Lunar Interlude 2

[balancemod]

Let's try to keep the paperwork to a minimum, shall we? NAVIGATION 1. NEW RECLAIMERS A. WELCOME WELCOME! FAH WHO RAHMUS For the nine of you who will be arriving today, the story is the same: though you may not remember it, there was a moment where you were living out your life, at home or wherever you were ... and then there was the moment the Hunger came. And amid the television static that is your memory of that moment, a hand reached out to you, beckoning your escape as the tendrils of darkness destroyed everything that ever existed about your world. "Would you hurry this up, please? Your world no longer stands a chance. Come with me, we are the last bastions of hope for all universes everywhere. And we're going to need you." And then, unceremoniously, you are dragged through the universal wringer and plopped down on the soft, though not quite cushioned, grass of the Moon Base Quad. There are other people out in the grassy fields — they may even be people you recognize. They may just be strangers, other Reclaimers, who recognize what you're about to endure. The things they say may be interspersed with static — as if the words themselves aren't reaching your ears correctly. And you have a few minutes to chat before you're calmly led away by Bureau administration, to do something about that pesky static problem. B. THE VOIDFISH The nine of you are quickly divided into two groups, and brought to the easternmost geodesic dome, to an elevator in a well maintained, but sparsely landscaped field. There's nothing particularly ominous feeling about the space — in fact, the two guards who greet you at the elevator entrance seem pleased with your arrival. You are, after all, one of the few chosen by the Director, the few who will reclaim what the Hunger has destroyed. And in a few moments, you're about to find that out for yourself. After a tightly packed elevator ride, your group is ushered out to a rather grand looking hall, banners of the Bureau of Balance adorn both sides of smooth metal walls. And inside the Voidfish's chamber stands a tank — impossibly tall, and soaked in a black ink that obscures whatever the tank may be holding. You may notice the sound of someone speaking. It's a bard, on his second round of introducing Reclaimers to the Voidfish, and this time, he has chosen to demonstrate the functions of the outrageously vertical tank not by playing violin music, but by reciting a piece of classical, and highly valued poetry. When he finishes, he pulls at a drawer just at the metallic base of the tank. He solemnly enters a few scrolls into its basin as the tank begins to light up, like lightning behind dark clouds. And suddenly, you forget what that invaluable example of universal literature sounded like. "Yeah, man, like... don't think too hard about it, it's like that every time. I'm guessing you're here to be inoculated? Just a heads up, you might want to, like, seriously, hold your nose while you drink it down. It tastes wicked gross, man. Anyway, I'm supposed to tell you that you have a choice. If you drink the black stuff, you'll be able to hear through the, uh... Huh, how do I describe it? Through the [TSHCSCHTSHCHSC] sound. You guys like, hear that? Anyway, it's all about knowledge or something. I don't know, I'm just here to, like, feed the thing. We call it the [TSCHHSCHSCH], by the way. So, like. You get a choice. You can drink it and understand stuff, or not drink it and then hear that crackling noise all day every day. If I were you, I'd drink it. But, hey man, I'm not like, your dad or anything." The bard takes five cups and draws liquid from a spigot connected directly to the basin of the large tank. Stormy, muddy looking ichor is drawn into them, one by one. He offers each of you a sip. Drink it (he wasn't kidding about what it tasted like), and you're inoculated to the wisdom of the Voidfish. You try to remember the poetry this bard recited a few moments ago and the rhymes, the meter, the significance, all come back to you. And if you think back to your arrival, some of the things you may have heard other people in the Quad say, that simply sounded like static, are suddenly clear. Bureau of Balance. Grand Relic. Reclaimers. Yet you still can't remember the Hunger or what it had done to your world. And as you look back to the tank in front of you, the water has become clear. There's a jellyfish, as tall as a building, floating within. You look into the body of the creature and you can almost make out a beautiful, tiny universe floating within it. 2. THE TEST OF INITIATION With your new knowledge on the Bureau of Balance and your purpose here in tow, you are led without hesitation to the Arena, where the final phase of your initiation into the Bureau will be held. You are partnered up, whether it is with someone you drank the ichor of the Voidfish with, or perhaps even a veteran Reclaimer, who either stopped by to help, or simply out of curiosity. One Grand Relic has already been reclaimed, you're told. They were a pair of bright red mittens, held by the mayor of a small village who may have meant well, but under the draw of the mittens' incredible space-bending powers, was corrupted into using them, and to nearly killing