Stygian Lurker
Liturgist
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2011
- Messages
- 577
A.
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[LP CYOA] Epic
- Thread starter treave
- Start date
a cut of domestic sheep prime
Guest
Quick check: you bros do realize that A will mean selling out to the cartel and letting them sell drugs to the refugees, right? That is what they're after and all... I mean, yeah, we could always refuse their offer when it comes to it in the next update, but then why go meet them at all?
aleam iacis
Liturgist
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2012
- Messages
- 115
I thought A meant we went to meet at least one higher up in the cartel, and we can do whatever we want to him. If we had our tentacles we could have mind controlled him, but I guess we we lost that 
So we can offer him some kind of deal, or just demand that he stay out of our way and serve us, and then beat the crap out of all his men as an object lesson. Maybe there is a cult sympathizer in the cartel whom we can manipulate into leading the cartel and helping us(by eliminating the current leadership?) Or we can infiltrate one later and do it then.
So we can offer him some kind of deal, or just demand that he stay out of our way and serve us, and then beat the crap out of all his men as an object lesson. Maybe there is a cult sympathizer in the cartel whom we can manipulate into leading the cartel and helping us(by eliminating the current leadership?) Or we can infiltrate one later and do it then.a cut of domestic sheep prime
Guest
Rex Feral:
Typically assassinating the head of a criminal organization is rather futile. Someone else will rise up and take the reigns - there's just too much money involved not to. If they depended on their leader for everything that would be one thing - Shulgi's organization fell apart quickly without him. However, the syndicate depends on drugs, hookers, and fear. All of which will still be readily available no matter who we kill. See The Godfather for more on this.
No, in order to truly combat such ones as these, you need to do it on a large scale or not at all. Think "which hunt". Every member of the organization has to fear you and your followers so much that they are willing to turn down wealth and riches, just to escape your punishment. Not that we really have to beat them into the ground or anything. The whole affair is simply a means to power and money of our own. You'd be surprised how much money and time people will give you just to get rid of the bogeyman, regardless of whether or not you actually defeat him. See America's war on drugs for more on that.
Typically assassinating the head of a criminal organization is rather futile. Someone else will rise up and take the reigns - there's just too much money involved not to. If they depended on their leader for everything that would be one thing - Shulgi's organization fell apart quickly without him. However, the syndicate depends on drugs, hookers, and fear. All of which will still be readily available no matter who we kill. See The Godfather for more on this.
No, in order to truly combat such ones as these, you need to do it on a large scale or not at all. Think "which hunt". Every member of the organization has to fear you and your followers so much that they are willing to turn down wealth and riches, just to escape your punishment. Not that we really have to beat them into the ground or anything. The whole affair is simply a means to power and money of our own. You'd be surprised how much money and time people will give you just to get rid of the bogeyman, regardless of whether or not you actually defeat him. See America's war on drugs for more on that.
Rex Feral
Prophet
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2013
- Messages
- 1,300
Fine, fine. Flopping to B.
You're pretty much right about the assassination thing. And it seems we can coerce or manipulate them at a distance, later, on much better terms. Up till now we've been a nuisance at best, else he would have sent something more than a couple of thugs to beat us up. So, from his perspective, there is no reason to take us seriously now.
Still we will have to keep our heads low in the future before we draw too much attention from the federation. At least until we get some military assets.
You're pretty much right about the assassination thing. And it seems we can coerce or manipulate them at a distance, later, on much better terms. Up till now we've been a nuisance at best, else he would have sent something more than a couple of thugs to beat us up. So, from his perspective, there is no reason to take us seriously now.
Still we will have to keep our heads low in the future before we draw too much attention from the federation. At least until we get some military assets.
- Joined
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Cartels, to be precise. There's a Godfather of sort in this city, and you can expect him, and the head honchos of the more prominent cartels, to be in the same building. Your name has them very intrigued and some of the more forward thinkers might be willing to support your ambitions in exchange for future benefits. However, Senya's plan in A involves settling the syndicate problem permanently. Rolling over and agreeing to their demands does not do that - they will only ask for more. They always ask for more. They will be taught an object lesson that you cannot be fucked with or manipulated in any manner, regardless of how it turns out in the long run. Since the audience will not be a crowd of civilians who are squeamish, such a lesson would involve a not insignificant amount of messy death.
Whatever choices given down the A path will mean significant changes for the criminal gangs of Ankida. After all, there's no saying that whoever rises to become the new head of the decapitated dragon can't be an outsider...
