Kir McLeod
July 17, 2020 10:52 PM
Life's a drag by Kir McLeod
Kir looked at the assembled company in his living room. The arrivals and parental introductions and offering of snacks and so on had all been done, and now they had been left to get down to business.It was really cool having the old gang back together. Well, sort of… Connor wasn’t around, and a few of the other faces had changed since Kir’s day, plus Lyssa Fitzgerald had joined the party but not the ranks of the DnD group. Apparently, she was more than willing to come to a drag show, and Ness was more than a little bit keen on inviting her. He had noticed that his sibling’s sulky teenage mood, which had been a prevailing force of the holidays, had lifted considerably with the arrival of more friends, but with Lyssa in particular. He wasn’t trying to read into the fact that this had also coincided with CJ being banished to their aunts’ house for the afternoon. Not that drag and dressing up were unsuitable for someone CJ’s age – drag queen story hour was an absolute force of brilliance – but it just had seemed like it would be easier not to juggle those responsibilities.
He was super excited to play D&D again tomorrow, but also for that evening’s event. It was semi a fundraiser, but the cost was ‘pay by donation’ because the real goal was a space that was safe and accessible for anyone who needed it. The holidays could be rough, and it was nice to spread a little cheer. It was also a good chance to give out McLeod Foundation business cards, specially imbued with Floo powder and easy to keep in a pocket for anyone who decided home was not the place they wanted to spend the holidays. It could suck really badly if you spend too long thinking about the underlying reasons why they did what they did but it made his heart happy that his friends were all coming out to support what his family did – not that that might have been their main motivation, he knew, but they were here, willing to embrace this crazy world, and to do this too. He felt a little bad by how surprised he was at Parker, Gary and (possibly) Heinrich’s willingness to don drag (he had the impression that the latter was still on the fence but the former two were absolutely up for it).
“It’s good to see you all again,” he beamed, even though he’d said to all of them at least once already, but it really was, “Okay, so just in case you don’t know… Tonight’s party is a drag party. That means there’s a performance, which my friend James and I will be taking part in, and the audience is also welcome to dress up – but they don’t have to. We want a space where everyone gets to feel happy and relaxed, which means different things for different people. If you choose to dress up, you won’t be the only one. If you choose not to, you won’t be the only one. If you choose to just experiment with a little bit of glitter and a feather boa, you won’t be the only one. There’s going to be a broad range. The most important part is that you’re happy in what you wear.
“It’s an under eighteens party, so the only thing we ask is that outfits are not sexually explicit – maybe more ballgowns than bon- er, other things,” he rephrased. “There’s a few pictures from past parties up here if you want to come and see what kind of things people wear.
I’ve brought some stuff for you all to borrow – more on the Queening side of things, though I think there’s a general dress up box with hats and suspenders and things for Kings.
“Drag safety, please, please, please do not try to Transfigure anything more than nails or hair. You can do yourself a lot of damage. We’ve got plenty of padding,” he could also teach them to tuck if they really wanted, but he was probably going to wait to be asked on that front. He was pretty sure there was nothing that would put the guys in the room off drag quite so fast as learning what that involved. “Also, as drag queen hair tends to be pretty big, styled and outlandish, you may be better off using a wig rather than trying to extend and then style your own hair, especially if you’re not familiar with how to get style and volume.
“Everything here, you can go to town on, in terms of changing the colours, adjusting the fit or style. This my drag file,” he held up a pink glittery ring binder. “It has sections on pretty much everything – hair, make-up, body, clothes – and has my notes on spells I’ve found useful as well as tutorials from different magazines. I’m also more than happy to help – sometimes it’s easier to learn by seeing than by reading.
“Okay, let’s get cracking!” he grinned.
OOC – I’m setting this up like a class thread so that people can post and break into smaller conversations. You may god-mod Kir lightly, saying he gave you advice or tag him if you want more in depth discussions. Thinking it will work like DnD with one main thread but the option to branch of. As you wish, princesses.
