Logs:Real Good Allies

Real Good Allies
cn: anti-gay slur, antisemitism, ableism
Dramatis Personae Dawson, Jax, Kitty
In Absentia	the past decade "We are not missing this."
Location a long and winding road
june, 2009 The large bulletin board that hangs between the dorm wings is perpetually cluttered, a host of notes and announcements, student clubs and fundraisers and city happenings. Jackson has been studying it with some trepidation for a very long time; it seems to take a concerted gathering of strength before he draws in a breath, takes a step forward to pin up a brightly-colored rainbow-emblazoned flyer to one vaguely free space. He's only barely turned aside from the board when another pair of students are (wholly unnecessarily) shouldering him out of the way to pull it back down, tearing it in half and crumpling the halves to toss to the floor as they continue on toward the boys' hall. "You kidding with this Pride shit? Nobody's going to your fag party." Though Jax's cheeks burn fiercely red, he's just quiet, arms crossing over his chest as he looks down at the ball of paper on the floor. Dawson has just been coming up the stairs -- paused at the top with one hand still on the banister, it's likely he saw this whole exchange. For all his trademark speed, he doesn't actually step forward again until the other boys have moved on, only then moving to Jax's side. His teeth have caught between his lip, his eyes darting after the others before he stoops to pick up the crumpled paper and rest a tentative hand on Jax's shoulder. "I'm sorry, they're..." He trails off, biting at his lip. "Can you print another? This time we'll laminate it." september, 2009 This time Jax has a STACK of palm-card flyers, and a bright smile (a little fixed, a little determined) as he takes a seat at the lunch table. "You don't have to be gay to join one," he's explaining Very Earnestly as he hands the palm cards out. "It's like... it's for anyone. Well, anyone who ain't a jerk about it." Kitty takes one flyer, holds it up to read as she chews on another piece of ravioli. "I guess that's what the S in there is for, right?" she comments, followed by a single, awkward little laugh. Her brow furrows as she scans the flyer, her face visibly falling when she reads the meeting time. "Is that always when you guys are meeting?" The disappointment in her tone is unmistakable. "JSU planning committee usually meets then." Dawson is working his way slowly through an extremely large plate of pasta. It's only after he swallows, wipes his hands on a napkin, that he pulls a flyer closer to his plate. Aside from a very small furrow of brow, there's not much shift in his expression as he studies the details, glancing up from the paper to Kitty and then to Jax. "My weeknights are pretty busy," he sounds just a little dubious, mouth twisting to the side as he looks to Kitty again, "but maybe if we switch up the scheduling we could go together? Everyone's --" Now he hesitates, the downward tip of his head not entirely obscuring the brief flash of guilt in his expression. "I'm not sure Jax should be doing this alone." february, 2010 Neither the early-morning hour nor the bite in the air have dimmed Dawson's enthusiasm at all. He's wide-eyed, smile eager but voice quiet, breath frosting in the air where he's just settled down long enough to take a seat on a downed tree trunk. "-- Right there, see? By that leaf pile." He's handing his binoculars over to Jax. "They aren't like most woodpeckers, they do a lot of their hunting with insects on the ground." Jax has, admittedly, not been all that focused on the birds, while out here. He's been very raptly focused on Dawson, and as he reaches to take the binoculars, fingers brushing up against the other boy's, his cheeks pinken -- only now does he look away, Very Studiously busying himself looking through them. "I can see why these are your favourite. I mean, they don't -- they don't look like much at first, do they? But you get to payin' some attention an'..." His blush is deepening. "Just -- just real striking once you really see 'em." june, 2010 Flicker does not look ready for any kind of festivities, bland and unassuming in a neat grey polo and jeans. "-- I'm sorry," he's saying, a little awkwardly, to the others, "it's just -- I forgot about this church thing I'm supposed to..." This trails off as he rubs the back of his neck. "You all have fun, okay?" Jax is vivid in (a little patchily) rainbow-dyed hair, rainbow-heart-decorated tee under his flower-patched black shortalls, glittery rainbow laces on his Chucks, but the sudden disappointment inscribed on his expression does not match his carefully cheerful aesthetic. "Oh -- oh," his brows are knitting, shoulders slumping slightly. "But -- we been planning -- I mean, of course that's -- okay, I just... thought..." Her bangs, longer now that she's spent an hour flat-ironing her hair, hides the irritation that flashes in Kitty's eyes. "Sure," she says after a moment, "We'll bring you a goodie bag." She brushes on a final swipe of glittery blush to her cheeks, snapping the makeup palette shut. Her homemade "PROUD ALLY" t-shirt is covered in rainbow glittery fabric paint, only shedding slightly when Kitty hoists her backpack onto her shoulders. "Come on," she says to Jax, firmly ignoring Flicker now. "We are not missing this." april, 2014 There is a snapping sound, followed by a muttered swear. Kitty stares dejectedly at another broken hair tie, the exposed white-rubber interior standing out against the X-Man uniform. She shoves it into a pocket, pulls her curls back to the crown of her head for a second try. "Just because I'm not straight doesn't mean it would kill my hair to be-" She stops speaking mid-sentence, looking up with wide eyes at the others in the hanger. "Uh." A nervous, slightly distressed smile. "Surprise?" "Wait, you're not --" Flicker freezes with one arm shrugged into his jacket, brows lifted and eyes a little wider. "I mean, that's --" His cheeks flush deep crimson, head ducking. "Huh," comes first, and only a moment later, quick and contrite, "Sorry, no, I mean, that's cool." Jax pivots on a heel halfway up the ramp up into the Blackbird, his eye wider and -- at a beat of delay -- a warm smile brightening his expression. "Wait, you kidding? For real for real? Ohmygosh, that's -- I didn't -- have you --" His palm scrubs against the side of his face, hands dropping to clasp together after as he bounces up onto his toes. "Thank God we got a bit of a flight 'cuz we got a lot to talk about." june, 2014 There's a bright glitter to Jax's ombre-rainbow hair, his makeup intricate and impeccable enough it's likely aided by a touch of illusion, silvery mesh tee over his tight rainbow tank, jeans that look like they may have been painted on together with his stompy metallic-rainbow boots. There's a little bit of restless bounce in his posture, though he's doing his level best not to just cave and tug Kitty out the door. "-- an' I think you'd really love this burlesque troupe they're seriously amazing -- it should be over in time to make the Illusions dance party if y'ain't wholly tuckered out by then." At her desk, Kitty is anxiously fixing her eyeliner, the humid air coaxing curls back into her meticulously straightened hair. Her hands pull at her top, a unisex Columbia Pride tee that she has tried to hem into a more flattering crop top, then at the waistband of her high waisted shorts. "If I get tired, put me on a coffee IV drip." She finally drops the eyeliner pencil and grabs her purse, giving Jax a big grin as she steps out the door. "This weekend, you have to show me absolutely everything." december, 2014 It's a frosty afternoon outside. Kitty's face is red from the cold, some snow falling from the edges of her hat and scarf as she pulls them off. The greeter at the door is cheerily giving her the pitch. "- and so right now we're working with a human group about getting a third gender marker on New York IDs, and they're helping us push for a version of the Washington state anti-discrimination laws-" The greeter stops suddenly, as Kitty removes her coat, eyes trained on the golden Magen David pendant resting against her collarbone. "Sorry," the greeter says, her tone suddenly icy. "We don't really tolerate Zionism here. It's kind of against our mission statement." Across from her, Kitty's confused expression slowly shifts as she realizes. "Oh." Just past the table where Jax has been tugging his scarf off, balling it up to tuck it inside his knit hat, his expression is at first only confused as well. "Huh? Who mentioned..." He looks from the greeter to Kitty, brows furrowing; it takes several beats longer than Kitty before he puts this together. At first his lips just thin, a noticeable discomfort in his suddenly stiffer posture. But he steps forward a moment later, a quiet heat buried in his voice. "You got any idea how many churches support Israel? Guess it's a big mystery why you ain't never given me that litmus test." His brows are still knit as he looks back to Kitty. "I'm sorry, I had no --" This sentence dies half-formed; he shifts a moment later, instead: "You wanna stay, or you wanna find some group that ain't bigots?" october, 2019 It's quiet in the back of the Blackbird, or as quiet as it can be with the engine rumbling. Kitty is slumped in a seat, some ash from the fires still