thesettingsun | Recolle IC Inbox

Agents are all about that public image thing, but that doesn't matter to me. I'm just happy I got to meet you.

[The date thing is beyond what he could ever dream of. Or even really process now that it's happening.]

[ . . . huh. Baren tilts his head and just openly asks:]

Why?

Just a sucker for a pretty face, huh?

[he's... curious. and that makes him more blunt, apparently.]

No, that's not - I mean, you are really, really handsome, that's true, but - this is kind of embarrassing...

[He's not going to lie about it, though. Even if he does have to look at the floor when he says it.]

You were on the cover of the first fashion magazine I ever bought. Back then I was kind of - plain-looking - and I didn't really know anything about clothes, but I liked your look so much that I bought that magazine anyway. If I hadn't, I don't know if I'd have ended up getting interested in fashion at all.

[Whether it's a change for the better is debatable, but it's certainly a change.]

[Shit, someone's being sincere at him.

Instant discomfort.

It makes his face scrunch unattractively, so maybe it's good that Shuji's looking at the floor, because it does take a second for Baren to get over his stunned silence and school his face into something more acceptable. Then it's a shake of his head as he brushes his bangs to the side.]

You.... You're definitely a piece of work.

You really let other people you don't know have that much influence over you?

Everyone's like that!

[Shuji's head snaps up when he goes on the defensive.]

Why do you think firefighters and policemen go around to schools and talk to kids? Why do you think NASA is half people who used to watch Star Journey? Everybody gets inspired by people they don't know, on TV, in magazines, whatever! There's nothing wrong with that!

[Now that's a more fun reaction.

Baren ends up grinning, his discomfort forgotten as he managed to push on someone's buttons without even trying this time. His eyes light up - which is probably the wrong response to having someone be angry at him, but also it's easier to stomach than...

Whatever it was before.]

You sound like you had that prepared, too.

Touchy, huh?

It's gotten commented on before. I've pretty much standardized my answer by now.

[He's heard worse than 'a piece of work', and he doesn't even think he's that bad...]

[Baren actually manages a laugh at that, amused.]

Yeah, Z was giving you some shit for it, huh?

[but apparently it's even more than just zoro....]

Well you know, it's hard to say what moves people these days. Actual inspiration or just cheap celebrity shots.

I don't know why everyone's so weird about it. It's not like I'm a creepy stalker.

[because that would just be ridiculous]

I've had a couple. You share some traits.

[honesty]

But it's not like I mind. You're less gross than some fans, at least.

...That's a compliment, right? You just complimented me?

[He's never going to forget this moment for as long as he lives.]

[after calling him stalkery

and the compliment itself was "you are not the grossest person i've met"]

.... Well, if you wanna be optimistic about it, I guess...

Thank you! Thank you so much!

[It's not much of a compliment but it's from Baren Kaiyou so Shuji will absolutely be optimistic about it. His ahoge would wiggle if that were a thing that didn't just happen in anime.]

[ . . . . ]

So would you say that you're easily pleased too?

You make it sound like a bad thing...

[Yes, yes he is, especially if the compliment comes from the right person.]

It takes a certain kind of person to have such a low threshold for happiness.

[how about

answering the question without really answering the question]

...A happy person?

[Why do you have to drag him like this.]

[because baren drags everyone]

Yeah.

Sure, that's what we'll call it.

Now, what does happy person want to eat? I'll treat.

[SPARKLY EYES even though he knows that Baren makes like way more than he ever will, it's still nice of Baren to pay!

It may have been included in the contest details that he'd pay.]

Thank you so much! Um, I'll have... The tenderloin steak.

[Nothing with any fruit that had or has a face on it.]

[Yeah, it's probably required. But. Regardless he'll wave down a waiter to take their orders - ]

Tenderloin steak for him. I'll have... salmon!

[He might've ordered at random. Then just a hum and if he's gotta sit through the rest of this dinner:]

And the finest wine you have.

[let booze make it more bearable]

I'll have a Pinot Noir.

[He wasn't going to be the first to order booze, but if Baren is then he will too. He even sort of knows how to pair wine.]

[no, booze is necessary. and with that, baren will just let the waiter leave

and then

time to figure out how to entertain himself for the next half hour or however long this'll take.... maybe he can cause a little bit of chaos as he carries on conversation]

Is this the part where I suggest you tell me about yourself?

Usually it is.

[And even though Baren didn't actually suggest it, Shuji goes on anyway. Though he really doesn't know what to say...]

Well, I'm Shuji, I'm turning twenty-five in two weeks, I'm an English major... First generation immigrant, my parents moved here from Aomori prefecture in Japan. I'm working on my first novel.

[ask him about his novel because he actually knows how to talk about that]

... You look really young. Good for you?

[Just. Impressed over here.

Anyway - ]

What's in your novel?

[He'll be more thankful for that when he's thirty, and not right now when people younger than him call him 'kid'.]

It's a space drama centered around the theme of moral relativism. A man whose home planet has been destroyed has to live on another planet with an entirely different culture and set of values and starts examining his own values and trying to piece out what's really important to him and what's just a product of his upbringing.

I've always hated that science fiction and fantasy get dismissed as 'genre fiction'. Like a book is somehow inherently less meaningful because it's set on Mars instead of in Massachusetts. Literary snobs are the worst.

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