voidtreckernet | Poi 01: Afternoon

[The video in the kitchen car turns on, showing Ryo holding up a tray of freshly baked muffins - half poppyseed and half chocolate chip, from the looks of it - and wearing a smile a bit more mischievous than usual.]

I don't know how many people have looked at the shop today, but we can now vote on improvements to the train. I had six votes, and I'd imagine most people have about that many.

I also have freshly baked muffins, and I'd like to offer a trade: if you vote to add scaffolding in the garden car, I'll give you a muffin, as long as I still have them available. If we get enough votes for scaffolding and you still want a muffin, voting for protein and dairy or for meat will also count. I'll be in the kitchen for a little while if you want to come talk to me.

[Yes, he is happily bribing the train to get what he wants. No, he has no shame - at least, not over this.]

Also, Thanatos, can you come see me when you get a minute? No rush.

[There's a poppyseed muffin set aside for Thanatos. Ryo takes care of his friends.]

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[ Thanatos doesn't say anything for a good while, and Mort has to squeak to prompt him to say something when Ryo speaks up. ]

It's... delicious...?

[ He doesn't exactly know what to even say, but his expression doesn't change. He almost feels guilty for having it. So, while his thoughts are spinning in his head, he'll feed another piece to Mort because that is the easiest course of action. ]

[Something twisted tightly inside Ryo unwinds when Thanatos speaks. He'd been right. Thanatos likes it. Making poppyseed muffins again, and making sure Thanatos got one this time, had been the right decision. Thank the gods.]

[He smiles, small but genuine. There's not much he can really do to help Thanatos, but this? This is good.]

I'm glad you like it.

[It's an understatement on all counts, but that doesn't make it any less true.]

[ Mort grabs his second offered piece of muffin, but before he starts to nibble on it, he nudges Thanatos's fingers. Eat it, he seems to suggest. Thanatos makes the motion take another small bite. However, he stops just before he does. There's a shimmer to his golden eyes, and Thanatos tries once more to take a bite. Again, he pauses.

He does eventually remember that Ryo is there, and when he speaks, it's whisper quiet and halting. ]

... Can... Can you teach me?

[ Thanatos is choked up, overwhelmed, and he's trying very hard to sort through this sudden surge of emotion. He's trying to understand how he can feel so pained and guilty from something that also brings him (and Mort) joy. ]

I...

[ What is he missing? ... Who is he missing? ]

I want to make them for Hypnos. Someday. If I can.

[ They share poppies as their symbol. This is something his twin would enjoy. He wants Hypnos to experience this. ]

[For a moment Ryo just blinks, unable to come up with an answer to that question. The answer is yes, obviously, but the question is so unexpected that he can't quite find it. Why-]

[And then Thanatos tells him why. And it all makes sense.]

[Ryo misses Ryoga, but he's missed Ryoga for years; it's an ache he's well accustomed to packing away when it gets to be too much, and he's practiced in ignoring it. But Thanatos...is this the longest he's been away from his brother? And it definitely hasn't been by choice...]

[He nods, a warm smile spreading across his face.]

Of course. I'll get more next platform and we'll bake them together.

[There are logistical issues - did Thanatos's world even have the ingredients for these, for starters - but those can be sorted out later. For now, he's only saying what he thinks Thanatos needs to hear, and he plans on keeping that promise regardless.]

[ Was it the longest without seeing his twin? Thanatos can't be sure. He's worked long stretches where it seems he existed on the surface for a moment, back in the Underworld to deliver the shade, back up to the surface, back down, more deliveries and parchmentwork. Still, he had the option to visit and see his brother even if Thanatos had rarely done so until he tried to get along with him better. And then this happened.

Thanatos gives a small nod, clearly trying to keep himself from getting too overwhelmed and shifting away on the spot. ]

All right. I can order with my points too. Just... tell me what I need to get.

Poi 01: Afternoon

I'm getting more use out of that icon than I thought I would

no subject

Well, this went in a direction I didn't expect

This thread has been wild and I love it

wrap up here in prep for mission? unless there is more?