#had fun with this one : DD

[isjasz]

Please hold📞

[nyanaknifegal]

do YOU remember 🎉🎉

[rainbowchaox]

QSMP! Missa Character Analysis and How it Relates To Pissa

This is like the twin post to the Philza character analysis and how it relates to pissa. If anyone wants to know about how QSMP! Philza as a character and how that relates to pissa. I recommend checking out that post. Everyone really loved that post so I wanted to do a twin post of sorts focusing on our favorite wet cat Missa. Special thanks to @pepper-mintzyy my fandom demon on my shoulder.

Now I was personally introduced to him in Qsmp so I have no prior knowledge about any lore or character traits he had in other series. So I’m just getting my analysis only from Qsmp! Missa. Missa at his core is kind. I would even say too kind at times. He easily believes and forgives those he shouldn’t. He is kind to everyone. Everyone but himself.

Missa is also primarily driven by his emotions. Not in a bad way. His emotions just bleed out like Ink for better or for worse. Unlike Phil his emotions are the primarily driving force behind his actions. And this isn’t a bad thing. Of course Missa will find Phil more logical and calm approach to things comforting and attractive. Phil is a calm balm and his security blanket. Missa always feels safe with Philza.

Missa also has some baggage from his first week or so involving Spreen and Roier. He had no clue what was actually was happening. And he didn’t want to choose between them. This led to them both leaving him by himself. So of course he was a tad depressed before meeting Phil. And you could say he fell instantly.

Phil was his opposite in a good way. But both are similar when it mattered. Phil is honest, kind, spoils the heck out of Missa, and just cared so much. So of course Missa fell for the man instantly. I’m 100% sure the first day they got chayanne is when Missa began crushing hard on his government assigned husband.

Sadly the fact about Missa as a character is despite being surrounded by his family and husband that cares so much about him and literally will kill anyone that hurts him emotionally or physically (looking at you chayanne numero uno shipper and protector of the pissa nation). He still believes he is unworthy of them. Despite them loving Missa just the way he is. He doesn’t realize he doesn’t have to change or impress.

He is a tangle of insecurities. Any mistake he does is the worst thing. Any criticism he receives is the truth. He loves Phil and his family so he wants to be better for them. He wants to be one they can rely on when things get rough. He wants to protect them even if he isn’t the best at things. He wants to try. And I think Phil loves that about him.

Like I previously said up above. Phil and Missa are opposites but similar in the way it matters. Both Missa and Phil are loyal to a fault. The only other loyal as hell pair in the server is the actual canon married couple. They both also want the best for their family and they both love so deeply. They both just want each other and their family to be safe.

But also Philza only feels safe with Missa. Philza main trait is his paranoia but when Phil is with Missa it’s like the things previous that worried him is nothing next to Missa. Missa is Philza comfort. Philza adores Missa and how comforting and sweet he is. And of course Missa who is emotional (will sob at anything and everything) fell in love first. But like I said in the Philza post. Philza adores him as much as Missa adores him. He just doesn’t verbalize it.

Meanwhile Missa would gladly scream he loves philza from the mountain tops of Philza was okay with that. He would gladly call Philza attractive and the best if he didn’t fear coming on too strong or making his beloved uncomfortable. (We already talked in length about why Philza isn’t used to being vulnerable and fully admitting he loves Missa in the Philza post).

Unlike a certain Brazilian Missa will never even dare think of taking away Philza agency. He loves Philza because he is Philza. And Missa is so kind that despite his love for the man if Philza ever rejects him he would accept. In fact he has kept most of his affections a secret because he doesn’t want to make philza uncomfortable. The fact is everyone can see the two of them are in love but them.

But we all know the truth. Phil adores Missa with his whole heart. He loves Missa so much. And I do think Missa knows on some level. But he doesn’t want to push the issue. Again because he is so kind and understanding. At the moment he is just happy to be in Phil’s presence. Whether it’s under a charade of a platonic marriage or not. He is just happy to be with Phil. And others may say he is not the best for Phil and his family because he was gone for so long. But the fact is Missa never stopped tying to come back home. He was literally kidnapped for months. And the only reason he went out in the first place was to get Phil a gift. And Phil knows this so of course he stayed loyal and accepted him back no hesitation. Missa always will love Phil. Even if Philza doesn’t love him back. And isn’t true love when you don’t expect it be returned and you love him anyways? (Philza loves him so much. It’s just too dangerous to say it. But Philza wants to so badly)

[mokadevs]

wuh oh

[milfygerard]

i dont know what to add that others havent said better except like. keep discussing the mistreatment of ray. like keep posts circling bc we all have these serious discussions every few months then people pat themselves on the back and move on, changing nothing. the racism surrounding rays place in fandom and how fan culture has treated him is and has been ongoing for as long as theres been mcr fandom and its gonna continue if we dont actually deal w it head on

[just-here09]

Here are two doodles I did! :D

[baronessblixen]

I forgot to post a pic last night 😂

Anyway, I went, and I had fun. My friend called the whole thing an "experience" and I mean yeah, that's what it is.

Hope everyone else had fun, too - or will have at the following concerts. Liked this one way better than the last London concert I went to.

[checkeredbat]

TW!: blood, stitches, body horror, and a syringe.

Please keep yourself safe :DD

Some gore bc I enjoy doing it. I was going to do goretober but I don't have the schedule to do it, which socks bc I really wanted to. So here's what would have been days 3(experiment gone wrong) and 2/25(stitches and medical horror)

[sobersonder]

I made Home from Welcome Home :DD

(Who was made by the humble @/partycoffin)

"Creak creak? (Is that Barnaby?)"

[kanene-yaaay]

Bad Days and Good Nights

Warnings: This tickle fic contains angst, hurt/comfort, family tickles, fluff, family fluff, usual siblings shenanigans and cheer up tickles. (It happens after a few years of Mari’s accident. The story itself doesn’t focus on that but there are a few hints of how everything affected them). It has Lee!Kel and Ler!Hero with a quick Ler!Kel and Lee!Hero. Around 6.000 words.

Kanene’s notes: I am once again losing myself in scenarios w siblings being good bros and cheering each other up. So!! This one is for two of my faves boyos: Kel and Hero!!! yeshhh!!!

Tbh I don’t think that this is one of my best works but it still deserves its time under the spotlight. I hope you all enjoy the story!! Thank you for your attention <3

[~*~]

Today was not a good day.

Kel knew that. Deep down he was aware that his hands were more twitchy than normal, that his brain was really, really trying but all the words his teacher said simply stopped having meaning a long time ago and only felt like senseless background sounds being dropped in the room. 

He knew that when he took a sip of his usually tasty and favorite energetic orange drink and it tasted just like always but today the citrus felt almost unbearable on his tongue. He also knew that when he remembered that he was going to meet with his basketball group after school and how that usually would have him bouncing on his feet and smiling like crazy but that today it didn’t even make the bad heavy feeling on his stomach go away.

However, it was fine! That was no problem at all because everyone feels under the weather most of the time. It’s pretty normal and all you can do is just keep going with your life, act normally and anxiously wait for the moment when all the bad feelings will just disappear, right?

