You expect Cowboys to feature in a collection of gay fantasies at some point, but this is not the old Wild West, but modern ranch farming. Two fit young men are being forced to run on bare feet, towed on a chain by a ranch hand who is riding a horse. The captive's limbs are completely unrestrained but they have no choice but to follow him.
I have posted two other, similar scenarios to this recently in A New life of Air Force Boys and A New Life for Sam, but they depicted fully-restrained men, there's a more subtle control at work here. It makes for a lively image in which domination seems a normal state of affairs.
The two captives wear matching shorts which seem something like a uniform, perhaps indicating a former military link or it may simply be the dress-code for the Ranch they are joining. It's not clear how these men were recruited for Canyon Ranch nor what their role is to be when they get there. There's less call for labour in cattle spreads but these two seem to be regarded as being more like livestock.
Illustration for 'Canyon Ranch'
(story not by Amalaric and not presently available as far as I know)
The same status applies to this man (another magnificent specimen of manhood from Amalaric). The barn seems an entirely fitting setting in which to experience his animal aura. The chains show respect for his physical strength which will be put to good use and developed further by working on the farm. Well satisfied with his latest acquisition from the Stock Auction, the farmer discusses arrangements for using him with his Foreman. He talks about putting him before the plough*, his obvious suitability for breeding and availability for occasional, private entertainments, behaving as though the subject himself is not present, not able to hear and understand what they are saying.
In a sense this scene mirrors own Amalaric's own occupation of finding suitable 'stock' and putting them to work in the settings of his stories and images. I imagine he feels a similar pride in significant new acquisitions. You may recognise the character on the far right from the last image of Part 4, where he was deliberating on the future of Pete Deveraux (lately a PE Coach). The reappearance of anonymous characters in different stories gradually develops mysterious but dimly-recognisable identities for them. Identities that add depth to the images and help create an underlying sense of unity across Amalaric's work.
Image from 'Hairy Buck' at Telemachus
'Rodeo Round-Up' whimsically expands on this notion of humans being substitutes for animals in the context of the annual Auction and Rodeo of a rural community. This image depicts cowboys rounding up 'Free Range' livestock for the event. It's not explained just how free, Free Range men are. Whether, for example, this chap was 'previously-owned' but put out to pasture or completely 'wild' but just happened to be passing by at a bad time.
Humans, unlike animals, know that Farmers have certain expectations of their livestock involving procedures such as milking, shearing and others less pleasant to contemplate, like branding and gelding. The term 'husbandry' acquires rich new meanings in this context with the ever-present threat of more drastic solutions for beasts that don't deliver. I suspect this frightened colt is aware of some of those possibilities, the restraint arrangement here suggests something's in the offing and it might be whatever is spooking him just off-camera. He's blissfully unaware of a more mundane interest just behind.
You may recognise the Ranch hand here, it's quite a well-known image, pure beefcake . In the original, the downcast eyes suggest modesty or a manly indifference to the prying camera. He's a man whose acquaintance you might be glad to make in other circumstances. It's amazing how thrusting another man into his eyeline transforms him from that regular cowboy into a lustful cow-poke. Or perhaps he's just wondering where to apply the branding iron.
The Stock Auction is the opening event of the Rodeo and is preceded by the opportunity to examine the creatures on offer. The artist shows the viewing taking place in a vast, historic, timber building which seems to infuse the proceedings with a sense of great tradition and cultural importance. The variety of men on offer ranges from stallions and bulls to sheep and lambs and all of them will be wondering 'who will buy me and what for?' Work? Breeding? Or merely as pets or playthings?
That teasing penis inspection on the left might be the casual interest of a farmer hoping to impress his neighbours, perhaps of a professional breeder or a provider of intimate personal services, or is he just a groper and gawker willing to pay the admission fee for the thrill of a brief touch? In fact, the narrative informs us that the well-dressed man on the left is an undercover MOSLA operative who is preparing to pay a hefty premium to secure such a fine bull. His overseas clients will pay him a fortune for the chance to harness this beast's sexual potency to their exotic tastes.
“The big bull submitted to the stroking and fondling, completely unaware of his probable fate”.
Some owners are better than others and their scrutiny may give a clue to that, but ultimately these men have no say in the matter. They'll all find out soon enough when they reach their new home. That reality seems to have suddenly hit the man in the distant background as the Auction Assistant summons him to stand on the block. This is a domain where ownership is a commonplace, casual affair and must be accepted by those who are subjected to it.
