middleofsomewhere | What their Eyes See: Optional Ongoing

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What their Eyes See: Optional Ongoing

By day eight the Voidtreckers have made a good deal of progress in all their tasks but there is still a lot to do to help the people of the city.

It is around mid morning when there is a message on their comms. For those that want to help it is easy to either find Anan herself or ask for netpoints and scanners to be brought to them by Chiff.

Illusions have gotten worse, uncertainty and fear are rising across all tiers and the situation is becoming more chaotic by the day. Indeed especially on the first and second tiers it seems that the voidtreckers themselves are being targeted, with creatures stalking them and attacks on their minds to make them believe that what they are seeing is real.

Same inside the Spectura system, the vines seem to almost be on the offensive against the voidtreckers though things are getting better outside the game system as more of the vicitms are freed and wake up.

Almost opposite to the situation on the lowest tier, which is getting more chaotic by the day. Anger is bubbling over, people are frightened and in a place like this the only real way to express that fear is through anger.

There has been a lot of progress but there is still a lot of work to do, especially as many of the voidtreckers have started to realise, this all seems a little too familiar.

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"Giving up so soon? That's not the man I know." There's little dramatizing needed, just a shift in his tone that leads towards playful, but still with that encouraging edge - and it still sounds like Tidus, no acting necessary. He sets the plate and fork onto the table, not bothering to put it away as he goes on. "This case isn't over yet! And if you've got a lead, maybe I'll join you. Bring another pair of eyes out there!"

There's a beat, a glance up, and then, losing all added flair: "Oh yeah, and think about some birthday gifts for Taiki and Inigo with me sometime before the next platform stop. I wanna put them together a thing. Get them hanging out with some of the other guys on the train."

No pressure or anything out of nowhere, Roland. Don't mind the news of your train-son having a birthday very soon.

Like a perfect little drumbeat, Roland stands straight and moves to take the plate and fork with a fluid hand. They meet whatever makeshift cleaning area laid to the side, whether it's the sink or something simpler. There is no chiding to be had, either. Roland simply knows what to do at that moment, and even the invitation to come is met with the same smooth response. "Why not? Come on then, bring that young blood with you. We'll get to the bottom of things yet."

Detective lingo aside, Roland smiles in earnest at Tidus. He had been planning on taking his investigations to another tier, and who better to show him the ropes on team hopping than their tried and tested? Though before he's able to take another step, Roland throws him a look of mild wonder.

He also offers his empty water tumbler for Tidus - a silent request to have Gibbs fill it up.

"Wait, really?" He says. "How do you know it's the train date equivalent to August 7?" Which is a date he remembers for Inigo, of course. Roland shamefully doesn't speak out about how he wasn't able to ask for Taiki's. Regardless, he crosses his arms over his chest, thinking as he speaks. "Huh. I guess it doesn't matter. It's always a good time to give someone something they like. Yeah. I think I know what to do."

Confident!

...

Is Roland being fussy about cleaning up even on a different world?!

Tidus won't say anything, but he doesn't need to, since looks can speak so much, and Tidus's is following the chief consul with one raised eyebrow, a flat mouth. No matter the expression then given in turn with the tumbler, turned to peer down its centre before Tidus understands - and behold, here the high higgledy of water appears, perching himself onto the length of a forearm.

"Who needs to figure out birthdays anyway, when you can just have one?" Dismissed as it was, it's the way Tidus has been approaching these fun days so far. Find out someone should have a birthday, turn it into something else - while still instilling who those people are. "There's a few younger guys on the train our age, so I think it'll be fun. Let Inigo and Taiki make some cakes, get some drinks and food in - thinking about asking for Ylisse and Tai foods. Really spoil the guys." And a nod to Roland, as the tumbler is already about filled in his hand. "--You're helping me pay. On top of buying presents."

Thanks, old man.

Dishes are dishes no matter where you are, and he's not going to settle for anything less than putting them away!!

"Hm. Good point." He agrees fairly quickly, and there's really no argument to be had about it either since the point stands: enjoy the days as they go by, and question not the passage of time. They were in the void, standing between here and there and nowhere. It didn't really matter, and who was Roland to deny Inigo and Taiki the simple joys of good company and friendship?

