voidtreckermods: (voidtrain)
VoidTrecker Express Mods ([personal profile] voidtreckermods) wrote in [community profile] voidtreckerexpress2021-02-01 06:00 am

A New Platform [Intro Post February]

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!
yondu: (1 6 9)

[personal profile] yondu 2021-02-14 10:54 pm (UTC)(link)
He huffs a soft laugh and taps the fin. "I'm already there. Well... wasn't really an experiment. They knew what it did. It just wasn't somethin' I asked for."

Then he snorts a little. "Mine now, though. Figure it's the same with the raccoon."
10billionpercent: (Huh?)

[personal profile] 10billionpercent 2021-02-14 10:55 pm (UTC)(link)
"Patches?" He was curious to know what Roland meant with that.

"An exchange of customs. Hm..." Senku considered that, crossing his arms as he thought about it. "I'll have to think about what would qualify, or what would be good for that."

The ropes were easiest, but were village specific, not technically part of the broader community.
10billionpercent: (Ha Ha)

[personal profile] 10billionpercent 2021-02-14 10:57 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't think I'm gonna forget something like that, badges or not.

[ Seriously, what would he do with a bunch of badges? ]
10billionpercent: (No Underaged Drinking Here)

[personal profile] 10billionpercent 2021-02-14 10:58 pm (UTC)(link)
"I'll drink to that."

Senku raised his glass at that and downed the rest of his shot. Instead of going for more rum, he cracked open one of the bottles of wine instead and helped himself to something much more substantial than a shot.

"You worry about what's going on in your world without you?"
yondu: (1 3 2)

[personal profile] yondu 2021-02-14 11:05 pm (UTC)(link)
"Reads the room. I know the whole layout of this car right now." He makes a gesture in air, a round and round one.

He doesn't mention it also connects that arrow he just fetched.

"Right now it's only readin' single cars. Get me outside the train, and it works on a lot bigger scale."
subcircuits: (definitely like what i'm seeing)

[personal profile] subcircuits 2021-02-14 11:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Devero's a little surprised to receive a response with no visual clue that the other man had been composing it.  Where he comes from, you talk, type, or sign to get your words transcribed into text (with two rowdy young exceptions).  He's also a little surprised to receive an actual discrete file instead of a message in his comm channel.

Still, he opens it with a swoop of one finger, eyes flicking minutely behind his Interface as he reads the text.  Even as he's reading he attaches that comm key to V's tag, good to know thank you.

Once again, he signs out his answer and lets his GSL-to-text take care of the actual writing part of the message.

You mean how almost everyone's completely teknull?  Yeah, I know.  Hope the adjustment's not as rough for you as it's been for me.

The train has some way of tethering 'compatible' people to itself.  It can detect them and yank them through interdimensional space to these platforms for pickup.  Exact method's unknown, but congratulations, you're compatible.
As far as any of us have been able to tell, the train itself.
Saving worlds in distress.
Room, board, and a random number of points to spend in the train's shop.

Chances are whatever I tell you about my system's specs isn't going to mean anything to you. We're probably from completely different realities.


That's putting politely what V's questions about being hired and pay (despite the fact that he looks even more hitek than Dev himself) have already demonstrated to Devero. Those are capitalism cooties, and his world left that shit behind in the ashes of the apocalypse plague six hundred years ago.
irrationally: (Default)

[personal profile] irrationally 2021-02-14 11:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Alice waves a hand, kind of dismissively.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm not the sort of person who's going to throw a fuss about that."

Sure, she may have something against killing innocents, but that person sounds far from innocent. And Alice particularly hates people who try to control other people's minds, so she definitely wouldn't shed a single tear.

"I just wanted to warn you that it's rather impractical in a place like this. Even if you kill someone, they show up again. Death is meaningless here." Like that's the main argument against killing a person, rather than the killing itself..
irrationally: (Default)

[personal profile] irrationally 2021-02-14 11:10 pm (UTC)(link)
She shakes her head. "I don't think so."

Thankfully it's not a very difficult problem to solve. Alice gestures over to the bag he arrived with.

