Usagi Yojimbo And Phone Numbers

Participants:

delilah_icon.gif kendall_icon.gif

Scene Title Usagi Yojimbo and Phone Numbers
Synopsis Kendall has his first job, and one of his customers is Dee. Awkwardness occurs.
Date August 8, 2010

Sam's Comics

Even from the outside, this store clearly caters to specific crowds. Cardboard standees of Spiderman, vie with Gandalf and one of the many manifestations of Dr. Who, and small posters declare release dates for various comics. Once inside, it is clear that comic books are the main sell. Everything from the most well-known to the obscure are present, lined up on the walls and on metal racks, every single one bagged and boarded individually to protect them from damage until they are sold. The store is updated weekly, so all the newest titles are available. Off to the side in a corner are other merchandise, action figures, board games, and figurines that make this place a haven for geeks. Right by the entrance is the counter with a display of the many manifestations of dice, with packets of cards sold behind it keeping the cash register company.


The late afternoon light barely forces its way into the shop amid all the paraphernalia blocking the windows in some form or another, but a streak of it manages to reach halfway to the back wall. Then it's blocked completely as Kendall walks across the floor, a stack of comics to be shelved in his arms. He seems a bit down, for some reason, but at the same time at peace. Being in a place you love to be must bring about a very zen feeling.

Zen feelings that may or may not be upset by the fact that someone he knows just waddled in the door- it's not an understatement, Delilah has a baby bump that will fit cradled comfortably in her forearms when she puts them down- a little over six months, and it has probably been a while since Kendall last saw her. Enough so that she still looked quite normal the last time. She's dressed in a blue shirt and multicolored skirt, a pink peace sign on the front of her chest. Her pink converses match it. She is pretty noticeable when she sidles in, adjusting a strap of her small cloth backpack and taking a cursory look around the front of the store.

Kendall turns when the door is opened. Right, he's supposed to greet customers! "Hey, welcome to Sam's Comics, anything I can…." he starts the spiel, but falters when he sees who it is, and almost drops his stack of comics. "De-delilah!" squeak.

Oh! Delilah starts a little as well, having not really seen him past the stack of comics and his whizzing motions across the floor. Maybe things are just slower for her, or maybe teenagers move faster. She blinks over at him, and his load, smiling. "Kendall." Her smile gets bigger when she says his name. "What a surprise. Are you working or just spending a month of allowance?" Well- he does have a large stack there- could go either way.

"I've got a job now…." Kendall gulps a little. "Er, uh…." he stares at her belly, then jerks his gaze back up. "Ah… let me put these away, then I'll help you with whatever you need." he stammers, rushing off. Right, put these comics where they go, that's a nice way to occupy his attention and clear his thoughts.

Delilah doesn't have much of a chance to say anything before he scampers away. She just nods once, looking after him. A job is a job. Hm. The redhead decides to start browsing, for now, heading over to the corner where the non-comics are first, once in awhile peeking across the store to see what Kendall is up to. She may or may not start wandering closer while pretending to check things out. Totally innocent, yessir.

Kendall finishes up quickly enough, then goes over towards Delilah. "So, uh, can I help you, er, find anything?" pretty girls in a comic book store aren't all that common, they disrupt the delicate balance of that particular geek brand of testosterone that is only able to accumulate in the absence of said females.

Delilah may not be as apt to cause that these days- or perhaps moreso- because then they all think of their own moms when they see her, right? It goes around, surely. She still acts like herself, at least, Kendall might note. "I guess I'm just browsing, kind of interested in finding some kids comics. Not for me- I have some younger cousins. The little one is having a birthday soon, I guess he's in a geek phase?"

"Well there's always the classics, Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, the Justice League… that's DC comics. Then there's X-men, Spiderman, Iron Man, the Avengers… that's Marvel. Or would you like some of the more, uh… obscure things?" Kendall knows his geekery. "Or does he like games more than comics?"

"I'm not that new to this, Kendall." Delilah laughs a little, picking her hand up to brush back her hair. "If I got him the classics I'd probably give him my favorites, and that's unfair. I'd like him to form his own superhero opinions. Was hoping for something more obscure if I can help it. I'm not too up on what games there are now. He's gonna be eight, if that helps."

"Well the one I know of best is the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic. It was a comic book series even before it was made into a cartoon, did you know that?" Kendall is looking away from Delilah, which is probably why he's not being as nervous. "Then there's webcomics that are published in book form, such as Order of the Stick. I don't think Penny Arcade is suitable for kids though."

"No, I wouldn't say it is. I didn't know it was a comic before it was movies and everything, no." Maybe subconsciously Delilah sidles back into his peripheral vision, making sure that she's seen and not just heard. "I think he's seen the new cartoon that was on, you know, re-runs."

"Well the comic was a lot darker and more violent, so maybe not." hmm. Kendall shifts away again, eyeshifting at her. "Oh, I know. How about Usagi Yojimbo? It's about a samurai rabbit who's sometimes a bodyguard. It's an ongoing series, so if he likes what he reads he can get more."

"Oh, I think I've heard about that." Delilah does have a mote of recognition. "So it's been going a while?" She peers off to one of the shelves and back again, sidling into his view. Now she is doing it on purpose, yes.

"Well, since about the 80s, or something like that." Kendall wasn't even born in the 80s! He's a 90s baby. He blinks at her when she comes into view again, then coughs and goes off to grab the first issue of Usagi Yojimbo.

"Are they TPBs?" Delilah follows him around, which might look odd to anyone else in the store. She seems intent on making him pay attention. "He likes the regular kinds of heroes- samurai would probably be right up his alley."

