#Beans “All Together Now”

[johnkatsmc5]

Baked Beans  "Babble" 2018 + "All Together Now" 2020 + "Live at SX SW " EP 2021 + "Boots N Cats" 2024 Melbourne, Australia Heavy Psych Garage, Blues Rock

full spotify

https://open.spotify.com/album/0EmU2haERVdlO46hG7hxDi

https://open.spotify.com/album/02W0OQTohcxk3WiwRjTUdV

https://open.spotify.com/album/7yN4819FdUwRUpoVntQ3Ha

https://open.spotify.com/album/0CoppFbqfN5Eaex5DDkI8v

Beans "Babble" 2018

Tracklist Slow 03:36 Baked Beans - Plans 03:58 Comfortable 02:52 Ditsy Rich 04:14 Easy 04:59 Aw Yeah But Nah 03:25 Stale 03:25 Pointless 04:06 Ring Around 04:31 Over & Doubt 03:20

Beans "All Together Now" 2020 Tracklist Montgomery 03:40 Stride 05:53 Avalon Speedway 03:09 Melt 05:28 Get It Right 03:03 Repeat 02:32 Aint It 03:04 Street Troll 03:21 Lay It Out 02:52

Beans "Live at SX SW " EP 2021

Tracklist Melt 04:59 Lay It Out 03:03

Beans "Boots N Cats" 2024

Serving up eleven tracks of rhythmic garage-psych goodness, ‘Boots N Cats’ is the third full-length from Melbourne outfit Beans and the first of two albums set for release in 2024. The long-awaited follow-up to 2018’s ‘Babble’ and 2020’s ‘All Together Now’, it’s a record that finds Beans frontman (and The Murlocs drummer) Matt Blach putting percussion at centre-stage. “I’ve always wanted to make a drum-based album, dedicated around the beat first and then everything else follows”, Blach says, explaining his desire to explore “different production approaches, like hip-hop and crunched drums, and show an admiration and appreciation for the likes of The Meters, Wu-Tang and James Brown” as much as the acid-soaked 60s/70s rock you’d expect. What emerges from the beat-first approach on ‘Boots N Cats’ charts mutant garage-rock boogies ('Groove', 'Silhouette') and festival tent psychedelia ('Haunted', 'Dreaming Daisy'), by way of blissed-out funk instrumentals ('One To Four', 'Siamese Blundstone'). The line is constantly skirted between a loose, carefree vibe and interesting, meticulous musicianship – never falling into the trap of taking itself too seriously. It’s a sunny kaleidoscope of chugging guitars, driving bass-lines, soaring organs and warm, echo-soaked vocals – driven always by the tightly-wound rhythms and grooves that Blach has been in pursuit of since he was a kid: “The title of the album comes from me learning drums from my dad. He had a background of German heritage and during lessons would jokingly say ‘nein, boot’n’cats’n’ like a simple 1,2,3,4.” The songs themselves, Blach says, are “mostly based on a state of mind or place of consciousness, intended to be open to the audience’s own interpretation as well as for my own self-release.” Hence, “life’s ups and downs” are placed under the microscope on tracks like the aptly-titled opener ‘Groove’ (based on not wanting to let loose/be yourself and dance in a crowd) and lead single ‘Haunted’ (about that near-universal sense of being ‘Haunted by the fear of failure’). ‘Dreaming Daisy’ is a song for the devil on your shoulder, tackling addiction/alcoholism and “people wanting to live their life to prove right to others rather than themselves”. Elsewhere, songs like ‘Calling’ take on the paranoia of the times they were made in. It’s a suitably wonky soundtrack to “that period of Covid time where everyone, including myself, felt like they were going insane. When people were being really sensitive and reactive, calling people out over pure boredom – obviously sometimes worthy, sometimes far-fetched.” Beyond its drum focus, ‘Boots N Cats’ also marks another first for Beans, in that it was entirely written and recorded by Blach himself. Setting up a DIY studio in the garage of his North Melbourne home over the pandemic, Blach began working on the record in lieu of the full band (Jack Kong, Lachlan McKiernan, Vincent Clemenston and Mitch Rice) that he’d been jamming and tearing up Melbourne stages with under a number of different monikers since they were all 16. “We didn’t get to see each other as a band AT ALL”, Blach recalls of that time: “This is why the album came to fruition as it kept me sane and feeling productive to still be writing/recording and achieving something. Having this opportunity and time and space really got my tires turning so I basically recorded every part and engineered the entire thing myself. Not that we wanted it to be this way, but we couldn’t collaborate together during this time so it was a case of adapting.” Tracklist Groove 02:48 Toxic News 02:58 Kookaburra 03:18 Haunted 04:45 Strung Along 03:01 One To Four 04:04 Silhouette 03:27 Calling 02:32 Siamese Blundstone 03:22 Dreaming Daisy 03:10 Casio Casino 02:36 Baked Beans  "Babble" 2018 + "All Together Now" 2020 + "Live at SX SW " EP 2021 + "Boots N Cats" 2024 Melbourne, Australia Heavy Psych Garage, Blues Rock

