When we have affirmed that “God is love,” we must ask, Is there still more to be said? In particular, how do we harmonize His love and His j
The biblical affirmation “God is love” (1 John 4:8) was called by John Stott “the most comprehensive and sublime of all biblical affirmations about God’s being.”1 The Apostle John does not say that “God is loving.” It is not God’s behavior, but His essential nature which is in view. God “is love in His inmost being.”2 All love is “from God” (1 John 4:7). He is the origin and source of love. God is the “fountain of love,” says John Calvin.3 His nature, His being, His character—God’s essence is love.
Summary: Terry Johnson was 23. He was a handsome man of German descent. He had thick brown hair, green eyes, and wore rectangle glasses. He was 6'2 with a healthy body weight. The only problem was that Terry was the type who kept to himself, the sort who didn't let much light into his life. Can a monster Terry hadn't seen since his childhood help him see the worthiness in himself and let his inner light shine?
(Content warning: Tickle fic, tentacles (non-sexual).) (My first OC tickle story! Yes, I wrote this before "Skylar's Dragon"! If people like this or the other story, I may write sequels! :))
…
The light of the phone screen made Terry squint his jade green eyes. He immediately switched to dark mode.
He was trying to read fanfiction of his favourite series, "Bendy and the Ink Machine." This one was about Henry finally getting out of the loop he was in.
Terry read through the fanfic and sighed. It was a well written story, but it was as of yet not updated. He thought he may as well read it anyway but was prepared for the cliffhanger it would end on.
There was a shuffle in Terry's closet. He didn't pay it any mind. Probably their orange cat Kimberly having snuck into his room again. He smiled to himself, remembering the cuteness of his cat.
He kept reading the story, but couldn't help notice the shuffles in the closet seemed more like someone was digging through his clothes. Rolling his eyes, he put down his phone, and walked over.
His closet seemed perfectly normal as he looked through it. Nothing was in there.
"Weird," he said as he turned back to go read his story.
Picking up the phone, he read a little more. He was almost at the end of the chapter.
Then he heard something stomp under his bed. Fear spiked through him.
"H-hello…? Anyone there?" He called out.
No answer.
Suddenly the monster came at him, wiggling its black tentacles at him from the ceiling. He shrieked and fell back onto the bed, pulling his covers up to his nose.
The tentacled monster waved at him and smiled, showing its shark-like teeth.
"Terry! Hi!" the monster said, and made itself upright, sitting on his bed. "How are you, kiddo? It's been so long!"
"Tom?!" Terry said, not believing his eyes. "B-but you're not real! Y-you're-"
He cut himself off to just stare at the monster he'd thought was imaginary this whole time.
"Hm? Oh, well usually we monsters don't visit our kids after they grow up. So everyone looks back at us as imaginary creatures they made up as children. But this was an emergency, and I've come to intervene!"
"Huh? W-what's going on?" Terry said, concerned. He was still not over the shock of his childhood tickle monster being real.
"We've got a case of serious grumpiness that I've come to remedy." He said with a smile. He wiggled his tentacles.
"What?" Terry said, with a nervous giggle. "Hehheheh-! Y-you don't mean…?"
"I do. Now Terry, come tell me what's troubling you."
Terry looked over at his phone with dreary eyes, and back at Tom.
"It's a long story…"
Tom frowned and shook his head. "Come here."
Though Terry was grown up now, he found comfort in Tom. He shifted closer to him, and smiled up at him.
"I don't know… I was kind of a jerk. I mean, I feel like a jerk…"
Listening carefully, Tom put a tentacle around Terry's shoulders.
"It was at a co-worker's retirement party. There was a blonde girl there. She wore a purple dress. She didn't wear any makeup, but she seemed kind and optimistic."
"Aww, she sounds nice. So what happened?" He said, curiously.
"Uhh… well…" Terry said, thinking it over. "I was kind of awkward when me and my dad talked to her and her mom. They knew my uncle, and they asked me why I wasn't at his bake sale charity event. I told them it wasn't my style, and I don't know… She seemed a bit disappointed in me."
"Oh? So then what happened?"
"Well, nothing much. I saw there was this bean bag game people were playing. I played a couple times, but my dad was better at it than me… and the girl was a lot more athletic. She was out there for a while, playing it over and over."
"Okay. So did anything else happen?"
