voidtreckermods: (voidtrain)
VoidTrecker Express Mods ([personal profile] voidtreckermods) wrote in [community profile] voidtreckerexpress2021-03-01 05:44 am

A New Platform [Intro Post March]

On the Train

Once again passengers are awoken by the morning announcement.

"Good morning passengers, it is day One of the month of Kazoo. 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 is thick, the air is warm and humid and there are rumbles of thunder, the air heavy with the promise of rain.

As usual the first to leave the train notice nothing as they walk silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers: Alfredo Martini, Daia, Enna Alchiba, Lord El-Melloi II, Natsuno Yuuki, Nita Callahan, Saku Gyousou, Sakura, V and Wen Qing

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, and seems smaller with twenty-seven 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.

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'). Those not new to the train will note the addition of an eighth sleeper carriage. The store rooms have been restocked with fresh ingredients, it seems the month of Kazoo is defined by the tomato and there are plenty of them.

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 as thunder rumbles further and the storm threatens to break. 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!
trivialization: (spec this)

[personal profile] trivialization 2021-03-02 11:28 am (UTC)(link)
"I think," Eva said, a tight, peevish look on her face, "That anyone even slightly discerning would assume that if I know about Egyptian funerary spells I also know what papyrus is."

She was not the sort to take being corrected by a stranger, especially a child, well at all, and her voice dripped sarcasm.

"The clothes do ruin the effect. This all looks a little too, mm, school field trip to be the final passage to the beyond. But go on, tell me. For what reason are we certainly not dead?"

Not that she was especially inclined to believe they really were. She couldn't die, after all.
storms_eye: (temporary)

Here's a good first impression for roommates!

[personal profile] storms_eye 2021-03-02 07:48 pm (UTC)(link)
"Oh... Oh no. That's not what-" Silvia sputtered, raising her hands and waving them back and forth. She hadn't meant it as a correction, more of an acknowledgement. "I- I didn't mean to imply.. I mean, don't most people know about Egyptian funerary spells?" Struggling to reply swiftly she wasn't thinking through her words. What she last said could have been taken in a negative light as well, as if she were implying that this person wasn't as clever or knowledgeable as she might otherwise be. "Well.. ha! Of course they don't. Not here anyway.. and it's not like every portion of the process is common knowledge.. and fiction has confused it a bit.."

Please just stop talking, she mentally pleaded with herself.

"Well- if you're looking for concrete evidence.. I... don't really.. have any?" Casting her eyes downward. "Some people have left and returned to their own dimensions though... but then I guess they could have just had near death experiences and regained consciousness later while the rest of us might not..."

"I just don't think we're dead."
trivialization: (Default)

Eva's all about those good first impressions

[personal profile] trivialization 2021-03-03 06:42 pm (UTC)(link)
Eva watched Silvia self-destruct with a mix of exasperation and glee. She spent so much with real characters who were impervious to the spoken word that actually getting a reaction out of a quick jab back was almost refreshing. But it was maybe a little too hapless? That or she was just slowly getting soft and empathetic enough to feel the beginnings of secondhand embarrassment.

"You and everyone else who can't hear an aesthetic observation without launching into a defense of their continued quickness."

Sure, she'd been implying that they were all dead, but only to sound clever.
storms_eye: (they)

Least that makes them memorable!

[personal profile] storms_eye 2021-03-03 08:19 pm (UTC)(link)
After all that rambling, Silvia managed to shyly look back up at the other girl trying to gauge how her words were being received. If she could have started the whole encounter over she would have, but it was definitely too late for that and now she would have to deal with any consequences. Surprisingly, it wasn't all that bad- or at least as bad as it could have been.

"Oh! That's all it was?" Taking in an uneasy breath. "I shouldn't have assumed..." Genuinely feeling relieved that she didn't have to continue to try to convince the blond that this wasn't some ill end.

"In that case.. you seem to be taking all of this pretty well." There was an unspoken question encapsulated in that observation.
trivialization: (shaded smirk)

[personal profile] trivialization 2021-03-05 05:42 am (UTC)(link)
"'I could be bound in a nutshell, and count myself king of infinite space, if only it were not for dreams.'"

Eva quoted airily. Boy did she love quoting things at people.

"Know what that means?"
Edited 2021-03-09 18:09 (UTC)
storms_eye: (temporary)

[personal profile] storms_eye 2021-03-10 01:30 am (UTC)(link)
"I ... should have paid more attention in English class when we were covering Shakespeare?"

It at least sounded very Shakespearean to her.

"I would think it would be even harder to be confined in such a small space without any dreams, but.. that's clearly not the ... point."
trivialization: (Default)

[personal profile] trivialization 2021-03-10 02:16 am (UTC)(link)
"Lucky guess." Eva affected disgruntlement, but it had no weight to it. She was enjoying a chance to lecture.

"It means that your world is your experiences. If you have never seen that there is anything outside the nutshell, the nut becomes all the universe. Shatter that boundary, and poor Hamlet's world is suddenly violently expanded. All that lies beyond is impossible to make sense of with the old knowledge, a darkness where he can find nothing but uncertain fears. But others live in that darkness, and know well the things that dwell there."

She gave a self-satisfied little sigh.

"In other words, I have enough experience that I'm not surprised by much."

Yeah. That's it. That's all she was saying.
storms_eye: (much)

[personal profile] storms_eye 2021-03-10 04:57 am (UTC)(link)
To that she smiled shyly. Although she did enjoy a fair bit of fiction she had neglected most stage plays as a general rule, save for required curriculum. Silvia listened quietly to the explanation.

"It's really poignant then, given the situation you've now found yourself in and I've been dealing with for months." Though honestly her world had effectively been shattered even worse recently, but she couldn't say that to this new arrival. It wasn't her baggage to carry.

"Sounds like I could learn a lot from you."
trivialization: (shaded smirk)

[personal profile] trivialization 2021-03-11 03:48 am (UTC)(link)
"I can teach a lot of things. But experience isn't taught. Facts about the world aren't true understanding."

Though if she wanted to acquire a careless familiarity to overbearing undead mages of legend, sure, Eva could supply that.

"How long is the train's history, anyway? What's the longest anyone on it now has been?"

Eva just... kind of assumed the train was ancient. Where she was from the really absurd magical relics tended to predate human history.