"But they should have put a notebook in there. Everyone here shows up with one." So it's very much possible to just draw in there instead.
irrationally: (tell me what's my situation)

[personal profile] irrationally 2021-02-14 11:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Ah.

[ It's definitely a doubletake kind of 'ah'. It's a realisation of something being said in a way that feels much less weighty than it ought to be.

(At least she's not complaining about his eating habits anymore now.) ]


You live among dead people. [ Maybe a bit of an oversimplification, but how else is Alice supposed to put it when he's explaining it like that, huh? ] That doesn't sound very comfortable.
subcircuits: (do a little turn on the catwalk)

[personal profile] subcircuits 2021-02-14 11:15 pm (UTC)(link)
The obvious humor in the other man's voice relaxes some of the tension out of Devero, and the comment about outfits makes him peek over his shoulder. Once he's ascertained that, yes, whoever this is is wearing clothes, he turns back around.

"It's not about what I may or may not see," he says, "it's about barging in unannounced. I try not to be that rude if I can help it, especially not in quarters are close as these."

He raises an eyebrow at the bog-standard train uniform the stranger's sporting. "If you think that's tight, I'd hate to see what you'd make of leggings and leotards," he says with a laugh. "You must be new. Just board today?"
happyends: (that has been plucked)

[personal profile] happyends 2021-02-14 11:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Madoka smiles, but it's definitely a wry smile. "Yes, I know. Though to be fair, I was kind of late in realising it.."

She will readily admit to that. Madoka knows that she's more than just a little gullible, and that it took a lot for her to figure out that Kyubey wasn't exactly as cute as he pretended to be.

But it's not the main point here, which is why she quickly shakes her head, instead focusing on the next part of what he says.

"It's okay though. I.. I don't mind. It's a little scary, but as long as I can do something that will help the entire world, and help keep everyone safe.." Her voice trails off for a moment, but when she continues, her smile turns less wry, and she actually looks at him. "Then I'd be happy. I-- I don't know if that means being a good girl, but I'd like to be!"
happyends: (so it's now or never more)

[personal profile] happyends 2021-02-14 11:21 pm (UTC)(link)
"Ah.. Right, I think the heavens were pretty close to Japan..? Or were connected to Japan, somehow.."

It feels like she's faintly heard something about it before, though not enough so that Madoka sounds fully sure. But it'd make sense. Alfredo getting dishes from his and Romeo's own world, then Madoka getting him things that would be reminiscent of the heavens..

"We do have rice! I'm sure I could make something yummy with that. Do you think we'd have to order ingredients for the food from where you guys come from..?" Madoka.. isn't even too sure where that is, after all. Now that she's thinking about it.

It may be why she's blushing a bit as she says it. She feels bad for not knowing!
happyends: (lies in the palm)

[personal profile] happyends 2021-02-14 11:22 pm (UTC)(link)
Ah yes, the importance of the almighty avocado. He's making sure he's got the most important information here first.

"You've never had one before?"

It's not really surprise in the girl's facial expression. After all, people come from all sorts of worlds and places. Madoka is sure there must be plenty of worlds where they don't have avocados, or they're just not readily available..

So she hums, thinking of how to explain it. But rather than doing it verbally, she seems to think of a better way.

".. would you maybe want to come along with me? I can show you the way to the kitchen, and then I can show you an avocado there!" Killing two birds with one stone! Madoka looks so proud of having thought of such a good way to help a new person out.
subcircuits: (encouraging)

[personal profile] subcircuits 2021-02-14 11:25 pm (UTC)(link)
"I don't know much about souls," Devero says with a shrug, "but of the mind? Yes." He taps his temple, on the opposite side of the electronic device perched against his left ear. "It's the wiring up here that matters, not the meat down below.

"It's all right if you don't get it right away," he adds gently. "It took the people on my world a long time to get their heads on straight about the diversity of gender and sexuality in the human spectrum." A long time, and an apocalypse.

"So is Shora the name of the place you come from?"
subcircuits: (down for a good time)

[personal profile] subcircuits 2021-02-14 11:33 pm (UTC)(link)
[Devero looks for a moment startled by the sass, and then he laughs. He has a big, booming laugh that fills this deck of the kitchen car.] Can't argue that, now can I!