dusting her face and hair, scrolling through her phone like it's an unavoidable chore. Her eyes open a wee bit more as something crosses her feed. "Captain America just came out." There is a small edge of excitement, but not enough to really rouse her from her spot. A moment later, she bolts up straight, way more excited, energy returning to her with the news. "Jax. Flicker just came out." "What?" Eye dragging up from his own phone screen, at first there's not a lot of comprehension breaking through Jax's soot-smudged and exhausted face. A moment later he's glancing over towards Kitty's phone, quickly switching his own from Facebook to Twitter. It takes a few more moments of scrolling before his eye opens wide, pierced brows hiking. "What," is a little more startled, mouth briefly actually agape. He covers it with his hand a moment later, staring down at his screen. "Gosh but he's full'a surprises." His voice is soft, a bit more subdued than Kitty's. "Gotta admit it woulda been real nice to know that ten years ago, but --" A little bit small, a little bit rueful, but a smile does eventually make its way onto his face. His hand turns up; above it, for a moment, an image blossoms to life, bright and colorful -- a flicker, wings spread in flight; rather than red or yellow the flash of color beneath its speckled wings is a bold pink-purple-blue. january, 2020 The flyers up by the door read X-TRA GLAM, and though it isn't technically a Club Night at Evolve the space has been set up for an extremely colorful karaoke night. Among the many eclectic wardrobes, bright makeup, overly dramatic song renditions, Flicker seems almost out of place in his crisp button-down and khakis. Despite having been onstage earlier with a more-or-less passable rendition of MIKA's "Grace Kelly", it's not until right about now that he's actually started looking uncomfortable. The man who is talking to him now (standing just a bit Too Close, paying not much attention at all with how Flicker's shoulders have tightened up under his over-familiar drape of arm) has just drawn fingers lightly down Flicker's brightly feather-patterned limb, and though he can't actually feel the touch on the lightweight plastic it still puts a noticeable tension in Flicker's fixed-polite expression. "-- keep it on or off?" the other man is plowing ahead with demanding to know all the same, "I mean, it'd be kind of hot either way." The man's arm suddenly drops through Flicker, to his obvious surprise. Kitty, short as she is, has slid up unnoticed, one hand resting lightly on Flicker's other arm. "That seems quite forward, don't you think?" There is an edge to her tone, though her face is fixed into a tight smile. "Feels like you should work on reading body language, first. Then ask about removing body parts." She inserts herself in between the two men, a more genuine smile now as she faces Flicker. "Come on. I need a tenor for 'You're the One that I Want'." june, 2020 It's certainly a much smaller crowd than it was last year, but after the trials of this springtime, gathering still feels like a victory, a cathartic and defiant exuberance in the air. Dawson has got a seat high up on a scaffolding bar, a good view of the rainbow-festooned marching band currently making their way down the street. He may not look quiet as bold as some here -- green-trimmed grey polo, neatly pressed khakis -- but his smile is bright, as is the small pink-purple-blue striped enamel heart pinned to his chest as he reaches a hand down to help his friend with the climb. Kitty takes Dawson's hand gratefully, pulling herself up and over the scaffolding. Her hair is let out for once, brown curls bouncing in the breeze. "You sure you don't want some glitter?" Her eyebrows wiggle for a moment before she laughs. Her look, shortalls embroidered with a rainbow Magen David over fishnet tee, does not necessarily go with pink, purple, and blue eyeshadow, but the liberal application of pink body glitter over her face and collar certainly matches. "Baby's first Pride, you gotta be a little extra." Over on Dawson's other side, Jax is just swinging his legs freely, his smile as bright as his glittery ensemble. It only brightens when Kitty offers Extra Glitz, scooting a little bit closer to Dawson and holding up one finger as he wiggles his phone out of his pocket. His other hand lifts from where he's been clinging onto the crossbar; for a moment he's just trusting the others' weight to hold him steady as he leans in closer, a bold splash of glittery makeup painting itself across Dawson's face and all their outfits enshrined in a softly glowing rainbow halo as he holds his phone out, tapping its screen to capture the moment.