I love this so much I can’t
Peter Solarz

blake kathryn
TVSTRANGERTHINGS
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
NASA
Sade Olutola

JBB: An Artblog!

Andulka
todays bird
hello vonnie
Mike Driver

Origami Around
No title available

ellievsbear
dirt enthusiast
Keni
noise dept.
Three Goblin Art
Not today Justin

No title available
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seen from Morocco

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@graylionz
I love this so much I can’t
can you tell the job market is really really bad right now
NSFW/KINK DNI
Indulging in the colonel’s (lee) mood 🪶💕
Odd Spots
I head canon Grace being ticklish at least to some extent pretty much everywhere and Rocky loves to find all the little weird spots to drive him up a wall palm/arm tickling needs some more love imo
sorry it’s so sketchy looking, running out of ideas and motivation😔 (feel free to give any ideas you would want to see no promises I’ll draw them tho!) but I hope you all still like it🩷
tomodachi life minigame
Are you accepting asks? If so... Lee!Flins with ler!Illuga or Lee!Illuga with ler!Flins? Thanks for your attention anyway, your drawings are very beautiful!
thank you! decided to practice animation a bit
Playtime!
A/N: The sequel to this !
third part here
Fourth part here
I have too many ideas for these three but alas this will be my last fic revolving around them for a little while (I am absolutely going to write more eventually though) just so I can give some attention to my other requests :) I can't be neglecting all my other favs...
The next fic, as promised, will be based on this ! Gi-hun and Dae-ho need more presence in my fics :)
Summary: Myung-gi becomes the focus of two bored, drugged-up lunatics. What's the worse that could happen?
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The second game came and went. Myung-gi, against all odds, had survived.
He wasn’t very popular in the dorm. He didn’t have an established team, or even an established acquaintance, unlike every other player who had somehow formed alliances.
And yet- he’d managed to find himself a solid group for the past round.
He knew he’d have been capable of every single one of those minigames on his own. It was purely dumb, unfiltered luck that the other four players he’d joined with were also capable. If not?
Well, he wouldn’t be here right now.
Something he was wishing for, actually, when he found himself flanked yet again by the two losers otherwise known as Thanos and Nam-gyu. The exact two who had tormented him to tears yesterday. He could tell by the shit-eating grins on their faces that they were absolutely planning to recreate making him laugh himself breathless.
God, why couldn’t one of his team members in Pentathlon have fucked up in flying stone or spinning top or something. Gonggi maybe? Who even played that anymore anyway??
‘Jesus christ…’ he muttered, tipping his head back, eyes closed. Maybe he could just despawn or something. Or wake up in a shitty motel and all of this be a bad dream.
‘MG Coooiin!’
There it was. That disgustingly sweet sing-songy voice.
‘Awh, Thanos. He’s ignoring us’
Myung-gi could literally see the fake, childish pout on Nam-gyu’s face even with his eyes closed. He groaned and lolled his head forwards, finally looking at them with a tired glare. His eyes met Thanos’.
‘There he is!’ Exclaimed the purple-haired man, slapping his hands on his own knees like he was greeting a shy toddler. ‘There’s our giggly little guuuy!’
Myung-gi felt a primal repulsion instantly spike in his chest and recoiled in disgust. ‘Don’t speak to me like that you freak’ he spat, muscles tensed to run. He could probably make it this time- they were both on the same edge of his bunk leaving the other side completely free. Nothing but rows of other bunks, a decreased amount of players, and freedom.
‘We’re kinda stressed, man. You don’t mind helping us out, do you?’ Thanos continued. Nam-gyu stepped forward, putting a hand on the railing behind Myung-gi’s head and leaning down with a shark-like grin. ‘After all, man, we’re friends right? And friends help each other. Hell, yesterday you did say we were your bestest friends!’ He giggled and then, as if they’d fucking rehearsed this, both of them said in unison:
‘In the whooole wide world!’
Myung-gi stared at them with a clenched jaw and a heartbeat that could rival a man after a 100 metre sprint. No. He was not letting this happen again.
Nam-gyu reached a sweater-pawed hand, the one not resting on the bunk rail, to grab at Myung-gi’s forearm.
It almost made contact. Almost.
Nam-gyu’s fingers curled around air as Myung-gi leapt to the side, throwing his legs off the bunk and sprinting down the narrow path between bunks. He heard some kind of angry noise behind him, could’ve been Thanos- could’ve been Nam-gyu- he wasn’t about to stop to check.
Especially because he heard their rapid footsteps following behind him.
Stale dorm air whipped past his face as he darted between steel railing and bunk alike, almost bowling over an unfortunate player he didn’t care to apologise to. His legs moved faster than they had in red light, green light.
He vaulted over a bunk like an Olympic gymnast and ignored the startled ‘Hey!’ of the player residing in it. Myung-gi didn’t care how stupid he looked he just- wait, was that Jun-hee? She’s not watching is she??- needed to get as far from those tickle-happy weirdos as possible.
There wasn’t exactly anywhere to hide in the dorm. It was quite literally four walls and a roof. There were no obstacles except the bunks. There were no doors to escape through, no hallways to dash down- but maybe if he could just get deeper within the maze of beds and into a shadowy corner he’d lose them? Or, preferably, they’d give up?
Myung-gi was zig-zagging now, his own feet and pride threatening to trip him up, but somehow- he didn’t. He had actually crossed quite a lot of ground without stumbling even once. If he hadn’t been running for such a ridiculous reason he might’ve been proud of himself.
The adrenaline had started to wear off and his chest burnt from the exertion. Surely he’d put enough distance between him and the psychopaths?
Coming to a halt and bracing himself on an empty bunk, he whipped around, panting wildly and eyes wide, prepared to see a whirlwind of rapper/sadist barrelling toward him.
Nothing. Not even a flash of purple, nor a condescending taunt. The only other souls around him were those of stunned, baffled players who either averted their gaze or stared harder. His little sprint fit had probably lowered what little reputation he had, if any, but that was the last thing on his mind.
Breathing a sigh of relief and swallowing thickly, Myung-gi craned his neck to try and get a view of his original bunk. He had to make sure they weren’t still lingering around before he even thought about going back.
…Unless he could stay here? The bunk he was holding onto was empty; and it wasn’t as if he had any belongings he had to go and retrieve.
Yeah. Yeah, that was a good idea. Just hunker down right here for the remainder of the games. Safe, secure, invisi-
‘Whew, man. You’re a slippery little fuck when you wanna be, huh?’
----------------------------------------------------------------
Myung-gi didn’t know how it happened. He’d thought he’d gotten shot of the two men who had made it their mission to bully him into hysterics, but he was here. On his back. Same bunk, same position. Same dread knowing what was to come.
‘Guys- guys, come on’ he choked out, pulling at his restrained wrists as if they’d magically phase through the strong hands gripping them.
‘Ha! ‘Guys’? We on the same level now or somethin’, coin boy?’ Thanos chuckled, slightly out of breath from the struggle of hoisting Myung-gi back across the dorm. He looked at Nam-gyu across the bunk, who smiled broadly at him and shook Myung-gi’s wrist, forcing him to ‘wave’ at Thanos. He looked down at the trapped man and slapped his face with his own hand. Just once, and nothing too rough, but the glare it produced was enough for the two druggies to cackle nastily.
‘Hey, you don’t gotta beat yourself up, dude!’ Crowed Player 124, snorting at his own joke. ‘Was two against one, right? Nobody blames you for getting your scrawny ass owned’
‘s’right. Or for making a scene like an embarrassed little girl’ Thanos joined in on the bit, one arm dangling from the slats above.
‘Or for screaming like one’
‘Or for-’
‘I get it! God! Just shut up!’ Myung-gi snapped. ‘You’re both fucking sick! What are you even getting out of this?!’
He felt Thanos’ grip on his wrist tighten instantly. ‘Careful, coin. Don’t wanna go making this worse for yourself, hm?’ the jokey tone died instantly as Player 230 dropped his voice into a low, soft tone. Dangerous. Myung-gi’s breath caught in his throat. He looked up at Thanos, who was looking right back at him with a slight upwards curve of his lips, like he was daring Myung-gi to try anything else. Myung-gi felt an uncomfortable prickle down his spine at the intensity of Thanos’ stare.
Their locked gaze was shattered by Nam-gyu saying an abrupt, ‘So where we getting him first?’.
Thanos, prone to mood swings and unstable emotions, suddenly jolted right back into that ridiculous playful demeanour. Any air of unsettling intimidation vanished in an instance as he snapped his head up, boyish grin plastered on his face with a ‘Man, his ribs got him fuckin’ screaming last time. I’m headin’ right there’ he flexed his fingers theatrically, rings flashing in the light. ‘That lil gap between the middle ones-’ he tapped two fingers into the grooves between a couple of ribs, making Myung-gi jump and grit his teeth with a harsh intake of breath, ‘-yeah, those ones. S’just sooo ticklish right there, huh, coin?’
Myung-gi wanted to spit something venomous at Thanos but he didn’t trust himself to talk. Not with Thanos’ weird shift from a minute ago, that threat of ‘not making it worse for himself’; not to mention those slender fingers still pressing into that gap, promising to send him into giggles the second he opened his mouth.
‘Solid plan, dude. Personally? Stomach’s where it’s at’ Nam-gyu shifted his weight to playfully scrunch his free hand into a claw, flexing his fingers purposefully in front of Myung-gi’s face. ‘all them squishy nerves just begging to be touched…!’
‘Nam-su’ Thanos interrupted. Player 124 looked up. ‘It’s Nam-gyu’.
‘Nam-gyu. You can go first’ Thanos gave a downwards nod, motioning toward Myung-gi as if he were offering something as benign as a pen. His lower jaw jutted arrogantly, genuinely believing he was doing Nam-gyu a favour (which to be fair, Nam-gyu absolutely would agree). ‘I got kinda greedy yesterday, right? What was it you said?’
Nam-gyu’s smile grew wider, slowly, eyes tracing Myung-gi’s torso. Without looking at Thanos he said a delighted, ‘You were hogging him’.
‘Totally was, man. So you go ahead- do your thing. Little shit deserves it for that run around he gave us’.
Myung-gi squeezed his eyes shut and prepared for the worst. A hand under his arm, a finger in his sides…
…Nothing happened. Seconds ticked by, but the electric ticklish sensation he was bracing for never came. He slowly opened his eyes, hoping beyond hope that this had all been some long-winded, sadistic attempt to rattle him. He wouldn’t have put it past them to have committed embarrassingly hard to the bit.
But as soon as he caught Nam-gyu’s eye, the club director put on a faux-curious expression and asked ‘All hyped up now? Or do you need another minute?’
Not expecting an answer, he shot his hand to Myung-gi’s stomach. The ex-youtuber yelped, a noise he quickly tried to choke down, body jerking involuntarily as he expected to be tickled to absolute pieces.
But, again…nothing happened. No tickling. No contact at all, actually. Nam-gyu’s hand was still poised in that teasy claw, as if it was prepped to make him squeal, but…he just hovered it there. Myung-gi furrowed his brow and looked at Player 124 with confusion. ‘The fuck are you doing?’
He was completely ignored.
‘I’m gonna get’cha!’ Nam-gyu sang with an over-the-top playful lilt. Myung-gi furrowed his brow even more like he was trying to grow muscles in his fucking forehead. ‘What…what the fuck?’ he sputtered out, ignoring the titter from Thanos on the other side.
Nam-gyu didn’t give him any explanation, because why would he? Myung-gi wasn’t owed something stupid like clarity. Besides, explaining would ruin the fun.
‘I’m gonna…GET’CHA!’ the hand clawed rapidly downwards only to again grind to a halt just inches from his belly. Myung-gi let out a strangled, anticipatory giggle against his will.
It might’ve actually been kind of funny, if the malicious undertone and bullying intent weren’t present. If they were just friends messing about, playing games…well, it technically was a game- just a very one-sided one, with a very unwilling scammer participant.
Player 333 breathed heavily as he forced himself to calm down, eyes wide and staring at the hand above his stomach like it would burn him. ‘You f-fucker’.
Nam-gyu just did it again. And again. And each time- the same ‘Iiii’m gonna get’cha!’ left his mouth, a giddy, taunting phrase that made Thanos chuckle obnoxiously. And, predictably, Myung-gi jumped with every pass, not knowing when Nam-gyu would strike for real. His body was preparing itself to laugh again, to be completely undone by horrid ticklish sensation, and each time it was faked out. The tension built and built and went absolutely nowhere.
‘Wh-whahahat the fuck are you doi-AH!’ He jumped again when Nam-gyu repeated the motion for what felt like the 100th time. The pill-popper was beside himself, Myung-gi’s hilarious reactions and Thanos’ obvious amusement spurring him on.
And the voice he was using…like he was talking to a puppy or a child and not a full grown man.
‘Nam-su, it’ll be lights out before you get started’ Thanos commented like it was a real, actual issue- but, really, this was entertaining as hell to witness.
‘I’m getting there, I’m getting there. Just letting him sweat first’ Nam-gyu replied, hand still poised in a claw above Myung-gi’s skin, and then yet another ‘I’m gonna get’cha!’.
‘AH-! Oh my god! Fucking stop doing that!’
Neither man replied at first. They were both too busy laughing their asses off. ‘What, you’d rather I tickle you?’ Nam-gyu finally asked, grinning through the rhetorical question. ‘Well, if you insist!’
And then blinding, unbearable sensation shooting down his side as Nam-gyu practically buried his hand into the curve and squeezed hard.
‘NAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! ST-STahahAHAHAP!!’ It hit Myung-gi like a truck, he wasn’t prepared for it, still half-expecting another fakeout. ‘HOHOohoHOLY SHIHIHIT!! FUCKING GEHEHET OHOHOFF ME!’
Nam-gyu was almost doubled over laughing himself now. ‘Man, this is so fucking funny’.
‘Hey- hey, Nam-su’
‘Nam-gyu’
‘Nam-gyu. You know what else is funny?’
Thanos suddenly took a handful of Myung-gi’s shirt and pulled it up slowly, painfully so, looking Myung-gi in the eye the entire time with a manic smile. Nam-gyu halted his own assault, intrigued.
Myung-gi’s laughter cut off like somebody had pulled a cord. He froze, craning his neck to look down at the fabric painstakingly making its way upwards. The cold air of the dorm hit his exposed stomach as his shirt was bunched up to his ribs.
‘H-hey, what- fucking pull my shirt down, you freak!’
Even Nam-gyu was confused, pausing uncertainly. ‘You getting romantic on him or something?’ He asked, just the slightest sliver of hesitation in his voice. But he wasn’t about to actually stop Thanos. After all! Thanos could do no wrong in his eyes! He was certain whatever was about to come next would be utterly hysterical and he could not wait. Thanos knew what he was doing, right?
‘Hey, MG coin’ purred the bigger man, the non-restraining hand now pinched on Myung-gi’s waist to hold him steady. ‘You ever had a raspberry?’
Nam-gyu’s eyes instantly widened and he barked out a ‘HAH!’, absolutely thrilled. He wasn’t expecting that, but damn! He knew his Hyung had something hilarious up his sleeve!
But Myung-gi was nowhere near as amused, instead staring straight at the grinning purple-haired man with blood rushing in his ears and intense disbelief prickling at his skin. He was frozen to the bunk, a cold sweat enveloping him. He swallowed the bile rising in his throat.
‘Wh-what…?’ The word came out hardly audible, more a hoarse croak more than anything else; not from over-exertion, but just sheer shock. Thanos wouldn’t stoop that low, right? Surely not? The tickling was bad enough, sure- Thanos was clearly some emotionally stunted manchild, and Nam-gyu just went along with whatever his ‘precious Hyung’ wanted, so in a way he could kind of excuse it. But a raspberry? That thing you do to babies? That thing that involves mouth-on-skin?? Where was the line?!
Nam-gyu snickered at Myung-gi’s obvious horrified expression, leaning himself against the railings of the bunk. ‘Prick’s shitting himself over a raspberry’
Myung-gi snapped out of his bewildered panic and whipped his head around to face Nam-gyu with an incredulous ‘It’s not that!’ he snapped back round to face Thanos now. ‘Your-your mouth is going to be on my stomach!’. He waited with open-mouthed disbelief for Thanos to realise how deranged this entire thing was. Maybe a ‘huh, yeah, I guess we can skip that’.
But it didn’t come.
Thanos just gave him a dead stare. ‘So?’
Myung-gi actually laughed in disbelief, for once not a forced one. At first he just stammered and spluttered trying to process Thanos’ complete nonchalance, astonished to the core that Thanos just…didn’t seem to care?
‘What do you mean ‘so’’?!’ he cried. ‘It’s weird! It’s weird as fuck!’ And then his head angled swiftly toward Nam-gyu, so fast his neck ached. ‘You!’ he barked, not caring to remember his name (but Nam-gyu was used to people doing that). ‘Tell your dealer it’s weird!’.
Thanos shifted his gaze up to Nam-gyu, face still deadpan. Thanos was never one for boundaries- not in a strange or insidious way. He just genuinely didn’t have a concept of them. It took an awful lot to weird him out, and he didn’t let something as minor as ‘personal space’ get in the way of him having a good time.
‘Well, Nam-su? Do you think it’s weird?’
