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Post by 🌺 inari 🌺 on Jun 1, 2018 2:42:09 GMT
◣◆◢  | All he'd wanted was a simple cup of coffee. The egg slung around in the carrier he'd made for it was safely cradled to his side as he stepped inside what he assumed was a coffee shop. After all they'd had the picture of a coffee cup outside... At least he was pretty sure it was coffee. The words really didn't make that much sense when he sat down and thought about them. The mixture of mocha locha frappe mappe. Whatever the hell those things were supposed to mean. All he wanted was a nice big cup of black coffee. Of course that meant waiting in line for longer than he really wanted to. He wasn't really trying to listen in but the sounds that were coming out of people's mouths when they were ordering confused him to no end. He'd never been in a Starbocks in all his life and the idea that coffee came in multitudes of flavors went over his head entirely.
He was a simple man who had lived a simple life all his life and Kem would be the first to admit that he didn't know everything there was to know about the world. Especially not the more... Extravagant parts. This was definitely one of those moments. It seemed after ages of waiting it was finally his turn. Glancing at the menu he... Tried to make sense of it at least? His head spun with all the different things he was reading before finally giving up. After all what he wanted was simple so why bother complicating it with reading?
"Can I get a large black coffee?"
"You mean a Venti?"
"No a large black coffee. No venni in it."
"No you want a Venti?"
"I said just a large black coffee. No vendy."
He wasn't even sure what a vemmy was but he probably didn't want it in his coffee. What was so hard about a large black coffee? He wasn't even sure what this cashier was going on about with whatever it was she was asking about. He missed being back home where there was just normal coffee. With a sigh he realized that he wasn't going to get anywhere with this and he was just going to have to accept whatever a viney was. But if it made his coffee taste gross he wasn't going to be happy about it. "Sure just give me whatever your largest is with a vimmy or whatever."
He didn't notice that a couple of the baristas were laughing at him. He never noticed when people were laughing at him. It was just one of those things. After all he was the one being perfectly normal and the rest of them were just giving him a hard time. He had no idea why. |
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Post by frog on Jun 2, 2018 0:48:16 GMT
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Henry shuffled, bone tired. His plan to leave the village as soon he got his starter fell through, so he had to fork out the money to stay the night in the cheapest, crappiest inn he could find. The bed was, as expected, hard as stone against his bony ass and the blanket had scratched against his tender skin all night. Henry didn't like to consider himself a princess by any means, liked to fancy he was capable of surviving rough sleeping situations. So he shouldn't be forking out a handful of cash on some fancy drink. But Henry was about to be going into the wilderness, damn it, and this was the first time he saw something familiar in this entire region: a friendly neighborhood Starboks that reminded him of Jubilife City and his small circle of friends.
So pity him for indulging his emotions.
Pressing his hair back with his hand, thin silver strands mussed by his fingers, the man walked in strutting with intention straight into the line, pale blue eyes not so much as glancing at the menu. When you went here you knew what you wanted, that was the way of things. Henry was convinced they added things to the menu just for fun without any intention of actually making it.
That was when he overheard the man in front of him's order. The way he blundered through, not understanding the frankly stupid and unnecessarily fancy words that replaced the common sense. But that was appeal of going to the Starboks, wasn't it? Spouting some stupid bullshit and paying twice what you should to do it.
But it was clear, as Henry's eyes did a quick inventory of the walking disaster in front of him (why was every man he met in this region a walking disaster?) and behind the annoyance was a rough-looking country boy. Henry was from a small town in Sinnoh, and sure the only thing they farmed there was fresh flowers, but he knew the type. And that type had generally not been great to the pretty boy loner who liked drawing over any actual physical activity.
"...your order, sir?" The cashier repeated, and Henry blushed as he became aware at how blatantly he was staring at the stranger.
"A frozen caramel macchiato, extra caramel and whipped cream, grande," he stated, the words flowing off his tongue like a reflex as he pulled out his wallet, sliding what little cash he had to the woman. He could hear laughter from the pair making the drinks, moving slowly as they snickered about the man.
