[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

[magicalsplashflare]

…Thank you.

Please know that… I don't want anyone getting hurt, either. If it comes down to protecting the people here, or trying to reason with whoever, I would choose the former every time.

This goes for you, too. I'm sorry that your God is unkind and has hurt you. I can't… even fathom how that must be. But… if you don't want to try speaking with it, and trying to rid of it instead, then I'll stand behind you for that, too.

[unheiring]

I know you will.

[Unconventional as her skills might be, she's proven herself plenty useful. Perhaps more so than Luca has.]

I... appreciate it. [He won't chide her that he's tried talking, again and again. The important part is that she doesn't argue with his overall goal. It's... certainly more than he's gotten from most people.]

If you want, we can speak more of our worlds once we have returned to the grove.

[ghostharasser]

[Hey, you know who has also seen enough death today? And by death we mean existential dread? This guy!!]

[Dipper walks out of the temple, quietly, to take a seat on the steps. He doesn't look at either of them, just kind out into the forest. When he speaks it's very soft, like he almost didn't even want to say this much.]

Zahliya is looking around for our family. Siffrin will be out in a minute.

[magicalsplashflare]

[ Mamika is about to nod to confirm that she'd like that, but the arrival of one very tired Dipper makes her stop and, instead, get up from her spot to go over and pull Dipper into the tightest hug. He was in there so long! What was he thinking???? ]

Are you okay??

[unheiring]

[Luca lets Mamika do the doting, even as his own eyes scrape over the boy. His chest tightens — he knows that distant look from the mirror. Guilt floods in shortly after. He shouldn't have left someone so young to do the dirty work.

He should apologize, but his throat feels too tight. Instead he gives a short nod, remaining wordless even as he shifts his body to peer back inside.]

[ghostharasser]

[Oh, being hugged like that almost makes him crack, but he holds it together. This is a bad time. There's too much happening here for him to fall apart. Not in front of the others, not when he's been so adamant about being taken seriously despite his age. Not when he can barely unpack that realization he had thirty seconds ago.]

[He exhales something shaky and he nods.]

I'll be fine, don't worry. When we get back, we should ask Heimr about what kind of coloring books he has in stock.

[He gives her a small smile.]

[magicalsplashflare]

...You know it's hard to tell me not to worry with all the stuff we're dealing with. Mister Gargoyle isn't even himself like this. It's... hard to say for sure what we're supposed to do.

[ghostharasser]

I know. It means you care, so thank you.

[Dipper frowns though.]

Yeah, it feels… so, It reminded me of some kind of memory at first. The place I’m from would sometimes just drop you into stuff like this to complete some task or uncover some truth. If going into the temple wasn’t it, then I wonder what is? Maybe we should head for the grove next.

[magicalsplashflare]

But... this is definitely the past, right? If we go to the Grove, won't we run into... ourselves? That sounds risky...

[ghostharasser]

Unless this is something that's meant to happen in the timeline. Sometimes paradoxes can be baked into the way things are supposed to go. Not that we have any way of knowing of course, which is the annoying part.

[Besides, he....kkkkind of wants to see past him. Just a peek.]

Time travel is messy though, so we should definitely be careful if we do go that way. Otherwise I'm not sure what else to do.