trans_9 | Shop 'Till You Drop! [SO VERY OPEN]

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Shop 'Till You Drop! [SO VERY OPEN]

It was nice to be out on solid ground, to breathe fresh and salt-tinged air, and to feel the real warmth of the sun on her neck and shoulders, Nanoha thought. She felt a very deep urge welling up within her breast to just take flight, to soar through an actual sky in the first time in months - and she had no doubt that she would.

But there were other things she had to take care of first. Like, for instance, swimsuit shopping with her best friend.

"Ooh, this store looks like it might have some cute ones!" Nanoha tugged on Fate's hand, pulling her towards one of the storefronts that lined this street of the bustling shopping district. Even if it didn't, there were still plenty of others to try, and plenty of cute outfits to convince Fate to try on.

(ooc: It might help to have just one thread for ALL YOUR SHOPPING NEEDS? Feel free to tag in and mingle, if you're shopping for clothes, groceries, games, whatever!)

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"Aye, I agree," Jamie says, giving the shirt one last disbelieving shake of his head before putting it back on the rack and going over to study the swimsuits. He's drawn to the plaid one, unsurprisingly, and pulls the leg out to take a look. But maybe...maybe he should start with a different one and see how that looks first.

He lets go of the plaid trunks and reaches for the dark plum one instead. "I'll try this one first, if ye don't mind."

"Not at all!" Katara said smiling. "I'm sure it will look good on you! The dressing room are right down there! It'll be interesting: I don't think I've ever seen you in a color like that!"

She'd never seen him shirtless either, but Katara figured there was a first time for everything.

Or there would be, if Jamie actually remembered to take off the shirt he had tried on before he returns from changing. He's got that look on his face just like he had when someone had imagined the zoot suit up for him during that one party of Kaylee's.

The trunks are longer than what he wore in the Sensoriums, and he's not sure he likes the way it looks on him. And even though he's used to the plantsuit and the feeling of things on his legs, he's also not sure he likes the fit - although, really, they fit fine.

"I don't know. It feels a wee bit strange."

Katara may never want to go shopping with Jamie again after this.

"Well, they're adjustable!" Katara insisted. "I mean, I can hem them if they're too long or something. I know they're probably not what you're used to. Uh, actually, what ARE you used to?"

Katara was a very patient girl, and had more than enough experience with guys shopping. She had been with Aang and Sokka for a pretty long time to begin with, and had more than enough experience shopping for the crew.

"Well, they're a wee bit shorter, maybe to about here..." Jamie starts to gesture with his hand rather higher up than the hemline on the current pair, then stops, thinking better of it and dropping his hand again. "Aye, well, never mind that. They were just something I found in the TARDIS wardrobe. I'll go try another pair on."

He disappears into the changing room again, but seems to be gone rather longer this time. Possibly because he's hoping Katara will forget about what he's used to in swimsuits. He eventually comes out in the plaid, but he's got that same look on his face. "Och, these remind me of that elf suit."

"Hmm," Katara said, sizing up the suit, quietly getting the measurement down in her head. Since her independence was something that was important to her, she'd not mentioned to Jamie that she used to hem things for her brother and others in her village all of the time, so she was a little pouty when Jamie went back to try on another swimsuit.

When he came out in plaid with that look on his face, Katara clicked her tongue. "I CAN make is so that's comfortable if you let me," she said, then looked a little surprised. "Elf suit?"

"Hey?" Jamie looks confused for a moment before he remembers. "Oh, that's right. Ye made that one costume for the party. I wouldn't want ye to go to any trouble, though."

If he can find something he likes without alterations, he figures that would be much easier. Especially if he wants to wear it while still on shore leave.

"Do ye remember the mission where we helped revive the Spirit of Christmas, and ye had those magic bags? I...uh...found the suit in one of them." Read, he saw someone else wearing something similar and was thinking about it when he opened the bag to look. "It wasn't plaid, mind ye, but the colors were the same."

Katara had to roll her eyes on this one. "Jamie, we're on a living ship hurtling through space on our way to fight a vicious homicidal alien species: being put out by having to make adjustments to clothing for a good friend isn't going to be too troublesome, trust me."

Which made her wonder. "Now that you have the choice though, what WOULD you war when we go to places like these? I picked some clothing too, but that;s just me, and I had a friend help. What about you?"

Katara covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a giggle. "Okay, don't get me wrong, I really love the colors and style of your kilt, but I don't know if a whole outfit like that would really work."

"Aye, I suppose ye have a point. I'll tell ye what - if I don't like that green one with the blue, I'll get the plum one and ye can fix it if ye like." He did rather like the color on that suit, now that he's had a chance to think about it.