Truthfully, Nam-gyu did think it was weird. But not in a ‘ew, the fuck?’ kind of way. More in a, ‘I have got to see this’ kind of way. It certainly wasn’t unsettling enough to let that stop him from witnessing what would be, without a doubt, the funniest thing in the world.
‘You’ve done weirder’ he said, trying to match Thanos’ nonchalant tone. He suddenly gasped and raised his free hand like he’d just reminisced the coming of Christ, face lit up. ‘Remember that one time at Pentagon when you licked a-‘
‘GOOD POINT, NAM-SU!’ Thanos cut his lackey off with a flustered exclaim (that, despite circumstances, Myung-gi found pretty cathartic) and then-
PBBBBBBFFFT
Any feeling of smug satisfaction was annihilated almost instantly. The feeling was…uh…well, he couldn’t really think of the word. He couldn’t really think of anything, to be honest. All he knew is that it was horrible.
Absolutely. Fucking. Horrible.
Not bad, not unpleasant, not even uncomfortable- horrible.
Hell, he didn’t even think it was weird anymore. Didn’t care that Thanos’ fucking lips were on his skin. The only thought going through his head was ‘tickles tickles tickles!’.
‘AAHHHHAHAHAHAHHA!!’ He kicked with renewed vigour, pulling at the hands holding his wrists with all his might, every instinct telling him to ‘get the fuck away from whatever this is!’. The warm pressure of Thanos’ head pressed into his abs was a stark contrast to the overwhelming, foreign vibrations coursing through his stomach.
The sensation made him squeal, a most undignified sound he couldn’t care less about muffling, fresh tears pricking his eyes.
Thanos pulled away, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and putting on a disgusted expression, purely just for show.
‘Blegh’ he made an exaggerated face, lips curling, somewhat trying to catch his own breath. ‘You taste like scams, boy’. He gave Myung-gi’s spit-stained stomach a rough wipe with his sleeve. The younger man yelped, pulling at his wrists, trying to push himself further up the bed with shaky feet. ‘O-oh my god! Don’t fucking do that again! That was- that was-‘
‘What? Tickly?’ Thanos smirked down at him with an expression that said ‘I am ABSOLUTLEY going to do that again’.
‘Sh-shut up!!!’ Myung-gi writhed and pulled with renewed vigour. ‘I- i…! That was so fucking weird! You’re so fucking weird!’
Meanwhile Nam-gyu was almost in tears at how hard he had been laughing. Thanos was probably the only man he knew who would raspberry someone he’d met less than 24 hours ago. Especially that someone being the someone who ruined his life and brought them to the games in the first place.
‘Dude, dude- do it again’
‘Oh I was gonna’
‘DON’T YOU FUCKING DA-‘
PBBBBBBFFFT
‘AAAHHHAHAHAHA!! GOHOHOHOD!! FUHUHUHU-FUHUHUCK YOU!’
Myung-gi cackled furiously, twisting this way and that, unfortunately only succeeding in pushing his stomach further into the raspberry. ‘PLEAHAHAHAHASE!!’ He kicked his legs frantically, the movement so wild he very almost kneed Thanos in the head.
Thanos actually had to stop mid-raspberry to laugh. An actual laugh, into Myung-gi’s stomach, forehead pressed against the heaving torso. ‘Dude- I actually can’t believe that fucking gets him so bad’ His words were muffled against the skin and he straightened up so he could be heard clearly, still giggling, looking across at Nam-gyu. ‘You ever seen a grown man lose his shit over a fuckin’ tummy buzz?’
‘You heard him squeal, right? Like a balloon dying?’ Nam-gyu could hardly get the words out through nasty laughter.
Myung-gi had never been so mortified in his life. He couldn’t wipe the smile off his face, nor stop the lingering after-giggles. His stomach still tingled. They were still laughing, but now he couldn’t tell if it was at him or with him. Thanos looked genuinely delighted and 333 held his breath as those blue contacts locked onto him again.
‘Tell ya what, boy. I’ll give you…twenty? No, thirty seconds’ he pretended to check a fake watch, tilting his wrist and squinting at it like he was actually reading the time. ‘Thanos is feelin’ generous- so, thirty seconds’ he ran his tongue over his teeth. ‘To convince me not to do that again’.
Myung-gi’s eyes went wide and he opened his mouth to say something.
‘Clocks tickin’, man. Better make it real convincing. Reeeeal convincing’ He leant closer so that Myung-gi could see every pore. ‘Because if you don’t? I’m not stoppin’.
Myung-gi was silent for a few seconds (that he definitely couldn’t afford to be silent for) before finally finding his voice.
‘O-okay, Thanos, you’re done now. Okay? Just- just stop!’
Nam-gyu snorted, squeezing his wrist a little tighter. ‘Shit excuse’
‘No! Wait wait- okay, just- just give me a second to fucking think!’
‘I am giving you a second, coin. Thirty of ‘em’. Thanos looked down at his wrist again and pulled a face. ‘Shit! Twenty of ‘em now!’
Myung-gi panicked, heart racing, desperately trying to come up with something. Anything!! This was his ticket out of this mess!
‘YOU WIN! Okay?! You fucking win! Why carry on now, right? You got me! Ha ha! Don’t-don’t ruin it!’
‘Shit excuse’ Nam-gyu repeated.
Myung-gi floundered, words falling over each other and stumbling on his own tongue.
‘I’ll do anything you want! I’ll- I’ll-…’ His words tapered off, mouth opening and shutting uselessly, eyes darting like he was trying to pull an excuse out of thin air.
Thanos’ eyebrows raised slowly, mouth in a wide smile. His lips trembled slightly as he tried not to burst out laughing. He cocked his head and bent his arm to show his wrist. ‘Ten seconds leeeft~!’
Myung-gi was now beside himself, tugging at his arms frantically. ‘No no no! Look, I’ll…I’ll help you in the next game! Okay?! I’ll make sure you win!!’ His voice frayed at the edges, desperate and rising in volume with every word.
‘Shit excuse’
Myung-gi could just fucking kill that 124 bastard.
Thanos made a noise of amused disbelief. ‘Make sure we win, huh? And how will you do that? Tell the guards to invest in dalmatian? Scam the bullets?’
Before Myung-gi could even respond Thanos was already looking back at his wrist. ‘Ohhh!’ he exclaimed with wide eyes. ‘That’s time! Sorry, man. Didn’t persuade me for shit’
‘NO! WAIT!’
Thanos took an exaggerated breath, holding eye contact the entire time, relishing in just how freaked out the younger man was becoming over something as stupid as this. A near-incoherent babble of ‘no no no!’ and ‘please! Fucking- please!!’
But Thanos, entirely self-serving and in dire need of entertainment, had already made up his mind.
He inhaled until he physically couldn’t anymore, until his lungs burned. His arm snaked under Myung-gi’s lower back, fingers curling round the opposite side in something that looked far too similar to an embrace as he shoved his head into the taut skin and-
Oh no. Carnage.
PPPPPBBBBBBBBBFFFFFTT!
By far the worst one yet (third times the charm, right?). Directly into the centre of Player 333’s stomach. The vibrations sparked outwards of his core, assaulting his nerves and making him shriek, body spasming like he was being electrocuted. It went on and on, Thanos having a…surprising level of lung capacity for someone Myung-gi was sure did nothing but vape and smoke in his free time.
‘NAHAHAHAHAHAHA! AHAHA-AHEHEHEHE!’ He honestly did try to form some kind of beg, some kind of protest, but all he could do was laugh.
Thanos pulled away, gasping theatrically, laughing through his teeth. ‘Holy shit! That was the best one yet!’ he poked Myung-gi a few times in the stomach, right where he’d blown the raspberry, making the younger man squeal and jerk. ‘Hey, coin. Want another?’
‘Nohoho! I -cough- I do not! Stop!’
‘He totally does, dude’ Nam-gyu gave a cruel jab to Myung-g’s upper ribs.
‘Damn right. And hey- I did say I wasn’t gonna stop, right?’ his arm was still round the ex-youtuber’s back and he gave him a playful squeeze, looming over him with a bared-teeth grin. ‘Ain’t nothin’ but a man of my word’.
Myung-gi was breathing hard, blinking tears away. ‘Fuck you assholes…’ he panted. What was the point in begging? They weren’t going to stop. He could at least try and preserve some dignity.
‘Ohoho! That’s just earnt you like, five more, boy’
‘Nah nah, seven at least’
‘Might as well round up to ten then, huh?’
‘If you’re going to ten then might as well make it twenty’ Nam-gyu giggled.
‘Thirty’
‘One hundred!’
They went back and forth, each number getting comically larger until Myung-gi thought maybe they’d just keep going and forget about him.
No such luck as Thanos’ lips latched back onto him, no warning or dramatic inhale, just pure sensation. He blew one on the centre of his stomach, then on his side, then his ribs.
This time, he shook his head into the skin as he blew them, making silly growling noises. It was awful how playful he was being, whatever artificial high pumping through hisveins making him completely shameless. The added pressure of his head roughly shaking stimulated the already wrecked muscles and made Myung-gi laugh so hard he went silent, eyes squeezed shut and nothing but high-pitched wheezing escaping his lips. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d laughed so much and the worst part was it being because of these two bastards.
Nam-gyu watched with joy as Myung-gi’s laughter cut out completely.
But…
His fingers itched to be burrowing back into Myung-gi’s ribs, pits, anywhere that would make him squeal harder. His grin grew at the thought of adding another layer of tickles onto the scammer’s poor sensitive nerves.
He didn’t vocalise this, and Thanos was far too busy peppering playful little ‘pbbts!’ rapidly over Myung-gi’s torso to notice. Myung-gi was gasping through forced laughter, tears running freely, fingers clawing in the air at nothing. Nam-gyu hovered the pads of his fingers over that horrid, tense strip of muscle just beneath the arms. Not quite the ribs, but not the pit either- just exactly where the joint connected. Where he knew would send Myung-gi into a fresh round of cackling.
‘Th-thahah-THANOS! STAHP!’ Myung-gi practically barked out the plea, words choppy and choked, desperately fighting against his own hysterics to try and get the words out. No response. Just Thanos curling his arm tighter, forcing the squealing man’s back to arch slightly further into the raspberries. He could feel the rapper smiling against his skin between bursts.
That’s when Nam-gyu struck- pressing just his finger pads into that muscle strip, making direct contact; not too hard so that it was painfully uncomfortable, but firm enough so that it’d tickle like hell.
He vibrated them into the nerves, back and forth back and forth, lifting Myung-gi’s restrained wrist higher for more access.
Myung-gi let out a shriek, the unbearable feeling coming from nowhere. His laughter came out in sharp frantic hiccups, desperately trying to catch a breath, straining at his arms so hard it was a miracle he didn’t pull anything.
‘Tickle tickle tickle!’ Nam-gyu sang, speeding up the vibrations a fraction. He moved his hand into the hollow of Myung-gi’s pit, alternating between drilling ruthlessly and spidering light flutters, nails hardly grazing.
Thanos lifted his head, wiping spit off his chin with his shoulder and looking very pleased with himself. The arm hooked round Myung-gi slithered free and he shook it out, tossing his head back lazily with a ‘whew’.
‘Shit, man. Swear I almost passed out’ he huffed dramatically as if he were the one being tormented, blinking hard.
Now that the raspberries had stopped, Myung-gi’s laughter had calmed from dizzying howls into squeaky giggles. His arm twitched with every pass of Nam-gyu’s fingers in his pit.
Player 124 let out a cruel snort and said ‘Not if he fucking passes out first’. He widened his eyes and in a sickeningly sweet voice cooed ‘Can you imagine, MG coin? Going night-night because Thanos blew on your stomach?’
‘GohohoHO TO HehHEHELL! EHehehEHEhehehe!’ Myung-gi tried to hide his face in his shoulder. It was worse now, somehow- at least before, he only had one pair of eyes staring. Thanos had been too busy trying to practically fuse his face into his fucking abs to taunt or look at him.
‘Stop! Stohohhop! I-I’m- waihiHIHIHIT!’ He dissolved into goo when Thanos scrunched at his bare waist, fingers massaging into the oblique. He couldn’t think, couldn’t function, could do nothing but laugh like an idiot.
‘You’re lucky my jaw got tired, boy, otherwise I’d be going til tomorrow’s game’ Said Thanos, a bit too casually.
Nam-gyu had shifted to scratch at Myung-gi’s neck, all the way to his collarbone, snaking his way into the neck-hole of 333’s uniform to scritch the thin, sensitive skin. Myung-gi tried to scrunch up, but Nam-gyu’s other hand was still holding him up tight by the wrist, making his efforts virtually useless.
‘Hey, coin- what’dya thinks gonna happen first? You piss yourself, or your big strong grandad comes to save you agai- AUGH!’ Thanos ripped himself away from Myung-gi, dropping his wrist and pulling his tickling hand back like he’d been burned.
Nam-gyu stopped immediately, snapping his gaze to Thanos, eyes wide with confusion and a hint of worry. ‘Wh-? What? What did you do?’
Thanos was grasping his hand, the one that had been holding Myung-gi’s wrist, rubbing over a steadily reddening welt. Nam-gyu, from across the bunk, could make out angry indentations dotted in an oval on the older man’s skin. Teeth marks.
‘Motherfucker just bit me!’ Thanos yelped. He had a look of genuine offense on his face as if he absolutely didn’t deserve that. He took a step back, still holding his own hand dramatically, glaring with indignation at Myung-gi.
Nam-gyu let the ex-youtuber go instantly like he was contagious. ‘He what?’
‘Just sank his fuckin’ teeth into me!’ Thanos exclaimed, underbite becoming more prominent as he grimaced. ‘You got a fuckin’ death wish, bitch?’
Myung-gi didn’t even care. The tickling had stopped. It may have not been the most dignified or mature way of regaining control, but ‘dignified and mature’ were adjectives that didn’t exist as soon as Thanos blew that first fucking raspberry on him.
‘You- you wouldn’t fucking…’ he was breathing heavily, not from fear or panic, just pure ticklish aftershocks. ‘You wouldn’t fucking stop!’
‘It was just tickling, you prick. Didn’t have to fucking bite me’
Myung-gi tried to scowl but he still had the hint of an involuntary smile on his face. ‘I’ll do it again, swear to god. Hit me, kick me, break my legs- I don’t care. But I’m biting your fingers off if you try that…that stupid kid shit again’
‘Man, Thanos, he sounds real mad’ Nam-gyu’s voice was dripping with sarcasm. Thanos didn’t answer. He hadn’t taken his stare off of Myung-gi. His lip curled, jaw clenched, nose scrunched in something akin to disgust.
‘Nam-su’
‘Nam-gyu’
‘Nam-gyu. Hold his arms. Both of ‘em. Tight’
Nam-gyu was admittedly hesitant- not because he thought Myung-gi had had enough. But because he didn’t want his own skin being clamped down by scammer teeth.
…nevertheless, Thanos had asked something of him and he didn’t want to disappoint. He slid menacingly round the bank of the bunk, where Myung-gi’s head lay on the pillow.
Myung-gi floundered trying to sit up, to make a run for it yet again (which he knew would never have worked, but he could try, right?) however he was utterly boneless. He didn’t succeed in getting far, feeling two strong hands tighten around his wrists and pull backwards over the ‘head-board’ of the bunk.
‘What the fuck are you doing?!’ He hissed through gritted teeth, trying to look backward over his taut shoulders at Nam-gyu. The only response was a mean chuckle.
‘Just getting you comfortable, MG coin’.
Thanos made an irritated noise under his breath, stepping back to the side of the bunk but this time climbing on top of Myung-gi’s thighs, straddling him. Myung-gi stared up at him with panicked eyes.
‘You wanna bite, coin boy?’ he sneered, both hands being placed gently on Myung-gi’s sides. He drummed his fingers and snapped his teeth together twice in a mock-bite.
‘Guess I’ll just have to make sure you can’t close your fuckin’ mouth’
Anxiety Coin
First: here
Second: here
Fourth: here
A/N: I've said this on like, three separate fics, but THIS is truly the longest one. It's just under 10k LMAO. I hope y'all have time to spare if you're kind enough to read this :') I wanted to challenge myself and write a scene that 99% wouldn't happen in canon whilst keeping the characters accurate, and honestly I really really enjoyed it! I like to think they're not totally mischaracterised because these characters are my babies auughhhhh.
Also it's my birthday! My first fic being 22 years old omg...dare i say it's a bit of a birthday gift to myself hehehe.
I will preemptively say, Myung-gi has a panic attack in this and I tried to write it as accurate as possible, if that kinda thing triggers you then here's your warning :) I've had my fair share so I hope I wrote the scene somewhat accurately!
Summary: Myung-gi has an anxiety attack and can't calm himself down no matter what he tries. Luckily, his 'bestest friends in the whole wide world' are there to help! But not until he asks for it ;)
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It had been a day since Thanos and Nam-gyu had last destroyed Myung-gi with…well, whatever that was. Myung-gi had far too much pride to admit first-hand the details, but the most important thing was that they’d seemed to have gotten it out of their system. Maybe he was free now. Not having to stress about fingers in his sides or Thanos’ stupid face in his belly.
God, it was so embarrassing. He was a grown man, for gods sake! Once a highly respected crypto trader with a successful YouTube channel watched by millions, and now reduced to some kind of chew toy for a psychopath rapper and his psychopath friend.
