Semi-Lunar Interlude

[imaginarymods]

EXTRA MISSION : LOG TWO

"Make it the best night of your life."

An Intricate Dance;



The legacy of the Reclaimers banding together to save the strangers of Faerun begins long before the story of how they brought an island in a simulation to life.

It begins with the residents of what is now New New Aspen, with the Reclaimers that inspired courage in Matthew Hollyweather's Candlenights Carol. It carries on with those that shattered the loneliness of Lucas Miller, into the bittersweet rescue of the survivors of the fall of Maru. It survives in the new lives of the escapees of Wonderland, and exists beyond planes, in the compassion the Reclaimers showed to Niel. It grows in the roots planted where Wonderland's forest once stood outside Shadowdale. The tale passes on in the whispers of students in Thay and pirates and civilians alike of Lyrabar, who cannot shake the memory of the determined interlopers. It gained life in the bond you made with Angus, who wished only for you all to have a second chance.

And now, as Reclaimers with little to no memory of any of these things continue to choose kindness and hope and a way out, that legacy resonates in hearts that didn't exist during the story's beginning.

CTA Results;

After the universe itself called out for help, you answered.

You broke bread with the citizens of Baisla and learned their names. Working together in teams, you joined their dance party and inspired hope in Lola that you would be able to perform a forgotten magic. You learned their technology and by working with it upgraded your own. You restored old bonds and created new ones, and in recalling bonds new and old you made it possible for a once-torn-apart magic to weave back together.

You learned that the island was a bastion built to keep the Hunger from consuming the Moon Base from the inside, that the Gilded Wall dividing the island was meant to help with that. That it needed to come down, and that the threat the Hunger posed against you in the form of cursing Lucretia needed to be faced head on to purge it from the world.

With little memory of your time spent helping Faerun, you still took up arms to face a mysterious threat.

Jesse McCree, Leonard Church, and Agent Washington set out to clear a path through Mt. Reticulus, making it possible for another team to access Lucretia at their full power. They persisted past waves of despair, unfinished manifestations of the Hunger, and grueling heat.

Christine Delacroix, Alex Browning, Sayori and Michael (with the help of Clear Rivers and Rose Quartz) sought to clear the Cursed Zone of the Cursed aberrations. The half-processed abominations that once were held back only by the Gilded Wall fell to the radiant dance steps and tough battling of not only these Reclaimers, but also the citizens of Baisla sympathetic to their cause and even the Pirates that wanted nothing more than to continue existing and pillaging another day.

Guido Mista, Honoka Kousaka, Maya Fey and Mia Fey entered the Volcano at Mt. Reticulus to retrieve Lucretia and the other Bureau of Balance personnel trapped there. As Lucretia, hardened by fear and apathy, lashed out against Reclaimers she once recognized as friends, they spoke to her heart and quieted the rage inside of her. Where Angus could not during Candlenights, they convinced her that saving this world from the Hunger could not be done alone, and purged the curse laid by worshippers of the Hunger from Lucretia's form.

Sans, Papyrus and Mira Delacroix swam through the lagoon tunnels to reclaim the Grand Relic, assaulted by wave after wave of dark despair that aimed to turn them against their goals. But together they remembered the bonds of family— that which you are born with and that which you choose alike. When the thrall of the Relic threatened to sway Sans, those bonds connecting Papyrus, Sans, Mira, and those they'd left behind, all of them tied together formed a lifeline that tore the Relic away from Sans and stayed its influence on Mira.

The Division;

Once the Relic has been retrieved and Lucretia is herself again, something... strange happens. Above you all, the sky begins to divide itself into individually lit cells, at first seeming to grey as the space between each cell becomes apparent. One by one the cells turn black, then light up around the edges with what looks from this distance as though it's some bright LED, until the entire island seems to be lit by flashlights in the dark. Nearly every soul on the island looks up at the spectacle, illuminated in this strange light, spellbound and perhaps a bit terrified. The wind itself stills, and as all conversation and music and movement stops, the island becomes deafeningly quiet.

The sound of every technomancy device and bracer lighting up with another message from Greg shatters through that silence.

"Okay, so. This is gonna get a little weird, but we gotta move some stuff around. Right now Baisla would exist in the exact same space the Moon Base did, and let me tell ya; that's not gonna cut it. So I'm gonna make sure you Reclaimers get to where you need to be, and Baisla gets somewhere it can stay. I can buy you some time, but after that the show is going to have to go on."