Subthreads: What have I gotten myself into? [Ness] by Gary Harper with Ness McLeod, Kir McLeod, Lyssa Fitzgerald
Um, so I'm going to do this a little differently (Evelyn) by Heinrich Hexenmeister with Evelyn Stones
Making a friend? I hope? (Tag Evelyn) by Lyssa Fitzgerald with Evelyn Stones
Life is never a drag... but I am looking forward to being closer to loved ones (specifically one) by Parker Fitzgerald with Gary Harper
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Kir McLeod
Life's a drag
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Parker Fitzgerald
July 24, 2020 2:22 PM
Life is never a drag... but I am looking forward to being closer to loved ones (specifically one) by Parker Fitzgerald
The yard was nice. Like really nice. As they walked up Parker made a few mental notes on some things he'd like to add or changes he could make, but also things he'd want to research and copy. He'd found himself doing that more and more recently. It was actually fun. Like a puzzle he could solve and visualize.Then they walked into the house. The house was... warm. Not heat wise, but visually warm. Like you felt wrapped in a hug as you walked in. Parker let out a whistle. This house was big to be sure, but it gave one the feeling of coming home even though it wasn't his home. Given that this was a Wizarding house and his home was a Muggle home, the dichotomy felt odd. Still he loved it. After a few moments of uncertainty he simply went with it.
All of his current friends at Sonora were here. It was awesome to see all of them in one place. He smiled at Kir as well. It was good to see him, and yet it also caused him a little bit of ache. He wished that he could have asked about inviting Cleo. After all the talk his mom had given him and the number of times he'd gotten even Lyssa to say, "No Cleo at the sleep over", he still wanted her there. Having her there would be like tying all his favorite things together. Also, he imagined Cleo might enjoy learning DnD. He wasn't sure, but he could see her getting involved. Sitting inside with a cup of coco rolling dice and slaying imaginary monsters to take their minds off of real ones.
Kir gave a good speech. He'd never seen a drag show, but felt like, why not just go with it. The idea of different types of outfits was something Parker hadn't thought of. He had only ever seen Ru Paul's Drag Show as an idea of what this might look like. So the idea that some people might not be dressed up at all had not even crossed into his mind. Parker wasn't planning on doing that. He was planning on having fun. What was the worst that could happen? A few good times and good laughs before heading back and playing a longer DnD session.
Then Kir mentioned ballgowns. Floods of feelings poured into Parkers mind. He didn't hear the rest of what Kir was saying because he was thinking about Cleo and how beautiful she'd looked last year at the ball. That led to him thinking about how smart and brave she was for all she'd done at the ball. Parker felt his chest grow heavy. He wished that he was spending the evening with Cleo. That he was getting have a sleep over with her. He looked around the house. It was still cheerful but suddenly it seemed less homey and more lonely. Like he was outside while everyone else was inside the warmth.
Parker went to the boxes and started looking through clothes, but stopped after a bit. He felt he would do well in whatever was left. Instead he sat back in a chair and just watched everyone, wondering what Cleo was doing, wishing that cellphones and texting worked in the Wizarding world.
Then he saw Evelyn come back in with Heinrich. Suddenly he had an idea. He wondered if the note books worked at distance. That could be like texting! He made a mental note to send one to Cleo for Christmas and then test it out at his house and at the school. And if they ended up not going to the same university then they could message that way too. He practically jumped up out of the chair. He was once again jubilant and went to the box with renewed determination. He was going to have fun and then be able to tell Cleo all about it. Either via owl, notebook or more hopefully, in person.
He picked up what looked like a dress and turned around to the closest person.
"umm... where do we try things on? I'm assuming we're not supposed to strip in your living room."
