rondezview | I see now, clear and free

[Knowing Rook...]

I could tell you, but I think it might be better for you to draw your own conclusions when you meet him for yourself.

Can I at least know what dorm he's in? So I know who to keep an eye out for.

Pomefiore. Rook is the vice-housewarden of that dorm, so it's likely a matter of time before you end up crossing paths.

[Immediately, and it's obvious it was the first thing that popped into her head:] Oh, the boring one.

...is something I should probably not say to his face...

[That actually gets a genuine laugh at of Azul in response.]

What a bold thing to say! I can only imagine what kind of look Rook or even Vil would have if they were to hear you say that.

Well, it's true. [She lowers her voice a little, in case there are any Pomefiore students in the lounge.] If you're going to be called the Beautiful Queen, you should be able to back that up, right? But she just looks so normal in all the pictures I've seen. And I've already had people try to get me to follow them on Magicam with their fashion vlogs or whatever and nobody's shown me anything interesting.

Well, Vil is someone I would ordinarily recommend following--in addition to his good looks, he also uses Magicam to promote the movies he is working on as the president of the film club, so his account is useful for staying updated in that regard.

We also have an account as well, primarily for promoting Mostro Lounge and any new drinks or food items that we are considering for the Lounge, among other things.

[So there is that, at least?]

There may be more varied ones that I'm unaware of that might suit you, however--I believe Cater in Heartslabyul would be one of the best people to ask, given how enthusiastic he seems to be when it comes to Magicam.

Oh, I'll definitely keep that in mind, thank you.

[She'll even pull out her phone, tap tap tap...]

What's this about a points card?

Oh, that's one of our most recent additions to the lounge! When customers buy any food or drinks, they'll earn points that can be exchanged for any wish that can be granted by yours truly.

[Ah, so this must be the service he was talking about before in regards to students coming to him for his help on things.]

Oooh. Guess I know where I'm having all my dinners while I'm here, in that case.

[There's a sparkle in her eyes, not unlike when she was talking about her interests in monsters - when she's excited for something, she makes it obvious.]

You should probably put more terms and conditions on that, though.

Oh? And why do you say that?

[He can guess, but he's curious enough to ask regardless.]

Well, I mean, just because you can do something doesn't mean you're going to be comfortable doing it? And some people are jerks and won't care about your comfort level.

[Oh, that's... rather considerate of her. For a moment, Azul blinks in surprise, clearly not having expected her to be concerned about him in that regard. But, he quickly comes up with an answer--]

Don't worry, I do still have the right to say no if someone asks for something that I do not feel is fair compensation on my end.

[Not to mention that Jade and Floyd might actually try to kill someone if they made a distasteful move on Azul without his consent, so most would... probably be too intimidated by their presence to even consider it.]

Oh, that's good to hear. Then, can I wish to be introduced to a different octomer when I get enough points for it? ...Your classmates are teenage boys who haven't seen a girl in ages, I'm sure you could find someone who's interested, but I get it if the points card doesn't cover matchmaking.

[Azul seems to be seriously considering this offer for a moment--he has, in fact, had students ask for matchmaking at least once before, so that's not too strange of a request. As for an octomer specifically, however... well, to be perfectly honest, Azul is the only octomer he is aware of in the school, but that doesn't necessarily mean that there isn't one. Maybe there is another student who is just as self-conscious as he is about it that he somehow hasn't found yet? In which case, they might not appreciate having attention drawn to them either...

But the prospect of making money is a siren call too difficult to ignore for Azul. Not to mention, it would be a worthy challenge that could pay off in the end if he does come across a fellow student with circumstances similar to his own...]

Alright, I can do that. We'll call that part of one of our deluxe rates given the nature of the wish, but once you have acquired enough of those points, I'll introduce you to an octomer that I think you'll like. Does this sound like a fair deal?

Sounds good to me. Pleasure doing business with you, Azul.

[She'll hold out her hand to shake, even. Everyone knows what they've agreed on and is comfortable with it, and surely this won't get weird at all later for unforeseen reasons.]

