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 Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2012 11:24 pm
Today, as was often the case, Caitlyn Masters was out on a walk as someone other than herself. Today, she was Euphemia li Britannia, a trial run of her newest costume before she actually wore it at a convention. She'd even gone so far as to tuck her hair into the appropriate wig. As was usual for when she went out in cosplay, reactions were mixed between approval, confusion, and mockery.
She'd taken the time to walk herself to a bookstore, and was currently browsing the fantasy section, considering a number of titles. She could hear some of the store employees talking, probably discussing the odd girl in the very, very strange outfit and pink wig. Well, that was pretty much par for the course. Couldn't go out dressed like a princess and not expect people to talk - and for once, she didn't mind the attention.
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Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2012 12:07 am
Truth to be told, Lucien practically lived in this bookstore. As it was not too far of a walk from the elementary school that his younger siblings attended, he usually dropped by for a few minutes right before going to pick them up. However, today was one of those "emergency" visits of his, visits that he frequently made whenever he didn't have anything new to read at home. It had become a biweekly tradition.
After just a few minutes in the shop, the young man already had a good three or four books stacked in his arms. He scanned the shelves of novels, running his fingers along the spines as he skimmed their titles. Finding nothing of interest on this side of the store, he turned the corner to check the other side, only to find himself coming face to face that something that was of interest...but was not a book.
...What on earth.
He considered turning around and pretending that he hadn't seen anything, but was aghast when he suddenly realized that the oddly dressed girl was standing right in front of the fantasy section. There were a couple of fantasy books that he had admittedly been itching to read, but the question was whether or not the urge for those books outweighed the potential awkwardness that could ensue between him and the girl. After a moment of hesitation and grumbling, he let out a heavy sigh and moved forward to stand beside her.
This was not awkward at all.
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Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2012 12:18 am
Cait had, for her part, picked out a few books she had been eyeing, but was still happily browsing other titles when she heard a heavy sigh and realized someone was next to her. She blinked and looked up.
"I'm sorry, did you want to see these?" She asked. "I can move, if you need a bit more room." She was purposely oblivious to any awkwardness between them caused by her attire. It was a blissful gift she got from being in cosplay - as long as she was, in a way, someone else, she didn't have to worry nearly as much as usual about impressing people.
Besides, if nothing else, it was a conversation starter, and it was always good to at least try to reach out to people, right? (Even if were she in normal street clothes she probably would have just squeaked and moved right on over.)
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Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2012 12:30 am
"...Ah." Oops, had his sigh been louder than he had thought? It certainly wouldn't have been the first time. Although he was a bit socially awkward, Lucien did take extra measures to appear polite at least, so he offered the young woman a small smile and a little shake of his head (while trying not to stare at her outfit too hard).
"No, don't worry about it. I'm just browsing, and--ah ha!" His expression suddenly changed, eyes lighting up as his gaze miraculously fell right on one of the novels that he had been looking for. He reached up to grab it and then paused, eying the girl uncertainly from the corner of his eye. Well, he had already spoken to her a little, so...would it be rude if he were to just walk away without saying anything else?
...Maybe he should say something else, at least. A casual comment about the weather, a brief question about the books she was buying or--"What are you wearing?"
...Or that.
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Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2012 12:36 am
Cait shifted over a bit anyway, because he looked like he sort of needed a bit more space. She gave him a return smile, as she pulled another book off the shelf to add to her selections for the day. This was going to be a slightly expensive haul, all things considered.
"Found what you were looking for?" She asked idly, making small talk as she continued to consider other additions to her already overlarge book collection. At least she could say with some certainty that her siblings were likely to borrow the books at some point so clearly, this was a win for the entire household.
She blinked over at him. "I am wearing a very nice dress." She said, her tone light. "What are you wearing?" She was clearly being a little silly. "Ah, but really, I'm cosplaying!"
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Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2012 2:26 am
Shifting the weight of the books to his right arm, he gave a short nod at the question, the corners of his lips quirking upwards in a faint smile. "Yeah, I was looking for it for a while, so I'm glad to have finally found it." Granted it would probably only take him a day or two depending to breeze through it, but considering how good it was supposed to be, hopefully it was worth all the time and effort to find.
The girl's answer was met by an eyebrow raise. "I, er...nice. Nice dress. Yes. I...think." He (kind of) agreed, haltingly. When she turned the inquiry back to him, he looked startled, glancing down at himself to make sure that he hadn't somehow forgotten his pants or something. Nope, he had pants on (thank the gods), and was wearing a pretty ordinary button-up shirt as well. Nothing looked out of place. Furrowing his brows in confusion, he slowly looked back up at her.
"I'm...wearing clothes? Normal clothes?" He perked up a little at the mention of cosplaying, vaguely recognizing the term. "Oh. Like dressing up as a character or something, right?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2012 11:05 am
Cait nodded. "Always a satisfying feeling." She agreed. It was up there, in her opinion, with discovering the release date of a game you were waiting for or finding out that yes, the cosplay outfit you wanted was in your size and yes, it would be there in time for that convention.
She laughed quietly at his awkward agreement. She was already fond of this particular outfit; it was nice enough, she suspected, to wear to a formal event. "You think?" She asked, huffing quietly in mock offense.
"That you are. Perhaps this is my normal." In a way, it was. "Mmhmm! Have you ever heard of Code Geass? I'm Euphemia li Britannia." She stood up and curtsied as she "introduced herself."
