love is patient, love is kind [gsa]

[Deleted]

This was it. Tonight was the night. Nerves shot through Imogen's body like bolts of lightning, but she also couldn't help but feel excited. Being asked to be the sponsor of the Gay-Straight Alliance wasn't something that she had expected, but apparently the rumor that she was queer had traveled fairly fast; the one day she had colored her hair rainbow for class probably hadn't helped. At any rate, the GSA's captain - a Gryffindor girl named Cecelia who honestly scared Imogen with how wan she looked - had approached the young professor about being the club's sponsor, since the club's last sponsor was now working on building a different organization. The requirements for being a sponsor were actually few; Cecelia had been meticulous about her plans, and all that Imogen had to do was make sure no school rules were broken and offer a place for the meeting to be held. Dinner had finished not that long ago, so she was expecting students to start trickling in through the propped-open door any moment now. Cecelia had promised that she would get there early, but so far the girl was nowhere in sight. Imogen knew that Cecelia was a prefect, and that gave her a bit of an excuse for being busy, but the professor was still of the opinion that people (especially Gryffindors) shouldn't take on more responsibilities than they could handle. She raked her hand through her hair - once again colored rainbow - nervously as she wondered if the meeting was just a hoax, some sort of prank on the poor, foolish, transgender teacher. Imogen hoped not, but paranoia was called irrational for a reason...

(please pay special attention to the order, as it does not at all resemble the claims list due to the amount of players who have multiple characters in the club. you have three days to post before being skipped; please tag the next person and the person after them so that in the case of skips, the next character in line will be ready. if you have any foreign students that would like to drop in or characters who are joining the GSA, shoot me a PM so I can stick them in the posting order. additionally, if you don't post in the first round, you will be considered as not wanting to attend the meeting, and your name will be removed from the list.)

@cecelia
@jamie
maxima ruqayyah greyback
@georgiana
@louis
@tatiana
@theodosia
@lionaanna
@roxanne
@xanthippe
@lucy
@lysander
@susanvictoria
@rj
@chantal
@viola

[Deleted]

Cecelia hated that all of her brilliant ideas always seemed to come at the last minute. She hated it, because she always ended up being late, and being late was something that you absolutely couldn't be in pureblood society. Fifteen minutes early was on time, on time was late, and late was unacceptable. That didn't change the fact that she had had a brilliant idea, though, and she had to be later to the inaugural GSA meeting than she promised Professor Zhu in order to allow that idea to come to fruition. Cecelia had had to turn up the charm to levels she didn't know she was capable of to make her idea work, but it had worked; when she walked up to the Charms classroom, she had a trail of house elves behind her, each carrying a platter of brightly-iced cookies. Cecelia had rattled off all of the pride flags that she could remember, along with their corresponding colors, so that the house elves could make thematically appropriate treats for the Gay-Straight Alliance's first meeting. There were platters of cookies for the traditional rainbow pride flag, but also for the pansexual, bisexual, asexual, transgender, and genderqueer pride flags as well.

When she walked into the Charms room, Cecelia smiled sheepishly at the professor. "I'm sorry I'm late, Professor Zhu." She apologized, knowing that the teacher didn't particularly like Gryffindors, or tardiness. "I wanted to do something special for out first meeting, so I asked the house elves to bake some cookies." As she spoke, the elves set the platters on unoccupied desks before bowing and leaving the room. "Sorry again." She said meekly, hoping that the fact that she had managed to get there before any other students might at least win her back a few brownie points. Cecelia thought that maybe she ought to bribe the professor with a cookie. Then again, maybe that was taking things too far...

(if you're interested in seeing the designs of any of these cookies, just google the pride flag in question)

Rozalina Antonina Nightshade , due the 6th
@jude , due the 9th if Rose can't make it

[Deleted]

Jamie was excited to be going to get first Gay-Straight Alliance meeting ever. She had considered joining the club last year, but it hadn't seemed to be that big of a thing, and Jamie was still unsure about how out she wanted to be for the first part of her sixth year, so she had eventually abstained. Now, though, it was pretty widely known that Jamie was dating Harper Weasley. If she wasn't mistaken, they were the school's first overtly homosexual couple in a long time. It would seem disingenuous for her not to join the GSA, especially considering the number of people she loved (in some manner or another) who were LGBTQ+. She breezed into the Charms classroom, offering smiles to the only other people there, the sponsor teacher and the club's captain. Jamie hadn't spoken with the Charms professor much outside of class, and she definitely hadn't ever spoken to Cecelia Rousseau, so it was a bit awkward at first. Jamie busied herself with filling out a name tag, neatly printing her first name and her preferred pronouns on a sticky square before adhering it to her robes. "Oooh, cookies!" She said, hoping to break some of the awkward silence. Jamie plucked one of the pansexual pride flag cookies off of the platter, biting happily into it while she waited for more students to arrive.

penelope raisa bainbridge , due the 13th
maxima ruqayyah greyback , due the 16th if Penelope can't make it

[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

The fact that the club was called the Gay-Straight Alliance made Maxima feel slightly more comfortable about attending its meeting. She didn't have to commit to labeling herself as anything; she could just go and say that she was there as a supporter, if anyone was going to ask. Truthfully, she didn't know if she belonged there. Did she count as a part of that community, if she couldn't possibly entertain the idea of being in a physical relationship with anyone?