Around the Reclaimers, everything that was a part of Baisla begins to divide, slowly, the same way the sky did; this time, though, the connections between the cells that make everyone up light up in neon colors, pulsing with life.

Everything goes dark for a few seconds, as if someone shut off the lights to the universe. Then, just a moment later, those lights flicker back on, and the Moon Base is restored. And the Reclaimers who've been there before find they remember this place, all at once. They remember what they did on this Moon Base, on the cliffs of Maru and the shores of Lyrabar, had they been there for it.

They remember the fall of the base to Faerun as the Weave was damaged, and they remember Candlenights.

Those of you who weren't here for the previous missions recall something distinctly different; your last few moments in your own plane of existence, a sense of panic as things begin to fall apart— and suddenly a man in glasses reaching his glowing hand out to you. A man you recognize now not as a man at all, but a story; Greg himself, grasping your hand and holding tight as he says—

Come on pal; we've got a universe to save.

You remember a flash and then being on Baisla, and the memories following it, especially the adamant pursuit of the Vending Machine with its vials of Voidfish ichor. It might be prudent, then, to get yourself acquainted with the floating Moon Base. Perhaps you can convince Johann — the Bard who tends to the Voidfish — or Leon the Artificer to take you around, even if they might not be in the best spirits... or perhaps it's better to ask another Reclaimer to be your tour guide.

What nobody remembers is the strange, gauze-like field that surrounds the Moon Base on all sides, nor the storm that hangs outside it. It's a strange and terrifying storm, perhaps mostly in how it doesn't move at all. Streaks of lightning hang suspended, painfully bright, crackling toward the horizon. Pillars of something strange hang as though plummeting toward the earth, made of something blacker than blackness, not just an absence of visible light but a force that is actively feeding on light.

The storm is here. But it's not moving... at least, not for the moment.

Back at the Moon Base

The Triumphant Return;

The Moon Base, now achingly familiar, is more or less how you all remember it. A few differences, though! It's floating again. It isn't quite back up to satellite level, but it's off of Faerun's surface... signaling the official return of magic! Secondly, there's no leaving it. There's some kind of barrier placed around the entire base, and any Reclaimer curious enough to try to peer outside can make out the faint outline of eyes — thousands of them, staring straight back. Completely still.



It's just as Greg said. The Reclaimers are indeed back where they meant to be — and time is frozen outside of the Moon Base. Inside, everything moves normally, but the rest of the world is frozen in place. Greg can only promise a week or two at the most, but it's ample time to rest... and prepare.

Every so often, for just a fraction of a millisecond, everything seems to glitch, and there's movement outside the barrier. It's only for that fraction of a millisecond, but the eyes have shifted to stare at you.

A grim reminder that there's a countdown.

The Recuperation;

But more than anything, the Reclaimers could probably use a chance to recuperate. Everything in the base is functioning again, Bender included (more or less — he can't make any new foods, but he can replicate his previous menu as well as Miso Fou's with no issue.) Medical services are up to par, and the beds seem extra comfortable. Maybe it's just because you've been away so long. Plus, all the personal possessions that you didn't find on Baisla are right where you last left them. The biggest difference is likely with you, as everyone retains any physical changes they underwent on Baisla. Enjoy those summertime tans!

Lucretia still needs time to recover from everything that happened, but she promises to tell Reclaimers everything once she's up on her feet again. Dr. Tank, the head of medical staff, will discourage trying to visit Lucretia at this time.

For the curious, or the bored, or the explorers, they might notice something different on all the maps present. Close to Lyrabar, on the Sea of Fallen Stars, an island is present! The island of Baisla, also described as the Island of Dancing Animals. It seems as though Greg came through.

The Provisions;

A staple of the Moon Base and the best place to get supplies (and have your dreams come true) is, of course, Fantasy Costco! As always, there's an enormous variety of stock, from the mundane, to the completely unnecessary, to some sick ass weapons (though there are still no magical items to be found here.) And Garfield the Deals Warlock is—

Nowhere to be found, actually. That's peculiar. There isn't any staff at all, and Fantasy Costco seems to be entirely abandoned. For the curious, there is a back room, but it's locked up tight. The warehouse also seems to give off an eerie feeling in general. Still, the jingle continues to play in an endless loop, and if no one's at the store, it means everything is free... right? Well, get shopping.

The Preparation;

There are a few places of interest on the Moon Base for those who want to get some training in before the final battle.

