#this idea got stuck a few months back and for some reason its the funniest thing to me

[ebysse]

hogwarts staff gift exchange

[spencers-renaissance]

Honeysuckle

Summary: The BAU decide to head out for a picnic one summer afternoon, but they’re soon rudely interrupted by a bee sting and anaphylactic shock. Seeing Spencer carted off in an ambulance is not exactly how they expected the day to go.

Tags: whump, angst, fluff, hurt/comfort, hurt spencer, friendship, medical conditions, severe allergic reactions

Pairing: Derek Morgan x Spencer Reid 

Word Count: 2.3k

Masterlist // Read on AO3 // Bad Things Happen Bingo

Spencer had initially been wary of Penelope’s invitation to picnic in Meridian Hill Park one beautiful summer afternoon — he burned way too easily and didn’t like exposing himself to insects more than absolutely necessary — but as soon as she’d mentioned Derek was going, he’d given in. He wasn’t about to turn down an afternoon spent in the sun with his best friends and boyfriend. It was a rare day off for the team: one not even spent hanging by their phone expecting to be called in any minute, so they were all insistent on making the most of it. 

He’s the last one to arrive, spotting the others sat in the shade of an oak tree, already laughing as they get stuck into their first drinks of the afternoon. Despite his initial hesitations, as soon as he feels the sun on his face and sees his friends he’s immediately glad he turned up and he hurries over to join the rest of the team, his own contributions to the picnic in hand. 

“Pretty boy!” Derek shouts, grinning widely as he jumps up from his lazy position on the blanket to wrap Spencer in a hug, before pulling back slightly to kiss him. He can already tell he’s a little tipsy, and although Spencer doesn’t drink he has nothing against everyone else letting their hair down and having fun; God knows they deserve it. 

His relationship with Derek is only a few months old, and he still relishes every moment he gets to spend wrapped up in his arms.

“Hey guys.” His words are muffled slightly by Derek’s shoulder as his boyfriend is reluctant to let him go, but as soon as he’s released, he turns to match everyone’s wide grins. 

“Did you bring the strawberries?” Emily asks, levelling him with a faux-stern look that she can’t maintain for long, melting back into her relaxed smile soon enough.

“Of course.” He takes a seat on the picnic blanket only to be immediately wrapped into a side hug by Penelope. He hugs back before beginning to unpack his bag.

“What about the icing sugar?” she asks, and her stern glare isn’t fake at all: Spencer knows how seriously Penelope takes a) organisation, and b) sweet treats.

“Who do you take me for?” he laughs, retrieving the fruit and sugar from his bag and taking a swig of the cool lemonade he’d packed in his thermos. 

Sometimes he wishes he could go back in time and show lonely, teenage Spencer pictures of days like these. One day, he’ll be twenty six, working at his dream job, and spending his days off in the warmth of the East Coast sun one Sunday afternoon surrounded by his best friends, kissed by his boyfriend at every opportunity. They’ve never asked him to be anything other than exactly who he is, inviting them into their group and doting on him relentlessly, loving him just as much as he loves them. 

It’s a luxury you only appreciate when you’ve known the loneliness of summer: when the hum of the AC is the only sound in your stuffy, humid dorm room, and you’re researching the effects of methane on winter weather patterns as you long for cold weather again, because then at least then you don’t have to listen to the excited shouts of friends outside anymore, then it’s acceptable to isolate yourself inside with only yourself and books for company.

He shakes himself out of his miserable recollections and reminds himself to be in the present. Emily has her head in Penelope’s lap as they discuss which incarnation of Doctor Who is the best while JJ and Derek discuss the new jogging park opening up across the border in Virginia. He knows which conversation is more suited to his interests and immediately goes up to bat for the Seventh Doctor, which manages to engage him in a spirited debate with both women. 

Soon, though, they find themselves all discussing their workplace embarrassments and recalling the funniest moments from over the last few years, and Spencer loses himself in the heat of the afternoon and the warmth of his friendships. He’s gorged himself on all the strawberries and sandwiches he could stomach, and as the afternoon stretches longer and evening approaches he lies down on the blanket and rests his head in Derek’s lap, mirroring Penelope and Emily. His eyes flutter closed as his full belly and heat of the sun tire him out, and Derek’s fingers thread themselves through Spencer’s long hair, a light and welcome touch. 

The haze of his friends still chatting around him as he dozes comfortably is interrupted, however, when he feels a sharp pinch on his wrist and seconds later, he’s fighting for breath. He launches upright, wheezing as he claws at his chest, trying desperately to fill his lungs with enough air. 

“Spencer? Oh my God, Spencer, what’s wrong?” Penelope cries, immediately by his side as she looks him over frantically, not knowing what’s happening. 

“Derek, call an ambulance,” JJ directs, taking charge as she rushes to Spencer’s side as well. “He’s in anaphylactic shock. Spencer, listen to me, do you have your epi-pen with you?”

Her words manage to get through the panicked haze and light-headedness as he can’t get enough oxygen. He can feel his face swelling and his heart racing, but he’s still coherent enough to point to his bag. 

“He didn’t eat anything, though,” Emily says, panicked and confused as she watches her friend have a medical crisis while she’s powerless to help. 

“He’s allergic to bees,” JJ says, keeping calm as she prepares the epi-pen and administers it to Spencer’s thigh. “One must have stung him for some reason.”

“There!” Penelope points to the bee sting on Spencer’s wrist and JJ lunges for her bag, rummaging until she finds her credit card which she uses to carefully slide under the stinger and remove it, preventing any more venom from flowing into Spencer’s system.

It’s clear after a few minutes that the epi-pen hasn’t worked: Spencer still feels like he can’t catch his breath and the world is fading slowly as his heart beats out of control and his organs can’t get enough oxygen. 

He feels himself be moved gently by various hands as JJ directs the others until he’s leaning up as comfortably as possible against Derek’s chest as Penelope elevates his legs to keep blood flowing to his vital organs. 

“It’s okay, Spencer,” JJ says loudly, right in front of his face. It’s blurry and out of focus and he can feel himself losing consciousness fast. “The ambulance is on its way.” 

It’s the last thing he hears before he collapses completely as he passes out. 

⭐️

It’s dark outside when Spencer finally wakes up. His bed is warm and comfortable and he lets himself listen to the somewhat comfortable steady beeps of the heart monitor and movement of staff and patients around the ward before finally opening his eyes to scan his room. 

Derek’s sitting in an uncomfortable hospital chair right next to his bed, sketching what Spencer can only guess are plans for the property he’s just taken on, an empty jello cup balancing on the armrest of his chair. 

“Sandwiches and strawberries not fill you up?” he asks, voice croaky as he cracks an eye open. He can’t help but smile, too. He has the best boyfriend and the best friends anyone could ever hope for.

Derek’s head snaps up as he hears Spencer’s voice, setting his notebook and jello aside to grab for Spencer’s hand. “You are something else,” he chuckles. “Your first thought when coming round from a medical disaster is an observation of my eating patterns.” He shakes his head fondly. “ But you know I can’t pass up a tub of jello.”

“That’s true. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen you say no when it’s offered.”

“You’re one to talk, pretty boy.” 

They lapse into short silence, accompanied only by the quiet beeps of the machines. “Sorry I scared you,” he whispers eventually, feeling guilt wrap itself around his stomach. 

“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s not your fault.” Derek looks sincere as he holds Spencer’s hand tighter, careful of the IV in his wrist. “The doctors… they said it was a severe attack, which is probably why the first epi-pen didn’t work. They’re monitoring you overnight to make sure there was no damage to your kidneys, I think. I’ll go find a doctor to tell them you’re awake.”

He moves to get out of his seat, but Spencer pulls him back down, as well as he can when he’s still feeling weak. “No, just… don’t leave,” he asks, his voice coming out a little too pleading for his liking. “Stay.”

The idea of being alone right now twists his stomach; the idea of being without Derek so desperately scary. 

“Okay, okay, baby,” Derek relents, sitting back down and running a soothing hand through his tangled hair, Spencer’s eyes fluttering closed at the contact. “I won’t go anywhere if you don’t want me to.” Instead, he presses the button for the nurse. 

“Where are the others?” Spencer dares to ask after a few seconds of quiet. 

“The nurses weren’t too happy with four people in here,” Derek chuckles. “I’ve been updating them by text; I’ll tell them you’re awake in a minute. JJ saved your life, you know. None of us had any clue what was happening but she was the only one who kept calm and the only one who got us through those awful minutes waiting for the ambulance to show up.”

