[Mini-Mingle] A Shopping Trip

[henchgal]

Given that those who're staying at the ADI housing are getting a clothing allowance, Meredith has taken it upon herself to organize a shopping trip to the Marshalls at Gloucester Crossing. The store is full of surprising deals, and a wide enough variety of clothing that people of all genders might find something interesting. There's even some of the new fall selections in stock already.

While Meredith's been sure to grab those who obviously need a little help, and those who'll obviously enjoy the chance to get out of ADI territory, everyone's welcome to come along for the trip.

(ooc: feel free to tag around with one another as well as me, this is just a fun way to introduce our characters to one another)

Comments

Keith | Voltron: Legendary Defender

[marmoron]

[ considering this guy walked into marshall's wearing a full on spacesuit? yeah. keith's in dire need of a few outfits that aren't going to draw as much attention.

for better or for worse (worse lbr), keith is looking for casual clothe similar to the ones he favored back in his home world. so while this means he's got a cart full of very boring black and grey t-shirts and pants, he can also be found perusing the jacket section and eyeing up lovely (?) designs such as this. the boots he's eyeing are at least.. arguably less tragic.

intervene? help him actually find better clothes? ask him why the heck he's wearing space battle armor?

or alternatively, while you're standing in line at the cash register, he'll turn to your character and ask somewhat flatly: ]

This place anything like your home?

[henchgal]

It's a lot like my home. Smaller city, but the world is very similar. Right level of technology, give or take a few mad geniuses. The...everything we're here to deal with is new, though.

[Meredith eyes the contents of Keith's cart, gaze lingering on the boots.]

Those are going to stand out a lot here, for the record. You'll draw attention.

[marmoron]

[ give or take a few mad geniuses...? phrase is getting a bit of a quirked eyebrow -- keith will come back to that in a sec, first: ]

What's wrong with the boots?

[ that;s not the priority here by any stretch of the imagination, but it is the easiest place to start unpacking the conversation from. ]

[henchgal]

They'd be seen as costume wear or maybe sports gear than everyday attire. They're very loud and out of place for the sort of work we're doing.

[Meredith gestures with the end of her cane toward a display.] Now, if red boots are a must, something like those manage to convey personality without being too outlandish in style.

[marmoron]

[ keith follows with his eyes as she directs his line of sight with the cane. she's got the red leanings pegged perfectly, but the rest of what she has to say swiftly directs attention back to her, tone incredulous. ]

Hold up. We're meant to be trying to keep this reality from imploding in a doomsday scenario and you're concerned that these boots are too outlandish?

[henchgal]

We're supposed to blend in, so the general populace doesn't realize we're not from around here. That's part of the mission, too. If people start realizing what's going on, it'll cause a panic that will only feed into...well, everything.

So, we should strive to blend our personal aesthetics with the fashions of the time.

[She's thought about this a lot, clearly.]

[marmoron]

[ there's a point to be made here about the boots obviously fitting in just fine with the times if they exist and are available for purchase, but keith isn't actually going to be contrary for the sake of it. instead, he glances from meredith to the cashier -- then apparently judging that they're out of earshot, he continues to keep his voice lowered .... and keep his boot chooice in his cart. \ ]

You don't think people deserve to know what happens in their own reality?

[ his tone's neutral here; genuine curiosity speaking here, not any kind of gotcha. ]

[henchgal]

[Meredith smiles faintly, shaking her head a little before she speaks.] People fear anything they don't understand.

In the world I come from, there's people called superheroes, who dress up in costumes to fight crime, to save the world. Many of them are outsiders in one way or another. Aliens, mutants. There's one who's a fairy king in exile.

And people love them, some to the point of hero worship. And people hate them, some going as far as to dress up in costume to fight them directly. There's no one I've met who's indifferent to superheroes.

[She leans lightly on his cart, stretching out one of her legs behind her. There's a quiet pop from one of her ankles.]

ADI wants us to help save the world. And I'm glad to do that, but I think drawing attention, looking like a superhero is the absolute wrong way to go about it.

[marmoron]

[ keith isn't really sure what he was expecting here. superheroes? at least that gives some context to that off hand villain comment from earlier. ]

Superheroes are just a thing in comics where I'm from. Aliens, not so much. [ a beat. ] Military's been keeping the existence of hostile aliens secret though.

Not my first instinct to go along with an agency doing a cover up job, but I'm guessing you find them pretty trustworthy then?

[henchgal]

Oh, not in the least. I'm certain they're not being open about all they know, not telling us everything that could help make our mission possible.

[She lets out a bit of a laugh.]

But they're more useful to me than trying to strike out on my own in a world where I don't legally exist. I'd rather stick with them and get my bearings, for the moment.

[marmoron]

[ ah. so it seems a lot of otherworlders are making that same calculated decision, huh. not a great predicament to get caught in. ]

For the moment. [ echoing the sentiment with a slow nod, then: ] You said the stuff they expect from us is new to you, right? That mean you're not a superhero?

