View source for 2024-02-10: Sweet Ramen?! Shinji's Culinary Experiences

{{Log
|cast=Boss, Shinji Ikari
|location=Boss Ramen, Fujinomiya City
|summary=The day after the Kabuto residence party, Shinji comes to Boss Ramen to ask about making ramen himself - with both usual questions and ones very much not. Boss talks to him about their experiences with making food, and what Shinji wants for himself.
}}
[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Phase 1]]
[[Category:Phase 1 Special Disc]]

 
 <Pose Tracker> Boss has posed.
<poem>
It's mid-afternoon in Fujinomiya City, a short while after lunch, which means Boss is just now coming off of his own lunch break. It's been a typical, uneventful day at Boss Ramen so far - but not a quiet one, as light conversation fills the air. More than you might expect, compared to the relatively small number of patrons, but that's the effect Boss Ramen has on people.

Boss is wearing his most common uniform as he works the counter - that is, one of his numerous t-shirts. (He's been thinking about getting a fun apron after yesterday's party, but he's found difficulty with ramen puns as clean as "Try the punch".) His body is just a little tired, after karaoke went longer than he'd thought, but his high spirits carry him through.

Nuke is tending to the broth in the kitchen, and Mucha is just back from serving the last customer yet to recieve their food. The restaurant quiets slightly as their meal replaces their conversation, and Boss is completely free to handle whoever shows up next - an excellent opportunity for anyone looking for the best ramen in Fujinomiya.

(That's self-described, but it'd be a tall order to convincing anyone who's tried it otherwise.)

</poem>
 
 <Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.
<poem>
        It's the day after when Koji put on that party where he made quite possibly the ''worst proposal ever'' and STILL got an overall positive reaction. Shinji has done karaoke, or more accurately, he's sat and listened while other people did karaoke. Kaworu did the same, so it wasn't awkward. It reminded him a little of Rei--that's what they all did last time she had a birthday, even though he couldn't stick around for the actual singing--and so he's a little depressed for a while... but by the time he actually makes it to Boss Ramen after saying goodbye to Kaworu on his way back to Tokyo-3, he's feeling--even.
        
        He stops into Boss Ramen, wearing the same black-and-white moon-themed hoodie from the other day. (It's his Look now. It's fine.) First it's a brief peek inside; then he sort of sidles inside and slips up to the front bar.
        
        "Um... for one, please," he says quietly. He might need to speak up with the conversation as lively as it is, but maybe he'll just lucky and happen to speak just as those last hungry customers get their meal. As usual, it smells really good in here.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Boss has posed.
<poem>
As if on cue, in walks a familiar face! ...and a familiar outfit, too. Boss respects consistency in an aesthetic, even if Mucha teases him on it from time to time. "Hey there, Shinji! Good seeing you again after last night -  heck of a party, huh?" He can't help wishing just a little that Shinji joined in on karaoke, but he knows how to give people space. "Kaworu not with you? Well, maybe next time. What'll it be?"

Once he has the order, he pokes his head back towards the kitchen and relays it to his co-workers, along with who it's from. Hearing Shinji's name, Nuke moves just close enough to the counter so that he can see him, and offers him a friendly wave just like yesterday before starting on his food.

Turning his attention back to his customer, Boss asks "anything else you're in the area for? I'm afraid Koji's catering is a one-time deal - not likely Kabuto Baking is moving in next to Boss Ramen. Maybe we should try making each other's specialties!" Now that the idea's in his head, he'd be half-tempted to call Koji right now to suggest making an afternoon of it; un(?)fortunately, Leina's imposed a strict 24-hour time limit before anyone can him and Sayaka with anything. Maybe next time...!

</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.
<poem>
        It feels a little weird to have someone like Boss recognize him and call him by name, but they ''did'' just go to an afterparty together. "No, he had to head back to Tokyo-3 for work," he replies. That might sound a little odd to Boss, unless he's heard from Koji or Sayaka that Kaworu's an administrator at NERV despite his young age. "Hopefully next time he'll be here."
        
        He gives a moment to think of his order, then decides on shio ramen. The plain salt broth ought to be easier to mess around with than something as rich as tonkotsu. Especially with Nova's tastes being what they are...
        
