Caldera is at the heart of this region's artful architecture and urban gardening. The immigrants that cultivated this place came knowing what they wanted to grow in these gardens and the education that their children would have, god damn it. They would find the jobs that would hopefully carry their children and their families over into the new generations to the point that a group of people became the eventual board of directors of a beautiful community center called the Four Seasons. They would thrive to this day with generous donations and even more generous partnerships from the other municipal buildings. Within Caldera, the Four Seasons Community Center would make strides in providing job services, physical therapy via pool aerobics, and creating one of the most robust centers for all people aged from the beginning to the end. Partnerships with nearby hospices and kindergartens would make this place the epicenter of all care. However, someone would eventually try to take that all the way, with one finalizing piece of paper. The Void, paralleled from the world as we know it as a red-colored realization that you are nothing and you are everything. That you are too small and too big that you mean something and then absolutely nothing the next day. These are the realizations that implant themselves in a young mind and ask if God still exists or if he ever did or if that question even matters anymore. What does matter is if you can pay rent on time. In almost hallucinogenic spirals and swirls each way, insecurity has a color here. Patterns of 3D waves go against your shadow as it whispers to you to put your head down on the bus. And you think about all the things that you still have to do while you might not have the best relationship with a family member. In the Void, there's no time, but there's absolutely as much time as you need to become the greatest and worst version of yourself. If you've ever met a will of the wisp, you would know that blue light extends not only to end times, but to new beginnings. We find our party feet attempting to work against what seems to be the deck of a rocking ship with skies, red and clouds with a chromatic effect of black and gray. Varun? Yes. What do you do? Varun kind of steps forward and we see his clothing of deep autumnal reds and oranges folded and peed it into Baratanatium wear. The tresses move alongside him as he rushes forward as well as the Baratanatium bells jingling across the floor as he saddles forward towards Khloe. As he says and attempts to reason by saying, "A Khloe Khloe! Hi! Hi! No, we don't have to do it like this. We just, we can soft this right now and this doesn't have to happen to the community center, just align with us and we can help you! We can help you out of this!" So strike, when you take advantage of an opening on your foe with arguments and emotional appeals, let's see where you're at. Let's go rolling with cups. I'm good at this, so hopefully it's the famous last words. Yeah. That is a seven. That's a seven. On any hit, you remove the opening and break one of the foe's qualities. Otherwise, the architectural trigger that quality is break move and on a seven through nine also pick one. So, Alyssa, I guess we're introducing you now. Actually, what are Khloe's qualities as the castle's avatar at the moment? Yeah, so here in the castle, Khloe looks like an art nouveau angel or at least a saint. She's wearing this demure white veil that flows into the train of a floor-length softly draped white dress. There's a golden crown atop the veil that's backed by an ornate golden halo and though the sky is red and stormy, a ray of light shines through, eliminating her in ethereal light and making the halo glow. The ship is jolting and swaying, but I think that Khloe is sort of resolute in her position at the helm and she will turn to Maroon and can I pick like what sort of what the seven-genine is? Or? Yeah, yes. I have a feeling you're going to pick the one that I want you to pick, which is great. I was going to lash out. Is that the one that you want to? Yes. So, let's hit first, Brin. Mm-hmm. That was a hit. You will be able to remove the opening and break one of the foe's qualities. What is a quality that you would like to break? Right now, Khloe has the tag's dramatic B-steel and arcane. Uh, I will break the B-steel. We can keep the drama. We can keep the drama for now. How does it look like when Baroon using the castle items, your gear and anything sort of relating to you, how incredible you are, that gets you to, at this moment, stop Khloe and her bite? As this appeal goes forward, Varoon launches from out of his arm a small discus that is made out of pure gold. It is a chakra that slowly expands outwards and just releases this sort of wind-like force out of it. And I think that wind is what leaves Khloe in a little bit of a, um, it pushes Khloe back for a moment, just giving us enough time to recalibrate and maybe enough time for his appeal to perhaps reach a companion that he knows and is very, very close to. Yeah, and I think that Khloe sort of opens her mouth to lash out to shout at him, perhaps, to bite him. And you can see that the inside of her mouth is stained, the same sort of unsettling red in the void. And there are fangs sort of descending, um, like her canines or fangs. But as this blast of air hits her, it's almost as if those things fade away from it. And she says, "I agree, we're on the same side here. We can, we can absolutely work this out. Just, it's for the better. Your brother would agree that it's for the better." Oh, pulling the brother