Easy money was shaping up. Ben Affleck now had his Trevor with Will Poulter and his Hampton with Jeremy Allen White. There was only one member of the friend group left to cast and Ben felt like he was a seasoned tickler by now. Will was easy to get going but Jeremy took some effort to really see how ticklish he was, putting up much more of a fight than Poulter had. He’d lucked up in Will and Jeremy being on the second season of The Bear together, bringing an existing familiarity with each other to the new series but his third casting choice for the three main friends would add a different feeling to the group. The character of Mickie was supposed to be a bit of a partier and the jokester of the group. On paper it could come off stereotypical but the audition tape Ben had seen brought Mickie to life in a unique way, radiating charm and charisma with a fun energy perfect to round out the main cast.

Day 3

Mason Gooding walked in the room already smiling, obviously happy to be there. “Mason, thanks for coming in” Ben greeted like he had the others, with a friendly handshake. “Are you kidding? Thanks for wanting to see me” “Of course. I actually knew your dad years ago so it’s wild to be auditioning his son now” “Right, he told me you guys were in Pearl Harbor together. That movie is iconic” Mason assured. “It feels like about 100 years ago now but thanks. So, you feeling good about this?” Ben asked. “Oh, totally…I’m ready to get tickled” Mason answered before putting his hands behind his head to leave his upper body open. “Haha I appreciate the enthusiasm but that’s not how this is gonna work. You’re gonna be on this, strapped down” Ben explained with a pat on the black horizontal table decorated with straps.

“Oh, shit…this thing is legit. It looks like something out of a Saw movie” Mason pointed out as he studied the bondage table. “I can’t argue with you there, less death-trappy I hope” “Right…so I’m gonna be tied down to this when I get tickled?” Gooding questioned with what almost came off as excitement. “Yep, just so I can really test you out, make sure you’re ticklish enough to get genuine reactions during filming” “This is so gnarly haha” Mason added before taking off his hoodie to reveal no shirt underneath, surprising Ben with his lack of apprehension or hesitation. “So how ticklish would you say you are?” “Probably around an 8. I kind of have a love/hate relationship with it. I prefer to dish it out but I end up taking it sometimes too” Mason admitted with a laugh. “That’s the way it goes I guess. Well, I’m ready if you are” “Absolutely.”

The 26 year old Scream star took up most of the table like Poulter had, both of them over six feet tall but Mason looked stronger than him, convincing Ben to double check his straps when he secured him in place. He knew how violent Will and especially Jeremy had become when the tickling was at its worst but this was the first time Affleck was concerned about the integrity of his table; Mason might actually be able to break it if he wanted to or at least escape. Luckily for Ben, the young actor seemed less reluctant than the other two, almost eager, like he was about to experience some new ride for the first time.

“Nervous?” Ben asked. “Nah, not really. I actually checked out some tickling videos before I came today” Mason explained, surprising the director. “Really? What uhh…what did you watch?” “A friend of mine actually is sort of into this kind of thing so he suggested some sites like, I think one was MyFriendsFeet…a couple from TickledHard…and I think TicklishChubs. I was mainly checking them out to get a better idea about the show and the kind of videos the guys were supposed to be creating; I didn’t know I’d be getting introduced to it today” Mason explained, unaware Ben had watched videos from all of those sites and more to educate himself on the tickling scene. “Well, it sounds like you did some homework; let’s see how you do with the real thing” Affleck answered before making his way toward the middle of the table.

Instead of asking where the worst spot was this time, Ben decided to just jump right in, latching one hand around the top of Mason’s knee and squeezing. “OoOAOhaOOkOoKAOhA!” “Starting off strong” Affleck added as Gooding’s eyes came to life a little more and Ben’s other hand started chomping into the other leg at the same time. “OoOhAOhSShHiIiTTAohAohA FfuuUcCkKmMEEeDDUuDEeEEAAHaHAOhOhA!” Mason was instantly overflowing with a river of laughter without any resistance. Ben could barely keep a grip on the solid thighs but his hands were big enough to make each squeeze count, already making Mason’s jerk around and test the straps keeping them in place.

