#large rectangle pool

[alexandrastafford]

Southwestern Pool Large tiled backyard with a rectangular lap pool house in the southwest picture

[malasquid]

So. I've Cracked The Code On The Appearance Changes in Side Order.

Wall of photos and such incoming.

After a lot of testing, I've discovered there are 7 different little lights and doodads that are added to Agent 8 via upgrading certain chips, each with a basic 1st tier and and upgraded 2nd tier. The 1st tier of upgrades appear after picking up two of the same chips in that changes pool (ex: 2 Homing Shots chips), with the 2nd tier appearing after picking up five of them (ex: 5 Homing Shot chips). There is no further visual indicators added for maxing chips that go beyond 5, such as Splash Damage or Rush Attack.

Full disclaimer: This is the result of researching a LOT of my own runs, so I can say this is true with about 95% certainty. If I labeled an ability chip in the wrong visual pool, please let me know!

Let's start with the basics - our control group. No Teal upgrades provide any visible changes to Agent 8 (or Pearl-bot for that matter), so I ran an all-teal palette to demonstrate.

First is likely one of the more requested visual changes - the Headset. The 1st tier sports a basic metallic earpiece, with the 2nd adding an antenna and eyepiece that match your primary ink color.

Maxing Splash Damage, Sound Wave Damage, Splash Radius, Special Charge Up, Turf Lucky Chain, Rush Knockback, and Homing Shots all provide the headset!

Next up is Ink Bubbles. The 1st tier shows transparent, slower bubbles flowing in 8's ink tank, with the bubbles being faster and more opaque in the 2nd tier.

Nabbing Poison Ink, Splat Ink Recovery, Ink Saver Sub, Ink Recovery Rate, Sticky Ink, and Explosion Knockback all provide Ink Bubbles.

Following that is the Fins. The 1st tier shows the base shackles being added to 8's boots, with the fins themselves being added for the 2nd tier.

Picking up Run Speed, Swim Speed, Rush Attack, Mobile Ink Recovery, Mobile Special Charge, and Mobile Drone Gauge all provide the Fins.

Now, moving on to the weapon upgrades!

First we have the Muzzle Lights, which appear at the muzzle of most weapons, and the sides of the brush and roller nearest the base. The 1st tier shows a circle and squares circling around the muzzle, with the 2nd tier being more exaggerated, with alternating squares and rectangles forming a hexagon pattern in the center.

These are exclusive to the Ink Damage, Main Damage (Close), and Main Damage (Distant) chips.

Next up is likely the most common visual one can see on their run - the Arrows. The 1st tier shows a circle with three arrows pointing down the weapon, with the 2nd tier adding some blowback markers behind the circle.

These are on a whopping TEN upgrades, being Splatling Barrage, Main Firing Speed, Horizontal Slash Speed, Main Range, Main Piercing, Main Ink Coverage, Rush Ink Coverage, Quick Charge, Shot Spread Reduction, and Ink Saver Main.

Last of the weapon upgrades are the Dots. The 1st tier is 3 large dots and a circle spinning at the bottom of your weapon or around your wrist, with the 2nd tier adding another circle around the dots.

These can be found on the Hindrance Damage, Ink Attack Size, Charge Storage, Moving Ink Speed, Extra Dodge Roll, Brella Cooldown, and Knockback upgrades.

And finally, my favorite little knick-knack, the Shrimp Hook. This little guy appears on your ink tank after picking up 2 matching Luck upgrades (ex: Lucky Bomb Drop, Canned Special Drop, etc), and begins to glow after picking up 5. However, the glowing effect is not visible in the post-game screen. 😔 (I would totally buy one of these if someone made one, btw)

By the way, 7 visual upgrades * 5 chips needed to max each visual is 35 chips, which is just shy of the 36 total chips you can have on one palette, which means, in theory, you could. Have every maxed visual indicator on in one run.

Just a thought. : )

[katemids]

Pool Lap Large rectangular lap pool idea for a backyard in the transitional style.

[dirkdarmstaedter]

Transitional Pool Los Angeles Example of a large transitional backyard concrete and rectangular natural hot tub design

[ramblood]

Pool Hot Tub Los Angeles Example of a large transitional backyard concrete and rectangular natural hot tub design

[gramenviride]

Cincinnati Lap Pool Pool - large transitional backyard concrete paver and rectangular lap pool idea

[honey-tongued-devil]

↠The last drop tour

| Part 1 | | Part 2 | | Part 3 |

This tour is designed to provide those who need it with a complete map of the Last Drop, as well as to help me (and anyone reading my fanfiction, Everytime it Rains) clearly envision the spaces while reading. This tour is incredibly detailed, and I’ll explain both the location and what you’re looking at. Let’s just say I’ll be your personal tour guide! Enjoy!

↠FIRST PART, THE BAR

Let’s start with the entrance! The door is massive, asymmetrical in true Zaun style, made of stained glass and steel. To the right of the door is the Last Drop’s electric meter, while on the left stands the iconic, battered jukebox. In these photos, it looks especially worse for wear because they were taken after the fight between Vi and Sevika.

And we can finally turn around to take in the Last Drop in its entirety! For accuracy, I’ve included both a screenshot from “Jinx Fixes Everything” and an image from Nikolai Lebedev’s ArtStation portfolio.

There are about four fairly large round tables scattered across the central area of the room. The floor is herringbone wood, and the lighting is spread out. While I didn’t take the photos myself, the LED lights are dispersed across the ceiling. On the second floor, you can still spot a yellowish-greenish sign featuring the Last Drop’s symbol, and the “columns” are adorned with blue lights.

If you’re looking for warm lighting, the yellow neon lights and the ones behind the bar are switched on; the cooler lights are positioned along the side walls of the venue.

Before moving on to show you what’s around the main rectangle, I’d like to point out that the staircase to the left of the bar leads to the upper floor. Next to it is a small corridor that takes you to arcade machines and the pool table seen in several scenes.

"What’s on the sides of the rectangle? What do you mean?"

Yeah, I wasn’t sure how else to describe it, but while the public and chaotic section where people dance is the central rectangle, to the right and left of that area are two booths on each side. These booths have fixed tables and heavy curtains that can be closed to ensure maximum privacy.

This is where customers strike deals—we see it in Act 1 when the two Bilgewater pirates threaten Huck. Since the Last Drop came under Silco’s control, the first booth now displays pictures of him (and two other chembarons, though theirs are small and insignificant), commemorating the venue’s inauguration.

So, if you’re looking for privacy, this is the perfect spot.

But follow me—before I take you to Silco’s office, I’ll bring you to another place I’m sure none of you expected to see. Through the door to the right of the bar, there’s a small flat area, perfect for storing spare drinks, followed by a long staircase leading down. But first, we need to grab the key. Silco cared deeply about keeping this place intact, so it’s been locked up the entire time. In the meantime, take a look at the bar!

The key is nailed to one of the planks of the bar—it was necessary to stop here to retrieve it. But let’s not dawdle, down we go!

