The Endless River

[voidtreckermods]

On the morning of day twenty one of the month of Kazoo there is a message on the ICP screens around the train. Their SCA's will light up the colour of the Void and show the following information.

World #398050 is a void nexus known locally as Tshering. As a void nexus this world has strong links with the void and the connection through worlds. World #398050 is home to the Endless River. Legends speak of this river being powerful enough to send thoughts from one heart to another across any distance. All that is needed is for you to know who it is you wish to reach.

On-board

The dressing carriage is open, filled with clothing best suited to a pleasant spring day. Light, airy and in a rainbow of joyful colours and florals. One closet is entirely filled with wide-brimmed hats bedecked with ribbons, feathers and ornaments. A stack of picnic baskets and containers filled with an alarming variety of passenger-suitable foodstuffs and flasked drinks sits in one corner, next to rolls of thick, weatherproof blankets in the four team colours.

The large box marked Do Not Use Yet, filled with small, empty jute bags, is hopefully still sat in the Luggage carriage, ready for passengers to grab handfuls of its contents as directed by the announcement.

Upon landing (after an appropriate countdown), the train remains on the surface, its carriages partially curved to form a gathering site for the day. Welcome to Tshering, the eighth void nexus!



A Day for Picnics

Tshering, system #398050, is a strange place, only habitable by grace of the passengers' SCAs. The sky is shot through with colours, a cascade of sunsets, and through it, the void shimmering through it in seams like a child's painting of the milky way. Still, there's a beauty to the chaotic mash of colours that soaks through its landscape, and in the shelter of the forests of towering funghi that dot its surface, the Void can go unseen by its visitors.

The temperature seems mild, suitable for the provided clothing, and if there are weather patterns around the world they've taken the day off. The funghi are sturdy enough that what air flow there is doesn't disturb their stalks, and carved grooves and holds in some of the larger examples indicate that climbing them to sit atop their glowing crowns is eminently possible, and, in fact, encouraged.

the Endless River

The Endless River is a font of pure chaos, flowing from a multitude of small rivulets across the area to a central reservoir, from which it pours directly upwards, away from Tshering's surface and out of sight, beyond the world's atmosphere.

Anything bagged and placed within the Endless River will also flow upwards and soon be out of sight, passing, presumably, into the Void. Scattered across the surface of Tshering are small, glittering pebbles, as described in the announcement.

The stones are pleasantly cool to the touch, and all passengers need to do is feel. Messages can be in any form that the Voidtreckers wish. Perhaps words, perhaps feelings, perhaps an image from their mind into the stone. Perhaps a mixture. Once they begin their message the stone will glow slightly and continue to glow as they secure it in the bag and cast it into the river. They will feel, almost instinctively, that they need to focus as they do so, thinking of the person they wish to reach all the while.

There are plenty of bags and many more stones; passengers will not be limited in their sendings.

Comments

[yondu]

Not that he knew a whole lot about Steve, but he hadn't ever had that kind of friend. Stakar came the closest, and he'd spoiled that. But Soldat and this other fella had their own kinda special thing.

"Hope he made it."

And that Soldat's apology means something. Even if Yondu can't quite apologize for his own sins; not that he wouldn't, if he saw them face to face again. But he can't just throw himself in their path.

"I think he'd know you ain't had no choice in how you was actin'. Not sayin' not to do it. But you cain't keep apologizin' for what they made you into. Maybe ever' once in a while just say, 'you wouldn't have if it were up to you'. Give yourself that."

There's only one marginally healthy thing Yondu has about him, and that's that he can recognize that what the Kree did to him wasn't his fault. What followed after was (and oh does he know that) but before he was freed he had no choice. Because he'd been told what Kyubey did recently, after hearing the stories of unwilling sacrifice from goddamn babes, it's worth saying to Soldat.

[worthallthis]

"Maybe." Soldat's had people telling them it wasn't their fault for a year and a half now. They understand, on one level, intellectually, that they had no choice. They're a weapon, not a person, and weapons fire where they're aimed. That doesn't change their feelings much, though, and the memory of hitting Steve in the face so many times still hurts. The memories of a lot of their missions still hurt. "I still think he might need to hear it. Even if just to know I'm still out here somewhere and remember who I was, now."

Hell. Maybe the Steve here might need to hear it. They haven't really talked about the helicarrier much-- or much, period. It's uncomfortable.

[yondu]

That's not the correct thing to know. Unfortunately, that is also the thing that Yondu knows about himself even if he's in control of where that weapon is fired, so he's not entirely helpful.

"Then it'd be best. If you you think it'd help 'im out."

Sometimes apologizing was more about that than feeling guilty yourself.

[worthallthis]

There's other people to work on that particular problem, don't worry, Yondu.

Soldat is quiet a moment, then half their mouth twists up in a dry grin. "You did give me an idea for a third, though. My last handler-- real one, not one from Beacon. I bet I could manage to work up some good scorn for that asshole."

[yondu]

"Well they sure as shit didn't tell us we needed to be nice about what we went an' said!"

He chuckles a little at that, 'cause that handler deserves a mindful. Like thirty big ol' rocks of hate chucked right into his head. If not in real life, then burnin' words from that river.

[worthallthis]

He really, really does deserve a mindful. Soldat is warming a little to the idea, now. "I'm gonna have to think about just what to say. Hell, even just telling him I've got no handlers now would piss him off so bad." And maybe be a little thrilling. They don't know that they could be so bold, if they actually saw Alexander Pierce again, but they can imagine doing it.

[yondu]

"Tell 'im ya ain't got no handlers an' now you got buddies that can find folks behind brick walls an' still hit 'em."

Not really. But he wants to remind Soldat they do have friends and back-up. They can say their piece. Sure, sometimes they're violent friends. Gotta get some benefit outa havin' this blue bastard all latched onto 'im, and all the other folks.

[worthallthis]

It's hard to think about Pierce too much in general; harder to think about him when this blue bastard is being fucking adorable right there, Soldat discovers. They reach over to give Yondu's shoulder a gentle, fond sort of punch. "I've got the best buddies."