        For the moment, he slips onto a stool at the counter, giving Nuke a nod of greeting and a small smile when he waves to him. Things are still hard for Shinji, emotionally speaking, but they're better than they used to be, and it's easy to feel at ease at Boss Ramen. Even if Kaworu isn't here with him, there are good memories here of when they ''did'' come together.
        
        "That's a shame... I was kind of hoping I could get his recipe for that mille-feuille, but there wasn't time for it," Shinji replies, folding his arms on the edge of the counter and leaning on them. "But it's okay, because I came here specifically for ramen." He ducks his head, feeling self-conscious. "The place where I work now, someone asked me to make them some ramen... but I don't know how. So I figured, while I'm in the area, I should come by for a bowl..." He peeks back up, offering a bit of an awkard smile. "Remind myself of how it tastes done right."
        
        He hopes that doesn't sound like he's trying to butter Boss up. To his ears, it sounds like it--but he does mean it.

</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Boss has posed.
<poem>
Boss is already pretty good with names, but last night's party will be an unforgettable memory for him... even if Shinji wasn't the ''center of attention'' there, it's not likely Boss will forget his name after that.

Boss is a little confused at "work"; he's heard some Questioning Tones from his friends about how NERV does things, but he doesn't connect those details with Kaworu. Still, though, he takes it in stride - if he wants to ask Kaworu about it, he can wait until next time he's here.

Nuke's very pleased with the nod and smile offered to him! He sets himself right to preparing the shio ramen. It must say a lot that the three owners have spent so much time in this same environment without minding it one bit.

"You might need more than a list of instructions to get it the way Koji does it... but if you can get it out him, it'd be a good start. Anything past that, you can probably feel out for yourself- oh, but that's easy for ''me'' to say, when I spend all day making food. Well, if ''he'' can make the time to perfect it, I think you'd have a good shot after long enough."

Turns out, though, that that's not all Shinji wants to make, and this is much more in Boss's wheelhouse. He laughs good-naturedly as Shinji finishes, although he waits until he looks back up. Boss doesn't want Shinji thinking he's laughing ''at'' him. Boss is generally good at sensing genuine intentions, but if he's with people he trusts - which perhaps isn't that high a bar to clear, compared to most - "buttering him up" is a ''slight'' weak point for him. Shinji ''does'' means well, though, so it works out. "Well, there's nowhere else I'd recommend more! You trying to learn just the shio, or are you looking for a range of options?"

</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.
<poem>
        "Yeah, probably... I don't do a ''lot'' of baking, and most of the baking I do comes out of a box," Shinji says sheepishly. "People do keep complimenting my cookies, but ordinary cookies are a big difference from something as fancy as a mille-feuille."
        
        He shoots a glance over at Nuke once he starts actually prepping the ramen. The broth, the noodles, the accoutrements... They're all important. Shinji knows he won't learn just from watching someone make ramen once, but it's better than nothing... right?
        
        "I guess I spend all day making food too, now," Shinji admits, scratching his cheek. "I work as an assistant cook on a ship now. But it still doesn't involve a lot of baking. Maybe if I get a chance to ask him sometime..."
        
        He's certainly not going to have the chance right ''now'', all considered.
        
        He smiles shyly when Boss seems good-natured about his interest. As anxious as he is, it's hard to take Boss's laughter as anything but. It doesn't last very long, but that's not Boss's fault. "I'm not really sure... To be honest, the person who asked, uh..." He grimaces. "Has ''unusual'' tastes. Uh... with that in mind, I guess I should ask--is there such a thing as sweet ramen?"
        
        He does not seem hopeful.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Boss has posed.
<poem>
"Hey, I talk a big game about the stuff we make - and we deserve it, too! - but if it tastes good, people will say so. Still, a mille-feuille definitely takes a lot more prep time. You'd have to make it a project if you want something like that to be the best it can."

It's true that there are some things you won't get from watching someone else at work; but there's also things you wouldn't pick up from Nuke's process if you asked him to write it on a piece of paper. Shinji may not have an eye for those nuances yet, but it's certainly not impossible he'll remember something useful when he tries it for himself.