card from minute one, are we? What would be your break move at this moment in response to that? Yeah, so I think that as the sort of the fangs and those sort of beastial aspects fade away, but she reaches out to Brooun, and I think that sort of strands of void also reach out, almost like beckoning him closer to her side. Not beckoning forcing, maybe. Maybe forcing is a better term. It's like beckoning is very kind as you rap your little tendrils about this. Yeah, people are saying. Okay. You've lashed out, Varun you will mark a condition here. Varun's scared. Yeah, so that means certain disadvantages against making me stand and pressure when we get there. Great. So at the moment, Varun, you are wrapped up. You are compromised until someone will be able to get to your side. Damn it, Chloe. Please, just let me go. This isn't funny anymore. This is like magic school bus. I mean, I'll let you go if you're ready to listen. As Chloe attempts to sweet talk, it incredibly contained Varun at the moment. Arjun, you see your friend actually here become compromised. What do you do? Upon seeing basically one of his, one of his best friends probably in the since moving to the city, he'd probably be a little worried for him, but so he'd probably want to go and help him out. So I'll be doing a breakout basically. So this is going to be a stand-by in the action. Incredible. So as he, as he, as he makes his way forward, you can see the, you can see the garb he's wearing this almost regal Indian garb. So almost something, it can be something you find at a wedding, but just somehow even more flamboyant with these long trails of fabric flowing off the arms, his half his face masked, but the other half expressing definite worry for his friend. He'll swiftly move in and try to break and freeze. Let's see what we got with that. That is... that's a 10. That is a hit. You will save them from a particular ongoing danger named Chloe, whether that's an opening your foes have on them or some other lingering issue. On a 10+ they might also heal a condition or gain fleeting advantage. So Arjun, as you come in and you totally save the day here, what would you like to choose out of this? I'll have, I'll have him heal a condition. Woohoo! Varun scared shitting in your pants, suddenly. Arjun, a literal shining icon, this beacon comes to you. Yeah, as soon as you free him, Varun kind of like falls for a moment from Chloe's grasp and the bright autumnal robes flutter in the wind for a moment, and as soon as he's like right by your side, he pats you on both your shoulders, as if setting himself as well as showing you so much needed appreciation. As he says, "Arjun, my friend, Mariar, you are, you are my light, you are my life, I love you so so much." And he like to see like pets you for appreciation. Varun has very been used by his like a Varun Varun, it's fine, but let's focus on the battle of the hand. Yeah, maybe the we're far beyond words now, huh? It might be that way. Halcyon. Yeah, Halcyon's kind of watching these two thing like, "We gotta focus on the mission at hand, friends." So because they are kind of singularly focused in this moment on, they know that this is the time and this is their chance to make wrongs right. So they in this kind of tattered, gauzy robe with pieces of their iridescent skin peeking out with these teardrops of opals hanging off of their outfit kind of walk forward and with such determination that it like maybe is a little bit scary and I feel like the people have seen the more worldly kind, excitable side of Halcyon before, but not necessarily the dangerous focus side. And kind of as they walk forward, this kind of spectral sight appears in their hands and they're going right to Chloe and gonna gonna strike with force. What is the actual term? Yeah, with direct force and just go for it, not even really paying much attention outside of a glance to their compatriots. A world plus swords. Yeah, so what I'm gonna do, let's see. Okay, that is an eight. Same situation here. Okay. So the remaining qualities that we have also is we have arcane and dramatic. Okay. Arcane, specifically the ability for Chloe to alter the battlefield and dramatic speed. Yeah, I mean, I don't know. Do I get to target one specifically or is it? Yes. Okay. That being, if you break one of these qualities, it will open up one of Chloe's sort of. Right. Attempted fail saves here. Okay. So I think this is just like a direct, like kind of an attack that's really meant to, to send her somebody, like to the legs, like, let's, let's try to chop this, this bitch in half. And so I feel like that is more of the dramatic and in a dramatic swipe. And that the two are the perks that I have is like lingering. So I don't know if the idea is to cause continual pain, but it's kind of an aggressive, just physical monster of a hit that I'm trying to do. Absolutely. Chloe, however, what is your choice? I will be looking at the conditions. I think that my choice will be to single out how to gain an opening, because so far, everyone's just trying words, which is fine. And here you come with a sight. No, I'm going at you. Wait, what are you expecting? This is my job. This is what I'm here for. And I think that as you sort of slash at Chloe, the not just because of the physical hit, but more the, like, metaphysical context, I guess. The pleats in her dress almost start to dissolve and tear and unravel until it's more akin to sort of like a shattering stomach bamboo, perhaps. But revealing through these sort of holes that both her legs and her right hand are dripping, and at first