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Afterlife Journey on the Cosmic Express, main thread

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FirockFinion THE SLORG! from The Red Desert Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
THE SLORG!
#601: Apr 30th 2025 at 3:38:22 AM

Somewhere in the sprawl with an open gate, with Colette.

NPCs: Frederick the still alive man, Calysus the deer-skull-headed and shadowy head of security, and some masked spirit residents on the sidelines.

Frederick groaned a bit as he stood up, and looked at Colette with his expression still a little wary. "It's uh... Frederick," he said, watching as the open doorway switched from being to just the hallway, to instead a parking lot at night. "Holy crap... You actually did it?" Frederick muttered in an astonished tone as he approached the door, looking through at the open night sky above.

"Good... Luck," Calysus struggled to say in his non-spooky tone.

"Wha- you can talk normally?" Frederick wondered in a somewhat incredulous tone.

"It... Is... Difficult... Sorry," Calysus responded.

"Right..." Frederick turned his attention back to the door, then after a moment of tensing himself, ran through the door quickly. Once through, he came to a quick stop on the other side, leaning his head back and taking in a deep breath of the fresh air, before laughing for a few moments. "I can't believe I'm back," he thought out loud, looking back at the door. "Thanks a lot," the man said in a sincere tone. Calysus just extended his other hand from his form and waved without a word.

As for Colette's scan, nothing in the gate seemed to indicate tampering. She did learn more about exactly how it functioned, though. As Calysus had explained from the memories of some of the masked spirits, when people in that living world died and their spirits were bound for this limbo world, they would first be an invisible, intangible ghost in the living world. However, when that ghost would go to open a door, the door would become a gateway to the limbo world for whoever was touching the doorknob at that exact moment, which would obviously be the ghost that triggered it. The gate would link to a doorway in the limbo world, and once the corresponding door on the limbo world side closed, the gate would be severed.

You are reading this.
Bored_Man Since: Jun, 2015 Relationship Status: Abstaining
#602: Apr 30th 2025 at 7:42:25 AM

Dining Car

Based on Arion's comments, Yukino knew that trying to explain would only confuse him further, and to be honest it'd probably leave her more confused as well, so she opted to let that topic lie and instead shifted gears to focus on Nikki. Thank goodness for Sinaar, taking on the task of explaining science to the god-fearing boy.

"Good on you, finding something that works. I ended up in some rough spots myself during the start of my career. But I figured things out as I went. I was actually about to tell a story about one of my fights, if you wanted to hear it."

Once Molly came by with her drink and explained what it was, Yukino picked up the glass and took a sip, her eyes wobbling a little as the cold hit her. But, eventually, she was able to adapt and go in for another sip, looking as if she was as thirsty as a traveler lost in the desert who'd just found an oasis.

Proud member of the AGOG community.
AllHailThrall For the Horde! from Somewhere (It’s Ben 10) Relationship Status: Longing for Dulcinea
For the Horde!
#603: Apr 30th 2025 at 8:14:11 AM

Dining car

Arion took the cup of wine and set it down in front of him, nodding and smiling to Molly. He then turned back to Nikki. "There are no gates, you enter the Pit by being sent there by the Judges of the Fallen," Arion explained. He turned sharply towards Sinaar, looking irritated and confused as the tokhl tried to explain the cosmos to him.

"What do you mean I believe magic is real? Of course magic is real! I've fought alongside and against sorcerers. I've witnessed the gods place constellations in the heavens with my own eyes." He leaned back in his seat and took a long sip of his wine. He pulled out one of the fig newtons from his bag and nibbled on it as well. "I would not speak with such conviction on worlds you have neither seen nor visited. You know not of what you speak of," he stated firmly.

Edited by AllHailThrall on Apr 30th 2025 at 11:17:28 AM

I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
GenericTroper Since: Mar, 2010
#604: Apr 30th 2025 at 11:35:50 AM

"I would very much like to hear it!" said Nikki, excitedly. "It's been a while since I've had someone I could exchange stories with."

J99908 It’s your BATH time! from A bathtub Since: Jun, 2023 Relationship Status: It's not my fault I'm not popular!
It’s your BATH time!
#605: Apr 30th 2025 at 12:11:14 PM

Red

Red scratched his chin in though. “So the earth really is flat over there, huh? Wonder what it’d be like.” He raised the empty glass and gave it a little shake. “Uh, miss molly? Could I get a refill on this?” Setting the glass back down, he turned around and rested his arms on the bar, exhaling loudly. He was right; he was already getting used to this. He tilted his head in Yukino’s direction, a grin creeping across his face . “Sure, I’ll hear ya. Shoot.”

It builds character.
sci300768 Since: Aug, 2021
#606: Apr 30th 2025 at 7:09:50 PM

Colette, somewhere in Limbo

Frederick is finally back to where he belongs. One scan answers just HOW Frederick got here: Pure, bad luck. Nothing else but utterly horrible luck and bad timing.

"I know how you got here Frederick, and it's quite simply extremely bad luck above all else. Simply put, you opened the door at the exact same time as another dead person did. Thus letting you enter the world of the dead. You just ended up on the wrong side."

"This is extremely unlikely and requires your previous luck to achieve. It's nigh impossible to repeat this in your lifetime honestly. I would say the percent odds are like... less than a fraction of one percent at most."

She's being completely truthful.

