#dispatch tickling

It isn't until he comes in early one morning after a rough shift as Mecha Man the night before, needing to do some repairs on the suit before his shift started, that he becomes very aware of the little guy. He's been storing the suit in Royd's workshop, since they added a launch hatch in the crater above the room during the post-Shroud repairs. Tucked away in the corner behind the suit is the little robot, slotted in it's charging bay, awaiting 6:00am to begin its patrol. Robert doesn't pay it much mind as he sets about working on repairs until about an hour later, when an unfamiliar blue glow sets about scanning the room. Robert pulls out from under the suit, his chest and arms covered in soot and grime from working in just a dingy tank-top. The little cleaning robot has pulled out of it's bay, making its way around scanning the room and cleaning as it goes. Every time the little guy comes across an area to clean, the blue light flashes to red, and it sets about using whatever tool it deems necessary for the mess at hand.

It's another ten minutes until the cleaning bot comes around close to the mech. Robert's moved on to working on some of the external damage, still just as grimy and sooty. He watches as the blue light descends from the top of the mech down, until it's upon him, and the light flashes red.

In an instant, there's damp rags accosting him, trying to wipe off the soot. He quickly steps down from the platform he was working from, but clearly the little bot did not appreciate a moving target. It only takes a second more for the rag arms to disappear, and for clawed arms to take their place.

"Hey! Fuck, um, shut down! Off! Turn off!" But Robert's attempts at override are very much ignored as he feels a metallic appendage close around his right wrist and hoist him in the air. Just barely enough for his toes to touch the ground.

He's expecting a few minutes of discomfort. For the rags to come back out and wipe him down, then let him go. What he does not expect is for two arms with gray feathery dust brushes to reemerge in the rags' place. His stomach sinks.

"No! Off, turn o-off, shut down, power d-down, power-FUCK!" His attempts to shut the little robot down are in vain, as the dusters start at his exposed collarbones, but big enough to flutter up to assault his neck and ears as well.

He tried to hold it in. Really, he did! Held his breath and froze every muscle in his body. But it felt like eternity trying to hold in the shrieks and cackles that devilish sensation evoked in him. Robert swore he could feel every single fluffy feather on those stupid brushes as they scrubbed up and down across his chest, but realistically what felt like forever was certainly no more than 20 seconds.

Robert has not been tickled in at least 15 years. Probably longer if he was being honest. With that in consideration, Robert would like to make the argument that his reaction when he finally broke was not overkill, thank you very much.

"FUCK- FUCK YOU NO NO NOHOHO-"

It was the kind of shriek that reverberated through the room, followed by the uncontrollable cackling of someone who was very much not used to this. The brushes had moved to target his neck proper, and it allowed them to really swish by his ears. The combination of rapid fluttering across his neck and by-proxy flutters at his ears was too much, and he broke.

He wasn't high enough off the ground to make any truly meaningful movement, but he also wasn't close enough to the ground either. It left him stretched out and taut like a bowstring, and all the flailing of his remaining free arm got him was another mechanical claw shooting out to restrain that one too. He felt his arms adjust to more of a "Y" position, the bot stretching them out to get at his shoulders and armpits.

He could feel the heat in his cheeks and ears burning, and it only got worse when one of the brushes made to move towards his upper back and shoulder blades and Robert snorted. Honestly he didn't think he was capable of making noises like that anymore. Hell, even when Chase used to tickle him as a kid he never made that noise. Granted, Chase never tried to tickle his back, but still.

It almost felt vindictive when the robot moved the other brush to clean off his upper back too. The gentle feathery touch combined with the rapid dusting of someone trying to clean a countertop sent shocks of sensation so powerful that it felt like someone had taken every nerve and twisted them all up until all he could feel was how much it tickled.

His legs were kicking and swinging violently back and forth, trying to do anything, to escape, to lessen the sensation, anything. Royd must have put some insane grip strength in the stupid thing if it hadn't dropped him by now.

When it finally decided to move on from that fucking spot, Jesus- it started trailing back across his shoulders and armpits, then up across his arms to clean them off. For the most part, it was a reprieve from the tickly sensations he had just been made to endure, up until he felt that feathery feeling brush against the underside of his bicep. He had been able to take some deep breaths while it took care of his lower arms, but once it approached the thin sensitive skin above his armpits, he erupted back into tired giggles. Though it seemed whoever was out there was on his side for once, because it wasn't long after the bot had targeted that spot on each side that he felt the brushes slide away from his skin, leaving only tingles in their wake. He wasn't sure when he had closed his eyes, but he let himself focus on the darkness and trying to catch his breath. Of course, this meant that when the rags from earlier returned to wipe away what little was left on his skin he was wholly unprepared and caught off-guard, but thankfully the slightly rough cloth wasn't enough to set his nerves alight once again.