it looks like blood or void. But it's actually just, you know, nice little, the jewels, gems. It's fine. It's happy. It's pretty. But I think that the sort of break that we get here is as this unraveling happens, Chloe looking back over to the other three, her, you know, friends, or at least colleagues, and saying, what are you doing? Why are you acting like this? I'm doing this for communities on over our neighborhood, begging for mercy. How does Halcyon respond? I think that Halcyon, I think it's just more of a kind of wave. Halcyon is faith in these people. That is why I chose them. And I think it's more of a wave of the hand and kind of like a look, and just say, you guys don't really believe her, right? Trying to keep a hold of the situation. But there's a falter in that, too, where they're actually kind of not sure. But they have faith, but they're not sure. I think Varun after taking a moment to recollect himself and watching the conflict unfurl right in front of him between Halcyon and Chloe, he studies himself and he stands shoulder to shoulder with Arjun, and hearing what Halcyon says, he feels bolstered in this moment. And he begins to lower his knees and takes a Baratamatyam dance pose as he holds his live fingers outward. And he says, you're not doing this for the good of the community center. You're taking the one thing that we as the community need. And we're going to stop you, Chloe. Even if it means, even if it means I'm going to have to fight you for it. Chloe sort of scoffs and says, have you ever fought anyone for anything? Not captured as valiant Dorian's little squeak. Varun's eyebrows do borrow, hearing that, and a tiny bit of sweat falls down the side of his face, but he stands soulward regardless. Honestly, you disappoint me. After all the time spent in that community center, especially in my classes, I thought you would have seen how much good it can bring. Such a shame. I see how much good it can bring. That's what I'm doing with us. With everything that we're doing now, with it being so poorly run under new management and location, think of how much it could thrive. Halcyon, you know before you didn't know much, you still don't know too much. But Chloe saw a lot in you that you didn't see before. Rather than a specific move or anything, what is that falter? Where is that place coming from? As Chloe in this greater quote unquote form of hers attempts to appeal to you, what do you think Halcyon is feeling maybe for the first time? I think there is a desire to belong and to be seen and to be understood, and that is a very primal thing that is not always conscious. I think Halcyon, like, thinks of themselves as a very strong and present person. They know this, in fact. But underneath that is that kind of desire to be just to be present with people and to be seen. And I think hearing that and feeling the want within themselves can be destabilizing, can be a little bit scary. And I don't think fear, because Halcyon doesn't fear death. Halcyon doesn't fear violence. Halcyon doesn't fear conflict. But feeling that within themselves I think is a little bit scary. Ren, you see this moment in what seems to be weakness, temporary, or otherwise in Halcyon. What do you do? Ren is looking straight at Chloe. She's like, girl, you're kind of cringe. I don't. What are you saying? Are you delusional? No, you really have change. You weren't this delusional in high school. Oh my god. And then she's going to turn to Halcyon, and she's going to be saying, what? Chloe's just, you know, she graduated from college. She thinks she's all of that, because she's got a university degree. And she, you know, it has this fancy, schmancy job. But you don't need to, like, take her words so close to your heart. You just, you know, she's just Chloe. Like, what is she going to do? Besides, you know, ruining the community center, and maybe, you know, making you feel a little bit bad. She's just Chloe. Incredible. So, are you attempting to bolster Halcyon at this time? Okay, great. Please roll cups. Okay, let's see. That is a three. Okay, Halcyon, you don't know what cringes, you don't understand, like, you're just like, there's something very fundamental here that you just cannot understand, and those cannot be comforted by. What does this Halcyon say, anything back? Halcyon's kind of just like, she's not just Chloe. She's very powerful. You can see this and kind of just shakes their head and brushes it off and tries to, like, reestablish, you know, their presence that they had before. But, like, it's kind of honestly feeling a little bit worse. Ren's like, is she? I mean, we're all kind of powerful. Like, look, I mean, look at me, and Ren is, you know, dressed in this, like, white, modified, cheap-howed dress, exposed shoulders with flowing sleeves. She's got these red Chinese fortune knots dripping from her waist, and her fingers are replaced with old claws, and her hands are with a white smoke that disappear under the ruffles, and her face is completely pretty much blocked by this mockery of a fox skull with her red and gold mask, and her eyes outline in the same shades of red and gold diamonds. And she gestures to herself, and she gestures to her room, and she gestures to Halcyon, and she gestures to Arjun. She's like, we all look like this, we're all the same. So, I guess she's kind of powerful. I mean, she made a ship, but we could all kind of make ships, I mean, I think, right? Halcyon kind of nods and says, "Exactly, but you're not just Ren." And he kind of leaves it at that. Friends, like, "Oh, cool. Yeah, I'm right here with