#if you get to work with octopi say hello to them for me tell them i love them and that they are cool and weird and fucked up

[feather-bone]

[ID: a photo of animal stickers, including an octopus, whales, squid, sharks, seal, turtle, and oarfish, on a background of red river rocks. End]

I'm so happy with the new creatures for October's Creature Club mail!! The theme is "sea giants" - I drew some of the biggest marine animals, including some of my favorites!

[akehoshimystar]

Taiga SSR

I want to see a happy face

Part 1

Ito: (These days, convenience store sweets are really on another level.)

When I went to the convenience store with a desire for something sweet, a paradise unfolded before me.

Ito: (There are lots of cakes in animal shape. Rabbit, bear, cat… They're all so cute I can't pick one at all.) ???: Woah.

I was so distracted by paradise that I didn't notice the person in front of me at all and ended up bumping into him.

Ito: ! I'm so sorry…. ???: Ah, I should apologize too…! Are you okay? …..Hmm? Ito: Yes, I'm-….. (Why do I feel like I’ve heard this voice before….)

I raised my head and saw the man who looks exactly like someone I had in mind…..

Taiga: I knew it. Yashiro-san. Ito: Hello. Umm. Once again, I'm sorry I wasn't looking properly. Taiga: …Don’t tell me you were distracted by all these sweets? Ito: Yes… How embarrassing. Taiga: Nothing shameful about it. In fact, I came here today looking for something similar to what you’re looking for.

Tsukimoto said that while holding a book in his hand. The cover said, "Convenience store exclusive! Comes with a cat-shaped cake mold."

Ito: A MOOK book? Taiga: Yes, I came here looking for this cat-shaped cake mold. After searching through many stores I finally found it. We have Okoge in the house, so I thought it would be cute if I could make cat-shaped pancakes. Plus, if I make them less sweet, Haruhi might eat them too. Ito: (It’s like cutting apples into rabbit shapes, or turning sausages into octopi.) That sounds very lovely. (Tsukimoto-san’s sweets are plenty delicious, but if they were cute to look at, it would be tenfold amazing.) Just thinking about it makes me hungry… Taiga: In that case, I'll make it next time you come, so why don't you swing by and try it? It'll just be a prototype, though. Ito: ! …Did I say that out loud? Taiga: Sorry for asking out of nowhere. But I consider myself lucky to hear that from you. If it turns out well, I would love to have you come and try it. Even if you come for work purpose.

Part 2

A few days after our meeting at the convenience store. "If you don't mind". “I know you're busy”. "It's okay if you decline”. I received an invitation with messages so thoughtful that I could see the sender's face. And that brings me to this house.

Ito: (By having him invite me, I wonder if I made him feel weird.)

Taiga: Please come to the table. Ito: Pardon my intrusion…! Wow, the smell is amazing.

As I sat down at the table after being drawn by the soft, sweet aroma, Tsukimoto-san brought out his sweets… Cat-shaped pancakes, like the ones on the cover of the MOOK book I saw that day. They even have faces drawn on them with a chocolate pen.

Ito: Wow…! I’m at loss for words. (It’s so frustrating that I couldn’t find the vocabulary to describe them. But they look seriously tasty, not to mention how cute they are…..) Taiga: Glad to hear that. As I told you, neither Haruhi nor Sei-san is here today, so I think I made a little too much. If you don't mind, I can give you a second helping.

“I'm the only one here, would that be okay with you?” I had been contacted in advance as a gesture of consideration.

Ito: This is a very luxurious experience to me. So today, these pancakes… are for two people? Taiga: Haha, seems so. Ito: I'll savor it properly. Taiga: I hope it suits your taste Ito: I had a feeling it would suit me even before I ate it Taiga: I'm honored. Ito: Then… Time to dig in.

The moment I put the pancakes in my mouth. It felt like time stopped all over the world.

Part 3

Ito: …….!? Taiga: What's wrong? Ito: Truly delicious, I can't express it well like Sei-san and that made me very frustrated. Taiga: That’s another level of exaggeration. But I’m glad to hear that. I guess I’ll have some too. ……Woah, this is good.

It was saddening to see the cat face get ruined, but the taste was simply irresistible that I couldn’t stop myself from eating.

Taiga: I think I can have more. What about you, Yashiro-san? Ito: .…..Is that really okay? Taiga: Why wouldn’t it be? I'm very happy.

Accompanied by adorable pancakes, the blissful time continued.

Ito: Thank you for the meal..….Although I think I ate a little too much. Taiga: Having dinner might be impossible for me now. …….I'm really glad to have you here. Somehow, I feel relieved. Ito: Are you that relieved? Taiga: After I invited you, I wondered if that was just your polite gesture. I’m afraid I might have made you feel uncomfortable and troubled… Plus, today neither that guy nor Sei-san is here. So I was relieved to see you eating so deliciously. Guess it was just my overthinking. Ito: To be honest, I was thinking the same thing. Taiga: Yashiro-san too? Ito: Yes. By talking about pancakes, I thought maybe I made you feel uncomfortable. Taiga: Maybe we were both too much of worrywarts.

I nodded and let out a sigh of relief. My shoulders relaxed more than I thought they would.

Taiga: Even so, we really ate a lot just for one person. I'll have to exercise tomorrow… Ito: I agree. I hope Ichikawa-kun enjoy it. Taiga: Yes, I'm planning to cut down the sweetness just for him. That way he won't be able to say "I can't eat it because it tires my jaw out.” Ito: Sounds like something he had said in the past. Taiga: Haha.

While enjoying the sweet aftertaste of the pancakes and casual conversation, I drank tea with Tsukimoto-san. The tea party that started unexpectedly seemed to be going on for a little longer.

[redpandaramblings]

A Matter of Admiration Alpha Gang Orca x Omega f!Reader

Hello Hello! Here is my very VERY late submission for the SFW portion of Spudcorner's Valentine Blood and Chocolate Collab. This was meant to be a two page drabble. 13 pages later it's a bit more than that. Regardless, I do hope you enjoy!

Sequel/Epilogue Here

Content Warnings- Omegaverse, SFW, Insecurities, Misunderstandings, Pining, Fluff, Lots of food mentioned, Kugo being very down on himself, very minor mention of blood and stitches needed.

“Really? Again?”

The large alpha seemed to shrink under your judgemental glare.

“I am sorry, Y/N. The fight got intense and it slipped off. Someone must have stepped on it.”

You sighed heavily, your gaze turning to the workbench where the shattered remains of your creation sat. This was your seventh attempt at outfitting Gang Orca with a communicator headset. It was dangerous for him to keep fishing for a handheld during the heat of battle. Unfortunately, his lack of outer ear made keeping a headset on him difficult. Shaking your head, you gave a small smile.

“Not your fault, Sakamata. We knew this was going to be tricky. Though at this rate I’m tempted to just glue a headset on you and call it a day.”

Kugo snorted, his posture relaxing. “I wouldn’t blame you if you did. I hate to see your hard work go to waste.”

“It’s not a waste if I learn something from it. This one lasted a couple weeks of normal patrol work, so that’s an improvement. We just need to figure out what was different about this fight. So, sit. Talk.”

Kugo shook his head with an amused huff. He admitted he had been slightly dubious when you had first come to his agency. He’d encountered many hero support workers claiming to specialize in mutation quirks that seemed to be looking for lab rats for their creations. However, you always listened to what he said, and made suggestions that would actually make his job easier. You made sure your support items not only were functional, but comfortable at well. If the few years you had worked for him, he was pleased to say you had become good friends.

“I can’t right now, Y/N. I need to get cleaned up, then complete my report before I forget the details. I’ll come back first thing tomorrow.” You frowned, tapping your foot. Kugo fought to keep a neutral expression. You’d never forgive him if you knew how much he enjoyed your expressions when you were annoyed.

“Alright. Fine. First thing tomorrow. But make sure you get some rest tonight, you’ve been working too hard lately!”

Sakamata waved a hand in answer as he walked out the workshop door. He’d try to follow your request, but a hero’s work is never done.

~~~~~

Gang Orca shuffled through the door to his agency with an aura of gloom about him. In the past five days, he had broken five more communicators, gotten into several serious fights, and had allowed a villain to escape. And that was just his work life. Some of his friends had set him up for a speed dating session. He didn’t blame them for trying, but it ended exactly how he knew it would. Most of the omegas who had been present were scared of him, and those that weren’t were clearly only interested in his pro hero paycheck. Kugo trudged toward his office, his thoughts gloomy. A man with a quirk like his would never have a normal courtship. It hurt sometimes. How nice it would be to come home to a sweet smelling omega. What wouldn’t he give to home filled with pups, and laughter and love? He sighed softly as he swung his door open. Such a life was not meant for him, so no point in even dreaming. On autopilot, he hung his coat on the coat rack, and turned to set his briefcase on his desk. However, the desk was already occupied. Kugo tilted his head as he stared at the object resting on his desk. It appeared to be a large bento box, wrapped in a rather feminine handkerchief, patterned with some sort of flowers. Kugo set his briefcase down on a chair before coming closer to investigate. Gingerly, he untied the knot, setting the cloth aside as he looked at the contents curiously.

First and most obviously, was the strawberry shaped sticky note attached to the top. “You looked like you had been having a rough week. I hope this can make it better!” The writing was… painstakingly cute. The “i”s were dotted with little hearts. Each letter having just a little bit of flourish, while still being legible.

Kugo hummed quietly to himself. Clearly this had been left on his desk by mistake. A bit awkward, considering his name was on the door, but there was no other explanation. He drummed his fingers on the desk as he considered his options. He could take a guess at who the bento was for. There were several popular alpha heroes working for him that got their share of gifts from admirers. The soft omegan scent coming from the handkerchief that had wrapped the bento was a solid clue the gift was likely meant for one of them. But really, there was no way to tell for sure who it was supposed to end up with, and he really didn’t want the hard work to go to waste. Yes. Best thing would be to eat the bento, and place the box in the break room with a note inside the box apologizing.

His course of action decided, Kugo opened the bento, quietly sucking a breath as he saw what was inside. There were sausages cut to look like little octopi. A large slab of teriyaki salmon. Rice balls shaped like teddy bear heads, complete with little seaweed faces. He tried to tamp down his delight at seeing over half of the bento was dedicated to tamagoyaki. While he lived up to his stereotype of loving fish, the egg dish was a secret favorite of his; something his mother had made for him whenever he had a bad day when he was growing up. The second layer of the bento had even more. Rice, vegetables, and surprisingly a small but adorable piece of cake. Kugo put the bento back together with a small smile on his face. Perhaps it wasn’t meant for him, but it had been a long time since he had been able to enjoy something like this- cute and homemade, clearly filled with a great deal of care. He couldn’t quite feel guilty as he looked forward to lunch. He could pretend, just this once, that a sweet smelling omega had put so much care into something for him.

~~~~~~

Later that day, when most of the day team had left, Kugo made his way to the common break room. He carefully cleaned out the bento box in the sink, setting it to the side to dry. He folded the handkerchief it had came in, and placed it next to the box before sighing. He was in the process of scribbling a brief apology note when he heard a cough. He glanced up to see y/n leaning against the doorway.

“You okay, chief? Thought your shift ended an hour ago.”

Kugo nodded as he placed his note on top of the handkerchief. “Yes, just had a few things I needed to wrap up. What about you? I know you were supposed to be done several hours ago now.”

You fidgeted, embarrassed, shrugging your shoulders as you glanced away. “Had an idea for how to improve a few items and, well, you know how I get when I have a project. But what have you got there? You never struck me as the homemade lunch type.”

It was Kugo’s turn to look uncomfortable as he shuffled from foot to foot. “It was left on my desk this morning by mistake. I had no way of knowing who it was actually meant for, and I didn’t want it going to waste, so I ate it.”

You frowned as you walked into the room, opening cupboards and starting to retrieve things to make tea. You held a mug up toward Kugo in a silent question, grabbing a second one when he nodded. You were quiet for a few moments, going through the motions. After a while you asked “How are you so sure it wasn’t for you?”

Kugo snorted, leaning back against the counter and gesturing at himself. “Omegas aren’t exactly lined up around the block. I don’t place high on the ‘heroes that look most like villains’ list every year for no reason. Some unfortunate omega got confused about whose office was whose. It’s a shame I couldn’t give it to whoever it was meant for, it was a beautifully crafted bento.” Kugo doesn’t mention the note. Kugo especially doesn’t mention the note had found its way into his desk drawer to save as a memory of how nice it had been to receive the bento, even if it was an accident.

You laughed, passing him a steaming cup of tea, made just how he liked. “Sakamata, don’t talk down about yourself like that. You’re big, strong, and prime alpha material. You’re one of the top heroes! And even more importantly, you’re a gentle kind man that any omega would be lucky to have. I’d bet good money that that bento absolutely was made just for you.”

“A nice thought, but I doubt it. You’ll see. In a few days I bet a bento will make its way to who it was meant for.”

~~~~~~

Kugo stood stock still in the doorway to his office. Sitting on his desk was another cloth wrapped package. Once was a mistake, clearly. But two days in a row? Why on Earth was there another bento on his desk? He approached the desk and slide the bento to him. He untied the scented fabric with care. A cat shaped note greeted him.

“I’m sorry if it wasn’t clear before, Sakamata. I wanted to make this for you because I admire you so much. I’m not always great at saying my feelings, so I hope my cooking says enough.”

This was… for him. The bentos… were for him? He sat in his chair, leaning his head against his hands as he regarded the innocent looking lunch. If it wasn’t a mistake, then what could it be? Probably a fortune hunting omega trying to get in his good graces, if he went off his past experience. Though usually those types of omegas were more likely to offer favors of a different sort. Kugo winced as another thought occurred to him. There was a good chance this omega pitied him. Ugly, intimidating, unmatable. Someone had seen him and decided he needed looking after because clearly he’d never get someone on his own. Yes. That had to be it. He should leave the bento in the break room and end this farce as soon as possible.

His mind made up, Kugo picked up the bundle to do exactly that. The subtle smell of the contents hit his sensitive nose, causing him to salivate. Tempura? Definitely egg. Well, it would be a shame to not even look inside to make sure.

Clearly just as much care had gone into this one as the last one. The rice balls were shaped like little cat heads, to match the note. An assortment of tempura seemed to be the main dish, cute cat shaped food picks stuck in some of them. There were even paw print shaped gummy candies for the dessert. Every inch of the lunch was absolutely adorable. And it was all done for him. There was no way Kugo could let it go to waste. It hurt to know it was a gift given out of pity, but maybe, just for a while, he could pretend there was someone out there who loved him like this. The omega would grow tired of this eventually. Until then, he’d let himself enjoy this.

