Contact with the Enemy (NSFW) [MGE] - LGBT Themes - Complete

[The_Letter_K]

Contact with the Enemy​

This story is already complete. Expect regular updates.
CW: Explicit sex throughout​

The standoff between my dead best friend and my loyal robo-maid was something that had been brewing for a while, I was beginning to think. Beepatrice, my constant companion, an Automaton, and my loyal Deputy, had her guns trained on the newly risen Lich, but Sally looked unimpressed. Flowers swayed in the breeze, swirling through the open field, the nearest trees, the nearest cover, too far to reach. Returning to town was even further out of the question.

"Oh please," she said, and though she was far away, I could still hear her fine, and see her roll her eyes at Beeps' weaponry, "What exactly do you think that those will accomplish?"

"Safety," Beepatrice replied, standing firmly between me and my oldest friend.

"Why… Why did you do this to yourself?" I asked, more than a little confused and afraid. Liches were powerful monsters, even freshly risen, so far as I knew. And Sally had been dead… or missing, I guess, for a while, who knew what heights she'd reached already? That she had yet to rush me or cast a spell was a good sign, though. Probably. It could be her long-held feelings for me were holding her back from an outright attack. It could be she just wanted me to be afraid when she took me by force. Hard to say.

"Because, you ludicrous fool, I could not catch your attention as I was with that thing by your side. In every arena, she effortlessly surpassed me. When I first tried to bake you brownies, my initial attempts were only passable, and I toiled for weeks before I presented you the best of the batches." I remembered that, though not the weeks of failed attempts. She presented them to me as though she'd made them on a whim. If she'd really put that much effort into them, then… "And not one day later, your tin toy had superior pastries on your table. She even made certain that I ate some, to literally taste the depths of my failures."

That wasn't true, it was my idea to offer some of those brownies to her, to repay her kindness from the previous day. Does she really think Beepatrice somehow orchestrated that? She hardly speaks! It was my idea. ...Right?

"And it didn't stop there," she continued, her usual flat tone rising in volume, even if it didn't change too much, "I made you warm socks, she knitted a flawless sweater. I brought you interesting and beautiful flowers, she planted you a garden. I worked all year in secret for the talent show, to sing you that love song," Crap, that song was meant for me? I knew she had feelings, but wasn't it a little racy? "And she swept the contest with her one woman band act! Where she even got those instruments I shall never know!"

"Um, actually, she worked with Caleb, you know, the blacksmith? She forged them herself. So…" I trailed off, as my friend of nineteen years began to actually growl, her eyes glowing. At twenty-six, I'd known her for a long time, but the glowing eyes were new, for sure. Maybe I shouldn't have clarified?

"Of course she did! Why wouldn't she have?" she laughed, a little unsteadily. She sounded, well, almost as frightening as she looked, "If you had told me she had beseeched the Chief God and the vile things descended to her from the heavens I wouldn't have been surprised!" Definitely shouldn't have clarified.

...Laying it all out like that, though, it did seem a little much to assume Beepatrice was entirely innocent in the matter. I looked out across the open field at my friend, God, please let her still be my friend, and asked my next question.

"Okay, I guess I can see that," Beepatrice looked back at me for a moment, in that instant Sally crossed fifteen feet, and Beepatrice snapped her head back toward Sally, firing a warning shot, "But why is this the solution?"

"It is not, it is merely step one," Sally replied, dodging the halfhearted mana bullet, and still sounding slightly agitated somehow, with her flat tone, but not needing to shout at this distance, "I accept that I will never be rid of this… Nuisance. We will simply have to share you."

"Don't I get a say in this?" I asked quickly, as I noticed Beepatrice's gun arm waver a fraction. Sally grinned widely, too widely. Her teeth were sharpened. I wasn't the only one who had seen it, then.

"It looks like you may have just been outvoted, my dear. But yes, there will be choices ahead of you, I assure you that you will not be my puppet." That did sound… somewhat promising, but I couldn't bring myself to relax even a fraction. Sally was always… aggressive. I'd honestly expected she would show up at my door one day in her wedding dress, tapping her foot impatiently as she held out a suit she'd hand-sewn for me in secret. I hadn't expected her to die. I definitely hadn't expected this. "Your first option is the one I honestly prefer, though I suspect you will disagree."

"Speak." Beepatrice said, and my eyes widened in alarm.

"Beeps… Are you… really turning on me?" I asked, suddenly aware that the protection from Mamono I'd enjoyed since before I could remember might be slipping through my fingers. I had no idea how to function without her. I'd end up pinned under some random monster in days, if not hours. I was so completely reliant on her, to call her my right hand was truthfully an understatement.

She turned to look at me again, lowering her gun arm completely. My heart sank. She walked up to me, and grabbed my hand, lifting it to her nose. That made me smile, a little.

"Beep," we said, at the same time, as my finger touched her artificial flesh. That was how she'd gotten her name, from that simple game I'd played with her since I was a child, based off the noise she'd made when she'd imprinted on me all those years ago. It had long since come to mean something else to the both of us, though I suspected the depth of that meaning had been lost on me until today.

