come_sailaway | life's a drag [OPEN MINGLE]

Entry tags:

sherlock holmes: john watson

life's a drag [OPEN MINGLE]

Who: Anyone and everyone
What: Jeff's putting on an amateur drag show and all are invited to watch or perform
When: let's say this happened Friday the 13th (or just ignore the 'Friday' and say this is Sometime Mid January idk what is time)
Where: Chatterbox
Warnings: None! Please mark any content warnings accordingly in threads.

About a week after the new year, some DIY flyers go up around the ship, bold, stylized lettering drawn out in colorful markers.

CALLING ALL QUEENS, KINGS, THINGS & MORE

OPEN MIC DRAG SHOW AT CHATTERBOX!
FRIDAY @ 9 PM

COME FOR THE SHOW
STAY FOR THE FOOD DRINKS MUSIC & MAKEOVERS

[ And then smaller, a note below: ]

show up early if you wanna perform
no experience needed!
makeup & clothes provided if you don't have your own
(i don't have any wigs sorry ☹️)
xoxo jeff

Leading up to the event, you'll find Jeff around the ship, shockingly focused as he's keeping himself busy with prep work-- which mostly consists of altering clothes from Tommy Bahama in an attempt to make something draggy out of them. It's hard work, but someone's gotta do it.

The day of the event, he's racing between Chatterbox, the buffet, and the bars, swiping booze and mixers to set up a makeshift bar (unless there's already a bar in Chatterbox, in which case he's swiping booze and mixers to bolster its supplies), trays of appetizers to snack on, and even an assortment of sushi he's plucked from Mikabo.

Everything's all set by the evening. If you're looking to perform, you can find Jeff a few hours before the show, in a makeshift dressing room, which is really just a corner that's been repurposed and sectioned off from the rest of the room with privacy screens taken from the spa. He's got all his makeup here, and an assortment of outfits that's a mix of his own personal wardrobe, and the clothes he's been altering from Tommy Bahama, for anyone who could use it. Get ready with him! Or maybe you need to do some last minute workshopping of drag names and looks and what kind of performance you want to do...

Anyway, once you're ready, hop on stage and put on a show, baby!

If you're just here to watch, have a seat, have a drink, mingle, and enjoy the show! And hey, even if you don't want to get up on stage, you can still have some fun dressing up and having your makeup done. Jeff did advertise makeovers as part of the party, after all.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

1. Pre-Show
As Dedue steps into the dressing room area, he is stunned by the wide variety of styles present. He sets out some chairs and offers to hem clothing for anyone who needs it. He also might ask some of the makeup artists if he can observe or assist as they work. He is very interested in learning more about the technique behind makeup.

As the time progresses, Dedue gets bold enough to decide to dress up for the event himself. He may nervously ask for supervision while he attempts his own makeup. He is very scared that it will look terrible.

2. After-Show

However, once the outfit is put together, Dedue actually feels surprisingly good? She didn’t know she could look this way. Being a woman feels like it makes just as much sense as being a man. Which both is and isn’t confusing to her. Regardless, she is enjoying herself.

If she knows a performer or spoke to them beforehand, she may give a quiet compliment after the show.

Johnny gives Dedue a thoughtful up-and-down look.

"You look pretty comfortable in that. I might suggest a halter neckline, if you try this again, it'll give you a chance to show off those shoulders. If that's something you'd like."

“I had considered it, but I thought my shoulders would detract from the outfit,” Dedue admits.

"Why, because they're not feminine enough?" Forgive him for a tiny eyeroll. "They're a part of you, a striking part of you, and if you're proud of them, they're worth displaying. That's a little bit the point here."

She startles a bit at the directness. But he does have a point.

She’s always been proud of her muscular build and her shoulders because they were good for protecting others and making her look intimidating when she needed to. But at the same time, she’s wished others saw her not as intimidating but as soft, gentle, patient. And she is feeling gentle tonight.

But maybe both sides of her can exist at once. Maybe it’s okay to be a contradiction.

“I am still new to the idea of drag. It is about celebrating what you are proud of in your appearance?”

She thinks, then adds, “I am not sure I am even doing it right. Many of the performers want to look theatrical, but I wanted something more... authentic,” she says, taking a moment to search for the right word. “I was afraid, if I wore the clothes, that I would not look like a woman in them. And I want to look that way. ...I do not know if that is ‘drag’ or if it is something else.”

Johnny's expression softens as he realizes what he's hearing.

"Would you want to look like a woman, even if it's not a performance? Siffleur wore a dress to my wedding, but he was still very much a man wearing a dress. It was how he felt he'd be most comfortable, if he had to wear clothing at all. But from what I'm hearing, that's not it for you."

“Yes. I do not think it is about performance for me,” she says. “I would not want to be seen as a man wearing a dress. At least, not right now. There are many times where I am fine with being a man. I have never really questioned it.”

"Most people never do." He nods agreeably, and only hesitates for the barest moment before deciding to share more.

