[ calm down whispers he didn't need that much of an incentive, he'll take the cursed-ass sword. this isn't even the first time he takes a quest to kill a teenage girl he will just find a way around it!!!! this will NEVER backfire!!!! ]
[ this will NEVER backfire! the whispers only get stronger when cloud takes the sword though, which i'm sure does great with all the other voices in his head.
he'll find that the sword is heavier than he's used to... but the longer that he holds onto it, the longer that he's away from the merchant that it belongs to without completing his end of the deal—the bloodthirstier he gets. insurance. love it. for now, it starts with a little kick to his step at the idea of picking a fight. ]
[ "the voices in your head are bloodthirsty and make you want to pick a fight" how is this new in any way.
off he goes to try to find friends to NICELY GET THEIR STUFF. how heavy is heavier than he's used to. can he still twirl it dramatically. does it just fatigue him easier. anyway he's gonna go check out the beach first to see if he can find either of the girls. also because the 5% part of him that is sane is saying they can always just yeet the damn sword into the ocean and grab a beach umbrella like last time, why are we doing this
shut up 5% part of his brain that is sane he can have his cake and eat it too. maybe he can pick a fight with unrelated demons. ]
[ cloud your brain soup is truly fucking crazy. off to the beach he goes though!! it'd actually be a nice beach if this weren't some insane demon tournament island.
but because this is a cyoa, it's not terribly hard to find either of the girls. they're toward a series of rock formations more than on the beach properly, the two of them conversing with each other as laudna tries to embue some of nona's arrows with a mystical dnd magic (i can't read up on every canon it's fine) ]
[ don't look at his brain soup, it's boiling right now with the like 4 different effects he's under. it's fine. it's also fine not to google for nona and laudna, because i don't know their canons.
anyway cloud has fucking, magnets on his back or something, sword goes on the back as he heads over to the girls. that's how it stays up. i'm letting this happen. he knows them and they are (maybe?) (probably) not real, as the voice in his head keeps repeating, nothing is real kill everyone burn it all down blablaBLA, but that does not mean he currently wants to kill them, so. just approaching friendly thinking about how he wants a fight but he doesn't want to fight either of them. partially because laudna has a strength stat of 2, it wouldn't even be fun.
thinks very strongly about whether this stupid heavy sword is worth it ]
[ the two of them startle when approached and immediately move defensively—i wonder what they've been through—before some realization strikes in their eyes. nona moves forward first, eager as always ]
What are you doing here? [ his team is the only human team or something, that was part of the lore of this tournament, and they looked afraid and he's actually such a sap that girl in trouble does ping him in his sanity. ] You got on someone's bad side pretty quick.
We needed to get something to defend ourselves with... We were able to hand some stuff over for a trade, but were trying to figure out how to get money for the rest of the payment.
[ nona is a good girl who would still try to pay the demons...
meanwhile, laudna is watching cloud, wary. still not approaching as she wears a puzzled expression on her face that has traces of... nervousness ]
[ no my laudna don't be wary 🥺 i say as he is literally carrying a cursed sword to murder them ]
Yeah. I heard about that. Demon's pretty impatient--he wants payment right away. [ hmmm. hmmmmmm. ] How much do you owe him?
[ the demon did not say and cloud is like. calculating something. you know how he wants a fight and is feeling a lil bloodthirsty and whatever. and this sword is lame. not as good as the zappy sword.
cloud is now immediately considering if he can go back and give the demon back his payment by stabbing him that seems the well thought-out course of action here ]
[ oh. for specific cr reasons this is actually very hurtful coming from laudna, probably more than it would be coming from nearly anyone else, and there's a flash of that in cloud's expression. there's a flash of it in the whispers in his head, too. of course she thinks so, cloud. you're the same as i am. she knows that more than anyone, doesn't she? she's seen it. you don't care about them. you'll cut them down when they're in your way. not that it matters, does it? they're not even real.
shut up. shut up, shut up. shut up. he's not. he wants to fight but it's himself, now. or the voices inside himself.]
