#shizukatbt

[eclipsecrowned]

shizuka host verse hcs.

approached the idea of working a ‘drag club’ as an attempt to explore more masculine aspects of their identity they were made to stifle growing up. six nights a week during law school, they hardened their jawline, pulled back their hair, and played with their presentation and make up up to the moment they finally got it to their specifications. they got good at it after a few months, and that presentation remains, if more modern and less overt, into their current life.

while club peppo had a reputation for just being ‘drag’ and more of a novelty than an actual contender in the nightlife scene of the city, it was much more than that to those in the know. most of their coworkers were trans men, masc enbies, or, like shizuka, genderfluid individuals. as soon as they got settled, our intrepid protagonist realized this was the first place they really felt they could breathe.

they operated under the name tamaki, a nod to their favorite film and the name of the leading lady. some ten years later, a popular manga series dropped and shizuka swore up and down they would sue the creator blind for stealing their brand.

as outlined in other posts, working a cabaret came easily to shizuka with a little practice. unlike most of their peers, who kept to cleaner, more down to earth personas, they took off in a wildly different direction. they embraced more of a threatening edge, a sort of machismo that reflected their own desire to stand out and be a real man’s man. while some were offput by this intensity, there was a niche that paid dearly for the host’s time and interest. word got around the community. soon, their act became a main draw for the cabaret. their name was made.

this being a gay club in the 90s, things were often done under the table. a high entrance fee turned away those rubberneckers and troublemakers that might have arrived just for the novelty of it, or worse. those who did get a foot past the entryway would find the prices exorbitant, a sort of extortion that ensured the establishment was one of discretion and taste. as a main draw, shizuka all but printed money for their employer, kutsuki yuka, and brought home more than they really knew what to do with as an overworked college student with a girlfriend to support.

they still have a good bit of cabaret money stashed away in an account, their rainy day fund should something ever go wrong. 

on the odd occasion an ‘honorable’ man came to unwind at a club that could keep its mouth shut, shizuka fell upon them like a vulture. it was through hosting that they first became acquainted with the families of the city, and through such customers they would learn the names and occasional secrets that would propel them into the inner circles once they gained their law degree.

due to their love for then-girlfriend nobuko, their work was left at the door. despite several monetary offers for time spent outside of the establishment, shizuka stayed loyal. in the aftermath of their vicious breakup, they often lament they didn’t go all the way with a few of the men that made a pass.

shizuka became something of a big brother to any new faces that made it into the cabaret’s employ. once you made as much money as they did, it’s likely they ceased to see any of the other hosts as competition. they still have some lasting friendships with a few coworkers who kept in touch.

they existed almost entirely on champagne for the years they worked the club. to the point they ended up with a distaste for it. it may be swanky as hell, but they’re so sick of it even more than a decade on.

it was through the club they discovered binders, and they have never looked back. it was everything their dysphoric ass wanted but never knew existed.

they only quit because exams and internships further cut down their already limited time. they walked away at the peak of their power. a few people might still remember tamaki, but they kind of slid out of the public eye and out of the scene except to those who were there and saw that first rise to fame.

in summary: 10/10 experience, met an amazing community and some great friends, shizuka has literally never felt as old as they did driving past the old building and finding not only had yuka sold peppo, but new owners had torn out every feature to remodel. the place hadn’t been a queer club in years but it still hurt to know the interior had been absolutely, irreversibly gutted.