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 Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2012 10:29 pm
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Jett Draven was not by any means uneducated. He had always done well in school, and even now was excelling in his classes at college. He had pursued studies in business, psychology, communications and marketing and had spent numerous hours locked up in his rooms studying. He was an “A” student, and had even gone out of his way to offer some tutoring sessions. When he wasn’t boxing or dealing with customers at the antique shop—or running around as Sailor Remarque—he had his nose buried in a text book.
He lived a busy life, which left far too little time to indulge in the hobbies he’d enjoyed when younger. To be fair, he’d always enjoyed playing outside and rough housing more than sitting still, and he preferred movies much more than texts. But, today was different. He couldn’t watch a movie while working or waiting for class to start, and with the new semester approaching, he’d decided to indulge in a good read.
He just had nowhere to start.
Even his casual dress was somewhat formal; gray slacks and shiny black boots poking out from where the pants ended; he had a white collared shirt tucked in and hidden beneath a toasty black coat. He had taken off his scarf since it was warm enough in the book store to be comfortable without and left it hang over one shoulder. His blonde hair was tied back in a high ponytail to keep his hair out of his face while he perused the books.
Lips pursed, he scanned the novels in front of him, one brow raised as he skimmed the titles looking for something of interest. He didn’t like the phrase ‘you can’t judge a book by it’s cover’ because he didn’t actually want to stand around reading the back of every book—he wanted to find a book that was interesting and leave, not parade about like an old woman with nothing better to do than stalk the aisles.
Which was, ultimately, exactly what he was doing.
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Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2012 12:51 am
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Penelope simply loved books. She was an average student, mostly As and Bs if something didn't hit quite right in her mind, but the class she always excelled in was literature. With the added stress in her life now from being a Senshi, she was devouring far more books than normal... but at the same time, the types of books were changing. She found she rarely had time to sink into a world for a few hours as she once did and was reading far more comic books and graphic novels because they were quicker to digest. She liked comics, of course, but lately she wanted something... meatier for her hungry mind. Having caught up on reading all the books she had secured from her last trip to a now closed book store, the girl had set out with the last remnants of her Christmas money to purchase more.
Normally, trips to the bookstores were delightful things. She could flit from shelf to shelf uninterupted and look at all of the books in the various genres, run her fingers along the shelves and pluck interesting looking titles so that she could read the blurb on the back. The black-haired girl even carried one of the little plastic baskets that the store provided so that she could have a consideration pile to look through one last time before she made her purchases. Normally, this time of searching and discovery was easy and unintimidating.
But this time wasn't normal. It seemed that everywhere she turned she kept running into the same young man. Blonde. Well-dressed. Book scanner. Yes, she took in these details and made a snap judgment that he would continue to walk around and skim titles, and... well, that was fine. But she didn't want to be in his way while she idled in the aisles pulling out multiple selections and carefully reading their descriptions (or even maybe a random snippet or two, just to get a taste of the author's style). So, she kept trying to get to a place where she could do that and still not be in his way.
She was dressed in a normal winter outfit for her, since she was not in her school uniform: pastel sweater visible underneath her open cream colored coat, gray skirt that ended beneath the knee, cream ugg boots with little pompoms that swished when she walked. Tasteful, but nothing that commanded attention. Penelope took a deep breath and finally approached the man she had been, however unintentionally, following around the store. She tapped the half-filled basket lightly against her knee and asked softly, "Excuse me... but could I possibly get by to grab a copy of Snuff? I'll be right out of your way after that..."
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Quicksilver the Archangel
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Posted: Thu Jan 12, 2012 1:24 pm
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Jett’s eyes had been locked on the back of the book that he had plucked from the shelves; he took a step back from the shelf without any sort of protest so that the girl could get the book she was looking for. His eyes. “You know, I was wondering when you were going to ask me to get out of your way,” he said, very aware at his talent for being in her way. She seemed to have known exactly what she was looking for while he was just mulling about—half wasting time, half actually searching for an interesting book.
His blue eyes left the back of the book to take a look at the girl. His peripheral vision had given him a vague idea of what she looked like, though looking at her front on left a far more favorable impression. It was just instinct to flash her his casually charming smile. “Apologies.” His eyes lingered on her for perhaps a few seconds more than need be, but Jett always did like to appreciate the aesthetics of a beautiful female. He glanced back to the bookshelf. “Snuff, was it?”
His mind had immediately drifted to snuff films and darker things, and having a minimal knowledge of current books, he could only question what this novel contained. The girl in front of him hardly seemed what he would assume someone interested in snuff anything would be, and since they’d already gotten past the awkward ‘Hey, you’re in my way’ introduction, he wasn’t shy about prompting, “What is it about that book that’s got your attention so much?”
She could have asked him to move aside at any time he’d been in her way, so either there was something fantastic about the book, or she had just gotten fed up of Jett inhibiting her search for books.
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Posted: Sat Jan 14, 2012 12:55 am
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The teenager half-winced at his statement, immediately giving an apologetic smile in response to his far more charming one, "I'm sorry... I just didn't want to bother you or get in your way..." But then he turned away to begin searching for the book and she took the opportunity to dart towards the bookshelves. She had seen exactly where it was, was resting on the second to last shelf. When her fingers closed around a copy, a far larger smile crossed her face. Sucess!
