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 Posted: Sun Aug 23, 2020 5:17 pm
Asher sighed. There was the barest hint of a chill on the evening breeze, especially with summer starting to bow its way out to make way for the cooler months of the year. It being eleven p.m. didn't help matters much, but there was yet an hour to go before the exasperating event even started. He didn't know why he kept agreeing to his publisher's demands for midnight release book signings.
So it was that the young author found himself standing outside one of Destiny City's biggest bookstores, lost among the crowd of die-hard fans waiting to storm the doors and snatch their own copy of his latest entry in the Shadowcore series of young adult dark fantasy novels. If he had it his way, Asher wouldn't have shown at all. That's what the paid actor was for, to pose as Heathcliff Bellwood and sign his pseudonym for all the slavering consumers that couldn't wait even half a day to get their hands on his book. But his publisher felt this kept him connected with his audience, albeit indirectly. If he was honest with himself, there was a small part of the man who was ever curious about who bought the flowery drivel that provided the lifeline of his income.
Asher had been content to dress smartly yet casually (for him anyway), with dark slacks and a simple vest over a white button-up. A nondescript tie held his long chestnut hair in an easy tail to keep it out of his face. A hot cup of coffee with a thin line of steam winding its way from the sip hole provided him with a nice source of caffeine and a warmed hand. He preferred to be alert at this sort of thing, even if the alternative at this time of night was a glass of wine, a book, and a comfortable reading chair in the study.
The writer took a slow long sip of his beverage, casting his gaze over the assembled crowd with a flat expression. It wouldn't be long before the main event.
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Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2020 3:41 pm
Regula
At some stage he'd been convinced to attend this event. He could have been doing something significantly more constructive with his time this evening, but instead he was stood in line for some book he'd never heard of, by some author that he was equally oblivious to. The reason for his impromptu adventure came in the form of the rather fluffy mass that had ensconced itself to his shoulders. Having adopted the role of 'scarf', it was Orias that had been the reason for this outing.
Yep, the rather large and abrasive Mauvian happened to read complete and utter trash.
For some reason beyond Regula's comprehension this particular type of trash was one of those 'must have' things and said Mauvian had been desperate to have it. The result had been some bargaining during the evenings prior, eventually turning in to bribery, and when that hadn't worked the Mauvian had deployed what could only be summarised as 'the guilt assault'. Through perseverence the man had been convinced to show up, be that weird-guy-with-the-cat, buy the book and have it signed by whatever peculiar author had chosen to write it.
Regula hadn't known what to expect but he had afforded an arch of his eyebrow as he wandered down the street towards the bookstore and discovered that he was not the first in line. He wasn't even the second in line. Colour him surprised, but there was a considerable queue outside the store and Regula couldn't help but notice the varying degrees of age present. Given that most seemed to be on their own it was a bit of a stretch to imply they were all parents or relatives of someone much younger - surprising, was this sort of thing really that popular among his age group? Something in the back of his mind whispered 'Twilight', and it dawned on him that perhaps he might be the odd one out in this respect.
"All right, guess I settle in then," he uttered with a sigh and leaned against the wall, one knee bend and the other straight as he stared ahead. Depending on how long these people gushed for he was going to be here for quite some time...
Eir
Oh my god, it's here!
She didn't think anyone in work would understand, to be entirely honest the young woman had spent the better part of her career keeping her more unusual quirks and hobbies under wraps. However when it came to some things, she couldn't fly under the radar for long. You see, Eir had booked the day off for this particular event and when her colleagues had asked her if she was doing anything nice with her vacation she had simply replied that she needed the time for 'the release'. Once she got going they'd received a full history and some synopsis of the series so far, along with enthusiastic encouragement to consider delving in to them.
...Unsurprisingly, her passion wasn't met with as much enthusiasm as she would have hoped.
Fortunately, she had elected to consider it their loss and she had practically bounced out the door when it came to clocking out for the evening. A momentary pause to go home and make herself look presentable for the signing, and she had jumped right back on to the subway and scurried towards the bookstore. She really shouldn't have been surprised that there was already a queue, this was The Shadowcore after all, but she'd still tried really hard to be here early!
Ah, but she could do nothing more than join the line, coming to stand beside the rather tall gentleman with the very large cat on his shoulder. Well, she supposed the fans did come in all colours and creeds, a crazy cat man wasn't entirely outside the realms of possibility and the woman couldn't help but stare for a moment before looking away. She took to distracting herself by adjusting her handbag, affording the occasional side long gaze to her 'companion' in the queue before looking to her other side to see who else might have been approaching.
Whoever was beside her didn't seem like much of a chatterbox, but maybe she'd find someone with some excitement that she could share a moment with!
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Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2020 9:20 pm
Cassie
"Oh! There, there!" A squeal of delight came from the brightly dressed, purple-haired young woman with teal and pink streaks all bound up in a bun. The large grey sweatshirt was most certainly made for someone far taller than her--perhaps the tall man whose arm one of her's was wrapped around?--and stopped almost about mid-thigh on her, the ends of her shorts peeking out as she walked. Sneakers tapped against the sidewalk in a rapid pace before a thought made her slow back down.