“I’m guessing you don’t skip leg days at the gym” Affleck teased as his hands shimmied up and down the thighs to see how they would react. “NNoOOWWAaAYYYAhAHa!” Gooding assured with a happier smile than Ben had seen on either of the guys before; Mason wasn’t hating this. “What about up here?” Ben suggested before locking around the hips and repeating the same chomping technique, only this time with a much better grip. “OooaoAOaohAOhAFFuUUCCkKAOHaohA! YYYEEpPPAhAHATTHHAAATTsSSAABBbAADDSSPPOoOOOTT!” Mason admitted as he wrestled with the heavier laughter being produced, his whole body squirming on the table with a reflexive need to get away.

His black gym shorts were easy to push down a little and really give Ben complete access to his target, digging in with his thumbs especially and rocketing Mason into even wilder laughter. He writhed around as much as he could on the table but didn’t fight the straps to get out despite Affleck working into his hips as brutally as he could, “AohAohADUuuUDDEE! AohAohAohACCOoOmMmEEeOOONN!!” Gooding howled but Ben didn’t back off. “You could make this easier on yourself if you tell me your spots; that way I can tell if you’re gonna be ticklish enough or not” Affleck suggested. “AhHAOOOkOoKOKK! MMyYYSSIIDDEESS!” Mason confessed like he needed a break from the severe hip action. “This might be the smoothest audition yet” Ben added before prodding up both sides and only getting a mild reaction, barely a grimace or giggle. “…are you fucking with me??” “Sorry haha, the hip tickling was starting to get too bad…I had to bs you a little” “Alright, I see how it is…” Affleck answered with a laugh like he respected Mason’s move but wouldn’t let it slide.

“I’ve got something for you” Ben added as he looked to his trusty tool table and returned with a blindfold. “No way…are you serious?” “You’re the one wanting to play games here” Ben answered as he slipped the blindfold on Mason and started plotting his next move. “This is messed up…” Gooding complained before he felt his sneakers being tugged off. “Just don’t start nibbling on my feet like some of those guys in the tickling videos; I don’t usually let people do that for free” Mason teased as his gray-socked feet flexed and wiggled a little in the fresh air, expecting Ben to test them out when moments later something started swishing across his ears.

“AAhSshIITT! WWhhAATTiiSstthhAAhAT?!” Mason yelped with surprise as his head bobbled back and forth but couldn’t avoid the new attack. “That’s for me to know” Ben answered as the fanned paintbrushes flicked and dusted all over his ears and dipped down to his neck every few seconds to keep him on his toes. “AhNNoAOha! CcoOMmEeoOoNnAhA!!” Gooding bubbled over with rollercoaster laughter and his hands reached out from the corners of the table like they could potentially grab whatever it was toying with him. The maddening game of torturing his ears with the paintbrushes would likely never get old but Ben wanted to make the most of his element of surprise and soon, without any warning ditched the ears and neck for a different spot he suspected would be another hit.

“WOooAOAOhAOhAOHANNOOAOHA!” Mason lurched forward as far as the straps would allow and his head flew back with a tidal wave of laughter, putting a surprised smile on Affleck’s face as he brushed Gooding’s meaty nipples. “Where did that come from?” Ben laughed as he continued simply sweeping across both nipples of his beefy pecs and watching the tattooed stud flounder on the table. “FfUUuCCCkKOokoOK!! aohAHOaAALLrRRiIGGhHTT!! NnOoOTTThHEEnNIIIIPPLLlEeSSS!!” Mason protested with a newfound urgency in his voice as his nipples grew harder and harder under the thin bristles. “A guy like you can’t handle something like this?” Ben taunted while starting to paint invisible circles around the edges of both trigger points, providing a different yet equally torturous stream of sensations. “JJuUuSSTTlLAAAyYoOOFFmMMYYNNIIIPPlLEESS!! TThHEEEyYYRREeTTOOSSEEnNSsiITTIIVVEE!!” Gooding admitted like his ego wasn’t about to get in the way of trying to get Ben to go somewhere else.

