Hermes Tickle Headcanons
As a Ler:
I want to start out by saying that I definitely see Hermes as being a switch! Atleast 60-40 on the scales, though the percentages change out a lot depending on his mood.
Some days he's more of a ler, pestering both mortals and immortals alike, an others he's more of a lee who just wants to enjoy a good laugh himself!
When he is in a ler mood though? He's definitely a major teaser. He gets a real kick out of seeing the wide variety of reactions he can get out of different people, and it never fails to amuse him how unique they all are.
Shy types who tend to curl up or cover their faces? Adorable. Prideful types who cope with the embarrassment by fighting back or arguing? Hilarious. Hermes enjoys it all.
I have a headcanon that whenever he's particularly bored and away from Olympus, he likes to play tricks on mortals, both tickly and not, and he especially loves to mess with his descendants.
After formally revealing himself to Oddyseus during the incident with Circe, it wasn't an uncommon thing for the trickster god to drop in on his ship and mess with him and his crew.
And once he found out that his dear grandson was ticklish? He might as well have kissed his pride and his peace of mind goodbye.
He makes it a point to know where all of his descendants worst spots are so he can mess with them at the most inconvenient timed possible.
Oddyseus is addressing the crew? A surprise tickle up his spine to make him squeak mid sentence. Telemachus is training with Athena? He'll feel a phantom squeeze to his ribs to make him crumple. There's nothing that Hermes loves more than to play with his beloved mortal kin!
As for his immortal family, he's quite playful with most of them too, though he certainly has his favorites. He especially enjoys messing with Apollo, just like in the good old days when he stole his cows as an infant. He often instigates tickle fights with him, and occasionally Artemis might join in if she feels like it. He likes to mess with his other family members too, but depending on who it is, he might have to make himself scarce for a while afterwards to avoid suffering their wrath...
As far as techniques go, one of his favorite ways to tickle a person is to pick them up into the air while hugging them from behind, letting his head wings flutter across their neck and shoulders.
Overall he's a very playful and chaotic ler, his techniques equal parts sporadic as they are intentional. He's got a real knack for figuring out which techniques gets to an individual the most, and he's not afraid to take full advantage of it either!
As a Lee:
Whenever Hermes is in a lee mood, I absolutely see him as being the type to provoke someone into tickling him.
Not because he's shy about asking, not at all! He simply finds it far more entertaining for himself to push their buttons a little first!
His laugh is super high pitched and funny. That's not even a headcanon either. His laugh is canonically hilarious.
He's definitely a big squirmer! Flailing, kicking, rolling around. He simply cannot be still for it lol.
In the event that he does manage to get away, he's a runner too, but he never actively makes a big effort to actually escape. He's the god of speed after all, so he certainly could if he wanted to, he's just in it for the love of the chase!
As much as he loves it, his number one goal is to be as dramatic as possible about it. He'll scream, snort, beg, you name it, and yet he'll still pout if you even dare to stop before he genuinely taps out.
He's got remarkable stamina when it comes to being tickled, but the one place he can't take it? The base of his wings. Both on his ankles and his head.
He's ticklish everywhere, but those are definitely his worst spots! He absolutely cackles when someone gets him there and he low-key loves it.
I like to think Apollo was the one to figure it out, not long after the cow incident when Hermes gifted him the lyre to make amends. They started getting along after that, and little Hermes started spending a lot more time trailing behind his big brother Apollo.
When he was still little, he used to cradle him in lap and tickle the little wings on his feet to make him giggle. Even to this day those moments remain rooted as some of his fondest memories.
Apollo still tickles him quite often despite him being grown. Whenever he's being particularly obnoxious or does something to annoy him? Tickling has become the most common form of punishment for his trickster of a little brother.
Overall, Hermes is a very proud lee and doesn't get embarrassed by it at all. He enjoys getting to laugh and play around like that, and he sees no reason to be ashamed of it!
