voidtreckerexpress | A New Platform [Intro Post February]

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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!

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Aw. Cute...

He understood the need to be wary. There was a reason he carried a sword - offense in case he needed it, defense to deter anyone from fucking with him. It just seemed common courtesy to state it up front.

"Pretty much, yeah. I can direct you to people if you need healing, there's a few people who can help with cooking if you're not good at it, and the only thing you're missing there is that we get 'point's. No one knows how we get them, but they show up on the roster. We can use them at the shop to buy things like stuff from home or clothes or booze."

Right, he should mention. "You get a few points off the bat. You can buy a snack with it and give it to the spider-girl in the dressing carriage, and she'll weave you up an outfit. Most people don't like the one they start out with."

If her appearance hasn't confirmed Light's place in the timeline, her faltering step and visible confusion certainly tip it from 'perhaps' to 'certainly'. It figures, she thinks, that the first person from her world she's ever seen since coming here is someone she doesn't know. Still... even hearing Gran Pulse is reassuring, almost.

"You're right. Far as I know, we've never met. Are we..." Friends? The expression on Yeul's face seems to go against that. She hesitates. Shakes her head. "Never mind. Reborn many times, huh? Sounds tough."

A few specific expressions crossed Alfredo's face - disbelief, followed swiftly by guilt at forgetting (of course, I'm one of the only ones he remembers. Stupid of me to forget-), a glance away where he tried once again not to be angry at how this had all happened to Romeo...

And then sorrow, which is the emotion that stays. Because it wasn't as if he'd expected to see Bianca again either.

"She's my sister. Younger sister. I'll always remember her words... at least we can both do that."

He looked away again, trying not to let those memories linger, like they had during that void storm, blinking rapidly.

"They gave me strength-" while we were apart, "and I hope they can help you keep doing the same."

Not that it's just words Alfredo had to offer; letting silence come, he opened his arms for a hug.

Azula kept a healthy distance between them, as best she could in the small room, watching him with fierce, appraising eyes.

"Azula, and if I'm replacing someone does that mean you already know which bunk is mine?" She hadn't actually decided on if she wanted a top or bottom bunk, she'd never had to share a bedroom against her will before.

Alfredo, slowly, grins right back at Tidus, glad his friend isn't really put out or anything.

"I will. ... Maybe Romeo and I could celebrate together?"

Though much of what he'd put on a wishlist, that wasn't books, would likely end up being people he missed, or items he'd want to share from home with Romeo but shouldn't.

Azula's eyes widened as she caught the motion out of the corner of her eye. Turning to face the creature head on she stifled a cry of shock. Some kind of dragon?!

She had always wanted to meet the dragons of myth when she was younger. Stories of powerful beasts, the original firebenders! And how only the strongest, mightiest firebenders could defeat them.

She always suspected her Uncle must have lied, how could someone as fat and boring as Uncle Iroh have defeated such a perfect predator?

This creature rising in front of her though was not as large as the dragons she'd heard in stories. Perhaps it was a child? Either way it was rising out of the very shadows on the ground and that was enough to make Azula bark out "Get back!" And spring back a few feet into an argessive stance. Her fingers were pulsing with heat ready to be unleashed.

Rich is almost certain for a half second that this was the kind of shit Otoha had been so worried about when Rich had told him the truth, and his body tenses, his mind desperately clinging to the training about fighting he's managed to retain.

Thankfully, after a moment of that judgemental face, the stranger relents, though his teasing smirk isn't much better to Rich.

"I'm not looking to buy clothes every day," he grumbles. "That's a waste of money, especially when I already bought a ton of new clothes recently." Two years was pretty recent for him anyways. "Aaaand then lost 'em all when I got taken here, so that's great."

She tensed when she saw him drawing another knife but relaxed as he offered it to her the proper way. She accepted and ran her fingers over it, appraising it as a warrior princess. checking it's weight, balance and sharpness carefully.

"I only arrived with...what I am led to believe, everyone else arrived with. Clothes that are not my own, this all important ticket. The sort of bag a peasant might use." She sighed and also didn't bother mentioning the one item that actually was hers in the bag. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to wear it at the moment given everything that had happened.

"Aside from supplies and whatever we can scavenge, what exactly do we gain from doing these little missions? Are we expected to be wandering heroes for free?"

There's a few minutes' clacking - less obnoxious on an ICP than it would be on, say, a regular desktop computer - before Nita gives a profound sigh.

"Okay, good, that's done. Now, we'll need your ticket if we're checking them out in your name..."

01 | Platform

One minute Steve Rogers is rifling through old archives on Russian counterintelligence measures in the 1970s and the next minute he's ... not in the bowels of the Triskelion anymore. It takes him a moment to fight past the disorientation, eyes tracking the area almost immediately in search of exits and potential hazards. Then he notices the weird red-hued clothing and the comforting weight against his back. Thank God for small favors, right?

"What just happened?" He asks nobody in particular.

02 | Sleeper 2:E

A while later, depending on who may or may not plant themselves in his way, Steve finds himself negotiating with the train ticket to let him inside the sleeper car. Once allowed entrance, he'll opt for the first bunk that doesn't look lived in, stow his rucksack, and then spend a few minutes orienting himself with the space that is his new, temporary home.

03 | Exploration

Once the train has departed the station, Steve decides he's going to look around. The kitchens are one of the first areas he hits, if only because his team is responsible for cooking meals, and it's better to know what he's got to work with sooner than later. He'll also check out medical, not for himself (because ha!) but just in case anyone else might need to be taken there. And the gardens, because Captain America does have some culture and appreciates green growing things. He'll most likely be found in any (or all) of the publically accessible areas at some point.

[ooc: if you have other ideas, pm this journal or hit me up at

meridians for plotting.]

