balance_logs | Lunar Interlude 5

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Lunar Interlude 5 — Part 2

	FINALLY.
	NAVIGATION

1. IN THE NOT-SO DISTANCE: A TRAIN

A. GET YOUR BOARDING PASSES READY

As your friendly neighborhood interplanal technomancer mentioned earlier, a pocket dimension the Bureau of Balance had been using for storage got kind of ... well, infected is probably the most accurate word for it. And for a multitude of reasons, most of them for her own gain, Miss Zarves has unlocked the door and guided you toward the entrance. It's contained on one of the locked floors above your quarters on the Moon Base.

And once you step through the entrance and get a load of what she's been yammering about ... boy. That is most definitely a hell of a train. It's parked at a single solitary station, the air both smells and exhudes a general sense of unease and steam, and the cars seem to stretch on into forever. Much like infected was the most accurate word earlier, "demonic" is probably what works best right now.

Best steel yourself. And hang on tight to that diamond Miss Zarves told you to bring along (Dr. Tank is throwing a fit over having to dole them out, btw). You've got a director to fetch, after all.

B. THE TRAIN'S CARS

This bad boy (evil boy, demonic boy, whatever you're in the mood to refer to this thing that is definitely not Doomtrain (but probably is Doomtrain for those in the know)) comes equipped with the luxury status that befits its 5* Zagart rating. As you pull up to one of the many compartments, you'll notice that the landing zone is pretty much the same for every car that's currently parked at the station.

Down the line, of course, you can't even make out the beginning or the end of this monstrosity, and as you touch the edifice (that is, if you're brazen enough to do so), you can can swear you feel a warm, beating sensation under the literal ton of steel facing you. The rules of this train ride of the impossible are written firmly on a neat placard across from the entrance way. Doors will remain locked until you agree to the ToS set forth by... well, who you can only assume is the Conductor.

Decided to enter? Well, there's a lot to do here! Go be lazy somewhere else!

○ The Seating Cars. They're perfect for sitting in on long journeys. If you look outside the window you'll see neon lights swirling around in the distance. No matter where you go or what you do, it doesn't actually look like this train is going anywhere. You wouldn't want to go anywhere anyway, right? So just have a seat! You'll find yourself feeling pretty chill about sitting. So much so that it might be hard to get up. Thoughts just tend to slip away while you wait. And wait you will. Forever! Unless someone can snap you out of it.

Loot table: Sleepy time tea set (a set of 6 teabags that when distilled and imbibed have the same effect of the Sleep spell), any book from your home world, a memento from someone you knew before coming to the Bureau, an unsolvable crossword puzzle

○ The Art Gallery Car. You've wound up in an empty car with paintings to your left and right. Some of these cars have portraits of stuffy old people watching you, wherever you go. When you pass one, you'll hear one of them say something incredibly insulting towards you that strikes a deep nerve within. Turn around to get a better look, and guess what? It's just a painting, what were you actually expecting?

Other Art Gallery cars will show idyllic landscapes, that ripple when you touch the paint within them. Can you pass through to the other side? You certainly can. You'll notice that everything in these vast, barren wastelands contains ridiculous things that were once deposed of by the Bureau of Balance. One of them might have an industrial sized dump of old uniforms. You can see that Lucretia absolutely had a fashion designer come in and spruce up the digs. You'll find endless, and we really... really do mean endless fields of pizza sauce vats that sprawl entire pocket-within-pocket dimensions. Other ones will contain, as you guessed it, Fantasy Costco flyers. They're of varying quality. Entire pockets of failed machinery that was once met for the Bureau's sustaining devices on the moon are located here as well. If you can think it up, and it's garbage... there's a highly good chance that a painting can lead you here.

The worst type of Art Gallery cars will let you enter a painting that spits you out on another side of the train. Or worse, commit you straight up into an MC Escher landscape of winding stairs leading to nowhere and are nearly impossible to escape out of. Even worse than that? Paintings that you step into that show you a complete reverse of everything on the other side. Colors, shapes, sizes- it's Picasso all the way down from here. At least it's fun to look at it, albeit mostly harmless.

Loot table: Painting supplies, Blank canvases, Jars of pizza sauce (one tablespoon is as filling as a whole meal, 24 uses), Clothing already on your body but in complete color reversals

○ The Club Car. Eventually, you'll find your way to a car that's brimming with the sweet and sultry blues sound of the Runaway Five, a group wearing suits and neat hats that seem to play some of the best music you've heard in a while. Upon entering, you'll notice that your wardrobe has been redone into the flapper style of the 20s. This is one hell of a speakeasy. Take a load off, grab a drink, socialize. If you manage to get a word in with the Runaway Five, you'll find that the Devil Went Down to Neverwinter was quite a literal thing here. They might've sold their soul for fame, but for one and one night only, they're here to liven up the joint. Too bad this place seems to exist in a perpetual state of night. Oof. Be careful with who you make contracts with.

