The line for the Twin Souls book signing extended well past the book store entrance and around the nearest street corner. Fans of all ages were lined up there, from the middle-aged mother wearing a shirt with the design from one of the movie posters who had dragged her young children with her to the pre-teen boy dressed in his best approximation of Alcor's high school identity. All had brought copies of the books with them, often several per person. Many chatted with those next to them in line about their love of the series, their personal headcanons and ships, and their thoughts about whether the recent movie had accurately depicted the novel.
At precisely five o'clock, the line began to move, slowly but steadily. Many of the fans remained in the bookstore after having their copies of the book signed, gathering into groups that grew in size until the bookstore was positively packed.
By the time he appeared in a puff of blue smoke, the only open space in the store was that directly behind the table at which the author was sitting, her face plastered with a smile as she bestowed her signature upon hundreds of books in a row.
"I̢̘̰͇̩̎̎ ͖̫͓̲͔͈ͦ́ͮ̅̿́A̦̙͚͎ͫͨ̅͗ͩ̽ͫ͝M̜̘ ͕̖͙̖̺͞A͒͛͛̅̓̚L̘̥̜ͨ͡C̟͈̰̗̝͛͞ͅO̺̬̫̠̙̓̕ͅR̬̚ ̛͗͐ͭ͐̓̅̔T̷̩̳̜̮H͇̘͓͎̣͆ͥ̎̿Ę͕̘̬̱͇ͨ͋̿̔ ͖̮̉ͨ͐̌̆͋D͍͈̃ͬ̈́̉̃̚͞R̫̘̖͙̙͖E͚͍̗͈̗̾ͬA͖̥ͫͨͅͅM̔̅̌̑͏̺̙̩͎B̰̠̩̱̻̔͛̉̅̏̌̔E̬̮̲͙̼ͨͫ̈́͌̚Nͬ́D̃ͦͣ̆҉̜̭̜̬͎̬̻E̥̱͇̠ͤͪ̈̐ͮͮ̑R̢̗̼͚͙͒̋͒̓ͬ̑̊,͜ ̺̯̜̱͕̼̐̓͡A̩̟̙͙͋͗͡N̸ͣ̅̐ͦͩ̎̚D̅̃͑̀ ̫͓͚͕̪͝Ȉ̘̣̞̄ ̰͎͇͡ͅD͖̠̳̗̩̠̈́ͯ̈̄̒͆Ỏ̸̹̗̪͔̭̼͆̾ͨ̈̽̅ ̴͕͚̈́ͨN̙̦̻̥̗͂̃̌ͧ̄̎̆͟O̞͓͉̓̈́͛Ṫ̴͕ ̰̫͖̋̒̆̑ͩA̧̗͇ͬ̽̓ͅṔ̯͕̭͋͟ͅP̝͍̹̙̫͍̝̔ͮ̇̈́͠R͓̖̮͇ͮ̔ͣ̽Ȍ̵̠̖͖̗̒̐Ṿ͖̮͚ͥ̔̾̑Ḛ̦͕̹̐̈́̈́̇̓ͩ͛!̖̝͕͎ͥ̚"
The demon's greeting was largely unnecessary, as all but the most oblivious attendees recognized his appearance at a glance. Some laughed, some gasped. The author turned to catch the eye of the demon who now stood at her side, the smile leaving her face in an instant. Several people got out their phones and cameras and began taking photos and videos of the demon.
Alcor's body became covered with blue flames, and his loud, low voice echoed through the confines of the bookstore and out through the open doors into the street beyond.
