Well then... I think I'll drop 5 QP on the infiltration. I think I'd be a little happier with the performance potentially going sour.
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Fractured Fantasy: A CK2 Style Final Fantasy quest
- Thread starter griffinlw
- Start date
- Crossover Fantasy Action
Interlude: Visions of Your Friends.
New
You were worried for a moment that the planet might not have an answer for you. She tends not to care too much about individuals, it's hard to when The Planet encompasses all life on her surface.
But you shouldn't have worried. She remembers her champions. At your urging, the Planet fills your mind with sights from far away…
"What do you mean we're lost?" Barret demanded, slamming his fake hand against the ship's railing.
"I don't understand what happened! I was following the instructions exactly as they were relayed to me. But then the fog rolled in, and now I don't know where we are!" The helmsman explained frantically.
For a moment Barret looks like he's about to explode, but he quickly bites down on his temper and marches to the other side of the deck, where his group has gathered. A young girl in a blue-green dress, an older girl in white and blue robes, and a tall blue Ronso. "Bad news, we're lost."
"I think the whole ship heard," Rydia replied bluntly. Barret sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "What do we do now? Just pick a direction and go?"
"That's not a good idea. If we sail randomly we'll just get even more lost. We should look for a landmark of some kind." Yuna said, deep in thought.
"How?" Barret asked, looking over the horizon. There was nothing in sight but the ocean blue.
"Valefor can fly, it shouldn't be too hard for her to survey the area," Yuna started to raise her staff, but Rydia lunged forward and grabbed her sleeve. "Oh, I'm sorry Rydia. Would you like to do the honors?"
"Mmhmm!" Rydia bounced on the balls of her feet, adjusting her stance several times before she found the one that sat right with her. A series of runes appeared beneath her feet, and bright lights drifted from the floor.
The crew broke into excited murmurs as they watched the sparkling lights fly into the sky. The murmurs turned to gasps of awe as hundreds of feet above them the cloud's parted and a strange creature descended from the sky.
Valefor's body was somewhat similar to a bird or a wyvern, long legs that ended in talons and a pair of broad wings. But her head was feathered and her chest was bare, a strange mismatch of features. She landed heavily but gracefully, carving a groove into the wood with her talons as she skidded to a stop.
"Hey." Rydia greeted, allowing the Aeon to affectionately bump her head against her. "We need you to see if there's any land nearby. Can you do that?" Valefor bobbed her head and lifted off with a powerful flap of her wings.
Everyone dropped what they were doing at watched as the Aeon started flying in circles around the ship, slowly expanding wider and wider.
"Truly, we are blessed to be in the presence of such summoners."
"This ain't a show. Go on." Barret shooed the crew away, but it did nothing to slow or stop the muttered praise. The only sign Rydia heard was a twitch, her expression becoming fixed and masklike.
A cry like a massive bird announced Valefor's return, tossing her head and pointing to one side of the ship. "That way!" Rydia said.
"You heard the summoner!" The helmsman called, and the crew immediately sprang into action to turn the ship and get on their way again. It several minutes for the landmass to become visible, but it slowly grew on the horizon. In the distance was a town that none of them had ever seen before. But one you remembered well.
Lostime.
The atmosphere at Tifa's bar was, as always, calm and content. It was in the early evening, and she was taking the time to clean her glasses while a relatively small number of customers milled around and drank.
Naturally, the peace would not last.
The front door burst open, expelling a man with sandy blonde hair, and a sly smile. "How's my favorite beautiful bartender doing?"
Tifa couldn't help but sigh, somewhat fondly, at the intrusion into her peaceful bar. "I'm doing well, King Edgar. How are you?"
"Better now that I'm here. 6th Heaven is always good for a pick me up." Edgar pulled up a chair to the bar and took care to lay out an oilcloth across the section in front of his seat. He started to reach for a tool before Tifa spoke up.
"What have I said about tinkering in my bar?" Tifa put her hands on her hips.
"You said it was rather difficult to clean up the oil left on the counter. Therefore, the oilcloth." Edgar explained, pulling a few bits and bobs out of random parts of his coat. "None of it will get on the counter, I promise."
"... Fine, but I better not see an oil on my glasses either." Tifa relented. "The usual?"
"The usual." Tifa nodded and got to work, making Edgar's preferred mix. As she did so, a shifty-looking man at the bar stood up, his stool loudly scraping against the floor, and tried to dash away.
He made it about 3 steps before Tifa caught him by the arm and threw him to the ground. "No. You and I need to talk about your tab."
The man struggled, but after Tifa put a little pressure on his arm he stopped squirming. "Hey, I paid my tab for the Cosmo Canyons!"
"That was a month ago! Since then you've racked up a hundred gil's worth of drinks!" Tifa pulled the man to his feet, with his arm still twisted behind his back, and walked him to a quiet corner, away from the rest of the patrons. "Locke, can you not come up with a quieter way to get this done?"
"Hey, it worked didn't it?" Locke said, instantly dropping the indignant tone. "Got an important one for the King, and Banon too. Princess Ashe is sympathetic to our cause, course she can't send open support. So she's trying to be subtle about it."
"I assume you have a letter for me?" The Returner nodded and pulled out a sealed envelope. "Good. Now, about your bar tab…"
"Oh. Uh… I don't actually have any gil on me- Ow!"
Tifa proceeded to drag Locke through the bar, marching him past all of her patrons and throwing him outside onto the streets of Vector. "You can come back when you pay off your tab!"
Edgar laughed his ass off
"What a pain in the @$$" Cid grumbled, fiddling with his lighter before remembering he only had a sprig of straw in his mouth. "The things I would do for a cigarette…"
"Um… Cid. Are you sure this is necessary?" One of the local 'militia' asked. "I mean, I know those creatures have come by more than a few times but… this is excessive isn't it?"
"How long have you been here?" Cid asked, bluntly.
"Uh… about a month."
"Then quit acting like you know a damn thing about those creatures. Every 3 months, and every third ring of the bell, they attack the town en mass."