https://johnkatsmc5.blogspot.com/2025/01/baked-beans-babble-2018-all-together.html?view=flipcard

https://johnkatsmc5.tumblr.com/post/773647827529285632/baked-beans-babble-2018-all-together-now

[all-together-now]

Everyone was gathered in the Restoration's largest meeting room again. At the head of the table, Tikal stood with a checklist in her hands, and she nervously glanced between everyone sitting in front of her.

"Thank you all for coming here," she said, "I know these sorts of questions might not be the kind that most of you would be comfortable answering, but I do really think this will be an important thing for all of us to know, should times get especially tough around here."

Surge rolled her eyes, "Just get on with it, Annoying Orange."

Knuckles glared at Surge from across the table as Tikal cleared her throat.

"O-Okay," she said, "Question one. Who here knows at least one of their birth parents?"

Everyone except Sonic, Bean, Charmy, Silver, Surge, Kit, and Trip raised their hands.

"Okay, okay, good," Tikal said, writing that down, "And, uh, of those of you who do, who has a positive relationship with your birth parents?"

Almost instantly Lanolin, Amy, Tails, Tangle, Espio, Blaze, Belle, and Shadow slammed their hands down onto the table. Jewel hesitated lowering hers for a moment.

"Does it count if I had a good relationship with them before they died?" she asked.

Bark nodded and jerked his thumb to Jewel. Tikal blinked, and just shook her head as she marked down Bark and Jewel under an entire new category she had to make up. She looked up to see the only people still raising their hands were Cream, Rouge, and Whisper. Surge particularly noticed the wolf's lack of anguish.

"How the hell do you of all people not have any baggage with your folks?" the tenrec asked, "You're life's like a walking slideshow of misery!"

Whisper grimaced at Surge, but shrugged.

"I guess I was granted at least one small mercy."

Tikal placed her paper and pencil down and rubbed her temples.

"I guess this is how a bunch of teens wind up doing more world saving work than the military." she thought in dismay.

[bowserbowser29]

I'm back on the fanfic train! A very simple fic just to ease back into it, while also doing some interactions I couldn't focus an entire fic on

[future-of-freedom]

Tumblr wormhole shenanigan's!

The Neo Diamond Cutters are returning home from a successful mission when suddenly the Diamond Cutters from All Together Now (complete with Bean and Bark) appear in front of them!

How does either team react to their new imposters?!

(this is gonna be long, bear with me)

“Oh, wonderful. This is becoming a theme…” Ashley grumbled.

“So, uh, care to explain why there’s TWO TANGLES AND WHISPERS?!” Bean shrieked, shaking Ashley by the shoulders.

“Relax, dude. Something to do with a wormhole, I guess. It’s not the first time it happened in our world,” the leopard explained. “One time I came across this freaky looking shrike that sounded like static.”

Bark shivered, while Bean winced. “Sounds terrifying…”

“It was. But it blipped back into its world shortly after, so the same thing should happen with you guys, too. But while you’re still here… how’d you get in the Neos?”

Bean and Bark just looked at her, confused.

“Neo Diamond Cutters? Are you not called that in your world?”

Bark shook his head.

