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

[petsthedog]

[.....What. What the hell. Shinjiro's confusion spikes up like ten more notches at the notion of praying for forgiveness for swearing of all things, when he has 1) literally never been religious 2) worse shit to have prayed for forgiveness for if he were inclined to do any such thing.

But then he hears that last line and this shit. Is getting even weirder, apparently. Sure, Will swears significantly less than Shinjiro himself does, but he's definitely heard him swear. Without falling into a million apologies? The hell is even going on here. He has so many regrets.]

fuck i thought you were will i think some bullshit's going on its aragaki

[And a minute later, blessedly in a separate message:]

i think im stuck

[dialetheism]

And this is Lion.

[ This is just a mess for everyone involved, isn't it. ]

I... think I know why you might be stuck.

[ After all, if Lion's in Shinji's body - which the maroon sleeves, deeper voice, and the awful tightness in their chest all suggests - then who's body is he stuck in? Given the mild confusion as to whom was messaging whom, there's only one real answer. And it's a terrible one.

On the off-chance that they're right, they scroll through Shinji's contact list and select their own handle. ]

Um, Will? Are you okay over there?

If this is not Will, please disregard this message.

[petsthedog]

[Well shit. If he's in Will's body and Lion is in his body, then Will must be...in Lion's body? What a pain in the ass. He also doesn't want to try to close out of this window with Lion for fear that he won't be able to reopen it and he'll never get up off this floor, so instead of trying to message Will directly again, he just sends back a text to Lion--]

hey if you get in touch with him can you ask him how to move i fell and i cant get up

[dialetheism]

[ Well, they were content to just wait for hopefully-Will to reply, but then Shinji said something alarming. ]

Wait, what do you mean you can't get up.
Is something holding you down?

[petsthedog]

i cant figure out how to move its like something is holding me down yeah but also more like uhhhh fuck do you know mecha anime, its kinda like being in one of those robosuits and you gotta hit the right buttons to make it go

[Please understand this reference, he has no idea how else to describe it.]

[dialetheism]

I don't. I spent my Saturday mornings actually studying.
But I believe I get the gist of the problem regardless. I'll ask him.

[ Lion has priorities. Excellent priorities. So it's only natural that please-be-Will gets a follow-up message immediately after Shinji's sad explanation: ]

If this is Will, Shinji-san can't work out how 'you' work.
Or he lost the metaphorical keys?
I'm very sorry.

[alethiological]

[ While those two idiots are being terrible at thinking, let's go to the third party member. At the same time Shinji-As-Will decides to greet the floor, Lion's body almost does the same. Almost. Balance is saved at the last minute, and instead there's only a few staggering steps to hit the nearest wall, then grabbing it like it's the only thing that's staying still.

Because it is. Vertigo just hit out of nowhere at the same time as all thoughts that were turned off until now start playing back at high speed, like a dam breaking, and there is this visible moment to those watching that looks like someone about to devolve into a full-on mental breakdown, when the panel next to him chirps happily:

`What is it that you value most?'

What?! What kind of fucking questio- no, don't say fuck in lion's body, don't say fuck at all, oh father he's sor-- ha. Hahahahaha- and a hand flies up to stop the Pitched Too High laughter that starts. No, think about something else, and a perfect distraction in the form of that question. This is part of the stupid team exercise isn't it. Ughhh. How is he even supposed to answer that when the world won't stop moving without permission and the only thing keeping it under some level of control is a hand on the wa--wait, that's not his hand. He doesn't wear rings.

But he knows that ring.

Lion's body? That means this ~friendship exercise~ was swapping souls? That explains the Everything. Of course a human's sense of orientation and balance is tied to the flesh, that's so unintuitive and easily explains why lion is so clumsy and forgetful when they're distracted- why do his thoughts keep going sideways- ah, right, coping mechanism to not think about anything else, sounds on-brand for Lion- dammit, focus.

'What is it that you value most?' The swapping to different bodies would be pointless if it was just his own answer. So that means the 'you' is Lion? What Lion values most- ]

Other people. Not just people I know in my life. Everyone deserves kindness and to live a life they wish for.

[ The console gives a bright ding, and an automated 'waiting for other answers' right after. Awesome, that means it won't be too much longer, and he slides to be sitting on the floor where the nauseating movement isn't as bad. It's fine. It's an easy question. It won't be long. It won't. But one text comes, and he needs to answer it, but he can't, so he doesn't. Another follows, which needs an answer, but he can't but he needs to. Didn't think about that, but if he's having these problems with Lion's body then whoever- not whoever, Shinjiro-is his

God Dammit. It only takes a few moments after Lion's last message that Shinjiro's bracer rings twice and automatically answers. It is Obviously Lion and they sound Entirely Wrecked, but thanks to the antics Shinjiro can at least know it's not Lion lecturing him. ]

Aragaki. First, you- stop panicking. Or getting mad. Or emotions at all, really, you can turn them off if it helps? I don't kn- [ An inhale that's more like a hiss, a moment of absolute silence, and the voice evens out to Slightly Less Wrecked. ] It's manual. Mostly. It's not 'I want to stand up.' It's 'my hands need to be placed in these two positions on the floor, followed by shifting your weight to your arms'- I'm set to ignore a lot of specifics, but it's still thought-based. It's been centuries since I even had to try putting this in words, I'm not sure how to explain it- dammit Shinjiro! Is this why you're all so fucking chatty?! How do you turn it off?! I-

[ 'I can't do this' is not an acceptable answer. Even if it's a human body, you're still furniture. That means doing whatever is asked of you, and this one is trying to explain to Shinjiro how to not eat dirt for two consecutive seconds. But the thought doesn't hold as much power as it used to. What used to be a compulsion feels no more than a vague sense of duty. To a human set of priorities, duty against 'trying not to have a panic attack on a livestream' doesn't hold as much weight anymore. ]

I'm sorry. You'll figure it out.