FirockFinion THE SLORG! from The Red Desert Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
THE SLORG!
#607: Apr 30th 2025 at 8:27:18 PM

The diner car, with most of the active player characters.

NPCs: Molly the skull-faced anthropomorphic wolf and bartender, and Idalia the anthropomorphic Glaceon.

"Sure!" Molly responded in an enthusiastic tone to Red, and went behind the bar to get more of the hard lemonade.

"I wouldn't be so hard on her," Idalia said to Arion in a polite tone, trying to keep things civil. "There also seem to be worlds where magic isn't really a thing. My world doesn't have anything we call 'magic', at least, not anything that everyone can agree is real. Then again, people in my world have all sorts of abilities that we don't consider 'magic', but sure seem magical to people from other worlds," the anthropomorphic Glaceon explained as Molly returned and poured some more lemonade into Red's glass.

"Like what I had mentioned with my daughter in law and granddaughter. How they can freeze water under their feet and skate on it? I've spoken with other passengers who insist that must be 'magic', but to me, it's just part of the ice abilities us Glaceon have. Not all of us can pull that off specifically, but still," Idalia continued, to further show what she meant.

"Or maybe your grandson's incredible luck? That could seem magical," Molly suggested in a seemingly joking tone.

"W-we needn't get into that," Idalia replied, her cheeks turning a bit of a violet hue as she blushed. Molly let out some sort of amused snicker in response.


Somewhere in the sprawl with an open gate, with Colette.

NPCs: Frederick the still alive man, Calysus the deer-skull-headed and shadowy head of security, and some masked spirit residents on the sidelines.

"What? Just bad luck?" Frederick replied in an astonished tone. To be clear, it did not seem like he didn't believe Colette, but just that he was surprised that was the explanation.

"One of the dead using the door at the same time can lead the living person here?" Calysus said, back to his 'regular' voice. "Seems like an oversight," he commented, turning his head to Colette.

"Well, I hope you're right that I never encounter it again. Plus no offense, I'd rather not meet any things like the two of you again either," Frederick commented.

"An understandable sentiment," Calysus replied, giving Frederick a nod.

Frederick then looked around at the area on that side of the gate he found himself on. "Well I better go try to pick my life back up and all," he muttered, and started to head away. "Bye!" he called, looking back over his shoulder briefly and giving them a wave.

Edited by FirockFinion on Apr 30th 2025 at 8:29:05 AM

You are reading this.
sci300768 Since: Aug, 2021
#608: Apr 30th 2025 at 9:47:45 PM

Colette, somewhere in Limbo

Frederick's reaction was understandable. She herself suspected sabotage, not extremely bad luck!

"I agree, that is a massive oversight Calysus. I don't know how whoever made this world failed to consider this outcome. You would think someone would have found out during testing... apparently not."

"No offence taken. I wish you well."

She waves back as Frederick leaves to parts unknown. And once he's out of sight, she closes the gate, severing the connection between the worlds.

"It's time we head back to the train, as far as errors go... this is rather minor on the list. There are worse things to overlook from what I've seen, and this is extremely rare. The only reason it's not a worse error to make."

Edited by sci300768 on Apr 30th 2025 at 9:48:56 AM

FirockFinion THE SLORG! from The Red Desert Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
THE SLORG!
#609: May 2nd 2025 at 8:20:48 PM

The entire train.

The train's horn sounded, as usual it was clearly audible but not oppressively loud regardless of which car it was heard from. (As well as outside the train for some distance.)

Then after a moment, Rakan's voice was heard over the slightly crackly intercom system.

"Attention passengers, the Cosmic Express will soon be departing from this station. We are expecting to cross to the next world within an hour of departure. The next world is reading as one that is an afterlife for some, but a regular living world for others. If we can get a clearer reading before the crossing, we will make another announcement before then."


From somewhere in the sprawl with an open gate, to back to the train station, with Colette.

NPCs: A few background passengers, and some masked spirit residents on the sidelines.

Calysus let out a simple, "hm," as he let go of the door and let it swing closed, severing the gateway.

"Regardless, I'm sure the passengers who were concerned about Frederick will appreciate your assistance in his return to his world," Calysus said, his eyes starting to glow more intensely again, as the shadows spread over the floor from his form. He paused for a moment as the sound of the train's horn carried to them. "... You may consider yourself on a clean slate after your transgression in the diner car, Concept," he added, before Colette would go sinking into the shadow again...

...

With another shadow in the ceiling, Colette would drop back into the train station room. This time, the shadow vanished without Calysus reappearing. It seemed he had gone elsewhere.


The diner car, with most of the active player characters.

NPCs: Molly the skull-faced anthropomorphic wolf and bartender, and Idalia the anthropomorphic Glaceon.

Moly and Idalia both had their ears perk up when the train horn sounded, and turned their attention towards the speaker at the front end of the car as Rakan's announcement came through.

"Oh, worlds that are both an afterlife and not at the same time are usually somewhat interesting," Idalia said, sounding relieved for an excuse to change the topic. "As long as they're not nightmarish for the dead, like that one where all the dead were chained to stakes in the ground," she continued, and shuddered slightly at the memory.

"Those worlds usually involve the living and dead existing in two distinct kind of states, but occupying the same spaces," Molly said, apparently to simply be informative to the new passengers.


A passenger room car, with Storm, and Eric and co.