everyone who lived under him. You may have noticed, at some point while glancing out into space while walking here, to the planet below, a massive evergreen fir that stretches past the planet's atmosphere, very nearly piercing the Moon Base itself. It appears to be decorated for the holidays. That tree is the direct result of those mittens, the actions of a man who could not resist the temptation to use them. Resisting that very same temptation is your task here. And with that order in mind, as you and your partner stand in the middle of the Arena, the walls dissolve, and the simulation begins. You're standing in the middle of a forest. Ahead of you, situated on a pedestal, is an item. It could be any ordinary item: a pair of gloves, a teapot, a simple decorative bowl. Whatever it is, it's yours for the taking. Take that simple item in your hands, however, and the building blocks of the trees around you suddenly collapse like shattered glass, and reform into new scenery — it may even be a place from home that you recognize. A voice in your head beckons you. Perhaps there's a mistake you made, or something that went wrong for you back home that you wish you had the power to undo. Perhaps there's someone you wish you could help, or even save. The item that's in your hands has the power to help you achieve this, if only you'd ever use it. Resist the temptation. Take the item, and drop it into a nearby deposit box to be destroyed. Your partner is here to help you — because once you destroy it, you will be doing the same for them. 3. NEWBIES AND VETERANS, AROUND THE MOONBASE Three or four days into the month, now that the newbies are settled in, something strange happens: The next time you return to your flat from whatever errand or exploring you were doing, when attempting to use your Bracer to open the door results in extremely obnoxious beeping that persists for an entire thirty seconds, and a message on the screen next to the door. ERROR: HOME ASSIGNMENT MECHANISM MALFUNCTION. GO TAKE A WALK. Welp. Looks like you're locked out for a bit while techs fix that. Here's a few places that might be worth checking out. A. PIECES FROM HOME Should you find your way to the Dojo, there's a door that still has that shiny, brand spanking new door look and new door smell to it off in one of the less traversed corners of the building. A sign next to the door demands that you empty your pockets before entering. A scanner for your Bracer will unlock it, assuming it's unoccupied, leading you to a plain white room with no furniture or objects at all in sight. As the door shuts behind you, a pleasant female voice echoes from all corners of the room, greeting you by name. If this is your first time in the room, the voice has a simple question for you: "What memory do you value, or think of, most?" Once you've provided your answer, the walls crumble, much like they did during the Test of Initiation simulation, reforming into something that is, again, pleasantly, or even unpleasantly, familiar. It's a space from home. Perhaps it's your room. Perhaps it's your favorite restaurant (though, the place is curiously empty, and the food you find, for some reason, tastes like strawberries). Perhaps it's a park you always enjoyed visiting, or a corner of the city you lived in. Whatever it is, you, and whoever you may have brought along with you, seem to be the only ones there. And perhaps the details aren't quite right — like maybe someone built a model of your home to explore, but a few pieces were missing from the box. But it's close enough. B. SPEND YOUR DOUGH. SOLVE A MYSTERY Whether you're a newcomer or a veteran returning from your first Field Mission, you've been provided with some spending money. You can use it to buy yourself one weapon and piece of armor from one of the blacksmiths in town. Regardless of who you choose to help you out with that, it'll take about a week to complete your order, so time your purchase carefully. There's also premade weapons and a whole bunch of other bullshit for sale at FANTASY COSTCO. Shelves and pallets of an endless array of nonmagical items, pretty much anything you can imagine, can be bought here, but there's one particular, innocuous item that seems to have Garfield the Deals Warlock in a tizzy. The more those vinyl covers that can be used to decorate your Bracers are purchased, the more the name seems to spread, ghosts of whispers around the entire Moon Base, of a person who may very well be a ghost herself. Who is Miss Zarves? Who was Miss Zarves? A powerful witch with the power to scramble your memories, insists one cantankerous woman who pours you a drink at Madame Frione's Tea Kettle. A heavyset, flushed with drink sort of man sitting next to you disagrees — Miss Zarves is a practical joke Garfield likes to trot out every couple of months to mess around with anybody gullible enough to believe him. Whatever the case, it seems that the name alone gives everyone a curious case of déjà vu. Someone has to have information on her — and this is the Reclaimers' opportunity to hone their information gathering skills. C. A (PERHAPS MANDATORY) DAY AT STOP DYING 101 Whether you're in class voluntarily, or whether you were dragged there on account of dying the past Field