Roland Crane (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
adregem) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
voidtreckerexpress2020-11-03 02:01 am
adregem) wrote in voidtreckerexpress2020-11-03 02:01 am
the voidtrecker cafe is now open? ☕ a november catch-all!
Who: Roland Crane x OTA!
Where: Various places, specifically/primarily: the Kitchen and the Gym.
When: Spanning most of early Imagination, from Imagination 1-12 (pre-mission weeks).
What: Join the train's resident president as he explores various degrees of hobby-making, training, and whatever else comes between work and sleep.
Warnings: Self-indulgent Barista!Roland as the primary prompt. No apologies given!!!
01 - good to the last drop?
It's your sense of smell that's engaged first. Walk upstairs unto the second floor of the Kitchen, and it's impossible to miss. Its wafting aroma may even reach below the floor, enticing you to come up out of curiosity. For those who come from Earth in particular, it's a smell that feels fond and nostalgic, invoking busy work days and people-watching by busy tables.
Almost true to the designated name of the month, there is an invitation to be swept away by the roast of coffee beans stirring the imagination. The air around here is unbelievably fragrant, almost sweet. And the amateur roast master for as long as supplies last is a dutiful figure - Roland Crane, in a simple polo shirt and an apron tied to his waist, standing behind the steel counter with an open crate of supplies from his recent purchase at the store. The communal coffee maker is there too, but his spread is more meticulous this time around. Two bags of coffee beans labeled 'hazelnut creme' and 'dark arabica' to one side, with batches already ground up. The portable grinder is small, but it matches the moka pot for espresso. Hot water already reaching the boil, with bottles lined up like they're ready for service: a couple of syrup selections, bottles of milk, cream, sugar, then finally the hero of the month: honey in various containers.
He's reading a book from the counter, head tilted down, but don't let that stop you from approaching. He's got something brewing, in more ways than one. In fact, as soon as he notices you, he'll offer a small smile, abandoning the task of reading altogether as he goes for his tools. Cups and mugs within reach, but he'll pretend to write something on them with his pen. An inside joke that may or may not connect, but he commits to the immersion anyway:
"Hey, welcome back. Don't worry, I remember you. And what you ordered last time. Heh."
Kick back. Relax. Have a cuppa of honey and coffee and let Roland the barista hear your tales of woe. Or joy? Whatever you're willing to share. He'll listen. He's got the experience, trust him.
(The tip jar to the very end of his work station is absolutely fake.)
02 - a moving target.
[ At the Gym, some time before mission information goes up and Roland heads straight into his usual business mode, you will find him with his pistol. But for those who have seen him in action already, there's something decidedly different this time around. The gun in his hand, although already more futuristic and magical in its design, is looking more spruced up. An extra barrel that makes it bulky, and the muzzle shaped odd. There's something there that was not there before.
And the only time you will see this for yourself is when he takes a deep breath...and aims at the makeshift targets from a distance. They're staggered, purposely left in random formations. When Roland shoots, his left hand holding the trigger, the usual sound of a gun firing filling the car...Until it stops and suddenly a grappling hook comes out instead. A weird combination, but it fires just as fast as the bullets and there's a struggle to reach the farthest dummy.
Unfortunately, it doesn't quite catch. And so Roland retracts it back, the fiber cable making a sharp whizzing sound as it returns to the gun. ]
[ He sighs. ] This is going to take some getting used to before I even think about making new moves.
[ Approach him here, for training, and he'll be a happy partner. ] Say, got something small I can use to try and grab with my new toy, here? I promise I won't break it. [ Roland nods, jokingly but also, how could he lie to you with such an earnest face? ]
03 - Wildcard!
[ For anything else you may want to do! Am on Discord < Titallenial#7701 > for plotting ideas. Am always open, and will follow your lead! ]
Where: Various places, specifically/primarily: the Kitchen and the Gym.
When: Spanning most of early Imagination, from Imagination 1-12 (pre-mission weeks).
What: Join the train's resident president as he explores various degrees of hobby-making, training, and whatever else comes between work and sleep.
Warnings: Self-indulgent Barista!Roland as the primary prompt. No apologies given!!!
01 - good to the last drop?
It's your sense of smell that's engaged first. Walk upstairs unto the second floor of the Kitchen, and it's impossible to miss. Its wafting aroma may even reach below the floor, enticing you to come up out of curiosity. For those who come from Earth in particular, it's a smell that feels fond and nostalgic, invoking busy work days and people-watching by busy tables.
