#ticklish!caleb

[thebest-medicine]

Lustige Geschichten

..a Crit-mas Story for @amazingmsme for Squealing Santa 2k23!!

A/N: Happy Holidays, Merry Chrysler, and Happy Critmas to the amazing @amazingmsme!!!!!! I absolutely loved all your prompts so I tried to combine a few, I hope you enjoy this lovely holiday gift! 💚 (and shout-out to @hypahticklish for organizing and coordinating and presiding over this year’s @squealing-santa)

Critical Role - Mighty Nein - ticklish!Caleb, featuring an assortment of very mean, lovely friends (most of the Nein)

[AO3 Link]

Words: 6.8k

Summary: Jester enjoys a nice story time, and Caleb, despite himself, has a fun evening under the persistent affection of his friends. Errrrybody hops on the tickle-the-wizard-out-of-his-keen-mind train. 

...

Caleb stretches his back a bit uncomfortably as he shifts in the wooden chair, having spent the last few hours in more or less the same spot —posture curled forward around the desk.

A cheerful, curious little ‘murrp’ catches his ear. He glances over to find one of the tower cats, Rudi, strolling toward him. 

“Mm, guten Abend, Rudi.”

Rudi trots over and rubs up against his legs. His whiskers tickle at Caleb’s ankle. 

He smiles, eyes still on his book. 

The light, fluffy feeling trails away a few moments later when Rudi pads over to the nearby sofa in the study outside Caleb’s bedroom. Rudi circles a few times before plopping himself down comfortably on a cushion. He ‘mrrow’s and chirrups a few times, tail flicking impatiently as he looks over at the wizard. 

“You know, if you wanted some attention you could go find Jester, you know how she loves to cuddle with you at night.” 

Rudi meows and rolls over, rubbing his head into the couch cushions. 

A few more minutes pass, not without an array of ‘meow’s calling to him, inviting him over. 

Caleb exhales, blowing a loose wisp of hair out of his face. “Mmm. You are making it rather hard to concentrate.” 

Rudi responds in kind with a trill, rolling back onto his belly. He stretches, then flops onto his other side again in a move to beckon the wizard over to the soft cushions next to him on the couch. He purrs loudly, and then lets out another trilling meow, looking expectantly at Caleb.

“Very well then.” Caleb sighs. “But I’m bringing my book.” 

Rudi wiggles, baring his belly as Caleb sits down, a fair bit more comfortable than the wooden chair. Caleb holds up his book in one hand and pats Rudi with the other. He still often denies himself comfort and kindness out of habit — but, it can be nice to be pushed into it by friends (and cats) around you.

“Thank you for the company.” Rudi’s resonating purr sends a wave of calm through Caleb where the cat is pressed up to his hand and thigh. 

“Hiiiii. You guys look cozy. Room for one more?” With a colorful blur and twirl around the corner into the doorway, Jester arrives on the scene, a cheerful smile apparent in her voice as she says. “Hey, Caleb.” 

Caleb hums in acknowledgement, turning the page in his book. “Hallo, Jester.” He says it without looking up, a dusting of pink on his cheeks at his unexpected guest.

In a few strides, the blue figure in his peripheral gets closer until he feels the couch dip next to him on the opposite side of where Rudi is curled up. “What are you reading?” 

“A book.” 

Jester harrumphs, shouldering against him with a pout. “A book about what?”

Caleb fights off a smile. He is already thoroughly distracted —so he’s made peace with ending his studies early. 

He pretends to turn the page and continue reading, and Jester lets out a whine in a pitch befitting Sprinkle. 

He lets her fester a few moments longer before he answers, failing to fully fight off his smile. “Just some texts on Pre-Calamity Exandria I borrowed from Essek’s library— well, it delves into some history as well as specifics on the spells and magic of the time, the ideas behind it, and the history of uses within various schools of the arcane.”

“Oh..” She scrunches up her nose. “I wanted to see if I could read with you. But that sounds pret-ty bo-ring.”

He hums in acknowledgement.

Jester’s tail lashes side to side, impatient and bored —two qualities that, when found in her, tend to lead to an afternoon of mischief. 

She sighs dramatically, leans her head on Caleb’s shoulder to look at the book.

Caleb hums again, turning the page.

“If I find you something more… fun to read… would you read it to me and Rudi?” She asks a few beats later.

Caleb’s eyes flick sideways to her, a soft smile on his lips. “Ja, sure, of course.” He turns the page. “None of your smut, though.” He adds, fighting down a smirk.

She sticks out her tongue, and he has the good graces not to call her on it. 

Getting up and roaming about his bookshelves, she begins. “Okay, okay. What’s a good one— ummm.. Let me look!” 

Caleb marks the page in his text as Jester fingers through his books. 

“Oh how about this one! Look at this guy, he’s so scary!” She makes a face, holding up the book. There’s a tall figure with wild, wiry, mad-scientist looking hair sprouting in every direction from his head — his face outstretched in a foul scream. His fingernails are longer than his hands themselves, and scatter, crooked, every which way from his hands. 

“Ah, that’s a Zemnian children’s classic.” Caleb sits fully upright on the couch, closing his book. 

Jester laughs out loud at that. “This is for kids?”

He sets his book down on the table beside him. “Ja. Der Struwwelpeter.”

Jester bounds over with a giggle, repeating the title in a silly imitation of Caleb’s accent. She plops down and quickly snuggles into the corner of the couch, then turns to Caleb, making grabby hands in his direction. 

His cheeks flush a little — as they always do in the face of such open affections — as he leans to sit closer to her on the couch. It’s not a moment before he feels her arm loop around his shoulders. 

“Oh— hi, ok.” Caleb lets out a nervous little laugh as she draws him closer. Rudi stands with a stretch.

“I wanna see the pictures- here, like this!” 

She shifts him, which he allows with a tired smile, until she’s laying against the arm of the couch and he is dragged back against her, back to chest, his legs over hers up on the couch cushions. Her head comes to rest gently on the mop of his orange hair.

“Perfect! Are you comfy?” Jester asks brightly.

Caleb snorts a little, settling in to his new position practically lying down on the couch. He pretends to be a bit put out, but sighs and stretches one leg out and it bumps into the other arm of the couch. He puts one ankle up on the arm and bends the other leg at the knee, getting comfortable. Rudi find himself a comfortable spot across Caleb’s thighs and plops down, continuing to purr.

“Alright, well let’s see,” he brushes off the cover. “‘Der Struwwelpeter, oder lustige Geschichten und drollige Bilder von Dr. Heinrich Hoffmann’ — this book is a compilation of funny children’s tales and illustrations.” He explains. 

“Which word means ‘funny’?” 

“It’s this word here, ‘lustig’.” Caleb points to the cover.

“Lustige,” she reads and then laughs.

He reads each of the two first pages in their original form, a cadence coming to his lips at the familiar text. She doesn’t understand what the words all mean, but it still sounds lovely, like an old song from far away. 

Then, the story putters to a stop as he pauses to explain to her what it says. 

He continues this way, reading, explaining, reading, explaining, holding up the book so Jester can look more closely at the pictures, scrutinizing.

A few pages deep, when he finishes the Zemnian, she suggests. “Hm.. When you tell me what it says… Can you do it in a silly voice?”

“Um-” Caleb is a master of changing many things, but his accent is not one of them. He laughs again, a little sheepish. “Okay…” 

He clears his throat and then —in a terrible, silly imitation of Jester— he explains what the passage says in Common. 

Jester laughs in delight and follows along. 

She ooh’s and ahh’s as Caleb reads each of the next pages in Zemnian and then explains what it says in his decidedly silly voice. 

Jester lets out a gasp at the next turn of the page. “Oohhhh my gosh, Caleb, it’s the guy from the front, look at his nails.” She grins, observing the full page of artwork depicting a large child —or, maybe, a small man— with wild hair that looked like it had just taken a bit too much lightning damage, and with fingernails grown out much longer than his fingers. They stretch wildly across the page. 

Caleb huffs out a little laugh. “Mmhm.”

And then, because she is Jester, she continues.  “Don’t you think they would be..” She brings her own nails up to trace gently along the shell of his ears. “Reaaaaally tickly?” 

A shiver runs down his spine. “Heh- ja, yes.” Caleb shakes his head a little, brushing off the flutter in his chest and flare of embarrassment. He takes one of his hands off of the book to swat at her hands. “You would love them, I’m sure.”

“Oh, I really would…” She smiles and wiggles a bit. “I would use them for so many pranks.. ooh and tickle fights. Oh, I would win every time.” 

Caleb’s hand has successfully deterred her fingers from his neck. 

But, he notes with a shiver, she just reaches down to pinch at his sides a few times instead. 

He squirms, readjusting. “You don’t need any extra help. You already do.” His elbows don’t quite clamp down to his sides, but come down enough to gently push her teasing fingers away. 

Caleb feels the energy of the evening beginning to shift. There’s something flittering about inside him at that, but he presses on with the task, and the conversation, at hand. 

But, a few more pokes and Caleb’s arms press down harder on instinct. “Jester— the book..” He reminds her, voice light with almost-laughter. 

The cat shifts in his lap, giving Caleb a look that perhaps on a human would look annoyed.

Jester pulls her hands away from his sides, but quickly redoubles her efforts back up on the side of his neck, quick and gentle. “Mmm. Right, right. Tell me more about ‘dar Schtruvvelpater’.”

“Hey- ehe- hey.” He snorts again, scrunching his neck. “Would you stop it— I-I’m trying to read to you.” His voice is light, fluttering, and it cracks with a laugh around the words —it all comes out a little more high pitched than he intended.

Jester lets out a whine, clearly wanting to continue both. “You can keep reading!” She giggles, pinching down his shoulders and around to the backs of his armpits.

“But—” He pleads, but then Jester’s hands are down around the bottoms of his ribs again. “Ah! Je- Jester I can’t—” He chokes out, snickering and wobbling back and forth between her pokes on either side of his rib cage. His elbows squeeze against his sides, trying in vain to protect himself while maintaining his hold on the novel.

Rudi yowls at them, indignant, and turns to plop up onto the back of the couch, curling up in the middle.

“Oh sorry Rudi!” She chuckles. “But, seriously Caleb—it’s fine, I don’t mind if you laugh!” Jester adds, and wiggles her fingers around and over his stomach. 

Laugh he does, pressing the book against his middle in a poor attempt at defense. His arms do their best to attempt to cover a few of his weak spots, but Jester doesn’t seem to mind the obstacle, easily finding others. She tuts at him and crawls her hands back up his sides. 

Jester’s fingers work their way up and then jump to his neck again. Caleb clings to the book for dear life, pulling it up to cover his face as he fights a continuous, losing battle with the giggles that Jester is keen to draw out of him. 

“Wait— hehe wait I- heh- I thought you wanted— aha- ah— y-you wanted me to read to you!” Laughter cracks through every word, climbing to the surface like weeds sprouting forth between the bricks of a worn path.

“Well I did—I do, but now—” She shifts her legs, wiggling to get them out from underneath Caleb and then wrapping them around his middle to block him in against her chest and the couch. “I thought of something else I wanna listen to.” 

Caleb cackles when Jester scribbles, unexpected and intently, over his lowest ribs. “Sch-scheiße! Oh noho- ahaHA NAHA-NEIN JESTER!” He nearly squirms out of her grasp, giggling and chasing her hands with his elbows —but, he’s no match for her leg muscles —plus, he’s still trying to hold onto the book. 

He just about jumps out of his skin when he suddenly picks up a green figure in his field of vision —Fjord, who somehow made it halfway across the room without Caleb’s notice. Shit.

Blushing further, the wizard closes his eyes and tries to hide his face between Jester’s shoulder and the couch. “No— don’t!” Caleb squeals between laughs as Fjord approaches.

“What are you two doing in here, hmm?” Fjord asks casually. 

Caleb shivers, envisioning the grin on his face. He sucks in a breath and clamps his mouth shut, convinced that maybe he can avoid getting someone else involved if he holds it together—if he just doesn’t laugh again for the next few seconds.

“He’s reading me a story!” Jester responds, chipper. 

“Oh, that sounds nice.” And then, closer. “Can I listen too? How can I help?” 

Caleb’s heart spins in a swirl of excitement and giddiness and nerves. “Nooooohoho.” He responds, unable to hold back the giggles from his words.

“Shh— I wasn’t asking you.” Fjord scolds. 

Caleb whines, a little indignant, with a laugh into the crook of his elbow.

“Oh I know!” Jester gathers excitedly, pointedly ignoring Caleb. “I’ll hold the book and turn the pages, and you can hold his hands because they are probably, like- so, so tired from holding the book up this whole time, hmm?” She nuzzles against Caleb’s ear then, teasing. “Right Caleb?” 

Caleb squirms, his legs kicking against the couch. “Mmmmf nooooo—”

“Great idea, Jes.” Fjord answers just as Caleb chokes out another desperate little sound of protest as he breaks down into laughter.

“Here, give me this.” Jester commands, ceasing her light, tickling pokes and reaching to take the book from Caleb’s hands. 

He shakes his head, curling his upper body inward protectively. “Nohohoo—” Caleb cries as she pokes at his neck with one finger, bringing his hands back in toward his face. 

Fjord’s hands wrap —firm and unyielding as any proper sailor’s knot— around Caleb’s small wrists. 

Caleb keens forward desperately with a high pitched laugh, and Jester pulls the book the rest of the way from his grip. “There we go! Okay, okay, now then...”

Jester holds the book up above them, flipping to the page they left off on. Meanwhile, Fjord, standing beside the couch, gently tows Caleb’s shaky arms up over red and blue mops of hair. 

Caleb giggles, a few anxious little sounds of anticipation making their way out in between. He tugs weakly at his arms as he is brought back down against Jester’s chest. “Hnnnmf— Fjord,” His voice is light, nervous. “W-wait—”

“Can you see okay? Keep reading, keep reading, go on!” Jester draws the book in toward his face. 

A few quick, giddy breaths, and then he manages to read the next line of text between little laughs, his voice shaky, before it’s cut off with a squeal. “und die —CH AHH AHA HAH— NEIN!” Jester has one hand off of the book and wiggles her fingers, close but not quite touching, just above his rib cage. He shakes his head. “Don’t- don’t tease! Bihihitte!” 

“Ha!” Fjord laughs at that, squeezing at Caleb’s wrists gently in comfort. “Oh? You’re asking Jester? Not to tease?” 

Caleb whimpers, shaking his head more. “I- I..”

Jester grins, pulling her hand even further away and dexterously wiggling her fingers at him. “If I was ‘dare Schtruvel Peter’ I could tickle you from all the way up here!” 

“Jester—” Caleb sounds like he’s about to die, his voice strangled.

“Are you gonna keep reading or are we just gonna have to put the book down and focus on tickling you?” She asks, a faux impatience in her voice. 

“No! HA NEIN DON’T! Please— I can’t!”

“Sure you can, go on then!” Jester teases, her fingers wiggling threateningly above his rib cage. 

Caleb shrieks and hides his head against his shoulder again.

“Alright… well, I guess you’ll have to finish the story later, then.” Jester sighs. “Fjord, can you—” She moves the book up over Caleb’s head, wiggling it in the air. 

“No wahahait! Wait—” Caleb shakes his head, trying to wriggle his arms free.

One of Caleb’s wrists is released so that Fjord can safely grab the old book and set it next to his other discarded pile on the table beside the couch. Immediately, the freed arm shoots down and presses against his side, blocking his ribs and armpit from Jester’s teasing. His hand then comes up to cover his red face. 

“Oh no you dont.” Fjord says with a sternness as he grips Caleb’s wrist once again, gentle but strong, and pries it up away from his face. 

Caleb struggles, he fights him on it with a smile on his face, despite his show of protest. 

Well, he struggles for all of three seconds before Jester pinches at the soft spot just under his ribs twice and Caleb flails, melting, and his already limited strength is rendered useless. Fjord gets both arms comfortably back up and pinned and leans over, smirking down at them. “Does that book have any stories about……… tickle monsters?” 

“Nein—” He snorts, giggles coming out faster as Jester wiggles both hands toward and away from his prone middle, never quite touching. “But I- I think I could heh—send in ideas for their nehehext publication.”

Fjord agrees with a hum. She is rather terrifying. 

“What’s that called in Zemnian, hmm Caleb?” Fjord asks.

“Ehehe— what?” 

“Yeah, yeah! How do you say ‘the tickle monster’!” Jester asks excitedly.

He thinks, squeezing his eyes shut. “Hehe it would.. it would be ‘das Kitzelmonster’—” He snickers as he says it, blushing a bit more.

“Aww, that’s so cute. ‘Das Kitz el Monstar’.” Jester pokes at his ribs, whispering a quick, teasing ‘kitz kitz kitz kitz’ with each poke. 

As soon as she does this, Caleb jolts. He realizes, too late, that he’s just supplied a new and dangerous fuel for the already devastatingly effective teases they both are. His back rockets up and away from Jester, face flushing hot. “Staha- stop- no! N-HNN DOHOHON’T!” His legs kick up and in toward his middle, but are blocked by Jester’s legs wrapped around him. 

With nowhere else to go, they start kicking wildly into the air and at the couch. “BITTE! Don’t— don’t say that!” His voice cracks on a loud laugh, neck and ears red hot with embarrassment. 

Jester is known for her teasing and taking apart of defenses, and she’s unmistakably the resident tickle monster of the group. She’s tickled and teased Caleb more times than she can count. He is always a sucker for it —never fails to make things a little worse, a little more sensitive, a little more effective. 

But, this time, she notices, he seems even more desperate to get away from the teasing. “Aww, I know how much you looooove it when we talk about how ticklish you are…”

“B-Bitte— HAHA DON’T— don’t!” Caleb wails. 

“Is it even wooooorse when I say it in Zemnian? Heehee! What was it? Kitzelmonster? Kitzel? Aww are you too kitz-kitz-kitzel-ish Caleb?” She scratches gently at his sides.

Caleb does his best impression of a contortionist, wailing and struggling against her in a way that seems more keen to actually get away than just for show. 

“Did the Kitzelmonster get ya?” She giggles.

He’s taken much harder — and much worse — tickling before, and never reacted quite so viscerally to teasing. Jester feels an evil, delighted little twist in her stomach at the knowledge. 

“Eheehee no! HAHA JESTER— Please!! N-not that —don’t say it! Mist, stop it —please.”

“HMMMMmm.” She ponders loudly, gently fitting one unmoving fingertip after another into the grooves of his ribs. With his squirming, he’s essentially tickling himself at this point. “How about… if you ask me to tickle you, I’ll stop saying how cute and kitz kitz kitzel-ish you are!”

“NEIN!” Caleb shouts, indignant.

“I’ll even give you a little break first if you ask nice!” She offers with a laugh. “Because like, you kinda seem like you’re gonna die.” 

He says nothing, just laughs and shakes his head.

“Okay then.” He feels her shrug underneath him. Her hands pull away from his ribs. 

He takes a nervous, shaky breath —just in time for her fingers to walk up to Caleb’s rib cage under his shirt instead and start doing something very fast and very effective. 

He shrieks and breaks into desperate cackles. His laughter pitches up to a scream —and, just as quickly, she pulls her hands back out from under his shirt.

“Now, wanna try that again?” She opens and closes her hands like little claws, a few inches above Caleb’s sides. “Or do you want me to keep talking about how kitz-kitz-kitzel-ish poor little ticklish kitzel-ish Caleb is?” 

Caleb shakes his head with a surprising voracity, his body flailing and jolting. Fjord nearly loses his grip on Caleb’s wrists. 

Still not touching him, she wiggles her fingers, and Caleb laughs as though her claws are already taking him apart. 

“BITTE— NEIN!” He pleads. “AHA— STAHOP!”

She persists, voice dark and scary. “Oh nooooo, Caleb! The Kitzelmonster’s almost got you! And it brought its fri-ends!” 

As she speaks, teasing and throwing in every silly variation she can of the word that she can think of. 

Her voice gets quieter from Fjord’s perspective as she leans in close and continues, whispering into Caleb’s bright red ear. 

Jester teases in a way that should be outlawed, truly a cruel and unusual punishment. It’s— he’s… laughing and squirming so hard already, and- and no one’s even tickling him right now. 

Tears in his eyes, face red and blotchy, Caleb eventually whimpers out —his voice desperate, breathless, “Jester- enough, STOP stop- stop saying it, plehehehehease! Okay! Okay— ehehe! Stop!” He groans. “Just- just tickle meheHEHEEHEE—” 

Her fingers zip in to do just that as Jester giggles triumphantly. “By the way, next time we do this, I’m gonna make you tell me how to ask for it in Zemnian.” She adds casually.

Through silly giggles, he asks. “NE-NEIN- Jester, ahaha, wh-why?” His eyes flutter shut.

Fjord laughs, the sound radiating warmth into Caleb’s skin. “She really is an evil little ‘Kitzelmonster’, isn’t she?” 

“Fjord!” Jester scolds with a giggle as Caleb lets out a pathetic squeal in protest at his words. 

Caleb’s legs fly into the air, kicking at imaginary targets yet too uncoordinated to hit even those. His laughter rings out loudly in the room as Jester pokes and scritches under his arms.

“You look like you’re ready to try out for the circus.” 

The sudden appearance of Mollymauk’s voice sends a chill down Caleb’s spine. 

His head snaps over to confirm that, yes, Molly is leaning casually in the doorway. Smile on his face. Mischief in his eyes. Fingers twitchy in a way he gets when he really wants something (and that ‘something’, often, is to draw lovely laughter from those close to him). 

“But really, Caleb, you’re going to hurt yourself if you keep floundering about like that.”

“Hi Molly! Oh, you’re right. I did say I’d give him a break,” Jester smiles, bringing her hands down to rest on his thighs, not tickling.

