balance_logs | Lunar Interlude 5

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Lunar Interlude 5

	looks like i'm in charge now
	NAVIGATION

Click here for the RNG thread!

1. FROM THERE TO HERE AND THERE IS GONE

A. YOUR ARRIVAL

For those of you who were just casually (or not so casually) pulled between the universes, depending on how you viewed your home world, your day just got a whole lot worse.

You can't really remember what happened, but the grass beneath you is plush and comfortable, and out in the well manicured field of trees you're sitting in are ... well, a fairly sizeable crowd of people. The Director has pulled in new Reclaimers so often by this point that it's become something of an event. And quite frankly, according to the murmurs of other members of the Bureau, she's become pretty adept at picking some real weirdos.

The Director, standing before you dressed in regal robes, clears her throat and begins to speak. She doesn't appear to be wearing any mics, but her voice is somehow amplified so that it booms through the Quad, and onto the Bracers of those who aren't in the Quad.

When she's done, there's silence. In the distance, trains.

No, really, you most definitely heard the sound of a train just now.

That's probably normal.

In any case, you have a few minutes to gather your bearings before you're taken to your initiation. You can talk with other newbies who are sitting there with you, or if you happen to spot somebody you know among the crowd watching, now's your chance to reunite with them.

And maybe one of those people out there will be able to relay a fact to you, even if you can't remember exactly how: Your world, and the people who were there and are not here, are now gone.

B. THE VOIDFISH

Once you have your bearings, you are divided into small groups of three or four and brought to the easternmost geodesic dome, to an elevator in a well maintained, but sparsely landscaped field. There's nothing particularly ominous feeling about the space — in fact, the two guards who greet you at the elevator entrance seem pleased with your arrival. You are, after all, one of the few chosen by the Director, the few who will reclaim what the Hunger has destroyed.

And in a few moments, you're about to find that out for yourself.

After a tightly packed elevator ride, your group is ushered out to a rather grand looking hall, banners of the Bureau of Balance adorn both sides of smooth metal walls. And inside the Voidfish's chamber stands a tank — impossibly tall, and soaked in a black ink that obscures whatever the tank may be holding.

Standing by the tank is a bard, who happens to be reciting the lyrics to a song. Considering what he's about to do with the sheets of paper in his hands, the lyrics might be apt enough.

When he's finished, he takes the sheets of paper — sheet music — opens a drawer at the bottom of the tank, drops the papers in, and shuts it.

And swiftly, you feel as if there's something you can't just shake off about the melody you just heard.

If you seem alarmed, the bard takes notice of it.

"Yeah, man, like... don't think too hard about it, it's like that every time. I'm guessing you're here to be inoculated? Just a heads up, you might want to, like, seriously, hold your nose while you drink it down. It tastes wicked gross, man."

You sort of get the sense that he's said this speech once or twice in the past. It's well rehearsed, much like the stories you'd expect a bard to be able to recite.

"Anyway, I'm supposed to tell you that you have a choice. If you drink the black stuff, you'll be able to hear through the, uh... Huh, how do I describe it? Through the [TSHCSCHTSHCHSC] sound. You guys like, hear that? Anyway, it's all about knowledge or something. I don't know, I'm just here to, like, feed the thing. We call it the [TSCHHSCHSCH], by the way.

So, like. You get a choice. You can drink it and understand stuff, or not drink it and then hear that crackling noise all day every day. If I were you, I'd drink it. But, hey man, I'm not like, your dad or anything."

The bard takes five cups and draws liquid from a spigot connected directly to the basin of the large tank. Stormy, muddy looking ichor is drawn into them, one by one. He offers each of you a sip.

Drink it (he wasn't kidding about what it tasted like), and you're inoculated to the wisdom of the Voidfish. You try to remember the song this bard sang a few moments ago and the melody, the meter, every octave, all come back to you. And if you think back to your arrival, some of the things you may have heard other people in the Quad say, that simply sounded like static, are suddenly clear. Bureau of Balance. Grand Relic. Reclaimers.

Yet you still can't remember the Hunger or what it had done to your world. And as you look back to the tank in front of you, the water has become clear. There's a jellyfish, as tall as a building, floating within. You look into the body of the creature and you can almost make out a beautiful, tiny universe floating within it.