“I know,” he whispers. “I told her I was allergic to bee stings years ago. It was just an off-hand comment, it never feels like that big a deal… this is only the third time this has ever happened. I guess I don’t feel the need to bring it up.”

“Well that off-hand comment saved your life, pretty boy.” Derek squeezes his eyes closed for a second, and when he opens them the emotion written on his face is heart-wrenching. “God, I can’t believe I could’ve lost you. There were a good few minutes there when I didn’t think you were gonna make it and after… Tobias… I was just so scared.”

Spencer’s stomach clenches at that, imagining the roles reversed is terrifying just as a hypothetical. He can’t even begin to imagine how Derek felt. He reaches a hand out to touch Derek’s face gently, squeezing his hand with the other. “But you didn’t lose me,” he murmurs. “I’m here, I’m  okay.” 

“Yeah.” His voice is barely a whisper as his eyes close again. “Is it bad that I kind of want bees to go extinct now?” he asks with a wet chuckle a few moments later.

“Derek!” Spencer laughs weakly, acting scandalised. “Bees are fundamental to the global ecosystem. Civilisation would effectively collapse if bees went extinct, it’s definitely not worth eradicating bees for the sake of me avoiding the rarity of anaphylactic shock, not according to the laws of proportionality. It’s actually frightening how fast the bee population is depleting though… did you know that there are only about 2.5 million honey-producing hives left in the US? That’s down from 4.5 million in 1980 and the loss has largely been attributed to colony collapse disorder—”

“Ah, Doctor Reid, you’re awake.” A smiling nurse bustles through the door and comes to check his vitals, fiddling with one of his IVs before taking a step back. “How’s your breathing? Is the nasal cannula okay or would you prefer a full mask?”

“The cannula’s good,” he says, smiling politely. Really, he just wants to get back to telling Derek all the bee facts he can recall. He has some really good ones itching to be let out. “I’m breathing fine, just feel a little weak still.”

“Good. Your vitals all look stable, so a doctor will be round in the morning to talk you through your treatment and medication. Is that okay?” 

“That’s fine, thank you,” Spencer nods, and she gives them one last smile before leaving the room and sliding the door shut quietly behind her.

“I should bring her back in,” Derek chuckles as the nurse leaves the room. “She missed out on your bee lecture. Fascinating stuff.”

“Shut up,” Spencer huffs, sinking back against the pillows. “You don’t deserve to hear my bee facts.”

“No,” Derek protests, grinning widely. “I’m joking, baby, carry on. You were telling me about colony collapse disorder.”

Spencer knows that, of course — he does have an eidetic memory after all — but it makes him smile that Derek remembers exactly where he was in his spiel. Maybe Penelope’s onto something when she says that Derek is “whipped” for him. (It had taken at least fifteen minutes for Spencer to fully understand what she meant by that, mostly because he kept asking about the etymology, history, and statistical usage of the word and she kept rolling her eyes, which he would then insist was not an answer.)

“Colony collapse disorder is depressing,” Spencer sighs, feeling quite tired all of a sudden. “I don’t feel like explaining it.”

“It doesn’t sound great.” Derek goes back to threading his fingers through Spencer’s hair. “Why don’t you tell me your favourite three bee facts, and then you can go back to sleep”

Spencer hums, giving it a bit of thought before replying. “Scientists trained bees to score goals in bee soccer in return for a sugary treat, which is especially interesting because they have brains the size of a poppy seed. They communicate with one another by wiggling their butts. It’s like their own language, they tell their nestmates where to go to get the best food. Bees also live in loads of different places, not just in the countryside. My favourite place they live is in marshes and wetlands, because I love insects that live in watery areas.”

“I’d pay to watch bees play soccer,” Derek laughs quietly. “You’re so smart, baby, I’m so proud of you.”

Spencer sighs happily. “Love you,” he murmurs, eyes closing against the exhaustion. 

“I love you more.”

Spencer isn’t awake long enough to argue with him.

taglist: @criminalmindsvibez @strippersenseii @hotchgans @suburban--gothic @takeyourleap-of-faith 

[obxwhore]

The Night It Happened - Chapter One

Summary: It’s been two years since Ariana West, the fifth member of the Pogues vanished out of nowhere. After months of searching, they had no choice but to give up and her disappearance was left a mystery to her family and her best friends. After having the summer of their lives, the four remaining Pogues are met with shock when their missing friend stumbles into John B’s backyard, bloody and bruised. Ariana having no recollection of where she had been, and the group having very little trust with the law enforcement of Outer Banks, they rush to find out what happened to Ariana before it happens again.

Word Count: 1.7K

Warnings: Cursing, violence, mentions of kidnapping, mentions and images of abuse.

A/N: Hello! Thank you guys so much for the positive reception I’ve been getting from the prologue. I was really nervous to put my writing out there, so it really means a lot. This is the first official chapter. I’ve written and rewritten it probably around four or five times and I’m pretty happy with the end result. Let me know what you guys think! I’m still trying to figure out where I want to go with the story, but I’ll try to keep updates as consistent as possible.

 Find the prologue here: https://obxwhore.tumblr.com/post/620367150401585152/the-night-it-happened-prologue

Two Years Later; the Winter after the Treasure Hunt.

John B sat in a hammock in front of his house, watching his breath escape his mouth in clouds as it entered the cool air of a North Carolina winter. John B didn’t very much like cold weather, much preferring the feeling of crisp Atlantic waves on a hot summer day. But for some reason, he was content with the icy feeling of this year’s twilight. Perhaps it was because the cold reminded him of emptiness, the feeling that has been stalking him since he and Sarah returned from sea, gold-less. Disappointment flooded his veins every time he looked at a photo of his late father, feeling like a letdown. A failure. Drowning in the idea of what could’ve been. Regardless, the love of his best friends and his girlfriend have kept him afloat. It kept him comfortable.

The voice of his best friend JJ Maybank invaded his ears as he tuned back into the conversation currently being held between the Pogues and Sarah.

“-and when Barry had us all on the side of the road with a gun pointed at us.” JJ said, laughter evading his lips as if the near death experience was the funniest thing to ever happen to him.

“Or when John B literally drove a boat into the middle of a tropical storm.” Pope added.  

“I’m just glad we’re all okay and alive.” John B muttered, not quite in the mood for reminiscing.

“We should go on another adventure,” JJ had a devilish smirk on his face, “I haven’t felt a rush like that since school started back up.”

“Yeah, that’s probably for a good reason.” Kiara added.

“Maybe you should just focus on getting good grades. That should be an adventure all on its own.” John B joked.

“Easy for you to say, high school drop out.” JJ threw back. John B hadn’t actually dropped out, he just opted to take all of his classes online. He couldn’t bear the thought of returning to school, life being just as boring as it was before. So he didn’t. Sarah had bought him a fancy new laptop so that he could get all of his work done and for the most part, he did.

“Think about it guys,” JJ continued, “the Pogues and the Kook, back in action!”

“And what do you suggest we do now? What kind of quest do you see for us, oh wise one?” Pope retorted.

“We could run drugs.” JJ suggested bluntly.

“I think not.” Kiara stated, not amused.

“I don’t think I can afford another ‘quote-on-quote’ adventure. Ever since I was emancipated, Sheriff Shoupe has been up my ass making sure I don’t mess up.” John B added. After the murder charges against John B were dropped, he fought with CPS tooth-and-nail to stay on the island. He got a job at a surf shop and makes just enough money to stay afloat.

Rafe Cameron ended up getting charged with the murder of Sheriff Peterkin and Wade Cameron got charged with the murder of John B’s father, attempted murder on John B, and a few other charges surrounding his involvement with the murder of Peterkin. The trials for the father-and-son duo are still in progress. As a result of Wade’s arrest, no one knows if the gold ever actually made it to Nassau and John B is positive that Wade will never tell him.

“Fine,” JJ huffed, “then I guess I’ll just close my eyes and relive last summer over and over again.”

“I wish Ariana was there to enjoy it with us.” Kiara hadn’t meant to say it out loud, it just slipped. A blanket of solemnness fell over the group as they thought about their missing friend. Sarah looked down, feeling awkward at the mention of the girl that used to be a part of the group. She wished she had been able to get to know Ariana. They had met a few times, but they had never gone past surface level conversation because of the Pogues vs Kooks war. With the way the Pogues talk about her, she was sure they would’ve been great friends.

