14768/Costume Shopping

Costume Shopping
Date of Scene:	09 March 2023
Location:	Little Costume Shop, Flatbush
Synopsis:	Gwen comissions a new costume! And is low key rude by accident. Oops.
Cast of Characters:	Ghost Spider, Red

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Ghost Spider has posed:
Being a Spider is hard on costumes. Always getting shot at, thrown into walls, thrown through dumpsters. ... There's an awful lot of throwing going on, honestly. It's really hard on the suits. Especially when you tend to make and repair them yourself.

Gwen had heard about this costume shop through the grapevine. The custom works are amazing and resilient, and that's exactly what she needs. Thusly, it's Spider-Woman (she really needs to workshop that), who pushes the front door of the shop open, making the opening anthem to Top Gun play. She takes a peek around, and moves towards the counter. This is gonna be awkward.

Red has posed:
The front of the costume shop seems empty, but the door to the workshop isn't entirely closed. Yet there is little sound from the workshop but the soundtrack of a Peter Jackson Film. Not Lord of the Rings or the Hobbit. Not West of Memphis but the lonesome singer with electric undersound from the District 9 theme is making its way to the front, before it is getting overtuned by the Top Gun anthem. At least the electic guitar mixes in decently well.

Moments later the music in the back stops and the door opens fully, a redhead in blouse and nigh impossible boots standing in the door. Impossible because those overknees have no zipper or straps visible. "Welcome to the shop. You looking to rent or somethign custom?" she asks, the sicker on her left chest proclaiming Hello my name is Alice.

Ghost Spider has posed:
Gwen is entirely covered in her black, white and pink suit. She moves towards the counter, body language a little nervous. "Well. Custom, I guess," she says, reaching up to scratch the back of her head. "I hear you do customs for, well, capes. If that's not the case, I'll walk right out of here and you won't see me again. I don't want to cause you any trouble or anything. I'm just..."

She sighs. "I'm just really hard on these suits and it's a pain to keep fixing them or making new ones, so if I can get something stronger that will, you know, give me the same range of motion, that'd be awesome."

Red has posed:
"Ehhh, one sec, let me break you in there a bit. Yes, I do custom orders. But capes are rather impractical, even though they make a great accessory for musketeer films. Though, that's technically not a cape but a cloak and only present around 1600, afterwards it is gone. The closest to the stuff in the films is a Pelise, which is actually a cavalry piece of garment, and much later..." Alice almost rambles, reacing for folders from under the counter to open with a practiced grip, showing off different patterns. A proper musketeer, the Aramis version, then a hussar uniform.

"So, you need some kind of cloaked cosume? Wait, sorry, I barely listened there. You need like... More of those bodysuits? Uh... depends... I mean, a Zentai is super easy to move in, they use them in ballet, but that's just spandex all over and not strong. What are you actually looking for? I don't think you're looking for like... uh... Vinyl and lacquer, right?"

Ghost Spider has posed:
Gwen just kind of stares at Alice as she goes on about capes. "I don't ... wear a cape," she says, holding her arm out. It really is almost a zentai suit, really. Stretchy and very clingy. "I need something with the properties of this suit, the one I'm wearing right now, but, like, tougher."

She sighs, taking a step back. "If you can't do it, that's fine. I'll just keep doin' what I'm doin'. Thanks for your time, uh," she squints at the nametag. "Alice."

Red has posed:
Alice says, "Uh... I see that. I mean, that you don't wear a cape. But what I mean is, what material are you looking for? I can't like, go to a store and get you whatever the Fantastic 4 make their stuff from, just because it seems to take every abuse in the world and Vibranium isn't really affordable or even workable in a workshop... so what you look for? Eh... you got a sketch or something?""

Ghost Spider has posed:
"I mean," Gwen says, looking at herself, the big bug eyes of her mask somehow seeming to emoyr a little. "Pretty much like this. I'm not married to the colors, I guess, but, like. White is my thing. And I like the ballet shoe look thing I have going," she says with a shrug.

"Maybe I just heard the wrong rumor. I dunno. I'm sorry for wasting your time. I probably couldn't afford your custom work anyway."

Red has posed:
"I don't know what rumor you're talking about, but really, you'd need to tell me what you actually want to have made before I can start with something. Like, you want a white black and pink full body suit from PVC? Your heatstroke, but I can make it. You want it from a more flexible nylon? Totally free to move in, but you'll be cold with a single layer, and it rips. I mean, I can work with stuff, just need to know what you want. Neoprene might work if you can live with the slight tightness of a surfsuit, but it is quite resistant to wear and tear..."

