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Cloud is Dead (Final Fantasy VII CYOA)

Random

Arcane
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Joined
Sep 19, 2008
Messages
2,812
We have a three-way tie between B, C, and D, folks. Any defectors who wish to betray their countrymen and cause to ensure a victory for the better-paying letter choice?
 

Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
We have a three-way tie between B, C, and D, folks.
giphy.gif
 

Kipeci

Arcane
Joined
May 22, 2012
Messages
3,027
Location
Vicksburg
Hm. Well, if frequent use turns our brain into soup and our body infirm then the machine gun option seems particularly ill-advised, and memorizing seems like a waste of time in the event that we don’t have those ancestors.

Flopping to D
 
Joined
Sep 19, 2012
Messages
784
we are too smart to meddle with the unknown so let's

d) study this shit later, and practice some more... with our gun. we haven't shot anything in ages, let's line up some bottles and have a bit of fun!
 

Random

Arcane
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Joined
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Messages
2,812

Random

Arcane
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Joined
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Messages
2,812
Changing Times, Part X

Dealing with forces a little bit above your paygrade, you decide to take it easy for now. You know how to use the thing, but you probably shouldn't be trying to mess with it too much. Instead, you focus on determining its limits. You set up a few glass bottles and stand at the back of a hallway to see how long your range is and how accurate the bolt itself can be. To your surprise, the bolt travels exactly to where you aim, mentally, with flawless precision. So much for lightning never striking the same place twice. You're about to walk further back to see if there's a maximum range to the spell when your foot catches on a board on the ground and you tumble over with the grace of a duck crashing into a lake at a weird angle.

You do little more than scrape yourself up, but as you try to stand up, you realize your body feels a little weak. You're light-headed, and concentration isn't coming easily to you. It's strange. You were in great condition just a few minutes ago.

You glance at the materia that had fallen from your grip and rolled into the wall. It would seem there is a price for using these things that isn't obvious at first. Concerns about things like Mako poisoning fill your head. It's crystallized Mako; could it be rubbing off on you when you use it?

You hear a sound, silent like a mouse. It takes you a few moments to realize that they're not taps of water in a pipe somewhere, but rather footsteps coming up the stairs.

You roll onto your back, pulling the handgun from your under-the-shoulder holster and aiming it at the stairway doorframe. When a woman in a motorcycle helmet (this time a white one, actually, rather than a black one) appears and glances at you as coolly as a cat, your nerves calm back down instantly.

"Expecting terrorists?" the SOLDIER asks.

"I wasn't expecting you," you reply, realizing you are short on breath.

"Are you going to keep pointing that thing at me?" she asks, crossing her arms together with some annoyance.

You glance at your pistol and set it down. With how fast you've seen her move, you're not sure you could put even a single bullet into her, even fanning the trigger as hard as you could.

"Why are you here?" you ask, sitting up and reholstering your personal weapon.

"I heard the spells going off. And then you falling on your ass. I put two and two together," she stated simply.

You glance at the materia. "Is that thing poison or something?"

"No. At least, not in the short-term," she said. "If you use it, it drains you. Materia have to be stimulated by mental energy in order to activate, some taking more than others."

"Couldn't you have told me that when you gave it to me?" you ask, feeling more than a little frustrated.

She shrugged. "No point. The fatigue is something you have to experience if you plan to use it at all. Besides, you used it before and passed out from the exertion. I figured you'd at least remember that."

You do remember. It was a pretty intense moment. You just hadn't, as she said, put two and two together.

"So, can I use it more often if I practice?" you ask.

"Sure. If you practice," she answered flatly.

You climb to your feet, feeling a little shaky still, but not totally exhausted. You grab your materia and rub some dust off of it.

"Know any good books about materia?" you ask. The knowledge of a practitioner is helpful, but the real technical details would be nice to have too.

"None that are available to the public," she replies. She unzips her leather jacket halfway, revealing a black tanktop and quite a bit of soft cleavage as she grabs something and tosses it over to your feet. The small booklet lands on its pages, spreading out like a tent on your shoe. She's already zipping her jacket back up by the time you've picked it up, which is a little disappointing. You glance at the cover. ShinRa Electric Corp. Materia Basic Training Manual, 2nd Ed. You've seen SOLDIERs carrying these around at the HQ. They were, as she said, not available to the military police nor the public. It's only fifty pages long, but the text is dense and the information must be pretty good if this is how SOLDIERs are taught about materia.

