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Post by Clove on Aug 27, 2021 14:36:33 GMT -8
Clove was surprised that Zam was interested in the most western land series of White Cat Clan memorabilia. The Toy Clan were the protectors of the sacred tower of Korin and absolute cat fans. However, the writing on cat posters were part of the native language, and it was too soon for Zam to learn a second one. In the end, since she was interested at first glance, there was no shame in explaining it despite how advanced the writing was.
“The language written here is different from the rest of earth. It will take you a long time but maybe you can remember it if I teach you what it means.” Clove hovered over the posters, her feet never touched the ground since she was not wearing any footwear in public, and she used her finger to point at the tea pot, “This means Kami which we know as God.”
The Tea Clan Princess pointed at the red seal over a pot of senzu beans, “This means Genki. Which can either mean Energy or Good.” The poster next to it with the orange tabby cat, “This means Neko as you may know as Cat. These are the promotional posters for children’s story books written by the White Cat Clan who are descendants of the Grand Duke Yajiborobe. My youngest sister Juniper Tea, is married to the heir of the White Cat Clan, Koma Toy, together they formed the Dandelion Clan.”
The information might have been too much for Zam but she needed to learn there was so much she was missing out on unless she learned to read. Clove hovered over to the book shelf to pick out a few of the picture books which were written in the language the Majin understood so far. One of them was an alphabet book just like the one from the zoo, except it was different cat breeds, like the ones in the poster. A nice ten inch stack of books was placed in the bubble gum pink demon’s hands when she asked if there were any with her kind.
“Of course, Mr. Satan’s Neighborhood. Majin Boo was his accomplice. Majin Moo’s also has a few books.” Clove nodded as she hovered over to pick up thin comic book with the duo, gathering at least ten of them, and each cover had an illustration of the pair eating chocolate bars for the most part. From the Majin Moo’s collection she picked up a large hardcover illustrative book which featured 31 flavors of ice cream, each one was a different colored Majin holding the frozen treat that complimented their skin tone.
The 31 Flavors of Majin Moo’s was opened, a taupe colored majin was holding a cone with almond ice cream, topped with almond shavings. “A is for Almond.” Clove began, as she flipped through the next page, which featured a yellow skinned Majin with a banana ice cream, and continued flipping, going over each letter of most of the alphabet, and what the word spelled. Perhaps this way it would be easier for Zam if she learned how to read the entire Majin Moo’s menu. Almond Banana Bubblegum Butter Pecan Chocolate Mousse Royale Cherries Jubilee Cookies N' Cream Coconut Cotton Candy Daiquiri Ice Eggnog Fudge Gold Medal Ribbon Hokey Pokey Jamoca Almond Fudge Lemon Custard Mango Tango Mint Chocolate Chip Oreo Cheesecake Pistachio Almond Pralines 'n Cream Pumpkin Pie Rainbow Sherbet Raisin Rocky Road Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream Snickers Ice Cream Strawberry Cheesecake Vanilla Very Berry Strawberry Watermelon Sherbet [523]
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Post by Majin Zam on Aug 28, 2021 10:34:28 GMT -8
Mesmerized by Miss T’s ability to read even difficult squigglies, Zam listened intently. “Kami...?” The word was repeated with a strange, hollow mutter. Her brow furrowed and smiled flipped into a sour frown. For a reason she couldn’t put into words, she didn’t like that word. Not one bit. It just felt... annoying. Like she wanted to blow the whole world word away. Fortunately, the chaotic creature didn’t dwell on the strange impulse for long. Instead, her gaze continued following the pointing finger. All this information was making her head spin... But it was the good kind of spinning. It filled her head in a nice way. Her curiosity was sated. For now. The little Majin dutifully took the slowly growing tower of books. Even as it climbed closer to a teetering size, she didn’t mind the weight. She was much too busy beaming over a familiar figure. “Mister Satan and Mister Boo~!” Of course she recognized her two greatest idols! Clove was slowly inching up to challenge them for the number one spot, but for now the reigning champs held onto their titles. Associating the alphabet with tasty treats was a risky move, a double-edged sword, with how easily the little glutton got distracted. Luckily, she had enjoyed a filling lunch before this meeting. So the gamble paid off. Her golden gaze was like a laser beam on each page, scanning each letter. They were burned to memory. She repeated every word softly under her breath for further effect. When she liked something, she learned quite quickly. ...Well, at least with fighting it worked like that. Words were a little trickier, but the teen was making progress. “Ooh... Bubblegum...” She stretched her hand from beneath the book pile and tapped the pink, smiling Majin on the page excitedly. “So that’s what that word looks like! That’s what my other demon friends call me!” She did look a lot like a wad of bubblegum that had come to life. In the depths of that usually vacant mind, a rare thing occurred... A headache with pictures. Or an idea, as some called them. “Hey, Miss T...! If you put together Mango, Almond, Jamoca, Ice and N’, then...” The sparkle of realization twinkled brightly in her eyes. “Does that spell... Majin?”Words: 378 | 2898 Natural PL at start: 46,011 Tags: Clove