Of course, B does exactly what it says: makes you a leader for a new movement. It means you will become a target, but every failed attempt only grows your reputation. Think of it as an opportunity, not an obstacle.
Anyway, voting closes in 8 hours.
a cut of domestic sheep prime
Guest
With our luck it would be Julius. (Didn't we hear a nervous giggle?) That or Naim. *shudder*
The joke is that every attempt on our lives after B is guaranteed to fail. Only our mother (who is probably also the former Empress?) would have anything close to the knowledge of our time traveling power and how it works - even Shulgi barely had it figured out.
edit: Also, wouldn't killing all the cartel heads at once be a lot like killing all the goa'uld leaders in Stargate SG1? That is, gigantic power vacuum that would let the hidden enemy rise up and take over everything? (Maybe that's what you were hinting at though...)
treave, would there be the possibility of taking over everything ourselves? Or would we be stretched a bit thin?
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Who says Senya isn't the hidden enemy? 
Well, at any rate, with the cult now being a non-entity and all, I can safely reveal that they had no fucking idea what they unleashed when they made Senya and Rei, and they still didn't right to the point where Nuts!Senya slaughtered them all in their space fortress.
edit: Not sure if it's been clarified, but your information broker schtick is a secret identity. No one knows you're running an information network, and you can assume your tracks are very well covered since you're now the de facto best hacker on the planet. Not like that counts for much seeing as most of the others turned into goo.
Well, at any rate, with the cult now being a non-entity and all, I can safely reveal that they had no fucking idea what they unleashed when they made Senya and Rei, and they still didn't right to the point where Nuts!Senya slaughtered them all in their space fortress.
edit: Not sure if it's been clarified, but your information broker schtick is a secret identity. No one knows you're running an information network, and you can assume your tracks are very well covered since you're now the de facto best hacker on the planet. Not like that counts for much seeing as most of the others turned into goo.
a cut of domestic sheep prime
Guest
lol Well, there's that at least. *sigh* If only someone would write a few flashback scenes... edit: Of the cult slaughter, I mean... Not the goo thing. I'm sure Senya has had enough of those flashbacks already.
Flopping to A.
After all my arguments, becoming the head of a syndicate is just too good to resist.
Flopping to A.
After all my arguments, becoming the head of a syndicate is just too good to resist.
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All these flops mean I need to constantly rewrite the update in my head. Smashing Axe was right, however, in that A would not benefit you too much (comparatively to the other choices) when it comes to having your proxies go for the Governorship. It's personal power, not political. You'll have to make an effort to translate it.a cut of domestic sheep prime
Guest
But it does offer the one thing Senya truly needs after all he's been through: discreet access to an army of whores.
aleam iacis
Liturgist
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2012
- Messages
- 115
Flopping to B. Let's build our charisma of the streets. This planet is basically our holyland, and having the people here adore us and want to join our organization will pay off more in the long run. Plus we can always decapitate the dragon and take it over later, or just infiltrate our people in and take it over, or replace it with a section from our organization (like vampires versus shadow thieves). Since we are a secret information broker and the best hacker on the planet, that should be easy.
Also B will make Kaito worship us, while A will make him suspicious of us again. Assuming he is going to be a trouble-maker for us, its better if he looks at us with hero-worship and tries to help rather than hinder us.
The bad side is that we paint a target on our back and somewhat announce that we are getting into the big leagues and are serious players, so our government enemies and secret enemies will want to kill us even more than they do now, and will probably act on it. Since we are immortal, the only issue is us dying enough to get to a bad end, which our superpowers and genius should prevent, especially if we secretly take over/replace the cartels in the background at some point.
Also B will make Kaito worship us, while A will make him suspicious of us again. Assuming he is going to be a trouble-maker for us, its better if he looks at us with hero-worship and tries to help rather than hinder us.
The bad side is that we paint a target on our back and somewhat announce that we are getting into the big leagues and are serious players, so our government enemies and secret enemies will want to kill us even more than they do now, and will probably act on it. Since we are immortal, the only issue is us dying enough to get to a bad end, which our superpowers and genius should prevent, especially if we secretly take over/replace the cartels in the background at some point.
Kayerts
Arcane
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2011
- Messages
- 883
B; gaining popular approval at the expense of attracting hostile attention seems like a positive move for an immortal with nothing to lose. A criminal underworld plotline would've been cool two chapters ago, but with the sudden change in stakes, it feels like a distraction. Senya seems to have a pretty workable plan to gain support by appearing to care about the welfare of the Higashi; sticking with that seems good.