Sally continued, "The first option is that I slay you, and raise you again as a Skeleton." Beepatrice move as fast as I'd ever seen her, this time leveling both of her guns at the Lich, at my friend. "Now, now, hear me out, Beepatrice." The woman I thought of as very nearly a part of myself did not relax, but neither did she open fire.

"A Skeleton?!" I asked, and without even a hint of panic. I was very brave. "But.. but… don't they all come back as... girls?" The places my mind goes to. She just threatened me with murder, albeit a temporary one, and that's how I chose to respond?

"An apt assessment, Lyle. My desire for your ejaculate is immense, true, but it is ultimately secondary to my need to have you at my side forever." Uh… what. What!? "Put simply, though I am now Mamono by choice, semen is frankly replaceable. Interchangeable. With the powers I have gained, I can effortlessly make any man into my research subject, it makes little difference to me whom it is. Though, if this is the route you choose, you will of course impregnate me first. I will have your children, Lyle." Steam shot out of the seams of Beepatrice's body, but she showed no other reaction. "And naturally, Beepatrice, you too will get your fill, though I do not believe reproduction functions that way for Automata." The steam increased tenfold, and good grief, how did I not notice this? I think I might really be as much a fool as Sally had said. Beeps' feelings were something I'd… somehow never considered. She seemed so… sexless, so emotionless. I knew there was real depth there, I'd seen hints of it over the years… but damn.

Sally continued at a mutter, almost to herself, "In fact, if done in a timely fashion, after his death, it might be trivial to remove and reanimate the useful pieces of his sexual organs separately… It would lack spirit energy, true, but there's something to be said for avoiding waste." Holy shit.

"Please do not cut off my dick and make it into your zombie sex toy." My voice cracked, as I said the words anyone in my situation would have. She shook herself out of her tangent, and she smirked at me.

"It's not as though you've put it to any use, despite our combined efforts, and as a Skeleton, it would be further wasted. They are, as you astutely observed, uniformly female. Keeping it for later would allow the three of us as many of your children as we desired, even if it lacked the energy required to sustain us." What the hell happened to the girl I knew in such a short time? Was she seriously implying she was intending to impregnate me with my own dick? That was just… beyond the pale.

"While I have been away," she continued on, heedless of, or perhaps enjoying, my obvious turmoil, disgust, and disbelief, "I have proved it is possible to bind a dying soul of a man to his flesh, just before it passes on, and after it has released most of its mana, to raise his bones as a Skeleton, and though painstaking work, combine the two together to create a formerly male Zombie. Indistinguishable from a regular Zombie in every way."

"What the fuck." She actually giggled at me.

"This is not even the shallow end, my dear. You, in your limited understanding, are merely dipping your toes into the oceans of possibility my research can help us achieve! True, even at their best, Zombies are not much more self-aware than a Skeleton at its worst, but while you are in that state, as a Lich, I can guide you! In a few years, perhaps even less, I will have raised you into a Wight, and we can rule over legions together!" She turned to Beepatrice, "And you my dear, will be integral to this ploy. I have no head for matters of state, and neither does our dear Lyle, but with you there to cover his faults, to serve as his chancellor, his scribe, his head maid, I am confident we can reach eternity together, even if our dear Lyle must become female, and indeed, as all Skeletons do, believe he has always been female, to achieve that goal. In such a situation, he, or rather, she, would always need you. For. Ever." Beepatrice let her arms drop.

"You said there were other options!" I yelped, backing away slightly from even Beepatrice, normally my safe haven.

The flowers in the field swayed more violently in the wind as Sally walked towards me, now falling into step side by side with my sweet little Beeps.

"Indeed, one option more. Your second option is to take a Bicorn as your first wife, build yourself a small harem, and to live out your human lifespan as a male, enjoying yourself until your inevitable demise, at which point…" she trailed off, gesturing to me to finish the thought.

"…At which point we move to option one, just on a delay?"

"Just so. Though, as you will almost certainly become an Incubus through the process, you should note that you would be adding to your life-span significantly with this choice. Decades. But not indefinitely. Whether by accident, by battle, or by my own impatience, you will fall eventually, and I will not brook you eternal departure from my life."

"Not to put any ideas in your head, but couldn't you just… choose me as your research assistant? Why go to all this trouble?" I was still backing away, but it was a formality. Even if by divine intervention I could somehow outrun them, there was nowhere to run to. We were miles from town. I was meant to be grieving. Stalling was my only play.

"Because I still remember what it means to value you as a person, Lyle. My research assistant, when I get that position," she licked her lips, "Mmm... filled, will be tending to my body endlessly, or else be under my knife receiving gifts, improvements and experiments. I will allow no argument on the matter," She gestured at me, "But... I fell in love with you for your mind, your personality, such as it is, anyway." Hey now. Rude. "Something that would go to waste as my insatiable urge for semen and the pleasures I'd inflict upon you slowly, perhaps over years, ground away at all your interests until there was nothing left to you but an inoffensive, obedient, and convenient food source that I liked to cuddle with occasionally. A hamburger in a suit." Wait, does that mean you occasionally cuddle with hamburgers? No, no, Lyle, focus.

