Solo The Art of Seduction (Pt 5)

[Rosela]

Timestamp: 60th of Fall, 512AV It was a slow day at the shop, with howling winds outside and something that looks suspiciously like snow flurries interspersed with the billowing leaves. Rosela stared out the window dejectedly, slowly working on a line of fringed tassels for a new dress. The dress itself was short and rather plain, with a spiraling line of tassels around its entirety. When finished, Rosela hoped for an excitable flutter of constant movement, most flattering to a woman without natural curves to work with. The Konti women in town would be a good target for this one. She saw a flash of scarf outside her door before a sudden draft wafted her papers and revealed a customer: a lithe woman with stylishly billowing scarves and a long wool cloak. As the human woman brushed curled blond hair out of her face, Rosela noted a distinct overabundance of makeup. While Rosela was no stranger to the makeup brush, this woman clearly didn’t know the difference between a night look and a day look. “Welcome to Red Diamond Fashions. What can I help you find today?” “Umm, hi. I’m Kiki? From the Velvet Curtain? I’m supposed to bring you these measurements. Silka said you’d know what they were for.” “Ahhh, thank you.” Rosela took the proffered slip of paper with two hands, glancing inside briefly. Four sections of measurements were listed, though she didn’t look too closely at them. The makeup suddenly made sense; this was likely one of the working girls. “So, you’re making us clothes now?” “Some.” Rosela refolded the paper and slipped it under a bundle of pencils on her desk. “Silka did me a favor, and this is one in return.” “Ooooh.” Kiki lifted her penciled eyebrows knowingly. “Yea, I was working last night, and we were definitely all wondering-” “Not that kind of favor.” Rosela frowned and folded four of her arms. “She passed along some knowledge, if you must know.” “Oh.” She frowned, obviously confused. “Are you…going to work with us now?” “No!” It came out too strong and Rosela cleared her throat behind a hand, the younger girl looking alarmed. “I mean, no.” Drawing herself up with all of her dignity, she looked down her nose at Kiki. “I am learning the art of seduction for myself, and Silka’s experience has been invaluable.” “The art of seduction…” Kiki tried out the words, spinning on a heel to glance outside. The wind kicked up and howled shrilly. “You know, I’ve worked there for six whole years… I don't know much, but I know men.” Rosela had the impression that Kiki wasn’t the sharpest knife on the wall, but if her makeup was anything to go by, she at least knew how to dress for the night. Another's experience couldn't hurt?

[Rosela]

