Thinking about how Leo says he uses his jokes to cope and y’know, thinking harder on it I think it may very well be because of what else uses one-liners and puns and that type of humor.
Specifically, 80’s action movies and campy sci-fi. Even more specifically, the protagonists of these.
So I can imagine why, exactly, Leo leans toward this brand of humor. It’s directly linked to things he loves! But even more than that is why I think it’s used as a coping mechanism.
In these genres, these quips tend to be said by the winner - or, if not a winner, then someone who will stay alive. So there’s a confidence behind them, an assurance, almost, that even if things go wrong, things aren’t ever too serious. There’s no bad endings here! It’s all good fun, even if the stakes seem high.
Leo canonically has been known to steer his brothers away from the more brutal villains and toward more fun, lighthearted activities and not-so-dangerous criminals. So for Leo, these jokes definitely make things less heavy, make the situations they find themselves in less intense.
It’s kinda not just coping, but also can be seen as a form of escapism. A safety blanket. A way for Leo to defuse the tension of knowing just how dangerous their lives are and replace that with a levity which implies that things will be okay.
Unfortunately, levity alone does not alter reality.
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˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Night In ໒꒱ ⋆゚⊹
|| mike schmidt x vanessa shelly
warnings: little!vanessa, cg!mike, established mike/vanessa both romantic & regrssor/caregiver, they live together, slight angst, vanessa’s insecure about her regression, nicknames
Mike chews the inside of his cheek as he drives down the long stretch of empty road back towards the Schmidt house, it’s far too quiet in the car, and while the car is usually a little quieter without Abby in the backseat, this is almost eerie. They’re driving forty minutes home from the hotel Abby is staying with Ness at- he’s become a trusted babysitter and had offered to take the girl to an upcoming convention for some show they both watch - Mike honestly doesn’t know how a nine year old and a twenty something year old waiter can be this excited about the same show but he was happy to get the alone time with Vanessa.
After everything that’s happened it’s been hard to find time for just them, Mike’s working a new job, Vanessa’s been doing double time since getting out of the hospital, they’ve all been going to therapy- life has been busy. Thankfully much more settled, but some time for tlc is always appreciated, and the longer this car ride goes on the more Mike thinks Vanessa really needs it.
She’s been shifting in her seat every five seconds with a twisted up look on her face as though she can’t get comfortable and her eyes have been looking anywhere but at Mike. It’s worrying him to the point he contemplates pulling over to figure out what’s wrong- but he’ll hold off and start with just asking, trying to remind himself that jumping to conclusions only leads to him getting anxious which is the last thing he needs if Vanessa’s already having a bad time.
“Nessa? You okay?” He drops his voice soft and caring, glancing at the blonde girl only to be turned away from.
“I’m fine.” The response is quick and pitchy, almost nervous sounding, she’s chewing on her thumb nail and staring out the window like she’s never seen anything more interesting in the whole world.
“Are you….feeling small?” Mike hesitates as he asks it. While he’s always eager to take care of Vanessa when she’s little and he loves to be able to help her heal from her horrid childhood; he knows Vanessa isn’t always keen on going small or even admitting she may need to/already is.
“I’m sorry…” The girl mumbles back and Mike swears his heart shatters to nothing. Screw it- he’s pulling over.
“Mike? What are you doing?” A surprised squeak leaves Vanessa when Mike swerves over to the side of the road, a little more chaotically than he thought it’d be.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. But, Nessa, you don’t have to apologize for going small.” A saddened look falls to Vanessa’s face as Mike turns in his seat to face her, reaching to take her hand carefully.
“We’re supposed to be having a romantic night to ourselves, not-.” Her eye flick away from Mike, a wetness to her lashes and her teeth dug into her bottom lip as if she’s keeping back sobs.
They have reservations for a nicer restaurant that’s a few towns over, Mike ironed his dress shirt before they left and he knows Vanessa was going to wear one of her dresses, but none of that is more important than her being comfortable. Not to Mike anyways.
“That’s not true, we’re having a night to ourselves, romantic or not. We could go home and clean the entire house if we wanted to, or drive around until I run out of gas, or hell- we could go running through the woods in the pitch black if we really wanted to. The only thing that matters is that we’re together, okay?”
“And I’d hate to miss a chance to see my best girl.” Mike moves his free hand to brush his thumb against Vanessa’s cheek, smiling when she blushes and giggles at the touch. The nickname ‘best girl’ started after Abby realized Vanessa didn’t have a version of her own nickname ‘sweet girl’ that Mike’s been calling her since she was still a baby.
“You sure? Don’t wanna ruin the night.”
“You’d never ruin the night, ever.”
-
Eventually the two make it home in much better spirits, Vanessa had started to sing along to the radio loudly while Mike was driving and she’s still humming as she bounces up the walkway to the front door. Mike’s more than relieved that Vanessa seems to be enjoying her regression, he always hates to see when she’s upset and small, it’s a different type of hurt.
“What do you want for dinner? We just went shopping so we still have options.” A grin breaks over Mikes lips when Vanessa comes to wrap around his waist where he’s bent to look into the fridge. There’s still leftovers from last nights dinner but there’s still plenty of fresh ingredients for Mikes to cook something new.
“Pizza!”
“Pizza? That’s the one thing I can’t make!” Vanessa giggles as Mike comes to scoop her into his arms, placing her on his hip with a playful squint when she pokes at his nose with her pointer finger.
“Pizza. With pepperoni.” He pretends to think it over for a moment- they both know he’ll cave- but he still likes to watch Vanessa’s eyes go big and puppy dog like as she waits.
“Okay, okay, enough with the eyes. We can get pizza.” Both Vanessa and Abby know giving Mike puppy dog eyes will get them just about anything they want, and judging by the smug smile on Vanessa’s face she definitely knew it’d work with this.
“With pepperoni.”
“With pepperoni.” He confirms with a kiss to the side of Vanessa’s head.
A night of pizza and cartoons honestly sounds better than going to some fancy restaurant where he’d have to wear uncomfortable clothes and eat overpriced food while pretending he didn’t feel completely out of place in the restaurant. Holding Vanessa to his chest as she steadily chews on her hoodie strings is also better than seeing her wearing a tight dress - which she looks absolutely stunning in- but he knows bothers her with how stiff it is. They don’t need some expensive dinner or anything like that, they just need each other.
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