2023-03-14: Encoiling Spoiling
- Cast: Liu Mei Wang, Christina MacKenzie
- Where: Orbital Ring
- Date: U.C. 0097 03 14
- Summary: Liu Mei takes Christina shopping . . . but will the web of haute couture be constricting!?
<Pose Tracker> Liu Mei Wang has posed.
Many things ought to bother Liu Mei more than this. Many affairs ought to be on her radar. Many demands made of her time.
...But even after explicitly mailing her associate Christina MacKenzie a high quality replacement normal suit, she just can't get it out of her head.
After all - isn't she something of a hero? Someone well connected from time in the service of the cutting edge of military science? Someone like that should be a bastion of the changing times, the heiress figures. Veteran figures who've seen the cracks in the world first hand, yet who fall away from what she perceives as grace...
...it's the fixation on this that leads to Liu Mei practically dragging Christina out to here - the illustrious zero-gravity Astro Mall Dongfang Hong, a high-end add-on to the Neo-China colony specifically catering to fashion for those who spend a lot of time, well, in zero-gravity environments. Here, the secrets of how to maintain the luster of Earthly prestige are formed and formulated - and modest, sneaky adjustments to stylings that'd flap or bunch up loosely without gravity are par for the course. It's a place that's something of a low-key nexus of elite among the Orbital Ring upper echelon - catering to the kind of businessmen and politicians who traverse colonies so regularly that they need to look good whie they do it, all while being a relatively pointless place to visit for those who aren't in that caste of society.
A slender and clingy blue qipao hugs Liu Mei tightly as she lingers at the monorail terminal, incessantly texting Christina and sending her picture after picture, as though insecure that her associate is even going to arrive at all. Signature twin-braids tied into big loops framing each twinbun, and shoes that incorporate tiny little verniers in the heels to navigate vast zero-g expanses more easily...touches like these are what to expect here.
<Pose Tracker> Christina MacKenzie has posed.
VrrtVrrt. The monorail hardly even whispers, magnetic stabilization seamless in the controlled atmosphere of the Orbital Ring. She's never really traveled this line before, not even for Anaheim work. Her console vibrates. Again. Ms. Wang has impeccable cadence. It really seems like photographs of another world. At this point, though, Chris is close enough that she leaves the notification floating as she secures herself again the deceleration of the rail car and glides out into the terminal. Her hair is a little less glossy and tidy than usual, and she moves a little slowly. Her flight suit, though still very obviously new, and lovingly cared for looks a little bit...lived in. At least the acidic waft from the collar had finally washed out? Look, it's been a long week! Certainly, she doesn't seem to fit the mystique of this place.
"I still don't know why Luio didn't make me pay for the damages..." she mutters to herself, until she looks up, smiling with her whole (tired) heart as her companion assertively closes the distance between them. "Ms. Wang, it's good to see you well--wow, you look really lovely! I'm glad you wanted to meet me--I had a few matters come up that I could use your advice on. Still..." She glanced around, Dongfang Hong seeming even more intimidating than in the pictures. "Are you sure it's here we should meet up?"
<Pose Tracker> Liu Mei Wang has posed.
To Liu Mei, the question of 'why meet here' is almost alien. Tipping her head, the shorter heiress elegantly captures Christina's arm with one hand, flicking Li Yao's gifted fan over her lips. "...Why not here? I always bring those I coordinate somewhere nice like this. Just the other day, I treated someone to my favorite spa on a whim."
Liu Mei's just about to brusquely drift on to the first store she has planned - one that specializes in hair accessories and ties, before she pivots mid-air, drifting above the ground, leaning in and peering deeply at Christina's attire. "...already you're rather worn down...hm. Erosion of material and erosion of the spirit." There's a deep locking of eyes between the pair for a bit-
-Why does this hold her so tight, to see people like this so exhausted? Is it...coming to terms with the passage of time?
Is it that their flaws are upon the surface - and thus reformable? The fruit of 'changing' someone who's born the brunt of the world's intent...
"Well, either way, I'll indulge in something a little bit tasty here," Liu Mei murmurs a little strangely, before settling down in front of the hair-deco-styling shop, displaying a variety of high end hairbands and sets of ties atop wigs - the kind of fashion that keeps lengthy and fluttery manes of hair in check. "First things first - we're putting all this under control." And soon Liu Mei's tying Christina's crimson locks first into a basic ponytail, just to tamp it down into a more manageable form - tucking the end of it back through the loop to make a bit of a bun, then drifting circles around her head to assess whether a braid would be in order.