She entered the Charms classroom. So far, only Jamie and another girl, Cecelia Rousseau, were there, besides Professor Zhu. “Hi.” Having expected more people, Max glanced around. There were decorated cookies set out, all with different color combinations with which she wasn't entirely familiar. She recognized the one as the rainbow flag that the LGBT community used, but she didn't know about the others.

Hesitating, and seeing that Jamie was already mid-cookie, she took one, too, opting for the one flag that she recognized. She took a bite. It wasn't bad. “Did you make these, Professor?”

@georgiana

[Deleted]

Georgie felt like there was some sort of poetic justice in that she was going to her first Gay-Straight Alliance meeting of the year with her boyfriend. She felt almost like she was posing for someone, somewhere, even though she knew she wasn't. She still wasn't straight, even if her boyfriend was and they were in a relationship together. Walking towards the Charms classroom with Louis made Georgie feel...guilty, she guessed, though she didn't know why. As soon as she stepped through the door, though, Georgie was instantly glad that Louis was with her; Max was already there, and so was her older sister, and that would have spelled trouble for Georgie, had she been alone. Instead, she shrunk back towards Louis, trying to hide behind him without actually physically getting behind him. It was a difficult task, but manageable for Georgie. It was too bad that Max was standing near the cookie platters - it looked like Georgie wasn't going to get any baked goods that meeting.

@louis, due the 22nd

[Deleted]

Louis walked into the GSA meeting with Georgie; he knew his girlfriend identified as pansexual, which meant that she did not base who she loved off of a specific gender. He felt lucky to be loved by her, and when she had asked him to come with her in support, he had readily agreed. If he was honest, he probably would not have thought to join had it not been for her, but she was opening his mind to new thoughts and ideas. He saw her stop though as she walked in, and immediately saw why; Maxima Greyback. His heart sank a little; he knew Max would be there, but they had not even spoken since Georgie and he announced they were together. He wanted to, of course, but when Georgie told him her reaction, he had felt it best to keep his distance. He reached out and took Georgie’s hand, squeezing it lightly. “If you’re hungry, say the word and I’ll get you a cookie,” he murmured, gently kissing the top of her head as she shrank behind him. He led her to the opposite side of the room, so that perhaps she’d feel more comfortable in a meeting she felt so passionate about.

@roxanne due the 24th, but since she has an Absence up, maybe @tatiana post first?

[Deleted]

Tatiana was hesitant about showing up to the GSA meeting. Depending on how many people were there, she knew that it was likely that she would end up running out before she could suffer a panic attack, but she didn't know of many students at Hogwarts who were openly gay. Nobody had ever spoken about it with her; it was something that she had had to figure out for herself.

Being around other people who would understand that she wasn't abnormal for thinking and feeling the way she did felt good, Tania decided as she entered the Charms classroom. Georgiana was there, as was Jamie, plus a few other students whom she recognized immediately, including Cecelia Rousseau, who was responsible for the club's creation. Professor Zhu, as their supervisor, was also present, her hair a rainbow of colors that made Tania gasp in amazement.

Tania also gave a halfhearted wave to Cecelia. She was in Irina's House and year, but she didn't know her very well at all. (Frankly, Tania thought that the older girl looked as though she were ill, although she was too polite to voice that observation.) “Thanks for starting this,” she told her, genuinely happy to feel comfortable with who she was, although she wasn't sure what she would do if their conversation went any longer.

Looking to the desks for a way to excuse herself, Tania saw that the highlight of the meeting appeared to be an assortment of decorated cookies, which someone had brought to the meeting. She wasn't familiar with the imagery on them, but she took one anyway and bit into it, catching the crumbs that fell from it with her free hand.

Once she had finished her cookie and wiped her hands free of the crumbs over the bin, Tania took a name tag and wrote her first name and pronouns on it—as she saw that Jamie had done—and affixed it to the front of her robes.