‘At least they aren’t hurting me’ he thought to himself whilst in line for whatever sad rations the guards were generously giving out today. ‘That’s something, right?’
-------------------
He sat at his bunk, the two tormentors luckily far away from him- on the other side of the dorm, focused on whatever the fuck people like them were interested in.
They weren’t irritating him anymore; Which was a bonus- He’d had quite enough of them for at least a year. If he ever got out of here alive, he’d make sure to do whatever it took to block out the memory of them looming over him, chuckling and wiggling their fingers. Thanos had to have social media, right? Being so famous? Well, first things first, he’d be blocked on everything. He’d no doubt come looking for ‘his’ money and Myung-gi didn’t think he could bear interacting with either of those idiots outside the games, where there were no guards or cameras or ‘rules’.
He watched as Thanos and Nam-gyu laughed about something on the steps opposite, chatting away with smiles on their faces, probably high out their minds. Every so often Thanos made some stupid DJ motion and Nam-gyu would bop his head like the action was actually producing sound. For once, in what felt like forever, they weren’t even looking at him.
Whatever though. Why would he care about those psychopaths? It wasn’t like he was part of their fucked-up team. All they’d left him with was the ache in his ribs, the soreness of his throat from laughing so hard- it ultimately didn’t matter.
No, he couldn’t care less about them. As long as they weren’t pestering him he was absolutely fine with the space- they could laugh and giggle about whatever the fuck they wanted to, they could stumble around like morons, It had nothing to do with him whatsoever.
However… he felt a strange, unfamiliar coil in his chest.
Lee Myung-gi was used to being alone. He’d been on the run for 6 months after Dalmatian fell through, deleted all his contacts and essentially dropped off the face of the Earth (even Jun-hee had said she thought he died), so spending time with his own thoughts was nothing new.
But this was different. He wasn’t sure what to name this feeling, this coil that continued to tighten behind his sternum. Fear, maybe? No, he’d felt that in the death games and this certainly wasn’t fear. Anger? Maybe a bit, but it still didn’t feel like the correct word.
It hit him suddenly as his skin prickled and his breathing shallowed- this wasn’t fear, or anger, or even standard stress- this was anxiety.
And it was setting hard.
Within seconds he felt dizzy, his skin feeling two sizes too small. His hands shook and he rubbed at his chest with the heel of his palm, trying to regulate his rapidly-quickening breathing. He wrung his hands between each other, tugging at his fingers and then squeezing them together in an attempt to snap himself out of it. What the hell was wrong with him? He was fine a few minutes ago, how could he be spiralling so hard and so severely now?
There was no danger around. In a way, the dorm was actually quite peaceful right now- no shouting or fighting or druggies breathing down his neck.
But no matter how hard he tried to rationalise it, how hard he tried to force his traitorous brain into understanding, the anxiety grew and grew until it overshadowed any other thought. Suddenly, the dorm didn’t seem as peaceful. Suddenly, his senses were highly aware of every mumble and cough and shuffle.
He just had to get somewhere private. The bathrooms were usually fairly quiet around this time- that was his best bet right now. He could ride it out in there until whatever the fuck was happening to him passed. Yeah, that sounded good.
His legs shook as he swung them off his bunk. The floor looked like it was coming toward him, and when he raised his head he could hardly make out the bunks on the other side of the dorm from how much his vision swam.
Myung-gi crossed his arms firmly across his chest, squeezing himself tight in an effort to self-soothe. He could hardly think straight, cold sweat sticking his player uniform to his frame. ‘Just one step at a time’ he thought.
‘This won’t last forever. Just one step at a time’
-----------------------------------
He stumbled into the (thankfully empty) bathroom, trying to take a full breath as he approached the sink and splashed himself with cold water. The icy shock made him gasp and he braced himself on the ceramic, attempting to focus on the droplets running down the bridge of his nose and cheekbones.
It helped for maybe half a second before the anxiety barrelled right back. Myung-gi scrubbed at his face with both hands, shoulders shaking like his skeleton was trying to break free. He pushed his palms down hard and patterns bloomed behind his eyelids.
A low groan escaped him and he shook out his wrists, bounced on his heels for a second, started pacing up and down. His mind wouldn’t shut up, forcing images of him being mowed down in the next game, or worse- Jun-hee, pregnant with his child and only here because of him, being shot by a guard.
What if the next game was something he couldn’t win? What if it was luck-based opposed to skill? Or something like the pentathlon where he had to rely on a team? Maybe something to do with brute strength? He wouldn’t be able to win against one of the burlier players- he wasn’t exactly weak himself, but there was always a bigger fish.
Thought after thought raced through his head at breakneck speed, never giving him a chance to figure out a solution of one potential issue before hitting him with a scarier, less-solvable potential issue.
The last time he’d felt pure animal anxiety like this was when Dalmatian crashed, and even then at least he had the relief of other options. What options did he have in here? There was no escape, no backing out or taking a break. The next game was coming and he would have to participate.
‘Fuck, fuck, fuck…’ he muttered as he ran his hands through his hair. He must’ve paced the length of the bathroom at least a dozen times by now, must’ve done the whole ‘what can you see, touch, hear’ routine fifty. Nothing was working.
Nothing was fucking wor-
‘Well shit, MG coin’
His heart dropped. No. No no no.
How did they always know where to find him?
He was back at the sink now, grasping the sides and near-hyperventilating. He couldn’t move. Not even when he heard footsteps approaching.
‘Oi. You deaf now or what?’ Thanos.
‘Speak when you’re spoken to, MG coin’ Nam-gyu.
He couldn’t. He couldn’t speak, couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything but take in shuddering gasps. The anxiety attack was at its peak now. All he could think of was the paralysing fear of standing at the opposite end of a Guard’s gun.
He hardly even noticed when walls of green appeared on either side of him, Thanos and Nam-gyu boxing him in.
‘Coooooiiin’ Came the lazy drawl of Player 230. No response. He snorted and poked Myung-gi roughly on the arm. ‘Anyone home, man?’
‘You need to work on your people skills. What kind of greeting is this?’ Nam-gyu cocked his head. They were both taller than him, especially now that he was hunched over, head between his arms, staring downwards. He couldn’t even register their presence though. Couldn’t register anything right now.
Myung-gi did nothing but shake, holding on white-knuckled to the sink. His breathing was audible, fast and almost painful sounding. The two bullies looked at him, and then at each other, and then at him again.
There was a beat of silence. Thanos poked him a second time, harder. No response but more strained breathing. More trembling.
Thanos looked over Myung-gi’s head at Nam-gyu and made a face- a sort of furrowed brow, unsure expression that Nam-gyu just narrowed his eyes at, as if to say ‘The fuck is up with him?’.
‘You think he’s having a stroke or something?’
Thanos scoffed.
‘The fuck is your problem, coin?’
Nam-gyu snorted and he gave a half-smirk, like he couldn’t quite believe the audacity of Myung-gi to just…block them out.
He used a heavy hand to nudge MG’s shoulder, who didn’t budge given that he had such a chokehold on the pedestal in front of him. ‘Why are you being so boring? I swear, stop ignoring us or I’ll slap you out of it’
He was expecting a nasty response right back, some kind of flippant ‘Get lost’. But there was nothing. No comment, no biting remark, not even a dirty look.
Nam-gyu hovered uncertainly for a few seconds. The way Myung-gi was just…standing there, quivering and breathing heavy and being totally unresponsive was becoming unsettling.
‘Hey. Prick’
Still nothing.
‘MG coin’ Thanos crossed his ankles and leant on the wall. ‘You’re freakin’ us out, man’
Myung-gi broke his silent streak with a noise between a cough and a sob. 230 and 124’s heads snapped up to meet each other’s gaze. Both men, for once, were speechless. A small smirk was on Thanos’ face but it seemed more bafflement than cruelty. Nam-gyu fiddled with a loose hair, brushing it behind his ears and tilting his head down at the conman, completely unaware.
‘Are you...crying?’ He sounded like he was trying not to laugh. ‘Is that was this?’
‘He is! Boy’s fucking crying!’ Thanos’ face was that of a man in sheer disbelief. He brought a hand up to the collar of his player jacket, pulling it up over his mouth to hide a shocked grin. It wasn’t for Myung-gi’s benefit- the man wasn’t even looking at him. Thanos could be breakdancing behind him and he’d be none the wiser, staring his scammy eyes into the sink. It was more out of complete incredulity that MG coin was standing here, crying, alone in the bathroom.
Oh, how he’d have loved to have seen him like this when dalmatian had first went to shit. It wouldn’t have gotten his Won back, but it would’ve made him feel just a bit better to see the scammer crying into his shirt, all alone. Hell, he’d probably have paid what little won he had left to experience it.
Nam-gyu was grinning broadly, looking MG up and down, nudging his shoulder against 333 in a faux good-natured display. ‘C’mon then, the amazing Myung-gi of MG coin! What’s got you bawling like a baby, huh?’
The bathroom filled with nasty laughter, Thanos and Nam-gyu chuckling and cackling. When it died down, replaced by small after-giggles, they were expecting Myung-gi to have gotten himself together. For their taunting to have given him a reason to wipe his eyes, stand himself tall, snap out of whatever pathetic depressive episode he was going through.
Constantly bored, both stared down at him with eager eyes, ready for another 2-against-1 (That they were sure to win, knowing his newfound weakness).
But still, nothing. It was getting…weird, now. The atmosphere felt fuzzy, almost unnatural, which was saying something in a place like this. The bathroom was quiet, save for the ragged breathing of Myung-gi. They hated the unresponsiveness, hated not getting a rise out of him.
Thanos glared at Nam-gyu, making an obnoxious tut noise. Nam-gyu shrugged back at him. Myung-gi was supposed to be spitting venom at them, shouting and embarrassing himself like usual. The fuck was going on?
The purple-haired man cast his gaze down at Myung-gi, his face painted in that exaggerated sneering look he wore so well. He very slowly bent his knees, bracing his hands on them and tilting his head upwards to see the scammer’s face. He could see the dissociation clear as day. The absent, wide-eyed staring at nothing.
His eyebrows raised as he stood himself back upright, slow as he had when he’d bent down. He met Nam-gyu’s gaze. Player 124 narrowed his eyes further.
Curious, he dropped into a semi-crouch, bracing himself on his knees similarly to how Thanos had done before straightening up and barking out a delighted laugh.
‘Holy shit! What’s wrong with his face? He looks like he’s seen a ghost’
A shuddering gasp wracked Myung-gi’s frame.
‘…Don’t feel good…’
His voice came out barely audible, small and wavering. Neither 230 or 124 had actually heard the words- just that he’d said something.
Thanos was standing with his arms crossed now, head cocked to the side, not taking his eyes off the younger man. ‘Wassat, MG coin?’ he lilted, grin widening.
‘I DON’T FEEL GOOD!’
The words came out so loud and sharp that Nam-gyu and Thanos visibly jumped, Nam-gyu taking a reflexive step back, Thanos’ shoulders jolting as he flinched hard. Their grins dropped.
‘I don’t- I don’t fucking know what’s wrong!’ Myung-gi was still grasping the sink but now jolting his head back and forth between the two, who just stared wide-eyed. He was looking through them, still deep in the anxiety-induced dissociation. ‘I can’t fucking breathe and- and everything’s just- AGH!’
He pushed away from the sink and his hands flew to his hair, running through it again and again in frantic bursts. He wanted to cry but no tears came, despite his voice cracking. His feet moved without purpose, pacing a few feet before spinning back and doing it all again. ‘Fuck fuck FUCK!’
Thanos’ eyes followed as he paced, ringed fingers twiddling at his zip. Nam-gyu was thumbing awkwardly at his bottom lip, trying to look busy. Neither knew what to do, what to say. Seeing Myung-gi genuinely distressed, sweating and shaking like he was going through withdrawals, voice cracking and scrubbing at his face, was something they weren’t prepared for. He was usually so calm and composed. Seeing him lose his absolute shit for real?
It wasn’t fun. Wasn’t satisfying or scratching any kind of itch for them. It wasn’t the entertaining irritation or anger that they usually invoked in him. Right now he wasn’t MG coin, successful youtuber and witty con artist- he was just a man having a human moment.
Myung-gi made a choked keening noise from the back of his throat like he was trying to expel his anxiety through noise alone and continued pacing. Up, down, up, down. Neither of the druggies looked away, morbidly transfixed.
Thanos, despite what many may have thought, was actually rather emotionally intelligent. Manipulative, sure, but if anything that just proved the fact; he wouldn’t be able to play into other’s thoughts and feelings if he was as dumb as a rock.
He may have not been in touch with his own emotions, being high out of his mind most of the time, but that was a conscious choice. Making it into fame didn’t come without his own spirals, dependencies, forced to learn how to calm down jittery backup dancers or even the occasional rival (if he thought they weren’t much of a threat, that is). This, on top of dealing with drunken breakdowns or bad drug experiences over the years, had developed him a sharpened set of skills.
A set of skills that begrudgingly, he’d have to break out right there in the bathroom. For a man he couldn’t stand.
The ex-rapper exhaled through his nose and lolled his head back, eyes closing like he was about to take on a strenuous chore. He waited for Myung-gi to hit the pedestal, turn back and pace those few same feet, and stepped himself into his path. As soon as Myung-gi turned back around, still mumbling rapidly to himself with his palms over his face, Thanos was right there in front of him.
‘I’m going to die, I’m going to fucking die- What have I done, oh my g- Ah!’ Myung-gi gasped suddenly, pacing forced to come to a halt. His hands flew down and he looked up with huge, terrified eyes.
Two hands had grabbed him firmly by the shoulders. The touch was unexpected, not gentle but not rough either- just absolute.
The height difference between him and Thanos was pretty significant and he had to tilt his head upwards when the purple-haired man started talking.
‘MG coin’ Thanos spoke slowly, clearly, face devoid of any usual mischief. He dropped his head and held Myung-gi’s gaze and squeezed his fingers just once, forcing his attention. ‘You’re freaking out man. Freaking us out, freaking yourself out. You gotta breathe, boy’ He could feel the youtuber trembling, the tremors running through his hands.
Nam-gyu hadn’t said a word, hand still hovering by his lips, darting his focus between both men. Usually he’d scoff at something like this, especially with Lee Myung-gi involved. But for once he was on the side of…well, not empathy. He didn’t really do empathy.
Something vaguely similar, perhaps.
Regardless, he trusted Thanos knew what he was doing and shit would go back to normal. (as normal as things could be, anyway).
‘You don’t get it- you don’t fucking get it’ Myung-gi placed his palms flat on Thanos’ chest and pushed him away; Thanos simply wrapped a hand round his wrist and pulled him back, resuming his hold on his shoulders with a ‘Ah-ah, get back here’.
‘Fucking LET GO OF ME!’ The younger man cried, trying to push him away again but Thanos had him in an unbreakable grip now. ‘How the fuck would you know anything? I’ve seen you’ he shot a glare toward Nam-gyu, ‘and you!’ he directed himself back toward Thanos, ‘popping those fucking pills. Yeah, you’re not slick. Everyone here knows you’re nothing but washed-up junkie FREAKS!’
Thanos would be lying if he said he wanted to do anything else but throw Myung-gi to the floor and let loose on him right then. Those words cut deep. He’d heard similar after the forgotten lyrics incident during rap battlegrounds, fans and haters alike blaming his fumble on drug use.
But he was no stranger to anxiety attacks, those horrible chest-tightening things that fogged the brain and reduced a person to their most primal survival instincts. Myung-gi didn’t know what he was saying, not really. He was just functioning on autopilot, brain trying to stabilise itself any way it knew how.
‘You’re lucky I’m an understanding typ’a guy, Coin’ he said, words still slow and enunciated like he were talking to a child. ‘That shit you just said? Man, if you weren’t such a mess right now, that’d really have pissed me off’
Nam-gyu held his breath. Thanos wasn’t about to lose his temper, surely? Not right now? Not that he’d mind, if anything it’d be entertaining, but still…
But his concerns were for nothing as Thanos continued with ‘We ain’t gonna get you better if you don’t work with me’
He spoke with such rare sincerity that Myung-gi stopped pushing, hands just resting on Thanos’ chest. It was more the confusion, than anything else. Intrigue, perhaps. Despite the spiralling, even his anxiety-riddled brain realised that Thanos was genuinely trying to help him…and that was weird.
Thanos didn’t give him any chance to dwell. He had his attention and he was going to use it before Myung-gi fucked himself up again.
‘Just breathe, okay? We’ll start there’
Myung-gi decided not to care about the unusualness of Thanos comforting him, so desperate for comfort he’d take anything. If it turned out to be a cruel joke then…well, that’d be a bridge he could cross if he came to it.
A harsh squeeze brought him back to reality.
‘Oi, Coin-boy. I said breathe’
‘I-I don’t know how’
Behind them, Nam-gyu huffed a small chuckle and approached, standing by their sides.
‘Course you know how to breathe, MG coin. How the fuck are you still standing here if you’re not breathing? You’d be dead, dumbass’. He spoke with a light-hearted tone, trying his best to be somewhat ‘gentle’, but poor Myung-gi, who was still shaking and chest heaving, just heard the word ‘dead’ and- ohhh no.
