Lunar Interlude 4, Part 2

[balancemod]

Now is the winter of our discount tent. NAVIGATION 1. THE TOMB OF HORRORS "The Tomb of... Horrors?" "Yes. It's a tomb. And it's filled with horrors. Lucas, were you paying attention at all during the staff meeting yesterday afternoon?" "Yes, but... that doesn't... sound very safe, Lucretia." "The Space Mittens. The Architect's Pen. The Yarn of Earth's Binding. They've already faced way worse than what's down there, Lucas, and it's mostly harmless. Just a few exercises to get them closer to each other. Learn to work as a team. Build rapport. Support the new Reclaimers. It'll be safe. Edhyln's been working on it for weeks." "Edhyln?" "Yes, our Bureau Beholder Best Buddy. He actually likes to be called BB, for short." "Our... WHAT?" A. COME ONE, COME ALL Lucretia stands in front of the Tomb of Horrors. Several Reclaimers have done their best to help clear the path from the main campground straight to the mouth of the cave. She stands in front of it, explaining how this works. Essentially, you form a team- the makeup is completely up to you- and go through the tomb. It's meant to build character and bolster relationships between the Reclaimers. Mostly, it should be challenging, fun and edu-taining at the same time. You look up at a pretty dingy sign that's been painted onto wood, hanging above the portcullis that keeps entrants out. It reads, "Enter Colleagues, Exit Best Friends." Lucretia states that the tomb can only hold one team at a time, and it takes a little bit of effort to set it up in between runs. Fear not! You'll all have your chance to enter. Lucas has created some really cool technology to live stream your encounter onto these floating orbs that can be viewed from the campgrounds. They connect to your bracer, too. You can provide live commentary if you'd like; it'll appear inside the tomb itself as floating digital chat for everyone to see. Lucretia's not incredibly happy about this new invention and worries that it'll hamper the experience a little bit. You, on the other hand, are almost duty bound to make her regret her decision to allow it. Before you enter the Tomb of Horrors, a wooden box is neatly organized for your team. The lid is left open, and you're instructed to leave all your magical items behind. The focus is teamwork, after all- not cheesing it with OP artifacts. OOC Note: Feel free to set up a separate top level for interactions from other Reclaimers who might be watching your trial. The top 3 streamers who receive the most comments will receive a Fantasy Gachapon token each! We will stop tallying comments on May 31st, at 11PM EST B. THE FLOOR IS MADE OF LAVA (Note: Image over there not an accurate representation of this trial; I just thought it looked super neat.) Room 1 of the Tomb of Horrors is carpeted in a red, soft texture. There's a leader board that appears on the other side of the room that states: "THE FLOOR IS LAVA," and the second you and your team enter, pixelated faces of your countenance will appear below the warning, and a tally of points will begin. You'll notice that once you've entered, the portcullis drops and you're essentially forced to undergo the trials within until you've reached the final room. About 6 inches off the ground is a series of five 6½ foot long planks of wood, the ends of which are resting on small, circular metal pegs built into the ground. They make a zigzag pattern over a span of 30 feet, and you notice that below this series of planks, or essentially this low ropes course, is that soft, plush red carpet. This seems really, really easy. What gives? Lucretia's designed way trickier Tests of Initiation than this. However, if you... for any reason, touch the red carpet even once, the screen on the other end of the room will flash and tally a point deduction from your team. You'll earn one TEAMWORK PENALTY (TP). This seems silly. When everyone is across, you'll hear a noise over the loudspeaker remark: "we all walk the same path in life, and it's easier with help from your friends!" C. THE WOODEN WALL Room 2 contains the second trial: a giant, 15 foot, 7 feet wide, several feet deep wall made of wood. There's no way around it, as it seems to vivisect the entire room. It also doesn't come with rope, anything to help you climb over it, and honestly? It's a little on the slippery side. Getting above and beyond it is your challenge. If someone falls down from the wall, you'll earn one TP for your team. At the end of the trial, you'll hear a similar voice from a loudspeaker: "sometimes life throws obstacles at you, and it's easier to get over them with your friends!" D. THE TOTEM OF CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM The third room of the Camp Balance teamwork exercise leads way into a circular room with a small metal statue on a wooden pedestal. The statue depicts cartoonish representations of your party makeup, and when turned over, you see the familiar logo of Fantasy Costco written smack dab on the bottom of them. The far side of the trial reads: "THIS IS THE TOTEM OF CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM." In order to pass, you must give at least one piece of helpful criticism to your teammate. You'll take turns, and if the criticism comes from a place of pure personal truth, it'll light up gold. If it comes out of mockery, disdain, or condescension, it'll glow red hot- to the point of burning your hand. You'll also earn one TP for that one. Once all four totems are lit, the exit becomes apparent. "Good advice makes for good friends!" E. THE ARENA You step forward into the next room, and it looks very similar to the arena back on base... only it's been retrofitted to look like a McDonald's ball pit instead. You wade forward, as someone stands in the middle, a sheet over their face to make them appear to be a spoopy ghost. Oh no! It can only be vanquished by true teamwork! What will you do? The figure flings