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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"Okay." He follows along behind Emporio, taking in their surroundings. "I guess it's hard to get lost on a train, at least? Since it's one line..."

The bridge of Alice's nose wrinkles slightly. As if she's near-pouting, though the young woman would never call it that. It's too embarrassing.

"Excuse me? As someone who has been to Wonderland very often, I would say it's much better than other places." .. Even though she had to fight her way through whole armies there. You'd think Alice could figure out why some others might not like it as much, but alas..

"Have you ever been to London? That place is so, so much worse. At least Wonderland is interesting."

"I see. It is a nice coat." Not that he really wore them, but he could appreciate it none-the-less. "More than just the coat?"

"Your world sounds a lot like Wonderland," Alice replies, almost instinctively. Just because it does. Because it's not often that she hears of places like these, not even on this train that grabs people from all sorts of worlds.

Most worlds sound so awfully mundane. But everything about Merwen's world doesn't sound like it. The sea glowing with an orange seafire - just by hearing those words, Alice wants to see it. A world beautiful and new, and everything but normal.

"When most people speak of their worlds, it's just boring."

[ Della all but SHOVES THE BOOK IN MADOKA'S FACE ]

The Junior Woodchuck Guidebook! The essential text for all Junior Woodchucks, young and old! It has the history of the world, important facts about everything ever, and it's always expanding with new knowledge!

He certainly did have the right room and it was true that WangJi wouldn't have been able to open the door if this wasn't his cabin.

WangJi understood the uncertainty behind that. Welcoming others felt hollow in a way because they too had been taken from their home perhaps in the middle of something important. The number who truly welcomed being on the train as a better alternative to being at home was low, but not non-existent.

At the question, WangJi set his rabbit down on his bunk so his hands were free. Little Radish immediately began to try and burrow under the blankets like he was making a house out of them.

"This one is the one I have selected. My partner, Wei WuXian's, is there." He gestured to that one. "And the one Conan has been using is there," he gestured to a third. "If you would prefer a different one to open one, I'm sure we could come to an arrangement between all of us."

He had no specific connection to his. It was a place to sleep.

He glanced over at his rabbit, still determinedly moving around the blankets in an effort to make a bed.

"Little Radish doesn't live here," he assured the other. "He has his own home with his brother. He is visiting."

And since he hadn't yet introduced himself.

"I am Lan WangJi."

So, should I change my sign up to warn everyone they're about to have a life with me in it?

Devero doesn't force Koumyou to look any higher, cupping the other man's cheek in his palm instead. "...What do you mean, things weren't... right...?" he asks uncertainly. The last time they'd done stuff like that shines bright and hot in his memory even now. He would be more than happy to tumble right back into bed with Koumyou.

But apparently the priest doesn't remember it with the same enthusiasm he does. And the only thing he can think is that they moved too fast, and that Koumyou's having regrets after the fact. "We don't have to do anything you didn't enjoy again," he says, so sure that that's the problem. "I know we moved really fast, I-- I'm sorry if I pushed you past your comfort level..."

What can he say, a dad's gotta dad and that's about it!

Inigo's response is met with an equally cocky stance, the weapon that's already drawn out brandished in a smooth formation of eight in front of his chest before both legs assume the position, arms raised up with both hands gripped tight against the handle. Though they seemed to look serious from an outsider's perspective, it's pretty obvious they're play fighting along side one another, comfortable even in something as adventurous as sparring without warning.

"Just trust me. For now..." His smirk turns cheeky. "Don't hold back on me now. Let's go!"

And he rushes Inigo right away, crossing blades on the onset. Time to see if he's got the move down pat! If not, then Inigo witnesses him fall on his ass for a second time.

Koumyou shakes his head, "I liked all of it. A lot."

But.

But. After their fight, he still just can't... shake the possibility that he'd twisted the bigger man's arm somehow. 'Without knowing it' is the kinder scenario. What if part of him had known?

"We don't have to do things, to be together. We don't have to do things, for me to feel what I feel about you. You don't need to... do anything."

"Oh, I can change between ghost and human any time I want." At least he could now. When he'd first gotten started there had been a lot of accidental transformations at the worst possible times.

Danny makes a face. "And here I am, not really fitting into any boxes at all. I kind of hope I don't run into him."

"Did-- did I give you any reason to think that I-- that I didn't enjoy myself? Or that I don't want to have sex with you?" Devero grips Koumyou's shoulders now, as if he's afraid the priest might flutter away from him.

"I want to be intimate with you, Koumyou, I've wanted to since the first time I saw you. I think you're incredibly sexy. Nothing about that has changed."

Sorry. You just missed him.

[ There she is. And here Roland is, arms crossed, his expression all too telling. There's something behind him, but the way he's leaned against the wall is obscuring it rather well for it size. ]

Koumyou doesn't try to pull away, at least, but he does bow his head again, hands fisting loosely at his sides. "But I don't know what I'm doing, and I look like a... a skeleton. A skeleton that's gone through a wood-chipper! You don't have to--"

He pauses only for half a second, to reset his anxiety just that tiny bit.

"You don't have to put up with that. To have me around. It's okay. It's really okay!"

Roland's already on his own SCA, the timer function beeping down to 5:00 as Senku had instructed. Or at least, implicitly. He keeps quiet as the numbers trickle down, until eventually...

He breathes out deeply, puffs forming in front of his face.

"One minute."

