middleofsomewhere | Event: 12 of Beetroot

Event: 12 of Beetroot

It's been a couple of weeks since they had evacuated Osiga. In that time, many of voidtreckers were busy with a project to try and solve some of the many mysteries that surround the train they travel on. By the eight day of Rabbit they've exhausted all avenues, and whilst they have learned quite a bit, there are still some clear gaps.

Just as that investigation comes to a natural end, passengers are woken up by an announcement.

"Attention voidtreckers and passengers of the voidtrecker express. We are travelling to system #2554098133741. I have sent word to the ministry who have arranged recuperation packs for you. You have had a difficult mission and you deserve a rest.

But it is not just for rest. Last time we visited the system voidtreckers shared memories. Though it is understood that many of you did not enjoy the experience it is notable that certain voidtreckers saw memories of this voidcraft. They were memories that this craft had not accessed. It led to more pathways opening up in the operation of this craft.

I have done some research on the system and I believe we can trigger the caves of memory. This voidcraft understands this might be difficult for the voidtreckers and passengers of the voidtrecker express and it is hoped that only those of you who consent to this experiment will take part.

Regardless this should be a time for relaxation also and the dressing room is open for your convenience. We will arrive in the morning.

The dressing carriage is indeed opened for those who go and look. It's filled with swimming costumes, beach ware, summery clothes and sun hats. There's even a cupboard of buckets, spades, rock pooling gear and picnic blankets.

There are also team coloured tents for those who want to go and sleep under the stars for a night or two, though the train is remaining on the island for those for who camping is their idea of hell.

12 OF BEETROOT

RABBIT 9-12 ~ MEMORY CAVES: BONDING ~ MEMORY MAZE: SEARCH FOR THE TRAIN'S MEMORIES
ASK QUESTIONS ~ LOCATION INFORMATION ~ MEMORY CAVES ~ MEMORY MASTER POST

JEMA'GRETHY ISLAND: RELAXATION

The next day the train announces their arrival and they burst out of the void. For those near a window their first view of the island will be of crystal blue sea and white sand. It really does look like a paradise. The train circles down before landing 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 idyllic. A sense of peace permeates the island.

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.

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.

The recuperation packs are found at the closest toilet facilities to where the train lands. They are simple things, small gift baskets with a couple of fragrant soaps, fancier hair products and skin cream infused with herbs to encourage rest and sleep.

There are some sweet fruit biscuits and a cheesy bread. The packs aren't named but there are some suitable for the younger passengers with tiny plush and colouring books. Quite a few designed for teens with a more engaging activity book and components for making a fancy mocktail with a cute stirrer. Adult packs have a small bottle of alcohol- there's a mixture between the packs and what looks like a stone. When placed next to the skin it will either warm up or cool down depending on what is needed.

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.

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.

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.

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.

MEMORY CAVES: BONDING

Shortly before arriving they will receive some information on their SCA. It will explain how those who once lived on this island went about making life bonds. Both people would bathe in the hot springs and then dress simply, barefoot and walk to one of seven rocks on the island. Their maps will pin point these, which is good because there's no real indication of what makes these rocks different to any other on the island.

Here they must offer their wish to know the other deeper and share food and drink. They can then go about their day. Sometime in the hours after they will receive their first memory, seen through their partners eyes.

However it seems that in envoking the ritual they have woken something on the island. Even those who did not take part or chose to bond to someone find themselves seeing a glimpse of another life.

On the second day they see another memory, through the eyes of their pair. When they come out of it they find themselves in a cave with their partner, chosen or not. The same happens on the third day, except for this final memory both pairs see both memories, watching from the sidelines as it plays out. They find themselves in the cave once more and this time, for many there is only one exit, to leave through together.

Please go here to play out the bonding process!

MEMORY MAZE: TRAIN'S MEMORIES

On the third day the train sends another message to their SCA.