Caleb’s deep breath out is fizzling with anxious snickers. “Ehehehe M-Mollymauk.. Molly. Molly—” How long has he been standing there? 

“Yes?” Molly purrs, drawing into the room. 

Caleb looks up at the ceiling, whimpers. “Please,” a breath, “you’ll— ehe they’ll— you’re killing mehehehee.” 

“I’m killing you? Ha. Well. It’s a good thing Jester’s close by.” Molly smirks, then, dramatically winces with a waiver of his hand. “Mm. Well, I bet Caduceus isn’t far anyway.” 

“Hey! Rude!” Jester shifts to stick her tongue out at Molly. “Anyway. Don’t you think he’s had enough of a break? Go get his feet!” 

“What? No wait! But you barely—” Caleb cries out, drawing his legs as close to his chest as possible. 

“You bet-ter put those back down…” Jester threatens, tracing featherlight circles into the skin of his sides, just under his shirt. 

“No!” Caleb wails in protest. His flailing kicks begin anew.

Well, if he’s going to be stubborn about it… Molly strolls to the other end of the couch, chuckles, and then, like a cat watching a flock of birds, begins batting at Caleb’s legs and dodging kicks, hunting for the perfect in.

Uncoordinated, tickled, and giddy with laughter, Caleb doesn’t make it long before Molly’s towing one of his ankles down to the end of the couch with a victorious snicker. 

“Got one!”

His other leg keeps kicking wildly, still unclaimed. 

There’s a mixture of Common and Zemnian (or at least an attempt at them) in between loud, boisterous, shrieking laughs as Molly swipes a finger up and down his sole.

Jester moves her fingers up, two on each side, scritching lightly into Caleb’s armpits. 

Meanwhile, Molly fully disregards the free foot in order to devote his focus to holding down Caleb’s ankle and wiggling more fingers under scrunched toes. 

Molly gets a claw under and between some just as Jester adds more fingers to his underarms, and Caleb makes a sound so loud and desperate that he’s glad —somewhere in his mind where he can remember to be— that they is in his tower and not in the middle of a tavern room, surrounded by other rooms, with people around. 

In the moment, he fails to consider, however, that there are in fact still people in the tower. 

Caleb’s not thinking about that, though. In fact, he’s not thinking about much at all right now, other than how badly this tickles. 

“You have ten seconds to put your other leg down, or I’m gonna have Molly come up here and help me get your ribs.” Jester offers as a threat, pausing her tickling, as does Mollymauk.

A beat of silence aside from quavering laughter, then Caleb asks. “Wh-when… when did you become so evil?”

Jester giggles. “Always been!” And then she blows a raspberry on his neck. 

“AAAII— OKAY!” 

She stops —and then, denying his better instincts, Caleb brings his other leg down shakily. He allows Molly to wrap both ankles up in the crook of his elbow. 

The free purple hand wiggles delightedly, a few inches away from the trapped soles before him. He looks back over his shoulder at Caleb —who looks absolutely lovely when he’s devastated in this way.  

Caleb protests without any conviction. “This is— very unfair.” 

Jester pokes down his rib cage and over to his tummy. 

“Plehe— oh nohoh-AHA haha noooo—” Caleb squirms, his head rolling back with laughter. 

Just then, she starts to lightly spider her fingers over his stomach, while Molly does the same technique, alternating over each foot. Fjord watches each of them fondly, Jester clearly having the time of her life — she really is a ‘Kitzelmonster’. They take turns, not wanting to completely overwhelm the tired, scrawny wizard, with Molly and Jester each watching the other and commenting on Caleb’s reactions.

When Caleb opens his blurry eyes again, a few minutes and endless laughs later, he sees Veth, looming over the back of the couch next to a curled up Rudi. She gives him a smug, knowing little smile. It can be intense, electric, unbearable at times —being tickled —but Caleb has confessed under the influence of alcohol and ticklish duress that he doesn’t hate — or even enjoys, much to his chagrin — the opportunities that come up in his life for his brain to slow down and fog up a little bit, til there is no room for guilt and worry. He is in (many) good hands, after all. But, it’s nice to know she knows, she’ll be there, she’ll help take him apart a little too, if she likes, and, eventually, she’ll help reign in the tieflings if he needs her to. 

Caleb can’t hold her gaze for long, his eyes close just as Jester’s fingers start poking into his sides repeatedly. 

A moment later he gasps, curling his head and neck sideways at the first flutter of a light, fluffy edge of a feather along the shell of his ear. 

“Ehe- staha— Veheheheth!” Caleb stutters out through laughter. He attempts a peak at her and finds one of her feather-fall feathers held neatly in her mage hand, twirling about just beside his head. “Ahaha— nein!”

“What is this? You guys threw a wreck-the-wizard party without me?” Beau’s voice cuts through the already overwhelmed sensory input in Caleb’s brain. 

His voice is shrill, desperate in response. “No— hehehe nononono— Beheheheaureagard! Aha gehehehet out of hehehere! NOHOHOHO!” 

“Oh, please. Don’t bother.” Beau’s response is rippling with smug laughter as she waves dismissively at him. 

Caleb soon becomes aware of a hand wrapping around his shins a few moments after she speaks. He curses between laughs and hopelessly tries again to kick his legs. 

Beau moves one arm behind his legs and squeezes at his calf muscle once, twice, an attempted scolding for his jolts and kicks of protest. Caleb shrieks. Everyone freezes — it almost feels as though time stops for a moment. 

Caleb yelps when she does it again, his breath sucking in a half-second later. 

Jester peaks over Caleb’s shoulder. “Oooh, what did you do?” Her hands idle over Caleb’s sides. 

Molly looks over his shoulder, smug and grinning. “Look— I knew your knees were bad… but.”

“Looks like someone’s a little ticklish here.” Beau smirks, letting out a little evil laugh. She squeezes the back of Caleb’s leg again, a few inches below his knee. 

“No!” He cries out, laughing. “Dohohon’t—”

“Yeah? And what are you gonna do about it? Laugh?” Beau snickers and begins squeezing the back of each of his legs, up and down the calf muscles. She kneels down beside the couch, finding the perfect angle. Meanwhile, Molly keeps Caleb’s ankles locked up in a solid, tight hold, enjoying the show. 

Caleb wails out a few more wheezy protests between cackles as Beau tickles up and down his legs. “Don’t! Beauhoho— hahaha stAHAHOP!” 

Jester wriggles underneath him as she repositions and trails her hands down.. down.. down as far as she can, lightly tickling down his ribs and sides as she goes, squeezing his hips, past where her own legs are wrapped around his middle. She reaches out, grabbing in the air at Beau’s hands —fingers still a decent distance from tickling anywhere near his calves or knees. “Ha! You’re ticklish everywhere Caleb!” Jester giggles into his ear. 

“Yeah, how’d you manage to hide this spot from us for so long?” Beau asks. “Are your legs this sensitive all the way up and down?” She pinches at the backs of his ankles all the way up to his knees, then continues up, squeezing around his thighs. 

“Ehehe- no! Leheheheheave them alone!” Caleb cries. 

“Not a chance, man- ha! They so are— look at you!” She pinches at a spot a few inches below his knee that gets him kicking — or, well, trying his best to. “You’re fucking ridiculous!” She laughs.

Caleb lets out a noise somewhere between a snort and a plea. His laughter and thrashing continue to grow frantic. 

Beau leans against the couch and wraps Caleb’s knees up in one arm. She pinches and squeezes the backs of his calves with her free hand, a smug grin on her face. 

Mollymauk’s tail joins her hand and tries to wiggle against the backs of his legs and knees. Meanwhile, his fingers keep up a quick tempo fluttering across Caleb’s wiggling feet. 

“Eeheehee whahahahah-why are you tryhihing to kill mehehehee!?” Caleb cries out. 

Jester watches delightedly as Beau and Molly drive him up the wall. She holds tight with her legs as he squirms and wriggles, desperate for escape. 

“Aww, you say that like it’s a bad thing!” Jester answers him, wiggling her fingers in a tease a few inches above his armpits. “We wouldn’t do it if you weren’t having fun!” 

Caleb turns somehow even more red at that and lets out a pathetic little peal of laughter in response to her teasing.

Veth’s mage hand moves down to start poking at his top rib just under his armpit on the side nearest the couch. 

“Ehe— no! Neihihein! Bitte!” He squirms to the side, only to meet Jester’s finger on the other side.

Molly and Beau pause to rearrange a bit, trying to figure out the best way to hold his legs while also watching his helpless little squirms. 

Caleb sputters out giggles and half-worded pleas.

Jester ponders aloud. “I should probably call Yasha and Caduceus… I feel like they’re going to be preeeeeetty bummed if they miss this. I know I would be.” 

“No— no!” Caleb squeaks. 

Molly wiggles a finger up and down Caleb’s arch while Beau squeezes just above his knee. 

“Ugh. You’re right, Caleb. There’s barely any room for us. You need to make the couch in here bigger next time you bring up the tower.” Jester chastises, poking at his side in light, random patterns. “There’s not enough room for everyone.” 

Caleb whimpers into his bicep through laughter. 

“I have an idea..” Fjord grins, transferring Caleb’s wrists to one hand and reaching down with the other to squeeze and tickle at both his and Jester’s sides below. 

Caleb cackles with a renewed desperation, while Jester cries out. “Hehehee- hey! Hah-” She gasps in fake offense before breaking into giggles.

“Let’s move ‘im to the bed.” Fjord finishes his thought with a few pokes under Caleb’s arm. 

“Mmmf— nooooo heh—” Caleb protests weakly, his face tingling with a happy, giddy silliness —sweet and warm under his skin like fresh honey. 

Fjord releases his wrists and reaches down with both hands, and —easily besting the now flailing arms— hooks his hands underneath Caleb’s shoulders and around to his armpits. He lifts up. Caleb squeals. Fjord wiggles his fingers a bit. Caleb makes some kind of choked laugh. 

Then Caleb is shaking his head more fervently as Beau reaches to lift him under his knees.  Mollymauk releases his ankles with a grin.

“Bitte, you-you’ve had your fun! Y-you’re killing me! Mercy!” Caleb pleads, his eyes wide as Beau and Fjord make quick work of lifting him up.

He scrambles for any sort of anchor or purchase —a steady moore out in the sea of giddiness and laughter he’s found himself caught and floating in. 

“Hey!” Almost on cue, a familiar sensation of Jester’s claws make their reappearance on his sides. “That’s mine! Give him back!” She scolds.

“NAHA— ehehehee, don’t!” Caleb can’t stop himself from squirming and flinching away as Jester’s fingers prod and tickle at the wizard above her. 

She snickers, delighted, and her fingers follow along for as long as she can reach him. Noticing this, Fjord and Beau seem to take an extra long time moving him up and away from the couch —and out of tiefling range —over to the bed. 

Finally, he’s out of Jester’s range. His breath comes in shakily as they deposit him gently on his mattress. He’s red-faced, tears welling up in his eyes with a few running messily down his cheeks. His eyes are squeezed shut to hide from the scrutiny and knowing smiles of his companions above. 

“Hee- oh nohoho—” Caleb whimpers with a smile. He reaches up with a shaky hand and grips one of his pillows, dragging it down over his head to shove his burning face into. 

“Aww, Caleb! Are you hiding from us?” Jester’s voice alone draws an extra giggle from him behind his pillow. 

Caleb shakes his head behind the pillow.

“Come onnnnn, where’s that smile?” The mattress sinks as she climbs onto it near him.

“Nooooooo..” Caleb whimpers, wrapping both arms around the pillow and smushing it tighter against his face. It doesn’t do much to muffle his anticipatory laughter. 

“What do you mean ‘no’?” Jester scoffs. “Do you know who you’re talking to?”

Caleb’s legs kick at that, drumming against the bed as it dips a few more times —Molly and Veth, he concludes, since Jester is already looming next to him and Fjord and Beau still have hands on his shoulders and knees. 

“Alright, come on, let’s get him already!” Beau declares impatiently. 

“Ah, I love the spirit, Beauregard, but it can be so much fun to drag it out —build him up, topple him over…” Molly traces a delicate nail down Caleb’s chest. Caleb shivers deliciously. The claw lifts away.

Jester snickers. “We already tickled him like soooo much on the couch, Molly, he’s already all mush-brain. Come on!”

“Oh alright —you’re right, you’re right.” Molly shrugs, crawling his way up to Caleb’s other side.

Caleb wails into the pillow when two sets of tiefling claws touch down gently over his midriff with purpose, leaving teasing trails down his sides and over his stomach and lowest ribs. “Mmpppph- n- nahaha- oh nohohoho— eheh oh dohohohon’t! Bitte! Mmmf-aha ahahaha! Please— please!” 

Fjord leans down, taking Caleb’s hands with ease into his own and pulling them up over his head. He adjusts, laying on the bed while keeping Caleb’s arms trapped against the mattress. He shifts the pillow over and off of him so that he can get in close to Caleb’s pink face, then nuzzles into the side of his hair. 

“Mmm. It’s too bad I can’t use my hands.”

Caleb feels some quiet relief at that. Maybe a little disappointment too, but he doesn’t have the wherewithal to focus on that. 

Still, some sliver of Caleb’s mind registers the rumbling chuckle Fjord gives as dangerous as he continues. “—I guess I’ll have to improvise, then.” 

Caleb’s voice catches in his throat as Fjord’s words take on meaning just in time for lips and scruff to brush right up against Caleb’s ear. 

“Eeheehee- ah! Yeehehehee- you— aha- no NO plehease!” 

“Aww, he’s soooooo cute!” Jester squeaks with a few pinches to his ribs. 

Caleb jolts under them with a whine. “Ha- aha I- noooo— I’m —ahahaha I’m not!” 

“Yes! Yes you are!” She pinches his cheek just as Fjord sucks in a breath. Helpful little Kitzelmonster she is, Jester brushes Caleb’s hair away from the side of his neck.

“Nein!” Caleb cries as the breath comes out as a vibrating, ticklish, raspberry on his neck. 

Caleb is soon lost to cackling laughter as Molly and Jester prod and tickle at his middle while Fjord mouths along his neck and ear. And it isn’t too long before he registers two sets of blunt nails —Beau and Veth, his mind helpfully provides— that have touched down on his feet. He doesn’t even try to kick beyond the instinctive flinching away —he knows he’s not going anywhere. 

The feeling— a mindless bliss not unlike that of an evening spent polymorphed —builds slowly. But, soon enough, Caleb’s mind feels light, unbothered and untethered, as his thoughts swirl and spark with the ticklish input from what seemed like every nerve. There is a… a warmth that accompanies it, one that Caleb comfortably slips into with a strange familiarity as though it is where he had always belonged. 

Jester’s voice cuts through the sound of Caleb’s laughter as she begins her sending spell.  “Hey, Yasha? Are you with Caduceus—” Fjord briefly gets a panicked look in his eye as she starts, jerking his head back and realizing he can’t count her words out as easily. He taps his fingers into the skin of Caleb’s wrists one at a time in counting as she continues, “you guys should come up to Caleb’s room, we’re having a lot of fun! Hurry up you don’t wanna—” 

Caleb feels Fjord’s fingers wiggle individually against the thin skin of his arms. They aren’t the only ones —all in all, he registers Jester’s fingers fluttering around under his arm and pinching at his lower ribs with her other hand, Molly’s claws spidering menacingly over his belly, Beau’s arm tight around his ankles, her fingers pulling back his big toes while Veth wiggles her nails all over his feet. His mind feels dizzy and fizzling —some kind of gelatinous consistency, perhaps. 

One of Caleb’s last coherent thoughts is that it was at least a mercy (or… was it a tragedy?) that this hadn’t happened in Beau’s room, where he could have ended up having to watch this giggling, disheveled vision of himself taken apart in the mirror over her bed by his friends.

As it is, he simply closes his eyes and lets himself be lost, swimming safely in the sea of hands poking at him from every direction. 

…

Zemnian (German) | English Translations: von - from bitte - please nein - no der Struwwelpeter - the ‘shock-haired’ Peter (book) lustige Geschichten - funny/amusing stories drollige Bilder - funny pictures Scheiße - shit  Mist - crap/shit  das Kitzelmonster - the tickle monster guten Abend - good evening Mm yeah ..and I’m just going…to include these… kitzeln - tickle (verb)  kitzlig / kitzelig - ticklish  das Kitzel/n - the tickle / the tickling (noun)

…

ADDITIONAL AUTHORS NOTES:

A/N: And now friends and readers who are still here, if you look to your…down — what you’ll see are some fun notes I did and things I learned while researching things for this story — also side note — it’s been about 10 years since, but I took 5 years of German from middle to high school, I’m not by any means fluent but I remember decent enough (and I had the power of the internet and search engines on my side)!!: 

ANYWAY — I wanted to figure out some strange quirky little Deutsch storybook that I could have Caleb have in his library, something with a catchy (see also: silly) cover or title that would draw Jester’s eye..

Found this very quickly with a search for German children’s stories. <— yeah, my silly little lee brain was like “lol those nails” immediately — had to use. 

Fic title was inspired from the book cover and title / description

Link to the book on Amazon 😆 

Did a decent amount of skimming and looking over, I was immediately thinking German fairy tale / kids story, and they’re usually kind of brutal in Germany. 

Did cross my mind to use der Katzenprinz or not go into as much detail on the book, or have her try to convince him to read Tusk Love… 😏 😈  

Oh great! (affectionate) now am I gonna have to write that? (compulsive)

Yes! 

I was conflicted on which translation to use to refer to Jester in ‘Zemnian’. I saw Hoffnar (court jester, king’s fool) , Narr/Närrin (fool, jester, joker), and Spaßmacher (joker, jester, clown) but literal translation of this one is fun-maker which I feel fits Jester very well. She makes fun, is fun, joke, jests, and is all around silly and teasy the whole fic so. Yes bby girl. In the end I ended up scrapping this longer title but it was essentially gonna be "Lustige Geschichten von der Spamacherin" but twas shortened.

Moving on from the language and literature … the em..um… erm.. position was inspired from this lovely video (also recently found out she’s very happily lee and I’m like YES GIRL. ITS SO MUCH MORE DJFJFJJG TO SEE AND KNOW THEY LOVE/HATE/LOVE IT hsjsjdkf. Truly inspiring. What good friends. Caleb deserves to be in her position. 

List of some of the lovely prompts / ideas that inspired parts of the story - original prompts in green:

Critical Role c2

1. Caleb & anyone

2. Fjord & Jester

3. Caleb & Fjord

4. Essek & anyone

5. Any combo of the mighty nein you’d like

me: yess. yes. now that I’m making this I realize Essek isn’t there. (Neither are cad or yasha, they’re… meditating and drinking tea). Essek needs to have a turn helping them melt Caleb.

A has noticed that B is acting much sadder & moody than usual, little do they know that B is hamming it up in the hope of getting cheer up tickles. Whether the beans are spilled or not is up to you ;) (by beans I mean the fact they were trying to fake it)

me: I had a few ideas from various prompts floating around in my mind but also sometimes these fics just flow out of my brain — they go where they decide they’re gonna go! I’m sure you know! Anywho, it doesn’t exactly go into sad and moody but stoic and boring and drawing the silliness out of them. 

We love a good flustered blushing silly Caleb, we also love a stubborn little journey to get there while slowly losing his composure. 

I feel that Caleb knew what would happen as soon as Jester 

a. sat on the couch with him

b. picked out the book

c. asked him to read to her, or

d. pranced into the room.

But either way he was #ready to be silly as soon as she came in - some serious #leebehavior immediately winding her up 

A has really ticklish calves & B finds out while pinning them to tickle their feet, & they immediately switch targets

me: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR OUR VERY OWN BEAUREGARD LIONETT PLEASE!!! 

TICKLISH CALVES! TICKLISH LEGS! AHH!

I love this so much fr fr fr fr 

See, but…. What if you have multiple friends and multiple hands… :D

A has been trying to get B’s attention when it becomes clear they’re deliberately being ignored.

me: love this trope so much

Caleb’s brain: I MUST ANTAGONIZE JESTER IMMEDIATELY. BUT SWEETLY.

Caleb’s brain: tells Jester how to say ‘tickle’ in his native tongue

Caleb’s brain a few min later: in turmoil over why he makes it soooooo much worse for himself — well for a few more minutes until he gets all wobbly and brain-buzzy

A either has something B wants or won’t do their job & need some convincing in the form of B’s tickling fingers

me: inner Jester monologue ‘Come on Caleb. Read the book. Read it. Do a silly voice. Read while I poke at your ribs. I don’t mind if you laugh. Come on keep trying. Okay I guess Fjord and I are just gonna drop the playful ruse. But you’re finishing that book for me later.’

Final Author's Note —

I hope this holiday gift pleases you, my dear @amazingmsme! Happiest Squealing Santa to Thee! 2023! I’m so happy I got you for the exchange and I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and new year!!!!!!!!!! 

#amazingmsme #squealing santa 2k23 #ss2k23 #critickle role #lee!caleb #I HOPE YOU LIKE IT PLS ENJOY #IT WAS A BLAST TO WRITE AND TO SEND YOU LITTLE SNIPPETS THROUGH THE DAYS LEADING UP TO CHRISTMAS #I HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY #ticklish!caleb #gives me life #tickle fic #tickling #mine #critical role #fluff #funny stories #ler!jester #ler!mollymauk #ler!fjord #ler!beauregard #ler!veth #poor bb caleb #its ok he has fun #mage hand tickles #tickles #teasing #story time #lustige Geschichten #cr #cr fic

[stray-tickles]

Concentration

Read on AO3

Summary: A tickle fight breaks out, but Caleb can't participate because he needs to concentrate on his spell. No, really.

