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Tweak says, "Baby, baby, look at the baby!"

Helena Wells-Quinzel is H.G. Wells (indelibleink) wrote in makebelievelog,
@ 2012-10-10 22:30:00

Entry tags:

claudia donovan, h.g. wells

Who: Claudia and HG
What: Shopping for Halloween costumes. With a side of Claudia pestering HG. Possibly shenanigans of some sort are occurring.
When: Early Wednesday afternoon
Where: Costume shop!
Warnings: P for Pestering and S for shenanigans. Otherwise low.
Status: In progress/Closed

This was a completely new experience, shopping for a Halloween costume. But it was time spent with Claudia, which she enjoyed more than she let on. And today was about spending time with family and new experiences, at least from Helena's perspective. This modern interpretation of All Hallow's Eve was still beyond her, but she would go with the flow. If it meant having a night of festivities, Helena was all for that. She did enjoy a good party, though she wouldn't say as much on the matter. While Helena in her time had been a woman ahead of her time, she'd also enjoyed many aspects of her time. Dressing up, dancing, socializing, she had enjoyed those aspects of society. Of course when in such situations she had to smile and take it when people praised her brother for her work, but that was besides the point. She was capable of enjoying such things.

Though the instant they'd entered the shop, Helena noticed how excited Claudia seemed to be. Quirking an eyebrow, she had a bemused smile at watching the younger woman looking around the store. Claudia seemed to truly enjoy Halloween, and she enjoyed seeing that kind of enthusiasm. Helena followed after Claudia, her eyes scanning the costumes. Really, the wide variety she was seeing was a bit daunting to the Victorian woman. She was accustomed to the concept of masked balls, she'd even been to a few in her day. Though some of the masks and costumes her eyes fell across were more along the lines of grotesque with blood and other such things that Helena didn't think she'd like to wear.

"So darling, do you have anything specific in mind that you are looking for?" She glanced at Claudia, wondering if the younger agent had a specific thing in mind, or if she was more the type to just look until she found something that caught her eye. Currently, Helena herself was more favoring the looking until something caught her eye as costumes were quite varied that she was used to. And some of the costumes she didn't exactly understand, but that happened when one missed a century.

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clauds
2012-10-11 04:33 am UTC (link)

Claudia was really rather excited to be dragging H.G. out to get Halloween costumes. As Claudia saw it, there was somewhat of a necessity to dressing up on Halloween. Past getting in the spirit, it was embracing a day of weirdness by being weird on purpose. Everything was weird on Halloween which meant, by definition, they were amongst the normal masses. It was a chance to be wacky and wild and have it encouraged.

And H.G. needed some encouragement along that route. "Nope!" Claudia admitted, perusing the various costumes in front of her with a critical eye toward a few. "A few capsules of fake blood in good taste are fine, but these are ridiculous. Let's try out of the 'Movie' section and go for original stuff over here-" She paused, cringing at the sight of an "Alice in Wonderland" costume, her mind immediately going to Myka and the mirror. She could only imagine what her reaction would've been.

Alice shoved out of her mind, Claudia indicated toward another section a few rows down. The aisles were poorly marked with bat-covered signs that were hanging at the tops of the rows. Parts of some were covered with fabric, caused by too many costumes being shoved on a peg at one time. It didn't deter Claudia in the least and she had a general idea where things seemed to divide off, a mental map made in her mind from looking things over when they came into the store.

"Ooh, glitter covered fairy wings -" Claudia paused mid-sentence, staring at a pair of black and white striped fingerless gloves. "I had these at home. Just - part of my normal wardrobe." She made a face, trying to decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Have you seen anything you like?" Claudia glanced back over her shoulder to H.G., curious what the woman thought of it all. It was far from Guy Fawkes' day, she was sure.

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indelibleink
2012-10-11 06:57 am UTC (link)

As Claudia seemed to have a better grasp of where things were in the store, Helena was pretty much just following her. Of course, it didn't help matters that things weren't exactly that well-organized either. This was definitely a situation where the Victorian was rather out of her element, so she would let Claudia guide her until she was able to find something that caught her eye.

