[hr][hr] [center][h1][b][i][color=82ca9d]Christian Emory[/color][/i][/b][/h1][img]http://data2.whicdn.com/images/57991396/tumblr_mkyojj9N5V1r1hm4ao1_250_large.gif[/img] [img]http://i.imgur.com/RGu6XoT.png[/img] [img]http://i.imgur.com/WNng51l.gif[/img][/center][hr][hr] [b]Location:[/b] Main Room [b]Interacting With:[/b] Lukas Jackson [@Aewin] [sub]Collab with [@Lady Amalthea][/sub] [hr][hr] [color=thistle]"That's a good question, actually,"[/color] Veronica responded when asked about her hobbies, taking longer than a moment to consider her response. She didn't have a whole lot of hobbies, and her idea of fun wasa long nap followed by a hearty meal...being lazy, in other words, but somehow she assumed that would not go over so well. [color=thistle]"Oh...you know, sketching, eating, sleeping, all the makings of a dull set of hobbies,"[/color] she admitted at last, not wanting to get off of her honesty train now. [color=thistle]"My ideal day is doing as little as possible for as long as possible, and that pretty much summed up my early twenties. I know, I'm totally exciting, right?"[/color] Veronica was of the mindset that taking the piss out of herself was a far better way to be honest than by lying or bending the truth to sound more impressive than you are. Veronica knew who she was, knew that her flaws certainly outweighed her positives, and she owned that knowledge. It wasn't her problem if people didn't respond to that. [color=thistle]"But if I ever find myself in your restaurant, you can hook a girl up with some free fettuccine, right?"[/color] Time, however, seemed to fly by and before she knew it, the bell had dinged and she was waving Lukas away. Veronica leaned back in her chair, sighing, wondering how many more people she had left. Two down. X to go. It wasn't so bad. Maybe one of them would smile and have it be genuine. Veronica wasn't smiling when the next date arrived, not out of any judgment towards him but because she was still fully in 'relaxation' mode and had to snap back to 'dating' mode. She did, at least, offer him her hand to shake after introductions, only to drop it awkwardly to the table as he sat down first. Christian happily taking her hand and shaking it before he took a proper seat. [color=thistle]"Oy, guvnor,"[/color] Veronica began, noticing the accent and responding with a very, very poor imitation of one of her own, [color=thistle]"Ay'm Veronica and 'ow's about we go for a bender down at the pub, mate, you what?"[/color] Veronica was laughing, amusing herself with her terrible attempt at an accent, but she assumed the man opposite her wouldn't be. Christian couldn't help but laugh at her impersonation, his eyes beaming as he cupped his hand loosely over his bright smile. [color=82ca9d]"Oh Lass! Ye be a natural! Tell ya, I would swear I would be talkin' to the Queen herself,"[/color] he laughed as he leaned back in his seat [color=thistle]"Veronica,"[/color] she replied in her regular tone, still chuckling to herself, [color=thistle]"I don't think you're a neanderthal. They didn't have curly hair."[/color] Veronica gestured to Christian's hair as she made her point. [color=thistle]"So, Christian, you wanna hype yourself up first or should I do the honors?"[/color] [color=82ca9d]"Ay, maybe they didn't. Or maybe they did but all that dirt and gunk just never let their curls fly,"[/color] he said as he leaned forward and laced his fingers together on the table. She seemed like she could be fun. [color=82ca9d]"I'd normally say Ladies first but since there is still a chance I could be a Neanderthal after all I might as well take the leap. From London, was gonna be a teacher but ended up being a Travel Guide instead. What about you? Other than working to be able to stand in for the Queen when she receives calls from folk she doesn't want to deal with?"[/color] His head tilted to the side, happy to be easily conversing with her so far. The others he had been around hadn't been bad at all but with her he felt a bit more relaxed. Maybe it was her, maybe it was the three glasses of wine he had already downed that evening. Either way he was having fun and that was all that mattered to him. Veronica chuckled, actually chuckled, for the first time tonight; it was nice to know that someone didn't get all upset and fake offended by a bit of harmless fun. That alone was sure to make her feel more at ease, more natural. Granted even if he didn't respond well to it Veronica wasn't about to stop, but at least now she didn't have to go on the offensive. [color=thistle]"That's a bit of a curve, isn't it? What happened, teaching degree fall through?"[/color] Veronica asked, almost sounding genuinely curious. [color=thistle]"Then again, I guess a tour guide is kinda like a history teacher for tourists. Do you, like, work at a museum or something? Buckingham Palace?"[/color] [color=82ca9d]"God no!"