Summary: Kazuki and Serenity talk about a mutual passion -- dance~!
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This information may not be used as In Character (IC) knowledge or in roleplay unless it has been learned in-game or permission has been granted by the parties involved.
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Pow! Pow! Pow!
That is the sound of a foot hitting a sandbag. Turns out, of all people? It's Kazuki. He's dressed in a green tanktop and black sweatpants, and has sneakers on instead of his usual clunky boots. The tank top actually shows some tone in his arms that's not usually visible thanks to the long sleeves he's always wearing. So maybe he's not so much of a scrawny little runt after all!
He is indeed kicking a sandbag. It's not quite a roundhouse, since he's not turning around. He's just turning just enough to hit the bag with the top of his foot. He looks like he knows... that one kick. It's the same kick, over and over. He's focused on the task, and judging by the sweat, he must have been at it for a while.
The marine mollusc, while meandering by the gym, happens to notice an unfamiliar sound and comes over to mash the face against the window. After a moment, Ren opens the door to slip inside (leaving a smudge of gill-slime on the glass). Ren flows inside with a slow undulation and wends a way around other people and exercise machines. Ren wanders over to Kazuki, twisting to face him while continuing to drift backwards just a bit past him. Not speaking up right away, Ren looks on with rhinophores canted forward inquisitively.
It's a good thing Kazuki didn't see Serenity mashing her face against the glass. It might have startled him. He's focused, though. He does, however, notice her nearing him, watching him, tilting her little antennae-thingies. He's still getting used to reading mollusc body language, so it's not immediately clear why she's doing that. He kicks the bag, then greets Serenity, "Heya." Kicks the bag. "Something wrong?" Kick.
"Hello," Ren rasps cheerily, offering Kazuki a wave that uses folds to simulate an arm within a loose sleeve. "No, nothing is wrong. I just didn't want to disturb you if you were avoiding distractions," Ren explains. Ren gestures toward the bag. "I see now how you build the physical fitness for dance performances such as the one I saw recently."
"Mhm," Kazuki confirms. Kick. "It surprises people sometimes." Kick. "I also swim." Kick. "Haven't found a pool though." Kick. Then he pauses, sighs. He steps over to one of the benches and retrieves his towel. "Anything that builds lean muscle," he notes, looping the towel around the back of his neck and using one end to wipe his forehead. "That's why I don't bother with the actual fighting. The holographic opponent would probably kick my ass anyway." Smirk.
"I also find that some forms of cross-training are more useful than others. Many activities work better when one moves in an efficient and graceful way and build balanced strength," Ren agrees. "But in fighting, one aims to hit the opponent, while in dancing, this is generally to be avoided." Ren grins at the last. Ren pushes a pair of fins slowly into the punching bag; Ren lacks feet on the floor, but does weigh a good bit more than the bag, so it moves more than Ren. "Perhaps you would find the lake in the park to be warmer for swimming than the ocean?" Ren suggests.
Kazuki nods. "Yoga's pretty useful too. It's how I've gotten so flexible. Well, that and having a teacher actually teach me how to move," he notes. "Wasn't cheap, but it was worth it. It's also pretty convincing for my other job." He smirks. Then suddenly his weight shifts... and his stance looks like a human female. And in a voice that's far too high for a man, he adds, "See?" He takes a few hip-swaying steps. That is a very realistic human female sashay. His voice still high, he notes, "It makes it way easier to do this!"
He chuckles, his voice returning to normal, and shifts his weight back to normal as well. His voice back to its baritone, he notes, "Yeah. Female impersonator. NOT a drag queen, no. 'Female impersonator', since I don't do it for fun."
As for the lake? He nods. "Warmer than the ocean? Probably," he agrees. He also adds, "Also the salt would play hell with my hair and complexion."
Serenity regards Kazuki's demonstration attentively, offering a smile and nod afterward. "The salt water hasn't my hair or complexion any," Ren quips, poking a temporary 'digit' into the gill-feathers and then denting in the side of the face with it. Ren flows over to 'stand' before Kazuki. "Yes, I've looked into yoga a bit, insofar as it overlaps with certain dance postures and is used by some dancers for training. I can't say that I have tried much from it, though. Impersonating a human is quite difficult enough sometimes." Ren adds curiously, "Why exactly would one want to see a performer impersonating another sex? Something about appreciating the challenge involved in doing so?"
Kazuki snickers at the joke. "I think yours are made for the water, so you may have the advantage there," he teases. A nod, though, at the mention of yoga. "It's really made for a human body, to stretch human muscles. Maybe you could make yoga that would work for you? The idea is to just gently stretch the muscle and increase both tone and flexibility. You know how far is comfortable for you to stretch better than anyone else."
As for one sex impersonating another? This prompts a bit of an evil smile. "Most of the time they don't know," he reveals, with a wink. "Though... to be totally honest, it might be a little more difficult here. Where I'm from, women that are my height are no big deal. Most of them are part Zentradi, but still." Kazuki is quite tall, despite his slimness. "Here, a human woman my height would get eyed."
Serenity nods thoughtfully in reply to Kazuki's explanation of yoga. "Would you not want the audience paying close attention to you?" Ren asks. "I assume that you are simply looking for some additional freedoms in your repertoire, moves that you can perform more skillfully than a less well-trained woman, yes?" Ren forms a cylindrical shape with 'wings' wrapped in front, then pinches inward to simulate a neck and waist. "For example, I am not so much interested in fooling anyone than in directing attention to relevant portions of the dance."
"That too," Kazuki replies. "The whole thing about men impersonating women started in ancient times. Theater was thought of as an inappropriate trade for a woman to get into-- I'm not sure why, though-- so men had to play female roles. It always worked better if the man playing the woman was pretty, of course. That was multiple cultures that believed women shouldn't be in theater." He watches Serenity change her shape so and smiles. "That's interesting to watch. Does that hurt to do that?"
"Not at all," Ren replies, releasing the tension and flaring 'wings' out to the sides. Ren then appears to be showing off what an extreme stretch would consist of; Ren briefly lengthens to eight feet snout-to-tail, flattens fins to a six-foot spread, and twists along the long axis enough to show some of the helical lines of muscle beneath the skin. "That's a quite useful bit of knowledge about theater," Ren observes before relaxing to a more normal shape. "Although I could hardly study human dance without making note of typical sex roles, I still have a bit of trouble with over- or under-generalizing at times."
Kazuki's eyes go a bit wide when Serenity expands so. He may need to step back and give her some room, if her water bubble expands with her. That looks like it could be dangerous! But he does nod to the mention of the roles. Though the mention of over-/under-generalizing gets a snicker. "Hey, don't worry about that. Humans can't even get it right," he assures Serenity, with a smirk.
He lifts the towel, to rub at the back of his neck. "Well, I'm kinda sweaty. I'm gonna go see about getting some of this hosed off me. Was good to talk to ya again." He offers a smile, and a wave as he heads to the locker room.
Serenity's forcefield prioritizes keeping the gills underwater and secondarily keeps at least a thin cloak of water over the face and non-wing portions of the body. The clothing patch also doesn't seem to have any trouble keeping up with the motion. Ren smiles at his assurance, then nods an acknowledgment to the leave-taking. "Likewise."
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