IC | Dread Spider Fashions | VoidTreckers

[kumoko]

[ Pinned to the ICPs on most of the more frequented carriages is a new poster!

Tired of your train uniform?, it asks.

Want to look super cute? Want to wear something that isn't a hoodie?

Commission an outfit from Dread Spider Fashions

See Dread to discuss prices!

Magical enhancements available.

Along the base of the poster, a series of perforated tabs offer Special Newbie Voucher: one outfit for one bag of snacks! Only available for new heroes! ]

Comments

March 2nd, before the party.

[unfavorableinstigation]

[It's two weeks in before Nita shows up with the requisite bag of snacks.

She looks nervous, but not because of the spider.]

... I'm not even sure what to ask for, 'Mela doesn't even think I have a regular fashion sense, but what does she know about floppy shirts...

Anyway, ah, something practical, please? With pockets.

after the party

[blue_ice]

[ This must be the spider he met. So she did make clothes...just not those horrid ones. How strange. He approaches the dressing car with voucher and snacks in hand, curiously looking around as he enters. ]

So you do make clothing. Just not those hideous things they stuck you with.

[kumoko]

[ She'd originally decided to only extend her offer to brand new people, but. You know what? She got it! Sometimes you were busy, or you didn't want to talk to the giant spider lurking in the rear of the train. So she just nods when Nita shows up, and pulls out the notepad onto which she's forced various people to draw outfit words and sketches.

You know, because. Well. Talking?

She points to the top of the first page, which reads STYLE? in red crayon.

And then leafs to another page, this time headed CUTE AND PRACTICAL OUTFITS FOR THE MODERN MAGE in green crayon and different handwriting.

About half of the page is pictures of hats. ]

Nita, why must you be contrary?

[unfavorableinstigation]

/I can understand you regardless,/

[Nita reminds, using the Speech to make her point. She's not restricted to just understanding beings with vocal cords!

But she returns her focus to the notepad and, while she's hardly surprised by the hats...

She still gives Kumoko a Look.]

I take it you don't do jeans?

But, seriously, just pants and a dress shirt are fine. I've heard peach looks good on me?

[Which, while true, isn't actually her favorite color.]

Blue's fine too. And flowers, though please don't overdo those.

[She's not planning for a dress!]

[kumoko]

[ Now that the party is over, all of the dressing furniture has re-sealed itself and there's no sign of the crimes against fashion and sensibility that graced it earlier that day. Hanging up instead are two half-finished outfits for Black team - soft, dark hoodies and grey shorts, still awaiting their final reshaping and enchanting. To one side is a personal project, a copy of a cultivator's outer robe to which she is steadily adding gleaming, magical threads.

Eat your heart out, Hou Jian!

But hey, it's Mr Tall, Handsome and Grumpy again. She hits play on her device again, which is this time around her neck. She's been expecting more visitors this time! The bland Google voice begins its sales pitch as she comes over to peer up at him. ]

Dread Spider Fashions: down with uniforms! What can I do for you?

[blue_ice]

[ Kaiba looks over the scattered items with interest. He'd heard the message about Team Black from that loud ninja girl, so that explained those hoodies. The robe is fascinating too.

He holds out the voucher and a small bag of sweets. ]

I'd like to commission an outfit. I'm assuming something basic, since I don't yet have the means to pay. But I can live with that.

[kumoko]

[ Oh! Ohhhh! Right! Yes!

Look, sometimes there are telepaths or whatever in here, and they can talk but can't understand. One-way communication, you know? But sure, if she can understand, then more power to her. Less effort on this spider's part!

No jeans, though. She's got a blue that's pretty close and pretty durable, but it feels more like a thick cotton. She pulls out a swatch from the spatial storage she keeps her pile of fabric projects in, and then another, lighter piece of fabric with a silkier feel, in a pale pink that's the closest she's ever gotten to peach.

Actually, no, that square of 'human skin' was pretty close-- no! Don't think about it!

Ahem! What kind of mage is she, she thinks as hard as she can in Nita's direction. ]

[unfavorableinstigation]

Conflict management's one way to word the general purpose of wizards, I guess?

[That and slowing down the death of the universe, but that's probably not something to base cloth on.

Nita likes the feel of the lighter fabric, at least!]

Though then there's the water affinity; I work with whales a lot more often than I thought I was going to, starting out...

And then there's the visionary stuff. Still working on training that, though.

[She'll leave it at that.]

At some point?? maybe after Egret 3?

[mtsilver_conquor]

[It comes as note.]

Hey so do you think you can make me a haori?

A day or two after the March influx of passengers

[yilingdaddy]

[ WuXian bounces over to one of the sweet spider's likely places to be with a couple pieces of paper covered in various drawings. ]

I'm marrying Lan Zhan again but we need proper robes! Can you make these in red with black trim?

