#ler!bow

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It was evening on the island. The contestants of Inanimate Insanity Invitational had dispersed into their respective groups, having completed the day’s challenge: a ‘Try Not to Laugh’ competition. One such group was Bow and Goo, who could be found strolling across the moonlit, grassy terrain.

“Well Goo,” Bow began, turning to face the small, blue blob, “I’d say we had a pretty successful first day here at the…” She paused for a beat, allowing Goo a moment to prepare in an attempt to sync up their chant.

“Cheer Factory!” The two shouted out, almost in unison, with Goo’s call lagging just slightly behind.

“Yes!” Goo exclaimed. “We must maintain our 100% customer satisfaction rate! Then, maybe we can look into franchising.”

“Ha ha! Coolness! Sounds like a plan.”

Bow approached a bush, which she promptly pushed aside, allowing herself and Goo passage through. On the other side of the foliage, the grass transitioned into sand, as Bow and Goo had reached the beach that stretched along the length of the island’s perimeter.

Taking a few steps across the sand, Bow quickly halted, noticing a figure sitting alone by the water. Goo also stopped, having noticed the figure, as well.

The shiny, black surface imprinted with a Meeple logo just barely visible in the dark allowed for immediate identification of the object.

Although he was facing the other way, an air of sadness seemed to surround MePhone4, which Bow and Goo picked up on right away.

“Looks like our work may not be done.” Bow noted, with Goo nodding in response.

MePhone4 sat on the beach, watching the waves, as a number of thoughts raced through his mind.

“Hey~!” A sudden voice appeared at his side.

“Ah-!” MePhone4 yelped, startled. Turning, he spotted Bow and Goo on his left, smiling up at him. “Oh, it’s you guys. What’s uh… up?”

“We’re here to ask YOU that question!” Bow declared, plunking herself down next to MePhone4. “What’s got you upset?”

“I- I’m not upset.” MePhone4 asserted.

“We could sense your sadness a mile away!” Goo chimed in. “It’s like there’s a storm cloud floating above you, pouring down rains of misery.”

“Yeah! What Goo said. There’s no use in trying to hide it.”

MePhone4 sighed.

“Well, it has been difficult running this whole thing on my own. I guess I’m just unsure if I’ve been doing things correctly. If the show is living up to its full potential.” He admitted, the soft, blue glow from his screen illuminating the sand.

“Hey,” Bow began, placing a hand on MePhone4’s arm, “I can’t speak for the others, but I think you’ve been doing a pretty good job.”

“Yeah! It’s been fun competing and getting to know everyone.” Goo expressed.

“Besides, what’s important is that you’re having fun, too!”

MePhone4 smiled. “Thanks. That helps to hear.”

A tinge of sorrow could still be observed lurking in MePhone4’s demeanor as he began to rise. Bow quickly sprung up to her feet.

“And just where do you think you’re going?”

“Oh, I was just going to head-”

“Not until you’re happier you're not!” Bow cut him off. “We take our job very seriously and cannot let you leave until you’re feeling better.” She insisted, accentuating her point by prodding the lower half of MePhone4’s screen.

MePhone4 flinched back at the touch. Meeting Bow’s gaze, a realization appeared to dawn on the pink object, as she grinned.

“Oh Goo~,” Bow sang out, twisting around to face him, “I think I know how we can cheer up this client.” She wiggled her fingers, communicating to Goo exactly what she meant. He gave a slow, happy gasp in response.

MePhone4 felt a pang of fear.

“O-oh, that’s okay. You don’t need to do that.” He sputtered nervously, standing up.

“OMG! Goo, don’t let him get away!” Bow cried out.

“I-I’m too slow to do anything!” Goo replied.

“Oh. Right.”

Bow then grabbed hold of Goo, lifting him into the air. She swayed to the side momentarily due to the force of the weight, before throwing him in MePhone4’s direction.

Goo hit MePhone4 just above the eyes, causing him to fall back down into a sitting position.

“Gah!”

Bow quickly moved in and hopped onto MePhone4’s legs, wrapping her arms around them to prevent him from standing.

“Get ‘em, Goo!”

Goo, unsure as to what to do, looked around before spying MePhone4’s volume buttons. As quickly as he could, Goo slid overtop of them, squishing down his body.

“Squish~!”

The pressure exerted by Goo wasn’t great enough to fully press the buttons in, but could definitely be felt.

“H-hey! Get off of there!” MePhone4 actively fought the smile that now threatened to materialize on his face, as well as the giggles he could feel bubbling up inside. He reached up his arms to grab at Goo and pull him off. 

With MePhone4’s screen left unguarded, Bow decided to take the opportunity to attack. She removed her arms from around his legs, bringing her hands up and scribbling all over the lower half of the blue, glowing surface.

