adregem | 000 - voidtreckerexpress Universal Contact Post

[ Yeah, you better not be trying to rush over there!! Tidus isn't going to with all these eggs piled on his toast, the avocao, the tomatoes and a handful of green leaves to make his plate colourful. He continues to use his fork to tear at the toast, despite the perfectly good knife there. ]

A new move? [ Oh wait, look. He can use that to pin the toast and make it easier to drag his toast apart. ] Didn't you say you can put energy into the bullets? Guess it depends on how you move.

[ Hmm. ]

What if you could stun someone you hit with the grapple hook? [ He's only using one hand for his food again with the fork, and with his empty one, Tidus makes a 'pew' gesture, meant for the hook. ] Send it out, stun, go flying in with a spray or one big shot to the face.

[ .......The way Tidus eats is truly the eighth wonder of the world. Roland glances at this horrendous use of utensils, withholding the brewing storm of corrections threatening to overtake his conscious mind. That's not how you use a knife!

But he doesn't, as a sign of character growth, and busies himself by humming into his mug of coffee before speaking again. Besides, more than the way Tidus eats, which is very much Tidus in nature, it's the combination of food that makes Roland make a face if he ever does at all. ]

I can. But like I said, I'm the weakest to learn magic. We had a place in Evermore called the Spellworks and they listed how many moves I could learn based on my potential. Then, they taught it to me the same way I made Water Slide available for you. I haven't tried to learn anything new since. Maybe we can try it today. I'm ready for anything, disappointment or otherwise.

[ Was that considered quitter talk too? He hopes not. He's not a frustrated magician by any means, but maybe he's looking to expand his own arsenal of tricks? He's got a soulmate for crying out loud, didn't that count for something? Anything? Apparently not. ]

[ Also, he's not letting one thing go, staring at Tidus from time to time, side-glances that linger far too long for it to be ignored. ]

...Does that taste good?

[ Avocados and green leaves on toast, oh Lofty please. Roland controls how he might sound but sorry, that Face is coming out. ]

[ There's some confusion, or perhaps a note of interest in the topic of energy and magic - nothing that Tidus is going to offer anything smart about, other than it's a thing. Except their very normal exchange over breakfast is ruined by- ]

Huh?

[ That question.

Tidus looks down at his food. His ordinary, inoffensive plate of food.

That judgment. ]

What? What's wrong with what I'm eating? [ Tidus looks back up, over at Roland, puzzled. IT'S GOT EGGS. ]

[ It's time to come out with the TRUTH! He's not judging you Tidus, he's judging the train's taste this month. Totally two different sets of judgment! Your knifework though...

And speaking of. His own knife comes to the foray, and he points it almost daintily at the slices of avocado that pepper his plate and his mangled bits of toast, some bits mushed up, others dangling off the edge of a half-eaten piece of bread. Roland is pointing at that and only at that. It's impossible to miss, since he's staring at it too. ]

That's wrong with what you're eating. [ With a voice that's drier than Spira's hottest desert. Or dome. Or plain. Whatever applies! ] It's bad enough on its own. Gah.

[ Tidus coughs out a sound. Incredulous, bewildered - is he actually hearing what he's hearing? Watching where it is the knife points to, and Tidus does have to think which of the foods Roland is talking about. But- ]

The avocado? [ No, that doesn't matter, actually. More important: ] Rol, are you being a food snob? About what people like? 'Cause you don't like it? Seriously?

[ He's not even offended. He's just surprised. Heck, it's funny even! This is what brings out the disgust in Roland? Avocados? ]

I thought a guy like you would be more mature about this!

[ Actually, he may sound like he's having fun with this now... ]

[ Whoops, color Roland a tinge embarrassed. He clears his throat and retracts his utensil back to his plate, slathering on more honey. ]

Ah, no. That's not what I meant. I was asking you if it actually tasted delicious, the combination you picked on your plate. Not that I'm - [ Judging??? Please, he totally was. But his weakness to this green abomination aside, he'll take a bite of his toast to hide behind, can't talk if you're chewing you know. ]

[ He swallows not before long. ]

My apologies. You can enjoy avocados however you want.

[ His formality is a mask for his slipping distaste and it shows, you mister president you. Also, he's running out of toast so he's gonna have to get more or pick at this like a peckish bird. ]

No no no no. [ Please, Mister President, let's not hide behind formalities now. Tidus brings an elbow onto the table, leanings his jaw onto the fist now balled there to take it. Look at this very innocently interested face, the small curl of a smile. ]

It's fine. Why don't you tell me how you can't imagine anyone eating a mouthful of this and not choking on it? [ HEHEH. ] What's the part that makes you wanna gag? The taste? The texture?

