Lepii's N25 Tickle Headcanons!
(oh my god how did this end up being so long)
Kanade
Lee
Kanade is extremely susceptible to tickling, in multiple ways. She's pretty skinny and bony, and her normal outfit doesn't offer much defense. The shirt is thin, and the jacket is easy to slip your hands under. She's also just sensitive to touch in general - most of her senses are sharper than the average person's (hence her dislike of strong-smelling food and bright sunlight).
Kanade's ticklish in a lot of places, but her shoulders and just her upper back area in general are a bit of a death spot for her. It's part of the reason why she doesn't like people messing with her hair - oftentimes their fingers will end up brushing over her shoulder blades and making her flinch. (Not that she dislikes being tickled there, she just gets embarrassed when it happens accidentally.)
I'd say Kanade's second most ticklish spot is her ribs. Which Ena and Mizuki are very aware of, and they will use that fact to convince Kanade eat proper meals ("Come on, Kanade, you're so skinny your ribs are sticking out! Look: one, two...").
Kanade has a really soft, breathy giggle, similar to her normal chuckles but more bubbly. She never really goes into full-on laughter - her giggles just get more giddy-sounding the more ticklish she's feeling. She does, however, start making little squeaks if you get her good enough, as if she wasn't adorable enough already.
Kanade doesn't squirm much. More often, she'll just curl herself up into a little ball, or cling to the ler for support if she's standing. Even then, she tires out quite easily, but thankfully everyone who could potentially end up tickling her is aware of her limits.
Kanade finds being tickled to be kind of nostalgic - her dad used to tickle her sometimes as a child, before her mom passed away. So, being tickled can put Kanade into a bit of a childish mood, where she gets all giggly and happy as she relives fond memories. It's bittersweet, but leans much more on the "sweet" side.
However, that all changes if you start teasing her. This girl instantly turns into a flustered mess once she's reminded of how silly and cute she's acting. Perhaps she'd start feeling guilty for enjoying herself so much if not for the fact that she'd usually be too giddy and giggly by this point to think about it much.
Speaking of which, despite being somewhat prone to lee moods, Kanade has a very hard time asking for tickles. Partially because she's shy, but moreso because she's afraid of burdening the other person, or that she doesn't deserve it, etc. Of course, the ler will always be happy to get her out of that self-deprecating mindset with some gentle affirmations and tickles :)
Ler
Kanade is a very shy and careful ler. She can be a bit awkward, and is always double checking to make sure the lee is comfortable and having fun. She almost never tickles anyone unprompted, nor does she follow up after accidentally tickling someone unless she's sure they liked it.
But at the same time, she also loves seeing the way people smile and laugh when she tickles them. It makes her so happy to know that she's the one who brought that smile to their face (especially with Mafuyu). She's definitely the type to just pause in the middle of tickling someone to just admire their expression with a soft, affectionate smile on her face.
Kanade is also really good at tickling. It might seem a bit unexpected at first, but this girl has been playing keyboard for basically her entire life, so her fingers are super nimble. Her hands are also pretty cold all the time (almost concerningly so but she's fineeeee). Thankfully, she's too nice and gentle to use the full extent of her powers.
Instead, Kanade usually sticks to very light and gentle tickling, like soft scribbles and flutters. Similarly, she much prefers to use reassurances and praises rather than playful teases. Of course, it can be flustering in its own right with how genuine she sounds as she tells you how nice your laugh is, and how glad she is that you're having fun.
Mafuyu
Lee
Mafuyu's actually surprisingly ticklish. Like, she's not that bad, but she's far from immune like one might expect. It's mostly because she has so little experience with it - she'd never experienced it from her parents for obvious reasons, and her persona in school has a professional aura that discourages her classmates from doing it.
Mafuyu doesn't have a specific tickle spot, but she does have a melt spot on the back of her neck and behind her ears. Tickling her there will cause her to get all relaxed and floppy in addition to the usual giggles, and if you're lucky she'll even subconsciously lean into your hand. She's like a big silly bunny :D
Mafuyu's laugh is kind of breathy and gasp-y. Like, if you've seen that one interaction where Mafuyu laughed at one of Emu's jokes, and Emu said her smile was real? Yeah, kind of like that, but less energetic-sounding. Honestly though, the best part is the fact that she's laughing at all, as well as her big yet genuine smile and flushed expression that's both extremely rare and incredibly heartwarming.
Interestingly, Mafuyu doesn't really hold back her laughs when she's being tickled. It's partially because she's not used to having to do so (since she rarely finds things funny enough to want to laugh at them in the first place), and partially because she doesn't really have any problems with being vulnerable in front of the other N25 members.
