Fractured Fantasy: A CK2 Style Final Fantasy quest
- Thread starter griffinlw
- Start date
- Crossover Fantasy Action
fair points here (i was definitely not thinking about a cooperative giving everyone large amounts of influence on decision making), though note when i said that i didn't say "non profit business" but "business archetype" (i.e, functioning like a business faction would mechanically from the quest side of things, similar to how other ideas would fundementally fit into specific types of faction (guild, rebel organisation, third one i can't remember etc)
i feel like if we're allowed to establish something like this we should definitely be able to either aim to do whatever we're doing charitably/at cost (provide what people need for as affordable as possible to solve whatever problems they have), or make profit but funnel it into productive ventures that benefit everyone (ideal for how businesses should run, as opposed to just growing bloated over time)
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- Pronouns
- She/Her
The way I see it, as much as I agree that I don't think our above-ground store is the best option as an HQ, even with our general gameplan, I do still think opening the store is a good idea to get a foothold. As such:
[X] Plan: Crisis Management
I'm very interested in having a more direct arm in the slums to help out down there, possibly even making the HQ down there, but this works for now.
[X] Plan: Crisis Management
I'm very interested in having a more direct arm in the slums to help out down there, possibly even making the HQ down there, but this works for now.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
One thing to keep in mind is that if we commit hard on 'no profit' that does mean we can't expect to be funding new equipment and supplies for our anti-Chaos activities that don't relate to medical work, and we'll have to fund that on our own. I wouldn't mind the organization giving us a modest amount of profit to help open options outside of the business. Just because the medical thing is making some profit that goes to Aerith's purse doesn't mean she's sold out to greed.
[X] Plan: Crisis Management
Which stays true for any venue and faction we'll make. Regardless of our choice we'll need to somehow make money to keep it running. You don't expect our "Heroes" to feed on justice and cloth themselves with good deeds do you? There will need to be some form of profit and sustainability for our faction to survive regardless of the path we choose.
Again that stays true regardless of which path we choose with our faction. We'll need to ensure that whoever we take in shares our ideals and goals. Even in your Hero Guild Idea we'd need to make sure to get those that genuinely are willing to help and not those in it for money, fame or satisfying their bloodlust. Last thing we need is wannabe hero killing whoever he deems evil.
To be fair I'd rather hope we'll never have to throw non hero units in the fray during our mission. Keep in mind that even in more proactive fighting options for the faction what we'll end up getting just a decent but still bulk force not an elites like I dunno Ramza's unit or Clan Nutsy. In any serious encounter our "Heroes" would be dying in various numbers depending on how well we plan things. Nameless Returners, Garden Students or Dalmacian Rebels.
[X] Plan: Crisis Management
[X] Plan: Crisis Management
Thank you for your kind words, @MagewyrmMira ! I really wanted to answer the question of "What would save Kain from himself?" and I realized the answer was "healing his heart."
charities and the like *do* pay people employed there, the important thing's just to not go overboard with mayoral yachts and the like. should be reasonable, or we have that as the main thing and setup some income streams simultaneously?
do note that having the places/things we invest in be based on the theming of the organisation is probs best for efficiency/trustworthiness? i guess it ultimately depends on specialisation. we could do something like having the listed charitable cause as "whatever helps" but that's probably suspicious to anyone who doesn't know aerith directly.
medicine's the obvious choice as somewhere we can do a lot, but disaster response/reconstruction is also a likely to come up priority, so some sort of "public good" focus is probs what we'd want to settle for, assuming research can fit in that
(also absolutely agree with this, wow. some people are just noncombatants, and that's fine. no point putting a "you must be this tall(strong) to ride" sign up unless someone's actually likely to go into danger, and with that (i.e., disaster relief in a dangerous area) we should probably just be providing self-defence training and cover from members that are willing to fight?)
Detective, Second Class
Detective, Second Class
"I'm telling you, Kunsel," Zack repeated for the third time, "I trust that report from the Turks about the break-in as far as I could throw them!"
"Couldn't you throw a Turk pretty far?" Kunsel disinterestedly retorted.
"Yes! No!" Zack stammered, his rhythm put off. "You're focusing on the wrong thing!"
"Some outside force, completely unknown, broke in and kidnapped two test subjects while we were all watching LOVELESS? And we're told they were AVALANCHE?" Zack dramatically shrugged his shoulders. "I don't buy it. This stinks of a set-up."
