Kiku Honda
Internet Famous
Electronics Boutique Owner
Posts: 35
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Post by Kiku Honda on Aug 9, 2011 14:36:48 GMT -5
→Kiku wasn’t particularly interested in going to the electronics convention, the video game industry had taken over the majority of it. Little was left for headphones, clever iPhone cases, or the newest cell phone from Korea. He would go anyway and bring his cards with him. Maybe he could chat up one of the bigger companies and get some good press. Much to his disappointment, his electronics store was far from making him a decent living.
The convention was in a large hotel in downtown Tokyo. The place was bursting with the local greasy teenagers and not the higher society he had expected. Pulling the sleeves of his cardigan down over his hands he felt his palms begin to get sweaty. He didn’t do well with large crowds. He always ended up feeling like a toothpick being shoved around by hundreds of giant bouncy balls. Gritting his teeth together he pulled out his ID and pass to get inside as quickly as he could. He would get through as many booths as possible and then leave for a nice cup of tea at home.
To his great displeasure, he was able to cover all of the booths he wanted to in a matter of minutes. There was only two rows that had nothing to do with video games and all of them were so desperate to make a buck that they would beg you to please come over to their booth for just a second. With wan little smiles and a bob of the head he would profess that, “I am so very sorry but I am afraid that I am on my way to a panel! Thank you so very much and good luck.” Soon afterward, another booth owner would shout at him and the whole process would be repeated once again.
Kiku finally escaped to an empty conference room completely emotionally exhausted. He slouched down into his chair and stared up at the fake crystal chandelier weighing his options. Closing his eyes and rubbing his temples, he took several deep breaths. Maybe I should just go home. I have accomplished next to nothing here and I doubt that going back down there would help at all. Pursing his lips, he opened his eyes and rolled his head to one side. Standing up he paced around. If I leave now that just seems far too rude. I will wait until a panel happens here, I will watch it, and then I will go home. Even though it would probably be something that was completely irrelevant to him, he could claim that he stayed there for more than twenty minutes to anyone who asked.
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Post by fbonnefoy on Aug 11, 2011 17:29:52 GMT -5
[OOC] Doing set-up~ >> It had been approximately three days since Francis had invited Mathieu on a trip to Tokyo (after lavishing his rather irritating boss with a well-aged bottle of Merlot--which the man hardly deserved, what with him flinging his beloved nephew about like a yo-yo), and another sixteen hours of them stretching out their legs and fighting jet lag while settling in a local bed and breakfast Francis had booked about a month prior. (Who knew that The Vertical City still had obscure delights like a B&B?) A long shower, a good night's rest, and a casual dressing up later, Francis gave Mathieu his guest pass as they exited the taxi, his own lanyard hanging about his neck as he brushed his hands against navy-blue jeans. It was around 18:00, with the sun still peeking past the skyscrapers and lighting up those parts of the city that weren't already set aglow by neon lights--although the Frenchman's attention was quickly diverted by the seemingly endless stream of people that had decided to make good on the convention's last two days of public showcase. He half wished that he'd been invited to the corporate-only events. This wasn't exactly... his crowd. Unscrewing his lips, he nodded toward Mathieu, beginning to stroll to the hotel entrance as he gave a brief rundown of the evening. " I'm not sure 'ow many of z'ese you've attended--I 'aven't z'e slightest clue what z'ese are about, if z'at helps up z'e anxiety--but a few z'ings before I leave you be, ouai? From what I've been told, z'is is a very small convention--nowhere near Tokyo Game Show or CEATEC (both of which are scheduled z'is autumn)." The sliding doors opened and closed behind them as both flicked their passes at security. " We should be finished very quickly, given z'at video game illustration is a smaller event, 'ere. I'm planning on attending z'e Smithsonian's art exhibit next year, anyway." He suddenly grinned. " 'Owever, some of z'e vendors for Tokyo Game Show are 'ere to provide sneak-peeks and take advantage of press and blog coverage before z'ey attend z'e bigger conventions, which should be fun for you, non?" He winked, and his tone jolted into life as he continued, almost starry eyed. " Nicolas Bouvier is 'ere as well, which is why we are 'ere. His name 'as been plastered all over z'e bande dessinée community back in Paris, so I'm excited to see z'e first public showings of 'is Halo 4 conceptual art, even if it's not wit'in my repertoire." As if realizing his tangent, Francis broke his non sequiters and grinned at his nephew. " Tu me comprends? You're free to explore. Just call me if you need anyz'ing--I'll answer if I'm not preoccupied, d'accord?"
