voidtreckerexpress | [open] just flippin'

It's that last part that manages to actually get him to look up from the cards and at Tidus. Not that the implied teasing about him being ~~a baby~~ somehow the way younger one here is getting to him, no-- apparently he hadn't caught onto the fact yet that that was discussed at the council meeting. Huh.

As usually though, there's only one short outwardly serious moment of consideration before he returns to his usual dumb cheery ways.

"Well, then the joke's on them, because I already have someone looking out for me here." Under certain circumstances he might have been a lot more embarrassed about admitting that, but things just feel so comfortable in that regard by now that he doesn't mind admitting it.

Besides, it gives him the chance to give Tidus a teasing grin. "So who's going to be your government assigned babysitter then, huh?"

bAAAABBYYY, bbaAABBbbby!!!!

"Excuse you? I'm the star player for the biggest sports game in my world! I stopped needing a nagging old geezer years ago!"

No matter what the council thinks! Granted, the city and team he was a star player for was long gone, but it's nice to be able to flaunt that bravado like the old days. It stopped meaning anything even then, but it's fun. It's comfortable.

It's a lot better than this one card house tent thing that doesn't want to cooperate!!!

Naybe Tidus would ask more about this mysterious babysitter for Inigo usually, but for right now, he's curious. Despite that curiosity needing to take a pause as he works to fix a particularly unhappy home, but then he withdraws from it instead, a small sigh of exasperation escaping him.

"What do you think about the council?"

"The council?"

Inigo sounds slightly surprised at the question. He puts two more cards up against the rest of the cards already standing there before pausing his work for a moment. He didn't expect Tidus to take interest in that topic of all things, but then again, he is smarter than Inigo gave him credit for at first.

"I don't know. It's a good thing that there's capable people making important decisions." Granted, his view may be slightly skewed by the fact he comes from a world where monarchies are the norm rather than the exception.. This is just the kind of government he's used to. Especially since Inigo himself really doesn't want to be the one to have to make said important or difficult decisions.

"They've ever really forced anything upon us before though. It's why I'm kind of surprised about the caretaker thing. Maybe they mean it for the actual kids? I mean, I think I saw one walking around this week that didn't even look like she was ten yet."

Joke's on Ingio, Tidus only took an interest because an argument broke out and then another and now he's stubbornly invested in a process way over his head!!

"It sounded like that's part of it, once I asked about it. But it just sounded like they wanted to put an age to it. Which," and a laugh joins in, "you seen the ages on the passenger roster? Some of them are thousands of years old! Or just one!"

...Yeah, he's entirely become distracted from the cards as he lifts a forefinger to accompany that one. He hasn't yet been as baffled about the ages of some of the passengers as he rightfully should, though this is also not the time for it.

But he will pick two cards back up, attempt to slip it carefully by one already in position and get them to balance.

"I don't mind the idea of it... it's good to have some organisation, right? Working out what we need, that kind of thing." Which is about the limit of Tidus's brain power to come up with subjects. "But we have a train of how many people, and it's just a handful of them talking about it? I dunno."

He pauses, just to finish setting up his cards. Backing away with some satisfaction. "I thought letting more people join in the conversation would be a good idea. But that Tony guy has a real stick up his ass about it."

Thankfully the whole ages deal is a whole less surprising to Inigo, so it's not that part that trips him up. After all, one of his friends is probably going to look permanently ten years old even as the rest of them get older, so he's kind of accepted that whole deal already.

Which is a good thing, since it gives him more capacity to direct his two braincells towards the other stuff Tidus is saying. It's more serious than the usual, after all.

"Well.." He starts, then stops. He pulls his hands away from the cards to hold up two fingers to the other guy. "Two things. First of all, I get your concern, but on the other hand, can you imagine what a mess it'd be if everyone on the train was trying to speak up at the same time?"

Please, trying to sort thing out with his group of friends back home was already difficult enough, and all of them together was probably less than a tenth of what they've got on the train right now.

"But if you're thinking of joining it, I don't think that'd be a bad idea. I'd vote for you." Yes, he's serious about that. Look how nice he's being! "I guess it couldn't hurt to have some more representation of people our age on there."

He leans back, seeming to consider it, before he realises that wait, he forgot Thing Two. "As for Tony.. He's not a bad guy. Although I get that he gives off that kind of impression. I think he just has a.. thing about people our age. I have no idea what his world is like, but I'm guessing people under twenty are probably very sheltered there? I tried to explain to him I'm considered an adult where I'm from, but he sure didn't seem to believe me."

