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seikilosTitle: Observation, Reflexes, and Quick Decision-Making Skills
Fandoms:![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
luceti, Tiger & Bunny, Tales of Graces f, Punch Out!!
Genre: Humour/Fluff
Rating: PG-13 (for Hubert's dirty mind)
Words: 4157
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the above media.
Summary: When a Wii and Mario Kart appear in Luceti's rec centre, Pao-Lin knows exactly who she wants to play with.
Author's Notes: A fic I wrote for Sora's birthday, um, earlier this month. (My brain refused to spit out ideas until the last minute. /shakes fist) It borrows her established Lucetiverse that saw Hubert (from Tales of Graces f) and Pao-Lin (from Tiger & Bunny) continue to grow closer, beyond what had been established in Luceti canon prior to his drop, until they began dating. Being rather unique individuals, their relationship tends to be similarly...unique. :Db
On a side note, I continue to find it impossible to write a Graces-related fic that doesn't mock the hell out of Hubert in some way. Oops.
As always, thanks to Yosie for helping by typing parts of this despite being extremely busy with work right now. Happy birthday, Sora, and I hope you enjoy the show! ♥
It had been Mac who had shared the news about the "real fancy" new videogame console that had appeared in the rec centre that week. Pao-Lin had headed right on over after lunch to check it out, trying to imagine just how amazing and futuristic it was . . . only to discover a lowly Wii with a grand total of one game.
Her disappointment was minimal, at least. Honestly, she wasn't much of a gamer, and she had to admit, the situation was pretty funny. Sometimes, when it came to her friends from a modern-ish Earth, she forgot they weren't all from the same year. What was mind-blowingly advanced for Mac was . . . well, really ordinary to her.
She picked up the plastic disc case and looked it over. It would be nice to play on a Wii again—and she knew exactly who she wanted to invite to join her.
*
"You want me to do what?"
Pao-Lin frowned at her journal, confused. Hubert sounded really shocked and she couldn't possibly imagine why.
"Come play a Wii game with me," she said again. "It'd be fun."
She heard him take in a deep breath. ". . . A Wii game," he repeated.
"Yeah, Mac told me we had one now. I thought it would be something nice to do together." She hesitated. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea, after all. "But if you don't want to, I could play with him instead. . . ."
"No!" Hubert all but shouted. Then he paused. ". . . Pao-Lin, I would greatly appreciate an explanation. I cannot possibly be understanding your . . . offer correctly."
. . . That's right, there probably weren't any Wiis on Ephinea. Pao-Lin relaxed. Or if there were, they were probably called something else.
"Mac found a Wii in the rec centre." A small noise like "grk" came from her journal; she gave the book an odd look, but went on. "It's for playing videogames on. There's only Mario Kart right now, but I thought it would be fun to play a few rounds together."
There was another pause. Then: ". . . I see. May I ask what a 'videogame' is?"
That was actually a pretty hard question. She thought for a minute, trying to come up with a good explanation. "It's like . . . an interactive movie, only you control what the characters do and say. I don't play them very much, but they're pretty fun."
". . . And the . . . 'Wii'?" he asked carefully.
"Oh, that's the name of the console you play the games on," she answered. "There are a bunch of others, like Gamestation and Y-Box."
There was yet another one of those long silences. (It was almost enough to make her wonder if the journals were operating on a delay that day.) Finally, Hubert said, "I suppose I have no objections. Very well. Shall we meet at the rec centre?"
She grinned. All right! "Sure! See you soon!"
She couldn't wait to see what he thought. This was going to be fun!
*
When she reached the rec centre, she found Hubert sitting on the floor, the Wii in his hands. He had his nose all but inside one of the ports and was frowning into it. She had to admit, the sight was pretty cute.
When he heard her approach, he returned the Wii to the floor and stood as he greeted her. "Ah, Pao-Lin. I presume this is the—the device?"
"That’s it," she confirmed, wondering at the grimace he'd made. Oh well. "Just give me a minute and I’ll get everything set up—oh, actually, if you could find the Wiimotes, that’d be great."
"'Wiimotes.'"
"Wii remotes." Now where were the AV cables? "It’s a nickname."
". . . Of course."
As she turned on the TV (which had been upgraded to a pretty nice flatscreen—it’d be great for watching martial arts movies), she heard Hubert report, “One of the . . . remotes appears to have been stuck in a wheel.”
"Oh, that's the Wii Wheel," she said and glanced over her shoulder to double-check. "Yeah, that's used for Mario Kart, but you might want to take out the Wiimote. I've always found the wheel makes the game too hard."
"I believe I'll keep it where it is," Hubert replied with confidence. "After all, it would hardly do to make the game too simple."
Pao-Lin found the game case, then fed the disc into the Wii's front slot. "I don't know—you've never played a videogame before, right? Maybe we should take it slow."
It wasn't that she didn't think he could do it, but . . . everything was brand new to him.
"Oh, come now." Hubert wore a . . . well, she hated to think it, but it probably was a smirk as he seated himself on a nearby couch. "How difficult can it possibly be?"
Pao-Lin joined him and accepted her Wiimote. "If you're sure. . . ."
It took her a little while to explain how to use the controller and the functions of the various buttons, and a bit more time to talk about the details of the game itself. When she suggested they spend a bit of time in battle mode without fighting so Hubert could get used to the controls, he refused.
"I understand perfectly. There's no need for experimentation; it seems to be a simple matter of observation, reflexes, and quick decision-making skills. Let's begin with a race," he insisted.
"Okay. . . ." She was really starting to get a bad feeling about this.
Hubert didn't seem all that impressed with the characters offered, but once she explained the concept of weight classes, he demanded that she continually swap between the character and kart selection screens to maximize the effectiveness of his choice. Even her patience was beginning to run out when he at last settled on a combination of Daisy with the Mach Bike. Pao-Lin, who had chosen Mario and the Sugarscoot for the entirely complex reason of it being what she always used, clicked over to the course select screen a little faster than usual. After all, she didn't want to give him time to change his mind.
She also didn’t give Hubert any say in which course they played; at the rate things were going, it would be suppertime before they finished a single race. (And she definitely didn’t let on that Luigi Circuit was the easiest course, either.)
"Okay, any questions before we start?" she asked just before confirming her choice.
"Not at all." Hubert sounded very sure of himself. "I have matters entirely under control."
"Well . . . all right."