"I just… find that hard to believe."
"Oh, believe me, I did too. But once is an occurrence, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a pattern. We were attacked by a massive swarm five months ago, and another two months ago. If this really is a pattern, then the next swarm will be here soon."
"What about the aid the Church of Yevon promised to send us?"
"... Conditional," Cid grumbled out.
"What?"
"I said it was conditional! If I wanted their help I'd have to scrap the street lights, the clocktower, the mechanics' shop, and a half dozen other things! Said we'd have to give up our sinful ways and 'machina.' That's the biggest crock of shit I ever heard…"
"You mean, you turned down a potential savior because you didn't want to dismantle our machinery? Is this about your hunk of junk airship?" Cid looked ready to yell in the man's face, but before he could, a man in dark armor with a slender, almost draconic-looking helmet spoke up.
"I'm afraid it's not that simple. There is power in the clocktower and the machines of this town, and without them, we would be worse off for sure. Trading protection we know we have for the protection of an unknown outsider is foolhardy." He explained succinctly. "Now please, Cid and I have some things to discuss."
The militiamen didn't quite seem convinced but took the dismissal for what it was and walked away.
"Tch. Pessimistic asshole…" Cid pulled out his lighter again, only to growl in frustration. "I'm just trying the best I can, wish I didn't have everyone crawling down my throat for every decision I made."
"Such is the burden of leadership."
"... You know, if it wasn't for you Kain I might have accepted the Church's help."
"Really? Why?" Kain asked.
"We both know what's in the clocktower, and I don't trust those Yevon pricks not to break it," Cid said sourly. "So, I expect we'll be on our own again."
Kain nodded solemnly. "I'll make sure the men are ready."
"You do that. I have a brat to wrangle." Cid sighed. "Damn, I hate being the responsible one."
Reeve had a cabin all to himself, suitable for a department head. The train he was in had more… rustic feel to it than the trains in Midgar. Strange, but not unpleasant. He stood up and quickly swept the room for cameras and bugs. It may have been a bit paranoid fo him, Shinra had no reason to suspect him…
Yet.
Once he was sure no one would come knocking, he opened the larger of his two suitcases, allowing a familiar crowned cat to clamber out. "Not the most comfortable ride, eh laddie?"
"Sorry, I plan to get you a better carrier at some point," Reeve said apologetically.
"I've had worse. If you've let the cat out of the bag, I take it you're ready to start planning?" Cait had to jump and grab the edge of the seat to climb into it.
Reeve nodded, "We both know the reactors are part of the problem. I can't allow them to build another. But how to stop them?"
"Delaying tactics for starters." Cait chimed in.
"Of course, but if I delay for too long I'll be recalled and someone else will finish it."
"True… What if you 'cut corners' and the shell ends up collapsing under its own weight?"
"That will lead to a much longer delay, but it runs into the same issue. The only reason I became a director was competence. Without that, Rufus will have no reason to keep me around. Not that I want to but…"
"You need the resources." Reeve nodded. "A tight spot for sure. But you've got some idea, don't you lad?"
"Of course. If the reactor's destruction was the result of a natural disaster or a monster, there would be no one to blame. A temporary solution, to give me time to come up with a more permanent one."
"It sounds ideal but… that'd be hard to orchestrate wouldn't it? Shinra will want a scapegoat, preferably a human one. If it's something that can be fought, they'll want to move SOLDIERs in."
Reeve sighed deeply, sounding like a man twice his own age. "... I need you to play the recordings again, Cait Sith."
The cat-robot hesitated. "There's no reason to torture yourself anymore. You know what happened before, that's why you're trying to stop it."
"I need to remember what will happen and what's at stake. Play them, that's an order." Reeve insisted.
"... Alright boss," Cait-Sith said sadly, unable to refuse a direct order. The little robot plugged himself into Reeve's portable computer and opened a particular set of recordings.
PLATEFALL, BETRAYAL, and AERITH. Shinra's sins, and Reeve's failures.
He had to remember.
The Fire Crystal lies beneath the city of Lestallum within the Gehstalian Empire's territory
The Water Crystal lies within the city of Walse in the Church of Yevon's territory.
The Earth Crystal lies within the mine of Gollund in Shinra's territory
The Ice Crystal lies within the Kingdom of Baron in The Gehstalian Empire's territory.
The Lightning Crystal lies within Home in the Church of Yevon's territory.
The Holy Crystal lies within Traverse Town in Dalmasca's Territory.
The Dark Crystal lies within the Dwarven Kingdom, in Cocoon's territory.
You blink, the gentle light of Migar's lamps streaming through the church windows nearly blinding you as the vision lifts. You have no idea how much time has passed, but your questions have been answered.
A warning, before you go. There is a disaster on the horizon, though not from where you expect. The Empire to the East, the Gehstalians. They will be at the heart of a great disaster. There is time before this disaster occurs but without intervention, it will occur.
Part of you wants to demand details, but you know better by now. There's only so much the planet can share, especially about the future. It's another problem for you to fix, another danger for you to face to protect the world.
But it has to be done. So you'll do it.
[Added Side Quest: Reunite with Your Friends]
[Added Side Quest: Halt the 'Gehstalian Disaster']
But for the moment, you have another task to see through. Your performance.
But you shouldn't have worried. She remembers her champions. At your urging, the Planet fills your mind with sights from far away…
Barret
Location: Somewhere off the northern coast of the Dalmasca region"What do you mean we're lost?" Barret demanded, slamming his fake hand against the ship's railing.
"I don't understand what happened! I was following the instructions exactly as they were relayed to me. But then the fog rolled in, and now I don't know where we are!" The helmsman explained frantically.
For a moment Barret looks like he's about to explode, but he quickly bites down on his temper and marches to the other side of the deck, where his group has gathered. A young girl in a blue-green dress, an older girl in white and blue robes, and a tall blue Ronso. "Bad news, we're lost."
