SkaeaDaimonion

Based on the results from yesterday's poll, it seems almost all of you guys are eager to see what I've got cooking for upcoming literary content. To this end, I've decided to take the same approach that my friend and fellow tickle-writer Crowns-and-Quills has done, and post a journal with excerpts from various fics I have planned - some of these excerpts were literally written on the spot just for this journal, while others were already written before, but these ideas will all be made into full stories in the future. I don't know whether I'll be able to get to all of them this year, especially due to my IRL schedule, but I'm committed to every single one of them now and am definitely going to be finishing up all of these stories eventually, though trades, collabs with other writers, and commissions and Patreon rewards especially will still be a priority for me and it may take a while to get to the solo writing projects. Regardless, I hope you enjoy these little teasers for what I have in mind, and please look forward to the full stories for them all in the coming months!

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Powered Down (*/F)

"So, this is the infamous Tentacle Devil, huh?" the red-horned fiend said to herself, regarding the amphibious mass of wriggling shapes making its way down the street below. "Doesn't look like much to me. I bet one good whack'll make it pop like a great big juice bag!"

According to the Public Safety records, the Tentacle Devil was a slimy, primarily water-dwelling creature that sometimes came onto land to hunt. Its nature was a malleable one, but its most clearly defined feature was, naturally, its plethora of boneless, flexible appendages, used primarily to haul itself along the beds of rivers, lakes, and the sea, pushing and pulling debris out of its way and probing around in search of sustenance. When out of its element, Makima had warned her, it appeared slow, blind, and awkward, but make no mistake - the fact that so many people regarded tentacles with fear and revulsion, this was a devil that could easily take apart even a fiend such as her if it were so inclined.

Still, Power was nothing if not confident. She'd killed far more dangerous devils than this before breakfast, and from this distance, it seemed like such a pathetic-looking creature wasn't much of a danger to anything beyond a regular person. Even a lone devil hunter would have no trouble against it, wouldn't they?

Her muscles tensed and a toothy grin of anticipation upon her face, Power summoned her blood hammer, preparing to play a fun little game of whack-a-mole with the creature's many limbs. It seemed that nothing about this monster could seriously injure her, let alone kill her. For all she knew, she had this in the bag.

"Besides," she said to herself, "it's just a bunch of boneless meat-ropes. How hard could it be?"

With that, the Blood Fiend launched herself over the railing and off the balcony, spinning through the air with the intent of driving her hammer down upon her target with devastating force.

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Making a Mental Note (F/F)

Nobara Kugisaki, grade 3 jujutsu sorcerer at Tokyo Jujutsu High and student of Satoru Gojo, was bored out of her skull.

It had been a while since she'd had to be dispatched to deal with anything serious, and the last few cursed spirits she'd had to deal with had been so easy to defeat that it had almost been a formality. Given that Yuji and Megumi were the ones that Gojo had picked more often to go up against the tougher, bigger-name cases, Nobara was starting to think that she'd been getting sidelined lately, to no end of annoyance on the brunette's part.

She'd have to have a word with Gojo next time she saw him. But for now, she'd been left to her own devices back at the girls' dormitory, not really able to do anything but wait until the boys' return.

That sense of irritation was going to be the death of her, she thought to herself as she reclined on the sofa in the main room. All that pent-up frustration inside her was bound to make her stir-crazy and likely to do something she'd regret when she inevitably confronted the rest about the whole matter. Was there any way to take her troubled mind off of things? Perhaps there was, but she just hadn't heard of it yet, nor had she really cared lately to look into the subject.

One thing she did know, though: Her feet were tired. Very, very tired. Why else had she taken their wear off and propped them up on the coffee table?

