Gathering those Plot Bunnies [very end of week two]

[ninjayeehaw]

Alright, so - never thought I'd be sayin' this, but - thanks t'Zed, I think I got a workin' idea 'f what's been happenin' behind the scenes here.

'cos without him, Yakumo wouldn't a' gotten turned back into an Investigator. First thing he done did was find me an' tell me how the Titans're throwin' a coup a' the gods. He ain't got too much info yet - turns out storm spirits ain't got the greatest sense a' focus - but at least one a' them's a Traveller, that English wizard guy.

[you know, the other one]

An' Galen, Tachibana's overlay, said that when he went t'go talk t'em earlier--

[And a memory of Galen's voice, sullenly furious, speaks.]

"Something has bewitched the gods and dulled them to blindness. For the barest fleeting moment there was intelligence in Apollo's eye, but it dulled like embers in ice, leaving only disinterested arrogance in its wake."

[And then back to Kinji's own.]

--so they're doin' somethin' directly t'mess with the gods an' make 'em complacent in their own demise.

So here's where it gets tricky. Yakumo thinks he can get me an in with the Titans - the storm spirits seem t'have all taken a likin' t'me, and they're already in on whatever the hell this plan is with the Titans, so unless there's any volunteers, I'll be goin' an sneakin' into that.

An' that means somebody else oughta try goin' back up the mountain t'try an' talk some sense into the gods. An' I reckon y'all might be able t'do that with some kinda skill that can clear their minds. I know there's a Song fer that, I can pass that on if'n someone needs it, but there's gotta be other ways that work better. If teleportin' or climbin's too far, I can make some kites an' Yakumo an' the other storm spirits can fly people up the mountain. It ain't too safe but it's a right sight faster than teleportin' or climbin' on foot.



...so. Thoughts?

Comments

[whydoyoushine]

You're welcome.

[ninjayeehaw]

Can I at least ask why?

{he knows you well enough, Zed. You don't do charity]

[professorwolf]

They can hear infiltrator telepathy, as well, so there may be some network skill that can help get through to them, as well.

In the meantime, let me prowl about the mountain and see if I can come up with anything... if all else fails, perhaps another vision will hit me at some point and give us some insight.

[ninjayeehaw]

That'd be mighty useful. I ain't got too much in the way a' psychic skills, but there's gotta be somethin' besides Clearin' the Mind that oughta be able t'help 'em out.

[And not just because he's still uncomfortable enough with Song that he doesn't want to actually teach it.]

An' usin' Song means people can't actually talk, so it'd be harder logistics-wise.

[dreamingking]

How convenient! This saves me the effort of making an announcement on my own.

If this "English wizard guy" of yours is Matthew, his overlay is searching for something in the Temples of Apollo. He went through the ones in the area within a very short period of time, and the doors opened to him without protest. Whatever he's looking for, it's on the large side, and he's incredibly frustrated about not locating it. Unfortunately, he gave me the slip when I attempted to follow him after his intrusion into one of the temples.

[ninjayeehaw]

Might just be, cos it sure as hell ain't Yakumo an' I don't know any other British wizards kickin' 'round here.

Yakumo didn't say what he was searchin' for, either. Can't make any guesses, I ain't too familiar with Greek mythology. I'll see if I can't get any word on it if I get in his good books.

[not_the_question]

And just how do you plan to clear the minds of gods? They're gods, isn't the point of being a god that you're stronger and better than everyone else?

[That's usually how people define the Doctor when they call him a god.]

It's not like they're a computer and you can just turn them off and on again. Unless... they are a computer and you can do that.

[butthemiracleneverhappen]

By convincing them that they stand to lose more from remaining as they are than by acquiescing to some reasonable demands.

Admittedly this is improbable.

[acapriciousthing]

Usually it's that you thrive on belief.

Even beings more fundamental than gods can go mad.

[maximumest]

I didn't think there'd actually be someone specific to pin all of this on. Do we beat up these Titans now?

[photonicfighter]

I don't think it's going to be as easy as that. Sadly.

[mightypen]

Be careful around the Titans.

Not all of them are nice, and they're just as strong as their nice's and nephews... or kids. They might even be stronger considering what's going on.

[ninjayeehaw]

I'll be sure t'keep my guard up. Already been in fights with figures who were practically gods back home, ain't keen on soloin' the experience here.

[leftbehindagain]

We can't talk sense into the gods, though. That's the problem.

Kanji had another chat with Chariot before this got started, and according to what he got out of that, Chariot and Tower have the same essential goal - what makes the difference is how that goal's carried out. Looking at the situation we're dealing with, the goal's pretty clear at this point.