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Post by Clove on Aug 30, 2021 22:52:22 GMT -8
It was apparent that it was too soon to discover a new language apart from there being many existing languages on earth. Zam easily became distracted by familiar names of people she personally cared for despite how old they might have been in the present. The attention to the Majin Moo’s 31 flavors illustrated book allowed the Majin to repeat the name of each one by mouthing it out without making any sound. “Bubblegum? Well...that’s a cute nickname.” Clove nodded at the revelation. After finishing the entire book, Zam made an analysis of another word she was very familiar with, revealing her ability to piece the flavors together to spell out Majin. A demure chuckled escaped Clove’s lips, she covered her mouth with her black gloved hand, attempting not to be too loud in her excitement. “That’s correct. Now you can spell your own name.” Clove assumed Majin was her demon clan name therefore it was her family name, “You can also spell out the names of your friends and practice writing it down too. Preferably on something you already own. Which reminds me, in order to own these books, we need to pay zeni for them. Let’s go check out at the service counter.”
The Tea clan Princess placed the Majin Moo’s book on the top of the towering pile Zam was holding then gestured for the bubble gum pink majin to follow her flight path towards the employees of the bookstore. Fortunately, it was not a long queue to make a purchase, and the bizarre looking staff were wearing aprons who offered both demons a bow of respect. “Thank you for choosing our bookstore, loyal customers.” The trio of blue apron wearing earthlings sounded off at once. The skeleton employee walked around the counter, waiting for Zam to place her stack on the counter to begin the transaction, and during the wait the ki infused bones spoke out loud. Clove disagreed by nodding her head, Zam had only touched the surface of learning to read, it was far too soon to explore any other genres this early on in her erudition. “Perhaps, someday. Not right now.” The crimson iris eyed demoness affirmed. [365] [2,974]
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Post by Majin Zam on Aug 31, 2021 1:49:29 GMT -8
Zam’s smile brightened further. She positively beamed when Miss T confirmed her guess. First step towards reading the squigglies... Success! She was a quick learner after all. Sooner or later, she would learn to write her own squigglies too. “Nyeh hee, my friends are gonna be super surprised!” In her simple mind, reading was also a form of power. And she was gonna be the strongest ever at this too! However, when the demoness explained the mystifying process of buying things, the small Majin gave her a baffled look. Like the woman had spontaneously sprouted a second head. “Why can’t we just take them?” Honesty shone through her innocent question. She glanced around, not even blinking at the odd employees of the bookstore. “These people feel weak. They can’t stop us.” For years, she had lived in a system where the strongest called the shots. The concept of honest ownership was still very vague in her mind. Luckily... Majin see, Majin do. Following the example set by the Princess, she brought the teetering tower of books over to the counter. She gave the skeletal employee a scrutinizing look, latching onto the odd words. “B... L...?” The newly learned letters swirled inside her mind. Suddenly her eyes sparkled with a realization. Of course! “Oh, you like Banana Licorice, Miss Skull? I like Mint Chocolate Chip.” ...Well, it was the only reference point to letters she currently had, so naturally she clung to it. Fortunately for everyone involved, she wasn’t that quick to learn. Still very much in a learning mood, Zam watched carefully how Miss T would do this paying zeni thing. She had collected a pile of it during her adventures, but had never figured out any use for it... It didn’t even taste good! But now... She was on the verge of learning a new trick~! Words: 307 | 3205 Natural PL at start: 46,011 Tags: Clove
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Post by Clove on Sept 3, 2021 10:16:24 GMT -8
“It is because they are weak, that they work for zeni, to survive.” Clove nodded at Zam, “Zeni pays for their living daily expenses. Meanwhile, people who are stronger, are capable of accomplishing great feats. Paying for the books is a responsible thing to do. The zeni we spend here pays the wages of the workers and the authors for the books so they can create new material in the future.”
The skeleton began to chuckle, “Banana Licorice! How creative.”
