Open ♪ Late June catch-all

[traceofeffort]

⭐ Who: Lisa, who is also Dreamer Rhodonite! And also you, who may or may not be a Dreamer!
⭐ When: Last two weeks of June; maybe more later?
⭐ Where: Promised Morning, the Dreamer Union HQ, and maybe the Dream Sphere
⭐ What: Lisa wants to go questing! And also to make herself a new outfit.
⭐ Warnings: Do you trust her with fabric shears? (N/A for now)


[A | I have only done this once before | Promised Morning | June 15th until the end of the month]
[Anyone passing by the notice board on the first floor of the high school, and also a couple other places through the more public spaces of the building, will find a flyer posted Thursday morning. It features a roughly-sketched picture of a bass guitar, apparently with either a white or clear body with light-ish red color sweeping through it - Dreamer Rhodonite's weapon - and the title, Looking for Group. The remainder reads:

I am a Novice looking for more practice, and also to see what we can find for the Dreamer Union's research request. I don't have a lot to offer for rewards, but I should be able to offer baked goods or maybe a small knitting commission. Seeking at least one Striker, or someone with similar skills, and other Dreamers to round out an exploration party. Then a LINE handle follows, or a note to swing up to her classroom or the Fashion Club and ask for Lisa. Thanks in advance! Best of luck to all of us.

After school on Thursday, she'll take one to the Dreamer Union on outside advice and post it there too. On that copy, the physical location is neatly crossed out and she'll instead hang out in the Dreamer lobby for a bit, looking anxious and a little out of place, but pasting on her best service smile if someone comes to talk to her. And on the morning of the 18th, she'll go back to Union HQ, and in hastily scrawled glitter pen at the bottom of the flyer: Also searching for party to clear out Reverie Necropolis! I'm worried about what could happen if we don't take care of things quickly. Same contact information as above. Please message ASAP. Even if the majority of the Torments have been cleared out, she wants to make sure for herself that things are safe. Or as safe as they're getting.]

[B | measure twice, cut at least once | Promised Morning: Fashion Club (as such) | last two weeks of June]
[While she admittedly hasn't been trying as hard as she perhaps should be, Lisa is still putting forward at least a little effort to pitch a Fashion Club as a thing. She hasn't gotten a lot of traction, but nobody's come to push her and her fabric out of the unused room she found yet, so she's calling it a win? Regardless, she's at a desk with half a bolt of emerald green, lightweight fabric and a sketchbook in front of her. The rough design drawing looks like this will go with a top she's started to work out but hasn't gotten far with, and the fabric in front of her will be a skirt to go with it. There are some ruffles and a somewhat deep and high waist; it look like she's planning to put loops for a belt or something on it? But the other thing she's trying to work out, and the part she's currently debating as she looks between a few things on the table with the fabric-]

Hmm. I can't decide if these buttons are cuter, or these buttons. Oh, or these. But then, do I want cute, or should I push for mature on this with the waist...?

[-yeah, she's being a touch indecisive right now. The reason this is relevant is that the door's open and she's being neither quiet nor private about her question. It's similarly not the only question, as she holds up the fabric against herself and ponders how high it should come up her torso, and how much she wants it to swish. Some of these questions are not confined to the clubroom she started in, as eventually she moves outside to see how the fabric moves in the wind, because she's watched just enough anime that such research is extremely important. She holds up one corner, considers, turns 45 degrees, holds it up a little higher... tilts her head... she may be here a bit. Her sketchbook is closed and leaning against a nearby bench, and instead she's taking notes in a small pad. It's... questionable what date she's collecting, but her nodding and humming suggests she's getting something out of this. Probably.]

Comments

[traceofeffort]

And I used to have the pricks on my fingers all the time to show for it, too. But... I appreciate your confidence. [It's more than Lisa has for herself on the topic, but... she's working on it. Don't let on about that control issue aloud where she can hear it, they'll be anxiety buddies. Her problem isn't direct control, it's maintaining her composure if anything goes less than perfectly, and then she spirals.]

