RP Sunday: Open to all, happy Spring~

[dainty_ofcourse]

Signs have been up for a while. The one at the venue has been vandalized fixed:

MAY DAY Golden Week! TEA PARTY
Cupcakes and tea provided. All else available for purchase.
Donations go to:

Comments

[lacroix_styles]

[Ooouch, seriously, feel better soon! That's rough! :(]
--

"But I'm naturally pale, no escaping it, might as well indulge it." Humor again, he rested his elbows on the table again and shrugged, smile still in place; yes, Senri's advice, it has gone unheeded. He still had faith in the designer though, it was simply that he had wanted to dye his hair badly and he rather liked the idea of purple at the time. "You'll just have to catch me when I have to bleach it again and help me decide what to do with it then."
And that was fine with Lacroix; he didn't mind in the least Senri's opinion or giving him a chance to offer it. He had, after all, spoken to Senri about clothing in the past so he clearly did respect his judgment.

Taiki earned a nod, that flicker of surprise is so much more comfortable than the flat stare; Lacroix is the sort of person that preferred honest reactions when it came to people, and less so the even but wary walls. "Mentioned me, huh? Am I that interesting Senri?"
That teasing was playful, his mood vastly improved as he relaxed and decided himself still among friends.

The comment from Ash caused a glance to the side towards him and another smile flashed, that one registered a bit brighter and ended up accented by a tilt his head back off to the side, almost thinking; "Well, thank you."
No stumbling, thankfully, but he certainly has had that problem in the past and will no doubt have it again; just not right at that moment.

[dainty_ofcourse]

When Ash sides with Lacroix (whose motivations are SUSPICIOUS!) Senri gives a little harrumph. "Really, you should trust the more unbiased opinion." And he has no problem calling them out like that despite the fact that he really doesn't know anything about their relationship. Or Mr. Black Hair Bleached Tips.

"Oh you know." A dismissive wave of the hand. "Unless it's something secretive, I talk to everyone about everything. Don't get too excited, it was probably just to ask how your name is pronounced. The -oix doesn't make any sense." He spells the three letters out with one finger in the air.

"I believe it was the large age difference." Taiki corrects, deadpan and helpful. Narrowed brown eyes from Senri zero in on Taiki and a little commotion happens under the table. The psychic just stares back, all wide, innocent, questioning black eyes and no expression. Zinga~

However Taiki is also likely getting an eyeful of matching pink auras from the Love Corner over there. How sweet. But he also feels himself warming up to the two...~

Obviously it's time to stand up and escape for a moment. He'll politely ask if anyone needs a drink (Senri will demand a coffee) before heading to the bar.

[asher_embry]

Love? W-whoa now, this was only the second time that he and Lacroix had met in person! ...not counting all the many, many journal comments exchanged and the late-night phone calls when Hector was asleep. Those definitely didn’t count. So yes, this was only their second meeting, so love certainly didn’t enter into the equation. That wasn’t to say Ash didn’t really like Lacroix, though -- he definitely did.

But the mention of ‘age difference’ made Ash heave a little sigh and facepalm for a moment; oh, he hated when age was brought up in conversation because it always made him feel ancient. Senri was only six years old than Lacroix, but Ash was eight years older. Oh god, nearly thirty. He would likely drink himself into unconsciousness on his thirtieth birthday. Thankfully that wasn’t for a couple years still.

"...do we have to talk about age?" he commented to the two men that remained at the table, finally dropping his palm again and giving them a bit of a pitiful look. He definitely hated age conversations, yes.

[dainty_ofcourse]

To be fair, three out of four of the corners are harboring at least some degree of affection. Taiki feels dangerously outnumbered.

Finally someone that understands the age agony. The thirtieth birthday will be a dramatic one for the designer unless he's accomplished all his lofty goals. "No. Don't mind him," Senri grouches, bowing forward a little to lean his elbows against the edge of the table. "In high school he publicly declared that having to develop friendships was annoying. He's only slightly better now." He glances over his shoulder at the psychic, scowling a little. Really the age comment was just mean spirited.

"Soooo~!" Time for a subject change! "I didn't realize you two knew each other.

[lacroix_styles]

Wonderfully oblivious to the woes of age, or else he clearly didn't care, Lacroix had been listening and had lifted an eyebrow at the name comment. "My name sounds weird?"
Maybe compared to some of the more common attempts at the idea; but he didn't really think it was as strange as Senri made it out to be. It left him mentally sounding out the part Senri point out, and that had distracted him for a few seconds.

Being the apparent youngest present he wisely decided not to chime in on the age commentary; if they felt old then woe for them, maybe Senri and Ash should try feeling like the clumsy kid of the group because that wasn't much fun either.
But, ultimately he didn't feel all those numbers were of much importance.

"I'm notoriously good at knowing people I shouldn't," the words were coupled with a grin and for the most part very true.

[asher_embry]

Ash was obviously grateful for the subject change, and he gave a little smile at Lacroix’s words. "People you shouldn’t know according to Hector, yeah." Lacroix’s bodyguard was on the other side of the cafe calmly sipping tea at the moment, so at least he wasn’t hovering over them while they were talking. That would have likely been a little uncomfortable for Ash, being constantly spied on. Besides, he thought Hector was overreacting a little. This was a really pastel cupcake party -- what was the worst that could possibly happen here?