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Parker Fitzgerald
Life is never a drag... but I am looking forward to being closer to loved ones (specifically one)
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Gary Harper
August 02, 2020 6:56 PM
You're not talking about me, right? by Gary Harper
Well, that had gone... interestingly. Between Ness and Lyssa's ideas Gary now found himself with an armload of feminine warrior attire, including a huge foam sword. All things considered, they'd been awful nice to him. Well, he also assumed that any chainmail bikinis were in Kir's 'offlimits' box. That was a thought he really didn't want to have in his brain. He shook his head in a vain attempt to purge that mental image that was in the process of painfully searing it's way through his mind.Fortunately Parker distracted him as he walked past. "My living room? No, you'd better not, but it's pretty far from here so I think you're safe." He grinned at Parker. "Ness told me there was a room over this way we were supposed to use." Adjusting his grip on his load, he gestured towards a door. "Come on, I may need a hand with some of this stuff." Then he trundled on towards the indicated door.
Nudging it open, he stepped inside and dropped his load in a corner. Armor bits, padding, under clothes, accessories and a pink wig fell to the floor and sprawled about. With his arms now unburdened, he looked at the pile and scratched his head. "Where do you start with all of this stuff?" he muttered, "with the bottom layer I guess." He began removing his shirt and pants and mentally reviewed how things had been going so far.
Pretty good he thought. Ness and Lyssa were both being really nice, and he was pretty sure he had seen some looks shoot between the two of them. Maybe Lyssa was in on Evelyn's plan after all. That would make this all the easier, if she was already game for seeing where things had the potential to go. Hopefully he was making a good impression so far. She certainly was on him. This could be an interesting evening indeed.
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Gary Harper
You're not talking about me, right?
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Parker Fitzgerald
August 03, 2020 6:09 PM
No, but I do think we should talk. by Parker Fitzgerald
Parker laughed as Gary responded.“Umm ya, that would be quiet the change of pace I imagine,” Parker said, “Sorry I was in my head. You don’t live here… right? I’m a bit confused by who actually lives here and who doesn’t.”
He’d seen Evelyn walk out of the room with a confidence that she knew where she was going and had a place to do it. And when she’d returned, it was just as confident. Parker thought of all the places he felt that confident and Sonora dorms and his own house were the only two that came to mind.
He looked at Gary’s arms. “I feel like i’m going to be underdressed compared to you, “ Parker said holding up the green summer dress he’d found. “But I’ll be glad to help. Us newbies should probably help each other out.” Having Gary here for this activity had calmed Parker down quite a bit. Once he’d realized that someone else who was a guy who he felt he could talk to easily, Parker was more excited about… whatever this was really about to become.
“Sure, I’ll help where I can.”
Parker walked in behind Gary and looked up to see him already taking off his clothes. Parker shrugged and started taking off his clothes as well and pulled the dress over his head. He felt a bit weird. The dress didn’t fit the same way as a lot of his own clothes, but he assumed that was kind of the point. He took the head band he’d found at the bottom of the box and pushed his hair back so it was held with it up. Seemed to work.
He took out his wand and transfigured it so it looked a bit like it was made out of green leaves to match his green dress. Parker smiled a bit. He felt like he might look like one of those garden fairies in books his mom used to read to Lyssa when she was younger.
“I wish I could take a photo of this outfit and send it to Cleo to see what she thinks,” Parker said as he walked over to Gary to help him if necessary since his outfit was basically done now. “Sometimes I just wish certain non-wizard tech was available ya know?”
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Parker Fitzgerald
No, but I do think we should talk.
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Gary Harper
August 03, 2020 6:43 PM
Yeah, you're probably right. by Gary Harper
"Me? Nah, I'm outside of Chicago at the moment." He considered the situation, "But, I guess that'll change after this year is over. Then I'll be moving to Colorado to go to MENTAL." He had debated staying at home and 'commuting', but he was an adult now as far as the wizarding world considered him, so he figured it'd be as good a time as any to finally set out on his own. "Well," he amended his statement, "That is assuming RATS go well anyway. Then it's just a matter of eeking out some level of existence while learning all about magical architecture." He shot Parker a grin, "Do you have your plans all set?""Newbies?" Gary asked with mock affront to his dignity while he looked at something Ness had tossed on the pile. "What makes you think I'm a newbie at this?" What the heck was this bit for? He turned it around in his hands, looked at it from a number of different angles before he slapped himself on the forehead, "It's the baldric for the sword! I thought it was for..." His voice trailed off, "Nevermind. I have no idea what I'm doing."