[Azul reaches a hand out to accept the offered handshake--before, he might have even insisted on drafting up something like this in writing, but... he's trying to be better about verbal agreements instead of going solely off written ones these days.

And it's at this moment that Jade and Floyd suddenly turn up again.]

"Here is your order, Anglerfishie!"

[Floyd has her drink and pizza put down in front of her--although, normally the drink should have came out sometime before the meal, but given the coincidence of both twins showing up, it is entirely likely that they saw Evangeline and Azul talking and waited a moment before finding the right time to interrupt.

They've likely caught on that Evangeline will need a point card as well, as Jade will next set one down for her to use with keeping track of her points, as well as how many she currently has from this order thus far.]

[Good on them for letting Azul and Evangeline chat - she'll be certain to tip generously.

True to her word, Evangeline has every dinner at the Mostro Lounge from then on. She'll greet Azul with a smile and ask him how classes were or how business is going. If Floyd or Jade asks, she has some stories about Lobotomy Corporation - Floyd's favorites are the gory ones, she's quickly realizing. Luckily, she's not short on those.

Today, she takes her usual seat and sighs heavily when she sees Azul.]

I'll double my tip tonight if you can get me something alcoholic.

[It's been... surprisingly nice, despite his initial first impression of Evangeline being someone that was maybe a little too thirsty for his liking. She treats him with respect in a manner that doesn't make him feel like he needs to compete for it, necessarily, like he does with the other teachers at school. And she's able to keep up in conversations with Floyd and Jade for the most part, keeping them from getting bored. A valuable skill to have, really, given those two and Floyd's mood-swings in particular.

At her request, Azul raises an eyebrow at the change in order.]

I can certainly accommodate. [He says, with a slight jerk of his chin that gets one of the twins drifting away immediately to go check the contents of their secret liquor stash.] However, I'm curious to know what happened for you to be seeking it out tonight.

[She is, admittedly, very thirsty, but she also knows how to back off and hasn't really brought it up since that first day aside from sometimes describing the monster in whatever story she's telling as 'cute'.]

Does Vargas flex in front of everyone or just me? Because he kept really obviously checking my reaction to it today and I'm not interested, but I want to keep a good relationship with the faculty here and if I tell him that straight out it might go badly...

[Siiiiigh.]

[Oh, woof. At the mention of Vargas, Azul grimaces in distaste.]

He does flex in front of everyone, but typically it's accompanied by telling the rest of us how we should be trying to get buff like him. Classes with him are a nightmare, especially with all the laps he insists on having me run sometimes...

[Or maybe that's just an Azul problem because let's be real, he does not look like a guy who wants or spends any amount of time "running" if he can help it. Still...]

But in your case, it does sound like he's... erm, flirting with you since it doesn't sound like he's given you an accompanying lecture about your own muscles along with the flexing...

[Sympathetically:] Isn't that unfair? Running is hard enough for people who have always had legs. Exercise is important, but you should be allowed to swim or something.

[Like, that sounds like speciesism to her?]

Honestly, I'm this close to challenging him to a spar so I can kick his ass. That'd be a great stress reliever for me.

That's what I said! But apparently that's considered unfair to the rest of the student body who already take swim classes as well. Apparently they want everyone to take part in all forms of physical activity, unless you've got a disability that isn't just "still getting used to having human legs"...

[At the mention of sparring, however, Azul lights up.]

Honestly, that sounds like it would be enjoyable to watch. I'd even sell tickets for it, as I'm sure there are plenty of students who would want to see someone fight Vargas.

Oh, well in that case I definitely have to challenge him. I'll save you the best seat in the house to watch him get his ass handed to him.

[Solidarity of Fuck That Guy In Particular.]

I guess this is kind of a late question, but are you technically allowed to sell alcohol here? Obviously I'm not going to tell on you, I just don't want you to get in trouble for me.

Yes, we do have a liquor license. We're allowed to sell alcohol at the Lounge.

[...]

Provided that we are not selling it to any students, especially not any first years.

[So, just the teachers... and Leona maybe, are the only ones who usually try to take Mostro Lounge up on it.]

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