Lightning Farron (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
enthunder) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
voidtreckerexpress2020-04-27 01:47 pm
enthunder) wrote in voidtreckerexpress2020-04-27 01:47 pm
Open - Egret and Fiddlesticks catchall
Who: Lightning and YOU
Where: 1. Dining Car | 2. Dressing Car | 3. Gym Car | 4. Wildcard
When: Egret + Fiddlesticks (backdating fine, she was on autopilot for most of Egret)
What: 1. colouring books and chill | 2. light fails at makeup | 3. know what this train needs? a 10' magical robot | 4. wildcard
Warnings: N/A
1. colouring books and chill
[ The long table of the dining car is often cluttered with half-finished projects, bowls of snacks, forgotten mugs of coffee... And, sometimes, Light, and whatever she's picked to occupy her free time today. It took her a few months to realise that training and sleeping and training some more was a stupid use of her time - or rather, a few months and a day where she's pretty sure she passed out on more than one person, even if everyone involved is either too polite or too intimidated to mention it.
The point is, she still feels a little silly tucked against the table, her 'colouring book for adults' quote unquote open to a meadow of unfamiliar wildflowers. It's not something she's done since... she doesn't actually remember when she had the time to do something as pointless as colouring. When she was four, maybe, before her parents would let her help with Serah and she had nothing better to do.
So it's with some self-consciousness that she squints down at the pencils that came with it, trying to work out which colour she should start with. ]
2. light fails at makeup
This month was apparently the month for catching up with things that she never had the time or the motivation to look into before now, because when Lightning woke up and, stretching, remembered that the gym was booked up today for some kind of informal (but deeply meaningful) sports tournament involving webshooters, she only cast around for a minute or so before the unassuming tote bag caught her eye.
She'd bought it as an experiment, really. Thea and Misa had reminded her that it was probably going to come up sooner or later; they couldn't rely on missions having a convenient 'kill 'em all' section for Red team every time. Eventually, they were going to have something with a social aspect. Plus, the fact that it was something she didn't know how to do rankled a bit.
Easy to fix, though.
Or, easy in theory. Fifteen minutes later, she and a spider were perfectly amiably ignoring each other on opposite sides of the dressing carriage, and she had a layer of red nail varnish drying on one hand. One nail was already smudged, and her SCA now had a fetching smear of red along one corner.
"How long's this meant to take?"
3. know what this train needs? a 10' magical robot
[ She's picked a relatively quiet time of day for this, and the furthest section of the gym. See, watching the shades gather in the sky made her realise, amongst other things, that she'd let herself get complacent. The missions were challenging, but she didn't think she'd ever felt inadequate, or ill-equipped. Until that moment, that is, when suddenly having the service of a mystical being gifted unto her by the goddess Etro would have been useful.
The thing is, Lightning genuinely isn't sure how the Eidolons work, theologically and physically speaking. A l'Cie has a crisis of faith, and the goddess sends them from the world beyond, right? But, is the world beyond a real place, or just a hokey explanation for a phenomenon fueled by fal'Cie smoke and mirrors? Does the Eidolon live within the l'Cie? The glowing crystal rose that glimmers and sparks in her hand, that until seconds ago was a nebulous feeling of warmth in her chest, indicates yes. (A small part of her, cynical and afraid, wonders how much it will hurt, if she calls and he doesn't answer.)
(That part is crushed down remorselessly.)
Nothing for it. She's cleared the area, warned people that she's going to try something and she'll answer questions afterwards. The crystal goes spinning into the air, and as it begins to fall back down, she jumps up and smashes it with one blow of her knife. No shards fall - they explode outwards into a blinding circle of pink magic. By grace of Etro, let thunder herald your arrival. Come forth, sunderer of falsehood, spins around one petal-like section, and, A name in blood, a pact of truth. Odin shall rise, his bond eternal and unyielding spins widdershins against it. ]
Come forth, Odin!
[ There's a moment of stillness, as she catches her breath and stomps down further on the fear, and then the circle is a flower, spiralling upwards, and the end of the gym car is suddenly filled with both deep pink rose petals, and a robot, armour still gleaming with the residual power of the summoning. He drops to one knee, knightly, and still towers over Lightning.