~~~~~

It was surprising how easily this had become routine. Every day when Kugo walked into his office, there was a new bento waiting for him. And every day he’d unwrap the bento, indulging a brief moment in the cutely patterned handkerchiefs. Every bento was unique and cute. They seemed to show a good understanding of his tastes and preferences. It was a pleasant break on the quiet days and a welcome comfort on the rough days. Each day there was a sweet written note that Kugo gently stored in his desk drawer. It was perfect.

Until it wasn’t.

~~~~~~~

Kugo hated attending charity events. It wasn’t the charities, he always supported good causes. It wasn’t the dressing up, or the fancy atmosphere. It was the people. While a few of his friends were around somewhere, there were many many others who didn’t know him well. Others who were intimidated by his appearance. Others who apparently had no idea just how sharp his hearing was.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe Gang Orca is here.”

“I know! Well, I suppose he is a hero. Allegedly, anyway.”

“Did he come with anyone?”

“Of course not. I mean ew. Look at him. Can you imagine cosying up to that at the end of the day?”

“I know! And those teeth! If he tried to bond someone, he’d take their head clean off!”

“As if anyone would want to bond with that.”

“I don’t know. He’s in the top ten pretty often. He has to be loaded, right?”

“Would have to be a lot for me to even consider it.”

“It could be all the money and I still wouldn’t!”

“Oh don’t say that! Poor bastard can’t help he’s unmatable.”

Kugo walked away from the refreshment table as he tried to tune out the unkind comments and mocking laughter. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t heard before. He knew full well what he looked like. He had had enough failed courting attempts to know exactly what omegas thought of him. But it still stung. Stung more than usual, actually. The daily bentos with their scented cloths and cute little notes had almost made him forget. The only omegas who were interested either pitied him, or wanted his money. He could never forget that.

~~~~~

What he could forget, apparently, was that the number two pro hero was scheduled to be at his office the morning after the charity gala. Kugo stifled a sigh when he saw the red winged hero waiting outside his agency’s door. Of course he’d have to deal with this on a day when he wasn’t in the best of moods. “Orca! My man, good to see you again!”

Kugo nodded as he held the door open. “Hawks.”

“Didn’t get a chance to talk to you at the party last night. You know how it is. Go to one of those things when you're single, and you get swarmed.”

Kugo gave a non committal grunt. No, he didn’t know. He just wanted this morning to be over with. He perked up slightly as he saw you hurrying down the hallway toward them. Hawks gave a low whistle. “Who's the babe?” Kugo half growled. “That is Miss Y/N. The support item engineer you allegedly came here to see. You will be respectful and refrain from flirting with my staff.”

Keigo held up his hands and laughed. “Hey now big guy, don’t mean any offense. Just saying you’re lucky to get to work with that every day.”

Kugo jerked his head in an abbreviated nod. You slowed down your quick walk as you got closer, not wanting to interrupt the heroes’s conversation. Kugo waved you closer. You smiled at him so brightly as you joined the group. Yes. He was lucky to work with a friend such as you. Kugo’s nerves started to cool a bit as he introduced you and the three of you began to make your way to his office. Hawk’s casual questions were more inquisitive than flirty, and Kugo knew from long experience just how much you enjoyed being able to talk in depth about your work. He was smiling by the time he opened the door to his office, ushering the two or you in. Hawk’s next words hit him like a bucket of cold water to the face.

“Dang! Either you got one hell of a cafeteria service at this agency, or Gang Orca has himself quite an admirer. Delivered right to your desk, pretty bold, man! That’s exactly why I keep my door locked. There’s only so much lunch a man can eat, am I right?”

The bento. He had forgotten about the stupid bento. There it sat, as always. The handkerchief was especially cute today, some sort of pattern with teddy bears hugging and kissing. Any other day, the sight would have calmed him. Any other day he would have sat down and quickly poked through to see what surprises lay inside that day, would have read the note meant just for him with a smile.

But today was different. Others were in his office. The number two hero, handsome and popular. His support engineer, pretty enough to probably have plenty of suitors of her own. And then there was him. Large. Scary. Consistently told he looks like a villain. Has never had a relationship that wasn’t pitying or profiteering. Kugo remembered the whispered remarks from the party. Usually he’d be able to brush off Hawks’s commentary. But today…

Kugo snarled, his scent agitated as he swept his arm across the desk, knocking the bento roughly into the trash. “They are a nuisance that need to cease! I’m so tired of some desperate piting omega shoving their unwanted, unneeded efforts at me! Enough is enough!” At the end his voice was raised to a shout. He was dimly aware of his nails digging deeply into his palms. Kugo leaned on the desk, breathing deeply as he tried to calm himself. He could hear the others shuffling behind him awkwardly.

“Come on,” You murmured and lightly tugged on Keigo’s sleeve. “How about I show you my lab and take some measurements before we get started.”

“Yeah. Um. Yeah.” Keigo allowed you to lead him away. You softly closed the door behind you. Kugo remained, hunched and breathing raggedly. It took him several minutes to calm down. It took him a few minutes beyond that to gather the nerve to make the trek down to the support lab. He slipped into the room as inconspicously as a man with his fram could manage. You were taking measurements off of Keigo and muttering to yourself as you tapped out notes on your tablet. Keigo noticed Kugo’s entrance and greeted him cautiously. “You good?” Kugo nodded. “I… apologize. It’s been a rather trying week, but I should have composed myself better.”

Keigo waved him off. “No worries, man, no worries. Y/n was just telling me she thinks that she’ll be able to rig up something for me that would help slow my fall in situations where my wings get damaged.”

You hummed an affirmative, taking a few more measurements before you started describing your process. Kugo couldn’t help but notice you didn’t look his way. You looked at the ground, at your tablet, at Keigo, but you were clearly avoiding Kugo’s gaze. He mentally winced as he settled onto an out of the way stool. It was rare for him to have that kind of emotional outburst. It probably could be heard even from outside his office. He’d make sure to apologize to you better when he got the chance. But for now, it was looking like it would be a long, awkward day. Goodie.

~~~~~

Kugo growled under his breath the next morning when he saw the cloth wrapped bundle sitting on his desk. Yesterday’s embarrassment was still fresh in his mind as he stalked forward. His thick fingers quickly untied the surprisingly unpatterned piece of fabric. There, under the cloth, on top of the box, was a note as there always was. Kugo’s anger was cooled by confusion when he saw it, however. The paper was a plain yellow post-it note. Instead of the painstakingly cute handwriting with the heart dotted “i’s, there was a clearly hasty scrawl.

“I’m sorry. I never meant to annoy you. This will be the last one.”

Kugo frowned, shifting in his seat. Clearly the bento maker had heard about his outburst from yesterday. That was… unfortunate. But perhaps for the best, since he had no way of directly telling them to cease their nonsense. Unconsciously, his hand balled up the handkerchief and as he had been doing for a while, he scented it.

The cloth had a slight smell of salt to it. Tears, Kugo realized uncomfortably. The smell of tears slightly diluted the normal soothing smell of whoever had carefully packaged these bentos. He had little appetite as he looked over what was there. Tempura. Salmon. Vegetables. A large portion of tamagoyaki. But the part that caused an uncomfortable weight to settle in his chest was the little red box, filled with slightly clumsy, clearly homemade chocolates. Kugo closed his eyes, sighing as he set the box to the side to wait for lunch. This was good. This was what he wanted, to be left alone instead of some kind hearted omega taking pity on him. He had lived a long time without homemade bentos and little notes. He certainly didn’t want the small offering of chocolates. When lunchtime came, he certainly didn’t linger over the food longer than usual, savoring each bite. He tried to tell himself that this was for the best. That this was what he wanted. He refused to think about why he tucked the handkerchief and the box of chocolates into his desk drawer instead of leaving them in the break room as usual.

The next day as Kugo opened his office door, he looked toward his desk out of habit; searching for the lunch that had been left. His chest gave an uncomfortable lurch when he found the desk was bare. He shook his head in an attempt to clear it. This was fine. This was what he wanted. The sooner he forgot about all this nonsense, the sooner things would return to normal. He settled into his chair and began sifting through the paperwork he had to deal with. No better way to take his mind off his troubling thoughts and distract the whine of his inner alpha. He was certain. Things would be back to normal soon.

Two weeks later, Kugo listlessly picked at the limp lettuce of the poor excuse of a salad that he had picked up at a convenience store. He sighed, putting the lid back on the barely touched meal resolving to throw it away when he next passed a garbage can. He didn’t like to admit it, but he missed the carefully planned meals. Wondering what cute surprise was going to be next. It was nice that someone thought he might enjoy seeing animal shaped onigiri and cheesecake flavored kit kats. His alpha whimpered when he thought about the contented omega scent that gently perfumed every handkerchief, except the last. But just as the note had said, he had received nothing since that last bento. His thoughts remained gloomy as he entered the agency, quickly making his way into his office, locking the door behind him. He knew better than to hope as he looked towards his desk. Bare, once again. Sighing heavily, he slumped into his chair. He gently pulled open the bottom drawer of his desk. Carefully nestled into it was the cleaned, empty bento box from the last meal, the small box of dwindling homemade chocolates, and that last precious handkerchief.

Kugo carefully removed the handkerchief. He brought the cloth to his nose, inhaling deeply. Stabbing pain shot through him as he realized the scent was barely there anymore. The faint scent of tears almost completely overpowering the last lingering trace of distressed omega. His hands clutched the fabric tightly, squeezing until he realized the stress he was putting on the fabric. He quickly placed it on the desk and tried in vain to smooth out the wrinkles. After a minute of fussing, he gently refolded it and placed it back in the drawer. Kugo stared at the contents, unblinking before slowly sliding the drawer closed. It was almost gone. Everything was almost gone. And he didn’t know how to get it back.

With a low growl, Kugo pushed himself up. Today was a rare day where he hoped for trouble on his patrol. A fight would certainly take his mind off things, and just maybe calm the whining alpha that echoed throughout his entire being.

~~~~

He really needed to be careful what he wished for. Kugo winced as he limped toward the support lab. He had gotten a fight alright. He had gotten three fights, a twisted ankle, and a once again smashed communication headset. It wasn’t his fault that he had gotten thrown backwards into a rather solid concrete wall. Y/N was going to kill him.

Kugo pushed the lab door open, stepping inside. His forehead creased in worry. The lab felt off. Wrong in a way he couldn’t immediately place a finger finger on. Well, he’d have to think about it later, he decided as he made his way to where you were sitting. You were at your workbench, tapping your pen on the table and staring at nothing when he settled down on the stool next to you. You glanced over as Kugo sat down, did a double take and let out a small noise of surprise.

“Sakamata! What happened to you?”

The large man shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. “The usual. Villain didn’t behave exactly how I thought, and I paid for not being vigilant enough. Nothing too bad. Twisted ankle and roughed up a little. Unfortunately though…”

Sheepishly as a scolded schoolboy, Kugo pulled the shattered remains of his latest communicator out of his pocket and placed them on the workbench.

“Kugo!”

He couldn’t help but smile. He loved the times when you got worked up enough to call him by his first name. He watched as you gingerly sifted through the sad shattered remains.

“What did you do, hit it with a rock?!”

“Concrete wall, actually.”

You stilled before turning to look at Kugo, sharp and suspicious. “And I assume you were wearing it at the time?”

Kugo had the decency to look embarrassed as he nodded. Suddenly he was being fussed over, gentle hands touching his face and turning his head this way and that. An exclamation and curse left you when you found a large, sluggishly bleeding gash on the back of Kugo’s head.

“You! You Alpha!” You huffed as you started digging through the pockets of your lab coat. Kugo got a brief glimpse of colored fabric before the handkerchief was softly dabbing at his wound. Kugo hissed, only half listening as the scolding continued about how knot headed alphas needed to learn to go to the medical ward first before worrying about stupid replacable tech. He was brought back to the present when a hand, so much smaller than his own, grabbed his hand. You easily maneuvered him so that Kugo was now firmly holding the handkerchief over the cut. You hummed, satisfied for now.

“Now Sakamata, please hold that there until you can get medical to look at it. Doubt a hard headed man like you has a concussion, but might need stitches. I’m not exactly an expert. Don’t worry about the headset. I should be able to get a new one to you before my replacement takes over. And if not, I’ll be leaving some blueprints behind anyway.”

What?

“Replacement?”

You stilled, looking away from him. “Yeah. Yeah, sorry. I just… I never found the right time to tell you.” You fidgeted, rubbing your thumb over your knuckles. “I’m going to be going to America soon. I’ve gotten a good offer to work with a few heroes over there that need someone specialized in mutation supports. It would do a lot to boost my career…”

Kugo reached out, grabbing your hand, and stopping your nervous motions. He tried to find words in his stalling brain. “This is really sudden, Y/N.”

“Yeah. Sorry.” You wouldn’t meet his gaze.

He gently shook his head, giving your hand a squeeze. “Not scolding you. Just, is everything alright? Is something going on?”

You pulled away, digging your hands into your hair with a sigh. “You know me too well.”

Kugo gave half a smile. “I would hope so. I like to think we’re friends. Is there anything I can do? Are you in trouble in some way?”

