OTA

[prince_of_nymphs]

 The hardest part was keeping the lies straight.

"I thought you were only having one of your eyes done?"

"I did, the other I had done abroad- It was a spur of the moment choice..."

"Your so pale now..."

"The medication, it doesn't sit well with me."

"You're so thin!"

"No appetite. It'll get better though, I'm sure."

He'd anticipated that though. He'd known he'd need to lie and fib left and right, until people just accepted he could see again- And that perhaps he was still a touch unwell. What he hadn't anticipated, however, was the resentment that many of his old friends seemed to  suddenly feel towards him. It was one thing when Fin was a rising star- But pitiable because of his disability. Now, however... Now he was already receiving television and film offers left and right, and that... That apparently upset a few people.

He'd been leaving one of his favourite coffee shops when he nearly walked right into Phil. A man he'd worked with many times in small productions. A good actor, but older- Perhaps past his prime in the eyes of many.

"Oh! Phil, how brilliant to see you," Fin had smiled, offering his hand, and looking puzzled when it wasn't taken.

"Brilliant is it?" Phil replied, raising a brow and ignoring the offered hand. "So posh sounding these days, Fin. I don't remember you being posh- Not when you were sleeping on the streets, begging for parts. ...Wouldn't know you were dragged up in Manchester with that posh voice you put on."

Fin's smile faded slightly, and he forced an uncomfortable laugh. "Bad habit, I suppose," he said awkwardly.

"Not a habit," Phil assured him. "Just as fake as the rest of you, that's all."

Fin's smile faded completely then, aware that people were staring now. "Right," he said awkwardly. "Well, I should... I should be off."

Phil smiled then, a vicious smile. "I suppose so. That casting couch wont get warmed without you. ...Catch something, have you?" he added, looking Fin over with a sneer. "Should be a bit more cautious, Fin. ...Or is it Finlay now?"

Fin didn't answer that, he simply turned away trying to hide the embarrassment he felt as he started walking and brushed off a young woman who tried to stop him for a selfie.

Comments

[kersen]

"Oh... unfortunately I think there is." He was thinking about his maker again. But Kersen managed a smile at Fin. "But nothing relevant for this conversation. Well. You should come by the bar sometime, be my wingman." He was teasing.

[prince_of_nymphs]

"Perhaps I will," Fin smiled. "I imagine I'm not a tempting snack these days."

[kersen]

"Ah... no, afraid not," Kersen said, who realized that he had no desire to drink from Fin. Back to that eerie lack of scent. "I forget, have you seen me perform?"

[prince_of_nymphs]

"I don't think I have, no. It's, um, a drag act? Correct?" Fin asked.

[kersen]

Kersen nodded. "Well, though I sing, rather than lip sync. Usually. Or sometimes I just play the piano, no matter what I'm wearing."

[prince_of_nymphs]

"I see. How did you get into that sort of thing?" Fin asked curiously.

[kersen]

A smile quirked at Kersen's lips. "The truth? Well... remember how when Shakespeare was around, the women's parts were all played by men? It started like that."

[prince_of_nymphs]

Fin hummed thoughtfully at that, then nodded.

"But you kept on with it, so it wasn't just about playing a part," he said, shaking his head thoughtfully. "I'll confess, it's never appealed to me at all, but I am curious. ...When you perform, do you become someone else? Or are you simply you, but in a dress?"

[kersen]

"It's different for others, but... for me, it's not as much a role," he said. "I don't think of myself as a woman, I'm just... a man looking really fabulous. It also gives me confidence."

[prince_of_nymphs]

Fin hummed, nodding a little. He could understand the strength that came from costume, though it was clear that they felt it very differently.

"I put on a costume, and I become that person," Fin admitted. "I vanish into the part, and there's no better feeling in the world. It's nice on film, but better on stage. There's no pauses, no do overs- You're in the part until that curtain drops, and it's glorious."

[kersen]

"Yes," Kersen said, smiling. "Yes, I understand that. Have you been on stage lately? You really were very good in that production of Hamlet I saw you in a few years ago." It was how they'd met; Kersen had recognized him later.

[prince_of_nymphs]

"Not many stage productions were keen to take me on blind. I did some radio dramas and telly though, and more telly now- I do hope to be on stage again soon though. I miss it," Fin confessed.

[kersen]

"I don't suppose you sing," Kersen said with a little smile.

[prince_of_nymphs]

"A little- Not... Not exceptionally well though," he added with a self concious laugh. "Just enough to be passable, I think."

Fin could sing, but he wasn't a terribly confident vocalist.

[kersen]

"Well I'm afraid that's the only type of stage I can offer you," Kersen said. A half smirk. "Unless you have an interest in drag."

[prince_of_nymphs]

"Oh, I don't think I'd make for much of a drag act. Not really my sort of thing," Fin smiled, shaking his head. "Besides, the tabloids have enough to gossip about as it is. I don't really want to give them more reason to pester me."

[kersen]

Kersen would like to think that someone doing drag as a performance art wouldn't be fodder for gossip magazines, but unfortunately he knew that wasn't the case.

"Fair enough," he said. "It must be difficult being in the public eye."

[prince_of_nymphs]

"I'll not pretend I like it," Fin replied, looking slightly uncomfortable. "But I also can't pretend that there's not a small part of me that enjoys being known. ...I spent so long feeling like no one. Nothing. When I first came to London, I had nothing. I slept rough most nights. The people who spat at me, literally stepped over me or shouted insults- They have to look at me now. I'm not invisible, I'm not something to be sniffed at or looked down on. ...There's something very satisfying about that."