ON THE AIR with Kimber - a Blowgirls serial

[ChillinHaze]

Dunno, if my suggestions would really fit since my preferences are rather big inflatables like those made by PuffyPaws or InflatableWorld. ^^'

But your story definitely helps invigorating my fantasy.

[Harley]

Episode 8 (double post)

We wasted no time starting the new year with the new videos and reactions weren't long in the coming. Most everyone loved the spruced-up studio and one guy gushed over how amazing Kim looked in that getup, which put a big smile on my face. I got an even bigger one from the guy who wrote my clip had made him nut so hard he cracked his screen, which would've been even more impressive if it hadn't been from dropping his phone when he came. The repair shop can thank me later.
Also, the update seemed to have led to a surge in album sales, which probably was all on Kriss and Lex. Commenters were grateful for their new year's greeting at least, and our little combo performance got more love than I'd anticipated. Which of course meant Kriss suggesting half a dozen more we could do, preferably at once. I compromised with a half-promise of maybe later, when there was something to justify it.
There were detractors of course, mainly one person calling the members area 'a cheap cash grab'. Well, it was kinda cheap at the price and I resisted the urge to block their subscriber status to teach'em appreciating the free things in life. Kriss is the petty one anyway and it takes a lot more than that to bring it out. Besides, it could just be frustration over a spouse checking card statements or something.

Other plans for the future were made and we threw around enough ideas to last at least a couple of months - especially when mixed with the regular blazers, blouses and tops.
The first shoot of 2019 was indeed fairly simple, with Kim going through releases to look forward to in the upcoming months. Surprisingly enough, the first question we got there was what kind of balloons we'd used for the backdrop (four each of twelve-inch pearls in purple and fuchsia, the inflation and placement of which could be watched by any member) - the surprising part being that no one had asked that in previous vids. Maybe they'd been easier to identify or we'd finally started to attract certain kinds of looners. In any case, it gave us the perfect opportunity to school people.

It took a couple of days to devise a suitable script and for Kim to rehearse it. She would have a printout in front of her since it was far too specific to memorize completely in that time. But as long as she knew the gist by heart it would probably be okay.
Using the darkened wall as a blackboard, I chalked on 'BALLOONOLOGY 101' and added 'Ms. Kimber' right below it. Meanwhile Alex unplugged the now somewhat deflated globe that had spent a couple of months in a corner and sat on it to expel every last ounce of air. She even sucked the final remains out to leave the ball a solid mass of wrinkles.
Then I laid out an array of uninflated balloons in different sizes, from tiny five-inchers all the way up to 30" by way of 9, 11, 12, 16, 18 and 24. There were also two long airships - one straight and one knobbly - plus a regular 260 twister. And for good measure, a punch balloon and a donut.
Lexi helped out by neatly inflating exact twins of the display objects to their proper and intended size - no more, for once. I enjoyed watching her at work and how seriously she took the task of getting the loons just right for her mate. I might have made it difficult for her to concentrate but I just couldn't help rubbing up against her and kiss her beautiful, bulging cheeks. Since she didn't protest and in fact sighed and smiled I took it as permission to go on.
"Jeez, Chellie, it's not me you're supposed to turn on."
"Is too", I said and blew in her ear.
"You know what I mean. Here, for the show."
"I figured you wanted that job today, but since I'm kinda in the habit..."
I gave her another slow puff and got grabbed for a kiss that was about to turn into a regular makeout session when the teacher arrived.
"Looking to get detention, young ladies?"
I was dropped like a hot potato as Lexi rushed off to touch and admire. Kim had dressed up in a severe white blouse with a ruffle collar and a houndstooth pencil skirt in grey and dark brown before putting on a pair of horn-rimmed spectacles. She wore her hair up for the shoot and Alex pretty much begged for a light spanking right away. She got a playful slap on the rump to tide her over and then we began filming.
The preparation vid was shot first, with Ms. Kimber inflating the plastic Earth to the absolute limit and then some. She poked the surface with a finger to show the tautness and it didn't budge in the slightest.
"As you can see, global tensions are high."
I turned off the cam while she struggled to fit the sphere into its holder. Technically I should have filmed Lexi blowing up the extras, but since they weren't exactly decorations I hadn't thought about it. Besides, Kim would inflate exactly the same for the members and two versions could lead to rival fandoms.
But before we could get to that point she would have to lecture the audience on the empty ones. Our resident presenter had really done her homework and managed to not deviate too much from what I'd written. I loved hearing her sticking to the script as it was so far from her usual way of speaking. It wasn't exactly stern or authorative but more like an exotic dancer's idea of what a strict teacher would sound like. Or should, take your pick. The result was somewhat parodic, which was exactly what I'd hoped for.
"Good morning, class", she began. "It has come to my attention that some of you are wondering about the decorations usually featured here and it occurred that would make for an interesting subject. I'm of course talking about the toy balloon" - she lifted the 9-incher and put it down again - "as opposed to the hot air variety which is a quite different thing."
"Another different thing that must be mentioned is that our ancestors used to amuse themselves by inflating animal entrails - mainly bladders, which made excellent balls. In fact, the inflatable part of a football is still called just that - a bladder. But that is a matter for another class. Here we will focus on more refined products."
She shot a surreptitious glance at the heap of papers in front of her to make sure of what to say next.
"The precursor of the modern balloon was invented by the chemist Michael Faraday in the 1820's, as part of his research on hydrogen. Using what was then known as caoutchouc - raw rubber - he fashioned round bags to contain the gas. He particularly noted the material's elasticity, but it was prone to degradation and too temperature-sensitive to manufacture something like this. It was only with the later discovery of vulcanized rubber that more lasting objects could be produced. 1847 has been noted as the year balloons were first available to customers in London, and a 1879 catalog offered red balloons for sale in the United States - these were likely imported from Belgium."
"The first non-round balloon was cigar-shaped and introduced in 1912 and the same decade saw the invention of a rubber dye that did not stain when handled. It is thought that the first modern balloon was made in 1931 - it was dipped on a mold featuring cat's ears and a feline face print. Previous novelty balloons may have had prints and paper ears or legs or other features glued on, but with an improved latex mixture and shaped molds the same could be achieved without additions."
Kim took another peek (and kept doing so throughout the shoot. Not sure how apparent that would be).
"On that note, balloons are still made by dipping molds into latex, drying and heating them to cure the material before pulling them off. Nowadays the process is usually fully automated. Shapes like these", Kim said, indicating the donut, "are produced with special molds that split apart to allow the balloon to be stripped. Clever, isn't it?"
The eleven-incher in front of her happened to be an agate, chosen on purpose for her next lines. I hoped I'd drawn the right conclusion from the sparse sources I'd found:
"Patterns like this are achieved by double-dipping the mold in two latex baths - one clear and one multicolored. Both are required since various pigments impart the latex in different ways and a balloon made from a mix would be unstable. A neutral base negates those issues. Naturally this means twice the thickness and hence a balloon like this is notably harder to inflate."
She put it down without demonstrating and went on to sweep her hand along the entire row of empty latex pouches. "Let's talk about balloon sizes. They are measured in inches - at least here in the US - and the number refers to the diameter of a fully inflated balloon. Note that this is the intended and 'safe' size, as most can easily be filled even more. This of course comes with an increased risk of bursting. The smallest readily available size is five inches and looks like this. There are tinier balloons but those are usually sold as water bombs and not really intended to hold air. These, however, can be blown up to look like this."
She produced the one Lexi had filled from behind the desk and set it down.
"There are many, many makes and models but we will stick to just a few for the sake of comparison. This is a nine-incher and probably what most of you think of when you hear the word 'balloon'."
The inflated version was brought into view, a blue take on a very regular size and shape.
"Nine or ten inches are popular since they look nice without taking up too much space and saves a bit on material. However, professional decorators tend to favor eleven or twelve inches - this is an eleven." She picked up the hitherto unseen fully blown agate.
"Note that the patterns are not identical, due to the dipping process. It takes a controlled printing to produce that - like on this one."
She held up the white 16" on which you could barely make out the slogan 'Best Wishes' surrounded by small starbursts. "To make a satisfactory print the balloon must first be inflated."
By now no one should be surprised she had a preinflated specimen to show. Lex had blown it nice and big enough to make the letters much more readable.
"After the special ink is applied the latex is deflated and shrunk back to retain the elasticity. So every single printed balloon can be said to have been stress-tested."
Kim went back for the fuchsia loon she'd passed over. After all, we'd had a particular request about those even if I'd already replied in writing.
"Another decorative technique can be seen on this twelve-inch balloon. Notice the finish? These are known as pearl balloons and the effect is created by mixing crushed mica into the latex, after which it can be dyed any color but retain this shine even when blown up."
An example was shown on general principle and jumping forward down the line Kim selected a mostly teal-colored thing.
"This is what's called a peacock balloon and I like to think of it as a designer agate. It is triple dipped and the pattern much less random, yet no two are completely alike."
She reached out of frame for its twin and tapped it lightly with her fingers. "You can probably tell how sturdy it is."
"Let's step back in size from these eighteen inches to fourteen. While this one was molded for roundness and gets its strength from a greater thickness, there's another way to achieve both."
She lifted the pink punchball by the rubber band attached to the thick hoop.
"This is a punchball, and if something's ever deserved to be called a toy balloon it's this."
"The fluting along the sides divides the body into equal segments which both help achieve a spherical shape and makes it more durable by reducing the overall tension. The neck is designed to be rolled up and pushed into the balloon to seal it without sticking out. Like so."
The readymade was shown off from all angles and Kim stuck her hand through the elastic.
"This is the intended use. It should be evident where the name comes from."
She demonstrated, her knuckles striking the inflated rubber with the expected sound. Then she untangled her fist and dangled the balloon from the attached band.
"And of course, you could also hang it up as a decoration if you should desire."
Kim put away the punchball and focused on the longer models.
"These are all variations on the first shaped balloons - refer to your notes if you don't remember. The simplest form is usually called an airship or a zeppelin and can be straight or bulging slightly in the middle."
She presented an inflated example of the latter.
"They are usually measured by length, not diameter, as are these - commonly known as knobbies." A second balloon was placed next to the first for comparison. "They are slightly more difficult to inflate as there is a chance of too much air staying in one segment instead of moving on to the next. One way to counter that is making sure the end fills up first, leading to a 'backwards' inflation. This applies to all balloons with narrower passages."
Alex could have held on whole lecture on that subject, though in somewhat more colloquial language. She'd only recently started to overcome her troubles with shaped loons.
A blown-up purple donut appeared next and the teacher went on to observe that while lacking that feature they are still somewhat trickier to fill than regular rounds. She also repeated the need for a technically advanced mold, and that while the loons were rated at 16 inches that measurement only applied to the widest part as they're torus-shaped.
"And finally twister balloons, popular with entertainers. They come in various lengths and thicknesses, this being the standard called a twosixty. Referring to the diameter of two and the length of sixty inches."
She picked up one all ready for twisting.
"These are always absolutely straight but with some skill they can be turned into a wide variety of shapes." She expertly made a balloon dog and placed it on the desk, the process so swift it seemed almost off-handed. The viewers might be less impressed if they knew how many she had popped or otherwise ruined while learning.
"Without the uniform shape that would be much harder. I've been told they are quite difficult to make because of the need for consistency. And mouth inflation is taxing due to the very small area available to build up pressure."
Amen to that. I consider it a small miracle I eventually learned how to do that.
"In contrast, these are very easy to blow up by mouth", Kim said, holding up the last two and much larger balloons, "as long as you have the endurance."
She rose and went to fetch the full, green 24-incher. "With a diameter like this they can hold a lot of air. As this class doesn't cover three-dimensional mathematics I won't calculate the volume, but if you start with a diameter of twenty-four inches you can probably figure out how much a sphere would hold. And then you'd have to add some for the pear shape."
"Finally we have this." She meant the big yellow latex pouch on the table. "It's stated size is thirty inches across when fully inflated but I'm certain it could get even bigger. You can see it's more rounded than the last one but as it starts to overinflate it will stretch out towards the neck. Unfortunately there's no room left to bring a full one in here - but that will be covered in the advanced class. And that concludes our look at balloon types."
She shifted her papers, creating the illusion of switching subjects while really refreshing the script.
"Now for some physics. Whenever you're called on to blow up a balloon - or several - for whatever reason, it helps to stretch them before you begin. Like this."
Kim picked up the blue 9-er and demonstrated. It was evident she'd gone through those movements hundreds, if not thousands, of times. It came so natural to her you immediately noticed how much practice she must have had.
"It eases the tension in the rubber, thus requiring less pressure to make it expand. That is after all what happens when air goes into the balloon - the wall is displaced as nature attempts to equalize the internal pressure with the external."
I have absolutely no idea if that's a correct description but it looked so plausible when I wrote it I kept it in. I was sure we'd be told in the comments if it was too off.
Kimmy simply delivered the line in her take on a lecturing voice and went on to finger the mouth of the balloon.
"This part is called the lip and you're supposed to hold it in place with your own - or with your fingers when using a pump. If you remove this ring the air force will push the balloon away unless your grip is exceedingly strong. I might mention it's made by rolling the topmost material down after the mold has been dipped but before drying."
And finally, the time for some balloon interaction had come. I suppose some were going to check the preview frames to immediately jump forward to this point in the video and that was fine with me.
"With that said, a practical demonstration is in order."
Ms. Kimber drew a breath while raising the blue loon towards her face. She blew three strong puffs clearly intended to impress into it, filling it a good way towards the rated size.
"The sound you heard is the combination of air rushing through the neck and the stretching of the rubber, somewhat amplified by the taut latex acting as a membrane - much like the skin of a drum." She slapped the balloon a few times with the tips of her stiff fingers. "Air rushing out also creates a noise which can be regulated by changing the size of the opening, allowing the material to vibrate at different frequencies."
Or as a normal person would say, make the balloon squeal. She deflated it just a little, pinching the neck to create a couple of shrill toots.
"Air escaping in greater quantities makes for a good demonstration of Newton's third law of motion - every action creates an equal and opposite reaction. Should I let go of this there would be nothing to keep the rubber from trying to return to its usual tension, and in contracting it would push the air out - a clear action. The air outside would then push back - the opposite reaction - and the result would be propelling the balloon forwards. Observe."
She released the balloon and it took off with a sputter, landing somewhere out of sight.
"The trajectory of course depends on the direction of the air stream, and since we've already determined that it makes the neck vibrate in passing it can shift drastically. This also accounts for the rather rude noise - as the opening is wider than before, the sound is pitched lower."
"On the subject of sound, the most common question about balloons is why they pop. The obvious answer would be 'because the latex breaks', but what if we rephrase it - why do they make a loud noise when bursting?"
Kim pulled a long hairpin out of her 'do. "Let's see what happens if we puncture one. You might want to cover your ears for this."
After that warning she primly poked the duplicate of the one she'd just sent flying and it popped just like expected. It wasn't the loudest, but enough to make the point.
"Some people believe it's the sudden pressure shift that's responsible for the sound, like a vacuum implosion - but there is no vacuum in balloon, only more air, and it wouldn't move fast enough to be heard. But the rubber will. Sound travels even faster through latex, and it snaps back into its original size quick enough to create a miniature sonic boom - just like the crack of a bullwhip. The higher the tension, the louder the pop, which is why a large but underinflated balloon might make less noise than a smaller overinflated one. However, the amount of material also plays a part so if two balloons are at the same level of tension - not air pressure, but the state of the rubber - the bigger one will always be noisier. Sometimes quite a bit so. Shall we compare? Listen closely."
With that she demonstratively stabbed each balloon in turn, starting with the long ones. The dog had to be put down with a prick to each segment, explained to be caused by every part being self-contained. Then she did them in by size, the agate bursting louder than the following 12- and 16 inchers. Kim asked the class to take particular note of that before reminding everyone that the next would be a triple-dipped one. The peacock exploded with a regular bang, making the following 24 seem almost tame in comparison.
"Of course", she said, "none of these were stretched to the limit and balloons burst by sheer pressure will always be louder. Which is another matter for the advanced class."
By now it might dawn on people that the previous mention wasn't a joke. Meanwhile, the regular lesson continued.
"Latex will degrade over time with exposure to oxygen and UV light. It's a chemical process which can only be mitigated, not halted, and effects both its appearance and elasticity."
She picked up one of her birthday balloons that had miraculously survived a month almost to the day. It was no longer as festive as it once had been and displayed a distinctive sagginess.
"And with less tension comes a less spectacular pop."
She brought in the needle for what for all intents and purposes was a mercy kill and the loon gave up its breath with a dull, tired 'phut'. It didn't even tear apart, just split open and contracted with a rather pathetic jump.
"In this condition very little force is needed to stretch the rubber, but it also breaks easily so don't be surprised if such a balloon should pop if you attempt to reinflate it."
Ms. Kimber gathered up all the debris while stating that would be all for this lesson. She then advised her students to sign up for the members section containing the 'advanced class', promising it would include a closer look at the uninflated specimens and "a practical demonstration of their respective tensile strengths and the effort needed to exceed them."