“I miss her.” JJ added, looking down as if to hide his face from his friends. Everyone agreed with him. Life after Ariana was hollow, but at the same time, they always felt her with them. No matter what they’re doing or how long it’s been, she lives in the back of their heads as a distant memory; a beacon of light when the darkness start to take over. When JJ’s dad unleashes his rage onto him, she is there in his head to tell him that everything is going to be okay. When Pope is thrown around by stray kooks during his grocery runs, she is there in his head to help him fight them off. When Kiara needs someone to talk to, Ari is there to hold her hand and listen to her vent. And finally, when John B is feeling utterly alone, Ariana is there to remind his that he’s not. That’s their friend; not present, but always there.

As the others slowly fluttered back into normal conversation, John B became a victim of his thoughts once again. His mind raced with sporadic images of his lost friend. Flashes of long brown hair, white painted nails, a breathtaking smile. The smell of strawberry shampoo raiding his nostrils as soft arms envelope him in a warm hug. Moments shared between them that he cherished more than anything in the world. His best friend.

A hand creeping onto his own shook him from his thoughts. But as he smiled reassuringly as Sarah, his girlfriend, all he could think about was the smell of strawberries.

•

•

•

Hours have gone by and the group is getting ready to say their goodbyes. The smell of burning wood is starting to give them headaches and it was getting pretty late, the moon shining bright in the sky now. JJ was staying the night at the Chateau, as he usually did. His dad sat like a stick of dynamite back at the Maybank house with JJ being the match needed to light it. Some nights, the blonde boy just couldn’t handle dealing with that. Pope wanted to stay over as well but ever since the event of summer, his dad had tightened the leash considerably. Kiara had to work early the next morning and Sarah felt like John B needed space.

Pope shot up off the hammock with a stretch, a yawn quickly following his movements. Kiara moved towards the radio softly playing music, reaching to turn it off and retire it back to the porch for the night. Unknown to the group, a girl was sluggishly making her way down John B’s street towards to Chateau. The color of crimson caked her face and body like paint on a canvas, fresh blood mixing with old. Dark bruises were polka dots on her body, shades of purple and brown swirling together to create an explosion of circles and handprints. There was dry dirt covering every inch of her body as if she had rolled in it all day.

When she made it to the front yard, she hugged her arms to her chest as the cold of the air began to really take its toll. A deep exhaustion settled on her leaving her ready to collapse, but she was determined to make it back to her friends. She had made it this far so she couldn’t stop now. She finally stumbled into the groups line of vision.

Kiara was the first one to notice. She let out a sharp, loud gasp as her hand flew to cover her mouth in shock. This brought the attention of everyone else. JJ followed her line of vision and has he reached the end, he paled to the color of paper as if he’d just seen a ghost. One-by-one, Pope, Sarah, and John B turned their heads and were greeted with the sight of their missing friend.

Tangled waist length brown hair cascaded down her shoulders, leaves and twigs stuck throughout. She was wearing a white tank top and baggy black pants, no shoes adorning her bare feet. The blood, dirt, and bruises were a plague to her body. She looked like she had literally crawled out of a cheap grave.

“Holy shit” John B took a step forward. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He and the rest of the Pogues had accepted a long time ago that Ariana was most likely dead. It had never seemed probable that she would ever come back, yet here she is.

“Holy shit!” John B repeated, louder this time, as he started to make his way towards the girl. Tears flowed freely down his face as emotions slammed through him. He thought he had lost his best friend forever, but here she was. He shrugged off his jacket, the frigid air giving him goosebumps, but he could not care less.

Once he reached her, he helped her get the jacket on. She started to become overwhelmed now, tears prickling her eyes as she felt warmth for the first time in two years. Everyone had the same feeling pooling through them at the sight of their friend: dread. The state of her being sent shivers down Kiara’s spine and JJ had to literally cover his mouth to keep down the bile that threatened to make itself known.

“What the fuck, Ari?” John B said, sobs racking his body now as he gently grabbed her hand.

“I’m sorry.” Ariana whispered, breaking her silence.

“You’re sorry?” John B questioned in disbelief. He couldn’t believe that she was apologizing for her own abduction, as if it were her fault.

“I can’t believe you’re here.” Kiara  added, bringing Ariana’s attention to everyone else once again.

As Ariana looked up at the rest of the group, the vivid emptiness swirling through her eyes hit them like a punch to the face. The once bright emerald eyes that gleamed with excitement were now dulled and clouded. The once strong, independent, free-spirited girl was now just a hollow shell of who she used to be. And as all of this dawned upon them, John B, Pope, Kiara, Sarah, and JJ all had one thought in their minds. They were going to find and kill whoever did this to their friend.

 Taglist: @thelovelydreamer17 @sunshine-27-grape-juice @starswin @minnie-mitzel

[krat395]

Tickle... or Be Tickled (Chapter 3)

Now that Frisk and Toriel are at Asgore's house, it is now possible Toriel to put her plan to tickle Asriel into effect. And by having Frisk play with Asriel in Asgore's basement for a while, Toriel is doing just that. ;) Undertale(c) Toby Fox.

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

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

****************************************** TICKLE... OR BE TICKLED!!

Chapter 3: Petting the “Enemy”

 Meanwhile… in Asgore’s basement…

 Asriel: So, Frisk, what do you wanna do for the next while?! Huh?! Huh?! What do wanna do? What do you wanna do?! *asked Asriel in an incredibly excited and energetic manner*

 Frisk: Heeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheehee!!! Azzy, what is up with you today, bro? You’re acting more… excited… than usual. Why is that?

 Asriel: It’s because this is the start of a fun-filled weekend with the most wonderful family and friends a boy like me could ask for, that’s why!

 Frisk: Heeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheehee!!! Oh, ok, that explains it. Heeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheeheehee!!!

 Asriel: So, what do you wanna do for the next while, Frisk?! You didn’t answer my question yet!

 Frisk: I’ll do you one better, Azzy. How about I show you? But in order to do that, I need you to take off your shirt and then lie down on this nice soft carpet. *Frisk cheekily replied*

 Asriel: *excited gasp* Ok!!

 As soon as Asriel positioned himself comfortably on the soft basement carpet, Frisk sat down on the carpet right next to him and began doing something that he absolutely loves.

 Asriel: *huge moan of happiness* Frisk, that feels so wonderful! Thank you! *moan*

 Frisk is PETTING ASRIEL! :D

 Frisk:  Heeheeheeheeheehee! You’re welcome, Mr. Cutie. …Now, who’s a good boy? Who’s a good boy? *teased Frisk in playful pet talk as she started playing with Asriel’s long droopy ears for a few seconds*

 Asriel: Heeheeheeheehee!! Me. I’m a good boy. *responded Asriel in an incredibly relaxed manner* Heeheeheeheeheeheeheeheehee!!

 Frisk: Yes you are. Yes you are. *teased Frisk in playful pet talk once again as she continued playing with her brother’s ears* Heeheeheeheehee!!  

 30 seconds later, Frisk moved her hands down to Asriel’s belly and began giving him a belly rub. And by doing so, she caused the young boy himself to start kicking his right leg consistently as if he were a dog. ;) And while giving Asriel a belly rub, Frisk happened to notice a spot on the right side of his belly that had significantly less fur than usual. Why this is, she has no idea and she’ll be sure to ask him about it at some point. But not right now though! Because right now, all she wants to do is continue petting him. Because she just can’t resist touching his ultra-soft silky fur. ;)

 Asriel: *moan* Aww yeeeeah, right there, Frisk. That’s the ticket. Nothing beats a good old fashioned belly rub. *moan* *soft bleats*

 Frisk: Heeheeheeheeheehee! Oh, Azzy, you are just so cute. X3 Heeheeheeheeheehee!

 One minute later…

 Frisk: *happy sigh* I know I say this a lot, Azzy; but seriously, bro, you have THE softest fur in existence! And by the way, you do realize that having such soft silky fur like this is one of the reasons why you’re so popular with little kids, don’t you?

