TicklerRickler
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Hi, all! This is a pretty major project I'm undertaking, so let's be clear. I don't really watch Reality TV. It doesn't really interest me. I've seen bits and pieces, though, and done some research on format, and if there were to be a Reality TV program that I watched, this, without a doubt, would be it. Because I wanted to really have a Reality TV vibe for the story, the format's a little unique. I hope that's not annoying or distracting. There's also an interactive element, which you'll learn more about as you read on. Furthermore, I envisioned putting pictures of each celebrity in this post, as they were introduced, but since you're only allowed 5 attachments per post, I'll probably add their pictures in a separate post, in case anybody isn't familiar with the actresses of who I've written. Anyway, that's it for now, so without further ado, enjoy Celebrity Tickle House - Episode 1!
The disembodied voice of the announcer rang out:
“Welcome to 'Celebrity Tickle House', the reality game show that truly puts your favorite stars to the (tickle) test! Ten beautiful and talented women competing for the top spot will have a lot of laughs over the next several weeks, but only one can be the “Celebrity Tickle House” Champion! And now, here are this season’s contestants:
“First up: this Golden Globe Award winner’s breakthrough role was in the 2005 indie film “Junebug”. Since then, she’s been in more than two dozen films, including “Charlie Wilson’s War”, “Julie and Julia” and “Man of Steel”. Most recently she was seen in the 2013 films “Her” and “American Hustle”, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award. 39-year-old Amy Adams!”
Confessional: Amy
“This is kind of crazy. I never saw myself doing anything like this. I’ve got to say, though, I really love tickling people and, to be honest, I don’t mind being tickled, either, so I’m kind of excited.”
“Next,” the announcer continued, “we have an actress, known for her roles in 'Mumford', 'Almost Famous' and 'Failure to Launch'. A versatile musician, she sings and plays the piano and ukulele and makes up half the indie folk duo 'She & Him'. 34-year-old Zooey Deschanel!”
Confessional: Zooey
“I guess I’ve always thought of myself more as a tickler than a ticklee. I mean, I’m ticklish.When we were kids Emily would hold me down and tickle torture me ’til I peed. It was frustrating, because she was barely ticklish at all, so I could never get my revenge. Because of that, I built up an immunity. Well, not exactly an immunity. I’m still ticklish. But I can fight it really well now. I also eventually figured out how to tickle Emily so that she’d lose it. She stopped messing with me after that and I’m pretty good at finding people’s weak spots now.”
“Our next contestant has been acting since she was a child, gaining recognition for her role as Claudia in 'Interview with the Vampire'. Since then, she’s been seen in such films as 'Jumanji', 'Crazy/Beautiful' (where she took part in a tickling scene), 'Spider-Man' and 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'. 32-year-old Kirsten Dunst!”
Confessional: Kirsten
“I’m really ticklish. Sometimes I can control it, but not for long. I’ve been tickled in a couple of movies and it’s always been real. ‘Crazy/Beautiful’ was probably the worst. We did a bunch of takes, to the point where I think John and Jay were just enjoying making me laugh. When we were done I had to take a long break before we went on to the next shot. God, Jay was good at that!”
“Joining us next is an actress best known for roles on 'Friday Night Lights', 'Parenthood' and the reboot of 'Charlie’s Angels'. She was most recently seen on the FOX science fiction procedural series 'Almost Human'. 33-year-old Minka Kelly!”
Confessional: Minka
“When I was dating Derek he would tickle me all the time. God, it sucked. But I’d always let him finish, because I knew I could get him worse. He never learned. Maybe he didn’t want to.”
“A Canadian-born actress, our next contestant became known due to her starring role in the film 'Juno'. Her roles since have included 'Whip It', two X-Men movies, 'Inception' and the recent video game release 'Beyond: Two Souls'. 27-year-old Ellen Page!”
Confessional: Ellen
“I love tickling. Love it. It’s kind of my dirty little secret. Not so secret anymore, I guess, huh? Seriously, I love everything about it. I love being tickled. The feeling of helplessness, knowing that the other person has the upper hand. Struggling to get away, but not really wanting to. It’s awesome! I also love being the one to tickle other people. Being in control of whether they giggle and squirm, how helpless they feel. I so enjoy both ends of the spectrum. It kind of turns me on. Even just hearing or saying the word gives my stomach butterflies. Tickle. Tickle. Some people might think I’m a freak, but it’s so good!”
“Next up: her breakthrough roles were in the films 'Center Stage' and 'Crossroads'. She can also be seen in 'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl', 'Avatar' and as Lieutenant Uhura in the reboot series of 'Star Trek' movies. 35-year-old Zoe Saldana!”
Confessional: Zoe
“I’m not actually all that ticklish. Nobody ever believes you when you say that, but it’s true. You can try to tickle me anywhere and the best you can hope for is a slight giggle. Well, except for one spot. If anybody figures that out, I’m done for! But I’m much more of a tickler. I know just what to do, how to do it and for how long. I’m totally gonna kick ass at this game!”
“Next we have an Alabama native who has tread the boards Off-Broadway in 'Freckleface Strawberry' and turned in a tour deforce performance of the titular character in 'Sweet Charity' in her home state. She is possibly best-known as the current face of Wendy’s restaurants in a series of national commercials. 28-year-old Morgan Smith-Goodwin!”
Confessional: Morgan
“Oh, my God, I can’t even tell you how ticklish I am! I can’t even pick a spot. If I even think you’re thinking about tickling me, I start to giggle! I’m going to suck at this. Thing is, I don’t even know whether I hate it or love it. Maybe this show’ll help me figure that out!”
“She is a Golden Globe nominee who has appeared in such films as 'Superbad', 'The House Bunny', 'Zombieland', 'Easy A' and 'The Amazing Spider-Man'. 25-year-old Emma Stone!”
Confessional: Emma
“I’m pretty ticklish. I really, really hate it, though. As soon as someone starts on me I clench up and try to fight it. Sometimes I can last minutes, but if the tickler’s good I give out pretty quickly. I’ve never done a lot of tickling, either. I usually try to avoid it because I don’t want anyone to try to get me back. I actually really enjoy watching people get tickled, though, so maybe I shouldn’t have taken this gig and just stayed home to watch this on TV!”
“An Australian-born actress, she is best known for her portrayal of CIA agent Sarah Walker on 'Chuck' and Hannah McKay on 'Dexter'. She was also the voice and model of Miranda Lawson in the video game series 'Mass Effect' and can currently be seen as Kate Morgan in '24: Live Another Day'. 31-year-old Yvonne Strahovski!
Confessional: Yvonne
“I’m quite ticklish, but I can handle it. My feet are the worst, though. If anybody figures that out I might be finished!”
“Named after a 'Gilligan’s Island' character, our final contestant is a broadcast meteorologist, who took over for Sam Champion on 'Good Morning America' in 2011. 33-year-old Ginger Zee!”
Confessional: Ginger
“I’m not a huge fan of being tickled. I prefer to be in control. But I’m very ticklish and the only way I can take it is by thinking about the revenge I’m going to get on the person who’s tickling me. I love to tickle people. I’ve been called sadistic. A few times, actually.”
“And now, the ‘Celebrity Tickle House’ host, Rick the Tickler!”
Rick the Tickler entered the studio on cue. It was devoid of audience. This show would be part game show, part reality show.The studio itself was currently set up in a living room style. Two couches and a loveseat for the beautiful contestants to sit in and a comfortable easy chair for the host. A glass-topped coffee table and a working fireplace (which was pretty useless as set dressing went, seeing as the show was being filmed and airing in the summer months) with a wet bar on one wall and a large oil painting on another.
As he walked past the girls on his way to his seat, Rick reached out and poked a wiggling finger into Ginger’s stomach, eliciting a self-conscious giggle. Noticing Morgan giggling in sympathy, he gently squeezed her knee, causing her laughter to get worse and making her curl up into a ball on the couch, blushing. Moving on, he reached out and stroked Minka’s neck softly, making her smile and tilt her head to block his minor attack.
Finally taking his seat, Rick said, “Thanks, Jim. Welcome to ‘Celebrity Tickle House’, where each of our contestants will be tickled pink if they win. Or even if they don’t. Every other week we’ll play a game designed to take these lovely ladies to their limits. Sometimes they’ll laugh, sometimes they’ll be causing the laughter. At the end of an episode, two of them will be up for elimination. It will be up to our viewers to decide which one will be sent on her way in our elimination shows. By the final week, one woman will have won $50,000 for her charity. Ladies, are you ready to begin?”
