happy pride, etc

[papadopoulos]

“Uh, people were killed.”
“No one was killed at Stonewall.”
“No…body…was killed???”
_________________________________________________________

The café is looking much more colorful than it has in the past. Specifically, there are various flags draped on top of the walls – certainly it is much brighter than anything Enjolras would have cared to come up with. Directly behind the pastry case there is a rainbow flag, and scattered around there are a myriad of other pride flags. (Whatever they could scrounge up from the cupboards, basically.) There is also a small table set off to one side, with various types of beaded necklaces and colored bracelets lying atop it. There is also a small flier with descriptions and explanations of what the different flags represent. Explanations of pride in general will be freely offered, as well.

Dionysus has offered up his cd player, though instead of the same music from the party, it is playing songs from various queer artists. There’s a selection ranging from Bowie to Cole Porter to Billie Holiday, including more modern artists such as Lady Gaga, Mika, Queen, and Green Day. Apollo can be found near the music as usual; but he is currently engrossed in making more of the colored bracelets. He is seated at the table with a box full of friendship bracelet making supplies, wearing an artfully cropped version of this shirt, a hyacinth bloom set behind his ear. Dionysus is at a different table, wearing a knee-length sundress of pink, yellow, and blue stripes and one of the beaded bracelets Apollo is making, this one in yellow, white, purple, and black beads. He found a small facepainting palette with a few pride flag options and is willing to offer up his services if anyone happens to want a tiny flag on their cheek (or, well, wherever.)


Let us know if you want Apollo, Dionysus, or both for your threads!

Comments

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lancelot is really just wandering in for a cup of coffee in between his morning drills and his lunch with Susan -- he has a few other things to accomplish, and coffee would help. However, upon seeing that there is ... some kind of set-up, he comes to an abrupt halt, just inside the doorway, glancing around as if trying to figure out what's happened. All of the color, the music, has the effect of making him feel he's stumbled into a party that he didn't even know would take place.

[vineleaves]

Dionysus grins and waves at Lancelot. "Hello dear! Come in, we're celebrating! Have you met my big brother yet?"

[papadopoulos]

“Hey,” Apollo calls with a wave. “Yeah, we met when I first got here. Come on in, we didn’t really mean to take over the whole café.”

[lanselos_du_lac]

"What are you celebrating?"

[vineleaves]

Okay well, now, how to explain this to Lancelot. "Well, in the time period we're from, every year around this time we have what's generally called Pride Month. I mean, the month isn't named that, it's just June, but a lot of people choose to spend June celebrating, well, being proud of who they are, who they're attracted to, that sort of thing. To fight against people who think 'men should dress like men, and only be attracted to women, and women should dress like women and only be attracted to men, and nobody else fits into any other sort of category at all'." He says that last part with a put-on lower, more gruff voice than he usually talks with, then he rolls his eyes. "People have protests where protests are necessary, and they have parties when they need levity and joy, and it's just a lot of good fun."

[papadopoulos]

"Yeah," Apollo agrees. "The flags -- well, they represent different sexualities, or genders, too, and the colors have different meanings." He gestures to his shirt. "In my world -- or, I guess, a lot of worlds, pink and blue generally stand for male and female. So my shirt, as you can see, has pink and blue and purple on it, which means in this case that I'm attracted to both men and women."

[lanselos_du_lac]

"Ah," Lancelot says, thoughtfully. "Bisexual, as Magnus said."

[vineleaves]

"Oh. Yeah." If Dionysus had known Lancelot knew modern terms for things it would have made his explanation a lot easier. "Apollo has a little paper we made up with what all of the different flags mean, if you're curious."

[papadopoulos]

"Yeah," he nods and waves to one of the piles next to him. "There's a whole lot of them; not just for sexualities but whatever gender you might identify as that's out of the ordinary, or other such things."

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lancelot moves to take up one of the papers, glancing it over idly. His tone is thoughtful, a little distant, "Magnus suggested that I was. Bisexual. That was not a word I had, before."

This is not really an accurate representation of what Magnus said to him, but Lancelot also hadn't really been aware that this might be an identity, so there's a lot to consider here.

[vineleaves]

"A lot of these words are relatively new, even by a mortal's standard, so don't feel too bad about it." Not to mention the fact that some of the words have shifted around over the past few decades as well. "And some people don't pick a word anyway, it's not, you know, a requirement, or anything."

[papadopoulos]

“It’s not,” Apollo agrees. “It’s just something we thought people would like to know more about. In my world, uh, there’s a lot of discrimination around stuff like this. Maybe in Sissy’s as well.”

[lanselos_du_lac]

"I suppose in mine as well," looking now at the bracelets, "Rather, it is not spoken of, and someone may come to violence as a result."

He pauses, glancing up and looking thoughtful. After a moment he says, "I suppose that's why I did not know, for certain, my own thoughts on the matter."

[vineleaves]

"It's hard, if you don't even know about something, to form an opinion on it, or to even recognize it as a possibility."

[papadopoulos]

"Yeah. That's --partially why pride has evolved into what it is now; there are a lot of religions and cultures that look down on -- ah, well, differences in sexualities and genders -- and people were tired of hiding. Tired of being ashamed of something that's as natural to them as breathing."

[lanselos_du_lac]

"Things here, at least, seem more free."

[vineleaves]

"It's wonderful, isn't it? I wish it was like this everywhere, for everyone."

[papadopoulos]

He sighs a little. "Yeah, me too. Our world's made a lot of progress, but it's still not as good as it needs to be."

[lanselos_du_lac]

"Here, there are many things possible that were not so in Britain. I'm grateful."

To Dionysus, he says, "Which one, again, is for those who would love both men and women?"

[vineleaves]

Dionysus makes quick, minute eye contact with Apollo, for no reason whatsoever before answering Lancelot, all smiles.

"Ah, if you're looking specifically for bisexual, that's the pink, purple, and blue one. There's also pansexual though, which is being attracted to any gender, that's pink, yellow, and blue," he motions towards the dress he's currently wearing. "They're ah, pretty close in concept."

[papadopoulos]

Apollo is very much not laughing at that look. In fact, he is studiously turning his attention to changing to the next song on their CD player. "Yeah. One's just -- eh, a little more specific? I guess."

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lancelot looks thoughtful, frowning a little as he works out how to put it, or how to ask his question. "Gideon spoke of this-- of those who are neither man nor woman. I don't think I understand, though."

[papadopoulos]

Apollo just seizes the day, to steal a phrase from a musical --and points at his little brother. "Not a lot to understand? You've met Sissy."

[vineleaves]

Dionysus waves. "Not really a man, not really a woman, hell I'm only a god by a technicality, apparently."

It still counts.

"Ah, the short answer though is that bodies aren't always an indicator of what someone's gender is going to be. Or if they'll have one at all. What're you confused about?" It's a genuine question, he wants to help if he can.

[lanselos_du_lac]

None of this is terribly clarifying for Lancelot; he falls silent for a long, perhaps too long, moment. He has an array of questions, but all of them seem rude. He trusts Dionysus, and isn't particularly worried that Dionysus (or Apollo, really) would somehow judge him for asking those questions, and yet -- what business is it of his? If anyone asked him similar questions, he would likely answer them, but would feel that very few here are entitled to know about his body, what he thinks of it, what he thinks of himself. And in truth, Dionysus' answer is information enough. (If nothing else, this is another thing he can learn about from his reading.)

So he doesn't ask. Instead he says, eventually, "I-- that short answer serves. I find, anyway, that these are not the things that primarily concern me, if I am discerning whether or not I might hope to pursue someone."