Idly inspecting her slender size eights, Nobara had noted to herself, no doubt in a bid to keep herself distracted from the tumultuous thoughts that had worn on her patience all day, that she hadn't really gotten a good look at her own feet until now, but come to think of it, her long toes and the deceptively delicate curvature of her insteps had a certain allure to them that she hadn't recognized until now. Her nails were unpolished but well-trimmed, her toe tips forming a rounded, gentle arch from the inner side to the outer.

It was these surprisingly elegant feet that she'd been airing out for the past ten minutes now, her toes wiggling idly as she inwardly struggled not to completely lose control.

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A Fun-Raising Fundraiser For This Wonderful Party! (FM*/F)

Darkness had to admit: this was torture, even for her. The goat's tongue licking at one foot in tandem with the brush re-applying the sugary solution to the other drove her absolutely crazy, and she had a feeling it would only get even worse once the inevitable switch-up occurred. "YAHAHAHAHAHA! I KNOW I SAID I H-HAHAHATED THIS, BUT WHAHAHY AM I B-BEING AROHOHOUSED FROM IHIHIT?! HOHOHOW IS THAT EVEN PHOHOHOHOHOSIBLE?!"

"Don't worry about it, Darkness, you're doing great!" Kazuma encouraged, taking the time to admire the sizable pile of eris the funding pot now contained. "Look at how much money we've made since this morning!"

"Can you at least save some of it for when we reach the next liquor shop, Kazuma?" Aqua asked with a pleading expression.

"AQUA! We’re NOT doing that!" the party leader snapped at her, making her whine petulantly. "This is IMPORTANT money!"

"AHAHAHAHAT LEHEHEHEAST LET M-ME H-HAHAHAHAVE A BREAK EVERY HOUR!" the paladin squealed, struggling not to pass out from lack of air. "PELEHEHEASE! EHEHEHEHE NOOOOHOHO! I CAN'T - HHHH - I CAN'T BREHEHEHEATHE!"

"Oh, we'll make sure you survive, don't worry." Megumine clutched her staff with a malicious grin. "If anyone tries to mess with you while you're catching your breath, I can promise you there will be an Explosion with their name on it!"

"MEGUMIN!!!" Kazuma shouted in understandable indignance.

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A Gentlemanly Competition (M/M, FF/MM)

He never noticed when Bede got a devilish smirk on his face, or when he crept up to sit behind Avery's bare feet with the toes pointed forward. Only when he felt a single index fingernail wiggling into the exact center of each taut, deep arch did he finally realize the other boy was still there.

"What th-HE-HEY! Ehehehe! You brahat! What are you dohoing bahack there?!"

Avery kicked one foot half-heartedly at Bede but stumbled a bit because of it. He frowned at the little humiliation before realization dawned on him.

"Trying to disrupt my training hmm? That worried about me being a stronger trainer that you've got stoop that low? Childs games won't distract me brat so beat it before I do a real Outrage!"

Bede's gave an evil smile a Sharpedo would be proud of. "Childish games and distractions, huh? I thought the whole point of training here was to succeed under Pressure..."

Before Avery could respond, the other boy had started walking two fingers up and down each of his stretched soles, wondering how long it'd be and how hard he could go before his victim finally gave out.

"Of course, it's only fitting that I put a smile on your face, hmm? You are, after all, someone's reason to smile. Mine, specifically. Because you're a joke. A very, very, very ticklish joke~"

Would that Bede could see the Mean Look that Avery was giving him. Not that on much anyone it would cause Intimidate but more so because the Snarl that had just been to escape his lips was now replaced with a giggly Growl.

"Fuhuhnny to hear from Chair Man Rohose's little lap pet about whoho should be laughing. My bohoy some of us aren't born with the Silver Spoohoon and so we have to woohork for a Gohold Standard!"

Avery's wordplay belied just how much Bede's fingers did tickle all along his soles. The boy's nails had the kind of manicure that only the wealthy could afford but his poor upbringing meant that he knew the exact spots on Avery's soles to poke. Would that the older boy could give him a good Double Kick to the jaw like he desired. It was taking all of Avery's Focus Enrgy to keep from openly weeping at his fingers down there.

