they rlly said fuck school, we're picking up where we left off in this shorter chapter! and i might be self projecting onto ori a lil too much-
WARNING: USAGE OF A SLUR (I CAN RECLAIM) IN A DISCRIMINATORY CONTEXT
Ori and Blade were still in the former's house, and the latter was still secretly blown away by how amazing the firefly squid looked. "Mom's not gonna be home until 2 if you wanna play video games or something." smiled Ori. "Uh, okay." shrugged Blade, stepping into his friend's room. He made himself comfortable on Ori's bed, expecting the firefly inkling to turn on his switch or something.
Instead, Ori got on the bed too, resting Blade's head on his legs and smiling. "Goofball." muttered Blade. "Smile." requested Ori. "Tch. Why?" asked Blade. "You're always so grumpy and down on yourself!" pouted the firefly squid. "I'm not doing that…" responded the lavender inkling, rolling his eyes.
"Please?" Ori asked one more time, his eyes glittering like a sad puppy. Blade blushed, feeling guilty over next to nothing. He struggled due to embarrassment, but eventually a soft and warm smile spread across his face. It didn't last long, but it was enough to be contagious. An "Aww!" came out of Ori. "Don't tell anyone you saw that." retorted Blade.
Meanwhile, Ashley was skipping class with Lilly. "You…really resorted to that?" asked Lilly, concerned. "Don't act so weird about it! I was doing what I had to do to keep that brute away from Ori!" scoffed Ashley.
"You disgust me." Alba said, emerging from the shadows. "WHY THE HELL ARE YOU HERE?!" shouted Ashley. "Why the hell are you abusing the innocent for your own personal benefit?!" Alba shot back. Ashley glared at her, almost snarling. "YOU DON'T KNOW SHIT!" yelled the red inkling before running away. "W-Wait!" cried Lilly, running after her.
Kei quietly witnessed most of the conversation, and wasn't quite sure what to do with the newfound information. "Why would she try to force Ori into a kiss like that?" he asked himself. "There must be something else going on with her…" He continued his walk to the math office, still feeling unsure.
At home, Ori and Blade were talking about nothing, but eventually the firefly squid's mind wandered back to Ashley. He went a bit quiet as he remembered the discomfort he felt when he had to wear clothes he didn't like. He remembered so many children's books about girls not wanting to wear dresses and everyone respected that, but no one seemed to like it when guys like him donned long hair and skirts.
Flashback…
Ten years ago…
"Ew! Why are you in a dress?!" laughed a pair of inkling boys. "Are you gay?!" asked an inkling girl. "Mommy says they go to hell!"
Ori was being backed into a corner in the first-grade classroom, watching the fists from the boys rise up. "HEY!" shouted the teacher. Ori sighed in relief, but it didn't last long. The teacher pulled him in front of the class. Everyone laughed at him.
"Class, is THIS how we dress?" grumbled the teacher. "This is not appropriate at all! I know Ori is likely retarded, so maybe he didn't know-"
"R-Retarded?" muttered the six year-old Ori in tears.
"Yeah, you're always never paying attention to simple instructions and are slower than a snail!" replied the teacher, with aggression in her voice. "And only THEY would dress like that! Take that garbage off and dress like a normal inkling!"
The young Ori began to cry, and the teacher just sent him home. Students were calling him things like "gay," "crossdresser," and many transphobic comments despite confidently being cisgender.
"Ori, I thought you were so excited to wear your first dress to school today…:" said Miss Hikaru, wiping the dirt off of his beautiful pink sundress. "The kids called me so many names…and the teacher…"
"What did the teacher do?!" gasped Miss Hikaru. "C-Called me the slur…" Ori could barely say it without breaking down again. He collapsed into his mother's arms.
The next day, he cut his hair and wore the same things the other boys wore. The teacher was happy to see it, while most students began to stop bullying him except for the occasional insult from the more persistent aggressors.
He wasn't a problem anymore, but somehow felt more miserable fitting in with everyone in the school, wearing the same pair of sneakers and graphic tees with quotes exaggerating stereotypical masculinity.
End of Flashback.
Then, Ashley's recent words came back to him. "Why don't you dress like a boy?"
"You went quiet." said Blade, still letting the other boy rest his head on his lap. "Don't give me bullshit and tell me what's gotten into you."
"Blade…Would you ever call me a slur for being who I am?" Ori asked, speaking up nervously. Blade was initially confused, before feeling awful for his friend. He wasn't even sure what to say himself for a moment. "No, of course not." replied Blade. "This is something from the past, isn't it?"
