Graded [Ryken City] Clothes Make the Woman

[Elvario]

This RP is a short but sweet RP within the Isekai Hell universe, following Rachael and Victorique in their quest for finding Victorique a new outfit.

Victorique Sopheana
​

With the events at Norrobury behind them, Victorique had quickly reported in with the adventurer's guild. However, she noticed she'd been getting far weirder looks than normal. It took her a while to realize why. Climbing through mineshafts and mountains had caused her dress to rip and tear in various places and her 'classy' almost doll-like look had turned into that of someone who'd just been dragged through the mud in tears and tatters. It meant she either needed to get this fixed or to just buy a new outfit. There was just one problem. She had never really cared about fashion in her previous life and had only had this one particular outfit during her entire new one thus far. In other words, she wasn't even sure where or how to start looking...

There was, however, someone who's fashion choice, albeit highly questionable, was bold and thought-through. She had highly mixed feelings about how wise her own decision was, but she eventually found herself looking for Rachael. She approached the half-giant hesitantly, her better judgement blaring for her to turn around and skip out on this plan, but her curiosity eventually making her utter the question. “Eh... say, Rachael, you know how your ehh... fashion statements are all that, so I figured you'd know things, right?” The was the most horrible start of a question ever. She wished she could sink into the ground and never leave it, but there was no turning back now. “Do you know how to get a good outfit?” She'd said it. She instantly regretted her decision, but she'd actually said it.

 

[Silent Angel]

Rachael Meredith

Rachael was biting into a nice steak, her reward for a job well done. She smirked as she thought that even if the job was well done, she was thankful that the meat wasn't. It tended to lose some of its juiciness as it got more thoroughly cooked, and it had taken her a while to find a place that actually understood the importance of cooking the meat to a certain specification. Sadly, that meant it did cost more, but it was quite worth it.

Her meal was interrupted by Victorique asking a question to her about fashion. The amazon glanced to the other girl, wondering if she was serious. But one look at the halfling's clothes told her that if she wasn't, she'd soon end up with armor skimpier than Rachael's, and not because she wanted to. She swallowed down the bite she was chewing before her face broke into what one might describe as an evil, almost wolfish grin as she said, "I'd love to help~" If the amazon's fashion sense didn't make the halfling think twice, that response probably would, but once the question was asked, it was too late, as Rachael already went over a few different stores she knew of as she finished up her meat, downing the rest of the mead she had before standing up, her face in no way hiding the scheming going on behind it. "I know a few places that would make amazing clothes for a cutie like you~"​

 

[Elvario]

Victorique Sopheana
​

Victorique's internal alarm bells were ringing upon seeing Rachael's grin. She'd definitely made a mistake asking her for help. Perhaps she should've just gone to buy a full set of armour with Hildegard or something... Anyhow, it was a little too late to pull back now. It couldn't be that bad right? Surely... right? “Eh... Right. Just, nothing too extreme, right?” She hated the sound of herself fumbling her words like that. Why was she so awkward when it came to this stuff? She could watch someone get tortured for information without batting an eye, but picking clothes was apparently the bane of her existence. She could only hope that Rachael would allow her to keep a shred of decency, but she had an ominous feeling even that might be too much to ask. To that extend, she was already trying to justify her huge mistake of asking Rachael as her just trying to train her mental capabilities to withstand extreme circumstances, or something along those lines. Perhaps such a lie would make doom she'd called upon herself slightly more bearable.

 

[Silent Angel]

Rachael Meredith

The amazon walked forward, past the other girl, leading her out of the restaurant and down the street. "Oh, don't worry! I'm sure you'll thank me afterwards~ After all, your style is quick dodging? I'll make sure the clothes you get give you the room to do just that~" The grin grew on her face as she led her closer and closer to the halfling's doom. "By the way, what's your favorite color? And no, you're not getting a something purely black and white. You want something that pops out at people! After all, flashes of color are much more noticeable to folks, and you need all the help you can get~"

Her light teasing continued until she spun around, the two of them close to an area of the city that Victorique probably had not dared to go near before. "Now, there's one rule I have for clothes shopping with me, since you seem to be new at it~ I'm going to find you some fun clothes, and you'll pick from the clothes offered~ You can grab accessories that you like the look of, but the dresses, skirts, ect. are my choices~" She tilted her head towards a shop that she had stopped in front of, saying, "This tailor's good at... breathable clothes that don't restrict movement. You're fine with that, right~? Mine and her knowledge should be enough for a cutie like you, right~?"​

 

[Elvario]

Victorique Sopheana
​

Slow breaths. Deep breaths. Victorique was wondering if it'd be better to sprint off while she still could. After all, Rachael's words didn't exactly give her any confidence. Quite the opposite, in fact. Even so, she tried to go along with it, for now. Perhaps that'd lead to a slightly better outcome. “Quick dodging... I guess? I just don't like fighting or getting hit.”