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Gotta Get That Badge! Snowboarder On Ice! (*/M)

His blue eyes widened as he realized his predicament. The block of packed snow had encased his lower body quite firmly, leaving him unable to move; his legs propped forward and his knees bent, his lower legs were protruding just far enough that his boots were untouched. On top of this, his arms had been blown behind his back by the gale-force wind, leaving his hands stuck to the ice as well. As such, not only was Grusha unable to move from the waist down, but for all intents and purposes, his upper body was restrained as well.

"Well, that was unexpected..." he murmured, finding it in himself to stay calm even while caught up in this new turn of events. "But just because of this mishap doesn't mean I can't turn this around!"

The opposing Frosmoth used Bug Buzz!

Flamigo used Wing Attack!

Not using a super-effective attack against your Flamigo would prove to be a mistake on Grusha's part, though in his defense, had the pink wading bird used Copycat once again, Bug Buzz would've been a relatively safer option should he be caught in the crossfire - especially now that he was good as trapped. Flamigo resisted the hit, however, and as it swooped towards the white moth with blistering speed, it rolled sideways with one of its wings outstretched to clothesline the Bug-type with punishing force.

"Frosmoth, no!" Grusha shouted, but it was too late.

It's super-effective! The opposing Frosmoth fainted!

The stunned lepidopteran flew right past Grusha's head, barely missing his ear and causing the ends of his red-and-blue scarf to billow around his neck for a moment. There was a loud thud as it smashed into the wall behind him, before it slid unconscious to the floor. Flamigo, for its part, landed in front of his booted feet, standing on one leg and warbling skyward with its wings outstretched as you pumped your fist in triumph behind it.

"I... I really should lead with a stronger Pokémon next time," Grusha mused to himself as he looked helplessly behind him towards his prone partner. "Regardless, good work, Frosmoth! Don't worry, I'll recall you as soon as I get out of-?!"

You weren't sure what led the Flamigo to do so, but for whatever reason, it had started pecking at one of his dark blue boots, still sticking out of the ice. Grusha's eyes widened again as he felt it wobble a little, his feet wiggling in place. But with his wrists and legs restrained, he was unable to stop the bird grabbing onto the toe of his boot with its beak, before starting to pull it off of his foot with a few backward tugs of its head.

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Why Is A Raven Like A Pedicure Chair? (*/FF)

"Of all the things I expected from KFP, a day spa was definitely not one of them," Nerissa said in awe as she gave the room a once-over. The place was chock full of KFP employees, all hustling and bustling as they moved around and organized various items for manicures, facials, foot baths, and various other bits of pampering paraphernalia. There were multiples of every kind of spa treatment fixture you could think of, nearly all of which were currently being taken advantage of by various other fans of the idols Kiara was closest to. Nousagis and Teamates lounged in the jacuzzi, Takodachis melted like hot butter from the pleasure of the massage chairs, Membershrimps and Hoomans enjoyed full-body shiatsu, and Deadbeats let their fingerbones be polished to perfection upon the manicure desks.

"What, you thought KFP was just fast food, gaming, and the Usual Room?" Kiara asked with a cheeky nudge to the demoness's shoulder. "I gotta be nice to my genmates, oshis, kouhais... eh, you get the idea!"

The Demon of Sound (and Soup) couldn't help but smile at that. "I guess there's still more to learn about you, huh?"

Kiara burst out laughing. "That's what you get for being my kouhai, Rissa! Okay, so, what do you wanna try first?"

"Whatever you want, Kiara," Nerissa replied cheerfully, before she remembered something and then stiffened just slightly. "As long as it's not a pedicure..."

"Ooooh..." The phoenix shuffled her feet awkwardly. "Bad news, Rissa. Everything but the pedicure stations is already booked at the moment. I guess we've got no choice but to try those first, at least until something else opens up."