As the introductory notes for the course played, sudden homesickness slammed into her. The last time she’d played was when Ivan had brought in his Wii to Hero TV headquarters one day. They’d all spent an afternoon elbowing each other out of the way for turns and destroying Mr. Keith on the track because he’d been far too kind to fire on a fellow Hero. Even Mr. Brooks had been convinced to partner up with Mr. Tiger for a few rounds until he had gotten tired of placing behind even Mr. Keith and had quit. She had laughed until her stomach had actually hurt and Karina hadn’t spoken to Mr. Tiger for at least two days and. . . .
Well. She shifted on the sofa a bit, just until her bent knee was resting against Hubert's leg. She'd be back home someday. Right now, she had something special she didn't have in Sternbild. She'd just focus on making new memories of playing Mario Kart to go with her other ones.
The little character on his cloud (what was he called, again?) dangled the traffic lights before them, and—
"Oh, Hubert! Press A in between the second and third lights to get a boost!" It was a trick Ivan had shown her, but. . . .
"Understood!"
The light went green, the race began, and Pao-Lin left Hubert far, far behind.
. . . It was pretty hard to pull off.
"Sorry!"
"They're knocking off my aim!" Hubert exclaimed indignantly.
Pao-Lin flicked her gaze to his screen, but only for a second; this was harder than she remembered. "Heavy characters can bump medium ones—try to stay out of their way!"
"You could have told me soon—why is my bike not responding? I did not ask it to turn so drastically—no, not into the wall!"
Pao-Lin looked back at her screen long enough to pick up a . . . okay, a bomb, then told him, "You only need to turn the wheel a little. It's really sensitive."
"So I am noticing," Hubert gritted.
Daisy on her bike rammed the wall a few more times, and then Hubert was back on track . . . at least until the next turn.
"No, you insufferable—why are you not responding correctly?"
Pao-Lin winced and steered around a banana. Yeah, this . . . had not been a good idea.
"Hubert, try picking up one of the boxes and tell me what you get," she instructed.
A moment later: "Three red . . . turtle shells. What do they do?"
"They heatseek the people ahead of you and blow them up—they're really good."
"Ah, finally—"
And then Pao-Lin was just in time to see him shoot all three point blank into another wall.
"What?"
"They can't go through walls—dammit!" she broke off as Luigi blasted her out of the way with an invincibility star.
"Language, Pao-Lin! And why must you tell me such vital information too late?"
"Sorry!"
In the end, despite being distracted by coaching Hubert through the course, Pao-Lin managed to place fourth. She was pretty happy about it; she wasn't exactly an avid gamer and it had been ages since she played a videogame at all. But Hubert. . . .
"My controls have stopped working!" he exclaimed.
Pao-Lin's shoulders hunched. "Um . . . that's because the race is over. Everyone else has crossed the finish line."
It took a moment, but then Hubert squawked incredulously, "I placed last?"
"Well . . . it was your first time playing a videogame," she tried to console him.
It didn't work.
"Restart the race," he demanded. "I refuse to accept such a humiliating defeat!"
"Why don't we try another course?" she suggested, already selecting Moo Moo Meadows.
Hubert was having none of it. "I will not move on until I have demonstrated my mastery of this course."
"Come on, Hubert. . . ." She nudged him gently with her knee. "It's just a game."
"It most certainly is not!" he retorted. "By being defeated so completely, this—machine has shown me that my physical condition has slipped drastically, perhaps fatally. I need to regain my prowess!"
Sbe tried, but she just couldn't stop herself from sighing. This really had been a bad idea. ". . . All right."
She watched Hubert with some concern as the next race began. The look of grim concentration, the rigid lines of his body, the way he was leaning nearly off the edge of the couch—none of it indicated that he was having even a whisper of fun right now. He always tried so hard to be the best at everything—losing had hit hard.
Should she throw the next race? . . . No, he was incredibly smart. He'd definitely notice. She'd just have to not try quite as hard as the last time . . . even though she hadn't been trying very hard at all.
The next race went just as badly as she had been afraid of. Hubert once again started the race in twelfth place, and while he crept up as far as tenth at the start, by the first turn in the track, he was back in twelfth, where he stayed for the remainder of the race. He didn't run into as many walls . . . but that was about his only improvement.
"Shit!"
Pao-Lin's head snapped around and her mouth fell wide open; Hubert clapped a hand over his mouth, his face a flaming red. On the screen, his bike once again spun into a last place finish.
". . . Whoa." Had she ever heard him curse before? Ever?
Hubert averted his face and began adjusting and readjusting his glasses. "I . . . I apologize for that piece of profanity. I simply don't know what came over me. It's inexcusable."
"It's all right." She tried to smile. "You wouldn't believe the words I've learned playing with my friends back home. That's actually pretty tame."
"It still should not have happened. I will not be so crude again."
She set a hand on his shoulder, then winced slightly. She'd felt bricks more yielding than his muscles were right now. "Come on. Let's . . . go do something else right now. We can go have some milkshakes in Seventh Heaven."
He refused to look at her. "You may go. I will remain here."
". . . Please, Hubert?" If she left him, he'd only beat himself up more.
His shoulders dropped beneath her hand, but they didn't lose any of their tension. ". . . Very well."
They shut down the game after that, an awkward silence between them. The walk to Seventh Heaven wasn't much better, and while she managed to coax him into a slightly better mood over their drinks, the afternoon had gone flat. He walked her home soon after.
Well . . . so much for that. She'd just ask someone a little less . . . competitive to play with her the next time.
*
"Oh, Pao-Lin, hello!"
Pao-Lin glanced across Luceti’s main square, then smiled. "Oh, hey, Cheria—here, let me help you with that." "That" being the five bags of groceries her poor friend was trying to lug all by herself.
"Thank you," Cheria breathed out gratefully once Pao-Lin had hurried over to lift the three heaviest bags from her. "Now that everyone from home is here in the village, there . . . are a lot of groceries to buy sometimes."
"No problem," Pao-Lin assured her. "But . . . couldn’t you ask someone else to help?"
"They were all out and I, um, didn't realize the groceries would be this heavy." She gave a slightly nervous laugh.
Pao-Lin shifted one of the bags on her shoulder as she walked, trying to get comfortable. If she found three this heavy, five for someone like Cheria would have been impossible.
"Well, if that ever happens again, just call me on the journals." She smiled. "It would be no trouble to help you carry things home."
"Really?" Cheria’s relief was extremely plain—so much so that Pao-Lin was left wondering if this weren’t the first time this had happened. "Thank you."
She would have shrugged, but her shoulders were a little occupied at the moment. "Hey, don't worry about it. You guys invite me over so often that I guess you could say these are partially my groceries, too."
Cheria giggled a little at that. "We'll have to invite you again soon—it's been a while."
If this were a cartoon, Pao-Lin's stomach would have growled, right then and there. Cheria was a great cook. "That would be great—thanks, Cheria!"
