deercountry | Bookstore of Light!

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Bookstore of Light!

Who:Luz, Lexi and Big Open to all!
What: Luz is keeping the bookstore open to celebrate Hanukkah
When: back dated from the 18th and ending the the 26th!
Where: Bookstore (Willful Machine)

Luz was adamant she get this right, so she obviously would ask Lexi a few questions before she finally started keeping the bookstore open starting the eighteenth. She had a menorah in the store window, lighting each candle as each day passed. They usually closed at five on the weekdays, but Luz changed it just for this week: they were open until 8, or at least until everyone decided to leave.

Luz had the kid section now with books about the Maccabees and how they were able to reclaim the temple so they could rededicate it. to symbolize this, Luz had a few carefully rearranged "debris" that you could start building into forts to symbolize the temple's return to form. She'd also arranged tables and chairs so that people could sit and have the Latkes with applesauce with Sufganiyot on the side. Luz had luckily picked up on frying with Reaper's help, so she made sure to have a new batch each day!

Luz had also small classes on how to make clay Dreidels on the second day, and set to showing kids how to make some of their own, taking time to show them the symbols and how they were etched into the sides and what they meant.

Luz also had geldt! Well, chocolate ones, obviously, but the chocolate was real! She'll pass that out in the middle of the week, with a small present!

She'd also set up a little tin to collect for the orphans in Trench, but that would be up all week. Luz would make sure to turn that in to Shiro later on.

On all days though, Luz would take thirty minutes to talk a little about the holiday, reflecting on what it meant to have a place of worship to call home, and how much that meant. Just because you weren't particularly religious, Luz argued, didn't mean that a simple place like a reading nook wasn't your own private temple, and you cherished it the same way!

[[OOC: Feel free to add your character in on ANY day. They could pop in to have a Latke, say hi to Luz and Lexi or whomever, and hey, you're still in a bookstore! Take a moment to read in the corner or watch the festivities!]]

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Luz looked thoughtful. "I mean. I guess I'll just give you some of the fried food then. I figure the Sufganiyot would be something you wouldn't like. Luckily, we DO have fried foods too. Just no pork."

Luz nodded. "There's not a lot of Jewish people from Earth that are here. There's Lexi of course, and Mr. Pines, and there WAS Kyle. Kinda wish he was still here. He would have liked this. I'm actually learning a lot too."

"I'm sure whatever you have will be fine. All this food just gives me more incentive to stay and read." Not that Maul needed much but eventually he would have gotten hungry and had to leave to go find something to eat. With the food right at the establishment, there was no doubt he'd continue to linger.

"Yes, he would have," Maul said in a wistful tone, a sad look coming over his face. He really did miss Kyle, for he'd always been one of Maul's biggest supporters in his quest to do better. There had never been a moment where he doubted Maul could become more than just the psychopathic Sith Lord he'd been for so much of his life.

"Good to know. I'm not exactly at my kitchen at home, so this is all we have. It's pretty good though!"

Luz had been sure to fry up enough food that there would at least be some leftovers they'd have to trudge back to the house.

"I'm doing this for Lexi, but I'm kinda manifesting Kyle here in spirit. He would have loved this, and probably would have been amused that when I finally got a girlfriend, she'd be Jewish. Even when he was here, there weren't many of us with that spiritual path. But hopefully, Lexi gets to feel a little more at home."

"May you have many sales of books today from this event," Maul said in the tone of someone hoping to invoke a blessing with their words.

"I certainly believe he would have enjoyed such a thing. Perhaps he can sense it still from the ocean." There was some comfort in knowing that the people who left were still out there somewhere even if their presence was no longer physically there with them in the city.

"Here's hoping!" Luz said brightly, giving him a thumbs up. "Also hope people get interested in the holiday too!"

Clearly Luz had made it a mission that other people might learn a little something about Lexi's religious path.

"Yeah, the ocean," Luz said, looking a little sad. "Bet he's probably have loved Lexi too. She has that type of humor."

"You count me as being one of those." Maul's curiosity had been peaked thanks to the celebration here and so he'd been learning more about it.

"I like her," Maul said approvingly. Anyone who could give him a chance instead listening to all the gossip that said he was an unstable psychopath was someone Maul automatically liked just a little bit.

"I'm glad! It's a learning experience for me too. But I'm mostly doing it so I can learn a little more about what Lexi believes."

Here, Luz laughed a little, hiding the blush on her face. "That makes the two of us, though my like of her is a bit more intense."

Maul couldn't help but smile a little when he saw the look on Luz's face. He'd been young and smitten like that once a long, long time ago. By now he'd nearly forgotten what it was like, so it was nice to have a reminder once in a while.

"I wish the two of you much happiness."

Luz couldn't help beam a little bit at Darth Maul's well wishing. He really had come a long way.

