Arc II Climax: Infodump and Character Vote

[savmods]

Greetings!

The final two mod logs for Arc 2 have now gone up: one for those invading the intermediary stronghold and one for the team assisting Mother. As the numbers worked out perfectly, we're happy to announce that all of those who volunteered will be included in the second log! This consists of Agent Texas, the Big Sister, Cayde-6, L, Lup, Soldier: 76, Solid Snake, Wanda Maximoff, Yondu Udonta, and Zer0. While both logs are definitely there for your use, we'd like to emphasize their optional nature—not all characters will choose to join with either mission, and even if your character is there, you are not required to play out the events inside.

More generally, we'd like to extend our reassurance and appreciation to the game at large. The pace this last month has been absolutely crazy on all ends, and we know the pacing throughout these events hasn't been perfect. If we were to run this sort of plot again, we would apply lessons we've learned from this one. Arc 2 is still set to conclude in a week, but the game should calm down substantially after. In Arc 3, players can expect a return to a more exploration-based scenario, with a variety of events on a monthly or bimonthly basis—not the constant rush of heavy on-rails metaplot we've had recently.

Our huge thanks to the playerbase—for your participation, your feedback, and your willingness to stick through the crazy train with us. However much of the climax you plan to thread, we hope to provide a satisfying conclusion to some of the plots and challenges of Arc 2.

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Vote: Intermediaries

For characters who choose to participate, the larger mission will be the Mediation Center. Crucial to both recovering your friends and winning the de facto war that has begun, this location is a pleasantly appointed haven of nightmares. Characters will be forced to fight their way through both their enemies and friends... but for some, the most difficult decision will come when the battles are won. What to do with the intermediaries?

Killing is one option, and for many, the most appealing. These individuals have imprisoned and controlled you, and inflicted unknown harms on others since Thisavrou began. More, they have made concerted efforts to pick apart the minds of those subjected to their "care"—including some individuals you may value. They pose a harm to these worlds through their very existence... and once their powers have been overcome, you'll find it's very easy to end that. The intermediaries carry out their work through words and through manipulation—they have little physical defense.

Imprisonment would, of course be more merciful. And all that seems necessary, especially now. Their access to the outside is cut off, and what hunting forces remain outside these walls will be uncoordinated—or maybe surrender completely, with their leaders held prisoner. Do you want them to stand some kind of trial? To admit their wrongs? They are the justice system here, and acknowledge their own faults not at all. Still, turnaround seems fair play. Close the doors and seal them in. They probably need some time for self-reflection, after all.

Another option? This one's really up to you. Do you believe in an eye for an eye? Do you sympathize with their plight and plan to let them free? As always, the intermediaries are very ready to turn this into a discussion—though perhaps you're less inclined to leave them capable of that. Suggest and discuss.

On an OOC level, we would like to remind players that the setting transition will happen soon after the interaction with the intermediaries (more on that below!). While your character may lean towards imprisonment with the intent of other future repercussions, this vote is to decide what they choose to do immediately. The decision characters make will carry forward through their legacy on Thisavrou, but they will not have time to personally effect any longer-term plans.

On an IC level, the decision will be made by those on the scene. Each interested player should submit one vote per character present. As characters are acting according to their own goals, however, their response may or may not play out as a vote in-universe! If your character is more inclined to attempt violence without discussion, you're welcome to play them as having done so. Just keep in mind that if the OOC consensus goes the other way, they will have been ICly restrained at some point—presumably, by individuals who favored a more peaceful resolution.

While plotting options are provided below, players are welcome to submit a vote whether or not they intend to plot or thread any specifics. Voting will close at 12:00 PM EST, September 28 to provide a fixed consensus. Players are, of course, welcome to thread out the events before this deadline—we just ask that you keep an eye on the current tally to approximate the final results.

To vote or plot, please check out the starter below! If you have questions, feel free to ask them.

The current tally is:

Kill	Imprison	Other
4	9	0

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So about that setting change...

Amidst all the chaos, we've noticed a few players keeping track of the "storms" plot thread—and we can at this point confirm that this will play a key role in what comes. The storm around Thisavrou will pay these worlds a visit in a very unique way—one prompted, in part, by the resolution of the current logs. This will be posted on September 30th in two parts: an IC broadcast on the network community, and an OOC summary in this one.

Please note that while the post will OOCly be made on the 30th to give players time to thread and vote, it falls immediately after the current logs in-game. Both "Final Logs" take place within the course of one day in-universe.