[ For Lan Zhan, with another angle of (ooc no hat) and for WuXian he gets a veil with his robes. ]

[kumoko]

[ The note.... gets a lil tick mark???

who wrote this!!!! ]

[kumoko]

[ Her most likely place is flopped on her back on a large silk hammock, tucked away in the corner of the dressing car. She has another, more accessible hammock for business or socialising or whatever that doesn't require you to duck and weave around three different layers of webbing... but does she look like she's socialising? No.

It's a good thing she's feeling charitable and also very well-fed from an influx of newbie snacks, because she even rolls back over and pays attention to the drawings.

Ohhhh, these are pretty good, Red Ribbon! Very classic. You'll both look very cute and she won't be at all jealous of either of you.

...

Wait. She fishes out her device. ]

Marrying again? Why?

[ Do they get stat upgrades for double-marrying? Are they actually from an online wuxia game or something? They want +2 damage to all melee attacks for 24 hours? A defense buff whenever they're next to each other? Is this a different Lan Wangji and he wants to marry this one separately, have a harem of battle butler husbands? She understands! He looks really good! Full marks! Crap, did that sound like a refusal? She quickly adds, ] I'll do it.

[kumoko]

[ She takes the voucher and sweets with... well, some care, and stows them away in a spatial pocket. She trusts people to deal honestly. Or... well, it's not like if they screw her over she can't find them, right?

Let's say it's the first one.

She queues up a series of lines, but leaves out the one about favourite colours. She remembers! Blue and silver. ]

A basic outfit is three items with no enchantments. What kind of world are you from? If you were a character in an MMORPG, what class would you be? [ okay, that one gets her a lot of weird looks, but sometimes people know what she's talking about. She's not getting rid of it! ]

[blue_ice]

[ That's surprisingly generous. He only has to think for a few moments. ]

I'm from Earth, Japan, early 21st century. Dragoon class, or failing that, dark knight.

[kumoko]

[ She listens politely, or at least stares in Nita's general direction for the duration of the dialogue. Diplomacy, huh? So, a bard? She's not sure how she'll put whales into it, but water is probably fine.

No idea what a visionary is. She imagines it's kinda like an oracle or a seer? Eh, she can work with that too!

She's found her device by now, so just types in absently: ]

No hat?

[unfavorableinstigation]

[Nita has to make herself think this one over, and ends up saying something that's, well, diplomatic:]

Wouldn't want to disappoint you if you did make one and I ended up not wearing it, is all.

[kumoko]

[ Oooh! An answer!! Okay, so they're basically from the same place. From Japan, even! Not to mention, he answered super fast, so he's thought about this before. A fellow nerd? Has she found another kindred gamer soul?

Well, it's not like she can really game as a spider, so. Whatever, but it's nice to know! Maybe she can game vicariously through him? She'll see. Or, she'll stalk him if he goes anywhere near the games carriage. Same thing.

If she was doing a commission, she'd ask for more information, get him to design it and speak with Dread or something. But, he's going for the basic package. The taster! The gateway drug or whatever. So she'll just go with the flow and see what she makes. ]

It will be ready tomorrow. Thank you for choosing Dread Spider Fashions: your best and only option for alternative clothing on-board this shitty train.

[blue_ice]

I didn't know you played games.

[ Maybe there are advanced controller systems in her world. Can she even use the ones in the gaming car? He'll have to think on this.

The last word makes him laugh. He then realizes he didn't give her much guidance...but whatever it is, it can't be worse than the onesies. ]

Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow.

[kumoko]

[ The notebook is closed and stashed back in its spatial pocket. She absolutely does not feel regret about the lack of hats.

She'll just have to make some other sucker TWO hats. ]

It will be ready tomorrow. Thank you for choosing Dread Spider Fashions: Down with uniforms.

[kumoko]

[ She waves her legs, ending in weird lil spider paws - or, in the case of her front legs, wickedly sharp scythes - that are utterly unsuited to controllers or keyboards, and taps out a custom sentence. ]

I remember gaming as a human. See you tomorrow!

->tomorrow

[blue_ice]

[ And he arrives the next day with his notebook in hand, having sketched out some of his tech. His neural link headset, especially.]

Hello? Kumoko?

[He'd done a little research to learn how to address her...]

I had a new proposition for you, if you were interested.

[unfavorableinstigation]

[Nita can't help a bemused grin at that last part.]

Thanks, Charlotte. I'll be back here tomorrow, then!

[Instead of just... expecting them to be teleported to her room or something.

Some things just feel like overkill, okay????]

[yilingdaddy]

[ Oh! Right! He forgot the bribe! He pulls out a small bag of candies he'd raided from the kitchen and offers it to her with a bright smile.

And then he reads her question and laughs. ]

Because Lan Zhan doesn't remember the first time. He's from before, this time.

[ Her agreement actually has him reach out to give her a hug- so what if she's a great big spider? He likes her! ]

Thank you!

[springforth]

[A stranger approaches in the dressing car! Holding a bag of chips and a little bit of paper from her fliers]

Hello? I'm sorry to disturb you but I was told this was the best place to find you.

[mtsilver_conquor]

[And several days later, comes another note.]

Hey so I forgot to sign the last one. I am smart. Do you think you can make me a haori? -Eva.