(Continued below)

[Harley]

Episode 8 (continued)

Alex had to be told not to mess up her lover's makeup after the filming stopped and reluctantly settled for fond caresses and extremely longing gazes. Kim had handled the script and the props admirably and if this kept up we'd have a very nice pair of matching clips.
After changing the blackboard text to 'BALLOONOLOGY 102' we proceeded to record the second part, showing Ms. Kimber expertly and matter-of-factly blowing up every single balloon until it burst from the pressure. Halfway through she let her hair down and if I hadn't already had the hots for teacher I would have gotten it then. It wasn't just educational but quite sexy as well, as the ex-show girl was very aware of what the sight would do to some viewers and not totally ignoring that fact.
But I get ahead of myself. As the lesson began she was still displaying a semblance of professionalism, recounting the names and sizes of the loons. We had moved the desk to the side and pulled the camera back to allow for a better view, the bottom of the frame ending slightly below her knees when standing near the back wall. At the start she was much closer to the lens, though.
"Welcome back, class. In this part we will take a look at just how large the previously shown balloons can get and what happens if you try to push them past that point."
She held up a flimsy hand pump we'd gotten for free with some shipment or other and never found a use for. "Some consider using pumps to be the most efficient way to inflate balloons and that may very well be so."
Having had enough fun making the viewers hearts sink she put the pneumatic tool out of sight and indicated the latex assortment. "However, I will be blowing these up by mouth just to show it can be done - and how to do it."
She picked up the smallest one and stretched it thoroughly.
"Since I am a trained professional this might be a little faster than you'd experience yourself, so don't use it as an indicator if you're running late with some party decorations. Do them well ahead of time, and allow some extra for unintentional pops. Always get more balloons than you need, just in case. And remember I will keep going until they burst, so turn the volume down if you have sensitive hearing. Ear plugs might be advisable for experiments at home, as well as eye protection. I already have that covered though", she said, tapping her glasses. "Ready?"
Then the beautiful teacher brought the balloon to her lips - and blew. It resisted for a couple of moments, then rapidly expanded to the breaking point and popped from a single breath. It was impressive and underwhelming at once.
"At that size it doesn't take much air to fill them up, but remember that when it comes to diameters the increase is in every direction at once and thus a small rise in numbers means a significantly larger volume. This goes for flat objects as well - you might have noticed the area of a family-size pizza is deceptively big."
She went on to the nine-incher. "There are different ways to hold the balloon and as long as it works you can use any you like. Some like to pull the balloon sideways as it inflates to keep stretching while it expands. This method also requires less lip strength as you press the opening against them instead of holding it in place with them. Like so."
She did what she'd just described and the balloon dutifully filled up. I've always found it to look ludicrous and we never, ever used that in the stage productions. But as it served its purpose one demonstration couldn't hurt, especially on a type she'd already shown being blown up the traditional way.
It took Kim a few more puffs to burst it, but it broke all the same in the end and was discarded. For the first two balloons she had been facing the camera, but when she reached the 11 inch agate she turned a bit to the side. "You might have noticed I puff my cheeks out while blowing. It's generally understood that you can achieve a higher pressure by using your face muscles to help force the air out and I won't disagree with that notion. However, I like to be demonstrative and this way gives you a clearer look at the forces involved. The harder I have to blow, the bigger and tauter these get."
This was immediately proven true as she begun to work at the double-dipped balloon. Her cheeks bulged out even before the balloon started to grow and stayed that way to the very end, only sinking back for the brief inhales. The blast from the explosion was sudden, sharp and loud and the rubber snapped back against her face.
"Ow", she said, followed by an improvisation. "This shows the use of protection."
A sudden inspiration took her. "Another way to keep your features safe is to shield them with your hands."
She took the pearlized balloon between thumbs and forefingers, blowing in what I've always considered 'the cartoon way' - both hands gripping the mouthpiece, and bending slightly backwards and forwards with each inhale and exhale. The motions were subtle, though - at the theatre we'd employed an exaggerated version. And used it so often it was more or less our signature trick. It always drew loud cheers, especially when done with skimpy outfits and heaving busts.
Ms. Kimber was too dignified for that, though. She paused as the neck began to expand.
"If you start to worry you can lift your fingers like this."
She spread the six superfluous digits like a shield which still left her face clearly visible as she blew the balloon through the final stretch. It popped just the way you'd expect it to - three or four rubber shards flying off in different directions accompanied by the standard sound.
"I thought I'd give you a clear view of the neck expansion as well", she said, picking up the printed sixteen and turning to face left, leaving the balloon unobscured by her grip. She inflated it with strong and steady puffs and soon enough the thinner part began to swell up and extend. Kim kept blowing as it turned into a cylinder long enough to be held in both hands with room to spare - but kept her own out of view. Eventually it reached maximum size and ruptured along with the rest of the rubber, leaving the echo of minor explosion in its wake.
"And speaking of necks, these are something special."
She was of course referring to the punchball. "Designed for a closing technique that could allow easy deflation they have a shape of their own, which makes inflating them quite interesting."
Kimmy has a special place in her heart for that type of balloon, since one of those had been instrumental in one of her biggest triumphs - winning the public blow to pop race against her castmates at a casino and making the ones betting on her very happy indeed. True, Kriss handed her fit little ass to her in the finals but that had been a foregone conclusion.
Anyway, she knew a thing or two about blowing them impossibly big impossibly quick, but she slowed her pace just a bit for this demonstration. It was still a sight to behold. And as the neck blew up I was brought back to watching her win and Lex coming in a close second. There must have been no hard feelings as they became a couple the very same night - that magic night when Kriss became mine again after years apart. Good times.
Hopefully the viewers would be having a good time too. The once-fluted form was now an overblown sphere with a distended appendage looking for all the world like some kind of exotic bottle - at least to my eyes. I knew that it would burst any second now, judging by both the size of the punchball and the reddish hue having come over Kim's face.
There was indeed a big bang and the limp neck recoiled harmlessly while the rest of the globe scattered across the room.
"Whew!" said the instructor, showing the first signs of losing her composure. "Let's do the rest of the specials first, shall we?"
With that she attacked the first airship and the phallic shape it grew into was not congenial with her prudish appearance. Kim didn't seem to mind and blew it to burst without further notice.
"Did you see the size of that thing? And that once full lengthwise it made an attempt to get thicker. In vain, of course - there's only so big they can get before popping."
Yes, I gave her that. Adding some innuendo can be real effective if not expected.
The knobbly one went next and when I say went I mean it. Two segments in it exploded without warning. Kim had been given a way out though and was pretty good at improvising.
"This is the very reason I told you to always have spares." She located one and stretched it over and over and over again. "Maybe I should do one of those backwards things but I wanna show you it can be done like this too!"
Never said she was good with language, did I? Anyway, that balloon behaved much better and managed to reach its full potential before giving in. The brief, triumphant grin was a tad less professional than I'd preferred, but no matter. It was after all Kimmy's show and I had a hunch she was building up to something.
"Remember how I told you these are hard to blow up?" She dangled and stretched the 260, letting it go to audibly slap against her hand a couple of times. "They are, but I can do it. I strongly recommend not puffing your cheeks when learning. Its counterproductive and might actually hurt. I've even heard of people busting their eardrums using the wrong technique so a pump might be the way to go. Although not here, not now."
She seemed to brace herself for the task, but that was just an act. I'd like to think Kimmy could do a bagful of those end to end if she wanted.
With a deep inhale and a powerful puff the balloon shot out from her face like a rapidly elongating tube. It curved slightly upwards as it grew, reached the end of its capacity and popped with a surprisingly loud snap. The whole thing had taken only a couple of seconds and if Kim's cheeks were good indicators the pressure had been immense. They'd been as taut as I'd ever seen them for the duration and her face was even redder than it had been at the end of the agate. A thick strand of hair had come loose and hung down by her ear but she didn't seem to notice, or care.
"Turns out the simplest thing you can make with a twister is a noise", she said. "Lets see if I can find something on the opposite side of difficult."
Another old leftover balloon was located and untied after some struggling with the knot, the air not being in much of a hurry to escape. "I'm going to show you what happens when you try to breathe new life into old latex."
It took absolutely zero effort for Kim to blow it back up and she barely managed to puff out her cheeks a bit on general principle. The balloon expanded somewhat unevenly and just as the pear shape was about to appear the poor thing broke with more of a 'poff' than a 'pop'.
The attempt had been cute, though, and a far sight from the stern front she'd started out with. It was about to crack completely.
"So far we've been doing everyday balloons, things decorators and entertainers handle all the time. I suppose these are used for some sculptures as well."
She plucked at the donut and stretched it almost absent-mindedly, sticking two fingers of each hand into the middle and pulling in different directions as well. Then she blew it up without faltering, not pausing until the fat ring was round and even all over - except for the base of the neck, which bulged out like a weak spot on an old-time tyre.
Kim held it up with the hole facing the camera. "They're handy for anchoring other balloons - twisters in particular can be inflated through them to great effect."
She grew thoughtful. "I'm sure there are other uses as well", she said while pushing her finger into the opening in the middle.
