[Character Application] Ludger Will Kresnik

[chromatose]

〈 PLAYER INFO 〉
NAME: Akai
AGE: 29 30
JOURNAL: fontech
IM / EMAIL: guynophobic on AIM / akaikitsunedono@gmail.com
PLURK: fontech
RETURNING: New player!

〈 CHARACTER INFO 〉
CHARACTER NAME: Ludger Will Kresnik
CHARACTER AGE: 20
SERIES: Tales of Xillia 2
CHRONOLOGY: Just before chapter 11
CLASS: Hero
HOUSING: Heropa, Housing #25

BACKGROUND:

The world Ludger hails from is very, very tentatively at peace; it used to be two worlds, but as a result of various circumstances in the first game of the series, they were joined together to create two countries, Rieze Maxia and Elympios. Both worlds were inhabited by humans, spirits, and monsters of all kinds, and how they differ is how they developed: while Rieze Maxians have powerful magic and spirit-based abilities, Elympions (who lack the ability to channel spirits into magic) developed using pure technology. When the worlds were joined together, it resulted in a mixture of fascination and resentment on both sides- many Rieze Maxians have happily adopted much of the technology of Elympios, while looking down on those poor souls who can't use magic, and on the flip side, plenty of Elympions are fearful and/or jealous of the confusing power Rieze Maxians were born with that they themselves lack. It's a constant struggle for politicians of both countries, searching for a long-term peace with so much unrest, but it's nothing you wouldn't expect from a collision of two completely different worlds.

Ludger was 19 when that happened. Until then, he'd led a pretty normal life for an Elympion- the concept of Rieze Maxia was little more than a legend to him. He was raised by his older brother, Julius, whom he always idolized and loved. Even after the joining of the worlds, they lived a simple, almost idealistic life, just the two of them and their cat. Things changed when Ludger tried to join the elite of Spirius Corporation, hoping to follow in his brother's footsteps. He failed the test, and wound up with a chef's job instead. You'd think that job would be safer, but instead, he ended up coordinating with Dr. Jude Mathis and the president of Spirius Corp to foil a terrorist plot. In the process, he met a girl named Elle, whose pocketwatch activated his Chromatus ability, a power he was born with but had no knowledge of prior to their meeting. This ability enables him to use a special weapon, the Lance of Kresnik, to kill beings known as divergent catalysts, and as a result can destroy alternate realities known as fractured dimensions. This ends up being a pretty important power, since they learn some time later that the existence of too many fractured dimensions is threatening the prime dimension (AKA the world they live in), and if they aren't all destroyed, all of reality will pretty much fall apart. Ludger is hired by Spirius Corp to destroy the fractured dimensions, and in between missions, he works to pay off a debt incurred during the terrorist attack, helps the friends he meets along his journey with their own problems, and travels with Elle to find the Land of Canaan, a place of legend where (supposedly) wishes will be granted.

Without venturing into extreme tl;dr spoiler territory, the short version is that his life goes to hell but he kind of saves the world in increasingly horrible ways, so... yay for Ludger?

ADDITIONAL HISTORY / WORLD DETAILS:

Some Terminology:

Elympios: The larger of two worlds that were combined into one, Ludger's homeland. A modern region of technology and science, but also one suffering from pollution and increasing food shortage.

Rieze Maxia: The smaller of the above mentioned worlds. A land of magic, spirits, and old-fashioned beliefs. Naturally thriving and rich with resources.

Spirius Corporation: A company in Elympios that outwardly devotes time and resources to improving the country overall; they have ties in all kinds of fields- weaponry, manufacturing, food growth and development- you name it, Spirius has probably done it. They even have their own in-company military of sorts, and a local job board in every town where agents can perform tasks for citizens upon request. Secretly, however, Spirius Corporation was created for a more important task: tracking, transporting to, and destroying fractured dimensions. Which are--

Fractured Dimension: In short, an alternate universe. Ludger's world is what's known as the "prime dimension", but there are numerous fractured dimensions clogging up the universe. Each is its own world, populated with nearly everything the prime dimension has, but with one specific change in history that made it different from the prime. This change is usually manifested in the form of whatever caused the divergence in reality in the first place- hence they are aptly named "divergence catalysts". Destroy the catalyst, you destroy the fractured dimension. These can be, for example, a person who makes a choice that drastically alters history, or a surviving monster that should be extinct.