"It's my pleasure." Cheria smiled at her, but the expression soon transitioned into something more thoughtful. "Actually, I'm a little surprised Hubert isn't with you."
Pao-Lin felt herself go red. She and Hubert had been dating for plenty of time and she should be used to people talking about them like the couple they were, but apparently her cheeks hadn't gotten the news yet. "Oh, um, no, I haven't seen him for a few days now."
"Really?" Cheria blinked. "That's strange. I haven't, either. I had assumed he was spending some extra time with you, but. . . ."
"Maybe he's doing some special training?" she suggested, trying not to notice the way her stomach was now turning.
"No, Asbel and Sophie haven't seen him in the Battle Dome, either."
"Is he . . . on a mission?" Or—no. Cheria would have noticed if his room had been emptied. He was fine.
"I can't imagine he'd leave without telling anyone, and, well. . . ." Cheria's lips twitched. "I think we would have noticed if he had been kidnapped."
She had a point. Pao-Lin couldn't imagine Hubert being exactly quiet about something like that.
She let out a breath and tried to let out her nerves with it. "Maybe he just has something he wants to work on by himself. We'll probably find out sooner or later."
"Yes, you're right," Cheria agreed. ". . . I wonder what it is."
*
It wasn't until a few days after her conversation with Cheria that Pao-Lin heard from Hubert again. She had begun to worry that she'd somehow made him angry, but when he contacted her on the journals that afternoon, he'd sounded fine. In fact. . . .
"Good afternoon, Pao-Lin. I was hoping you'd be willing to join me for a few rounds of Mario Kart, provided you're available," he requested.
In spite of him sounding the closest to cheerful she'd ever heard him, Pao-Lin couldn't help being extremely wary. She wasn't going to be forgetting how upset he'd been after losing those two races anytime soon (or possibly ever).
"I don't know. . . ." she hedged. "It's been a while since we drew together—why don't we try that?"
"Oh, no, I insist." Hubert really did sound pleased with himself. "I think you'll find the experience quite different from the last time."
. . . It probably would be better to just play a few rounds with him, wouldn't it? They could go draw right after; hopefully, that would be enough to bring his mood back up so he wouldn't disappear for the better part of the week again. She didn't want a repeat of that—she had missed him a lot.
She gave in. "All right. I'll meet you there, okay?"
"I shall see you shortly," he agreed.
When she arrived at the rec centre Hubert was once again there ahead of her. Unlike when she had left him the last time, though, he actually seemed relaxed and . . . kind of happy. It was great to see—he was usually so serious—but at the same time, it was sort of hard to appreciate, giving her shoulders were knotting up and her stomach had gone sour.
Still, she set up the Wii anyway. Hubert helped with deft, confident movements, and he even took the first player spot when their Wiimotes came online.
When he started flicking through the menu screens with the unthinking ease of a longtime gamer, though, she started getting suspicious.
"Hubert . . . have you been practicing?" she asked as he made his character and bike selections ahead of her.
For just a moment, Hubert looked caught out—but then he waved a hand. "I may have played a few rounds after you left earlier in the week. The exact number isn't important. Shall we begin?"
"Uh, sure."
This time, the opening notes of Luigi Circuit's introduction inspired nerves, not nostalgia. Her stomach fluttered about as she sneaked a look at Hubert beside her. His oddly cheerful mood had given way to focus, but . . . not angry focus. Was he looking forward to this?
The character on the clouds appeared onscreen, and that was all the attention she could give him. The lights counted down—the race started—
And Hubert zoomed into first place.
"Wow—good job!" Pao-Lin burst out as she manoeuvred her way out of the chase pack.
"Why, thank you," he replied smugly.
It was like playing with an entirely different person. Hubert navigated the course with skill and took out the competition efficiently and effectively. He even made solid use of the lone banana peels that largely made up his arsenal as the first place driver; he had a knack for knowing exactly which route the computer players would take, and even Pao-Lin got caught once.
In the end, it was no competition: Hubert had left everyone in the imaginary dust, coming in first miles ahead of the others—including her. Pao-Lin was left staring at the results. The guy who couldn't go around a turn without crashing into a wall had just beaten the second-place finisher by six solid seconds.
"Shall we continue?" Hubert asked, sounding very satisfied indeed.
Pao-Lin switched to staring at him instead. ". . . You really have been practicing, haven't you?"
"Mm . . . somewhat." Hubert selected the next course in the Mushroom Cup. "Only enough to get a sense of the game."
That wasn't enough to satisfy Pao-Lin, but she let it go for the moment. When Hubert won the next race and the one after that, however, she had to say something.
"Hubert . . . you were practicing Mario Kart all week, weren't you?" she practically stated before he could select the final course in the Mushroom Cup. (Speaking of cups, had there been this many courses available the last time they'd played?)
She saw him tense for a brief moment, and then he fixed his gaze on the screen. "No, not all week. I will admit to practicing, but hardly extensively."
Pao-Lin was not a suspicious girl by nature, but this was stretching the limits of even her credibility. "Cheria said that nobody at your house knew where you went. You were here the whole time, weren't you?"
"Cheria should mind her own business," Hubert muttered.
"Hubert, come on. She was really worried." She leaned forward, trying to catch his eye. "And I was, too."
Hubert's shoulders dropped and his chin tilted down. It seemed he had realised that he couldn't keep dodging her questions forever. ". . . I apologize for causing you concern. But I could not live with such a disappointing performance."
She shifted a little closer to him on the couch. "You'd never played before. Everyone has trouble when they're first learning."
His head jerked around. "It was inexcusable! Me, having trouble with a simulation that relies on 'observation, reflexes, and quick decision-making skills'?" His bitter tone made Pao-Lin wonder—just how many times had he used his own words against himself? "And so I had no choice but to master it."
Hearing that, Pao-Lin could only wrap her arms around him in a somewhat uncomfortable seated hug. She heard Hubert pull in a sudden breath; as always, he scanned the area for any potential witnesses before gingerly returning her embrace.
"I'm sorry. I never would have asked you to play if I'd known it would make you this upset," she apologized, trying not to feel completely miserable with guilt.
It seemed that she wasn't all that good at hiding her feelings, though, because Hubert was quick to stammer out, "Th-There's no need to apologize. The challenge was quite, um, refreshing, yes. Refreshing."
She leaned back to look him in the eye—or try to, anyway. As he always did when he was flustered, Hubert was doing his best to avoid her gaze. "You're sure about that?"
"I'm positive. And now that I'm far more skilled, I should be a much more enjoyable partner—f-for Mario Kart," he amended, his blush deepening for some reason.