"I think the whole ship heard," Rydia replied bluntly. Barret sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "What do we do now? Just pick a direction and go?"
"That's not a good idea. If we sail randomly we'll just get even more lost. We should look for a landmark of some kind." Yuna said, deep in thought.
"How?" Barret asked, looking over the horizon. There was nothing in sight but the ocean blue.
"Valefor can fly, it shouldn't be too hard for her to survey the area," Yuna started to raise her staff, but Rydia lunged forward and grabbed her sleeve. "Oh, I'm sorry Rydia. Would you like to do the honors?"
"Mmhmm!" Rydia bounced on the balls of her feet, adjusting her stance several times before she found the one that sat right with her. A series of runes appeared beneath her feet, and bright lights drifted from the floor.
The crew broke into excited murmurs as they watched the sparkling lights fly into the sky. The murmurs turned to gasps of awe as hundreds of feet above them the cloud's parted and a strange creature descended from the sky.
Valefor's body was somewhat similar to a bird or a wyvern, long legs that ended in talons and a pair of broad wings. But her head was feathered and her chest was bare, a strange mismatch of features. She landed heavily but gracefully, carving a groove into the wood with her talons as she skidded to a stop.
"Hey." Rydia greeted, allowing the Aeon to affectionately bump her head against her. "We need you to see if there's any land nearby. Can you do that?" Valefor bobbed her head and lifted off with a powerful flap of her wings.
Everyone dropped what they were doing at watched as the Aeon started flying in circles around the ship, slowly expanding wider and wider.
"Truly, we are blessed to be in the presence of such summoners."
"This ain't a show. Go on." Barret shooed the crew away, but it did nothing to slow or stop the muttered praise. The only sign Rydia heard was a twitch, her expression becoming fixed and masklike.
A cry like a massive bird announced Valefor's return, tossing her head and pointing to one side of the ship. "That way!" Rydia said.
"You heard the summoner!" The helmsman called, and the crew immediately sprang into action to turn the ship and get on their way again. It several minutes for the landmass to become visible, but it slowly grew on the horizon. In the distance was a town that none of them had ever seen before. But one you remembered well.
Lostime.
Tifa
Location: A bar in the city of VectorThe atmosphere at Tifa's bar was, as always, calm and content. It was in the early evening, and she was taking the time to clean her glasses while a relatively small number of customers milled around and drank.
Naturally, the peace would not last.
The front door burst open, expelling a man with sandy blonde hair, and a sly smile. "How's my favorite beautiful bartender doing?"
Tifa couldn't help but sigh, somewhat fondly, at the intrusion into her peaceful bar. "I'm doing well, King Edgar. How are you?"
"Better now that I'm here. 6th Heaven is always good for a pick me up." Edgar pulled up a chair to the bar and took care to lay out an oilcloth across the section in front of his seat. He started to reach for a tool before Tifa spoke up.
"What have I said about tinkering in my bar?" Tifa put her hands on her hips.
"You said it was rather difficult to clean up the oil left on the counter. Therefore, the oilcloth." Edgar explained, pulling a few bits and bobs out of random parts of his coat. "None of it will get on the counter, I promise."
"... Fine, but I better not see an oil on my glasses either." Tifa relented. "The usual?"
"The usual." Tifa nodded and got to work, making Edgar's preferred mix. As she did so, a shifty-looking man at the bar stood up, his stool loudly scraping against the floor, and tried to dash away.
He made it about 3 steps before Tifa caught him by the arm and threw him to the ground. "No. You and I need to talk about your tab."
The man struggled, but after Tifa put a little pressure on his arm he stopped squirming. "Hey, I paid my tab for the Cosmo Canyons!"
"That was a month ago! Since then you've racked up a hundred gil's worth of drinks!" Tifa pulled the man to his feet, with his arm still twisted behind his back, and walked him to a quiet corner, away from the rest of the patrons. "Locke, can you not come up with a quieter way to get this done?"
"Hey, it worked didn't it?" Locke said, instantly dropping the indignant tone. "Got an important one for the King, and Banon too. Princess Ashe is sympathetic to our cause, course she can't send open support. So she's trying to be subtle about it."
"I assume you have a letter for me?" The Returner nodded and pulled out a sealed envelope. "Good. Now, about your bar tab…"
"Oh. Uh… I don't actually have any gil on me- Ow!"
Tifa proceeded to drag Locke through the bar, marching him past all of her patrons and throwing him outside onto the streets of Vector. "You can come back when you pay off your tab!"
Edgar laughed his ass off
Cid Highwind
Location: Traverse Town, 2nd District, in front of the Clocktower"What a pain in the @$$" Cid grumbled, fiddling with his lighter before remembering he only had a sprig of straw in his mouth. "The things I would do for a cigarette…"
"Um… Cid. Are you sure this is necessary?" One of the local 'militia' asked. "I mean, I know those creatures have come by more than a few times but… this is excessive isn't it?"
"How long have you been here?" Cid asked, bluntly.
"Uh… about a month."
"Then quit acting like you know a damn thing about those creatures. Every 3 months, and every third ring of the bell, they attack the town en mass."
"I just… find that hard to believe."
"Oh, believe me, I did too. But once is an occurrence, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a pattern. We were attacked by a massive swarm five months ago, and another two months ago. If this really is a pattern, then the next swarm will be here soon."
"What about the aid the Church of Yevon promised to send us?"
"... Conditional," Cid grumbled out.
"What?"
"I said it was conditional! If I wanted their help I'd have to scrap the street lights, the clocktower, the mechanics' shop, and a half dozen other things! Said we'd have to give up our sinful ways and 'machina.' That's the biggest crock of shit I ever heard…"
"You mean, you turned down a potential savior because you didn't want to dismantle our machinery? Is this about your hunk of junk airship?" Cid looked ready to yell in the man's face, but before he could, a man in dark armor with a slender, almost draconic-looking helmet spoke up.