Nerissa gulped, her toes curling in her boots. She was quite sure she'd told Kiara this before, but she wasn't exactly fond of pedicures because, much to her embarrassment, her feet were far too sensitive for their own good. "You sure you can't, y'know, talk to the employees about shifting some stuff around? I mean, you're the C.E.O. of this company!"

Kiara shook her head with a look of regret. "Nope, no can do. A lotta the customers here booked their visits in advance, and they're not gonna budge from whichever treatment they scheduled. The little shits..." she added under her breath irritably, before her voice returned to its usual chipper tone. "I still think it'd be nice to try my brand of pedicure, though. Come on, Rissa! I'm sure you'll like it at least a little!"

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Mithrun's Mirthful Massage (M/M)

The story itself is so complex that I don't quite understand it fully yet, Kabru thought to himself. He glanced at the items he'd laid out on the table before him. A water container, two dishes, several towels, a cooking pot, two spoons, an unlit candle... It wasn't much, but he'd made do with less before.

I need to try and piece it all together. Help will arrive in one week... I've got plenty of time to spare. But before that...

"Captain Mithrun," he said finally, turning to the stoic elf still wrapped in the blanket. "You can't sleep, can you?"

"I told you already, didn't I?" Mithrun replied, his voice not quite as blank as before - if anything, it betrayed just a hint of despair. "Without some kind of medicine or spell, I won't be able to sleep. I'll teach you a sleeping spell, so-"

"No, no, that's fine." Kabru moved over to tend to the captain with a look of sincere concern. "If you close your eyes and lie down, do you feel sleepy?"

Mithrun thought about it, but finally shook his head. "No, I do not."

Not to be deterred, Kabru adjusted the elf's position so he was now on his back, before tucking him into the covers. "Just relax and pull the blanket up to your neck. Let's get your boots off as well, while you're at it."

"This is useless," Mithrun murmured, but he didn't protest any further as Kabru moved over to peel off one of his boots, and then the other. From what little he'd heard of him, the human knew of a special technique to help someone sleep; it was supposedly effective even on someone who had insomnia, but he was still skeptical that it'd work on him.

As soon as Kabru's fingers brushed against his bare left foot, Mithrun felt his breath hitch and his toes curl slightly. The human flinched a bit as well upon contact, but prepared to massage the elf's foot regardless.

"Whoa, your feet are cold! The muscles are really stiff, too." Kabru's surprise was palpable, but he was already committed to giving Mithrun the comfort he needed right now. "Still, I'll try to loosen you up. This will hopefully improve your circulation, too."

As Kabru began kneading the arch of Mithrun's foot, the elf squirmed slightly in place, confused at the bizarre, electrifying tingling sensation coursing up his leg.

"T-there's no possible way this could m-make me sleepy," the elf stammered in very slight alarm, wincing a bit at the sensation of Kabru's fingernails unknowingly scraping against the skin of his sole. "I-in fact, I think i-it's only making me f-feel even more awake than ever."

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Duel Identities (M/M)

Yuya smiled and waved, playing to a crowd that wasn't there but with enough enthusiasm that it couldn't help but be charming. Blowing kisses to fictional ladies, salutes to old men who weren't in attendance and pulling funny faces to bring smiles to children that could be watching but were not. This was a private match but getting in practice was always a good idea and a good duel-trainer owed it to his fans, to always be on.

He launched into an exaggerated pirouette that ended with a deep bow. When he looked up at his opponent, smiling of course he revealed that he'd drawn his hand. Sleight of hand was always fun and he gave Yugi a wink to show it was all in good fun. Still, all of it was to hide one fact.

He couldn't believe that he was dueling the legendary King of Games. He had to bring his A-Game to show him not just the advantages of Duel-training but also the new type of duel that Sora had been drilling into him during their down-time together as "roommates".