Kunsel rolled his eyes, equally dramatically. It wasn't visible through his helmet, but Zack understood the gesture, regardless.
"The Turks exist for this kind of cloak and dagger, Zack. Just let them figure it out."
Oh no, Zack's pulling out a cap. Where did he even buy a deerstalker in Midgar?!
The red-green tartan pattern clashed horribly with Zack's black uniform, but it drew attention away from the prop pipe he was pretending to smoke. Exposing Zack to otherworld media was the worst mistake anyone could have made.
"Hey!" Zack exclaimed, pointing right at Kunsel. "It's not like we have any high-priority assignments right now. And!"
He was winking. Oh no he's winking.
"It'll be fun, Kunsel!"
Kunsel briefly toyed with breaking his way out of the glass-lined elevator, but the 58th floor was too great a height even for a SOLDIER Second Class to fall from and survive.
Zack was so much easier to handle through email.
The elevator dinged at the 60th floor and opened.
"DETECTIVEs, Second Class, Zack and Kunsel! Move out!" Zack enthusiastically pointed forward, startling several scientists and earning glares from Turks in his path.
Oh heavens, why. Why was Seifer approaching them. Why did that kid already have a vein visibly throbbing in his forehead.
"YOU!" Seifer roared at them. He took a stance, and thrust a finger directly at Zack "Why are you HERE?! Don't you know there's an active investigation?!"
It looked like he wanted to continue yelling, before Seifer's eyes locked onto the jaunty hat barely staying on Zack's head, such was the force of his unruly mane of hair. His jaw worked for a moment, and then his eyes came down to the pipe dangling incorrectly from Zack's lips.
Zack blew a bubble from the pipe into Seifer's face.
"Hey, Gopher." Zack spoke nonchalantly. "I've already gotten permission from Doctor Hojo. Buzz off."
"Why would the GOOD DOCTOR," Seifer audibly ground his teeth, almost spitting the epithet, "give you permission to step all over our investigation? We are MORE THAN ADEQUATE for this task."
"Weren't you more than adequate for lab security, too?" Zack was really just going for the gut punches today. Kunsel fought the instinct to step back from the upcoming carnage.
"Who leaked that to you." It was not a question. It was a hissed commandment, almost flatly delivered were it not for the undercurrent of menace. Zack leaned forward, practically baring his teeth.
"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to disclose my sources, Gopher." Zack sneered a little, biting down on his pipe. "But a little birdie told me you fell for the most obvious diversion in history."
Seifer's hand raised to his bandaged temple on reflex, before he could stop himself. His eyes flicked to the nearby Turks, listening in. He snarled at Zack.
"Fine, do what you want. But," Seifer paused for effect, trying to reclaim his authority through menace, "if you step outside your authority, I will be the first to see you disciplined."
He spun around, trench coat fluttering behind him, presumably to continue whatever portion of the investigation that had capacity to babysit him. Kunsel swore he heard muttering about a list of some kind. Only slightly worrisome, given that Seifer was a fair match for an average 2nd in a fight.
"Can you not antagonize that particular Turk every time we run into him?" Kunsel wasn't one to plead, but he was a little bit pleading. Zack's stance finally untensed after Seifer rounded a corner.
"Ugh, sorry." Zack actually did look a little embarrassed. "I can't help but feel like knocking him down a peg. He's such an asshole."
Kunsel gave a light shake of his head, and stepped forward. They'd already stepped on a landmine, it was best to just continue the mission at this point. It wasn't hard to make their way to the Security Room from the elevator, with Hojo's authority acting as a snow plow to push away attempts at slowing them down.
The duo didn't miss a single beat until the Security Room itself, the door hissing open and revealing a shock of orange hair on a tall and lean man. Shinigami, the legendary Turk himself, turned to look at them, knowing grin and reflective sunglasses and all.
"You here to review the cameras too? Or just bully my little Gopher?" Shin chuckled a bit, beckoning them into the room. He lifted an old analog tape recorder from the desk, and clunked a button down. A tinny version of Zack's voice repeated "Weren't you more than adequate for lab security too?"
Kunsel felt a little shiver run up his spine. That event had been less than three minutes ago, and this man was already fully abreast of it. Zack let out a barking laugh.
"On top of it as ever, Shin." Zack fearlessly trotted over to the security terminal.
"I'm authorized to allow DETECTIVEs second class, Kunsel and Zack, to investigate the camera logs of the specimen removal incident." Shin slid a wolfish grin at Kunsel, who gulped. "I already have the relevant logs pulled up for our perusal."
