a_sin_for_him | IC Contact

I'd be happy to have you come in. It's good money, I can assure you, and you're certainly skilled and have the right look. Come by the club at your convenience and we'll see about setting you up.

[Felix isn't sure what she means by 'the right look,' although he supposes he is built like a swordsman, which translates well into a good build for skating and dancing.]

okay.
it's an easy warp from olivine.
I'll stop by this weekend.

[And so, a few days later, he does. It's not hard to get directions to Medusa, most people seem to have heard of it. He shoots Lust a quick message to let her know he's on his way and then sets out for Ecruteak.

He's really not sure what to expect from a "club," the way she uses the word; Fodlan doesn't have anything like this. But from what he gathers, it's more or less a tavern with a stage for live performances. So without fuss, he pushes open the door and steps inside. What's it like in here?]

[As promised, the club inside resembles a very lush garden at the moment. Flowers and potted trees and climbing vines are in abundance, in bright and vibrant colors. Small grass and bug type Pokemon frolic at the edges of the dance floor and the stage, or flit through the air.

There's no one dancing on stage at the moment, but a local musician is playing for the crowd in between performances. And the stage is decorated in the same theme, the backdrop a wall of flowering ivy with fountains set in front on either side of the back entrance. Even the curtains are adorned with flowers.

And of course there is the staff. Servers are a mix of Pokemon and humans, but the humans...are dressed in rather little. Very short skirts that are more decorative than anything, tight trousers, tops that had no sleeves and clung to the body, or only covered what absolutely had to be covered. In some cases simply bunches of flowers composing an entire costume. Lust herself is at the bar, fully done up for work in a corset covered in purple flowers and a bustled skirt mostly open in the front, flowers woven through her braided hair.

It's that sort of dance club.]

[It takes Felix a minute to fully register everything; it's visually busy, between all the Pokemon and flowers and people, and he takes up a position by the wall near the entrance to look around. Right, there's the stage. Plants everywhere, some Pokemon he can identify and some he can't. People relaxing with drinks. Not the sort of place Felix has ever spent much time, but he recognizes its ilk from having to fetch Sylvain back from town late at night when he was gone a few hours too long.

It's then that a staff member approaches Felix, friendly, and asks if he'd like to take a seat or if they can get him anything. He says no thanks, he's here to see Lust - and then he gives them more than a cursory glance and sees how they're dressed. Which is to say, not very dressed. He doesn't stare, because he rarely cares much about the appearances of people he doesn't know, but he does blink a few times in vague surprise. The employee helpfully points out Lust at the bar and leaves him to his thoughts.

Now that he's paying attention, all of the staff are varying degrees of scantily clad. Huh. That's...unusual, especially for Johto, he thinks. Not that he's particularly well-versed in any nightlife anywhere. The question does arise in his mind again of what exactly Lust meant by saying he had 'the right look,' considering what appears to be the employee dress code...

But there's no sense in standing here and gawking all day, so he disregards all of that and approaches the bar with a nod.]

There you are.

Here I am. Welcome to Club Medusa.

[Lust turns a warm and friendly smile on Felix when he approaches. She's glad to see him, not everyone who expresses interest actually shows up. It's particularly pleasant when they do.

And he really would be a good addition to the performances. There's as much demand for pretty men in appealing costume as there is for women.]

Have a seat. Would you like a drink? On the house, of course.

Thank you. It seems this place is quite popular.

[He takes a seat at the bar and glances behind her at the shelves of alcohol. If she's going to want to see him dance today, he doesn't really want to drink beforehand.]

Water will do for now. What's your usual process for evaluating potential performers?

We've been garnering a good bit of attention, I'm diligent in promotions and gimmicks to bring in the customers. Themed nights and months - like this one. The trick is to set oneself apart from the competition.

[While not a businesswoman by any means, Lust has been learning. The club turns a profit. It's more work than she anticipated, but it's fulfilling, in its way. And god knows she needs a safety net, she isn't going to look the same forever. She's already noted the way humanity and natural aging has changed her face and figure in small ways over the years. But with owning the club, it hardly matters.]

And a wise choice, I don't drink very much when I'm performing myself. Honestly the evaluation is simply giving you a chance to show me what you can do.