She crossed over to where Louis and Georgiana were standing and smiled a little at the two of them. “Hi, Georgie. Hi, Louis.” Being around her roommate and her boyfriend was the least anxiety-inducing option available to her, aside from speaking with Professor Zhu for the rest of the time.

@roxanne's next, due the 27th, although she currently has an away message up.
@theodosia is after her.

[Deleted]

Theodosia didn't know why she was coming to this meeting. Sure, she was gay, but she made a point never to be in an alliance with anyone unless she knew the other people quite well. Chances were, Theodosia thought, that she wouldn't know anyone in the room when she went tot he Gay-Straight Alliance meeting. She was proven wrong: she knew exactly one person. Her roommate, Maxima Greyback, was standing there with a blonde girl that was probably her mongrel sister. Theodosia was tempted to turn back around and go back to the Slytherin common room, but if Max saw her, then it would be as good as admitting defeat, so Theodosia continued onwards. She marched over to the platter of cookies and snagged a rainbow one, then turned to Max. "I didn't know you swung my way." Theodosia said, the sneer all but implied in her voice. She knew that club was called the Gay-Straight Alliance, but honestly, Theodosia was sure that every single person in this room must have been gay. There was no way anyone else would come to this snoozefest of a meeting otherwise.

@lionaanna due the 30th
@liv due the 3rd if Liona can't make it

[Deleted]

Why was Roxy attending the Gay-Straight Alliance meeting? It wasn't because she was gay, or at least, she didn't think she was. But she did care about everyone in the school feeling welcome and safe, and if a club was going to help with that, then she was going to be there. 

She entered and smiled at all the people already there. Then she saw the cookies, brightly coloured with stripes of many colours, and headed for the table. The rainbow she knew, of course, but the others were unfamiliar. She picked up one with grey icing that she hoped wouldn't turn out to be pepper flavoured. Before she took a bite she turned to Cecelia, who she guessed was the source of the cookies, because as Captain she would do the same thing. "Cookies are always a good idea. But what patterns are these?"

(it is still the 27th here at least, so I am on time, okay? And I feel like this is sub-par. But Roxy would not miss this.
@lionaanna  due the 30th
@liv due the 3rd if Liona can't make it
)

[Deleted]

Liona had been wondering when they were going to hold the first GSA meeting this year. She had joined the club the previous year to see who was in the club firstly but also to see if she could expand her friend network of course. She wasn't necessarily in or out of the closet and it wasn't as if she really hid her sexuality. She didn't really throw it out there either considering the only people who needed to know it were herself and the person she was sleeping with. Being in the club was just a really convenient way to meet people considering that it opened doors for people to see her as more friendly to a cause that generally most Slytherins didn't cared for in their eyes. Pureblood supremacy and down with muggle-kind and all of that. In truth, Liona really did care for sexuality and love acceptance for others. It wasn't that big of a deal really and, again, it wasn't anyone else's business anyway.

She walked into the classroom, seeing that there were quite a few people who had arrived. She recognized few faces from seeing them around the Great Hall once or twice. Or maybe she talked to them before? She wasn't sure at the moment but she'd be reminded if so. She did recognize Cecelia Rousseau and Theodosia Washington right away. Cecelia must be the captain this year. She gave a cordial nod and smile to the both of them. It was then she noticed the cookies on one of the desks that everyone had, cookies in a variety of colors and decorations displaying the pride flags. She walked up to the container, peaking into it before giving a smile and grabbing out a bi-pride flag cookie. She took a delicate bite and the cookie just melted into her mouth. They were actually quite fantastic. She found herself an empty desk before taking a seat and finishing up her cookie. What would today's meeting consist of? The cookie brightened her spirit a bit more and she was excited to start.


 
Tag; @liv has until Oct 1, @xanthippe has until Oct 4 if Lavinia cannot make it.

OOTD; Here

[Deleted]

Getting out of the hospital wing had been an experience for Xan. Sure, she was technically allowed out whenever she wanted, but considering her medicine schedule and the fact that she needed minimal exposure to magic made it kind of difficult to actually get out and about in a school where pretty much everything was magical. Xan had begged and pleaded to be allowed to go to the first meeting of the GSA, though, and apparently it had worked. She still needed to figure out what she was going to do about Art Club...maybe holding it in the hospital wing wouldn't be such a bad idea. In any case, Xan was a little slow getting to the Charms room - stairs were hard considering her fever made it difficult to balance - and once she got there, she didn't have all that much energy left over to do simple things like go and get a cookie. Instead, she flopped down into the nearest seat, laying her forehead against the cool surface of the desk. Maybe she should have stayed in bed...

