Balloons Of My Youth

I'm not that adventurous when it comes to the variety of balloons I play with. Buying Tilly 76s was a big step for me. Almost as big as finding the courage to blow them up. Mostly I have Qualatex 11s and 16s, and I don't even get the chance to use the 16s that often.

Those balloon sizes are actually a change from what I grew up with. It mostly had to do with availability, but I do sometime have a little bit of longing for the balloons I used to play with as a child, a teen, and a young adult, and frankly I think they affected the course of my fetish. It may have manifested itself very differently had I had access to the balloons I use now.

For one thing, the balloons of my youth were smaller. I often was limited to what we used to call "penny balloons," which I now know were 5s and 318s. Most of these were cheap brands, some were from Bluebird (Ashland), but occasionally I would get lucky and find Qualatex.

I remember the original Qualatex clown logo from when I was very little. It was the brand my doctor gave me after a visit. Can you even imagine doctors handing out uninflated balloons now, with latex allergies and choking hazard concerns? Wow.

The balloons my doctor gave out, though, were not 5s or 318s, they were 9s, which seemed like big balloons to me at the time. They are also the balloons I began to stuff into my pajamas. Would I have started that if the balloons had been bigger? I mean, two inches doesn't seem like much, but it makes a real difference.

Anyway, that's just speculation. I have a lot of fond memories of developing my fetish for balloon with nine-inch balloons. Sadly, as far as I can tell, Qualatex no longer makes them.

Also missing from the Qualatex line-up are 318s and 524s, the long balloons I also used to enjoy slipping down the legs of my PJs on the rare occasions when I had them. I had the same fear of blowing them up that I recently experienced with the Tillys. I had a lot more accidental pops with airships then with round balloons. Keep in mind that I was a complete non-popper until my teens.

I also remember the colors being different, especially for a time when I was a young adult. The greens and pinks, especially, had a different quality to them that I can't describe. If I saw them today, I probably wouldn't find them as attractive as the standard colors now, and of course, they didn't have the beautiful jewel tones that I mostly buy now. But those color do bring back memories.

I also remember that black balloons never got firm. I never blew them up even close to popping, of course, but they stayed so soft and squishy. I enjoyed that, but I also always expected them to pop too easily. Even now, I prefer a balloon that takes some punishment before it gives up.

There's no sense trying to recapture the past. Not only are those balloons no longer available, but I've changed, too. My balloon play is different, and with a wife and children, my circumstances are very different, too. If I had a bag of Qualatex 9s, I'm not sure I would really enjoy them that much.

But I'm glad I had them when I did. They serve me just fine as satisfying memories.

Old Balloons

Yesterday I took down the balloons I'd had hanging from the ceiling for more than a month. My wife and I played with them for awhile, and then I popped them. And it reminded me of something: I don't really like old balloons.

Well, okay, it depends on the context. I don't like oxidized balloons at all, though I know some globophiles do (in fact, some like them best that way). But that wasn't the problem with these; this time of year, I can leave them up for months, until spring in fact, and they will stay relatively shiny and pretty, without that oxidized latex odor (which I don't care for, and my wife really hates).

There were two problems with these. They weren't very elastic. Lots of give, but not very good at returning to their shape after some squeezing (and I do a lot of squeezing). And they feel more, I don't know, plastic than newly-inflated balloons. The other problem is that, even though they don't feel sticky, and don't stick to my skin or the covers, they tend to stick to each other. A lot. To the point where sometimes (not this time, happy to say) they pop when pulled apart.

It's a bit of a conundrum. I like to have balloons around for a good long time. I don't get enough chances for play to replace them, say, every week (boy, talk about a pipe dream). But, on the other hand, I cannot bring myself to just pop my old balloons without playing with them first. It's just too wasteful, even if I have enjoyed them visually for a good long time.

So what's the solution? There probably isn't one. If I had to choose between the pleasure of being able to see pretty balloons hanging on the ceiling whenever I walk into my room and the pleasure of having every balloon be perfect for play, I'll hang up the balloons and deal with the minor dissatisfaction when I take them down.

