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

[weifinder]

Jin Ling glares with equal skill, and Wei Wuxian looks about as cowed as one would expect a capable adult (more or less) to look when faced with an apparent teenager's wrath: which is to say, he doesn't look intimidated in the slightest. Speculative, certainly. Were he younger, or trying to make a point after having been slighted or wronged, he might have pressed. As none of that was presently the case, he simply smiles, and repeats: "A-Jiu, then!"

Call him uncle, call him nine, call him long, it didn't much matter to Wei Wuxian. No, what matters are those bowls, ready to be brought back to yet another cupboard.

"I have no idea what half those things are," he says, tipping his head toward the cutlery in the baskets next to the stacked bowls, "But they go in all the drawers near where you entered. Why does one of them look like some kind of farming tool?"

Forks. What were they even.

[foxyou]

"You—" He sputters, not moving to take the bowls or plates or whatever is next, tail poofed out like an angry cat.

...And then, after a moment of silently pulling himself back together, he finally...settles into what is very clearly a pout. "Perhaps such things simply aren't meant for common farmers to use or understand."

He still isn't helping.

[weifinder]

"Ah, you can tell I've farmed before!" Insults rolling right off his back like water off a duck. He glances back toward the young fox-spirit, who does in fact feel different, quirking up his brows. "Your tail's gotten twice as big, that's some talent."

Hopefully none of the fur gets onto the clean dishes or cutlery. He dismisses the worry as not being his concern so much as a possibility, then sets to putting the stack of bowls he has away into their cupboard. The fact this whole carriage is one long kitchen of shiny surfaces is simply part of its... charm. (As was exploring the nooks and crannies of it, as one does.)

[foxyou]

The fox jolts slightly at the mention of his tail, turning just slightly to surreptitiously(?) try to smooth out the fur on the unwanted appendage before getting back to....trying to look cool and indifferent.

His fur is still kinda bristling and he hasn't done anything at all with his ears, but.

"And why would Mister Wei have farmed before, if you're in such a position as to have a courtesy name?" As he casually! Peeks into a silverware drawer.

[weifinder]

He's amused in passing that this was enough to jolt the young looking yao into petting his own tail. Teasing is easiest with those who lend themselves to it, and the actions paired with attempting to look aloof through it all is just the kind of thing that used to bother him into becoming a bother.

He's better behaved these days, but that doesn't mean he isn't still prone to teasing.

"Oh, even rogue cultivators have courtesy names." Or titles, minimally, but usually both once they'd been around for long enough. He heads back for the remaining bowls. "Anyway, I was involved in a refugee settlement for a while, farming was a necessity." Then back to the cupboard, and away with the rest of the bowls to their places. "Have you been in human form for long?"

May as well go full blunt. What's the worst that can happen? (He'll figure it out.)

[foxyou]

The mention of rogue cultivators causes Shen Qingqiu's expression to darken for a moment; he shuts the cutlery drawer with a frown, turning his attention back to watching Wei Wuxian with a slightly more suspicious eye than before.

"I don't see that it's any of your business." He'd like to pretend he was human all along, okay? Okay. "And I've never heard of a cultivator farming for refugees, rogue or not. Are you going to say you helped out of the goodness of your heart, next?"

[weifinder]

"In one sense," he says, mild enough, "But the truth is what was happening to them went against any sense of justice I wanted to uphold. Letting it happen without protesting or taking action felt impossible."

Solemnly stated, though he can tell from how it's said, this young yao has his own experiences with such things. Altruism isn't something that survives in the world. If it's not convenient, or coming from those in power, it dies young.

[foxyou]

Justice, huh. The word grates on his nerves, just like everything else this man has said so far - if it's possible for the look on his face to get any more scornful, he's doing it, tail swishing in noticeable irritation, ears flattened like he'd just heard a threat rather than a declaration of heroism.

"How kind of you. Protecting the innocent, defending the poor. It's certainly too bad that your altruism is limited in its reach." Has anyone ever shown such kindness to him? Not that it would have helped, probably. That'd be just his luck.

[weifinder]

He closes the cupboard, turning his head to regard the young yao (what age may be relative, one cannot trust appearances, but youth and a youthful manner so far fit). "All altruism is, if it's altruism." He turns, better facing Xiao Jiu. "Standing up as one person against the injustices of the world gets you killed. Connections, that's what keeps you alive, so you can protect those weaker than you, or let those poorer have the time away from worries outside their control to farm, trade, or craft enough to help feed themselves and their families. If you have the funds to help pay for it all directly, all the better, but I'd be lying to say I've ever been a personally rich man."

He smiles, not so broad, more wry at acknowledging what his son had termed his prevalent poverty, among other terms. Lan Zhan has funded his existence, even supplemented it from afar as he's traveled the world away from him, as part of his finding his way back.

"Kindness is a choice. It's not always the best one, or even the right one. I wouldn't say I'm the kindest person I know, but I'm kinder than most, and more ruthless than others. People are rarely only one or the other." With a sort of not-shrugging motion, he steps forward to pick up the utensils to go in drawers just down the counters. There's so much counter here he still picks the wrong one first, then second, until the third one shows more of the same utensils, that he sets in loose bundles of similar shapes to each other.

[foxyou]

That answer is an unexpected one, and consequently gives him pause. Does this guy actually get it? He gets it, and yet he's apparently willing to keep being kind.

It's foolish.

"...Connections can get you killed as well, if you trust too much in them." And in a sense, he had died back then, hadn't he? The young fox turns away, grabbing a handful of forks and searching for the right drawer just for the excuse not to keep looking at him.

[weifinder]

"If you don't trust enough, the same can get you killed. There's a balance," he says, like he's not still figuring it out for himself. (He is. It's not simple, but at the same time, it absolutely can be simplified.)

He closes the drawer, looking for what next to do. Some dampened rags are for the collecting, so he takes hold of them and drapes them over his arm.

"Standing alone is more sure a way to fall than figuring out how to stand with people by your side."

[foxyou]

"I've survived this long, haven't I?" So it's fine! Trust is unnecessary! He's living proof of this irrefutable fact!

Also back to not helping again. "Besides, you're much more likely to fall with people by your side to trip you."