His face crumpled and his hands left Thanos’ chest, grasping at his own, breathing coming out faster and shallower. ‘Oh fuck- fuck, I’m gonna die, I’m gonna fucking die-’
Nam-gyu flinched and jumped back, Myung-gi practically dissolving in Thanos’ grip.
Thanos groaned and tossed his head back.
‘Ugghhhh, Nam-su! Why’d you have to go and set him off again?’
‘Sorry, sorry! Uh-’ He brought a hesitant hand to the panicked player’s back and patted it awkwardly, utterly unused to comforting people, nevermind a guy he hated the guts of. ‘Sorry, coin. Just- just calm down, okay?’
Myung-gi was doing anything but.
‘Let go- let go of me, I have to get out of here’
Thanos could hardly keep hold of the man as he writhed and shoved without purpose, gasping. ‘Woah, woah! MG coin!’
‘You’re gonna be fine, idiot! What’s it gonna take to chill you out?’ Nam-gyu had his hands raised like he wanted to shake the scammer out of it but something told him brute force wouldn’t be too helpful in this situation.
‘Yeah, boy! You’ve survived so far, right? You’re a smart motherfucker, whatever the next game is, you’ll figure it out!’
Never in a million years did Thanos and Nam-gyu think they’d be hyping up MG coin. It was surreal and so out of the ordinary it almost dissolved the panic attack right then and there.
Myung-gi desperately grabbed Thanos’ forearms. ‘You think so? You think I’m gonna be fine?’
The older man hesitated. He could break this off right now, push him away with a ‘just get yourself together’ and walk off. Back to his corner, where it was just him and his Nam-su. Where they could resume zoning out and giggling at nothing.
But Myung-gi was looking at him with such a desperate, expectant fear, like he was the only other person who existed.
Ah, fuck it. He’d already started this, why the hell not finish it?
He forced his face to soften just a little and breathed out slowly, like he was trying to rationalise just what he was about to do. ‘Yeah. Yeah, MG coin. You’re gonna be just peachy’. He gave Myung-gi’s shoulders a little rub, even forcing a smile.
‘What if- what if I’m not, though?’
Nam-gyu grinned, sensing the tension erode from Myung-gi. ‘Then you won’t be. But what’s the point in worrying about that right now, huh? What is it they say…’ he thought for a second before it came to him and he bounced on his heels, gesturing with his hands. ‘Ah! Worrying about something just means you suffer through it twice! Right?’
It…wasn’t the best advice. Maybe if it had been in a different scenario, like Myung-gi stressing about a first date or issues with his channel, it would’ve landed better. Made more sense.
But Myung-gi didn’t care. The comfort, no matter how half-assed, was still comfort.
‘Let’s try again with that breathin’, boy. Come on, follow my lead. We’ll do it together- in through the nose, out through the mouth, yeah?’.
Thanos took a deep breath in through his nose, chest expanding, and felt relief that Myung-gi did the same. They exhaled together, and the older man could feel the younger relax his shoulders, the anxiety ebbing away slowly. It was still there- some basic breathing exercises weren’t going to eradicate it completely. But at least it seemed to be helping.
They stood like that for a few more seconds, Thanos tracking Myung-gi’s face to check for any signs of the spiral getting worse. Nam-gyu had tried to join in, more because it’d be awkward if he just stood there staring at two men breathing at each other, but the boredom and ridiculousness of the situation got the better of him.
He started to breathe purposefully loudly, In through the nose with an obnoxious sniff, out through the mouth with an even more obnoxious ‘Haaaaah’. Couldn’t that bastard be serious for more than thirty seconds?
‘Nam-su. Cut it out’
‘I’m helping’
‘What, with Mongolian throat singing?’ Thanos, still giving small absent-minded pats to Myung-gi’s shoulders, tilted his head to face Nam-gyu. ‘Heheh, you sound like an old man on life support, bro’
‘It’s the least I can do, really’
‘Or like one of them dogs with the squashed faces’
‘A bulldog?’
‘Nah nah, the other one. Looks like someone dropped mashed potato on the floor’
‘A Labrador?’
Thanos made a face and his shoulders shook. ‘Dunno what kinda fuckin’ Labradors you’ve been lookin’ at, boy’
MG coin listened to them go back and forth like he wasn’t even there. Annoyingly (or, maybe not), having some kind of normalcy was helping. Maybe he could pretend he was in a bar overhearing two idiots. Or a sports game, not that he ever really went to those. Or maybe even another universe completely. He wouldn’t be surprised if those two were aliens from the planet ‘ruin MG coin’s life’.
‘Oi, coin. Y’listening?’
Myung-gi blinked. ‘Huh?’
‘I asked if you were feelin’ better. Don’t wanna be babysittin’ your scamming ass til the next game, boy’
Player 333 thought about it. He was still shaky, still experiencing palpitations that just wouldn’t seem to quit. It wasn’t anywhere near as bad as before, no way- but he still felt in a considerable amount of distress.
‘I…I don’t know. I don’t think so, not really’
He was expecting groans, or for them to go ‘well, we tried, see ya’ and leave.
Instead, Thanos just rolled his eyes in mild annoyance and nodded. ‘Okay, man. Take your time, I guess’.
Myung-gi was shocked. It seemed like they were really putting effort in here. Or, at least, as much as they were capable of when it came to him.
‘Why are you helping me?’ He asked bluntly, fidgeting with the bottom of his jacket.
‘Dunno, really. I’ve been there’ Thanos shrugged. He was staring with an uncanny level of intensity at Myung-gi. ‘The whole thinkin’ you’re dying thing. Like the walls are closing in, like you’re not ever gonna feel right again. I wish I’d had someone there for me when I got like that. Doesn’t mean we like you or nothin. Just…don’t like seein’ you all fucked up, is all’
It was probably the most genuine, vulnerable thing Myung-gi had ever heard from him.
‘Yeah, and you’re no fun to fuck with if you can’t react to us fucking with you’
Aaaand Nam-gyu ruined it.
‘Great. Thanks, I guess’
‘Anytime, prick’
Myung-gi groaned and shifted in place, shrugging Thanos’ hands off him. ‘Mnngh…feels like my heart’s gonna stop’ he muttered, crossing his arms tightly around his middle and shifting from foot to foot.
Thanos, without a single care for boundaries or personal space, grabbed Myung-gi’s wrist and placed two fingers on the inside, where his pulse hammered.
‘Damn. Shit’s going wild’ Thanos mused. ‘Nam-su, feel this’
He held out Myung-gi’s wrist to Player 124, ignoring the ‘ach- hey!’.
Nam-gyu let out a low whistle. ‘Woah, dude. How are you even standing upright? I’m surprised you haven’t dropped dea-’ Myung-gi’s eyes widened and he stared hard at him, skin prickling like the anxiety was about to amp up all over again. Thanos cleared his throat, clenched his jaw and very subtly shook his head, as if to say ‘Don’t you dare say what I think you’re about to say’.
‘Uh…nevermind’ Wow, good save.
He slapped Myung-gi’s wrist twice and then gave a toothy smile. ‘Still ticking! You’re in perfect health!’
Myung-gi managed to scoff quietly, taking his wrist back and rubbing it. ‘I just…I think I need a distraction’.
‘A distraction, eh?’ Nam-gyu replied, then pointed at Thanos excitedly. ‘Want Thanos to do a backflip off a urinal? He can, I saw him do it once at the club’
‘Yeah! Watch, coin’ Thanos, without question or argument, was already bouncing over to the urinals.
Myung-gi screwed up his face in a baffled grimace. ‘No-! I- I don’t want to see you do a backflip off a urinal. Jesus Christ’
Thanos made a face. He couldn’t believe anybody wouldn’t want to see that.
‘Wow’ he shoved his hands in his pockets and took long, slow steps. ‘That’s what I get for tryna help, huh? Talk about ungrateful. I’d have fans begging on their knees to see that shit’
‘I’m not your fan’
‘Tch. Yeah. No kidding’
The atmosphere had shifted. Myung-gi was having an actual conversation with these two. A really absurd conversation, sure, but this was probably the longest he’d ever gone without being shoved at or sent into hysterics in their presence.
But still the anxiety refused to budge. He needed an actual, proper distraction. Not Thanos with his acrobatics, or Nam-gyu with his…Nam-gyu-ness.
It hit him suddenly, like a brick to the skull. Oh.
Oh no.
Thanos and Nam-gyu must’ve noticed his defeated demeanour because they went quiet and hovered awkwardly, like they thought he was about to breakdown all over again and were trying their absolute best to be as un-breakdowny as possible.
‘…Wassup, boy?’ Thanos side-eyed him.
‘You’re not gonna cry for real this time, are you? You look like you are’ Nam-gyu leant back like Myung-gi was diseased.
Myung-gi sighed loudly and stared at the floor tiles.
‘…Can you guys…’ he made a face like even thinking about what he was going to say was causing him physical pain.
‘Can us guys…?’ Thanos, still hands in his pockets, leant forward.
‘…tickle me’
Nam-gyu’s jaw actually dropped. Thanos just stared at him, frozen, one foot in front of the other from where he’d been dancing in place.
There was just…silence. For a while. It stretched on so long that Myung-gi started to hope maybe they hadn’t heard him and he could pretend he hadn’t said anything. This was a mistake, surely. An embarrassing, horrid mistake.
‘The fuck did you just say?’ Thanos was starting to process the words that came out of Myung-gi’s mouth, a disbelieving smile tugging at one corner of his lips. Neither junkie took their eyes off the scammer, who was now hiding his face in his hands.
‘I’m not asking again’ he muffled. ‘Either do it or don’t’
Immediately Nam-gyu started to move, face lit up, fingers wiggling playfully. ‘Arms up, MG coin!’
And to his (and possibly the scammer himself) disbelief, Myung-gi actually raised his arms, blushing furiously at the floor.
‘Stop’
Myung-gi blinked and Nam-gyu looked over his shoulder. Thanos took a step closer and rested an arm on the club promoter, who slumped dramatically. ‘Stop? Why? The guy literally asked for it’
‘Oh, I get it’ Myung-gi intercepted before Thanos could explain himself. ‘It’s only fun when I don’t want it, right? Can’t get your kicks if I’m having fun too’ He lowered his arms and pointed at Thanos. ‘You’re a sick freak’
Thanos held up his hands. ‘Woah, boy. You’re making us sound like some twisted ol’ perverts’ he resumed leaning on Nam-gyu, one ankle crossed over the other. It was his turn to point now. ‘Ain’t nobody in this damn shithole that would love to see your stupid face freaking out more than us, but I’m just sayin’, man- I dunno how I feel tickling a guy having a panic attack’
He thought back to nights backstage, bad trips from his younger inexperienced days. The anxiety attacks he’d have before his first few big shows. The crushing weight on his chest after the rap battlegrounds incident. The last thing he’d have wanted, or needed, back then was for someone to tickle him.
And if Myung-gi spiralled halfway through, it wouldn’t just be annoying or unsettling. It would be more time spent having to be nice to him.
Nam-gyu piped up, hand splayed toward Myung-gi incredulously.
‘Hyung, he literally asked for it. He’s fine!’
‘Yeah, well, last time the asshole bit me’
‘That’s because you wouldn’t fucking stop!’ came 333’s exasperated reply. ‘I’ll keep my teeth to myself this time, okay?’
Player 230 scratched at his chin and looked Myung-gi up and down. The guy was obviously still not 100%, but after everything- the weirdness of helping him out, the stupid banter between him and Nam-gyu, the forced breathing session- he did seem calmer.
Meanwhile Myung-gi’s brain was almost imploding trying to process the fact that Thanos had the chance to destroy him- him, who was apparently the ‘reason they were there in the first place’, who they very obviously resented- and was hesitating.
‘I mean it. It would help’
Thanos’ thoughtful expression gave way to a cocked eyebrow and a smirk. He held his palms up and loosened his posture, swaying slightly. ‘Aight, aight. Go on then, asshole. Lie down’
‘What…here?’
‘Yes, here. You think we’re gonna do this out there? lettin’ anyone think we’re pals? Go on, get comfy’
Myung-gi examined the tiles. Surprisingly, for a hellhole bathroom, it was surprisingly pristine. He almost laughed at the idea of the masked guards coming in with mops and buckets like committed housewives and scrubbing the place head to toe.
‘Okay’ he sighed, squatting down on the floor, trying not to look at either of the duo as they loomed over him. He hesitantly lay himself down, one arm under his head like he was relaxing in bed and not…this. His cheeks burned and he stared at the fluorescent lights, trying not to regret his decision.
Myung-gi half expected the anxiety to come roaring back at full pelt, but it stayed constant. Not getting worse, definitely not as bad as it was a few minutes ago, but certainly not getting better. The cold of the tiles pressed against his back, lending even more to his shivering. His free hand pressed against his chest and rubbed in firm circles. He hated this feeling. Hated that it ruined his usual collected nature, hated that it led him into this position.
But what other choice did he have? Who else could he go to? Jun-hee? She’d probably spit in his face if she didn’t get her new teammates to escort him away first.
The two junkies dropped next to him. Thanos crouched by his side, arm braced on his knee casually, and Nam-gyu settled behind his head.
He suddenly felt a hand tug at the arm cushioning his skull. His breath caught and he shot up so fast that Thanos almost lost his balance.
‘N-No! Don’t…don’t pin me, okay?’
Nam-gyu looked at Thanos, hands still in mid-air from where he tried to grab Myung-gi.
‘Whatever. Give the scammer what he wants, Nam-su’ He shrugged. It would be more satisfying to just hold him down and go to town but right now he had to be conscious of…ergh, boundaries.
Nam-gyu tsk’d and leant his head on his palm. ‘Fine, fine. If you’re gonna whinge about it MG coin’
Thanos gently pushed Myung-gi back down, more condescension than genuine care. ‘C’mon, back down you go, boy. Let us take care of ya, yeah?’
Myung-gi let himself be lay flat, glaring. ‘Ugh, don’t say it like that’
‘Why not? We’re doing you a favour, right?’ Nam-gyu scooted closer so he was looking directly down at 333, shit-eating grin plastered on his face. ‘Sooo…anywhere you wanna start with, MG?’
Myung-gi flopped an arm over his eyes, jaw setting tight. ‘Erghh, I don’t know…my stomach, I guess’ He purposefully chose a spot he knew wasn’t the absolute worst. He was, embarrassingly, ticklish pretty much everywhere- but he didn’t want to go straight into being annihilated. Thanos and Nam-gyu would absolutely take advantage despite the ‘niceties’, so he had to choose his words carefully.
‘Oh come on, MG coin’ Myung-gi peeked out from under his arm to glare at Nam-gyu. What now?? He’d already thrown his pride in the gutter, were they really going to drag this out any longer?!
‘Choose somewhere else’ 124 nodded toward the youtuber’s lower torso. ‘I can’t reach down there’
‘BUT I CAN!’
Before Myung-gi could process anything further, Thanos had his hands practically buried in his stomach, kneading and squeezing the taut muscle with a manic grin.
‘AH! HEHEHEHEY! I WAHAHAHASN’T- HAHAHahaHA!’
The younger man immediately started kicking and flailing, nerves lit up. Without being held down his limbs had the privilege of thrashing and he reflexively slapped at his tickler- not because he wanted it to stop, but just sheer uncontrollable instinct.
‘Why you getting aggressive, boy? You asked for this’ But Thanos kept tickling, smirk only growing. The slaps didn’t really bother him- if anything it just made the whole thing funnier. As long as the scammer wasn’t freaking out for the wrong reasons, he could do whatever he wanted.
‘FuhuhUHUHUCK!’ Thanos was using two fingers on each hand to pinch lightly on the soft spots of his stomach, which tickled way more than it had any right to. But still, he didn’t say stop.
His back arched off the floor when those pinches turned into deep kneading, fast and precise, legs involuntarily kicking. Thanos was chuckling at how silly it all was, possibly needing this himself even more than Myung-gi.
Nam-gyu did not share the same sentiment.
‘Hey, I want in too’ 124 frowned. ‘MG coin. Lemme tickle you’
He could’ve just started anyway. In fact, on any other day, he absolutely would. He didn’t care about Myung-gi, not really. He’d proved that over the past few ‘sessions’.
Buuuut…the man was fragile right now. Prone to overwhelm. As annoying as it was, and as little as Nam-gyu actually respected the cackling prick below him…he had to tread carefully. Which, disgustingly, meant Myung-gi was the one in control right now. Ugh, he could just vomit at the thought.
Didn’t mean he couldn’t be a huffy asshole about it, though.
‘Myung-gi-ahh’ He said flatly, watching another pitiful slap land on his Hyung’s wrists. He gave MG coin’s shoulder a light poke, once then twice. ‘Don’t you want me to have fun too? Don’t be selfish’
But Myung-gi wasn’t listening.
‘IHIHIHIHIHI! FUHUHUHUCK!’
Thanos was still hunched over, fighting the urge to straddle him and just let loose (ugh, those damn boundaries again), one knee braced on the floor to steady himself.
‘Tickle tickle tickle!’ He sang in a childish, condescending tone. ‘Who’s a ticklish lil’ freak? Is it you? Yeah it is!!’ His fingers snuck under the scammer’s player jacket, changing techniques and now scratching lightly over the thin shirt. His clawed hands moved in circles, like he was petting a dog, nails skimming smoothly.