"How did you DO that, Shinigami?" Kunsel asked, somewhat scared of the answer.
"Hojo has whipped everyone into a frenzy, screaming to the board that it's priority one to figure out where his specimens were taken." Shin's smirk was audible. His glasses completely obscured his eyes, but Kunsel could still feel them boring into his soul. "So, knowing he recruited his favorite non-specimen: DETECTIVE, second class, Zack Faire to head up a parallel investigation; I pulled up the logs, and then followed your progress up here."
"You make it sound so simple."
"It is."
Kunsel would never not be afraid of this man, he feared.
Zack leaned forward, hunted the keys for a moment, and pressed play on the first video, not waiting for further prompting. The scene wasn't the one either of them had expected. One would normally expect to see the lobby of the Shinra Tower, or the exterior streets. It's very not normal for an investigation to start at a laundromat.
"What-" Kunsel started to ask, before the video was paused by Shinigami.
"Here." The Turk pointed at a mess of pixels a slightly different color from the rest of the muddy mess. "This is the exact moment that Doctor Yarrow's keycard was stolen, by a man who identified himself as Clyde."
Kunsel squinted at the three orange pixels, surrounded by a smattering of green and black ones, and Zack emitted a low-pitched humming noise that was likely a direct line to his interiority. Shin sighed, and began to unleash his most dangerous power: walking non-Turks through interpreting intelligence data.
"We know that Doctor Yarrow's keycard clearance was used for the infiltration, and we also know from both cameras and eyewitness reports that 'Clyde' was present for the exfiltration. As I can personally attest to, as well."
"Additionally, these infiltrators had advanced knowledge of the layout of Shinra Tower. We know this because they did not intentionally stop anywhere except the correct floor for their target, and they used the correct clearance to access the Science Wing."
"Moreover, they were able to ascertain the function of, and accurately disguise themselves as Turks. As well, they struck when most of SOLDIER was present at the performance of LOVELESS. So we can posit that they knew about the different specialist branches of Shinra's operations."
"Lastly, they both appeared and disappeared without tripping any scanners in the city, and completely avoided camera sightlines. This is why we surmise that they are AVALANCHE threat actors, though these individuals do not match the descriptions of any known terrorists within the organization."
Shinigami took a breath for what seemed like the first time in his whole speech, or so it seemed.
"Yeah, I don't think these guys are AVALANCHE." Zack interjected suddenly. This caused Shin to raise an eyebrow.
"What leads you to that conclusion, DETECTIVE, second class, Zack Faire?" He did actually seem interested in Zack's answer. It was a small comfort for Kunsel that Shinigami didn't already know everything.
"This guy," Zack pointed at Clyde, "moves like a Wutai ninja, even when he's not fighting, but he doesn't share any features with a native Wutaian, like their black hair. He can't hide it, even when he's walking around. He's definitely an otherworlder, but I don't know where from."
"The tan guy here looks like some of the Dalmascans I've seen, look at his tan lines, and that one scar on his stomach." Zack moved the video forward and back so that it was more clearly visible. "That's the kind of scarring you get fighting monsters for a living, not people."
"Finally," Zack pointed at the smallest of the trio, "this guy has a monkey tail. Look at his waist."
Shinigami darted straight to the screen, glare intense enough to pierce through the monitor. Kunsel actually did jump backwards at the sudden bolt of movement.
"I'll be damned." Shin laughed. "I had a whole tussle with him, and I didn't even catch the tail. Nice work, DETECTIVE."
"So our would-be knights are all otherworlders?" Kunsel asked, tentatively. "No connection to AVALANCHE at all?"
"I disagree." Shinigami stroked his chin, his focus fully engaged. "Otherworlders wouldn't be able to pull this off, not without help. Even setting aside that the now-apparent fact that the monkey man and the specimens are likely from the same world, establishing a motive, we still lack a means to execute this operation without outside help."
His eyes narrowed.
"They had someone tell them nearly exactly what to do. So we either have an AVALANCHE member moving in the shadows," his tone dipped into calculating menace, "or we have a mole."
Shin jerked back upright, and put on a painted smile, aiming it at the two SOLDIERs.
"Well now, that was some good food for thought. I'll see you boys later, I have some reports to write, policies to argue over, and I might strangle a few someones."
