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august villareal

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WHO: August and Varian ; August and others
WHERE: The park (away from the goose)
WHEN: June 1st
WHAT: August teaches Varian about Pride | August would not be opposed to talking to others about it (also the boy needs fresh air)
WARNINGS: Swearing. It's August

[Closed to Varian]

[1820s. 18-fucking-20s. The fuck. And August gets the distinct impression he's just given Varian all the validation and he does not know how to handle this.

Shit.

But. Well. He's not great at this shit but he is at least prepared with his leftover flag samples from last year and Google so if he can help Varian out then goddammit he is going to help the kid out.

August sends Varian a text saying he's at the park, just look for the raven with the knife, and starts pulling up what he thinks might be most relevant.]

[OTA]

[After the talk with Varian, August is just chilling in the park. It's a nice day, it's been a long one, and also he needs to try and spot the goose. Make sure it's just a goose. Maybe call his aunts about picking it up or something.

If anyone else wants to talk, he's here.]

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[August has definitely made Varian aware of a world he was not previously privy to. Or rather... a world that definitely doesn't get to exist so loud and openly and wonderful in his own time. Ever the little scholar, Varian wants to learn more. He wants to learn everything he can and absorb it all like a sponge. Then he can sit with it and try to apply it to things that have been lurking in the back of his mind for years. Things that have been lurking there since he first saw a Flynn Rider wanted poster stapled to a tree.

He doesn't seem bothered by the idea of a raven with a knife and it quickly comes apparent why when he shows up with a pudgy raccoon balanced on his shoulders. The raccoon is holding an ice cream, which he is currently chowing down on. It is healthy for him? Probably not, but Varian's not going to stop him. The kid also, as per his VERY RANTY message to Zodiac has a monkey tail now, he's trying to pretend it doesn't exist currently. He finds August (the raven is a dead giveaway) and smiles a little awkwardly, raising his hand in greeting as he comes over. ]

Uh- hey. August?

[...oh. Wow. Poor kid has a monkey tail. Is it prehensile? Can he use it like that?

Anyway. August smiles and gestures for Varian to take a seat.]

Yeah, that's me. Varian, right? Seriously, sorry about the whole info-dump earlier.

[It sure is! One day he will be glad for his extra hand in his lab work, but right now it's just an embarassment. He's Way Too Sixteen to be dealing with a monkey tail right now. He awkwardly sits down- that tail gets in the way, it's the worst. ]

It's okay- you-you didn't know. And the rest was genuinely helpful, promise.

Well, that's good.

[Not gonna mention the tail at all but Julian may have Words about that raccoon.]

So. Pride flags, yeah? Is there any of 'em you wanna know about first or do you want me to just start with the rainbow and work my way down?

[Ruddiger is equally down for mischief or down to fight at any given moment. He eyeballs Julian for a moment, before sliding his chubby self off Varian to sit beside him on the bench, still eating his ice cream in pointed licks.

Maybe a little too quickly from Varian:]

The one you had on your cheek? The liking everyone flag?

[Ah-ha. August pulls out the bi and pan flags from his bag and lays them out.]

So, that one's the bi flag and that one's the pansexual flag. Generally speaking, bi is "I'm attracted to my gender and others and gender sometimes is a factor in that" and pan is "gender isn't a factor in that", but that is very loose. With me so far?

[1820s. Gotta keep this as simple as possible, and sure he could have stuck to just the bi flag but Varian should know!]

[Varian's taking all of this in, wide-eyed with wonder. This might be one of the best learning experiences of his entire life. ]

Okay, I think I get it. So one is a little more...solid than the other? Is solid the right word...I don't know if it is.

Honestly, it's a lot of nuance and shit and unless you want to, I wouldn't worry about it right now. That can come later, when this isn't so new, yeah?

[He nods, he's usually a lot happier with solid, unmoveable facts, but he's understanding this is a lot trickier than can be simplified in a textbook or a scientific equation. ]

Yeah-yeah that makes sense, thanks. Um- so what are the other flags for?

