[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

[theuniverseleads]

Maybe!! Faster, slower, different approaches get different results! Come on, I know this isn't your first time in a death loop. Try to keep up!!

[At least they're not sprinting to the other room for a third time... but they're still moving in that direction, albeit a tad more relaxed. Why hurry? This will get boring if Wolfwood just keeps shooting them, anyway.]

There's only one way out of here, so we'll have to go in there eventually~ Now, do you want me to scout out a safe path through, or do you want to give it a try yourself, hmmm?

I can tell you right now, it's going to be a looooot worse for you than it is for me. Are you sure that's what you want?

[lupusxylem]

Tch. You act like I ain't ever felt death before.

[Not counting the death-loop he was in during that dream...he's been "killed" hundreds of times, only to be brought back from the brink. He's probably the worst person to be asking that, in that regard.

But what he says next may not be what they're expecting, at least from a guy like him.]

I ain't worried about me. I'm worried about you puttin' everyone else in this buildin' in danger. Don't you care about that at all?

[Wolfwood doesn't think he has to gesture to his own bleeding face, but. He doubts Loop cares about him.

They do care about Siffrin, though, who is ostensibly still in the vicinity somewhere.]

[theuniverseleads]

[They scoff, clearly not that bothered by the bleeding. After all, it's pretty obvious—] That only happened because you tried to follow, didn't it? If you can't take the heat, don't stand next to the oven!

[They move to speak again, but an unexpected mental ring shakes their thoughts away from the conversation. They freeze, then quickly bring their hand up to their head, pinky and thumb sticking out.

They do care about Siffrin. They do, they do, they do]

Stardust, where are you?! Stardust? Stardust??

...

[They pull their hand-phone away, staring at it in a mix of distress and confusion. Why is this happening!!!!!]

[lupusxylem]

[Wolfwood believes so, yes. But that doesn't mean that something worse won't happen if they poke the proverbial bear again. Loop has not been here long enough to know the raw power the Creature has. They could snap each of them out of existence so much as look at them, and then where would they be? Sure, Wolfwood didn't get a clear look of the form that was being tortured in that other room, but he didn't need to to know that whatever is in there needs to be treated with a delicate hand. It takes a lot for a guy like him to say that.

Fortunately, it seems like something clicks in Loop's brain in-between sentences. Wolfwood's still glowering at them, but seeing their frantic calling for Siffrin gives him the hook he needs.]

You see? You need to calm down. I ain't sayin' we're just gonna stay in this room all day, but if you keep rushin' ahead without us and gettin' yourself blasted apart, there's no tellin' what's gonna start happenin'. That might be a risk you're willin' to take, but I'm not.

[theuniverseleads]

[They keep staring at their hand, silent as Wolfwood tears them down. He doesn't get it—everyone will be fine, because they can start again! No one has to get hurt, because they can start again! So it's fine!! It's what they were made to do, what the Universe wants them to do! And they're so good at it, it doesn't even scare them! And if it scares everyone else, then they can start again! And if anyone gets hurt, then they start again! And if they mess it up, then they can start again! And

Loop

takes a deep breath in, and out... and again, and again, until their head stops buzzing like a bugzapper. Then they slowly lower themselves to the floor.

...

Haha, wow, maybe they shouldn't do that again after all.

They take a minute to suppress the rest of their horrible thoughts before trying to think of an appropriate answer. They don't come up with anything. That's probably fair.

They think about the stranger in the room, instead.]

... it was bound to an altar. I think. Vines and... some sort of Craft?

It didn't attack until I got close.

[lupusxylem]

[He's surprised that worked. If it didn't, he thinks he would have just stayed put and let Loop go, because the worst they could have done is just go get themselves vaporized again. Maybe Josh or Kiera would have been compelled to do something about it then, maybe not. He's not sure they're paying them any attention right now.

He takes a breath of his own, wiping blood off his nose again. He thinks the bleeding has stopped, and the blood in his eye has been washed away enough by his own tears that he's determined he wasn't blinded, so there's that at least. Only then will he start to push himself stiffly back to his feet, holstering his revolver for now.]

...it. So there is somethin' in there.

[The thing doing all of that screaming and crying, he reckons.]

What did it look like? A person? A beast?

[theuniverseleads]

A... person. Person-shaped. Lightless hair, dark skin.

[Not anyone they'd recognize by sight, but the part that killed them is enough of a hint for Loop. The fallen sun. The creature in the forest. They're familiar with what stars can do to the mortal form, so that much they can be certain of.

... they're glad Siffrin isn't here. He shouldn't have to know that feeling.]

We can't fight that. Getting around it is our only chance.

[lupusxylem]

[Hm. That's about what he figured, which means this is going to be worse than he thought. He doesn't even have to understand why exactly the Creature is in there to know that trying to get anywhere near will just result in more of the same that Loop experienced.]

We might not have to fight. But we need t'figure out what's goin' on here first before we do anythin' else.

[He's not entirely sure if what they're doing in this room will help at all, but it's better than getting blasted apart a third time.]

[theuniverseleads]

[Loop... nods, meekly. They can agree to that. The suicide plan can go on hold for now.

... well. Back to the stage.

They stand up as well, still focusing some attention on their (pointless) breathing. Okay. Okay, they can investigate some other leads first. That's a better place to start than— yeah.

They fold their arms, going over what else they've noticed in their mind. Well, most recently...]

I tried reaching out to Siffrin, but it was like something was... in the way? It's hard to describe. And he called back just a moment ago, but it didn't seem like he couldn't hear me.

[they look over at Josh, who's currently rubbing dusty crystals all over his hands] What about you? Have you tried contacting anyone yet?

[leggierissimo]

[ Listen those dusty crystals might be important, look at everything Loop this isn't just a time loop it's the Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew/nonbinary genderqueer version time loop-- ]

Hm?

[ Oh, are they done arguing now? The lack of gunshots should have tipped him off, but he's just so interested over here.]

Not yet. Too much gunshot interference, you know?

[ But, it wouldn't hurt to try... And, he could send it to all four of the missing party members for extra assurance that at least one of them receives it. Pressing the crystal between his fingers, he focuses on the surface of the altar as his mental hands reach out to establish a connection. He can feel the strands, can gather them in his hands...

'Howdy. We've been trying to reach you about your car's extended warranty.'

....

........

Nothing. He huffs out a sigh, putting down a crystal. ]

No answer. I guess we're more cut off than we thought.

[theuniverseleads]

Great. Just what we needed.

[They try not to think about how Siffrin sounded... panicked. Or why he would take so long to answer and then go silent like that, or...

... Nope! Not thinking about it at all!! anyway beiwe is probably talking by now thank u beiwe for this distraction]