synnet | @iwakusufune; video;

Pardon me for interrupting, but I have something that needs to be said.

[ He's polite enough, standing out in the common area, but Nanami has a very serious expression on. Extra serious today, since he's holding one of the sad, worn real paper books in his hand. Considering he's made his appearance resemble a suit, he could pass for someone's stern PA. ]

The library on the premises is in need of more care, but it's still functional. The books in this world are mostly digital, so items like this should be considered rare specimens. Even though they aren't common in daily use, they're valuable you should look at them as precious antiques. Treat them as such. And YET-

[ He opens the book to reveal some heavy line scrawls over the page. Someone was apparently treating this as free paper for doodle practice! ...or map-making, sure, but doodle practice to him. ]

This item is an example of traditional printing methods that began over a thousand years ago. In this age, these techniques are already practically lost arts.

I would deeply appreciate if everyone would respect the library and leave it intact. I understand that the appearance isn't very inviting, but I will attend to that part personally. Please don't make things difficult for me.

[ Okay, maybe the PA of some gangster. Nanami does nod, though. ]

Thank you for cooperating.

[ And now with that out of the way, still riding a very serious wave: ]

Itadori-kun. I need a word in private.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

can i have it back now

[Is he standing like...right there? And still texting Nanami? Maybe.]

[ Is he… seriously texting him even though he’s in the same room? Nanami looks up with a mix of annoyance and awe at this response. ]

So you can keep drawing in it? I’d like to hold onto it for now.

[This is what happens when you give him the ability to type with his brain.

At least he just gives up when Nanami insists on being a wet blanket, crossing his arms instead with all the stubborn attitude afforded to a teenager.]

For now? What are you going to do with it.

[ He could probably keep texting and Nanami would have to keep accepting it, because he's well aware of teenage habits. In the past, he probably would have done the same thing just to be petulant, but now he expresses that same stubbornness in the opposite way: by speaking out loud instead. ]

This? I'm going to copy the material over to a different book. You can have it back once I've saved the text.

[ Because he obviously thinks that's worth his time. ]

[He's considering if he could just grab the book now: is he fast enough, would this guy use his powers (because he presumably has powers) to stop him, etc. Not that the book is really worth that; the most practical thing to do would be to take the L. At worst, it's a ding to his pride and a reminder not to leave anything sitting in the open.

Also, if he really needs more paper he could just...steal another book. Lesson: unlearned.]

How long will that take? [There's enough text to prove unwieldy.] It's barely even readable.

[Nanami looks at this young man who is apparently determined to keep defacing the one thing he really likes on the base: the library. He frowns, staring over the book into the indifference in front of him, and squints.]

One night. And I'd like you to refrain from using the library for this kind of thing in the future. The authors of these books put their hearts and feelings into their work. If you care about what you're doing with this, you should understand.

I'll return this one to you, but spare the rest. They've survived this long and deserve respect.

[He turns that over in his head a moment. It's not necessarily that he disagrees, but—]

I'll make a deal with you.

[Brazen, for a kid who got caught. But when Ren wants something, even if it's frankly kind of dumb, he doesn't give up so easily.]

You let me have any books that are damaged beyond repair—after you get whatever you want out of them—and I won't touch anything else.

[He hadn't intended to be indiscriminate to start, but Nanami's idea of what makes a book salvageable is much more precise than the metric Ren is using.]

[That's definitely a bold counter offer, considering the damage is already done, but there's just something familiar in Ren's stubbornness, the way he negotiates, that feels so familiar to him that he can't help but stare back at him.

Was he really like this when he was younger? It feels like arguing with himself.

He sighs deeply and shifts the rescued book to his left hand so he can hold out his right one.]

Just let me look at them first.

[He shakes Nanami's hand like he never had any doubt he'd agree. Shameless, even if he's actually wondering if this guy is less of a hard ass than he seemed in the initial public shaming. Or maybe he's taking it exactly that seriously.]

That's part of the deal.

[His tone turns a little wry.]

The library wasn't my first choice for paper, either, but there aren't exactly a lot of options.

[Not ones that reasonably fit into his budget, anyway.]

[He holds Ren's grip for a bit just to emphasize his point. Yes, he said he would let him see, but Nanami is jaded enough to want to spell out the terms again, not trusting that there won't be some catch or loophole down the line. He does accept Ren's words, though, so there's still some trust being given despite everything he says. Part of him can't help but trust others the way he wants to be trusted.]

But you still shouldn't harm other property for the sake of your own goals. No matter what it is, it won't be worth destroying someone else's dream.

[That said, he does understand the scarcity of resources.]

Will you use packaging if I salvage that?

[He's too serious about everything, but he's trying to compromise.]

[The prolonged grip gets a raised eyebrow; Ren isn't above catches or loopholes...but he is willing to play fair so long as whoever he's made a deal with is also playing fair. Even if they're decidedly not on the same page (lol) as what qualifies as destroying someone else's dream; defacing mass-produced paperbacks is just not something Ren can take too seriously in the broader scale of his life, especially when it's been digitized.

But he suspects Yusuke would get it. And that's why he doesn't argue.]

Depends on the packaging? [His first thought is of snack packaging...] The more paper-like material would work in a pinch, even if doesn't really feel the same when you write on it.

[It's workable, at least, when his boss mostly lectures him about his maps' proportions; Ren's no artist, but he has talent as a copycat.]

[ It's definitely a different perspective on what counts as representing a dream, and Nanami is a more serious and sensitive than many of the people he works with, but that also means he empathizes with Ren's need for paper. For whatever reason it is. He's not really sure what the lines mean--they resemble a map, but what he's charting, Nanami can't guess. But it also doesn't matter. That's Ren's business too. ]

All right. I'll leave you the books I'm finished looking through.

[ And scrap paper items when he can find them, because he's like that. ]

I'll put them at the entrance for you.

@iwakusufune; video;

text; un: joker

Video; Action;

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject