The Magic Box, Saturday Night

[angelo_wings]

Showtime. Rita couldn't keep the nervous shiver from her spine, every time that curtain went up. The band was warming up, and the tables were starting to fill.

She held her cigarette holder out (in one elegant gloved hand) for the nearest gentleman to light. Her dress was perfect, and so was her hair. She herself didn't take the stage until last, which gave her time to mill about the crowd and mingle.

The bubbly being poured was just soda, unless you knew the right palms to grease, and the lookers on stage were just singers, unless you really knew the right palms to grease.

Welcome to the Magic Box: where the magic happened.

(Wait for the OCD!)

Comments

Mingle [7-12]

[angelo_wings]

Take a seat. Buy a drink. Have a conversation in the low lights. Watch for other interesting guys and dames strolling by.

Re: Mingle [7-12]

[angelo_wings]

Rita was seated close enough to the stage that she could watch each girl and possibly boy no modding and see how they were handling the crowd.

That wouldn't stop her from tapping her toes or refilling her glass of champagne.

(It was her club. She could have a glass or two of champagne before she went on.)

Re: Mingle [7-12]

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

If anyone came into the club looking for trouble, they would definitely find it here, and if they wanted to to start something, it would be ended pretty quickly. The suit standing in the shadows by the door would see to that. This club belonged to Angelface, and it was under his protection. Anyone who came in looking for a fight would be politely asked to leave, and if they were lucky they wouldn't need to make the clinic their first stop afterwards.

Leon watched the patrons gruffly, glaring at random people.

Re: Mingle [7-12]

[brainfreediet.livejournal.com]

After letting Venom have some fun in the monster speakeasy, Flash made his way out to the Magic Box for a fun human night... Well, as fun as he could afford on a washed up boxer's salary.

Luck just didn't come tougher than it did for guys like Flash. The name said it all, he was a Him in the pan, and now all he could afford was a bottle of Royal Crown. Not even the good stuff. Not even Coca-Cola. Tough breaks, just like the ones that made his nose point a little to the side.

Re: Mingle [7-12]

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

I was following the lead for the Killer of the Black Canary to the Magic Box. It was magic, all right. The kind of magic voodoo that you do so well. People die of voodoo too.

But I was here looking for two singers, sisters, who might have last seen the Black Canary, and then mysteriously blew town. Why? I intended to ask them.

Dinah ordered a bourbon, neat, and sat down at the bar, sipping while she observed the crowd.

Re: Mingle [7-12]

[heromaniac]

Momoko made her way through the room, trying her best to look lost and frightened. She finally made it to the bar and drew a deep and shaky breath before taking a seat on a stool.

Re: Mingle [7-12]

[nobloodymessiah.livejournal.com]

Eleanor didn't know why she was here. All right, she did know, but she didn't want to think about it. She wasn't here for any special reason, or any particular person, either. Really.

She kept coming here, night after night, trying to pretend she didn't know what pushed her here. Whose face it was she wanted to see. Maybe the show would be canceled tonight.

Or maybe she'd slip backstage and try to ... talk to someone. No one in particular.

Eleanor ordered a cream soda and folded her hands on the table. She hated how twisted her insides got, how one person could make the world shift around sideways.

How it was the wrong person to give her those flutters. How the rest of the world would never understand.

Re: Mingle [7-12]

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal wasn't here for the booze; he always kept his mind clear in public. The dames on stage - and the boys - were good for looking, but he didn't play around with anyone he couldn't keep on a short leash.

Still, the air was hazy, the music was mellow, and the connections were always worth it.

He bought a tonic - no gin - and sat with his back to the wall, sipping slowly and watching the people.

On the Stage [7-12]

[angelo_wings]

The Magic Box has the best singers in town. Watch the soloists get up on stage and serenade you.

Singers, tag in here and give as much (or as little) detail as you'd like about songs chosen, performance, who if anyone you're watching for in the crowd.

Rita gets to go last: seniority has its privileges. She still calls herself the star, dammit.

Once singers have tagged, others can ping their threads for reactions.

Re: On the Stage [7-12]

[angelo_wings]

Rita's set started with Since I Fell For You, a perpetual crowd favorite. Odd how easy it was to flirt when you were playing the abandoned lover. Her eyes met each man in the crowd as she poured out her tale of woe, how he personally had broken her heart and left her destitute.

She was going to bravely move past her heartache, she insisted; as she led into Cry Me a River, she reminded each man that it was his fault he was so lonely, what with cruelly tossing her aside.

Of course, she couldn't forget him so easily. She still lingered, still hungered for what they'd had. The big close, Fool That I Am, came winding out of her, slow and sweet like molasses.

She caught Leon's eye and offered a smile, just for him, and was gratified when he ducked his gaze. He'd be less pleased if he knew she'd already tried that move on that one rich banker sitting near the midsection, but men never seemed to catch on to these things.

Re: On the Stage [7-12]

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

Another stunning set, which Leon couldn't help but be entranced by. He cursed himself for his weakness. The dame was poison, and he had it bad for her.

Re: On the Stage [7-12]

[not_every_mage]

"Doc" Anders was in the middle of the evening, his rich tenor a palate cleanser between the sopranos. His navy suit was loose-fitting, and he set it off with a gold tie and matching pocket square.