NPCs: Aleksandras "Alek" the Elf guide.

Alek hadn't entirely avoided looking at Storm upon their request, given that he was keeping his attention down the hall as he waited. However, he did politely pretend as if he couldn't see Storm.

As the train horn sounded, Alek only blinked in response, but when Rakan's voice came through the intercom, the Elf did glance up at it.

"Ah, I wonder if that will be a fae world," Alek thought out loud, returning to his standard posture as he continued waiting.

You are reading this.
darksidevoid Anti-Gnosis Weapon from The Frontiers (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Robosexual
Anti-Gnosis Weapon
#610: May 4th 2025 at 6:50:20 AM

The Cosmic Express, Passenger Room Car

"A petition for a special lock, hmmmm..." Eric pondered for several moments as he loaded up his briefcase with his laptop and headed back out the door to his room, long enough for Storm to show up with their hair in disarray. Like Alek, the former executive and his pokemon all looked away politely as the futuristic fellow passenger started to enter their own room. The blue-haired individual's greeting, however, was enough to grab the quartet's attention again.

"Oh, no, we're quite alright, but thank you," Eric replied with a friendly smile as he stepped closer and offered a hand to shake, joined by Arsa and Sapio peeking out behind him. Veni's expression, being a bug, was much harder to read, although he was doing the equivalent of a smile as well. "I'm Eric Richter, a former executive. These are Arsa, Sapio, and Venificus, Veni for short." He indicated each of his companions in turn. "Me and my friends here arrived... well, I haven't been keeping track of time, but I figure it couldn't have been more than an hour ago."

Sapio offered Storm a wordless bow with his hand over his heart, while Arsa chirped out, "That's right! We were surprised at where we ended up! Same for you, I bet! Nice ta meetcha!" Then the blonde added to their elf guide, eyes seeming to shine with curiosity, "What's a 'fae world', Alek? There was definitely a kind of pokemon back home called Fairy-Type. Is that what you mean by 'fae'?"

GM: AGOG S4 & F/WC RP; Co-GM: TABA, SOTR, UUA RP; Sub-GM: TTS RP. I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new Empire.
FirockFinion THE SLORG! from The Red Desert Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
THE SLORG!
#611: May 4th 2025 at 6:48:17 PM

A passenger room car, with Eric and co, and Storm.

NPCs: Aleksandras "Alek" the Elf guide.

"Well, with so many different worlds using the same words for different things, it's hard to put a precise definition on it. It's more of a general impression or feeling kind of thing. 'The vibes' I've heard some passengers say," Alek started, looking thoughtful. "But you are keen to bring up Fairies, yes. It is often that when there is a place known for 'fae' that you can count on Fairies being among them. Though the way you speak of it as a kind or type of creature, it sounds as if you don't have a singular, defining 'Fairy' species," he continued, like a teacher impressed with a student for already knowing something about the lesson material. Then he prepared to go into a more in depth explanation.

"Now, fae worlds are generally known for being heavily imbued with magic. Magic that will typically enforce aspects of the world that would normally be unenforceable in more mundane worlds. Such as the names that people have being a rather infamously well known example. It's not uncommon for beings from fae worlds to get a bad reputation for their trickery and wordplay- not always undeserved, mind you. Fairies, as I mentioned, plus Pixies, and Sprites are usually considered fae, along with a whole host of other species. In some worlds, Elves like myself are considered fae, or formerly fae, descended from fae, hybrids of fae and Humans, or sometimes not fae at all. Rakan, who I told you about before? He's a Troll, but he comes from a fae world, so he is also considered a fae; there are other worlds with 'Trolls' that are not really considered to be fae. Our train's auditor, Bowean, is a Pixie who also comes from a fae world. The world I'm from is quite magical, but I would not consider it a fae world, nor consider myself to be a fae."

You are reading this.
sci300768 Since: Aug, 2021
#612: May 4th 2025 at 6:58:15 PM

Colette, Somewhere in limbo

She decides that it was a good thing her backup plan was not attempted. Best to not find out what Calysus can do on a bad day.

Now, telling the other passengers... is not worth mentioning. And with that, she's transported somewhere via the shadows again.

Colette, train station -> Dining car

And Calysus is gone, busy with something else. She enters the dining car and takes her mask off before sitting down at a table for now. The rest of the background events are observed as she fixes her appearance to match her preferred form of choice, a humanoid female wearing all black. Where her face would be, is simply darkness with no eyes. Yet one can tell when she's looking at someone or not with intent.

Edited by sci300768 on May 4th 2025 at 6:58:43 AM

Riolugirl Just "Rio" is fine! from Planet Sparkles (spaaaarklleeees...) (Experienced, Not Yet Jaded) Relationship Status: It's a god-awful small affair
Just "Rio" is fine!
#613: May 5th 2025 at 4:50:45 AM

Storm - In a passenger room car with Eric et al & Alek

With their mask still in a two-handed grip (it was surprisingly lightweight, given the circumstances), Storm pitched their head upwards to hear the intercom. They kept the information in mind, but there was a more pressing matter at hand right now...

"In any case, welcome aboard!" they said, returning their gaze to Eric and his companions. "Wish I could've made a better first impression, but..." They tucked their mask under one arm, accepting Eric's handshake. "Storm Hargreaves, they/them, Azure Communications. Formerly. Not including time alighting in other worlds, my time aboard the Cosmic Express is..." They looked up and to the left for a second. "...hard to estimate. But in all that time, you’re the first person I've come across who's boarded in a party — everyone else so far showed up on their own."

