Tales From the Low Roads, Chapter 21 (*/F, full body; ?/F, feet).

[Low_Roads]

Ah, you're so very kind to say so! My warmest thanks, Jesso! I'm most pleased that you're enjoying my attempt at epic storytelling... I grew up on the classic lays ("Beowulf", "The Song of Roland", "Le Morte de Arthur", "The Illiad", Greek and Norse legends, etc.) and love to try my hand at replicating that tone of gravitas and grandeur! If I've succeeded even by a fraction, I'll be happy!

 

[Cbarton]

Ah, now I am finally caught up in your excellent saga. I have truly enjoyed the last two chapters. Great tickling, esp. in the Mercy vs. the Foxes section in addition to great story telling in this chapter as we see the true source of Persephone's hatred of the bogeys! Will be fun to see how well they do when/if they begin to work together, even if from different angles!

 

[Low_Roads]

Great to hear from you, Hawk! I know you always keep yourself extra-busy… this time of year has to be the worst for non-fetish responsibilities and distractions! Glad you got to read these latest chapters; grateful thanks for your generous compliments! Mercy really was biting off more than she could chew when she decided to tangle with the irrepressible Fox Sisters! She never gets to have that kind of randy fun in the Low Roads… and Sephie, of course, doesn't even try, mentally/socially screwed-up as she's managed to become. Seeing how far these two are able to cooperate will indeed be a primary focus in their upcoming adventures; at least Mercy now has some basis for understanding why Sephie's been such an inflexible hard-case all these years. Now, if she can only learn to bend a little (one of them's going to have to)…

Once again, thanks so much for reading and responding!

 

[Tom Tickle]

Sorry I haven't following for a while.

More excellent writing and incredibly vivid art from you, LBH. I liked Angie's predicament as she rode on Fiona's back. Reminds me of another sweet blonde in amongst the tickling feathers, although given Lucy's brazen horniness when confronted with ticklish arousal, Fiona would probably want to free herself after a while.

I like the way dreamspace is evolving into something more, like a grand central station of all spaces, and possibly all times. It was nice to see those tentacled bogeys again. Babs would relish another encounter with Sid one day.

Superb stuff.

 

[Low_Roads]

Sorry I haven't following for a while.

Not at all, Kitch! This is a demanding story and I mean for it to be taken at the reader's convenience! Please indulge whenever you're able to find free time, a commodity few of us have in abundance these days! I myself scarcely have the leisure to make good on my own creative responsibilities, much less to do justice to the myriad submissions of my fine fellow contributors! Well, I'm thoroughly pleased that you've had a chance to catch up! Your good opinion is deeply valued, my friend!

More excellent writing and incredibly vivid art from you, LBH. I liked Angie's predicament as she rode on Fiona's back. Reminds me of another sweet blonde in amongst the tickling feathers, although given Lucy's brazen horniness when confronted with ticklish arousal, Fiona would probably want to free herself after a while.

Thank you very much for the rich compliments! You're quite right too, regarding Angie's parallel avian adventure… her tyro status made her decidedly less confident amidst the grand plumage than your trio of lovely vixens eventually became! It should be recognized, of course, that their respective purposes varied rather sharply… for the bodacious Fox's, lounging amidst that feather luxury became an aim within itself (self-discovery through pleasurable trial), while for Angie it was only an ancillary benefit of travel. As a Voluptuary, she may eventually become relaxed enough to likewise succumb to overwhelming stimulation. However, her wake-walking responsibilities will keep her far too busy for the nonce.

I like the way dreamspace is evolving into something more, like a grand central station of all spaces, and possibly all times.

I'm most pleased you perceive it that way… it's been my intention that Dreamtime should be seen as common ground for any mortals with soul enough to make the trip, as well as for buttinsky ethereals (bogeys alone are excluded, and they freely give up that right). This allows much latitude to greet characters, common clay or divine, from virtually anyplace. It was the ideal venue through which to introduce your charming ladies into the story; it also provided them with a colorful playground for frolicking!

It was nice to see those tentacled bogeys again. Babs would relish another encounter with Sid one day.

Believe me, rotten ol' Sid yearns hungrily for delectable Babs, too! Though he's faded slightly into the Low Roads' background (functioning now as a shadowy, nebulous menace to everybody), I do plan that he should pop up often enough to keep his memory fresh until he reenters the plot proper. He has plenty of work to do yet; I also really enjoy crafting dialogue for him!

