Feminine Wiles
A Rule 63 Fanfic by Avelera
Rule 63: The proposition that there are always one or more female depictions of any male fictional character, and one or more male depictions of any female fictional character, particularly in the form of unofficial images that can be found on the Internet.
Author Note: This story is based on the fandom "Rule 63", that every character must be genderswapped. As this is a story-wide genderswap, every character that was male is now female and vice-versa, and by extrapolation Centauri society is now female dominated. As Babylon 5 is so delightfully egalitarian, most everything else remains essentially the same. In addition, I'm keeping Delenn's name the same, even though she is now male, because Minbari society is fairly gender-neutral.
This scene takes place during "The Quality of Mercy" in Season 1, when Londo gets the idea that Lennier's skill at probability would make him an asset at the gaming table. As female Londo would not be able to cheat in his usual way, other tools are necessary in order to gain the advantage.
Londra seemed excited at the prospect of introducing Lennari to this important method of interstellar understanding known as poh-kah. As a result, Lennari didn't protest as Londra dragged her from the dancing club just as another Centauri male wearing a form-fitting coat and little else took the stage.
"Now before we play, we will have to stop by my quarters," Londra said as she pulled Lennari behind her through the halls.
"I assume this is something that will aid in my cultural lesson?" Lennari said tentatively.
"Oh yes. We are going into battle, my dear, and so you must have the proper armor." Londra's smirk seemed at odds with the serious nature of her words, but Lennari understood that Centauri had a different approach to warfare than the Minbari. Perhaps one of these differences included a sense of humor? Or perhaps this poh-kah was indeed a violent game.
Once in her quarters, Londra went straight to her closet and began rummaging through, tossing shifts and gowns this way and that onto her bed while muttering to herself.
"Ambassador, I don't understand how…"
"Ah, this should do!" Londra whipped out a gown of shiny red silk and held it up to Lennari's slight form. "Hmm, still a bit too large," she said, worrying her bottom lip her pointed canines, "…But that's what corsets were made for."
"Corsets…?" Lennari said weakly. "Ambassador, I really must protest. I have heard of these Centauri corsets, and you have to understand we Minbari don't—"
"Nonsense, you will look fabulous. Now, strip!" Londra snapped good-naturedly. She held the dress up against Lennari, closing one eye then the other as she took mental measurements, while the small Minbari girl gaped at her.
"Ambassador, I…that is…"
Londra lowered the dress and arched a frank eyebrow at Lennari. "You wanted to learn of Centauri culture, yes? My people conquered the galaxy with these. It is an important cultural touchstone. Furthermore, if you don't strip by the time I count to three, I will come over there and take that horrid smock off you myself. Do you understand?"
"Ambassador…"
"One…"
Lennari blanched. "That will be unnecessary, uh, just a minute," she stammered. She turned her back and began removing what Londra had called her "smock" until she stood in only her simple white undergarments.
"Hmm, a bit skinny, but nothing I can't work with," said Londra, clucking her tongue as she tugged the silk gown over Lennari's head. Lennari looked down and blushed as the bodice of the gown opened in a wide swoop that stopped just short of the tips of her breasts.
"This seems…highly inappropriate," Lennari said desperately, bringing her arms up to cover herself. Londra turned back to the closet, and resumed tossing items aside. Suddenly she gave a satisfied grunt and whipped out a black corset with golden embroidery, gave it a critical once-over, and wrapped it around Lennari's waist.
"This one is a bit old, so it should fit you well enough. Hmm, and it is out of fashion, but who will notice on a Minbari?" Londra muttered. She maneuvered behind Lennari, making quick work of the lacings that ran up the back of the garment. "You have a nice figure, I will give you that. Now, suck in your stomach." Londra gave Lennari a slap on the rear. Lennari gave a startled yelped, sucking in her breath just as Londra drew the lacings tight. Before she could recover her composure, Londra moved around to the front again.