You shook your head. “No. No, nothing like that. It’s kind of embarrassing. Just… A courtship that really didn’t turn out well. And I just… I could really use some time away to get my head back on straight. Eagle Pride’s office has mentioned wanting me to go over and collaborate with them for a while, and what better time than now?” Your laugh sounded bitter.

Kugo sat silent and stunned. He hadn’t known you were courting. Being courted? Honestly, he wasn’t even sure of your dynamic. If you weren’t beta, then you certainly hid your scent well. He cleared his throat before speaking hesitantly.

“I certainly won’t stop you if you truly wish to go. It is an excellent opportunity. Might be a step in having your own support company if you wish. And if not, you’re always welcome here, Y/n. You must know that.”

You give a small smile, finally looking him in the eye. His chest tightened when he saw tears there. “I know, Kugo. You’ve been nothing but kind to me. You’re a good friend for putting up with me.”

“There’s no putting up with. I enjoy your company, always.” Kugo reached out slowly, but you turned away and wiped your eyes with your sleeve. He frowned, placing his hand back in his lap. “And you sure you’re alright, Y/N? No one is threatening you, are they? Someone unsafe taken an interest in you?”

You snorted, “Nothing like that. And people think I’m the dramatic one. No. I just got rejected is all. I miscalculated. Thought they were interested, but they made it very clear they aren’t.”

“Then they’re an idiot.” The words escaped Kugo before he even realized what he was going to say. But it was true, he was sure. You were beautiful, kind, smart. Anyone would be beyond lucky to hold your interest. On the rare days he allowed himself to dream, he often thought he’d love to have someone like you as a mate. Someone who knew him well and cared for him as much as he cared for them. He felt pains in his chest and his eyes widened as realization hit him in the face like a wet mackerel. Oh. He was jealous. He was jealous of whoever it was that y/n had tried to court. And he was angry. Furious that some fool had rejected her. Hurt her. But he was glad she was still here. Yet she was going to leave. Going to leave him here alone. His thoughts swirled and tumbled, and he swayed slightly in his seat. And hand on his shoulder stilled him and he looked up into your concerned eyes.

“Hey, you’re not looking too good. You really should get to medical. Do you need me to help you?”

“No. No. I can make it down a few hallways, thank you though.”

Kugo stood, and tried to give back the cloth he had been pressing to his head. You pushed it back, gently scolding him. “I said leave it there until someone can look at it. If you insist on returning a silly old rag, you can wash it and give it back later.”

Kugo nodded and mumbled out a goodbye. He had a lot to think about as he slowly made his way to medical. So. He liked you. The more he thought about it, the clearer it seemed to him. He’d liked you for a while. Things were always easy with you. But now, you’re leaving. He couldn’t stop you, and wouldn’t even if he could. You clearly felt like you needed to go.

He was still ruminating on his thoughts as the doctor ushered him to a bed. He was poked and prodded. Kugo managed to mumble out what must have been coherent answers. In the end, he did end up needing a few stitches. And just like that, he found himself fixed up and back in his office. He snorted a laugh at the absurdity. How can a day like this somehow manage to be just another day? Kugo sat in his chair and twisted the cloth in his hands absently. He brought it to his nose and sniffed out of habit. Oh course, the scent of his own blood was the most dominant. But underneath that was the usual calming scent of omega. His shoulders relaxed as the tension ran out of him. He pulled that cloth away, idly looking at the pattern. It was cute. Floral. Reminded him of the cloth that the first bento had been…

Wait.

Wait.

He hastily brought the handkerchief to his nose again. There was no mistaking it. He knew that smell. He had missed that smell for weeks. It was faint. But it absolutely was there. Omega, soft and sweet. Not any omega. His omega. His bento maker. His y/n.

Y/n.

Y/n who had seen him toss her courting gift in the trash, who thought he had completely rejected her, and who was moving to America.

Kugo was on his feet in an instant. He’d never made the trip to the support lab that quickly before. You jumped when the door flew open, hitting so harshly that the doorknob dented the wall.

“Sakamata! What?”

He dropped to his knees before you, arms wrapped tight around your waist and his head pressing against your stomach.

“Kugo?” You asked softly, hesitantly stroking along his fin. “Kugo, what’s wrong?”

“You’re the best thing life has ever given me. Please don’t leave. Please.”

You made a soft, wounded sound. You kneeled slowly, and took his face in your hands. Kugo leaned into your touch like a man who had been starved of affection his whole life. You stroked your thumbs over his cheeks.

“Kugo, I’m going to need you to speak plainly, so I’m sure I don’t misunderstand. What’s going on?”

His large hands came up, taking both your hands in his.

“I’m an idiot.”

You snorted and tilted your head, confused. He met your gaze as he continued.

“I’m an idiot and I love you.”

You inhaled sharply, looking at him in disbelief. He pulled the crumpled, bloodstained handkerchief from his pocket.

“I’m an idiot because I love you and yet I never even noticed that you loved me too. You showed me every day. You knew I like eggs just as much as fish. You cared enough to make them cute. You gave me extra sweets on days when I was working a double shift. I loved every bento you made me. I have every note saved. And I might be an idiot, but I’d be an even bigger idiot if I let you go without saying something. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, and I love you and please don’t go.”

“Kugo.” You smiled sadly. “I’m sorry. I already promised I’d go.”

Kugo inhaled a shaky breath, his eyes lowering to the floor.

“But,” you used your hands to lift his chin. His gaze snapped back to yours. “It’s just for six months. Six months, and then I’ll be right back here. With you.”

“With me?”

“Mmhmm.” You gave his nose a quick peck. “Always. You’re the best man I know. I don’t think there’s anyone else in the world for me.”

Kugo groaned and pulled you close, burying his face in your neck. From here, although it was very faint, he could smell your soothing scent. “You can’t say things like that and then tell me I can’t have you here for six months!”

You chuckled as you hugged him close. “Well, we have two weeks before I leave. We have a little time. And once I’m back? We’ll have all the time in the world.”

“Even that won’t be enough time to spend with you.”

“Dork.”

He hummed his agreement. “But it’s true. Eternity would be enough time to spend with you.” Before you could protest, he pulled you in for a gentle, but determined kiss.

[yan-twst]

Hello! May I request hc for the dorm leaders finding out that their female crush is only attracted to girls(female mc as a lesbian I stan-)? If you don't feel comfortable writing this then feel free to delete! I hope this was intresting ;-;

hell yeah lesbians rise up!!!! i included some of my own headcanons of how gay and lesbian stuff is in twst because i think it’s nice to have that there!

riddle rosehearts

riddle is immediately mortified- not because it turns out his crush is a lesbian, but because he’s now horrified all his “courting” may have come off as a bother or inappropriate. he’ll go beet red and apologize for that. he- he didn’t know! he didn’t mean to impose himself- argh!

is he heartbroken? a little. but he’s more worried that he may have come off as pushy. the queen of hearts may have been overbearing, but she never went out of her way to specifically bother anyone, and riddle feels the same way. he really really wants to make it clear he didn’t mean to bother her oh god-

once he calms down a bit, he’ll just, kinda... compose himself and apologize once more. if he had known, he’d probably not have made any advances (even though his “flirting” was more along the lines of inviting to unbirthday parties and sharing trey’s baking. it was nothing too invasive- hell, riddle’s crush wasn’t even aware he was flirting with her)

riddle will also bashfully ask if... well, even if he has no chance with her, he hopes that they can still remain friends. romantic or platonic feelings, he still really gets along with her- hell, everyone’s grown used to having her at the unbirthday parties, and trey already bakes extra for her every time.

he’ll take the title of being her friend with pride. riddle will quickly swallow down his heartbreak: this is something that has to be this way, and the fact that she likes girls simply means he’ll just be the best guy friend she possibly can have

leona kingscholar

leona “woman respecter” kingscholar takes the information well. he just kinda goes ‘oh’, nods, and takes a nap.

welp, there’s nothing to be done, so why get all sad and mopey? if the little herbivore likes girls, more power to her. welp, women are pretty and powerful. he understands why they like women. makes sense

leona is a bit sad, sure, but it’s only natural. he doesn’t dwell on it for long, though. if something can’t be changed, there’s no sense in thinking it over and over: he’s a man and his crush likes women, so that’s the end of that

despite it being so clear cut for him, he will take some time to talk everything out with her. he wants to make it clear: he was pursuing her romantically before, and he won’t anymore. he didn’t know she was a lesbian before, and now he knows

still, leona’s got a soft spot for the little herbivore. even though he might not be pursuing her anymore, it doesn’t change the fact he still feels like he’s gotta watch over her and help her. 

he’s just gonna be his usual grumpy self, really. he’ll still invite her over to practice magift, he’ll still tease them and call them “herbivore”. is he still in love? leona won’t ever mention it, really. does it matter? she’s his friend now, even if he calls her “annoying herbivore” whenever she wakes him up, and that’s pretty much all he could ask for

azul ashengrotto

fun fact did you know octopi have been seen displaying homosexual behaviours out in nature

which is to say, this isn’t anything new to azul. same-sex relationships are more common in his home than what he’s seen in the surface, but it’s not like lesbians are a new concept to him

oh don’t get it wrong he does cry when his darling tells him she’s not into men. he cries and then he lets her hug him until he stops. he then proceeds to be so mortified over it all he wishes he could go hide in his octopus pot

after apologizing for... that ordeal, azul will return to his usual composed self. it’s almost hard to tell he was a sniffling mess just a few minutes before if it weren’t for his puffy eyes

he composes himself quickly because, well... when he pictured himself getting turned down, it was always painful- old insecurities flaring, being told he wasn’t enough- but this was... not painful? it’s not as if he wasn’t good enough or something. his crush was just a lesbian! it’s not his fault, so it’s hard for him to feel sad over it

azul might even feel a bit bad for her. she’s... stuck in this all boy’s school, huh? the only girls here are probably the fae that control the weather... and the talking portraits...?

even though there’s really no girls for her to talk to, azul will still take on a protective attitude over her, giving the “if any girl breaks your heart tell me and the twins and we will avenge you” talk. azul doesn’t know why any girl would hurt her heart, because in his eyes she’s precious, but hey, he’s gotta protect his friend, right?

kalim al-asim

“wait you like women? oh me too!”

kalim takes it... so well. like, almost shockingly well? it’s like he processed the information in record speed, sorted out his own feelings immediately, and made peace with it all in a matter of seconds

kalim has many sisters around his age. one in ten people are gay. what i am getting at is kalim has lesbian sisters and so this revelation that his crush is lesbian doesn’t shake his world too much

he’ll admit it stings a little- love is a powerful thing, after all! but he thinks people who pursue others who are clearly not interested are scummy, and he’d never do anything like that

in his mind, it’s an easy ordeal. he trusts and likes her. she sees him as a close friend, and that’s the most he can be. so really, he should just be happy he’s as close to her as can be! he’s already at the top rung of being close to her, so he’s hit the goal, right?

kalim, god bless his heart, is that friend who will present his lesbian friends to any other lesbian friend he has. he has good intentions, but it might get a little tiring? and a bit overwhelming too when he brings up that he has sisters right around his age who are also into girls and suddenly he’s making plans for a big mixer party and oh god jamil please help and put a stop to this before it gets out of control please help he’s already planning a menu-

vil schoenheit

ooooh so she’s a lesbian ooooooh ok that makes sense. that makes sense. 

vil is like “oh! of course my incredible efforts into my appearance and into our friendship and in wooing her weren’t working. she is just not into men”

he’s almost surprised at how getting turned down like this just... didn’t bruise his ego at all. his efforts weren’t useless, he wasn’t doing things wrong, it simply couldn’t work! honestly, vil would have been more hurt if he’d put all this effort and his crush had been straight and still turned him down

hmm, so she’s into girls... then being here, in an academy full of men (who are, in vil’s opinion, horribly unrefined and ungraceful) must be rough.

just because he’s no longer trying to pursue a relationship with her does not mean that he’ll stop inviting her over for skincare or for trying on clothes. absolutely not. the fact vil even was attracted to her in the first place is because he saw her as someone with potential and that has not changed

he will immediately position himself as a big brother / best friend. just because he’s her friend doesn’t mean he’s gonna let her slack, though! he’s still gonna be checking she follows the skincare routine he set up for her, and that she’s eating and sleeping well- as much as he says it’s because he “wants to make her potential shine” or whatever, it’s just... overwhelmingly clear he just cares about her as a friend

idia shroud

out of all the ways he imagined getting turned down this has to be the one that he had NOT pictured and at the same time, it’s kinda the best one? crush was a lesbian so it wouldn’t work out, 10/10 turn down, didn’t make him go into a self deprecating vortex

once again, it’s the age old relief of “yes, i got turned down by my crush, but it wasn’t my fault, because it turned out she was a lesbian”. idia had ran so many scenarios of being turned down, of his crush being disgusted at him, that it all being resolved into her not liking men at all is... almost relieving?

and you know what. he gets it. when he sees his figurines and posters of his favourite idols and anime girls it’s like well duh of course she likes girls because girls are cute? 

he’s gonna have her rate his waifu tierlist. what? it’s not- it’s not weird, is it?! he’s just trying to bond, and- urgh, he kinda wants to know what her opinion on his waifus is. because his waifus are cute girls and she likes girls so ?? it makes sense? right? (idia might cry if she says his waifus aren’t That Good)

this whole ordeal might also result in the almost hilarious scenario in which ortho just straight up goes “Hey niichan, what is a lesbian?”

learning that his closest friend likes girls opens pandora’s box, the box being idia making his friend review every anime girl and gacha or visual novel girl that HE likes

malleus draconia

did you know reptiles are also quite gay? there’s even a species of lizard that’s just, entirely female. dragons are reptiles.

malleus, bless his heart, is not good at reading people. his crush will need to be Direct. trying to use metaphors like “I swing the other way”, or “I play for the other team” do nothing but further confuse him- when his crush finally cracks down and just goes “what I’m trying to say is I’m a lesbian” he finally, finally, understands what this is all about

malleus just... nods in understanding

he feels a little sad- it does sting, a bit, to know things can’t work out, but he’s also... happy. if she told him, that means she trusts him, right? 

malleus is happy enough to just have A Friend in general, even if he’d never admit he’s usually lonely. most people tend to run from him or be so intimidated they shiver when they hear his name. and yet, against all odds, he’s found a friend who likes being by his side, someone who didn’t know all the baggage that comes with his name. he’d be a fool to tear down that friendship just because he’s learnt it’ll stay platonic

also, as mentioned before, it’s not like homosexuality is some sort of taboo or odd subject. it’s actually quite common amongst the fae, especially those in Malleus’ kingdom. although he does say he can’t introduce her to any cute fae girls. he.... is not friends with any. (he just doesn’t have a lot of friends in general, but he refuses to say that because he... doesn’t want to sound “mopey”, lile lilia says he is)

[dontasktheradiodemon]

Coastal Waters (1/8/2021)

Click here if you’re like “What the heck is this about?”