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Post by whelpzie on Aug 14, 2011 19:15:28 GMT -5
>> [/size] No matter how bright eyed and bushy tailed Francis was, Matthew was no where near in the same state. Sheer anticipation had kept him from sleeping the night prior to departure and the few hours he got while in air didn't even cover the amount of sleep he lost while actually in Tokyo. For how often he did it, he rarely got decent sleep in a bed that wasn't his. The anxious babble and commotion around him was wearing on his nerves - at this rate, his Uncle's talking was even getting slightly in the grey for him. Sighing a bit through his nose as they walked past the security, the blond nodded in response. He kept fairly close to the Frenchman, only mostly to keep in ear range as really, Matthew knew how to move through a crowd, story of his life. " So there might be something good to check out,[/color]" he responded, a lift on his lips mostly for his own show to convince himself to be in a better, less sleep deprived mood. The Canadian could see his delight though, and now had some indication as to where Francis would be off drooling. While Nicolas' name sounded like nothing to him, the title drop was like music to deafening ears. " I got it, I'll call you later regardless.[/color]" Wishing good bye to his Uncle, Matthew pulled on the strap on his bag. He thought'd initially he was stupid for taking it, but after a walk through a metal detector, he was positive customs wouldn't come out of no where and tackle him to the ground finally. Yawning as he scoped out which way he wished to start off in first, he figured being here would be the best pick me up off his mood he would get until they touched down in Paris later on and should be using it to his full advantage. Content even though dead on his feet, he moved with the babble and crowd, keeping to himself as he began to get a little wide eyed at the things passing by. Being public, most was set up to be fancy and draw people over - unlike what he knew other private events to be where courtesy really brought you around everywhere. It was a while before Matthew even remembered how exhausted he was, and a little longer before he even glanced at the time. His bag a little heavier - mostly silly little freebies and enough pamphlets to turn him off from reading ever again if he could actually read them - the violet eyed boy made for somewhere quiet, mostly to put a growing headache at bay. It would be rude to distract Francis - when he wanted out, he knew he'd make it loud and clear before asking Matthew if he was ready. Polite, but made his thoughts out and known. Moving into an empty conference room, he noticed only one other person in the room under the artificial light and assumed he was either here for rest too, or at least knew what was going on. Not wanting to invade, he pulled out a chair and plopped down, dropping his bag between his knees on the floor, the strap securely locked in his fingers so it wouldn't wander off without him noticing. He tried for a bit not to look at the dark haired man, but giving in on the awkward mood he nodded and simply said a tired " Hello" as even if the man didn't speak English, he'd atleast know that one hopefully, and then the blond could go back to being a fly on the wall.[/blockquote]
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Kiku Honda
Internet Famous
Electronics Boutique Owner
Posts: 35
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Post by Kiku Honda on Aug 16, 2011 21:46:53 GMT -5
→Kiku was drawn out of his temporary rapture with a small “Hello.” He jumped just the slightest bit and turned his head. It seemed like ages since he had heard English. Sure he had heard it at the occasional party, but never directed at him. What a strange place to hear it, in an empty conference room at a Japanese video game convention.
Kiku raised one hand up and waved it from side to side trying to switch his mind over to English mode. “Um, hi?” He slapped his hand back down and dragged both hands uncomfortably into his pockets. Staring intently at the figure he tried to assess what he could possibly be doing there. He had large purple bags under his eyes, obviously out of town, and probably suffering jet lag. Probably in his late teens, early twenties. But that was about it. After making a few uncomfortable noises he ran his hand through his bangs. “Why have you left the convention?” His English was almost without accent, just a few “uhs” and “oos” placed directly after words to give it the animated Japanese feel.
He shuffled awkwardly back and forth for awhile, finally exiting his row of chairs and seating himself one or two away from his new companion. “I’m sorry, not to intrude upon you or anything. I would be happy to leave if you want me to!” To punctuate this, he rose slightly out of his chair and pointed at the door. Hovering there for awhile he once again seated himself. When was the last time he had talked to someone his age who appeared normal? Weeks? Months? Sorely out of practice, he knit his brow in worry that he offended in some small senseless way.