"I'm afraid it's not that simple. There is power in the clocktower and the machines of this town, and without them, we would be worse off for sure. Trading protection we know we have for the protection of an unknown outsider is foolhardy." He explained succinctly. "Now please, Cid and I have some things to discuss."
The militiamen didn't quite seem convinced but took the dismissal for what it was and walked away.
"Tch. Pessimistic asshole…" Cid pulled out his lighter again, only to growl in frustration. "I'm just trying the best I can, wish I didn't have everyone crawling down my throat for every decision I made."
"Such is the burden of leadership."
"... You know, if it wasn't for you Kain I might have accepted the Church's help."
"Really? Why?" Kain asked.
"We both know what's in the clocktower, and I don't trust those Yevon pricks not to break it," Cid said sourly. "So, I expect we'll be on our own again."
Kain nodded solemnly. "I'll make sure the men are ready."
"You do that. I have a brat to wrangle." Cid sighed. "Damn, I hate being the responsible one."
Reeve
Location: On the railroad between Timber and MidgarReeve had a cabin all to himself, suitable for a department head. The train he was in had more… rustic feel to it than the trains in Midgar. Strange, but not unpleasant. He stood up and quickly swept the room for cameras and bugs. It may have been a bit paranoid fo him, Shinra had no reason to suspect him…
Yet.
Once he was sure no one would come knocking, he opened the larger of his two suitcases, allowing a familiar crowned cat to clamber out. "Not the most comfortable ride, eh laddie?"
"Sorry, I plan to get you a better carrier at some point," Reeve said apologetically.
"I've had worse. If you've let the cat out of the bag, I take it you're ready to start planning?" Cait had to jump and grab the edge of the seat to climb into it.
Reeve nodded, "We both know the reactors are part of the problem. I can't allow them to build another. But how to stop them?"
"Delaying tactics for starters." Cait chimed in.
"Of course, but if I delay for too long I'll be recalled and someone else will finish it."
"True… What if you 'cut corners' and the shell ends up collapsing under its own weight?"
"That will lead to a much longer delay, but it runs into the same issue. The only reason I became a director was competence. Without that, Rufus will have no reason to keep me around. Not that I want to but…"
"You need the resources." Reeve nodded. "A tight spot for sure. But you've got some idea, don't you lad?"
"Of course. If the reactor's destruction was the result of a natural disaster or a monster, there would be no one to blame. A temporary solution, to give me time to come up with a more permanent one."
"It sounds ideal but… that'd be hard to orchestrate wouldn't it? Shinra will want a scapegoat, preferably a human one. If it's something that can be fought, they'll want to move SOLDIERs in."
Reeve sighed deeply, sounding like a man twice his own age. "... I need you to play the recordings again, Cait Sith."
The cat-robot hesitated. "There's no reason to torture yourself anymore. You know what happened before, that's why you're trying to stop it."
"I need to remember what will happen and what's at stake. Play them, that's an order." Reeve insisted.
"... Alright boss," Cait-Sith said sadly, unable to refuse a direct order. The little robot plugged himself into Reeve's portable computer and opened a particular set of recordings.
PLATEFALL, BETRAYAL, and AERITH. Shinra's sins, and Reeve's failures.
He had to remember.
The Crystals Are Here
The Wind Crystal has already been found, within Cleyra in Dalmasca's territoryThe Fire Crystal lies beneath the city of Lestallum within the Gehstalian Empire's territory
The Water Crystal lies within the city of Walse in the Church of Yevon's territory.
The Earth Crystal lies within the mine of Gollund in Shinra's territory
The Ice Crystal lies within the Kingdom of Baron in The Gehstalian Empire's territory.
The Lightning Crystal lies within Home in the Church of Yevon's territory.
The Holy Crystal lies within Traverse Town in Dalmasca's Territory.
The Dark Crystal lies within the Dwarven Kingdom, in Cocoon's territory.
You blink, the gentle light of Migar's lamps streaming through the church windows nearly blinding you as the vision lifts. You have no idea how much time has passed, but your questions have been answered.
A warning, before you go. There is a disaster on the horizon, though not from where you expect. The Empire to the East, the Gehstalians. They will be at the heart of a great disaster. There is time before this disaster occurs but without intervention, it will occur.
Part of you wants to demand details, but you know better by now. There's only so much the planet can share, especially about the future. It's another problem for you to fix, another danger for you to face to protect the world.
But it has to be done. So you'll do it.
[Added Side Quest: Reunite with Your Friends]
[Added Side Quest: Halt the 'Gehstalian Disaster']
But for the moment, you have another task to see through. Your performance.
Colors note for myself. Not pictured, my frustration as I realize how many of these characters are either blue, or too dark for me to use with my prefered style
Tifa: #fe6f5e Bittersweet
Edgar: #4682b4 Steel Blue
Locke: #778ba5 Shadow Blue
Cid: #f0e130 Dandelion
Kain: #9678b6 Purple Mountain Majesty
Reeve: #1560bd Denim
Cait Sith: #987654 Pale Brown
Also, I've rolled the dice and tallied your QP. And your luck was honestly quite incredible. I've got the rolls and results, now I just need to write the adventure itself. So look forward to that.
And the Nat 1
Tifa: #fe6f5e Bittersweet
Edgar: #4682b4 Steel Blue
Locke: #778ba5 Shadow Blue
Cid: #f0e130 Dandelion
Kain: #9678b6 Purple Mountain Majesty
Reeve: #1560bd Denim
Cait Sith: #987654 Pale Brown
Also, I've rolled the dice and tallied your QP. And your luck was honestly quite incredible. I've got the rolls and results, now I just need to write the adventure itself. So look forward to that.
And the Nat 1
- Location
- Washington
- Pronouns
- He/Him
- Pronouns
- She/Her
- Location
- Washington
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I'm hoping that it's Hojo's Survival Roll. That's best case scenario for us.
Didn't see Yuffie or Vincent either, but those two have always been exiled to the Optional Character Dimension whenever a major scene starts so it's honestly in keeping with canon.
