Several weeks ago, some of my friends were gearing up for TOMS shoes “One Day Without Shoes” Event where people would run around shoe-less to raise awareness and inspire conversation about the need for footwear in developing nations. I was planning to participate in the event anyway and my boyfriend, Nick, was really involved in publicity for it; I offered to help them with their advertising because I had some free time. We met up at Nick’s apartment to put everything together.
My boyfriend’s roommate Jon was coming up with ideas about how to design the poster and he came up with the idea of “One Day Without Shoes” written on pairs of feet. My friend Nicole, a crazy red-headed art major, liked the idea and offered to help put the sign together provided she could use the images in her portfolio if they turn out right. When all the other guys refused to model, Jon agreed to just do it. We took out one of the magic markers we had and Nicole started to ink out the design into his foot. His face twitched at first and he was gripping the carpet tightly, flinching more and more the lower the marker drifted on his sole. The word “without” was written evenly across both his arches and he was visibly tense as she retraced her letters. It was kind of cute to watch a 6’3” guy fighting a giggle-fit as his size thirteen feet were tickled. When he let out a slight giggle everyone awed; Nick poked his slightly pink cheek with a smile and he told them to shut up.
“You actually have really cute feet, Jon.” Nicole teased, spidering her fingers with their long burgundy nails over his sole when she finished. He had been leaning back, resting with his arms behind him and her nails making contact made him jump and lose his balance onto his back, he moved to plant his feet on the ground but Nicole stopped him, scolding, “Don’t try to stand up or you’ll smudge it!”
I was standing a few feet away and I reached over to grab something, I guess lifting my foot off the ground.
“Rynn, you actually really cute feet too!” Jon remarked and I flattened my foot back into the carpet. Raising an eyebrow at the odd remark.
“Uh, thanks, I think.” I shifted awkwardly.
“It would actually be really cool to have a smaller pair of feet with the design too, you know.” Nicole mused, “It‘d be more inclusive, promote unity.”
“Come on, park it.” Jon patted the space next to him on the carpet.
“Uh, I don‘t think I --”
“It’ll be really quick! I’d do it myself, but my toes are weird. Besides, we want the handwriting to be the same.”
“I- uh-” before my brain could concoct another excuse Nick swung an arm under my knees, picking me up and plopping me back on the floor. “fine.” I held my breath. Glaring at him because he knows how crazy ticklish my feet are.
“You have to keep your feet straight.” Nicole chastised, pushing the ball of my foot because I had unknowingly wrinkled my sole. I flinched at her touch, but she didn’t seem to notice. “Just flex it back, that way I have a flat surface. Skin isn’t easy to draw on, you know.”
“Yeah.” I said through gritted teeth. Easier said than done. I glared at Nick who chuckled from behind me. “Sure.”
She knelt down face level with my foot and I gripped at the rug the way Jon had just moments before. I felt the first stroke down, presumably the O in “One“. I jumped, pulling my ankle away as if I’d been burned. I hadn’t expected the felt tip to tickle so violently. My foot instantly curled up like a hedgehog and I had to cover my mouth to stop myself from shrieking.
“Shit.” Nicole giggled, “I thought he was bad.” She pointed a thumb at Jon who blushed. “You going to be able to do this?”
Before I could suggest we find another person, Nick answered for me. “Nah, she’s fine. It’s just a little tickle, nothing that awful.” he reached down and wiggled two fingers under my rib cage and I thrashed away, bumping into Jon’s shoulder and slapping Nick in the leg.
“Don‘t push it, asshole.” I stuck my tongue out at him and he responded with the same gesture.
“You can’t wiggle around though, I don’t want to mess up because this ink will take a while to get off and even then your feet will be all pink from scrubbing and it’ll look off.” Nicole’s a bit of a perfectionist and her face looked like she was deep in thought. Apparently, I paled a bit at the mention of scrubbing.
“James, can you sit on her leg without hurting her?” I started to get really nervous about how much of an ordeal making this little flyer was going to become. James is Nicole’s boyfriend; He isn’t a huge guy, he is muscular and a little on the short side, but by no means is he heavy. He knelt over my legs, sitting just below my knees and bolted my lower half to the floor with his weight. He took the opportunity to run a finger up and down my foot, making it wiggle in the little way it could. He smiled cheekily when I tried (fruitlessly) to kick him off. “Can you hold her foot still too? Maybe pull it back a bit?” He did as he was told and I felt so completely vulnerable.