Mission, today's session of Fatalistic Fauna, and Danger Sense to channel your inner barbarian is going on a little field trip to the Arena. Because this is your first test to see if you can put all that information that's been given to you in the first few lectures to good use. You and a partner are placed in the middle of the Arena, in a simulation of an expansive, empty field, up against the first monster you were introduced to in class: A Bulette, a fearsome beast that can burrow, lunge, deal severe piercing damage, and jump an absolutely incredible distance. And you and your Reclaimer partner are absolutely no match for it. Your only option here is to escape. Can you? If you are dealt simulated fatal damage, then the Arena will dissolve back to normal, and you'll be given extra homework and reading material for the day. Sorry, them's the breaks. D. OPEN THE DOOR, GET ON THE FLOOR, EVERYBODY DO THE DINOSAUR There's a signup available for those looking to take Dance lessons at the Academy. There seem to be enough slots available for 50 or so people, and the form's name simply reads: "DANCE, NOW. WITH MS. CHARLOTTE." It's a pretty large time commitment- a crash course in dancing is a rather intensive affair. You'll be spending 4 days a week for 2 weeks, 2-3 hours per day, learning all the basics of the waltz, the tango, and the quickstep. Don't even think about trying the cha-cha slide here, it's simply not pasodoable. At the studio, you can borrow a pair of ballet slippers and join in with Ms. Charlotte, which, for anyone coming to the class for the first time should be rightly horrified. The newest member of the Bureau of Balance is a spider. A delegate from New New Aspen, Ms. Charlotte comes equipped with a bracer of her own, has taken in the Voidfish juice, and relocated here, to teach at the Academy. She moonlights as a ballroom dance instructor and a coach, and boy... she's pretty demanding with her approach, but incredibly thorough. You don't want to let Ms. Charlotte down. The sessions she teaches will get you to learn the basics. Natural aptitude, of course, goes a long way, but she's very 8-hands on with her approach at correcting posture and steps. Not without compassion, however, if you manage to get blisters on your feet, Ms. Charlotte's web bandages will set and help heal those sore, tired feet. The next 2 weeks of this boot camp are going to be brutal. E. THE MOON IS YOUR SPACE OYSTER (WILDCARD) There are plenty of other locations around the Moon Base that you can explore at your own discretion. Feel free to refer to the Settings page for more ideas on what shenanigans you can get into. Additionally, we'll be fielding Bender rolls again this month! With the exception of the three items that have been removed from his recipe database, if a food item was destroyed in a failed roll previously, you may roll to try to fix it. Bear in mind, of course, that you may make it worse. Successful food rolls will stay in place at this time. 4. THE DIRECTOR ACTS; A GRAND RELIC DESTROYED Erika has obtained and delivered the Space Mittens to Madame Director herself. She struggles to remain calm and composed at the moment, but the amount of immense pride and relief at recovering the Grand Relic slips through an otherwise sturdy exterior of coolness and level-headed features. She congratulates the entirety of the Bureau of Balance for their hard work, and relates to Erika that she couldn't be happier that she had made this world one step closer to being safe. A message will appear across all bracers, everywhere, with the following: Reclaimers, welcome home and congratulations on a successful first mission. Although there were certain drawbacks and difficult decisions that had to be made, I believe, without a doubt, that you all have irrefutably surpassed all expectations. Congratulations on a job well done. However, next time, please do be more careful out there. For those of you who wish to watch, my office will remain open until 1600 hours today. The relic will be destroyed, and if you would like to attend to see how it's done, please stop by. There will be light refreshments and coffee served, of course. If unable to attend, you can watch the ceremony later on your bracers. Don't forget to click Like and Subscribe. At the appointed hour, a ceremony will occur. She calls forth Davenport to wheel out the structure that's been created and designed with the sole purpose of destroying these things. She dare not takes the relic herself, no, refusing to touch the item at all. It's a medium sized metallic sphere, and once opened and closed, can never be opened again. Pulling back the curtain to an observatory, the Reclaimers can watch as Davenport sports a nifty pair of goggles, and wheels the orb onto a raised platform. He waits for the Director's signal, which is performed by an agreeable stamp of her oaken staff against the floor, and a nod. Davenport hits the KILL SWITCH, and the light show from behind the glass is amazing and terrifying all at the same time. You watch as the Space Mittens are obliterated from existence. An eruption of cheering breaks out. This concludes the first successful mission, and a deeply needed win, for the Bureau of Balance. blurb code by photosynthesis

