Riders of the Midnight Sun (f+/f+) Chapter 19 Posted 2023-04-23

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Post by Shotrow »

[mention]Mineira1986[/mention] - Ah, that's fair. Glad it has your interest.

[mention]Beaumains[/mention] - Thanks! I have to admit, I really had to think about the second part of your comment. I understood it to be a neutral observation, but it made me wonder if I had let this story get away from me somewhat and the game world turn into something I didn't mean for it to be. However, after thinking about it, there are a couple of things that I think need to be kept in mind.

First, in my experience and research, it's not at all uncommon for multiplayer games with cute, wholesome, kid-friendly themes to have absolutely batshit playerbases. The youtuber Izzzyzzz has covered quite a few examples. In retrospect, it's not really surprising. You have a large group of kids at various stages of maturity thrown together with minimal supervision. You have few consequences and ample opportunity for antisocial behavior. You have dysfunctional people able to blend in more easily than they can in real life. Throw in a few Lady Maybelles- adults with the mentality of children but the knowledge and resources of adults- and you have a recipe for toxicity.

Really, the most unrealistic thing about the story is probably that everyone's fighting for understandable reasons like money, power, or revenge. Not because someone copied someone's outfit, or drew a humanized version of an animal character with the wrong body type, or because someone decided that wearing brown boots meant you were on the "tea" team and had to fight the black-booted "coffee" team.

Second, and I realize this may be my fault for not conveying it better in-story, the events described in this story are not necessarily typical. There's a bit of a selection bias going on. Each of these girls might have spent plenty of days brushing horses, having races, playing with pets, and exploring beautiful countryside. But this is tugstories and I'm not going to write about the times they didn't get tied up or tie someone up lol. Taking over a town isn't something the Summer Campers do every day; they were desperate to get their reputation back after being humiliated by being single-handedly defeated by Wild Nellie so they did something that was difficult and costly just to show they could.

So, in summary, I think your observations of the game world are correct and your wonderings are valid. I'm glad you brought it up, because it helped me recall the context and reasons for the events described. Thanks for your insightful comment!
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Post by Beaumains »

Shotrow wrote: 1 year ago @Beaumains - Thanks! I have to admit, I really had to think about the second part of your comment. I understood it to be a neutral observation, but it made me wonder if I had let this story get away from me somewhat and the game world turn into something I didn't mean for it to be.
Indeed, it was far from a critique. I hope I have not discouraged you in any way to continue with this universe.

This indeed a story on a site about tugs, so we should expect some tugs. Only, there are very few scenarios were people are exposed to tugs for a longer duration in many different positions. You came up with a unique universe yourself where this is kindof possible, but to keep things interesting, you gotta keep inventing new scenarios. This is natural, and I think the syory would get old soon if you did not add in new machanics/special events once every while.

I actually quite like the revenge of the summer campers. It ties the storylines together and shows they are a capable group (after their reputation seemed overrated after their first encounter in this story). My only problem is that allowing such actions would lead quickly in other groups forming raiding parties and eventually armies. It takes the individual aspect away. Or is there something artificial to combat such things, like a maximum number of players or entities close-by, strong justice-bound factions, or social pressure to keep the bounties on yourself low?
Shotrow wrote: 1 year ago First, in my experience and research, it's not at all uncommon for multiplayer games with cute, wholesome, kid-friendly themes to have absolutely batshit playerbases. The youtuber Izzzyzzz has covered quite a few examples. In retrospect, it's not really surprising. You have a large group of kids at various stages of maturity thrown together with minimal supervision. You have few consequences and ample opportunity for antisocial behavior. You have dysfunctional people able to blend in more easily than they can in real life. Throw in a few Lady Maybelles- adults with the mentality of children but the knowledge and resources of adults- and you have a recipe for toxicity.
True, but I would also add how boring the normal gameplay is. These girls are stranded here for a good chunk of their life, and without obligations like school, jobs, homework, cleaning, repairing stuff etc., they would get bored very easily.
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Post by Shotrow »

Beaumains wrote: 1 year ago Indeed, it was far from a critique. I hope I have not discouraged you in any way to continue with this universe.
Oh no, not at all. Things have been pretty busy for me lately, so I'm not sure when I'll get out the next chapter, but it's coming and I haven't lost interest.