[ And he gets hung up on. Well, it's something? ]

[petsthedog]

[There's something a little wild about being told not to panic by someone who is, ostensibly, panicking. Normally, Shinjiro would find that deeply disturbing, given the most he's seen Will lose his cool is when he gets mad and that's usually when Shinjiro's also lost his cool, and he's never seen this level of blatant freakout before--but somehow that concern and anxiety that would normally bubble up immediately is on a shelf somewhere which he could reach if he wanted but it's similar to that feeling where you theoretically want a snack but you're like ughhhh but I'm so comfy on the couch right now I'll get it later. Except mentally, because Shinjiro's not comfortable at all on this floor, haha. Ha.

Anyway, he'll get the snack at the end of the commercial, in the meantime is this particular shitshow of Getting Up Off The Ground. He tries to give Will's advice a shot, at least; looks at his right arm and thinks "okay, I want it to move inward". Nothing happens. He swears again, and tries something more specific. Move right arm three inches in the direction of my face. Lo and behold, it moves this time. He does the same with the right arm, and struggles a little with how to describe pulling in his knees when he can't fucking see them, but he manages eventually. It's too bad Shinjiro doesn't know the term proprioception because he could sure as fuck use it right now, god.

Luckily, he at least doesn't need to sort out the physics of how to distribute the weight onto his arms for pushing himself up because this kid was not doing Great in school even before he dropped out. He is spared the indignity of remaining on the floor until Lucretia takes pity.

Standing feels like a bit Much for the moment, though. He settles for sitting propped up against the wall for now. It's not a long hallway, but he needs a Minute before he is up for attempting Manual Walking, because sure, he hasn't lived centuries, but it's also been something like sixteen, seventeen years since he's had to think about that, either? And, really, human memory is such bullshit that you don't even have autobiographical memories until you're like, 3 so he straight-up fuckin boned for remembering the physical elements of how that works. Does he need to give commands for his hips and shit when he moves each leg, too, or is that part of the specifics that are left out? Ugh.

He tells his arm to move again, this time into his field of view, but he's nowhere near ready to try to type this way so voice to speech is remaining as it is. Anyway, the metaphorical commercial is over so now he's thinking about that panicked phone call again. Does he dare call "himself" back to check on Will? He doesn't want to risk losing the connection to Lion.

Instead:]

ok i sort of got it i think thanks for asking him but uh idk if he's ok he sounded kinda off when he called me can you check on him

[dialetheism]

[ Well. At least one member of this party is doing okay at the whole "standing up and moving independently" thing.

By which we mean- during the time it takes Will to explain, and Shinji to figure out how legs work, Lion has successfully made it to the other end of the corridor. Sure, they can't breathe too deeply, or look at anything other then the path ahead without confronting Certain Things that they are determinedly not thinking about right now, but it's still progress! They're several steps closer to solving this and going... well, not home. But not here.

And then the speaker chimes in with that question-

'What is it that you value most?'

-oh, right, that's probably part of the exercise too. Which fits. There would be no point in swapping bodies just to make them all uncomfortable, right...? So, would that be their answer or Shinji's? Or both? Neither? ]

What I value...? Ah- [ Right, that's not their voice, don't focus on it. ] I value... keeping people away from me?

[


Nope. No response. It was worth a try, at least, even if that off-the-cuff answer was kinda mean. But they'll get it eventually, even if messaging Shinji back currently takes priority. ]

You're welcome.
... Honestly, I'm not surprised by that. It's disorientating for all of us.
And, well. You can see what he's used to now, after all.
... But I'll do what I can. For both of you.

[ Even if this is awful for them, what both of them are feeling must be infinitely worse. If they focus on that it's easier to deal with- but they still only poke Will over text, even if they know voice would be better, because voice is just- no. nope. not doing that. ]

I believe he got the hang of it. Thank you.
... Are you really okay over there?

[alethiological]

[ For a second, the words are almost ignored again. Lion's fretting is the literal worst possible thing to have right now. ...Except ignoring them is worse. The brat doesn't deserve that. And text should be easy, right? Speaking means his thoughts run sideways to how much he's ruined over the course of one day and how all of those disgusting traitors got what they deserved but he's one of them now a

No. No??? No. Just type it. He knows how hands work, where each key is located, but they're shaking too much to hit keys properly and the words waver too much to check the spelling. This is a travesty.

But the other option is voice.








Nah. ]

it'ss fine
my end is finsihed