... I wouldn't.
[ it feels like a weak plea. he kind of hates that too. he takes a step back, trying to show he's not dangerous to them.
(you are, though) ]
I'm asking because you're in danger. He hired me to get it back. He's not planning to wait for you guys to pony up. But if you don't have the money, we can find another way.
[ he wants to go back to haggling with zero money this sucks actually. his hand flexes. okay, well. it's fine. it would've been easier to get them out of trouble if he knew more about the situation, and it's. annoying and not at all hurtful that that's apparently not an option, but he had a plan b anyway. it's a very valid plan b where he tries to see if he can return the sword personally to its owner via stabbing. again absolutely NOTHING can backfire in doing a public marketplace murder ]
... Do what you want. I'll deal with it myself. [ he wants to fight, it boils and bubbles under his skin, but he doesn't want to fight them like this. with the fear. (doesn't want to fight them in general, keep it together.) ] If they've signed you up for that tournament--withdraw. You won't make it.
[ maybe that's not why they wanted the weapons. maybe it was just in general. but just in case? sure. whatever. anyway about to make a real good life decision by turning around to head back to the marketplace with his brain full of angry bees ]
[ surely nothing can go wrong here!! laudna will continue to keep nona close to her—and the trepidation is obvious in her eyes. did she do the right thing? was it wrong to turn down cloud's help? she's not sure but... she has to stuck with her gut.
she turns away, but keeps her hand on nona's shoulder to prevent her from running forward again. nona speaks up ]
Thanks for the vote of confidence... [ a little dry. mostly just sad. ] ... be careful too, Cloud...
[ she looks between cloud and laudna before trying to mouth to cloud 'i'll fix it' before letting herself be led away ]
[ a little curt but that is what he would say no matter what. he's FINE nothing needs FIXING who needs EMOTIONS ANYWAY.
he is going back to the sword shop!!! depending on this demon's greeting he is probably getting a sword straight to the body but maybe cloud will do a cool quip before hand who knows but i have not been kidding the voices in his head are telling him this is his best idea today ]
thanks cloud!!!!! the sword does get impaled in the guy's stomach, that's cool, that's fun. however, it also starts to glow red. the initial incantation was from his blood after all.
those bloodthirsty thoughts get dialed to the MAX—but they're tempered by the sudden shock of pain that goes up his sword arm. it'll feel like it's inflamed every time that he moves in, every single nerve crying out for relief that'll never come. i believe in him to power through it, but oh baby will this one hurt like a bitch.
the demons start to get worked up themselves, seeing one of their merchants just fucking die.
"Isn't that the human?!" "Which human?" "The one with the stupid team name! Noodle Doodles?!" "Shut up and catch him already!!"
cloud can have a little brawl as a treat before match start ]
[ wow! THIS FUCKING HURTS. he probably should've expected that! that does not make it any less painful. holy shit. he absolutely can power through it but he has to take at least five seconds to grasp at his arm and swear and regret some life decisions that have lead him here. does it still hurt if he drops the claymore to grab the zappy sword instead? it's a blood curse so probably but consider
i just really want the zappy sword. for fun. :(
anyway yeah after his initial bout of pain (and potentially sword switching, for fun 🥺) he is going to fight anyone coming after him! he might not have as easy a time with this heavy sword as usual between the pain and how it's heavier than he is used to, but he is driven by blood lust and it makes his brain go brrrrr
which is to say he is going for the kill on anyone coming close enough instead of trying to knock them out or something. even though they are having a completely normal response to a dude murdering a guy in broad daylight but they are demons and it's not like anything is real or matters anyway right!! ha ha ha stab. if they manage to hit him that just means they deserve to be stabbed MORE
i don't know how he's ever making it to the tournament he's busy brawling innocent(?) demons ]
[ it's a blood curse so cloud's arm is definitely still quite fucked up, but you know what zia, go ahead and take the zappy sword you've worked hard enough for this one. the blood curse will still persist though, making all of these swings and motions so insanely painful for him.
