Hyperfixation Station!!

____________~☆°♡°☆°♡°☆~_____________ Sfw T word blog!, MULTIFANDOM ACC, You can call me K, nsfw STAY AWAY!, I'm not here to flirt just to write fics and enjoy my Fandoms with you all! :] ________________________________________

[someone1348]

Heyy! My name is K, it's nice to meet you! Welcome to the blog. I am 22 and use she/They pronouns!

I write tickle fics for multiple fandoms!

Requests: closed (so sorry)

Commissions Open!!

Current Hyperfixation: Project Hail Mary

If you want to know more or check out my masterlists click the 'keep reading' :]

I hope you enjoy your stay! <3

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Asks are 1000% welcomed! (so are anons just give yourself an emoji so i can know whos who) to give ideas, random nonsense, fic ideas, ect. I love responding and interacting with all of you, you are all so nice and amazing! Anyways!!

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i hope you enjoy your time here and know your worth! Go drink water and eat something yummy you amazing human being! :D <3

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Regular Masterlist!!!! :]

Anime Masterlist!! :]

I finally did it! (This will be updated with every new fic but now everything is organized!! Yayy!!)

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[ticklish--love]

Tickle Honesty Hour

Send me absolutely any tickle related question and I have to answer it.

[someone1348]

I'm game, go ahead :)

[someone1348]

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH MY FRIENDS!! 🏳️‍🌈🫶🥰🏳️‍⚧️🥰

[shyywriter]

Caine's Wackiest Adventure Yet

Summary: After overhearing a particular conversation between the circus members, Caine's finally come up with the greatest idea for an adventure ever. (Warning: Tickle Fic. Also extremely long I'm sorry)

Another day, another chaos-filled adventure for the circus crew. And this one? It was certainly something. Not a single one in the group had expected anything like this to happen. In fact, not even Caine himself had ever predicted he'd cook up what might have been his tamest yet kookiest adventure so far. But, that was the special thing about the Digital Circus.

Anything could happen.

It all started with the ringmaster sitting in his office. All his knick-knacks and doodads surrounded him as the big cheese was in his chair, legs crossed over on the armrest while he rapidly jotted down idea after idea in his notes. Papers were scattered all over his desk, all of them having been collected from the Suggestion Box. (Luckily he remembered this time.) Those he used as inspiration, to see how many he could fit into one thing. After all, his goal was to keep his players happy and satisfied. Though as much as he brainstormed, Caine wasn't getting very far.

The teeth man hummed in thought as he skimmed through each of his ideas, considering which one was the best. Twiddling his pencil in his fingers, Caine then sighed heavily before tossing away his writing utensil and notepad. He spoke up in a defeated tone. "It's no use, Bubble." The bubble in question then zipped down to his boss as soon as he was addressed. Expression blank, grinning with sharp teeth as he watched the pair of dentures slump dramatically in his chair. Caine, meanwhile, remained weary and continued on. "I've been at it all day trying to conjure up another grand adventure but... for some reason all my ideas are coming up flat." As the boss vented, Bubble simply responded in that peppy tone of voice. "Sounds like you're losing your touch!"

Caine shot an unamused glare at his assistant, floating up from his seat and crossing his arms. "Don't be ridiculous! Making adventures is my art, remember? The one thing I've never failed to do!" Caine spoke proudly before scratching his head. "The only problem is, I seem to be running out of originality." The ringmaster then gestured at all the suggestions on his desk. "On top of that, it's getting difficult to decipher which of everybody's suggestions to use, let alone figure out how to comfortably squash them all into one thing." He picked them up into one stack, showing Bubble as he quickly flipped through them all. "I mean how the heck am I supposed to fit in softball, bug-collecting, animated Japanese shows, and using everybody as target practice, all at the same time?"

Bubble blinked. It was hard to visually tell if he was even listening to everything Caine was spewing or not. Meanwhile, the AI paced (or rather floated) back and forth as he pondered to himself. With a finger on his chin, and a hand behind his back, he thought and thought. "Perhaps... what I really need to do is take a small break from all this brainstorming. Just until I can pull myself out of this funk and get those creative juices a flowin' ." Unfortunately it was true. As much as Caine didn't want to stop coming up with adventures, he was starting to get a little frustrated. And the more frustrated he got, the more it could lead to less than satisfactory (or even catastrophic) results. And we can't have that. The question is, what would he do for the time being?

After a bit more thinking, a light bulb then went off inside his head, causing the ringmaster to perk up. "That's it!" Poofing up his cane, the AI then turned to his soapy partner with his usual spunk coming back to him. "Gadzooks, Bubble, it seems as though genius has struck the two of us once again!" A beat had passed before Bubble suddenly popped out of nowhere, causing Caine to pause in confusion as he stared at the spot where he just was.

"...Uh-"

Bubble had then suddenly reappeared right on the other side of Caine, gleefully spouting out a response like nothing even happened. "How's that, boss?" The ringmaster was thrown off guard momentarily before he got back into it, both of them now disregarding that moment entirely. "What I'll do is spend a little time around our delightful human friends, and figure out what it is that every one of them enjoys!" The teeth man adjusted his tie in a prideful manner for having come up with such brilliance. "After all. There has to be at least one thing they have in common in terms of what they deem fun, right?" Without wasting anymore time, the ringleader disappeared into a puff of smoke.

In the Circus Tent...

Right in front of the stage, Caine had suddenly spawned in a pose with his hands on his hips, and his eyes looking outwards. His eyes would then drift around to spot where the circus crew was, while he called out in a sing-song tone. "Oh, my little superstarrrs!" However, there didn't seem to be anyone around at the moment. Curiously, Caine flew and zipped around the main headquarters and continued calling out to them. "Everybody? I'm here in need of your help with Scientific Studies!" Alas, not a single player in sight. He didn't even find them all in the lounging area where they usually were. It was surprisingly quiet. Caine rested a finger underneath his chin. Strange. Either they were all in their rooms, or maybe outside indulging in those other attractions. Caine was just about to snap his fingers and bring everyone to him... until he paused at the sound of distant chatting. He turned to see Kinger's pillow fort, hearing a number of voices coming out of there. He blinked before floating over, now hovering right in front of the fortress as the noise became clearer. He recognized those voices. Deciding to listen in on what exactly was going on in there, Caine leaned his head in slightly.

Inside was none other than the circus crew. Pomni, Ragatha, Jax, Kinger, Gangle, and Zooble. All of them were sat in a circle and simply hanging out with each other, within the confines of the pillow fort. That was because Kinger had invited them all in so they could take a break from the bright and colorful environment. The group of friends were currently in the middle of a game of 20 Questions. It wasn't the most exciting thing that they could be doing right now. But given that they already had some kind of crazy adventure to look forward to every day, it was a welcome change of pace.

Jax was the one talking, kicked back with his hands behind his head as he spoke in a casual tone. "I mean, as dumb of a question it is, I think I'd choose to eat spaghetti for the rest of my life." Pomni, who was the one that asked the question, simply smiled in response. She was sat right between Ragatha and Kinger. "Eheh. Spaghetti, huh? That's actually a more simple answer than I expected from you." The purple rabbit shot a playful glare at the jester. "Oh yeah? What's your choice then, Little Miss Observant?" Pomni hugged her knees and rested her chin on top of them as she thought. "For me, maybe something like mashed potatoes and gravy? I guess it all depends on whether or not I'd have to worry about it being bad for my health."

Meanwhile, Caine was still outside listening in on their little game. It seemed like they were all just sharing information with each other. Was this the fun that he was missing? Surely not. He needed something more. Something zany even. Enough to put into an adventure and keep it fresh.

Pomni had then turned to her ragdoll friend once she was up next. "Your turn, Ragatha." Ragatha rubbed her cheek as she looked away in thought. "Um, let's see. It's hard to really come up with anything." The little jester gave her a reassuring look. "It's okay, you don't have to put that much thought into it." Jax, who had his eyes closed, spoke up while he remained comfy in his spot. "Just, y'know, try to say one that's actually interesting this time. You'll put the rest of us to sleep if you're not careful." Zooble gave the rabbit an annoyed glare and sigh. "Anything's better than your stupid 'would you rather' questions." Jax had peeked an eye open, his trademarked grin widening mischievously at the toy box character. "Hey, at least now we know which of us would choose to jump into a pool of sharks versus a pit of snakes. I'd say that's pretty valuable."

Ragatha shook her head at Jax's antics before going back to deciding on her next question. She tried to think of something that was lighthearted enough to answer. "Well, how about a fun fact about ourselves? Something like... if anyone here is, um... ticklish!" She blurted out the first thing that came to mind with enthusiasm. But as soon as she saw everyone looking at her she sank back a little. Jax raised an eyebrow at the ragdoll from where he sat. "Uhuh. We said interesting not weird, Dollface." Ragatha huffed in a flustered manner, blushing a bit. "I tried to think of something harmless, okay?!" Pomni simply shrugged. "It's certainly a question." The jester tilted her head as she thought about it. "I don't actually know how ticklish I am. But if I had to guess, my sides are probably the worst." Zooble then rubbed the back of their neck before speaking next. "I'm not really that ticklish, except for the knees." Jax gave a funny look between the two of them. "Are we seriously answering this?"

The others ignored him while Gangle was the one to meekly go next, blushing and avoiding eye contact. "I-I'm pretty ticklish. Mostly around where my stomach would be." Pomni turned to her ragdoll friend, gazing up at her. "And you, Ragatha?" To which, Ragatha was taken aback before nervously chuckling and playing with her hair. "Oh! Y-Yeahhh, I'm also really ticklish. My neck especially." She then brought her attention to Kinger, who's mind seemed to be elsewhere at the moment. "Kinger, did you wanna answer?" The chess piece was snapped back to reality as he gave the ragdoll a clueless look. "Huh? Oh, yeah!" He then immediately went back to being cheerful. "The palms of my hands are most ticklish for me. But don't tell anyone." Pomni couldn't help but smile with amusement as she gazed up at Kinger. "You kind of just told all of us already." Kinger blinked with a blank expression. "Told all of you what?" Ah, classic Kinger.

Jax then cut in, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "Okay, cool, we're done with this one. Can we move onto something else?" Pomni then brought her eyes to Jax, staring at him curiously. "What about you, Jax?" The rabbit eyed her for a moment before scoffing dismissively. "Ha! Please. I'm not ticklish," he said. Shaking his head while looking off smugly. Zooble spoke up with crossed arms. "Really? You sure that's not just another lie." Jax would then place a hand on his chest dramatically, but still wearing a cocky grin as he put on an innocent tone. "Aww, I can't believe you think I'd do such a thing, Zoobie. And I thought we were here to have a friendly bonding session." Jax then went back to getting comfy in his spot and closed back his eyes. "Anyways, is no one else tired of this game yet? Let's switch to a different one." Hmm. It almost seemed like he was trying to change the subject. It made the others share a look, but none of them would press on further. However...

Caine, who had been there this whole time, rubbed his chin curiously after having heard that whole conversation. "Huh. Interesting." Ticklish, you say? The ringmaster had almost forgotten about that concept entirely. But then it dawned on him. Wasn't tickling a common thing amongst humans? A simple light or playful touch that elicits laughter from a person? The more he dwelled on it, the more it sparked the AI's interest. He never considered adding something like that to mix of his adventures. But now, it sounded like the very thing he was looking for. Something that might actually be fun! "I think those little superstars of mine were onto something there. This is just the breakthrough I needed!" Caine spoke to himself, now floating up and away from the pillow fort. This idea sounded so ridiculous that it was right up his alley. A cheeky look then made its way to his face as he rubbed his hands together. "Time for me to get cooking in the kitchen." And with that, the ringmaster poofed away to get to work on his new plan.

The Next Day...