The first is the Arena, where veteran Reclaimers took their Tests of Initiation. Lucretia controls the form of the Arena by confirming her biometrics at a touch panel by the entrance. At the moment, it's pretty similar to the Coliseum from Baisla. However...given the state the Director was in last time the Arena confirmed Lucretia's biometrics, things are looking...a little bit Hunger-y in this fighting ring.

As it's all sophisticated illusion magic, there's no real threat of the Hunger working its way in this way. So maybe this is actually a good opportunity to prepare for some of the enemies you might face in the final battle. They often resemble familiar creatures and people, but all of them sport eyes in places they shouldn't be, smiles that are all teeth, and opalescent fractures all over their body. In fact, they are a little reminiscent of Lucretia herself, when she was in the volcano in the throes of her curse. Give or take some tendrils, in some cases. While they're generally humanoid in size and shape, some of them seem to have merged together. Their appearance is a touch horrifying, but they coordinate surprisingly well when attacking you.


Then there's the dojo, located in an out of the way dome of the base. Soundproofed and protected from destruction by magic, there's a computer at the furthest wall of the large tatami-lined room you enter into. You can select one of five training options with it, all with four difficulty modes: easy, medium, hard, and nightmare. There's a safety mode always active to ensure that the dojo doesn't kill anyone.

○ Battle Mode: Robots will generate into the room like holograms. Higher difficulty includes more bullet barrages and higher shielding and stamina. To date, no one at the Bureau has completed nightmare mode.

○ Target Practice Mode: Bulls-eye radicals will appear all throughout the dojo in various locations. As the difficulty level climbs, the targets are more numerous and will begin to shoot back at you.

○ Sumo Mode: Generates a hologram of a sumo wrestler. At hard mode, the strength of the simulated wrestler will be about equal to a bear. At nightmare, you're practically wrestling a Dragon.

○ Magic Mode: A very Merlin-looking wizard will appear and engage you in a wizard's battle. At low difficulties, the wizard knows only a few spells that are easy to manage. In nightmare mode, this wizard has access to all the path actions available to all casters. Proceed with extreme caution. The leaderboard for this mode indicates that the Director is the only one who has taken down Merlin's health bar to 10%. No one has gotten higher than that.

○ Tournament Mode: A recent addition to the dojo, highly customizable to suit the current training needs of the Reclaimers. Take on a gauntlet with a variety of Faerunian creatures as enemies, set up a tournament with your fellow Reclaimers, or craft specific combat simulations and scenarios. The results are very realistic.

Of course, you're also welcome to simply spar with a partner or go about any of your regular exercise routines at the dojo. Or exit the building into the man-made mountainous scenery to meditate; magical noise suppression is in effect outside so that you can't speak above a murmur, so it's nice and quiet.


Last is the Arcade, which has functional VR rooms, for Reclaimers looking to train their reflexes in a more recreational way. The VR rooms have been upgraded — they're big enough to house many people at a time now, rather than just one or two. In addition to classic games like Bekken, Dance Dance Evolution, and Marco Kart, they can also conjure up any scenario presented, from a reminder of home to any sort of whimsical scenery. Your imagination is the limit!

One strange feature, however. Every so often the technology will glitch, and instead show you a different vision of whatever you're picturing. This other version includes inky darkness; eyes everywhere, staring directly at you; black opalesque tendrils reaching for you; and someone you know approaching you with deliberate, menacing steps. It only lasts a second or two at best before it returns to normal. Particularly if you've conjured up a place from home, the effect is...unsettling, to say the least. Maybe it's foreshadowing.

The Celebration;

Speaking of eyes on you, the tiny town on the Moon Base is full of folks that are just now getting acclimated to the idea of what's happened. For them, the Reclaimers have only been gone for about a day or so, but time has been incredibly strange in that past day. They have been updated by Greg on the status of the world as well as of Lucretia, but they may understandably be a bit hesitant to continue on.

Just like the Reclaimers, they may need a bit of encouragement as they face the waiting frozen storm. The end of the world hangs over them all, but with a bit of urging, they may help you bolster your forces.

Those with a little more ranking on the base seem to confer with the Lich twins you met a lot and, should you ask, will reveal that they are discussing plans for what to do to best prepare every country in Faerun the moment time begins to move again. Though some may seem hesitant, the twins have made one course of action very clear: They are all going to fight the Hunger, once and for all, and somehow, they are going to win.



As Reclaimers enter the town it becomes more and more evident that the Candlenights decorations from last year are still present... because it's still last year to the rest of the Moon Base. The gifts-giving festivities have already passed, and all that's left are the coming celebrations for the New Year. That doesn't mean folks have started taking down the decorations yet, and now that the fabric of magic has been repaired, the decorations have the full impact they didn't have before.