“Bla...” She was halfway into answering the colour question when her only answer got denied before she could finish it. She really had to think about that one... “Maybe a darker shade of green?” She wasn't sure, but one thing she did know for sure. “Definitely nothing bright. I'd rather have some dignity than walking around in something horribly flashy just to be noticed. I'll leave the latter to you.”

She was starting to grow even more concerned when she didn't know where they were going. “This isn't the way towards the shopping district..?” She wasn't entirely sure, but her doubts soon faded when she saw signs of the type of area they were headed for. She came to an abrupt halt. “I'm not sure what you're planning, getting me to go in there, but I'm not falling for it. I shouldn't have asked you.” The rules were already suspicious enough on their own, but in this type of place, her willingness to admit that it was stupid to ask Rachael for help was finally higher than her desire to justify the mistake and to avoid admitting to it.

 

[Silent Angel]

Rachael Meredith

Rachael grinned at the smaller lady, lifting up a finger as she said, "Ah ah ah, you asked me, so I'm giving you the help I can. This place is great, I promise. And besides, I never said you needed to buy anything that I chose out for you. Just that if you buy something here, I'll give you the choices. But come on. It'll be a new experience, and I don't want to have to see you just getting a carbon copy of your old dress, alright? So come on, let's go in~ And besides, when have I ever gotten you into something that I knew would get you hurt?" She turned and started walking in, calling back, "The place won't bite." She walked up to one of the catalogs of different dresses that this shop had made previously. Some of those very dresses hung on mannequins, showing off the type of attire this place often had. She looked for something that wasn't too risque, but were enough to draw attention as well as bring some needed color to the halfling. As she did so, she said, simply, "The issue with your old outfit is that it gives you some dissonance. It tries to make you beautiful while you are naturally cute. So we need something that enhances your natural type instead of trying to be at odds with it."​

 

[Elvario]

Victorique Sopheana
​

Victorique clicked her tongue as she was hearing Rachael's argument. “Not physically... I guess...” She mumbled at the final question. She still wasn't fully convinced, but the words did remind her of why she'd even asked Rachael. “Alright.” She said, as she followed Rachael into the store, although she was looking around to quickly scan the area to make sure this wasn't as bad a place as she feared it might be.

That said, when Rachael started talking again, Victorique had no clue what she was on about. “It's just what I've always had, doesn't that mean it should fit me?” She figured 'spawning' in this outfit meant it was made for her, in a way. Sure, she was indeed looking for other options, but surely this one wasn't that bad, right? “What do you mean with type?” She added, a little conflicted on where this was going.

 

[Silent Angel]

Rachael Meredith

The half giant marked the corner of one of the pages before continuing to search, her smile growing wider by the second as she checked the different pieces of art. Her smile faltered at the mention of something that they always had being a fit for them. "That isn't the best thing to mark your fashion off of. Before I started to travel, I wore a loincloth and what amounted to a breast band." She nodded down to her clothes. "Even if you think this is too crude for someone as high class as you, I promise you, I understood the need for change when my attire was quite a bit worse than this."

She looked down, marking another page as she decided how to answer that final question. "And as for what I mean by your type, I mean something that bolsters your natural appearance. Like mine accents my assets. Though... you don't have any assets to speak of, but if you're going for what I think you should, that'll be it's own plus." She marked yet another one of the outfits, her eyes looking over each one. It wasn't so difficult to find outfits that would go with the halfling, but it was more the fact that some of these she was almost certain the girl wouldn't wear if she was held at gunpoint. But the ones she did find, she could just imagine Victorique in them, almost like a larger than average doll she could play dress up with.​

 

[Elvario]

Victorique Sopheana
​

Victorique couldn't help herself from mentioning; “Somehow, I'm not sure if that defeats my argument.” when Rachael mentioned her previous attire. Then she recalled her current situation and the risk of antagonising Rachael, so she quickly added; “Although I'll admit your current outfit is an upgrade.”

The entire type-talk didn't sound all that promising, but it did bring up one question. “I wouldn't want to highlight any assets if I had them either. I mean, you sort-off told me the reason, which I kind off get, but I still don't get how you deal with people gazing at you all the time. Doesn't it grow annoying or make you feel like your privacy is intruded upon?”