Almost true to the designated name of the month, there is an invitation to be swept away by the roast of coffee beans stirring the imagination. The air around here is unbelievably fragrant, almost sweet. And the amateur roast master for as long as supplies last is a dutiful figure - Roland Crane, in a simple polo shirt and an apron tied to his waist, standing behind the steel counter with an open crate of supplies from his recent purchase at the store. The communal coffee maker is there too, but his spread is more meticulous this time around. Two bags of coffee beans labeled 'hazelnut creme' and 'dark arabica' to one side, with batches already ground up. The portable grinder is small, but it matches the moka pot for espresso. Hot water already reaching the boil, with bottles lined up like they're ready for service: a couple of syrup selections, bottles of milk, cream, sugar, then finally the hero of the month: honey in various containers.
He's reading a book from the counter, head tilted down, but don't let that stop you from approaching. He's got something brewing, in more ways than one. In fact, as soon as he notices you, he'll offer a small smile, abandoning the task of reading altogether as he goes for his tools. Cups and mugs within reach, but he'll pretend to write something on them with his pen. An inside joke that may or may not connect, but he commits to the immersion anyway:
"Hey, welcome back. Don't worry, I remember you. And what you ordered last time. Heh."
Kick back. Relax. Have a cuppa of honey and coffee and let Roland the barista hear your tales of woe. Or joy? Whatever you're willing to share. He'll listen. He's got the experience, trust him.
(The tip jar to the very end of his work station is absolutely fake.)
02 - a moving target.
[ At the Gym, some time before mission information goes up and Roland heads straight into his usual business mode, you will find him with his pistol. But for those who have seen him in action already, there's something decidedly different this time around. The gun in his hand, although already more futuristic and magical in its design, is looking more spruced up. An extra barrel that makes it bulky, and the muzzle shaped odd. There's something there that was not there before.
And the only time you will see this for yourself is when he takes a deep breath...and aims at the makeshift targets from a distance. They're staggered, purposely left in random formations. When Roland shoots, his left hand holding the trigger, the usual sound of a gun firing filling the car...Until it stops and suddenly a grappling hook comes out instead. A weird combination, but it fires just as fast as the bullets and there's a struggle to reach the farthest dummy.
Unfortunately, it doesn't quite catch. And so Roland retracts it back, the fiber cable making a sharp whizzing sound as it returns to the gun. ]
[ He sighs. ] This is going to take some getting used to before I even think about making new moves.
[ Approach him here, for training, and he'll be a happy partner. ] Say, got something small I can use to try and grab with my new toy, here? I promise I won't break it. [ Roland nods, jokingly but also, how could he lie to you with such an earnest face? ]
03 - Wildcard!
[ For anything else you may want to do! Am on Discord < Titallenial#7701 > for plotting ideas. Am always open, and will follow your lead! ]
no subject
"Hey. Did you want a cup?"
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"Okay." Yoite decided after a moment's thought. It would be nice to smell the coffee up close.
no subject
There were areas to sit too, as if he would really be in a cafe watching the barista make drinks. It's a well thought-out arrangement of the upstairs kitchen, at least.
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"You can make it how you want." He answered after a brief moment's thought.
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As he prepares the moka pot for another go at fresh beans, he glances up at the boy and makes the assumption that he might be new. He hasn't seen him around the train before, and you spend enough time on the Voidtrecker, you'll eventually get to know everyone by face at least.
"So, what do you go by? It's nice to meet you. I'm Roland."
no subject
He'd probably met more people in a day or two on the train than he'd ever met in his entire life. It was a little overwhelming. He was watching Roland, and what he was doing rather intently, which might seem odd enough, but in actuality he needed to pay attention, as he couldn't hear anything at the moment.
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It isn't coming across to Roland yet that Yoite couldn't really hear, but he could chalk it up to how focused he was on the coffee he was making. He'll glance at the book from time to time, literally adjusting the recipe for what he had and what was missing. For this particular cup, Roland would make Yoite something simple but delicious nonetheless. Or he would assume - as a coffee variation from the Frothy Coffee recipe that was on the page. Maybe he'll add a pump or two of hazelnut to emphasize the taste? Or no, vanilla syrup...
He's in the middle of mixing in the honey - runnier than it was thick for this batch - when he speaks to Yoite again. "So I'm guessing you just got here from the platform, huh?"
no subject
Roland was now talking and mixing which turned him slightly off the angle where he could see him, but could see enough that his lips were moving. He waited a moment until he was done stirring.
