He nods once. He sighs. He picks up a bit of dropped modeling clay rock and squishes it between thumb and forefinger.

"Like, there's a place that teaches kids that if they're gay that's the forces of evil inside them tempting them to sin, but if they do sin they will be tortured forever after they die. And what they've got to do is suppress the voice of evil and get into a normal marriage. And we don't take kids away from their parents for that but I don't feel bad about calling them evil, all the same."

"There's a few different things going on here and I don't know that I've got the emotional energy to argue any one of them."

Nod. Squish squish. 

"My wife might leave me over this. My daughter's started trying to contest ownership of the House but that doesn't work as well when I've seceded."

"They don't want to have a planet?"

"My daughter thinks it might turn out to be polluted or have strings attached. My wife might stay on the planet, she's just unhappy with me."

"It was made from scratch last week, it's not polluted."

"It wouldn't surprise me, let alone my daughter, if you thought it was funny to make it polluted anyway."

"Are the only people here who think torturing reds is bad also people who pollute things for fun?"

"Even edgy greens usually have pollution instincts. You don't."

"Well, the planet's not polluted and the only conditions are the ones we told you about in the first place. Sorry people are being stupid."

"My family isn't stupid."

"I said being stupid. Would it help if they met more important people or something, got a sense of them..."

"I don't see how that would change things. Maybe."

"I could probably arrange that if it'd help. Are you safe here, if people are mad at you..."

"I think the greys are siding with me."

Nod. "If you want a different planet and want to watch it being made or something they could probably do that."

"That doesn't really get to the heart of the issue."

Shrug.

"But if someone wants to come meet my wife and daughter I can probably still get them to come to dinner."

"I bet that one of Prince Nelyafinwë would enjoy himself and be helpful but I'd feel awfully presumptuous asking."

Shrug. "You don't have to."

"I know that. You're cool, I want things to work out okay for you."

"I don't know what to make of it when you approve of me."