Pokémon, eh? Was that what Eric's creature companions were? Arsa, the blonde lady, suggested as much. Storm would have to enquire further in another moment. For the time being, they allowed Alek to describe fae worlds in more detail.

"Honestly," they thought aloud halfway through, "this seems like more my little sister's kind of thing. She loved fairy stories when she was small, so no one was surprised that they influenced her work."

Storm let out a small gasp and they returned their mask to both hands when Alek brought up the pixie auditor.

"Oh, I've met Bowean! She's the first person I ran into right after I boarded, actually." (Still keen to present themself well, they omitted the fact that ‘ran into’ could have been a literal description of their first interaction with her, if not for a few centimetres.)

"Hark! For your greatest fears manifest in yours truly!" (She/Her) (Current focus: Image Pickin')
darksidevoid Anti-Gnosis Weapon from The Frontiers (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Robosexual
Anti-Gnosis Weapon
#614: May 5th 2025 at 9:25:37 PM

The Cosmic Express, Passenger Car

Eric's handshake was firm, as one might expect from a highly-driven executive type, but also cordial, perhaps surprisingly so. If body language was any indication, the warmth in his expression was sincere. That said, after a brief, "Good to meet you, Storm," the quartet of Eric and company turned to listen to Alek's short lecture on the nature of fae and fae worlds.

"Fascinating..." Eric mused, putting his hand to his chin in thought. "I suppose if this upcoming world is a fae one and there turn out to be rules regarding names, we'd be wise to be cautious in giving ours out to the world's occupants."

"Yeah, but doesn't a whole culture skilled in wordplay sound like tons of fun?!" Arsa added with a beaming grin.

"A bit, yes. I do enjoy a good bit of cleverness and mindgames and so on, but word puzzles are more Sapio's thing," Eric replied, looking to the Alakazam, who was in turn stroking his mustache.

"I cannot deny that I find the notion of words themselves having power beyond mere rhetoric to be interesting, even a bit thrilling!" Sapio admitted telepathically to those gathered. "I do concur that we should be cautious in the event that is the case, however."

"Well, I suppose that will be something to worry about only if this next world turns out to be a fae one," Eric decided with a shrug, then turned back to Storm and continued, "If you don't mind me asking, what sort of work does your little sister do? If I were to hazard a guess based on what you just said, is she a writer of some description?"

GM: AGOG S4 & F/WC RP; Co-GM: TABA, SOTR, UUA RP; Sub-GM: TTS RP. I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new Empire.
FirockFinion THE SLORG! from The Red Desert Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
THE SLORG!
#615: May 5th 2025 at 10:59:23 PM

A passenger room car, with Storm, and Eric and co.

NPCs: Aleksandras "Alek" the Elf guide.

"I believe you have been on board for less than a day," Alek mentioned politely to Storm. "And yes, these four did arrive together. Group arrivals are not unheard of aboard the Cosmic Express, but they certainly are rare. We actually can't entirely explain why it happens, only that every time it has involved those who are very close with each other," the Elf explained, then added with a glance at Eric and Arsa in particular, "though not necessarily romantically."

"Now, would you like to continue your conversation here, or move on to the library car as you talk?" Alek then asked in a sincere and polite tone.

You are reading this.
Bored_Man Since: Jun, 2015 Relationship Status: Abstaining
#616: May 6th 2025 at 5:00:49 AM

Dining Car

Tuning out the rest of the conversation around her, Yukino closed her eyes to search her memory, trying to recall what she went through that night. A smirk tugged at her lips as she realized it was quite literally a lifetime ago, but the smirk died down when she remembered what she'd faced. After a few deep breaths, Yukino leaned forward to address Nikki, speaking loud enough that the others could listen in if they wanted to.

"I'd rescued another magical girl, an older one who'd been at it longer, and we were on the run. I already told Arion this part, but I was part of a collective of magical girls, we were all working together to try and survive as a group. Only problem was that they were up to some shady shit, and they were basically offering this one up as live bait, so I said 'screw that' and busted her out, which meant that now we both had a target on our back."

"Anyway, the two of us ended up crashing in a hotel that night and the whole day afterwards. Evening time, I'd run out to go get us some dinner, and it just started pouring rain and wouldn't let up, so I was drenched by the time I got back. We ate, we talked a little, I started to warm up to her a little...and then the rain just stopped. Not like gradually, just instantly. Then we see a shadow at the window. The two of us transform ready to fight, take a closer look, and there's another magical girl, seconds away from transforming into a Hexed."

"We both jump out of there, make some space between us and her, and then this big bolt of lightning crashes down on her. Next thing we know, she's...well, imagine Molly over there, but she's like three times as big, covered in hair, crackling with electricity, and has a ring of eyes hovering above her."

Proud member of the AGOG community.
GenericTroper Since: Mar, 2010
#617: May 6th 2025 at 10:45:49 AM

Nikki listened intently as Yukino spoke. Just from her words, she could tell that the situation in her world was dire. She did not know what a Hexed was, but it sounded terrifying.

"Are all magical girls in your world in danger of turning into a hexed?" she asked.