That wasn't in the script and since I happened to be aware both Kim and Alex had treated boyfriends to a very particular application of such loons I knew damn well she was sure.
With a shrug the balloon went back to her lips and was mercilessly blown to pop. The hole all but vanished as it grew too tight to hold any more of her breath and then the loon vanished too, contracting pieces flying off in neat arcs before disappearing from view.
"What I meant to say was that the remaining ones are less likely to appear in displays. Nevertheless, they exist and are sold in large enough quantities to still be called popular. I will settle for merely making them pop - and in the process show just how big they will get."
Ms. Kimber touched the stray lock by her temple. "Just a moment."
She undid the things keeping her 'do in place and shook out her hair. The transformation was incredible. The last vestiges of an actual schoolmarm went away and were replaced by a showgirl dressing as one. My heart skipped a beat as I fully recognized my Kimmy, no longer hiding behind that role. That she kept using the stilted lines made little difference because the educational aspect had been replaced by one fully meant to excite. I couldn't wait to see what she'd do with the peacock.
Stretch it, for a start, but much more sensually than before. Then she stated the challenge.
"Let's see if I can blow three thousand and fifty-four cubic inches of air into this. That should be the volume of a sphere with the advertised radius of this one."
And with a deep gasp she set off to find out. I have no idea how much each of her breaths added, but they were huge. And no, I didn't count them either. I was far too busy ogling her, marveling at how she made such severe clothes look so provocative. As the latex grew the effect of gravity became apparent and Kim took a break to dispense some advice.
"With bigger balloons you might want to support them while inflating."
She resumed her task by slipping a palm underneath the globe and all at once became more imposive, like the ever-expanding rubber had become part of her statuesque figure. Soon enough the peacock was large and shiny enough to resemble some beautiful piece of art that would brighten up any room.
Just like her.
As it reached about a foot in diameter Kim placed both hands on the sides of the gaudy latex, making the neck resemble a teal-colored tube going into her mouth. Her strong lips had no problems keeping it there even as the puffy cheeks behind them pulled in another direction. It wasn't too long before the part closest to her mouth began to distend and she gripped it once more to not risk turning the peacock into a fowl in flight.
By now she had to blow real hard to keep going and I knew from experience it might get noisy soon. Part of me was happy she was wearing those glasses while another lamented it - every little bit obstructing her face was a loss in my book. I snuck a peek at Lexi and saw she had a finger covering each ear. I decided to follow her example - any involuntary gasp would be bad for the final product.
It was just as well I did. The BLAM of the balloon bursting in Kim's face was short but immense, and she took a couple of tiny steps to regain her balance.
Holy crap, but I was impressed with her not showing more of a reaction. Not much was left of the lovely balloon and the remains would be pretty much useless for adding cheer to a locality. Kimberly herself would never be.
"I'd call that a success. I'm not sure how much this next one can hold but we'll soon be able to make a visual estimate."
Wasting no more time she started on the green 24-incher. You'd think she'd be pretty winded by now but then you'd remember what great physical condition she must be in with daily exercises and all. I've been jogging with her and returned half dead while she just called it a nice outing.
Kim had gone back to the cartoon method of inflation but this time used the stage style. It was incredibly arousing to think back at the primness of the lady who'd begun the lecture and compare that to the present comical wantonness. I don't think any of her students had expected to see Ms. Kimber degrade into this. Her inhales were nearly as noisy as her exhales, but not as exaggerated as they could have been - just enough to be a distinct part of the performance.
A rule of thumb at the theatre had been the bigger the balloon, the louder the appreciation. We'd only occasionally gone bigger than twentyfours, but all the Angels were well versed in blowing those to bursting. Kim was far from an exception. You could probably tell she'd done this many times before, not only by the speed but by how she reacted to the changes in size and knew just when to shift her grip. You could also see she hadn't tired in the least of doing it.
I too knew those loons intimately and could predict when it was going to pop with some accuracy. When it reached its full size - overinflated neck included - I counted down in my head and hadn't been done for more than a few seconds when the explosion came. The balloon had gotten slightly tighter than usual and the sound of it going off was accordingly louder. The shreds went absolutely everywhere, one sticking to the blackboard backdrop.
Kim smiled smugly and put the remaining inch of torn latex down on the desk.
"That was two feet in diameter and quite a bit more in the other direction. Past that size I would strongly recommend using a pump."
She dragged the compressor mentioned in a previous show into view and I bit my lip at the thought of the disappointment many would experience at this point in the video - and how Kim must be feeling at the moment. She loves teasing, and this was a prime example.
"Like this one, if you want to do it quickly, or a manual version if you don't mind wearing your hands out on frankly suggestive motions."
She pushed the implement aside with her foot.
"And now that we've made ourselves inculpable in health lawsuits, allow me to show you the proper way to blow up a thirty inch balloon. Also, eye protection is entirely optional and up to your own discretion."
She placed the spectacles in her pocket and the teacher persona simply ceased to be. She was no longer Ms. Kimber but once again Vikki Trixx - the leggiest lovely to ever do nightly blow to pops on a New York stage - and flashing the camera the same type of grin she'd dazzled audiences with back then while stretching the huge yellow loon a little more than needed.
She tossed her head back to get the blonde mane fully out of her face before filling her lungs with air to blow the flaccid thing big and stiff with.
The inhale was immense and intended to prolong the anticipation just a few moments longer,
but the first enormous gust she forced into the loon was well worth the wait. The rubber sprang to life and began to expand - just a little at first but soon inflating as obediently as its smaller cousins had. She'd missed mentioning the opening was so wide you more or less had to hold it against your mouth but the lesson was sort of over anyway. And if you paid attention to that you could see the required grip. You could also see how hard Kim was blowing to fill the loon as soon as she ever could. Her gorgeous cheeks were bulging like miniature, one hundred percent pop-proof balloons, her eyes squeezed firmly shut with the effort. Over and over and over she blew, the colorful latex like a tiny sun in front of her. It quickly grew into a large globe, but then that exponential volume thing came into play and the size increase slowed down. Not that it deterred her in the least - even if the progress had become less noticeable, her actions hadn't. Still, it was kind of like she'd come across a speed limit sign. It would be murder on the pacing of a regular show - another reason we hadn't used them much at The Stone. But here it would just give the audience more time to look at Kim. I knew some would put that to good use, and so did she.
To compensate, her expressions and movements became more animated, the act of inflation more vivid. Even if she was no longer a teacher, one thing reminded everyone she was supposed to be - she occasionally shot the camera a suspicious glare as if to check that the class was paying attention, but really looking for signs something was going out of frame. At one point I moved a finger discreetly towards her back and she adjusted accordingly so slowly and smoothly I hardly saw it happen. Gotta love how dancers take stage directions. In the same way I made her turn juuust a little as a straight-on side view would likely crop out the front of the loon. Then all that was left for me was to wait while Kim blew her balloon magnificently big. As it approached full size she placed one hand below it to help with the lift as she arched her body backwards and planted her feet a little apart, as if posing for a sculptor intent on portraying the most impressive balloon blowing stance imaginable.
I was awestruck by the sight. It would have made such a good poster for a show, but instead of what she was wearing now I would have put her in a frilly-edged bustier and a much, much shorter skirt. Maybe fishnets or nylons. High heels for sure. Sparkling stage jewelry and maybe a red balloon to blow up - but canary was eye-catching enough. A deep scarlet outfit, perhaps...
While I was playing imaginary dress-up the neck had started to fill out, growing fat and swollen with the blonde's breath. Kim kept inflating it until it was as long and thick as it would ever get and then the air had no easy place to go anymore. She had to use both hands to hold it against her mouth, the incredible pressure threatening to make it escape rather than bursting. I silently prayed it wouldn't break free as it would mess up what had been an incredible take.
Kim was breathing through her nose, the inhales no longer audible, and she was visibly straining to force her breaths into the rubber monstrosity. Soon it would all be over, one way or another. I began counting the hard exhales. Two... three... four... fi-
The loon erupted with a boom that would have made the windows rattle if they hadn't been covered with thick black curtains. A large yellow piece sailed leisurely towards the camera and draped itself over the edge of the lens. I quickly lifted it off and hoped it would make the experience more immersive instead of taking something away. Luckily it hadn't blocked the view of Kim, who was panting happily even as she turned to the viewers.
"That's how it's done! For your home assignment I'd like each of you to blow up at least one balloon until it pops and present me with video evidence. Bonus points if it's larger than eighteen inches but I will deduct from the score if you cheat. You will have to burst it with your breath alone."
It was very fitting coming from her - after all, she'd been given an identical test to pass her audition. And I'd be forever grateful she had.
Ms. Kimber put her glasses back on for a final statement. "Class dismissed."
The relief I felt was incredible. I'd been sure there would've been more hiccups and off-script moments, not to mention ballooning accidents. But they'd held up well - paying for quality pays off.
Lexi was already all over her wife, bestowing kiss after kiss on her lips, cheeks and neck. The absolute admiration in her voice was beyond cute and the things she said even more so. I decided they were due some alone time and grabbed the camera to go see if I'd actually managed to capture the whole shebang.
A stern voice stopped me in my tracks.
"Where do you think you're going, Miss Silvers? I wasn't joking about detention."