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Planting the Seeds of Hope
I take a deep breath and raise my head.
“Fuck it.” I say, just loud enough to be picked up by those at the front. A ripple of murmurs spreads towards the outer edge of the crowd.
“Is this how we want to live? Threatened and bullied and pushed around by those who are stronger than us? You know me. All of you know me. What have I done here, but to try to bring a little peace back into our lives?” I ask. Nods of affirmation, from those that have benefited from the classes I have taught. “For that, they attempt to assault and kidnap my friends. They threaten me to do their bidding. They cannot abide by any rule but their own. Is this how we want to live? Is this our fate? To be spat upon, used and abused just because we have lost our homeland and are now at their tender mercies.”
The crowd seems restless; I can feel that they are getting uneasy. This is a good thing.
“I speak not as a Higashi. I speak as one of you. No matter where you have fled here from, no matter when you have come, I am one of you. You know me, and in return I know who you are. You are not here because you have a choice. You are here because you think that this is the only place left where you can find stability, where you can live your lives peacefully. Is that right?”
Almost as one, they nod, murmuring in agreement.
“That is all you want – no, all we want. Yet, the syndicates try to put us under their shadow with their addictive drugs, offering you an escape to a false world. The city’s administration treats us like their slaves, purchasing our products at unfair prices. The Federation thinks of us as scum on the sole of their boots; they would sell us all off to the Star League if they could. The Star League… well, the only use they have for us is as sandbags for their eternally wasteful war. They tell us this: it is our fate to be such. We should aspire for nothing more in life than to be cogs in their little wheels of power. I tell you that this is not so. Fuck fate.” I snarl, allowing my voice to flush with emotion. It is infectious – I can sense the crowd becoming more and more invested in my speech. My words do not need to make sense at this point – the emotion I carry will be more than enough to finish the job.
“If it is our destiny to be downtrodden by men that call themselves our superiors, so be it. All we need to do is destroy that destiny. When we kill the future they have planned for us, we can build one that we can truly call our own. How do the citizens of Ankida eat? Through our farms! By our grace! Should we stop our work they would begin to starve in a matter of a week, begging for food. We have more power than we realize. We want stability, yes! We want peace, yes! But I will say this; we will not know real peace unless we fight for it. All we can hope for, if we surrender to our fate, is a false peace that will leave an unsatisfying sore in our hearts. We will spend the rest of our days wondering if things could be different had we the courage to fight against the path that has been laid down for us.” I turn back to the Serpents. The crowd is starting to yell words of encouragement.
“There is your fate!” I point. “These men would bind you to their will and have you do as they please. What do you say to that?”
The crowd roars with a resounding “Fuck fate!”
“These men would force us down their path. What is our path?”
“Our path is our own!”
“Then tell me, what should we do?”
“We destroy and rebuild!”
“Yes,” I shout. “We will destroy their path and build one of our own. The powerful, the corrupt, the venal, the schemers in their high towers – all of them have plans for us, but none of them will bring you true peace. You will never find it as long as you bend your knee to them. They think themselves as gods, wielding the power of life and death over us. But I say, let there be no gods - no masters!”
The crowd begins repeating the chant. “No gods! No masters!”
“We will begin,” I declare, raising my voice above the chants, “by retaking the Refugee Quarter! Let no snake dwell in our huts! They shall be returned to their masters as a message that we make our own fate from now on.”
Mr. Black has already vanished, presumably to report to his superiors. The crowd begins to close in on the stunned Serpents…
***
“This is bad, Master. The Federation satellites caught your speech,” fusses Yua.
“That’s fine. This is just the first stage, but now there’s no going back.” I lean back in my chair, musing how strange it is no one picked up that in declaring the refugees free to fight for their own path, against their fate, I had created a path for them to travel. My path. I look at a visual representation of my message spreading across the Refugee Quarter. Apparently they liked it – there are already calls to nominate me as the official representative of the refugees. They are eager to get their first taste of influence and power. I won’t be letting them down.
The first message in my inbox is from Qin.
“Senya, I have no idea what you’re up to, but you just made a mistake. The Star League backers I have weren’t too fond of your speech. Well, they agree with the sentiment, but they don’t like me paying too much attention to you. I can still pull some strings, get them to bring you into the fold, but we’ll have to act fast before they change their mind. Call me as soon as you get this, okay?”
The second message is from the Governor of Ankida, Raheed Camna. It only contained a simple request to meet at his residence in the former Imperial palace at a date of his choosing – tomorrow night.