Similarly, Mafuyu doesn't try to fight back very much. She'll squirm a little, yes, but she won't try to push the ler's hand away or protest verbally or anything. I mean, why would she want to stop that warmth in her chest and the unfamiliar but not unpleasant giddiness taking over her senses?
Mafuyu was definitely very surprised at her own reaction the first time she got tickled. I feel like after it happened, she just kinda sat there trying to process her own reaction... But she soon decided that she liked it. She liked the warm fluttery feeling she'd get in her chest as she giggled away involuntarily, the way her worries and even her usual numbness seem to fade into the background.
Mafuyu rarely asks for tickles on her own, mostly because she can never really tell when she wants it. You'll generally need to look at her body language and nonverbal cues to tell if she's in a lee mood (getting more clingy, looking at the group members' hands etc). However, if she does realise it herself, she'll ask really directly and bluntly.
Ler
You cannot convince me that Mafuyu doesn't have a teasing side. She probably doesn't realise it herself, sure, but I feel like she gets some amusement out of seeing the other members' reactions when she scares them, or otherwise uses her bluntness to mess with them.
As such, she'll occasionally give the others (especially Ena) random pokes when they're working in the SEKAI, often as a way of getting their attention. She's aware of everyone's weak spots and uses that to her advantage to make the other girls jump, all while staring at them with that deadpan expression as if she had no idea what she just did.
On the other hand, Mafuyu never full-on tickles someone unless they ask for it. Which can be a bit frustrating (once again, especially for Ena) when one of her pokes happens to put the other into a lee mood, hehe...
Mafuyu's actual tickles can be described as calculated. They're not teasing at all - they're just very focused on the spots and movement patterns that get the biggest reaction. Not to mention, she'll probably just be staring blankly and silently at the lee's face the entire time (maybe they'll spot a tiny hint of a mischievous smile if they're lucky).
Ena
Lee
Ena's ticklishness is above average, but not as bad as Kanade. However, she's dramatic enough that you'd think she has it worse.
Ena's most ticklish spot is her tummy. Just poking her there in the right way is enough to get her to squeal, which is very amusing (if you can deal with the very flustered and disgruntled hedgehog she becomes after). She's very embarrassed about her weakness, and will never forgive Akito for tipping Mizuki off about it.
Ena's response to light tickles is to try and act like she finds it more annoying than ticklish, but she's not very good at it. Like, she'll complain, cross her arms and all that, but the effect is kind of ruined by how she's interrupting herself with snickers and twitches. Sometimes, she'll also try to slap the hand away, but never hard enough to hurt.
Firmer tickles give a much more dramatic response. She'll squeal a lot, flail around like crazy and yell for the person to stop, all while her face is adorably red from embarrassment. Still, she'll never directly acknowledge how much it's affecting her - in fact, she'll try her best to avoid saying the word "tickle" at all. She'll pretty much just die on the spot if you do the thing where you don't stop until she admits that it tickles (any tease will get a good reaction out of her, though).
Ena has one exception to this, and that's with Kanade. If it's Kanade who's tickling her (and no one is watching), Ena becomes an affectionate little puddle of giggles. She'll still get all flustered and might protest weakly a little, but she'll be much more openly happy. This way, we can see how Ena actually doesn't mind getting tickled, and that her tsundere attitude is just too strong to let it show normally.
Ena will NEVER ask for tickles. She does get into lee moods on occasion, and she'll try her very best not to let it show when it happens. It never works though, because her groupmates are all so darn observant.
Ler
As funny as it is to see Ena's reaction to being tickled silly, you'd better be prepared to be counterattacked if you dare to attempt it (unless you're Kanade, of course). Ena is very much the type to get herself some sweet revenge, and oh boy, she can be brutal.
Ena's pretty good at firm tickles in general, but it shows the most when she's doing it as payback. She will squeeze and scribble her victim's weak spots relentlessly while scolding/teasing them until they apologize. Of course, she's also mindful enough to make sure her victim has enough room to breathe and that they aren't actually getting upset and all that.
Honestly, tickling others is just good stress relief for Ena in general - rather than trashing her art supplies, she can just squeeze someone's sides and tummy to let all that frustration out, and her anger often doesn't last very long when she's distracted by the sound of the lee's laughter. Poor Akito in particular has been a victim of Ena's "tickle-venting" on more than one occasion.
When Ena's not out for (metaphorical) blood and is just feeling playful, she sometimes likes to use her brushes for tickling. Just little paint tattoos in places like on the knees or wrists, sometimes even on the belly if she feels up to it. She finds it especially amusing how the other person will try so hard to stay still while they're obviously trying not to squirm or giggle. (It also makes her feel somewhat affirmed that they care enough about her art to try not to ruin it, but who needs to know that?)
