It had been a few weeks, a few very, very long weeks. The first few days had been absolute torture, a pain Junko never wanted to experience again, but as the weeks went by the felt that pain dulling into an almost...complete numbness. It wasn't the kind of numb that she would say she felt no emotions whatsoever, it was just...she didn't feel as bad anymore. There was still the dull ache of guilt in the pit of her stomach every now and then whenever she would see a reminder of what she had done, but overall her heart felt...okay.

She would be okay.

Her friends were a huge help in this, even those who didn't know how they were helping. Junko had even made that promise with Lizzy to move on, live her life, to not let this hold her back. She had so much to live for and so much to do, she couldn't let this ruin her forever. The pain would become tolerable. She could do this, she was stronger than just some sniveling scareling who cried at the drop of a hat. She would not cry anymore, and thankfully she hadn't felt the urge to in a few days now. Progress.

Her room had been cleaned several times, her broken items fixed and TG's suggestion that she always have male clothing to show in person taken to heart; the ghoul had started on some boils clothes to use for display purposes. But today she had decided to work on herself, on her own image. Everyone around her knew her to be so..fashionable and well-dressed, they probably even thought she was confident and thought highly of herself.

Well the latter would be very wrong.

Today she was standing in front of her mirror, her chat with Hel coming to mind. A fine a**? Her? She turned to one side and looked herself over, giving her own profile a very critical inspection. She supposed...hm. Seiji had said the same thing, always praising her for having 'legs that went on for miles', and she had always just assumed he was saying that because they were dating; Hel had no reason to say such things, no alternative motive or anything she could get from Junko.

"..sorry Screeheart, but you are cute and all...just too sweet for me to bear." Why had that offended her? When Junko had heard that..she'd felt defensive, like she needed to prove she was good enough for Hel and she didn't have any interest in Hel past a friendship. Was it because she hadn't been told she was cute in a long time? Maybe...she was just so used to being told she was 'hot', 'sexy', 'desirable', 'irresistible'. It was like a sting to her ego to be told she wasn't any of those things.

Junko found she didn't like it.

She wanted to keep being desirable, but she didn't want a new boilfriend...but she didn't..want to look like some kind of tramp. She frowned. Now what..

The ghoul grabbed one of the dresses she had bought while shopping with Hel and put it on, pulling the black dress up until it fit properly on her. It was long with two thin straps..and room to play with the actual design of the dress. "Maybe if I.." She grabbed a pair of scissors now and carefully watched herself in the mirror as she cut a new neckline for the dress. It now opened up more instead of just..constricting her. It certainly made a significant difference, one that had her blushing and just staring at herself. Oh wow..she couldn't...no. Maybe if she put..hm. She turned away from the mirror, her hair picking up the bottom of the dress' skirt so she could quickly move to her fabric wall. Something to go with this, something--oh! This would do! She grabbed a bolt she usually used for making her skirts, turning back to the mirror and fitting part of it in the bust of the dress itself. Ooh! That was nice! The dress was removed and set aside, the ghoul smiling as she picked up another dress. It was floor length, blue, with a high neckline that went up to her chin. It also had long sleeves..but they were too tight. It kind of reminded her of a kimono she had made. A look was given to that kimono before the ghoul gasped and grabbed a piece of chalk, putting the dress on and checking how it fit. It was a little too big..perfect. A line was drawn down the front of the dress, one that went from just under her breasts to mid-thigh, and another line that opened up an area around her chest, the sleeves came next with chalk lines around her shoulders. Areas to be cut, it would be perfect. That dress was also taken off and put aside for now. Her kimonos..she could never give those up, but perhaps she could update them? Maybe make new ones. That could work.

The long white kimono she had made was pulled from her wardrobe; she could make this again, change the pattern..yeah, that worked. She could go comfortable, flattering..her obis hid her figure...she could make new ones that were less stiff and thick. She could do this without changing herself, right? Yeah. She could do this without worrying. Junko was finding she wanted to do this more and more with each passing minute. She wanted to feel more...mature.

"Are you sure you want to do this, ghoulie? You don't worry you'll look...desperate?"

"No, I...yeah. I want to do this. I almost did this a long time ago to try and impress Seiji, but I chickened out. I can't do that this time." She held another dress up to her body and looked at herself in the mirror. "You made me feel ugly and plain for so long.." A glance was cast toward the last dress she had left to give to Riley. It was intricate, very detailed, beautiful. It looked like something Junko once only dreamed she could wear. "I make such beautiful clothes for my friends, but I only ever make concealing kimono for myself...don't I deserve something different? Besides, I'll be graduating soon." She put the dress aside and sat down on her bed with the scissors again, grabbing the blue dress she had drawn all over. "I deserve nice things, especially since those little shadow things ate part of my wardrobe." Her eyes narrowed. Stupid creatures. Why her? She didn't have much money, she couldn't always afford new things. Stupid.

The first cut was made in the dress, the sleeves being cut away without even a moment's hesitation.

"If you insist..what are you trying to prove?"

"Nothing." Junko answered with a small smile, cutting open the neck of the dress and following her chalk line. "I want to look pretty."

"But you do without doing this.."

"Fine then. I want change. I'll still wear the rest of my clothes, but I want more maturity..I...I don't want to be cream puff, you know?" She shrugged. She didn't have any second thoughts about this, which had to be some kind of sign. "It's just a few dresses.."