A New Platform [Intro Post July]

[voidtreckermods]

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PLATFORM STOP: MONTH 19
(SYMPHONY)

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BEFORE ARRIVAL

"Good morning Voidtreckers, it is day one of the month of Symphony. Points have been updated on the system."
The voice of the Voidtrecker Express welcomes passengers at the same time as always, sometime after breakfast. With points updated, everyone can spend the morning shopping. Most people will be expecting the second announcement that comes a few hours later, as the colours of the void outside the windows blur more and more.

"Shortly arriving into a designated void platform. The Weather is cool with light rain. 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.

ON THE PLATFORM

1. THE ARRIVAL

At first, all your character can see is steam billowing around them as they come to their senses. But as their eyes adjust, they find themselves on a platform. It is a small platform, a dusty strip of concrete next to the tracks. The barrier is at the far end, housed in a brick shelter. The sky is dark with clouds and the air is damp. A fine drizzle falls, not heavy at all but they will find their clothes quickly become damp.

They stand in clothes not their own, in a style they might not even recognise. They're carrying a rucksack on their person, and for a moment it seems to just be them, alone on this platform. Before the fog starts to subside, and they'll see they are alone: facing the tracks.

But then there's a roaring sound to get their attention, and out from the fog arrives a train. A sleek black, it reads The Voidtrecker Express in gold lettering on the side. Every one of the doors hiss as they open automatically, and out pours a strange assortment of people. Some are human, some less so, with a majority wearing the same hoodie of four colours as they do, though some sport outfits in a variety of styles.

The train doors close behind them, and the vehicle is cloaked in the same fog that hides the world beyond the platform. A group of people head towards the gates of the platform, their expressions blank and unaffected by their surroundings. Altair Kallig, Aya Brea, Darth Nox, Eli Vanto, Elizabeth, Shen Qingqiu, Soma Cruz, Thrawn. They disappear through the barriers, but no one else can - all people can do is wait until the train re-emerges, finishing whatever changes it's making.

2. BOARDING THE TRAIN

After a short time, about ten minutes or so, the fog clears and the doors hiss open again. Everyone will feel a pull when they do, a need to board, and those from the train may encourage new arrivals to board. This feeling grows into one of apprehension and turns worse the longer they stay off-board.

For those that do board, they may find themselves in a few different carriages, but most likely the standard coach. A row of seats sit available, with a few tables between each. More likely than not, some cookies have been set out with jugs of drink, and cups available for pouring.

For those that don't, however, they're likely to attract attention if they're spotted. And if that fails... an unfortunate end will await them.

a. New arrivals will notice a screen and console in every carriage sharing the same message, and a stack of leaflets in holders by them offering further information to the curious (see 'Publications'). There are lavatories available on each carriage on one end, with another console with a deposit box under it at the other. This is the train shop.

b. It'll take some time for newbies to figure out the layout, even if there's only two directions to go in. Go one end, and you'll find the food stores and washing utilities. This month's key ingredient is broccoli, and you're sure to bump into others curious about what's in the stock.

c. Go to the other end, and you'll find the sleeper cabins. Plaques sit on the wall by each door with the names of their occupants, and one of these will be yours - hopefully, they'll figure out that swiping their ticket against the doorpad will open it up to them. 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.

d. At the farthest end in this direction is the luggage carriage, where passengers who have bought items from the train shop will find their purchases. These are scattered around the luggage carriage in various suitcases and bags, but there's also a small fridge and kettle here with bottled water, for those who want a quiet drink. For those curious about the reward for Purple Team they will find it here

SOME MISCHIEF

Those exploring the train will find that some passengers have been busy in the kitchens. Three bowls of hard candies are out for display, each labelled with a placard. All are free for the taking.

Energise! Provides an extra boost of energy.

Refresh! Like dipping tired feet into a cool spring.

Calm! Allowing you to start relaxing, like a prelude to meditation.

Energise is a red coloured candy that tastes faintly sweet. When eaten it provides about five hours worth of extra energy. This may lead to characters bouncing off walls, being easily distracted, being extra curious, or blurting out whatever comes to mind, including their feelings for other Voidtreckers. When combined with the Calm candy, a character's focus is increased, though they may feel more inclined to try new things or take new risks or chances.