A new day had finally rolled around as Caine was already up on stage. Right there by the edge, he hovered in a pose as he awaited the arrival of the crew for his daily announcement. The ringleader checked the time on his Wacky Watch. They should be here right about... On cue, the call of a certain ragdoll was heard. "Caine!" The AI looked to see the gang finally up and out of their rooms, making their way towards him. He beamed and shot over to them, greeting them all with his starbright attitude. "Ah! There you are, my topsy-turvy tumbleweeds!" The group was almost taken aback by Caine's greeting. While they were used to his rambunctiousness, it seemed to be at an all time high this morning. Ragatha spoke up first as she looked up at their circus leader. "Uh, good morning, Caine. You sure are excited today." Caine floated above them, continuing to go on an eager tangent. "Right you are, my dear! That's because I've whipped up another in-house adventure featuring my latest ideas!"

Zooble groaned upon hearing that. "Please tell me it's not gonna be another survival one. I'd rather not be used as a weapon this time." They shot a glare at a specific purple fellow, who flashed them a wink in response. Caine zipped up to the mixed-matched character and patted their back. "Ohof course not, Zooble. What I have in store for you all is nothing short of a cake walk. You could say that this'll be the funniest adventure to ever happen." Caine let out a boisterous laugh at his own comment while the others shared looks. Jax quirked an eyebrow at the teeth guy skeptically. "Funny, huh? I'll be the judge of that." Pomni raised her hand a bit as she spoke up next. "Sooo, what exactly are we doing-" Caine immediately wagged his finger in front of the jester girl. "Uh Buh Buh Buh! Not so fast, my eager mcbeavers! Before anything, we need to get everybody into their proper places!" Without elaborating further on that, Caine snapped his fingers and the entire scene cut to black before anybody could process.

...

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Today! Right here at The Amazing Digital Circus! A spectacular show awaits for your eyes, and your eyes only! Sooo, let's give a big hand to our wonderful, loveable performers!

Spotlights would reveal what was going on, to the gang. Suddenly, with all of their avatars having on special outifts, they found themselves right in the center of a gigantic circus ring. A large crowd of ncps surrounded them. Amongst the regular npcs, there were some familiar faces, along with new ones. As the audience cheered and applauded the group, they just stood there gawking around, stunned and confused on what exactly was happening here. But right then, Caine appeared beside them with his gung ho attitude in full effect. "Alright, superstars! Who here is ready for some action!" Ragatha lifted a finger for Caine's attention as she spoke up. "Um, are we supposed to be actual circus performers here, or...?" The ringmaster laughed as he held his cane in his hands. "It's going to be way more entertaining than that, Ragatha! You all are here to put your skills and resilience to the test, completing all of my special new challenges." With a wave of his cane, a variety of said challenges had all spawned. Zooble squinted up at Caine when they saw all the props and stuff set up around the gang. "Was your idea really just to have us as an act?" "Now, now! This is has grand times written all over it!" With the crowd cheering again, Jax looked down at himself in his new outfit before slouching with a scowl. "I already hate this." Caine, however, continued on as he used his announcer voice. "Without future ado, ladies and gentlemen! Let's get this show on the road!" With another snap of his fingers, the AI poofed the gang away and to all of their respective challenges.

To start with, Pomni suddenly found herself with two sticks in her hands and standing on springy stilts. She looked down nervously, wobbling a bit as she tried to keep her balance. "What?" Caine then flew up next to her and he began to explain to the crowd. "Look here folks! This is - The Balancing Challenge! The goal is for our dear Pomni to reach a total of not one, not two, but FIFTY plates balanced on her two unbreakable sticks! Will she let any of that fine china fall? We'll see, my friends!" Pomni looked baffled. "Wait, Fifty?!" She wasn't even sure if she could do one. How was she supposed to balance fifty of them?

But Caine left it at that, as he then flew to the next challenge. With Ragatha, standing right next to a huge pile of pink leaves. "And this one is the Find the Leaf in the Leafstack Challenge. Ragatha will have to search high and low for that one single blue leaf hidden somewhere in this enormous pile of pink ones. Will all that determination help her find the blue ticket to her success? You're guess is as good as mine!" Ragatha gazed up at the towering pile of leaves in front of her. This was most likely going to take a while. "Uhh. Okay."

Caine was then with Gangle at her challenge, where she was sat at blank canvas with a wide assortment of art tools. "And next we have - The Draw This Challenge! Watch as Gangle shows off her artistic genius and create the most fantastical image you've ever seen of her lovely muse...Bubble!" Bubble then suddenly appeared with a fancy wig on. That sharp-toothed grin present as always. "I'm ready for my close up!" Gangle was taken aback. She wasn't actually sure about having everyone look at her art. She was used to showing it to her friends but this was different. She whimpered a little as she picked up a pencil. "I guess," she said shyly. Caine beamed down at her excitedly from where he was floating. "That's the spirit!"

Next up was Jax, who found himself at the start of some kind of obstacle course. It was almost like a wacky version of Donkey Kong. He stood there lost and Caine zipped up to him while he continued on with the introductions. "This here is The Obstacle Course Challenge! Where Jax is going to rely on his athletic attributes to reach the very top and ring that bell," he said while pointing his cane up to the big bell at the top of the course. "It's gonna be quite the workout for our rabbit friend!" Jax saw where his goal was, and he crossed his arms while he shot the ringmaster a sassy look. "What if I don't wanna do it?" Caine simply chuckled and flicked his wrist in response. "Ha ha! Good one, Jax."

Kinger stood with a blank expression at his little area, and Caine then poofed to where he was. "Next up is The Bug Collecting Challenge! Good ol' Kinger's goal involves these little critters here!" Caine snapped and spawned in a bunch of colorful bugs. "Using his trusty net, he'll have to capture all the Tick- ahem - all the 'harmless' bugs around the ring." Kinger blinked as he scratched his head curiously. "My net?" Caine then conjured up a net for him, to which Kinger's eyes lit up as he held it in his hands. "Ohh! This is a nice one."

And finally, Zooble stood at a little crafting station with three silly-looking models behind them. Caine popped up to do his thing. "And last but not least - The Match 'Em Up Challenge! Zooble has here a table with many different parts, and their goal is to figure out which assortment is the correct one for each model." Zooble grabbed a few in their hands as they raised an eyebrow. "Wait, I'm just supposed to guess? How am I supposed to know what the right parts are?" Caine gleefully continued as he hovered right above Zooble. "Don't be alarmed, Zooble. Once you hear the honk of the horn..." He gestured to the mechanical arm besides the toy box character, the gloved hand honking the horn a single time before the AI went on "-then you'll be allowed one hint to help guide you into solving this puzzle. And remember! If your selection of parts is right, then you'll earn a smile from the model as confirmation!" Zooble seemed unamused, but sighed as they resigned themselves to their challenge. "Fine. Whatever." Caine was pleased. "Excellent!"

Caine returned to front and center, facing the audience and bringing their attention to him once more. "And that's not all, folks! For you see, not only will our dear performers be working to complete their respective challenges, but the one who does the best out of everybody will receive the Grand Prize for their outstanding performance!" The words "Grand Prize" appeared in big fancy letters, earning a crowd of "ooo's" from the audience as their interest was peaked. Zooble spoke up from their station, looking at Caine. "What's the prize?" Caine was wagging his finger. "Uh-uh-uh! No spoilers, my mixed-matched delight. The best kind of prize is a SUR-prize!" That one got a laugh from the audience, including one random mannequin that was laughing harder than the rest. Even after the joke had passed they were hysterical, which earned the stares of everyone else.

Caine paused, cleared his throat, and then continued. "Alrighty, ladies and gentlemen! Now that tutorials are out of the way, it's time for our spectacular performance to finally begin!" The audience was ready. Caine was definitely ready. The gang, however. Oh boy. But the show must go on, it seemed, since the ringleader prepared to officially start the show.

"Well then! Let the challenging commence!" And as he threw his hands up in the air, the show was now on the road.

Pomni was holding out her sticks as two plates appeared out of thin air and landed on each one. She wobbled and panicked a little, but did her best to keep both her balance and the dishes' balance on her utensils. To her surprise, she wasn't doing bad. Even when a few more were added, she stayed put as no plates had fallen yet. Ragatha began digging through the pile of leaves when it started. She tried to move quick, assuming that she was being judged on time for her challenge. She anxiously mumbled to herself as she dug and dug, eventually disappearing into the pile of pink foliage. Jax, meanwhile, had started running as soon as the okay was given. Well... that's a lie. He sneakily started moving through the course before Caine officially declared the start of the show, getting a ten second headstart over the others. If he was gonna do this, then he might as well be crafty to get his way. He hoped that the teeth man didn't notice him cheating but given that it wasn't pointed out, it seemed like he was in the clear. Gangle sat on her stool as she started sketching. Occasionally stopping to get a look at Bubble as she drew him. Luckily the soapy assisstant wasn't too hard to draw to begin with. If anything, the most detailed feature would probably be the wig. Gangle did try to make it look nice though. She was being precise with her start-off sketch. Kinger was running around and chasing after the little bugs that were scattered around the place. There sure were a lot of them, but the chess piece didn't mind at all since this was his favorite activity. "Gotcha!" With a swing of his net he caught a striped butterfly, and then stopped to admire it. "Wow. That's pretty." And Zooble went to work on sorting through all the parts for the models. They organized each into their own categories before deciding on which ones they would go with first. As all the members were handling each challenge, the audience watched in awe. As for Caine, he provided all the commentary while flying and zipping around to observe each of the stars up close. "Great Caesar's Ghost! This is no doubt the most exciting performance we've ever had on display. Place your bets now, dear audience! Our wonderful circus members are in it to win it!"

As the show continued, more and more progress was being made. Pomni was now at sixteen plates stacked, Ragatha had searched through at least one third of the pile now, Jax was almost half way through the course, Gangle finished the bare-boned sketch of Bubble, Kinger caught ten bugs, and Zooble had gotten the first hint that helped a little bit. Everything was going well at the moment. Until...during the challenge run, Jax reached the part with mini cannons shooting out plastic balls that scattered all over his path. Luckily it was easy for Jax to maneuver through them all. But as he reached the end, the purple rabbit looked to see Pomni's number of plates now in the twenties. His brows furrowed at the sight before a sneaky idea popped up in his head. With a devious grin, Jax picked up a ball. He made sure Caine wasn't looking. The ringmaster was currently right behind Gangle, watching and muttering to himself in fascination, unknowingly making the ribbon girl a little self-conscious. Seeing his chance, Jax then aimed right for where Pomni was before throwing the ball at full force. The little spherical object then came into contact with one of the stacks, knocking off ten plates. The action made the jester lady yelp as her balance was thrown off for a bit, her wobbles causing five other plates to fall off her other stack. At the sound of crashing and shattering, Caine peered over before gasping in shock. "Gadzooks! It looks like Pomni's streak of balanced plates has come crashing down! Literally." The audience reacted with intrigue. Pomni got her bearings back before glaring at Jax. "What was that for?!" Jax had already gone back to running the course. He put on an innocent act as he shrugged, but that grin on his face said it all. "Whaaat? Can't you see I'm busy hurdling through obstacles right now? Those cannons probably just misfired or something." Pomni narrowed her eyes at the purple rabbit with a pout. She knew it was him. Jerk. Caine was continuing on with the commentary, floating above everything as he watched the crew go. "I can't believe it myself, folks! This is top quality entertainment that you'll only find here in the circus!"

Jax got to the next part before he stopped to take a breather. Resting with his hands on his knees, he regained his energy before straightening back up. He gazed up at Caine, looking unimpressed at the moment. "You know I could've sworn you mentioned this being your funniest adventure. And frankly, I'm starting to call major bullcrap. How's any of this supposed to be funny?" Caine, with his hands behind his back, stared down at the rabbit. A low chuckle then came out of him. "Oh Jax, Jax, Jax." His tone had shifted from his announcer voice to something... different. "Did I ever tell any of you the name of this particular adventure?" This caught all of the members' attention. Ragatha, who's upper half was currently free, spoke up next. "Um, no, I don't think you did actually." The ringmaster adjusted his tie with an unreadable look to him. "I see. Well allow me to enlighten everyone here." Conjuring up his cane, the AI took a moment to speak up again. "The name of today's adventure isss...."

"Tickle Frenzy Marathon!"