Comments

[blodsvorr]

Beacon had a lot of dances, and I wasn't going to sit around on the sidelines when there were people to have fun with. By the time I was done, the whole school was jumping at a chance to be my dancing partner.

[Possibly an exaggeration, but picture a gangly teenager aggressively learning how to dance so he can enjoy himself at the first social events he could ever really enjoy himself at in his life.]

[grakraka]

[It makes him smile to imagine it. Qrow doing his best to learn so he could have fun with everyone else, maybe the first real fun event he'd ever been to in his life. For once, Akechi is the one who wants to ruffle his hair.]

I approve of your diligent studies.

[So yeah he is going for that hair ruffle.]

[blodsvorr]

Hey! [He dodges to the side, protecting his hair.]

For the record, it wasn't diligent studies. It came naturally.

[Did it though]

[grakraka]

[He laughs, letting his hand drop onto the counter.]

You have a rather graceful fighting style, so maybe it could have. I'll allow it. I should have asked you to teach me then.

[blodsvorr]

You're saying that like it's too late.

[Qrow can teach Akechi to dance still? The school, er he means company dance is still a week away!]

[grakraka]

[With a grin, Akechi spins the seat around and hops out, offering Qrow his hand.]

Well? I can at least surprise Kaede later by looking a little more impressive.

[blodsvorr]

[Qrow snorts, but he stands and takes Akechi's hand.]

Sure thing. You wanna start by learning to lead or to follow?

[IF REMNANT SAYS IT HAS GENDER EQUALITY AND NO HOMOPHOBIA THEN CLEARLY IT WOULD BE NORMAL TO LEARN ALL PARTS]

[grakraka]

[Huh. Interesting.]

Usually, men lead, so I assume I'll be expected to lead. But it's true that it's possible other world won't have the same gender dynamics, so I should probably learn both.

[blodsvorr]

[He kind of rolls his eyes a little.]

That must make it real confusing when it's two guys or girls, or when the people involved aren't either of the above.

[What a stupid rule (that was also mostly true at the Beacon dance but let's keep taking what the crew said about Remnant to its logical conclusions!)]

Let's start with a waltz. You want your hand on my back, and mine goes to your shoulder.

[grakraka]

[Wow that is a lot that he's filing away to ask about later. Because wow. Qrow really just said that.

But he wants to look cool, so.]

It is deeply unfortunate that I am probably done growing.

[Like maybe another inch at best but definitely not enough to be tall enough to be a dance partner for anyone as tall as Qrow. Rude.]

Upper back or lower back?

[blodsvorr]

[He grins a little—poor short child. Not that short, but fun to tease.]