It must be. After all, it really did work! Even if sometimes (more often than not) the sadness would sneak back and cling on his back like a parasite, pushing memories inside his mind and making his chest ache about the moments that he would never be able to get back to and tremble with what that could possibly mean. But that doesn’t mean that the plan didn’t work in the first place! Just that… sometimes stuff takes effort to work. And it did work. It did. 

Most of the time. 

Sometimes.

…Often enough.

Still, he just had to smile, push forward and wait for it!

The bell rang, an ear splitting tune that always made Sunny flinch and grimace (Kel wondered how he was doing) ringing all across the classes and signaling the end of the period. The boy felt a relieved sigh leave his lips, a bounce taking over his movements. See? Waiting really did work! He began shoveling all his textbooks and stray papers (eh, they would end up with wrinkles and tears but that was an inevitable fate of every piece of paper in the world), a pep on his step as he got up.

“Kel, please have a little more patience and wait for me to give you your test back before dashing through the door.”

Astonished blink. The rest of the classroom suddenly came back to focus as his classmates’ snickers filled the space. Everyone was still sitting down except for him and the girl with green strands of hair and a cool tattoo on her arm (she knew some very good shows and always carried a kind of game around. What was her name again?) folding a paper (her tests) and putting on her bag before heading to the door. His teacher looked at him with an arched eyebrow and an amused stare, lightly shaking his head when Kel chuckled and scratched the back of his head, a bit of embarrassment running hot on his face.

“Sorry, teacher.”

“Patience is a virtue, but we all take some time to conquer it. I know that I didn’t find mine yet.” The adult winked and went back to calling his classmates names, handing them their grades and saying one or two things that Kel couldn’t really - nor wanted - listen to, still feeling a flaming kind of hotness racing through his veins. 

(Usually it wasn’t so bad. Usually he didn’t mind any poke of fun. Usually he would even make one or two jokes to follow it. But today was a bad day. Today everything felt too sharp around the edges. Like just the tiniest push would make everything explode.)

It didn’t take too long before the classroom cleaned and he was the last one there. It was kind of predictable when his name was called.

“Here it is, Kel.” A C+?? That is not bad at all! It wasn’t any five stars grade or anything worth a celebration but it really wasn’t bad. 

“Cool. Thanks, teach!”

He tried to open his bag, failing. The zip was stuck.

“You know, Kel. I also was your brother’s science teacher.” Kel hummed in agreement, that was the case with most of his teachers since he and Hero had very close ages, just partially listening to the words while fighting with the zip of his bag that probably got stuck with one of the crumbled papers inside it. Ick. “Henry was a very good student. He is now studying to apply for medical college, right? I hope he gets in.” 

Kel tried again to open and close the zip without damaging the paper inside the bag. It got stuck again. Yep. At least he tried to be gentle. Now the paper had to go down. It was its inevitable fate since the beginning of the times.

“I think you also have a great potential, Kel. The points you bring on your presentations are really good and while grading this test I can’t help but feel like…” Finally! Kel managed to fully open his bag and then place the science test inside. His teacher seemed almost done talking to him anyway, which was good. He was kind of hungry.

“I expected more from you, Kel.”

Ah.

Kel froze.

That was… fine. Normal. Teachers, parents, people in general weren’t ever very impressed at Kel’s grades. Or even happy. Or had any positive feelings about them in general.

“Hehe, sorry, teach.” The words came tumbling from his mouth before he realized what he was saying. Filling the air with a halfhearted laughter before the silence could get awkward. “I will try my best on the next one!”

(He had tried his best on this one.)

Yeah. He… he would. Science was one of his favorite subjects. He definitely could try better. Not that what the teacher said got into him or anything. It was fine! It…

It kind of stung.

Actually, it kind of stung a lot.

He said something else to which the adult replied, but once again it felt like the words tumbling right out from his mouth had no connection with his brain. He headed to the basketball court in the park, way too much feelings cutting and bubbling deep in his soul.

Irritation had always been normal to him, like a bug nipping at the corner of his brain and flaring its wings at any small kind of frustration or mean commentary thrown in his way. Now, however, it felt different. A hot, thick and slick kind of anger numbed his hands and filled his lungs, making him want to scream or do something stupid.

Today was not a good day.

(...)

Two hours had passed. He played basketball and it helped. The concentration, the methodic throws, constant running, sounds of sneakers hitting the concrete, mindless shouts and encouragement screams were good to push his thoughts away and let the adrenaline and feelings boiling in him explode all at once and gradually slow down until only a tired kind of exhaustion clung to his frame.

Kel arrived home, sighing in relief when he discovered that both mom and dad were out, probably buying groceries and having ice cream when mom complains that dad hasn't taken her out for a date in forever and how nowadays no husband tries to be caring and romantic anymore. Kel was just glad that he doesn’t have to show anyone his test to anyone right now.

His room was empty. Right. Hero was probably still out studying.

He hopes his brother remembers to take breaks and have a snack while he is there. He has been working too hard these last months. 

(It was great to know that at least one of them was trying their best.)

It’s nice to see him up and about again, the determined shine in his eyes subdued, but not completely erased, even if it took a too dark tunes sometimes. 

For all that Hero was smart and caring, he often forgot the simplest things, like that he is a human with basic needs.

His bag went to somewhere on the floor as Kel threw himself on the bed with a little too much force. He was tired. And should probably take a bath if he didn’t want to have a lecture about hygiene in some hours.

Oh well, sounds like a problem for future Kel, if he ever heard one.

The younger one fell into a dreamless sleep.

(…)

There were fingers caressing his hair, slowly pulling him back to consciousness and unfairly stopping the heavenly petting and beginning to mess the strand as soon as Kel showed signals of opening his eyes.

“Wakey wakey, Kel. It’s time for dinner.” Hero’s voice rang in a light tune and Kel incoherently grumbled in protest, mechanically sitting on the mattress with one swift movement. Not pushing the offending hand away only because he knew that doing so would just fuel the older to try to “show his giant brotherly love” further and Kel wasn’t quite in the mood for that right now.

He was feeling a bit slow. 

Better, but still slow.

Kel yawned, getting up and heading downstairs to the kitchen, missing the look Hero gave him, eyebrows furrowed in confusion and a slight tint of a worried something else.

The good thing about family dinners was that his mother was always more than happy to fill the silence with stories about the past, about her childhood, their childhoods or events that happened earlier on the day. His dad prodded him about his day and Kel mentioned the basketball practice before letting Hero take over with his talk about his studies and the clubs he was in. So he was free to just concentrate on chewing and thinking about what more he could do to fill the evening so he wouldn’t take another hour long nap and ended up waking up full of energy in the middle of the night. 

(Maybe he should try calling Sunny ag-)

Heading upstairs was uneventful and the shorter one stopped in front of the television in his room with a thoughtful pose. He could watch his comfort movie but…

Kel shook his head and marched with determination to get the already old DVD case. It’s been years since Hero last played the game they always did when that movie was passing on TV. He probably wouldn’t even remember about it nowadays. Even if he did, he would be too busy studying to-

“Is that Cosmic Boy? Wow, it’s been a long time since I watched it!” Kel yelped, jumping in the air with how the sudden voice of his brother cut the air.

