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

[byanyother_name]

Not so much airheaded, but certainly not fond of giving straight answers until they won't help you anymore and Mukuro especially is prone to erratic behavior. She's rather Darwinian even by demon standards, though I think she's been growing more stable of late...

[Probably not much, no.]

[bulletnews]

That doesn't really sound like Yuyuko... but I'd expect a leader in Makai not to be like her anyway. At least in Gensokyo, it and the Netherworld are understood to be different places.

[byanyother_name]

I'd imagine your Makai and my Makai are not the same, either, honestly. Though it's nice to hear of another universe where it exists at all.

[And he'd rather not mention that his universe's equivalent of the Netherworld was destroyed a long time ago.]

[bulletnews]

I don't actually know that much about Makai; just that one Byakuren Hijiri, a Buddhist priest-magician, was sealed in a remote region there for a thousand years or so. They might be the same, or they might not.

[byanyother_name]

I'm not aware of any sealed priests, though I'll grant that I paid more attention to tales of sealed artifacts. What about Reikai?

[bulletnews]

I did say was. She was broken out a few years ago, and is holding services for humans and youkai alike.

[And she's... actually pretty successful.]

Haven't heard of any Reikai, though.

[byanyother_name]

I would have been around when she was first sealed if the timeline of your story is correct, though. It's nice to hear of a priest-magician being open to both in that way.

[That pretty much settles it, Kurama thinks, since every youkai knows about Reikai where he comes from. They tend to heavily stick their noses in Makai's business.]

If you haven't heard of Reikai, then we very likely are from different universes after all. They make themselves very prominent in inter-realm affairs.

[bulletnews]

If that's the case, I'm glad they're not around. Most of the more organized youkai factions in Gensokyo would rather not be meddled with that way, and the tengu are still having problems with the Moriya Shrine immigration.

[byanyother_name]

Understandable. Few youkai appreciate their meddling where I come from, to be honest. I don't entirely appreciate it, and I worked for them for a time.

[Mostly Kurama doesn't appreciate the current ruler of Reikai. The heir apparent, his actual old boss, has a better ethical framework.]

Immigration?

[bulletnews]

It was more like an invasion, really. A couple gods from outside Gensokyo just put their entire shrine with surrounding lake near the top of the mountain we live on.

But of course they struck a deal with the Boss, so...

[byanyother_name]

That's terribly rude. And 'the Boss' should be ashamed of letting them get away with it.

[Disapproving headshake before he takes another bite of his food.]

[bulletnews]

I'd never be able to say it if I weren't... well, here.

[She meant The Boss Of All Tengu. There's a lot of... rigidity there, in terms of sociopolitical power.]