balance_logs | Welcome Participartypants

Welcome Participartypants

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

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[Qrow isn't expecting enemies, but the tension in Roxas's attitude has his fingers twitching for Harbinger. He keeps at a careful closeness, not wanting to crowd Roxas when he's so out of sorts, but definitely not wanting to me out of Roxas's peripheral vision when the memories in places like this always tend to surge.

The curse makes him wonder if one such surge just hit. He frowns, looking down, as he gives his dry answer.]

Seems like the memories we think about the most aren't always the ones we like to pop up in the middle of a weekday afternoon.

Guess not.

[And it's not like he's been trying to think about the World that Never Was on a regular basis. Or anything (anyone) else that was gone.]

Is there a way to get rid of it? To make it go away, or do we just have to walk out?

[In which case, where does it end? This was a road out, but it usually ended in a portal. And he's not even sure he can make those anymore.]

Edited 2019-01-20 00:41 (UTC)

Sorry, Roxas. If there's a way to get rid of it, I don't know it. I'm not even sure what triggers it.

[Is it the presence of the person who inspired it? Is it just random, or a deliberate whim on the part of Miss Zarves? He hasn't noticed anything for sure. And until they can determine what makes it happen, it won't be clear how to get rid of it.]

[Roxas sighs. That doesn't really help, so all he can really do is keep walking, keeping his eyes straight ahead. He doesn't want to look at the buildings and hates how familiar they are.

It feels like it was a long time ago that he left, but really, it's only been a couple of months now.]

But it's not real. It's just an illusion so there's gotta be some way to stop it.

And it's not like the Test of Initiation.

[He sounds hopeful.]

No, which means the trigger to end it isn't so clear.

Were there any monsters normally in this are? Those Heartless you talked about.

[He doesn't want them to get attacked out of nowhere. Roxas isn't in a good state for it.]

[It would give him something else to focus on, at the very least.]

Yeah, there were Heartless here. This world was pretty tied to the Darkness so they were around. But they would have attacked by now if there were any.

They go after people with hearts.

[And him, because he has the keyblade. And maybe a heart. No one really told him that though.]

[A world tied to Darkness. Heartless going for hearts. There's a lot of terminology happening here that Qrow can half-understand from context and the obvious, but he doesn't have the full picture.]

Does that moon have something to do with all this?

[It's hard to miss what it looks like]

[Roxas pauses, before nodding and looking back up at it.]

Yeah. That moon is Kingdom Hearts. It's...kind of like the heart of everything. When a heartless is defeated, the heart is released and it goes there.

The Sup--Xemnas said that once Kingdom Hearts was completed, we'd be able to get our hearts back.

[Though Roxas has a hard time believing that now.]

[Qrow's eyes slide over to him. "We would be able to get our hearts back." It doesn't sound right. "Sup—" Superior, maybe? Or some bizarre term Qrow doesn't know. He can't think of any that goes with the heart theming, but that doesn't mean it isn't there. He'll have to keep it in mind.]

Not to question on that guy's story, kid, but you don't exactly seem lacking a heart to me.

[Roxas's response is a sad smile, and his attention drifts back to the ground.]

I was always kind of the weird one.

[He takes a breath, seeming to gather his thoughts. He's never really admitted this to anyone.]

Look, the thing is...I actually don't? Or at least, I don't think I do? I'm a Nobody.

When someone loses their heart, they become a Heartless. But the shell that's left behind becomes a Nobody. And if they're strong willed enough, they can retain some idea of who they were before, but without a heart.

[Roxas is just saying what he's been told, since no one else has come from further down the timeline to tell him otherwise.]

i guess it's kind of felt like I have one, but I'm really not sure.

Well, they sure know how to pick titles where you're from.

[Heartless. Nobody. Gods. A kid shouldn't be calling themselves that, even if it's literally true. Frowning, with his hands in his pockets, he doesn't go for the immediate argument. He doesn't have enough information for it.]

What's it mean, not having a heart? Practically, I mean. We've got expressions about it, like someone with no heart being callous, but that's just a metaphor. So what's it supposed to mean about you?

[One day, Roxas will meet Ansem the Wise. And on that day, Ansem is getting punched in the face.]

Well, I guess it means that. We don't have feelings or emotions or anything like that. We can pretend, but it's just fake. If you don't have a heart, you're not really anything.

[Hence Nobodies. They don't really have anything to define themselves by.]

But I said I was kind of weird because there were times when it was like I did feel things, which is why I'm not really sure if I have a heart or not.

[His hand is kind of fiddling with his shirt over where one's heart might be.]

I think that has to do with my...Other?

[Somebody? What does he call Sora even?]

He and I existed at the same time, which isn't really normal.

Edited 2019-01-27 02:42 (UTC)

Huh.