She exhales, shakily, and gives the 'all clear' signal to the rest of the carriage. And brushes the petals out of her hair. ]
Long time, no see, big guy.
4. wildcard
Where: 1. Dining Car | 2. Dressing Car | 3. Gym Car | 4. Wildcard
When: Egret + Fiddlesticks (backdating fine, she was on autopilot for most of Egret)
What: 1. colouring books and chill | 2. light fails at makeup | 3. know what this train needs? a 10' magical robot | 4. wildcard
Warnings: N/A
1. colouring books and chill
[ The long table of the dining car is often cluttered with half-finished projects, bowls of snacks, forgotten mugs of coffee... And, sometimes, Light, and whatever she's picked to occupy her free time today. It took her a few months to realise that training and sleeping and training some more was a stupid use of her time - or rather, a few months and a day where she's pretty sure she passed out on more than one person, even if everyone involved is either too polite or too intimidated to mention it.
The point is, she still feels a little silly tucked against the table, her 'colouring book for adults' quote unquote open to a meadow of unfamiliar wildflowers. It's not something she's done since... she doesn't actually remember when she had the time to do something as pointless as colouring. When she was four, maybe, before her parents would let her help with Serah and she had nothing better to do.
So it's with some self-consciousness that she squints down at the pencils that came with it, trying to work out which colour she should start with. ]
2. light fails at makeup
This month was apparently the month for catching up with things that she never had the time or the motivation to look into before now, because when Lightning woke up and, stretching, remembered that the gym was booked up today for some kind of informal (but deeply meaningful) sports tournament involving webshooters, she only cast around for a minute or so before the unassuming tote bag caught her eye.
She'd bought it as an experiment, really. Thea and Misa had reminded her that it was probably going to come up sooner or later; they couldn't rely on missions having a convenient 'kill 'em all' section for Red team every time. Eventually, they were going to have something with a social aspect. Plus, the fact that it was something she didn't know how to do rankled a bit.
Easy to fix, though.
Or, easy in theory. Fifteen minutes later, she and a spider were perfectly amiably ignoring each other on opposite sides of the dressing carriage, and she had a layer of red nail varnish drying on one hand. One nail was already smudged, and her SCA now had a fetching smear of red along one corner.
"How long's this meant to take?"
3. know what this train needs? a 10' magical robot
[ She's picked a relatively quiet time of day for this, and the furthest section of the gym. See, watching the shades gather in the sky made her realise, amongst other things, that she'd let herself get complacent. The missions were challenging, but she didn't think she'd ever felt inadequate, or ill-equipped. Until that moment, that is, when suddenly having the service of a mystical being gifted unto her by the goddess Etro would have been useful.
The thing is, Lightning genuinely isn't sure how the Eidolons work, theologically and physically speaking. A l'Cie has a crisis of faith, and the goddess sends them from the world beyond, right? But, is the world beyond a real place, or just a hokey explanation for a phenomenon fueled by fal'Cie smoke and mirrors? Does the Eidolon live within the l'Cie? The glowing crystal rose that glimmers and sparks in her hand, that until seconds ago was a nebulous feeling of warmth in her chest, indicates yes. (A small part of her, cynical and afraid, wonders how much it will hurt, if she calls and he doesn't answer.)
(That part is crushed down remorselessly.)
Nothing for it. She's cleared the area, warned people that she's going to try something and she'll answer questions afterwards. The crystal goes spinning into the air, and as it begins to fall back down, she jumps up and smashes it with one blow of her knife. No shards fall - they explode outwards into a blinding circle of pink magic. By grace of Etro, let thunder herald your arrival. Come forth, sunderer of falsehood, spins around one petal-like section, and, A name in blood, a pact of truth. Odin shall rise, his bond eternal and unyielding spins widdershins against it. ]
Come forth, Odin!
[ There's a moment of stillness, as she catches her breath and stomps down further on the fear, and then the circle is a flower, spiralling upwards, and the end of the gym car is suddenly filled with both deep pink rose petals, and a robot, armour still gleaming with the residual power of the summoning. He drops to one knee, knightly, and still towers over Lightning.