Zack may have laughed honestly, but Kunsel's was forced. Shinigami let off a well-rehearsed friendly wave, and turned to leave. It was impossible for him to take his eyes off of the man's retreating back, silhouetted in the too-bright fluorescent glow of the HQ's hallways. To Kunsel, that shadow looked like an angel of death, slowly closing in on Shinra's enemies.
Just another day at Shinra HQ, just another scene to add to his growing list of nightmares that keep Kunsel awake at night.
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Help I can't stop writing again.
Kunsel is b646aa
Zack is Light Blue, middle row of the color picker
"I'm telling you, Kunsel," Zack repeated for the third time, "I trust that report from the Turks about the break-in as far as I could throw them!"
"Couldn't you throw a Turk pretty far?" Kunsel disinterestedly retorted.
"Yes! No!" Zack stammered, his rhythm put off. "You're focusing on the wrong thing!"
"Some outside force, completely unknown, broke in and kidnapped two test subjects while we were all watching LOVELESS? And we're told they were AVALANCHE?" Zack dramatically shrugged his shoulders. "I don't buy it. This stinks of a set-up."
Kunsel rolled his eyes, equally dramatically. It wasn't visible through his helmet, but Zack understood the gesture, regardless.
"The Turks exist for this kind of cloak and dagger, Zack. Just let them figure it out."
Oh no, Zack's pulling out a cap. Where did he even buy a deerstalker in Midgar?!
The red-green tartan pattern clashed horribly with Zack's black uniform, but it drew attention away from the prop pipe he was pretending to smoke. Exposing Zack to otherworld media was the worst mistake anyone could have made.
"Hey!" Zack exclaimed, pointing right at Kunsel. "It's not like we have any high-priority assignments right now. And!"
He was winking. Oh no he's winking.
"It'll be fun, Kunsel!"
Kunsel briefly toyed with breaking his way out of the glass-lined elevator, but the 58th floor was too great a height even for a SOLDIER Second Class to fall from and survive.
Zack was so much easier to handle through email.
The elevator dinged at the 60th floor and opened.
"DETECTIVEs, Second Class, Zack and Kunsel! Move out!" Zack enthusiastically pointed forward, startling several scientists and earning glares from Turks in his path.
Oh heavens, why. Why was Seifer approaching them. Why did that kid already have a vein visibly throbbing in his forehead.
"YOU!" Seifer roared at them. He took a stance, and thrust a finger directly at Zack "Why are you HERE?! Don't you know there's an active investigation?!"
It looked like he wanted to continue yelling, before Seifer's eyes locked onto the jaunty hat barely staying on Zack's head, such was the force of his unruly mane of hair. His jaw worked for a moment, and then his eyes came down to the pipe dangling incorrectly from Zack's lips.
Zack blew a bubble from the pipe into Seifer's face.
"Hey, Gopher." Zack spoke nonchalantly. "I've already gotten permission from Doctor Hojo. Buzz off."
"Why would the GOOD DOCTOR," Seifer audibly ground his teeth, almost spitting the epithet, "give you permission to step all over our investigation? We are MORE THAN ADEQUATE for this task."
"Weren't you more than adequate for lab security, too?" Zack was really just going for the gut punches today. Kunsel fought the instinct to step back from the upcoming carnage.
"Who leaked that to you." It was not a question. It was a hissed commandment, almost flatly delivered were it not for the undercurrent of menace. Zack leaned forward, practically baring his teeth.
"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to disclose my sources, Gopher." Zack sneered a little, biting down on his pipe. "But a little birdie told me you fell for the most obvious diversion in history."
Seifer's hand raised to his bandaged temple on reflex, before he could stop himself. His eyes flicked to the nearby Turks, listening in. He snarled at Zack.
"Fine, do what you want. But," Seifer paused for effect, trying to reclaim his authority through menace, "if you step outside your authority, I will be the first to see you disciplined."
He spun around, trench coat fluttering behind him, presumably to continue whatever portion of the investigation that had capacity to babysit him. Kunsel swore he heard muttering about a list of some kind. Only slightly worrisome, given that Seifer was a fair match for an average 2nd in a fight.
"Can you not antagonize that particular Turk every time we run into him?" Kunsel wasn't one to plead, but he was a little bit pleading. Zack's stance finally untensed after Seifer rounded a corner.
"Ugh, sorry." Zack actually did look a little embarrassed. "I can't help but feel like knocking him down a peg. He's such an asshole."
