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rags to riches - Mateo - 08-01-2025
Mateo has decided very much at the last minute that he'd quite like to attend this weird Ludo masquerade, and that means making a costume. Luckily for him, several citizens in Haulani seem to be having the same idea, and in one of the market squares, a few tables have been set up before a fountain where people can stitch and snip and put together their outfits. Flanking the square - of course - are an array of stalls selling fabric, trim, accessories, masks, you name it.
The botanist has been drawn in like a moth to a flame, surprising nobody at all, his arms already full with a bolt of midnight fabric, a length of silver ribbon, and a few chiming little bells. He's ooooing and pointing at a mask template at another one of the stalls now - one that will cover half of his face vertically (a la Phantom of the Opera, don't you know), and the merchant grins and turns to get it down for him.
[say]"That will be perfect, I think,"[/say] he gushes, indicating for the merchant to perch the mask jauntily atop his pile of other purchases.
RE: rags to riches - Theea - 08-01-2025
I wasn’t going to go.
I told myself that for days. I’m not really a social event kind of person, and Ludo—Ludo always made me more nervous than the others. But my mom is home. I have friends now. More family. And after Melita’s stories—after seeing how bright her eyes got when she talked about the Herald who guided the dead—I don’t know. Maybe I’m just not scared in the same way anymore.
Which is how I end up here, arms full of fabric and probably looking like a disaster. I’m weaving through the crowd with bolts of silver and deep violet pressed to my chest, a ribbon slipping free and trailing behind me like a very dramatic tail. The market’s alive with last-second chaos, and I slow as I pass a stall packed with masks.
That’s when I see it.
A mask of broken glass and crescent curves, catching the light like starlight. Just like dad's work mask. Small and sharp and strangely elegant. It makes something catch in my throat, and I reach for it before I can even think—
—and bump shoulders with someone beside me.
[say]“Oh! Sorry—”[/say] I start, turning, but the apology becomes a laugh when I see who it is. [say]“Mateo! The body shot cousin. You look different without body glitter.”[/say]
RE: rags to riches - Mateo - 08-02-2025
The merchant is just setting the mask precariously atop Mateo's other items when he's accidentally jostled, and it's with a brief but musical curse in the travelling tongue that he wobbles on one foot for a second, but successfully manages to keep his balance and his purchases intact. [say]"No harm done,"[/say] he is already saying with a dimpled smile, only to peek around his fabric and accessories and spot Theea properly. [say]"Ah, you remembered me!"[/say] He's grinning now, as if considering himself forgettable. (Please, Mateo).
[say]"And you are Theaa, the first time drinker cousin. How was your first hangover?"[/say] he asks, automatically stepping back and out of the way as someone else comes to peruse the masks on display. [say]"Do you know, I actually loathe body glitter. It may not look like it, but I am actually still wearing it on some part of my body. You can never really get it off."[/say] He smiles towards a space at one of the tables. [say]"I am going to try to make this mess into a costume - would you like me to save you a seat?"[/say]
RE: rags to riches - Theea - 08-03-2025
I can’t help the grin that spreads across my face when he says my name. Like it’s a little miracle he remembered me at all—especially with how chaotic that night was. I shift the fabric in my arms, careful not to drop anything, and scrunch my nose a bit. [say]“Honestly? Mild. Thankfully. I’ve seen my mom with worse, and I didn’t exactly want to reenact her greatest hits.”[/say]
The laugh slips out of me before I can stop it. [say]“And glitter? Ugh. It’s the most contagious disease at a party. I swear, it’s still in my clothes, and I’ve washed them twice.”[/say]
I follow his gaze toward the crafting tables, and when I see the little open space, it lights something up in me. I beam. [say]“Yes, please. I’ve only ever patched holes or hemmed things—I’ve never actually made something. From scratch.”[/say] I adjust the bolts in my arms and give him a look, half-challenging, half-hopeful. [say]“But I’m feeling brave.”[/say]
RE: rags to riches - Mateo - 08-04-2025
[say]"A wise decision,"[/say] Mateo agrees. [say]"My fathers only had a handful of intense hangovers growing up, but even witnessing one was enough to make me cautious... for a time."[/say] And that time, as Theea has already been witness to, is decisively over. [say]"Ah, never? Let this be another one of your firsts, then,"[/say] Mateo says, beaming at the prospect of making something from nothing with his recently discovered cousin. [say]"I will see you there - it is easy, I promise!"[/say]
It isn't, but in Mateo's mind as long as it's fun, it doesn't truly matter how difficult something is. And by the time she's finished at the stall and comes to join him, he's got all of his fabrics and his mask all arranged, having tugged out Theea's seat ready for her to join him. And whilst there's absolutely no telling whether he's making the right cuts with the fabric shears he's holding, at least everyone can agree that he looks mighty confident while he's doing it.
