Tickle headcanons for everyone's favorite backstage worker... workers? Aww geez, there's 3? How'd that happen? Anyway the Mike trio (Jongler, Pluey, and Battat)-
In costume, he's a little more amicable about it. At least, more willing to play along. That's because some of the padding offers some protection, so he can just give you a good-natured chuckle and an "Alright, quit messin' around".
Outside of costume? Forget it. You might get bitten or kicked unless very specific circumstances happen.
That's because he's actually very ticklish, especially on the sides and stomach.
Makes good on the 'motormouth' part of his costume, is constantly swinging between shrieking and cussing or pleading between laughing. Threats are also scattered in, but they tend to lose their bite when you're laughing like that. Is incredibly loud and hysterical-sounding.
Does not handle teasing at all. Will tell you to fuck off if you're mean. Tries to hide if you're being sweet. Constantly swearing on revenge the whole time.
A fun fact about Pippins: their mood tends to change depending on how high their dice rolls. This can also affect stuff like how affectionate they feel. Do I even need to elaborate further?
But I will: Battat can score a lee mood if his roll is low enough (1-2) while a higher roll can score a ler mood (5-6). Once tripped and accidentally rolled a 1, was pissed and easily flustered for the rest of the day.
Really only allows the fellow Mikes to tickle him without protest. Got tickled by Tenna once and ended up developing an even bigger crush on accident. He's overworked, it's a simple way to help him destress... even if he's cussing the whole time.
If someone has claws or fangs, tends to fixate on those by accident if he's in the lee mood. He can't help it. Gets weak in the knees and blushy if he thinks about it too hard. Tries desperately to ignore it instead.
Despite his mouth being able to run as much as it does in other circumstances, the one thing he can never spit out? Asking to be tickled. Usually silently approaches one of the other mikes, grabs their hand and puts it on his stomach. He's heavily embarrassed about it the whole time. Please be niceys to him. He's gonna get even moodier if you outright make him ask.
Doesn't usually engage first. But WILL get revenge as soon as possible. May be in five minutes when your guard is dropped, may be in a few days. Just. Let him figure out his work schedule, okay-
BUT ONCE HE DOES. Your life is over in five fucking minutes.
Out of costume, he's much more straightforward. His tickling style is best described as "erratic gremlin" the way that he WILL climb up and start going wild. He doesn't care if you're talking to someone else, he's going for it. He's gonna taunt his victim the whole time, too. If his victim makes any cute noises, he's just adding that to the taunt ammo.
"The maus in the studio don't even squeak this much!"
He's really only halfway nice to friends (especially the fellow Mikes), but even then is still pretty merciless.
He's not much better in costume, if you were wondering. He's only slightly calmer about the whole thing. But what really gets his victims is that he never stops talking!! Bro will not stop yapping.
But his teasing isn't nearly as mean. He can be surprisingly charming when he's playing his role.
"They always ask me, 'hey, Mike, ya gettin' this?' And my answer? Yes! Nothin' much escapes my notice, ya know! I'm saving some of these noises and reactions, by the way-"
On top of that. He's one of the main backstage guys, in charge of sets and planning the next show. All he has to do is enable Tenna just right, and then someone's trifling ass is getting lined up for a tickle-themed physical challenge.
.......Honestly. He's really good at enabling Tenna. If he just plays it casual, he can easily drop that information in a conversation with the guy. And within literal hours, Tenna's going after them. He gets smug about it each time.
"Oooh, wanna hear some gossip from backstage, boss? I heard this one's reaaaaaal ticklish, ya know? Jumped after I accidentally poked 'em in the side. Made a cute squeak, you would'a loved it! Eh, too bad ya missed it."
Tenna, in his head: Someone should do something about this (proceeds to hunt them down the next day)
Battat, witnessing Tenna's attack on whoever he gossiped about: All according to the script
My final point is that he's bold enough in costume to get a little silly with it, with pokes in passing if the set is, somehow, slow. Otherwise he's gonna tell the employees to quit goofing off.
Ok so two main points here: They're a Shadowguy, so they're naturally predisposed to enjoying shenanigans.