[/color] he said making a gagging face while laughing. [color=82ca9d]"Think I'd go nuts working in a place I had to sit still. I have my own small company. I have the degree but again, sitting. Grading papers all day would just drive me nuts. I love me some good traveling ya know? Figured I could turn that into something. So I did. I take smaller groups to more out of the way locations and show them the local sights. The shit people don't normally get to see on them big cruise ships. Lots of fun! Just got back from India actually,"[/color] he said picking up his glass of wine and leaning back in his seat to get comfortable. Veronica leaned forward in her seat, engaging more in the conversation instead of merely preparing herself to brush it off and roll her eyes. [color=thistle]"I always assumed tour guides were just, like, volunteers. Me, though? I'm a cartoonist. I draw a comic strip for newspapers. You heard of Garfield or Peanuts? Like that, only mine's about single people and the hilarity of dating. Like you I had lofty dreams once, I wanted to be an animator and I want to make graphic novels but instead I write four panel - eight on Sundays - little strips that most people who read papers just toss in the bin."[/color] She paused a moment, offering a self deprecating grin. [color=thistle]"But, you know, it pays the bills."[/color] [color=82ca9d]"Oh now girl, you have my attention. I only's read the comics! A bunch of fun in the middle of a crap ton of bad. Which ones you write? Wanna know so next time I do I can go [i]'Hey! I know the girl that does this!'[/i] and makes people all oooh's and awww's that I knows me a celebrity!"[/color] he exclaimed happily. He loved comics. Not the graphic novel types but he got a kick out the newspaper ones and the little stills. Was his usual reading material. Veronica arced an eyebrow at that, unsure if he was being sincere or just humoring her. She hardly considered herself a celebrity, it wasn't as if she was a published author or something, but still she had to admit that even if it was just humoring her...it felt nice. Better than the blank stares that she had been used to whenever she had to talk about how she earned a living. [color=thistle]"I just do the one, it's called [i]Swingles[/i] and a lot of it is based on true stories or things I've experienced. Honestly...I didn't take you for the type to be into comic strips. Guess that's the egg on my face. But on the other hand...now I can tell my friends, if I had any, that I know a tour guide. I'll be totally popular."[/color] Christian leaned forward in his chair and scooted closer to her, seemingly to examine her a bit before he shrugged and leaned back once again chuckling. [color=82ca9d]"Well, it must be an invisible egg if that is the case cause I'm not seeing anything. Dunno how knowing a tour would make ya popular but hey, if it does, works for me,"[/color] he laughed as he pulled out his wallet and slipped a business card over to her. [color=82ca9d]"I'm gonna have to read the comics more closely now. Have a website I can read older versions of the comic or is I gonna have to back order papers to get me hands on them?"[/color] If this was 'humoring her' then she had to admire his commitment. It was past the point where it seemed that he was feigning interest, which said to Veronica that he was sincere. Or her meter for detecting this sort of stuff was on the fritz, but for once she wanted to err on the side of hopeful. [color=thistle]"I have them all posted on my website,"[/color] Veronica said as she slid the offered business card the rest of the way towards her. [color=thistle]"I don't have a fancy business card, but all my work is on 'swinglescomic.com', including my email for people that want commissions. Not that I'm hinting anything, of course."[/color] [color=thistle]"You know, this is probably the longest I've had to talk about myself. It's weird. I don't hate it as much as I assumed I would."[/color] Christian took the card and looked it over before sticking into his wallet for safe keeping. At her mention of commissions her brow arched deeply. [color=82ca9d]"Oh, Christian The Smiling Guide!"[/color] he said holding his hands up in the air as if he was a Broadway Producer framing the title of a play in lights. [color=82ca9d]"Now I like the sound of that,"[/color] he said laughing, the number of stories he had about people he had run into. [color=82ca9d]"Got the first story to. Mr. Clops, a goat on a rampage through an India Hotel. True story!"[/color] he laughed thinking back on it. Leaning forward a bit he glanced around the room and then over to her with a cheeky grin on his face. [color=82ca9d]"So, is this trip to actually find someone or you just looking for new ideas? I gotta know."