--

Jester hadn’t met any other tieflings before, besides her mama. Hadn’t met many other people, really, until she’d gone off travelling and found her group of friends. She hadn’t known what she’d expected to find out in the big wide world, but Molly was one that she’d never dreamed of.

Her mama had told her how not everyone felt the same as they did about things. How humans and half elves and orcs and goblins were a bit odd about touch in a way that she’d never understand. Jester had never been one to resist the urge to cuddle, to hug, to poke and play with those closest to her.

Molly, apparently, was the same. Jester had barely squeaked out a few giggles at his teasing prods to her belly when she pounced, fingers slipping past the edges of his coat to wriggle at his ribs and draw out delighted snorty laughter.

She giggled at how quickly he folded. “You could have asked, Molly.”

He definitely flushed at her words, illuminated by the edge of Caleb’s dome. “No- pfhaha- no fun!”

Jester could hear the others talking in the background, their voices coloured with amusement. Molly was curled up into a weak ball, twitching at her tickly assault, otherwise not resisting but to hiccup with laughter.

“You have such a good smile Molly, I should tickle you forever, then it would never stop!” Her fingers climbed to burrow into his armpits and earn a loud shriek. “Doesn’t that sound nice?”

Molly was laughing and kicking too hard to speak, but he managed a nod amidst his squirming.

Jester chuckled evilly. “Hehehe, did I find your worst spot, huh?” She continued to wriggle her now trapped fingers in his armpits, loving how dark purple he got. “Is this your tickly tickle spot?”

A soft voice just behind her made her jump. “Try his tail.”

Jester stopped in surprise, looking around to see a somewhat awkward looking Yasha, eyes fixed deliberately on the rain falling just past the edge of their little dome.

Molly wheezed for breath, feeling very warm and buzzy. “Traitor!” He shouted weakly, rolling onto his back for completely unrelated reasons.

“Oh?” That seemed to get Jester’s attention back on him. Presently, Molly wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing or not. “Is she right?”

Molly swallowed nervously, that giggly anticipation swelling up in his stomach. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

She giggled. “I’m gonna find out!”

He could feel himself grinning, and made no move to get up. “Best of luck to you!”

Jester glared playfully and made a grab for his tail, which Molly smugly twitched away at the last second. He was chuckling by her third attempt to catch it, and was just about to say something mocking when he felt something that sent a shock up his spine.

Jester’s tail, which had apparently wormed its way under him to the giant weak spot that was his lower back.

His eyes locked on to hers with horror, noting her smug satisfaction. So it had all been a trick. “You little- SHIT!” Molly was interrupted by a loud shriek when Jesters tail started wriggling like a worm against his back, and also, horribly, allowing her to finally catch his tail, which she assaulted with fingers that fluttered so lightly he felt like he’d die.

And okay, Molly could admit that he loved this, loved the play and the laughing and the warmth and the touch, but that didn’t mean he could handle it.

He managed barely a moment of squealing laughter before the thrashing began, twisting and rolling around to escape her tail from poking and wriggling against his back as he cackled wildly, tugging frantically at his own tail if only for the chance to catch his breath.

Then Jester’s tail found the hem of his shirt, and the moment it touched bare skin Molly shot straight out of her grip with a scream, right out the side of the protective dome.

Jester burst out laughing, only laughing harder when Molly returned a moment later, plastered with rain and catching his breath.

“Oh, you think this is funny?” Molly asked playfully, then surprised Jester by pouncing past her, somehow tackling Yasha to the ground.

“No- Molly wait-” She managed, before clasping both hands hard over her face and giggling.

Jester cooed at Yasha’s flushed face and soft laughter, then let her eyes scan over the rest of them for her next target.

And, well. Their wizard’s ears were very red.

She grinned. “Oh Caaay-leb…”

He glanced up from his bedroll, jittery as usual. “J-ja?” Then caught the look in her eye. “Ah- no, no, nein!” He yelped, scrambling backwards away from her. “Nein!”

Jester snickered, following him and wiggling her fingers playfully. “Are you like, super ticklish or something?”

Caleb curled in on himself, locking his arms at his sides. “Nein!” Oh gods, this was bad, he could tell from Jester’s smirk this was bad.

Then a familiar clawed hand squeezed at his side and it became worse. “AHA- noplease!”

Nott snickered. “But Caleb, you just said you’re not ticklish!”

“Yeah!”

He was trapped between them, and Caleb knew, knew he was going to perish. “No- wait! The spell, I need- I cannot lose concentration!”

A lie. One he was honestly quite proud of given the circumstances, but one that they could very well see through.

Instead, Jester shrugged, a disappointed pout on her lips. “Ugh, right.” She paused. “You can recast it though…”

Nott batted her away, clearly cowed by the thought of letting the rain in, and the two backed off, leaving Caleb sitting on the soft base of the dome, watching Jester leap onto Fjords back and dig her fingers into his stomach in a way that had him cackling in seconds.

This was… good. This was what he’d wanted after all. He was not being attacked, not made to laugh like a fool, to shriek and squirm like Nott was after her attempt to get Beau backfired. He didn’t want to feel like that, even if they did look happy and close in a way that made Caleb’s heart ache. This was… better.

It wasn’t like he could bear to look any of them in the eye once they found out how godforsaken ticklish he was anyway. It had never been a trait that had felt like it fit him. Caleb was awkward and stuffy and dry, it- it didn’t suit him to drop to the ground giggling from the littlest wiggle at his stomach.

It was silly.

Besides, it had been years since anyone had felt comfortable and playful enough to tickle him, Caleb wasn’t sure it would even work, if he remembered how he was supposed to react.

He’d never known how to react to things properly. He felt his lips twitch up slightly. That had always been what felt so… easy, about being ti- touched like that. He had no choice in his reactions, no chance of saying the wrong thing when he couldn’t speak for laughing, his self-consciousness unable to bury his smile in the face of that bright sparkling silliness.

Ah, gottsverdammt. He wanted that.

He glanced over to Molly and Yasha, who had now switched places, Yasha’s fingers worrying at Molly’s ribcage enough to have him in fits of giggles, flushing dark violet and grinning so big it looked like it hurt. Caleb’s arms tightened around his sides, his sympathetic smile getting a little wider. He could almost feel it, Yasha’s fingertips softly but persistently plucking at his own ribs, melting away his resolve in a moment, turning his bones into goo.

Caleb cleared his throat in a way that he hoped was just attention-grabbing enough, and unbuckled one of his books from its holster, finding that for once he wasn’t able to concentrate on the words on the page in the way that was normally so distracting for him, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that it was normally distracting. That he couldn’t maintain concentration while reading.

They all knew that.

Which was why it was so disappointing when they were all so distracted by their playful roughhousing to notice. After a few minutes, Caleb half-faked an irritated sigh and summoned his lights. It was getting to dark to read, which would be a problem if he was trying to read. It did have three globules of light circling his head though, and that had to be enough.

It was, to his eternal chagrin, not.

Mollymauk was curled up in a giddy giggly ball by the time Caleb realised that this wasn’t working, and decided to tuck himself into his bedroll and pretend to sleep. At least this way he didn’t have to look at them.

He didn’t quite notice Fjord’s now wheezing giggles come to a halt, nor the soft footsteps creeping over to him. In fact, Caleb didn’t notice anything at all until a hand snuck under the edge of his bedroll and a nail drew a very quick, very ticklish line up his foot.

“Scheisse!” He sat bolt upright, feet curling up to him and a hot flush laying claim to his face. It only grew hotter when he saw the mischievous grin levelled at him.

Jester giggled, hopping onto his knees. “Hiiiii Caleb.”

He swallowed. “Uh- H-hallo, Jester.” Oh dear.

She leaned closer, grin widening, and actually this might have been a mistake.

“So, you like, totally need to focus so the dome stays up, right?”

Caleb cleared his throat. “I-ah… Ja.” He barely resisted the urge to push himself backwards.

Jester pretended to think. “Is it super hard to concentrate when you’re sleeping?”

The question spurred a smug snicker from Molly, who was still giggly and floppy, snuggled up to Yasha.

“U-uh… ja.” Oh dear, he was getting jittery.

Fjord snorted an exhausted laugh. “Quit messing with him and get to it.”

“Ja!” Caleb blurted, then flushed red. “I-I mean nein, no!”

Jester laughed delightedly. She loved the game. “Sooooo… don’t stop messing with you?”

“Jester bitte!”

She grinned widely. “Maybe I should just let you go…”

By the way her eyes glinted, Caleb knew she had noticed his hesitation, his startled silence at her words, his lack of real protests. She knew that he wanted this, and the thought had him shrinking back and squeezing his eyes shut.

Jester held back a giggle. Well, if he was going to leave himself open like that…

Soft hands latched onto Caleb’s sides, followed by surprisingly gentle claws scratching at the fabric of his shirt and skin and he let out a loud squeak, flopping onto his side. He was already smiling, he could feel it, trying desperately to muffle further squeaks and giggles that the niggling, playful feeling elicited, shit.

Jester’s smile grew bigger. “Aww, Caleb you have such a sweet smile!” She cooed. Caleb’s hands came up to cover his reddening face, and her fingers shot up under his arms, getting a loud snort and breaking through what little control he had.

Caleb’s elbows snapped down too late, only trapping Jester’s hands in what was, apparently, a very ticklish spot, though he didn’t have the time to think about that given he was trying and failing to control his stuttering laughter. One eye cracked open and he immediately wished he hadn’t, when he saw the fond, knowing grin that Nott was giving him from her bedroll. She knew, of course she knew, and the thought had him burrowing into his own bedroll.

That playful laugh melded with his own squeaky giggles for a moment. “Where do you think you’re going?” Jester teased, even as Caleb burrowed deeper, away from her delightfully horrible claws. Not to escape, even in his growingly delirious state he didn’t want to get away. But there was nothing quite so delightful as being chased.

Fingertips vibrating under his arms already had Caleb cackling helplessly and writhing like a fish on a line, but when Jester’s littlest fingers started delicately scratching at his top ribs at the same time he screeched.

On the edges of sanity, a chuckle broke through. “Oh, this I gotta see.”

Schiesse.

Caleb wasn’t sure it would be possible to curl up into a tighter ball than the one he was in, but he tried his best, as he heard the footsteps coming closer.

It was a mercy that Mollymauk only moved the blanket aside enough to whisper in his ear. “Doing okay there, Widogast?”

Even his breath tickled, Caleb lamented, keeping his helplessly laughing face as hidden as he possibly could.

Molly laughed quietly. At a guess, none present had seen Caleb laugh before, or smile beyond that wry smirk he sported once in a blue moon. And this, this was something else. Who would have thought their wizard could get so melty? A quick glance to Jester confirmed it, they were definitely doing this again. Regularly, if he had any say in it at all.

He let his claws trace down Caleb’s neck experimentally, eyes widening at the full body shiver that ran through the wizard. Oh. This was too good.

Caleb… wasn’t sure if he was capable of thought, anymore. Jester’s hands had migrated to poking and squeezing at his abominably sensitive ribcage, and Molly, damn him, was tracing and scratching at his ears and neck, laughing just close enough that his warm breath brushed Caleb’s skin as well, and everything was tingles and static and tickles.

He hiccupped. “Please- ehe- ohno please!”

Jester’s hands slowed, Caleb could just about make out her disappointed pout. Mollymauk’s teasing claws only continued to trace and skitter around his neck and ears, wiggling teasingly under his chin as he leaned closer. “Please what?”

Jester caught on quickly. “Oooh, please keep tickling you?” She started gently kneading his stomach, getting wheezing laughter and a fiery blush in response. “Oh my gosh, Caleb, you’re ticklish, like, everywhere.”

Caleb whined, past the point of doing much other than curling up into an utterly ineffective ball. “J-Jehester please, Molly!”

Molly’s claws had migrated to wriggle under his arms. He leaned closer, amid the wizard’s incoherent begging. “Do you want us to stop?” He murmured, to quietly for any but Jester to hear.

Caleb knew the answer to that question. “Nein!” He squealed. “Nein!”

Molly pressed a long kiss to his cheek, smiling. “I thought not.” He grinned, then with a parting pat on the head, leapt away to wrestle one of Caleb’s legs from the blanket.

Knowing now that he was safe to, Caleb kicked playfully, as if he had any chance of deterring Mollymauk whatsoever.

He squeaked unexpectedly when Jester wormed her fingers around him to scratch at his lower back. She laughed. “Molly he’s almost as bad as you here!”

He grinned in return, getting a good grip on Caleb’s ankle. “If he were any worse, I think he’d die.”

Caleb cackled his agreement.

“Now, I hear humans have more toes than we do.”

What?

Caleb looked over at him in confusion, panting for breath. “Nein, I do not think-” Then he caught the evil smirk and flushed bright red.

Molly chuckled. “Well, I should count to be sure.”

Caleb mumbled incoherently into his hands, reaching to pull his pillow over his face and shrieking when Jester made as if to dart her fingers under his arms. She snickered. “Aw, I think he’s almost done, Molly!”

“Hmm.” Molly cocked his head at the blushing, giggling lump known as Caleb Widogast. He did seem pretty far gone. But he also seemed happier than Molly had ever seen him, tickle drunk and all.

Always nice to end these things gradually. “Guess I’ll have to take this slow then.”

He noted that Caleb didn’t protest.

He did giggle uncontrollably with every toe that Molly caught between his fingers, wiggling teasingly and scratching a nail up each. Cute.

Caleb was well past the point of doing even as little as curling up in a ball. His mind had become giggly mush, and all his body could do now was shiver and laugh, burying his face in his thin pillow to hide from the world, from anything that would end this sooner than it absolutely had to.

“Hm, you know, I think I’ve actually forgotten how many toes tieflings have.” Molly said, pretending to think, only to quickly knock Jester onto her back and grab her leg too. He smiled wickedly. “Let me check!”

Jester squealed delightedly, already laughing. “Molly!”

He only grinned back, swiping a nail up her sole and getting a loud laugh and sending Jester flopping back onto the ground, right next to a still giggly Caleb.

Molly quickly sat atop both legs, keeping them both pinned and laughing. “Okay, now count with me, you two!”

Jester snorted and burst into loud laughter the moment Molly started wiggling her toes, as much from the silliness as from the tickles. Caleb wasn’t much better, hiccupping with giggles and unable to even try hiding his wide grin from the world. Cuuute.

His eyes cracked open for a moment, squeezing shut again when he noticed Jester’s affectionate gaze on him, arms coming up to cover that smile again.

Oh, no, definitely not, Jester decided, and rolled as close to him as she could with Molly still tickling her like that. Caleb flinched with a loud laugh when she reached for him, only to melt completely into her embrace once he realised what she was doing, burying his face into her shoulder, unable to get rid of the smile for anything.

Molly stopped a moment later, grinning up at the two of them and barely needing Jester’s grabby motion to convince him to join the cuddle pile.

Jester smiled and pressed a kiss to that mess of red hair. Maybe not every human was as different from her as she’d thought.

#tickle fic #critickle role #ticklish!Caleb #ticklish!Mollymauk #ticklish!Jester #fluff #can be read as shadowmauk #and any combination of those three really #mostly fluff

[august-anon]

Her Boy

i wrote this while half asleep last night and please keep in mind that i am literally only 15.25 episodes into critical role campaign 2 lol, but i wanted to write something and that became this lol (also i am very out of practice with writing i am sorry dkjfhdhf)

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Fandom: Critical Role (Mighty Nein)

Ship(s): Gen

Characters (lee/ler): lee!Caleb, ler!Nott

Word Count: 484 words

Summary: Nott didn't understand how the others ever thought Caleb was the parent in their relationship.

[ao3 link]

--------------------

It was really too easy, Nott thought as Caleb collapsed to the mattress underneath them, squirming and snickering.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Nott said, rather obviously unapologetic. “I just had the itch, you see. And I thought maybe if I scratched something, it would help!”

Caleb made a disgruntled noise into the sheets and she cackled. Really, for someone so smart, you’d think he’d learn after all their time attached at the hip: inviting her for a piggyback up to the inn room was just asking to be tickled. She was nice about it, of course. She didn’t want to embarrass him, she kept it gentle enough that it couldn’t be heard through the thin walls of the inn (not like Jester and Beau’s pillow fights, she was pretty sure the whole building could hear those), but she was certainly trying to stop those gears from turning for at least a few minutes.

“Nein, Nott!” He said, reaching back to try and tug her off his shoulders, failing to muffle a squeal when her claws moved from the sides of his neck up to his ears. “Bitte, you’ve had your fun!”

“I dunno, Caleb. You were thinking real hard earlier, I think I need to tire you out tonight so you can sleep.”

“I still need to set the Alarm!”

“You can set it,” she chirped, tickling around to the back of his neck. “I don’t mind.”

“Nott!”

“Alright, alright.”

Nott slid off his back as Caleb pulled himself up off the bed, scowling at her with the fiercest look he could manage. It wasn’t very effective though, considering his face was nearly as red as his hair. She cackled again as he huffed and stalked off across the small room, kneeling down with his small spool of silver thread near the doorway, tilting his face away from her as if that would stop her from seeing the lingering smile there. She waited patiently at the head of the bed, petting Frumpkin as Caleb slowly made his way through the spell before settling in the bed next to her.

“Let’s get to bed, ja? Early morning tomorrow.”

“Alright. Goodnight, Caleb.”

“Goodnight, Nott.”

She watched as he curled up on his side facing the door, boots and jacket still on, the blankets rucked up near the footboard. His breath evened out quickly, and she reached out to brush a few hairs away from his face once it did. She knew it probably wouldn’t last long, but her chest felt a little lighter when she saw the small smile still sitting on his face.

She didn’t understand how the others ever thought Caleb was the parent, Nott thought as she tugged the blankets up to Caleb’s chin. Sure she was small and she played dumb a lot of the time, but that was her boy. And she would do anything to keep that smile on his face.

#tickle fic #my writing #critickle role #lee!caleb #ler!nott #ticklish!caleb #critical role #cr #caleb widogast #nott the brave

[amazingmsme]

A Trick AND A Treat

AN: More critickle role, my favorite! There can never be enough content for our pathetic lil wizard, he deserves the best. Luckily, Mollymauk agrees! I’m still trying to catch up with tickletober so bear with me!

If Caleb knew anything, it was that Mollymauk was a horrendous tease. The man had a playfully dangerous edge to him, and against his better judgement, Caleb was drawn to it. He knew Molly liked to play tricks, especially on the resident wizard.  But he liked to give him the benefit of the doubt, so when Mollymauk called his name in a lilting voice, he walked right up to him.

"You wanted something?" he asked, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his coat.

"Aye, I did. Come here, I won't bite," Molly coaxed, patting the space on the bedroll next to him. He hesitated, eyeing him carefully.

"Are you sure about that?" Caleb asked, kneeling down next to him as Molly chuckled.

"Pretty sure. You looked lonely over there; thought I'd offer you some company," he said, leaning into Caleb's personal space. “Then you'd think you'd be the one to come over to see me," he teased. Molly scoffed.

"I'm way more comfortable than you were, so it's completely justified," he sassed back. "Just thought I'd be nice and offer you a little treat," he lilted, voice silky smooth and innocent. Caleb didn't trust it one bit.

"Oh really? And what would that be?" he asked, body stiff as a board.

"Special candy I've been saving for a special occasion. You looked particularly glum, so I thought I'd brighten your day," he explained, digging around in his bag, pulling out a few pieces of candy. They were individually wrapped in holographic plastic, each a different color, resting in Molly's palm waiting for him to take.

Caleb was taken aback by the kind gesture, blinking in surprise. "Oh, well thank you, Mr. Mollymauk," he said, accepting the offered candy and standing up.

"Aren't you gonna try some?"

Caleb looked down at his grinning friend, watching his tail wag behind him with pent up mischievous energy. Trouble brewing.

"I'm not going to regret this, am I?" he jokingly asked, popping a piece in his mouth. Mollymauk hummed in lieu of an answer, biting his lip as he looked away.

Caleb sucked on the piece of candy, smacking his lips slightly. "Pretty good. What flavor is that?" he asked, not quite able to discern what it was meant to be.

"Magenta raspberry. Nothing else like it," he answered, leaning back to prop his hands behind his head, stretching his legs in front of him casually.

Caleb felt a strange tingling sensation swirling on his side, subtly twisting away from the feeling as he rubbed the spot. Molly couldn't take his eyes off of him as he walked away.

He bit down on the candy, never having the patience to let it melt all the way. As soon as the hard shell cracked, he stopped in his tracks. He doubled over, arms wrapped around his stomach as he choked back laughter. He looked over his shoulder at Mollymauk, who was looking rather smug at the moment.

He had no idea what was going on, was someone using mage hand to mess with him? It sure felt like it. But when he looked at their resident spell casters, they were engaged in conversation and completely oblivious to his plight. He chewed the candy some more, and that was his first mistake. He spasmed, wrapping his arms around himself as giggles flooded out. Jester and Beauregard stopped talking and stared at him quizzically.

"You okay man?" Beau's raspy voice called as he walked past, turning on his heels and marching right back to Molly.

Or at least, he tried. Instead, he stumbled across the ground in a laughing fit, looking utterly mad.

"So you like to chew up hard candy instead of suck on them. Good to know," Molly purred.

"W-whahat dihihihid you dohoho to mehe?" he asked, squirming in an attempt to alleviate the sensations.

"I generously offered you some candy," he said innocently. Caleb grabbed him by the shirt collar to try and be intimidating, but instead he weakly clung to him as he laughed his head off.

"Whahahat's ihihin ihihit?" he demanded, shrieking when Molly joined in on the fun and dove right for his ribs.

"Not sure, but I got it from a prank store if that's what you're getting at," he answered, drilling his thumbs in the hollows of his underarms, making Caleb screech.