“Gotta admit, that sounds a lot cooler…” the bird mumbled. “But Tangle and Whisper took us in, even after realizing we were criminals! It’s been smooth sailin’ ever since! The boss lady’s kind of a downer, though…”

“Eh, in her defense, you gotta have someone to keep things in check…” the leopard chuckled. “Whisper was actually the one who offered me a spot on their team. I was kinda shocked, considering I kept accusing her of ki-“

She stopped. Whoops. She was saying too much.

Bark sat in front of Ashley, curious.

“…accused her offff…?” Bean asked.

Ashley shook her head and pat Bean’s head.

“…it’s a more personal thing on Whisper’s side. Don’t press the one for your world about it, though, alright? She’ll tell you if, or when she thinks it’s the right time.”

Bean happily leaned into Ashley’s robotic hand.

“Gotcha,” Bean answered, while Bark gave her a thumbs up.

-

“Mimic gave you that scar?!” ATN!Tangle gasped.

“Yeah… it’s all good though! He’s been locked up ever since! My face healed up nicely after a couple days, and now I’m living well in a nice home with Whisp!” FOF!Tangle answered. “Can the same be said for you?”

“Pretty much! Although there have been some hiccups. We got through ‘em though, and now we’re sharin’ a house with Bean and Bark!” ATN!Tangle said.

“Woah, with those guys?” FOF!Tangle laughed a little. “That must be fun.”

“Trust me, it’s not as bad as you think. And it’s nice to have a living space that I can call mine after… um…”

ATN!Tangle trailed off a bit.

“You good?” FOF!Tangle asked, concerned.

“Well… sorry, I was thinking about some familial issues. I don’t wanna be a downer-“

“Hey.” FOF!Tangle put a hand on her counterpart’s shoulder. “You’re not gonna be here forever. If you need someone to talk to about that, I’m happy to hear it.”

ATN!Tangle smiled softly and wiped her nose.

“…thank you.”

-

“Nice to see I’m eating well in this world, too,” ATN!Whisper said happily.

FOF!Whisper gave her an appreciative nod. “Have you… also gotten insecure about it?”

“Oh, absolutely. ‘Course, I was told it was okay. Just shows that I’ve been a lot happier as of late.”

“That’s goes for both of us, then,” FOF!Whisper responded, giving her counterpart a thumbs up. “Well, while you’re still here, I must ask… have you used your wisps’ powers on yourself?”

ATN!Whisper cocked her head to the side.

“Y’know, kinda like Sonic has…”

“…I can do that?”

“Possibly, if you’re able to train yourself. I haven’t perfected all their powers yet, but that’s only part of the process.” FOF!Whisper explained. “Can give you tips if you’d like.”

“Won’t be necessary,” ATN!Whisper declined. “I’d rather not mess with their powers like that.”

She smirked. “I’ll keep what you said in mind though.”

-

Both Lanolins were leaning against the wall all nonchalant, both holding cups of coffee.

“So… you also hate your mom?” FOF!Lanolin asked.

“Mhm.”

“Always got worked shoved in your face?”

“Yup.”

“But you have friends that make it somewhat worth it?”

“Correctamundo.”

They looked at each other, and clinked their glasses together.

“Livin’ like Lanny,” they both said at the same time, sipping their mugs.

[shapesintheklouds]

What if.....

[ragsy]

anyway i swept the leaves out of my garage and built a shelf and those two actions were enough to leave me too tired to do anything about the fact that now there are two shelves in my room that only has room for one of them

[firep0wder]

The Starry Night, Vincent Van Gogh//Hermitcraft 9: a minute to reflect, Joe Hills//Hermitcraft Season 8 Finale Animation - How Far We've Come, Chrisrin//The Starry Night, Wikipedia page//Hermitcraft VIII 1035 Final Impact, Xisumavoid////Hermitcraft S8: I Joined Hermitcraft! | Episode 1, PearlescentMoon//HermitCraft 8 ep 20 - End Times With Scar!, Joe Hills