It's not mimicking, but with the cards before them not the main priority of their interaction, Tidus straightens his back, withdrawing his arms close to his side of the table. Listening to Inigo and considering, a brief incredulous look given at the thought of him putting himself up for a political structure like the council.

But he leaves that alone, waits for Inigo to finish before letting his head tilt; jut a slant in his posture than any real meaning to the gesture.

"I think he suspects the worse." That was his impression so far, or more what had that stick up the guy's ass in the first place, so to speak. But Tidus waves a hand, a conversationalist gesture as he continues. "But you're thinking about a meeting like that all wrong. Do you really think a hundred people are going to show up? They can," he says, because hey, that's their prerogative, "but who's gonna have a thing to say about everything? Would you? What if someone said already what you were thinking? And you can take turns speaking. If someone causes a ruckus, then you kick them out."

With that last piece he leans back, hands both coming out in an open gesture.

"I don't want to join the council. I think they should have people who can organise all the points at the end of the day, but I also think we've got a lot of heads from different worlds and skills who'd have some good input if you gave them the time. If we know about the things we should be thinking back and offering suggestions for. You know?"

Inigo frowns slightly, although it doesn't seem to be in annoyance as much as it seems to be - in what would be considered in far more modern terms than his world is ready for - a 'yikes' kind of expression.

"I think you're severely underestimating the people on the train." Not the part about them having various skills since they come from all kinds of worlds! He agrees with that part. It's not as if Inigo doesn't think people should be heard if they want to be, but.. "Have you heard how they sometimes go at it over those ICPs? I may not have much to say in council terms, but there are so many people on this train who like the sound of their own voice a little too much."

.. Well, okay, Tony is included in that, at least. But so are so many other people on this train. To think people back home complained about Inigo's ego, they were lucky!

He leans forward, starting to work on his card tower again.

"I can name people here who would definitely talk even if someone already brought up what they wanted to say. Or who would cause a ruckus. I'm pretty sure whoever was moderating that kind of talk would have to spend more time getting everyone to not fight or yell at each other than anything else." Is that more cynical of an opinion than Inigo would usually give? Definitely. But Tidus seems to be very serious about this topic, so Inigo figures the least he can do in return is to give his actual opinion rather than some rose-coloured view in return. "Things just don't seem workable that way."

Tidus isn't about to dismiss the guy's opinion, no matter how either of them usually are in terms of active braincells; it wouldn't be the first time they've had a disagreement about what's worth considering, and what isn't. He doesn't look entirely put off anyway as Inigo speaks, a point made rather reflective of Tony's own concerns.

And truthfully by the end of, his attention on the cards thoroughly derailed for the time being, Tidus still isn't that put off.

"Then how about this? 'Cause this is what I'm looking for--I'm talking about more people who'd actually have some good stuff to share to be part of the conversation. You've got what, a handful of people to decide everything for a train of people from different worlds? It's too limited to me. Two of the people I've heard on the council acted all surprised about being voted on it!"

...which is just a weird aside more than anything, but still weird to him. He really wanted to know what the voting method even was.

"If people've got talking points they wanna bring up, they should be allowed to. They can even be--decided beforehand." Another wave of the hand. "Test it out. Make it half the train. Whatever. So what if it'll be hard? I think it'll be good to talk about how we can protect each other once in a while."

don't ask him who he's been talking to, ok.

Inigo's busy putting cards on top of the finished bottom level to start working on the second level as he's thinking about what Tidus is saying. He's quiet for a moment, like he's really considering it, but then - and only then, for some reason - Inigo seems to have a realisation. One that makes him look fairly confused by the time he looks up from his cards and towards the other guy.

"Wait a second. Why are you running all this by me?"

It's as if Inigo only realised now that he's a one braincell being and not too suited for a discussion like this...

"I mean, I have just about the least say on this train. And before you say anything, that's voluntarily!" Inigo doesn't even want to make decisions for his own life, thanks. Let alone for anyone else's. He'd just ruin everything and he knows it. There's a reason he avoids letting people find out about his prince title. He doesn't want to be one. "Shouldn't you be running these ideas by someone who can actually help you make them become reality? You know, like one of the council members that is willing to listen to you."