Valera @autokrates and Madame @usedhearts meet underwater, talk about Madame’s history, eat an eel, and head to the library when Valera discovers to his horror that Madame, an octopus, doesn’t know shit about octopuses. octopodes. octopi.

Madame

The sea. She hadn't even seen the ocean since she was just a girl, let alone swam deep in her waters. The water was warm against her skin, and she flowed through it with an effortless grace that she honestly didn't know she had. It felt good. It felt right, to be among the waves of this alien planet. This was were a giant octopus of a lady should be.

Madame just sat there, under the water, watching curious fish and other creatures flit towards her. She was far larger than any of them, so they were either brave or foolish. A few of the more foolish ones found their way inside her mouth for their crimes. She intentionally kept her skin a pinkish red, wanting to stand out among the reef. A color that said 'Here I am, and I'm bigger than you, so watch out!' It was perfect really.  She kept a look out for anyone else going for a swim-- she'd be sure they got a little kraken scare, just for fun.

Valera

Funny, how even on an alien planet, the ocean is still comforting to anyone who loved it. Colorful fish were abundant, the reddish light of the suns lending a faintly pink tinge to the rays coming down through the water.

And here comes Valera to torment innocent wildlife, a flash of silver followed by pink as he chases a mirror bright eel adjacent creature past Madame's resting place.

Madame

Madame's head snapped to the side as Valera passed, and quick as anything, she's off after him. That eel is the target, hm? Well, she wasn't about to let their host have an easy go of it. Tentacles opening and then thrusting back to get her speed, she closed in, trying to get it first-- or at least, make a little game of it for Valera.

Valera

It takes a few seconds for Valera to notice the appearance of a competitor, movement in the corner of his eyes nearly distracting him enough to lose track of the eel. But then the slippery menace turns on a dime, diving into a crevice in the rocks for all its worth. Valera's forced to brake, fins flaring out dramatically as he backpedals just to not smash into the rocks.

He perches on the coral, snorting out a few bubbles as he looks up at Madame. "Damn! Ah well, it'll have to come out eventually. Hello! What's an octopus like you doing in a place like this?"

Madame

Unfortunately, Madame doesn't catch herself quite as quickly as Valera, but she does slow herself enough to not smash hard against the rocks. She winced as she pulled away from them, rubbing her arm.

"Ouch. Them eels are slippery fuckers, ain't they?" She smirked at Val, swimming over to them and perching in a similar manner. "That it does. And thought I'd go for a swim, enjoy it while I can 'n all that. The closest I get to all this is my aquariums at home. This is...heaven, honestly."

Valera

Valera frowns, leaning in to sniff at Madame. Any blood? He can patch up a scrape no problem! The praise for his planet makes him purr, a soft buzz in the water that makes nearby fish start swimming closer to nibble at the pink fish's scales.

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself! I was hoping my home would be a place of relaxation, but it seems like it's getting even more of a positive response than expected. If you really like it though, I'll see about inviting you back sometime!"

Madame

No blood, luckily, but she'd probably have a bruise or three later. Octopus skin is durable but not the best when it comes to impacts.

"Oh, I'd simply love that-- even give ya free drinks for life at the Cabaret if that'd sweeten the pot." She winked and laughed, before turning to look up at the surface, watching the sunlight glitter through. She was glad they were surrounded by salt water-- a few tears wouldn't be noticed down here.

"It truly is beautiful. Reminds me so much a home-- I ever tell ya, me 'n Alastor hail from the same place? Good ol' Nawlins, right there on the gulf. Gorgeous city, full of wonderful people 'n the best food 'n the south. When I went west with my husband, I knew I'd miss the ocean, but I didn't think I'd die without ever seein' it again." She smiled as she turned towards him.

"Ya really put some joy back in an ol' lady's heart, Valera, invitin' me here. Didn't think it'd mean as much as it does...but here we are." She laughed, and wiped at her eyes-- before remembering there was nothing to wipe. "Forgive me, gettin' all emotional. We supposed t' be lookin' for an eel, right?"

Valera

"Oh, that eel can go tie itself in knots for all I care, we're talking about this old lady here right now." Valera leans in, a clawed hand delicately patting at Madame's shoulder. "I didn't know you were from New Orleans! I've been there a few times. Lovely place. Very...." He pauses to think, plucking a wandering shrimp off the reef to gesture with. "Lively? Vibrant! You can really lose yourself in that city"

His tail winds around an outcrop, the fish settling down like he was lounging on the finest swooning couch. "So, you were married? Happily, I hope!"

Madame

She took a few breaths, the water filling her chest with warmth, and nodded.

"I was, born 'n raised. Got married a fresh faced youth 'n me 'n the husband decided to try 'n make our fortunes out west. We made it out there too, 'n then he caught ill 'n passed. Left me with a house built and some livestock bought 'n not much else. Started up doin' work on my back, 'n then collected some other girls, some a them like me, others on they own from the start. Home my husband built became my saloon 'n brothel, 'n a whole town sprung up around it. Lovely lil' place.

"But with people come folk what think they the law in a lawless patch a ground. Dumb fucks didn't like me much, and I ain't care for them neither. Startin' smugglin' for local outlaws, hidin' some. The quote-unquote 'law' got it in they heads to burn my place down, cause I was hidin' some poor boy they wanted-- surprised them when the whole thing blew to smithereens cause we was sittin' on a couple boxes a dynamite. Oh, if I coulda seen their faces...." She trailed off and then cleared her throat, laughing a little.

"But then I landed in Hell. And they did too. Strung 'em up by they own insides for I staked a claim on the land I landed on. That's where the Cabaret sits now. The asshole's skeletons're in the aquarium now, housin' crabs and whatnot. Serves 'em right."

Valera

Valera makes a sound more like a dolphin noise than a whistle, crossing one leg over the other as he listens to Madame tell her not especially tragic backstory. "It certainly does. Though I'm sure the short time they spent in Hell came as a rather nasty surprise, if they were going around calling themselves the *law*."

A snort. "It sounds like you've been a woman with a talent for business since day one, Madame. Can't say I'm surprised with the way you run things, but what a story. Sorry to hear about the husband though, losing someone is never easy."

Madame

She nodded, crossing her legs as daintily as someone who was fifteen feet tall could.

"Oh yeah, real nasty surprise for them-- shame I didn't keep 'em around longer, woulda been fun to have 'em strung up on the dart boards or somethin'."

Madame shrugged. "I did miss 'im but, after he died, I realized that I never _really_ loved him. Not like a woman 'n a man 'should' love each other. Dunno why, always been like that I suppose. But we was best friends since childhood 'n it made sense back then to marry someone y' at least liked, instead a some stranger."

Valera

"Hah! I can see it now! Are you a sadist? Five bucks a pop and you can throw your darts at the living dart boards! Ten points if you get them in the eyes, fifteen if you throw hard enough to knock a tooth out! Oh, Hell would have loved that." He cackles, popping the shrimp into his mouth for a quick snack. Mmm, crunchy!

"...Is there a 'should'?" His face twists in confusion. "Maybe it's an alien thing. I was set to bond with my own best friend before I cut that short in favor of running the Autocracy. Romance seems secondary in favor of... You know. Benefits."

Madame

"Dunno. With humans there's always a 'should', it seems. 'Ya _should_ love a man. Ya _should_ marry 'n have kids. Ya _should_ pick yerself up by yer bootstraps 'n get shit done. Ya _should_ know all the right things ta say'." She sighed and shrugged.

"Never much cared for the shoulds. Married because it seemed better'n bein' alone-- and I ended up alone anyways. So, what was the point 'n the first place? I sure as shit don't know. Just lost my best friend, that's all." Madame leaned her chin on her hand, elbow on her knee. "Think I woulda fared better with aliens then humans."

Valera

An eyebrow is raised as Valera turns what Madame said over in his mind. "I don't think marrying your best friend directly resulted in him dying, Madame. But I will admit, you wouldn't be the first human, former or otherwise, to say they would have likely been happier with an alien partner." He's absolutely talking about Pentious. And maybe a few others. He's a popular fish!

"Humans are silly creatures, and I do say that fondly! I've seen very few races as determined to bind themselves to strict social rules and roles that none of them seem to actually enjoy. It's baffling."

Madame

She laughed and nodded. "Yeah, I know whatcha mean. Most people seem happier when they break social conventions. Makes ya wonder why we even got 'em."

Madame took a breath and smiled. "And I didn't mean it so much as an alien partner as, well, maybe I was just meant to not be a human-- alien in a human body or some such. Maybe it's why I adapted ta bein' a weird giant octopus demon so well!"

Valera

"Your guess is better than mine, I'm only a human when it suits me."

He grins, all teeth. "It wouldn't surprise me. You never struck me as especially *human*, tentacles nonwithstanding. A lovely person? Yes, absolutely. You take good care of all your girls. But human? Not really." Well that's cryptic. But good luck getting him to elaborate, he's already distracted by trying to shove his arm into the crevice where the eel is hiding.

Madame

Madame let out another laugh, smirking as she shrugged and waved a hand.

"I'll take the compliment, and y'know, that reminds me a one of my go-to numbers." She slid off the rock she sat on and floated down a bit, twirling as she went.

"_I admit that in the past I've been a nasty, they weren't kidding when they called me well, a witch_...." She trailed off, giggling. "One of my favorites. That and 'When You're Good To Mama', acourse."

Valera

"Mm, I had you pinned as a contralto day one, my dear Madame." Valera glances over, against the rock up to the shoulder as he scrabbled for the eel. "You run that routine at the cabaret, right? I'll have to swing by to see it sometime! Maybe with my beau, though I don't know his opinion on burlesque just yet."

Madame

"Oh yes! Just tell me when y'all are droppin' by and I'll be sure to add myself to the night's roster." She winked and swam closer, looking at Val's arm, stuck deep in the rock.

"Any luck findin' the squirmy bastard? Or do ya need something a little more dexterous?" She wiggled a tentacle at him.

Valera

He frowns, then pulls his arm back and gestures for Madame to take his place. "I think you may have better luck, my dear. And for more than just that dexterity of yours! Mind the teeth though, those eels aren't the sharpest around, but they bite and do NOT let go."

Madame

Her arms crossed as she slid the tentacle inside, and Madame's face screwed up in concentration. A few moments later she let out a shout.

"Ow! Fucker got me, but I got him too!" With a mighty yank, her tentacle pulled back out, the eel wrapped tight in it, even as it chomped down on her. "What now, Val?"

Valera

"Now you eat him!" He crows, clapping his hands together as the eel gives the most hateful look it can muster. Though, underwater, there wasn't actually any sound to the gesture. "It's your catch, just bite him behind the eyes, nice and clean kill!"

Madame

She arched a brow, but brought the eel closer, moving to get a good angle. Madame opened her mouth and snapped down on the eel's head-- and it released it's own bite on her. She took it in her hands and bit it in half, swallowing down the front half.

Madame offered the other half to Val, grinning. "Here. Only right a guest share with her host."

Valera

He affects a dainty gasp, accepting the eel with a coquettish fluttering of his lashes. "Why THANK you, my dear Madame. Such a gracious guest, my hearts are warmed by your consideration."

And that chunk of eel is gone in a flash, yam yam. "Gods, always a tasty little morsel. Those have a lot of interesting names in various languages here, but my personal favorite is the one that translates best to..." He taps his chin, trying to think of the closest words. "Something like Bastard Snake. Bastard as in abandoned son, not the insult."

Madame

"Nah, I think the insult worst better, cause he sure was a bastard ta get outta there." She gestured toward her bitten tentacle.

"Think he mighta torn a chunk outta me. Ouch..." She brought it closer to inspect and while the chunk wasn't _gone_, it was barely hanging out. "Oh, that's a doozy..."

Valera

He leans in, taking a closer look at the damage to Madame's tentacle with a sympathetic hiss. "Oooh, that looks painful. Want me to fix it?"

A waggle of his fingers, and he extends a glowing hand. That's probably not ominous, right?

Madame

"Can ya?" She asked, her head tilting. "I'd love ta not have to whip out the scar cream for somethin' so small."

Valera

"I can! Healing and barriers are actually my specialty." He trills, looking VERY pleased with himself about that fact. "No strings attached for you, of course."

Madame

"Well, then, thank ya kindly. Yer a lovely 'n gracious host." She beamed.

Valera

He takes her tentacle in hand, smoothing over the wound with a slow sweep of his palm. A brief flash of numbness, heat, and there, good as new. No dramatics necessary! But he's still going to deliver with some SPECTACULAR jazz hands and the cheeriest grin he can muster.

"There, how's that?"

Madame

Madame let out a little 'oh!' at the numbness and heat, and as soon as her tentacle was released, it flexed and wiggled of its own accord.

"Well, that was sure somethin'! Never had a healin' like that."

Valera

"Never? Is healing magic not common in Hell?" Well, either that or Madame just didn't get hurt often. Either seemed possible.