It so happens this customer spends a lot of time behind the counter himself! "What ''does'' it involve, then? Do you like the stuff they have you making?" Even Boss's diet isn't ''exclusively'' ramen, but he thinks the job'd be a lot harder if he didn't like his own food.

Clearly Shinji wants more out of the kind of things he ''is'' making, though, since he's here for ramen. Boss thinks to ask about the "unusual" tastes of Shinji's... associate? But Shinji is not done. A sequence of words leaves his mouth, travels through the air, and into the ears of Boss, Nuke, and Mucha. "Is there such a thing as sweet ramen?"

In the kitchen, Nuke looks away from the shio and stares blankly for a moment. Mucha's face shifts into a rare confused expression. Boss, to his credit, does his best to answer the question - but there's a lot being asked of him, here. After a second that feels like an eternity to the trio, Boss makes a very simple observation: "your friend's really something, huh?" It doesn't occur to him that this person's relationship to Shinji has been undescribed so far, on account of his mind being Otherwise Occupied. "There's... I guess you could... add sugar...?" There's a feeling almost like shame as he realizes even his incredible knowledge of ramen falls woefully short here - but then, who would possibly ask this of him??

</poem>
 
 <Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.
<poem>
        "Yeah... I guess that's true." Shinji started out cooking because he had do, because Misato is terrible at it and Asuka refuses to do it, but he liked doing it. It's harder to feel that these days, but he at least got good enough to get a sense for how involved it would be. Something like mille-feuille ''would'' be a project, like Boss says. Maybe it was arrogant to think he could do it with nothing more than a recipe...
        
        (That's not what Boss was saying, but it's what Shinji hears all the same. Depression does that to you.)
        
        He blinks at Boss's question. Again, he rubs the back of his neck. "Oh--normally I'm supposed to just do prep work. Chopping vegetables and meat and stuff like that... Sometimes I do main dishes, though. I keep getting complimented." He sounds somewhere between pleased and embarrassed there. It's hard to say he likes it, but-- "I don't dislike what they have me make, at least."
        
        He asks his own question. Boss looks absolutely flummoxed. So do Nuke and Mucha, though they're at least somewhere Shinji can't see so it's not ''quite'' as embarrassing. It's still more embarrassing than funny, though if Shinji could be objective about it, it would in fact be pretty funny. "Yeah, I kind of said the same thing..." he murmurs, choosing to not explain that this isn't really a friend. That'd take more effort than he really wants to expend, and... maybe she'll be a friend eventually...? Shinji's not really sure. He forgave Nova, but he's not sure what he actually thinks of her.
        
        "Don't worry about it. She had her own recipe for it that she said she'd teach me," he says quickly. "But I wanted to learn how to do it the right way first."
        
        At least Shinji knows what's what?
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Boss has posed.
<poem>
Unfortunately, Boss cannot clarify what he was saying, because Shinji's doubts go unspoken. What he can see is Shinji's face while he's thinking, and that's enough for Boss to get ''some'' sense of why that might be. "Hey, that doesn't mean you shouldn't try for it. 'Takes a while' doesn't mean 'impossible.' It just means you've gotta pace yourself - have to accept not nailing it on the first go."

"I guess positions have to be more rigid on a ship. Us three-" (He makes a small circular gesture with his hand, to indicate himself and the kitchen behind him) "-switch out which of us does what by the day, so that we all know how to do every part of the job. We're pretty lax about it, given how much we stop to talk to people, but I always make sure I'm doing as much of the dishes as the other two."

He's on a tangent, though, so he pulls it back to what Shinji's saying. "Sounds like you're doing pretty well for yourself! It'd still be nice to find a favorite of your own, though. Probably more important to your job that everyone else likes it instead of you, but obviously it'd be even better if you didn't have to choose."

Sweet ramen. Sweeeeeet ramen. Sweet sweet sweet ramen. Hrm. Well. Seeing Shinji obviously embarassed does snap Boss out of his confusion - he's gonna have to Do His Best to bring this back. "Well, no one's  tastes are any 'better' than anyone else's... but being that Uncommon makes it hard to give tips for. If you have a recipe, though, then what you'd really want from us are the things that are useful for any bowl. Looks like the first of your answers might be coming this way, actually."

