additionally, impromptu picnics

Okay. These things couldn't be accidents anymore. Milo settling down in the grass to eat lunch, other people then showing up and being super friendly to him, and a whole group picnic scenario being created just. This could no longer be called a casual coincidence.

He was noticed and liked. He had actual supporters. What the hell? Milo… was resigned to his fate.

It was a rare sunny day, would probably be the last in a while. so being outside to soak it in was clearly tempting. Doing so with hoards of food and blankets to lay on, a lazy afternoon with the most casual of the council candidates, was apparently especially tempting. He accepted all of this now.

Milo bit into a homemade grilled cheese sandwich and flipped through the notebook he'd been writing all campaign thoughts and student feedback in. (As well as, um, doodling floral patterns in. Whatever.)

He still didn't expect winning to be a thing for him, but… this was fun. He'd actually been having a lot of fun and good interactions. It was leaving him feeling a lot warmer than usual.

Milo had been getting far too distracted by his doodling again, access to colored pens not helping. His sandwich was forgotten in exchange for blue and gold, full blooming and bold flowers, as well as soft and complex, his swirl of school and people themed thoughts brought to life.

Someone nudged him lightly after a while, and when he poked his head up to see what was up, he realized there was a newcomer. One he… already knew. Oh, ah. Well. The unexpected developments just kept coming, and he just kept going along with the flow.

Lei Feng. He'd sent her one of his care packages for her birthday, dresses she'd been longing for through windows. He'd been quietly watching over her, and felt as though he already knew her very well, but she wasn't the same in regards to him. No, no, she'd be here because of the elections.

"Yes, that'd be me." She was trembling, just a bit, and Milo's eyes softened. He set his down pens on the open notebook in his lap, tucked a lock of hair behind an ear, and patted an open spot on the blanket beside him. "Come, sit with me, have some food if you'd like. I'll be here for a while, so take your time- and speak freely, I'm listening."

Milo peered at Lei for a moment, then opened his notebook to a new page, lazily drawing a few small, snowy flowers.

"Of course not," he said. "I'm the same way, after all. Kindness isn't always automatic, neither is safety- you often have to claw for it. Caution is important. But." He sighed. "Not everyone can manage to be a fighter. That's why I'm here, I suppose." And as she went on, he settled into an understanding of exactly what she was talking about.

Milo smiled, and wrote 'Minority Stuffs' on the top of the page he'd been putting Lei themed art on, in especially pretty script. "I'm in several of those groups, so it'd be terribly hypocritical of me not to feel strongly on the matter. Not everyone can be a fighter, but I can, so I try to use that whenever possible. Make the voices a little louder."

Milo wrote 'transgender rights' under the page title, tapping his blue pen on his lip. "A lot of things get a lot more mixed up and complicated here, but being trans… I'm disappointed. The amount of shapeshifters we have, the idea that changing bodies is so relevant as well as easy or always necessary, it only adds discomfort, inadequacy, and pressure to us. Magic is fantastic, I have nothing against it, but it can oversimplify everything in both good and bad ways. This? This is a bad way."

"Starlight, and this island, they're so bright. It makes people forget it's not perfect, and 'better' doesn't mean everyone should just shut up and settle. Never settle, always strive for more. That's what staying alive is about."

Yeah. Milo wasn't ashamed of it in the slightest, but people still didn't often get trans from him right off the bat. Which could be either nice or invalidating depending on the situation and his own mood. With Lei he could let it go, as it probably wasn't only to do with looks but… his behavior. He knew she wasn't familiar with a lot of things yet, including how confident one could be, both despite and because of this.

How low her voice was broke his heart.

"Mm. I'm Hispanic, trans, and have no lack of my own brain shit to deal with, so believe me- I'm plenty sympathetic in this area," Milo said, rattling off the terms that others often had the urge to cringe back on. Oh no, descriptive words! The terror! How dare he be perfectly comfortable knowing and saying these things about himself. Abuse survivor and pretty uninterested in relationships were in there too- but he often left those out, unless he really wanted people to start bristling.

The things jackasses felt threatened by never ceased to amaze him.

"I think that's unacceptable. If there's anything I want, it's no tolerance for that kind of absolute fuckery, and pardon my language, but it's an accurate description. I don't care about some punk's free speech whining, not in comparison to the far bigger risks towards safety for people like us it can open up. Stuff slips by because it's too small for action to be taken on, but these things always start small."

He took a breath after his momentary outburst and snapping, trying to settle himself down a bit. There was a part of him that was concerned about scaring this girl away, even if he'd never doubted he was justified in his anger.

"Please, do stop me if I'm being overwhelming, but I definitely have a lot of personal feelings in this area- obviously, hah. In a school like this, I think... things like that should be nipped in the bud right away- and with those who are too timid to help themselves, others should be encouraged to stand up for them. That's the ideal."

Milo laughed. "I'm no stranger to fighting either, just. Ah, you're right, it is hard." He huffed. "Tired. There's a lot of tired, and bitter, in me as well as a lot of others, but hey. Can't stop pushing. Better is always what matters, otherwise, what's the point of anything? At this point, I couldn't ignore these things even if I wanted to."

He smiled back, softer.

"I know. We haven't met before or anything, but I did know a little already. I like to be aware of others, just as a me thing, but you're also decently well loved here."

He ducked his head a bit, oddly self conscious. "You think so? You don't have to say that, just because we're talking like this. I'm not doing it with any motive of pressuring people to vote for me, especially since… but thanks. Really, thank you."

It doesn't matter whether I get into the council or not, he kept saying. And it didn't. But with how others kept genuinely supporting him, he was starting to. Consider it as a possibility. Before, he'd been certain he wouldn't get in, and comfortable in that. He was just using his campaign for other purposes. And then. Hm.

Maybe.

It wasn't too bad, having it be 'maybe' in this situation, rather than simply yes or no. He could live with whatever happened, make the best of things. And if not the best, better. Always.