The erection and direct intimate contact shown here is quite a rarity in Amalaric's imagery. He's usually content to simply imply sexual contact, even in his writings. Of course, this particular situation does have the contextual veneer of professional respectability. Later in the narrative we learn that both the 'Bucking Broncos' and 'Bareback Bull Riding' events end in sexual intimacies (for the successful cowboys anyway).
You should recognise a familiar figure in the centre, starting to seem distinctly sinister now.
Amalaric's description of the Rodeo encompasses a wide range of competitions and demonstrations. Shearing the lambs is one of the most imaginative and difficult to perform, since the lambs must be caught and stripped of their clothing before their modest amounts of hair can be shaved off. Although their hands are tied behind their back from the start, they are encouraged to resist and the sight of the shears ensures that they do. It's all against the clock and the weight of the 'fleece' counts too, so a comprehensive clearance, even between the legs and under arms is essential - and hugely entertaining for the crowd. The nice sense of struggle in this image is heightened by the crazy angles.
Having had time to imagine what their rounding-up may lead to, it's probably a relief for this group of men to discover that they are only needed as demonstration material on this occasion, providing a vehicle for the cowboys to show off their rope skills. Like the lambs, it's expected that they will try to evade capture and resist. The captives assembled here show signs of continuing anxiety, perhaps worrying whether that dog is a trained, herding animal or an uncontrolled scavenger.
The stunning background landscape lends the scene an atmosphere of wholesome outdoor sport.
Images from Rodeo Round-Up at Gay Bondage Fiction
(subscription site with some free chapters)
407 Stud Hunting
Amalaric expands on the Round-Up theme in 'Stud Hunt Safari' at Telemachus. The title pretty much describes the plot with 20 desirable young captives being given a chance to earn their freedom by evading a hunting party on a remote island for the duration of 'The Hunt'– i.e. 5 days.
A recent movie 'The Hunt' was based on a similar idea except that those hunters aimed to kill their quarry. Amalaric's original is much less blood-thirsty (and all-male of course!). Knock-out darts are the only ammunition in his yarn and any stud who gets caught simply becomes the hunter's property, an equally dystopian outcome I suppose, but rather more interesting erotically.
In the image above, the youthful beauty of the hunted is contrasted with their unappealing, grizzled pursuers. The man making a run for it (whose twin we saw before at the top of this post) is almost certain to be brought down and will probably come round to find himself securely roped and bound for a new life with a new owner.
This hunter drops his catch off at the packing shed to arrange shipment home, but he lingers long enough to test how the man deals with a bit of training and to set his expectations off on the right foot. Offering men as competition prizes instead of using a conventional sales process adds the thrill of the chase to the buying experience. Of course it will tend to cut out the weaker members of the herd first, unless the hunters are very discriminating. The best of the bunch may get away altogether. Perhaps there's an option of tossing a catch back into the pool if the hunter's dissatisfied, but I can't imagine this hunk getting that lucky.
The hunt for and forcible acquisition of desirable manflesh is a major strand in Amalaric's work and these whimsical pieces fantasise a world where hunks are forced to accept that fate, they are fair game for abduction and ownership by those who have money and power. There's some sort of quasi-legal underpinning for it all which means they can't file a complaint if they are set free, they must just thank their lucky stars and enjoy their good fortune.
'Stud Hunting Safari' is at Telemachus
'Hunting Jarheads' is also a story about cutting out members of 'the herd', but these are members of the general population and have no idea they are being hunted. It's the story of a single rogue hunter, a loner who illegally stalks individual prize specimens for his personal gratification.
The hunter, Ric is the narrator of the story. He is much attracted to Marines or jarheads as they are known. Their fitness, attitude and ability to defend themselves adds up to an enticing hunting challenge, requiring great guile and cunning. His patient stalking process is best set out in the story of 'John', one of four innocents who succumb to him. Ric first spots John with some friends on a beach and cultivates his friendship over a period of weeks by preying on his jarhead weaknesses – his vanity, cocky self-confidence and his youthful inexperience and loneliness.
This is an early story but you wouldn't have guessed that from the skilful description of Ric winning the unsuspecting stud's confidence and gradually luring him into his web. He eventually makes his decisive move after an evening's drinking has further softened John's defensive reflexes. A little flattery of his physique persuades John to half undress, he even allows Ric undo his jeans for him, eloquently demonstrating his trust in their friendship, but also his vanity and inebriation. This image shows the resulting Tee-Lift (Undress Stage 3 in Part 4 in combination with the Fly Spread, Stage 7).