I know you’d never have guessed, but Silco was an extremely sentimental person. He decided not to touch the little room where Vander and his kids used to live. Instead, he locked it up and let it remain "sacred" in its own way. The room is very small and packed with stuff, so it’s hard to move around. You’ll have to settle for a quick glimpse. Let me jog your memory by reminding you that when Vander talks to Vi and sends Mylo and Claggor out of the room, the staircase Claggor sits on is the same one we just came down.

What do you say—shall we head back up? Taking the staircase on the left side of the bar, we arrive at the upper floor! At first glance, it’s just a mezzanine, as it aligns with the "public" rectangle of the bar below. To the left of the stairs, we have Silco’s office, which I’ll show you in detail another time. Over there, where you now see the barrels, is where, in my story, there’s a door leading to the upstairs area—currently Vander and the kids’ home. That door gets covered during event nights to prevent any troublemakers from wandering into their house. On the right, we have the DJ’s console and more tables for those who’d rather enjoy their drinks in peace than join the dance floor.

The reason I suggest you take a break and grab a drink before entering Silco's office is that there's really a lot to see. Here you’ll find my Masterlist, which includes both Part 1 and Part 2 of the tour.

[heyoctaneboy]

Transitional Pool in Houston

[shutupandsim]

Cedar Rapids Midcentury Pool

[greedyhoneyz]

And Many More. Toji Fushiguro

Cheers to many more years for you are forever growing— perhaps a little too fast.

contains: lots of fluff. dad!toji. husband!toji. baby megumi. author's notes: credit for this pic goes to the owner. enjoy!

The screen is black at first, then grainy before a couple splatters of colour flicker across. Then comes light and the fusing in of faces, figures and smiles.

It’s loud, and you can barely make out the voices behind the camera, but the few words that are recognizable are, “Don’t run, you're gonna fall...”

The camera pans over to the indoor play gym, an overmassing tower of steel, soft foam and pvc. It’s filled with kids of all ages and sizes, screaming their hearts out as they crawl, jump, slip and slide across the fortress.

The shot goes in and out of focus; you can hear the patter of fingers toying with the dials on the camera. It zooms out, the camera turning and a banner reading “Happy Birthday Megumi” fills the screen. Below it, a table full of presents tower atop one another which would occasionally rattle at the impending sound of children rushing by.

Children and adults come in and out of the frame as the camera pans to a long table, decorated with a lengthy, white tablecloth and plastic cups, plates, cutlery and pizza boxes.

The camera veers around to the play gym, zooming in on the ball pit by the bottom of the two conjoining slides. Happy faces are all around, the joyous laughter of children and the rumble of balls clattering against each other.

It’s not long before a mother appears by the ball pit, her hands propped on her hips as a discontented look washes over her face. She heaves, her chest retracting downwards, gathering her strength and exhales.

She climbs in, stumbling a bit and trudges through the pool of balls and children, maneuvering around and dodging spray balls ricocheting through the air.

She’s a couple meters away before stopping in front of a group of children. She waves, amuses their attention with animated expressions and gestures, and turns to the nearest child at her side.

She crouches down, beckoning the child to hip and tends to him with a kiss on the head and the motioning of her head. She jeers her head towards the group seating and stands, grabbing the child’s hand.

The mother and child in tow saunter through the ball pit as the camera zooms in and out. It follows the two just as they reach the edge of the pit, before the dishevelled silhouette of a stray ball comes flying overhead.

It whacks the cameraman on their head and the camera quickly falls to their feet, as the voice from behind groans and swears under their breath. “Shit… that fucking hurt.”

There’s shuffling behind the camera when the cameraman comes to their senses, the twirling of dials and the screen turns black.

Light returns to the screen; the camera is pointed at a table. Behind it, the mother and the child, stand, waiting expectantly. They look on behind the camera, following a mass of cake as it enters the frame.

It’s being carried by the father; a staunt expression painting his face. He places the cake on the table: it’s a large rectangle construction with blue and orange frosting, and black icing, and it’s accompanied by a few lit candles and the number “5”.

The father steps, positioning himself beside the mother and places a comforting hand on the young child’s shoulder as the mother ushers him to the center between.

The leisure center is quiet, except for the occasional cough and whisper. There’s some excited cheers and laughter which are quickly muted by a sharp hush or a mean retort which the camera picks up.

Reeling in, the camera focuses on the child perched between his parents. His eyes are wide with both shock and delight as he stares down at his cake, his mouth slightly agape. For a few moments, he peers up and takes in the expressions on his parents’ face, their joy and pride evident. They beam down at him, heartening him with tender words and smiles before the mother lifts her head and motions to the surrounding crowd.

“Happy birthday to you….Happy birthday to you…”

“Happy birthday to Megumi…..”

“Happy birthday to you…”

Megumi grins, his mouth reaching from ear to ear. He places his hands on the edge of the table with the beckoning of both his parents and guests, and leans forward, closing his eyes to blow out his candles.

He blows and his candles flicker but they stay strong in the wind.

He blows again, blowing out a few candles, yet the strongest amongst them survive. So he stops, closing his eyes once again and inhales deeply. He leans forward, lets out a heavy exhale and blows with all his might till his face turns red.

Through a long drag, his candles extinguish and in turn, Megumi changes. He sheds off his skin, shaking off his four year skin and sinks into his new skin— five.

The camera lense is rattled with cheers, screams and blinded by bright flashes as the guests welcome in a five year old Megumi.

He smiles gleefully and in awe, and turns to his parents once again. They peer down at him with bright faces and congratulate him. His mother plants a kiss on his cheek and then to his chin and then to his nose and then his eyes and then to his forehead. It’s evident she’s proud, over the moon and a little bit sad, but she takes on her emotions with stride and a warm smile.

His father, an occasional comic, wipes his pointer finger across the edge of his cake, his fingertip doused in icing. He waits carefully, watching his son turn and grab onto his mother before launching his attack, smearing the icing across his son’s cheek. It catches the boy off guard and his father quickly hides his hands behind his back when the boy turns, directing an accusing glare towards him.

Feigning expressions of shock and confusion, his father shakes his head profusely, refusing to accept his guilt. But when Megumi frowns, his father quickly gives in, admitting his guilt.

He crouches down, settling down to his son’s height and turns his cheek to the side, tilting his head back slightly. He points to the cake and taps his cheek.

It doesn’t take long for Megumi to put two and two together and quickly wipe his hand across his cake, and smear its remnants across his father’s open cheek, giggling.

Pretty soon, his mother joins in on the fun, smudging both father and son with icing across their faces before closing her eyes and submitting to their prickly fingers.

She shudders under their hold, fighting back a grimace and a chuckle as Megumi and his father blot icing across her face and somehow her shirt.

She opens her eyes, her gaze registering the sight of her husband and child before letting out a snigger.