Speaking of choices, though, he's got a fairly good idea of what he'd like to be in while on missions. Shrugging a little, he says, "I'd wear things like I picked out earlier, aye? A shirt, my kilt, a good sturdy pair of shoes or boots. Maybe a neckerchief or my sheepskin vest."

One thing he certainly wouldn't choose if he has any say in the matter is that elf outfit, and he nods firmly. "And aye, I agree. It might have been festive and all that, but I'll not wear that again."

"Glad to hear it!" Katara said. "One of these days, I owe you something to wear anyway, or if you ever have a hole in your clothing, just let me know, okay? I've had to mend some of my brothers' clothes before, its not a big thing. That, and well, I kinda like the plum on you!"

She nodded. "That's fairly practical, even the kilt. Gives you more breathing room when you have to move around anyway, right? I always liked that kind of stuff you wear anyway. Though what would be the point of the neckerchief?"

She was glad about him not wearing the elf suit though. It didn't suit him.

"Isn't shopping fun?" Katara said, grinning. "I never get the chance to do it anymore, used to always have to when we were on the run from the fire nation and we needed supplies."

"Well, I might take ye up on that offer. For the mending, anyway." For a moment, he ponders adding a crack about it being women's work, but decides not to go there...this time.

He's tempted to reconsider that decision about three seconds later when she brings up the neckerchief. It's just a fleeting thought, and he replies to her question normally enough. "What's the point of those hair-loopies ye like so much? Sometimes things don't have to have a point, aye? I just like neckerchiefs."

Jamie's not particularly inclined to agree with her view on shopping, however. Mostly because 'shopping' to him means...well, something rather like this. Possibly following someone female around and being bored while they look at things. "Oh, aye, fun," he says, rolling his eyes a little. Honestly, women. "If ye like that sort of thing, I suppose."

It's a good thing he didn't. The last time Sokka made an observation about it being women's work, he wound up with badly mended pants. Granted, she had been expecting to know how to do it since her father left and her mother was dead, but that didn't mean it was "only" her job.

"I don't know really: The hair loopies are a hairstyle of my people," Katara said. "It was just a style we developed. Not everyone wears it, but I did for a little while. Now I keep it that way to remind me of home, and all of them. It's a little like why you wear your kilt now."

Katara almost said something smart, but decided against it. They would just get into another argument going THAT way. "Shopping to me, at least for clothes, is a lot like trying to figure out a puzzle: each piece means something different, something that appeals to your taste. It may take a longer time than it should, but when you wear something, its almost like an extension of yourself because its something people see connected to you as a person. I don't really have that option when we're only wearing plantsuits, and where I'm from, clothing showed others where you were from and the cultural pride that came with it."

Well, that, and shopping was just fun for her, but she left that part out.

"Oh! I never thought of it that way," Jamie says. It's true. It's not anything he had really considered, apart from the cultural pride aspect. That part he can understand.

"I do know what ye mean about the clothing showing others where ye were from, though." It's a great deal of the reason why he wears his kilt, even if he doesn't always consciously think about it. But she already covered that in the part of the conversation about the hair loopies, so he doesn't mention it out loud again.

"So, when ye are looking for things, ye want to try and find outfits that'll show that, even if it's not actually something from your home, aye?"

"I hadn't either, until I was actually able to go by myself and do it again. I didn't realize it at first, but it was one of the few times that I actually had the freedom to do something like that, something as small as going around and shopping for myself."

But what she wouldn't have given to have the others with her, talking and laughing like they had before. She missed that.

She nodded. "I think that even if it looks alien, there's always something that's a little you in the clothes. It might be something small, but they'll see it."

That's something else Jamie hadn't thought about - something that is a little him in the clothes. "Even in a bathing suit?" he asks, still not entirely convinced. Speaking of which, he should really go and try that third suit on, so he can make a decision. He nods towards the changing room, holding up the suit to indicate he'll be right back, then disappears for a few minutes.

When he comes back, he's wearing the last suit. It's shorter than the plum, but not quite as short as he indicated. He's looking less unhappy about this one, although it's not clear if it's due to the suit itself or if he's just viewing it differently due to the conversation.

"What do ye think? This or the plum?"

Even in the bathing suit? Hmm. "I would say so," Katara said, "depending on the style you choose. Most people who know you would have an idea of what kind of style you'd go for if you had the choice, right? That's why you give a few things a try before you really pick the thing you want."

Katara waited, and when he came out in the next one, she examined it for a moment. She noted the way it fit, how it suited him, how it looked with him walking in it. She gave him a thumbs up.

"I like it, but the choice is up to you!"

Edited 2010-07-04 12:51 (UTC)

Jamie turns this way and that, trying to get a good idea of how the suit looks, then his face breaks into a smile. "Hey...I kind of like this one!" He nods, coming to a decision. "I think I'll take it. Hang on, I'd better go change back."