2. TEST OF INITIATION

You are immediately divided into pairs and brought to the Arena, a large building that is capable of running several simulations for combat training, events, or, in this case, your Test of Initiation.

When you and your partner walk into the Arena, the simulators switch to Initiation Mode, the scenery shifts, and your test begins.

The experience is wildly different for each group — that's because the test will be drawing from both of your experiences back home. Initiation Mode replicates an amalgam of thoughts, metaphors, and ideas between the two people who signed up in order to make an obstacle course suited to appropriately test their ability to stay focused. This is a good opportunity to introduce new CR to some of the thoughts and feelings that your character has going on through their mind, their preferences, or give away a piece of information about themselves that might not be on the surface level.

For example, let's say that your character was born on a ship, and spent their entire childhood growing up at sea. Your partner's life involves a lifetime of academic research (setting aside our dearth of smart archetypes for a sec here). An amalgamation suited for the Test of Initiation may involve navigating a ship through choppy seas with flying book monsters that breathe fire. Be as creative as you want! The design is 100% left up to you.

All tests will eventually lead toward a room with a relic locked within it. What that looks like is up also up to you! If you need a few ideas, though, it could be: A bright red pair of gloves that can manipulate matter, or a ball of yarn that can roll up pretty much anything.

Regardless of what the relic looks like, all you have to do to pass is retrieve the relic without using it.

3. AROUND THE MOON BASE

The Director's sudden absence isn't particularly anything new, given she spent the majority of her time on Lyrabar, leaving the Moon Base to manage itself. It is the first time Lucas has been left entirely in charge of it though.

Controlled chaos becomes something of a much less controlled chaos. The sound of trains in the distance, though nobody can seem to pinpoint where they're coming from, isn't helping.

Though, that isn't necessarily Lucas' fault

It's largely the fault of a technomancer supposedly stuck on a different plane and infecting the Moon Base's tech. She's figured out where the Director went, and she's going to be using the next two weeks to her advantage.

It's hard to say what her motives are here. But then, Miss Zarves has always been a little bit inexplicable.

C. WHAT A CRUMMY WEEKEND THIS HAS BEEN

Oh man, Miss Zarves has been wanting to try this thing she wrote for ages, and for a few weeks at least, she's figured out how to override the Director's simulation settings.

Did you know the Moon Base has an arcade? You're about to find out if not: If you happen to wander into the Arena, you'll find yourself inexplicably trapped in a simulation based off of an arcade game — and no, you're not going to get out until you win.

As a note, you can't die in these simulations, but you can be busted up a bit. You can repeatedly get game overs until you win.

You can run with any game on the conveniently copyright infringement free list linked above however you like, but here are a few settings to get you started:

○ Mesozoic Park: The Lost Chult. You and a friend find yourselves in a lush jungle, with no clear path to the escape helicopter. Using your wits and path actions, you are going to need to clear one for yourselves.

And thanks to not wanting to be sued by Michael Crichton's estate, the T-Rex that's chasing you down in this game is actually in the correct era. Once both you and your friend are safely strapped into the helicopter, the simulation will end. (As a side note, Lucretia would actually approve of this one — there are many very powerful monsters out there in Faerun, and learning to outrun/outwit/defeat them is a vital ability.)

○ Immortal Wombat: Actually becoming a wombat is optional. You and a friend will be situated in the middle of the arena, with a very loud and very rowdy simulated crowd surrounding you.

As the name of the game implies, this simulation will not end until one of you is KO'd.

Again, these are just a few examples! Feel free to use any of the games listed as you see fit.

E. THERE'S NO ESCAPE

The town, though it might not rely as heavily on Moon Base tech as the rest of the Bureau does, isn't exactly escaping unscathed either. It's more like, Miss Zarves find you Reclaimers a lot more entertaining than a bunch of shopkeepers who have had to put up with a deals warlock's shenanigans long enough that it's hard to surprise them.

That said, if shopping or the occasional dining is on your agenda in town, then you'll find that you'll be able to do so largely unhindered. Shopping at Fantasy Costco is normal, too, if Garfield being himself falls under your usual definition of normal.

