Summary:Ren 'Cherry Manhattan' Kimura performs her Burlesque show as Eddie (Venom), Scandal, and Sarah watch on. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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Sunday Night may not seem like the ideal night for Burlesque, but New York City never sleeps, as they say. The Burlesque is set up much like a dinner theater- tables, a bar, wait staff to serve drinks and even little bits of bar food. It's darkish in that smoky sort of way. The place isn't overly full, with only a few patrons here and there. Enough to keep the place open, obviously, but by no means packed. The show will start shortly, as the house lights blink a few times to indicate that the show would be starting in the next five or ten minutes.
Venom has a spot at the bar, leather jacket trimmed in denim, hunched a bit over his beer. He's a little rough around the edges, no doubt, with his striking jaw dusted with stubble. This is a little bit nice for Eddie Brock's usual hangout, but he came into a little money after selling an article about the children's rescue he participated in with the Spiders (with his own participation kept anonymous).
"Another Guinness," he says to the bartender, laying another ten on the wood and flicking his eyes occasionally toward the stage.
A vital part of Scandal's on-going investigation of New York includes sampling its more interesting options for entertainment - and thus, she pauses just inside the entrance to survey the establishment and its patrons. Her customary leather jacket has been replaced with an elegant bolero, while the jungle boots have been swapped out for thigh-high ones. The tight breeches and top are rather more her usual style, allowing freedom of movement should it be required. Her first motion, however, is towards the bar - homing in on Eddie's position, and raising a hand in greeting as she comes close.
The ongoing Nightfall case has been a source of continual stress for the past several weeks, and Sarah Black has been in need of some entertainment in her downtime. And so tonight finds her here, hoping to decompress a bit and relax, with something to take her mind off saving the world, at least for a little while.
As she enters, her inquisitive gaze scans the room, and her lips form a slight smile. Soon after, she's seated at a table with a good view of the stage, and a waitress is off filling her drink order.
Drinks are served when requested. The Bar here is pretty on point. "One Guinness!" the tender says as they go about their business soon after delivering Eddie's beer.
The lights begin to fall and music starts as the Master of Ceremonies steps out. "Welcome everyone to our Sunday Night Burlesque!" the young man begins, "Tonight we'll be showing the best Burlesque you can find in the city that never sleeps. Women who's dancing will raise your spirits and who knows what else! Please, enjoy the facilities- drink and be merry!"
The MC turns, "First off tonight we have one of our newer dancers- she's coming up hot, though. Allow me to introduce…." He pauses, "Ms. Cherry Manhattan!"
The audience, mostly, claps as the house lights lower just that extra bit and the curtains begin to raise. The stage lights are dark to start- giving a silhouette view of Ren Kimura- a thin woman in profile, back arched so she can be easily seen. The music begins ( https://youtu.be/g_HN50TLuaI )
The lights come up to show a young woman of Asian descent, dressed in somewhat skimpy clothing. A bit of leather around her middle, a jacket in red with 'ring master' styling. Wide lapels and patching cuffs of black and gold. Her body is barely on display- but in all the right ways to tease and titillate.
However, of interest to some might be what look like a pair of metallic battle gauntlets complete with claws that cover from forearms to the tip of the finger.
Eddie nods to Scandal, nodding towards the stool next to him at the bar and taking a sip from his Guinness before he greets her, "Howdy," he says. "Didn't mean to call you out in front of your friend the other day. I don't always have the best impulse control. I have what they call 'identity issues'," he says. "Eddie Brock. Venom," he says, unsure if he had properly introduced himself. They don't always have the best memory either.
Sarah gets noticed because she's very easy to notice to a red-blooded male like Eddie, but then the lights and the music begin and his attention is drawn to the stage and the performance about to begin.
Scandal also notices Sarah, studying her with evident interest before looking back to Eddie and cracking a swift grin. "Kori? Honestly, you don't need to worry about that. She's… profoundly odd. To the extent that she doesn't realise how far from the norm she is. Revelations about others will frequently pass her by, though she does tend to latch onto some things with remarkable tenacity. She's outraged on my behalf about the authorities requiring me to work for them, for example." Then she finds herself turning her gaze to the stage, arching a brow at the unexpected mix of imagery provided by costume and gauntlets.