He shrugged.
"There was this group gathering. I guess we had a toast, and some food, and then we went home. That's all there is to it."
Tom looked at him sadly.
"So what was the problem here?"
Terry shook his head.
"Well… maybe I should have gone to my uncle's event for charity. He's a nice guy and he's always supported me, so it would be nice to support him in return. Even if the event isn't really my style." He pondered. "I guess, maybe dad was right… Doing stuff you don't always want to do builds character." He smiled a little, the nostalgia of helping his father with his woodworking shining in his eyes.
"Exactly!" Tom said, supporting him in his decision.
"Another thing is, I feel like people at work don't really like me much." Terry sighed. "I delivered some of our supplies to the wrong place. It's my own fault, but I don't really know if I can fix it." He admitted.
"Well, you know what can fix a glum face?" Tom said. Terry then giggled, shifting away.
"Heheheheh! A-already?" He braced himself, ready for the attack. His usual low baritone voice pitched up a bit higher. Tom smiled mischevously and scooped him up in his tentacles. He used two of them to tickle his underarms, making Terry shriek with laughter. "HEEHEHEHHEHEEEEHEHEEHHEHEHHEHEEHEHEHEHHEEHHEHEEEE!!"
"Goodness gracious! You are still as ticklish as before!" Tom teased. He used two more tentacles to sweep up and down his sides.
"HAHAHAAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAHHAAHAHAHA! STAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAHP!" Terry cried, wiggling his body every which way, but still unable to get away because of the way the tentacles held his limbs. Some of the tentacles supported his torso too, and one of them decided to target his back and slide up and down his spine. "WHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHHAHAAAA! NOHOHOHOOT THERE!"
Tom was feeling rather playful, but he wanted to listen so Terry could feel safe with him. He stopped tickling the spine, and moved to support it instead. His other tentacles tickled his ribs, making sure to slip and slide in a way that felt extra tickly.
"HAHAHAAHAHHAHAAHHAHAHAHAAAA! WHY THAHAHAHAHAT?!" Terry shrieked. He felt giddy and carefree like this, the memory of his relatives tickling him coming back. He hadn't been tickled since he was 13, so it was quite the surprise. "HEHEHEHEHEHEEHEEE! C-COME OHOHOHOON!"
Juxtaposing his tentacles, he wiggled them under Terry's shirt to circle his belly from opposite sides. This made him wiggle and shriek even more.
"Because it's fun!" Tom giggled. Two more tentacles came and gently squeezed his hips.
"HAAHAHAHAAHHAHAAHAAA! WHYHHYHYHHHY?!"
Deciding Terry probably needed a break, Tom stopped. Terry breathed heavily.
"Hee hheee heheheeh hehehe hehee…!" Terry giggled as he gasped for air.
"How was that, huh?"
Terry managed to calm his breathing and looked up at Tom.
"Heh… Y-you forgot… my feet…"
Blinking his dark brown eyes, Tom then grinned.
"So, you want more?"
Terry nodded with a blush and looked away. Seeing Terry's blush, Tom giggled to himself.
"We don't have to continue right away." He reminded him. Terry just huffed.
"Well… Uh… I-I want to."
Tom pulled him into his tentacles again. This time he let Terry rest on his bed while he went at it. Carefully, he lifted his black hoodie and shirt until he saw his ribs. He carefully slid his tentacles under the hoodie and slid his tentacles up his ribs until he rested them in his armpits. He moved them slightly, getting Terry to chortle.
Carefully, Tom's other tentacles removed Terry's shoes. They carefully slipped his socks off as well.
"Are you ready? By the way, I might get your belly again, so don't be surprised."
Terry just giggled in anticipation.
"Heh! I-I won't be-!"
Quickly, Tom used two tentacles to go at his belly, and two more to sweep across his soles. This sent Terry into a ticklish flurry. He wiggled all around the bed but couldn't get away because of the two tentacles that held his wrists, and two more that held his ankles.
"HEEHEHEHEHEHHEHHEEEEHEEE!!" He laughed hard as the tentacles on his belly moved from his stomach, up to his ribs, and swept close to his sides. He squealed as one of them found his belly button, wiggling its way inside. Meanwhile, the tentacles at his feet slid into his arches, going at them rapidly. "HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAAA! PLEHEHEHEHEHEEEASE!"