"Y-you trihihicked mehehe!" he whined, yelping when Molly tweaked a particularly sensitive rib.

"Oh please, I could see how upset you were from all the way over here. Now look at you, smiling and chuckling like a fool! A rare sight," he teased, squeezing both hips to make him buck. "You love the attention, so this should be a real treat for you," he taunted further, causing a bright red blush to spread across his face.

The effects of the candy ran it's course, allowing Caleb to catch his breath. He shot Mollymauk a glare and shoved him in the arm, chuckling.

"You're a menace."

"Thanks, I try."

Caleb would rather die than admit it, but he was in a better mood after all. That's okay though, Mollymauk already knew.

#tickletober #tickletober 2022 #caleb widogast #mollymauk tealeaf #critical role #critical role fic #critickle role #critickle role fic #ticklish!caleb #day 17: trick or treat

[thelavendersquid]

Weak Spots

Tickletober Day 4

Essek denies having any weak spots. It doesn't take long to determine that is a lie.

Fandom: Critical Role (The Mighty Nein)

Words: 1.5K

AO3 Link

“So,” Fjord begins, once the little group is settled into the comforts of the dome somewhere deep inside Aeor. Essek is left pondering their comfort in such tight quarters. It’s stressing him out.

Fjord goes on. “We’re probably going to be fighting Lucien in the next day or two and I think we need to get prepared. I know our plans usually go to shit at the last minute but we should at least try. Let’s start with what we’ve got - strengths, weaknesses, put it all out there. I don’t want him to find anything he can use against us that we aren’t prepared for.”

Essek starts to zone out, tuning out the rest of this conversation. They’ll have to forgive him - he really doesn’t need to listen to a list of weaknesses and potential solutions. He’s already accepted his fate. He leans back against one side of the dome, staring off into space and letting his mind drift to the dunamis the group discovered earlier, running through what it could possibly mean.

He’s snapped back to the present when the conversation suddenly shifts to him. “Essek? What about you?”

Essek blinks quickly and pushes himself up a bit straighter, turning to look at the others. “I'm sorry, what was that?”

“I was just asking if you have any strengths, weaknesses, anything we could use against Lucien or he could exploit against us?” Fjord raises an eyebrow at him.

Essek shakes his head. “No particular strengths you haven’t already seen, I’m afraid.”

“What about weaknesses?”

Essek pulls his cloak around himself like a blanket and shakes his head again. “Only that I am like Caleb, a bit - ah, what did you call it? ‘Squishy’.”

“Wizards,” Fjord agrees with a wry nod. He turns back to the others. Essek leans back against the dome wall again, relieved that the conversation seems to have moved on from him.

Beau pipes up from a few feet away across the dome. “Any specific squishy weak spots? Caleb has several.” She shoots both Essek and Caleb a smirk.

Essek blinks in surprise but shakes his head. “Not in particular.”

It’s at this moment that Essek feels something against his sock. He flinches away sharply with a muffled yelp - and looks down expecting to find an insect crawling on him. Instead he finds Veth, crouched and grinning up at him - and holding one of her feathers mere inches away from his foot.

The energy in the dome shifts in a split second. Essek can feel it and is not comforted by doing so. He doesn’t have to look up to be acutely aware that everyone is grinning at him. The sudden sense of mischief is palatable, and Essek can’t imagine how he’s going to get out of this one.

“What was that, Essek?” Veth asks. She’s still grinning up at him with a downright evil look.

“Nothing,” Essek says quickly. He starts pulling his foot away, going to tuck them both underneath his robe. “I-“

He’s cut off as Veth, with lightning-quick reflexes, grabs his foot before he can successfully hide it and flutters the feather over it again. Essek yelps again - louder this time, causing a flush to leap to his cheeks - and his ears flick as a spasm runs up his leg and throughout his whole body.

Jester squeals and claps her hands in delight. She is suddenly very close, Essek realizes - it is not a comforting realization.

“Es-sek! Are you ticklish?!”

Essek opens his mouth to respond. He doesn’t get a chance before Jester grabs his other foot (how did that happen, he thought he’d pulled that one underneath his cloak already) and spiders her claws against the heel. And Essek yelps his loudest yet and slaps a hand over his mouth to stifle any more noise - as well as the grin that’s forcing its way onto his face. He leans back against the side of the dome, as far away as he can get, squeezing his eyes shut.

Jester laughs at him and it’s almost enough to make him break and let out the giggles that are threatening to spill over. Instead he squeezes his eyes shut even tighter and shakes his head frantically.

Jester giggles at that. “I think you are!” She sets to work scratching against his heel again.

Before he can even begin to adjust to that, Essek feels a second set of fingers grab his other foot - Veth, who has given up on the feather it seems. “You know what this looks like to me?” Veth asks, grinning brightly and holding up his foot. “A weak spot.” She punctuates this with a sudden scribbling across the sole of his foot.

And Essek can’t hold back - he bursts into giggles, muffled against the palm of his hand. His ears are twitching frantically and he shakes his head side to side, kicking his feet in a desperate attempt to break free.

He hears the others start laughing too. His face flushes white-hot.

There’s shuffling and then another set of hands grabs his foot. Beauregard’s voice breaks through Essek’s giggles. “Here, I’ll hold his foot so he can’t get away.” And then, sure enough, he can’t move his foot even an inch - and Jester, with a delighted giggle, sets to work scribbling and scratching and working her way up towards his toes.

Essek’s brain short-circuits. His hand flies away from his face as his body jackknives and he attempts to frantically bat Jester’s hands away. To no avail - and he dissolves into laughter. “NOHOHOHOHO NOHAHAHAHA NOT THERE!” He falls back against the dome again, laughing.

Essek doesn’t notice the others moving in closer, but he does notice when his other foot suddenly becomes just as immobile as the first. His eyes blink open just long enough to see Yasha, smiling at him as she holds fast to his foot, while Veth pokes one finger under his toes and scribbles others over the top of his foot - and why does that tickle so much?! Essek yelps again and attempts to yank his feet free - but Beau and Yasha hold firm and he gets nowhere. Instead he collapses back against the wall, turning to bury his face in his arm and resigning himself to laughter.

Veth’s grin is clear in her voice. “Wow, Essek, you’d better hope Lucien doesn’t find out about this! We would be screwed!” Essek could never hope to respond, laughing himself silly as he is.

There’s a sudden feeling against one of Essek’s ears - which have been twitching frantically as he laughs - and Essek spasms so hard he almost pulls out of Beau and Yasha’s hold. Almost - they quickly grab him again and hold on tighter. Caleb, who is now sitting right next to Essek’s head (Essek realizes he’s slid almost all the way to the floor - that’s unfortunate), runs another finger over the elf’s ear, wiggling it ever-so-gently. Essek cackles.

Caleb laughs and tries it again, and Essek feels as if he’s going to shiver out of his own skin. He shudders, twisting frantically away from Caleb’s evil, evil fingers and slapping at the ground. He's laughing harder than he ever thought possible.

Fjord laughs from somewhere to Essek’s left. “Two weak spots? Man, Thelyss, how do you function?”

“SHHUHUHUHUT UHUHUHUHHUHUP!” Essek’s retort carries no malice, he can barely get the words out through his laughter. Fjord laughs along with him.

There’s another shuffling sound and a warm, fuzzy hand flutters against Essek’s other ear. Light above, they’re going to actually kill him. Caduceus’ slightly fuzzy fingers are even more ticklish, if that were possibly. Essek’s laughter kicks up another octave. He spasms again, leaning forward and hands suddenly flailing desperately in attempt to push someone, any of them away - but he can’t coordinate himself enough to even began to manage that. He collapses back into laughter and falls over onto Caleb, burying his face in his shoulder as he shakes apart with laughter.

Caleb smiles and brings a hand up to wrap around Essek’s shoulders and pull him closer. This means, mercifully, that Caleb’s hand is no longer scratching against his ear. Less mercifully, Caleb brings his other hand into play - slipping it underneath Essek’s cloak to wiggle against his ribs. Essek yelps again and slaps a hand against his back involuntarily. He feels more than hears Caleb’s chuckles along with him.

Fjord slides in next to Caleb and joins in, hands sliding underneath Essek’s coat and tickling. Essek feels sure his face is going to split open with how wide he’s beaming and his whole body is sure to explode into a million pieces from laughter.

Nevertheless, it’s nice. He had forgotten what this felt like, the warm feeling of laughing and being held close and tickled apart. Never in a million years would he have thought he’d find himself enjoying it with friends - but here he is. Perhaps he shouldn’t be too surprised, life has certainly handed him stranger surprises in the last few months.

Jester’s fingers are under his toes again. Caduceus is scribbling behind his ear in a way that makes him want to scream. Veth, Fjord and Caleb are methodically taking him apart. Beau and Yasha are joining in the fun, fingers spidering over his feet and legs, squeezing at his knees. They’re all laughing at him. And all Essek can do is laugh and laugh and laugh.

Perhaps having weak spots isn't so bad.

#Lucien watching this like #‘🤨 wtf’ #I'm tempted to write a sequel of exactly that #I don’t know how many fans Lucien has but it’s not zero #critickle role #augtickletober2023 #tickletober #tickletober 2023 #critical role #the mighty nein #ticklish!Essek #lee!Essek #ler!Veth #ler!Jester #ler!Beauregard #ler!Yasha #ler!Caleb #ler!Caduceus #ler!Fjord #tickle fic #critical role tickles #critical role fic #tickle community #sfw tickling community #essek thelyss #caleb widogast #shadowgast #(they’re in that awkward will they or won’t they phase of shadowgast) #my writing #my fics

[tickle-bugs]

Ahh bug! You know I’m Weak for anything with Caleb Widogast 👀 Maybe with devious ler Molly? (And/or Essek 👀👀)

Oh drat forgot the second part of that—phrase to go along with Caleb/Molly (& also maybe Essek): “Come now, how are you still so *sensitive*, hmm?”

ily lexi mwah <3 also sorry if i have butchered ur boys but i still hope u enjoy this <3 started thinking about molly being overly cautious with courting caleb because his feelings are real and caleb being like. i wanna kiss you so bad please stop pretending to be normal. which led to this

Resonance

not rly nsfw but the first half is somewhat suggestive? intimate? *vague handwaving* just keep that in mind idk

Caleb’s not sure what they’re doing here, really. Molly’s draped and redraped himself over Caleb every which way for the past hour, but they haven’t gotten close to the substance of their evening’s meet. Caleb had long-since shucked his coat and scarf, but not quite the rest of his clothes--that was supposed to be Molly’s job, or so he thought. 

Molly’s invitation to join him for the evening had been whispered to him over a too-expensive glass of whiskey. Molly’s eyes were lidded, his forked tongue curled--Caleb had thought he’d read every sign correctly. But here they were. Stalled. 

“Mr. Mollymauk--” He tries, but Molly coos at him.

“So formal? I thought we were closer than that, dearest.” Molly blinks languidly and settles down properly atop Caleb. They both sink just slightly into the mattress as he does. Molly walks his fingers down Caleb’s abdomen, pauses at his waistband, then walks them back up. 

Always with the teasing.

“Mollymauk. Molly.” Caleb watches him warily. When claws don’t yet again touch down, he swallows and continues-- “What, ah, are you trying to accomplish here?” 

“I’m glad you asked. You see, I’m quite fond of you, Caleb.” Molly fiddles with one of his holster buckles. It catches the light of the inn lanterns in mesmerizing patterns far too grand for such dull brass. 

���Oh.” Caleb’s face grows warm. “I am…fond of you as well.” 

“Hm, thank you. I would hope so. Otherwise, this whole thing would be quite awkward.” Molly’s laugh is rich and boisterous. Caleb turns the tones of it over in his mind. 

“When you said you wanted, ah, companionship for the evening, I’d thought you meant--”

“Sex?” Molly’s tail sways behind him. “Is that what you’d like?”

“Did you…have something else in mind?” Caleb winces at his own indelicacy. Molly looks touched--no, maybe fond? It shouldn’t baffle him so much, he knows, but the visual proof is…unbalancing. 

“With you? Ideas beyond number.” Molly’s piercing gaze pins Caleb further still to the bed. He’s beautiful in an elusive sense. When Caleb gazes upon Molly, he gets the distinct sense that somehow he’s going to disappear, as if someone so breathtaking could only exist in tricks of the mind. 

Caleb’s face heats to a point of concern. Molly chuckles, low as the lamplight. 

“I digress.” Molly leans close enough for their noses to touch. “I’d like to conduct an experiment, Caleb. Involving you.”

“Oh?” Caleb cannot for the life of him keep his eyes away from the softness of Molly’s lips. 

“Yes, if you’d let me.” Molly’s hand finds his, both scarred in different ways. It’s one of the few times that feeling heat in the palm of his hand has been welcome. 

“Do what you will.” Caleb nods. 

“That’s the spirit.” Molly beams and pulls Caleb’s hand up his body, skirting along his thigh and the soft silk of his shirt, until finally their hands, as one, rest on his sternum. The warmth of Molly’s skin is a kiss that blooms. 

“You feel that?” Molly hums, and it resonates through Caleb’s fingertips. He’d always thought Molly was a bit thin, but the way breath moves through him…it reminds Caleb of Nott’s brief and consuming obsession with blowing into glass bottles like flutes. There’s a pitch to Molly’s resonance—not one he’s equipped to understand, but there nonetheless. 

“They say you can hear a soul best through laughter or through tears. I prefer the former.” Molly gestures flippantly, brushing his thumb over the back of Caleb’s hand. As he speaks, Caleb can feel the rise and fall of his breath, the resonance of his voice--as if Molly’s entire being has been shaped to carry sound to the very tip of his horns. The jewelry hanging from his ears and horns jingles of its own accord, like a windchime. 

He’s the loveliest windchime I’ve ever seen, Caleb thinks, a bit hysterical. 

“I want to hear what your soul sounds like, Caleb.” 

It’s so intimate and innocent that Caleb finds his breath utterly lost. He blinks up at Molly and tries to counteract the sudden and reeling incoherence of his mind. 

“Not the most resounding enthusiasm, but I understand.” Molly stands and brushes himself off. The aloofness of his tone is betrayed by the way he can’t seem to quite look at Caleb. It must be so easy for him to escape this way. Mollymauk, ever-balancing on a tightrope, with the most convincing lack of fear of falling.

“Wait!” Caleb grabs Molly’s wrist before he can slip away. Gently, he tugs him back down. Molly’s eyes shine alluringly in the dim. 

“I was…caught off guard. No one has ever expressed an interest of this kind to me before.” Caleb slides his hands up Molly’s thighs. He gives a comforting squeeze, at least what he hopes is comforting, and Molly twitches with a quiet laugh. 

“Shame.” Molly’s gaze roves over Caleb appreciatively, but not with the hunger he expects. It’s constructive. Encompassing. Warm. Caleb basks in it, even as Molly grows uncharacteristically quiet. He takes one of his claws between his teeth as his stare grows distant. 

“What is rattling through that brain of yours, hm?” Caleb knits his brow. Molly sits up a bit, stretching their intimate bubble. Caleb clenches his fist and concentrates on not keening after him. 

“How thoroughly I’m about to ruin the mood,” Molly mutters, likely not meaning for Caleb to hear. Caleb furrows his brow, but before he can speak, Molly kneads curiously into his stomach. 

A chuckle bubbles from a deep, unknowable place in Caleb, somewhere nestled just beyond the darkness clinging listlessly to his soul. Then another, then another, until his whole body is racked with quiet sounds he tries to smother. Claws trip maddeningly upwards to his ribs and Caleb cracks into snickers that overwhelm him with force. He slams his arms back down towards his sides and curls as much as physically possible. 

“Scheiße, Molly--”

“Do you want me to stop?” Molly stills, stiff and unnatural. He reminds Caleb of a wild hare, all of his muscles coiled and ready to flee--except for his tail, of course, which lashes in nonsensical patterns as if it has a life of its own. 

He’s nervous, Caleb realizes. How endearing. 

“Did I say ‘silvervine’?” Caleb huffs, still battling the wobbly smile on his face. Molly’s eyes widen.

“No, I suppose you didn’t.” Molly chuckles, shaking his head. Before Caleb can think to steel his defenses, Molly drags his claws down every inch of his captive torso that he can reach. Caleb jackknifes with the kind of giggles that fizzle in his lungs before they leave. It’s a maddening type of touch and he kind of wants more, but Molly continues in his steadfast teasing.

“You’re going to be the death of me, Caleb Widogast,” Molly murmurs, leaning down to kiss him sweetly. Caleb laughs into Molly’s mouth, soft as he imagined, and allows himself to fall slowly apart. 

…

Caleb’s love, it turns out, is born from the same place as his laughter. Both have become easy to coax into the light with time. Like weeds breaking free of cobblestone streets, love has gripped the hopeful parts of him and refused to let go. Love has made him all the things he feared it would--weak, compromised, and clouded--and he wouldn’t trade it for anything, mortal or otherwise.

“Liebling, I have research to complete.” Caleb pauses at the bookshelf, letting Molly coil his arms around him. Molly’s face finds its usual place between his shoulder blades for a moment before his hands slide a bit…lower. 

“Conveniently, so do I. My thesis is on the kinds of noises you’ll make when you’re overworked and I have time.” Molly’s breath curls hot against his ear. There’s a sweet center to the devilish lilt of his tone, though, and it makes Caleb smile. 

“I’d love to hear you defend this thesis of yours, hm?” He turns to face Molly and the full force of his pout. 

“You have utterly killed the mood,” Molly grumbles, but his tail is busy curling in content little loops. Caleb hums noncommittally and kisses him again, far more occupied about the way Molly’s cheeks squish between his hands when he smiles. 

“If you can be patient, perhaps I’ll make it up to you.” Caleb shifts his grip to hold Molly’s chin, brushing his thumb across his bottom lip. He likes the spark of excited desire that flashes through Molly’s eyes. 

“Promise?” 

“However you’d like.” Caleb kisses him once more, more to sate himself than anything. Molly throws himself upon the nearest divan with expedience. As he settles in among the cushions, Caleb thumbs through the nearby shelves and starts a stack of relevant texts on one of the worktables. 

The first hour rolls by without much event and by the second, Caleb is focused enough to ignore Molly’s dramatic sighs. By hour three, Caleb’s read what he needed. Some for research, some for pleasure, but he’s taken in enough to make his mind buzz.  

Molly’s arms wind around his waist and Caleb jumps, then settles.

“One of these days, I’ll put a bell on you.” Caleb reshelves a few tomes with a reverent hand. 

“Caleb, you must know by now that patience is not my strongest suit.” Molly presses his face between Caleb’s shoulderblades again. Caleb shivers from the very tips of his toes and bites back a chuckle. Molly tends to grow needy when he’s ignored, they both know this, but the varying levels of petulance always make things entertaining. 

“I am aware.” Caleb continues reshelving, a little faster now. Molly nuzzles into Caleb’s back again and, oh, he’s purring. That would be exceptionally sweet if Molly’s body didn’t carry the resonance like a tuning fork, right to the tips of his horns where they’re pressed into Caleb’s spine, making it tickle terribly. Caleb bites his lip and forces back the tide of laughter building in his shuddering chest. 

“Come now, darling. Are you still so sensitive? I can feel you trying not to laugh.” Molly drapes his arms over Caleb’s shoulders and speaks into his spine, languid but calculated. It’s a nonsensical question but Molly himself is nonsensical, just as much a trickster as the shadowed being to whom Jester accredits her mischief. 

“M-Mohohlly.” Caleb shivers, snickers jumping free in short and bright bursts. Caleb can hear Molly’s grin without needing to see it, but it doesn’t prepare him for the bundle of tiefling suddenly clambering atop his back. Molly should know better than this, really--Caleb has gotten stronger, but he is not strong. 

“You’ve kept me waiting all this time and you have nothing to say for yourself?” Molly unleashes a flurry of kisses behind Caleb’s ear and the dam falls before he has a chance to defend it. Breathy, frantic giggles flow from Caleb with a fervor, spinning around the two of them in the warm, empty library. 

“Well, that’s not a very good defense. We’ll have to work on that,” Molly grins, speaking directly into Caleb’s neck. Caleb squeals and doubles over, landing somewhere between Zemnian and Common as he tries to shake Molly loose. Molly laughs and tickles his stomach, sending Caleb snapping upright with a dangerous sway. 

“Tongue-tied already?” Molly leans back a dangerous amount, forcing Caleb to back up towards the divan to avoid a nasty fall. They collapse on it in a tangled heap of shouts and curses. Caleb immediately grabs Molly’s hip in his hand and starts murmuring an incantation. He can feel the gentle sparks of magic beginning to take effect--and Molly can too, if the sudden hitch in his breath is anything to go by. 

“Ah-ah, none of that. You casters never play fair.” Molly worms his fingers up, up, until he can fiddle with the ribs supporting Caleb’s beloved book holsters. The magic, along with Caleb, dissolves into sparks and high-pitched bouts of noise. Caleb writhes and shrieks, his hair flying loose of its ponytail and into disarray. Molly rubs his knuckles between the grooves of his ribs and Caleb arches with a shout. Molly laughs and starts tickling at the back of his ribs. 

They roll around like unruly kittens, kicking cushions every which way as if it were a sport. Molly still lands on top of him, breathless and vibrating with joy. He chirps something that sounds suspiciously like ‘squishy wizards’ before tickling up under Caleb’s arms, taking ample time to try and wiggle beneath the straps of the holsters. 

Caleb grabs at Molly’s thighs to brace himself, and Molly snorts. It’s a quiet sound, cushioned by soft laughter, but it’s there and it’s beautiful. Caleb knows Molly’s ticklish, of course--ample time with Jester has taught him what to expect of tieflings--but he’s never heard him make such an adorable noise before. 