“I do not envy you.” Jon offered me a sympathetic look, but was clearly finding the situation hysterical.
I tried to ask for another few seconds, but the pen had already made contact, drawing the line of N on the ball of my foot. I scrunched my face and my toes were fighting against James’ hands, making his grip tighten (the pressure on my toes tickled slightly too). My mouth opened wide and a loud laugh escaped.
“If only someone brought duct tape, they’ll think we’re killing her down here.” Nick commented with a grin glancing upward wondering what the upstairs tenants would be thinking.
Nicole moved down and made the first few lines for the W in “without” and my laughter rose an octave, sounding a lot more desperate.
She asked if she’d hit a bad spot, looking like she felt really bad. I explained it was the worst part of my foot.
“Are there any other bad spots I should know about?” she asked patiently.
“Her whole body is a bad spot.” Nick quipped.
I thought about the terribly ticklish spot where my arch and instep meet, the area Nick affectionately dubbed my “kill switch” after his calloused fingertips had brushed over the area when we were sitting together. It’s a tiny little area, but the damage tickling it inflicts is huge. It’s so sensitive that my own fingertip brushing over it accidentally can make me giggle. I explained that the closer to the inside, the worse it got.
“So, here?” James sloppily slid his fingers up my instep and hit the spot, circling back down when he hit pay-dirt. My head flung backwards into Nick’s lap and I landed flat on my back, clutching my sides as I laughed.
“Yeah, writing “Without” is going to suck for you. The H is killer.” Jon winced at the recent memory and shuddered. “and the O isn’t pleasant either.”
Nicole offered to come back to it, but at this point I just wanted to have the goddamn thing written. So I told her to just do it. Everyone in the room had stopped trying to accomplish other tasks (I suppose the laughter made concentration hard) and watched my torture with interest. James gripped my toes again, wrenching them and the rest of my foot back and Nick rubbed my arm soothingly, kneeling down next to me. When Nicole started, I cringed and a stream of giggles started to spill out. The closer to my instep she got, the louder I started to become and on the H, the letter located right in the kill-spot, I kind of screamed. I didn’t get too loud, thanks to Nick, who (from behind me) slid his hand over my mouth, wrapping my upper body in a one armed bear hug. I spent the next few seconds giggling into his chest, clenching my eyes shut as Nicole wrote the S and H of “Shoes”.
“Next foot!” James hands jumped to my other foot and I still felt the tingling in the one they’d just finished with.
“You ready?” Nick whispered in my ear, his short beard sliding against my cheek.
“N-no.” I replied back as my other foot was flexed backwards.
Writing “Day” only made me giggle, my laughter only hitching when the stem of the Y ran a little low. Nicole started with the T at the end of “out” working her way in methodically. I'd consider it evil. The U drawn in the middle of my arch brought my laughter into the loud range again, the floodgates having been opened by the thorough tickling given to my other foot. Nick’s hand was once again warm over my lips, he bent down and gently kissed my temple before Nicole circled the O in the region of the kill-switch. I bucked back, rocking back and forth feeling like my entire body was throbbing. The final letters were agonizing because Nicole had to retrace them a few times to make sure the font was consistent or something.
I assumed we were just about finished when Jon leaned forward, his feet still splayed out and he glanced behind James’ body that was conveniently blocking my view.
“Ouch. Now that’s just harsh.” he laughed, glancing back at me with pity. Nick went to remove his hand from my mouth, but Jon shook his head, “I advise against that.”
I struggled a bit when James knelt over both legs pinning them hard again and grabbing both sets of toes, one in each hand. My eyes nearly bugged out of my head when I felt ten long nails scratching down my foot, scratching once, twice, three times on the kill-switch before pulling back up. I don’t remember it, but Nick says I “went buck” and thrashed into him violently. I only remember the feeling be all too intense for me to handle. I guess that in hindsight, it was a good idea for Nick’s hand to stay on my mouth because I’m sure my scream would have irritated the other people in his building had it been left alone. Though I did accidentally bite him.
When we finished, Nicole took her pictures and I wiped away the tears that had trickled down my face during preparation. I’m not sure if I will ever help with posters again. I later asked why she risked smudging her work to tickle me.
She said, "It was too awesome an opportunity to turn down." I scowled.