Kunsel gave a light shake of his head, and stepped forward. They'd already stepped on a landmine, it was best to just continue the mission at this point. It wasn't hard to make their way to the Security Room from the elevator, with Hojo's authority acting as a snow plow to push away attempts at slowing them down.
The duo didn't miss a single beat until the Security Room itself, the door hissing open and revealing a shock of orange hair on a tall and lean man. Shinigami, the legendary Turk himself, turned to look at them, knowing grin and reflective sunglasses and all.
"You here to review the cameras too? Or just bully my little Gopher?" Shin chuckled a bit, beckoning them into the room. He lifted an old analog tape recorder from the desk, and clunked a button down. A tinny version of Zack's voice repeated "Weren't you more than adequate for lab security too?"
Kunsel felt a little shiver run up his spine. That event had been less than three minutes ago, and this man was already fully abreast of it. Zack let out a barking laugh.
"On top of it as ever, Shin." Zack fearlessly trotted over to the security terminal.
"I'm authorized to allow DETECTIVEs second class, Kunsel and Zack, to investigate the camera logs of the specimen removal incident." Shin slid a wolfish grin at Kunsel, who gulped. "I already have the relevant logs pulled up for our perusal."
"How did you DO that, Shinigami?" Kunsel asked, somewhat scared of the answer.
"Hojo has whipped everyone into a frenzy, screaming to the board that it's priority one to figure out where his specimens were taken." Shin's smirk was audible. His glasses completely obscured his eyes, but Kunsel could still feel them boring into his soul. "So, knowing he recruited his favorite non-specimen: DETECTIVE, second class, Zack Faire to head up a parallel investigation; I pulled up the logs, and then followed your progress up here."
"You make it sound so simple."
"It is."
Kunsel would never not be afraid of this man, he feared.
Zack leaned forward, hunted the keys for a moment, and pressed play on the first video, not waiting for further prompting. The scene wasn't the one either of them had expected. One would normally expect to see the lobby of the Shinra Tower, or the exterior streets. It's very not normal for an investigation to start at a laundromat.
"What-" Kunsel started to ask, before the video was paused by Shinigami.
"Here." The Turk pointed at a mess of pixels a slightly different color from the rest of the muddy mess. "This is the exact moment that Doctor Yarrow's keycard was stolen, by a man who identified himself as Clyde."
Kunsel squinted at the three orange pixels, surrounded by a smattering of green and black ones, and Zack emitted a low-pitched humming noise that was likely a direct line to his interiority. Shin sighed, and began to unleash his most dangerous power: walking non-Turks through interpreting intelligence data.
"We know that Doctor Yarrow's keycard clearance was used for the infiltration, and we also know from both cameras and eyewitness reports that 'Clyde' was present for the exfiltration. As I can personally attest to, as well."
"Additionally, these infiltrators had advanced knowledge of the layout of Shinra Tower. We know this because they did not intentionally stop anywhere except the correct floor for their target, and they used the correct clearance to access the Science Wing."
"Moreover, they were able to ascertain the function of, and accurately disguise themselves as Turks. As well, they struck when most of SOLDIER was present at the performance of LOVELESS. So we can posit that they knew about the different specialist branches of Shinra's operations."
"Lastly, they both appeared and disappeared without tripping any scanners in the city, and completely avoided camera sightlines. This is why we surmise that they are AVALANCHE threat actors, though these individuals do not match the descriptions of any known terrorists within the organization."
Shinigami took a breath for what seemed like the first time in his whole speech, or so it seemed.
"Yeah, I don't think these guys are AVALANCHE." Zack interjected suddenly. This caused Shin to raise an eyebrow.
"What leads you to that conclusion, DETECTIVE, second class, Zack Faire?" He did actually seem interested in Zack's answer. It was a small comfort for Kunsel that Shinigami didn't already know everything.
"This guy," Zack pointed at Clyde, "moves like a Wutai ninja, even when he's not fighting, but he doesn't share any features with a native Wutaian, like their black hair. He can't hide it, even when he's walking around. He's definitely an otherworlder, but I don't know where from."
"The tan guy here looks like some of the Dalmascans I've seen, look at his tan lines, and that one scar on his stomach." Zack moved the video forward and back so that it was more clearly visible. "That's the kind of scarring you get fighting monsters for a living, not people."
"Finally," Zack pointed at the smallest of the trio, "this guy has a monkey tail. Look at his waist."