[ He's using his singular free hand to pick up the toast through all this, giving up the pretence that are utensils. It looks like everything might fall off if he isn't careful, but he's getting it close to his mouth so far. ]

All the above?

[ Annnnd chomp. ]

[ UGH he's making a show of it, and Roland's stoicism fails utterly, like a slowly melting candlestick in the heat of a strong fire the closer the toast gets to Tidus's lips. Dear Lofty above, look at that green thing sitting on bread, as if it belongs there!!! If the utter disgust in Roland's face isn't going to convince Tidus that he's hit a gold mine here, it's what he accidentally says next that does him in. ]

How about we start with how it smells--

[ He realizes it too late, eyes widening before Roland shakes his head while turning away, back to the safety of his almost empty plate. Maybe he could do with some eggs...but how can he when he knows that the guy next to him is eating plain scrambled eggs with AVOCADOS.

And speaking of it, like some triggered thing despite how stiff he looks and sounds at this point in time. Were they talking about sparring? He'll get to it in a bit. This is so much more important because they're going to have to live with this horror show for a month. ]

Are you aware that back in my world, some snooty cafes down the street by my office actually sell avocado toasts? [ He emphasizes this by pointing his finger down on the table, fingertip pressed hard on the surface. ] Some of it with salmon? Fish? And avocado? [ Point. Point. ] And they're overpriced? Imagine paying...paying...[ How does he express himself in a conversation rate of Aremican dollars to Train points...? ] Paying 45 points for one piece of avocado toast!

[ This would be a good time to throw up your hands in exasperation, but he won't because he's still got a grasp of himself! Maybe! Instead he crosses his arms, letting the honey sink into the bread, softening it too much. ] What a highway robbery.

[ Excuse you. He's got some pepper on those eggs too, alright. Don't diss his eggs!!

But wow, listen to Roland go. And he can almost imagine it, the picture that Roland paints. Forgets that Roland is supposed to be some type of leader and more of a man in a business suit going to work in some high towering building in the sections of town that he rarely had to go in.

Except it didn't really matter where it was, and what it was joined to. Where the roads led and the express travel routes. ]

So your office was in a popular part of town. That's just a breakfast menu, isn't it? [ Avocado and fish... what did that taste like? Hmm. Tidus wonders. ] What's the big deal with avocado? It tastes like a food I know, [ which he clarifies which a small glance to the food, ] but I don't know what crime it committed back home.

Are they rare or somethin'?

[ Why else would it be so high-priced? They didn't look bigger than the lemons. ]

[ He finally has enough energy to bite into more toast, though its cloying sweetness now makes him down all of his coffee in one go. ]

No, they're fairly common in the east coast. Even moreso in the west, with all the beaches. [ Roland's finally done with his avocado war flashbacks, craning his head in conversation. What kind of world was Tidus's home like if he could hop on this train of thought so easily, without the gaps of knowledge, somehow knowing quite enough for it to be familiar? He wonders... ]

But it's a fad. That's why its expensive. Gah. Just eat regular toast, I say. Or bagels. [ Boy if there ever was a time to sound like a grumpy adult, now would be it. He digresses! ]

Maybe one month of this stuff will solve my problem with it? Heh. Only the void can tell. [ Is that a sigh? No, definitely not. He's just realistic, that's all! And won't complain about food when they're being rationed and supplied with it for free. Nope. ]

[ Talk more about coasts like Tidus gets it. Is that the same city? The west and east coasts? That's what it sounds like to Tidus anyway, alright. ]

You sound just like the old moms 'round the ports who complain 'bout the things the kids are into these back in Zanarkand. [ Which he says with absolutely affectionate, a grin on his face even as he bites into his toast mess. Chewing, swallowing just before he speaks. ]

It's charming. No, really! You got anything else you've been holding back in there? Oh, how about the way people dress?

[ Please, carry on. Tidus will continue to eat away here, waiting like Roland's nitpicking is solid morning entertainment. ]

Old...moms? All right, I'll take it. Glad to know us old folk are complaining about the youth, universally. Heh.

[ That's certainly new. But it's a vivid picture he paints for Roland regardless. Besides, being called a mom is a compliment even when it's not! He chuckles under his breath, pushing the toast around with his fork for now, waiting for another chance to bite into its final vestiges.

And he just had to talk shop about dress. Roland clings on to such a thing far easier than most people might assume of him, of the way he carries himself and how he treats things. Though of course the undertone of jest is evident too. ]

Didn't you come here to invite me to spar? Not how I think we need a better stylist for uniforms? [ His hands fly to his own clothes, the purple of his top, though thick in material. ] We can't all pull off casual college hoodies anymore, y'know. It's unprofessional too! We need to keep mission uniforms in our wardrobes!

