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Did Someone Say Shopping? [P-Dis and I]

Postby Kallile » 07/03/2012 3:21 PM

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Devi

Ah, it was going to be a glorious day!

The young woman was in a particularly light hearted canter as she made her way to her father’s home. Though a moment with daddy was far from her mind, oh no Devi was here with much bigger news on behalf of her sister. In her hot little hands, Devi held an article which portrayed Xander, posing awkwardly among a gaggle of character look-alikes to prompt his appearance at the yearly comic convention. He was a rising star—the hottest new artist and writer in the franchise…and Devi knew her sister Ianthe would be hard pressed to pass the event by without seeing him just once.

And she was going to make that stubborn sister of hers a bombshell for the occasion if it was the last thing she did. All those floozies in the ad, ironically enough, were fashioned after her sister—the big inspiration to the up and coming writer ever since their brief meeting after one particularly disappointing auction. Devi was deeply knowledgeable about the whole thing—after all, what were good looks if you didn’t use them to tease out some factoids for blackmail purposes here and there?

Coming to a stop at the door Devi smoothed her one shouldered dress that shimmered in the most royal of purples before reaching out a delicate hand to knock. Of course, she did not wait for an answer, but rather opened it and stuck her head right on inside. It was family, they would understand.

“Oh Ianthe!” She called out sweetly into the halls that sprawled out before her. Oh, her sister dearest was simply just going to die when she heard the plans for today…
[1]
"I have been hidden, scorned, adored, worshiped, forsaken, coveted and banished more times than I care to count. But the one thing all those experiences cannot steal from me is the gentle soul I was born with, the kind heart I have molded, and the bright ideals for the future that have lit my way through the darkness of the past."




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Re: Did Someone Say Shopping? [P-Dis and I]

Postby Ander » 07/13/2012 4:46 AM

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Ianthe, Human Form

The immediate answer to Devi's call would be a series of clangs and booms, echoing somewhere up the stairs near her right. Indeed, were she to ascend that stairwell, it would be the fourth door up that popped open to reveal a very surprised Ianthe. The Lucain's long lavender hair was pinned into a messy bun, stray locks matted to her forehead by inky smears of oil. Her lips were likewise marred, oily black luridly lining otherwise ghost-pale skin - but it matched the patches that covered her arms and what little could be seen of her legs. "Hey there, sis. Come on up!" Without another thought, Ian knew that the green plaid tee beneath overalls a size larger than they ought have been wouldn't be something her fashion-conscious sister would be impressed by. And who else could be calling on her than Devi? She was of the few who called her by her full name anymore.

Inside Ianthe's slice of the Lucains' condo, it was clear to see why the woman was a mess. Metal, parts, and still more oil was everywhere! The inventor's bare feet navigated easily over bolts, screws and other odds-and-ends, all the while clearing a path for her sister's steps. Half-done constructions towered over the living room. In one corner, the skeletal framework of what...appeared to be a Beetanke rose from floor to ceiling, deep green panels littering the floor around its limbs. On a well-worn couch lie the shell of a very neglected Velix, obviously being restored; and on a table with all the makings of steelwork and surgery rested a Maus, carefully tucked under a sheet. Open on that same table were several complicated books; the top of the pile was a thick tome, open to a chapter on "Hexmarking".

Ian walked right past the lot and into the kitchen. It was a simpler affair, with warm yellow walls and earthen tile - and only the smallest of projects strewn across a single counter. This room, clearly, was the one most fit for receiving company. "It's been some time, Devi. What brings you by?" Visiting Echka, more than likely. She could never understand how the two fought like Battle- and Hollowhearts and still spent so much time together.
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Re: Did Someone Say Shopping? [P-Dis and I]

Postby Kallile » 07/13/2012 5:00 PM

The young woman gave  a small jump at the sounds the answered her before turning to glance up the stairs and catch just a glimpse of Ianthe’s head peering over the top of them. But even with just that small glance Devi found herself shuddering. Dear Gaia, was that oil all over her? She was ruining her complexion! Destroying her (could be) fabulous hair! And speaking of hair just look at it—so carelessly tossed up as if it were some cursed thing meant to be stabbed mercilessly until it behaving itself on the back of her head….