[He is ABSOLUTELY going to swing back to this later. He has so many questions bubbling about in his head like how did he know? and what did he do when he found out? and will it always feel like a state of semi-panic? The good questions!]

Okay, so--

[And August goes over the more common ones, starting with the rainbow and the lesbian flags and then the ace and aro flags, and then briefly explaining that there are a lot more than just these and some overlap and "seriously, if you see a flag at a Pride thing and you're not sure, just ask".

He moves on to the gender identity flags after this, and oh boy how does he explain this to a kid from the 1800s?]

So, like. [Hmm.] Sometimes you can't tell if someone is a guy or a girl just by looking at them. Even if you look at 'em and go "oh that's a girl", they might not be. Or sometimes they thought they were and then they get older and realize "oh shit, I'm a guy". Those people are who these flags are for. With me so far?

[This Englishman is taking his time walking through he park - anything to get some change in his routine and throw off his stalker. He does stop in one rather nice looking spot and... well. Hard to miss the birds.]

Is... is that a goose?

[August points to Julian, standing on the bench with his knife nearby.]

Raven with a knife.

[He points to the goose.]

The goose Zodiac mentioned. I'm trying to figure out if it's a normal goose or something else.

Hm. Hard to really tell, all geese are... Like that.

Oh, I know. We have a few geese at the sanctuary. One of them nearly got us sued when some jackass decided to ignore the warnings and aggravated the goose, and then again when more jackasses tried to steal the geese.

...Why anyone would try to steal a goose, let alone more than one, is beyond me. But that's his own brand of idiocy ruling I suppose.

[He's watching that goose tho.]

How will you know if that one is something else?

I can sort of talk to animals, mostly birds, so if it gets close I'll try and ask it but otherwise...watch it? Film it? Call my aunts and ask what they think?

You--

You can talk to birds.

[Handwobble!]

It's really rough, but...yeah? Used to just be "really good at knowing what Julian wants" but lately it's gotten better.

[The fact the the guy didn't flinch at "the goose Zodiac mentioned" told August this guy probably has the app.

God he sure hope he has the app.]

[At some point in the proceedings, Varian pulls out a notebook and a quill (a quill!!) from his backpack and starts taking notes. He's extremely attentive throughout, trying to make sure he's making the right sort of notes. He's very serious in wanting to understand this just as he much with anything else he sets his mind to learning about.

Though this still all feels like a different sort of learning. It's like when he first found out how alive science made him feel, like it was a part of him that had been just waiting for a chance to be set free. It feels very much like that.

This step is a little trickier, but he's trying his gosh-darn best.]

Um- I think so? So it's...realising you're...not what you thought you were?

[Okay the quill is kind of cute.]

Yeah, and massive caveat here: I am so very much not the guy to ask about when it comes to explaining anything beyond the basics here so, like, if you wanna learn more I can get you resources but that's about it.

[He only brings out the trans, agender, and nonbinary flags since, again, he isn't really good at explaining this stuff in detail and he doesn't want to overwhelm poor Varian too much. He does explain what "cis" means and that neopronouns are a thing, though.

Once everything's done, August looks at Varian.]

I think that covers most of the bases. Like I said, if you wanna know more I can try and answer questions.

I... See. I didn't realize that was something someone would be able to do.

[Shrug!]

You have the Libra app, yeah?

[Eyes him SO intensely for a second.]

Yes. I do.

Yeah, shit's gonna get a lot weirder.

[Says the guy with the raven with a knife.]

That's tame compared to some of the shit.

[He rubs a hand down his face before looking back at the birds. Keeping his voice low.]

I'd really rather it not.

Join the club.

[Unfortunately.]

August, by the way. August Villareal, I'm one of the seer guys.

Jonathan Sims.

Cafe owner.

Oooh, which one? And do you mind birds?

I'm not sure about the birds yet. But, um.

[God he has to say this OUT LOUD with his MOUTH.]

Whiskers and Whipped Cream. A cat cafe.

Wait, we have one of those? Since when!?

