driftfleet | Libuscha IV System Mingle (no. 1)

[If this was what boredom could inspire in 5 minutes good thing she didn't keep him waiting any longer. Even if she's dubious when glancing at just how varied the selection even is. Even when she picked up her current set from some waystation or other, the selections hadn't been this varied.

And again: that (patient?) nudge to find something at least... favorable, but thankfully he said to ignore the colors at present, which helps her focus, eyes scrutinizing the different styles. So many of them. So many combinations. Who gets overwhelmed by a clothing store?

She takes her time flipping through styles on the rack. Maxi dress; those were more of her usual fare, so she selects an example of each just so they'd have something to work with. Blouses with long sleeves, and long skirts maybe? Anything that would work with a wrap or a cloak of some kind, she didn't like to be without that even if she wasn't hiding under her hood consistently any longer.

And this was just picking styles. And of course, she had to wait for Taako's word. Maybe she was being too picky to think of other possibilities.]

[He's flipping lazily through a nearby rack of clothes with a Mage Hand, but watches to see what she ends up pulling out. More dresses, huh? Not a pants person; good to know. Long sleeves and long skirts - noted. Once she's finished going through everything, he pushes himself up out of the chair and grabs one of the more vogue-ish tops she rejected - a long-sleeved crop top.

Now that she has some styles chosen, he points her toward the dressing rooms.]

Go try them on. I'm getting some non-eye-bleeding colors for you. Anything that doesn't fit, discard. Let me see when you got something on and I'll tell you if it's yay or nay. Oh and you're buying me a shirt in exchange. Just so you know.

[Really, some form of reasonable tunic accompanied by slim pants wouldn't be so bad or even uncomfortable. It's not like she doesn't have a figure under there. To that end, she does glance at those combinations at least once or twice, lingering over them a bit, but with one of those discernible expressions. As in: it reminds her of a look she once used to wear, but she's not sure she should try it.

So instead, still... mostly bewildered that she was going along with it but she wasn't about to quit now, she nods. She had been wondering the sort of thing he would ask for in return for all of this, so at least he was upfront about that.]

Your terms have been noted.

[Learn to talk like a normal person, Haggar? But she'll soon disappear off into the changing rooms, to first sort out whichever size even is suitable for her frame, but she's noticing immediately that all of these colors are absolutely awful.

... At least this was only to test styles, but it's hard to be satisfied. Why is the dress style that she favored only in this yellow that matches her eyes, did he do that on purpose.]

Okay, I know exactly what I'm gettin' you for Candlenights.

[A thesaurus with all the difficult or weird words blacked out with an angry marker. Learn to talk normally!!!!

While she's in the dressing room, Taako spins through the rest of the store and grabs dresses, blouses, and skirts, some pants anyway, in different colors - cream, white, ivory, a nice beige for the pants, blues from royal to sky, greens from dusky to vibrant, and a few pieces in muted reds, oranges, and buttercream yellows. There are colored trims, accented or two-toned or patterned and everything is surprisingly tasteful, even if the colors are definitely loud compared to her usual black and gray. He's determined to force color into Haggar's life now that she's asked for it and he'll get at least one into her wardrobe if it kills them.

He comes by the dressing room and dumps a few things by the door for her, knocking on it.]

You still in there?

[You kids keep mentioning Candlenights like she's supposed to know what that is.

When he comes around to knocking on the door, she opens it a crack, if only enough for him to get a glimpse of what she had just tried on along with her expression. She's sorted through most of her initial pile, at least, but this process was just--difficult. There was definitely a want to simply disappear out of there and grab her usual styles and call it a day, but. She had asked for this help and she was going to see it through as much as he was determined to, no matter how frustrating it was.]

... I have not yet died.

[Her tone as even as ever, dark humor in the words.]

As much as it seems your intention.

[Context clues, Haggar!!!

She only opens the door a crack and for a moment Taako is afraid it's because she's still changing. But nope, it's just because she's wearing a yellow dress. He rolls his eyes at her demeanor.]