While players are welcome to thread out reactions if they choose, the incident itself is unavoidable, and not meant to be especially interactive. As a result, our focus will be on shuffling characters forward into the new arc. Arc 3 will go live on October 1.

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As always, if you have questions or commentary, hit us up below or on the feedback page. Thanks for reading, playing, and being here!

Comments

Questions/Comments

[savmods]

Re: Questions/Comments

[lavelly]

So I'm guessing that just wading straight into the pool and trying to destroy whatever is at the center of it isn't a viable option--what obstacles would be encountered if attempted, however, assuming characters would be able to get through those trying to defend it? Would having Mother's protection mitigate the effects somewhat?

Also is there any way people would be able to be like OH SHIT BAD IDEA and back out or are they stuck once they try it?

[squadgoals]

this is relevant to my self-sacrificing interests

[savmods]

Contact with the pool's water intensifies its effects! So while Lavellan theoretically could wade in, it's a fairly safe bet that he would be entirely subsumed by his reflected reality within seconds, and not in good condition to destroy anything.

Mother's protection does mitigate the effects, but not quite enough to stand up to swimming in it. It might be enough for Lavellan to realize the hazard and retreat with only minor damage to his self-awareness—assuming, of course, that he didn't jump straight in.

Re: Questions/Comments

[squadgoals]

If you have, uh, gazed into the silvery pits of hell prior, would that give you less of an advantage, or more? I'm sure this is something I could just pick, but I thought I'd get a little feedback, too.

Re: Questions/Comments

[gentlemenpreferblondes]

can the pool water be saved and stored like in bottle ? :D

[prorenataa]

If a person had a way to shield against the effects of the pool, long enough to get into it, could a source to destroy or ... unplug the drain be found?

[bloodbathing]

Is it possible to receive more OOC information on the upcoming setting change before September 30th? Having only one day to process it (and vote on something?) before things go live seems unnecessarily insufficient.

The past two months have been full of back-to-back surprises for characters and players alike. Having a major setting change be one more, especially on the tail of "on-rails metaplot" and during a period when applications are open, strikes me as more detrimental than a source of suspense. It limits what we can tell potential applicants, and it severely limits the ability to plot or plan for anything beyond the last stage of this event. For those who are, for whatever reason, choosing not to participate in these final logs, it seems like there's little to do other than twiddle our thumbs and wait.

If this information has already been posted somewhere and I've missed it, I apologize. I joined a week before this event began.

VOTE

[savmods]

As above, please submit one vote per character present to deal with the intermediaries. Characters occupied elsewhere are welcome to have sent recommendations with their allies on the scene, but would not be physically there to have a sway in the immediate fallout.

<b>Character Name:</b> <b>Kill, Imprison, Other?:</b> <b>If 'Other', what do they support?:</b> <b>Any notes or plot requests?:</b>

[notglitching]

Character Name: Rinzler
Kill, Imprison, Other?: KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL~
If 'Other', what do they support?: n/a
Any notes or plot requests?: Rinzler will not wait for a consensus to be made. He'll listen to positive CR enough to at least give them a chance to argue, but neutral or negative CR would have to fight him to stop him carrying out this goal himself.

Volunteers for either welcome! (Or team up with him, whatever works!)

[yondu]

Character Name: Yondu Udonta
Kill, Imprison, Other?: Kill
If 'Other', what do they support?: N/A
Any notes or plot requests?: Fuck those guys. They deserve what they got coming to them.

Character Name: Kazuhira Miller
Kill, Imprison, Other?: Kill.
If 'Other', what do they support?: N/A
Any notes or plot requests?: He'd find imprisonment acceptable but would want to make sure their abilities were completely nullified first.

[prorenataa]

Character Name: Adrien
Kill, Imprison, Other?: Imprison / Other
If 'Other', what do they support?: He would like to see them stripped of the abilities to ever do anything like this in the future
Any notes or plot requests?: Adrien's argument on this isn't so much about being merciful, but rather that killing the Intermediaries only does half the job.

Unless they are prepared to slaughter the entire Savrii peoples, killing these people will only lead to martyring them and entrenching their values into a new generation. Thus perpetuating the cycle.

Also from the sound of what Mother said, there are others out in the universe who have a claim for retribution. Killing these intermediaries might be more merciful than any reckoning still in store for them.

[sketchycharacter]

Character Name: Nathan Drake
Kill, Imprison, Other?: Imprison

LUDONARRATIVE DISSONANCE BE DAMNED Nate is really not down with executing these people even if they're assbutts :T Ignore his personal bodycount, that's just a ton of self-defense kills.

