Thread Roulette: Toys

[Event !]

It’s perfectly reasonable for two childless adults to be in a toy store.

[Dr. Roman Tilford]

It was perfectly normal for a thirty two year old man to be wandering around the local toy store. Really, it was. Okay, so he didn’t have kids. But he had nieces! And a nephew! A nephew that had a birthday coming up. That warranted a trip to the toy store.

And if he just happened to see some fun electronics while he was there, so be it. He was in need of a few new games, and he was planning to pick up some extra copies of the good games to give to Isaac. As long as his grades were good, of course.

Okay, he’d probably give him at least one even if his grades were in the tank. Responsibility? What was that?

He was grinning as he wandered the aisles, heading first to the boy toys. Jordan was going to be eleven this year, but he definitely hadn’t outgrown the cool stuff. Like Star Wars. But did he look at the action figures? Heck no. The big Lego sets? No, those wouldn’t work.

The light sabers that lit up? And made noises? That was an excellent present.

Too bad there was a woman right there looking at them too. Well, he might as well make friends while he was here. “Hey! Are you shopping for bratty nephews too?” Witty, Rome. Very nice.

[Robin Douglas]

What was the purpose of a mall? Business, shopping, but also fun, wasn’t that why the pretzel stand had been invented? Okay, maybe not, but Robin decided that she would try to make her mall trip at least slightly more interesting. This was difficult, because being in the mall alone was slight depressing, especially if the trip was only for a few summer clothing items and socks.

A quick swing into J.C. Penny took care of that, but now she was in the mall with no further reason. She checked her watch, it was too early to use dinner as an excuse to stay here longer. She didn’t want to hang out in the mall on her own, but since she had driven over she wanted her gas money’s worth in time.

She wandered down the mall, and then, there it was. A Toy store, a toy store that had a cardboard Darth Vader in the window. Robin made a sharp turn and walked in, wasting no time in heading straight towards their Star Wars stuff. The current great tragedy of Robin’s life was the fact that she was an only child, and therefore had no nieces of nephews to get Star Wars paraphernalia for. Also she had no children of her own, and she really just kind of wanted one of those light sabers.

Robin saw them, lined right up next to the masks. She picked up a Darth Vader mask and then reached for the light sabers when a voice interrupted her. Robin looked up, almost guiltily, and then smiled.

“No, my kid’s in the next aisle,” she said with a smile. “So is your nephew more of a Jedi or a Sith?” Then she realized she’d made a mistake. She had no kids, and while this excuse had worked once or twice before in New York, the problem was that she was no longer in the City. This was Pilot Ridge, and the chances that she would in fact see this guy again were really high. Oh Dammit.

[Dr. Roman Tilford]

Rome had the makings of a bona fide mall rat, the time he spent within the building. It was an easy way to kill time, between coffee and the bookstore, not to mention the toy store. It was by far his favorite place to kill time, mostly because of the electronics department. It was rare that a trip to the mall didn’t include at least five minutes trolling longingly down the aisles.

Yes, he really was just a big kid.

At least he could use his nieces, nephew, and even Isaac as an excuse. He wasn’t above throwing any of them out there as a legitimate reason as to why he was yet again playing with the cars, or dropping money on game systems. He also had buckets of toys in his office that needed replacing and updating every so often, so his job often became yet another reason he was allowed to play.

He’s put far too much thought into this, really.

Worse, now he’d seen the light sabers, much as he intended to get one for Jordan, well... Isaac could probably benefit from one too. And if Isaac had one, Rome needed one.

“Ah,” was all he said about the kid comment. If he had a kid, he’d probably let them wander too. The question about his nephew, however, made him grin. “If you ask his mom, he’s a Jedi. Ask me, he’s a Sith all the way. He’s a little monster.” He chuckled as he investigated the different colors, wondering just how ticked off he’d make his sister if he picked up a red one. Especially if he got a green and a blue for himself and Isaac. “I’m a Jedi, though. You?” Random, ridiculous conversations in the middle of the toy store? Yes please.

[Robin Douglas]

As Robin waited to see a reaction from the man she was speaking to she was sharply aware that she would most likely end up with her foot stuck in her mouth now. Still maybe she could buy some time and then kind of brush the entire thing off if she was lucky, that or a seven year old would drop out of the sky… Nevermind, the latter would not be lucky for her right now in the least. Luckily it seemed like he wasn’t the sort to question too much about that, which she appreciated. He was simply being friendly, and Robin was a little out of practice at this kind of friendly. Still, she wasn’t the sort to pass up a friend when he wandered into her aisle.

Despite the initial lie there.

Robin laughed at what he said about his nephew, it was the kind of thing that she sort of expected to hear. She didn’t have any nephews or nieces, but she could possibly have a goddaughter in about two months. But then Roman asked her exactly the right question and Robin was now seriously engaged in the situation.

Her brow furrowed as she considered what to say. “Well I’d say Jedi philosophically, of course, but I have to say, there is something to be said for Sith weapons.” Then Robin found it, pulling out the saber that was modeled after the Darth Sith one. She moved it from one side to the other to get both red plastic extensions to slide out. “I mean, if you have the training to handle this thing you have way quicker movement, especially because they usually wield lightsabers like broadswords.”

“Nothing else about them is stylish though, did you ever notice that? They are a really ugly lot for the most part. Then again, I have to say that the storm trooper outfits were pretty sharp, but you know what they say about white before memorial day.” Robin grinned and gave the plastic saber a twirl.

[Dr. Roman Tilford]

Considering that Roman was mostly amused with the toys, the chances of him actually remembering Robin mentioning anything about a kid were relatively slim. If she was allowed to play in the good aisles without kid supervision, well, then so was he. Maybe he’d even get one for James, because light sabers were so much cooler than swords. So much cooler. The end.

He grinned when she laughed. Sometimes he got mixed reactions to his habit of calling his nephew and nieces (at least Cassie’s) the Demon Tribe. Some, like Robin, laughed. Others scolded him for calling his family members such a wicked thing. All he was doing was telling the truth. They were little brats. Especially Jordan, being the ringleader. And his sisters were just as bad. Yes, he would definitely get a red saber. Him, Isaac, and James would get blue and green, though. Jedis all the way.

Score! He’d found someone knowledgeable in Star Wars lore. This was easily a fantastic day. “Well, yeah, Jedi principles are awesome, but you have a point about weaponry.” As if to mirror her point, he picked up a blue saber and flicked it in a practiced manner, making the tip slide out. “Jedis needed a little more creativity.”

Not that it would stop him from getting the Jedi sabers. “Hey, I heard a lot of girls thought Darth Vader was pretty cute when he was Anakin.” Granted, he had no particular opinion on that. “Darth Maul though? Creeper. All those horns? Ew. He kind of looked like a red Pinhead. And he was never getting a girl with those tattoos.” He had no illusions that facial tattoos would make him any more attractive to Kiko.

And, because he was ready a big child, he twisted his wrist and flipped the saber upright. “So, what’s better? Original trilogy, or the new one?” What was a trip to the toy store without a little sci-fi controversy?