destinystrings | Life goes on, anything goes [Open]

Entry tags:

Life goes on, anything goes [Open]

Who: Hino Eiji, OPEN
Where: Kingyou Books
Summary: Eiji settles in at his new job.
Warnings: N/A

Eiji took a last few swipes with the broom, then looked out of the doorway at the street. "Whew. Just in time!"

Finding somewhere to work part-time really wasn't a problem for someone used to moving from place to place like he was. And weirdly enough, the owner of this bookstore had seemed kind of excited to see him. Something about interdimensional whatsits. If he was expecting Eiji to sprout extra eyes or antennae, though, he was in for some disappointment -- Eiji was 100 percent average human.

...well, he was now, anyway. Auf wiedersehen, Eiji Greeed, and all that.

He flipped the sign on the door from "Closed" to "Open", straightened a poster that loudly declared

COMING SOON (9/15)

THE MAN PARADE, VOL. II

EXCITING CONTINUATION!! RESERVE YOUR COPY TODAY!!!

and waved to the people walking by. "Hi there! Interested in a flyer with this month's releases?"

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Books seemed like a good thing to pass the time with, and Theodore would need more besides his mostly empty Compendium to keep his mind occupied until the Velvet Room was opened. So when he's waved down by the stranger he's quite happy to give him his time. Well, mostly.

The (former) resident peered at the poster, then frowned. He would need to read the first one. Excuse him he will just go inside to buy the first book, and then he will return outside. Money for food? Ha! "I am! What is this particular series about?"

"The Man Parade?" Eiji was ready for this question!

"It's about a heroic werewolf pro wrestler, fighting for justice all over Europe during World War I while armed only with his trusty frozen swordfish. But in order to obtain the power to defeat true evil, he has to first track down and defeat the man who taught him to fight. It's super exciting!"

He reached into the pocket of his apron and pulled out a moth-shaped mask, apparently designed to be worn over the eyes. "Here, this is complimentary for people who purchase Volume I. Volume II starts just as he tracks down his teacher and challenges him to a final duel."

He got a mask.

...

Dude, sweet as hell. He can pretend to be Lord Philemon-- That is, pay tribute to his lord by costuming himself as such! The series sounds interesting too. Theodore put on the mask and nodded, satisfied with the answer given. And his new superhero feel. Why, it was like he had become the werewolf pro wrestler!

Whatever a pro wrestler was, anyway. Maybe it was like those colorful Shadows from the Strength Arcana in Tartarus. Their hair had been nice to use. "I see! That does sound very exciting. His superior strength as part-beast would give him an edge in combat, though against his teacher it will still be a hard fought battle... It reminds me a little of my own battle, once upon a time." Seasoned warrior? Not really. But he was the student, just like this man in the book!

"Oh, are you into martial arts?" Eiji never would have guessed just from looking at Theodore. "Anyway, you're right: he's pretty strong, but his master is the legendary Supreme Conundrum. It's a title given only to the strongest pro wrestler in the world, and he's never been defeated. That's why it's going to be such an exciting final battle!"

It was nice to see someone getting excited about ~~wrestlers~~ reading. "If you want, I can put your name down and reserve a copy of Volume II for you. That way, when the release date rolls around, you won't have to worry about rushing over before they all sell out."

Because it was that popular.

Oooh, this sounds like a fantastic deal! Theodore is sure he can name people who would like this book on one hand, and will gladly agree to this.

"Will you take the names of others as well? I believe I know a few who would be interested in this as well. As for my own, I am Theodore." A little bow of the head accompanied the introduction, and he's quick to begin reading Volume I right there on the spot. Who knew that ~~reading~~ wrestlers could be so exciting and, as Elizabeth would agree, action packed?! And the relationship between student and teacher would be an interesting thing to study as well...

"Sure!" Eiji took out a clipboard and scribbled down Theodore's name. "Who're the others you want to reserve for?"

Wow, his first day was going pretty well so far. Maybe things would work themselves out after all.

"Minako Arisato and Elizabeth." He paused, wondering if Margaret would want one as well... "And Margaret as well."

The ladies this guy must hang with, man. "You will be sending something out as a reminder, correct? I would hate for them to miss it."

"Actually, we can do that if you know all their contact information offhand. Otherwise, we'll hold the books until three days past the release date. After that, if they don't come pick up their copies, we'll put them back with the rest of the stock."

He looked up from his pad. "Of course, that's only if you're sure they'd be okay with us having it. Some people don't like getting messaged by stores, y'know."

Well, why wouldn't they be? It was something exciting! Surely it wouldn't hurt. And they might not even know about it otherwise. Theodore was doing them a service.

"I'm quite positive that they would be ecstatic." Let him just give you their contact info-- in fact, he will write it down himself in fancy script so you know it's Very Very Important. "May I have your list? It will only take a moment."

"Sure." Eiji flipped the clipboard around and handed it over to Theodore. Hopefully, Theodore was right and Eiji wouldn't be finding himself on the wrong end of an irate couple of customers in a few days.

Also hopefully, he could read Theodore's handwriting. "We're actually getting quite a few reservations. I'm glad the author's doing so well lately; I heard he had a hard time getting his initial publishing deal."

As long as Eiji can read Lord of the Rings-esque handwriting he'll be fine. Like something out of Gondor. Fancy folk.

Theodore hands it back afterwards. "They made a smart move, allowing him to show off his skill with the pen. But why did he have such a hard time in the first place if he has a sequel now?"

"No, no," said Eiji. "He had a hard time getting published at first. Then after his first book came out, it turned out people were interested in reading his material. I'm sure he doesn't have problems any more."