Superb stuff.

You're most kind! Though circumstances have slowed my production schedule down radically, I never intend to let a lack of enthusiasm grind it to a halt; I'll always need barter for the yummy Fox thrills you so ably provide!

 

[Tom Tickle]

Thanks LBH.

You're one of the reasons I use this site so often. It is a good place for civilised talk about things that we may have difficulty discussing with others, especially fantasies, which I never really discuss with my real-life friends (anymore). I can discuss tickling in an adult and positive way, and explore writing and art that expresses that with people such as yourself. It finally gives breathing space for characters that i'd largely kept to myself for a good decade. It's only here that I feel confident they'd be appreciated, although they did appear on another site that has since closed down.

Although a number of friends have enjoyed the way I draw women, they seemed embarrassed for me when i've offered up a risque piece of tickling art. I'm so glad that there are so many here with an appetite for it, and surprised by the amount of people from the UK. We've never really 'done' tickling. We're bad enough with sex, let alone anything that could be called a fetish or 'kinky'.

Anyway, you have proven a capable steward of the Fox Sisters in your saga, so if there is ever a point where you'd want to reuse them, then please do. I very much enjoy all of the dialogue you write for the characters, even if Sid is perhaps my favourite (for numerous reasons). I don't know a lot about James Joyce, but the sentence, 'three quarks for muster mark!' seems redolent of your own dialogue, which I think is a wonderful otherworldly yet folksy turn of phrase.
I also like a few of the Swiftian creatures that pop up now and again. it's a really fantastic and rich universe you've created.

 

[Low_Roads]

It's much the same with most of us, I think… even in sunny Ca., it'd be darned awkward trying to maintain a face-to-face fetish discussion the way we do so effortlessly here! The discovery of the Community (the general fetish Community, not the TTC specifically), back in 2004, has opened me up considerably. I'd never have felt driven to create targeted tickle-related entertainments without the sort of support you refer to, not for strictly private edification; such effort would forever have remained nebulous, restricted to my fantasy musings.

I'd love to be able to cosy up with one or more of your lovely Fox sweethearts a second time! Now that they've been established in the Low Roads dream world, an in-the-flesh visit might be a logical next step! Babs might be willing to make the trip for dispassionate scientific purposes, prepared to hunt down Sid as a rare, exotic specimen! I can see plenty of potential in that!

"Three quarks for Muster Mark"… cool! I hadn't ever read that before and really like its common-man lyrical quality (I've never read "Finnegans Wake" or any other James Joyce that I can recall. My cultural literacy, outside of certain narrow parameters, is pretty abominable and my reading habits only grow worse with time). It's terribly flattering that you'd compare any aspect of my writing to that of literary icons like Joyce or Swift! My most grateful thanks! Need I relate how much I likewise admire your skill at crafting the delightfully saucy stories you spin so winningly?… filled with lovelies whose lack of inhibition compliments their myriad jiggly gifts in such a joyfully playful fashion? Most definitely, yes! I'll continue to do so at ever available opportunity!

 

[Tom Tickle]

I'd never have felt driven to create targeted tickle-related entertainments without the sort of support you refer to, not for strictly private edification; such effort would forever have remained nebulous, restricted to my fantasy musings.

Alas, I had only one friend who vaguely shared my appreiation of tickling hotties, but I don't really correspond as often as i'd like, now that he lives abroad. There have been Fox sisters comics since 1998, but they were going nowhere. this forum has been a real boost to my creativity and confidence.

Babs might be willing to make the trip for dispassionate scientific purposes, prepared to hunt down Sid as a rare, exotic specimen! I can see plenty of potential in that!

I don't think the venture would be as 'dispassionate' as Babs would let us think! She has a thing for all things tentacled and slippery.

"Three quarks for Muster Mark"… cool! I hadn't ever read that before and really like its common-man lyrical quality (I've never read "Finnegans Wake" or any other James Joyce that I can recall. My cultural literacy, outside of certain narrow parameters, is pretty abominable and my reading habits only grow worse with time). It's terribly flattering that you'd compare any aspect of my writing to that of literary icons like Joyce or Swift! My most grateful thanks!

I've not read Joyce either but I know the line appears in his work, principally because the name for quarks was taken from it by Murray Gell-man when he discovered them, and there are always three. it struck me as similar in tone to your own work. As for my own Literary habits, i'm not a fan of fiction, even the classics. I generally go for non-fiction.

