( open* ) for all i know, maybe everyone is screaming as they go through life,

[elegiaque]

WHO: Gwenaëlle Baudin + &c
WHAT: A catch-all for pre-planned threads. * open for BUSINESS by ARRANGEMENT.
WHEN: September.
WHERE: Various.
NOTES: Content warnings TBA if necessary! Feel free to hit me up if you want to do something here; I am notoriously terrible at creating open posts but I'm always happy to brainstorm something bespoke.

starters in the comments.

Comments

[molineux]

The scars are impossible not to notice, providing a grounding detail within all the finery. Margaery thinks she prefers this - callouses and unapologetic reminders of survival - over soft hands and unblemished skin now, as another brand of honesty this second life has afforded her.

It doesn't take an idiot to notice that Gwenaëlle likes to operate on a more brisk schedule, and Margaery takes her seat (same chaise, with an appropriate amount of distance so they won't go cross-eyed looking at each other) easily. "I understand," she says, already grateful for the fast pace that will ensure her thoughts don't wander. "I believe blues would compliment my eyes well, although if there is a far superior color in fashion, I'd be happy to see how it works with my complexion?" She addresses the floating question to the waiting modiste, smiling at her hopefully as a silent request to have the room to themselves.

But when she leaves the room to retrieve more fabrics, Margaery's smile drops to something more professional as she begins to undress for the second robe left hanging for her to wear. Nudity is still clearly no source of shame, as Gwenaëlle is invited to gaze upon as much as she'd like. Her body has become far leaner since her arrival though; she allows herself a long look in the well-lit mirrors, hand flat on her belly, lips pursed ruefully for a second, before the robe is slipped on and tied around her waist to re-preserve her modesty.

"What would you say the best story for us would be? Should I be your new dearest friend, someone who's grown in your affections over time as a confidante?"

[elegiaque]

Nudity is not something especially remarkable to Gwenaëlle, either, not shameful nor inherently titillating; it's not that she makes a point of looking or not, it's just that she doesn't appear to discernibly regard Margaery any differently whether she's dressed or not. In a modiste's dressing room, one expects to find naked women for the purpose of clothing them, and her own semi-nudity is casual, heedless. If her own robe slips, it doesn't seem artful; she doesn't seem incapable, just presently indifferent. Her mind elsewhere.

“Alexandrie d'Asgard would have you strangled in the night with your own hair,” sounds more like an assessment than a joke, “so not that, no.” It'd be really inconvenient, for a start. “No, a lover. I'm estranged from my husband and I've got a new fancy, something like that.”

Her lips purse to one side, “I don't know what's in fashion, so you'll have to defer to Hofer if you want to pick colours based on that and not what suits you. I think it'll be a bit more convincing we might actually be interested in each other if you dress as suits you, though, I'm not well known for tolerating people whose opinions change depending on who's standing near them.”

Gwenaëlle is stylish; she is not fashionable, except by happenstance.

[molineux]

The stiffening at the threat isn't from genuine fear.

Margaery's seen Alexandrie d'Asgard around, knows her to be perfectly gracious and sweet even in passing, and for that reason, doesn't consider the threat to be baseless either. No, instead there's an unwelcome tendril of memory, an echo of a time when she was threatened a similar end by someone she almost wishes she killed. But she doesn't pause in her movements - instead, the robe is appropriately knotted and she seats herself once more.

"Lovers, then." she agrees, mildly appreciative of Loxley's ability to pinpoint what she apparently does best. It certainly won't be difficult to wiggle her own ideas of fashion between what's available and what's recommended, not after she's done extensive observing in the streets for mimicry purposes.

(There's a part of her that does wonder if this farce will be believable. After such a passionate outburst on the crystal network, will people buy into this notion of Gwenaëlle moving on so quickly? But. Far be it from her to assume what her new partner is or isn't capable of.)

"Are there any irritating habits you cannot stand, or sore spots of conversation that I should avoid?"