Should he be thankful that there was nothing happening? He doesn't know. Doesn't want to think about that. The best thing to do at the moment was keep his entire focus on Senku and if these last sixty seconds would be the bearer of bad news.

Top fashion designer? Well, he can't argue with that. Evermore has the likes of Halimede and even Bracken herself to design clothes that fit both fashionable tastes and utilitarian needs. The flag is admired for a few more seconds before he drops the corners, looking at it from a short distance with a finger to his chin.

"It really is well-made. Did Yuzuriha teach you how to sew things too? You're pretty good at the needle and thread yourself, Senku." If his coat is any indication.

Then, suddenly as if in delayed remembrance, Roland pipes up like a coiled spring jumping loose. Or as sprightly as a guy like him could be. "Drat! If I had known we were exchanging tokens, I'd have ordered you a copy of the Declaration of Interdependence!"

Crowley's face falls, Hard, as does the muffin he'd been holding, which bounces and then rolls across the platform. She's likely never seen him make such an intimidating expression in her time knowing him, so that's saying a lot. Despite the extremely cold look, his voice remains low and calm. Maybe too calm, eerily so.

"You would regret doing that, I assure you." he says through his teeth. "You may think you know hell, but you will have an entirely new perception of it should you take that course of action."

This seems very threatening, but Crowley isn't threatening any action of his own. To him, witnessing Aziraphale's magic act is hell, or well, worse than his experiences back in his own home office. Either way... this must be avoided.

Where is this coming from? Okay, Devero does know that Koumyou's self-conscious about his inexperience (naturally) and his appearance (maybe not a surprise, given the way Devero had gaped at him the first time he'd seen the priest unclothed), but he hasn't really given either of those things a second thought since their first passionate experience together. He'd assumed the same was true of the priest.

Apparently not.

"Koumyou..." he starts, uncertain, then decides to just. Repeat himself. "Koumyou, I still think you're sexy. That hasn't changed. When I look at you, I don't see a-- a chipped-up skeleton!"

He glides his palms down Koumyou's arms to take both of his hands, as if squeezing them might convey his sincerity. "I see the man that I love, wearing all the hard, horrible things he's had to survive right there on his skin. The way you look is as much a part of you as-- as your sutra, and I wouldn't change a thing."

Koumyou finally looks up, expression pained and painfully vulnerable. "I... but..."

Devero's promised he didn't coerce him into what they'd done, but he still can't shake the horrible certain rightness of that terrible insinuation. It's got its claws in him still, and he can't shake it so easily. Not when it played into every insecurity he has, so neatly and cleanly.

"I don't want you to do this because... because you think it's required, or because it's better than dealing with the sutra, or... or anything. I..."

Edited 2021-02-07 18:27 (UTC)

[...
He knows Chrom. And Ylisse. But how? It's possible that he's from Ylisse, but if that's true, he wasn't a member of the Shepherds.

Olivia is momentarily surprised by the shocking amount of information that he's giving her in so few words. She watches the way he scribbles down the very marking that is in startling comparison to the one drawn over Chrom's shoulder. She hasn't spent a lot of time looking at it, or at least that's what she'll say, but it's undeniably the very same.

She nods quickly.]

Y-yes, that's right! [Momentarily, her concerns float away in light of this new discovery.] How did you know him? [Although he says 'of' him, which means he doesn't know Chrom specifically, but had heard about him. Which means there's someone from Ylisse here. Or at least there was once upon a time.]

[ She's gonna let his comment slide, because calling attention to it will only look worse. Just let it go, Haibara, let it goooo... ]

I'm not a surgeon. I could do some basic procedures in an emergency, probably, but it's best to leave that to people with better training and more experience.

You could consider me more of a pharmacist, perhaps. Somebody who manages drugs, medicines, and prescriptions.

"I don't really understand how it works? I just know what when digimon comes into the human world they arrive in a lot of fog. And then they're just as part of the world as humans are."

Takato pauses to think. "I guess when we came back to the human world there was a lot of fog then too! And at first it was like we were completely human again. Because when the D-Reaper followed us and we tried to fight it like we did in the Digital World, we couldn't do it. Because I wasn't made out of data then."

He smiles a little awkwardly. "We had to become data again to fight. And I guess I just figured out a little bit ago that I never actually went back the other way. I think everyone just kind of forgot about it."

Behind him Guilmon starts to stir. "Takato? Why are you talking about data?"

[ She pouts, and flicks his nose. Boo. ]

Ruuude. Now when there's a real minotaur, I won't believe you.

[At least she was trying. Olivia and the concept of lacking familiarity usually led to her fleeing in the opposite direction. That she was staying her ground in Reno's presence was grounds enough for a sliver of inward praise.

His response was... Well. Not wholly unexpected. On the contrary, it sounded like something that one of the Shepherds would have said. Olivia aired a laugh, a bright grin spreading across her face.]

Maybe you'd enjoy it m-more if you made a habit of doing it with someone else. And then you can look sharp and h-have the laundry done.

[It was as easy as that, right? Olivia made it sound easier than it probably was. After all, he could have been the sort who had a difficult time finding others he got on well with.]

Conan nods absently as he gets a better look at the creature sitting on his lap.

"Jounouchi gave it to me last month. I don't know what kind it is."

He reaches out and carefully brushes one hand along its shell.

"I think I'm going to call you Watson," he tells it.

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A New Platform [Intro Post February]

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