[/color] The grin was not returned as the question was posed to her. She knew why she was here, she wouldn't sugar coat it, but somewhere in the back of her head she was wondering if her admission would spoil the otherwise kinda lighthearted and nice time they were having for these minutes. Still, she wasn't about to hide behind a lie after being honest so far. [color=thistle]"Well, I told myself that it was for ideas for my comic, but that's because I didn't want to admit that...it'd be nice to have an actual relationship for once in my life. It's easy to make fun of single people because I've been one my whole life and it's like...some of the people here have been MARRIED and I'm still waiting for someone to agree to a second date, how's that fair, right? So, even though it took a lot of pushing - and I mean A LOT of pushing - from my mom...I'm here to hopefully find...something real."[/color] Veronica shocked herself with how open she had been, but such was the side effect of actual conversation. [color=thistle]"You're probably someone that's never had problems with the opposite sex, right? Or, you know, same sex, I don't judge."[/color] Christian leaned back and laced his fingers together as he rested his elbows on the arms of his chair. He was surprised, not that it took a lot of convincing to her her there. He had run into the same thing with his mother. The fact she had problems getting a second date was baffling to him. Even with as rushed these little dates were and as awkward they could be he was having fun with her. At her question he shook his head and pursed his lips a bit before he answered. [color=82ca9d]"Oh well, neither actually, or both. Depending on how you look at it. I'm Sapiosexual. So for me it has never been about the appearance or the gender but about the mind. So um, yeah I have, a lot of problems. Why my mother pushed me for this. I dunno, guess I am so used to small talk I never delved deeper cause I am so used to dealing with people a day or two and then never seeing them again,"[/color] he said shrugging a bit before smiling over to her. [color=82ca9d]"As far as a second date goes, well... hope I'm not bein' too bold but I think I'd like me a second go with ya,"[/color] he said sincerely and it showed on his face. The man had no talent for deception. He had had fun on the other dates so far, no one really put him off granted few people ever did but Veronica was the first he really felt like there was more there that he wanted to get to know. [color=thistle]"Mothers, right?"[/color] Veronica asked with a shrug of her shoulders and a chuckle from her lips. [color=thistle]"The stories I have about my mother..."[/color] She let that trail off intentionally, not wanting to get onto a topic that would take far longer than fifteen minutes to conclude. [color=thistle]"You're attracted to the mind? Damn, and here I thought things were going well,"[/color] she was laughing, that was a welcome change to her night so far. [color=thistle]"But you go ahead and be bold. I don't want to say anything that will bite me in the ass later, but from where I'm sitting you've done well on my list."[/color] Christian laughed along with her, she was a lot of fun and was quick to make a joke. He appreciated that type of personality. It was refreshing compared to others who couldn't take a joke. He was about to say something when he heard the bell ring signalling the end of their fifteen minutes and pouted like a little boy as his shoulders slumped a bit. [color=82ca9d]"Well hell, I was having me some fun,"[/color] he said shaking his head before he looked back over to Veronica and smiled as he stood up. [color=82ca9d]"Come here lass, gives me a hug before I have to go deal with someone else. Need the strength I do,"[/color] he laughed as he held his arms out, looking like a big teddy bear right then. Veronica was actually upset to hear the bell go off; funny how decent experiences make time fly by compared to the awkward ones. And this was certainly slotted into the decent tab. One positive experience to counteract the initial negative one, that was a solid average and hopefully it would continue throughout the evening. Veronica even managed to throw caution to the wind and, after a quick shrug, indulged the request by giving Christian a hug. If it was against some unspoken rule or whatever, she didn't care; hell, she hoped it might make her next dates feel that much more motivated. [color=thistle]"I know not everyone will be as cool as I am, but don't hold that against them. I'm sure they're nice people. And if they aren't, well, at least you got a hug out of the night."[/color] [color=82ca9d]"Ay lass you set the bar high,"[/color] he laughed as he gave her a big hug. As the hug broke and Veronica returned to her chair, it was with a bit of optimism towards the rest of the night. The question now was how long that optimism would last. Smiling he grabbed his paper and headed off to the next round, hoping it would be as good as ths one had gone, but if not oh well. He had a high ranker on his list now.