RE: rags to riches - Theea - 08-06-2025
By the time I finally peel myself away from the mask stall—my crescent glass prize tucked safely under my arm with the fabric—I spot him at the table, already looking like he’s been here all afternoon. My seat’s pulled out, and he’s holding fabric shears like they’re some kind of ceremonial dagger. Confident. Maybe a little too confident.
I drop my things onto the table and slide into the chair with a grin. [say]“You said easy,”[/say] I remind him, eyeing the angle he’s about to cut. [say]“That doesn’t look easy. That looks like you’re about to either make a masterpiece or invent a whole new kind of fashion crime.”[/say]
Leaning an elbow on the table, I tilt my head and smirk. [say]“Want me to hold anything? Or… measure something?”[/say] Pretty sure that’s involved in this process, right? I look at my bolt of black fabric I imagined around my top half like its going to swallow me up.
RE: rags to riches - Mateo - 08-06-2025
[say]"Theea,"[/say] Mateo says with the grave but musical tone of someone who is both joking and entirely serious, [say]"it is only a fashion crime if you wear it like one. I assure you - anything is a masterpiece when I put it on. And if you approach this with the same attitude, you will get the same result."[/say] Grinning wide enough to show his dimples, he makes one final and decisive snip with the shears before setting them down on the table.
Waving at his whatever it's going to be as she offers to help, he instead glances to her bolt of fabric. [say]"What are you going to make?"[/say] he asks with a grin, grabbing at a bowl of fabric pins and motioning for her to get up. [say]"Come on, let us see how we might make it look around you, yes?"[/say] One has to start somewhere, after all.
RE: rags to riches - Theea - 08-06-2025
[say]“I’m not sure you’d agree with how I normally dressed while traveling,”[/say] I say dryly, though his grin’s too contagious not to mirror. [say]“There was a lot of—layers. And straps. And things that probably came from the lost and found.”[/say]
I shift in my seat a little, looking down at myself with a wry sort of expression. [say]“I’m still trying to figure out how to be confident in this… adult body.”[/say] Gods, especially the breasts. No one tells you they show up one day like uninvited guests and then never leave. Or that clothes suddenly become complicated.
When he gestures toward my fabric, I follow his gaze. [say]“Uuuh…”[/say] I start, very eloquently, before he’s already grabbing pins and waving at me to stand up. I do, carefully handing him the soft, stretchable fabric. It’s light and comfortable, which is really all I’ve ever asked of clothing—and hopefully it’ll contain everything without looking, you know… prudish. I’m not a prude. I'm just woefully inexperienced in all things social.
As he begins wrapping it around my upper half, I hold still, eyes flicking down to try and picture it. [say]“I was thinking the skirt part could be ribbons,”[/say] I explain. [say]“Violet and silver, all tatters and trails. Kind of like wind or unraveling threads.”[/say]
I glance at him from the corner of my eye, mouth twitching. [say]“Think Ludo would approve?”[/say]
RE: rags to riches - Mateo - 08-08-2025
[say]"Rustic,"[/say] Mateo substitutes for her instantly as Theea lists her usual fashions. [say]"Bold. Adventurer-chic, you might even say."[/say] Waggling his eyebrows at her as he also gets to his feet, he wastes no time at all in fixing the fabric around her, pinning it securely and humming some jaunty tune under his breath as he works. [say]"Ah, you too?"[/say] he chirps as she speaks about an adult body, Mateo circling back to stand before her.