He takes the tumbler when it's offered, back into the Arms Band. Roland doesn't even bat an eyelash at the assumption, though he can't help but raise a brow, making a slight face of disbelief at how quickly Tidus jumped on such an opening. He doesn't expect any less of him.

"Err. Sure. Happy to do it, if it'll make them happy." Roland answers. "Taiki came from a version of Earth apart from Tai, too. You could mix it up for him." As for Ylissean foods- "I recall Inigo liking honey. I made his coffee with honey, before. Honeycakes, maybe?"

What Roland does next is purely out of habit. From his Arms Band comes out a well-worn notebook with so few pages left, it's a wonder he's still got something to write on. He sits back down and starts jotting notes down for his part in their get-together, eyes immediately glazed with focus.

Wow, he's really going to do this now. Not that Tidus is about to suggest they focus on the mission, when the mission really hasn't been as desperate a situation as the last one. He hums at the idea of honeycakes - sounds nice; can't you get some of those with flake pastry? - but for any of his own recommendations, they're silenced at the appearance of the well-loved notebook that's never far from Roland's person. A familiar sight.

...

An unwelcome sight, as Tidus places his empty hands onto his sides.

"What happened to the riven?"

By the pointed tone, Roland's response should be carefully considered.

"Huh?"

The what now?

It's also par the course for Roland to write, lost in his thoughts as soon as pen hits the page, so the delay in his response is not done to spite or to tease. In fact, he looks up some, brows furrowing in wonder as if caught from a trance. They were talking about gifts and food, for the party. Now it's -

- The riven?

Oh. The riven! Roland's eyes grow wide, and he at least has the decency to look slightly embarrassed that he was working in front of the guy who gave it him using tools that were decidedly not it. He scratches the back of his neck before a sparkle of gold tucks his noteback back into temporal space. Out comes the said tablet, settling nicely on both of his hands, already expanded into its longer, more usable form.

"Sorry," he offers two tones quieter. "Force of habit."

Now to type...in front of Tidus...on the tablet with strange keyboard placement...

Typical. At least Roland does have the decency to know what he's done instead of dismissing and continuing with his notebook, which Tidus can appreciate. Going over to lean his weight on the back of a chair with a foot folding over the other, except--

Except for as comfortable as that would be, Tidus realises what telling a guy more used to paper than a keyboard is going to keep them here longer than necessary. A point Tidus had considered when getting the thing, but he lifts away from his perch with a sigh, coming over to Roland and sitting a hand on his shoulder as he leans down.

"Riven, new document voice mode."

And if Roland hasn't gotten to that portion yet, it pops up now, or changes the document he's opened: a symbol appearing on the screen. Tidus says nothing, moving back a step and making a gesture of 'go on'.

It's voice mode, pops. Time to let the riven do the writing.

He whistles low.

To say that it was an impressive feature is an understatement. Voice activation tech wasn't necessarily new, but boy did Tidus activate it with presentation! And what's Roland if not easily caught up in those things just as much as the actual act itself? He chuckles, watching the symbol pop-up, eyes wide and eager. Bright-eyed as if years didn't hide behind his face.

He doesn't need to be told twice, either. The gesture is met with an approving nod before he turns back to the riven with full attention. Clearing his throat, he goes:

"Note to self: purchase gifts for Inigo and Taiki." He pauses, watching the screen close to see if it follows his words. It does, and it's a marvel to behold. Roland continues. "Buy food they might like for their party, and-" ah! "-look for something in Faraway Forest, shop purchase."

That was a curious addition, but Roland seems confident in the instruction. Perhaps the mystery will unfold sooner than later.

"Did you want anything too? Come on, I'm buying. Heh." Roland tilts slightly to the side to meet Tidus's gaze across the table and the tablet, a small smile on his face. "You're part of the party too, birthday or not. Oh, wait hold on-!"

Unfortunately, the riven continues to register Roland's voice notes despite the latter half addressed to someone actually in the room with him. He scowls slightly, waiting for the cursor to pause in its typing before a flurry of reprimands fly out of his lips unwittingly. 'Backspace, delete. Delete. Not that much! No don't write that down!'