You raise some good points. I probably should be a little more creative with the tugs. I guess the reason I haven't is I've been focused on people being tied up for practical rather than playful or sadistic reasons. As I said before, I'm somehow not too inclined to write torture scenes. It's weird because I definitely enjoy those and they are a part of my fantasies, but I guess I find the power struggle more interesting to write about than the outcome of that struggle. But I'm working on changing that, starting by giving focus to Sweet Becky in prison.

I'm not sure what you mean by taking away the individual aspect though. If you're saying that the world would become factionalized over time, well, isn't it, the way I've described it? You have the Summer Campers and Fort Mallow as major factions. You have the girls at Gingersnap Ranch forming a smaller group, and they're on good terms with their neighbors in the area.

That's a really good point about the gameplay as well. Even if it is really well designed, people will get bored of it after spending so much time there and look for other ways to amuse themselves.
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Post by Mineira1986 »

While we wait for the next chapter, with the permission (and some encourage) from the author [mention]Shotrow[/mention], I present the concepts for three characters from this great story!

Tons of work, but also tons of fun while drawing them =)

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Last edited by Mineira1986 1 year ago, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by Shotrow »

Mineira1986 wrote: 1 year ago While we wait for the next chapter, with the permission (and some encourage) from the author [mention]Shotrow[/mention], I present the concepts for three characters from this great story!

Tons of work, but also tons of fun while drawing them =)

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Thank you! I can't express how much I appreciate the time and effort you took to help visualize this story. Having some visuals is something I've been wanting for a very long time. I'm flattered beyond words that these characters proved to be an interesting enough subject for your art.

With Mineira1986's permission, I took the time to post them on my deviantart profile along with a small biography of each character. Nothing mindblowing, but hopefully it'll help the characters come alive a bit more.

Sweet Becky Marigold
Singing Laura Mango
Shy Sarah Starlight
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Post by jafib »

Cute Illustrations, especially Laura!
Meet Jessica in the Garage, Alica the baby-sitter, Phillip tieing up teen girls
Adult Stories: Naughty Tamara, Josefine the Model (all M/F)

Feedback motivates me to write more and continue a story :)
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Post by Beaumains »

Shotrow wrote: 1 year ago I probably should be a little more creative with the tugs.
That is not what I meant to say at all! There is a huge variety in the reasons, places, and relationships why people get tied up.
Shotrow wrote: 1 year ago As I said before, I'm somehow not too inclined to write torture scenes
That's totally fine, especially considering the character's ages. Write tugs however you want to write tugs. Also, it is not weird at all that your writing preferences differ from your own fantasies/story preferences.
Mineira1986 wrote: 1 year ago While we wait for the next chapter, with the permission (and some encourage) from the author @Shotrow, I present the concepts for three characters from this great story!
Looks so cool! Great work
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Post by Ovi1 »

I just caught up and really liked the added chapters. it's also very nice to have some art to go with the story.
I believe you would be a lot more comfortable in ropes
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Post by Shotrow »

Thanks for the comments.

I got an amazing commission from Parasaux.

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I don't know how persistent DA image links are. If the above doesn't work, check it out here, and be sure to take a look at the rest of their gallery: https://www.deviantart.com/parassaux/ar ... -928407203

Anyways, here's the next chapter:
Chapter 12
Minutes felt like hours as Sweet Becky stood at the top of Fort Mallow, stretched between the two poles. The crowd that had gathered to listen to Happy Georgia's speech had mostly dispersed to go about their regular duties, but the flow of people in and out of the gate was constant, and more than a few stopped to gawk along the way. Sweet Becky could see a small group of girls sitting in the shade of some palm trees. She couldn't hear what they were talking about, but all of them seemed to be making frequent glances in her direction.

Sweet Becky forced herself to stop thinking about anyone watching her and instead focused on the sky, the clouds, and the nearby sea. This was a lovely place to build a home. She had always thought so. Just one more piece of the allure drew her and so many others to Lady Maybelle.

Her reverie was interrupted by the sound of footsteps coming up the stone stairs. One… no, two sets of boots. Sweet Becky twisted her body to look over her shoulder to see who was coming. Her heart sank when she saw Shy Sarah's dark-colored outfit.

"Are you sure you have to leave so soon?" asked Green Lucy Tarragon, the other of the two girls. Green Lucy had changed her avatar a good deal in the months since Sweet Becky had seen her last. She used to live up to her name, with green hair and clothes. Now, the only thing green about her were her piercing emerald eyes. "I think Lady Maybelle was really hoping you'd stay."