the demons will try to restrain him, charging in large numbers. they are nameless goon demons, but they still have razor sharp claws that try to get at his face, or long scaled tails that curl around his ankle and try to get him off balance. maybe this is the real tournament? how is he feeling about 1 vs 50? ]
every single swing of it makes him feel like his arm is being ripped off but it's fine it's like using that accessory that makes you be at 1hp and cursed to fuck at the start of a battle solely so your stats go up! his stats didn't go up at all so there is only the downside but it is the SAME THING. he can POWER THROUGH THIS.
his bloodlust tells him this is baby numbers. he's also acting like it's baby numbers, cutting people down with deadly precision and rolling with the (spiky, hurtful, more clawing than not, he is accumulating scratches like crazy) punches. even when he falters due to being rudely moved off balance he will it's not a hail of bullets so he's fine. it's just a flesh wound! he would normally be better at dodging but he is having a rough day body wise. for like. two curses. three curses. i forget.
also his zappy sword is being abused of its zappy powers he will electrocute people as necessary, and the necessity is, always. it is always.
fifty demons is fine. if [static noise] could handle an army, he can do this much. he's soldier too. he doesn't currently remember who fought an army but then he thinks oh, right, surely he was thinking of sephiroth, but that comparison is bad and he hates it, so he does not linger on how he also did not see sephiroth fight back an army at any point in time. that's fine! it means he also does not linger on how he is kind of moving like sephiroth when he is doing this cool fun murder spree.
stab stab stabbity stab stab stab. demon and cloud blood spraying all over the merchandise. this was unnecessary in all ways aventurine has a spare sword. ]
[ stabby stabby stab truly this is so funny because aventurine doesn't even want his sword. what about your gun, cloud. what about it. but fifty demons go down—not without clawing at cloud, leaving scratches on his arms and neck, but they get zapped before they managed to hit anything vital. that's good. but oh man, is he bloody. just the bloodiest little guy
but as people start to regard cloud with fear—maybe that guy's the real demon, what the hell why is he so strong, what kind of monster has he been made into—he might be able to hear the sound of a tv playing nearby.
a chorus of cheers, rowdy and loud. a match ending. then the announcer goes: ]
And soon! Our Invited Guests team with two human participants will take the stage! The Nood Doods!
[ whoa cloud that's you maybe it's time to head to the arena with this sword and your new fancy blood curse ]
[ he is a monster... and normally this reaction from literal demons might cause some Feelings or whatever but he's distracted by the announcement. wow that's embarrassing, imagine being on a team named the nood doods
wait
didn't everyone say he's the human participant
SHIT
'scuse him he has to go get to his tournament DOES HE EVEN HAVE TIME TO CHANGE OH WELL ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Guess we've got a deal.
[ yay! he's gonna stab someone with this ]
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he'll find that the sword is heavier than he's used to... but the longer that he holds onto it, the longer that he's away from the merchant that it belongs to without completing his end of the deal—the bloodthirstier he gets. insurance. love it. for now, it starts with a little kick to his step at the idea of picking a fight. ]
Off you go then.