"Contrarily, as an undead Mamono yourself, you too would be focused on intercourse with your own… husband, though I likely could be convinced to share mine with you... and you and I would certainly lay with each other on multiple, even frequent, occasions, but our ability to interact as we have always done would not be nearly so hampered by our lusts. We would hunger for each other's company, not merely each other's bodies. Put another way, Lyle, I will kill you simply because I do not wish to lose you."

That might actually be the sweetest sentiment anyone has ever expressed to me, even if the delivery packaging it's in is horrifying. 'She loves me for my mind, not my body', that's the kind of thing we all want to believe of our partners, but in a world like this, does something like that even happen? Sally… has always preferred women… was she ever physically attracted to me? Or was she just putting up with my body…? Does she see this as her opportunity for a perfect, if horrifying, romance?

"If you stubbornly insist on delaying your undeath, a harem including your Automaton and myself is your best chance at retaining your mind and self as you live through this life, Lyle. With her mindless devotion to you, her wishes would change you not at all, and with enough enforced breaks in our lovemaking, I would not lose track of myself and my goals and, as we Mamono are prone to say, defang you. We would simply need to choose the other participants with care. A Bicorn will naturally drag us all into depravity, though you could stand to be a bit more relaxed in that regard. We must only select the others to counteract this, somewhat. Or at least to avoid exacerbating it." She pulled out a list, and sat on the ground, patting the place beside her as she always did, beckoning me to read what she'd prepared.

Without other options, I sat. I needed to play it cool for now, play along, keep her calm. Beeps sat down on my other side, and with a careful motion, laid her hand on my knee. She immediately began venting steam again, and removed her hand. I smiled despite myself. It was a little cute.

"First," Sally began, "a Holstaurus. The common bovine Beastman. Even tempered, gentle, and devoted, they aren't even too needy in regards to intercourse, and the milk they produce is a bonus that should not be overlooked. I am given to understand men are attracted to their large mammaries. What say you, Beepatrice?"

"Tits." Her expression did not change an inch as she uttered the first lewd word I'd ever heard from her. I choked on my own spit.

"Just so." Sally said, checking the box next to the species name. "No insects, I refuse to consider it. Most of the reptile species are too possessive, or corruptive with their venoms… and... I will not have you subsumed into the Sabbath on my watch. I have no interest in them, myself, and once joined, they are notoriously difficult to leave. Worse, their members are near uniformly persistent evangelists. That is not something I wish to deal with throughout eternity." I blinked again. She's so calmly classifying and dismissing entire categories of monsters in her pursuit of perfect, eternal brides... and she informs me so casually. Is the girl I knew truly gone?

Well… no, not gone, exactly. She's more verbose, more morose, but not by much in either case. Much more direct, and open about her desires, and the desire to raise me to undeath is probably, hopefully, completely new, but… It's pretty obviously still Sally. Her personality has always been… uh, distinct. If it weren't true, or if it were less certain, this would be much less frightening. I could have had Beeps tear her apart with clear conscience at the first opportunity. Beeps and I would have to have had a long talk, but we could have gotten through it.

But it was her, I couldn't hide from that. That I had to either take this nonsense seriously or be party to the killing of my best friend, watch her die again, it was that which made this so excruciating.

"How do you feel about slimes?"

"Huh? What?"

"Lyle, honestly, we are discussing your future, here. Take this seriously."

"Right, sorry. You're just… so different. But, also the same? It's throwing me off, Sally."

She smiled bright and wide, and with almost none of the menace on her face all the previous times.

"You called me 'Sally'." She said, sounding touched, and there was even a tear in her eye. Dead people cried? ...Is being surprised by that rude? "I was so worried you would turn on me, think me naught but a monster, and report me to the Order for extermination. Thank you for believing in me, Lyle. …Though I admit I am considering changing my name."

"Oh?"

"Sally Franks is not really the name for a terrifying master of undeath, is it?" She elbowed me lightly, as she sometimes would when she was feeling playful. Her posture had straightened, filled with self-confidence, as she declared herself 'terrifying'.

"You could make it scary," I said, half serious, "I have faith in you."

"Thank you, my love, but Queen Sally of Necropolis shall not be my legacy, I think. I was considering... 'Faust von Frankenstein'. What say you?" I very carefully did not laugh at her hilariously edgy self-chosen name. Not that I had much room to talk. I had named Beeps, after all.

"It's your name, you know? If that's what you want, then I'll make the effort." I also carefully avoided mentioning that she'd called me 'her love'. We needed to avoid escalating until I'd escaped, or we'd gotten things settled, otherwise she'd just wind up killing me 'for my own protection', and by the time I came back to myself, years would have passed, and I'd believe that I'd actually always been a woman and that semen was really honestly very tasty. I suppressed a shudder. "So. Slimes? Why slimes?"

Her eyes lit up. "The question, perhaps, should be 'why not slimes?' In general, they are ludicrously useful and notoriously simple and unopinionated. So long as you keep her fed, the drift on your personality, and thus on all our personalities, should be minimal. Personally, I recommend a Shoggoth. The eldritch maid. The devotion a Shoggoth feels for her master rivals that of an Automaton, though fundamentally she desires to be used, more than to be useful, a subtle distinction that should allow them both to coexist happily, after boundaries are set. Beepatrice wants to bring you your food as you sit at the table, the Shoggoth wants to be your table. And your clothes, and your bed, and so on. Dreadfully useful creatures, even amongst slimes, the things I could do with one… I mean, the things you could do with one…"

"You've really thought this through."