The last message is a request for information from the syndicates. They want to know about my personal schedule, and are willing to exchange information about something the Federation is planning in Ankida for it. I hold back my laughter.
***
A. I throw my lot in with Qin. It immediately nets me powerful backers in the Star League itself. Furthermore, her autonomy cause fits well with my call for the refugees to strike out for their own independence. On the downside, getting involved with those young, jealous political scions probably means I will have to be at their beck and call until I manage to get leverage over them.
B. I angle for support from the Governor. He is the most powerful man in the city, and the only reason he is inviting me nicely instead of sending in troops to haul me away is because he believes I can be negotiated with. If we make a mutually beneficial deal, it would be a swift way into power. I don’t need to own the Governor’s mansion to live there.
C. I accept the Governor’s invitation. Then, I pen a message to the ex-Emperor so that he will meet with me while I am there. His influence amongst the Shinari is undeniable, and the old man can probably talk up a storm better than I can. Reports say that he is concerned about the current political climate and has an axe to grind with President Julia. I can offer him a way to make a difference, by convincing him to join the election. Besides, he is old, and probably in need of an heir…
***
A. I exchange information about my personal schedule for knowledge on what the Federation is planning. I have no real fear about this; if I know they are coming for me, I can be prepared.
B. I exchange false information about my personal schedule. Though this will severely damage my reputation as a information broker when the information turns out to be false, at least I will find out what the Federation is doing without giving my own movements away.
C. I do not exchange the information – I don’t want to risk my life or reputation. Let the Federation do what they will.
I take a deep breath and raise my head.
“Fuck it.” I say, just loud enough to be picked up by those at the front. A ripple of murmurs spreads towards the outer edge of the crowd.
“Is this how we want to live? Threatened and bullied and pushed around by those who are stronger than us? You know me. All of you know me. What have I done here, but to try to bring a little peace back into our lives?” I ask. Nods of affirmation, from those that have benefited from the classes I have taught. “For that, they attempt to assault and kidnap my friends. They threaten me to do their bidding. They cannot abide by any rule but their own. Is this how we want to live? Is this our fate? To be spat upon, used and abused just because we have lost our homeland and are now at their tender mercies.”
The crowd seems restless; I can feel that they are getting uneasy. This is a good thing.
“I speak not as a Higashi. I speak as one of you. No matter where you have fled here from, no matter when you have come, I am one of you. You know me, and in return I know who you are. You are not here because you have a choice. You are here because you think that this is the only place left where you can find stability, where you can live your lives peacefully. Is that right?”
Almost as one, they nod, murmuring in agreement.
“That is all you want – no, all we want. Yet, the syndicates try to put us under their shadow with their addictive drugs, offering you an escape to a false world. The city’s administration treats us like their slaves, purchasing our products at unfair prices. The Federation thinks of us as scum on the sole of their boots; they would sell us all off to the Star League if they could. The Star League… well, the only use they have for us is as sandbags for their eternally wasteful war. They tell us this: it is our fate to be such. We should aspire for nothing more in life than to be cogs in their little wheels of power. I tell you that this is not so. Fuck fate.” I snarl, allowing my voice to flush with emotion. It is infectious – I can sense the crowd becoming more and more invested in my speech. My words do not need to make sense at this point – the emotion I carry will be more than enough to finish the job.
“If it is our destiny to be downtrodden by men that call themselves our superiors, so be it. All we need to do is destroy that destiny. When we kill the future they have planned for us, we can build one that we can truly call our own. How do the citizens of Ankida eat? Through our farms! By our grace! Should we stop our work they would begin to starve in a matter of a week, begging for food. We have more power than we realize. We want stability, yes! We want peace, yes! But I will say this; we will not know real peace unless we fight for it. All we can hope for, if we surrender to our fate, is a false peace that will leave an unsatisfying sore in our hearts. We will spend the rest of our days wondering if things could be different had we the courage to fight against the path that has been laid down for us.” I turn back to the Serpents. The crowd is starting to yell words of encouragement.
“There is your fate!” I point. “These men would bind you to their will and have you do as they please. What do you say to that?”
The crowd roars with a resounding “Fuck fate!”
“These men would force us down their path. What is our path?”
“Our path is our own!”
“Then tell me, what should we do?”
“We destroy and rebuild!”