“Mollymauk,” Caleb says, a little breathless, but he’s grinning wider than he ever thought possible. Molly’s nervous grin is delectable. 

“Surely we can talk about this--”

“I think you’ve talked enough, don’t you?” Caleb pulls Molly close by the ankle and starts kneading at his inner thigh. Molly wails, thrashing so hard that his top half slides off the divan and onto the floor. A slapdash mix of giggles, snorts, and wild cackles burst out of him, enough for Caleb to coo at him and bury his stubble into the stretched plane of Molly’s stomach. 

Molly muffles a blood-curdling shriek into a wayward cushion. Caleb laughs and tickles harder. 

“I have a thesis on the kinds of noises you’ll make--”

“C-Caleb!”

#this is probably ooc and definitely does not fit in canon im sorry </3 #i did my best #my fics #ticklish!caleb widogast #ticklish!molly #critical role #mollymauk tealeaf #caleb widogast #widomauk #i am never not thinking about them #doing my part for the tieflings are knismos agenda by giving u some of my own homebrew lore about tieflings #they are hollow in a spiritual sense due to *handwaves at the canon bullshit* despite having souls which is why so many pursue bardhood! #imagine ur homie plays a song so good ur entire body resonates like a tuning fork? #or the love of ur life laughs and you can feel it hum thru ur whole body? yeah. tieflings <3

[jess-the-vampire]

Ya know, Caleb strikes me as either the type of guy who like not that ticklish/not ticklish at all, and Hunter and Philip hate it cause Caleb tickles them all the time when they’re being grumpy or when he wants to mess with them, and they can’t get him back for it. Or he’s extremely ticklish but through some miracle no one in the mud house has found out yet.

either way it presents the idea of tickle fights between them and i approve of soft momance

#a reverse of feathers and mud au #a reverse of feathers and mud #areverseoffeathersandmudau #the owl house #toh #emperor belos #philip wittebane #the owl house hunter #the golden guard #golden guard #caleb wittebane #my art

[likzxgs]

Okay cool! Then what are your headcanons about the Wittebane brothers? Like who is more ticklish, who would win in a tickle fight? (I'm sorry I just love family fluff especially between siblings)

Certainly! Here are some headcanons about the Wittebane brothers ( ¯ ³¯)♡

• Both Wittebane brothers seem exceptionally ticklish, making it impossible to determine who is more sensitive.

• During tickle fights, the outcome depends on who strikes first or targets the most vulnerable spots, leading to victories for both Caleb and Phillip at different times.

• Both brothers are squirmers, but Caleb takes it to another level with intense squirming, kicking, and flailing.

• Phillip emits a squeaky laugh while Caleb's laugh has a snorty quality, both equally adorable.

• Although both brothers are walking tickle spots, they each have specific areas that are their worst spots.

• Caleb's worst spots include his ribs, knees, palms, hips, and feet, while Phillip's include his belly, armpits, feet, and chin.

• Raspberries and tickly kisses are highly effective moves for both brothers during tickle sessions.

• Caleb enjoys being teased during tickling, unlike Phillip who does not.

• Phillip can become super embarrassed when tickled, often hiding his blushing face behind his hair, which is adorable.

• Once, Caleb and Evelyn teamed up to tickle Phillip. Phillip exploded with laughter XD

• Caleb is a little nuzzler, enjoying burying his face into his lee's neck or belly, and peppering them with small kisses or nibbles, (especially Evelyn<33) That tickles sm!!

• Phillip is such a lee and he tries his best as a ler, unlike Caleb who excels as a menace ler, utilizing teasing and the best techniques to fluster others. But it’s super easy to fluster Caleb too. 

Overall, the Wittebane brothers’ dynamic is filled with laughter, affection, and wholesome sibling fluff, making their bond heartwarming to witness. <3

#sfw tickle community #the owl house #witteclaw #caleb wittebane #caleb is such a menace ler istgg 0///0 #phillip wittebane #the wittebane brothers #wittebros #evelyn clawthorne #lee #ler #tickle headcanons #tickle content

[gaybananabread]

Hii!

Could you do Lee and Ler Evelyn (from toh) headcanons ?

No pressure!

Have a good day! ❤️

🕯️Evelyn Tkl Headcanons✨⊰

~Hey Anon! Sorry to everyone who's been asking stuff, I've had a busy few weeks (⁠;⁠ŏ⁠﹏⁠ŏ⁠). Finally getting around to these! Evelyn was unexpected, but she does seem fun! Thanks for requesting!~

General:

While her and Caleb are together, they're incredibly playful with each other.

Evelyn is a mischievous witch by nature, and when she figures out Caleb’s ticklish, mutual chaos ensues.

Loves tickling both ways, but she's ler-leaning. Being tickled is okay, but she's gotta be in the right mood for it.

Quickly finds out her wonderful human loves it as well, adding another thing for them to bond over.

Lee:

Again, certain mood, but she does get them occasionally.

She's very squirmy— bucks, kicks, accidental elbows to the nose, you name it.

So yeah, she prefers being pinned when tickled.

It's easier: she doesn't have to worry about hurting her beloved if she “can't” move her arms.

Takes a lot to get her really laughing. Unless you hit a sweet spot, you'll usually only get bubbly giggles and a small blush.

Her worst spots are her thighs and lower ribs.

You get her there, and it's loud cackles and bright blushes for days.

Melt spots are her hips. She loves getting a few squeezes or pokes there, maybe some light tracing from her lover. Dissolves into the sweetest giggles you can imagine.

If she can breathe, she'll tease her ler to kingdom come.

“Aww, you wanna tickle me, don't you?” “Oh really? My top’s riding up? Hadn't noticed…” “Somebody in a ler mood? I guess I could let you tickle me, though those red cheeks are awfully adorable.”

Ler:

Adores wrecking Caleb almost anytime of the day.

She loves the sound of his laugh, his smile, his blush, the way his hair noodle bounces as he laughs, the way he doesn't ask for her to stop until he's through…

Yeah, safe to say she's happy to tickle him.

Incredibly teasy, though in the most affectionate way.

“Poor, poor little lee… Much too ticklish for your own good.” “Are you telling me that this adorable bit of pudge is ticklish? Who would've guessed~” “What's that, lovely? It tickles? Good, it's working!”

Can and will use magic to help deal with her lee.

Invisible restraints, magical feathers, ghost hands, tickle spells, you name it. Anything to help reduce her lee to a giddy pile of smiles~

Her favorite thing is when a certain giddy lee plops down in her lap. She'll tease them, of course, but the deserved tickles will be given.

If a lee is feeling down or hating on themselves, she'll tickle them and coo the sweetest compliments to them until they feel better.

“I don't see how you could hate this belly. It's so soft and plush! I could poke and squeeze it a-a-all day~”

“I'm sorry, ugly? You're calling this absolutely adorable face ugly? I'm sorry, but this is the most lovely shade of red I've ever seen, and your smile is so wonderful! I'm afraid you're lying to yourself, love.”

“That anxiety of yours is rather rude. Let me chase it away for you! There's that pretty smile~”

#toh tickle #tickle headcanons #lee!evelyn #ler!evelyn #ticklish!evelyn #sfw tickling community #tickle #sfw tickle headcanons #toh #the owl house tickle #toh evelyn #switch!evelyn

[ticklishbeans4]

kbdh*dsu#lee!Belos is so adorable... Since Hunter knows how ticklish his uncle is, would he sometimes try to help Belos get relax by tickling him? And though Belos barely fights back during the session he still tells Hunter that this is undignified and unacceptable in the end, because he's the emperor...😤

Ok ok ok, SO! I want this SO BAD! A good and healthy relationship between Hunter and Belos that's full of love and laughter and good times is my dream! I love any and all good parent Belos AU's!

Hunter would definitely try to tickle his uncle to cheer him up or help him relax after a hard day. Hunter can tell his uncle enjoys being tickled, even if Belos denies it.

And the tickles reminding him of Caleb 😭😭😭 I love it!!! Belos I feel really never grew up or grew out of his old ways and he longs for nothing more than for things to go back to the way they were. He just wants his brother back, to be young and care free, to live in a world that makes sense again. And he can't so he throws himself into trying to make things right. Fix his mistake in killing Caleb, though he doesn't truly understand Caleb as a person so even though he's been making exact copies of his brother, they're never right in his eyes. Purge the world of evil by taking out witches, the witches that stole his brother from him, the witches that hurt humans and wish them all dead or enslaved! He thinks he's right about it all, and he just can't see how wrong he is...

...ANYWAYS! Ticklish Belos who misses being tickled silly and thus lets the only person he trusts tickle him from time to time. He gets him back sometimes though uwu

#tickles #tickling #tickle #toh tickles #toh tickle headcanons #toh tickle #toh belos #emperor belos #hunter wittebane #rant #kinda

[thebest-medicine]

Day 4: Weak Spot

Tickletober 2023 - Critical Role - Campaign 2 Mighty Nein - lee!Caleb, lee!Jester, lee!Mollymauk

[see my other tickletober 2023 fics]

A/N: based on this post, starts out with various tidbits of Molly and Jester going after Caleb and using their tails to poke and prod at his sides and ribs while they get his feet. Caleb gets a hold of Jester’s one time trying to stop her and she screeches and collapses into giggles. Molly stops using his tail to tickle anywhere near Caleb’s hands and hopes he just kinda doesn’t notice. Caleb notices.

[read on AO3]

Words: 4.1k (can't stop won't stop)

—

He’s mid conversation, chatting with Beauregard, when Caleb “Eek!”’s, squawking in surprise as something sharp edges up under the side of his shirt. Beau snickers as Caleb quickly turns to the side, only to see no one. He spins the rest of the way around and sees Mollymauk, smiling innocently, a few feet away, his tail swishing.

Caleb’s face is flushed red as he pats his shirt down.

“Good morning.” Molly says brightly, then can’t quite disguise the way his smile shifts to a smirk. “What’s gotten into you, Mr. Caleb?” 

Caleb narrows his eyes at him, backing away as he eyes him warily. Beau is still snickering a bit when Caleb turns to continue their conversation, never quite taking his eyes off of the tiefling. 

—

Later that week, Jester has his ankles locked up in her arm. She uses the other hand to scribble quickly, precisely along the curves of his soles. Caleb pounds his fists weakly into the floor, laughing and trying his best to scrunch his toes. 

He’s cackling, pleading throughout in both Common and Zemnian as Jester teases him. She glances over her shoulder towards him and gets an idea. Her fingers continue to tickle and trace over each foot and under his toes, and her tail flexes, wiggles down to poke and prod along Caleb’s back and sides. 

He shrieks and slams his arms down. “No- nohohoho!” 

Jester makes a pleased little chirrup and focuses more on the tail, trailing and poking it up along the backs of his ribs. “No, no, NEIN- JESTER! Haha-hahahave mercy!” He cries as she finds a few good spots and focuses in, wiggling her tail against them. She pulls back for a second, tapping along the pads of his toes as he giggles. 

Then, Caleb shrieks again at the feeling of her tail trying to wriggle its way underneath the back of his shirt. “Nein! Bitte!” He tries to make a desperate grab for her tail. She pushes into the shirt and wiggles against the small of his back, gently, teasing. Caleb does his best attempt to curl backwards into a ball. “Ahahaha- plehehease!” 

Jester giggles at the mirthful cackles of the wizard. He’s so squirmy. She wonders if he’s comparable to Mollymauk when it comes to how ticklish he is there. Her hands pinch one of his toes between her fingers, having mostly stopped tickling there to focus her attention on her tail’s antics. Caleb makes another desperate grab for the prehensile limb, trying to kick and wiggle his way to freedom. Jester moves quickly enough to keep it out of his reach. He attempts a few more times, even gets a bit close once. 

“Okay, okay, fine.” Jester eventually sighs, grinning. “I’ll just tickle your feet.” 

“Nein!”

—

Caleb thought he would spend the evening studying, reading, working on the arcane. Mollymauk had other plans for him. 

Caleb is gathered up in Molly’s arms, a ticklish hug that is shuffling him over to the lounge chair Molly often likes to drape himself across while waiting impatiently for the wizard to pay him some attention.

He tosses Caleb onto the cushions, eliciting an “oof, hey!” from him. “Wait-” Unable to hide his grin, Caleb implores and reaches a hand up defensively as Mollymauk crawls into his lap and starts pinching at his sides. He’s already starting to giggle. 

Molly’s fingers pinch up along his sides and pluck at his ribs. He makes quick work of Caleb’s holsters - though they’re still partially attached around his shoulders and back, just no longer blocking the delectable ribs beneath. They lay, discarded and useless for protection, against the soft material of the lounge chair. 

Molly leans in, smiling triumphantly as Caleb squirms under him, and plants a kiss on his cheek. He starts low then, near his hips, and tickles his way up Caleb’s sides while trailing a line of kisses to his jaw and the side of his neck. 

“Mmpf- Moll- Mollyhehe!” Caleb whines, his body betraying him by opening his neck up a bit more. Mollymauk takes the invitation and kisses and nips along Caleb’s neck. 

“Oh, you’re in trouble now, hmm?” Molly smirks into his warm, pink skin. His fingers reach the lowest of Caleb’s ribs and begin their steadfast march up to the usually protected area of his ribs. Then, he starts growling playfully into Caleb’s neck.

Caleb shrieks, his eyes already starting to well up with laughter as he squirms uselessly underneath the lithe purple body. He’s trying to say something, but it sounds like Zemnian anyway so Molly focuses on everything else going on. He wiggles his fingers into Caleb’s ribs and gets an echoing cascade of desperate laughter for his efforts.

Caleb, enraptured in the three devastating points of contact on his upper body, kicks wildly, when all of the sudden he feels a fourth point of contact - a sharp point dragging along the top of his foot. “No! No- ah! Ihihit’s- it’s too muhuhuhuch! Please! Ahhhahaha-” Caleb pleads, his arms working uselessly to push and grab and block instinctively in any way he can. It’s a shame the little strength he has has already been sapped away.

“Oh, come now,” Molly chides with a coo of faux sympathy, “it can’t be that bad if you’re still talking.”

And then Caleb feels the tail coil around his ankle and begin wriggling around anywhere it can reach along his foot. He tries to kick, but just ends up drumming his free leg into the cushion. 

Caleb pushes weakly at Molly’s head, hands full of hair and horns, as he cackles into the library that just a few minutes earlier was silent with study.

—

They’re milling about town a few days later, and decide to treat themselves to an evening at the pub. Jester, Beau, Fjord, Caleb, and Nott slide into seats at a table in the back while Mollymauk goes to fetch a round of drinks. 

“Be right back, dear.” Molly smirks at Caleb, who is sitting between Nott and Molly’s would-be seat. Caleb gives him a confused but suspicious look before he feels an unmistakably familiar prod at his back. He barely tampers the sound of the yelp that forms in his throat. His eyes scan the rest of the group, they’re all still chatting, oblivious. He swats Molly’s tail away from the back of his chair, turning to respond to something Fjord is talking about.

When Molly comes back, Nott and Caleb have switched seats. He rolls his eyes with a smile, as though that’s the end of it, and sets down the drinks. He slides into his seat and jumps into the chatter. 

Caleb is halfway through a sentence when his voice cracks on a word. He goes silent just as quickly as he turns red. He fixes Molly with a glare. 

“What was that, Caleb?” Jester teases. “I didn’t quite get that.” 

Caleb’s narrowed eyes flick to her. He scoots forward in his seat. Nott peeks behind her shoulder at the purple tail stretching easily past her chair to Caleb. She chuckles and goes to continue the conversation. 

Caleb is so wary of an attack from behind that it throws him completely off kilter when Jester - never one to not jump in at any chance to tease - snakes her tail up the side of his knee and thigh under the table. Caleb shouts and throws himself backwards in his seat. “No!” The chair legs squeak at an irritating pitch, scraping against the floor. 

Jester can’t help but burst out into laughter. Fjord looks quite amused as well, though not as much as Mollymauk.

“Hey, leave the poor kid alone.” Nott scolds, waggling a finger at Jester and drinking her beer. “I don’t want him like, laughing too hard and then beer shoots out of his nose, gross!”

This sets the rest of the group laughing even more.

“Yeah Jes, you’re being mean to poor Caleb,” Beau reprimands, “it’s not his fault he’s so ticklish.” She punctuates her statement with a poke to his ribs that sends him careening into Nott. 

He’s flushed, chest heaving with each nervous breath. “If you do not stop, I am going to find myself another table to sit at.” Caleb says, as serious as he can with his face red. “And new company to drink with.”

“Alright, alright. Enjoy your drink.” Beau claps him on the shoulder, laughing when he flinches at the contact.

“Aww. No. You love us.” Jester teases at the same time. “We just wanted to see you smile, Caleb.” Jester assures him, smiling innocently.

“Cheers to that!” Molly laughs. 

“Aww, cheers to Caleb’s smile? Or cheers to making Caleb smile?” Jester giggles. 

Caleb groans, dropping his head into his hands on the table.

“Cheers to both!” Molly agrees, raising his glass. Fjord and Beau join him as Jester picks up her drink from the table.

“Hey, I think you’d better drink to that, Caleb, or they’re going to start poking around again to make sure you’re alright.” Nott informs the side of Caleb’s head. He lets out a quiet, defeated noise. 

“I hate you.” Caleb mumbles when he sits up and everyone has their glass raised. He sighs and lifts his glass. “Fucking, Prost.” He only clinks Nott’s glass as he avoids looking at anyone in particular by staring down into the glass, blushing to the tips of his ears. 

The attention and subject of the hour swiftly evolves into something else, much to Caleb’s relief. 

It’s not until a few rounds later, when Jester gets up to dance with Fjord, that Caleb feels another little prod at his side. He’s a few drinks deeper, and just wriggles a bit away with a smile when she walks past. This time, that smile continues to linger long into the evening. Maybe Mollymauk helps a bit with a prod or squeeze to the knees every so often, too.

—

Another typical ending to another typical day in this cozy home they’ve built together - Caleb is shriek-laughing on the floor, Jester is draped over his legs facing his feet. She fumbles with the wizard’s toes and tries to keep his feet boxed in under her as he squirms. 

Mollymauk tries not to run too excitedly toward the sound of Caleb’s frantic laughter, sliding around the corner and entering the room in a way he hopes appears very casual. “Hm, what are you two up to?” He grins.

“I’m trying to give Caleb a nice pedicure- I told him! I’m so good at them!” Jester gripes. “But he’s so squirmy!” She digs a few fingers in under his toes and Caleb yelps. “We haven’t even picked out a color for his toes yet!” 

“I think he looks rather good in pink.” Molly teases. “Or bright red.” He tries to meet Caleb’s eyes but the wizard mostly has them squeezed shut or (briefly) focused on Jester. “Want some help?” 

“No! Nohohohoho- Mollymahahauk! Don’t!” Caleb cries. Jester rakes her fingers over his soles, making him shout through his laughter. 

“Well, he might not want any help, but I for sure do!” Jester grins, twisting his answer. She takes the hand off his feet and pats the ground beside her. 

Caleb blushes further. “Thahahahat’s not- oh no! No! Ahaha! Nohohohot whahat I meant-” Jester pokes her fingers between his toes and scratches a few spots along his soles.

Molly hums, pleased, as he saunters over to Caleb’s prone form. He gestures to Jester and she rolls off of Caleb’s legs, only for Molly to take her place lounging over his thighs. He leans forward, away from Caleb’s face, and lets out an evil little laugh to tease further. He grabs Caleb’s toes, pulling them back. He can feel Caleb trying to kick weakly, not that it does much. 

Jester scoots up real close and goes to work, her nails trace, delicate but deliberate across his soles, she gets up under his held toes and scribbles. Caleb’s shrieking laughter starts back up, intermixed with pleas they can only understand half of. Molly watches Jester’s wide smile as she plays with the squirmy wizard’s feet, scratching at the balls of his feet and making him pound his fists into the ground. 

Molly is happy to help, but it’s hard not to join in the fun. Jester seems to have his feet handled, so without looking back, he bites at his lip thoughtfully as he maneuvers his tail over, prodding at Caleb’s middle behind him. He feels the twitches and hears the little surprised “ah-”’s  as the tip of his tail makes contact, poking and wiggling against Caleb’s stomach and sides through his shirt. 

“Please, ahahahah bitte- Jester! Mollyheheheheheheheh! Ohohoho please I ahaha! I c-can’t!” Caleb wails desperately while Jester tickles under and between his toes on both feet. Caleb scrambles to push away the tail quickly prodding at his midriff, looking for any degree of relief as he had no hope for his feet. 

Molly dances his tail around, out-maneuvering him easily.

“Ooh, Caleb, your toes are starting to get a little pink! It’s working! I’m so good at pedicures, see I told you!” Jester giggles. “Look, Molly!” She beams. 

“Matches his lovely face.” Mollymauk adds, smiling over his shoulder at the flailing puddle of wizard. 

Caleb doesn’t quite give them an answer, but he laughs a little harder as Jester dives back in with determined fingers just under his toes, while Molly’s tail pokes and prods every sensitive spot it can reach.

—

“Would you knock it off?” Caleb asks - definitely does not whine - when he jumps again as Jester walks past him, her tail prodding gently at his side. 

“Knock what off?” Jester replies sweetly. 

Caleb groans, sighs, wipes a hand over his face. 

— 

It’s not an unusual evening. Caleb is kicking for his life, trying to wriggle himself out of Jester’s tangled limbs before she really gets a hold of him. He’s already laughing as she leaps over his thighs and starts squeezing around the back of his knee. 

She starts tickling down his calves, pinching and squeezing along her descent. Caleb cackles into the floor.