***

Having served my time and teacher I eventually got down to editing while Lex went to drag a futon into the studio for future sessions. We'd sorely missed one just now.
I couldn't find many faults with the material - there were some mispronunciations and a couple of transitions weren't as smooth as they could have been, but I was still proud as hell of the result. The larger inflations were particularly impressive even on cam.
At the end of the show I put in stills of all the other balloons Kim had blown to pop so far - naturally captured a moment before bursting - and resolved to have her read out their names and sizes in an educational way. I even wrote captions at the top to make sure people practiced reading. And emphasized that all those videos were freely available to subscribers.
Around that point the star herself entered, having changed into casual clothes. She immediately demanded a watch and plonked herself down on my lap for the duration. Can't say I kept my hands entirely to myself, but I knew that was the way she'd want it.
I couldn’t help complimenting her on memorizing so much. “You must really have crammed.”
Kim shrugged. “I read it all into my phone and put it on repeat while working out.”
That warranted a reward smooch. “Clever girl.”
We went back to watching pretty soon, though.
"Oh wow", Kim said at the end. "Didn't think I'd make that good a teacher."
"Says little miss dance instructor."
"You know what I mean. And that's not even my best subject."
"Oh? What is?"
"Sex ed”, she breathed against my ear. “Thought I'd take you on as an exchange student. You know, in exchange for making all those scripts. And that." She indicated the screen.
"So what would you teach me?"
"I wanna show how to blow your lover to pop."
She slid downwards and knelt in front of the chair, at once starting to remove my pants. I raised my butt to help because I was eager to learn if she’d discovered something new since the last time. Soon she was all poised to begin, but not without a final instruction.
"Jump to the part with the yellow giant and play it… I want you to think of all the guys wishing I was blowing them while they watch that. And know that you're the only one actually getting it...”
And that’s just what I did. It was an amazing fantasy, made all the sweeter by being real. Kim was putting as much effort into pleasing me as she had with the balloon in the video, if not more. My thighs felt so right on her shoulders. And her lips felt even better between my legs.
I just had to look down and found my gaze meeting hers, checking for every reaction to her actions. Knowing Kim was watching me watching her added an extra thrill and I almost forgot about the recording, forgot about anything as I began to twitch and kicked out in aimless, out-of-control delight.
I nearly stubbed my toe against the desk but it was a small discomfort compared to how great the rest was. And I’d exploded before the balloon was even three-quarters full. Evidently a 30” loon could last longer than a 5’9” Cherry.
The blonde replaced my panties and crept into my arms. Nothing needed to be said and perhaps that was why I could hear a tiny creak behind us.
I looked around and discovered Kriss lounging in the doorway, watching with a bemused smile. Neither me or Kim so much as flinched.
"Lex told me she'd been in detention", my wife explained. "Thought I'd see what I'd have to do to get some of that."
Kim rose with a sly grin. "I'd say spying on your teacher would do it."
"So worth it. One helluva show."
Somehow I didn't think she was referring to what was playing on the screen.
The two blondes met in a loving embrace and an even deeper kiss.
“I hope to see some improvements of what we practiced yesterday”, Kim said in sultry tones.
I heard Kriss promise “Oh yes, Ms. Swanson” as they walked off, their footsteps vanishing down the hallway.
And me? I took a nap. You know how tiresome long schooldays can be.

***

One additional perk for members was a contact address, and that's how we received all the comments for the special videos. There was some mild nitpicking, but not enough to warrant corrections. Besides, I’ve no way of knowing if they were right.
I wasn't surprised to be asked how much Ms. Kimber would charge for a private lesson, but I was somewhat baffled at three guys actually completing the assignment. I let Kim grade them herself - which she did with great enjoyment. A fourth sent a video asking her to rate his girlfriend, and the tattooed young lady with the dyed hair was evidently amused by the task, giggling throughout inflating her 16-incher past the breaking point. Kim let them know she showed promise but that it was against the rules to have someone else take the test in their place and that the contribution therefore was ineligible.
"Otherwise a commendable attempt", I supplied.
"'A' for effort?" Kim tried, having a soft spot for exhibitionism.
"Unofficially, perhaps."
Regardless, it was pretty evident Ms. Kimber would be a returning character, but perhaps not very often. Too many scripts like that would likely kill either me or my enthusiasm.

[ChillinHaze]

Who would have thought I could still learn stuff about balloons? Although I have to admit that balloons ain't my strong subject. ^^'

Educational and sexy. Where can I apply for Ms. Kimber's classes?

Also, is there a class for inflatables since they're more my forte? :P

[Harley]

Inflatable history, check. I think I know the time and place for it. Side note - I've had the flu (though not the big one), hence the delay. Should be back to a tighter schedule now. With that, we return to our regular programming!

Episode 9

What with being in the last year of the decade we all agreed it could be fun with a retrospect of previous eras and what cultural fads had been in vogue during them. Kim suggested a focus on dances, since that was what she was the most comfortable with. And maybe TV shows.
"Where to start?" Lex wondered.
"How about the 1920's?” I suggested. “That's a hundred years of history and as I recall when popular culture got a, well, more modern form. Radio, talkies and so on."
"Would be a real bummer with a silent show", Kriss said.
That it would, but apart from that it was a solid idea for a series and thinking up period-appropriate decorations would be a decent challenge. For the first installment we had to remember that latex technology wasn’t too advanced back then, so we bought the cheapest, shoddiest and flimsiest white balloons we could find and locating that lack of quality was harder than it sounds. Just to make good on our promise of more than one decorator we all took part in blowing them up to fill the studio, tying them together to form simple pillars. The video was full of unintended blow to pops, but Kim did one on purpose for her subscribers too. For comedy I simulated an undercranked camera by speeding it up, made the picture monochrome with some added flickering and at exactly the right moment replaced the recording with a title card reading "Pop!" in an old-style font, cutting back to Kim recoiling before looking around in a bewildered manner and stamping her foot a few times in frustration. Kriss added some piano accompaniment - not that she's good with the instrument, but it wasn't an advanced piece. The sudden crash at the sound effect was a nice touch, I thought.

I forgot to mention Kim was in costume for the silent bit, but maybe that's understandable since we're not there yet. So let's do it now - she'd dressed up in a straight sleeveless grey-green dress with embroidered trimmings along the deep neck opening. Those extended straight down the middle to simulate a closed front, and a long strand of fake pearls in two loops served as a necklace. Since there was no way in hell she'd cut her hair for a brief period piece she hid it below a matching cloche hat instead, letting a single bang hang out on each side of the face. The makeup was of that time as well, heavy on the eyeliner and with Clara Bow lips. Not that colors would matter much for the general viewer – the ‘real’ episode would be in black and white while the members area got the undoctored originals. Any extras I could think of would go there, like the blow-to-pop at normal speed, saturation and sound, and all the bloopers I'd kept were already uploaded for their benefit.

Kimber gave a general description of the consumer culture of the roaring twenties, including the surge in radio entertainment, the birth of the modern movie star, the Valentino cult, and the emergence of sound pictures causing a sudden and immediate downfall of the actors whose voices didn't match their on-screen personas. And of course the music. It wasn't called 'the jazz age' for nothing, and Kim gleefully noted that it was about then the saxophone really gained in popularity. She brought her own in to blow a few bars of a couple of 1920's standards.
"But what I like the most is the dancing. It's also known as 'The Charleston Era' since that was the name of the most popular dance. No point in describing it though - lemme show you instead! I'm sure you'll recognize it even if you didn't know what to call it."
She rose and strutted out with her lower arms coquettishly angled upwards, the theatrics serving as a small preview of what was to come as well as a nod to the acting style of those times.
The balloon pillars were moved to frame the darker background leaving just enough room for Kim to do a solo dance without limiting her movements too much. That was after all the original intent of the setup. Kriss and Lex had pitched in by recording some music in the right style without stealing any existing composition. Pro musicians are nice to have around at times.
I let the imitation flapper get into place before starting both the camera and the playback and she performed the moves admirably. The lower legs made small kicks in both directions to the beat while the hands were always kept from the body, bent at the elbow but almost stiff except for some upwards and downwards movements. I know 'flapper' doesn't refer to that, but it's easy to get the impression.
The dance was lively with an air of restraint, the kicks and turns using a minimum of energy. It was like the original dancers had been going slowly in developing a new style, doing something new and fresh while still paying respect to the respectability of the times. There was a certain elegance to the whole thing. And naturally Kim performed the iconic move, where the hands went on the knees and crossed over as the legs were brought together. That, more than anything, is what I personally can identify the Charleston by.
As the number ended I was struck with an idea.
"Your viewers loved you popping those loons last time. How about bursting these too?"
"To the beat?" she asked eagerly.
"Why not?"
So we made a de-decoration video as well, with Kimber doing a mass pin pop while dancing in a similar manner. The steps were far less rehearsed, of course, and the arm movements faster by necessity, but it was a damn nice way of disposing of surplus loons. If I'd directed popping shows I would have gone straight to the dancers for advice. There'd been vaguely similar things at the Stone, but none dedicated this exclusively to popping.
While Kim had worn a neutral smile throughout the performance, she put on a joyous and nearly malicious one for the bursting part. I already knew how the relevant audience would react and damn, were we on to a winning concept. The balloons were exploding left and right, raining subpar rubber all over the floor as the dancer strutted, spun and lashed out at every single one. Soon nothing was left but shreds and I hoped they wouldn't get in the way of the moves. But Kim finished with a dainty curtsy and I shut the camera off before yanking her into my arms.
"Okay, Kimmy, you'd better think up ways to use your steps for that because whenever you dance on the show we are ending with a shoot like this."
"Help me blow up some extra loons for that?" she asked between the unusually thorough reward kisses.
Silly question, really. "You don't even have to ask."

Sticking to shooting more than one episode whenever possible, we pressed right on. I'd already written the follow-up - the 1930's - while Kim had worked on the choreography and choosing an outfit. Although I had to tell her Marlene Dietrich wasn't enough representative of the era so she settled on recreating Judy Garland's gingham look from 'The Wizard of Oz' instead. Photographs well, and helping curling Kim's hair gave Lexi something to do too.
Soon enough we were back in the studio. I have no idea, since I wasn't around back then, but I've always had the notion that translucent balloons were common in the thirties. I have distinct images in my head of party scenes in movies and old photos mainly featuring that type. Maybe they were cheaper to make, maybe it was related to some technical issue. Or maybe I could be dead wrong. True or not, we'd decided on jeweltones for the decor. It would also fit nicely with the subscribers' video.
So me and Kim blew up a whole rainbow of shiny semi-transparent 11-inchers, including clear ones. And we didn't limit ourselves to a total of seven, but filled at least three of each hue.
While Kim was no dead ringer for Dorothy and certainly not over that rainbow, we still arched them behind her in an unholy mix. Would probably have sent any local balloon decorators into fits, but we weren't going for an amazing look. They wouldn't survive the shoot anyway.