“Yes,” I shout. “We will destroy their path and build one of our own. The powerful, the corrupt, the venal, the schemers in their high towers – all of them have plans for us, but none of them will bring you true peace. You will never find it as long as you bend your knee to them. They think themselves as gods, wielding the power of life and death over us. But I say, let there be no gods - no masters!”
The crowd begins repeating the chant. “No gods! No masters!”
“We will begin,” I declare, raising my voice above the chants, “by retaking the Refugee Quarter! Let no snake dwell in our huts! They shall be returned to their masters as a message that we make our own fate from now on.”
Mr. Black has already vanished, presumably to report to his superiors. The crowd begins to close in on the stunned Serpents…
***
“This is bad, Master. The Federation satellites caught your speech,” fusses Yua.
“That’s fine. This is just the first stage, but now there’s no going back.” I lean back in my chair, musing how strange it is no one picked up that in declaring the refugees free to fight for their own path, against their fate, I had created a path for them to travel. My path. I look at a visual representation of my message spreading across the Refugee Quarter. Apparently they liked it – there are already calls to nominate me as the official representative of the refugees. They are eager to get their first taste of influence and power. I won’t be letting them down.
The first message in my inbox is from Qin.
“Senya, I have no idea what you’re up to, but you just made a mistake. The Star League backers I have weren’t too fond of your speech. Well, they agree with the sentiment, but they don’t like me paying too much attention to you. I can still pull some strings, get them to bring you into the fold, but we’ll have to act fast before they change their mind. Call me as soon as you get this, okay?”
The second message is from the Governor of Ankida, Raheed Camna. It only contained a simple request to meet at his residence in the former Imperial palace at a date of his choosing – tomorrow night.
The last message is a request for information from the syndicates. They want to know about my personal schedule, and are willing to exchange information about something the Federation is planning in Ankida for it. I hold back my laughter.
***
A. I throw my lot in with Qin. It immediately nets me powerful backers in the Star League itself. Furthermore, her autonomy cause fits well with my call for the refugees to strike out for their own independence. On the downside, getting involved with those young, jealous political scions probably means I will have to be at their beck and call until I manage to get leverage over them.
B. I angle for support from the Governor. He is the most powerful man in the city, and the only reason he is inviting me nicely instead of sending in troops to haul me away is because he believes I can be negotiated with. If we make a mutually beneficial deal, it would be a swift way into power. I don’t need to own the Governor’s mansion to live there.
C. I accept the Governor’s invitation. Then, I pen a message to the ex-Emperor so that he will meet with me while I am there. His influence amongst the Shinari is undeniable, and the old man can probably talk up a storm better than I can. Reports say that he is concerned about the current political climate and has an axe to grind with President Julia. I can offer him a way to make a difference, by convincing him to join the election. Besides, he is old, and probably in need of an heir…
***
A. I exchange information about my personal schedule for knowledge on what the Federation is planning. I have no real fear about this; if I know they are coming for me, I can be prepared.
B. I exchange false information about my personal schedule. Though this will severely damage my reputation as a information broker when the information turns out to be false, at least I will find out what the Federation is doing without giving my own movements away.
C. I do not exchange the information – I don’t want to risk my life or reputation. Let the Federation do what they will.
Jester
Arbiter
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2013
- Messages
- 1,493
CA
Emperor was always friend for us and we will get to know most of our current opponents and Emperor always seemed as person with brains and guts so he will be valuable ally still hope that he wont die anytime soon i like that guy.
As for second option our personal schedule isn't something to hard to get for others as we are VIP for some, by selling this information we will profit, enforce our reputation as information broker and send a massage to syndicates bosses i think that it can earn us some respect. Still we would have to watch our back with or without sending info so...
PS. When first saw that part about satellite was like "wth? They put a spy satellite to monitor us? How is that a little attention?" Guess was bit silly
Emperor was always friend for us and we will get to know most of our current opponents and Emperor always seemed as person with brains and guts so he will be valuable ally still hope that he wont die anytime soon i like that guy.
As for second option our personal schedule isn't something to hard to get for others as we are VIP for some, by selling this information we will profit, enforce our reputation as information broker and send a massage to syndicates bosses i think that it can earn us some respect. Still we would have to watch our back with or without sending info so...
PS. When first saw that part about satellite was like "wth? They put a spy satellite to monitor us? How is that a little attention?" Guess was bit silly
a cut of domestic sheep prime
Guest
CA - Jester's reasoning goes along with mine. Also, the federation's plans have that "will bite you in the ass if you don't do something about it now" sort of feeling...
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2011
- Messages
- 2,835
CA
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