A pair of handcuffs have been casually left on the table to give John food for thought and now prompt Ric to tease him about his ability to endure punishment, knowing it's a matter of honour for a Marine. He tricks John into spilling beer on the settee and challenges him to a role-play punishment so he can make amends and prove how tough he really is. John's pride is piqued and he agrees and is gradually manoeuvred into the handcuffs. Ric repeatedly makes sure he is willing to go on and manages to make him kneel and admit (in role-play) that he deserves the punishment that is coming. After that John freely offers himself up, mounting a bench dressed only in his briefs to initiate a stunning punishment scene that boils with testosterone.
"His long body glistened with nervous sweat, muscle strained in high relief as he balanced on hands and knees. His long, smooth back arched suggestively, high ass thrust outward fit to burst the stretched cotton of his briefs, thick hairy legs slightly splayed and head bowed between massive shoulder blades…waiting for his just deserts”. (Hunting Jarheads Chap 7)
Ric's punishment of John is as neatly structured as his ensnarement and a concise narrative conveys it's intensity and John's manly endurance of it, straining against the bondage but intent on demonstrating that he's a Marine and he can take it. He even reaffirms his consent halfway through and in the end, after 40 minutes, Ric actually has to force him to utter the safe word so he can stop.
Only then does John ruefully acknowledge:-
“Damn, you lay the leather on like an expert, man…” and tried to smile.(Chap 8)
After this, John naturally expects to be released so they can go back to their beers. His honour and toughness have been proven and (apparently) he holds no grudges, validating Ric's choice of him. That's not Ric's plan of course, he refuses to release him and within hours he's smuggled him over the border into Mexico where he undergoes much more restraint and 'training' including a day spread-eagled and teased under the desert sun.
In these images Ric is nicely characterised as an attractive fit man, but he's always fully-dressed, standing back, watching. The punishments are largely delivered from a distance with whips, prods etc but nevertheless his intensely physical attraction to John is very evident. There are moments of intimacy but he repeatedly postpones all but the most teasing of sexual contacts. Both men go unsatisfied during several days of intimate manoeuvrers.
John's torments are interrupted by his Marine buddy, Tommy, who arrives just as John's been wired up for his first taste of electro-stimulation. Tommy is only making enquiries about where John might have disappeared to and doesn't suspect Ric of being involved. Consequently he is easily taken down at gunpoint, to be imprisoned in an outbuilding and given a 'light' introduction to the cat. This image featuring heavy sweat and moist underwear seems to elegantly capture this sudden and astonishing reversal of his fortunes.
In this tale, John and Tommy's story is interwoven with that of an earlier target of Ric's, Timmy. He was a body-builder, who was spooked at the crucial 'undress' stage by Ric's clumsy mishandling of him. He fought back and in the end could only secured at the point of a gun. This messy outcome caused Ric to refine his technique and John becomes a primary beneficiary of that. All three men's storylines break off abruptly after the initial punishments, leaving them tied up (and in John's case wired up) anticipating more unpleasantness to come. You sense the author is reluctant to let any of them go, but can't resist returning to the thrill of the chase, for another 'hit'.
But Ric's 4th acquisition turns out rather differently.
413 Rob Corlis
Rob Corlis is another Jarhead whom Ric befriends and eventually lures to a (different), remote, desert hideaway on the simple pretence of them spending a long, relaxing, boys weekend together watching football etc. On the journey Ric drops hints that the facilities are basic, but when Rob discovers he's expected to sleep in a barn, he changes his mind and wants to go back.
Ric then confronts him with photos of his indiscretions with the Commanding Officer's wife. He tells him that the CO has offered him a private, punishment arrangement to avoid the embarrassment of a full military tribunal and dismissal from the service. Rob has little choice but to agree. You may recall Ryan and Todd were persuaded by similar arguments (in Part 4).
Ric tells Rob he has to perform a military-style 'work detail' as his penance and makes him strip down to under-briefs to perform it. This humiliation has just the right amount of logic in it to allow Rob to accept it. As his reluctant undress into captivity begins, he provides us with a rather nice, vertical variation on the Stage 3, Tee Raise, i.e. The Open Shirt (plus a simultaneous, Stage 7, Fly Spread).