The pile of books were scanned by their barcodes, the stock quantity was updated on the computer system, and the price was displayed for the customers to see over the register. Once the entire tower of books was scanned the final total displayed $1,000 zeni.
“Will that be cash or credit, loyal customer?” The jawbone mandible moved to produce the sound.
“Cash.” Clove nodded, reaching into the pocket of her designer sleeveless kimono, and produced a roll of zeni bills. The first bill was Hercule Satan on a thousand zeni bank note which she handed over to the pink Majin. “One thousand zeni. You can tell because of the number of zeroes on this bill is four. However, there are different types of bills with different currencies. Like this one.”
A hundred zeni bill note was handed over which featured Oolong in his prime. “That’s my grandfather Oolong Tea on a one hundred zeni note with two zeroes. You need ten of these to pay for the purchase…”
Clove figured Zam was less likely to surrender the Hercule bill, which had Majin Buu as a cameo in the background of the Bill design, so she unrolled nine more Oolong Bills to hand over to the demoness.
“Now set ten Oolong Bills on the counter to pay for our purchase. You can count right, Zam-chan?” [305] [3,279]
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Post by Majin Zam on Sept 4, 2021 23:34:55 GMT -8
Zam tried her best to follow the explanation. ...Erm, the keyword being ‘tried’. However, with each emphasized word, her expression grew more puzzled. White wisps of steam started slowly drifting from her head. In her wild imagination, Clove’s explanation orbited her like a spinning carousel. The golden orbs were turning, turning and turning, until they resembled swirling spirals. She was looking juuust a little wobbly there. Nope, she didn’t get it at all. Unfortunately for the simple Majin, things were about to get a whole lot more complicated. She took the bill and studied it curiously. At first she smiled, because she recognized her heroes. “Ooh, Mister Satan and Mister Buu~!” But then, Miss T dropped perhaps the most confusing bomb of information the chaotic creature had ever encountered... Zam shifted her attention between the two bills. “More zeroes means more good...?” Her jaw didn’t know whether to drop or to voice her confusion. As a result she stumbled all over her words. “But but... H-how can more... more nothing be... be m-more something...?” Having no knowledge was easy, but having a little knowledge was incredibly confusing. Luckily, for everyone involved, a distraction was provided. The Majin’s expression immediately brightened, when she was asked if she could count. “Yup yup, I can!” She could count all the way up to eleven! Not sure what came after that though... Oh well, didn’t matter! Eagerly she started placing the bills on the counter, counting each one with great care. “One... Two... Three...”However, when it came to number ten, the little demon suddenly stopped. She stared at the figure long and hard. Then her gaze turned up to the tall demoness. She squinted at the woman with odd intensity, then back at the bill. Wisps of steam were beginning to rise, again, from her poor, overheating head. Finally, after several awkward seconds, she finally piped up loudly. “You don’t look like Grandpa Oolong at all!” The obvious was presented like it was the answer to a grand mystery. Meanwhile, much to the flustered clerk’s relief, the child placed the last bill onto the counter as well. And without prompting too. Thank goodness! The transaction could be completed, while the valued customers continued chatting. Words: 371 | 3576 Natural PL at start: 46,011 Tags: Clove
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Post by Clove on Sept 5, 2021 23:40:38 GMT -8
The question about zero’s having more meaning between the bills was widely understood. Clove smiled since it seemed math was rather complicated for the pink Majin.
“The zero’s represent the value whether it is higher or lower. More zero’s mean the higher value, on the thousand zeni Hercule bill, less zero’s means lower in value on the Oolong bill.”
Fortunately, Zam was capable of counting up to ten, once all the bills were placed on the counter the skeletal hand reached out for all of them since they were surrendered in exchange for the books. The cash register opened with a chime, the bills were placed into the till, and the closed. A receipt was printed out, which was rather long, until it stopped, and then a holographic card on a thin metal strip was handed over.
“Thank you for your purchase, loyal customers. Here is your receipt as proof of purchase and our loyalty card. For every tenth book purchased at our chain of stores, you will get a book free, I went ahead and applied the discount for this transaction. Please come again!”
Clove then used an empty dyno capsule from her pocket to store the books in handing it over to Zam to take.
“Have you used this before? You click the top and all the books will come out. When you’re done you just need to click the top again and throw it to gather all the books back inside.”
When Zam asked why she did not look like her grandfather, she grinned, her sharpened demonic teeth were revealed between her lips.
