TW: MASSIVE CRINGE AND PONIES LIE AHEAD, SOLDIER! BE SAFE AND BE WARNED!! 🫡
Otherwise I think that's… Probably the only warning here, if there's anymore please let me know!
Oh and big fluff; platonic, tiiiiny romantic and parental-wise!
Headcanon time! Woohoo!! Inspired to post these by the wonderful, @crazy-as-a-jaybird after having them rot in my brain for a millenia. (am I allowed to tag you? I'm so sorry if not!!). So, I'm just going to be frank and say that this version of Shining is from my MLP AU "A Prince's Point of View". So he may mostly seem OOC and indulgent, I apologise in advance for that.
Also y'all get unfinished, trad concept art for said AU yippeee!
MLP Tickle Headcanons (Part 1)!
Shining Armor ⚔️
50% Lee, 50% Ler
As a Lee:
Although Shining has a remarkable pain tolerance, his tolerance to his own sensitivity cannot be said to be the same. The poor stallion is very often caught off guard by his own reactions to gentle sensations, almost anything can send him into a fit of giggles whether it be something as light as kisses from his wife, or even playful jabs in the side by his fellow knights, which have been cause for more than one awkward conversation.
He is not especially sensitive to feathers, though, if one were to take an curious swig at his scars they may be rewarded with a very unexpected jolt.
Shining will deny being ticklish until his dying BREATH. Admitting it is never, has never, and will never be on the table.
"What!? Pffft! Me? Ticklish? How can I be ticklish? You're just imaging things! You startled me is all!"
Despite his many attempts to come off as responsible, if it is not his knightly duties, he unfortunately, admittedly gets incredibly frazzled! Whether it be struggles with his princely responsibilities, or an accountable father to Flurry Heart (which he is good at most of the time, but his precious daughter is still very much a handful), naturally, he needs a little "help" getting out of his tizzied mindset.
He'll often try to back track by yelling frantic warnings, with feeble attempts of persuasion only for it to just completely backfire on him.
"N-Now hold on a minute! You don't want to tickle me! I'm a kicker! I swear this is a really bad idea! I really don't want to hurt you!"
Only for him to realise it only makes them want to tickle him more, not only because he isn't completely evading it but because they both know he has amazing control and wouldn't harm a fly if he didn't want to.
"I mean I- Wait! WAIT--!"
He has very sweet giggles, that bounce and fluctuate in pitch in sporadic rhythm. They usually start as a gentle squeak, but, the more you tickle him the deeper and more throaty his laughter gets and can eventually reach high volumes of full, joyous belly laughs. He is rather embarrassed about how loud he can get though and will attempt to shield his muzzle with his hooves or if he can't, he'll try to quell his laughter only for it to turn into rapid snorts and persistent titters which he eventually gives up on and allows himself to laugh freely because those are far more embarrassing.
He is, indeed, a squirmer, his go to would most definitely be kicking his hind hooves in an uncoordinated fashion which can almost be rather comical when the right spot is targeted, or playfully batting at the attacker with no real intention of pushing them away.
He is pretty much ticklish everywhere, however his neck, ears and sides are particularly bad spots. Unfortunately, almost everyone in the castle knows this.
Blueblood and Cadence like to take advantage of this fact particularly, A LOT.
With Cadence, Shining is particularly gullible, because his beautiful wife could do no wrong, right? WRONG. She likes to very innocently inveigle him into having cuddle time with her (You know couples do as couples do... /silly) only for her to start nibbling on his ears or softly paw at his sides when he can't escape turning him into an uncharacteristic piles of wiggles and giggles, and of course being the Princess of Love who would she be not to tease her dear husband about it? She'll often have the audacity to whisper into his ear things like:
"Oh Shiny, you truly need to stop melting my heart like this... It's just making me want to hear your laughter more." (This was mostly inspired by one of their comics.. HHH)
He will then promptly and poutily, shove his face into her chest trying to hide his sheer embarrassment and pin his ears back with either a flustered whine or snort.
Blueblood on the other hand is almost like a COMPLETE 180.
He knows exactly what he is doing, and though at times he may act oblivious he will take the opportunity to shine a very bright light on the latter prince's supposed weakness.
He will often use opportunities such as spa days, outfit assessments or even something as simple as convenient conversation and will absolutely let Shining know just what he's thinking in the moment:
"I find it truly amusing how such a strong knight such as yourself can't endure something as ridiculous as this."
Though, he never intends it with any malice, Shining knows this and it moreso plays into their friendly rivalry type relationship.
Shining is also sometimes a victim to his little sister, but not very often -- or his fellow soldiers, but that was mostly back when he was a rookie, now most prefer not to test their luck but there are a few brave ones in the herd, namely, Flash Magnus and Flash Sentry.
As a Ler:
So unfathomably awkward but also one of the sweetest lers ever, lol
Father bear mode activated immediately!
Being an older sibling AND a dad, Shining is definitely one to watch when it comes to this sort of thing, he's practically an expert.
Not only is he a force to be reckoned with because of his experience but also because of his almost inhumane strength! If needs be, he is able to pin even the squirmiest of opponents down with ease.
As much as he might enjoy being on the receiving end, he will almost always reciprocate.
Shining prefers to give what he likes to receive which is often soft playful tickles, which is kind of ironic given his rough line of work, but it's a contradiction he's quite fond of.
His primary victims are, of course, Cadence, Twilight, Blueblood, Flurry and Spike.
With Cadence he likes to nestle into the crook of her neck and nuzzle his head into it almost like a cat, he adores how it earns elegant squeaks from her everytime.
He moreso sticks to quiet compliments rather than teases, though, they sometimes tend to come off as the latter, and sometimes he can't resist it either.
"Goodness, your laughter is just precious! May I hear more?" "You know, you really should have seen this coming. You didn't truly think you could get away from me did you?" “Dear me, whatever are we going to do with you? Such adorable squeaks can’t just be left alone can they? I think we need to dig for more!”
He very much enjoys being corny with his teasing as well if he knows it gets a rise of the unsuspecting pony/creature. (He usually uses these one with Flurry)
“Uh, oh, it looks like the tickle train is making a stop at tummy station!” and then proceeds to blow a giant raspberry most likely. “Dramatic gasp What's that under your nose? Was that a giggle? Oh no I think it's stuck, let's help it get it out, shall we?”
He also sometimes likes to be dramatic and use his “knightly voice” in his teasing. Especially when a lee is being difficult and trying to escape him.
“Ah? You dare challenge an honorable knight such as myself trying to enjoy such a bountiful harvest of laughter! Well thankfully I don't mind a good fight… En garde!”
This man knows no such thing as shame, he often demolishes his lees simply from the sheer secondhand embarrassment from his teasing.
He is SO incredibly respectful of boundaries.
He constantly checks in on his lee just to make sure they're ok and still having fun, make no mistake though, he will still absolutely wreck them.
Blueblood Is Next!
Yay!