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

[pleple]

Her life was pretty much just a war, so it's hard to reminisce without it getting depressing. But there were people just living their lives, who she was meant to ignore... and yet...

"I suppose if we go back to exactly where we were I-" she frowns. "I was not in a safe spot at all."

[happyends]

"At all..?"

That doesn't sound good. The obvious worry on Madoka's face doesn't suit their surroundings at all, but how could she not worry upon hearing that about someone so important to her?

"H-How bad exactly is it..?"

[pleple]

"If you remember those giant weapons - the mobile suits from my nightmare - I was seated in the hand of one, while another was being destroyed not far away." ...worse, she could see it coming; and she was brainwashed into obeying and loving the man who was about to die.

And she might do something very stupid because of that. Only now, she's herself.

"...if I go home with all my memories of this place, I'll do my best to protect myself."

[happyends]

Madoka nods slightly. She remembers all too well. And - for better or worse - it helps her imagine what that situation that Ple Two is now describing must have been like. How dangerous it is.

It isn't a fun thought.

".. I know you will. You're great."

Though it's hard to tell if even Ple Two's greatness will help in a situation that overwhelming.. Madoka goes quiet for a moment, staring at the sand sculpture.

"I wish I could protect you somehow though."

[pleple]

It's a dangerous situation indeed; her life has been. Hopefully she'll go back very aware, if that happens one of these days.

"I'll curl up in a ball. If my arms and legs are hurt, at least I'll be alive to heal." That's not a sure thing, but kids are sturdy - and she's still young. Will she back to being even slightly younger?

"You've... already helped me value myself enough... to make sure of that."

[happyends]

This sure is a depressing talk for two girlfriends to have on the beach, but apparently it's just what's happening now. It says something about the things that Madoka has seen that she only winces slightly at the first thing Ple Two says rather than fully freaking out.. She knows that sometimes the only thing you can do is accept a slightly less bad outcome in order to avoid an even worse outcome.

But what Madoka does do is reach out to take Ple Two's hands into her own.

"I'm.. I'm glad. That you value yourself now." After all, giving Ple Two that understanding is super important. "Because you're really important to me! So I hope you're really important to yourself too.."

[pleple]

Ple Two isn't totally past feeling down the other day; it's easy to slip into downer talk. It's also important to work through her thoughts though, and to be realistic with each other.

Ple Two squeezes back. She doesn't want to let Madoka go in any sense any time soon. "...and you should value yourself... just as much." Or more, because Ple Two is still working on it.

[happyends]

"Hehe.."

There's a soft laugh at that, though it's definitely awkward. Madoka is well aware that she has to work on that a lot too, after all..

"I'm sorry that I'm still not so good at that. I feel kind of silly for it, since you came from a much worse place, yet you're getting better so much more quickly than me, it feels like.." Then again, is that much of a surprise? Ple Two is amazing, of course she's going to make more progress more quickly.

[pleple]

They're both awkward people, still. There's no way to keep that totally at bay, huh?

"It... makes me feel like... you're better at being supportive." Also, Ple Two is more likely to talk up how okay she is without feeling it.

"You're so sweet, while I am... not that, exactly." She managed with a few special people, more or less.

[happyends]

Madoka is quiet for the tiniest moment - as if she has a hard time even accepting something so obvious - but then nods.

"I kind of thing you're right about that.. Um, the supportive part, I mean." Because Ple Two is sweet, okay! Madoka has seen it plenty of times! "I really always want to try and help others feel valued, but.." Her voice trails off, her gaze falling on Ple Two's sand sculpture. "I don't know how to do that for myself.."

[pleple]

It leaves Ple Two thoughtful for a moment. She's not sure what to do for Madoka here - just copying her doesn't seem like it would come across as honest.

"...it's a strength. Being kind and supportive." Even if she can't fight, and make decisions as quickly as Ple Two. Of course she can't. "But I'll keep telling you all that. ...and that you're really cute right now," she adds with a smile.

[happyends]

"Huh?!"