He wrapped the padded undergarments around his chest and struggled to reach the clasp at his back, "How in the blazes do these things work?" He griped and turned to face Parker who was already ready to go, "Yeah... I'm going to need help. You look nice though... I guess?" He wasn't really sure how comfortable he was in making any judgement calls along those lines. He knew there were people that were attracted to other people with the same biological configuration as them, and that was fine, but he wasn't one of them.
"Call it a hunch," Gary speculated, "but knowing Kir, I'm pretty sure there will be some sort of picture taking going on tonight. You may well get your chance." The statement gave him a little pause, "How is Cleo doing?" Gary had never run in the same circles as Cleo, or really any circles at all, but asking after her seemed like the polite thing to do.
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Gary Harper
Yeah, you're probably right.
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Parker Fitzgerald
August 03, 2020 7:17 PM
Wait... are you MENTAL? Maybe I want to be MENTAL too... by Parker Fitzgerald
Parker opened his mouth like a fish. Gary was going to do Magical architecture? Had he known that? Parker liked to count Gary as a friend, but he didn't feel like he knew this very important information. Important only because he might be able to help."You are interested in architecture? You know my dad is an architect right? Not a Wizarding one... I don't think. But many of the ideas I would imagine are the same... except when making buildings bigger on the inside than the out, secret passages and having to do things to get into different dorm rooms. Maybe that's just Sonora. This house doesn't seem to have any coded rooms. Then again, I've not seen a lot of it... anyways, if you'd like I can ask my dad about helping you out... if you want."
"I... do not have a plan really. But I really want to do landscape architecture. I've been reading a lot about it, and I think it's something that Wizards might actually pay for as well... Maybe I should look at MENTAL. It's in Colorado... so close to Cleo. If they have an architecture program then the probably have something around landscape architecture..."
Parker's voice trailed off as his mind started to run ahead. It actually made a lot of sense. MENTAL seemed to be a good place both for his life life and his possible future money making life. He wasn't sure where Cleo would end up or if she'd even be in Colorado, but Parker felt if he was in Colorado her father could get to know him a bit better and hopefully not be as... mean wasn't the right word, but scared?
He might have to talk to Killian more about it.
"Who knows, maybe we'd go in together on a business, you do the insides I do the outsides. Land and Home, architecture for your whole property," Parker laughed. Ok, now he really was throwing out some fun and outlandish ideas. Though not as outlandish as Gary's outfit. How had Ness talked him into it?
Parker walked up behind Gary and helped get the clasp attached. It wasn't easy. Parker was a bit awkward with it, but he got it there. He just hoped he wasn't going to be the one having to take it off, cause lord knows how long that might take.
"Ya, being a man is slightly easier in many regards, clothes is one of them," Parker said backing away from Gary, "plus none of these have pockets... I still don't understand that little bit of stupidity."
"Heh. You're probably right. Though I was going to ask her opinion before I got all done up. Not so much in the easy back and forth communication yet with Wizards. An owl can't get to her and back, and I really don't want to send something through the flue, especially a picture of me in drag in case her dad got to it first." Parker shook his head imagining Cleo's fathers reaction to such a photo.
How was Cleo? Parker thought about Gary's question. He wasn't sure how much Gary knew about Cleo and her current plans. He actually wasn't sure how much Gary knew about Cleo to begin with besides the fact that Parker liked and was now dating Cleo.
"Cleo is doing good. She's enjoying herself and growing sunflowers as she prepares for university," Parker smiled, thinking of their challenge.
"What about you? Anyone interesting back in Chicago?" Parker paused, perhaps that's how Ness talked Gary into that outfit. It would explain a lot, but Parker was worried. What if Ness and Gary were a thing, that could devastate Lyssa, Parker thought. "Or someone at school?"
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Parker Fitzgerald
Wait... are you MENTAL? Maybe I want to be MENTAL too...