“Hero! Don’t sneak on me like this. I almost dropped the case.”

The older one winced apologetically. “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to do that.” His features, however, quickly changed to a watchful gaze that ping ponged across Kel expression and body language, trying to find any hint about the reason of the quietness that washed over him during the whole dinner. “You are just very distracted today, Kel. Did something happen? You know you can tell me anything, right?”

Please don’t be about her, please don’t be about her I don’t think I am ready for this yet-

Kel shook his head with force, as if he could physically throw his thoughts from his brain with just this action, a habit both of them had, although it was unclear who copied it from who.

“It’s nothing.” 

There was a slight pause between the words. Hero never told Kel that but this was his biggest tell during his lies. Usually he was just so used to spilling anything in full honesty that when he tried to lie he always second guessed what he was going to say.

Besides, it wasn’t a ‘there isn’t anything’, but ‘it’s nothing’, so he was right, there was something that was really bothering his little brother.

While Kel moved his attention back to the TV, putting the DVD on the device, Hero subtly bit his lower lip, looking at his desk filled with books and papers scattered all across the place. The usual guilt of not studying at every single available moment in his life was already beginning to chew his brain.

However… 

Kel sat a few meters away from the screen, his orange basketball in hands, being clung to his chest in a shadow of a hug. He always looked so… small, sitting like that.

All the doubts vanished from his mind at this moment. There was just no subject or college in his world that could be more important than his brother.

He was not going to fail him again.

“I am going to get popcorn.” He smiled when Kel turned at him, pleased and surprised with the promise of a snack and company. “Mom is in a good mood today so I am going to try to convince her to open the box of chocolate she is holding on for the holidays.”

“I want the one with caramelized peanuts, the orange one and the big milk chocolate candy or also the one that taste like bananas-”

“That is dad’s favorite, there is no way for me to convince him to give it to us.” He chuckled as Kel whined as he fell on the floor, an annoyed pout blossoming in his face.

“It’s always dad's favorite. I wanted to try it.”

“That is the thing about favorites, Kel. they usually don’t change.” The younger one pouted more and rolled on his side to look at the TV, giving Hero his back in a grump style. “We can buy it the next time we go to the grocery store, you know? Just give me a reminder.”

Kel hummed, still looking at the screen, already uninterested in keeping their banter going. 

Yep, a very special cheering up and good ol’ brotherly bonding time was in order, then.

It didn’t take long, just a few charms, lots of puppy eyes and promises of buying another box and a nice something before he was sitting right next to the shorter one with a big bowl of popcorn and lightly nudging the boy to a more comfortable position to eat.

The movie started. Hero couldn’t lie, especially as he got older, but the film was nothing but just a simple animation with an even simpler plot too full of fond memories to be forgotten. Three friends being lost in space and finding - after years of their childhood being filled with rules, boredom and routines - a world with a colorful circus where they finally discovered what it was like truly being a kid and having fun.

When he was little, it had been one of his favorites and his love for it quickly spread to Kel, who were more than happy to weekly bother his older brother to watch it again and again, usually getting so excited about it that it was almost impossible to get him to actually watch the movie instead of just continue to jump around with his giddy energy, basically screaming the lines with the characters.

Most of the time it would take a while to get him to calm down and sit to enjoy the movie with him, especially because the little boy kept doing all the stuff to get him in his nerves. 

The older one glanced at his brother. It was almost unnerving how quiet and… not-moving he was now when he looked back at those memories.

… What did he even do to stop Kel from causing a ruckus and actually sit down to watch the movie?

There was a game, wasn’t it? How did it go, again…?

Mindlessly and lost in his thoughts, Hero stretched his arm to get more popcorn, which would be a totally fine and normal move if it wasn’t that movie and it wasn’t for that scene getting close, which meant that Kel had his eyes glued on him and his actions, knowing very well that if his brother remembered The Game, this usually would be the moment that he would start it.

That is why such yelp left his lips when Hero’s hand got closer, nerves buzzing and body throwing himself on his side while a hint of a smile grazed his mouth.

Hero only looked at him confused. 

“Kel? What wa-”

But before he could say anything else, the circus’ showman - one of the best characters of the movie - laughed and his excited announcement filled the space, taking, just like he always did when showed on the screen, all the attention to himself:

“A ride? Of course! We can visit any planet in the Universe! The planet of the infinite tickles, the planet of snickering elbows, the planet of the hilarious beetroots!”

The rest of the sentence disappeared as suddenly Hero’s brain was filled with plenty of giggling and squirming memories.

The planet of infinite…

Oh.

Hero remembered, now.

Kel, who was busy squinting and watching his brother with suspicion, trying to discover if he was truly confused or pulling his leg, squeaked, immediately recognizing the gleam that appeared in his eyes and the predatory turn of his smirk, fastly making his limbs turn around and kicking his legs to run away.

“Nonono! Hero! Think about what you're about to do!!” 

And Kel may be the most athletic of the two, but Hero always was good at reading his movements. While the younger one had the anticipation and stamina on his side, which made him successfully scramble away in wobbly dodges and quick jumps,  the taller ran to put himself in between him and the door, knees bended and arms spread wide, ready to catch any giggling younger one that tried to pass through him in the only true way to escape from his fate.

“You can’t camp at the door! This is against the rules!” Kel jumped on his bed, spinning around to point at him accusingly.

“Is it, now?” Hero blinked in the personification of innocence.

“Yeah!! It is and you know it.”

“I don’t think I remember the rules very well, dear little brother of mine.” Kel groaned at the affectionate nickname and would have let himself fall on the bed and complain about how embarrassing Hero was if it wasn’t for his non-laughing-safety being at stake. “Why don’t you come closer and explain them to me again?”

Kel raspberried at him, not moving a single finger in his direction.

They stared at each other.

Well, Hero internally shrugged. He tried. 

Showtime.

“Oh no!” He hugged his stomach, making a show of groaning and squirming around. “Kel, I was visiting one of your favorite planets and I think something is wrong with me now.”

He had to lower his face and press it on his chest to stop the snickering that bubbled from him when Kel basically shouted that “The planet of infinite tickles is not my favorite!!” so he wouldn’t break his character

“I think I am sick.”

“No, you’re not!”

“Owwww. I am terribly sick, Kel, I don’t think I can fight it any longer.”

“Hero!” Kel tried to not let his smile show on his tune too much, but he wasn’t successful, especially when Hero lifted his head and grinned at him, making a tickly kind of electricity run on his spine. “This is dumb. I am not a kid anymore. I can say that you’re lying.” 

“Sick! So sick. SO so sick. There is nothing we can do now. I am infected with the Need-To-Tickle-Tickle-Tickle-My-Little-Brother-Immediately disease and it’s only getting stronger as the seconds tick by.”