[marshmellowtea]

chrissandrax uni au where chris tells sandra about the first date he's ever been on with guy and it was awful and embarrassing and he never wants to see the guy again because he fucked it up that badly and sandra's all sympathetic and comforting him about it because that's her bestie and it's truly an embarrassing story. and then later when she asks to introduce him to her new boyfriend and he finally meets him he comes face to face with max, the very guy whose car he spent a full hour crying in after their date because he couldn't get over his fears of being seen with another guy while said guy was awkwardly trying to comfort him, and what's even worse is that max is actually happy to see him because he was very concerned after chris ghosted him and chris just wants to melt into the floor in shame lmao

[odysseys-blood]

im finally doing another overdesigned merfolk and i have to pick a name for it orz

i wanted to do another slug based merm like plum so this ones an alabaster nudi (*^^*)

[crossbackpoke-check]

the deweys photos are from this video: https://youtu.be/5xTwJho44ao?si=bPw8MZZ327lCogVZ aren’t they just everything

kissing you and the minnesota wild official media team (with consent) full on the mouth, THANK YOU THIS VIDEO IS EVERYTHING 🥰🥰 i have seen pieces of it before i think (connor petting a shark 🥹) but the entire video start to finish is such a delight, 10/10 would recommend

[all-together-now]

This question if for anyone, do y’all play Lethal Company?

“We sure do!” Sonic said, “We all like to have some group gaming nights every week, and Lethal’s a real safe choice for something we all wanna play!”

“Whether or not the people playing the game frequently are good…is rocky,” Amy sighed.

“Hey, lick my balls, Pinky. I don’t care if I die every game, I’m having fun damnit,” Surge scoffed.

“Omega does every time there’s an Old Bird,” Shadow grumbled, “Or at least we have to wait for him to die before we can leave the moon.”

“I WIL NOT ALLOW THOSE INFERIOR MODELS TO OUTMATCH ME AGAIN!!!” Omega fumed.

“Tangle buys the Company Cruiser and crashes and dies every time, without fail,” Whisper commented.

“Yeah,” Tangle chuckled, “And Whisper gets the shotgun from the Nutcracker every game too.”

“At least I do when I don’t have SOME people running in front of when and get me shot.”

“It’s a skill issue, Gun Girl. Git gud,” Surge snickered.

“Oh, and never let Bean know you found a landmine!” Tangle added, “He will drop everything and B-line straight to it.”

Bean just snickered to himself.

“I adore the Maneaters!” Tikal gushed, “Oooh, they’re just so CUTE! And the Tulip Snakes, and the Spore Lizards! I love all the animals in Lethal Company!”

“What about the Baboon Hawks?” Knuckles chuckled.

“Oh, no, not them,” Tikal huffed.

Sonic just chuckled, “As you can tell, we have a good time with that game.”

[bowserbowser29]

And we're done with the Scrapniks!!!! This is a very long and very packed chapter, but I hope it's an engaging read

[nguyenfinity]

Some Beauty and the Beast AU Rinniki!! Actual AU courtesy of noya and beast design courtesy of @posebean

I just like drawing fancy outfits--

Extras:

[autumnalfallingleaves]

God. Are there people who have finished the new Hilda season already? Jesus christ. I haven't even started.

[kanene-yaaay]

To Catch a Hero’s Giggle

Alternative Title: Golden Child

Kanene’s Notes: This fic is heavily inspired by This Headcanon that is basically that Hero has a natural quiet laughter and everyone likes to pretend that they ‘stole’ his giggles while tickling him

Warnings: This one has a lot of tickles dfghjhgfgh. Angst with a happy ending. Hurt/Comfort. Raspberries. Lee!Hero and Ler!Sunny&Ler!Kel. Around 3.500 words.

[~*~]

The top is a lonely place.

Actually, thinking about where he is - in the highest spot - feels weirdly frustrating. This numb feeling as he stared at the good grade on his newest text, the lack of even a small sparkle of proudness or relief at knowing that he did it again, the neutral tune of his face, the constant tiredness on his bones… none of this felt like the top. Like the best version of himself, like the amazingness and peak of development that he could achieve.

Yet, that was what everyone around him told that it was his place. The top of his class. The top of the students. The top of his school.

Hero had listened to it for years now, he had even fought with all his power for the title. And still he wondered when it would ever begin to make sense for him, to mean something for him.

(He wondered when he would look at the mirror with the same shine of pride and trust that his teachers and parents had when talking to him.)