Because someone may ask about it: I don't post photos on forums and I don’t think Nick or Jon would be thrilled about those photos going up here. So they’re staying in Nicole’s SD card where they belong.
-Rynn
My boyfriend’s roommate Jon was coming up with ideas about how to design the poster and he came up with the idea of “One Day Without Shoes” written on pairs of feet. My friend Nicole, a crazy red-headed art major, liked the idea and offered to help put the sign together provided she could use the images in her portfolio if they turn out right. When all the other guys refused to model, Jon agreed to just do it. We took out one of the magic markers we had and Nicole started to ink out the design into his foot. His face twitched at first and he was gripping the carpet tightly, flinching more and more the lower the marker drifted on his sole. The word “without” was written evenly across both his arches and he was visibly tense as she retraced her letters. It was kind of cute to watch a 6’3” guy fighting a giggle-fit as his size thirteen feet were tickled. When he let out a slight giggle everyone awed; Nick poked his slightly pink cheek with a smile and he told them to shut up.
“You actually have really cute feet, Jon.” Nicole teased, spidering her fingers with their long burgundy nails over his sole when she finished. He had been leaning back, resting with his arms behind him and her nails making contact made him jump and lose his balance onto his back, he moved to plant his feet on the ground but Nicole stopped him, scolding, “Don’t try to stand up or you’ll smudge it!”
I was standing a few feet away and I reached over to grab something, I guess lifting my foot off the ground.
“Rynn, you actually really cute feet too!” Jon remarked and I flattened my foot back into the carpet. Raising an eyebrow at the odd remark.
“Uh, thanks, I think.” I shifted awkwardly.
“It would actually be really cool to have a smaller pair of feet with the design too, you know.” Nicole mused, “It‘d be more inclusive, promote unity.”
“Come on, park it.” Jon patted the space next to him on the carpet.
“Uh, I don‘t think I --”
“It’ll be really quick! I’d do it myself, but my toes are weird. Besides, we want the handwriting to be the same.”
“I- uh-” before my brain could concoct another excuse Nick swung an arm under my knees, picking me up and plopping me back on the floor. “fine.” I held my breath. Glaring at him because he knows how crazy ticklish my feet are.
“You have to keep your feet straight.” Nicole chastised, pushing the ball of my foot because I had unknowingly wrinkled my sole. I flinched at her touch, but she didn’t seem to notice. “Just flex it back, that way I have a flat surface. Skin isn’t easy to draw on, you know.”
“Yeah.” I said through gritted teeth. Easier said than done. I glared at Nick who chuckled from behind me. “Sure.”
She knelt down face level with my foot and I gripped at the rug the way Jon had just moments before. I felt the first stroke down, presumably the O in “One“. I jumped, pulling my ankle away as if I’d been burned. I hadn’t expected the felt tip to tickle so violently. My foot instantly curled up like a hedgehog and I had to cover my mouth to stop myself from shrieking.
“Shit.” Nicole giggled, “I thought he was bad.” She pointed a thumb at Jon who blushed. “You going to be able to do this?”
Before I could suggest we find another person, Nick answered for me. “Nah, she’s fine. It’s just a little tickle, nothing that awful.” he reached down and wiggled two fingers under my rib cage and I thrashed away, bumping into Jon’s shoulder and slapping Nick in the leg.
“Don‘t push it, asshole.” I stuck my tongue out at him and he responded with the same gesture.
“You can’t wiggle around though, I don’t want to mess up because this ink will take a while to get off and even then your feet will be all pink from scrubbing and it’ll look off.” Nicole’s a bit of a perfectionist and her face looked like she was deep in thought. Apparently, I paled a bit at the mention of scrubbing.
“James, can you sit on her leg without hurting her?” I started to get really nervous about how much of an ordeal making this little flyer was going to become. James is Nicole’s boyfriend; He isn’t a huge guy, he is muscular and a little on the short side, but by no means is he heavy. He knelt over my legs, sitting just below my knees and bolted my lower half to the floor with his weight. He took the opportunity to run a finger up and down my foot, making it wiggle in the little way it could. He smiled cheekily when I tried (fruitlessly) to kick him off. “Can you hold her foot still too? Maybe pull it back a bit?” He did as he was told and I felt so completely vulnerable.
“I do not envy you.” Jon offered me a sympathetic look, but was clearly finding the situation hysterical.