Color isn't going to kill you, you goober.

[Unless she was somehow mysteriously allergic to fabric dye.

Taako pulls the rack of clothes around and starts to push the dressing room door open.]

And that yellow needs something to break it up. A belt or something - maybe a jacket. Or a robe. Or both. Something.

[The dressing room is actually fairly spacious, so she steps back out of the way once he begins barging in, curious as to what he's bringing though also wary.]

... this was -- just for an example of the style. I am not keeping this.

[Even if something purple would probably go best with it, much like her pupils. Accessorizing was not something she had thought of either when taking the outfits to test. If she could only relax and stop fighting herself over having chosen to be in this situation, it might come easier. It wasn't as if she hadn't some kind of flair for creative extra aesthetic, at least when it came to designing armor for others. She wasn't used to the kinds of fabrics they were encountering either.]

Nope, vetoed - you're keeping it. I'll get something to go with it.

[Can't argue with him, Haggar. You appointed him in charge of your wardrobe after all - albeit temporarily. A white sash or maybe a purple belt around the waist? A lighter colored cloak on top? Yeah, that could work.

Since he's been allowed in, he drags the rack of clothing in as well, pushing it up against the wall. It significantly reduces the amount of space she has in here, but it's not like you need a ton of space when trying on clothes.]

These are the colors you'll be choosing from, but it's a mix and match. Grab whatever top and bottom you like...except?

[He rifles through the rack and pulls out three things. One is a white blouse with long puffed sleeves and a high neck. One is a loose sleeveless blue vest with a lace accent on the bottom. And the last piece is a blue and purple floral maxi skirt. He hangs these to Haggar, basically shoving them in her hands.]

Definitely try those on together.

[Even though she did put him in charge, as much as she's fighting with herself mentally over that decision.

It helps, that for all her stubbornness, he just goes harder, and there's no reason for her not to acquiesce to it. Aside from the faces she makes, but she's trying not to grimace too much. It's a little overwhelming, for something so simple. At home she'd had dozens of purple robes and black dresses all made the same way, it had not mattered to dress differently, when the High Priestess required a uniform.

At least the rack that he was wheeling in now seemed to contain choices that seem more reasonable than what he first started her off with. Even if they contained clothing shades she had not gone near in a hundred centuries. She should not have felt so conflicted over this, as much as she wanted to make a distinction for herself, too. She needed -- change.

But Taako knows none of this, even as he hands her an outfit matched together already. A good example of how to handle the process. She purses her lips, but can find no fault in it. It's not too bright and the colors... they're not searing at all, almost pleasant. He has a good eye for this even if he doesn't know why she's agreed to it at all.]

... Then I will try this on next. Why you insist upon it, I know not.

Because you look like you're trying for goth mom and ending up as funeral drab grandma.

[With the clothes passed off, Taako waves a hand in exasperation at her old outfit. He doesn't mind it on Kravitz - the goth look, it's hot as fuck honestly - but the guy knows how to accessorize and wear some color. Haggar, on the other hand?]

And funeral granny is not a good look.

[Then he turns and leaves the stall, closing the door behind him with a Mage Hand. Taako drops back into his seat to wait, kicking his feet up and using the same Mage Hand to hold them suspended in the air.]

When you've got it on, show me!

[Haggar narrows her eyes at him slightly before he leaves.

... She wasn't "trying" for anything, and it had been more reasonable to find clothing that did not stand out in any way on previous systems. Certainly, she was capable of putting things together better, if she allowed herself to do so. That struggle.

She had not truly cared enough, before. Her look on the fleet hadn't been meant to stand out or represent anything, and so the result was to be expected. Especially after her... realization, she had cared even less, until now. Until changing it.

At least she can take off this yellow dress that he insisted she keep, slip on the other set he had recommended instead. ... Too loose, on the sleeves? She wasn't certain. She studies herself in the mirror another moment longer, before allowing herself to emerge.]

And what sort of look do you consider this?

