the voidtrecker cafe is now open? ☕ a november catch-all!

[adregem]

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! ]

Comments

[adregem]

He regards both of them with some hint of amusement, but the banter he would have liked to add himself isn't what naturally comes out. The barista look was new, but the expression he now sports is more Roland than the facade of a make-believe coffee shop onboard a void train in god knows where.

Roland simply nods at Tidus, then speaks with a gesture of his own hand waved decisively in the air, as if making a point.

"We most certainly are, Tidus." He says. "Aside from your shared concerns about surviving and resource management during missions, which rest assured, are invaluable to any team...Tidus tells me neither of you were aware that we had a more or less generous supply of first aid items and food." He forgot about notetaking - a surprise! - so its summoned promptly out of his Arms Band as soon as the thought occurs to him. This is set down on the counter, but he doesn't move to jot anything down just yet.

"I know you're probably going to say you made due with what you had anyway, Senku, but it's still important that you know it exists. Tidus and Lightning from Red were the first to start the initiative." He sends Tidus a small smirk - proud?? - then jumps back into business. "What else were you concerned about during last mission, if I can ask candidly? Treat me as a conduit for your feedback, not as a team lead for one color. If it's a pressing matter, then we need to disseminate it to everyone else for certain."

[10billionpercent]

"You want my candid opinion?" Senku asked, as perhaps the only warning, and in fact, he shot Gen a look. A telling look. One that said, prepare to do spin some damage control because he was about to give his unfiltered opinion.

"I think the organizational structure of this train is an unmitigated clusterfuck." Senku began bluntly. A lot of people might consider curse words a sign of being uneducated, but he'd always had a bit of a streak, intellect or not. He was just crass at times.

"I'll tell you what I told Tidus." He didn't care if Roland was a team leader or not, it didn't matter to him. "The last mission, frankly, was a disorganized mess. I don't just mean the Orange team, I mean as a whole. If I operated any operation like this, the odds of being successful reduce drastically. Then again, we don't seem to have a goal we're all working towards. In fact, a lot of people are complacent, aren't they? Getting by here and doing whatever the train wants them to."

He was asked, Roland needed to remember he asked because Senku wasn't going to pull his punches, which honestly, was why Gen was there. It would be a good illustration as to what his job actually was most of the time.

"The teams are divided based on some arbitrary quality we're not privvy to, not people's skills or strengths, so you've got people running around on each team being rather ineffective." That was his first observation. "We had a meeting, right, and like you say, no one said anything about there being food or other supplies available. Doesn't bother me, but it would bother other people, for sure. They must have made their own arrangements. I couldn't tell you who to go to for these supplies. I can't even place blame completely on our leaders, one of them was M.I.A., but who steps in when she's not available?" He took a breath.

"We are working as four different factions, instead of a community as a whole. There's a council, in theory, but fuck if I know what they do. Nothing, as far as I can tell. There's no sense of community. People get their points they buy what they want, they're driven by self-accomplishment. They aren't taking care of each other. So instead you have four factions. Four factions whose leadership is incredibly centralized. I don't know how your team does it exactly, but do you have a back up plan if something happens to you Roland? Who does your job if you can't?" Senku pointed out.

"Ideally, the council would be looking after how the four factions are working, but from what I could tell a lot of the council is the same members. That's not great either. The so-called power should be decentralized. There's a distinct lack of teamwork. The fact Tidus came up with this supply thing on his own is a testament to that."

He would pause then and let Gen couch the fall. "Those are the biggest problems I can see. Do you want to know how to fix it?"

[fun_thementalist]

Chuckling at Tidus, Gen winked at him. "Oh, however could I forget all the bear? And it's been such a grizzly process dealing with it, too."

He hummed thoughtfully as Tidus and Roland explained. "We are incredibly used to making do with what we have, but, that isn't a feasible long-term goal, is it? We don't all have geniuses like Senku to rely on."

And, well. Roland did ask for honesty, didn't he? Gen's expression was unsurprised, rolling with everything he said, to intercut smoothy once he was finished.

"What Senku-chan means, obviously," Gen smiled charmingly at them, "is there is a huge opportunity for improvement here. This train has gathered the brightest and best from a variety of worlds, clearly, it must have. So all of this unorganized tangle of people - there's a lot of potential here, that's not being used."