Up until the show is about to start, Sarah casually glances around the room, taking in the ambiance and any notable sights among the patrons. Scandal is certainly one of those, her eyes lingering on the tall, athletic beauty for a long moment, a sly smile quirking her lips when she sees that the interest is mutual. Then the music starts, and the MC does his thing, and her attention turns to the stage.
"Well, that's different," Sarah says aloud, but quietly, as she observes Ren, and her 'gauntlets'…
The steamy, slinky version of 'Oops!…I Did it Again' continues as Ren "Cherry Manhattan" Kimura begins to move with supreme grace and ability. Indeed, she moves with all the grace one might imagine a Prima Ballerina to have- perhaps a little more. The movements are just too precise to be completely human, however, most viewers might not notice.
What everyone will notice, however, is that as she moves in those sensual motions expected of a Burlesque dancer that from her finger-tips ribbons start to flow. Metallic ribbons that appear made of steel. Five from each hand that move in ways that defy normal physics- twisting and spinning in time with the dancer to create intricate patterns and movements as if controlled by the very motions the woman makes.
The ribbons tear away at the long dress she's started in- showing more and more leg as bits of fabric are cut away with precision letting bits of cloth flutter and fly as more of her body is put on display with every passing bit of the song. Soon enough she's wearing nothing on her legs at all- covered only by the bottom of that leather- a pair of hot-shorts that appears connected to waist cincher of some sort.
Venom watches closely as the steel-ribbons begin to do their work, "Well, that's a neat trick. Might be useful in our line of work," he admits aloud, his attention helplessly focused on the performer for a long moment before he shakes it off and remembers he's not there alone. Lot of beautiful woman out tonight and he could already feel the symbiote in his head growing restless about it.
(Settle down.)
<You settle yourself, Eddie. We want to have fun.>
(This isn't the time.)
<There's always time for fun.>
(Not your kind of fun.)
"Probably lucky the powers that be haven't snagged her for something themselves. I'm sure they make a habit of putting any aliens that happen to come across their radar under their employ if they can. Still, she can probably handle herself. As can you, from the few bits of your file that weren't classified."
"I wouldn't want to go up against *that* particular talent," Scandal dryly answers Eddie. It's probably a good thing that she's unaware of his inner conversation with the symbiote. She glances over to Sarah, smiling a little, before refocusing upon Ren and those whatever-they-are twirling around her. "It's a seriously impressive act, too. And she moves startlingly well. I've never put *much* study into dance, but I doubt I could ever match that…"
Whelp. That's very different. Sarah watches intently as the dancer begins her act, and her intriguing (to say the least) metallic ribbons do their work. Her attention is divided between the woman't exquisite… moves, the fascinating movements of those uncanny ribbons, and the slight sense of danger they bring with them. She closes her eyes for a moment, then reopens them, looking to anyone watching like she's focused on somewhere outside the room, into the distance beyond — but after a few seconds, she blinks, and appears to be watching the dancer with interest again.
Cherry (Ren) continues the dance up until the end of the song- when it's finished, she's dressed rather skimpily- having shed her jacket to show off a barely covered chest- it is Burlesque, after all. It should be a little racy.
But soon enough her song is done and the ribbon retract into her gauntlets as she curtsies in the manner of a ballerina- before she's off stage. The curtains close.
The MC comes back out to joke and talk- "That was Cherry Manhattan! Our newest act, and an up and comer in the trade to be sure! Wasn't that fantastic, folks? Can I get some applause for Ms. Cherry?!" he wonders as he then goes about with a few jokes and stories as the stage is readied for the next performer.
Ren, herself, is done with her act for the night. She gets out of costume, collects her things, and heads right for the bar to sit quietly at one end. She's dressed simply, a pair of low-rise jeans and a shirt that shows off her midriff. She's clearly athletic.
