Video - Imagination 15

[adregem]

(Gen - in Purple. | Roland - in Dark Blue.)

[ The ICP flickers to life and in video, two individuals stand side by side. One is stern and still, with heavy eyes and crossed arms. The other with duo-colored hair is smiling, but their gaze is sharp and attentive. The announcement seems to be coming from the Dining car. ]

Good morning, everyone! After a rather … difficult … last mission, it seems that everyone’s scrambling for ideas, and answers. It’s … certainly been in my mind. Some have even called for a change in leadership, which is understandable, but I think might’ve ruffled a few feathers.

I really think that after everything we’ve been through, a fight about who’s running what is the last thing we need.

[ Roland transitions smoothly, with a nod in agreement. ]



Leadership’s always been about action, and in that sense, no one necessarily needs a title to be a leader in their own right. We’re all here to make train life a better place in our own way...so let’s do it. Let’s talk. No more barriers, no more walls. Just everyone who’s ever been interested to say anything about the train, coming together.

How’s the 18th of Imagination, sound? We can do it in the Music Room’s upper floor, so we maximize space.

[ Gen nodded, and added sheepishly: ]

Yes, so - Roland put things a lot better than I could, but he’s been here for a lot longer. But, pretty much, what he said!

Please - everyone, no matter what team, how involved you were in the mission - whether you saw things fall apart for yourself - please come. We’d want to speak to the Team Leads and the Council members, of course, but.

Now isn’t the time for us to bicker over power. We need to work together to find a better way to work - or more people are going to end up getting hurt.

[ Roland’s gaze grows more stern. Like he’s remembering something as he talks. Could just be the catch of the light. ]

There’s a lot we need to discuss either way. As one. Every voice heard, every talent taken into consideration so they’re exactly where they need to be.

[ Shrugging, Gen flourished a little with his hands, and said - ]

Ah! And there’ll be snacks! So even if you’re worried you might not have a great idea … if you’re feeling shy … you can at least come for the food, my friends.

Come for the candy! Stay for the attempts to keep us all from exploding. It’s a win-win!

[ And with that said, the two make their individual salutations - Roland nodding again and Gen waving nicely - before the announcement ends. ]



(OOC: Expect threeways/fourways/whatever-have-you-ways wherever appropriate! The said Open Log will be posted on the 5th of December. This is not a council meeting, but a player-driven initiative :) Come one, come all! Please feel free to throw in stuff OOCly here. )

Comments

[video]

[consider8]

You truly want everyone involved...? Is that... wise?

[She had only gave a cursory listen to the various conversation of that other video, and is now increasingly aware there are a variety of very strong opinions...]

[ Video ]

[fun_thementalist]

[ He saw that too, he got where she was coming from. But. ]

My dear, it might be a cliché, but we're all stuck in the same sinking boat.

Even though there will be differences in how to solve our problems - and there will be - working together isn't only an ideal, it's pretty crucial.

Even if we can magically come back to life in the luggage car, I really don't want to end up there next mission. You know?

[consider8]

I understand where you are coming from, but...

[How to say this delicately.] ...considering everyone's viewpoints may be an impossibility. And... not everyone is capable of setting aside their own emotions to clearly identify what they want to see happen and what needs to happen.

... [She's been a part of splatfests, and has seen how powerful differences of opinions can be. But those are all fun and games and this is putting people's lives on the line...]

Not everyone thought would be grounded be... informed. Not every viewpoint would be valid. How will the council decide what should and should not be heard?

[To be honest, she doesn't even trust that her own thoughts and views have value to a setting like this.]

[fun_thementalist]

... Trust me, I do understand where you're coming from as well.

But you can't decide ahead of time, only certain people are 'allowed', and other people's opinions aren't 'valid'. That's a recipe for disaster. Who's making that decision? What's the criteria? Why are people being excluded? What factors are coming into play?

Conflict is, sadly, inevitable. But consensus is actually a very human- I mean. A very social trait. People are naturally going to disagree, but we've also survived as long as we have, as various species, because we can work together.

Certainly, there will be misinformed ideas, and I'm sure a few people will try to make silly claims. But they can still be heard. Their concerns are still important. Theirs might just not be the deciding factor in what course is ultimately taken ...

[ Shrugs ] But that really, really won't be my call.

[consider8]

[Eight took the full measure of what he just said and -- blunder aside -- agrees with it for the most part. She's not sure what this is really like, as for the most part she was used to fascist leadership over democratic rule. This was all very new to her.]

[But she wasn't about to dismiss a new idea out of tentacle.] Alright.

I had planned on going anyway.

To hear what is being said and to hear what the leaders think should be done.

I want to stay informed.

[fun_thementalist]

That's really the best, first step. Getting a good feel for where other people are coming from, becoming better educated.

[ Gen shrugged a little. ]

I mean. Honestly, after ... everything ... just now ...

I can't imagine things getting a lot worse. But saying that really feels like jinxing things, doesn't it?

[consider8]

[Where's the lie?]

It's true.

A lot of people are very upset. And it sounds like a lot of people are right to be upset.

Are all missions that... way?

[fun_thementalist]

I can't really say. I've only been on just one, before that - and no. It didn't seem like this one at all.

[ Gave her a wry little smile. ] Really, I haven't been here for a lot longer than you have, my dear. But all the same, this can't be the only way of doing things.

[consider8]

[Hmm... it was enough to get her to think.]

Was there a meeting after the last one, too?

[fun_thementalist]

Not like we're suggesting. I'm not sure a trainwide thing's really been done before, but I could be wrong.

Usually it seems to be split up into our color teams, but ... I mean ... the things out there don't care what colors we're assigned. That alone makes it seem kind of weird to divide us in here, doesn't it?

[consider8]

[She sees the sense in that.]