"Uh, thanks," you say awkwardly.

"I'm not giving it to you," she muttered under her breath. "I want it back later."

"Fair enough."

A silence sets in, and once again you are left unable to figure out what else to say as she leans against the doorframe. You know her patience is limited, but this is a chance to learn more about her.

What do you say?
A) "You know all about me, but, uh, I haven't caught your name yet."
B) "Got any other pointers about materia? Something the manual doesn't mention?"
C) "How did you move so quickly at the studio? That was crazy."
D) "Have you been following me all this time? This whole week?"
E) "So, uh, nice helmet. Did you just buy it?"
F) "Wanna grab lunch? I know a good sandwich shop around here."
G) "What's it like, being a SOLDIER? I've tried to get into the program three times, but I, uh, washed out."
H) Other

Roll Results
Observation roll to catch who is approaching:
1d20 + Observation Lvl. 1 + Intelligence 7 + Pristine = 20 + 2 + 7 + 2 = 31
TN: Unknown
Huge success!

Character Sheet

Name: Marcus "Steelwall" Westford
Class: Ranger
Level: 2
Profession: Major of the ShinRa Co. Peacekeeping Corps, Department of Public Safety, Military Police Division
Age: 23
Dominant Inner Nature: None
Health: [Pristine - Fine - Poor - Severe - Critical - Dead]
Status: Clear

Characteristics:
Strength 4 Agility 8
Tenacity 6 Intelligence 7
MP: 0/2

Skills:
Discipline Lvl. 3
Marksmanship Lvl. 2, Athletics Lvl. 2, Bluff Lvl. 2
Hand-to-Hand Lvl. 1, Fieldcraft Lvl. 1, Stealth Lvl. 1, Academics Lvl. 1, Observation Lvl. 1, Electronics Lvl. 1, Computer Use Lvl. 1, Cooking Lvl. 1, Charm Lvl. 1, Drug Use Lvl. 1

Perks:
Tough Guy ("Love the suck." The penalty for all mundane negative status effects is reduced by 1)

Inventory: Civilian casual clothes, Shinra Employee ID Card, Pocket Knife, Portable Handheld System, Wallet w/ 12,245 Gil, Note from Janice, Tom's business card (blood-stained), Concealed Handgun Permit (Licensed to carry 1 firearm)
Gear: Bolt Materia (Lvl. 1), ShinRa Arms SM-3C 9mm Civilian Defense Pistol, 2 spare magazines

=====

Do note the new characteristic available on the character sheet. MP measures the amount of spells you can use before your mental stamina is exhausted. You can still use spells even at 0 MP, but it will begin to take a more painful and punishing toll on Marcus, from deteriorating health to passing out.
 
Last edited:

Dayyālu

Arcane
Joined
Jul 1, 2012
Messages
4,466
Location
Shaper Crypt
The ultimate challenge: asking the Codex how to approach a female supersoldier. Can't go wrong.

Uhmmmmm.

They all sound some degree of terrible, but I guess a sanitized version of

G

without pointing out we failed three times getting in. Apparently. I hope the Hive Mind gets some good suggestions going.
 

Kipeci

Arcane
Joined
May 22, 2012
Messages
3,027
Location
Vicksburg
E) "So, uh, nice helmet. Did you just buy it?"

Since she’s going through the bother of wearing a helmet all the time it seems she’s preferring to keep her identity concealed.
 

Grimgravy

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Sep 12, 2013
Messages
3,469
Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire
G - she probably knows we washed out 3 times already. No harm in admitting it.

B - latter arguments won me over.
 
Last edited:

Azira

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Nov 3, 2004
Messages
8,519
Location
Copenhagen, Denmark
Codex 2012
I like B best. We ask about the thing that she tossed to us, the thing she just lent us a manual to. Asking more about it is keeping to the track.
 

Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
Well, there goes my conspiracy theory.
Flopping to B, edited the original post.
 

Baltika9

Arcane
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Messages
9,611
I take it from her attire that it's safe to assume she's a 1st class, can we ask her why she accepted babysitting duty?.

Given she’s on an undercover tailing mission, it’s not entirely safe to assume that.
Hold on. Guys, she's been stuck forever as our bodyguard/babysitter for a week. She's probably bored out of her mind and came up here to do something, anything that's even remotely entertaining. I think B is on the right track, since it doesn't involve anything boring like talking, talking about work, talking over a sandwich dinner, or talking about Marcus' penis SOLDIER envy.
I kinda want to ask her to train with us, but given that she's already a super soldier, I think that wouldn't end well for us.
 

