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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[Related ones? A third one?

She's starting to feel almost faint, but she squeezes her hand in her hair, tightly enough to hurt to keep herself in the moment. The motives are making her head swim. Is that what everyone would have had to go through, had the Hunger not claimed it all? That's what she'd wanted to protect everyone from.

Her breath is coming in harsh pants through her nose, though she forces herself to try to stay calm. Focus. Think of a soothing song like Maurice Ravel's Sonatine, something that'll whisk her worries away. Take her out of the moment.

She breathes. Once, twice. Somehow, she can't help but feel like she's behind the podium in the middle of the trial grounds again. Like there's a spotlight shining on her.

How much did you experience?]

That Enoshima... she was one of you guys, right? The mastermind?

Edited 2019-01-25 20:06 (UTC)

No.

[He would never accept her as part of anything to do with him. The very thought put an uncomfortable and almost disgusted look on his face.]

She was a student of Hope's Peak Academy, but she was an underclassman.

My class...

We were simply victims, throw away experiments.

[The mastermind wasn't one of them... Kaede doesn't know if she should be relieved or not. She and Shuichi had both thought by the end of the class trial that there was no way the mastermind could have been among them after all, but it sends a wave of complex emotions through her at the realization that for Komaeda, it was confirmed. Kaede's plan to kill the mastermind could never have worked, huh...? And while it's a relief to know that there was no way a mastermind could have been hiding among her dear friends, it hurts to think about even still.]

...I'm sorry, [she says finally, reaching out to gently touch his elbow. It feels like a hollow comfort. What could she say that makes a killing game any better? Nothing. Nothing at all.] If there were a piano here, I could play you a song...

[She thinks Clair de Lune, and pauses. No sound comes out, and she shakes her head.]

I wish you hadn't had to go through that.

Perhaps another time, when a Piano is present.

[He smiled a little, her effort was appreciated.]

And though it is a kind statement, I won't trade that experience. Without that game... we would have been worse off. I would never have been able to meet someone important. And... the world would be less hopeful.

[Perhaps if he had succeeded at that time, but then, what would have happened to Hinata?

Ah, yes. There was that.]

Though... I suppose in a way, we did have a mastermind among us.

You keep talking about someone important...

[It's a leading question. More than once now, he's talked about someone important to him. Even with the reveal that there might have been a mastermind, she won't be deterred!!

Unless Nagito doesn't want to talk about this person. She won't push too hard.]

They helped you defeat the mastermind?

[He can't help but laugh, the irony of it. Now that he knew the whole picture.]

Yes. He was able to persevere, look towards the future and push everyone forward towards a positive goal. He uncovered the mastermind of our game, and then saved us all.

But, in a way, he was the cause of our game being a thing in the first place.

But then... we went in knowing what was going to happen anyway....

[He sighed a bit and lowered his voice.]

That's the thing about them, what you discover as the truth can be rather far from what you thought it would be. Memories are changed and the truth obscured.

...Komaeda-san, I don't understand.

[That's what it comes back to. None of this makes any sense to her. How could the person who helped catch the mastermind have started the game in the first place?]

Let me get this straight. You're saying that the guy who started the game was able to catch the mastermind during his trial...? You don't hate him for starting it?

[It sounds like this person was like her, except he actually succeeded in his goal. She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath.]

I don't really know. I learned about it afterwards. I was already dead when most of the reveal happened.

[He couldn't help but look down, a mixed expression on his face. It felt very recent to him still, and he still needed to resolve some things. Though, he supposed, he wasn't as bad as right after.]

But, I remember before, and I experienced after. I suppose you could say there were two masterminds, working together, but one of them had a completely different goal. And that persons goal lead to something good, but needed the other to achieve it.

It was the perfect example of needing bad conditions to lead to positive outcomes. Good luck always follows bad luck. Hope, always follows Despair.

Oh!

[It's a gasp, her hand flying to cover her mouth again with a rush of emotion so intense it almost makes her sick. He died during his killing game, too...? Meaning Mikan must have been the one to fill him in on... on what happened, after he died.

...Wait. Wasn't their world destroyed? How could there have been a reveal, and yet...

She's starting to get a headache, and starting to think that maybe someone else would be able to explain things more clearly.]

I... really don't get it, but...

[There's a beat, then she steps forward, wrapping her arms around the older boy and giving him a hug. There's one thing she does understand, and it's the hopelessness of being killed, of coming face to face with death.]

Thank you. For telling me.

Ah that-

[He stops as she hugs him, a little unsure about it at first. Something he had said had resonated with her.

That he died?

Could she have died in hers? How could she be here now then?

He wasn't really sure, but, it felt like he should pat her head at the very least.]

It was virtual reality, but, we didn't know that at the time.

[Oh... he pat her head. It's kind of nice, even if she's not expecting it. She's supposed to be the one comforting him, after all!]

...Huh?

[Wait, what?

She pulls back, brows knitted together as she frowns up at him.]

What do you mean, "virtual reality?"

The Neo World Program, a complex virtual simulation used for extreme therapy. You see, the mastermind of the killing game we ended up being in, was an AI developed by the original mastermind of the end of the world. Though she had died, she made sure she lived on....

She infected the computer, and caused the situation. We were all suppose to die and I believe she would take over our bodies?

It's a bit too Gibson, isn't it?

[He had already said too much, he couldn't bring himself to talk about how they had been despair and needed treatment before. At least not at the moment.]

Our memories were wiped while inside, we could only remember up to the begining of our first day at Hope's Peak Academy.

Dying feels real... and, there is always a chance you will die in real life if you experience a strong enough trauma. We should have been comatose, most of us were. It took effort to wake us up again.

That's... that's crazy.

[She brings a hand to her lips, trying to imagine it. A virtual world... huh? Doesn't that mean that anything could be a virtual world, when it came down to it? Even this?

No, she knows what she experienced. There's no way that was virtual reality. Everything was just too achingly real.]

I... I don't think our game was like that at all.

It might not be, but....

[It was hard to say, he had nothing to prove what they were experiencing now was true.]

I'm sure it was, and I'm sure this is now.

[But that question will always be in the back of his mind.]

That was just how things were for us, but we pulled through.

I just wish Tanaka kun would understand, he's the only one here from the class that can't remember.

Tanaka-kun...

[She slumps back until she's leaning against the wall again, staring at a point over Komaeda's shoulder. Then realizing that staring blankly means she's looking toward those bears in the distance, and wretches her gaze back to him.]

You're... saying he was part of the game, but he can't remember? Or... or that he can't remember how, um... how it all ended...?

He only remembers being in the game up to when he died, and before he attended school.

[Komaeda couldn't help but sigh a little frustrated bu it.]

It's quite irritating.

[She jolts forward a little, fists clenching at her sides. He died. He died, and she can't know whether it's because he was executed, or because someone killed him. She thinks someone must have killed him, because Gundam's part of the group that had come and rescued her back in New Aspen.

He died. A hand goes to her heart and clutches at the fabric of her vest as she shakes her head.]

Do you think... do you think the Hunger messed up our memories? And that's why he can't remember what you two do?

That isn't it. He is actually from the simulation. He can't remember, because he is what was uploaded.

[That was why he was just turned eighteen.... It was the strangest fact in everything.]

Tsumiki san and I however came here after waking up, though Tsumiki san is a few days further than me.

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