The episode began with the contrast between the social realties of the decade compared to the glitzy image on display in movies and other visual arts.
"The twenties were full of excesses, people enjoying new inventions and conventions after the horrors of World War One. And business was booming. Speculation ran wild as investors kept getting richer and richer from gambling on new ventures - often with borrowed money. And the market kept expanding, pretty much like a balloon."
Kim made a gesture at the decorations, ending with taking an empty one from behind the phone. It was a very simple 9-incher printed with a green dollar sign. She quickly blew it up until the symbol was prominent for all to see.
"Most believed it could keep on growing forever, but as you realize... that wasn't possible."
She kept inflating it with great speed until it fairly creaked from the pressure.
"And finally, in the very last months of the decade, the whole thing burst."
Here she was supposed to blow until the balloon exploded, but it was stubborn and took three struggling breaths to pop, ruining the effect.
"Fuck", Kim said flatly.
I stifled a sigh. I had known that was more than likely to happen.
We reshot the scene with similar results, and then failed once more. On the fourth attempt, in an effort to hasten the process, Kim blew up the balloon so hard and so fast you'd think she was aiming to be Dorothy Gale-force, managing to burst it even before the first break. She did an actual facedesk in exasperation.
It wasn't too hard convincing her to cheat in the name of art. With the tip of a pin glued to a fingernail she could pop the balloon at will and no one would be the wiser. Which she did, at just the right point.
"And that marked the start of the great depression. But with their finances in tatters, people needed cheering up more than ever, and Hollywood fantasies more often than not showed rich and glamorous people in luxury settings. Lavish musical numbers became the norm, and big bands started to crop up as accompaniment. And technicolor made its big debut! The silver screen was no longer restricted to shades of grey, even if only big-budget productions could afford it."
She listed some examples and went through which actors and musical artists were the most popular. We also pointed out that real-life bank robbers sometimes became public heroes and that it was no wonder pirates and Robin Hood were popular in fiction, given what had caused all the trouble for the common folk. And of course that spoilsport Hays and the production code that made movies much blander than they'd been.
"TV wasn't really around yet, but radio and cinema serials were all the rage, as well as all kinds of pulp magazines. They get their name from the cheap paper they were printed on, by the way. Science fiction and fantasy became regular genres of their own, and the first superhero comics appeared too."
"So the thirties were real interesting, pop-culture wise. Radio was still king, as it could be accessed by anyone with a receiver, and all kinds of programs were broadcast. It was around this time 'on the air', or just 'on air' started to be used...since the soundwaves were literally moving through the atmosphere. If you're watching me on something wireless, I'm definitely on the air!" Kim's expression was silly enough to underscore the bimbo act.
"But I still like to keep my feet on the ground, at least most of the time. I thought I'd show you one of the definite dances of that decade - the Lindy Hop. You might know it as the Jitterbug too but that term's pretty loose."
As was the dance she went on to demonstrate. It could basically be summed up as the Charleston gone wild. Everything was more exuberant, the arms going all over the place and the almost haphazard jumps making it seem like some drunken-style martial arts exercise. But the dancer was evidently in total control of every move, the tottering steps just for show. It had a touch of tapdancing to it, except mostly transferred to the legs which were shaking even more than the feet. Jitterbug was an apt name indeed.
(Have to admit it's one of the few styles I thoroughly enjoy watching. And one of the ones not even Kriss could induce me to attempt.)
She ended in a grinning pose with her arms spread wide, and then went back for a more freestyle version to pop the props.
The pin still stuck to Kim's finger came in handy as she went on a rhythmical rampage, decimating the arch piece by piece but not from one side to the other - the victims were chosen seemingly at random and burst until none remained. It was great, but not enough for greedy Cheryl who thought it didn't quite capture the opulence of thirties' musicals.
"Wonderful", I said, "but I think it would be even better with a balloon rain at the end."
Kim gasped with glee. "You really mean it? Oh, I love you, Cherry! Always wanted to dance through that!"
"Could have mentioned it at the theatre."
"More popping than blowing. And the others would have wanted too."
True, I suppose. "So I guess I'll have to make good on that promise right away."
And I did. Not that it's much of a chore to help your lover blow up balloons, especially for a cause, but we still had to huff and puff a fair bit. Replacing the arch, for a start, and consulting the recording to make it as similar as possible. And then there was the matter of repositioning and filling the net. I don't know about you, but I think less than two dozen balloons can hardly be said to constitute a 'rain'. And after that there were just three left in the bag so we blew those up as well. Then I had to call for a break to air out the room. I was feeling just a little winded, even if not exactly panting.
"Next time we'll call in reinforcements.”

But for the moment we were all set. Naturally we reshot the demonstration as well, with Kim simply kicking balloons out of the way as needed. Then we gathered them all up in the net for the destructive finale and taped pins to her faux-ruby slippers, making sure the sparkling globes would explode instead of fly off. Which they did. It was very much a spontaneous amateur production, albeit by two people with some stage experience, and the results were good enough to share online without making utter fools of ourselves.
Kim hugged me tight after watching.
"Wowie. Shame about the clothes, would have been better with something classier." Her grin grew suggestive. "Like top hat and tails, Eleanor Powell style."
"Might I remind you you've already done tapping? In that exact outfit, no less."
"But not trousers", she tried.
I shook my head. "Maybe for your birthday."
"Your birthday would be better... And that's less than a couple weeks off."
I don't know if it had something to do with gift-giving, but Kim suddenly realized we had forgotten the usual blow-to-pop for subscribers. And popped all the jewels we had.
I tried to think up a substitute. "Maybe you could twist yourself a Toto, call him an Airedale terrier."
"Not the same", she said. "And we have the script and all."
More like two lines, but she had a point. There was nothing for it but scouring the bedside drawers. Luckily, there were a few jewels left in the fun-geon and by pure chance a single green one. Enough for a take at least:
"You know how the Wizard came to the Emerald City in a balloon? I've thought of a combination - an emerald balloon!"
She held up the object in question. "Maybe I can make it big enough to get him home!"
With that she began to inflate it in a great display of wide-eyed childish anticipation. Her long, strong breaths gave it an incredible neck before it predictably burst with a loud bang. Keeping up the overacting Kim gave a shrill yelp and jumped back in utter surprise, then fell to her knees and tried to locate all the pieces. What she could find wasn't exactly repairable, even if she tried putting the torn parts together. She shrugged.
"Guess he'll be stuck for a while longer."

Then we were done and the editing could begin. I desaturated the actual episode and added a sepia filter, which I removed at the mention of "technicolor". And while I left the members video mostly untouched, the decorations faded into the dull colorless brown as soon as the last balloon had been hung and Kim had left the room.
The unused dancing videos made for some nice bonus material, as did the scene of us replacing the burst specimens. I was left blushing by the comment asking me to "please do a show on your own, you're very pretty".
"Not a bad idea", Kim said. "In case I'm, whatcha say, incapacitated some time."
I agreed it could be nice with some kind of backup, if we wanted to stick to the every-third-day schedule we'd planned. But maybe not just yet.

[ChillinHaze]

Marlene Dietrich not being representative enough? Scandalous!

Also, I heard the first tries at inflatables during these times were made not from PVC but from the same material as innertubes for car tires. So some kind of vulcanised rubber?

[Harley]

Marlene Dietrich not being representative enough? Scandalous!
Also, I heard the first tries at inflatables during these times were made not from PVC but from the same material as innertubes for car tires. So some kind of vulcanised rubber?

Well, that's just Cherry making excuses / avoiding repetition!
As for inflatables, yes, rubber had to make do in those days. Ms. Kimber might have something to say about that... but for now, lets go with

Episode 10

Sticking to a cultural retrospective saved a lot of time thinking up themes, and while it couldn't last forever I intended to ride it for all its worth. The forties would at least be simple to think up a style for - either a Lana Turner-style vamp or...
"Some kinda uniform", Alex said with expectant finality.
And that of course settled it. Kim was all aboard with that and knowing her she'd never considered any alternative. So we went to a store specializing in military stuff, and our presenter tried on several varieties to the immense delight of her wife. Deciding would be difficult, unless I limited the choices a bit.
"Nothing too masculine or genuine-looking. I think we should go as generic as possible."
"Prolly a good idea, boss. I kinda like this", Kim said.
The mannequin she indicated wore a khaki shirt with a tie in the same color and a matching over-the-knees skirt with a tight waistband secured by two buttons to the side. A garrison cap completed the ensemble, and it looked nice enough on the star of the show to be purchase-worthy. Taking a cue from the Andrews Sisters we attached a small chain in place of a tie clip and at Kriss' insistence vintage air force collar insignia replicas. A visual pun for those in the know… and also the ones most likely to take offence. I put in a line about the outfit being in no way intended to make light or fun of the real thing, but just add a military connotation like wartime entertainers used to do - a way of saying 'we're on your side, boys' without actually wearing things you didn't have any right to.

But that came later. What started off the episode was Kim blowing a very brief reveille on the bugle from Kriss' collection. Lexi - who once more was watching from behind the camera - had spent the previous evening coaching her on that, so she actually pulled it off decently. The forties look maybe wasn't that spot-on, but she'd parted her hair like Lauren Bacall and rolled it a bit, while penciling in her already curved eyebrows more than usual and painted her lips brick red in a hunter's bow style. More than that would have required a makeover.
The horn was put aside and the talking began. "In the nineteenforties the whole world went to war - you already know that and it's a sad truth anyway. But it did set the tone for the decade and we have to acknowledge that."
She indicated the balloons hung behind her in three clusters of three with one red, one white and one blue 10-incher each. She and Lex had blown them up together and spent some time arguing about how much neck they should have. They made one full-blown bunch that had to be popped and discarded since it looked off, while a less full set met the same fate for being underwhelming. In the end they inflated them until the necks merely started to taper out which seemed the best option for that kind of arrangement.
"So everything got just a li'l bit patriotic, with almost all popular culture used for some kind of propaganda and keeping the morale high. Popular songs were usually very upbeat or deeply sentimental, to cheer the soldiers up or remind them of things worth fighting for. Big bands were still popular but had to share the spotlight with crooners like Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby."
Kim kept a somewhat neutral facade befitting the subject, but wasn't exactly somber - just stating the facts. "War movies glorified battles and even cartoon characters were drafted, so to speak, or at least made to fight the enemy factions instead of their regular foils. And if you've ever wondered where Captain America got his name and looks, he was created as a wartime superhero. Everything came together to make the war look more fun than it really was. But just like during the depression, there was a huge difference between the silver screen and reality."
I mused that was sort of still the case, albeit not to such extremes.
"At the home front things were kind of drab too. All sorts of things were rationed and recycled, including rubber. So I guess balloons weren't that plentiful. Even chewing gum went mostly out of production - whatever was made went straight to the troops to cheer them up."
Kim raised her eyebrows with a slight smile. "Lipstick wasn't, however, as it was considered a morale booster. Maybe not morality, though. Pin-up art and photography became real popular. In fact, millions of magazines without ads were sent free of charge to soldiers, and pictures were often copied onto the noses of air planes as good luck charms. While nudity was frowned on, the girls could show plenty of leg - which made it a popular motif. Nylon stockings had barely appeared before being rationed, so women often drew a seam line on their skin to simulate the look."
At that point a white balloon popped behind Kim, making her jump just a little. I groaned inwardly at the thought of a retake, but she rallied magnificently.
"I guess sudden explosions were part of life at the front."
I half expected her to blow up a replacement right away and I think some viewers hoped she would, but she went on with the script.
"Apart from special deliveries, there were entertainment troops making tours to keep everyone's spirits up, eventually going overseas as well. Some celebrities joined those instead of combat units, but famous people would also choose to fight - and sometimes die. Big band superstar Glenn Miller and actor Leslie Howard might be the best known."
"Of course, pop culture had to mirror the actual state of society too. Noir movies became popular, taking their names from the shadows used to set the tone. They often featured cynic men and femme fatales - far from the usual hero types."
Kim brightened up considerably at the next part.
"And then victory came, at least for our side. And with war and depression out of the way, a new phase began. Mass production, mass consumerism and overall optimism took over. TV sets became much more common but it wasn't until the 50's it really took off, but boy oh boy did it ever. During the war you could watch news, sports and the occasional play, but a wider audience meant a bigger demand for varied entertainment. But that's something for next episode."
She made a few remarks on the general post-war culture, including the increasing influences from South America and other exotic locations familiar to returning soldiers. Then something more specific:
"While the war inspired pop culture, there were a few cases of the opposite. Do you know what a bazooka is? You'd probably say it's a kind of rocket launcher, right? But it used to be a simple brass instrument invented and used by comedian Bob Burns, and when the troops first got hold of the weapon they saw a likeness and started calling it that. I'm sure Crystal Mackenzie could tell you more - why don't you visit her channel and ask about the replica she's working on?"
That was a little prank by me, by the way. Kriss had never even mentioned making a bazooka of her own, but I knew she'd be unable to resist if someone suggested it. Would be funnier if it was a total stranger, though.
"As for me, I'm gonna show you what happened to the Lindy Hop! Can you believe dance instructors thought it too difficult to teach? So they developed a simpler version but left room for improvisation, and it proved hugely popular making swing dancing the social style of the forties. First called Eastern Swing and then East Coast Swing, because of a somewhat different style emerging and getting the name West Coast Swing. Confused? You should be, because dancing is more of an experience than a history subject. At least to me!"
She finished by promising following installments would be more uplifting before setting off to show those moves. Kim can be really efficient when she wants to, and a fresh white balloon was dangling from her lips before she was done rising from her seat. But Lexi plucked it from them, applying her own in its place. And once they were done smooching, she very pointedly blew the loon up for her wife, tied it off and handed it over - which naturally scored her seconds.
I'm pretty sure Kim popped the blue one of the bunch on purpose while adding the new white, just to check if Lex would make her another replacement. She didn't have to wonder - Lexi was already holding the bag just in case and the pieces had hardly landed when she found the right color to inflate. None of that went on camera though, as I was busy getting everything ready for the dance.
And then Kim had to reapply her lipstick, but that went without saying. While at it she added the fake stocking look to her legs - or rather, asked her mate to - if someone cared to check out her gams in particular. They're worth looking at for sure.