Madame

"Oh no, it's not that. Usually gettin' somethin' healed costs-- usually a soul, or a favor, but always somethin'." She shrugged. "Try not to get into too many fights, cause the healin' is usually worse than the damage."

Valera

He squints, planting his chin on his open palm as he stares at the fixed tentacle. "I mean, I guess it cost something? All I did was encourage your natural healing. A few cell divisions to smooth over the damage, replace the torn up cells. Something that small didn't require actually replacing any massive swaths of material. You'll be hungrier than usual later, but that's about it!"

A shrug. "It would have been worse if you'd actually lost a chunk, but even then, I could have just converted a pebble to matching flesh or something. No biggie!"

Madame

"A pebble? Huh!" She tapped her chin. "That is somethin'. Yer magic's a lot more powerful than anythin' I can channel. Usual I go to good ol' Al for any real punchy magics."

Valera

"You know, people keep saying that. I never thought of myself as especially powerful." He holds up a finger. "Well, no. I have plenty of RAW power. But as far as efficiency goes, I'm absolute garbage. My magic isn't nearly as finely tuned as it could be. I burn tons of it on even small spells. Like, embarrassing amounts. Horrendously sloppy."

A sigh. "What kind of magic do you usually need from good old Alastor?"

Madame

"If I need a costume on the fly, he can magic up some pretty good threads. He's fairly good at some basic healin'-- like if ona my acts sprains somethin'. And of course, the best magic of all-- his reputation. Ain't nobody gonna mess with the Cabaret none if I got the Radio Demon in my back pocket." She paused.

"Don't tell him I said that, he wouldn't take kindly to it."

Valera

He waves a hand, grin turning downright impish. "What, me? Tell an Alastor that his reputation is helping protect his friends? My dear, I would *never*."

Madame

Madame giggled, and winked at him. "Yer a peach, shug." She put her hands on her hips.

"Anythin' else ya wanna tag team, huntin' wise? I'm down for a lil explorin' 'n huntin', if you are."

Valera

Valera sticks his tongue out, slowly unwinding his tail from his anchor point. "No, I'm a fish! But I understand the confusion. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone your mistake." A wink.

"We'll have to browse the local selection, Madame! If you're amenable to a bit of window shopping, that is."

Madame

"I dunno about that, ya ass is pretty peachy!" She cackled, swimming closer to take his arm.

"I'm a fan a any kinda shoppin', includin' the window kind!"

Valera

Oho! Quick on the sass with that one, was she? Good! Keeps things interesting. He politely flutters his fins, turning his head this way and that to scout out a meal.

"You're more of an ambush predator, no?"

Madame

"Think so! Don't know too much bout octopuses honestly? Only what I've been able to figure out, mostly. But it worked earlier!" She laughed.

Valera

... He turns his head back to look at Madame, eyebrows inching up slowly but surely.

"Pardon? You don't know about octopuses? The very animal your soul was moulded after for your eternal punishment?"

Madame

She laughed, oh that look on his face!

"Yup! Thinka how surprised I was when I dropped inta Hell lookin' like this!" She gestured to herself. "Knew things like fish 'n gators 'n the like, 'n even the tiny little octopuses, but never one as big as me!"

Valera

He squints, slowly turning them back towards the shore. Sounds like they're about to make a trip to the *library*.

"I'm sure. So you're not familiar with how octopus brains work? Or the semi-independent "minds" of their tentacles?"

Madame

"Oh, is that why they sometimes do shit on they own?" She giggled again, going along with Val's movements.

"And no, I ain't. Never thought to look it up, too busy buildin' my business 'n keepin' it."

Valera

He snorts. Yes, this library visit is sounding more and more necessary. But he's not above setting a sedate pace. A couple of friends on a relaxing swim, no need to flip.

"Yes, Madame. You'll also be pleased to know that were you an octopus of the male persuasion, one of your tentacles would also be your penis." A pause, and he amends. "Well, theoretically. It gets wibbly when you mix humans and other species. I doubt you'd lay four hundred thousand eggs and then die from a single mating."

Madame

Her eyes widened and she can't help but laugh again. "Oh fuck! Yeah, sure glad I don't do that! Woulda double died a long time ago!"

Valera

"If it makes you feel any better, the Earth fish I most resemble, the lionfish, can lay..." A tap at his lips, give him a moment to recall... Oh, yes, there we go. "Fifteen thousand eggs every four days?"

That's so many. He shudders at the very thought. "I'm not *quite* so prolific. But fret not, my dear. All those facts and more can be safely tucked into your noggin once we find you a book that doesn't read like watching paint dry. I know there's SOMETHING about octopuses being able to tamper with their own biology on the fly."

Madame

"Oh? That sounds interestin'. And yeah, glad we ain't out here layin' thousands of eggs, that's just too much." She laughed, giving his arm a squeeze in hers.

Valera

And off they go, back to shore and beyond, to educate an octopus woman on her own partial biology. How lovely.

[dreaming-of-assclass]

