Welcome Participartypants

[balancemod]

Who: All y'all nerds
Where: The Arena
When: The night of the 15th
What: A small gathering to both welcome new members to the Bureau, and to congratulate veteran Reclaimers on their successful magic mitten procurement. Dress is as fancy or as not fancy as you want it. Manners, to the degree of which you are capable, are mandatory.
Content Warning: General content warning for the Reclaimers. Also general content warning for Miss Zarves

Formal, informal, never mind the dress code. NAVIGATION It's been two weeks since the Reclaimers returned, and since the newest Reclaimers arrived. Some of you have adapted better than the Director could have hoped, and some of you have made your best efforts to find a new sense of normalcy — testing Bender the food robot to his limits, forming book clubs, training together, musing over what sort of fashions one even wears to a party. Some of you, perhaps, have spent a little bit too much time in the simulation at the Dojo. It's understandable. Adjusting to the idea that your entire universe has been destroyed takes time, and sometimes, escapes are necessary. And tonight, she's hoping to provide you with a temporary escape with this party. 1. ONCE UPON A TWO WEEKS' WEARY A. TO WASH AWAY THE ACHING BLEARY The Director, using the Moon Base's simulation technology, has turned the Arena into a ballroom to behold. The sprawling hall is decorated in ornate wooden carvings, and a large maple floor meant for dancing is encircled by tables and a large banquet table. In the corner, on a raised platform, stands a baby grand piano, freshly tuned and polished. Anyone is free to have a spin on it, if the mood strikes. At some point during the evening, Johann the Bard, violin in hand, will stand on the platform and provide a performance that could only ever be heard on the Moon Base, among members of the Bureau of Balance — because he did, after all, give this particular song to the Voidfish. If you would like something with a heavier beat, there's a tablet on the wall next to the platform, where you can make music requests of your own, from the Artificer's collection of songs from across the universe. The collection may not be all that extensive, but The Cupid Shuffle is probably in there. Get down and boogie, is what we're saying. B. THEY WERE THROWN A BANQUET CHEERY And what's on the banquet table? Snacks provided by Bender, of course — which means they could have any manner of magical effects. Here are some of the snacks available, including one that the Director was lucky enough to roll for herself. Cupcakes of every flavor imaginable, utterly delicious — so delicious, in fact, that whoever eats one will have flowers grow in their footsteps for the next two hours. The flowers are magic and disappear on their own, so go turn the dance floor into a garden (Courtesy of Lion). Mead that puts you in such a good mood, you'll be unable to resist the urge to sing in whatever measure of talent you have (Courtesy of Lancelot). An energy drink that will literally give you wings for two hours. Enjoy looking absolutely angelic for your friends (Courtesy of Akechi). Nachos that have a curiously JPG quality to them, but no other magical effects (Courtesy of Terezi). The most delicious cheeseburgers you ever did taste (Courtesy of Maya). Finger sandwiches that, when eaten, light up your entire body in an assortment of different colors — the light trails behind your movements, like the way lights look on a low shutter speed. Enjoy the raving (courtesy of The Director). 2. BUT THEN, SHE ROSE FROM THE ICHOR Some of you may have heard a thing or two about Miss Zarves — perhaps the rumors circulating around town, or the strange connection to Garfield and the Bracer Chasers some of you may have bought to decorate your Bracers. Maybe words like "catalyst" and "Ouija Board" have come up once or twice. Because there is a being trapped in a plane of existence right next to yours, largely forgotten, as if she had somehow been reverse Voidfish'd. Forgotten, that is, until the Bracer Chasers — curiously laced with high amounts of aluminadium, a word that might sound familiar to McCree and Faolan. For two years, she's waited, and watched, wanting a chance to be seen again, to speak with the Bureau herself once again, cursed with a maddening loneliness. And the second one of those cute decorations was pressed against a Bracer, Miss Zarves had it — her catalyst. She would know, after all: She was once a leading researcher on using catalysts to travel through dimensions, after all — and the Bracer Chasers were one of her original designs. At the very end of the party, perhaps one or two piano songs away from shutdown, the simulation suddenly shuts down. The lights blink off with a systemwide shudder. After five seconds, the lights flare