voidtreckernet | video/action

Entry tags:

video/action

[Video]

[ Della's face pops up looking... well, like everyone else - exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally. She smacks her beak a bit, before speaking. ]

... So. That sucked.

[ Fully aware that's the understatement of the century, Della draws a breath, and tries again. ]

I think we could all use a nice, long breather after everything... and, gosh darn it, as Train Mom, that is my sacred duty. Hugs? Head on the lap? Head-pats telling you that you did a good job? A shoulder to cry on? Venting out all your feelings without judgement? I'm right here.

[ She slaps her chest, then slaps a small sign on on the sports/gym car. It reads

EXHAUST PILE WITHIN

But as she does this, Tidus enters the scene - Della jumps, surprised, almost forgetting his presence.

He just smiles, holding up two cups with steam coming off them, then addresses the video feed as well. ]

We're also making big batches of cocoa too. Any of you that're gonna stress bake? There's room for that room - s'long as you don't need a nap first.

[ It's a small chide though, his smile small but sympathetic. ]

I've gotten out some incense pots from the supplies - you guys who got your head thrown into a blender by that aash-- uh, that jerk, [ he takes a swift glance at Della, then back ] --it'll help you relax. Just some, but better than nothin'. I'll set some off in Momma Duck's air nest, but if you're not doing great and you think you need a pot? Tell me. Raven made a lot of good stuff for good nights sleep if you need any in the medcar, too.

... So, yes. Cocoa. Incense. Hugging. And if you want to sleep with friends for a couple nights, we got air beds and extra pillows in here. Nobody has to get up and go until they feel ready.

And if that's not enough, that's fine too. Maybe next month we do something a little more organized, if you have any suggestions - movie night, sleepover night, big eat night, whatever, I'm listening. And I'm here for you.

[ Action ]

And inside the sports gym, the pair can be found. They have a few airbeds blown up, but there's more that still need airing up if you pop in straight after their message. There's also a tremendous amount of pillows. If you want to help, get blowing, and make these airbeds look nice and comfy!

The transgate from the standard coach has mysteriously been moved to the sports gym's outer hallway. Who did that? But it makes it easier to bring in the cups of hot chocolate from the kitchens, and for anyone who wants to bring snacks to do so. Take a seat, remember to bring your sleeping bag and whatever else you want. Plushes, your own musical instrument to offer some de-stress medication of your own with a melody.

And there's an area where small incense pots burn away, a gentle mist rising up. It won't heal the mind completely, but it will offer it some peace. And if you're worried about nightmares, a few of Raven's sachets and teas are available.

So come get a mom hug. Come and offer hugs. Just come and get something out of the company, whatever it is. Tidus and Della - and others - will be here to give a hand.

The life you had might've been fake, but the people around you aren't.

((OOC: consider this a mingling post, where everyone is free to tag everyone else! be the comforter, the one offering comfort, both, whatever!))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"You ate my worm," Tidus sullenly complains, glaring down at Inigo and with a pouty lip that isn't even being admired. If he were the kind of person, he'd fake kick Inigo, but even like this, it doesn't feel right.

"You owe me." There's a panging still to his forehead, but with Inigo playing out of commission, Tidus steps to the side, minding where Inigo's closest hand is...and starts reaching around for the scattered candy.

"A big order of candy. You're buying. Sweets for weeks." Can bossing someone around just be crumbling, 'cause it's more that than any actual expectation of this happening (do they even remember why they came out here for).

"I bought this bag!"

Inigo - or maybe the corpse formerly known as Inigo, or possibly even the semi-Risen formerly known as Inigo! - immediately protests from his spot on the floor.

Don't think he has forgotten what the original sin here was. He's never letting Tidus use his ticket again.

...

Wait, why was he letting Tidus use his ti..

.. Oh.

Inigo immediately shoots up into a sitting position. Please be out of the way, Tidus, or he's just going to hit his head on you like an idiot.

"Hold on.. you were going to complain at the train, not at me!" What has he done wrong here?!

Tidus is already out of the way, thank you very much. He's collecting all these sweets that Inigo might change his mind and decide the Roland Rules doesn't cover (and not because it's dumb, but because he really wants to eat them) and try to come after him. Distance - and speed - is key!

But don't think Inigo has any semblance of a point when Tidus rebuttals straight off, repeating: "You ate my gummy worm! The one with the soft belly! I like those ones!"

No case that Inigo throws at him will stick. Inigo ate his favourite gummy!!

Tidus is lucky. It seems that his floor sweets really are safe. Inigo would never dare cross even a single Roland Rule in his entire life, after all, so he's just sitting there without making a grab for any of the candy. Even though some of the flood candy is definitely right within his reach, now he's sitting there on the ground.

