Luke fon Fabre

Player Name: Jade
Contact: bronnichiwa @ discord
Invited by: You Know Me
Other Characters: Rose, Jill, Robin

Character Name: Luke Fon Fabre
Canon: Tales of the Abyss
Canon History: It's so much.
CW: SUICIDE IDEATION, MANIPULATION, KILLING OF AN ENTIRE TOWN
Canon Personality: Luke starts Tales of the Abyss as an almost wholly unlikeable character, both by the player and the characters in-universe. To call him a "jerk with a heart of gold" might be a mistake; he's certainly a character with a personality that can rub people the wrong way who really cares about people, but he doesn't purposefully use his assholeishness to push people away. Really, it would be more fitting to call him a naive spoiled brat who happened to not be a complete asshole.

Unfortunately, it's Luke's "less-than-pleasant" tendencies that tend to show themselves in the game, first. The game opens as he's living in his father's manor, not really doing anything of note. He's basically a noble who complains about being bored all the time who really likes fighting. It's not really surprising for somebody who was raised surrounded by servants and given anything they'd ever want, it doesn't mean that the character traits are necessarily good, either. His character doesn't change when he's suddenly whisked away either; to call Luke an entitled jerk would be putting it mildly. When him and Tear need to find a way to book it back to the capital, he lets her sell an important necklace without batting an eye. When Ion joins the party and requires frequent breaks to rest, Luke resists and they keep onward. When Mieu joins the party (ostensibly as his pet) his preferred nickname for him is "Thing."

His obnoxious personality aside, there's no denying that he genuinely does care somewhat for people at the beginning of the game. For example, he saves Mieu when the cheagle is attacked by the Liger Queen. While his actions at Akzeriuth are partially motivated by his need to be a hero, it's also partially motivated for his desire to help people. And, of course, even though he's an obnoxious jerk who loves fighting, he absolutely hates killing.

There's also no denying that his hatred for killing is in large part due to naivety, but not in the traditional sense. It's not so much that he's someone for whom belief in the value of life is sacred (in early game, anyway), but rather that something as heavy as killing isn't something wasn't something he'd ever had to think about. As someone who's spent his entire life living in an enclosed bubble, he's lead a somewhat charmed existence. It's no surprise that when his companions start killing other people without (apparent) hesitation, he doesn't take it very well. He finds the idea pretty difficult to deal with, and nearly has a breakdown when he kills a soldier attacking the Tartarus. He has enough trouble that he actually becomes unable to properly fight, and at one point, Tear ends up getting injured protecting him when he freezes in battle.

His naivety doesn't only extend to battle, however. In typical Disney princess spoiled noble fashion, he lacks a certain understanding of how the outside world works. When him and Tear first go to Engeve, he accidentally steals an apple, not understanding that, in the outside world, food is something that you have to pay for. In Akzeriuth, when he first sees people sick and dying, he immediately tells Natalia to back away as they could be dangerous. It's not really a good thing to say, but Luke at the time doesn't really know (or care). Sickness and death weren't really anything that he'd been around, and so when he sees sickness for the first time his immediate reaction is a kind of obnoxious fear. There's no denying that his naivety played a large role in allowing him to be tricked by Master Van, as well.

Of course, his naivety isn't the only reason he was so easily tricked into Akzeriuth. A need for attention and respect played a large part as well. While he'd definitely lived a life of luxury in the manor, where he hadn't ever really wanted for anything, he'd very rarely been treated with respect. His parents and the manor staff had made most of his decisions for him growing up, and even the party doesn't really treat him with respect either (a justified reaction to his personality), and they constantly refuse to answer his questions. A skit between Luke and Tear right before Akzeriuth really hits this point home, as Luke says that Master Van would always explain things if he didn't know them, and was always nice to him. With no one else to take him seriously (except for Guy), it's pretty obvious how he became Master Van's number one fanboy.

With these traits in mind, it's also pretty easy to see how Master Van promising him a place as a hero would make it pretty easy to trick him into destroying the city. His behavior afterwards is reminiscent of his previous personality traits, as well. After everything falls, and the party ends up in the Qliphoth, he almost immediately starts denying responsibility like a small child, saying "It's not my fault! It's not my fault!" and ends up driving the rest of the party away. He gets another big blow to his ego soon afterwards, when he finds out that he actually isn't Luke fon Fabre, but rather a replica of the original Luke fon Fabre, who now goes by Asch the Bloody.