"Indeed. Even death cannot keep you from my grasp, my darling, but your happiness is paramount. The Shoggoth would likely follow you after your ascension to undeath, as well. They feed off of dirt and grime as much as human semen. You can simply pump a few extra loads into your clothing as you're getting your fill, once that happy day comes." Um. Gross. Every time I think I've got a handle on this, you bring up the semen.

"Can we not talk about me getting stuffed by some random dude in the far off future, please, Sally? Um, I mean, Faust?"

"Whatever you desire." She shook her head as though I were just some silly kid saying foolish things. We're the same age! And I don't like men! "So a yes, regarding the Shoggoth?"

"Sure, if we can find one, I guess."

"When the time comes, your earnest desire for her service should be all that is required on that front."

Beepatrice leaned in, her gaze as empty as ever. Once she was sure I was looking into her eyes, she said loudly and firmly, "Seniority."

I was a little bit nervous, not going to lie. I'd never had her staring me down like this before. "Right you are, Beeps. You're still my Deputy, no matter what." She nodded, apparently satisfied I still knew who was in charge around here. But wasn't that supposed to be me?

"That leaves one, by the standard of what the average Bicorn can support. We can safely disregard plants, I think, and aquatic types. Neither are worth the bother that focusing our lives around their ecosystems would require. Their useful byproducts can be bought or traded for, if necessary. That leaves birds and Succubi."

I gulped, I had a feeling I knew where this was going.

"And yet, bird type monsters are mainly prized for their flight, which any succubus worth talking about can do and more besides. And, as a bonus, a Succubus will be invaluable to my research." Woman, between this, the thing with the slime, and your opinions on Holstaurus milk, I have to wonder, is this meant to be my harem or is it secretly yours?

...Oh heavens, that's what this is, isn't it? I'm the bait for building her her own fantasy harem. And once it's done and everyone is settled in, she's going to kill me, replace me with some random dick, reanimate me, and have me join her in her 'Paradise'. Oh my Chief God Sally, I know you prefer women, but… fuck, just get a hobby or something, and a secret mistress, like a normal girl. I'd have understood.

"Okay," I said, with iron in my voice, "but I get to pick the Succubus."

"Hmm?" She said, pretending to be politely confused.

"We'll host interviews, and I'll pick." To keep you from getting some domineering weirdo. I'm the one who'll have to deal with her.

Her eyes narrowed, but she acquiesced. "Very well. I will leave it to you. Beepatrice?"

"Cock."

.
.
.

"Excuse me?" Faust and I said as one, both outraged, but for different reasons.

Beepatrice got right up into Faust's face, and repeated herself. Louder. "Cock."

She paused for a moment, "Now." She added, in case we were confused.

"Wait why are you asking her?!" "You think you can take his virginity from me, you aluminum whore?!"

"Take it from you?' I yelped, standing up, "It's mine! That's why it's called my virginity!"

They both turned and glared at me. Well, Faust glared, Beepatrice just looked at me, expressionless as always, but I got it from context. I sat back down, grumbling. "You just wait until neither of you can break me in half with an errant sneeze," I muttered, "then we'll see who's in charge around here."

Beepatrice patted me on the head without looking away from Faust, whom she was now staring at intensely. I tried not to feel good about it, about her touch, her open affection, but I failed. Probably due to all the demonic energy pouring out of Faust. Yes, that's it. She's a high rank undead. I would ordinarily never act so shamefully. For certain. I definitely normally would never enjoy having my head pat.

...Whether by unspoken agreement, some unseen threat, or just her memories of Beepatrice pasteing Mamono who didn't get the message that she wasn't to be fucked with, Faust backed down, and she, too, began grumbling. "Uppity vibrator thinks she's tougher than me? I'll show her, yes, just a few more months, a bit more study and I'll be ready. Oh yes. So very very ready."

Of course, if she really thought she could take Beepatrice in such a short timeframe, why bother with this at all? She could have just swooped in, took her out, and had her way with me, no negotiating required. Huh. To deter such a high-level monster, forcing her to retreat into such an elaborate scheme, didn't that mean Beepatrice was kind of a badass? I mean, I sort of knew that already, but Lichs were not low-tier monsters. Not by a long shot.

Faust stalked away, fists clenched. As she left, she shouted back our way, "You two remain here, I shall go collect and violate our Unicorn! Create that Bicorn that we require! You know," she pointed at Beepatrice, "something actually helpful and cooperative!"

Beepatrice merely shrugged, and turned back to me. As Faust moved further and further out of sight, my breathing became more and more heavy. We needed to move, now, if we were going to slip Faust's grip… but I knew what was coming next, what it was that Beeps wanted most… And… this clearing smelled so nice... Perhaps... there was time? It wasn't as though I hated the idea, I… I...

Beepatrice, my longtime companion, was a whip thin metallic woman, only a hair under six feet in height, and so slightly taller than me. She was partially covered in panels colored like lightly tanned pale flesh, with several areas missing, exposing brass-like gears and purple lights, and her lips and eyes shared that brass color, her eyes occasionally lighting up in the purple hue, instead. She had somewhat short, pinkish hair and a gun barrel protruding from each arm, though she could conceal them.