Ghost Spider has posed:
Gwen shakes her head. "Yeah, I was wrong, or misunderstood or something," she grouses. "Guess I'll just have to ask Spider-Man to say nice things about me to the Fantastic Four or something."

She takes a look around, her head tilting. "You have a lot of neat stuff in here, though."

Red has posed:
Alice sighing a moment, Alice presses her palms to the counter as she leans forward. "Look Lady... I really don't know what kind of rumors you have heard, and if you're not telling me either what you really want for a costume, I can't help you. I mean, you just could start to explain your usecase and like, I dunno... tell me what you need so I can make a sketch? I mean, what's wrong with your current suit that you need changed?"

Ghost Spider has posed:
"I mean, I've heard you're a wizard with weird materials is all, thought I might be able to get something as flexible as spandex, but, like, be a little tougher." Gwen sighs. "And usecase?" The smirk is almost audible as she pooks up and jumps, flipping over in midair and sticking to the ceiling. "I do a lot of this."

She peers down at Alice. "They call me Spider-Woman, but I'm thinking about changing it." She drops down, twisting like a cat and landing on her feet. She's glad she didn't hit a sprinkler.

Red has posed:
"If by weird materials you mean be really good at prop- and costume-making, you got me. But I can't change what a material is. ABS stays ABS, but if used correctly, it can *look* like steel, and properly made a Urethane might be anywhere between hard as a rock and soft as a pillow. All a question of the setup."

Then... Gwen does the jump ti the ceiling, clinging there for a little before dropping again. Though, Alice seems unfazed. "Mind showing your hand a moment? I mean, do you like, need to kind of touch the surface closely to cling to the ceiling? That impacts the desigh after all... though... maybe you want to come to the back."

Ghost Spider has posed:
Gwen grins a little as she impresses Alice just a little. What can she say? She likes to impress. She holds out her gloved hand. There's no little holes in it. "I think it has to do with, like, my electro-static field or whatever. It's not like a gecko or something."

She shrugs them. "I mean, maybe. Sure. Can't really do ... shop things out here, right?"

Red has posed:
Holding the hand for a few moments, Alice eyes the glove against the light as if to see if hairs poke through, then shrugs as she gestures to the back. "Let's go then."

The Workshop might appear organized chaos with foam mats and fabric rolls and plastic sheets covering racks and a few workstations and jugs of two component resins and latex filling shelves. "Do you have a limit how thick gloves may be? I might manage to bump up other parts and keep the palms and feet thinner if you are..."

Ghost Spider has posed:
Gwen follows Alice to the back, taking a look around at all the stuff. "Looks like my apartment," she quips with a giggle. "I'm just kidding." She shrugs. "I mean, I probably couldn't cling if stuff were as thick as, like, good winter gloves. Thinner in the palms is probably better," she says. "Maybe just thicker in vulnerable spots, like my kidneys and stuff?"

Red has posed:
Alice offers a little gesture around the shop, then points to a chair. "Uh, ok? I mean, I guess thinner ones might worj, but I think I get the gist. Like, I could look into including a few hard plates between layers, if that helps, but really, I need to know what you look for. Besides flexibility and a little protection. I mean... what do you want to use the costume for, and what temperature and outdoors or indoors, if you got like a lazex allergy or if some other material is out of question... I mean, it's not like you can wear more than underwear under a suit like that."

Ghost Spider has posed:
Gwen takes the offered seat, because she is not rude. She shoves the hood back, making her look way more like the rest of the Spider-People. "I mean, I'm a Spider-Person. I need it to, you know, stop muggers and other petty stuff, but also not immediately die if the Rhino gets ahold of me. I know, it's a swingy ask."

She tenses for a second at the last bit. "Right. Underwear. That's what I wear under my suit." Did she forget again!?

Red has posed:
Alice sighing a moment, ALice brushes some red hair back before moving to grab a pen and pad with preprints of rough body shapes, then picking up a tape measure. Starting to scribble over the printed outline, she starts ot indicate areas in the lower back and belly, where a plate might be assistive. "I can't do magic, but I can see what can be done as far as slight armor goes. I mean, it wouldn't stop a bullet or someone with the force of a jackhammer stabbing through but maybe prevent a knife from gutting you or taking out your kidneys."

Ghost Spider has posed:
"It's a start, and better than spandex," Gwen says with a shrug, watching Alice collect the notebook and tape measure. "Do I need to do anything? Pose pretty? Stick to a wall? Make myself look way cooler than I actually am?"

