Logs:The Moon in Scorpio Urges Us to Uncover Our Own Power

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The Moon in Scorpio Urges Us to Uncover Our Own Power
Dramatis Personae

Natalie, Skye, small Jax cameo

2019-03-22


"Look, man, you don't have some kind of /monopoly/ on adventures."

Location

Heaven - Chelsea


This Chelsea playground offers a divinely gay twist to the normal concept of the afterlife. On the first floor, you can avoid the masses on the dance floor and lounge on comfortable couches in the all-white Ethereal Bar or cross over to the similarly pearly Celestial Lounge to dance beneath the sparkling fractured-mirror decor that turns the entire floor into a glittering paradise. Purgatory is in the back, descending a few steps from Heaven to a subdued karaoke lounge. For those who have a taste for something more than the brightly frosted wonderland with its bubblegum pop music, a flame-licked stairway carries you upstairs, where Hell inexplicably sits above Heaven, all dominatrix-black with patent-leather couches and glowing red lights. Intermittently along the walls are images of those who - through the owners' wishful thinking - are burning in eternal fire: the likenesses of various noted social conservatives are not uncommon. The DJ here spins heavier music and on the dance floor, among the crush of scantily clad bodies and less-than-legal stimulants to keep them dancing all night long, anything goes.

Ladie's Night at Heaven brings about a more dramatic shift in the demographics of the patrons than it might most other places. Certainly there are more women, though really, there are quite a few there /most/ nights. But now there /seem/ to be fewer straight women and more queer women -- or at least ones who are visibly flagging as such, respectively. It's late enough now that the dancing has really taken off, those who might otherwise be hesitant encouraged by alcohol -- and other intoxicants -- or safety in numbers to join the press of gyrating bodies on the floor.

Slouching at the end of the bar is a young white man with a half-full glass in hand. He wears his dark brown hair neatly coiffed and his gray button-up shirt has a silver sheen to it, just tight enough to show off his musculature -- likewise his black slacks. He has a kind of smug, self-assured half-smile on his face as she watches the comings and goings.

Skye has been here for about an hour, alone but cheerfully dancing with anyone who showed interest. She's wearing a silver white holographic cropped top, a matching, low-slung mini-skirt, glittery rainbow thigh highs and matching arm warmers, and iridescent rainbow platform boots. In case anyone might somehow fail to notice all this queer flagging, she also wears a choker and bisexual pride flag colors. Her dancing has been growing slowly more exuberant in direct proportion to her visits to the bar, and she's heading there again now. Wedging herself in the only place she can without having to elbow someone out of the way, she flashes a polite smile at the young man standing at the end of the bar, excusing herself to get past him. "Jax!" She waves for the bartender's attention, leaning on the bar.

Like his surroundings, Jackson glitters. His hair is jet black, today, with a frosting of sparkly silver highlighting it; he pairs this with a dusting of glittering silver makeup, chrome nailpolish, black pants sparkling with mirrorwork vines, a silvery-white fishnet muscle shirt. The crowd has his attention split in many directions, but Skye's wave pulls him over, his smile brilliant. "Hey, honey-honey! Same for you?" Regardless of her answer, he's already sliding across a glass of water.

Natalie is much less bright than the others. She's here in dark jeans cuffed over heavy boots, a heavy denim vest with only one small MMMC chest pocket patch worn over a ribbed white tank top, a heavy set of keys jangling against her left hip where they're clipped to a carabiner. She hasn't been here long enough to work up much of a sweat, just picking her way across the floor to fetch up beside Skye at the bar with a smile, an upward tip of her chin. "Hey, yo. Whatever's on tap, when you have a minute?"

The young man watches Skye's approach with keen but polite interest, and readily steps back to make room at the bar. "/You/ look like a tequila sunrise kind of girl," he offers with a friendly smile, tipping his glass slightly at Skye to emphasize who he's talking to. "I'm willing to bet the price of one to find out."

"Yes, please!" Skye picks up the water and drinks deep. "And thank you!" She shuffles sideways to make room for Natalie -- eyes skidding down to linger on the ring of keys at her hip with a lopsided smile -- almost bumping into the guy now offering him a drink. "Not tonight," she says, also friendly, though there's a very slight tension in her voice and the way she holds her shoulders. "Thank you, though."

"You got it." Jax's smile is friendly. Between the thumping music and turning aside to get the drinks, it's likely he doesn't actually hear the young man's offer. When he returns, it's only to slide a vodka cranberry to Skye and some kind of pilsner to Natalie. He doesn't actually manage to stay /still/ -- kind-of-sort-of in place long enough to give the man a slight frown when he catches Skye's shift in posture -- but mostly only there long enough to collect money for the drinks before he's being called down to a crowd of women at the other end of the bar.

"Man, that guess was not even a /little/ close." An amused smile flits across Natalie's face when Jax delivers Skye the vodka cranberry. She lifts her own beer to the other woman, not actually /looking/ at the man who'd offered Skye the drink, much though the commentary must have been about him. She leans in closer to Skye as if sharing some confidence -- though all she has to offer to the other woman is, "Hey, I've seen you around Geekhaus, yeah?"

The young man huffs a self-deprecating laugh when Jax shows up with Skye's drink. "Well, I just took you for the colorful, adventurous type." He takes a sip of his own drink, smiling at Skye over the edge of the cup as it parts from his lips. "Why not take a break from the floor and prove me right?"