"Right back at you with Reaper!" Luz said. "I'm assuming that the two of you are doing pretty well too?"

"Yes, we have date night every week on Sunday to help keep things interesting between us." Reaffirming their bond to one another now that they were married was important to both of them. It turned out having a set day to actually do whatever they wanted proved to lead to a number of nice things for both of them, usually with them having sex or just cuddling on the couch while they read or watched a move.

"Aw, that's cool! So you guys have a routine and everything!"

Luz was going to do herself a favor and fixate on them...well. Honestly, she didn't know what the two would do together, and was certainly not going to let her mind go wild trying to conjure it up. Darth Maul and Reaper were very intense people when they want to be, so...

THEY PROBABLY PET ANIMALS AND GO TO THE SHOOTING RANGE YUP YUP

...that was probably their date!

Poor Luz. Hopefully she wouldn't dwell on that for too long.

"Some think having a routine kills the romance but it helps when this place is in constant chaos to have something fixed each week to look forward to."

The anticipation of what they might do on each of their dates helped to ground Maul in a sense. Hence why Maul also always tried to keep the routine he and Usagi had each week to paint their nails. Routines helped to keep Maul focused and from spiraling out-of-control when he still felt that occasional urge.

Nope!

"I think routine is more a killer when it comes to what you do. If it gets kinda samey, that's bound to probably kill some of the magic. Like if you were only going to get together to play some old timey game like Bridge. Getting together at the same time is probably just a good idea. You two together is probably bound to get interesting."

After all, the two of them were very different, unique people. Super violent, but also sort of...acclimated to this way of living?

"Besides, I get why you'd want to. You enjoy each other's company. Probably can share things only the two of you know about."

Luz gave a small smile. "And you know. I care about both of you a lot. So I'm glad you two found each other. I felt the same way when Fern and Varian admitted they liked each other."

"Well, considering one of our dates this past fall was killing the Bugge together, I'd say we're not going to get bored with one another anytime soon." The two of them had a deep emotional affection with one another and also had a robust sex life, so they were doing alright for themselves.

He got a very soft look on his face thinking about the long road he and Reaper had traveled together. "Yes. He understands me in a way no one else here does." Reaper had never once thought Maul needed to change or become a 'better version' of himself. He had always encouraged Maul to be the best version of himself, no matter if that was one steeped in anger and hate or who had a softer side to himself.

"Love is good for people. It's not an easy road to walk and it changes us at our core but usually is for the better." His smile turned a bit sad and wistful at remembering the pair of boys he'd cared so much about. He knew they'd both be pleased with how far he'd come since he last saw them. "So I'm glad to see you walking it with someone else by your side as well."

"Oh right, I remember that Bugge thing. There's sort of a kind of ritual that's folklore in my world related to that. It was still one of the stranger things to do in Trench though."

Luz had gathered both, though preferred to only thing about the former.

But at Darth Maul's face, Luz smiled. "I thought he might. He's really sarcastic and kinda blunt, but even I can see there's a lot that he hides, and I'll bet he's the type that only shows that to you."

And in that, Luz certainly thought that Darth Maul was lucky. She knew how important that was, and knew firsthand the feeling that came with falling into place with the person who knew you best.

"I think you're right about that. It's the first time I ever had anything like this in my life, but it feels good. I feel like I can be ME, but I also think about that person too, so I don't get to be as reckless if one of those consequences is hurting them."

Luz smiled. "I'm glad you have it too. You deserve it."

"Very much so. He doesn't let many people in for a lot of reasons." Many of the same ones that make it difficult for Maul like trusting people and not letting his emotions get the better of him all the time. "So it always feels like it's such an honor to be one of those that he gives that privilege to." Maul was determined never to betray Reaper's trust ever again, not after he'd been lucky enough to get a second chance with his mate after he'd done so the first time.

"It is wise of you to already realize that." And something which took Maul a lot longer to understand himself, that he couldn't do whatever he wanted if it meant hurting Reaper and breaking his heart. Now he was much more conscientious about his actions. "It is good to have someone who will accept all aspects of ourselves, no matter how dark or ugly they might be."

"There are a lot of people like that," Luz said, shaking her head. "Now that I think about it, most of the adult men that I know have something like that hanging over them. But I'll bet that Reaper trusts you enough to let you in. You don't need me to tell you not to betray his trust, or I'll come for you, ok?"

She gave him a smile to let him know she was only half kidding.

"I was causing a lot of people pain with my actions, and I didn't realize it until I died my first time. Right around that time, I met her. So I'm not going to make trouble for people who care about me like that anymore, if I can help it."

She nodded. "I know exactly what you mean."

