A New Platform [Intro Post February]

[voidtreckermods]

On the Train

Three days after the Voidtreckers return to the void after their adventures on the biosphere world, they are awoken by a familiar announcement.

"Good morning passengers, it is day Sixteen of the month of Jelly. Points have been updated on the system."

They have indeed, and everyone can spend the morning shopping. Those who have been on the train for a while will also be expecting the second announcement that comes a few hours later.

"Shortly arriving into a designated void platform. Exit from void in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one." A lurch and a jolt and the windows fill with the fog that means they are at a platform. The fog seems thicker than usual and as they step out onto the platform they will find it is cold, very cold. Icy fog sticks to their clothing, makes it hard to see very far; the atmosphere is dark and gloomy.

As usual the first to leave the train notice nothing as they walk silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers: Alexis Rhodes, Elfnein, Itsuki Myoudouin, Ken Ichijouji, MT, Neku Sakuraba, Nike Lemercier, Noctis Lucis Caelum, Rainbow Dash, Rei Saotome, Taichi Yagami, Tsubomi Hanasaki, Yuri Tsukikage and Zechs Merquise all pass through the platform, not looking back before they disappear through the barriers and into the fog beyond.

But on the platform itself there are new faces. Wearing hoodies in all four colours, in various states of confusion.

For New Passengers

At first all they can see is steam, billowing around them as they come to their senses. As their eyes adjust, they will see they are on a platform, glass and dark stone rising in sturdy arches around them. Behind them is a set of barriers, and in front of them is a single track extending both ways into thick fog.

They are standing, in clothes that are not their own and a style they might not even recognise. They are carrying a rucksack on their back. For a moment it seems to just be them, alone in the white haze; then the steam begins to fade and they realise they aren’t alone.

The platform is not large with sixteen figures scattered around, all facing the tracks, all dressed in cargo trousers and hoodies. To both the left and right, tracks disappear into the mist. Then there is a roaring sound and out of the fog arrives a train. Jet black with gold writing on the side. The Voidtrecker Express. There is a hiss as the doors slide open and out step a strange assortment of people. Some are human, some are less so. Most are wearing the same hoodie in one of the four colours, red, orange, blue and purple, though some are sporting different clothes in a variety of styles.

The Train

After a short time, the doors hiss open again. Those from the train may encourage those on the platform to board. It’s not like there's anywhere else to go and even if there was, you feel a pull. A need to board, a feeling that staying on the platform would lead to something terrible. If that is not enough, there are plenty of people on the platform now, to encourage them onto the train.

Each ICP shows the same message and next to the screens there are stacks of leaflets written by those on the train, with further information (see
'Publications'). The store rooms have been restocked with fresh ingredients, including several crates of avocados, the ingredient of the month of Jelly, as well as all sundries.

For passengers that have bought items, these are also scattered around the luggage carriage in various suitcases and bags.

New passengers will find their ticket allows them into their cabins. They may need to negotiate for beds, especially if they want a top bunk!

Room is tight but there are storage cubbies at the head of each bed, beds fold up and the bottom bunks double as benches for the small table. There is storage under those benches full of spare blankets and pillows.

Departure

A second horn sounds to encourage any stragglers braving the freezing fog, and the doors slide shut. Veteran passengers know what will happen next, but they may wish to brief their new companions.

The train sets off, the fog obscuring the view again as it picks up speed.

"Welcome aboard, passengers of the Voidtrecker Express." A female-coded artificial sounding voice echoes throughout the train. "Please take the time to read the passenger information displayed on the Information and Communication points and familiarise yourself with the layout and emergency exits."

The train begins to tilt, leaving the ground and rising up into the fog-filled sky.

"Entrance into Voidspace imminent. New passengers are advised to remain seated. Entry into Voidspace in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

A shudder, a jolt, a lurch to the left. A flash of light, colourful and blinding. As quick as it happens it is done. The train seems to steady itself. The fog from the windows is gone now, replaced with a kaleidoscope of ever-changing colours.

Welcome to the Void!

Comments

cw abuse trauma

[subcircuits]

How can he help but be? Physical intimacy has always been so important to him, more than he ever realized-- maybe more than he even consciously realizes now. Not only had Valdana starved him of genuine, loving touch, but she'd turned his need for it into one of the chains she'd used to warp and constrain him.

Having the uncertainty of intimacy sitting between them had been worrying him more than he knew.

Not that he needs sex to be happy with Koumyou. He'd meant that, when he said it. He'd just needed to know, one way or the other, if they could still bang on the if it was still on the table. Now that worry has been put to rest.

"Thank you," he breathes, smiling down at his boyfriend. "--I'd sort of... stopped dancing, back home." Because it was another thing that Valdana had commodified and used to control him. She'd sucked the joy out of it, just like she'd sucked the joy out of every other part of his life, except maybe jockeying Babysitter. "Here, I'm remembering how much I enjoy it."