414 Rob's First Taste of the WhipRob spends the rest of the day working in the hot sun, demolishing walls and shifting blocks under the encouragement of Ric's riding crop. After that, he reckons he's paid his dues but instead he gets his first taste of shackles and, after a period of reflection on his errors, an introduction to the whip (witness the pink-tinged skin in this picture). You will observe it is delivered in the traditional X-spread position. He sleeps naked in the barn that night and wakes to another cycle of work and punishment.
415 Rob's Hard Labour
After the first day Ric is so pleased with Rob that he decides he's going to 'keep' him and attempt to domesticate him, indeed there's even a slight suggestion that his interest is returned. He offers to uncuff Rob so he can piss properly and Rob replies:
“Yeah.... and then…...maybe we can do some stuff......but I gotta get back to the base”
or is this just the gameplay of a man desperate to escape?
Amalaric describes Rob's captivity in much more detail than any of the other men, it mostly comprises of more 'creative', exhausting, but fairly pointless, work tasks that nevertheless attract penalties if not carried out correctly. The punishments vary from standing shackled to a post for hours on end to the more immediately painful options we are familiar with. The uncertainty attached to when they might be incurred just adds to Rob's torment of course.
This punishment by hard labour resembles what happens to Dave in 24 hours. It creates a more realistic story than an endless regime of corporal punishment (although Dave soon ends up in that position). In fact Ric tells us later that he doesn't need to whip Rob every day(!)
Such is Ric's enthusiasm for Rob, that his narrative delves into their shared, domestic routine, including hygeine, R&R and supervised sexual relief. The illustration above shows Rob's continuing humiliation in the most private of tasks and Ric's unflagging interest in looking at him and enjoying his body (and why not?).
With Rob and John, Ric seems to cultivate a genuine, intimate relationship as though hoping that their Marine's ability to endure punishment will become a willingness to accept it on a regular basis. But he doesn't want submission of course - spunky resistance and escape attempts are part of the game (and to be punished of course) but in the end he rejects Rob after he almost succeeds in getting away. Their bromance ends with a cursory disposal, which has the appearance of petulance.
From 'Hunting Jarheads' at Gay Bondage Fiction
(subscription site with some free chapters)
Full publication of this story is on-going.
~
The common theme of 'The Hunt' in these stories produces some unexpectedly compassionate attitudes to the targeted studs. In both 'Rodeo Round-Up' and 'Stud Hunting Safari', the men are compelled to participate in contests of man vs beast, but these are more athletic than painful in the main and there's an element of 'fair-play' in their treatment with evasion and resistance encouraged in the interests of entertainment. Some of them even have a chance to earn their freedom if they come through their trials with honour and they seem to accept their situation with equanimity.
'Hunting Jarheads' is different. The targets are free men with no idea they are being hunted, but in this case too the hunter goes out of his way to be 'fair' to them, as though it's a game. He deliberately selects Marines, who are trained to endure pain better than ordinary men and indeed he has to force John to say the 'safe word' when he judges he's had enough, having already given him several chances to back out of their agreement. He 'goes easy' on Timmy and Tommy for their introductory punishments and chooses not to whip Rob every day during his captivity. He also shows awareness about the danger of condemning Rob and John to roast under the desert sun, coating them with protective oil (which does no harm to the view of course). In contrast he seems to quickly lose interest in Timmy and Tommy, as though the need to take them down at gunpoint had spoiled the game with them (although that may change, their stories are unfinished at this point in time).
This common element of rough games and fair-play gives these stories a light-hearted feel despite the grim underlying captivity.
This vision of suffering and abandonment in the desert is a far cry from all that.
The sun sets after a blazing hot day leaving the wasteland shimmering and a muscular prisoner sweating astride a sloping bench. His sunburned body is being subjected to a grizzled cowboy's cruel whip and he raises his eyes imploringly to heaven as though seeking solace and escape. In the distance another cowboy arrives, semi-clad and exuding sexuality. He's casually strolling as though not wishing to rush this man's punishment, willing to wait to play his own part in the proceedings.
This image has an immediate visual beauty and there's an abundance of erotic sensuality in that hunky, oily body, but it also feels like a more significant statement. The desolate setting is thought-provoking in itself and the line of perspective that connects the three figures recedes into hazy nothingness in the far distance as though there's nothing left in the world for this man save pain and relentless punishment.
~
We continue with that theme in the next Part of this Series “Cruel Justice”