[PRP] Sacrifice to the Old Ones [Cid/Cass]

[azuredreams]

Let it be known that, despite he would claim being a Highlander if asked, Cid was actually in his early thirties. Though he looked more like his early twenties most days.

"Mm, I know that feel. Places get creepy or s**t, you know? Don't want to chill in a place where it feels like someone is creepin' on you and you can't figure it out." He rocked on his heels a little, almost always in some kind of state of constant motion.

"Not a bad thing, honestly, 'cause that's the kind of ability you need to work in a place like this. A little bit of everything because we all work together to have the entire skillset we need to know everything." Cid paused. "Well, actually I can ramble about nearly everything in here so ..."

Cass was given another look, one that was surprisingly piercing, before he nodded once. Apparently she passed whatever stat check he was rolling for her on. "Glad to hear that because you would be surprised the number of people that get uppity about that s**t. It pisses me off. I can get you some paperwork to fill out if you'll follow me to the register? Start that entire process, get some of the rigamarole out of the way."

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

"Exactly," Cid got it. Cid totally got it. Not everybody accepted her stranger wanderlust so easily.

She followed him up towards the register as they continued to chat, clearly a neverending wellspring of conversation. "I'm gonna guess I have at least a handful of skills that aren't too common. Not ones we'd use unless we care about forgeries too much. I have kind of an eye for that stuff," she explained. She would not explain why she had that, however.

"Paperwork is fine. I don't have anywhere I need to be for a bit so I definitely have no problem with doing that now," she paused. "Though I realize I haven't even introduced myself." she offered 707!Cid a hand. "Cassandra Youttz."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"You'd be surprised actually. A wide and varied skill set is incredibly useful in a town like this." Cid was moving to the counter, the blind boxes set down as he gestured for her to follow him behind. There was a stool that he wiggled his fingers at for her to sit down while he was grabbing the tablet from its docking station.

"Well, technically who I am is obvious but I'll drop the cosplay act for now," he chuckled, taking the offered hand. "Sydney Concord, though I go by Cid." Yes, he had a Final Fantasy problem. Yes, he would absolutely send you on a fetch quest if he felt like it. Once he released her hand he was pulling the stylus from the tablet and tapping at the screen before handing it to her.

All the necessary paperwork was actually on the screen for her to fill out.

"You can just give me a rough idea of your preferred working hours and, if you'd like, you can come in tomorrow and get a feel for working here. It's pretty chill, I'm not exactly a slave master unless you cross the Western and Eastern line with comics and manga. Also your starting pay is a couple bucks over minimum wage, though it can go up after you've been here a month or so."

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

"Depends on what I'm usin' it for I guess..." Cassandra said, unconvinced. She'd leave the subject alone, however. If any of her odd skill set proved useful in the long run, she'd be surprised. And hopefully not in prison for it.

"Well it's very nice to meet you, Cid." she nodded as she leaned against the front counter patiently. When the tablet was handed over, she seemed surprised. Huh. Would her tax papers be on there too? Lord, she still needed to file from the year before. She'd need to remember to do that.

"So you sort by format and then by country of origin over in that section then?" she asked as she tapped her way through paperwork. There were a handful of 'mangas' that she'd seen from America in the past. They weren't comics technically, but if he was as particular to details as she felt someone who organized their shop so well was....that seemed to be the right way to go.

She'd filled out such paperwork enough times that it was nearly a robotic process as she finished up, handing the tablet back. "I'm really flexible so I don't mind working more flex 'when I'm needed' hours. I prefer to have my mornings, though." Mostly because in the morning she was an absolute zombie.

Azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"For the greater good, obviously," Cid replied with a wink, "though everyone loves a good anti-hero, but mostly ... helping people out. That's the important bit around here." He was not going to assume her skill-set was more nefarious.

It turned out every form was, indeed, on the tablet. Life was easier when technology had everything in one place to fill out. Including snapping pictures of ID and social security cards.

"Yes," he replied, "I do. Don't get me started about when Western artists do manga. It completely throws s**t off but-" There was an irritated flip of his hand but he would ultimately let it go. "We do have a manhwa section as well and get a surprising about of people who look for that specifically." His glasses were pulled off and cleaned before he let out a laugh. "Which reminds me: you also have to watch out for the BL fans because sometimes they get rowdier than the other kinds we get in here. Oh, we do also break things down by age group? Seinen, Josei, and the like for manga, since they tend to have distinctive artistic styles attached, and similar is done for all the other sections."

The tablet was taken back and he flipped through it to make sure everything was properly filled out. "That's fine with me, I know not everyone is a morning person. It's afternoons and the evenings I really need coverage for."

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

Sometimes it took a while to feel like you were doing greater good, though.

Annnnnd she'd found a lovely little crack to needle at to get a whole wellspring of information. "Y'know, that does sound easier. I mean, some people are genre people." She was a genre person. "How far back does in terms of publishing date do we carry? I know a few series I never really got to finish up on before...." hooo, how had she cataloged that fun...wiggly mess that was the middle of her life? Was she too young to have a mid-life crisis? "Before my family circumstances forced me to move out and I had to give up a lot of my stuff. Mostly some older things."

Older horror things.

"Afternoons and evenings are fine. Easier on me, anyways. Some people wake up on coffee, I turn back into a human being that's allowed to be in the presence of my Roomba."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"Mm, how far back we talking? I mean ... I can get whatever you'd like? Sometimes I pick up older stuff just because I like it or a customer requests it. If you want some older horror stuff, just toss me a list and I'll see what I can." Basically it amounted to that as long as there was a market for it, as long as Cid would not end up going negative, he would pick up whatever a customer wanted.