"Well, no offense to you or anyone else who lives here, but I don't like to spend any more time in this cream-colored nightmare than I have to," answered Shy Sarah. She said it with a smile, but Sweet Becky could hear sincerity in her voice.

"I'm sure Lady Maybelle will have another job for you soon," Green Lucy answered. After all, you did such a good job with this one." Sweet Becky yelped into her gag as Green Lucy gave her a firm swat on her backside.

Shy Sarah smirked. "Aw, it was nothing. She hardly put up any fight at all," she said while curling one of the bound girl's pigtails in her fingers.

"You don't have to hold back, you know. Lady Maybelle always pardons assault charges against prisoners in the stocks…"

Shy Sarah took a step back. "Nah, I'm not going to risk it. Like you said, she wants me to stay, so I'm not going to give her a way to make me," she answered, "You go ahead and have fun, though. Do me a favor and cover her eyes."

The next thing Sweet Becky knew, a heavy bandana was placed over her eyes and tied tightly behind her head. Her tormentors giggled softly, and she could feel her right boot being worked off gently. Instinctively, she kicked at whoever was behind her but only connected with air before the taught rope stopped her swing.

"I should have let her hit me. Would've meant we could add a couple more hours to her sentence," laughed Green Lucy. Sweet Becky immediately froze upon hearing this. She clenched her teeth through her gag. The girl was right; any resistance would just make things worse.

With this sobering fact in mind, Sweet Becky summoned up all her willpower to stay still as she felt a pair of arms wrap around her body. Green Lucy's voice breathed into her ear. "You should've just surrendered when you had the chance. We have no reason to go easy on you now."

"I meant to ask… what really did happen between you and this girl?" asked Shy Sarah, "I mean… it's not exactly a secret that Lady Maybelle tends to exaggerate on those speeches she writes…"

"Oh… it was just… it was dumb," answered Green Lucy meekly. Sweet Becky could feel the chagrined girl pull away from her body. "There was this contest and… well, I won a chance to have dinner with one of Lady Maybelle's sons. Sweet Becky… well she tied me up and tried to sneak in with my clothes…" Sweet Becky couldn't help but chuckle through her gag at the memory. "Hey! Shut up!" shouted Green Lucy, giving her another spank on her backside.

"Sneak in? To where?" asked Shy Sarah, confused, "You're not going to tell me she keeps her boys under lock-and-key, are you?"

"She's protective of them. I mean, can you blame her with girls like her running around?" Sweet Becky flinched as she felt the girl's finger jab into her armpit.

"So protective she makes them contest prizes…" muttered Shy Sarah, "Look, I'm out of here. I feel myself getting crazier by the minute just being here. You two have fun though. You deserve each other…"

Green Lucy sighed. "Well, I guess it's just you and me then." Sweet Becky felt her heart pounding as she realized she was alone. She was grateful that her tormentor couldn't see the growing concern in her eyes.

Green Lucy gave no warning before she attacked. Suddenly, her tense fingers viciously prodded at Sweet Becky's exposed flesh. "HPRH! STRPH THRRRRRT!!!" she screamed into her gag. Sweet Becky's body shuddered as she tugged against her bonds to escape the ticklish assault.

"I could do this all day," the gleeful girl teased, "And there's nothing you can do about it." She once again began her attack on Sweet Becky's helpless body.

"" NNNNNHG!" Sweet Becky pleaded. She could tell her avatar was beginning to glisten with simulated sweat. The ordinarily confident girl was utterly helpless. Blind, exposed, and silenced. She couldn't understand why Green Lucy was doing this. Surely she didn't hold that much of a grudge over a single kidnapping?

Green Lucy knelt down, took her by the sole of her foot, and jabbed it with her thumb and index finger. She giggled cruelly as her captive writhed in her bonds, trying to escape. Sweet Becky's struggles only encouraged Green Lucy as she viciously attacked the tender sole of the foot in her hand with her fingers.

Sweet Becky panted as her attacker took a small break. "…but, I suppose that wouldn't be fair to everyone else who wants to punish you for messing with Swift Avery."