[say]"They never tell you how hard it is to find your balance at first,"[/say] he continues. [say]"Or warn you about the hormones. Gods. And I had to learn to shave, too."[/say] Not that he ever goes clean-shaven, but neither does Mateo grow his beard out to hobo or wizard status.
He hums his approval at Theea's thoughts on the skirt of her outfit, nodding enthusiastically. [say]"I certainly approve, and I can only hope that Ludo feels the same way,"[/say] he says. [say]"Do you have the violet and silver fabric here? We could snip it up to ribbons so you can start to arrange them?"[/say]
RE: rags to riches - Theea - 08-08-2025
I can’t help laughing at his choice of words, shaking my head but grinning all the same. [say]“Adventurer chic,”[/say] I repeat, like I’m rolling it around on my tongue. [say]“Might at least be appreciated by some people.”[/say]
When he glances up and says you too, my smile spreads wide and genuine. More people my age relate to that awkward shift into adulthood than I’d expected, and I’m stupidly grateful my family actually gets it. [say]“What was the hardest part for you?”[/say] I ask curiously. [say]“Growing up so fast, or was it the shaving part?”[/say]
Damien’s voice flickers in my mind—how he’d told me it was unfair I’d had to grow up so fast. I still don’t totally get what he meant. I mean, I hadn’t totally missed out on my childhood… had I? Maybe he’d meant the way it all changed after my dad died. The way freedom turned into survival in an instant.
But I’d much rather think about dresses and parties right now.
[say]“Thanks for pinning me in,”[/say] I say brightly, motioning toward the bolts of violet and reflective silver ribbons I’d set aside. [say]“The help is a fucking gods-send.”[/say] I think for a second, then pick up the scissors, take a breath, and make the first cut. The strip of violet I hold up afterward is… well. [say]“Only a little crooked,”[/say] I declare proudly. It is, in fact, very crooked.
RE: rags to riches - Mateo - 08-09-2025
[say]"More than you would think,"[/say] Mateo says with easy confidence, flashing her a grin as he flits about her with some additional pins. [say]"You just have to own what you wear, Theea. It is what you show to the world, after all."[/say] He's actually been fairly reserved in Torchline thus far when it comes to his fashion sense, but rest assured, a few wild night back up in Stormbreak and there's no telling, truly, what he'll look like coming out of the house.
Stepping back to admire the way the base fabric sits for a moment or so, tugging at it here and there, Mateo finally nods his satisfaction. [say]"Hm? For me?"[/say] He scoffs, bouncing his eyebrows at her. [say]"It was how interesting I suddenly found everybody else, if you catch my drift."[/say] For Mateo, at least, the embers of his libido had all but erupted into a wildfire once he found himself in a body capable of enjoying such pleasure. And he hasn't really stopped since.
[say]"But of course,"[/say] he says, of pinning her into the dress shape. [say]"Once you are happy with it, I will cut down the back where the fastenings will go, so you can get out of it."[/say] For now, though, there are ribbons to snip and arrange, and as the botanist surveys her first ribbon, he lets out a musical laugh. [say]"Ludo is quite crooked I think, so it bodes well. We will make it intentional - you keep snipping."[/say] In the meantime, he'll start pinning the strips in place to be sewn later.
RE: rags to riches - Theea - 08-09-2025
I think back to before—before I grew up, before I had to. I almost never cared what I was wearing. If it kept me warm or didn’t rip too easily, it was good enough. [say]”Everyone in Torchline feels like they’re made of glamour and high-stakes social situations.”[/say] I admit, adjusting my stance a little as he works. [say]“But everyone has been nothing but kind to me. Somehow that makes me more nervous to mess it up.”[/say]
His eyebrow bounce and that grin pull a blush to my cheeks before I can stop it. Oh, I definitely catch his drift. I’ve been so focused on finding my family, on proving I can stand on my own, that I haven’t really stopped to think about… anyone like that. Not really.