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Gary Harper
August 04, 2020 4:32 PM
Who wouldn't want to be MENTAL? by Gary Harper
Gary nodded in response to Parker's question. Hadn't he told Parker before? He was pretty sure Parker had given him the idea to start with. His eyes went a bit wide when Parker mentioned his father and possible help. "That would be great. I would think that magical architecture still needs to rely on some of the same baselines that the muggle style does." He paused and thought for moment, "Probably... honestly, who knows at this point." He grinned, "Thanks for the offer. I may have to dig into MENTAL's program a bit and see what I can find on that level of crossover.""I'm pretty sure you're the one that gave me the idea, but I've been building dungeons and wizard's towers for so long now," he shrugged, "I figured why not do it for real?" Another aspect of working with Parker's father struck him. Things weren't going bad with Lyssa so far... if things kept going good, being on good terms with her father wouldn't be a bad thing.
"You've got a way with plants," Gary said approvingly, "It sounds like a good route for you. Not just for pretty yards either. Some of those magical plants need very special growing conditions." He'd dropped herbology but he could still remember what Professor Xavier had taught them. "If you can figure out a good way to improve the output of some of those plants, you'd be in high demand."
Gary's face broke out in a huge grin when Parker mentioned looking into MENTAL. "Yeah, check it out. I think I remember seeing something along those lines. Ask Mr. Row..." Suddenly, Gary's voice hushed and he glanced around the room as if making sure no one was listening in. "Just, be a little careful. He's more than he seems." He gave Parker a wink then resumed his normal voice again.
"It would be awesome if you went there as well. We'd both at least know one other person then, and I'd have at least one guaranteed good player for whatever game I try to get going over there." Then another idea struck him, "Hey! I'm going to be getting an apartment over there, if you decide to come along and want a roommate, just let me know. It'll make rent a lot cheaper."
Gary chuckled along with Parker's laugh at their future business. "Nope, that sounds good. We're going to do that. 'Fitzgerald and Harper, Home and Garden. You dream it, we'll design it.' Well..." he amended, "again, assuming RATS go well anyway. You worried about them at all?"
He squirmed a bit as Parker worked that stupid clasp to try and help he wasn't sure it did. The whole thing just felt weird. "Yeah, no joke." Then he looked up, "No pockets? What? Why in the blazes would..." He began rooting through his own pile of clothing and came up empty. "What evil person would deprive anyone of pockets? They're one of the greatest inventions of mankind. What the heck? Where are girls supposed to keep their dice?"
A smirk found it's way onto his face as Parker ruminated about Cleo's dad getting an image of Parker all 'done up'. That reminded him of his earlier thought about making a good impression on Lyssa's dad, making one on her brother wouldn't hurt either, and he was standing here in a green dress. "Gotta watch out for those dads of pretty girls." He chuckled a bit as he pulled the undershirt on and started donning the leggings from the pile. "I remember last summer when I went to visit Jasmine. Meeting her dad was one of the most nerve wracking parts of the trip."
He nodded at Parker's response to Cleo's current situation. It sounded nice, and it seemed to make Parker happy. He nearly snorted at the question about Chicago. "No way. Not back home, I wasn't the most social person when I was there full time. Now that I'm gone most of the time, I don't even really know anyone in the area." Then Parker probed some more.
Or someone at school?
Did he know? He might... if Lyssa had been in on this arrangement, then she might have told her big brother about it. Maybe she asked Parker about him. He thought a moment as he buckled the long metallic skirt about his waist. Parker might have the answers he needed, but something was holding him back. Lyssa and Ness were friends, and Ness hated the patriarchy with a passion that burned brighter than the sun. Which admittedly, if the patriarchy had denied women pockets, they deserved whatever was coming their way. However, checking in with 'big brother' may be seen as some sort of evil patriarchal ritual and that wouldn't go over well.
Gary bobbled his head in a noncommittal fashion. "There may be some potential, but nothing certain yet. Maybe I'll have some news for you later on that front."
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Gary Harper
Who wouldn't want to be MENTAL?
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