I see now, clear and free

[serperior]

This is a post for Taku and Mini to do whatever shenanigans they desire

Comments

[octoblot]

[There's a long pause, and then Floyd says--]

"Out of curiosity, what is your opinion of Azul anyway? I mean, aside from how delectably squishy his octopus form is."

[Can you maybe not describe your friend like that, Floyd??]

[abnormalizes]

[Evangeline had been getting a little tense, but at the question she relaxes and smiles.]

I really like him. He's brilliant, works hard at everything he does, and I look forward to talking to him every day at the Lounge. It seems like he doesn't realize how many people care about him, and I wish I could convince him... He's very, very cute, but even if he wasn't he'd still be my favorite person here. Even if this deal doesn't work out - I'm really glad I met him.

[There's no evasiveness, no hint of anything she might be hiding. This is her honest and unfiltered opinion.]

[octoblot]

"Aww! Well, isn't that nice to hear..."

[And then they both grin, sharp and feral as Jade says--]

"... but how can we be absolutely sure that you're not just saying that because you want to get down and dirty with him? Or that you'll move on to someone else more monstrous once you've grown bored of him?"

[abnormalizes]

Because you'll kill me if I hurt him, obviously? Do you need that in writing?

[Like. Why is this a question.]

[octoblot]

"As a matter of fact..."

[Jade has actually whipped out paper and pen.]

"... we would prefer it if you did make that official in writing."

[... Well alright then.]

[abnormalizes]

Oh, alright.

The undersigned agrees that if she emotionally wounds Azul Ashengrotto, Jade Leech and Floyd Leech are allowed to murder her, with no attempted self-defense.

Evangeline

[...She has very nice handwriting. And didn't hesitate at all to write that out and sign it.]

Are we good?

[octoblot]

"Hmm... should we add a clause about physically wounding him, Floyd?"

"No, Azul can take care of himself on that regard. He might even like it."

[He says with a teasing grin, before his attention drifts towards the glass and very suddenly shouts loudly, accompanied by a foot kicked against the glass--]

"Hey Azul, what do you think? Would you say that you're a masochist, or a sadist?"

[And that's when it seems the subject of the contract jolts, attention snapped away from what they were looking at as they turn to look at their audience. Their gaze snaps to Floyd first, irritated at being bothered by whatever nonsense their cohort is suddenly wanting his attention for... but then he realizes that there's a third person here, and his gaze falls onto Evangeline.

There's a long pause of staring in alarm... and then quite suddenly, there's a huge cloud of black ink that billows up around him, and when it clears, a glimpse of Azul can be seen running--or well, swimming--away to hide.]

[abnormalizes]

[...Oh. Hm. Didn't like that expression on his face.]

Can I go after him now, please?

[octoblot]

[Jade holds out the potion once he's pocketed the "contract"...]

"Very well. Remember, this potion doesn't last forever, so you'll need to make sure not to be stuck underwater when it wears off."

"Until then, we'll catch up with you guys later--good luck, Anglerfishie~!"

[Floyd says, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture--hurry up and get out of here, Eva.]

[abnormalizes]

Alright, thanks! See you later!

[Evangeline takes large swig of the potion, sets it down where she can retrieve it later - her bikini doesn't exactly have pockets - and heads into the aquarium.

Her swimming is solidly Okay, but that's all it really needs to be - she isn't trying to impress anyone here. Also she doesn't know how to dive into water silently, so she would've alerted Azul of her presence anyway.

Speaking of. She's looking for where he could be hiding in the direction he swam off.]

Azul? Where'd you disappear to?

[octoblot]

[Azul's not a master hider, honestly, because thanks to whatever cloud of ink still lingers in the water, she'll eventually be able to find what appears to be an octopus pot turned over on it's side. A few tentacles are, at first, still visible, but then at the sound of her voice, they quickly pull themselves further inside, blocking the entrance so that he can continue to hide out of view.]

[abnormalizes]

[Oh, there you are. Evangeline floats over to the octopus pot, setting a hand on its side but not peeking in just yet.]