At that moment, Sweet Becky began to understand. Green Lucy didn't hate her; Fort Mallow did. Now she remembered. These girls loved who they were told to love and hated who they were told to hate. It was the only way to fit in.

Sweet Becky's heart sank. It didn't seem like she'd be shown much mercy here any time soon.

---

Green Lucy fortunately grew bored and moved on after what felt like an eternity. Sweet Becky hung in a dark limbo for many hours, only occasionally punctured by another girl wandering up the steps to torment her. By the time Happy Georgia came to retrieve her, she was physically and emotionally exhausted. Her body shined, and what little clothing she had was tinted dark to show its dampness.

"Good news! We're cutting your stock time short," explained Happy Georgia, tearing the blindfold from Sweet Becky's eyes. "We had a bad washout in one of the pastures. Need all the help we can get fixing it."

Sweet Becky took a deep breath. This wouldn't be so bad. Doing work in prison took time off of your sentence. It was hard to imagine enduring even one more day of the treatment she had experienced in the stocks, but anything she could do to shorten it would be worth it. Sweet Becky had been in many prisons before, but never one where anyone could do what they wanted to her without consequence. She had never felt more helpless in her Happy Trails time.

Before long, she was back in her regular clothes. She and a large number of other prisoners were led in a long line, their hands tied behind their backs and to each other's wrists. They were gagged with horse bits to keep them from talking, but that didn't seem to stop some of the girls. Some of the more experienced prisoners appeared to understand each other despite the gags, and a few seemed to have worked out some kind of gestural language between themselves.

As soon as they reached the field, their hands were tied in front of them, and they were handed shovels and set to work. Sweet Becky realized that the prisoners vastly outnumbered the girls assigned to guard them. They could easily overwhelm them if they wanted to. That was, of course, the last thing she intended to do at the moment, but the idea gave her some comfort.

Not long after she set to work, a couple of the other girls backed up next to her, shielding her from the view of the guards. One of them traced a written message on the back of her hand. Sweet Becky didn't understand at first, but she soon realized they were trying to teach her their gestural language. She groaned. Learning something was the last thing she wanted to do right now, but she knew it could be critical in the days to come.
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Post by Beaumains »

Nice part. Good to be back with Sweet Becky. I am curious what you are planning with the forced labor. Mini games? Or true labor?
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Post by Shotrow »

Beaumains wrote: 1 year ago Nice part. Good to be back with Sweet Becky. I am curious what you are planning with the forced labor. Mini games? Or true labor?
The latter, I suppose. I figure it's like one of those mobile games where you expend energy to clear obstructions, except it takes actual time and effort. Probably more tedious than difficult.
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Post by Caesar73 »

Well, it seems, that their might by a bit of light at the end of the tunnel for Sweet Becky. Learning the means to communicate with her fellow inmates might prove useful in the end. I liked this chapter!
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Post by trainer »

I've been away for a couple weeks and I come back to 3 great chapters! Love all the work you've put in here, the world-building is awesome and I am a big fan of the direction you're taking things. Both the adventurous stuff and the prison-time is lovely to read.
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Post by RopeBunny »

Making my way through this, and still loving everything you've got going on.

The whole concept, the game, brilliant. It's fascinating stuff a great idea well done and told.

Artwork a lovely addition, well drawn.

Keep it up please.
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Post by Shotrow »

[mention]Caesar73[/mention] ,[mention]trainer[/mention], and [mention]RopeBunny[/mention] - Thank you. I'm really glad that you're all still reading and enjoying this tale. It's nice to know that my silly ideas are appreciated. :3

Today's update comes with another wonderful illustration by Parassaux. Here it is:

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You may recognize this scene from all the way back in Chapter 3. I really appreciate that Parassaux took the time to get so many of the details right. Check out the rest of their work.

After careful consideration, I've decided to start tagging people when I post a chapter. Let me know if you want your name removed from this list: [mention]Ovi1[/mention] [mention]Beaumains[/mention] [mention]Helena14[/mention] [mention]RopeBunny[/mention] [mention]Mineira1986[/mention] [mention]trainer[/mention] [mention]GreyLord[/mention]

And now our feature presentation.

Chapter 13


Singing Laura's blood ran cold as soon as she heard the familiar voice. Pretty Polly chuckled at the sight of the petrified girl.

"So, you're still here?" the imprisoned pet thief whispered, "Did you even try to save her? I thought you two were friends."

