So…I was at this fashion show in one of the largest, most high-profile, terraformed moons in the Sigfrid Galaxy. As to what the likes of me was doing at a fashion show, when I basically lived and died by the principle of finding a few good outfits and calling it quits till one of my wives forces me to cycle something new in, or something old out, well the answer was Kian. I wasn’t the only one who was just doing whatever while we waited for our good friends the Dark Song Orchestra to finally attack at full force. Despite her outwardly shy demeanor, Kian was a woman who could get things done. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have lasted as Empress of the Shattered Heaven’s Dragons for as long as she had.
Which is to say, our fair Ms. Greenscale was easily able to turn a passing interest in the clothes, hair accessories, and shoes that were displayed, posted about, and advertised in the Sigfrid Union’s social media, into something more than just your average passing interest. She started off by posting about her own clothing. Which apparently were all things that she’d made herself.
She was a bit too shy to post pictures of herself, but she’d brought along plenty of aids that she could have wear her clothes instead, and she was plenty rich enough to hire professional models. As the number of positive responses on social media grew, and the interest in her clothing and designs grew, Kian was able to start selling her clothes. Starting off as a small boutique, and gradually expanding her brand until Greenscale Clothing was one of the biggest names in Sigfrid’s fashion scene.
In hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have been too surprised. Kian always struck me as the somewhat artistic type. She was smart, and there was a certain keen aesthetic to all the cities and buildings that “she” had personally had a hand in building. Also, there were a lot of dragons that used their scales to create clothing for themselves when they took a humanoid form, rather than go to the effort of procuring transforming magical garments. Kian was one of them, and I’d been passively aware that she liked to make her own designs using her scales, for quite some time.
It probably sounds like her journey into the upper ranks of the fashion world was stupidly easy, and if so, congratulations on paying attention. It normally takes more steps and more effort to rise to the top as Kian had. The thing is that Kian had a huge leg-up, and I’m not talking about the fact that we were basically this universe’s secret Overlords. Kian’s perspective alone was enough to allow her to rise to the top of the world of fashion and art.
The mortal world is a pale rendition of true reality. The immortal realms are only slightly better, but the longer you stay in the realms that light beyond death and possibility and the deeper in you venture, the more you’ll see of the true shapes and angles of the cosmos, and the more you’ll understand. Long story short, Kian’s insights and spiritual attainments over the passing eons were of a level, that even if she hadn’t genuinely been pretty damn good at this fashion thing, she’d still have been able to conquer hearts and minds with designs that could either bring one to the heights of ecstasy or the depths of madness. Kian could make a mini-skirt that could literally make the average person’s soul shake and shiver.
Anyway…I was at this fashion show. Watching a bunch of models walk back and forth, along a levitating stage. Bright neon lights surrounded us. House music emanated from the floor and ceiling. I had a glass of wine in my hand that at least tasted good, even if it was too weak to get me even a little buzzed. Despite my lack of any interest or concern for the world of fashion, I was there for the sake of supporting Kian. That being said, I won’t say that I didn’t occasionally
use my Empty-Network interface to amuse myself when things got intolerably dull.
Suddenly, in crashed an eccentrically dressed villainess. Mad Witch Papillion. A magic-based villain that had a beef with the fashion world. People screamed and fled, as the colorfully dressed, butterfly-winged, villainous descended through a skylight. Accompanied by masked mooks in rainbow spandex.
“Hahah…Good evenings, fashion heretics. This holy queen has come to teach you about the true path of fashion yet again…Just out of the good of my-...”
I honestly wouldn’t have minded letting her monologue and do her thing, but Mad Witch Papilion was one of those villains who just straight-up starts killing people, once she got rolling, and I wasn’t so detached that I’d be cool with letting that happen just so I could indulge my hero-watching hobby. Also, my girlfriend was doing a thing, and I’d be a very bad boyfriend not to help it go smoothly if I could. So, I rolled back the clock by like a few minutes. I couldn’t help wincing as I had to expend a huge amount of energy to avoid dealing with the causal and karmic backlash that even a small reversal of time could bring.
Then once that time had been reversed. I poofed the Mad Witch to a cell in a maximum-security prison for supervillains. I sent her to one of the good ones that either kept their “tenants” locked down, or had a decent amount of “overhead” if you catch my drift. The Mad Witch Papillion was kind of fucked up, and not in a fun way, so it was best if society either kept her under custody, or her various crimes were processed, and adjudicated, with a necessary “final” punishment given for the kind of enormously dangerous criminal that was hard to keep hold of, and represented a great and continuing threat to society.
I wrapped things up by messaging all the necessary parties to let them know what was up, so they could handle things from there. I honestly could have dealt with Mad Witch Papilion myself, but I didn’t really have any beef with her, and there was something about her background and nature that annoyingly enough reminded me of Jack. Enough so, that I didn’t feel comfortable being the one to put the hammer down, if I didn’t need to.
Fortunately, as much as the Sigfrid Galaxy was basically a full-blown comic book world, they were actually pretty good at avoiding the whole “franchise villain”-trope. Super-criminals could have long careers if they were good at what they did, and smart enough to know how to tow certain lines and unspoken rules, but if they were caught, they usually either stayed locked up, got dealt with for the public good, or they were properly rehabilitated during their stay in prison and found a life outside of crime that they settled into permanently.
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Later, as the night was ending. I decided it was about time I headed home. It looked like Kian would be busy for a good bit more, but I was no longer needed. She was currently surrounded by reporters and there was a line of rich and famous folks who were waiting to shake her hand and chat her up. Then there was also an after-party that she’d have to go to, though I wasn’t really much of a party guy, so I figured I’d sit that out.
I got onto an elevator that would take me outside the venue where the fashion show had been hosted. I was surprised to see Kian waiting for me when I got outside the elevator. Fidgeting in place. Looking more like a shrinking violet, despite the fact that her dress seemed to ape an entire garden of alien flowers.
“Hey? Weren’t you upstairs?”
“I made a clone and stuck “her” with the meet and greet work…” said Kian.
“Ah…I see,” I said. Not sure what else to say.
I walked out of the elevator and headed to the small personal shuttle that was parked waiting for me in the massive, vase-shaped, arena and museum parking lot. Kian walked alongside me. Not really saying anything, but still managing to totally dominate my attention in that special way only a dragon can totally dominate things.
“So…Er, th-, thanks,” said Kian.
“Hm?” I said. A little lost in my own head because Kian had somehow made me nervous with her nervousness.
“About before…I mean, no one else might have noticed what you did, but I certainly did…Thanks for keeping that witch from ruining my show,” said Kian. Looking to the side, instead of at me, but bumping into me with her shoulder.
“Oh…That. Uh, don’t mention. It was nothing,” I said. Meaning it.
“Nhn, I figured you’d say that…” said Kian. Laughing lightly.
“Er…Okay?” I said.
“Jack’s right about you…You’re even shyer than me in a lot of ways,” said Kian. Smiling.
“Huh?!”
“Well, I’ve got to go, because there are too many other things demanding my attention at the moment, both here and uh…elsewhere…but like, if you wouldn’t mind showing up to my afterparty, I’d love to have a drink…maybe we can just sort of hang out? This has been a pretty hectic couple of months, and it’d be nice to relax in good company,” said Kian.
“Er…Okay,” I said. Nodding. Realizing with a small amount of trepidation and inner-awkwardness, that I was apparently going to that afterparty after all.