There you are. Sorry, I didn't mean to sneak up on you, I just got kind of distracted? Mostly by you being gorgeous, but still. My bad.

[octoblot]

[At first, there's still no response. Long enough that maybe he's playing the "if I stay quiet, maybe she'll get bored of me and leave" strategy.

However, at the compliment, a slight shift can be heard inside, indicating that he is in fact listening rather than ignoring her, but otherwise he still doesn't come out of hiding or say anything just yet.]

[abnormalizes]

...Okay, so normally I would be one hundred percent on board with waiting until you were comfortable coming out? Because I don't want to push your boundaries too much. But this potion does have a time limit, so I am probably going to continue talking about how hot you are until you come out to make me shut up.

Or just yell at me from in there, I guess, if you're really uncomfortable? But for what it's worth, I think you're really, really handsome and anyone who thinks otherwise is obviously blind.

[octoblot]

... Are you sure that it's not something wrong with your eyes?

[Comes the surly response, finally. At least it doesn't sound like he's been crying while in his hiding spot, even if his voice is a little rougher than usual.]

Maybe you're the one whose blind to the obvious here.

[abnormalizes]

Wouldn't be the first time I've been accused of that...

[And admittedly, her being attracted to someone is not usually a ringing endorsement of whether they're appealing to other people.]

But I'm pretty sure you'd be beautiful to both me and normal people. I do have an idea of what regular people find attractive, and even I can appreciate someone with lovely hair and eyes. Your tentacles and markings are for sure your best features, but there's nothing about you that isn't pretty.

[octoblot]

[There's a moment of silence, and then...]

And what about the parts of me that don't involve my appearance? Is my personality really something to be desired alongside a face like mine?

[abnormalizes]

If I just cared about your looks, I wouldn't have panicked so hard about you being in danger, you know. You're a hard worker, a good friend to me and to the twins, absolutely brilliant, witty... I've been missing you not being in the Lounge the past couple of days.

Besides, you already shot me down in our first conversation, remember? I wouldn't have spent so much time talking to you if I didn't enjoy your company.

[octoblot]

[Oh... there's the sound of some movement inside his hiding spot, as if he's fidgeting a fair bit before he finally speaks.]

I was supposed to find you someone else... but the truth is, I haven't been able to find anyone that meets the qualities that you're looking for. That I think deserves to have someone like you as a partner. So... I might not be able to fulfill my end of our deal, despite your patronage to our Lounge...

[abnormalizes]

[Deserves to have her, like she's someone special? She can't really wrap her head around the idea.]

That's okay. Honestly, I've mostly been coming to see you, the points card was just a bonus. You don't have to worry about it.

[octoblot]

As kind as it is for you to say that, as a businessman it is inexcusable for me to fall through on my end of a bargain when making deals.

[There's a pause, before he then says--]

As such... if there is something else that I could offer instead that you would be interested in to use your points card on, I would like to hear it.

[abnormalizes]

...Well, I was looking forward to swimming with you. So, you could come out from there, and we could hang out for a while?

[It's not the most elaborate of wishes, but it's what she wants most right now.]

[octoblot]

[There's a long pause, long enough that Eva might end up thinking he's going to deny the request.

But then, there's a shifting of movement, and his tentacles start emerging out from the octopus pot, slowly pulling it's owner out of their hiding space before he straightens to a proper floating posture when he turns around to face Eva.

He doesn't say anything, simply waits to see what she says or does upon coming face to face with him in this form this close, his tentacles fidgeting a bit in the water now.]

[abnormalizes]

There you are.

[Her eyes are sparkling when he emerges, and her face is tinged pink - but her smile is more relieved than anything. She'd been worried about him.]

You look great. How do I look?

[Since, you know, he hasn't commented on her swimsuit yet.]

[octoblot]

You look... uh.

[He pauses, and his initially awkward attempt at speaking up dries up completely for a second as he somehow manages to blush even underwater.]

You're wearing a bikini.

[Yes Azul, thanks for stating the obvious?]