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
rhododendronhoney: (Default)

[personal profile] rhododendronhoney 2018-02-12 03:22 pm (UTC)(link)
[Cori looks a bit confused.] I guess that has to do with the fissures and all the random things I found there? [She holds up an iPad still covered with gritty sand.]
personalityquarks: (Charm)

[personal profile] personalityquarks 2018-02-12 03:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, exactly! They're cracks in the world.

[Less sheepish, now, almost excited. He knows what he's talking about with this one.]

And they bleed magic, and pull in... Well, anything you can think of, in theory. This is the first time we've ever found people, though.
rhododendronhoney: (Default)

[personal profile] rhododendronhoney 2018-02-12 03:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Huh, that sounds kind of like what was happening with our worlds! [Fern sounds excited at this connection, although Cori looks more thoughtful.]

Yeah, the part about cracks pulling things in...that was just between our own two worlds, though. And we knew it was one guy causing it, in the end...
personalityquarks: (Charm)

[personal profile] personalityquarks 2018-02-12 03:39 pm (UTC)(link)
One person?

[That's, uh. Well that's kind of concerning.]

We don't know what's causing this. Trying to figure that out is why we were built.
rhododendronhoney: (Default)

[personal profile] rhododendronhoney 2018-02-12 03:50 pm (UTC)(link)
[She nods.] Is there any pattern to where those cracks appear? I might be able to try and get a reading on one's magical signature, see if it matches that guy I know.
personalityquarks: (Charm)

[personal profile] personalityquarks 2018-02-12 03:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Other than 'generally increasing,' no. And if there was a single magical signature they had in common, I think Up would've found it by now.
rhododendronhoney: (Default)

[personal profile] rhododendronhoney 2018-02-12 04:02 pm (UTC)(link)
[She looks a bit surprised, then nods.] Oh! So you have ways of sensing those as well? [After all, if magic can bolster technology, why can't robots use magic?]
personalityquarks: (Charm)

[personal profile] personalityquarks 2018-02-12 04:19 pm (UTC)(link)
Mmhmm!

[Who put that in the voice bank, it sounds way too realistic.]

If we didn't at the beginning, we would have developed it by now. It's been... about a century since we were born.
rhododendronhoney: (Default)

[personal profile] rhododendronhoney 2018-02-13 09:28 am (UTC)(link)
[Well, she can admire that dedication, even if she still has no idea how precisely that would work.] Yeah, I see...sorry, I don't know that much about technology, just magic. Everett would probably have a bunch of questions...
personalityquarks: (Charm)

[personal profile] personalityquarks 2018-02-13 09:55 am (UTC)(link)
No bad time to learn, right?

[Let's just optimism our way through this.]

Though you'd do better talking to Top about that... I'm more on the magical end of things myself.
rhododendronhoney: (Default)

[personal profile] rhododendronhoney 2018-02-13 10:08 am (UTC)(link)
[She nods.] Yeah, I guess that'll be pretty important... [She brightens when Charm mentions magic, though.] Oh! Do you have a particular specialty?
personalityquarks: (Charm)

[personal profile] personalityquarks 2018-02-14 07:42 am (UTC)(link)
Not really? Other than 'magic that actually works for a magitek android' - something like blood magic or magic done with food is pretty pointless for me.

[SORRY, CORI...]
rhododendronhoney: (Default)

[personal profile] rhododendronhoney 2018-02-14 03:55 pm (UTC)(link)
[She seems to droop a little at the comment about food.] Ah...I guess that makes sense.
personalityquarks: (Charm)

[personal profile] personalityquarks 2018-02-15 10:03 am (UTC)(link)
[He doesn't eat, sorry Cori...]

From your face, I guess your specialty is the latter. Blood mages are usually older, I think.
rhododendronhoney: (Default)

[personal profile] rhododendronhoney 2018-02-15 04:18 pm (UTC)(link)
[A slight blush.] I guess it's pretty obvious, huh?
personalityquarks: (Charm)

[personal profile] personalityquarks 2018-02-15 04:50 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm sure there's people who will appreciate it! I just don't... eat.

[On account of being a robot.]
rhododendronhoney: (Default)

[personal profile] rhododendronhoney 2018-02-16 06:54 am (UTC)(link)
[She nods.] Yeah...I do a bit of enchanting and stuff too. Maybe I could do something in that regard for you guys.
personalityquarks: (Charm)

[personal profile] personalityquarks 2018-02-16 01:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, yeah, that might be helpful. I've done a little bit of that myself, but mostly just kind of toying around.
rhododendronhoney: (Default)

[personal profile] rhododendronhoney 2018-02-19 05:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[She gives a thumbs-up.] Well, I'll be happy to teach you some of how I do it, then!