None of the players had a chance to even process that name because of what happened next. Pomni froze as two free floating hands appeared on both sides of her. Her eyes darted between them. But before she could question it, they suddenly went after her and started squeezing her sides. The jester squealed as she arched, feeling a jolt of ticklish sensations before she started laughing. "WAaAa! Hehehehe! Hehehahahaha! Hehehey!" Ragatha's eye widened as the pile of pink leaves that she was halfway buried in suddenly turned into a pile of pink fluffy feathers. "H-Huh??" The feathers also seemed to have minds of their own as they wiggled all around her. A ticklish scream rang from the ragdoll and she burst into laughter too. "AAAHH! HahahAHAHAHA! Wh-WhahaHAAT?! What's going ohohohon?!" Gangle watched the other two with surprise, until her attention was brought to the paintbrushes amongst her art tools, suddenly floating. A spooked look came across her mask before the brushes started wiggling against her torso. The ribbon lady squeed and let out high-pitched giggles. "EEK! Heeheehee! Heheheheee! Noho, plehehease! Wahait! Hahaha!" Kinger paused from the sudden turn of events but noticed that the bugs were no longer trying to escape him. Instead they all crawled towards him with mischievous intent as he stood there and watched in shock. These were no ordinary bugs. These were Tickle Bugs. They crawled up his body, a few going into his robe. The chess piece yelped and arched as he fell into a fit of laughter. "Hahahahaha! That tickles! Ohohoho! Hey, stohohohop thahat!" Zooble was tapped on their shoulder, and noticed the arms they were holding were now moving. And before they knew it, the arms tackled Zooble to the ground as they cried out, before the rest of the arms followed. As a few pinned Zooble down, others poked and prodded around their knees. They kicked and squirmed, struggling to hold back their laughter. "A-Ack! Hey! Whahat the $?@!% Cahaine, what the hehehell is this?!"

Caine's eyes were looking outward while he hovered in one of his signature poses. "Thaaat's right! The theme here is all based around the concept of tickling! After I overheard you all converse about being ticklish, not to mention share your most ticklish spots, I immediately jumped onto the idea of putting together a wacky assortment of Tickle Challenges!" Zooble shot a glare at the ringmaster but couldn't keep it up from the ticklish jolts through their legs. "Yohou were listening?! Ghh- ghehehe!" Caine nodded, seemingly pleased with himself. "Sure was. I was going through some creativity struggles and decided I'd come to you all for a bit of insight. Lucky for me, it's seems as though I made the right choice! This is the most fun I've seen in one room." He turned to the audience. "Am I right, folks?" The audience was very entertained, expressing their delight as they clapped in agreement. The AI beamed happily at the sight, before bringing his attention back to the gang. "But don't give up now, my little superstars! The tickles are only added obstacles to your challenges. The competition is still on." The gang had almost forgotten what they were doing, the tickling having distracted them greatly. Not only that but it was heavily impacting their performance. Pomni wriggled and wobbled around as the hands continued squeezing and scribbling against her sides. The plates tipped and slid as she struggled to keep them from falling. "Ehehehe! Hahahahaha! Stohohop ihihit!" Ragatha was engulfed by the feather pile, kicking and squirming. It was hard to focus on finding that blue leaf now. "Ahahahaha! C'mohohon, wahahait! Can't we tahalk about thihi- AAHAHAHA! NOHOT THE NEHECK!" Gangle was trying to work on her drawing but the paintbrushes were making it difficult. She twisted and squirmed in her seat, having to stop a few times when her tummy was ambushed. "Mhmhmhmm! Ihihi- Ihihi cahahan't! HehehAAH! Nohoho, nohot theheheheeere!" Kinger was actually able to keep up with the bug collecting. He was just also being tickled silly in the process. The only setback was when a small spider crawled onto his hand and tickled his palm, nearly making him drop his net. "Hahahahaha! Ohohohohoo! Hey, HEY! AHAHAHAHA! Oh my goodnehehess! Ihihit reheheally tihihicklehehes!" And Zooble was just barely able to pry themself up, wrestling and wrangling the limbs as they tried to keep them at an arms length. A few did still manage to throw in some pokes and scribbles though. "Grrhrr! Ihi swear to gohohod, Caine! I'm gonna kill you when- GHkk! Stohohop!"

With everyone being tickled senseless, the ring was filled to the brim with laughter. There was only one person who wasn't laughing. And it was Jax. The purple bunny just stood there on the platform, watching everything go down. He was the only member that wasn't being ambushed right now. Caine was enjoying it all, but then took notice of Jax's presence. He perked up as he addressed him. "Oh, yeah! You were the only one who claimed to not be ticklish at all, right, Jax?" The ringmaster floated closer to him all casual. "I'll admit it's a little disappointing. I would have had a blast adding Tickle Traps to the obstacle course but, you know. Some things can't be helped." The ringmaster patted Jax on the shoulder. "Not to worry, Jaxy Boy, you've still got quite the endeavor ahead of you before you reach your goal. This just means you're now at an advantage, which you can thank me for later. Now best get back into the action!" Jax didn't say anything. He just stared at Caine with a funny look. He took another glance at everyone else in their own ticklish situations. It wasn't until Caine suddenly popped up close beside him, in an outburst that snapped him out of it. "Well what're you waiting for?!" Jax flinched before scowling in annoyance, storming off to get back to climbing the course. "Alright! Jeez, pushy much?" The bunny hopped right back to it, pushing past the halfway checkpoint.

Meanwhile, Pomni managed to get back to twenty plates despite her disadvantage, still giggling up a storm. "Hehehehahaha! Cahahahaine, how is- EEEH- HOHOW IS THIHIS FAHAHAHAIR?!" Pomni's laughter went up a pitch as she felt the hands drill their fingers into the spot where her ribs met her sides. The jester also couldn't help but notice a familiar face in the crowd. She saw her gator friend, Gummigoo. He sat between his boys, with crossed arms. It wasn't clear if he even knew her, but he did let out a low laugh at her reactions. Almost like one of endearment. It brought a slight blush to Pomni's cheeks. Caine would float near Pomni as he responded in his usual boisterous demeanor. "Why just think of it as motivation, dear Pomni! All those funny sensations are like boosts of adrenaline. The more it tickles, the more it drives you to try even harder!" Just then, a cheeky look appeared on the teeth man. "And from what I can tell, it must really tickle a lot."

As Caine casually watched everybody from above, he started throwing out a bunch of comments and teases. "Yep. Sure was bold to give away all your weak spots like that. But I do appreciate you making it easy for me. I never would've guessed something so simple would be the best way to crack you guys up." Zooble tried putting on an annoyed and angry tone through their laughter. They kept having to wrangle the tickly limbs going after them. "Thihis is juhuhust- ahaha- so fuhuhunny to yohou, isn't ihihit?" The AI was floating in a sitting position, still radiating nothing but cheekiness. "Perhaaaps." After a pause, he'd then take control of everything as he wiggled his fingers. "But not as funny as this!" Every "tickle tool" would enter a frenzy mode from Caine's action, tickling all of the circus members even sillier. A whole chorus of cackles, squeals, and ticklish laughter rang throughout the ring. Now their ringleader was just having a blast messing with them. Caine was smug as he continued wiggling his fingers. "My, my! What's funny to me is absolutely hilarious to you five. Just listen to all that silly racket. Talk about being...tickled pink." The ringmaster made the joke with a goofy face, a *sproing* sound effect playing right after as it earned another laugh track from the audience. Everybody was entertained.

Again, except for Jax. He was getting closer to the bell. But he didn't look all that happy about it. He was more focused on what was happening around him. All the others getting the tickle treatment, so to speak. It made him let out an annoyed scoff as he scowled and grumbled to himself. "This is dumb." Unfortunately, that little remark didn't go unheard as Caine seemed to appear near him again, eyeing him curiously. "Dumb?! And why's that, my hopping harold?" Jax jumped again, not expecting for the ringleader to acknowledge that. He tried to play it off though, going back to his sassy attitude. "Really it's dumb you thought this was a good adventure. I mean, c'mon. Is this supposed to be hard or something?" Caine tapped his chin, floated in that spot. "Actually I was never looking to make this a difficult adventure. More like a fun one. So everybody would be enjoying themselves!" Jax rolled his eyes at the ringleader as he crossed his arms. "Yeah, sure. This whole thing just screams fun right now." Caine got closer to Jax as he leaned forward a bit, able to sense that the purple fellow was in fact not enjoying himself. "What's the matter, Jax? Is the obstacle course not meeting all your standards?" Jax's face fell for a second, but quickly covered it up again. "Well you didn't have to go and make it so easy for me. At least make it fair game if you don't wanna show clear favoritism." Caine tilted his head curiously, gazing between the others and Jax. "Yes, but... it was never truly fair from the start. You're not ticklish like the rest of your companions, right?" Jax froze. A noticeable blush had spread across his face before he turned away. The ringmaster blinked as he stared at the rabbit. "You were telling the truth, weren't you, Jax?" A growl came from Jax, growing more annoyed at Caine as he blurt out in a defensive tone. "Yes, I was telling the truth!" But then his expression changed to one of hesitance. He went quiet for a moment before speaking up. "At least... as far as you know. Who's to say I wasn't just fooling you guys? Making you think I'm not. And that you really are as dumb as you look, falling for it so easily." Jax gave a devious and mocking grin, looking up at the ringmaster, taunting him and seemingly trying to get a rise out of the AI. "Or maybe not. You'll never know, will ya?" Caine had gone completely silent, blankly staring at the bunny for a few seconds.

"...Hm. I suppose we never will know that. Oh well!"

Jax was flabbergasted as he watched Caine simply shrug and start floating off. He stared with large pupils before the outburst then couldn't be helped. "Are you kidding me?! You're that dense, you're not even gonna try it?!" Caine suddenly stopped in his tracks. He paused before turning around with yet another cheeky look. "Try it, eh? Is that what you want? Well, why didn't you say so," he said and snapped his fingers. Jax could only freeze up as realization hit him like a truck. He looked like he had just been smacked in the face. "A-Ah" But before he could take it back, a hidden hatch opened up from behind him. And out popped multiple mechanical arms, a few of them holding feathers. They wasted no time before going after the rabbit, attacking him from all angles. Jax had jolted as if he was being shocked, a huge wobbly grin spreading across his face. A few snickers bubbled out of him. He tried to hold out but could only last so long before he bursted into loud cackles. "hhhHAHAHAHAHAHA! GhAAHAHAHAAHA! W-Wait! I didn't- PFFTAHAHAHA! I was kidding!" Caine gleefully watched with his hands on his hips, using that announcer voice again. "Well, whaddya know, folks! It looks like Jax has finally owned up to his little white lie and revealed how astonishingly ticklish he really is! Everybody give a big hand to our purple pal!" As the audience clapped, so did Caine while he cheerfully continued. "I'm so glad you've finally come around, Jax! I knew resorting to the old reverse psychology tactic would get you to crack eventually." Jax gave a shocked glare through his fit of laughter. "YOHOHOU KNEW THIS WHOHOHOLE TIHIHIME?!" Caine casually flicked his wrist. "You could say I had a hunch." Of course. On one hand Jax was peeved. But on the other hand, a small part of him was going "Well played."

Zooble had two of three models done, but they stopped to point at Jax. "I knehew you were lying!" Jax had a deeper blush across his face, embarrassed that he was called out in front of everybody. "ShhUhuhut UHUHUP!" He tried fending off the arms but to no avail, as two of them just grabbed his wrists so the others could get him more. Jax screamed when he felt feathers along his ears, shaking his head back and forth to try and escape the tickly torment. "No, no, NO! AHAHAHAHAHA! STOP! STOHOHOHOP! SH-$!@?!& HEHEHEHEHAHA!" Whelp. Looks like his worst spot was discovered too. "Oh, and by the way," Caine added as he hovered next to Jax. "I would like to mention that cheating is strictly prohibited in the Tickle Frenzy Marathon. So as punishment for your actions, I'll have to add a two minute time-out before you're allowed to move on." Jax's eyes widened at that. "Oh come ohohOHOHON! You sahahaw thahahat too?! GeheEHEHEHE!" Caine simply tsked at him. "Silly rabbit! Did you forget I have hundreds of all seeing eyes on you?" The ringmaster conjured up said eyes for effect. Pomni managed to shoot Jax a victorious look, glad that he was finally getting his just desserts. Albeit she almost couldn't do it with those hands walking up her ribs and tummy like spiders. "HA! Thahahahat's whahahat you gehEHEHEHET! Hehehehehehe!" Jax snarled in response, more lighthearted than anything. "Whahahatehehehever! KkheHEHEHE! Still worth IT! AHAHAHAHAHA!"

