Owner	Pose
Daimon Hellstrom	Fire Lake, Massachusetts is mostly a sleepy little burg. Most of its area is given over to houses with acreage. The downtown area compresses in all of the modern conveniences: the two-screen movie theater whose seats haven't been replaced since 1989, the Wendy's, the bar with an Irish name that's actually run by a guy with a last name like Katzopoulos, and... the clothing stores. Fire Lake isn't too far off from Salem, and it tends to attract the same crowd -- namely, people who see the idea of living in 'Witch City' as a virtue, if not a lifestyle unto itself. So while there are more traditional clothing stores (and it's only a short drive to TJ Maxx), there are also a number of chic little boutiques that offer goth and goth-adjacent fashions. Daimon Hellstrom has never actually visited any of these places before. He stands outside one, with his hands in his pockets, looking up at the sign. He's wearing a suit and a red shirt, top button undone. "...'Walpurgis,'" Daimon says, and then looks sidelong at Qira. "Well, hopefully their clothing is fireproof. Or waterproof. Or both."
Qira Quest	Qira, at his side, dressed in the same black and gold outfit from the day they met, looks at the storefront before glancing up at Daimon. "Hopefully it's functional. Other than that, I'm really sort of leaning on you for guidance, Uncle. I know nothing of fashion, only what is... situationally appropriate." What's good to wear for wetwork, essentially. Still, he isn't wrong that she needs more clothing, especially if he's going to be taking her anywhere 'nice'. Or just, anywhere that has a dress code, really. Qira lifts a shrug and reaches for the door, pulling it open to step inside. Glancing around the store, she immediately takes stock of choke point, entry/exit points, potential threats, and holdout spots. Only then does she look at the actual clothing.
Daimon Hellstrom	Daimon offers Qira an arched brow when she says that he'll need to take point on deciding what sort of clothes an 18-year-old girl would wear. "Well. Just imagine it as a mission where you're going undercover as my niece back from boarding school," he says, with dry humor in his voice. Then he follows Qira into the store. The Walpurgis boutique is fairly small, but stocks clothing and accessories suitable for someone who wants to look like an upscale goth. It's all women's fashions, too. Nary a tourist-y slogan t-shirt to be seen. This is a place for people who take their goth looks /seriously/. "...should have made Moirai stick around to help with this," Daimon says. He looks down at Qira next to him. "So. We need... what? Shirts. Pants, or... shorts or skirts or whatever. A nice dress or two for parties. Shoes. Socks, if you care about socks."
Qira Quest	Qira looks sidelong at Daimon and smirks faintly, "Doesn't work that way. And this is a very specific type of boutique shop, they cater to a single style of clothing. Not exactly the type of clothing a prep school girl is likely to be wearing." Looking back to the clothing, she cants her head, "These clothes are going to be largely impractical, crafted for a specific fashion 'look' over any sort of functionality. I can do my best, but you're going to pay a lot of money to make me look very cheaply dressed." Moving around the racks of clothing, she looks at items, touches them, most never even getting checked for size or style, rejected simply for the material or appearance. She does manage to find a few tops that are deemed acceptable, leggings that act as pants, some skirts and blouses that will be in a suitable style. Moving onto the shoes, she squints at the available options, lips pursing up as she selects a few pairs that will be semi-practical for movement's sake, but will also pair well with the clothing selected. She even finds some socks. "Alright. I believe I've acquired what will be most appropriate and will hold up the best in terms of the money being spent on it." Qira looks back to Daimon and lifts a brow, "Is there anything I have forgotten?"
Daimon Hellstrom	Unfortunately, Daimon has neglected to build out his skill tree in terms of accompanying women on shopping expeditions. "Well, if you want functional, I'm sure we can find somewhere that will sell us boiler jumpsuits in your size," Daimon says. "Though for all I know, those are 'in' with zoomers now." Daimon spends some time on his phone while Qira browses. He's googling '18 year old girl fashion' and hoping that he doesn't end up on a SHIELD watchlist. "...it's a start," Daimon says. He doesn't hide his grimace as it's all totaled up at the register, but he taps his card on the machine all the same. "Here, look at this," Daimon says, handing the phone over to Qira. It's a Teen Vogue article about preppy-inspired looks for Spring 2024. "Scroll through, see if any of it inspires you." As they exit the store, he muses, "We should probably get you a raincoat, at least."
Qira Quest	Qira doesn't say anything in front of the saleswoman, waiting until they've collected the purchases and are moving to exit the store before murmuring, "What are 'zoomers'?" Then she's being handed his phone, her brows furrowing as she scans through the article. She also asides, "I warned you it would be pricey. Specialty shops always end up with a 15-20% markup from more traditional stores." She knows pricing trends but not fashion trends. Strange girl. Still, in looking through the article, she nods, "We've already acquired some of these items. But it would seem that I need a few long denim skirts, a quilted bomber jacket, some more brightly colored tops... and apparently modern skirt suits are coming back, so we should look into those? Also.. shiny skirts are 'in'... as are... oversized button-down shirts." She glances up at him with a faint smile, "Your shirts are peak young women's fashion, Daimon." Frowning faintly, she adds, "Apparently jewelry is also part of fashion. It appears I will need to get my ears pierced." Because clothes wasn't bad enough, now there's jewelry too!