On the list of magical decorations are candles and lanterns that now glimmer in radiant rainbows, caroling dolls that sing an array of Candlenights Carols from store shelves and apartment windows, shining brassy Miller Tech automatons that emerge to begin playing their metallic harps on the street corners, and of course, enchanted mistletoe.

Until all the damned sprigs are collected (or until the newly charged magic wears off, anyway) they'll have a hold on pairs that tread beneath them. The unlucky couple will only be able to leave the shadow of the mistletoe once they've kissed, fought, or made one another laugh. It's a time-honored tradition in Faerun, and asking any of the denizens of the town to take the sprigs down early will get a very disappointed disagreement in response.


As Candlenights celebrations wane and New Years celebrations begin, the Reclaimers are privy to a few more older traditions being reignited for the coming times.

The celebration continues in the preparation of effigies, which some residents claim is an old tradition of Lyrabar's and others claim is from Old Aspen, but has taken on a new meaning as residents take the time to make black paper dolls with chalked on eyes (dolls used loosely, as some of the effigies seem to have little form at all). They gather around the town's center where Lup stands, skeletal hand raised with a doll clutched in it. Set up behind Lup is a newly constructed forge with a team of the city's blacksmiths at the ready, as well as a small bonfire set up with enough space to become quite large.

"Tonight we say, fuck the end of the world!" Lup shouts to the crowd surrounding her, voice magically amplified. "Tonight, we say fuck apathy! Fuck giving in! Fuck running away!"

The Reclaimers may recognize Davenport, Killian, and Carey have dragged their injured bodies out here too, raising effigies of their own and cheering at Lup's words along with the crowd.

"This is our home! We can't chase away tragedy. We can't escape loss or fear. But together, we can become stronger than any threat any part of space or time has to offer!"

Lup clutches the effigy in her hand, immolating it in bright red flame.

"And we're gonna tear this motherfucker down with every last bit of hope we've got!"

The crowd roars with cheers as they light their own effigies aflame, casting them into the fire pit. They insist you join in and make your own effigy to burn. Of the Hunger, or of some other enemy or adversity that haunts you. The bonfire is kept alight even after Lup's speech, and stragglers continue coming to toss effigies of their own demons into the flames even after the crowd has dispersed.


If cleansing through fire isn't your thing, you might find some catharsis in a much...louder custom. Folks also begin tossing old pottery from their apartments into the street; a resident explains that it's another old tradition meant to cast evil spirits out of dusty old jars. Sounds like it might just be an excuse to break things. But they'll happily offer you some old dishes to break if you'd like to join in. Or you can break your own stuff if you want; might as well make sure there aren't any evil spirits in there, right?



The blacksmiths, meanwhile, dutifully attend to the brand new forge near the effigy bonfire. Just before they begin firing new blades and maces, the lead of the forge pours just a drop of the smelted metal into a pail of water, watching its shape as it solidifies for a sign of fortune; it pools into a winged, arrowed shape that the surrounding residents swear is a bird.

Residents and Reclaimers alike are invited to throw old or no-longer-useful metals into the smelting pot. Destruction is abound and yet, creation begins. Perhaps you're getting a new weapon, or contributing scrap metal, or even helping the smiths in their work; whatever your reason for stopping by, the smiths offer to pour a drop of smelted metal for you and read your fortune in the shape it takes. A small bird for hope, a butterfly for transformation, a heart for love, a wolf for loyalty — anything and everything can be interpreted from the shapes in the metal to give insight into the past, present, and future. Accuracy notwithstanding, hopefully the symbol you see is a good one.

Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, the residents invite you to party with them, attempting to inspire strength within you and within one another. There's plenty of alcohol passed around, everyone feeling a little more generous with the end of the world breathing down their necks. Empty bottles are broken in the streets along with the old pottery.

During the festivities, if Lup catches your eye, she'll give you only one bit of advice: "Make it the best night of your life."

Dogs (and Birds) On The Moon;

Those who may have been worried about the presence of their pets and objects gained on the island disappearing need not worry; they're right at your side on the Moon Base when you arrive! And those aren't the only dogs on the moon, either! Niely finds themself at the Quad when the Reclaimers re-enter reality, clutching the ball with their goldfish inside and with KV just to their left! Both seem grateful to have each other, and once Lup and Taako have informed the Bureau of what's gone on, the two are allowed to settle in easily.

