((New year and back on my bullshit :D so this is inspired by these beautiful arts by the wonderful @fluffymary for her Cuphead tickling AU, which continues to water my crops and clear my skin. tysm friend, I hope I did it justice!! <33 ))
Fic masterpost
Beppi was not about to lose this.
He’d been flawlessly mimicking Djimmi all day in their game of ‘anything you can do I can do better’, down to the grand sweep of his hand as he levitated something to him (Beppi just had a couple balloon dogs float it over), his deep baritone and the old-timey rhyme-y way he talked. It was a matter of clown pride – one did not simply lose prank wars, even if that meant undertaking the two most devilishly difficult tasks ever: being quiet and sitting still.
He wasn’t entirely sure how long he’d been perched on that stool – minutes, hours, days? – balancing with his legs crossed and eyes closed to “focus the mind”, or so Djimmi claimed. He had to be plenty focused by now, but every time Beppi snuck a glance he was still floating there, seemingly in a state of total tranquility, not looking like he planned to move any time soon. This was torture - Beppi’s nose itched, his butt was asleep and the silence went on for so long he was positive his head was going to explode from boredom. Would that count as making a noise? He almost asked Djimmi, but then remembered –
“Hey, Beppi, Djimmi!” A familiar, cheerful voice interrupted his ponderings, and Beppi deflated a little in frustration – normally, of course, he’d be more than happy to greet a pair of friendly mugs, but today was the opposite of normal. “Whatcha doin’?”
“Cup, sssh,” came a slightly quieter one. “I think they’re meditating. You’re supposed to keep real quiet. It’s relaxing.”
“Huh? No kidding!” Beppi could just hear the size of Cuphead’s mischievous grin, and he knew his predicament wasn’t about to get any easier. “Beppi, quiet? This is gonna be better than any of his acts!” – ouch, Beppi mentally clutched his heart, that was uncalled for – “Betcha two coins he’ll break any second now.”
“Don’t be mean!” Mugman scolded his brother, though not terribly convincingly as Beppi felt them both sidle closer, one on either side of him. “It must be tough on the poor fella, having to concentrate so hard. He’s not even allowed to laugh…”
“Heeeeyyy, Beps.” Cuphead leaned against his thigh, elbow digging in a little as Beppi felt his lips start to twitch. “You doing okay there? That stool looks a little wobbly – I sure hope you’re not gonna fall...”
“Gee, I never saw a clown look so serious before,” Mugman joined in, resting a hand on Beppi’s knee in mock concern. His fingers started to drum a light, teasing rhythm, every tap stirring butterflies of anticipation that threatened to flutter out into giggles. This was so completely unfair, Djimmi was playing dirty, enlisting extra tormentors. He’d get them all back good later. “Maybe he forgot how to smile? Think we oughta help him?”
“Hey, Mug, watch this.” Not daring to open his eyes for fear of cracking – ha, cracking, cups – wait, no jokes, he couldn’t be foiled by his own hilariousness! – Beppi felt Cuphead tugging at his hat. Oh no, those little rascals, they wouldn’t dare…
The deadly tickly tip of his own peacock feather assaulted his defenseless nose, making Beppi exhale hard, twisting and scrunching his face up every which way like he had a mouthful of sourballs in a vain attempt to evade it. He was putting on quite the show, if Mugman’s giggles – which were definitely not helping – were anything to go by.
“Damn, I was hoping he’d sneeze confetti again.” (That was a good one, if Beppi thought it himself.)
“Let me try!”
Beppi could only guess Mugman had grabbed the feather from the way it fluttered torturously back and forth over his neck; he had to press his lips together hard, barely managing to squash the squeal. He wanted to squirm away so bad – but if he could hold out just a little longer, maybe they’d get bored...
“He squeaked! I heard it!” Cuphead exclaimed with sadistic glee, before hopping right up onto Beppi’s lap, making them wobble dangerously as he repeatedly poked his cheek. “C’mooon, where’s the big ol’ goofy Beppi grin? It can’t hide from us forever!”
