Ryslig IC inbox

[girlcorrupted]

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[girlcorrupted]

I've never been to one.

[ Not in person, at least. But spying on corporate galas through security bots probably doesn't count. ]

[hairday]

No worries! I mean, that's why I said theoretically. How do you think being in a room full of people drinking and probably dancing would sit with you?

I'm talking about Clint Barton's big get-together.

[girlcorrupted]

I...am sure I could manage without much issue. Maybe not the dancing part. ^_^;

[ She's holding back here, honestly Angel would love to go to a big fancy party. But like always, asking for things directly is really not her strong suit. ]

However, I don't have much in the way of attire. Parties like that require a high dress code.

[hairday]

So yeah, that's the opposite of a problem. Picking out the perfect thing to wear is part of the experience AKA fun.

[ Speaking as someone whose favorite time of year was unequivocally prom season. ]

I'm still in the process of getting my wardrobe back up to standard, so, you know, window shopping? Together? Next weekend? That could happen.

[girlcorrupted]

Okay. But fair warning: my sense of fashion, in this place or otherwise is somewhat lacking. So long as you're ready to advise me on what not to wear, let's commence shopping!

[ She didn't have the best direct guidance for styling, considering her fathers love for gaudy colour schemes and layering. Even with her untrained eye, she knew it looked bad. And she had given up thinking about clothing for herself a long time ago, accepting whatever Jack provided for her. ]

[hairday]

I'd never let a friend dress like a clown.

[ Unless that friend is so attached to baseball caps and camp vests that he has no choice but to give up. ]

I'm serious, at your first party ever? I'd have to be a terrible person. If you try to buy anything even slightly Ronald McDonald, I will frown at you until you put it back.

[girlcorrupted]

I have no idea what that means, but I'll trust your assertations when it comes to flattering clothing.

[hairday]

oh
he's a clown who sells cheeseburgers
long story

[ Throughout the week he'll be forwarding her little notes about clothing hot-spots he stumbles upon while working, everything from standalone boutiques "Kinda pricey" to a big Sears-esque department store in midtown Bavan "I know I said window-shopping, but..." ]

[girlcorrupted]

[ Money is no issue, and Angel makes that known before they meet. She has a well paying part time job and she "confiscated" some of her fathers money before running away. No amount he would miss, but nothing to scoff at either. She doesn't tell Steve that part though.

So when the day rolls around for their shopping trip Angel is prepared. Meeting up with Steve out front a place she's become familiar with in Bavan, the small cafe Green Dolphin.

As she catches sight of him she gives a small but excited wave, holding a small stack of magazines in her other arm. ]

Hey!- I mean, hi. Thank you again for doing this with me.

[hairday]

[ A casual wave back.

Nothing about Steve's easy, too cool for school manner betrays just how bursting with excitement he is to see Angel in person again.

Days like the one they had planned have been... much, much harder to come by than he'd like, and he wishes he could say it was the peninsula's fault. It's a problem that existed before, what with Henderson off and away for so long at his brainiac camp... and what with, well, everything else that lead to toiling away his own summer at a pointless job.

Right away, he points to the magazines. ]

Let me guess, you were doing research?

[girlcorrupted]

[ Wow, just call her out why don't you. Angel flushes at that, feeling kind of silly now that he's said it. On a closer inspection, Steve will notice that she's dog-eared pages of each magazine, with a few sticky notes poking out the top here and there too. ]

Well...I figured it would be best to have an idea of where to start. I've marked some of the pages and made annotations

[ The immediate impression Steve might get here is that Angel is taking this seriously. Maybe too seriously? But relaxing isn't her style. ]

[hairday]

[ Thing is, if his last relationship left him with anything—apart from some complex emotions—it's with a better understanding of intellectuals than he'd had previously. He can't be expected to keep up with their diligence, but he gets it! It's also a bummer when they want to spend nine hours studying instead of literally anything else, but... he gets it!

To surmise, even when Angel drops a big clunker of a word like "annotations," Steve doesn't seem put off by the explanation. ]

It's a big city, so yeah... I see the advantage. [ He's still got an eye on her annotations, in fact. Naturally, he's curious what kind of stuff caught her eye prior to any kind of tutelage. ] Sooo, any chance I can have a look? Even better, really, if you wanna give me the guided tour? [ Wait, what's the thing you do in school? ] The... oral presentation?

[girlcorrupted]

[ She let's out a restrained laugh, still feeling silly but now kind of getting into it at Steve's enthusiasm. ]

You want to see my sales pitch?

[ And she begins leafing through the top magazine in her pile, stopping on a page with a blue dress with a checkered pattern and turning it towards him. ]

I don't have much frame of reference, unfortunately. Nothing on this island really resembles the fashion you could find on my planet, or any colonies close to it. They're very...retro in this place. The fashion doesn't have to accommodate robotic limbs or changing atmospheres.

[hairday]

Your planet? [ You didn't hear it here, but Star Wars? Actually not as bad as he thought it was going to be. Let's just say at the mention of possible sci-fi in the real world, he gets a little bit of a twinkle in his eye. ] Your planet. Okay, that we definitely need to talk about later.