Need I relate how much I likewise admire your skill at crafting the delightfully saucy stories you spin so winningly?… filled with lovelies whose lack of inhibition compliments their myriad jiggly gifts in such a joyfully playful fashion? Most definitely, yes! I'll continue to do so at ever available opportunity!

If only. In truth, the Fox sisters were, for the large part, just attractive dolls built from my ideas of perfect women and didn't get personalities until about five years ago, and it was a gradual process of accumulating attractive but different traits that might help them behave as individuals, rather than three bimbos who can only be told apart by the colour of their suits. I would also never want them described as 'feisty', which is always used by an actress when she has to describe the sci-fi/comic character she's playing in a press junket. I've always read feisty as 'full of attitude, confrontational, a right old bitch'.

Barbara is reserved (in non tk situations), perhaps aloof, yet sensitive; Nina isn't very sensitive, has a dry sense of humour and is brazen about her appetites, and Lucy is playful, extrovert, compassionate (she was flippant with people as a teen but has grown up) and sometimes a little kooky. She is, in the story arc, the most popular sister, if perhaps somewhat credulous, as you've pointed out since. The older two are more wary, but not impolite (usually) whereas Lu gives people the benefit of the doubt a little too often.

I think they are uninhibited when such delights as tickle-sex are upon them, and each has a different take on that, but in their day to day existence, despite their dress sense, they can be somewhat difficult for plain ordinary guys to get to grips with, Barbara being the most fickle, while Lucy is fairly unfussy for a girl of her pulchritude and has a bit of a thing for 'geeks' (more maternal than sexual perhaps, if not flat-out sympathy), although the geek will always finish second place behind the guitarist. Let's be a little realistic! The strength of a fantasy is ultimately based on its believabilty.

Sorry to witter on, but I know you like Lucy, and those are some character-defining traits that i've worked out for her and her sisters. I think her singing ability (she wins the lead in the Prickly Hills play because of it) would heighten the sexiness of her being tickled. That is something not conveyable in a comic but if I could animate these stories to a level of competence, then the voices of the three girls would be of paramount importance. To have three distinct gifted female voice artists provide the giggles to the big eyes, sexy smiles and healthy chests would be tickling heaven, and make me a rich man. Plus, live action would forver place a real person's face into the fantasy, which detracts from the broad appeal. My idea of actresses t play the girls may ruin the visions of others. It just wouldn't work.

In the meantime, I shall continue the endeavour of portaying 'jiggly gifts' (mind if i nab that?)as long as i'm able. Thanks for the compliments friend.

 

[Low_Roads]

My apologies for this really late reply! Work has worn me to a bare nubbin this past couple of weeks.

I don't think the venture would be as 'dispassionate' as Babs would let us think! She has a thing for all things tentacled and slippery.

Babs is proving to be a bit of a tease, wailing "No no!" when she means "Yes yes!" No penalty would fit better than to subject her to more of the same (she certain seems to be heading that way in "Waterbabes"! I'll have to see what more I can do, too!)

As for my own Literary habits, i'm not a fan of fiction, even the classics. I generally go for non-fiction.

I've read a goodly number of histories, war-related mostly. Technical or instructional stuff, on the other hand, generally leaves me pretty cold; it never takes long for my eyes to start glazing over!

My grounding in the classics is only fair; anything possessing a fantastic element achieved priority status, but most I know only by reputation. And my comic eats up so much of my free time, I read almost nothing non-internet related anymore.

In truth, the Fox sisters were, for the large part, just attractive dolls built from my ideas of perfect women and didn't get personalities until about five years ago, and it was a gradual process of accumulating attractive but different traits that might help them behave as individuals, rather than three bimbos who can only be told apart by the colour of their suits…

Well, that actually sounds like a naturalistic, organic way to build characters; anything conceived full-blown would more than likely possess a number of annoyingly artificial, quick-fix traits. No classic personas I can think of wound up the way they began… it requires a longish maturation process to shape away ungainly defects. The best approach is to make sure they appear in lots of pages and in a variety of situations.

…Lucy is playful, extrovert, compassionate (she was flippant with people as a teen but has grown up) and sometimes a little kooky. She is, in the story arc, the most popular sister, if perhaps somewhat credulous, as you've pointed out since…

…while Lucy is fairly unfussy for a girl of her pulchritude and has a bit of a thing for 'geeks' (more maternal than sexual perhaps, if not flat-out sympathy), although the geek will always finish second place behind the guitarist. Let's be a little realistic! The strength of a fantasy is ultimately based on its believability...

