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 Welcome, reader, to Complex Mechanics Of Failure- a cyberpunk CYOA story I've had rattling around for a few years, and I want to get back into writing anyway. It's a little bit of Shadowrun, a little bit of Mirror's Edge, a whole lot of just being bad at things, some space shenanigans and intrigue, and, of course, time fuckery. If this is like any other CYOA writing community, I'm sure people have simply burnt out and stopped writing their stories at some point. My intent is at least a thousand words a week, hopefully more. But that's all later. For now... The first post of the story!
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Feb 25, 2020 01:39
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 19:33 |
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“poo poo.” You feel your knee buckle just as you need it to launch off the rooftop. “Shiiiiiiiiiiit.” There goes your other leg, though- it stuck to the plan and is outstretched over the gap, but, well, it got let down by its counterpart. Probably going to suffer for it, too. Good ol’ Lefty. Fuckin’ Righty. Can’t even carry its own weight. “poo poo!” Your right foot hits the small lip of the rooftop, completing the complex mechanics of failure that lead to becoming completely overbalanced, and going rear end-over-teakettle, face first, down at the grimy concrete alley below you. Even worse, the people who own the lovely tenement you’re falling off of, are actually up on trash pickup and basic maintenance- the dumpster below you is completely empty and devoid of anything smelly and cushioning. “gently caress!” Well, as you have it, your idiot brain reflexes are what saves the day- you flail about, and in so doing, slap your hands against a window. Hard. Incidentally, that’s exactly how you activate your fancy gripping gloves, by slapping them hard on a surface. Downside, there’s a bunch of momentum and- “Goddammit!” Yep, there’s the fire escape you hook with your foot, and it creaks, as your gloves let go and you bounce onto the rough metal of its one-floor-below descent-arresting companion. You have a great view of the dingy apartment inside, where one occupant is doubled over with laughter at your pratfall, and the other is reaching to her ear in the universal language of “making a phone call”, but her face says “to the cops” instead of “to the paramedics”. Time to go. With a glare at Righty, you swing your legs over the fire escape’s railing and drop the story or so to the ground. You, of course, collapse in a heap, because what did you honestly expect? Righty’s going to be a right pain this entire day and has been. You groan, and check the inside of your bag, fearfully. A couple buttons and snaps, and you’re into the false bottom- the fancy, and more relevantly, delicate prototype you were contracted to, ah, “covertly acquire without paying for”, is in two parts. It’ll buff out. Probably. That is some snapped-in-half circuit board, though. ...Maybe it’s worth burning that bridge with the OMI suit who contracted you for it. Alice & Bob’s would probably pay comparatively. You’ll need a new handle if you do that, though. Wouldn’t be the first time. And you’ll have to get that fuckin’ knee checked. Pick One, Part One: [ ] gently caress the corporate agent right in his “personhood”. Take the gadget to Alice & Bob’s. [ ] Yeah let’s not irritate one of the larger zaibatsu conglomerates- even if he is just a junior executive, he’s your ticket to the big money. Pick One, Part Two: [ ] Yeah, you’ll have to get that knee checked out by your mechanic. Who just happens to be your roommate. It’s probably your oldest piece of chrome at this point. [ ] Yeah, you’ll have to get that knee checked out by your sawbones buddy. Who just happens to be your roommate. She’ll either know how to fix it or to make the pain not matter. Pick Your Player, Part Three [ ] Give me your best cheesy cyberpunk name. Some thematic suggestions: Lady Blank, Zen Chip, Doctor Alias. Then, [ ] Male [ ] Female [ ] That doesn’t really matter anymore, does it?
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Feb 25, 2020 01:39
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Pick One, Part One: [ ] gently caress the corporate agent right in his “personhood”. Take the gadget to Alice & Bob’s. [X] Yeah let’s not irritate one of the larger zaibatsu conglomerates- even if he is just a junior executive, he’s your ticket to the big money. Don't gently caress your employer until you think he's looking to gently caress you. Can't slam that BETRAY button all the time, there'd be no work left. Pick One, Part Two: [X] Yeah, you’ll have to get that knee checked out by your mechanic. Who just happens to be your roommate. It’s probably your oldest piece of chrome at this point. [ ] Yeah, you’ll have to get that knee checked out by your sawbones buddy. Who just happens to be your roommate. She’ll either know how to fix it or to make the pain not matter. Shiny and chrome. Pick Your Player, Part Three [Tie Die] Give me your best cheesy cyberpunk name. Some thematic suggestions: Lady Blank, Zen Chip, Doctor Alias. Then, [ ] Male [ ] Female [X] That doesn’t really matter anymore, does it?