MePhone4 jolted, falling onto his back as his resolve broke almost immediately. Bow climbed on top of him, continuing her attack.

“HahAHaha! BohOHow nohOHOho!” MePhone4 laughed, redirecting his arms down to try and grab at her.

Small and nimble, Bow dodged MePhone4’s hands, switching to rapidly poking at his screen as she moved around.

“StohOHohop!” He cackled, kicking his legs.

“Not until we’re satisfied with the services provided.” Bow stated, not letting up.

Goo, previously stunned by the fall to the ground, shook his head clear. “However long it may take!”

Resuming his squishing actions, Goo focused his efforts on MePhone4’s volume up button, gaining enough force to physically press it down.

At the same time, Bow happened to poke a particularly sensitive spot on MePhone4’s screen.

“AHA!” His laugh boomed out, his volume having been raised significantly.

MePhone4 quickly brought his hands up to cover his mouth, attempting to muffle the sound.

“Whoops, sorry.” Goo apologized, bringing his volume back down.

Bow took advantage of MePhone4’s arms being out of the way once again, spidering her fingers across the lower half of his screen.

“NahAHaha! DohOHOhon’t!” He laughed, grabbing at Bow once more.

Bow continued to dodge and tap on MePhone4’s screen for a while, before coming to a stop. She snatched his wrists in her hands, holding onto them tightly. Goo stopped, as well.

Giggles continued to pour out of MePhone4, both residual and anticipatory.

“Jeez, you need to like… laugh more. I swear there’s dust coming out.” Bow remarked. MePhone4 rolled his eyes in response. “So, where else are you weak?”

“Like- heh, I’d- heh, tell you.” MePhone4 remained defiant, his words being interspersed with giggles.

Experimentally, Goo travelled down MePhone4’s volume buttons, past his arm, and onto his side, earning a squeak once he made contact with the final area. Bow and Goo shared a look.

“Goo, you’re a genius!” Bow released MePhone4’s wrists, hopping over to his other side, opposite Goo.

She wasted no time, immediately skittering her fingers against the phone’s side, while Goo squished away on the other.

As MePhone4 was once again placed in stitches, he recognized the fact that Bow and Goo were a force to be reckoned with, and that attempting to stop them would just be a waste of his energy, which was already being slowly depleted. He decided to simply surrender, letting them carry out their antics until they were done.

Bringing his arms up and against his screen, MePhone4 held a pose similar to that of a t-rex.

“EheHEHehe! AhaHAha!” He laughed out, his figure rocking slightly from side to side.

“Bow, I have an idea!” Goo announced, continuing to squish.

“Coolness, what is it?” Bow questioned, also not letting up.

“On the count of three, follow my lead. One, two… three!”

Goo took a deep breath, with Bow following suit. MePhone4 didn’t have a chance to process what exactly they were doing before Goo planted a raspberry on his side, with Bow quickly repeating the action on his other.

“EHEHEEK!” He shrieked, kicking his legs and flailing so that he was momentarily in the air, before dissolving back into a mess of laughter.

“Ha ha! That was awesome! Let’s do it again!” Bow cheered.

“WaHAhait! WaHAHait nohOHoho!” MePhone4 attempted to protest, but his pleas fell on deaf ears as Bow and Goo raspberried his sides once more.

He loudly squealed, launching into the air as his legs kicked away.

After a few more moments of Bow and Goo continuing to torment MePhone4’s sides, his screen went black, all movement and noise from him ceasing as a buffering wheel was displayed. A few seconds later, his screen returned to normal, with his sounds and movement resuming.

Bow halted her hands. “Alright Goo, lay off. I think he’s had enough. We don’t wanna break him.”

“Aww, okay...” Goo obliged, sliding off of MePhone4 and onto the sand.

MePhone4 laid there for a moment, regaining his breath as giggles spilled out, before sitting up.

“So, how are you feeling?” Bow asked innocently.

MePhone4 sat there for a few seconds. “Oddly enough… better. Thanks guys.”

“Yes!” Bow celebrated.

“Another satisfied client at the…”

“Cheer Factory!” Bow and Goo sang out once more, this time with Bow’s call lagging slightly behind.

MePhone4 stood, brushing himself off.

“But don’t even think about pulling a stunt like that again, unless you want some cheering of your own.” He warned, sticking out his hands and wiggling his fingers at the pair.

Bow gasped. “He’s threatening us with our business model! Run for it!”

Bow hopped on top of Goo, the pair yelling out in alarm as they fled the scene, albeit rather slowly.

MePhone4 just watched as they left, amused. He really was feeling better. He tried to remember what he had been sulking about previously, but couldn’t, and just shrugged it off. Probably wasn’t anything important.

MePhone4 then set off across the beach, ready for whatever the next day would bring.