you, just so you know." With the party all revealed now, Chloe, with one quality remaining. Chloe, what would you like to do with two broken qualities at this moment, begging for mercy, but now with new sort of white cloth like tentacles from you? You are still arcane, and you can still alter the battlefield. What would you like to do? Yeah, the... the bolstering didn't hit Halcyon, but I think it did hit Chloe a little bit, being called cringe by, like, this college dropout? No, cool. So, I think that she calls on the sea around the sinking ship and sort of shatters inward a whole side of the ship itself, the, like, horrible void-red ocean sort of. Almost like a tidal wave coming, like, between us. So, it's harder for you to reach me, and also maybe you get hit by creepy void water? As this red, thick void water, this liquid, it kind of begins to submerge and crash all over you and all around you. You hear the, like, whispers as it seems to not necessarily dry immediately, but it begins to, like, just form off in droplets off of your body as if hydrophobic, but what each droplet leaves all of you with on your skin, on your body, in your mind, are these just, again, these whispers of insecurity that for some of you may sound way more familiar than you would like for it to, just whispers of wishing that there were more days in the week, more minutes or hours in the day, more time to do things that you want to do, but also at the same time, I deserve everything that I've ever worked hard for, and how that sentiment warps its virtues and values into something much more heinous. Did you roll, was that a specific role, or would you like to make a role now? Yeah, I can make a specific role. What do you think that would be like a sword strike, striking with direct force? Absolutely. Yeah, if you, I mean, it's your castle. Oh, if that's not a good stat for me, but that's fine. That's a 12. Oh, no. So not a good stat for you, huh? I got two sixes on the dice, plus zero. Oh, dear. Okay, not a good stat is a minus one, which is why it just comes. Okay. What does it look like? Yeah, I think that as folks are sort of reeling from those feelings of insecurity brought on by the contact with the void, there's another sudden wave, and this time it sort of crashes over them, attempting now, not just to sort of hit, but to pull them out to see, to get them off of this vessel, because if they aren't going to help, if they aren't going to comply, then they're not worth coming along with me on this ship. And you got a 12. I think everyone absolutely has to take up condition here, depending on everyone as you experience this lash out, this direct force, this person in power attempting to outrightly, at this point, no holds barred, attempt to bring you down to their level to understand, forcibly, what condition would you take in response to that? Maroon, we can start with you and go through the same order. I think Varoon in this moment, because we are, his eyes widen, seeing the water being rushing, brought to rush over them, and not only rushing us, but also pulling us deeper into the shallows, right? So I think he's going to take the overwhelmed condition. Arjun. Actually, instead of marking condition, I'm going to be expending a piece of gear that I brought with me. I brought the gear bulletproof confidence, which I can expend to avoid marking a condition altogether. Let's go! That's my bestie. That's my bestie. Taking his clothes off. Let's go! Halcyon. Yeah, I think Halcyon is, was already angry, and I think that this kind of large attack, they're seeing their friends get like, you know, again, literally overwhelmed in this moment. I think it's that that anger is now crossing into callousness. I think Halcyon doesn't really care now what has to be done to end this, because feelings were hurt, and now people are physically hurt, and I think that's what's happening now. Ren. Ren is pissed off. Ren is like, what's wrong with you, dude? She's just confused. Like, Chloe has pretty much everything, right? She has the job. She has the successful boyfriend. She has everything. She has the degree, and she's lashing out because she wants to ruin like a community center. She wants to ruin something that is so special to so many people, and it's like the reason why we're fighting her. And so I think Ren is just mad. She's just confused by somebody, not even confused, but she's just so angry that someone with so many perceived blessings in her life, or is taking it out on people who don't have the same level of privilege or of, you know, pop in circumstance. Absolutely. Now, all of you can now respond to Chloe's title way of this reminder of insecurity, and then to directly enact violence against that insecurity. What would all of you like to do? Hello, it is me. I would love to do things. So Varun sees this wave coming over us, and as he is getting overwhelmed, what I would like to do is pressure, use the pressure move, and the way that he is doing so is that he begins sort of like stomping onto the ground with whatever piece of like sand or, I guess, wood from a sinking ship they can grab onto with his feet, and as he stomps onto it, steadies himself and allows his chakram to begin paving out a more secure path for the rest of his allies. And as he is doing that, the chakram begins to glow, spin in place, and begin to oscillate around him furiously to try to almost parting the water like the Red Sea. And as he does, and as he does, so he finally makes like proper eye contact with Chloe and says, "I will not allow you to self-destruct like this. Mitran