It felt like torture, but he didn't want it to stop.
"HAHHAHAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHHHHAAHAHHAA! WHYHHYHYHHYHYHYY?!" He squealed, as the tentacles moved to trace his toes on one foot, and slide between them on the other foot. Meanwhile, the tentacles at his stomach swirled in circles again, getting close to his sides, and then quickly moving again, one sliding and then swirling in his belly button and the other sliding back and forth along his mid-back. It slowly went down to his lower back, and then slid up again.
Soon Terry was hanging half-way off the bed, his stomach stretched in a vulnerable way.
Tom didn't let up. He let go of Terry's wrists and held his hips instead, trying to pull him up. The tentacle at his belly button didn't let up, and was able to tickle between the skin folds all the way to the back, which made Terry feel ticklish in a way he'd never felt before. His entire tummy felt ticklish tingles go through it. Terry squealed, his fluffy brown hair getting tossed all about. He was about to cry for mercy, when something else caught his attention.
"HEEHEEHEHEHEHEHEEEEHEHEHEHEEEE!! MY GLASSES! HEEHEHEHEHEHHEEEEE!! PLEASE! MY GLASSES!"
They were about to fall off his face.
Tom stopped, and pulled him up, using one tentacle to save his glasses. He put them back on his face and smiled at him.
"There. How do you feel?"
Terry gasped for air, laying on the bed to catch his breath. He was still smiling, and gave a thumbs up to him. A few more moments were spent in silence as Terry caught his breath and curled up, rubbing at his stomach and feet to help the tingles go away. His face was flushed and he smiled adorably. He'd missed fun times like this with Tom.
Suddenly his phone buzzed. Picking it up, Terry saw that it was Hailey.
Groaning, he went to his messages and texted her back. Hailey was a girl who had a crush on him. Her hair was dyed bright red and she was kind of cute, with pale blue eyes. However, Terry didn't think they'd be a good match, because Terry was secretly gay.
She was one of the employees under his management. He'd shown her the ropes and helped her, and that had been enough. She'd made her crush quite obvious.
He sighed, seeing that she was just concerned about how he was feeling. He texted back that he'd be alright, he'd probably looked glum the other day.
Tom noticed Terry texting.
"Oh? Who is it?" He wondered, and looked over. Terry quickly hid his phone.
"Uhh, it's Hailey. This girl who likes me." He said.
"Oh. Interesting! So, what's she like…?" He said excitedly.
"Well, she's uh… She's nice! But uh, she doesn't know…" Looking away, he cleared his throat. "Uh, t-that I'm gay…"
"I see." Tom said. He smiled, putting his tentacle on his shoulder supportively. "Do you think she wouldn't accept you?"
Terry didn't answer, just looking away and sighing. Hailey seemed like a sweet girl, but if word got out that he was gay, his parents would probably disown him. And he was still saving up to buy a house.
"Uh, it's not that… It's just that, uh, I want to be cautious. My uh- The last person I told kind of uh, broke my trust."
Tom listened carefully.
"My previous boyfriend. He told the guys at my hockey team and they never stopped making fun of me…" He put his hand over his face. "I uh, just like to be cautious, you know?"
Tom nodded, understanding. Looking down, he noticed Terry's black painted nails. They were slightly chipped, but he hadn't picked off the paint yet.
Sitting in silence, Terry didn't move. He didn't know what to do.
Tom gently massaged his shoulders, wanting to make him feel better.
"Terry… If this girl is truly nice as you said, I'm sure she'll understand. Besides, the faster you get it over with the sooner she can move on." He said. "She's not a blabbermouth, is she?"
Shaking his head, Terry fidgeted with his hands.
"Nah, Hailey is shy. She barely talks more than she has to…"
Tom patted his shoulders.
"I think your nerves are getting to you. It'll be alright." He smiled. "I promise."
"Thank you…"
"No problem, kid…"
Things would be okay in time. Terry was glad he'd talked to someone about this, and knew if no one else had his back, Tom did. He felt loved and supported, and knew he'd have the courage to do what was needed. After all, Hailey was a nice girl and deserved to know the truth.
'You know the last thing he said to me? He said he didn't like himself.'
'You're the only person I know who does. The rest of us grieve. We grieve for the person we dreamed of being and never grew into.'