"Can't wait to see what you've got Yugi! I think when this is all over, we'll both be smiling ear to ear, regardless of the winner!"

Ahead of him, his spiky-haired opponent chuckled, wiggling his fingers behind his back in anticipation. "You know there's not going to be a definite winner in-story, don't you? We're in a silly fanfiction! Anything that happens is bound to leave us at the mercy of the writers, so we might as well make the most of it. Whomever put us up to this will definitely have it out for you, and vice versa, so we just have to convince the authors to get creative."

Pharaoh Yami looked down at the pyramid-shaped pendant he was wearing, the absence of his signature blue jacket leaving him with just the black tank-top beneath over his upper body otherwise. "You know, I wanted to convince Yugi himself to give this a try, but he told me he'd rather throw me under the figurative bus and stay safely out of it. Plus, I look more like a grown-up than he does, so the author writing me decided I was the less provocative option. I have to agree with that."

He cleared his throat and composed himself, stretching and cracking his knuckles with his arms over his head so his armpits were exposed for all to see. "I just know he's writing me as so touch-starved that I'd purposely throw this match just to get to be tickled to an inch of my life. Perhaps it'd be in-character, perhaps not. But for the sake of our sanity, let's not think about that. So... which one of us shall start this off?"

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The Butterfly, the Lover, and the Pumpkin (F*/FF)

Shinobu Kocho, the Insect Hashira, was jolted out of her brooding thoughts by a sharp cawing from nearby. Rubbing the sleepiness out of large, black-and-purple eyes that still felt heavy despite her sudden, panicked awakening, she looked up to see her personal Kasugai Crow, En, one of many such messengers used by the Demon Slayer Corps, perched on a tree branch near her campsite.

"Hmmm, let me guess... A new demon sighting?" she asked, stretching her arms and preparing to get properly dressed.

"A strange gourd-like creature has been sighted in the woods near Mount Natagumo," En replied, cocking her head in that typical avian fashion. "You've been tasked with investigating its nature and what threat it presents to the locals."

"M-Mount Natagumo...?" Shinobu's blood ran cold for a second. The memory of the home turf of the Spider Family and the horrors that had laid within still ran fresh in her mind, seeing as she'd only recently helped deal with them, and while she wasn't sure if some vestige of the clan had made it out alive, it was still a possibility.

"As far as the Corps is concerned, there are no traces of the Spider Family left," said En, prompting a slight sigh of relief from her master. "This is a completely new demon, if a formidable one nonetheless. It should still be low-ranking enough that a single experienced slayer can handle it, however."

Shinobu nodded, forcing down a sudden, strange feeling that she was in for a lot more than she'd bargained for. "I'll be there as soon as I am able... though if you don't mind, do I have clearance to bring in some backup as well, just in case?"

En nodded once. "Granted. Good luck, Insect Hashira."

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Live, Love, Laugh (M*/M)

"My my, Zagreus... I didn't take you for someone who actually wanted to play this little 'game' of ours," the white-haired deity replied as he moved around to sit behind his lover once more. "Though perhaps I shouldn't be surprised at all. What's more unexpected is that you've let my sacred text drop only twice now. Has your endurance truly grown?"

"Seheheheriously, Th-Thanatohohos?! Seems l-like you've forgot - HHHH - forgottehehehen..." Even though Zagreus was honestly loving every second of this, "I've h-had PLEHEHENTY of foes attempt to behehest me in - HAHAHAHAH - in this mahahanner! Come at me with all you have - I can do this all daaaAYYYHEHEHEHEHEHE!"

"Heh, I should've known. Well, let's make it a challenge, then - each time the book topples, I will see to it that the tickling will continue for ten minutes more." Thanatos wiggled his fingers into the smooth, shaven hollows of Zagreus' underarms, before leaning his head in to gently kiss the back of his boyfriend's head. "I'm sure you'll be able to handle it just fine... won't you, my Prince?" he whispered in his ear.

"YAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! C-challenge accehehepted!" Zagreus jolted, the book nearly slipping off his toes as the sudden ten-fingered assault sent his mind reeling anew. He was quite sure he'd be here for a while; balancing the spellbook on his toes was hard enough already without his arches being tormented. "Just knohohow, God of Deheheath, that escap-... ehehehescaping the Underworld sohohOHO many times h- HHHH - has granted me LOHOHOHOTS of stahahAHAHMINAHAHAHA!"

Thanatos snickered playfully. "Oh, I'll be the judge of that~!"

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Bocchi the Stocked (FFF/F)

It had been a productive week for the Kessoku Band, all in all. Their latest string of gigs had rewarded them with quite a turn of profit, and the four of them were feeling proud of their latest accomplishment, each for their own reasons. While most of their earnings were obviously going to go into savings, preparation for future performances, and contingency reserves in case they needed replacement instruments or other equipment, but that still left the band with a tidy sum of spare cash to spend on various personal indulgences.

Hitori Gotoh, for her part, felt uncharacteristically eager to make good use of this opportunity for a weekend of luxury. The pink-haired high-schooler had been slowly working her way past the various anxiety issues she'd been saddled with before joining the band, and their encouragement and support had been enormously helpful in that regard. She was even willing now to attend public events as long as the other band members were there with her - though she still hoped that nobody would get in her face for no good reason and scare her back into hiding, as had happened multiple times before.

In what might be a first for the band, it was "Bocchi", as Hitori's bandmates had decided to call her, who'd picked the event that they'd get to enjoy this weekend. Aside from composing and posting music online - anonymously, of course - one of her various ways of killing time prior to joining the band had been binge-reading serial comics on the Internet, some related to music and some not. Among the various manga she'd read over the years had been a number of stories set in medieval fantasy worlds, especially those where someone from the "real world" was transported to them, and after all this time perusing them, she'd wondered how soon it'd be before there'd be such a story involving music as a key element. Perhaps, in another timeline, she'd have become a mangka herself instead, creating just such a story.

Regardless, worrying about what could've been was completely pointless. She was here now, and her band was here for her. And she wouldn't trade that for anything.

To the delight of Kita, and the hesitant acceptance of Nijika and Ryo, Bocchi had just managed to purchase four tickets, one for each of them, to attend a brand new anime convention known as "IsekaiFest". Reportedly, this would be the very first such event, and a lot of people were eager to attend because they wanted to be there for a landmark in local pop-culture history.

The Kessoku Band was going because, according to Bocchi, there simply weren't any other good options available at the time for a weekend outing.

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Keeping Abreast Of Things (FF/F, 18+)

Once again, Team Women Fighters had proven victorious! Their latest match had been a tough one, but together, the cheerful Yuri Sakazaki, the lovely Mai Shiranui, and the new leader of the trio, the spirited Athena Asamiya, had prevailed against their fiercest opponents yet, Team Protagonist. Each of the two groups had had the advantage of knowing each other and their respective capabilities as much as their opposition had, making it one of the closest battles yet, but in the end, a clever use of Yuri and Athena's combined powers had allowed them to trick the boys into accidentally hitting each other, until finally, they'd attempted one final blow as a united front - and knocked each other out instead of hitting Yuri like they'd intended. Thus, today's victory was for the girls to enjoy!

Only two of the three, however, considered this triumph worth celebrating.

"Mai? Maaaaaiiii~! Now, where'd you run off to?" Athena called out as she and Yuri made their way through the local market, its various food stalls offering a variety of delicious-smelling delicacies that were being enjoyed by visitors - and in this case, numerous participants in the current tournament - from across the world. It would be very easy to get lost in the crowd, even for someone as underdressed as their teammate.

"She could be anywhere for all I know," Yuri replied with a shrug of dismay. "I think I lost track of her after she left."