". . . Thanks, H—wait." She blinked. "Did you think you wouldn't be fun to play with because you weren't winning all the time?"
She felt him tense under her hands before he broke away and scooted down the couch. "N-Nonsense. I thought no such thing!"
She sighed. "Hubert, I don't care if you come first or last. I just want to spend time with you, because I" —her heart jumped— "care about you. A lot. That's the only thing that's important to me."
"I see." Hubert bowed his head. His fingers went to the bridge of his glasses, pushing them into place. Then, he looked back at her. "But you will agree that it's a more enjoyable experience now that I'm not losing all the time."
She groaned. "Hubert. . . ."
And he sighed. "Very well. I shall keep your words in mind for the next time."
"Good." She smiled. "Now let's see if I can beat you on the last race."
At last, he smiled back. "It's doubtful, but you're certainly welcome to try."
She didn't manage it, as it turned out, but it didn't matter. Sitting side by side with him, spending time with him, hearing him let out a (quickly suppressed) cheer—those were what brought a smile to her face and kept it there. And, as she discovered when she sneaked a glance during one of their races, they brought a smile to Hubert's face, too.
Fandoms:
luceti, Tiger & Bunny, Tales of Graces f, Punch Out!!Genre: Humour/Fluff
Rating: PG-13 (for Hubert's dirty mind)
Words: 4157
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the above media.
Summary: When a Wii and Mario Kart appear in Luceti's rec centre, Pao-Lin knows exactly who she wants to play with.
Author's Notes: A fic I wrote for Sora's birthday, um, earlier this month. (My brain refused to spit out ideas until the last minute. /shakes fist) It borrows her established Lucetiverse that saw Hubert (from Tales of Graces f) and Pao-Lin (from Tiger & Bunny) continue to grow closer, beyond what had been established in Luceti canon prior to his drop, until they began dating. Being rather unique individuals, their relationship tends to be similarly...unique. :Db
On a side note, I continue to find it impossible to write a Graces-related fic that doesn't mock the hell out of Hubert in some way. Oops.
As always, thanks to Yosie for helping by typing parts of this despite being extremely busy with work right now. Happy birthday, Sora, and I hope you enjoy the show! ♥
It had been Mac who had shared the news about the "real fancy" new videogame console that had appeared in the rec centre that week. Pao-Lin had headed right on over after lunch to check it out, trying to imagine just how amazing and futuristic it was . . . only to discover a lowly Wii with a grand total of one game.
Her disappointment was minimal, at least. Honestly, she wasn't much of a gamer, and she had to admit, the situation was pretty funny. Sometimes, when it came to her friends from a modern-ish Earth, she forgot they weren't all from the same year. What was mind-blowingly advanced for Mac was . . . well, really ordinary to her.
She picked up the plastic disc case and looked it over. It would be nice to play on a Wii again—and she knew exactly who she wanted to invite to join her.
"You want me to do what?"
Pao-Lin frowned at her journal, confused. Hubert sounded really shocked and she couldn't possibly imagine why.
"Come play a Wii game with me," she said again. "It'd be fun."
She heard him take in a deep breath. ". . . A Wii game," he repeated.
"Yeah, Mac told me we had one now. I thought it would be something nice to do together." She hesitated. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea, after all. "But if you don't want to, I could play with him instead. . . ."
"No!" Hubert all but shouted. Then he paused. ". . . Pao-Lin, I would greatly appreciate an explanation. I cannot possibly be understanding your . . . offer correctly."
. . . That's right, there probably weren't any Wiis on Ephinea. Pao-Lin relaxed. Or if there were, they were probably called something else.
"Mac found a Wii in the rec centre." A small noise like "grk" came from her journal; she gave the book an odd look, but went on. "It's for playing videogames on. There's only Mario Kart right now, but I thought it would be fun to play a few rounds together."
There was another pause. Then: ". . . I see. May I ask what a 'videogame' is?"
That was actually a pretty hard question. She thought for a minute, trying to come up with a good explanation. "It's like . . . an interactive movie, only you control what the characters do and say. I don't play them very much, but they're pretty fun."
". . . And the . . . 'Wii'?" he asked carefully.
"Oh, that's the name of the console you play the games on," she answered. "There are a bunch of others, like Gamestation and Y-Box."
There was yet another one of those long silences. (It was almost enough to make her wonder if the journals were operating on a delay that day.) Finally, Hubert said, "I suppose I have no objections. Very well. Shall we meet at the rec centre?"
She grinned. All right! "Sure! See you soon!"
She couldn't wait to see what he thought. This was going to be fun!
When she reached the rec centre, she found Hubert sitting on the floor, the Wii in his hands. He had his nose all but inside one of the ports and was frowning into it. She had to admit, the sight was pretty cute.
When he heard her approach, he returned the Wii to the floor and stood as he greeted her. "Ah, Pao-Lin. I presume this is the—the device?"
"That’s it," she confirmed, wondering at the grimace he'd made. Oh well. "Just give me a minute and I’ll get everything set up—oh, actually, if you could find the Wiimotes, that’d be great."
"'Wiimotes.'"
"Wii remotes." Now where were the AV cables? "It’s a nickname."
". . . Of course."
As she turned on the TV (which had been upgraded to a pretty nice flatscreen—it’d be great for watching martial arts movies), she heard Hubert report, “One of the . . . remotes appears to have been stuck in a wheel.”
"Oh, that's the Wii Wheel," she said and glanced over her shoulder to double-check. "Yeah, that's used for Mario Kart, but you might want to take out the Wiimote. I've always found the wheel makes the game too hard."
"I believe I'll keep it where it is," Hubert replied with confidence. "After all, it would hardly do to make the game too simple."
Pao-Lin found the game case, then fed the disc into the Wii's front slot. "I don't know—you've never played a videogame before, right? Maybe we should take it slow."
It wasn't that she didn't think he could do it, but . . . everything was brand new to him.
"Oh, come now." Hubert wore a . . . well, she hated to think it, but it probably was a smirk as he seated himself on a nearby couch. "How difficult can it possibly be?"
Pao-Lin joined him and accepted her Wiimote. "If you're sure. . . ."
It took her a little while to explain how to use the controller and the functions of the various buttons, and a bit more time to talk about the details of the game itself. When she suggested they spend a bit of time in battle mode without fighting so Hubert could get used to the controls, he refused.
"I understand perfectly. There's no need for experimentation; it seems to be a simple matter of observation, reflexes, and quick decision-making skills. Let's begin with a race," he insisted.
"Okay. . . ." She was really starting to get a bad feeling about this.
