Other Tags: Historical AU- 1920s, Prohibition, Speakeasies, Singer!Micki, Lesbian Micki, Bisexual Geri
WC: 622
@walker-bingo Square Filled: Roaring 20s AU
A/Ns: Period Appriopriate LGBT terms/slang are used in this fic.
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Keeping secrets was the theme of the decade. Everyone had their secrets and everyone knew why. The Roaring 20s had really only just begun but it was already steeped in danger and controversy, from prohibition to speakeasies to daredevil adventures.
Geri wondered where being queer ranked on that list of danger.
She hadn't meant to fall in love with the singer she hired for her club. Then again, who really intends to fall in love with anyone? And was it really her fault Michelle "Micki" Ramirez was so damn charming? That's what got her the job after all.
Every night, Micki went onstage. She sang. She worked the crowd. She ordered a glass of bourbon with a sultry voice because Nothing soothes the throat better, darlings. She sang a few more songs. She’d dance a little and slip that extra cash in her brassiere. A man would ask her if she was free that evening; she would say no, and there’d be some smart woman telling him he’s just wasting your time asking out a woman who’s let her hair down. Have a little respect, honestly. She said goodnight and flounced off to her dressing room. And, when the bar closed, she’d come back out and order another glass of bourbon with her normal voice, the one that betrayed her Texas upbringing. And they would talk.
Micki would talk about her past. Her mother. Growing up as a Mexican woman in Texas. Traveling alone to the Big City, not to make something of herself but because I heard all the good drugs were here and I wanted to give it a shot. Shame on you for making an honest woman of me.
Geri would talk too. Talk about a best friend who lost herself to a marriage. About a lover who never told her the whole truth. About a friend who she had to stop speaking to because he had a little too much faith in the long arm of the law. About leaving her past behind and starting fresh because I couldn’t do it anymore. Familiarity stops being a good thing after a while.
And then later, when the lights were out and the cleaning was done and the city had seemingly quieted down, Geri would ask her if she wanted to come upstairs. That’s where I keep the good stuff. Can’t keep it down here with all these unsavory characters.
And Micki would smile and say she’d kill for some of the good stuff. Lead the way.
And they’d have a drink or two (or was that a drink too many?) and Geri would notice how closely they were sitting and how if she leaned forward just a little-
No.
She could run a bar in the middle of prohibition and cut off all her friends and family but she couldn’t do that.
And so it went. Day in and day out. Like clockwork. Over and over and over and over again. Night after night after night.
Until one night.
They were upstairs. Micki was sitting on the counter of her little kitchen and Geri was standing next to her and they’d had a drink or two or three (or was it a drink or two too many?) and they were laughing about something silly or stupid or maybe it was important and then-
And then-
And then it happened.
How long are you gonna be droppin’ pins before you finally let your hair down?
Pardon?
C'mere….
Of all the defining moments in Geri’s life, the moment Micki cupped her face and pulled her closer and ever-so-gently pressed their lips together had to be the best.
Though the moment she realised Micki was a wolf was probably a close second.
Can you explain the different type of paralysis. I have a character who is magical and has the paralysis where it's an on and off thing with their legs. I was wondering if it was possible for them to be able to drive or operate Machinery like a motorcycle or a car. What would be the limits to what they can do because I want them to pose as human as possible.
Hey there nonny. A lot of what I’m going to say is going to go out the window, because you specifically mentioned magic and you specifically mention temporary paralysis (”on again / off again”).
And this may be uncomfortable advice to get, but I’m going to ask you to read this answer all the way through, read it again, think about it, and read it a third time.
First, talking about your character “posing as human as possible” gives me some really uncomfortable feelings about the way you may be planning to represent disability. This may be a function of the character limits in the ask box, or English may not be your first language, but the words you used implied that your character is disabled and thus not human. BAD. (Your character may be an elf or piskie or merwolf, I don’t know, but if your character is human, take a good hard look at how you’re looking at them.)
Next: Yes, paralyzed people can drive, as long as they have some function in their arms. In fact, I worked for a quadriplegic man as his home health aide (search for Tom if you want the whole story). He could brush his teeth and comb his hair if you velcroed the implement to his hand, but he operated a car safely and effectively. Hand levers operated the brake and gas, and a control knob for the steering wheel, worked for him just fine.
I don’t know about motorcycles, but I would assume that if he’s wheelchair-dependent, getting into and out of a motorcycle would be problematic.
Now, on to the “on again off again” paralysis. This does exist, but not following trauma. Periodic paralysis is caused by a group of genetic disorders which change the way the body’s muscles process ions. (Muscle movement are triggered by nerves, which rely on ion changes to send electrical signals; changes in the ion channels changes or prevents electrical signals from processing). Most of them are triggered by something: heat, cold, high-carb meals. Some will have problems with high potassium (with glucose being the treatment), others will have problems with high sugar (with potassium being the treatment).
This group of diseases is always genetic and always inherited.
I’ll be honest: this isn’t my area of expertise. For a better understanding of the way these diseases work, I suggest you do some homework on the clinical presentation of periodic paralyses. (There’s a very good resource here; may require a free account.)
Take care, good luck, and make sure that you take the lives of paralyzed people into account.
xoxo, Aunt Scripty
(Samantha Keel)
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We need the word cisgender. it is not insulting. It relates only to self identity versus what you were assigned at birth. It says nothing about outward presentation. But we need a way to refer to someone who’s gender identity matches what they were assigned at birth versus someone who’s doesn’t, other than “normal” or having to use that mouthful the whole time.
God damn it, I don’t need the person who has been so much better talking about how much they don’t like the word “cisgender” because there is no direct mapping between gender and presentation.