Shinji's order is done, and Nuke's face looks slightly apologetic as he brings it out. "Uh... enjoy your meal... please?" Nuke is doing his best. Mercifully, the taste of shio ramen should take up enough of Shinji's focus to distract him at least a little from his embarrassment.

</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.
<poem>
        Shinji never has been good at hiding how he feels. He's an easy read. Boss might not be able to tell exactly what he's thinking, but it's not hard at all for him to pick up on his general mental state. Shinji blinks when Boss reassures him, sitting up straight with tense shoulders. He's right, and Shinji knows it, but... "I need a recipe first either way," he says. "I can't do anything before that." He pauses. "Maybe I can find something online... I don't want to bother Mr. Kabuto when he's, uh..."
        
        The most awkward of pauses.
        
        "...........busy."
        
        nailed it
        
        By comparison, talking about cooking and making one's living as cooking is infinitely better. "I'm not sure. I've never worked for a restaurant, so I don't really know how it'd be different," Shinji admits. "But we do have to cook for a ''lot'' of people. It probably is a lot easier to just... switch out when you need to. I bet it's a lot easier to get things just right with a small kitchen, too. It's not bad working on the Ra Mari II, but there are a lot of times where, if someone botches something, we just have to push it forward, because the important thing is getting everyone fed. Not that it isn't important to get your customers fed too..."
        
        His favorite food. His favorite food... What ''is'' his favorite food anymore, anyway...? ...it probably isn't worth worrying about. Like Boss says, it's more important to his job that everyone else likes what he's making. As far as that goes, he ''has'' been seeing a lot of success. He's even going out of his way to learn a new dish just because one person asked for it.
        
        "Yeah," he replies. "Well, it's not so much a recipe so much as she said she'd teach me how to make it how she likes it, but still." He sits up as Nuke comes out with a bowl of shio ramen. The look on Nuke's face brings a grimace to Shinji's own. "Th-thanks," he says, and hastily breaks apart a pair of wooden chopsticks and digs in.
        
        It ''is'' an excellent distraction, though. The hot, salty broth... the slightly chewy noodles... the meat and vegetables... It's warm and filling, and can't help but improve even Shinji's mood. At the least, it's soothing. True comfort food. He's about a quarter of the way through the bowl before he puts it down for the moment with a faint but contented sigh.
        
        "It really is delicious..." Then he gives Boss a curious if shy look. "...So... if it's okay for me to ask... what got you three into making ramen in the first place?"
        
        He's not really sure why he's asking that. Knowing that won't help him make a balanced broth or springy noodles or anything like that. But it popped into his mind, and it's... probably okay to ask.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Boss has posed.
<poem>
Boss prefers not to resort to online recipies - even if he knows they're probably good, he likes it better when he can get them from friends. Of course, he hasn't needed anyone else's recipes for ''ramen'' for a very long time. (Mucha has no such hangups about looking up recipes, and Nuke just follows his heart, which leads to Mixed results for any non-ramen foods.)  Even so... there are currently Extenuating Circumstances. Boss drops his voice to avoid having the maybe-a-secret overheard; "I'll bet Sayaka's going to have him busy with planning for a ''very'' long time."

''Planning???'' Is Boss joking? Is he being coy? Does he genuinely not have any other assumptions? His face is, for once, inscrutable on this point; poor Shinji, unlikely to push for answers, may never know this truth.

It's a little hard for Boss to imagine consistently being the ''only'' means for people to get fed. Certainly, he's had very hungry patrons show up, and he tries to serve them quickly, but it must be very different being the only place around without the vacuum of space in the way. Still... "Well, at first I wouldn't say it's 'easier'. The point is that you have to learn more than if you only kept to the same thing. Once you learn it, though, being able to switch is handy. If you're planning on graduating from an assistant, maybe you can try it once you do." Of course, it would be harder without people as close as Nuke and Mucha, but the general idea holds.