 Asriel: *sigh* Yes, I do. *responded Asriel with a slightly annoyed tone in his voice*

 Frisk: Hey now, there’s no need for that attitude, Mister. I mean, I know you get your ears tugged on quite frequently by them and all, but you should feel pretty darn special that so many of them want hugs and nuzzles from you just simply because you’re so cute and cuddly! …And squishy too. …Squishy face! X3 *stated Frisk while squishing Asriel’s cheeks together a few times*

 Asriel: *muffled speech*

 Asriel’s having a bit of trouble talking due to Frisk squishing his cheeks together the way she currently is. So, in response, and as much as it pains Frisk to do so, she’s going to have to stop squishing his cheeks in order to hear what he’s trying to tell her. But Frisk doesn’t entirely mind though. She wanted to pet his fluffy tummy again anyway. :)

 Frisk: Oh, heeheeheeheeheehee, I’m sorry, what was that, squishy boy? Heeheeheeheeheehee!!

 Asriel: Yeah, but it’s kind of hard for me to feel special these days, Frisk. And some kids do more than just tug on my ears, you know. Why, just last Wednesday when I was at a park with Dad, a little 5-year-old girl that wanted to pet my belly put gum in my fur! And that piece of gum got stuck in there so much that I had to choice but to cut it out with a scissors! (*sigh* Man, I knew it was a bad idea to start letting little kids pet me.)

 Last Wednesday, while Frisk, Chara, and MK were being tickled by Mettaton and Blooky, Asgore and Asriel had a fun-filled day together outside of Asgore’s home. The two male boss monsters went to several places that day and one of the places they went to just happened to be a park with some kids that wanted some hugs and nuzzles from Asriel. :)

 Frisk: Huh, so that’s why there’s a spot on your belly with less fur than usual. I was wondering that was all about and I’m happy that I finally know. And was that little girl at least sorry after she did?

 Asriel: Um, not really, no. After putting gum in my fur, she just rolled on the ground right next to the bench we were sitting on… and laughed. A lot! Like it was the funniest dang thing in the world!

 Frisk: Oh, well, that’s too bad. I’m sorry to hear that, Azzy.

 Asriel: *sigh* Thanks, sis. …And it’s no problem, actually. I mean, all of the fur in that spot will grow back to its original length at some point, at least.

 Frisk: I should hope so! A completely fluffy tummy is better than a practically fluffy tummy, you know! Especially when all that fluffiness is the softest thing you will ever feel! X3

 Asriel: Haha! Oh, Frisk. Hahaha! You’re just never going to stop claiming that I have the softest fur in existence, are you?

 Frisk: But you do have the softest fur in existence, Azzy! Seriously, you do! And all the while I pet Toby last night, I literally kept thinking to myself, “Oh, Toby, why can’t your fur be as soft as Azzy’s?” And that’s saying a lot too because Toby already has some pretty soft fur! Softer than every other dog I’ve pet, anyway!

 Asriel: Wait a second; Toby visited you and Mom last night?! *asked Asriel confusedly*

 Frisk: Heeheeheehee!! He most certainly did, Mr. Cutie. Oh, and speaking of him, that reminds me! I’ve got one heck of a story to tell you!

 Asriel: You do?!

 Frisk: *nods yes excitedly*

 Asriel: Well, then by all means, go ahead and tell it. …I’m all EARS. *said Asriel while playing with his long droopy ears for a few seconds and smiling and giggling all the while he did so* Heeheeheeheeheehee!!

 With that said; Frisk began telling Asriel the story of her and Toby tickle torturing Toriel last night. And she continued doing so for roughly 15 minutes. All while continuing to lovingly pet him. And she told him everything that happened that night too; the plan she and Toby came up with three days prior to the tickle torture, tying Toriel up while she was sleeping, Toby licking Toriel’s feet with his slobbery tongue that tickles twice as much than that of other dogs’ tongues, Frisk painting an imaginary picture on Toriel’s soles with a paintbrush, Frisk and Toby punishing Toriel for preventing Undyne and Alphys from kissing in front of Frisk seven months prior to the tickle torture, making an arrangement to tickle Toriel at least once a month with help from at least one of her children, convincing Toriel that there’s nothing wrong with having big feet; etc. etc. etc.

 15 minutes later…

 Asriel: Wow, Frisk! That was such an awesome story! You and Toby sure make one heck of a team!

 Frisk: Heeheeheeheehee!! Thanks, bro.

 Asriel: Haha! No problem. …But holy heck though, even after everything you just told me, I still can’t believe you actually tied Mom to her chair like that! I mean, when Chara and I tickled her last Saturday, all Chara did was tie her legs to the footrest and tie two of her toes together. But you… you REALLY went the extra mile!

 Frisk: Heeheeheehee!! Yes, I suppose I did, didn’t I?

 Asriel: Hehe. Yeah. And it’s a good thing she was ok with you doing that too. She’s such a great mom, one that deserves all the tickles she can get! Especially on those big insanely ticklish feet of hers! And whenever Toby wants to tie her up and tickle her again, you can guarantee that I’ll be there to help you guys! *assured Asriel with a big smile on his face*

 Frisk: Heeheeheehee!! Thanks, Azzy. I just knew you wouldn’t turn something like that down.

 Asriel: Hehe. You’re welcome. …Oh, and speaking of Mom’s ticklish feet, I’m so happy to hear she’s finally come around to accepting how big they are.

 Frisk: Haha! I know, right? I’m so happy I was able to convince her! And if you want, and just as long as it’s not hurtful in any way, you can tease her about them too. *lied Frisk with a mischievous smile on her face* (Since Mom tickled you as punishment for calling her, “Bigfoot,” and for telling her that her feet are so huge you could land a plane on them, I feel that by teasing her about her feet again today, you’ll make her want to tickle you even more! Mwah ha ha!)

 Even though Toriel has learned to accept that she has large feet, she’s still not very fond of being teased about how large they are, even when the teasing is all in good fun. But Asriel doesn’t know that though and Frisk has just lied to him by telling him that Toriel won’t mind one bit if he teases her about the size of feet. All because she feels that when he does so; Toriel will want to tickle him as punishment; and all because Frisk wants to hear as much of Asriel’s adorable laughter as possible! :)

 Asriel: *gasp* Awesome! I’ll be sure to do that yet today then! *replied Asriel with an excited smile on his face*

 Frisk: Heeheeheeheehee!! Good. She’ll love it dearly, Azzy. I guarantee it. *lied Frisk once again* (Mwah ha ha!) …Ok, now that I’ve filled you in about tickling Mom last night, I’ve got another tickle story to tell you!

 Asriel: *gasp* You do?! *asked Asriel excitedly*

 Frisk: Hehe. Yeah. It’s about something that happened last Wednesday during our day off from school. But you’re gonna have to wait to hear the full version of it until later tonight though, ok? For now, I’ll give you the “CliffNotes” version.

 Asriel: Aw man, really? Why’s that? *asked Asriel a bit disappointedly*

 Frisk: Because Chara and MK want to tell the story with me, Azzy. The story involves all three of us and we all feel that it will be best to tell it to you in person.

 Asriel: Oh, ok, that makes sense. And now that I know that, I can easily wait to hear the full version until later tonight.

 Frisk: Hehe. Good. But I’m gonna warn though, there’s a strong chance that everything we tell you is going to make you SUPER jealous. Because it involves Chara and I tying up and tickle torturing MK and then all three of us being tickled by… Blooky and Mettaton! *said Frisk with a REALLY BIG smile on her face*

 Asriel: *gasp* Oh my god! Haha! I’m jealous already! I SO would’ve loved being part of that!

 Frisk: Tickle torturing MK or being tickled by Blooky and Mettaton? *asked Frisk despite knowing very well what Asriel’s response will be*

 Asriel: Both! *sigh* But I suppose I shouldn’t complain too much though, because Dad and I tickled each other every night this week… during all our rounds of “The Tickle Monster.” *replied Asriel with a giant grin on his face* Heeheeheeheeheehee!!

 Last Sunday night via video chat, Asriel told Frisk that he brought back him and his mother’s special mother-son tickle bonding a month ago. Then after that, Asriel and Chara told Frisk that they tickled Toriel last Saturday, which in turn made Frisk want to tickle Toriel herself. And then after that, Asriel told both Frisk and Chara that he brought back him and his father’s special father-son tickle bonding, which made the two girls squeal and blush with tons of delight. ;)

 Frisk: Oh yeah, that’s right! Heeheeheeheehee!! Gosh, it’s just so freaking adorable that you let our parents tickle you the exact same ways they did when you were little, Azzy!

 Asriel: Heeheeheeheeheehee!! I know, right? Heeheeheeheeheehee!! And I’m quite proud of myself that I let them do that too! Heeheeheeheeheehee!!

 Frisk: Heeheeheeheehee!! Indeed, you are! Heeheeheeheehee!!