(Look, Tidus, starting with Tony was just you chosing nightmare mode from the start..)

Tidus blinks at the first question, but holds his tongue as Inigo goes on. His expression not shifting much in that time, and while there's a quick look spared at the house of cards, it's as quickly dismissed.

"I mean... I brought it up 'cause we started talking about it," he answers quite plainly, unsure if that was weird. Was it weird? "I've talked about it with someone already, but--so what if you're just another guy? I'm just another guy too. We can have opinions, can't we?"

"Of course we can!"

There's a near-pout in his tone, almost a little defensive at the thought that it could have been sounding like he was implying they can't.

"I'm just saying. You're obviously very passionate about this, but it's not like convincing me about your idea is going to change anything, you know?" Not that Inigo necessarily disagrees with Tidus' idea - if anything, he's more just indifferent about it. He's going to stay out of this whole council business anyway, so it doesn't matter too much to him. "You should save some of that passion for when you're really going to have to use it to convince someone. You know, instead of using it all up on your old pal Inigo who's just trying to build a house of cards."

.. then again, Tidus is always pretty energetic, huh. From what he's seen, anyway. Maybe he could talk about it to everyone on the train with that kind of spirit before he'd run out of it.

There's a twist of his mouth as he thinks, a dip to his brow, holding for a moment as he considers not just what Inigo's saying, but also--pretty much the last time he tried to talk about anything along these lines with the self-proclaimed hero.

Maybe Inigo was the wrong person to get into it with, but not for the reasons stated. Or rather, maybe that last part was a subtle nudge. Tidus picks up a card from the stack, another following it.

"If you don't wanna talk about it, it's okay to say, you know? I wasn't trying to drag you into anything--we were just talking."

He says it easily enough, 'cause it's true. He enjoyed the opportunity to bounce back the thought, but if it wasn't a line of conversation Inigo really wanted to get into, he wasn't going to force the guy. Instead, Tidus examines where the house of cards has gotten to now. ...and frowns again. Crap, when did Inigo start on the second row??

"I don't know a lot about this kind of thing," he says, leaning his arms against the table as he....attempts to slowly...bring his pair of cards to rest somewhere. "So talking about it helps."

And with that said, half of the cards topple when Tidus applies too much pressure.

"Shhhhiit--ahh!"

womp womp.

Inigo's jaw just about drops to the floor the moment he sees his card dreams crumbling to dust.

"Tidus!" He says it with so much despair. It's like Tidus just threw his favourite pet straight out of the window into the void instead of just letting a few cards fall. Inigo stares at the remaining cards still standing with the saddest look in his eyes. Why would you do this, man? Bro? How could you, bro?

Thankfully he doesn't easily give up, so he just.. sadly starts trying to put some of the fallen cards back up... Saddest little puppy boy.

And despite being the saddest little puppy boy, he's still replying to the other stuff Tidus said a moment later. Isn't he so good? Look how generous he's being, even at his lowest.

"It's not that I don't want to talk about it.. I just don't feel like the right person to say anything about it. I was never the kind of person who dealt with any of that stuff back home either. It was more my big sister's kind of deal."

Bro, he didn't mean it!!! Bro...!!!!

Tidus looks devastated too, once he's snapped himself out of the frozen shock of what he's done--and even more when he looks over to the kicked puppy face that Inigo is making. The guilt is digging in deep.

He helps to scoop up some of the cards, but now, he's not too sure if he should be helping to put them back. What if he knocks them over again? He can't crush Inigo's hopes and dreams a second time. Would he even survive that betrayal?

...

...it's too dangerous...

"I guess I just saw that kinda conversation and thought...a lot more could be happening, you know? But in the end, I wouldn't have much to say either."

He sounds dejected, but the cards don't really help with that.

Inigo is still trying his darnest to get the tower's second level back up there. And for a moment he seems really focused on that, but then he can kind of catch a glimpse of Tidus from the other side of the table.

.. and that makes Inigo stop for a moment and glance over at him instead. There's still that sad puppy look on his face, but when he noticed how dejected Tidus looks, Inigo shoves that feeling down as quickly as he can. He can't quite summon his wide smile yet (if not just because it also wouldn't feel believable this quickly) but he does smile.