[ woohoo time to go kill some friends cloud ]
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off he goes to try to find friends to NICELY GET THEIR STUFF. how heavy is heavier than he's used to. can he still twirl it dramatically. does it just fatigue him easier. anyway he's gonna go check out the beach first to see if he can find either of the girls. also because the 5% part of him that is sane is saying they can always just yeet the damn sword into the ocean and grab a beach umbrella like last time, why are we doing this
shut up 5% part of his brain that is sane he can have his cake and eat it too. maybe he can pick a fight with unrelated demons. ]
no subject
but because this is a cyoa, it's not terribly hard to find either of the girls. they're toward a series of rock formations more than on the beach properly, the two of them conversing with each other as laudna tries to embue some of nona's arrows with a mystical dnd magic (i can't read up on every canon it's fine) ]
no subject
anyway cloud has fucking, magnets on his back or something, sword goes on the back as he heads over to the girls. that's how it stays up. i'm letting this happen. he knows them and they are (maybe?) (probably) not real, as the voice in his head keeps repeating, nothing is real kill everyone burn it all down blablaBLA, but that does not mean he currently wants to kill them, so. just approaching friendly thinking about how he wants a fight but he doesn't want to fight either of them. partially because laudna has a strength stat of 2, it wouldn't even be fun.
thinks very strongly about whether this stupid heavy sword is worth it ]
Hey. You guys got a minute?
no subject
Cloud? You're here too—did you get a new sword?
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[ he is observing them with a frown ]
What are you doing here? [ his team is the only human team or something, that was part of the lore of this tournament, and they looked afraid and he's actually such a sap that girl in trouble does ping him in his sanity. ] You got on someone's bad side pretty quick.
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[ nona is a good girl who would still try to pay the demons...
meanwhile, laudna is watching cloud, wary. still not approaching as she wears a puzzled expression on her face that has traces of... nervousness ]
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Yeah. I heard about that. Demon's pretty impatient--he wants payment right away. [ hmmm. hmmmmmm. ] How much do you owe him?
[ the demon did not say and cloud is like. calculating something. you know how he wants a fight and is feeling a lil bloodthirsty and whatever. and this sword is lame. not as good as the zappy sword.
cloud is now immediately considering if he can go back and give the demon back his payment by stabbing him that seems the well thought-out course of action here ]
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For both of ours? Maybe about—
Nona, get back here.
[ laudna interrupts her, surprising nona as laudna continues to watch cloud with an uncertain, cautious expression ]
He could hurt us.
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shut up. shut up, shut up. shut up. he's not. he wants to fight but it's himself, now. or the voices inside himself.]
... I wouldn't.
[ it feels like a weak plea. he kind of hates that too. he takes a step back, trying to show he's not dangerous to them.
(you are, though) ]
I'm asking because you're in danger. He hired me to get it back. He's not planning to wait for you guys to pony up. But if you don't have the money, we can find another way.
no subject
W-Wait Cloud, I'm sure there's a way we can—
[ laudna's movement is more abrupt. desperate. she grabs onto nona's hand and yanks her back before she can reach cloud. ]
Nona! Something's wrong. We can't trust him. Not—not right now.
[ she looks upon him with an emotion that can only be called fear. and yet, there is guilt there, too. she wants to trust him. but.
she can't. she can't let nona trust him either. ]
We can figure this out on our own. Without him.
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... Do what you want. I'll deal with it myself. [ he wants to fight, it boils and bubbles under his skin, but he doesn't want to fight them like this. with the fear. (doesn't want to fight them in general, keep it together.) ] If they've signed you up for that tournament--withdraw. You won't make it.
[ maybe that's not why they wanted the weapons. maybe it was just in general. but just in case? sure. whatever. anyway about to make a real good life decision by turning around to head back to the marketplace with his brain full of angry bees ]
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she turns away, but keeps her hand on nona's shoulder to prevent her from running forward again. nona speaks up ]
Thanks for the vote of confidence... [ a little dry. mostly just sad. ] ... be careful too, Cloud...
[ she looks between cloud and laudna before trying to mouth to cloud 'i'll fix it' before letting herself be led away ]
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[ a little curt but that is what he would say no matter what. he's FINE nothing needs FIXING who needs EMOTIONS ANYWAY.
he is going back to the sword shop!!! depending on this demon's greeting he is probably getting a sword straight to the body but maybe cloud will do a cool quip before hand who knows but i have not been kidding the voices in his head are telling him this is his best idea today ]
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in a slightly more toned down version from rihanna's classic hit: ]
Brat, do you have my money?
