❄️❄️❄️Frozen Fractals❄️❄️❄️ (show_yourself) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2018-05-23 23:00:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !complete, aria t'loak, elsa of arendelle, miranda lawson |
If these pillars aren’t load bearing, or that wall there
Who: Aria, Miranda and Elsa
What: Elsa visits Aria's club to consult and doesn't realize what kind of club it is until it's too late.
When: Recently
Where: Afterlife
Status: Complete
Rating: PG-13
Normally, Elsa would have researched the Afterlife, and what kind of club it was. She thought it was just a nightclub, and so she had some ideas already as a starting point. It really depended on what Aria was going for, but slick blue lighting was high on Elsa’s list.
She got out of her Uber, hair up in a braid that wrapped around her head and wearing business casual attire. A blue pencil skirt and matching blouse, because she had an aesthetic. Even if her style was typically slinky gown, that wasn’t… appropriate for work-related things.
To be fair, Elsa’s idea of a low-key date was taking someone to the hottest place in town while wearing a slinky gown.
She liked the design on the outside, and so she walked up to the door and tested to see if it was open.
As was usual, Aria had already been at Afterlife for a couple hours, seeing to shipments that had come to restock liquor and other things. She had also taken to making some notes of the things she wished to upgrade. Miranda had mentioned the stage for the dancers could probably use a reconfiguration, especially since the strip club was typically full.
Aria also had some thoughts about the nightclub, a new dancefloor perhaps, maybe redesigning where the DJs played their music. She had taken feedback from DJs who had played here. While the sound system was state of the art, there were adjustments to be made there, but that was for a sound engineer, not Elsa.
The door was open, she’d unlocked it when it got close to the time Elsa was set to arrive. Aria was wearing her human disguise. The only employee of hers that knew she wasn’t human was Miranda, and she would keep it that way. Miranda was also here already, somewhere in the back getting ready with the other dancers. Unlike most business owners, Aria didn’t subscribe to the whole business attire of dress unless she was meeting with important financial people. So she was dressed more like she belonged in a heavy metal band. Black and white tank top with strategic tears in it, black pants, and boots. Her multi-colored hair was long. Sometimes she missed actually having hair, she had been extremely vain about it when she’d been human. But most of the time, she was grateful to not have to deal with the mane any longer.
Aria was in plain sight in front of the bar, having a discussion with one of her bartenders.
Okay Aria was kind of hot, and also why was there a stage there and why were there poles. Elsa fought back a surge of panic. Was this a strip club?
But there were no strippers so she was okay. Maybe she should just leave, but… it was work, and her mind was already putting together the geometric patterns to make the stage really sing.
What if it was a modular stage, capable of being adjusted on the fly. Or even capable of moving up and down in segments?
Yeah, that was easier than thinking about naked women. Cautiously, she approached Aria. “Uhm. Hello.”
The dancers were all in the back getting ready, the ones that were here already, at least. But for now, it was the bar tenders and security that were visible. The security guys were helping carry boxes from deliveries and putting them in their appropriate places. There were a couple in the back, behind the stage that were obviously on guard. That was part of Aria’s uptick in security for Miranda’s sake.
Hearing the greeting, she turned to see Elsa there. She was a pretty little thing, she had to say, and she smiled. “Hello, welcome to Afterlife.” She could’ve given a more dramatic greeting, but decided against it.
Elsa probably had the kind of curves that would make her really popular on stage, and she did have the right sway to her hips as she approached. “Thank you. It’s… a lot more interesting than I expected it would be.”
She definitely would make an attractive dancer, and be a popular one. Aria could always tell at first sight who would be popular on stage and who wouldn’t. “Perhaps I should have mentioned that one part is a strip club. The nightclub is through that door,” Aria said with a gesture at one of the doors.