needs you, and I will not let you do this to all of us." Oh, roll plus swords. The thing I'm bad at. But, but it's good. That's a 10. That's incredible. Yeah, that is that is pretty good. So with that 10, Varun. I will pick pinning them in place, and I think that how that happens is that the chakram is moving in such way and creating this open path. I am essentially making almost like a water vacuum that leads directly towards where Chloe is. And I will give an ally a window to act freely. Which ally? Oh, I get to choose. Perfect. You know what? It's best seat time. Let's go. You sacrificed your gear for this. For Arjun, let's go. Varun looks over at Arjun's side. All right, come on, Hiro. I think seeing Varun kind of pop off and just do, like, and get that hit. No, not give him a thumbs up. And, honestly, probably most likely move again to assist an ally. So probably we'll start. Probably go assist Ren. This is a stand with me. Stand with me. Yeah. We'll post those cups. I should be good at this. I should be good at this. Seven. Okie dokie. It says you'd be able to save them from a particular ongoing danger, whether that's opening your foes have on them or some other lingering issue. How is the support basically given to Ren? Ren, who is at the moment, you won't be able to heal her condition, but you do see that she is angry. So I guess, yeah, even though I guess he wouldn't be able to heal her condition, I guess Arjun most likely would probably just... Almost instead of calming her down, try to instead just focus her anger and just hone it to the point. We're like, "Okay, you're not going to act blindly, but make sure it's just focused at Chloe." So you're still calculated, but you're angry, but you're calculated and angry. Ren, I'll give you advantage of something on your next role, basically. All right. Works for me. I was planning on striking because there's an opening right now, but before that, I guess, healthy. And if you wanted to do something, I didn't want to... I mean, also, I might roll and fuck up. I mean, I was also planning on striking. Oh, perfect. The two of you, how about we have... Let's team up. Let's go. Oh my god. Let's go. Okay. So then I guess, I probably see the look in your eyes and me and my more callous state, I'm kind of like, "Okay, you want to do this." I can see that you want to do this. Let's do this. Ren's like, "Let's do this, girlie." Yeah. So then I guess we're going to strike together. Yes. And I am still... I'm going to do this just about the same thing I did last time, which is kind of some in my sight, which I didn't mention kind of because it's a talisman. I didn't really mention how that works, but I got a little bone bracelet and that is what, like, materializes into the scythe, and then the handle is like a big-ass bone. Anyway, so that kind of materializes in Halcyon's hand, and they start running at it, you know, swinging it around in some kind of way, and is again going for that kind of cleaving two-handed... And I know that we have a fair amount of distance to cover now, right? So I'm going to try to use that as an opportunity to build up speed and then attack with swords, which is direct force. Absolutely. And I think even, I think perhaps with Arjun's bolstering of Ren, there's something there that Ren, the two of you through your duo attack, can provide for each other. And Ren, what is it that you would like to do with this advantage that you've just received from the icon? Absolutely. Ren is also materializing her own weapon, which are hairdresser scissors as a sword, and so she is essentially mirroring Halcyon's actions, whatever they're doing. She's on the other side so that any sort of, it's kind of like a 360 sort of shield almost of if there's water coming, she's cleaving that and causing it to fall on either side of the two of them. And so, and she's just gunning for Chloe and is just going to absolutely do direct force as well. Roll plus swords in both of you. Would that is? I got an 18. So, what's the two highest? Oh, the two highest. Okay. Okay. The two highest is 12 and then a plus one. So that is 32 of a max. That is 13. That's beautiful. Okay. Yeah. We'll say sort of where Halcyon is, unfortunately, falling short and make sure to mark XP against the world. Ren, it's not usually your moment, but right now it is your moment. You've been bolstered. Halcyon is still, it's not, is not unsuccessfully next to you. So Halcyon is still right next to you, but you, you are going to get that last hit. I'm like seeing it where like Halcyon and Ren are kind of, you know, like rolling around, like Halcyon's being crouched over and Ren rolls over her back just, or their back just to like slash away at some of the, you know, the tidal waves that are coming in, the tidal waves of the void. And Ren is going to absolutely just stab Chloe in the chest as best as she can if that is even a possibility. And she's going to lean in and she's going to get right up close to Chloe, like almost nose to nose and she's going to go, gotcha. Oh my god. Through your heart, Chloe, your final quality, your arcane, your ability to alter this battlefield, to make the ship sink and rise, to make the thick water of the void whisper insecurities to everyone. It shatters. The castle, the world all around all of you shatters as if punching a mirror, finally gaining that clarity by Ren's hands, but not just by Ren's hands, through the party, through the heroes here. Still remaining in the void, Chloe, your form, your night form falls. It shatters, it unravels, however it does, but everyone sees now