[ there was probably a more elegant way of asking "yo do you have super powers" but shh. ]

[henchgal]

No, I'm as normal as they come.

[A pause, she glances down at her cane and the corner of her lips quirks faintly.]

Slightly worse than normal, honestly, but not in the superpower sense. You know what I mean.

[marmoron]

[ she makes the comment, but keith keeps his eyes on meredith's face rather than gawking at her cane and splints. ]

Seem like you're doing pretty well for yourself regardless.

[ potentially questionable wording aside, it's not actually meant to be dismissive. some people really do have shittier lots in life, but if shiro's proof of anything it's that hard work and dedication contribute way more to success than simply having a healthy body. ]

I'm Keith, by the way. Forgot to introduce myself.

[henchgal]

Meredith. Nice to meet you, I think. I mean, as nice as meeting anyone here in this mess is.

[She smiles, taking the comment about her doing well for herself without any salt. Because if someone thinks she's doing alright, she's done her job.]

[aelwyn_aberration]

[Aelwyn will watch him pick at the jacket, look at him, look at the jacket.]

Oh, honey, no. Just no.

[marmoron]

[ keith pauses briefly to look over at the source of the unsolicited advice. he isn't getting defensive over the jacket -- of course not. but he was minding his own business here, and leaving the others to find clothes without judgement. eye contact established, he plucks the jacket off the rack and folds his arms. ]

I'm not honey.

[ .... okay so maybe he is slightly defensive about the jacket, woops. ]

[aelwyn_aberration]

Okay? Little man, then. I don't know what you'd call people in your world, dear. Just, seriously, put it back.

[No... why did you pick it up. Why do you hate her so, little man.]

I can only take so much tragedy, and that jacket...

[She shudders.]

[marmoron]

....

[ great. it's been, what, about ten seconds into this interaction and mystery girl's already managed to land herself on his mental shitlist? ]

I'm Keith. [ his tone stays flat for the moment. ] You call me that or nothing at all.

[ maintaining eye contact like he's keeping an eye on a rattlesnake, he holds the abomination of a jacket closer to himself. ]

Who are you?

[aelwyn_aberration]

Keith it is, then.

[She winks at him, flashing him a dazzling smile. This steely aggression is almost nostalgically familiar to her. She thinks this boy is funny, even if he really needs to put that jacket down.]

Aelwyn Abernant. The pleasure is all mine.

The advice is sincere, though. If you think the way I'm talking to you now is insufferable, you probably don't want to be laughed at quite as much as you would if you actually wore that outside. Red seems to be your color, but maybe not quite so bright.

[marmoron]

[ the wink and dazzling smile is wasted here if the continued deadpan expression aelwyn is getting says anything at all. ]

Right cuz the jacket made you insufferable and it's not just who you are.

[ Sure. uh-huh. keith doesn't roll his eyes, but it's there in spirit. ]

Do you even have an alternative suggestion or did you just come here to criticize people minding their own business?

[aelwyn_aberration]

[That makes her actually laugh out loud. She likes this one.]

Oh no, I did that myself! ...Well, mostly. You get it, I'm sure you did most of the heavy-lifting with being so surly and bitter. The trauma of being bullied for dressing like a traffic cone probably just helped you along a bit.

And yes, I do. Literally anything else would be my suggestion. [She looks around briefly and picks up a parka that's in a darker burgandy colour and holds it up for Keith.] This one is a less hideous colour, and it has a hood, and on top of that, it's not designed to bare your midriff.

[marmoron]

[ can someone get keith a traffic cone so he can slap it on her head? pls and thanks. ]

You're an ill-tempered troll, the hell do you mean I'm being surly and bitter?

[ lord help him, the volume is actually starting to dial up on his voice here. ]

Therre's nothing wrong with red or wearing a shorter jacket!

[aelwyn_aberration]

Ill-tempered? Well, that doesn't fit my image at all. I always thought I was annoyingly hard to piss off... I'll have to do more work on myself if I want to reach peak insufferability...

Look, Keith, I'm telling you that jacket will do nothing but draw attention to you from people who will do exactly what I'm doing now. It's advice, solicited or not, and it's obviously advice that you sorely need.

Take it or leave it, god, you're such a drama queen.

[marmoron]

[ give him a moment. there's zero point to throwing a stink at marshalls and for that matter he has better things to do with his time than continue to engage with someone who is obviously trying to just piss him off for their own amusement.

in the end, he keeps his original selection of jacket held tight in his arms and walks away with the flattest toned: ]

Duly noted.

[ basically a fuck you, don't follow me. so this went super well. ]

[aelwyn_aberration]

[She will let him leave, laughing at him all the way. Bye Keith.

This always happens whenever she tries to be nice to someone, but she didn't deeply care this time it's mostly just funny.]