Sidling up to the man, Henry folded his arms, looking up at him slightly. It was strange not being the tallest person in the room, and this man actually had muscles where Henry was all graceful long limbs. Pursing his lips, Henry fought with himself for a moment, before he spoke.
"You know, they have sample cup sizes, with the names and everything. For reference." Henry tried to not make the words snide, but with his posture, eyebrow raised slightly, hand gesturing to the plastic cups with their sharpie labels it was hit or miss.
But it was always hit or miss with Henry when he tried to interact with new people. Especially men who could literally break him in half. 553 🌺 inari 🌺 henry is definitely not gay at all nope tall muscular men do not do it for him no thanks only bugs forever! |  |
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Post by 🌺 inari 🌺 on Jun 2, 2018 21:28:56 GMT
◣◆◢ | It took him a solid moment to realize that someone was talking to him. After all he was just a guy that wanted a simple coffee in a very complicated world. It wasn't his fault that everything outside of what he already knew was complicated. While he hadn't grown up that far away from Goldenrod he had grown up mostly inside his own bubble and a good time ago. So there was a moment of silence before realization that the smaller man was talking to him. Kem always felt strange whenever he ended up looking at other men. There was an emotion or feeling that he couldn't quite pin down. And he'd been feeling it for so long that at this point he was too afraid to really ask what it was. Just that it was probably how anyone felt looking at other men. Probably.
"Why would I need a sample though if'n I know what flavor I want? I don' understand why they gotta add that vemmi stuff or whatever..." The words were out of his mouth before he even really thought about what had been said. The idea that venti was a size and not something weird and fancy that they put into coffee went over his head entirely. Though maybe he should have asked for a sample to make sure that whatever they put in there wasn't gross. But he couldn't exactly go up and ask for one now of course. It didn't take long to make a large black coffee and soon his order was sitting on the counter. It wasn't that he walked a little bit closer did he actually stop to read what was written on the cup display.
It was then that he sort of realized why there had been so much giggling... And why maybe the guy next to him had been trying to point out the cups. Not the flavor board behind it. With a small grunt he realized that he'd fucked up again. The cup in his hands was a welcome and warm distraction but at the same time he knew that the people behind the counter probably thought that he was an idiot. Then again that wasn't a new thing in the slightest. But instead of admitting his mistake he sat down at one of the tables and stared at the coffee cup. Wondering when things had become so damn complicated. |
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Post by frog on Jun 3, 2018 22:20:31 GMT
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This poor man had no idea what he was doing, did he? Henry sighed, tried not to roll his eyes as his words went completely over the hunk's strangers head. It was pitiful really, especially with the laughter that was, frankly, horrifically unprofessional. As someone who tried, in the desperation of their youth, a few weeks as a barista, the silver haired man simply couldn't appreciate what was blatantly rude.
Henry was about to open his mouth, explain what he was trying to say with more clarity so the poor thing didn't make an even bigger fool of himself, and he was gone, shuffling up to collect his black coffee with the sort of body language that told Henry that the truth was dawning on him.
But why was he miffed? Maybe it was because he spent all last night sobbing over his starter pokemon's files, but Henry could not, in this moment, stand a bully. Channeling all the confidence of a middle aged white woman with three kids waiting for her in the soccer van, Henry stalked up to the counter, plucking his drink with a cool look in his eyes before not so kindly hissing.
"I'm letting you know this in advance to be kind, but I'm going to be lodging a formal complaint with your management staff and your location owner for what was rude, disgusting, and frankly poor display of customer service. Or is embarrassing your customers a part of the company policy?" The words were low, icy as Henry leaned, eyes narrowed at the stunned baristas, all the body language of a scyther about to strike. Then with a self-satisfied smile, he took a sip of his coffee. "And thanks, by the way," he added with a fake cheer in his voice, raising his cup in a half salute as he turned, walked over, and slid into the seat across from Kem, casually sipping his ridiculous drink.