"Hey, let me get a shot of vodka and a Manhattan." she says to the bartender, "You doin' okay today, Josh?" she wonders of the Bartender who smiles. "You know it, sweetie!" he calls out as he goes to get the performer's drinks.
Eddie watches the show, nodding at Scandal's comments. "Yeah, way out of my league. My dancing skills stopped with trying to breakdance at my seventh grade formal. I almost broke my back on the gym floor. Not auspicious," he says.
The symbiote responds a bit to the threat of the blades on stage, letting him feel his skin literally crawl along his back and chest under his 'clothes', flexing a hand for a moment as he regains control of himself.
In the time it takes for Ren to get changed and re-emerge, Scandal gets around to acquiring a drink - dark, sweet, and heavy on the spirits - and spends a little while continuing to check out Sarah. But Eddie does receive the majority of her attention… and a wryly sympathetic smile. "I'm not sure that I have *ever* tried breakdancing," she muses, sounding as if she is searching through her memories. "Not that it's a particular ambition of mine to do so, I admit."
When the performer arrives, Scandal quite openly studies her, attention evidently caught by those still-present gauntlets.
Sarah is definitely among those giving "Cherry's" show the applause it is due, standing up from her seat as she claps for the performance. Once the woman has left the stage, she settles back down, sipping from her drink and casting her attention back over toward the bar, and the woman she exchanged glances with there before. By the time she's downing the last of her cocktail, she sees that the dancer has emerged from backstage, though sadly more covered up than she was when the curtain closed.
Rising gracefully again from her seat, Sarah makes her way toward the bar.
Ren's drinks are made quickly and delivered. She starts with the shot- tossing it back. She then digs in her pocket for something that's kept in her hand- popped in her mouth- and then she takes a long sip from her Manhattan. She gives a shake of her head- tapping those claws on the bar with a little hrmph.
Her eyes are half-lidded as she takes a slow breath and another sip of her Manhattan. One of the claws spears the cherry- and lifts it to her mouth to slowly eat the red little fruit. Her eyes flicker up at the others at the bar, those green eyes surprisingly bright at focused at the moment.
Eddie watches attentively, even as Sarah comes up on the other side and Scandal's near at his back, "Nice," he says, gesturing towards the gauntlets. "Those come off or does your boyfriend look like a jigsaw puzzle?" he asks with a smirk.
The symbiote pushes forward in his consciousness a bit more, the restless creature taking advantage of its bond to manifest a bit more, some darkness pooling out of this pupils and into the irises of his eyes, like ink overflowing a puddle.
Scandal frowns slightly, head canting a little to one side as she focuses more firmly upon Eddie. "Easy," she murmurs. "You might be leaping to assumptions there," she warns - intending to provide a somewhat broader caution than on that specific point alone.
Decisions… As she nears the bar, seeing that the woman she's been exchanging glances with is speaking with the man next to her, Sarah moves toward the dancer instead, approaching with a friendly smile. "That was quite the performance," she comments, her voice smooth and melodic, her London accent clear. "I must say, I've never seen anything like it before."
"They're my hands." Ren answers simply to Eddie. "They don't come off. It's what my hands and arms are." she clarifies, as she sips her Manhattan. She looks over towards Scandal nodding quietly in thanks, before she looks again to Sarah. "Thanks." she says, "I'm glad you enjoyed it." she says to Sarah.
"I've heard that before. Apparently women with metal forearms are rare in New York City." she says with a chuckle.
Eddie nods, "Impressive. And my friend's right, I shouldn't assume. You might carve up any number of genders with those particular things, although I'm guessing they probably don't mind too much," he says. He meets Sarah's eyes over Ren's shoulder and gives a nod of greeting, showing that he sees her there, too.
"We were very impressed by the show. You have quite a talent."
Scandal relaxes a little as Eddie seems to rein himself in. She also smiles warmly at Ren, lifting her glass in the dancer's direction. "I can honestly say that I have never seen anything like it. Your performance was truly impressive." Her accent is polished, but rather indeterminately international. "And I hope that the… unconventional elements of it do not hurt. I won't even try to speculate on how it might feel."
