dislike for him was instantaneous, and after witnessing the rebirth of Wonderwiess, the two of them ended up in a fight after Luppi not only invaded Luke's personal space, but also had the nerve to insult Grimmjow and Yylfordt. Luppi pretty much wiped the floor with Luke, and he was about to unleash his resurrección when Szayel intervened, reprimanding Luke and sending him back to the lab. The fight had severe consequences on Luke's body, however; the void growing in his chest nearly exploded, shattering his ribs and almost damaging internal organs. Szayel was forced to operate immediately, encasing the void in spirit absorbing sekki sekki rock and machinery to stabilize it, before rebuilding everything that had been damaged. The ordeal made Szayel realize how close the two of them had become, something he had difficulty understanding despite his brilliance.
After Luke recovered, he encountered Inoue Orihime, whom he mistook for Tear at first. The two had a conversation where Luke spoke of his memories of Auldrant before Ulquiorra chased him away. Returning to the lab, he learned of the people invading Las Noches, and while he was ready and willing to defend the lab, Szayel would have none of it. Not wanting Luke to get hurt, he sent him away into the desert to collect samples, so he would be far away from the conflict that was to come.
Point in canon: AU; in Bleach canon, it would come just before Ichigo and friends invaded Las Noches.
Window Location: In his personal quarters in Las Noches, hidden behind his dresser.
Universe: BLEACH! Where Auldrant exists!
Las Noches was once a palace that had no walls and no roof, for all of Hueco Mundo was the palace of the lord of Hollows. However, once Aizen came, Las Noches became a real palace, with many twisting corridors, some of which could be moved. It is in the center of these moving corridors that the great lab can be found, and where Luke spends the majority of his time. Everything and anything can be found there, from dissected specimens, to advanced machinery in the process of being built. Just be careful not to become an experiment yourself...
Abilities: As a hybrid of a human and arrancar, Luke's strength, speed, and endurance are above the norm for someone that appears to be human. He is nowhere near Espada level in terms of power, but he's slightly above an average números, even more so in his resurrección state. It's difficult for other arrancar to sense this, however; to them, and to Shinigami as well, his spiritual pressure feels insignificant, though not so much when he releases his sword. As mentioned, his intelligence has also been increased; not to the point of genius level (there is still a lot he doesn't know, and is still learning), but enough to make him an effective lab assistant. He also retains his skills with the sword, as well as his ability to use the Seventh Fonon. In addition, he has a number of abilities specific to Bleach and arrancar:
Regeneration: Luke does not regenerate automatically like some arrancar, but what he is capable of is "weaving" the Seventh Fonon together with his spiritual pressure and project it outward. This is capable of healing others as well.
Sonído: An ability used by all arrancar that allows them to cover the distance of several feet in a matter of seconds; it creates a static-like sound when used. Luke is limited to only a few feet, with a rest period of a minute in between due to his human body. Despite this, he tends to abuse this ability despite the toll it puts on him.
Hierro: An invisible shield of spiritual energy around an Arrancar's body that prevents them from being harmed. Luke's is especially weak, however; this is not just because he's human, but because his DNA was fused with Szayel's, whose hierro was also very weak. While he shrugs off mundane weapons like they're nothing, anything that is remotely spiritual or powerful (like Jade's Forbidden Fonic Artes or a Complete Key of Lorelei, for example) will hurt him.
Resurrección: The release command for Luke's resurrección is "Howl", and it allows him to use his hyperresonance -- a hyper stimulation of sound that results in a blast that can destroy most anything. He loses access to his sword in this state, and therefore is vulnerable to sudden close range attacks. For a normal arrancar, a resurrección returns them to a form similar to when they were mere hollows. Because Luke was never a normal hollow, he believes this is the best his resurrección will ever be. This is not true, of course, but his still human body could not handle his real released form, and it would destroy him if he ever discovered he could use it.
Possessions: The Sword of Lorelei, and a bag full of plant specimen gathering supplies.
Personality: When Luke was human, he was a sweet and loving individual that always tried desperately to do the right thing, no matter how painful it was. Because of his desire to change from the selfish brat he used to be, he could sometimes go overboard with his selflessness, doing things that most people would consider stupid just so he could bring someone in need some happiness. He had a habit of not thinking things completely through, and sometimes ran headlong into danger... and then headlong away once he realized he was about to get creamed. While he considered sword fighting one of his favorite hobbies, when it came to fighting with the intent to kill, he was excessively reluctant, as he never wanted to be responsible for someone else's death.
That Luke, however, is buried deeply in his subconscious, and very few people are privileged enough to see him for who he is. Yylfordt came close, but it's his brother and Luke's master, Szayel Aporro Granz, that finally had the honor of seeing the real Luke. The two of them have a close bond, despite the fact that the Espada is the one that changed his life so much, and Luke is loyal to him to the point of being fanatical. Part of Luke knows that he should hate him for what he did to him, but even his human side can't bring himself to: he gave him a purpose and a place that he could call his own, and not something that had belonged to someone else previously.
It is very possible for another person to get that close to Luke, but it will take a significant amount of work.
One thing that has remained the same, however, is Luke's reluctance to kill. He doesn't like it, even being half dead himself. He also holds himself back during fights, refusing to use his resurrección unless it seems like he has no other choice. Unfortunately, this can be overridden, as evidenced by the fate of the arrancar that brutalized him when he was still human, and also the fact that he was within seconds of flying into a murderous rage when Renji killed Yylfordt.