Shinigami darted straight to the screen, glare intense enough to pierce through the monitor. Kunsel actually did jump backwards at the sudden bolt of movement.
"I'll be damned." Shin laughed. "I had a whole tussle with him, and I didn't even catch the tail. Nice work, DETECTIVE."
"So our would-be knights are all otherworlders?" Kunsel asked, tentatively. "No connection to AVALANCHE at all?"
"I disagree." Shinigami stroked his chin, his focus fully engaged. "Otherworlders wouldn't be able to pull this off, not without help. Even setting aside that the now-apparent fact that the monkey man and the specimens are likely from the same world, establishing a motive, we still lack a means to execute this operation without outside help."
His eyes narrowed.
"They had someone tell them nearly exactly what to do. So we either have an AVALANCHE member moving in the shadows," his tone dipped into calculating menace, "or we have a mole."
Shin jerked back upright, and put on a painted smile, aiming it at the two SOLDIERs.
"Well now, that was some good food for thought. I'll see you boys later, I have some reports to write, policies to argue over, and I might strangle a few someones."
Zack may have laughed honestly, but Kunsel's was forced. Shinigami let off a well-rehearsed friendly wave, and turned to leave. It was impossible for him to take his eyes off of the man's retreating back, silhouetted in the too-bright fluorescent glow of the HQ's hallways. To Kunsel, that shadow looked like an angel of death, slowly closing in on Shinra's enemies.
Just another day at Shinra HQ, just another scene to add to his growing list of nightmares that keep Kunsel awake at night.
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Help I can't stop writing again.
Kunsel is b646aa
Zack is Light Blue, middle row of the color picker
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No, let the author juice flow through you. I adore your work.
I like how you captured the lovely goofball energy of Zack, as well as the fact that he's quite a bit more clever than we think. Poor Kunsel gives off the energy of a reclusive introvert being dragged around by his extravert friend. Shin being friendly and personable, as well as having a sharp eye and a terrifying energy is exactly what I expected. Seifer was there too I guess. It didn't occur to me until later but... yeah Zack and Seifer would hate each other on sight.
As promised, you can either get +10 to the next Zack-related action, or +2 to Zack's Intrigue Score. Just, keep in mind Zack isn't on your team yet. Who knows what he'll use that +2 for?
It's me. I know what he'll use that +2 for.
Also since there has been plenty of discussion on the top of making a business or some kind of aid/relief organization, I have been workshopping what the pros and cons might be. They're still in the workshop, so they may change later
Pros: High starting reputation, huge boost to reputation when acting to solve a crisis, total operational freedom (anything you can justify as "to help people" will work)
Cons: A small but permanent cut to the faction's income, an inability to make requests or demands of factions in crisis (Nonprofit is in the name. You can't call yourself that and then demand payment,) and some scrutiny on what crises you solve and how you spend your money.
In short, in exchange for a cut to your faction's income and ability to make demands, you get total freedom and an easy slide into an extremely positive reputation. Just be aware that snubbing a faction or spending too many funds on private things will probably make you look bad.
Please give him that +2, he's going to need all the help he can get, working his way through daily life with Shinra.
- Location
- Between dreams and reality
[X] Plan: Crisis Management
- Location
- SEAsia
- Pronouns
- Thou
I like the sound of a non profit. It feels Aerith like too. Plus honestly not sure that kind of thing has been done in an FF, so it's pretty unique vibes.
Edit: Having read the short story, this basically points them right at Tantalus. Monkey tail Zidane can't be too unknown.
Edit: Having read the short story, this basically points them right at Tantalus. Monkey tail Zidane can't be too unknown.
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The Persistence Of The Returners
The Writing bug caught me and the result is this abomination here. I'm not sorry.
Persistence of the Returners
"The last few months has been very busy"
Banon, leader of the Returners let out the tired sight as he read the latest report from his agents. It was already 9 months since he and handful of his people woke up in this weird, familiar yet alien, world. Despite losing more than a half of his people he initially allowed himself to hope, did they, by any chance managed to escape the Empire's grasp? No. Of course, they wouldn't be so lucky. Just like them the Geshtalian Empire, diminished but still all too dangerous, found its way into this patchwork world. And just like the Empire gathered their bearings so did Returners cast their net into those mysterious new waters.
