edelstein | GP: IC INBOX

Jianjiao, laziji, yuzu chuhai. Got it.

[His pronunciation is... decent. He's got experience with Chinese words, at least, even if he can't speak it.]

And I just don't really care what I eat. Can't taste it. Laziji is spicy, though, right?

[He also wants to be The Man, it isn't just the path of least resistance. He's sort of accepted that projecting masculinity is mostly a lost cause when he's on a date with a man, so he's going to indulge a little in the traditional dynamics he's used to.

Regardless of the answer he gets, he's flagging down the waiter to get their orders in. Although he gets whiskey for himself, because he fully refuses to drink anything else if he can manage it.]

Most of what I eat tends to be spicy. This sort of cuisine is what I was best at making back home.

[The reasons for that are... convoluted. Her legal guardian was a sadomasochistic priest who would order the spiciest mapo tofu because the pain from eating it really... did something for him. Rin, being an overachiever desperate for praise despite hating his guts, took it upon herself to learn all kinds of spicy dishes from his favorite restaurant.

Rin pushes a thick lock of wavy hair over her shoulder as she thinks on his order. Whiskey, hm? She hates that. It's what she'll sometimes use as a nightcap for herself.]

[He ends up smiling at that.]

I can taste spice. Kind of the only thing that makes it through, so. I'm looking forward to it.

[He's also curious about her cooking, but sort of figures that's a stretch goal. Homemade food is such a rarity for him, spicy homemade food sounds heavenly, so there's no way it would be easy to get his hands on.]

I don't cook, it's easier to get meals than groceries over delivery apps. But I can appreciate having a woman around that knows what she's doing.

[It's just sort of a given, in his mind, that he wouldn't be able to go out in public with scars like his. He's starting to get used to the fact that no one really cares around here, but he was pretty much a recluse in Boston.]

[Tohsaka's brow quirks upward to imply disbelief at him being able to truly appreciate a woman in any context, but as it is she makes no comment on it. Instead she lets her eyes drift to observe the crowd to see if anyone else she knows happens to be in it.]

It's nothing special. With my father dead and my mother turned invalid I had to learn how to manage for the both of us.

[Dodger takes note of those connections - he has some thoughts about keeping around a disabled family member, and they aren't good opinions, but he at least knows to keep them to himself.]

What year are you from?

[He just can't imagine needing to cook if she's from what he'd consider 'modern' times.]

[A hint of curiosity strikes Rin as her gaze pans back over to Dodger. She wonders why that even matters.]

The year was 2004 the last I remember. Why?

Oh. You're further in the future than anyone else I know.

[He's got to look something up on his Watch... okay, delivery apps started popping up in 2014. He'll give her a pass.]

I'm from 2035. Just... cooking's a hobby where I'm from, not really a necessity.

I see. I'll count this as having a survival advantage over you, then.

[How easy would it be to kill someone that doesn't know fuck all about cooking? They wouldn't know safe prep, they wouldn't know what's wrong, and they could easily poison themselves if left stranded. A convenient way of disposal, hm? "Oh, they just didn't know any better. How unfortunate."]

...God, you really are like Toma.

[She's mentioned wanting to 'knock him down a few pegs', and she knows about The Esikko Thing, so he figures there must be a connection there. Although it's been a while since he actively sorted through Toma's notes and he has to treat them all with some level of doubt.]

Being able to pay your way out of manual labor is a luxury and a status symbol. That includes cooking.

[But he also is just a menace in the kitchen. The kind of man that would think "boil two cups of water" means "stick two glasses of water on individual burners".]

So what? It's been that way forever, but leaving anything you need to live in the hands of someone else makes you vulnerable. Relying on the Broken Wing for medicine? Don't know how to clean a wound or boil water to kill off bacteria or parasites? There are endless ways to kill a person without delivering a blow. Especially since my sort doesn't hold honor with any sort of high esteem. Do the means truly matter if your end result is guaranteed?

[Rin shrugs, and leans out of the way so that the waiter is able to set their drinks down.]

[It is, to be fair, a better point than Toma made about Dodger's refusal to cook. At least by his own standards - he's willing to hear Rin out.]

