Event: Healing Waters

[voidtreckermods]

"Good morning passengers, it is day twenty three of the month of Grasshopper. All passengers of the Voidtrecker Express require rest. Next stop Jema’grethy Island. All passengers prepare to disembark."

It is a very strange morning message that rings through the train on the morning of day twenty three but as the passengers of the Voidtrecker Express wake their screens glow with the colour of the void and a holographic screen pops up for them to read.

World #2554098133741: A world once inhabited by an ancient civilisation and now preserved as a historical site, nature reserve and well-being retreat. It is famous for its relaxing hot springs, calming atmosphere and beautiful beaches.

It is a popular void-traveller destination, particularly among void missionaries as a place to rest and recuperate after difficult missions.

The Voidtrecker Express will spend three days here, arriving today and leaving on day twenty six of the month of Grasshopper. The dressing carriage is open for your convenience.

It is time for a holiday it seems!

Preparation

For those who go to explore the dressing carriage they will find a variety of beachwear and wetsuits. One cupboard has a pile of tents and groundsheets in all four team colours.

One cabinet is exclusively filled with beach towels, in a kaleidoscope of colours, designs and patterns. Another is filled with different shapes and sizes of plain towel dressing gowns. There is even a cabinet with buckets, spades and small rock-pooling nets.

It seems they are in for quite an adventure.

Arrival

"Shortly arriving on World #2554098133741. Exit from void in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one."

The train lurches and rattles as it leaves the void they will get a glimpse of silver-purple sky and a beautiful ocean below.

However some passengers might be a little more than distracted, one staring at that table for a second too long, another seeming lost in thought for a couple of seconds, a longer than normal pause in a sentence. They see a vision, a glimpse of a life that is not their own. Not all at once, but here and there as the train descends to the island.

But then it is gone and things are back to normal. Just in time, as they come to land.

Jema’grethy Island

The train has landed on a grassy ridge, overlooking a beautiful beach of white sand and the ocean beyond. It is warm, but not too hot, a cool ocean breeze cutting through the heat making it pleasant. Behind them is a grassy plain, changing to forest in the distance. There is the sound of birdsong in the purple sky. To the west the land is more craggy, the silhouette of a fortress in the distance. In a word, it is idylic. A sense of peace permeates the island.

A little more worrying is the volcano-like structure in the north. But even a quick glance will show it is not a typical volcano. There is no smoke and the liquid slowly running down it in rivulets is pink and blue.

Exploring the passengers will find beautiful beaches, ragged cliffs to walk and caves to explore. Where it is more craggy the beaches are made of pebbles- perfect for rock pooling.

The place has no people, but it is clearly maintained. The eastern beaches have racks of shallow boats, both canoes and one- or two-person sailing dinghies. There is also a small building in which scuba gear is stored, along with several waterproofed manuals and instructional literature.

Ruins of ancient houses are scattered across the island, but the main settlement is built into a rocky section in the north-west that has been secured with ropes and stairways cut into the cliffs, perfect for scrambles and hikes.

There are no living quarters, but there are sheltered sections with basic toilet facilities marked as camping grounds in five different sections of the island - by the hot springs, within the ruined fortress, beside the harbour, on the eastern beaches, and on the northern face of the mountain.

Hot Springs

To the west are the hot springs. They have both outdoor and indoor areas; the indoor areas being wooden loghouse saunas, changing rooms and storage sheds, whilst the outdoor areas are a tiered series of pools spilling down the side of the mountain and shaded by brightly flowering trees. The waters are hot, mineral-rich and soothing.

Perfect for overly stressed, world weary Void heroes...

(OOC: More setting information is here, please feel free to go wild with the setting and have a fun and relaxing time. You can use this post as a catch all for your holiday or make your own posts on middleofsomewhere. More information about how the memory event is structured is here!)

Comments

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin's head turned, and he did see her fidgeting with the towel.

"Hello, Minako! How do you like this place?" He smiles. "I was joking about swimming nude when we were all in the dressing car. I was tempted, but I stuck a bathing suit in my rucksack at the last minute. But it looks like you had the same thought as I did." Another smile.

[loveandduty]

"It's nice, but I should not in a hot spring in Japan it's normal to not wear anything when you use one." So that pretty much explains why she only currently has a towel and didn't bring her swimsuit, though she had her compact nearby so she could just quickly change into one.

[so_dark_a_road]

"I don't know much about Japan, I'm afraid. Do people bathe nude in the hot springs in mixed groups, male and female?" (And any other gender variations there might be.) "If so, your culture is less prudish than mine!"

He smiles to think of Elves piling into the water, all of them stark naked, and not making a fuss about it. Not likely!

[loveandduty]

"No, they are separate usually. This hot spring seems to be weirdly different in that aspect." Which she didn't really think about until now as she sits on the edge with the towel wrapped around her for the moment.

"Though for us having it mixed is probably not good for some people especially younger ones."

[so_dark_a_road]

"Ah, I see." Curufin is still in the water, basking in the pleasant warmth. He tilts his head up so that he can see her face.

"So, your people worry about the effect that nudity might have on people, especially young ones, if there were males and females together. But. . . they don't worry about the effect on those who prefer the same sex as romantic partners?"

[loveandduty]

"Nope, though to be fair, they might not have thought about that either, so I don't know." Not that she had ever really thought about that before.

"I know I don't think about it much either. here though it's obvious different considering we're mingling when we're the opposite so the rules aren't the same here."

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin, being bisexual, thought about it all the time, sometimes making jokes and sometimes considering it seriously.

"Hmm, yes. Different places, different rules. I suppose we have different rules on the train, too."