"Yeah, it is. It's pretty popular too, which is kind of amazing since it's not mainstream. It's published by Dark Horse Comics, which is one of the bigger alternative comics publishers." Kendall brings Delilah the issue, which has…. an anthropomorphic rabbit samurai with his ears in a topknot.

"Haha. Nice." Dee rather likes the ear thing- though that might hurt, wouldn't it? She opens the book up and begins to page through gently enough to get an idea of it. "This actually looks pretty interesting. And it's aimed towards younger readers, right? Nothing too bad in them? He can stand for some bad language, but I don't want to give him anything too terrible. He has enough of that watching his brother play video games."

"Well it's got swordfights and stuff, but I don't think it's got anything that cartoons of today don't." Kendall shrugs one shoulder. "I don't think there's any blood seen at any point, actually. It's been a while since I've read them, but it's not any worse than, uh… Team Rocket blasting off again." ahhh, pokemon.

"That reminds me, I haven't trained my Gallade to seventy yet…" Delilah mutters this while she peers through the book, and at least one of the other teenage guys hears it, squinting over at her with Kendall. "I think I'll go with my faith in you for this one. Do you have the next book, or a couple? If I got him the first few he might get into them better."

"What we don't have, we can get in a week." Kendall promises. "That's the way we roll. Anything else I can help you with?"

"His birthday isn't until the twentieth, would that be enough?" Delilah waffles between handing the book back. "You could order the first few for me, we can leave this copy? And- oh- yes, actually." She looks over her shoulder before leaning in a bit. "Do you guys have any standees to buy? You know, cardboard people to stand up? I wanna put something in my roommate's room while she's sleeping." So she wakes up and there looming over her is someone. Might scare the shit out of her, but it'll be great!

Kendall looks at some of said standees looming in the window. "Sure, what genre? Again, we have some, but we could order more if you need them. Is your roommate a Dr. Who fan? I'm pretty sure we could special order a Weeping Angel for her." nothing like a freaky monster that moves when you're not looking.

Delilah gets a look like a cat with cream, snickering. "We- we both watch it. I think that might be exactly what I'm looking for, actually." She tries to hide the look, but of course it is too late. "Could I come get it sometime this week, if I buy it while I'm here?"

"Yeah, sure. If you give me a number to call, I can let you know when it comes in." Slick, Kendall, getting her to give you her phone number like that.

"Good on that, then." Delilah wriggles the pack from one shoulder, flipping it around to open it up. She takes her time in digging out her pocketbook and a pen. "I can write a check for that and the books at the same time, if that's alright?" Meanwhile, she is taking a piece from the little notebook in her clasp, scribbling her number on the lined paper with her name, and handing it to Kendall. A number's a number!

"Sure." Kendall says again, casually sticking the piece of paper in his pocket. "And while we're at it, since you seem to know your way from cover to cover, would you like to join our mailing list? We take subscriptions, and send you info if you want the latest issues of certain comics."

"Sounds interesting. I rely on paperbacks pretty much, sometimes I get impatient waiting for stories." Delilah laughs, pushing her hair back again. "I've never actually gotten many comics as they're put out, now that I think about it. Might be useful." Now he's trying to get her address, right?

Pff, no. He knows where she lives already! ….in a, er, non-stalkery way, of course. But of course, if she's moved since then…. but anyway. Just email address! "We send out emails, and you can choose how many and how often you get the emails. Monthly, weekly, even daily for some of them." Kendall seems proud. He's memorized all this stuff for work!

"You're pretty good at this, huh? I'll do it, and if it helps you look nice to your boss, even better, right?" Dee smiles wide this time, moving off towards the counter to write down her e-mail. "Maybe this is what you were born for, d'you think?" Born to be a geek, sure!

"Uh…" Kendall drops his gaze, looking a little troubled. "I wish." uh oh, EmoAttack!

She peers back at him at that. "You can do anything you damn well please, Kendall." Delilah finishes writing the details of what she'd like mailed off to her- weekly- and moves to hand it to him. If he takes it, she'll try to catch his hand in hers when she can. "I'm still figuring shit out, that's for sure. Do what makes you happy."

Kendall freezes when she grabs his hand. "But what if what I do ends up hurting people? I don't want that. And besides, there's people out there who would want to hurt me for doing the things I can do." oh, conflict.

"The best you can do is your best. Trust me, as someone who does something that can only hurt. Try the Neutral Good thing for a while, you know? Help people. If someone wants to hurt you for that, it is better than it being something not so good. Or you can be like me and start carrying a gun everywhere." Delilah is quite blunt about this. Wait. Does this mean she has one on her now? "But that's not the point. Do good, be good, relieve good."

"I don't know. People I thought were good turned out to be not so good, so… what's right?" Kendall sighs. "Well anyway, this isn't what I'm supposed to be doing now, sorry."

"That's for you to figure out anyway. You figure out what's right. I'm confident that you can." Delilah wags her pocketbook next, smiling again. "What's the damage if I buy the books and the angel? I can write you a big fat check to show your boss."

Kendall goes to the cash register to ring things up, and tells Delilah the price. "All right then? All set?" he asks her, pretending like the emotrip didn't happen.

Delilah takes her time in writing out the check, eyes catching back on Kendall again. "That number in your pocket is for you too. If you ever need it. Alright?" She doesn't give him much of a chance to reply to that, sliding the check over to him to put with the receipt he'll doubtlessly make. "Maybe I'll see you later when I come to pick things up? You enjoy yourself." The redhead seems very insistent about that. But once he accepts the check, she is turning to go with a parting wave.

Eeeee, Kendall has a girl's phone number and she said to call him. After handing her the receipt, Kendall nods, still cool. "Yeah, take care, and come see us again!" Eeee he's got a girl's phone number and she said to call him!


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