Moot point, most parasites can't survive in my body. But I'll grant you that relying on Broken Wing would be a waste, and I'll also grant you that having someone around who can cook is good. Still, you have to put some level of trust in the society you're in or you're just going to tie yourself in knots.

[This is something he has to remind himself of, but it's good to combat his own paranoia. He has to trust that his whiskey isn't drugged, or he'll never drink again. He has to trust that his food is safe enough to eat, or he'll starve.]

And no, it doesn't really matter. But you've gotta be pretty confident in someone's lack of resources if you're using covert shit.

[But tying herself into knots is what she does best.]

It doesn't bother me if you keep that mindset. In fact I'm sure it'll work in my favor some day.

[Especially since he can't taste. Most poisons and medicines that can be used for killing when overdosed are bitter, after all.]

[He snorts.]

If you kill me I'll take the L. No one's managed so far.

[Bold words for someone who, up until recently, was fully convinced he was fated to die before his 26th birthday. He's slowly starting to accept that he won't, or at least that it would be very unlikely with it coming up so soon.]

So you work with poisons, right? No way you're just cutting off supply lines and hoping for the best.

"Work with"? No, I think you could say my poison knowledge just happens to be a secondary result of my magecraft.

[There are many ways to kill someone discreetly. Poison just happens to be a classic choice. Traditional.]

Magecraft... that's new.

[He doesn't engage with fantasy media, so he's always a little confused by terminology past 'wizards' and 'magic'. But he's making a note of it.]

So, what, magical alchemy?

[She's got his interest, and it comes with far less blinking. His gaze is not darting around to other people as much, either.]

By the era that I live in true Magic has been nearly extinct. The power of Mystery diluted by the advances of science. Because of that what we mages practice is actually an intersection of the two.

[Tohsaka settles against the backrest of her chair. Her hand carefully sways her glass in a circular motion as if to mix the contents.]

[Dodger nods slowly, pausing to drink his whiskey. Or more accurately, drinking half of it in one gulp.]

I know someone else who does the same sort of thing. So I think I get it.

[A pause.]

Magic isn't real in my world. So I'm still... new to it. Getting used to everything people can do.

[Tohsaka smiles once more. Something smug and likely infuriating.]

Another point in my favor, then!

[Jokes on you, Rin, that smug look is very endearing to him. Dodger relaxes a bit.]

Then I won't buy anything off of you. I've got better sources that are too naive to screw me over.

[He doesn't actually think John is naive - not in that way, at least. But it's a little harder to wrap his head around the man just having genuinely good intentions.]

[Smugness shifts to displeasure. A crease forms at her brow as the waiter sets a plate of jianjiao between them.]

Toma was right, you are stupid. You don't think my business has a reputation to keep?

[He tips his head.]

I think your reputation wouldn't be affected by killing me, specifically.

[He grabs one of the jianjiao with his fingers and eats it. They're definitely still too hot, but that doesn't affect him in the slightest.]

[ . . . ]

At the rate this is going I won't be surprised if you end up paying me to find ways to kill you since death isn't permanent here. I would, however, like to assert that I don't want my reputation to be "the woman who kills customers she doesn't like".

You saw what happened on the network. I'm just aware of where I'm at.

[He is hurting very deeply over the thing with Esikko, but he also figures it isn't anyone's problem how he's feeling about it. So that's where he's leaving it.]

Anyway, I've got sources for most of what I need. I'm just learning more about you.

[Kind of... she was just skimming it really. Rin is simply thankful that "J"s assetment of her as 'prey' is roughly 2yrs old now. Almost impossible to get to without a lot of patience.]

Nothing worth learning. I typically don't get myself involved in the problems of other people. Mages are isolationist by nature.

[His head tips to the other side, like a dog trying to suss something out.]

Silent observers are more useful than people that get involved in other people's shit.

[Which... he historically is incredibly bad at not getting involved. But he does try to keep people at arm's length, at least, as much as he can. He thinks people who can actually work in the shadows are aspirational.]

Why the isolation? Wouldn't people want to get their hands on magic?

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