Her laughter faded, as did the colours of faces, figures and smiles, as a picture fades. It features father, mother and child in arms together, stained in sugary delights but forever joyous with smiles as vivid as the sun. Their fondness, forever encapsulated in footage of Megumi’s fifth birthday.

[hometoursandotherstuff]

This was one of my "You Never Know What's Going on Inside a House," posts. I just came across it and it sold in 2022 (that's how long I've been doing this blog.) You've heard of the House of Windsor, well, this is the House of Windex. It deserves another look, and good luck to the current owner. It's a 1979 build in Oak Brook, IL. 4bds, 5ba, 4,256 sq ft, sold for $699k + $450mo. HOA. They took quite a loss- Zillow said it's worth $1.503m. So, let's see what they did to lose so much money on the sale.

It starts out nicely enough with gold trim. Look at the gold banister with lucite balusters.

Large living room with an interesting fireplace and a mirrored wall. I like the fireplace, except for that big white rectangle.

The dining room has gold mirrors added. Also a very large space.

But, when we get to the kitchen, it's completely mirrored- the cabinetry, fridge, island and backsplash.

Isn't this crazy? I don't know about you, but it's so hard to get things completely streak free.

Large half bath is gold mirrored.

The primary bedroom has a mirror bed and it looks like it's a mix of gold and silver mirrors.

This is a dressing table area with closet space and to the right is a walk-in closet.

Check out this bath. I'm getting dazed and confused in this house.

Off to the side of the bedroom is this nice sitting area with doors to a terrace.

This is nice and it looks like it stretches to another bedroom, too.

Look at the decor in this bedroom.

They turned a standard 3pc. bath into a mirrored wonderland.

This looks like a child's room with a little white car. No kiddy decor here.

Even the nursery is mirrored. When the baby stands up, there will be prints all over that wall. Is that the changing table?

Must be a guest bedroom. Those draperies by the bed. I've never seen such huge curtain rods.

Another mirrored bath with black fixtures.

Mirrors in the rec room.

Even a mirrored pool table.

I guess that you could call this a 4 car garage.

Patio in the back.

There's no data on the size of the lot, but it looks pretty large for a suburban area.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/4-Cambridge-Dr-Oak-Brook-IL-60523/4493760_zpid/?

[citruswriter]

Mirror Mirror On The Wall

Listen with me! ↠ⁿᵉˣᵗ ˢᵒⁿᵍ ↺ ʳᵉᵖᵉ��ᵗ ⊜ ᵖᵃᵘˢᵉ

Warnings: Established relationship, chubby coded reader, self esteem issues, brief nippleplay, oral (f! recieving), fem terms, afab reader, overstimulation, hair pulling, squirting, creampie.

Creepypasta Kinktober Prompt: Mirror/Overstimulation

Pairing: Eyeless Jack x Fem Reader

The mirror was not your friend. Far from it in your opinion. The mirror pointed out things you didn't want to see. Stretchmarks and rolls in your skin, loose skin and jiggly thighs. You hated it. Hated the mirror. Hated your body.

But your lovely boyfriend loved it. Loved the divots in your skin that the stretchmarks left. Loved the rolls in your body in his hands. Loved your soft tummy. Loved your plush thighs. You tried your best to see yourself through his eyes, to love your body as he loved it. But it seemed like an impossible task most days.

It had been a long day and your were already snuggled in bed with your phone when your boyfriend came in with something. " What's that?" You question, rising so you were sitting up and looking at the large rectangle. "It's a mirror." Jack said simply, flipping it around to show off the full body mirror, propping it up against the wall.

"Oh! Um... why did you get it?" You ask tentatively. Jack takes off his mask, setting it to the side before kicking his shoes off and crawling onto the bed with you. "Thought it would be nice for some... fun." He says simply, giving a shrug before pressing a kiss to your neck.

"Yes it'll be fun to see all my imperfections." You say sarcastically, glaring at your reflection. Jack lets out a low growl, a demonic sound that never fails to make you shiver in delight down your spine and send heat pooling straight to your core.

"You have the body of a goddess, my darling, and I'll be damned if I let you talk down on yourself." He growled out before swiftly moving behind you. You squeak out as he nibbles on your neck, hands moving up your shirt. One hand grasped your soft tummy while the other gripped a breast, claws digging in slightly before moving to tweak a nipple, causing you to gasp out.

"My beautiful mate..." He purrs out and you shudder. "I'm going to fuck you so good that you won't even be able to focus on those silly insecurities." And with that you're flipped onto your back, clawed fingers pulling your sleep shorts and panties down and flinging them off to the side.

His inhuman tongue soon finds its way into your core and you gasp out as he starts to tongue fuck you, thumb finding your pearl and rubbing it harshly. You moan and keen out as he eats you out like your pussy is a five fucking star meal served by Gordan Ramsey himself. His tongue and thumb are working you so wonderfully and it doesn't take long for his skilled actions to make an orgasm start to crest in you. You try to babble out a warning to him but he can already tell your close by the way your walls start to tighten around his tongue. And then he's pushing you over the edge. Your orgasm hitting you like a tidal way as you moan out loudly, pleasure washing over your body.

You expect Jack to pull away, to give you a moment to climb down from your orgasm and recover, but you are given no such luxury. Instead he slings your plush thighs over his shoulders and grips them as he retracts his tongue from your core and instead works it over your clit. You let out a strangled moan as he continues, trying to get a proper gasp of air in your lungs but Jack pushes forward in trying to make you cum again, his tongue working over your clit in patterns that make you whine and arch until once again your orgasm is cresting. You arch you spine, whining out his name as you cum once again and Jack greedily laps at your juices before nipping at your thighs.

"Catch your breath, sweetheart. I'm not even close to being finished." Jack says with a low chuckle. He slips his shirt off and your hands quickly find his abdomen, your soft hands gliding over the hard planes of his torso. He's cold to the touch, but to him you feel warm. Feel like heaven.

His cold hands find their way under your shirt once more and you shudder as he works his way up and up and finally the article is discarded and tossed as well. "So fucking beautiful." He mutters, mouth descending to kiss your neck and breasts, nipping and leaving little marks that would fade within a day or two.

His hand dips to unbuckle his belt and he pulls his cock out, grinding his shaft along your poor abused clit and your hips jerk with overstimulation. "Jack... I'm sensitive." You say softly and he growls. "Good. Gonna fuck your pretty brains out." He purrs back, grinding harder and making you mewl out.

Suddenly your being manhandled, pulled and tugged until your in doggy. He's stripping the last of his clothes off as he presses a hand between your shoulder blades, making you arching your back as he grips our hair and has you look up and into the mirror. "And you're gonna watch me do it do." He purrs, the tip of his dick notching against your entrance before he snaps his hips forwards and fully buries himself in your heat.

You cry out and he wastes no time setting a ruthless pace in you. You're still sensitive from your other two orgasms and it doesn't take long for the feeling of overstimulation to hit you in waves. Your body is trembling, mind going fuzzy with how much pleasure is rippling through your body as he continues to piston his hips in and out of you, snarls and growls that didn't sound human in the slightest falling from his mouth as you moaned and keened underneath him. Your eyes observe the two of you in the mirror.