The women all nodded affirmation. Most of them looked nervous. Some of them looked excited as well, while others apparently were rethinking their current life choice. A few looked eager and unafraid. Rick pulled a deck of cards from his pocket.
“Today,” he began, “is about getting to know each other a little bit. I have ten cards here. Each has a number on it, from 1 to 5. Five of them also have the picture of a feather while the matching five have a smiley face. If you get, for instance, a 1 card with a smiley face, you’ll be tickled today by whomever pulls the 1 with a feather. Got it?”
Confessional: Morgan
“I’m sitting there thinking, “Seriously? It’s been five minutes and I’m already confused!’”
Rick shuffled the cards as he spoke. “Now, we’re going to hand out the cards in reverse alphabetical order. Ginger, you may come up whenever you’re ready.” And, having given permission, he fanned the cards out and held his hands out in front of him.
Confessional: Kirsten
“Surely there must be a fairer way to decide who gets to pick the first card. A dice roll or something?”
Ginger tentatively stood up and made her way to Rick’s easy chair. After a moment’s thought she chose a card near the middle of the deck. “Don’t look at it yet,” Rick cautioned as she returned to her seat.
Confessional: Ginger
“I know some of the others were a little miffed that I got to go first, but it wasn’t my idea. And frankly, I’m not sure whether or not it was better to have the first pick. That’s a lot of pressure. I’d have been okay letting Fate decide what I got!”
Silently, one-by-one, the women went up to pick their cards, with Amy being the last to go.
Confessional: Amy
“Like I said, I’m happy to be on either side of the feather, so being the last to pick didn’t bother me. There’s no way to know what you’re choosing, anyway.”
“Great,” Rick said once Amy had taken her seat again. “Now, take a look at your cards.”
The girls did as they were told, finally learning who would be tickled and who would do the tickling.
Confessional: Zooey
“I’m gonna be tickled by Minka. That’s cool. I don’t know how she is at tickling, but I can take it.”
Confessional: Emma
“Thank goodness I’m tickling first! Zoe looks pretty ticklish, so I should do okay.”
Confessional: Morgan
“Crap. Ginger’s going to tickle me. I was really hoping I wouldn’t have to get tickled until at least next week.”
Confessional: Yvonne
“Damn. Well, maybe Kirsten won’t be that good. And maybe she’ll stay away from my feet!”
Confessional: Ellen
“Time to make Amy laugh!”
“Okay,” Rick continued, “now that you know who your partner is and who’s going to be tickling whom, come with me.”
He stood up and approached the large painting on the wall. Curious, the girls got up and followed him over to it.
“This is a reproduction of an oil painting by 20th century French artist Theodore Gerard entitled, appropriately enough, ‘Tickling the Sleeper’,” Rick informed them. “I personally think the colors are beautiful and add a warmth to the room. But this painting hides a secret.”
With this proclamation, he reached over and pressed what must have been a hidden button behind the painting’s frame. The painting instantly split down the middle and parted, revealing a wheel, attached vertically to a recess in the wall.
“We call this the ‘Wheel of Laughter’,” as he said this the device’s name flashed up above it in tacky neon letters. “Occasionally we'll spin it and it will tell us what our tickle torture du jour will be. Everybody ready?”
Confessional: Zoe
“Bring it!”
The girls nodded their consent and Rick reached up to the wheel. “Oh great Wheel of Laughter,” he said in a mockingly reverent voice, “tell us what our torture will be today!”
The wheel spun quickly for several rotations and the girls’ eyes watched it with rapt attention. It finally began to slow and then, after what seemed, to some of them, anyway, like a longer minute than it actually was, it stopped, landing on a slot labelled “Don’t Drop the Dollar”.
“Ah, a classic!” Rick exclaimed once the wheel had stopped. “Looks like you ladies are in for some foot tickling today!”
Confessional: Yvonne
“S**t!”
The rules to the game, as explained by Rick the Tickler, were simple. The ticklee (Zooey, Zoe, Morgan, Yvonne and Amy) had to sit on a table with a dollar between their feet. The tickler (Kirsten, Minka, Ellen, Emma and Ginger) had three minutes to tickle their feet and try to get them to drop the dollar. They each faced this challenge with different levels of excitement or trepidation, depending on whether they were a tickler or a ticklee, but nobody was more fearful than Yvonne.
Confessional: Yvonne
“I mean, maybe I can make it. I’ve got to try.”
Confessional: Kirsten
“I saw Yvonne’s face when she saw what today’s game was. This’ll be great!”
Yvonne sat on the table in Tickle Room 3 as instructed. She tried to get as comfortable as she could. She really wanted to win this. But her feet…God, they were her worst spot by far! She wished there were something in the room to distract her, but it was a plain white room with a tickle table in the middle. Not much to help her there, which was probably the point.
The door opened and a stranger entered, carrying a basket. He placed it on the floor beside the table and pulled a dollar bill out of it. As Kirsten watched on, a small anticipatory smile on her face, he held the dollar between Yvonne’s feet.
“Feet together, please,” he instructed and Yvonne did as she was told. “Don’t drop the dollar,” the man said tauntingly and then left the room.
“Don’t drop the dollar,” the man said tauntingly and then left Tickle Room 5.
Amy could feel the wrinkles of the paper money between her feet.
Confessional: Amy
“I love to have my feet tickled.”
She was a little nervous, unaccountably. A glance at Ellen’s anxious face gave her reason to be. The other girl wore an eager expression that spoke volumes. Everything Amy needed to know about what kind of tickler Ellen Page was could be found on her face at that moment. This was going to be rough.
“I should warn you,” Minka said, “I won’t hold back.”
Zooey was sitting on the table in Tickle Room 2 in the same position as her fellow ticklees. She smirked and said, “I would hope not.”
“And I’m a very good tickler,” Minka continued, deciding to try psyching her tickle victim out.
“Pretty sure I’ve survived worse.” Was Zooey’s rejoinder.
Confessional: Minka
“Actually, I believe her.”
“So…how ticklish are your feet?” Emma asked in Tickle Room 1.
“Do you really expect me to answer that?” Zoe replied.
“Guess not,” Emma replied sheepishly. “Just trying to make conversation.”
Confessional: Emma
“Zoe’s got quite the poker face!”
“When do you think they’re going to let us start?”
“Right now, Emma,” Rick the Tickler’s disembodied voice replied. Apparently there were microphones and speakers in the Tickle Rooms, though Emma had no idea where. They certainly weren’t obvious.
“You all know the rules. Ticklers, you may choose whether or not to use items from the baskets. You’ll be judged on how quickly you can make your victims drop the dollars. Ticklees, you’ll be judged on how long you can keep from dropping them."
“Our panel of judges will be watching to see how you each do,” Rick continued.
Apparently there were secret cameras in the Tickle Rooms, although from where she sat on the table in Tickle Room 4, Morgan couldn’t figure out where. Then again, she supposed they wouldn’t be very secret if she could.
“So, without further ado,” Rick said, “here we go. On your marks…get set…TICKLE!!!”
“Oh, shoot, wait,” Morgan said. “I think the dollar’s slipping!”
“Too late,” Ginger replied with a somewhat evil smile, and raised her wiggling fingers. With an impulse akin to Pavlov’s dog’s, Morgan started to giggle.
Confessional: Morgan
“See? Just thinking about tickling…heh, heh…makes me laugh. I’ve got to stop that!”
Kirsten rummaged in the basket and pulled out a soft pink feather.
“What do you think?” she asked Yvonne. “I’m kind of a traditionalist.”
“Whatever you want will be fine,” Yvonne replied, attempting to show more bravado than she felt.
Kirsten moved the feather to Yvonne’s right foot and began tracing it. Dear God, it tickled! Yvonne fought unsuccessfully to stop the grin from appearing. The feather made a complete circuit of her foot, then, without warning, slipped between her big toe and its neighbor. “Heh, heh.” She couldn’t have stopped herself from giggling if she’d tried. “Hee, hee. Oh…ha, ha, ha!…no!!!”
Confessional: Yvonne
“The feather tickled. A lot! It was so soft and gentle and…well, feathery! I can still feel it a little bit now. Like an echo, you know? That was bad enough, but when Kirsten added her fingers to the mix…”
Suddenly, Kirsten’s hand shot out and she began tickling Yvonne’s other foot with all five of her fingers. Yvonne jumped and squealed and the floodgates opened.