“No- Jester! Nonono-” Caleb squeals, trying to grab onto any part of her he can and tug her away from his feet. He reaches back frantically and gets a grip on her swishing tail, which flicks and whips about in his hand. “Jester!” He protests as he pulls weakly on her tail.

“Hey, give that back!” Jester laughs, reaching back with one hand to tug on her tail.

They pull back and forth a little, both laughing, when Jester starts squeezing at his knees again. Caleb gasps, and with nothing else to do, tries desperately to scribble along the captured tail, the only part of Jester he has any leverage over. He doesn’t expect the squeal as Jester darts forward, pitching over his prone body and plowing into the floor just beyond Caleb’s feet as she whips her tail out of his grasp. Her cheeks are a little dark as she gathers herself and gets up onto her elbows. 

“Well..that was interesting.” Caleb announces as he catches his breath, curling his legs inward and away from the tiefling. 

Jester pouts at him, rolls onto her side, and springs forward to continue her ticklish attack on the wizard. Caleb doesn’t exactly scream, per say, but he certainly makes a high pitched noise of surprised terror as she launches at him. 

Before blue fingers start to curl along his sides, Caleb frantically grabs for her tail, hoping perhaps to save himself and turn the tables for once, to not always end up the one disheveled and grinning on the floor catching their breath. 

“Ohohoho no! You’re gonna try and tickle me back?” Jester gasps exaggeratedly, squeezing his sides a few times. 

Caleb jumps under her and gets a hand up under her stomach. He squeezes a few times and she shivers, laughing and squirming back and forth without moving to get away. She’s still tickling him quite dexterously, pinching up close to his ribs. Caleb cries out with a laugh as he gets a hand on the lashing tail behind Jester. “Y-You deserve it!” Caleb laughs. “After- ahah- after all you put mehehehe through!” 

Jester considers this while he starts to scratch at the bottom of her tail. She feels the tingling, sparkling, ticklish feeling shoot up her nervous system in a way she hadn’t been a victim of in some time. She loves tickling. She loves tickle fights. She is usually the instigator, her more mischievous qualities setting her up well to be the tickle monster of the group. She loves being tickled too - but most of their friends are not quite as mean / wonderful at tickling as she is, so she did not often find herself feeling desperately ticklish. She was one to sometimes antagonize the others into tickling her, or just walk over to Fjord or Caduceus or Molly’s lap and lay down, arms up. 

This sparkle of nerves at the end of her tail quickly reminds her why some people (like Caleb) can’t help but flail and scream and try to get away. It’s fun. It’s overwhelming. She tries to keep tickling Caleb, but soon finds herself scrambling away with ticklish laughter, pulling her tail from his grasp. 

“Ahaha, oh gohohods- I- I..” Jester giggles, heart fluttering in her chest. 

“Good. Makes things a little more fair.” Caleb squints at her, tamping down his own laughter. He lays back, catching his breath.

“Aww, do you wish you had a ticklish tickly tail that you could use to get us back?” Jester teases, reaching an arm out to Caleb, fingers wiggling. 

He pushes her hand away with a laugh, cheeks growing more red. “At least I have a fighting chance now.”

—

The first time Caleb wins a tickle fight against Jester, the whole party watches on in disbelief. 

She had snuck over to his seat while everyone was talking and jumped over the back of the couch at him, hands honing in on his ribs as they both tumbled to the floor. Beau and Fjord watched fondly as the wizard was tickled into a familiar, laughing ball of red hair and skin. Caleb’s arm flailed out wildly, opening him up a bit to a bit more tickling with a squeak. It took him a few seconds, but he had gotten a hold of the middle of Jester’s tail. With what almost sounds like a battle cry, Caleb fought every instinct to shoot out his other hand and tickle along the sides of her tail, towing it in toward himself. 

“Caleb! Wahahahait- ehehe! No!” Jester had squealed.

A few minutes later saw Caleb half-kneeling over Jester’s waist, her face buried into the floor laughing. He’d held her tail and started tickling quickly along the length and spade and underside. 

Jester was persistent, enduring, and tough. Caleb was curious, thorough, and stubborn. 

After a few unsuccessful attempts to free herself, crawl away, or free her tail, Jester actually starts begging. “Nohohoho- Caleb, na-nahahahahot there! Ahh- nohoho! Plehehehease!”

Fjord and Beau both watch with surprised but proud smiles. Caleb is watching each flicker of the tail, mapping out every spot that forces a twitch or ticklish shiver, which is all of them. Jester beats her fists into the floor as she pleads, “Hehehe- help me!” She glances around frantically for Fjord, Mollymauk.

“Do you give up, little menace?” Caleb asks, scribbling pointedly.

Jester screams into the floor as the tickling picks up when she doesn’t answer.

“I can do this all day…” Caleb informs her, fingers never fully leaving the very sensitive skin. He doesn’t appear to be bluffing as he works over what is certainly her most ticklish spot for the next few minutes.

Her laughter goes silent, and when no one gets up to help shove Caleb off of her, probably due to her having thoroughly tickled each and everyone one of them to tears many times before, she slaps at Caleb’s knee and then the ground and caves. “Okay! Okay! Aahhh- no! Please!” She’s mouthing desperately. Caleb lightens his touch a bit, making her wiggle and shiver helplessly. “Cahahahahaleb I’m gonna diehehehehehe- stahahahop! Oh plehehehease- not thehehehere! You wihihihhin! Cahahahaleb!”

A pleased smile graces his lips. “I suggest you keep that tail to yourself.” Caleb advises, finally stopping the tickling. 

Jester scrambles over to Fjord when Caleb finally lets her go. She’s giggling and blushing and curling her tail in close to her body. When he goes to sit down nearby, Beau slaps Caleb on the shoulder, congratulatory, at which he only startles a little.

Mollymauk is watching Jester in sympathy, his own tail twitching nervously behind him. He pointedly does not look at Caleb, and hopes that neither he nor any of the others notice the darkening tint on his cheeks.

—

Prior to his game-changing discovery, Caleb had noticed a pattern beginning to form. Whenever Jester and Molly had pinned and tickled him and had him in their clutches, whether together or alone, they loved teasing and catching him off guard and tickling him in as many places as possible. Their hands, their nails, their mouths were bad enough, but add in an extra instrument of tickling, they could get him in all his worst spots at once.

But, after publicly thwarting a tickle attack by Jester - and possibly taking the temporary crown as most dangerous tickler of the Nein - Caleb notices a new pattern forming.

Mollymauk’s tail, usually a key instrument in his lighthearted torture, is soon no where to be found during any of his attacks. Not that it has any impact on the frequency of them.

Jester still manages to get him pretty bad, but at least he can give her some comeuppance for it. Mollymauk still gets him pretty bad as well, but Caleb’s curious. He has started keeping his body between Caleb and his tail at all times. 

Caleb is cackling when the idea floats briefly through his mind, Mollymauk squeezing his sides from above him. Molly only brings his tail into play, now, if he’s up near Caleb’s arms, where he can keep an eye on them. And he only uses it, sparingly, to poke and tickle along his feet.

Caleb is usually quite flimsy, floppy, and uncoordinated when tickled, especially once it’s been going on for a while. He focuses on the thought of getting a little revenge, on the curiosity of whether it would work, and, in a moment where Molly starts to shift so he can attack a different sensitive area of Caleb’s, the wizard lurches up, shouldering a surprised Mollymauk off of him with a giggly shout.

They lock eyes. 

Hands start scrambling as Caleb makes to grab at him while Molly does the same.

After a bit of a tussle with a few laughs from them both, Caleb manages to get ahold of Molly’s tail, clenching it like a prize in his fist. He holds it in front of Molly’s face, grinning. His other hand, fingers wiggling, makes to scrabble up the underside of it, heading in with a flourish near the flailing spade. Molly yelps before his fingers even make contact, then he stumbles backwards, landing on the floor on his back. Caleb lets him fall as he goes, watching him with a smirk. Molly leans up on his elbows, tail tucked safely behind him. He breathes out slowly, eyes flicking between Caleb’s expression and his hands. “Caleb…”

Caleb assesses, his eyes twinkling. “You’re nervous.” 

“I’m never nervous.” Molly scoffs.

“Oh, really?” Caleb looks pointedly behind him at Mollymauk’s flickering tail. “You’re not worried that your tail is as ticklish as Jester’s? Maybe worse?”

Molly swallows, a chill running up his spine. “Or, maybe n-not at all.” He tries.

Caleb lets out an amused laugh. “Well, let’s find out, hmm?” He leans in closer, bending his knees.

“No-” Molly crawls backwards away from Caleb. 

Caleb encroaches further. And Molly turns, scrambles to his feet, and runs. He has his tail in hand, keeping it close to his chest for dear life as he bolts.

Caleb’s eyes widen. Molly doesn’t… he doesn’t run like that even when he’s on the receiving end of some well-earned revenge. He tends a bit more shameless in his indulgences. His little analysis gives Molly a little bit of a head start before he’s after him, running.

"Get back here, Tealeaf!"

#tickletober 2023 #tickletober23 #day 4 weak spot #critickle role #tickle fic #tickling #fluff #widomauk #widojest #caleb widogast #mollymauk tealeaf #jester lavorre #mighty nein #the mighty nein #campaign 2 #critical role #mine #ticklish!caleb #ticklish!jester #ticklish!mollymauk #poly nein #IM OBSESSED WITH THEM #all tieflings are knismos #beauregard lionett #fjord #nott the brave

[bh-52]

Omega headcanons

She would've been Shaak Ti's Padawan if she were Force sensitive.

Everyone from Cuy'val Dar adores her.

Omega showing up to the Republic Senate and introducing herself, in the middle of an argument about clones being sentient too, would totally be enough to get her fellow clones full citizenship and sentient rights. Since the Senate would only know about the soldiers, and not expect the cutest youngling since baby Ahsoka to be a clone.

Omega's extremely ticklish.

She called 99 her Grandpa.

She would've totally identified Chancellor Palpatine as a Sith Lord upon meeting him.

Omega wrote letters to Boba when he was in prison.

Crosshair only pretends he doesn't like Omega, and is very protective of her when nobody's looking.

Omega would've been best friends with the likes of Ahsoka Tano, Fives, Barriss Offee, Katooni, Ezra Bridger & Caleb Dume.

Plo Koon & Shaak Ti would adopt Omega as their daughter.

If she ever met him, Omega would easily convince Starkiller/Galen Marek to abandon the dark side.

For Life Day, Omega made holiday sweaters for the Bad Batch, including Crosshair, and Rex.

#star wars #the bad batch #omega bad batch #tbb omega #star wars the clone wars #star wars the bad batch #star wars headcanons #clones #clone trooper #clone troopers #Omega is adorable #the clone wars headcanons #clone wars #the clone wars #clone army #jango fett #clones of Jango Fett #boba fett #clone #star wars bad batch #clone force 99 #kamino #cloning #star wars tcw

[august-anon]

Revenge is a Dish Best Served With a Smile

For Tickletober Day 4: Weak Spot

-----

Fandom: Critical Role

Ship(s): Widomauk (though more implied than explicit)

Characters (lee/ler): Lee!Mollymauk/Ler!Caleb

Word Count: 1446 words

Summary: Mollymauk was getting a little too bold, thinking he could always get away with his tickle attacks. Wizards may not be known for their strength, but no one has ever said that Caleb isn't resourceful.

[ao3 link]

----------

Caleb knew he was an easy target. Wizards weren’t exactly known for their strength or agility, after all. The thing was, he never expected to become a target in his own party.

Ultimately, it had been Jester’s fault – with her particular brands of mischief and physical affection, it had only been a matter of time until weaknesses were revealed. But despite her position as their resident trickster, Jester wasn’t the one Caleb needed to keep an eye on. No, that was Mollymauk, taking advantage of Caleb’s sensitivities in every spare moment he could.

Internally, Caleb could just barely admit to himself that he didn’t necessarily mind it. Maybe, sometimes, when he was particularly tired (or blissed out post-tickle attack), he could even admit to himself that he liked it. Just a little. But that didn’t erase the fact that Molly was getting a little too bold, a little too sure of himself when it came to his attacks. Caleb knew he wasn’t untouchable, he’d watched Yasha and Jester take down Molly when he got a bit too cocky, but therein came the problem. Jester and Yasha were strong and quick – they knew exactly how to take Molly down in order to shut him up or exact their revenge.

But wizards weren’t exactly known for their strength or agility. 

Still, weeks of tickle attacks could not continue to go unpunished.

As it turned out, Caleb’s opportunity for revenge came packaged nicely in one such attempt. He had sequestered himself in his tavern room for the night, studying some new scrolls they had found on their latest adventure, when Molly found him. He sighed and allowed his eyes to flick up towards Molly for just a moment before returning to his scrolls, and Molly seemed to take that as his invitation into the room. The bed dipped next to him as Molly settled himself down, and he could feel the tiefling heat radiating off him as Molly leaned into his space.

“No merry-making for you tonight, dear?”

Caleb sighed again. “I do not make merry, Mollymauk. And in any case, I am busy with far more important things.”

Molly reclined on the bed behind him, curling a sly fingernail into the folds of his shirt, tugging slightly. “It’s just as well, I suppose. Beau and Yasha are trashed already, and frankly, it’s more than a little painful to watch.”

Against his better judgement, Caleb snorted. Mollymauk’s finger plucked at the loose edges of his shirt with more intent.

“Fjord’s well on his way there, as well. By the time I left, he looked half a drink away from slamming Beau and Yasha’s faces together himself.”

“Perhaps he should,” Caleb said absentmindedly, bringing the scroll closer to his face to squint at a specific rune.

He heard Molly let out a dramatic sigh as the bed shifted with his restless squirming. Then, he jumped as he felt a thin band begin to wrap around his waist. Glancing down, he saw Molly’s tail wrapped around his body, the spade of it hovering threateningly near his bottom rib. Molly’s fingernail had also found a new home, having managed to untuck Caleb’s shirt and slip underneath it to trace the curve of Caleb’s side just above his hip.

“Molly,” Caleb admonished, shifting his weight toward the nightstand in case he needed to swiftly get his scrolls out of harm's way.

“Yes, dear?” Molly purred.

“I believe it would be wise to quit while you are ahead. You’re distracting me.”

Molly chuckled behind him and sat up, pressing his chest to Caleb’s back. “Was that a threat, Mr. Widogast?”

“Perhaps it was.”

Molly chuckled, and Caleb flinched as Molly’s tail tightened around his waist, the spade of it beginning to wiggle into the space between his two lowest ribs. “Such confidence from a man in your predicament. Tell me, how exactly do you plan on wriggling your way out of this one?”

That was an excellent question, in Caleb’s opinion, because currently he had no plan. He didn’t even know if he wanted a plan yet, or if this was yet another instance Mollymauk would have his mirthful way with Caleb without consequence. But in either case, Molly’s tail’s ministrations were becoming ticklish enough to make him squirm. He couldn’t help the instinct to reach up and grab the thing. Molly let out a startled sound (much like a cat, Caleb thought fondly) and tried to wrench the limb away, but Caleb tightened his grip, smoothing his thumb over the spade of the tail to try and stop it’s squirming. Instead, the squirming (both from the tail and Molly himself) increased tenfold and Molly let out another startled noise – this one pitched far higher than the last.

“Alright,” Molly said, his voice high and wavering, “you’ve made your point. I can leave you to your boring old books, if that’s what you really want.”

Caleb hesitated, smoothing his thumb over the skin once more and gaining himself another frantic tug. “I apologize, am I making you uncomfor–”

“No!”

Caleb finally looked over his shoulder, finding Molly’s too-wide eyes already locked on his. His lavender skin had tinged a darker purple across his face and ears and all the way down his neck. As Caleb continued to analyze him, Molly swallowed heavily. Caleb narrowed his eyes. He knew this wasn’t an inappropriate situation – Molly and Jester had never expressed discomfort with their tails being handled before – but even if it was illicit, Molly wasn’t the sort to blush and squirm from those sorts of things anyway. He’d be more likely to flirt and tease and try to make Caleb blush instead – not that that was a particularly difficult feat.

Carefully, gently, Caleb brushed his thumb back and forth across the flat of the tail’s spade. Molly lurched forward, practically squealing as he curled up against Caleb’s back. A slow smile spread across Caleb’s lips.

“I see.”

“Caleb, don’t tease.”

Caleb let out an incredulous laugh. “And why should I not? You’re quite fond of teasing others in this position, are you not?”

Molly’s shoulders shook with suppressed laughter. “I still have my pride,” he ground out.

“Well, let me relieve you of that, then.”

Caleb brought his free hand up, spidering his blunt nails on the flat of the spade. Molly broke down into gasping giggles and went limp against Caleb, fingers clutching onto his shirt. His tail tugged for freedom, wiggled in Caleb’s grip, but seemed altogether too weak to be able to break free. Caleb chuckled and tickled his way down the length of Molly’s tail, watching as he arched his back the closer Caleb got to the base of it. He wondered what would happen if he tickled there and the spade of the tail at the same time, but he didn’t think it was possible with only two hands and the strength of a wizard. At least, not without some maneuvering, and he didn’t know if attempting to adjust them would trigger Molly’s revenge.

“I see why you do this so often,” Caleb said. “It is quite amusing to watch.”

Molly simply made a wordless whine, curling further into Caleb’s back and side until his face was buried in Caleb’s hip. He’d all but melted otherwise, aside from his shaking laughter and the twitching of his tail. Caleb’s smile turned fond.

“I’d almost say you like this. It’s quite cute actually.”

Molly grumbled something unintelligible into the skin of his hip, and Caleb flinched at the ticklish feeling, his own tickling faltering for a moment. Caleb sighed and paused his revenge, weaving his hand into Molly’s hair instead to scratch at his scalp. If possible, Molly melted even further into Caleb and the bed, practically purring.

“Perhaps the rest of us should get revenge more often, ja?”

Molly tilted his head up just enough to be heard and said, “I certainly wouldn’t be opposed.”

“I’ll remember this for next time.”

Molly grinned at the promise, and Caleb couldn’t help but smile back. Absentmindedly, he lifted Molly’s tail to his face and pressed a quick kiss to the spade of it, forgetting the prickliness of his scruff. Molly’s eyes blew wide again as he squealed, high-pitched and near-deafening, and launched himself backwards on the bed, ripping his tail out of Caleb’s hand in the process.

A dangerous grin that felt very much like it belonged more on Molly or Jester spread across Caleb’s face. “Or perhaps I’ll make use of it right now. What do you think?”

Molly’s tail twisted into excited little curlicues between them. “I’d say you’re rather foolish for expecting me to go down without a fight twice.

#tickle fic #my writing #critickle role #lee!mollymauk #ler!caleb #ticklish!mollymauk #critical role #cr #caleb widogast #mollymauk tealeaf #widomauk #tickletober #tickletober 2023 #augtickletober2023

[amazingmsme]

Tic-Tac-TOE

AN: tickletober day 2- drawn on. Nott is severely underrated in this community so I had to show her some love! Hope you enjoy! 

"Nott. Oh Noooott. Nott the Braaaaave."

Nott's eyes blearily blinked open, the fuzzy outline of Jester coming into focus. She cleared the sleep from her voice before attempting to speak.

"Oh, hello Jester. Did I sleep too long? Do we have to get on the road?" she asked, sitting up. Jester shushed her and guided her back down on her bedroll.

"Sh sh, no we don't have to go yet," she soothed.

"Oh, that's good. Wait a minute... WHY THE HELL DID YOU WAKE ME UP?" she screeched, throwing herself back under her blankets and curling into a ball on her side. Jester couldn't help but giggle.

"Weeell, Caleb said you'd been feeling a little sad lately, so he asked if I could use some of my classic charm to cheer you up!" she chirped happily. Nott grumbled under her breath, pulling the blanket higher over her head. Unfortunately, this made her feet stick out of the covers and a cold shiver ran through her body. Jester eyed the bare feet with mischief sparkling in her eyes.

"I'm fine Jester, thanks for the concern. But I'll feel much happier once I finish my nap," she said pointedly. Jester was already digging through her brushes and paints, humming along to act like she was listening. Though she really wasn't.

"Well Caleb asked me to do something about it, and I won't let him down. You've been so grouchy lately," she teased, grabbing an ankle and wiggling her pinky toe. Nott jerked underneath the covers with a startled giggle. Her head flew out of the blanket to stare at her with wide eyes.

"Jester! What do you think you're doing?" She only shrugged innocently in response to the question.

"I just think you'd be like, a lot happier if you had some super cute doodles on your feet. So you can look down at them, make up funny little voices, you know. That stuff," she supplied helpfully. A dark green blush spread across Nott's cheeks. She crossed her legs in an attempt to hide her feet.

"Funny, that's like, the complete opposite of what I'd like you to do," she sassed, a startled squeal slipping out when Jester grabbed her feet. "Wahait can't we talk about this?"

"Oh but there's nothing to talk about. I already talked it over with the Traveler, and he said this was definitely the best way to cheer you up," she said casually as she already started drawing a face on her big toe. Nott immediately started giggling and scrunched up her foot. Jester tutted and shook her head, grabbing her toe and pulled it back to stretch out her sole.

"Ohoho nohoho, d-don't lihihisten to him! Hehe doesn't know ahahanythihing!" she screeched, throwing the blanket over her head, as if that would help. Jester gasped and scribbled across her feet with more purpose, drawing out a loud snort.

"Nott, how can you say such a thing? I have to tickle you extra long now for dissing the Traveler," she said, voice full of mock pity. Nott kicked her legs as much as she could, her voice bordering on banshee levels of screeching.

"NOHOHO I'M SOHOHORRY!" she immediately apologized through hysterics. Jester giggled along with her friend as she doodled tiny faces on each of Nott's toes.