Refresh is a green coloured candy that tastes faintly salty. With rivigourating divine energy within the candy, those who take it will feel mildly euphoric and floaty, bubbling, or otherwise happier. Literal floating of under a metre off the ground is possible while traveling the void, as well as having characters turn into small eastern styled dragons for about an hour. When combined with the Energise candy, characters may find they're capable of limited flight in the void. They may also find themselves as a tiny dragon with an obsessive focus on something small or silly, lasting as long as their dragon transformation, so about an hour.

Calm is a blue coloured candy that tastes faintly floral. This candy aids with rest and slowing down an overbusy mind. There's a side effect of grogginess after it wears off that grows proportionate to how many candies are consumed. Combined with Refresh candy, characters will find themselves more inclined toward open discussions, forgiveness and letting go, or engaging with people in ways they'd usually inhibit themselves from. So yes, a bit like being gently buzzed, with no hangovers.

DEPARTURE

The train begins to rumble with activity, and the platform starts to disappear into a fog as the voidcraft moves. A female-coded artificial voice echoes throughout the train.

"Welcome aboard, passengers of the Voidtrecker Express. 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.

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NAVIGATION ~ GAMEPLAY ~ SETTING ~ CHARACTER INITIATIVES ~ QUESTIONS

Thank you to Rakel (player of Lan Jingyi) for the enchanted candy mischief. Any questions about those should be directed to them.

Comments

[flatteries]

"It's not like you forced me though," Inigo points out.

After all, to him it feels like Esteban is making this a bigger deal in his head than it ought to be. Or maybe it's just because Inigo - from his perspective - has already gone through this so many times. Basically everyone who has ever learned about his secret hobby has tried pushing him towards being more open about it. Always with good intentions, Inigo knows that, though it's not quite as easy for him to go ahead and just give in to his passion, for..

.. well, an entire myriad of reasons.

But it's why the situation with Esteban back on the island truly didn't stand out in his mind. Not even a little bit. It's why Inigo seems so genuinely unbothered in this moment, because he is genuinely unbothered.

"You backed off when you realised it. So what's the problem then..?" He tilts his head slightly sideways as he looks at the other. "That you got a little ahead of yourself? Everyone does that from time to time."

It's not like all communication is forever clear and not awkward, after all. No matter who you're interacting with, and no matter how close you are.

[crowneddragon]

"That's--" He sighs a bit, catching back his words. No, it wasn't an answer. But then, he hadn't quite asked a question either; and Esteban... knows his way around stepping across the obvious himself. He does so to keep his own secrets, but a bit of it is by habit too.

"That's not an answer." His voice is soft and gentle, but steady. Esteban is expecting one. Please, Inigo. He's serious about this.

"Would you tell me off 'f I went too far?" Even his accent is almost gone when he speaks, his words more steady, and slower. He needs this. He needs this.

But then... Maybe he'd gone too far. Asked for too much. It wouldn't be the first time.

[flatteries]

Inigo frowns, looking slightly confused - or perhaps concerned.

Maybe it's a mix of both.

"Yes?" That question mark is mostly there because he feels like it depends on the other's definition of 'too far' in contrast to Inigo's own.. Inigo is pretty sure that Esteban is the kind of person who would never push someone too far in the first place. He's way too nice for it, after all.

"I told you back on the island, didn't I? I asked if we could at least do it somewhere more secluded, because then I would've been fine with it!" He's trying to get better about the dancing thing, after all. Step by step. Doing it out in the open is too scary, but it's not like he's never danced in front of just one friend.. Heck, he danced with Esteban before. It wouldn't have been that big of a problem then. "Esteban, you're acting like you.."

Inigo's voice trails off, seeming to think for a moment. Then he shakes his head, continuing with: "You act as if you tortured me or something along those lines back there."

Rather than just innocently having asked him to dance.

[crowneddragon]

"No--" Esteban protests, eyes wide as he glances at his friend. He doesn't believe it-- but. But. His gaze strays back to his hands, immobile, restless, but useless as he tries to form his thoughts around this.

"... yes? A bit. Not torture-torture but--" His frown deepens when he tries to say the words, a hand coming up to card through his hair. Again? Had he-- he's too mundled-bundled into this and it kind of comes however it wants to, but. But as long as he says it; as long as he clears things out between them, isn't that the point of this?

"I should've-- I shouldn't 've pressured you. I know y'r shy 'bout it an' I went ahead an' started on what I wanted anyways." He hadn't thought about it, but that didn't mean that he should just excuse himself for breaking Inigo's trust.