Confessional: Kirsten
“It’s kind of a fun trick. Let her think you’re doing your worst so she’s focused on one thing, then KAPOW!…”
Confessional: Yvonne
“…I lost it. It was probably the worst tickling I’ve ever experienced!”
Confessional: Kirsten
…surprise her with a different, more ticklish sensation somewhere else!”
“Heeheeheeheehahahahahahahohohoho, plehehehehehehease nohohohohohohoho!!!” Yvonne begged, tears of laughter beginning to stream down her face.
And then, losing all control, she felt the dollar bill slip. She was sure it was all over, but her reflexes turned out to be quick enough and she caught it with her heels.
From somewhere in the distance, she heard Rick the Tickler say, “Two minutes left.”
Morgan heard the whir before she felt it. It didn’t matter. She was giggling, anyway. It felt rough and soft at the same time and was rotating back and forth at an alarming rate.
Confessional: Morgan
“An electric toothbrush??? Are you kidding me???”
Confessional: Ginger
“Perfect.”
“Hee, hee, hee, hee, hee! Oh, Gohahahahahahahahad!” Morgan was laughing so hard that Ginger was a little afraid she’d have a seizure. But there was something in the flush of her face that led the tickler to believe she’d be okay. Ginger had expected Morgan to drop the dollar bill instantly and couldn’t decide if she was pleased or disappointed that it hadn’t happened.
Confessional: Ginger
“The toothbrush was only step one.”
“Heh, heh,” Zooey giggled a little bit. Minka had decided to start slowly. Her fingers ran up her victim’s feet and back down, then slid beneath her toes. Once there, she began to wiggle them gently. There was definitely a reaction from Zooey, whose face lit up as her smile grew wider. She was clearly trying to control her reactions, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t make her grin completely disappear.
Confessional: Minka
“I could tell Zooey was ticklish and that she was good at fighting it. But I also knew I could break through.”
Confessional: Zooey
“It actually tickled a lot more than I expected, but my sister had given me some good training when we were kids, so I figured I could handle it.”
Time to step up the assault, Minka decided, and put her long, sharp fingernails to good use. She stopped tickling for a brief moment, then reached over to Zooey’s right foot and, gently scratching her pinky toe, recited, “This little piggy went to market.”
“Hee, hee. Really?” Zooey said. “Ha, ha. The piggies? Heh, heh.”
Confessional: Zooey
“I couldn’t believe she was doing that! How old am I, two?”
Minka ignored her victim’s derisive question, not even looking up from her feet to acknowledge it. “This little piggy stayed home.” Scratch, scratch on toe number two.
“Heh, heh. You won’t get me to…hee, hee…to…hahaha…break like this.”
“This little piggy had roast beef.” Scritchity scratch.
“Ah! Hahaha! Seriously, I’m not a child!”
“This little piggy had none.” Scratch, scratch, scritchity scratch.
“Heeheehee! This…ha, ha…this won’t…ho, ho, ho..won’t…hahaha…work!”
Confessional: Minka
“Maybe it was just me, but I thought she was starting to sound a little bit desperate.
Confessional: Zooey
“I’ll admit, I was starting to feel desperate. It tickled a lot. It was something Emily would do to me frequently. Maybe that brought up some associations or something.”
Minka suddenly looked up, directly into Zooey’s eyes and, staring her down, asked, “And do you know what this little piggy did, Zooey?”
Confessional: Zooey
“Oh, God, and the taunting. That made it so much worse!”
“Minka, this is stupid,” Zooey said, trying to sound nonchalant, but her eyes were pleading. The least she could do, Zooey thought, was to hold her foot. She was starting to wonder if she’d drop the dollar bill. That would be humiliating. If Minka held her foot in place it would help. But, of course, Minka didn’t want to help.
“Do you, Zooey?” Minka pressed. “What did this last little piggy say, Zooey?”
Dammit, why does she keep saying my name like that? Zooey thought to herself. I wish she’d cut it out!
“Say it, Zooey,” Minka insisted. “Tell me what the little piggy said.”
Confessional: Zooey
“In hindsight, I know exactly what she was doing. She was goading me. You can’t tickle yourself. But she had sort of found a way of making me do it, anyway. She wasn’t going to drop it until I said it and the moment I said it I’d get tickled. I wasn’t thinking clearly or it wouldn’t have worked.”
“What did the piggy say, Zooey?” Minka repeated again, this time gently swiping a finger between her toes. Zooey giggled. “Tell me.”
Zooey’s lips slowly puckered, preparing to make a “w”. Anything, she decided. I’ll do anything to make her stop asking me that. But her lips just stayed there, puckered, as she rethought the action. It would surely lead to more tickle torture, which would possibly lead to her losing the game.
“Zooey…” Minka said.
“Please, no, Emily,” Zooey quietly begged, not even noticing the Freudian slip.
Minka ever-so-gently caressed Zooey’s toe, making the girl smile a bit, right on the edge of giggling some more but not pushing her over yet. The torturer slowly began the last part of the nursery rhyme. “This…little…piggy…said…”
The “w” shape formed on Zooey’s lips again. It was surprisingly difficult to pucker your lips when all you could do was smile. “…’Wwwwee, wwee, weeheeheeheehee…’”
And, dissolving into giggles, she found she couldn’t finish. Minka’s damn fingernail attacked her big toe immediately, scratching all over its surface, between her toes and under them and down the length of her foot. “…’Wee, wee, wee’ all the way home!” she cried, enjoying the reaction her finger was having on the other girl.
“Two minutes left,” Rick the Tickler’s voice informed them.
But Zooey hadn’t dropped the dollar bill yet.
Confessional: Emma
“Seriously, I have never seen anyone as resistant to tickling as Zoe. Ever.”
“Two minutes left,” Rick the Tickler announced.
A whole minute had gone by. One third of her allotted time. She’d tried almost every tickle toy in the basket and found that the hairbrush worked best, but still she couldn’t get Zoe to do much more than giggle a little bit.
“Heh, heh. It’s not your fault,” Zoe told her through a smile. “I’m just not that ticklish.”
Confessional: Zoe
“Here’s a hint: that magic spot I told you about? Not on my feet.”
Amy’s unrestrained laughter rang through the room as Ellen worked her feet over. She was using a hairbrush on her right foot and a water pick on her left. Amy’s toes were curling and she was giggling helplessly, but she hadn’t even come close to letting the dollar bill go yet.
Confessional: Amy
“Sometimes I’ll get out a hairbrush and scratch my own feet with it.”
“I’m going to get you to drop that dollar if it’s the last thing I do,” Ellen promised.
Confessional: Ellen
“I’m a good tickler. Really good. And Amy’s really ticklish, but she’s got stamina, too. More than I expected.”
Confessional: Amy
“Ellen’s a great tickler and she knows it. One of the best, I think. I almost dropped the dollar bill a couple of times. I’m not sure if she noticed.”
If Amy had a reply in her head, she was laughing so hard she couldn’t voice it. Ellen dropped both tickling instruments and began scratching both of her victim’s feet, redoubling Amy’s hilarity.
Confessional: Amy
“Fingernails on my feet feel soooo good. It's like a pleasant scratch, but it drive you nuts! I’m sorry, I can’t stop smiling.”
Oh, crap, she’s got me, Yvonne thought as she giggled uncontrollably, trying hard not to let the dollar bill slip from between her heels. If she focuses on my heels, that’s the end!
And why wouldn’t she? Yvonne’s heels were all that were keeping the bill from hitting the floor, after all. Kirsten’s reasoning matched her opponent’s, but she decided to take an indirect route which, being a surprise, tickled all the more. Dropping the feather, her fingers ran across the blonde’s feet to their sides, then tickled down to the heels. Yvonne tried desperately not to let the dollar go. She moved her feet back and forth in synchronized movements, being sure to keep her heels tightly together but still allowing her to feel as if she was doing something to escape. To her surprise, even when Kirsten’s tickling fingers skittered across her soles, she was able to hold on. But when the fingers changed direction without warning, one running up and down her right foot while the other ran right to left on her left one, Yvonne could take it no longer. Surprised by the change in tactic and unable to keep track of both sets of fingers when they travelled completely different paths, she jerked backward and let her heels part. The dollar bill fluttered to the ground.
“Kirsten, stop tickling,” Rick the Tickler’s voice instructed and Kirsten obeyed, stepping away from the table. “Yvonne, you made it one minute, thirty-one seconds.”
Yvonne, still giggling, drenched in sweat and trying to catch her breath. Nodded acknowledgement.
Confessional: Yvonne
“A minute thirty-one? Longer than I expected!”
