Can't Be Beaten

Yes? Do you need something? ((An RP Blog for Archieverse Air Man, part of this zone.))

[weaponizedwind]

Alert, alert, the defenses are falling. Air Man’s core has been breached. Repeat, Air Man’s core has been breached. He simply can’t take it any more, and connecting his optics to the shell’s input system once more he lifts his arms and enfolds his little brother in a hug, soft keens escaping his chassis.

"Don’t - don’t cry, don’t cry!"

You win, Heat. Try not to gloat too much?

[hotterthanheat]

As soon as Air Man gave him hugs and succumbed to his cutes, Heat Man immediately stopped and grinned. With a giggle, he hugs his big brother back. He has won. He has earned victory.

"Hehe!" Heat Man smushes his face against Air Man. "Lost my power over you, huh?"

[weaponizedwind]

"Alright, not lost," Air amends, cuddling the tiny DWN and sighing reluctantly. "Weakened, however. You have to admit I resisted longer than I have in the past." Only because he cheated, and even then he still failed, but... eh. He'll take his victories where he can claim them.

 Now, what is he supposed to do about a squishy little face smushed up against his viewscreen-optics?

[fallvictimtomymetaldance]

weaponizedwind liked your post:"Th— This is…!" Looks like someone’s found Air…

No words. Only tight hugs now. Someone really loves his gift, Air Man!

[weaponizedwind]

"I'm glad you like it, Metal." Air's somewhat surprised by the hug, in truth - he's not the most huggable of his brothers, at least with his shell on. And none of them have - as far as he is aware, at least - seen him outside his shell in order to hug him that way.

[weaponizedwind]

"I understand that," Air says softly, and pats Metal’s shoulder once before pulling his arm away. ”But rest assured that at least with me, doing either of those things is nearly impossible. I can’t say the same for any of the others, but… you are my brother, Metal, before everything else.” 

It’s hard to give much in the way of soothing body language with his shell, but Air certainly tries, and softens his tone in accompaniment to it. "You can come to me the next time you’re feeling too stressed, alright? Morale is just as important to our goals as our military capacity, yours no less than anyone else’s."

[fallvictimtomymetaldance]

Metal leans into the touch, the ghost of a smile perking up his lips. A visible smile, too, seeing as his helmet was still missing… He quickly settles back into a neutral expression, however averting his eyes out of embarrassment for the display.

"…Thank you, Air Man." His voice is very quiet, "I’l… I’ll do that."

[weaponizedwind]

"I only ask that you try," Air says, equally quiet. For a moment he wishes he had the courage to remove his shell and smile at his brother on equal ground, but... the thought makes him too nervous, so instead he simply speaks. "Now, I believe you have a gift you need to find, Metal. I suggest locating it before it goes the way of your helmet. You know how our younger brothers can be."

[weaponizedwind]

Oh no. Not the whimpers. This is going to be harder than Air thought. But he can do this. He can. Someone has to be able to stand firm when Heat gets pushy. And he’s well aware that no-one else is going to do so - well, perhaps Flash. Maybe. On some days. 

"It’s not going to work, Heat," he says, trying to keep his voice firm. It’s difficult, though."And not allowed? Who said that? I never received any such order."

[hotterthanheat]

Heat Man knew what he was capable of, which was what helped make him so dangerous. Even Flash Man couldn’t resist the squish baby at his worst- and it was approaching those levels. Fake tears. More sniffles. Tiny hiccups as if he were about to cry.

"You’re just not," he says, adding sad little noises between words. "How can you be so mean? I thought you were a good big brother…!"

[weaponizedwind]

Alert, alert, the defenses are falling. Air Man's core has been breached. Repeat, Air Man's core has been breached. He simply can't take it any more, and connecting his optics to the shell's input system once more he lifts his arms and enfolds his little brother in a hug, soft keens escaping his chassis.

"Don't - don't cry, don't cry!"

You win, Heat. Try not to gloat too much?

[weaponizedwind]

Oh, he can resist. The trick is turning off the input from his shell’s optical sensors. 

…Yes, it’s cheating. But someone has to be able to say no to that face. And not seeing it may be the only way to do so.

"I’m sorry, was there something you needed? You’ll have to use your words with me, little brother. Otherwise I’ll simply have to stand here."

[hotterthanheat]

Heat has just climbed up to cling to what was basically Air Man’s face, continuing to make his cute face. He couldn’t quite tell that Air’s optics had been shut off, but what he could do was this:

whimper. He can be the darned cutest thing in the universe with every weapon at his disposal. What, it was widely believed that the Atomic Fire was the dangerous weapon everyone was to fear from Heat Man? Not even close.

So he makes whimpers. “Meanie,” he accuses, adding a sniffle for effect. “You’re not allowed to say no to me!”

[weaponizedwind]

Oh no. Not the whimpers. This is going to be harder than Air thought. But he can do this. He can. Someone has to be able to stand firm when Heat gets pushy. And he's well aware that no-one else is going to do so - well, perhaps Flash. Maybe. On some days. 

"It's not going to work, Heat," he says, trying to keep his voice firm. It's difficult, though."And not allowed? Who said that? I never received any such order."

[weaponizedwind]

"Crash, Heat, you’re both adorable. Now come here so I can squidge your cheeks to prove it.”

[crashmaster-013]

HISSES.

"AM NOT."

[weaponizedwind]

"Hmm…. no. Terribly sorry, but you’re outvoted and found to be quite cute."

[crashmaster-013]

“NO." Crash hissed…But all that happened due to him being irritated was that his cheeks puffed out, thus giving him an even cuter look.