- Location
- Qc, Canada
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Well, the Summoner squad is arriving to Lostime, which means Barret might stumble upon Cloud and not be as delicate about trying to remind him. Still, it's a big opportunity there, especially since Yuna and Rydia are awesome characters and force multipliers.
Tifa is doing some clandestine work, as usual. I don't really know Final Fantasy 6 but we now know that she's in the heart of it. And Gaia just warned us shit is gonna go down over there. We should get there as soon as possible.
Cis is in Traverse Town fighting the heartless alongside Kain! Dragoon squad! And Yevon are being assholes as usual. Hopefully we can help them out sometimes.
And Reeve is torturing himself. Come on my guy, don't do that, you're doing your best, no need to demoralize yourself.
Edit: Also, I didn't even register it, but the Holy Crystal is in Traverse Town (It's probably what Cid and Kain are protecting) and it's in Dalmasca! Definitely our next destination after/alongside the Gehstalian Empire.
Tifa is doing some clandestine work, as usual. I don't really know Final Fantasy 6 but we now know that she's in the heart of it. And Gaia just warned us shit is gonna go down over there. We should get there as soon as possible.
Cis is in Traverse Town fighting the heartless alongside Kain! Dragoon squad! And Yevon are being assholes as usual. Hopefully we can help them out sometimes.
And Reeve is torturing himself. Come on my guy, don't do that, you're doing your best, no need to demoralize yourself.
Edit: Also, I didn't even register it, but the Holy Crystal is in Traverse Town (It's probably what Cid and Kain are protecting) and it's in Dalmasca! Definitely our next destination after/alongside the Gehstalian Empire.
Last edited:
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Okay, the lack of Nanaki, Yuffie and Vincent makes me worried about them, but I'll try to not assume the worst just yet.
Looks like the Gehstalian empire is our next destination. If the planet warned us about it despite we not picking the option for future disaster s, it means it's really important that we stop it. And luckily that's were Tifa is. Maybe we can even find the ice crystal in the kingdom of Baron while we are there if have enough time.
Although, Barret is very close to our base and Gehstalian is a long journey away by airship. Maybe we could meet him while he's still in lost time before leaving for Gehstalia, or on our way there.
Cid is also around here, so finding him should be right after these previous two points on the to do list. The Holy crystal being there only reinforces that.
And poor Reeve is not doing well by the looks of it. Wish there was a way to get in contact with him, but that's probably gonna have to wait.
That nat 1... Okay, let's not despair, it's one roll alongside many different things we are doing this turn. Worse case scenario is the infiltration team scape roll or Shinra discovers Aerith under the disguise, but it's not a game over either way. If it's the former, we throw subtly to the wind to rescue them. If the latter, they don't know we are living in Dalmasca yet, if we are quick enough we could run away without them knowing were to find us. Not perfect situation either way, but it's something we can deal with.
Looks like the Gehstalian empire is our next destination. If the planet warned us about it despite we not picking the option for future disaster s, it means it's really important that we stop it. And luckily that's were Tifa is. Maybe we can even find the ice crystal in the kingdom of Baron while we are there if have enough time.
Although, Barret is very close to our base and Gehstalian is a long journey away by airship. Maybe we could meet him while he's still in lost time before leaving for Gehstalia, or on our way there.
Cid is also around here, so finding him should be right after these previous two points on the to do list. The Holy crystal being there only reinforces that.
And poor Reeve is not doing well by the looks of it. Wish there was a way to get in contact with him, but that's probably gonna have to wait.
That nat 1... Okay, let's not despair, it's one roll alongside many different things we are doing this turn. Worse case scenario is the infiltration team scape roll or Shinra discovers Aerith under the disguise, but it's not a game over either way. If it's the former, we throw subtly to the wind to rescue them. If the latter, they don't know we are living in Dalmasca yet, if we are quick enough we could run away without them knowing were to find us. Not perfect situation either way, but it's something we can deal with.
a lot of info from this update!
based on said info, currently I think our best bet's to stay in Dalmasca while handling some nearby tasks we now know exist (as in, do a few quests for meeting friends in timber/traverse/losttime and putting out fires) while hopefully setting up stuff to then move to the war later, which we'll hopefully be able to get to *before* the issue hits. (i assume this would mean sorting out formal lines of communication with the rebels, but maybe also faction establishment/expansion to let us do things on a wider scale? we probably want to produce potions more easily to keep up our clan responsibilities while we're absent/provide to the war effort(or as relief in the wake of the disaster if it has impact on civilians?), but having consistent lines of intel going our way and more manpower would definitely also be good...)
Seltzer would probably be needed to get us there/do things during the war, so we should probably hold onto favors/work towards permament recruitment if possible?
going into the update in more detail/what we might want to do for each thing (depends a bit so can't say for sure, but i've got some ideas)
looks like there's 4 different places to go/focus, and they're all sort of priorities (in addition to stuff going on in dalmasca already, as for example it'd be a waste to leave the theft investigation half-done...)
we have locations for all of the crystals now, so that's funky. definitely thought we'd only get 1/2 (out of a total of four, but still) so this is good news
looks like 2 in Dalmasca (1 left), 2 in the empire's territory, 2 in Yevon's, 1 in cocoon and one in Shinra's
we don't know which of these are important to get to, though. maybe nearby ones or ones where there's nearby threats (since we'd both have reason to go to since we'd be able to address the problem, and that they could be plots by Chaos so it's urgent to get to the crystal first? note there's probably other issues we don't know about, but we'd probably have an easier time dealing with known threats since we need to spend less time figuring stuff out. as such, maybe we should first go to traverse (with the heartless), then the place that's currently at war with the (war/upcoming disaster)
seems like cloud/Barett reuniting is going to happen, and it's probs going to be incredibly awkward for them :P
should be easy enough to rendezvous/smooth things over though (which is probably a good call, as Barett's most likely to change location and thus we'd lose them if we don't establish communications first?)
problem is though Barett's pretty occupied being part of the pilgrimage team so i doubt he'd be able to help much (unless maybe we can convince him it's possible to weaken Shinra significantly by stopping the reactor in timber? the rest of the group could be on board with that, but it'd be bad if it inflames tensions to the extent of causing a war...)
looks like Tifa's with the rebels, which is good because we were already building relations with them but they wanted proof we're legit, and now just need to get Tifa to vouch for us to properly sort out things?
