OOC DISCUSSION POST.

[futurologists]

DISCUSSION POST Hello, worldhoppers! For those that haven't read the latest IC post by ALASTAIR, please do so here. In short, the Timeline machine has finally distributed the mission objectives: eliminate the deities of Nalawi to maintain stability of this universe. This means taking out both Ryba, the goddess that lives in the ocean, and Nalanni, the missing volcano goddess. Here's a quick recap of events so far: Pomarr, the last Dakal explains the genocide of her people in detail: Nalanni eliminated them with her powers. Ryba resurrected Pomarr, and she plans to offer Nalanni's powers to Ryba to do the same for her people. This information is available on the network to all recruits. The Nalawi themselves did not participate in the genocide, but they will were at war with the Dakal and celebrate Nalanni's presence. Their numbers are currently suffering as their powers dwindle to nothing. Ryba's cultists are responsible for several deaths on the main island, as well as holding some ALASTAIR recruits hostage, and is gaining traction amongst the desperate population. This OOC post is for discussion on what to do moving forward; we'll be putting up a poll on May 18th and keeping it open for 72 hours, and for fairness' sake we will go with majority rule for the result. Though the NPC is announcing the official ALASTAIR objectives, ultimately characters are allowed to do as they please! Be warned that different results will have different IC consequences, but ALASTAIR will not force characters to follow their objectives. They only guarantee that if both goddesses are eliminated, this world will continue to exist. Note, however, that this planet must have two goddesses or zero. It cannot sustain itself with just one. INDEX Nalanni: Volcano goddess; goddess of the rock (land). Granted the Nalawi powers ("Gifts") in exchange for love and devotion. Defended her volcano from the Dakal by destroying their civilization and wiping them out. Kidnapped by Pomarr; her disappearance has led to powers fading both from the Nalawi and from recruits. If she is killed, the sea goddess must also be destroyed. As Ryba mentioned, the world can only function with two or no goddesses. Nalawi: People of Nalanni. Diminutive deer people who have been at war with the Dakal for centuries, prior to their extinction. Now that they are without Gifts, they don't know how to fend for themselves and are growing desperate. Dakal: An extinct race of technologically advanced cat people who lived to the west of the Nalawi islands. Worshipped no gods. After attacking Nalanni's volcano, they suffered her wrath. Now extinct, their land is at the bottom of the ocean. Pomarr: A Dakal who was a teacher in life. She has been raised from the dead by Ryba in exchange for her soul. Her goal is to siphon Nalanni's power in order for Ryba to have the energy necessary to raise the rest of the Dakal into undeath. She recently held Nalanni captive in the volcano Nalalona but was forced to escape with her prisoner after the recruits meddled too closely. Her existence is linked to Ryba. Ryba, the devouring one: Sea goddess. Raised Pomarr from the dead in exchange for her soul. Requires sacrifice of souls in order to grant power to others. Ate the souls of all lesser gods in this world. If she is killed, another sea goddess must take her place or the volcano goddess must also be destroyed. As Ryba mentioned, the world can only function with two or no goddesses. Feel free to ask us any questions in the subthread below! We will avoid spoiling the outcome, but can clarify minor points that have not been addressed already.

Comments

QUESTIONS.

[futurologists]

[babbylon]

Should the game decide to vote on battling the gods (I presume this is one of the options), will a group log be posted to this effect? Will the game be split evenly, half and half fighting each god, or is going to be one big free-for-all? I'd basically just like to know what happens in the event that winds up being the decision, as this is what my character will do regardless.

[defenceless]

Would magically-inclined characters be able to detect Pomarr's presence in any way, even with the power loss going around? On the network post, a few characters have expressed a desire to speak with Pomarr for more questions and discussion, or to see if the loss of energy among player characters can be undone.

Sort of related to that, would Rin have been able to pick up anything unusual about her in a magic sense during their meeting?

[winces]

i noticed under ryba's thread, it mentions that "another sea goddess must take her place" if she is killed. i assume the same goes for nalanni. so that makes me wonder — are there actual other options? like are there any other goddesses hanging around that they can approach? :o

(depending on the answer, i may move this down to an alternate suggestion!)

[boneafide]

Would it be possible to capture/trap the goddesses at all? And if it's possible to capture/depower them, would ALASTAIR be able to transport them anywhere? To a planet with more energy maybe, so that their existence alone doesn't drain the whole place?

edit: sorry if this has already been said somewhere else, I am tired and bleary lol

[figureitout]

i'm not sure if this is the right place for this question BUT.

stiles' plan is to try and gather ingredients that were found to be volatile (in the wow-this-makes-explosives way) and if people go for the god-killing plan, use them -- would that be possible? so 1) would he be able to find the ingredients and make explosives and 2) would they be any use against either ryba or nalanni?

Re: QUESTIONS.

[wardance]

Is it possible there would be a way that they could "give back" energy in some manner to the world? For example, Nalanni gives her gifts freely without equivalent exchange. I'm not really sure how the energy works but it seemed like very "take only" system on the Nalawi people's part without them realizing it. Is it possible, in theory, the Nalawi people could use their gifts somehow to balance the give and take?