Oddly, neither they nor anyone else hears from Greg during this time. For now, the universe does not speak. Niely notes, however, that a hologram has appeared in the Quad, and they know it can't have been there forever; it's a small scale hologram of the entire map of Baisla, and it seems to be slowly downloading pieces into a blue framework. KV guesses that it must be the construction of Baisla while time is stopped outside of the bubble.

KV also seems to be unshaken from their plans, and sets out to doing what they do best; making toys that they do promise can help in the coming fight. They promise this while harassing you, should you come to visit them, into going around the Moon Base and collecting as much broken or underused pieces of Miller Tech or any old tech you can find. Perhaps you should help them on their quest...

Niely, on the other hand, has teamed up with Angus to try and uncover more clues. The two of them can barely be stopped in their exploration of the entire moonbase, and Angus may seem a bit more frazzled than usual; he is, after all, still dealing with the knowledge revealed to him just before Candlenights. If you're close to him and you approach him, he may ask you; it isn't very important right now in the scheme of things, but if you ever happen to come across any literature on dragons... you'll pass it on to him, won't you?

A Note from your Navigators

Hello adventurers! Once again we'd like to thank you for your unending patience during this slow time. We'd like to remind you of our OOC poll that will help determine our pacing for the final installment of this storyline, as well as to remind you that you may each collect one free Gacha roll using the coin from November.

We hope you enjoy this log, and from all of our hearts: we wish you a warm and safe Candlenights season.

NAVIGATION ⯈



code bases by tricklet

Comments

QUESTIONS

[imaginarymods]

[hxppythxughts]

Since the townspeople are helping to produce new weapons for people for the upcoming battle, are there any Artificers around who are willing to help make enchanted equipment? If so, what kinds of enchantments are acceptable to use, and should we check in under this thread about acquiring an enchanted weapon?

only super cereal questions yet

[spaghettimonster]

Are the longterm residents of the moon baffled by this sudden influx of illegal dogs? Anyone fussing that the convenient time gauze keeping them in the base isn't permission, or daring to pester Lucretia about the pets?

(I mostly want to know if Papyrus has cause to complain about more BoB rules)

[ribticklers]

Sans shoves a birthday card under Lucretia's door. "Happy Birthday" has been crossed out and "get well soon" has been written on there instead.

Yes I know this isn't a question.

[mccreehaw]

How long will McCree's memory loss from the CTA last?

CTA: Reclaim the Relic

[ribticklers]

[Closed to Sans, Mira, and Papyrus.]

the part where they actually retrieve the relic

[ribticklers]

[Later, Sans won't be able to say exactly when it happened. He has no plan to touch the relic, no plan to get any closer to it than he needs to. It's somewhere in there, moving around and preparing to magic the book into Sans's dimensional box, that suddenly the relic is all he can think about. It's too fast for him to even be alarmed. The world is distant, but he knows the important bits of what's happening; he knows Mira is going to drop the relic in a moment. He knows he can reach it. He doesn't think to grab it, grabbing it is an inevitability. He wants it, so--

And there it is, in his outstretched hand.]

Sans

[ribticklers]

[Catchall top level.]

A Proper Reunion; closed to Papyrus

[ribticklers]

[Sans is exhausted, and he's pretty sure he's earned it this time. They're back on the moon base, and even if there's, uh, kind of an issue outside of it, nothing outside is moving. They're on the moon base, and right now it's as safe as the moon base ever is, and Sans's memories have all slotted themselves back into place, and.

Papyrus is here.

Which he knows, of course. Papyrus has been here. They arrived in Baisla at the same time, and Sans has been harassing him ever since, even before he knew who Papyrus was. Which is fitting. But he remembers now. There hadn't been time to deal with it in those caves, hadn't really been time to deal with anything except what was happening, but now. Papyrus isn't dead forever, isn't dead at all.

Sans has to use levitate to manage it, but without saying anything he launches himself with an uncharacteristic amount of energy at Papyrus, wrapping his brother in a hug. Some part of him wonders if Papyrus is going to be worried about Sans acting like this, but mostly he doesn't care. Sans missed him more than anything.]

plates are just ceramic frisbees (OTA)

[ribticklers]

[So, everybody is smashing stuff. That's a thing people do, he guesses, and who is he to not go with the flow? Sans has received a generous donation of old plates and can be found throwing them like particularly breakable frisbees in Fantasy Costco.