“Alright” was all Affleck said before letting one brush jump up to his face, dusting his nose and cheeks and jawline while the other stayed on his left nipple painting away. “SSHhhiItTAohaohAWWhhAattHhHEEhHEELL!? NnOoOTTWWhhAATIImMEeaAANNT!” “My bad” Ben laughed as Mason grew more frustrated trying to evade the brush on his face and the one on his chest but failed miserably at both, allowing the Oscar winner to double dip without breaking a sweat. “MMOoTThHeEERrFFuUUCCkKeERAhahaSSTTohOHOP!!” “So now I’m a motherfucker?” “NnoO! NNOAohAOhANNoOOTTYyOoUUUAhaH!!” Gooding tried to clarify as the second paintbrush returned to the right nipple for some punishment, this time both of them swishing faster until Mason was practically shaking the room with thunderous laughter and the table was beginning to bounce off the ground a little.

“Damn, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen such a ticklish chest” Ben added as he retreated from the now rock-solid nipples. “Shit…I didn’t know they were that bad, that’s fucking crazy” Mason admitted with a laugh of disbelief as he caught his breath. “I guess I can give your armpits a try next” Ben suggested. “Fantastic…” Mason sarcastically answered as he braced himself and tried to bend his arms to see how much he could protect his pits but suddenly had 10 fingers scribbling on his feet instead. “FFuUcCK! SSUUCchHAAlLLiIIAaRR!” Gooding shouted as his strong feet fought the new development but Ben wasn’t easily deterred, excellent at angling his hands the right way to keep both feet upright while he clawed at them through the socks.

“You guys only get tickled barefoot in the show so I don’t know why I’m bothering with these socks” Ben soon pointed out as he grabbed the edges of both savory socks and started peeling them off. “This is where shit goes sideways for a lot of those guys in the videos” Mason laughingly added as his naked size 12s wrinkled a little and his toes wiggled loose any potential lint left behind. Affleck’s enthusiasm was only stoked by Mason seemingly enjoying himself on some level, having a good time with the audition compared to the two that’d come before him. Ben let his long fingers stretch toward the base of Gooding’s golden toes and then slowly raked all the way down both feet, “oOOAOhAOoAohSshhiIT!” “That’s a good sign” Ben added before clawing back up the supple soles just as patiently as he watched Mason twitch and squirm on the table.

“Damn, dragging it out like that is ridiculous” Gooding admitted. “I can always go faster” Affleck assured before using his nails to scratch all over the peach soles with wide claw hands. “NNoAOoAohA!! OOAOhAOAOhAhHOOOLlYyYSSHHiIIiTTAHAHA!!” Mason bucked on the table and laughed with his whole body as his gorgeous feet writhed around against Ben’s unforgiving fingers. Affleck may have done some research but he seemed to have a natural flair for tickling, like a hidden talent of sorts that made him so good at getting the better of the actors he’d chosen to have a second audition.

“TThHAATtAAALLYyOoUuGGoOoOTTT?!” Mason challenged through his rowdy laughter, shocking Ben and giving him a reason to be as devious as he could. “Careful what you ask for, kid” Affleck warned with a vicious smirk as he grabbed the two hairbrushes he’d sat on the table before starting on Mason’s feet and gripped them tight in his hands before unleashing on his handsome targets. “AahAAHAHHAAHFFUUUCCKKAohaOH!” Gooding erupted with powerhouse laughter and shook on the table as the collections of plastic bristles sawed across the balls of both feet, the widest part with the most surface area to focus on destroying. “How’s that?” Ben asked. “AhOAohAohAFFuUUCCkKTTHHoOOSSEeEBbBRRuUSSHHEeESS!!” Mason shouted without even having to see them to know what was tickling him; he had indeed done his own research before today.