Helena was too busy glancing over the shelves to truly notice the Alice costume, which was probably for the best. She didn't need to be reminded of the episode she'd seen with Alice in their television show's latest season. She had yet to see the earlier episodes, but she would watch them sooner or later. At least she could then fill in the blanks on what happened when she hadn't been around.

Following Claudia to the other aisle, she looked over the fairy wings, not really finding them to her taste. Though upon seeing the gloves Claudia pointed out, Helena smiled. "To some they may be considered part of a costume. Maybe someone would want to dress up as you? We are fictional here, after all." Helena shrugged a shoulder a bit and smiled bemusedly. She moved further down the aisle, her eyes raking over the costumes and accessories presented there.

"I haven't as of yet, no." Though as soon as the words were out of her mouth, her eyes spotted a pair of black gloves with cut-off fingers. Helena smiled a bit. "I used to have a pair of gloves similar to these." the fabric was see-thru, obviously meant for a dressy type of occasion such as a ball or party of some sort. "I also had a pair made from wool that I wore when hunting down artifacts."

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clauds
2012-10-12 03:41 am UTC (link)

"Yes, because 'neurotic, not-properly-socialized, caffeine-addicted techie' is a big want on so many Halloween costume lists, I'm sure." Claudia remarked back with a grin and a disbelieving nod, despite the fact that her statement was self-deprecating.

"And when we get back to the castle, Todd, Fargo, and Dwayne will all be waiting for me and fight for my attentions. Oh, and Johnny Depp." Claudia paused and elaborated, after a moment, rambling off in typical Claudia style, "You knew of Todd, Fargo and Dwayne are - were - other guys of interests in passing. Though Fargo was more he-liked-me than I-liked-him but he was okay as a friend, but it was around the time of Todd and I really liked Todd. They're on the DVDs - Johnny Depp is just a really hot actor. Really hot."

Claudia looked at the gloves Helena had indicated to and smiled, having a moment of feeling a hint of bonding. "Someone could dress as you for Halloween. 'Victorian' or 'Modern Edition' - lots of options. Or 'Archeologist' edition. Oh! They might have that costume here, but probably not in this section." She paused in front of a Greek goddess costume, then made a face and shook her head. Claudia couldn't imagine holding the elegance required to pull it off. Rather, her attention turned to an end cap of accessories. She took a poorly made wooden cane and posed with it. "There are other Halloween stores and they have costumes at some regular stores, too, so these aren't the only options. Luckily. The question is how many places I get to drag you to."

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indelibleink
2012-10-12 05:38 am UTC (link)

Glancing to Claudia, she just chuckled and shrugged a shoulder. "You never know. Stranger things have happened, darling." Which was the truth. They were used to strange happening. Hell, Helena even being there in the flesh right now was strange. She was Victorian, and by all rights should have died long before she ever would have met any of the Warehouse 13 agents.

When Claudia slid into mentioning various men, Helena was at first a bit confused, but just let her go along. It was fairly easy to pick up the threads as Claudia explained everyone. Well, everyone except Dwayne. "So if Todd was the love interest, Fargo being the other man, and Johnny Depp is a hot actor, who is Dwayne?" She arched an eyebrow in curiosity at Claudia, a bit of a playful curve to her lips. She was rather in need of this experience. It helped to distract her from fixating on her memories of Christina, which hadn't been as bad since Myka had come back the day before. But even then, Helena was still trying to center herself.

"You mean to tell me that my day-to-day wear in modern times qualifies as a costume?" Helena wasn't sure if she should be amused or horrified by this. As such, she just went with the flow. Though upon hearing the archeologist outfit, she was all ears. Helena followed after Claudia, also eyeing the Greek goddess costume. Myka had compared her to Aphrodite. Tilting her head, Helena pondered that over, eyeing the costume with a bit of a bemused smile on her lips. In fact, she was so lost in thought that she didn't quite hear what Claudia had said until finally the younger woman's voice registered in her mind. Shaking out of her thoughts, she turned to Claudia. "I'm sorry, what?" It was a rare thing that Helena missed bits of conversation, but she also couldn't help her mind when it decided to trail off.