Athena rubbed her chin. "Maybe she wanted to be alone? She didn't seem as happy as we were after we won."

"Yeah, I noticed. I did wanna talk to her about that, but she was already out the door before I got the chance to."

"So, why are we coming here?"

"If there's one place I know she'd be, it'd be one particular bar and grill. This way!" Yuri took Athena's hand and led her to the establishment in question.

As soon as they opened the door, their ears were immediately assaulted by the loudest, harshest heavy metal music imaginable (Japanese metal specifically), causing them both to flinch. But then, Yuri pointed at the counter, and upon looking in that direction, Athena's eyes widened in shock. There was that familiar long, dark brown high ponytail, the white paper fan folded up on the counter, and of course, that signature skimpy red outfit that provided only the bare minimum of coverage for Mai's ample curves, wide hips and toned limbs as well as her iconic bust. But her posture was anything but perky now; if anything, she seemed slightly slumped over the counter.

The two of them made their way to sit at either side of the girl, before Athena cleared her throat, causing the so-called ninja to yelp in surprise and jolt up a bit straighter. It was then that they both noticed a half-empty bowl of sake in front of her.

"Is everything alright, Mai?" asked Athena. "Do you... need to talk about anything?"

"Yeah, you're normally not this much of a downer," added Yuri. "And I know you drink, but I don't think I've seen you do so when you weren't in a good mood."

"Oh..." Mai regarded each of them in turn before sighing. "Well, I mean, drinking for me is just an occasional thing. Y'know, for special occasions?"

"Yeah, well, what kind of 'special occasion' led to you running off on us, exactly?" asked Athena. "You haven't spoken to us since we won, and we were looking all over for you until now!" She was silent for a long moment as something horrible occurred to her. "Oh, no... Was it something we said?"

First off, thank you so much everyone for over 9,700 watchers! That's just 300 away from the big million, and I hope I can reach that goal by the end of this year, though that isn't a strict to-do thing. What is, however, is the raffle I promised I'd set up after I posted the two-part Genshin Impact story I co-wrote with my friend @WernchOfTheTeam yesterday. You can find both parts of the story linked below if you want to check them out - and doing so will be absolutely critical for your participation in...

TEYVATOBERFEST 2022!!!

So, without further ado, here are the links to the story in question!

And now, the following are the rules of the raffle itself...

RULES:

1. Please read both parts of the story and add them to your favorites. You can certainly do that without any need to participate in the raffle and we would definitely encourage showing your appreciation regardless of if you want to enter or not! Reading and faving both parts is a requirement for joining, however, although canon knowledge on Genshin Impact is not.

2. Once you have finished Step 1, and if you want to participate, comment on this journal stating that you have completed Step 1. Optionally, you can comment on the posts themselves as well, preferably with feedback on the story and what you liked the most about it.

3. In the same comment on this journal, suggest ONE female Genshin Impact character of your choice for a full-color, finished one-character /F tickling piece that I will be drawing after this raffle is over! It doesn't have to be a playable character but such is preferable! For reference, here is the list of all the female characters in the game so far - feel free to take your pick! You can also provide the tickle scenario you want to see the girl of your choice in, though this is optional.

4. Once you have submitted your comment, post a journal or status of your own with links to this post and both parts of the story itself, and promote all relevant material as best as you can! We want this to spread as far and wide as possible, and with your help we can hopefully make that wish come true!

Additional notes for your consideration:

• If we can get both parts of the story to 150+ faves each, I will post the Patreon reward piece associated with it publicly, with the HIGH-DEFINITION version being the Patreon rewards gallery post I will make in six months' time! So you guys have an incentive for helping this story and my co-writer get the appreciation they deserve!

• The tentative deadline for the raffle is Saturday, October 22, 11:59 PM EST! Extensions will be considered if such is requested due to extenuating circumstances, though (such as not enough people participating for a viable applicant pool).

And that's that! Thank you so much in advance for your support and participation! Now, onward to the big one million watchers!