Affleck couldn’t help but laugh at how Gooding handled being tickled so intensely, taken back by his attitude toward it and of course motivated to dish out the worst he could deliver. The brushes soon dropped down to the long, almost flat arches and the meaty sides of both feet in harsh zig-zag motions, the kind that would’ve pushed Jeremy to ticklish tears. “OoAoAOHAsHHIIITT!! AOhAohAoAoohAHAOhaMMOOoTTThHEERRFFuUUCCKKEERrAhAHA!!” Mason roared with wide-eyed adrenaline under the blindfold while Ben brushed his big, smooth soles like he was scrubbing a dirty floor that just wouldn’t get clean. “You wanted more so here it is” Affleck taunted as he watched Mason go wild on the table and test the straps with his now sweaty muscles, “IiiCCAAnANNNTTTAaAkKEEiIITT!!” Gooding assured with a cockiness Ben wasn’t expecting but became eager to break. “You really want me to be an asshole, don’t you?” Affleck laughed as he put down the brushes and pulled out a tool he wasn’t sure would actually work, an original idea of his own he wanted to try.

Mason relaxed on the table once the brushes left his feet but was quickly forced back to life when he felt something slipping between two toes of his left foot. “Woah…what trick are you pulling now?” “Too bad you can’t see for yourself” Ben answered before pulling the braided phone charger cord between the second and third toe with a slow, steady back and forth. “WWooAOAH! OAhAOHWOhAWOhaohaWWHaATTThHEeEFFuUUCCKK!?! AOhAOhANNOO! NNOOOAoAOHAAOHA!!” Mason exploded with electric laughter, the kind that told Ben he’d struck gold. Gooding thrashed around under the straps and for the first time tried to yank his feet free as the blue cord threaded back and forth between his toes, exploiting an area Mason hadn’t even thought about getting tickled before now.

“OOKOOKkAohAohAOHAAsSSHHiIIITT!!” “What’s wrong?” Affleck teased as he moved onto the next two toes and sparked another avalanche of overwhelmed laughter, the most desperate Ben had heard him sound the whole time. “AAAlLLRRiIiGGHhTT!! AHAHaYYoOUUuWWWiIINN!!” Gooding surrendered like he might with a friend of his but Ben wasn’t satisfied, instead jumping to the opposite foot. “No! Get that thing away from my fucking toes!!” Mason argued as he tried to fight it off with his foot but couldn’t keep Ben from threading it in and pulling in a different direction this time to capitalize on his new technique. “OOOAOOAOhAOHAOHHHOoOLLYYYSShSHHIIITT!! AhAHoaAOAHCCcOOoOOMMEEOONNMMAAANN!!” Mason borderline screamed with fresh laughter and he looked down a few times like he needed to see what tool was so unbearable but the trusty blindfold kept him suffering in suspense.

Gooding’s juicy toes fanned out and wiggled in panic as the cord snaked back and forth with strategic friction and Mason got a taste of ticklish misery for the first real time, beginning to realize he’d underestimated Ben’s wrath as a tickler. “Is this wha-“ Ben tried to tease some more but couldn’t even be heard over Mason’s insane laughter as he endured the charger sliding between his silky toes on repeat. “AALlLRRIiIGGhHTT!! AALLLRRiIIGGHHTT!! AohOHAPPLLLEEAASSEE!! SSTTOhOHOPP!!” Gooding let out like he was truly at his limit and Ben soon obliged, pulling the cord from his toes and giving him some relief. “What the FUCK!? What the hell was that??” Mason asked and Ben pulled off his blindfold to show him. “A fucking iPhone charger?? That’s some twisted shit right there…oh my God, bro…that thing tickled so much…I never knew between my toes were so ticklish…that’s crazy” Mason admitted with a laugh like he was just happy it wasn’t still going.