“Though this is a good place to start. One of my dancers actually suggested the stage could use reconfiguring. This place tends to be a little more crowded than I anticipated it being. Of course, I built it before I hired my current star dancer that attracts quite the crowds.” Aria had noticed that Isabela was a regular customer, and she did wonder if she had a very specific liking of Miranda that went beyond just watching a pretty dancer, but she was keeping quiet on that front. It wasn’t her business unless something other than work happened between Isabela and Miranda. Then it would be her business if something went badly there.
“I … have some thoughts,” Elsa said, face coloring. With her family and some of the families of her crush friends, this might legitimately be a scandal. But… she didn’t actually find she cared. She was independent, and it wasn’t like stripping was wrong. She looked at the stage, “A little more open, but modular and able to move in segments. Say the entire stage is 100 by 100 feet. Ten x ten segments could move up and down as needed. It could make for some spectacular scenes if you’re creative enough.”
Aria noticed the color coming to Elsa’s face and smirked inwardly. However, she quickly turned her attention to the stage as Elsa described it. She tilted her head a bit as she envisioned it. “I could certainly see that. I do have a star dancer that I like to feature. Perhaps there could be some central focal point for the stage as well when she does her routine?” She moved over to the stage, motioning for Elsa to follow her so she could get a better look at it, and to also see the view of the room from the stage.
“Would you change anything about the room itself to also accommodate for such a stage design?” Price was nearly a non-issue for Aria. While she didn’t have billions of dollars just sitting around, she did have a sizable amount. Owning two successful clubs was lucrative, after all. Plus she had a sizable amount saved from her own dancing days.
“A central focal point, yes.” Elsa looked up, “Mount lights, if you really want to show her of. And I was thinking a lot of blue light strips and mood lighting.” She started to walk around the room, looking at the layout, before she followed Aria to the stage. “If these pillars aren’t load bearing, or that wall there, we could knock them down to have more floor space, and you can put in more tables or seating.”
There was something a little powerful about being on that stage though, and looking down at everyone. She almost asked if Aria ever did an amatuer night. Almost. She’d barely be able to look at this, let alone get a lap dance, or dance herself.
Though why was she thinking about lapdances?
“Have you been doing this long?”
Aria followed along, giving the stage and lights another look over. “I do like blue.” It was a good color, and not just because she was an asari and had blue eyes. “That I don’t recall off the top of my head. I’ll have to refer to the blueprints, which are up in my office.” Those had been something she’d gotten out to prepare for this meeting.
“I’ve been in this business nearly twenty years. I was a dancer for a while, then I eventually became an owner of the club I was dancing at. I own a nightclub in L.A. called Omega. I was looking to expand, and broke into this market with this dual nightclub and strip club about a year ago.”
“That will help us figure out a few things, but we can work around them if they can’t be knocked out,” Elsa explained. “I think this building was built well, so we’ll probably be lucky in that.”
She gave Aria a surprised look, “Twenty years?” She didn’t think Aria looked a year over thirty.
“Thank you. I put good money into making sure it was built well.” Aria was one who did her homework in such matters. While Elsa had linked her to her portfolio, she had gone the extra step and looked into her in more detail. Only on the professional side. She was curious about her other work. And from what she’d found, Elsa was good at what she did.
“Thank you for thinking I’m younger than I actually am. It’s rather flattering.” She smiled at the surprise. Some days Aria didn’t know if she was actually thirty-six years old anymore or if she was one thousand years old.
You’re hot Elsa almost said out loud, and it was clear from her expression as she bit her tongue. She cleared her throat, and managed to sound somewhat smooth, “I’m sure you put your girls to shame.”
Aria could definitely tell that Elsa thought she was hot. She’d long since learned how to read such things in people. Plus the one thousand years of a dream life helped add to that. “I could put that to the test. I could have you meet my star dancer. It may also help for designing the focal point of the stage and all.”
Miranda was tall, after all, and that was without being in heels. And Aria may have been curious to see how Elsa reacted to a working dancer being close to her.