"I have to say, at first I suspected there might be magic at play," Sarah says, looking curious. "I was a bit surprised to see that there wasn't." How exactly she learned that, she doesn't say. "Please forgive me and tell me to mind my own business if I am being too forward, but I have to say those don't look like any cybernetics I've seen, and I strongly doubt that even the estimable Mister Stark could have created any that could do what we all just witnessed. So… These are… natural, somehow?"
"Yeah, thanks." Ren says then to Eddie. "No. It doesn't hurt." Ren says, next, explaining. "It's just my hands and arms. That's how they do their thing. It's weird, I know." she says, sounding all the more tired from the questions regarding her arms and hands. She's clearly had this conversation before.
"Yes, they unravel. No, I don't know why or how it works." she says next, trying to preempt some questions. "I can feel the ribbons like they were any other part of my body." she goes on, "But it doesn't hurt." she affirms.
Ren takes another long sip of her Manhattan. She's finished the drink already. "Hey, Josh!" she calls out, flagging the bartender down- he smiles and nods and another mixed drink is delivered- along with another shot. The shot goes down easy.
"Yeah. They're natural." Ren offers to Sarah, "I mean, I guess they are. One day I didn't have them, the next I did." she says, "Next you're going to ask to touch them, right?" She just offers a hand out. "Go ahead and get it over with, then."
Venom nods, "I would imagine it gets tiresome to be asked about it all the time. On the other hand, if you're going to pursue a career in entertainment, you'd probably better get used to nosy people wanting to get a closer look at you. And not only for your hands," he says. He doesn't reach out and take advantage, though, not out of aversion to touch but because he's unsure if they might respond to the presence of the symbiote. If they instinctiveyl defend her, they might see Venom as a predator and respond in kind.
"You can feel them?" Scandal blinks, then glances momentarily to the stage, before looking back to Ren. She also refrains from poking the poor dancer. "That must make your performance rather special to participate in. Is it wholly self-created, or have you found a choreographer able to work with you? You certainly look as if you have had a great deal of training to build on your talent, I should stress."
Sarah shakes her head, her eyes meeting Ren's after the dancer's offer. "Only if you wish it. My apologies, I have let my curiosity overstep my manners, when I should be celebrating your artistry," she says, nothing but sincerity in her eyes and in her voice. "You are an exquisite dancer," she adds. "You have clearly put a great deal of effort and study into your craft, something I can personally identify with very much." After a beat, she smiles again as she continues with, "And you are simply stunning, even standing still. My name is Sarah. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Glancing aside from the dancer to the other woman, Sarah adds, "And I am always happy to meet someone else who appreciates fine art," giving Scandal a grin.
"Yeah. They're… It's like how you know where your nose is with your eyes closed." Ren explains quietly, to Scandal while still just looking at Venom. "Thanks for the advice. I'll make sure to keep that in mind." Her response rather cold, now. Yes. Tell the woman who's an actual performer what she should expect.
"I've spent most of my life as a dancer." She says over to Sarah now- her tone warmer with both Scandal and Sarah than Eddie.
"I do my own choreography." Ren answers to Scandal. "I have a bachelors in Fine Arts from Juliard for dance." she explains- showing that she's more than just a talent. She's a well trained, college educated dancer! "My focus was in ballet, though. Can't be a ballerina with metal forearms." she says, with a roll of her eyes and another sip of her drink.
The compliments come, though, and a bit of a blush comes to her cheeks when it comes from the ladies. She smiles- perhaps a touch more shy than one might expect from a woman who just recently showed off a pretty decent percentage of her body on stage. She moves some of her hair behind an ear. "Well, thanks. Wow. That's really sweet of you to say, Sarah. I'm Ren. Ren Kimura- or you can call me Cherry Manhattan while we're here. Stage name being what it is, and all."