"At least some familiar places made it through" - he raised his eyes looking at the map adorning the wall of his room. Still incomplete – Not every corner of this world was hospitable and quite a few of new forces kept their secrets and territories guarded. But at least the Kingdom of Figaro, and with it hi two most trusted collaborates were there. Truly without King Edgar and Locke he'd be lost. It was thanks to their hard work the managed to find new collaborates and slowly expand their network of agents. They still had some venues open which hopefully they'll manage to utilize. Speaking of which
"Banon, sir" his assistant walked into the room and stood at attention – He wishes to speak with you.
"Let him in" leader of Returners allowed himself a small smile as a young man in a blue tunic called in by his assistant walked into the room.
"Ah Bartz, I've been expecting you. I trust you have arrived to your answer, yes? - he looked at the otherworlder in front of him with kind but stern eyes.
"Yes. I did. I'll..." - the young man hesitated for a moment before meeting his eyes with steely resolve. "I'll help you. Join the Returners." Banon couldn't help but smile with gratitude hearing those words. True he believed that, this would be the case. He could read people well and Bartz wasn't the one to ignore evil happening around him even if he'd initially be reluctant to act.
"I can't just pretend everything's alright after what I've seen" Bartz continued the passion in his voice getting stronger with each word. "The empire is evil, they make people suffer and if there are crystals in this world, they can't be allowed to fall in their hands. I'll help in whatever way I can." Yes, that was exactly the answer Banon expected. As much as he loathed using people like that, Returners needed all the help they could get. "I'm glad that is your answer Bartz, and it just so happens I have task perfectly suited for your talents" Banon opened a drawer taking out few parchments out of it.
"Tell me, what do you know of Dalmasca?" Brown haired youth frowned for a second before clicking his tongue.
"The Kingdom in the east right? On the other continent. Locke mentioned it a few times" Bartz looked unsure but Banon's smile put him at ease.
"Correct. According to our agents the kingdom outside of their army relies on the so-called Hunter Clans to maintain safety outside their capital borders. As a result, Hunters seem to hold a degree of power in the kingdom and having them on our side would benefit our cause greatly." Bartz now looked positively puzzled.
"And what does that have to do with me?" he managed to ask.
"I want you to join their ranks." Banon's voice was level and stern. "Apparently the procedure isn't exactly hard, you just need to accept the task, track and hunt the mark specified by them and that should grant you credentials required to meet their leader. Rise through their ranks, make a name for yourself and maybe we can convince them to aid our cause or at least provide some degree of help." outworlder took a few moments to process the information. He could see where the plan was going. Hunting beasts required significant skill and flexibility and frankly most Returner Agents would not make the cut. It really seemed like a job suited for him.
"Very well sir, when do I leave?" the youth nodded prompting another smile from Banon. "Our Agents should get you to Dalmasca with our next transport within a week or two, good luck there" ""Yeah thanks. Just one thing. Look after Boko for me, I don't think that adventure is safe for Chocobos." And with that the youth left the room. Banon let out a tired sigh. He hated doing this, but desperate times called for desperate measures. And Returners have been desperate for a very long time.
"Now... Can we manage to get in touch with this Golbez fellow"
Hex Codes for Characters:
Banon - #91B9E7
Bartz - #73DE9C
Persistence of the Returners
"The last few months has been very busy"
Banon, leader of the Returners let out the tired sight as he read the latest report from his agents. It was already 9 months since he and handful of his people woke up in this weird, familiar yet alien, world. Despite losing more than a half of his people he initially allowed himself to hope, did they, by any chance managed to escape the Empire's grasp? No. Of course, they wouldn't be so lucky. Just like them the Geshtalian Empire, diminished but still all too dangerous, found its way into this patchwork world. And just like the Empire gathered their bearings so did Returners cast their net into those mysterious new waters.
"At least some familiar places made it through" - he raised his eyes looking at the map adorning the wall of his room. Still incomplete – Not every corner of this world was hospitable and quite a few of new forces kept their secrets and territories guarded. But at least the Kingdom of Figaro, and with it hi two most trusted collaborates were there. Truly without King Edgar and Locke he'd be lost. It was thanks to their hard work the managed to find new collaborates and slowly expand their network of agents. They still had some venues open which hopefully they'll manage to utilize. Speaking of which
"Banon, sir" his assistant walked into the room and stood at attention – He wishes to speak with you.
"Let him in" leader of Returners allowed himself a small smile as a young man in a blue tunic called in by his assistant walked into the room.
"Ah Bartz, I've been expecting you. I trust you have arrived to your answer, yes? - he looked at the otherworlder in front of him with kind but stern eyes.