She exhales, shakily, and gives the 'all clear' signal to the rest of the carriage. And brushes the petals out of her hair. ]
Long time, no see, big guy.
4. wildcard
no subject
This one had been both particularly crowded and particularly emotional.
At least her evening had been more relaxing, even if she felt a little bad for hiding out in her room for dinner. It'd given her the time to sort through her feelings, and by the time she wakes up and starts the walk to Dining, she's firmly stamped them down. Everything is fine.
She's able to nod calmly to Tidus when he approaches her at breakfast, even, despite the momentary flare of adrenaline followed by an equal amount of shame. Clearing up the kitchen between meals helps. It's hard to get back into the mindset of the world of battle when you're wearing rubber gloves, up to your elbows in greasy soap suds. ]
Pass. Looking out at the void while you clean is a pain.
[ She finishes rinsing a grill pan, and picks up the next. ]
What train stuff did you wanna talk about?
no subject
I read we get sent on some kind of world-saving missions, right? I'm wondering if you know what most of those have been about, and what we should expect. And if these team colours mean something other than chores.
[ She's got a sink of washing to look at, but one of his hands still motion to his hoodie out of habit, a small twist of the wrist. ]
no subject
It's been all kinds. Cities under siege, a planet falling apart, some asshole scientist trying to set a bunch of ice monsters on a town...
[ She squints at the full sink, obviously going through the missions in her head. Slowly, she begins to recount, interspersed with occasional pauses to move plates: ]
Red team's easy - we get the monster-hunting missions, or search-and-destroy. We don't see the other teams much. Orange gets the weirder stuff. Getting through a maze, collecting animals... A lot of evacuation. Purple gets landed with that too, so you'll be doing that, guard work and patrols. Blue's more protection, they stay in the towns or on base. If something big's going down with the civilians, a ritual or a command centre, Blue's normally looking after them.
Make sense?
no subject
[ It's a drawn out confirmation, unsure, an answer while his brain is clearly trying to work it out. A pause before Tidus shares what he took from the explanation: ]
So Red's always fighting, Purple is guard duty; Orange is [ animal catching--no, don't say that ] ...evacuation, or puzzles or something, while Blue is... more guard duty? But kinda closer to the people on the planet than Purple Team?
[ Was that it?
Without waiting on an answer, Tidus walks tentatively; away from the point near the entrance that lined him with Lightning so they could see each other, to where the stacks of bacon-greased trays were sitting piled on top of one another. He eyes them, unsure if he should be butting into work he wasn't really scheduled to...do, or something. But it was either that, or continue to stand around like a weirdo not lifting a finger, while listening to someone who was.
He's not that revolted by the smell of grease.
Taking the trays in hand, Tidus carries them over to the row of sinks and takes the first one he comes across, leaving a few between him and Lightning. He sets them aside, plugging up the sink first before sticking anything in.
Doo doo doo, don't mind him. ]
no subject
[ She pauses, then rolls her shoulders in a self-conscious shrug. Takes her eyes off him, misses him moving over to the sink until the rattle of trays makes her look over again.
Huh.
She goes back to her own washing, strangely pleased, and doesn't comment. ] That's how I see it, anyway.
no subject
[ He'd noticed the discrepancy in sizes from the passenger roster (it's hard to miss, especially with the Purples), nosing it while figuring out what the ICP could do and be used for.
The water starts pouring in, and Tidus slips in a couple of trays, checking the washing liquids while the sink fills. ]
So it's not a big deal if someone from Purple or Orange went out to help the other teams? We just hear about the mission, get a team job, and we're expected to do it and... what, do the Team Leaders do the organising? We talk about it with them first?
[ ...he feels like he's confusing himself... ]
no subject
[ She says that in the way that implies she's making several sets of air quotes under the dishwater. ] Good idea in theory, though I'm pretty sure she started it just to prove a point.
no subject
Doesn't sound like it's hurting anyone. But they're just doing what everyone else does before the mission then, huh?