When Boss says it's "probably better for Shinji's job", he means it more as a concession than a main point. The way Shinji takes it doesn't seem to bother him, though, so... mission accomplished? At least, as far as Boss can tell; he can read Shinji's emotions fine, but he doesn't know a misunderstanding caused them, since there's good odds Shinji'd react similarly if he ''did'' catch Boss's intent.

Boss has time to catch his breath after the reveal of Sweet Ramen while Shinji starts on his very-not-sweet ramen. His next question is much less shocking: why a ramen place? "After things calmed down for the Mazingers 10 years ago, the three of us started to realize we couldn't just be a motorcycle gang anymore. We tried some other things for a while - remind me next time, there's some long stories there. One time we tried making food, and we gave some to the Kabutos. And if you think I'll say 'That's how Boss Ramen was born'... good guess, but nope. A lot of it was a mess, and Koji made sure we knew it. We were all still pretty hotheaded, remember, even if a little less than as teens. Shiro liked some of it, though, and we all remembered feeling great about that. This building didn't come 'till a long time later, but that's how the idea got in our heads."

He takes a breath - he's been speaking uninterrupted for a little longer than normal. "As for the 'ramen' part, that's easy. We just all like it. We weren't particularly good at making it at first - wasn't even part of that story I just told. All we did was sit down and go through our favorite foods until we found one we all agreed on. Then we just kept at it, again and again, until we were good at it." A philosophy that seems to describe a lot of the trio's lives.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.
<poem>
        Getting recipes from friends would be nice. Unfortunately, it's Shinji. (Which is actually not to say that he doesn't have friends that he could ask for recipes from. He's just withdrawn, especially nowadays.)
        
        Boss lowers his voice. Shinji assumes he means baby planning, i.e. baby-''making''. considering that's how Koji had phrased his proposal. Hey, he ''is'' a teenager, and Boss's expression doesn't give anything else away. "Um... y-yeah. I bet so too," he stammers, reddening.
        
        The kitchen Shinji works in is at least not the only kitchen on the Ra Mari II... but it's not like the other kitchens are going to be significantly different, all considered. He nods once as Boss explains his point, then glances again towards the kitchen. If he's planning on graduating from an assistant... Truthfully, he isn't sure what he wants to do in the future. It's hard to picture even ''having'' a future. But... "I ''have'' gotten an offer or two to work in a restaurant sometime," he says slowly. "Maybe I ''will'' try it then."
        
        There are worse things he could do with himself. For now, he isn't in a hurry to leave the Ra Mari II. He's finally gotten comfortable there. He isn't in any rush to take in another unfamiliar ceiling.
        
        But then Boss goes into his and his friends' history with ramen and making food in general. Shinji listens attentively, though he does slurp up some noodles or broth from time to time as he does. So they made food for their friends, and even if they weren't good at first, they enjoyed it, and so it stayed in their heads... It's actually a very familiar-sounding story. For the first time, Shinji seriously considers if maybe ''he'' could run a restaurant when he grows up.
        
        But first he'd have to find that food he likes best, huh? Just like Boss, Nuke, and Mucha found ramen together. If Rei were still around, maybe they could make pizza...
        
        ...though maybe that's still an option. He might not be able to see her now, but she's alive, isn't she? Kaworu told him so, and while Kaworu might be obligated to keep secrets, he would never lie to him.
        
        "That sounds nice," he offers, cracking a small smile. "I think I like a story about hard work and perseverence better than instant genius." His smile fades as he considers his bowl. "Favorite foods, huh... Maybe I should try thinking about that a little more."
        
        He'll mull on that for a moment. Then he'll start eating his ramen again. Can't let those noodles get soggy, after all.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Boss has posed.
<poem>
Somehow, Shinji has managed a misunderstanding of "planning" that causes him even more embarassment than Boss's vague statement on ''wedding'' planning. It takes Boss a confused second to understand ''why'' the boy suddenly looks even more flustered than normal. "I- Uh-" No, there might be no saving this one without making it even worse on Shinji. So Boss is gonna Move On!

Yet again, Shinji reveals that he's already more inclined towards cooking than Boss had assumed. "'Or Two'?? Looks to me like your food's popular with everyone! 'Course, if that's what you want, I'd be telling you to keep at it even if you weren't any good at it yet. But if you ARE good at it, you probably got nothing to worry about whether you stay where you are or try other places."