"And of course we're built for survival, complacency, but going forward toward one goal - say, helping people decide whether they actually want to leave, or stay, and somehow finding a way for them to do that - that would unite us, wouldn't it?"

Gen grinned and gestured widely. "We need to play to people's strengths, because of all the potential here. Let people feel involved, and useful. When people feel needed and inspired - not just another cog in a machine - they're far more motivated to help each other."

"If we're all working together - if we all give each other a chance to use our real strengths - if we give backups to when terrible things happen, like people walking off like zombies from the train, or just getting kidnapped temporarily - we'll work a lot better as a whole. Decentralization will be key because it will, ironically, let us all feel better connected, like we each have a role toward working together."

He smiled. "I think that's what my dearest Senku had meant."

[blitzcheer]

There's no particularly shift of expression from Tidus as he listened to either of them, different tones applied from the pair. Looks over at Roland once or twice, but he doesn't think that the guy can't handle Senku's approach. It's not exactly that harsh, is it? It's honest, and it's an honesty Tidus likes, personally.

He tries to take in everything said, finds somewhere he finds easily enough to start. His own experience since being on the train and in missions. Speaking without much hesitation.

"Thing is, I think we need to really push people into wanting to split or changing." That was one point, at least. "I haven't cared about the teams since I arrived. They're stupid to me: we don't know how they're organised, and from the get-go, some teams are always under-numbered for their job. But since I've been here, people take being part of this team or that team like a duty, or just what they'll settle with. They see where the train assigns them and sticks to it, doesn't matter what's going on elsewhere."

He shrugs though, sighs.

"But maybe that's changed since I've been here -- I wasn't paying any attention in the last." And it's not like he knows what everyone is doing or choosing to do now. "We're all trying to fit or work around the systems the train or people before us put in place, but if we can get everyone to agree to work together more? I'm down for it. We need a plan first for it, whatever it is. People can add and put in their own ideas, make it better, but you're right: a lot of us are being complacent 'cause really, none of us know what to do. We don't know what we can do. We need to forget about the council, the team leaders, and start from scratch and present it out and push for it. They're holding us back. At least the way they are now."

Tidus looks at each of them, waves out a hand.

"It's going to be mission time soon, and there's no way we're going to have time before a mission to put anything forward. So if Orange Team isn't getting supplies, they at least need to be told they're there." He pauses, trying to sort his thoughts; a point brought up that he wants to touch on, but just need to find his way there.

"And... sure, we've got people from all backgrounds, people who can help and do a lot. Doesn't matter what it is. But if we're going to get people talking and thinking about a way off the train and if we can do it, we need to lead in with ideas there too." Ugh, talking like this is tough, but, raising his hands, "You need people pushing first, whatever you're tackling. Dealing with the train or dealing with missions and whatever else. Preparing for missions, activities on the train. Always have them open, have everything be open and ready for someone to pick up and take over. Or-- we're just going to fall into the same problem we're in now."

1/2 for length

[adregem]

None of them needed to worry about Roland, not with the sudden cursing nor with the brutal honesty coming from both Senku and Gen, though one was better at hiding the edge than the other. Immediately, Roland begins to take dutiful notes, his hand writing faster than he's ever typed on the ICP in comparison, with a furrowed brow in thought and his mouth set, serious as if a statue standing still. Every point is taken, understood, and even when Senku seems like he isn't pulling his punches, Roland is immovable, listening intently. Nodding from time to time, and when prompted, his frown deepens before he proceeds to scratch something out and writing it again in quick script.

This was the job, after all. And he's had decades of practice, starting from the ground up, with community town halls that had worse people helming the proverbial soap box. He's unfazed, and for the most part, he's rather happy that all three of them felt similarly enough for him to see the thread come together. Though none of them claimed to be the mouthpiece for the rest of the train, they cared about every person who's been forced to partake of this experience, and that alone is enough to spur Roland too. A feeling similar to his own service in both worlds, but more recently, when Tidus told him that a team lead should be a force to bring good change, where everyone can be involved. Not just a head counter, or someone to take stock of who's who.

This was Evan's dream too, right? To unify factions. A land where everybody could live happily ever after. But where Evan succeeds in convincing different nations to sign his Declaration, Roland was better with domestic affairs, building brick by brick the foundations of his new society. Able to house and espouse the concept of total unity, no matter who pledged loyalty under their banner. In his lifetime, he had failed, after all. The same dream of unity, but always one step too far away.