Chloe. Just as Chloe usually is in some sort of suit, some alderman get up here. Chloe all around you are people that you know, some, you're not sure exactly if you would call them your friends or the other way around, but even through the masks, the lavish clothing. How does it make you feel on the floor in front of all of them? What does it look like? What does it feel like? Yeah, I think that Chloe is staring up at them in her like business casual, you know pencil skirt button down, sweating. There is sweat at her temples under her arms in a way that she would never let other people see under normal circumstances. And she really did think that selling the community center rebuilding maybe somewhere else was the right thing to do for her people, but seeing all of these faces looking down at her in anger and disappointment, she just feels lonesomeness, I think, and shame that she misgaged things so badly. We'll say the castle shard, what would have been the new community center, now morphs. It appears from wherever it does in the world, wherever it does in the void, from this red, almost corrupted, black-veined crystal, and it hovers over to Halcyon, yearning for you, and you would know at the very least this instinct between you and shards, somehow, it yearns for you to touch it. All right, yeah, I reached out and do that, if that's what the heart wants what it wants, baby. And it immediately begins to sort of steam around your fingers, around your hands, and instead of this red, it begins to become this iridescent blue, a proper crystal, something see-through, something warm, and almost alive. And something also familiar, something with snake scales. You now know Halcyon in your heart, whatever that means, the community center is safe in the void. And you have now all uncovered your very first hideout. All of you can feel it. The void is beginning to slip away in that timeless manner of seconds, whatever the time sort of transference here is, whether or not y'all have cracked that yet, you do know it begins to slip away, and what seems to be maybe later in the- rather than later, it probably was very early in the morning that Chloe was about to go into her mission here. So all of you in your still-morning clothes, the sky becomes blue again. It becomes this warm spring sort of weather, slightly humid, slightly smelly. But all around you, again, is this beautiful building of what the community center stands for, what it is. All of you, however, know that some of you still have to go to work. Some of the people that you know may still have to go to school. After this immense battle, your castle forms melt and fade away, and I too genuinely ask all of you. We've seen your glorious castle forms, but what do your mundane looks look like, especially for a job this early in the morning? Varun, out of his very, very beautiful, patterned Bharatanatyam wear, is in the real world, his mundane self and androgynous, slender framed young man with warm brown skin and sharp features and a proud nose. He is probably wearing a casual beige shirt with a really colorful statement bandana with the patterns of chrysetamums all over it, and it's tied around his neck. His hair is this sort of perfectly tussled bed hair, the wavy bed hair that sits upon his head, and he also has a bit of a short patchy stubble across his face. And as we return to Bandanity, there's a moment where the diadem that he wears on his forehead, his castle form vanishes and melts away, the dresses on his clothing begin to melt away, revealing just jeans and a casual shirt. And there's a moment where Varun runs his fingers through his hair and pushes it back and realizing that time has moved once again and that has shifted the grocery stores about to start. And he has nothing home and his big brown eyes widen. As that realization sinks in, Arjun, what does Bandanity look like for you? So as his very regal castle form starts melting away, the flowing fabric, the regal Indian attire, the mask on his face, as it all melts away at all, you see, Arjun comes something rather plain almost you could really say. As his clothes fade away, they've become replaced with base, just a simple pair of sneakers, sweatpants, and a rather plain looking t-shirt with a slight little orchid motif on it. You see some orchids kind of dotted around the vicinity of the shirt, both on the front and the back. As the half mask on his face fades away, you see on the makeup on the other side of his face also fade away. You see what wasn't really hidden by the exposed half, but the now you see his full little baby face with his little wolf cut finally out in the air. His ears studded by two simple little earrings and a very simple gold necklace, Dorne hanging off of his neck. As he comes to realize that they're out of the cast, out of the void, he yawns, knowing that he's going to have to do a-- he has some classes to teach later today, and then not to mention his night shift at the bar. He prepped himself for a nice nap. Halcyon. Yeah, Halcyon, as, again, as we enter this world, these kind of rags that they're in turn into this, they kind of just fade into a very basic kind of outfit, a black shirt, a black undershirt and jeans, and from becoming this kind of like, or from being, I should say, this kind of like combination of tattered and opulent with, you know, this gauze over their eyes and these giant winged masks behind them, all of that kind of just fading off into nothing. They kind of emerged this very basic kind of all-American, athletic figure and presence with an easy smile, and they're really