#hurrah!!

-Hero of the Deep, Pigeon Lord, The One, Warrior of Rock and Roll, Singer/Songwriter of Gillion and the Tidestriders' hit single "The Hole in Your Heart", Moisture Master, Horse Tamer, Defenestrator of the Adulterous, Friend of Dugon, Dugon's Best Friend, Dugon's Pal, Walking Fish, Fish, Dirt Eater, Chum of Chibo and Chums, Co-Captain Gill of the Riptide Pirates, Co-captain of the Albatross, Companion of Pretzel, Paramount Champion, Knighter of Julian That One Time, Pretzel Carrier, Leviathan Tamer, Serpent Rider, Brother of Dugon, Healer of the Sick, Friend of Duke D Dukem Duke of Dooke, Eater of Grass, Beater of Ass, Grandma's Good Boy, Dismantler of Evil, Eater of Shit, Capitalism Hater, Royalty Assassinator, Sufferer of the Spice, Weed Eater, Slayer of Evil, Loffinlot Liberator, Fruitninja, Eater of Sand, Juice Enjoyer, Rescuer of John, Fishy. Bitcoin Miner, NFT Purchaser, Driplord, Grandmillion, The One Who Will Change The World, Roller of Tens, Grimm Slayer. In Need of a Dad, Goblin Gobbler, Lime Lord, Tuber, Chip's Nightmare Fuel, Monsoon And Moon Son, Eater of Ass, Pretzel Seeker, Vibe Master, Pussy Slayer, Murderer of Vice Admiral Kuba Kenta, Gillion Motherfucking Titty-sucking Tidestrider, Egg Hater, Bong Obliterator, Baby signer, Babygirl, The Red One, Skillion Liedsneaker, Fishy Boy, Tidestrizzer, Rizz Reverent, Jorts Storm, Hero of the Hour, Popper of Sacks, Tree Hugger, Summoner Rider, Brother of Lucy and Gilly-

Sodo stopped only about a foot away from the other man, holding his hands behind his back and looking intently up at him. Terzo towered over him, leaning forwards so that he loomed over the ghoul.

“Sodo…” He warned. Sodo visibly swallowed.

“Yes Papa?” He asked innocently. He knew what he’d done.

“I’m not very pleased with you right now, you know that, yes?”

After a moment of hesitation, Sodo timidly nodded. He was able to stare directly into Terzos face but that was only because he had the confidence of his mask to hide behind.

He had cut Terzo off while he was speaking by stepping in front of him and blaring his guitar in his face. During a ritual. Yeah, Papa was a little more than just pissed. None of the ghouls ever disrespected him like that. But especially because he’d done it at a ritual, Sodo was in for one nightmare of a punishment.

“I’m sorry, Papa.” Sodos voice was shakey and low; Terzo could practically smell his nerves. Yet he could hear a tiny hint of a grin in Sodos words. That bastard wasn’t sorry at all. He just wanted to save his own ass. Terzo tsk’d, shaking his head disapprovingly at his ghoul. “Sorry won’t cut it now, Angel. You should’ve thought about being ‘sorry’ before you so rudely interrupted me, hmm?”

“I-“ Sodo started to defend himself but Papa brought a finger up to his lips and silenced him, speaking over the ghoul instead.

“I think it’s only fair that I punish you, don’t you agree?” He was almost smug about it. He gave the little ghoul a faux sympathetic smile and the inner corners of his eyebrows were upturned. He lifted a hand to caress the other man’s face, but he moved away by stepping backwards before Terzo could make contact with him.

Sodos heart sank hearing those words come out of Papas mouth. He instinctively took a step back, creating more distance between the two of them which Papa did not like. Terzo grunted out a sound of disapproval seeing the ghoul move away from him. “I-I don’t know what you want from me-“ Sodo stuttered.

“Ah-“ Terzo cut him off. “You know exactly what I want from you.”

Sodo tensed up, luckily he had his mask to hide behind because he was blushing hard. He knew what Papa wanted from him, but he wasn’t about to give in that easily. He remained frozen, staring the other down. He felt intimidated but he wasn’t going to show that to Papa…or at least he’d try and hide it.

“Sodo…” Terzo warned.

Fuck.

