(no subject)

[abundantlove]

Who: Crew of the Shepherd + anyone who would be around
What: I want caaaandy!
Where: The ship and all around (catch-all event thread)
When: 9th onward

The Shepherds had picked up several new crew members in recent days, but it seemed that the world they were now in had seen fit to share with them another new addition: the presence of bowls of heart shaped candy strewn about the ship.

It seemed shenanigans were about to be afoot.

Comments

[curries]

It's fine! We ate that other stuff before, remember?

[Said with his usual carefree brand of confidence, although if anyone's paying attention here, his grin might just be the slightest bit put-on. Yeah, he's pretty much told Hubert over and over not to worry about what happened but, well, there's still some things Asbel's a little unsure about. And he figures he'll sound like a total wimp if he brings them up. So he doesn't. Instead, he tries extra hard to be a good big brother who doesn't cause too much trouble. Hopefully.]

[Asbel leans in to wrap an arm around his shoulder and yank him closer. That is, unless Hubert acts fast.]

Come on, don't be such a worrywart, Hubert.

[bitty_blue_brother]

[Oof, big brother hug! Hubert doesn't really protest it much, though. Partly because he was caught off guard, partly because he's too timid to really argue, and partly because d'awww bitty blue brother loves his bratty big brother. He gives a resigned sigh.]

Well, just don't eat too much of it, then. They'll rot your teeth! Or make you sick!

[OR MAKE YOU GET UP IN PEOPLE'S PERSONAL SPACE AND SHIT.]

[curries]

[Asbel...uh. He isn't even sure why he did that. But no one's paying any attention to them and he doesn't really care too much. He'll loosen his grip anyway because he wouldn't want to choke his brother by accident. Sure beats being pounded on the back, though, doesn't it?]

Geez... Didn't I tell you to relax? I've been training really hard with Weiss and the others. I'm pretty sure I can handle it.

And besides, as long as I brush my teeth sometime today, they're not gonna rot out. [They haven't even all grown in all the way yet, seriously.]

[bitty_blue_brother]

You should be brushing them more than once...

[Kerri insisted on twice a day, but Hubert tries to do it after every meal.]

[curries]

[Asbel gives him an exasperated look. He opens his mouth to complain - after all, no one's perfect, and he shouldn't be expected to follow all the rules all the time. Where's the fun in that? But the words die somewhere between thinking and saying them.]

[He shuffles from one foot to the other.]

...Yeah. Maybe, I guess.

[bitty_blue_brother]

You definitely should! [But Hubert will drop the subject for now.]

Anyway, how is training going with Weiss? [He was surprised to hear of it at first. Weiss didn't look like she was a fighter...]

[curries]

Well...

She's kind of strict and makes us do things over a lot, and she gets annoyed easy. But she's actually really strong. Pretty handy with a rapier, too!

[What is it with all these female fighters. He doesn't know. It's still kind of lame they're so much tougher than he is, but on the other hand...he has to admit that in a way they're pretty damn awesome. Probably.]

[bitty_blue_brother]

A rapier, huh... Maybe I should learn how to use that instead of a longsword.

[Such a weapon would be optimized for speed and precision, which Hubert thinks he could probably manage better than brute force.]

[curries]

Hmmm... Well, maybe. But even that won't help unless you learn to quit shutting your eyes whenever an enemy gets too close.

[Because it's a lot easier to land a hit with them open. Just saying.]

[bitty_blue_brother]

[Hubert cringes a little at this, mainly because Asbel's right.]

Y-yeah. I know. But I can't help it...

[Any advice to help your baby bro with this?]

[curries]

.... [Asbel looks over at him, then begins tapping his foot.]

Why don't you pretend to be one of the heroes from your comic books or something?

[bitty_blue_brother]

.......

[Hubert glances curiously at his brother.]

You...you really think I could? [It does sound like a fun prospect, at least. But then reality sets in.] It's not the same as being a hero, though...

[Hubert seems to have it in his head that Heroes are just Born That Way(tm).]

[curries]

Uh, yeah? [What a silly question! Besides, Hubert's a genius with a super smart brain. If he can remember all this stuff he reads, then surely he could make things up from scratch, too.]

When you pretend, you can be whatever you want. And if you imagine it hard enough, one day it might become true. Besides, even heroes have to start somewhere.

[bitty_blue_brother]

[As much of a pessimist as Hubert is, Asbel's enthusiasm can be quite catching at times. It's like his superpower, really: he can make anything seem all right.]

I guess you're right. Heroes have to work hard at what they do, don't they? [He nods in determination.] Okay -- I'll definitely do better next time!

[Easier said than done, but more likely to happen now given the ego boost he just got. WHY DON'T YOU SAY NICE THINGS TO YOUR BABY BROTHER MORE OFTEN, ASBEL)]

[curries]

[Good boy, Hubert. You should let yourself get caught up in your big brother's stupidity more often! It might get you into trouble, but really, you'll be a whole lot happier in the long run. EXCEPT PROBABLY NOT.]

Uh-huh, probably! I mean, yeah, I guess there are some people out there who start out awesome, but most of the time you have to work at it. Even knights and kings have to train and sit through a bunch of boring old lessons to become good, right?

[At least Asbel realizes this much...]

But even then, part of doing anything is believing you can. If you go into it thinking you're gonna fail, then chances are you will.

[bitty_blue_brother]

So what happens if you fail, then? You just...keep going?

[Hubert can infer Asbel's response based on his knowledge of his brother, but he's still curious as to what Asbel himself would say.]

[curries]

[A nod.] That's right. If you want something bad enough, you never give up on it. And if one way doesn't work out, you try others until you find a way that does.

[What did you expect your stubborn brother to say, Hubert? Besides, he's not the only one who thinks like this. Over the past couple of months, lots of people have advised him to keep trying and to keep pushing himself as far as he can go. It's the only way he's going to become strong, after all.]