Welcome to the Satellite of Love!

[thisislife]

Who: Lexi Howard and customers
What: Grand Opening!
When: late September
Where: Satellite of Love Used Books and Comics

Prompts to follow in comments!

Comments

Fiction Books

[thisislife]

The Fiction section was huge, even larger than she and Luz could have hoped. It was completely worth it to use the bulk of what she had to trade for used books. They're books from any and all worlds imaginable, about anything and everything possible.

There are large sections of genre fiction, such as sci-fi/fantasy and mystery novels. There's even a decent selection of erotica, though that's closed off in a wood and glass bookshelf which requires Lexi's key to open.

If you approach Lexi with any questions about what to find or where to find it, she'll grin and be more than willing to escort you where you need to go to find it.

[survivalthroughhate]

Maul's clawed fingertips brush the shelves lightly as he looks for something to read. He stops at the fantasy and sci-fi bookshelves, not entirely sure what he wants to look over before he decides to purchase it. His finger eventually come to rest on some Ray Bradbury titles: Something Wicked This Way Comes, The Illustrated Man, and The Martian Chronicles.

He turns, an intense look in his eyes. "Which do you think would be the best one to start off with?"

[thisislife]

Lexi smiles and pulls another volume off the shelf: Fahrenheit 451.

"This one is actually my personal favorite of his work. It's...kind of a look at humanity at its worst, what it could become. And to be honest, considering a lot of stuff back home like, uh, streaming and giant flatscreen TVs and taking ignorance as something to be proud of, not something to be remedied? I kind of wonder how close to reality the book will become."

[survivalthroughhate]

Maul takes the book from Lexi and flips open the hardback to read the inside cover synopsis. He can read at a good clip and is soon done with the summary. He looks back up at the bookseller.

"I am intrigued. Some of what it mentions almost reminds me of the way things are in my galaxy." Almost anywhere one goes in his own universe is heavily reliant on technology. There's no getting around it. Even Maul can't get away from it given the advanced state of the prosthetic legs he uses.

Non-fiction Books

[thisislife]

As with fiction, every possible subject from every possible world is covered in Non-fiction. Want to learn about the laws of physics in another dimension? Covered. Want to study the behavior of dinosaurs on a planet which still has them? Got that, too! Your basic chemistry textbook for children? Ready and waiting for a young, eager mind!

Feel free to ask whatever questions you wish, she'll help you find it!

[icanhearscreams]

[Jun is absolutely in this section, browsing around. There's a lot of things that... don't interest him, or look like they're from the wrong version of Earth (which makes him shudder for a moment), so... ugh. He'll have to ask. He approaches the counter.]

Do you have any books on the marine biology of Earth?

[thisislife]

[those other Earth books kind of threw her for a loop, too. "Mutants: The Next Era of Evolution?" "Talking Animals and How They Lost Their Voice?" "Surviving Jabberjays?" none of it made any real sense to Lexi, but she figured they might mean something to someone. so on the shelf they went. she wasn't going to judge]

Sure do! Follow me for a moment...[and she walks him over to a shelf of books] I did some research on these kinds of books since I wasn't sure they applied to Earth or not. They should all be from a fairly basic Earth, but there's also some specialized sections?

[faceblocks]

[vi is here, casually looking for books about horses. care of horses, the riding of horses, whatever she can find. and while she's looking through those she happens upon some illustrated books about dinosaurs. she has one of each in hand before she approaches lexi - who definitely looks like they know what they're doing.]

You got anything about ...mean unicorns? [longshot, but who knows.] Oh yeah, I'm looking for coloring books, too.

[she is also looking for the two batcats, possibly leaning around lexi to do so. she'd made a note to give them her best (like the announcement said) which is going to have to be cuddles, cause her blood is a nope.]

[thisislife]

[she's looked over every book in the store's inventory at least once and she wants her customers to feel as comfortable as possible, assured that the books available have merit and are as accurate as can be]

Mean unicorns? Like the ones we have here who like to fight people? Yeah, there should be a few. [and she leads Vi to the Nature section] We definitely have those, for adults and for children. They're up by the counter. For some reason, those books seem to try and sprout legs and walk away.

[both Nosferatmew and Mewnos look curious, diving down from the sky and meowing for cuddles] And I see you've met my babies.

[obeir]

[ What's an android to do when the only person capable of handling his maintenance is long gone from Trench? Attempt to find resources that will help him attend to it on his own, if such even exists, and that's what brings him out to the multiverse bookstore.

What he's looking for is so specific within an already highly specialised scientific field that there's unlikely to be anything, but he's very curious about what he might find.

The batcats receive more than a couple glances while he's browsing the books — he's familiar with the species, enough to know not to bother them unless they approach him first. But the bookstore's proprietor is another story, and he eventually approaches her to ask: ]

Excuse me. Do you have anything covering advanced robotics, or AI? [ There's a hint of weariness in his voice when he specifies: ] Non-fiction.