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Post by whelpzie on Aug 22, 2011 17:01:43 GMT -5
>> [/size] Matthew blinked lazily, smiling a bit awkwardly himself as the Japanese man didn't seem to know what to do with himself. It was sort of a relief to hear that he could speak and understand English - it made his brain work a little easier. He switched it over to something a little more sincere and bowed his head slightly in recognition - no need to play a game of tag with saying hi constantly back and forth to each other. " I'm not really used to big crowd at all, I needed a break.[/color]" It felt a little whimpy admitting it, but the man had asked (if not a little suddenly - maybe he had wandered somewhere where he wasn't supposed to be? Matthew hoped not). The man had moved closer, and much more animated than the fair haired Canadian, the grey eyed man gave a little laugh before covering his mouth to turn it into a cough. His exhaustion, much more clear now that he was off his feet and sitting down, had made it amusing. The other man wasn't offending him at all, and certainly not intruding on his space when he was the foreigner in the situation. " No, it's alright. I'm the one that sort of walked in on you,[/color]" the only Williams boy assured, still holding onto his small smile he used around polite company. It made him seem less like that one boy who just stands in the corner. His bag jangled a bit between his legs as he repositioned himself, shaking his head a bit so his hair bounced. " I'm waiting for someone to finish up business here,[/color]" he explained as if that would clarify anything. Ooc; Rainy said she was going to sit out her post until our conversation was done/she could freely jump in. [/blockquote]
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Kiku Honda
Internet Famous
Electronics Boutique Owner
Posts: 35
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Post by Kiku Honda on Sept 4, 2011 0:10:35 GMT -5
→What a nice person. So different from the cold and polite fronts that were regular in Japan. Kiku was surprised at how laidback the man was. It was that gentle comfort that seemed to be carried by anyone who had grown up in Northern America, lazy smiles and habitual hair flicks. He had grown all to familiar with them in college, even perfecting his own hair flick, the smiles had been at too advanced a level for him. He held back a little sigh of regret, now was not the time to wistfully think about how happy he had been. So he did not like crowds either! Wonderful! An ally amidst hundreds of nameless enemies. Strange that someone of such ease could not handle a crowd. But who was he to judge, he had spoken to him for barely a minute.
“I do not do well with crowds either, I tend to get sweaty palms and can not wrap my mind around constant shouting from the vendors,” he blurted out. Well that was incredibly embarrassing, he was certain that no one could possibly want to know about the state of his palms in a crowd. Coloring a little, he scratched at a nostril in an attempt to cover his face.
“Oh no you have not walked in on me at all! Just as I said, I do not like crowds at all.” His mind jumped around to all the man's different features in a desperate attempt to find something to talk about. What fascinating eyes he had, surely they were contacts. The wonders of modern technology. He squinted his eyes a little and leaned in out of curiosity, he would have to ask what brand they were. He jerked his head back abruptly once he realized how very awkward he was being. Lowering his head in a half bow with his eyes bashfully peering out from underneath his lashes, he took on a mockingly professional tone in a last pitch attempt to save what he thought was a complete failure of a conversation. “It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Kiku Honda. May I get you some water? I understand that empty conference rooms have excellent paper cups that add in great amounts to the flavor.” Now he'd done it. He had managed to shoot the conversation in the foot all by himself. He scratched at his nose again and coughed out a laugh. "I am sorry. I am a little nervous. Perhaps we shall start over with pretending to not know each other and then I am not going to mess up?"
OOC: (Fine by me! Sorry for the late reply, school just started for me. @ u@)
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Post by whelpzie on Sept 10, 2011 21:02:34 GMT -5
>> [/size] The blond boy had only closed his eyes briefly, just long enough that he could feel the nearness of sleep in anticipation of it as soon as they returned to their rooms. The other had started to talk about how he felt in crowd, and rolling his head slightly to release some tension, he glanced off at the corner beyond Kiku as the man spoke. Habitually someone who felt insanely awkward in most conversations, Matthew couldn't help but laugh in sympathy as the other man fumbled around in their conversation, even talking about the paper cups the convention offered. Coughing a bit and he wheezed in an attempt to stop, he flicked his wrist to brush it off. " I'm so sorry, don't worry, don't worry,[/color]" the grey eyed boy reassured, still smiling. " I completely understand, I'm exactly like that too. You're even speaking in a different language, anxiety from that happens. Personally, I don't even know why my Uncle bothered to bring me here just so he could deal with that. I clam up so hard as well.[/color]" He cleared his throat a little hard, more than obviously needing that water now but he held asking for it - no need for anyone to ever dote on him of all people. Leaning over a bit, his bangs fell into face and he pushed them back immediately. " Matthew Williams, it's nice to meet you, Kiku.[/color]" As odd as their conversation had been lately, talking about sweaty palms to introductions, it was completely comfortable, at least to the Canadian. He yawned, and covering it he ushered a soft apology. " I'm most likely the biggest bore ever right now,[/color]" he stated, somehow more outspoken in a sense than how he usually operated, even when on the job when he was supposed to speak up. He'd just pretty much had a real, semi-prying conversation with Kiku even for how much Matthew hated talking about himself.[/blockquote]
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Kiku Honda
Internet Famous
Electronics Boutique Owner
Posts: 35
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Post by Kiku Honda on Oct 1, 2011 11:50:16 GMT -5
→His horrible conversational faux pas had been accepted and forgiven. Obviously this young man was a heaven sent to Kiku, a nice calm anchor to help him pull himself together. Maybe even the conversational messiah who would guide him onto the path of small talk. Regardless of what he was Kiku had a strange feeling that they were kindred spirits. Perhaps their mutual (although he could hardly believe the blond boy) awkwardness in conversation, perhaps the fact that they could not handle crowds, perhaps just because they were sitting together in an abandoned hotel conference room with no one else to talk to.