Uncover

A/N: So this is officially my longest work on this blog...over 2K words. I’m happy with how it turned out. Also a lot of asks I’ve completed or am in the process of writing, I just can’t post until a few more days :’( I’ll post them all together very soon.

~~~

“Ah, we’re here. Thank you, sir!” After greeting her driver, Izuki Mina gracefully stepped out of her car. Her silky dark hair was tied up into a tight chignon and her kimono was an elegant shade of orchid. Her heels clacked loudly upon the pavement and she extended a hand towards one of her companions. “Come on.”

6-year old Nako grumbled under her breath, taking it anyways. She looked absolutely precious in her pink dress and space buns, which Mina had accomplished after two hours of fighting her. “Can’t we just turn around now?” She whined. “I wanna go home. This is gonna be so boring.”

Before Mina could respond, Rise replied, “Now, sweetie, that’s not the right attitude to have. Be respectful, we were invited to this wedding.” The older woman, Nako’s mother and Mina’s elder sister, gracefully followed them. 

Mina still had a hard time accepting whose wedding this was. She honestly believed hell would freeze over before Karasuma Tadaomi married someone.

But nope, it was real and happening that very moment. His soon-to-be-wife was also unbelievable. She was a foreign beauty, apparently his co-worker too? Mina knew very little details… it had been a couple years since she’d spoken to Tadaomi. Their families were friends and they saw each other often, eventually becoming good friends as well. Then Tadaomi left for military training...and simply disappeared. Next thing she knows, he was a part of the whole moon exploding business, became a teacher, and was now getting married? Mina couldn’t wrap her head around it all.

The wedding was a very traditional one...unsurprising considering the Karasuma family. The venue was a beautiful Japanese garden, greenery everywhere and the soft pink of the Sakura trees. A faint babbling was heard as water ran in the stream, and a bridge stood over it. Guests were everywhere, chatting casually as more people trickled in along with them. Mina looked a bit further and saw tables filled with appetizers and small snacks to serve as refreshments. She quietly whistled to herself. Damn, this is amazing. It probably was crazy expensive too.

There was a large group of teenagers hanging out in one area of the event, a mixed group of boys and girls. Mina instantly placed them as Karasuma’s former students, from that year he apparently spent as a teacher.

Out of the corner of her eye, Mina spotted Tadaomi, standing with his family. She walked a bit faster, ignoring Nako’s “Where are you going?” 

“Tadaomi!” She called with a smile.

He looked up instantly, surprise splashing across his face. “Ah, Mina,” he greeted with a small smile. “It’s good to see you.”

His dark hair had been styled and gelled back, leaving his handsome facials open. He was dressed in very nice, classy traditional attire. Mina tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, suddenly feeling self-conscious for some reason. “You too! It’s been a long time.”

He tilted his head slightly, as if considering that sentence. “Yes, it has. How are you?”

Mina gave a light laugh. “How am I? How are you, Tadaomi? You’re about to get married! Holy shit!”

Tadaomi smiled amusedly. “I’m fine...just a bit eager to get through all this.” He glanced at everything, from the bridge overlooking the water to the bouquets that were everywhere. “It’s...so much.”

Mina sighed. He would always be the same: just his simple, straightforward self. “It’s your wedding, silly. It’s the one day of your life you can splurge and do everything, then go back to normal.”

She looked past him, searching. “By the way, where is the wifey?”

“Ah, she’s talking with our former students.”

Mina raised an eyebrow. Our? So they met on the teaching job...huh. She looked back at the cluster of teens, and lo and behold, the foreign beauty was there. She was gorgeous, with long light curly hair styled to perfection. Her eyes were a vivid blue and her makeup was perfectly applied. Mina couldn’t tell because of the elaborate bridal attire, but she was guessing the woman had a model-esque figure...she looked quite tall too.

How on earth had Tadaomi met this amazing woman?

“Karasuma!” A voice called, and Mina swiveled around to see two men in dark suits waving him over. Their greeting was casual but they had an air of professionalism surrounding them. Mina assumed they were his government co-workers or something.

Tadaomi saw them too and faintly grimaced. “Ah, I’m sorry, we’ll have to finish catching up sometime later today,” he apologized.

Mina shook her head, smiling. “No, it’s okay! I’ll be around...so whenever you wanna talk, it’s fine.”

He nodded and left to talk to his colleagues. Mina stood there for a moment before feeling a tug at her arm. “What-” Oh, it was just a very ire Nako, scowling. 

“Can we get food please?” She demanded. “Mom told me to ask you to go with me.”

“Where’s your mom?”

“Over there.” Nako gestured to her right, where Rize was talking to Tadaomi’s mother. Great. Mina would be stuck babysitting her very grumpy little niece.

“Okay, let’s go,” she sighed.

They made their way past the many guests and towards the tables lined with delicious-looking food. There were so many platters of colorful sushi...Mina had heard a guest mention in passing that it was because it was the bride’s (what was her name again...Ivanka?) favorite food. Mina glanced around, looking at all her options. Her stomach began to grumble in hunger.

Then she saw it. What in the world -

In the midst of all these elegant tables filled with dishes of tasty, delectable, presentable classy food...was a takoyaki street cart. It looked so incredibly out of place, Mina actually blinked. Once. Still there. Twice. Ok, nevermind, it was real.

“Oooh! I want takoyaki!” Nako exclaimed, already pulling Mina towards it.

“Hey, wait!”

They were at the end of a line now, in front of the cart. Mina could hear the guests in front of them murmuring about the oddity as well. “Wasn’t expecting this at all, but hey, I love takoyaki,” a young man said to the girl next to him.

“Yeah, same,” she replied in agreement.

Mina sighed, feeling her stomach grumble even more. All she wanted was to dig into the platters of sashimi on the fancy table, not wait in line for takoyaki of all things. She glanced down. At least Nako would stop complaining for a while.

“Oh, man, I can’t believe Okano started crying at that, of all things,” Mina heard from beside them, and a few of the teenagers from earlier were walking by them. There was a tall boy with dark hair, a shorter boy with orange hair that reminded her of mushrooms, a girl with straight purple hair, and the last girl was the shortest with dark curly hair. They were all dressed in appropriate formal attire.

“I know, right?” The purple girl laughed. “Ooh, let’s try the takoyaki from here!”

There was a short pause until the orange mushroom boy agreed. “Yeah!”

Now they were standing right behind Mina and Nako. She turned and politely smiled at them. Maybe they’d have an answer for this out-of-place food. “Hello!”

They jolted for a moment, before returning a bright grin. Well, the orange boy had a small, cute smile but the dark curly girl looked deadpan. “Hello!”

“Ah, you guys are Tadaomi’s old students, right?”

The tall boy smiled and nodded. “Yes, we are! I’m Sugino, and this is Fuwa, Mimura, and Hazama,” he listed them off, gesturing to each kid accordingly. Sugino definitely seemed like a chatterbox, a very friendly charming one too.

Fuwa rubbed her chin, giving Mina an odd look. “Hmm...you call Karasuma-sensei by his first name? How close are you?”

“Fuwa!” Mimura exclaimed in embarrassment. Fuwa struck Mina as someone who was usually unfiltered, judging by his reaction.

“You can’t just ask her that. It’s none of our business,” Hazama sighed, almost sounding apologetic.

“What? I’m just wondering...you guys are, too! Don’t deny it!” she protested. Yep, she definitely didn’t have a filter.

Mina laughed, slightly put off but more amused than anything. “It’s ok! No worries! I’m Mina, and this is my niece Nako. My family is friends with Tadaomi’s, we grew up together for a little bit when we were young,” she explained.

“Ooohh,” they chorused. “Nice to meet you both!” Mina laughed some more. Okay, that was kinda cute.

“Say, do you guys have any idea what this street cart is doing here?” she wondered, deciding to just go for it. She chuckled. “It’s just surprising to see since sushi from the finest place in Japan is sitting right over there.”

They all laughed. Sugino ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, it is weird,” he agreed. “We were the ones who actually asked for it. Our class, I mean.”

Mina furrowed her brows. “Oh, really? Why?”

Fuwa smiled softly. “Our old teacher, he worked with Karasuma-sensei and Bi-” she paused, looking at Nako. “Jelavic-sensei. He, um, really liked...takoyaki.”

“Yeah, he loved octopi a lot,” Mimura chimed in. “One could say he was basically one himself.”

Mina was slightly lost now. “Like a spirit animal?”

Hazama shrugged. “Yeah, something like that.”

“Oh. Well, that’s cool.”

Hazama gave her a look. “It’s okay, it’s weird. We know.”

Mina wasn’t sure what to say to that. “Um, so tell me more about this teacher! He seems like an interesting guy.”

Sugino laughed. “Yeah, he was definitely interesting. He had a lot of weird habits. He loved junk food, for one. Always blew his teaching money on that.”

“He really liked po-” Mimura paused, glancing at Nako. “Um, magazines. He had a huge collection of them.”

“He used to fry tissues to eat sometimes, because he was so broke,” Fuwa added.

“That’s terrible!” Mina exclaimed.

Hazama waved her off. “Oh, don’t worry, he was okay.”

“He was obsessed with soap dramas,” Mimura continued. “Always used to try and ship us all together to try and emulate them.”

“Oh...that’s a bit odd,” Mina stated politely.

“Yeah, we hated it. We shot him with bb pellets whenever he was being too annoying.”

“Wow, that’s -”

“It’s fine! He encouraged it all the time!”

Fuwa sighed. “Even with all those irritating quirks, he was still the best teacher ever.” The atmosphere had shifted into a more somber, nostalgic one as all the kids looked down slightly.

Sugino nodded. “He always cared about us and looked out for our wellbeing all the time.”

“He was great at explaining concepts, and we even made personalized practice tests for every student,” Mimura added.

Hazama averted her gaze. “He made all of us feel welcome and like we belonged in that class,” she said softly. “Like we were all a piece of one big puzzle, meant to be there from the start.”

“He built a pool for us,” Fuwa sighed again.

Mina blinked. “Wow, he sounds like an amazing person!” She glanced around her. “Is he here? I’d love to meet him!”

The kids stiffened, and she instantly regretted her question. Stupid Mina! Obviously, something happened or they wouldn’t sound so sad! But she’d been distracted by all that they were saying, she’d forgotten.

She took a breath. “I’m sor-”

“No, he’s not here,” Sugino finally spoke. “He...passed away at the end of the year.”

Mina felt her stomach lurch. “I’m so sorry…”

“No, no, you’re fine,” Fuwa replied, shaking her head. “It’s okay.”

Mimura laughed slightly. “You know he would’ve freaking loved it if he were here.”

The other two laughed while Hazama smirked. “He’d be a bawling mess. Probably would badger those two constantly until he got kicked out.”

“He’d insist on personally handling Karasuma-sensei’s hair and styling,” Sugino continued. “But he’d go overboard and mess it up.”

“Seventy-percent of the food would already be devoured,” Fuwa added with a grin.

Hazama raised an eyebrow. “Only seventy-percent? That’s being generous,” she commented dryly, amusement in her tone.

“True!” They burst out laughing again. Mina smiled, relieved to see that they moved on from her little mishap and weren’t sad anymore.

“Oh, Ms Mina, it’s your turn,” Sugino pointed out, and she turned around to see the vendor waving at her.

“Oops, sorry!” She smiled at them once more before turning to place her order. Hard to believe that the answer to why this takoyaki cart was here was all thanks to an old teacher with odd quirks who liked octopi...and guided a lot of bright, good kids. She definitely would continue that conversation with those four and hopefully get to meet more of Tadaomi’s students.

[fangirlauthor]

Midnight Museums Ch. 1

Korra

Apparently, running is not allowed, even if something is on fire. No, no, if something is on fire, you walk - calmly, always calmly - to the exit, or to a nearby fire extinguisher. Obviously, this means employees run - no, sorry, walk - towards the fire, and customers are free to see themselves out.

Actually, my boss would tell me to see the customers out, even if I were on fire and melting on the spot. Happy customers mean happy literally no one else, and that’s the goal.

Also, I’m being monitored twice as much as my coworkers because like I said, no running. You go to help someone put out a small fire one time, and it’s all red tape from there. Who knew?

It's been a long day, which means I haven’t had twenty minutes to sit - and yes, I’m working, but standing on your feet for seven hours without pausing is a little much for anyone.

Fortunately, I get one break. I’ve been saving it precisely so I can  pretend to be in the bathroom so my boss doesn't make me go back to work before my break is over. It’s awfully productive of me, I know, but hey, breaks are breaks.

A knock on the door, and I groan. I was so busy trying to get a full five minutes off, I didn't bother going to the staff restrooms, located - very helpfully - on the other side of the building. Which means I now have to get out and let a customer in after me. Great.

"Were you busy? Didn't mean to interrupt." a woman is standing outside the door. Her hair is grayed, and behind her is a woman who looks like she's about ready to commit arson. I wish to death I could tell that lady that if she wanted to burn this place down, I'd help her. She looks like the kind of person who understands why customer service jobs suck, or at least the type of person who would be hands down for arson for whatever reason. (And mine’s not even that bad.)

I step aside, gesturing for them to go ahead with whatever it was that they came to do, and check my watch. I'm two minutes early, but since I'm already in the showrooms… might as well try and get a quiet spot.

----

It’s been twenty minutes, and I haven’t had another chance to sit down. I did manage to snag a room no one visits, but my boss uses the security camera in the corner to monitor anyone in the room, which means no resting on any of the fifty oversized, bright red, and uncomfortable-looking benches. Or sitting on the floor, or leaning against the wall.

Something clatters against the floor, and it rolls to a stop in front of my foot, screaming as it does. I catch it with my boot, then bend to pick it up, glancing between the item, the camera, and the door as I do. As long as I don’t look like I’m slacking off, it’ll be fine.

The door to the exhibit hall bangs open, and my boss barges in. “Korra. Fix your posture. Clean up the trash lying around, this room is a mess, and what even-” I glance around. There’s nothing on the floor. I’ve picked up the item already, and it’s hidden up my sleeve. I tune back in, and he’s saying, “-customers could see this, we’d lose profits, the octopus is going to eat everyone, and- are you listening? You’d better be listening.”

I wasn’t listening. Except for the octopus part; a few years ago, the old manager  - somehow - adopted an octopus, and Ey (said “ay”) has lived here since. Actually, the old guy called her “Eight” but us commoners thought that was a little on the nose - what with her being an octopus and all - so Ey stuck. For whatever reason, my boss was born with three things: vocal chords, muscles, and a raging fear of octopuses. (Octopi? I’m not sure.)

“Yes, of course, sir.” We both know I’m lying. It’s probably been a minute since he asked if I was listening, which means… well, I don’t know what it means. My boss is about as consistent in reprimands as anyone is at anything.

He breathes in sharply, but before he can say anything, a voice says, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt something.”

He whirls around, coattails flapping wildly behind him - did I mention he dresses like a conductor? Coattails and all - and stammers out a, “You weren’t interrupting anything. I was merely conversing with my employee. Are you here to view the exhibit?”

The last question is stupid. Actually, all of his sentences were stupid, but that’s a given.

“Yes, is that a problem? I could always look at another one in the meantime.”

I still can’t see who’s talking; the voice sounds familiar, but I can’t place it.

“No, of course not, no problem at all. Korra here will tell you about whatever you’d like. Please enjoy your time, and come back again!” With that, he runs out the room, his shoes quacking like ducks, because Ey likes to splash water at him.

I love Ey.

I’ll be able to see the owner of the voice in a moment, so I put on my best, “Everything-is-fantastic-I-love-it-here-why-are-you-asking-me-if-I’m-in-pain?” face and look to see who it is.

I blink. She blinks. Neither of us speaks. Until, of course, she does.

“Hello, Korra.”

I still can’t speak. I’ve known her for years. We were friends at first, then came middle school and early high school. We stopped being friends. Started becoming competition.

“Hello, Asami. Nice seeing you again.”

[moonbeamsung]

Hey, what's your favorite color? What's your aesthetic? Do you prefer angst or fluff? Are you more of jeans or dresses kind of girl? What's your opinion on skirts? What would be your reaction to meeting Jisung? Cats or dogs? Summer or winter? Fall or spring? Cats or dogs? Bunnies or squirrels? Surfing or tubing? Would you rather swim in the ocean or adventure in the rainforest? Do you like big houses or small houses? Would you prefer a tree house or a swimming pool? Squids or octopi? If you could have anyone play you in a movie about your life, who would it be? What is your grandest aspiration? Which NCT Member do you want to fight the most? Which NCT Member do you think needs a hug the most? Which NCT member/members do you think you wouldn't get along with? Which ones do you think you would become fast friends with?

it’s a slow and dreary afternoon, and answering your questions seems like the perfect thing to do right now :O

can guarantee my answers will be extensive, so read more if you dare >:D

(i am also giving myself an excuse to overuse emojis because why the heck not, right?)

my favorite color is purple!💜☂️🪁🦄🔮🍬🎆🧬🍇it changed to blue for a while because my younger self thought that was the “cool” color to like, but now it’s back to the original☺️peer pressure? don’t know her anymore