[ By the sounds of it -- it was rebelling for the fun of it. ]
no subject
[ She nods, though, it's not like anyone's enforcing the teams. ] I bought a book a few months back. It's a children's book, about us. Or about the 'Voidtrecker'. You might want to take a look... puts it in perspective, at least.
no subject
A children's book...? ]
Uhhh... okay. [ A small pause. ] Mind giving me the gist of it now?
[ Either way, he'll finally get to scrubbing. ]
no subject
There's a pair of kids. They're at school... a woman in purple shows up to evacuate them. Says if they don't leave, they'll all die, that there's some... unknown, alien force invading. There's an orange team clearing a fallen bridge, a red team fighting things in powered suits. A guy in blue rescues some kids from another building.
It reads like propaganda. All about how 'the Voidtreckers are there to save you', and 'you should do what they say'.
no subject
So this Voidtrecker's been going around...long enough for someone to make a kid's book about it?
[ Wait. ] Or--multiple Voidtreckers?
[ Multiple...trains, picking people up to send them off to other worlds to be saved? Tidus is facing Lightning again, but his attention is elsewhere, on the thought now in his head. The contents of the sink forgotten. ]
no subject
Apparently the Void's something you can just travel through, if you've got the right ship. We're definitely not alone out here.
[ She gives up on the sink for now, turning to face him instead. His inattention makes it easier, somehow, to let her frustration at the situation slip free. ] Thing is, this train was empty when we got here. The first ten of us, I mean. And five months later it's tripled in size and kidnapped a hundred more people, and we still don't have a clue who's running the show. Every world we stop at, people are surprised by that. We're meant to be some big heroic organisation, but we've never so much as seen another Voidtrecker--
[ She cuts herself off, jerking her gaze away. ]
no subject
Tidus's head dips, the soapy suds in his vision blurred, water soaking the skin around and under the strap of his SCA attached to his left wrist. The thrum of machinery under their feet from the car below keeping the room from being entirely silent. ]
It's weird, [ he admits, slowly and thoughtfully. Wanting to take over from her frustrations, maybe, or just trying to figure this out for himself. ] We've got everyone on this ride from different worlds, or planets; some who're used to other worlds, but none of them's heard of this thing before? Or they don't wanna say... or none of us really know. [ Whatever the case. ] But these people on the planets you've been, they knew about the Voidtrecker, right? So there's gotta be something going on.
[ It doesn't make sense for random people on random worlds to be lying, does it?
Tidus is leaning his weight on his arms, on the kitchen side sink, chin lifted to let his gaze wander as he thinks back: on what he knows so far, from this chat and from those previous; talking with his roommate Tarou about the maybes, what ifs, and his wandering through each of the different carriages. ]
And this ride--you say there wasn't anyone around five months ago. [ Or ten people, but still- ] For a train going around saving planets, isn't it more like...what a train's supposed to be? 'Cept with a really bad gym? And the garden car, [ he'll add on, just 'cause that room is funky.
But he felt like there was a point he wanted to get to, something in all this. His gaze narrows, his nose scrunching some. ]
Do you think we're just really unlucky? [ He huffs, and now he feels an itch of frustration along his bent shoulders. ] We get picked up to go save worlds on a train that's more of a train than a--rescue mission like the job's supposed to be, and our worlds didn't even get helped out by these people. And it's just taking anyone-- [ He waves out his left hand at this, a 'can you believe it?' type motion ] --without giving them any clue about what's going on, and that's--it?
[ He had a point, thinks he had a point, but he ends it gracelessly as his mind fumbles on itself on whatever it was he was trying to get out.
Some variation of, this doesn't make sense, couldn't they give us a better heads up? ]
no subject
Some of 'em know about us. Others, we have to get dressed up before we go down, and pretend we're not from off-world.
[ But that's not the main question he had, so. She folds her arms, to give herself something to do; her sleeves promptly darken with dishwater. ] Exactly. Why not recruit grateful people from worlds who know what to expect?
[ And then the water reaches her skin, and she breaks off to turn back towards the sink. ] Best case scenario, we're unlucky. Worst case...
[ Worst case, it's because they're easier to control when they're ignorant, maybe. ]