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Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2012 3:43 pm
It was nice--and a little unusual--to be talking to someone about books, particularly when his other two friends were not quite as keen about reading as he was. He could certainly use a friend to chat with about novels, though there was the matter of making said friends that was usually the issue for the blond.
Despite himself, he felt the corner of his lips quirk upwards in a dry smile at the mockingly offended tone that the girl took on. "I think," he echoed, before giving a little shrug, "It's quite...er...different from the dresses I usually see, so I'm not sure...what kind of scale I should be rating it on. But it's not ugly."
Ever so tactful, Lucien.
"I can't say that I've heard of Code Geass, but uh...it's one of those...comic series though, right? Or cartoons?" There was a pause as he searched for the correct terms, before letting out an uncertain, "...Manga and anime, or something?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2012 6:38 pm
Cait affected a slightly pouty expression. "I suppose 'not ugly' is the best I'll get, then?" She asked, and sighed heavily. "And if you're looking for a category, it would probably best rate as formalwear, one way or another." She explained.
She let him stumble through categorizing until he finally hit on the words he was looking for. "Anime, mmhmm! There's a manga too, or two or three I think, but the outfit's from the anime." She glanced down with a degree of pride. Goodness, this did fit well and she looked good in it!
"I'm gonna guess you haven't had much experience with this sort of thing?" Cait asked cheerily.
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Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2012 8:30 pm
He shifted the pile of books back into his left arm, holding up his newly freed hand in a defensive gesture. "Hey, hey. I know nothing about fashion, okay? That's my little siste--er, friend's domain. Dresses and stuff, I mean." Though now that she mentioned it, he supposed that the dress did fit in the "formalwear" category. The wig, though...
Lucien honestly looked a little surprised when it turned out that he had managed to dig up the right words, letting out a small laugh at the question. "No, not really. Might have seen a few--er--cosplayers? Might have seen a few cosplayers around before, but never struck up a conversation with one." Not that he was discriminating against people who liked to cosplay, of course--Lucien just never struck up a conversation with anyone if he could help it.
This girl seemed nice enough though. After a moment of consideration, he turned to face her more fully, holding his right hand out towards her. "My name is Lucien. And you're...? Besides Euphemia, I mean."
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Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2012 8:51 pm
Cait laughed. "Alright, that's fair," she admitted. Not everyone was well-versed in fashion; she had to admit that she really was no fashionista herself.
"Oh, well, first time for everything, hmm?" Cait said cheerily. "We're a friendly lot, for the most part, you should try it more often." She was one to talk-out of cosplay, the idea of approaching a stranger was terrifying.
She smiled, shifting her books and offering him her hand. "Caitlyn. Cait, please. It's lovely to meet you."
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Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2012 10:47 pm
He seemed satisfied when she agreed, but raised a brow when she told him that he should "try it more often". Without hesitation, he lifted his free hand again as if to stop her. "Wait a second, just to be clear...you're telling me to try talking to cosplayers more often, right? Not...trying to cosplay myself?"
Because while he probably had the frame and the face for certain cosplays, he couldn't imagine actually putting on makeup and dressing up outside of a costume party. ...To be honest, he probably wouldn't do it even it was for a costume party. In either case, he would probably have to forced into it.
"It's nice to meet you too, Cait." He replied, giving her hand a firm shake, "And I have to ask--do you usually get stared at when you wear that out in public?" It was meant as a genuine question spurred by curiosity, and not anything that was intentionally rude.
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Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2012 11:18 pm
Cait gave him her best borderline enigmatic smile. "Maybe a little of both. It's very freeing to be someone you're not," she said, "even if it's just an outfit you put on for a while. You don't have to walk around and do it, though, I know what I do is kinda crazy!"
Cait was of the opinion that you could often judge at least something of a person by their handshake, and Lucien's firm one spoke good things of him. She laughed a bit at his question. "Well, of course, but it's part of the fun!" She said. "Some people are impressed; some are confused...some are nasty, of course, but I go in knowing there are people who will be nasty about it. I'm just lucky I've never had an outfit ruined because someone wanted to be cruel."
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Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2012 12:50 am
"At least you realize it," Lucien chuckled, suddenly seeming much more at ease than he had been when they first started talking, "I suppose that I should commend you for the guts it took to wear a costume like that out. Unfortunately, I don't think that I could put on a costume without looking like a dumbass." There was a pause, and then he added a quick, "No offense. I just can't pull off what others can."
And considered how easily flustered he was sometimes, he probably wouldn't have been able to take the stares as well as Cait could either. Shrugging, eh turned to eye the bookshelf again, picking off another novel and adding it to his pile. "Do what you love, right? So long as it's not hurting anyone, there's no reason for anyone to get aggressive or nasty about it."
Not that common sense stopped people from being jerks, but it definitely lowered the chances.
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Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2012 11:00 am
Cait laughed. "Well, I kinda have to," she said. "And hey, it's not for everyone. Believe me, I've been to conventions - I have seen some truly disastrous cosplays. Some people just...should not. Though I have to admit, I think you might pull it off, if it's the right character." She tilted her head to the side. "A consideration for another time, though!"
"You'd think people would feel that way, but," she shrugged, "people don't seem to know how to be nice to those that are different." It was something she'd gotten to know all too well. People could be real jerks, it seemed, but she was used to it by this point.
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