"You're not from around here, then, are you?" Henry said, scooping a glob of caramel drizzled whipped cream with the edge of his straw and popping it into his mouth. Henry was too tired and bored to worry about things like social rules and privacy. Besides, he already planned his afternoon to be nothing but scathingly polite phone calls to whatever numbers were even associated with this location, so he may as well enjoy himself for the moment now. 402 🌺 inari 🌺 Henry's hair magically transforms into can I speak with your manager ! | |
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Post by 🌺 inari 🌺 on Jun 4, 2018 22:12:41 GMT
◣◆◢ | He was uncomfortable. A large body in a sea of decidedly smaller ones and he had already managed to make a scene of everything. He was just glad that the egg in his care probably didn't hear all of that. Probably. He knew that after a certain point they started reacting to voices and stuff because that had been the norm out at the MooMoo Farm but this egg was nowhere near that point yet. So the egg wouldn't really know that he was an idiot until later on down the line. He wasn't paying attention in the slightest to the counter any longer. He already had what he wanted and he had already made a fool of himself. So the best thing was to stay quiet and stay to himself if he could help it.
But of course other people probably had other things in mind. The movement in front of him with someone else sitting in the chair caused him to look up from the cup a bit lazily. He was mildly alarmed but his body didn't exactly show it. Moving too quickly never did him any good when it was such a small space. Knowing his luck he would end up knocking his coffee cup over and making a mess. That would probably just cause more troubles in the end. So Kem felt a bit on the trapped side. He watched in a strange discomfort as the stranger in front of him licked at the straw and then finally began to speak to him.
Carefully Kem shook his head, hair pushing out of the ponytail he had it in and slipping down by his shoulders. That was his own fault for not being awake enough to secure it properly. But it wasn't going to bother him now. "Johto, in Olivine. I mean, Olivine in Johto..." At least that was where he was born and raised. He spent more time a ways out of town for work for a good chunk of his life so far. "Thanks for tryin' to help." He knew that the guy had only been trying to look out for him. But he still felt kind of resentful at the fact that apparently everyone else knew this apparently common knowledge stuff. |
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Post by frog on Jun 5, 2018 16:18:01 GMT
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Henry could tell the other man was uncomfortable, probably embarrassed that Henry had said anything. But Henry didn't particularly care. Or rather, if the stranger wasn't willing to do it, Henry was going to finish the job himself. If he had to stand there listening to those brats cackle while he tried to enjoy his coffee, he would snap. A poor night's sleep would do that to you. Plus, it really was unprofessional to laugh at someone misunderstanding the menu.
Now, lounging back against the chair, Henry studied Kem, cooly ignoring any discomfort or resentment the man might have regarding the situation. Henry didn't function that way, after-all, and his words had not been an empty threat in the least. Sipping the cold, sugary drink he hummed as the man answered, blue eyes still piercing, still assessing the person in front of him.
Henry was probably making the other man uncomfortable, to a certain extent.
But Henry didn't know if it was just because Henry was Henry, or because of what Henry did, which tended to make things a little more complicated. So Henry decided not to address it, shoving down any brief questions he had about the man's sexuality. Though it didn't help any that his long hair was coming loose the ponytail as he spoke.
"Ah," Henry said. Johto, huh? Henry didn't know much about the region, if he was being honest. "I'm from Floaroma in Sinnoh," Henry offered. Most people knew where it was, if not from the trillions of tourist photos that got posted every spring when the flower farms were in full operation.
Henry blinked at the thanks, not expecting it, before he waved his free hand. "It was completely for my benefit. If I had to listen to them giggling endlessly this early in the morning, I would get indigestion."
"I'm Henry by the way," he added, sipping his drink. 316 🌺 inari 🌺 henry is definitely saying the indigestion part loud enough for all the baristas to hear ! | |
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Post by 🌺 inari 🌺 on Jun 6, 2018 0:43:19 GMT
◣◆◢ | Kem barely knew the geography of his home region, albeit spottily, much less what went where in others. All he could do was nod a bit whenever the other man said that he was from Floaroma, with a note to maybe research it a bit whenever he had the time. And by research he would probably maybe google it once and then never look it up again. But that was his idea of research and that was what mattered to be completely honest. As long as he could get a general idea that was what mattered. "This is my first time out of Johto." Though that was probably obvious from everything that had ended up happening so far. He stuck out like a sore thumb and he supposed that was just the price he was going to have to pay for choosing this place to set down new roots. Or rather to travel. He had no idea what the proper... whatever... would be for what he was doing.