"Well, you came to me for advice, didn't you~? Hehe. We can discuss that while I find out what you're made of, the inner sculpture within you that'll surely glow brightly once we're done..."
<Pose Tracker> Christina MacKenzie has posed.
"I thought places like this had dress codes and etiquette..." but if this place's law is not so much fashion but whim, then surely she is with the very ruler here. Chris allows Liu Mei to guide her by the arm, a rarity for outside of her immediate circle. Is it a manifestation of her fatigue or of her trust in the girl? Probably both, which says quite a lot about the latter... Still, even within her families, she isn't subject to many long, intimate gazes like this outside Leina's interrogations--but Liu Mei in her element bears an air of authority, and even Chris doesn't shy away as quick as she might in another backdrop.
"Ah... Thank you again, Ms. Wang. Your suit has really saved me, from Sri Lanka to a few encounters in space. I...owe you a favor already, but I hope you won't mind me being further in your debt."
She doesn't have the higher senses to overhear the girl's inner questions, but even if she could, she'd have no answer to give. When she looks in the mirror, she's no stranger to her own fatigue, but what she sees is not what's eroded, but what she still has left to give. A rather dire flaw, her recent escapades could argue.
Liu Mei Wang guides the weary warrior in and flits around her, taking without hesitation the trust that is given. (It's a little funny... the last time anyone did my hair, Sayla needed me at a Gala...")
"The inner sculpture's glow?" Though it was secondhand recordings, it was hard to not think of all the one-horned Gundams that have shone their inner glow--or inner darkness--in her orbit recently. A shiver slid down her back and her eyes drooped a little. Her sleep hasn't been very restful. But she came her to solve different problems, not ruminate on nightmares.
"Well, it's been a little busy, I'll admit... but I was hoping I could talk to you about how to approach trade deals and manufacturing." Some Celestial Being agents--Chris included, normally--tended to keep their day jobs a bit separate from their membership, at least to the illusion of privacy. But the unique alignment of this meeting nudged that discretion to the side. "I gather and trade salvage, usually bulk repair components for more rare electronics and unusual tech. I've spent time designing mobile suits and having all my requested parts being pooled to a corporate budget. I don't know as much about long term partnerships. I'm hoping to...connect a friend with a steady supply of munitions and metal screws, cams and cables. Do you know any contacts in that avenue?"
<Pose Tracker> Liu Mei Wang has posed.
A low, catty little smile crosses her lips, and the most dangerous thing Liu Mei will say all night-
"Oh, don't worry just one bit. I rather adore having people in a cute little spiral of indebted decadence to me."
That ominous little parcel of imposition aside, Liu Mei's fussing with Christina's hair rather insistently, applying a little bit of a ~mysterious spray~ to make it all easier to work with, before settling on a perfectly formed, nigh-spherical bun of hair behind Christina's head, kept in place by a simple but elegant metallic donut keeping it all in place, with just a few stray locks allowed to float mostly above the nape of Chris's neck.
"In search of salvage and supplies, I take it. ...Well, the Vashtis are definitely the primary contact I know of, to the point where I'd have assumed you were already in touch, but maybe I'm overstating how connected they are. After all, it's ostensibly my job to ensure those connections, in a way." In that oh so demanding, pushy way of hers, Liu Mei fishes around for Christina's phone in whatever pocketbooks and pockets she can assess, before swiftly opening up a contact app, and tapping her own phone together. The names on this set - Ian and Linda Vashti.
"They're a really cute couple, though people tease Linda about the age gap, but given how long they've been married it's probably an artifact from days long past. Besides, sometimes that's how marriage is, heavens know what obnoxious type of being I'll wind up marrying. At least it's my decision, but I'd wind up making that decision for the same incentives as if my family would have, proposing something I'd feel repulsed by...nn, anyway, they're shockingly reliable mechanics with something as fussy as the GN drives. They're more high-tech than you're probably looking for, but Ian's certainly rough and tumble enough to know more refined and specific component purveyors, especially since we have to get our supplies in elusive ways and can't just go regularly shipping from Anaheim wholesale."
Satisfied with the 'classic space princess' vibe of Christina's hair, Liu Mei shuttles her companion off towards a store specializing in the primary over-dresses that contribute the most, and immediately Christina's ferried off to...well, what you'd expect of 'space princess' attire. Some of it vibes a lot more like kitschy old TV space pulp TV shows - classical, but simplified in shape and ornateness, with any off-hanging adornments rather stiff. A muted lime green dress that goes down to the calves is held up to Christina, and compared to one in a rose-ish gold with much, much poofier shoulders... "...the latter is a better hue, but I can't get over the...mm, nothing a good tailor can't fix..."