“How about now?” The Tea Clan Princesss pushed her nose up to look like pig snout, “Do I look like my grandfather this way, Zam-chan?”
After a chuckle, she lowered her hand, and reached inside her pocket to pull out a CapsuleCorp phone with a large screen. Opening a gallery of family photos, her brother Ma-Te, her grandfather Oolong, and her father Pine Tea who looked like pigs.
“Only the males in my family have a chance to look like pig beastmen, while the females look like their demon mothers, that is why I have demon eyes, since my mother was a demon with the same colored eyes, except hers were gold like yours and one was black sclera while the other was white.”
Clove scrolled through her photo gallery, then pulled up a photo of her mother, and showed it to Zam. [409] [3,688]
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Post by Majin Zam on Sept 6, 2021 23:01:11 GMT -8
Sadly, even Clove’s best explanation wasn’t enough to clarify the mysterious attributes of zero to Zam. In fact, it only caused a couple more wisps of steam to drift from beneath her hair. At least she now knew Mister Satan was better than Grandpa Oolong. Progress...? The puzzled girl watched, equally mystified, when the tall demoness suddenly made all the books disappear. “Magic...” She muttered softly. Taking the dyno capsule, she studied it closely. Her pale horns wiggled curiously, trying to feel the strange item’s secrets. She was almost scared of pressing the odd button. Older demons always yelled at her for messing with their magical stuff. ...It didn’t stop her, of course, but it didn’t feel nice either. Zam glanced up from the capsule, to see Miss T pushing her nose into a familiar shape. She blinked. Suddenly, her cheeks puffed with a laugh too hasty to escape. “Pfffft~hehehehehe~!” Majin see, Majin do. Giggling gleefully, she mimicked the nose trick as well. “Yup yup! Now you look a lot like him~! Oink oink!” She agreed eagerly. When the awesome adult showed off even more magic, the baffled child’s jaw dropped. “So many pictures! In a tiny magic stone!” She was blissfully ignorant about the wonders of technology. Maybe it was better that way. Tech and carelessness didn’t mix well... Nor did tech and magic. Less sophisticated electronics had this strange way of malfunctioning in her presence. All she needed to do was press too many buttons too hard. Very mysterious. Luckily, the chaotic creature was so stunned that she settled for watching. Her curious gaze shifted between the screen and the demoness a couple of times. Finally, she nodded excitedly. “She’s pretty! Like you~!” A bright smile underlined the carefree compliment. She was beginning to understand how this stuff worked! Miss T was a girl, so she looked like her mom. Simple! Zam returned her attention onto the capsule, before stuffing it down her cleavage. It sank way deeper than the cloth would suggest. Humming happily, she rose from the floor, getting ready to leave. “Hm hee~ This was a lot of fun~! Thank you so much~!” She got new stuff and a new adventure. “I wish I had a magic picture of you, Miss T... Then I could show it to my friends!” Fortunately for the privacy of the entire world, the bold and curious creature was not familiar with phones and selfies. Words: 402 | 3978 Natural PL at start: 46,011 Tags: Clove
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Post by Clove on Oct 15, 2021 2:29:06 GMT -8
After a laugh, Zam looked at the pictures saved on Clove’s phone of her mother, the smile faded slightly since she was no longer living; the main reason she left home to train at a monastery rather than deal with being around her new siblings. The Tea Princess sighed then nodded in agreement when the Majin said she was pretty and wondered if she could take a ‘magic picture’ to show her friends. While she had a camera on her phone, she figured it would be better to have one professionally taken. “There is a photo studio across the street who can take our picture.” Clove pointed in the direction of the building. “It will not take long.”With her bare feet hovering on the ground, she practically skated across, offering a wave to the staff at the bookstore then ventured outside through an open door. At the photo studio they were greeted by a bottle eye glasses photographer. Clove explained to the photographer that she wanted a photograph taken and printed with her giant form released. However, since it was Zam’s first time posing for a photo she needed some time to teach her how it all works first. “Okay. Just stand over here by the black backdrop and I will set up some low lighting for the effect.” The photographer turned on a few lights outside of the backdrop to capture the giant form which was explained as fiery red butterflies with their own ki glow. “Alright Zam. You’re going to look at the photographer when she takes our pictures but first you have to pose.” Clove started by posing herself, she placed one hand on her hip, kept one foot forward, and tilted her head. “You want a three quarter stance, instead of straight ahead, or on your side. It is more appealing this way and confident. So go ahead and try it first.”[317] [4,005]
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Post by Majin Zam on Oct 19, 2021 3:59:20 GMT -8