 Then, with an evil grin on her face, Frisk kneeled over Asriel. And right before digging her fingers into his sides, she said to him,

 Frisk: And you know, since we’re talking about tickling…

 Asriel: AHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! FRIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHISK, AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, NOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO, STAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAP!!! *squeak* AAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!!! GOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO BACK TO PETTING MEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEE!!! *pleaded Asriel through his absolutely adorable laughter as he wiggled around on the floor and kicked his legs both consistently and frantically* BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAHA!!! *SNORT* GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAHA!!! *SNORT* PLEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEASE!!! *SNORT* WAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~!!!

 Frisk: Nah, tickling you is WAY MORE fun, Azzy. Because every time my fingers wiggle, squiggle, and jiggle all over your sensitive skin with very little effort, I get to hear that sweet, sweet laugh of yours that I just can’t get enough of. *cooed Frisk*

 Asriel: AHAHAAHHAHAHAHAAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! YOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOU’RE SO MEEHEEHEEHEEHEHEEHEEHEHEEHEEHEEAN!!! *said Asriel through his laughter without any actual spite* AHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! *squeak* GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! *SNORT* FWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~!!!

 Frisk: Now, Azzy, is that any way to talk to your favorite sister? *asked Frisk teasingly as she began drumming her fingers ALL OVER Asriel’s fluffy tummy* Huh? Huh, Azzy? Is that any way to talk to your favorite sister?

 Asriel’s fluffy tummy is so sensitive that just drumming your fingers against it is enough to make him burst into loud hysterical laughter that’s just too pure for this world! X3 In addition, it’s almost enough to prevent him from trying to tickle you back! Asriel may be a tough kid. But when it comes to tickle fights, Asriel has a real disadvantage due to how insanely ticklish he is. He is one of the most ticklish kids in existence if not THE most ticklish kid in existence and both of his sisters really love taking advantage of his insanely high level of ticklishness because of it! But it’s all in good fun though and the young prince himself absolutely loves it, even if it doesn’t exactly appear that way at the moment.

 Asriel: AHAHAHHAHAAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHHAHAA!!!!! WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAT ARE YOU TALKING, AHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, ABOUT?!!!!! *SNORT* AHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA!!!!! I DON’T, *SNORT* AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, I DON’T, *SNORT* AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAAHAAHHAA, I DON’T, *SNORT* AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAAHHAAHAHA, I DON’T TALK TO, *SNORT* AHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHA, CHARA LIKE THAT!!!!! *claimed Asriel both teasingly and falsely as he laughed VERY HYSTERICALLY* GAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!!!!! *SNORT* MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA~!!!!!

 Despite struggling to speak through all of his hysterical and EXTREMELY CONTAGIOUS laughter just now, Asriel somehow managed to say every word of his false claim of Chara being his favorite sister to Frisk as a means of teasing her. And even though Frisk is very well aware that Asriel actually loves both her and Chara equally, there’s a very strong chance that Asriel is going to regret saying that false claim of his to her. ;) Frisk is already a pretty devastating tickler to him enough as it is and by teasing her the way he did just now, he is literally asking for her to up her game by a large margin! And little does Asriel know; Frisk has a secret weapon. And that secret weapon of hers just so happens to be her and Asriel’s own mother, Toriel!

 Frisk: *gasp* Asriel, well, I never! *teased Frisk* Just for that, I’m gonna give you a tickle torture that you’re NEVER gonna forget!! And in a minute or so, it’s gonna get even worse!! *claimed Frisk with perhaps the most evil grin in existence*

 With that said; Frisk began blowing several raspberries over Asriel’s naval. And at the same time, she scribbled her fingers both rapidly and fiendishly ALL OVER every devastatingly ticklish inch of his underarms, sides, chest, ribs, and tummy.

 Asriel: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA HAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!! BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!! BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!! BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!! GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!! GNERIVNWUIGWOESBRHQOWBSGUIQNEFRIUBVUEINAFIUESVSJKDNDFZJKNVLIJANFH!!!!!!!!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!! AGREJINVJWISFVUNRUEPWBOIFQENWSKHVXNJVFNSJLNRWJESBRFHSERJLNVJNVJI!!!!!!!!!! BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!! BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!! BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!! AAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~!!!!!!!!!! *laughed Asriel frantically, hysterically, maniacally, and preciously all at the same time*

 Meanwhile… in the upstairs living room…

 Toriel: (*gasp of delight* I hear Asriel laughing. That’s my cue! Hee hee hee!)

TO BE CONTINUED...

[raeloganthesonic06fangirl]

For the Fanfiction Asks: 1-5 and 35-40 please!

1) How old were you when you first starting writing fanfiction?

My first fic published I published on the web was a little Teen Titans drabble thing I did when I was 15. That’s back in 2005, mind you. XD

2) What fandoms do you write for and do you have a particular favourite if you write for more than one?

I’ve mostly been a Sonic the Hedgehog fanfic writer (I had a massive AU that pretty much ran for about 8 years before being quietly put on indefinite hiatus for reasons) for the past decade, but since I’ve pretty much done about three Darkwing Duck fics in the past months and still doing so, I guess you can say that’s a good answer too.

3) Do you prefer writing OC’s or reader inserts? Explain your answer.

Really, I have more fun with untapped canonical characters that you can’t prove the most oddest headcanons for, but I do enjoy creating “background OCs”, which I use for world building. Most of them are simply there for a brief scene or act as a secondary.

Some particular favourite examples of such was Dr. Eric Thizon the Porcupine for my Sonic AU (a soft spoken timid doctor who gets stuck with the most unruly patient because he doesn’t ask too many questions about the situation that led to it), and Rick the dog and Ms. Mustela from my little Darkwing stories focusing on QuackerJack (the former is QuackerJack’s cubicle neighbor, and the latter is his therapist… Neither of whom I’ve actually really drawn so their name is the placeholders).

Also in my Sonic AU was my avatar character, “Rae”, who existed as a neighbor to housesit for any readers who were concerned about the main characters’ house during the adventure.

I also have what I refer to as “Halfsies”, which are just AU versions of preexisting obscure characters.

4) What is your favourite genre to write for?

I just like “General” fiction mostly, because it can be very flexible, but I also like to play around with “Suspense” and occasionally I can make a fairly decent “Humor” story. :P

5) If you had to choose a favourite out of all of your multi chaptered stories, which would it be and why?

Gosh, that’s so hard to decide. I’ve mostly been been pretty pleased with my stories over the years, but if I wanna be fresh, I’ll just say that currently “White Noise” (a “Supplemental Fic” for Darkwing that’s about QuackerJack and Claire) would be a good answer, because I think that’s the first multi chapter story I did in years that didn’t take very long to plan out and write. The whole thing was a spontaneous one that didn’t take much longer than a week to finish, and it was a fun one to make.

35) Do you share your story ideas with anyone else or do you keep them close to your chest?

Sometimes I post teasers. Back in high school, I used to bounce ideas off my best friend, and there was this one plot twist that I told her about almost a YEAR in advance before I implemented the idea, giving me enough to to build up the subtle foreshadow. XD

36) Can you give us a spoiler for one of your WIP’s?

That was not his ceiling.

This was not his apartment.

This was not his couch.

He didn’t even own a couch.

37) What’s the funniest story you’ve written?

Usually my “best” humor bits happen within the stories themselves regardless of the genre, but apparently the one fic I did where QuackerJack got a mild case of the flu made a good amount of people laugh with its absurd chain of events and the stinger at the end. I did intend it to be a lighthearted take on the “sick day” trope, so I guess I succeeded. XD

38) If you could collab with any other writer on here, who would it be? (Perhaps this question will inspire some collabs!) If you’re shy, don’t tag the blog, just name it.

I’ve only really fic collaborated a few times over the years, but the thing is is that I’m either too fast on my part, or you can really, REALLY see what parts I did because I’m just a bit odd in my style.

Also, I have a bit of a low opinion of my own writing, so I end up spending the whole collaboration writing period fretting that I’ve either bungled the whole thing, or that I haven’t been up to snuff. ^^;

39) Do you prefer first, second or third person?

Third. It lets the narrative be observant, as well as I can kinda snark in a meta sense in the writing. Generally, the narrative is written in my own speaking style, so if you’ve read my Darkwing fics, you may have noticed the consistent referral of the “dingle-dangles” of QuackerJack’s hat, because I don’t know what those things the bells hang off of are called technically and I refer to those as dingle-dangles. Regardless of the severity of the scene.