[Felix nods vaguely; he knows nothing whatsoever about business, but competition at least he can grok just fine.

He takes a few sips of water and then slides off the stool.]

In that case, I’m ready.

Wonderful.

[Lust turns on her barstool and gestures to the open space at the end of the bar. It isn't as though auditions are rigorous, all she asks for is an ability to move well to music. She already knows Felix can do that. But burlesque isn't ballroom, she still needs to see what he can bring to Medusa.]

Show me what you can do.

[Felix blinks blankly at her for a moment. He was expecting to be led to a back room or something, but apparently she wants him to show her here, with all these people around. It's a bit of a swerve, but it's fine; that's the whole point of performing, after all.

But he's realizing that he still hasn't seen her or any of her employees dance, so he's not sure exactly what she's looking for.]

I recall you saying that the style of dancing you perform here is quite different from what we did at the masquerade. I'd like to show you something relevant, so what sort of style is it?

[Lust has had too much experience in back rooms to put someone else in that position. There's just something...seedy about it, to her. Besides, performing in front of the crowd is part of the job. One can hardly assess suitability without it.]

General burlesque, really. Nothing lewd, nothing crass. We're an upscale social and entertainment venue, not a common gentlemen's club. Or whatever those establishments are called here. We offer the illusion of the erotic, the suggestion of sex. This may be revealing and tantalizing - [She gestures to her own costume and strikes a pose with one hip cocked.] - but it remains on and in place at all times. There is no touching, no direct interaction between dancers and patrons. You're an entertainer, a professional, you're showing a skill with a bit of a thrill, you aren't for sale. None of us are.

[...oh.

Oh, he sees now. He...probably should have put that together already. The staff's costumes make more sense now.

...wait, this is what she thought he had the right look for?? What. What does that mean. Is this like when Dimitri practically drooled over his legs? Is this a good thing, or an extremely embarrassing one? (Both, maybe? Definitely embarrassing, at least.)

He tries to shake himself out of just sort of staring past her with slightly widened eyes while his mind catches up. He can tell his face is flushed, but he cannot tell her he didn't know what he was walking into. His pride refuses. There's a part of him that wants to walk right back out again, but that would be tantamount to conceding. Failure. Defeat. Unacceptable.

Besides...she's clearly a professional about it, and if he learns to dance like...like that, he's pretty sure he'll be able to drive all three of his partners out of their damn minds. Which is a highly tempting thought. Claude lost his shit just watching him skate, after all.

There's just one problem. He's never done this before. How can he show her something suggestive when he's never even tried to seduce his own husband? He wouldn't have known where to begin, and he never had to. ...well, maybe that's the point. Sylvain likes watching him do basically anything. And Felix does know a kind of dance that some people find provocative - at least enough to spur them on in battle with a bit of magic behind it.

He doesn't know enough secondhand to draw the magic out of it, and it wouldn't work here even if he did, but he knows enough to demonstrate. So he unbuckles his sword belt and lays it down on the stool, pulls off his jacket, and draws his Honedge. Probably more aesthetically pleasing then the wooden blade, he thinks.]

I hope you don't mind Pokemon involvement. The closest thing I know to what you're talking about is sword dancing.

[So saying, he moves to the open performance space with confidence; having a sword in his hand always makes him more confident. He considers for a moment, then pulls the tie out of his hair, letting it hang loose around his face and over his shoulders. It's not his favorite way to perform physical activities because it gets in the way, but enough people have told him he looks good with his hair down that he's accepted it.

He takes up a stance that's part martial and part dancer's poise, takes in a slow breath, and starts moving. The performance itself has the same blend of combat and performance, moving fluidly between stylized sword forms and athletic dance moves, with plenty of flashy sword twirling and a hint of aggression that most sword dancers don't have. Felix doesn't have much in the way of hips to fully express some of the more suggestive elements of the dance, though there's something to be said for the lithe grace that comes naturally to him and how flexible he is; but unbeknownst to him, the cool and shuttered look on his face serves to give him a sort of untouchable allure.

Once he's finished, he holds his final stance for a moment, catching his breath, and then just...walks back to the bar without fanfare or acknowledging the patrons at all. He pushes his hair back and runs a hand through it, giving Lust an expectant look. He has absolutely no idea how 'thrilling' his dancing was.

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