Confessional: Morgan
“Ginger’s really sweet. On the other hand, she can be a terrible person.”
“Are your feet clean, Morgan?” Ginger asked. She had implemented step two right after the two minute call and now the toothbrush was tickling one foot and a hairbrush was torturing the other.
“Hahahahaha! Yehehehehehes. Wahahahahahahahahy?” The extraordinarily ticklish redhead asked.
“I wanted to be sure before I did this,” Ginger replied, implementing step three.
Confessional: Morgan
“Really terrible.”
Still using the different brushes, she bent down, enveloped several of the tortured girl’s toes in her mouth and, nibbling gently, began flicking her soft, moist tongue over them.
“Heeheeheeheehahahahahaha!!! Ohohohohohohohohoho nohohohohohohohohohoho! For the hahahah love heeheeheehee of God hohohohohohohohohohohoho stop!!! Nohohohohohohohohohoho moooooorrrrrreeeee!!!”
Somewhere around the middle of the word more, Morgan let the bill slip. Neither girl noticed it hit the floor and Rick the Tickler had to shout to be heard over Morgan’s helpless laughter.
“Ginger, stop tickling. Morgan, you lasted one minute, thirty-nine seconds.”
Morgan, face flushed, struggling to breathe, a smile plastered on her face and a giggle still in her voice, looked up at Ginger and said, “You’re…sadistic.”
Confessional: Ginger
“Toldja.”
“Seriously, maybe I should just give up,” Emma suggested.
“Heh, heh. I don’t think you’re allowed to,” Zoe replied, giggling just a little bit. Emma wasn’t certain anymore if it was a genuine laugh or a gesture of pity. She suspected the latter.
Rick the Tickler’s voice proclaimed, “Only one…”
“…minute left.”
“Heeheeheeheeheehahahahahahahahohohohohohoho!”
Just one more minute. Zooey could hold out that long. She couldn’t believe how hard she was laughing, how much she wanted to give in. Minka’s tickling was very much like Emily’s. She was an expert. But Zooey couldn’t lose. She was driven to prove something, if not to everybody else, then at least to herself. She would not give in.
“Just drop the dollar, Zooey,” Ginger said in a taunting voice. “You know you want to.” To emphasize the point, she raked her nails down Zooey’s left foot while the fingers of her other hand slipped between the toes on the same foot.
The tickling was almost unbearable, but Zooey tried to get herself under control. She took a deep breath and did her best to squelch her laughter. Somewhat to her surprise, she managed it, though she could feel the laughter welling up in her chest, getting ready to make a comeback. Still, she couldn’t let Minka think she was going to win. “I…mffhmhm…I am going…hehmff…to…hmhm…get…hmffhahmff…you…heh, heh…back…hahaha…for…mmmmhee…this,” she promised, but could say no more as she lost the battle against her giggles, once more exploding into helpless fits of laughter.
She was aware that her feet were moving back and forth in an effort to escape the torture. She was also aware that she was about to lose. She couldn’t take anymore. She had to give in and she did, letting the dollar bill slip from between her feet. Minka immediately stopped the tickling and caught the bill, seeming to pluck it from the air.
Zooey, still giggling slightly, wiped the sweat away from her forehead and sighed, working to catch her breath.
“Two minutes and thirteen seconds, Zooey,” Rick the Tickler’s voice pronounced.
Minka held up the dollar bill. “Do I get to keep this?” she asked.
“Oh…heeheeheeheeyahahahaha…God!” Amy cried. “That tiheeheeheeheeheeicklllleeessss soooooo bad!!!”
“You can make it stop,” Ellen reminded her. “All you have to do is drop the dollar.”
“Hahaha! Not on your…hohoho…life!” Amy replied.
“You’re enjoying this,” Ellen said, just now realizing it.
“You heeheehee have no idea how much!”
“Actually,” Ellen admitted, “I can guess.”
Having said that, she began scratching Amy’s feet vigorously all over. The willing victim dissolved into even harder laughter and, although her feet were the only part of her being tortured, her entire body began to squirm and wriggle. Ellen realized that this was actually turning Amy on, which explained her unwillingness to drop the money. Ellen knew the feeling. It was turning her on, too!
“Heeheeheeheehahahahahaha!” Amy’s unrestrained laughter was like beautiful music, a symphony which Ellen didn’t want to come to an end. But there’s a saying about all good things and this certainly qualified.
“That’s three minutes,” Rick the Tickler’s voice announced. “Emma and Ellen, stop tickling.”
Ellen reluctantly did as she was told. She looked over at Amy, who was grinning from ear to ear, her relaxed, enraptured expression indicating the amount of pleasure she’d taken from the experience. Ellen felt a momentary pang of jealousy, but immediately pushed it aside, remembering that her turn would eventually come and also that she hadn’t been in a completely undesirable position for this round, anyway.
Emma, a little embarrassed, stopped attempting to tickle Zoe the moment she’d heard Rick’s instructions. She didn’t want to meet Zoe’s eyes, so she busied herself methodically returning all the tickle toys to their basket.
“You know, I think they have people to do that,” Zoe pointed out.
“I know,” Emma replied, but didn’t stop.
“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” Zoe said and was about to say something else, but was interrupted.
“An hour rest break, ladies,” Rick the Tickler told them. “Then meet me in the living room.”
Confessional: Emma
“I know I’m going to get eliminated. I’m more disappointed than I expected I’d be.”
Amy was putting her socks and shoes on as Rick the Tickler completed relaying his instructions. Once she was sure he was done, Ellen turned to Amy.
“Hey, do me a favor,” she said.
“Anything,” Amy agreed.
“If you get the chance to tickle me at any point during the competition,” Ellen said, “don’t hold back.”
Amy finished tying her shoelace, pulling the knot taught with a single firm gesture, then looked up, meeting Ellen’s eyes. “Count on it,” she promised.
An hour later, the ticklers and ticklees were sitting comfortably in their original spots on the sofas. Some had taken showers and changed, others had taken a power nap or grabbed a quick bite to eat. Now they were all waiting for the host of “Celebrity Tickle House” to make his appearance.
And appear he did, stepping through the door exactly on schedule. He made his way past the girls, this time not stopping for brief tickles, probably figuring they’d been through enough today. He arrived at his easy chair and took a seat, then began.
“Well, that was fun,” he noted. “And interesting, too. I hope you all got some rest. Most of you did very well. Now, each week we will pick two girls who will be up for elimination. The judges have conversed and the selection has been made.”
The girls anxiously waited for Rick the Tickler’s next words.
“Yvonne, please come forward,” he summoned.
Yvonne nervously rose and approached Rick in his chair.
“Yvonne, I think it’s safe to say that your feet are ticklish in the extreme,” Rick said.
A smile tinged with nervousness came to Yvonne’s lips as she thought about the torture she’d endured an hour earlier. “Yes, that’s definitely safe to say,” she agreed.
“You were the first person to drop your dollar bill. Morgan was a close second, but close, as they say, only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. You’re up for elimination.”
Confessional: Yvonne
“Dammit! I worked so hard not to drop the thing. Not hard enough, I guess.”
Confessional: Morgan
"Wow! I really thought I was the first! That's a relief!"
“Emma, please come forward,” Rick instructed and Emma made her way past the other girls to stand beside Yvonne.
“Emma, you had no luck tickling Zoe at all,” Rick said. “She barely laughed.”
“That’s true,” Emma admitted, apparently a little ashamed of the failure.
“Emma,” Rick the Tickler continued, “You’re up for…”
“No, wait!” Zoe suddenly spoke up, rising. “It’s not fair. I’m not very ticklish at all. Emma never stood a chance. She shouldn’t be punished because she randomly got me as a ticklee.”
“You and I both know only part of that is true,” Rick the Tickler said cryptically. “But that was taken into account. Still, Emma, you’re up for elimination.”
Confessional: Emma
“It was really sweet of Zoe to speak up for me. I wasn’t expecting it. I hope I’m kept on the show. I’m starting to get into it.”
Confessional: Ginger
“Sounds like Zoe’s got a secret. I’m intrigued.”
“Now, viewers,” Rick the Tickler said. “Who will be eliminated from ‘Celebrity Tickle House’? Yvonne or Emma? Our number is at the bottom of the screen, so let us know. Until next week, keep laughing!”