Jack's face was screwed up with pleasure and concertation as he fucks into you, his muscles rippling under his skin, he looked like a predator. You on the other hand looked completely different. Eyes glazed over, lips parted, chest heaving, hair messy in his hand. You looked so fucked out and you couldn't help but love how you looked like a mess for his cock.

Your eyelids flutter as you feel the familiar feeling of your orgasm. "Close." You whine out and Jack angles your hips, driving in harder as he drills into your g-spot. You moan loudly as he drives you closer and closer to your orgasm. "That's is babygirl. Cum on my cock." He breathes out, driving his hips again and sending you crashing into another orgasm. You curse in a high pitched tone as you cum on his thick cock, your orgasm hitting you more like a freight train this time.

But once again, you are offered little time to recover as Jack fucks you through your orgasm, ramming into you with abandon as he chases his own release. You practically sobbing with overstimulation at this point, body trembling as his hand yanks your hair to keep you looking in the mirror as he fucks you stupid. "One more time, babygirl. Just one more time." He said softly, his voice more breathy as he starts to reach his own end. His spare hand grips you plush side as he fucks into you harder and faster. Your arms collapse from under you but your eyes remain glued to the mirror as you cum once more. Your eyes roll back and your vision whites out as you scream out his name.

Your nerves feel like they're on fire and frazzled, as if you just snatched a star out of the nightsky and took a big bite out of it. As you come to once more, you're aware of many things. How warm your insides are with Jack's pulsing cock and load of cum in you, the droplets that roll down your thighs, the slickness of your cunt.

"Fuck that was amazing." You breathe out and Jack let out a rumbling laugh as he slowly pulled his cock out. "Well you squirted so I'd assume it was." He replied, tone tired but teasing none the less. You felt your cheeks heat up. "Fuck, I squirted?" You ask with a laugh and he only huffs a laugh in response.

He slowly gets up as you let your body collapse on the bed. Jack comes back moments later, running a warm washcloth over your body and cleaning you up before crawling into bed with you. You hum softly, tangling your limbs with his, fingernails tailing over his skin in soothing patterns.

"I love you, beautiful." He murmurs and you smile softly, peppering his face with soft kisses before he snuggles back into you once more, practically purring from your touch.

"I love you too, handsome."

Eyeless Jack, my love. 💞💞💞 I don't think ya'll understand how down bad I am for this man.

Taglist: @rainrot4me

[ladykailitha]

Of Butterflies and Backstrokes Part 8

Hey guys!! We have reached the actual training part of the story. It's only taken us (looks up at the number in the title) oh about seven chapters. If I get anything wrong, send me a DM or an ask and I'll be happy to change it. No comments please. Thank you!

In this Eddie is a show off, Robin is a good best friend and Steve finds Eddie really hot.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

~

Eddie is led to a small room off the side of the two large pools. He had never been in here before, Murray preferring to clean it himself because it was so tricky and Eddie wasn’t going to be there long enough to need to know it.

He looked around. It was the same sea green and blue everything in the pool area was. And in the middle there was 8x15 ft. rectangle that had a large metal cover.

Steve went over to the wall and pressed a button. The metal cover slid off to reveal a pool about five feet deep. It really didn’t look that special.

Then Steve pressed another button and pool roared to life. Gone was the smooth surface, replaced by now churning waves. He hit the button again and waves sped up. And again and again. Eddie was entranced. Then the waves cut off and slowly the water stilled.

“Holy shit!” Eddie cried. “That was fucking cool!” He knelt by the pool and then swung his feet in. “So how does it work?”

“Show off,” Robin huffed at Steve and pulled up a chair next to the pool. “Just pretend I’m not here. I have to watch you guys because I’m the assistant coach or whatever, but Steve doesn’t need my help here. Not really.”

Steve came over and sat next to him, splashing his feet a little. “Basically there are jets that cause a current that you can swim against. The different speeds allow you to set how much you want to swim against. It’s really good for building endurance and stamina.”

He slipped all the way into the pool. “Why don’t you turn it on to three and I’ll show you?”

Eddie jumped up to just that, excited to see Steve swim for the first time in person. Robin got up to show him how to work it and then sat back down, pulling a book out of the pocket of the jacket she wore over her swimsuit.

He slowly turned the dial, watching as the water came up to speed. Then Steve started swimming. And immediately Eddie could see the difference in how Steve moved through the water than from how he did it.

He licked his lips as he watched this beautiful man slice the water like an otter. He wasn’t sure how long time passed, but far too soon, Steve was standing up and wiping the water from his face.

“Turn it to one,” Steve said, “and then come on in. I’m betting you’ll need it sped up but let’s ease you into it.”

Eddie went to go do as he was told and the eased himself into the pool next to Steve.

“All right,” Steve said, “just start swimming.”

“Just keep swimming,” Eddie sang and then did the little hum. He dived into the water and started swimming.

“I’m going to touch you,” Steve warned, “to help correct your stroke. I don’t want to startle you.”

Eddie tried not to tense up when Steve straightened his stomach, but it was hard. But thankfully Steve just chuckled.

“Ticklish,” he teased. “Good to know.”

Eddie rolled his eyes, grateful Steve couldn’t see his face. That was not why he tensed up. Was he ticklish? That was debatable. His friends and Uncle said yes, he absolutely was not. He just was sensitive. Which also wasn’t what the issue was here.

No, no, no. It was that hot guy, gold medalist, and absolute sweetheart Steve Harrington was touching him and his black Speedo left very little to the imagination. A boner would be more than an inconvenience, it would be a fucking nightmare.

But thankfully his brain had other things to focus on, like how by just adjusting his core, his strokes were stronger but took less energy.

“We won’t focus on types of strokes yet,” Steve was saying when his brain finally came back online, “just on building up your strength. Then after that we’ll see where your abilities lie. What events to you compete in in middle school?”

Eddie turned on his back and immediately kept swimming. He turned his head and winked at Steve.

Steve huffed out a laugh. “Show off!” he teased.

Robin snorted from the sideline and he stuck his tongue out at her.

“You have really good form for the backstroke,” he said turning back to Eddie, “and I’m going to assume that’s because your middle school coach only taught you how to do one thing well, instead of teaching you everything and then letting your natural talent decide where you fit best.”

Eddie got to his feet with ease as it wasn’t going that fast and wiped his face down. “You’ve got that right. But then he was dealing with twenty kids all screaming at him, so I really don’t blame him on that one.”

“Fair enough,” Steve said ruefully with wry smile. “At least you didn’t have two coaches butting heads all the time on what was the best technique, so...”

“Wait, really?” Eddie said, stopping from ringing out his hair in shock. “You had two coaches?”

Steve hummed. “Yeah. Technically three if you include middle and high school coaches but only two at a time. My private coach that my dad had me see when I was twelve and then my school coaches. They never could agree on what the best form was. So I made up my own. I did what felt right for my body. Both my high school coach and private coach tried to take credit for my gold medal by the way.”