"I see! I'm very happy he's sold well, or else I would not have the chance of picking up his books at all." And it does sound and look interesting. Theodore's quite content.

"Since you know my name, may I know yours? It seems only fair to trade one for the other," he asked, though it's more of simple courtesy and remembering whom for what than actually wanting to be friends and whatnot.

"Eiji," he said, tapping his nametag with one finger. "No trade necessary. The other store employees have these, too, so just ask if you need something and I'm not here."

"Anyway, I bet no one's happier about it than he is. It's tough making it as a writer."

Ooooh, Theodore will remember that. Perhaps he will obtain one himself! As an attendant of the Velvet Room, that is. Elizabeth and Margaret should wear one as well...

"And why is that? The distribution of knowledge, even if fictitious, should be widely received in any form. I'm sure the author has many lessons he wishes to teach within this book." Theodore tapped The Man Parade as he spoke.

Eiji replaced the clipboard. "It's because tons of people want to write, but publishers don't have the resources to make everything into a book. Some books just won't sell and if they're not careful, they'll go out of business putting out books that not enough people want to read.

"So they have to try and figure out what's going to sell based on all the stuff that gets submitted to them. And even then, a lot of times they have junior workers sorting through the initial pile just to pare things down."

"I see... What are popular topics to be written about?" Because he might write up a guide or something about Personas and fighting with/against them and whatnot. That would be nice to get published with such useful knowledge.

"Um..." Eiji wasn't even sure how to answer this question. Was he talking about popular genres? Character types? Plots? What it took to be a bestseller?

"I guess romance or adventure?"

"Romance... and adventure. I see! Then, I will write a guide to using Persona filled with equal parts romance and adventure!" It's sure to be a best seller! It sounded like quite a challenge as well, and surely something to occupy his mind while he's here.

"Thank you very much. I look forward to reading this and the next book, and you should keep an eye open for my first publication."

"I sure will," said Eiji, giving Theodore his best 'say goodbye to the slightly batty customer' wave.

If it sold him some more books, he wouldn't complain.

Just your luck: You got one of THOSE customers passing by your store today. Misery looks him over with a coldly appraising eye. Then, wordlessly, she holds a hand out, as if expecting something. We guess that means "yes?"

Edited 2012-09-10 01:54 (UTC)

"Here you go," Eiji said with a professional smile, handing the kid a flyer. He was getting used to the unusual people here.

She lets her eyes flit over the flier briefly. "Worthless. It's all a bunch of fluff. Don't you have anything of use? A tome of magic, a bestiary, anything?" she asks, visibly annoyed.

"We have an illustrated guide to zoo animals," he offered. "Also, the latest installment of Witch Detective Kururi!"

There is a long, judging stare. Oh so judging.

She sighs in exasperation, finally. "I suppose I should have not expected much from such a pedestrian looking establishment. Hasn't ANYBODY made an attempt to catalogue the OTHER creatures here? The demons! This is important, after all!"

"This is a bookstore," said Eiji, still smiling his professional smile. What a precocious little girl. "Maybe you want the police station?"

She'd smack him if he could hear that. She doesn't look THAT young. At least her early twenties!

"It couldn't possibly be any less stacked with information than THIS place is! Ho ho ho."

"See you later, then," Eiji said, giving her a little wave.

An armored figure hunches as he steps near to the book store, his helm removed, showing a face that is scarred and rather craggy to look it, his features slightly equine and suggesting unsubtle gene-forging. He rumbles a response to Eiji's offer.

"A flyer? Very well, what are you selling?" His eyes flick to the bookstore's front, and he nods, "Ah."

He will take a flier and eye it.

Oh, it's this guy again. Eiji's pretty sure that unlike City Hall, which was built to support the weight of an entire auditorium, this guy will take one step into the bookstore and fall right through the hardwood and into the basement stores. And then Eiji would be fired. Like yesterday.

"Uh, sorry, but if you want to buy any books inside, I'll have to bring them out for you." Assuming he could fit in the doorway, even (doubtful).

"Do you have anything on history, Ethics, or Philosophy?" He doesn't look annoyed by the bar on entering. He knows what Astartes-weight will do in most places.

"Those are kind of broad topics," said Eiji, "But we do have a new volume coming out this month in the Conquerors By Dynasty series.

"And in new releases, there's 'The Way of Soba: How a Year Spent Sampling the Big City's Noodle Stands Changed My Life'. It's supposedly written from the point of view of a dog who abandoned a promising career in show business to pursue his dream of serving the world's best soba noodles."

"I think the Conquerors by dynasty book might suffice, for the moment. I'm not sure I'd be able to understand the point of view of a dog well."

Which is pretty untrue, given that he is a Luna Wolf and self-named Cerberus, but it is one thing to be pack-loyal, another to read silly books about noodles.

"Okay, then I'll put you down for a copy. It's being released on the 23rd, so as long as you come pick it up by the 26th, we'll still save it for you. This month's volume features Oda Nobunaga, but the last two were about Napoleon and Genghis Khan. Do you want to take those home today?"

Excuse you Taisa was the best canine small-business owner okay.

"That would be acceptable, yes."

Loken, if nothing else, is fairly easy to sell history books to.

"Okay. That'll be ¥2400. Do you want it gift-wrapped?"

Fine with Eiji; maybe if he sells enough books, they'll give him more hours.

"NO thank you, I'll read it now."

He hands over the money without haggling or bothering much.

Good because there was no haggling at this store. Eiji disappeared back into the store, then returned a few moments later with the books in question.

"Thanks for your business! Be sure to come by again and pick up your reserve."

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Life goes on, anything goes [Open]

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