smiling at this point because they felt something unlock and change in the world, and now they're safety. And they, you know, they're just-- they're easy and breezy, you know, mid-length, blonde hair, pretty, you know, some some freckles, some moles, tanned skin, because they've been out in the sun, and kind of bright green eyes, and they're just a presence, and they're happy to be there, and there is something so exciting about being back in the world with everyone. And hey, they've got to go to work, too. And working with the dead bodies and the morgue. But this is kind of exciting because Hausianna is ready to learn about these people's stories and to kind of engage with that spiritual side of themselves after this kind of crazy event has happened the night prior, and they kind of, you know, they-- they-- as they enter this more excitable, happy, at peace self, you're going to wave to everybody and adjust themselves and start jogging off towards where the dead peoples are. And Ren? Yeah, as they move from their castle to this mundane form, you can see all of these motifs and all of this outstanding sort of shiny, gaudy, almost jewelry and adornments fade. The plum blossoms from the mask falls away that the plum blossoms that were engraved in her into coins that were weaved into her braided hair are gone. And her hair actually becomes shorter, and it turns into this black hair with an orange peekaboo, some wispy forehead bangs, a couple of framing pieces. Her falsies come back on. She wasn't wearing falsies in the castle, but now she is. She's got a strong eye makeup, strong brows. She's wearing this silk black romper with an oversized white button down. The outer helix of her ears have tons and tons of piercings that are all diamond or star shaped. And for all intents and purposes, before Halcyon left, they were about the same height, but it's the only reason is because you look down and Ren's wearing three-inch platform heel. And she's not short, but she's definitely doesn't strike an imposing figure without those heels on. And she just kind of looks around and she's like, "Well, I guess I got to go to work too, but I don't know. Like, you guys want to hang or no?" And before everyone will say even begins to surge to leave, but with that urgency, there's still something within the void that remains, and that is what seems to be this very surprising sudden form change within Chloe. And all of you see swirling sort of all around this energy, her castle form, not her basil night form, this strange, corrupted, evil, vampiric sort of spirit certainly maybe looks almost similar to that, but Chloe as your castle form begins to just introduce itself to the world and then recedes back into your business casual look. Does anything about your castle form change? I think that rather than reforming to its original state as we might expect sort of leaving the castle, her form retains those marks from the combat, the sort of tattered dress, the red now dripping not like power, but sort of like guilt from her hands and legs, and then it just feeds away into her daily everyday message. In the real world, she's small, she's like 5'1", wearing that same button down in pencil skirt that we saw when her night form shattered. Rather than the gaudy golden crown in Halo, there's a sort of minimalist golden chain around her wrist and around her neck. Unfortunately, the sweat has also come with her from the castle sticking short tendrils of Auburn hair to her forehead and neck. She has dark eyes and they're wide and panicked and she's clutching her chest, no longer grasping at the stab wound from Ren, but instead crumbling this Manila folder close to her body. She came to the community center this morning to post a notice of sale, which is now sort of clutched in her hand, but I guess that's not the right thing to do. What is the right thing to do now? Everyone is expecting or at least the realtors are expecting a sale to happen soon. Halcyon, there is again this surge, this understanding that is beyond you, but is so inherent in you at the same time. Everyone that you're standing with, you know that you need to be a part of their destinies, but the person in front of you kneeling that you just defeated, Chloe, you know you also need to overseer this person's destiny. I think, Halcyon kind of like gets down on their level and it's like squats down and kind of, you know, takes the folder and just says, you know, knowing and just sensing again on a fundamental level that this change has happened. It's kind of like, forget all that. You want to come and see some dead people? Come on, work with me, come on, let's go, come on, come on. Chloe, I think, stares up at you, just shocked at the non-sequitur and the sort of the reaching out and after a moment, she will stand and say, I mean, I guess, is that even allowed? That feels like some sort of work violation. No, no, it's not. But listen, I feel like there's, I think there's something for you here. I think we can come to an understanding and I think the way to do that is by examining the cycle of life and how it impacts the city and what we can do in recognition of what starts here and what ends here to make this a better place, which is what you have to do because you've kind of caused a lot of trouble here. And I kind of like wave the Manila envelope, which I am holding on to very tightly. I mean, if you have ideas for how to fix this, I'm willing to listen, I guess. Listen, I have a way of, let me phrase it this way. It's a great thing to learn from the past. I have a way of connecting with those who we've left behind, so maybe we can get some information from them. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Let's do it. And then I kind of like, you know, wave to everybody. I'm like, we're going to go to work. So. You guys do you. Yeah. Yeah, I think like in that moment, like steps out of his realization in a for a moment to look over at Chloe and watching Halcyon kind of take the lead and helping Chloe out in this moment. And he just raises his hands and shakes it and just says, don't don't worry about feeling pressured to like come over later on or anything. I can just tell Mithra and that you need a little bit of a break today. And yeah, you don't have to do everything on your own. And if you need any help, you can just let us know. But yeah, don't worry about having to come over tonight and socialize or whatever. And then he remembers about his brother. Oh, crap. My shifts start like half an hour ago. He's going to kill me. Bye. He rushes off. Ren is kind of watching Varun run off and is like, wow. Okay. Kind of. Yikes. Wow. Brother is kind of, you know, looking straight at Chloe. Like, wow, his brother kind of poopy, huh, poopy. No, he just has a good work ethic. Like. Yeah, sure. Well, um, have fun. Uh, it was not good to see you, but I'm glad that, you know, you're going to go see corpses now. Yippee. She runs away. Arjun. Um, I think when during the whole, uh, exchange between Chloe and Halcyon, I think Arjun's mainly just going to look at it with like, just like a cocked eyebrow and was like, is this really happening? Like, wait, wait, is, is Chloe's going to go with Halcyon to look at corpses? All right. Sure. I'm the only person who's a real person. This is, this is really happening. Okay. But you know what? I'm too tired for this. It's the morning. Um, before he leaves, he'll probably turn to Chloe. Um, and mainly just like, he won't offer a lot of words, but just feel free to come back to class if you ever want to. Just, no, I won't be taking it easy on you. Um, before heading off to go back to his place to get some sleep and prep for set, for today's set of classes. Wait, how, how did you think the monologuing was though? Jesus. But coach, but coach, how about my monologue needed a little bit more conviction, although I don't think that might be a problem next time. Well, if I had more conviction, they might not have turned out as well for you. So, oh my God. Yeah, you just, I was like, oh boy, got a lot of, got a lot of work with this one. The high note secure. Halcyon knowing a part of the world has been healed. That being said, actually, with that castle shard becoming blue, I think where it ends up going is, it recedes inside of you. Oh, whoa. Yummy. And Halcyon, you actually get an option here. Oh, okay. Halcyon, you can remove a stress tick or lose a condition right now. Oh, I will, I will lose a condition. Yep. I'm gonna take away being callous. Can you imagine being callous and being like, let's look at these corpses. Yeah. Oh, no. You never know what I'm planning. Okay. You never know what I got going beneath the surface. But that being said, all of you, again, you have to rush to your jobs. You have to rush to prepare to teach classes. You have to rush and rush. You know, you've saved an incredibly important, arguably the most important aspect of the community of caldera today. The work is good and it is never over. And that is where we will end this first episode of caldera heart. Josephine at scary dog friend plays the architect. You can find her producing actual plays at Bad House RPG and Nameless Domain. Other podcasts include some plays to be a system hopping actual play with an indie focus and monster focus anonymous, rating and dating your favorite monsters everywhere you listen to your podcasts. Thanks so much again for godfolds and gays for hosting us. And all the music that you hear today is from epidemic sound. Hey, everyone. My name is Ibishek Matangay, and I'm a voice actor and actual play performer. You can find me on Twitter at neon underscore radon and same of loose guy, just no underscore. I like to talk about the nerdy side of things, especially focus on soon. So anything super centai, common writer, ultraman and beyond, you'll usually find me talking about it. You can find me performing actual plays on twitch, usually at sorting key. In fact, starting August 22nd, I'll be in one of their new series, Zina. And on September 15th, you can catch me over on nerds with dice's twitch for the continuation of iron sworn the valley season two. Alyssa at a disaster career plays cloei, penitins. You can find them here on goblex and gays, up for our Pathfinder series, Tyrone of the Darkstar, as well as on an unwavering force, a Star Wars actual play. Donna, she her, plays Ren Kong. You can find her voice acting, playing other DTRPGs, and overall being a goofy gal at shabro on twitter.com. Leana alvinies, any pronouns plays healthy. You can find them acting, producing, and generally goofing around at Leana alvinies on all platforms. Valiant Dorian, at Valiant Dorian or at Oxos Spirit Bear, plays Valun Pillay. You can find them as a main cast member of Transpener RPGs, the chaos protocol, hosting his TTRPG talk show dicey banter, and designing wild-hearted monstrous games like his in-development TTRPG, The Beast Within, a grungy action RPG with a rare beast twist. And opening is like an advantage. Yeah, so technically you need to, like, make an opening before you can strike. So, like, Varun opened it up with his heart. I did. I zoomed with my ass on the ground. Yes. [LAUGH]