"Can you...repeat that?"
no subject
Roland looks up momentarily, halfway finished with drizzling in the honey. He cranes his neck and straightens up, abandoning the task of the coffee for now.
"Ah. I asked, how are you taking your new environment so far?" Roland decides to reword his previous statement, might have been too vague? Knowing his sarcasm sometimes seeps through when he's trying to make a joke, or if he's attempting to break the ice. That seemed a lot better to say.
no subject
The thing was, he hadn't been exposed to so many people before. "And...I don't normally have roommates."
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Roland offers him a plate and a teaspoon, in case he might want to adjust his brew more with sugar or cream: both in small jars that come with the kit, sitting pretty nearby.
"Don't tell me being around people is the strangest thing about all of this, for you? Heh." Then that would really be saying a lot about his new acquaintance, wouldn't it? Though of course anyone would be alarmed at the amount of compliant people kidnapped on a magical train...one of them, trying to remain comfortable by finding hobbies, like playing pretend coffee-maker.
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"No." He admitted. "Typically missions are much shorter than this and they don't offer sleeping arrangements..and strange colour coded teams." There was a lot that was going on that he wasn't sure about.
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Or so he would think to himself.
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He was an assassin, really, there was no way around that.
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Record stop. Did he just hear that correctly? He halts his movement and blinks slowly.
"You're a ninja?" Blinks again. He's aware of the alternate nature of universes, but if Ninja Mime is of any indication of what's the standard...Yoite in a black suit, with throwing stars, maybe? Was it the same as his world? It wouldn't hurt to ask. Better that, than to assume.
"In...in my world we have ninjas, too. But they're usually just characters in stories and movies. They're secret agents almost, serving a lord or a master to do covert activities." He makes an easy gesture with his hand. "Something similar?" Not that Roland's asking to judge. He's genuinely curious.
no subject
"Something like that. The ninjas in my world all operate in the secret world of Nabari. I do what the head of the clan tells me to...or I did, anyway. Now I'm trying to protect the Shinra Banshou. He's...my friend."
Yoite just nodded a little bit. "Primarily my role was to destroy the enemy, assassinations, basically." He'd killed a lot of people. He wasn't a very good person.
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Though he doesn't look any more excited than his poker face would show; just small nuanced actions, widening eyes, and a finger under his chin. His world may not have ninjas, but hitmen were a reality. And neither would Roland necessarily judge Yoite. Everyone was different. Everyone had a tale to tell. Whatever decision spurred Yoite to become what he is, what he was, was neither Roland's business nor his to hold to account. It is what it is.
"Is the Shinra Banshou someone of great rank in the clan? Or a rival clan, maybe?" But apart from that - "I'm glad you made a friend in him, regardless. I can't imagine such a line of work to be easy on any given day."
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"If he uses the Shinra Banshou which is a forbidden technique that can do absolutely anything you can imagine, he will become the King of Nabari. I want to help him...it was to grant my wish. I still want him to grant my wish, but I like him and I want to protect him from everyone else."
He paused at the comment about his line of work and he shrugged ever so slightly. "I have done nothing but kill people, even my mother, so there's-" He shook his head. "There's nothing else I can do."
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"Miharu...He's a wish granter? He has such a power?"
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Then again, maybe not.
"The Shinra Banshou can grant any wish Miharu has." Yoite confirmed. "I want him to make it so I never existed. It can rewrite the past. It's a very powerful technique." He said, by way of explanation.
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"Why?" He says, simply and steadily. "Why's that your one wish for Miharu? Wouldn't that make your friend sad...?"
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"...I see. Well," he trails off, not because he doesn't know what to say but because he is trying to say it in a way that doesn't seem too presumptuous. "I've only spent maybe this past half hour with you so far, but I know I'm not complaining about you being here." Roland smiles, encouragingly. "So you're welcome to come back up here if you want to, for this and whatever else you might need to take your mind off things."
The coffee, maybe tea next time? Solace is sometimes the only answer to the hardest questions. And it's all men like Roland can offer. He hopes it's enough.
no subject
"Maybe." Yoite agreed, getting up so he wouldn't take too much of Roland's time.
"Some other time." It almost sounded like that might be a promise.
no subject
"The cafe's open for you. Don't worry about it." He says next, playing along the little act. "I hope you enjoyed."
Between the talk and the initial introduction, he hasn't really quite put two and two together yet. That Yoite didn't taste a thing, that he's been reading his lips move, all this time.