There is one exception, though: It's a small alleyway that leads to the back entrance of Madame Frione's Tea Kettle. Step into it, and weirdly, you'll find that something unseen is blocking your exit. And then, a message appears on your bracer.

From: Zarves♥Scarves

hello!!!!
since madam in charge is off tryin to fix something
i thought id help out a bit
you know
like a team building exercise
so you can do the bureau thing better
sounds fun right???
anyway what would u say is your least favorite thing about yourself
go on dont be shy

You won't get a response from Miss Zarves, but you will find that you won't be able to leave until you respond to her text with something. And you'll also find that whatever you answer? It's automatically sent to the entire network.

FYI: If you lie in your response, whatever's blocking you in will suddenly give way — you'll be able to move about three feet before there's suddenly another one blocking your escape. Unfortunately, it looks like if you want to escape this, you're going to have to be honest with yourself. And the network, as it were!

E. LET'S JUST ESCAPE

There is a very easy way to avoid anything a technomancer tries to do to mess with you, of course: Avoid the tech she's using to mess with you. And after the sort of messed up mission that Lyrabar was, and after the sort of screwed up ordeal that is being initiated into the Bureau to begin with, some of you will probably want to just chill out for a bit, too. Here are a few suggestions!

○ Another small art studio with a supply of magic paintbrushes has been set up in the Academy. Previously, the paintbrushes had painted in a color that represented the energy you're giving off. Nowadays, it's a bit more versatile: You can now change the color you're painting with by simply thinking about it.

○ Speaking of the Academy, there are a few new classes available: "Logic and Puzzles for the Easily Puzzled," led by a rather intelligent chemist who tends to speak in riddles herself; "Charmed, I'm Sure," led by a warlock who seems to have an uncanny sort of charisma, and knitting. What? You guys don't want to knit? Additionally, if you are interested in reading up on some of the advanced paths unlocked so far, the materials unlocked have been made available in the Artificer's Office. If there's an advanced path your character wants to reach someday, now's a good time as any for them to start studying it.

○ Before leaving, the Director set up a comfortable pile of large pillows and blankets out by the Whomping Willow in the Quad. Feel free to have as many sleepovers as you want. The Whomping Willow will also offer advice if you ask it, though it's particularly good at dispensing love advice.

○ WILDCARD: This is, of course, your time to rest as you see fit. Please feel free to use the setting however you wish!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Ace nods, letting them straighten themselves out before leading the way with a gesture of his hand.

Follow him boys.

Kokichi hooks his hands behind his head as they start walking, glancing around the hall as they go. He wonders if all of his members are hiding in those rooms...if they'll come out and talk to him. Visit a little, before they have to leave the simulation...

Then again, Would they be just as stiff feeling as Ace is? Probably...

He doesn't even notice as they're lead down a flight of stairs to the bottom floor of the hotel they're in. Looks like they're taking a backdoor to another alley...]

[Shuichi is just as silent as the other two, following Ace down the stairs and out the back door without comment. Though he does, occasionally, glance back at Kokichi. Just to check on him. Is he even paying attention to where he's going? It doesn't look like it...]

[So Shuichi will just have to do it for him, he guesses. Keep leading the way, Ace. He's right behind you! He won't let your boss get lost.]

[Thank you, Shuichi. Both Ace and Kokichi appreciate it, even if Kokichi doesn't even realize it. Once they're in the alley behind the hotel though, he seems to come back to it. He glances around first and then focuses on Ace, who gestures to the right most path.]

If the two of you follow this path, you will eventually come upon more help. We'll guide you as best as we can to the hideout.

[There's a hum of acknowledgement from Kokichi. Completely trusting his subordinate.]

Thank you, Ace-kun.

[He gives him a quick bow before glancing back at Kokichi. Are you ready to go or...do you need a minute?]

[Ace nods his head in return, and Kokichi looks to Shuichi when the detective focuses on him. And it's only a minute of staring before he grins and gives him a little push towards the alley.]

Come on, come on, let's go!

[Ignore the sad look he gives Ace over his shoulder as they start walking, that definitely wasn't there. And the D.I.C.E. member calls after them as they go:]

I'm leaving Boss in your hands. Please look after him.