And here, dear readers, is your chance to help shape the story. Who will get eliminated, Yvonne or Emma? If you'd like to put in a vote, please PM me with your choice by Saturday, 6/7. I'll tally the votes together and do my best to get the elimination episode out by next week. (Although, I'm a fairly busy guy, so please forgive me if it takes a little longer.) I say PM me (as opposed to comment in the thread) so that the final tally will be a secret until the elimination story comes out. Looking forward to hearing from you! TicklerRickler
Celebrity Tickle House - Episode 1
The disembodied voice of the announcer rang out:
“Welcome to 'Celebrity Tickle House', the reality game show that truly puts your favorite stars to the (tickle) test! Ten beautiful and talented women competing for the top spot will have a lot of laughs over the next several weeks, but only one can be the “Celebrity Tickle House” Champion! And now, here are this season’s contestants:
“First up: this Golden Globe Award winner’s breakthrough role was in the 2005 indie film “Junebug”. Since then, she’s been in more than two dozen films, including “Charlie Wilson’s War”, “Julie and Julia” and “Man of Steel”. Most recently she was seen in the 2013 films “Her” and “American Hustle”, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award. 39-year-old Amy Adams!”
Confessional: Amy
“This is kind of crazy. I never saw myself doing anything like this. I’ve got to say, though, I really love tickling people and, to be honest, I don’t mind being tickled, either, so I’m kind of excited.”
“Next,” the announcer continued, “we have an actress, known for her roles in 'Mumford', 'Almost Famous' and 'Failure to Launch'. A versatile musician, she sings and plays the piano and ukulele and makes up half the indie folk duo 'She & Him'. 34-year-old Zooey Deschanel!”
Confessional: Zooey
“I guess I’ve always thought of myself more as a tickler than a ticklee. I mean, I’m ticklish.When we were kids Emily would hold me down and tickle torture me ’til I peed. It was frustrating, because she was barely ticklish at all, so I could never get my revenge. Because of that, I built up an immunity. Well, not exactly an immunity. I’m still ticklish. But I can fight it really well now. I also eventually figured out how to tickle Emily so that she’d lose it. She stopped messing with me after that and I’m pretty good at finding people’s weak spots now.”
“Our next contestant has been acting since she was a child, gaining recognition for her role as Claudia in 'Interview with the Vampire'. Since then, she’s been seen in such films as 'Jumanji', 'Crazy/Beautiful' (where she took part in a tickling scene), 'Spider-Man' and 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'. 32-year-old Kirsten Dunst!”
Confessional: Kirsten
“I’m really ticklish. Sometimes I can control it, but not for long. I’ve been tickled in a couple of movies and it’s always been real. ‘Crazy/Beautiful’ was probably the worst. We did a bunch of takes, to the point where I think John and Jay were just enjoying making me laugh. When we were done I had to take a long break before we went on to the next shot. God, Jay was good at that!”
“Joining us next is an actress best known for roles on 'Friday Night Lights', 'Parenthood' and the reboot of 'Charlie’s Angels'. She was most recently seen on the FOX science fiction procedural series 'Almost Human'. 33-year-old Minka Kelly!”
Confessional: Minka
“When I was dating Derek he would tickle me all the time. God, it sucked. But I’d always let him finish, because I knew I could get him worse. He never learned. Maybe he didn’t want to.”
“A Canadian-born actress, our next contestant became known due to her starring role in the film 'Juno'. Her roles since have included 'Whip It', two X-Men movies, 'Inception' and the recent video game release 'Beyond: Two Souls'. 27-year-old Ellen Page!”
Confessional: Ellen
“I love tickling. Love it. It’s kind of my dirty little secret. Not so secret anymore, I guess, huh? Seriously, I love everything about it. I love being tickled. The feeling of helplessness, knowing that the other person has the upper hand. Struggling to get away, but not really wanting to. It’s awesome! I also love being the one to tickle other people. Being in control of whether they giggle and squirm, how helpless they feel. I so enjoy both ends of the spectrum. It kind of turns me on. Even just hearing or saying the word gives my stomach butterflies. Tickle. Tickle. Some people might think I’m a freak, but it’s so good!”
“Next up: her breakthrough roles were in the films 'Center Stage' and 'Crossroads'. She can also be seen in 'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl', 'Avatar' and as Lieutenant Uhura in the reboot series of 'Star Trek' movies. 35-year-old Zoe Saldana!”
Confessional: Zoe
“I’m not actually all that ticklish. Nobody ever believes you when you say that, but it’s true. You can try to tickle me anywhere and the best you can hope for is a slight giggle. Well, except for one spot. If anybody figures that out, I’m done for! But I’m much more of a tickler. I know just what to do, how to do it and for how long. I’m totally gonna kick ass at this game!”
“Next we have an Alabama native who has tread the boards Off-Broadway in 'Freckleface Strawberry' and turned in a tour deforce performance of the titular character in 'Sweet Charity' in her home state. She is possibly best-known as the current face of Wendy’s restaurants in a series of national commercials. 28-year-old Morgan Smith-Goodwin!”
Confessional: Morgan
“Oh, my God, I can’t even tell you how ticklish I am! I can’t even pick a spot. If I even think you’re thinking about tickling me, I start to giggle! I’m going to suck at this. Thing is, I don’t even know whether I hate it or love it. Maybe this show’ll help me figure that out!”
“She is a Golden Globe nominee who has appeared in such films as 'Superbad', 'The House Bunny', 'Zombieland', 'Easy A' and 'The Amazing Spider-Man'. 25-year-old Emma Stone!”
Confessional: Emma
“I’m pretty ticklish. I really, really hate it, though. As soon as someone starts on me I clench up and try to fight it. Sometimes I can last minutes, but if the tickler’s good I give out pretty quickly. I’ve never done a lot of tickling, either. I usually try to avoid it because I don’t want anyone to try to get me back. I actually really enjoy watching people get tickled, though, so maybe I shouldn’t have taken this gig and just stayed home to watch this on TV!”
“An Australian-born actress, she is best known for her portrayal of CIA agent Sarah Walker on 'Chuck' and Hannah McKay on 'Dexter'. She was also the voice and model of Miranda Lawson in the video game series 'Mass Effect' and can currently be seen as Kate Morgan in '24: Live Another Day'. 31-year-old Yvonne Strahovski!
Confessional: Yvonne
“I’m quite ticklish, but I can handle it. My feet are the worst, though. If anybody figures that out I might be finished!”
“Named after a 'Gilligan’s Island' character, our final contestant is a broadcast meteorologist, who took over for Sam Champion on 'Good Morning America' in 2011. 33-year-old Ginger Zee!”
Confessional: Ginger
“I’m not a huge fan of being tickled. I prefer to be in control. But I’m very ticklish and the only way I can take it is by thinking about the revenge I’m going to get on the person who’s tickling me. I love to tickle people. I’ve been called sadistic. A few times, actually.”
“And now, the ‘Celebrity Tickle House’ host, Rick the Tickler!”
Rick the Tickler entered the studio on cue. It was devoid of audience. This show would be part game show, part reality show.The studio itself was currently set up in a living room style. Two couches and a loveseat for the beautiful contestants to sit in and a comfortable easy chair for the host. A glass-topped coffee table and a working fireplace (which was pretty useless as set dressing went, seeing as the show was being filmed and airing in the summer months) with a wet bar on one wall and a large oil painting on another.
As he walked past the girls on his way to his seat, Rick reached out and poked a wiggling finger into Ginger’s stomach, eliciting a self-conscious giggle. Noticing Morgan giggling in sympathy, he gently squeezed her knee, causing her laughter to get worse and making her curl up into a ball on the couch, blushing. Moving on, he reached out and stroked Minka’s neck softly, making her smile and tilt her head to block his minor attack.
Finally taking his seat, Rick said, “Thanks, Jim. Welcome to ‘Celebrity Tickle House’, where each of our contestants will be tickled pink if they win. Or even if they don’t. Every other week we’ll play a game designed to take these lovely ladies to their limits. Sometimes they’ll laugh, sometimes they’ll be causing the laughter. At the end of an episode, two of them will be up for elimination. It will be up to our viewers to decide which one will be sent on her way in our elimination shows. By the final week, one woman will have won $50,000 for her charity. Ladies, are you ready to begin?”
The women all nodded affirmation. Most of them looked nervous. Some of them looked excited as well, while others apparently were rethinking their current life choice. A few looked eager and unafraid. Rick pulled a deck of cards from his pocket.
“Today,” he began, “is about getting to know each other a little bit. I have ten cards here. Each has a number on it, from 1 to 5. Five of them also have the picture of a feather while the matching five have a smiley face. If you get, for instance, a 1 card with a smiley face, you’ll be tickled today by whomever pulls the 1 with a feather. Got it?”