Chromatus: A special power that certain members of the Kresnik family possess. Chromatus-bearers are born with a pocketwatch that is genetically linked to them, and using this pocketwatch can activate a transformation, causing armor to cover the user, and a weapon called the Lance of Kresnik to manifest. Chromatus bearers, wielding this weapon, are the only ones who can travel to fractured dimensions and destroy divergence catalysts.

Land of Canaan: A place of legend where, if you can reach it, any wish can be granted, supposedly. Five special divergence catalysts (known as waymarkers) are required to enter the Land of Canaan, acting as both key and map- so basically, the only ones who can reach it are Chromatus-bearers and their companions. Waymarkers don't exist in the prime dimension anymore and can only be found in fractured dimensions.


World History

Okay, so. Waaaay way back in the day, Rieze Maxia and Elympios were part of the same world, neighbouring continents that lived in tandem with the world's spirits. Some people could use magic by channeling spirits, some could not. Some people were favoured by spirits, some were not. And some people were not happy about the state of affairs, so they decided to start using spirits as fuel instead of living in harmony with them. There are two problems with this decision:

1: spirits are what makes the world a lovely, green, and healthy place to live, so it's literally killing the environment.
2: a trio of Great Spirits, who are basically gods in this world, got really huffy about humanity laying waste to their brethren and decided they needed to step in before humans used up all of the spirits and killed the whole world. They kind of like living there.

So they each do their own thing to screw with humanity. Maxwell, the Lord of Spirits, packs up all the good folks who use magic and work nicely with spirits and moves them to a separate continent, then forms a magic barrier between the two, creating the two worlds of Rieze Maxia and Elympios (and thus abandoning Elympios & letting it destroy itself over time). Chronos, the Spirit of Time, gives the Kresnik family the incredible but corruptive power of the Chromatus. Origin, the Spirit of the Void, creates "Origin's Trial", a challenge to all humans that if someone can travel to the Land of Canaan before one million fractured dimensions are created, he will grant them any wish they ask for.

This all sounds well and good, but it's actually a very calculated way to eliminate humanity entirely. Picture this: an entire family from a country already greedy enough to kill spirits for convenience, suddenly given a whackload of power and the message that one of them can get literally any wish they want granted. But everyone wants their wish granted, so they start fighting each other. Fighting requires great power, and the chromatus is incredibly powerful, so they fight using their chromatus. But overusing the chromatus turns the user into a divergence catalyst. Becoming a divergence catalyst creates fractured dimensions. To avoid creating one million fractured dimensions, the Kresniks have to use the chromatus more to destroy them, changing themselves into catalysts and creating more fractured dimensions... and so on.

And the worst part? Origin's job is to purify the souls of people who die and send them back to the world to be reincarnated. The purification literally removes the impurities of the soul so the reincarnated human can start fresh, withdrawing a toxic substance called "miasma". Origin then contains the miasma. However, this process handles souls from every dimension all at once, and too many fractured dimensions means that the system is overloaded. If that gets worse - like, say, one million fractured dimensions happen to exist - not only will Origin's Trial expire (thus removing the possibility of wishing for Origin to erase the whole issue) but the system will let loose the stored miasma and wipe out all of humanity. So again, chromatus users destroy dimensions, become more dimensions, system gets more overloaded, humans don't learn, blah blah blah.

It's a vicious cycle, the game is rigged from the start, and it takes 2000 years for humanity to really get anywhere with it. By then, there's a lot of fractured dimensions, and the chromatus-users are a dying breed.

In the first game, the barrier between the two worlds is broken and they now live side by side, not exactly in harmony but in a very tentative peace. However, this means that the spirit-killing corruption is spreading to Rieze Maxia now, the purification system is even worse off, and time's running out.


Character History

Enter Ludger Kresnik. He never learned about his chromatus power because his brother, Julius (a Spirius agent, whose day job was destroying fractured dimensions) took his watch when he was a child and used it himself to boost his own power. However, one day Ludger meets a little girl named Elle who carries a pocketwatch that looks suspiciously like one of Julius's, though she claims it belongs to her father. This pocketwatch triggers Ludger's first chromatus transformation, and pulls him, Elle, and Jude (a companion they'd met that day) into their first fractured dimension. Ludger destroys it without realizing what it is. Through a series of events following, he learns not only the history of the Spirius Corporation, the fractured dimensions, and his powers, but also that his brother abandoned his mission and is likely trying to complete Origin's Trial on his own, and is thus a traitor and wanted fugitive. To avoid being arrested as an accomplice, Ludger accepts a job with Spirius and begins taking on missions in Julius's place: destroy fractured dimensions, track down his terrorist bro, and find a way into the Land of Canaan. He is told by Bisley Bakur, the president of Spirius Corporation, that the end goal is to wish for all the fractured dimensions to be erased. Doing so would ease the purification system, win Origin's Trial, and save all of humanity. Sounds noble enough, and although it's obvious to everyone that he's not sharing his whole plan, since his goals align with Ludger's (AKA saving the world), there's not much choice but to go along with it.