[ Someone's been wanting a full seasonal attire, it seems. Take that vanity for what it is, Tidus. ]

Why don't you be the one to complain to the train about it, huh? Get us some proper uniforms. Aren't you still keep up your exchange between you and the feedback post?

[ Heh. It's been forever since he's been able to make reference to that. And he was about to go back to this whole sparring point, which he hasn't forgot, except- ]

Hey, what if the train talked to everyone because you asked it to? Didn't you do that a few times?

[ Ask for it to communicate? Not that Tidus remembers most of what he's spoken to the train about, let alone other people... ]

[ His toast is halfway towards the bite when Roland pauses. The said food item is then, set back down on his plate. What a way to engage his thought process so immediately! ]

Hm. I haven't been doing it recently, actually. But I...doubt such an effort led to the train finally allowing us some questions.

[ Which is to say, who knows who else left comments on the terminal after his disappeared into the wind? But then something else occurs to him, something that draws a look of mild irritation on a face that begets none of the stress that should come with a twenty-year-old shell of a body. Roland comes in for the kill, eating his toast in one bite, swallowing just as fast while his hands dust off crumbs in claps. ]

Besides. If the train really was listening to me, then it'd reveal the metrics of its points system. Did you hear what it said about how we got points? Utterly useless. Of course you award people points for working for you, but to what extent will we receive a particular amount for the work done?

[ He tries for more coffee, but sees he's already emptied his mug...so he just shakes his head. ]

Maybe I will let this train hear it from me. Give it another piece of my mind. [ HMPH!!! Hoodies for work, please!!! ]

[ Whoa, look at Roland go! Tidus wasn't expecting to excite that kind of ire in the man with such a simple question. Maybe a little grumbling, but Roland looked - or sounded - ready to write a strongly-worded letter to the train's boss.

It's mildly impressive, but also a little funny too. The question session had been neither of those things, but this might be the first time he's been able to think about it less... annoyed. ]

I wonder if anyone asked it for another session? [ Would anyone want another session? Well... ] We didn't get a lot of time to think about our questions or know what everyone was saying. You hear about Nita's thing too?

[ There was quite a few things there to catch up on. Though, hopefully better heads than his were thinking about everything.

Oh man, what did he even know about what people asked, now that he's thinking about it? ]

That's true. We rarely get any warning for things happening on the train, really. It sure keeps us on our toes, but...I can't say I care much for it.

[ Since there's nothing else to nibble on his plate...he does the cheeky thing and casually pokes his fork at a tomato on Tidus's own idle pile and eats it promptly. This he does so smoothly, it might barely register that he's now eating off of someone else's plate. Nevermind that he made sure to take the tomato that's farthest away from the avocados as possible. ]

Remind me about it. I was a little preoccupied during the Q&A.

[ Sssh, he was actually trying to drown things out with a movie but that's not for Roland to disclose. ]

[ Compare, the two things they have on their plates: Roland's mostly visibly empty, and Tidus's with the scraps of pepper, egg, and avocado. But also, Tidus has been forgoing his wonderful chopping technique of a fork to just using his hand to hold up the toasted bread, which obscures some of the view below, that -

not only does it blind Tidus from really seeing what's being popped into Roland's mouth until it's there, but also - Would Roland seriously nick food off his plate?

No, of course not. He never would, or so Tidus assumes, so for the second his brow dips and thinks about that flash of red he saw... ]

She wanted to try making a better line to talking to the train. [ Tidus explains, instead of realising the crime that's been committed. ] Kind of like strengthening a signal? Since the train doesn't have a lot of power, apparently. Don't know how it went though - been meaning to ask her, but I figured she'd say something today about it.

[ Live with the shame, Roland. Nicking food from a guy's plate! ]

[ Live with the shame??? What shame??? Watch - or not - as he casually goes in for the second kill, his fork piercing through another wayside tomato...! Will Roland get caught this time around, no matter how nonchalant he is about stealing from Tidus's plate?! Stay tuned for the next episode - ]

Hm. I guess the train's no powerhouse if it's kidnapping 'heroes' [ Forgive the slight disdain that colors his voice. ] and using them as battery packs without their permission. But if she wants to talk to this...thing, or its conductor, then by all means. I'm not feeling too optimistic, though.

[ He leans on his elbows, looking ahead, straight-faced. ] If the train wanted to talk to us, it would do so when it felt the need. That much was obvious.

[ Though he is curious about what Nita would ask. And if she might allow others to speak too, if it ever succeeded. Alas. ]

--Hey!