“You were my guinea pig with that actually…I was curious if it’d work but I guess I got my answer” Affleck pointed out. “Lucky me” “I still have some other big spots to test out though so I hope you didn’t get too worn out” “Nah, I’ll be alright…just leave that charger way over there” Gooding added before Ben realigned his sights on two new targets, two sweaty, freshly shaven targets. Affleck sat on the edge of the table and reached out into Mason’s armpits, making him flinch for the first time. “Nervous?” “No, just uhh…making sure your straps are still sturdy” Mason tried to play off before Ben’s long fingers started spidering into his underarms, letting his fingertips tease the smooth hollows while Gooding cringed on the table and his face tightened up. “Don’t hold back on me now” Ben added. “Maybe you’re just not as good of a tickler as you think” Mason challenged with a clenched jaw, sparking another devilish smirk on his director before the exploratory attack jumped to a full-fledged assault.

“AAhAHAHAAAFFUUCCKK! AOhAOhAIiIITTSSSOoOMMuUCChWWOoOrRSSEEWWiITThHOOuUuThHAAIIRR!!” Gooding admitted as Ben plowed into the muscle-lined pits, hellbent on making him regret being such a smart-ass. “This is the spot, isn’t it? Right here” Affleck soon realized and let his hands sink deeper into the underarms, getting a wide-eyed look from Mason. “NO! I was just faking you oUuOTOaohAoHAAO!!” Gooding failed to even lie quick enough before Ben was digging into the middle of both pits with stiff, merciless fingers. Mason’s inked body pounded into the table with violent bounces around to the full extent of the freedom allowed by the straps but Ben wasn’t backing down, instead zeroing in and focusing on milking the bullseyes the best he could.

“AAAhAHAAHAGGGEeETTTOoOoFFF!! AHAOHAAOHAohAACCOOmMEEOOONN!!” Mason raged with impressive force to his reaction, truly testing the table as the tickling approached his personal limit, a line he didn’t think he’d have to worry about Ben ever finding to be able to cross in the first place. “How about two spots at once?” Affleck suggested before one hand left the pits and dove into his stomach with a wide, chomping technique on the center of his solid abs and instantly hit another jackpot. “NNOOAoAOhAOHASSHHIIITT!! aohAAohAGGOoODDAAMMIMIITTT!! aohAOhAAoaaOOKOOKK!!” Mason shouted at the top of his lungs through harsh laughter forcing his throat to keep up. “Where’s all that big talk now?” Ben taunted as he started drilling into the stomach with random jabs and let his other hand wreck the right armpit at the same time, the dual attack pushing Mason to new heights of ticklish hysteria as he went absolutely nuts on the table.

Ben understood how unique the scenario of not being able to escape or fight back while getting tickled was. 99% of the time if someone was tickled, there was an exit route or way to counter the usually playful attack but being strapped down to a table was a whole different ball game. That’s part of what’d attracted him to the show. He also was understanding the more he went through these auditions, the power that came with being a tickler in that situation. It was an absolute power to tease and torment as much as you wanted. But as the saying goes, absolute power corrupts absolutely and by now Affleck was shaping up to be a real tickle monster, even more than he already was. He had to remind himself it was just an audition and not an actual tickling session like he’d seen in the videos online. He knew he couldn’t tickle Mason for the rest of the night even though part of him would’ve loved to.

“Ok, ok…don’t pass out on me” Ben added as he left the armpit and stomach to give Mason some much-deserved relief. “I really thought I’d grown out of most spots being so ticklish…but damn” Gooding confessed. “I don’t know if you actually grow out of it” “Apparently not…that was fucking brutal, man” Mason admitted as he recovered from the intense tickling. “At least you have a better idea of what to expect for the show” “Yeah, I guess you’re right” “There is one part of a scene with Mickie that I want to run through with you really quick if that’s cool” Affleck explained with his back to him as he fiddled with the tools on the table. “As long as it’s not that charger between my toes again” “Haha no, it’s not that” Ben answered before turning around with two electric toothbrushes.

