Ah, but Theodore did mean it. He didn't see Hugh as pretentious - he was a creative type and liked what he liked. Theodore could understand that way of thinking and clearly didn't have a problem with it. "You're right," he agreed with both of Hugh's assessments regarding his favorite movies, as well as the words that echoed his own thoughts - "we like what we like." He'd caught enough of that in his writing career; slightly embarrassed adults telling him that they had enjoyed the books, like they were guilty of some crime, just because they were written with children and young adults in mind. "Glass houses, and such. The romantic comedy has never really been my brand, but I can hardly begrudge anyone their version of escape."
"Distinguished," Theodore repeated, and purposely scrubbed at his beard with one hand. "Distinguished, I think, would be keeping this in better trim, to start. But, it does give me that...rugged, world traveler look," he laughed. That, and the laugh lines, the wrinkles, the skin that had obviously had too much sun and wind over the years. Theodore didn't look like an old forty or a young forty. And in truth, he was still a young man; as a wizard, he had a reasonable expectation to live well into his hundreds. The old Headmaster at Lindmarch had been at least 150, he was convinced.
"It was not ever the glamorous sort of travel, not...hm. Rich people travel? Not Fiji or Mallorca or beach resorts with little fruity drinks. I think that made it better. A lot of people travel the world but it's like a theme park, with their own little version of home hollowed out on some other country's soil."