[ SCREW THE REST OF THE TAG, YOU BET ROLAND'S ASS IS GETTING CAUGHT. Tidus's toast coming down and a swift glance taken between their two plates - the one without a speck of red, the one losing all of its! Except there's bits of egg rolling off from his toast with its abrupt drop. ]

Who nicks another guy's food?! Aren't you sixty? Act like it!

[ What he means is, act like the fancy schmancy politician you are, you dweeb! ]

[ SCREW TAG ORDER TOO, look at him staring at Tidus with a lift in his brow, though his face remains as neutral as ever. The fork remains in mid-air for a second, before the poor remains of the tomatoes he tried to eat are licked clean off of the utensil. ]

[ Blink blink blink!!!! ]

You don't wanna share?

[ You think being called the wrong age is gonna poke at him? Wrong again, he's so used to it that that's not even the issue anymore! ]

Get your own! [ Pah! ] At least ask. And after you complained about my food!

[ Tidus is complaining a lot, but for those complaints, his toast is settled down and - with fork and knife used and in their proper place - cuts a dent into it, slides it over on his plate Roland's way. ]

There's the green stuff under the eggs. [ The dreaded avocado. Anyway. ]

I think what Nita's thinking, is it takes power for the train to talk? We didn't get a carriage or voting for it. [ Actually, they got a holiday instead... for a day. ] Taiki was saying the other day too how we get all our stuff on a platform stop. Maybe it charges up on platform days and that's why it can get all the new stuff in.

[ Or something. Was that what he was talking about? Roland's really distracted him by being a thief!! ]

Hey. [ Watch what he takes offense to, or mockingly does, the face he makes too familiar at this point. ] I didn't complain! I swear. I just wanted to ask if it was a combination that worked with avocados!

[ But apart from that, let him just slide his fork subtly closer to the offering, cutting into it and trying out the 'green stuff' and the eggs with a small bite, dainty for someone so stiff. There's another face to made but it's what he says that counts, really. ] Sorry. Can I have a tomato?

[ Asking!!! ]

Hm. That's an interesting conjecture, actually. That might be the reason why we're always returned to our beds every time we fall asleep in a place that isn't where we're assigned. It could be another way to keep its energy reserved.

[ They're really starting to sound like battery packs over here...Which is a thought Roland doesn't want to totally entertain or be convinced of. ]

Then again, I don't think it's a common occurrence for any void craft to speak at all. We just don't know how special the Voidtrecker Express is, compared to void crafts created elsewhere.

[ Unless the good Captain's Voidflash had a talkie box that liked to ask them what carriage she wanted next, and she just forgot to mention. But he highly doubts it.

Did Roland get his tomato slice from Tidus, the food master? He hopes so, because he'd rather nibble on that, the eggs, and the toast, carefully leaving green behind on his plate...Sssssh. ]

[ Tidus is close to rolling his eyes, but he doesn't quite make it as he sighs, knocks off the slice of tomato from his toast left. ]

There you go, since you asked.

[ It would sound more mocking if Tidus didn't sound whiny about it still. Now take the tomatoes and let him eat in peace! ]

Speaking just means it's some kind of program, don't it? Like a... you know, like Webmind was. But not as cool or with all the stuff he knows. A really basic Webmind. [ He's picked up his toast again, getting ready to take a bite. ]

You got those AI thingies that ask you what you want and help you through questions and orders in shops where you're from? Like that.

[ Annnd chomp. ]

Hey, thanks.

[ He sounds way too cheerful for someone who just got scolded (?) for stealing food, not even minding the edge of sarcasm that comes through late. The food is deposited into his mouth quickly, chewing done promptly so he can speak again. ]

Yeah, AI's a big thing back home. They even had names to them, like they were actual people. The one on my phone's called Miri. [ Gotta avoid those law suits, ya know! Off-brand baybee. Roland wipes the corner of his mouth while shaking his head. ] But the train...doesn't quite sound like that either. I don't know how to explain it. It's more...hm. It has a sense of personality but it has no way of expressing it. It can only function as a void craft. Does that make sense?

[ If only he's more eloquent about the technicalities of his conjectures. But he'll field the question to Tidus anyway, glancing to the side with an empty plate. He ate way too fast, but thankfully, he's not one to eat until he's to the bursting so he stops begging for Tidus's scraps. For now! ]

I don't know, [ Tidus says warily, but mostly stumped. Sucking off from his thumb a piece of sauce that caught it. ] Now you're getting too technological for me. I never played any attention.

[ It was there, it functioned, and that was Tidus's relationship with that level of technology. There's bits and pieces left on his plate, but he otherwise takes a hold of his tray with a 'I'm done!' and stands up. ]

You want anything else out of the kitchen?

[ A small pause from the subject of their conversation, but it can easily be picked back up. ]

000 - voidtreckerexpress Universal Contact Post

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