[Let's just say Ashitaka is used to a slightly different cultural standard of personal space... It's not that Ryuji is the only one with such a different view on it, though he was perhaps the one that observed it most often in his vicinity. It's not bad, per se, just something he blanks on having any sort of response to. No response than a smile remaining persistent on his face. Strange as it was, though the food and the surroundings were quite alien to him, there's something about making a meal with someone else. It reminds him of preparing the rice porridge with either the people of his village or the men of Irontown, the warmth of camaraderie and familiarity that could provide a shelter from the harsher world outside.
Friendship like this was actually somewhat novel to him. It wasn't that he hadn't had friends growing up, but... things were a little different when you were marked from youth, called "prince," considered the pride and future of your people. There had been a level of distance between himself and others, and it had seemed undermining of what he must one day become to circumvent that.
Not that any of that had mattered. He had left never to return, and all of the people of Irontown, too, had been people he had thought to keep at arm's length. He empathized with them as he did all people, but he knew that he could be their friend one day and supposed enemy the next, given his pursuit of absolution for his curse.
So this type of friendship, one without expectations, without conflicts of status, without interruption of his quest or his curse, was new. And it was nice.
He takes the piping-hot bowl of ramen from Ryuji when it is offered, regarding it with slightly wide eyes. It seems like a feast, from his perspective.
He's listening to Ryuji, realizing that he hadn't thought there would be so many rules to eating this food.] Why is that? [Would it really taste that much worse if it wasn't scalding?] Does the flavor fade with the heat?
[Was that a thing in the future???
Now, if Ryuji hadn't continued, he wouldn't have thought it sounded odd at all. He had turned his attention back to his bowl, looking up only to give his friend a confused expression with his head tilted slightly to the side. Because, of course, he's thinking literally - as long as the food was prepared well and your utensils were clean, there would be no worry for the cleanliness of the food...
Or..............................
He sits up a little straighter, getting a little red before, after his attention refocused on Ryuji, putting one hand to his face and laughing. It's a quiet thing, accompanied with a slight shaking of the shoulders.]
This is only because you bring attention to it. [He says this around a hand half-covering his mouth, not completely obscuring a smile.]
i can't believe you made me write this
Friendship like this was actually somewhat novel to him. It wasn't that he hadn't had friends growing up, but... things were a little different when you were marked from youth, called "prince," considered the pride and future of your people. There had been a level of distance between himself and others, and it had seemed undermining of what he must one day become to circumvent that.
Not that any of that had mattered. He had left never to return, and all of the people of Irontown, too, had been people he had thought to keep at arm's length. He empathized with them as he did all people, but he knew that he could be their friend one day and supposed enemy the next, given his pursuit of absolution for his curse.
So this type of friendship, one without expectations, without conflicts of status, without interruption of his quest or his curse, was new. And it was nice.
He takes the piping-hot bowl of ramen from Ryuji when it is offered, regarding it with slightly wide eyes. It seems like a feast, from his perspective.
He's listening to Ryuji, realizing that he hadn't thought there would be so many rules to eating this food.] Why is that? [Would it really taste that much worse if it wasn't scalding?] Does the flavor fade with the heat?
[Was that a thing in the future???
Now, if Ryuji hadn't continued, he wouldn't have thought it sounded odd at all. He had turned his attention back to his bowl, looking up only to give his friend a confused expression with his head tilted slightly to the side. Because, of course, he's thinking literally - as long as the food was prepared well and your utensils were clean, there would be no worry for the cleanliness of the food...
Or..............................
He sits up a little straighter, getting a little red before, after his attention refocused on Ryuji, putting one hand to his face and laughing. It's a quiet thing, accompanied with a slight shaking of the shoulders.]
This is only because you bring attention to it. [He says this around a hand half-covering his mouth, not completely obscuring a smile.]