"I should've been more careful." And for that, he's sorry. But Esteban doesn't believe in apologies that are just words, so he'd started fixing things, but he'd never admitted to his wrong, and it hadn't sat well with him. "I will be more careful."

This time, there's a promise laced in his words, and, for what it's worth, he feels a bit better at that; the smile that lifts the corners of his mouth is a bit more at ease. The words that kept on taking flight, however difficult to catch, are in his hands now, and Esteban can breathe a bit easier.

[flatteries]

It does seem like a little bit more ease comes over Esteban at the end there. And Inigo is glad for that - of course he is. He doesn't want the other to feel really terrible over this either. Sure, it was maybe a faintly awkward moment, but it's definitely nothing Inigo would ever want an important friend like Esteban to beat himself up over.

So he smiles, reaching out to gently tug the other closer towards him, holding Esteban in a hug if the other will allow him to do so.

"There, then there's no more problem, right..? Next time just ask me if I want to dance first, and we'll be fine."

Especially if it might make them both feel better in the long run.

"I really don't mind it if it's just the two of us, you know? I trust you, so.. as long as no one else can see us, it's-- um, well. I can be brave and dance then." You know, like dancing with just one close friend and no one else being able to see it is some deed that requires great courage.

But apparently it is, for Inigo.

[crowneddragon]

The light tugging catches the redhead off-guard, letting Inigo gently pull him into the movement. He returns the hug readily, greedily when he catches on, something warm tickling into his lungs, but isn't quite laughter. It raises the corners of his mouth without even a thought, and tension seeps from his limbs when Inigo accepts his words.

'We'll be fine.' He likes this. Eyes drifting closed as he takes in the comfort offered; Inigo is truly too kind and patient for his own good. It makes Esteban want to protect this, wants to make sure nothing would harm his friend that might leave scars across how good a person he is. He's not strong enough for it, he knows. But he wants to protect him nonetheless, protect what Inigo finds precious, finds important. Protect any sort of happiness that his friend might gather close, no matter how small.

He lets the silence linger, just a bit, still too greedy and selfish to let go, but he won't let his friend's words fall into nothingness. When they break apart, Esteban's grin is crooked, an mischievous, bright in the corner of his sky-lost eyes when he responds.

"I trust you too," he assures him, nudging his side lightly. "Else I wouldn't have told y' 'bout my hoard. It's what we dragons hold most precious, y'know?"

Levity sheds from him like ice dropping down his spine, finding it again, that little piece of his words that... says everything while saying nothing. He's still hiding it, shifting around the subject. But he is not going to be a coward. He wants to give his friend the truth. All of it. No more pretending. No more playing at being mortal.

"It's what Immortals hold most precious." It's a bit of weight. A bit of a weight he knows won't be understood, but that he has to expose nonetheless. He shouldn't have pretended. It was bad for him all around.

"I've chosen my friends," he adds, smile returning as he allows the comfort of his hoard to seep through as well. It is the most precious thing he has. "The people I've met, what they like, what they enjoy. Smiles on their faces." He grins again, nose scrunching in mischief, as he adds a chirpy "you included~ You've got a pretty smile~"

[flatteries]

Sorry, Esteban.

Or perhaps - just sorry that Inigo's reaction might be a little anticlimactic. It's just that this sort of thing is pretty normal in his world, so he doesn't seem all that phased by the way Esteban talks about himself. He's got manakete friends back home, and he knows that they tend to live a whole lot longer too than the rest of them. Sure, there's not exactly same stuff with hoards and all that, unless Nah just never told him about it, but the rest of it is all so familiar and normal to Inigo that he doesn't even blink.

(Then again, maybe that's a good thing, considering the context.)

If anything, Inigo seems to react much more to what Esteban says at the end there, moreso than any talk about mortals or immortals. It's that last line that makes him start to blush, letting out a tiny flustered squeak.

"C-Come on, there's nothing special or pretty about it..!"

Yes, clearly being flustered over getting the tiniest compliment ever is so much more important than anything else going on here, right.

[crowneddragon]

You know what? This conversation is way more fun than their previous one, and Esteban is rolling with it~ Immortal lifespans be damned, he can't resist Inigo's blush to save his life (and he wouldn't want to anyways). Call it a Shift In Priorities.

"What-- I'm not allowed t' find you handsome?" They... might be a few month too late for that. Just a bit.