[ For now, though, he stays on task. She's right about the retro thing, and this blue dress is looking a little too close to a picnic blanket for his liking. If it was red checkers? Absolute no. ]

It's not bad, kind of simple. I'm getting more "grandma's barbecue" than black tie, though, which is to say maaaybe save that one for something more casual.

[girlcorrupted]

You're the second person in recent memory to be surprised by that fact.

[ She thought that people came from different planets and universes would be common knowledge around here, but perhaps it being such a benign fact to her has also made it difficult to relate to people where that isn't the case. ]

Oh...I haven't been to any barbecues either, and the ones I've witnessed were uh. Not something I would ever like to attend.

[ She flips through the pages again, landing on dress that looks straight of of the prom scene in grease. ]

These ones are fancier, at least.

[hairday]

No? ...Well, they're more of a summertime activity, anyway.

[ And here is where (unbeknownst to Angel) relying on someone from circa 1980 for personal styling tips might not be the best idea. Most Ryslig fashion is bound to strike him as too understated for the ostentatious event he's convinced himself this is going to be. ]

Still missing the wow factor for me.

[ This one's got a flirtier silhouette, at least. ]

But if you're comfier staying kinda lower key? This would be totally appropriate, especially with the pink. Have a feeling we're going to be seeing lots of it when we walk in there.

[girlcorrupted]

I don't know about pink...It's not a colour I've worn since I was a child. But I will try anything that isn't yellow.

[ She says as she closes the magazine, putting it and the others into a messenger style bag that she's wearing. ]

But you're right, we should head out and see what is actually available. Which street do you recommend first?

[hairday]

[ Steve stares up at the buildings surrounding the intersection for a moment, because that's more often how he gets his bearings than relying on street numbers, still. ]

My intuition's telling me we should go that way.

[ He finally points.

At the exact moment he does, the crosswalk lights up green. And so does Steve's face, as he looks back and forth between it and Angel to verify whether she saw that, too, before beckoning for her to walk with him. He's a wizard. ]

Seriously, we'll be tired of walking before we run out of things to look at if we stay headed in this direction.

[girlcorrupted]

[ She gives him a trophy smile at that like "Yes, the light changed at the same time, very cool coincidence." But she is charmed non the less, following after him to cross. ]

...That sounds a bit counter productive.

[ She looks up the street, eyes scanning over their options before landing on a shop with a sign where lightbulbs have been used to spell out the name of it. ]

That one looks to be as good a place to start as any.

[hairday]

[ Heigh-ho, to store #1, then.

In the window display stands a faceless white mannequin wearing a dark, curve-hugging dress and an impressively large, inky black hat that makes her look like a villainess. Steve slows up just enough to offer a passing remark upon it as they enter: ]

She's intense.

[ In other news, this place has headwear! ]

[girlcorrupted]

[ For her part, Angel is instantly struck with the memory of one miss Aurelia Hammerlock, a former partner- in a business way not...other ways- to Jack. Much more intimidating then the mannequin before them, she had ice weapons after all, but the same sort of vibe. Not something Angel has anywhere near the confidence to pull off. ]

I certainly didn't bookmark any looks like that in my studies. The fact that I could never pull it off aside, I'd rather not look so....Like I am the heir to a gun manufacturers fortune. Maybe we can find something that looks less like I enjoy snapping the necks of those who get in my way.

[hairday]

[ Steve blinks at her. ]

...Someone you know? [ Not that he can't picture that exact mannequin snapping necks, but the rest of her allusion was very specific. ] Or are gun manufacturers celebrities where you're from?

[ It's not exactly what they're here for, but he also can't not poke through some of the odds and ends on display near the entrance, picking up a sort of beret-esque thing with a bow and some netting attached. It's so small it looks more like a hair accessory, and he gives it a bewildered look as he turns it over in his hands. ]

[girlcorrupted]

Not exactly. Gun manufacturing was the entire economy of my galaxy, but it was especially prevalent on my planet.

[ She turns to look at what Steve is fiddling with, catching a look at the thing in his hands. ]

Er. Is that supposed to be a hat?

[hairday]

[ That just makes her universe sound even more like it's the setting of an action packed trilogy! ]

Where else would it go? [ Now, he won't be trying any of these on, even as a joke. He has meticulously styled waves to preserve, so he holds it just slightly above his head instead, guessing (incorrectly) at how and where it's supposed to sit. ]

I guess it's good for people who have luscious hair they don't want to cover up.

[girlcorrupted]

[ Angel snorts, a sound that really betrays her usually perfectly pieced together demeanor. ]

It suits you. Though we may have a difficult time finding an outfit that matches.- oh!

[ What's caught Angel's attention is an area labeled "Spring Fling!" full of dresses and outfits ready for the upcomming season. Maybe she's never been shopping like this, but Angel is plenty familiar with how marketing cycles work. A smart business would stay two seasons ahead, maybe even a whole year, and it meant whatever was over there would be the latest fashion. ]