The suggestion was met with a cocked head and a puzzled stare. “Phoo-too... stud-iio...?” Zam was trying her very best to understand these strange words. Still, always eager for adventure, she followed along across the street. Carrying the big bags full of books and treasure didn’t even slow her down. While the demoness discussed with the photographer, the majin dropped the bags and looked around curiously. The photo lady had super weird eyes too... They looked like glass! She studied the mysterious totems that stood on three legs and had a weird box on top. Then some of the lights went out. All of a sudden, her expression brightened and eyes twinkled with a rare spark of understanding. Oh, she knew what this was...! A magic ritual! Zam nodded eagerly at Clove’s instructions. “Mhm mhm~” Those golden eyes watched keenly, learning, or rather absorbing every motion. Having to do certain poses and look at the strangely-dressed shaman... Yup, definitely a ritual. Older demons did stuff like this all the time. Just with more noisy chanting and smelly smoke. She already liked this ritual better. Though the curious creature didn’t understand half of the fancy instructions, she was a natural talent at imitating. Majin see, Majin do, you know. She mirrored the cool adult’s pose, placing one hand on her hip, bringing a foot forward and tilting her head. Of course the impressionable kid wanted to be exactly like her idol. The Majin glanced back at the Princess a couple of times, making sure she got the magic pose thing right. She even tried imitating the woman’s features, though her rubbery face quickly snapped back into its usual shape. Oh well, a wide, cheeky grin suited her far better anyway. Once Zam was happy with her pose, she looked up at Clove and beamed. “Like this?” Approval was very important to her. She wanted this magic ritual to make the best picture! “What next?” Would they say the magic words next? Words: 330 | 4308 Natural PL at start: 46,011 Tags: Clove
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Post by Clove on Nov 6, 2021 14:09:42 GMT -8
Clove watched as Zam quickly learned how to pose for the camera, by this point the photographer finished setting up, gave a hand gesture and stood behind the tripod to take their pair of demoness’ pictures. As an Oolong descendant, the Princess was able to transform her red hair into flames, as well as expel her giant form into fiery red butterflies, and she posed similarly to the Majin as she cast the effect to add to the lighting of the photograph as planned. After several photos were taken, the lights were turned back on, and the bottle glass woman retreated into a room with the film to have printed on a CMYK process. After several minutes, she returned with a series of photographs of different standard sizes, which were handed over to Zam. The red iris demoness paid for the service, as well as a blank album to store the pictures in, then looked over the pink Majin’s shoulder to see which size was preferable. “It turned out great. Now you can show your friends. Choose the ones you want to keep and I can keep the rest.” She smiled as the flames of her hair faded away. “You can have this, too.” Clove handed over the album, “Take more pictures with your friends and then put them all in here until you fill every page.”[227] [4,232] Majin Zam
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Post by Majin Zam on Nov 10, 2021 9:20:28 GMT -8
Excitement bubbled within the bubblegum-colored girl’s soul. She had never taken part in a magic ritual quite like this one. Most rituals were more sparkly and tingly. At least that’s how they felt to her. Ooh, but her surprise only grew when the fiery demoness busted out her power. She was so mesmerized she almost forgot to look at the magic box. Just almost though, thankfully. Little did she know just how magical it would turn out... Once the flashes of light ended, Zam rubbed her eyes. Yup yup, there was that sparkly feeling too. She watched with quiet curiosity, as the phoo-too magic lady went somewhere. Her pale horns wiggled, but failed to understand what was going on behind those closed doors. This magic... felt like... nothing! Super mysterious magic... Soon enough, the mysteries were revealed. The excited creature took the pieces of strange paper and studied them carefully. Her eyes slowly widened, glimmering with tiny stars. “It’s... me...! And you...!” Looking up at the demoness, she flailed excitedly. “Look, look! It’s us!” Her little mind was blown! And Clove wasn’t even done yet. Once Zam was done picking her favorite pictures, she was handed a whole album. But it was empty... The point eluded her until the wise woman spelled it out for her. “More pictures... With friends...” She repeated. Suddenly, the little Majin’s smiling lips trembled. She sniffled weakly. Soft, glimmering pearls formed in her eyes, as warm emotions overwhelmed her. To her, these were far more than just some pictures... She had gotten her very first treasure. She nearly lunged at the woman, but the advice from earlier echoed through her mind. So instead, she gingerly spread her arms. “H-hug...?”Words: 284 | 4592 Natural PL at start: 46,011 Tags: Clove
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