Esteban's ever-present grin is wide across his lips as he asks this, shifting lightly to tuck his ankle at the crook of his opposite knee.

[flatteries]

"No!"

Inigo answers. Instantly. The word rolls across his lips so quickly after Esteban is done talking that it seems entirely instinctive. An impression that might be helped by the fact that Inigo looks kind of confused after he said 'no' so fiercely, pauses, and then says:

".. Yes!"

Clearly he is putting a lot of thought into this. Either way too much thought, or way too little. Either way, he seems totally unsure of his own dual answer here, and he shakes his head fiercely, like he's trying to reset it to a point where he isn't too flustered to think at all - since that's the point he's currently stuck at, thanks.

"I-- I mean, you can think that? I guess?!" His voice is growing so high in pitch too with how flustered he is, like his voice cracked.. "B-But I don't think that's all that true in reality, you know!"

Don't worry, he doesn't seem upset. This is entirely just fluster, and Inigo being totally unable to deal with any compliment being thrown his way.

[crowneddragon]

Woah, hang on just one second.

Cute as it is to see Inigo's face flush, his stumbling along with his words is just a little worrisome. He doesn't really know what to do to help his friend not panic so much, but he really shouldn't be struggling so hard with this? Esteban has enough trouble thinking around him to begin with, nevermind when his friend flusters and struggles, and all he wants to do is distract him worse?

No! Bad Esteban!

It's always easier for him to share his affections in actions rather than words-- but he... doesn't have that kind of relationship with Inigo, and that's not something he's trying to change. There's too much laid out between them still-- too much he doesn't know, too much he cannot help with-- that he doesn't dare want for more. Greedy as Esteban is, there are always, always limits he will not cross.

But he can and will absolutely try to bully encourage some self-confidence in his friend if he can! Anything at all that he can gift him, that he can try to gift him. If he can just-- find the words-- and that, he's never been good at.

"Why wouldn't it be true?" He asks, trying his best to keep things lighthearted. "Y'r smile's pretty an' I like the way it lights up y'r eyes." Right, descriptions aren't really his domain-- not spontaneous ones at least. Oh! Better idea. "An' I've called you cute an' handsome an' pretty b'fore now, an' you didn't protest." He's Fairly Sure he did at least. Or was he just thinking it way too loud?

Nah, he doesn't have a good enough hold on his tongue to keep it quiet.

[flatteries]

.. did that happen before? Inigo isn't sure either, not when he's been on this train for so long that sometimes interactions all start to blur into each other, each and every single one set in front of these cold train walls.

Either way, he can think of some explanations as to why he might not have flustered. Maybe it was more in passing, for one, or maybe he was focused on something else, or maybe he was still wearing his mask of overconfidence, even though that one is a little more unlikely.. But any of these are still possible enough that he doesn't bother to question what Esteban is saying here.

It definitely doesn't help to get rid of his blush though. If anything, it seems to grow a little in intensity.

"It's different when you draw so much attention to it!" You know, like so boldly asking what Esteban asked him a moment ago. If he's allowed to find him handsome. That's just putting him way too much on the flustered spot..! Or at least, Inigo think so. That question ought to be outlawed.

"I-I mean--" He sputters, then shakes his head. "Do people call you handsome all the time back home?"

It wouldn't be surprising to Inigo, since Esteban definitely is good-looking. Maybe that's why Esteban can say this stuff with such a straight face, rather than flustering the way Inigo does.

(No, Inigo, that's definitely just because you are the shy baby here.)

[crowneddragon]

There! Better! This level of flustered is peak level of flustered. Embarrassed enough that the blush doesn't fade from his cheeks, but calm enough that he can retort or protest when Esteban is being too... much. It makes his companion's smile grow all the more cheeky as he watches him, allows himself this bit of greed.

"Well, I gotta bring attention to it, or y' don't notice it!" he snickers brightly, nudging Inigo's shoulder lightly with his own. "Y'r not very observant on this," he adds with a toothy grin, as if he wasn't waving a red flag in a glasshouse at the moment. He really shouldn't be allowed to make comments onto anyone's observation skills. Ever.

His question surprises Esteban a bit, but he shakes his head without much consideration, adding a shrug as he casually dismisses it.

"Nah, not really." He peeks at Inigo's hands again while he talks, looking to see if his friend has finally settled onto a patterned paper so that Esteban can steal it from him. "I don't stay long in the same places back home, an' most my conversations turn 'round work more than flirtin'."