Up to Ludger's canon point, not a lot of world-changing events have happened just yet- what has happened is that four out of the five waymarkers required to reach Canaan have been captured during his missions, which is a major accomplishment, considering it's something no Kresnik has done for 2000 years. He's also discovered more about the nature of fractured dimensions than ever, particularly because Elle, his partner in crime/travel companion/self-adopted 'lil sister actually has the power to bring things (both living creatures/people and objects) from the fractured dimensions into the prime one. This is kind of a critical ability, since waymarkers are physical objects. Bisley assumes Ludger has that ability (hence hiring him on), so Ludger keeps it a secret in order to protect Elle from being used. The downside is that he has to bring Elle with him on missions, and they're pretty dangerous, so the whole "protecting her" idea kind of backfires at the start. Still, she's probably better off with him. His next goal is determining a way to summon the Great Spirit Maxwell into the human realm, since Maxwell is preventing them from finding the final waymarker.

As if all of the above wasn't enough, after the destruction of his very first fractured dimension, his injuries were severe enough that he required medical treatment- which was happily provided to him by a sleazy guy who roped him into a big debt as payment for services rendered. (Literally 20 million of the in-game currency.) So when he's not dealing with the important task of saving the world, he's accepting every side job he can get in order to keep up with his bills. His life kind of sucks right now. But hey, at least he's learning money management skills, right...?

Most of his journey up to his current canon point is a collection of alternate-dimension hopping, visiting what the world might have been like in various ways, getting to know a bunch of new friends who share a vested interest in the whole saving-all-existence thing, and trying to untangle the mess his ancestors dumped on the world. Guy's got a lot on his plate. He's also kind of learning how to be a brother/father figure for Elle, since he's filling the void of her missing biological father while they try to track him down. His major motivation for trying to get to Canaan is actually kind of selfish- it's a noble goal to try and save the world, sure, but more than anything, he wants to go because he promised Elle that he would travel there with her. Such a promise means that neither of them will be alone, and since they're both missing their family, they rely a lot on each other. Whenever he gets a waymarker, Elle is the first one he turns to, and he'll fight like hell to protect her regardless of risk or danger. She means the world to him.

That's basically where Ludger is at right now, canonpoint-wise.


PERSONALITY:

Like most "silent" protagonists, Ludger's personality is very player-driven, and can vary from game to game. However, there are many consistencies in his behaviour and attitude, as well as physical gestures, expressions, and actions, all of which form the backbone of his main personality. I'll be drawing mostly upon those actions, supplemented by the decisions I chose for him as well as the official manga, while playing him. Traits based on player choice will be marked throughout the app as [PC].

First and foremost, Ludger is very much a follower-type. He looks to others for direction, he listens politely for advice, and (for the most part) he waits for an explanation before jumping to conclusions, especially when it comes to people he cares about- people who have a tendency to get themselves into situations that would totally merit getting judged for. (For example, going along with pretty much ANYTHING Alvin thinks is a good idea. Dude is sketchy as heck.) He trusts a great deal in his friends, and in return, inspires both trust and loyalty in them. All of the above applies mostly to conversations, since when it comes to conflict and combat, it's universally acknowledged by everyone that Ludger can be pretty rash.

Ludger is serious most of the time, but he tends to wear his heart on his sleeve, so he's pretty good at expressing himself. He's free with his emotions and in general won't hesitate to show how he's feeling, which can be both good and bad. It means he's an easy read, but the benefit is that he is open and befriending him is uncomplicated for most people. This shows in the easy way he bonds with the other main characters in Xillia 2, and these connections play a big part in the game's mechanics. Part of Ludger's strength is drawn from his strong relationships with those he knows. As a semi-silent protagonist, he often lets his actions speak for him rather than using words outright. In most situations he'll talk, but as Jude says in-game, Ludger is naturally considerate- he's usually very gentle in delicate situations and can recognize when words won't do anything. He's the first to just sit quietly with someone and listen to their problems, or hug someone who's upset and needs physical touch more than verbal consolation. It's because of this kindness that he's able to befriend nearly anyone, even a character who starts out resenting him greatly (though for good reason). He's really just a good guy overall.