- @SkaeaDaimonion

Putting up this new link to my Discord server here because I can't edit older journals that were created using Sta.sh writer and I am disappointed and angry over that. Oh well. But anyway, I just made a massive re-organization to the server channels and as such have decided to update the server invite to better match this new arrangement. We have over 100 members as of now, but more are always welcome, of course. If you want to join and are interested in getting to know me and the little community we've accrued since the server's creation, go ahead and click the link below!

See you there!

- @Shadow-Aspect

SenkenSword is hosting a raffle in celebration of 3K followers! Check it out:

6/26 UPDATE: Two more gifts have been added!

Hey, Shadow here, and first off, thank you so much for the birthday wishes from everybody who provided them yesterday! I'm super chuffed to have gotten so much support on the day I turned 28. But more than that, there's a bunch of gifts I've gotten as well from a number of people here, so allow me to show them off for all to see!

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SquidSisterFan12 was gracious enough to draw me not just one, but TWO birthday gifts, involving two of my favorite fictional characters - Izuku Midoriya from My Hero Academia and, of course, Pit from Kid Icarus - in ticklish situations! You can never have enough tickle artwork of these two cuties, and I appreciate that Squid drew them both, because it would've been way too hard to pick just one!

Last year, I put three of PodFrog's OCs - Princess Pedi, Prince Lavern, and Sir Cornelius - through their paces in a very tickly gift for his birthday. This year sees karma come back to bite me in the keister - or tickle me in the soles as the case may be! I swear I felt my feet tingle in real life when I first saw this, which says a lot about how great it is at portraying the intensity of the tickles and my own hysterical reaction! All in all, a fittingly awesome gift from a fittingly awesome friend.

Another very good friend of mine, WernchOfTheTeam, also sent me a present yesterday, quite literally, in the form of a boxed-up Corrin from Fire Emblem: Fates! With one of my favorite means of toe restraint and some of my personal choices of implements, let's just say I had way too much fun with this ticklish dragon, and it seems like she had a lot of fun with it, too!

While she posted it on dA a day late for the occasion, TottyTK shared this wonderful collection of illustrations of my persona with me on Discord the day before, so I guess it's still timely enough. Regardless, this is an excellent set of fanarts of me, and even includes my personal wish for a handheld console (which I sadly can't get IRL for a number of personal reasons), along with a spiffy party hat to go with it! Gosh, I really need to illustrate my persona more often.

DocHasegawa was kind enough to commission @Nyuomu to create this awesome fanart of my OCs from my Japanese mythology-inspired project, Raiju and Kenji - Doc told me this was for my birthday, so it counts. I love the expressions of both of these boys, the scenario in question, and Kenji's lovely ticklish soles and how they're quivering in response to just one finger! Seems the poor guy can't take even a little bit of tickling. Doc is on hiatus for various reasons, but you can reach out to him on Discord if you want to get in touch with him!

And last, but certainly not least, Indigo-Bunny's story update this week was a request I put in that they were kind enough to produce prior to my birthday specifically for release on the week it falls in. When it stars Pit once again and this time alongside Link - my two favorite fictional ticklees ever! - at the mercy of Zelda and Palutena, you know it's gonna be good! I have no words that can conceivably describe how absolutely AWESOME this fic is, honestly. Go read it for the... well, everything, really, but also for a surprise ending I can't believe I hadn't thought of in the first place, but one I'm glad I suggested in time! Of all the gifts I got this week, this is my all-time favorite for a damn good reason.

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And there you have it, a wonderful collection of birthday gifts for yours truly - a celebration of 28 years on this Earth and over 10 on DeviantArt! Here's to more content being produced by me for a long time to come, and once again... THANK YOU SO MUCH for the birthday wishes, everyone! You all have made my day, and I hope I can give back to you guys in turn in the months ahead!

- @Shadow-Aspect