Daimon Hellstrom	"People in your generational age bracket," Daimon answers, to the question of zoomers. "I think. The definition seems to shift around based on which generation is complaining about which." He then looks down at his shirt. "Well. Thank you," comes his dry sarcasm. Daimon is carrying the shopping bags for his 'niece.' What a gentleman. At least he knows how to do that much! "...well. The thing is, Qira, that's just what's 'in' right /now/. Seasons change, trends change. Women used to wear low-rise jeans. Then somewhere it changed to really high-waisted ones. Now maybe it's low-rise again? I have no idea." Daimon reaches over to put a hand on Qira's shoulder. "The goal here is to find stuff that suits /you/. As much as you'd prefer to go around in webgear and night-vision goggles, your clothing should... /express/ how you see yourself. Be part of your self-image." He pauses for a moment, and gives her shoulder a squeeze. "If that makes any sense at all."
Qira Quest	""Huh.. they name those? Why? Seems like it would only serve to widen the gap between generations, causing more strife and in-fighting." Qira blinks, then shrugs, handing the phone back to Daimon. She gives a nod, "My point exactly. Saying that you are 'this generation' and I am 'that generation' would only serve to promote cliquish behavior amongst people whose only quality I might share is physical age. Seems dumb." Then he's giving her a lesson in fashion and how it's really an external reflection of one's inner image, and now she just looks confused. "I.. suppose.. in some way. But it seems strange that you feel the need to promote your sense of self externally through clothing. Especially since the clothing all seems tailored towards only certain sizes and shapes, and the fashion itself changes multiple times in a year. But, I believe I can do that." She glances up at him and offers, "Perhaps for the rest we should do that.. online shopping thing? That way we can take more time and find better deals and have things delivered directly. I believe I am of sufficient size that finding things 'in stock' should not be an issue."
Daimon Hellstrom	Daimon moves to drape his arm around Qira's shoulders as they walk. He's careful not to make it too outwardly romantic, mostly because he's the least romantic guy on earth, but also because she's supposed to be his niece. "When you find the stuff that suits you, you don't need to worry about times changing. I can wear a three-piece suit any time, anywhere, and it looks like it belongs on me. The people who have to change their entire wardrobe every six months are the people who are trying to /find/ their sense of self through fashion." Daimon pats Qira's shoulder. "You want to be able to look in the mirror at yourself and think that your clothes look /right/ on you. And you want other people to look at you and get a sense of who you are. Which, in your case, could be a completely anonymous and featureless black ensemble that doesn't stick in the memory very much. Or it could be a mini-skirt and go-go boots, if that's who you are, deep down." Daimon then nods. "Anyway. We can do online shopping. The ear piercing thing -- that's up to you. If you /want/ to get into jewelry and get your ears pierced, we can go and do that."
Qira Quest	Qira looks up at Daimon, listening to him. Her brows furrow and she gives a small nod before offering, "I've only ever lived to survive, what I do, what I am... is still largely a mystery to me. And I am not sure that I want people know who I am just by looking at me. So building up a 'front' of particular types of clothing seems like a better bet. You wear a three piece suit, but that says nothing about who you are. It says who you want people to *think* you are." She gives a small shrug, not enough to dislodge his arm, just to show her lack of investment into clothing as a form of self-expression. "I think I will mix some of the goth pieces with a few of the more normal pieces to make up a statement that will project a 'sense of self' that I want people to see." She considers the jewelry thing for a few moments, then shakes her head, "No, I have no interest in jewelry. It's just metal and stones."
Daimon Hellstrom	Daimon nods. "Just metal and stones," he repeats, thoughtfully. He pat-pats Qira's shoulder again. "You're like an advertiser's wet dream," he teases. "Anyway, I think that's a good plan. Build up the image of who you want people to think Qira Hellstrom is. If you're going to use that name -- we need to get in touch with the document people about that fairly soon, I imagine." Daimon looks sidelong down at Qira, with his little half-smile that somehow always manages to sit crooked on his lips. "Just make sure that the thing you want others to see is something that you're comfortable being seen as." Daimon pauses. "...anyway. I'm not sure what uncles and nieces do out on shopping trips. Is this the part where I'm supposed to take you out for ice cream?"
Qira Quest	Qira snorts softly and glances at him, "Nobody would ever want me to market a product. It would end horribly." Lifting a brow at him, she quirks a faint smile, "Do you *want* me to use Hellstrom? I've been going by Qira Quest, but I don't have to. Quest was just the surname of my creator." She shakes her head lightly and mutters, "I'm not exactly invested in the name." Then he's dispensing more sage advice that she considers before giving a nod, "Good point. I'm not certain I'll ever be fully comfortable in social situations, so perhaps not anything too trendy or popular, and certainly nothing too fashion conscious. I think if I mix the 'school girl prep' with the 'goth' it will make a suitably 'disaffected youth' look that will leave most just rolling their eyes and turning away. I will keep some simple but elegant pieces for when necessary for your parties or dinners." Snorting a small laugh, she shakes her head, "I have no interest in ice cream. Perhaps lunch? We can be suitably awkward as we sit there speaking in truncated sentences while staring at our phones?"
Daimon Hellstrom	When Qira details her plans for creating a disaffected vibe that will repel most attempts at casual social interaction, Daimon pats her shoulder once more. "Now you're talking like a Hellstrom," he says, and it's not really clear whether that's a joke or not. "Qira Hellstrom has a nice ring to it. At least, as far as a fake ID goes. Anyway, you're young yet. Don't throw the name 'Quest' away completely. Especially since we're still figuring out who you are. Keeping some kind of connection to your roots is... /usually/ a good thing." Qira suggests awkwardly sitting for lunch and staring at their phones. "See, now people will definitely think you're my niece. I couldn't imagine a better way to spend lunch."