With not only the weight of killing ten thousand people but also not being who he'd always thought he was (or even a real human being for that matter), Luke's character is pretty shaken. After a cursory look at his friends through the eyes of Asch, he receives a pretty loud wakeup call about how much of an ass he's been. At that, he resolves to change, and become a better and more caring person. The change is almost immediately noticeable, as a thank you to Guy prompts the response "Luke said thanks?!"

Of course, not all change is entirely positive, and a good deal of Luke's change after his haircut is negative, albeit in a different direction. While the Luke of the first third of the game was too obnoxious and too self-serving, the Luke in the second third of the game is too self-deprecating and too apologetic. It's a pretty believable reaction for someone who's never really had an opportunity to form a solid sense of self, who'd just been betrayed by one of the people he'd trusted most, and who'd just found out that he might not be an actual person, but his responses are pretty childish nonetheless.

The 'replica' bomb weighs on him for awhile, as he constantly puts himself down or refers to himself as "just a replica." He develops a sort of complex with Asch; he's jealous of Asch for being the original, he feels guilty for stealing Asch's life, he wants Asch's approval, etc. There's no denying that his relationship with Asch is one of, if not the, most important relationships that Luke has with his fellow party members. It's also the most complicated, and is constantly evolving throughout the game.

Needless to say, the aftermath from Akzeriuth still weighs on Luke heavily in the second third, as well. While Luke's change in personality comes with good intentions, there are several times when it almost works against him, especially when combined with his immaturity and inability to see longterm effects. For example, almost immediately after his reformation Luke begins talking about how he'd do anything to fix what had happened, even dying himself, to which Tear almost immediately reprimands him for not considering the weight of his words. Similarly, when the party is traveling with a widow who's husband was killed in Akzeriuth, Luke almost apologizes before Jade stops him, reminding him that the apology would cause more harm than good.

Despite all of this, Luke is still able to fight and defeat Van, although before the battle, it's obvious that there's still a certain need for acceptance, as well as a need to know why he was born. The question's a pretty heavy one, and it ends up weighing on Luke pretty heavily for the month that he's left alone in his manor. Luke's nothing if not a contemplative character (as his journal often signifies), and the time alone almost does more harm than good. While he's somewhat happier and less self-loathing at the end of the month alone than he was immediately after Akzeriuth, he's still preoccupied with the replica dilemma, and Asch, and he still often sees himself as inferior.

None of this becomes more obvious than when he's offered the chance to save many people at the Tower of Rem at the cost of his own life. Despite what he said about giving his life for a chance to make things right, he still hesitates. At the same time, he's still conflicted about the issue over Asch, and keeps insisting that it should be him (as he's the replica), and eventually takes the sword to clear the miasma himself.

This is the true beginning of endgame Luke. Whereas in the first part of the game he was a spoiled brat, and in the second he was nothing but self-deprecating, the Luke post Tower of Rem is one who's...content, if nothing else. The questions that Luke had been asking since the reveals at Akzeriuth (Why was I born?) finally seem to have settled on an answer, and that answer for Luke is that he's simply happy to be alive, even if he knows that he probably won't be alive for very long. It's here that his relationship with Asch sees it's biggest change, whereas he'd always almost relied on Van (and later Asch) for acceptance and acknowledgment, Luke's finally grown to a place where he can stand on his own. When Luke insists that Asch should be the one to free Lorelei, it's no longer because he feels he's inferior, but rather that because, pragmatically, it makes sense for Asch to do it since he's more powerful. Nowhere is his new resolve more apparent than his final standoff with Van, "It doesn't matter if you accept me or not. Here I am. Alive!"

While endgame Luke has finally grown over a need for acceptance and has significantly evolved from his beginning of the game counterpart, there's no denying that many of his traits are still present. Luke certainly looks back on his behavior earlier in the journey and feels embarrassed, but not all of that behavior is gone.

For example, even though he's grown over a lot of his issues with being a jerk to other people, he can still have his moments of being a brat. At the end of the day, he's still someone who was raised with almost everything they ever wanted, and is still prone to complaining, post-change. Additionally, he can get irritated really quickly, especially when teased. A good example is a skit where the party starts teasing him over some cooking that he worked pretty hard on, and he becomes frustrated pretty quickly.