<Pose Tracker> Christina MacKenzie has posed.
Chris is, in a sense, a bit familiar to the receipt of wealthy favors thanks to a certain other woman, but where Sayla's default was to insist on dismissal of debt, Liu Mei's seemed to revel in the inverse, and Chris couldn't help but imagine the words came with a sugary, lethally sweet scent, not unlike the nepenthes a colleague once showed her. What an unusual way to hold alliances...And yet, so compatible with the strangest kind of trust. "I'm glad you're on our side," Chris murmured, turning her head about to look at her bestowed style as Liu Mei rummages freely.
Chris still hasn't spent much time on the Ptolemais, but she'd heard the name of the chief mechanic spoken, or shouted. But...only there? Ian Vashti... "Vashti...? Oh, I...might have met him at an industrywide conference, in my Anaheim days. The same Ian?" she wonders aloud to herself. "I suppose in his line of work, he'd certainly have to find both common and specialty parts with regularity... Thank you."
Chris's eyes widen at the sheer gleam in the new store. She almost protests. In fact, she almost reaches to flip a price tag. She prudently reserves both. "But marriage, huh? You're a sharp girl, Liu Mei, I think no matter the reason, you'd be one to be satisfied with whatever decision you make. I bet you'll find your incentives without having to repulse yourself. When you find someone you care about... it's a little surprising what you'll do for them." Was this a segue into her next problem?
<Pose Tracker> Liu Mei Wang has posed.
Holding sides, huh...
"Hm. I suppose as long as it's been, I've never heard anyone say that," Liu Mei muses, rotating Christina mid-air to assess how she might look from each angle in the rose-colored space-dress, comparing its accents to the gold-hued band she procured for Chris's hair. "Fufu, and that may well be because they're not appreciative of all I do. Most Observers are fairly hands off, but I'm willing to dig in deep. After all, this is the only place we have to change the world, really. Otherwise it'll stagnate in an awfully boring way. In that sense, perhaps my devotion to the cause is closer to those...zealots."
She does note the brief near-brush with the price tag, and Liu Mei's swift to guide Christina's hand away from those, with her own elegantly gloved fingers lacing tightly. "Ah ah ah. Don't you worry about that. This is my project." ...even though it's Christina herself who's being worked on???
Next stop?! Shoes! Oh this one's a hassle. Somehow, the shoe emporium is the busiest and most expansive shop in this whole overly lavish mall, though it's easy to see why - since they're what incorporate mobility options, it's almost like buying a car in a sense. (it may be slightly more expensive, too!)
"Hup, sit tight right here. I won't stray toooo far picking these out - I've had shoes I'd wanted to see on larger feet than mine for ages. Heeeere we go-" A pair of rather far too high heels is the target of Liu Mei's design, though the actual heel surface is a little more robust than expected. These ones a matching almost opalescent gold hue... "The saying goes that marriage is the most destructive force in the world, for it is through marriage that vaster realms unite and wage vaster wars." Liu Mei says in an almost practiced way. "Don't be silly about it. Those very incentives - access to power and might - are what make people repulsive. Don't you think? I've hidden your eye from the scope of this debt I'm foisting onto you precisely because it's the ugliest aspect of all this. That's why we spend so much of this wealth to gild it all. My choice in marriage is to hold my nose and pair what's repulsive together, or to effectively waste my time. There's only one thing I can 'care' about - there's only one thing people like me can care about. The part that makes you less liable to turn heel and flee is that maybe I'll find you interesting enough to simply say it. That I apply it in service of our shared goals."
"A girl like you, however, is surely much more inclined to fall head over heels into the throes of passion, if that's what you were wanting to get at."
Sheryl Nome has arrived.
<Pose Tracker> Christina MacKenzie has posed.
Without warning, Chris's vertigo whirled vicious for the slightest instant, before her conscious mind caught up and relaxed her body into the gentle spin. Damn. That reaction hasn't gone away yet. She fixed her eyes on a single point--in this case, that gorgeous dress. It's felt like forever since she was a young woman, balancing baseball with flights of fancy, sending both into the sky. "Really? Never? Information is what soldiers live and die over. I would think Observers in general would be appreciated... But maybe that's just because I've been wearing your gift."
("...Zealots...?") Chris couldn't help but think back to a temperate night in Ribo, concerned eyes telling her without words quite a bit about how little she knew.
