cuddle cuddle cuddle

[onlyasign]

Who: Sufferer and everyone cold
Where: various places throughout the bubbles
When: during the cuddle curse
Style: I'll match
Status: as OPEN as his heart

It is a curse week. It is a curse week where people are cold unless they get cuddled. Sufferer is used to getting cuddled for warmth, and enjoys it. He knows what he must do.

[OOC: Sufferer will be wandering the bubble during the week, gently offering cuddles to anyone who is cold. Just tell me where and what your character is doing in your tag, and they will end up gently embraced in the warm, cuddly arms of troll Jesus.]

Comments

2/2

[stridercentric]

It's just a hug. No need for him to lose his composure. A deep breath and there we go. He's calming down. The warmth is great, but no way in hell is he hugging back.

"Yeah, well, they're kids. They're easier to trick." ... Oh wow that sounded less childish in his head.

[onlyasign]

Damn, Bro. Damn. Even Darkleer hugs better than this.

Sufferer isn't one to ease up once he's midhug, especially not when he's getting some needed warmth himself, but what Bro says is actually a little hurtful. He looks up, and while his voice is calm and quiet, his eyes betray a little hurt. "I wasn't trying to trick anyone. I'm hugging you because you're cold, I hugged Dirk because he was a child and lost in a snowstorm and cold, and I hugged Dave because..."

because he missed you and really wanted you here to do it instead

[stridercentric]

Oh wow okay. Unexpected. He's been using words like "pestering" and "trick" since the start of this conversation, so he's not sure why Sufferer's suddenly taking him so goddamn seriously. It's not like he meant it.

He finds he can't quite meet the Sufferer's gaze as long as the guy's looking so pitiful, so he opts to stare vaguely into the distance instead. Yes, that's good. That tree over there looks very interesting. "Yeah, yeah. I get it. You're a nice guy. It's what you do."

[onlyasign]

It was the tone. The tone and the body language. Seriously, Sufferer has never met anyone as ill at ease in the middle of a hug before. It's almost like no one has ever taken the time to hug him.

"You're my friend," he corrects. "If I were just being a nice guy, I would have left you alone after you didn't shake my hand."

[stridercentric]

He'd respond to that, but he immediately realizes every response that comes to mind is going to make him look like an incredible tsun. Striders aren't tsuns, they're coolkids. There's a difference. So what do coolkids do when they're being hugged? ... Hell, coolkids wouldn't get hugged in the first place. Crap.

Maybe he should pat Sufferer on the head like he did with Mituna. Wait no, that's dumb, he can't get away with that. Hand on shoulder? No... Come on, he needs to do something with his arms. Maybe he can slide his hands into his pockets. Yes, there we go, that works. This looks stoic. ...Sort of. Now, for words.

"Are you just gonna keep arguing everything I say or what?"

[onlyasign]

"Maybe." It's not arguing, it's correcting!

With Bro's hands in his pockets, that puts his arms over where Sufferer's arms are wrapped around him. Which is... kind of like hugging back? Except not really. Sufferer sighs, and although he doesn't let go, his arms loosen a little and he deflates. "I just want you to be happy, Bro. I want all my friends to be happy."

[stridercentric]

With those arms loosened, Bro manages to breathe a little easier. There's still plenty of comfy warmth flooding through him, so overall this is much better than five seconds ago. Still awkward as fuck though, especially with the Sufferer talking about how he wants Bro to be happy.

"I think you're gonna have to accept that this is as close as you're gonna get to seein' me legit happy." Nooot entirely true, but the only moments he's legit happy is when he's fanboying over something and that's never a pretty sight.

[onlyasign]

"That's really sad, Bro." It is, but even Sufferer is starting to realize that he's outworn his welcome. He lets Bro go; if he wants to escape from the hug now, he can. "You're all so lonely..." He means the Striders in general, but Bro is the worse of them for it, hands down.

[stridercentric]

He takes a step back, frowning at those words. Come on, he basically said Sufferer's getting close to the top of Bro's Happiness Echeladder. How is that sad? It's an accomplishment.