 

[Silent Angel]

Rachael Meredith

Rachael shook her head. "I'm not saying for you to highlight assets like me. Because you'd fail. I'm saying take what you have and enhance it." She finally finished marking the corner of the last page with an outfit she thought would go well with the girl's appearance. "And as for what I do about people staring, I let them stare. I don't give a shit about that. It's when they try and touch me without permission when fists fly." She gave her knuckles a small, absentminded crack as she offered the book to the girl. "Check out the ones I marked. The others might give you a heart attack or don't really go with your looks."



As they talked, an elf exited the back area of the shop, moving through some curtains until she was visible to the two of them, though only just barely for the halfling, who's head peeked out just above the counter. The lady walked forward, noticing the amazon first, and then the shorter detective. "Oh my goodness, I can't believe you've resorted to kidnapping children, Rachael. Even with the few times we've talked, I've never taken you for that kind of ruffian!" A twinkle shown in her eyes, showing humor as her voice was only mocking, not truly shocked.​

 

[Elvario]

Victorique Sopheana
​

Victorique sighed, as her remark went over Rachael's head. She also still didn't get the half-giant's logic. “So, because you got touched when you didn't want to and couldn't hit them, you now bait them into touching you because you're able to hit them?” That sounded like there was only one explanation. “So you enjoy hitting perverted people more than you dislike being touched by them?”

As she was going through the book, there were definitely some pages she didn't want to look at for longer than a second. For that matter, even some of the ones that were marked were... dubious. At least by Victorique's standards. Then again, by Victorique's standards everything that wasn't her current outfit was dubious. Perhaps... perhaps this wasn't too bad? It definitely could've been a lot worse, at the very least.

She was surprised by the arrival of the shop's owner, although more so due to her comments. She wasn't sure which of them was being mocked more, Rachael for being called a kidnapper or herself for being called a kid. She really didn't like the sound of the latter, but at the same time, playing along just to bother Rachael might also have its advantages. She figured she'd find a mid-point. “I know, right? She's really evil!” Victorique headed over to the shopkeeper to whisper, albeit loud enough for Rachael to hear it as well, as that was the entire point. “You know what's worse? I'm not even an actual child!”

Although this might very well come back to bite her, she couldn't let this opportunity pass her by.

 

[Silent Angel]

Rachael Meredith

Rachael replied to the question with a simple, "Yes. I do."

Her eyes were brought to the shopkeeper. "Yes, I did. You can't have her, she's mine." Her face was in a wicked grin as she quickly went in for a small hug with the halfling, expecting the girl to dodge, but hoping that she was distracted enough by the shopkeeper and the clothing in the catalog not to notice. The amazon did quite enjoy the other girl's company, but she would never pass up a chance to mess with her either.



The elf's eyes glittered at the two of them as she fake pouted. "Aww, but a cutie like her is wasted on the likes of you! I could dress her up like a doll any time I wanted if you'd give her to me~" Her face brightened as she said, "Well, I guess I can do that with your order, since I'm assuming you're not coming to me for another piece of clothing for yourself. The ones I saw you marking weren't really your style." The elf eyed the book. "And I would prefer if you didn't mark them. Do you know how much ink and paper costs, let alone the effort to draw such detailed pieces?"

 

[Elvario]

Victorique Sopheana
​

Victorique made a quick mental note. Rachael was definitely a sadist. It'd be a good thing to keep in the back of her mind, in as far as she wasn't already doing so. As she was focused on the shopkeeper, her [Danger Instinct] made her aware of the inbound hug, seeing it from her peripherals. As per usual, she dodged out of the way with her [Quickness] as if her life depended on it. The moment Rachael would be able to catch her off guard would be the moment she'd officially have no line of defence against her, so she wasn't going to give up on it all that easily.

That said, she wasn't entirely sure how to make a come-back with regards to being used as a living dress-up doll. “At this rate, two are making me regret not simply getting my current outfit fixed...” The more she was thinking about it, the less she was stubborn enough to stand by her decision to ask Rachael and the more she wished to default to the comfort of what she was familiar with.

 

[Silent Angel]

Rachael Meredith

Rachael stuck out her tongue at the halfling as she stood up and brushed herself off after the failed capture of the short lady. "Oh, you're no fun." She made sure that her gear was unruffled before turning to Victorique, a smirk on her face. "Though, I can tell you're actually getting flustered. Normally you'd have been shooting off comebacks with just me teasing you like this. Guess I just need a partner in crime when I'm chatting with you~"

The shopkeep giggled, but soon set her face in a firm, determined look. "Well, I don't want to scare away a customer just for a bit of fun~" She leaned in close, looking over the halfling's shoulders at the book she held in her hands, her head tilting as she asked, "So, back to business. Which of my wares caught your eye? I can also make you one from scratch if none of those catch your fancy, though they will probably cost a bit more~ That, and you already said you didn't want to be my little dress up doll~"​

 

[Elvario]

Victorique Sopheana
​

“I'm surprised you're admitting to the need of an ally, despite all the sizes and assets you've been trying to weaponise against me by yourself.” Victorique snapped back, not wanting to admit to the fact that she had indeed gotten a bit flustered.