Hubert didn't seem all that impressed with the characters offered, but once she explained the concept of weight classes, he demanded that she continually swap between the character and kart selection screens to maximize the effectiveness of his choice. Even her patience was beginning to run out when he at last settled on a combination of Daisy with the Mach Bike. Pao-Lin, who had chosen Mario and the Sugarscoot for the entirely complex reason of it being what she always used, clicked over to the course select screen a little faster than usual. After all, she didn't want to give him time to change his mind.
She also didn’t give Hubert any say in which course they played; at the rate things were going, it would be suppertime before they finished a single race. (And she definitely didn’t let on that Luigi Circuit was the easiest course, either.)
"Okay, any questions before we start?" she asked just before confirming her choice.
"Not at all." Hubert sounded very sure of himself. "I have matters entirely under control."
"Well . . . all right."
As the introductory notes for the course played, sudden homesickness slammed into her. The last time she’d played was when Ivan had brought in his Wii to Hero TV headquarters one day. They’d all spent an afternoon elbowing each other out of the way for turns and destroying Mr. Keith on the track because he’d been far too kind to fire on a fellow Hero. Even Mr. Brooks had been convinced to partner up with Mr. Tiger for a few rounds until he had gotten tired of placing behind even Mr. Keith and had quit. She had laughed until her stomach had actually hurt and Karina hadn’t spoken to Mr. Tiger for at least two days and. . . .
Well. She shifted on the sofa a bit, just until her bent knee was resting against Hubert's leg. She'd be back home someday. Right now, she had something special she didn't have in Sternbild. She'd just focus on making new memories of playing Mario Kart to go with her other ones.
The little character on his cloud (what was he called, again?) dangled the traffic lights before them, and—
"Oh, Hubert! Press A in between the second and third lights to get a boost!" It was a trick Ivan had shown her, but. . . .
"Understood!"
The light went green, the race began, and Pao-Lin left Hubert far, far behind.
. . . It was pretty hard to pull off.
"Sorry!"
"They're knocking off my aim!" Hubert exclaimed indignantly.
Pao-Lin flicked her gaze to his screen, but only for a second; this was harder than she remembered. "Heavy characters can bump medium ones—try to stay out of their way!"
"You could have told me soon—why is my bike not responding? I did not ask it to turn so drastically—no, not into the wall!"
Pao-Lin looked back at her screen long enough to pick up a . . . okay, a bomb, then told him, "You only need to turn the wheel a little. It's really sensitive."
"So I am noticing," Hubert gritted.
Daisy on her bike rammed the wall a few more times, and then Hubert was back on track . . . at least until the next turn.
"No, you insufferable—why are you not responding correctly?"
Pao-Lin winced and steered around a banana. Yeah, this . . . had not been a good idea.
"Hubert, try picking up one of the boxes and tell me what you get," she instructed.
A moment later: "Three red . . . turtle shells. What do they do?"
"They heatseek the people ahead of you and blow them up—they're really good."
"Ah, finally—"
And then Pao-Lin was just in time to see him shoot all three point blank into another wall.
"What?"
"They can't go through walls—dammit!" she broke off as Luigi blasted her out of the way with an invincibility star.
"Language, Pao-Lin! And why must you tell me such vital information too late?"
"Sorry!"
In the end, despite being distracted by coaching Hubert through the course, Pao-Lin managed to place fourth. She was pretty happy about it; she wasn't exactly an avid gamer and it had been ages since she played a videogame at all. But Hubert. . . .
"My controls have stopped working!" he exclaimed.
Pao-Lin's shoulders hunched. "Um . . . that's because the race is over. Everyone else has crossed the finish line."
It took a moment, but then Hubert squawked incredulously, "I placed last?"
"Well . . . it was your first time playing a videogame," she tried to console him.
It didn't work.
"Restart the race," he demanded. "I refuse to accept such a humiliating defeat!"
"Why don't we try another course?" she suggested, already selecting Moo Moo Meadows.
Hubert was having none of it. "I will not move on until I have demonstrated my mastery of this course."
"Come on, Hubert. . . ." She nudged him gently with her knee. "It's just a game."
"It most certainly is not!" he retorted. "By being defeated so completely, this—machine has shown me that my physical condition has slipped drastically, perhaps fatally. I need to regain my prowess!"
Sbe tried, but she just couldn't stop herself from sighing. This really had been a bad idea. ". . . All right."
She watched Hubert with some concern as the next race began. The look of grim concentration, the rigid lines of his body, the way he was leaning nearly off the edge of the couch—none of it indicated that he was having even a whisper of fun right now. He always tried so hard to be the best at everything—losing had hit hard.
Should she throw the next race? . . . No, he was incredibly smart. He'd definitely notice. She'd just have to not try quite as hard as the last time . . . even though she hadn't been trying very hard at all.
The next race went just as badly as she had been afraid of. Hubert once again started the race in twelfth place, and while he crept up as far as tenth at the start, by the first turn in the track, he was back in twelfth, where he stayed for the remainder of the race. He didn't run into as many walls . . . but that was about his only improvement.
"Shit!"
Pao-Lin's head snapped around and her mouth fell wide open; Hubert clapped a hand over his mouth, his face a flaming red. On the screen, his bike once again spun into a last place finish.
". . . Whoa." Had she ever heard him curse before? Ever?
Hubert averted his face and began adjusting and readjusting his glasses. "I . . . I apologize for that piece of profanity. I simply don't know what came over me. It's inexcusable."
"It's all right." She tried to smile. "You wouldn't believe the words I've learned playing with my friends back home. That's actually pretty tame."
"It still should not have happened. I will not be so crude again."
She set a hand on his shoulder, then winced slightly. She'd felt bricks more yielding than his muscles were right now. "Come on. Let's . . . go do something else right now. We can go have some milkshakes in Seventh Heaven."
He refused to look at her. "You may go. I will remain here."
". . . Please, Hubert?" If she left him, he'd only beat himself up more.
His shoulders dropped beneath her hand, but they didn't lose any of their tension. ". . . Very well."
They shut down the game after that, an awkward silence between them. The walk to Seventh Heaven wasn't much better, and while she managed to coax him into a slightly better mood over their drinks, the afternoon had gone flat. He walked her home soon after.
Well . . . so much for that. She'd just ask someone a little less . . . competitive to play with her the next time.
"Oh, Pao-Lin, hello!"
Pao-Lin glanced across Luceti’s main square, then smiled. "Oh, hey, Cheria—here, let me help you with that." "That" being the five bags of groceries her poor friend was trying to lug all by herself.
"Thank you," Cheria breathed out gratefully once Pao-Lin had hurried over to lift the three heaviest bags from her. "Now that everyone from home is here in the village, there . . . are a lot of groceries to buy sometimes."
