[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

[ghostharasser]

[Unfortunately, Dipper's weapon of choice isn't helpful for getting the vines down, between it's polearm and the shotgun form. Instead he pulls his coat off to use it as a barrier between his arms and the body of the poor fool they manage to cut loose.]

[Dipper expects the weight and gravity to hit him far harder than it does, and as he braces for it, the sheer lack is what almost causes him to lose his footing. With an unsteady breath he carefully sets down the person and waits by their side for Luca to do the same]

[Thank god Zahliya is aiming that fire at something other than them. Dipper's reflexes are good, but not that good, and he's barely got his hand on his gun before the fires take care of the vines.]

...Thanks man.

[Anyway, Luca asked a question-]

Sorry, I've only been studying it a little while and Pure Vanilla's disappeared so- [Wait is he doing what Dipper thinks he's doing.]

Hey, wait, let's see if Siffrin can help with his m- abilities first before we do that.

[start_again]

[The vines are disturbingly hard to cut. Siffrin has to swap between Crafting techniques a few times to manage it, and it takes all his focus to stay on task and not get distracted by what vines like that could do to a body – like the ones of his still-living allies that are hovering distressingly close to said vines ready to catch the near-corpses – but they manage eventually.

Switching quickly to healing Craft, Siffrin frowns as he works. He's definitely no Mirabelle, and this task only serves to highlight just how mediocre he is at healing in comparison.]

I'm already on–

[–Then they actually see what Luca is doing.]

Woah, stop, what are you doing?!

[They could have gone their whole life without knowing what burning human flesh smells like, thanks!!]

[purifier]

[Well. The good news? Is that the wounds are healed and or smoked like a ham??? The bad news is... uh. Everything else.

These people are too weak to really say much. One of them tries to manage words, but all that comes out is some gurgling. Either more work needs to be done, or maybe it's too late.]

I will look for your family members. Do not waste your time on the people who let the Black Sun out; there's no point to saving betrayers.

[unheiring]

[Luca opens his mouth to respond to Siffrin. Instead, he hears the wretched gurgling of the person within his arms and. His breath hitches. In that second, he isn't within this horrific temple, but worlds away. He holds a different man in his arms, one choking on blood and poison both. He tries so hard to speak to Luca, reaching toward his face, only to smear blood over it.

He barely has wherewithal to set his charge down gently. He backs away as fast as he can — watch out, he might ram into someone. Dimly, he manages -]

Someone else take over.

[And then he's heading out to check on Mamika for the time being.]

[magicalsplashflare]

[ Mamika is at the bottom of the steps, twisting her wand around nervously, in her hands still and looking out at the trees of the forest surrounding the temple, rather than back at the temple itself. She's still shaken, and had she given herself time to soak in the image of the gore within this place, it might've been seared in her head, but it's all a bit fuzzy now. She shouldn't have run away when the others are clearly doing everything they can, but even if Mamika stayed, it's not as though she had anything that would help. Only things that would cause problems.

Ugh...

She turns to look at Luca when she hears the footsteps, clearly on high alert. ] Sorry. I know I shouldn't have just left like that...

[unheiring]

[At first, Luca doesn't process what Mamika says. His skin feels like it's alive, covered in a static field that makes even the faint rustling of his clothes feel agonizing. He tries to focus on the distant trees, the sky, anything that feels unfamiliar, lest the more familiar memories within his head begin to overwhelm him.

It's only after the space of a few deep breaths that he realizes she's said something, and a few more until the words make sense. He can only let out a faint huff, probably meant to be a crude laugh, before shaking his head.]

It isn't as if I can judge. [He wrings his hands together.]

Are you okay? This is... new to you, is it not?

[magicalsplashflare]

[ Understatement of the century. Still, she didn't linger long enough to let it bother her. She'd barely even registered what was in the room before bolting out. She feels bad - especially for Dipper, who's a few months younger than her. But no matter what, she couldn't bring herself to stay...

She stares at Luca to gauge his own mental, frowning. Oh, she's abandoned all of them to handle that awful place, huh? Hhhh... ]

…

My world… the one my god made… no one bled.

[unheiring]

[Is it wrong to pity her? Luca isn't sure. He remembers being young and idealistic once. He remembers a time when no one around him could have fathomed bloodshed or betrayal. But even then, he'd known that outside of the idyllic life his father had carved out for him, there was cruelty. Blood could be shed.

If what Mamika said was as literal as it sounded, then hers was even more different than his own. Thus, to come across such barbery...]

No one should have to witness something like that. Especially not... [He trails off, then shakes his head.]

It explains why you wanted to avoid a fight earlier.

