revivalproject | Coruscant Catch-All

"Something out of the ordinary, usually a little more formal," she explained. "Where I come from, a lot of special occasions that call for something like this are ... usually to do with art, or culture. Going to see a performance, or the unveiling of new pieces in a gallery. Sometimes dinner parties are special occasions, too. You can usually tell by the invitation, or the people involved. If someone who will be there is important to the community, it's generally formal unless specified otherwise."

As she reached for a curtain to choose her own dressing room, she glanced over at Lauri, curious. "Protection? You mean, like a bodyguard for someone on one of the ships? Or something different?"

"Ah, like the coronation," she mused. Wait, art? The Kree frowns at that.

"I do not know what you mean by performance or gallery. What about dinners are parties?"

Oh Lauri-Ell is so much more lost than she was before and she doesn't know what to do.

"I was a soldier. I am now the Accuser, but I also serve as bodyguard to my Emperor and his husband."

The fact that she doesn't seem familiar with art in either form troubles Clarice: she's come to hold the arts in very high regard over the past few years, having become the connoisseur that she is now. She's more than happy to explain, but it seems they'll have to trade information: there are terms Lauri is using that confuse her, too.

"Tell you what," she offers. "Let's try a couple things on, and once we've found some things we like, we can go get a drink, maybe a snack, and continue the chat?"

"That sounds nice," Lauri-Ell offers with a smile before going into her booth to try things on. It takes a while, but she is pleased because nothing tears when she wears it.

"This things are nice," she tells Clarice as she changes. Of course, she doesn't know to come out to show things off.

"Yeah?" She slides into the green dress, the gold bodice accents fitting her like a glove, and has to fight for a moment to get all of her hair out of the way so she can fasten the halter clasp behind her neck.

"Just a second, I'm almost done in here. Then we can both come out and show off. I want to see."

"Show off?" Lauri-Ell asked? She had already gone through a few shirts. Was she doing this wrong?

"What are we showing off? I fear I am finding myself lost again, Ma'am."

"It's okay, you're not doing anything wrong," she reassured her. "But don't take off whatever you're trying on. I just want to see what it looks like. That's what I meant by showing off. If you have someone else look at what you're trying on, you can get an outside opinion on how it fits, and if you look good in it."

She pushed the curtain aside and waited patiently for Lauri to come out.

"Ah, yes, this makes sense."

Lauri-Ell had been halfway between things, but she put the items back on and came out to stand there. She feels awkward, knowing she will be judged, but the leggings and shirt are very comfortable, and feel both familiar like her uniform in some was, but truly comfortable.

"I like it," Clarice said after only a moment's pause. "Those colors really do look good on you. How does it feel? Is it comfortable? That's always the important part, really." She held up one hand and twirled it, fingers out in a possibly universal gesture. "Turn around, let me see the back of it?"

Leggings were finally heading out of vogue in her time, but she could recognize the usefulness of them in Lauri's situation. Even so, one did not let one's colleague wear a shirt with leggings that did not cover the rear.

"It is comfortable. The 'leggings'," she looked for confirmation of the word again, "fit like Kree armor and uniforms, but... Thicker. And slightly less flexible."

Turn around? She indeed does so, standing with her back to Clarice.

"Is there something wrong with the back?"

The shirt does not cover her rear. But Lauri-Ell would not mind this at all.

"Somethin' like that is strong enough to be armor where you're from?" She laughs in delighted surprise. "Got-dam, girl, I put on a kevlar vest to be bulletproof from the back and the side, I gain about eight pounds! I'm glad you're comfortable, though."

She tilts her head. "Hmm. Okay, usually with leggings you want to cover your, er, hindquarters. But someone in as good shape as you can certainly pull it off. Not only that, but ... I don't think the reasons for the fashion rule exactly apply on Agra 10."

"Yes, why would it not be?" Lauri-Ell asked, frowning. She IS from space. In fact, from a culture she would consider more advanced than this place.