Once he's done his story, he's quiet for a short time, both resting his voice and giving Shinji time to think it over. When he does speak up to comment on it, Boss notes that it's not an uncommon response: "Most people do. Not that I've got a bone to pick with people who just ''are'' good at something, but all of ''us'' got where we are by pushing ourselves for it." 'Us' is a little vague, here, but it is feasible that Boss is including Shinji - he may not know much about NERV politics, but to his ear, his role as a cook is well-deserved.

On the topic of favorite foods: "I wouldn't get hung up on finding a super specific number one. If you want a wider range of recipes, you could probably do fine even with things you don't like. But if you want something really special, you've got to be passionate about it - probably not gonna happen without a food you're a big fan of."

</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.
<poem>
        Moving on is sometimes the best thing you ''can'' do. The wisdom of Boss...!
        
        At least when Shinji blushes next time, it's because of Boss's compliment, and there's more of a smile on the edges of his lips as he rubs the back of his head. "No, it's really just one... but I guess that's still pretty good, huh?" he says in a rare moment of positivity. It's off-set when he adds, "Though it wasn't ''her'' restaurant but her relative's, and she just said she'd put in a good word..."
        
        Still, it does feel nice to have someone who ''actually is'' running a restaurant say that it sounds like he's in a good position for the future. It's hard for Shinji to think of the future these days, but the longer he stays a part of the Ra Mari II crew, the more it makes sense to do more with cooking as a career path.
        
        "Maybe I've just spent too much time around super-talented people, then," he replies, assuming that Boss means himself, Nuke, and Mucha when he says 'all of us.' Shinji meanwhile ran with all kinds of insanely smart and talented people when he was an Evangelion pilot. He was basically the only normal one among them. (Which is true, but Shinji has no idea just ''how'' true.)
        
        For now, though, he finishes off his bowl of ramen, setting it down and wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Thanks for the meal," he says. The talk of cooking with passion gets a slow nod. What Boss makes sense--that's a professional cook for you--but passion has always been something Shinji's struggled with.
        
        Still, Boss also says there's no need to get hung up on it, so for once, Shinji won't worry too much about it. Instead, he'll worry about what he's about to say next. He takes a deep breath, sitting up straight, and first goes with a noncommittal, "Yeah..." Then he looks down at his bowl, empty save for a few scraps of scallions and a bit of broth; then he looks over at Boss. "For now, though, um--is it okay if I ask--not for ''your'' recipe, of course, but ''a'' ramen recipe you'd recommend? And any tips on how to make it...?"
        
        It's hard to ask, but not as hard as he'd feared. It helps how congenial Boss is. It doesn't feel like he's putting him out just by asking.

</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Boss has posed.
<poem>
One is ''technically'' different from two, but it doesn't change Boss's point. "I'll be honest and say I don't know much about the job-hunting game; like I said, us three did our own thing. Still, whether or not you actually try to go there, I'd take it as a good sign that you're doing well enough to have the choice."

Boss has some idea about what "too much time" with talented people might mean, but saying that Shinji "might not have beem able to learn any kind of work ethic from them" feels like too much of a leap without actually knowing these people. Recognizing this, Boss pitches a softer version: "It's tough to be holding yourself to those standards before you even start. Chasing a goal's a lot harder when you don't know how far you have to run."

Although, now that he says it, Boss, Nuke, and Mucha haven't really had issues with just persevering as long as it takes... are they gifted at not being gifted? Hard to say, and Boss can't fully figure it out mid-conversation, but he does try to say ''something'' about why that might be. "I also don't think you should lock in too hard on planning ''too'' specific a goal. Like, if you can't make the perfect mille-feuille, don't forget that there are other kinds of desserts. Obviously that doesn't mean 'give up' - wouldn't make much sense for me to be saying that after all this. But you can't forget ''why'' you're trying so hard - it'd be a waste of perfectly good willpower if you get stuck on something that isn't actually important to what you want.