hmm, my aesthetic? definitely soft and cheerful. a few things i can think of to describe it: warm pajamas fresh out of the dryer on a cold night, listening to french love songs at 1am, doodling in the margins of notes, little perfume sample cards, wearing lip gloss around the house for no reason except to make myself feel confident, spending more time playing animal crossing than i do socializing

rapid fire:

angst💔or fluff☁️(i have a soft spot for both, though) | jeans👖 or dresses👗 | cats🐱 or dogs🐶(again, love both) | summer☀️ or winter❄️ | fall🍁 or spring🌷 | bunnies🐰 or squirrels🐿 | surfing🏄 or tubing🏖(i am not good at either oops) | squids🦑 or octopi🐙

opinion on skirts: ooh, i don’t own very many (or possibly any? i’m not sure) but i’d definitely like to wear them more! they make me feel very cute hehe. i want to start changing my wardrobe and defining my style more clearly, too🥺

meeting jisung: geez, i don’t even know what i’d do....okay, so obviously there’s a lot of different ways to react to meeting a celebrity but out of the two main ones i think most people have, i’m definitely the type to be SUPER shy and quiet and have no idea what to even say (can confirm this, i have met one or two to know). i would probably try to work up enough courage to tell him how much i admire him, his talents, and that i hope to dance as well as he does one day, but i would be such a mumbling/stuttering mess no matter what

swim in the ocean or adventure in the rainforest: i probably wouldn’t be very cut out for the rainforest as i’m scared of bugs and snakes and have a terrible sense of direction lmao, so i’d say swimming in the ocean!

big or small houses: i really love big houses, and as cozy as smaller ones are i love having lots of room to move around. also a big house just has more room to decorate, and i’ve always thought it would be fun to be an interior designer :D

treehouse or swimming pool: THIS IS A TOUGH ONE hhhhhhhh but a treehouse would be a nice spot to just relax and get away from everything. i can see myself spending a lot of time reading or writing there. i guess i’d say that!

who would play you in a movie of your life: i’ve always heard this question asked and never really known how i would answer. is it cliché to say emma watson? she’s my birthday twin and i admire her a lot, not to mention i relate to her in some ways!

my grandest aspiration is to become an author. i still don’t know whether i’ll actually be able to pursue it as a career, much less succeed, but it’s something i really enjoy, and if that could be how i spend my life? it would be a dream come true.

as non-confrontational as i am, i guess i’d..fight...uh jaemin? i know it’s probably an odd choice but hear me out: for all the fanservice he does mans must have some sort of frustrations to get out, i imagine. but at the same time i’m pretty sure he’d go easy, because i am no wwe champion lol

i’d hug them all in a heartbeat, honestly. but who needs a hug the most? i’d say kun and taeil. i really think they need so much more love than they get right now, and if a hug is how they receive it? so be it. also think they need more opportunities to give hugs anyway, i bet you would feel so safe and comfortable in their arms? hello?? yes i want a hug now :(

i think that i would struggle more to get along with the more extroverted of the members, like lucas, ten, chenle, haechan, maybe even renjun or johnny as well? i know that’s a pretty general reason but idk what else to say. (though they’re all grown adult men..would i really get along with any of them—)

okay i’m just as affectionate as jaemin so that in itself is a definite yes. i also just believe we have quite a bit in common so there’s that too. mark, xiaojun, jeno, jisung and taeyong also come to mind, sorta quiet but i think they’d be really comfortable to be around.

i’m done rambling now, sorry it took so long for me to answer but thank you so much for sending me these questions, soulmate🥺🥰i love youuu!

[lesbian-octoling]

Hey guys, Xeno drama ((you know, about the banner and hate and whatnot)) below the cut if you don’t wanna see it!!! 

@mrkamabo--co Hello! I don’t know if you’re ever going to see this, but. It’s here.

First of all, yes, it’s me! lesbian-octoling, rhi-draws-things, whatever you wanna call me. I’m making this because I’ve heard through a friend of mine that I trust that you are a relatively good person, and while I don’t agree with everything you’ve done, I figured i might as well try to clear things up between us.

First off-

I’m sorry.

This is a 100% genuine, formal apology. I am sorry your medical issues are acting up, I understand completely. I had and almost identical use (albeit with chemical imbalances making me throw up, instead of breathing/heart issues, but both caused by stress), so I get it.

I’m not here to stress you further. In fact, I’m here to try and resolve the issue. I don’t want you to feel the way you do, and I don’t want to start more drama. I should know, i’ve been receiving nasty shit for a while. If you don’t want to read this- that’s okay! Don’t stress yourself, dude.

I just feel like this is important, because we never actually talked- and lack of communication often leads to violence.

But there are a few thing I wanted to address- first and foremost, the ‘xeno free zone’ banner, and the tags.

#‘you’re a coward cuz u wanna draw them with t^ddy’#i don’t do that in the first place lmao#and if you’re going to say:#'its actually scientifically accurate!’#nope it really isn’t #why?#why would squids/octopi evolve to have digigrades/muzzles/claws on their hands?#why would they look like goats with their eyes and muzzles?#they would have flat fish face!#have squid/octo hat heads!#like the third stage in their canon evolution!#exaggerate that if you want scientifically accurate squidlings/octolings/inklings!#otherwise.. yall just makin them into furries tbh#note: i have a surplus of fursonas#k peace

Ah, I hope you don’t mind me going off a bit, but I did want to say things!!!

Muzzles: Inkling beaks, IRL, are very long! they just look flat because.. well, squids are long! But if you put that into something shaped like a human head, they need a bit more room to stretch out.

Claws: they’re not actually claws, they’re hooks! Just like real deep-sea squids have hooks made of chitin that can retract back into their tentacles, which is why i made them like that. As you can see when they go back into heir squid forms, their arms and legs ARE just evolved tentacles!

Here’s a cool example of the hooks, as compared to some of my squid hands:

‘goat noses’: This is because… it’s not a nose! A real squid breathes through it’s siphon, which is one, large hole. That’s why their nose is like that- it’s not two nostrils, it’s one hole, but flattened down so it’s not just a big ol’ hole in their face. If it was, things might get into it, like dirt or bugs or.. i dunno.

Digigrades: admittedly, this is just because it’s fun, and theres no reason they shouldn’t. Any other similarities to cats is just… coincidental, really, as cats and squids have a lot of similarities (liking the sun, chasing lights, etc).

Eyes: Actually, this was a mistake. When i FIRST started getting into splatoon i was like ‘wait squids have horizontal pupils right’ and only found out later that no.. that’s octopi! But oh well, it was a bit late, eh? live and learn.

I’m not saying its fully scientifically accurate- hell, course it’s not! But its more biologically accurate than having them being made of ink. Mostly, I just think it’s fun, cus I’m a budding biologist and I think it’s cool to explore these concepts.

Ok! Thats all I gotta say. I just wanted a chance to explain myself, s’all! As for the banner itself… while it may have been joking in nature, I do think it was a bit rude. Kinda like swinging a bat at a hornet’s nest, yeah..? Like you said- “but yknow tumblr be tumblr, and i honestly expected This™”… you gotta watch out what you say sometimes. You could’ve made it more obvious that you were joking- putting ‘XENO FREE ZONE’ with bit red X’s and ‘feel free to reblog :)’ just has.. a very mean tone to it, and it rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, regardless of your intentions. It really didn’t sound like a joke, to a lot of people, including me.

Though, maybe, we’re all just a bit wary- I’ve been receiving asks telling me to- quite literally- kill myself, multiple times, over this. I also know several friends who have gotten the same messages (a few of which don't even draw xeno, but simply because they are my friends). I think me (and other xeno artists, though I cannot speak for them) have a right to be wary, when we’re so used to being bashed. A lot of people are scared, and it doesn’t make what some people said right, I’m just… telling you why that massive backlash happened.

And by ‘massive backlash’…. if I’m being honest- and I don’t mean to make it sound trivial- a lot of the responses to those posts weren’t truly mean. Some people sent a clown meme, a lot of people responded with ‘why are you hating us, were just having fun’. A few were pretty mean, yes, but I could count them on one hand. These were light hearted in nature, and nothing like some of the truly nasty things that could’ve been said. You wouldn’t believe the things I’ve received in my inbox…

I think a lot of this could’ve been avoided if your post right after had simply been an apology. Instead of playing the victim card, simply say ‘ah, that last post was a joke- i sincerely apologize, and I might’ve worded it poorly’. That’s it. And it could have been avoided if you said, in the tags ‘this is a joke post don't take it seriously’. But instead, you went on the criticize xeno aspects. Not saying you’re wrong, but pointing out why so many people took it the wrong way.

But.. the main thing I wanted to address was this post.

I.. can’t say I’m in the right, but I can’t say you are, either. I probably shouldn’t have made that post- but it was meant more as an off-hand joke. I didn’t mention you at all, as I didn’t want anyone to hate on you. It’s more of a running joke for my blog of ‘sexy tartar’, which is why it was funny enough that I brought it up.

#can’t feel safe#when i put an opinion out there#its easy.. to ignore a post yknow…? It’s also easy not to make a joke like that. Again- maybe you intended it as a joke, but it’s like one of those shitty april fools pranks where you tell somebody something bad happened. We got scared. Doesn’t make it right of us, but it doesn’t make it right of you, either.

But the ONLY thing I’m truly angry about- if you saying that ‘you, a minor, don’t feel safe because you’re being shat on by an adult’. The reason this makes me mad is because… I’m 18. Barely. And you’re 17. I’m… not even a full year older than you. I’m still in high school. The way you worded it made it sound like i’m a 32 year old getting off on sending hate to a 13 year old- and that’s not even close to the case. That is not cool, dude.

Anyway. Sorry about that, though I hope you can see why I’m.. unhappy with the wording. I’m trying to solve things here, not make them worse, ha…

And.. yes, I did block you. But not so you wouldn’t find out. You can still see my blog; i know this. I blocked you because I’ve been getting hate anons for the past few weeks, and I can’t be too careful with who I block. I’m tired of people telling me im ‘ruining the fandom’, so I tend to block at leisure, or when I have suspicion. And a big ‘ANTI XENO’ banner is reasonable suspicion, yes…?

Again, I apologize for that post, but i was not doing to to spite you, just because I found it funny. I didn’t contribute to the spreading of hate to you in any way- I am very anti-hate messaging, and very pro ‘block and ignore if you don’t like them’. Which is.. what I was trying to do, but I didn’t want to leave us on that sour note. I did not encourage anyone to ridicule you on your post, or send you any sort of messages and asks.The only people I complained to were my girlfriend and a select few close friends, who i KNOW would not participate in any sort of hate spreading.

I’m not asking you to be friends with me. I’m simply trying to clear off any misconceptions- I’m fully welcome to hearing what you have to say back. But…

All in all, I think the gist of what im trying to say is that we all made mistakes, and we should both own up to them. I’m very sorry about your heart condition- I sincerely, 100% hope you get better. And I’m hoping that by talking it out, we can clear things up and not let it stew..? I know that sometimes these things tend to eat at me until I fix them, and that is all I’m trying to do.

I’ve unblocked you for as long as it takes for us to resolve this issue, if you would like to move to DMs, or to discord. Either works. Or.. don’t respond at all, if you don’t want.

Have a nice night, and I hope you feel better!

[mosylufanfic]

Big Dreams

I have another self-prompt for today’s NaNo story, for “Fancy meeting you here.”

I got the sudden wild hair to write a Killervibe AU set in the world of the musical episode, and since this month is all about various wild hairs, I went with it. Since we didn't see Caitlin in the musical portion, but we did get a reference to Cisco having big dreams, I figured I would expand on that some. Apologies for any inaccuracies - it's been awhile since I saw the episode. Thanks to @hedgiwithapen for pointing me at a transcript.

Also, even though they were very fuzzy about the exact time period (as suits the timeless movie musical feel) I've elected to set it immediately post-WWII, if only because I've written in that period before and have an affection for it.

Mosylu I don’t understand!

Big Dreams

"Hello," said a soft voice.

Cisco looked up at the pretty girl in the flouncy cocktail waitress's outfit. "Hey," he said in surprise. They'd never exchanged words before. "Uh. Fancy meeting you here."

He felt bad for not remembering her name, but as far as he knew, not many people at the club did. She didn't drink any of the leftover booze after the club closed up, or hang around chatting with everybody, or grab a smoke on the fire escape. She came in, did her work, and left.

Most of the others called her a snob, but Cisco had a warm feeling toward her for how she’d handled the question of their breaks.

This corner of the back staircase was quiet and well-lit - the perfect place to sit and write music. Apparently, it was also the perfect place for her to sit and read, making notes to herself in a little notebook.

After a few nights of tripping over each other in this coveted spot, she had started giving him a little wave when she went to and returned from her break, and he returned the favor - silently coordinating their schedules so that they both got this little corner of the staircase to themselves.

It wasn't a perfect system - some nights, you had to take your breaks when they came - but when that happened, they sat a few steps apart. He refrained from humming his favorite clusters of notes, and he felt like she tried to keep the scratch of her pencil to a minimum.

Now, though, she showed no signs of settling down with her book. "Can you come with me?" she said instead. "I want to show you something."

He looked at her suspiciously as she picked her way down the stairs past him. "Where are we going?"

She looked over her shoulder. "You'll see."

They went down the staircase, and he told himself not to look at her rear in the flouncy skirt, or the neatness of her ankles in the kitten-heel shoes, or the little reddish-brown curls that escaped her hairdo to cuddle up to her slender neck. That was how a fella like him got in trouble with a girl like her.

She took a turn, and another turn, and he was torn between being kind of excited and a little scared, because seriously, she wore a tiny chip of diamond on her left hand, and it would be just like him to get tangled up with a girl who had a big moose of a guy waiting at home for her.

She dipped her hand into her cleavage and pulled out a little key on a chain, which she used to unlock a door off to one side. It was dim inside the room, downright romantic.

Oh boy, he thought, and explained to himself that he was not going to walk into that room and kiss that cocktail waitress, no matter how much he wanted to. Kiss her or do anything else with her. He turned his head and put one hand up to block his view, trying not to hear the soft rustle of her dress and the click of a light switch.

"Aren't you going to look?" she said softly, and the timbre of her voice stroked up and down his skin.

"Miss, not, uh, not that I'm not very flattered, and um, very tempted." So tempted. "But I don't feel like it's the best idea, what with you being engaged to be married and all - "

"Pablo," she said sharply. "Would you stop gibbering and just look at what I have to show you?"

He couldn't resist looking, and then gasped aloud. "Aren't you pretty," he cooed, crossing the room and walking right past her. "Aren't you just gorgeous."

He settled himself at the piano in the center of the room. He ran his fingers lovingly over the ivory keys, and almost sighed at the beautifully tuned sound.

"It's an extra practice room," she said. "They sometimes use it during the day but never after about four. If you get here before your shift, you could practice a little if you wanted."

"If I wanted," he said longingly. "You sure I won't get in trouble?"

She shrugged. "Cutter Moran himself gave me the key and said I could use it any way I liked."

He almost broke his neck, whipping around to stare at her. "You're engaged to Cutter Moran?"

"No!" she cried. "It's not like that. I'm just the only one who can make a perfect Old Fashioned, apparently. He asked if he could do anything for me and I said I could use a place to study."

"Well, wasn't that kind of him?" Cisco said, still wondering if he should skedaddle before Cutter Moran came down on him like a ton of bricks for laying eyes, if nothing else, on his girl. God, it would hurt to leave this piano behind.

"I wondered the same thing you're thinking, but he doesn't seem to want anything from me but a drink every hour, on the hour." She fiddled with the key. "If you want the truth," she muttered, "even though he has a son, I don't think he's especially interested in girls."

His brows went up. Well. That put a different spin on Cutter Moran’s war with those two gangsters. He wondered what the story was there, and told himself it was none of his business.

He turned back to the piano and played a few chords. "My name's not Pablo."

"What?"

"You called me that a few minutes ago. Pablo's not my name."

"It's not? But Grady - "

"Grady's following the boss's lead, and that's what the boss calls all us Spanish fellas. Says he can't be bothered to remember all those weird names." He tried not to let the bitterness leach through, but some of it came out.

Her brows went up. "Because Cutter is so standard. I thought it was strange we had five busboys all with the same name. What's your real name, then?"

"Francisco," he said. "Cisco for short."

"Cisco," she said. "Nice to meet you. And I'm Caitlin."

He looked up. "Hiya, Caitlin."

She settled herself in a chair, setting her book aside. "As long as we're cleaning up misconceptions - I'm not engaged."

