POP 19: The Moon



 "'I have no idea why I am the way I am. When it comes to the end of the day, I just Am now.' -TBD"

The Moon is the nineteenth episode of Eidolon POP and the thirty-ninth episode of Eidolon Playtest Season 1. It covers Quentin's Class as they reconcile Ursula-Ursa Bexar's and Quentin Brooks' memories of the past, plan their next steps, and punch Quentin. A lot.

Summary
Around 1am Friday morning, James Studebaker is watching Planet Earth with Sloane Parker in her dorm room. Internally, James is piecing together a plan. According to Lady Luck, a human is required to eclipse the heart. James' experiences with Lady Luck, Gabriel-Bede, and Teoth imply to him that he is the one to do it. What he learned from watching the events of POP #17 is that getting erased by The Estate does not destroy you, just reconfigures you into a Shade. With this in mind, he pockets his half-burned employment papers and Sloane's lighter, intending to burn (or threaten to burn) them and erase himself if they find no other means of preventing the Total Eclipse of the Heart.

Alexis Lorentzen returns to the dorm room with Ursula-Ursa Bexar. Sloane and James are confused, and she gives a brief vague explanation. Alexis then asks Ursula-Ursa to hack into MySpace to find information on the 'old crew'.

For the past two days, Quentin Brooks has been relaxing and enjoying life. Back on Wednesday he had noticed a student in one of his lectures who looked a lot like James Studebaker and also happened to be named James Studebaker, but it isn't weighing on his mind at all. Having received the frantic texts from Alexis earlier, he pulls outside the dorm building in his SUV and heads to Sloane's dorm room.

Sloane is ready to attack Quentin, but Alexis holds her back and asks Quentin what he's been up to over the last two days. He gives a vague answer, so Alexis opens the door and Sloane throws Quentin against the hallway wall. Nearby dormrooms open the door at the noise, and one yells to shut up. Sloane shouts back that she's beating up a teacher. Ursula-Ursa grabs them both by the ear and pulls them into the dormroom. After a moment, Quentin recognizes the Ursula in Ursula-Ursa and she hugs him, then slaps him for abandoning Ron Moreau and Cactus Jack to die.

In the background, Sloane calls Caroline and puts the phone on a table. It goes straight to voicemail, but it sits there recording a message. After discussing what Quentin remembers, everyone quickly agrees that Lady Luck modified the memories she gave him. Quentin's Class convince him of their version of events by citing both Gabriel-Bede's presentation and Ursula-Ursa's memories. Quentin still attempts to justify his decisions, and Sloane punches him in the face and breaks his nose.

One of The Meghans, an R.A., knocks at the door. Ursula-Ursa and Quentin hide in the bathroom. Meghan says there's been a noise complaint and asks if Sloane has any guests. Sloane is visibly incredibly high and fails to convince Meghan she does not, so Meghan checks the bathroom. Quentin tries to web them to the ceiling and Ursula-Ursa fumbles for an incapacitating weapon, but neither succeed before Meghan sees them. She tells Sloane that, since this is the first complaint Sloane has had, if the guests leave now she'll forget this happened.

Quentin's Class sit at one of the picnic tables outside. At this point, Ursula-Ursa has managed to investigate some of the older crew's MySpace pages. Ron's is playing Feel Good Inc. and mentions of him visiting an Iraq War in Toledo, OH. Henry Dracula's contains a lot of selfies and a post complaining about how his moms are making him go to Joseph University of North Gibsonburg instead of Yale. His very last selfies, before his page was hidden away from general view, show him older, with fangs, and ripped.

The predicted end of the world is twenty-nine hours away. Ursula-Ursa suggests they spend their time remaining rescuing Ron's body from Las Vegas. The fastest path would be via The Estate and the Gambling Parlor. Lady Luck has been oddly quiet the past few days, so it is unknown how cooperative she'll be. Ursula-Ursa suggests resting first, but no one is ready to sleep so they go to Lou's Diner. After they sit down, Quentin and Ursula-Ursa argue over whether Quentin should feel guilty for what he did or failed to do. Ursa walks off and Quentin follows.

Quentin begs Ursula-Ursa not to be upset. Ursula-Ursa doesn't understand why he would leave Cactus Jack and Ron behind, asking if this life is worth it. Quentin argues it is worth it compared to oblivion. He never wanted to hurt her, and asks to know what he could or should have done. At this, Ursula-Ursa collapses to the ground. Sacrificing herself worked poorly for her, so she's in no position to offer advice or say who is right. They begin to reminisce about the time they spent together as young adults, and want to do better for James, Alexis, and Sloane. Quentin and Ursula-Ursa promise to each other that they will neither run away nor sacrifice themselves.

Back at the diner, Sloane apologizes to James for writing him off and not seeing the value in his perspective. James apologizes back for blaming Sloane for everything, albeit partially justified. Sloane apologizes to Alexis as well, for worshipping her at first as cool and hot and mysterious, then as someone smart and enigmatic. Alexis thanks Sloane for "not treating her like a really hot, really wise goddess". James suggests that since the world is ending soon, why not make another play at the Paperwork Department for his and Ursula-Ursa's pink slips? The three of them agree and head outside.

Outside, Sloane, Alexis, and James run into Quentin and Ursula-Ursa on their way back. The latter agree to the plan without much hesitation. Ursula-Ursa goes to make a portal, but suddenly realizes the last portal she used in POP #TO-DO is still open in a field near the dormrooms. She breaks out sprinting in its direction.

Appearances
● Alexis Lorentzen // Vivid Memories Turn to Fantasies

● James Studebaker // Time After Time

● One of The Meghans

● Quentin Brooks // Speakerboxxx

● Sloane Parker // Start A Riot

● Ursula-Ursa Bexar // Pack Light

Trivia
● Quentin Brooks establishes he learned how to do Kung-Fu by Ron Moreau slapping him until he defended himself.


 * ● As many of the other players pointed out, Ron fights with a gun. This may have just been him finding an excuse to vent frustration with Quentin.

● The moment Sloane Parker learns that Henry Dracula has moms, she asks if they're single.