[magicalsplashflare]

No especially. [ She's very quick to interject, sitting upright now. ] No one should, you're right. No one should have to go through what they did, either. I- I can't even imagine the sort of person you'd have to be to inflict anything-...

[ She shudders, twisting her hands anxiously around her wand. ]

I don't think people should ever fight. Even when I wasn't in my world anymore - and even here. If people respond to violence with more violence, when does it stop? How do we expect to end the suffering with just more suffering?

[unheiring]

[Her vehement protest is a bit surprising. Luca leans back, studying Mamika just that little bit harder. Despite his earlier protests, though, there's no immediate need to scold her. If anything, there's a faintly sentimental look there.]

Would that it could be so. [He doesn't speak particularly loud, more musing to himself than anything. And when he opens his mouth, he sounds more unsure than anything.] I was not so different from you, some few years ago, you know.

[His eyes close.]

But before long I began to wonder if the need to hurt was only natural, when being hurt so much in kind.

[magicalsplashflare]

It isn't natural. No matter what, people are not inclined to hurt others unless they themselves have been hurt. That isn't to say I think all should be forgiven... I think it's hard to forgive the forest for what it did, but...

The other creations often said I was too naïve and idealistic, but I never understood why that was a bad thing. What would being bitter and jaded do, when I can try to fulfill my ideals instead?

[unheiring]

What would it do? [Luca's laugh is bitter, but it isn't directed at Mamika.]

For me, it became a way of filling the void that was left. Of letting out the sheer fury I had at a world who had taken everything for nothing. And if I could perhaps eke out revenge, I could keep other people from hurting as I had.

[His gaze is still distant.]

I suppose as a result, I left many others feeling the same way. [His sigh is bone deep.] How much have you lost in your life, Mamika?

[magicalsplashflare]

[ Mamika... is weirdly happy that Luca is opening up, actually. Even if it's not about a fun topic - it's nice to know that he feels more comfortable around her. Maybe they might be trying to get to the same page? She hopes so. Mamika sets her wand in her lap and settles her hands instead over her chest. A place where, if Luca looked at her at all when he had the golden goggles on, one would recall there being a stab wound in place.

Mamika smiles, anyway. ] A... friend brought me from my world to the gods' world, but she didn't have very good intentions. She wanted to destroy it and cause pain to the gods in it in turn.

When I confronted her about it, she killed me.

[unheiring]

[Luca's hands briefly clench, balling into fists. His nails press hard against his skin for one second, two, three, until he feels grounded enough. Several deep breaths are pulled into his lungs, before he finally forces himself to look at her.

Maybe he sees himself in her, before everything changed. Innocence. Naivety, perhaps, but borne from a hope of a better world. It makes him feel that much guiltier for lashing out only a few hours prior.]

I am... sorry for what you went through. What she did to you. But...

[A smile spreads over his lips, more sad than anything.]

I cannot say I've never had a similar outlook to her. [He lifts his hand to his throat, motioning to the array of feathers there.] I am branded by a God myself, in a way. Cursed to live with it controlling what I do. I made it my goal to purge its existence somehow. I would love for it to hurt as I have. As it has hurt me.

[His hand lowers, with his arm opting to loop loosely around himself.]

The machinations of the gods have taken away many of the things that I love. What other choice do I have but to strike back? To rail against them until one of us falls?

[magicalsplashflare]

[ Mamika shakes her head a moment, looking back at the doors into the temple and then back out at the trees. ]

Gods don't realize what "we" are, I don't think. Not in a genuine sense. Something that seems very small to them is very big to us. And that makes it particularly hard when they interact with us. I think it's up to the God, at that point, to be a good person, and make a world that people are happy with... I think my God was like this. They were kind.

But I've also seen Gods change their minds, too. I've seen Gods realize the life they created was more than the originally thought and want to help instead of hurt. It just... takes a lot, is all...

time to split the party

[ghostharasser]

[That is ...an absolutely foul smell, and it actually makes Dipper nauseous for a second. That's a pretty tall order these days with the kind of fucked up shit he's used to. Before he can say anything else, though, Luca is backing out of there like one of them turned into a snake and tried to bite him.]

[...It's better to let him go, he thinks. He doesn't know what happened there, but the emotion broiling off of him told him enough.]

[As for Zahliya, he looks up ...pauses, but then reaches into his coat to pull out a photo and offer it to him. It's kind of a weird photo because it doesn't match whatever aesthetic this time period should be. Maybe Zahliya has no concept of it to begin with. It is a family photo of the pines. Two older gentlemen in their 60's, twins, with glasses and grey hair, and then a young boy and girl. Dipper and his sister as they were three years ago.]