[weifinder]

The yell is all that stalls his hand on the next handle, Wei Wuxian pausing to push open the narrow door of the shower and look through the bathroom. It's not much of one, so tiny! Compact spaces mean needs must be, but it's still so lackluster...

"What, afraid of seeing something you haven't before?" He sounds close to laughing because he is, realising what the outrage might be. The toilet has made enough sense he can guess exactly what it is for, along with the sink. Walking in on anyone can be chancy, and it's not like he wouldn't have leapt out right after if he found some stranger in there with him. "I admit the outfits we're given are a little tight," he says, more like if he were wearing spandex than the khakis and shirt and hoodie he's actually wearing. "But I don't think they're quite that controversial."

He says all this still standing inside the shower.

[theimpatientone]

"We had never seen human males before. I recall the sisters not even being sure they were human. On Shora, there are only females. Except only Spinel, perhaps, but he was born on Valedon and became one of us."

Ah, Spinel, she misses him already. But she takes what he's saying, and she thinks hard, pausing for a moment while she fidgets with her hands, snapping the webbing between her fingers. This is a very, very new concept for her. "You see sex as different from gender," Merwen says, attempting to clarify. "And if one who is born female says they are male, then your people accept that, and refer to him as such? Presumably the reverse, as well?"

She lifts her head to look at him, and shakes her head, very slightly. "I don't understand this at all," she admits. "I've never heard of such a thing. What is gender if not the sex of the body? Is it a matter of mind, or the soul?"

[foxyou]

He can't help it—after everything he's been through lately, having a kind-looking girl to talk to is like a balm for his weary soul. His normally severe expression softens as he talks to her, though not enough to fully erase the faint hint of worry from his face.

"There's no need to try too hard, Miss Madoka. Judging by your demeanor, I assume the journey won't be an overly taxing one - but regardless, I hope you will be kind to me, as my senior in this place."

[its_dad_sanzo]

"I'm glad you're remembering, then!" Koumyou is quite pleased on Devero's behalf, here.

He lets them dance quietly for a while, sutra weaving patterns around them but at more than enough distance that they won't run into the ever-lengthening ribbon of holy paper. It stays mostly at the edges of the stage for this.

"While you're in such a nice mood, I suppose we could talk magic? Or will that ruin it."

[longforgottenpromise]

He turned, reaching out to Xion, a hand on her arm, very aware of the weapon so close to him.

But he can ignore that fear, ignore how the weapon makes him feel.

"No one will hurt anyone. Please Xion, let's go inside."

If anything the warmth and a seat might de-escalate the situation.

[longforgottenpromise]

"I do remember." It didn't seem all that long ago but even that had been a few months, when he had found him trying to move out of the barriers, persuaded him not to endanger himself.

He smiles softly as he shares Roland's warmth, Roland is taller than him, though no where reaching the height of Lord Gyousou. It makes him feel safe.

"Do you have any plans, once everyone is welcomed?"

[longforgottenpromise]

It was a strange feeling, the emotions muted, almost locked away. He's not sure what is happening, if it is something that is wrong or something she can do. He didn't move closer, not wanting to startle her too much.

"Can you hear me?"

[thawed_pride]

"I'm not sure yet. Some sort of light blade, at least. I doubt I could wield anything overly large without my powers..."

His ice blade was huge, but difficult to handle even with the higher strength that came from being a powerful Nobody. As a human, even something the size of Frozen Pride would be difficult to handle.

"Or possibly just a mundane shield weaponized similarly to Frozen Pride."

[subcircuits]

As they dance, and especially as they fall into a set, consistent pattern, Devero stops watching their feet and starts watching the sutra. With just one strand in play, and with that strand mostly keeping its distance, he's able to... to actually appreciate the patterns it weaves through the air. It's almost starting to feel private in here, like the sutra's becoming a wall to keep the rest of the train out.

(Which isn't too far off from what Koumyou had offered just a few minutes before, really.)

Maybe it's because they're enclosed in their own little basket-weave of paper that he's able to remain easy, smiling at Koumyou. "We can talk magic," he says.

[knifewithnoname]

She watches the small creature, wondering what it is. It's small, spinning a web but it doesn't look like a spider...

"They do be being?"

Names were useful sure, "It do be being useful to be having one here. Does everyone in your world be giving themselves their own name?"

[thawed_pride]

"Unless someone like Marluxia or Xemnas is present, I can't think of any reason why I would wish to harm anyone else. My goal is to help people, not to inflict yet more suffering upon innocent victims."

Though, he couldn't deny the possibility that some more manipulative sorts might play at being innocent victims. If he cold play the part of a monster so well that even Luxord hadn't called his bluff, surely actual monsters could do the reverse.