[Not that she thinks she'll understand the terminology he'll throw at her, as much as he seems to always have an answer.]

[In the time it took her to contemplate her plight and change, Taako got bored and wandered off to look at things again. When she emerges, he's changed hats to something with a long peacock feather sticking out of the band and has a new off shoulder sweatshirt on over his regular clothes that reads "EVERYDAY FABULOUS" in garish print on the front.

He looks up as she comes out and regards her, the sleeves could probably come in a little, but otherwise?]

Much better. At least you look alive for once.

[Taako jumps out of this seat and does a quick circle around her, studying the way the fabric hangs. It's definitely an improvement, but with her posture, it doesn't look at great as he'd been hoping.]

The puff of the sleeve is a little much though - you'll have to take it in for a slight alteration to pull them in and give it a less exaggerated drape with the way you like to slink around.

And...

[He grabs a gauzy scarf from the rack of clothes he sent in with her and wraps it loosely around her neck, bringing in a little green to the outfit.]

There. At least you have two things now you can wear.

[Alterations, huh. Granted, she'd probably need to do that for most of these options in some regard. At least her posture was improving over time, the curl of her shoulders less severe, likely due to the energy of the planet being so refreshing and fighting a centuries old habit.]

Alive.

[She repeats the word, and after the rest of his assessment and finishing touch on the outfit, she can't help but give a short laugh.]

I should be glad that was an attainable goal. ["Should be". It is hard, to push back her wariness, but it's important, she thinks, to take note of Taako's responses here. Since she trusted this to him, of all things.] Perhaps... I should not settle for only this.

[Taako just rolls his eyes at her remark. Of course, Dark and Gloomy would still manage to be a wet cloud even now. She has an outfit that even Taako would be happy to wear, and she acts like looking or being alive is some impossible thing. He just doesn't get it when the goth aesthetic has to extend to the personality, but whatever. She has her reasons and he has his task: annoy the shit out of her until she stops.]

You should definitely not settle for only this. Taako's benevolent advice hour only lasts so long and once it's gone? It could be a millennia before he recharges.

[Taako shoos her back into the stall.]

Try on some of the other things! Mix and match the colors. Try to not look like I ate your pudding cup while you're at it?

[Oh come on, Taako. It's not as if she could buy a new personality from the store any more than he could. They would have to settle with the baby steps on that one.

And while she was more than accustomed to the passing of centuries with little change, there was also something... refreshing about living in the moment. His helpfulness could run out at any time, after all. So when he guides her back toward the changing room, she sighs a little, but acquiesces.

Back in the trenches again. But what would work well... she pokes her way through the rack, trying not to be too picky in seeing where her hand lands for something to try. A long turquoise colored blouse this time, with a high collar and long sleeves, less bunchy than the previous shirt. Long enough that a belt would work with it, probably. A light beige skirt to go with it, though the pants might work better. She's not really thinking of that, though, mostly just wanting to choose something without taking a century in between choices. And then she needs something drapey to go over the blouse.

It really goes smoother when she doesn't fight her instincts so much. At least her return for Taako judgement time is relatively quick, all things considered. Look: an effort. Even an attempt at a more neutral expression, even if it's hard to shake the frown tendency.]

Do I still qualify among the living.

[She's out of there a lot quicker than before, but Taako now has a different belt on than he had earlier and he's looking at a nearby rack at some new scarves. When he emerges again, he turns and glances over at what she's picked out.

Not bad, actually. Maybe a little plain on the color wheel, but Taako liked to clash and make himself the center of attention and not everyone could deal with that. She's put together a respectable, if a little conservative, outfit on her own and Taako actually feels a bit of pride. Sure, he had to feed her the pieces, but she made an outfit that wasn't an approximation of her usual cloak-robe-hide-away ensemble.

Too bad her face is in a weird limbo of not-quite neutral, not-quite frown. Taako snickers at the sight of it and then gives her a thumbs up.]

