[CYOA]Misato (AU): This is the Way the World Ends

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NemZ
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Postby NemZ » Wed Oct 21, 2009 6:55 pm

I was waiting to see if someone would resolve the contradiction, but I'm going with the answer that brings more conflict to the table. You don't really want it to be easy, do you? ^_^

####################

"We received intel from an informant about the target's long-standing ties to the refugees," you answer. "Thus I decided capture was the best choice in the circumstances to minimize the involvement of other parties as witnesses, unnecessary casualties, or even potential allies of the target. The target would have been interrogated and terminated in a more secure location."

Kaji's expression becomes more serious. "Interrogation wasn't among your given objectives, Lieutenant. In fact, one of your stated parameters was to avoid such conversation."

"But recovery was," you reply, "and without more information my team and I would have had no idea what was worth recovering."

The Lt. Commander sneers. "That's a weak excuse. Your orders also placed demolition as a higher priority than recovery. Anything that wasn't obviously of interest should have simply been destroyed."

"I don't like to do things half-assed, sir. Of course plans never survive contact with the enemy, but in my experience aiming for the best possible outcome improves actual results."

"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." Kaji intoned.

"That's the philosophy of someone who is too afraid of losing to risk success," you answer. "victory belongs to those with the will to make it happen."

"Really? I wonder if your men would agree."

Ozawa scowled. "You're out of line, Mr. Kaji."

"No, Colonel, I'm just done with the softball questions," Ryouji snaps before turning his gaze back to you. "Actually, no, I don't have to wonder. Sgt. Ishida informed us earlier that every member of your team verbally questioned your judgment during the operation. That you put yourself, your men, and the mission in jeopardy while ignoring their reservations."

####################

What do you have to say to that?

- Sgt. Ishida is mistaken
- Their suggestions were motivated by poor reasons
- I refuse to dignfy that comment with a response
- When in command, I command
- (Suggestions?)
Rest In Peace ~ 1978 - 2017
"I'd consider myself a realist, alright? but in philosophical terms I'm what's called a pessimist. It means I'm bad at parties." - Rust Cohle
"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize that half of 'em are stupider than that." - George Carlin
"The internet: It's like a training camp for never amounting to anything." - Oglaf
"I think internet message boards and the like are dangerous." - Anno

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Postby User-iel » Thu Oct 22, 2009 2:29 am

- To Kaji-san : I believe the objectives for your group were completely satisfied. We prepared to have him shot, the boat exploded, he was shot. But we can't determine if anyone else carried away your goods, or your intel. Next time, some indication that the target might be willing to sleep on top of primed explosives would really make everyone like you a little better.

- To Colonel Owazu : We attempted to discharge our commission in the most distinguished manner possible. Our men were heard, and in this case were overruled. We acted in the knowledge that this isn't supposed to be Saigon. The plan was enacted to give you two casualties and a manageable arson, not two of ours and nine bystanders with a boatload of wounded. The enemy was very unwilling to cooperate, and equipped in a very irregular manner, essentially like a terrorist. We were unable to control the situation using only this covert unit, but by keeping Sgt. Ishida on watch, we were able to end it. If you find fault with our actions, then we will answer to our commanders.

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Postby NemZ » Fri Oct 23, 2009 2:19 am

Sure is getting lonely around here... time to wrap this section up I guess.

####################

You turn away from Kaji dismissively and address the Colonel. "Sir, I assure you that the men's concerns were noted, but overruled by other considerations. This was a domestic engagement, not just anouther house sweeping assignment in Saigon, and as such I endeavored to see that we performed in the most distinguished manner possible. Our aim was to limit casualties, damage, and scrutiny as much as possible."

"The target proved to be a much higher threat level than our information suggested," you continue, "more like raiding a terrorist cell than eliminating one wayward bureaucrat. We were unable to control the situation as desired with the limited resources we had available."

Turning to Mr. Kaji, you conclude, "I regret that without interrogating the target I am unable to certify that that the goods or information in play was not delivered to a third part. Nevertheless, we did manage to satisfy all of our mission objectives to the letter. If you have any further complaints about the way we cleaned up your mess, I suggest you take it up with my unit's CO, Mjr. Ranmaru Sato."

Kaji looked ready to reply, but was interrupted by Owazu. "Thank your for your frank cooperation, Lt. Katsuragi. I believe that's all we need to hear. Don't you agree, Lt. Commander?"

The two men locked eyes for a moment, then Kaji closed his eyes and returned to being all smiles. "Yes, I suppose I've heard all I need to. good afternoon, Lieutenant."

You spend another four days in the hospital (a total of three weeks) before being discharged, your wounds nearly closed and needing only basic dressings changed daily, along with a new list of dietary requirements and a prescription for mild painkillers.

Before your dismissal Major Sato pays you a visit, assuring you that there will be no further repercussions from this incident. You express your desire to get back in shape as soon as possible, but he insists that you take some paid leave. It's either that or see the unit therapist, and you've never been a fan of shirinks... the one time you visited one, at Mom's insistence, the bastard had the gall to suggest you were "acting out a sublimated attraction to your late father."

So, another two weeks of downtime and nowhere to be except 'not on base'. Just great.