It was ticklish chaos from then and there. But none of the circus members had chosen to give up. They all pushed through despite them being tickled to near death. They were all getting closer and closer. Caine and the audience watched with intrigue and anticipation. "This is it, ladies and gentleman! The final stretch of the competition! Can our stars make it happen?!" The gang was just a bunch of giggly messes at this point. But... an amazing finish did happen. Literally all at the same time, Pomni had reached fifty balanced plates. Ragatha popped out with a blue leaf in her hand. Gangle lowered her utensils after giving the finishing touch to her drawing. Kinger had caught the last of the Tickle Bugs with his net. Jax swung the rope that rang the bell at the top of the course. And Zooble earned their third smile from the last model after putting on the last possible part. It was a finale that earned the biggest applause from the audience! Caine too was hyped up from the sight as he zipped up quick. "WOWOWOAAH! What an unexpected ending, folks!! Our performers have completed every challenge in Record Time!" With a wave of his cane, the tickling finally stopped. And every challenge was poofed away. The gang reappeared in the center of the ring, all of them collapsed into each other in a tired heap. They all had dizzy spirals in their eyes from that whole tickling session, letting out collective groans. Caine meanwhile showed up above them. He was ecstatic at this point. "Ladies and Gentleman, what you've witnessed here was history in the making. I'm pleased to say the show was a complete success. So much so that we might just have to do it again sometime!" Do it again? Oh no. And knowing Caine, that was a big possibility.

"Well now, my dear audience, I think that's gonna wrap it up for today's adventure. Thanks to every single one of you for stopping by and we'll see you all next time at THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS!" With one final applause from the audience, thus concluded the adventure as the scene poofed away.

Back in the Circus Tent

The gang was back in there usual hang out spot, at the little lounge area. They've finally managed to recover from today and were now taking a moment to just chill. Pomni sat on the couch as she rested against the cushions. "Well that happened." Ragatha was next to her, leaning on the armrest while she fixed her hair. "I'll say. I don't think I've laughed that hard in a while." Zooble sighed as they sat next to Gangle, slumped in their spot. "You know what? I'm not surprised Caine would do something like that. But at least it wasn't anything bizarre for once." Gangle nodded in agreement, and Kinger seemed as cheery as usual. "I actually had a fun time. All that laughing really does good for the soul, huh?" The others couldn't help but smile fondly at the chess piece's comment. Pomni chuckled and spoke up. "Yeah. Guess so." She then looked over at Jax, who was laying on the other sofa. He looked away from the group, but the jester smirked at him. "So. Not ticklish, huh?" Jax flinched, glancing over to see others giving him smug looks. It brought out a flustered glare from the rabbit. "Yeah, so what? I'm not the only one, am I?" Zooble rested their head against the back of their hand, finding Jax's reactions cathartic. "If that's the case then how come you lied about it? What, were you just trying to look cool?" Jax was staring off with his hands rested behind his head, acting unbothered like usual. "I always look cool. Besides I could've won that regardless of the whole tickle thing." He then shot Ragatha an unamused scowl. "Which, by the way, thanks for giving him bright ideas," he said sarcastically. Ragatha sheepishly glanced to the side, remembering that she was the one who brought the whole thing up in the first place.

Pomni seemed genuinely amused as she rested her chin on top of her hands, still smiling at Jax. "You can't pretend you didn't have fun, Jax. Especially since you're the one who wanted to be tickled." Jax's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He quickly sat up in a defensive manner. "Wh- Do you even hear yourself?! That's the most insane thing you've ever said!" Gangle was the one to speak up. "But you wanted Caine to figure out if you were lying." Zooble jumped in. "Exactly. Even if he did know, why taunt him and give yourself away like that?" Ragatha added on. "Unless you were feeling left out?" Jax went silent. But his pink face said it all. He didn't bother to respond and instead just took a pillow to smother against his face, as he flopped back down on the sofa. That got a laugh out of the others. They knew they were right. And so did he. Pomni slid off of the couch, walking over to the bunny to place a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. "It's okay, Jax. We're just teasing you. You know we don't think you're weird for it, right?" Jax hesitated before peeking out from under the pillow. He saw the soft smile on Pomni. It gave him some kind of comfort, even if he'd never admit it. After a moment his salty look softened before he sighed, lowering the pillow. "Um... sure."

Just then, a puff of smoke caught their attention as Caine appeared again. "Hello again, my giggling gooseberries! First off, I just wanna go ahead and thank you all for helping make today's adventure a memorable one. It was as much fun for me to prepare as it was for you to experience it!" Caine then suddenly faltered before his voice lowered into a slightly worried tone. "You did have fun experiencing it, right?" The gang looked at each other, but then smiled as they all expressed with their own comments that they did in fact enjoy today's adventure. It might have been silly. But it was a nicer kind of silly. Caine let out a breath of relief, hand on his chest as he continued. "I'm glald to hear it. And fortunately there's a countless number of tickle-related ideas for me to come back to, should we ever do this type of thing again. Which I don't mind at all." Caine then suddenly perked up. "Oh! And before I forget..." He snapped to summon Bubble with a large glowing gift box on his head. "Here's your grand prize!" The present floated from Bubble and right down to the Pomni's hands. She examined it curiously. "What's inside?" Caine beamed in response, throwing his hands up eagerly. "Why anything you want! Anything physical at least. Simply whisper whatever your little heart desires to the box and before you know it, it'll pop right out!" As Caine explained, he did give little tickles underneath Bubble's chin, earning tiny feral snickers from the little gremlin. Wow, they really had an effect on the AI. "And since everyone here did such a swell job today, I'll let it be a group decision."

Pomni paused as she held the box, until a sly smile then spead across her face. She turned to the others and gestured for them to huddle in. Amongst their quiet mutters, soon they all were smiling slyly and nodded. Pomni then did as she was told, whispering to the box before setting it down. Caine seemed eager as he gazed down at them from where he was floating. "Ah! Made your choice already? Terrific! What was it, if you don't mind me asking." The gang had all made themselves comfy. Never did they drop those sly, mischievous faces. "Well...since you loved giving us today's adventure, I thought we'd return the favor," said Pomni. Caine smiled as he thought nothing of it. "Really? Why thank you kindly, my dear. That's the nicest gesture anyone's-" The ringmaster froze upon being hit with the realization. "Ah...what?" Just then, the gift box shook and vibrated, before the top popped off and out burst a bunch of hands, feathers, and brushes. All of them wiggled dangerously, only having one individual in mind. Caine stared at the approaching tools with bulging eyes, a new feeling of nervousness enveloping him. "N-N-Now hold on second, superstars," he said while holding his hands out defensively. "There's really no point in this. I mean, seriously! An advanced software like me couldn't possibly have the same weaknesses that you humans do. That's just outright preposterous. Ha! Haha..." Despite his nervous rambling and chuckles, nothing would stop the devilish tickly items from getting closer and closer to the AI.

The crew watched with amusement, none of them falling for the ringmaster's words. Caine gulped, realizing his fate was sealed. He eyed the hands, feathers, and brushes right in front of him. And he braced himself before they pounced. The teeth man fell into a fit of loud and frantic laughter, higher in pitch than usual as he kicked and flailed around in the air. "AHAHAHAHA! AHA! HAHAHAHAHA! STOP! STOPPIT!" The tools didn't stop, however. Continuing on with the tickle attack as they went for all the ringmaster's spots. The circus members all smiled and laughed at the AI's dilemma, finding great satisfaction in giving the ringmaster a taste of his own medicine. Jax was definitely laughing at Caine as he pointed a finger gun at him. "Now this is funny!" Caine's own blush appeared as he was tickled mercilessly. He felt like he was losing his mind already. Was this really what tickling felt like? How could anyone endure this? But then again, was he enjoying it all at the same time? Unfortunately he couldn't focus on these complicated feelings with these ticklish sensations driving him up a wall. "HAHAHAHAHAHA! OKAY, that's quite enOUGH! AHAHAHAHA! YOHOHOU CAHAN STOHOHOP THIHIS NOHOW! AHAHA! GUHUHUYS?!" Zooble leaned towards the gang with a bucket of popcorn, casually offering some. "Popcorn?" The other's gladly accepted as they took their own handfuls and continued watching the sight in front of them. Looks like they all had their own show to watch now. Caine internally groaned in fear as he realized he'd be like this for a while.

Oh well. It was all part of the fun.

[a-simple-lee]

grace (heh) us with your ler grace wisdom 🤲

GLADLY I could talk about this forever

I really need to see the film again or finish the book (my ereader broke) bc i feel like i'm still getting the hang of this guy BUT!!!

I do still have a few thoughts that I can articulate:

This man will destroy you

I've seen it said that he is definitely a playful ler which leads to all kinds of horrible embarrassing mind games, and I completely agree

Some things to consider:

Countdowns. He WILL skip numbers just to see you panic

Feinting a lot, like pretending he’s gonna tickle you and then pulling away at the last second. Its awful

Lots of playful chasing - he will not pin you down immediately, although he absolutely can. He needs to get you giggling in anticipation first

An awful one to consider: walking his fingers towards tickle spots

Pretending to count your ribs and conveniently losing count

Pretending he’s not even tickling you

Quizzing you on dumb shit and tickling you more if you get the answer wrong

Twisting your words, like if you say “Don’t” followed by “stop” he’ll be like “Don’t stop? Wasn’t planning on it, but ok!”

As others have said, he definitely laughs along with you the whole time which doesn’t help at all

Yknow that scene in the movie when he makes a really bad "knock knock" joke to Stratt? Yea he totally does dad jokes when he's tickling someone (I am not witty enough to think of any examples tho)

Loves to comment on your reactions

"Jeez, I didn't know your voice could go that high!"

"oooh, that looks bad"

"How is it humanly possible to be this ticklish?"

finds a bad spot "Uh oh" (with a shit eating grin on his face)

hears a squeak/snort "oho, what was that?"

"Not where? Not right here? Is it too ticklish?"

Totally takes the piss out of you when you can't string together a sentence. If you try to say something he'll stop to let you speak and then start tickling again when you're mid-sentence to catch you off-guard. It's evil

"Stop laughing, I'm trying to have a conversation with you"

"Y'know, you're usually much more eloquent than this"

I believe @kitkatfingers rightly pointed out he canonically says "use your words" in the film. Do with that what you will

"Wow you can't even talk right now, that's insane. Anyway"

Do NOT. I repeat, DO NOT hold your laughter back around him

He will turn it into a game and he will win, and he Will tease you to get you to crack

"Tickle tickle! C'mon, I know you're holding out on me"

"Laugh for me, I'll go easier on you. Maybe"

"This is not gonna last now, is it?"

"C'monnnn, smile, I know you want to"

"What about…here? no…What if I do this- aha! Gotcha!"

He'd also definitely use anticipation to get to you, like exaggerating and moving really slowly when he's deciding on a spot to tickle

If you let any of it fluster you it's also game over

"Oh you blush really easily huh"

"What's the matter? Don't like it when I say 'tickle'?"

"I'm making it worse for you, aren't I? Good."

"Oh man it's like you get twice as ticklish when I talk"

Kind of obvious but if you swear he definitely tickles you more and pretends to tell you off because he's a little shit like that

Also if Rocky's around he talks MORE which makes things ten times worse, like he'll explain the science to rocky just to be a prick

"Almost all ticklish spots are areas where injuries would present a threat to survival. Mostly it's places that hold vital organs, like the ribcage - be quiet - or sometimes locations near arteries. See, if I go to the neck - yep. That's a lot of giggles."