It seems that even something that should be as simple as enjoying balloons comes with its trade-offs.

Welcome the New Year

Another year underway. Of course, I'm hoping that it will include more balloons than last year, and more chances for some erotic play with balloons.

I know that I have a good head start on my other balloon-related goal for the year: to publish two new books of short stories. I've already mentioned what they are, so I'm not giving away any surprises. I just wanted to let you know that I am making progress.

On the stories. On the erotic play? We'll see how that works out.

Feeling Frisky

I get to thinking a lot about balloons this time of year anyway, what with New Year's Eve coming up and all. But this year, I'm thinking about it even more as I sit down every day to write erotic balloon fiction.

The problem, really, with writing two collections at the same time, is that every day I'm dreaming about two different fantasies. And it's not just writing, of course; I have to imagine myself living the experience of my characters, even in the less realistic stories, to make them as exciting as I can manage to make them.

In the more realistic stories, I have to think, "what would my character do and want in this situation?"

In the less realistic stories, I have to think, "what is the best thing that could happen in this situation (even if it's not very likely)?'

And whichever of those things I am thinking, I get to thinking, "I wish I was having some fun with a balloon right now."

Alas, it the opportunity rarely presents itself. I don't think I'll even get much chance on New Year's Eve, because of family obligations, although I think my wife will give me a rain check.

But whenever I get the chance, it's going to seem like a long way away.

Two At Once

I'm actually working on two story collections at once now. I had already started doing a short story for a second collection, when it occurred to me that I might like to write a different kind of story. Not just a different plot, but an entirely different approach.

Thing is, I think that different approach might appeal to a different kind of reader. So, I'm going to mush on and write stories using both approaches, and publish them in separate collection when I had assembled enough of them.

The one collection, the one I already started, will be along the same lines as the stories I've done so far, with fairly fleshed-out characters and plots. But the other collection will be full-fledged flights of fancy, fantasies about the ways we wish ever balloon encounter would end up.

These fantasies will mostly be flash fiction, 1000 words or less each, and I probably won't release a collection until there are at least 10.000 words worth. But they are the visions that have been dancing around in my head since puberty, and so I don't think they will take nearly as long to write.

For those who enjoy realistic stories about realistic people, even in works of fiction, this might not be up your alley. But if you feel like taking a walk on the "only in your dreams" side, these might just be the ticket.

Stay tuned.

Collected

Well, I've finally got it done. The collected balloon fetish short stories of Tim Popper are now available as a single volume, and I've got to say, it's a great deal. The Kindle version is only six dollars, and you can get a printed copy for only $11 (and it's eligible for free shipping for orders over $35).

If you want to get a good preview. the "look inside" feature on Amazon (only working for the Kindle edition as of this writing, but the print preview will come along soon) will give you a good taste of the collection. The book is long enough that you can read the entire first story, a flash fiction piece called Trust, in the preview, and see a good portion of my new story Popping In.

Right now the print and Kindle editions are showing up in search listings separately, but I've contacted customer service and it should be resolved very soon (CreateSpace has great customer service). Once that happens, I'll include links to the new book on the sidebar of this blog.

Because I now have all of these stories available as a collection, which is definitely the most economical way to get them, I will probably stop promoting the individual short stories here and on Twitter, and concentrate on trying to tell people about the book. But I'll still keep them available separately as Kindle books for those who want them ala carte.

I've got lots of housekeeping work to do on the publishing side, so I won't be that visible on social media for a little while. But I'll be back.

Meanwhile, enjoy the stories, and many happy balloons.

It's Here

My new story, Popping In, a New Year's Eve popping fantasy, is now available in the Kindle store. As I said in my last post, if you haven't read all of my stories, you might want to wait a few days and buy my entire collection instead of buying this individual story.

You also might want to hold off if you, like me, like holding a physical book in your hot little hands, to bookmark, highlight, dog-ear, and lend to a friend, because the collection is the only way to get these stories in print format.

And, the collection has two bonus works of flash fiction that I think you'll enjoy that are not available separately.

Whatever works for you, I hope you enjoy the stories, and I promise more in the months and years to come.