"No problem," Pao-Lin assured her. "But . . . couldn’t you ask someone else to help?"
"They were all out and I, um, didn't realize the groceries would be this heavy." She gave a slightly nervous laugh.
Pao-Lin shifted one of the bags on her shoulder as she walked, trying to get comfortable. If she found three this heavy, five for someone like Cheria would have been impossible.
"Well, if that ever happens again, just call me on the journals." She smiled. "It would be no trouble to help you carry things home."
"Really?" Cheria’s relief was extremely plain—so much so that Pao-Lin was left wondering if this weren’t the first time this had happened. "Thank you."
She would have shrugged, but her shoulders were a little occupied at the moment. "Hey, don't worry about it. You guys invite me over so often that I guess you could say these are partially my groceries, too."
Cheria giggled a little at that. "We'll have to invite you again soon—it's been a while."
If this were a cartoon, Pao-Lin's stomach would have growled, right then and there. Cheria was a great cook. "That would be great—thanks, Cheria!"
"It's my pleasure." Cheria smiled at her, but the expression soon transitioned into something more thoughtful. "Actually, I'm a little surprised Hubert isn't with you."
Pao-Lin felt herself go red. She and Hubert had been dating for plenty of time and she should be used to people talking about them like the couple they were, but apparently her cheeks hadn't gotten the news yet. "Oh, um, no, I haven't seen him for a few days now."
"Really?" Cheria blinked. "That's strange. I haven't, either. I had assumed he was spending some extra time with you, but. . . ."
"Maybe he's doing some special training?" she suggested, trying not to notice the way her stomach was now turning.
"No, Asbel and Sophie haven't seen him in the Battle Dome, either."
"Is he . . . on a mission?" Or—no. Cheria would have noticed if his room had been emptied. He was fine.
"I can't imagine he'd leave without telling anyone, and, well. . . ." Cheria's lips twitched. "I think we would have noticed if he had been kidnapped."
She had a point. Pao-Lin couldn't imagine Hubert being exactly quiet about something like that.
She let out a breath and tried to let out her nerves with it. "Maybe he just has something he wants to work on by himself. We'll probably find out sooner or later."
"Yes, you're right," Cheria agreed. ". . . I wonder what it is."
It wasn't until a few days after her conversation with Cheria that Pao-Lin heard from Hubert again. She had begun to worry that she'd somehow made him angry, but when he contacted her on the journals that afternoon, he'd sounded fine. In fact. . . .
"Good afternoon, Pao-Lin. I was hoping you'd be willing to join me for a few rounds of Mario Kart, provided you're available," he requested.
In spite of him sounding the closest to cheerful she'd ever heard him, Pao-Lin couldn't help being extremely wary. She wasn't going to be forgetting how upset he'd been after losing those two races anytime soon (or possibly ever).
"I don't know. . . ." she hedged. "It's been a while since we drew together—why don't we try that?"
"Oh, no, I insist." Hubert really did sound pleased with himself. "I think you'll find the experience quite different from the last time."
. . . It probably would be better to just play a few rounds with him, wouldn't it? They could go draw right after; hopefully, that would be enough to bring his mood back up so he wouldn't disappear for the better part of the week again. She didn't want a repeat of that—she had missed him a lot.
She gave in. "All right. I'll meet you there, okay?"
"I shall see you shortly," he agreed.
When she arrived at the rec centre Hubert was once again there ahead of her. Unlike when she had left him the last time, though, he actually seemed relaxed and . . . kind of happy. It was great to see—he was usually so serious—but at the same time, it was sort of hard to appreciate, giving her shoulders were knotting up and her stomach had gone sour.
Still, she set up the Wii anyway. Hubert helped with deft, confident movements, and he even took the first player spot when their Wiimotes came online.
When he started flicking through the menu screens with the unthinking ease of a longtime gamer, though, she started getting suspicious.
"Hubert . . . have you been practicing?" she asked as he made his character and bike selections ahead of her.
For just a moment, Hubert looked caught out—but then he waved a hand. "I may have played a few rounds after you left earlier in the week. The exact number isn't important. Shall we begin?"
"Uh, sure."
This time, the opening notes of Luigi Circuit's introduction inspired nerves, not nostalgia. Her stomach fluttered about as she sneaked a look at Hubert beside her. His oddly cheerful mood had given way to focus, but . . . not angry focus. Was he looking forward to this?
The character on the clouds appeared onscreen, and that was all the attention she could give him. The lights counted down—the race started—
And Hubert zoomed into first place.
"Wow—good job!" Pao-Lin burst out as she manoeuvred her way out of the chase pack.
"Why, thank you," he replied smugly.
It was like playing with an entirely different person. Hubert navigated the course with skill and took out the competition efficiently and effectively. He even made solid use of the lone banana peels that largely made up his arsenal as the first place driver; he had a knack for knowing exactly which route the computer players would take, and even Pao-Lin got caught once.
In the end, it was no competition: Hubert had left everyone in the imaginary dust, coming in first miles ahead of the others—including her. Pao-Lin was left staring at the results. The guy who couldn't go around a turn without crashing into a wall had just beaten the second-place finisher by six solid seconds.
"Shall we continue?" Hubert asked, sounding very satisfied indeed.
Pao-Lin switched to staring at him instead. ". . . You really have been practicing, haven't you?"
"Mm . . . somewhat." Hubert selected the next course in the Mushroom Cup. "Only enough to get a sense of the game."
That wasn't enough to satisfy Pao-Lin, but she let it go for the moment. When Hubert won the next race and the one after that, however, she had to say something.
"Hubert . . . you were practicing Mario Kart all week, weren't you?" she practically stated before he could select the final course in the Mushroom Cup. (Speaking of cups, had there been this many courses available the last time they'd played?)
She saw him tense for a brief moment, and then he fixed his gaze on the screen. "No, not all week. I will admit to practicing, but hardly extensively."
Pao-Lin was not a suspicious girl by nature, but this was stretching the limits of even her credibility. "Cheria said that nobody at your house knew where you went. You were here the whole time, weren't you?"
"Cheria should mind her own business," Hubert muttered.
"Hubert, come on. She was really worried." She leaned forward, trying to catch his eye. "And I was, too."
Hubert's shoulders dropped and his chin tilted down. It seemed he had realised that he couldn't keep dodging her questions forever. ". . . I apologize for causing you concern. But I could not live with such a disappointing performance."
She shifted a little closer to him on the couch. "You'd never played before. Everyone has trouble when they're first learning."