Confessional: Morgan
“I’m sitting there thinking, “Seriously? It’s been five minutes and I’m already confused!’”
Rick shuffled the cards as he spoke. “Now, we’re going to hand out the cards in reverse alphabetical order. Ginger, you may come up whenever you’re ready.” And, having given permission, he fanned the cards out and held his hands out in front of him.
Confessional: Kirsten
“Surely there must be a fairer way to decide who gets to pick the first card. A dice roll or something?”
Ginger tentatively stood up and made her way to Rick’s easy chair. After a moment’s thought she chose a card near the middle of the deck. “Don’t look at it yet,” Rick cautioned as she returned to her seat.
Confessional: Ginger
“I know some of the others were a little miffed that I got to go first, but it wasn’t my idea. And frankly, I’m not sure whether or not it was better to have the first pick. That’s a lot of pressure. I’d have been okay letting Fate decide what I got!”
Silently, one-by-one, the women went up to pick their cards, with Amy being the last to go.
Confessional: Amy
“Like I said, I’m happy to be on either side of the feather, so being the last to pick didn’t bother me. There’s no way to know what you’re choosing, anyway.”
“Great,” Rick said once Amy had taken her seat again. “Now, take a look at your cards.”
The girls did as they were told, finally learning who would be tickled and who would do the tickling.
Confessional: Zooey
“I’m gonna be tickled by Minka. That’s cool. I don’t know how she is at tickling, but I can take it.”
Confessional: Emma
“Thank goodness I’m tickling first! Zoe looks pretty ticklish, so I should do okay.”
Confessional: Morgan
“Crap. Ginger’s going to tickle me. I was really hoping I wouldn’t have to get tickled until at least next week.”
Confessional: Yvonne
“Damn. Well, maybe Kirsten won’t be that good. And maybe she’ll stay away from my feet!”
Confessional: Ellen
“Time to make Amy laugh!”
“Okay,” Rick continued, “now that you know who your partner is and who’s going to be tickling whom, come with me.”
He stood up and approached the large painting on the wall. Curious, the girls got up and followed him over to it.
“This is a reproduction of an oil painting by 20th century French artist Theodore Gerard entitled, appropriately enough, ‘Tickling the Sleeper’,” Rick informed them. “I personally think the colors are beautiful and add a warmth to the room. But this painting hides a secret.”
With this proclamation, he reached over and pressed what must have been a hidden button behind the painting’s frame. The painting instantly split down the middle and parted, revealing a wheel, attached vertically to a recess in the wall.
“We call this the ‘Wheel of Laughter’,” as he said this the device’s name flashed up above it in tacky neon letters. “Occasionally we'll spin it and it will tell us what our tickle torture du jour will be. Everybody ready?”
Confessional: Zoe
“Bring it!”
The girls nodded their consent and Rick reached up to the wheel. “Oh great Wheel of Laughter,” he said in a mockingly reverent voice, “tell us what our torture will be today!”
The wheel spun quickly for several rotations and the girls’ eyes watched it with rapt attention. It finally began to slow and then, after what seemed, to some of them, anyway, like a longer minute than it actually was, it stopped, landing on a slot labelled “Don’t Drop the Dollar”.
“Ah, a classic!” Rick exclaimed once the wheel had stopped. “Looks like you ladies are in for some foot tickling today!”
Confessional: Yvonne
“S**t!”
* * *
The rules to the game, as explained by Rick the Tickler, were simple. The ticklee (Zooey, Zoe, Morgan, Yvonne and Amy) had to sit on a table with a dollar between their feet. The tickler (Kirsten, Minka, Ellen, Emma and Ginger) had three minutes to tickle their feet and try to get them to drop the dollar. They each faced this challenge with different levels of excitement or trepidation, depending on whether they were a tickler or a ticklee, but nobody was more fearful than Yvonne.
Confessional: Yvonne
“I mean, maybe I can make it. I’ve got to try.”
Confessional: Kirsten
“I saw Yvonne’s face when she saw what today’s game was. This’ll be great!”
Yvonne sat on the table in Tickle Room 3 as instructed. She tried to get as comfortable as she could. She really wanted to win this. But her feet…God, they were her worst spot by far! She wished there were something in the room to distract her, but it was a plain white room with a tickle table in the middle. Not much to help her there, which was probably the point.
The door opened and a stranger entered, carrying a basket. He placed it on the floor beside the table and pulled a dollar bill out of it. As Kirsten watched on, a small anticipatory smile on her face, he held the dollar between Yvonne’s feet.
“Feet together, please,” he instructed and Yvonne did as she was told. “Don’t drop the dollar,” the man said tauntingly and then left the room.
* * *
“Don’t drop the dollar,” the man said tauntingly and then left Tickle Room 5.
Amy could feel the wrinkles of the paper money between her feet.
Confessional: Amy
“I love to have my feet tickled.”
She was a little nervous, unaccountably. A glance at Ellen’s anxious face gave her reason to be. The other girl wore an eager expression that spoke volumes. Everything Amy needed to know about what kind of tickler Ellen Page was could be found on her face at that moment. This was going to be rough.
* * *
“I should warn you,” Minka said, “I won’t hold back.”
Zooey was sitting on the table in Tickle Room 2 in the same position as her fellow ticklees. She smirked and said, “I would hope not.”
“And I’m a very good tickler,” Minka continued, deciding to try psyching her tickle victim out.
“Pretty sure I’ve survived worse.” Was Zooey’s rejoinder.
Confessional: Minka
“Actually, I believe her.”
* * *
“So…how ticklish are your feet?” Emma asked in Tickle Room 1.
“Do you really expect me to answer that?” Zoe replied.
“Guess not,” Emma replied sheepishly. “Just trying to make conversation.”
Confessional: Emma
“Zoe’s got quite the poker face!”
“When do you think they’re going to let us start?”
“Right now, Emma,” Rick the Tickler’s disembodied voice replied. Apparently there were microphones and speakers in the Tickle Rooms, though Emma had no idea where. They certainly weren’t obvious.
“You all know the rules. Ticklers, you may choose whether or not to use items from the baskets. You’ll be judged on how quickly you can make your victims drop the dollars. Ticklees, you’ll be judged on how long you can keep from dropping them."
* * *
“Our panel of judges will be watching to see how you each do,” Rick continued.
Apparently there were secret cameras in the Tickle Rooms, although from where she sat on the table in Tickle Room 4, Morgan couldn’t figure out where. Then again, she supposed they wouldn’t be very secret if she could.
“So, without further ado,” Rick said, “here we go. On your marks…get set…TICKLE!!!”
“Oh, shoot, wait,” Morgan said. “I think the dollar’s slipping!”
“Too late,” Ginger replied with a somewhat evil smile, and raised her wiggling fingers. With an impulse akin to Pavlov’s dog’s, Morgan started to giggle.
Confessional: Morgan
“See? Just thinking about tickling…heh, heh…makes me laugh. I’ve got to stop that!”
* * *
Kirsten rummaged in the basket and pulled out a soft pink feather.
“What do you think?” she asked Yvonne. “I’m kind of a traditionalist.”
“Whatever you want will be fine,” Yvonne replied, attempting to show more bravado than she felt.
Kirsten moved the feather to Yvonne’s right foot and began tracing it. Dear God, it tickled! Yvonne fought unsuccessfully to stop the grin from appearing. The feather made a complete circuit of her foot, then, without warning, slipped between her big toe and its neighbor. “Heh, heh.” She couldn’t have stopped herself from giggling if she’d tried. “Hee, hee. Oh…ha, ha, ha!…no!!!”
Confessional: Yvonne
“The feather tickled. A lot! It was so soft and gentle and…well, feathery! I can still feel it a little bit now. Like an echo, you know? That was bad enough, but when Kirsten added her fingers to the mix…”
Suddenly, Kirsten’s hand shot out and she began tickling Yvonne’s other foot with all five of her fingers. Yvonne jumped and squealed and the floodgates opened.
Confessional: Kirsten
“It’s kind of a fun trick. Let her think you’re doing your worst so she’s focused on one thing, then KAPOW!…”
Confessional: Yvonne
“…I lost it. It was probably the worst tickling I’ve ever experienced!”
Confessional: Kirsten
…surprise her with a different, more ticklish sensation somewhere else!”
“Heeheeheeheehahahahahahahohohoho, plehehehehehehease nohohohohohohoho!!!” Yvonne begged, tears of laughter beginning to stream down her face.