"Hey bud, what do you think? Should I show mercy?"

I have so many thoughts about this guy....he's so horrible and I would love to get a better grip on his character. I think that's all my main ideas for now

so ...yeah

and I stand by that

thanks for reading

you get it now right

call me with questions I really want to talk about this more please please please

[someone1348]

YEEEEEESSS!! YEEESSSS!!

[soft--dragon]

Loneliness Haunts My Skin

Grace's years of isolation from humans result in severe touch starvation. Rocky takes one look at this problem and says, "Hold my minerals."

Word Count: 3,687

Warnings: None

This is a SFW tickle fic, if you don’t like that then don’t read :)

Inspired by an adorable series on A03 focused on Grace being a wet cat and Rocky learning about human quirks (physical contact and mental health)  Link Below! Archive of Our Own: Platonic Cuddling Series 

The journey to Erid was slow going.

Space. More space. Some stars. A little more space. And oh, hey, would you look at that! Space again!

During his lonely trek back to Earth, Ryland Grace had considered cracking out the cocktail of Knockout Juice to slip him into a coma until he was home. Now, however, he wasn’t alone aboard the Hail Mary. Heck, he wasn’t even going home anymore. 

He’d been on such a rollercoaster of emotions over heading back to Earth. Despair, acceptance (not really), hope, then acceptance again (for real this time). With the finality of his choice to stay permanently in foreign space, something festered within Grace.

Despite the companionship he has, an awful emptiness latched its teeth into his core and wouldn’t abate. No matter how much time he’d spend with Rocky or watch clips of Earth in the Don’t Go Crazy Room, the feeling of wrongness stayed, and Grace has no idea how to stop it. 

A shudder runs through his form, making Grace hunch further in on himself, gripping onto his arms. His skin ached something fierce, despite his hands rubbing along the surface in a meager attempt to self-soothe against the barrage of phantom needles. What he would give to be bundled in his mother’s arms like he was ten again after tumbling off his bike and scraping his knee. Or being smothered in his dad’s all-encompassing embrace after a failed science experiment, a promise that one day, “He’d be the smartest and coolest of all scientists”. What he’d give for any form of hug at all whilst in deep space-

The invisible aches haunting his body intensify in a sudden surge. Grace freezes in place, struck by a daunting realisation.

…Oh. 

It was cruel and unfair, but it made sense. The urge to cry welling up behind his eyes has Grace's breath shuddering out of him sporadically. 

“Grace, okay, question?”

The doubled thudding of the Eridian’s back leg cuts through the static building in Grace’s head. He looks to the side and finds the alien ‘watching’ him intently, his carapace shifting in blatant concern. 

Grace has to push the word out of his throat. “...No.” He rubs his palm along his arm with a disconnected fervor. It doesn’t feel as though the warmth of his own skin is even getting through. 

“What problem, question?” 

How could he even begin to explain the torrential emotions wreaking havoc on his wrung-out body? “There’s something wrong with me.”

“Grace sick? Question?” Rocky is growing restless, feet thunking against the xenonite shell of his ball.

Grace swallows back the lump trying to start an uprising of sadness in his throat. It was a persistent battle. “It’s a human thing,” he rasps. “I don’t know if it can be helped.”

“Explain. Rocky fix.”

Grace shakes his head as he burrows into his arms, both to hide his burning eyes and to escape this conversation. Rocky couldn’t fix it. Bless that alien’s heart of gold for trying, but he just couldn’t. What Grace needed, what he was craving, was human touch. It had been years since he left Earth, and his skin was growing desperate for an inkling of steady, warm contact. But by abandoning his journey to Earth in favour of saving his best friend - which he didn’t regret for a second, mind you - he’d robbed himself of the chance to ever experience it again. 

Granted, the last memory of touch was being forcibly restrained to the ground, suffocating pressure pinning him down as he screamed for help that would never come. Not exactly a golden recollection of human connection. 

A steady series of tapping filters into Grace’s ears, getting past the marching band thumping away. He peeks over his forearm. Rocky has rolled himself so close that he’s right beside his friend. 

“Heartbeat fast,” the Eridian states, worry warbling through his medeloic voice. “Bad, bad, bad. Oxygen needed.”

He’s close enough that Grace can feel the alien’s warmth through the xenonite. His skin practically buzzes with the idea of leaning against the Eridian’s stone-like form, multiple arms encircling him with a pressure that could settle his racing thoughts and lonely heart.

Grace can’t help it. He gives in to his pathetic, human instincts. 

His arms stretch out from his self-contained ball of panic to clutch around the xenonite, drag Rocky into his chest, and slump against the warm, glass-like surface. A sob tries to strangle his throat, but any noise is kept locked behind Grace’s pursed lips. Rocky tucks himself against the wall separating them, soft melodic noises rumbling from his form in an attempt to settle the erratic pounding he can hear within Grace’s chest. He’d only heard this in moments of extreme distress for his human, and it hurt every time. Though Grace is trying to stay quiet, soft plinks of moisture hitting the top of the zenonite were heard loud and clear for the alien.

Grace clings to the zenonite ball as tightly as he can, trying to trick his mind into believing that the smooth, warm surface was what it was after. That this hug shared between two species unable to co-exist within the same environment is enough for his human instincts. 

His skin prickles. The tears keep falling. It isn’t enough. And it is going to stay that way for as long as he is away from Earth. 

A shudder runs through the man at this bleak thought, the ever-expanding pit in his chest feeling as though it’s swallowing up his entire being. 

As if he heard the emotional casam split further, Rocky’s warbles take on a mournful croon. “Grace, tell Rocky what wrong. Please?”

Grace presses his tear-stained cheek against the warm surface, sighing miserably. 

“I’m touch starved.” He says it quietly, fingertips brushing over a surface that isn’t organic enough to trick his brain into thinking it’s skin. “Humans are social beings; we naturally seek connection, and with that comes physical contact. It’s common with anyone we’re close to, not just mates. It’s ingrained into us to co-regulate, so when we go for a long time without that, it causes us to experience skin hunger. It makes humans feel bad.” 

Rocky cocks his body to the side, akin to tilting one's head. “Is hug helping badness?”

Grace wishes he could say yes, but then he’d be lying, and he didn’t want to do that to Rocky. Shaking his head miserably, Grace scrubs a fist across his eyes to stem the flow of tears. “No. I’m hugging you, but I can’t feel you hugging back. Pressure is a key thing with hugging; it feels safer that way.”

Rocky trills sadly. “Apologies.”

Grace shakes his head again, but this time it’s paired with a weak, sincere smile. “It’s not your fault. Just sucks that our biologies are so different. I bet you’d give really good hugs without this thing in the way.” Grace knocks twice on the ball, emphasizing the distance between them.  

Rocky chitters, though there’s something contemplative about his tone now - an inquisitive warble rumbling through the plates atop his body. He leans away from Grace, his back legs thumping against the casing of his ball as he thinks. “Rocky has idea.”

“Yeah?” Grace lets his arms fall away, desperately ignoring the loss they feel as the warmth disappears from them. There was no need to be clingy. It wasn’t exactly like the hug was helping him in the long run. It was like putting a sticky plaster over a gaping chest wound and calling it a day.

Rocky trills again, more full-bodied. Determined. “Yes. Need to begin work now. Will show Grace when ready.” Rocky is practically buzzing. An eagerness tugging at his limbs as he fidgets in place, itching to start whatever ‘mystery project’ he’s begun cooking up.

“...You gonna tell me what your idea is?”

The alien gives Grace his version of a thumbs up and happily chirps, “No.”

______________________________________________________________

Two days. 

Rocky has been working nonstop for two days. 

To make it even more peculiar, he hasn’t allowed Grace anywhere near him as he crafts. Any time Grace sets foot in the lab, he gets hissed at. Forget Eridans being extraterrestrial lifeforms of complex intelligence. That sentient stone spider is a cat in disguise. Grace has it on good authority that the little guy practically purrs whenever he’s smug or has done something clever. There was simply no other way to describe the happy trills rumbling from his body. 

So, Grace has been forced to amuse himself with other things on the Hail Mary, as his only companion is acting like a kid fresh into puberty and staying in his room to play video games. Fortunately, Stratt had been generous enough to provide enough stimuli aboard the ship to keep the passengers entertained while they slowly died in an eternal abyss of stars. 

Unfortunately, he could only consume so many episodes of Star Trek in total silence before he felt an oncoming existential crisis about watching a space show in space.  

Thankfully, just as he’s considering going into the lab and risking being cursed out in Eridian, a series of clunks from multiple legs echo through the ship. Only… it didn’t sound like it was coming from inside the hamster tunnels running throughout the vessel. Nor was the clunking dulled slightly by a xenonite ball following the demands of five limbs. 

It sounds clearer. Closer. Concerningly faster than the ball as well. 

Grace drops the Comfort Quilt™ from his shoulders and scrambles up from his crossed leg position. He doesn’t even know what he’s bracing for, but what greets him when it stomps into view is not what he’d been expecting in the slightest.

Rocky is encased in xenonite. Not a ball. His body is literally wearing such close-fitting xenonite that it follows every crevice, bump, and grain on his form. 

“Hi, Grace!” He chirrups, sounding utterly exhilarated as he holds up a claw and splits it into the famous Vulcan greeting from Star Trek. “Surprise!” 

Thank god Grace put down his mug of coffee before preparing for a potential ambush, or the inventory would be down a cup. His jaw has long hit the floor in place of ceramic shards, eyebrows high as if pulled by a passing moon’s gravity. “You’re- you made a suit,” he sputters out.

“So Rocky can fix starvation of skin!” Rocky bounces and wiggles in place, the thin xenonite moving with him flexibly. He eagerly reaches out with his two front limbs. “Can hug properly now!” 

Grace stares. His ears heard it, but his brain could not comprehend the development. That being said, his heart definitely could, and it felt full enough to burst. 

He practically dives for Rocky and slams his full weight into him, knees colliding heavily with the floor. Rocky’s three back limbs counterbalance instantly, and the other two wrap tightly around his human. His claws grip into the fabric of Grace’s cardigan and stay there, keeping the man close against his body heat.

After months of being on the ship - technically years, but Grace didn’t count the coma for his own mental health - with absolutely no physical contact from another being bar a ball of xenonite, this hug was everything. 

It was tight, yet not enough for Grace’s deprived body. Every nerve was screaming from overwhelming warmth and pressure, but the idea of letting go only made Grace grip harder. He barely acknowledges he’s sobbing into the top of Rocky’s carapace; he’s too preoccupied trying to convince himself he isn’t dreaming. 

Rocky stays put, soft notes humming out of him in a gentle, soothing coo. He’s seen Grace cry before - that man had earned the title of ‘Leaky Space Blob’ after all - but this is different. It’s relief, it’s despair, it's everything the man has been silently yearning for in the depths of his subconscious. 

Rocky is more than content to stay where he was with Grace practically smothering him from his doubled-over position, all his strings cut and emotions raw. He would stay put for as long as Grace needs. He lifts one of his limbs from the floor and runs it through Grace’s hair. 

He pretends he doesn’t hear the high-pitched, wounded keening that leaves the human in a cathartic, emotional release.

______________________________________________________________

“How did you do this?” Grace asks. “This looks too thin- heck, it feels too thin to be safe for you.”

Rocky chitters, pleased. “Much trials and errors,” he says. “Important. Needed to make.”

Grace tightens his arms around Rocky for a moment before letting him go again. Well, kind of let him go, Rocky is lying over Grace’s legs with the man’s arms draped over his limbs. Yes, he was being a little clingy, but his entire nervous system was recovering from months of neglect. He needs this. 

“It means a lot,” he swallows back tears that threaten to have another revolution and overthrow his ability to see. He’s already shed enough to fill a water bottle or two. 