"For me, it was a little different. My parents thought I was a girl, raised me as one, but at some point I realized that wasn't me at all. That I had to change in order to find my happiness. I've put a lot of effort into becoming the man I am. It's not a thing that shifts for me, but I've heard about that sort of thing before. A fluidity of gender, instead of a clear, strong polar binary identity, if that makes sense?"

“Oh!” Her eyes widen in surprise. “Thank you for telling this to me.” It seems like very personal information.

She thinks about his words. “So it is possible to feel one gender at one point and another gender at a different point?”

After a moment, she adds, “Forgive me if this is too intrusive, but... how did you know? That you wanted to change the way you live.”

"I'll preface this with the fact that my world, particularly within the social class I was born into, has more restrictive gender roles than we tend to see on this ship. I chafed under the expectations of being a 'young lady', and my mother and I used to get into huge arguments, which tended to end with me screaming at her that I hated being a girl. If I were from a world where the lines were less stark, I think it might have taken me longer to reach this conclusion."

He runs a hand over his slicked-back hair, smiles slightly. "There's no one on this ship who is going to begrudge you the right to try things out and figure out what feels right to you. Tonight, drag...this is about presentation, playing with appearances. But tomorrow, if you keep wearing a dress, it's alright. You get to decide who you are and what's comfortable."

“Mm,” she nods. “The world you describe sounds closer to the one I know. There are many expectations placed especially on the nobility in this way. I am common-born, but I have seen it.”

Johnny’s words stir something in her, something she hadn’t realized she was holding in. She lets out a tense sigh and her eyes well up for a moment. She blinks back the liquid before it has the chance to make a mess of the eyeshadow she’d worked so hard on. “Y-yes. That is... Thank you. I had not thought of it that way.”

His smile is an easy one, as he holds out a hand to shake, ignoring the watery eyes. Drawing attention to tears is Not Helpful. “I’m Johnny. Is there something you want to be called when you’re dressed like this?”

She accepts the handshake. “My name is Dedue. It is a Duscur name. It can be for boys or girls, so I am comfortable with it.”

Dedue looks away, then adds, “I saw you at the wedding. Although I only knew Dr. Watson at that time. He said you were in charge of the decor. It looked very nice.”
She mumbles, “...He saved my life when I first arrived here. I owe him a great debt.”

“He is incredibly kind. I know he doesn’t consider you to owe him a thing. I also know what it means, to receive such kindness. Have you met our other husband yet? He was the one who gave me words to explain my experience of gender. The time and place he comes from is one where these things are documented, categorized.”

“Dr. Watson has said as much to me,” she sighs. “Forgive me, it is an old habit of mine to talk in debts.”

Dedue shakes her head. “No, I have not met him.” She looks curious.

Johnny points over to wherever César is at the moment. “He’s here more to be supportive than anything. But he looks good regardless.”

Edited 2023-01-25 06:56 (UTC)

Dedue looks over to César, then back to Johnny, realizing with a jolt of nerves that Johnny is expecting her to go talk to him.

“...Would you be willing to introduce us? I am not skilled at conversation.”

Johnny gestures across the room for César, smirking. "You don't have to be. He'd rather listen to someone talk about something they're passionate about than go through the trouble of social gesturing and polite conversation. It's refreshing."

César doesn't notice until Johnny's trying to get his attention for several seconds, such is how the entire environment has overwhelmed him to some extent. Then he blinks and looks to him confused for a moment before smiling. He stands up and walks over, taking his half-empty drink with him.

If they think he looks a little nervous, they're entirely right. César's full of emotions right now, his heart rate picking up. Why, he's not quite sure. But there it is.

His smile is genuine and warm, though, as he quietly comes up to let Johnny introduce them.

"César, I'd like to introduce you to Dedue. Dedue, my husband, César Salazar. Love, Dedue's experiencing gender euphoria and working on understanding vocabulary and next steps. I thought you might be worth tagging in, because your world has vocabulary mine doesn't."

He smiles, and then steps back slightly.

“Yes. Dedue Molinaro. It is good to meet you,” she stammers.

“I have been told the world you come from has much more knowledge on gender than where either Johnny or I am from.”

Oh, she's so nervous! Like him. Same hat. Reassuring that they're both nervous. He relaxes as Johnny speaks and then Dedue introduces herself.

"We do. Ah, you're quite beautiful." César breathes out a laugh. "I'll try with the vocabulary, but, ah, I haven't been to a lot of queer events back home."

A pause, and then he taps the side of his head in front of an ear. "I have sensory issues. So I... avoided a lot of places or events I worried might be loud or have too many overwhelming colors and lights."

Edited (needed something more specific) 2023-01-26 03:27 (UTC)

"Your world still has more useful words than mine." He chuckles, before looking at Dedue. "Want me to stick around, or are you more comfortable with a one-on-one here?"

Dedue’s entire face flushes at the word ‘beautiful.’ Her eyes dart to the floor. She’s never had a stranger call her that before. (She almost doesn’t even believe it. Maybe he’s just being polite? But there is no reason to do that.) “I- I am not- Um. Th-thank you.”

“I also do not like when events are too loud or crowded,” she nods. “You said that is a sensory issue?”

She glances at Johnny. “I am comfortable. Thank you. We need not keep you.”

OTA

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