Tifa's sort of a way away and not in immediate danger/likely to move so ordinarily I'd put her as a low priority to chase down, but that impending disaster is pretty worrying. maybe for now we can put some of our spare actions to helping the rebels indirectly while we're doing other stuff in Falmasca(helping with timber/traverse town), and move there once we've crossed some more immediate things off our bucket list
also seems things aren't going too well for cid and they may be in need of help, though idk if we can help much here. maybe if we can deny the nearby crystal to the heartless somehow(95% sure they're after it, it seems so keyhole-coded), activate it to stop them, or eliminate them as a threat long-term(say, make them form less somehow/strengthen the defences significantly)?
they seem to be dealing with a siege which isn't pleasant, but can probably wait at least one turn before things start to go downhill if we want to do something more time-sensitive first
lastly, we've got stuff with Reeve in timber! maybe we can discretely work with him to prevent the powerplant being set up? seems it's now clear martial stuff could actually be effective here with them wanting it shut down but being unable to act themselves, meaning we're able to sort that out for him?
it'd be a place we could both help out the planet and stop Shinra from expanding (and being more of a pain) pretty effectively, but it may have awkward sideeffects like prompting a response from them, especially if there's a target nation to blame for any attacks... maybe if we're in a good state after the raid Tantalus would be willing to stop by there on the way back(or barring that while they're still in the area), wreck any construction and reveal their abduction/unethical experiments/environmental devastation etc to generate outcry? should be effective if inelegant, and since tantalus are already on the hitlist from the prison break/don't have ties to any larger group for Shinra to pressure in response they won't suffer backlash? I'd assume they'd be willing to take action, seeing as how there's probably bad blood from that whole kidnapping one of their friends deal...
with all that considered, next turn (though it may change if the results of this rescue derail stuff) I'd aim for addressing at least one nearby location, probably timber as that's the most time-sensitive/a place we can help out the most? if it's an option I'd hope to bring the Tantalus gang with for this. if it's somehow possible to combine establishing contact with Barret would also be good, but idk if we can combine going to multiple locations for a quest again/contact them without needing to go there ourselves :/
we should be fine for doing 2 turns before moving to the war, but idk about more than that. maybe that means something like:
one turn where we can go to timber with tantalus/do something to contact barett, using the rest on other stuff in dalmasca/expanding,
a second turn where we help out in traverse/and setup in perparation for going to the war the turn after?
based on said info, currently I think our best bet's to stay in Dalmasca while handling some nearby tasks we now know exist (as in, do a few quests for meeting friends in timber/traverse/losttime and putting out fires) while hopefully setting up stuff to then move to the war later, which we'll hopefully be able to get to *before* the issue hits. (i assume this would mean sorting out formal lines of communication with the rebels, but maybe also faction establishment/expansion to let us do things on a wider scale? we probably want to produce potions more easily to keep up our clan responsibilities while we're absent/provide to the war effort(or as relief in the wake of the disaster if it has impact on civilians?), but having consistent lines of intel going our way and more manpower would definitely also be good...)
Seltzer would probably be needed to get us there/do things during the war, so we should probably hold onto favors/work towards permament recruitment if possible?
going into the update in more detail/what we might want to do for each thing (depends a bit so can't say for sure, but i've got some ideas)
looks like there's 4 different places to go/focus, and they're all sort of priorities (in addition to stuff going on in dalmasca already, as for example it'd be a waste to leave the theft investigation half-done...)
we have locations for all of the crystals now, so that's funky. definitely thought we'd only get 1/2 (out of a total of four, but still) so this is good news
looks like 2 in Dalmasca (1 left), 2 in the empire's territory, 2 in Yevon's, 1 in cocoon and one in Shinra's
we don't know which of these are important to get to, though. maybe nearby ones or ones where there's nearby threats (since we'd both have reason to go to since we'd be able to address the problem, and that they could be plots by Chaos so it's urgent to get to the crystal first? note there's probably other issues we don't know about, but we'd probably have an easier time dealing with known threats since we need to spend less time figuring stuff out. as such, maybe we should first go to traverse (with the heartless), then the place that's currently at war with the (war/upcoming disaster)
seems like cloud/Barett reuniting is going to happen, and it's probs going to be incredibly awkward for them :P
should be easy enough to rendezvous/smooth things over though (which is probably a good call, as Barett's most likely to change location and thus we'd lose them if we don't establish communications first?)
problem is though Barett's pretty occupied being part of the pilgrimage team so i doubt he'd be able to help much (unless maybe we can convince him it's possible to weaken Shinra significantly by stopping the reactor in timber? the rest of the group could be on board with that, but it'd be bad if it inflames tensions to the extent of causing a war...)
looks like Tifa's with the rebels, which is good because we were already building relations with them but they wanted proof we're legit, and now just need to get Tifa to vouch for us to properly sort out things?