Okay, so maybe having a few coffees already hadn't been the best idea, and the large one in her hand had already taken a hit as she'd sipped it on the way there. The caffeine and large doses of sugar kept her going, but she knew once she got home, and probably just as she hit a good part in the book, she was going to conk out. Tragic, really. But she'd have the book! The latest in The Shadowcore series, and signed by Bellwood!
She'd been a giddy mess all day, counting down the hours, minutes, till she could get out of work, freshen up at home, and meet up with her cousin--a fellow fan--and Alec for the evening out. The midnight release was a fun reason to be out, anyway, for a change. Even if the long line of people made her wince internally--ah well, it was a good sign. Meant the series was popular in the city, and it'd sell well. Which meant a higher chance of more books!
Well. Assuming the author agreed to write more...
Nearing the line, Cassie tapped a finger against her coffee cup, frowning. "Do you think it'd be weird to say to an author that they're part of what inspired you to write? Is that too forward? He probably gets that all the time in fanmail." As they approached the young woman at the end, she made her frown flick upwards into a smile, not wanting to appear rude--though, she wasn't sure if her words had carried to those closet to the end there.
Tipping her head back, she grinned up at the blonde man with her before stretching up on her tip-toes to give him a peck on the cheek. "Thanks for coming out with us, Alec. Know this is late and all."
---
Lilith
To be fair, her original plan was just to order the book online, and have it delivered next day. But when Cassie called her about the midnight release and begged her to join her... she was hard-pressed to come up with a reason to say no. What could she say? That she had to go patrolling? That she had work in the morning?
So, there she was, one hand on Raja's harness as the Golden Retriever sniffed about at the gathered group in line, one hand on her cane. A satchel was crossed over her chest, holding close her denim jacket over the top of the pale pink dress that twirled around her knees. At the front side of the satchel, a thermos carried her own coffee, which she took a sip of once they stepped into line and she rested her cane in the crook of her arm.
"I think it's fine, so long as you're polite and brief? At least at times like this, taking up a lot of their time might come off poorly."
As she continued to enjoy her drink--a mocha, highly sweetened, and which extra chocolate sauce--Raja sniffed about from where she stood, her eyes bright as she observed the line. Her long tail began to wag slightly, staring up at the big fluffy thing with one person. Well-trained, however, the seeing-eye dog with her Guide Dog harness and vest did not move far from her from her owner.
Lilith blinked behind her rose-tinted glasses, feeling the soft brushing of the dog's tail against her leg. A smile flickered across her face, and she considered switching to the leash she had in her bag if they stood around long enough--at least so Raja had a moment to relax and just be a dog with people.
"Have you read any of the The Shadowcore books, Alec?" She didn't know her cousin's boyfriend super well, but he'd always been polite and charming when she'd met up with the two of them on occasion. "Has she bombarded you with them yet? Don't feel bad, she did it to me, too, and now, here I am."
"Hey! I just told you the general summary of the first two books, you asked to borrow them, then you got hooked cuz they're fantastic. Don't blame me for your addiction. Just accept it."
---
Réalta
While she knew of the book series, Realta was not really a die-hard fan. She was fascinated by how enraptured by it some people got--Lilith and Cassie, for example, both devoured the books when they got ahold of them. And seeing the large line now outside the bookstore, with more people still slowly coming, only made her appreciate just how popular the series was.
Intriguing, really.
Often, she played the part of a stray cat as she wandered the city, but that evening, Cassie had been the one to insist she come with them. She came up with this simple excuse that the feline was merely Lilith's, and equally well trained as a guide as Raja just without a harness being necessary--if anyone asked.
Really, Realta rolled her eyes at the whole thing, while she'd seen Lilith shake her head a little as the younger woman had tried to sell the story to her beau for the cat's presence. It'd just be easier if she snuck around like usual. But Cassie disliked hiding enough from Alec as it was, and Realta was aware of that. The guardian sighed. Humans could be rather ridiculous sometimes with their perceived dramas and sense of guilt.
Still, as she meandered around the little group, she stuck close to Raja, somewhat using the dog to hide herself from peering gazes. The Golden Retriever was taller than the Savannah, anyway. Something caught the dog's attention though, and iridescent eyes peeked out to see what was up... and quirked a brow. A strange mound of fluff was wrapped around a young man's shoulders... a cat.
Realta hummed softly, her tail flicking. Perhaps it was of interest that she'd come, after all.