"Still, you didn' have to and I appreciate it." He was sincere, finally looking up from his coffee with an expression that might have better suited some sort of puppy that had been scolded to oblivion and back and was finally coming back for forgiveness. It was a strange look on the face of someone as large as he was but one that he had definitely made before in his life. When things went sour because of his intelligence he always felt bad about it. "'m Kem, its a pleasure Henry." His surname was always the name he gave as his first. No one needed to know that his parents had decided on a whim to name him Lilac. Hell, not even some of his old coworkers had known his actual first name. Careful not to knock his cup over he held his hand out for Henry to shake. After all it was only polite. |
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Post by frog on Jun 7, 2018 23:10:21 GMT
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It was his first time out of Johto. Henry didn't know much about the region, other than what bug type pokemon called it home. Didn't even know if they had Starboks there, but he did know what it was like to travel for the first time. "Its the same for me, travelling for the first time that is. Its different from what I expected," Henry mumbled around his straw.
It was different, and he wasn't quite sure if it was different in a bad way or in a good way. But he was meeting new people, which he hated. And standing up for them, which he normally wouldn't do, so maybe his expirement of pushing himself beyond his own interiority was working.
The problem was Kem kept bringing up the help, which was starting to make Henry feel someone ashamed, in a strange sort of way. So the silver-haired man sat back in his seat with a sigh, stirring his drink, finally mixing all the whipped cream down into a creamy, sweet mess of a caffeinated beverage. "...you're welcome then," he finally said with a small shrug.
When Kem offered his hand, Henry took it, gave it a good, manly squeeze. His father had worked in the nearby mountains, had been adamant about teaching his son the way to be a proper man, a good, honest man. And a good man knew how to shake hands. A lot of Henry's emotional baggage probably came from his father, but Henry chose not to dwell on that. Just like he chose to ignore the sideways looks after Henry came out.
It wasn't violence. But it wasn't quite acceptance, either, was it?
"Nice to meet you too," Henry said. "Kem, I'll remember that," he added as he dropped his hand and went back to his drink. 303 🌺 inari 🌺 I think we could wrap up this thread and focus on the ! | |
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Post by 🌺 inari 🌺 on Jun 10, 2018 14:06:21 GMT
◣◆◢ | Everything seemed to be going well after all. Maybe, he might even get out of this situation with something resembling a friendship? Sure it hadn't started off the best but at least today was improving. That was really all Kem could ask for. After all it couldn't get much worse than being laughed at by an entire staff of people working in a coffee shop. He was just, nervous he guessed? It was hard to actually think about making friends outside of the ranch. But he supposed he was probably jumping the gun or whatever. There was no guarantee that he would even see this guy again after today. But at least he was happy to know that there was at least one person in the region that was decent enough. He could probably survive here without knowing that but it was something of a relief.
He didn't want to be too nosy about why the other man had left his home. After all it was rude to pry into a man's affairs like that. Especially if the reason wasn't brought up beforehand. But the feeling of Henry's hand was different than the ranch hands he'd ended up shaking hands with. Not as broad and not as rough. Slender... It was an entirely different experience and not one that he was opposed to. After all he'd be introduced to a lot of different people with a lot of different types of hands probably. But there was a lingering feeling whenever Henry pulled his own away that nearly caused him to knock the cup of coffee over once more.
He was a clumsy fuck to say the least but at least Kem had relatively quick hands when it came to catching things. Especially things he had nearly knocked over. "M'gonna end up makin' a mess iffin 'm not careful. These places are too small for someone my size..." He was mostly talking to himself but of course he didn't have much of an inside voice. He'd never really learned to speak quietly and really didn't feel like he needed to bother. "I should probably get goin' soon anyways..." He hadn't really planned on staying in the shop so long but he didn't feel up to leaving right away and then getting pulled into a conversation. "'m glad I ran into you Henry."
notes: we can !
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