“Oh, shit…I wondered if you had any of those. Those things can do some damage” Mason pointed out, recalling how useful they were in the tickling videos he’d seen. “I’m glad I didn’t disappoint you. There’s a scene with Mickie getting tickled in a ‘safeword video’ where he’s given a safeword and the others tickle him until he can’t take it anymore and says it so I wanna try that out” “Alright…what’s my safeword then?” “Umm...how about just toothbrush?” “Easy enough” “Let’s get going then” Ben announced as he turned the brushes on and went straight for Mason’s thick nipples. “NOOoaOH!! DDiiIccCCkKmMoOOVEEE!!” Gooding instantly crumbled with fresh laughter while the vibrating heads buzzed in circles on his magnificent chest.

Ben concentrated on the nipples for a few minutes to get Mason going really good and suddenly whipped out two more toothbrushes. “WhWAAAaATTT??” “Oh yeah” Affleck answered with an evil laugh before sliding the new electric brushes up the legs of Mason’s shorts to tickle his thighs. “AAAhAHAHSSSHHiIIITT!! AohAohATTThhAATTsSSFFUUucCCCKkEEddDUPPP!!” Gooding argued as his laughter doubled and he shook on the table like he could get away from them. “Oh, I can make it worse” Ben warned before turning the toothbrushes in his hands sideways so the bristle ends were on the base of his pits and the vibrating ends were still on his nipples. “NNoOAoAOAaohAOA!! FFuUUCCkkYYOOOUUAOAOhAOhaAhAA!!” Mason’s face contorted to animated extremes and his toes fanned out and crunched with sensory overload as he filled the room with increasingly unhinged laughter.

Ben soon feared Mason would be too stubborn to say the safeword and end up dragging out the run-through over the next hour, convincing Affleck to resort to a classic move to help make him crack. With the electric toothbrushes buzzing away on his thighs, nipples, and armpits, Ben used his chin to start digging into Mason’s pecs. “WWOoaAoaAHaAohAohaNNOOnNOOO!! AohAOhAoOAAOHAOHOFFuUUuCCCKCK!! AHoAOhAOHAOAOHAOHAA!!!” Gooding let out with a shocked expression as he jerked and squirmed with all his strength, sliding the table around a little and seeing what the straps were really made of. Ben’s stubbly chin kneaded between his chest and dug into his mountainous pecs while the four toothbrushes worked together to loosen his lips until Mason was practically flying off the table and his laughter couldn’t get any louder.

Only a couple minutes later, out of nowhere, a snapping sound broke through the gushing laughter and a hand sank into Ben’s side, squeezing in with fiery enthusiasm. “AhAhaohAo!” Ben yelped with ticklish surprise and sat up to realize Mason’s arm had broken free. “Holy shit…you got out” Affleck laughed in disbelief before pulling the toothbrushes from Gooding’s thick thighs. “You should get a stronger table…if you’re gonna be such an evil tickler” Mason pointed out as he caught his breath and proceeded to undo his other wrist strap while Ben worked on the ankle straps.

“So, what was that like?” Affleck asked once Mason was sitting on the table with his legs dangling off. “Fun but torture at the same time…I don’t know a better way to explain it” “Really? What was the best and worst part about it?” “The worst part was when something would tickle so much that I just couldn’t stand it; I thought I was gonna scream with those paintbrushes earlier and with that fucking charger on my toes. Jesus, that sucked. I guess the best part is just laughing; it always feels good to laugh” “I can’t argue with you there. Well, you definitely have the part. You did fantastic today” “Thanks! I can’t wait to get started” “Actually, I was hoping you wouldn’t mind sticking around to help out with the next audition I have today” Ben explained. “What do you mean?” “This time you’d get to do the tickling” “Oh, hell yeah! I’m so down!” Mason agreed with an excited smile just as Jeremy and Will returned to the audition space, all three of them eager to be on the other side of things this time.