Then she embarked on the next part of her dancing run-down. If you'd followed the series you could clearly see how the style had evolved over the decades while retaining the same characteristics. I felt some of the flair had been lost in codifying the steps, but that was probably inevitable and part of the point. Besides, it meant I could handle this variant myself if pressed - albeit badly. I'm not Kim's best student, but do I ever enjoy dancing with her. For the moment she was on her own to preserve the format, though Lexi could certainly have stepped in for a proper demonstration.
The turns were still lively, if tighter, and the triples varied but consistent. For the encore Kim snatched the balloons off the wall one by one and squeezed them to pop in her hands, the nails helping a lot. I'm certain she would have stomped on them if she'd worn heels, but I guess that wasn't regulation footwear.

After that little number all that remained was a suitable blow to pop. Of course there were no balloons with printed swastikas, and while white ones with a red circle could be found it wouldn't be quite kosher to use Japan's current flag in the context.
So we went with a fat, bulging airship instead. A brown one would have been best, but for some reason there doesn't seem to be much of a market for them. Orange would have to do and could probably be tinted in post, but why bother? It was just a bit of silliness anyway. Okay, sexy silliness, but we didn't put that on the label.
"Just as well the zeppelins' days are over", Corporal Kimber leered. "They wouldn't have stood a chance."
She straightened her back and inhaled as she brought the limp cylinder to her mouth. Then she started to blow it up with minimal movements, bending back and forth at the waist just enough to be noticeable if you paid attention - the rising and falling of her chest and the impressively puffed cheeks were kind of eye-catching. Kim wore a fierce expression and didn't take her eyes off the growing balloon in front of her for a moment. It swelled up and out, growing longer and thicker with every breath and went PAF in her face halfway through.
(Yes, that was one of all the btp's that needed retakes. I will mention the more memorable ones.)
So Kim had to retrieve another from the supply bag. She stuck to the same blowing style, but this time the latex obliged by expanding very neatly with her exhales and ballooned out impressively before reaching maximum size. For a brief moment the neck blew up into a thinner extension near her fingers, the middle reluctantly bulged out a little more as it fought to contain the added volume and then the airship flew into bits which crashed to the ground just out of frame. While Kim had flinched at the previous pop, that had been from sheer surprise and this time she didn't bat an eye at the explosion. I felt a quick surge of pride at having been part of that training.
She flicked the mouthpiece away and gave the viewers a snappy salute. "All in a day's work for the Air Force!"
It would be difficult not to add a sparkle and a 'ting' sound to her victorious grin, but sacrifices must be made.
Alex graciously allowed me the usual congratulatory kiss, but afterwards swept her wife up in a bridal carry and whisked her away without much ceremony. Considering how happy and into it Kim appeared I knew the earliest I'd see them again was dinnertime. Since Lex usually takes care of that I went to find Kriss for a snuggle and tell her to order in. Then I got the editing out of the way, which would have been quicker if my sweetheart hadn't insisted on coming along, rubbing my shoulders and blowing in my ears as I worked.
Quicker, but not a tenth as pleasant.

The steaks and fried potatoes were still in their containers when Lex and Kim joined us, the latter still in uniform. She gave a totally insincere apologetic smile as she ran a hand down her shirtfront.
"I'm under strict orders to not take this off 'til taps."
I could tell it had already been off at some point though, as the tie had been redone with a different knot. I would've been disappointed if it hadn't been touched.
For obvious reasons we got to talking about wartime music and performing while we ate.
"Think you would have been in the entertainment forces?" Alex asked Kriss.
She shrugged. "If they'd let me, maybe, but there wasn't exactly a demand for female brass players back then." Kriss caught herself. "Strike that - there sure was, but only as a substitute for the guys away from home."
And afterwards a pat on the ass and back to the kitchen.
"But I'm sure I could have served my country in some other way. Like in a tyre factory - inflating the inner tubes and checking for leaks."
Hard not to chuckle. While not as iconic an image as Rosie the Riveteer, it was vaguely intriguing and I had to wonder if it had ever been done by mouth for real in any production facility. I'd seen old documentaries where people stripping balloon molds had blowing up random samples as part of their work routine, but larger objects seemed unlikely.
Lex actually nodded. "Couldn't be much slower than the pumps from that time and would save gas."
"Weren't they electric though?"
"Would still keep the bill down."
Kim giggled. "Unless the foreman was called Bill and liked watching that kind of thing."
Well, regardless how improbable an occupation blowing up inner tubes was, we all agreed there were worse ways to spend a war.

At the coffee and ice cream I brought up another concern.
"As lovely as Kimmy-coo is in all these outfits I'm afraid they'll eat up the profits."
Kriss raised an eyebrow. "Thought we were a non-profit organization."
"I mean make us run it at a loss."
"No loss if it makes her happy."
There was a small noise from Kim, who tried to look as if it wasn't her.
I nodded. "Totally agree. Totally. But ideally we should bring in enough to improve it - self-sustaining operation and all that."
Lex, the occasional pragmatic, solved it. "Sell the clothes through the members' store. Helluvalot nicer than used panties - I know there's a demand for that."
"Not quite the same", Kim smiled. "But if there's takers I'm sure they'd pay a lot more than secondhand stores."
"We could try putting them up at cost, see what happens", I said. "But we are washing them first."
"As long as you state that in the description", Lex said, trying not to laugh.
I didn't have to try. I'd thrown out a few requests for used balloons already.
Lexi suddenly pulled Kim closer. "But not this. We're keeping this one."
"We sure are. Oh, you mean the uniform?"
Her gaze called me out on the bullshit. "If you say you don't like it we're fighting."
Again, since Lex knows judo and I don't it was lucky she was joking and even luckier I really enjoyed the look. Not as much as she, perhaps, but still.

We all kissed goodnight and retired to our own bedrooms. Later, when me and Kriss lay cuddling as always after making love, she returned to the dinner conversation.
"Rubber inner tubes were great bath toys. Too bad they're a thing of the past."
"Mostly", I said. "I ever told you Nita had to blow up a bunch for a motor shop ad?"
"Really? No. How many's a bunch? And why?"
"Maybe eight? Just guessing 'cause that's two full sets. It was for some corny slogan like 'don't tire yourself out, let us handle it'. And yes, it was a photo, not a vid."
"Shame, a vid had gone viral. At least in some circles." Kriss' mind seemed to wander. "And speaking of special interests, let's talk about bazookas."
I made a lame attempt at defense. "You could always say she was joking."
"Was gonna ask how hard you think it'd be to build one?"
So that little joke backfired a bit. I should have known. But it gave Kriss something to do for a bit and her making-of clips were pretty amusing... not to mention the hilarious first tryout. But since she ain't the quitting type she eventually managed to put together a somewhat serviceable specimen and a few demonstration videos, borrowing Kim's outfit for a period look. She got at least a little attention for her troubles and the Museum of Brasswind even commissioned a copy - one of their curators had a free lifetime site membership. That's what happens when you pay Kriss in ludicrous amounts of chocolate for services rendered.

As for viewer reactions, they were par for the course. Some old-timer wrote that as he didn't care to see uniforms misused, he liked we hadn't tried to "appropriate one for effect" and added some extra facts about the entertainment troops, such as where and when they were deployed and which stars had been involved. One guy pointed out Glenn Miller was likely taken out by ‘friendly fire’, but if so I don't believe it made much of a difference to the bandleader. Someone else named the shorts to look up if you wanted to see Donald Duck, Popeye and Bugs Bunny beat up enemy stereotypes. I knew those already but spreading the word wasn't perhaps the done thing. They must have been pretty funny back then, though, as the slapstick still holds up. The caricatures... not so much.
Although the best reviews came from the subscribers who'd watched Kimber overinflate and burst the airship. I'm sure you can guess what they read like.

[Infl8]

This is really cool. Thanks for the story so far. I was wondering, will the bubble balloons appear in the story later? Also, will any more shaped balloons appear in the story, and also, will any logo balloons appear in the story?

[Harley]

This is really cool. Thanks for the story so far. I was wondering, will the bubble balloons appear in the story later? Also, will any more shaped balloons appear in the story, and also, will any logo balloons appear in the story?

Replied in PM, but for the rest of you, I wasn't sure which bubble balloons but the answer is yes and yes to the other two. Onward again!

Episode 11

Delaying shooting for a day was no big deal, and Kim looked thoroughly refreshed when she showed up in a poodle skirt with a black belt and a short-sleeved top with slightly puffy shoulders. Her hair was in a neat ponytail and she wore red lipstick and prominent eyeliner - at least on the upper lid. Right away she blew up about eight pastel balloons with white polka dots for the backdrop and then sat down to reread the script. Apparently there hadn't been much rehearsing the previous night.
She pulled it off anyway, at least close enough for rock n' roll.
"The fifties was when youth culture really became a thing. Films like 'Blackboard Jungle' and 'Rebel Without a Cause' paved the way for many, many others aimed at teenagers - a word that first became popular in 1944 but nearly defined the following decade. All kinds of markets discovered there was money to be made from that age group and more mature entertainment was almost overshadowed by music and movies aimed at a younger audience."
I still hadn't gotten used to Kim speaking like that. It would be a relief returning to more casual scripts.
"With the post-war economy booming, the new, huge middle class could afford lots of new ways to amuse themselves, and television might have been number one. Vinyl records, both singles and LPs, made music easy to bring into your living room."