Liu Mei's hand touched hers, and escorted her to, perhaps, the most she's felt out of place in all of Dongfang Hong, filled with clients with an unhurried, unbothered air. She didn't dare move, or draw attention to herself, while the girl had flitted off to...
"W-wow... Even at Sayla's Galas, it was usually the more 'princely' military outfits that she ended up in, some kind of aristocratic chauvinism, though Sayla herself would quietly decry the need to put 'the veteran' ahead of 'the woman'.
Liu Mei, though, establishes the need to put 'the ruler' beyond both, separate out of ugliness--that no power is immune to the rankle and rot of war. "I..." [think exist those who have power without greed]. She can't say it. To Liu Mei, calmly baring the brutality of her own power, she cannot lie. A truth, then. "I don't have to hold my nose around you, Miss Liu Mei Wang. To see this, and navigate it, you know your righteous path far better than I do. Can you really say your gilt is just as corrosive as others?" Chris stretches comfortably in her shiny--and safe--suit.
Then, of course, Liu Mei adds the topic of passion, and Christina can't help but laugh. "Maybe once or twice! But the amperage is too much. My circuits can't handle that anymore. No, I meant my..." To say 'family' out loud would be to break the spell. "Close colleagues. I'm trying to build a gift for them, but it's expensive to get top-of-the-line parts... I was wondering if you knew of any jobs that might pay well."
<Pose Tracker> Liu Mei Wang has posed.
"Maybe our circles are those where we try not to think about imbalances," Liu Mei muses idly. "After all, isn't my existence one that runs contrary to what we do? Most of my associates hold me at arms length, and I do the same to them, even if we're pressed together in a waltz."
The dress and the shoes are all bagged up in a shiny vacuum-sealing Space Shopping Bag, and presented to Chris as a 'present'. "There we go. I'll be expecting something a little more like this in highly public outings, you know. Try to reserve wearing this for more formal occasions, got it~?"
The heiress can't help but giggle a little low on control, one hand behind her back as she steers herself into a persistent little centrifugal orbit around Christina, her heel-verniers letting out a constant, tiny directional hiss to coax that onward.
"Well, I could always insist on hiring you on as, say, some sort of maid or attendant, which would be the far more direct way to do it. Is it honest work of the sort you're seeking? Would it sate what you're looking for, presumably to do something earnest and honest? After all, in my entourage, you can probably feel deep inside how such an arrangement would go. It'd be rather unfair, and I'd be at once overly generous and entirely unreasonable to you."
A finger extends to prop up Christina's chin, Liu Mei's orbit stabilizing to be upside down relative to Christina. "...But the fact that you seem confident that I'm 'different' somehow...maybe it's something you want. I wouldn't mind that.~ Just be warned. Your worst nightmares and fluffiest dreams about me are all true."
A sugary sweet little laugh behind one fist, before Liu Mei does relent, and flashes a little more contact info into Chris's phone, slowly drifting further and further backwards. "But, if you have more high-integrity aspirations...that's my list of short-term contacts of people looking for work. Everything from line cook postings to space cargo. I think there's even an opening with the Jupiter Energy Fleet in there, though that's a lifestyle that takes a fair bit of commitment, and, well."
"While I have to leave you for now, it'd be a crying shame if the next time we met, all my adorable maidenly charms no longer worked on you.~"
<Pose Tracker> Christina MacKenzie has posed.
<poem>
Christina tentatively takes hold of the bag, unsure what its debt--ugly, decadent or otherwise--was meant to incur. Maybe she feels the web woven around her constrict, as her hand closes. Even if she hadn't, the delight on Liu Mei's face was its own sort of warning, and without any thrust vectors of her own, Chris can't easily spin to follow her orbit. No, she's restricted to following the movements, and turning her head as the girl passes behind her. She's not really quite sure how to interpret the...is it a threat, an offer, a desire, a whim? It's... swept away like loose parts in zero G when the girl claims Chris's personal space for her own again--far more egregiously this time, demanding her gaze. She's never been effective at countering these types of ambushes... tactics so unlike her own as to be unknowable. Against the unknown, prepare everything. She pulled her Chobham Plating back up over her face.
"I'm certain that you're different, Miss Liu Mei Wang, but I still know little and less about you. I'll be pursuing shorter-term engagements. My health is still eroded, after all..."
Chris tucks her phone away at her thigh, offering a smile--more on the wry side--at the Observer's retreat. "Liu Mei," just shy of impolite volume in this wealthy space. "Wouldn't access to you make me repulsive? I wouldn't want you to pinch your nose the next time we meet."