Sodo sheepishly inched towards the other, his helmet facing forwards but his eyes were averting Terzos at all costs, as if he could even see his eyes through the goggles. Once he’d returned back to the man, he stopped at his feet, his arms still behind his back. He bashfully brought his gaze up to meet Terzos, giving him a sweet head tilt as if being cute was going to save him. Terzo smiled fondly down at him.

“How adorable.” He cooed. “Now get on the bed.” He demanded immediately after. Sodo felt his stomach sink and be filled with butterflies. Oh shit, there really was no getting out of this. He weighed his options; be obedient and not get punished too bad or run. Obviously one sounded more fun than the other, so he booked it away from Terzo, sprinting in any possible direction he could. He rounded the corner out of the bedroom to the hall of the church, running as fast as his body would go. He took a few more turns before ending up in the ghouls living quarters. Rain and Mountain perked their heads up as Sodo came bounding into their room. He slammed the door shut, though it didn’t lock so it was practically useless. He let himself lean against the door for a moment, panting as he caught his breath. The eeriest part of this was that he didn’t hear Terzo chase after him. He could be anywhere and Sodo had no clue where he’d emerge from.

The other two ghouls were playing go-fish on the couch but now their full attentions were turned to the fire ghoul.

“You okay, Sodo?” Mountain questioned, tilting his head.

“Papa is-“ He started, but was silenced by the door sharply jolting into him. Terzo pushed his full body weight against the door, throwing the small ghoul to the ground as it swung open. He stood in the doorframe, towering over the man on the floor. Sodo was more startled than anything. God, how did he always sneak up on him so silently?

“Papa!” Sodo cried, his voice laced with terror. Mountain and Rain shared a knowing look before attending back to their card game. Each of the ghouls had been in this situation before, so they knew what Sodo was about to go through. Though it was hard to sympathize with him because he did this to himself after all.

Terzo hungrily stalked closer to the ghoul, Sodo scrambling to get to his feet and keep fleeing. “Rain- help me!” Sodo demanded, but his pleas fell on deaf ears as the water ghoul blatantly ignored him. Both Rain and Mountains lips were upturned ever so slightly, those bastards. Not only were they not going to help him, but they were enjoying his fear induced suffering too.

Sodo was only able to make it a few more feet before tripping and collapsing to the ground again. He whined as realization set in on how royally fucked he was. He started instinctively spewing out pleas and begging for Terzo to show even just a little bit of mercy, but his words meant nothing to him. Papa creeped closer to him, eventually leaning down and giving him a cheeky smile.

“Hello there!” Terzo chirped. He bent down and picked the ghoul up off of the ground, slinging him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Sodo whined out a string of ‘no’s as he kicked his feet and pounded his fists on the others back but his efforts were futile. Papa continued on, leaving the ghouls living space and heading back to his own.

“You see, little one, this would’ve been much easier had you just gone to my bed in the first place. But alas, you were too caught up in your emotions to use your reasoning. It’s okay, my ghoul, I’ll take good care of you now.” He teased. Sodo knew he wasn’t going to get ‘taken care of’, he was about to get himself destroyed.

Terzo didn’t even bother to close the door to his bedroom as he walked through it. This is what that mischievous little ghoul got for trying to escape, now everyone in the church would get to hear his pathetic, desperate little cries echoing through the halls. He figured, if Sodo wanted to make this the other ghouls’ problem by running to them for protection, they’d get to hear his consequences too.

He flopped Sodo down onto his bed, immediately crawling on top of him so that he couldn’t escape. He straddled his hips, swiftly pinning both arms above his head as if he’d practiced that exact maneuver. He was probably just getting good at it since he had to discipline his ghouls all the time.

This is when reality really sank in for Sodo. He wasn’t getting out of this no matter how hard he tried. Papa was physically larger and stronger than him, it was no use trying to fight against him. Plus, Sodos strength was about to be severely weakened, he stood no chance even if he wanted to escape.

“Are you ready, my little ghoul?” Papa asked, sitting up and letting go of his arms. Sodo instinctively brought them down to protect himself but they both knew it would do him no good. Terzo wiggled his fingers as he slowly lowered them down towards Sodos torso. The ghoul shook his head and made a meekly ‘nuh-uh’ sound through his lips. Obviously, Terzo didn’t actually care if he was ready, he just wanted to give him the false illusion of choice.