a ball at you, and depending on the color, you feel a light effect that resonates with a similarly colored element: ○ Red for fire ○ Blue for ice ○ Yellow for lightning ○ Green for wind It's not hard to take down at all. Have a little fun with it, why don't you? Or don't. The person under the sheet is getting a little ticked off with how you're not taking this trial seriously. If your team managed to score even one TP, he'll stop midway through the fight and rip the sheet off. You know those weird feelings you've been having at night while wandering around the campsite? That's because BB, the Buddy Beholder, has been around, watching all of you and trying to have a good time. He's not a very good beholder... in that, he's not very great at being a beholder. His eyestalks emit a kind of nauseating feeling that can cause confusion, blindness, paralysis- the same things you experienced back at the cabins. One of two things happen, here: "You're not taking this seriously! You were supposed to walk out of this becoming better friends. I think I know just the thing to help you become closer." (You've scored at least one TP) "Congratulations! You've earned the grand prize!" (A treasure chest drops from the ceiling, and when opened, shows a banner with the word "FRIENDSHIP!" printed onto it. This, too, has a Fantasy Costco logo on the bottom right of the flag.) Either way, the ground below you begins to tremble, as it seems all the balls in the ball pit start to suck through a vortex and the floor gives way. You're about to experience the real Tomb of Horrors. 2. YOU'VE REACHED.... THE END? For those of you who clearly did not take BB's cooperative training program seriously, he is extremely insulted!! Some of these tasks were meant to be interpreted more metaphorically, something to consider while forging stronger bonds with your colleagues, not just stomped through or made fun of. This is IMPORTANT. This is FRIENDSHIP. (Note: He is not mad at all of you sweet Reclaimers who enthusiastically tried your best at his workshop. But this is a team-building exercise, which means you all MUST do everything as a team). And clearly, as a team with the majority sorted into the fighting-based paths, the only thing you lot will respond to is actual danger. F. COME ONE, COME ALL... AGAIN? The little kid gloves are off — or, at least, they're off as far as a kind of ineffective beholder is concerned. The moment you regain your bearings deep down in the Tomb of Horrors, you'll find yourself in a dimly lit, dank corridor. The air is thick and unpleasant to breathe, like it reeks of magical energy, like maybe this tomb actually belongs to someone more sinister than a kind of goofy eyeball monster (Let's be clear about something, though: Goofy eyeball monsters are usually a lot more dangerous than BB is). You'll have to make your way to the end of the corridor, fumbling your way through the dark as the ground slants downward, deeper into the tomb — because any path action you have that might conjure light curiously doesn't seem to work in this area. It'd probably be best if you all held hands or found another way to safely navigate the corridor. Or not — because at some point, one or more of you will misstep, or suddenly, it will become apparent that the corridor, twisting far above the bottom of the tomb below, doesn't actually have any walls. And just like that, one or more of you will suddenly be gone. G. BIG BASS FISHIN' That's how easy it is to die and throw an entire mission off balance, isn't it? Maybe that's the actual message that little exercise was meant to convey: that you must be willing to keep moving forward even when your teammates have fallen. But luckily, much like the Bureau has plenty of diamonds on hand for Revivify, that fall wasn't fatal. It was pretty painful, though. Also, you're soaking wet, because you fell in a lake. It's cold, expansive, dark as all get-out down there and a little bit salty. In any case, those who slipped to their Tomb of Horrors death and those who managed to squeak down the corridor themselves will be able to reconvene at said lake, their lightbearing spells intact again, and have a rest at series of stones set up as a seating arrangement. There's even some fishing gear there, since your next trial does involve some BIG BASS FISHIN'. After a little while of reeling back and reeling in some ... honestly pretty boring baby bass that wouldn't even make it to the pail for measuring, something appears to emerge from deep within the middle of the lake. Something ... about human-sized, actually. Something kind of pissed. And it is intensely focused on you. That sure as hell is a Skum: A dangerous aquatic monster that specializes in biting and raking with any number of sharp appendages to eviscerate its foes. For this encounter, though, the Skum is going to pick only one target to attack, and will continue doing so. Your job here? Work together to protect the person who was unlucky enough to be spotted first. H. FREAKY FRIDAY Perhaps the most egregious of exercises puts you in a plain stone room, split into four stone hallways, effectively separating you from the rest of your team. It seems innocent enough when you pass through the entrance to your hallway. At the end is a door, with a speaker — approach it, and a pleasant-sounding voice will ask the following question: What is it that you value most? Maybe that question sounds familiar. But if you haven't noticed already, it'll suddenly become apparent when you try to answer: You are not currently in your own body — it seems you've swapped bodies with one of your teammates. Which means, of course, that your own, personal answer, the thing that you value most, isn't going to cut it. You might want to break out your bracer for this one and message your other teammates. Because this exercise is kind of a really weird way of forcing you to learn more about each other. I. BB The final