#so many paragraphs about clothes that youd think i was writing about Velour Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way

[raitrolling]

A Perfect Fit

[Easy reading version on Toyhou.se]

The sewing room in the loft of Velour’s apartment had looked as if a tornado of silks and suit fabrics had torn through the place for the past perigee, but as the deadline of the Twelfth Perigee Ball approached it seemed as if some semblance of peace had finally returned to the studio. For starters, the cuspblood was finally able to see the floor and not have to carefully tiptoe over rolls of fabric or sewing patterns. Now each outfit stood proudly on his small platoon of dress-form mannequins, carefully adjusted to match the measurements of the troll destined to wear them.

There were still the finishing touches left for each outfit, but Velour was in the middle of taking a break from his projects, at the behest of his moirail of course. 

Jamie made sure to visit at least once a week to ensure he did not catch his moirail working himself to death, and conversations over text were far more frequent. Jikiro and Hanabi also dropped by on occasion, with the tanuki lusus making the trip through the ink portal on her own more than once to nap in front of his sewing machine, forcing Velour to wait for her to wake up before he continued his work. Even Viltau made the pilgrimage to his friend’s hive, cupcakes and sandwiches in hand, essentially inviting himself over for lunch. 

It was nice to be cared for, but Velour could tell no one believed him whenever he tried to assure them he was managing his schedule fine and did not need anyone to worry. Then again, after his little stunt last time, he supposes the frequent visits and distractions were the price he needed to pay for burning himself out and making his magic go haywire at the ball.

And he was careful this time, only using his magic sparsely for the outfits on display in his sewing room… Except for one.

The four commissioned pieces in the corner of the room were completely free of magic. Velour had taken minimal slots for bespoke outfits this time, opting for a system where his clients could submit draft ideas for the clothing designs and he would pick four that were both interesting yet not too challenging, and also were not clients he had made an outfit for the previous ball. He was upfront in his announcement that he wanted to give others a fair chance, as he had received feedback from his fans last time expressing their disappointment that they had missed out. He knew he couldn��t please everyone, but this was the best system he could think of.

What he did not expect, however, was the sheer amount of similar ideas that were submitted to him by his clients, given the theme of the ball. Halfway through the selection process, Velour had the realisation that he was essentially choosing between three different Aphrodite-inspired designs for one of those elusive four slots, and then ended up going back through every single submission to check his hunch. Sure enough, the vast majority were Greco-Roman inspired in some way, much to the kitsune troll’s surprise.

Regardless of the similar tastes of the finalists when it came to interpreting the theme of myth and majesty, Velour felt very proud of his four commissioned pieces. His Aphrodite was a pearlescent ballgown with a seashell-shaped bodice and strings of pearls hanging off the hips of the mannequin’s curved figure, accessorized with a matching pleated organza fabric shawl and a pale pink rose headpiece to be tucked behind the wearer’s ear. Next to it, a bold white suit decorated with golden epaulettes and Spartan armour-like flourishes, as well as patches of blood-red gems encrusting the fabric befitting of a design inspired by the war god Ares. 

The two designs may not have been submitted by trolls with any relation to each other, as far as Velour was aware, but the two mannequins positioned side by side struck the cuspblood as appearing like a lovely power couple for Ball King and Queen.

The final two commissioned outfits did not quite match in an aesthetic sense, but belonged to the same mythological grouping. A dark navy blue suit for Hera, leaning hard into the peacock motif with a flowing train of the bird’s feathers, and touches of brilliant blue and green patterns on the suit’s lapels and collar. A crown sat on top of the mannequin’s head, matching the depictions seen in the statues around the region the myth originated from. 

Finally, a dress for Persephone, decorated with bright spring flowers around the bodice that contrasted with the dark crown of thorns situated on the wearer’s head, the dress itself also layered in light-to-dark gradients that mirrored the goddess’ descent into the Underworld. Velour was rather proud of the pomegranate clutch he had designed to accompany the outfit as well.

