#schneeple

‘How magnificent! I think we have the correct concentration of the luminescent solution Gooper!’

The doctor said, turning to Gooper who was perched on his shoulder. The glob wiggled with a quiet, happy gurgle in response… but Gooper’s joy was not at the great volume it usually was. All day he’d been watching Schneeple toil and work on hundreds of versions of this slime experiment, with the goal of making the best glow in the dark ectoplasmic substance in time for Halloween, as a surprise feature for all the egos to play with. And, as often happened with the dear doctor, he was so caught up in his work that he hadn’t rested. Not once. As he focused on his next batch, Gooper subtly slid down the doctor’s back and onto the ground, before wibbling his way out of the room. He knew if Schneeple was going to get any rest, he was going to need the right help. So, with an agility that often evades our gooey friend, he rushed through the manor looking for potential compatriots.

Despite how densely populated the manor was at this point, Gooper spent a good half an hour rolling and blopping through the place before he found anyone, but lucky for him they were the perfect duo for what he needed. Anti and Jamie had just finished decorating the main living room with tons of ghost-shaped lights, and the former spotted Gooper with a grin.

‘Well if it ain’t my favourite slimy guy, what’s up?’

Jamie gasped happily when he saw Gooper, giving him a little wave. Gooper cooed, then hopped up and down in an agitated way, before morphing part of his form into tiny hands – this was one of the rare occasions where he needed to communicate actual human sentences. A few minutes of wobbly sign language and accompanying gurgles later, Anti and Jamie were wide eyed as they looked at each other. Anti tossed the remaining LEDs he was holding onto the couch, and got a determined look in his eye.

‘Right, our décor mission is officially on hold. As of now we’re on Operation Get-Schneep-The-Fuck-To-Sleep, agreed?’

Jamie nodded enthusiastically, and after Gooper was scooped onto Anti’s shoulder, the trio headed to the lab, and when they arrived they didn’t bother knocking. As they entered Schneeple’s eyes widened, and he immediately used his body to try and hide his surprise project from them.

‘Woah- hey no no you cannot be in here! I am doing work things!’

However his attempt to hide is too late, and Anti sighs at him with a grin as Jamie sends Schneeple a fond look. Anti folds his arms at the doc, raising an eyebrow.

‘As awesome as your project thingy probably is, we heard a rumour that you’ve not been resting.’

Schneeple gaped for a second, and then noticed Gooper resting on the glitch’s shoulder. He grumbled and muttered.

‘You gooey little snitch…’

Gooper made a raspberry sound at him, and Jamie sent Schneeple the kind of look parents reserved for when their kids were being difficult.

‘Come on Henrik, you promised us you’d rest more!’

He signed, his expression turning pout-like – the expression made Henrik want to melt, as it tended to do with all the egos. All of a sudden, Henrik was pouting back like a little kid who didn’t want his bedtime.

‘I know I know but this ectoplasm is going to be so cool! It’s going to glow and make the manor look spooky!’

‘That won’t matter if you end up sleeping through the spooky season because of exhaustion!’

Anti retorted, before he and Jamie shared a look. They knew that the only way they were going to get Schneeple to see reason… was by force. So they each darted forward, grabbed an arm each, and started just trying to pull Schneeple out of the lab. It was entirely childish, but it was their only option!

‘AH! Hey, you let me go hey–this lab coat is new!’

‘And you look great in it, now come on!’

Anti said, causing a little blush to appear on the doctor’s cheeks as he struggled… but what none of them noticed was the stray bit of slime stuck on the linoleum floor. Slime which, unfortunately, Schneeple ended up slipping on. In an instant the three of them tumbled to the ground in the most clichéd, comedic fashion, and to make it ever better an entire jug of prototype slime got caught by Schneeple’s elbow, and tumbled with them. Anti and Jamie landed less hard whilst Schneeple landed on his back with a loud squelch, the slime cushioning his fall. Jamie’s eyes immediately went wide as his hands moved frantically.

‘Oh my golly are you okay, are you hurt?!’

‘Holy shit that’s a fuckton of slime! I think that coat’ll need dry cleaning.’

Anti snorted, spurring Jamie to elbow him with a pout – but the gentleman was quickly relieved when Schneeple laughed up at them.

‘I’m okay I’m okay it cushioned my fall… but now I am screwed.’

‘Why?’

Jamie asked, but his question was answered as he watched Schneeple try, and fail, to get up. A side effect of this particular slime batch was this it worked as a marvellous adhesive, keeping Schneeple stuck to the ground by his coat and his bare hands, so there was no way he could even escape by wriggling out of his coat. Schneeple sighed.

‘Ah, it’s one of my earlier batches with a sticky side effect… and it will take twenty minutes for it to become malleable enough to remove.’