doors swing open, and as you pass through to an empty room, the final area before the exit, you'll feel something of a snap, as you're returned to your body. That's not disorienting. Neither is coming face-to-face with the mastermind behind the very clearly aptly named Tomb of Horrors himself — BB, a beholder, an enormous floating eyeball sporting even more eyeballs, because all the better to see you, and all the exercises he built to encourage cooperation, with, of course. And look at how or mildly surprised/vaguely pleased with himself all those eyeballs are at your success. "You made it! Oh cripes, I'm not supposed to be in this room right now?? So ... that's pretty much ... it? I've got a comment box over by the door if you want to leave some feedback — I don't claim to be a dungeon master or anything, but I thought some of these exercises were pretty all right, and. "............ "Oh, what am I saying. You're going to want to fight, aren't you?" You have a couple of options here: ○ Yeah, you can fight BB if you want! Just a word of warning, though: Even though he is kind of terrible at being a beholder, subverting the usual alignment, uh. beholden. To beholders. He is still a beholder. When he decides to fight, he can be incredibly dangerous. You'll want to mind the lasers and the biting, but where BB shines in particular is his wide arsenal of status effect spells. He is the one responsible for all the weird effects happening overnight at the camp — and if you can think of a weird effect, any at all, he's likely got a spell for it. Don't kill him, though! He's got more Reclaimers who need to make their way through the tomb. Actually, he'll probably make a hasty, floating exit if you harm him too much. ○ You can leave a comment in the comment box. Positive or negative, you'll be receiving a reply in the form of a dramatic retelling of your adventure through the Tomb of Horrors in a large and very loopy script. It's unclear how exactly BB wrote it. Regardless, when you do leave the Tomb of Horrors, you'll find a box with a tag addressed to you on a table by the doorway. Inside is about 300 GP — plenty enough to buy yourself a new weapon or way too many snacks from Fantasy Costco — and a note. "This all seemed awfully silly, didn't it? But I do hope that you were able to learn a little bit about each other today." 3. THE GREAT BONFIRE J. THE END OF CAMP BALANCE Now that we've sung camp songs, played potato sack races, enjoyed a month of relaxing with friends, and made some good (?) memories down in the Tomb of Horrors, it's time to wind down from the activities of Camp Balance. Lucretia calls everyone around the campfire the night before return- and it's meant to be a rather joyous occasion. Food of innumerable styles and quantities are laid out and kept fresh with a charming ward- burgers, fruits, veggie dip, a jello mold that no one will probably touch... you name it, it's there. Tonight's celebration is one to mark unification. She thanks everyone for everything they've done up to this point, and humbly asks that they continue to do the outright unbelievable things that they've accomplished since coming here. It marks a half way point for the war she's waging to rid the world of the Grand Relics, and more than that, it marks almost 6 months since some of you have come here. Through bonds, new and old, and through hardships shared and vested similar passions and goals, you've made this journey possible. And she wants to reward that. There's music in the air as Johann plucks some spiriting songs on his violin. Spears for s'mores run iron hot in the huge bonfire centered around the midpoint of Camp Balance. It's a calm last farewell to the month you've had here- enjoy it in the hot springs. Go for a walk and take in the clean, crisp sea air that envelops every direction of the land. Swim in a nearby lake. Find some new friends, old friends, romance, good discussion. The world's your oyster. And as one last treat, Lucretia pulls out her staff, and stamps the floor. Into the sky shoot rockets as fireworks explode into blooms at the skyline. They'll make you feel somewhat nostalgic, and whether that's by the magical entrails they leave behind as they die out, or the warm feeling it brings in your chest to see them. Either way, it's a night to remember, for sure. K. AN OMINOUS VISION And just at the tail end of the celebration, as if bad luck waits for no one, there will be a deafening silence that pervades the entire camp. A gut feeling will fill your heart with dread, something that you recall, something that you're familiar with... but maybe can't place your finger on it. It seems as if the entire world comes to a still: no wind, no rustling of grass or sounds of crickets in the forest. It stops, and so do you. As you look up into the sky, where there should be a canopy of now-familiar stars... are eyes. Millions of them in varying sizes and widths. And they watch you, unblinking. The intensity in which you feel your very soul pervaded into is terrifying, and almost as quick as it started, it ends. Looks like we've been found, adventurers. The Hunger knows we're here. 4. OOC We hope you enjoyed this month's corporate retreat, and that you learned a lot about your fellow Reclaimers! You'll note there's no RNG thread this go-around. That's normal! We are working on your next mission, so we need a little bit more time to work on that over the next few weeks. Don't forget, there's a reward for the top level that gets the most amount of niconico video flyby's, in the tune of 1 gachapon token to the top three livestreamers. Also, please remember to turn in your activity for May — you have a little over a week left! As a reminder, you can turn in two bonus threads for two path actions this month. New players only need to check in, but you can also claim your small reward for the initiation thread as well as two bonus threads. blurb code by photosynthesis