I don't really know how to go about proposing this idea happening so I have no concrete example to demonstrate my question, but hopefully it is understood (it's late here I super apologize). So, I was just more curious if there could even be a possible way to "return to" the world what's being taken in a more proactive effort of its inhabitants. The Nalawi only use their gifts for themselves at current, I assume. They worship Nalanni but the world itself seems generally not considered. I wasn't sure if the energy of the world could even possibly be "connected" or influenced by its occupants in that way.

Basically asking because I noticed The Timeline basically said "try this trick" to take "hassle" out. As in, as if this is the easiest/most direct route to solve the problem with the fewest amount of steps. But I'm not sure if he was just being adorable in speech or that it actually is hinting there are more "hassling" ways to go about it. \o/

Also because Crowley had felt in Chantes they should have taken advantage of the goblin's ability to use magic, so... Figured worth asking c:

Re: QUESTIONS.

[warlocks]

what options do characters have to help the nalawi themselves? because magnus firmly believes this is a decision for the nalawi to make, but i don't know if there's anyone in the leadership he can talk to or...? since as far as he can see no one's bothering to even consult the people who actually live here lol.

[blacksilk]

Posing this question with current poll numbers as they are!

How do you feel about characters trying to convince Nalanni to end her own life and possibly bring down Ryba with her or at least weaken her?

This idea is from our fabulously evil Masamune-mun.

ALTERNATE SUGGESTIONS.

[futurologists]

Comment here with any ideas for completing the mission that haven't already been stated!

RECRUIT POMARR

[hellshaped]

I'd like to suggest recruiting Pomarr to ALASTAIR! With her people dead, there will be nothing left on this world if she is not allowed to raise the Dakal (which yknow... should be avoided). So, characters could try to persuade Pomarr to join them and give them Ryba and Nalanni's weaknesses (if she knows them), leave this world, and help ALASTAIR stop genocides from happening to other worlds.

[respired]

WELL. I think it's pretty clear what Koltira wants to do! He's been hostile to Ryba since he collected that shard depicting her tentacled self as a deity (because he thought of old gods) & outright murderous since he learned of her sacrifice-loving ways (because OLD GODS). Once he watched the recording of the Dakal genocide, he went full on avenging wrath (wait, that's paladins) and he's ready to slaughter them both.

HOWEVER. He would also like to speak to Pomarr again, and hopefully dissuade her from trying to raise her people as undead. Because, as he knows, being undead is not a party.

His ideal sequence of events: Deal with Pomarr > find out where Nalanni is > take her out > take out Ryba > get drunk, probably

SO THEN

TEAM GODKILLER

WHO'S IN

[dokyuu]

Well, since Motochika's one hesitation on all this has been cleared up, that's sounding decent to him.

[historiology]

Sakura would prob prefer some other alternative to trying to outright kill them if possible. Same with Sorey. But while both are without their usual power/magic, they would still want to be there to support their friends and allies regardless if the decision goes ahead to fight. Both have their swords at the very least.

[hellshaped]

Hellboy is of the opinion that the safety of humans (or deer people, in this case...) are always more important than supernatural beings. Since the gods of this world have proven to be too meddlesome with the mortals who live here, especially to the point of genocide and overprotectiveness (the Nalawi falling into anarchy without their Gifts), he agrees they need to be destroyed. He's not motivated by revenge or justice, so he's less aggressive about his opinions than others -- however, with the news that this is the only way for the planet to continue, he's much more willing to argue the point.

Rick honestly doesn't care and just wants off the planet. Whatever will get them somewhere else the quickest ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[beyourrock]

Pearl will be concerned for the well being of the deers and other people on the island, trying to get them to safety first before clashing with the gods. Basically, she's all for destroying the gods, to try and get some sort of level of normalcy with the Nalawi. It seems, to her, that this might be their only alternative in this case, despite having a minor set back from the explosion a few weeks back.

Plus, she'd like to get off this planet asap. Other than that, Pearl's plate is pretty empty so I'm up for jumping into anything. Epic team ups? Helping others to safety? You name it!

[babbylon]

Pretty simple stuff over here: Gilgamesh will be all in for fighting the gods. He was in from the start, even before the orders came down, so that's the route he'll be taking no matter what. He's weakened like everyone else but he's still pretty damn tough, and has anti-divine weaponry on his side so that'll help out some! Do note that even though he doesn't anticipate dissent because this is officially the ALASTAIR-sanctioned outcome, if anyone does attempt to stop him he will employ force. Just something to keep in mind.

I am also open to any and all team-ups; for this fight, Gilgamesh will be allowing his comrades the use of his Gate, as in you'll be able to parkour awesomely in and out of it and pull off SWEET RAVE MOVES. He's going to be in a very good, near jubilant mood moving forward and seeing this through to the very end! tl;dr KILL GODS, GET POWERS, GET GOING.

[respired]

wtf let koltira use the gate

[weirdologist]

Ford has had enough of dealing with god-like beings for one lifetime. Seriously. Saying that, he's all for looking for another solution, but knows that it's unlikely they're going to have the time to find it. He doesn't like the odds of being able to destroy one or both. With the news that it's the only way for the planet to continue, he's willing to put his opinions aside.