While the previous installments had been mainly generic, this one turned into a list of popular TV shows, actors and musicians along with summaries and examples of their work. You can easily look it up yourself - I had no trouble finding material. Kim also mentioned the cold war paranoia which could be clearly seen in the many alien invasion and monster flicks.
"Cars were also popular with older teens, giving them some freedom to move - and of course the privacy of the backseats. Drive in-theaters became a thing, along with novelties like 3-D movies. And speaking of novelties, the fifties also gave us the hula hoop and Mr. Potato Head. The first version were just facial features to stick on an actual potato or other vegetable or object."
She brought out a potato and a few googly eyes we'd glued to thumbtacks and proceeded to give the spud a pair of peepers, proudly holding it up for the viewers. Then she reached for one of the loons she'd inflated earlier.
"I wouldn't recommend it with balloons, though."
She tried attaching an eye anyway and Mr. Balloon Head immediately exploded. Kim pushed the remains, the potato and the rest of the pins out of sight and went on.
"Anyway, safety regulations later made everything blunt and plastic. But in those days people still thought lead paint and radiation tests pretty harmless, so why would toys be an exception?"
I hadn't included lawn darts since they came a little later, but they weren't the brightest idea either. Though there was some comedy in the thought of using the center of a swim ring as a target. Or an overblown rubber inner tube for maximum effect.
Kim made a few more general observations before concluding with more teen culture.
"New music called for new steps, and as jazz went from big bands to bebop - which is too unstructured for most dancers - rhythm and blues picked up what was left and turned into rock n' roll. Yes, that might be the worst generalization ever but do I look like a scholar? Electric guitars replaced brass as the dominant sound and the beat became straightforward and easy to follow. Anyone could move along - and see the latest steps on TV's 'American Bandstand'. By the way, 'rock and roll' can refer to the movements of the hips and feet, but it's a much older term and generally accepted to be a euphemism for sexual intercourse. Everyone pretended it wasn't, of course. I'm gonna give you an example! Of the dance, I mean."

Once more we shifted the props, but Kim discovered she now had an uneven number of balloons. So she blew up one more, acting the well-behaved girlish teenager - holding the neck with both hands and bending forward with each puff. It was pretty darn cute and I hoped the members would appreciate me having remembered to turn on the camera.
While she was at it I made her inflate another the same way, except not stopping.
"Must be made in Japan", she stated after the inevitable outcome.
Then she demonstrated the kicks, twists and spins most everyone would be familiar with, her hips certainly rocking and rolling as advertised. The tight step patterns were a further development of the swing while the rest was a bit of throwback to the Lindy. Just like the music the dance incorporated the best of several predecessors and when she finished Kim almost immediately restarted the playback.
"Come and dance with me, Chel!"
Who was I to refuse? I love that style, and being the follower made it all the easier. Kim spun me back and forth across the floor, but after making me kick both legs back and swing them forward around her waist she didn't put me down, instead grabbing my ass and pinning me against the wall. She slammed her hips into me over and over while her tongue and hot breath went into my ear.
"Wanna rock n' roll?"
Stupid question. That's without a doubt my favorite dance.
It was only afterwards we realized Kim had opted to make me pop instead of the props, and by then her hair was so mussed up it took quite a while to restore the neat ponytail. But it gave her some time to plan how to burst the polka-dots, and they were destroyed in a very deliberate fashion as part of the spontaneous choreography. She used a long pin and you could see every pop coming as she raised it while twisting away from the loon, going in for the kill on the backspin. Having her finish recordings this way was not just a membership bonus - it was also a good way to make sure the studio wouldn't be flooded with leftover balloons.

We took a bit of flak for that episode, mostly for leaving stuff out, and one commenter agreed it was a bad generalization but was kind enough to say it was "not the worst". More oversimplified than completely inaccurate, I guess. And yes, I had to clarify that "Made in Japan" signified low quality in 50's America. Boy, how times change.

***

Working on the next script I suddenly had an idea I couldn't get out my head, and you know the easiest way to rid yourself of a temptation is giving in to it. So I dragged the producer along for what could very well be a wild goose chase, but at least I would have some company. The best company in the world, which would make failing bearable.
"Knockoff peacocks", Kriss said as I drove. "Sounds like a band name."
"Not the worst I've heard. But I know there are loons like that - wish there was time to order."
"Relax, Chel, we'll find some. Worst case scenario is using marbles."
To her, any multicolored balloon is a 'marble'. But I like to use that just for loons with swirls in a single extra color and call the rest 'agates'. And it would work, but dammit, a girl's gotta be allowed some artistic vision.
The first two stores were duds, and the third - an actual party supplier - only carried the high-quality, perfectly round ones we had at home. But I wanted them in the classic pear shape, for reasons. We'll get to those.
We kept roaming the outskirts of the city, since going in would be a hassle and likely pointless. Various supermarkets and even gas stations offered lots of loony options, but none even close to what I had in mind. Eventually we came across a mexican corner shop, and Kriss absolutely demanded we stop since they offered fresh burritos. It was way past lunchtime.
Once inside we were greeted by a middle-aged fella manning the register and my wife headed straight for the gleaming, tiled food counter.
"Something with chicken, not too spicy and no beans", I told her before continuing my quest.
It was one of those curious establishments mixing the best of the best of what our southern neighbors can offer with incredibly cheap knickknacks - and many things inbetween. I picked up a couple of lime sodas in glass bottles enroute to the shelf hinting at party stuff - there was a pretty neat pinata on top of it. And there they were. The pattern was instantly recognizable even if the label wasn't, and they came in packs of eight 11-inchers apiece. I grabbed all six bags on display and returned to the serving area in triumph.
The smiling, clean-shaved meal maker was just wrapping up the second burrito and placed it on the counter in front of Kriss. I went to pay for my purchases before taking the seat next to her. We clinked our bottles in celebration of the find and then I bit into a mix of chicken meat, lettuce, tomatoes, sweet corn, a hint of salsa and the best guacamole I'd ever tasted. I wouldn't have minded if the whole thing had been filled with nothing but that. Kriss asked what brand it was but of course it turned out to be homemade, so she bought a dozen avocados instead and another burrito to go.
"Maybe Lex can figure it out."

Even if not the excursion had been a success. Once in the parked car we opened a bag for a thorough examination but that wasn't enough for Kriss. Go figure.
"Let's see how they look."
With that she brought a reddish-orange one to her lips and inflated it to the rated eleven inches - and maybe a little more. It was very pretty even if the pattern was distorted in places. So much the better.
I nodded approval. "Hard to blow up?"
"A cinch. Try for yourself."
She handed a bluish one over and I did. It was like blowing into a small bottle. The rubber simply refused to expand. I gave it another hard breath and both saw and felt it vibrate between my fingers, but no dice. I returned it to my wife, who had a hard time keeping a straight face.
"You try. Just to make sure there's nothing wrong with it."
Kriss blew the damn thing up with almost no trouble whatsoever. Then she let the air out and gave it back. I refused, knowing it would be a cold day in hell before I'd need preinflation. Instead I took a new one in the same color and my annoyance really helped because I managed to fill it on the first try. My face might have turned red but as Kriss is fond of saying, there's no evidence.
"Way to go, Chellie! You just have to use the right amount of force!"
That amount being 'all of it'. But no matter, I'd gotten what I came for.
"Gonna check how big they get."
I had no time to remind her we were in a pretty enclosed space and it wouldn't have made any difference. She'd already returned the red one she'd been pinching off to her lips and was blowing the neck to a dangerous size. And then the danger passed, because the loon detonated with a sound that made my ears ring. That was the first time I wasn't grateful the previous owner had modded the car with power windows and safety glass.
"Wa-ha-hey!" she laughed. "That was loud!"
I very pointedly deflated my own balloon.
"Aw, Chel, don't be like that..." And all of a sudden, her gaze and voice grew sultry as all hell. "I'll race you."
That look. That challenge. I couldn't help myself. I half closed my eyes, smiled and raised my balloon to let her know she was on. And then began to blow before she had a chance to react, stealing a head start.
It didn't last. Kriss blew a tremendous breath into her own balloon, making it spring to life and catch up as I refilled my air supply. I felt my blouse draw tight around my expanding chest for just a moment before I hurried to exhale as hard as I could, filling the loon even more with a loud whoosh. But I wasn't paying attention to the growing globe. My eyes were riveted on my rival and lover, and she was staring me down just as intently. I hardly noticed her cheeks inflating below that searing glare and hoped she'd be as mesmerized by mine. My heart had started beating faster when first watching her inflate the loon with such skill and ease, and for this replay the pulse was pounding in my temples, in all of me.
I was vaguely aware my balloon had started to grow a neck and realized hers must have too, though paid it no heed. We were both blowing hard and fast and it was no longer a contest as much as a shared moment. Krissie's blue eyes were burning straight into my soul and the tension was unbearable, both for me and the ever-expanding balloon. I pushed all of my breath into the taut rubber and felt it explode a moment before the other, the deafening dual pop the opposite of a starter gun, and with those obstructions out of the way be began to kiss even more fiercely than we'd been blowing. The thrill was increased by my elation at winning and I chose to belive Kriss hadn't thrown the game. I can outblow her over short distances if I get lucky with the latex and if I had my way she was about to get lucky too.
As our lips parted I held her gaze with own and laid down the law.
"As soon as we get home we're going to fuck - not have sex, not make love, fuck - in the backseat. And you're not going to do a single thing to spoil the mood."
She grinned and licked her lips. "Can wait."

If you think Kriss is impetuous and unpredictable, you're probably right. But she can be incredibly patient, spending our ride back with only the occasional sultry remark, kissing the back of my hand now and then. Focusing on the road has definitely been easier.
We were already heading rearwards as the carport closed behind us, struggling to undress each other in the limited space and dropping each garment on the floor. Of course we'd tried an inflatable car bed but the original seats were basically made for sex - just like those optional addons. You know that's what they're for, even if marketing tries to ignore it. But right then there was no time to get one, much less to blow up and fit it. We went straight at it, grinding and rubbing and humping against whatever felt best right then, rolling around while kissing and steaming the windows right up. With the privacy of both the car and the walls around it we couldn't care less about the noise, the moans and groans, gasps and shrieks ringing out at least as loudly as the balloons had. We were both guilty of that and it doesn't matter who of us whispered "again..." because it was very much a shared sentiment. When eventually disentangling we were pretty much wrecked.
Kriss sighed contentedly. "Remind me to go on more road trips with you."
"Finish your lessons and you can take me."
"Thought I just did", she leered.
I smacked her with what was closest, which happened to be my bra. I probably still would've if it'd been the burrito.
"Stupid. Endlessly loved, but stupid."
We had to get out to get properly dressed, although 'properly' is just a word. Alex immediately recognized the signs when we met her in the house.
"Had a nice ride?" she asked.
"Yes, and an even nicer fuck", I said. "No need to smirk like that."
"It's just that I last saw those pants on her."
Kriss giggled and I realized she'd handed me them, prolly to see if I'd notice. Well, I hadn't.
I brought out the food sample instead. "We also had a nice lunch - what d'you make of this?"
Lex had a taste, then another. She looked pleased but thoughtful.
"Great guac, right?" Kriss said.
"Oh yeah. There's something... I should know, it's on the tip of my tongue. Literally."
My wife offered her a balloon like the weirdest palate cleanser in history.
"Take your time. Would you call these hard to inflate?"
Lexi shrugged, stretched the balloon and blew it up. Her cheeks did bulge out, but then again they always do and it didn't appear to tax her overmuch.
"Maybe a bit. What are they for?"
I decided to keep the mystery. "Oh, you'll se in the next ep."
She just nodded and kept blowing while I got my first look at the model from a more normal distance. This one was more of a greenish-purple mix, the classic peacock colors, and it was more evident than ever that the makers didn't really bother with quality control. The jagged lines of the pattern weren't quite uniform and could differ markedly in size, even looking smeared in spots. Just the way I'd imagined them. While more round than perfectly pear-shaped, it did taper towards the neck and that was all I could ask for.
Lex added a final powerful breath and with loud noise sent shreds flying all over the room. The pop might have rattled her brain as she grew stiff with a sudden insight.
"Worcestershire sauce", she exclaimed. "Pretty sure that's it." She had another bite to check. "Yep, that or something similar and there ain't much to fit the bill."
More like worst-est sauce. "I don't even like it", I said, my illusions shattered.
"Ain't a fan as-is", Lex said, "but it has its uses. If you've wondered why we have some."
"I've these too", Kriss stated, bringing out the avocados along with a suggestion to try the notion out at once.
So we had some amazing beef tacos that evening, the new recipe an instant success - but Lexi's version was even better because she roasts the garlic. Kim looked fit to burst with pride and I swallowed mine enough to admit that sauce indeed has its uses. You learn something new every day.
But it'd be at least one more before the rest would learn what I needed those balloons for.