Why Fantasy Costco? It's got nice long aisles to work with. But if someone's coming around the corner, whatever plate is flying at them will suddenly shoot several feet over their head and safely out of the way of smashing into anyone's face.]

Hey, careful. [Sans says, as if it should be expected that frisbee-plate Olympics are taking place in here.]

it's 2am, do you know where your skeleton is? (OTA)

[ribticklers]

[It's obvious: they're going to have to do some fighting soon. But Sans has a reputation, and more importantly he doesn't want people to get expectations, so that's why he only heads to the arena in the middle of the night. He used it a little on Baisla, but really it's been years since he's had access to his bone magic, and he should probably brush up a little bit.

It's his own challenge, his own way of remembering how his magic is supposed to work: only misty step, levitate, and bone magic. He doesn't have anything that matches closely enough to his blasters to add those in, so he leaves them out. He's always liked his bone patterns better anyway.

Sans fights like he's playing keep away, which he is. This is illusion magic, but if it was real, one touch and he's dead. So just don't let anything touch you, and finish it fast. Finish it fast, get it over with. He has fewer bones to work with, but they hit just the same, compounding damage on top of damage, one by one by one. Sans's patterns whirl rapidly, enclosing enemies and brooking no mistakes, not one.

Okay. Good. That should be enough. The magic hums in a satisfyingly familiar way; so much of the magic here sits differently in his soul, it's nice to have something from home. But it's probably naptime now.]

this is stupid (OTA if you want)

[ribticklers]

[Okay, but Sans is really, really tired.

So catch him napping. Catch him napping in the arena audience. Catch him napping under one of the trees in the quad. Catch him napping on Bender's countertop. Catch him napping in a hallway.

Skeletons need naps!]

Sayori

[hxppythxughts]

[ this is a catch-all for Sayori's prompts, so more can be added later if need be! if you'd like to tag in with a wildcard, feel free to just reply to this top comment with a prompt. ♥ hit me up at ceesawaseesaw or cee#9435 on Discord if you'd like to plot something specific! ]

♥ my collection makes me lots of friends (OTA) ♥

[hxppythxughts]

[For all the inconvenience the mistletoe offers, Sayori doesn't seem terribly bothered by having to wait underneath it. She's mostly staring into space as if daydreaming until someone comes along; she's so spaced out that she doesn't have time to warn them before they're right in front of her. Meaning that they're also stuck.

Alarm and apology strike her expression as she snaps back to attention.] Oops! Sorry, I wasn't paying attention!

Uh— we're both stuck now, but I think I know how to fix it!

[Does she??? Maybe she asked a local at some point... She'll have definitely figured it out if you run into her later in the celebration, at least.]

♥ each bottle a starlight to make amends (OTA; CW: implied suicide, self-mutilation, unreality)♥

[hxppythxughts]

[Sayori is, of course, cheering exuberantly as she lights up a clumsily-made effigy of the Hunger with Prestidigitation and then casts it into the fire pit after Lup's speech.

So she almost looks like a different person when she turns up again at the fire pit later, staring into its flames contemplatively with her hand clutched tightly around a new effigy. It's fairly late, like she was waiting until there would be fewer people around.

After a moment, she regards the doll in her hand. It's undeniably modeled after Sayori herself, but it has some...alarming qualities. Rectangular holes have been cut out in places, where coal-black stuffing and green confetti bearing 0s and 1s peek through. Red rings have been drawn under the effigy's blue eyes and the tips of its stubby hands have been colored red. Get out of my head has been written all over the doll's skin. And...there's something tied around its neck — a string that dangles down the back, which has also been colored red in the front.

It's pretty upsetting, frankly! But Sayori mostly looks conflicted as she studies it quietly.]

♥ sometimes my friend feels a certain way (OTA) ♥

[hxppythxughts]

[Sayori hands over a knife to the smiths at the new forge and requests that it be made into arrowheads. While she waits, she gets her fortune told — and you happen to be nearby, so she speaks to you with excitement:] Hey, hey, look at this! They can tell your fortune with metal, isn't that cool?

[What shape will hers take, she wonders? She'll find out in a moment! As will you!]

You should get yours done too!

♥ down comes a bottle to save the day (OTA) ♥

[hxppythxughts]

[Thankfully, Sayori was still pretty physical in her time on Baisla, despite not having much cause to get into scuffles. She had to be ready to fight those Cursed, after all.