Eddie resumed ringing out his hair. “Yeah, that tracks. So you graduate high school and prepare to take the swimming world by storm and then tragedy strikes, I bet they were positively sobbing for the cameras.”

Steve’s smile was bitter. “Right in one.”

“Everyone kept talking like he was dead,” Robin growled, “and not just that he had gotten hurt. I would’ve sued their asses, but Steve is nicer than me.”

Eddie raised an eyebrow at him, but he just shrugged. “I didn’t need the money and I certainly didn’t want the attention.”

“Yeah, okay that’s fair,” Eddie replied with a smile.

They keep working on Eddie’s stamina, slowly building up the speed of the pool, the more he swam the more strength he showed.

Steve looked up at the clock. “Well shit, we actually ran past time. So let’s hit the showers and get all this chlorine off of us.”

Eddie nodded and followed him to the dressing room, once they were all dressed and cleaned up they ran into a grinning Joyce. She had two boxes in her hands.

“One for each of you,” she said brightly, handing them their packages.

Steve and Eddie shared a glance but dug into their boxes. Steve managed to get his open first. He lifted the top item. It was a blue polo. He handed the box to Robin to hold so he could unfold it.

There in black thread lined with silver embroidered on the back was the name Harrington. His coach’s polo.

“There are four polos and a coaches jacket,” Joyce explained. “Every ‘team’ has a set of colors to compete under. Team Harrington will be black and silver.”

Eddie finally managed to get his box open while Joyce talked. Inside his box were four caps and Speedos, as well as two pairs of goggles. He picked up one of the caps and in silver was his last name Munson in bold letters.

“The program covers all equipment, too,” Joyce said with sly smile. “You lose anything or want something different, let me know we’ll get it for you. At first it might take a bit, but if you start winning...”

Eddie huffed, “Then suddenly all the doors open and the sponsors start piling in. I getcha.”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Joyce said.

“I got my own coaching polos too!” Robin said excitedly. “I didn’t get a fancy jacket though.” She pouted.

Joyce laughed. “When you be come head coach then you’ll get the shiny coach’s jacket.”

Robin still pouted but she was ignored. Steve and Eddie both thanked her for the gifts.

“It’s nothing,” she said, waving her hand. “I’m just glad they were able to come today, I was worried it might not get here until next week.”

They all bid her goodbye and walked out to the parking lot, where there were only two cars now. Steve’s rust red Bimmer and Eddie’s van. It looked older than he was. But he could tell Eddie was proud of it as he sauntered up to it.

“Other than than the jerkfaces,” Eddie said, opening the door to his van and jumping up on the step to swing on the door, “today was a good day. I feel really stretched out in a good way.”

Steve laughed. “Well I’m glad the gaggle of snobs didn’t turn you off. You’re already three steps ahead of the game as far as coaching you goes. You have good habits and better form. It won’t take long for you to get into competition shape.”

Eddie nodded, swinging back and forth on the door, like Gene Kelly in ‘Singing in the Rain’. “But the Olympics, man? That’s top tier shit.”

“From what I saw today,” Robin said, “yeah, real top tier shit. Because Steve is right. You got dealt a shit hand when you were forced to stop swimming, because you should already have been to the Olympics if there had been any justice in this world. But it is really stacked against poor people.”

“Yeah,” Eddie huffed. “I guess I’ll be seeing you guys again tomorrow?” He hopped back down to ground, scuffing his shoes on the asphalt.

“Yep,” Steve said with a smile. “Same time. This time Max will be joining us. She’s only going to be doing it two times a week. It’s all her mother will allow.”

Robin shook her head. “Girl’s got real talent and her mother thinks she’s too young to apply herself. I’m glad my parents weren’t like that.”

Steve reached over and gave her elbow a gentle squeeze. “Maybe once her mom sees how good she is, she’ll allow her to do more. But Max has time. She’s only eleven.”

Eddie nodded, rocking back on his heels and then forward on his toes. He chewed his lip for a moment before he launched himself at Steve, giving him a big hug. “Thank you!”

Steve staggered back a moment before wrapping his arms around Eddie. “You’re welcome. Everyone needs someone who believes in them.”

Then Eddie launched himself at Robin who was almost knocked over. She hugged him back, then he scurried back to his van. He gave them a shy goodbye before he drove off.

“He’s cute.”

Steve whirled on her with a shocked expression on his face. “Robin!”

Robin shrugged and started walking to Steve’s car, forcing him to jog to catch up.

“You can’t just say things like that,” he admonished, unlocking his car with the keycode on the door. “We’re his coaches now. Besides, I’m like six years older than he is. God!”

She laughed as she got into her side of the car. “I didn’t say you had to date him, dingus. I just said he was cute. You filled in the rest.”

Steve huffed as he slid into the driver’s seat. “Yeah, okay. I’ll admit that I find him very attractive, especially with all the tattoos. Dealing drugs must be pretty lucrative or else he’s got a sweet deal with a tattoo artist, because damn, he has a lot. At least four that I’ve seen and I think I saw the glimpse of another and I–”

Robin burst out laughing. “And you really, really liked it?”

Steve sighed and bowed his head. “I really did. I don’t think I liked tattoos on people before this point and now I’m drooling about it.”

Robin just patted his shoulder. “Just suck it up and drive.”

So Steve did just that, shaking his head.

~

Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15

Tag List: CLOSED

1-@mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @zerokrox-blog

2- @gregre369 ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @messrs-weasley @cryptid-system

3- @maya-custodios-dionach @goodolefashionedloverboi @val-from-lawrence @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog

4- @justforthedead89 @irregular-child @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690 @forgottenkanji

5- @anne-bennett-cosplayer @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @littlewildflowerkitten @genderless-spoon

6- @dragonmama76 @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt @useless-nb-bisexual @disrespectedgoatman

7- @counting-dollars-counting-stars @tinyplanet95 @ravenfrog @swimmingbirdrunningrock @lingeringmirth

8- @gutterflower77 @a-lovely-craziness @just-a-tiny-void @w1ll0wtr33 @beelze-the-bubkiss

9- @chameleonhair @sadisticaltarts @dreamercec @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @mac-attack19

10- @aol19 @eriquin @tartarusknight @gloomysoup @morallyundefined

[sengardet]

The Tribal Captive

A vortex of swirling light opened in the forest glade. Kala, the fierce tribal huntress, leapt through the shimmering portal, spear gripped tight. She landed on strange, flat ground. Rising, Kala surveyed her new surroundings - a village of square dwellings, roads of hardened black earth. So different from her jungle home.

Cindy, the woman with the lightest complexion of the group was hanging out with her friends, Jessica the tallest of the bunch, Emily, dark skin with long curly hair, and Mandy… a bunch of upper class college gals relaxing by the pool. Up ahead, one of the dwellings' doors swung open. Out stepped a slight, pale-skinned female, dressed in odd, colorful coverings. She turned to seal the entrance. Kala's eyes narrowed. Prey.