And when they're in costume, they tend to play up the cat stuff and become more affectionate. Both recieving and giving.
They don't say much of anything in costume (of course), but their laugh is still the saxophone noises that regular Shadowguys have. Staccato notes, wind squealing, that kinda thing.
Likes being petted! But someone will notice very quickly that certain spots seem to get different reactions. Ear scritch, neck scritch, and tummy rubs tend to get more giggly reactions.
Non zero chance they bite you on that last one (not that it really hurts though) (they're just cat moding its not personal)
SOMETIMES you can get a good reaction by scribbing their palms (or microphones?) but the best part is that the other hand is gonna flail a little bit about it after a tiny squeak. Does not try to take their hand back immediately but it does make them blush.
Their tail swishes a whole lot while laughing. Not agitated! Just very excitable and restless energy.
Really doesn't mind engaging in costume, out of costume, or either role. Literally just playing and having a great time either way.
Speaking of. Is also more sensitive out of costume, but loves playfighting so doesn't even mind. Just watch your ears for that out-of-tune saxophone squealing if you get their ribs or stomach. It WILL be loud. But the other saxophone notes that mimic more normal volume laughing are fun to listen to.
Tickle under their chin, and you'll swear you can hear purring mixed in with the quiet saxophone note laughing. Same with their neck and ears.
Often targeted by the other mikes, other Shadowguys, or gets grabbed by Tenna sometimes. If they aren't busy with anything, they don't mind! Thinks it's all fun. But will start slapping the ground or the ler's shoulder to tap out once they've had enough.
The other mikes like targeting them because Pluey has fun with it. Is all around fun to playfight with. They joke about "petting the kitty" while rubbing their ears for the quiet purrs and music note laughing (yes they think it's cute) (no they don't always say it)
Tenna jokes about "suddenly being good at saxophone" when he grabs them. If you care.
If you tease them, they might get embarrassed and pull their hat down to hide their face. And their blush. Their leg bounces too, to offset the restless energy because they have no tail to swish. Sad!
Now THIS is where they really shine!!!!
Remember how I said that they're predisposed to enjoying shenanigans? Yeah. They think tickling is all-around fun!! They love playfighting, be it with the other mikes, (sometimes) Tenna, or even some of the other employees.
Gets revenge almost immediately if they were targeted first. They're not too rough, they're just a little rowdy and having fun!
You can always tell that they're enjoying themselves because of the happy trilling music notes or the purring. Can't tease, but if their target makes a cute or funny noise, they're visibly delighted and make a very happy-sounding high note. Their job is to listen, after all.
One of their favorite moves is a tickle hug, if that says anything about them. In costume, will nuzzle up against their target's neck and side of face while purring up a storm and poking around their midsection. Out of costume, they'll knead around whatever they can reach with one hand while the other keeps them firmly trapped. They're stronger than they look!
Pisses off the other two mikes with this move. But will not stop. Keeps catching people off guard with this move and thinks it's funny every single time without fail. Not mean spirited! Just thinks it's funny and cute.
Have I said that they're a big fan of kneading yet. Because they are. Purrs the whole time, too.
Is a huge sweetie who just likes playfighting, just like every other Shadowguy. Gets REALLY excited when someone plays along with them more than once.
Not really a 'poke in passing' kind of fella, more of a 'picks you up and tickles you' kind of fella. Stronger than they look. Also pisses off the fellow mikes with this move.
The only warning you get, if any warning at all, entirely depends on them being in or out of costume. In costume? No warning, unless you see them coming and notice that they're seemingly very affectionate. Out of costume? You get the threatening hand-claw thing or wiggly fingers and an imposing grin. If you run off then they just chase you. They get so excited and happy if you engage and try to playfight.
Will excitedly demonstrate any noises or reactions they get to other friends, which also get excited about it. You're fucked btw because they will also carry your ass straight to Tenna to demonstrate.
Not much different in or out of costume, only a few major differences really. Tldr true switch who just wants to have fun with it.
OH HOW COULD I FORGET... knows most everybody else's spots, either through their own discovery or by hearing the gossip about it. For the right price, will sell out anyone else.
