A Guide to Summer Salt Stories

3. Consensual torture (vs no-consent)

Something I find curious: there are very few tickle stories I find that feature characters that engage in games where consent is given first. Even though this is quite possible - one can experience torture (or inflict it) without breaking laws or hurting feelings in the form of S/M play.
This is especially true in the case of tickling, which always mixes thrill with discomfort.

See, when we enter stories, we also give a sort of "consent" to be subjected to fictional dangers as long as these end well. When we read an adventure story for example, we know the character will be shot at, balance on

Obviously, many of us read stories to experience situations we couldn't realistically. Yet stories that are mere wish fulfillment may end up being misleading too (leading to disappointment and dissatisfaction in the reader'sown life if taken too seriously).

Still, I wonder - when you have a character you like, what is it you'd really wish for him/her? Should s/he find the some sort of happiness that is possible irl, or should s/he merely exist as an (admittedly dangerous or impossible) fantasy yet one the reader couldn't experience irl?

What's your take on this? Do you enjoy the perfectly consentual games and situations I put in my stories? Does kidnapping, unwilling captivity and true distress bother you (even though it is fictional)? Or do you prefer if these situations were pictured as harsh as they can be?