Muscles coiling, the huntress sprinted forward, bare feet slapping pavement. With a primal roar, she lowered a shoulder and smashed through the wooden barrier in an explosion of splinters. The small female inside shrieked and stumbled back. Two others huddled behind her, eyes wide with terror.

"Wh-who are you? What do you want?" one stammered, a delicate thing with mahogany hair. Just friends hanging out at the pool.

Kala didn't understand the words, only the fear in her voice. She thrust her spear forward and snarled. The ladies scattered.

Kala pursued, knocking over furnishings, sending strange objects flying. The dark one with curly hair fumbled with a small black rectangle, babbling into it.

"Hello, 911? There's - ahhh!" She dropped the device and fled as Kala lunged.

The huntress would run them to exhaustion, then--

Sharp pain lanced through Kala's body. Her muscles seized and she crashed to the ground. the taser connected with her bronze flesh. Her muscular body convulsed as electricity coursed through her veins. She crumpled to the floor, arms and legs twitching spasmodically.

"Quick, grab something to tie her arms and ankles with!" Cindy shouted to her entourage. They quickly pulled their shirts off, binding the warrior's ankles and wrists with them in tight knots, then one around her mouth.

The woman glared up at them, teeth bared in impotent rage. Cindy bent down, hair brushing the captive's cheek. "Aw, look at the big strong jungle bitch all helpless now." She traced a long pink nail along the woman's jawline.

"Can't call the cops... They'll never believe us," Cindy muttered, wiping sweat from her brow. "So what do we do?"

Jessica flipped open a knife, eyes glinting cruelly. "I say we gut her like a pig. Teach her a lesson for messing with us." She knelt down and pressed the blade to the woman's heaving abdomen. "What do you think, Cindy? Wanna see what makes this savage tick?"

Cindy bit her lip, heart pounding with dark excitement. "Do it," she breathed.

Jessica grinned and plunged the knife in, slicing through flesh and muscle. Blood welled up, deep crimson against brown skin. The Amazon yelled behind her gag.

"Okay Cindy, you're the badass here, you do the honors," Jessica said, shifting her gaze. "What?!" Cindy said with a nervous laugh, feigning confusion. "reach in there and grab her heart!" Jessica challenged. "I dare you!" the others glaring at her, pressuring her.

"Ew, gross! I'm not sticking my hand in there," Cindy protested, scrunching her nose in disgust. "Come on, Cindy," Jessica urged, taunting her. "Just reach in. Touch her heart."

"Fine, I'll do it." She slowly slid her slender manicured fingers into the wet bloody opening, to Jessica's amusement.

Cindy quickly slid her wrist inward through the squirming, billowing chest to the sound of plaintive labored breaths.

The brunette gasped as she felt something large and powerful throbbing against her fingers - the warrior's heart! She could feel it pounding frantically, pumping hot blood through the woman’s body as those lungs caressed the back of her hand. A curious smile crossed her lips.

"Oh my God, this is like, so freaky but cool," Cindy said to her friends, eyes wide with amazement. She wrapped her hand around the large and frightened muscular organ. It felt so raw and primal, pulsating with intense life force. She caressed it gently, transfixed by the alien sensation of literally holding someone's life in her hands.

"Jess, it's beating so hard!" Cindy said, a note of surprise mingling with her usual ditzy tone. Her eyes sparkled with a mix of curiosity and exhilaration.

"Well, duh! She's terrified," Jessica replied, rolling her eyes. "Now, let's see what you can do with it."

"Okay, like, what should I do?" Cindy asked, her fingers tentatively exploring the organ's contours and arteries. The Amazonian woman's body tensed beneath her touch, each beat of the heart a potent reminder of its owner's helplessness.

"I dunno, make it squirm!" another friend chimed in, giggling as she watched.

"Come on, Cindy. Squeeze it," Emily giggled, her voice dripping with sadistic glee.

Cindy hesitated for a moment, the amazon's heart throbbing rhythmically in her hand. It felt so strange, yet so intimately alive. With a mischievous smirk curling at her lips, Cindy decided to indulge them. She tightened her grip, feeling the powerful organ resist her pressure in violent thrashing before yielding reluctantly.

The amazonian woman gasped, her body arching against the bindings, muscles straining and convulsing.

"Whoa, did you see that?" Jessica laughed, her eyes wide with morbid fascination. "Do it again!"

"Okay, okay, wait" Cindy said, voice breathy. She twisted the organ slightly, causing it to writhe within her grasp. The amazon's breathing grew erratic, each gasp sounding more desperate than the last.

"It’s totally freaking out!" Cindy laughed, the sound high-pitched and manic. The warrior woman could only jerk against her binds, her breaths coming in ragged gasps as the young women held her down.

"Pinch the big exit vein, Cindy!" Emily urged, her voice high-pitched with excitement. "Pinch the... oh, you mean the aorta?" Cindy said, her voice lilting with a sick kind of amusement. She slid her hand upward and used her thumb and forefinger to clamp down on the thick artery, feeling it pulse desperately against the pressure.

"Alright," Cindy replied, her fingers finding the aorta. She clamped it hard. A shudder ran through the amazon's body, a guttural moan escaping her covered lips.

"God, this is too much, it's fighting so hard" Cindy laughed, her eyes alight with a twisted sense of amazement as she sat there amused with her new toy, the life of an invading tribeswoman.

She dragged her nails delicately over the delicate atria, causing the heart to spasm and fibrillate under her touch. The invader's gasp turned into a desperate, uneven pant as her body jerked uncontrollably.

"Look at her! She's gonna pass out!" Mandy laughed, clapping her hands. "Crush it Cindy!" Mandy's voice rang out "Finish this dumb bitch off!"

Cindy's fingers loosened, the desire to preserve her failing toy overriding peer pressure for a moment. She squeezed it a few times, making it beat hard and steady.

"Come on, Cindy, make it really work for those beats!" Jessica urged, her voice dripping with anticipation.

"Alright, alright," Cindy replied, rolling her eyes playfully. She increased the pressure ever so slightly, just enough to feel the heart resist, each beat a desperate plea for mercy. The arteries across its surface bulged under her grip, the savage woman straining weakly, back arched.

"Wait, I have an idea," Mandy said, rummaging through her bag. She pulled out a pair of cheap headphones, tearing off the speakers with a swift yank and exposing the wire. "Here, let's have some real fun."

"Oooh, what are you doing?" Cindy asked, tilting her head curiously.

"Just a little experiment," Mandy replied with a grin. She handed Cindy the bare ends of the wires. "Touch these to her heart and I’ll plug them into my phone."

"Seriously? This is gonna be so cool!" Cindy said, her excitement palpable. The woman's chest arched upward in a futile attempt to resist whatever plan was cooking up in those sadistic minds. Mandy carefully pressed the exposed wires against the quivering organ.