Sodo was dreading the moment that his fingers would connect with his body. He hadn’t been a victim of Terzos attacks in weeks and it felt like he was experiencing it for the first time all over again; the adrenaline, the fear, the thrill, the dread, he missed it all. Not that he’d tell Papa that, of course. He’d probably die if Terzo ever found out he didn’t despise this. No, it wasn’t his favorite pastime with Papa, but it definitely wasn’t something he hated. He’d never admit to acting out on purpose just to get this kind of discipline.

Terzos hands finally reached his torso, pushing the hem of his shirt up to rest on his ribs and very gently spidering along his tummy.

Sodo bit his lip and tried to keep his composure but no more than five seconds in and he was already trembling and letting out small squeaks of laughter. He wriggled as much as he could but he was completely immobile. He tried to fight him off with his hands but he easily pushed past them.

Terzo wanted to work him up a bit but he was a little too impatient for that and plus, he was already getting a pretty good reaction out of the ghoul and he’d hardly even done anything yet.

His fingers creeped up into his armpits, fluttering there for a moment before crawling back down and latching onto his sides. He dug his fingertips into the soft skin, making Sodo wail and arch his back against the bed. His giggles spewed out as Papa kept massaging his fingers into his abdomen. He wasn’t quite getting the response he was looking for yet and switched his tactics. He quickly scribbled his nails across his entire stomach which made Sodo burst into hysterics. Terzo smiled, feeling proud of his accomplishment.

“You’re laughing so loud, little one! I wouldn’t blame you if somebody thinks you’re being killed.” Terzo taunted as he kept skittering his fingers around his torso. At this point he was just saying stuff to get under his skin, and it was working. He latched his hands on to his hips and started to squeeze, his thumbs drilling into his hipbones.

Sodo was pretty sure he was going to die.

His laughter picked up an octave and his struggling became much more frenzied and panic-stricken. He knew he was screwed. If this is how sensitive he felt after they’d started no more than twenty seconds ago, he was in for one hell of a time.

Terzo made his hands into claws and swirled them around his tummy. He could see Sodos smile through his balaclava. His lips were upturned and his mouth fell open as his laughter picked up. Papa dragged his nails into the center of his stomach and then back out again and repeated this motion over and over until Sodo was flailing and struggling against him.

Sodos balaclava had ridden down his face from his mouth being open as he laughed and from all of his squirming. It went unnoticed by the ghoul for a little bit, he could breathe better now so he was just gratefully gasping in air.

“My, my, what a cute smile you have, Sodo. Such a shame that I hardly get to see it.” Terzo beamed down at him. Sodos smile was a rare sight to see and he wasn’t going to let it go to waste.

As Sodo scrambled to pull his mask back up, Terzo yanked it down so that it rested on his neck, exposing his pointy teeth and adorable grin.

“Didn’t I just say it was a shame that I rarely saw this? Why are you trying to hide it from me, little one?” He leaned in close to Sodos helmet and furrowed his eyebrows, tilting his head with a smirk. He knew he wasn’t going to get a very coherent response from the ghoul, if one at all, but he had fun provoking him like this.

Sodo heard the trigger word ‘hide’ and without thought, turned his head to the side so that his helmet was blocking Terzos view of his smile. Instead of trying to ridicule him, Papa took a different, more helpful, route.

“Here, let me get that for you.” Terzo gripped onto the helmet and balaclava and slid both off of Sodos head. “There we go! Now I can see your darling f-“ He cut himself off as he saw the ghoul immediately bring his hands up to cover his blushed face.

“Hey…” Terzo warned as he swatted Sodos hands away from his face. “None of that, mister. I want to see you.”

Sodo whined in defeat. He rested his arms above his head as he pouted. He knew it was no use in arguing, Papa always got what he wanted.

“Ah, perfect! Keep your arms there for me, okay?” Terzo immediately skittered his nails in the hollows of his underarms. Sodo shrieked and shot his arms down to his sides, trapping his attackers fingers in his armpits. He giggled out a whiney, “Nohohooo!” as he realized he wasn’t successful in dislodging his hands or even protecting himself. Instead, he just made his own tickly hell.