[loveandduty]

"Do we have rules on the train?" She never really thought to check, she just assumed a few things and then just went with it. But as she sat there she felt a little bit more comfortable to at least get back in and remove the towel.

"I mean I'm sure there are some because it would be odd otherwise. If we don't have rules then that makes me wonder how come and if maybe worlds are so different."

[so_dark_a_road]

"Not rules that are set by the train itself, more like customs that we passengers follow automatically, because we bring our cultures' expectations with us. Also, we make intuitive decisions all the time, based on what we think the other passengers will find acceptable or comfortable."

Curufin smiles a little when Minako slides back into the water and leaves the towel behind. He doesn't stare, though. That would be impolite.

[loveandduty]

"I thought so, I assumed at one point that was part of what the council did." She didn't really know a whole lot about what they did. She knew at one point she had been nominated for a reason and decided that she would just do things regardless.

Leaning further back, she tilted her head back and looked up. "But it's good to know at least people are polite on the train since we've never had any bad incidents of being purposely trying to be perverted or something."

[so_dark_a_road]

"There has been some discussion about making rules or having the Council do it on behalf of all the passengers, but in fact, no list of rules has ever been voted on."

He set his elbows on the edge of the pool and leaned back as well. "No bad incidents of that sort, no perverts on this train, I guess."

[loveandduty]

"Makes sense, though I feel like if rules are set it should be discussed as a whole rather than a select group like the council, mostly because rules are vastly different and at least by talking as a whole we'll get an idea of the rules that might be similar and work with that." She didn't know how many different worlds there was, so it just seemed like a smart idea even though Minako herself doesn't act as smart as she is very much capable of due to her role back home as leader.

"No perverts, or they are just really good at hiding it. Though I can at least say your not right now at least."

[so_dark_a_road]

"I completely agree with you, Minako! I think that if there is a discussion of rules, it should be amongst all the passengers, not just the Council or some group with delegated authority. We are all from different worlds, and it's likely that we have different ideas as well as similar ones. We'd probably have to negotiate in order to come to an agreement." Curufin already thinks Minako is smart, even though she doesn't advertise it much. But when she steps up to initiate an event or a conversation on the network, she acts like someone who has had the leader's role before.

He smiles. "An effective pervert must know how to hide it. That's what it says in The Rule Book." Creating an imaginary train pamphlet for the sake of humor! "Do you mean I'm not a pervert right now? Or that I'm not hiding it right now?" Chuckle.

[loveandduty]

"Though I assume if and when that ever happens, we'll know. But I get the feeling there would be certain rules that everyone would agree on rather quickly."

Not that she would know which ones it was exactly, but she figured there would be something.

"You mean the Perfects Rule Book?" She figured she would do humor herself. "I mean if you were a pervert you would be try something right now. Instead your focused on my face and not trying anything."

[so_dark_a_road]

"We'll know, if we ever participate in such a discussion. Or if we initiate it. Yes, I'm sure there would be rules we'd all agree on, and it wouldn't take much time to do so. The part that worries me is when we get down to discussing the consequences of breaking the rules. There are things I will never agree to."

He smiled, recognizing that she was being funny too. "Sure, why not call it the Perfects Rule Book? But you're right, I'm focusing on your face and on not staring at you. If I were a real perv, I'd make a pass at you right now. But that's not me, really. I don't make passes at anyone unless they are obviously, definitely expecting me to. And not always then."

[loveandduty]

She nods slightly. That part is more understandable because people would have very different thoughts when it comes to punishment. In Minako's mind what they had at home was okay... Though it was not something they could actually do here after all,, so she figured there would need to be ideas.

"So that you can surprise them when you finally do, right? You have a lot of confidence. I sometimes wished I had confidence back home."

[so_dark_a_road]

Curufin doesn't believe in punishment at all. He thinks it merely gives the wrongdoer reason to do wrong again as soon as possible. He believes in reclaiming the person for better things, and that can only be done with understanding and compassion.

He smiles. "The element of surprise is part of a lover's repertoire. And you're right, I do have confidence. But you don't think that you do? Was there a situation back home that made you think you didn't?"

[loveandduty]

"No situation. I was just a very shy young thing, so admitting to boys that I liked them was very not possible." Which is weird coming from her mouth considering what she is like on the train itself. But hey, it was also based on the fact she never did tell any boy she liked them.. except one... but she isn't going there.

[so_dark_a_road]

"I can understand that, though I myself was never exactly shy. At least not in the department of romantic interests. Did something change for you as you grew up?" He's curious about that difference between young Minako and Minako on the train.

[loveandduty]

"I guess my priorities changed more than anything. That was what changed from when I was younger." Which considering she seemed more focused on others' love lives than her own might make it seem like a truthful answer and it was true to an extent, what was more important to her did change.

Want to wrap this one?

[so_dark_a_road]

"I see. I guess our priorities really do determine our confidence level. That seems to be true for both you and me, and for others, as far as I can tell."

He was enjoying this conversation in the warm, pleasant water, discussing topics of interest to both of them. Soon it would be time to get out and explore other parts of this environment, but these moments were satisfying.

Sure.

[loveandduty]

"Plus I guess whatever happens in our lives change us. Always growing and changing if one lets it I suppose."

She was enjoying the conversation in its own way. She wasn't putting up her usual demeanor 100%. It was there still, but not as in your face. But she also knew that she had been in here for quite a while, so moving to get up she was quick to grab her towel and wrap it around herself. She sort of hoped he hadn't seen anything, but if he did, she wouldn't complain that much either.

"I best head off before I start getting all wrinkly and old looking. Catch you later, okay?" With a slight wave, she started to head off to get changed.