And then, losing all control, she felt the dollar bill slip. She was sure it was all over, but her reflexes turned out to be quick enough and she caught it with her heels.
From somewhere in the distance, she heard Rick the Tickler say, “Two minutes left.”
* * *
Morgan heard the whir before she felt it. It didn’t matter. She was giggling, anyway. It felt rough and soft at the same time and was rotating back and forth at an alarming rate.
Confessional: Morgan
“An electric toothbrush??? Are you kidding me???”
Confessional: Ginger
“Perfect.”
“Hee, hee, hee, hee, hee! Oh, Gohahahahahahahahad!” Morgan was laughing so hard that Ginger was a little afraid she’d have a seizure. But there was something in the flush of her face that led the tickler to believe she’d be okay. Ginger had expected Morgan to drop the dollar bill instantly and couldn’t decide if she was pleased or disappointed that it hadn’t happened.
Confessional: Ginger
“The toothbrush was only step one.”
* * *
“Heh, heh,” Zooey giggled a little bit. Minka had decided to start slowly. Her fingers ran up her victim’s feet and back down, then slid beneath her toes. Once there, she began to wiggle them gently. There was definitely a reaction from Zooey, whose face lit up as her smile grew wider. She was clearly trying to control her reactions, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t make her grin completely disappear.
Confessional: Minka
“I could tell Zooey was ticklish and that she was good at fighting it. But I also knew I could break through.”
Confessional: Zooey
“It actually tickled a lot more than I expected, but my sister had given me some good training when we were kids, so I figured I could handle it.”
Time to step up the assault, Minka decided, and put her long, sharp fingernails to good use. She stopped tickling for a brief moment, then reached over to Zooey’s right foot and, gently scratching her pinky toe, recited, “This little piggy went to market.”
“Hee, hee. Really?” Zooey said. “Ha, ha. The piggies? Heh, heh.”
Confessional: Zooey
“I couldn’t believe she was doing that! How old am I, two?”
Minka ignored her victim’s derisive question, not even looking up from her feet to acknowledge it. “This little piggy stayed home.” Scratch, scratch on toe number two.
“Heh, heh. You won’t get me to…hee, hee…to…hahaha…break like this.”
“This little piggy had roast beef.” Scritchity scratch.
“Ah! Hahaha! Seriously, I’m not a child!”
“This little piggy had none.” Scratch, scratch, scritchity scratch.
“Heeheehee! This…ha, ha…this won’t…ho, ho, ho..won’t…hahaha…work!”
Confessional: Minka
“Maybe it was just me, but I thought she was starting to sound a little bit desperate.
Confessional: Zooey
“I’ll admit, I was starting to feel desperate. It tickled a lot. It was something Emily would do to me frequently. Maybe that brought up some associations or something.”
Minka suddenly looked up, directly into Zooey’s eyes and, staring her down, asked, “And do you know what this little piggy did, Zooey?”
Confessional: Zooey
“Oh, God, and the taunting. That made it so much worse!”
“Minka, this is stupid,” Zooey said, trying to sound nonchalant, but her eyes were pleading. The least she could do, Zooey thought, was to hold her foot. She was starting to wonder if she’d drop the dollar bill. That would be humiliating. If Minka held her foot in place it would help. But, of course, Minka didn’t want to help.
“Do you, Zooey?” Minka pressed. “What did this last little piggy say, Zooey?”
Dammit, why does she keep saying my name like that? Zooey thought to herself. I wish she’d cut it out!
“Say it, Zooey,” Minka insisted. “Tell me what the little piggy said.”
Confessional: Zooey
“In hindsight, I know exactly what she was doing. She was goading me. You can’t tickle yourself. But she had sort of found a way of making me do it, anyway. She wasn’t going to drop it until I said it and the moment I said it I’d get tickled. I wasn’t thinking clearly or it wouldn’t have worked.”
“What did the piggy say, Zooey?” Minka repeated again, this time gently swiping a finger between her toes. Zooey giggled. “Tell me.”
Zooey’s lips slowly puckered, preparing to make a “w”. Anything, she decided. I’ll do anything to make her stop asking me that. But her lips just stayed there, puckered, as she rethought the action. It would surely lead to more tickle torture, which would possibly lead to her losing the game.
“Zooey…” Minka said.
“Please, no, Emily,” Zooey quietly begged, not even noticing the Freudian slip.
Minka ever-so-gently caressed Zooey’s toe, making the girl smile a bit, right on the edge of giggling some more but not pushing her over yet. The torturer slowly began the last part of the nursery rhyme. “This…little…piggy…said…”
The “w” shape formed on Zooey’s lips again. It was surprisingly difficult to pucker your lips when all you could do was smile. “…’Wwwwee, wwee, weeheeheeheehee…’”
And, dissolving into giggles, she found she couldn’t finish. Minka’s damn fingernail attacked her big toe immediately, scratching all over its surface, between her toes and under them and down the length of her foot. “…’Wee, wee, wee’ all the way home!” she cried, enjoying the reaction her finger was having on the other girl.
“Two minutes left,” Rick the Tickler’s voice informed them.
But Zooey hadn’t dropped the dollar bill yet.
* * *
Confessional: Emma
“Seriously, I have never seen anyone as resistant to tickling as Zoe. Ever.”
“Two minutes left,” Rick the Tickler announced.
A whole minute had gone by. One third of her allotted time. She’d tried almost every tickle toy in the basket and found that the hairbrush worked best, but still she couldn’t get Zoe to do much more than giggle a little bit.
“Heh, heh. It’s not your fault,” Zoe told her through a smile. “I’m just not that ticklish.”
Confessional: Zoe
“Here’s a hint: that magic spot I told you about? Not on my feet.”
* * *
Amy’s unrestrained laughter rang through the room as Ellen worked her feet over. She was using a hairbrush on her right foot and a water pick on her left. Amy’s toes were curling and she was giggling helplessly, but she hadn’t even come close to letting the dollar bill go yet.
Confessional: Amy
“Sometimes I’ll get out a hairbrush and scratch my own feet with it.”
“I’m going to get you to drop that dollar if it’s the last thing I do,” Ellen promised.
Confessional: Ellen
“I’m a good tickler. Really good. And Amy’s really ticklish, but she’s got stamina, too. More than I expected.”
Confessional: Amy
“Ellen’s a great tickler and she knows it. One of the best, I think. I almost dropped the dollar bill a couple of times. I’m not sure if she noticed.”
If Amy had a reply in her head, she was laughing so hard she couldn’t voice it. Ellen dropped both tickling instruments and began scratching both of her victim’s feet, redoubling Amy’s hilarity.
Confessional: Amy
“Fingernails on my feet feel soooo good. It's like a pleasant scratch, but it drive you nuts! I’m sorry, I can’t stop smiling.”
* * *
Oh, crap, she’s got me, Yvonne thought as she giggled uncontrollably, trying hard not to let the dollar bill slip from between her heels. If she focuses on my heels, that’s the end!
And why wouldn’t she? Yvonne’s heels were all that were keeping the bill from hitting the floor, after all. Kirsten’s reasoning matched her opponent’s, but she decided to take an indirect route which, being a surprise, tickled all the more. Dropping the feather, her fingers ran across the blonde’s feet to their sides, then tickled down to the heels. Yvonne tried desperately not to let the dollar go. She moved her feet back and forth in synchronized movements, being sure to keep her heels tightly together but still allowing her to feel as if she was doing something to escape. To her surprise, even when Kirsten’s tickling fingers skittered across her soles, she was able to hold on. But when the fingers changed direction without warning, one running up and down her right foot while the other ran right to left on her left one, Yvonne could take it no longer. Surprised by the change in tactic and unable to keep track of both sets of fingers when they travelled completely different paths, she jerked backward and let her heels part. The dollar bill fluttered to the ground.
“Kirsten, stop tickling,” Rick the Tickler’s voice instructed and Kirsten obeyed, stepping away from the table. “Yvonne, you made it one minute, thirty-one seconds.”
Yvonne, still giggling, drenched in sweat and trying to catch her breath. Nodded acknowledgement.
Confessional: Yvonne
“A minute thirty-one? Longer than I expected!”
* * *
Confessional: Morgan
“Ginger’s really sweet. On the other hand, she can be a terrible person.”
“Are your feet clean, Morgan?” Ginger asked. She had implemented step two right after the two minute call and now the toothbrush was tickling one foot and a hairbrush was torturing the other.