They’d moved to the dormitory once Grace felt reasonably steady to become a functioning human being again. (For those curious, it took a decent while for that to happen.) Now, he’s lying on his back atop the bedclothes with an Eridian carefully perched on his lower body as a steady source of contact. It seemed the small alien was enjoying the newfound freedom of touch without a ball getting in the way. 

One of Grace’s hands is being diligently studied by the Eridian. “Humans soft.” Rocky remarks, something like awe filtering through his musical tones as he delicately handles Grace’s fingers. “Too easy to damage.”

Grace snorts. “We can’t all be sentient canon balls, Rock.”

“What is ‘canon ball’, question?” 

“Projectiles we have on Earth. It was used in battle.”

“Rocky is terrifying space spider and dangerous ball, question?” 

Grace thinks of when Rocky first barged into the Hail Mary and proceeded to almost cause irreparable property damage to multiple items and devices within the ship. “Yes.” He states with a laugh. “You’re a force to be reckoned with.”

Rocky perks up. “Good reputation to have!” He prods at Grace’s fingers. “Better than leaky, squishy, space blob.” He pokes at the softer skin of the man’s side to further drive his point home.

Grace yips, batting Rocky’s claws away from his torso instinctively. “Hehey!”

Rocky jolts upright, removing himself from Grace’s legs. “Hurt? Grace hurt? Rocky hurt Grace?!” His voice flits up several octaves as he panics, hands tightly curled against his body to keep them far from his friend.

“No. No, no, you didn’t- hey, come back here, you silly goose. Stop freaking out.” Grace grasps one of Rocky’s retreating limbs and gently tugs him forward with an exasperated chuckle.

Rocky hesitantly steps closer, but doesn’t settle back down. Grace’s legs mourn the loss of their weighted blanket. “Grace make hurt noise,” he states. “Make same sound when burnt with solder iron.”

Grace sighs and sinks deeper into his mattress. He didn’t think this would be a topic he’d have to explain to aliens, but here we are.

“Humans have a pretty complex nervous system that has evolved to alert us when we’re in danger, specifically through touch. When you poked me, my body was telling me something was digging into a place where vital organs sit. The noise I made was just a byproduct of that.” 

Rocky considers this explanation, then makes a confused warble. “You laughed afterwards.”

Damn. Grace had been hoping Rocky didn’t catch that. 

“...Yeah.”

“Why, question?” 

“...It’s a human thing.”

“Explain. Grace live on Erid in future, need to know human biology.”

Well, no dodging the question now.

Grace sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “It just tickled a bit, that’s all.”

“No understand word.”

Double damn. 

“...Tickling is when humans are touched in a certain way that makes us laugh. It’s attached to the nervous system thing, part of our fight or flight response.”

Rocky tilts his carapace and extends a claw to wiggle against Grace’s side again. The small squeak Grace lets out causes heat to flush his ears. Rocky chirps, delighted. “This make laughter on command!”

Grace opens his mouth to parry that point, only to gasp and fall into bouts of snickers when Rocky’s claws start prodding at his stomach insistently with both claws. “R-Rohohocky!” 

It’s been years, even more than he’s been on the Hail Mary, since he’s felt this sensation. The scuttling, electric sparks spread through his nerves, causing him to flail helplessly. His hands scrabble to both grab onto and bat away Rocky’s curious limbs. Neither tactic got him very far.

“Grace sound very happy,” Rocky informs him. Thank you, Rocky. We’d be lost without your keen observation skills. “Are all humans this sensitive?”

Grace makes a strangled, embarrassed noise in the back of his throat and tries to yank his legs up so he can curl into a ball and hide. 

“No, stay stationary. Rocky is not done exploring this.” Rocky’s claws grab onto Grace’s knees to simply push them away, only for Grace to yelp and kick his legs out. 

“Nononono- Rohohocky c’mohohon!”

Rocky chirps, curiosity singing through his melodic voice. “Tickles happen all over, question?” He inquires, his back hand squeezing Grace’s knee and thigh twice in place of stomping. 

“ROHOHOCK!” The hearty cackles that sprang forth like an exploded fire hydrant were answer enough.

Rocky scuttles and prods over the muscular limbs, little chirps of excitement emanating from the depths of his carapace with every new noise he draws from Grace. Scratching at the underside of the human's knees produced a series of breathy, unstoppable giggles that vividly reminded Rocky of the young Eridians back home with newly developed squeaks perpetrating their vocal cords. 

Rocky relays that thought to Grace, and the temperature of the human’s face increased dramatically. 

“Grace embarrassed, question? Sound cute.” Rocky reassures, wiggling his claws into Grace's lower abdomen. 

A flustered noise left the man, quickly buried behind his arms as he wriggled incessantly from the tickling. “E-Enohohough wihihith- my knees!” He pleads, the feather-light wisps of touch sending his brain into a haywire state of laughter. 

“That okay, plenty more to try!”

Grace feels pressure firmly lay across his legs, keeping them still despite their instinctive desire to kick. Rocky has become essentially deadweight, using his higher body mass to easily pin Grace to the bed. At first, his heartbeat kicked up in learned fear from being pinned down amongst dead grass, but the gentle touches and familiar warmth of the Eridian dashes his anxiety instantly. 

It was kind of hard to focus on the last memory of being pinned whilst Rocky's two front claws had taken to prodding all over the man’s torso. Light and experimental pinches being tossed in just for curiosity's sake. 

“Grace should have informed Rocky of this sooner, could’ve cheered you up easily,” Rocky says, mirth filling his voice as he takes in Grace’s blinding grin, flushed cheeks, and bubbling laughter. He made sure to keep his touch light, not wanting to accidentally hurt his friend; however, in doing so, the tickling was simply more unbearable. 

And as much as Grace's touch-starved body is relishing in this newfound, sorely missed companionship, it’s tiring quickly. 

“R-Rohohock! Plehehease! No- Nohoho mohohore!” Grace wheezes out a laugh before slumping back into the rumpled bedclothes, all fight disappearing and leaving him in a puddle of giggles. 

Rocky chirps, withdrawing his claws from Grace’s stomach. “This hurts, question?” He stomps his back foot into the mattress to punctuate his concern. 

“No, not at all.” Grace drapes an arm over his eyes and takes in grateful gulps of air, the last of his laughter shaking his chest. “Just overwhelming, bud. It’s been a long time.”

“But Grace is okay, question?”

The hollowness is gone. Grace’s cheeks hurt from smiling. He feels good. “Yeah.” The scientist reassures. “Better than okay. I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in a while.”

“Want me to do again, question?” 

Grace’s arm that’s draped over his eyes shoots down to preemptively cover his stomach, an embarrassed grin spreading across his face. “Uh- no, no, that kind of touch is usually for play. Kinda wanting to get some rest now, Rock.”

Rocky chirps, leaning a bit more into Grace’s chest, akin to a weighted blanket. He wraps his claws underneath Grace in a hug, while one reaches up to scratch through his hair. Grace practically melts, a blissful sigh heaving Rocky up and then down in a slump. 

“Better, question?”

“Yeh, feels n’ce,” Grace slurs out, eyelids long since closed, and wrapping his arms over Rocky’s warm, xenonite-enclosed form. It was like hugging a hot water bottle made of glass. Sleep was sneaking around the corner with a bat and a trip to Night Night Station. 

A claw slips down his scalp, scraping close to the skin of his ear. Grace flinches with a small grunt. The claw pauses.

“Grace is serious? Here as well, question?” The amusement is abundantly obvious. 

“Shut up,” Grace grumbles, gently taking Rocky’s front limb and guiding it back to his hair. 

Rocky chuckles. “Humans are very endearing. Will be doing this again, statement."

Grace rolls his eyes, trying to pretend there wasn’t a blush practically living on his ears now. Rocky let him dodge answering that. After all, he plans to use this newfound information to keep Grace’s spirits up. There would be plenty of time to prove to his friend that humans were loveable space blobs. 

“You sleep, I watch.” He murmurs, carefully scratching the man’s scalp in rhythmic patterns. 

Grace’s fingers intertwine with Rocky’s and squeeze. “Thanks, Rocky. …And thank you for fixing this. You’re a miracle worker.”

“Will always fix for Grace. Grace family, statement.” 

Grace squeezes a bit tighter, hoping Rocky understands the love being projected through the gesture. He pretends his voice isn’t choked up as he whispers, “You’re my family too. Statement.”

The rumblings of the Hail Mary almost match the lyrical purrs emitting from Rocky, sending Grace into the deepest sleep he’s had since being aboard. Safe. Protected. Loved.

[someone1348]

SOFT I AM OBSESSED!!! YOU KILLED THIS!! THIS IS GOING IN THE FAVORITES!! AHHH!! AMAZE AMAZE AMAZE!! 🥰🫶👏

[dcczero2]

Ryland Grace- Tickle Headcanons

Lee headcanons

He wasn’t really tickled very much as a kid, and he certainly hasn’t experienced it much as an adult, so it isn’t until you come around that it becomes a common occurrence for him.

He doesn’t know what to think of it. The first time you got him, it was an accident. You were carding your fingers through his hair, and your nails grazed his ear. He jumped near out of his skin.

Definitely 100% absolutely ticklish in “weird places”.

Ears? Ticklish. Palms? Ticklish. Shoulders? Tops of his feet? The bend of his elbow? All stupidly ticklish.

In fact, one of his really bad spots is his biceps, especially if you get him pinned down really good. Just tracing your nails oh so gently from his elbow to his armpit is enough to have him a giggling mess.

Poor guy cannot at all tolerate being teased, especially if there’s any sort of praise involved. He’s so awkward about compliments, he short circuits every time you call him cute or talk about how pretty his laugh is.

He doesn’t handle anticipation very well at all. He’s very cocky up until he knows he has no way out of it. Smartass remarks very quickly turn into half-assed bargaining points. Once he’s pinned down, it’s just a mess of rambling and poor attempts to convince you to let him go.

Chronic lip biter. He’ll do everything in his power to fight back giggles and hide his smile. Not that he does a very good job of that but he does try.

“Hey, w-wait— hold on! Can’t we talk about this?”

No.

Absolute worst spots for this guy are his ribs and hips, but his thighs are definitely an honorable mention.

Incredibly susceptible to kneading and squeezing, but if you have long nails, spidering and clawing at his ribs will break him.

Loud as hell.

He’s very grumbly at the beginning because he’s actively straining to force himself not to laugh. He growls and huffs and tries to act all angry, but that never lasts more than about 30 seconds before he’s a cackling mess.

Baby talk and fake pity don’t really work on him. It definitely gets under his skin a little, but because he begs and barters with you so much, the worst thing you can do to him is ignore him, or pretend you didn’t hear/understand what he said.

He doesn’t have a problem saying the word or generally talking about tickling, but he will NOT tell you he’s a in a lee mood.

Not that it matters, it’s blatantly obvious when he’s in a lee mood. He gets way more energetic, and significantly more sassy than usual.

Rocky has in fact told on him for being in a lee mood (more on this further down), to which Ryland responded by teaching Rocky the word “snitch”.

I cannot stress enough how easily he breaks, and you can always tell when he’s just about reached his limit because loud cackles turn to weak, desperate, breathless laughter riddled with pleas and apologies.

Aftercare is always the same for him. He likes to lay his head in your lap while you comb your fingers through his hair, and he’s always left with this big dopey grin and his eyes glazed over, pupils blown out like saucers.

Ler Headcanons

This man is a mean ler.

He loves tickling you.

If he’s working on something or researching in the lab, he’ll hold you in his lap and tickle you with one hand while the other stays busy with the task at hand.

“Can you stop squirming? I’m trying to focus.”, and then he’ll tickle a worse spot on purpose specifically so he can punish you for “distracting him”.

Begging gets you nowhere.

“Please? Please what? Please stop? Mmm no.”

You remember the fake pity that I mentioned doesn’t really work on him? Yeah. That’s because he’s using it all on YOU.

“Aww it tickles? Yeah? Poor thing. Too bad you can’t get away, huh?”

This man absolutely loves a chase, and he has never been above calling himself the tickle monster.

Gets stupidly into the role. Growling and manhandling you and biting. Never enough to hurt, but enough that it tickles like crazy.