“Okay,” Elsa said, her hands gripping her folder tighter. Aria wasn’t wrong, after all, and Elsa could keep things professional. She wasn’t that much of a gay disaster.
Aria nodded, then looked over at one of the security guys by the door that led to the dressing rooms for the dancers. “Would you have Miranda come out here?” She asked, and the guy nodded before disappearing through the door.
A minute later, Miranda came out. She was already dressed and ready for work. Her outfit covered everything, but there was cleavage and legs all over. Her make-up was spot on and her hair was flawless and looked very soft to the touch. It also shimmered a bit, obvious that she’d added something shimmery to it.
“You wished to see me?” She asked Aria.
“Yes. Miranda, this is Elsa, we’re talking potential redesigns for the stage.” Aria then turned to Elsa. “Now, perhaps you could have Miranda stand where the focal point of the stage would be?”
Okay maybe she was that much of a gay disaster. Girding herself, Elsa walked across the stage until she was at the point where she felt like there’d be the best view possible while also offering flexibility. “Here. We’d want the focus to be here.”
Miranda watched Elsa, then when she came to a stop, Miranda walked over to her so she could stand there. Meanwhile, Aria got off the stage and went out into the area where the crowd typically sat so she could visualize.
“I can see what you are aiming for. Would this focal point be able to be on a moving platform as well? Mostly asking given not all of my girls are nearly as tall as Miranda is. Something would need to be adjusted for when a shorter girl is the focal point.” Aria commented. In the heels Miranda was currently wearing, she stood just over six feet tall.
Oh god, she was too close. Elsa could feel her face heating up. She was 5’7” with heels and basically came up to Miranda’s chest right now. It was a contrast with Weiss who was 5’3” with heels. Tiny. Adorable. Very hot.
She tried to focus on… okay Miranda’s eyes were gorgeous too. “We can… It can be made to move. I think all sections should be set up that way.” She turned away, gesturing as she spoke. “Maybe even make them move around each other.”
Aria crossed her arms over her chest, though she wasn’t upset, it was in thought as she contemplated the stage. “Yes, I like that. The other dancers would no doubt be jealous if Miranda was the only one to utilize the focal point.”
Miranda was putting together what exactly they were talking about. She looked down at the stage, thinking the moving parts would be rather enticing. She would rather enjoy the feel of Isabela’s gaze following her as the stage moved.
“Though I have a question, what about the poles? Would they be fixed and the stage moves up and down along them, or would they move with the stage?” It was important to know.
“And if you have the stage moving with the music it might be enticing too.” Or maybe too distracting, unless… Elsa couldn’t believe it as she added, “Or move to the rhythm of the dance.”
She looked back to Miranda, “I can see it working both ways. But you’d know which would be easier to use.”
“Interesting. Both are ideas I like, though it is up to my dancers in that respect.” After all, dancers should have a say when they would be the ones performing on a moving stage. Aria was liking the suggestions Elsa was making. She seemed to know her stuff.
Miranda nodded a bit, moving over to the closest pole and spun around it. She wasn’t trying to show off for Elsa. “As long as the poles are fixed and can support our weight while we’re doing our acts, I do not care.”
“Perhaps it is more a question for all of you. Whichever is the more popular choice will be what we go with. I want my girls to be happy.” Aria stated.
“What if it was designed to move with the stage, but could be locked into place for the dancers that don’t like the idea?” Elsa was already thinking about how to do that, though she stumbled a bit over her words as she watched Miranda.
“You are quite the clever one,” Aria commented to Elsa as she came back to the stage. “I think that would be an acceptable compromise, wouldn’t you agree, Miranda?”
“I think that is an excellent compromise. I think the others would like that as well, so long as the poles are safe.” Miranda said with a nod, leaning against the pole a bit as she looked at Elsa. “I’m looking forward to this new stage, I have to say.”
“Thank you,” Elsa replied. She nodded at Miranda, thanking god they hadn’t suggested the woman dance on that pole. “Safety got really drilled into me during my education.”