"Shut up!" hissed Singing Laura. "Please… they'll hear you," she pleaded softly, her eyes darting towards the Summer Campers in the square.

Pretty Polly smiled, clearly enjoying the smaller girl's terror. "You have a lot of nerve trying to tell me what to do now… but I guess we have bigger problems now."

Singing Laura sidled up to the window. "How do we stop them? We have to save that girl…"

"We don't have to do anything," Pretty Polly retorted, "I couldn't care less what happens to the town or that brat. But if you want my help, you'll have to make it worth my time and get me out of here."

Singing Laura took a deep breath. "What are you going to do?"

"Look, no one can hold a town like this for very long. It's just a matter of time before someone gets a posse together to drive them out. I can make that happen quicker. I know which ranches are closest and have the most people."

Singing Laura considered this for a moment. "Why would they believe you after you tried to steal from them?"

"They might not, at first. But almost all of those girls in the square have friends who are wondering where they are. They'll realize that mine is the most likely explanation," Pretty Polly explained. She leaned forward with her hand on the bars. "Look, you don't have a choice. Either we work together or I give you away right now."

Singing Laura scooted backward from the window. "Fine, you have a deal. What do I need to do?"

Pretty Polly smiled. "Well, the first thing we'll need is a distraction."

Singing Laura frowned. "A distraction? Like what?"

"You see that wagon over there? By the leader." Singing Laura squinted and could barely make out a cage cart crowded with animals she didn't recognize. "That's where they're keeping the pets they plundered. All of them are valuable, and a lot of them are dangerous. If someone shot the lock off, there would be a stampede. Total chaos. "

"There's no way I can hit that from all the way back here," Singing Laura answered skeptically.

"You won't have to," Pretty Polly answered. Then, suddenly, before Singing Laura could stop her, she was shouting and banging the bars of her cell with a tin cup. "HEY! OVER HERE! YOU'VE GOT A SPY IN THE ALLEY HERE!"

"There. All you have to do is walk out with your hands up…" explained Pretty Polly. Singing Laura gave her a look of horror and sat frozen with uncertainty. "What are you waiting for? Go!"

The closest of the Summer Campers rolled her eyes. "Please. We're not falling for that again."

"NO! IT'S REAL THIS TIME, SHE'S RIGHT…"

Cloudy Edith pointed to one of the brownskirts. "Go in and shut her up, will you? The rest of you, with me. We need to get some barricades up if we're going to hold this place."

The brownskirt girl nodded and drew her revolver, walking briskly into the Sheriff's Office as the rest of the Summer Campers dispersed into the nearby buildings to raid them for furniture and lumber to build their defenses. Slowly, Singing Laura began to see her chance. She had a good view of the cell door from where she was lying. The nervous girl drew her own revolver and took careful aim. She would only get one chance at this; if the Summer Camper's heard one gunshot, they'd assume it was the brownskirt's. A full-on gunfight would be harder to mistake.

Singing Laura held her breath as she heard the jangle of a ring of keys. Soon the girl was at the cell door, holding the keys in one hand and her revolver in the other. "Equal lights, equal sights," Singing Laura repeated to herself silently. She lined up her shot just out of the girl's view, and the moment the cell door clicked open, she squeezed the trigger. Her frog charm exploded against the girl's forehead, and she fell limply on the stone floor.

"Nice shot!" Pretty Polly whispered excitedly, "Give me your rope. Hurry, before she wakes up."

Singing Laura hesitated, then tossed her coiled brown lasso through the bars.

"Ok, meet me at Little Jane's place," she said and immediately began to bind the unconscious girl to the bars of her cell. She pried the ring of keys free from the girl's hand and rattled them outside her now open cell door. "Look alive, girls. We're getting out of here," she whispered to the other incarcerated girls.

Singing Laura didn't hesitate. After ensuring that the rest of the Summer Campers were focused on their task of building defenses, she scrambled back up the alleyway and crept from cover to cover until she was convinced she was out of danger and ran to the cantina.

---

"Just… explain one thing to me," Singing Laura asked, trying to hide her anxiousness. She had spent the last several minutes pacing the cantina floor, waiting for Pretty Polly to show up. "How did you know they wouldn't have just stunned me as soon as they saw me, tied me up, and sent me to the log mill with the other girl?"