You want it along my shoulder blade. Try to keep a good upright posture for this.

[grakraka]

[Although he makes a face, he's not going to back down. He straightens up and, though he has to reach, he puts his hand on Qrow's shoulder blade.]

My posture is perfect, thank you.

[blodsvorr]

[Oh Akechi. What a good kid. Qrow grins and starts taking him through the steps. Qrow can, in fact, waltz, so this is a very decent education, even if Qrow's a little tall to be following Akechi. Once Akechi has the basic feel for it, he makes him pull apart and mimic the posture, going through the steps side by side with him.

Naturally, he then makes Akechi go through the steps in reverse, as if he were following. He's going to learn all components of this dance.]

[grakraka]

[Naturally, Akechi does his best. He isn't ungraceful so much as he is a beginner figuring it out. He copies the movements when Qrow shows him and when they dance together, he focuses on trying to make sure their movements are in-sync. Dances are with a partner after all.

After practicing in following, he breathes out and smiles.]

That isn't too bad, I hope? For a beginner.

[Look it's okay if he isn't great right now as long as he's good when everyone has to see it.]

[blodsvorr]

[There's the quirk of a smile.]

For a beginner.

[Like Qrow was, back when he started.]

Now that I think about it, you could do with dancing practice to help you with your fighting style. More reading your partner and less stabbing at them recklessly.

[grakraka]

[He will accept that. The point is that he isn't awful and Qrow seems pleased.

And actually, that's a pretty interesting way of looking at it.]

I didn't think of that but you're right. I was focused on your movements as much as my own, so that would be a fascinating way of training for battle.

[blodsvorr]

[Akechi is always quick on the uptake.]

I'd say you could even learn a few things about how to fight someone after takin' 'em out for a spin on the dance floor.

[Will he be quick on the uptake about this, though.]

[grakraka]

[No because it takes him by surprise and he tries to figure out what he means. How to fight someone after dancing with them? A situation where you would first dance with someone and then fight them? Hmm...]

...Seduce someone for assassination?

[blodsvorr]

[Wow.]

Yeah, sure. That's one way to think about it.

[grakraka]

Well, what did you mean?

[He crosses his arms. He tried his best to make a logical inference??]

[blodsvorr]

You'll figure it out.

[Maybe. Qrow isn't so sure. But by now he is actually tired, and he has to bite back a yawn.]

Are you staying here? I'll lock the door on my way out.

[grakraka]

[He probably will not.]

Ah! Yes, of course. My apologies for keeping you awake.

[He can ask him questions tomorrow. That would be better. Then he won't seem like he's been thinking about it.]

Please sleep well. You can come again with me sometime and I'll show you my interviews.

[Because if Qrow hates seeing him be a fake bitch then that sounds like a hilarious way to spend time.]

[blodsvorr]

Pass. I'm not shouting at a simulated TV.

[You can't make him do that! But his hand is on his hip as he looks at Akechi.]

You sure it isn't lights-out, ace?

[It's late. It is very late. And Qrow isn't going to make Akechi go to bed—his bad habits will have to get worse before Qrow is going to intervene on that level—but he is ready to give another nudge in that direction. Half the reason he said he needed rest was to persuade Akechi to go to sleep.]

[grakraka]

[He super wants to make him sometime.

But somehow, despite everything, he's surprised to realise Qrow is checking on him—that he's worried about him. Of course he is, it's why he followed him out here, but that's a little different. Akechi was being suspicious. It makes sense to look into. This is just... him worrying about him.

Akechi glances back around for a moment. There really isn't a reason to stay but he always hates leaving. There isn't anything bad waiting for him out here but it's just something ingrained, that when he leaves, everything comes back. The pressure and the worry and inevitable march of despair.

Leaving with Qrow might be better for that, honestly. So he nods after a second.]

I should probably turn in as well, yes.

[blodsvorr]

[And for that, Akechi gets the reward of seeing some tension leave Qrow's shoulders. Qrow nods to the exist and steps outside.]

Let's head out then, Goro.