TheFullestCircle Since: Jan, 2017
#618: May 6th 2025 at 2:55:22 PM

Sinaar Lekhidur, Dining Car

Sinaar gave Arion an angry, upset look, but before she said or did anything, she looked down and thought for a few seconds. (Imagine a person taking a deep breath before doing something they'd regret; that's what Sinaar did, only without breathing.)

"When I hear the word 'magic', I think 'something that can't be explained'," she began, her tone apologetic. "So, to me, 'believing in magic' means believing that there are things that don't have any explanation beyond that. That's the association it has to me. I believvv..."

She trailed off. She was about to say "I believe in science", but did she? She'd seen so many bizarre things here, and had been told to her face by the person in charge of maintaining the train that it didn't work in any explainable way...no, there had to be an explanation. Things don't just happen, they happen for reasons.

"I believe," she continued, now more confident, "that every question you can ask has an answer. That's why I react the way I do to being told about 'magic'; usually, when people talk about magic, that's what they mean."

"That's what I thought you—all three of you—meant when you said 'magic', but that's not what you mean, is it? You're all talking about some kind of observable phenomenon that you've named 'magic'. If you've seen it with your own eyes, I'm not going to tell you that it's not real, but I am going to tell you that there's a scientific explanation for it. Whether or not that means 'magic is real' is more of a semantics question than anything, really." By this point, her tone was entirely confidence. "Sorry for the misunderstanding."

"Now what do you mean when you say you've seen the gods put constellations in the heavens?"

Suggested wine pairing: pinot noir.
Riolugirl Just "Rio" is fine! from Planet Sparkles (spaaaarklleeees...) (Experienced, Not Yet Jaded) Relationship Status: It's a god-awful small affair
Just "Rio" is fine!
#619: May 7th 2025 at 3:29:54 PM

Storm - In a passenger room car with Eric et al & Alek

Names, thought Storm as Eric pondered the specifics of the world to come. Don't even get me started on that... Then, once he resumed the conversation, their expression brightened considerably. Time to talk up their family — one of their favourite pastimes...

"Oh, no," they said, "but you're kind of right in that she's the creative sort. She’s actually a fashion designer — she got her degree in it the year before I died, in fact. Her name's Croía. She specialises in upcycling; creating a second life for used and second-hand materials. Her most recent project involved bringing the narratives of her favourite fairy stories to life in her clothing, but with a kind of New Streetwear twist." The mischievous nature of fae that Alek alluded to, and their love of wordplay, indeed reminded Storm of their sister's bold, playful disposition. "Her eyes always had this cute little sparkle when she talked about her work..."

They fake-coughed when they realised how embarassing they sounded. "Sorry, I don't mean to ramble. I just wish she could see a world like that."

It was at this point that Alek suggested Eric and Storm move their conversation to the library, an idea that Storm was quick to nod at.

"Yeah, sure! I haven't actually been to the library yet, so I don't see why not. But first..."

In Storm's room

It took Storm about half a minute to get their hair into a nice, neat shape once again. Once that was taken care of, they picked their robot head mask back up from off the bed. They contemplated its form and function. Its edges were softened so as not to injure anyone who would bump into it; its eye-tracking screen was designed to be inviting and charismatic despite obscuring the wearer's face; it was durable, yet still lightweight enough to be carried for a long period of time.

All things considered, a very well-designed device, and one they would be proud to own under less unusual circumstances. They knew their pride in wearing such a sophisticated mask would supersede its current identity as a mark of shame. Eventually.

Maybe if they looked at it enough times from the top floor of the wardrobe in which they then placed it, that time would come faster.

Back in the passenger room car

Now empty-handed and fresh as a flosneon, Storm re-emerged with a hum.

"There. Ready to go!"

Edited by Riolugirl on May 7th 2025 at 11:31:43 AM

"Hark! For your greatest fears manifest in yours truly!" (She/Her) (Current focus: Image Pickin')
FirockFinion THE SLORG! from The Red Desert Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
THE SLORG!
#620: May 7th 2025 at 8:48:06 PM

The diner car, with most of the active player characters.

NPCs: Molly the skull-faced anthropomorphic wolf and bartender, a couple of Kobold mail deliverers, and Idalia the anthropomorphic Glaceon.

As always, Molly's expression couldn't be read since she had a skull for a face, but Yukino's comparison to her did make the bartender's ears droop a little and her tail stop wagging. Then Molly turned her head towards Sinaar. "But, there are worlds where there's magic that has no true explanation, like I said," Molly said, sounding a bit confused, and just a little concerned. "Even the train itself has magic like that. It's how it transforms. Plus there's that snack cart lady..."

"Molly, remember she's new here, I think," Idalia mentioned in a polite tone. "She's still adjusting."

"Oh, right," Molly muttered in an apologetic tone, then glanced over as the boarding doors closed, and the train began to roll forward, slowly accelerating. "Ah, looks like we're underway," the bartender mentioned the obvious. She then looked towards the back end of the train car as the rear door to the next car opened, and her ears perked up as she saw who came through.

First was a humanoid reptilian figure, no more than three feet tall. They were wearing the dark purple uniform of a train employee, along with a matching purple cap with a symbol of an envelope on it. They also had a leather bag slung over one shoulder and resting down on the opposite hip. Their scales were technically a silver color, but had a chromatic shimmer to them that made the figure appear to be covered in a rainbow of color that shifted as they moved.