The effect was immediate. The tribal woman's heart jerked violently as electricity coursed through her. It seized, contracting into a tight knot beneath Cindy's hands.

"Did it stop?" Jessica asked, leaning in closer, her eyes wide with fascination.

"This bitch's heart is squirming!," Cindy yelled, feeling the heart's desperate quivering. "alright, let me help it out I wanna do more."

She pulled the wires out and began to massage the heart rhythmically, her fingers dancing over the surface. The organ responded sluggishly at first, then more eagerly, each beat a reluctant surrender to Cindy's cruel control.

"Look at that," Cindy said softly, her voice filled with a mix of awe and power. "I can make it beat again, just by pumping it."

"Push your nails into those smaller arteries," Jessica urged, her smile widening. "Make her really feel it."

Cindy complied, her perfectly manicured nails digging into the delicate vessels. The heart trembled violently under her touch, struggling to maintain its frantic pace. The amazon's body jerked, her muscles straining against the bonds once more, but there was no escape from the torment.

"Look at her squirm," Jessica sneered, nudging the amazon's side with her foot. "Pathetic."

Cindy's eyes sparkled as she felt the Amazon's heart pulse weakly beneath her fingertips, as if exhausted from the abuse. The arteries on the surface bulged desperately, like tiny rivers trying to break free from a dam. She giggled, finding it absolutely adorable how much the organ strained, how terrified it felt.

Emily, her long curly hair framing her face, leaned in with a predatory grin. She pressed her ear against the woman's chest, her sparkling dark eyes closing as she listened intently. The warrior woman's whimpering breaths came in shallow gasps, her body trembling beneath Emily's head.

"God, I can hear it," Emily whispered, her voice filled with a cruel fascination. "It's so... desperate."

"Isn't it cute?" Cindy cooed, her fingers tightening slightly around the heart, causing it to spasm. "I bet she really wished she didn't try to crash our party right now." Cindy laughed

"Cindy, let me play with it" Emily spoke out, her eyes sparkling with curiosity and desire.

"Here," Cindy said, shifting slightly to make room. "Be gentle... we should all get a turn." She said as she relinquished her grip on the heart, feeling it quiver one last time under her fingers.

"Your turn, Em," Cindy said, stepping aside with a flourish. "Let's see what you've got."

[milf-harrington]

[image description: digital art of steve and eddie from stranger things, set out almost like a movie poster.

in the top left, eddie is shown playing air guitar with his tongue poking out. he's dressed in blue shorts and a black shirt with a short sleeve flannel + denim vest combination thrown over top. he's also wearing black converse. "the music guy" is written next to him in red ink with two arrows pointing towards him. his hair is down.

in the bottom right, steve is standing like he's leaning against a wall, one knee bent with his foot crossed in front of the other. he's dressed in short denim shorts and a green and white baseball shirt with the sleeves cut off. he's got white shoes and blue socks. he's saluting lazily. "the jock" is written next to him in blue ink with two arrows pointing towards him.

in the top right corner "steve + eddie" is written in orange capital letters, surrounded by dots and scribbles of various colours: blue, pink, orange and green. in the middle, placed behind the boys, is a pink rectangle splattered with blood. in the bottom left corner "slasher" is written in large yellow capital letters, with the same word written over it again in smaller red letters, designed to look like they're dripping blood. beneath it 'summer camp au' is written in the same red, this time without the drips. there are blood puddles pooled beneath, though. /end id.]

----

here's a little steddie piece inspired by this tiktok my best friend sent me, they literally said "possibly steddie outfit ideas" which i love bc i don't actually even think they ship steddie i just go on about them that often

[toweroftickles]

Reimagined Tickling #5

Fairy Tail/The Legend of Korra

A lot of times when I see a tickling scene in a movie or TV show, I imagine how fun it would be to see other characters in those same situations. You know, like "Oh I wanna see X character get tickled like that." So I thought I'd try writing a few drabbles where I'll take a famous tickle scene and reinterpret it with new characters in new settings.

This one was a request from my readers! Let’s see how Avatar Korra fares, living through Lucy Heartfilia’s torment from Virgo.

This story takes place during TLOK Season One.

Late-night puddle droplets splished into the air and drenched Korra’s heavy tundra-camel boots with every thunderous step. The brickwork backstreet was too crowded for her to use her bending arts safely, but she wasn’t going to let her target escape.

“Hey! Get back here!!” she shouted.

Through the window of Narook's Noodlery where she and her Fire Ferrets celebrated, Korra had spied the girl outside...a scrawny little scarecrow, couldn't have been more than 10 or 11, all in seaweed-colored rags of ill fit, with tufts of bright orange plumage shooting out from beneath her aviator goggles. She'd been struggling to remove the hubcaps from Asami’s car. A street rat kid rummaging for auto parts? Probably part of the Badgermole Triad. Well, if Officer Lin was too busy with “important city matters” to deal with them, Korra would do it herself.

The Avatar pushed and shoved her way through the crowd, lagging behind a diminutive thief who had the ability to simply slip underneath the sea of legs. For a moment, her pursuit was blocked by a busy traffic intersection...the girl was already across the street and fleeing fast...but Korra quickly dodged and flipped between the charging vehicles. As one car pulled out into the road, milliseconds before crashing into it, she vaulted legs-first over the engine hood, a blast of air propelling her along to the sidewalk on the other side, and the squeeeaaeeaaaky slide over hot metal nearly rubbed her butt-cheek raw.

"GET OUTTA THE STREET, YA MORON!" The pedestrian driver's horn rattled her eardrums.

Yow!! Ow ow ow ow ow! Korra hissed to herself, clutching her sore behind as she ran. (Well…it was more of a limping hop.) Ugh, that’s gonna smart for a while…

The chase led down a limestone alcove, hidden beneath a dumpster behind the Cabbage Corp building, down a wrought iron ladder that bored flakes of rust into Korra’s palms, and into the cyclical catacombs of the Warrens. Why did these dumb squirts have so much energy? She was nearly out of breath and about to call off the pursuit, when she found herself in the atrium of a massive cave.

The city lights above illuminated the red-brown earth floor. All across the sprawling portal were the bodies of countless wrecked vehicles, no doubt used in the illegal racing circuit. Satomobiles and Cabbage Car chassis of all colors littered the pools of light like croutons in soup, their parts creaking and groaning against each other. And at the far end of the cavern, past the musty graveyard of wheels and springs, there stood the kid, her back to Korra, perfectly still.

Was she oblivious, or planning something? Korra wasn't gonna wait to find out. Uncaring about noise or stealth, she charged.

Now I've got you!

Without a turn, without even a sideways glance, the mysterious child stomped a bare and bandaged foot into the dirt.

