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Aubrey Summers (demipointe) wrote in heureuxlake,
@ 2025-06-08 10:51:00

Entry tags:

Δ threads, → aubrey summers, → bea liatris

RP: Bea and Aubrey Shop
Who: Aubrey Summers and Bea Liatris.
What: Shopping.
When: Sunday 8th June 2001.
Where: Curtain & Fabric Shop, somewhere near Tarrytown.
Warnings: None expected.
Completion Status: Ongoing.

The trouble with Aubrey's plan of action was that between work, dance, what passed for a social life (mostly Reggie) and the unexpected arrival of Barrett, Aubrey simply didn't have a lot of time for learning more impressive control of her powers or working out how to make clothes. She was seriously considering booking a week off from work purely to fit some of it into her schedule now that it had been half a year since her New Year's Eve resolution to have more going on. It was either that or quit work altogether, which Aubrey couldn't do. What had happened to Barrett proved to the always-anxious side of her brain that things could still change overnight. Just because Barrett had coped without needing her help this time didn't mean he would if something else happened, or that Camille wouldn't unexpectedly need Aubrey's financial stability. There would be time for her to have a life after, not that Aubrey liked to think about that particularly inevitability.

When Bea had mentioned needing new curtains, Aubrey had tentatively suggested a fabric shop she'd been interested in going to. She wasn't really at the point of needing fabric, but it couldn't hurt to have some on hand in case she did find a pattern she liked and the courage to start cutting. Mostly, Aubrey could admit to herself, it was an excuse to shop vicariously, and to give opinions backed up by the hundreds of interior design magazines she'd read over the years. They'd driven separately, just in case they wanted to go their separate ways, but they met up just outside the shop, Aubrey already eager. "I am not allowed to walk out of here with new curtains," she warned. "I'd have to rethink the whole dining room, and I'm supposed to be doing other things with my time."

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demipointe
2025-06-10 05:45 pm UTC (link)

"I'm not impulsive about very many things," Aubrey remarked, which was quite the understatement, "but occasionally it's dangerous having the income to buy furnishings on a whim." Though could it really be called impulsive when Aubrey had the measurements of every window in her apartment noted down in a special section of her planner? "Usually from thrift shops, though." A proper shop like this would be a temptation, certainly, but probably one Aubrey could resist.

Aubrey had been a little thrown by the first question, but the second was easy to answer: "I have one brother who's extremely tall and both he and my sister grew up as magnets for tears and stains and ripped seams. I know how to sew." The words carried the weight of many, many weekends spent taking up or letting down hems, darning holes and reattaching buttons. It had helped that she'd grown up in a fae-adjacent community, there'd been no lack of people for whom the skill had once been expected. Not to mention that the funds for new clothes had been limited. "Those weren't necessarily my choice of fabric." Given free reign, what would Aubrey like to work with? She wasn't sure yet. "Almost everything I wear drapes, so poplin, linen, jersey knit... What about you?" Having seen both some of Bea's crafts and their wardrobe choices, Aubrey had a feeling the answer was going to lean towards elaborate and dramatic.

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stubbornfoodie
2025-06-12 09:39 pm UTC (link)

"I can understand that. There is something satisfying about how much the changing of one or two key items can make a difference." As much as Bea had a disposable income they didn't tend to spend huge amounts of it on themself. Something about how they had grown up when resources were far more scarce or difficult to come by and then spending more than half a century moving at least every five years, often every few months, had made them far more intentional about purchases. "Ah, yes. It is quite impressive what you can do with older fabrics, some dye and reconfiguration." Whether that was clothing or furnishings, or even the sort of decorative items second hand stores seemed to accumulate. "I am more likely to be in danger in a craft store, but fabric will definitely be a problem too."

Thanks to purloined information Bea had a good idea of the sort of community Aubrey might have grown up in, even enough to know roughly where it was. They knew her father wasn't present, and a human stepfather seemed unlikely to have sewing skills if present. "Sometimes it takes as many hands as you have available to keep up! Fae are as likely as humans to grow at speed or be unable to keep out of trouble." There was something in Aubrey's voice that suggested she had been more burdened than most in the raising of her siblings, perhaps something she had intimated before. They did remember that the siblings seemed very different. "What I want to wear and what I prefer to sew doesn't necessarily always go together. I prefer to sew something that doesn't have too much stretch or a complicated pattern to match. I love velvet, but it is horrible to actually sew." Hand sewing embroidery on it wasn't so bad, but anything where two sides of velvet had to be pressed together was a problem. "I do enjoy shot silk though. Not very practical for most things, but it sews beautifully."

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demipointe
2025-06-13 06:14 pm UTC (link)

"Exactly. I like the challenge of it. Change one big thing, then see what small things you have to change before it looks like you intended it that way in the first place. It's a sort of puzzle." Aubrey was very, very good at puzzles. "I'd like to experiment more with changing clothing." There was a small pause, partly as they entered the shop and partly because Aubrey was trying to find words to express her struggle. "Nobody really sees my apartment, except Reggie. If something looks off there, it doesn't matter. If I get dying or altering clothing wrong and can't wear it, it's a waste." In summary: she was finding that being a beginner and being a perfectionist were a bad combination.

Having met Sam, Aubrey had no trouble believing that fae could grow just as tall and fast as Barrett. "I would say I don't know where he got the height gene from, but I presume his father was taller than mine." Aubrey could have asked her mom, but it had never seemed particularly important. All she knew was that her father was 'extremely fair' and Aubrey evidently hadn't inherited his colouring. "I've heard that about velvet, but I haven't tried yet." Despite feeling cold nearly all the time, Aubrey somehow didn't favour heavier fabrics except for outer layers. Enthusiasm sparked in her eyes at the mention of shot silk, nodding vehemently. "I much prefer shot silk to glitter or sequins if I need to be sparkly." The fact that Aubrey even had such a need in her life was entirely down to Reggie.

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