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Feb 25, 2020 01:57
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Pick One, Part One: [X] gently caress the corporate agent right in his “personhood”. Take the gadget to Alice & Bob’s. [ ] Yeah let’s not irritate one of the larger zaibatsu conglomerates- even if he is just a junior executive, he’s your ticket to the big money. Pick One, Part Two: [X] Yeah, you’ll have to get that knee checked out by your mechanic. Who just happens to be your roommate. It’s probably your oldest piece of chrome at this point. [ ] Yeah, you’ll have to get that knee checked out by your sawbones buddy. Who just happens to be your roommate. She’ll either know how to fix it or to make the pain not matter. Pick Your Player, Part Three [Haze Parabola] [ ] Male [ ] Female [X] That doesn’t really matter anymore, does it?
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Feb 25, 2020 01:57
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Pick One, Part One: [X] gently caress the corporate agent right in his “personhood”. Take the gadget to Alice & Bob’s. [ ] Yeah let’s not irritate one of the larger zaibatsu conglomerates- even if he is just a junior executive, he’s your ticket to the big money. Pick One, Part Two: [ ] Yeah, you’ll have to get that knee checked out by your mechanic. Who just happens to be your roommate. It’s probably your oldest piece of chrome at this point. [X] Yeah, you’ll have to get that knee checked out by your sawbones buddy. Who just happens to be your roommate. She’ll either know how to fix it or to make the pain not matter. Pick Your Player, Part Three [Shade Midnight] I own twenty seven trenchcoats and speak primarily in sighs. [ ] Male [ ] Female [X] That doesn’t really matter anymore, does it? Reclaimer fucked around with this message at 02:21 on Feb 25, 2020 |
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Feb 25, 2020 02:17
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Pick One, Part One: [X] gently caress the corporate agent right in his “personhood”. Take the gadget to Alice & Bob’s. Pick One, Part Two: [X] Yeah, you’ll have to get that knee checked out by your mechanic. Who just happens to be your roommate. It’s probably your oldest piece of chrome at this point. Pick Your Player, Part Three [Haze Parabola] [Male]
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Feb 25, 2020 02:28
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Junior exec Mechanic Haze Parabola Doesn’t matter
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Feb 25, 2020 04:30
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1 Junior Exec 2 Mechanic 3a Vale Burnheart 3b Don't matta (Suggestion: make voting easier on the readers with the way you label your options.)
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Feb 26, 2020 04:25
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Lux Animus posted:(Suggestion: make voting easier on the readers with the way you label your options.) Yeah, good call- this is just what I've been used to since forever. I'll make it easier. The multiple-part options should be rare-ish, though, the way I generally write. Anyway, flipped a coin to break the tie for Part 1, so we're doing this: Pick One, Part One: [ ] gently caress the corporate agent right in his “personhood”. Take the gadget to Alice & Bob’s. [X] Yeah let’s not irritate one of the larger zaibatsu conglomerates- even if he is just a junior executive, he’s your ticket to the big money. Pick One, Part Two: [X] Yeah, you’ll have to get that knee checked out by your mechanic. Who just happens to be your roommate. It’s probably your oldest piece of chrome at this point. [ ] Yeah, you’ll have to get that knee checked out by your sawbones buddy. Who just happens to be your roommate. She’ll either know how to fix it or to make the pain not matter. Pick Your Player, Part Three [Haze Parabola] [ ] Male [ ] Female [X] That doesn’t really matter anymore, does it?
