Luca Balsa, the "Prisoner" (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
allegedprisoner) wrote2021-08-28 10:19 am
allegedprisoner) wrote2021-08-28 10:19 am
Entry tags:
Songerein app
Player: Nyanka
Age: 21+
Contact:
Current Characters: N/A
Character: Luca Balsa
Canon: Identity V, Right before receiving the invitation | Forgotten Tales CRAU, post game
Age: Mid 20's
Background Information: Luca’s childhood is largely unknown to the public and he can’t remember much of it himself, but he comes from an aristocratic family. His father was a brilliant man, or so Luca assumed after he found three pages of an incomplete draft, but he lost his fortune to failed investments and had to sell his wife’s dowry to pay them off, causing his wife to die of shock. Luca could not forgive the damage his father had done to his family and future, so he ran away to seek his own success.
Even after what happened, he had a great interest in inventions. He was determined to finish what his father started himself, which led him to seek out Alva Lorenz. Lorenz, the city’s famed inventor, seems to have some ties to Luca’s father (and his manuscripts). It was no surprise that he eventually saw value in Luca and made him his apprentice. Luca had to give up one of his own manuscripts for the opportunity, but he was confident his own worth would exceed that of any document. Things started off so well, people assumed that young Luca would one day inherit the Inventor’s role...
Everything came crashing down as their experiments failed.
It started with an academic dispute. Lorenz claimed that someone broke into his laboratory and stole valuable research. Although police suspected this to be the work of Lorenz’ competitors, the great inventor blamed his own apprentice, calling him an ungrateful traitor and claiming he was selling his research to his competitors. Luca had a claim of his own, that the man he worked for was nothing but a fraud who kept stealing ideas.
Nobody knows the truth of the matter. Luca continued the experiments on his own, but... The last thing Luca remembers about his final experiment was Lorenz shoving him to the ground... While Luca was holding a live wire. The electricity went out of control and caused a horrible explosion. Three dead, two severely injured, one with minor injuries. Luca was among the survivors, though his injuries resulted in brain damage. Lorenz was among the deceased.
Luca was arrested for murder and conducting illegal experiments. He doesn’t remember how long he had been on death row, but someone finally pardoned him from the death penalty at the last second. Not that it did much good; he was still imprisoned and forced to do factory work, his wealth and possessions were sold off to compensate the inventor’s widow, his reputation was in shambles... And worst of all, he didn’t have the focus or funds to complete his own grand invention.
CRAU: Instead of finding an invitation in his locker, he found a strange book asking him for help. He agreed to the terms, not expecting to have his soul teleported to a magical land and paired with the essence of Edmond Dantes (AKA the Count of Monte Cristo). This turned out to be a huge improvement in his life, since this meant he was free from his sordid past, and Luca was grateful that the Storyteller gave him a chance to start over. He didn't mind going in and helping repair stories, just so long as he gets to work on his inventions between missions.
Of course, there were obstacles between him and achieving his dream in a new world. Firstly, the Index was actually behind Luca's time when it came to harnessing electricity, so in order for his invention to work he had to first reinvent the electrical circuit. Rather hard in a place that leans towards magic, but he tried. Learning about technology from "the future" (i.e. folks from the 21st century teaching Luca about computers, smartphones, and karaoke machines) helped inspire him.
He also didn’t really like to talk much about his past to anyone except for one close person (Alice Liddell) and maybe one guy who might have been through something similar. He thought folks might get the wrong idea about him.There were some slip-ups in this regard, but if anyone noticed they didn’t seem to make a big deal of it… So maybe it wasn’t so important?
He also requested a few documents from his past to help fill the gaps in his memory. He attempted to ask for stuff related to his invention, but what he got were some old experiment records, a police announcement regarding the fateful explosion, a diary entry, and an old cover letter he wrote himself that mentioned some hints to his past. Not what he expected, not exactly what he wanted back… But he may as well hang onto those, knowing how his memory is now.
Personality:
Before the accident, Luca's peers had their own words for describing him; He was a friendly, educated person full of curiosity and pride. Someone who might have been just a bit too trusting of others. However, some things have changed since the accident and prison.
He certainly doesn't have as much trust in people as he did, for instance. Luca did suspect the inventor who took him under his wing of plagiarism, but he can't remember if he was right to do so. The inventor's own claims about Luca's betrayal do not help matters. He's also capable of holding grudges, since he used to hate his father for ruining the family's finances.
His pride in himself has also taken a hit. Being arrested for murder charges when you barely remember what happened can do that to a person. He wonders how anyone could think of "a grease monkey like him" as cute, and would more readily compliment other people than himself. However, while he understands he’s done time and still wears reminders of that, he sees himself as a free man who could create wonders if he got the chance.
He has to struggle with his own mind as well. The accident that left the man he once worked for dead also left him with permanent brain damage in the form of memory loss. Not only are huge chunks of his past gone from his mind, but days tend to blur together for him and he has trouble retaining new memories. He's capable of retaining parts of major events in his life and is more likely to remember certain states of being if he's been in them long enough (e.g. being the inventor's assistant, being in jail, helping the storyteller...) but details such as names and dates are going to be forgotten if he doesn't have reminders. At least he retains all of the technical knowledge he's learned so he can work on machines and wiring, but having terrible memory does not help his focus at all. For this reason, he used his Forgotten Tales journal as a diary to keep track of things happening. Very useful workaround, will continue to do so in Songerein if he is allowed.