Myung-gi’s laughter died into light giggles, slaps devolving into just…holding himself around his middle, twitching and tittering. Trying his absolute hardest to restrain himself from shoving the two bullies away.
How on Earth would that have looked? All that fuss and build-up just to lash out and call the whole thing off. Besides…the laughter, the sensation of the tickling itself, was working to distract him. That’s what he’d asked for, right? A distraction?
The urge to get away was purely an unthinking primal reflex- Consciously, for once, he wanted the tickles to keep going.
‘Hehehehe…hehehe! Ahahaha!’ He couldn’t help it- despite Thanos being gentle, it still tickled unbearably in that giddy, skin-crawling kind of way. He rolled away onto his side, only for a hand to grab his shoulder and pull him flat again, instantly diving right back in with barely-there scribbles and scritches.
‘Don’t turn away, man! This is makin’ ya feel better, yeah?’
Myung-gi giggled into his hands, flushing an even darker red, so incredibly flustered he simply didn’t know what to do with himself. He had no idea what to say, how to respond. What the fuck was the procedure?!
He couldn’t exactly curse them out; he didn’t want to risk pissing them off and landing himself in real trouble. Sure, they were helping him now, but he was still acutely aware of their hatred for him. If he seemed like he was being ungrateful or throwing their ‘hospitality’ back in their faces, they could switch on a dime. Unpredictable at their core, he wouldn’t put it past them to choose to disregard his boundaries within seconds if they thought he ‘deserved’ it.
‘Asked you a question, coin’ drawled Thanos. He was loving this. The knowledge that Myung-gi had asked, that he wanted to be tickled, was just too good. Ohhh, the opportunities…the things he could drag out of him, the things he could force him to admit. ‘This is making you feel better? Isn’t it? C’mon, don’t be shy. Answer me’
But Myung-gi couldn’t. Admitting it would be way too embarrassing! It was a miracle he’d even asked for tickles in the first place!
The tickling stopped.
MG coin giggled for a few seconds more, like his body hadn’t caught up to the fact the stimulation had stopped, and then just…froze. Peeling his hands away from his face to stare at Thanos with wet, watery eyes.
‘Wh-why’d you- hehe- stop?’
Nam-gyu sat back on his hands, legs still crossed behind Myung-gi’s head. ‘Aw, for real? I didn’t even get a turn, man’
‘Don’t stress, Nam-su. Just thought we should get some real gratitude from the guy’ Thanos patted Myung-gi’s chest- partly as mockery, and partly to discretely gauge the younger man’s anxiety. Any fast, panicked jittering? Any racing heartbeats pulsing on his palm?
If Myung-gi was going to suddenly lose his shit again then Thanos could bear to put aside his spite and just keep going without messing with him… but if he seemed fairly stable? Not about to rant and rave about dying or whatever?
Well, there wasn’t any harm in fucking with him.
‘Come on, coin’ he purred, rubbing a slow circle- again, disguising it as mocking affection, but really just expanding his range to feel for signs of anxiety. Focusing on the heartbeat beneath. He pressed just a tad harder- and to his delight, unlike when they felt his pulse earlier, the rythym was steady. Still faster than ordinary from the giggle fit and wavering post-anxiety jitters, but yeah…MG coin was back in commission.
Thanos narrowed his eyes with a mean smirk, hardly able to contain himself. ‘We’re doing this for you, boy’
‘What do you mean ‘we’? I haven’t done anything yet!’
‘You can have the next go, Nam-su’
Myung-gi looked down at the hand on his chest, still meandering in clockwise circles. ‘I mean…yeah, it was making me feel better, sure. Look, can you just-’
‘Nah boy’ Thanos cut him off. ‘that’s great and all, but I think we need a little more than that if we’re gonna keep going, right Nam-su?’
Nam-gyu, catching on, grinned half-lidded and flicked Myung-gi’s forehead with a ‘You’ve got a point, Hyung’.
He didn’t let it show, but his breath caught in his throat- he hoped that the sudden sharp flick, out of nowhere and unexpected for Myung-gi, wasn’t enough to spook him and ruin everything.
But, no. Myung-gi didn’t seem the least bit fazed, not even bothering to shoot Nam-gyu a glare. Thank fuck. Nam-gyu didn’t know if he could deal with another MG coin therapy session.
‘I think he should say thank you’
Myung-gi’s head snapped flat on the tile to gawk incredulously at Nam-gyu. ‘What?!’
‘Yeah, MG. Say it. Say thank you, and you’ll get your tickles’ Nam-gyu continued. ‘you’re lucky we’re doing this for your robbing ass. If there’s no appreciation, why would we keep going, eh?’ He flicked again, making sure Myung-gi could see his hand coming this time. ‘We’ll just leave you here, all alone. You think you’re ready to go back to your sad little bunk, no friends, no team? Just you and your thoughts?’
Thanos felt a shift under his hand as myung-gi’s chest jolted, just ever so slightly, but enough that he picked up on it all the same. He felt a few dull thuds, stronger than the rest, and shot Nam-gyu a hard look.
But he didn’t notice, full attention on Myung-gi, leaning over him in an almost spiderman kiss-style. His words were getting too sharp, too serious, too cruel. Thanos wouldn’t care usually, in fact he’d absolutely be joining in, but he could feel the muscle beneath his ringed fingers tense up, shaking slightly, Nam-gyu getting into his head and threatening to start everything up all over again.
‘Hey, Na-’
‘Okay, okay! Thank you, alright?’
Nam-gyu, still oblivious, clapped his hands together and propped them under his chin. ‘Awhh, you’re welcome, MG coin!’
Thanos’ words fell flat in his throat. He was relieved that he didn’t have to stand up for Myung-gi, especially to his right-hand man.
Myung-gi shifted uncomfortably, both from embarrassment of thanking them for something as stupid as this, and also from Nam-gyu’s scything words. The idea of going back to his bunk now, no distraction or relief from his anxiety, was enough for him to actually grab Thanos’ wrist (still pressed over his heart) and moving it down to his side. Thanos’s eyes widened at the boldness but he didn’t pull away.
‘Just- just carry on. Please’
Nam-gyu felt an uncharacteristic flicker of guilt. Just a small one. Hardly there, but there all the same. He didn’t like that Myung-gi seemed obviously more shaken after interacting with him, like he was diseased, and that he’d grabbed Thanos’ hand and practically begged him for tickles. Like he was some kind of safe space. This was supposed to be a joint effort!
Why the fuck was he seeking comfort in Thanos and not him?! That bastard was just as cruel as he was, right? He said things just as horrible as he did, didn’t he?
But he noticed how Myung-gi’s fingers were gripped around Thanos’ slender wrist, hatred forgotten. How he was staring at Thanos and completely ignoring him. He hated it. His inability to see how much more heavy-handed his words were made him even more resentful, because in his eyes- he was only playing around.
Saying that, it wasn’t that he wanted Myung-gi to like him. No, nothing of the sort.
But him and Thanos had always tormented him together. They’d became friends because of their shared resentment for the scammer, their same pain of losing everything because of this one man. And now, what? Thanos was just letting him get all cosy? Oh hell no.
He could be just as charismatic and comforting as the rapper, right?
Thanos was still staring at the grip around his wrist. He wasn’t expecting the scammer to be so forward, especially after how embarrassed he seemed to be about the whole situation. Myung-gi’s hand was cold, grip desperate and unwavering.
The pruple-haired man cleared his throat and sniffed. ‘Okay, MG. Sure, man. Quit gettin’ all weird on me’ and started squeezing in fast little pulses, this time distracting himself from the weird, unpleasant feeling he couldn’t quite name. Pity, maybe? Surely not, though. Not for Myung-gi.
Myung-gi instantly fell back into giggles, worries already washing away. Thanos stretched his other arm out to squish into the other side. ‘Gotta be symmetrical, boy’.
Nam-gyu was simmering watching them. Stupid Myung-gi. Stupid panic attack. Stupid everythi-
Tap tap tap
He looked down, surprised to see Myung-gi tapping the back of his knuckles on his knee. Trying to get his attention.
‘Y-you- heheheheihihi- cohohome ohohohon!’ Despite the giggles, Myung-gi still somehow managed to keep that annoyed tone to his voice, encouraging Nam-gyu to join in as if it should’ve been obvious the entire time.
Nam-gyu could’ve made a snarky comment about ‘Was just giving you the choice, dumbass’, but honestly? After his own mini-spiral, he felt a reluctant sense of relief. Instead, he grinned, all teeth, and settled his hands under MG’s arms with a playful ‘Gotcha!’.
Myung-gi had to fight the urge to slam his arms back down, to curl up into a ball and escape the tickles when Nam-gyu’s fingers danced under them. Scratching mercilessly and giggling in that unhinged way only he could achieve.
Thanos was still destroying his sides, abandoning all self-restraint and vibrating his fingers into the divots above his hips, that awful spot that made Myung-gi almost knee him in the face.
For a moment there was no taunting, no sarcastic, nasty remarks- just the sound of MG coin laughing his head off. Occasionally he’d grab at Nam-gyu’s elbows, but not to push away. Just to ground himself.
Of course, there was only so long the two druggies could hold back their impish ways.
Nam-gyu was the first to break, grinning so hard his cheeks ached.
‘Awh, look at him, holding on to me’ He drilled his fingers into a few upper ribs, earning a yelp. ‘You good down there, coin?’
‘AHAHAHAHAHAHA!’
‘I’m gonna take that as a yes’
Thanos had made his way to Myung-gi’s thighs, burrowing into the flesh and making his legs tense from how hard he was trying to keep them from flying at all angles. ‘Course he’s fine! We’ve put him through worse than this, right, MG coin?’ he targeted the softness of his inner thighs, using his knuckles to grind in and shake at the muscles. Myung-gi grabbed Nam-gyu so hard his fingers burnt, trying so hard to just take it. ‘This is us being real nice’
‘SH-SHUHUHUHuh-SHUT UP!’ The hysterical man cackled, but it was more from being so flustered than real insult.
Nam-gyu and Thanos looked at each other briefly and feigned hurt.
‘Ya hear that Nam-su?’
‘Nam-gyu’
‘Ya hear that Nam-gyu? Telling me to shut up like that?’
‘It’s the only thing I heard. Hasn’t gotten any quieter from last time, has he?’ He replied, squeezing at where the tendons of Myung-gi’s arms met his shoulders. The tickle was a different type of feeling that 333 wasn’t prepared for, deeper and unbearable in that ‘holy fuck, get OFF’ way. He screeched (a sound he’d later deny making) and slammed his arms down, only succeeding in trapping the squeezing fingers.
‘Damn, coin, I know you wanted this and all, but don’t get desperate’ 124 teased and squeezed harder, working the muscle like dough. Myung-gi tried to curl up, resistance be damned, knees bending to try and kick Thanos off from where he was still ruthlessly pinching.
‘OhohohOKAY! BREAK! BREAHAHAHAK!’ the desperate words shot through the hysterics, Myung-gi windmilling his arms uselessly at anything within slapping distance.
To his surprise, they stopped immediately. Player 333 rubbed his elbow over his eyes, drying small tears in the crook of his arm. His face was so hot it could rival the sun, giggles still streaming from his lips. There was still a part of him that couldn’t believe this was actually happening.
‘Ahhh-hehehe-just, just give me a sec, okay?’ He murmured into his arm. ‘Holy shit…’
‘You’re not giving up now, right?’ Thanos gave a harsh poke to the thigh, making Myung-gi snicker and jolt his leg.
‘N-no, I’m fine, just-whew- just let me breathe, holy fuck’
Thanos and Nam-gyu stared down at him. Truthfully, they wanted nothing more than to just dig right back in and make him scream, but even they knew better than to push too hard right now.
‘Sure, man. Catch your breath’ Thanos nodded and played with the seam of his pockets, trying not to look too interested. Nam-gyu shook out his hands, trying to seem serious but giggling despite himself.
‘just take shallow breaths, or whatever’
Myung-gi swatted at him. ‘I know how to breathe, fuckhead’
‘Y’sure?’ 124 rubbed a thumb under MG’s eye to brush away a tear. Myung-gi just…let him. ‘That’s not what you were saying earlier’
‘Yeah, well, that was earlier’
‘So it’s helping then?’ Thanos nudged his foot against Myung-gi’s. ‘Feeling like you’re still gonna burst into flames?’
MG coin took a deep breath, like he was test-running his own lungs.
‘…yeah. Yeah, it’s helping’ he muttered. There was an undeniable tinge of shame to his voice, and he burrowed his head further into his elbow. He hated that he felt grateful for these two fucks having turned up at the right time, but the alternative? Him being alone, tweaking out in the corner of a random cubicle, clawing at his own chest? Well, it could be a lot worse.
‘Can we carry on, or what?’ Nam-gyu blurted in the bluntest, driest tone imaginable, like myung-gi needing any recovery time at all was a great inconvenience.
‘Give me a fucking second, I said!’
Nam-gyu rasied his hands like he’d just been burnt. ‘Okay! Shit! Not gonna do anything unless you say!’
‘Excuse me if I don’t trust you’ Myung-gi said without any real bite. ‘You don’t exactly have a history of listening to me’
‘Jesus, boy, you sound like a damn therapist’ Thanos snorted, dismissing him. ‘So dramatic, eh?’
333 flipped him off weakly- which, for a moment, he feared would piss them off into treating him to a real ‘Nam-gyu and Thanos special’, but Thanos simply flipped him off right back.
‘Okay, okay’ he flopped his arms backwards, practically onto Nam-gyu, offering himself up. ‘I’m ready. Go for it’
But as soon as their hands approached, he squeaked and flinched and drew his limbs close to himself in a protective manner.
‘Yo! The fuck’s wrong?’ Thanos withdrew his hands, looking at him like he’d grown a second head.
‘Yeah, coin. Wastin’ time over here. Don’t want that nasty anxiety to come back, do you?’
‘Sorry, sorry! I just- I know it’s coming’
‘So?’
‘So, I can’t help it! It’s just a reflex’
‘God’s sake. Just like…close your eyes or somethin’’
‘Unless you want me to hold you down?’ Nam-gyu said with far too much excitement.
‘No.’
Suddenly his vision turned black as a firm hand came over his eyes.
‘Fine. This better?’
‘Ah! What the fuHUHUHUHUCK! HEHEHEHEY!’ Electric shocks of sensation shot up his sides, his stomach, under his arms and his ribs as suddenly there were hands everywhere, tickling madly. With his sight obscured, every touch seemed to tickle 10x worse, and he gave up trying to hold back instinct and thrashed madly.
He heard them laugh, delighted at how much he was losing his shit. Nam-gyu pressed down harder, using his free hand to dig at his ribs, up and down up and down, making him laugh so hard he almost went silent.
Thanos had his hands in ‘spade’ positions, vibrating and shaking into the flesh of Myung-gi’s abs and moving them slowly outwards, targeting his sides and even going so far as to shimmy them beneath Myung-gi’s arched frame, ‘massaging’ into the muscle.
Myung-gi felt his knee connect with something soft and an ‘OW MG coin!’ from Thanos, but the tickling continued.
‘SOHOHOHO-AH!- SOHohohORRY!’ He squealed, hating himself instantly for apologising like he was some kind of guilty child. Sure, he’d asked for this, but after everything prior they’d put him through? Well, they were lucky it was just a knee.
‘Pff, whatever bro. Next time I’m kickin’ you right back, you little shit’ He hardly heard the reply, but could somehow register the tone as more teasing than genuinely threatening. It would’ve shocked him if it weren’t for today being the weirdest day of his entire life.
‘You sound so happy MG coin~!’ Nam-gyu sang, fluttering his fingers up Myung-gi’s neck and collarbone, making him hike up his shoulders. ‘You enjoying this? Yeah?’
‘Ha, yeah, Coin. Tell us how much you’re lovin’ this’
‘NOHOHOHOHO! FUhuhuHUCK OFF!’
‘Well, shit. Sounds like you kinda want us to stop’ Nam-gyu moved his tickling hand away, and-
‘No! Dohohont!’
‘Oh, don’t? Don’t what?’
Thanos worked in tandem with his lackey and halted his own fingers, still lightly tracing but not enough to do anything but pull light giggles out the scammer. Myung-gi couldn’t see him, either of them, but he knew they were grinning. Ugh, assholes.
He couldn’t believe he was about to say this.
‘…Don’t st-stohohohop, okay? There! I saihihid it!’
‘Annnnd?’
‘Ahahahand…I’m enjoying ihihihit…’
‘Awh! Good little scammer!’
Myung-gi yelped as the tickling resumed, harder this time. In a way, he was glad he couldn’t see them- he didn’t know if he’d ever recover seeing their gloating faces after admitting he was enjoying being tickled. By them. As a grown man.
What he wouldn’t tell them, though, is that his anxiety had disappeared minutes ago.
What they wouldn’t tell him, but would definitely laugh about to themselves later, is that they knew.
You're doing what?
A/N: -Slams this on your desk so hard it breaks- THE LONGEST FIC I HAVE EVER WRITTEN. IT IS DONE. GOOD GRIEF. Requested a very, very long time ago by @ros-is-thinking, I had a lot of fun writing this despite how much time it took me to complete eeeek. Thanks for your request! This is supposed to take place when Thanos and Nam-gyu fight Myung-gi after red light, green light.