Loot table: Music sheets, handheld musical instruments (ocarina, flute, kazoo, etc), one bottle of extremely potent alcohol, your flapper outfit

○ The Dining Car. Towards the front of the train... or what you can assume to be the front of the train, is a dining car that's absolutely disproportionate in every sense of the word. As you enter, you realize that you're about the size of a safety pin in comparison to everything else in the room. Giant swaths of cheese boards make walking on the moon look like an easy task. Goblets of wine can appear to be a hot tub of drunken goodness. Take a stroll on the pillowy soft landscape of the bread flatlands. And, eventually... make your way to a literal mountain of Jello. There's something dark and shadowy on the inside of it, if you'd like to get digging. Who knows what could be under there, though?

Loot table: Weapons in the shape of utensils that never rust or dull, slices of cake that never seem to go bad, small jello pet that seems sentient and fits in the palm of your hand, a jalapeno pepper that when ingested allows you to breathe fire once

○ OOC/Etc. We're really open to seeing how you go wild with this log. Feel free to make up any sort of car you can imagine and throw it together. The key element here is leaning on the absurd, if you haven't gotten the idea yet, and we'll be keeping an eye out to see what you all end up creating on this hellish train ride to... well, you'll see. Notice that there are loot tables up there? Well, if you've read the ToS Agreement, you'll know you're allowed to take one item out of here. It's yours to keep!

Lastly, if your party winds up truly lost and can't make heads or tails of the train (and even as you get to the very front, where you think the Conductor's car is, you'll eventually get sent back to the very first car on the train), you can always follow a mouse with a sign. It'll lead you on a maze of forward and back shenanigans until you find yourself... at the station where you began. Wait, was this thing ever actually moving!?

C. THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MOON

At some point, though, assuming you don't get lost, you will approach a painting that is a chaotic mess of bright colors splashed across a dark black canvas. This is the last stop before you reach the Engine and, presumably, whoever it is actually conducting this thing. And considering all those other paintings you probably stumbled through on your way here, you know what to do with this one.

The other side of the painting, at first, is pitch black. Then, like flashlights blinking on, a splash of color. Then, another. They spread out like a web to reveal an entire second Moon Base, contoured in neon lights.

You're not going to find some Other Side Garfield running the Other Side Fantasy Costco (we don't want to torture you quite that much). But you will find that the layout of the domes, of the trees, of the buildings, is correct down to the last detail. And you're not going to find any other living creatures — you are going to find nothing but monsters.

Art that melts off the wall and springs at you. If you happen to wander to where your room is supposed to be, you might find that the item that's most precious to you has suddenly sprouted limbs and is attempting to shatter your bones.

Yes, you can fight the moonside version of Bender (we don't particularly recommend it, however! He's stationary and tough as nails — you can bypass him easily). If you wander down to the Voidfish tank, you'll find that the Voidfish itself has been replaced by a giant violin.

You'll have to fight the violin, too.

While all of this is happening, though, there is a voice booming through the entire neon base; a man speaking through invisible loudspeakers. He runs through the aforementioned Terms of Service, repeatedly, before his tone suddenly shifts, presumably addressing whoever has made it this far:

Get out. Get out. Get out get out get out get out

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Shuichi had had no intention of investigating the space above the dorms...mostly because he missed Ms. Zarves's post. All he wanted to do today was his homework and more plant research. But when Kaede showed up at his door and told him it was time to go find the director, how was he supposed to turn her down? Finding lost people is TECHNICALLY something he has experience with, and she DID bring a diamond for him so...he guesses it's time to go on a rescue mission, despite his misgivings.]

[Misgivings that only increase once they're actually up in the pocket dimension and staring down that demon train. This...this is an absolutely terrible idea and he really does not want to get on that train. But he already said he'd help, so there's no turning back now. Onto the train they go...]

a. Don't Get in a Flap
[Shuichi manages to move through the gallery and seating cars with little difficulty, though neither really yields any clues as far as the director's whereabouts. Mostly because there weren't many people in either to ask...pictures can't talk (or can they?) and it would be incredibly rude to wake people up from peace naps. The club car, however, is a completely different story. This one is full of people, making it an ideal place to truly start his investigation...once he gets over the mortification of his sudden wardrobe change, which takes a good minute or two.]