"M̴͗I̅̓ͪͫZ̝̻̰͈̤͕̻̒̅̏ͮ͊̃͟A̘̚͝R̸͍̣͇̻̜̘ͥ ̨͓̱̞͕̬͙̮͛̓Iͪͦ͟S͈͇̬̮̉ͧ̉̾͗̅ ̤̜͊͂̎͂ͤN̷̟̽Ô̟̠̲͉͇̂ͧ͛ͨ̒̑͝T̖͖̹̖̭ͫ͒͆͌̓̆ ̛͛̾M̷̤̥͚̩ͣY͇̞̹̘͚͖ͣͮͤͥ͛̅ͅ ̥̬̦́̏̉̋̊W͈̻͚͚͋ͦI͓̼̹͕̮ͯ̃́F̺E̼̺̭̳̪̦̊͆̅ͨ̇͞,̖͉͖͉̖̗̳ͯ̒ͦ̈́͘ ͙̮̖̖̫̍̄̄A͂N̰ͯͬ͑͒͑ͨ̋D̵͕̤̋ͥ̐ͬ͛ ̎͛ͯ͞Y̬̭̞̤̗͕̰̓͛̏O̯̥͗Ụ͓̗͖͎̬͆̔ͬ̽ ̹̪̟̘͔̲̾́͑̊ͯͩ̓͡Ń̲̫̬̥̟͌͆̈͞É̹̗̬̔͂̋Ḛ͙͓̰͓̪̙͗̋͞D̴͕̤̬̼̫͒̿ ̖̏͒ͮͭ̓̕T̰̠̣ͪ̑͂́Ơ̟͇̰̯̯̅̌̎͆̉ͅ ̻̾̅ͪͧ̚͜S͈̣ͩ͂͜T̸̰͕̺̰̮͉̗ͪ̌ͧ̊͒O̰̹͖̫ͣͬ̾̄̋͌́P̦ͨ̏̑͑ͨͨ͗̕ ̼̾̎̉̌̋ͩͬS͐̀̈́̒ͩͭ͏͙̳̳̥̯Ǔ͍̭̝̬ͬG̭̣͓͆͂G̝͑̀ͦ̈́È̟̤̺̐͑͋̍Ṡ̷͉̝̖̼̭̈ͬT̲̪͖ͪ̎̍͆̓ͯ͌͢I̛͗̈́̔N̦̳͙̞͍͐ͪ̐͆͜G̯̹͖͓ͧͪ ̪̝̗̥͌̿͡Oͧ̑ͫ̅ͥT̛̪̺̖̭̠ͨͥ̊ͣͦ̚H̭̩͚͍̿͒̾̒E͔̹̱ͫ͂ͣ̓ͤ̿͂͜R͋ͦͦ͗̑̍͒W̹̻̗̭̊͞I̩͉̬͇̪S̯̳̣̥̗̰̠ͩ̈́ͬͮE͖ͥ̎̑͆͒̓͞!̼̰̥͕̥ͧ̏͒́ ̥͙͚̞͈̳̦ͮ̀T͍̱̎̄̿ͥ̈́́H̩̱̮͙͖̮̎̊̾̊E̦͙͍̲̮͔͍̎̽ͥ́ ͖ͮ̉M̱̩̗͍̯ͦͬͬ͂̈ͧ͆E̟͇̊̋̐̈́͜R͎̖̙͂͊ͨͭ̈̀̍͝Ȩ̠̰̰ I͋ͧ̂̏D͕̻̈͒̽̿ͅE̺̹̤̹̱̖ͨ̽Ạ͍̭͕̮̗ ̅̐̑̎̃͆ͬ́Ö̪̮̰̙̖͆F͐ͦ̒ͥ̿ͫ ͧ̔ͧ̃̏ͨ̐I̮̯͓͇̮̖̯͐̐͊͒T̴̲͙ͬ ̜̔̎ͯ͝S̜̆̃̿̎̈́Ĭ̢͈̘̻͆ͥͅC͔͉͈̹͕͕̤K̴͔̤̟̃ͯ͒̂̏́ͣÈ̷N͓̥̳̖͉̥͗̓ͯ͝S̃͐͐҉̱͍̲͖̙͇͙ ̥̠̠̺̪̩̃̊̔͗ͅM̜͚̳̠̮͑̉̐̕Ḙ̿ͮ!