There’s a sequel now! Here!
I wouldn't say this is 'intense', but it does contain prolonged tickling- However there's no real danger involved. Includes a lot of teasy Thanos and Nam-gyu which we all love ;)
Summary: Thanos and Nam-gyu are offended that Myung-gi exists. They think he's too peaceful, too calm and collected despite the fact they're right there in the dorm with him- so take it upon themselves to instil some much needed chaos upon him. Thinking they're beating the poor man, 'Young-il' tries to intervene.
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Thanos and Nam-gyu watched intently as player 333 strode across the dorm to his bunk. He leisurely opened up the metal tray of rations they’d been given after red light, green light (as if it were some kind of reward) and sat cross-legged, settling in as if he were comfortable.
Comfortable- in a desperate place like this. With desperate people like these.
They almost took it as a personal offence. He practically RUINED their lives, and here he was- in a hellhole where everyday is just a new chance to die, a new chance to see more suffering- a new chance for them to beat his ass…and he was just fucking chewing rice casually. Like he was sitting at home filming another youtube video for his low-life channel.
How dare he be so calm and collected when he knew they were in the same vicinity? After they’d sized him down during the consent form signing, making it abundantly clear how much shit he was in, how crucial it was that he watched his fucking back?
It made their blood boil.
‘Dude, look at that prick. Just- just sitting there. Useless little shit’
‘I’m looking, Nam-su’
‘Nam-gyu’
‘I’m looking, Nam-gyu. Real piece of work ain’t he?’ Thanos leant an arm on Nam-gyu’s shoulder, waving his hand lazily. ‘Can’t believe we’re stuck in here with that asshole’
Nam-gyu snorted. ‘If only he’d been shot like the rest of those leeches in that fucked-up game, huh?’
Thanos tilted his head back with a cruel half-lidded smirk, leaning more weight on Player 124, exhaling sharply through his nose.
‘Yeah yeah, like, if he’d just tripped on his own fuckin’ feet or somethin’, and he’d be all-’
He held his other hand up in a mock-surrender, hunching his shoulders theatrically, mimicking in a high-pitched voice, ‘Nooo, please don’t shoot meee!’
Nam-gyu huffed out a laugh, holding his own hands up and joining in on the bit, thrilled to pieces. ‘There’s still so many people I haven’t scammed! Don’t put a bullet in my head! Nooo!’
Their shoulders shook with cruel mirth at Myung-gi’s expense, like schoolboys bullying a quieter student.
The laughter quietened down, resentment replacing it instead. It was fun to laugh about it, but…that wouldn’t solve anything. That wouldn’t take away the fact they had to join these games in the first place, the fact they were in debt. It wouldn’t take away the embarrassment of trusting him, only for everything to be pulled out beneath them and losing all of it.
Nam-gyu, ever the antagonist and always spoiling for a fight, leant in closer to Thanos and dropped his voice low.
‘Wanna go put that dumbass in his place?’
------------
Myung-gi took another bite of his food and tried to avert his gaze from the other players. That game had been brutal. He could still hear the panicked screams, the thuds of bodies around him of the unlucky players who lost their cool, the gunshots.
He tried not to look at the bloodstain on his forearm from a nearby player getting their head blown to pieces. No, from now on he was focused purely on himself. Keeping a level-head and an air of selfishness was the only way he’d survive.
He brought another spoonful of food to his mouth and chewed mechanically, not even tasting it, just trying to fuel himself.
At first, he didn’t even notice the shadows over his bunk.
‘Oi’
He jumped and looked up. Thanos and Nam-gyu stood in front of him, smirking nastily.
Great. Absolutely fantastic. Just what he fucking needed.
He sighed and looked back down at his food. Maybe if he ignored them they’d go away.
A rough shove to his shoulder shattered his hopes.
‘Oi. I’m fuckin’ talking to you, coin’
He met Thanos’ eyes with a tired expression, already done with whatever bullshit the two violent bastards were about to start spewing.
‘What? What do you want?’
Nam-gyu took the lead now, staring down at him like he was something disgusting on the bottom of his shoe.
‘You’re really eating right now? After seeing all those people die?’
‘Yeah MG coin- what’s wrong with you, huh?’
Myung-gi tried not to take it to heart. He knew they were only saying this shit for the sake of saying it. They cared less than him about the dead players- hell, he was pretty sure he actually saw Thanos push some over.
‘Stuffing your face like it’s the first damn meal you’ve ever had, and still so skinny. You’re such a pig, man’ sneered Nam-gyu with a flick to Myung-gi’s forehead. Myung-gi flinched and just looked forward at nothing, still not trying to give too much of a reaction.
‘We lost everything because of you, boy. You don’t even care, do you? That you fucked with our lives?’
Myung-gi bit back the urge to say something snarky about ‘not caring about them full stop’ but he wasn’t stupid enough to attempt to provoke them further. He had to pick his battles in a place like this- he wasn’t going to risk a broken bone or infected wound over these two.
Instead he raised his eyebrows and gave a little nod, trying to give off as ‘understanding’ as a look as possible in hopes they’d think they won and leave him alone.
‘Yeah, I get it. Now…can I eat?’
He went to take another bite and expected them to saunter off but suddenly a flash of green in the corner of his vision shot to the metal tray in his lap.
Nam-gyu had his fingers round the dented edges and was trying to take his fucking food from out of his hands.
He only just managed to tighten his own grip, fingers catching on the opposite side of the tray, and was now engaged in a tug-of-war with Player 124.
‘Wh-hey! What the fuck?’ He exclaimed and grabbed on with his other hand, jerking back with both arms to try and prise his food free. ‘Let go!’
Nam-gyu wasn’t expecting resistance, convinced he’d have caught Myung-gi off guard, and acted almost offended at the gall of MG coin to try and keep his own meal.
‘Give it to me, you prick. You don’t fucking need it’
Myung-gi’s face was a mixture of disbelief and fury, the edge of the tray cutting into his fingers. ‘It’s my fucking food, asshole!’
At the corner of his eye he saw Thanos still leaning on the railings. He snorted like this was all a game and reached over to jab him sharply in the side. ‘Just hand it over, coin. Skinny fuck like you is probably used to feeling hungry, right?’
Myung-gi still didn’t relent and spat out a spiteful ‘fuck you!’ and pulled harder. He barely registered the jab in his side- until it happened again. And again. And got harder, more sporadic, Thanos sparing no self-restraint. At first it was just annoying, maybe even kind of painful, but then he felt a jab right under his ribs- and that wasn’t painful at all. Annoying still, yeah. Uncomfortable? All the way. But not painful this time.
No, it was even worse. It tickled.
Thanos wasn’t even trying to tickle him, obviously. They were only over here in the first place to intimidate and push him around, thinking they were justified to do so. But his body didn’t care- it did tickle.
Myung-gi tried his best to not give a reaction, still desperately holding the tray. Thanos, completely oblivious to what he was actually doing, prodded again and again. His finger was slowly, terrifyingly making its way up his ribs, making direct contact. These jabs were harder too, as if trying to burrow between his bones.
And fuck, Myung-gi could probably force himself to just ignore it if it had only been once or twice, but it was constant. Jab jab jab. He could feel his resolve fading rapidly, his grip on the tray shaky in an effort to not slap away Thanos’ hand.
‘S-stop it, assholes! Give it ba-AHK!’
It was a gamble in itself to try and talk with Thanos’ finger still tormenting his ribcage and he immediately regretted it- but luckily neither bully seemed to pick up on it, probably thinking it was a sound of angry discomfort- or just completely caught up in their tormenting antics to care. Either way, he just needed to keep his shit together until they got fed up of this and pissed off back to their sad little corner.
He honestly did consider just…letting it go. Handing over the food, being done with it, but his pride said no. They’d already humiliated him earlier by getting themselves all up in his face, and more importantly- he didn’t know the deal with meal times in this hellhole. Were the players only fed once a day? Would this pitiful tray be the last thing he ate before whatever fresh hell came tomorrow? If that was the case (and he was starting to think it could be), then he needed this food. He couldn’t afford to be foggy and tired in the next game, distracted by hunger. It could cost him his life.
So he scowled up at Nam-gyu and pulled back harder, so hard his arms ached, ignoring their annoying taunts- but Thanos kept jabbing, and he was already on edge, and-
‘Ghk-! AHAha!’
He froze instantly, and so did they. It was almost comical the position they were in- three grown men, two frozen in place connected by a sad little metal box, one equally as frozen leaning with his finger attached to one’s ribs.
Myung-gi went bright red. He wasn’t even pulling on the tray anymore, but neither was Nam-gyu. Player 333 stared at nothing, eyes wide and hoping the thin mattress would just swallow him up.
The silence stretched for a few awkward seconds, Thanos looking from Myung-gi (who was still staring ahead, willing himself to not exist) to Nam-gyu. They met each others gaze and a lop-sided smile started to grow on the purple-haired mans face. His eyes slowly locked in on 333.
‘The fuck was that noise, coin?’
No answer. Just a cold deep dread coiling through Myung-gi’s chest. Nam-gyu took this lack of attention from the ex-youtuber to roughly rip the tray from Myung-gi’s hands. Myung-gi flinched and instinctively went to grab it back, rocking forward on his knees and arms stretching out-
‘Hey. Speak the fuck up’ another jab to his ribs, now much more exposed thanks to him reaching forward, another jolt and a strangled yelp, this time throwing himself back onto his elbows and pulling himself further up the bunk. He crossed his arms over his middle protectively. It looked slightly pathetic, but he didn’t care.
Thanos furrowed his brow and gave a disbelieving laugh, Nam-gyu taking a handful of rice (he wasn’t about to use the same spoon that dirty scammer was using, so hands would have to do) and taking a bite. Neither of them looked away from the man for a second.
‘Thanos, man’ he gave a flippant point vaguely in Myung-gi’s direction between chewing, ‘I think our little friend here has a sensitivity problem’.
‘You’re telling me. Boy jumped like I’d electrocuted him’
Myung-gi forced a hard expression onto his face and shifted himself just a bit further up the bed.
‘Leave me alone. You got what you wanted’ he stared pointedly at Nam-gyu who was still leisurely eating hisfood, ‘there’s no reason for you to hang around’
Thanos took a step round the bunk, and then another, getting steadily closer. His smile grew with each step but it wasn’t friendly- it was a cruel, amused grin that resembled more of a grimace, as if he was plotting.
‘Oh, I think there’s a lot of reason for us to hang around, MG coin’ he murmured in a low, hungry tone.
Nam-gyu took another bite and placed the now-empty tray haphazardly on a nearby bunk and started walking round the other side, mirroring Thanos. Myung-gi quickly found himself boxed in- he couldn’t peddle backwards, there was railing behind him. He couldn’t race forwards, he’d never get up and moving in time before they grabbed him. And obviously, with them stood at either side, escaping via the left or right was undoubtedly not an option.
He stared up at them, head frantically whipping from one man to the other. Nam-gyu wiped the rice residue off on his jacket and looked toward Thanos.
‘So, we’re…?’
‘Oh yeah, we’re tickling him’
‘Perfect’
And suddenly there were hands atop of him. He hardly registered it at first, the fingers of these men he HATED digging directly into his most ticklish spots. It was surreal, because surely- they should be beating him? Punching and kicking and hurting him? But no- there was no pain. There was only sudden, awful, horrendous tickling.
‘WHAT THE FUHUHHUHUCK?!’
He kicked and thrashed but they were on either side and there was no escaping it. Thanos had his ringed fingers clawing at his ribs with one hand, the other hand holding Myung-gi’s wrist out the way.
Nam-gyu was doing similar, making sure Myung-gi’s other hand couldn’t intercept their fun. His free hand was at Myung-gi’s stomach, no real technique, just vibrating his fingers into the muscle rapidly in little nonsense patterns. Not hard enough to hurt- that wasn’t the goal right now. The goal was to make this smug little bastard scream.
‘STOP! STOHOHohoHOP IHIHIT!’ Myung-gi cackled furiously, Straining at his wrists so he could push them away or slap them or do something- but the only thing he could do was laugh helplessly.
Nam-gyu’s eyes were wide in playful cruelty, like he couldn’t quite believe the reactions they were drawing out of this poor, squirmy man beneath them. Thanos was equally amused, almost laughing along with Myung-gi at how ridiculous this all was. Fun as fuck, of course- but ridiculous nonetheless.
‘Holy shit. He’s like…ticklish incarnate’ Mused Player 124.
‘Giggly little thing, ain’t he? Murmured Thanos, moving his tickling hand to join Nam-gyu’s at the stomach. He formed his hand into a claw and scrunched rapidly. ‘Jesus, coin, could you get any louder?’
‘Lookit that smile! He loooves this!’
‘HA! Yeah! You enjoying yourself, MG? Enjoying being tickled stupid by two guys who can’t fuckin’ stand you?’
‘I dunno Thanos, I actually do kinda like him like this. All blushy and squirmy. Like a worm’
‘A ticklish worm’
At their teasing, Myung-gi somehow flushed even redder and screamed a desperate ‘SHUHUHUT UP!’, knees drawing up as he tried to curl in on himself. Thanos paused his tickling to roughly push his legs back down before going right back to it.
‘Awhhh, he’s all embarrassed. Don’t worry, boy. We won’t tell anyone you’re a ticklish lil shit’
‘Won’t have to tell anyone. They’re probably hearing it right now’
Nam-gyu squeezed at his sides, applying firm pressure with the pads of his fingers. This, paired with Thanos scrunching and clawing at his stomach, was far too much. He’d much rather they just beat him- at least then he could breathe through it. Pain was something that stopped, something that was predictable.
But this? This was…well, harmless, really. That’s what made it so awful. It was something so stupid, so childish (something that Myung-gi believed both men probably excelled at being) that his brain couldn’t keep up; because what the fuck was happening right now?
And most importantly- there was no ‘breathing through it’. There was no predictability. Each squeeze and jab tickled worse and worse because tickling was something he just…wasn’t used to.
‘AHAHAHAHahhAHA! STAHAHAHAP! FUCK OHOHOFF!’
‘That’s not very nice, my boy! Aren’t you grateful we’re making your miserable ass laugh?’ Thanos dug sporadically under the smaller man’s armpit, drilling and jabbing in ticklish bursts. ‘Y’know, I’m actually kinda jealous of you right now, Coin-boy’
‘Jealous?’ Nam-gyu replied.
‘Yeah, man. I mean, just look at him. He doesn’t have to worry about his debt, or the fact half of Korea want him the fuck dead, or tomorrows game’ He spoke with such mocking sincerity it was almost laughable, as if he was genuinely trying to convince them. ‘He just has to laugh. And laugh. And laugh’ Another giggly shriek, another nasty scoff of ‘That’s your job now, prick. You’re payin’ us back in giggles and you’re still so far behind’
And with that, the self-restraint went out the window and Thanos decided he wasn’t satisfied with just one hand- he released his grip on Myung-gi’s wrist and brought his other hand down to his stomach, both hands now scribbling and squeezing in tight little pulses rapidly. He laughed with malicious glee as Myung-gi screeched and arched upwards, his feet scrabbling for purchase on the mattress. ‘Aww, tickly tickly little scammer~!’
He briefly tried to sit up, core aching with the strain, only for the ticklish sensation to overtake him and fell right back down again, head lolling back on the pillow as he laughed helplessly.
Nam-gyu snorted at this and gave Myung-gi’s wrist, the one he was still holding, a playful shake. His other hand still clawed into his waist like it had personally offended him. ‘That’s right, prick! Just lie back and take it’
‘ihihIHIHIhihi! I cahaha-cahahant! GehEHEHET OFFAHAHAHA MEEEheheehee!’
Now that the hand previously grabbed by Thanos was free he reflexively grabbed at the first thing he could- Player 124. The crueller of the two. He wrapped his fingers around the slender wrist and pulled, momentarily dislodging it and focusing absolutely every ounce of energy in keeping it that way.
The bastard made a disgusted ‘tch’ noise, looking up at Thanos and saying a casual ‘help me out here, man’.
But Thanos was having way too much fun indulging in the two-hand torture. He’d moved both hands to Myung-gi’s ribs, one focusing on the lower end and the other the higher, utterly engrossed in his task. Smiling wide, baring teeth with an utterly unhinged glint in his eye. Each individual rib got an intense amount of attention, as if Thanos were trying to fulfil some twisted last wish of ‘Make Myung-gi cry’.
‘Nam-su, I’m kinda in the middle of something’ he muttered without looking up, giddy grin almost splitting his face in two.
‘He’s got his fucking scammy claws in me, man. Asshole’s hurting me’.
‘Then just use your other hand?’ Thanos spoke as if it were a nuisance to even be having such a conversation. Nam-gyu huffed and said an exasperated ‘But then he’ll have both hands free and that’s more trouble than he’s worth’.
‘Yeah, but look’ Thanos ruthlessly clawed and kneaded with more purpose now, lighting up with delight when Myung-gi’s forced laughter went up an octave. He looked up at Nam-gyu with a wide open-mouthed smile and eyes that practically shone. It was almost performative, proud, like he was trying to say ‘Look at how much more efficient I am, Nam-gyu!’.