This is what they look like, if you see them. Alive or ...otherwise, it would mean a lot to me if I could find out.

[Dipper knows their family died somehow in this mess just like everyone else, so maybe it's pointless to want to know more, but Dipper can't just leave it alone. He has to know.]

[If Zahliya heads off on his own, Dipper will turn his attention to Siffrin and give him something of a grim expression before he looks at the two on the ground.]

What do you think?

[start_again]

[Siffrin pauses in their work, frowning uncertainly at the gurgling sounds.]

I don't know. I only know a little bit of healing Craft...

[He could keep trying, but is there any point? But conversely, is there any reason not to try? What else is there for him to do here? It's not like there's any other obvious path forward to their goal at this moment – beyond his own solution, which he's holding on to if all else fails.

They look up, eying the photo now in Zahliya's hand. That is an idea... Their fingers flex uncertainly over the pocket their own photo sits in. They've been carrying it loose since the frame got damaged, and it'd probably be useful for situations like this, but...

Siffrin frowns and returns his hands to hovering over the near-corpses, going back to Crafting. He doesn't have it in him to relinquish his photo. He might cry if he even tries.]

[ghostharasser]

[Dipper frowns, wishing he had an ounce of usefulness here, but he really doesn't know enough to help. He settles down on his knees opposite to Siffrin as they work.]

...They're in really rough shape. Like, this is probably a job for someone like PV.

[His voice drops, and he says the thing he has been wondering since he saw them. He looks more to the floor as he speaks, banishing away a particular face from his memory. of the way she begged him to be released- For all the bravado he showed up to this point, he finally seems to crack.]

Would it be kinder to just... you know.

[start_again]

[It takes Siffrin to place the nickname. Someone he hasn't really talked to, when he's already been trying to keep his distance from these people and avoid getting too settled into a place he has no intention of staying. And that's on top of his memory issues. But he nods absently anyway, not really listening since he's more focused on trying to keep these people alive.

At least, he wasn't really listening at first. That follow up has his eye snapping up to the kid, jaw tightening.

That's...a hell of a thing for a teenager to be suggesting. But glancing back down at these almost-corpses, he can't exactly deny the pragmatism of it.

Still.]

...If I'm gonna do something like that, then you should leave too. I'm not letting a kid watch me mercy-kill someone.

[ghostharasser]

[Dipper takes a deep breath, steeling himself. He shakes his head.]

...It's something I've had to do before. If we do it, I'm not letting you do it alone.

[start_again]

[If that's supposed to comfort him, then it's definitely a failure, as Siffrin's jaw only tenses more.]

Don't tell me that. You're like, what, thirteen?

[ghostharasser]

I'm sixteen in like two weeks.

[Does he have a baby face? Does this keep happening because he looks young? Ugh, it's so annoying. At least annoyance takes place of the vaguely shell-shocked expression he just had.]

Besides, the universe has never given a damn about whether or not I'm a kid. If it did, I wouldn't be missing an eye and I wouldn't have scars from the multiple times I've died. Just let me help.

[start_again]

[I mean, yes, but mostly Siffrin's just lowballing it on purpose. Maybe the inherent joke of that would be more obvious were they not surrounded by corpses, or if the topic of conversation were something else.]

Is that supposed to make me feel better about it? I'm the adult here. It's my job to prevent that kind of thing. That doesn't just stop being a thing because some bad stuff has already happened! I'm not gonna go, "Well, the kid's already been through a lot, so it's fine if we traumatize him a little more!"

[ghostharasser]

[Probably, but points for trying, dude.]

Yeah? Obviously? I'm already too messed up anyway, so it might as well be me!

[But Siffrin's words sound...a lot like something Stan would say to him in this moment and it rips the air from his lungs in a deeply uncomfortably way. His own words echo in his ears for a moment and he just kind of sits back, winded.]

...Oh.

[start_again]

[And Dipper's words sound...a lot like something Siffrin himself would say. But it's fine coming from him, he's an adult and just generally less important anyway, but he doesn't wanna hear that shit coming from a kid. It's hard not to project, not to imagine Bonnie sitting there insisting they can help and don't need protecting.

He doesn't know what kind of realization Dipper just came to there – hypocritically, they hope it's something along the lines of "wow that was a fucked up thing to say" – but he just exhales and shakes his head.]

Either you leave for a minute, or we sit here and I keep trying to heal them, okay?

[That might be a little fucked up in itself, effectively putting the choice of whether or not to kill these people on the teenager's shoulders. But it's either that or bodily shoving the kid out, so.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ]