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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[...oh, Than.]

Thanatos, I have forty-eight muffins, and garden car scaffolding only needs twenty-eight points. Even if everyone I gave a muffin to only did one vote, that would still be more than enough to get the scaffolding.

Plus, they're my muffins, and I get to make the rules for them. That one's yours.

You're gathering favor for more than just the scaffolding.

[ Mort continues to sniff at the muffin, and Thanatos breaks a small piece off and offers it to Mort. The plush mouse grabs the piece with his paws and begins to nibble on it, much like a normal mouse would. (Although, Mort can still eat things in one go should he choose to. He just has options now.) ]

Well, Mort?

[ Cheerful squeaks are his reply, and Thanatos gives him another piece once the first is gone. ]

Unfortunately, Mort cannot vote.

But the scaffolding is the goal, and the scaffolding will get done before I run out of muffins. The other two would be nice to have, but the priority will get done.

[It's done already, though Ryo doesn't know it yet - he hasn't yet checked. He raises an eyebrow at Thanatos and turns his gaze to Mort.]

I'm glad you like it - would you mind maybe convincing Thanatos to try it too?

[He's not above leveraging Mort as a voice of reason, when Mort is being reasonable.]

[Speaking of being reasonable - or failing to do so, honestly - Lagos pipes up from his spot in Ryo's satchel, placed on a counter a few feet away. Hey Mort! Wanna know a secret?]

[ Mort looks at Ryo and then to Lagos. He squeaks something about how Lagos shouldn't tell Ryo's secrets. However, he does take Ryo's word to heart (and maybe just to prove to Lagos that he is not a food thief). The bean mouse nudges his head against the muffin, trying to push it towards Thanatos. A single squeak follows. ]

You too, Mort?

[ Thanatos sighs, feeling a little bullied for reasons he can't fully grasp right now. He takes a small bite of the muffin. His pale gold eyes go wide. He stares at the muffin as if he's in disbelief or shock. ]

[Lagos sighs a bit - if you say so - and Ryo's eyes flicker to his satchel and back to Mort. He trusts Lagos enough not to say something incriminating or terribly private, but they're still going to have a conversation once this is over.]

[But Mort helps him out, and Thanatos takes a bite, and...that sure is an expression. Ryo stays silent for a bit, watching him, almost afraid to say anything for fear of making it worse (because he seems to keep making things worse with Thanatos no matter what he tries, and he hates the thought of ruining this too). It's another few long seconds before he speaks.]

What do you think?

[ 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

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I figured it out!

MAGIC and also THE ICON

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

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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?