So an uncle had dragged him here! Maybe not dragged but strongly suggested. For some reason Kiku pictured his Uncle as an unbearably attractive man with some sort of heavy accent. Not his kind of dad, the uptight, disdainful, never smiling, traditional…Kiku stopped himself. If he kept going he could end up blurting out yet another stupid thing but this time something that could completely scare his new friend off. His new friend Matthew. Maybe, just maybe, if they kept friends and stayed in contact it would eventually become Matt. He tested the word silently in his mind, a very short sound with a slight tap of the tongue on the teeth at the end. Not like his name, the hard teeth grind with every “k” and the abrupt “ew” sound at the end.
Suddenly he wished he was something more interesting, someone more interesting for this unendingly interesting man. Just five minutes of conversation and he was already deeply engrossed in his life. “No, no, no! You are not a bore at all!” He said hurriedly, almond eyes stretching wide. “Please sit with me awhile longer, I have not had such a human conversation with another human in many years. I myself have been jerked around by relatives for longer than you could possibly imagine.” His condensed life story had slipped out so easily it was incredible. Somehow Matthew had become the only one who had ever been able to get Kiku to really talk about his parents. Not that a sentence would be a big deal to some, but for Kiku he felt like an entire weight had been lifted off of him. Such drama for so few sentences.
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Post by whelpzie on Oct 11, 2011 16:04:51 GMT -5
>> [/size] Matthew made the smallest squeak of a sound, startled that Kiku was really so adamant about him sticking here. Not that he really minded as he already checked out most of what he wanted to see out of the convention. " You get stepped on too?[/color]" he teased, pulling back his bangs again as they stuck to his face and made him feel stuffy. " Every family has to at least have someone like that,[/color]" the Williams boy said with a soft crooked smile, not really feeling sorry for himself. His mother kind of dragged him into a profession, his friends used him as they pleased, and his Uncle had the most liquid influence over him ever. It wasn't really always a boring life, at least. " Do you have siblings then?[/color]" he asked to keep the conversation going, though Matthew knew the answer was most likely a no. They didn't have big families around here like they did in the States. Still, if Kiku had meant anything by 'human' conversation, he most likely meant something other than work, and what was a better topic then your off time? Suddenly however, Matthew was caught off guard, his phone buzzing in his pocket. He arched back to scoot it out of his pocket and blinked in muted surprise. It was actually sort of getting late, and his phone had been alerting him of his reminder when Francis was caught up in his hooha. Dismissing it, he slipped it back into his pocket. " Sorry, nothing important." Other than maybe he had an hour before his Uncle would either want to leave in one fell swoop or terrorize all the pretty women. The blond laughed a bit to himself, relaxing back into the chair.[/blockquote]
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Kiku Honda
Internet Famous
Electronics Boutique Owner
Posts: 35
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Post by Kiku Honda on Oct 22, 2011 17:48:14 GMT -5
→Kiku flushed with embarrassment seeing the reaction he had received from his companion. He was absolutely right to jump that way, Kiku was acting like a cat trying very hard to convince a mouse that he would not eat him. Rubbing his ankles together absentmindedly he nodded his head in agreement with what Matthew said. “Not so much stepped on, it is the way of my society. But it is not a nice way if you know what I mean.” He pitied the other boy, for the most part all of the families he had met in the West were happy and accepted everyone for what they were unless they were blatantly awkward. Matthew seemed nice enough. “I am sorry that you have to become that person in the family, I would much rather see you as the happiest one of them.” He almost laughed out loud at the next question he asked, if you had more than one child in Japan the neighbors wondered why the family had not heard of birth control. “No I do not although when I was little I often wished that I did. Do you?”