[August will absolutely make his bird wait outside if it means cat cafe.]

Since, ah. A few months ago. I only moved here a year and a half or so ago, and it took some time to set up.

Hell yeah, I've always wanted to check one of those out. Probably not good to bring Julian, but he can deal this one time.

[Offended raven noises!]

Ignore him.

Resources would be very welcome! I wanna research this as much as possible! I want to make sure I get everything right because this is important.

[He takes even more notes, writing everything diligently down. When he's finally done, Varian closes the book, putting it and the quill back into his bag. Ruddiger hops up from the ground to settle in his lap as Varian pets the raccoon absently, chewing his bottom lip.]

Um- how did you know? For yourself? Like...how did you figure it out?

[Honestly, he was expecting this. August smiles a little.]

I think I was like...ten or something? There was some music something on TV and I remember asking my aunts for a few posters of one of the performers because he was really cute. They got 'em, and Marianne sat me down and asked if I knew what I meant by calling the performer cute.

[He snorts.]

I told her "yeah, obviously, it means the same thing you do when you call Cat cute" and that was that. I was a little older when I knew for sure, when I got a crush on a guy at school.

Edited 2022-06-05 20:18 (UTC)

[HUH. Just. Looks at the raven.]

Duly noted.

We're open at odd hours since most of the patrons are students, so I'm afraid I can't give solid working hours.

That's fine, I keep weird ass hours anyway. Commissions mean I work late and sleep never some weeks.

[Varian's quiet, taking all of that in. He remembers his father reading him the Flynn Rider books when he was so much younger- how he thought of the hero-thief as someone incredible, someone to admire. And then when he got a little older, he saw the Flynn Rider wanted posters around the Kingdom and admiration turned into...maybe something more.

He'd diligently collected everything for this little pile of Flynn Rider items. Every book, the BEST wanted poster (the only one that got his nose right) a discarded satchel and a lock of hair some guy at the Snuggly Duckling swore belonged to the legend himself. Eventually, Varian met the man and realised Flynn Rider and Eugene Fitzherbert were both the same man and also...very different. He got to know Eugene for the person he was- and if he were really, truly honest with himself, that... admiration...and extra only solidified. ]

Oh.

[There was Cass, too, of course. Oh boy did he have the biggest crush on her when he met her- despite how...extremely unattainable she was to him. Perhaps a little part of him would still hold a flame for her, too- though after everything they'd been through- everything they'd put each other through, that had turned into something else. When she'd left the Kingdom he'd felt maybe they'd gained a sort of mutual respect for each other. Both having seen and been part of each other's darkest moments.

But either way he looks at it, now he's really thinking about it, there was definitely...something there for both Eugene and Cassandra. AT some point or other. It's a lot to process in one sitting and he realises he's been quiet for a long time. He's not really ready to process more just yet. He's opened the door a crack, and let some light shine in, he's not ready to step through it yet. He clears his throat. ]

Um- thank you. For telling me this. E-explaining stuff, I mean. It's helped a lot.

[August just sits there, letting Varian come to whatever conclusion it is he's coming to. He knows his whole "oh fuck I'm bi" thing was a lot smoother than most, since he had his aunts. He won't rush the poor kid.]

Yeah, no problem. Lemme know if you have any other questions, okay? I'm not, like, a teacher or anything but I'm here to help if I can.

Then you shouldn't have much trouble finding when we're open.

[It's a whole gosh darn thing and now he's actually looking at it, it's so desperately obvious. How did he miss this? Well, because he didn't know what this was, honestly. It was like having a book without a title, but now it does have one and he's...letting that sink in. ]

I will. And hey? You did a really good job, even if you're not a teacher. You explained it really well.

[That gets him to smile again.]

I'm glad. Kids deserve to know this shit. Now, have you eaten, because I haven't and if I'm getting food I'm gonna offer.

It's sure opened up a whole world I was never aware of before!

[Like any true teenager, he's not gonna turn down free food!]

I would not say no to food.

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Heck yeah

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making the same face as his icon

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