voidtreckermods: (sparkly train)
VoidTrecker Express Mods ([personal profile] voidtreckermods) wrote in [community profile] voidtreckerexpress2021-05-01 07:50 am

A New Platform [Intro Post May]

On the Train

Like clockwork, the Voidtreckers are awoken by a familiar message this morning.

"Good morning Voidtreckers, it is day one of the month of Llama. Points have been updated on the system."

With points updated, everyone can spend the morning shopping. Most people will 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 air is sticky and warm, the windows almost immediately dewing over with the humidity outside.

As usual the first to leave the train notice nothing, walking silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers. Azula, Prisoner, Amery Vallet, Dyme Graydon, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, Yoite, Piccolo, Bulla Brief, Xie Lian, Kurosaki Ichigo, Hua Cheng, Renee Corbin, and Ran Mouri; 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 find themselves on a platform, rich wood and pale stone forming a natural, tree-like structure overhead. Behind them is a set of barriers, and in front of them is a single set of tracks extending both ways into thick fog. The air is rainforest-hot, and the sound of frogsong can be faintly heard over the drip of the artificial canopy.

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 fog begins to fade and they realise they aren’t alone.

The platform isn't large, and seems smaller with twenty-eight figures scattered around, all facing the tracks, all dressed in cargo trousers and hoodies. 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 pours a strange assortment of people, over a hundred at least. 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.

Behind them, the doors close, and the train is cloaked in the same fog that hides the world beyond the platform.

The Train

After a short time, the fog clears and 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 nori, the ingredient of the month of Llama, as well as all sundries.

For passengers that have bought items, these are also scattered around the luggage carriage in various suitcases and bags. For each member of Purple Team, a small silver box with their name on it contains a glittery cupcake.

New passengers will find their ticket allows them into their cabins. They may need to negotiate for beds, but at least they won't be alone in their confusion - since the sleeper carriages are now double-decker, and experience isn't going to avail the passengers in finding their rooms.

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.

The new double carriage's transfer ICP is active, allowing people to move to a double room should they meet the requirements with another person, though they'll have to move their belongings themselves.

Departure

A second horn sounds to encourage any stragglers taking advantage of the fresh air, 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!
thawed_pride: (Nort-Just listen for a moment.)

[personal profile] thawed_pride 2021-05-03 01:12 am (UTC)(link)
If only he had proper equipment for a thorough chemical analysis. He'll have to use his scanning magic instead, despite being far more accustomed to analyzing animate creatures with it.

"To the contrary, it may help to jog his memory somewhat. You recall my mentioning having an adult son back in my own world, yes? We raised the boy together, for a time, so the idea of me having adopted a child ought to strike him as familiar."
miseris_socios: (heya)

[personal profile] miseris_socios 2021-05-03 01:16 am (UTC)(link)
"... Ienzo, right?" He wants to make sure he gets the name right. It's a little hard to pronounce. "... Okay. I just don't... want to confuse him or stress him out too much. He's important to you." Unrelated people are free for messing with, but not someone important to Vexen in a positive way.
thawed_pride: (Either-Light give me patience.)

[personal profile] thawed_pride 2021-05-03 01:39 am (UTC)(link)
"Indeed. The most significant thing to avoid confusing him is likely...he knows me as Even, rather than Vexen. The last time we spoke..." He closes his eyes, and a shudder of tension runs through him. "I was already no longer human, but had yet to adopt a new name."
miseris_socios: (huh?)

[personal profile] miseris_socios 2021-05-03 04:15 am (UTC)(link)
"... I can call you that, if you want. Not just... not just with him." He takes Vexen's hand carefully, looking up at him. "You... you don't have to be human to be family. ... Koromaru's pretty much family, and he's a dog.So... I just want you to be okay."
thawed_pride: (Nort-I shall take it into consideration.)

[personal profile] thawed_pride 2021-05-03 04:59 am (UTC)(link)
He opens his eyes and gives Ken's hand a light squeeze that he hopes is reassuring.

"It is not my inhumanity that troubles me, dear child. The name Vexen...it is complicated, but part of what it represents is having left my normal life behind. The new names were originally symbols of what we had lost, but my current state is a result of my knowing sacrifice. Not merely of my humanity, but...of an element of my self. I am not quite the same person I was as a human, so to reclaim my original name fully seems somewhat premature."
miseris_socios: (blankly)

[personal profile] miseris_socios 2021-05-03 05:39 am (UTC)(link)
"... You're living as normal a life as you can now, right?" None of them are having a 'normal life', but they're making do. "... You're still you though. Heart or no heart, you're you." He frowns and gives him a hug to his side. "No one's the same as they were. People... people change all the time. I'm not the same person I was yesterday, and neither are you. That's... that's how living works, right?"
thawed_pride: (Nort-I shall take it into consideration.)

[personal profile] thawed_pride 2021-05-04 06:43 am (UTC)(link)
"It is...not quite so simple. When I say I am not quite the same person I was, I don't mean merely in terms of having changed as a person."

He touches a hand to his chest, and a dark mist rises from it.

"Part of my sacrifice was allowing the person who originally tore my heart from me to place a portion of his own in the space left behind. While I have it mostly under control, I cannot consider everything truly behind me so long as that lingers. Besides..." He manages a small smile, and pats Ken on the head. "My associations with the name 'Vexen' are not wholly negative. Even would have had no motivation to create Xion, or the Riku Replica."
miseris_socios: (haha!)

[personal profile] miseris_socios 2021-05-04 08:53 am (UTC)(link)
"You're still you." He puffs his cheeks and blows some of the mist away from Vexen before listening some more. ... Fine. Vexen can headpat. No one else. "Mm. I just want you to be happy. A - and I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable."

Hm...

"What's this guy look like?"