That was a long time ago. He was a different man, with a different perspective. He knows it can be done. It will be done. It must. Even if he has to start here, on a void train, with a group of people who care. That's all it ever takes. And all he ever wants to do is to help.

As Tidus finishes speaking, and if the beat falls on Roland to speak, he'll exhale heavily first. Take his time, feel out his words, and more than that, to read what he's written down on the page. Then, when he's confident enough to speak, he looks up, glances at all three of them, and opens his mouth. A persona he's so used to already, the barista fantasy becomes buried, completely forgotten.

"Thanks for sharing, you guys. These are messages received loud and clear, and to be quite frank, Tidus and I have tried rectifying a couple of these gaps already, to varying degrees of success. Team meetings ideally should cover all the basics, including opening the floor up to everyone's opinions on how to deal with everything under the void sun; from supply acquisition, to mission roles. Purple's mixer was something like this, but I understand more needs to be done to lessen the red tape, so to speak. I also tried calling for more train goers to assist in spending some points for a communal supply store, but it hasn't reached the right people, I suppose. It was just a network post, after all. I guess another one is long overdue, or even better. An actual train-wide meeting, without the colors stopping us from attending."

[adregem]

He doesn't quite clear his throat; looks down on the page with a finger drifting under his chin.

"Let me try and reiterate everything that's been said so far, with a couple of comments from my end if I have any."

What he reads out could sound too formal, as if he pulled it out of nowhere, but in reality, Roland just translated everyone into what seems to resemble the stirrings of action.

"First, efforts to organize train personnel is greatly lacking in organizational, structural, and beneficial integrity. Roles are imagined. Second, mission performance and flow lacked clear direction, and was similarly disorganized. Third, there is a disagreement on Team Segregation." He pauses here, looks up. "As I'm sure we're all aware, there's an outstanding theory that teams are based on the colors of previous voidtrecker team assignments before the planet wipeout, and the nature of the missions they are assigned to. Red for battle-oriented tasks, Blue for defense, Orange for research and data gathering, Purple for all-around defense and protection. However, there is now a strong suggestion that this is more arbitrary than that, and criteria extends beyond tasks." The implied - then what would it be? is left hanging in the air before he continues.

"Fourth, dissemination of information is not widespread or widely practiced during team huddles. This is for immediate rectification, as it could cause major problems especially during high risk missions. As Gen said, not everyone is a genius like Senku and can deal with having little to no resources to get by." Not a jab, Roland is speaking like everything is a fact to consider. "Fifth...and perhaps what might be the most pressing matter, there's no unity. Instead, we have individual factions that aren't united under a single cause or goal, thinking only of personal advancement. Furthermore, the train Council seems redundant, if not outdated, and has not shared any forward-plans to involve members of the train in finding answers, or a shared vision to work towards." Which is difficult, given how this train was someone else's bitter pill to swallow, but another's second chance. He will try not to dwell on this, keeping objective. They were kidnapped. That's always been the case, regardless of what meaningful connections they got out of it. They weren't mutually exclusive things; to acknowledge one and desire to reach out to others too.

He looks up again. "As for the other thing mentioned...I will prematurely admit that I've been thinking about a succession plan for a while now. I haven't found the time to speak to Glorfindel about it yet, but to answer Senku's question, if my name ever went gold, Glorfindel would take over and vice versa. If both of us were suddenly called to the conductor, I was to propose in writing a Deputy system, determined in advance through vote of confidence from the rest of the team. They would take our place, effective immediately." Roland shakes his head. This was the natural progression of such a structure, and Senku just drove that point home. "In fact, I'd like to propose that leadership in the future, if it's to be retained, be voted on, not assigned. I'll admit that it's hard to think about this more thoroughly when we're unable to predict what will make the conductor call you, or if you're next to leave the platform. But policy helps here. In the event the Deputy themselves are unavailable, then those remaining should hold a vote or a consensus to discuss if they need to elect a new leader at all."

He winds down, as his pages thin. "I want to add that we've been severely lacking in documentation since day one. Now that we've been granted an empty library that's slowly being filled up...we could start asking the train's citizen to write. Document everything we can about the journey, who's who, like a primer. A yellow pages. An encyclopedia. A guide book. Information on items, and what they do. Who to look for, and what the oldest members of the Voidtrecker can tell us when we weren't all here yet. All it takes is for us to buy empty books and start telling people it's there for collaboration." Finally, he sets his book down on the counter, coffee by the side long grown cold.