Other than this, I'm completely open to anything. Normal humans unite? Helping others? Providing grunkly sciency backup? Bring it.

[defenceless]

I won't be getting too involved with this so I can tackle my backlog (thank you for being patient with me, if you're waiting on tags!), but Rin will be primarily focused on using her remaining magic power to feel out the locations of Pomarr, Ryba, and Nalanni. I'm more interested in providing this as something other characters can use to accomplish their goals, pending the mod go-ahead on it, so please let me know if there's anything she can help out with from the background! She knows Pomarr and has an elemental affiliation with water, fire, and earth, which might come in handy in detecting goddesses and/or creepy zombie cats, might not.

Rin will commit to defeating the gods and likely be ordering Archer to do the same. I'm thinking she'd be more likely to pursue Ryba especially, at this point. I'd like to take on one new thread dealing with this event and particularly the battling of the gods, but if there's a group log with group threads I'll probably just jump in there.

[babbylon]

PENDING ANY POLL OUTCOMES...

I'd really love a "returning triumphant" log later on. For gross shipping purposes.

[keeper]

(( Note: This all depends on whenever the next event log goes up/ooc availability + voting results but...! ))

Assuming godslaying is the decided course of action, and that Nalanni is defeated first (aka powers are potentially restored to the recruits), Aqua will be most likely assisting in the battle against Ryba.

On that note, I'm also wondering how soon the Nalawi would discover that their goddess has been murdered, and the impending backlash... (Unless someone is able to convince them that there's a good reason for ALASTAIR's actions... Or even rewrite their religion...? Make up lies??? idek) That said, an alternative could be to stay behind and protect other recruits from the deer, or just general damage control.

[heelies]

Can Achilles make it all better with a song about what happened to Nalanni....

(half serious, half facetious here...)

[warlocks]

Magnus wants no part in any these plans with you idiots but he will lend a hand if anyone gets injured or needs genuine help. Otherwise, he's firmly sitting this conflict out you can't just go into people's worlds and fuck with their gods jfc

anyway, he will probably just be watching from as far away as possible because he is Too Old For This Shit. Basically, he'll help keep people from dying and he doesn't care whose side you're on, but that's probably the extent of his involvement. If anyone else also wants to join him in Switzerland, please feel free.

[boneafide]

tbh this just sounds like an opportunity for him and papyrus to meet finally

[dbag]

holy fuck Rhys isn't going to be killing any gods are you kidding me, have you seen these noodle arms

BUT whatever gets them off this mission is good, since he has a pretty unfavorable reputation with the locals. :( he's up for talking to the catte if that makes things go smoother, but he's not really... a warrior... if things go south all around the country he will need a valiant protector so SIGN UP NOW the queue starts here.

otherwise he'll be hiding out in the inn playing chess while everyone else risks their lives, join him, it's a party

[strictdiscipline]

ok but what if he worked out his noodle arms so he had less noodle-y arms

[asscan]

Laedo is very new to the mission, but he has been briefed with the understanding that this world cannot survive with the Goddesses intact. He is about to have a chat with Nalanni so that's going to determine how he feels about killing them, especially because she resembles the Goddess that he's been devout to up until maybe a few days prior to his arrival... He doesn't have all of the pieces so he won't be acting without convening with the vets.

:Ic Y'all go murder Ryba, she sounds like a he-uuuge bitch. He'll either curse his missed chance to kill the other one or demand to skirt her away off the planet like some people have been suggesting. Nalanni may or may not just need some reconditioning to see the light.

[figureitout]

so stiles is so here for killing the goddesses -- or, you know, less here for the killing and more for the world not being destroyed entirely. not that he can do much to help, at least not in the fighting part, i mean, have you seen this guy, sarcasm is literally his only defense.

despite that though he'll try his best to do something, and by "something" i mean "probably go off in search of more bomb ingredients in case they need to blow up the goddesses", don't knock the idea okay molotov cocktails should never be underestimated. so basically he's here for strategics, SCIENCE, form a club with badass normals?? flail loudly at those who tell him teenagers shouldn't get involved? idk man have at me!!

[dbag]

BADASS NORMAL HERE-- jk just a regular normal but if stiles wants help looking for bomb ingredients, rhys got ingredients for the original bomb so he knows where to find em

[sololoquy]

but....power for soul sacrifices.............

but its not like a fizzling lightsaber is powered by unpopular opinion, so expect Kylo Ren to be lurking and waiting to join the party properly like an opportunistic douchebag.

[naturallywavy]

BARRELS IN LATE WITH COFFEE....
I'll be pretty busy while a lot of this plot is going on, but I hope to get involved in at least a thread or two.

Gintoki doesn't particularly mind the god-killing if that must be done and will be joining either party or where ever he is needed if anybody wants him. He has an unbreakable bokken and can fight close range.
What he is mostly concerned about is the deer folks after their powers have been surged from them.
Before any of this happens, he'll be trying to help them remember how to survive before they got their gifts. I am willing to hand wave this or thread it out.
He'll be like a teacher, teaching a class of little smol, angry deer. Ginpachi-sensei is a go.