It’s dingle-dangles.

40) Do people know you write fanfiction?

Yes. In fact, I submitted a print out of some of my early Sonic ones for my Senior Portfolio in High School (a mandatory presentation you have to make to be considered to be able to graduate), as part of the “Creative Writing” back in 2008.

[junker-town]

20020: Questions and answers

The world of 20020 is a very strange one, and people are right to have questions. Jon answers some of them here.

I don’t know if I’ve ever had more fun working on a project than I did with 20020. It was a long time in the making, as was this website, Secret Base. We intend this to be a place where we tell stories, whether they happened last night, a hundred years ago, 18,000 years from now, or some nightmarish video game realm that exists outside of time. In that sense, 20020 doesn’t define this place. Secret Base is the place where something like 20020 can actually live. I don’t want to get too overdramatic; Secret Base is a website where me and a bunch of of other jerks make shit we hope you’ll like. It’s a place I love nonetheless.

I started planning 20020 about three years ago, and I wanted to make sure I wasn’t just writing a sequel to 17776 for its own sake. This time I wanted to piece together a single, cohesive story, rather than a series of loose vignettes. I also wanted to explore certain themes more specifically. What happens to the concept of time if time becomes infinite? What defines a “good game,” and can it be laid out completely by accident? Who are Americans – specifically, these Americans, us? What the Hell is this place, and what was it? What would we do with ourselves if we actually got everything we wanted?

I tried to make something bigger and better than 17776, rather than just bolting on another installment. Personally, I feel like I did, but ultimately, those of you who have read it can be the judge of that. At any rate, thank you so much for reading. I know it was a big ask of you – not only is it roughly as long as a book, it’s a mashup of two things that typically don’t go together. A lot of you came in with zero interest in American football, and a lot of you came in without any particular inclination to read a work of science fiction where humankind never explored space because it was too boring.

A couple of people deserve an extra-special thanks here. Graham MacAree edited the piece from start to finish, and help me close as many logical loopholes as we could, picking out every time a player broke a rule, or one rule was inconsistent with another rule. Throughout the whole process, Graham was totally bought in, and was always in favor of making it more weird over less weird.

Meanwhile, Frank Bi engineered the entire thing so it could actually exist on the Internet. I’m still amazed that some of these pages weigh upwards of 50 megabytes, and yet they scroll completely smoothly without glitching out and slowing down. Frank also built an app on the back end that allowed us to easily format things like dialogue.

Anyway. Earlier this week, I solicited any questions you might have had about 20020 – why I made it, how I made it, how the game works, or literally anything else about it. I received a few hundred of those, and while I couldn’t get to all of them, I’ve answered as many as I could. Thanks so much for sending them in.

* * *

I haven’t read it yet - is it good?

– Anonymous

yeah

20020 feels a lot lighter than 17776. Why did you decide to go with that tone?

– hali

It’s interesting to me that it struck that tone with you, and I’m actually glad it did, because at some points the story actually felt slightly darker to me than 17776 did. I had a couple of priorities this time around.

The first was to continue to avoid what I hopefully avoided in 17776, which was writing some kind of morality play. I am tired of reading stories and watching shows that are trying to teach me some kind of lesson. I’m a grown adult! You’re a television, I don’t want to learn concepts like “right and wrong” from you! Fuck off, loser!

Instead, I mean 17776 and 20020 as open-ended explorations of themes and concepts. It’s so great to see people walk away from them with different ideas. Some people see this post-scarcity eternal playpen as Heaven, some see it as a completely nightmarish existence, and some see it as a sometimes-promising, sometimes-unsettling in-between. Far be it from me to call it one way or the other.

when designing The Bowl Game, how bogged down did you get in rules/technicalities? a game of this scale seems so hard to effectively govern, and many readers seemed to get stuck on rules technicalities that didn’t affect the plot much. i guess a better way to phrase this question is: did you develop the rules of the game first and then write a plot around them, or did the rules emerge naturally as you wrote?

– Victoria (@dirtbagqueer)

This was by far the toughest part of the whole thing. The field itself actually inspired the entire story.

Early in 2018, a few months after finishing 17776, I had a little bit of time in between major projects, and that’s when I started drawing up the fields. The geometry and weird aesthetic of it fascinated me. At the same time, I had absolutely no fucking idea what to do with it. I wanted it to make some sort of sense somehow. I wanted to design actual good, solid gameplay within it, but I just could not figure out how to do it. Over the course of two years, I would occasionally open it up and stare at it, practically begging for some kind of solution to present itself.

It never did, and my stupid ass finally got the point: this thing is a tribute to chaotic, senseless institutions. It’s a monument of the absolute nonsense that spews forth from ostensibly rational architecture. Like, imagine the most grating, insulting, senseless corporate drivel you’ve ever heard. To me, this that in the form of a football field.

It all clicked from there. Who would come up with such a bewildering and obnoxious thing? Obviously, Juice would. He’s amused by the literal interpretations of things and he delights in inanity and chaos. I needed Ten to hibernate, because she loves well-considered, intelligent gameplay, and she would have shot him down at every opportunity.

From there, I just wrote the rules in accordance with what I felt would be the most interesting story. After looking at San Diego State’s sad little field, I realized I wanted them to star in the A-plot, and I’ll admit to writing some of the rules in service of their story.

Chapter 4’s Georgia Quarterback is introduced to us by screaming into a phone for a pizza that never gets to him. It’s the funniest thing I’ve read in a long time and I have to know, was there something or some things that inspired it?

– @Kay_N_B

That guy’s ripped straight out of real life. I used to work at a call center doing tech support for an Internet service provider. Legend has it that if you simply yell REPRESENTATIVE or SUPERVISOR to an automated system enough times, it will get you off hold and talking to someone more quickly. This was definitely not true, but it didn’t stop people from trying.

On one occasion, I picked up the phone to a woman yelling SUPERVISOR! SUPERVISOR! SUPERVISOR! SUPERVISOR! over and over and over. She was yelling it so loud that she couldn’t hear me. Or, more likely, she was just holding the receiver to her mouth without actually holding the speaker to her ear. At any rate, I just could not get through to her. After about two minutes of that, I hung up. Sometimes I wonder how much longer she sat there yelling like that.

Is Lori from the Illinois chess chapter the same Lori who talked to the Durabos in the Koy Detmer chapter in 17776?

– Ale

She is! Not for any particular reason, other than that I liked the idea of bringing someone back. She’s named after my fourth-grade teacher and ninth-grade science teacher.

Why do trains still run on diesel fuel and how does this not affect the climate/environment?

– Vince

In this universe, humans have learned how to perfectly synthesize fossil fuels that are environmentally harmless. (That’s why I was fine with Nick just carelessly pouring gallons of diesel fuel on the ground while he was fueling the train.) In my optimistic view of the real-life future, I’m sure we’ll opt to solar power or some other environmentally benign solution, but these peoples’ insistence on fossil fuels reflects what does and doesn’t change about you if you live for thousands of years. If there are no coming generations to prod you along and find solutions of their own, how much would we really be compelled to change?

That’s a foundational theory of this story, however right or wrong: change happens generationally far more than it does internally. Once we grow up, the cake’s baked. With no generations to come, there are no more agents of change, and we’re the same old slobs. I’m going to want to smell gasoline when I mow the lawn.

What would happen if a team relocated its stadium? Or repainted the field within their existing stadium at a slight angle?

– Dave

Another fundamental theme of this story is that humanity, or at least America, is very, very preservationist. Architecturally, very little has changed, because there’s a sense that if things change, they’ll never truly get back what they once had. Whether or not that’s healthy is entirely up for debate.

Someone in the 20020 thread (apologies, can’t find the comment and don’t remember who it was!) had the idea of one school building an apparatus underneath their field that would allow it to rotate. This would be both fascinating and an absolute nightmare to calculate/write, but I loved that.

How did you create the animations and videos and such with Google Earth?

– @xyleb_

Google Earth allows you to import image overlays and slap them over the terrain. It took me a long time to figure out how to get 111 image files to stretch all across the country without the frame rate slowing to like three frames per second. In the end, it was a matter of making the field image files just about as small as possible (20x1 pixels) and stretching them from coast to coast. Given that Google Earth was never intended to do anything like this, I’m kind of stunned by how well it worked.

How do you choose the names for the players? Are they based off people you know or do you just make up names you think sound cool?