Noir Songbird quoting you so you jump in/Cassie can continue to drag Alec along
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Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2020 4:09 am
AsherAsher continued his perusal of the ever-growing line, pausing now and again to take a sip from the lifeline that was his coffee. Pure black. Bitter, but it wasn't there for taste. It served its purpose to keep him awake and nothing more. Many in the crowd didn't share his nagging affliction of fatigue, as evidenced but the many excited conversations floating about. The young man blew a slow stream of exasperated breath to release any accumulated tension; better to get it over with now rather than later. Regardless of his own personal reservations on attending his own public book signings, he couldn't argue that his publisher didn't know what they were doing. Asher continued to write, and his books continued to sell in spite of his distaste for the source material. A lucrative cash flow allowed the freedom to pursue his true interests with the ease of living it provided. Not that he would describe himself as materialistic, but he'd be lying if the author said he didn't enjoy his own estate and staff. He was here, and he wouldn't leave without satisfying his sole reason for being so. Mingling was tedious, but wasting his time fleeing from something he'd already agreed upon was unacceptable. Asher often assuaged himself with the thought that those around him were enjoying the last throes of ignorant bliss. Humankind was entitled to find whatever joy it could in its metaphorical final hour, and those here should be applauded for choosing to spend it pursuing the written word... questionable as the actual choice of literature was. He sidled to the end of the line around some new arrivals, it wasn't as though he was in a rush to get through the doors for a book he himself had written. "I see I'm not the only one who required a little assistance in keeping my eyes open," Asher commented, injecting as much warmth as he could into his perpetually calm voice and lifting his coffee in salute. "You'd think Bellwood could at least spare a thought for those of us that enjoy the soft embrace of our own beds at this hour." OriasReggie's furry "scarf" was practically vibrating with excitement. The new book in his favorite series was about to release, AND he'd convinced his human to get a signed copy from the author himself! Orias was quite beside himself, and it was all he could do not to make decidedly un-catlike noises in his impatience. Thankfully, the thought that his senshi would thump him so roundly that he couldn't see straight (and therefore couldn't read) if he blew his cover kept the Mauvian in check. For now. At least there were interesting things to look at. That guy had some serious nose gold hanging right inside the nostrils. That chick with the bombastic hair had her roots showing. Chonker over there smelled like he hadn't bathed in a week, and his excitement for new reading material to drag back to his troll lair had him sweating up an eager storm. A real live neckbeard! Orias was proud to be a part of a fandom with its own pitiable creatures that shunned the light of day. That's how you knew it was worth it. Perking an ear, he looked over Reggie's shoulder at some new arrivals. One had a pupper, and there was a cat! Glittering eyes peered over an incredibly bushy tail, staring right back at the two pairs gauging him in turn. Well hello there, playthings, the Mauvian thought, tip of his tail twitching this way and that.
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Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2020 8:10 am
Regula
It was safe to assume that one of the taller men in this line had not read the Shadowcore series, but the cat that was now doubling as a massage pillow around his neck certainly had. What Orias saw in the things he'd never know, why he needed it to be signed was something that was equally puzzling. Perhaps it had been Regula's line of work that had resulted in him being largely unaffected by stardom, but he wasn't the most enthusiastic when it came to collecting memorabilia to begin with.
Fortunately, they weren't painfully far back in the line which meant that his decision to listen to the Mauvian had been a good one. It might take them a while to get in, but that didn't necessarily mean that they'd be here all night. Little did Regula know that fans could talk though and that tended to make things take triple the amount of time.
...Whether he liked it or not he'd be here for a while.
Still, the excited chatter behind him did give him cause to shift his gaze back towards the girls that had joined behind him. Some of them were practically vibrating with excitement too; positively giddy and otherwise anxious to get to the front so that they too could discuss the series with the author and evidently discuss their own aspirations too.
"You would think," he replied calmly to Asher, another who had joined the queue and seemed to be exhibiting much the same disdain for the time of evening as he was. "Unfortunately, this seems to be the standard procedure for anything popular nowadays," he conceded with a sigh.
"I suppose he's a least considerate of the fact that those with day jobs wouldn't be able to make a signing during the working hours of the day, eh?"
...Except for the fact they'd all be unconscious at their desks for the better part of the day due to sleep deprivation anyway.
Eir
Coincidentally, it seemed that while the gentleman in front of her had now offered something between and growl and a drawl towards the latest member of the queue, Eir had found solace in the fact that the group that were behind her seemed to be just as enthusiastic as she was. Well, more accurately one was particularly giddy and the other was more measured, but that didn't necessarily mean that the more reserved of the two wasn't excited.
"Oh, you write?" she couldn't help herself as she turned her back to Regula and regarded Cassie with curiosity. She knew some people did write, they found inspiration in others, this was all very common in the grand scheme of things. In the end though, the vast majority of them weren't exactly good and some of them tried to shoe horn in a little too much to their stories when a little was sometimes better than a lot.
"Same genre or something a little different?" she pushed before grinning.
For now she'd leave the two 'gruff' men to bond while she pushed for further details on the woman's hobbies. That didn't mean her attention wouldn't turn to either of them later (or to the menagerie of animals that had shown up), she just hadn't heard them say anything that caught her interest just yet!
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