[PC] Related to the above: while his expression is typically fluid and open, Ludger will often verbally lie about how he's feeling when he's upset. He's done this in canon for multiple reasons- either to protect someone from being hurt, to avoid causing a scene/making his companions worry about him, or even simply because he's too proud to admit he's in pain. He may also respond in a sarcastic or suspicious manner if he thinks an honest answer might give him grief, or worse, get him into trouble. His friends usually catch on quickly when he's feeling low, though the hard part is getting him to open up about it. He's more likely to shrug off his problems and bury them rather than openly discuss what's upsetting him. He also has a habit of turning the subject of conversation on other people and getting them to talk about their problems instead. It's an obvious diversion tactic but he's rarely called out on it.

Ludger is a little shy and hesitant when meeting people for the first time, likely thanks in part due to his player-driven personality, but he responds well to friendly, social characters. (During one of his character introduction scenes, he hesitates to shake hands with Jude, but is encouraged by a smile and Jude's open nature.) He's also quick to accept (and enjoy) praise, but it so often turns on him and he tends to get very unsure about some of the weird, random comments that come out of the mouths of his friends (like Elle calling him beefy and then saying she wants beef... she's just a kid, but he's more confused than amused by it). This basically shows that Ludger is very much a straight-man - he takes things at face value most of the time and relies on honesty, so he's not as quick to tease or understand subtleties. He's not exactly naive, but... well, okay, sometimes he's naive. When he does tease or make jokes, it falls a little flat, so he generally leaves it to people more funny than he is.

Ludger is someone who really can't ignore trouble around him. If he sees someone in need of help - emotional, physical, whatever - he can't help getting involved. In Xillia 1, Jude is like that as well, so in X2 it's made pretty clear that it's why they get along so well. The benefit of Ludger getting involved in the problems of other people (ignoring the fact that it gets him into bad situations a lot) is that he's usually good at coming up with solutions or, if he's aware of what the solution is, following through with it, even if it requires making a difficult choice. Case in point: destroying the fractured dimensions described in the history section literally means destroying entire worlds, full of animals, spirits, and even people he meets while searching for the divergence catalyst, all of whom are very real. Every time he destroys one, a lot of living beings have to die. The justification (that if they're not destroyed, all humans in every reality ever will die) is pretty good, but that's still a hefty weight on one's shoulders. Ludger bears that weight because someone has to do it and he's one of the few who has the power. He'll just sigh and deal with it- he won't really fake a smile because he's too honest for that, but he doesn't outwardly complain much, either.

Ludger usually isn't the sort of person to hold a grudge, though he's not a saint, either. He's pretty good at directing blame onto people who deserve it. At the start of the game he gets trapped in an enormous debt thanks to an outrageous medical bill, not just for himself but also for a little girl (one he'd only met the day before when she told someone he'd tried to kidnap her in order to sneak onto a train, and who probably got him fired). Instead of being angry with her or the guy who'd found the doctor, he's angry at the man who threatened him into accepting the debt.

He's also really aggressively protective of people he cares about- the usual causes of this bout of overprotectiveness are Elle and Julius, but he'll fight to defend his other friends, too. He goes so far as to let someone important to Elle die in order to protect her, even knowing she might hate him for it. The safety of his family (real or adopted) is at the top of his priorities. [PC] He's actually pretty self-sacrificing about it; Ludger proves through his actions that he will protect them at any cost and that his own worth is less than theirs. When asked if he's afraid of dying/disappearing from existence, his response is, "I'm more afraid of something else" (AKA losing Elle). Even Milla, a character who openly admits she doesn't understand the nuances of human behaviour, confidently reminds him that it's obvious that family means the world to Ludger.

Having grown up in Elympios, a place with no natural magic, Ludger was at first frightened and visibly shaken by the Chromatus power when it's forcibly activated. Even long after, when he's grown adjusted to it and is using it regularly, he still gets bouts of uncertainty, particularly since even his Rieze Maxian friends don't understand it. When Muzet calls it gross, it visibly upsets him. Having power, for him, is really weird, and he won't deny it if people notice that about him.

[PC] Speaking of Elympios, Ludger carries a certain pride in both himself and in his country- it's a pretty typical Elympion trait, and even a guy as nice as him can let it become a flaw sometimes. He can get defensive or offended if people (especially Rieze Maxians) say offensive or stereotypical comments about his country, even if it's halfway true. He's not an idiot, and if chided he can acknowledge the truth of it, but that doesn't mean he's happy to hear it.