That took Azula as interesting. She arched an eyebrow and moved into the room properly so she could figure out which bunk was unoccupied.

"So I take it you weren't particularly close with whoever it was I am replacing? Do people not get attached on this train?"

"The new outfits ought to be fun," said Curufin. "I've never let the train choose an outfit for me, but it sounds entertaining."

Those other items sound good, too. "The telescope might come in handy, if you can find a place to set it up. I wonder what would happen if you set it up in the Standard Coach and pointed it out a window into the Void?"

An alliance? "You and Roland are both empowered to make decisions for your people? Well, I knew that you are a leader, you've already told me that. I've always gotten along with Roland, but I don't really know much about him. So what will Roland do with the flag?"

[Azula's eyes widen a bit and then narrow going from confusion to disappointment. Perhaps this one was just another crazy girl. She'd seen some in the Asylum who made noises like that, pretending to be animals and what have you.]

So you are allowed some measure of freedom on this train? That's good to know, when I was told we had assigned chores and missions I was beginning to think I'd been drafted into military service again.

[Nita nods along; it all makes sense to her. Then, pausing mid-nod-]

... Wonder if this is the sort of thing that needs lots of napkins or not?

[Nita could absolutely have failed a spot check, though.]

"Again"?

[She pauses, but shrugs.]

Vee's a big train. There's a lot of people here. It's good to do chores, but there's a lot more people than are needed just to keep up.

And missions are weird. They're not predictable. Caw. They can be anything.

She nods, accepting the package by taking it into her own arms. At least the wary look fades a tiny bit at how easily they handed it over to her, but there still seems to be some caution in Alice's gaze all the same. She's watching you now!

"I mean, these are all obviously labelled with names," she points out. Even though she's sure they must have noticed it too. It's practically impossible to miss, after all. "So why are you rummaging through other people's belongings?"

That would be the term?

It sure is an odd way of talking about having been kidnapped. Then again, Ange has seen people make a whole lot less sense than this, so even though she's curious, she's still rolling with it. Maybe this person just doesn't have very strong emotions about anything.

"Most people think it's bothersome," she points out. And whereas Alice would agree with that to some extent, she knows that she, too, is not quite as worked up about it as certain other people are. "Since they were taken here without being asked as to whether they wanted to be brought here or not."

"You can't just stand here doing nothing."

Or, well. Technically he can. It's not like there's anything stopping him, and even Alice doesn't sound like she's pressing him that much about it.

"Especially not while you're looking like that!" With her hands now fully free, she gestures up and down at him, as if to indicate his everything. "People may just think they ended up in the afterlife and the grim reaper showed up for them."

Nita's response to the next question is a wry look and a nod.

"We've had a few platforms with less than ten people each joining, but in general there's always a lot going on. Comings-and-goings, packages..."

It could be a panic for long-timers, too, depending upon who left.

"A goal for us, or at least the team leads, is to have each team meet once a month, if not twice, a couple days after each platform."

Nita starts absently playing with the fabric of another outfit, twirling it 'round her hands.

Edited 2021-02-03 18:22 (UTC)

Soldat is out getting some actual fresh air, even if they are supremely disappointed in the lack of sun. There are plenty of new faces, which make them both a little anxious and a little nostalgic, and maybe a little amazed that it's been only two weeks and already they feel comfortable enough to be out here.

And then there's a not-new face, one they haven't seen in a year and a half, and one they thought for sure was actually dead now. The sight stops him short to stare in shock.

(What the fuck. What the fuck. No. ~~What? What's going on?~~) Clearly the Bottomless Pit has not been paying attention to Soldat's memories. Jerk.

"Steve?"

It's clearly Bucky Barnes, Steve, though the hair is longer than when you saw him last, and instead of body armor and weapons everywhere, he's in a couple layers of purple clothes, including a coat against the cold. Also, he doesn't look angry or afraid or blank, he just looks... stunned.

Edited (html fail) 2021-02-03 18:22 (UTC)

He considered that a moment. "I don't know if we've ever encountered anything that was weak to light. Maybe not in the time I've been here." Then again, Senku couldn't be sure he understood what Ken meant.

"I don't think you're the only person with electric magic, so that's less unusual, if that helps you."

Normal was not something Azula had ever strived for, but at the moment it had a strange sort of comfort to it. At least she wasn't completely failing at maintaining some level of control.

This one on the other hand was either stronger then she appeared, or much much dumber if she was able to ignore the burning glare of a Princess.

"And this sort of thing just...happens? Traveling to different worlds? It's unlike anything in my world to say the least."

Curufin smiles. "You don't have to be formal. I'm just Curufin to my friends." He may be a prince, but he rarely mentions this to others, and when he does, he tries to make it clear that social and political hierarchies don't apply in his current life.

He nods. "Yes, same here. And what did this platform teach you?"

"No, I think I'm fine."

It's not what he's thinking about at all right now. Not when he found Nita here of all places. Even though she doesn't seem too terrible right now, it's still a little odd. Just odd enough for him to worry.

He moves over to where she's sitting, moving to sit down next to her.

"Were you here all by yourself?"

"How are you.."

...

Her voice trails off as her gaze shifts, spotting the bag. Or more importantly, she's spotting what's hanging outside of that bag. She can see that little leggy sticking out! It makes Madoka blink for a moment, like she's mentally trying to figure out what the story behind this is.

".. Did you buy yourself something?" Apparently she can't fully tell what exactly it is yet though! She does think it's a plushie.. Maybe Alfredo wanted to have something to cuddle at night? He's still young, after all!

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A New Platform [Intro Post February]

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Re: Later...

Re: Sleeper 3-D

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Steve Rogers | Team Red

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Platform!

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okay! c:

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