Without waiting for his friend’s reaction, he closed his hands into loose fists and knuckled up and down the length of Myung-gi’s ribcage in a ‘washboard’ style, knuckles bumping over every ridge and curve in the bones. His hands went so fast they almost blurred. The pressure was horrible, perfect, manufactured to overwhelm the nerves without a shred of pain to dull the sensation.
Myung-gi lost. His. Shit.
This was by far the worst thing he’d ever felt. His brain turned to mush and- to ground himself, not even to push away anymore- his grip tightened on Nam-gyu’s wrist instinctively. The man let out a sharp hiss but didn’t pull away (it didn’t matter to him if Myung-gi wanted to be pathetic and clingy), just gave a sharp ‘Watch it!’.
Player 333 was in fact not watching it. He saw stars behind his eyelids from how bad it tickled, not even caring anymore about the humiliation or the jeering. His laughter reached an unholy level of volume, so much so that Thanos reflexively flinched and cringed from the noise for a second.
‘SEE!’ He wheezed delightedly, one shoulder semi-bunched to his ear like it would block out the godless shrieking from the man below. ‘He’s goin’ MAD!’
‘STOPSTOPSTOP!! STOHOHOHO-AHAHAHA!’ The younger man was practically spasming, desperately trying to twist onto his side to make his ribs inaccessible. Other players in the dorm were looking their way now- how on earth could they not?
Nam-gyu just wore an annoyed expression, flexing his hand slightly to regain blood flow.
‘You’re hogging him’ he said flatly.
Thanos rolled his eyes playfully. Sure, it was fun to torment the scammer on his own, but Nam-gyu made it so much better.
‘Alright, alright. Don’t cry about it, Nam-su. Here’
…And for one glorious moment…the tickling had stopped. Myung-gi gasped, still letting out high-pitched giggles as Thanos leant over and grabbed his trembling hand. In a mockingly careful action, he prised his fingers off the skin, making a low whistle at the deep crescent marks left in Nam-gyu’s flesh.
‘Man, bastard did a number on you, huh? C’mon boy, give me that’.
His hand came away with little resistance and Myung-gi jolted as he realised- now he had nothing to defend himself. Not that his attempt was very effective anyway, but it was something. His hand felt empty without Nam-gyu to grab onto. As much as he couldn’t stick player 124, being able to hold something- even if it was him- had helped as an outlet to alleviate the sensation. Now? There was nothing.
Thanos straightened up like he’d just finished completing a benign task, casually sniffing and saying ‘there you go, boy. Happy now?’
‘Very’ Nam-gyu replied. And then-
They started to close in on him again. Fuck, no no no-
Myung-gi panicked and tried to come up with some kind of diversion.
‘W-WAIT!’ The two men looked down at him, uninterested. ‘Ugh, what is it now, MG coin? I wanna get back into it already’ groaned Nam-gyu, as if Myung-gi trying to defend himself was some kind of unnecessary overreaction. Player 333 darted his eyes from Nam-gyu to Thanos, and then to the slats of the bunk above, desperately trying to come up with anything.
‘Uh, I- I…’ But there was nothing. His brain was scrambled. Usually so adept at talking his way out of situations, his quick-thinking wit failed him as his mouth opened and shut uselessly. How could he form any coherent lie just like that after having his soul tickled out?
So, he resorted to the next best thing- trying to make them realise how stupid this all was. Maybe they’d get a grip and leave him alone?
‘Look, you’re- this- I mean-‘ He stuttered out, trying to force his thoughts together, trying to will his mouth to co-operate and just fucking SAY something. Neither of the junkies began tickling right away, but Nam-gyu squinted at him and Thanos raised an eyebrow with a smirk. ‘Go on, MG coin. We’re listening’
‘Just stop it, okay?!’ The scammer blurted out, voice threatening to crack in a very undignified manner. ‘Don’t you see how ridiculous this is?! The pair of you are like children! How can you not be embarrassed when you’re standing here fucking…fucking tickling me! Leave me the hell alone, you fucking assholes!’
It wasn’t his…finest work. He’d made better arguments replying to trolls in his comment section whilst shitfaced. He’d have probably come up with a more compelling string of words at the ripe old age of six. But alas, he’d said his piece and prayed they’d take pity and leave him alone.
There was a moment of silence, the only sound being Myung-gi’s furious panting. And then Nam-gyu spoke.
‘Damn, MG. Feel better after your little tantrum? You sure we’re the ones acting like children?’
‘Yeah boy! Don’t gotta get all mad just cause you’re so ticklish!’ Thanos chimed, shooting him a bright toothy smile like he hadn’t been the bane of Myung-gi’s life for the past five minutes.
Myung-gi stared at them in disbelief. ‘I-I’m serious! I’m being fucking serious you pair of shitheads! This is going way too far’
‘So dramatic’ sighed Nam-gyu with not an ounce of compassion. ‘It’s not like we’re hurting you, right?’
‘Yeah, boy. Like, seriously- it doesn’t hurt, does it? coz It’s no fun if you’re not laughing’ Thanos asked with…a surprise amount of sincerity? Like…for once, he actually wasn’t looking to cause real suffering and genuinely just wanted him giggling like an idiot?
Myung-gi was taken aback by this sudden compassionate statement from Thanos, blinking up at him, baffled. Because yeah, it didn’t hurt- not one bit. And ultimately it was harmless…it wasn’t like he was really panicking or trying to rip his arm off trying to get away. But still! It’s also not like he was enjoying this!
‘Wh- no, it doesn’t hurt. It just…’ his sentence tapered off and he looked away, shuffling uncomfortably.
‘It what?’ Thanos pressed, absolutely knowing what he was doing. He leant closer, dropping his voice. He gave Myung-gi’s wrist a mock affectionate squeeze. ‘Tickles? Is that it, Coin? Does it just tickle too bad?’
Myung-gi made a mortified sound and tried his best to hide how flustered he was.
‘Ohhh, it is, bro! He’s just too ticklish!’ Nam-gyu crowed. ‘Damn, Myung-gi, why didn’t you say anything, huh? Here we were, thinking you were having the time of your life, but really you were just laughing your sad little ass off because it tickled?’
‘Nam-su, did you realise we were tickling him?’
‘Absolutely no idea, Hyung’
Myung-gi groaned in both exasperation and the knowledge that they weren’t going to stop anytime soon. They weren’t taking him the least bit seriously. He kicked himself for not being smarter and lying that it did hurt when he had the chance, because it seemed as though they’d honestly have backed off.
‘You two low-lives have got to be the most annoying people I’ve ever met’ he muttered, resigned, mostly to himself. ‘Can you please just go away?’.
But then… a foreign, fluttery feeling on his ear. Or rather, around his ear. Thanos was absent-mindedly tracing the shell, as delicate and gentle as he was capable of. It was…weird. It could’ve almost felt nice, if it wasn’t Thanos doing it. But more prominently- it was awfully ticklish.
Not in the way that made him breathless or laugh so hard he swore he could die. But annoying and feathery in a way that made him giggle softly, jolting his head to the side to escape the feeling. The fingers just followed.
‘Hgk- st-stop! Stop thaha-that!’
‘Awhhh, Nam-su, look! Little coin’s even ticklish here!’ Thanos cooed in a silly voice. ‘How have you even made it this far in life being so damn sensitive, dude?’
Nam-gyu let curiosity get the better of him and he gently traced round the ear on his side. He used just two fingers, scratching gently, almost soothingly if it weren’t for the mean half-smile on his face.
Hit at both sides Myung-gi couldn’t help but shake his head from side to side trying desperately to evade the fingers trailing around his ears. He would crush his left cheek into the pillow and endure the tickling on his right ear, giggling uncontrollably, until he couldn’t stand it one more second and flipped his head. Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat.
‘Poor thing’ Nam-gyu pouted, fake as could be.
‘Stahahah-STOP! I -snrk- mean it! Ihihi-!’
‘Ahh, he means it’ Thanos said, pretending to care. ‘You also meant it when you told us to ‘bet it all’, didn’t ya? And look where that got us’ He continued tracing gentle circles in the curves of the ex-youtuber’s ear, moving inwards to scritch at the thin, sensitive skin. Myung-gi twitched, trying to scrunch up his neck to hide his ear but to no avail.
‘I’ve already- ah! Already said I was scahahaha-scammed tahah-too!’ He slammed his head to the other side with a squeak as Nam-gyu trailed a nail on the skin behind the shell, using all five fingers to spider down to the crook of his neck. This just left more easy access for Thanos. No matter what he did, there was no escape. ‘Th-there’s nothing I can do abouhuhut it now! Stahahahap!’
Thanos tightened his grip on Myung-gi’s wrist and scoffed.
‘You’re like some kid tryna get outta homework, coin’ Snorted the purple-haired druggie.
‘I hope you get eliminated in the next game you fuHUHUHUCK- NOHOHOHOHO! AHAHAhaaha-HAHAHA!’ He was cut off, rather rudely, by Nam-gyu’s fingers vibrating into his stomach, and then to his side with a sneering ‘that’s enough outta you, prick’.
‘Get ‘im! No, no, back to his stomach, he hates that!’ Thanos gleefully egged him on, his own hand holding tight on Myung-gi’s hip and rolling his thumb in fast tight circles into that devastatingly sensitive divot just above the bone.
The deeper, full-belly laughter inducing tickles were jarring compared to the ‘break’ (possibly the saddest excuse for a break in the history of breaks) the gentler ticklng had given him.
‘I missed this’ Chirped player 124 as if he hadn’t seen his grandmother in years and not just been unable to tickle a grown man into hysteria for like, a minute. ‘Tickle tickle MG coin! How’s it feel, huh? Good, right?’
No response except for unintelligible howling and gasping. ‘Hey, hey- coin’ Thanos’ voice only just cut through his ticklish agony. ‘Where’s it tickle more, huh?’ And then a sudden poke into his ribs. ‘Here?’ Another jab, this time the soft spot under his arm. ‘Here?’
Nam-gyu was delighted with this new angle. ‘Nah, nah- it’s here, right?’ He grinned and jabbed into the squish of Myung-gi’s stomach. And that suddenly kickstarted their little ‘game’ as suddenly there were everywhere, fingers prodding and hands squeezing in random locations. It was sporadic, never in the same place ensuring he couldn’t get used to it.
‘Here?’ Jab. ‘Here?’ squeeze.
It was maddening. He was practically squealing now, shaking his head like he could launch the ticklish feeling off of him through motion alone.
‘C’mon boy! Just tell us! Tell us and we’ll stop!’
They were laughing themselves now. Not even cruelly anymore but as if they were simply just using him as entertainment, the same way someone would watch TV or a glitch in a video game.
Myung-gi however, was practically choking on his own laughter. The worst thing was that it didn’t hurt, it didn’t torture (at least, not in the traditional sense)- it just tickled so damn much.
‘STOHOHOHHOP IHIHIT! PLEAH-AHH! PLEAHAHAHSe!’
The two bullies cackled in delight. ‘Oh my god!’ crowed Thanos ecstatically. ‘I think that’s the first polite word we’ve gotten outta you!’ He gave Myung-gi’s thighs some cruel squishes, clawing into the tense muscle and cackling at the scream it elicited.
‘Wonder what else we can get outta him’ Nam-gyu followed Thanos’ lead and squeezed at Myung-gi’s other thigh, kneading into the soft flesh again and again. ‘How about a ‘sorry’? Huh? Least you can do, man, don’t you think?’
‘SoHOHohO-SORRY!!’ Myung-gi cackled the word out instantly, without a second thought almost like it was purely involuntary. He only just managed to form the apology semi-coherently. He didn’t care how desperate or embarrassing he sounded- How unwarranted the apology actually was- he’d have said anything to make it stop at this point.
‘Oh,oh! What about- ‘Thanos and Nam-gyu are my bestest friends in the whole wide world?’
Okay, yeah, anything but that.
‘GOHOhohO TO HEHEHEHELL!’
Thanos had hooked his strong fingers at the curve of where the thigh met the hip, applying pressure directly into the divot and shaking in awful vibrations. ‘Dumbass! Try again!’
Myung-gi forced himself to endure, to just laugh and laugh until they finally decided he’d had enough- but he was near his breaking point. His thighs were buzzing from the assault, his sides ached and his face was starting to hurt from how long he’d been smiling.
‘AL-ALRIGHT! ALRIHIHIHIGHT! I’LL SAHAHAHAY IT!’ He practically screamed out the surrender, legs kicking with renewed vigour to get them to just fucking stop already.
And, it did. Thanos raised his tickling hand, signalling Nam-gyu to stop. He put his hand back down, leaning his weight on Myung-gi’s thigh and with a shit-eating grin said ‘Weeell?’.
Myung-gi gasped and took in a few shaky breaths. He refused to look either of them in the eye, gritting his teeth so hard it was a wonder they didn’t crumble into dust in his mouth, and muttered out the quietest, most humiliating sentence he’d ever had the misfortune of being forced to say.
‘…ThanosandNamgyuaremybestestfriendsinthewholewideworld…’
Thanos leant closer and sickly-sweet asked, ‘what was that, Coin?’.
Myung-gi groaned and rolled his eyes so hard they might as well have taken residence in the back of his skull.
‘Thanos and Nam-gyu…’
‘Yeeees?’
‘Are my…my…’
‘Your whaaaat?’
‘My bestest friends…in the whole wide world…’ As soon as the words were out, the two ticklers burst into hysterical laughter. His shame was as big as Thanos’ ego.
‘Ahahaha! Ohh, MG coin!’ Nam-gyu faked wiping a tear from his eye with his free hand. ‘We had no idea you felt that way!’ He patted Myung-gi’s stomach. ‘Such a sweetheart!’
‘We love you too, Myung-gi!’ Crowed Thanos as he took MG’s face with a strong hand, squishing his cheeks together like you might with a child. ‘Doesn’t it feel better to just admit it out loud?’
Myung-gi was past embarrassment about five embarrassments ago. He didn’t even fight or jerk his head away. His wrists were limp in their grasp. ‘…You both need your heads examined’.
‘Don’t act like you’re better than us after all that, you little shit’ Nam-gyu goosed his side, only lightly, which made Myung-gi suck in a sharp breath. ‘No! Don’t fucking start!’
‘Oh, we are starting’
Myung-gi squeezed his eyes shut and prepared for what must’ve been the millionth round-
‘HEY!’
A voice that was neither Thanos’, Nam-gyu’s or Myung-gi’s cut through their one-sided banter. All three men turned their heads.
Thanos let go of Myung-gis wrist and turned around to get a better look- and there was Player 001, standing just a few feet away with an expression that could melt ice.
‘What’s up, man?’ Thanos asked with a lazy glance, as if this interruption was hardly worth his time. Nam-gyu stayed silent but his expression was equally as unimpressed.
‘What are you doing fighting at meal time? When elders are present?’
Thanos squinted at him like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
‘The fuck you talking about? Fighting?’
‘And two against one’ continued Young-il, taking a few steps forward and gesturing at Myung-gi. ‘Are you not embarrassed?’
Player 230 scoffed, a lazy smile appearing on his face. Nam-gyu snickered from behind and said a quiet ‘Thanos, he thinks we were beating him’
Thanos cocked his head with a casual, ‘Nah, old man, you got it twisted’. He leant on the bunk railings, hands dangling languidly, wearing a lopsided grin. ‘We ain’t beating him. We’re tickling him’.
Myung-gi cringed from where he still lay on the bunk, both wrists now free as Nam-gyu dropped the other one by his side. He didn’t need anybody else knowing about this!
There was a moment of silence as the cogs turned in Young-il’s head. They were…what??
Thanos tilted his head as he continued to laze comfortably, eyes half-lidded and cocky look still plastered on his face like it might stick there permanently. Nam-gyu snickered from the other side of the bunk, one ankle crossed round the other, leaning against it with hands in his pockets.
‘Tickling…?’ Young-il enunciated the word like he was saying it for the first time. He looked between the two pill-poppers like he thought they were mocking him, furrowing his brow.
‘Yeah, man’ Thanos pushed himself off the railing with an exaggerated sigh, crouching next to the still-dazed Myung-gi and putting his arm round his neck like they were buddies. He cupped Myung-gi’s chin and put on the most condescending, fakest pout he possibly could, tilting his head so it pressed right against Player 333’s.
‘Just look at this miserable little bastard’ He cooed in a disgustingly sweet voice, making Nam-gyu titter. ‘He could do with some cheering up, right? I mean, who knows what’ll happen tomorrow?’ He nuzzled Myung-gi obnoxiously, who made a disgusted face but didn’t have the energy to push him away, with a faux-dreamy sigh. ‘Don’t want his ass going out with a frown, huh?’
‘Yeah, dude. We’re just being friendly’ added Nam-gyu, tongue curling like he was trying not to laugh.
Young-il had no idea what to make of this. He had approached expecting to break up a violent fight, to be met with bruises and blood. He’d prepared himself for them to turn on him and for him to have to fight back- but he knew he could hold his own. Naturally, this sudden change of plan left him dumbfounded and standing awkwardly, unable to wrap his head around any of it.
‘He doesn’t look like he’s having fun’ was the only thing Young-il could think to say. During his time as Frontman, he’d never witnessed anything as bizarre as this. What on Earth was the procedure for…two guys tickling another guy?
Nam-gyu stood up straight and sat on the bunk next to Myung-gi’s frame, nudging his foot against Player 333’s knee. ‘Course he is! He was laughing, wasn’t he?’