He’s very aware of the power of his stubble, and he uses said power very liberally.

Pretends he’s gonna let you go/lets you think you’ve escaped just to drag you back by your ankle when you start to crawl away from him.

Taught Rocky all about ler moods and lee moods and tickling in general because Rocky once found Ryland tickling you to absolute pieces and freaked out.

“Grace! Let go! They ask you to let go!”

So Ryland stopped just long enough to explain to Rocky that he wasn’t hurting you.

“Why you keep going when Grace mate say they not like tickling, question?”

“Because they’re a liiiiar!”

He proceeded to use you to demonstrate to Rocky all the different spots a human can be ticklish, along with different ways a human can be tickled.

He has never crossed the limit or made you use your safeword, but he sure knows how to get close, and he’ll intentionally make sudden movements long after he’s done just to watch you get all giggly and jumpy and nervous over nothing.

He absolutely pins you down just to hover and wiggle his fingers over one particular spot

“What’s wrong? I’m not doing anything.”

Just mean for no good reason.

Asked Rocky to make him a set of those claw rings, and told Rocky they were a present for you.

Quizzes you with science questions while he tickles you.

Tickles you more if you get them wrong/can’t answer them.

“You’re not taking this very seriously. This is very important information and you’re laughing.”

I have many many more thoughts about Ryland Grace, but I’ll leave it there for now.

[someone1348]

I GENUINELY CANNOT STOP THINKING ABOUT HIM SINCE I WATCHED THE MOVIE THE OTHER DAY THESE ARE PERFECT!!!

[tklpilled]

i don't use CHATGPT to write my fics, i STARE AT THE DOC and CRY like a REAL MAN

[just-a-fluffy-knight]

PROJECT HAIL MARY PROJECT HAIL MARY PROJECT HAIL MARY

For the requests lee Grace ler Rocky with number 5 and/or 23 please? (you can tweak it to Rocky's way of speaking) Hope you're well!

Can you tell I like PHM

Earth Jokes Gone Awry

NSFW/MDNI ACCOUNTS DNI THIS ACCOUNT IS RUN BY A MINOR!!

Word Count: 1.3K

Summary: Grace thinks it’s funny to pull a joke on Rocky. So, the alien gets revenge the only way he knows how.

A/N: AAAAAAA MY FIRST PHM FIC AMAZE AMAZE AMAZE!!! Thank you so much for your kind words anon I accepted this without hesitation and I couldn’t help making it a full fic either 🥹 These two are circling in my brain so hard right now so I had a lot of fun writing this, hope you like! <3

It had only been another day on the Hail Mary. Rocky had been tinkering with his xenonite to create more helpful advancements for the ship, Grace watching with that astonished look in his eyes when he passed by.

However, when you’re stranded in space on a ship for so long, you’re bound to get bored. And when it came to Grace, with boredom comes ideas for curing it.

So, the scientist decided to have a little fun with the alien.

He’d opened one of the ship’s many hatches to the room he slept in with Rocky, using some sellotape he had spare to create an invisible wall between the gap.

And with Rocky’s complete lack of eyes, Grace knew the alien was bound to fall for the little prank. Hook, line and sinker.

“Hey, Rock! You free for a sec?” He called out, laid across his bed and tossing his yarn ball of Earth up, catching it and repeating the action to look as innocent as possible.

Soon enough, metal clanks could be heard as well as excited chirps.

“Rocky hear Grace. On way, on way, on way.” The translator answered, and when Grace looked up, he was met with Rocky in his xenonite ball tumbling through towards the door.

And then, just as he expected, the cornered ball toppled through the wall of tape, the sudden force making Rocky lose his balance on his nubs of feet slightly before the ball came to a halt, now covered in the sticky material.

Luckily the alien wasn’t hurt, Grace would’ve heard some kind of alarmed chirp come from Rocky otherwise.

Speaking of Grace, his head was thrown back while he went into a laughing fit, arms around his midsection.

“Ohohoh, mahahan! Hahahahah-!”

It was at this point Rocky realised he’d been tricked, slumping down in his ball like some kind of puppy that had been regretfully informed the dog park was closed.

“…Grace laugh seriously now. Question.”

The flat tone of that computer generated voice made it a lot harder for the now astronaut to stop his chortling. For a creature with no face, even he could tell he was not amused in the slightest.

And Rocky’s inability to properly conjure common human phrases didn’t help either. Grace guessed he must’ve meant ‘Are you seriously laughing right now?’

“Ohokay, okay buddy, I’m sohorry, lemme getcha outta thihis-“ He rose from his bed, kneeling down in front of the ball to peel the sticky strips away.

“Why Grace make Rocky sticky, question?” A tiny warbling grumble followed after the translator spoke for Rocky.

“Ihits just a little joke, Rocky. Happens a lot back on Earth. Just a way people mess around with each other.”

“…Humans not funny.”

Grace chuckled again, ripping the final piece of tape away before standing up.

“There ya go. Good as new.” He nodded, patting the space ball before giving Rocky a smile with a hint of lingering mischief as he searched for a nearby trash can.

“…Grace will pay Rocky for trick.”

The ex-teacher only snickered.

“Sorry, pal. No money in space.” He joked, knowing that’s not what Rocky meant. But what he didn’t realise, was Rocky was in fact very serious.

A few taps against the floor of the room made Grace turn around, noticing Rocky stalking closer in his ball.

“Grace. Pay. Rocky.”

Before Grace could even get a word in edgeways, the ball sped forward. The scientist just narrowly slid past with a startled scream, booking it down the hallway of the ship as Rocky followed.

“Grace run! No point, I will catch! Fun chase, fun!” The alien chirped happily, surprisingly able to keep up a decent speed in his ball as he stumbled after Grace.

“Dangit, Rohocky-! Slow down a secohond, let’s tahalk!”

“No talk. Catch Grace.”

Soon enough, Rocky had somehow gained enough momentum to bump into the back of Grace’s legs, meaning it was now his turn to lose his balance, crashing to the floor too.

“Agh, mother…fluffer-” He groaned, rolling onto his back. Rocky skidded to another halt, his head-body(?) titling to one side.

“Accident, accident. Grace okay, question?”

“Yep, I’m alright…” He chuckled with good nature in the sound, moving to sit up. But it wasn’t long before the weight of Rocky’s ball was on top of his chest, keeping him down on the ground.

“Good, now Rocky can continue plan.”

“Uhuhuh… what is this plan exahaHACTLY-?” A small squeak had punctuated the end of Grace’s sentence once he felt two claws digging into his sides through the mesh material of Rocky’s ball.

“ROHohock-! Nohoho, don’t do thihis, come ohon!”

“But tickles good way to teach Grace a lesson. Rocky see how Grace react. Grace get embarrassed like I was after being sticky!” Another round of warbling chirps left the alien as he continued to dig, even moving up to the bottom set of his ribs.

“Tickle. Tickle, tickle!”

Gosh darnit, why did Grace have to teach him the actual word?? He could’ve lied and made up a word a bit more… bearable to hear, even if it was just coming from a computer generated voice.

Then again.. it wasn’t like anyone else was gonna be around to witness it any time soon. Unless the ship ended up activating the video diary for Earth on its own or something.

…The impossible thought wasn’t helping the flush spreading across his cheeks, though.

“Yohohou don’t have to speheheak doing this, Rohohocky-! Oh gohohosh-!” The scientist barely suppressed a snort as he felt two of Rocky’s back legs vibrating into either sides of his belly too.

“But talking works! Grace change colour, is funny! Tickle, tickle!” Those claws finally wormed their way under Grace’s arms, making him let out his loudest squeal yet, elbows pinned to his ribs as his glasses became askew from his head tiling back again.

“YOHOHOU LIHITTLE-!” The man cut himself off with a proper snort that time, smile wide and genuine as ever as he drummed his heels on the ground behind the tickle monster of an alien on top of him.

“Grace surrender, question? Rocky win?” Grace somehow almost heard a cheeky grin in that robotic voice. He shook his head, giggling too much to form a response that would be coherent at the very least.

…And that was when he instantly regretted those words, feeling the legs that had been previously shaking into his tummy now pressing right into the sensitive cluster on nerves at his hips.

One of his infamous high-pitched shrieks filled the hall of the ship, followed by hysterical belly laughter as he writhed and squealed under Rocky.

He did pride himself on lasting what felt like a good few minutes (but was actually about 20 seconds) before he weakly tapped the side of the space ball keeping him trapped.

The weight instantly lifted as Rocky rolled to the side, more excited trills coming from him as he did his victorious jazz hands gesture.

“Good job, good job! Rocky win, Grace defeated, am Master of Tickles, statement!”

“Ihihi…” Grace hiccuped as he pushed himself back up. “Aham never calling you thahat. Or pulling a prank on you ever agahain-“

He was interrupted as Rocky pressed his ball against him, leaning his being as close as he could. His version of a hug.

“Rocky have fun. Grace laugh is nice, contagious.”

The rookie astronaut huffed, wrapping an arm around the ball as much as he could. He could never stay mad at him, not really.

“So did I, pal. But I’m gonna find a way to get to you eventually, y’know-“

“Not possible. My atmosphere impossible to be touched by you.”

“Hey, I’ve met an alien, I’m convinced anything is possible at this point.” Grace smiled and patted the ball before standing up. “Now c’mon, show me those new advancements you’ve cooked up.”

The alien perked up, quickly guiding Grace back to his tinkering area.

“Yes, yes, yes! Am proud of creations, and so will Grace be! I show, I show!”

Grace chuckled, shaking his head as he followed the eager alien. Though he did kind of lie.

He was definitely pulling another prank on Rocky another time. Because a playful punishment like that wasn’t all that bad.

[veryblushyswitch]

THESE PROJECT HAIL MARY FICS ARE GONNA KILL ME THIS IS SO CUTE!! 💖

[someone1348]

I JUST WATCHED IT TONIGHT! THIS IS GREAT!

[someone1348]

do u think earl sweatshirt is a good artist

I never heard of them until this ask but because of that I listened to a few of their songs and he seems cool!

I'm more into indie/alt, pop, and a little rock so idk much about rap but his music felt like indie rap in a way 🤷‍♀️ not like the fast ones, I only listened to 3 songs so idk but yeah not bad!

[someone1348]

I'm here to change the ending for us team!! You already know whats about to happen >:]

BIG SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 8 OF TADC PROCEED WITH CAUTION!

People in this: Lee!Caine, Ler!Everyone else

Tw: Talk/ideas of torture so be warned, teasing, language, a god complex, and tickles so if you don't like that please keep scrolling thank you :]

With all that being said let's get right into the show!!

____________~☆°♡°☆°♡°☆~______________

Fallback Procedure Begin

They might have pushed Caine a little too far this time. This wasn't even the worst of it, but he was still going a little crazy and they needed to find a stop to it. Fast.

Pomni's idea was to put a bucket on Kingers head for some darkness. Her and Ragatha understood, and soon, so did the others. On why this was important. It would bring him to sanity. It just took way longer than normal.

"Hey Pomni" Kinger spoke softly.

Finally!!

Said Jester filled him in and they started with phase two of the plan.

Jax was already distracting the ringmaster. The others would join him soon enough as well while Pomni haunted for a computer for now bucket Kinger. She walked through the halls of the fake exit door once again, like she did when she first arrived, before grabbing the old computer with her transporting the hefty object to the chess peice.

"Do you need help with power or anything?" Pomni asked handing the keyboard to him.

"Nah, I can use my imagination for that"

Pomni took a deep breath

"You got this?"

"...I think so" Kinger spun the bucket around to the back of it as if it was a baseball cap. Even in serious times like this Kinger always knew how to pull some humor out of things. Even if he didn't realize it himself.

Kinger took a deep breath, pressing the button as it turned on. "It sure has been a while...I might need some time to get my bearings. Try to help the others distract Caine while I figure this out. He may sense something when I really get into it"

"Oh-Okay! I-I'll do that!" Pomni got up, determined to do her best to help everyone.