Rosela frowned suspiciously. “Are you offering to teach me what you know?” “Well…yea?” She shrugged. “You know, for the same kind of thing you and Silka did.” “I can’t be giving the entire staff of Velvet Curtain a new wardrobe.” “I know, I know… What if I didn’t tell anybody? I’ll tell you everything I know, in exchange for…” She trailed off, looking longingly at the blue silk dress in the display case. “A blouse. A nice cotton blouse." A master's expertise may have been worth a few pieces, but she wasn't losing one of her best pieces for more. "I have one started in the back that I was saving for summer, but I’ll fit it to you in exchange for what you know. You can tell me everything while I fit you.” “Yey!” Kiki bounded to the back, and up on the measurement box, where she struck a pose. “You know, I could do some modeling for you too?” “No thank you,” Rosela said firmly, and Kiki shrugged and turned to inspect herself in the mirror. Quickly disappearing into the back room, Rosela reemerged with a bundle of flashy mauve cotton, a row of back stitching visible on one side. Kiki had removed her cloak to show off an unusually short skirt for the weather, a tight cotton shirt, and thigh-high faux leather boots. The look was obviously for seduction alone, the blunt and easy way. If Rosela were desperate enough, thigh high boots would get the job done with as little effort, and class, as possible. Restraining a sigh, Rosela pulled out her tape measure. “Okay, now lift your arms.” “Okay. So what do you want to know?” “I guess just start at the beginning. What was your first…night like?” “Not bad, I guess. I cried when I got home though. You kindof get used to it.” “Tell me what happened,” Rosela demanded absently, writing down measurements in messy Arumenic. “Oooh my gosh, it wasn’t pretty. It was just a single guy, he was all lonely, you know? We get guys like that a lot, just lonely and looking for a little cheering up. Anyway, they assigned me to him, and I didn’t even have to get him his drink, just cheer him up. He was all asking me how I like my work and what I do when I'm off, and would not cheer up, no matter what!” She huffed dramatically, making Rosela frown as she tried to measure her shoulders. “I tried my shotglass trick – I do this thing where I put a shotglass on my head and fill it – and I’m all touching him and sighing and giving little kisses, and nothing worked!” “Uh-huh… What happened then?” “I had to go for the sweet approach. You know… ‘Hey, let me take your mind off it,’ and all that. He went for it, but it was late and he was really tired by then so it didn’t go over well.” “And then what? After the bedroom, I mean.” “Well, that was it? He stumbled out, paid his tab and left?” Rosela paused and looked up. “Did you find out what he was sad about?” “Nah. Trust me, it’s a pretty weird guy who actually wants to talk about what he’s feeling. When a guy’s looking at a pretty girl, he doesn’t want to talk about his feelings and stuff. He’s trying to forget about them. That’s why he’s there.” Kiki huffed a chuckle. “If he talks about his feelings, he’s either really messed up, or he’s trying to make an ‘attachment’ with you, so he can get a freebie.” Humming in interest, Rosela made the last markings of measurements. “Freebie? They don’t immediately want to forget why they’re there? Forget what you’re…doing?” Kiki wrinkled her nose in thought. “I guess you can think about it like that. I mean, a big rule is to never talk about your other customers in front of your current one. I think deep down, they know, but they just don’t want to think about it?” Her speech was less direct than Silka's, and Rosela attempted to keep a tally of lessons to learn here. Feelings, attachments, other customers...

[Rosela]

Laying down her pencil, Rosela picked up the pinned scraps of cloth that thus-far made up the blouse. They were getting too far into the details of prostitution, not enough about pure seduction. “Tell me about what you did to cheer that first man up. Or, what you would have done different with what you know now.” “I don’t think there’s much I could have done different? I probably would have left the shotglass trick for later, when I got into the ‘I just want to see you smile’ stage. There’s a lot more in the bedroom I could have done, like-” A quick measurement, and she pinned the sleeves tighter and the bust looser. “Lets skip the bedroom details for now. Are there defined stages? To seducing a man, I mean.” “I guess it’s different for every guy, so you just have to feel him out. Touching usually works really well, but you have to go into it slowly. Little shows of possessiveness work well for insecure guys, like when the drink hostess comes by? Oh and totally never take your eyes off him.” “Doesn’t that get weird? Stay still now.” Very carefully, she slid the blouse onto Kiki's frame, minding the pins. Another pair of hands threaded the needle. “It doesn’t have to be all eye contact, just, you know, looking him up and down, lingering on whatever he’s trying to emphasize. It’s pretty easy to tell where he wants the attention going. Really muscle-y guys will wear tight shirts, and really wealthy guys will wear nice jewelry, you know, stuff like that.” “Okay, so touching, looking, and a little possessive. Anything else?” “I don’t know… just be pretty, I guess? Guys want a girl who can obviously take care of herself, unless they’ve got, like, a weird hero kink. “Kinks. Now there’s a whole conversation in itself.” “Oooh yea, we got some weird ones in town. Trick is, it can never be too weird for you. Like, ever. If he’s trying to hurt you, that’s one thing, but if he just wants you to spank him and call him a naughty little boo-boo? What’s the harm in that?” Rosela’s hands faltered with the needle and she nearly nicked herself. Kiki didn’t seem to notice. In fact, she’d stopped noticing Rosela at all and was looking blankly around the ceiling, still talking. “I mean, there’s not a whole lot of women in Riverfall, right? So what are the odds that he’s going to find someone out there that’ll do that for him and still wake up the next morning and cook him eggs? That's why they come to us, you know? No judgements.”