"Hector might approve of you, though, right?" he asked, looking up at Senri. "You design menswear, and he has expensive tastes. I bet you can win him over." Senri had it easy in that sense. Ash was going to have to work a lot harder to win Hector’s approval, but he needed to do that, just so that Hector would never be tempted to forbid Lacroix from talking to him.

[dainty_ofcourse]

Even if he gives the room a quick glance, it's unlikely that Taiki will spot Hector. The mage will fade into the background like a piece of furniture. But Taiki will eventually return to the group, a little more at ease since he's coming of his own accord. The usual coffee is passed to Senri, a tea for himself, and a plate of those cupcakes as a type of peace-offering for the center of the table -- though he doesn't take one. Taiki quietly folds into his seat, doing his best to avoid interrupting the conversations.

"It doesn't make sense to me." Senri replies, still on the name subject. "I have to say it really slow and even then..." Even then he butchers it, likely. Sticking extra vowels in the middle and fudging the end -- it's certainly not a word intended for Japanese linguistics. "You need a nickname." A little mischievous smile and he thinks on that. Hmmm~

But Ash receives a nose wrinkle. "Approve? You make it sound like I'm being married off again. I'm not going to run around trying to win anyone over." Just a touch of disgust in his tone as this hits every single one of his headstrong and defiant nerves.

[asher_embry]

Lacroix had told Ash the name he’d had before going off to join Hector’s secret society -- or death cult, or whatever it was -- before changing his name to 'Lacroix.' But he’d promised not to share that with anyone, so he certainly wasn’t going to make mention of it now.

Senri’s disgusted tone of voice prompted Ash to offer an apology; he hadn’t meant to say anything to set Senri off. “No offense meant. I at least wouldn’t piss him off though if you still expect to see this one,” he said calmly, pointing his thumb briefly toward Lacroix. Hector was protective and controlling in Ash’s eyes, and he had no doubt that Hector would regulate Lacroix’s time spent with Senri if he determined that Senri could be a physical or emotional threat to Lacroix.

[lacroix_styles]

"Well, Hector is just...Hector; not much anybody can do about that." And really Lacroix didn't feel there was much need for the man to change. Granted, he often urged for small things, such as his conviction to one day get Hector to actually play some form of video game with him, but he wouldn't have demanded a change to Hector's personality because that was so vastly unfair.
Like with everyone he knew there was good and there was bad to Hector, there was just as much of both to himself as well; it's just how people were built.

Lacroix makes every effort to smile at Taiki and attempt to be pleasant towards the near-stranger; new people are a challenge so very worth the effort in his eyes, since the act of making friends is only accomplished by meeting strangers he has never really lost the determination to find a way to turn meetings into friendly endeavors. Even if the person in question did strike him as...uneasy to be around, but Lacroix kept pushing the feeling aside as much as possible.

Nicknames, it was amazing he could still keep up with his own name as it was but poor Senri's struggle with the word made him feel bad enough for him to not argue; one more name wasn't likely to make much difference. Although he also feared, just a little, Senri's...creative streak.

Rather than get in the middle of it, he let Ash and Senri debate out their little skip in communication, only speaking up after a moment. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I know...I'm a social plague with a looming shadow; it's okay though...he already likes Senri since he doesn't glare or anything. Hector's not that bad, you just have to be able to tell when warms up to somebody because it's not...obvious."
Not that he thought Hector was overly fond of Senri, no, but tolerating others was sometimes as close to fond as Hector was likely to offer.

But, subject change, as the conversation had begun to head to uneasy realms.

"Married off...again? You must lead an exceptionally interesting life Senri," or maybe it was a custom he wasn't familiar with, but it was a topic that had offered itself up so he decided to see if it led anywhere.

[a_peaceful_aura]

Taiki has no idea who any of these people are, let alone Hector. That's what he gets for never being around. The psychic will just sit and drink his tea while trying to track the conversations and return Lacroix's pleasantries. He's much more peaceful now that he's had opportunity to stare at the strangers for a bit and settle into the new atmosphere. Still quiet and content to remain in the background but less outright creeper.

When a lull in conversation occurs, Taiki takes the opportunity to initiate a little conversation. Satisfy curiosity and hopefully put Lacroix at ease some. Olive branch via words! "Nakao mentioned that you are a student?"

Senri waves a hand -- a dismissive gesture when Ash expresses concern over pissing off Hector. Clearly this is not something the half-sized designer is worried about. "I've only met him once -he liked my puzzle or something- but that's it. Besides, do I really seem like the person who goes out of their way to upset others?" Look at that face. So cute and angelic with that little smile. Dangerous question is dangerous and even Taiki side-eyes Senri a little, though otherwise remains quiet.

A hum and nod at the married off question. He swallows down the drink of coffee and pushes around a napkin. "Of course it's exceptional -- would you expect anything less from me~?" The mug is set on a coaster and Senri fiddles with the handle a bit. "My family has always participated in miai. Balanced and beneficial unions were set up for my sister and me when we were around twelve or so." A little shift in his seat and he continues to play with the coffee cup.

Taiki already knows this story. He rests his elbows on the chair arms, tea balanced between his hands.