Once again, Ena makes a sort of "special exception" for Kanade (I swear I'm not biased towards Kanaena, they're just actually soft towards each other like that). Ena always keeps her tickles a lot more gentle when it comes to Kanade, though she sometimes can't help but throw in a few light ticklish squeezes as a sort of cuteness aggression. She's also a lot less teasing and more affectionate with her.
On that note, Ena's probably the most prone to ler moods out of the four girls, and her target is usually Kanade if she feels like being more gentle, or Mafuyu if she wants to go a little rougher. She'd once considered tickling Mizuki to sate her ler mood before, but was careful not to when she learned that Mizuki wasn't comfortable with it (this was before the secret was revealed).
Mizuki
Lee
Okay, Mizuki is a bit of a complicated case. This is because Mizuki instinctively isn't the most comfortable with being touched (she usually prefers being the one initiating it), mostly due to past trauma from bullying and in fear of her secret being revealed to someone. So, she's most comfortable being tickled by people who have known for a long time, like Rui, An or her sister Yuuki. With N25, it's still a work-in-progress, but she's trying her best.
Mizuki's most ticklish spot is her sides. I dunno, it just feels right to me. I can definitely imagine Yuuki gently squishing a younger Mizuki's sides as she helps her try on outfits.
Mizuki's tickle laugh is on the bubbly side. It's also higher pitched and less controlled compared to how her normal, playful laugh sounds. She squeals sometimes if she's feeling ticklish enough, but not as much as Ena. She squirms a roughly average amount.
Unfortunately, it can take a bit of doing to get Mizuki to actually let her laughter out if your name isn't Rui or Yuuki. Since she's not used to being vulnerable around most people, she tends to get all flustered and hold in her laughter when tickled by any of the N25 girls, sometimes even with people like An. Once she does manage to relax, she definitely enjoys it, though.
Mizuki's lee moods tend to be an extension of her need to be emotionally vulnerable. To her, it's a sign of trust on both sides, and a reassurance that the ler accepts her for who she is. Rui's usually the person she turns to for this, or Yuuki if she's around.
Now, a special section to talk about her progress with N25! After her secret was revealed, Mizuki tried her best to become more open about her feelings with the others. She still gets pretty nervous, though, and often needs a bit of reassurance to open up... So imagine everyone's surprise when she admitted she was in a lee mood. The other members quickly understood that Mizuki's lee moods are more of a a "seeking comfort" thing rather than a "playful" thing, and were as such very gentle and caring with her throughout the tickle session.
Ler
On the contrary, Mizuki is a little gremlin when it comes to giving tickles. She loves just briefly scribbling her fingers over her friends' ticklish spots to tease them, especially people who give good reactions like Ena. Said person doesn't need to know her secret, since this is kind of just a part of Mizuki's mischievous personality.
Mizuki doesn't really do tickle "sessions" most of the time, it's more just random pokes and prods as part of a normal interaction. This is partially because she's scared of going too far, especially with the risk of the person retaliating. See above for why Mizuki really doesn't want to be tickled randomly.
This doesn't mean Mizuki doesn't have chances to throw in some verbal teasing. She'll often smirk and comment on the other's reactions after a quick tickle (while making a little bit of distance to prevent a counterattack).
Mizuki does get playful ler moods occasionally, where she starts wanting to actually full-on tickle someone, to see their funny/cute reactions as she teases them and sends them into fits of giggles rather than just the startled yelps her normal method gets. She's learned to restrain herself, though, and instead, she'll just do the little tickles more frequently.
Once again, that isn't an issue with people she's already comfortable with. While it didn't really happen with Rui (Mizuki never really got ler moods during the bulk of the time they spent together), Mizuki's definitely tickled Yuuki before just for fun, the two of them playfully roughhousing.
In terms of getting more willing to do it with N25, this could have actually started before the secret was revealed. At one point, Kanade noticed Mizuki was poking her on and off more than normal and asked her about it. Mizuki rationalised that Kanade probably wouldn't retaliate anyway, so she decided to just let herself have some fun.
Later on, Ena and Mafuyu found out, forcing Mizuki to have to rather awkwardly clarify that she was uncomfortable with being revenge-tickled. Ena could tell she was being serious and not just making excuses, and agreed to the terms (Mafuyu wasn't going to revenge tickle anyway). Mizuki was still a little hesitant with Ena, but for the most part she became comfortable with letting out her ler side with the girls from them on.