"Says you. Not everyone needs to be buddy buddy with a dozen friends to be happy."

[onlyasign]

If basically getting blackmailed into a hug and then being painfully socially awkward during said hug is almost the top of Bro's Happiness Echeladder, Sufferer just feels even worse for him.

"I know, it's just... you, and Dave, and Dirk... you're all so alone. You're so used to being alone I don't think any of you even realize how lonely you really are." Dave is probably the least like this, with Dirk somewhere in the middle, and Bro? Yeah, Bro is the worst.

[stridercentric]

No see, it's not a sad thing if you don't know what you're missing out on. And nobody said non socially-awkward hugs are on the road of happiness for everyone. That's stereotyping, that is.

"Uh. If you're used to being alone, you're not lonely. You just accept it for what it is. I mean." Wow, where is he even going with this? He shuffles his feet a bit and hangs his head backwards. "What I'm tryin' to say is that not having a boatload of friends doesn't make a person lonely. It just makes 'm closer to the friends they do have."

Just look at how far Dirk's willing to go for his three closest friends. Point proven, right there. Not that Bro knows the details on that. It's the sort of theory he supports with or without proof.

[onlyasign]

It's even more sad if you don't know what you're missing out on!

Sufferer nods, willing to cede the point. Really, he just wants to hug Bro again, but he's pretty sure that would lead to him hugging the air when Bro flashstepped out of the way. "That's true; I know how devoted Dave and Dirk are to their friends." He looks up, trying to meet Bro's eye through his shades. "But who are your friends?"

[stridercentric]

Now that they're standing further apart, the warmth gained from the hug is dying down and cold begins to seep through Bro's body again. It's a small triumph to hear the Sufferer say he's right about Dave and Dirk, but then comes the backlash. i>His friends? He always had a tendency to chat with other puppet freaks online and he's been hanging with trolls ever since he came to Vatheon, but it's nothing like what Dave and Dirk have with their close friends. Though it makes sense that he doesn't have three close friends like that, because guess what? He's not destined to become one of four heroes in SBURB.

This whole question is bullshit.

At first, he doesn't realize the troll is attempting to meet his eye, what with his head still tilted backwards lightly. Then he happens to glance down to meet those piercing eyes and finds himself looking away again immediately. It's odd, he hasn't had real eyecontact issues since he started wearing shades everywhere, but the Sufferer seems to be staring right through them as if they're not even there. It makes him feel a little uncomfortable.

"I dunno. You and Summoner, I guess. Maybe that Darkleer guy." He's willing to be an auspitice and fend off the Grand Highblood for him. That counts as friendship, right? "...I'm building a hoverboard with two other dudes too. And we can't forget Cal."

He's not entirely joking about Cal, but he'll act like he is anyway.

[onlyasign]

Sufferer's red eyes will burn into your soul.

He can tell Bro is getting cold again, and takes a hesitant step forward, one hand lifting a little from his side like he wants to reach out and touch Bro's arm, his shoulder, anything to get him warm again. It falters, though, and eventually drops. He doesn't think he'd get away with touching him a second time, even if Bro is getting cold.

Bro's list of friends just makes him more sad. Everyone he's listed is someone he's met in Vatheon. Except for that one name he doesn't recognize...

"Who's Cal?"

[stridercentric]

He saw that awkward hand movement from the corner of his eye, but shrugs it off as nothing important. Hell, he's got something else to take his focus now; An opportunity to change the topic to something far more pleasant. Even when Lil Cal's not out in the open, he's always carrying the little guy along with him. In his sylladex, that is. Has the Sufferer not met him yet? Clearly this needs to change.

A genuine grin, a flash of the captchalogue card and Lil Cal appears in his hand. His limbs and clothes are still stitched together in an obvious manner with white thread, giving him a rather Frankensteiny appearance. Bro's given up on his resolve to fix the little dude up properly, the awkward stitches are just too... defining.

"This is Cal. Lil Cal. He's my puppet bro."