####################

So, what do you want to do? (some of these will leave time for other options)

- Try to reconnect with your family (brother or father's new family?)
- Have a talk with Ishida
- Visit Hanzo or Hiroshi's families
- Revisit the refugee camp
- Investigate III
- Take an actual vacation for once
- (Suggestions?)
Rest In Peace ~ 1978 - 2017
"I'd consider myself a realist, alright? but in philosophical terms I'm what's called a pessimist. It means I'm bad at parties." - Rust Cohle
"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize that half of 'em are stupider than that." - George Carlin
"The internet: It's like a training camp for never amounting to anything." - Oglaf
"I think internet message boards and the like are dangerous." - Anno

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Postby User-iel » Fri Oct 23, 2009 4:35 am

I'm still game, but I won't drag you by your keyboard if it's going to die. I decide to await two more participants, as a respect to the general form. I'm watching the thread.

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Postby Chowwow » Fri Oct 23, 2009 11:46 am

Dammit, stop relying on me to pop in all the time!

- Have a talk with Ishida

It's hard, but I'd like to see what's up with who.

NemZ
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Postby NemZ » Sun Oct 25, 2009 4:13 pm

Game Over

####################

So what went wrong?

- The established audience for the CYOA craze is not oriented towards darker, grittier stories and the existing romance/comedy ones already scared away anyone who might have appreciated this by association.

- The idea of starting the story well before the cannon (and thus not having most of the cast available from day 1) offers too few hooks for fans to latch onto.

- Starting off the story on a sour note to set up a redemption/revenge motive, while perfectly acceptible in standard fiction, is unpalatable in a gaming scenario because the audience expects to win early and often.

- Denying people the use of their fan knowledge by setting the story in a significantly different AU (and thus forcing them to play the game fairly) is a turn-off to audience members who just want to have cheap, easy fun.

- Misato isn't appreciated as more than eye candy and plot device despite being arguably the only hero in the series.

- I just suck at this.

- (Suggestions?)
Rest In Peace ~ 1978 - 2017
"I'd consider myself a realist, alright? but in philosophical terms I'm what's called a pessimist. It means I'm bad at parties." - Rust Cohle
"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize that half of 'em are stupider than that." - George Carlin
"The internet: It's like a training camp for never amounting to anything." - Oglaf
"I think internet message boards and the like are dangerous." - Anno

Great Genius Shinji-Sama
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Postby Great Genius Shinji-Sama » Sun Oct 25, 2009 6:00 pm

You don't suck. I know Ive got two up here, but they may have just had a too full plate with everything else weve got going. :shrug: Granted I could've posted here more. Now my tastes, and to be honest my preferences obviously fall towards lighter stuff, thuogh some of my posts in Vegeta's RP as Shinji are less then light. But that doesn't mean it was a bad or illconcieved idea NemZ. Dont get too discouraged. :huggles: *virtual hug* :thumbsup:
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NemZ
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Postby NemZ » Sun Oct 25, 2009 7:09 pm

I'm more disappointed than discouraged.
Rest In Peace ~ 1978 - 2017
"I'd consider myself a realist, alright? but in philosophical terms I'm what's called a pessimist. It means I'm bad at parties." - Rust Cohle
"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize that half of 'em are stupider than that." - George Carlin
"The internet: It's like a training camp for never amounting to anything." - Oglaf
"I think internet message boards and the like are dangerous." - Anno

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Postby User-iel » Mon Oct 26, 2009 12:54 am

There's no way you suck at this. Period. And actually, nothing 'went wrong.' In any social endeavor, their are seasons. Or to go all out-
H.P. Lovecraft wrote:... and when the stars are not right, they can not.. live.

Probably too crowded a field at this moment. Thank you for an honest effort.

NemZ
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Postby NemZ » Mon Oct 26, 2009 2:57 am

eh, I'm not really taking it out on myself, no worries.

Thanks to everyone who gave this a shot. It was fun while it lasted.
Rest In Peace ~ 1978 - 2017
"I'd consider myself a realist, alright? but in philosophical terms I'm what's called a pessimist. It means I'm bad at parties." - Rust Cohle
"Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize that half of 'em are stupider than that." - George Carlin
"The internet: It's like a training camp for never amounting to anything." - Oglaf
"I think internet message boards and the like are dangerous." - Anno

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Postby SaltyJoe » Mon Oct 26, 2009 4:00 am

Aww, nutbunnies. It was a refreshing try, though.

NemZ wrote:- Misato isn't appreciated as more than eye candy and plot device despite being arguably the only hero in the series.

A crying shame, really. I would argue that she's not only the most straightforward "hero" in the story, but also the most layered and real character after Shinji.
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it is too dark to read."

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Postby Chowwow » Mon Oct 26, 2009 9:53 pm

NemZ wrote:Game Over


God dammit. I'm sorry that you got screwed over by this trend; I'm surprised that not too many people voted for this. For once, I thought people would be really interested in something more complex and serious.

I, for one, was really intrigued by this CYOA: it was a lot deeper and richer and the stakes just seemed a bit higher. I really appreciated the effort you put into this and how you made a more 3-dimensional world. I really wanted to know how this would go, but I just couldn't be bothered to keep voting on this all the time (I do have classes and the LDC to keep up).

NemZ wrote:- Starting off the story on a sour note to set up a redemption/revenge motive, while perfectly acceptable in standard fiction, is unpalatable in a gaming scenario because the audience expects to win early and often.


I admit the start perturbed me, as you could see from my reactions, but that just made the story a lot more serious for me: I was dead set on making more informed decisions in the future that would render my allies triumphant and my enemies ground into dust.

NemZ wrote:- Misato isn't appreciated as more than eye candy and plot device despite being arguably the only hero in the series.


I love Misato (as a character)! I really wanted to see how things could be affected with her perspective, as this was a fresh and new one!

Overall, you did drum-up an early fan base, it just did not build up as quickly as the other CYOAs. Perhaps if you had given it a little more time, things would have come around.


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