His set started with "Fly Me to the Moon", to get people nostalgic and thinking about their sweeties, and then he moved, almost casually, into "Just One of Those Things" to show he didn't take this whole love business too seriously. Then there was a take on "Night and Day" that throbbed with pain and lust. It was the song closest to his own heart, and it showed.

And, in a nod to his employers, he closed with "Love for Sale".

"If you want to pay the price, for a trip to paradise ..."

When he was done, he wiped his face with the gold pocket square and tossed it into the audience. He'd noticed some dames went crazy for that, and Anders aimed to please.

Re: On the Stage [7-12]

[angelo_wings]

Rita lifted her glass in tribute. He had it, that inexpressible quality that made it hard to tear your eyes away from him.

She couldn't help noticing how handsome he looked under those lights. She hadn't bedded him yet; her conquests were usually more predatory in nature, someone who could do something for her. But she let herself have fun now and again, and she was tempted.

Re: On the Stage [7-12]

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

Elsa's set, when she performed, was usually divided two ways. She and Karla were a sister act, and people came in to see the pair of them perform, to watch Karla dance lithely across the stage, to hear Elsa sing strongly enough to carry the both of them. What one lacked in confidence, she made up for in talent, or desperation. Sometimes the two were the same thing, around here.

Tonight, Elsa was being trotted out for a solo act. Tomorrow she would be sixteen, and Angelface wanted to showcase the new wares.

She looked too tired to look petrified tonight, eyes scanning the crowd in hopes of seeing a familiar face that might help put her at ease. She spotted something she wanted to see, apparently, because she seemed to relax a little as she fell into her routine. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyHMBXFc5nM)

She... didn't actually like the routine, but that wasn't strictly a requirement of working here. At least what she was wearing tonight was relatively tasteful. That unto itself was surprising. Go figure.

The second song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTT3JkKQSe8) she performed, of course, reminded her exactly why she was here. She didn't look at a single man in the crowd while she sang, mind. But that didn't mean her gaze wasn't fixed on anybody at all.

Re: On the Stage [7-12]

[glacial_queen]

Karla had an excellent voice, but compared to her sister's, it was nothing. That's why she was on before her sister.

That was the only reason she was allowing herself to think of, anyway. Her songs were more titillating, her dancing more showy. She was to whet their appetites for the main event, for the gents in the crowd who knew what midnight brought.

Tonight, Karla sang three songs for the crowd. She opened with Bei Mir Bist du Schoen, started off sultry and then turned into a rollicking tune that got toes tapping and fingers snapping. Then she cooled it down with Little Black Submarines, before launching into the suggestive Whatever Lola Wants. And then her finale, Why Don't You Do Right? that had her slinking off-stage.

Watching the Stage [7-12]

[angelo_wings]

This thread is for general reactions that aren't specific to any one soloist.

After the Show - On the Floor [7-12]

[angelo_wings]

The club doesn't close after Rita gives her big finale number; there's still plenty of mingling to be had, and this time the singers are encouraged to wander out into the audience and meet their loyal fans. (Especially rich ones.)

Re: After the Show - On the Floor [7-12]

[not_every_mage]

After his set, Anders had gone back to the dressing room to wipe off his stage makeup (though he'd missed a streak below his jawline) and ditch the suit jacket and tie. He wandered back out in shirtsleeves, fixed himself a drink, and aimed a fixed but distant smile at anyone who seemed like they might be worth talking to.

Performing was more a convenient way to piss off his father and get a little money than a passion for Anders, but if he was going to do it he'd do his best at it. And that meant playing a part for the adoring public.

Re: After the Show - On the Floor [7-12]

[angelo_wings]

Rita was all too eager to meet her adoring public. Especially any of them who might be interested in showing their appreciation monetarily. She looked good in diamonds, didn't she?

Re: After the Show - On the Floor [7-12]

[glacial_queen]

Karla didn't so much swan out as glide. She was one of the Ice Princesses, which meant she was cold and remote as a glacier. Let them think it was all an act. Karla was so cold she could burn sometimes.

Like now.

Still, she knew that Elsa was being held hostage for her good behavior, so she kept that icy facade within appropriate limits, making men think that they had a chance of possibly thawing her out.

After the Show - Backstage [7-12]

[angelo_wings]

If you're lucky enough to be invited back, or if you're a house employee who needs to put his or her feet up (or, say, take a well-paying customer back here, on orders from the Boss).

After the Show - Rita's Office [7-12]

[angelo_wings]

In case this is needed.

Re: After the Show - Rita's Office [7-12]

[fracknotfrak.livejournal.com]

Sometimes being a cop meant you had to bend the rules. Vic was an honest cop but tonight the stakes were too high to play by the rule book. So when the busboy came out back to take out the trash, Vic slipped him a sawbuck and made him let her into Rita's office where she waited.

She listened to the laughter and the singing of Fandom's elite as she waited. Her cigarette making a halo of smoke as she sat.

OOC [7-12]

[angelo_wings]

I hope I didn't forget anything.

Also, Rinoa's icons are not-quite-B&W because I liked the way they looked when heavily desaturated but with a bit of reds bleeding through. It felt Sin City-esque. Call me weird.

Re: OOC [7-12]

[angelo_wings]

ALSO also, if you want to be one of the singers and don't currently work at the magic box, JUST DROP ME A LINE.