With a heavy, heavy sigh, Victorique went through the book as well. “I guess this blue one isn't too bad... Or this red one, perhaps?” Her face turned red as she saw some of the things that Rachael had marked. “Why do some of these have animal ears? That's your hobby, not mine.”

She quickly skipped to the next page. “Why are there so many pinks ones... oh, this one is purple. That's not too bad, I think?” She reached the last page, which had a rather interesting design on it. “Huh... this design... it's familiar, but I'm not sure what I know it from.”

With that, she'd pointed out a few options. That only left the most dreaded part of this entire endeavour; trying them on. She almost hoped they'd all conveniently be sold out or something.

 

[Silent Angel]

Rachael Meredith

The amazon leaned down, grinning at the halfling. "Don't worry, I don't really need one. But I think to really fluster you, I'd get in trouble with the law for public indecency." She plucked the book from Victorique's hands, handing it to the tailor. "Have her try on the ones marked, if you'd be so kind~ And as for the animal ears..." She looked back down at the detective. "I told you, I'm helping you use what God has given you. Specifically, the inherent cuteness you have. Cats and dogs are cute, and that type of stuff on you will only add to your own personal flair. I'm sure most people who know fashion would agree."

The elf was no longer paying attention, instead looking at the first page that she opened up to with a marked ear on the page. Her eyes looked it over, remembering each and every stitch that was in the dress. The medallion on her chest glowed as she held out a hand, and suddenly, almost in an instant, the halfling no longer wore her normal clothing, but instead wore a very frilly pink dress, her normal black bonnet replaced by a similar pink one.​

 

[Elvario]

Victorique Sopheana
​

“I'm surprised you haven't already.” Victorique didn't even need a second to reply, as it was by far the most natural response to Rachael's statement.

She did, however, take a little time to consider a reply to the second point. “I disagree. There are people with natural ears like that all around. If there's really a god that gave me that sort off... cuteness, you insist upon, I would've had them naturally. Putting them on would just feel like I'm faking to be something that I'm not. If that's what you want fine, but it sure as hell isn't what I want.”

With that hopefully sorted out, Victorique was suddenly shocked by what he was wearing.

The frills were pink. The sleeves were pink. Her hairband was pink. After being shocked for a few seconds, she violently tried to brush it off or out or away... However she could dispel this illusion, she had no clue, but she sure as hell tried. “Not this! Definitely not this! Turn it off!” She felt really uncomfortable with the violent pink blasting at her from her own reflection in the mirror.

 

[Silent Angel]

Rachael Meredith

Rachael shrugged at the response to the ears. "Eh, suit yourself. I think that you would look wonderful in a pair~" Her eyes widen at the clothes that her friend was suddenly wearing. She was very, very cute in it. It made Rachael want to give her a hug even more and just pamper her all day long. "Aww! You look wonderful in that! Like, genuinely, I don't think I've ever seen anyone cuter in my life." Her voice and body language showed she was completely genuine, with no sign of teasing.

The tailor shook her head, saying, "I know, it definitely works for her, but the customer is always right. So no animal ears and nothing overly pink, I guess..." She looked through the book, mentally marking off certain clothes, before finding the next page that would fit the girl's wants. She examined this one as well, looking between it and the halfling before giving herself a small nod and her hand a slight wave. Suddenly, the girl was in a very messy kimono, long enough to barely drag along the floor, even for the halfling, with a messy bow in the front. However, all the fabric felt incredibly soft and comfortable to the touch, as if it focused on comfortability of the wearer. And, after the previous clothes, Victorique could guess that the messy look of the robe like clothing was fully by design.​

 

[Elvario]

Victorique Sopheana
​

Although Victorique was glad to get the absence of fake ears agreed upon, she was far more relieved when she got out of that violently pink drab she'd been forced into. Regardless of how genuine the half-giant sounded about it, she was definitely not going to put up with such a thing. That said, the next outfit, whilst not really being as violently insulting, confused her.