"Yes. I did. I'll..." - the young man hesitated for a moment before meeting his eyes with steely resolve. "I'll help you. Join the Returners." Banon couldn't help but smile with gratitude hearing those words. True he believed that, this would be the case. He could read people well and Bartz wasn't the one to ignore evil happening around him even if he'd initially be reluctant to act.
"I can't just pretend everything's alright after what I've seen" Bartz continued the passion in his voice getting stronger with each word. "The empire is evil, they make people suffer and if there are crystals in this world, they can't be allowed to fall in their hands. I'll help in whatever way I can." Yes, that was exactly the answer Banon expected. As much as he loathed using people like that, Returners needed all the help they could get. "I'm glad that is your answer Bartz, and it just so happens I have task perfectly suited for your talents" Banon opened a drawer taking out few parchments out of it.
"Tell me, what do you know of Dalmasca?" Brown haired youth frowned for a second before clicking his tongue.
"The Kingdom in the east right? On the other continent. Locke mentioned it a few times" Bartz looked unsure but Banon's smile put him at ease.
"Correct. According to our agents the kingdom outside of their army relies on the so-called Hunter Clans to maintain safety outside their capital borders. As a result, Hunters seem to hold a degree of power in the kingdom and having them on our side would benefit our cause greatly." Bartz now looked positively puzzled.
"And what does that have to do with me?" he managed to ask.
"I want you to join their ranks." Banon's voice was level and stern. "Apparently the procedure isn't exactly hard, you just need to accept the task, track and hunt the mark specified by them and that should grant you credentials required to meet their leader. Rise through their ranks, make a name for yourself and maybe we can convince them to aid our cause or at least provide some degree of help." outworlder took a few moments to process the information. He could see where the plan was going. Hunting beasts required significant skill and flexibility and frankly most Returner Agents would not make the cut. It really seemed like a job suited for him.
"Very well sir, when do I leave?" the youth nodded prompting another smile from Banon. "Our Agents should get you to Dalmasca with our next transport within a week or two, good luck there" ""Yeah thanks. Just one thing. Look after Boko for me, I don't think that adventure is safe for Chocobos." And with that the youth left the room. Banon let out a tired sigh. He hated doing this, but desperate times called for desperate measures. And Returners have been desperate for a very long time.
"Now... Can we manage to get in touch with this Golbez fellow"
Hex Codes for Characters:
Banon - #91B9E7
Bartz - #73DE9C
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the charity/nonprofit organisation setup's tradeoffs sound good, though it occurs to me that we probably *don't* want to produce stuff to sell for the minimum possible (at least when there isn't a serious need for stuff such as in disaster relief/supplying to people who can't afford anything). doing it in dalmasca right now for instance would just undercut everyone else and lead to some real awkwardness/risk putting them out of business, so we probably shouldn't unless it's in a situation like the modern american health industry and everything is hugely inflated
(fun omakes btw, it's awkward to carry on regular conversations past them without sounding rude, so i just want to say here that DETECTIVE was pretty cool, and i'm sure the one just posted will be too even if i haven't read it yet)
(fun omakes btw, it's awkward to carry on regular conversations past them without sounding rude, so i just want to say here that DETECTIVE was pretty cool, and i'm sure the one just posted will be too even if i haven't read it yet)
the fact it coincided with tantalus doesn't inherently mean they were working together since the raid party could have waited for a distraction of one form or another, though the fact Tantalus left afterwards sort of implicates them for sure. that said, luckily they shouldn't have data on who's a member of tantalus? Zidane wasn't part of the performers so can't be connected directly, plus probably more importantly the is the first time Tantalus's shown up in midgar/on Shinra's radar? and they probably don't have relevant info from other organisations, so this is likely the first time he's been seen and Shinra has no info to attach him to?
- Pronouns
- He/Him
You know, it occurred to me, if Rinoa is in this world in 'pre-Sorceress' state and Caraway finds out, he's basically going to do his level best to make sure she does NOT get Sorceress powers. Which in a way mirrors the Final Fantasy VIII thing in that attempts are being made to change the timeline.
Please let me know how you feel about mine after you read it. I think it's dry but I also wasn't sure how to make it feel less so. There's not much on Banon and I wanted to avoid using fleshed out characters in fear of not making them justice and Ultimately Banon is the one that mainly does the talking and thinking in the games so yeah.
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