All that was left was for him to wait for his order for the matching footwear to arrive, and then he would be able to have each clothing piece delivered to their waiting clients. He would miss seeing them in his studio, but being able to witness them in person when he attended the ball would be well worth all the trouble. 

Careful not to trip over the peacock feathers and the flowing shawl, Velour made his way over to the next set of mannequins. These were the designs he had made for his friends - all paid in full by them, of course, he could not afford to be that generous. Unlike the commissioned pieces, it was much easier for him to work closer with each outfit’s wearer to ensure they were perfectly tailored every step of the way. 

The boys from Aeon Racing were the most difficult to arrange for preliminary fittings and alterations, given that the racing season had ended only two weeks ago and their schedules were completely booked up until the last few nights. But once they were able to show up for a fitting, Velour could not help but gush over how handsome Sharle looked in his suit, themed after a dragonslaying knight. 

The pieces of silver armour gleamed under the lights of the studio, with the blueblood the suit was made for completely unaware that they were merely 3D-printed plastic pieces polished to imitate real steel, then enchanted with magical illusions to truly sell the look. Instead Sharle had remarked on how impressive it was that he armour was so lightweight, and he felt like it’d be really easy to move around in on the dancefloor - much to the delight of Jamie, who had been assisting Velour in the design for the armour pieces by sending him references of East Alternian anime and video game characters.

His moirail’s own outfit matched the falcon troll, opting to fashion himself as a prince whom the loyal knight would serve. Velour designed matching capes for the two trolls, however Jamie’s was solely for photoshoots. Whenever he needed to move around, the brilliant red cape could be unclipped from the suit’s epaulettes and stored in his modus. The suit similarly took inspiration from the princely characters in idol anime, with many touches of gold on cream-white fabric, silk gloves with a matching tie, and a tiny crown adorned with sapphires that would sit slightly askew on his fluffy head. Jamie designed his own crutches, and Velour designed a matching pair of glasses with golden chains and tiny hints of dragon scales on the frames.

Each time it was Jamie’s turn for a suit fitting, he would inevitably pull the cuspblood into a dance, claiming to be testing the maneuverability of the fabric. But, as delightful as an impromptu tango in the sewing room can be, Velour knew it was an unsubtle reminder to him that he needed to keep practicing his dancing in the lead-up to the ball. 

Viltau was a less energetic model, but a long-time and cooperative client who Velour always enjoyed working with. Much like Jamie’s royalty theme, the indigoblood had opted to lean more towards the majestic than the mythical. With a double-breasted suit stylised to resemble a military general’s uniform, long black boots with a surprisingly cute peet print pattern on the soles and silk gloves with faux mink cuffs, and a royal purple cape also fashioned with mink fur around the neckline, he too could be mistaken for another prince copying his best friend’s outfit if not for the fact that the arch of his crown was fashioned to resemble mouse ears. 

While Velour had been altering the pants once again to emphasise certain assets more to Viltau’s liking, the indigoblood would happily chat away about how the Mouse King from The Nutcracker perfectly marries the theme of the ball with the Twelfth Perigee season, while also being both a literary and theatrical classic. He had also requested for the fringes on the epaulettes, the ropes that fastened his cape in place, and the faux fur that accented each accessory was twisted and knotted in a way that evoked the image of a Rat King - he had become rather enamoured with the imagery and symbolism of rodents as of recent, he said with a smile on his face that hinted he was referring to something a beloved friend had told him. 

Jikiro, on the other hand, had opted to approach Tuuya to design his outfit this time around, as he did not want to pile even more work onto his adopted brother. Velour hadn’t minded and knew that the jade matron was equally as skilled seamstress as he was so they could be trusted with making a fine suit for Jikiro, but he couldn’t help but feel… A little disappointed, just briefly, that he couldn’t make an outfit for someone who meant so much to him. He didn’t blame Jikiro for being considerate of his workload, and the sea of fabric around him was proof that he had been under the pump for two very long perigees, so all he could do was try to not think about it.