She moved towards the others away from the pillow fort. Or his impenetrable fortress as he calls it. Before stopping to thank him for helping them out with this and for everything.

Kinger watches her leave with longing before getting to work on hacking into Caines code.

This distraction turned into the biggest fit of Caines life. He finally snapped and now it was everyone's problem. The man glitched out so hard his voice got glitchy and deeper and he grew four more arms. Grabbing everyone in a rage he brought them to his face.

"Im gonna put you freaks in your place!" He threw them all into a dark space torturing them with their greatest fears and biggest insecurities.

Kinger got closer and closer to getting it but the code kept fighting back. He couldn't get the right password for an admin overdrive and he was freaking out trying to get everything together in time before Caine gave up and could find him.

Caine soon ripped everyone out of there and pinned them to the wall with his new five armed form. He was shouting at them about purpose and what he does for them all. Angry. Confused. Hurt. Crazy.

Kinger found Caines file during this time and accidentally clicked a button. The fallback system had begun. Everything was resetting, he had no control.

"Wait! No! S#!t!" He scrambled to try and fix it but nothing would work. The damage was done.

Caine suddenly popped over in normal form 7 feet away from everyone. Dropping everyone in the process due to the loss of the other hands. He couldn't move. The only functions he could use were his eyes and mouth, his body was still. Everyone stared up at him frozen. Unsure of what was happening but all assuming it was Kingers doing.

"But. Wait-"

Kinger walked out bucket still on his head looking at him too.

"What did you DO!?" Caine yelled "I can't move! You–" He paused mid sentence a wobbly smile starting to grace his features.

Kinger shrugged "I'm not exactly sure...but it seems to be working, you're stuck"

Caine tried his best to hold it in but he knew he can't hold on for long. Jax was the first to notice.

"Whats up with your face?" He spoke in a curious yet sassy way.

Canie huffed "N-Nothing! STOP ASKING!" Jax rolled his eyes and shrugged. The feeling kept spreading. Like tiny electric currents running all over his system.

Kinger jumped in "Caine...?"

"MHm?" He answered trying not to giggle.

"What are you feeling, physically?" The chess peice had an idea but he wasn't sure. Was something hurting him maybe?

"N-Nohothing! Shut up!"

There it was. Pomni got it right away.

"Oh my god...Caine? Are you ticklish? Is this tickling you right now? Whatever Kinger did" she said being a bit blunt but curious.

"N-NO! I-I'm nOhot!–this isn't!–I'M not a hUman, I don't understand?!–I don't hAhave! Such–!" He paused to hold his giggles back again.

"Oh my god! Thihis is gold!" Jax laughed a little and smirked.

his body slowly floated to the floor without his control. "H-Hey! NO! No no NO!"

"Well would you look at that" Zooble crossed their arms and stared at him struggling.

They all stood over their ringmaster as he burst out laughing on the floor. Unable to do anything about it.

Nobody knew how to feel. They all just looked as he laughed his head off and kept himself stuck in a t-pose.

"TUHuhurN IhIhihIT OHoHoff!!" He closed his eyes as Kinger looked at the computer sitting still, comfortably, inside his fortress. The loading bar read 66% complete. No wonder he was feeling it more now. But this was only 66% was Caine really that sensitive?

"I'm sorry Caine, I can't do anything until it loads completely. The fallback system is at 66%"

"Look at how the tables have turned!" Jax spoke up, the smirk in his tone more prominent then ever.

"Its kinda cute" Gangle spoke with a little giggle.

Ragatha smiled with her "a little yeah, its a complete switch up from what we were just experiencing..."

Caine groaned through his laughter in frustration "I AM NoHOT CUTE! I AHaM sTihihiLL GOD!!"

Pomni smirked "a pretty weak God if you're this ticklish at only 66%"

Caine tried to put on a mad face but its hard when a lot of your attention is being taken up by little ticklish jolts that keep increasing by the second.

"78% now" Kinger smiled

"You're moving up in numbers Caine! Maybe if we help you out it'll go by faster~" Jax smirked wiggling his fingers stepping closer to where Caine lay. The others catching on fast and all loving the idea.

"A chance for some well deserved revenge!" Zooble stepped up to him as well.

"This does seem like a fair trade for torturing us before" Gangle spoke joining them to where Caine was.

The other two, Pomni and Ragatha smirked at each other then at Caine as they walked to him as well. Kinger joined them too but kept an eye on the computer mostly.

"N-No...g-G-Guhuys WAhahait! I'm Sorry! I was Juhust alittle mAhahad! No neheed to Doho! This!" Caine tried to defend his case but it was too late.

"A little mad?" Pomni replied sarcastically

"Okay a lohot mad! But–"

"No but's! You had this coming!" Ragatha smirked again

"C-Cohome On! I–"

"85%"

With that, everyone began. All 60 wiggling fingers targeted every single spot on Caines body that could potentially be ticklish. It was a sensory overload. Caines AI couldn't process what was happening fast enough so his systems were getting weaker making it only tickle more.

"NOHOHO" Caines voice started getting glitchy again but in a more silly way this time.

"Awwww! Is our ringmaster a little ticklish?~" Jax teased.

"I bet it tickles so much huh Caine?~" Pomni joined in.

"STOHOHOHOP SHUHUT UHUHUP!"

"You're so adorable like this! I like this giggly version much better!" Ragatha smiled and continued.

"Tickle Tickle Tickle~" Gangle joined in on the teasing. Her tone light but teasy.

"You deserve this Caine, serves you right for thinking we'd let you get away with what you did" Zooble added to it.

"90%" Kinger called out with a smirk. His floating hands of tickly doom for Caine where under and on top of his left knee.

Gangle got under his right knee and thigh, her ribbons feeling like feathers to those areas.

Zooble and Ragatha got his underarms.

Pomni was on his ribs.

And Jax got his stomach.

No spot was left untickled. Caine was short circuiting. He didn't know if he loved it or hated it. It was all very confusing, but he couldn't think about it. He couldn't process anything but the tickles.

"It looks like I was right again Caine, our tickles are helping the system move faster~" Jax wiggled into his stomach a little harder at faster. Caine snorted and the area around him like the couch and a peice of the wall started glitching.

"You're almost there Caine, you can handle a bit more of this right?~" Pomni teased and moved her fingers down his ribs.

"STOHOHOHOP IHIHHIT! TUHUHURN IT OHOHOHOFF!" He squeaked as Kinger pinched his thigh too. Everyone still tickling him all at once.

"I already told ya buddy I can't, not until the systems finished resetting"

Zooble smirked "For now you're just gonna have to deal with this" they dragged a claw down his arm before going back to his underarm on the right.

"STOHOHOHOP!"

"Sorry Caine! But if it helps you look adorable" Ragatha smirked "Tickletickletickletickle!" She giggled herself and continued to tickle his left underarm.

Caine blushed through his laughter.

"Awwww!" Ragatha and Gangle said at the same time.

"Theres that smile~" Gangle teased as he moved faster under his right knee making him snort again.

"Like a little piggy" Jax joked as Ragatha scolded him

"Jax!"

"What?"

"NAHAHAHA!" His laughter was so loud. It was adorable, but if they weren't all due for some revenge majority of them would've needed to plug their ears.

"99%" Kinger exclaimed as they all got faster, their tickling and teasing becoming more and more intense.

"I'm gonna getcha!"

"Look at you~ so weak, so ticklish~"

"We should've done this to you ages ago"

"Tickle Tickle Tickle~"

...pop...

Caine disappeared and reappeared outside of the circle. Fully in control of his body again. The tickling and teasing came to an abrupt halt. They all looked over at him as Caine looked down in embarrassment and regret.

"100%" Kinger smiled "How you feeling buddy?"

Canie sighed "I-I'm okay...I'm just...sorry...for everything..."

Their features softened ever so slightly.

"Caine..." Pomni said

"No...I was awful to you all...and I know you can't forgive me, at least not yet! But I promise I'll be a better host. I'll try to be from here on out..." He spoke sincerely.

Jax shrugged and put his hands behind his head acting like he doesn't care. "Whatever"

"Thats a start" Zooble said

It would take awhile for things to change for good. But, this was a good start.

"And if you don't change at all well...we might just have to give you another system reset~" Pomni smirked wiggling her fingers at him making him gasp and fly away at the speed of light.

Everyone laughed before heading separate ways to try and rest.

‐--------------------------------------------------------------------

I fixed the ending >:]

but for real, this was so much fun to write! I hope ya'll enjoyed!

[saturnzskyzz]

K!!! OUR LIFE SAVOR!! OH MY GOSH THIS WAS SO GOOD!!!

we all needed this after ep 8, AAAHHHHHH that episode killed me. None of them deserved any of that whatsoever. I’m calling this alternative ending canon 😭😭

By the way, having it to where it was like a factory system update type situation is such a GOOD IDEAAAAA!!! Like WHAT?!!! girl- YOU COME UP WITH GOOD IDEASS give me your brain 🤲

[someone1348]

AHHHH THANK YOU SATURNNN!! IM SO GLAD YOU LIKED IT!! 🥰🫶

It is the cannon alternate ending! Thank you! Its decided and confirmed by you! 👏

And Ahhh thank youuu! 🤭 my brains silly idk how it operates but im honored that ya'll enjoy it!

[someone1348]

hello hello! corrupt/neyuri here for obligatory yearly check in lololol 😭 i just made another tk blog that i hopefully wont delete again but gosh its been a whillleeeee

good to see ur still active and we still have similar interests 👀👀 i just saw a lee caine post so i will👀 be checking that👀 out👀

HEY CORRUPT!! Its good to hear from you!! We love the yearly check ins! I'm so proud of you and I hope you're doing well!

And Yessss! I love TADC!! I hope you enjoy the Lee!Caine fic! 👀🫶

[saturnzskyzz]

Helllooooo!!! You're lowkey one of the few people who write for aib and are also in the sfw tickling community but I wanted to check if you take requests or not before I send one!! 🩷🩷

Hii!! Thank you for asking first, I appreciate it!

I’m not taking requests for right now, but I do want to write for aib in the future!! I just don’t know when I’ll be writing one 😅

I do recommend checking out @someone1348 ‘s aib fics if you haven’t yet because they’re SO GOOD!! She brings her aib fics to LIFE with how accurate she writes the characters!! And the details she adds into it UUGHHH chef kiss 🤌

Thank you again for asking first!! 🫶🫶

[someone1348]

YOU'RE THE BEST SATURN 🫶🫶🫂🫂🥰🥰

[depresseddisneyprincess]

reblog this if your blog is a safe space on april fools and won’t have any jumpers, screamers, or anything scary or anxiety inducing

[lover-of-cuteness]

I honestly hate this holiday so much- I hate getting tricked, even if it’s something small, and then people get mad at me for being grumpy afterwards-

[intheticklecloset]

☝️

Couldn’t have said it better myself. I hate this “holiday”.

[depresseddisneyprincess]

reblog this if your blog is a safe space on april fools and won’t have any jumpers, screamers, or anything scary or anxiety inducing

[lover-of-cuteness]

I honestly hate this holiday so much- I hate getting tricked, even if it’s something small, and then people get mad at me for being grumpy afterwards-

[intheticklecloset]

☝️

Couldn’t have said it better myself. I hate this “holiday”.

[someone1348]

Hey, that anon can mind their business dawg. You're allowed to do whatever you want with your content- include selling it- and I sincerely cannot understand how it would affect platforms like ao3, amongst some of the more popular fic/content platforms. You want/need to make money? Make them bills fly green then, bitch, and fuck anyone who tries to get in ur way lol. I'm a die hard supporter of ur work

ANON WHOEVER YOU ARE I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! /platonic

But for real I'm posting my content for free like everyone else but I include personalized fics at a decent price if anyone wants them because I wanted to and at the end of the day I'm a broke college student just trying to get some pocket change too! 🤣

We love it!

But for real all the love to ya'll! <3

[schpog-art]

Sometimes violence is the answer. And some moms deserve to get kicked. 🎀

[someone1348]

This would've been SICK!! 👏🫡