[weaponizedwind]

"I'm going to send you an image file of your face right now. Then let's see if you can argue."

[weaponizedwind]

"Heat, you should know better than to give away your method of manipulation. You just lost any power you had over me. I’ll never have to give you anything again, it seems."

[hotterthanheat]

Don’t tell that to Heat Man, Air. Now the squish baby has latched onto you and started making desu eyes at you.

Look at them.

Look at them, Air Man.

Try and tell him again that you can resist.

[weaponizedwind]

Oh, he can resist. The trick is turning off the input from his shell's optical sensors. 

...Yes, it's cheating. But someone has to be able to say no to that face. And not seeing it may be the only way to do so.

"I'm sorry, was there something you needed? You'll have to use your words with me, little brother. Otherwise I'll simply have to stand here."

[weaponizedwind]

"Metal, we’re in private," Air says, and reaches out to put a hand on the red-armored robot’s shoulder. "And we are brothers, are we not? There’s no shame in a more brotherly relationship rather than a professional one when we’re not on a mission."

[fallvictimtomymetaldance]

"I… I suppose not…"

Metal flushes, averting red eyes out of embarrassment. He’s not good at this, even with his brothers… Besides, Master Wily would want him battle ready at a moment’s notice, would he not…?

"It’s… Difficult to unwind sometimes, I suppose. I… Worry. About offending you all, or being too forward, or…"

At least Air is easy to talk to about all of this… There are some things — his own shyness being one of them — Metal could never hope to approach Flash Man with. It… Just wasn’t worth bothering their leader with! Flash Man had enough to deal with already than his younger brother’s problems. Air Man, however… He was still older than Metal, and Metal felt less guilty for bringing things up.

[weaponizedwind]

"I understand that," Air says softly, and pats Metal's shoulder once before pulling his arm away. "But rest assured that at least with me, doing either of those things is nearly impossible. I can't say the same for any of the others, but... you are my brother, Metal, before everything else." 

It's hard to give much in the way of soothing body language with his shell, but Air certainly tries, and softens his tone in accompaniment to it. "You can come to me the next time you're feeling too stressed, alright? Morale is just as important to our goals as our military capacity, yours no less than anyone else's."

[weaponizedwind]

"It’s very cute. You simply can’t see yourself to notice it."

Air knew when his brother was blushing, visible or not. The pout was something of a giveaway in this case, anyway.

[afrozenmomentintime-archive]

Flash crossed his arms, furthering his pout just a little.

"There is no arguing this with you, is there?"

[weaponizedwind]

"Not at all," Air said, and while it wasn't visible, the tone of his voice seemed to give away that he was smiling.

[weaponizedwind]

"Crash, Heat, you’re both adorable. Now come here so I can squidge your cheeks to prove it.”

[hotterthanheat]

"I know I’m cute! That’s how I can make you guys gimme whatever I want."

[weaponizedwind]

"Heat, you should know better than to give away your method of manipulation. You just lost any power you had over me. I'll never have to give you anything again, it seems."

[weaponizedwind]

"Crash, Heat, you’re both adorable. Now come here so I can squidge your cheeks to prove it.”

[crashmaster-013]

HISSES.

"AM NOT."

[weaponizedwind]

"Hmm.... no. Terribly sorry, but you're outvoted and found to be quite cute."

[weaponizedwind]

"You’re cuter when you pout."

[afrozenmomentintime-archive]

There may have been the faintest blush on Flash Man’s face, although you’d have to know it was there to see it.

"… It’s not that cute.”

[weaponizedwind]

"It's very cute. You simply can't see yourself to notice it."

Air knew when his brother was blushing, visible or not. The pout was something of a giveaway in this case, anyway.

[weaponizedwind]

"Crash, Heat, you're both adorable. Now come here so I can squidge your cheeks to prove it."

[weaponizedwind]

"I’m aware," Air man says quietly. "And don’t apologize,” he adds after a moment. "There are no - or at least very few - boundaries for you to overstep, Metal. I prefer you to be open with me, if and when you can manage it without becoming uncomfortable."

[fallvictimtomymetaldance]

"I… Yes, sir."

There’s an awkward silence as the DWN in red fidgets uncomfortably, feeling thoroughly embarrassed. "I… Ought not to be so unprofessional like that, though… It’s… Unbecoming of one of Master’s elite."

[weaponizedwind]

"Metal, we're in private," Air says, and reaches out to put a hand on the red-armored robot's shoulder. "And we are brothers, are we not? There's no shame in a more brotherly relationship rather than a professional one when we're not on a mission."

[afrozenmomentintime-archive]

Pouts.

[weaponizedwind]

"You're cuter when you pout."

[weaponizedwind]

"Again, I fail to see how I qualify."

[fallvictimtomymetaldance]

"…You’re your own worst critic, you know. I fail to see how someone as kind and nurturing as you are could possibly fail to be considered cute, but that’s just me."

Quiet sigh.

"I’m overstepping my boundaries again, aren’t I? I… I’m sorry."

[weaponizedwind]

"I'm aware," Air man says quietly. "And don't apologize," he adds after a moment. "There are no - or at least very few - boundaries for you to overstep, Metal. I prefer you to be open with me, if and when you can manage it without becoming uncomfortable."

[weaponizedwind]

"Metal, I am a walking fan. I’m fairly certain you could never describe me as cute."

[fallvictimtomymetaldance]

"…There’s more to cuteness than just looks, Air. …Isn’t there? Therefore in theory, yes, I could. And I am."

[weaponizedwind]

"Again, I fail to see how I qualify."