".. Hey, it's alright. I think you're doing a good thing here." About the stuff Tidus was talking about, of course, not the card tower he so cruelly knocked over! Even if he isn't sure about the actual plan Tidus has, he can't disagree with the spirit of it, so that's not a lie. "You're a good guy trying to improve things around here. That's admirable even if you wouldn't have much to say, you know? I think we're all trying to make things better here in our own ways."

Tidus looks over to Inigo at that reassurance, giving him a flash of a smile, raising the hand with the two cards in it.

"Oh, it's fine! You don't have to worry about me. I know." He isn't the one that should need the comfort right now, glancing between Inigo and the rebuilding project, the true reason for his downcast tone showing itself.

"...You want me to sit this out so you can keep going? Sorry 'bout that," he adds, since he didn't apologise yet, did he? "I should probably practice some before adding to a real attempt."

He casts a quick glance between the other guy and the cards still standing and then shakes his head.

"No, it's fine. You can keep going. It's not like it was that high yet." Despite his totally disappointed reaction from a few moments ago.. but that was more instinctive than anything else. Now if Tidus had ruined a fully built up tower, that'd be another story entirely! "I mean, I guess we can just see this one as practice for you. You've got to get better so we can make the real deal at some point!"

Tidus scoffs, meaningless shuffling some of the cards he's picked up, which can't be more than six or seven. But he feels somewhat better. ...though there's something fishy for sure for Inigo's reaction and the matter of how high it was or wasn't...

"You never thought about learning a ball game with all this free time?" You know, just saying. Tidus places the collected cards down and takes two, looking at where Inigo's started and...starting the slow card process of sitting a pair next to the closest house.

Stop, Tidus! Not all of us enjoy playing with balls as much as you do!

"Not really?" He says, seemingly only half-concentrated on the words leaving his mouth since his gaze is totally occupied with the cards he's painstakingly putting back in place. "But to be fair, I've also never thought about learning how to play an instrument. Or learning how to cook. Or, well, I didn't think about the latter until Bucky started strongarming me into it, anyway.."

Oh yeah?? Who's the one with the boyfriend?

"That your babysitter?" There's a flicker as Tidus looks over to Inigo, his mouth pulling up at the side at bringing back that particular subject. He didn't forget about the existence of that mysterious person!

Thankfully Inigo doesn't look offended the way he would if Tidus had brought up the b-word without Inigo implying as much earlier.. But he's very well aware he brought this teasing down upon himself in this case.

And really? He doesn't mind it as much when it comes to this scenario in particular. He's so dang fond of Bucky that he can't feel bothered at all getting teased over it.

"Yeah." So he just proudly admits that. "Kind of more like the big brother I never had though. We understand each other when it comes to a lot of things, so we grew really close really quickly." Inigo smiles as he talks about it, even as he's looking at the cards. "I'm pretty sure he's trying to keep me out of trouble in his own way."

Isn't that sweet? It gets a smile on Tidus's face, setting two cards ever so nicely together (and worth smiling over itself!), and the fondness is clear in Inigo's voice, his words, that any teasing might usually do isn't that prominent.

Even if he starts off remarking, "You? Get in trouble? Don't think there's any dragons around for you to be poking." That was the one, right. But Tidus then asks with a more genuine interest: "Is he from a similar place like you?"

"I don't think so," he says, though he seems to have to think about it for a moment. He finishes putting two cards together and leans back, crossing his arms across his chest as he stares at Tidus.

"He seems much more used to all the kinds of food they have here." Including the ones that don't exist in his world. Like soda. And that mysterious pizza thing Bucky mentioned. Not to mention he did seem to share a world with Tony, and Tony's outlook on the world seems to be inspired by a world much different from Inigo's own...

"I think he called it.. New York? Something like that, either way." At least he'll know from Tidus' reaction whether or not that place sounds familiar to him, because Inigo sure hadn't heard about it before now. "But he's dealt with a lot of war stuff too, just like me. I guess that's one of those things that doesn't change much across worlds."

There's no reaction that crosses Tidus's face from the city name, keeping a rather curious interest in what Inigo says and nothing else. Stopping with the cards when Inigo does, but his own arms folding on the table, body leaned forward against the edge.

His brows raise at the mention of war, surprise flickering in his gaze.

"You were involved in war? I thought you went over to other worlds," Tidus asks, pausing, and then trying to clarify for himself, "You went with other--units?"

He has to think about the word, as if uncertain about war terms, or army terms.

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