@lucy due the 5th
@lysander due the 8th if Lucy can't make it

[Deleted]

Around school, Lucy Weasley had a reputation for being rather callous to her fellow students. To those who hadn't found themselves on the receiving end of one of her rants about the subject, it might have come as a surprise that the cold-hearted Slytherin “mean girl” was a staunch supporter of the right of others to love whomever they chose to love—provided, of course, that the individual in question wasn't Muggle-born. Besides, Lucy was pansexual herself, and—being opinionated about most things—she had never minded expressing that view.

She had come to the Charms classroom from the Dungeons, which, with the constant movement of the staircases, had taken her much longer than she had anticipated. Fortunately, Lucy found that the GSA meeting was only beginning, with most of the students present eating decorated cookies.

One girl, Lucy noticed as she entered the room just behind her, seated herself at the first available desk. It was one of the Meagles, though she put her head against the top of the desk before she had said a single word. Frankly, Lucy thought that she looked too ill to be at the meeting, and—using the side of her foot—she slid the nearest trash bin over to her. “Here, Meagle,” she offered, although her voice had neither kindness nor malice in it.

With a slight shrug of her shoulders, she walked over to Theodosia. If she hadn't received a dirty look from her friend yet, Lucy was sure that she would be. “What?” she asked sweetly, grabbing a pansexual flag cookie and biting into it. “I didn't think Professor Zhu would appreciate vomit on her floor.”

@lysander is next (due the 9th), followed by @susanvictoria (due the 12th, if Lysander can't make it).

[Deleted]

Going to a GSA meeting was strange for Sander. He was gay, obviously, but it was strange because he had never felt the need to label himself as such. He had always just been that way. The idea of coming out to someone, and having to tell them that he was gay, was just weird. But now, here he was, going to a meeting where everyone was gay, or at least sympathized with people who were. When he walked into the room, Sander was surprised to find that most of the people there were girls. There was only one boy, and he was right next to another girl, so Sander guessed that they had come together. Well, this was awkward. Sander did what every socially awkward person did at a gathering: he went towards the place with food. There were plenty of cookies decorated in a myriad of colors. The Ravenclaw was a little mind-boggled at the variety, so he chose the one that looked the most appealing to eat - the rainbow - and then went to sit down at one of the desks that didn't have anyone near it.

@susanvictoria, due the 8th
@rj, due the 11th if Susan can't make it

[Deleted]

The only reason why Chantal knew anything about the GSA meeting was because of Cecelia, who was apparently leading it. Explaining where she was going and actually finding the right classroom had taken more time than she had anticipated, too. She didn’t really know much about what a Gay-Straight Alliance was supposed to do or what would be expected of her at the meeting, but she didn’t have any problem with homosexuality. What people did in that regard was their business; it wasn’t hers into which to pry.

By the time that she reached the Charms classroom—or what she assumed was probably it by the number of students inside of it who obviously weren’t there for class at that time of day—there were plenty of Hogwarts students already there. Spotting the nametags, Chantal made it a point to grab one as soon as she could. She wasn’t sure how the Hogwarts students would react to having one of their guests in their presence at what was probably a fairly personal meeting for them, but she knew that she could always excuse herself.

“Salut,” Chantal smiled, greeting Cecelia, the only person in the room whom she knew, with quick bises to each cheek. She gave a slight nod to the professor who must have been there to supervise them, as well. “Bonjour, madame,” she said. “I’m Chantal Dembélé, from Beauxbatons.”

@viola is next!

[Deleted]

Viola wasn't sure how she had happened upon the Gay-Straight Alliance - maybe there was a poster somewhere? - but when she heard that there was a meeting, she was more than happy to attend it. Navigating to the room had been a bit more difficult than she had anticipated, but hey, everyone was still standing up and milling about when she entered, so she couldn't have been that late. Viola only recognized one person in the room, the little Greyback girl, who was talking to some other girl. Viola lifted her hand in greeting to Max before making her way to the name tag table. Since no one other than Max really had a reason to know her name, Viola figured it was important to make a name tag for herself. When she saw that the instructions to the table also said to write preferred pronouns, Viola hesitated. She? She used those pronouns by default, but maybe...Well, that was a different consideration for a different time. A girl from Beauxbatons introduced herself, and when Viola had finished her name tag, she did the same. "Viola Chase. Durmstrang." She probably wasn't helping her school's image as a bunch of standoffish pricks, but hey, at least Viola was an honest standoffish prick. She regarded the table with the cookies, pondering. Nah. She could wait. It appeared that the meeting was about to start, so Viola plopped down at a nearby desk, a few rows away from a girl who had her head down. She didn't look so hot. Viola had made sure that there were free seats near her, in case Max wanted to sit nearby, but otherwise didn't put much thought into interacting with the other students. Maybe later. 

@imogen