Catch her in the dojo with her sick Technomancer duds and the Oathbow. Maybe she's simply running target practice with bow and arrow, or working the fundamentals with an obstacle course. Or maybe she's got a full on combat simulation going, harmonizing her path actions with her physical combat! (Except, uh, the Technomancer skills that might break the dojo tech. Looking at you, Information Surge.)

The full simulations vary in content: cave systems with umber hulks and basilisks; underwater fights against sahuagins and waterlogged zombies; dripping shadow creatures that move in and out of a shifting landscape like an oil slick; an obscene number of kobolds in an arena; and An Entire Fucking Black Dragon all feature in Sayori's training.

Jump on in with her at any time! Or if you don't, she'll invite you when she catches your eye:] Hi! Wanna train with me?

♥ happy thoughts in bottles (OTA) ♥

[hxppythxughts]

[The thing is, she knows that even when they win (and they will win, she's sure of it,) she can't go home.

The thing is, she knows that her home was more like a prison than a home.

The thing is, she hasn't seen the clubroom in a long time — longer if she doesn't count the nightmare in Wonderland.

The thing is—

Sayori is writing. In one of the arcade's VR rooms, she's set up a simulation of the classroom that the Literature Club used, and she's sitting at a desk, writing. It seems like she's wearing her uniform, but that's part of the simulation too; enter the clubroom and you'll find yourself in a similar uniform. Either masculine or feminine as you prefer, and worn to suit your personal style. It fits even if you're an unusual size or shape compared to the average human.

She looks up and grins as you enter.] Hi! Welcome to the Literature Club!

[...and then her expression softens with wistfulness.] Well, not really. But this is where we used to meet! You can pull up a desk next to me if you want.

[The thing is, this might be her last chance to see the place that used to make her happiest.

So she takes that chance even though it's bittersweet, and even though it's almost comically depressing that it's a simulation.]

Church

[motherfucking_ghost]

[Given the mission succeeded technically but still ended up in the three of them conking the hell out, Church is kind of woozy when all of the everything starts to happen. It's real pretty, though. Real pretty.

And then he's back on the moon.

And more importantly, all at once, he remembers.

It's a wondrous and horrifying thing, really, for someone like him. Someone like him with more than a little history of forgetting the important stuff. And he could freak out, he could start yelling, he could bolt to his feet and start finding the few people he really got to know, before, and make a whole slew of apologies.

But he's tired. He's really, really tired, and he's going to rest a bit.]

((Gonna go with the flow and put up a bunch of prompts underneath, and if none of them tickle your fancy, wildcard a bitch with a reply to this toplevel!))

[motherfucking_ghost]

[First thing's first. Rest and repair. Being fully charged up is only part of the recovery process. He's got quite a bit of damage from the mission itself, none of it life threatening in any way but really annoying to his internal sensors, and like, general well-being as a whole.

He's not Sarge. He hasn't fucked around with the robot bodies enough to really know them inside and out (and let's not mention accidentally fucking himself up a time or two), but he probably knows enough by now to do some basic repairs. Replace some heat-fried wires. Patch up some holes in his armor. Oil up a few joints. He could probably use a hand either in the form of someone who might better know what the fuck they're doing or in the form of someone who can help him reach some areas that are. Well. Harder for him to reach.

On the lighter side of things, at some point he runs into the magitech beastly construct that KV whipped up for him. He pets it on and around the head, genuinely happy to see it.] Hey boy! Hi! I really put you through the wringer, huh? C'mon, let's get you fixed up.

[So yeah, he'll be trying to get Caboose the mecha-warthog in ship shape, too. Might want an engineer's help!]

[motherfucking_ghost]

[When he's feeling more up to it, there are some weirdo celebrations going on. Oh, he remembers Candlenights and all...and his little Hanukkah get-together, too...

And you know what? Some of these celebrations he can get behind.

The black paper doll he makes, once most of the majority are done throwing their mostly Hunger-based effigies in, is a simple form of a person. He really does not have the...artistic fortitude or capability to make it anything more than person-shaped. And then he makes a second one. He chalks a D on the first one, and an A on the second.

He feels like he should say something, but if this is for him and some symbolic crap, he doesn't have to. He just holds one in each hand, contemplating, before gently tossing A in. D he chucks, wholehearted.

On the other hand, throwing fragile stuff around to break? Hell yeah, he is all in on this bit of cathartic chaos! He's just collecting donated bits of plates and glasses and pottery, balanced in his arms precariously--and is willing to part with those if you need any of your own. He occasionally grabs one firmly from the pile and tosses it, hollering when it lands somewhere or against something with the sound of satisfying cracks. Try not to be in the way?