I mean, other than the fact that you look like you wanna die right now? Yeah, I'd say so. Outfit #3 decided. Next time, go for more color - try some oranges or something. Add some pizzazz, huh?

I think I put a light yellow blouse in there - try that one with darker colors on top to balance. Go crazy on the bottoms.

[Her brows knit and her lips thin but she nods, returning to change yet again.

Pizzazz... was not even a word in her vocabulary, Taako. But neither had been concepts such as color and vitality. Staring at those racks of clothes and trying to figure out a conscious decision of those suggested combinations was such a far removed concept for her, dizzying almost, but here she was again. Trying.

The fact that Taako had such a pushy personality helped, in a way. It helped too, that she was willing to allow him to take such direction with her, though frankly she needed direction. It was not... unwelcome.

She finds the yellow blouse he had indicated, brows knitting at it as she starts to hold up against the bottoms to see if she could find something to pair up with it. She settles on a pleated olive green skirt, with a long sunset orange draping vest for the trim, before making her appearance again.]

I do not believe that I know what this... 'pizzazz' of yours is.

[But she finds that with each trip out she's more... eager for his opinion. Odd.]

[Adding new words to a...damn, how old even is she? Well, however old she is as an elf is Taako's great charity for his time on this planet. Pizzazz is a great word and her consternation mixed with confusion is its own reward as she slips back into the changing room.

Taako flips through some nearby racks, picks out a new feather boa and replaces his sunglasses, then flops into the chair again to wait. He sits with his legs hanging over the arm of the chair, his back up against the other arm and tilts his head back, blowing illusory rainbow colored bubbles into the air. She's taking longer this time she he didn't really give her a huge amount of direction this time, but when she emerges, he holds his hand flat and wiggles it back and forth from his lazy position in the chair.]

Color and accessories - that's beginner's pizzazz. A+ on the color scheme, but zero accessorizing makes it look plain.

There's a wide white woven belt in there. Grab that to put on top of the skirt, later on hook some gold charms through the loops and center the belt buckle closer to...

[He looks at how the vest drapes.]

Your left. Leave it a little loose so it hangs well. Add bangles to your wrists and with a cloak on top, it's good to go. Outfit 4 decided.

And you're gonna want new shoes with that - beige, green, or go crazy and get orange so it pulls the color all the way through.

... I will see if these accessories help, as you say.

[Taako throws all of the additional suggestions at her so quickly that it's lucky that her mind is able to track them all. Accessorizing... really it's not so different from designing armor, where everything has to look a certain way but there are always portents that draw the eye more. Just the way it all comes together. Rationalizing it.

Learning something new was a feat at her age, perhaps--but it was also important to realize that there were still things to learn, even after all that it brought her. All that she had built for herself was certainly lacking in places, not just in wardrobe or knowledge about food being meant to be... enjoyed.

Once she's made the corrections he suggested, she steps back out, but there's still the shoes to decide on. She hadn't even considered that she might require more than one pair of new shoes.]

Should I not have a more neutral pair so that they can go with more of these... outfits?

[It's a genuine question. He had her at four already, and who knew how many by the time they were done. She wasn't even certain when she had committed to all of this, but they had come too far to back out.]

Why not just have more shoes?

[Her suggestion is the more practical of them, and if Taako were still on the road, still needing to worry about travel space and weight, he'd agree. But here, there was ample space and no danger of immediate flight. Plus their wagon came with them everywhere. It wasn't like he had to worry about losing his stuff.

And if he did? It was only the stuff he'd gotten here in this transitory world.]

You can't have used up all the space in your closet, right?

[Owning items just for the sake of owning them was really not a concept she was familiar with. Certainly, in some ways, she gathered items, if they were of any interest scientifically or magically, but never with personal attachment. But... clothing?]

I have not, but... having one pair for the purpose to match a single outfit seems almost wasteful.

[A pause though, as she considers his words further. She was trying, so...]

Perhaps... I would not be opposed to having more variety.

[Was that a compromise.]

Libuscha IV System Mingle (no. 1)

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