His head jerked around. "It was inexcusable! Me, having trouble with a simulation that relies on 'observation, reflexes, and quick decision-making skills'?" His bitter tone made Pao-Lin wonder—just how many times had he used his own words against himself? "And so I had no choice but to master it."
Hearing that, Pao-Lin could only wrap her arms around him in a somewhat uncomfortable seated hug. She heard Hubert pull in a sudden breath; as always, he scanned the area for any potential witnesses before gingerly returning her embrace.
"I'm sorry. I never would have asked you to play if I'd known it would make you this upset," she apologized, trying not to feel completely miserable with guilt.
It seemed that she wasn't all that good at hiding her feelings, though, because Hubert was quick to stammer out, "Th-There's no need to apologize. The challenge was quite, um, refreshing, yes. Refreshing."
She leaned back to look him in the eye—or try to, anyway. As he always did when he was flustered, Hubert was doing his best to avoid her gaze. "You're sure about that?"
"I'm positive. And now that I'm far more skilled, I should be a much more enjoyable partner—f-for Mario Kart," he amended, his blush deepening for some reason.
". . . Thanks, H—wait." She blinked. "Did you think you wouldn't be fun to play with because you weren't winning all the time?"
She felt him tense under her hands before he broke away and scooted down the couch. "N-Nonsense. I thought no such thing!"
She sighed. "Hubert, I don't care if you come first or last. I just want to spend time with you, because I" —her heart jumped— "care about you. A lot. That's the only thing that's important to me."
"I see." Hubert bowed his head. His fingers went to the bridge of his glasses, pushing them into place. Then, he looked back at her. "But you will agree that it's a more enjoyable experience now that I'm not losing all the time."
She groaned. "Hubert. . . ."
And he sighed. "Very well. I shall keep your words in mind for the next time."
"Good." She smiled. "Now let's see if I can beat you on the last race."
At last, he smiled back. "It's doubtful, but you're certainly welcome to try."
She didn't manage it, as it turned out, but it didn't matter. Sitting side by side with him, spending time with him, hearing him let out a (quickly suppressed) cheer—those were what brought a smile to her face and kept it there. And, as she discovered when she sneaked a glance during one of their races, they brought a smile to Hubert's face, too.
incoherent response first while I reread the fic to do a proper review
Date: 2012-08-16 07:30 pm (UTC)this was me reading it:
and this was me at the end:
i don't have enough happy GIFs in my collection, huhvyc, i can't
i can't
these two are so precious
i just want to
cuddle
them
and this fic
to my pancake bosom
forever..........
It is a very entertaining incoherent response~
Date: 2012-08-16 07:58 pm (UTC)Not that I really doubted you would, with these two. /grin
I was hoping it would be
Date: 2012-08-16 08:06 pm (UTC)Obviously.
And it was!
Date: 2012-08-16 08:14 pm (UTC)IN THIS COMMENT: A PROPER(???) REVIEW
Date: 2012-08-16 08:23 pm (UTC)…it was also inevitable that Hubert would completely misunderstand what she meant when she invited him to play a Wii game with her. Oh, Hubert, just admit you want Pao-Lin to play with your Wii, okay? His jealousy regarding Pao-Lin playing with Mac is also amusing -- my personal headcanon is that Luca in particular gets on his nerves for outwardly being such a wimp (a lot like his child self, really) yet still possessing Pao-Lin's good graces (ha, no pun intended).
Exhibit A: Hubert Oswell examines a Wii. There is nothing potentially suggestive about this sentence whatsoever.
Oh gods, Hubert's cocksure (ha) attitude regarding playing Mario Kart is hilarious. To think that he was the one who warned Pascal that pride goeth before a fall!
And poor Pao-Lin. She's such a patient(ly oblivious) girl, so it's telling when she starts side-eyeing her aibou.
HAHAHAHAHA the flashback to Sternbild and the Heroes playing Mario Kart. I can totally imagine Keith losing because he felt bad about using items on other players, though it's even more hilarious that Barnaby ended up losing to Keith anyway.
Awww, I love Pao-Lin trying to get even just minimal physical contact with Hubert -- she would do that. Hubert's very fortunate(?) that he has a girlfriend who likes to grope him as much as possible. Next time she'll sit on his lap. :Db
To be fair to Hu-chan, I also had major issues with using the Wii Wheel in MKW. …actually I think I had issues even with the Wiimote, LMFAO. (Maybe the two of them should've played Double Dash instead. That way Pao-Lin could navigate and Hubert could just focus on punching people for items.)
Somehow I don't think telling Hubert that you know even worse profanity than him is likely to make him feel better, Pao-Lin. (I rather think that somewhere in his frustration, he's flabbergasted that a Hero -- a girl -- like Pao-Lin, even a tomboyish one, could possibly be that crude. And then he meets her kid self...)
Oh, but man -- Hubert's reaction to losing really pinged my embarrassment squick. Facepalming forever.
If she found three this heavy, five for someone like Cheria would have been impossible. - And then Pao-Lin proved she was the manliest in the group.
I see that Pao-Lin finally got invited over for meals at the Graces abode. The combined smug trolling from both Richard and Malik (and Hubert's reaction) must've been a sight to see.
Maybe he just has something he wants to work on by himself. - Yes, just some private time with his Wii, hurr hurr.
Aww, was Pao-Lin teaching Hubert how to draw?
aaaalll the naked ladies everPoor Dragon Kid, missing her aibou. Hubert, stop being such a dumbfuck around your girlfriend.I gotta say, losing in Mario Kart must've really hit Hubert hard, if he was that willing to risk being seen playing a video game in the Rec Center. XD
And now that I'm far more skilled, I should be a much more enjoyable partner -- And then both Malik and Malikah started snickering uncontrollably in my head. "For Mario Kart, you say? Uh-huh..."
Hubert, Hubert, Hubert. When are you going to learn that Pao-Lin is really rather low-maintenance when it comes to relationships?
Having written/planned the majority of the post-getting-together fics in Lucetiverse from Hubert's POV (because you know I love seeing him flip his fucking shit), it's refreshing and fascinating to see things from Pao-Lin's side. I really love the way you've written her here -- it's so obvious that she loves him to pieces, but even a dense, accepting girl like her is starting to notice and try to really deal with his major character flaws. And I love that Hubert's motivation behind practicing Mario Kart wasn't just a matter of his wounded manpride: he was concerned that Pao-Lin wasn't having fun with him because of it.