Comments

open to everybody

[ribticklers]

A: Sans's Stream
[Sans is not participating in the Tomb of Horrors himself, but he is teleporting around it and checking out how other people are doing, occasionally providing fun commentary. Sometimes he's selling food. Sometimes he's taking a well-earned break and napping--which is also streamed. He'll probably respond if you comment!]

B: Sans's Snacks: Tomb of Horrors edition
[Sans has halfheartedly made a booth in between the "lava" pit and the wall. He's made it out of discarded bits of wood and sticks that the other reclaimers spent time clearing to make a path to the Tomb of Horrors. It's terrible. It's barely held together. Sans seems fine with this. To anyone passing by after having braved the lava carpet or having a pow-wow with their teams to figure out how to climb the wall, Sans has one thing to say:]

You guys look hungry.

[Sans's menu includes spice root, cinnamon rolls, punchline porridge, s'mores ingredients, monster hamburgers, and water. Pay up.]

C: Sans's... Shack?
[Just after the encounter with the Skum, well out of its sight but before everyone has to split up for their next quest, here's a big piece of wood placed in front of a small, very recently-made (it looks like it was cracked open with frozen water and some shaking, or something crazy like that) little cavern area. Painted in muddy brown on the outside of the piece of wood is REST AREA.

Going inside, Sans appears to be napping on his hammock in here. There's a few chairs, if by chairs you mean rocks that are roughly flat, and music is playing through Sans's bracer. Sans winks at anyone who happens to peek in.]

I don't know about you, but I think it's break time.

[Taking a bit of time to compose yourselves is free! You can also buy food and water. That's not free.]

Sans's Party Crashing

[ribticklers]

[DO NOT REPLY TO THIS. I WILL LINK TEAMS SANS HAS POPPED INTO HERE.]

-Gundam, Minato, and Kaede

b! because i need more sans in my life

[dialetheism]

... Somehow I feel like I shouldn't be surprised, and yet I am.