“Hey? What did I just ask you to do?” Terzo wiggled his stuck fingers, making sure to really drill them into the ghouls sensitive skin. Sodo kicked his feet, arched his back, and frantically shook his head while screaming out, “NO NO NO NO!”

“See, now this wouldn’t be happening if you hadn’t trapped me here. But alas…” He emphasized his point by rhythmically wriggling his fingers.

“I dohohon’t belieheve yohou!” Sodo cried out, to which Terzo faked a gasp, pretending to be offended like the diva he was.

“Sodo! I’m truly hurt. Why would you ever have a reason not to believe me?” He ridiculed, digging his fingertips into his skin and vibrating them. Sodo took a moment to scream and howl before responding.

“Behecahause yohou’re a bihihig liar!”

This was a mistake on Sodos part. A biiig mistake.

Terzos hands stilled as he stared at him in disbelief.

Sodo quickly realized what he’d done wrong and judging by Papas face, he was about to get it worse tenfold.

“Wait- wahait I-I didn’t mean that.” He tried to defend himself, already beginning to titter nervously.

“Too late. The damage has been done.”

He honed in on the hollows of his armpits, wiggling, digging, and massaging tickly circles into his sensitive skin.

The mixture of his own flustered panic and Terzos wicked attack overwhelmed the poor ghoul. He hollered in desperation, praying someone would hear him being tortured and come to his rescue. But the other ghouls knew better than to interfere with Papas punishment time. If anyone tried to stop him they’d be next. So, Sodo was left to giggle helplessly with no hope that a white knight would come and save him. But the ticklish sensations only got more intense the more they went on. The ghoul was stuck in a mental dilemma; keep his arms down in a futile attempt to protect himself or obey Terzos orders and run the risk of betrayal.

Either way, Terzo was going to wreck his shit.

Sodo very begrudgingly raised his arms up.

As promised, Terzo removed his digits from his armpits and instantly zeroed in on his tummy. Sodos laughter jumped and he threw his head back cackling. He would’ve retaliated with some witty insult but he was a little preoccupied with something else.

“Aww, good ghoul.” He cooed, “Wow, you’re really ticklish, aren’t you?” The teasing made Sodo feel all the more sensitive, as if his words were seeping into his brain and actively making him feel the sensations more vibrantly. Terzo prodded at his stomach, switching between squeezing his sides and spidering his fingers over his lower belly. The ghoul tried his best to buck his hips but they were held firmly in place between Papas thighs. His arms shook as he tried to keep them from crashing down. Who knew what Papa would do if he dared to bring them down again.

Terzo traveled his hands up Sodos body. He slowly traced circles on his ribs, making the poor ghoul squirm and whine. He stayed there for a moment, relishing in the sweet giggles his touch was producing.

“I’m hardly touching you! Are you telling me this-“ He emphasized ‘this’ with some light scribbles across his ribs, “is getting you?”

“Of cohourse it’s fuhuckihing getting me!” Sodo snapped, earning himself a well deserved pinch on both sides of his ribcage. He immediately shut up and continued laughing. Terzo smirked proudly at the ghoul, he was learning his place. That’s exactly what this punishment was supposed to teach him and so far it seemed to be working.

He moved his hands higher and fluttered his fingers over Sodos neck, basking in the high pitched giggles and squeaks that produced from it. The ghoul wasn’t used to being touched like this on his neck due to his helmet, well, he wasn’t really accustomed to this kind of touch anywhere on his body, but especially the areas that were usually protected with his thick clothes or hard helmet.

As Terzo continued his ticklish attack on his neck, he subtly pinned one of Sodos arms up and slipped one of his hands under his shirt, pushing it up even higher and gently raking his nails down his ribs on the newly exposed skin. He replaced where his hand had been on his neck with his lips, blowing raspberries on his skin in small bursts.

Sodo finally broke, spewing out ‘please!’s and ‘okay!’s. He desperately tried to yank his arm down but he was much too weak to fight against the other. His laughter peaked as Terzo ramped up the intensity of his tickling, now nuzzling his nose into the nook of his neck. “OKAY! OHOHOKAY! I learned my lehehesson! Plehease, Papa!” He whined as he begged for mercy. Papa sat upright and tutted while shaking his head. “I’m sorry, little one, but that isn’t how this works. I get to play with you until I think you’ve learnt your lesson, got it?”

