IC INTRO - JAN 2019

[phantasmods]

Sometime after the group all heads back down the mountain, comes another mass text from home base -

Hey guys? We started getting some weird readings overnight... It might be good if you started heading back this way? We're not sure what the Fissure is doing right now. (,,꒪꒫꒪,,)

So back you had better come! Along with that new friend of yours, who surely won't raise questions...

With the time issue being what it is, it's over the course of a day or two that people actually get back to the Station. Thus, there is no single feast set up like usual; instead, there are lots of hot drinks and various pots of soup made up throughout the two days that people trickle back to base. It's warm and filling, can't ask for much more.

The Station you return to hasn't changed that much from the one you left, though all your left behind pets are very glad to see you. It's now January and frost is on the ground, though not snow, at least for now. There is an air of emptiness around the Station that the first group of arrivals - the few of you who remain - will likely find familiar, though the murder sign has been updated while you were away as usual.

The androids, for their part, are very glad to see everyone (or at least, most everyone) returned safe and sound. (Though certain injured parties are destined for the medbay and Strange's fussing before they even get a chance to settle on rooms of their own.) In particular, Muon - now in a bright yellow vest instead of her previous scarf - spends a lot of time hanging out in the glider bay to welcome everyone back, both new faces and old.

TRADING POST - STRANGE - MUON - SIGNAGE CATCHALL - And don't forget to get on the housing post!

Comments

[founderinglight]

It's functionally human.

[So, you know, only as much as any human body can.]

Some sort of intersection between magical energy and my self-image, at least as a starting point. I can assume my other form if I must, but I don't particularly like to.

[We're just happily rolling with this subject change because gods suck so talk about anything else.]

[eudaimonikos]

So you can get back and forth between them on your own?

[Sounds like that's kinda the information he wanted.]

Good. I used to work in the human afterlife, so I know how to manage human souls in general. Never did anything in vessel manufacturing, though, so I can't just whip one of those up.

[founderinglight]

It's not really strictly a vessel, in that sense. More like a manifestation, probably.

[Beat.]

I have absolutely no idea what's going to happen when it eventually dies on me, though, for the record.

[eudaimonikos]

That's what I'm saying, that's important stuff to know.

[...Michael reaches out to poke the body. Which is to say, Izunia's arm.] Solid manifestation.

[founderinglight]

Ages, tires, needs food and water and so forth... As I said, functionally human.

[Look he's not going to experiment with killing it off and it didn't come with a handbook.]

[eudaimonikos]

Why would you manifest a body that's just gonna die off in a couple decades?

[DID YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT IT THOUGH]

[founderinglight]

Wasn't intentional, just kind of happened when I got here. Again, should be dead.

[eudaimonikos]

Don't rush into things, you don't even know what the local afterlife is like. [.....] Do you?

[founderinglight]

I don't even know what my normal options are aside from 'stuck in a ring for two thousand years.' Not planning to investigate any time soon, either.

[eudaimonikos]

...why were you stuck in a ring.

[He says, in a tone of voice that kinda implies that he has, at the very least, a sliver of an idea about ghosts getting stuck in rings]

[founderinglight]

Stupid asshole god who thought it was a great idea to make my brother the vessel of a divine-tantrum-produced magical plague, two thousand years spent pooling power in order for one of my descendants to die cleaning up the mess, that sort of thing.

[That's just a little bitter.]

[eudaimonikos]

You're a fucking Lucis Caelum.

[WHY DID YOU NOT TELL HIM THIS

MAN HE MET LITERALLY TWO MINUTES AGO]

From what I heard, there was a little bit of sealing people away and erasing them from the historical record in there.

[founderinglight]

If you want to be technical, as far as modern history is concerned, I'm the first goddamn Lucis Caelum.

[But then the bitter fades out into a guarded smile.]

I give Ardyn's people one punch if you're one of his, because otherwise the damn revenge cycle will never stop. Otherwise, might I ask how you know the story?

[eudaimonikos]

I'm not one of his people. I'm one of Ignis's.

[Do you...know who that is...]

And one of Noct's. I knew Ignis better, but it's very much a package deal.

[founderinglight]

Yes, I imagine it would be.

[He very much knows Ignis, yes.]

I'm always glad to hear that another version of them or two is doing well. There's a few of us from Eos here - I imagine you might want to talk to Prompto if you get the chance.

[eudaimonikos]

I have heard about him.

[.....he sort of didn't explain why he has any reason to be upset on Ardyn's behalf, and honestly he doesn't feel like he needs to. It's not really for Ardyn's sake anyway, except in theory.]

I had plans to stage a raid on your world's afterlife sooner or later anyway. I'm not letting Ignis or Noctis end up there, and they'll have people they want with them.

[founderinglight]

Oh, most certainly. I've no intention of going back to Eos if I can help it, though, living or dead - my adopted younger brother is a psychopomp of some stripe, I'd already toyed with the idea of talking to his people.

[eudaimonikos]

Is he, now? He around?

[founderinglight]

Probably somewhere - if you can tell what I am, I doubt you'll have any problems picking Kurama out. We usually trade shifts explaining the signage to new arrivals.

[eudaimonikos]

Oh, god. I'm hoping to start my own afterlife, and it probably wouldn't hurt to talk to someone else about it. Someone from a different world - everyone else from mine is apparently an asshole.

[founderinglight]

I think they do have a system of some sort, but I don't know too much about it, honestly.

...Keep me updated? And let me know if you need anyone to serve as grease in the wheels - I'm assuming that I don't need to submit a political resume in this case, but the fiddly paperwork parts are what I'm actually good at.

[eudaimonikos]

It's all in the theoretical stages at the moment. My friends and I don't have the power to maintain something that large-scale on our own, but I have a few leads on people who could help. Everything else comes after making sure it's possible, but...something needs to change.

[founderinglight]

Seeing that something needs to change is a good first step for any reform, even if you're not immediately sure how to pull it off.

[You've got reasonably good instincts there, Michael, demon or not.]

[eudaimonikos]

[Michael...does not seem certain of what to do with that.]

Well...yeah. I think most immortals aren't good at seeing when the old ways aren't good enough anymore. Or caring about humans in general.

[founderinglight]

I'll drink to that.

[After his experiences with the Astrals, which apparently don't need further explanation? Yeah, he'll definitely drink to that.]

Humans are both present and mutable in ways that I think most immortals can't grasp. They're stuck with what they've got, so they have to change themselves to deal with new situations, rather than having the power to change the situation.