[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

[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.]

[marmoron]

Yeah.

[ he huffs a little humorlessly. ]

Least the entities don't have access to Galran Zaiforge cannons.

[henchgal]

There's at least two words in that sentence I'm going to need you to define before I get that quip.

[Sorry, Keith, she's never heard of the Galra.]

[marmoron]

Oh. [ somewhat sheepishly: ] Right.

The Galra are aliens from my universe. Hostile aliens that've been conquering and destroying planets over the last couple of millenia. [ he sighs, briefly rubbing the back of his neck. ] Zaiforge cannons are what they use to blow up whole planets at a time.

[ so this whole... prevent the apocalypse thing? kinda familiar in a horrible way. ]

[henchgal]

Oh, yikes, that doesn't sound like a fun thing to have to deal with. Does your world have some sort of...you know, heroes, who deal with that sort of thing?

[She doesn't think Keith's old enough for that kind of work yet.]

[marmoron]

[ he huffs a laugh. ]

I dunno if our group really counts as a bunch of pro heroes or anything, but kind of? Our primary offense against the Galra are a set of five robot lions. Alien warshiips really. They're sentient and choose a pilot to bond with.

[ all of which sounds crazy explained, but.... keith's saying it all entirely straight faced. ]

So yeah. I'm one of the five paladins of Voltron. [ ... ] We do our best. But the team's pretty new. [ hell,... not everyone on the team is even a trained pilot. hunk still pukes from time to time in the cockpit. it's all ... deeply reassuring. ]