But he's not focused on them. He's purely focused on Tidus, and just how quickly his memory of their original goal is swatted away like a fly by the other.

"Are you really doing all this over one piece of candy?!" Says the guy who defends his right to eat sugar with his life.

Please, Inigo. Don't be a hypocrite.

Tidus remembers the Halloween candy incident. Tidus remembers ... basically any time that Inigo has abruptly jumped him, like today. And there's surely countless other incidents that cannot be titled right now, but Tidus knows. He recalls. Deep in his bones, every time that Inigo has gone after him over the equivalent of one piece of candy.

So with righteousness on his side, he stares at Inigo with narrow-fixed gaze, and replies,

"Just like you would."

And pops a piece of candy into his mouth for effect.

(Dang, he's so cool.)

...

Tidus is so uncool, Inigo thinks as he finally moves himself back up to his feet, lazily pulling a hand through his hair so it doesn't look like a total mess due to this whole struggle and fall combined into one.

And for a moment it seems like he might just say nothing to Tidus for this terrible, terrible remark as he gets back to the terminal, but then he glances back at the other.

".. Just get over here already."

You ruined this mood, Tidus, you better dang well get it back now!!

Tidus has not an iota of guilt or shame in his body, thanks, standing back onto his feet with a pile of sweeties sitting in his cupped hand held against his torso. Gotta keep them safe and cradled.

"Weren't you the one who wanted to complain to the train? You don't need me to start."

But he is here now, to be Inigo's witness. Can he keep eating sweets while they do this? He might, if he's going to be stuck holding all these. Thanks, Roland.

"I need you to hold my hand!"

There's a slight pause where Inigo seems to realise that, because it's him specifically, Tidus may not understand the way he means that in this instance.

".. Metaphorically!" There. Nailed it.

Inigo points to Tidus, who's currently playing the role of The Candy Hoarder, and then to the screen.

"I'm doing this because I thought it would be more fun to do it together."

Tidus was looking at his hands, trying to figure out how to either switch which arm was cradling the candy to give Inigo its hand (it's on Inigo's side), or if he should turn around and give Inigo his hand like that.

...and the look he gives Inigo when he says it's metaphorically is still dubious. Are you sure, bro. Are you sure.

"Give me the candy bag. You still have it, don't you?" Can he stick this candy in there, please. Even if it mingles with the untarnished candies that Inigo still has left!

"You still have to start. It was your idea! Princes firsts," he adds with a chime.

Well, it's not like he's going to object to actual hand holding-- oh. Wait. The bag of candy. He holds it up in Tidus's direction with one hand, as if telling the other wordlessly to just take it.

"Don't mix them together," he just says. Which is clearly a very, very feasible task while dumping a bunch of ground-contamined candies in with a bunch of clean candies. The only thing working in Tidus's advantage here is that Inigo turns back to the screen after the other takes the bag from him, giving Tidus enough opportunity to just dump them in there and call it a day, if he desires to do so.

"Right, right, the feedback post.. Over here."

He opens it - apparently that's what's taking up his attention right now - and presses the voice option, because please, he's not going to show off his grandpa speed typing ability in Tidus's presence.

"Alright, train, I-- we got a lot to say today! But I wanted to start out with those polls.. Don't you see that some things are going to be on there forever if you only add one carriage at once? At this rate we'll never get a pool!"

.. a pause, and then, as if he's only remembering it now he's talking about it: "-- or a dance studio!"

'The only thing working in Tidus's advantage'--Please, as if he wasn't going to dump them into the bag even if he didn't turn around. Those candies are going in and being contaminated. Because this Roland Rule is dumb and Tidus is not holding them when there's a bag.

But, the point of this venture out from the sports gym. Tidus's brows raise when he sees Inigo bring up the voice option, apparently learning about that at some point (probably from seeing Tidus whine over the feedback post in the past few months). He says nothing, except there comes a pause - most likely, Inigo searching for his groove. And Tidus is here to help, so-

"I'm just metaphorically here to hold Inigo's hand, and I'm not blackmailing him to say any of this!" Nailed it. "But also, I agree! You people- snatching train!"

Please don't start a fight with the train under Inigo's ticket.

"Wha-- If you're just going to be a yes man, you may as well actually hold my hand!"

Especially now Tidus has contamined the candy. Something Inigo sure doesn't realise right now, since the candy bag is totally wiped from his mind for the moment, but once he does remember later on, it will surely be a point of contention.

Whining contention.

But for now it seems that he's just trying to wriggle his hand into Tidus's free hand. Now you're on hand holder duty, bro. You caused this for yourself.

At least Inigo being busy with being huffy at the train means that there's no further huffiness reserved for Tidus though, since even in the middle of him blindly trying to seek out Tidus's hand, he's still looking at the screen and continuing right where the other guy stops, with: "But he's right! I still don't get why you just randomly take people like this. You could just ask if people want to help! I bet there's plenty of people out there! But there's people with-- with lives! With people they miss, and their own worlds to save! Even if what you're doing is important, that doesn't make it okay to just take people away without them agreeing to it!"

Look at this guy, complaining! Complaining! And his hand being taken, which is at least free, if maybe with a few dots of sugar that Tidus missed rubbing off. But what's probably more distracting is Tidus's whining of "If you're just gonna be a yes man" in a literal whining mumbling voice beside him.

But Inigo has his hand, so who knows if he cares or not. Just two guys holding hands standing in front of an ICP terminal to give the train a what-for.

"You know that's what everyone tells the train day one, right?" --and also, apparently one giving the other (constructive) criticism. Or just pointing out the obvious. "I mean, wasn't that basically what I told it that one time? And it said, 'Sorry for the inconvenience, but I'm still going to kidnap people'!"

Look, if the train likes to make things difficult for them, then it might as well tolerate having to listen to all these shenanigans going on while the two of them are giving feedback. It's revenge!

.. the mildest revenge ever, but it's still revenge, alright.

"That's why we have to remind it though! I mean, isn't it incredibly rude to just dismiss people's concerns like that?" 'Incredibly rude' still feels like an understatement though, considering the severity of it all. "At the very least you could do something nice for the kids you brought here! You're making them fight at their age, when maybe they wouldn't have had to otherwise.. They seem super into art, give them that art car! Or give them a break! No, just.. just give all of us a super huge break!"

He's dramatically gesturing for emphasis as he's speaking too.

Which means he's just wildly swinging their joint hands around.

Wow, look at the ride his hand is going on right now. Tidus is - and he's rather impressed, how Inigo is just forgetting this hand is attached to a body (his body!!).

But, Tidus is worried about him speaking up. How does the train operate? Will it ignore Inigo with him there, thinking he's putting the guy up to this? But he doesn't want to stay silent either, when Inigo's doing his best...! So he scoffs, an indignant sound.

"Look - I'm not telling Inigo what to say. I'm a friend, and anyway, he's been here way longer than me. Shouldn't that count for something? How long you keep people trapped here? Listen to him! Listen to the people who've been here forever! Actually make it seem like you're listening too! Like, okay, I know we told you to talk to us, then you did - but when was that? What is it gonna take to get you to...come out of that shell more?!"

And behold, how easy it is to get Tidus into frustrated-at-the-train mode.

Inigo pipes down when Tidus starts to speak.

Which, at first, comes with a half-concerned glance at the other. Is that why Tidus urged him to speak up first, and mostly just guided him along? Was he worried that it was going to somehow seem like he was just forcing Inigo to do this, considering Tidus complains to the train by himself often again?

It makes his expression soften. It's sweet, the small ways in which Tidus always seems to be considerate towards him. But that, in turn, only strengthens his resolve to help the other here in talking to the train.

It's not as if they're not saying something logical, after all.

"Yeah, if you were able to talk to us before.. Then why can't you do the same thing again?" It sounds a little less frustrated now, and more pleading. Because Inigo can't understand. And without any explanation, it just makes the train seem selfish, somehow. Or uncaring. "If you could freely answer our questions before, is it then so much to ask to just.. be told what's going on, every once in a while?"

He squeezes the hand he's holding. Mostly since there's less dramatic gesturing now.

"That's why people get frustrated. Because you.. you won't tell us anything." He thinks back to that question and answer session, to what the train said about Yuki, about all the people who leave.

".. Not even the things you do know."

Tidus can admit, he thought the idea was funny before. Coming over here and complaining at the train, using it as a means of blowing off steam or just to be goofy at. But there's a budding frustration already in his chest; hearing what Inigo is saying, all the times it's been said before. By him, by others, surely - and how it never matters.

Sorry for inconveniencing you. If the train did speak, it would just say that over and over, wouldn't it?

"What's the big deal with it? What do you get out of it? If you told us you don't want to tell us anything, then - what, is it riskier to say anything than nothing? Except tell us to trust you, when you don't trust us?"

Ugh. What is it that they're missing? What's the truth? What would be the better response to the train and the way it is? Go along with its silence? Give it chance after chance? It's not like you can do anything, anyway.

"Give us something," Tidus says, exhaling. "Give us a sign!"