Robert Robertson

This man has been by himself for SO fucking long ok. He's barely had any human contact outside of hero work, so his experience with tickling was limited to when he was younger

I like to think that when Chase was watching him, occasionally if Robert was feeling down he would threaten a visit from the tickle monster to get him to cheer up. Of course, Robert would try to run; it never worked though ;)

So all that to say, he doesn't really think about it much. Cue first time being tickled in like fifteen years and uh oh knismo awakening alert

I have SO many ideas on how that goes, but at risk of writing like. entirely too much. I'm just gonna hop into dynamics n shit

Solid switch imo, I think he enjoys giving as much as receiving, not to mention like. You can't tell me that man wouldn't be a devastating ler That voice asking, "Oh? Does that tickle?" killer.

I think his worst spots would be his stomach, shoulder blades, and hipbones. I have very little reason, just based on vibes alone.

Skittering works best, I think he's gotten used to rougher touch from years of superhero work, and a lighter touch would send him to his knees.

His laugh is much like it is in canon obvs, light and huffy, but if you manage to really get him going after a bit, it turns more into a full-bodied cackle.

Ler Robert thoughts: I think anyone needing to be hella humbled (...large portion of the z-team...) gets their shit rocked. Flambae's being a little extra mouthy during a shift? "Flambae, meet me in the conference room after shift." The rest of the team do not let him live it down once they hear Flambae wheezing and snorting through those conference room walls. Malevola's bein a little too handsy? Good luck girl your portals can't save you now. I think he also uses it just to tease them for fun; Waterboy especially gets so flustered when Robert pulls even just the slightest HINT of tickling up. Like, that's his hero, threatening him with wiggling fingers? That boy is soooo fucked.

Flambae

Listen, I know ler Flambae tends to be the move, but that man needs to be humbled SO bad.

That v-neck is BEGGING to be exploited. Robert skitters his fingers across his abs one day and he fucking wheezes

He would NEVER admit it, but he certainly doesn't mind being tickled.

Prism is the first to find out Flambae is ticklish, and Flambae makes her swear to secrecy. She agrees. Mostly.

Sometime after Robert comes around, Prism gets her shit wrecked and she decides his ass needs a little humbling Enter Robert Robertson The Third

Also going to jump into dynamics now bc ykw if my ass ever decides to write I can elaborate there, if I elaborate here we'll be here forever

Anyways Flambae tells himself he doesn't like being tickled, that he'd much rather wreck someone than be wrecked, but we all know that's some bullshit

I don't think he craves it often? But when he does, it hits him hard

His most ticklish spots in my head are probably on his lower body, though his torso can definitely get him going; his feet and thighs are the worst though. (and this is a little less sfw than i usually go, but i know it in my heart to be true: that tush is SO ticklish and it pisses him off to no end.)

I think his standard laugh is more of a wheezy cackle, but get him going enough and it turns into wheezy snorts He canonically snort laughs (can't remember what causes it but during a dispatching segment he starts laughing and the subtitles call it snort laughter so,,,,,) and my knismo ass jumped on that shit like a juicy steak

Ler Flambae evil asf don't you worry, and he ALWAYS gets revenge. He's a mean ler, mocks his lee (lovingly ofc), sometimes just stays dead silent because he knows that can be worse than him talking...ler Flambae thoughts consume me....

god because i just KNOW Waterboy is a squirmer when he’s tickled. if you surprise he jolts initially and might try to protest—not really understand what you’re doing at first—but then he just starts melting and progressively becoming more and more incoherent.

“W-what are you- you- wait, wait—! You-! S-stop! Gh- ghehehehe! What.. you— you! Why are you..? Wh-! Ehehehe-heh-!! s-stop!”

but i think if you’re closer with him he very much doesn’t mind it. i feel like he’s not too used to being close to people—especially not physically—due to his arguably weird and kind of gross power. it takes him a long time to pick up on when others are about to wreck him so he’s always surprised when it happens.

if you ask him he will literally short circuit. he cannot say yes, even if he had to save his life. the best you’ll get out of him is a nod because the embarrassment combined with the stutter is too much for him sometimes.

try asking him questions while you’re tickling him. he squeezes his eyes shut so tight and might try to cover his face with his hands, but at the same time it’s a struggle because he wants to stay still for you. softer tickles on his sides make him giggle uncontrollably, while if you scribble a bit rougher he laughs—like a lot—very similar to the squealing of a mouse. he literally looks like :] when he smiles, bros a sunshine