Tifa's sort of a way away and not in immediate danger/likely to move so ordinarily I'd put her as a low priority to chase down, but that impending disaster is pretty worrying. maybe for now we can put some of our spare actions to helping the rebels indirectly while we're doing other stuff in Falmasca(helping with timber/traverse town), and move there once we've crossed some more immediate things off our bucket list
also seems things aren't going too well for cid and they may be in need of help, though idk if we can help much here. maybe if we can deny the nearby crystal to the heartless somehow(95% sure they're after it, it seems so keyhole-coded), activate it to stop them, or eliminate them as a threat long-term(say, make them form less somehow/strengthen the defences significantly)?
they seem to be dealing with a siege which isn't pleasant, but can probably wait at least one turn before things start to go downhill if we want to do something more time-sensitive first
lastly, we've got stuff with Reeve in timber! maybe we can discretely work with him to prevent the powerplant being set up? seems it's now clear martial stuff could actually be effective here with them wanting it shut down but being unable to act themselves, meaning we're able to sort that out for him?
it'd be a place we could both help out the planet and stop Shinra from expanding (and being more of a pain) pretty effectively, but it may have awkward sideeffects like prompting a response from them, especially if there's a target nation to blame for any attacks... maybe if we're in a good state after the raid Tantalus would be willing to stop by there on the way back(or barring that while they're still in the area), wreck any construction and reveal their abduction/unethical experiments/environmental devastation etc to generate outcry? should be effective if inelegant, and since tantalus are already on the hitlist from the prison break/don't have ties to any larger group for Shinra to pressure in response they won't suffer backlash? I'd assume they'd be willing to take action, seeing as how there's probably bad blood from that whole kidnapping one of their friends deal...
with all that considered, next turn (though it may change if the results of this rescue derail stuff) I'd aim for addressing at least one nearby location, probably timber as that's the most time-sensitive/a place we can help out the most? if it's an option I'd hope to bring the Tantalus gang with for this. if it's somehow possible to combine establishing contact with Barret would also be good, but idk if we can combine going to multiple locations for a quest again/contact them without needing to go there ourselves :/
we should be fine for doing 2 turns before moving to the war, but idk about more than that. maybe that means something like:
one turn where we can go to timber with tantalus/do something to contact barett, using the rest on other stuff in dalmasca/expanding,
a second turn where we help out in traverse/and setup in perparation for going to the war the turn after?
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... Oh ho HO! That's going to be fun--
... Wait.
... The Temple of Water is right off the coast.
... Leviathan is the Guardian Beast of Water.
... Leviathan is right off the coast and Rydia is onboard.
*CONCERN*
... I just want to say, I was working on a Kingdom Hearts fic right before reading this update, and seeing this gave me a big double-take.
That said, Traverse Town! Seeing that it's here makes me unreasonably excited. Let's get stronger so we can head over, shall we?
And oh wow, when I voted for that, I didn't realize how much of the world it'd reveal to us by extension, for some reason. It's really cool getting a bigger idea of the scope of things. Anyway, I suppose we have some goals set, now!
First, I'd imagine Aerith really wants to head over to Lostime when she gets back now. Mystery Seeds, contacting Barrett, and potentially helping Cloud get his memories back.
... Uh oh. That doesn't sound pleasant.
I'm actually thinking--do you think we'd be able to talk Barrett into talking Yuna into dealing with... Whatever fire is going on there in our stead? It might not technically even be out of their way, what with Ifrit's temple being there, might help us get a feeler out for Tifa, and free our hands to meet up with Reeve and Cid!
... Though uh, now that I say this out loud, sending summoners to the Gestalian Empire is... Uh...
... That'll definitely cause some kind of trouble!
might be possible but it's possibly a push, they've got other stuff to do and it's probs out of the way and the like? (plus what you mentioned about them causing problems/them maybe not being equipped to handle it if it's something you can't just brute force, or that needs skills they don't have?)
that said, I'm sure there's not much harm in letting barett (and other friends tbh) know tifa(and again, other friends)'s locations, and let what happens happen? would help everyone at least a little for no cost to ourselves if we're already talking, afterall, this way if they happen to be in the area they can meet and help eachother out more easily right?
Oh my a FF Crossover Quest? Damn wish I knew about it earlier. Looking at things the questions that were voted for are double edged sword since I can assume they will dictate most of the actions voted for the foreseeable future or even the rest of the quest and tbh Aerith isn't exactly having full capability to have as much freedom of traverse. Maybe trusting our friends to do right thing would be for the best? I don't think we can have much sway on the Pilgrimage even if Barret vouches for us.
The Disaster in the Empire is worrying but it's also one of the places where we're not exactly safe. Aerith is a natural Magic User and we all know what Geshtalians stance on those is...
The Disaster in the Empire is worrying but it's also one of the places where we're not exactly safe. Aerith is a natural Magic User and we all know what Geshtalians stance on those is...
it's a reasonable concern but we'd probably be doing similar things (solving misc problems like protagonists tend to) regardless, this info just gives us knowledge of where to go specifically for some stuff? it's a lot on our plate, but we still have the choice of which of them we do right? can't do everything so some stuff will end up dropped, this just presents us with some better options for the time being. (and besides, the crystals are main story, they're sort of inevitable)
empire/Geshtalians hating magic could be an issue though yeah. i was sort of assuming their nonsense wouldn't phase us because we'd be fighting against them in any conflict so their nonsense wouldn't be an issue, but interraction could be important yeah. maybe we'll be fine in most if we keep things under wraps? then it just means fighting when in the presence of others and stuff (and their distrust/dislike of outsiders? in general) would be more of a pain? and if all else fails we have people from the exodus group to put in a good word for us/serve as contacts, maybe...
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Alright so basic round up-
Barret- With Yuna and co. in Lostime. Time-sensitive so we should probably make contact while we still can. Shouldn't take more than an action or two though.
Tifa- Working for the Returners in the Empire. Just need to become proper allies with the group and alert them to the disaster.
Cid- Seems to be in charge of Transverse town. Which is going to get a Heartless invasion next turn, so we might want to do something about that. Also the location of a crystal.
Reeve- Huh wasn't expecting him. He's working to sabetoge Shinra as much as he can, but there's only so much he can do. Could be doing better Mentally. Making contact would probably help his mental state but I'm not sure how.
There is going to be a disaster in the Empire...they aren't great people but the world's in a lousy state as it is and we do not need Kefka screwing things up. See Tifa for likely way to deal with it.
And the infiltration...somehow we have incredible luck...but someone got a Nat 1.
It's in Black too...do we have anyone assigned to that color?
Barret- With Yuna and co. in Lostime. Time-sensitive so we should probably make contact while we still can. Shouldn't take more than an action or two though.