Eddie receives a momentary look of sympathy from his companion, as he's shot down harder than expected. Still, she doesn't know him well enough to risk a supportive pat on the shoulder or anything of the sort. Instead, she chuckles at the two women. "It was a genuine pleasure to see you perform, Cherry. I'm Scandal," she says, tone impish. Then there's a quiet buzz from a slender leather pouch on her belt, prompting a weary sigh. "Sorry. I'd best take this." The apology includes Eddie as well as the other two. Snaring her drink, she gracefully slips off her perch at the bar and moves away, her free hand coming up with a sleek smartphone that she thumbs into life, frowns at, and then answers as she picks up the pace towards the nearest quiet area.
There's a glance toward Scandal and a quirk of an eyebrow from Sarah as the other woman gives her name, and a hint of a smirl on her lips. It she didn't have a phone call to answer, Sarah might have made some comment, but she instead gives her a nod and a wave as she moves off.
Turning her attention back to Ren, Sarah says, "I'll happily call you whichever you prefer. That is a cute choice for a stage name, though. So what do you do when you're not performing or practicing? What does a Cherry or a Ren do for fun?"
"Nice to meet you." Ren begins, before Scandal has to go take a call- just nodding and returning her attention towards Sarah. "I party." she answers, still a bit of blush on her cheeks as she drinks more of her mixed drink. "You know, go to clubs. Drink." She doesn't say what else she does, "I love to dance. So.. That's what I do for fun. Dancing is fun for me, and good for me."
"What about you, Sarah? What's your idea of a fun evening?"
"The usual," Sarah replies, with a playful smile. "Dinner, drinks, dancing… maybe a bit of magic…"
And with that last phrase, she makes a quick, elaborate gesture with her right hand that ends with it palm up, fingers splayed, and what appears to be a single red-purple rose on a foot-long stem hovering in the air above it.
Ren chuckles quietly, watching as that rose appears. "Well, that's a very nice trick- how'd you do that?" she wonders, looking at the red-purple rose with apt curiosity. "Wow. That's really… I don't know. It's magic, that's for sure." she says, before taking another long sip of her Manhattan.
"I'm really more of a party all night girl, though." Ren replies, "Maybe with a greasy interlude at a burger or pizza place between bar hops. Or a diner. You can't beat a diner gyro at four AM after the bars start to close." she says with a chuckle. "I'm way into the club scene." she explains, "That's how I like my nights to go. Dancing, dancing, dinner, maybe some more dancing. Lots of drinking- a party." she explains with a grin as she takes the cherry out of her new Manhattan- again, speared on a claw-tip. She lets it slide between her lips- painted a lovely shade of blue from her performance. Her green eyes focused on Sarah quietly. "I think that night out would have too little bass thumping for me."
Grinning as she lets the conjured rose just hover there, Sarah replies, "What I said before about understanding what it's like to devote effort and study to your craft? This is mine. Well, illusions like this are just a tiny part of it, but they can also be the most fun. You dance. I do magic." She then plucks the rose out of midair by its stem, and offers it to Ren. "And I like the sound of your idea of a fun night, too."
"That's pretty fancy." Ren admits, "I mean, Magic… you know, it's one of those things that people don't see everyday, usually." Ren says with a quiet smile. "We should go out sometime, then, Sarah." she offers simply, "A night where I show you the club life of New York City." she says with a grin as she pulls some cash out of her purse to pay for her drink. "I'm about to go out now, actually. I'd invite you, but it's one of those RSVP type things and I only said I'd be coming alone." she pouts a bit, "I'm sorry, Sarah."
"Put that away, I've got this," Sarah says, as she gets out a card to pay for Ren's drink herself. "And I'd like that very much. And that's quite all right, I couldn't tonight in any case, I need be up early in the morning. But another night, absolutely."
"Cool." Ren offers, as she puts her purse away- never one to pass up a free drink or two. She smiles shyly. "Well, I've got something free later this week on my day off. If you don't mind a hop into the club-scene. I'm not sure how comfortable you are with all that goes on there." she remarks, "Either way…" she smiles- exchanges numbers with Sarah and heads on her way, "I'll see you around!"
"I'm from London. We invented the club scene," Sarah replies, with a laugh. "Looking forward to it. Call me soon."