Young-il raised his eyebrows like he was lecturing an actual child and said ‘Laughter is an involuntary reflex. Just because he’s laughing doesn’t mean he’s enjoying himself’.
Thanos looked at him indignantly. ‘Are you trying to lecture us on tickling? Look at him’ He gestured toward the mess that was Myung-gi. ‘I think we know what we’re doing, man. Now if you’ll excuse us…’ he dismissed 001 with a wave of his hand, but stopped mid-turn when the old man spoke up again. God, did this guy never quit?
But Young-il addressed Myung-gi now. Craning his neck to the side to make eye contact. ‘Hey. You need help?’
Myung-gi was already halfway to saying that YES! HE ABSOLUTELY DID NEED HELP!
But…he stopped in his tracks. He was propped up on his elbows now in preparation to demand this old man get these lunatics off of him but couldn’t bring himself to say anything. Not only would it be the absolute lowest point in his life to beg somebody else to save him from tickling…but he knew he wouldn’t hear the end of it from Thanos and Nam-gyu.
He could see it now.
Them, every time they were within vicinity, jeering and taunting about how-
‘There’s the big strong MG coin who needed an old man to save him from our fingers!’, ‘Hey, coin, where’s your knight in geriatric armour?’, ‘How’s it feel knowing you can’t do shit without your precious lil grandadaround?’.
God, it would be constant. Being in this deranged shithole was bad enough without giving them even more ammunition.
Yeah, he’d pass.
He could feel three pairs of eyes on him as he said with a sigh, ‘No. No, I’m fine. Thanks, though’.
The sparks of pure, staggering jubilance shooting from Thanos and Nam-gyu could’ve powered a small village for a month. He didn’t even need to look at them to tell that they were exchanging giddy disbelieving glances, faces like Cheshire cats. He hated that he’d let them win, but he had to be somewhat logical about this.
Young-il stared at him for a while longer. His gaze went from Myung-gi to the two smug druggies. He could tell from the way they were shifting delighted glances at each other that if he were to walk away, the tickling would continue. ‘Are you sure?’ he asked with a hard expression, giving Myung-gi one last chance.
And that chance was incredibly hard to turn down.
‘Yeah. I’m sure’
Player 001 could’ve just pulled them away anyway, but he was aware of the cameras in the dorm. They were positioned sneakily, some more obvious than others, ready to catch every angle. Including right where the boys were having ‘fun’.
Footage of players doing something as childish, entertaining as tickling another? The VIP’s would eat that up. And ultimately, to fund the games, their financial contributions meant everything. Certainly more than one player in the sea of 455 others.
‘Well, okay. But I’ll be keeping an eye on you, boys. Don’t take it too far’.
‘Yeah yeah, sure, whatever you want dude’ Thanos was already taking hold of Myung-gi’s wrist, Nam-gyu bouncing on his heels as he took the other, both staring down at him baring their teeth in excitement. They didn’t give Young-il another ounce of attention.
Myung-gi watched through Thanos’ legs as his only chance of salvation walk away. He could only plop his head back down on the pillow and stare upwards with resignation, trying not to listen to their chatter.
‘Aw, MG coin! You really do enjoy this, huh?’ Nam-gyu giggled. ‘You wanna spend more time with your bestest friends in the whooole wide world that bad?’
Myung-gi shot him a glare that could’ve killed. ‘Shut up. Get it over with, you freaks’
Thanos gave him a condescending pat on the cheek. ‘Deep breath, yeah?’
‘…Just leave my ribs alone’
‘Can’t promise that, boy’
Suo needed to be taken down another peg I fear. Man is far too mysterious and teasy for his own good. This will set him straight for sure. Hopefully.
Idk how I managed to make them look like them but also nothing like them at the same time. Lmaooo I redrew Sakuras face like 20 times and could not figure out for the life of me what looks different
This is an old sketch, never finished it but Gorou looks adorable so why not post it
So um this is how episode 8 should've gone down spread the word
Also this
Fuckin love deprived stupid ass
He’s gotten better at hiding his reactions. Kind of. Maybe?
ᴾˢˢᵗ……. ᶜᵒᵐᵐˢ ᵃʳᵉ ᵒᵖᵉⁿ
Humans are so sensitive
More one-sided royalteeth, happy new year ya filthy animals ♥️
Tickletober Day 14: Fright
~I haven’t seen ANYTHING for our entity here, tickle-fic or otherwise. Time to fix that. This is an incredibly self-indulgent fic, and I regret no part of making it. Small FYI, Nightmare’s canon pronouns are she/they/it. I alternate between all of them in here, so that’s why it changes. To the other oddballs who love our freaky void-dweller, I hope you Enjoy!~
Fandom: Date Everything!
Lee: Gender Neutral Reader
Ler: Nightmare
Summary: After attempting to pull another coffee-fueled all-nighter, you doze off at your desk. Nightmare awaits you in your dreams, though she has a new form of unease for you to explore in the night. A rather pleasant one, at that.
Warnings: canon-typical interactions, language, and romantical/suggestive happenings. This is a tickle fic, so if you don’t like that, scroll away!!
You sighed as Kofi handed you your drink of choice, rubbing your eyes tiredly. You’d been working on a project all week, but had yet to finish. And, of course, it was due in a day. Pulling all-nighters two nights in a row probably wasn’t the best idea, but it was the only way you saw yourself getting it done on time.
“Hey…be sure to get some rest, yeah? I want my drinks to make you feel good, not help you feel bad.”
You couldn’t help but laugh a bit at Kopi’s concern. She was always so nice to you, even when you were on another productivity bender. “I’ll be fine, Kopi. Your drinks are always amazing. I just need to get this done, okay?”
“Alright, I guess. Just…be careful?”
“I’m always careful.”
With that, you strode off to your bedroom, choosing to ignore the skeptical look Kopi was giving you. You were fine; as long as you didn’t go longer than 72 hours without sleep, it was technically healthy…
…ish.
With the aid of the caffeine, your fingers flew across your keyboard. Finally, a rhythm! You hardly noticed the hour pass, though your body definitely did.
Soon, your eyelids grew heavy. The satisfaction from your progressed had eased some of your nerves, allowing you to relax just enough to grow tired. Your blinks grew longer, and before you knew it, you were floating in a black abyss.
“Shit…Nightmare?” you called out, your voice strangely void of any echo. Eyes open or closed, your view in the void was the exact same. You felt that familiar fear creep down your spine, followed by a warm arm wrapping around your middle. You couldn’t help but jump, frightened by her sudden touch in the emptiness.
“Hello, beloved.”
“Fuck, Nighmare, warn me first…” you huffed, leaning back into their touch. The warmth of their chest was nice against your skin, as odd as the giant lips there felt. Their lion head rested on your shoulder, giving your neck little nuzzles. The snake burrowed itself under your arm, hissing softly.
They chuckled in amusement, placing a small kiss on your cheek. “That would defeat the purpose of my visits, wouldn’t it?” Their hand wandered lower, giving your side a little poke. “Besides, you love my visits. I can feel your heart racing, you know. It’s quite lovely.”
That simple poke had an instant effect on you. You’d managed to avoid thinking about that during Nightmare’s pop-ins, but the simple touch had your mind racing with giddy thoughts and nervous energy. “I…shut up.”
Of course, it picked right up on that new anxiety. Its hands both grabbed onto your sides as it chuckled. “Oh? What’s this now?”
“W-wahait, wait, Nightmare, c’mon! Don’t you wanna see what bugs I’m afraid of or something? It’s really interesting,” you stammered, trying to distract them from the idea of tickles. Unfortunately for you, they weren’t swayed so easily.
“That can wait for another night,” they said, voice tauntingly soft. You knew that honey-smooth inflection was meant to build up a false comfort. “For now, we’re exploring this.”
With that little growl, Nightmare’s claws dug into your sides. They were torturously pointed, just enough to tickle the hell out of you without the chance of being accidentally scratched. She squeezed and scribbled on your soft skin, loving the squeals she was pulling from you.
The void around you shifted, changing into a park. It was a bright day, people mingling about. And, of course, they were a few of the other objects.
A whine escaped you at the sight, knowing the fear she was going to prod at. You hadn’t exactly gotten around to telling the other dateables about your affinity for the touch, and it was definitely on your mind. “N-Nihihightmahare, plehehease!”
They pressed another small kiss to your skin, this time against your neck. “Don’t worry, beloved. I’d never be cruel. This is to prove some fears to be irrational.”
Nightmare’s evil hand slid beneath your shirt, teasing your hips and waist with little squeezes. As you hiccuped and laughed, a few of the exploring objects came up to the two of you.
“Aw, how cute!”
“Look at our homie, all happy and stuff! Dope!”
“Think I’ll have to ask ‘em if they’d let me give that a try.”
“They seem like they’re having so much fun…”
Instead of the disgust and judgement your mind had convinced you was inevitable, Nightmare showed you the far more probable outcomes: your loved ones didn’t hate you for having an odd preference. True, it was still a little terrifying to have people see (even they were the non-sentient dream versions of them), but it made you feel a bit more secure in yourself.
“See, beloved? Nothing but your anxieties to fear,” they cooed, kissing your cheek. The world around you changed again, this time resembling your bedroom. It was slightly off, fuzzy at the edges, letting you know you were still asleep. Still with them. “And, of course, this little trick…”
You really should’ve learned better than to ask what they meant by that. Nightmare was more of a show rather than tell kind of entity.
They pressed their mouth hand flat against your stomach, their snake head moving up to your shoulder. In an instant, the mouth was blowing raspberries on your stomach. The snake head joined in on the fun, its tongue flicking across the shell of your ear to make you squeak.
“SHIHIHIHIT!”
You bucked in Nightmare’s hold, belly laughter tumbling freely from your lips. The dual sensations were evil; you both loved and despised Nightmare’s versatility with its strange body. It was rather amused with all of your reactions, chuckling in your ear.
“That seems quite ticklish, beloved. Good thing we have time to explore this.”
Their voice dropped as they leaned in, deep and deliberate in your ear. They knew the tone would get you nervous and squirming. It sparked an entirely new fear, though not exactly an unwelcome one. One that got your heart racing, lips wobbling, and eyes squeezing shut with flustered anticipation.
“All. Night. Long~”
Tkl tkl :P damn I haven't drawn tickle art in ages
Time to disssappear for 2 months again
Mandatory @spookygiggles ping btw
Mah boii Pierrot can't catch a break bro
Wreck him harlequin wreck him he needs it
Consequences of Trust — Star Rail
Summary: Mydei can’t just tell Phainon he’s ticklish, and expect Phainon not to wanna test it out for himself!
Warning: This is a tickle fic! Please scroll away if you dont fw
Other: Lee!Mydei x Ler!Phainon from Honkai Star Rail. 1.1k words.
A/N: I JUST REALLY WANTED TO WRITE PHAIDEI TICKLES!! I have other fics of them in the works but for now here is mindless fluff.
———————
In every life, Mydei would trust Phainon with his weaknesses.
But maybe, he really shouldn’t.
“Oh no~ it seems the crowned prince isn’t nearly as invincible as he seems!” Phainon joked happily, his playful touch jumping sporadically across the warrior's body as Mydei squeaked and writhed with laughter beneath him.
The crowned prince tried to squirm away frantically, which only trapped himself further as he became pinned against the end of their couch, Phainon still looming over him. “AHAHA! P-Phahahainohohon! I-I’ll kihihill yohohou!” He threatened weakly, but his sweet giggling failed to intimidate the other.
The prince's hands desperately tried to grab onto Phainon’s scribbling fingers, but Phainon never stayed tickling one spot for too long… moving from his tummy, to his sides, then to his ribs before bouncing back to his stomach. “S-Stahahahap thahahat…!” He squeaked, squirming frantically from side to side, with the brightest smile adorning his face.
“Come now, Mydeimos. You can’t tell me you’re ticklish and expect me not to try tickling you? My, you practically asked for this!” Phainon defended, giggling fondly as Mydei’s laughter turned all the more precious.
It was bubbly, uncontrolled, and almost childish, and yet, Phainon found that such an adorable laugh fit the tough and fierce warrior perfectly.
“I shohohohouldn’t hahahave tohohohold yohohohou!” Mydei complained as his hair grew messy from all the thrashing around, his cheeks starting to blush a light pink. He was embarrassed— but not ashamed… he told Phainon such a silly secret about himself for a reason, which was that he trusted him with it. Despite that, he still found himself cursing out giggly false regrets.
Phainon only grinned, “You’re right, you really shouldn’t have, because now I have the perfect trick at my disposal for the next time we spar.” He threatened, his eyes narrowing playfully.
Mydei blushed a deeper red at the mere thought of Phainon using such— a cheap ploy against him in battle. “Ahahahas ihihif! Yohohou wohohouldn’t gehehet the chahahance!” He fought back with lighthearted pride, Phainon suddenly latched his hands roughly onto Mydei’s hips, massaging his thumbs against the sensitive bones with no mercy.
The prince instantly shrieked with desperate, unrestrained laughter. “Pff… those are some brave fighting words for someone this ticklish, Mydeimos.” He tut, his voice so unbelievably mischievous it made Mydei’s mind go all fuzzy.
As the moment continued, his heart welled up with an overwhelming, unexplainable joy.
Well… unexplainable only for a small moment, because it took just two seconds more for him to discern that this joy was easily explainable; he was having fun.
Admitting to himself that he was having fun in this one-sided tickle fight didn’t make his flushed cheeks any less red, but it was a nice revelation to have…. Especially when it was painstakingly obvious that Phainon was having just as much fun as he was, or maybe even more fun— teasing him, laughing with him, and exploring to see just how much laughter he could draw out of the warrior.
“Stohohohop tahahahalking!” He yelled regardless of his swarming thoughts, tears of mirth pricking the corners of his eyes. While Mydei spoke more giggly complaints that he clearly didn’t mean, Phainon felt his fondness grow. He loved seeing his smile, and how much it would brighten with every tease Mydei “cursed” him saying.
Those playful eyes of Phainon’s softened, his fingers spidering up to gently scratch at his lower ribs. “Is it just me, or do you sound like you’re enjoying this? Careful, wouldn’t wanna let that tough guy act of yours slip, now do you?”
An endless stream of squeaky giggles escaped into the room, Mydei grabbing weakly onto his wrists. “Psssh— juhuhust shuhuhut uhuhuhup…”
Phainon snickered at that, his hands lifting as he began to poke at his stomach sporadically, gaining these addictive giggles that could melt the coldest of hearts. “Well… I think I’ve messed with you enough for today, what do you think Mydei?”
Mydei curled on his side, wrapping his arms around his stomach. Also… refusing to answer that evil question, answering yes to that would be like pleading or giving in! He could never do that!
Phainon hummed happily at his silence, “Is that a no? So… you haven’t had enough then?”
Warning signals shot through Mydei when Phainon grabbed his wrist with one hand, pinning it firmly above his head and shoving him onto his backside as the other shot under his exposed armpit.
Mydei instantly screamed with the loudest laughter yet, ticklish shock waves being sent all across his body. “AHAHAHAhaha! WAHAHhahait! DELIVERER!”
His legs instantly kicked out as he threw his head back with laughter, his other hand reaching up to grab his wrist but being much too weak to shove those scribbling fingers away.
“And just like that, your adorable stubbornness is gone.” He snickered, before getting all cheery. “You’re so easy to read, y’know? I just knew you’d be bad here, that’s why you got so squeaky when I was getting at your ribs~”
Mydei’s brain was practically fried from just how much his touch tickled, shaking his head madly. “AHAHA! WHATEHEHEVER! JuHUHUST STAHAHAHahahap!” He pleaded at last, tugging at his pinned wrist.
Phainon tickled his armpit for a couple more seconds before stopping, removing his hands and letting the ticklish warrior curl up into a sensitive ball. Whispering out a very giggly “HKS” with his tuckered-out breaths.
“What was that?” Phainon giggled fondly, narrowing his eyes with the same playfulness as before.
Mydei had no strife in repeating it. “HKS. Yohohou’re a mohohohoron…” Mydei insulted without any actual malice— still trying to catch his breath.
“I’d much rather be a moron, than a badass immortal warrior who somehow dies the second someone even grazes his sides.” The tease instantly had Mydei avoiding eye contact. Phainon smiled softly, “anyways, thank you for telling me, I promise I’ll try my very best not to abuse this very cute weakness of yours.”
Mydei laughed a bit, sending a quick glare his way. “Yeah, yohohou better not, or I’ll make you regrehehet it.” He threatened, emphasizing his words with a gentle jab to his stomach. (He felt like such a motion fit this situation.)
What he never expected was for Phainon to have a full-body reaction to it, the gentle poke making the other jolt and rush to cover his stomach with his arms.
If Mydei had cat ears like Cifera, they would have definitely perked up. He looked up at Phainon with raised eyebrows, his gaze being met with a nervous smile. “Oh, you are so dead.” Mydei laughed, his eyes brightening. He wasted no time at all lunging at a giddy, and extremely panicked Phainon who jumped away with lightheaded terror, knowing exactly what was coming for him.
He was already giggling up a storm, even before Mydei got his hands on him and scribbled his fingers playfully across his midriff. Secretly… excited for the well-deserved vengeance Mydei was about to enact in full.