"Activating the caves that share memories has been successful. I know this is a lot to ask of the voidtreckers, but any who wish to assist in discovering what it is that I have forgotten, the path is open now.

Those who wish to may go to the sacred rocks. Please be warned, I do not know how voidtreckers will fare. Please only go of your own free will."

Their SCA's once again show the rocks on their maps and when they get there, this time they are faintly glowing. It doesn't take much. One touch and their minds are drawn away from their bodies, into a labyrinth of caves. For anyone who comes across these people on the island, they look like they are in a deep trance, breathing, safe but far away in their mind.

The labyrinth is made of cool, dark rock. The walls have a glow coming from crystals in-bedded in them, allowing everyone to see as they move through.

At first there's no more to this labyrinth, or so it seems. But then they turn a corner, and they are no longer in cavern as it just was. They may be in their childhood bedroom, or in the middle of a battle they once fought. Perhaps they are not in their own memory, but someone else's. Scenes move rapidly and often merge, one persons into another, mixing to make strange scenes.

These visions don't attempt to ensnare them like some illusions, and those with protection from illusions and such techniques, will be able to find their way forward through the cave, and away from this triggered scenario.

Time barely has meaning. Indeed, when they finally emerge from the caves only a few minutes will have passed. But in that time they will have seen much, and eventually they may stumble across a fragment of memory that belongs not to a voidtrecker, but to the Voidtrecker Express itself.

OOC NOTES

OOC Post ~ Questions
~ You can either write memories in your tags or if they are longer/require a lot of content warnings you might want to write them in this post and link to them. Just start a top level with your character name to keep things organised!

~ For those taking part in the memory share bonding the cave post is here. Characters arrive in the cave after the second and third memory but it is obviously up to you if you play out the conversations after each or both! For those who do decide that their characters will bond- the cave after the third memory will only have one exit for them to leave together.

~ For those who signed up for train memories you will receive the snippet that your character sees- use these in tags as you will. There will be a conclusion post on the 24th which will put all of those memories together!

Art Credits: Header: Tropical Jewel by Steven Power, Thumbnail image 3.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Koooouryuu," Koumyou chides softly, like the man before him is still a runty little thirteen year old temple brat who doesn't believe in wearing pants. "If you're injured, we have ways to fix that here, you know?"

If it's unhappy about salt, it's probably not 'just' bruises and fractures and bullet-grazes and mild burns like Koumyou has periodically just ignored until they improved, in his time on the train. (Before Devero, anyway, who is very diligent about keeping on him on such matters.)

"Here," Koumyou digs a small vial of liquid from the ARMs band next and holds it out, "a minor healing potion. If it was something really super deadly serious," ie, if something really serious ever happens, "the Seiten has healing properties, too, but it's really a 'break in case of emergencies' sort of thing. Sutras don't really do subtle very well, even through one of us; it's a little like picking up an entire continent and trying to use the very tippy-tip of a little corner of rock jutting off of the edge to tap in a delicate little nail on a soft piece of wood."

It's. A lot. It's a lot to experience, no matter how carefully applied. The Seiten white's Koumyou's brain out for a little while when he has to heal himself with it, and it's working through him! Others don't fare any better.

People just, are nothing at all to such unfathomably vast cosmic forces.

"But, potions work for most of the rest!"

And there's healers on the train, but Koumyou's not quite enough of a hypocrite to tell him to go to one when he himself always avoids doing so. Almost every scar on his taut skin stretched over sharp bones and unhealthily-defined, wiry muscle... was there before his death. His first death, even.

Edited 2022-05-30 06:01 (UTC)

Koumyou's tone manages to to insight the instinctual reaction of a scolded child in Genjo. His body tensing once more as he stood up straight, his eyes still keeping from directly meeting his masters.

"Mn," Potions huh? Was this some sort of strange futuristic otherworldly concoction? The way Koumyou is wording it makes it almost sounds like how Hakkai's chi transfusions worked, but in a fun little bottled form. Well, it should do the trick in helping expedite the healing process at least. With how his wounds were he doubted just one would fully heal him though. "Does it have any side effects?"