[But, weirdly, if Shuichi turns to look at him, he'll find that Ace is now gone.]

Um, o--

[Ah. He's gone. Well okay then, Shuichi guesses there's no point in assuring him that he'll try to look after his boss. So he turns his attention back to the path ahead of him.]

[After a few moments, he glances over at Kokichi with a somewhat uncertain expression on his face. How is "Boss" doing now? Still looking sad?]

[He definitely doesn't look as cheerful as he usually does. Everything's quickly piling up and he hasn't really had the chance to just...hide away and process things on his own. He's got a smile on and is clearly trying to hide how he feels, but it's not the best mask. He still looks sad and worn out...

Don't worry about him though Shuichi. Ignore what Ace said, you don't have to look out for him!!!]

[Too late, he's worrying. He can't help it. Because Kokichi WAS his friend at one point and he seems so much more...human right now that it's like those times all over again. Before Kokichi put his plan into motion and seemed to become malice incarnate. There's no trace of that anymore. Now he's just a normal, vulnerable, and sad teenage boy.]

[They continue walking in silence for a bit, Shuichi staring so intently at Kokichi that it's possible the leader can feel his eyes on him.]

[He definitely ends up noticing, and after letting that go on for a little bit, he chuckles, tilting his head in Shuichi's direction.]

Do you have questions or something? You can ask you know, staring at me isn't going to magically beam them into your brain. Oh, I bet you're wondering about Ace and the others! Well here's a special little tidbit I'll have to kill you for knowing later: they're from my special unit! Doll, Ace and the people in the windows are closest to me. They're the most skilled and loyal members I have. You can probably compare them to my royal court. You know, like how a king has many, many subjects serving him, but he has a royal court of only a trusted few who do the most important jobs and are allowed super close to him?

[That's why they seem so close. Definitely. It's definitely not because they are a smaller group than he's boasting. He grins.]

Annnnd they get great benefits for it, which you could totally have if you joined my organization! I'd slot you right into that group, after all. That brain of yours and your incapability to hurt anyone is perfect for it.

Um...not exactly. I mean...I was wondering about them, you're not wholly wrong but... Mainly I was wondering...if you're okay, after seeing them like this. [He's actually maintaining eye contact, if Kokichi will let him, but he looks uncertain.] You know, because it's...not really them.

[They're just "simulated underlings" as Kokichi put it. And now that Kokichi has confirmed that they DO have a closer relationship than that of boss and underling...Shuichi is all the more concerned and worried.]

[He seems a little caught off guard. He hadn't realized he was letting his mask slip that much. Then again though, he's tired and in pain, so he's had a lot more to focus on...

He glances away at first, staring at an oh so interesting building, then looks back at Shuichi. And then he sighs a little.]

Wellllll since I said I'd be honest, and you're not asking me about all of our deep, dark secrets...I guess I'm upset, yeah.

[Extremely so. "I guess I'm upset" is not even close to how he's feeling. But he's not that great at being honest, so it's the best the detective is going to get without prying for information.]

...I'm sorry. I know it's not my fault, but... [But he can't think of what else to say. There's nothing he CAN say to make the situation better. Nothing he can do to change the simulation.] It's cruel...pulling people from our pasts and memories, instead of just places and things...

...yeah, it is.

[Sucking in a breath, he chuckles and shrugs.]

Monokuma was a lot crueler with that "using our pasts" thing I think, so. At least they're not hurt or anything...

Huh? What do you mean?

[When did Monokuma use their pasts? Is he thinking about the motive videos? No he is not. Because he doesn't really think of those as their pasts so much as their loved ones.]

[Plus, they've become kind of irrelevant since the second trial. He hasn't really spared them any additional thought since then. Especially since he never saw his own.]

The motive videos.

[That's exactly what he was talking about.]

Oh...r-right...

[He thinks of Ryoma's video in particular. How cruel it had been...telling him that he had no one. That there was not a single living person whom he held dear and vice versa. And how infinitely crueler Monokuma had made it with his words, saying it with a laugh in his voice. And then he thinks of Kaito's and Kirumi's...how they'd ended with ominous implications about the safety of their loved ones. How they'd have to kill to find out what happened to them...]

That was...worse, you're right.