"I'll also be candid about the proposal to decentralize "power", however imagined it is, if only to cross-check if doing so will yield the intended result. Sometimes we need structure and stability when so many things are out of our control. For example, let's just ask in query what kind of role the council should have versus that of team leadership, if at all? I want everyone to come together just as badly as all of you do. I want to help these people find their agency on a train that's taken so much of our choice away." Which he knows by experience, still a sore subject.

"But I just want to do it right, right by them. By everyone. Why not start by asking who was around when the council was first created? We can probe why it was even an option to begin with. If it's really not doing us any favors as a train, then I won't say another word about it. Anything to light a flame under everyone's spirits is a good thing. The train's not going to look out for us, that much is evident. That means the task falls to us, every single one of us."

[10billionpercent]

Senku spoke in blunt honesty, because that was what he preferred the best. Most people didn’t share that preference, and that was where Gen came in to soften the blow. What he was saying wasn’t intended on cruelty, even if someone were to take it as such, he was just trying to get a point across.

“Getting people to change isn’t as hard as you think.” Senku answered. “If you demonstrate something to cling to, they’ll fall in line faster than you’d expect. It won’t be everyone, some people need time, but more people than not can be swayed rather easily.” See, Gen, he was listening sometimes.

“I’m not personally interested in what the train thinks.” He snorted rather derisively. “I don’t think it particularly cares about our well-being.”

“I did a bit of campaigning myself when it came to the medical car, and that worked out.” Senku mused. “There is nothing I spent points on that couldn’t wait if there was a pressing need.” Sure, he might tease Gen that he needed his cola, but truly if there was something more important than that, he was fairly certain Gen would understand if he spent his points elsewhere, like for example, medicine.

“And I reserve points in case something comes up. Gen and I are working together in that regard.” Senku told them. “We share our points, rather openly, between us. If he needed something and couldn’t get it, I wouldn’t hesitate.” It wasn’t just their relationship either. “I’d extend that to anyone else.”

“If you ask me,” Senku began, because they were, that was the point. “The thing is that if you aren’t the team lead, what is in it for you?” He asked rather bluntly. “What do you get out of this team structure? Really ugly orange clothes, that’s what. I haven’t been asked to do anything. I haven’t been asked what I can or can’t do. I don’t want you to mistake thinking I’m trying to say I can do this better. Objectively, maybe I can, but I’m not necessarily interested in unseating people. But Tidus even said he doesn’t see the point in being on his team. That’s utter and total crap.” He shook his head. “You can’t expect any organizational structure to exist if people don’t have a place in it. You can’t say okay, Roland, you’re the leader and then leave it at that. Why should people follow you?”

He huffed lightly. “I’m not picking on you, it’s just you’re the only one here, it’s unfair to talk about Eva behind her back.” He said, waving his hand dismissively.

“And you don’t get that unity if people don’t have a role. If you give them nothing to do, why should they care?” Senku pressed a little bit. “And it’s not just the team communication that’s crap, because it sure was. My team leads were not around and no one checked on anything. No one asked me to check in. No one gave supplies. But did you guys know where Orange was either?” He asked pointedly. “I couldn’t tell you where Red, Blue or Purple was at any given time. The teams should all know where the others are. What if something goes wrong? How are you going to find them with any efficiency at all?”

“Ideally, the council would be there so the teams could communicate between each other. Even better, it shouldn’t be the same people who are the team leads because then there’s no need for anyone outside of the group to ever know what they talk about. If you make everything secret it’s the same thing. That’s how you get corruption and ineptitude.”

Senku glanced at Gen a moment and then frowned, he was considering whether his experience was better or whether it was easier to get to the heart of the matter. He decided on the latter. “So let’s take your team for example, right, you’ve got the pair of you as team leads. Ideally, your job would be to make sure everyone has what they need, ultimately. If one of you can’t, the other is there to do that, but if you’re both gone there’s a void there because no one else has any roles. Not only that, these train stops are our only opportunity to deal with the outside world outside the train. The train doesn’t give us what we need, so we need to take what we can, at every opportunity. Getting people to do that sort of thing would help them feel involved. Getting them to do prep would help them get involved. Giving everyone some kind of purpose, would fix a lot of this. If they knew what the plan was, they would act even without a leader. Ideally, the leader should be replaceable. No leader likes to hear it.” He quirked a smirk. “But it’s true. The world can’t rest on one man’s shoulders, and neither can this.”