back to life, and the entire Arena is its default white blank slate. And a message, from username @Zarves❤Scarves, slowly blinks across the screen. Hello. I would like to play a game. And then the Arena goes dark. A. HACKER VOICE: I'M IN That little stunt isn't the only one Miss Zarves, who now has a connection to the dimension you're residing in and some of the Bureau tech, is going to pull. For the rest of your stay at the Moon Base, until you're whisked away to the next mission (Or unless you figure out a way to stop her), you may experience some of the following: Wonky simulations: You may have been traveling to the Dojo to recall a certain piece of your home world. And maybe one day, while you're minding your own business, that same simulation may suddenly appear outside the Dojo. Or perhaps you're wandering down a hallway, and you come across a mishmash of other people's simulations, torn apart and stitched back together haphazardly. Bender: As if this guy weren't a big enough mess already. If you happen to ask Bender for one of the items that were available at the party, you may instead be given food that has the opposite effect. Think cupcakes that leave behind wilted plants, mead that makes you cry uncontrollably, or energy drinks that not only do not give you literal wings, but put you straight to sleep. If you happen to have a subscription to Webflix, regardless of what movie you pick to watch, it'll pick a specific movie instead: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. Also, you won't be able to turn it off. 3. AND THEN THINGS JUST KEEP GETTING WORSE The arena's simulation has decided to take a sabbatical, a spectral being from another plane of existence has invaded the Moon Base, and Madame Director is doing her best to keep the room calm and collected. First, the darkness needs to be handled with properly, so with a stomp of her elegant white oak staff down on the floor, a sound echoes above and beyond any panicked shouts, and soon the room is filled with dancing lights that emanate from the four cardinal directions of the arena. "Ladies and gentlemen! Excuse me. Thank you everyone for coming to this enchanted evening here with your fellow Reclaimers, but without proper lighting- Johann, Johann, please, I don't need signature music right now, this isn't a wrestling match for crying out- thank you, Johann. As I was saying- unfortunately, this evening's events will have to be---" Almost right on cue, as if there wasn't a possibly worse time in the world for this to happen, the doors of the arena bust open. Into the room swarms a dragonborn, looking rather beat up and worse for wear. It's impossible to tell if Dragonborn can cry the way humans can cry, but her amphibian-like eyes shine oddly in the colors of the magical lights surrounding the room. The Director's eyes go wide for a moment, this was rather- no, extremely, unsuspected. The Regulator approaches the Director. "We found him! Lucretia, we found him! And h-he. That son of a bitch has Killian!" And lacking in the proper finesse that's demanded of her as a leader, she rubs her forehead. "Carey, come with me to my office and we'll sort this out." She looks around the room, her Reclaimers all gathered and standing, watching this interaction take place. "Please, everyone, return to your apartments for the evening." A. TWO WEEKS UNTIL ROLLOUT The Director hasn't slept a wink throughout the night, dealing with a host of problems facing the Bureau at the moment. She consults with the clerics on how to get rid of this ridiculous joke-entity that Garfield has proliferated long enough. She speaks with Carey about all the details she can offer, attempting to calm her down, despite her unraveled state. Killian means the world to Carey, after all, and the Director, no- Lucretia, was waiting for the wedding invitation for far too long. Sometime around mid-day, the Reclaimers will receive a message on their bracer from her. Reclaimers, we will deploying in approximately two weeks. We've discovered the location of a relic that we haven't heard about in quite some time now. A full briefing will be provided at a later date, but please prepare accordingly. The area you all will be assigned to is known as the Netheril, a vast desert that splits the continent in half between the western and eastern fronts. We've instructed the tailors to offer special clothing designs that are particularly good for protection against sand and heat — at a heavily discounted price. Ensure that you have a weapon, as there's no telling what sort of beasts you can encounter out in such a wasteland. Train intensively over the next few days. We anticipate that it will be quite some time before you are able to return to Base, so please ensure that your BIAS is restocked and ready to go. Two weeks. blurb code by photosynthesis