"Hey, Hero! How did you do?" 

Hero didn't grimace, because that was his classmate and she was nice. In any other and every other situation that didn’t involve school or grades, she was really nice. 

Unluckily for him, that was not the case today.

"How did you do?" A smile, a curious look. Usually that would be enough to trail the attention away.

"I got a D! Not as brilliant as you, I guess, but still enough to pass so yeah!"

"D is still a good grade. I am glad you got it!"

"Hm mm, but still you're not running away from the question. Tell me, what did you get?"

His hand began scratching the back of his head, fingers tangling in his hair. "Ah, nothing much, just a B." He chuckled in good humor.

"Nothing much? Hero, I would commit crimes for your grades! Uuuurg, and you don't even look happy for it, too. Come on, I would be shooting fireworks if I was you right now. Is being that good just so normal for you, golden student, that you don't even care about them anymore?"

Words appeared and died in his tongue. A mix of "You’re not me" and "but I don't feel happy" and "Please don't call me that". Instead, he smiled and opened his mouth to say something (anything).

Scratch, scratch, scratch. He could almost feel the spotlight. It was starting to irritate, burn his skin.

Another classmate cut them.

"Hey, hey, Heroooo, my man!" That was June. She was nice and the arm that he slipped across his shoulders in a half hug made warmth spread across the touch. She was nice. "Sorry for cutting you short but I really need you to explain the subject of our Literature test like right now." 

His eyes ran at the clock above the white board on the room. It was lunchtime, their literature test would be in the period right after it.

"Of course!" Smile. Suddenly, he was back at his comfort zone, with notes and books and subjects that don’t make any sense, but when you start to stare at them long enough with a tilted head you can start to see the connections. "Do you have any questions in mind? What was the part you got the most confused?"

In a blink his own literature notebook was on his hands, pages being fastly flipped as the boy looked for where his notes were. 

Silence. The arm slipped from his shoulders.

Hero looked up. June laughed, with a tiny drop of awkwardness and bit her thumb with a dangerous smile as she avoided the other's eyes.

"Everything."

Hero stopped. Blinked. There was a light tremble in his words.

"The seven chapters about art schools?" 

"Yep." She popped the p. "And the historical context. And the authors. And characteristics." Hero must have shown a glimpse of the dread he was feeling inside because soon June was holding his hand and kneeling on the not-so-clean-and-where-did-all-this-ink-even-came-from-floor. "Please, Hero, please! I know that I haven't studied anything but you're so great at teaching. I will owe you that one, please!"

"Ok! Ok!" Hero fumbled a bit with his own hands, feeling a mix of relief to take over his movements. No one should be so desperate to get his help. And how could he even say no to her? "It's fine, it is a very long subject but we have one hour before the class so I think we can cover a bit more than the basics." 

His face became more serious, determinated eyes. "Get your book. We're going to meet on the tree next to the entrance, alright?"

"Perfect!" June jumped in the same place. "Thank you so much, Hero!"

"It is fine." And it really was, Hero loved to teach. But…"I am always happy to help, but next time, please ask me a day or two before the test." 

"Of course, dude!" And she was already out the door. 

Deep sigh. Hero looked at the clock. Actually, he took like one week to study all that stuff, however, maybe if he got the main historical events and explained how those affected the literature, architecture and worldview of each age, perhaps he could summon the main points of everything.

Another minute ticked by. Hero got his sandwich from his bag, already opening and taking a bite. Today was going to be a long day.

At least June was truly nice.

(...)

The thing about having Sunny as a neighbor is that sometimes he was just… there.

Hero, in his spot laid on the floorboards of his room - having fallen there after coming back from school and realizing that Kel was still out with the basketball group, - stared wide eyed at the deep dark eyes that curiously peaked at him from above. As soon as his brain clicked and he recognized the boy, however, his fast heartbeats began to calm down.

“Sunny!” He didn’t really want to get up, the cold floor soaking through his clothes and resting on his skin making all his muscles relax and keeping his mind from floating away. Still, he sat and turned around to stare at the younger with a pleasant quirk of lips. “Did you come to see Kel? He is still at his basketball practice. I am sure that you can still find him if you go to the park.”