[Harley]

Episode 12

I had to explain my decoration idea to Kim ahead of time, since it would also impact her outfit. She liked it enough to throw herself around my neck and call me a genius which perhaps wasn't warranted but really nice nevertheless.
So while she had gotten hold of a rather short multicolored dress with flared sleeves and a psychedelic tie-dye-inspired pattern, we covered it up with a conservative cardigan and skirt combo in light blue and hid her fair hair under a thick dark brown wig, a reminder of Lexi's experiments with the Motown look. The bangs hid the flower headband neatly and after some effort we had a dual appearance ready to go.
And speaking of effort, I had something similar in mind for the balloons. We slipped the 11-inch peacocks into 12-inch regular balloons in dark blue and purple before blowing them up, tying off the inner ones before adding extra air to the outer cover and knotting them together. I'm sure you're starting to see why.
But if the peacocks were tough on their own, imagine what an extra layer of latex did. We both struggled to inflate them - even if it didn't take any extra time to start them off we sure had to strain to force our breaths into the double loons. Kim's face has a tendency to turn a lovely shade of red whenever she blows really hard and this was one of those times. Her cheeks grew round and tight which made for a nice contrast with her groomed appearance and shortish wig. But the extra work didn't mean we skimped on the air - on the contrary. We blew the balloons up as big as they'd get without risking a pop, and the stretching, snapping sounds of the darker loons separating from the peacocks as we puffed them loose made me a bit nervous. We probably should have powdered them or something just to make sure, but the four sets survived just fine. Doing a couple each would be just about enough.
We hung the loons from the ceiling so they'd be within easy reach for Kim, two on each side and slightly behind her head. She made a final check-up on her fake eyelashes and began the show.
"The untamed youth of the fifties made the establishment nervous and the big companies were eager to bring them back into line. As the 1960's rolled around they had a chance at that - with Elvis in the army, Jerry Lee Lewis disgraced, Chuck Berry in jail and Buddy Holly dead there were openings for new icons, and those were often hand-picked by the record companies for a wholesome image. Rock was pushed aside by pop music, which was far less offensive to the ones in charge."
Another summary followed, along with noting the crazes for beach movies and novelty dances. Kim promised to demonstrate some of the latter before mentioning the 'British invasion' and how influential english bands were in the middle of the decade. The mid-sixties had another big turning point as well.
"The aftermath of World War Two had led to a surge of childbirths - the 'Baby Boom' - and as those came of age there was a huge number of teenagers who'd grown up in prosperity starting to question the society's repressive morality. A lot of factors were involved but the sixties gave rise to a counterculture, adding fuel to the civil rights movement and sexual revolution - and other causes too, but these might have been the most notable...at least to begin with."
"See, once again war reared its ugly head, this time in Vietnam. But it was a conflict many couldn't understand and protests were common. Singers became bona fide activists and songs glorifying both sides appeared, although the ones advocating peace dominated."
"And amidst all this turmoil, something new emerged - the hippie movement."
Kim unbuttoned her cardigan and pulled it off to reveal the garish dress below. She removed the wig and shook out her wild yellow hair. I motioned for her to adjust the headband, which she did. Then she plucked a peace pin from her chest and used it to burst the neat, conforming balloons, turning them into the crazily patterned globes we'd hidden away. I held my breath throughout because the risk of total destruction was immense, but evidently we'd played it safe enough with the extra air. They didn't even appear to get much smaller. Then again, Kim was smart enough to pop them from below and the slight difference in shape gave some extra leeway.
Now the presenter looked much less behaved, as did the decorations swinging gently from their strings.
"Hippies were all about personal freedom, rejecting traditional values and opposing the establishment. This was something pretty shocking at the time. They also embraced eastern mysticism and using drugs to expand the conscience. Their music reflected all this and was far more experimental than the assembly-line pop songs."
I really had to start toning down the lecturing, but it was too late for that episode.
"San Francisco became a center of the movement, culminating in 1967 with what came to be called 'The Summer of Love' - more of a cultural gathering than a mass orgy. One of the main attractions was the Monterey Music Festival, which made several acts famous." She rattled off some examples. "And in the fall, many of the youths returned to school as if nothing had happened. Two years later a far more known festival was held - Woodstock - but it wasn't nearly as influential. Popular, though! Did you know more than four times as many people claim to have attended than were actually there? The real number is about 400 000."
"So the sixties can be said to have been a turbulent decade. The most visible part of the cold war was the space race, which ended with the first moon landing in 1969 - the same year as Woodstock. Spy stories were also popular and the James Bond movies made bank at the box office."
"As for TV, while light shows still prevailed more thought-provoking things became popular, like 'The Twilight Zone' and 'Star Trek'. We also got the first animated sitcom - 'The Flintstones' - which was very similar to 'The Honeymooners' of the fifties but set in prehistoric times, though it often made fun of current trends. And let’s not forget camp was a-ok on sixties TV - just look at Batman! Biff! Sock! Bam!"
Kim punched the air in time with the effects, ending up striking the nearest balloon with a right hook that almost swung her around. It didn't pop but would have served her right if it had - I hadn't intended for her to actually hit something.
"So in summary the sixties gave us things like..."
It was list time again, mainly people and titles, but mixing in toys like super balls and rock'em sock'em robots made it feel a little less static.
"...and my dad! Appeared in 1962. Hi, pops!" she waved.
A spontaneous addition, but not bad. I should tell her to make more.
Kim stayed in her seat after finishing, picking up the shed apparel and looking the decorations over.
"Hey, boss - this balloon stunt? I didn't know of it when I planned the steps."
I hadn't thought it through enough. Since she would begin in the well-heeled look, simply moving the balloons wouldn't be enough. We had to make more, and she would have to make the popping work. Well, strictly speaking it wouldn't be mandatory, but after going through all the trouble finding them a bit more wouldn't matter.
But first things first. After restoring Kim's preppy appearance, I had her blow up one of the dark blue balloons as it was until it burst in her face. She gave the camera an almost inane smile.
"Gee, I just love pop! Don't you?"
Then we set the stage for the second part. Once more we had to blow like crazy to fill the loons and this is where the knockoff quality revealed itself. My first attempt literally blew up in my face, taking its purple cover with it. I barely kept from cussing, and only because I remembered the camera was on. Then I was too careful with the replacement and ended up making it too small. But what the hell, the purple twelve could be inflated enough to compensate. The second set went as intended, more or less. Objectively speaking Kim has probably blown up more balloons than me over the years, but I refuse to believe that's the only reason she managed it better. Must have been some luck too, I say.
Anyway, as Kim went through snippets of the dance crazes she called them out by name as she switched - the Twist, the Mashed Potato, the Locomotion, the Watusi, the Batusi and so on, before throwing away the wig, cardigan and skirt in succession as the music went from poppy to psychedelic. Kriss hadn't managed that style in the allotted time but fortunately there's lots of royalty-free music online only asking for credit, in case you plan to do something similar.

Kim once more took off her peace pin and since she was now shaking loose in a free manner there was plenty room for her to burst the solid-color balloons as a start.
Maybe her motions were too loose and fluid - two balloons neatly changed appearance, but on the third go she burst both of them and stopped dead in her tracks as she noticed. I would have to add a record scratch and kill the soundtrack at that point.
I realized we would need not one, not two but three new sets along with a retake. Wait, make that four - Kim methodically burst the last pair and the transformed ones before she strode back to the desk and popped those decorations too.
I failed to capture that last part on film though. But I did feel sorry for Kim, having that happen after all the hard work. I went up and put my arms around her from behind.
"Poor Kimmilly... Want me to handle the replacements?"
"No", she sighed. "I'll trust'em more if I do them myself."
Although I did my best to support, holding her throughout the task, nipping at and whispering in her ear and pressing my lips against her bulging cheeks.
"That's it, Kimmy... Blow, baby, blow... You blow sooo good..."
And she really did, inflating the peacocks until the outer shells creaked from being stretched. Then she blew those into shape as well while I kept encouraging her, ending up with four stiff and swollen pairs of loons - along with a pair of nipples in the same condition. I'd been touching and fondling them the whole time and now her braless dress clearly showed how much she'd enjoyed it. But we had to cover it up once again for the reshoot. This time she was much more careful, even if the actual dancing stayed carefree. Afterwards she popped the peacocks as well as a matter of principle and keeping the content consistent.
"Now look what you've done", she pouted playfully while looking down.
Her breasts were still somewhat perked up but not as rock hard as they'd been before.
"Looks like they're losing air. Can't have that..."
I wrapped my mouth around them in turn, blowing through the fabric and squeezing them with my lips. Soon they were back in shape and I lifted her dress to find she wore no panties, just like I'd suspected. I pushed her onto the futon and kicked off my own after dropping the slacks along the way. Then I got on top and had her - it didn't take long to get her off and then her fingers went between my legs and finished me as well. Short but oh so sweet.
"Wow", Kim panted, "I needed that."
I realized it had been a while since I'd seen her that way and was happy if frustration had become less of a problem for her. Not that it had ever bothered me, since keeping her satisfied is the opposite of a chore. I just don't want my Kimberly to suffer in any way whatsoever.
"Glad I could help."
"Guess I should btp in these threads as well", Kim said as she rose.
The interlude was over as quickly as it started and I put my undies back on. "Why not?"
She fetched another peacock and did her best impression of a flower child - not quite stoned, but definitely a bit out there. The somewhat messy hair made her appear as freshly fucked as she actually was and I wondered if people would draw the right conclusion or just think it a good impression. Anyway, Kimber made blowing up the balloon look like a temporary diversion, not goal in itself. It was a greenish one and she seemed thoroughly unaffected by its noisy demise.
The makeshift hippie made a lazy peace sign at the camera, which could also signify her victory over the balloon. "Turn on, tune in, pop out."
"Very good", I said, "but I think a red one would look better."
She shrugged. "Let's try that."
So another balloon was puffed, puffed and puffed to capacity and beyond, the boom blowing her hair back a little - a wonderful effect in contrast to her relaxed expression. But Kim seemed thoughtful.
"Better do all the colors while we're at it."
The third was mainly blue and didn't get filled all the way before throwing the fight and bursting. It still was a btp so she once more delivered the sign and line.
But the last variety, a pinkish specimen, did her least favorite thing and exploded between exhales. Kim frowned and threw the neck away with some ferocity.
I cracked a grin. "What about peace, love and understanding?"
"It started."
"I clearly saw you striking the first...blow."
She rolled her eyes, inhaled, and started on the hopefully final one. It fought back too much and Kim's face clashed with the pink rubber before she was done, but at least the pop was satisfying. I shut off the camera and delivered the expected kiss.
"Mmm... You know, Cherry, all this talk about free love? Whaddya say we spread some?"
Great idea. Kim had chosen the dress over a paisley tunic and flared trousers and now I put them on instead before we went looking for our mates. They were in the music room but were soon moved to the adjacent lounge and into the sofa bed.
It hardly took any persuasion.