Silence. Kel seemed stuck between laughing in disbelief and groaning at his dramatics. Yet he didn’t step any closer to him. 

“Kel, you need to escape.”

“Then, get AWAY from the door.”

Hm. Maybe Hero would have to jump to plan B.

He pretended to not listen. “You must run away and save your life. I can feel it getting stronger, making my fingers wiggle and asking for your squeaky giggles in my mind.”

As he gave a quick glance upwards, he saw Kel looking at the window with squinted eyes and a thoughtful face, considering. 

No. Definitely not. Time for plan B.

“There is just - urg- only one thing that can save me.” He made a show of pulling something out of his pocket. The chocolate wrapping glinted in the light. “The forbidden banana chocolate that I got for Kel but now it will have to be used for the greater good.”

A gasp.

Kel knew it was a trap. For real, he knew it.

But he also really, really wanted to know why his dad had been obsessed with this chocolate since his early memories. Besides, Hero was distracted with his theatrics. If he tried to zig zag his way to his brother he could get it, he was sure of that. There was a reason he was feared at basketball and it wasn’t only for his deathly aim, but also for how fast he could be when he really wanted.

He could do that. He definitely could do that. Just dash, grab the snack and immediately bolt back to his bed. 

 Easy Peasy.

Hero wouldn't even notice him before it was too late.

He took a deep breath, eyes full of determination. Hero didn’t move, still dangling the chocolate in the air and slowly bringing it closer to his open mouth.

One, two, three and… RUN!

(...)

Today is a great day, Hero thought, as he whistled and sat in front of the TV, grabbing the remote and going back to the part of the film that they lost because of all the shenanigans. 

It was a little bit hard, but with some struggles he managed to not be hit in the face by a kick.

Today was a really good day.

“Hero!!! Hero you can’t do this with your own brother! Hero!!”

The sun was already setting and that let a dance of orange, yellow and red fill the room. Such beautiful and calm scenery. 

The taller one adjusted the bundle in his arms, eyes still glued on the screen, a satisfied smile grazing his mouth.

Peace.

“We can watch another movie! The popcorn will get cold and taste horrible and munchy and wither and then you’ll have to make another bowl and- No! Hero!”

One of the older's hands was lifted, his fingers clawing the air and chasing the squirming torso with a skill and tranquility of someone who played the same game a handful of times before and would keep playing it for plenty of times more.

He attacked.

Kel squealed, laughter immediately spilling freely from his lips as the wiggly, playful hands squeezed his sides non stop, fingers spidering and teasing the skin for a few seconds before chasing the lovely high pitched snickers that always appeared when Hero wormed his hands under his torso and tickled the base of his spine, prodding and poking his way to there and going back to attack his sides every time the younger tried to wiggle away.

As the clawing hands got bored, their curious fingers began hiking the sinuous patch to his armpits - being careful to scratch on each one of his ribs in the way, of course. What kind of a brother would he be if he denied their necessary dose of tickles? - which automatically made Kel titter non stop and his arms trash and skip around, in failed attempts to push such an unfair, horrible, tickly and silly attack away. 

However, everytime he tried to do that it was only to have the skittering fingers jumping away to dance on his belly, making his hands get out of the way and go back to clamping on his mouth to hide the traitor snorts away. This was the same technique Hero did everytime he tickled him and the fact that it still worked even after all those years only made his reactions grow stronger and giggli-er. Hero chuckled, starting, once again, the whole cycle of climbing and going back and then clawing up, up, up, getting higher every time the loop was repeated.

Uncontrollable laughter, tittering squeals, loud squeaks and high pitched yelps stumbled in the room in flocks and waves, stumbling right out of his mouth and spreading a funny kind of warmth all across his face and chest. A warmth that fought with the creeping cold that clued in his bones since the beginning of the day and scared away with a giddy, electric kind of energy the exhaustion on his moves, replacing them with kicks, wiggles and plentiful of squirms that always got him almost tumbling out of the lap and the trap he was in only for Hero to playful complain something about “running away from their brotherly quality time” and pull him right back at his previous blushy and giggly predicament.

And Kel remembered why this was one of his favorite movies. Because there wasn’t any Cosmic Boy without Hero, and there wasn’t any Hero without fun, without the sensation that he wasn’t alone, of a hand extended in his direction and attentive eyes that found and smiled at him on his quietest days. There wasn’t a Hero without the certainty that there wasn’t anything in this world that he couldn’t fix make it better by just being embarrassingly charming or a dork or an annoying older brother that would still try to get him to play his favorite game even if Kel was complaining about being too old and being insufferable the whole way.

So, Kel couldn’t really bring himself, even between his crackles because Hero kept focusing on this horrible, awful, terrific, unfair spot right in the middle of his ribcage and nononono! That is too ticklish! Very, very ticklish!! Get away, gehet away, stohohohop- , to mind the whole playful and honestly childish attack. 

That was when Hero got to his armpits, positioned his thumbs on the sensitive flesh and began drumming.

The resulting screeching was so loud that it made their windows shake.

Nevermind. Forget everything Kel said before, his older brother was evil and mean and this is the most horrible game to ever exist.

“Oh my god, I forgot how bad your armpits were.” Hero’s chuckles evolved to wheezes as he stopped his tickle attack to try to gather himself together and not fall in peals of laughter after such a loud reaction. 

Kel was still squirming, rolling from one side to another in an attempt to dislodge the offending hands out of his armpits and body instinctively jumping away when his own movements made the fingers graze and tickle the spot unintentionally, even if they stopped moving a few seconds ago. Yet, the knowledge that they were still there and that they could attack at any moment made tiny, buzzy shocks run across his torso and tickle his nerves and smile. 

Tears gathered on the corner of his eyes while airy chuckles intertwined freely with his protesting squeaky, fast laughter.

“Let me gohohoho!” But, his sentences couldn’t summon a single drop of true irritation or heat to fill them, especially when accompanied by such a gigantic, tittering grin and half hearted pushes. “Shuhuhut up!”

“Sorry, sohohorry! I swear I didn’t mean to laugh.” Hero said, laughing. “But your face was just-”

And he fell in a sea of sniggers again.

A sudden idea made Kel’s eyes sparkle and a teasy tune take over the corners of his smirk.

“Yeah? Bet it wasn’t as funny as this!”

And then his hands flew to Hero's sides, kneading there like there was no tomorrow.

Hero, in his turn, gasped in surprise at the feeling, his laughter getting stronger and quieter as the taller one tried to become a defensive ball, only to have his plans ruined by the younger boy laying still on his lap, his entire torso shaking with the force of his snickers and crackles.

"See? Pretty funny, huh? You can't even stop laughing!" 

Hero shook his head, the tip of his ears getting red.

"No?" Kel began crawling his hands downwards on the sensitive flesh until… there it was! Hero's head shot backwards, hiccups and snorts falling freely when Kel focused on delivering pinches on the hip bones with joy. "For someone who doesn't think this is funny, I think you're laughing a lot, huh, don't you think, Hero? Huh? Huh? Don't you think that this is funnyyyy~"

With an enormous force Hero managed to pull a whole sentence between his laughter. "I-I was supposed to snrk- to be the one cheering you uP!"