Spiders can never shut up, you see. It's part of the rules.

Red has posed:
Alice says, "For the moment? maybe just try to move slowly, I can see where I can add anything at all... though... I guess you might need to adjust to slight thicker material if you really want more than spandex." Alice explained as she scribbled. "and... after that I'll need to take some measurements before you do color choices.""

Ghost Spider has posed:
"I'll just sit still. ... Try to sit still, anyway," Gwen says, remaining planted in the chair. She tries not to fidget, and instead just looks around the room, doing her best to be, if not helpful, then at least not hindering to Alice's progress. She wonders if small talk is expected or not.

"So. Uh. Neat place you've got here. Been at this long?"

Red has posed:
Alice says, "Making costumes? Years. Since High school." Alice explains, making a gesture to ask her to stand up as she takes the tape measure in hand again. "Then went to take a few classes before returning to it. Not that I stopped making costumes in the mean. Looking for something different? Like, uh,... The Leia dress from The Empire Strikes Back or something?""

Ghost Spider has posed:
"While I'm sure I could rock that dress, and the buns, it's not something I'm in the market for right now. I'll keep it in mind, though, as Halloween comes closer. ... Though I guess I should order early, huh."

Gwen stands when bid and T-poses for dominance, or rather to get measured. "You know, this somehow feels weirder with the mask on than doing it normally."

Red has posed:
Alice shurgs a little as she starts to measure. "It's not more weird than taking measurements really. And you have the suit on, but I can account for that. It's rahter thin anyway." Alice notes as she uses the tape on the arms and shoulders, then slings it around the torso to quite professionally take the measurements without touching too much.

Ghost Spider has posed:
Gwen stands there like she's done this before. A lot before. She moves when Gwen needs her to without having to be told, shifting just right. She barely seems to notice, honestly, going through the motions. Like muscle memory. Weird.

Red has posed:
Alice finishes up the measuring and notetaking a little later, putting the tape down before she pulls a fresh pad page with a humanoid sketch and then offers markers in all the rainbow colors to Gwen. "Design color time. What you want?"

Ghost Spider has posed:
Gwen's eyes light up behind her mask as the colors options arrive. She tilts her head and considers. "Do I change it up? ... Nah."

She sets to work with the markers, tilting her head this way and that. It takes a few moments for her to fill it in the way she wants, but eventually she hands it back.

It's pretty much identical to what she's wearing. "I thought about doing, like, black and red, but, I like this better."

Red has posed:
Alice hmms a little as she eyes the patterning, the notes at the side and then pulls out a couple binders from a shelf over the workspace. "Take a look here about materials... I think these are availeable in the colors you wanted, just need something you like the feel of. So..."

Ghost Spider has posed:
As Alice pulls the binders, Gwen realizes a problem. "Uh," she says, somehow conveying shiftiness and uncertainty in that mask. "Small, tiny litle problem," she says, holing up a hand. "These are attached and I basically have to take the suit off to, you know, touch something." She sighs, shaking her head.

"Awkward. I know." She, instead, holds her hand out towards Alice. "Here, you touch this and find something close, that should work, right?"

Red has posed:
Alice sighs a moment as she watches gwen, then reaches for a pair of scissors from the pegboard, offering it to Gwen with a smile. "Something to remember in design I guess. You could cut them off at the wrists and I fix it before you leave, no charge, no seam. That ok with you?"

Ghost Spider has posed:
the expressionless mask lookes pained, then considering. Somehow. She takes the scissors and incredibly carefully snips a hole at her left wrist before slipping the cutting blade in and working around. She hands the impliment back and then just tugs the 'glove' free, exposing long and delicate seeming fingers. She wiggles them as a test. When she turns her hand over, there's a button attached to some kind of contraption in the middle of her palm.

Now she starts leafing through the binders, touching and thinking about how these fabrics will feel, well, everywhere. "Oooh, I like this one," she says, tapping one of the samples. "That feels really nice. Seems stretchy and breathable too."

Red has posed:
Alice takes a look at the fabbric sample, jolting down a number tagged to it on the notepad, then pulls a different binder to get, "So that one in these colors, right?" she asks as the other binder is opened, offering various laces, pipings and bindings. "If something catches your fancy, to differentiate the colors a little. Got them in the colors there, some could be ordered in others. In either way, helps to give the costume contour. Could also add some on the panels in the normal color to give structure. Anything like that?"