Tifa- Working for the Returners in the Empire. Just need to become proper allies with the group and alert them to the disaster.
Cid- Seems to be in charge of Transverse town. Which is going to get a Heartless invasion next turn, so we might want to do something about that. Also the location of a crystal.
Reeve- Huh wasn't expecting him. He's working to sabetoge Shinra as much as he can, but there's only so much he can do. Could be doing better Mentally. Making contact would probably help his mental state but I'm not sure how.
There is going to be a disaster in the Empire...they aren't great people but the world's in a lousy state as it is and we do not need Kefka screwing things up. See Tifa for likely way to deal with it.
And the infiltration...somehow we have incredible luck...but someone got a Nat 1.
It's in Black too...do we have anyone assigned to that color?
I will say, this is my biggest concern with that plan, on the off-chance we could persuade them to deal with it. Since otherwise, I feel like anything that Aerith, Freya, and Alfyn could tackle would be something that Barret, Yuna, Rydia, and Kimhari would be able to tackle. Though I suppose the fact that they wouldn't be player characters at the time might put a damper on that.
Regardless, since I feel like our major actions for the next two months or so are going to deal with Lostime and Traverse Town. So depending on how soon that problem in the Gestalian Empire is going to rear it's head, it would be good to start preparing for dealing with that, at the very least
Also, what exodus group? I thought we helped refugees to Cocoon, not the Gestalian Empire.
Oh, and:
Somehow I missed this, on the first go-around. Wonder who that "brat" is? Krile, Sora, Luso? Could even be a member of SeeD, depending on how miffed Cid is about them.
Hahaha, well, as a filthy Summoner Propagandist, I solemnly swear I'm going to try my best to derail us by yelling and pulling us towards any possibility to turn Aerith into a summoner. ;D
Though more seriously, any reason in particular you're concerned about that? I personally feel that those votes were really nice to give us some more concrete ideas on what to reach for.
Huh, is it Black in one of the dark modes too?
It's not just that. The only natural born Magic Users the Empire was fully aware of happened to be half esper. I'd reckon they'd either see us as a threat or a potential object to study and slap a slave crown on for good measure.
We also can't be relying on Barret's Group to help us since well... Eidolon's/Eikons are basically espers as far as anyone cares. And those exist to be drained to fuel Magitec.
As for others... Cid situation is bad but I don't believe we have proper location of Transverse Town just yet, do we? We'd basically be going in blind. Meeting with Barret and potentially Reeve is the most likely taking into account they are in general area.
Also I do hope that the Nat 1 doesn't mean our infiltration team met the certain White Haired SOLDIER
- Pronouns
- He
As they say haste make waste. Especially with some of the aspects being unknown rushing to resolve the crises/meet all our friends might end up putting the party in a disadvantageous and dangerous situation.
I mean, presumably the Gestahlians are aware that a lot of these nations close to them actually have relatively easy access to magic, which might be a bit of a mindfuck, especially for FFVI Cid who knows that the only magic he managed to create was mostly done by grinding up sapient beings.
Anyway. Fair that we don't want to end up just doing what FF protagonists normally do and just form a small core of people and just murderhobo until Crystal Get. I still want us to create our Pharmacompany/healer's guild kinda organisation.
Anyway. Fair that we don't want to end up just doing what FF protagonists normally do and just form a small core of people and just murderhobo until Crystal Get. I still want us to create our Pharmacompany/healer's guild kinda organisation.
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i think i mixed them up/ just assumed they were the same place, in that case my bad sorry :/
it is on mine, think it's just the shade on the bottom left of the ones the text editor gives.
hmm, could be an issue. i think we'll have the option as we know where to look for heartless, but could be a pain. i'd definitely prefer to prioritise on easier to get to places first then, though since traverse has a crystal it's probably required to visit it at some point? maybe if we have a learning action free we can investigate heartless beforehand, and that may give us a leg up in advance? if not though it shouldn't be too big an issue, there's plenty of useful things to prioritise and we now have the wind crystal to make journeys easier iirc
eh, we know roughly what the situations are in each area save for the upcoming disaster due to the visions given right? so i don't think going to our friends will cause issues unless we're taking penalties/dropping important things in order to cram them all in there, which hopefully shouldn't be needed
disaster is a thing that could seriously mess stuff up, but it's going to hit if we don't do anything and unless we're at ground zero we're unlikely to be directly harmed by it right? so it's probably not an issue for our stuff directly (unless we spend a bunch of actions trying to prepare for it in a way that turns out to be fruitless)
We know that there's a "Town of Night" in the Dalmasca region that we haven't been to, we're reasonably certain there are heartless there, and we know that Traverse Town is in the Dalmasca region. So while Aerith doesn't know where Traverse Town is, we the players have a pretty safe bet.
And, well, that is my biggest point of concern with the "ask the Pilgrimage to stop at the Gestalian empire" idea. I'm concerned about Ifrit's Fayth, and at the possibility that you can get magicite from Yuna and Rydia by extracting the summons they have, or other nasty things that can happen if the empire gets a hold of the summoners. I doubt it'll be easy for them to fall into that situation, but I can see them ending up doing something drastic because of what the Empire had been doing to Espers, and getting into trouble that way.
... Okay but uh, now that you bring him up, I realized that I completely forgot about DEEPGROUND...Wait.
You don't think we are going to run into...
Weiss!!!
AweStriker
Mobocracy
- Location
- Wherever He Wants
Hey, Walse is around! I think that might be the first of FF5 we've heard about since… maybe character creation. Very low-priority what with whatever trouble is brewing in Gestahl, the immediate consequences of Operation Loveless Rescue, and getting the band back together (except Red, Yuffie and Vincent?) but I think it's neat.
I forget, is Walse one of the various FF5 civilizations that have the local Cid's booster hooked up to a Crystal?
Because those put enough strain on the Crystal that at least one just straight-up exploded without the villains even touching it.