IC INTRO - MARCH

[phantasmods]

Sometime after the showdown, those with communication devices from the station will all get a collective message -

Okay, everyone come back! We might need to do a final sweep or two of the beach, but it looks like most of the Fissure is stabilized! °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

Everybody go ahead and come back up - and bring anyone else you found with you! I know I saw a couple new faces on the drone cameras. (*･▽･*)

Also, if you get a chance, check out the new door leading out of the residential area! It's a surprise for all your hard work. (´◕ ◡ ◕｀) There's also food in the kitchens if you're hungry and want something warm!

With that in mind, grab your new friends and go ahead and come on back.

STATION EXTERIOR

Upon returning to the station, the first thing most will probably see is Up, standing on the rooftop to congratulate everyone on a mission accomplished and also handle any questions the new arrivals might have that haven't gotten answered yet. They stand tall and graceful beside the ramp... Most of the time. Occasionally, one might catch them trying not to fidget with the belt that now hangs fashionably askew on their hips.

For those who want to seek out the surprise Charm promised, there's a second ramp leading down off the far side of the roof, as well as the door he mentioned on the network. Both lead to the shiny new viewing deck, with its mismatched furniture, half-roof, and view of the beach.

Charm himself is here, long android limbs spread across one of the lounge chairs as he fiddles with one of the wind element crystals in his lap. It occasionally reacts and blasts the tails of his red scarf in random directions, but he doesn't seem to mind.

STATION INTERIOR

Those adventuring to the kitchens will find that there are four large pots arranged in a line beneath a set of heat lamps on the stove. Three contain curry - labeled "mild," "spicy," and "the fire of a thousand suns" in neat handwriting - while the last contains plain rice. An assortment of mismatched bowls and utensils sit on the counter nearest the pots. (Welcome to Keystone Station, you'll have an easier time finding matching cutlery at your local Goodwill.)

In the common room, meanwhile, the boxes of clothes and trading post are set up again. Those who investigate something fluffy in a particular box on the end of the couch may discover a girl and friend taking a nap...

Comments

[photoshooter]

[Yeah, Prompto found a ton of weird stuff. Here's what he doesn't know what to do with:

-> A three-pack of sentai figures from a series you're not familiar with.
-> A box of instant gelatin, flavor... moss.
-> A half-tray full of primroses in assorted colors. Seven in all.]

[thoroff]

You too, huh?

[She looks disdainfully between the moss-flavored gelatin and the pack of "mold dumplings" she holds in her own hand.]

[photoshooter]

[He sees what she's got and wrinkles his nose--no, his whole face--in disgust.]

Holy crap, ew! Who comes up with something like that? Just throw it out.

[thoroff]

So you're not secretly some kind of bizarre creature that feeds on mold. I'll go ahead and tick that one off the list.

[Said completely straight-faced.]

...Believe me, I plan to.

[photoshooter]

Wh--no! I'm human!

[He actually sounds a little distressed by the comment?]

[thoroff]

[...Whoops? She raises her hands placatingly.]

Um, yes? I can see that. It was a joke, that's all.

[photoshooter]

Oh. Right. ...Uh, there are some people here who aren't, though.

[thoroff]

Yeah, I've seen them.

[She hasn't spoken with any yet but she most definitely spotted some distinctly not human folks fighting the demon gull.]

I figured there was a chance one of them might actually find these horrid things appealing, that's why I haven't already disposed of them.

[photoshooter]

But it's mold... I mean, even moss is at least, like. It's not mold. And it's just moss-flavored.

[Gross, gross, who would eat that, what is wrong with people, eeewww.]

[thoroff]

One of my friends back home can't get enough of a stew that the rest of the army swears up and down tastes like dishwater, so. You never know.

[Non-humans are kind of weird.]

[photoshooter]

Ew. I think Ignis's cooking spoiled me. It's so hard to just go back to boring, normal food, let alone gross stuff like this.

[Waves at the dumplings. Waves at the gelatin.]

[thoroff]

I'm accustomed to not exactly eating like a queen... but this is pushing it a little, yes.

[Just a bit.]

[photoshooter]

Some of the food here is weird, but you can usually tell what's okay for human consumption. I think Jetshard might eat bugs, though? Alien bugs.

wow i meant to do this ages ago

[byanyother_name]

Ah... I'm willing to take any plants people find that they don't want.

[He's still a little uncertain about Prompto after... well, what happened before. But it seems easier to approach him with some genuine reason to do so, and a half-tray of primroses will do.]

[photoshooter]

[Prompto's expression flickers briefly in recognition, but all he does is nod and push the primroses towards Kurama.]

Please. I don't know anything about flowers. I could kill them.

[You know what we do with potentially heavy and uncomfortable topics around these parts? BURY THEM FOREVER.]

[byanyother_name]

I admit I have a bit of an unfair advantage in terms of plant care.

[This is evidenced as Kurama brushes a finger over one of the primroses and it grows a little and unfurls into full bloom.

You know what? He only promised to keep things open and honest with his boyfriends. Outside of that, he is totally content to leave these topics, as it were, sub rosa. The first rule of repression club is you don't talk about repression club.]

[photoshooter]

[That is, in fact, literally the first rule of repression club.

Anyway, Prompto's eyes go wide, and then he laughs, surprised and wowed.]

Whoa! I guess you do. Man, so many people here have all kinds of magic...

[Delicately, like he's not sure whether or not he might hurt it, he touches the edge of a petal.]

Is it just plants, for you? Not elemental stuff?

[byanyother_name]

[It's a good rule.

And Kurama smiles a little at the enthusiastic reaction.]

I've noticed. It's quite fascinating, the different ways in which energy works on other worlds.

[The petal is soft under his finger and not hurt at all by the touch. Honestly, with Kurama actively supporting the plant with his energy, Prompto would probably have to make a genuine effort to do it any harm.]

Just plants. I have friends at home with elemental abilities, but that was never a gift of mine. I've picked up a few odd other abilities recently but that's another matter entirely.

[photoshooter]

Odd abilities?

[As if Prompto wouldn't be curious.]

[byanyother_name]

Something of a magically powered timeline of ranged weaponry, to be honest. I can fire magical arrows, bullets, grenades, and laser beams.

[Which he doesn't seem to think is a big deal, judging by the casual tone and expression.]

[photoshooter]

Laser beams?

[Prompto, as a culturally-steeped young man from a video game developed in Japan, is not at all exempt from the requirement to sparkle at the idea of cool robot powers. Despite his history.]

That's soooo cool! I can do some of that stuff--uh, if I've got the weapon on hand, anyway--but I can't shoot lasers, dude. You can just do it, like from your hands?

[byanyother_name]

Those are actually the only ones I don't fire from my hand. They really just appear. How powerful they are depends on how much time I spend charging them up.

[And because Kurama is a nerd and he watches anime.] I have no idea how much they would destroy if I spent five episodes on it.

[photoshooter]

[Prompto, who is also a nerd even if he probably doesn't watch as much anime as King Noctis "Sasuke" Lucis Caelum CXIV, laughs aloud.]

Now you gotta try it. For science!

[byanyother_name]

[There will be no Naruto references in this household, young man, when you are literally talking to a demon fox named Kurama.

But he will hum and bring his fingers to his chin thoughtfully.]

The difficulty is determining what five episodes translates to in terms of our time. The two and a half hours it would take to watch them consecutively?

[photoshooter]

I mean, is there any way to charge it and then make it hold the charge for a while? Because of course the real experience would be to do half an hour a week for five weeks.

[This is stupid.]