voidtreckerexpress | 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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I'm talking about the kinds you can go out and with all the different flavours! You don't have coffee shops like that? Go in, they got all the works. Like that?"

Please don't simplify his coffee-drinking experience, here!

"Of course I do..! But I can't do that all the time, I'd go broke..!" Honestly!

"For that matter, sometimes it's nice to go to the basics...simple things taste nice as well you know."

"Yeeeahh, if the bean's good. The coffee here isn't... you know." He's making that face still. The beans, Yuume. The beans! A good roast! Quality!!

"How much is coffee where you're from? Is it that expensive?"

Said, like someone who's never had to think about the price of their coffee once. How much could it cost, ten bucks??

Oii....oii oii oiii...

"...I don't suppose you have ludicrously cheap coffee, where you're from perhaps..."

Oooooiiiiii..!

"...Maybe? Sure?" What's 'ludicrously cheap coffee', to her... "I never bought it. I always got the stuff I liked."

'Regardless of price' is what goes unspoken. Because he never had to think about it before, and this is about as close as he's gotten to, in a very long time.

"...You mean...it was just handed to you..?"

That... ...

That seems incredibly spoiled!! Though she's not saying that. Yet.

Yet.

"No," he says, more as a psh than anything else, "I had to buy it myself. But I never...cared about the price?"

...he's a different kind of spoilt here, it's what happens when you inherit a decent chunk of money. But Tidus is aware enough to start feeling some semblance of awkward. Since why else would Yuume bring up cheap coffee?

"...Did you have to stick with instant?"

He has the consideration to at least ask it gently. ...and still awkward.

Oh. Oh no...

"...I don't use instant, but specialty lattes are very costly on a regular basis. They're often at minimum twice the cost of simple coffee with sugar and cream, and certainly not something just anyone can afford to buy multiple cups of, even over the course of a week. I wouldn't say it's at the same level as say, a costly restaurant, but ultimately it's meant to be a 'treat'."

He hums thoughtfully, maybe a little impressed in tone, or the way it lifts. A finger comes up, half-pointed nowhere, until it directs it to Yuume.

"You're a real money-conscious kind of person, aren't you!" He says it like a positive, promise. "Maybe it costs different where we're from. I've never thought about it - it didn't seem that pricy to me. But I bet you paid more attention to the bank account than I did."

Good on her.

"I have to be I'm a student..." She has no money, and she has many, many useless books now. "Still, it's very surreal to hear... ...I knew there were differences between various worlds, but it seems incredible to imagine not having to worry about finances to that point."

"...My dad was a pro sportsman, and my mum left me a bit of money too," Tidus admits, after a moment of wondering if he should. But it's more awkward to think about coming into money from death than sad - sad was for a long time ago. "And, I got into the sports game pretty early. ...well, to be honest, I know my life was a lot better than where I came from. Even on my world."

Especially on his world. Did they even have instant coffee as an option in Spira? Probably not.

"That would certainly do it..." Hooboy. "...I suppose then, this makes it a bit of a lesson in privilege for you, neh?"

"What, coffee?" he says with a small scoff. "I think this is a lesson that the train cheaps out on the good stuff!"

is that a good lesson. was that was she meant. He's at least playful as he says it. Where's the good coffee, huh train??

"The train has reasons, it's a fugitive obtaining things in bulk..!" she protests- though it's clear she can't say it entirely seriously. It's rather ridiculous once said aloud after all.

"A run away train has time to grab the cheap stuff and not the good stuff? Now that's a shopping trip I'd like to see!"

Ahah! That gets a small chuckle out of him, grinning and waving a hand heartily.

"Defending a train's shopping picks! That's a new one."

"People look for the good stuff..!" An even lamer excuse...

"And...well, I'll admit that I try to defend the train a lot most of the time- it doesn't really...have a human mind, if that makes sense. The way it tried to communicate confirmed it. Naturally, there are a lot of things it could have done better but... ...at the very least, it seems to be making an effort, so I have some sympathy for it."

There's a pause, brief as it is, before Tidus lifts his shoulders in a shrug, his hands too.

"I don't think it needs defending, you know? I mean- it still took us. It still expects us to do a job and it might be out of some good, or it might be trying, but we're still stuck here being used." He tips his head. "You can get some good outta it, sure, but I'm not thanking the train for it."

He sighs, a weary sound that's replaced by the joke he lets slip into his tone: "Fact is, it's gotta do a lot more 'til I soften up."

"Perhaps so, but that is what a drowning victim does- it reaches, and reaches blindly. I'm not saying anyone should thank it- I certainly don't plan to, I had things to do," she chuckles. "But, I'm going to at least point out when a more serious accusation rises without fair cause- not that cheap coffee applies," Yuume adds with a wink.

"At the very least...we know we'll be able to contact home. ...Provided we make better headway on that anyway," she mutters under her breath.

A New Platform [Intro Post March]

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