The ground beneath Korra's feet instantly dropped away like a trapdoor. “WHOA!!!” Korra yelped and tried to stop herself, but her momentum slid her down the ramp-like opening on her heel and carried her right into the maw of this newly-dug pit. She barely had time to steady herself either - as soon as she wobbled to a stable position, four large rectangles of stone, thick as concrete slabs, rose up vertically around her and rushed at her from all angles. On pure instinct she threw her arms out to the sides to block them, and her wrists were greeted by a crushing weight that nearly shattered them to splinters. She winced and shouted as the walls pushed against her hands, boxing her in and forcing their way closer and closer to her, but somehow, her throbbing arms held firm. Her energy was drained from the chase, but eventually, the blocks ground to a slow stop, and the dust settled.

Korra wheezed. Whew. I was almost a pancake. She felt like she was trapped inside a chimney. Unable to clearly see her surroundings, she glanced up to find the little sticky-fingers on the ledge of the trap hole, staring furiously down at her.

"Stop following me!" the kid yipped.

“You’re an earthbender?!”

"Of course I'm an earthbender! Now leave me alone!"

It was this surprise revelation that made Korra pause…this earthen box itself was no problem. One quick push outward and the walls would crumble. Her knees swiveled inward to form a Gong Kiu stance. She furrowed her brow and felt the rock surge beneath her hands, unaware of the sedimentary serpent that approached her.

It started small at first. Tiny granules of sand and crumbled earth all teemed together like a school of krill at the Badgermole recruit’s feet. Then, smoother, rounder stones joined the fun. Soon they all coalesced into the shape of a tentacle, that grew and grew in length until it was large enough to reach over the edge of the crevice and spiral down to the Avatar’s body. It nosed around as if hunting, dancing to its master’s commands, until finally, it lunged.

A sharp blade of air stabbed Korra's throat. All the blood in her face drained into the back of her neck, and she froze, save for her widened eyes, which darted to look at her abdomen. For a split second of terror, she thought she'd been speared. But no. This was worse.

The stone whip that she saw for the first time caressed her stomach back and forth like a tongue, up and down, side to side, between every taut muscle and even around the rim of her navel. It wiggled and poked and wouldn’t stop.

What the - ?!

“Tickletickletickletickletickle!!” the urchin girl’s shrill voice called out.

No. Wait. You’ve gotta be kidding me.

Korra tried to wrestle the urge down into her stomach, but she couldn’t help herself. She simply burst out laughing.

“Wha…d-d’ah! H…Haha! Haha Ha-Ha Ha!” Only for a fraction of a second, her hands slipped downward. But that was enough. Her strength gave way and those rock slabs, commanded by another stomp of the mysterious kid’s foot, pummeled even harder against her arms. They smooshed Korra tighter and tighter ‘til her elbows buckled.

“Ahhhh-ow ow ow OWWWW!!!” Hot thorns of pain cracked her ulnae.

“Heh-Heh Heh! That’s the best trick I ever learned! Not so easy to concentrate on your bending when you’re laughing like a hyena-monkey, is it, Miss Avatar?”

“Ugh! You little brat! Fight me like a real bender!” Korra barked.

But the young thief was merely bemused by this demand. “Hmmmm…” She stroked her chin and pretended to ponder for a moment, before a cruel snaggle-toothed smile grew across her freckles. “Ok!”

The girl threw out her right arm and twisted her wrist so that her fingers faced the ceiling. While those pointed digits wiggled in the air, her left hand made fast swipes like a conductor's baton, and her feet drew concentric circles on the ground. Korra had never seen bending like this. She would’ve been more curious...if her thoughts weren’t distracted by the craggy tentacle that was now wiggling underneath her left armpit.

“D-don’t!! Haha-Ha! Ha-Ha Ha-Ha!! *gasp* Huh! Quihit it! Nooo, crahap; why don’t I cover thohohose?!” This was humiliating. Why tickling?!

With every tiny stumble of her hands, the rocks pushed in closer. A few more slip-ups and she'd be crushed. Now she was starting to panic.

“Are you ticklish here? Or here? What about there? You’re gonna beg for mercy before long!”

The pebbles in the strand climbed over one another and traced serpentine patterns along Korra’s jaw, dragging their tiny rigid edges against the underside of her chin…down her neck…deep in her collarbone…drilling into the left armpit, and then the right…down her back…scrawling between each individual rib…once it even burrowed itself into the back of her knee, twisting and wriggling against a painfully vulnerable spot of skin. Every time Korra attempted to contort her body away from the rock-and-sand tendril, it leapt with lightning speed to another one of her softest pressure points, each more weak and sensitive than the last.

“Kitchie kitchie coo! Ah-Kitchakitchakitchakitchakitchakitchakitcha!” That nasal baby-talk was really starting to grate.

“PFFHA-HA HA-HA……nnnnn!! ….GkKHaha-Ha! *hic* Ha-Ha Ha-Ha Ha-Ha!! D…Dahamn it! Haha! Huh-Huh Ha-Ha Ha!! R-HA-hocks…rocks are supposed to be sharp; they’re not s’posed to tickl-hl-hl-ha!!”

Korra’s arms trembled in their sockets. Only a single cubit’s length separated the two walls that sandwiched her…all her strength was sapped out…gravel was practically sanding down her ears…

“Had enough yet?”

All of a sudden, the tickle whip backed off. Korra bent over double in a struggle to catch her breath. Pools of achy misery swam through her ab muscles. A single bead of sweat drizzled its way down the bridge of her nose as she huffed and puffed.

“Hmmm…this isn’t working,” the pint-sized pilferer pouted with folded arms.

“Uhhh…Wha…what do you mean?” the Avatar moaned and raised her head. Particulates of sand were slithering up the side of the crevice and back to their commander. “Why’d you stop?”

“Hmf. Well I wanted to punish you for chasing after me. But you’re enjoying it.”

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU THIS IS TORTURE!!” Korra might not have been a direct branch on Aang and Katara’s family tree, but she sure could channel her Water Tribe forebear’s explosive frog-mouthed temper. Tenzin was rubbing off on her.

Before she could protest further, the stone walls around her dissolved back into the ground as quickly as they’d sprung up. With nothing to push her palms against, Korra was suddenly thrown off-balance and, with her arms windmilling wildly, she toppled backwards like a chopped-down tree.

CRASH!!

It was a good several seconds before she managed to push herself up off the soil again. A heavy pulse thump-thump-thumped all the way from her hips to her throat. Her arms felt like jook pudding.

“Ugh…yep. Still smarts. Landed right on it,” she groused, to no one in particular. Korra didn’t have to climb out of the quarry to realize that her quarry was long gone.*

Great. Just great. She galavanted off halfway across the city, ditched her friends, bruised her ass, got lost in the Underground, nearly broke her arms, and got tickled mercilessly, just to fail at catching a poor kid who didn’t actually steal anything from them. Brilliant, Korra. She groaned and pinched her eyebrows, her mouth in a stubborn frown.

Slowly standing and dusting herself off, Korra limped up and out of the hole. In the midst of wondering how to explain this one to the team, one more terrible realization struck her.

"Aw, crap...

…I didn't pay my check."

*Why yes, I AM very proud of that sentence, thank you. (gets hit with a shoe)

********