Why is everyone in different colors?

[fun_thementalist]

Now, that is a good question, isn't it?

We don't know why we're put into separate teams, or how it really divides us up. It just ... is the way it is. And apparently we're taking these team designations as logical even though we don't get how they work?

I'm not saying dividing stuff up is a bad idea - I want to be nowhere near a fight, let me be clear - but we maybe should try to do it. Like. In a way that makes sense to us.

[consider8]

[Eight can see the sense in that, too. She fully agrees that technicians like Senku and healers like Ichigo should not be putting themselves forward into any sort of combat sense, but that they also provided important function for the benefit and welfare of everyone.]

[Nor was she so arrogant to assume that she was the first person to ask this question.]

You're... on the orange team, right? I was on the purple, and it seemed like we spent most of the time traveling, since we had to go to the different stations.

[She's not really getting to a point, she's mostly thinking out loud, here.]

[fun_thementalist]

I am! Even though I'm really not as, err. Clever as most of the people on the orange team seems to be. Maybe they put me here just because I'm rather awful at fighting anything.

Though we spent a lot of our time trekking through the jungle, too. Lots of things to repair, lots of robots to dismantle. I definitely got my steps in, you could say!

[consider8]

[That actually sounded like fun. If she had her ink pack, she would even be able to help fight them off. Perhaps someday.]

Did you bring anything back?

[She asked the important questions.]

[fun_thementalist]

I got a few things for Senku-chan! Bits and bobs from robots. I really don’t know too much about it, hopefully I didn’t pick up a bunch of broken junk.

[ He’s pretty sure everything he found was in decent enough condition, Gen put in effort in his scavenging. ]

Oh, and some things that might be editable, too. I’ll need to check with him to see.

[ Cacao! Maybe. They had to see how processing it went. ]

[consider8]

[That made sense.] Does he have you collect a lot of things?

[Cacao would be good, though! She'd have no idea how to process that, but fresh chocolate would be delish~]

[fun_thementalist]

I'm always dragged into a lot of work.

[ And he always said yes, which was the real point of the matter, when you got down to it. ]

But he does such incredible things with even the most basic of materials! First thing he decided to do when I met him, was build a power plant. And I'll remind you, we had rocks and sticks to work with, my dear.

[consider8]

[Ohh... But rocks and sticks...? Hmn...]

Hydro-electric?

[fun_thementalist]

Ah! Eventually.

But at first, he used raw manpower to help charge up the dynamo that he built.

[ A pause, and then a rueful sort of expression. ]

And. Yes. By raw manpower, I mean me. And other people. But also me. I'm not built for that, my dear! My poor arms were going to fall off! It was terribly cruel.

[video]

[adregem]

[ Though Roland can only assume a little from such a reaction, his youthful looks betray a much more experienced man, honed in the nuances of hearing the many voices of the public. This was where he trained, after all; the arena of the vox populi. So when he answers Eight, it is with an ease that comes naturally. ]

Eight. [ Roland calls her out of acknowledgment, recognition, but also in a way, a slight reassurance. ]

We do. No one should be left behind. Not even those who might have differing opinions. I know it can seem a little daunting, but the beauty lies in the challenge. Plus, if it helps to moderate, I'm used to receiving the more violent end of these things. Nothing will escalate beyond passionate debates.

[ In other words, there's nothing to worry about. As long as he has some semblance of influence, however imagined or small, it will always be aimed towards unification. Togetherness. Serving the many, not the one. And if there was ever any doubt about Roland's inclination for being a public servant, the energized way he talks about this upcoming meeting is the clearest indication of all. He loves this stuff. He lives for it. ]

Will you come too? I'd personally like to hear what's on your mind. The memorial was a fantastic addition.

[consider8]

[Eight is quiet for a long time, staring diligently into the screen. How different Roland was to any other type of leader she had known. They all were. The Octarian King, DJ Octavio, demanded full compliance with his orders and Octarian duty. She never doubted that Octavio had the Octarian race's interest in heart, but he also never permitted outside dissent. Uniformity in duty and purpose; such was the Octarian way.]

[Yet to hear Roland speak, she couldn't help but wonder if allowing a larger conversation may have its own value... if the views at large was tempered by people like Roland, perhaps it could work.]

I had planned on going...

[She blushes magenta at the praise.] ...but I don't think I'm going to be doing much talking...

[adregem]

[ He nods still, patiently listening, absorbing it all no matter what Eight might have to say. Roland hasn't forgotten what she told him on the platform when they first met. He's seen her move when challenged. He knows, he's confident, that she's more than what she presents herself to be. And he wants to support that. ]

You don't have to. Listening is just as important as talking. But...between you and me? You've got a secret weapon.

[ He pauses for dramatic effect. Leans in just slightly to the ICP, before tilting his head in an angle. ]

Me. I can voice out whatever ideas or concerns you have so you don't have to do it.

[consider8]

[A secret weapon? That piques her interest. She had thought that the whole point was to have a conversation to decide future directions of the train, there was no need for warfare right--]

[And then foot drops and everything just clicks. It was true. Even though they had only met just a little over a month now, Eight had started to feel comforted by Roland's presence. She couldn't help but feel if he followed what he said that everything would be alright.]

[She let's out a small chii of a giggle though.]

And if that doesn't work I can use you as a secret weapon to hit people with. [That is if she was going to use his phrase literally. She couldn't help but laugh at the image in her head.]

Thank you, Roland.

THERE'S THIS TAG - sorry again! ;;

[adregem]

[ He chuckles earnestly. Lucky for Eight, even as an adult, Roland's pretty good at playing along. ] They'll never see it coming. Just make sure not to hit them with me so hard, alright? And not on the face.

[ Roland nods, and offers her a mock salute. ]

Heh. Just doing my job, ma'am.