Comments

[blodsvorr]

[Qrow doesn't let her hand go. He's here. He's real. The rest is an illusion. It's a split second decision: would it help more to stay and push through, or run? Maybe it would help to face this, see it, fight it—

She's panicking. She isn't ready.]

Alright. Let's go.

[He keeps hold of that hand as he leads her in the opposite direction of the noise. If they're lucky, nothing else will go wrong.]

[gotyourbach]

[Parts of Komaeda's room might be nearby, but fortunately his luck isn't here to play, too. She keeps a tight grip on Qrow's hand, peeking carefully out the door of the classroom before trying to tug him after her. She's humming softly all the while, though her voice is shaking.

A beat, and suddenly there's a minor illusion of a five-foot wall hovering into place, blocking the door to the classroom. She keeps tugging, pausing her humming only to take a breath before using message without warning. A handy way to talk without stopping her quiet song.]

I know they're not here, but if it's like the Arena, I don't think we should fight them.

[At least her mental "voice" sounds calmer than she's capable of actually speaking right now.]

[blodsvorr]

[The voice startles him, making him lose a step for a moment before he realizes what he's happening. As he keeps a steady grip on her hand, he keeps moving forward. It's good she's using her abilities like this; it means she's at least keeping her head.

He wants to tell her that he's pretty sure he can take a simulated bear, or whatever it was. But he hears the shake in her voice as she's singing. So he just keeps his expression set as they move, and he keeps a hand close to Harbinger. He'll draw it if he has to. But for now, he'll focus on getting Kaede out.]

[gotyourbach]

[She does better when there's another person nearby. It's when she's alone that she panics and acts rashly, but with someone else beside her, she can move forward, try to act. Not always in the best way, but hey. She's getting there!]

That's Monokuma, Qrow-sensei. That's the bear that was "headmaster" during the killing game. I know it's not real but...

[She's scared that somehow, with Monokuma here, another killing game could start. If enough people are trapped in these simulations and they can't get out...]

I think... I think we're far enough away, [she mumbles quietly, holding tight to his hand as the remains of the half-destroyed school start pixelating away.] S-Sorry, I freaked out a little, huh?

[She forces a smile, trying to look more upbeat than she feels.]

[blodsvorr]

Maybe a little.

[Okay, being sardonic might not be helpful. Refocus.]

Come on, kid. Let's get you some water or something.

[He still hasn't let go of her. Normally, he tries to avoid physical contact, but he does not want to stop giving her that reminder of what is real.

[gotyourbach]

I'm sorry. You work so hard teaching us all to fight, and I still just wanted to run away.

[She can't help but feel she's disappointed him somehow, even as the last vestiges of the simulation room finally fade into nothing, revealing just the hallway of the Academy. The actual academy on the moonbase, not the half-destroyed one they'd been in before.

She doesn't let go of his hand, though. If anything, her grip just tightens on it as she follows him.]

[blodsvorr]

Kaede. [He stops her, turning to look at her.] There's nothing wrong with running from a fight. Combat isn't for everyone, and fighting isn't always the right choice to make. I'm teaching you to fight to keep you safe, not because I want to see you punch out some asshole bears. Not that that wouldn't be great to see, but it's not the point of my lessons.

Don't forget that, alright? I'm not training you to be a fighter. I'm training you to protect yourself and your friends, however you've got to do it.

[gotyourbach]

[She's quiet, staring down at the floor, because the idea that he might be disappointed in her is almost worse than thinking he might be angry. When he says that's not it, she can only nod helplessly. That's what she was thinking of doing, protecting Qrow. It's not that she doesn't think Qrow couldn't take just that Monokuma alone, but-]

Momota-kun... wanted to try to fight him. Back during... you know. They almost killed him for it.

[Would that have been kinder? Being blown up by mechas like some kind of video game instead of being consumed by the hunger? She doesn't know. She can't know that.]

[blodsvorr]

How powerful are they?

[It's a good measure to know in case they pop by again. With all this slippages, they should be alert.]

[gotyourbach]

[She shakes her head.]

I... when Momota-kun tried to attack them, they brought out five mechas. Mechas, like... giant robots. Like the kind you'd see in kids anime. It sounds stupid, right? Giant robots coming out of nowhere to... to kill someone for trying to fight back.

But... even if you could destroy one Monokuma, there was... there's supposed to be an unlimited number of them that can be made. So even if you took down one, it wouldn't matter.

[blodsvorr]

So if we see them, we avoid them. [It makes sense. If the simulation comes from their memories, then that should carry through also.] You made the right call, kid. [He wants to reinforce that. She seemed to really think he might be upset at her for leaving.]

[gotyourbach]

[She nods. Avoiding them is the best policy she can think of to keep everybody safe. Then she sighs, grip loosening a little on his hand.]

I just... hate feeling like I gave up.

[blodsvorr]

Hey. Deciding to make it out the other side is not giving up. [He points a finger!!] Sometimes, standing and fighting a battle you'll know you'll lose is the worst way you can give up. I'm not saying don't fight against the odds, but retreating and regrouping means you can keep going. That isn't surrender.

[gotyourbach]

...

[She's quiet, letting his words loop over and over again as she thinks about them. It's hard not to compare what he's saying to what she went through, trying to encourage her classmates to keep going and follow the Death Road of Despair in spite of their exhaustion, all in the attempt to escape. Retreating and regrouping... and coming back, to challenge it again.

He's right, as he often is. Kaede sags forward, wrapping her arms around him in a tight embrace.]

Thank you, Qrow-sensei.

[blodsvorr]

[It takes him by surprise. Hesitant, Qrow puts one arm around her. Gently, he pats her on the back.]

No problem, kiddo.