Okay! Thanks for waiting. Here's what I have... [The selection of thread she sets out is not quite as eclectic as the actual fabric was, partly owing to their more specific needs here, so what she offers them is a smaller selection: a darker brown, thicker thread, but with rather less on the spool; a fire-red thread that she insists is sturdy despite being finer; and a pine-green thread that doesn't quite match the fabric Shinsha had selected, but might be close enough at a distance, and that there's plenty of.] Given what we're going for, I think any of these will be fine! But it's your apron, and you should pick what will make you comfortable, and what feels right to you. I'll keep digging through the thread case if you don't like any of these, too.

[Lisa's tone turns softer.] That's the most important thing about fashion, if I have to pick one lesson. You are here to make something that you want to wear, that you like the look and feel of, that makes you feel like your best self; and if anyone else tells you otherwise, they're missing the point and their opinion can be ignored. We can share ideas and talk about what might look best for any of us, but the decision is - and should always be - yours. [Individuality and expression; comfort and confidence. Sword and shield. She may have internalized this idea a little more than she lets on.]

[hgs]

[Shinsha instinctively reaches towards the flame-red thread - it's close to the color of their hair, and to the color of the brittle gemstone they were named for - only to hesitate before touching the spool. Green or brown would match the color of the apron, right? And since it's their first time sewing, a duller color will hide the inevitable mistakes.

But if Lisa is right, then the most important thing about fashion is that you should create something that you want to wear, regardless of what anyone else thinks... Shinsha's hand settles on the red spool. They wait for Lisa to judge their choice, to tell them that the color is too bright for someone with such a dull and depressing personality, to tell them that they're wasting thread on such a dirty old apron... but the expected condemnation never comes.]

This one, I think. I have a pair of shoes in the same color... well, I've actually never worked up the courage to wear them, but they might look nice with a fixed-up apron....

[traceofeffort]

[Lisa's eyes watch them reach for the red thread and... stop. Not out of indecisiveness - there's no second reach, even an aborted one, for another color - but. Something else. She's been there, so she doesn't say anything. This is their choice, and she doesn't want to taint that decision without being asked for her input, particularly after saying all that. So she just waits patiently, with a small smile. And maybe a little bit of a twinkle in her eyes, not that she'll admit to it.

When Shinsha grabs the spool of red thread, Lisa nods sharply, grin wide; she'd been preparing to give some kind of clothing-related Friendship Speech but it clearly won't be necessary.] You even have coordinating stuff already! You've got this, Akashi-san. No problem. And now that we've done the hard, exciting part, we just have the boring, mechanical part left. [With a quick grab and a flourish, she mostly-gently sets down something small and shiny held between two fingers, like someone might slam down a game-winning trading card game spell, with a slight click against the desk; this is, of course, a needle.] Think being handy in the garden will help you be handy with one of these? [There's no challenge, just a question of if they think they can handle it.]

[hgs]

Well, I know how to use pruning shears, so at least scissors shouldn't be a problem.

[Shinsha picks up the needle carefully. They're quite dextrous from years of tending to the bonsai at the temple-run orphanage they grew up in, so it feels less awkward than expected. After a few tries, they manage to get the end of the thread through the eye of the needle.]

Ah... I did it, I think.

[Shinsha can tell that Lisa is proud of them even though they've hardly done anything yet. Threading the needle is barely even the first step of sewing. And yet... Shinsha is a little proud of themself, too.]

Um... there's a fabric store in the Moon Bunny Market, right? If the Fashion Club takes a field trip there, I know a kissaten nearby where we could stop for coffee... I mean, if you like coffee! If you don't, they have tea too...

[traceofeffort]

[Lisa giggles quietly; no, they probably wouldn't, and at least Shinsha seems to be a little more relaxed now. Indeed, it seems like she didn't need to worry at all - the needle is only a momentary challenge, and her smile seems to stay comfortably present.]

Mm! That's, like, the second hardest part. I don't know if you even need my help. I mean, you can have it if you want it, of course!

[She stills at the other suggestion for a moment, some of her cheer falling away, before she shakes her head and tries to perk back up.]

There, ah. There's nobody on the register but me, right now. So I can take a field trip more or less whenever? I don't head over there super often - the department store is closer - but I wouldn't mind checking out some new places! And I can do coffee, tea, whatever! I'm not super picky.