Welcome to Gaia! ::

Before Jessie could completely puzzle out the words used in ‘perfecalution’ they had reached a large closet. So many clothes! Jessie looked around her in wonder. There were so many different materials, cuts, decades… a vintage clothing store would give a arm and a leg for just a few of these outfits. The young lady wasn’t what you would call very chic but even she could tell that this room was something special.

Still in a bit of a shock she took the robe and nodded before heading into changing room. It wasn’t until she had taken off her blouse and slacks did Jessie realize that the robe was silky, bright blue, and very, very short. Felling even more uncomfortable she belted the robe tightly and with her clothes folded and held in front of her like a shield Jessie moved quickly across the closet to poke her head out from around the door. “Mystery? Would you happen to have a longer robe? This one is rather…. Well short.” The last time Jessie had a robe this short was when an ex-boyfriend gave her an ‘ensemble’ for her birthday. She sold it in a yard sale after she kicked his butt out since she was tired of his pressuring and general a**-nes.

Jessie made a face at the child's back before following her while tugging down the hem of the robe. "I know that its just this is a bit short for me. I'm more of a big fluffy robe kinda girl."

She eyed the table and after a moment sighed in resignation. She had agreed to this and besides it wasn't even for her even if it was a birthday present. Jessie smiled and shook her head no. "Thanks anyway Mystery. I ate before coming since it was easier." She faced Carlynn and with a nod said, "Do with me as you will... but no underwear pictures." She snickered then made a face at Mystery. Once Jessie decided to do something she would follow through even if she still had misgivings. To keep her mind off those thoughts she asked both Mystery and Carlynn, "Mystery I'm guessing your a big..." She studied the young girl for a moment before finishing the sentence, "craft fan and I'm guessing some good photography books for you Carlynn. I run The Bookwyrm if you guys every get a chance to stop in. We have a really wide selection and if I don't stock it I can find it."

Jessie sat and arranged the robe until she was happy at how it settled. “Not for a while?! How about never. It’s not like I have anyone I can give them too anyway.” She nearly added, ‘not for my mother’s lack of trying sadly,’ but kept the snarky comment to herself. It really was not a terribly big deal since the worst her mom did was try to set her up on blind dates and push her into going to city events, just to ‘get her out there’ as her mom would say. The dates were pretty easy to figure a way out of and the events she just couldn’t miss were at least useful for networking. Quite a few new patrons to the store came about that way. Granted it was also after one of those events that Jessie found out about her secret half, making her a glorified superhero.

To keep her mind off of the scary prospect of her mom using half naked pictures of her to wrangle Jessie a boyfriend, or worse her friends getting a hold of a copy, Jessie watched Mystery devour the rice crackers. “Oh I don’t print books I just sell them. I’m a big fan of literature and can be called a bibliophile without any real shame. If you stop by I’m sure I have something that will fit the bill for you both.” She smiled at Mystery’s exuberant reaction. “I like cross stitch myself. I also do some easy origami and we have some fantastic books on knitting at the store. What’s your favorite type of craft?”

"Bucket List?" Jessie barely got the question out when Carolynn explained that it was a way of proving to themselves that they can do it and they are proud of their sexuality. And while Jessie wasn't terribly uncomfortable in her body she really didn't think she could do something like the half naked pictures. She knew that she was rather plan looking, the most remarkable part of her was her hair since the lightly curling mass of it falls down to her butt and it was a rather interesting shade of dark brown. Her face would not grace a magazine or even a tv set, her body was not something a guy would drool over... hell even her last boyfriend said she was so-so in the looks department. Jessie would need a big shot of courage before she could do something like those pictures she had seen.

Jessie kept quiet as Carolynn applied the makeup, her mind spinning with the thought of, 'just what would it take to do something like that?' and 'what would I put on my bucket list?'. She would like to think it would contain a lot of places with spectacular or noteworthy libraries and bookstores but other then that Jessie didn't really know what would be on it. Would it really be worth doing something like the photos... if only to prove to herself that she could do it? She was so focused on her thoughts that she didn't even realize that Mystery was standing so close to her, that is until she spoke up.