He exhaled. “And having a singular focus, doesn’t mean we only have one goal. It just means as a community we’re taking steps towards the same vision. Whether that vision is getting the hell out of here, finding another place to go or whatever, they’re not in competition exactly. They don’t have to be. But simple things like getting better food on the train and looking after each other are total no brainers.”

[fun_thementalist]

Gen nodded a little at Tidus. "Settling is a good word for it, my friend. When people are lost and confused, it's easy for them to latch onto a task assigned, if it's not too disagreeable. It feels safe to them. But, I don't think it'll be too difficult for them to become inspired by a goal to work together."

He grinned. "I've already been planting those seeds, but I'm only one person, and it's not as if I'm all that trustworthy."

That was what it was, really. Tidus was right; if they didn't push, people would fall into the same patterns, because it was comfortable.

He tilted his head a little at Roland, then, after hearing him out. "Quite frankly, holding onto the illusion of structure and stability as you suggest is only going to doom them, if it's built on the lie of a centralized power."

His expression became more intense. "I am sorry to say that, of course. But the council, even these team leaders ... if we're able to disappear at any time? That is what your so-called centralized structure is. An illusion, pretending that we aren't here at the mercy of something we don't understand."

"The power we need to have must be broken up, it must be in the groups of people, delegated among many and empowering them - or the moment a group of leaders and deputies vanish? The people will feel lost. As so many people seem lost and mourning previous leaders. This Tony Stark ... the way his lab equipment was handled seem to be a mess. A mad grab of people calling dibs, instead of people deciding to share the resources."

Gen nodded again to Senku. "You're right, my dearest. If it does care about our well-being, it's ... frankly too damaged or too inhuman to realize what it's doing is hurting us. Which is almost worse than genuine malice."

He spread his hands. "I don't want to speak about people behind their back, either. But you are asking our opinions."

What it came down to it was, "In the end, we're going to try and help as many people as possible, no matter who's in charge, or what systems are in place. No matter how the train will hinder or help us. We need to think of all the passengers as working together. Try to empower every one of them, so they feel like they matter."

"If our future freedom and our present safety are both only determined by a few - we're lost."

[blitzcheer]

Truthfully, this talking is a lot. A lot from each of them really, so there's no real one person to blame, and it's not exactly a point to blame about. But there's so many different points, that Tidus isn't sure if he's the only one getting lost about the reasoning for some of the. Standing, arms crossed comfortably, though a tilt to his mouth in a frown Both disturbed at times for the drink he'd gotten from Roland earlier.

"I don't think Rol's disagreeing with any of this, y'know...?" Not to speak for the guy or anything right here, and Tidus spares a glance his way, but between what Senku and Gen have said, he feels the need for it to be aired. "And I didn't say I didn't care about Purple 'cause of the way it's run, or no one gave me a reason to." With a look given at Senku for that, since he's the one who said it. "I hop teams 'cause it's always Blue and Red who have the least people, Rol and Glor know that. They've asked me to do jobs, 'specially Rol. But I run with Black Squad first. I go with who needs the numbers, and that's important to me. People aren't always gonna stick with a team, and they shouldn't need to. Not unless they're head counting."

He raises a hand. "I mean, you were at the mixer, right Senku? Roland tried to get people to volunteer into roles. Then it turned out Glor went and put Cassie and her mom in charge of doing everything." Which he exhales, after, but- "That was weird. But..."

He wiggles his arms in their folded stated, then brings his hands to rest on the cold metal of the work surface.

"But what we know, is we need a structure that'll stick no matter who's here, and that people can follow. We all agree with that, yeah? So- putting aside what anyone does on the train right now or not," and he sweeps a hand to theoretically do so, "we're thinking about what we want to see. Missions, we want communication. Okay. We want some kinda team leads who keep the details on a group, but not everyone's reliant on them." A pause. "How about after every train stop, team leads are the guys who try 'n' get to know the new people: find out about them, tell them about mission structures, whatever. Just a thought for getting to know what people can do, and people getting to know what's up."

Okay, no, don't wander from the point being made.

"People keeping an ear out on comms, people who can prep for missions, people for scavenging on missions too. Prepping on board. Having enough spare parts for people to put their food in. Making sure people know how to use things like the arms bands for storing." Thoughts circling in his mind, he returns to a point.