Second was another humanoid reptilian figure, very similar to the first except for standing at only about two feet tall, and the shimmer on their silver scales only being a sort of dark gold color.

"Ah, coalesce!note  Molly said in an excited tone. Idalia however didn't look over, but she suddenly stood up a little straighter and her eyes widened a little, looking perhaps a little nervous.

The larger Kobold raised a hand in greeting and put on a wide grin. "Heya Molly! Mail time!" they said with a squeaky yet seemingly masculine voice, in a very jovial tone. He took a couple steps in with the smaller Kobold following by hopping on the floor as if playing hopscotch. The larger Kobold then paused for a moment and turned his head towards the skeletal figure of Nameless. "Oh, huh," the Kobold commented in a mildly surprised tone, then turned his attention back towards the others in the diner car and approached the occupied table.

"Let's see, a few for Idalia Farber again," the Kobold started, drawing two paper envelopes and holding them out towards the anthropomorphic Glaceon.

"Oh, I wouldn't have guessed," Idalia muttered in a sarcastic yet polite tone, finally looking at the Kobold briefly as she took the letters.

"Even more great grandchildren?" Molly asked in a teasing tone.

"I-I said we don't-" Idalia started to exclaim in an embarrassed tone, then stopped herself and coughed into her clenched fist. "... But yes, probably," she weakly admitted, then looked at the letters and immediately sighed, lowering her head slightly. "Oh no, that's Idalia's handwriting," the Glaceon muttered to herself as she shook her head. "It's probably her and Cathleen, again. It's okay, they're really in love, they're happy, it's fine."

As Idalia continued her little mantra to herself, and Molly did an amused snicker, the Kobold turned his attention to those sitting at the table. "I think I have something for a couple of you here, let's see," the Kobold said, starting to root around in his bag...


A passenger room car, with Storm, and Eric and co.

NPCs: Aleksandras "Alek" the Elf guide, and a Kobold mail deliverer.

When Storm emerged from their room, it was about the same time the train started moving again, and Alek gave them a nod. "Excellent, let us go on then," he said, and turned towards the door. The Elf started to silently concentrate on the door, but then his eyebrows raised a little and he let out a, "hm?" and took a slight step back.

The door then opened, showing a regular seating car on the other side, as a humanoid reptilian figure only about two feet tall stepped through. They had the usual dark purple train uniform on, along with a matching purple cap with a symbol of an envelope on it. They also had a leather bag slung over one shoulder, resting on their opposite hip. Their scales were silver, but had a lime green shimmer to them.

"Oh, mail time?" Alek asked in a curious tone as the figure stepped through and the door closed behind them.

"Yep! Mail for Storm Hargreaves!" the little Kobold squeaked out with feminine voice and a cheery tone as she made a little salute towards Alek. Then she stepped towards Storm, and started to reach into her bag...

Meanwhile, Alek once again looked towards the door and concentrated for a moment. Then he reached forward and opened the door, and this time when the door on the other car opened to allow them through, it opened to the library car instead. There wasn't anyone in sight there at that moment.

You are reading this.
sci300768 Since: Aug, 2021
#621: May 7th 2025 at 9:39:17 PM

Colette, dining car

More background events are noted and nothing that requires her to act. And then she notices the two humanoid reptilian figures. One is three feet tall (and silver colored scales) and is a Train staff member. Going by the variant of their uniform, some sort of mail delivery service. The two feet tall one (with a dark gold color instead) appears to be in the same group as the three feet tall one, the mail service.

And she is correct, they are indeed the mail service. The taller one has a name for sure and she notes how his name (coalesce is how his name is said) is said by Molly. At the same time, she takes note of any names that are mentioned by mail.

Idalia Farber, a passenger with repeat mail deliveries. Something about great grandchildren. Cathleen must be a lover of some sort for someone. As for who, not a concern.

(Colette knows she's a great granddaughter of some powerful Concept(s?) for sure. Well formerly...)

Turns out, she has mail! Well more like one little letter and a... gift... if you could call it that.

She gets a little letter written by one of her grandmothers (she had several in life, but the war weapon attached to said letter narrows it down a lot).

So she takes the entire war weapon and looks at it. It's 6ish feet long and is some sort of war scythe. She points the scythe end well away from anyone and gently shakes the weapon... and the scythe end suddenly changes shape to be a straight blade instead. Well, this is definitely from her mother's side of the family! The non-pointy end has a little loop to fit her thread and she does her version of a genuine smile.

To everyone else, her smile is rather... wrong, but the general meaning can be guessed from context.

The letter is read and the contents are something about sending her a late gift, AKA the war scythe. Made to fit her needs rather than anyone else. For that particular grandma, this is a genuine gift out of love. The OTHER grandma... we don't talk about her idea of a good gift. The last gift left a trail of destruction that somehow spared herself. And ONLY herself (The gesture was appreciated, but clarification was hastily added for future gestures of affection)!

For now, she changes the blade to be a war scythe again and puts the weapon on her back. It will be stored in her room later. The letter is stuck into a pocket.

AllHailThrall For the Horde! from Somewhere (It’s Ben 10) Relationship Status: Longing for Dulcinea
For the Horde!
#622: May 8th 2025 at 6:02:51 AM

Dining car

Arion raised an eyebrow, taking another long sip of his wine.