Penelope was startled by the stranger's question, not because the question itself was strange but because she honestly hadn't expected to strike up conversation. Why the young man had any interest in talking to her was truly beyond her grasp. Combined with the lingering glance from earlier... all that attention... and she felt the beginnings of a blush coming. She half-intercepted it by looking at the book in her hands. Her hand ran over the ocean blue cover, and she explained, "Um... well, it's Sir Terry Pratchett's new Discworld novel..." She faltered here, looking up at her companion to gauge his reaction. He had asked the question, and she wanted to answer it, but she didn't want to bother him, but she didn't want to seem flippant and.... and why were conversations so hard, anyway?! Whatever her feelings on the inside, it did not manifest as quite so skittish when she asked softly, "I... don't know if you're familiar with Discworld? Or Sir Pratchett?"
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Quicksilver the Archangel
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Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 6:26 pm
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Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 12:59 am
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Penelope nodded at the mention of Good Omens, becoming far more relaxed whenever the conversation settled on books. Books she felt confident in; books meant that the subject of the conversation had nothing to do with her, anymore. She was not the focus--the author, the work, the story, all of those elements became the focus. "Good Omens is the only collaboration piece between Gaiman and Sir Pratchett, which is a shame because I think it's a good book." She paused to twist a strand of her thick hair between her fingers, a thoughtful look on her face as she made recommendations, "You can pick up Discworld at any book, really, but the series is very long. Um... if you liked Good Omens, Gaiman has several stand alone books. Only American Gods has a sequel. I don't know if you're looking for fantasy, though?"
When the conversation switched back to her, Penelope got flustered again. She was perfectly fine with helping someone else find a book and even giving her opinion... but why would the young man before her care? Why should he care what she was a interested in? She wasn't anyone important... But she answered all the same, not wanting to be rude, "Yes... I like Sir Pratchett's work a great deal. I've been reading it for a long time." Thinking that asking about the fighting would be rude, she hesitantly approached a safer subject, "But... um... what kind of books do you like to read?"
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Quicksilver the Archangel
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Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 4:25 pm
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Another smile drifted to Jett’s face, this one of amusement. The girl in front of him seemed so confident when talking about books, and it was apparent that she was highly knowledgeable with them given how much information she could spew with such little prompting. Perhaps he could tell when he was making her uncomfortable, and perhaps he was enjoying that more than he was learning about Gaiman or Pratchett or any combination of the two. “Fantasy’s all right. Doesn’t always catch my interest. I’m not always so keen on the whole knight in shining armor rescues the damsel in distress and they live happily ever after. I like crime fiction, I guess. And mysteries. But I’m willing to give anything a try.”
He shifted positions just slightly, quite comfortable around the girl. She didn’t seem conniving or wicked in any way, so it was easy to relax in her presence. “You seem like a smart girl, and I’d warrant you more than know your way around this place. I suppose it might have been my lucky day to run into you. Though, I realize I’ve been a bit rude, chatting you up like I know you. Jett Draven,” he introduced, extending a hand in greeting.
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 9:05 pm
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Fingers continued to nervously twirl hair as Penelope's eyes roved the shelves, keeping in mind what her companion had told her. More interested in dark fantasy, if any. Crime fiction. Mysteries. Her mind instantly came up with a couple suggestions, and she mused aloud, "Game of Thrones is a darker fantasy piece... you also might like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Um... Larry Millet does some good Sherlock Holmes set in America, oh, and House of Silk, another Sherlock Holmes book just came out... if you like Sherlock Holmes, of course..."
When Jett offered his hand and introduced himself Penelope accepted the hand shake readily, a small smile on her face and practiced pleasantries on her tongue replacing her outpouring of book information, "Penelope. Penelope Seneca. Nice to meet you. I'm sorry to take up so much of your time... but hopefully I've been of some help? I know I hate it when I can't find a good book..." Once her hand was free, she returned it to her basket and gripped the handle tightly. As long as the conversation was on books... she felt okay, but Jett's attention--and that it was coming from a handsome enough young man was not lost on the nervous teen--was... well, nervewracking. Part of it was her own fault, though, in that she didn't know how to end the conversation without being completely rude. So, she simply waited until he lost interest and released her from the obligations of courtesy so she could check out her books and go home.
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Quicksilver the Archangel
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Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2012 10:04 pm
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Jett wore a contented smile as the exchange continued; he showed absolutely no sign of being nervous and wouldn’t have minded in the slightest if the conversation continued, though he certainly hadn’t come here to chat up a girl, no matter how charming she was. He was by no means under the control of Raven, though his girlfriend always seemed on edge whenever he got too friendly with another female.
He assumed the girl in front of him hadn’t really come here to be chatted up either, particularly given that she already seemed to know what she wanted and didn’t at all seem to be having the difficulties he was in selecting a book. “Well, thank you, Penelope. It’s been a pleasure, I’ll definitely have to go give those books you recommended a look over. Thank you for putting up with me for so long. You’ve been a fantastic help today. If I ever run into you again, I’ll have to return the favor,” he said, unable to resist winking at the girl to emphasize his point.
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Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2012 9:04 pm
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Quicksilver the Archangel
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Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 4:41 pm
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