"Yeah…" nodded Ori. "I guess I'm just thinking about what Ashley said, and how a teacher said something worse in first grade." he explained. "What happened there?" Blade asked, curious. Ori grew quiet again for a moment. "It was the first time I dressed the way I wanted to be, and the only time for years. I don't care about being bullied anymore, but the teacher…She humiliated me and called me a slur, and said I was slow."
The purple inkling felt frustrated, not at Ori but at the situation, even if it was years ago. "WHY DOES IT MATTER IF YOU'RE DIFFERENT?!" he shouted uncontrollably. "GOD, CAN THESE INCONSIDERATE FREAKS LEARN TO REALIZE THAT NOT EVERYONE IS GOING TO FOLLOW THEIR IDIOTIC STANDARDS NO ONE CARES ABOUT?!"
Ori was taken aback by his outburst over something like this. Blade wasn't finished. "TRANS, GENDERQUEER OR JUST BEING A NONCONFORMING CIS GUY, THESE JERKS ARE GONNA ENCOUNTER SOMEONE DIFFERENT AND THEY GOTTA DEAL WITH IT!"
The raw passion in his shouting made Ori feel oddly emotional. "Ori." said Blade. "No matter how many times I poke at you or call you an idiot, I want you to know that I would never see you as some incapable freak! There's so much I like about you, HELL I-" He realized what he was about to say and stopped himself, a slight blush forming on his face.
"I'm really happy to know you're by my side." smiled Ori. "I guess, in a way, we're both outcasts in that godforsaken school, used and neglected by all the assholes that attend it and only care about inflating their ego." Blade responded. "We have to stick together from now on."
For the next moments felt like time had froze, as the two happily enjoyed each other's presence in the room.
In school, two strong jock boys helped Ashley up and left her to head to class alone. "I guess you truly never learned." said an inkling from out of nowhere. Ashley glared at her. "Alba, I'll ask you again– WHY THE HELL ARE YOU HERE?"
"You've done enough damage to your victims." Alba shot back. "I knew you weren't above sexual harassment, and I bet your last boyfriend would agree with me there."
"How was I supposed to react when he came out as gay?! I couldn't just lose him!" Ashley growled. "I don't fucking know, accept him and allow him to feel how he feels?" Alba responded. "And now you're attacking a boy who was barely your friend to begin with!"
"Ori was just a pawn, I got Maya to bring him to me for dirt on Blade and so we could isolate that brute, but then he started turning her soft! I have to get rid of one, and Maya doesn't know Blade like Ori does!"
Alba took a few steps closer, her mannerisms very threatening. "Perhaps Maya actually sees folks like Ori as actual cephalopod beings and not worthless pieces of garbage?!"
A familiar octoling girl passed by the scene, just missing Ashley's previous statement. "That can't be that Alba girl she told me about? Why are they talking?" Maya thought to herself. Her instinct told her to stop and eavesdrop.
"But sure, tell them all I kind of sexually harassed Ori! See how many students would believe it, they wouldn't even think of me wanting a freak like him!" Ashley laughed with a crooked smirk. "If this ever happens again, I'll make sure Blade won't be there to save him!"
Maya momentarily froze in shock. "That's disgusting."
Ashley cackled as she left Alba alone, finding Maya in that moment. "That girl is weird, accusing me of such outlandish acts." said the red inkling. Maya nodded, unsure how to respond. "No, she's already mad at me. I'm sure there's another way to go about this…"
Eventually, the dismissal bell rang. While everyone at school rushed to get out, Blade and Ori were in the comfort of the latter's home. Ori's mother also came home, and peaked into Ori's room. "ORI! WHO ARE YOU SLEEPING WITH?!"
The startled firefly squid blushed, looking behind him and realizing he and Blade eventually fell asleep on each other. "T-This is Blade." Ori answered nervously. "He's the guy I rescued during the power outage!"
Blade blushed. "Well, rescue is a strong word…" he mumbled. Miss Hikaru laughed. "Sorry for misunderstanding the situation. So, you're Blade?" she asked. "Yeah. I'm Blade Earth." answered Blade. "You seem like a strong, compassionate boy. No wonder Ori grew attached to you." smiled the older inkling. Ori was flustered himself, but found the burning cheeks on Blade's face very funny to watch as the conversation went on.
"Oh, right!" exclaimed Miss Hikaru. "I came in here to tell you that apparently your school's festival is happening soon. I'd visit if I didn't have work…"
"Sounds fun!" grinned Ori. "I guess I could come with you…" said Blade. "I hate events, but I wouldn't mind joining you."
Ori hugged him. "How sweet, let's get matching hats or something!"
To be continued...
FIRST UPDATE OF 2024! i rlly wanna get back to updating this and frenzied hearts more :) as a trans man i want every trans, enby and queer gnc reader to know that ur valid and ily all even if some bitchy idiots don't ^^