"And it's working!! Look how much happy I am for WINNING this fight and obliterating you with tickles right now! Ha!" Kel shouted triumphantly, letting the hips go in order to tease the unprotected neck of his brother.

However, he miscalculated Hero's stamina, and such a mistake couldn’t be left forgotten as two hands glued on his wrists with a firm grip and pulled them away. Shiny brown eyes found his.

"Oops." Suddenly, Kel’s voice got a much wobblier tune.

"W-winning the tickle fight, you say?" The way Hero's smile - even between breathless gasps and tiny hiccups - got shark-like made every siren scream in alert inside the younger's brain. "Lehehet me assist you, then."

"No! Wait!" But the other did not, in fact, wait, pulling the arms until they were pinned above his head, palms facing upwards. "Hero, I am already cheered up! I promise!"

“I don’t think so, Kel.” Hero positioned one of his hands on the other’s wrist, the tip of his fingers scratching the skin with soft and unbearable scribbles that made goosebumps run across his arms. Then, because Hero was an unfair meanie with no heart, he began walking the playful, tickly digits to the inside of his forearm. “Besides, the planet of the snickering elbows came all the way from the other side of the universe just to see you.”

“That doesn’t make sense. Planets can’t get people!!” Kel tried with all his will to pull his trembling ticklish arms from their torment only to feel a series of squeaky giggles climb up his throat, obliging him to concentrate all his efforts in not combusting in a mess of titters and giggles. 

“Do you think so? Because I think that the planet of the snickering elbows is getting closer and closer to someone’s very ticklish and very snickery arms…”

“I-I-I am nohot” He gave up, letting the uncontrollable and high pitched snickers wash them as his squirms grew stronger with all the giddiness filling his muscles and shooting like electricity across his nerves. “Tihihihihihicklish!! I am not ticklish!”

Hero’s expression got amused. “You’re not ticklish?”

His fingers focused in teasing and dancing happily on every inch inside his elbow, blunt nails creating and senseless doodles with every scribble and a couple or two of soft pinches that never failed to make the younger’s laughter get even higher and faster.

And still, Kel stubbornly shook his head. “Ihihi am not!”

“So, all these hilarious tickly-tickles aren’t affecting you at all?” Kel just continued to shake his head vehemently, laughing and smiling like nothing else mattered in his life, wrinkles on the corner of his eyes and nose scrunched up. “Not even a little bit? A silly-billy bit? A coochie coochie coo?” 

Kel’s kicks were renewed, the words falling between his lips being too much lost in between titters and squeals to be understood. If this was a protest against Hero’s embarrassing teases or the fact that his fingers were slowly and carefully crawling across his upperarms to his armpits was impossible to say.

Being the good, lovely brother who cared about his little bro’s wellbeing above everything else, Hero decided to keep doing both.

“Great!” Digging under his arms, Hero had to elevate his voice so he could be heard above the hysteric crackles of Kel. “Because the game just started. Do you know who else came to pay a visit to their favorite giggly boy? The planet of the hilarious beetroots…~”

Hands suddenly free, Kel only had a second before he felt his feet being held in a headlock. “And they would loooove to play This Little Pig with you again!”

And, of course, Kel should know that, in the position that he was, maybe it wouldn’t be the wisest idea to provoke the tickle monster that he called brother anymore.

But, the movie was still playing in the background, and soon enough they would be getting to the middle of it, which means that they probably would have to rewind all the way back to the beginning to watch it properly. And Hero had those dangerously joyful shine in his eyes that he hadn’t seen for a long time and Kel felt it would be a long time until he would be able to stop the chuckles and giggles that played run and catch in the room.

So, yeah, maybe if he stayed quiet, they would just go back to the game and soon everything would be over.

But he wasn’t much of the whole ‘being a quiet guy’ now, was he?

“Yohou’re sohohoho pfffft- hehe stupid!”

Hero’s smirk got wider.

And then, once again, he attacked.

(...)

“Hey, Hero?”

His brother hummed from his desk, showing that he was paying attention. It was night but the younger knew his brother would still pull one or two hours of study before following his lead and going to sleep. The lights of the room were still on but that was fine, Kel never had problems to fall asleep with them anyway. Especially after such an eventful day. He could already feel his eyelids droping close as he adjusted his blanket.

“Do you think that one day I will be as good as you?”

He didn’t look up, but by the sound of their old, badly lubricated office chair being moved, he knew that Hero was now staring at him.

This time, he waited in silence, not filling it with whatever word came to rest on the tip of his tongue.

Hero’s voice was soft as it floated in the night. “I think that I would be a very lucky guy… if someday I got to be half as cool as you.”

Kel snorted.

“Still,” he continued, “we’re both doing a good job at being just ourselves, don’t you think? It wouldn’t be very interesting if we just became like each other or you became like me. Your basketball group would certainly start a mutiny, and the fabric of orange joe would go bankrupt.”

“But… more than anything” and then Kel looked up, because that was Hero’s emotional voice and he could count in the fingers of one hand the moments he got like that (most of them weren’t good ones). “I would miss you a lot, Kel.” 

Ah.

Kel smiled and it soon evolved to a fun kind of chuckle.

“Heh. Thank you, Hero. You’re not going to start crying over me, are you?”

“Maybe.”

“Old man.”

“Old and taller than you.~”

A calm sort of silence poured in gentle drops over them.

Kel took a deep breath.

“I got a C on my test today.”

“Really?” Hero’s frown quickly eased when he saw the conflicted gaze in his brother’s face. “And how was it?”

“I tried very hard and it was biology! I love biology. And it was not even a bad grade! I could have gotten a D or even a F and failed the subject.” As quick as it came, his irritation went away, body too light and too sleepy to cling to it for too long, anyway. “I got more than half of the questions right.”

“That is great.” Hero replied, sincerely, not having a single idea of how that only sentence washed over the younger one like a breeze of relief. “Hey, when your tests are all over, we should have some ice cream to celebrate, what do you think?”

Happier, Kel could already feel the dream realm reclaiming him, so, before he fell asleep, a quick, glad answer was pushed from his mouth.

“Yeah. We totally should.”

For a second, he could almost hear a fond sigh and a faint “good night”.

The day hadn’t started great, but Kel couldn’t really deny that last sentence.

This was a good night. Indeed.

[sheepfish03]

Look at this cool trick he can do! Oh the spiral? dw about it...

Hermit a day may 20, Hypnotizd

(originally was going to give him a pocket watch or a pendant or something, but for some reason I settled on a yoyo instead, I imagine he can do all sorts of cool tricks with it)

[characteroulette]

A study on prosecutors -- (previous) (next)

Simon Blackquill, the Twisted Samurai.

Simon was actually a bit of a hard sell for me, much like his contemporary. I'm not really into Dual Destinies or Spirit of Justice (and therefore I'm not able to remember all the details as well as I can the other games oop so sorry if I get some things wrong here), but there are things I enjoy about them. One of those things ended up being the prosecutors!