[Look sharp, stranger, you may find yourself approached by a slightly embarrassed-looking, soft-spoken girl(?) with a small notebook in hand:]

Uhm...excuse me? I don't mean to bother you, but I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions...

[Or, perhaps you'll be the one to approach her(?), because not everyone in this speakeasy of perpetual night really cares about answering a detective's questions. Some of them definitely have other things on their minds, and with his androgynous features and soft, effeminate voice, Shuichi makes for a rather convincing girl in his slinky little flapper dress.]

L-let go of me! [He tries to wrench his wrist free of the drunken stranger's grasp, with minimal success.] I told you, I'm just t-trying to find someone...and I'm n-not old enough to drink anyway!

b. Observations in Zero-G
W-waugh!!

[Shuichi has a split-second view of a carriage with a clear, domed ceiling that's comprised of almost nothing BUT windows before he suddenly finds himself hanging upside down. In midair. Apparently this observation car has no gravity, which he supposes fits well with the scenes of space outside the innumerable windows on the walls, though he can't say he's really cheered by the thematic matching. Because he's finding it very hard to move without anything to keep his feet connected to the ground.]

[He manages to spin around in place so that he's upright again, noticing as he does so that even the floor is made of glass, allowing one to see not only the view of space around this car but also the wheels and various mechanical bits on the underside of the train. Now for the hard part: getting out of here. He sighs and attempts to swim through the air, trying to reach the nearest wall to use as a kick-off but moving only minimally thought the air.]

[This is going to take a while...]

c. More Like Wrong Side of the Moon
[This was...not at all what Shuichi was expecting to find on the other side of the painting. And for a moment, all he can do is stare in awe at the neon Moonbase around him. This is...incredible. Or, at least, that's what he thinks until a monster comes charging at him out of nowhere.]

Ah!!

[All he can do is run, because he certainly wasn't a fighter BEFORE he came to the bureau and the path he was given did nothing to change that fact. He's still not a fighter. He doesn't even have a weapon. So his only hope is to run and hide, which is exactly what he does. One can find him either running or hiding all over the base as he tries to find his way out of this hellish nightmare. Help?]

[Or, perhaps he's the one who finds you. While he can't fight, he CAN heal, at least a little bit. And the sight of an injured Reclaimer is one thing that will get him to stop his running and hiding. He has a potion that might be able to help with what ails you!]

d. Wildcard
[Hit me up on plurk (

robokatar if you want to plot out something else. I'm down for pretty much anything.]

Edited 2019-08-17 20:33 (UTC)

[Roxas immediately doesn't like this new moonbase. He prefers the old one. That one's normal and this one? Well, it comes a little to close to a few places from his past. Like something pretending to be the Moonbase, in the same way that The World that Never Was pretended to be a city. The dark does not help.

But monsters are at least something else to focus on, as is protecting others, so as Shuichi passes him, Roxas is going to aim a Strike Raid at the monster following him, and activates his Aura of Courage as well, causing a circle around him to light up in an almost comforting glow.]

You okay?

[Between the sudden flash of light and the screech of the wounded monster, Shuichi's attention is divided so much that he stumbles and very nearly falls to the ground. Fortunately, he manages to stay on his feet, spinning around to face the source of the light and feeling a flood of relief upon seeing and hearing that it's a person, rather than another monster.]

Y-Yeah... [Physically, at least. He's definitely shaken, though the warm light is kind of helping with that. He doubles over, resting his hands on his knees to try and catch his breath while the monster is temporarily stunned. The Strike Raid to the head wasn't quite enough to finish it, but it was enough to effectively make the poor thing a sitting duck. It's not a particularly big or strong monster, thankfully.]

Good.

[Roxas says as he catches the keyblade on its return and draws his other sword. He glances quickly to make sure that Shuichi is still standing before he charges forward to finish off the monster. It's a quick dispatch, for which Roxas is glad. It could have been a lot worse.]

Not used to dealing with monsters?

[Shuichi shakes his head before straightening up, placing a hand over his heart as he exhales.]

N-no...this is the first time I've ever...had to deal with them.

[He glances past Roxas to look at the monster, just in time to catch it melt into tarry stickiness and then to nothing. Gross.]

Um...th-thanks.

No problem. I can stick with you, if you want. That's probably not the only monster here.

[He's got a good idea of how these creatures work after all, even if they aren't of the heartless variety.]

Don't suppose you have a weapon?

Shuichi Saihara | ota | will match format

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did someone order a creepy old man

nobody ever orders a creepy old man, kaede. why do you do these things.

she's Gotta

u really don't tho smdh

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