…I think her singing ability (she wins the lead in the Prickly Hills play because of it) would heighten the sexiness of her being tickled…

A thing for geeks, eh? Then I'm in with a chance! (though I better learn the guitar quick, or I'm truly screwed!) Lucy's openness and lack of guile, coupled with her bright-eyed enthusiasm, are the traits I find most attractive in her! She strikes me as a girl who'd be all too willing to please and experiment, while not terribly driven to harp about an unsuccessful attempt (that maternal quality at work!)

Yes… I can easily see (and hear) why crystal soprano tones would bolster her already lofty desirability! This lovely is just an all-around joy!

That is something not conveyable in a comic but if I could animate these stories to a level of competence, then the voices of the three girls would be of paramount importance. To have three distinct gifted female voice artists provide the giggles to the big eyes, sexy smiles and healthy chests would be tickling heaven, and make me a rich man. Plus, live action would forver place a real person's face into the fantasy, which detracts from the broad appeal. My idea of actresses t play the girls may ruin the visions of others. It just wouldn't work.

The big advantage of comic format is that the reader gets to fill in all the non-visual detail for himself (just as the big appeal of radio comes in letting the listener construct all the visuals). I'd be very wary about any non-graphic representation of my girls… such an attempt would tack them down far too specifically, eliminating that audience participation. That, I think, is why these character survive different artists' interpretations so well… the viewer's individual contribution remains intact, insuring that the personas remain familiar.

 

[Tom Tickle]

My apologies for this really late reply! Work has worn me to a bare nubbin this past couple of weeks.

No worries. I understand totally.

Babs is proving to be a bit of a tease, wailing "No no!" when she means "Yes yes!" No penalty would fit better than to subject her to more of the same (she certain seems to be heading that way in "Waterbabes"! I'll have to see what more I can do, too!)

Babs certainly is a bit of tease; slow to accomodate tickling attempts but pretty unstoppable once she gets going. There are a few sketches for an idea involving Sid i'll scan and send to you at some point. Now that you've introduced the doorway idea, I have a potential crossover in mind.

A thing for geeks, eh? Then I'm in with a chance! (though I better learn the guitar quick, or I'm truly screwed!) Lucy's openness and lack of guile, coupled with her bright-eyed enthusiasm, are the traits I find most attractive in her! She strikes me as a girl who'd be all too willing to please and experiment, while not terribly driven to harp about an unsuccessful attempt (that maternal quality at work!)

The geek fetish is one of those silly things that make her a bit of a fantasy girl. It isn't taken to a ridiculous point like in some hollywood teen comedies, so the guys in a band will always have a better chance. Babs favours intelligent men, but only because she is smart herself, and finds the man-child aspect (online gaming, figurines of superheroes) of many geeks a little tedious (you can see why some see her as aloof), and refuses to indulge them, while Lucy probably likes mothering them and spoiling them. There is a writing project that i'm completing concurrent to the Waterbabes comic that may round out her character (in a psychological sense) a little more. It's another round of interviews (I just find the format interesting from a character development POV) with each girl and Dr Featherfinger about different topics and preferences.

I like deconstructing my characters' personalities once in a while.

Yes… I can easily see (and hear) why crystal soprano tones would bolster her already lofty desirability! This lovely is just an all-around joy!

The big advantage of comic format is that the reader gets to fill in all the non-visual detail for himself (just as the big appeal of radio comes in letting the listener construct all the visuals). I'd be very wary about any non-graphic representation of my girls… such an attempt would tack them down far too specifically, eliminating that audience participation. That, I think, is why these character survive different artists' interpretations so well… the viewer's individual contribution remains intact, insuring that the personas remain familiar.

Well, I'm probably a bit more controlling in my vision, for good or ill, so i'd go a little further than comics and stamp voices to the girls' personas in an anime, but no further. Graphically, the girls are fine as they are, and I'd only want them animated in a traditional 2-D cell animation style, just so it looks like the comic in motion and with voice tracks, sound FX and a bit of a soundtrack... I'm thinking something similar to Alan Silvestri's eighties stuff or Harold Faltermeyer :lol
I don't think it would ever happen, but it's fun to speculate.