It's thematically appropriate with the whole "dark age of the law" setup. A prosecutor who's on death row is allowed to take on trials to help with the workload the prosecution's office is dealing with. (Don't mind the fact that there's enough wiggle room for Klavier to go out for an event.) We hear from Fulbright about this prosecutor and Athena seems to recognise him. The absurd of why are they letting an inmate have any legal sway whatsoever doesn't matter so much. This is the dark age of the law.

Then we meet him and he's appropriately a grumpy jerk.

We're not given the details of his crime really, just whatever we can glean from the animated cutscenes. (It involved blood and a sword.) But Blackquill's mannerisms are harsh and unforgiving. He's a psychological suggester, able to run circles around the judge and drag us along for the ride by the ear. I think this part of his schtick is kind of annoying to deal with, mainly because of how obvious it is that he's messing with all of us, but it definitely does make for a fun character. He really showcases how easy it is to become intimidating in this world of dumbasses when you're able to keep even a single braincell advantage. (The less forgivable act, to me, was his shutting Apollo down at every turn. He is so mean to Apollo! It's not like Apollo can help that his eyes are magically tuned to other people's body language, and yet Blackquill calls it cheating and cuts him down for it. Then he allows Athena to do her mood matrix things with very little argument! This was a huge jarring point for me for a long time and part of the reason why it took me so long to actually finish this game.)

The setup is there: something about this guy is performative, is softer when handling Athena. Yet he masks it all very well with his abrasive attitude and trickery. He forces us into a corner, forces the hand of our client, and we have to head back out into the investigation.

It's easy to explain away most of his attitude, in actuality. He's been in prison for seven years. He mentions constantly the different mates he's met in the clink. Fulbright may act like his only friend and supporter, but there's too large a gap between them considering Fulbright holds too much authority over him.

Blackquill has become unsociable from his time in the clink. His refusal to admit to the truth has him leaning into his belligerence, has him constantly acting the part of the bad guy. (When did it start to become a part of who he is? Perhaps he's always been a little twisted. It never rings false to anyone besides Athena, after all.)

His situation is intriguing and so we're hooked into wanting to know what the hell happened to make him like this.

Also, I gotta give a special mention to his talking sprites. All of them are really good, from him slamming the desk as he laughs (which is just how I see him in my head by this point) to his eye flashing as he glares down at you. He plays with a lot of the usual conventions, too, turning his back towards you and never actually having a full point. I may not like how his objection sounds (and this is a me problem, I only like about 20% of the actual objections in this series whoops), but his "Silence!" is pitch perfect. That really conveys more of his character than anything else, devs and his va did a damn good job with that one.

Anyway, second day of the trial. It's actually pretty fun to see Blackquill on the ropes, having him act as if we're the ones cutting him down instead of the other way around. He's just as annoyingly ruthless here, but it's easier to deal with when we can actually gain some ground on him. For all his posturing and intimidation tactics, he can't keep up the act while we're shutting him down.

Once we pull off our victory for our client, he's back to being a cool customer. He's a pretty graceful loser compared to so many other prosecutors we've seen. Compared to Gaspen, even. There's still a lot we don't really know about him and his situation, but he's made his character loud and clear for us to see. For that, I gotta say it's understandable if you started liking him by this point.

Case 3 is kind of a mess during the trial segments due to everyone trying to confess to the murder. Blackquill may be facilitating a bunch of this nonsense, but he's as along for the ride as we are. That makes things more fun and tolerable than it could have been, so hey.

It also showcases his softer approach with Athena; again, the hints are being put down. You can't quite pick them up yet because you don't have the full context, but you can notice Athena mention that she's fighting so hard in order to save someone not our client. (And Blackquill even addressed her as directly about it as he can, saying that she should know it's useless trying to reach him.) When Means puts Athena out of commission for a minute, Blackquill doesn't mock her or even take advantage of the situation. He doesn't help, either, he can't do that without giving away the whole game, but he allows her the time to come back. That's probably the biggest hint we get as to who these two are to each other and it's a subtle thing, too.

His dynamic with Athena is probably the most enjoyable, also. She's a real spitfire in court, owing to her youth and her energetic nature, while he's a steel wall with trickster energy. They work surprisingly well off one another, trading jabs and him always seeming to be a step ahead but never fully leaving her in the dust. He recognises her inexperience and she recognises his humanity; neither want to hold back against the other and yet their blows aren't as harsh as they could be.

He was, after all, made to be her opponent on some level. Seeing their dynamic work so well off one another, it's easy to stop finding him aggravating and start finding him endearing. A rough around the edges older brother type rather than a hardened criminal trickster type. (Though he is very much still both.)

An aside on the DLC case, I think it's very funny how Blackquill was the only prosecutor willing to try this case against an orca. Sure, he saw the underlying actual murder mystery beneath it all, but it's so easy to imagine him being presented this case, laughing his ass off, then agreeing to prosecute it. This man's as insane as Phoenix!! And that goes a hell of a long way to endearing him to us. To me, specifically. His mannerism against Phoenix is kinda not fun, considering Phoenix is hardly ever fun in this game, but it's such a wacky little character detail about him that I just adore. His devil may care attitude may come from a dark place, but it lends itself to such a fun time.

Of course, we then reach the fourth case and even more mysteries are thrown in our face.

For one, Blackquill is just as on edge and vicious concerning this case. We understand some of Apollo's beef, he knew the victim and is emotionally invested in his client, but Blackquill being just as invested is definitely strange. It definitely raises some alarm bells to keep in mind, right up until the courtroom is blown up and we're forced into a time skip.

Meeting Blackquill's older sister adds another piece to the puzzle. She's really nasty especially to Athena and you make a note of it, but still can't quite make out the whole picture. It's an easy detail to overlook, even, if you aren't really paying attention to the names, since there isn't a big fuss made over her being his older sister. It connects him to this space station, but not in a way that matters. Not yet.

Another piece is Fulbright's odd behaviour. They really have to work hard to start building enough clues for Fulbright's turn to make sense, but the important thing for us concerning Blackquill is that he seems more worried about Blackquill's rehabilitation than before. Fulbright himself is struggling in what he should reveal to us, where his sense of justice lies, and Phoenix presses him to share enough with us for the next day of the trial.

Of course, Blackquill continues the trial with his added fervour. It really feels he has more of the pieces to this puzzle than we do at this point, but we at least manage to hold our own until Fulbright returns with the decisive evidence to prove Starbuck's innocence. The problem then is that it implicates Athena.

And Blackquill goes into absolute panic mode.

This is what he's been trying to prevent! He can't have Athena accused of another crime, he can't defend her this time like how he did before. He's doing his best to hold his uncaring demeanour together, but he's slipped too much for it to be convincing. He's run out of time and his sister refuses to accept that.

This leads us into the final case and our impromptu trial to figure out just what exactly happened for Blackquill to land himself on death row.