Sunny looked back at him, his face was less pale and his movements less sluggish. It was good to actually see him more often, see the light come back bit by bit in his eyes. The same attentive eyes that fixed their attention at the taller boy, the silence stretching across the room before Sunny seemed to arrive at a conclusion, lightly nodding his head before popping himself on the floor right at his side.

He pulled his knees up and rested his chin on them and Hero opened his mouth, wanting, but not knowing how to explain that he really wasn’t a fun company right now.

“Heh. Sunny, I-”

A hand rested on his. The cold fingers patting his hand twice before a phone screen was basically shoved in his face.

Hero blinked, chuckled and adjusted himself to see what was on the device. It was a video of a small duck shaking himself and walking excitedly behind its owner with a light and quick ‘pap pap pap’.

He smiled, much more naturally this time, and pretended to not notice how thick with emotion was his voice. “This is cute.”

Sunny nodded, seeming content with himself, before turning back to watch something else. Probably more videos with ducks.

“Right.” Hero mumbled for anyone in particular. Deep breath. “Alright.”

Something hot ran across his cheek. And another. And another. And another.

It felt like burning, almost as bad as his eyes. Almost as annoying as the itch on his nose, the dryness of his throat.

Still, the floorboards were cold. They were brown and smooth and filled with dents wherever the tip of his fingers passes, result of years and years of both him and Kel having more accidents than the normal amount for two boys with inexplicable clumsy tendencies.

Still, there was a cold hand on his and the sound of puppies ‘yip yap yap’ and ducks ‘pap pap pap’ in the air smiling at it felt a bit easier.

 Breathe.

Hero stared at the ceiling for a pieces of minutes, letting himself slowly close his eyes as his breathing got slower. 

What a long day.

(...)

He opened his eyes, rubbing them and yawning as the consciousness slowly creeped back to his senses. His gaze travelled to the window, confirming that it was still afternoon and that possibly didn’t doze off for more than an hour. 

Stretching on the floor, the older one realized that Sunny was still there, unfolding from the tight ball he usually imitated when sitting down and answering his gaze with his own curious eyes.

Hero smiled.

Sunny was a good friend.

His smile quickly turned into a grin.

“Sunny. There is something on your face, come here for a second.”

One blink, two blinks, Sunny came closer. Hero tried to not let his plan ( or mischief) show too much on his face.

“Just a little bit closer.”

He opened his arms, Sunny moved to attend his request. Hero’s arms got closer and…

Bam!

*HERO captures you in a hug!*

With a squeak, Sunny trash for a second before realizing what was happening and letting himself fall on the floor with a small smile, amused titters making his shoulders bounce for a bit before he let himself be hugged like a teddy bear with no complaints.

“Thank you, Sunny. You’re a really good friend.” 

The younger boy didn’t answer him, but it didn’t matter. The silence that fell on them wasn’t in any way awkward. There was no need for words when all of his acts and little expressions showed how much Sunny cared.

Hero only kept him in the embrace for a couple more of seconds, giving the boy a quick squeeze before letting him go as a dazzling smile took over his face. Now it was time for him to show a bit how he cared about the younger too.

That was enough sulking for one day.

“Kel still hasn't arrived, huh? What if we both play a game then? I am sure we still have that old Spaceboy videogame where you can race his-”

“Another game.”

The voice was low, but for the way that made him immediately stop right on his tracks could be the loudest shout to ever exist. Hero tried to not let the immense wave of pride that filled his chest everytime Sunny decided to express his opinion show in his expression.

“Do you want to play another game?”

Sunny nodded, lightly pushing Hero’s shoulder so he would be laying down again. Hero let himself fall with an amused light in his face.

How could he deny that boy anything, really.

“What game is it?”

Sunny shrugged, as if not sure, he didn’t wonder about it too much, however, the shorter quickly calling his attention by lightly shaking his hands and lifting them. 

Hero tilted his head, confused and still amused. Kids nowadays are so fun.

Sunny repeated the movement.

“Ah!” Finally, it clicked. Hero lifted his own arms. Was this a new version of Worm? He and Kel used to play it all the time as kids, even though his mother never seemed excited in seeing her two sons wiggling around the floor like two invertebrate beings. “Like this?”