‘Oh damn, you don’t need to pee do you?’

Anti said, making Schneeple snort and roll his eyes fondly.

‘No Anti I do not need to pee.’

‘Good because we are not close enough for me to be cleaning up your pi–ow!’

Jamie whacked Anti’s arm reproachfully, making the glitch snicker even more. Schneeple let out another quiet sigh as Jamie tilted his head down at him, giving him a sympathetic look. Meanwhile… Anti’s expression turned suddenly, and unnervingly, mischievous.

‘Y’know JJ… I think this is a great opportunity for us.’

Jamie blinked at Anti curiously, and Schneeple got nervous flutters in his stomach when Anti grinned wickedly.

‘I think this is the perfect chance for us to punish our friend here for not resting like he promised.’

Anto cracked his knuckles and wiggled his fingers playfully in the air, allowing Jamie and Schneeple to cotton on instantly. Schneeple went bright pink as Jamie gasped with a grin, his eyes lighting up as he clapped his hands.

‘Oh what a top idea! I like it!’

‘I don’t!’

‘Hush, promise-breakers don’t get a vote.’

Anti retorted to Schneeple’s little outburst, before he and Jamie knelt over him with delighted looks on their faces… and Schneeple knew he was screwed. Anti hummed and tapped his chin for a moment, before he pushed up the doctor’s sweater vest and shirt to reveal his tummy. Before Schneeple could say another word Jamie’s deft fingers were dancing at his tummy, tickling him with such speed that he shrieked and burst into cackles of varying pitch.

‘AHH! Nononohoho nahahat the tihihickling nohoho plehehease!’

Schneeple tried to wriggle, but it was no use. He was stuck… and he realised it was going to be a long twenty minutes.

‘Aww, must be even worse not being able to move.’

Anti teased, making Schneeple cackle and snort with embarrassment as he wriggled helplessly amidst the resilient slime keeping him on the ground. Jamie giggled and let his fingers tap and wiggle as if he were playing the piano, toying with Schneeple’s soft tummy pouch under his navel. He didn’t stop to sign, but he gave Schneeple a bright grin with his tongue poking out.

‘Guhuhuys plehehehease Ihihi ahaham sohohohorry!’

‘Too late for that, you better get ready to squeal.’

Anti’s grin broadened, showing off his sharp, pearly white teeth as he allowed his eyes to glow a spookier hue of green – he knew when he showed off his scarier side it really made Schneeple more flustered. The doctor trembled as Anti loomed over him, letting out a shy giggle as Anti wriggled his fingers near his armpits.

‘Nonono wahahahait wahaha–EEEEE!’

Anti shoved his blunt nails into Schneeple’s hollows, sliding them against his bare skin under his shirt so he could scratch away at the sensitive area. Having twenty fingers dancing against his ticklish skin, scratching and tweaking relentlessly, had the poor doctor almost incoherent as his voice switched back and forth between countless octaves. At the same time Jamie was letting out soft little giggles, enjoying the way Schneeple’s tummy trembled from the tickles. He leant down and nuzzled it as he used his hands to sign.

‘You have the best tummy for tickles!’

Schneeple went even redder, looking away from Jamie as the comment about his tummy gave him lots of extra flutters.

‘Ihihihi dohoho nahahat!’

Anti bit back a snicker, and grinned at Jamie playfully.

‘I think he’s right, honestly his armpits are just way better!’

Schneeple let out a yelp when Anti pinched his hollows, and Jamie giggled at Anti and narrowed his eyes.

‘No way, his tummy is the best!’

He leant down and pointedly blew a loud raspberry against it, making Schneeple shriek and arch his back.

‘AHA-dohohon’t dohoho thahat!’

Schneeple’s words went entirely ignored as Anti laughed at Jamie, cracking his knuckles playfully.

‘Oh yeah? How about now?’

Anti pressed his thumbs into Schneeple’s armpits and vibrated them nice and deep into the muscles, making Schneeple howl with wide eyes as he tried to tug at his arms – alas, his hands were still stuck in the resilient slime, keeping him helpless to the (now very competitive) tickling Anti and Jamie were giving him.

‘OHOHO MY GAHAHAHA!’

For the next fifteen or so minutes Schneeple’s babbles and shrieks went entirely unheard and Jamie and Anti competed to see who could get the biggest reaction, with Jamie at the doctor’s belly as Anti stuck with his armpits. One minute Anti would scribble with his nails, and Jamie would nibble to make Schneeple’s squeals get louder. Anti would then blow raspberries into Schneeple’s hollows to made him cackle, to which Jamie would flutter his fingers at the edges of Schneeple’s navel to make him snort and kick his legs. It was a wondrous myriad of tickles, and Schneeple felt like he was going mad!