There’s one person my mind lingers on, unbidden, and my heart jumps in my throat a little. I clear it away with a crooked smile. [say]“I think I might be starting to get what you mean?"[/say] It's more of a question than I mean it to be. [say]"Why was that the hardest part for you?”[/say]
I glance down at myself. I actually like the simple wrap around my torso—no sleeves, no straps. Clean. Easy. I tuck the fabric higher around my breasts so it contains more—then pause, remembering his words. Own it. My lips purse, eyes narrowing in thought. I tug the fabric differently, letting it skim lower, hinting at curves without dipping so far the whole thing would be one wrong step from disaster.
[say]“I think Ludo’s an interesting one,”[/say] I add, a grin tugging at my mouth as I snip another ribbon—this one just as veering as the last. [say]“I spoke to one of its demigods recently. The Honeybee. She said Ludo wants everyone to stop being so serious all the time.”[/say] I watch the scissors glide, deciding I like the way it feels more than I care about getting the edges perfect. Maybe Melita’s right.
RE: rags to riches - Mateo - 08-10-2025
[say]"By everyone, are you sure you do not just mean my sister, the Marin triplets, and everybody they hang around with?"[/say] Mateo says with a not-so-secretive grin. [say]"Because holding yourself to their standards when you are still finding your own style is putting yourself at quite a disadvantage."[/say] They are all glamour and high-stakes social situations, after all. [say]"Though if it makes you feel better, a lot of what Flora wears is stolen from my wardrobe, and I do not thing you are messing up at all."[/say]
All but beaming at her agreement on his particular perils of growing into sudden adulthood, he lets out a musical laugh at Theea's question, tilting his head up at her as he leans down to pin some more pieces of ribbon to the skirt of her dress. [say]"Because, as it happens, I find quite a lot of people interesting. And Stormbreak is an easy city to lose yourself in, when you want to have that sort of a good time."[/say] A very eloquent way of saying I found out I'm a shameless slut.
[say]"Ah, you met Melita?"[/say] He chuckles. [say]"I spent some time with her once, throwing water balloons at the citizens of Stormbreak from the rooftops. In the name of Ludo and not being so serious all the time, of course."[/say] No one can say that the Honeybee doesn't practice what she preaches. [say]"I have only ever spotted the herald at the Festival of Lights, though."[/say]
RE: rags to riches - Theea - 08-10-2025
I can’t help the small smile that tugs at my lips when he rattles off exactly the sort of people I’d been talking about. [say]“Then your fashion sense is very Torchline,”[/say] I say, tipping my head toward him. [say]“You and your sister practically are the islands. The clothes, the confidence, the whole thing.”[/say]
On just how many people he finds interesting, a wry grin works its way onto my face. [say]“That doesn’t even sound like a difficult time. Sounds like you had a great time,”[/say] I tease, adding quickly, [say]“Not that I’d know anything about your experience, of course.”[/say] Still, I can’t help wondering if it’s supposed to feel like that. Maybe it’s different for me. Maybe it helped that I was at least a teenager before I aged.
When he brings up Melita, my laugh comes out quick and bright. [say]“She told me about that! I didn’t know you were part of it. And she definitely didn’t say you were throwing them at random citizens.”[/say] The sudden understanding clicks, and I grin wider. [say]“I get why the Dragoons almost got involved. That’s so much better.”[/say]
I glance down at the ribbons in my lap, idly straightening one before I begin snipping through the next, making this one shorter than the last. [say]“I’ve thought about asking Ludo to ferry a message for me before,”[/say] I admit. [say]“But… the person I’d want to reach might not appreciate me trying to make deals with mischievous heralds just to say hello.”[/say] I shrug lightly, letting it pass with a quick smile. [say]“Probably safer to just stick to water balloons and costumes.”[/say]