"--but I think having names of people on hand you can say, 'yo, can you do this on this mission?'s good for more than just team leads, but any job. We don't know who's gonna be sticking where or who'll be available."

A pause.

"Should I get one of the sketchbooks so we can write this out where we all can see it?"

And so they don't end up getting lost in all these words.

[adregem]

The glance Tidus offers Roland is met with a grateful look, but it's a fleeting moment if only because he grows further silent as Tidus speaks and says what he needs to. He takes this time to clean up his notes, writing and crossing things out. Smiling only inwardly, knowing Tidus was there from the start, was part of the reason why Roland suddenly grew motivated to take this far more seriously than he ever expected he would. But that's the way it should be, right? Exactly as Tidus says on his behalf - that Purple had the luxury of the most members, regardless of how arbitrary the segments were. Which meant he needed to get the people most talented in different things to other jobs, other tasks, other places on a mission. That was regardless of color. And he couldn't travel to and fro like Tidus frequently does - in fact, he only ever sees Tidus in Purple to check in on things before he goes back out there, which Roland likes - but that's why he delegates it so someone can inform them on-ground if more hands needed to be deployed.

Plus, pre-mission huddles helped somewhat. Purple was aware of their strengths and Roland would never squander that to just stick to a color, because the train told them to. No, they had to win their victories where they could. Take control of things they had some semblance of power over, like choosing where to work and who to help. To unify as one, not because the train told them to.

Roland takes a quick glance at his wrist, black band still wrapped around it though it was rarely used. Indeed, Roland was of the same mind as everyone gathered across his little makeshift coffee station. No color should stop another from helping; no role too set in stone that they couldn't grow with the need of their community. He would make a mental note to himself to ask the older Voidtreckers - those who were present since the first mission on the written log - how things developed, why they needed to organize the way that they did. They had to get better from hereon out, that was the non-negotiable. They had children in some teams, Blue especially. Roland thinks of that often.

But more than his words, Roland has always been a man of action. Nothing says wanting to do good for the people of the train than to just do it, no frills, no fuss. Tidus too, is good at that; just jumping into the thick things. It's what they probably needed especially as they moved towards a new mission order. So he finally pauses in his writing, looks up and nods at all three. More than anything, Roland is glad to know there was so much care going around for those who were stuck in this situation. That's the best start anyone could ask for.

"All right, so let's get to work on that. Anyone can talk to newcomers on the platform, but there should be a designated volunteer on rotation to handle it. Going back to the need to keep things written, documented. A census of Voidtrecker passengers, what they can do, where they come from, updated every two weeks. And more than having a designated person for all those things...we can make it so that our job is to disseminate information. That way, it won't matter who a newcomer can talk to, lead or not. Everything pertinent becomes common knowledge."

He's got you, Tidus. The writing is natural, book opened mid-sentence and his pen already doing the task of drawing a table of ideas. A consolidated draft of Senku, Gen, and Tidus's suggestions as filtered coherently.

"What else would be good to propose? To think about? We usually hold pre-mission briefings to get an idea of who's going where, but maybe this should be a train-wide affair? Get everyone together, since we'll be mixing up teams anyway."

[10billionpercent]

It wasn’t that Senku thought Roland wasn’t in agreement with him, he was just making a solid argument, regardless of what that seemed to look like. It was maybe too aggressive, but that was part of why he was so terrible at this. Also, he’d made assumptions about Tidus, which he should apologize for, but he wouldn’t. He just nodded his acceptance that he was wrong and moved on.

“I don’t think the colour segregation is doing any favours.” Senku commented. “It’s one thing to tell people they can choose their missions, and you’re right that some of the teams are very unbalanced, but if people were sent instead on things they’d be good at, instead of some arbitrary team decided by the train, we might end up with a much better system.”

It was something to think about, at least, he’d put it out there.

“Ideally, you’d want the council doing that.” He pointed out, a bit wry in his tone. “That way there’s a pool of people with skills to draw from. I’m all for sharing information though. Aside from that, there should be communication between the teams. That would be key. I know some missions haven’t gone to plan, and there should be some kind of plan for that.”

Senku glanced at Gen. “It’s true that I would help anyone I came across, but honestly, I didn’t get things or plan enough for the entire train. It’s a relief that it wouldn’t come to that, but I mean, I’d adapt to deal with that if it came along, and I was more than happy to help Tidus make the lunch boxes.” It kept him busy, he rather preferred to be busy, frankly.