[Rosela]

They were straying away from actual seduction again, and Rosela cleared her throat as she hemmed a sleeve. “Be okay with his kinks, got it. What about…tips?” It seemed the closest place where prostitution and goal-oriented seduction intersected. “Oh boy, it’s every girl’s dream to get a good tipper. If he tips good, he’ll probably come back and request you personally.” “Yes, but how do you get good tips?” “Oh umm… I guess it depends on the guy? You just have to get it right and do what he wants you to do without him having to tell you? Easiest way is to be great in bed.” Once again, back to the areas Rosela had no interest in. She licked her lips and snipped off the end of a knot in the thread. “Yea… Any other ways? I’m not really interested in seducing men already in bed.” For the first time in a while, Kiki looked down at Rosela in surprise. “Really? Why not?” It was Rosela’s turn to look up in surprise. “Well...honestly...Getting a man in bed isn’t really my end goal. I want to be able to seduce a man without having to…to…play my last card.” The metaphor came late, and wasn’t what she had nearly said. ‘To debase herself’ was what her mind had said, and was more to the truth. Prostitution was a far different game than she wanted to play, and women of her class didn’t spread their legs to get what they wanted – they made men want them to spread their legs, and made those believe that with one more gift, one more favor, they just might do it. The thought was something of a revelation, and Rosela realized she was nearly finished with the blouse. At some point, and some point soon, there’d be nothing more she could learn from other people and she’d have to learn through experimentation. “I guess I understand…” Kiki trailed off, looking over her shoulder at the mirror. “Since you’re not doing it for, you know, a paycheck, what are you doing it for?” Rosela could not immediately answer. “I read a book earlier this season,” she started slowly. “It said, ‘The master seductress can hold a man in thrall with a single look, be she right in front of him or across a crowded bar.’ Who doesn’t want that?” “Wow…” Kiki breathed, looking distant. “I think…I think that sounds like what men think when they come in. That they can get whoever they want, no matter who they are in the real world?” Rosela wondered what was different between her and Kiki, who seemed to have never considered having power over men. Underneath her bubbly hair and flippant voice, there was a need to please there, and Rosela had the uncomfortable impression of having heard it before. “Anyway, how’s it coming back there?” Kiki asked over her shoulder as Rosela finished the hem around the back of the blouse. Perhaps it was the way she changed the topic, or the nervous way she looked over her shoulder, but Rosela realized where she’d heard that tone before. “It's good. What were you before you worked at the Velvet Curtain?” It didn’t have anything to do with what she was learning, but she had to know if she was right. Kiki shifted uncomfortably. “I was in Ravok, a slave at the brothel there. Madam, not Silka, the one before, she bought my contract.” Rosela was a moment too late in responding, and Kiki filled the silent moment awkwardly. “Just a few more years until I can buy my contract? Then I can go wherever I want.” There was another moment of silence. “I usually don’t mention that to the customers though, unless they’ve got a serious jones for the damsel in distress thing. Some girls can really make it work for them, but it just makes things uncomfortable when I try it.” Rosela hummed quietly, acknowledging the admission but not adding anything. She’d been right – Kiki reminded her a little too sharply of the slaves she’d had for maids in her life in Ahnatep. The need to please, the lack of any real grit and sharpness - it spoke to her of someone at relative peace with their situation and not willing to mess it up.

[Rosela]

Rosela broke the stitches on her hem to redo it tighter, purposefully trying to extend the conversation. Though she wouldn’t have made any money on the blouse for several seasons, she needed to maximize her deal. She wasn't learning nearly enough to justify losing a blouse. “Tell me about Silka. Was she there when you started?” “Yea…” Kiki heaved a sigh, but seemed grateful at the turn of subject. “I don’t know how long she’s been there, but she’s always been a favorite with the big spenders. I don’t know if they all go home and talk to each other about her, or if it’s just the six arms thing. No offense.” “None taken.” “Did you know she still entertains, even though she’s madam now? And that bustier, isn’t it the most blinding thing you’ve ever seen? She didn’t come in with that – some guy had it made for her. For girls like me, you know… You just have to get noticed! I mean, there’s a pretty fine line between being noticeable and being obnoxious, so it’s not like you can just go up and butt in on Silka working a guy? She’s kindof automatically noticeable, so what’re the rest of us supposed to do?” There was no small amount of bitterness in her voice. “But the Velvet Curtain’s a big hit, from what I saw. In a city with nothing but men, aren’t there enough to go around? Once Silka’s taken, is it still that hard to get noticed?” Taking a step back, she twitched at one of the sleeves, making sure it laid equally. “Velvet Curtain isn’t like the rest of Riverfall… There’s plenty of girls just like me trying to get in here. Getting their attention is like, your livelihood.” It was an astute observation, Rosela had to admit. Not for the first time, she’d counted herself lucky that she was on her little endeavor in Riverfall, and not some city where she’d be competing against other women at every turn. She might not stay in Riverfall forever though, though the city had become a haven for her in the half-season she'd been there.

