phantasmods: (Default)
Phantasmal Rift Mods ([personal profile] phantasmods) wrote in [community profile] phantasmalrift2018-02-12 06:00 am

IC INTRO - FEB

The first thing the new arrivals will see, as the sun sets, is a set of distant lights turning on - the roof of the Station, perched on the cliffs above the beach.

The next thing, probably, will be the exploratory drone, a flying chrome thing about the size of a horse, descending near them, wherever they are.

"I can't believe it spat out people this time," says a voice through the speakers - androgynous, somehow sounding young and old enough to be incredibly tired.

Another voice, almost identical but almost unmistakably that of a different speaker from the cheerful tone, says, "Worry about it later! Hey, do you want a ride?"

And with that, the door of the drone's cargo bay opens.

--> WELCOME, NEW ARRIVALS.


Drones drop characters off on the well-lit lower section of the roof, where a pair of tall, gangly humanoids meet them. The two are clearly artificial, formed of silver metal and white silicone, and perfectly identical... Except for their standing posture, which is very different.

The one on the right, a step further back, looks indisputably excited, and peers at the new arrivals curiously. The one on the left has a bag slung over their shoulder, clearly thrown together at the last moment and not completely closed. They take a step forward and say, in a calm tone, "Hello. My name is Strange. Do you have any injured?"

A few minutes after the characters start to arrive, a third android bursts out of the door into the station, exclaiming (in the same voice as the rest), "Here! Wear these!" before shoving a purple scarf at Strange and a red scarf at the curious one. The new android is already wearing an orange scarf.

Once all characters have been brought up, the remaining three androids arrive on the roof, wearing green, dark blue, and white scarves. The one in white hangs back a little from the others, while the one in blue carries themselves with authority.

"Welcome to Keystone Station," says the one in blue, in a voice that must have the volume enhanced to carry across the entire roof. "You may call me Up. My siblings and I have been maintaining the station in the absence of our creators, and researching the phenomenon that brought you here, which we call Fissures. ...I am sorry to say that we have no way to return you to your worlds at this time, so please accept our hospitality."

They bow, low at the waist, and that seems to be a signal to the rest of the group to break up and join the confused, milling group of new arrivals.

--> INDIVIDUAL NPC TOP-LEVELS

Strange - Charm - Top - Bottom - Up - Down

--> THE REST OF THE STATION

Once explanations have been made as much as they can be, the newly arrived characters are set loose to explore the station itself. The labs are currently closed off, as is the door down to the generator level, but characters are welcome to explore anywhere else they please.

The androids, too, depart the roof, each setting off with a distinct task in mind. Charm and Bottom can be found on the lowest accessible level, the two of them working magic on stored seeds long into the night in order to tempt the infant plants into growing. Up and Strange vanish into the labs, (which open to characters the next day, the biology lab having been converted to a medical bay, along with the generator level).

Top and Down, meanwhile, make their home in the central gathering room of the residential floor for the night. Down is distributing network devices from a case at their side, while Top is noting down character housing arrangements and who is taking which of the station's rooms.

There's also a table set up near them, which is covered in a variety of snack foods that characters can grab and munch on before they head off for the night. Most of the packages have sand or dried salt clinging to them, indicating well enough their origins, and the expiry dates are of course all over the place even on the snacks characters might recognize... But it's certainly something to eat, isn't it?

--> THE NEXT MORNING

When characters come into the common room the next day, there's a set of large boxes on either side of the couch-filled lower area. One side is full of clothes of approximately modern Earth origin, loosely sorted by fit. A note tacked to the boxes says Limit yourself to one outfit, please!

The boxes on the other side of the room are empty. A clip-board set on a white folding table in the middle has a piece of paper and a black pen strung to it;

Trading Post

Found something you don't want? Leave it here in case someone else does.

If you're looking for something specific, scribble it down on this pad with your name!

Finally, those who adventure into either kitchen will find a box of plain donuts left out on the counters.

TRADING POST
founderinglight: ([sketchyplaceholder])

[personal profile] founderinglight 2018-02-13 11:17 am (UTC)(link)
Truly? Hmm.

[He pops a berry into his mouth with a casual toss, chewing only briefly before it's gone. He seems to toss a lot of things casually, actually.]

Nothing in any way mind-altering for a human here. I've got a bit of alcohol with me from home, but beyond that the only thing I've run into is coffee.

[Of course, he hasn't tried the herbalist's squash yet...]
dubiouslychthonic: (the docterrorist is in)

[personal profile] dubiouslychthonic 2018-02-14 12:55 am (UTC)(link)
That'd be... [She considers, but not long; the translation spell is a great help, but she's inclined to double-check anyway.] Ethanol is a moderate depressant and caffeine a mild stimulant, in trolls. Similar in humans?
founderinglight: ([ppppp])

[personal profile] founderinglight 2018-02-14 02:04 am (UTC)(link)
Technically, I believe so, yes. Chemistry and biology were not my primary studies.

[He's not completely ignorant but don't expect him to keep up with specialized questions.]
dubiouslychthonic: (Laugh)

[personal profile] dubiouslychthonic 2018-02-14 02:21 am (UTC)(link)
I suppose I was being a little academic there, wasn't I? [She chuckles.] Hazard of the medical profession.
founderinglight: ([my place plz])

[personal profile] founderinglight 2018-02-14 02:34 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, no, don't concern yourself. I'm sure you'll be as lost were I to start talking magitek theory or infrastructure.
dubiouslychthonic: (Smile)

[personal profile] dubiouslychthonic 2018-02-14 02:49 am (UTC)(link)
[She chuckles again, shaking her head as she turns the omelette out onto a plate.] Well, the android Strange agreed to loan me some human medical reference texts tomorrow, so I won't bother you with further questions on the subject. For the moment, anyway.
founderinglight: ([hold])

[personal profile] founderinglight 2018-02-14 03:05 am (UTC)(link)
It's not as though I mind.

