M A T E R I A
Although dependent on your own limits involving mana, something that the Science Department quantifies as MP, magic and materia affinity is a skill like any other.
If you don’t care to put the work in, in a best-case scenario casting something as simple as a cure for a scrapped knee will have you feeling spent, and in a worst-case scenario, any attempt at elemental based magic will lead to an uncontrolled spell that turns on you and spends the entirety of your magic reserves at once, leaving you susceptible to burn out.
SOLDIER RECRUIT, KUNSEL ZANTOS
[ AGE 14 | LVL 8 | HP 295 | MP 58 ]
MATERIA: [ NONE ]
When he started out as a 3RD Class, Kunsel never had much exposure to materia outside of the pair of Restore and Esuna that his mother owned in case of an emergency, and even then it was hammered into his head that he shouldn’t rely on magic should he get injured. (Some things are best left to the hands of qualified professionals, and magic cares not if something heals wrong as long as it heals.)
His stats, as well, weren’t particularly awe-worthy – slightly below average for his age range, even. But while others were busy underestimating just how much power a shiny orb held, Kunsel listened. He followed instructions.
It came easy.
Although limited by his MP, Kunsel’s instructor said he showed promise, and that alone drove Kunsel to study it further – part of him said that it was so that he could help others learn, while another, smugger part of him just wanted to be better than them.
SOLDIER 2C KUNSEL ZANTOS
[ AGE 18-21 | LVL 64 | HP 5589 | MP 507 ]
MATERIA: [ LIBRA ] [ EXIT ] [ RESTORE ]
By Crisis Core, Kunsel has somewhat reached a plateau in his leveling. He’s found what works for him, and little out there challenges him in an engaging way. He has very little interest in becoming a 1ST CLASS operative, and so his time and focus are spent elsewhere: teaching others and snooping.
For materia, this means that although his equipment changes depending on each assignment, always keeping in mind a location’s fauna & their abilities/weaknesses, there are three that Kunsel always has on him.
LIBRA, MASTERED
a SOLDIER specific iteration of a Sense materia, giving information that could overwhelm those not familiar with its specialized functions.
EXIT, LVL 2
it’s important to always have a back-up plan, and Kunsel likes a dramatic exit.
RESTORE, LVL 2
if you don’t have a restore materia with you, no matter the mission, you’re asking for trouble.
He’s got secondary favorites, and these are Barrier, Elemental, Time, and Seal. To Kunsel, materia is just another tool, and he uses it more to enhance himself and drag others down. (An advantage is an advantage.)
Other materia depends on what he’s going to be fighting, but even so, Kunsel tries to switch his materia out regularly – they can only level up through use, and he wants them all to be around the same level of usefulness.
Whatever duplicates he can find Kunsel ‘donates’ it to the Materia Fusion department, where he’s got an 'acquaintance’… which means he’s made friends with one of the scientists that work in this subdivision of Weapons Development, and that even though only 1ST CLASS SOLDIERs are given permission to work with it, Kunsel has been messing with it for a while. Though if you ask him, he’s only been giving “suggestions”, and been allowed to keep the spoils.
SOLDIER 1C KUNSEL ZANTOS
[ AGE 21-25 | LVL 85 | HP 8080 | MP 771 ++ 1066 ]
MATERIA: [ LIBRA ] [ HEAL ] [ TIME ] [ DESTRUCT ]
MATERIA: [ RESTORE = ALL ] [ BARRIER = ALL ]
SUMMON: [ PHOENIX ]
Whether he was planning on ever reaching SOLDIER 1ST didn’t matter. Kunsel gets promoted two years post the Nibelheim mission where two great SOLDIERs were (supposedly) lost. A genuine effort on his part? Recognition for his efforts in teaching others? A desperate need to rebuild the numbers in a program left to rot when Professor Hojo loses interest in it? That didn’t matter either. Responsibility is thrust upon him, and Kunsel accepts it. Who better than him, to give the ranks direction? To set an example to follow?
Of course, he had to adapt how he worked and thought about combat, but always having been a schemer (or more nicely put, tactician) at heart, it doesn’t take Kunsel much time to settle into a new normal. Instead of solely focusing on buffing himself, Kunsel gives his entire party advantage, and this makes him and whoever he’s working with at the moment a bitch to deal with.
Some might wonder if this wouldn’t be heavily taxing on his MP reserves, and the answer is yes, definitely. If it weren’t for Materia Fusion, there is no way that Kunsel would’ve been able to keep any of this up for long without burning out. Years were spent mastering and fusing MP ++ materia after materia, and then experimenting with fusions until he got it right.
As his work is often team focused, Kunsel forgoes elemental materia of his own, and instead plans missions out accordingly with those in his party. Most of his is already mastered anyway, and any opportunity to cast magic is an opportunity for those below him to sharpen their skills.
So, for most intents and purposes, Kunsel’s usual pick looks something like this:
LIBRA, MASTERED
HEAL, LVL 3
TIME, MASTERED
DESTROY, LVL 3
RESTORE, MASTERED = ALL, MASTERED
BARRIER, MASTERED = ALL, MASTERED
both All materia have been fused with MP UP++ materia in the past, leading to a passive increase of 75% per materia, up to a total of 150%
The end result? Kunsel is a glass tank, a play on 'glass hammer’. He is his party’s backbone, and his extensive MP pool means he can and will outlast most encounters that they come across with barely a scratch on anyone, but he can be weakened and tired out. An exploitable weakness, should you figure it out, is that although immune to the Silence status, he is harshly affected by having his MP taken, to the point where he’ll actually take physical damage as well – a trade-off for how much he’s buffed himself to be an asset.
The best bet to dealing with Kunsel is to drain him of his MP, and you can either manage that with spells or abilities of your own, or much more riskily, attempt to steal his materia. If successful, the immediate loss of MP will stagger him and leave him open to attacks. (And he’ll have one less magic buff.)
If the fight drags on too long and he’s not knocked down, should Kunsel be below 25% with most of his party down, he will pull out one last desperation move:
SUMMON: PHOENIX
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HEADCANON REGARDING ; NAPOLEON SOLO
napoleon’s kleptomania affects him in several different ways , depending on the situation . there’s definitely times when he just takes things because he likes the look of them or because he just can but , it’s most-likely something he can’t help , though , when he’s under more stress than usual and he can’t find an outlet for it .
talking isn’t how he expresses himself a lot - especially if it’s a personal , emotional stress - so you can expect to leave say a restaurant with him and find a few utensils in the pockets of his suit jacket or coat , simple because he might be worried and he couldn’t stop himself . it’s a compulsion and , unless he’s caught and told to return whatever he’s taken or stopped , then napoleon will take and take and take to comfort himself in times of heightened stress .
this goes into conjunction with the fact that solo’s hands are in his pockets a lot if he’s trying not to steal, compulsively . now, knowing napoleon , he’s either letting you know that he’s an arrogant guy or he’s trying to somewhat control his illness by means of self-restraint . but if your muse is preparing to leave him for a while or he , in turn , is preparing to leave them for a while , expect something to go missing because it helps to keep his worry low if he has something that belongs to your muse .
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