̖ͣ ̬͎̮ͥ̇A̲̪̐ͭ͛͗ͩ́B̬̥̻̭̲̼̬̒̄A̮̦͔͆͒N̩͚ͥ̐̿D͊̉ͨ̚̚Ȯ̬̾̈ͤ͒N̳͎͍̍ ̝͕̦̫̫͐ͭ͗͂ͯ̿̽͡T̝̫̓̆̅͂͌ͨ̋̕H͉̝̻̱̜̥̿̊̆̋͑̀ͅE̟̲͍̞͎ͨ̈͞ ͧ̔̑͋̑L̨͚͇ͮĮ̱͇̯͕̪̻̻̃ͬ̆̏ͨ͐̾E̬͕͖̘̿̋ͤS̸̟̳͚̓̄ͤ́ͩͦ̚ ͎͐ͥ ̋̍͢C͇͚̞͉̃̏̐̎͆Ò̘̼̩̺̗̙̍̽̚͘N̪̟̪̠ͫͤT̺̫͚̥̝̳ͤÀ͙̖̼̩͕͖Î̹͗̆͊͘Ṇ̤̫̓́E̶͓̹͕̖ͧͧ̾̄̊̓̊D̰̹̦̰͇̠͙̈́́ ͚ͥ̏͌W̟̻͎̺̃̏ͤI͓̳͔̯̪͈ͣͨ̇ͤ̚T͢H͛̆̋̈́ͦ͏̟̫̘̭I̎̅ͮͮ́N̖̭ͫ̌̇̃̔ ̰͉̥͚͈̤ͮ̽͌T̰̘͖ͣ̎H̝̺̠̪ͬ̄̓͜Ę̻̝̹̜̝̄̀̅Ṣ̗̭̾̆E̦͙͕ͯͭ ̠̰̌̋̎ͨ͋̂̚͟H̆O̭̘͌̉̿ͭ͒̏̚R̳͕ͧ̾͆R͏̥̪̯̩Ī͇͙̼̻͓̆̔̍ͫͦ̊͟B̥̗̼̟̠̼ͦ͋L̥͕̝̫ͯ͒͂͡E͑̄̍̄ͯ̐ ͆͘B̞̭͚̖̯̒ͫ̋̒͌̃O̳͈̦̭͖̥ͅOͩ̊K̷̯̠̣S͖̥̯̱̰!̧̜͖̝̜̜̝̩̃̃̇̊ͥ̓͂"
The area went silent; it took a minute or two for the book's author to weakly offer up her own thoughts.
"I- I didn't mean anything by it…"
"J̢͖̬̦̥̦ͮ͋̓̾ͅU̽̑̈̇S͖͔͎͈ͨ̒̽ͥT̞̤̪͎͒̉̑̏ͮ͞ͅ ̥̫̫̄͗̌͆ͫ̓S͖͖̝̩̮̝̓̌̎T̪̰̭̟̹̞ͨ͒ͨͮͪ͛̏O̡̮͇̼̪̤̊ͧP̼ͫ͠ ̠͎͔̮ͯ̈̂̊̆ͥ͝I̴̘͈̲̣̪̥̟͑̇̏͂̈ͩ̍T̬̭̱̩̠͌ͮ̓ͥ̽!