[Roxas definitely seems like he has a heart to Qrow. Qrow has seen a lot of people faking emotions, but Roxas really doesn't show any of the telltale traits. Maybe it's a mistake, but...]

It's hard for me to see you as anything close to lacking a heart. You're a pretty emotive kid.

Your Other is, what? The person you're made from?

[It's seems like the logical jump in the terminology, but who knows.]

[And that's what makes it so confusing. He knows what he's been told, and it's hard to ignore. But at the same time, it clashes with what he's observed.

He blames Sora.]

Yeah...he's the guy I...came from? Was? I don't know a whole lot about it.

His name is Sora. I....I've had dreams about him. So I know that at one point in his adventure, he was turned into a Heartless, which is how I happened. But he was able to get his heart back somehow.

Dreams, huh.

[It's an odd situation. It's outright bizarre. Like if killing someone turned them into a Grimm, but also into some kind of—shell of a human.

But Roxas isn't a shell. That fact is overwhelmingly clear. And there must be leakage, links between him and the person he was—made from?]

Metaphysical made literal or not, I can't imagine you're faking it. There are usually signs for that, and you aren't showing any. Maybe you've ended up with two hearts between the two of you.

[Or... between the one of them? No. Qrow isn't going to say that out loud.]

And memories...

[That's probably the worst part, honestly. Carrying around two sets of memories and having to sort through them. Never mind the memories faked for the Digital Twilight Town.]

But maybe...I just know that, he needs me to wake up. When I met him, he was sleeping, but then the Hunger showed up and I was here.

[He's quiet for a moment, and then in a small voice.]

I wasn't even sure if I wanted to wake him up...

[Memories. Now that—that is another burden. The only analogue Qrow knows—well. Qrow has been told enough about the burden that Oz's hosts bear not to envy how it might affect this kid, as different as the situation is. Someone else's memories is always a weight.]

Needs you, huh. And what happens to you, when that kid wakes up?

I...I don't actually know.

[He's not looking at Qrow when he says this, instead his attention is on the shadows of the streets. Not that it's the best thing to focus on. His voice is still quiet.]

I think I go back to him...complete him, whatever that means. I don't think....I don't think I'll exist anymore.

[It's a bit more complicated than that, certainly. But it's what he's got at the moment.]

It's not like I was supposed to in the first place.

Plenty of people aren't supposed to exist.

[Cursed, unwanted. Qrow steps in front of Roxas, wanting to get him to look him in the eye.]

Look. Roxas. I don't know everything about your world. I'm sure I'm missing plenty. But just because you were supposed to vanish, that doesn't mean you should. Got it? You've got as much a right to exist as anyone, and it's a good thing you're here with us.

[He does, instinctively, look up. Most people are taller than him after all.

But something about Qrow's words makes him go for eye contact and actually listen. Because, really, for the first time since Twilight Town, he's been told this. Sure, it's also the first time he's ever said anything about it. but that doesn't take away the weight.

Namine had say he wasn't supposed to exist in the first place, but never got time to explain that. Qrow is telling him he has a right to exist. And Roxas knows where he stands with that.

The shadows of the city start to fade.]

Even if I don't have a Heart? Because I want to be here. And do whatever I can to help.

Even if.

[He doesn't look away. He doesn't show doubt. Roxas needs to know Qrow means this.]

I've meant plenty of people with hearts who wouldn't be able to say the same.

[Raven. Leo. People who have hearts, literal and metaphysical, and still lack the will that Roxas is showing.]

Besides. I'm still not convinced you're lacking a heart by any definition that matters to me.

[It means more to hear that than Roxas can really say. Especially as the shadows part, revealing the Bureau campus. It's a welcoming sight.]

Sometimes, I'm not sure I am either. I want to believe...I have something.

["My heart belongs to me!" he'd boasted once, after all.]

[Qrow exhales in relief. That heart in the sky, made more ominous by what Roxas told him, just slips away.]

You know, I'm no expert on hearts, but those Grimm we fought where I came from were a little like Heartless. The difference between them and all the rest of us living things is that we have souls. I figure, whatever your heart situation, you've at least got one of those.

[Roxas nods, and his expression seems a little brighter than earlier. There's still some doubts, and those probably won't go away, but he's choosing to believe Qrow.]

There's not really a way to check, is there? But I'm going to try to believe that.

[There's a pause.]

Qrow...could you keep all this to yourself? I'm...I'm not sure how I feel about it getting out.

[It has to be enough for now. Qrow knows that some things can only come on faith. Roxas's request is met with a quiet nod, his answer easy.]

Don't worry about it. No reason anyone needs to know about that unless you decide they do.

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seasaltkeys - 2019-02-09 05:07 (UTC) - Expand

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Welcome Participartypants

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KH is keeping me from tagging about KH

what a problem to have

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