One thing he hates is when people talk down to him or treat him like a child, such as when Julius tries too hard to protect him or hide what going on from him; part of his motivation for joining Spirius after the terrorist attack is that Julius refused to explain what was happening, and it seemed like the only way to get answers was to accept the Spirius job. On the flip side, the overprotectiveness is something he resents but also possesses- even as a child he was very strong willed, and as an adult it's only gotten worse, more so when he has motivation that suits him, such as someone to make proud (Julius) or to protect (Elle). This willpower is a big part of his personality- his middle name is literally "will" and the choices he makes are a focal point of his character. Because he takes after his big bro, he strives to protect those around him, and shoulders the burden of responsibility when it comes to making the difficult choices during his journey. When Leia hints at the fact that destroying the fractured dimensions is essentially the same as killing all the people they see and meet there, he tells her not to worry about it- it's something he's aware of, but since he's dealing the deathblow, he's the one taking the blame. He kind of resents when Julius states that "destroying worlds requires a sense of detachment" and implies that Ludger doesn't have the stomach for the job. Even if Julius is partially correct, Ludger's pride won't allow him to acknowledge it or back down from his mission. He views it as his responsibility to save the prime dimension, even if it's a difficult or painful job. His companions occasionally note that Ludger's stubbornness is both troublesome and familiar. The traits they share help to bring them all together, though, so it's a double-edged sword.

POWER:

Like a lot of video game characters, Ludger has plenty of abilities, skills, and powers. Going by the MoM FAQ, I've split this into three sections:

Chromatus - the Chromatus is a power that Ludger possesses naturally, though he only recently discovered its existence in canon. Activated via a special pocketwatch, the user transforms into an armored form, levels 1-4 (each level provides different armored appearances) depending on the power output and the experience of the user. For a short period of time, the user and whoever they are fighting are trapped in a sort of pocket dimension where no one else can interfere. The Chromatus user can attack without tiring, is stronger, has a number of powerful abilities, and cannot be killed. If an opponent's attacks connect, it shortens the time a transformation can last. Generally the time it'll last is between 20 seconds to 1 minute. The chromatus is a double-edged sword in that it takes a long time to recharge itself, it lasts for such a brief period of time, and most importantly, overusing it runs the risk of the user turning into a divergence catalyst and disappearing. Or, alternatively, turning into a mad shadow boss monster. (Canon is a little indecisive on that one.) Neither option is especially great, so this ability is likely to be used in moderation. Using it also runs the risk of exhausting Ludger, so it's generally best to save it as a trump at the end of a particularly difficult fight. At his current canon point, Ludger's Chromatus is at level 2.

Linking - The world of Xillia 2 has equippable gems known as Allium Orbs, which, when activated, allows two characters to connect and share certain skills, strengths, and weaknesses. It can be mutually beneficial and detrimental- Linked characters are more powerful together than apart, but they can also share pain at times (for example in-game, status effects can damage both characters even if only one was actually hit by it). Usually it requires an Allium Orb for both parties, but if possible I'd like for it to be one of Ludger's game abilities; linking up in Xillia usually does more good than harm and seems to work with everyone.

Mirror - Every character in Xillia has a unique skill, and Ludger's is "Mirror", AKA the ability to mimic one specific ability from the people he links with. The skill requires the pair to be linked (as per the above power), and varies from person to person- healing, stat boost, power drain, etc. The effects are small or brief, nothing huge or game-breaking, but it's something I'd love to play with in-game, with the permission of any CR he might build up and fight alongside.

All other abilities are skill/weapon-based, no special powers required. Since Ludger is Elympion, he lacks the ability to do magic- the Chromatus and any magic-based abilities he can use via Mirror are the exceptions to this rule, mostly due to the genetic gifts of his family tree. (Gift from the spirits, yo!) Ludger's specialty is dual bladed combat, but he's well-versed in fighting with dual pistols or staff hammers.


LOGS POST (PROSE) SAMPLE:

Test Drive Meme Thread.


FINAL NOTES:

I have two requests- the major one is regarding Ludger's Chromatus ability. In canon, due to some shenanigans regarding his chromatus watch, Ludger was at times unable to transform without Elle nearby. Other chromatus users have demonstrated that it's totally possible to transform solo, and Ludger himself does it during endgame (though the downsides mentioned in the power section still apply) so I'd like for Ludger to keep that ability without Elle's presence, even though he's from an earlier canon point. It's a unique situation in-game that wouldn't work in an rp setting.

The other request is that he be allowed his cat, Rollo, at some point. It's just a normal housecat- the only special thing about him is how impressively fat he is. But he kind of follows Ludger everywhere, so.