Random

Arcane
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Joined
Sep 19, 2008
Messages
2,812
Changing Times Part XI

"Got any other pointers about materia? Something the manual doesn't mention?" you ask her.

She shrugs. "The manual's pretty thorough. But remember that materia can do all kinds of things. It doesn't have to be shooting lightning at something."

"I've heard of materia that can even summon monsters. Is that true?" you ask.

"Yeah. I've seen one before. But summon materia are unique. ShinRa can't artificially produce them like it can regular elemental materia," she explains, pointing at your Bolt materia.

"I see," you mumble. Silence falls between you again. "Anything else that might help?"

"Not really. Book covers it."

"Right."

Again, silence.

Something comes to mind, and you shift how you stand awkwardly. "Hey, so, you seem to know who I am pretty well, but I don't even know your name. If you're gonna be my guardian angel for much longer, then..."

She doesn't move an inch. "Actually, my assignment ends at 0000 tomorrow. You've got orders in the pipeline and a new unit. You won't need a babysitter any longer."

You're a little dumbfounded. "A new unit? Really? They're putting me back in with the rest of the MPs?"

"You didn't really think your 15 minutes of stardom would keep you out of the trenches forever, did you?" she asks. "The ShinRa leadership probably thinks they've milked you for all they can. Now you're just another soldier again."

"But I have two months of leave saved up! I was scheduled to take it before any of this started! Don't I get a say in this?" you ask, more than a little pissed off. ShinRa was supposed to be downright anal about its own regulations. It was one of the few things it was good for.

"From what I hear, the new CEO of the company is a real hard-ass, kicking everyone into shape up top. I doubt anyone up there is feeling sympathetic to the common trooper at the moment. So no, I don't think you get to say anything about this," she says plainly.

You groan and rub your face. "Learn the suck. Live the suck. Love the suck."

"Yep," she replies. "At least you probably don't have to worry about terrorist reprisals if they're taking you off the propaganda rolls."

"Unless they hold a grudge," you suggest.

"Yeah. Unless they hold a grudge." She says it almost sarcastically. Something about her tone bothers you. She seems to be making light of the idea.

You pocket your materia. The day is almost over.

"Well, I'm going home."

"Cool. That means I get to clock out early tonight and leave the rest to the boys in blue camped in the basement of your building," she says with a chuckle. She pushes off of the door frame and adjusts her biker gloves.

You feel annoyed, to say the least.

What should you do?
A) Leave, but spend the rest of the night walking around the city, having dinner, and at a bar just to spite her.
B) Leave, go home, and get some rest. You'll probably need it for tomorrow.
C) "Hey, screw this. Let's go get something to eat. You've been watching my back, so let me repay you." [Charm]
D) "You still didn't give me your name."
E) Other

Character Sheet

Name: Marcus "Steelwall" Westford
Class: Ranger
Level: 2
Profession: Major of the ShinRa Co. Peacekeeping Corps, Department of Public Safety, Military Police Division
Age: 23
Dominant Inner Nature: None
Health: [Pristine - Fine - Poor - Severe - Critical - Dead]
Status: Clear

Characteristics:
Strength 4 Agility 8
Tenacity 6 Intelligence 7
MP: 0/2

Skills:
Discipline Lvl. 3
Marksmanship Lvl. 2, Athletics Lvl. 2, Bluff Lvl. 2
Hand-to-Hand Lvl. 1, Fieldcraft Lvl. 1, Stealth Lvl. 1, Academics Lvl. 1, Observation Lvl. 1, Electronics Lvl. 1, Computer Use Lvl. 1, Cooking Lvl. 1, Charm Lvl. 1, Drug Use Lvl. 1

Perks:
Tough Guy ("Love the suck." The penalty for all mundane negative status effects is reduced by 1)

Inventory: Civilian casual clothes, Shinra Employee ID Card, Pocket Knife, Portable Handheld System, Wallet w/ 12,245 Gil, Note from Janice, Tom's business card (blood-stained), Concealed Handgun Permit (Licensed to carry 1 firearm)
Gear: Bolt Materia (Lvl. 1), ShinRa Arms SM-3C 9mm Civilian Defense Pistol, 2 spare magazines
 

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