[onlyasign]

"Oh!"

Cal's appearance surprises Sufferer, but at least Bro is smiling again. And that was a real smile too, no faking it. Sufferer laughs a little, relieving some of the attention he didn't know he was carrying, and reaches out again, this time to shake Cal's hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Cal." Even if you are a little unsettling in ways Monsieur Plush Rump will never be.

[stridercentric]

Cal shakes that hand right back. With some help from Bro, of course. It may be difficult to tell, what with those amazing flash moves, but he's the one holding Cal's arm up. In fact, this calls for downright ninja ventriloquism skills. The moment the Sufferer releases Cal's plush hand, the puppet's going to bounce back a bit and wave a hand enigmatically. Then those gaping jaws clatter to the rhythm of an eerie, high-pitched voice. Let it be known that Bro's lips are not moving. Or maybe they're just moving so fast that nobody can see them moving. It's a mystery.

"Nice ta meetcha too, chump! C'mon, none of that gentlemanly shit, gimme a legit fist bump! Don't leave a bro out in the cold, now! Hee hee hoo hoo!"

Geddit. Cold? Yeah, he's a genius, he knows. Cal's holding up a hand again, his dead eyes on the troll before him. Bump it this time, Sufferer.

[onlyasign]

Wow, Bro is good at this. Sufferer can't see his lips or his hands move at all! It's almost like Lil Cal is alive!

Creepily, horribly alive.

"Wouldn't want to leave a friend hanging." Sufferer raises his arm again to fist bump the puppet. Not for the first time, he wonders what it was like for Dave, growing up with this thing in the house.

[stridercentric]

It was an amazing childhood, okay. It was the kind of childhood that Bro wishes he had when he was a kid. Because puppets, strifing and junkfood are something that every little boy needs.

Once that fist bump's done, Cal bounces back a second time and crosses his arms over his chest to assume a coolkid pose. "Yeahhh, that shit's off the heezy fo sheezy, bro!"

[onlyasign]

Sufferer smiles, but there's a hint of sadness in it now too. Bro's best friend is a puppet. He has the friends he's met in Vatheon, and a puppet.

He wants to hug him again, and not just for warmth this time. He wants to hug him again so badly that it hurts.

"I'm sorry, Cal, I don't understand what you're saying." Weird puppet slang escapes him.

[stridercentric]

Gosh, Sufferer, it's not puppet slang. Gosh. It's the kind of slang words Bro reserves for when he's feeling especially ironic. Or when he wants to confuse the hell out of people.

"Fo rizzle? Oh snap! Homey, that's wicked epic fail, right there. This shit be off the rack! Damn skippy, you gotta be down with the slang if you wanna be a righteous playah."

[onlyasign]

"Uh... I don't think I want to be a player?" Sufferer isn't sure what that means, but he's reasonably sure it's not something that would be used to describe himself. "Can I talk to Bro again, please?"

[stridercentric]

Cal shakes his head and gives a great, overdramatic shrug. "Why you gotta be hatin', dawg? Don't you know I'm ten times more bodacious than Bro?"

But it doesn't stop there. Bro grins and puts Cal up on his shoulder so the puppet can sit there, one arm around Bro's neck to keep him steady. "Now, Cal, simmer down. Remember what I said about toning down your levels of sheer awesome? We don't wanna end up blowing this poor dude's mind to pieces."

And in response, Cal lets out a loud, eerie laughter.

[onlyasign]

Okay, this is just getting vaguely unsettling, especially when the puppet laughs. Sufferer takes a step back, but hey, at least Bro is talking again. "Are you warm enough now?"

He'd offer another hug, but he doubts it would be accepted.

[stridercentric]

How is this unsettling? Is the Sufferer's mind being blown to bits by sheer awesome anyway? Yes, that must be it.

"Yeah, man. I'm fine." He's silent for a few seconds, then adds: "But if you ain't fresh outta hugs yet, I'm pretty sure Cal might like one."

Just look at that sweet wooden face. How can you say no to that?