"As for Axel, if he refuses to acknowledge wrongdoing, I will do what is necessary so that I feel safe. Seeing as he has a distinct advantage over me..." One of his hands unconsciously drifted to his other arm, rubbing a spot just above the wrist. "Picking a fight hardly seems like the smartest course of action."

[guru_clef]

"I look forward to the end result as well, and when we have the answer I will be more than happy to help. I am speaking with others on the train to learn what sources of magic they have and how their powers work, so even if mine do not suit, I will hopefully have an idea of whose does."

[its_dad_sanzo]

The sutra matches their tempo perfectly too, twisting and whirling its patterns while never quite interlocking with itself. It's almost like it's a screensaver for Koumyou's mind, while his focus is elsewhere.

Koumyou smiles up at Devero at that response, relieved to not be ruining the other man's good mood. "The most important and also very first step in chi use is the ability to build and retain focus," he tells Devero, "meditation is usually where that starts, to get a feel for it. Have you meditated much?"

wrap!

[myblueskies]

Alfredo and Romeo had found each other again, even after they had both died. Even after Romeo had forgotten everything. They had still found each other on this train.

So they would stay together for as long as they could and keep living.

No matter what.

[theimpatientone]

"Oh, she's a clickfly. She seems to be with me. We have many of them on Shora. They are useful. They send messages, or remember them for us. Without her hive she must spin her own home, poor thing."

Merwen clicks her tongue at the insect, which clicks back and then continues what it was doing.

"On Shora, where I am from, when someone decides she is ready to be considered an adult and join the Gatherings, she gives herself a selfname. A selfname should be a sister's greatest weakness, and by giving herself that name, she acknowledges it, and commits to trying to outlive it."

[myblueskies]

He nodded, buoyed by Tidus determination. His hand turned into a fist and he punched the air. "We will sir, we will leave the train one day and find all our friends who are gone, Elfnein, miss Yuna. Everyone."

Even if it meant finding a way to move between worlds. Romeo didn't know how such a thing would be possible, but he has smart friends.

"We just gotta not give up."

[nobodys_puppet]

She almost said that if Xemnas were here she'd be the first to attack. She didn't, but Taiki would feel a massive spike of anger and fear at his name. Confusion at Marluxia's name, but then, Xion hardly remembered him... if she remembered him at all outside of what Axel had told her.

"I won't let you or anyone else hurt him," she said, firmly, though she finally acceded to Taiki's request and nodded at him, vanishing the Keyblade. She was willing to go inside, but she was keeping her eyes on Vexen. Just in case.

[myblueskies]

A very good friend and special to Romeo. He nodded a little shyly. A hug would be nice, Madoka gave very good hugs.

He shuffled a little closer to her, reaching up to wipe his eyes.

[subcircuits]

"I haven't," he admits. "I think we probably tried it out in wellness classes in creche for one of the mental health units, but I never really picked it up seriously for myself."

DW is so cruel to us

[myblueskies]

She wouldn't want him to hurt inside. He knows that is true because he would feel the same about her. If it had been him who had walked through the barriers he wouldn't want his friends to hurt so much about him, he would want them to keep smiling, to be happy and to never give up.

Just lie down and do nothing at all. It's tempting, his spirits are so low that he's not sure he can manage much more.

"I don't think she would want me to do nothing though... Elfnein was always so brave, she would want me to keep my spirits up and keep going and not give up."

And lying still felt like giving up.

[controlsthedie]

With their previous encounter smoothed over and explained, Thanatos isn't worried about Otoha coming closer. He was more concerned with how safe Otoha felt over his own comfort.

"If you're here, then is your city currently in danger because she doesn't have her guardian?" Thanatos doesn't know what a yokai is, but if its attacking humans and survives off fear, that tells him enough.

[fivemilesdeep]

If you want something different, you can learn how to cook.

[The sass is easy and toothless and out of his mouth before he can really think about it - he'd picked it up from Lia, and it's the same response he gives Orion whenever Orion comments on what he's making. And he'd just said it to someone he barely knows.]

[But- but they're both joking, right? It's fine, right?]

[Gods he hopes so. Either way, he'll know pretty soon-]

[His anxiety almost prevents him from realizing he has been completely validated by Devero's shock, but he catches up pretty quickly.]

I know, right? And he doesn't seem to think it's impressive!

[It's pretty amazing, okay]

[myblueskies]

"She was, she was researching all the big questions."

She was good at big questions. He looked up with sad eyes, even a smile seemed far away right now. But he was glad that mister Curufin was here and that he would help him remember.

[worthallthis]

"I've only been here two weeks. Not really a lot of time to get attached." Plus they've had a lot of their possessiveness burned out of them, and one bunk is as good as another, aside from practical concerns.

Soldat settles on the mattress, after smoothing the blankets down. The ghost floats right off the gun case and drifts over to bump against their boot. "As long as I'm on the bottom. The side doesn't matter, really."