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[thesettingsun]

Shuji Tsushima

"Hi, you've reached Shuji Tsushima, and you probably should've texted first if you wanted me to pick up, but leave a message anyway."

VOICE | TEXT | VIDEO | ACTION

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[crudest]

[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]

[thesettingsun]

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.]

[crudest]

[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?

[thesettingsun]

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]

[crudest]

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

[Just. Impressed over here.

Anyway - ]

What's in your novel?

[thesettingsun]

[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.

[crudest]

[ . . . . huh. That's a remarkably in-depth plot and Baren turns it over in his head a few times. Maybe he'd give it a read if he was especially bored.]

Where'd you find inspiration for that?

[thesettingsun]

Being pissed at literary snobs and purists. Spite is a great motivator and inspiration.

[Something Baren probably won't disagree with...?]

[crudest]

[Actually.

Yeah.

And that's why he actually ends up surprised enough to laugh.]

Ha! Finally, you said something that I can get behind. In that case, I hope for your spite-fueled success.

[thesettingsun]

[Baren Kaiyou is encouraging him with his novel...!

He looks very much like he would be about to babble things like 'thank you so much' and 'do you want an autographed copy' and 'marry me please' except that just then, their food arrives. You have been saved for now, Baren.]

[crudest]

[thank god because he's not ready for marriage proposals

instead it's time for wine and food and baren's having a much better evening. he sure does love food.]

Nice! Dig in.

[thesettingsun]

[Food is pretty great, not gonna lie.

Not as good as talking to Baren, though, so after a few bites Shuji starts idle conversation again.]

How is it?

[crudest]

[thanks shuji. thanks so much.]

Worth the money, if nothing else. I might steal the recipe...

[because baren's destined to be a househusband in the end]

[thesettingsun]

You can cook?

[Baren just keeps getting more amazing...]

[crudest]

You... can't?

[arent you going to be 25, he's worried]

[thesettingsun]

I totally can! Just... not anything super complicated. But I can feed myself!

[instant ramen counts as cooking]

[crudest]

Is that your way of telling me you know how to boil water?

[he's heard this before, shuji!!]

[thesettingsun]

I can make most things that come in a box.

[crudest]

[ . . . ]

Don't you think you should get some real cooking skills before you turn 30?

[thesettingsun]

I have five years for that.

[It's not a problem... probably...]

[crudest]

[ . . . ]

That wasn't supposed to be an actual deadline, it was supposed to make a point. Just in case you missed it.

[thesettingsun]

It's an actual deadline now. When I'm thirty I'll know how to make a four-course meal, and I'll invite you over and you can have some.

[Ideally, he will not be living in a college dorm room then.]

[crudest]

[ . . . ]

Well I guess they say it's a good thing to have goals.

Alright. You can call me in five years.

[thesettingsun]

Can I also call you before that?

[Five years is kind of a long time.]

[crudest]

If you feed me, I'll think about it.

[priorities....]