[CLOSED] Zahliyaquest...2

[purifier]

Who: Zahliya, Luca, Joshua, Wolfwood, Dipper, Mamika, Siffrin, Loop, & Kiera
What: A gargoyle needs task-doers for character development
When: Mid-August, yes during the rainstorms, good luck
Where: ??? :)
Warnings: Typical Sticks trigger warnings apply, suicide, time loops resulting in multiple character deaths, Wolfwood just shot someone executioner style, more to be added


OOC notes, here is a rehash of your rules:

• Mod tags will come either a) after everyone involved has tagged in or b) after 24 hours have passed since the last mod tag. This means if you are absent for any reason, the thread WILL move on without you.
• Interaction in this log will be redeemable for MAIN AC, not just Bonus AC like most of our NPC threads.
• This questline will shape Zahliya's outcome for the rest of the game, and may or may not result in an almost-full Corruption cure and therefore gamewide impact. I will let people know midway through the quest if he's currently aimed at aggression/confidence/staying in the Grove, or if he's on passive/indecisive/leaving the Grove.
• The old OOC plotting post for this is here!

Comments

[lupusxylem]

[Wolfwood raises a brow, lifting the Punisher a bit higher over his shoulder.]

She ain't hurtin' anyone.

[Also some of us ARE technically children-]

[unheiring]

She's wasting valuable time instead of just coming out with it.

[lupusxylem]

Oh my bad, I didn't realize we were in a rush.

[Rolls his eyes]

Maybe we should all just yell at the same time then? That'll be more efficient, yeah?

[magicalsplashflare]

H-hey, don't fight. I'm sorry - I just didn't want to talk over others who probably had more important questions, that's all.

Mister... um... L...Lonnie? [ No- ] I'm real sorry, but you could be a little less rude when we're working together, yeah?

[unheiring]

[Stares at the child.

Stares at Wolfwood.

and then just rolls his eyes and stares at the sky. This is hell and he's in it.]

[magicalsplashflare]

[ You're the one who came on this adventure and chose violence, Lonnie, you only have yourself to blame- ]

Um, Mister Salowa, sir? I know you described what the Warden is but... what is he, like compared to... the Guardians? Is it one of those corrupted creatures in the forest, or is it like... mmh... it is to the forest guy that you are to the moon and sun sort of thing...?

[purifier]

Zahliya.

[She's trying so hard.]

To be honest with you, I'm not sure. I don't believe it's Corrupted, but it is powerful. It regenerates, and it's scared of Moder, so it's certainly not as powerful as one or multiple of us.

If I had to guess, it's my antithesis. I regenerate. It regenerates. Maybe we're supposed to be in some cosmic war or something. I'd rather not be forced to deal with it, though.

[magicalsplashflare]

Could we try... talking to it? Is that completely off the table...? I can't imagine the forest guy treats it all that well. Maybe it's got the rational thought enough to wanna make its own decisions like you, too?

[purifier]

If we encounter it, I permit you to try, but that thing isn't Corrupted and has its own free will. I doubt it will go well.

[lupusxylem]

So what you're sayin' is, we can't kill it. Or rather, maybe shouldn't try.

[But hey if it tries to kill them first sorry he's not holding back-]

[magicalsplashflare]

Or maybe... avoid it entirely if we can~? [ Optimistic smile paired with nervous chuckling. ] If we do run into it, though, I would like to try to speak with it. And if it won't listen, I can, at the very least, keep its attention while everyone gets away.

[lupusxylem]

No way.

[Okay dad-]

Practice what you preach, kid. If it’s hostile, don’t put yourself in harm’s way stupidly for no reason. We’re workin’ together to prevent that, not to make you be a decoy.

[magicalsplashflare]

I wouldn't be putting myself in harm's way. I don't have to do something dangerous to be a distraction, and I'm plenty capable of getting out if harm's way if I need to.

[ This is false, she's had to have her cool knight girlfriend save her from bad situations, but only because Mamika doesn't know when to try to diffuse a situation and when to run. ]

Besides, if we try to harm it, won't something bad happen? I think I remember reading about something like that in the notebook...

[lupusxylem]

Sorry to be that guy, but I ain't sure if I believe that.

[Sorry Mamika you are small.]

That's somethin' we'll just hafta deal with when the time comes. Hopefully it won't come to that, but. Yaknow. Just be prepared for anythin'.

[magicalsplashflare]

[ But daaaaaaaaaaad...

Mamika nods, anyway. ]

[theuniverseleads]

I'm against negotiating with giant monsters that want to kill us, just in general. We don't have to fight it, but we're not going out there to make friends either.

Isn't that right, stardust!! [elbows Siffrin in the ribs (again)]

[magicalsplashflare]

I'm not exactly thrilled to be interacting with anything that wants to kill us, but I think that if we're able to take a kinder approach, then in the end, it would provide us with an ally and... maybe we could hold onto hope that things will get better, if we can somehow achieve that much.

[unheiring]

I am inclined to agree. Especially when such entities have tried to kill us multiple times. If they are predisposed to negotiations, why should I offer the same.

[magicalsplashflare]

... It's thinking like that that causes problems to begin with.

[unheiring]

[At least his eyeroll is slightly more subtle this time.]

I was like you once, you know. Young. Idealistic. Do you know what it got me?

A harsh kick into reality.

So trust me. It is better to learn that there are those not worth saving now, than to come to terms with your lesson under more dire circumstances.

[cryopathy]

[just gonna chime in from behind him.]

You haven't even met the thing, yet you're already trying to kill it. "It" being a creature that, as your -- ugh -- partner -- [it's not you ahli it's the mere concept of romance -- ] just said, is injured and healed at the same rate he is.

The more tactical move is to leave combat for a last resort.

[unheiring]

[Momentary protective instincts abandoned, Luca is once more annoyed with Kiera.]

At which point did I say we needed to gather our arms and go to war? I was simply pointing out that naively trying to negotiate will put us further at risk than avoiding combat entirely.

[magicalsplashflare]

...You say that as if I hadn't also met harsh consequences for my beliefs. But I'm not going to let that deter me. Even if I can't fix things, or even if they aren't worth saving, or- or even if it's totally hopeless, I think not trying to do the right thing is when we lose ourselves.

I have to. Even if nobody else will.

[unheiring]

At what cost? If you wish to throw your own life away, by all means, do so. It will be no skin off my back.

[He casts his arm out wide, motioning to the group that's gathered.]

But when your actions jeopardize others, when someone else dies because you failed, what will you do then?

Are you ready to live with the weight of blood on your hands?

[start_again]

[Siffrin just gives them the absolute flattest look. Wow, rub it in harder.]