It's fun, watching Roland experience the new gadgetry with a better ease than he was before. This was the function that made Tidus buy it for the man. He just could see the guy with a riven, talking away his thoughts and letting it document everything, with the same energy as he would be jotting away in the various of notebooks he made appear from thin air whenever a note was necessary.

And then the obvious happens. Obvious, but Tidus hadn't planned or expected this, any answer he had to the offer interrupted by the trip-up that leads to more, and to give a lending hand-

"Riven, pause! -- did it work?" Look, he's not actually playing that close attention to know from where he hangs out, but he'll rest his forearm on Roland's shoulder again to check, and for the portion of text Tidus figures isn't wanted, he drags a slow finger across where it reads on the screen, highlighting it and pressing a symbol that appears on its own upper keyboard to delete it.

"You can do that to move it down a line too, or you can highlight it for real. I had a model like this I used for school. Hey, you'll get the hang of it!"

There's a ticklish humour in the way Tidus speaks, and he pats the man on the shoulder as he leans off him.

"And don't worry about me, you can just help me buy things! We wanna get some drinks too, and the ingredients for a cake. I saw a recipe in a book that Taiki can eat too."

"Huh. Would you look at that?" This was indeed, a pleasant surprise. For all the intimidation of a new piece of technology from another world, it wasn't so different from the tablets he used back on Earth. He had one in particular that he would never leave home without. Would there be any merit in bringing that to the train...?

Of course not. There was no need of it now. He had this.

He looks up to nod thanks before Tidus crosses back to his seat opposite him on the table. The rest, suddenly, becomes easier for Roland to maneuver. The demonstration was one thing, but muscle memory supplemented the way his finger hovers a bit more comfortably across the transparent screen, putting the cursor back to where it was on voice function.

He types the rest quickly - unlike how he would type on the ICP's back on the train - and then collapses the riven altogether. Whatever it was he added, Roland didn't seem keen on giving Tidus a preview.

"Looks like your boys night is gonna be jam-packed, then. I'd suggest movies, but that's more my style." He stands up, dusting himself off. "Besides, it sounds more like a social affair. I'll let you know what I get for it after the mission, yeah?"

There's some curiosity, but Tidus doesn't bother to ask, bound to find out the details when the time is more relevant for discussing it. As Roland makes mention, there's a mission there's on, a task to get to, and Tidus rises off from his place of rest.

"Sure, let's not get the same things. Alright! Anan wants us to put netpoints in some good places. Let's find some bigshots and bug their buildings! Or you wanna go full Roland-play and see if you can shake the hand of some CEOs?"

Get it? Roleplay, Roland play? He's a natural at these puns!! And pumped to get going, especially with the activities that awaited them once this mission was over.

He doesn't quite chortle at that, but it's a pun appreciated with an easygoing smile. "Heh. You got a comedy routine I don't know about?"

Roland stands to height, looking ahead, all of a sudden a bit more serious than when the riven was out, speaking of gifts to buy and nights to plan. "Anyway. I was thinking of hitting level four, actually. I mean, tier two was practically the stairway to heaven and it's pretty messed up." He grips his hand into a fist. "What more at the lowest level where those bigwigs don't even care to look at? Anan says that's where she needs them the most, too."

So off he'll go there, not one to be dissuaded when his mind is set.

Though at least, for the time being, his playfulness hasn't subsided quite just yet. "I'll get you a souvenir."

Gah, tier four. He shouldn't really be worried about that though, and it doesn't rub him the same way as when they first got the mission reports, with tier fours jobs being about the underground fight clubs. All the levels had people of different living standards, and it wasn't the fighting that Roland was likely to be getting involved in. Anan needed info, and connections.

So- "Sure. You don't let your pretty face get you in trouble." Which even Tidus can't say with a straight face. "I'll keep an eye on things up here, check on the higher level. Maybe I'll take those sneaking lessons from Guri when we get back. It's never really been my strong suit."

He's the kind of guy to leave a mess behind him.

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What their Eyes See: Optional Ongoing

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