Video | Llama 29

[firewalled]

Yo! Needed you all to know something important, so listen up, train!

[Rich is standing in front of the monitor in the music room, hands on his hips, looking very stern and serious... but then he smirks.]

Have you ever gotten ads online promising hot bisexual singles in your area?

[...Is he actually shooting fingerguns?]

It's me. I'm the hot bisexual single in your area. Just thought you all needed to know I am currently on the market.

Please field all date inquiries to my mailbox. Or my sleeper car, whatever. I'm rooming with Alice, but we are not an item.

[She would pretty much laugh in his face if he even implied they were.]

Comments

[consider8]

[If possible she gets a bit redder still, but instead manages to laugh.]

Y-you don't even know what that means!

[firewalled]

Maybe I don't! It sounded like cool, so I kind of went with that. Am I totally off base?

[consider8]

Yeah, its cool. You want to be fresh. [She can't really fight him on this. And maybe this can be a learning moment for her, too.]

What word means something that is good or the best. Something that you want to be or that you think is cool.

[firewalled]

Okay, good! Then I'm glad that you think I'm fresh.

In my world, I'm not sure what we'd use to say something is the absolute best. Sweet, maybe? Hype? Fuckin' A? There's lots of different slang to use!

[consider8]

[Those all sound good, but one stands out.]

Fuckin' A?

[That was surprisingly fun to say!]

[firewalled]

Yeah! Like when you get an A grade, that's a really good grade? But maybe it's just short for fucking awesome. I don't know. Either way, it really emphasizes that something's the best!

[consider8]

VEEMO!!! FUCKIN' A!!

[Congratulations, Rich, you taught an innocent Octochild how to curse in human.]

[firewalled]

[His life's work, finally realized.]

Hell yeah! Fuckin' A, you've got it!

[He can't wait to see her tell someone that they're 'fuckin A'. Rich should maybe feel a little bit bad about trolling.]

[consider8]

FUCKIN' A! FUCKIN'A! FUCKIN' A!!!!

[She's so happy she's hopping up and down with her hands tucked in tight to her chest she was given a magic new word that means something truly special. Because Rich would never lead her astray, right? :)]

[firewalled]

[To be fair, he's not intentionally leading her astray! He just thinks swearing is fun and funny!]

Fuckin' A! Fuckin' A! Fuckin' A!

[Which means there are now two absolute gremlin children chanting curses over the intercom. Enjoy that, train.]

[consider8]

[This was fun! After a full fifteen seconds or so of 'Fuckin' A's' until she burst into a fit of giggles.]

That started to sound funny at the end!

[firewalled]

Heh! Most words do start to sound kind of funny if you say them enough times. If I say my name enough times, I start to trip over it.

[consider8]

[Oh?]

Rich! Rich! Rich! Rich! Rich! Rich! Rich!

[firewalled]

[Oh, are they back at this again? Rich joins in the chanting, but with his lisp, even 'ch' is a little hard to say, so sure enough, he starts stumbling in his own words.]

Rich, Ricsh, bluh, bitch- see?

[At least he didn't intentionally teach her another swear!]

[consider8]

[Not YET. :E]

[The attempt made Eight laugh, noticing of course that he does, indeed, have quite the lisp. And hey, since they're being silly, that means that he would be open to silly questions, right?]

Mmm! I guess your parents didn't know that 'Rich' would be hard for you to say when you were little. Hmn...

I have always wondered, is your name supposed to have something to do with money or having a lot of valuable things...?

[firewalled]

[Rich actually doesn't find these questions as silly, but poor Eight couldn't have known that before she asked. His smile becomes a little sadder and he shakes his head.]

I was actually named something else when I was little... I chose Rich myself. I don't know why I went with it... I mean, it's short for Richard, but I'm definitely not rolling in dough.

[He tries to lighten the mood by adding,] Hey, maybe the longer I use this name, the closer I'll be to winning the lottery!

[consider8]

Oh. [She wants to ask what his original name was but... stops. There was a reason for the change of the name and she wanted to respect that.]

...my first name was not Eight too.

[She gets it.]

[firewalled]

...Sometimes the name you get when you're born just doesn't match who you really are. It's okay. I just, uh, don't talk about it much. Get nervous people might look at me differently.

[He doesn't exactly want to get into details, unless Eight really wants to know... but then how would she feel about him flirting with her?]

[consider8]

[She is being respectful, but is a little curious.]

What do you mean look at you differently?

[That is safe, right?]

cw implied transphobia

[firewalled]

[Rich lets out a quiet sigh, but even if he wanted to avoid it, it wouldn't be right to not talk about it.]

People would think I was going through a phase. Based on my old name... people would think I wasn't really a guy.

[consider8]

[There's a long, slow blink.]

Huh? They wouldn't?

[Sorry, Rich, the octokid doesn't quite get it.]

[firewalled]

[God, she really doesn't know. Rich lets out a low groan, rubbing his hand over his face.]

I'm trans. Meaning I was assumed to be a girl when I was born. That wasn't... actually the case, though. I don't know how to explain it.

[He's already unsure how to clarify without saying something offensive with those who know what he means. How does he discuss this with a squid person, who's probably never heard of this?

Or to... the dozens of people who might be listening to the network. Fuck, he's bad at this.]

[consider8]

[She's trying but this is hard!! Boys and girls are pretty well defined in Octarian culture, since a majority of their people are genetic clones of their parent. But then there are also Octolings like her which are born the 'natural' way...]

So... your parents thought you were a girl... but you were actually a boy...? Mmm... or is it, like, you're a girl that uses a boy style?

[Sorry, Rich, she's not trying to be insensitive. This is just a new idea for her.]

[firewalled]

[He doesn't blame her for fumbling a little bit. God knows he's not much better with this stuff, but at least she seems to want to figure it out, which he appreciates.]

I was a boy all along, yeah. Like... my brain was, even if my body didn't exactly match that. It took me some time to come to terms with it, and I, um, I still have trouble telling people.

[consider8]

[She's still not sure, to be honest, but thinks that the best thing to do is to just keep thinking of "her" as a he because that's what he wants...? That second part is what stood out to her, though.]

Why? Because it is hard for people to understand?

[She will own up to her own inability, but the part is still confusing.]