There's a moment of silence after Tidus says that last part.

Maybe it's since Inigo can kind of sense that the mood is going in the wrong direction - for both of them. Even though it's inevitable. After all, who could keep up their spirits while trying to argue with something that just never says anything back? Something that hardly ever even meets them halfway, and then is still ignoring most of their requests.

But it's not the kind of mood Inigo wants going on now. Especially not so close after Diagad - after what feels like their failure to protect people. If his mood gets bad enough, he'll start to think about that again, and he doesn't want to right now. And he doesn't want Tidus to have to feel bad either.

So after a slight moment, Inigo squeezes Tidus's hand a little, lightly swinging it back and forth, as if to try and draw the other's attention towards him.

If Tidus looks, Inigo smiles slightly, joking: "It'd be kind of funny if there was the sound of the toilet being flushed now or something, huh."

Truly the sign Tidus is asking for.

The swinging gets Tidus to look, catching the smile and tugging one up the side of his mouth. Returning the squeeze, and his sigh this time being less drawn out.

"Sure, sure." Sure. He gets what Inigo is doing, and to keep with the spirit of it- "If we don't hear a toilet flushing, that means you want us to break a toilet."

Great addition.

That gets Inigo to let out a hearty laugh. Which is probably not the best response to a threat of violence, but he can't help it. Especially since he knows Tidus well enough to understand that this is the other trying to go along with the mood he's creating here, and he thinks it's a pretty funny attempt at it.

"Wooow, train, you better watch out! This guy over here knows how to break anything!" It's a joke, but one rooted in reality. Never forget the last time he broke stuff with Gibbers, okay. Inigo doesn't even want to know what Tidus could do to a toilet. "You're at serious risk here if you don't listen to our demands!"

"'What's one toilet to fix, right'? Bet that's what you're thinking! But I can give you a lot more work! Break all the toilets! And other things! See how fun fixing all that on a platform stop is!"

Is Tidus being bolstered into more threats of violence thanks to social encouragement from Inigo? Absolutely, listen to this guy. He looks ready to start moving even more, what with him raising his and Inigo's joined hand, his already in a fist. He's getting ready for a fight!!

"I'll be coming for these computers, too!"

...and maybe just having too much fun goofing off.

This is probably the point where Inigo should be responsible and cut Tidus off.

For a myriad of reasons, really. Partially since this is all happening on Inigo's ticket. Partially because even though the train doesn't seem to punish them in any way, he really doesn't want Tidus to be the first person to end up that way for just going a little bit too far.

But it's so hard. Because the other is spirited, and.. it's really hard to mind anything else, as long as Tidus is right there with all of his energy, now being the one to wildly swing Inigo's arm around like he's directing an invisible orchestra.

"Who knows what he'll do next?! He's unpredictable!" Inigo may be using his free hand to wiggle his fingers a little as he says that.

For that little extra effect.

"Maybe we've found the one person who can knock down your engine wall!" With sheer force of will alone.

"Unpredictable!" Tidus echoes, in agreement, like this is really the kind of boasting of one's skills to be sold to a train that's very likely to disregard all of this.

But there's a point where they've moved over to the ridiculousness (probably around the point toilets were brought in), so as Inigo threatens violence next onto the infamous engine wall itself:

"I can! With a big hammer!" Tidus is going to keep up with the stupid, even bringing his hands (and Inigo's one) to swing - more like a golf club, but hey.

"You won't know what hit you! Any last words, train!?" Tidus reaches over with his free hand to send the message, but quickly, with a glance to Inigo, a lowered volume. "--hey, anything else you wanna say?"

There's a glance back at Tidus when the other mentions that last part. Just a quick look shared between them before Inigo leans a little closer towards the screen as well, despite this just being a voice thing.

His tone shifts though - suddenly becoming a whole lot more serious out of nowhere, switching easily in that way Inigo sometimes does when he suddenly drops an act.

".. you really have to find out what happens to people when they leave on the platform. Just saying you don't know isn't good enough when these are people's lives you're messing with. Find out if they're back home, I don't care how."

There's a very slight pause, but then Inigo leans back, a sudden casualness coming over him that wasn't there only a moment ago as he looks at Tidus. Like he's trying to avoid having to go into a much more serious topic here.

"There, that should be fine."

It catches off-guard, but in truth, nothing about what Inigo says is surprising. It's an important matter to him, always has been - and must be more with his mother having come here. Tidus doesn't speak, even once Inigo done - all he does is squeeze their joined hands, and then presses the submit button for Inigo.

Tidus hates knowing the reply they'll get - the same they always get - but after the joking around...

Nothing ever changes.

video/action

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)