The coup needs to be successful. Boxing Tower out of the match is going to come down to not letting it be successful by way of 'chaos and fire everywhere.' Your in with the Titans might help a lot with that.

[seestheworld]

In that vein, Shinji's overlay might or might not be useful. He's been dosing 'interesting' people with something that's supposed to provide protection from the gods. Somehow.

[Pun not intended.]

[fridgeninja]

Unless we don't want either of them to win.

What's most important should be what's best for the people here, not what the Arcana want.

[professorwolf]

So the goal is to take down the gods? Interesting. I suppose that does fit with Chariot being about progress, and sticking with the gods is not progress.

But how to make it a peaceful transition, is the thing, then. We definitely need to find the titans in question, then, and at least come to understand their motives and what their current tactics are. From what I know of mythology and my singular run-in with Apollo, the Greek gods aren't terribly good, to begin with, but we don't want to replace them with something worse.

[ninjayeehaw]

If that's what's s'posed t'happen, guess i can't be too opposed. Sure as hell don't mean I gotta like it, though. Lettin' 'em die feels...

[butthemiracleneverhappen]

In this case, it is about the consequences and the methods, not the outcome.

The chances of this ending with the Olympians in charge approaches zero.

The chances of it ending gracefully, and without harm to those who ought be neutral... much higher.

Not to say that I'd approve of any plan involving being on the side of Zeus to begin with.

[mightypen]

Uh, i'd like to point out that the greek gods are supposed to fall. Kinda.

They become the roman ones, who are definetly different even if they do have a lot of similarities. Minerva is way way different than Athena, and Zeus and Jupiter are different too. Jupiter's more... fatherly, Zeus is all thundnderbolts and lightning.

[theflyingone]

What makes you so sure that carrying out any Arcana's goal is the wise thing to do?

[ He played devil's advocate for the Titans too, but that didn't mean he was allying with either side in this conflict. ]

[all_onis_are_true]

Are we certain of that? The Gods are essentially the status quo of Ancient Greece. If we were to allow the Titans to be victorious, who is to say that the end result would not be worse?

[helborn]

[He was going to offer advice on the gods having issues, but the mention of 'Titans' throws that all out the window. The tone that comes through isn't like Casper's usual cheery outward emotional state, but cold, angry, and fierce.]

If they're anything like the Titans I know, then sneaking in isn't advised, ninja skills or no ninja skills. Maybe they're not as mindless creatures of destruction as I know them, but they're not to be underestimated, no matter how good you think you are. We need information, yes, but getting anywhere near them is an awful plan.

Giving them any sort of aid is probably going to hand a win over to Tower, and from my understanding most people weren't for that. Unless I'm wrong?

[ninjayeehaw]

I ain't sneakin' in with 'em 's'much as havin' Yakki escort me through the front door. An' I ain't about t'underestimate 'em, that's why I'm sayin' it's me who oughta go. Yakumo an' I are a flawless combo, he can get me out easy if it all goes t'pot, an' I got a broad enough skillset that I oughta be able t'keep 'em on their toes if it does come down t'a fight.

An' if they got a mortal on hand, maybe that might temper 'em a little. Could keep 'em from just lettin' everything go further south.

[theflyingone]

I warn you, restoring the Olympians will not be better. They are also tyrants, or did you not read your myths? When the Olympians took over, the titles held by the Titans were kept in place, but given over. No matter who wins this time, there will still be a moon, a sun. The names of their gods would change, but what the people worship would stay the same.

There are philosophers who say that the legends of the Olympians coming to power mimic the history of the Achaians defeating the people living here before them. The older myths are always more concerned with the land and water, the power of women, and the importance of hunting. They are more raw, yes, but "civilized" men somehow manage to shed more blood in war...

The only advantage to helping the Olympians is allowing this magical Greece to become like the Greece many of us know it as. Think of the people, who always pay most dearly. Is this worth so many lives lost in another war among the gods? The quakes and storms would be ten times worse. You would have to completely cripple all the Titans before they knew what you were doing, to avoid that kind of bloodshed. If you help the Olympians, you touch a hornet's nest. Do not do it.

[helborn]

... All of this depends on if the Titans here are the more reasonable ones from myths, or the more violent ones that I know of. We cannot assume we know what is true here. With how violent things are now without the gods to calm them - with the odd weather, the earthquakes, the massive changes in the natural order of things - do you really think a more wild and chaotic hand is better?

[all_onis_are_true]

I cannot speak of Gods and Titans, but this sounds like a truly complicated situation. More importantly, how do we know for certain it is the Titans causing the dulling of the Gods' minds? They could simply be taking advantage of the chaos.