Fortunately, he had one final secret project he could focus on instead, one he was able to ask the tanuki troll for his assistance with. And the outfit that now stood in front of him was the one he felt was his greatest accomplishment as a mage and a tailor.

The cloak resting on the mannequin’s shoulders appeared rather unassuming at first, especially in comparison to the more elaborate pieces within the studio. A long piece of black cloth that would finish at about knee length on its wearer, fashioned with a simple collar and a couple golden buttons for a splash of colour. The ends were trimmed with a cerulean accent, decorated with a recurring pattern of pictographs. But the real star of the show was the cloak’s inner lining, a shimmering gradient of cerulean to a deep royal blue, accented with more elaborate patterns and three very distinct glyphs in golden thread.

Velour had researched into different languages he could use when designing the garment for his linguist friend, and settled on Toki Pona. It was a constructed language that consisted of less than a hundred and fifty words, all with their own unique pictograph that was clear and easy to understand. The three main glyphs had been embroidered with thread enchanted by Jikiro, magical energy woven into the fibres that allowed for long-lasting spells to embed into the garment.

Seli, the word meaning heat, inscribed on the left side of the cloak that activated a warmth spell when touched. Lete, the word meaning cold, inscribed on the right side and would instead cool the fabric and its wearer when activated. And as for the centre glyph, len - the word for clothing but also cover…

Velour eased the cloak off the mannequin and draped it over his shoulders, spinning around to face the full-body mirror and watch the lightweight fabric swish around him.

Except in the mirror, he had no reflection - Or, to be more accurate, he was cloaked in an illusion that made it extremely difficult for anyone to perceive the cloak’s wearer. 

It was one of the most complex spells he had successfully pulled off so far, and it was all for Hazard.

Maybe it was just because he was another quiet and shy man with curly hair and a snake lusus, just as Jamie had teased him about in the past, but Velour knew that he absolutely could not ruin this friendship the same way he had hurt his other dearest friend in the past. And, with this cloak - along with one he was planning on making for himself - they could go out to places together without the prying eyes of others, scrutinising the celebrity and his company, making the two trolls the centre of attention whether they wanted it or not. Every night, he had been pouring his magical energy into the centre glyph, strengthening the spell that removes the presence of its wearer, while also adjusting the power of the temperature controlling glyphs to ensure maximum comfort for his friend. 

Velour spun around cheerfully in the cloak again as he thought about delivering the gift before the ball.

How he could explain to Hazard all the work he’d done researching the language. He wondered if he would be able to instantly recognise the words on the trim. Toki Pona’s alphabet was so limited that he had to get creative with trying to incorporate Hazard’s favourite things into the design: Combining the symbols for ‘long’ and ‘lizard’ to refer to snakes, and the pictographs for ‘see’ and ‘word’ had been combined as there was no word for reading or books. Imagine that! A written language without two very important words! 

And, oh! He could even suggest that Hazard brings it to the ball, in case he needs to covertly leave to get some fresh air or it gets either too stuffy outdoors or too cold outside! Then it’ll be even more useful! 

The kitsune troll grinned to himself, flopping onto the chaise lounge tucked in the opposite corner of the studio and wrapping the cloak around himself like a blanket. He then activated the warmth glyph, snuggling into his friend’s present. Another selling point for the garment, that’s for sure.

Just as he was getting comfortable, he caught a glimpse of his final work in progress - the long feathered shawl of his own outfit for the ball. Resembling a heron’s wings, the theme he had chosen was of an East Alternian myth about a crane who was saved from hunters by a man, and repays his kindness by weaving beautiful silk clothing for him to sell at the market, disguising itself as a woman so to hide its true identity. 

Unlike the crane, Velour had no intention of flying away after delivering his gift. But… Maybe it wouldn’t hurt if he took a longer nap before returning to his work.