"This is papa toe, and here's mama toe, you really need to stop squirming or else it's going to get all smudged," Jester interrupted herself in a deadpanned voice to scold her.

"Ihihi cahahan't! Ihihit's ahawful!" she cried, squirming around in an attempt to escape.

There was a quick knock on the inn door before it opened. "Is everything alright in here?" Fjord's concerned voice came from the doorway.

"Fjord! Fjojohord hehehelp mehehe!" Nott desperately pleaded for his aid. He smirked, walking into the room fully.

"Jester? What uh, what're you doing?" he asked, not bothering to hide the amusement in his tone.

"Caleb said that Nott was feeling a little glum and asked if I could do anything to cheer her up. And I talked it over with the Traveler and he said this was definitely the way to go," she answered cheerfully, drawing a grid along the sole of her foot. The poor goblin girl let out a squeal of laughter.

"Well if he says so. Seems like it's doing her good; I don't think I've ever seen her laugh this much," he teased, crouching next to Jester.

"Fjohohord dohohon't be an ahahass! Hehehelp mehehe!" Nott demanded. Jester shoved a fountain pen in his hand and nodded enthusiastically.

"You heard her, help me!" she insisted.

Fjord looked between the tiefling's evil grin and the hysterical goblin between them. "Uh..."

"Oh come on, you even said she needs to laugh more," Jester reasoned. And well, he couldn't really argue with that.

"Sorry Nott, but she does have a point," he smirked, following Jester's lead and drawing faces on her toes. She screamed with tormented laughter, pounding a fist on the ground.

"Oh, I know! Let's play tic tac tooooeeee," she sang, wiggling Nott's pinkie toe. She screeched, shaking her head rapidly.

"DOHOHON'T YOU FUCKING DAHAHARE!" she screamed while Jester already started drawing the game board. She started off by marking the center box with an X.

Nott's leg jerked away and Fjord held it down so he could draw a circle in the box next to it, right in the center of her arch. She snorted, burying her face in the covers. Jester cooed and shot her hands under the blanket to squeeze her sides. She could only laugh and flop around like a fish out of water.

"Jester, it's your turn," Fjord reminded. She popped back out, fixing her hair and giving Nott a moment to breathe.

"You two are the fucking worst!" she cried out dramatically when Jester scooped her ankle back up. She scratched another X in the top left corner on the ball of her foot, nearly getting kicked in the jaw.

"Wow, you're pretty ticklish Nott! But don't kick my face, okay?" Jester asked sweetly, scratching between her toes innocently. She howled out for the only one who could save her. The only one who would save her rather than join in.

"CAHAHAHALEHEHEB! CAHALEB HEHEHELP MEHEHE!" she screamed as loud as she could. It felt like eons, but in reality Caleb appeared in the doorway 15 seconds later.

"Alright, party's over," he said with a soft smile and a warm look in his eyes. Jester pouted.

"But we're in the middle of a game!"

"You heard the man! You're finished!"

Jester stared at her for a long moment with a cheshire grin, tail lashing around behind her back. Then she pounced and Nott screamed before she could realize it was just a normal hug.

#tickletober #tickletober 2022 #nott brenatto #nott the brave #jester lavorre #fjord stone #caleb widogast #critical role #critical role fic #critickle role #critickle role fic #ticklish!nott #day 2: drawn on #there's no ticklish!nott content so i had to ammend that mistake

[thelavendersquid]

Love Persevering (Tell Me How You Feel)

@amazingmsme and @thebest-medicine - The wait is over! Thank you both for your encouragement to write this fic!!!

Summary: Fjord wants nothing to do with the tickle fights his friends keep starting. Yet he can't help but be drawn to the subject and the memories it brings…

The Mighty Nein talk about feelings and process their grief for Mollymauk through the ticklish love language they all share.

Some grief and light angst but mostly tooth-rotting fluff.

My contribution to Mollymauk Week: Day 4 - Joy

Words: 7,028

AO3 Link

Sequel to No Words Needed but can also be read as a standalone

****

What is grief, if not love persevering?

****

Jester’s fingers scurry up Caduceus’ sides and he’s laughing immediately, stumbling sideways towards the tunnel wall and holding his hands up in a poor attempt to block her. Jester follows after him, laughing along as Caduceus’ back hits the wall and he throws his head back, squeezing his eyes shut tight and giving in to his laughter. He gives up trying to bat Jester's hands away and instead focuses on coordinating himself enough to retaliate - jamming his hands towards her armpits and wiggling as best he can possibly manage. His efforts are rewarded by a flinch backwards and sudden giggle. Caduceus can barely focus through his own giggles but he pushes forward, pressing his advantage, and feels Jester pull back slightly, succumbing to giggling.

Caduceus opens his eyes and finds her dancing from foot to foot, trying to escape his fingers without actually moving away. He laughs in an entirely new way, never stilling his fingers as they poke and prod up and down her torso and wiggle under her arms. Jester yelps and falls forward - throwing her arms around him and face planting into his stomach as she dissolves into full-out laughter.

That’s unexpected and Caduceus flinches as she does this, chuckling. Then he wraps his arms around her, pulling her in closer for a hug - as his fingers scribble up her back.

Jester shrieks. Heh. That trick always got his siblings too.

He feels Jester’s fingers pinching up his back just then - as she laughs into his stomach, which might be even more tickly. He’s laughing again.

Jester clings on tighter as Caduceus starts laughing - and he can’t let her win at hugging of all things, so he grips onto her even tighter in return. It’s a bone-crushing, tickly hug that has both of them laughing too hard for words. Caduceus can’t remember the last time he's laughed this hard and he’s reluctant for it to ever end.

Nonetheless, after a few moments it does - he slows his fingers and gently pulls Jester away so they’re facing each other. He squeezes her shoulder, still grinning ear to ear. “That was fun.” Jester beams back up at him. Caduceus looks up at the others - most of whom are looking distinctly uncomfortable. He gives them an easy grin. “You should try it, it’s a lot of fun.”

Jester spins to face the group too, looking delighted. “Yes! Oh Beau-oh! Are you ticklish?” She springs towards Beau, fingers wiggling and a downright evil grin on her face. Caduceus chuckles.

Beau, eyes wide as saucers and looking panicked, holds up her hand. “Wait, wait, no. I’ve got Caleb duty, I’m doing this, I’m busy.” She gestures frantically to her other shoulder, where Caleb’s hand rests.

Jester’s eyes travel up his arm to the glassy-white eyes indicating Caleb is watching them through Frumpkin at the moment. She turns back to Beau. “Alright fi-ne, but I’ll get you later.” She flashes Beau a grin which leaves Beau looking like she's seen a ghost - but with the faintest grin tugging at the corners of her mouth in return.

Jester spins towards the others. “Fjord! What about you?!”

If Beau looked panicked, Fjord looks downright horrified as Jester’s gaze lands on him. “Me? I, ah -“ he coughs and clears his throat, trying to bring his voice back down from where it seems to have leaped up an octave. “I don't have any idea what you’re asking.”

Jester has closed the gap between them with frightening speed. She flashes him that dangerous grin. “Yes you do. Fj-ord, I already know you’re ticklish!” And quick as lightning, her fingers scuttle up his stomach.

Fjord chokes on a gasp and reaches frantically for her hands. “Ah - Jester wait!”

Jester does not wait and Fjord fails to catch her hands, which means she continues wiggling her fingers over his stomach and up towards his ribs. She’s watching his face for any reaction.

It comes. Fjord sucks in a deep breath and clamps his mouth shut, biting down on his cheek.

Jester pouts at this and sets to work even harder. Her fingers poke and prod into the spaces in between his ribs. This has Fjord bending double and turning desperately away from her. Jester grins and flows with him. And Fjord can’t hold back a snort - which turns quickly into hearty chuckles he can’t manage to stop.

Jester laughs in delight and worms her fingers even higher, towards his armpits. Fjord splutters and dissolves into raspy laughter. “Jehehhehhehster ST-hahahahaha-stop ahahahahaha - STOP IT!”

Jester laughs along with him, following as he turns away from her even further. She glances over her shoulder, fingers still wiggling their way beneath Fjord’s armor. “Cad! Come help me!”

Caduceus is watching this with a slight frown spreading across his face. “Hmmm. Hold on a minute. Maybe you’d better give him a break.”

Jester catches something in his tone and turns around to face him. Her fingers on Fjord’s sides slow but don’t still entirely. She gives Caduceus a slight frown and he raises an eyebrow at her and nods towards Fjord. Jester turns back to look at her victim. Fjord is twisted as far away from her as he can possibly be, bent double trying to hide his face, tense as a board, and laughing through gritted teeth - clearly trying to stifle his laughter with little success. Behind the laughter he looks distinctly unhappy.

Jester’s frown deepens and she pulls her hands away. Fjord jerks away from her the moment he's free, turning so his back is to her. Jester blinks and drops her hands to her sides. “Fjord?”

Fjord is biting the inside of his cheek as hard as he possibly can to stop his chuckles. He coughs to clear the last of them away before growling over his shoulder. “Give me a minute. Go find someone else to torture.”

Jester's face falls. She turns to give Caduceus a sad look. He gives her a worried frown in return.

Fjord coughs a few more times for good measure. He can feel every eye upon him. He can also feel the heat rising up his neck. Ugh.

With a shake of his head, Fjord straightens up and turns to briefly face the group. His face is composed. “Come on. Let’s go.” His accent is firmly back in place and he stalks off down the tunnel, leading the way.

Fjord can hear muttering behind him as he walks away but he pointedly ignores it and walks on. Then - footsteps. And there’s Beauregard walking next to him, staring. Fjord glances over at her and she raises her eyebrows. Fjord clears his throat and gives a shake of his head, looking away quickly. Beau doesn’t say anything, but Fjord can feel her gaze locked on him.

Caleb, feeling Beau start walking again, drops back into his body. He blinks a few times to clear his eyes and looks around at the others with a frown. The energy has shifted so dramatically in such a short period of time. Caleb catches Beau's eye and raises his eyebrows at her. She gives him a shrug in return. Caleb frowns but stays quiet.

Jester stares after the others with a dejected look. She turns to Caduceus, who has collected his staff from where it was tossed aside. He gives her a sympathetic look, and slowly the two follow after the group, trailing behind alongside a confused-looked Yasha and Nott.

And so the group presses on in tense silence.

********************

It's several weeks before Fjord brings it up again. They’ve been busy, thankfully, and he hasn’t had time to let it occupy his mind. And mercifully, Jester and Caduceus have always left him out of their now-becoming-frequent tickle fights and ambushes on unsuspecting members of the Nein. The fact that Fjord makes a quick exit - or at least looks away awkwardly - whenever such events take place probably helps.

But he still can’t help but notice things.

It's not until the group is settled into their rooms at the next inn that Fjord says anything. The quiet night allows him far too much time to think, and he finds himself looking over at Caleb - who is definitely not asleep, Fjord can tell that much from his unsteady breathing.

He takes a deep breath and rolls over to lie on his back, staring up at the ceiling. A cough to break the silence, then - “Caleb? Can I ask you something?”

Darkvision allows Fjord to see Caleb visibly jump at the sound of his voice. He turns his head to face his roommate. “Ja, of course.”

“Do you like being tickled?”

There’s a spluttering sound from the other bed and Fjord sits up, alarmed - just in time to catch sight of the wizard in the middle of choking on his own spit. Caleb sits up too, coughing. He’s careful not to look at Fjord. “Ah. I’m sorry. I was not expecting that, is all.”

Fjord nods. Caleb coughs again and brushes an arm across his mouth before sliding back down into his bed. Even in the dark Fjord can see his face is a good two shades darker than before. This does not discourage him from continuing to press.

“I only ask because I’ve seen Jester get you several times now and you’ve never told her to stop or to knock it off, so-“

“Have you tried telling Jester to knock it off?”

Fjord chuckles. “Fair.”

Caleb gives him a hint of a smile, then turns away as it fades and sighs. “I….ah….” He trails off into silence without finishing the sentence.

Silence hangs between them for a long moment. Both staring at up the ceiling without a word. Finally Fjord breaks it. “I don't care, by the way. But can you tell me why? What about it do you like? It’s torture. How can you like it?”

This is met with a slightly strangled sound, then silence. Fjord shifts in his bed to look over at Caleb. The wizard is staring, wide-eyed, up at the ceiling.

Fjord sits up again, looking worried and regretting everything. He shouldn’t have brought this up. “Forget I said anything. We don't have to talk about it.”

Caleb does not respond, just continues staring at the ceiling. Fjord watches him worriedly for a moment, then slowly slides down into his bed. He can feel his own heart racing as he stares up at the ceiling himself. What was he thinking? Of course Caleb doesn't want to talk about it, neither would he if someone brought it up like this - in fact isn't that what Jester did when she grabbed him and reminded him what tickling felt like in the first place? And didn’t he react just as badly? Why would he think this would go any differently? Caleb didn't deserve this. How stupid and insensitive of him for dragging him into it.

With a swoosh, Caleb throws his blanket back and leaps out of bed. Fjord jumps. He pushes himself up. “Caleb?”

No response. Caleb swiftly crosses the room, pushes open the door, and steps out into the hall.

Fjord throws his own blanket back, his feet hitting the floor. “Caleb!”

Not even a glance in his direction. Fjord hurries out of the room. Blinking as his eyes adjust to the light in the hall, he sees Caleb knocking on the door next to theirs.

There’s a creak and the door opens. A sleepy-looking Caduceus stands in the doorway, blinking blearily at them. He takes in the sight of a frenzied-looking Caleb standing in front of him and a confused and scattered Fjord a few steps behind. His face shifts into a soft smile, and he pushes the door open and steps back to let them in. Caleb steps inside and Fjord, not seeing any reason not to, follows.

Caduceus shuts the door and follows behind them, rubbing his eyes. Across the room on the other bed, Yasha is sitting up and looking worried.

Caleb is standing in the middle of the room. He’s fidgeting with his coat and staring at the floor. “I am sorry to wake you both up, I don’t mean to be a bother…”

Caduceus just waves a hand. “Nah. Never a bother.” He waves towards the ground, gesturing for them to sit, before turning away to start making tea.

Yasha is already getting out of bed. “You’re not a bother, Caleb. Do you want some privacy?” She’s sheathing her swords and looking ready to leave.

Caleb shakes his head. “Nein. No. Stay, please.” He drops to the floor, sitting propped against Caduceus’ empty bed.

Fjord, for his part, stands in the middle of the room with his arms crossed. Caduceus turns around, carrying cups of tea. He hands one to Fjord before lowering himself down to the floor, sitting cross-legged and leaning against Yasha’s bed, gesturing for Fjord to join him.

Fjord reluctantly sits down across from him. Yasha has joined Caleb, the four of them forming a little circle in the middle of the bedroom.

Caduceus hands out tea. “So.”

Caleb takes his with both hands. “Danke.” He takes a deep breath. “Ah, I came here because Fjord was asking me about, ah…ti-“ He cuts off abruptly and looks down into his cup.

Caduceus takes a sip of his tea, waiting patiently. Caleb stutters and then trails off again, face growing darker.

Yasha is wearing a confused frown. “About what?”

Caleb takes a deep breath and tries again. “About ti…about kitzlen.”

This time both Yasha and Caduceus look confused. “What?”

Caleb takes a long drink of tea. Fjord sighs, rubs a hand over his face, and speaks up. “I was asking him about tickling. It’s really not a big deal, I shouldn’t have brought it up, let’s all just go to bed and not worry about it-“

He’s cut off by Caduceus’ sudden clarity. “Ahhh.” His expression has cleared into another soft smile.

Yasha’s face clears too and she leans back against the bed again. “Oh.”

Caleb looks surprisingly relieved, despite his face being about five shades redder than usual. He nods. “Ja. That. He asked me about ti…ah, that, and I would like to talk about it, but I…ah…I needed a mediator.”

“I don’t know what that is,” Caduceus says. “I can listen to the two of you talk if that’s what you want, though.” He takes another sip of tea.

Caleb nods. "That is exactly what I would like, thank you Caduceus.”

Caduceus gives him a smile. It's too full of knowing for Caleb’s liking and he looks away quickly. Caduceus’ smile widens.

Caleb takes a deep breath before heaving it back out in a sigh. He’s still staring down into his cup. “I - I do like kitzlen - ah, tick..tickling…Fjord.” He glances up at Fjord - who is staring at him in something like disbelief - before immediately going back to looking at his cup. “It’s a nice, ah, break. Like being inside Frumpkin. Or when I Polymorph. It’s nice to not have every single thought racing through my head. You know?”

Fjord nods slowly. He does know about racing thoughts. Beside him, Yasha is nodding too.

Caleb seems emboldened by this and presses on. He takes another deep breath. “I…like being stupid, sometimes. I am not, most times. Most times I cannot be. So it's nice to be able to sometimes, with people I can be stupid around. I can be stupid around you all and I am very grateful for it. And t…ah, tickling…it lets me do that. And also laugh. I have not laughed very much in my life, but I have never laughed more than I have with you all. And it feels…good.” His eyes dart up for a half-second, just long enough to see the group’s reactions.

Yasha and Caduceus are smiling softly at him. Fjord is staring right through him and looks distinctly uncomfortable, as if he just swallowed another orb.

Caleb takes a long drink of his tea. It helps. When he lowers his cup his face feels less flushed. He glances over at Fjord. “Does that answer your question, Fjord?”

Fjord blinks at him blankly for a moment, before giving his head a shake and sitting up quickly, clearing his throat. “Yes - yes, it does, Caleb. Thank you for sharing that.”

Caduceus gives Caleb a proud smile. “I’m proud of you for talking about that. You did great.” Caleb gives an awkward shrug and looks away, taking another sip of tea.

Caduceus turns to Fjord. “What about you Fjord? Why did you want to talk about tickling?

Fjord sucks in a deep breath and opens his mouth to respond. “Well, I…I…ah…”

Caduceus interrupts his stuttering. “Should Jester be here for this?”

This snaps Fjord out of it. He blinks and looks up at Caduceus. “Jester? Why should Jester be here?”

Caduceus gives a slight shrug. “It might be good for both of you. She was pretty upset after the last tickling incident.”

Fjord heaves a huge sigh and slumps against the bed frame he’s leaning on. He stares down into his cup. “Alright. Yes, she should be here too.”

“I’ll get her.” Everyone turns to see Yasha unfolding herself from the floor and making her way over to the wall dividing their room from Beauregard and Jester’s. She knocks softly. There’s a muffled sound from the other side - words that Fjord can’t quite make out - and then Yasha says, in her soft voice, “Can you two come over here? We’re having a discussion.”

There’s another muffled response and then a few seconds later, a knock at the door. Caduceus, who stood up to refill the tea, opens the door to let in Jester and Beauregard.

Beau rushes into the room, eyes darting around and looking ready for a fight. “Is everyone okay?! What’s going on?!” Jester follows her, looking concerned and just as ready for whatever they might face.

Caduceus holds out cups of tea towards both of them. Beau looks down at the cup, confused. Caduceus pushes it closer and she takes it on instinct, looking back up at him and then around at the others with a frown. “What’s going on?”

Caduceus hands Jester her cup and goes back to his spot next to the bed, lowering himself back down into a cross-legged seat on the floor. Yasha looks over to Beau. “I said we were having a discussion.”

“I thought that might be a code word for ‘we’re being held hostage, come help us!’” Beau carries her tea over and drops down in between Yasha and Caleb.

“Nah, we’re just talking,” Caduceus says, holding out a hand to beckon Jester over. She smiles and plops down next to him, taking a sip of her tea.

“What kind of conversation is this?” Beau asks before taking a sip of her tea.

“Yeah, are you talking about who you want to kiss or what?” Jester pipes up, waggling her eyebrows.

Caduceus sets his tea cup on the floor next to him and looks over at them. “Fjord was talking about tickling.”

Jester’s face lights up immediately and she spins towards Fjord. “Tickling?! Fjord, you were talking about tickling?! Oh, I’m so glad you called us over here, Yasha! Tickling is my fav-or-ite.” She smiles at Yasha, who returns it with a soft smile of her own.

Fjord’s face feels hot again and he busies himself with looking down into his tea once again so as to not have to look at Jester. Out of the corner of his eye he still manages to catch her face fall when she sees his discomfort. He feels something in his chest start to ache.

“So, where were we?” Caleb asks, setting his own cup down too. “I shared the depths of my soul, I believe it was your turn now.” He looks over at Fjord expectantly.

Fjord sighs into his tea cup before taking a breath and steeling himself. He swallows his feelings and looks up, expression - he hopes - settled back into one of confidence. “Right. Well. I was just asking what everyone thought about…well, tickling.” He raises his eyebrows as he looks around at the little group, doing his absolute best to look resolute and interested.

Jester gives him that bright smile again, although there's something sad deep in her eyes that Fjord wishes he hadn’t seen. “I loooooove tickling! It’s so much fun! Like, tickle fights - they're the best thing ever.” Her tail is wagging ever so slightly, tapping against the ground. Fjord can't help the smile that twitches onto his face.

“I don’t have strong feelings about it either way,” Beau says, across from him. Fjord turns to look at her and gives a nod. Caduceus turns as well and studies her for a moment, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. Beau catches his eye and flushes bright red. She turns back to her tea quickly. The faintest of smiles spreads across Caduceus’ face.

Caduceus turns back to Fjord. “I like tickling. It’s fun. I’ve always had fun with it with my siblings and sometimes my parents too - we got my dad one time, that was great.” He grins at the memory, an infectious look that the others find the corners of their lips twitching to match.

Fjord turns to Yasha. “What about you, Yasha? What do you think?”

Yasha has been looking lost in thought, gazing down at the ground. She looks up and says, softly, "It reminds me of Molly.”