Genjo, being ever the paranoid realist, wanted to make sure he wasn't going to end up blitzed out of his mind or something before he just decided to gulp the thing down.

"Only that it's going to make you put on some shorts and get in the water with me," Koumyou teases, wiggling the vial.

A beat, and he remembers to add, "And put on sunblock!"

Edited 2022-06-01 00:32 (UTC)

"... Hmnp," Koumyou only continued to get a slight mumble and deadpan stare in response to the enthusiasm. Not that it was a negative response in any way. No, more or less, it was Genjo Sanzo's best attempt at showing resignation on the matter that, in the end, nothing was stopping his master from ending up getting what he wanted.

He sighed.

Looking down at the bottle for a split moment before shrugging, flipping off the cap, and chugging down the thing in one go as if it were a shot. The strange warming sensation it gave as it went down was odd but not that different from the feeling of alcohols effects. Or perhaps it was more akin to what a particular healer's hands like felt whenever they hovered over his skin.

Whatever it was doing, it numbed the sting of the water quite quickly as he looked back up at his master.

Damn. What a strange old man.

He missed him.

And so Genjo Sanzo pushed himself to a complete stand as he buried his hands into his sweater pockets before turning away.

"Fine, guess I'll get some sunblock on."

And perhaps, if Koumyou was fast enough to catch it, a slight tug could be seen forming at the corner of the younger monk's lips as he said this.

Koumyou has always been keenly observant, especially of his boy. That hint of a smile absolutely floods him with relief.

He pulls a pair of swim shorts from his ARMs band and chucks them at Genjo's head. "Here! Borrow these!"

They are purple, and covered in adorable green train engines. Can steam engines be chibi-ified? It seems that they can. And Koumyou might have been thinking of his son when he'd bought them way back before Genjo had ever set foot on a platform.

"The ones Choochoo-chan gives us don't have pockets. At least, mine didn't."

Pockets are very useful for keeping scroll-form sutras with a person in the water. Although with Koumyou here, if the Maten got loose from Genjo and started sinking, he'd just tentacle it back up again before it could get far.

"Mn!" Well! That most certainly startled him. But out of pure reflex, Genjo had managed to turn and catch the swim trunks his master had tossed him. His eyes widened in shock as he paused and looked at Koumyou for a moment, only to finally look down at the clothing in his own hands.

How tacky. Almost as tasteless as what Genjo's own master was wearing.

"Tch'," he scoffed, clenched his hand a little tighter around it, and went off towards the main beach area. "I'll be back in five minutes."

This entire situation was so stupid.

Of course, he was still going along with it. But that didn't stop it from being stupid.

Sure enough, he slowly shuffled his way back through the sand only five minutes later under the hot summer sun. The purple train-themed bathing suit seems a light-hearted contrast to the years worth of scars, marks, and knicks that littered his torso. The most glaring being the rather obnoxious yet mending burn marks that took up most of the right side of his torso, including most of his arm. He is doing his best to at least cover some of it by having a beach towel draped casually over his shoulders.

"All right. Let's get this over with."

Koumyou can't say much about the state of Genjo's skin; he's referred to himself more than once as a skeleton that went through a wood chipper. They both have that Sanzo priest build of all wiry muscle and no padding, not even healthy padding, and scars as far as the eye can see.

The older priest's come from his much harsher temple brat background, his insane training at Taisouji, and guarding two sutras for over two decades. Genjo's, of course, from the even more hellish state of the world in his time, his travels through it, and before -- from his years as a feral brat in grieving and murdering in the mountains by himself.

So Koumyou just nods, like this is just confirmation, although he does eye what he can see of that burn now that his son is showing a lot more skin.

"Here," Koumyou pulls another vial out of his ARMs band, "so the salt doesn't get into any of that."

Silly frolicking and forcing his son to tag along will wait a moment, first; papa fussing.