“Probably you have to be nice about it and go to the council first.” He admitted and then gestured at Gen. “Right?”

[fun_thementalist]

"What does this Black Squad exactly ... do?" Gen had to ask, because he really didn't know much about it, tilting his head curiously.

He smiled a little at Tidus. "That might be a good idea, though it'd give the ... apparently larger teams more to do. Though, the last train arrival seemed to be ... small ... maybe the train's planning on kidnapping less people for a while? That'll make things easier on everyone, if we're getting to know them."

Gen hummed. "Gathering food and materials is so easy, I agree, everyone should have enough time to scavenge at least a little. Even if they don't have an Arms Band. But eventually, maybe there'll be enough for anyone who's willing to help out to take one."

"But mostly! Letting people know that they're valued more than just on missions will improve morale, too," Gen had to agree to that as well.

Senku got a warm smile. "Maybe making it into a bit of a game? People love personality quizzes and tests, sorting themselves. 'Tag which picture fits you' and that kind of silly thing. Let people talk about and take pride in their strengths, and it'll give people a chance to bond as well. Who loves science, who loves crafting, who loves cooking, who just want to party and have a good time - we could have a bunch of fun with this, and it'd lift people's spirits."

He nodded at Senku's last points. "I'm doing my best to encourage good behavior, because - even both of us working together - even the four of us working together - we can't do everything for the entire train. That'd just be the tiny centralized team leadership or council all over again. I want to encourage everyone to pitch in on this."

Ending things cheerfully, he beamed from ear to ear. "Certainly we can talk to them! But if they're not willing to go in on this idea, well, I'm not sure how they'll stop us from getting people excited about working together."

[blitzcheer]

That book better be big enough from everyone to read from then, Roland! No messy squiggly handwriting!!

"That's just something we've gotta work on telling people to think about," Tidus comments on Senku's point about talents. In the end, that's as much as they can do.

"I don't have a problem talking to the council and getting their thoughts on what we want to do, but I'm not going to back down just because they think we shouldn't be the ones worrying." Not to be speaking from a past experience here or anything! "You know, we could put up a poster in the standard coach - near where the library used to be. It's corny," he'll admit, waving a hand dismissively some, "but like, telling people about how they can change teams, they can do what chores they're best at, go to the kitchen to see what meals need help making for missions or- you know, like that. So it's easy to see and people can get curious, thinking about what they wanna do, and what they can do. So they know to go to the kitchen to do something, or go to the library if they wanna learn more. What's even around."

Because everyone always hangs out in the standard coach, and if they can catch peoples' attentions about where to find everything, isn't that good too?

"Then we have a meal plan for the stuff that needs making in the kitchen, we make anything we put in the library easy to find too -- the stuff on the missions or... anything about the train!"

[adregem]

Out of all the suggestions, Roland perks up the most visibly when Gen mentions a more creative way of getting people involved on what they can do, or are confident in providing. He's never thought of such a way before and there's so little stakes in the plan that he already wants to get it put together. Simple yet effective! The cornerstone of any universal policy. It could be like...pictionary. But for talents! It was one thing to ask people outright what they could do, but he now realizes they might have been reluctant to put themselves forward in a way Roland isn't shy about at all. He writes it down with a smile on his face, quite clearly excited at helping put it together.

He's able to multitask though, albeit slightly distracted. "The Black Squad is sort of like mission first-responders, in case of dire or unexpected emergencies. Anyone can join, but will require some sort of combat or medical skill ideally. The Black Bands on our wrists are weaved with Spider Seamstress's magic. She can basically pinpoint your location using the band and transport you to another place she's marked. If we need to rescue or save a passenger and they're all alone, they can call for aid on the SCA and available members of the squad can jump into the fray. No color coordinating required."

And there's a thought that leads into the next. Roland can't disagree with a total shake-up, either. If the train wouldn't tell them what the colors mean, or how to get points, then their arbitrary rules would have to be discarded and rearranged for what makes the most sense. All suggestions are once again, noted down such that he already flips to the third page. Though at the mention of the posters, Roland does happen to chuckle out loud.