[ They're just. Staring at the rickety-ass booth in baffled amusement. Guess who somehow hasn't run into Sans being a menace an independent businessman before this? ]

Good choice of location, though, I must admit. Though, has anyone actually bought anything...?

[ Because like. Money seems like the one thing everyone would leave at home. ]

[seasaltkeys]

[A - The Fight? of their Lives; closed to teammates]

[He'd been expecting more of a challenge to be sure.

For an area called the Tomb of Horrors, he'd been anticipating...well, not what they got. Maybe actual lava and a real boss at the end? That kind of stuff. The stuff he was used to. He won't deny that it had been kind of fun but that was starting to wear out.

Especially since he was now waist deep in a ball pit against a laughable enemy. Doubly so since plastic balls keep bouncing off his head.

Are they allowed to throw these back?

He's throwing them back.]

[B - I'm Going to Need You to Switch Character Sheets; closed to teammates]

[It's, a weird sensation to be sure. Realizing that he's not in his own body. And he's not sure how he feels about it. Especially since it feels whole? It's weird to see himself as well. Roxas isn't necessarily one to spend a lot of time on his looks. But he sees himself, and not anyone else at least.

Those who swap with Roxas might notice that he seems to be lacking something. There's an emptiness there that might be difficult to explain. It shouldn't be a hindrance. It's just. There.]

[ C - You Always Want S'more]

[The trial over, Roxas is now hunkering down beside the fire with a bag of marshmallows and a roasting stick. Beholders are kind of weird and he's just processing that, because honestly, those are the types of monsters he's used to facing and who is to say that they won't encounter another one.

Not that he's completely focused on that because he's also god marshmallows to roast and make sure they turn out perfect.]

Hey, could you pass me the chocolate?


[D - A Little Nightmare Fuel Before Bed]

[Needless to say, the Hunger showing up was a bit of a shock. And one that is still resonating with Roxas as the evening comes to a close and everyone goes off to bed. But he's not getting any sleep.

It's hard to break the Hunger away from the Darkness. It's many eyes bring to mind Heartless and other terrible things. And the reality that somewhere in there are people he knows, and cares about. And possibly a sleeping Sora. He doesn't want to think about it, but he can't stop.

Eventually, he gets out of bed, leaving the cabin as quietly as he can and going outside to sit on the grass. He wraps the blanket around himself and looks up at the sky, hoping that the stars are just stars.]

[Wildcard]

[ooc: Open to and all other teamwork scenarios, and anything else as well.]

Strams

[seasaltkeys]

[Feel Free to put any comments here]

TEAM HO-YO-AN? FE-NO-RI? idk it's two genki bards and a wizard

[noblegarnet]

[Ferran gets the feeling this is going to be an enormous waste of time, but here he is anyway. He'd seriously considered not participating at all, but there is a part of him that is the faintest bit curious at what might be hiding in the tomb under all of the painted obstacle courses. ... that, and he's hesitant to leave these two girls to do it on their own when they don't know exactly what might happen. Even if Lucretia says it's just a team building exercise, well. He doesn't trust that things will go as expected, even if that is the case.

He doesn't have any real special items on him, so nothing of his goes into the box, and he's not about to leave his spell components behind. He's not an idiot who's going to walk into an unknown challenge with no way of defending himself except a dagger, thanks.

His new familiar—a collared crow, given his hesitance to involve a tiny dog in anything unpredictable—lands on his shoulder and peeks at each of his teammates. Ferran himself doesn't sound thrilled about braving the tomb, but he's resigned to it.]

I guess we should get this over with.

[He only has the vaguest of hopes that there will actually be something worthwhile down there.]

Liveriver Chat

[noblegarnet]

[RULES: Being mean to the girls is an instaban >:(]

[hxppythxughts]

[The Tomb of Horrors can't possibly be as terrible as getting chased and trapped in a hole by a direbear, especially since this is supposed to be a vacation. Sayori is excited! She hopes there will be some cool special effects!

(Wait, are they still special effects if they're actual magic? The real questions.)

And, of course, in her bouncing excitement, she is cooing over Ferran's new familiar. At least until Ferran himself speaks, at which point she rallies with comical seriousness.] Yeah! Let's go, Team... uh...

[She looks between Ferran and Honoka, trying to find a thread of commonality.] Team Musical Magic? Wizard and Wordplay? Birds and Bards?