Edited 2022-06-28 11:01 (UTC)

Never mind.

Genjo still wasn't used to this. Moreover, he wasn't used to feeling the strange outcrop of care and tender love that his master seemed to resonate as he doted upon him. Perhaps he was all too used to his life before, but this much care still felt foreign and strange.

Maybe he still needs more time to adjust.

Nonetheless, he approaches his father, trying to learn how to accept such outward forms of care as he reaches to take the bottle and quickly pops the cap off.

"How many of these did you squirrel away?" Genjo couldn't help but ask with morbid curiosity. Considering how readily available they were, he was secretly worried that Koumyou was just as physically careless as he was. "Hate to think I'm taking something important when we could use it when we need it."

"There's more than we could ever use, on the train, in various people's ARMs bands, with more probably being brewed up by half a dozen people even now."

The ready availability of potions has had no impact on Koumyou's recklessness, of course.

"And Dev keeps stuffing more of them in here. Pretty sure if I get hurt badly enough he's planning to just marinade me in them. Or waterboard me with them. Both?"

Koumyou huffs a little sigh at that, his doting fiance is a bit much sometimes.

"Honestly, the lack of danger in most instances makes this all feel a lot less real to me, you know? If something doesn't kill you, someone will fix you immediately with these or with magical abilities and it's just... weird. Like living in a cottonball.

"I honestly don't even take them unless Devero insists. I'm just insisting for you because of all the salt."

Rather than funnelling enough of the fucking things down his son's throat to make the whole wound probably fuck off. If Genjo didn't puke them back up first.

"I really don't like them for most things."

"I can imagine," In the end, there were many aspects that Koumyou and Genjo had in common. Unrelenting stubbornness regarding their self-reliance was one of those things.

Tiling his head, Genjo chugged back the second one. His pain was of no benefit to anyone after all. Who knows what the next world may bring them? Genjo wanted to do his best to prepare with what was accessible to him—allowing the warmth to spread and for the scabs to mend and the tender skin to ease—finally taking a few steps forward to start wetting his feet within the ocean's waves.

It was cold.

"You've said you've been here before, right?"

Koumyou, of course, trots right back into the water like he doesn't even notice the temperature. Funny, since he complains of the cold at every opportunity.

"The train and some of the passenger have, I haven't. The previous trip to this place was before my platform."

"I see," Okay. maybe he can just... Ease himself into this? He had dealt with similar things before. He grew up beside the largest river in China after all. But for some reason just jumping into the waves straight on felt like an endeavor.

Perhaps he was still subconsciously bracing himself for the sting of the salt should it happen? He could feel the wounds mending nicely but still...

"I see. So this is the first time seeing the ocean too then."

Or at least Genjo assumed.

Hey look! He made it up to his knees!

"I think so? Certainly the closest one to what Earth's must be like. We had a mission on one world that was all islands, but they were in the air. And another entire world was like breathable water that you could swim-fly through if you could keep the momentum up. That one's where I got the tasty fish! Like..."

Ahead of Genjo in the water, Koumyou's up to his bony ribs. He reaches into his ARMs band and pulls out a fish scale the size of his own torso, and holds it out of the water for his son to see, peeking at him from around it.

Gotta get deeper in the water if you want a closer look, buddy.

"This is a scale from one of them, they were huge! Apparently these are pretty good armor material, so I was really careful when I cut up the bodies and kept everything."

Because with infinite storage in a bracelet, why the fuck not?

What the hell, man!? How the fuck did you pull something that big out of that tiny little band!?!

The startled look on Genjos face was apparent as Koumyou brought the scale out. His arm reflexively lifted as he watched it float along the water within his master's arms.

"Uh-huh," Okay. Calming down a little now. Genjo's expression seemed to drop as quickly as it lit up as he slowly made his way closer to examine the strange item. "And how did you manage to take down something so huge as to utilize so much of it?"