– Arp1033

When it comes to naming characters, my biggest screwup was naming the Georgia Tech quarterback Connor O’Malley. Conner is a very, very college football quarterback name, so I just bullshitted a last name that I thought would fit. Not only is Connor O’Malley an actual public figure, he’s actually a guy I’m a fan of and have been aware of for some time, and yet I somehow never connected those dots until a reader pointed it out.

I tried to give lot of consideration to the naming of characters. Since I prioritized representation, I did want to signal that certain characters were Black, or Hispanic, or Asian. Sometimes this was because I felt it was essential to their character, and sometimes it was just for the sake of representation.

In a couple of circumstances, such as the UAB Steamroller poster in which I named literally 125 characters, I partially relied on name generators. Even with those, you have to be careful. At first, I used one that allowed you to generate names that are traditionally women’s names, or more typically Black names, or Asian names. So I was like, all right, give me 50 women’s names, and it returned a bunch of names like Heather and Sally and et cetera. Yes, of course there are Black women named Sally and Asian women named Heather, but if they all have such names, that doesn’t feel entirely representative. So I requested 20 typically Black women’s names, and like six of them were Keisha. All right, cool, thanks! In that case and a few others, I just ditched name generators entirely and took first names from people I’ve known personally.

If I recall correctly, in the 17776 q+a, you talked about Nines identity a little bit and how you wanted to include an NB character in your stories. In this story, is Nine using they/them pronouns a decision they have made to identify as NB?

– Anonymous

Yep, Nine is non-binary. In 17776, Nine was non-binary simply by virtue of only having been conscious for a few days and not even having the time to examine or consider it. But now it’s been a while, and they actively identify as NB.

do you plan on bringing back any other space probes, like hubble in ‘76?

– scotty

Yes! I’ll spill the beans on that now. Hubble was originally going to appear in 20020, but there was just too much other stuff to get to. He’ll be seen in 20021.

how do you manage to find the “non-dull” part of each of the stories you write? like how do you find the newspaper clippings, names, etc?

– Carter Briggs (@carter1137)

Before I started writing, I spent two whole months just scrolling across every single field. If I hit a town, a lake, a mountain, or even a road with a weird name, I’d stop and search the newspaper archives to see if I could find anything interesting. This was definitely a test of Nancy’s sentiment in 17776 that you can’t walk ten feet in American without running into a story.

Technically speaking, it turns out that this is more or less true, but the vast majority of these stories are UNBELIEVABLY FUCKING BORING. As far as a lot of town are concerned, if anything interesting ever happened there, it sure as Hell didn’t make the papers. I’d say a good 10 percent of old newspapers are just, “Mrs. Hubbard took a trip here to visit her sons.” Just a 19th-century proto-Facebook check-in app. But one time out of a hundred, I’d find out about the James gang’s forgotten stash, or the Stannard Rock Lighthouse, or the escapes of Eugene Jennings, and it was all worth it.

I feel really, really gratified by those. I’m not so sure anyone has explored American history the way I did – by literally drawing lines across it and following those lines. It’s a very silly, stupid way to do it, but if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have found some of these things that would otherwise have been lost to history.

What do the probe’s voices sound like over the phone? Synthesized? Uncannily human? Like a Siri kind of thing?

– Anonymous

They sound human, yeah. How exactly they sound, I can’t say, but I can kinda hear Juice. Despite being French, I hear him as a fast-talking, hyper-charismatic, high-energy Southern dude, like some guys I grew up around. Think some weird amalgamation that’s reminiscent of Matthew McConaughey and Chris Tucker.

what is the answer to nines postscript(what happens when a ball is on a intersection)

– Anonymous

So when a ball is on Field A, and it crosses Field B at an intersection, the scoreboard doesn’t change. It still belongs to Field A, and only transfers to Field B if the player makes a turn.

What do video games look like in the year 20020? Do they still make new games or do they just kind of permanently update the old ones, like an MMO or something?

– Ben

This is not necessarily canon, and is just my real-world feeling on the matter seeping out: the real frontiers in gaming aren’t about graphics or technical ability or anything like that, they’re about creativity and art. Like, Breath of the Wild? That plays at 720p on my Switch, and while it’s artistically breathtaking, I think that strictly from a technical perspective, it could have been made 10 or 15 years ago. And yet it’s probably the greatest video game ever made.

Was there always an intention to do multiple parts (17776, 20020, 20021), or did that evolve as you wrote? What does the idea generation stage look like for a story as massive and out there as this one?

– @stxnmxn

When I finished 17776, I knew I wanted to write a sequel at some point, but didn’t always imagine it in two parts. As recently as this summer, I’d planned on writing it all at once before Graham and I decided to break it up. I’d just found too much stuff to condense it into one thing.

Did you have fun writing it?

– benfrosh

yeah

ballground & ballplay — how did you think to link them to this story? were you looking for them? when did you make the connection to the fields?

– @heysihui

That was an unbelievable coincidence! Clemson’s field just ran across both of them. I knew for sure I wanted to talk some about indigenous peoples, and I’ve long been fascinated with the seemingly far-flung concept of replacing war with sports. It was just the perfect opportunity.

I loved how in 20020 there are so many smaller stories being retold, some of which even affect the larger story. Of all the places big and small visited over the course of 20020, which location had your favorite historical event? I think mine was the 1910 Emory Gap runaway train.

– @jj_jjjjj_jjjjjj

The story of Eugene Jennings takes it for me. I was so profoundly touched by the story of a guy who had an incredible gift for escaping. He wasn’t an evil person, he was just born into a world he wasn’t compatible with. I think lots and lots of people like him have lived and died, and I hope we don’t forget them. You can barely find anything about Jennings on the Internet; his story could only be found in old newspapers. I’m honored I got to tell his story. I sure as Hell won’t ever forget him.

first of all, thanks for making an explicitly lgbt couple, one where the romance is directly shown, part of your main cast for 20020. did you really give much thought to it, or was it a decision that felt natural?

– jijo, @optikalcrow

Part of the reason I wrote 17776 in the first place was to take football, which I view to be this spectacular, fascinating thing, and imagine a world where it’s opened up to every single type of person. A long while back, a friend and I were talking about football. He’s gay, and he supposed that while football seemed like the sort of thing he’d like, he never got into it growing up because he “never got the invite.”

So I did that as a means of sending an invite. More generally, I really liked the idea of making a gay couple the main characters because I almost never see that anywhere, and if I do, it’s probably a story about them being gay.

As I did last time, I wanted to represent people completely matter-of-factly. I don’t delve into the experience of being gay, because I don’t have valuable perspective to offer there, but I did want to establish Nick and Manny as fleshed-out, imperfect, warts-and-all human beings. Sometimes they argue, sometimes they make a bad call, sometimes they say stupid things, and sometimes they’re unsure of themselves, just like everybody else.

who is your favorite character to write for?

– @mwuffie

It was a lot of fun writing Nick and Manny’s pointless arguments. Mimi was great too, since she was inspired by a few people who are very close to me. But Bryce, the new Troy recruit from Chapter 10, might be my favorite.

I grew up around so many guys exactly like Bryce. A young guy who’s not sad, really, just mopey. He’s an asshole in a mostly benign way. He seems to want to do nothing but just sit in a parking lot smoking menthols and leaning against his Nissan, and mumble something about wanting to challenge someone to a street race but never, ever actually doing it. He doesn’t seem to actually like or dislike or want anything. You have absolutely no clue what makes him tick or what ever motivates him to do anything, or whether he likes you. He’s just kinda there, but you get the sense that he’s perfectly content. He fucking rules.

I also enjoyed hate-writing Chess Guy. I never bothered to give him a name because he didn’t deserve one. When Graham first read that chapter, the first thing he told me was, “I fucking hate chess guy.” Mission accomplished.

juice mentions in ch 7 that he worked with indigenous tribes to get permission for fields/players to cross native land (which, of course, all of america is native land). some tribes said no — are these tribal lands OOB and/or handled in the rules?

– lily b.

Yep, for the indigenous peoples who did not grant permission, those portions of the field are out of bounds. Some also have special conditions – for instance, a limit on how many players can be on the field at the same time. These changes aren’t reflected visually on the map for two reasons: first, I couldn’t quite figure out how to do it from a technical sense, and second, I didn’t think it was particularly important or appropriate for me to guess which tribes would and wouldn’t grant permission.

Why hasn’t technology really developed that much? Besides the nanobots, there really isn’t anything else. They still watch/follow games through normal tv’s/radios. Just wondering how boring this must be for anyone not involved in the football games.

