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The bad news, for reasons described in another thread, is that M has decided not to make any more tickle videos.
The good news, also mentioned in that thread, is that she really came to enjoy the tickle sessions, and even mentioned it to some friends, who are now also curious and maybe willing to try it.
Quick backstory.
Apparently during early Covid, M got involved with a "women in business" book club / mentoring group on Zoom. Its membership was a group of professional and corporate leaders from mid-career through retirement. They would read various assigned books -- some business related, some literary -- and then meet one evening each month to do what book clubs do and talk through them.
M knew a few of the members before she joined, and made some new friends over the months. Eventually she got comfortable enough to put an edgier type of suggestion on the list: a short story called 'Secretary' from the book Bad Behavior by Mary Gaitskill. It's the same story that served as a basis for the 2002 movie Secretary with James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
M's friends and a few others signed up to read the short story, and she said most of them also watched the movie. By now, the meetings are a mix of in-person and Zoom participants, and on the night of the Secretary discussion, M was at one of her friends' houses with a few others plus a handful of Zoomers on the big screen. She said it was not only the most wine ever consumed over a book discussion, but also by far the most interesting conversation.
Long story short, the evening wound down to half a dozen women who were pretty tipsy on wine and sharing stories. M said two others besides herself had tried bondage. When she mentioned that she'd tried it not only in college but recently, and told them about doing the tickle videos, she definitely won the night's award for best story.
Better yet, when she suggested that they try it, two of the six stepped up (I didn't think to ask if they're the same two who had tried bondage), two were on the fence, and of the two who said no way, one said she had a friend who would probably be interested.
So M has spoken with my wife and me, and it looks like sometime around the holidays we may be hosting a pretty interesting party. All I know at this point is a little bit of background on the few who might attend. (All are in their 50s, one might be early 60s.)
Of the two yeses, one is a retired Microsoft executive and another is the wife of a guy who owns some car dealerships. One of the two maybes used to be a Big 4 consulting partner, and the other was an HR executive at a large company. The friend mentioned by one of the 'no ways' is apparently an artist and professional photographer, and may be a little younger.
All of this leads to the idea I wanted to float. Since we're out of the video business, I suggested the following alternative to M, and she thinks it would be fine: I could find a lookalike or maybe do an animated portrait of each ticklee, provide a little more background, and then just write a post or series of posts telling the story of how things went. I could use this forum to post the description, or maybe it would be better to move to stories.
Assuming it comes together, I know it will suck not to have videos, but for these ladies, I know there's no amount of gettable money that could change their minds. Apparently they're just curious about the experience. But if it sounds like the stories would be interesting, I'll be glad to share what I can.
-Q.