"I had no idea," the cocky pet thief answered, "But… if they caught you, maybe they would have let me go out of gratitude. Probably not, but either way, you would have gotten stunned, tied up, and periled. So, you see, it was kind of a win-win from my perspective."

Singing Laura glared at her silently.

"Don't be like that. It worked out for everyone. We were going to use the dynamite Honest Juanita has had stashed in her cell, but now she gets to keep it. That stuff's valuable, you know. And now instead of me owing her, she owes me."

Singing Laura pouted and huffed. "Does that mean you're going to keep your end of the deal, at least?"

"I think I already have. Some of the prisoners I freed were from nearby. They'll get the word out. Those bandits should be gone in a few hours."

"Hours?! What about that girl…?"

Pretty Polly stared at her for a moment, then shrugged. "Probably already dead. It's not THAT big of a deal… it's just a game."

Singing Laura fumed. Her frustrations over the past few days seemed to boil to the surface. "They told me this was our time to do what we want. But ever since I got here, all I've been able to do is sit by and watch people do crummy things to people around me," she said. "It's only my third day and I've seen people robbed, kidnapped, imprisoned, and now killed. And I couldn't do anything about it because I'm just a new player."

Pretty Polly listened in silence as Singing Laura continued. "But then I got you and the other prisoners out. I didn't know what was going on at the time, but I finally feel like I did something right. I want to do it again. This is supposed to be our chance to be who we want to be. Well, I'm tired of being scared and helpless. But I need you. I don't know the game like you do."

To Singing Laura's surprise, something in her words seemed to get through to Pretty Polly. The pet thief looked off into the distance. "Ok," she answered softly, "I'm in. I'll show you where the saw mill is. We can at least try."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Don't expect me to risk my life, but… you're right. People like the Summer Campers… well, they treat the rest of us like we're nothing. No reason we should make it easy for them."
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Post by Ovi1 »

Thanks for the tag. It was another nice chapter. Though with how long it took for me to remember where the story was, I hope you'll agree that there are more enough storylines to keep a nice balance.
I believe you would be a lot more comfortable in ropes
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Post by Shotrow »

Ovi1 wrote: 1 year ago Thanks for the tag. It was another nice chapter. Though with how long it took for me to remember where the story was, I hope you'll agree that there are more enough storylines to keep a nice balance.
Sorry, I'm not sure what you mean. Enough storylines where? Balance between what?
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Post by Mineira1986 »

Nice chapters!

Sweet Becky is not for some easy and comfy days at Fort Mallow. Not sure what else does Lady Maybelle has in store for her, but I'm pretty sure it will be more personal, since the crimes she committed were directly related to her sons. Until she does... good to see some of Sweet Becky's old acquaintances having some fun.

On the other storyline, Singing Laura's get more and more interesting. It was a nice thing to see her applying her just-learned shooting skills. Also, it was believable as she had complete advantage and unawareness from her target. (Shooting and releasing all the dangerous pets would have been over escalated and not that believable).

To see Pretty Polly may be dangerous to her, as she may try to steal something again later. But at this moment, Singing Laura requires an ally. Maybe after this quest, she will make a name for herself? No longer the rookie girl in town.
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Post by Caesar73 »

You really have a knack for inventing names [mention]Shotrow[/mention], one of the things I like about your story. This chapter focussed not on Sweet Becky, it will be interesting to see, if her fellow captives will help her. Either way she is not in for an easy time. Overall this is one of the most creative stories on this board! Keep it going!
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Post by Beaumains »

Nice part! It is really convincing how you write Laura's emotions (and how easily it is to manipulate her).

This story is only getting better and better. The fact multiple people are willing to illustrate it speaks for its quality.
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Post by Shotrow »

[mention]Mineira1986[/mention] - Thanks! It means a lot to me how much support you've given me publicly and privately. I'm so glad you're still invested in this plot.

[mention]Caesar73[/mention] - Hehe, I don't know what it is, but somehow "<adjective> <name> <object>" names just sound western. And it's easy enough to justify it since one of the games that inspired Happy Trails does have "mad libs" naming. Though, I do think I might have pulled it off better than them. =P

Thanks for your comment!

