voidtreckermods: (voidtrain)
VoidTrecker Express Mods ([personal profile] voidtreckermods) wrote in [community profile] voidtreckerexpress2021-10-01 04:51 am

A New Platform [Intro Post October]

On the Train

The train continues its journey

"Good morning Voidtreckers, it is day sixteen of the month of Nebula. 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 doors open. As usual, those who leave first notice nothing, walking silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers. Asch, Ayumi Uoshida, Cleopatra Selene, Della Duck, Ghost, Hanuel Min, Jaisyn Solo, Jonathan Sims, Martin Blackwood, Nie Huaisang, Vermouth; all pass across the platform, not looking back. And then they're gone, disappeared through the barriers and into the fog beyond.

But on the platform itself there are four new faces. Wearing hoodies, three in purple one orange, 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. The platform is relatively small, a brick wall behind them and cracked flagstones on the floor. It is cold, icy cold but the wall at least shelters them a little.

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 on the foggy, freezing platform; then the fog begins to fade and they realise they aren’t alone.

The platform isn't large, but it is enough to hold the four 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, perhaps ten minutes or so, 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 yadon tail, 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. In most rooms, the occupied beds are obvious, leaving the spotless, empty spaces for the newcomers. 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 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!
blue_ice: (tired)

[personal profile] blue_ice 2021-10-16 04:20 pm (UTC)(link)
"I know I can do it with the right tools."

Seto sounds...quite confident in this. The worst of his grief finally eases some, and he shifts to more of a side hug position. Unwilling to fully let go yet, but better for talking.

"If navigating the void truly is an exercise in channeling strong emotion...I'll definitely do it. I should probably exchange some kind of unique object with those who are still here...almost like a homing device, to make it easier. I'll have to think on that."

He's already taken a full scan of his and Yugi's wedding rings, but there ought to be more.

"No one's impossible to reach. Not even in death. But...it's going to take far longer than I'd like."

namethattune: (I was left to my own devices)

[personal profile] namethattune 2021-10-26 03:40 am (UTC)(link)
It's a change, and Siebren will take it, loosening his grip on Seto but still keeping an arm around his shoulders. Problem solving is helping more than he could have hoped.

He listens to his son, considers the words, opens his mouth to offer advice, and- pauses. There is something in those last few sentences that is bothering him, and he can't help but address it. "What do you mean, 'not even in death?'"

Are they going to have to have the conversation every scientist has about how Victor Frankenstein is a terrible role model? It's not the conversation he was expecting, but he is prepared to give it.
blue_ice: (locked heart)

[personal profile] blue_ice 2021-10-26 05:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Seto feels an odd prickle on the back of his neck. There's a fight coming, possibly, so he needs to be very clear.

"I told you about Atem, didn't I? He was here very briefly---he was a pharaoh in ancient Egypt, whose lost soul was fused to Yugi's for a while. He and I had an intense relationship from the beginning. He's actually the reason I left the evil path I was on."

He paused a moment. There was clearly a significant connection here.

"We were entangled as rivals, and getting strong enough to surpass him, to prove myself to him...that became my driving goal. But then Yugi and his friends helped him return to the afterlife, and I wasn't invited. No final battle, no goodbye."

There's another pause. He knows this next part makes him sound unhinged. He was, in fact, unhinged at the time.

"I couldn't accept it. I excavated the remains of the puzzle, reassembled the pieces, ordered Yugi to bring him back. We fought bitterly about it---he was convinced he'd never see Atem again, didn't understand why I couldn't move on. But nothing I tried worked, and by digging up the puzzle I awakened another spirit fighting to stop me at all costs. It nearly destroyed the world, and only Atem's last-minute intervention saved us."

He sighed. "But I missed his departure again. I was sick of him avoiding me, so I built a device that would launch me into the afterlife. I made it. His face was the last thing I remember before the platform...but I know I shouldn't have. I was leaving my brother, what I could've had with Yugi..."

What he has now. What he won't leave this time. He reaches up to grasp the ring.

"I wasn't sure it was survivable. I know now the risk wasn't worth the possible reward."
Edited 2021-10-26 17:48 (UTC)
namethattune: (I hear in my mind all of this music)

[personal profile] namethattune 2021-10-26 07:42 pm (UTC)(link)
...this is somehow both better than the Victor Frankenstein conversation and much worse. He keeps one arm around his son and briefly places his other hand over his face as he tries to process this. There are number of facts to take from this:

That Seto's dimension, or at least his particular iteration of it, does have magic, or at least paranormal phenomena, and a tangible afterlife;

That it is entirely possible that trip was not survivable, and that Seto is among the passengers who would be dead without their tether to the train;

And that Seto's upbringing, while it taught him much, left him without a number of life skills necessary for most people to function: in this instance, the ability to deal with grief.

He sighs and drops his hand. "Tell me your voidcraft plan is not simply more of the same." He sounds like he's learned, but Siebren needs to make sure.