"I can't fathom of a world where magic doesn't exist. It would be as if a world without water, or air, or sunlight," said Arion. "That said, we did just leave a metal cave world," he sighed, slumping a little in his seat and eating another fig newton.

He jumped a little as the horn sounded, and he looked around for a moment as Rakan's voice chimed in, saying they were about to leave for a world that was an afterlife. He groaned.

"I would hope that this world we are travelling to is not as Pit-like as the last," he murmured. They had mentioned it was like a regular world for some of its inhabitants, so hopefully there would be moments of good mixed in with the death. Molly clarified the point— a world where the living and the dead shared the same spaces. "People live alongside the dead?" he asked, incredulously.

He glanced back over at Yukino as she began her story. He watched her intently, eyes widening as her story reached its climax.

"Lightning? The spears of Promes changed your friend into a monster?" he asked. "What would she have done for Promes to curse her in such a way?" He was distracted now by Sinaar's spiel and he calmly listened to her.

"The 'scientific explanation' is that it is the will of the gods," Arion said plainly. "When the Twelve Tablets were laid down from on high by Peros, king of the gods, at the dawn of creation, they infused the Realm with divine power. This divine power subsumed into all things. What we call magic is the ability of some gifted men and women to harness this divine power, within themselves, within others, within anything. Now, constellations," he followed, clearing his throat and sitting more straight up. He took another small sip of wine. "Do you know what constellations are, Sinaar? They are patterns placed in the sky by the gods to mark significant events and remember great deeds and awful tragedies. To witness a new constellation being created is a great honor. I saw one created when I was but ten years old, and it was one of the most wondrous and amazing sights I've ever had the pleasure of witnessing," continued Arion.

"The huntress Diamede destroyed a stronghold of the Lords of Chaos, routing their cultists, fouling their rituals and destroying their base of operations. In the process, she lost her own life. As a reward for her bravery and her service to the gods, she was lifted into the sky and placed there as a constellation. I remember it well. I was helping to herd the sheep into the pasture for the night. There was a rumble, the ground shook and I was nearly bowled off of my feet. A pillar of light rose from the High Mountain. Then a voice, deep and powerful from on high, flew in from the wind: 'People of the Realm, heed our words and rejoice. In recognition of great deeds performed on our names, we raise the huntress Diamede into the heavens as the newest constellation. May her arrows guide you on your travels and lead you home.' The voice shot through me. It was unmistakable— it could only be Peros of the sky, the god-king. There was a flash of light in the sky and a wave that travelled across the sky. The stars were especially bright that night, and they lit up with power. Then a new set of stars appeared in the heavens. It was indeed a huntress, a figure of a woman with a bow and arrow. The light from the High Mountain faded, and all was quiet and dark once again. My father took me into his arms, and he told me what an honor I had witnessed." He sat back in his seat.

"I did not fully understand it at the time, but I heard the full story from a missive from the priests the following morning. It changed my life. From then on, I wanted nothing more than to be a knight, to be a hero like Diamede. To one day enter the Hall of Heroes and meet Diamede for myself, to hear the story from my hero from her own lips. But due to the handiwork of this land-ship, that is not to be, it seems. A cruel twist of fate," said Arion. He looked at Sinaar more directly. "So that is what I mean when I say that a constellation was placed into the sky. That is what I mean when I say that magic is real, and that the gods have a fundamental presence in the Realm. I have witnessed their handiwork with my own eyes and ears, and do not presume to say that such things are mere fantasy. They are very much real, and the gods shape all things in the Realm."

His spiel was finally interrupted by the arrival of two lizard-folk, one with a large bag on his shoulder.

"Mail, you say? A letter? Is there any mail for... me?" he asked, sounding a little wistful. He was caught off guard by Colette's gift— a huge scythe! "YE GODS!!" he exclaimed, edging away in his seat. "Someone sent you a weapon?? Is this a threat??"

Edited by AllHailThrall on May 8th 2025 at 1:52:22 PM

I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Riolugirl Just "Rio" is fine! from Planet Sparkles (spaaaarklleeees...) (Experienced, Not Yet Jaded) Relationship Status: It's a god-awful small affair
Just "Rio" is fine!
#623: May 8th 2025 at 10:50:22 AM

Storm - In a passenger room car with Eric et al & Alek

Storm was about to take a step towards the door when a bipedal lizard person popped into the room instead, prompting them to snap their head to follow their movement. A staff member, judging by their uniform, but judging by the envelope insignia on their cap and the leather sack, their job was to transport the ship's post. At about 61cm in height, the tip of their head didn't quite stretch up to Storm's hip, and the little one's silvery scales seemed to turn lime green in the right lighting. And that sweet voice! That was it — Storm brought their hands up to their cheeks, fully won over. There were lizardesque extraterrestrial races in their world, but none so small and cute...

"Ohh, hello!" they cooed with widening eyes as the postie began to rummage through the sack. "What have you got for me?"

It was then they they recalled Alek's comment about letters from earlier, and their heart rate picked up a bit. They never had strong beliefs in any deities, but in that moment, they asked every single one they could think of to smile on them... Moving their hands to retrieve from the Kobold, Storm realised that their letter came with a present, too. It looked like an ordinary square glass to the uninitiated, but Storm recognised this item in a heartbeat. This was an Ayris-Gould Vitrum datapad — a log-keeping device used throughout the Inhabited Planets. Knowing exactly how the gadget worked, they gave it a press-press-press on the top edge, and the square stretched to become a rectangle, lighting up with a stylised "A-G" logo before prompting Storm to choose a language.