"No, that has been more than implied," Maul said with a soft huff of air that was almost a laugh. Sweet as Luz was, he knew the girl wasn't one to take it lightly if someone she cared about got hurt. "He and I have learned how to trust one another and know better now than to ever betray that, not after the mess where he got corrupted." That had been entirely Maul's fault and he'd felt awful about it even if they'd ultimately come out of the struggle stronger than ever in their relationship.

"That is something I'm still learning myself," Maul confessed. He'd so often just wrecked havoc in his life with no care for how it affected other people. Even now, after almost three years of growth, he was still figuring out how his actions could ripple out and hurt others when he was selfish or angry.

"I'll bet," Luz said, knowing full well that Reaper was not one to mince words. He was like Eda in that way, though he was much more extreme. That he was so protective of Ahiru made it all the more endearing and a bit scary.

Whoever hurt Ahiru was going to wish they never, ever had again.

"You still have people around who'll help you, if you need them. I think that says a lot about you right now."

Luz knew full well that he had burned bridges with Varian and Fern, and that was sad. For Luz, she couldn't just DO that. She'd seen what Darth Maul had gone through, and believed, despite himself, that he would come out a better person on the other side.

"And we all sometimes need to learn that anyway. Even people who mean well can make that mistake with others."

"I'm glad he stays with you kids. It helps him to have a focus on someone to protect and care about. He wasn't always like that, you know. He was much more of a lone wolf when I first met him in Deerington." It had been interesting to see the transformation that had come over Reaper once he had a passel of kids to watch out and care for.

"I do believe it does. Some have written me off entirely but more is their loss. They can sit there and stew when I prove them all wrong." When someone said Maul couldn't do something, it kicked his natural-born stubbornness to show that he could into overdrive.

Maul's mouth hardened into a line for a moment. "Not the way some of these people talk. Some think good intentions and actually doing good are the same thing. That is not correct. I have known a great number of people who claimed to do good but their actions spoke far too the contrary." He thought of the Jedi of his time, how may of them were just as corrupt and arrogant as the Sith. So many were hypocrites, that was why the rare one that didn't stood out from the crowd for him.

"I can imagine," Luz said. "Well no, I don't, I've seen some of Lance's memories. He was pretty lone wolf back then. Now..."

Luz shrugged. It was hard to say that having Reaper around was like having a real cool parent, but was still wrestling with those feelings. Part of her would ultimately always be glad that he was there though.

She missed the little, strange family they all had back then.

"Exactly. Besides, when it comes down to it, the person you really have to justify your actions is you. If you couldn't motivate your own self to care about your progress, you would have stopped trying to improve yourself a long time ago."

And that was why Luz knew that Darth Maul had never been a lost cause: people just underestimated how long he'd been taught to suppress any empathy. Making the effort meant it was never a lost battle.

"That just isn't true! There are people in my world, politicians, who will claim to want to help people but their actions maintain a status quo where only a few people can ever benefit from the current system for everyone."

"Yes, when I met him, he was living on his own in random ramshackle buildings. But the connection we formed helped both of us to come to a better place in our minds. He eventually got to the point where he was able to start looking out for others instead of just himself." Maul had been glad to see it. Reaper's kindness was a wonderful thing for him to witness.

"That is....an interesting way to look at things. You're correct but I never really thought of it that way." Despite being able to read the people around him thanks to his Force sensitivity, Maul had almost zero introspection when it came to his own thoughts and why he did things the way that he felt was right.

"Oh, I know that all too well. In his day-to-day persona, my master was in fact a politician." The contempt and hatred dripped from the words Maul spoke about Sidious. Being around him had led Maul to have a lifelong distrust of anyone involved heavily in politics. He figured they were all either corrupt hypocrites looking out for themselves first and foremost or they were near sociopaths like his master who merely wanted to gain unlimited power for themselves.

"I don't think I really knew him back then. I started with him being in the house with Fern and Varian. I remember, they basically told me he was smoke, which was confusing, but I figured if I was living in the attic, we wouldn't really interact that much."

She chuckled. "Yeah, I wouldn't have pegged him the type at first. He seemed very to himself, and I respected that. Now, well, I don't think I could imagine him not being here anymore. He's kind of the only adult in the house, and if he left I'd have to be the responsible mom one, which no one wants!:

This was a lie, of course. Luz still caught fish for Luca when he didn't get it for himself and cooked on the days Reaper was elsewhere.

"I'm pretty sure about that! I apply that to myself and my own mistakes."

Luz knew she made a few here, and would likely make more, but she was learning.

"Oh boy. That sounds all too familiar."

Luz was thinking of Emperor Bellos of course, and it was a shame she'd never gone bac k to the Isles to learn exactly how far Bellos' manipulations went. It would have been much easier to compare him to Sidious.

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Bookstore of Light!

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This is Luz's "ship" face. Specifically, when she first hears about Eda's ex, Raine Whispers.

OMG LUZ! :D

Luz canonically IS a shipper and lives and dies by title!

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