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clauds
2012-10-13 01:57 am UTC (link)

"Dwayne Maddox invited me to join his band, 'Dead Rent.' I did, I just - don't know if I stayed in the band since the show hasn't covered that. I've been focusing on my career, though. So." Claudia shrugged, not faulting the show for the absence of covering her romantic life. In all senses, Claudia had been avoiding having a serious romantic entanglement. She had a lot to focus on and, if it boiled down to it, the Warehouse came first for the time being. She hoped it wouldn't always be that way but after Artie was saved, then maybe. She had time yet.

"If mine could, so could yours. Sweater with a bit of a neck thing around here, or a shirt under a jacket with a collar on the shirt, a dark colored jacket over it. And a pair of pants. Hair back in a ponytail or a dark wig and -" Claudia paused when she realized that H.G. had tuned out amidst part of what she said. Claudia walked back toward the Greek goddess costume. "You agreed by lack of objection to go to six other stores with me to find accessories for your costume there and so we can find mine at all."

She really could be a devil child on occasion.

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indelibleink
2012-10-13 04:23 am UTC (link)

"Dead Rent. What a curious name that is." Helena commented. 20th Century music was still almost as foreign to her as modern American slang was. So in that respect, band to Helena still meant something akin to a chamber ensemble, not something with guitars and drums and so forth. "That sounds like it would be exciting though, being able to play music in such a way. What instrument do you play?" She did enjoy music, even was quite proficient at playing the piano. And from the sounds of it, this could be a topic that they could further bond over.

At Claudia's comment in response, Helena gave her an unbelieving yet amused look. "Have I? Such tragedy to be tugged around town much as an accessory would." She chuckled. "You are calling this my costume all ready? What gave away that impression?" So the Victorian woman did, in fact, have more than half a mind to get the costume just because Myka had made that reference, but she wasn't about to outright state it right now. She would remain coy on the subject unless Claudia saw fit to pointedly comment on it. And even then, Helena would have to see how that played out.

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clauds
2012-10-14 03:12 am UTC (link)

"Matchbox 20, Smashing Pumpkins, Def Leppard, Puddle of Mudd, Goo Goo Dolls, Nickleback - so many band names I could pick on, but the point is still the same at the end of it all. Bands tend to be weird combinations of words and, occasionally, noises." Claudia became a bit more shy, notably so, when it came to the topic of what instrument she played. Claudia was a bit weird about it when it came to her guitar. She would lay about and strum out cords now, occasionally, though she hadn't done that when H.G. was around; she hadn't been out with her playing. It had taken encouragement to even get her to do mic night. Despite joining the band, there hadn't been any actual gigs at the point Claudia had been pulled. She had legit reason still, as far as she was concerned, for stage fright. "Guitar. I think being in the band will be exciting. You know, assuming the band stayed together and I stayed in it and everything."

"Oh, yes, you're just a giant British Prada Handbag. Obvious accessory." Claudia remarked back with an utter lack of any seriousness in her voice as she said it, then raised her eyebrows and took a few steps back, slipping a picked up set of sequined devil horns onto her own head. She stared at H.G. with as serious a look as she could muster, the attached price tag dangling down on one side. "Do you not like the costume? Would you prefer to go as a Norse goddess instead? We could find you a Viking helmet."

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indelibleink
2012-10-14 05:48 pm UTC (link)

At hearing those other band names, Helena's nose scrunched a bit in disapproval. "What exactly are people thinking when choosing these names?" She shook her head a bit, more or less tossing this into the part of the years she'd missed that she'd never completely understand. "Though the music itself is what is the important part, not the name." When Claudia told her what she played, Helena smiled. "Very good. Music is a language anyone anywhere at any time can speak and share. I do hope the band you are part of stays together and that you stayed in it." Despite the century that separated Helena's interest in music and Claudia's, she still felt this could be a topic that they could bond over given time. "You know, if you have a guitar here or could get a hold of one, perhaps we could play together sometime? I would love to hear you play the guitar." And Helena genuinely meant that.