[ Because humanity is entirely too fond of its evil AI tropes and he doesn't care to read more stories depicting his kind as the villains, particularly when the reverse is more accurate, in his experience. ]

[thisislife]

[she's never met him before, but she's seen him around. she was bad at introducing herself to people she wasn't already friendly with or she hadn't met through Luz.

and Nosferatmew and Mewnos both consider a glance as an invitation, both sweeping down until they're within petting range, mewing at him]

Let's see...non-fiction. [a pause] We do have some? There's a variety of planets and realities I took the books from, so there should be at least a few books in the non-fiction section. Are you looking for things regarding the Turing Test or something beyond that?

[humanity is. and it likes to use blatant metaphors for things that simply didn't "track" in terms of what the reality was, especially in science fiction and fantasy]

Comic Books

[thisislife]

Anything and everything can be found, there's a huge selection of Silver Age comics. It doesn't matter if the Silver Age is of Earth comics or one of a hundred thousand Earths and variations. Baby versions of super-heroes, super-hero pets, super-hero clubs, all of the standard Silver Age tropes are in there.

That's not to say that there aren't more modern comics as well, there are scantily clad bad girl comics, scantily clad bad boy comics, the Dark Age and its many variations and ones based on pop culture from any planet anyone comes from.

Comic Books

[thisislife]

Anything and everything can be found, there's a huge selection of Silver Age comics. It doesn't matter if the Silver Age is of Earth comics or one of a hundred thousand Earths and variations. Baby versions of super-heroes, super-hero pets, super-hero clubs, all of the standard Silver Age tropes are in there.

That's not to say that there aren't more modern comics as well, there are scantily clad bad girl comics, scantily clad bad boy comics, the Dark Age and its many variations and ones based on pop culture from any planet anyone comes from.

Manga

[thisislife]

There are volumes which haven't even been published yet on some Earths, ones non-existent on others, and there's complete collections of hundreds of volumes. Shoujo and shounen are prevalent, but any genre, subject, romantic pairing, or level of smuttiness can be found.

Though, the smutty manga volumes are sealed in plastic and if you try to remove it, you'll find Lexi behind you, not even bothering to be subtle in her glare which says clearly "put that down."

[cuddlery]

[A tall scorpion lady is present in the store! She came to support Luz and to see if she could meet her girlfriend! And also to actually check out the books and find something to read. She checks out one that catches her eyes, a shoujo manga, and she tries reading it, carefully holding it with her pincers... though, she's reading it backwards, in Western reading stule.]

This is kinda hard to follow... but I guess it must be an artistic choice. It is, it's definitely making me think!

[thisislife]

[wow, she's tall! Lexi's kind of shrimpy at 5'5", so she feels kind of inadequate when standing next to Scorpia.

and, ooops. yeah, reading it backwards]

Well. It's technically supposed to be read the other way around? Back to front. I know it's a little different for people used to reading it Western-style, but it's easy to get used to, I promise. And that's a good one, definitely not your standard 'girl goes to another world, winds up with a harem of assorted hotties' manga.

Décor!

[imaglyphwitch]

But what is a bookstore without its surroundings? Well, still a bookstore, but clearly Lexi's coworker Luz has a few ideas to really make the place pop.

While Lexi is handling the actual book selling right now, Luz is making sure she gives it a proper LOOK. After last month's excursions, Luz has now made sure that the place is adorned with a few tentacle statues here and there, to make sure that they keep with a common theme. Some of them are small, but some are a bit bigger than Luz herself, brought over with the help of her friends Vira Lorr and Makoto. Around that, Luz also made sure to put up some pictures of libraries themselves, just to give an air of the arcane, and even put in a few of her own paintings for good measure! They're mostly based on Deerington, so Luz chose the less upsetting ones, as they tended to be less visceral. She's additionally putting up fun lights for people, which give off light blue and green, adding some of her own light glyph lights to sparkle out words like BOOKSHOP and READING IS FUN and LEXI'S NEW SHOP!

All in all though, Luz is having a fun time showing off her new job, and if you happen to interrupt her with a question while she's putting things up, she'll happily engage in conversation!

Décor!

[thisislife]

Between customers, Lexi sidles on up to Luz and gives her a kiss on the cheek. "I've gotta say that it's perfect. Everything looks amazing and I know I've got you to thank for that. If I did it, well. You've seen my house. I'd have everything all over the place on the walls and it would look way too cluttered. Yours is way better."

Re: Décor!

[imaglyphwitch]

Luz's heart did a flip on her the moment she felt Lexi's kiss, but she could only turn and beam at the girl's words.

"Are you kidding? Look at all these books, how you organized them up to look so good, how the outside is! I'm just working with the great set up! I've always wanted to work at a bookstore and see other people get lost in books like I do, and now I get to do that whenever we're here!"