As far as the smiths go, he's looking to get a new weapon, or, y'know, literally anything really. But he turns down the whole 'read your fortune in a drop of metal' thing. He's polite about it, and if they insist, he'll let them for the sake of tradition, but he's not...he doesn't think he needs it.]

[motherfucking_ghost]

[At the dojo, Church is finally doing something he should've done a while ago. Train. To be fair to him, he wasn't really around too long before it all went to shit, but still. With a crossbow slung over his back and magic at his disposal, some of it old and some of it still relatively new-ish, he's ready to do battle mod and magic mode, and instead of being an overconfident idiot, he really does start with easy and work his way up.

He's not, y'know, great or anything, but he's trying. Maybe you wanna spar, or tell him to take a break? Maybe you can find him outside, quiet for once, trying to relax. Still, there's a tension around him in spite of it all.

Or, there's always the arcade for some fun-time type training. He's definitely here for games. Or, occasionally, conjuring up a vision of home. Home, in this case, is a valley with menacingly high cliff walls, two bases on either end of it, a few dirt paths, some rock cover, some fairly pathetic grass, and a sun perpetually hanging overhead.

Until it isn't and it's a creeping darkness reaching down and something, someone, quite large approaching--

--until it reasserts itself.

Don't mind him if you catch him outside later glowering at the darkness above (and around) and yelling some hefty profanities at the eyes in the sky.]

Mira

[philoxenia]

[ Being back on the Moon Base almost feels like coming home.

Strange, that--she's never felt like she's had a home before. It's bittersweet, that thought, but at the same time, despite what's waiting for them, she feels almost at peace.

When it came down to it, she hadn't messed up. And those lingering feelings of failure from Thay have started to fade. The wound is still raw and jagged around the edges, but it's healing. She'd faced a Relic, and she'd succeeded. They all had. But she thinks, just this once, she can afford to be proud of herself.

They have a lot to do... and Mira doesn't plan on sitting idle. ]

(( Following everyone's lead and yeeting up prompts below! If you wanna do something else, just fling up a comment to this top level. ))

rest and relaxation;

[philoxenia]

[ ... But first, she needs to just relax for a while. As much as she wants to get started preparing, she's tired. In one of the arcade's VR rooms, she's set up a simulation of her old apartment, the one she'd shared with her brother. It's terribly bittersweet to be back here, even if there's no trace of blood or any indication that anything terrible had happened here.

It's familiar, though, and she wants a few moments to just think. She sits, legs pulled up against her chest, arms wrapped around them, on the couch. There's a book next to her, but it's untouched.

If you come in, she looks up and gives a smile. ]

Hi. Sorry--I'm not taking up too much time, am I?

[ When she's not in the room, though, she's wandering around. If she happens upon you, even if she doesn't know you, she gives a smile. ]

Doing alright? It's been... a lot, hasn't it?

Michael | OTA

[eudaimonikos]

[Coming back to the moon base is...strange.

Even with his memories returned, Michael still feels like a stranger in his own skin. Snapping back and forth like that is just...dizzying. At least he didn't go full-on evil this time, but he's still spent several months just generally being a dick to everyone he knows so, you know, that's fun.

Michael spends a great deal of time immediately after arriving sitting in the Voidfish chamber. He seems to just be talking to Voidy, but he'll stop if anyone else enters. Can't a couple of invertebrates guys just have a normal private one-sided conversation? Later on, though, he goes down to watch the fighters at the arena. He seems awfully contemplative about the whole thing, but none too inclined to join them himself. He's done enough fighting lately, it feels like.

But, of course, it's not that simple.

At least the townwide party seems to perk him up? At the very least, he's certainly out in the streets smashing pots with wild abandon!]

Voidfish - hey, what was that about disgusting squid things?

[spaghettimonster]

[As it turns out, Papyrus is one of the newest Reclaimers, having not actually ever stepped foot on the moon base before. So after the generally emotional (reunion?) chat with his brother, there's nothing for it but exploring. Plenty of people are happy enough to tell him about the biggest sights to see - being used enough to Sans not to be startled by another skeleton - and the Voidfish chamber is one of those sites. He doesn't think to go quietly down the hall, but the sudden silence that falls as he enters is noticeable.]

Uhh... Don't mind me. I'm just exploring. But I can come back another time, if you're talking about me!

[It's somewhere between passive aggressive accusation for the silence, and genuine hope that's precisely what's going on. Papyrus would love for more people to be talking about him. He'd just also like to hear it.]