͖̙̑͛ͦ̐͑ ̦̖̜̤̩̜̫͋͞I̶̞͎̻ͯF̢̙̟͎̪͈̌ͣ ̅̍ͥ̊̑͆̆̕ỸͪȌ̝͓͉̘̊ͅU̼̇ͥ͊͒ ̘͎̀̌̕G̣͚̿̈́͂Ŭ̖͛̇̏͗ͧ͊Y͎̗̤̩̼ͅS̳̲͇̟̜ͨ̈́̾̐ͅ ̥̲̱̟͓̝̞̊̍̇ͩͦͩḲ̠̟̻̱̠͍͐̎͟E̥Eͤ͟P̸͙̼̙̞͖̯͇ͮ͐͆ͦ̎̿ ̩̦͕̭̪̯̆̌͞R̾͑͋͆̐̾͏̠̩̖̻̦E̼̮̣Ä̯͕̼͕ͮ̀͒͂ͬ̂D̪̞̺̥̯̱̐͒ͨ̑̾̂͑I̽ͮN͖̬ͪ͒̋̇Ǵ̟̼̰̞͐͌̽͑ ̶̺͙͇̣̂ͥ͊̔T̪̹̖̦͚̻̺ͮ̈́̔̎̌H͙̎̎̓̍ͤ͒ͮ͞I̥ͥ͋̋̇ͧS̗͚͉͊́͊̏ ̊͏̝͙̜̮̪ͅT̺͇ͨ̍̽͋̅͌͘R̤͈̠̠͙̭̃̌̽ͅȀ̝̤͇͖͒͊̿̆̄S̷̰̮̯͉͖ͧͤ͋̋͑̚Hͦ́̑ͮ,̜̗̗̫ͪ͋ͭ̅̐̀ͅ ͉͙͖̎̆͑̄ͭI̓̌ͮͦ͝ ̳͙̹͉̖̳̳̔ͧ̽ͦͯM̤̲̫̜̼͑A̶͎ͩ̄Yͦ̎́͌ͩͨ ͓͉̘̩͕̃͒ͧHͣͥ҉͇͍̪A̞̾͛ͬ̃V̪͚̈́͗́ͬË̖̪̬̖́ͬͧ̌͑ ̛̘̪̍̎̿ͦͪ̌T̜͇͍̬̍̈̉̑́͐̏O͉̩͉͎͙͂ ̼̯̊͗Ḍ̠̭̗̺͡E̷͇̯̟̲̱ͨ͊͗ͯ̂Š̥ͫ̎̃͋̔̆͟T̬̻̆̍̾ͯ̌Rͪ̔͗̀ͭͦO͖͉̱̺͈̽̍Y͖̗̓́̚ ̧͎̔̾̐͊̄̿E̫̘V̺̪̙͎̠̋̊͊̆̓E̸ͣ̑̚R̩ͣ͆ͮY͓̥͇̣̐̀͋͜ ̄͆͡C͖͕̯̠̥̞ͯͪͅO͕͓̫̤̥ͪ̇̅̔̐́P̩̳̳̬̤̹̌̉̿͘Y̨ͩ͒̎͗ ̯̯ͩO̙ͯͯ͌̂͛̋͜F̳͉̜̒͗̆ͤ̈́͜ ̵̝̖̊̋̃͒ͥͦT͡HE͚̹̱̺͢ ͎̞̜ͪ͆̾B̡̘̠̘͍̒̾͆̉ͦ͐Ọ̔̑̔͋O͓̳͕̖͚̬͗́ͅK̛͙̫̝̺͓͓̳̽̋S̟̋ ̙͈̞̼̣M̫͖̝̺̰̭ͦ͑̑͑͛Y̫̏͛̀̍͐S̄͒Ḙ̼L̻̞̹̤̫̥ͦ̋̋̈́ͪ̓̚F͙̻̙̳̬ͩ͌̐ͫͪ͘!̞͕͉̀ͮͦ̓̿̂"
A few of the fans in attendance glanced down towards their copies of the books in question.