[Someone please stop her.]

( closed to sun )

[gambolshroud]

[Here Blake had thought that taking on this exercise with Sun as a team member meant they would have a leg up, as well as provide the both of them with an opportunity to make up for lost time. It had gone well enough, but it would appear that the Totem of Constructive Criticism hadn't appreciated her sarcastic comments, no matter how affectionately she may have meant them. Add in a few other snags, and that brought them to where they were now— or where she was, at least, in a stone hallway with a door at the end of it.

A few steps forward is all it takes for her to realize that something is very, very wrong. She stops short, her step unusually heavy, and her tail involuntarily curls around to her front as she turns to get a better look at her surroundings.

Wait a second. Tail? Since when?]

What—

[She looks down, only to see a familiar red bracer on a wrist that isn't her own, and a tail she knows all too well.

Again, what.]

This can't actually be happening... Sun?!

[She hasn't activated her Bureau bracer, unfortunately. That would probably be helpful.]

[bromeo]

[honestly? Sun probably needed a few notches to be pegged down from his usually uncompromising sense of self, and even though they failed that challenge ("you gotta rely on your friends more, Blake" - it was something he's said before, but it always stands worth saying, because... he cares! and he's her friend, too), Sun thought the preceding trials were pretty lame to begin with. if this was really what was in store for them as a challenge, then... he could've slept through that entire thing and still made it out okay.

and then the ball pit gets whirlpooled down into an abyss below and the restraints on the difficulty level get hiked up a bit. maybe difficulty isn't the right word for it, but as they both step forward to finish this mess up, he realizes something is definitely not right.

his hips feel wider, and his back is a little more tense.

oh.

that would explain why?

he just has breasts now, that's his life.]

Whoaaaaa.

[he can't stop staring at them, god, this is awful.]

Did we switch bodies? [and then, stealing a glance at himself from a mirror perspective.]

Is it normal to be attracted to yourself?

|*•̀ᴗ•́𝅫) CHARISMA (//_ᵕ ) TEAMヽ(ᗒ ᗢ ᗕ)ノ

[gundamned]

[Sure Gundam has his reservations about trapping himself in a Tomb. Let alone a Tomb of Horrors. Even with an adled memory he can recall being trapped in quite a few places. A classroom. An island and an archipelago. A funhouse.

And none of those so blatantly advertised their malignant intentions. They were supposed to be fun.

Yet if other inferior beings of power levels far beneath his own wish to enter -- Kaede and Minato -- if they wish to enjoy fabricated fear in this Tomb? They wish to know horror?! He'll go then! Gundam Tanka is the embodiment of horror itself! He will oblige their wish for death with his mere presence beside them!

Except this inital trial isn't exactly the promise of death and despair that the name "Horrors" implied. Infact it's... fun. Gundam can't quite recall a time he's played a game of 'The Floor is Lava' with human participants engaging with the utmost seriousness. Ever.

Being greeted with a fifteen foot wall they need to scale in the next room? Gundam looks extremely happy... It looks like he's having a great time!]

As long as you two stay by my side, we shall be invincible! Use my power to your heart's content for with our combined forces, we will trample this impasse until it is nothing but splinters in our wake!

Charisma Team Commentary

[gundamned]

[napstar]

... You want to bore through it?

[ Minato doesn't have any skills that would let him do that. He and Kaede could maybe inspire Gundam while Gundam does it? But it seems unsportsmanlike to make Gundam do all the work. ]

TEAM MIGHT - your three heroes-in-training

[shootstyles]

[Who submitted their team name?

Oh well, it was clearly Izuku who couldn't resist playing homage to everyone's favorite hero. Without his fiddle, he's just wearing the normal clothes he arrived in instead of his bard gear. It felt more right to do it this way. This test wasn't about the powers he'd gained on his path here. It was about using his mind, thinking about how he and the others could work together.

...God, he hoped they'd be able to work together. Things had to be better than the last time he and Kacchan worked together... right?

Low bar, Izuku. Low fucking bar.

So he inhales and turns to the others.]

We can do this, guys! It doesn't sound like it's any different than some of the trainings Aizawa-sensei has put us through. We just have to be smart and not let anything we see in here get under our skin.