She had to wait until Carolynn pulled back for a different makeup before she could answer. "Funzowie? Fun and wowie?" It was a bit jarring to here such mashed words but Jessie shrugged it off since that was how new words were created, for the most part. "That is great. We have some pretty good craft books and I'm pretty sure the local civic's center holds craft classes. It also might be worth looking into craft stores to see if they have classes or events if you like to try different crafting techniques."

Jessie nodded in understanding before she did as requested. Some lessons required you to do things a certain way at a specific time in order to work right but others were a bit more unregimented. It was the unregimented ones that were taught like the regimented ones that Jessie could see as a big problem. So what if you start a cross stitch pattern from the corner rather than the center or use chain mail to make a corset although that might be difficult to do. Granted some things like baking really did take a bit of structure to arrive at an edible ending. One couldn’t substitute baking soda with baking powder or regular milk for condensed milk… Jessie should know since she had done both. The results, let’s just say, were interesting to say the least.

“I always find that while I can do the things in the classes I couldn’t replicate them at home so I completely understand.” The homemade bread was at the forefront of her thoughts at that moment. At the class it was fluffy and tasty while at home it was dense as a brick and would probably have done as much damage as one if it was thrown at something. There wasn’t much else that Jessie could say about crafts so she fell silent for a few moments before saying, “Did you know Mystery that blush has been used since early Egypt?”

It was one of those random facts that she had unearthed when she researched into the history of Pompeii and ancient Greek culture. One of the books mentioned that crushed mulberries were common in Greek culture but the Egyptian culture was one of the first known uses of rouge.

((sorry about the delay it took me a while to figure out what to wright))

“Oh that’s neat.” Jessie briefly wondered what it would be like to be able to research her family history like that before she followed Carolynn’s request. While in the darkness of her own creation she could feel the gentle touch of the photographer apply the makeup. Shadow and blush were normally only something worn when she had a fancy event she was attending, gloss was about the extent of her personal makeup regiment so Jessie was quite intrigued to see how she would look once all the primping was done. Her aunt would hardly recognize her.

“Um…” Mystery had asked a rather hard question. “American I guess. My parents are a mix of mainly European decent with some Canadian and Russian tossed in to make it interesting. There might even be some Spanish tossed in but I’m not really sure.” She debated with herself about adding that she didn’t know her own history but she let it drop since the likeliness of her being something more than her parents were pretty slim. Her pale skin was a mix of the majority of her days indoors and likely was part of some northern European ancestry. Her dark hair and eyes could have come from any number of genetic backgrounds. The same could even be said for the slight curls her hair formed when it was allowed free reign. Jessie briefly wondered if her hair would curl tighter if it was shorter, its own mass was likely stretching out the curls making them more of a wave then ringlets. But the thought of ancestry did bring up the afterhours activities that she had become a part of making Jessie wonder if her real parents even knew about the secret hidden in her blood. Could that have been why she was given up for adoption? How would they have even known?

Jessie had to suppress a snicker. Mystery was right, she was a mutt but Carolynn had a point that such a young girl should never call someone a mutt since it wasn't polite, "Its more polite to call someone mixed, for instance I am of 'Mixed Heritage', then again not everyone likes that term either. Everyone is different of course." Jessie carefully shrugged just slightly, trying not to disturb Carolynn. "I know you didn't mean it that way. Honestly I refer to myself as a mutt but your mom's right. Most people don't think its a polite term."

Jessie followed the instructions and opened her eyes only to immediately blink a few times, even that short period of time caused her to eyesight to become accustom to the darkness of the inside of her eyelids. As let her eyes adjust once more she thought quietly about Mystery's question. "Well I have postcards from Canada but no real paraphernalia. I know that basketball was created by a Canadian and that Canada is second largest country in the world, second only to Russia. I do know a really good book that you might like that is a retelling of Anastasia." The Diamond Secret was one of Jessie's favorites and she wondered if Mystery liked fairy tails and their retellings. She glanced at Carolynn, "We also have a really good series based in a 'alternate' universe where Alaska was never bought from Russia and is now its own country. Its a romance but it is really full of humor." She looked back down at the young girl, "Alaska was bought right after the Civil War from Russia and most of the country thought it was a horrible idea. I guess they were wrong right?" She smiled and hoped that Mystery got the joke... even though it was not really a joke nor was it terribly clever.