– permian triassic extinction event

I think old people just like what they like and don’t need much more, and these are the oldest people in history. Just like folks from decades ago were perfectly fine with their three TV channels and crossword puzzle, I think we’d be okay with an eternity of, I don’t know, online gaming.

Not to be a downer but at times I felt almost guilty about this future with nothing left that needs to be done while we live in this society that’s a total hell-hole for so many. Did you have any feelings like that while writing? Is there a message here linking our harsh reality with the immortal 20020 world that went over my head?

– Anonymous

These times are full of struggle and defeat. The thing I want most and believe in most for this country and this world are things I might never get to see for myself. But god damn it, I will imagine them. It’s practice for the real thing. I believe that one day we’ll actually have the world we want, and we’d better have a plan when that day comes. What are we gonna do with it?

Is it pronounced 20020 or 20020

– Mylograms

20020, yeah.

Any other questions? Graham and I will be hanging out in the comments sections for a while, so feel free to yell at us down there.

[gamergirlsexperience-blog]

In a survey of 270k gamers (biased towards non-”casual” gamers) that had approximately 18% female responders, game analytics company Quantric Foundry harvested genre-specific data. Their analysis of this breakdown by gender was an interesting read, though general genre breakdowns weren’t super surprising to me. For me, the biggest takeaway was the high variance in proportion of female players that can occur even within a genre, as the report highlights by drawing attention to high- and low-outliers. Why do some titles manage to attract a greater portion of female players than others within the same genre? Or, the opposite? And what were some responses from readers of the report? (Yes, I will be digging into the comment section.)

World of Warcraft as an Outlier

In light of class readings and discussions, one finding stands out: with respect to genre (high-fantasy MMO), a relatively low proportion of players who listed WoW as a favorite game were female. It was a low-outlier in its genre, but I wonder what that proportion would have looked like in the earlier days of the game; WoW has been around for a while, and perhaps the players who have invested for the long term are less likely to be female, perhaps because they have fewer friends who still play? Is it the community experience, or the game content itself?

GK found an article on the personal experiences of some female WoW players, and while I won’t discuss it in depth here, something that stuck out to me was the way that one of the players casually dismissed some of the harassment and attention she received as part of gamer culture (thus not WoW-specific) and easy to ignore. Another player noted how she was harassed by someone who kept creating new characters each time she blocked him, before WoW eventually allowed account-based blocks rather than character-based ones. Perhaps WoW has a certain reputation from those earlier “Wild West” days when there were fewer options for a player to defend herself against harassment, which newer games in the genre don’t have? Moreover, I suspect that the demand for “proof” may occur more frequently in WoW (being the a classic gamer’s game) than some other fantasy MMOs, especially ones with more cute/fairytale environments. (Note that the article linked to in this paragraph actually threw in a different breakdown for the number of female players, but didn’t have any information on how analytics company Newzoo came up with that stat, unlike the QF data.)

While it may be hard to isolate reasons for the differences in the demographics of games such as those discussed in the report, but the high variation within genres should at least send the message that game devs should not assume that just because they’re making a game of a particular genre, they know what the demographics will ultimately be.

The Comment Section

Also worthy of note was the comment section of this article. (Wooooo internet comments! On videogames! Gonna be fun.)

There were a lot of questions about the data and genuine curiosity from the commenters, which was refreshing to see (perhaps because this was not a commonly-trolled section of the internet). There were also some outpourings of gratitude and self-reflection from female gamers who were glad to see some data out there supporting their existence as a gaming demographic, for example, Angela wrote:

Hi Nick! I’ve been following your work for a long time now, and just wanted to pop in and say thanks for this. I’ve been a gamer for a long time, and got so used to being called “he” and “him,” or getting asked, “Are you a girl for real?” that I had a standard set of go-to responses. I was also a game store manager for a time, years ago, and I could probably have retired if I had a dollar for every time someone walked in, looked around for a male employee, and then settled on me with “You probably don’t know anything about this, but…” Lol. So as you might imagine, promoting the fact that women play games is a cause dear to my heart, and I appreciate you getting the proof out there (as well as just finding the studies fascinating). Thanks! :)

Meanwhile, some commenters still seemed to want to emphasize how serious gaming was still the realm of men, and not silly mobile games; perhaps women answered the survey but did not actually spend as much time gaming as the men, or investing in their hobby, as jeff seemed to want to say:

Very interesting! I just did a little googling about the percentage of female gamers, and there is a lot out there saying females are about 50%. This seems really hard to believe somehow – my impression from being in game shops, gaming forums, pc forums, etc, etc. is that males heavily outweigh females in serious gaming interest. What do your studies show, in terms of hours spent actually gaming, about the male/female split for PC /console gamers? Not talking about cell phone nonsense. ;)

**sigh** It’s not apparent whether he actually read the report, but it certainly seems like jeff thinks that the small proportion of women in public game-related spaces means they do not actually spend the time playing the games they claim to play. There is a lot of interesting stuff out there about “neutral” public spaces being male-dominated (e.g. open forums to discuss X), but we’ll save that for another day. We’ll also save the discussion about the “seriousness” of games and how that concept fits into gender issues.

Some commenters speculated on underlying causes for trends and outliers in the data. Some of the female gamers who read the report noted how the data fit in with their own experiences. A female gamer who identified herself as Panilla wrote:

Honestly, one of my biggest factors is character customization so I have the choice to play as a female. So even though Saints Row has just an okay story line, I love that I can make whatever character I want. There are also some games that I just can’t get into because the protagonist is overly macho...

Adi, another female gamer, notes:

BioWare is my favorite company for a reason, they care about their female players and it really shows in their games. It makes their games a lot more approachable, since they don’t “scare” women away with hypersexualisation (something that really bothered me when I was younger, though I’ve become desensitized with time) and always allow you to play as a female.

Both of these comments suggest that even for third-person games, the extent to which players can identify with the protagonist may matter for some players. Male characters, particularly macho and/or misogynistic male characters, may be harder for women to identify with than for men, typically. On the flip side, hypersexualized female characters may also be hard to identify with, since they don’t read as much like genuine people and instead read as flat and possibly aversive stereotypes (since the players may be trying to avoid being perceived as those stereotypes in real life). Nick Yee, the report author, also showed up in the comments section and noted that part of the low proportion in sports games may be that sports games feature almost exclusively male teams/players.

Perhaps protagonist identification issues are part of the high variance within genre that we see.

The commenter Panilla also notes:

I thought I hated shooters until my fiance and I tried out PS Now. I actually really liked shooters, I just hate the multiplayer aspect. I’d rather play by myself so I don’t feel like I’m a “bad girl gamer” if I don’t measure up, and can get better on my own.

I can totally relate to that “bad girl gamer” anxiety! Especially since in a few short months I’m going to have to answer the “What do you do?” question with “I’m a game dev.” Competition can be incredibly intimidating to female gamers, especially if they don’t have a lot of friends to play with for multiplayer. Stereotype threat certainly factors in — subconsciously or even consciously, you don’t want to be responsible for making people think women suck at gaming. Panilla’s use of quotes around “bad girl gamer” show that the idea of being judged not as an individual but as an identity is part of what deters her from multiplayer gaming. When a certain type of gaming becomes a source of social stress, no wonder people shy away from it. (This goes back to jeff’s comment about the lack of visibility of women in public game spaces, like game shops, online forums, etc. -- there will be people who will judge you and your entire gender if they know you’re a woman, but in the online semi-anonymous spaces at least they’ll assume you’re male if you don’t call attention to your gender.)

To wrap up, I’ll mention that the funniest comment came from matriarchal minesweeper in response to a comment from patriarchal landmine. The latter seemed to have not read the report, IMO; they claimed to want to know how much money women spent on games vs. men (another way of questioning whether women are “serious” gamers) to challenge why the game industry should cater more to them at the expense of men, also noting that it didn’t seem like there were any women using videogames for emotional self-care; the former trolled back:

i feel similarly

without hard verifiable scientific evidence that women enjoy video games we should refuse to acknowledge that women play video games oh wait this is a study that illustrates evidence on the proportion of women who play certain video games by genre

and i definitely agree that we should assume women don’t use video games as a form of escapism and only use them as political tools to steal fun from men’s lives and that considering that women might be part of your audience is equivalent to pandering

oh wait hold on no i don’t actually believe those things

Thank you, matriarchal minesweeper, for your service.

–JK