“...” She stared at herself in the mirror for a bit, before instinctively trying to tug and straighten the clothes. Considering it was an illusion, that didn't exactly work. “I don't get it. Why is it on like I can't even dress myself and why does it look like a nightgown? What is up with this odd ribbon thing?” It did feel comfortable, but she honestly couldn't wrap her head around these design choices.

 

[Silent Angel]

Rachael Meredith

Rachael's eyes lit up as she looked the girl up and down. "Hold on, don't go to the next one yet." She Turned her head slightly to address the tailor before turning back to the halfling. "It looks like a... Yukata is what I think they're called?" She leaned down, getting a good look at it. "It's a comfortable style from a far eastern land, but I think it's styled like this to mix that in with an almost slovenly cute fashion. Together, I think it genuinely looks perfect for you. The contrast between the purposefully unkempt clothing and your stern face is just absolutely wonderful~" She grinned at the other girl, her eyes still examining her. "And I think the bow is to keep the front from opening up. Seems like it does a good job, even if it is made to look like that~"​

 

[Elvario]

Victorique Sopheana
​

Victorique frowned. “Yukata...? That sounds Japanese.” She didn't know a lot about Japan, so it might as well be Korean or Chinese, but the latter didn't matter a whole lot. Rachael's answer only made Victorique look all the more stern. “Well, yes, it's comfortable, but I've never felt so much like I'm just an incompetent child as right now, as it feels like I can't even put my clothing on correctly.” She shook her head. “No way am I going to wear this in public. Perhaps a sleep-over or something.. maybe... I don't know.” Upon the thought of that ribbon being the only thing keeping the entire thing from just falling off she shook her head. “Okay, never mind, not even then! Never. Next one please.” She really didn't like the idea of having barely held together sleepwear for an outfit.

 

[Silent Angel]

Rachael Meredith

The amazon blinked, confusion crossing her face as the other lady talked. She turned, giving a smile to the tailor as she said, "Hey, we need to have a quick talk. We'll be back right after." She started walking to the door, her face serious as it told Victorique that she was not to be trifled with at this point, and that she wouldn't take any sort of argument from the halfling. She opened the door to the outside and walked through, waiting for the other woman.​

 

[Elvario]

Victorique Sopheana
​

Victorique didn't like what Rachael seemed to be plotting, but she sighed and followed along. After all, she'd been foolish enough to enlist the half-giant and was now forced to suffer the consequences. Making sure the illusions were gone, so she had her regular outfit on again, ragged and torn as it was, she followed Rachael outside. However, she figured she'd beat the half-giant to it. “I thought you were going to help me pick something normal, not put me in some violently pink kid's dress and in a pair of unfitting pyjama's. If this is just a joke to you, I'm leaving.”

 

[Silent Angel]

Rachael Meredith

She waved the accusation away. "I didn't get those for you because it's a game. I gave you those suggestions because I thought you'd look good in them, and you did, even if you don't want to admit it. But that isn't what I brought you out here to tell you." She looked around, making sure there wasn't anyone around to overhear. If an argument somehow broke out, she didn't want raised voices to make people think they were mental.

Once her check was done, she turned back to the halfling, crossing her arms, an eyebrow slightly raised. "You know, something you said in there was... interesting. You said the clothing looked... Japanese? Now, call me crazy, but I don't believe there's anyplace called 'Japan' in this world, so you couldn't be talking about something here. If you were talking about another place, then yes, a Yukata is a Japanese outfit. But to be talking about that, there might be something you might want to tell me."​

 

[Elvario]

Victorique Sopheana
​

Victorique was by no means convinced that Rachael was telling her the truth. She'd given her ridiculous stuff to wear that could, in no way, be taken serious. “I still don't buy it. One more strike and you're out.” Now that they were outside, Victorique figured she might as well light up her pipe. After taking it out of her [Pocket Dimension] along with her tobacco and tinderbox, she could soon inhale the desired smoke.

She frowned when Rachael went all detective on her. “I mean, yeah. Obviously.” She wasn't sure where Rachael's surprise came from, until she suddenly figured it out. A little surprised, she replied. “Wait, you mean to say it took you this long to figure out? I assumed you to be in the same type of situation the moment you started picking a fight with guards and adventurers in an attempt to save a monster whilst being dressed as eye-catching and odd as you are. Either you were completely insane or you were not from this world altogether, so I took my chances and assumed it was the latter option. It's nice to have similar people around, you know? Or did you think I only wanted you to tag along all the way to Norroburry for your muscle and assets? Besides, that [god] didn't exactly seem subtle about the fact that he's doing this on a large scale, so it didn't even occur to me that you hadn't figured out my situation was similar. I'm only surprised it's the same world, or a very similar one, if we both know of a country called Japan.”