“Oh, I know! First to find the giggle button wins!”
Beppi knew he was a goner from ‘giggle button’; he had no hope of keeping a straight face when they both attacked, sixteen wicked little fingers finding every weak spot (of which there were many). Snickers started spilling out when someone pinched around his trembling tummy – he was pretty sure that was Mugman, because Cuphead was a lot rougher, prodding along his ribs like he was typing a particularly urgent telegram. Despite shaking with not-quite-silent mirth, he was still just about holding his pose up until a finger wiggled viciously into that spot between his ribs and underarm.
He let out a squawk like a strangled chicken, jerking too violently to maintain his balance and finally sending the three of them tumbling spectacularly off the stool. Instead of hitting the floor as the cups jumped off of him, however, Beppi found himself cradled in a pair of familiar beefy arms.
“What a pity, such a shame,” Djimmi murmured, eyes twinkling with affection and amusement before he moved his hands to clasp Beppi’s wrists, rendering him helpless. “The ticklish clown just lost this game.”
“N-now hold your Charlies a sec,” Beppi protested, a feeling of utter joyous doom swelling in his heart as he struggled ineffectively in Djimmi’s tender grip, Cuphead and Mugman smirking menacingly at him. “This game was never fahahahair nononono not there!”
But as they pounced, all his suppressed giggles and snorts and squeals finally filling the air with joy again, Beppi thought he might not be such a sore loser after all.
"Ya want somethin' to laugh? I'll give ya somethin' to laugh at!~"
(Fell/Tickling Fusion)
Rumors has it that an eyeless Ghost who resides inside abandoned Buildings causes People to literally laugh themselves to death by tickling them and tearing their Organs out of their Bodies at the same Time.
Weirdly enough, her Victims seemingly do not experience any Pain whatsoever during that Process.
(decided to Brainstorm some Ideas as to what kind of Rules the Last Resort would have-)
- there are certain “Safe Zone/Off-Limit” Places inside the Hotel such as:
Rooms of Residents/Visitors (cannot be entered at least not without the Permission of the Resident/Visitor)
Rooms that require Privacy, such as Bathrooms/Toilets and Changing Rooms (for obvious Reasons)
Staff-Only Rooms/Workplaces (not unless without Permission)
- Residents/Visitor of the Hotel receive a special bright neon-coloured Accessoires (usually in form of an Arm Bracelet) that can be worn to indicate following Reasons:
Wearer has a medical Condition (such as with Skin, Lungs, Heart, etc) and should therefore not be engaged with in certain Activities to avoid potential Harm
Wearer may have Sensory Issues and shouldn’t therefore be touched
Wearer is currently busy/not in the Mood to interact and wishes to be not engaged with
Wearer may have some Issues with Touching in general (due to personal Reasons such as Trauma)
Wearer has an Injury on them and should not be engaged with in certain Activities
etc
- the Doors to Rooms of Residents/Visitors may also be marked in order to indicate the Reasons mentioned above
- Visitors are given some “Safe Words/Signs” from a List to choose from that the entire Hotel has been taught about upon checking in
Safe Signs are taught in the Case of Residents/Visitors who are Hard of Hearing/Deaf or have Problems with verbal Communication (such as Mutism/Selective Mutism, certain Conditions/Damage to the Vocal Cords, etc)
- there are Situations where a Ler has to immediately stop tickling their Lee no matter what:
Lee is in clear Discomfort and does not enjoy the Session
Lee has made use of the Safe Word/Sign that was given to them
Lee has substained an Injury/Accident during the Session
etc
- a general Rule is to not sneak up on/tickle someone who is currently
consuming Food/Beverages (in Case of a Choking Hazard)
not in a Safe Environment (near a high Ledge or Stairs, for Example)
working/carrying out a Performance
handling rather dangerous Equipment (such as Knives, Stoves, Saws, etc)
etc
- Residents/Visitors are being warned about the ScareScraper, since certain Rules may be different there