All the reasons she was here came into full clarity in that moment. She had to do this for her sister—she couldn’t show up to rekindle that old fire she had felt with Xander looking like some common laborer! Even if the man was into that sort of thing, Devi would have none of it. There would be thousands of other girls there smearing oil all over their dingy clothing to look like Xander’s Ianthe-inspired character. She had to stand out above them! She had to show she could be herself and a complete and total babe!

…And dear Gaia did she need Devi’s help getting there!

As the fashion-savvy lady looked into her sisters living space, horrified was not nearly horrible enough to properly describe the feelings that sprung up in Devi’s mind. Her sister lived in this? Worked in this? A hand rose to place fingertips gently against her collar bone in a very lady-like gawk of shock. Then a new thought crossed her mind—her lovely pumps were in terrible danger here! With great care Devi picked her way over the cleanest spots on the floor—the doorway into the kitchen seeming to dash away from her just as quickly as she could walk towards it.

“Yes Ianthe—too terribly long.” She said as she finally reached the safe haven that was the kitchen with a sigh of relief. A quick check of her beloved pumps found them oil-splatter free and she relaxed even more…until she caught a full glimpse of Ianthe’s attire. No, focus, focus!

“I actually have something I think you might find…very much to your liking.” With a mischievous grin she turned the magazine around for Ianthe to properly see it—her beloved Xander smack dab in the middle of the article in question. She said nothing more, just waited.
"I have been hidden, scorned, adored, worshiped, forsaken, coveted and banished more times than I care to count. But the one thing all those experiences cannot steal from me is the gentle soul I was born with, the kind heart I have molded, and the bright ideals for the future that have lit my way through the darkness of the past."




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Re: Did Someone Say Shopping? [P-Dis and I]

Postby Ander » 07/13/2012 11:18 PM

Ian turned around, pulling stoneware cups out of surprisingly well-kept cabinets, and setting them next to a strange piece of machinery that took up a goodly section of counter. She nodded in time with Devi's words as she pulled levers and frothed milk from what was easily the most complicated espresso machine in all of Evelon. It had been a fair amount of time since she'd seen her sister. Now that she thought about it, it'd been a decent amount of time since she'd seen...anyone, really. That failed auction had been her last time out of the Terminal. Since then, she supposed she really hadn't done anything but aid and invent, dally and dismantle.

A steaming cappuccino was placed in front of her sister, complete with a 'D' stylized in whipped cream topping. "Something to my liking...?" Ianthe couldn't imagine Devi coming up with a titanium coupling anywhere, so... But her bewilderment ended soon enough. The inventor picked the magazine from the darker woman's hands. "Xander?" A sudden flush turned what skin not marred by inky black rosy pink. She hadn't seen him since the auction! "What is this? Did something happen to him? And why do all the women he's with look...um, weirdly familiar? Are they actors or...something...?"

There was just something about every single one of them that she couldn't put her finger on.
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Re: Did Someone Say Shopping? [P-Dis and I]

Postby Kallile » 07/16/2012 4:46 PM

As the machine whirred and grumbled about its task Devi did her best to keep her voice above it’s roar…for a few seconds. Though all too soon she became tired of trying to communicate over the blasted thing and just sat silently and patiently for Ianthe to finish her preparations. It wasn’t too terrible a task given the divine smells that the espresso maker was throwing off. Sweet coffee delights would always make up for being made to raise her voice to be heard.

With the cup placed before here even containing a little “D” in the midst of the froth—that point was doubly noted. Ianthe at least had some good tastes when it came to company it seemed. Personalized espresso? Wonderful!