“No doubt for good reason,” Aria responded, then turned her attention back to Miranda. “You may go back to getting ready.”
Miranda gave a nod and stood back up, giving a smile to Elsa. “It was nice to meet you,” she said before she walked off stage and went back to the dressing room.
“Now, that is probably enough ideas for the stage for the time being until we get to the blueprints. Perhaps you would like to the nightclub part of this establishment now? There are a few things there that I am wanting to discuss over there as well.”
Elsa let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. “I think that would be good! What did you have in mind?”
Aria nodded her head towards a door and started leading the way to it. On the other side was the nightclub part. It had a nice open dance floor and fully stocked bar. There was a balcony above that overlooked the dance floor, and there was another bar up there.
“First and foremost, the area for the DJ needs a better design. I asked for feedback from the ones I’ve had play here, so I can show you that. Also with the open area, I was wondering if there was room enough for a stage so I could also book bands to play here, not just DJs.”
She relaxed once they were away from the Den of Sin, looking around and wrinkling her nose. “It’s kind of cramped here, and you’re right about the area for the DJ.”
Taking the rest of it in, she added, “I think a stage is doable. Set it into the floor so it can be raised and lowered. And I think once we rip everything out and before we start anything like that, that you hire someone who’s an expert in acoustics, so when we redesign this place it can maximize the sound.”
“I’m one step ahead of you there. I’m going to rehire the guy who did that originally. Once we have blueprints set in stone, I’ll get him on designing a new system. The acoustics in here are great now, but obviously changing things will change the acoustics.” Aria noted. She’d been in enough clubs and at enough concerts to know the value of solid acoustics.
Elsa walked over to the bar, putting her folder down and opening it up. She had scrap paper, which she used to quickly sketch a concept for the stripper stage and a second for the DJ stage. She had notes about the lighting - generally blue but different shades depending on location. Then she held it over to Aria. “something like this?”
While Aria had a good imagination, and had followed along with what she and Elsa had been discussing, it was still helpful to see initial sketches. She took the paper and looked it over. “Yes, I like this. How about we go up to my office and we can look over the blueprints and discuss this in further detail?”
“Yes, we can.” Once they had more details they could talk contract too. Elsa had experience with that now, what to do and not to do, what to request and what compromises to offer. So she felt a little excited. That had nothing to do with what was going to happen in the other half of the building.
If they timed this right, by the time they’d be done discussing the blueprints and contract, Afterlife should be open with plenty of people around to give Elsa a taste of things here. She motioned for Elsa to follow her and she crossed the dance floor, then went through a door and up a staircase to her office. Two way mirrors lined two of the walls, one looking down on the nightclub, the other looking down onto the strip club.
“Here are the blueprints,” she said, motioning to the drawings on top of her desk. Elsa was free to look them over to her heart’s content.
Elsa looked over the blueprints. In full professional mode she seemed to be in her element. She took notes, made a few more sketches. “I should be able to give you a quote and an actual plan in a couple of days.”
Aria didn’t interfere, and only spoke if Elsa had a question on something in the blueprints. Otherwise, she stood back, admiring the professionalism the young woman had. It was certainly a contrast to the blushing beauty she’d been in the strip club.
“I am looking forward to hearing back from you. I think we shall work well together.” Aria didn’t always like someone from the get-go. And thus far, there was nothing about Elsa that grated her the wrong way either.
“I guess I should..stick around a little bit. Get a feel for this place while it’s full.” Elsa held her folder against her chest as a defensive mechanism.
“You probably should. If you are more comfortable, you can stay up here until you are ready to go down.” Aria didn’t have any paperwork or anything she needed to do, so she wouldn’t kick her out. Besides, up here they could easily watch people file in once the place opened.
“Thank you.” Despite her anxiety, Elsa wasn’t going to turn down a good job, and maybe it might help her with it a little bit.
But boy, she was going to have some interesting story to tell her sister and friends.