[mention]Beaumains[/mention] - Thanks! I'm super-grateful to the artists that have taken up that task. To be fair, I paid Parassaux for their work, but they did give a very nice endorsement after reading the story at my urging. They've been really great to work with. Mineira, on the other hand, did it out of awesomeness. :3

I'm actually in talks a couple more artists that I'm a fan of about commissions. We'll see how that goes.
Last edited by Shotrow 1 year ago, edited 1 time in total.
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Caesar73
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Post by Caesar73 »

Shotrow wrote: 1 year ago
@Caesar73 - Hehe, I don't know it is, but somehow "<adjective> <name> <object>" names just sound western. And it's easy enough to justify it since one of the games that inspired Happy Trails does have "mad libs" naming. Though, I do think I might have pulled it off better than them. =P

Thanks for your comment!

You did a really good job! And I am looking forward to the further endeavours of Sweet Becky and Company!
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Post by Shotrow »

Despite being gagged and occasionally pestered to learn more of the code language, working in the pastures was actually kind of relaxing for Sweet Becky. It made her feel like she was back at Clever Anne's ranch. She worked at a brisk pace, knowing that every shovel full of dirt and debris she loaded into the carts was reducing her sentence just a bit.

The code turned out to be simpler than Sweet Becky had expected. It was just a slight modification of a spelling system that was part of the sign language used by Polaris' hearing or speaking impaired population, mixed in with some of the vocabulary from the introductory course. Sweet Becky had earned a level 10 AISPA reward token for memorizing it several years prior. It was a popular course because of how rewarding it was for its difficulty. However, she was pretty rusty after all this time. It didn't take long for her to more-or-less remember the gestures, but there was no way she could keep up with the pace of the silent conversations going on around her.

The first two girls who approached her drifted away before too long. At first, Sweet Becky was relieved to be alone with her thoughts for a bit. But it was hard to do that over the sound of the three guards chattering about the wolves that had just been sold to the fort and wondering if they could be trained to take down escaping prisoners.

Suddenly, Sweet Becky felt a tap on her lower back. She turned around to see the now familiar face of Fancy Delilah. The little girl's hands were bound in the same way as Sweet Becky's were, and she wore a smaller version of the bridle gag that all the other prisoners wore. She signed something repeatedly.

Sweet Becky concentrated and searched her memory. The sign meant "talk," but it was also a greeting. The introductory vocabulary was full of words with more than one meaning to give learners the means to communicate in a variety of situations. Sweet Becky signed back: Talk.
With that, the two of them began to work side-by-side, communicating. Sweet Becky struggled to keep up with the conversation and frequently needed to ask Fancy Delilah to repeat herself many times. The child was patient, however, and gently corrected Sweet Becky whenever she made a mistake. Sweet Becky was impressed by how proficient she was in the language. Despite that, Fancy Delilah was happy to have someone to talk to. Sweet Becky guessed that most of the other girls didn't have the patience to converse with such a young child.

Fancy Delilah pointed at Sweet Becky. You. She pointed at the ground beneath her feet. That wasn't a sign that Sweet Becky knew, but she guessed it meant Here. She glanced over her shoulder and continued. Of What. Why are you here? Sweet Becky interpreted.

Sweet Becky wasn't sure how to explain the complicated story in gestures, especially not to such a young child. She thought for a moment before spelling out L-O-V-E.
Fancy Delilah giggled behind her gag. Me same.

It was not the response that Sweet Becky expected from the young child. Of what? She signed curiously.

The child signed back. B-A-N-G.

She loves shooting? Sweet Becky reasoned, She shot someone? It made sense. Little kids often got caught up in the excitement of having a weapon in the game and didn't really think about the consequences of shooting anyone they came across. But they were usually stopped before they could get into too much trouble. This girl seemed way too at home in prison to only be serving an assault sentence.

"Hey! Get away from her!" came the voice of Happy Georgia.

Fancy Delilah gave a startled yelp into her gag. "Mmph!" She immediately began to back away from Happy Georgia, but she was no match for the older girl's longer stride.

"I don't want you playing with the big girls, ok? They'll teach you bad stuff," Happy Georgia said. Fancy Delilah looked furious as Happy Georgia gave her a pat on the head. "You go work over there for a little while," she ordered, pointing to another part of the field.

Fancy Delilah gave Sweet Becky a pained look as if silently pleading for help. Then, reluctantly, she trudged toward another corner of the field, disappearing behind the ruined foundation of what used to be a wooden shed or barn.