For everyone else, Luke responds accordingly. For those that he respects and looks up to, he is calm and collected; he defers to those in authority, and is always willing to serve. The only exception to this was Luppi, whom he outright despised from the moment they met. To those he does not know and therefore, does not trust, he is usually short and blunt, coming off as cold and aloof. If he really doesn't like someone, he can be extra snippy and sarcastic, saying just about anything he can to get under a person's skin. This makes it seem like he enjoys picking fights, however it is the complete opposite; he just hasn't yet found a good way to tell an idiot to stop breathing his air.
He has picked up a number of bad habits from Szayel, chief among them being his tendency to talk down to others that are not as intelligent as he is, speaking to them as if they were inferior. Considering how he used to be, he really has no room to talk, and gets extra snippy when someone points this out. He has also picked up on Szayel's dislike of non-Hollows, and he especially does not care for Shinigami after Yylfordt's death. His dislike for humanity varies; he really does not care for his human side, and would prefer that he was a complete arrancar, however after his talk with Orihime, he is gradually coming to accept it, as she reminded him of how things used to be before he came to Hueco Mundo.
Considering what he went through, it's no surprise that Luke's not entirely stable mentally. Outwardly, he seems fine, but internally his soul is a mess, because his arrancar side is fighting to consume and control his human side. This affects his daemon as well, who is also rather weak (see below).
Thread Sample: Luke complains, and then acts like jerk to EVERYONE. = Recent
More complaining! = Even more recent.
The cake is a lie. = One of the most hilarious entries I've done with him. :x
Prose Sample: In the privacy of his room, Luke had shrugged off his coat and shirt, preparing himself for a bath before heading out to fulfill his master's orders. Instead of that bath, however, he found himself staring in the mirror, his eyes flicking up and down as he took in the bone mask on the side of his face, curving up along it, to the scars that littered his chest. Change... he had changed so much, too much... it was overwhelming to think about it. He usually did not think about it, and he was fine with this; it was much easier to live his existence flowing from one of Szayel's orders to the next and not having to worry about anything else.
But he just had to talk to Orihime.
Luke reached a hand up, placing a hand over his heart. He could still feel it, hear it beating, even though it was slower than it used to be. Slow, but not gone... so he still had some humanity, right? Is that why he cared so much that his master was ordering him to leave, when he knew he should be staying? Is that why he even cared?
He let out a faint sob, clutching at his head. It hurt, it was too much to think about, and he forced himself away from the mirror, grabbing his change of clothes and rushing into the bath. Once in there, he turned the water on as hot as it could go, forcing him to only think about getting clean, and not the fact that the scalding hot water barely hurt. The thought of taking as long as he could crossed his mind once or twice, to stay long enough so that the shinigami made it to the palace and he wouldn't be able to safely leave, but he didn't want to incur his master's wrath, as he would no doubt be annoyed by that.
By the time he came back out into his room, he was feeling slightly better, forcing the thoughts of humanity and how much he cared to the back of his mind. It wasn't until he was fully dressed again, however, that he became aware of eyes watching him from the doorway. Luke paused, peering over... before he realized who it was at the door and went over, opening it enough for Lumina and Verona to roll into the room. The two looked up at him, worried faces both, and a bit of a smile worked its way onto his face as he knelt down before them.
"I guess you know I'm leaving until this is over, hunh?" he asked softly, both of them nodding by bobbing up and down, in opposite sync of each other. "Don't worry, I'm sure everything will be fine."
They did not look convinced; probably because they were picking up on his own worry. Even as lesser Arrancar, it was probably easy to pick up the unease written all over his reiatsu. He let out a sigh, reaching up and resting a hand on Lumina's head.
"You'll look after Szayel Aporro-sama for me, won't you?"
"Look look," Verona agreed sadly.
"Yeah, look look," Lumina echoed, head bobbing.
Luke let out a soft sound, smiling sadly. Strange, he knew the two of them would be about as effective as throwing flowers at Shinigami, but somehow, he felt better. He stood, grabbing the bag of supplies he would need, before heading out of the room, glancing back at them.
"...I'm going now."
Plans: Oh dear god, I've been dying to try him out in a real, active game. This Luke is a wonderful character to get a lot of character development out of, if people want to take the time to chip away at his tough exterior. Despite his extensive history and many differences, he has a lot of room to grow and change, and a full game will give him this opportunity.
Notes: I guess the major note, if it wasn't obvious enough already, would be that Luke is going to know people that don't know him. I don't expect anyone to just play along with him; I want people to go, "wtf are you? :|" It will start to piss him off on so many levels, and force him to develop on his own.
DÆMON
Name: Fenix
Sex: Female
Form: Red Avadavat
Additional notes: The fact that Luke is part arrancar and part human is what makes him unique. His human side enables him to still have a soul, however, it is very weak because his arrancar side is trying to consume it. Therefore, his Daemon is weak as well, and appears sickly, never leaving Luke's shoulder. She won't even function as she should, and sometimes Fenix's powers could fail. Depending on what happens in game, it's even possible that Luke's Daemon could disappear along with his humanity.
Why this form: The Red Avadavat, while originating in Asia, has one of the largest inhabiting areas in the world, a nod to how Luke has two places he calls home. Also the head and crest are reminiscent of the form Luke will take later in his story (after his canon point), when he becomes a full Hollow.