He responds informally but warmly to Shinji's thanks: "Anytime. It's what we do!" He won't prompt Shinji for the bill; as a repeat customer, he trusts him to do it himself. Shinji has one more question, though. Boss is, in theory, somewhat protective of his recipe - partially out of pride for his work, and partially because it's Nuke and Mucha's work, too. He has a hard time saying no, though - and thankfully, because Shinji doesn't want his Exact recipe, he won't have to. "That sounds fine to me! I know I said you can't get everything from a paper, but it'd still be nice to write something down for you... if I can find anything to write with."

At just that moment, there's a sound off the the side; someone else has just walked into the restaurant. "S'cuse me one second, Shinji. Hey there! What can I get for you?" Shinji will have to wait a few minutes as Boss walks over to handle this customer's order.

When he goes to send that order to the kitchen, he finds that Mucha has been quickly writing on a notepad, who tears off a piece of paper and hands it to Boss. He's heard their conversation, evidently, and has already written a simple recipe and a few tips. In the corner is a doodle of his, Boss, and Nuke's heads, with a thumbs-up next to them - the thumb is noticably more jagged, as if he was hurrying to finish it when he saw Boss coming. Boss chuckles warmly at the sight. "Thanks, Mucha." He jots down a few notes of his own before going to give it to Shinji. "Sorry for the wait- but luckily Mucha already did most of it for me. This should be enough for a good start."

</poem>
 <Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.
<poem>
        "Mmm. Except for Ayanami," and technically Kaworu but he really only cooks curry and even then only sometimes, "the others weren't really that into food, anyway..." Shinji shakes his head a little. It's... still hard to think about.
        
        Still, Boss does have good advice on balancing not giving up with not getting too hung up on something that's tangential to his goal. He nods slowly, mulling that over. "Yeah... That makes sense."
        
        His shoulders relax with relief when Boss agrees to hook him up with something to start with, at least. It might be Mucha who actually writes it down while Boss tends to that incoming customer, but that's just fine too. Shinji takes out his wallet to pay for his meal, accepting the note and hanging over cash in exchange.
        
        "No, it's okay. You're the one helping me out," he replies. He offers a subdued smile. "Thanks a lot. I really appreciate it." He'll look at the note for a moment; then he'll slip it into his wallet and off his stool. With a bob of the head, he adds, "See you next time." (Whenever that ends up being.)
        
        Then he'll make his way out, feeling a little more positive. He might still have a lot to figure out, but this feels like a step in the right direction... whatever direction that might actually be.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Boss has posed.
<poem>
"Well, you're sure meeting people 'into food' now, if they're asking for ''sweet ramen.'' That's not something you ask for if you're not darn sure you like it." Even if Boss doesn't know he's doing it, Shinji will probably Have Thoughts about his emphasis on the people entering his life... as opposed to otherwise.

He's pleased to see that his words have had an effect on Shinji - not ''everyone'' he talks to has a conversation like this, but it's often enought that Boss considers it part of the job. (Or perhaps less "the job" and more "the experience of being Boss." Someone else in the same position might get excessively self-absorbed about it, but Boss's emotions are genuine and his advice flows freely.) He's equally pleased that he can offer practical advice about ramen, another source of pride for him. Alas, Shinji is not seeking to score the hat trick by asking "how do you repair Boss Borot?", but he'll happily take two out of three.

"No problem. Hey, try that recipe before next time, and you can tell me how it went!" With Shinji leaving, Boss turns and walks the other direction - he's spent a long time talking, and he ought to get some kitchen work in. As Shinji walks a few steps from Boss Ramen's front door, he may notice a crow flying high overhead, passing over his shoulders and the moons on his hoodie.
</poem>

 <Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.
<poem>
        "No kidding," Shinji says dryly of sweet ramen. Nova entered his life in probably one of the more bombastic ways he's experienced recently. At least she didn't kick his feet out from under him like Asuka did...
        
        As for repairing Boss Borot, Shinji has a decided lack of interest in robots these days. So two out of three is very good if that's the third option.
        
        "Okay... I'll try," he tells Boss. It'll be easier if he's cooking for someone besides just Nova, too.
        
        As he walks out, a shadow passes over his shoulders. Shinji glances up to see a crow in flight... but for now, he doesn't think anything of it, and gets back to paying attention to the ground.
</poem>