His hands paused over the keys for a split second. Then he continued playing, telling himself that a girl like that probably had a beau, even if he hadn't tied her down yet. "You wear a ring. Married?"

"Not that either," she said. "Totally unattached. One of the other girls told me a ring wards off the octopi."

"The - ?"

"The handsy fellows."

"And does it?"

She shrugged. "Sometimes." She twisted the ring on her finger. "I was supposed to be, you know. Married."

"What happened?"

"He died."

He stopped playing altogether. "I'm sorry to hear that. The war?"

Her eyes looked far away. "The Pacific. After the surrender. He was supposed to come home."

He didn't know what to say. I'm sorry? Gosh, I bet you miss him? It all sounded idiotic. Not nearly enough to cover the depth of her loss. "That sounds hard," he said, and it was even more banal than his other options.

"It is," she said simply. "Have you written a lot of music?"

Well. That subject had been closed, for sure. He nodded. "A steamer trunk's worth, at least. Is that why you brought me down here?"

She nodded. "And because I heard what you said to the singers to the other day. About having dreams. Being up on that stage one day."

He looked down at the keys. "Big talk," he muttered. "I am, though, you know. Gonna be on that stage someday. That stage and a hundred others."

"I believe you," she said simply. "I know about dreams. They take work. I have the feeling you're already doing every bit of the work."

He smiled up at her. "You gonna be on that stage too? Belting out a swoony torch number, maybe doing a little soft-shoe?"

She laughed. "Oh, no, absolutely not. I can't sing a note." She considered. "Well, I can sing a note, but it's not the one you want to hear at the time."

"Then what do you dream about?" he asked, and suddenly realized it might be her dead fiance, home again.

But she leaned forward, her face bright. "Remember how I said I was going to school?"

"Yeah?"

"It's medical school. I'm going to be a doctor."

He considered. "That's a big dream, all right."

She waited a moment. "You're not going to ask me wouldn't I rather be a nurse instead?"

"I figure if you'd meant nurse, you'd've said nurse," he said.

She smiled.

"If you don't mind my asking, how are you paying for medical school on the pennies they give us here?" He'd seen her at work, quietly and efficiently shuttling drinks back and forth. Quiet and efficient wasn't what most men wanted from their cocktail waitresses.

"I have a little money from my grandmother, and Ronnie left me all his savings." She played with her ring again. "He knew. We talked about me going to school after we got married." She looked around. "This job just patches up the cracks, that's all."

"Nice girl like you doesn't have a nice family to fall back on?"

"You'd think so, wouldn't you? But I was supposed to marry a doctor, not be one."

"Did they kick you out?"

"Nothing so dramatic. My parents' money comes with strings, that's all. I got tired of strangling on them."

A thump overhead drew both their attentions, and when he looked back down, Cisco caught sight of the watch on his wrist. "Oh, damn," he swore, and added, "sorry," automatically. "We're both four minutes over our breaks."

"Oh, no!" She grabbed her book.

They both scrambled for the door, hitting the light on the way. She panted up the stairs ahead of him, her heels clattering.

Just before they scrambled out onto the club floor again, she turned to him. "I'll leave the key in my cubby," she murmured. "Grab it anytime, okay?"

"Okay," he said. "And, hey, I don't know if you need absolute silence to study or anything but - I'd always welcome the company when I'm practicing."

She blinked, and then smiled. "I'd like that. I have to go."

"Me too."

They rushed off in different directions, and even though he got yelled at for stretching out his break, Cisco couldn't stop smiling, the rest of the night.

FINIS

(A/N) for anyone who's curious about Caitlin's ability to afford med school on a couple of inheritances and a cocktail waitress's job, a year of tuition at UPenn med school in 1947 was 650 dollars, or a little over 7000 dollars in today's money. And that was on the high side.

[talesofacampcounsellor]

My experience as a trans masc camp counselor

First off let me just say that I am incredibly fortunate to have worked with the team I had this past summer. They always made sure safety was number one for everyone. First off, nobody went into the summer knowing. All through training, I was silent on the matter and never let my discomfort show. It wasn’t until after the first few days of camp that I said anything. The first 2 weeks of camp were rough. I had 2 special needs campers who took up most of my attention and one of my co-counselors was the opposite of helpful. I was so frustrated because I wanted to do right by these kids and show them so much love and happiness and I didn’t feel like I was doing this with the situation I was in. I was already feeling burned out and I was only the 3rd day of camp. It was that first Thursday evening that I decided to ask one of my coordinators if we could talk in their office. I ended up talking to my coordinator Karn. (camp name Ash) He knew I was feeling frustrated with my group and the lack of help from one of my co’s and he wanted to help me the best he could. What he didn’t know was that there were other forces at play trying to make my summer as difficult as possible. The constant miss gendering and being called a “pretty girl” by campers and parents was driving me crazy. Having to wear a feminine swimsuit didn’t help much either. I didn’t intend to tell anybody that I was trans. In my head, I was prepared to keep this secret until my death. Telling just sort of happened. Even after Ash gave me some tips and tricks on how to best handle my current group, he saw that I was still anxious and agitated. Now, Ash and I have known each other for a few years and quite good friends, so he asked me what was wrong. Again, I never intended to tell anybody, it just happened. I made him promise to keep a secret and to make sure not to say anything around my mom. The downside to my job is that my mom works front desk at the YMCA I work at. At this point, Ash looked very concerned. So I told him. I told him I was trans and all the things that were bugging me. His eyes just grew wider and wider the more I told him. I was so scared that I was going to get in trouble for this. But you know what he did, he gave me a hug and started to brainstorm ways to make me feel better at camp, and a few days later when I told my other coordinators Pebbles and Grizz, they all made sure to use my propper pronouns when talking to me. They became my shoulder to lean on when things got too much at home. Even if I couldn’t use the men's changeroom due to my mom being there, they let me wear swim trunks and a shirt during swim time. I still remember Ash’s face when I showed him my new swim trunks. He thought they were the coolest thing ever and was so jealous of them. (they’re blue with octopi on them) They did everything to keep me safe. One night during the 6th week of camp when I told Ash what was going on at home and why I almost ran away the previous winter, he stood up for me. He wanted so bad to get me help but couldn’t because I’m over 18. The next week, because I felt safe and because I had my wonderful coordinators by my side, I made a post on our group page and told the rest of my team. 

“Hello guys, gals, and nonbinary pals; So I’m sitting in my room with the most calming music I have to keep me calm as I write this. And this is a little hard to write because I really like you guys. You’re my friends and I don’t want you guys to think any different of me. You guys may remember back a few weeks ago when I was waaay too enthusiastic about my new pair of swim trunks. Some of you who are extra observant may have noticed that my name on all my social media has changed. (do we even use our real names anymore?!) There is a very good reason for that. You see now’s the hard part. I am transgender. For me, that means that I was born with a female body but an actually a guy. This doesn’t change who I am as a person. It doesn’t change my ability to lead, my ability to love, nor my ability to play amazing games and bring smiles and tell jokes. I wanted to get this off my chest for a while. I hated lying and living as someone I’m not and I couldn’t take it anymore. Now I can understand if some of you are angry and don’t want to talk to me in the morning, All I ask is that you treat me like a person in front of the campers. I can also understand if you guys have questions, and I am happy to answer them. I just want to live as who I am and not a shadow of a person. I still love all of you guys and that won’t change. I couldn’t ask for a better camp family. Have a good night and I’ll see you all bright and early for a brand new day. -Nova

Ps. Grizz don’t forget my meds on the field trip. I like living thank you very much.” 

This was when a lot of things changed. Yes there where people who were not happy, but for the most part my team still loved me. Instantly they started using my proper pronouns. Ash, Grizz, and Pebbles were so proud of me. I also learned that the littlest campers didn’t care that I was trans. To them, I was just Nova, the “way to enthusiastic about bad puns” counselor. 

The take away from this is, it pays to be brave sometimes. Situations will vary and I was lucky to have the people I did on my side. Ash was the very first person I ever told and he is the best coordinator and friend I could ever have. I keep thinking about how much has changed since I first came out and How happy I am that when winter camps roll around that I’ll be treated as a male counselor. Things still aren’t great at home, but with the team I have at camp, I feel like life will get just a little bit better. I’ve even found a way to keep all this goodness with me year round. With my brand new middle name. 

This is Rory Ash signing off.                    

[evakfanficsrecs]

Hey hun! Are there any fics you know of evak in their new apartment just living life. xx

Hello, lovely! Sure there are, let me make you a list :) Little heads up though, this might get pretty long ;)

*

there with me by Salambo06Summary: One morning, Isak comes to realise that he can’t remember the last time he woke up to Even’s side of the bed being empty. 

Home by i_once_wrote_a_dreamSummary: “Are we getting kicked out?” Or, Isak and Even move in together. 

Firsts by XioNinSummary: It’s the first of many, Isak hopes. 

heaven help a fool who falls in love by anathema (azirapha1e) Summary: “I’m going to call Even,” Eskild says slowly, “and tell him that you need rescuing from a spider. And then I’m going to go back to sleep, does that sound okay with you?” “No!” Isak cuts in frantically, “no, no, no, don’t tell him, you can’t tell-” “Cool!” Eskild says, singsong and airy. “Okay, Isak, love you too, don’t die before Even gets there.” “Eskild-” Eskild hangs up.

Moving In by SkamzombieSummary: Isak and Even’s first moments at their new apartment.

I Guess I’m Floating by overestlessSummary: Living with Isak causes Even to discover some of his habits.

all things soft and beautiful and bright by anathema (azirapha1e)Summary: Isak should’ve known it was a bad idea from the second he saw the Pinterest recipe, but - Well. He’s never claimed to be any good at saying no to Even.

Curtains, Posters, and Cream by BraveKateSummary: Isak thinks their new place is cursed. There are curtains.

Good Grades by XioNinSummary: What might have happened after today’s clip (2:10:3). Isak tries to study, but even when they’re apart Even is a distraction.

isak x even | a place of our own by WritenStuffSummary: “It’s ours,” Even repeated, the corners of his lips drawing into a wide smile. “Our own place.”

Silence Your Phone by faerieswingSummary: Short fluffy scene that takes place the evening after the “Onsdag 19.04.17 12:06” clip from the biology classroom, once Isak gets home from studying. Kissing and cuteness ensues.

wasted on this feeling by bbyfruitSummary: He’s got a good grade in biology, he’s got his own place that’s full of light, and he’s got a boy with a pencil threaded between his long fingers and graphite smudged across his face.

take me back, to the night we met by EvenbechNeiheimSummary: It’s 2 am, they saw 13 reasons why and they dance in their own kitchen while forgetting about the world.

so you play it wild by birthmarks Summary: Isak is dirty. Isak is shameless. Isak is possessive. Or: before, during, and after Isak and Even made out at school on Wednesday.

living life gets hard to do by colazitronSummary: Isak and Even have been living together for two and a half months now, and things aren’t as rosy anymore. But still good. Always good. (They’re getting better at talking about things.)

Puppy Love by skambitionSummary: “Babe”, Isak put his hand on Even’s cheek, stroking it softly, “we can’t get a dog. Be realistic. You may have time now, but when you’re working on another movie, you’re basically not home at all. I can’t take care of a dog. You know me, I can barely feed myself!” Somewhere in the future, Even convinces Isak to adopt a puppy.

Good morning Snowflake by E_BoxSummary: Their first morning in their new apartment. Isak is just really happy so he goes buy themselves breakfast.

The Sleepless Night by bri_nessSummary: It’s their first night in their first apartment, but Isak and Even can’t sleep.

home has always been with you by withoutwordsSummary: Isak finally caught on, spluttering around his coffee, “Wait, you want to move in with me?” Even had laughed about it for a long time.

As long as we’re together by boxesofflowers & EeyoreneedsahugSummary: Isak and Even move in together. Good thing they like each other because their apartment is shit. Also, Isak doesn’t know how to use a payphone (that might just be because it’s broken).

All Those Little Things by EvakoorhelmSummary: Isak comes home to the apartment that he’s shared with Even for two years. To a suprise. 

wish i could live in your heart by cynical_optimistSummary: Some mornings, Even will untangle himself from Isak completely, rolling out of bed to make breakfast. More often, he will try, and Isak will hold tight, and Even will stay, chuckling to himself and murmuring about octopi. These are the mornings Isak prefers, the ones where he can stare at Even’s face until he slips back into sleep or curl into him, every part of himself warm and safe.- Or, domestic mornings and being in love.

take you to where the sun shines, cast shadows on your face (crawl into their deepest recess,‘til i freeze or dehydrate) by vesperthineSummary: They drag themselves up the stairs, and Even closes the door behind them; enveloping them both in the shadows ( – the familiar smell, dust, home – ) of the hallway. At the far end, that grey light is spilling in from the kitchen, and it’s just enough to make out the silhouette of Isak’s throat as he swallows.This is the aftermath, then; adrenaline sublimated and only the pieces and shivers left in its wake.

you bring me home by hippopotamusSummary: Even comes home to find Isak listening to Harry Styles’ album.

in the place of you and me by DarkBeauty_890Summary: “Can I tell you a secret?” Even murmurs, tracing mindless patterns- zig zags and hearts and stars and infinity signs- up and down Isak’s bare back. He circles freckles and counts them, adding them to his never ending tally of things to know about Isak. Isak snuffles sleepily, “Mmhmm.” “You have made me happier in less than a year, than I think I have been in my entire life.” Eyes flicker open, hazy green; beautiful and open, “Ditto.”

[sophtopus]

Tag!

It’s been a long time since I did this, so why not? Rules: Answer the questions in a new post and tag 10 you would like to get to know better Tagged by: @zktheman! Hello there 1- Nickname: Most call me Soph or Sophie, though thanks to Papchat I’m now also known as Tofu. And Topu. There’s still one guy who calls me Crash or Crashnyan time to time... but now he prefers Sophia in reference to Blaster Master. 2- Star sign: Gemini 3- Height: 154 CM 4- Time right now: 7:40 PM GMT +8 5- Favorite music artist: Darren Korb, Yuki Kaijura, Yoko Shimomura, Nobuo Umaetsu  6- Song stuck in your head: Edit: Oh no no no I forgot to answer this question. My bad. It’s Magna Insomnia and Bynn the Breaker from Bastion’s OST 7- Last movie watched: Guardians of the Galaxy. I really need to get through my backlog and watch Kubo and the Two Strings. 8- Last TV show watched: The TV is always on when my dad is awake... and I don’t always pay attention. The last show that I did pay attention on TV is City Edge Wanderer. It’s a Wuxia. 9- What are you wearing right now: Pink t-shirt with koala prints. Green shorts with random flags pasted on it. Yes. It’s weird. And I’m obviously dressed for comfort for the hot weather and not fashion. 10- When did you created your blog: August 2014 11- What kind of stuff do you post: Undertale, Megaman, Jojo, Random art stuff, and whatever my dashfellows post. 12- Do you have any other blogs: Yes. Three others. @sophtoart @sophtopolis @sophtoask. Art, professional, asks in this order. There are two more RP blogs but those are closed forever. 13- Do you get asks regularly: Nah. Feel free to poke. 14- Why did you choose your URL: It all started from the fact that I have a taste for octopi and squids. Then somewhere along the line I thought it’ll be both cute and unique to combine Soph + Octopus into Sophtopus. It’s a heck a lot easier to write and remember than Yin Lung Huang. And hence, everything is Sophto-something.  15- Gender: Female 16- Hogwarts house: I don’t know my Harry Potter lore for this. 17- Pokemon team: I don’t know my Pokemon lore enough to answer this either. 18- Favourite color: I have come to appreciate a lot of colours as long their combination is good. Royal purple, Blue-Gold and Red-Black are my current top choices. 19- Average hours of sleep: 6-9 depending on my condition. 20- Lucky number: Fortune is not in numbers. 21- Favourite character: Papyrus (Undertale), X (Megaman X), Josuke (JJBA), Joseph (JJBA), Jotaro (JJBA), All Might (MHA), Midoriya (MHA), Mob (Mob Psycho 100), Saitama (One Punch Man), Sho Fukan (Thunderbolt Fantasy), actually too many people to list. 22- How many blankets do you sleep with: Since I live in the foreverhot tropics, just one blanket. And even that sometimes can be too much. 23- Dream job: Here’s a funny thing. I once dreamed of being a marine biologist because sea life is so awesome. But then I wasn’t cut out of it. More of a storeteller you know. Then I went into animation, but didn’t like working on animation itself. In the end, I became a writer... and you can say it’s a ‘dream job’ because I could actually tell stories with that. Maybe one day I’ll write about the ocean? 24- Following: 216 people apparently. No clue how many of them are active Tagging: @crochecottage @foxtamer113 @armed-blue-gunvolt @literal-lapin @dynamojacks @rockwell-light @cariyaga @unclevertitle @gun-del-hell @batter-sempai ....Why can’t I tag certain blogs? Is it because they’re RP? Tumblr runs on a potato, I tell you.