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Feb 28, 2020 00:46
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“You tripped.” The OMI suit’s voice drips of disdain. “You couldn’t have, I don’t know, sacrificed one of your eminently replaceable parts and fallen on that?” Dick, you think. “I was being pursued. I made the,” and here you do the air quotes with your fingers for emphasis, “’executive decision’ to not get caught and bring back absolutely nothing for you. Also, I don’t know about you, but the last thing I want to do is be stuck in a Kaguya Electronics interrogation room while they question me about why I would ever steal a thing that’s very specific and I have no idea what it is or what it does.” Sure, you weren't actually being pursued, but he doesn't need to know that. The suit adjusts his shiny gold-plated watch, a gesture of either irritation or nervousness. You haven’t decided. “Yes. Well. I’m not paying you.” Mr. Zaibatsu Suit won’t meet your eyes. Your butt is firmly ensconced in the leather chair across from the suit’s desk. You sigh, lean back, and look around his office. The glass behind… poo poo, what even was his name? Takashi? Takamura? In a bored tone, you reply. “I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that, mister… Takashi? Could you repeat that last bit?” “Mister Takahashi. And I’m not paying you,” he says, with as much steel as he can muster behind his voice. Which isn’t much. You let the silence hang in the air a little bit longer as you act as though you’re fidgeting in your chair. The glass behind Takahashi is floor-to-ceiling plate glass, only a few stories up. It’s unlikely for a fall to be fatal from this height. The security camera in his office is very specifically pointed at the wall, likely Takahashi’s attempt at ‘discretion’. Like he didn’t walk me in through the front door with his own swipe card, you think. The device is sitting atop his desk, your bag hanging off the arm of your chair. The door to the office, sound-dampening walnut. The only problem you can think of offhand is that Takahashi might, just might have a panic button under his desk. He’s probably not particularly incentivised to press it, though, given that he likely hired you in order to undercut his boss, and may not appreciate any scrutiny. You sit up in the chair and fix Takahashi with a blank stare, and then smile broadly. “My apologies, Takahashi-san.” You speak the honorific with as much deference and sugar as you can. “If it’s not in acceptable condition, I shall take the product with me and go.” He didn’t pay you an advance anyway. Takahashi stands up. “Wait! Wait. No. This is still the property of OMI, now. I could pay you an in-kind consideration from Omni Manufacturing.” Ugh. “Company scrip? Surely you’re joking. Not without hazard pay.” Takahashi laughs, and walks over to the window with his back to you, and clasps his hands behind him as he stares out into the rainy night. “No, my friend, none of that. Simply that I’d keep you in the front of my mind for any future work I might need.” This dick isn’t even going to pay you. A. Accept his “gracious compensation”. It sure as poo poo doesn’t pay the bills, and it grates on you, but he might still turn out to be worth it. B. No deal. Take the broken bit of you-still-don’t-know-what-the-gently caress and leave… b1. Via the door. b2. Via the window. You brought your grippy gloves, remember? C. Perhaps he can be persuaded to reconsider. There’s no camera, and Takahashi isn’t near his desk and likely panic button. Shake the suit down for payment. You’re going to be taking his poo poo. Like his valuables. D. No deal. Take the broken bit of you-still-don’t-know-what-the-gently caress and leave with Takahashi. Via the window. Violently. E. Write-in.
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Feb 28, 2020 01:32
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D 
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Feb 28, 2020 01:56
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C The gently caress did he just say to us? When you hire a scumbag to steal poo poo for you, you do not take the poo poo and refuse payment. That is how you get tossed out your fancy window. We broke it, fine. He can take it or leave it as is. He wants us to leave with the thing, cool. But if it has value to him, he will loving pay for it. Make it very clear that the options are: 1. We leave with the product. 2. We leave with the money. 3. We leave with the product, the money, and a very hosed up suit.
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Feb 28, 2020 02:17
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Defenestration is a valid negotiating tactic.
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Feb 28, 2020 02:18
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Not Alex posted:E. Nice joke. Tell you what, I'll take product for product. Let's take a trip to maintenance and see what "fell off the truck." +1 malbogio fucked around with this message at 05:04 on Feb 28, 2020 |
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Feb 28, 2020 03:10
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E. Nice joke. Tell you what, I'll take product for product. Let's take a trip to maintenance and see what "fell off the truck."
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Feb 28, 2020 03:54
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D 
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Feb 28, 2020 03:58
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 19:33 |
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Not Alex posted:E. Nice joke. Tell you what, I'll take product for product. Let's take a trip to maintenance and see what "fell off the truck."
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Feb 28, 2020 13:45
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