"My uniform never required covering my butt," Lauri-Ell answered. That seems a silly stipulation. "Things that hang loose and long can be caught upon foliage, or grabbed by the enemy. tighter fits are safer."

She is glad she is in good shape. It makes her a good guardian.

"This is good then?"

Clarice was mildly surprised when Lauri-Ell actually used the word 'butt'. Given how formal her speech patterns had been up until that point, it was a bit of a curveball. But the logic is sound.

"Yeah, it looks good on you. And those leggings would match any of the tops you grabbed, too. ... How's my dress look in the back? Do you think it's too low?"

Words were just words. They had no great magic to them. And she learned things from various places. Even before here.

"I do not know what the dress should look like," she admitted as she moved to walk behind Clarice to look at it. "Should it cover your butt?"

"The skirt, yeah," she laughed. The green, silk-like material came almost to her ankles. It was the low dip in the back she was more concerned about. "I just don't know if it shows off too much in the back. It isn't a utility matter, more of an aesthetic one. Easier question: do you like it?"

"How much is too much?" she asked, circling the other woman. "I have seen more bared skin before on Earth. In the show where the Ashleys competed for the attention of an unworthy man."

The Bachelor was a REALLY bad way to learn culture.

The talk of the original Drift Fleet with Shiro had been Clarice's introduction to the concept of modern reality TV, so The Bachelor would have been lost on her ... but the description puts her more in mind of soap operas, which are equally horrible cultural touchstones, so it tracks.

"Well, I'm hoping to wear it to an art performance, so ... I was looking for something that'd be eye-catching and elegant, but not so much to draw away from what everyone's actually there to see." A pause as she realized a perfect way to quantify it.

"You can't see my butt crack, right? I can't really feel this fabric, it's so light. I don't want it below, say ... here." She gestured just above her hip on one side.

"There is no crack of buttocks visible to the eye," Lauri-Ell agreed, circling the woman. "And it does not fall too low. Perhaps a few centicks above that point."

Of course the Kree have different measurement systems.

Even if she didn't know what a centick was, Starling gleaned from context that it was a unit of measurement, a smallish one, and that was enough for her.

"Thanks, Lauri." She smiled. "The rest of what I took is a lot more like yours, casual stuff for on Agra 10, but ... it's so nice here, I wanted to go out and do something fancy at least once. While I have the chance."

"Do something fancy? Ah, like a gathering of the imperial court before the Emperor," she observed. Yes, she understood. The wedding had been like that.

"Well, maybe a little more fun than that. Like going to see a play, or an orchestra. But generally, you've got the right idea. Do you like what we picked out for you, though? Think it'll work?"

Play? Orchestra? These words mean nothing at all.

"I like what has been selected. I will wear these as best I can."

"I'm glad you like them," Clarice says, but Lauri-Ell's lack of response to the rest of her comment has given her an idea. "If I find out about a performance, would you like to go with me, to see what I mean? I can even find one that doesn't have such a fancy dress code if you're worried about finding something that would fit."

Performance? The woman raised her eyebrows.

"I have seen human performances before. On the television. AS I mentioned. I do not know what it would be like in person? But yes, I would like a new experience."

It would be good for her, to better understand other cultures.

"Most of the things that are performed live are better than anything on the television," Clarice assured her. "At least, that's how it is where I'm from. I'll keep my eyes out for something that looks like fun."

She glanced toward the fitting booths, where she still had a few tops waiting. She knew they'd fit, but if Lauri-Ell was in for new experiences, she didn't want to short her on this one by accident. "Do you want to see what I picked out, too, or do you think you're ready to check out?"

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kree_soldieress - 2021-04-19 22:46 (UTC) - Expand

One more in the books! TY, this was a fun one

thesepreciousthings - 2021-04-19 22:58 (UTC) - Expand

Coruscant Catch-All

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HDU make me almost LOL at work

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(no subject)

One more in the books! TY, this was a fun one