More so for an employee because happy employees made for a happy business, alright?

He was signing off on the paperwork on the tablet and bringing a schedule up to look. Glancing up at Cass, he raised an eyebrow. "You know you can get decals for your roomba, right? Or even some kind of cosplay outfit." Pausing there was a bit of a smirk. "I suppose I should mention there's an employee discount."

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

"Ummmm...probably like eight years or so? I mean, it was some weirdly specific stuff but I can make a list at some point if I remember to." Because she still needed to finish 'The Drifting Classroom' also known as the 'Never feel clean ever again because adults suck and those kids deserved better'.

The mention of decals made Cass grin. "So basically if I wanted to just line Ted with knife decals that's something that could be facilitated." because that didn't sound like a weird pipe-dream she'd entertained with real knives at all.

Azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"Just toss me a couple titles now and I'll hunt them down. As long as it's not some kind of super specific, released only at this convention in some other country, I really don't mind trying to get it. Also, we have a customer like that. If he is an a*****e, by all means tell me, I am dying to ban him from my business." There was always one that was a complete and utter asshat about collector's items.

Cid was smiling widely before he nodded. "Pretty much. I mean, if you wanted like small foam knives I could totally hook you up myself. I work on cosplay stuff sometimes and know some people, so ..." He was an enabler okay.

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

Cass thought through it. "Well, I never finished past volume 5 of 'The Drifting Classroom' to start with." She'd need to think on the others for a little bit (mostly because she hadn't thought about it in years and Cid was an enabler of the highest degree). "So with a*****e customer do I have permission to use my best customer service voice where I make them my b***h but also am secretly talking down to them?" She'd worked enough jobs where that was a skill that always got used.

Huh.

"Okay, foam knives on Ted sounds much cooler than my own plan there. I may have to hit you up for that one." Enabling successful.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Cid tapped his stylus against the screen a couple times before he was typing away. "The Drifting Classroom ... Don't think I read that one but I can get it in. There's been other adaptations too, if you're interest, that came afterward."

A manic grin spread across Cid's face. "If you want to do that by all means. Though he might get a bit catty with you but, like I said, I am dying to ban him. He just likes to think he picks up on that s**t but, really, he's being an a*****e so it'll likely go over his head." Which meant that basically he assumed employees were doing that thing Cass mentioned - which Cid loved by the way - but was entirely wrong.

Don't ******** with his employees, yo.

"You just let me know," that manic grin was still there, "and I'll hook you up. I expect pictures though. Lots of them." Finishing up his note about that manga, he was then jerking his thumb to point behind him. There was a door that said, above it, basement and, on it, staff turf. Both of which were in glaring capitals.

"Staff break area is down in the basement. There's a fridge, microwave, a stove and then ... pretty much an entire video game setup. Consoles and a PC because there shall be no PC versus console bullshit in my house." They were all good, got it?

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

Cass smiled, a sweet and almost false smile if one paid too much attention to it. " 'Sir, I apologize but you cannot be assisted until you change your tone of voice.'" it was a distinctly different tone of voice, but not enough to be obvious to someone unknowing before Cass coughed. "I did phones....in the last town I was in. Until he threatens to come to my house and kill me, I'm ok with putting up with assholes."

"And of course there will be pictures. How could I not proudly take pictures of my mechanical child?" she said as there were absolutely no pictures of Ted on her phone whatsoever.

Following his lead to look at the door behind him, Cass laughed. "Oh man, I haven't picked up a game in...8 years." Same amount of time as the series Cid was looking into for her. "I've probably missed all sorts of good things." Shoot, what was the last game she'd even played? "I think the newest game I've played was....I started Dead Space?"

She probably didn't know there were sequels.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Cid cackled, out and out cackled, before he simply smiled. "You will be perfect to work here. Hell, I know someone who might want to give you some work if you can do good voices ..."

There was a knowing smirk on his face about those pictures though. It was the smile of a man who totally knew what kind of shifty role-play forums people got up to (because he was probably there and he was probably being terrible). Yet any response he had disappeared the moment she mentioned what her last game was.

He stared.

"... what's your schedule like tonight?" he asked, his tone entirely serious.

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

As Cid laughed, Cassandra just smiled and smiled. "I can't say I have a wide array of voices, but I've filled enough shoes that I have a voice for everything." She'd never considered herself good at impressions, but she did consider herself able to fit into any mold as needed.

The serious tone made her frown. It seemed so uncharacteristic of Cid from her limited interaction and she shrugged lightly. "My schedule tonight is 'Chinese food with Ted'." Which essentially meant 'Home alone with my Roomba'.

"Why?"

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"Mm, maybe want to, you know, break up that traditional date? Though you could bring Ted with if you wanted but clearly you need to get in some good solid game time and you're more than welcome to do so ..." Cid was absolutely serious too. Come play video games, Cass, come play scary video games.

"I mean, you've missed the Dead Space sequels and SOMA and there's just a LOT of good horror stuff that's out there. Don't even get me started on Bloodbourne." He shook his head, smiling once more. "Point is, you must reacquaint with your roots."

Especially if she was going to work here. Cid believed in his employees at least having some knowledge of what they were selling but sometimes he just wanted to make sure they got their nerd on.

demon_pachabel