She gave her an adoring smile and tapped her forehead against Lexi's. "And I'll make sure it's something we can make work, together."

The Children's Room

[imaglyphwitch]

You did have to go downstairs to actually access the room, but once you did it was perfectly clear where you were. With this Luz had chosen to make things feel extra whimsical, with the carpeting extra plush and making sure there were several big cubbyholes for kids to curl up and read in. The room itself was extra colorful, with ladybugs and cats and cure anime creatures adorning the walls, positive messages about books in a few banners, and several chairs gathered around a big one for when there was a read along scheduled.

For this month, Luz had made sure to adorn the place in red, green, yellow and orange for fall, but was definitely edging into October with the sitting corner adorned more in black and orange there.

Oh, and as for the book read along? Luz had indeed chosen "Scary Stories to tell in the Dark" though she'd chosen the least intense stories for now since she was very aware of the affect it would have, them all being in Trench. Luz did like reading aloud to the kids though, and enjoyed doing the voices to make kids jump a little too!

in which Peter brings his demon to look at some kids' books (cw: possession)

[possessum]

Among everything that's happened here, and even back in Deerington, this is one of the most uncomfortable things Peter has ever done. And it isn't something he's being forced to do, which is also different for how this place usually works. This is something he's choosing to do. That fact should probably be a relief, but instead it's an odd tightness in his throat as he makes his way into the bookstore that's recently been opened by his friends.

One day when Luna's at school (and Peter's skipping, as he's prone to do...) he pulls on his coat and takes a little walk over to the Satellite of Love. He's been meaning to pay a visit, but it's not so much for himself. Paimon needs stimulation, and Peter's never particularly done anything to help with that. It's usually Luna who keeps the demon entertained: doing crafts with him, having him help her with chores, taking him shopping, reading stories to him... Peter's not used to this at all. But he figures maybe he could pick up some more books for him, help out his girlfriend with her perpetual task of taking care of their demonic housemate. It'd be better if he does this instead of wait for Paimon to show up on his own as he inevitably would, anyway. He might scare the children...

Stepping into the shop, Peter makes his way downstairs, looking slowly around. It's cute, all colourful and kid-friendly, with autumn decorations. Something in Peter hitches for a moment, makes him think of Charlie. Of the things he'd never done for her. He stands there for a moment, just trying to keep his breathing even, wondering if the demon is awake. He probably is; all the vibrant sights would definitely appeal to his interest.

Peter slowly draws closer to a shelf, not sure where to even begin. He starts by gently pulling out a couple of books and looking through the titles, murmuring quietly out loud.

"Wonder if he'd like stuff about animals, the weather, or talking fruit...."

Because of course he would!

[imaglyphwitch]

Luz was finishing up the story "In a dark, dark room" when she looked up and saw Peter and broke out into a smile. She didn't realize it, but how many people were no longer around from Deerington weighed on her from time to time, so seeing him reminded her that there were still familiar faces and friends, and of course he was welcome!

Granted, that meant Paimon was welcomed as well, but Luz had to slowly realize this was just the reality of that situation.

"Peter, hey!"

Luz walked over and gave him a hug. "How are you? I'm glad you found us!"

[floatsaway]

Gosh but this was the absolute cutest things Ochako's seen pop up in Trench to date. A cozy little bookstore ran by some of her two closest friends in this weird, new world. Definitely a new, future haunt that she'd be visiting occasionally on her outings here and there - she could already see some interesting fantasy novels that piqued her interest on the shelves. Today, however, she was mostly interested in the downstairs section - the Children's Room - because it opened up the opportunity for a bit of volunteer work in the future, maybe. Ochako loved books as much as she loved little kids, so reading to them would be tons of fun!!

She's sitting off to the side in a cozy corner, knees bent and listening along with a big smile on her face. Normally, scary ghost stories are not her cup of tea in the slightest - Ochako is deathly afraid of ghosts and ghoulies - but she trusts Luz to not pick out something that'd make the children cry or anything. Nah, these are just some spooky tales intended for the younger folk, and she's enjoying the atmosphere Luz is setting up - she's a great storyteller, and her voice carries well.

[thisislife]

When Lexi sees Ochako sitting and listening to the other stories, she has to come by and sit next to her, brown eyes alight with happiness. Happy that the store seems to be a hit, happy she could do it with Luz, and happy that she got to share it with so many friends. And if Ochako brought up wanting to read to kids and do things for the Children's Room, Lexi would leap at the chance.

She whispers to Ochako, "Pretty amazing, isn't she?"

[imaglyphwitch]

Yup, Luz is sticking to the milder stories. She was not trying to have a bunch of kids crying on HER watch. She was just finishing up one of the stories when she spotted Ochako and smiled.

"Ochako-san! You made it!"

She walked over and had to give her friend a hug, then indicated to her audience she'd be back in five minutes.

"Hi! What do you think of the shop?"