Just testing stuff. I had a lot of fun with these poses ;P
Beanbags are great OTP material okay. I challenge everyone to try drawing their otp chilling out in a beanbag LazyIcon I wanna use — 38
disclaimer i have absolutely no idea how chess works LOL


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They were locked in a bitter war of mental combat.

He knew he was almost out of options. She was cornering him quickly and without mercy. The chances of his success were dwindling, his soldiers falling to hers piece by piece. Even as defeat stared at him straight in the eyes, still he refused to give in to the enemy, skilled as she was. She was good, but he knew that he was better. He would not be defeated, not this time.

Carefully and deliberately, he moved his most prized piece forward. He could feel the adrenaline substitute creeping through his artificial veins. His internals churned with anxiousness as she made her next move, pressing forward even more, her lack of hesitance making him increasingly uncomfortable. She already had the multiple ways this match could end mapped out in her brilliant, complicated mind and was preparing for each one simultaneously. She was so calm and collected, aggravatingly relaxed as she sat, knees crossed, and waited for his retaliation. Slowly, he crept his piece closer still, preparing for the perfect strike. He could see the opportunity already, suddenly full of renewed hope. One wrong step and she would be finished. He would finally end this rivalry once and for all, and he would emerge victorious.

Unfortunately, in his moment of excitement, a fatal tactical error escaped him. Before he even realized his mistake, the war was lost.
Again.

"Nicole takes Shard, checkmate" The lynx proclaimed suddenly, after the two had sat in intense silence for an extended period of time, knocking over his king with her own. Shard blinked in surprise, completely stunned as he stared at the small digital board in front of him. "How did…" He began, squinting his virtual eyes as if it would allow him to better see his error in judgement. "Your king was wide open, Shard. A beginner's mistake, really." Nicole chuckled softly, crossing her arms and leaning back into the beanbag they were currently occupying. Shard's attitude became almost tangible instantly. He sat up a bit straighter, or at least tried to, and puffed out his hull in defiance. "Beginner's mistake, my tailpipe." The Robian retorted with a huff, " I almost had you that time! If you'd moved off to the left, I would have won." Again, Nicole gave a soft laugh, "Which is precisely why I did not." "Obviously." "For someone who proclaims to be such a capable, calculated individual, you are amusingly easy to deceive." The artificial girl just couldn't help teasing him. "Merely because we are close, doesn't mean I will go easy on you." "Yea yea, save me the speech. I've heard it before." The robotic hedgehog retorted, a smile creeping onto his face. "But y'know what…" "I know many things."

"Maybe now would be a good time to tell you that you didn't actually win." This statement stopped Nicole in her tracks, shooting her companion a confused glance as she reran her strategy over in her mind. She had calculated every movement, every possible combination, every turn to the smallest detail. It was obvious to her that she had, in fact, won without question. Winning in itself wasn't particularily important to her, but this sudden proclamation from her dear friend had her immensely curious. She raised a brow slightly, eyeing him firmly, "What are you—" "Y'see, before we started playing, my pawns and knights decided that it was time for a revolution. They overthrew the king and instituted a representative democracy. The king you just took was nothing but the remainer of a tyrannical government that no longer exists. So my pieces wish to thank you for aiding in the disposal of the puppet king and aiding in their revolution. Hurray for democracy!" With that, Shard flicked his hand across the virtual chessboard the AI had created, erasing all evidence of the last match and watching it disperse into small virtual pixels and particals with a grin of satisfation on his metallic muzzle. Nicole was, admittedly, at a loss for words. It was…Well, it was certainly his most creative excuse yet. The more she tried to analyze his statement, the more she began to snicker, until finally, she couldn't contain herself any longer.

"Where in Chaos' name…Did you hear that one?" She laughed. Shard smirked broadly, closing his green optics into a rather silly, overly exaggerated expression of satisfaction, "Didn't hear it anywhere. It's the truth, I'm tellin' you." He insisted, resting his bulky forearms over the back of the beanbag. "Truth is a bit of an overstatement." Nicole argued, "But really, who am I to argue with 'democracy' at it's finest." She teased, laughing all over again. With little more than a thought, the small green, checkered board reappeared between them. "Fine, we can play your way." Shard gave a small groan of defeat.

"Let us see how well your representative government works in round two, shall we?"