The younger nodded, patting the arms for a good measure and a clear message of ‘stay’.

Then he lifted his own hands again, Hero watched attentively, ready to follow the instructions to the next step of the game.

That was the moment Sunny shoved his hands on his sides.

The sound that came out of his mouth was a half gasp and a half squeal, arms immediately crashing down in an attempt to catch and stop the onslaught of squeezes and pinches that were being delivered all across the ticklish skin.

“Suhuhunny!!” As quick as the giggling came, it went away, being immediately replaced airy titters and low, almost inaudible laughter, especially as Sunny spidered his nimbly fingers upwards in order to escape the hands that tried to pry him away, each prod and poke on his sensitive ribs making the older one arch his back and let out a single high pitched squeak that made his entire face explode in warmth. “W-why!”

Sunny only hummed contently, letting his hands rest cozy and snug on his highest ribs, the tip of his fingers just scratching the tip of his armpits while the thumbs kneaded the ribs with energy. Soon enough more and more loud high pitched squeals and squeaks began breaking the quietness of his laughter only for Hero to descend right back and his hysterical airy giggles all over again, arms clued on his sides, torso squirming from a side to another in lazy, futile wiggles that did nothing to actually stop the sudden tickle attack.

“Got you.” Sunny’s voice was as calm as ever, with plenty of a playful joy blossoming on it freely. “I will steal all of your giggles for myself…” 

His attack went back to his sides, however instead of maddening squeezes or killer pinches, Sunny simply laid his hands on the skin and vibrated. 

Hero jumped, merely wheezing before inaudible snickers that made his shoulders bounce with giddiness bubbly right out of his lips.

“Got them. They’re mine now.” Hero almost wished that his laughter was as loud and boisterous as Kel’s just so it wouldn’t be so easy to listen to Sunny’s teasy remarks, which weren’t even that teasy in the first place, lacking the smugness Aubrey had during her tickle attacks or Kel’s mischievous pokes of fun, but his words right now sounded just so sincerely happy that all that Hero could do at the this was let out an embarrassing snort that made his cheeks even more warm, the gigantic smile plastered on his face getting wobblier.

Especially as he heard a voice from his doorway.

“Are we tickling Hero?”

The immediate cry of “No!” that flew from his voice was quickly subdued by the fact that the younger violin player decided to change his technique to a skilled scribbling that concentrated too much on the spot where his sides connected with his stomach to be a coincidence. The word died in the air just as Hero’s bouncy snickers got even bouncier and even snickery, Sunny’s affirmative hum instead filling the room.

“Great!”

“Don’t!” Hero managed to slip in between his chuckles, opening a watery eye just to face the one thousand watts smirk of his younger brother, a smirk full of promises of danger and his very immediate doom. His brain run though arguments to find anything, anything promising enough to discourage Kel from helping Sunny but all he got was the same mantra of “it tickles it tickles it ticklesitreallytickles” that scrambled his thoughts any time that wiggly fingers even looked at his direction. 

“I’m going to-” Wheeze. 

“I can’t-” Yelp. 

“When I-” A hiccup. More airy giggles.

Finally, he acquiesced, accepting his fate. “Plehehehease.”

“You’re tickling his sides? Nice idea, Sunny! That is a very good spot.” Kel carelessly threw his bag somewhere on the floor running to sit right at his brother’s sides, taking full advantage of the situation where Hero couldn’t scold him for that. “But you have to see his reactions when I tickle his legs! It’s like a super secret spot that can get him crazy every single time!”

Hero actually jumped when a hand lifted his leg, a few half-heartedly kicks with no real effort showing his struggle as he shook his head in protest.

“He always gets all squirmy when I do that but he never actually tells me to stop.” Kel ‘whispered’ (which, for Kel’s standard, was a lowered shout). “Even when he kicks me it’s so light that I can barely feel it. I think that he really doesn’t mind being tickled but I don’t tell him that I know or he would be really embarrassed.”

Sunny seriously nodded in understanding. Hero wondered if his face was trying to melt with how hot it was. Maybe if he tried enough he could be able to get that invisibility power he always wanted as a kid.