[Rosela]

Making a final adjustment to the sash, Rosela straightened. It had been a good couple chimes before she’d been really finished, but she’d extended it as long as she could without it looking suspicious. Nothing else of consequence had been discussed, and while Kiki had been useful in cementing a few insights, and sparking an internal revelation regarding seduction versus sex, she doubted the well-meaning girl would give her much more. She had however renewed Rosela’s interest in Silka, likely to Kiki's chagrin if she knew, and Rosela resolved to go back to the Velvet Curtain when the rest of the clothes were done and find out exactly how Silka got that bustier. “Well then, thank you Kiki, you’ve been most informative.” “Well thank you for the blouse, you’ve been most…fashionable.” She giggled highly and turned again in front of the mirror. She left with a flourish of cloak and scarf and Rosela was once again left in the solitude of her shop. Unlike Silka, who’d immediately grasped what Rosela wanted and been to the point, Rosela would have to mull on Kiki’s words and extract what wisdom could be found there. By the end of the day, Rosela had spent most of it knotting fringe and replaying the conversation. One of her final extractions was that she’d need to be more selective in her pursuits. Kiki was doomed to draw the attentions of average men, while Silka entertained the wealthy in her gemstones and high fees. Rosela could not afford to be a Kiki. The sun was finally setting, and she continued to muse while locking up. If the average Akalak could do nothing for her, who should she be focusing on? The upper crust in general was to her advantage, particularly in terms of her shop. Perhaps a Councilman? She’d get tax breaks, and maybe have an ear for any favors she needed done in the city? She’d have to meet him in the Council chambers though, since she didn’t exactly see them out shopping in Zhongjie. Perhaps she’d be in there and conveniently need help with paperwork? Maybe she could continue to help her shop and get close with a pelt supplier? Obviously, supplies would come at a discount, and she’d get the choicest ones. Staying late, going over what makes a good pelt, seemed like quite the idea there. On the same vein, she could definitely use a weaver to work under her. Maybe he’d want to work under her literally, and would be looking for a dominant woman to whip him into shape. Absently, Rosela wondered if leather would be a good look for her. There was of course the option of a generically wealthy man to patronize her. What bearded old man wouldn’t want to take her out and make her smile? She could assimilate very easily into the role of a kept woman, and maybe he’d even do her the favor of dying off quickly. She passed the cute blacksmith that worked up the road as he fiddled with his keys. He didn’t look up and Rosela didn’t draw his attention. What could he offer her? Nothing, she admitted, and dismissed a pang of sadness. She had to thin out the competition somehow. It’d be nice to be wanted by everyone, but she was only one woman.

[Gossamer]

Character: Rosela
Experience: + 2 Observation, +1 Negotiation, +4 Interrogation, +4 Seamstressing, +5 Seduction
Lore: How to Avoid Freebies. Men do not want to talk about their feelings. Seduction: Act possessive towards men. Seduction: Eye contact is important. Seduction: Accept a man’s kinks. Identifying a Working Girls’ underlying motivations. Identifying the competition.


Additional Notes Nice thread. While there was no actual seduction going on, you sure did cover a lot of ground so I gave you pull points. I also gave you seamstressing for doing work in the background and grilling that poor girl gave you interrogation. The rest are thrown in for acts in thread. Lovely read. 