[He takes a sip of his soda.]

So what is it about the fruit, then?
dubiouslychthonic: (go on)

[personal profile] dubiouslychthonic 2018-02-14 07:12 am (UTC)(link)
It's the fructose. The biochemistry behind it is complicated, but we don't process it as well as other sugars. Large amounts cause mild euphoria, followed by headaches and general malaise.

[She glances again at the soda can in his hand.] It's fine in moderation for most people - a small serving of fresh or dried fruit wouldn't hurt me, although my tolerance isn't what it was when I was younger? But I checked earlier, and most of the carbonated beverages seem to use the concentrated syrup form as a sweetener.
founderinglight: (Default)

[personal profile] founderinglight 2018-02-14 07:34 am (UTC)(link)
Hmm. It doesn't have that effect on humans - it's like any other sugar for us. Not great as the sole item in the diet, but no psychoactive effects.
dubiouslychthonic: (Smile)

[personal profile] dubiouslychthonic 2018-02-14 11:59 pm (UTC)(link)
I'd guess that your species depends more heavily on fruit as a food source than we do, then.
founderinglight: ([sketchyplaceholder])

[personal profile] founderinglight 2018-02-15 08:54 am (UTC)(link)
Evolutionarily, probably. We're capable of eating most things that aren't rancid, but at least on Eos, agriculture is developed far enough that we're no longer foraging. I'd guess the same is true of the humans from other worlds here as well.
dubiouslychthonic: (the docterrorist is in)

[personal profile] dubiouslychthonic 2018-02-15 08:27 pm (UTC)(link)
[She nods.] Trolls are also opportunistic omnivores, on an evolutionary level, but it's not surprising that we've a slightly different ideal diet. If anything, I'm surprised that there seems to be so much of the human food in the culinary storage units that seems somewhat palatable to me.
founderinglight: ([my place plz])

[personal profile] founderinglight 2018-02-16 04:29 am (UTC)(link)
I imagine your world probably has a significantly different variety of insectoid life, for a start.

[Given that he presumes trolls to be the dominant species, and it's unlikely that complexity developed in a total vacuum.]
dubiouslychthonic: (distracted)

[personal profile] dubiouslychthonic 2018-02-16 08:38 am (UTC)(link)
Probably. And most of the ones we cultivate for food are insectoid.
founderinglight: ([sketchyplaceholder])

[personal profile] founderinglight 2018-02-16 08:41 am (UTC)(link)
Mammals and birds, for us. I think Accordo might have had fisheries, but that's not within my purview.

[Are you ready to get your mind blown, Jetshard? They have different countries.]

Offhand, I can't think of any country or culture in Eos that makes insects a regular part of the diet, but I can't say I find the idea objectionable.
dubiouslychthonic: (Skeptical)

[personal profile] dubiouslychthonic 2018-02-17 02:23 am (UTC)(link)
So your civilization is currently in a national era? [She supposes that puts his earlier claims of being a founding ruler in context, a bit.]
founderinglight: ([sketchyplaceholder])

[personal profile] founderinglight 2018-02-17 05:53 pm (UTC)(link)
...Is there some other era we might be in?

[You've done him a confuse. Even Solheim was a nation, if a mostly world-spanning one.]
dubiouslychthonic: (go on)

[personal profile] dubiouslychthonic 2018-02-17 11:47 pm (UTC)(link)
The Alternian Empire - Alternia, and her extraplanetary fleet and territories - has been united under a single imperial regime for a few thousand solar sweeps.
founderinglight: ([ppppp])

[personal profile] founderinglight 2018-02-18 09:53 am (UTC)(link)
[... Very slow exhale.]

You know, I'm not sure any human nation could maintain control for any great length of time over the entire planet, nevermind an interstellar empire. I suppose that must be where that lifespan differential comes in.
dubiouslychthonic: (The Office camera stare)

[personal profile] dubiouslychthonic 2018-02-19 04:12 am (UTC)(link)
Continuity of leadership is probably one of the major factors, yes. [Along with, say, the empress's custodial bond with a psychic death squid goddess. But saying "we can't overthrow her because G'lbgolyb" feels awfully close to defeatism.]

How many major players does your world have? On a state-entity level?
founderinglight: ([sketchyplaceholder])

[personal profile] founderinglight 2018-02-19 12:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Mmm, well, Eos is likely going to be going through quite a reorganization s I last left it - remnants of humanity in the wake of near-destruction of the world, and so on. But prior to the Night -

[And she'll be able to hear that capital, though it likely explains little to nothing.]

- there were four. Lucis, Niflheim, Accordo, and Tenebrae. Save Tenebrae, all were large enough to have provinces with at least somewhat differing culture.
dubiouslychthonic: (go on)

[personal profile] dubiouslychthonic 2018-02-21 12:07 am (UTC)(link)
[She nods, filing that information away.]

And I would guess that widescale upheaval could lead to either consolidation or further fracturing.
founderinglight: ([late with spacebucks])

[personal profile] founderinglight 2018-02-21 07:08 pm (UTC)(link)
Likely consolidation at first, with fracturing and redistribution of borders later on. The population took something of a sharp dip, as did available resources.