They'll do that later. They repeated the action to return the datapad to its storage size, then pocketed it away in their jacket. They opened up the envelope and unfolded the letter...

    Storm's Letter (put in a folder for readability) 
Storm... Ren...

Ever since the both of us could remember, Dad always told us stories about you. Uncle Robin and Auntie Croía pitched in, too. The three of them would go on and on about how smart and creative and friendly you were. And maybe a little bit of a workaholic, too. Well, no one can be perfect. But even though you were only in our lives for a handful of years, your legacy has taught us values of curiosity and openness that we'll carry with us forever.

We’ll be 18 tomorrow. And it won't be long before we start at uni, too. So, we thought we'd fill you in about our near-future plans.

Flora speaking. I mean, I’ve been writing this entire letter up until now. At first, I wasn't sure at all what I wanted to do with my life. But the decision I made in the end can be traced back to my childhood memories — Dad and I would go the the cinema together at least once a month. And I've always thought to myself, "I could be on that screen one day." That's why I'm going to Otythia in January to learn how to be a proper actor. I know, so far away from Noahsland... But I want the best training I can get if I'm gonna make it.

Ember here. I’m going to NIT to do Computer Science, so I can work in tech just like you did. I want to make a real difference to the galaxy and improve the lives of everyone who lives in it. Besides, it’d be an excuse to exercise those leadership skills Dad always goes on about me having. To be honest, I just like knowing what makes people tick and putting that to good use. And who knows? Maybe I'll work on something that'll change the whole universe for the better.

Attached is a little something for your travels. Once you set the passkey, feel free to keep a record on your new datapad of what you get up to in the great beyond. Save as many memories there as you can. Please don't get bogged down by missing us, or Jasper, or the rest of the family, or your friends and colleagues. This is your afterlife experience — make the most of it.

We're both sorry you never got to see us grow up. We hope you'd be proud of the both of us.

All our love,

Ember and Flora Hargreaves-Yun

P.S. Dad sends his love, too. He misses you every day, but he promises to keep on living. He knows you wouldn't have wanted him to give up. And he swears he won't.

Storm's heart sank at the opening line, wondering for a moment if it meant bad news. But their eyes kept scrolling down, down, down still. A difficult task when the vision is bleared by tears.

Storm stood unmoving for a moment, registering what this all meant. Their little girls were all grown-up and facing the challenges of adulthood with dignity and optimism. Their beloved husband had found a way to carry on.

They'd kept their family safe.

"...They survived," they sighed at first, until all restraint flew out of the train's windows and they clutched the letter to their chest as it shuddered with a crescendo of sobs. "They survived! My family, they're all alive!" They then tried to pick the Kobold up with both hands and lift her to their eye level. "Oh, thank you! You have no idea what this..."

"Hark! For your greatest fears manifest in yours truly!" (She/Her) (Current focus: Image Pickin')
sci300768 Since: Aug, 2021
#624: May 8th 2025 at 1:33:18 PM

Colette, dining car

Background noise... and then Arion's reaction to her gift breaks the background noise.

Of course, a mortal would consider her gift a threat. Concepts have weird ideas for gifts by mortal standards!

"Arion, this is a gift not a threat. One of my grandmothers is what you would consider a war goddess in a metaphorical equivalence. She is the one who gave me this weapon, and considers this as a nice gift."

Edited by sci300768 on May 9th 2025 at 12:59:06 PM

Bored_Man Since: Jun, 2015 Relationship Status: Abstaining
#625: May 8th 2025 at 3:55:49 PM

Dining Car

"It was the other girl, though the two of us almost got speared more than a few times. It was not an easy fight to win, especially since she and I hadn't actually fought together before, so we were kind of uncoordinated. But we got the monster to a point where it transformed again, became this big cloud with an angry eye in the center, and went up into the sky to build up a really big lightning strike. By that point, the only thing I could think of that would do the job was...something I hadn't actually tested before, so I had no idea how well it'd work." Yukino said, getting back to her story since she wanted to finish before she got distracted.

"My friend gave me cover while I was charging up, taking a few stray hits of lightning in the process, and just as the cloud was about to drop its payload on us, I..." Yukino said, then mimed cupping her hands together and pushing them outwards as if opening up and firing an attack. "A big beam of energy, the most I could push out at the time. It fried my hands and arms, but it took out the cloud monster in almost one shot. All that was left was the core, which my friend took care of...god, I miss her. Rimi Sayane was her name. That was the last successful fight we'd have together."

With her story finished, Yukino looked around, feeling the train moving and feeling a sigh of relief that they were leaving the previous stop. Taking notice of the small creatures, she blinked a few times in surprise. "...Oh yeah, those two did mention that we get mail..."

As it would turn out, there was a letter for Yukino somewhere in that bag, so once the Kobold found it, they'd be free to present it to her. Once she accepted the letter, Yukino began reading through it...and her jaw started to drop farther and farther the more she read.

"What the fuck...?" Yukino could be heard saying, as if she couldn't process what she just read despite it being right in front of her.

Edited by Bored_Man on May 9th 2025 at 6:26:50 AM

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