She came with a large metallic dress and accessories, which could attach to the 'U'-shaped gear rising from her hips, but being large and cumbersome, she rarely wore them, opting instead to wear a hand sewn maid's headdress, very subtle and small, and little else. Her chastity had always been protected by welded-on plates, and until now, I'd never bothered to wonder if they slid away, or what might be underneath...

All in all, while I was suddenly, surprisingly, painfully aware she was quite attractive, she was not necessarily what you pictured when you considered 'pleasures of the flesh'. Specifically, looking at her body with its creases, crevices, and exposed machinery, it looked… potentially uncomfortable was underselling it.

I noticed she wasn't moving.

But I was. My pants dropped before I knew what was happening. My undergarments next and suddenly I was half nude in a field with a woman I'd treasured all my life. It was so easy, like flipping a switch. My breathing kept speeding up. I was still smelling something, some kind of oil, or steam, maybe? It smelled really good. It was distracting me from everything else. More truthfully, it focused me on what mattered most at the moment.

"Hey. Beeps?"

She cocked her head to the side, she was still keeping eye contact with me, in spite of my nakedness. Did she not want this after all?

"I could use some help here, you know, if you want?"

"Help?" She repeated, as though she didn't understand, though steam was pouring out of her joints and machinery. The smell was growing more and more intense, too, so much that I was having difficulty staying standing. The steam was becoming so thick that I couldn't see the ground, or the sky, the trees, the flowers, what was going on? It was just her. She was the only thing there, floating in space, the two of us, and I finally understood. This was what we were meant for.

"Beepatrice, I need you to fuck me. Please, please, please. I need it, I don't know where I am! I don't know what's going on! But it doesn't fucking matter! I need you, I need your help! Fuck me, please!"

And as my legs finally gave out she closed the distance, she gently lowered me down… or up? She was straddling me in the most natural way, as though we'd always been touching, always been this close, and it was just that the world hadn't noticed, and now that the world was gone it couldn't keep us apart any more and things were finally shifting into alignment. We were shifting into alignment.

I was so wrong to be worried about comfort, I learned, as her synthetic, metallic flesh coasted smoothly over mine like water over glass, refracting and changing everything about what I thought I saw, what I thought I knew, with only the barest liquid touch and motion. And finally, finally I felt her as her body, her whole self, opened up to invite me in and like two gears meeting in that moment we were meant for each other and we fit together beautifully. But the gears kept spinning, and she slowly pulled away. Would she leave me?

"No, please, wait..."

And the gears kept spinning, and the next tooth fell into the groove and the fit was just as finely crafted as the first, perfectly oiled, the friction just right to rotate again, around and around, in and out, up and down. We were one machine, one purpose, and I heard something dissonant, some part of our function that was out of harmony, and I realized it was me. I was babbling, crying, but I couldn't stop, I was overwhelmed, so I reached up, led by some uncontrollable impulse, guiding her face to mine, our lips finally meeting and suddenly we were in motion even more fluidly and dynamically than before as we rolled in empty endless space, tumbling over each other, one on top and then the other.

My hands found her breasts, and it was perfection, my fingers positioned exactly where they needed to be to please her most, they joined into the rhythm of oil and gears. Her arms and legs had wrapped around my body, finding contours, grooves meant to fit them precisely and we were so close, so close to perfectly entwined, our eyes had locked into place early on, so what was missing? What still needed to fit? Our tongues, I realized. These kisses weren't yet deep enough, I needed more, I needed more of that taste, and then, once we had it, that final connection, our rhythm was set, completely locked in and it was automatic, effortless.

Then I felt it, this tremor, this sense of nearing fulfillment as our machine ground closer and closer to its intended completion. I was holding something back, something she needed, she deserved, something that belonged to her. How could I do that? How could I be so selfish? Were we not one machine? Ebb and flow, push and pull, master and servant? Which was which? What did it matter, when our connection was so strong? She needed this, and all hesitation left me, for as much as she needed to receive it, it was I who had been designed to deliver it unto her, into her. And so, as it must, it flowed between us, a purpose finally found and fulfilled. A calling finally blissfully answered, but the machine didn't stop. How could it? It was too perfectly constructed, and there was too much left to do.

Time had long since lost meaning, we were just two cogs in the only machine that mattered, coupling and parting and coupling again. It had been morning yet when we began, and somehow it was even earlier in the morning when we finally wound down. Could we really have been together for nearly a full day?

As we pulled away from each other, disassembled our perfect machine back into two separate incomplete creatures, it felt heretical to destroy something so sublime. I knew then that we would simply have to reconstruct it, and soon, and as I realized that fundamental truth I heard her softly whisper, "Mine."

I was.

.oOo.​

With the new day came new problems, ones I never thought I'd have to face. I was officially an outcast. I'd done what was forbidden, and while I could probably hide it from the people I knew for a time, it would be impossible in all but the shortest term. Even now, exhausted, thirsty, aching and dirty from rolling around on the ground, bleeding in places where rocks dug into flesh unnoticed, even with nothing left to give, I wanted to go again. It clawed at me from the inside out and it would be apparent to anyone who saw the way I looked at her.

