week two | dates

[marriagebroker]

Kiss the girl~!

Or guy.

Or person.

Or Messmer's snake.

Comments

[poans]

I see. You must have quite the experience in your field.

[gamboler]

[ Giving a quick survey of Yi Sang's new kicks before they start on the way to their next destination. A marked improvement, if he says so himself! ]

Oh? What makes you say that?

[poans]

[Fare thee well, locker of foot. Yi Sang leaves with the shoe box in tow, because he refuses to leave the slippers behind.]

I believe this date is proof of the qualities that make you suitable for the role.

[gamboler]

[ A tilt of his head. ]

Why's that? Because I'm selling you on how good you'd look if you put a little more effort into your wardrobe?

[poans]

[Is that how he's been selling it?]

You discerned where there was a lack, and swiftly sought to fill it with the means available to you while conducting yourself with confidence. The state of my wardrobe should have meant little to you, yet you have invested yourself insofar as to accompany me on this outing. I have not once held an interest in business; however, it is plain to see your commitment to that which you might consider an investment.

[gamboler]

[ ...Oh.

Once again, Yi Sang manages to surprise him, but when hasn't he? This is a surprisingly on-point breakdown, and it says a lot about him, doesn't it? Both of them, really. ]

...Well put, bravo. With those sharp observations of yours, have you deduced why I'm making this investment in you, then?

[poans]

I have not, as I have yet to give it thought. [Nor does he intend to do so. The subject of Aventurine is separate from matters concerning himself.]

[gamboler]

And why not, hm? Surely, you must be curious.

[poans]

That is untrue. Even if you were to tell me the reason, naught would change for me.

[gamboler]

Are you so averse to giving yourself any kind of regard?

[poans]

No, not quite. It simply does not matter what happens to me.

[gamboler]

That doesn't sound different to my ears, friend.

[poans]

An aversion would require that I feel a disinclination toward a given matter. I do not believe there is aught you can do for me to find myself averse to it.

[gamboler]

So you...really don't feel anything about yourself? One way or another?

[ He isn't sure which is worse. Self-loathing, or self-indifference. At least his opinion on himself has ways been very clear to Aventurine. ]

[poans]

No, I do not.

[Perhaps he does, and it's that he's unable to hold onto those feelings, in which case: Is there a difference?]

[gamboler]

[ It doesn't hit him until now, so suddenly, how much Yi Sang reminds him of that Emanator of Nihility, the utter nothingness of of her blade powerful enough to pierce the veil in the Dreamscape and send his soul right to the edge of existence itself. Such utter apathy aligned her with one of the most unknowable of Aeons, had been her ultimate tool. And yet...she was more than that.

Upon that same horizon, she had reminded him what to live for. Like her, Yi Sang has so much more to him than meets the eye. Aventurine only wishes he could make him see that. Outfits are such a small thing, but if it helps his sense of self, at least a little, it will be worthwhile. ]

What do you make of what other people see in you, then?

[poans]

[He knows what people in recent memory have seen in him: a thing. By that point, he wouldn't have been able to hold anything else. It's a wonder, as he glances at the stores along the mall's wall, what he can.]

What might that be?

[gamboler]

[ Without missing a beat: ]

Someone worth knowing, with a lot more underlying sweetness and gentility than most show in their lifetime.

[poans]

[Yi Sang pauses in his walk.]

Is that your evaluation? . . . This is all that I am.

[Penniless, futureless, and stripped down to the shell that he is. If Aventurine thinks there's more to be known, he'll be left wanting.]

[gamboler]

[ He is probably the last person who should be giving out this kind of advice, given the shambling corpse of his own self-worth, but do as he says, not as he does!

...Or maybe, he insists on this, because he does see a reflection of himself in Yi Sang. And if he can convince him of his worth, then maybe... ]

We're rarely good judges of our own character. There's a saying — that our companions are mirrors by which we are truly known, and you are surrounded by people who reflect you brilliantly.

[poans]

Mirrors, you say . . .

[Aventurine is a kind man. Where he goes, a quiet light follows. A true investor, he seeks to bring out the shine in that which he reflects.

Yi Sang resumes walking after beat.]

It is my thought that I no longer have companions by my side.

[gamboler]

[ Falling right into step with Yi Sang: ]

Haven't you? Look around you. I may not amount to much as a companion, but I'm still at your side. I'm not the only one, either.

[poans]

[He glances at Aventurine out of the corner of his eyes.]

Then, in the interest of the investment that has brought you here, which establishment are we to patronize next?

[gamboler]

[ ...Right. He's gotten a little off target here, hasn't he. Looping his arm through Yi Sang's: ]

This one ought to do.

[ They're going to the Gap. ]