He doesn't? [Right after he says that, though, Devero thinks back to the skill with which Inigo dances-- and his utter conviction that he's terrible.] --Actually, I can believe that of him.
yondu: (0 1 7)

[personal profile] yondu 2021-02-14 11:34 pm (UTC)(link)
"Girl, you're sittin' here talkin' to a mean old man who actually tries to look the part and treating him like a person and not just somethin' to be scared of. You're already good. And brave.

"You don't need to throw out your life just to wear the title of bein' decent. I get that you're committed, but at least realize you already pulled off the good stuff."

Which is about one of the nicest things he's said unprompted. But he's not had a whole lot of contact with young girls (aside from dealing with a few of Ego's unfortunate daughters). If anything, considering he's a space pirate- was a space pirate -in charge of a crew of angry and broken men, it's something he whole-heartedly avoided.
dyingpro: Smirk (No contracts)

[personal profile] dyingpro 2021-02-14 11:45 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm sorry to hear that, mate. Which one of my family did you piss off? I could try to talk them into reversing it for you, next I hear from them. Unless it's my Lord Cousin Ares, he gets on a literal warpath, and... well you know how it is.

[There's a beat where Zagreus actually seems a bit disappointed. But it passes quickly.]

Well, er, good. Good! Glad you're feeling fine after what I'm sure was a traumatizing event. Hope you live a long and healthy life, sir.

... oh, I should probably introduce myself. I'm Zagreus.
xue_yang: (Default)

[personal profile] xue_yang 2021-02-15 12:04 am (UTC)(link)
He finishes his glass and sets it down, "Why would I? It's not like I would be on my world anyway other then as a spirit or a corpse." Xue Yang holds no affection for his world. It never worried about him and so he never would worry about it.
achickenformylove: (mdzs 1)

[personal profile] achickenformylove 2021-02-15 12:06 am (UTC)(link)
"That is very useful. It could certainly help us on missions."

Little Radish watched as Yondu gestured in the air, his head clearly bobbing around as he watched.
10billionpercent: (I Sense A Plot)

[personal profile] 10billionpercent 2021-02-15 12:07 am (UTC)(link)
"Guess you have a point, considering." He hummed a moment. "If I had died permanently, but still alive somewhere, I'm not sure I could just like it go like that." Senku mused quietly.
guru_clef: (Seriously?)

[personal profile] guru_clef 2021-02-15 12:09 am (UTC)(link)
"You would do better to improve yourself in here," he said, gesturing to the shelves.
yondu: (0 7 3)

[personal profile] yondu 2021-02-15 12:22 am (UTC)(link)
"Well I couldn't tell you specific items. I could tell ya what's open space, what's hollow, where someone's standin' 'cause I can recognize the shape of a person. But I couldn't locate a specific key or a particular lyin' on a table. That kind of thing. It's still been useful."

It does what he needs it to. Being without it is like losing a whole sense now.
xue_yang: (Default)

[personal profile] xue_yang 2021-02-15 12:23 am (UTC)(link)
"I've always known I would live a short life. I accepted death as soon as it came." But if the person who dealt that final blow happens to show up here...he might not be so easy to let it go.
dyingpro: Curious (Goodbye to all the plans that we made)

[personal profile] dyingpro 2021-02-15 12:25 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, well if it's a game, then I suppose that's fine. Guess I'll have to learn how to play it sometime and 'duel' you.

[This is a lot of information to throw at him all at once, though Zagreus really is trying his best to pay attention. Even if a lot of it still doesn't really make sense.]

I wasn't aware we had chores. Or that you could look up who's here with us.

[He starts scrolling through the names of his fellow passengers, with no luck recognizing any names other than two, both of whom he'd already encountered.]

So, this ICP doesn't have a program telling us why we're here? Or why we're not able to return home?
10billionpercent: (I Sense A Plot)

[personal profile] 10billionpercent 2021-02-15 12:30 am (UTC)(link)
"Hm." Senku considered that. "Of course, being that I don't believe an afterlife exists, when I die, I die. That's all there is to it, there's nothing to accept, but here we are in a strange place. Makes me think."