TEAM MIGHT COMMENTARY

[shootstyles]

[Heckle Bakugo it will be funny.]

[bakucchan]

[Bakugo hates this? He honestly hates this.

For a ton of reasons.

Being on Deku's team when he's already stuck sleeping in the same cabin for one. The last time they worked together ended with both of them in the infirmary and yeah, he's better at working in a team but can he really stand Deku long enough to help him out... he's honestly not sure.

The other part of why he hates this is because this "Tomb of Horrors" bullshit reeks of a test of courage. And the last time he participated in one he was kidnapped. Way to make him feel more on edge than he had for the last month, Bureau. Way to go.

But as he always does, Bakugo cracks a grin to hide any nerves he may have and he intertwines his fingers to pop them as he stretches, pulling them back to his sides as sparks crackle around the palms of his hands in anticipation.]

Like I'll let that happen! You two dumbshits are lucky you have me on your team for this one. We'll slide through this stupid tomb as if it's fuckin' nothing!

Totem of Constructive Criticism

[shootstyles]

[Izuku enters the room looking a little nervous about what lies in store. And the fact that there's nothing except a little podium somehow makes him feel even more nervous. As he approaches, he sees the sign THE PODIUM OF CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM and a small totem that depicts the three of them: Kacchan looks angry, Kirishima looks clueless, and he looks nervous.

Well it's not inaccurate.

He glances over at the other two.]

I guess at least it's pretty obvious what we have to do here. ...Who wants to start?

[NOT HIM.]

BB - it's the aftermath though

[kirimson]

[Has Kirishima already apologized? Yes. Multiple times. The two of them say it's okay, but somehow it just doesn't seem like it can be, or should be. Sure, it wasn't necessarily his fault, you can't exactly control yourself very well when under the effects of a confusion spell, but he still should not have punched them. And definitely not with his quirk. He broke Bakugo's arm for god's sake! And. And Deku says the punch to the head wasn't all that bad, but he's pretty sure it's worse than he's letting on.]

I tried to find someone who could come fix you guys...

[It's said as he scratches the back of his head, staring down at his other hand. This place is something else...]

BODYSWAP BODYSWAP

[bakucchan]

[As if this place could get any weirder.

Kirishima (Bakugo) scowls as he stares at his slightly tanner hand, flexing it open and close a couple of times while he thinks over what he valued most. He's a smart boy, luckily, so he catches on pretty quick that they have to think of who they currently "are" rather than their own person.. but he's not sure if that would be easier to admit what he, personally valued the most or not.

Either way, he looks pissed as hell.]

Fuck this place with a fucking sword.

TEAM HAQ (two crows and a rabbit)

[rabbeats]

[ Perhaps the Tomb of Horrors is meant to sound scary, but the sign at the entrance (the "Enter Colleagues, Exit Best Friends" one) doesn't sound all that bad no matter how you slice it. Hibiki remains silent throughout most of the explanations provided by Lucretia while subtly observing his teammates. Reading the cues can only help him draw the conclusion that they know each other, but that's not much, not really. If he's lucky, he'll figure it out by the time they clear the tomb.

Hibiki perks up at the mention of technology and finally speaks up: ]

So this is going to be "Let's Play: The Tomb of Horrors"?

[ It's a bummer that they'll have to leave all the magical items behind. No bonding for Byakko. He deposits his phone with a frown, but he knows it cannot be helped. ]

COMMENTARY

[rabbeats]

[ someone will die...of fun ]

TEAM DDR (Dirk Dwyer Ryuji) in the TOMB of HORRORS

[notthatbutler]

[Things Dwyer is not surprised by: ending up on a team with Ryuji. He's even wearing the shirt that they tie-dyed together in friendship solidarity; he really doesn't know when else he's going to wear the danged thing, it's. A color mess. But it was made with FRIENDSHIP and if the dingy sign is right, friendship is the key here. Also, it's kind of hilarious to see this exhausted fantasy boy who probably only rolled out of bed twenty minutes ago in khakis and a tie-dye shirt, like as an aside thing.

Things Dwyer is surprised by: everything else, probably? The livestream commentary of other teams, the nature of the obstacles, this new guy who kind of looks like Dave but obviously isn't him, the fact that he has to leave his healing stave behind? Is there no healing here? This sounds like a foolish rule to have in place.