Sodos heart literally sank in that moment. His eyes went wide and his jaw going slack. His petrified expression was quickly replaced with one of mirth as his underarm continued to be tormented.

To Terzo, it was like playing with his food. He cherished the way his ghouls got all worked up because of him.

Sodo began to shake his head ‘no’ but he didn’t want to dig himself into a deeper hole than he was already in. So, he just took it. He let himself be used by Terzo, even though his body and mind were both telling him to fight back and escape. He figured if he was good for Terzo he’d get off with a lighter sentence than if he argued. His laughter reached a new level of desperation, he squeaked and babbled nonsensical, unintelligible words. Terzo soaked in his laughter like the sadistic freak he was.

“My, my, such a sensitive little thing.” Papa tsked as he kept playing with his underarm, now vigorously scribbling his fingers.

“NOOHOHOHOOO!” Sodo squealed. He wasn’t trying so much to disagree with Terzos statement, he just couldn’t handle the teasing.

“Nooohoho?” Terzo mocked his laughter laced words. To which Sodo slapped his hands on his face again and whined out a “Stohop!”

“Ah.” Terzo warned with a squeeze to his hips, which made Sodo instantly remove his hands from covering his face and rest them back above his head. Papa smiled down at him.

“Good boy, Sodo.” He purred. Sodo whimpered. Oh my god. He wasn’t prepared for that. He felt his face reach a new degree of heat that spread all the way out to the tips of his ears. Now that Terzos hands were resting on Sodos hips, the took the opportunity to rub little circles with his thumbs on his hipbones. The ghouls struggling picked up a bit before his body went limp with exhaustion.

“What, can’t even fight back anymore? You poor thing, I almost feel bad for you.” He had a devious attitude at the end of his sentence.

His laughter was growing weak, getting more whiney and hiccuping every so often. He was so overstimulated by Terzos mockery and his sinful hands.

Terzo was definitely pushing Sodo past his limits, but this was a punishment after all. He wasn’t meant to enjoy it, though it seemed like he didn’t mind it all too much. He’d tease him about that later.

He reached behind him and squeezed above his knees, eliciting a sharp squawk and flinch from the ghoul. Terzos face lit up with excitement from his new discovery as opposed to Sodos face of terror. He kept on pinching and squeezing his legs, traveling his hands higher up his thighs. The further up he went, the more panicked Sodo got. Thankfully Terzo couldn’t get his upper thighs…or so the ghoul thought. He slid a few inches down his legs and started digging his fingers into the crease where his thighs met his hip. Sodos body jolted upwards, now not being held down by Papa, but his legs were still completely immobilized. He couldn’t even speak, words physically would not form in his throat. All he was doomed to do was laugh. It felt like he’d been getting ‘punished’ for an eternity and his mind was starting to go blank and fuzzy. It tickled so fucking bad. Terzo had lots of experience getting him and the other ghouls so he knew that what he was doing to Sodo was cruel. He knew exactly how dreadful it was for him. But to Sodos surprise and liberation, Terzos hands were starting to slow. He’d noticed the ghoul growing frail and his voice getting hoarse. Yeah, he was a dick, but he wasn’t cruel. He could only speak for himself though, his ghouls might think he’s evil.

“Okay, okay, I think you’ve learnt your lesson by now, yes?”

Sodo yelped out a ‘YES!’, feeling a wave of relief knowing that it was finally over. Terzos fingers subsided till they eventually stopped tickling and started caressing the ghouls body. He massaged his stomach and sides with a firm, yet gentle touch.

“You did so good for me, little ghoul.” He cooed.

Sodo was still letting out residual giggles, still riding the adrenaline high and feeling ghost tickles. Papa rubbing his body helped get rid of that lingering sensation.

“Fuhuck you, Papa.” He groused, earning a tweak on his sides. That shut him up real fast.

“Are you going to misbehave again, Sodo?”

The ghoul had to ponder it for a second, Terzo noticed a sly smirk forming on his face. He pinched him again, making him flinch and let out a couple more titters.

“Noho, Pahapa.” He replied. Terzo smiled proudly down at him, reaching up to pet his head. He tilted into the touch, craving affection that wasn’t torturous. His eyes fluttered closed and a smile was still plastered on his face.