Hear me out: my theory with literally no supporting evidence is that this Zapper is the one that was guarding the secret area. The one that lets you pass because they were too ticklish to deal with it. They got so much shit from Battat for this until they eventually elaborated on what happened.
........Battat just gave them a sympathetic nod at that point. But did still tease the absolute shit out of them for being too sensitive to do their job properly.
They're the most ticklish mike, only leading Battat by a little bit. Tries desperately not to engage, but somehow always gets pulled into some kind of shenanigans. It's because everyone thinks they make cute squeaks and seeing a Zapper guard laughing like that is also. You guessed it. Very endearing.
In costume, they thankfully just skate by most of the time. They're a little embarrassed by it all, but their fellow mikes will tickle them in passing because they like seeing the jump and yelp. They think it's funny to see Jongler groan afterwards, too.
Their buttons are the worst spot, no contest. A simple poke is enough to get them laughing. Their palms are also pretty bad, along with their underarms (especially on that red stripe). Honorable mention to the neck and lower sides/hips. And back. Ok look you get it they're just really easy to bully.
They're really glad that the costume hides the buttons. Pluey made a game out of pressing as many of the buttons as fast as possible just to hear them laugh and possibly fall over.
But if they fall over. Pluey just pounces and keeps it up. It's a losing battle that they fight every single day.
Sometimes when they get Motormouth Mike's name wrong, Battat will keep poking at theur buttons until they get it right (or is laughing too hard to talk)
Laughs surprisingly loudly, and is not above begging, before you ask. Squirms a lot, but is too uncoordinated to try and run when they're laughing that hard. But try, they do. Even if it ends up leaving them more open than before.
Really kind of shy about it all, but is more comfortable with friends. Teasing them in any capacity gets an embarrassed whine and blush.
Also kind of a sweetheart, sometimes falls for simple tricks (like reaching something on a tall shelf) and often gets suckered into one of Pluey's tickle hugs.
Straight up dies if targeted by more than one person at a time. Which has happened. Most often with the other mikes.
Really hard to pin because they're very strong. But rapidly loses strength when they're laughing, so it's best to go straight in. You technically don't even HAVE to pin them once they're laughing hard enough.
Wanna know who can pin them immediately? Tenna. Scoops them up and lifts one arm, tickles with the other hand. Jongler loses their mind every time. Bro does NOT know that there's 3 of them, and they have enough of an overlap in spots that it's easy to mistake them for each other. He just thinks each costume makes somewhere else more sensitive.
But again they're actually very flustered over the whole thing so please be niceys. Gentle tickles still make them laugh pretty hard, before you ask.
They're WAY too sensitive to even think about engaging most of the time. They'll also retract if they hear someone squeal or yelp, because Jongler thinks they hurt them. So like. can't really work alone for this. Not even for revenge!
But. The other mikes, knowing just how soft Jongler is, are far too happy to help out. They use the opportunity to try and teach them a few tricks while Jongler holds the victim still.
gets secondhand flustered by them laughing, though. Looks anywhere else, as a matter of fact.
Deeply gentle at their core. doesn't want to risk hurting anyone.
...That said. does sometimes get bold (out of costume) and scoop up one of the other two mikes and tickles them quickly. He's not good at it, but being unable to get away frustrates them both enough to start laughing anyways.
Can't really tickle anyone in costume, but it's fine. They can hold them in place (see above) while someone else gets them. They just tell themself that it's evening the playing field for someone else.
Do they gossip about it with anyone else? Not on purpose, at least.
If it comes up in conversation, does tend to absentmindedly let it slip if/where someone is ticklish, and only realizes their mistake after the fact. Will apologize profusely.
"Ah, yeah... think I saw 'em get tagged by a Shadowguy da other day? Made a real loud noise when dey got the poor sap's ribs- H-HEY WAIT A SECOND OH NO-"
Feels so fucking bad when they get targeted later. Tenna has discovered many employee tickle spots via Jongler just kind of. Dropping it on accident. I have to emphasize that it is, indeed, an accident. They literally just do not think about it until it's too late.
They accidentally let some of Battat's spots out and got the lecture of a lifetime from the Motormouth after Tenna got his hands on him.