Still, nothing will stop him from pursuing his greatest dream: To finally bring his greatest invention to life. Invention is the only thing that seems to keep him moving forward at times where it seems all hope is lost, and he is happiest when he gets to sit down and work on new technology that could be used to better the world. Unfortunately, the fact that he lost everything after he was sent to prison and had no money to fund his greatest project made him absolutely miserable. How could that wonderful machine ever be completed without funding? Helping out in the Index was a second chance for him. Though he did what the Storyteller asked of him out of gratitude, much of Luca's free time was spent figuring out how to apply his inventions to the Index and slowly working up towards his dream invention. He strongly believes that invention will be worth everything he went through and would do almost anything for it, even take risks that may cost him his life.
However, Luca might be a bit sheepish to go into detail about his past. Much of his time in Forgotten Tales was spent trying to start over from a clean slate, which was easier when no one knew of his reputation or the fact he’d been to prison. Luca was only comfortable talking about his past to people he trusts, and that's not many people. Ironically enough, in spite of this tendency Luca continues to look for hints about the things he's forgotten. He might not like the revelations, but surely there's some bit of knowledge he's forgotten that might help him with his dreams!
His ambition to invent isn't the only good thing about him. He's still a friendly sort who gets along with most people and he's still rather polite in spite of it all. He's happy to show off his inventions, especially that grand invention when he finally completes it, but otherwise he presents himself rather humbly. He also retains an interest in new technology and will start fiddling with electric wires if you leave him in a room with them. In fact, he may get so invested in tinkering that he won't notice anything else right away.
Abilities & Inventory:Abilities (Canon)
"Conductor":The only good thing Luca got from that accident was the ability to hold an electrical charge. It builds up as he works, especially if he's using something that has an exposed wire or some sort of electric current. In this setting, strong emotions can charge him up as well.
Once he's charged up, he can release this energy at will. He has no control over how much electricity is released, given that he releases the full charge all at once, but it's enough to stun someone for a short period of time, but the target will develop a resistance to the shocks if zapped multiple times. Also, once he's released the electric charge, he can't zap any more until he recharges.
Remnants: While Luca does not get to keep any magic powers from his essence, he still retains two skills: Swordfighting and operating a boat.
Abilities (Dreamotion)
Disguise: A carryover from his essence. He's able to shapeshift into any human/humanoid/sentient being for an hour. However, he retains his old abilities and that busted eye of his. He also isn't able to turn into any species he's never met, and he can't turn into other player characters. Taking damage will turn him back to normal.
Electric Cutlass: When charged up via "conductor", he can summon a sword made of electricity. Good thing he kept his sword fighting experience, huh? Unfortunately, he can only maintain the sword's form for thirty minutes before it explodes into static electricity.
The Boat. Summons a paddleboat. Very simple form of an old essence trick, but it works.
Inventory
Suitability & Plans:
I’m wanting to continue the development Luca got in Forgotten Tales, since I was trying for a side-arc of self-discovery. This seems more possible in Songerein, where dreams may be drawn from memories and all. I want to explore the dreams of a broken mind, screw with people’s heads as details phase in and out like a hazy illusion… Ya know, crazy dream stuff. I’m also definitely letting Luca go and do his inventing thing, though starting from square one will frustrate him a bit. At least he might have allies going in, even though the whole prison thing might be more obvious until he gets some new clothes, and if the world setting will improve he will be happy to do his part! Electricity for Songerein! The urge to invent can also lend itself to fun player plots, like Luca’s latest invention going haywire for instance.
That being said, although it is nice to have castmates and CRAU-mates this time around, Luca's social enough to make more CR if needed. Castmates will be deliciously awkward… Ya know, since he's initially from before being invited to the manor where everyone met? Talking with Eli helped (see TDM section below) so at least he won't freak out about these strangers who know him from somewhere he doesn't recognize. As a player, I find this situation fun to play with since Forgotten Tales did have “there’s a copy of your soul piloting your body while you’re off repairing stories.” So while we have a reason for the awkwardness, Luca’s left wondering “what the hell did that copy of my soul get me into?!” Fun nightmare fodder there.
Still, Luca’s memory problems does make it easier to deal with dropped CR, assuming he didn’t get too close to the person. Their memories will eventually fade, leaving him with vague details and feelings but not enough of a connection to mourn. He will be better at remembering people who had a more significant impact, but all he can really do is accept the loss and move on.
Test Drive Sample: Toplevel
Meeting Eli… again?
Asking Alice for some help.
Questions: Two things.
1. Since Luca did get info about things from his canon from a castmate in the TDM, can that be incorporated into dreams? Of course, it won't be exactly from canon, but Luca's own interpretation of the info. E.g. He ends up having a nightmare about being chased through a mansion by this mystery monster with a shotgun thanks to Eli's description of the matches?
2. Identity V has a LOT of canon AUs that would be neat dream fodder. Am I allowed to take inspiration from that?