A New Platform [Intro Post July]

[voidtreckermods]

On the Train

Luckily for everyone the final couple of days of Fiddlesticks are quiet and mostly uneventful. Eventually though they awake to the announcement. "Good morning passengers, it is day one of the month of Grasshopper. Points have been updated on the system."

They have indeed and everyone can spend the morning shopping. Those who have been on the train a while 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 they are soon surrounded by the fog that means they are at a platform. Also a loud pattering sound, which they will discover once the doors open are hailstones. They might want to grab their raincoats.

As usual the first to leave the train notice nothing as they walk silently, rucksacks on their backs, towards the barriers. Ann Takamaki, Drizzt, Geralt, Huehuecóyotl, Ignis Scientia, Ivy Wakefield, Jiang Yanli, Lan Sizhui, Maebhrin Tillinath, May Parker, Nie Huaisang, Osomatsu Matsuno, Raven, Roxas, Shaw, The Iron Bull, Ultimo, Wei Wuxian, Yuki Sohma, Yuffie, Yukito Tsukishiro

But on the platform itself there are many new faces. Wearing hoodies and waterproofs, 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. The second thing they will notice is it is cold, hailstones rain down around them, though they don’t last long on the platform ground, melting into slush.

They are standing, in clothes that are not their own, styles 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 but then the steam begins to fade and they realise they aren’t alone.

The platform is not large and it holds nineteen figures all facing the tracks, all dressed in cargo trousers and hoodies. Both left and right the tracks disappear into the mist. 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 into the cold step a selection 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

The doors hiss open. Those from the train may encourage those on the platform to board. It’s not like there is 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 not be a good thing. If that is not enough, there are plenty of people on the platform now, to encourage them onto the train.

Indeed whereas usually there is plenty time for people to be met and brought slowly onto the train, the whistles blow a lot quicker this time, as if hurrying the passengers along.

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. The store rooms have been restocked, it seems carrots have taken over the bacon, though there are plenty of other staples.

Those from blue team who go to investigate will find a box of biscuits. There is enough for the whole team, including new passengers. Join in your team's success!

Those who are not new will quickly discover some changes made to make the train accessible to those who can’t see, including Braille translations of all the signs around the train.

There is of course the new music room to explore. A double carriage, the downstairs has instruments to learn and practice with, as well as a series of music screen points. Those who play around with the screens will soon discover their SCA’s can now store music and can choose their favourites to listen to around the train.

Upstairs is a performance area and holds a piano.

New passengers will find their tickets allow 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 and you will hopefully find a pillow for your bed if it has not been nabbed by a roommate, there are also spare blankets for if it gets cold.

Departure

A second horn sounds over the noise of the hail stones to encourage any stragglers and the doors slide shut. Veteran passengers know what will happen next, they may wish to brief their new companions.

The train sets off, the fog obscuring the view 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. The fog from the windows is gone now, replaced with a kaleidoscope of ever changing colours.

Welcome to the Void!

Comments

[only_one_wei]

Wei Wuxian shrugged too. "All right."

"What's it like talking to your younger self," he asks, curious. "How do you avoid just wrapping her up in soft cloth and protecting her from all the bad things that happened to you?"

[irrationally]

.. well, that last part sure feels like a callout.

Of course it only does because Alice hates being openly vulnerable. And being vulnerable includes showing off any of her weaker emotions, like that protective tendency. So she's careful to try to put on a pokerface as much as possible right now, looking calm on the outside as she replies to him.

"Is that what you would do if you met your younger self? It's a rather suggestive question." Alice says it casually, like it sure doesn't apply to her.

[only_one_wei]

"Without a moment's hesitation," he replied. "Of course, knowing how I was as a younger self, I'd've instantly revolted, and done exactly the stupid thing I was trying to keep myself from doing."

With the sole exception of the deaths of his foster parents and of his sister, there isn't anything that he did that he regrets in his life, though. Well, maybe not realizing the truth about Lan Zhan earlier, but that worked out in the end.

[irrationally]

".. I do suppose children are that way," she says after thinking about it for a moment.

Although she's pretty sure her own younger self is an exception to that. Sure, Alice might not always want to be fully in line, but her younger self is sweet.. If she'd warn her directly about something, she has very little doubt as to whether the younger Alice would listen. Of course she would.

"Unless you're saying you are still like that until this day."

[only_one_wei]

Wei Wuxian considers the question for a long moment. "I am still of a mind that if you tell me that something has to be done in a certain way, and never in another way, that you should be able to give me clear, logical, reasons why and not simply, 'because that is the way it is done,'" he said.

He still butted heads with his husband's uncle due to that attitude. He ended up on the path he did because of it, in fact. He understood some followed the Demonic Cultivation path because it looked easy, but to master it as he did took every bit of discipline, if not more, than the traditional cultivation. Which he'd also mastered, thank you.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you the type to accept what you are told without question?"

[irrationally]

Wow, Wei Wuxian. You can package it up and tie a bow around it every way you want, but Alice can still hear what you're saying there - you're definitely still rebelling like a child!

Not that she really judges that. As long as he's not annoying about it, going in against dumb orders is perfectly fine, Alice thinks.

"I don't let anyone tell me what to do in the first place," she just says. (Okay, Alice, calm down that edge.) "Hardly anyone has tried to tell me what to do on this train. And I prefer it that way."

[only_one_wei]

Oh, no, he rebels like an adult, definitely. The way you can tell the difference is that there is more drinking and some people actually see it his way.

He cocked his head at her. "What if someone told you not to run into the raging river, or into a forest full of Resentful Dead?" How far did her anti-authoritariatism go?

[irrationally]

"Someone warning me for my own safety? That would be a novelty."

Alice has never had people around her who had her best interests at heart, after all. It's much more likely that someone would tell her to do those things than to not do them..

"But it's not as if I would have any difficulty with such tasks. I've faced much worse, honestly."