Ghost Spider has posed:
Gwen might be a model sometimes, but fashion designer she is not. Though she does know what looks good on her. Even if you can't see her face. "Yeah. These colors," she confirms before flipping into the binder of the different little touches for texture. She finds some translucent piping, and taps it. "Could you do this like, a spiderweb that crawls from mu armpits down to my hips? That'd be so cool."

She keeps flipping through, finding a flat ribbon of middling wideness. She taps on it. "And these wrap up my calves up to almost my knees in the turquoise!"

Red has posed:
"You mean over the torso? Hm, I guess... yea, that might work. Under the top fabric or visible piping? And just the front or also down the back? I mean, Spiderman has a visible edge about... here." She roughly indicates it on her own body with a finger, shrugging. "And sure! Do you want the ends to actually be tyable into a ribbon or to tighten the costume or attach it over the whole surface so it can't catch?"

Ghost Spider has posed:
"Like, visible, I think. Not like, attached to the arm, just decorative on the suit, you know, drawing attention to my fantastic hips," she says with an audible grin. "The tied look is really cute, but fused to the suit would be best, because I have enough things grab me by the ankle and try to kill me, I don't need an errant TV antenna to do it too."

She sighs, sounding like this has happened before.

Red has posed:
"Good reasoning. So, lemme note that..." Alice grabs the pen and pad again, putting down the note before getting out a last binder to give Gwen to choose a zipper from. "Look what you like, and then I work on getting it done. Might take a few days, and then you can come to test it on and we fix details, ok?"

Ghost Spider has posed:
Once more, Gwen flips through the binder. She tries to find a zipper that is both incredibly discrete and still strong and flexable enough to handle her needs. She makes her best guess and points one out.

"Sounds good," she says with a nod. "I'm excited to see what you can do!"

Red has posed:
Alice nods as she puts the note down again, then helps to put the glove back on, letting a finger run over the cut that had prevented her from embarressing herself... and healing it within moments as it is seated correctly. "There, all done."

Ghost Spider has posed:
It's less that Gwen would be embarassed. ... Okay, she'd be a little embarassed, but it'd have just been a pain to half climb out of the suit and then back into it. It's just the nature of the beast. Tight, full body suits are kind of annoying like that.

She watches in amazement as the glove is reattached like it was never cut off, fingers flexing after it's done. "That's -cool-, no wonder you do stuff like this." She tilts her head. "Let me know if you start doing high fashion, okay? I know a lady who models."

Red has posed:
"NAh, High fashion is complicated. And uses lots and lots of metal, and I would better not call the one person I know can shape metal like that on the risk of getting reamed out by the FBI or such because I just called someone on their wantlist. Plus, the whole stuff is held together by tape and baleful safety pins anyway..." There's a shiver running up her spine at the mention.

Ghost Spider has posed:
Her head tilts slightly at the shudder about safety pins. It's probably good she pulled her piercings out before the mask went on. It's not safe to patrol in them anyway, but, they might have complicated matters.

She's not -wrong- though about high fashion. It's all fake. Illusions. "Well, maybe midrage fashion then. Clothes that actual people will wear. You obviously have the talent for it. I mean, do you just want to make costumes from now on, or maybe branch out? No judgement, I'm in no seat to do that either way, but."

Red has posed:
Alice says, "That's not gonna happen. I'm nobody for making mass produced clothes," Alice answers with a headshake, slowly tracing a shelf with materials. Foam, fabrics... "I make costume, stuff that people take out for special occasions, like... Cosplaying and such. It's an art form, though not like, Art-Art. I'm not a Seamstress, I'm a Prop-maker, a Costume-Maker, a mutant and just me.""

Ghost Spider has posed:
Gwen shrugs. "Hey, just a suggestion, not trying to make you uncomfortable or, like, tell you what to do," she says, finally standing up. "I just can see your talent and skills and thought maybe more people should see them too, but if you're happy? That's the important part."

Gwen marvels another time at the repair job. "So, I'll swing (ha) back in a few days from now and see what's up. Thanks for putting up with my weird self."

Red has posed:
"I don't have a talent for just clothes." Alice just contends, shrugging a little as she guides Gwen back to the front. "It's no problem. I should have it done in... about three or four days? That should be about right."

Ghost Spider has posed:
Gwen nods once more. "Fair enough, sorry if it bothered you," she says sounding apologetic. "I'll come back in four, just in case," she says with a nod as she heads back towards the front door. "It was lovely meeting you, and I can't wait to see the finished product!"

She gives a little fingerwave as she heads out the front door, lifting a hand and launching a webline. With a mighty push, she launches herself upwards and starts to swing through the streets.