I tried to ask for another few seconds, but the pen had already made contact, drawing the line of N on the ball of my foot. I scrunched my face and my toes were fighting against James’ hands, making his grip tighten (the pressure on my toes tickled slightly too). My mouth opened wide and a loud laugh escaped.
“If only someone brought duct tape, they’ll think we’re killing her down here.” Nick commented with a grin glancing upward wondering what the upstairs tenants would be thinking.
Nicole moved down and made the first few lines for the W in “without” and my laughter rose an octave, sounding a lot more desperate.
She asked if she’d hit a bad spot, looking like she felt really bad. I explained it was the worst part of my foot.
“Are there any other bad spots I should know about?” she asked patiently.
“Her whole body is a bad spot.” Nick quipped.
I thought about the terribly ticklish spot where my arch and instep meet, the area Nick affectionately dubbed my “kill switch” after his calloused fingertips had brushed over the area when we were sitting together. It’s a tiny little area, but the damage tickling it inflicts is huge. It’s so sensitive that my own fingertip brushing over it accidentally can make me giggle. I explained that the closer to the inside, the worse it got.
“So, here?” James sloppily slid his fingers up my instep and hit the spot, circling back down when he hit pay-dirt. My head flung backwards into Nick’s lap and I landed flat on my back, clutching my sides as I laughed.
“Yeah, writing “Without” is going to suck for you. The H is killer.” Jon winced at the recent memory and shuddered. “and the O isn’t pleasant either.”
Nicole offered to come back to it, but at this point I just wanted to have the goddamn thing written. So I told her to just do it. Everyone in the room had stopped trying to accomplish other tasks (I suppose the laughter made concentration hard) and watched my torture with interest. James gripped my toes again, wrenching them and the rest of my foot back and Nick rubbed my arm soothingly, kneeling down next to me. When Nicole started, I cringed and a stream of giggles started to spill out. The closer to my instep she got, the louder I started to become and on the H, the letter located right in the kill-spot, I kind of screamed. I didn’t get too loud, thanks to Nick, who (from behind me) slid his hand over my mouth, wrapping my upper body in a one armed bear hug. I spent the next few seconds giggling into his chest, clenching my eyes shut as Nicole wrote the S and H of “Shoes”.
“Next foot!” James hands jumped to my other foot and I still felt the tingling in the one they’d just finished with.
“You ready?” Nick whispered in my ear, his short beard sliding against my cheek.
“N-no.” I replied back as my other foot was flexed backwards.
Writing “Day” only made me giggle, my laughter only hitching when the stem of the Y ran a little low. Nicole started with the T at the end of “out” working her way in methodically. I'd consider it evil. The U drawn in the middle of my arch brought my laughter into the loud range again, the floodgates having been opened by the thorough tickling given to my other foot. Nick’s hand was once again warm over my lips, he bent down and gently kissed my temple before Nicole circled the O in the region of the kill-switch. I bucked back, rocking back and forth feeling like my entire body was throbbing. The final letters were agonizing because Nicole had to retrace them a few times to make sure the font was consistent or something.
I assumed we were just about finished when Jon leaned forward, his feet still splayed out and he glanced behind James’ body that was conveniently blocking my view.
“Ouch. Now that’s just harsh.” he laughed, glancing back at me with pity. Nick went to remove his hand from my mouth, but Jon shook his head, “I advise against that.”
I struggled a bit when James knelt over both legs pinning them hard again and grabbing both sets of toes, one in each hand. My eyes nearly bugged out of my head when I felt ten long nails scratching down my foot, scratching once, twice, three times on the kill-switch before pulling back up. I don’t remember it, but Nick says I “went buck” and thrashed into him violently. I only remember the feeling be all too intense for me to handle. I guess that in hindsight, it was a good idea for Nick’s hand to stay on my mouth because I’m sure my scream would have irritated the other people in his building had it been left alone. Though I did accidentally bite him.
When we finished, Nicole took her pictures and I wiped away the tears that had trickled down my face during preparation. I’m not sure if I will ever help with posters again. I later asked why she risked smudging her work to tickle me.
She said, "It was too awesome an opportunity to turn down." I scowled.
Because someone may ask about it: I don't post photos on forums and I don’t think Nick or Jon would be thrilled about those photos going up here. So they’re staying in Nicole’s SD card where they belong.
-Rynn
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Thanks so much for sharing the experience with us. 