How Blackquill guards himself while absolutely falling apart here is so heartbreaking. He's doing his best to protect Athena, to save the girl who's his mentor's precious treasure, and him and Athena going back and forth on whether or not the whole truth is worth exposing, no matter how painful it is, is excellent. I really feel Blackquill's desperation here, aided by one of the sickest Mood Matrix segments ever. Learning that Edgeworth asked Phoenix specifically to become a lawyer again to help Blackquill, having Edgeworth act as prosecutor on this trial, everything about this is so good. All of it really lends to showing us the player why we should care about Blackquill. It definitely got me good.

Only once we prove Blackquill and Athena both innocent does that weathered shield finally fall. Blackquill gets to show off a bit of his less guarded self, gets to have some fun as we leap into the next segment of the trial. He gets to finally, finally dig up the truth behind that terrible lie he's been keeping for the past seven years and confront this Phantom himself. If the Phantom reveal wasn't so slapdash, this entire segment would be a lot more powerful, I think.

All of it, though, is in service of the straight up satisfaction we get when seeing Blackquill at the end, able to live his life again. Seeing how he actually calls on Athena's help in the next game, then hops onto the bench with her to help her out is so good, there's so much growth that happened there. He's still his smarmy trickster self, but he's willing to show a bit of his caring older brother side! I love seeing it.

Anyway yeah hopefully this conveys how much I love Blackquill, wish he had that little extra oomph to his narrative to make him truly great.

[luderailing]

I wanted similar brushes to what Hima uses just for fun but then I got distracted and tried to mimic his art style

( I FORGOR TO MENTION,, THANK YOU GUYS FOR THE BRUSH SUGGESTIONS THAT WAS GENUINELY SO HELPFUL!!<3

[secretdazedragon]

[honeydots]

This looks like fun! For the ask game ❛ don’t push me away again. ❜ and Xanlow

"Don't push me away again." 1.4k, xanlow from this ask game cw: very mild disordered eating

Somehow, Xander’s been more distant lately.

Laslow isn’t sure why. Usually when he gets like this, he eases back into normalcy during the evenings and into the mornings, really only frustrated during the work day. Which makes sense, being a king is a stressful job, and Laslow actually likes helping Xander relax a bit. It tends to helps Laslow relax, too.

But it hasn’t been that way recently. Xander just stays tense and grumpy, working around the clock and becoming mildly loathsome to be around. And no, Laslow never expected Xander to be perfect all the time—he was never deluded otherwise, either—he just doesn’t know what’s causing this.

And Xander’s been the same this morning. Lugging himself out of bed looking just as stressed as before he slept. He's got just terrible and dark smudges of eyebags, and frankly, he looks tetchy.

And now, hair brushed and face washed, Laslow is dressing Xander in his day clothes. He doesn’t really have to do this anymore, but he likes to anyway, at least some parts. When they’re both slow and groggy in the mornings, it’s sometimes easier to say hello by just touching.

“Did you sleep well?” Laslow asks gently, kneeling in front of Xander while siding buttons into holes and tying strings into bows. Xander exhales through his nose, in such a way that Laslow expects the answer to be no.

“I didn’t have dinner,” Xander says, sleep in his voice. “The consequences woke me up more than once.”

“You didn’t eat?” Laslow pauses his work, shocked at the very notion. “You can’t be doing that, you should’ve gotten something.”

“I thought I could sleep through it.”

Laslow huffs. “Clearly not. Eat a big breakfast today.”

It must’ve been because he was working. He came back very late last night—which is common for him, and Laslow hates it. But forgetting to eat is very new. And it’s certainly not something Laslow’s going to let become a habit.

“…Um. My love,” Laslow says quietly, beginning to fiddle with Xander’s sleeves. “What is it you’ve been obsessing over that's capturing your attention like this?”

“I haven’t been obsessive.” Which is untrue, and also doesn’t answer the question. Xander looks quite irritated already. Tired and hungry has never been a great mix for him, but there’s also whatever mystery he’s dealing with adding to the drama. Laslow frowns.

“It’s slightly obsessive if you work non-stop and tell no one about it,” Laslow counters. “And now forgetting to eat.”

Xander scowls deeply. “I didn’t forget.”

“Choosing not to eat is no better.”

“Are you finished?” Xander snaps, surprising Laslow and taking his wrist away. “You’ll be quite dismissed if you continue with this.”

Laslow raises his eyebrows. That actually kind of struck a nerve. “'Dismissed?’” And where might he be dismissed to, their bed?

Xander tenses, as he probably ought to, an uncomfortable look suddenly on his face. “I wasn't—”

“Don’t... Speak to me that way,” Laslow says before he can regret it—and also before he can regret not saying anything. “I don’t appreciate it.”

Xander swallows. Glances down at what must be Laslow’s very sour expression, then sighs. “I’m sorry. I—don’t mean to.” He looks like he’s going to says more, but his mouth just twitches awkwardly, and he shakes his head. “I don’t mean to.”

And, you know, Laslow believes him. He knows much better than to take a very stressed outburst at face value. With an exhale, Laslow gets up, then sits on a plush stool that was previously where he’d set Xander’s clothes.

It isn’t like Xander doesn’t scold him from time to time. And it isn’t like they don’t have positions. Laslow, by official documents, is still very much Xander’s retainer. But this isn’t that. It cannot become that.

“You can’t get away with everything by using a scary voice,” Laslow begins, looking at his knees. “And I know you know that I’m not only around for your convenience. And, perhaps you never really did treat me like I was.”

Xander doesn’t say anything. He’s still frowning, though not at Laslow. And Laslow doesn’t mean to lecture him while he’s already feeling so bad, so he tries to dull the sharpness of his tone to something much more caring.

“But I’m still not. So you don’t get to—push me away like that. Please don’t push me away.”

Xander adjusts the sleeve Laslow had just been holding, not entirely buttoned yet. “I’m not trying to,” he says, and then after Laslow makes a face at him, “…It isn’t about you.”

Which does make Laslow grin a little. “I sure hope you haven’t been going through some lengthy process of kicking me out of the palace,” he says, holding out his hand and wiggling his fingers for Xander to offer his sleeve again. And he does, so Laslow starts to button it up. “It doesn’t matter that it isn’t about me. And believe me, I know there are some things you don’t want to talk about. And I—I’d like to think I respect that. I’d like to get better at respecting that.”

Last button in place, Laslow doesn’t give Xander’s hand back to him, but instead holds it, running his thumb over his knuckles. “So you don’t… Have to tell me. I’d like it if you did, but I’d be alright if you didn’t.” Laslow eventually just slides his fingers in the space next to Xander’s. “But I don’t want you like this. Working so much, letting it seep into everything else. Don’t stop me from trying to help.”

Xander stays quiet for a bit. And then, with his free arm, he puts his elbow on his leg and his fist over his chin and mouth, thinking. Eventually, his knuckles move to his forehead, and he shuts his eyes.

“...I’ve been putting together my father’s funeral,” Xander explains with a low voice. “And there’s been much that’s been… Difficult. It’s an arduous task.”

Oh. “Xander,” Laslow says softly, leaning in a bit closer. “You can’t—you’re not doing it yourself, are you?”

