[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

[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?

[ghostharasser]

Hey man, I don't think we need to go that far. People like her are something to admire, not tear down.

[unheiring]

Admire her all you wish. It does not change the fact that people like her get good people killed.

Save your altruism for somewhere less dangerous.

[ghostharasser]

[Luca stop projecting challenge: impossible.]

I really think you're jumping the gun, but sure whatever.

[magicalsplashflare]

Y-you're already jumping to extremes! I said earlier to Mister Roughwood [ Wolfwood- ] that if things got too hostile I would be fine to distract the Warden if we ran into it. [ Which Mamika believes is probably an inevitability. If it was the one who hid the swords, then it's likely also been put in charge to protect them, right? Logically, that made sense to her. ] I'm offering to be the one to speak, but do you think if it's standing between us and our goal that the best course of action is just to go charging in? To run away and leave Mister Zahlena's swords?

I... I even asked him if he thought it was worth giving a try! Why are you so against it?

[unheiring]

I don't want to see more good people die based off of baseless idealism.

[It takes Luca a second to realize what he's said. He snaps his mouth shut, hard enough for his teeth to clank and his tongue to catch. He swiftly turns his head away from the group. He winces as the taste of blood fills his mouth.]

I will not take your choice from you. Especially if Ahli sees no harm. But I advise you to think hard on what misfortune may come should you so willingly throw yourself to the wolves.

[magicalsplashflare]

If that's your way of saying "sorry", I've already forgiven you. I just think you shouldn't immediately jump to the worst possible conclusion - I can only imagine what that's doing for your state of mind.

I won't do anything to put anything in danger. I'm not going to sacrifice anything to try and be kind. It's... it's why I asked if we thought it was something worth doing, and had a conversation about it. Which I think provided a lot of constructive things to the group.

But everything you've said has just been destructive. To rile emotions and make people feel bad, as if it's stupid that they think this way. Why would you do that?

[unheiring]

[For just a moment, Luca's expression twists. There's a brief second in which he almost seems willing to say something, to answer her question legitimately. His lips part, before swiftly pressing into a thin line, then twisting into a wry smirk.]

I do not recall that being any of your business. [He waves her off.] And since you and I have nothing more to discuss, we can call this conversation over.

1/2

[purifier]

[ 🧍‍♂️ ]

[start_again]

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