"Yes well, it is fitting given I am at your mercy, my dear." Helena smirked and felt this was an adequate allusion, even if Helena didn't know what Prada meant, but that was beside the point. When Claudia slipped the devil horns on, Helena tilted her head, taking in the younger woman's appearance. She studied her, a serious look on her face before she responded to Claudia. "I do not think a Viking helmet would suit me overly much, but a Valkyrie would be an interesting costume. But I would prefer a Greek goddess, more ways to push the limits of restraint." The ever so slight curve of her lips and the devious flicker that passed through her eyes were evidence she was referring to Myka. "The horns suit you, darling." She added as though it was an afterthought, but it actually wasn't.

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clauds
2012-10-15 01:23 am UTC (link)

"I suspect it's something along the lines of, 'what's cool sounding, random, not been done, and able to be searched for online with relative ease?' nowadays. Some - well, most of those bands were before the internet really blew up, though. So to try and be original? What could you name a band, really, and not be either dry or really weird." And Claudia was quite okay with weird, as was likely evidenced by her amused tone amidst the conversation and basically everything about her "normal" life.

"Acoustic or electric?" Claudia asked with a hint of a smile, shrugging after a moment. "I have both in my room. It took me awhile to save up, decide, and splurge but - I finally got both. It doesn't hurt that one of the other castle residents works at a music place and got me a discount, though. But - um, I'd really like that."

Not too used to touchy-feely moments, Claudia paused in the fuzzy-happy feeling of the bonding prospect for only a few seconds before moving on to the topic of the costume at hand. "Uh-huh, I have the feeling this is the moment where the kid gags at the older relative and their boy/girlfriend, so I'm just going to say thank you. I think I'm going to get the horns and wear them around just for the heck of it. Myka keeps calling me 'devil child' anyhow."

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indelibleink
2012-10-15 04:20 am UTC (link)

"You do have a point. No doubt some choose their names to draw attention to themselves." Not that Helena was an expert on that subject, but it did make sense. No doubt also a marketing type of move. Name yourself something catchy and you would have quite the easy marketing time. Which seemed to be the name of the game these days. When she had watched television or listened to the radio in their world, there was so much emphasis on marketing and attracting business. Money seemed to be in everything and was the driving force behind much of what went on.

"Both? I admit to not being acquainted with an electric guitar." Helena smiled warmly at the younger agent. She was trying for the whole fitting in and settling into a family now that she wasn't insane and trying to destroy the world. This would be a good way for her to grow closer to Claudia, to learn more about her. Helena had, of course, done her homework on the agents of Warehouse 13, but reading a file was far different than talking to them. And right now, she was all for the talking and finding her place in their family because she still felt very much the outsider among them. She wasn't from their time, she had a horrible track record, but she was trying to make amends, to truly be a better person. Myka deserved that. Helena deserved it.

Chuckling at Claudia, Helena flipped some hair over her shoulder. "I do not wish to make you gag further, so I will simply say you are most welcome. Devil child? Now how did you come about that particular nickname?" Digging for information which was something she was good at doing. Now to see if Claudia would be forthcoming or not with her response. She pulled the Greek goddess costume off the rack and looked it over, checking the size and what was included with it.

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clauds
2012-10-16 01:01 am UTC (link)

"I can show you my electric at any time, if you want. It hooks into an amplifier so - it's actually kind of interesting, in a no-taking-apart kind of way." Claudia said with a hint of a sly grin, having caught onto an established need to state that. "I mean, it can be played without the amp, but the sound isn't - right. Sans amp is just for me screwing around, not for actual playing."

"Annnd - I got it from Artie when I said that he could work off some of those pounds he had been griping about after we had to go and climb across rows when there was - caused fuss with MacPherson-left traps in the Warehouse." Claudia knew she was saying two trigger-like items, being Artie and MacPherson. Her silliness dimmed a little, but she still couldn't help but smile at the oddly fond memory of Artie's annoyance. "So - I think I'm getting the horns. And any plans on which Greek goddess, or going with generic?"