"H̺͟E̟͈̰̤̟͗̚Ë̘͕͍̳͚ͭ̊Dͦ ̨̻̺͚͎͈̅M̳̬̜̓͋̌̎̉͌Y̭͌̈ͦ̋ ̢̹͕W͍͗̓̓͒ͭ́̈O͕̠̮̳̘ͤͥ͟ͅͅR̜͖͓͉̺̝̲͗̾͆͋͗̚Dͭ͊̀͛̾̄̂͏̯̬̤ͅS̮͕͎͕̎̉ͫ,̜́ͨ̽̚ ̻̬̱͚̯̘̮̽ͣͥ̆͐̄A͎̥̟͋̇̊ͣ̔̈̏Ṉ̱̫͖͊̽̀͌ͨ̚D̜̺̰̩ͭ̎͊̚̕ ͎͔̤̲̪̺ͪ̇̾͗ͦD͉̘̦̻̜̰͊ͧ̿̒ͭͮͫͅO̯͎̼͚̩͜ ̷̑̿̾̊ͬ̍Ṋ̻̙̗̼̘͍́̃̾̒ͫO̜ͧͫ̐̅̓T͈̠̟͚͍͓̪͋ͪ ͍̮̉̉̇T̂ͨ̋̔̒͢Ȩ̹͍̉̒̓̈Ṣ̓ͩ̑͆̓̇ͅT̝͉̼̫̞̠̲͑̉̇ͤ ̘̜̭̦ͭ̇͠M̮̹̠̰̬̗͕̃̒ͦͤ͘Ė̃̒̾̔̃̓ ̢̲̪̰̳̟̲ͣͬ̉̿́̒̽O̧N̘͎̖͓͒͗͌ͣͤ͝ ̨͕̰̰͎͇̤͈̈́ͮ͐̾Ţ̎ͤ̈H̹͓̲̒I̜͎̰͙͕̘̰S̖̞̳͖̅̀ ͓͆̃ͯͨ̏̐ͭM̗̩̙͕̹͈̀͑̉̃̃̾̚ͅA̭ͣ̉̓T̂͆̑ͨͪͨ͋T͈͙̼̘̬̘̟̋͑͐ͦE̢̗̦̣̗͇ͤ̉̃͗̎ͦR͔͔͚ ́ͥ͗̇̑̇̚͟A̬̝͙̥̳̾̿͟N̦Y̛̪͇̙̠̏ͥ ̍ͭͦ̎̀ͯ҉͇̮̠̞̥F̟̰̪̺̓ͦͪ̎U͖͇͓̹͂̿͊ͫ̕R͎̲̲̗͙ͭͫ͆̇T̤͎̟ͭͣͦͦͪ̓̚H̸͈͇̥ͤ̂̃̈́E͙͔̟͙̿̔ͪ̂ͪŔ̼̰,͙͍̤͚͜ ͫͫ͊͋ͥO̴̜ͬ͛̌R̭̮̮͚̔̏̋ͦͦͅ ͔̦͂ͅY̳̲̹̦͓͂̏O̙̦̹U͖͍̣̗̳͈̎̔ͨͥ̔ ̠͍̋ͯ̎̌͑͌ͦSͤ̏͗̚͏̭͖͓̫̻̳̮H͇͙̼̪̲̹ͨ̈ͧ͟ͅẠ̠̹̺̑L̇̂̓̑͡Lͬ̋̈̚ ̝͓̥̥͚͕̩Ṙ̠͌̆̒̏̾ͫ̕E̮͘G͔̯͉̰̮ͣ͛ͧ̔̐̋̉ͅR̶͔̲͌̆͌̅̈́E̅̔͑̅̅͗͏͚̲̮̦T̓͏̺̳̟̦͉ ̛ͬ͆͑͛̾͊Īͯ͊ͫ͂҉̙͚͚̟͓͖̹T̨͖͉̂͑ͯ̄ͅ.̝̦̭̪͙̀͋ͪ̆̅́ͮ͟"
And with that, the demon disappeared in another puff of smoke, leaving behind an ashen-faced author and a number of confused fans.
After some hesitation, the conversations exchanged by the attendees resumed, though most now focused on the event that had just passed.
"Man, those special effects were great! I wonder how they did all that?"
"Wait, does this mean they won't have Alcor and Mizar marry in the next movie? Because that would suck."
"I told you guys Alcor/Woodsman was canon!"
"What? This is clearly promoting Mizar/Woodsman. Have you even read the books?"
"I swear I've seen that actor somewhere before…"
"Why didn't they just use the guy who plays Alcor in the movie? The person up there didn't look the same at all. Seems like a waste, if you ask me."
"It's just a stupid publicity stunt, you guys. Stop freaking out."
"I'm so glad I managed to catch that all on my phone! I bet my video's gonna go viral!"
And, slowly, the line began moving once more as the author resumed signing books, though the smile that returned to her face was thinner and weaker than before.