Luke's not only a pretty emotional character, but he's also someone who wears his emotions on his sleeves. He's a pretty easy read for anybody who knows him; at the end of the game, he tries to hide the fact that he's dying from the rest of the party, but almost everyone is able to figure it out immediately anyway.

Even though he's gotten over a good deal of his self-deprecating behavior from the second half of the game, he's still really bothered about Akzeriuth. Jade mentions in a skit that he often wakes up from nightmares, and even if it's not something that he mentions, it's something that still weighs on him.

His relationships with the rest of the party help catalog his change throughout the game; at the beginning of the game, most of the party can hardly stand him, and he can hardly stand most of the party (sans Guy, who he'd grown up with). However, after his personality-changing haircut, his relationship with the party evolves too, and they almost become a family.

Ultimately, it's also important to keep in mind that Luke is kind of still a child. Not necessarily because he's seven years old, but rather because he lived the majority of his life in a very sheltered environment. He goes through a lot through the course of the game, but there's some naivety that's still present even in the end of the game.


AU Name: Luke Waldorf
AU Age: 19
AU Birthday: December 25th


CW: CHILD ABUSE, CHILD ABANDONMENT, CHILD EXPERIMENTATION
AU History: Luke was born the bastard son of Wilder Sr. Both him and his twin brother were born to one of Wilder Senior's many mistresses. When they were still very young (around 5), Wilder senior realized that having so many children around might be problematic (tm), so he handed them off to Krusnik.

Or, at least he tried to. When Krusnik came for them, Luke's brother tried his best to keep them from being taken. This failed, and ended with his brother off the side of a cliff, and Luke squarely in Krusnik's hands.

As it turned out, Luke was exactly the kind of person Krusnik was looking for. He had great destructive power, but it was strong enough that he found it difficult to control. After several years with Krusnik, the higher ups realized that Luke might prove too much of a liability, and so they decided to get rid of him.

Fortunately for Luke, around the same time, a rich couple called the Waldorfs lost their son. They wanted to adopt a child, and Luke happened to fit the criteria (small and red). Krusnik enlisted the help of the Black Order to wipe Luke's memory before the handoff, and it went extremely poorly. At 7, Luke basically regressed to the state of a toddler.

Still, the Waldorfs were desperate for a child, and they decided to pack up and move, with Luke in tow. Gradually, he began to look and act like a normal kid his age. When he was 8, he was enrolled in public school. It was a peaceful few years until a kidnapping attempt at age 10. Luke was walking home from school when somebody attempted to grab him. Fortunately, a friend of the family was nearby at the time.

Naturally, after everything they went through to get him, the Waldorfs became overprotective. They didn't want to pull Luke from school, but they basically forbade him from going anywhere else. Any time he was somewhere that was not home or school, he was followed by bodyguards.

Luke spent his high school years about the way you'd expect, being the absolute worst being of a teenager anyone could imagine. He was spoiled and he often acted out, but it was often just a ploy for attention as he felt that he was different from his peers. Before anything else, Luke wanted somewhere to belong.

Eventually, he settled on theater. Because practices were often at the school building, his parents relented. Having a group of friends really helped dull his edges, and he managed to graduate high school as a tolerable brat. Still a bit of a tosser, but pleasant to be around.

Once he graduated, his parents realized it was time for them to loosen their grip a bit. He enrolled at the local university, where he currently lives in the dorms. He's doing absolutely terribly in his classes, and he spends every weekend at home with his family.

AU Personality Differences: The short answer is his personality is the same but much less.

He follows the same general arc of being a brat to being well-intentioned but insufferable. Thankfully, this time Luke was surrounded by people the entire time. The realization that he needed to change didn't come from killing a city of people, it came from people avoiding him because he was the worst. He's still a brat, but it's a lot easier to recover from your friends getting mad at you than it is accidentally destroying a town because the one person you trusted thought you were disposable.

He doesn't carry the same amount of self-loathing, and because he's not faced with the replica dilemma like canon, he never reaches the point of feeling that he's worthless or disposable. He might realize he's a pain, but that's about it.

For now, anyway. :)