“It’s traditionally planned only by royalty and close associates. And I wouldn’t ask my siblings, I… They’ve been through enough, concerning him.”

Laslow sits silently, still holding Xander’s hand and feeling him press back. A funeral for a king is no simple matter, that is a heavy burden to bear. Especially for a king with such a complicated reputation, such as what King Garon had. And—for one with such a complicated relationship with his son.

“I’m—a close associate,” Laslow offers. “Can’t I do anything?”

Xander glances at him. “What do you know of Nohrian funeral traditions?”

Laslow can feel his face cringe a bit. “I could learn?” Though he knows full well that a student would be less than helpful now.

“There’s already much talk asking why we haven’t held one yet,” Xander continues. “Many questioned why my coronation came first, even.”

Laslow scoffs. “Nohr needed a king!”

“That it did.” Xander takes a deep breath. “But this can’t be put off any longer. Were there a body left, it would be rotted by now.”

It’s all quite unavoidable, then, isn’t it. Laslow admits he likes to take shortcuts and desire paths, but he’s started running into more and more circumstances where they just aren’t feasible. He holds Xander’s hand a bit tighter.

“At least take proper care of yourself, then,” Laslow says. “Eat your breakfast and come sleep for a few more hours. And then—please, would you stop working at a reasonable time? Before I go actually nuts waiting for you.”

Xander gives him a decent frown. But Laslow stands and tries to pull Xander up with him—though Xander stays very seated until he decides to indulge Laslow, getting to his feet slowly and standing close.

“Let’s get some breakfast in you,” Laslow says. He pauses, then lets Xander’s hand go and twiddles with his own fingers. “And really, if you’re not sure what you need. Talk to me.”

Maybe marginally less tense, Xander nods. Laslow thinks they’ve solved more than they haven’t, though. Laslow gives his cheek a peck, and finally succeeds in getting Xander to grin.

Some of Xander’s vulnerability comes out in ways Laslow doesn’t expect. But he’s been getting better at looking for it. Xander, he isn’t an angry person—maybe a stern one, or serious. But he’s awfully gentle, too.

And sometimes, Laslow needs to look past his very kingly facade and just see the man. Because Xander really is only a man, and Xander might need some help with seeing that, too.

But it’s okay. One step at a time. Nothing’s easy forever. And who says forever is something to strive for, anyway?

Laslow… He only wants right now.

[randomfoggytiger]

React: "Return to Me" (from the POV of Someone Averse to RomComs, Part III): Wherein I Rename Bob the Builder

Bob has arrived at O'Reilly's (even Riley would have been a better name than Bob. I'm sorry-- I vowed to let the Bob name thing rest. I'm sorry, carry on Bob.)

He likes the restaurant, it seems, though he has to gird up his loins (metaphorically) before exiting the car. (Excellent choice on DD's part to make Bob muted and mumbling after the death of his wife-- unless ranting at a boardroom, of course.)

I see Bob passes waitress lady and Minnie Driver, nice nice.

Charlie's happy to set up his friend.

Bob decides he isn't happy to be set up, after all.

Gold.

"Matchy matchy, green squared." Cue "Aha ahahhaah ahoy ahee ahoo" noises from everyone but Bob.

Yeah, this isn't going to work out.

If you can't tell from Bob's polite smile, he's dying inside.

Let me better illustrate:

And a great touch (or should I say, purposed non-touch): Bob reaches for the jacket foisted upon him blindly, not wanting to engage... eye contact.

Charlie just said...

No, I have to restart that:

Charlie just said.

BOB'S A BUILDER.

REALLY.

YOU NAMED HIM BOB BECAUSE HE WAS A BUILDER--

Y'know.

I had patience with your name, Bob. I did. I was a generous soul. No more. Your name's Ben now. Live with it-- unlike Elizabeth (buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurn.) I'm not sorry, Ben, I'm just petty now. I made a deal with you and this happens. You should be ashamed Ben Bob. Bob Ben. ...Bobbin'? Bobben? ...Nah, I'll stick with Ben, easier that way.

Not Bob's date being unimpressed that he designed a building instead of owning it was classic.

Take that sick burn, Ben Bob.

Meet Cute After Date Is Moot.

Some of Bob-Ben's animation returns as he tries to place Minnie Driver.

"Do we know each other?"

"Uh..." she looks engaged for the first time, too. "I think so."

Benners makes jokes about an Irish Italian restaurant before date woman jumps in with "blah blah blah" hands at Minnie-- which Ben doesn't appreciate. And, obviously, neither does Grace/Minnie.

These names are getting to be a lot but I don't care.

Bob grabs Grace's arm before she leaves, asking for a cup of coffee to smooth things over but mainly to add an "I'm sorry" before it.

I'm likin' this bittersweet Minnie Driver, I'm likin' it a lot.

"No straw," he winks.

Minnie's likin' that a lot, too.

Bob's so caught up in his head that he doesn't even notice his phone ringing. A good portent for his future.

When he realizes he has a way to escape, Ben Bob bobs out of that booth so fast you'd wouldn't have known he'd been there. (>:DD)

He then walks half-way across the restaurant to oh-so-casually wait behind Grace the waitress... and catches her doing the ol' be-nice-to-your-waitstaff parlor trick: swap the waters and the Karen won't know.

Bob is delighted; Minnie, caught, glides away; and I'm having a grand old time.

Benjo Bobberino sets up his escape plan with Big Mike (again, those Arcadia bells are ringing. Yes, I know it's a common American thing to put Big with Mike, but still.)

"Oh, I bet that's refreshing." Bobcalifragilisticexpialadocious deadpans, staring at the bottled tap water and sharing a private joke with Minnie.

Ben nearly murders a hag when she continues her badgering (if his strained intake of breath is anything to go by); and covers for his friend's stupid jokes, smoothing it over with a handwave.

Charlie, my man, Benanas is doing you a favor here. Don't embarrass yourself too badly.

I see you, Bob Ben (returning to the classics) wanting to try Grace's favorite dish and getting fed up when date has the gall to call it fattening and ask if anything's not covered in oil.

"No-- some we boil in Swiss water."

Meet Cute got a hearty laugh out of Mr. Morose, who doesn't care if the table is confused and not chuckling along.

Karen literally pulled the manager card. Her name's forever stamped as Karen to me, bravissima madame.

Ben faking his way through the phone convo is *chef's kisses.*

Charlie knows. "Byyyyyyyye."

Grace runs over, trying to make sure she hasn't offended her patron; and Ben is way too eager to assure her that the Karen woman isn't his girlfriend or even a friend.

Mr. Alive and Bantery, thou hast sort of returned.

Grace hands him takeout-- "Mr... Atsuki"-- and I don't know if I've seen anything greater in 24 hours.

...Oh wait, I haven't seen anything else in 24 hours.

Someone else is touched, too.

You see, my mutuals, this here is second marriage material: not as breakable as the first lovely, lost wife-- she has a little spit under her tongue.

My man Robert Benjamin has a lot to think over.

Gotta end it there for now~

Enjoy!