He remembered sadly the days he spent as a little boy playing pretend with his imaginary brother. He was desperately jealous of the lower class families that had houses teeming with relations or families with at least a Baba to tell fairy tales. All he had had was a teenager intent on abusing the facilities his parents had in his house who was paid twenty dollars an hour to throw a snack pack at him once in awhile. This was not to say that he had not had friends, he had had plenty at school. His parents just frowned on their childish games they played at his house and so discouraged any playdates.
Matthew’s phone buzzed to cut the somewhat comfortable silence. “Oh I am so sorry, I know that I must be keeping you from something. Your uncle perhaps? I hope that I have not dumped all of myself onto you too quickly.” He rustled around in his messenger back and produced a card that he placed with a little head bob in Matthew’s lap. “Please call me if you are staying longer in Japan! I would very much like to drink coffee with you!”
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Post by whelpzie on Nov 2, 2011 20:27:24 GMT -5
>> [/size] Matthew had only felt stupid long enough to register himself as an outsider, but Kiku seemed to have brushed his comment right off without any difficulty. Swallowing a bit awkwardly, he figured he maybe should of really had stayed back at their lodgings instead of offending different cultures. The blond had tried to only spend a minimum of a few seconds glancing at his phone, and he would of ignored it completely if not on an abroad trip where it was quite possible his Uncle had already managed a lawsuit or two against him for various things, but he felt like a rude guest when the other suddenly jumped to his feet. " Oh, no," he repeated again, sounding almost apologetic as Kiku handed over the small business card, setting it down into his lap. " No rush on my part, and you didn't do anything like that.[/color]" Matthew glanced down at letters and the small clip art. Electronics, go figure. Hadn't he said he was also here on business or something? " I'm not sure what our travel plans are yet, but yeah, I'll make sure to get a hold of you regardless before I leave,[/color]" the shy blond responded, nodding his head, bouncing his bangs around his face. The movement reminded him of his head ache from before but he translated the pressure into his normal social anxiety. Being polite in the most America way he could, Matthew stood and offered his hand with a crooked smile for a shake. " Take care, and if you ever find a reason to get ahold of a Francis Bonnefoy, please, drop my name.[/color]"[/blockquote]
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Kiku Honda
Internet Famous
Electronics Boutique Owner
Posts: 35
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Post by Kiku Honda on Dec 16, 2011 0:04:43 GMT -5
→A pleasant handshake, a few nods of the head and the brief but comfortable exchange was over between the two of them with promises to keep in touch. Kiku smiled to himself as he walked home despite the freezing Tokyo weather, he had forgotten how important social contact was to a budding young man. Holing oneself up in a bare apartment and a store with rarely any customers was not the ideal life for the average person.
Kiku had liked Matthew’s American smile. Not to stereotype, but there was definitely an ease of being that accompanied even the most socially awkward Northern American and Matthew had possessed his fair share of it. Kiku knew that it was mostly a result of cultural traditions but he wished that Asia was not quiet as socially cold as it was. As his sneakers squeaked against the gum coated sidewalk, hands buried deep within his pockets, he pondered his bizarre obsession with this man. It certainly was not romantic, they had known each other for hardly five minutes. Perhaps it was simply that he reminded him of happier days, of blind happiness, of bleached out brown hair. It was his soft posture, fumbling hands, and square jaw that brought back his college days. And not in the sad reminiscent way memories tended to come to him.
Blowing on his hands, Kiku threw down his bag inside his apartment door and pulled off his shoes with his feet as he unbuttoned his coat. Turning on the wonky space heater next to his bed, he stripped and climbed into sweat pants and a T-shirt crawling into his mattress on the floor, shoving his feet into the warmest area he could find. Kiku fell asleep at utter peace with himself with memories of American autumns floating through his head.
OOC: (Oh lawdy this has been so long coming, I apologize deeply. Unless you want to add another reply, is it alright if we add this to the dead thread section of the forum? Not to pressure or anything!)
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Post by whelpzie on Dec 16, 2011 10:51:34 GMT -5
Ooc: Without Rainy, this thread is very much complete. Feel free to tag it as done, maybe we can do just a Kiku & Matt one before he leaves Tokyo as promised he'd call. <3
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Kiku Honda
Internet Famous
Electronics Boutique Owner
Posts: 35
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Post by Kiku Honda on Dec 16, 2011 15:13:18 GMT -5
OOC: For sure! Or maybe we could set up a texting thread because I really want to get Kiku to the ski lodge. Or maybe I can go inception on everyone and do two threads at once.
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