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indelibleink
2012-10-17 02:26 am UTC (link)

Upon being told she couldn't take apart the amp, Helena pouted slightly. "You do know saying that to an inventor only makes me wish to do it more." Her pout then turned into a bit of a smirk. "But fear not, I shall not attempt to take it apart. I, however, would love to hear the electric guitar." It would be a new experience to her, another of the inventions of the 20th Century she had yet to experience first-hand.

Despite the mentions of Artie and MacPherson, the latter of whom Helena had killed, she kept a smile on her face. "Yes well, I share your sentiments. A few pounds would not hurt. But I can now see where such a name originated. So are you planning to let out your inner devil child for Halloween?" And Helena spun the conversation carefully away from the subject of Artie and MacPherson. It wouldn't do either of them any good to dwell on that particular topic. "Aphrodite, naturally. And simply because a certain boy- or girlfriend you wish to not mention made mention of the goddess' name in reference to myself." At which point Helena merely wagged her eyebrows, purposely having phrased that the way she did.

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clauds
2012-10-17 07:15 pm UTC (link)

"We should get you a grounding set - it's a wire strap with a cuff. You clip a little clip-thingy to the metal piece you're working on and if you get all static-charge like, it keeps you from zapping the sensitive microchip-parts of whatever electronics you're working on." Claudia randomly stated, talking a favorite topic - tech. Really, the mention of taking things apart made it come to mind. "It doesn't always prevent frying things, since you can do it a number of other ways, but it helps in - that way!"

"We should get you some Aphrodite-like accessories! Are you thinking wig, or natural hair? We should get you some hairclips and really do your hair if not going with a wig." Claudia said, mulling the concept over, giving H.G.'s hair an assessing stare. "Maybe get some bobbypins and fake pearls or rhinestones and glue them on the bobbypins, then curl your hair with a curling iron and strategically place the pins. Elegant meets shiny?"

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indelibleink
2012-10-18 02:41 am UTC (link)

Listening to Claudia's explanation, Helena nodded a bit. "Oh yes, that certainly sounds like something I do need." Working with electronics was still very much a learning process for Helena, but she did enjoy deconstructing the CD players the younger woman had brought her to take apart. Electronics and modern circuitry were completely fascination. No doubt it had taken far longer than necessary for Helena to have pulled out the laser part that Claudia needed, but the Victorian woman liked inspecting each and every piece. "Anything that helps in even the smallest amount is a positive."

Seeing the way Claudia stared at her hair, Helena grabbed some strands and looked at it. "While I more picture Aphrodite being blonde, I think I shall stick to my natural hair. I cannot picture myself as a blonde." Helena wrinkled her nose at the thought, letting go of her hair. Though she had a momentary heart attack over having fake pearls anywhere near her, but she didn't exactly have the money for real ones. "I think that sounds like a right smashing idea. Curls and the pins with pearls are good. There is also need for some jewelry. Armband, a couple rings perhaps, a necklace. And earrings. Gold in color, of course." Though Helena looked at the costume again. It was blue in color, so gold wouldn't look that bad with it. "I'd possibly say silver jewelry, but Aphrodite is not shy. And with my skin pallor, I need a color stronger than silver."

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clauds
2012-10-18 11:18 pm UTC (link)

"We should hit one of my second-hand stores. I mean - where I go for some normal shopping. They have a good amount of costume jewelry and we could find some nice looking stuff to go with, maybe even a strand of fake pearls to use for the pins." Claudia mused aloud, thinking through the mental image of the costume that was starting to form. H.G. had an idea of exactly what she wanted with jewelry and that helped significantly. "And that way, we can get jewelry that won't turn your skin green from contact and - let's be honest, most of the stuff here that's metal probably will. And plastic would ruin the effect."

"Come on, let's get this and continue on the quest!" Claudia suddenly exclaimed with a grin, quite content to carry on this merry little trip with her Prada Bag/Victorian Author.

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