Oh no, Ple Two always strikes her with that last one whenever she least expects it.. Her cheeks grow red, even though she does smile once the initial surprise wanes.

"I.. um, thank you.. I--I think you're always cute too, you know!" She almsot blurts out that last part (as if she hasn't told Ple Two similar things before!) before she finally seems to remember something slightly less flustering. "Ah, actually.. T-That reminds me. I actually talked about something similar with mister Piccolo before.."

Just with a lot less cute-calling. Obviously.

"But.. he said that being kind was actually a weakness."

[pleple]

It's that killer instinct, to strike when Madoka is most vulnerable to being called cute. Of course, her blushing smile just makes her even cuter. Even... when Ple Two blushes at the reply.

Piccolo isn't nearly as cute as, um, either of them.

She mulls that over for a moment. "It does... leave you vulnerable, doesn't it?" Of course she's in a position where she could theoretically take advantage of it. "Many strengths... have such a downside, perhaps"

[happyends]

"Do you think so..?"

In regards to the last part of what Ple Two says, she means. Piccolo has already well and truly lectured her on the downsides of being kind, and since it just bums Madoka out, she doesn't really want to talk about that part.

"But I thought strengths were only supposed to have upsides. Like.. um, for example, if you're smart, then you could know a lot of things! And help out people with your knowledge! That kind of strength doesn't really have a downside, right..?"

[pleple]

Unfortunately, as Ple Two has learned, if everyone thought that way then the world wouldn't be a very pleasant place. ...and her own world is already rough in a lot of ways.

"It can be harder to relate to those with far less knowledge." Kinda just spitballing here, to be fair. "And some strengths take far more time to properly cultivate." Piccolo didn't get swol in a day did he?

...right?

[happyends]

(Honestly, Madoka would kind of believe it if he said he was just born that way.. She can't even imagine Piccolo as a baby! He's so serious!)

"To cultivate, huh.." It's not the kind of word Madoka would use herself, so when she repeats it like this, it almost sounds kind of foreign. But she's giving it some good thought all the same.

"I wonder if kindness is also something you can cultivate then. So it becomes a strength without weakness." Because she doesn't want people to have to worry about her, just because she's too kind in their eyes.

[pleple]

No one will ever see the evidence. Unless the train just straight up lets them all watch Dragon Ball.

Truthfully, being kind takes effort as well - it doesn't come automatically to everyone. Ple Two has had a good reason to make a habit of it, thankfully. "Having the judgment to know when... to withhold it a little. To protect yourself from people who would take advantage. That might be... what you need?"

[happyends]

She seems to take the advice seriously. It helps when it's coming from Ple Two - someone who feels much more at her own level than Piccolo, who just seems like he's scolding her when he's giving her advice since he's so much older, bigger and stronger.

And though Madoka doesn't necessarily think it's all that bad advice, she can immediately see the problem.

"But.. how do I know who would take advantage of it..?"

[pleple]

"That is the problem." How do you figure that out without practice? "...I don't know if you'll be able to see the signs until it's already happened before."

And Ple Two isn't exactly going to be much help with that.

[happyends]

"Maybe there's some obvious signs..?"

After all, Madoka knows that she's not always the best at recognising signs. Even though that by itself may be part of her kindness, always trying to assume the best out of everyone.

"I could ask around and see if anyone knows of any.. T-then I could try my best to pay attention to those. I wouldn't want to get hurt or taken advantage of.. Um, I know you'd be sad if I got hurt, after all."

More like 'ready to break some kneecaps', Madoka.

[pleple]

Social cues aren't Ple Two's forte at all. Which is a real waste of mild psychic powers, actually, isn't it?

"It might be good to talk to someone older about that, other than Piccolo." That said, maybe she can get him on board with breaking kneecaps. "I'll watch out for you too, though."

[happyends]

She nods. "Right.. I'll see if there's some good time to ask someone."

Maybe her dad? He's pretty smart. And he did business back home too, right? You'd have to learn how to read people when doing that sort of thing for work..

".. But of course I appreciate your help too. Always."