Mmm...at least here, they're not threatening me with their lives. Even if it's hard, since...they're perfectly okay in this simulation, but in reality I know that's not true.

[The image of them beaten and bloody, locked behind bars, miserable...the threat that something happened to them, that they may not be alive, and he has no way of knowing without murdering someone.....his expression falls, gaze falling with it to watch the ground as they walk.

He wishes they were real...that they were safe. Even if they beat whatever they're supposed to...he'll never see them again. They're possibly dead, and even if they aren't, he is.]

...this is really cruel.

[Shuichi comes to a stop without warning, staring at Kokichi's back with wide eyes as pieces click together in a horrible way.]

Oma-kun...did you...see your video?

[He had said he only watched all of them enough to see their names but...that was a lie. He hadn't thought much of it at the time, but Kokichi's comments towards Kirumi...how he'd known what she would attempt after they'd all seen her video...]

[He lied. He lied and watched all of them, or...or he'd received his own from the beginning, the same as Kirumi...]

[He's all smiles when he looks up again, but it's not even trying to mask how he feels. It's just a natural reaction, at this point.]

Taha! Of course I did. If one person in the group had received their own video from the start, wouldn't it have been weirder if they were the only one? It's hilarious how slow everyone was...not a single person considered that possibility.

[Well...no, not really. After all, it's not like it all the videos were directly swapped the way Maki and Ryoma's were. Kaito didn't seem to have his, and Tsumugi didn't seem to have Gonta's, judging by their reactions when they'd found out where theirs were. It was all completely random...so he wouldn't say it was weird if Kirumi was the only one to get hers. But...it was foolhardy not to at least consider that possibility, Kokichi is right about that.]

[Shuichi just continues to stare at him, slightly horrified and slightly sympathetic. Kokichi has known this whole time that the people he cared about were in trouble...and hadn't been able to talk about it. He'd been denied that possibility when they foiled his plans for a motive screening party.]

...I'm. I'm sorry, Oma-kun.

For what?

[He shrugs a little.]

Even if anyone had considered the possibility, nobody could exactly ask. We were supposed to ignore them. You were just doing what you were told, can't really fault you for that.

[Nothing to be sorry for Shuichi, even if it does make him feel a little better, deep down, to hear the apology.]

[He frowns a little. That's not exactly what he was apologizing for, but since he hadn't been at all specific, it's no surprise that Kokichi would realize what he was actually sorry about. How to put this...]

It's...more that I'm sorry that you had to carry that knowledge alone this whole time. Before the trial...Momota-kun said that he thought you were right...that maybe we should have watched the videos after all...and that we should have watched them together. And...I agreed with him at the time, and I still do now. But...after what we saw in Tojo-san's...we just went right back to thinking it would be better to leave them unknown.

[And with good reason, given what Kirumi said about hers acting as a flashback light. But...Kaito's clearly hadn't had that attribute. Otherwise he would have been affected by it, right?]

I should have...considered the fact that maybe Tojo-san wasn't the only one who got hers...that maybe there was someone else who didn't have the option to ignore them...

[He gestures vaguely, almost in a helpless sort of way.]

I'm just...I'm sorry that you had to go through that. I know it wasn't my fault and there's nothing I can do about it now but...I'm still sorry.

[Because somebody should be, he thinks.]

[Kokichi falls silent, staring down at the ground as he listens to the detective. And he remains silent for a little bit longer after he's done too, letting the words soak in.]

...he said that, huh...?

[Well...at least, for a moment, it had been considered.]

Thank you, Saihara-chan. Though...you know, I didn't suggest it to help myself. It was...hard, sure, but. If we had watched them all together, then it would have been easier to handle them. No one would have to sneak around to find their own and watch it behind everyone's back, we would have known if others had had their own like Tojo-chan.

[Like himself.]

Mmm...

[He nods. Yup. Kaito sure did say that. Hilariously tragic, no?]

We would have...

[Alas. Too late. Nothing to do about it now!]

Hoshi-chan too...

[They could have helped him. Kokichi clenches his fists momentarily, frustrated going over that whole thing all over again, but relaxes soon after with a sigh.]

We should keep moving. We can still feel bad while trying to find the next place, right?

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