I could send her into town in my stead, to collect my belongings, but anyone who saw her without me would wonder what had happened. The last thing I needed was for her to reply with a proud, barely smug; 'Sex' or something equally damning. Plus, separating from her now of all times would be so painful.

I'd like a few days distance between me and the people I knew before everyone figured me out and began hunting us in earnest. I don't want to see faces I know twisted in hate and disgust. Would Beeps even understand how people would react to us? She's not stupid, but unless it's related to me or an immediate threat she doesn't pay much attention. It's entirely possible she'd managed to miss the whole reason we'd never done this until now. Done… Done it… We'd…

By the time I snapped back out of the fantasies again a few minutes had passed. This was already becoming a problem and it was only one time. True, it was a very long one time, but still.

"Beeps." We were sitting on the ground, holding hands, just looking up at the clouds. "I need water, and food." She stood up, and started to walk, "But, wait," I don't want you to leave me, but I don't think I can get up. "Beeps, we can't go back into town like this. If people found out what we just finished doing, if they even guessed at it, they'd do their best to kill us. You do know that? They tolerated you before, you were useful, so was I, but we just crossed a line."

"Protect," she said, seemingly unconcerned. She didn't even bother to look at me. Hardly a response even by her standards.

"Protect me from what though? All our friends? My family? The town, the whole country? We can't stay, you understand that? Even you have limits to the numbers you can fight off on your own, and I can't do much to help. Even if I could, we can't defend forever. What about when I need to eat, or sleep? What about… what about the next time we do that?" That got her attention, she turned back to me, and my body started to heat up again, something about her attention felt so much more... More. Now that I knew how she could make me feel, how could I not react to her? She was so gorgeous. "Yes, Beeps, next time. As many 'next times' as you want. Chief God forgive me, yes, as many as you want. But I need water first, lots of water, food, time to rest, and to do that I need to be safe, and if we're both busy with 'next time', even you can't protect me then, can you?"

She thought about that for a while. "Water?"

"Did you even hear the rest of what I said, Beeps?" I sighed, bringing my hand to my face, knowing that she was probably just as caught up in what we'd done as I was at the moment, perhaps moreso, being a Mamono, "But yes, I need water. Honestly, it's a miracle I'm still talking and moving. I gave you a lot of what I had, maybe even more than all of it, somehow, and that stuff takes supplies, you understand? Supplies and time."

"Supplies." She nodded, and started walking again.

"Where are you going?" She kept walking. "What if they ask you where I am, what are you going to say?"

"Crying," she said, perfectly level, and it was a reasonable answer, the town didn't know that Sally, that is, Faust, was alive. Well, 'alive'. I was meant to be grieving her. But I knew in my heart Beeps was poking fun at me.

"Yeah yeah, very funny. Laugh it up, missy. See how long you have to wait for 'next time'." She turned around to look at me. "Uh huh, that's right, I'm the master here, and I'm taking the power back!" She was still staring, unmoving. It was amazing how her stillness could convey so much varied emotion, at least to me. Was I projecting, or had our years together simply taught me to understand her? Either way, she seemed so vulnerable, and I broke almost immediately, "Okay, I'm kidding, Beeps, but seriously, please, I need water. And soon. Please." I actually started coughing, and when she heard that, she turned around and began sprinting.

It wasn't long at all, less than five minutes, perhaps, before she was back, pulling a cart with food, water, and my few important possessions. The water was by far the most urgent thing, and I tried to stand up to go get it, but it didn't go well, I wound up face first in the dirt. I was just going to lay there for a minute and bask in my failures, but Beepatrice had other plans, she lifted me gently, bridal style, and carried me to the water barrel. She handed me a cup filled to the brim, I took it from her.

And promptly spilled it all over myself. "Beeps, I think I'm in bad shape, sweetie." She held the cup to my lips and I drank. It was the second best thing I'd ever tasted. Before yesterday, it would have easily been the best. Just plain old water, not fancy, not especially cleaned, just rainwater from a barrel. I drank, and drank, and ate, and then… "Beeps, can you lay me down in the wagon, please? We need to find Faust. She must have somewhere safe."

"Faust," she said, and off we went. It was hardly ten steps before I passed out.

.oOo.​

I woke up feeling almost completely refreshed, likely Beepatrice using her healing abilities while I slept. But I was still startlingly hungry, and I tore into the food I'd foolishly abandoned in my haste to pass out, making frankly shameful noises as I tore apart chicken, bread, and an assortment of vegetables with equal fervor. I had never before been interested in eating a tomato, let alone excited to do so, but I didn't take the time even to slice it, biting in as though it were an apple, and draining the juice and seeds from the fleshy… Okay no. I ate the tomato, that's it, that's all I was doing. How much demonic energy had I been collecting while I slept? Or was it simply possible to just be that hungry?

"My my, and I remember a time when I believed it was Mamono who were the ravenous beasts, thinking only of their next meal, with no regard for others." Faust's voice startled me, echoed oddly, and I took the time to finally notice my surroundings. "Welcome to my laboratory."

