The Train to the Afterlife

[ilovesockandroll]

Maybe you know how, maybe you don't. Perhaps the memory is fuzzy, or perhaps it's crystal clear down to the look in your comrades' eyes. Maybe it was your time; you've done all you wanted to. Or maybe you weren't at all ready to go, maybe you went out kicking and screaming - but none of it matters. You know you're dead, and the train is taking you to an afterlife. Perhaps an afterlife of your choice; you might've earned that heaven. Or perhaps you've earned something else entirely.

It'll be a bit of a journey, though, so you might as well take your time and talk to the other people in your coach. Death knows no place: most of them are strangers, even from faraway worlds. But death knows no time either, so who knows, some of them may be people you know, even if last you knew, they were alive - or long gone.

Oh look, here comes the snack cart.

All the usual:
•Post with your character's name and canon in the subject line.
•Said character is now dead for whatever reason - canon, AU, what have you. They are on a train with other dead people from many other times, places and worlds.
•Characters don't know for a fact where they're headed - just a general awareness that they're going to some kind of afterlife. Whatever they think it is is up to the player.
•This meme is built especially for cross-canon interaction, and potentially for threadjacking and group threading - if you're interested, may be a good idea to state as much in your subject line.
•Tag around and play nice!
•TRIGGER WARNING: Meme obviously deals with death and may deal with other unpleasant themes as a result. Please be cautious.

Shamelessly lifted and barely changed from this.

Comments

Jenna Stannis | Blake's 7 | OTA

[freetraderqueen]

(s3/s4 assumed, but can go AU for cross-canon.)

[winterwind]

It was hard to say, with the gestalt consciousness still breaking down in its remaining fragments where he was, but a train was a less exciting hell than he was hoping for, even if it was only the way in. He preferred the sandminer, if given a choice in hells. At least it was full of raving, mad lunatics.

With time to think, though, it was a pleasant change from being a dark spot on someone's brain scan, if he was there at all. Even that link was severed now, and through what means, he was also unsure. Not that he cared, even if it was the inevitable.

The amazing thing for Kaston Iago, is that he didn't recognize a single face on the train as anyone he had personally killed, for money or for pleasure (or... both). Well, not until a blonde woman got up to switch seats with a dark-haired young man. If he had a heart, it would have sunk at the sight of her face. Not that he had any feelings one way or another for her beyond a former sort-of friendship, but because she recalled a time and a place in his life that, all things considered, was worth remembering for... well, nothing that he would admit to having even the slightest bit of wayward emotion for. Not the security, the companionship, or the mistake that still burned, each and every time he pulled a trigger.

He found his way to her seat, making sure to brush off any sort of hauntedness he had about seeing her, and without introduction, he simply asked, "well? How did you bite it?"

[freetraderqueen]

Jenna was restless. She'd been restless for a long time now. She wasn't familiar with the concept of trains, but she knew enough about passenger freighters to make and embellish a comparison... and she knew enough about both to realise, probably about a month or so in, that there should have been at least one stop somewhere along the way.

So she busied herself with mingling and movement. Casing the premises was never a bad choice to make, if the luxury to do it was available. Neither was anonymity, if she could help it. Nobody had recognised her thus far, and when she had realised exactly what was going on, she was all the more thankful for that. She'd left a lot of enemies behind, and had no interest in seeing what ideas they might have if they felt they'd been cheated of their revenge.

For the past... who knows how long, something felt wrong. Jenna had been quietly moving around with a watchful eye and a clear route to cover, if needed, but not in a blatantly upsetting manner. She projected as much agitation as anyone in this situation would have. For now, she was lucky to have politely traded spaces with someone new and easily confused. She had a booth to herself for now, and kept her senses, for what they were worth, open.

When she was joined by the source of her bad feeling, she didn't know whether to feel relief, despair, or triumph. She inclined her head with an imperious grin to hide whatever decided to surface once the turmoil calmed.

"Decoy barricade run. You?"

[winterwind]

Iago spent his time aboard, more or less in whatever seclusion he could find - throwing himself back into old habits. He wasn't afraid to see old faces, but would have chosen to ignore them and disappear before they could recognize his true identity through Iago's altogether more rugged guise. Perhaps knowing that it would have been futile to try to kill certain ones again.

his meeting was different, in his mind, since he acted upon it first. She hadn't been there.

He tried not to seem impressed, and invited or not, he took the seat across from her. "Call it... checkmate."

It was the easiest way to explain it.

[freetraderqueen]

Jenna snorted. Roundabout as always. The implications of that statement, however, could perhaps confirm some of the rumours she'd heard while heading Blake's flight forces in life. She'd heard of repeated confrontations between the Liberator's crew and Supreme Commander Servalan. The only reason she knew he hadn't left its crew to their own devices was his desire to have the Liberator for himself, without Blake in the way.

That the conclusion she came to was contemptible was an understatement, given his numerous and emphatic protests against sparing Travis. Triumph won out in her mind, devolving into superiority and disgust. But in all honesty, she couldn't quite blame him. If he was on the Liberator the whole time, at least Jenna could trust him to have looked after it as his investment... and his bolt hole.

"Didn't grab the snake by her neck this time, did you?" she replied smugly. "All the same... thanks for doing what you could. I heard some of the stories, before my last run caught up to me." She paused, knitting her brow. She didn't know whether the sentiment would matter to him anymore or not, but she might as well air it out. "I'm glad you fought too, no matter your reasons. I... Blake is proud of you, I'm sure."

Blake had better be out there still, proud or not. The safety of his new base had been the reason she died. Despite lack of personal development between them - which she'd thankfully grown out of in time - she'd been granted the wish of something greater to believe in after all, in the end.

[winterwind]

"Servalan had nothing to do with it." Iago didn't laugh, or even flinch a smile. As much as he would have enjoyed seeing that vile, reptilian bitch at the end of his gun, the stars never properly aligned for it. For all that he knew, she was still the self-appointed goddess of her domain. Or maybe she was in another one of the train cars, sat next to an ordinary Delta-grade. Apparently, anything was possible, if he was able to be used as a playing piece in a game of sub-cosmic chess.

His fingertips met with the space between his brows as he thought in circles, of how to contradict every well-intentioned thing that she had just said. He didn't want, least of all, to be congratulated. "I am surprised that you did not hear the best story. The one of how the Liberator disintegrated in open space," he teased with a faint smile. "Lots of pirates and salvagemen, all looking for a trophy." His reaction in recalling the unfortunate incident was much the same as it was when it happened. He laughed, leaning back, and pulled a leg up onto the seat. He clasped his hands together to punctuate.

"If Blake still had the ability to breathe, I would highly doubt that 'proud' would be the first thought he would have of me." Iago idly steepled his index fingers, and looked her directly in the eyes. "Though, his last thought was undoubtedly of me."

The steepled fingers pointed toward her, mocking a gun's shape.