A pause before Genjo quickly looked directly at Koumyou with a little bit of scrutiny.

"You didn't use the sutra on it, did you?"

"I was a good little Sanzo back on our world and only used the sutra when there was no other option," Koumyou tells him with a smile.

...Which is exactly when a single tendril of Seiten slips silently up from the water behind Genjo, rears up like a snake, and taps him on the shoulder.

"I've gotten a lot more relaxed about that over the time since my death."

"Nnghh!!" Okay. Yeah. That's actually got Genjo to jump a little. Flinging his arms up reflexively as to swat away at the piece of sutra.

Man, he missed his paper fan. Not that it would have been much help in the water regardless.

"'Tch. To think you would use such a thing so carelessly," Not that he was one to talk really. There were a plethora of dumb reasons he had used his sutra along his journey.

No where near with as much control though.

"You seem to be able to use it in a lot of ways. Not just for protection or attacking something..."

"I can do a lot with it," Koumyou agrees, letting that sutra tendril fade back out of existence as he tucks the huge scale back into his bracelet, "On that water world with the big fish, I used the tendrils like octopus tentacles to swim through the air. I've also used it to catapult myself and Devero across large distances on missions! And the usual combat stuff, of course."

The older priest pauses, eyes Genjo for a moment, then huffs out a sigh.

"There's a lot I never taught you, huh?"

"Well, obviously," It's kind hard to teach someone much of anything when you left him at the age of twelve Koumyou. Not that Genjo really held it against him. Up until recently he always assumed Koumyou was not expecting the fate that befell him, that he had more time to ready his successor for the future. Hell, even with his new knowledge of the situation Genjo knew that Koumyou wasn't expecting it to happen when he was still so young.

Genjo waded through the water, slowly letting himself sink down to his shoulders so that he could allow his body to float slightly. "Not that I haven't been resilient enough to pick up plenty on my own."

He didn't run into any other Sanzo priests until many years later, but he made do.

Edited 2022-08-06 21:59 (UTC)

"Of course," Koumyou smiles over at his son, drifting a bit further out himself, treading water with ease. "That's part of what I mean when I say 'you made it'. You were always so strong, you know?"

He'd known his kid would make it, one way or another. But it's still something else entirely to see it for himself!

"...I could teach you here on the train, if you like."

Genjo might not know the reasons, but he surely remembers that Koumyou doesn't like to teach. In general. And yet, he's making the offer, which is a huge step he'd never been able to face before.

Genjo wasn't used to genuine compliments. He never really knew how to accept them when they were given. Instead shrugging off Koumyous praises of strength as they were given to instead focus on the more interesting part of that conversation.

"Teach me?" He of all knew people knew Koumyou Sanzos laid back approach of leading and giving direction. Always more willing to let others discover things and grow on their own terms than to tell any person what to do. Truthfully, Genjo was always curious as to how Kinzen Temple ran so smoothly under Koumyous lackadaisical approach. "... You?"

He probably looked a little more doubvious while saying that than he intended to.

"Is it really so outlandish an idea?"

Yes, Koumyou, yes it is. You know this.

"Of course it is," No holds barred. Genjo Sanzo is relentless. "I wouldn't be surprised to hear that you didn't properly toilet train me."

It was probably someone else at the monastery. That or Genjo taught himself.

Without his dopey smile even changing at all, Koumyou asks, "...Why, are you having trouble going to the potty, Kouryuu-chan?"

Walked right into that one, kiddo.

"You would know what that's like, wouldn't you old man?"

Same back to you pops. Responded with a similarly unchanging expression.

Most certainly if someone saw this they would undoubtedly catch the worst sort of familial similarity between them right now.

Edited 2022-08-08 20:55 (UTC)

"Of course I would know what that's like," Koumyou is, of course, doing this on purpose. Just gonna breeze right past that age crack and right back to-- "Who do you think cleaned you up all the time?"

And with that, he splashes his kid and then dives under the water!

Event: 12 of Beetroot

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