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[ anyway he attempts to return it in the guy's stomach let's see if this works bye ]
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thanks cloud!!!!! the sword does get impaled in the guy's stomach, that's cool, that's fun. however, it also starts to glow red. the initial incantation was from his blood after all.
those bloodthirsty thoughts get dialed to the MAX—but they're tempered by the sudden shock of pain that goes up his sword arm. it'll feel like it's inflamed every time that he moves in, every single nerve crying out for relief that'll never come. i believe in him to power through it, but oh baby will this one hurt like a bitch.
the demons start to get worked up themselves, seeing one of their merchants just fucking die.
"Isn't that the human?!"
"Which human?"
"The one with the stupid team name! Noodle Doodles?!"
"Shut up and catch him already!!"
cloud can have a little brawl as a treat before match start ]
no subject
i just really want the zappy sword. for fun. :(
anyway yeah after his initial bout of pain (and potentially sword switching, for fun 🥺) he is going to fight anyone coming after him! he might not have as easy a time with this heavy sword as usual between the pain and how it's heavier than he is used to, but he is driven by blood lust and it makes his brain go brrrrr
which is to say he is going for the kill on anyone coming close enough instead of trying to knock them out or something. even though they are having a completely normal response to a dude murdering a guy in broad daylight but they are demons and it's not like anything is real or matters anyway right!! ha ha ha stab. if they manage to hit him that just means they deserve to be stabbed MORE
i don't know how he's ever making it to the tournament he's busy brawling innocent(?) demons ]
no subject
the demons will try to restrain him, charging in large numbers. they are nameless goon demons, but they still have razor sharp claws that try to get at his face, or long scaled tails that curl around his ankle and try to get him off balance. maybe this is the real tournament? how is he feeling about 1 vs 50? ]
no subject
every single swing of it makes him feel like his arm is being ripped off but it's fine it's like using that accessory that makes you be at 1hp and cursed to fuck at the start of a battle solely so your stats go up! his stats didn't go up at all so there is only the downside but it is the SAME THING. he can POWER THROUGH THIS.
his bloodlust tells him this is baby numbers. he's also acting like it's baby numbers, cutting people down with deadly precision and rolling with the (spiky, hurtful, more clawing than not, he is accumulating scratches like crazy) punches. even when he falters due to being rudely moved off balance he will it's not a hail of bullets so he's fine. it's just a flesh wound! he would normally be better at dodging but he is having a rough day body wise. for like. two curses. three curses. i forget.
also his zappy sword is being abused of its zappy powers he will electrocute people as necessary, and the necessity is, always. it is always.
fifty demons is fine. if [static noise] could handle an army, he can do this much. he's soldier too. he doesn't currently remember who fought an army but then he thinks oh, right, surely he was thinking of sephiroth, but that comparison is bad and he hates it, so he does not linger on how he also did not see sephiroth fight back an army at any point in time. that's fine! it means he also does not linger on how he is kind of moving like sephiroth when he is doing this cool fun murder spree.
stab stab stabbity stab stab stab. demon and cloud blood spraying all over the merchandise. this was unnecessary in all ways aventurine has a spare sword. ]
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but as people start to regard cloud with fear—maybe that guy's the real demon, what the hell why is he so strong, what kind of monster has he been made into—he might be able to hear the sound of a tv playing nearby.
a chorus of cheers, rowdy and loud. a match ending. then the announcer goes: ]
And soon! Our Invited Guests team with two human participants will take the stage! The Nood Doods!
[ whoa cloud that's you maybe it's time to head to the arena with this sword and your new fancy blood curse ]
no subject
wait
didn't everyone say he's the human participant
SHIT
'scuse him he has to go get to his tournament DOES HE EVEN HAVE TIME TO CHANGE OH WELL ]