[lavelly]

Character Name: Lavellan
Kill, Imprison, Other?: Imprison
If 'Other', what do they support?: n/a
Any notes or plot requests?: As much as he's on the Fuck These Guys boat he is uncomfortable with executions, especially when they are the primary social structure and most of the Savrii still seem to be on their side. A more nuanced approach is required here.

[nishizono]

Character Name: tetora nishizono
Kill, Imprison, Other?: KILL
If 'Other', what do they support?: N/A
Any notes or plot requests?: he won't interfere if the consensus is firmly for the non-kill vote, but if "kill" wins he's definitely going to join in the murder. screw these guys honestly.

[cockade]

Character Name: Arno Dorian
Kill, Imprison, Other?: Imprison

Any notes or plot requests?: Fuck these dudes, honestly- but doing an absolute massacre of them isn't going to help anyone right now. He wants to avoid more problems as much as necessary.

[frostedplum]

Character Name: Mei-Ling Zhou
Kill, Imprison, Other?: Imprison
Any notes or plot requests?: Mei won't hold anyone back if they want to try and kill the intermediaries, but she thinks finding a way to keep them contained and unable to influence others is a better punishment for people so used to controlling others.

[shashka]

Character Name: Revolver Ocelot
Kill, Imprison, Other?: ? ? ?
If 'Other', what do they support?: N/A
Any notes or plot requests?: He's on the fence with this one. On one hand, he's pretty sure that killing them is the quickest way to solve this, especially because his personal experiences have threats that are left alive usually coming back to bite everyone in the ass. ON the OTHER HAND, he's also pretty partial to show trials, and if there was a way to nullify their powers completely, he'd be down for having a public example made of them.

But ultimately, he'd also say if they're careful there might be a couple of ways to try and spin this to the general public as a whole. After all, he is a Soviet.

VOTE

[justice_from_above]

Character Name: Fareeha Amari
Kill, Imprison, Other?: Imprison/Other
If 'Other', what do they support?: Allowed freedom if abilities were made null
Any notes or plot requests?: She will kill in self defense/protection of an ally, but if they have them subdued and the majority votes to kill she will have to be forcibly removed.

[alformthearm]

Character Name: King Alfor
Kill, Imprison, Other?: Other
If 'Other', what do they support?: If it's possible to seal their powers, he might suggest some kind of DEATH! by exile. Made to live among others normally or something. He might be getting his hopes up, but he'd rather not execute anyone and he doesn't think that imprisonment really solves things either.
Any notes or plot requests?: He can understand why others would decide one or the other of the two choices given otherwise, and if imprisonment is what the majority would decide, he'd choose that over death. But he'd still make his suggestion before then.

[squadgoals]

Character Name: Commander Shepard
Kill, Imprison, Other?: Imprison.
If 'Other', what do they support?: N/A
Any notes or plot requests?: Shep argues that they are not them. They imprison them, and find out what they can, and start moving forward. Remove the threat, and learn what they can about the history, about their goals, and more about the Ingress itself. Killing them might be short-term satisfying, but it didn't serve to paint the refugees as anything other than exactly what the Intermediaries purported they were.

The world is falling apart. One threat at a time. :|

[gainedlove]

Character Name: Frisk
Kill, Imprison, Other?: Imprison/Other
If 'Other', what do they support?: Allowed free if all abilites can be PROVEN nullified, but not allowed near anyone that had been under their 'care' for any reason.
Any notes or plot requests?: Frisk wants the intermediaries mind-affecting abilities--all of them--neutralized in some way. But they don't want them killed, and they don't want to imprison these people for the rest of their lives. Both of those options rub Frisk in about a bajillion wrong ways, but they don't trust the intermediaries to try and turn things back around to how it was the moment they're given the chance.

[desynched]

Character Name: lena oxton
Kill, Imprison, Other?: imprison
Any notes or plot requests?: lena finds imprisonment to be an imperfect solution. she'd prefer to strip them of their powers and have them stand trial. but she doesn't know of any way to take their powers and no way of them getting any kind of fair trial. she's too full of do-goodery and justice to sentence them to death.

PLOT

[savmods]

Need someone to hold back your crazy berserker from stabbing things on sight? Want to work out PvP for the therapy log? Whatever you want goes here!

DESTROY THE POOL

[squadgoals]

Hey there friends, fielding any and all ideas for destroying a pool of reflective mindfuck in a way that doesn't necessarily involve blowing it up, because seems like blobs of it hitting people would be a terrible idea.