Fjord blinks in surprise before looking down at the ground himself. He nods, and his voice drops to a whisper as he says, “It reminds me of Molly too.”

Yasha gives him a soft smile, which Fjord looks up just in time to catch. “It’s just, it’s everything that he was, you know? He was…Molly was…he was so carefree and he loved to have fun, and he loved to make people laugh - oh, he loved to make people laugh.” She smiles brighter, fond, eyes drifting up to the ceiling as the memory comes back.

Fjord nods. “And he was so touchy. He was always looking for a hug or trying to get closer.”

Yasha looks back at him. “Oh yes, oh yes, he loved to be hugged and held and cuddle. He loved touch. And he - he felt like a warm hug. You know?”

Fjord nods rapidly. His eyes have become wet with tears. “He did. He really did.”

Yasha sniffs and reaches up to wipe away a tear of her own. “That's why tickling reminds me of him. It’s all those things wrapped up in one - all that touchy-feely, carefree, fun that feels like a warm hug. And that's what he was too. He was all of those things in one.”

Fjord can feel the tears startling to trail out of his eyes. He looks down, furiously trying to blink them back. “He liked it, too.”

“Tickling? Oh yes, he loved it.” A wet smile spreads across Yasha’s face again as she wipes away more tears that are steadily streaking down her face. “He loved both sides of it. He would tickle me to pieces so, so often - and he loved it when I’d get him back.” She looks back up at Fjord with that shaky, soft smile. “Some of my absolutely favorite memories are of those times."

Fjord nods and wipes a hand roughly across his face. “He got me a few times. I wish I’d let him do it more often."

“He got all of us, I think,” comes Caleb's voice from across the circle. Fjord and Yasha turn to face him and see him wiping away his own tears. A shaky smile perseveres on his face anyway. “He really loved it.”

Beau, next to him, takes a shaky breath and nods. “He got me too, the jerk.” She rubs away the tears that are trailing down her already wet face, past the fond smile she can’t manage to hold back.

Jester sniffles and says, softly, “We had so many tickle fights. It was so much fun.” She pauses, staring off into the space, remembering. Her eyes well up with tears. “I miss him.” Her voice cracks as she says it. Caduceus puts an arm around her and she snuggles closer to him.

Beau is wiping her fists over her face. She sniffs. “We should have a tickle fight in honor of him. He would’ve liked that.”

Caduceus looks over at Fjord. “How are you holding up, Fjord?”

Fjord takes a deep breath and lets it out in a sigh, wiping away more tears. “I miss him too, Jester.” Jester gives him a watery smile. Fjord coughs and takes another deep breath. “I…I’ve been tickled before. When I was a kid. I was picked on, and I was quite often the victim of tickle, well…torture from the other kids. They were stronger than me so they could pin me down and I couldn't get away. I couldn’t get them to stop so I just had to take it. I hated it. It made me feel powerless and weak. But I could never quite manage to stop being ticklish. I hated that, I hated being so ticklish.” He looks around at the others with a tinge of hesitation. They're watching him - eyes soft and still glistening with tears.

Fjord sucks in another breath and goes on. “But with Molly….I don’t know. It always felt different when Molly would try to tickle me. It felt…warm, like Yasha said.” He trails off, looking up at the ceiling for a moment, and then sighs. “I regret fighting him off so much. He meant well by it.”

“It was his way of showing love,” Yasha says softly. She wipes away more tears and a shaky smile spreads across her face as she looks at Fjord and then around at the group. “He loved you. He loved all of us. So much.”

Caleb, Beau, Jester and Fjord all reach up to wipe away more tears that threaten to spill over. Caduceus finds his own eyes damp too.

Fjord nods and heaves a sigh. He turns towards Jester. “And I…I’m sorry for fighting you off, too, Jester. It’s always felt warm from you too.”

Jester gives him a smile. “Aww, I’m glad it does! I don’t ever, ever, ever want it to be mean, Fjord, I like tickling and I think it’s fun and I want it to be fun for whoever I’m tickling too. I just want to make them laugh.” She glances over at Caleb, who gives her a smile.

Fjord gives her a faint smile of his own. With another sigh, he turns to look around the group. They’re all still sniffling and wiping away tears that slowly slip out. But they’re also all smiling.

“I can see how much of a loving thing it is for all of you. It’s not mean. And I…I’d love to be part of that. But I’m not sure I can handle it. I’m not sure I can let go of that control.”

Caleb is nodding. Yasha and Beau look like they know the feeling he's talking about too. For a moment, as Fjord looks around at all of their faces, he senses for the first time that…he might not be alone in this. He'd never considered that this might not come naturally to the rest of his friends either.

Jester sits up, pushing away from Caduceus. She leans towards Fjord. “What if we tickled you for just, like, a few seconds? Just to see if you like it? Just to try it out?”

Caduceus looks up brightly. “A trial tickle!”

Fjord studies them for a moment. He looks down at his cup. Then he nods and looks up at Jester. “Yes. Let’s do it.” He throws his arms open. “You can have five seconds.”

Jester blinks in surprise. She had not expected that to work. She looks around the little circle. Her friends all wave her forward, grins spreading across their faces. So, a grin working its way onto her own face, she turns back to Fjord and shuffles over until she’s kneeling right in front of him.

Fjord blinks up at her with his best puppy-eyed face. A nervous grin is already threatening to break through.

Jester giggles, still tinged with emotion and a little sadness, and wipes away the last of her tears with the back of her hand. “Fj-ord! This is going to be so much fun.”

Fjord scoots backwards, closer to the bed. “Five seconds, remember? Just five seconds.”

“Of course.” Jester shuffles forward, closing the gap between them. She flashes him another grin - and it reminds him of Molly, she’s really perfected that terrifying look tieflings can have - and slowly lowers her wiggling fingers towards his stomach. Fjord bites down on his lip.

The second Jester's fingers make contact, Fjord feels every muscle in his body contract and tense. He tries to pull away but there's nowhere to go - he's already pressed himself against the bed frame as far as he can go. So instead he squirms to the side and tries to brace himself.

Jester’s fingers scribble over Fjord’s stomach and Fjord clamps his mouth shut to block out the noises threatening to spill out. He flinches away again as her claws pinch at his sides. Yep. This is every bit the torture he expected. The loss of control over his own reactions brings with it a dark cloud of memories, none of them good. He’s vulnerable, weak…small. It’s almost unbearable, and he’s about to open his mouth and yell for Jester to stop…when her fingers shift every so slightly. Up. To begin scratching at his lower ribs.

And all the emotions burst out of Fjord in a sudden bark of laughter he could never hope to hold back. “HA!”

Jester giggles. Fjord tries to bite down on his tongue again but doesn't quite manage it. Now that the dam is broken, laughter bubbles up out of his throat. “Ah-hehehehehehehahahahahaAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NOHOHOHOHO!” And just like that, he’s rolling side to side with laughter, trying to bat away Jester's fingers that are scribbling and scratching over his ribs.

And to his surprise, he finds himself not hating it.

Actually…

It is kind of fun.

It’s just laughter after all, Fjord realizes. It’s an excuse to be silly and laugh. And it feels every bit as warm as he just described. It feels loving. It feels playful. It feels like every other time Jester tries to drag him into her silliness and make him laugh.

And just like all the other times Jester pulls them into her silly antics, he’s having fun.

Just as quickly as it began, it's over. Jester rocks back onto her heels, grinning down at him - Fjord realizes belatedly that he's somehow wound up on his back on the floor.

His second realization is that he's disappointed that she stopped.

“Sooooo, what did you think?!” Jester asks eagerly, leaning in towards him and still wearing that grin. But Fjord can see something else in her eyes - a glimmer of nervousness. Hesitation. Concern. Worry that maybe, despite her best efforts, he might still have hated it.

Fjord is panting for breath. He returns her grin almost shyly before looking away and muttering, “You don’t have to stop.”

Jester squeals and jumps on top of him, throwing her arms around him in a hug. “AHH Fjord! I’m sooooo glad you liked it!” Fjord jumps before realizing what she’s doing and puts his arms around her in return. Then he feels Jester’s fingers wiggling up his back and he snorts - before they work their way into his armpits and he's laughing again. He buries his face in her shoulder as the giggles take him again. “AHAHAHAHAH no that wasn’t fa-hehehehehahaha-air!” Jester giggles right along with him.

The rest of the group is chuckling too, watching this. Caleb turns to Beauregard. “A tickle fight in Molly’s memory, ja?”

Beau gives him a nervous grin and scoots back slightly. A rare playful grin leaps onto Caleb’s face and he grabs her arm before she can get away. The look of shock that flashes onto both their faces when that actually works makes them both burst out laughing. And then Caleb’s other hand is spidering up Beau’s arm and she’s giggling and flailing around for an entirely different reason. Caleb turns and calls over his shoulder, “Yasha! Come help me!” Yasha, grinning, grabs onto to Beau and holds her in place - allowing Caleb to bring the other hand into action on her sides and leaving Beau cackling with laughter.

Caduceus is grinning from ear to ear as he watches this tickly battle take place. There’s Jester attacking Fjord and making him laugh harder than Caduceus has ever seen. It’s a good look on him. Fjord is starting to try and return the favor, Caduceus can see. Unsuccessfully so far - Jester is one step ahead of him and making him slam his arms back down against his sides by going for his armpits every time - but Caduceus is confident he’ll power through and have a counter attack coordinated soon enough.

A few feet away from that, Caleb and Yasha are wrecking Beau - who has already managed to slip one arm out and latch it onto to Caleb’s ribs, leaving him bent over with laughter even as he continues scribbling his own fingers across her stomach. It’s hard to say which of the three are laughing the hardest - Yasha isn’t even being tickled, but she's laughing as if she is. Caduceus smiles.

A sudden warm breeze blows through the room, and Caduceus looks up, smiling, as he closes his eyes and leans into the Wild Mother’s embrace. He feels another swirling breeze and opens his eyes gently, sensing another presence - and jumps as he finds a mostly-translucent, lavender-colored, ghostly figure standing next to him.

Another warm breeze blows immediately. And Caduceus suddenly realizes he recognizes this figure - from stories, drawings, illusions. He’s seen those horns before, heard about those tattoos, seen that spade-tipped tail. A whisper comes through on the wind, a warm smile from the Wild Mother accompanying it - Mollymauk.

The figure gives Caduceus a smile. Then, before he can react, it’s diving forward into the tickly fray. Caduceus watches as the spectral purple tiefling darts over to Fjord and Jester and squeezes Fjord’s side a few times, before immediately spidering ghostly fingers up Jester's back. To Caduceus’ surprise, they both jump and squeal at the sudden touch. He blinks. They shouldn’t be able to feel that. But…somehow they can?

The specter dashes across the room and grabs Beau’s foot, scribbling claws across the bottom and leaving Beau shrieking with laughter in a whole new way - while its tail wiggles underneath Caleb’s arms, making him choke on a squeal and dissolve quickly into giggles. Wearing a bright grin, the ghostly Molly lets the two of them go and throws itself into Yasha’s lap, claws wiggling against her stomach. Yasha yelps and bends double, giggles spilling out.

The specter turns to look at Caduceus - grinning brightly from its place in Yasha’s lap, fingers now working their way up across her ribs. It sees him watching and pulls one hand away to gesture towards him - a beckoning motion.

Caduceus doesn’t hesitate. With a soft smile, he stands up and goes to help Fjord coordinate his still-unsuccessful counter attack on Jester. Taking a note from the specter, he spiders his fingers up her back. It works for a moment - she squeals and bursts out laughing - “Caduhahahahahaceus! Hahahahaha nohohoho!”

But Fjord is no help in this attack, and Caduceus quickly finds himself pinned underneath Jester as she spins around and lost to laughter before her fingers even find his sides. He doesn’t protest.

Jester has mercy on him after a moment, letting up and turning back to Fjord, who has been laying on his back panting for breath. But instead of attacking him again, she says, “Fjord! C’mere! Look, Caduceus is, like, really ticklish on his ears.” And suddenly her fingers are scratching the back of his ear and Caduceus is giggling again and trying his best to squirm away. Moments later he feels a second set of hands on his other ear - Fjord, the traitor. He yelps and gives up trying to get away in favor of bursting into laughter. Fjord and Jester both start laughing along with him, which somehow only makes him laugh harder. It feels good.

CRASH!

All tickling ceases as everyone jumps and looks, startled, in the direction of the door. Bursting through the doorway is Nott, crossbow loaded and ready to fire. She swivels side to side, aiming the crossbow wildly while she looks for a threat. Yeza peeks out nervously from behind her. Nott looks around and slowly lowers the crossbow at the sight of all her friends staring at her. “What’s going on?! We heard screaming and thought you were under attack!”

Beau, currently on the floor being held in place by Yasha while Caleb looms over her, fingers stilled in place on her stomach, shouts, “We are!”

This snaps the others out of it. Chuckles start spreading around the room again. Nott looks confused.

Jester beams over at Nott and Yeza, fingers still on Caduceus’ ears, who is taking the blessed opportunity to catch his breath. “We’re having a tickle fight! Come on, come join!”

Nott stares at them all for a moment. She looks unimpressed and gives a shake of her head. “I'm not ticklish.”

A set of fingers from behind her suddenly squeeze just below her arms and Nott yelps. The others, watching, giggle. Nott spins around and comes face to face with a grinning Yeza.

“What was that about not being ticklish?” Yeza asks. Nott’s face flushes and she looks away. Yeza reaches out to grab her - and misses, as she's gone in a flash. She peeks out from behind Fjord, doing her best to stifle the grin that's working it's way onto her face. Yeza laughs and leaps forward, fingers wiggling. Nott yelps again and ducks behind Fjord.

Fjord is laughing. So is Caleb, as he ditches Beau to jump forward and try to catch Nott. Nott dodges him easily but looks like she's trying not to laugh - and seconds later gives in, joining Caleb and everyone else in laughter.

Just like that, the battle is back on. It’s Beau who manages to grab Nott first and holds her still as Yeza demonstrates her most ticklish spots for the rest of the group to exploit. Nott is howling with laughter, but eventually manages to coordinate herself enough to get out, “He's ticklish too! Get the back of his knees!” It's unclear whether she's talking about Yeza or Caleb so the others split their attention between both - and find that knees are a bad spot for both, leaving them both rolling with laughter.

This back-and-forth, all-out, giggly battle goes on for another minute. Caduceus, every time he opens his eyes, seeing the lavender specter laughing right along with them as it dodges in and out of the fray. It makes him smile.

BANG, BANG, BANG!

The group freezes again. This time they all look alarmed as they look up towards the door.

A voice comes through. “Can you quiet down please?! It's almost midnight - we’re getting complaints!”

There's a pause. Then Fjord - suddenly composed and voice smooth, if slightly out of breath - calls out, “Yes, yes of course! Our apologies! We’ll quiet down.”

The group waits with bated breath. There’s a huff on the other side of the door and then footsteps walking away.

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. The group glances around at one other, make eye contact…

And collapse with laughter.

Fjord falls over onto Jester's shoulder, who’s rapidly making her way towards the floor and landing on top of Caduceus. Caleb is losing it, leaning fully onto Beauregard, who’s collapsed onto Jester. Nott and Yeza are leaning against each other and Yasha. All laughing too hard to speak.

“Oh my gods, we’re the worst!” Beau practically yells. This is followed by a chorus of shushing, which only makes them all laugh even harder.

Eventually the laughter trails off. Caleb wipes tears away from his face and readjusts himself to rest his head against Beau’s stomach. He holds out a hand, beckoning the others over. Jester, seeing what he’s doing, leaps over to cuddle up next to him and Beau. Nott pulls Yeza over and takes his other side, snuggling close. Caleb pulls them both in even closer. Yasha slides over and throws an arm over Jester and Caleb. Fjord lays down next to Beauregard, who looks over at him before grabbing his shoulder and pulling him in closer. Fjord reaches out to grab Caduceus and pulls him along.

Caduceus, as he snuggles in close to Fjord, Beau, and the others, watches as the purple specter worms its way into the cuddle pile too. It - he, Molly - drapes across the top of all of them. Arms threading their way in between to wrap around Yasha and Jester, legs worming their way underneath Fjord and Beau, tail wrapping around Caleb and Nott. He seems to almost melt into the group, in the way only a truly boneless ghost-like specter can. And the others unconsciously respond to him - wrapping their arms around limbs and a tail that aren't really there…and yet, perhaps, are there after all.

No one else seems to see this figure. But that's okay, Caduceus decides. They can all feel him. And isn’t that what really matters, in the end?

Caduceus catches Fjord’s eye and gives him a smile. Fjord returns it. He looks happier than Caduceus thinks he’s ever seen him.

Another, softer breeze blows through the room. Caduceus and Fjord both close their eyes as they feel its embrace. And there, surrounded by the warmth, still lingering smiles, and slowly steadying breathing of their friends, they drift gently to sleep.

#critickle role #critical role #the mighty nein #mollymaukweek2023 #critical role fic #can be read as early fjorjester or as platonic #critical role tickling #critical role tickles #critical role tickle fic #ticklish!fjord #ticklish!caduceus #tickle fights #m9 #fjord stone #caduceus clay #mollymauk tealeaf #jester lavorre #beauregard lionett #caleb widogast #yasha nydoorin #nott the brave #yeza brenatto #tickle community #tickling community #sfw tickling community #tickle fic #my fics #my writing

[happyandticklish]

Fucked Up Tk Shit

This is for my own edification so no one else has to read this lol. I feel like a lot of times we twist headcannons to make the Thing work out for characters in media that we consume, ESPECIALLY in regards to superpowers, and because I’m a morbid little piece of shit I can’t help self-destructing those in my head as to how it would end in actuality

So, I have constructed a list of all the horrifying/angsty ways those headcannons would probably actually end if you applied it to the logic of the show/book. It is put under a read more because I did not hold back lol.

Trigger warns for death, injury, and non-con (I know the tk community is a safe space for escapism for a lot of people, including me usually, so I recommend not reading it if you would be easily hurt by negative connotations in association with the thing; I cope by imagining the worst possible scenarios that the Thing could end in, so that’s most of the reason why I made this, for explanation ahsfjhji)

1. BNHA 

- Denki probably has to hold back anytime he’s tickled and ends it almost immediatelly, because getting too out of control could make his powers act up and force him to accidentally electrocute someone and risk seriously hurting them

2. The Bright Sessions 

- Subscribing to the headcannon that Damien does like the Thing, his powers would act up and force people to tickle him, so he does his level best to repress that shit down because even if the other people did want to tickle him, the sheer amount of times that his powers would make them do it would become very non-consensual on his parts. Especially if they realize what’s happening, or know about his powers, and get freaked out and leave him, making him only feel shittier about the whole situation

- Mark would most likely get freaked out over tickling as it makes him lose control. There’s probably been a couple moments where he’s tentatively let Sam or someone try it, and every time he freaks out, which isn’t great, because it forces him to teleport if he’s around her, and,,,, yeah

- Joan hasn’t been touched, let alone tickled, in years on end, and would self-combust if given even the slightest modicum of affection in that area. Probably engaged in tickle fights with Mark when she was little, and though she understands why the subject makes him uncomfy now, she can’t help but feel remorse at losing that form of connection with her brother

- [I was gonna do Caleb and Adam but I simply can’t fuck them up, I love them too much]

- Damien doesn’t ever tickle people because he can’t be sure if he’s forcing them to hold still and say they like it or if they actually want it

3. Beastars 

- If Legoshi was tickled by Haru, they run the risk of him accidentally seriously hurting/biting her off instinct, similar to when they tried to bang it out, and it’s possible he might accidentally fling her into something or knock her off too hard while trying

4. Durarara 

- If Shizuo were to tickle someone, he might accidentally crush in their ribcage or some shit due to not realizing his own strength

- Izaya probably does like tickling but does not have a single person who would be willing to do that to him, and the only other person who knows, Shinra, has called it weird and forced Izaya to repress the interest more

5. Mob Psycho 100 

- Shigeo probably isn’t ticklish, or at least doesn’t really laugh and react like his friends do, and he feels a supreme sense of jealousy every time he watches his friends engaging in silly tickle fights

6. AOT 

- Due to the sheer amount of trauma Levi has induced and his feelings around trusting others and touch in general, being tickled would probably send him into a full blown panic attack

7. Be More Chill

- The Squip definitely made fun of Jeremy for liking tickling and he had the whole zappy thing happen whenever he thought about it

8. All For The Game

- Both Neil and Andrew probably can’t stand being tickled without it triggering something in them

9. Camp Camp

- Max definitely has never been tickled in his life, and doesn’t even know what it feels like

10. Detroit: Become Human

- As much as I hate to say it (and will definitely be writing fics claiming the opposite), androids can’t feel sensation and therefore wouldn’t be ticklish or ever get to experience that

11. Gorillaz 

- If Murdoc were to tickle 2d, it would most likely be in an abusive, non-con way, often going far past his limits and ignoring any pleas for him to stop, purely for shits and giggles because he’s an asshole

12. Inside Job

- Bear-O had a tickle setting on him that would engage whenever he thought Reagan needed cheering up, and it traumatized her so bad that she can’t handle that kind of physical contact anymore

- Since he was a child, Brett was told by his family that it was weird that he liked tickling, as well as by peers and past girlfriends, so he just assumes that it must be just a weird Him thing, and has a huge amount of shame around the issue

13. Fullmetal Alchemist

- Sometimes Alphonse will stay up late and try to somehow replicate the feeling of tickling through his armor and can’t help the disappointment he feels every time when it obviously doesn’t work

That’s all I can think of for right now, I’m sure there are more but they’re not coming to me right now. 

#tickling #headcannons #tickle headcannon #for reference i was watching little miss misfortune when i made this so i was in a very particular mindset #some of these are more sad than fucked up asjdhhki