It was her dear sister’s lack of recognition that drew an amused chuckle from her sister. She really couldn’t tell who the ink-smudged girls were supposed to be? Well then she would be in for a much larger shock than Devi had originally planned for.  “Something most certainly did happen to him—he’s the new talk of the town, so to speak, in the comic book world. Famous, if you would prefer to term it so.”  Devi turned her attention back to the article for a moment to humor Ianthe into believing she might need a second glance at the girls to be sure.

“I believe the correct term for them are cosplayers—not actors—and my dear, do you really not know?” Grabbing at her small clutch bag she quickly produced a small make-up container and opened it before reaching out with a free hand to hold up both the magazine and the mirror for Ianthe to properly see.

“Dearest sister…they are pretending to be you. You are that boy’s muse…I can’t believe you haven’t heard yet! You’re on the coattails of fame right behind your sweet Xander!”
"I have been hidden, scorned, adored, worshiped, forsaken, coveted and banished more times than I care to count. But the one thing all those experiences cannot steal from me is the gentle soul I was born with, the kind heart I have molded, and the bright ideals for the future that have lit my way through the darkness of the past."




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Re: Did Someone Say Shopping? [P-Dis and I]

Postby Ander » 08/13/2012 1:59 AM

The inventor easily turned the magazine for Devi's eyes, though the woman's chuckle had her looking on with some suspicion. She was, on the one hand, plenty curious to know why Xander was on the cover of a magazine. On the other hand, nothing good ever came from the 'I-know-something-you-don't-know' expression her sister wore now. However, the more Devi spoke - the more of this impossible story she revealed! - the more Ianthe's suspicion transformed into open-mouthed surprise; and for precious seconds, a soft-lipped stammer.

"Famous? He isn't!" But he very clearly was! There were no words, no calculable value that properly expressed how very happy she was for him! "He finally made it, with his comics... I bet his parents are so excited. They must miss him terribly, all those fancy travels." It was apparent that for all her brilliance, the girl had a very stylized idea of what 'famous' meant. Her wistful tones make it just as clear that the artist's parents weren't the only ones that had been missing him. How long had he been a celebrity? How much of his success had she missed, penned in with her machines?

The mirror betrayed yet another mood shift: from surprise and wonder came disbelief. Ianthe looked at her sister, appalled at the very suggestion. She, anyone's muse! But Ian was a logical woman, and the similarities between magazine and mirror didn't lie. In the end, wide blue eyes only stared at the boy's static face in shock. "M-me? Devi, he can't...n-not me!" Ah, the stammer returned.
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Re: Did Someone Say Shopping? [P-Dis and I]

Postby Kallile » 08/18/2012 5:45 PM

Devi couldn’t resist the urge to grin, and so she did so widely and with perhaps more glee than was really needed. “Oh but he is! There is even chatter of him being in the top one hundred bachelor issue of next years’ Elegance issue.” Of course, Devi was the proper person to know those sorts of things. With even the few and far between links she had to the magazine world, they were accurate enough to trust. It was also the first seed Devi planned to sow in her sister’s mind. Ianthe might not be one too enthralled with romance, but certainly the idea of her sweet Xander being swarmed with strange women after his wealth and status would light the proper fire under her.

But there was a strange twinkle still in her eyes as she watched Ianthe’s reaction to the news of her being the young man’s muse. “Oh come now Ianthe! That poor boy has done nothing but pin for you since the moment he stumbled through that very first sentence he spoke to you!” He grin curled in a little more to give the darker-haired sibling a slightly wicked look.