GDIT I can't handle all these feels. TL;DR this fic is perfect and I love it to bits and pieces and I'm incorporating it into my headcanon. Thank you, and again, thank you, and again, thank you, and again, thank you, and again -- fuck, my talking Sky High action figure is skipping. /pokes it
IN THIS COMMENT, LOTS OF HAPPIES
Date: 2012-08-16 09:46 pm (UTC)Yeah, at first I had planned on skipping over the scene where Pao-Lin invited Hubert to play a Wii game with her, and then I realized just what Hubert!torture I would be missing. It's amazing how used to a dreadfully unfortunate name you can become until you start thinking about it from an outsider's perspective.
Exhibit A: Hubert Oswell examines a Wii. There is nothing potentially suggestive about this sentence whatsoever.
None whatsoever, nope nope nope.
To think that he was the one who warned Pascal that pride goeth before a fall!
It's a children's game, Sora--how hard (hurr hurr) could it possibly be?
...though it's even more hilarious that Barnaby ended up losing to Keith anyway.
Apparently Tiger & Bunny only make a good team while saving lives. They're terrible at doing everything else together
except each other. :|bNext time she'll sit on his lap. :Db
And all his newfound skill will go flying out the window. :Db
XDDD My issues with the Wii Wheel, let me show you them. I basically drive like Hubert when I use the wheel, and Yosie's first time playing with it? He spent nearly an entire race holding it upside down before he figured out the reason why he was driving so badly. As far as I'm concerned, the ability to use the Wii Wheel properly is deep magic.
(Double Dash would be SO much better suited to those two, yes. XD Which is why I wrote about the Wii version! :Db)
Pao-Lin just thinks she's reassuring him in regards to the Mario Kart-induced swearing! She's totally going about it the right way, right?
Yeah, when you know all of the hell the poor kid went through, him losing so badly is actually pretty awful. Poor guy.
I see that Pao-Lin finally got invited over for meals at the Graces abode.
Hey, she's like one of the family now!
How those two made Hubert suffer....Aww, was Pao-Lin teaching Hubert how to draw?
It's totally so he can draw more accurate maps for military reconnaissance, not because he wants an excuse to spend more time with his girlfriend!!
Hubert, stop being such a dumbfuck around your girlfriend.
But then he wouldn't be Hubert....
I gotta say, losing in Mario Kart must've really hit Hubert hard, if he was that willing to risk being seen playing a video game in the Rec Center. XD
Mac: Hey, uh, pal, what are you doing?
Hubert: I AM TRAINING MY REFLEXES USING A HIGHLY COMPLICATED SIMULATION. DO NOT DISTRACT ME.
Mac: Uh, okay, only some of us kind of want a turn....
Hubert: GET OUT. AND YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO PLAY WII GAMES WITH MY GIRLFRIEND. HAVE I MADE MYSELF CLEAR????
/terrible omake
...But yes, I had a lot of fun writing this. These two play off each other so well and their relationship issues are so much fun that if I came up with another Dragon & Gunblade idea in the future, I wouldn't exactly have any objections to writing it.... :Db
And having this become part of your headcanon is basically the biggest compliment you could give me. 8DDDD Thanks for the thorough review, I'm glad you enjoyed it so much, and you made me giggle ridiculously with the last part. ♥
IN THIS COMMENT: MY FIRST DRAGON & GUNBLADE ICON (SORT OF)
Date: 2012-08-16 10:05 pm (UTC)It's okay, it'll be just another test! If he can focus when his cute girlfriend is sitting in his lap and possibly wriggling around a little too much, dude can overcome anything.
...yyyyeeeeeaaaah let's place bets on how successful he'll actually be at this. >D
Double Dash would be SO much better suited to those two, yes. XD
They would totes be aibous. (Now I'm imagining the two tag-teaming in Smash Brothers...ANOTHER FIC IDEA?!?!)
It's totally so he can draw more accurate maps for military reconnaissance, not because he wants an excuse to spend more time with his girlfriend!!
Yeah, and it's totally not like he was raging jealous when he found out/realized just how much time Pao-Lin spent alone with Luca teaching him how to draw! Why would he ever be tripped up by something as irrational as that?
Mac: Hey, uh, pal, what are you doing?
Hubert: I AM TRAINING MY REFLEXES USING A HIGHLY COMPLICATED SIMULATION. DO NOT DISTRACT ME.
Mac: Uh, okay, only some of us kind of want a turn....
Hubert: GET OUT. AND YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO PLAY WII GAMES WITH MY GIRLFRIEND. HAVE I MADE MYSELF CLEAR????
I cackled so hard at this.
considers doodling it just for shits and giggles lateraaaaaaaah but seriously I love the fuck out of this thing, I think you almost write them better than I do, L M F A O --
IT IS BEAUTIFUL AND I AM PROUD TO HAVE INSPIRED IT!
Date: 2012-08-17 02:06 pm (UTC)(Dude, do it! We could make this a series--Dragon & Gunblade, Multiplayer-Style!)
XD Dude, Hubert. If you could stop being smugly cynical for five seconds and actually trust your girlfriend, your blood pressure would be a lot lower.
8DDDD And then you drew the conversation and there was much rejoicing!
Ffffff dude, I only wrote them exactly the way you do. I didn't actually do any canon reviewing or anything.... :D;;
AS YOU SHOULD BE
Date: 2012-08-17 02:32 pm (UTC)(And then Pao-Lin finds a copy of Graceful Tales in the item shop and shows it to Hubert.)
Man, you know, the issue actually isn't either Pao-Lin or Luca. Hubert wholly (...okay, mostly) trusts Pao-Lin, and he figures Luca's too much of a wuss to actually act on his crush on Pao-Lin. No, the issue here is just that Hubert is is very possessive and doesn't want to share his favorite
toyHero. Boy wants all the Dragon Kid for himself. 8|NO NO there are lovely little nuances here and there that I love and which have inspired me for Lucetiverse, it's so awesome, you must needs write moar~ o3o
OH, I AM. 8D
Date: 2012-08-18 02:19 pm (UTC)And then Malik walks in on them and trolls them forever and ever amen.(Bwahaha! Oh, that would be fun.)
XD Oh dear. He'd best be careful about that, or True!Grune will turn up and give him the beatdown the way she did to a certain other possessive boyfriend....
(////) You're too sweet, seriously. But if I ever get any more ideas, I'll definitely do so!
no subject
Date: 2012-08-18 08:39 pm (UTC)Wow, that totally doesn't sound like another fic idea you could write. Nope. Not at all.
:|.......
no subject
Date: 2012-08-20 01:59 am (UTC)Oh, are we replying to this with our RP accounts now? Okay.
Date: 2012-08-20 03:08 am (UTC)8DDDDDDD
If you're lazy like me, yup. :Db;;
Date: 2012-08-21 05:29 pm (UTC)