InsaneJournal

enough is not enough
Who: Max and June
What: Time to gussy up for Halloween
Where: Halloween Bootique - Costa Mesa
When: October 29, 2017


Max already had an idea of what she wanted to wear to the party, after all, her mask was a little obvious. But still, there was nothing saying she couldn’t go as, say, a cat Cinderella or a cat Robin Hood. All she had to do was be creative, right?

She met June outside Pax and the two of them had cheerfully walked the few minutes up the road to the costume place, quite conveniently nearby. “Okay, so what are you going as then, since you don’t need to find a costume?” she asked as they neared the store. She didn’t know her very well yet, so she couldn’t actually make a guess as to what she’d end up picking.

"Well the mask I got sort of goes with anything," June said. "Just some shiny black feathers, so I've got a lot of wiggle room. At first I was thinking a magpie or something. Have you ever read Tanith Lee's 'Black and White Sky'? Something like that." Max shook her head, smiling.

She stepped in front of Max, opening the costume shop's front door, holding it wide for her new acquaintance. Max grinned, giving June a mocking half curtsey and stepping through the open door. A bell set over the door jingled merrily as they entered. "But now I'm thinking Pocahontas." June flashed a positively wicked grin, her dark eyes glittering like jewels. "Know where I could find a realistic severed head?"

“Ohh come on, there's prop stores everywhere in LA, you’ll be able to find one somewhere…” she said, not even batting an eye at the request. “In fact, I may have connections that could get you a somewhat realistic one,” she added with a smirk.

"Awesome," June said. "It needs to look just like Disney's version of John Smith. Not the real, busted dude. Gotta make sure people recognize him…" And then June was distracted, rummaging through racks upon racks of costumes and clothing.

Max grinned, “I’ll see what I can do.” She had people. She’d get it done.

“Okay so...my mask is obviously a cat, but...I don’t know, going as just a cat seems too obvious, right?” There was an entire world of costume ideas out there, she wasn’t going to go right for the obvious, was she?

"Right," June agreed. "I really think you need to play up the gold from it, maybe tap into the musical theme. Maybe go as a feline siren? Mashup costumes are always fun."

“Ohh, siren? I like it; just as long as I’m not in a huge flowy gold gown like Beauty and the Beast or something, ‘cause I do not do ballgowns. Unless I have to. For work. Because reasons,” she said, thinking about that one time she’d endured a huge flowy gown that was completely impractical for her job, because a client had insisted she absolutely had to wear one to blend in.

She paused at one that looked vaguely promising on the rack and then her eyes widened when she held it up for June to see. “Uhhm…no,” she laughed, immediately putting it back.

The sound June made was more cackle than laugh. "Definitely not what I was thinking," she said, "although you could sharpen the tit cups to actual, sharp points. That's something I could get behind."

June wandered off to another rack. She let her hand drift over the sides of the hanging clothes, pausing here and there when she felt the touch of higher-quality fabric. She paused on a gold sheath dress, a sort of shortened version of Jessica Rabbit's red gown. "What about this?" she asked, holding it up for Max to see. "Add some cute flats, maybe cut a hole in the back for a black tail to peek through…"

Max considered it, her brows lifting as she looked over the cute dress. “Better...I should get one of those fuzzy cat ears hairbands to go with it too,” she smirked, touching the slinky fabric. “Maybe sheer black nylons?” She was already picturing it, enjoying the image it made. “But is it too much? Will I look like a gold disco ball with a tail?” she asked, holding the dress over her so June could see it better for context.

"Too much?" June echoed, rolling her eyes. "Have you seen where we live? There are literal altars on my floor. No, I think 'too much' at this party will be just right." Max giggled and gave the dress another considering look.

She took a step closer, reaching a hand out to pluck at the fabric draped over her newfound acquaintance. She tapped the index finger of her free hand against her lips. "I think if you're really going to sell the feline siren thing, you'll need a microphone to go with it. Then I think you'll be perfect."

“You just don’t want to be the only one awkwardly hauling around a prop all night,” Max teased, now looking around for cat ears. “Okay, but I don’t want it to look like a stupid kid’s toy,” she said, heading over to a wall of accessories. She grinned and picked out a package that had the fuzzy cat ears and a strap-on tail, tucking it under her arm with the dress. “Ohhhh fishnets!” she said, picking up a package featuring a ‘sexy witch’ in a mini skirt and black fishnet tights on the cover. “If I’m gonna do it, might as well go all out, right?”

"Now you're getting it." June gave her a thumbs-up. Then, distracted by a glimpse of something shiny, she wandered over to a rack of props. "We might have to go to an actual music shop," she mused, looking over the items on offer. "They have a couple here but they look pretty plastic…" Her hand alighted on one package, lifting it off the wall and up to Max's view. "Wait, what about this one?"

She considered it with a bit of a frowny pout, and then shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said finally, “I kinda want to have my hands free for food and such,” she said, “but maybe I can find a way to hook it to a belt or something?” she said, thinking out loud. She took the package from her, giving it a little more scrutiny. At least it wasn’t hot pink or obviously a kid’s toy. And it wasn’t super expensive either.

June nodded. "Good point. Maybe go for one of those headset things like the pop stars use. If you want to go the pop star route, anyway. Me, I'm more Shirley Manson in fishnets grinding around on the stage…" She set to pawing her way through the remainder of the accessories, finding nothing that fit the image already forming in her mind. "You know, I bet you and I could make something better than what we have here, if you wanted to go the earpiece, headset direction. Just some wire and foam and we could knock that right out."

“Well the headset would definitely keep my hands free,” Max said, considering the microphone in her hands, “but I think it might be a little too ‘Britney Spears’ for me. You’re right, Shirley Manson is more my thing,” she said with a grin. “Maybe I’ll get this one then, at least it’s not super expensive,” she said, adding it to the small pile in one arm. “Is there anything here you need? I’ll get in touch with someone about the head once I pay...coffee’s on me, by the way,” she added with a happy smile.

"Twist my arm, why don't you," June said, following Max up to the counter. She looked down at the arm full of purchases to be made, pleased with their progress for the evening. After a moment's thought, she shook her head. "Nah I'm good, thanks. Just ready to get this costume together. This party's going to be a blast..."