“Hahahahaha! Yehehehehehes. Wahahahahahahahahy?” The extraordinarily ticklish redhead asked.
“I wanted to be sure before I did this,” Ginger replied, implementing step three.
Confessional: Morgan
“Really terrible.”
Still using the different brushes, she bent down, enveloped several of the tortured girl’s toes in her mouth and, nibbling gently, began flicking her soft, moist tongue over them.
“Heeheeheeheehahahahahaha!!! Ohohohohohohohohoho nohohohohohohohohohoho! For the hahahah love heeheeheehee of God hohohohohohohohohohohoho stop!!! Nohohohohohohohohohoho moooooorrrrrreeeee!!!”
Somewhere around the middle of the word more, Morgan let the bill slip. Neither girl noticed it hit the floor and Rick the Tickler had to shout to be heard over Morgan’s helpless laughter.
“Ginger, stop tickling. Morgan, you lasted one minute, thirty-nine seconds.”
Morgan, face flushed, struggling to breathe, a smile plastered on her face and a giggle still in her voice, looked up at Ginger and said, “You’re…sadistic.”
Confessional: Ginger
“Toldja.”
* * *
“Seriously, maybe I should just give up,” Emma suggested.
“Heh, heh. I don’t think you’re allowed to,” Zoe replied, giggling just a little bit. Emma wasn’t certain anymore if it was a genuine laugh or a gesture of pity. She suspected the latter.
Rick the Tickler’s voice proclaimed, “Only one…”
* * *
“…minute left.”
“Heeheeheeheeheehahahahahahahahohohohohohoho!”
Just one more minute. Zooey could hold out that long. She couldn’t believe how hard she was laughing, how much she wanted to give in. Minka’s tickling was very much like Emily’s. She was an expert. But Zooey couldn’t lose. She was driven to prove something, if not to everybody else, then at least to herself. She would not give in.
“Just drop the dollar, Zooey,” Ginger said in a taunting voice. “You know you want to.” To emphasize the point, she raked her nails down Zooey’s left foot while the fingers of her other hand slipped between the toes on the same foot.
The tickling was almost unbearable, but Zooey tried to get herself under control. She took a deep breath and did her best to squelch her laughter. Somewhat to her surprise, she managed it, though she could feel the laughter welling up in her chest, getting ready to make a comeback. Still, she couldn’t let Minka think she was going to win. “I…mffhmhm…I am going…hehmff…to…hmhm…get…hmffhahmff…you…heh, heh…back…hahaha…for…mmmmhee…this,” she promised, but could say no more as she lost the battle against her giggles, once more exploding into helpless fits of laughter.
She was aware that her feet were moving back and forth in an effort to escape the torture. She was also aware that she was about to lose. She couldn’t take anymore. She had to give in and she did, letting the dollar bill slip from between her feet. Minka immediately stopped the tickling and caught the bill, seeming to pluck it from the air.
Zooey, still giggling slightly, wiped the sweat away from her forehead and sighed, working to catch her breath.
“Two minutes and thirteen seconds, Zooey,” Rick the Tickler’s voice pronounced.
Minka held up the dollar bill. “Do I get to keep this?” she asked.
* * *
“Oh…heeheeheeheeyahahahaha…God!” Amy cried. “That tiheeheeheeheeheeicklllleeessss soooooo bad!!!”
“You can make it stop,” Ellen reminded her. “All you have to do is drop the dollar.”
“Hahaha! Not on your…hohoho…life!” Amy replied.
“You’re enjoying this,” Ellen said, just now realizing it.
“You heeheehee have no idea how much!”
“Actually,” Ellen admitted, “I can guess.”
Having said that, she began scratching Amy’s feet vigorously all over. The willing victim dissolved into even harder laughter and, although her feet were the only part of her being tortured, her entire body began to squirm and wriggle. Ellen realized that this was actually turning Amy on, which explained her unwillingness to drop the money. Ellen knew the feeling. It was turning her on, too!
“Heeheeheeheehahahahahaha!” Amy’s unrestrained laughter was like beautiful music, a symphony which Ellen didn’t want to come to an end. But there’s a saying about all good things and this certainly qualified.
“That’s three minutes,” Rick the Tickler’s voice announced. “Emma and Ellen, stop tickling.”
Ellen reluctantly did as she was told. She looked over at Amy, who was grinning from ear to ear, her relaxed, enraptured expression indicating the amount of pleasure she’d taken from the experience. Ellen felt a momentary pang of jealousy, but immediately pushed it aside, remembering that her turn would eventually come and also that she hadn’t been in a completely undesirable position for this round, anyway.
* * *
Emma, a little embarrassed, stopped attempting to tickle Zoe the moment she’d heard Rick’s instructions. She didn’t want to meet Zoe’s eyes, so she busied herself methodically returning all the tickle toys to their basket.
“You know, I think they have people to do that,” Zoe pointed out.
“I know,” Emma replied, but didn’t stop.
“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” Zoe said and was about to say something else, but was interrupted.
“An hour rest break, ladies,” Rick the Tickler told them. “Then meet me in the living room.”
Confessional: Emma
“I know I’m going to get eliminated. I’m more disappointed than I expected I’d be.”
* * *
Amy was putting her socks and shoes on as Rick the Tickler completed relaying his instructions. Once she was sure he was done, Ellen turned to Amy.
“Hey, do me a favor,” she said.
“Anything,” Amy agreed.
“If you get the chance to tickle me at any point during the competition,” Ellen said, “don’t hold back.”
Amy finished tying her shoelace, pulling the knot taught with a single firm gesture, then looked up, meeting Ellen’s eyes. “Count on it,” she promised.
* * *
An hour later, the ticklers and ticklees were sitting comfortably in their original spots on the sofas. Some had taken showers and changed, others had taken a power nap or grabbed a quick bite to eat. Now they were all waiting for the host of “Celebrity Tickle House” to make his appearance.
And appear he did, stepping through the door exactly on schedule. He made his way past the girls, this time not stopping for brief tickles, probably figuring they’d been through enough today. He arrived at his easy chair and took a seat, then began.
“Well, that was fun,” he noted. “And interesting, too. I hope you all got some rest. Most of you did very well. Now, each week we will pick two girls who will be up for elimination. The judges have conversed and the selection has been made.”
The girls anxiously waited for Rick the Tickler’s next words.
“Yvonne, please come forward,” he summoned.
Yvonne nervously rose and approached Rick in his chair.
“Yvonne, I think it’s safe to say that your feet are ticklish in the extreme,” Rick said.
A smile tinged with nervousness came to Yvonne’s lips as she thought about the torture she’d endured an hour earlier. “Yes, that’s definitely safe to say,” she agreed.
“You were the first person to drop your dollar bill. Morgan was a close second, but close, as they say, only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. You’re up for elimination.”
Confessional: Yvonne
“Dammit! I worked so hard not to drop the thing. Not hard enough, I guess.”
Confessional: Morgan
"Wow! I really thought I was the first! That's a relief!"
“Emma, please come forward,” Rick instructed and Emma made her way past the other girls to stand beside Yvonne.
“Emma, you had no luck tickling Zoe at all,” Rick said. “She barely laughed.”
“That’s true,” Emma admitted, apparently a little ashamed of the failure.
“Emma,” Rick the Tickler continued, “You’re up for…”
“No, wait!” Zoe suddenly spoke up, rising. “It’s not fair. I’m not very ticklish at all. Emma never stood a chance. She shouldn’t be punished because she randomly got me as a ticklee.”
“You and I both know only part of that is true,” Rick the Tickler said cryptically. “But that was taken into account. Still, Emma, you’re up for elimination.”
Confessional: Emma
“It was really sweet of Zoe to speak up for me. I wasn’t expecting it. I hope I’m kept on the show. I’m starting to get into it.”
Confessional: Ginger
“Sounds like Zoe’s got a secret. I’m intrigued.”
“Now, viewers,” Rick the Tickler said. “Who will be eliminated from ‘Celebrity Tickle House’? Yvonne or Emma? Our number is at the bottom of the screen, so let us know. Until next week, keep laughing!”
And here, dear readers, is your chance to help shape the story. Who will get eliminated, Yvonne or Emma? If you'd like to put in a vote, please PM me with your choice by Saturday, 6/7. I'll tally the votes together and do my best to get the elimination episode out by next week. (Although, I'm a fairly busy guy, so please forgive me if it takes a little longer.) I say PM me (as opposed to comment in the thread) so that the final tally will be a secret until the elimination story comes out. Looking forward to hearing from you! TicklerRickler