Even so...friendship. He's going to do his darndest, even if it all seems like a troublesome affair. Where better to begin than at the beginning?]

...Well...I suppose we ought to go in now...and get the horrors over with.

[Is he being tongue-in-cheek or serious? Yes.]

TEAM DDR LIVECHAT

[notthatbutler]

[Absolutely hit these losers up with texts and messages, light this up like you're pressing F to pay respects]

Team Oddly Balanced - Wash, Natasha, Eleanor, Michael

[unrecovered]

[Wash has no idea who named this team. He's pretty goddamn sure it was one of the Bureau staff, and that it may well have been a joke...or an indication of something regarding his teammates, though that's a question to him too.]

[At least the challenges so far have been straightforward and harmless enough - it's vaguely reminiscent of the time he built the obstacle course for Blue team, though that had actually been for a serious purpose. This is team building fun, as far as he can tell. The floor being lava had been easy enough; the wall presents a challenge. He sizes it up, then looks at Natasha - she seems the most capable, at least at a glance.]

Do you think you can get up there if I give you a boost?

TEAM ODDLY BALANCED LIVE CHAT

[unrecovered]

[Please heckle them. Please.]

TEAM POKEMON SUN/HIEROPHANT - lion/shinji/will

[petsthedog]

[You know those days when you're like, this might as well happen? That's one of those days for a certain Shinjiro Aragaki, who somehow got roped into both a teambuilding exercise being livestreamed to all Reclaimers, and regrets his life and all of his choices even more than usual.

Well, at least, that was the state of affairs at the beginning of this fiasco, in which the livestream of their tomb of horrors run seemed like the height of the shenanigans they'd have to deal with. It was a very peaceful five minutes before a certain god's maple leaf landed in Will's hand, anyway, and now the entire camp is privy to Will having Some Kind Of Meltdown while Shinji and Lion trade vaguely uncomfortable glances. This sure....is a way to get views, isn't it.

But one of them has to fall on this sword first, right? Shinjiro approaches carefully before placing a hand on Will's shoulder. r u ok bro.]

COMMENTARY FOR SUN/HIEROPHANT TEAM

[petsthedog]

[These fools are hopeless tbh, laugh at them. Or express deep concern that they should maybe be stopped.]

Team Horseback Rides [For 76 and Maya!]

[horsepowered]

An Extra Hour in the Ball Pit
[Being in a ball pit as a horse is...interesting. Mostly because it means that the balls go only up to Chiron's horsey knees, and the whole effort feels even more comedic than it was already.

It's at that point that Chiron looks over to his two teammates to ask a question. It is at that exact time that a red ball bonks into Chiron's face.]

--I suppose we could fling the balls back.

B)

[mylawn]

[To say that 76 is too old for this would be an understatement. He's not a small man, so being almost waist-deep in a ball pit is an unfamiliar and largely unpleasant experience for him. The fact that they're having balls flung at them is just icing on the cake, and his inclination is to get this over with as quickly as possible.]

I could go punch them.

[That seems like a fairly expedient solution to their problem, though 76 doubts it will be that simple.]

TEAM MACC DISASTER - Mia, Alex, Catra, Choromatsu

[rockymountaindie]

[ So first of all, Alex wouldn't be caught dead anywhere near something called the Tomb of Horrors--but he's been caught dead before, so shit, here he is. With a team of people he either hasn't spoken to at all or exchanged a brief conversation with.

(Isn't that the point of the exercise, one might ask? To bond with people you don't know well? Yeah, sure, but this is, as they say, a disaster.)

How the team was formed is a bit of a blur. Alex, personally, was wrestling with the decision to either hide and hope the scary director wouldn't notice one single Reclaimer missing, or bite the bullet if this is actually going to help them save the worlds. And one thing lead to another, and here they are: a dead lawyer, a slapstick "straight-man", a literal death magnet, and a sarcastic cat girl.

So, a Disaster. ]

Okay, fine. Go team. [ The driest possible cheer.


The moment they step into the "lava floor" room, they're already doomed. Say hello to Teamwork Penalty Hell, everyone. ]

COMMENTARY/LIVESTREAM

[rockymountaindie]

[ spoilers: this is not going to go well ]