"Posters sound good. We've got a lot of artists on the train who could lead that charge. Let's follow it up with an announcement too. Or, we could campaign it. Have one of us walk up and down the train shouting it out." An apparently serious suggestion. He may or may not be looking at Tidus, but that could be a trick of the light. Poor Kitchen car's light bulbs are dimming! Maybe!

"But sure. The council should get a heads-up. I still want to sit down and talk to them about why they were established in the first place. There had to be some rhyme or reason to it, apart from somebody thinking it was a good idea." Which could count as a reason, but Roland's been around structured organizations long enough to know it's never truly the case. History would tell them how to move forward with the future of the train and its people, then the rest will follow. They might even learn a thing or two about what the early voidtreckers had in mind to aid them in being better, here and now.

He leans the book down and the pages are filled with script writing that would be indecipherable to the people with him, not from their angle. But he's scanning it expertly anyway. "I think I caught most of that. The rest I suppose, will be entirely up to us now. All of us." He finally stands straight in his usual posture, as if ready to move at the second. "Unless we've got more suggestions..." He trails off to give more leeway, but there could be a finality there too. That this might be the time to put such plans into further action, which is the best part of it all; as Senku, Gen, and Tidus have expressed quite clearly. The unification of a community all stuck with the same, unfortunate circumstance of never knowing enough, or never having the chance to choose for themselves.

[10billionpercent]

Gen got a warm smile for his suggestions from Senku, something akin to pride really, because he knew what Gen was capable of and it sounded good to him. It also wouldn’t be something he would come up with. He was the type to just walk up and say, ‘Tell me what you’re good at’. It was why he needed a sweet-talking mentalist on his team.

“Having a meal plan around isn’t a bad idea.” Senku hummed. “Like the recipes, it would be better to have some kind of plan to feed everyone. That said though, a lot of what they provide for is kind of useless for going on a multi-day mission. There are things we could make maybe that keep a little better.” He knew quite a bit about food preservation. “Just in case. Not everyone has an arms band, and I’m sure they wouldn’t appreciate a case of food poisoning.”

He could agree that posters sounded like a good idea, and he nodded his approval.

He tilted his head slightly at the mention of the Black Squad. “I might be an asset, except I can really only play medic and I’m not exactly a magical medic like some of the others on board. That’s why after my initial inquiries, I’ve pretty much left the medical car to others who have maybe faster skills than I do. I’m useless in combat. I mean, strategy-wise, I have skills there, but face to face with nothing but me and an enemy?” Senku shrugged helplessly. “I might be best suited for first aid until some magic-based healer can be made available. I’ve dealt with a lot of minor injuries, cuts, infections, broken bones, I’ve performed surgery too including blood transfusion. I’m probably not the most refined but the basic stuff I have so much experience it’s silly.” A group of a hundred and fifty people were always getting hurt and if they weren’t sure, they sought him out. It wasn’t a crisis constantly.

“It’s good to know what the council was made for, and maybe what they’re doing, I’m not sure anyone knows what that is.” Senku hummed. “But if they’re looking for ideas, we’ve got some good ones here, at least.”

[fun_thementalist]

That warm smile seeped right down into Gen's bones. He would say that he was a performer, and always appreciated a receptive audience - but let's be real, it was difficult to impress Senku.

"I don't think any of us are exactly the type who'll give up on a good idea," Gen agreed with Tidus cheerfully, even given the subject. "A poster in the kitchen might be easiest, since everyone needs to eat ... so far as I know anyway, perhaps there's a few on the train who don't have to ..."

Nothing would surprise him, at this point.

He hummed, and then looked a little sheepish. "Ah, I wouldn't really have the skills needed for the Black Squad, would I? You'd need actual soldiers, real medics. I only know a tiny bit of first aid, really, though I'm hoping I'll learn more."

Especially if Senku insisted on doing things like get shot by American snipers.

Gen then grinned broadly. "I'm known for my big mouth, so if I announce some things, nobody's going to be surprised. But, someone more trustworthy than I am should be laying out some of these proposals. Believe it or not, most people don't seem to take me seriously."

He winked at them.

.... And then glanced at Senku. He should've expected that. Gen realized that if Senku signed up for the Black Squad as a medic after all - then he'd join too. It was that simple.

Giving them all a wry tilt of his head, Gen said, "I don't mean to place it on your shoulders, Roland, but you might be the best person to present all of this. I'll certainly help - I've a little experience selling unpopular ideas to a group of people. But from everything I've observed - people like and trust you."