Sweet Becky returned to her task, considerably annoyed at the interruption of the most friendly interaction she'd had since arriving at Fort Mallow. The dejected girl looked around for someone else to try to talk to, but the other girls avoided her at this point. It wasn't hard to see why. Happy Georgia was keeping an eye on her after her talk with Fancy Delilah.

"Umph! Umph!" came an excited cry from the corner where Fancy Delilah was working. The building blocked the girl from Happy Georgia's view, but Sweet Becky could see her from where she was working. Sweet Becky's stomach dropped when she saw the huge charm shooter in the little girl's hands. A flintlock musket. Not a popular form factor, especially with younger players, because of its single shot capacity and long reload time. This disadvantage was balanced by its power and effectiveness at long range, but it took a pretty skilled shooter to use it effectively.

"Del, sweetie?" called Happy Georgia, "I hope you're being a good girl. You'd better not try to take my keys from me again." She held up the key she had used to lock the bridles on the prisoners to demonstrate.

Sweet Becky could immediately tell from her tone that this was an act. "NNNGH!" she cried in panic. She racked her brain to remember how to tell the girl to stop. How did you sign N again? Never mind, there was no time. O-S-T-O

It was too late. The little girl was already lining up her shot. The boom of the musket shattered the peaceful ambiance of the pasture, and all heads turned in Fancy Delilah's direction as she fired. To Sweet Becky's surprise, the elongated alabaster spheroid that burst from the barrel of the musket hit its target with perfect precision as Happy Georgia tumbled from her horse. Clearly, the girl knew what she was doing when it came to guns.
T-A-K-E, she signed, pointing to Happy Georgia. Clearly, she wanted Sweet Becky to grab the key. Sweet Becky emphatically shook her head no. The last thing she needed was to increase her bounty at the fort further with an escape attempt. Furiously, the little girl ran towards the splayed body of the prison guard. But, before she could get close, one of the other guards appeared seemingly out of nowhere and scooped up the little girl, holding her struggling and kicking form tightly until Happy Georgia recovered.

"Looks like someone's ready for another 'special' timeout," Happy Georgia gloated with a smile. She picked up the musket from where Fancy Delilah had dropped it as she was grabbed. "Guess we'll have to find a new hiding spot for this. You're just too good at finding it."

Sweet Becky and the other prisoners watched in horror as Happy Georgia carried off Fancy Delilah back in the direction of the fort. "Back to work!" snapped one of the other guards.

Sweet Becky felt sick the rest of the time she was out on the pasture. She learned from the other prisoners that this had been happening for a while. No matter how much the older girls tried to warn her, she kept trying to escape at every opportunity, increasing her sentence each time. And the guards kept giving her opportunities, for seemingly no other reason than that Happy Georgia liked having her around. The girl was clever for her age and was some kind of shooting prodigy, but she was naive. She still wore a decoy key they once left out for her to steal around her neck under her costume as if it could open anything.

Sweet Becky tried to channel her unease into her work, but it was hard to stay motivated by the prospect of reducing her sentence when getting out could mean leaving that girl behind.

Eventually, the two remaining guards started rounding up the prisoners to corral them back into their cells. There was a general groan of discontent from those hoping to work off more of their sentences, but Sweet Becky was grateful for the chance to sit down and think for a moment. She marched sullenly with the other prisoners in a single line joined together with rope back to the fort and down to the cells, at which point they were separated and herded back into their individual cells. There was no sign of Fancy Delilah yet.

Sweet Becky squeezed against the corner of her cell, where she could just see down the hall well enough to make out the other prisoners signing with their hands through the bars of their cells. It was still mostly noise to Sweet Becky, but she tried to follow it as well as she could, hoping that an escape plan was in the works.

Sweet Becky felt excited for the first time since arriving in the prison. Finally, she had something to think about other than her own misery. She was still determined to serve her sentence in full and be done with the place once and for all, but if at some point along the way she could find a way to help the little girl escape, it would all be worth it.
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Post by Shotrow »

Little trivia here: The vocabulary of the sign language used in this chapter is inspired by the toki pona conlang.

Also, tagging everyone didn't really seem to make that much difference, so I think what I'll do is is save it for significant milestone chapters in the future.
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Post by GreyLord »

Is Sweet Becky up to saving Fancy Delilah? Nice new character, [mention]Shotrow[/mention]. It will be interesting to read how you handle this.
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