She pronounced it la-bore-a-tory, which certainly sounded fancier, but… "Faust, this is no laboratory," I put emphasis on the opposite, lazier and less fancy, pronunciation, lab-ra-tory, poking fun, "this is a cave."

And not a particularly special one. Speaking of things special to me, Sally had undergone some changes, becoming a Lich, and now I had a moment to assess them.

With her shoulder length, loosely curly grayish-black hair, featuring slightly longer spiraling pillars in the front, one on each side of her face, her icy blue eyes, with deep, dark bags beneath them, her sharp teeth, wide mouth, and elongated tongue, and her blueish pale skin, the changes Sally had undergone made her look almost shark-like.

She wore a ragged dark blue cloak, clasped with a well-cared-for plushy skull, and it completely obscured her body. She smelled, bluntly, like sex, a scent I'd grown sadly familiar with, growing up in a small house with my parents, and vaguely of an unknown sweet fruit. She was still shorter than me, though she seemed to be floating off the ground to compensate somewhat.

Her fingers were still long, and somewhat boney, but her short nails had been sharpened, while her body itself remained a little chubby, ironically for a Lich. I thought it was cute, though. If I were the sort to stare inappropriately, I knew I'd be satisfied with what I found, while not enormous, she'd always been… somewhat sizable.

"It," she said, interrupting my thoughts "is the home of a dreaded Lich, powerful master of undeath and sorcery. That makes it a laboratory." She emphasized her pronunciation further, daring me to object. I had better things to do.

"Is this place at least in a Demon Realm?" I asked, carefully.

"Oh? So quick to fall into desire? Perhaps I should have taken you as my assistant after all, if you were going to break so swiftly." She smiled and stepped closer.

"If I'm going to be tortured to death for heresy, I'd rather it be Order incursion than someone I grew up with, or bought my furniture from." The smile slid off her face.

"I will be the one to kill you, Lyle. You are not to allow the Order the chance. They would burn your body, and monsterizing only your soul may well prove to be impossible. That I can convert Skeletons to Zombies at all is a sign of my revolutionary genius. There is nothing wrong with Ghosts, but I cannot guarantee your safety if you allow your body to be destroyed."

Ah yes. That's why I'm concerned about burning alive, if I do that, how will I rise again as your monster bride? That was it exactly, well done Faust.

"I could bind your soul into a necklace, I suppose, and keep you between my breasts forever, my love, but it would not be nearly the same, though I would ensure you would be able to enjoy it. Perhaps… I could make the necklace into a possession type monster…? We could scarcely be closer, at that point."

Oh, right. Wow. She's crazy, I keep forgetting that. This just gets worse and worse. I should have had Beeps pick me up and run away, I never should have talked to her at all. It's a little late for that realization though. …But why is it the things she says stop bothering me so quickly? I know I loved her, when she was alive, but if I'd received this many sincere death threats from someone else, wouldn't I have done something already? Maybe with a rock while they were sleeping? Nevermind. No point dwelling on it. You can't kill what's already dead, and it's not like I can simply outrun her, there's nowhere to go. If I hadn't let the moment get to me with Beepatrice last night we might have been able to run to some far away town, but as it is, she's the only 'friendly' option I have.

"You are still attempting to plan your escape then?" My eyes widened. "I can see your brain speeding along behind your eyes, my dear. Metaphorically, of course. It's fascinating watching you work. Hmm… See your brain work… My research is still in its infancy, but perhaps in time I might actually be able to… Never mind." She shook her head, short, shoulder length curly hair swaying. "Don't be afraid, Lyle. I understand the fear of death. That is, truthfully, why I chose to master it. But you will not die in pain, when your time comes, my love. I will snuff you out in purest ecstasy, and only after our bodies have been properly prepared. Only after you have begged me for it, and make no mistake, you will learn that I know the best path forward for us." Her eyes started shining, as she looked up, to the left, eyes unfocused, caught in her own imagination, "I have the ideal room layout and lighting conceived as well, though it too, will take time to prepare. And death will not be the end of you. It has no hold on you. Rather, I am death, and I shall always have hold of you."

Alone in a cave with death herself. Great. "Where is Beepatrice?" She was never not by my side when I awoke. I can't remember the last time she was away.

Her expression soured. "Truly, my love? I talk to you of our destiny together, I speak of romance, and candlelight, and your first thoughts are of another woman? She nearly killed you herself yesterday, with her lack of restraint, did you realize? Dehydration was a real concern. The nature of a Monster can only push a man's body so far, so fast. In the early days, limits remain present. Your soul would have long departed before I found you, and I would have had to summon you back from the spirit world myself, rip you from the clutches of your little god. Judging by all the screaming such spirits emit, that is no pleasant journey, though I would nurse you back to health as tenderly as I could. No, my darling, this simply will not do. I had intended for the Bicorn to have you next, once we found her, so that I might sample you only at your sweetest, but I see now that is unwise. If the Iron Maiden is allowed to monopolize you long enough, the two of you might just get ideas. You must be made to realize your feelings for me immediately."

Oh crap. Damn it, Lyle, you just had to open your stupid mouth. That was incredibly insensitive, she was... um, trying to be sweet, and now she thinks she has something to prove.