“But that’s why I’m here darling. He’s in town, it would only be proper for you to see him. Of course, with a building full of little creatures looking like you, we must make you stand out in the crowd. We need to remind ever one of those look-alikes why it is you who is Xander’s muse, yes? Certainly he would be happy to see you either way but that's no reason not to make yourself up a little.” Though her strongest card had been played, Devi still had plenty more motivators up her sleeve should her dear sister resist.
"I have been hidden, scorned, adored, worshiped, forsaken, coveted and banished more times than I care to count. But the one thing all those experiences cannot steal from me is the gentle soul I was born with, the kind heart I have molded, and the bright ideals for the future that have lit my way through the darkness of the past."




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Re: Did Someone Say Shopping? [P-Dis and I]

Postby Ander » 11/05/2012 4:30 PM

Ianthe had no idea what made a certain hundred bachelors more elegant than another hundred. The idea of Xander gaining much-deserved esteem, though, was enough to make her smile. The return of her blush deepened those high, dimpled cheeks pink. She couldn't imagine seeing him now - she had been so badly behaved the last time they met! All she'd been able to talk about was that absolutely wonderful  anima machina found at the Auction - and then promptly lost. How Ian remembered grieving over it.

And though its loss did sting, the realization that she could have used that time to get to know Xander more hurt so, so much worse. Perhaps that was why the inventor had buried herself in this apartment, away from all else. Here, she had avoided thinking about her shanghaied masterwork, and the artist whose attention she'd forsaken.

"Devi, you must be mistaken," Oh, but if she was right! "I scarcely spent enough time around him for all of this! It seems like he should hardly remember me, much less pine." It was entirely illogical, although...she had to admit, exciting. After all, the magazine spread didn't lie. Ianthe bit her lip. Would he really be happy to see her?
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Re: Did Someone Say Shopping? [P-Dis and I]

Postby Kallile » 01/23/2013 1:16 PM

Her sisters hesitation didn't phase Devi in the least; quite on the contrary as it was. The reluctance of her sister to go and reclaim the heart of a man she had won only made her want to pursue this opportunity more. Leaning a little closer Devi fixed her eyes with Ianthe's for a moment (and took just a moment to glance at those grease-stained hands and cringe) before grasping her sisters hands in her own.

"Ianthe, you have struck this young man in the most profound way! He has spent all these years building you as a  character into his work just so he can feel close to you and keep your memory with him! If you could only see some of his artwork--the detail he puts into your doppelganger can only mean this man is positively head or heels about you!"

She released Ianthe's hands for a moment and leaned back a little. "At the very least an appearance to let him know how flattered you are that he has chosen you as the model for his life's work would be appreciated. Though there is no doubt in my mind he would prefer the real Ianthe to these cheesy look-alikes."

The hook had been baited...now all Ianthe had to do was bite.
"I have been hidden, scorned, adored, worshiped, forsaken, coveted and banished more times than I care to count. But the one thing all those experiences cannot steal from me is the gentle soul I was born with, the kind heart I have molded, and the bright ideals for the future that have lit my way through the darkness of the past."




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Re: Did Someone Say Shopping? [P-Dis and I]

Postby Ander » 02/07/2013 4:57 PM

The very ideas that Devi proposed made Ian want to swoon, and the touch of her hands only served to drive her points home. The inventor's fingers twitched a moment before closing around her sister's, deeply in need of the support. Xander, wild about her! On one hand, it made no sense; she didn't think she'd ever made advances toward him, didn't think she'd thought of anything but her tinkering. When could she have made the impression? How could she have entranced him with little more than absent-minded preoccupation?

But on the other hand - logically - Devi had brought proof of her impact on him. An entire comic full of a heroine that looked remarkably like her, along with a host of faux-lavender-haired Girl Geniuses as an entourage. Wasn't it worth seeing Xander...if only to ask why he would remember her form over all others? Her, of all 'cain? The younger sibling fidgeted when they broke contact, as if Devi was the only thing holding her solid and upright. Given the decision that Ian had just made, that wasn't too far from the truth.

"Okay," she replied, meekly. Everything from the quaver in her voice to the currently-bitten lip denoted nervousness. "I'd like to see him. Just to ask him about this."
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