‘OHOHO MY GAHAHAD YOHOHOU AHAHASSHOHOLES STAHAHAP STAHAHAAAP!’

Anti and Jamie couldn’t help but burst into giggles, and Anti let out a thoughtful hum as he stopped his tickling at Schneeple’s armpits.

‘Hmm, you know these two tickle spots look pretty evenly matched… there’s gotta be a special spot around here somewhere, don’t you think?’

Jamie nodded, and Schneeple was left panting as he too had mercy on him. Jamie’s eyes then flicked to where Schneeple’s legs had been kicking… and his face lit up with a cheeky grin.

‘His legs look like they want to join in on the fun!’

‘Ooh you’re so right!’

‘NO DON’T YOU DARE!’

Schneeple exclaimed, his eyes going wide as Anti and Jamie shared a giddy, knowing look. Before Schneeple knew it they’d descended onto his legs, each of them targeting a kneecap each – even though he was wearing jeans, they did nothing to dull the sensations of fingertips pinching and wiggling relentlessly.

‘Oooh you like it here doc?’

Anti teased, using his fingertips to mime the egg-cracking sensation against Schneeple’s right kneecap, causing his leg to jolt as he tossed his head back and forth.

‘YOHOHOU DEHEVIL STAHAHAPPIHIT! NAHAHAT FAHAHAIR!’

Anti snickered, and grinned as he glanced at Jamie. He’s decided to initially skitter over the kneecap before him, but now had slid his fingers to the back of Schneeple’s knee. The flutters kept adorable squeaks and squeals bursting out amidst Schneeple’s main bouts of laughter, and Jamie took a moment to meet Schneeple’s gaze and give him a playful wink. Anti laughed, his eyes twinkling.

‘Oh we gotta do this more often!’

What followed for Schneeple was three minutes that felt like three years, the tickling seeming to slow down time as he laughed and laughed, enduring coos and grins from Anti and Jamie as they went to town on his hypersensitive knees. The jolts and tingles shot all the way up and down his legs as he got the tickling of his life – needless to say, he was definitely wishing he’d invested in more lids for his slime prototypes. Eventually however, Schneeple’s struggles increased and he managed to roll himself out of the, no longer adhesive, slime. Jamie and Anti ceased their tickles as Schneeple lay on his stomach, panting and giggling residually.

‘Thahahat was… sohoho unfahair…’

‘You should’ve got that rest like you promised.’

Anti retorted as Schneeple slid out of his slime-covered coat, sighing as he looked at the glitch with a wry smile.

‘Yeah yeah I know…’

Schneeple fiddled with his fingers as he bowed his head. He did try to rest, really he did, but sometimes he just got so caught up and excited with his projects that all sense of self-preservation took a back-seat in his head. Jamie shifted forward then, and pecked a kiss to the doctor’s cheek as he signed.

‘We only try and make you promise because we love you, you know that right?’

Schneeple smiled, a little of his blush returning at the affection as he nodded.

‘Yeah… I love you too.’

Jamie beamed and wrapped his arms around him, not even caring that he got slime residue on his tailored sleeves. As Schneeple hugged him back, the pair heard a sound halfway between a groan and a retch as Anti grinned at them.

‘You’re so sappy it makes me sick.’

‘Yeah yeah, love you too.’

Schneeple retorted with a snicker as he and Jamie parted… but curiously, Jamie’s smile had fallen. Before Anti or Schneeple could ask what was wrong, he frantically signed.

‘Where’s Gooper?!’

Anti and Schneeple’s eyes widened as the three of them suddenly searched around, particularly on the pile of slime… and then spotted a lump amongst it. Anti hurriedly scooped at the lump, and Gooper was in his hands. The trio felt like their hearts were in their mouths… but then Gooper exhibited a tired squirm, and let out the most colossal burp known to goop-kind. Schneeple looked down at the spilled slime, and realised about half of it had been eaten!

‘Gooper, that is not for eating!’

He admonished with a fond sigh, to which Gooper merely let out a giggly gurgle as he snuggled more into Anti’s hands. Anti petted Gooper softly as Jamie giggled, before signing with a grin.

‘I think we all need a rest now.’

Schneeple rolled his eyes and nodded, and in the space of ten minutes a mound of blankets and pillows was compiled. Schneeple was instantly snoring between Jamie and Anti, whilst Gooper napped at his chest. After rest was had the slime project was resumed, but this time Schneeple had the most enthusiastic assistants possible. Before long they had created the most epic Halloween-vibe ectoplasm the manor had ever seen… and out of a sticky situation had come sweet rest, with even sweeter rewards.