"Is it supposed to look like this?" Lennari said dazedly. Her breasts were pressed flat against her body and the dress hung askew under the bindings of the corset. It was also difficult to breathe, though not as much as she had feared.
"Tch, no of course not. There are still a few minor adjustments we have to make first. If I may?" Londra said, making a grabbing motion with her hands.
"What else is there to do?" said Lennari.
"Well, first things first. The beauty of a corset is that even as petite a figure of yours can be brought into, shall we say, full bloom?" Lennari gave a squeak as Londra shoved her hands down the front of her dress. She began rummaging around, then wrapped her fingers around each breast and scooped them up to perch at the top of the corset.
"Oh, don't be embarrassed. This isn't for my benefit after all. We just want them nice and visible for the gaming table, yes?" She gave Lennari's breasts a little fluff as if they were pillows and withdrew her hands. Lennari's breasts were now pressed high and round against her chest. Londra placed a finger to her lips, studying. Lennari squirmed under her gaze. "Yes. Yes, I think that will do quite nicely." She bent to rearrange the silk where it had bunched beneath the corset then straightened again. "You know, you are quite cute for a Minbari."
"Ambassador, what does this have to do with this po-kah game you were telling me about? This…dress, and my skills with probability don't seem to have anything to do with one another!"
"My good, dear friend Lennari," said Londra, putting an arm around Lennari's shoulder. "The dress is only meant to serve as a distraction. Once we have found the proper table it will keep the men's minds and their, ah, attributes focused on you. Then it will be a simple matter to win the game once their brains are leaking out there ears.
Lennari nodded slowly. "So, you're saying this is something of a military strategy?"
"Precisely! Trust me, we Centauri women understand these things. Men cannot think clearly in the presence of a pretty face. That's how the women came to rule Centauri Prime in the first place, and why we still do to this day."
"Strange, we Minbari haven't given preference to either sex since the time of Valen. Did you know that in all five dialects of Minbari, the word female—"
A look of panic flitted across Londra's face. "Yes, yes I'm sure. But we must hurry, or we will not get a good table. Now, once we are there I want you to take a lot of very deep breaths. Oh, and lean forward when drawing a card or placing a bet, do you understand?"
"No, but understanding is not required if you say this will improve our strategy." Lennari looked down, smoothing her hands across the front of the corset. "Though taking deep breaths will be a bit difficult in this contraption."
"Well, it is always important to get enough oxygen to the brain. So be sure that they are very deep breaths like this," Londra's rather impressive endowments rose and fell like a wave within the confinement of her dress. A confinement which, Lennari was relieved to see, courageously held against the onslaught. It occurred to her that the corset wasn't the only one who had trouble keeping Londra contained.
"I see," Lennari said, taking a deep, meditative breath. She closed her eyes, concentrating the muscles of her chest and shoulders to augment the movement. "Like this?" When she opened her eyes, Londra was giving her a wide, toothy smile.
"Yes, that will do quite nicely. They won't know what hit them."
Lennari did not fully understand that statement. After all, if the men with whom they played poh-kah with did not understand what hit them, then they were obviously not paying attention. Apparently, Londra hiding cards between her breasts was against some of the rules, and their fellow players took offense to this. And while it was a bit more difficult to fight with the corset restricting her movements, the elbow to the gut and hard jab to the face caused sufficient confusion that she was able to slip away with Londra. Apparently, Human men did not expect to be taken out in a matter of seconds by a girl as tiny as Lennari, a clear oversight in their training.
In the end, Londra allowed her to keep the dress. Perhaps out of gratitude for helping her save face, or perhaps she simply forgot. Either way, Lennari carefully place the silk gown and bodice into her own closet, and as she did so she could not help but run a wistful hand down the fabric, and wonder if Delenn would have found her beautiful in it as well.
Author Note: I hope you enjoyed my silly little story. If so, please consider leaving a review!