Skye's smile brightens when Jax returns, sliding over some cash and exchanging her half-finished water for the cocktail. "I mean, I can dig tequila, but it's a vodka night for me." She raises the glass, by way of demonstration or salute. "Oh hey, I /knew/ you looked familiar," she says, studying Natalie, "Yeah, I'm at pretty much like, /every/ game night." Her eyes flick back to the man, her jaw tight. "Nah, I'm gotta be colorful and adventurous on my own terms, you know." It's very definitely not a question.

"I should go to more of them but I'm honestly shit at everything but poker." Natalie takes a long pull of her beer, now eying the man over its rim. She doesn't say anything, just pulls away from the bar -- shifts around to lean against it again on Skye's /other/ side, inserting herself pointedly between Skye and the man.

"On your own terms, huh?" The man sips his drink and raises his eyebrows. "That sounds exhausting." He sets his drink down and straightens out of his slouch to emphasize his height and build. "It's fun to let go every once in a while. Let someone else take the lead." His smile isn't /lascivious/, but there's something dangerous in it. "Have a /real/ adventure." He studies Natalie, eyes sweeping up and down. "You want an adventure, too?" This is light, teasing.

"If you like game night and suck at games, the co-op ones are a fun way to get around losing all the time, but..." Skye takes a gulp of her drink. "Eh, it's not for everyone!" The sideways glance of her eyes at the man suggests the comment isn't just about games. "I got no problem letting go, on my own terms. Don't need any help with that." Her expression at the man's last offer to Natalie looks like a desperate struggle to remain neutral. "Look, man, you don't have some kind of /monopoly/ on adventures."

"I like the company," Natalie allows freely, "and --" Here she stops. Her brows raise. Her drink does, too, for another long swig. She turns a flat look on the man, exhaling a slight snort as he raises himself up. "Buddy, read the room. She's not interested. I'm not interested. Every woman here has come here out of an extremely specific disinterest."

"Hey now," says the man, languid friendliness draining away. "You don't speak for her. She's made it clear she's interested in both." His eyes track to the bi pride colors encircling Skye's neck. "There's plenty of /that/ on offer here," he gestures dismissively at -- Natalie. "I'm just here to supply the alternative." Here he pushes away from the bar and steps over in front of Skye, more or less blocking her path. "I may not have a monopoly, but I guarantee you I can show you a better time than any girl here. Though, well, they're welcome to /join in/..."

"Oh my fucking god," Skye mutters under her breath, though Natalie might be near enough to make our the words. "I literally don't even care," she says, louder now, backing up against the bar to keep away from him, "just /go away/, dude."

"Clear enough for you?" Natalie shifts along the bar when Skye backs away, straightening to once again place herself squarely between the two. "Bi girls here don't want you. /Straight/ girls here don't want you. Disgusting creepers who don't understand no? That's not a turn on for anyone." She half-turns toward Skye, head jerking toward the dance floor. "You want to ditch this loser?"

The man doesn't back down, either at Skye's unambiguous rejection or Natalie's. He stands up even straighter and takes a step closer to Natalie. He's not tall enough to loom over her, but certainly cuts an intimidating figure all the same. "You're gonna regret that later, whore," he pitches his voice low, for her ears only.

Whatever Skye mutters now is too low for anyone nearby to hear and possibly not in English. She tosses back the rest of her drink and crunches down on one of the ice cubes from it for good measure. Her fingers pick restlessly at the cuffs of her armwarmers, pulling them down over her hands. To Natalie's offer she nods, a quick jerk up and down, and she slips out from behind the other woman though she doesn't go far just yet, keeping her eyes warily on the man's threatening stance.

Natalie doesn't actually turn to look, at first, when the man comes up to speak low beside her. The shift of her weight is sudden; her hip thrusting back, leg sweeping behind and then hard forward against the other man's leg. One arm swinging back -- half to clock against the side of his head but half just to carry the unbalanced shift of weight through to slam the man backwards down against the bar. "I'm sorry, can you speak up?" Her head has tipped slightly to the side, her voice neutral. "I think you were saying something about adventure?"

The man was clearly not expecting /any/ physical reprisal, much less the one that he got. He looses a kind of startled yelp when Natalie -- or, his own weight, really -- slams him back against the bar. His eyes stare up wide and startled at the woman, as if he's simply unable to comprehend what has happened to him or why. "I -- I don't -- what -- " he stammers, flushing bright red. "Look -- whatever, you do you, alright?" Nearby a few concerned eyes turn their way, and a few prurient whoops go up and die down. No one seems much inclined to come to the man's aid.

Skye looks as startled by this turn of events as the man. A very keen ear might detect a sudden wave of rattling not quite in time with the bassline of the song playing on the dance floor, but it passes quickly. As soon as she puts together what has actually happened, her alarm turns to delight. She brings her (now rainbow-wrapped) hands to her mouth to stifle the laughter that crinkles her eyes.

"If I see you creeping on women here again," Natalie's voice is lower, now, her arm pressing /just/ a little harder against his chin, "I will break all your fingers off and feed them to you." She takes a step back. Takes a sip of the beer that is, still, unspilled in her other hand. Leaves the man against the bar as she rejoins Skye, nodding to the dance floor.