He kicked again. 

“Watch this.” Kel whispered to Sunny, who decided to stop his own attack so the taller could get some interrupted oxygen. Two sets of watchful eyes turned in Hero’s direction. “Ha! This one wasn’t even close, Hero. Try again!” And then Kel’s hand found his calf and began kneading.

The force of the crackle that was fished from his throat made Hero shoot his head backwards, arms failing around for a couple of seconds before he fell back on the floor, quiet, fast and impossible to hide began dancing around in the room like a sweet melody.

“Ok, ok!” Kel, like the little demon he is, laughed together with him. “Now you just need to do this and…” His fingers crawled a few inches closer to his knee, attacking the spot with squeezes and pinches non stop. A snort shot in the air. And another. And another. And another. “Tcharam!! A snorty piggie coming right up.”

“Kehehehel! Don’t!”

“Make me.” Kel raspberried at him, suddenly stopping the banter when he saw his neighbor moving like he was snatching something out of thin air. “Eh? Did you catch a mosquito?”

Sunny shook his head, a grin on his face. Hero turned his attention to him as well when the boy repeated the gesture.

“I am catching Hero’s snorts.”

“Ohohoho my gohohod.” Sunny telegraphed his movements enough that when the oldest’s protest began disappearing in a wheezy crackle he was already “snatching” it from the air. “Stohohohop!”

“Ah! I get it! But you can’t have only his snorts, Sunny. Look! I can make him do other sounds too.”

Suddenly there were scritchess and scratches worming their way on the extremely, awfully, horribly ticklish skin under his knee, giving every inch of it a special attention as more and more silly sounds fell in flocks from his lips.

“There is a giggle!”

“And a yelp!”

“Quick, catch this squeak, it’s already floating away.”

As Kel and Sunny kept their play pretend, Hero started to feel like he was going to explode, and, in an unexpected bound of energy the flew forward and catched Kel’s hands, holding them with a triumphant grin - which was cracking at the corners with leftover chuckles, it’s true, but still - as he stared down at the brother in front of him.

“Heyyy, Hero.” Kel smiled nervously. “I, huh, er, uh…”

“Hi, Kel.” He was careful enough to put a playful growl at the end of the younger’s name. “Missed your old friend, the Tickle Monster?”

“Eek! Aaaaah!! He is going to tickle me! Sunny!”

“Don’t worry, the Tickle Monster has two hands. One for each ticklish boOOOY!”

A sensation exploded across his senses. A buzzing that began in the back of his neck and spread like a tickly electricity across all his nerves, teasing his ears, dancing on his chin, zig zagging over his spine and humming over his torso.

“Yes! Get him, Sunny! More raspberries until the Tickle Monster is defeated!”

Quickly another raspberry followed the first, and then another and another over and over again, all of them unfairly attacking his unprotected neck. For a moment Hero lost himself in uncontrollable belly laughter, in smiles, in airy snickers, teetery titters and in a maddening sensation that made everything else but the constant idea that “It tickles!” disappear from his mind in a blink.

After some time, he was tapping the floor, happy tears running on his cheeks and a wheezy “enohohohough” flying from his lips as the tickling went away. Sunny running to stay at Kel’s side as his friend called him for a winning high five.

“We did it. We defeated him!” Kel’s excited voice made amusement fill his chest. Kids are so fun nowadays. “Your raspberry attack was a good idea.”

Breathe in. Breathe out. Giggle giggle giggle.

“But, eh, why were we tickling Hero?”

At this, Hero’s head shoot upwards, body slowly unfolding from the defensive ball it tried to mimic to watch Sunny with an equally curious gaze.

The shortest eyes glanced at his form for a bit, but before Hero could think anything out of it (was he going to tell-) Sunny just shrugged.

Silence.

“Ok! Hey, Sunny, since you’re here, we should play a game!”

Their neighbor grinned, just the tiniest tiny bit. 

Hero wondered if he, as a good older brother, should warn Kel.

“Do you have any idea of a good one?”

But nah. Hero sighed - a mix of relief and a calm contentment that spilled from his soul and filled his heart. He would let them have their fun.

[icewindandboringhorror]

Misc. photos from the past year or so ~