A few minutes later, he's back in the plansuit and kilt, his other soon-to-be-purchased tucked under one arm.

"I think that'll do it for me. How about ye, Katara? Are ye going to look around for yourself a wee bit longer?"

Edited 2010-07-05 06:34 (UTC)

Katara waited, and when went back to get the rest of his stuff, she smiled gently to herself. As far as she was concerned, she didn't get to see Jamie smile very often, so when it did happen it was a good thing. That, and now he had something to wear if the two of them ever went swimming on the ship.

When he came back, she grinned. "Well, tell you what: why don't you try picking an outfit for me? I'll wear it, no matter what. It can be anything!"

He's rather visibly surprised when she offers to have him pick something out for her, as it really wasn't something he was expecting at all. "Ye...what?"

Jamie's first impulse is to ask her why on Earth she would want him to do that. Unfortunately, his second impulse is pretty much the same as the first impulse...so he goes ahead and blurts it out.

"Why would ye want me to? I've not picked out an outfit for a girl before. Are ye sure ye want to trust me with doing that for ye?"

She laughed. "Because I DO trust you, of course! What better way for a girl to show her friend she trusts them than to ask them to pick out an outfit? Think of it as an experimentation in the crazy world of fashion if you want. Don't be scared!"

Besides, wasn't this all supposed to be all about fun?

Jamie straightens up, looking slightly affronted. "If ye think I would be scared over picking out a wee outfit, ye would be very mistaken."

This is probably not the best frame of mind for him to start off with when looking for an outfit for someone else, but it does spur him on enough that he goes and starts looking through the racks to find something. Luckily for Katara, he's staying away from the ugly multi-colored shirts.

Pulling out a dress, he studies it with a fond expression on his face. But after a moment, he puts it back and continues to rummage around.

Finally, something blue catches his attention, and he picks up a top.

"I don't know what ye would want to pair with it, but maybe this one?"

((OOC: hopefully links will work on these.))

Katara looked a little amused. She hadn't met to insult Jamie, not really, but of it got him to pick a dress for her, who was she to complain? The first outfit he was looking at had a fairly nice look to it, but the design leaved something to be desired. Something told her that Nura might be able to pull off that look a little better than she could.

But the selection he chose now was perfect! Katara grinned at took a look at the top, thinking that she didn't want a bottom that was too long since it wouldn't work with the outfit. She finally found a bottom, but didn't show it to Jamie JUST yet. She ran to a dressing room and actually made sure her hair was out and flowing, pinning a bit to the side with barrettes and finishing the bottom of the out with an equally pretty designed skirt (http://www.lulus.com/products/speakeasy-skirt-in-bluebird-by-knitted-dove/24079.html). She was barefoot since she hadn't picked a pair of shoes yet.

She came out, smiling. "What do you think?"

He hadn't been thinking of Katara so much when he found that first dress. While the design was modern, the pattern had reminded him of something Victoria might wear. Providing, of course, she could have been talked into something that she might have very well seen as being provocative. Jamie would have liked to see her in it, at any rate...

He knew that it wouldn't have worked for Katara, which is why he had put it back. The top, though, he thought that might do. While she's changing, he idly rummages through some other racks to kill time. When she comes out, he glances over briefly - but all he says is, "Oh. Aye, that looks fine."

It's not the first time he's had a seeming non-reaction to an outfit. He did that to Victoria too, more or less.

Edited 2010-07-08 06:14 (UTC)

Katara blinked. Well that was just plain unhelpful. What was she supposed to do with an "Aye, that's fine?" No wonder boys were so bad at this: it was like they were missing that part of their brain that could combine accessories and clothing together.

Though now that she thought about it, Sokka had been pretty good at that, and always seemed to like shopping.

"Jamie," Katara said warningly. "If you don't help me with this, we'll just have to be here longer, and then you'll be suffering even more."

That earns Katara a rather put out look from Jamie. "Hey, ye said ye would wear whatever I picked. In fact, ye said you'd wear it no matter what, if I remember correctly."

He puts a bit of emphasis on the words 'no matter what'. After all, it is what Katara said before. In fact, he's getting a little annoyed by the fact that he did what she asked, and now she wants some other mysterious help of some sort. He pushes down the annoyance, however, and tries to keep his tone level when he replies.

"Look, ye asked me to pick something for ye, and I did. Ye asked me what I thought, and I told ye it looked fine, because I thought it looked fine. If it looked bad on ye, I would tell ye so. What other help am I supposed to give here?"

The fact that she might have been looking for a compliment doesn't even occur to him.

Shop 'Till You Drop! [SO VERY OPEN]

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