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Post by skyeknight on Jun 2, 2022 14:16:58 GMT
Ruby stared longingly at the comic books and then back to her mostly empty wallet. It had not magically replenished itself in the last few minutes. She didn't have enough to buy everything she wanted and her heart just about broke for it. There were so many good comics to read! And she never had enough to buy them all. Choosing was going to kill her! A sad sigh left her and she closed her wallet. She would have to make those hard decisions. That's what heroes did.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 3, 2022 22:25:08 GMT
Utena didn't frequent the bookshop nearly as often as Bella did, but it was kind of hard not to like books at least a little bit when they took up a good portion of her sister's side. Besides, fiction books were a lot better than the nonfiction ones, in her opinion. Yes, she knew math and history were important, but book learning was not Utena's strong suit. She was a more hands-on type of girl. Still, perusing the young adult section was interesting, most of the time. Every time she saw the stereotypical teen drama romance, she made a face. That wasn't her type of thing. She liked more thrilling genres, ones that got your heart pumping and made it hard to put the book down. The comic book aisle was across the way and she saw a girl looking at them, seeming a little dejected. She didn't read comic books nearly as much as she used to, but she and Bella used to get them a lot when they were kids, usually to get inspiration for the superhero names they wanted or the costumes they'd wear. "Not enough selection?" she asked the girl.
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Post by skyeknight on Jun 4, 2022 22:23:25 GMT
"Try too much of a selection! I want all of them!" Ruby whined, but then realized she was whining to a complete stranger. "Uh..."
She turned to see who had asked her that and then smiled sheepishly. She probably sounded like some sort of spoiled brat that wasn't getting her way. She awkwardly looked away. Talk about putting your foot in your mouth. She was making a horrible first impression.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to rant," she said quickly. "Er, I'm Ruby?"
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 5, 2022 17:30:05 GMT
Utena laughed a little. She could understand the girl's pain. She'd seen her sister go through the same crisis when trying to decide which books to get. Heck, Utena herself had gone through the same dilemma when deciding which weapon she wanted to learn about. She was glad she'd gone with the sword, but she hoped that maybe she could learn some other ones as well once she got older. The girl introduced herself as Ruby. "Utena. Nice to meet you," Utena said in return.
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Post by skyeknight on Jun 6, 2022 2:47:32 GMT
Ruby bounced back when she saw that Utena wasn't completely weirded out by her ranting. Maybe the whole conversation was salvageable. Or she could go drown herself in ice cream if it wasn't. That was a healthy coping mechanism, right? And if it went well, she would still get the ice cream anyways.
"What are you looking for book wise? Or comics? Maybe I could give some recommendations?"
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 7, 2022 22:27:07 GMT
Utena looked back at Ruby. She seemed to know books as well as her sister. Maybe she could recommend something interesting. "Just looking for something new I guess, exciting. And no love triangle romance junk. Unfortunately, that seems to dominate the shelves." She jerked her thumb at the young adult section. "You wouldn't happen to know some good series to get into, would you?"
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Post by skyeknight on Jun 9, 2022 14:27:57 GMT
"Oh! Um, there's an action series I absolutely love called the Blackwood Chronicles. It follows a group of adventurers, trying to save the world from the Demon Lord! Or uh, Crouching Dragon, Hidden Tiger Prawn, about ninjas who also own their own restaurant and they're trying to keep their identities secret while fighting crime," Ruby said.
She then launched into rambling, over some of her favorites. The topics varied from robots to ninja to super heroes to slice of life with slow burn romances of which she assured there was no love triangle and it was more about the character interactions than the romance. Ruby was well read when it came to comics, hence her difficulties with picking just a few to take home with her. She enjoyed the art and the story telling without all the overwhelming details she found in most books. Yes, you could write about how pretty flowers were, but for her, she wanted to see it.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 10, 2022 0:23:41 GMT
Anyone might have found Ruby's rambling a little off-putting, but Utena was used to stuff like that after growing up with a bookworm sister. She did make a note to try to introduce Ruby to Bella sometime, she was sure the two could get along. Maybe Utena could be there for their first meeting, incase Bella clammed up. She could get like that sometimes with enthusiastic people. Ruby listed off a couple of titles, all of which sounded interesting. "Hmm..." Utena thought for a moment before deciding on one. "That Crouching Dragon one sounds pretty good," she said. The choice for them to keep their identities a secret was intriguing. Of course, she knew why some people would choose that, but superheroes today didn't do that sort of thing. Nobody else kept their jobs a secret, at least those who had legal ones. Superheroes served the community just like police officers and fire fighters, they just had funky powers to help them out.
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Post by skyeknight on Jun 10, 2022 16:20:48 GMT
"I have the first ten books at home, if you want to borrow them?"
Then she realized that was probably weird. Because they barely knew each other. But Ruby knew that her hobby was an expensive one. Comics lined her new bookshelf at the dorms and they were practically ready to burst as it was. She would have to see about getting another bookshelf. Or getting creative to keep her collection together.
"Or if you want your own copy, it's here!" she plucked it off the shelf with ease.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 11, 2022 20:45:36 GMT
Utena blinked. That was a bit unexpected. Ruby had just met her and she was already offering to loan her books. But Utena wasn't going to object to that. Besides, it had been a while since she'd met someone who was genuinely nice. The school could be full of jerks sometimes, or kids who were nice only when they wanted something from you. "How about I borrow the first one from you?" she suggested. "If I like it, I'll buy the rest."
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Post by skyeknight on Jun 12, 2022 2:31:16 GMT
"Great! I'll get the next one then!" she said.
She picked up book eleven to add to the small stack she was allowing herself to buy. She really hoped Utena liked it! It had been a long time since she had a series of comics to talk about with someone. Sure, there was her sister, but she was a busy superhero! She didn't have time to sit down and read comics all the time.
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 12, 2022 18:57:55 GMT
Ruby seemed to like that idea. Looked like Utena had an interesting book to look forward to. Sounded like it would be an enjoyable read in between all her classes. "Do you go to Hero High by any chance? That's where I'm at," she said. Trading books would be a lot easier if they had dorms close to each other or something.
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Post by skyeknight on Jun 13, 2022 13:37:53 GMT
"Yeah! I'm kinda new here," Ruby said.
And a little nervous about it. She wanted to do her best in classes, but school was never her strongest subject. Studying was just so tedious! But comics and training came easily. She had just moved into the dorms and classes started soon. She figured the best way to ease her nerves was to go out and do something.
"What about you?"
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Post by angelofmusic1992 on Jun 14, 2022 1:56:42 GMT
"Just started my second year there," Utena replied. Now that she'd spent some time there, Hero High felt almost as familiar as her own home. She had a better idea of who was cool to hang out with, and which buttheads to avoid. "Relax, soon you'll know the place like the back of your hand," she said, clapping Ruby on the shoulder reassuringly. "I think everyone feels that way when they start, even if they don't act like it."
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Post by skyeknight on Jun 14, 2022 15:48:32 GMT
"A second year? That's amazing! Anything a newbie should know?" Ruby asked.
She was eager to hear stories about the campus. The classes. Other students. It wasn't often you could pick an upperclassman's brains after all. She wanted to be the best prepared for classes that she could be! Of all the luck! She found herself grinning brightly. See? Good things came from getting involved in comics!
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