ic The Little Shop Around The Corner

[The Sailor]

Sakurako smiled, scratching her head. "Well, let's look up some videos I suppose, seeing is believing as they say."

Sakurako flops into a nearby seat, crossing her legs. It was weird seeing all this that easily, but to be honest, this was life in the "big leagues" her mom told her, as she was having doubts about the hero life. This must be the "fun" that comes with the super-suit.

As she sat, she decided to close her helmet, looking over her suit's system, she had apps she could run to measure things and what-not, hooked up through her smart phone she had running, her suit's interface helping in the effort. "Well... here we go."

[Heritage]

Lynn flopped on the other end of the couch and put her bare feet up on the coffee table. "Okay, a video, you say? Well then there's only one way we can start, then!" Clearing her throat, she called out with an enthusiastic cry, "Demonchaser Jo! First serial, chapter one!"

 

Suddenly the floating screen went black, and the opening crawl of Lynn's all-time favorite show back home on Otherworld began as letters of flame scrolled up, and that familiar voice like smoked hickory began to intone:

 

"In the beginning, there was Darkness; formless, unaging.

 

And in the Darkness, the Damned Things danced and sang, for their world was perfect.

 

But then one day, their paradise was shattered by the arrival of their greatest enemy:

 

MAN."

 

The store owner recited the words along with the narrator, giddy with excitement, and a bowl of delicious buttery popcorn suddenly appeared in her lap.

 

"Oh my God, this show is amazing! Think Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Unforgiven meets Jules Verne; cowboys, horses, airships, demons, vampires, love triangles, the works!"

 

Then she turned to Sakurako with a very serious face.

 

"You don't have anywhere to be for the next week, do you? It's only nine serials long."

Edited November 10, 2017 by Heritage

[The Sailor]

Endeavor smiled, patting her computer tablet. "I'm at a point where I can do a little telecommuting for my classes and I'm not scheduled for a more physical presence for a little bit..." She said with a grin.

"Of course if a emergency comes in over the radio, this has to wait... Hero first, Fun second, as my Mom says."

Sakurako seemed a bit interested... then again she didn't have anything on her blotter for the next little bit. Lynn noticed Sakurako attach a cannister to her suit she pulled out from her book-bag, and the suit puffed out a little, particularly in the legs. "Ah... much better. Set this up for long flights. Nice little cooling and massaging gel. I got a feeling we're going to be otherwise vegging out."

[Heritage]

Lynn quickly looked over at the young student for a second, as long as she was willing to tear her eyes of the screen. "Oh, sorry if it's too hot or too cold for you; I don't really feel it unless it's subarctic or dancing on the lip of a volcano hot. Usually I just try and keep the cats comfy." She indicated a darting furry streak the tore across the floor. "There's one now; hi babies! Come meet Sakurako; she's from where you dark goddess Hello Kitty comes from!"

Three cats nervously came out to check out the new arrival; the first vanished in a flurry of claws the minutes the young girl looked at her, the second seemed fascinated by the sound and texture of her suit and swatted at her gel-filled legs, and the third slowly climbed up onto Lynn and curled up in her lap, purring loudly with throat and tummy exposed for scratching. "That's my good babies! Meet Mafia, Plaque Attack and DB; Momma's little sweet puffs! Oh, here we go, the show's starting in earnest."

Demonchaser Jo turned out to be much as Lynn described it, the tale of a young half-breed girl named Josephine Whitethorn who road throughout the Old West (one with dirigibles and mole machines, of course), fighting evil creatures known as the Damned Things. The changeling also explained that first seven serials each focused on a creature that personified one of the Seven Deadly Sins. "After that, they retooled it a lot, with a lot of new cast members and mythology; it's still pretty good, but a lot of the Faithful kinda deny the last two serials happened. Y'know, just like over here."

[The Sailor]

Sakurako grinned. "No worries, it's not insulation as much as cushioning. Little things I'm experimenting with. Particularly for long space trips strapped in a seat."

Then she looked at the new critters that have appeared. "Dark Goddess? I loathe that saccharine thing." She said with a pout. "I'm a sucker for British Popular Culture, not Japanese." She said, starting to blush... there was a stuffed animal at her dorm in Claremont that would say otherwise.

Sakurako scratched behind the ear of the one batting Sakurako's leg. "Heh.. didn't think there was a little bounce to that cushioning gel. Might have to research the kinetic qualities a bit more closely."

She grinned. "At least fandoms never change no matter the universe."

[Heritage]

Though she could have done a multi-hour marathon (boy, did that take her back!), Lynn decided three 45 minute episodes was probably enough for one afternoon; besides, It would be bad to keep the brilliant young inventor away from her friends and designs for so long. Getting to her feet and stretching like a lazy house cat, the changeling passed a hand through the virtual screen to dismiss the PictureBox.

"Alright, I've monopolized your time long enough; you probably have cute boys or girls to hang out with...or build." She pulled out her phone and checked the time. "Aaaand I've got a bookstore I'm supposed to be running." She sniffed the air a few times. "Nothing's on fire, so yay!" She led Sakurako back to the kitchen and down the stairs back into the back of the shop.

"Stop by again if you're ever bored; I love sharing shows with new people. And of course, tell your friends about the store and the Claremont discount. We can also use more kids in here!"

Back up front, Gretchen shot her a dirty look for staying off the floor so long, but luckily she wasn't swamped or anything. "So how was Creepy Pedo Time," she muttered under her breath, knowing her boss cold hear her. Lynn just mimed having pointy teeth to bite her, then turned back to the Claremonter with a grin. "Okay, let's ring you up for your gamebook and get you back on campus!"

[The Sailor]

Sakurako put on her glasses, after the showing, everything had been going so quickly with this, and the schoolgirl genius seemed to have everything in a whirlwind in her head. Once things were rung up, she still had a stupid grin on her face. Here she was, standing in a shop owned by a time-tossed traveller. There was no science fiction that had prepared her for this.

She did hear Gretchen's comment... "I... trust me if there was an incident, you would have known."

She closed the helmet of her suit and put her backpack on. "Well, I must be off. I've got a few things to do outside of school... let me know if there is any technological help you need." She said, starting to walk out. "I'll have to swing by the convenience store now that I think of it." She said, remembering she had the massaging/cushion gel still in her suit. "Luckily this gel is biodegradible... Just have to get some snacks and borrow a key for a short moment. I'll have to flood the insulation layer of the suit with water to dissolve the gel compound... might look a little awkward." She said with a awkward blush.

"Oh, before I forget..." She said, running over and slipping Gretchen a business card, on the back there was a number. Not a phone number but a radio frequency. "Personal comlink. If you ever need help for anything involving wearing a cape, let me know." She says before starting off again. "And thanks."

When she looked back, with the way the sun was flooding the shop she looked like she was about to step out of a airlock. "I'm sure I'll stop by again. Sooner rather than later."