ram / jax / malware

Erin: All the time. Every day when possible. He's mostly the one offering hugs, even if she usually doesn't initiate them she always likes them. Usually wraps both arms around her and squeezes as tightly as he can without making her uncomfortable, which is still pretty tightly. Due to the height difference his head rests against her chest around where the sternum bone would be. Erin puts her arms around him but not very tightly.

Melia: Almost all the time. The first among Asopo's friends to ever receive one. Melia and Asopo first hugged in goldenleaf forest during the picnic, he offered one after Melia said the butterflies of fate indicated a lifelong friendship between them. In goldenleaf Asopo was a bit taller than Melia but at the current chapter they're the same height. The first hug wasn't the best because even though Nancy taught Asopo what a hug was she didn't teach him that squeezing with all his might can make it hard for others to breathe. Melia complained about it the first time which made him feel bad, he had to learn a little bit about making others comfortable. As of current chapter Melia offers Asopo hugs at roughly the same rate Asopo offers them to her. Definitely a lot while they were in zeight. It helps them calm down when she's thought too much about her genesis syndrome and the Xen Raid and the EoN spell and- the list goes on.

Venam: Often. I think the first time Asopo hugged Venam was during that period of time when they were at Venam's house mourning Melia. It happened the first time while Venam was just staring out the window. Asopo stood next to her and they watched the rain. Their faces would've been dry in that moment, unlike the world outside. They didn't say anything, Asopo just decided to hold up his arms to offer it then Venam just walks into it. She sort of just stood passively while he gave her the tightest hug possible. Afterwards Venam just stared at him until she muttered "Thanks..." by the current chapter they're in the habit of seeing who can squeeze the other harder. This results in really cathartic squeezing. Venam generally finds the way Asopo expresses friendship to be whimsical, or she's amused by how often Asopo likes doing this. Once or twice Venam managed to hug Asopo hard enough to lift him off his feet. Sometimes she grins and calls this "good practice" for hugging Melia.

Ren: Not as often as the others but they still hug. I think the first time Asopo had a chance to offer him one was after Melia died. He gave Ren one after their little conversation by the pier when Ren told Asopo he should keep pursuing the gym badges to get stronger. I think Ren finds them nice but he usually got a bit stiff and sort of just stands still when they happen. Asopo offers them but Ren always makes them brief. Robo Ren isn't the best at hugs, but during .karmafiles when Ren was briefly human Asopo gave him a really tight squeeze. I MEAN C’MON MR RENSTER, FLESH AND BONE HUGGIES, THE HUMAN TOUCH, DON'T YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'VE BEEN MISSING??

Aelita: Friendly competition to see who can squeeze the other person harder. Aelita wins. He gave her one after saying "I'm never leaving you." at the one bit. In the moment it embarrassed Aelita about as much as his words did. She appreciates it though. Aelita initiates huggies about as much as Asopo does, everyone has a good time. (Except during renegade... after Asopo and Melia woke up from collapsing outside Zeight, Aelita noticed that Asopo seemed on edge so she offered him a hug to feel better. He just stared at her and left... it hurt her feelings a lot more than it should've.)

Kanon: So basically one time when Asopo offered Kanon a hug he refused it because hugs are only for humans. Asopo just said "Oh... okay." And walked away. Erin found him crying somewhere later on. So basically Kanon felt like shit after Erin confronted him about it later and told him to stop treating himself like inhuman. This was before Chapter 15 so the resolution to Kanon's little issue isn't until later, but I think this was another thing that would've tested Erin's patience a bit more. Eventually we do see Kanon and Asopo huggies but not until some point in .karmafiles I'd say.

Tesla: Every time they meet. It's almost like hugging his mother. The first time Tesla would've given him one would have really surprised Asopo, but he reciprocates it. I don't think she would've done it while offering him the room in her house because she was mindful of potentially overwhelming him. Now they're both really comfortable with hugging and it's just nice.

Amber: You see, Amber never really thought of hugging as something you'd do with your friends, I think for most of the game before that point one of the only people she hugged would've been her mother. Despite this, Amber canonically hugs the player in a long comforting group hug after Saki's gym battle, so I guess the interceptor canonically hugged Venam and Saki too. I'd add Saki to this list but I don't think Asopo would've been on hugging terms with her during Terajuma and then after that point she's in the pod- maybe when she wakes up idk man. Back to Amber though, I think post chapter 15 they'd have occasional hugs because it's after that point that she's truly most friendly with the interceptor.