Her hands and eyes began to glow with an unholy purple light, and she rose slowly off the ground, her cloak splitting open to reveal she had been naked beneath it this entire time. Several rotating circular glyphs of the same unnerving color appeared only slightly above her pale, nearly flawless skin, curving over her body and sinking in one by one, only for more to appear elsewhere. Her body shuddering with pleasure each time one disappeared, her nipples hard and her… um, well I quickly realized she was dripping. Her eyes never left mine, however, and she made none of the sounds one might have expected to hear. Even as her body below the neckline twitched in ecstasy, her face remained impassive. It struck me that there was no reason to believe she hadn't been pleasuring herself this way the entire time she'd been in this form, or at least for as long as we'd been speaking. With her cloak closed, it would have been impossible to tell. In fact, the power continued to gather in her eyes and hands as though it was intended for an entirely separate purpose.

My clothes had never been put back on, I suddenly realized with alarm, and I began to back away, falling off the cart and scrambling on the floor, before I began to float as well, my body held off the ground by that same purple light. I was dragged through the air, painstakingly slowly, my body twisted to face Faust, bare inches apart when I finally came to rest.

Come on, Lyle, think of something. Something distracting! "You still have that birthmark, eh?" No no, not that! That birthmark is in a place that your eyes shouldn't be!

She paused, one hand sliding down to touch her inner thigh, right next to… Ahem. Her deathly pale skin began flushing with a warmth now alien to it. "I… Yes. I simply… have not gotten around to removing it yet, that is all."

"Aww… don't be like that! It looks like a heart! Or a pony!" Why am I still talking about this, stop stop stop.

Her blush deepened. "Fool. It cannot be both a heart and a pony. The two are incomparable."

"I call it like I see it Faust. It also looks like a rainbow."

"Be that as it may, this," she said, changing the subject, as she gestured with her hand and one of the same glyphs running across her body appeared in it, coalescing from the purple light, "is for you. A gift. The first fruits of my research. This once, I will activate it for you, but in general, it responds to your thoughts. Specifically, it will activate when you think the words 'I love you, Faust', much as mine activate when I think of my feelings for you. It will spend the next few minutes pleasuring you, in ways you would simply not be able to accomplish on your own. If you prove responsible in handling it without devolving into a feedback loop, I will consider granting you more. You are not so lucky as to be separated from your experiences as I am. I would be surprised if you could handle more than one as you are now."

She pressed her hand into my chest and the purple light disappeared into it, and it faded from her eyes and hands as well, as she lowered to the ground. Though I was still floating, nothing else seemed to be happening. I grinned at her, more than a bit smug. Behold, Faust! I am more powerful than even your magic, see now how desirable I am? Er, I mean… see now how… uh… I got nothing.

"Of course," She said lazily, and with a small smirk on her face, "It is very difficult to hear someone say something without thinking those same words yourself, is it not?"

Oh no.

She sat down on the floor cross-legged in front of me, a short distance away, her head at approximately waist level, still looking me in the eye. She smiled sweetly and said, "I love you, Faust."

The next few minutes were an unclear mess of screams and joyful tears as my body was stimulated everywhere the glyph could reach, which proved to be everywhere it pleased, and it changed places perhaps twice a second. Places I never realized could grant sexual pleasure suddenly aflame with it, before the feeling moved to a new location, slowly fading, but never disappearing entirely. Deepest pleasure coaxed out of places I'd barely even considered as part of myself thus far in my lifetime. My left earlobe, pulsing with fire, as though someone were whispering warm, sweet, breathy promises into it. My shoulder blades, loosening from a lifetime of hard work as if by expert massage only to tingle with the fingertips of an experienced lover. The underside of the arch on my right foot, revealed to be so sensitive to the feathery pleasures layered on it that I simply missed the next two applications entirely. Each sensation amplified the last, each felt like a seasoned, studied partner I'd never met but had always known, caressing the most intimate places on my body with the experience of decades, teaching me things about myself and my body I hadn't even known that I hadn't known.

When I came back to my senses, Faust had a substantial amount of what I could only assume was my semen cupped in her hands, drinking it slowly with contented sounds, little licks bringing it into her mouth. I was happy to hang there in the air while she did, forgotten entirely for the moment, watching and recovering. And all this because she tricked me into thinking 'I love you, Faust?' My eyes widened. Wait, no-

Another few minutes passed, identical to the first in every way, but nonetheless new, fresh, and exciting, and even after I was myself again those several minutes later, I had to work to feel foolish rather than delighted about falling for such an obvious trap. It hardly even counted as a trap, I had been explicitly told how it worked, and warned of feedback loops.

"Oh my love, truly, you are so, so good to me." Faust was coaxing more of my, um, ejaculate, down her cheeks, her forehead, and into her mouth. Had she let me… cum on her face? On purpose? Was that something people did? Just cum on girl's faces? Wasn't that kind of depraved? "But perhaps that spell was dialed too highly? I reduced the number of instances from what I use on myself, true, but I neglected to adjust the intensity for human tolerances, I think. And just when I had just chided Beepatrice for something much the same. My apologies, Lyle. Allow me." She stood, placing her hand on me again, and my body bucked instantly. She grinned. With no small amount of horror, I realized her touch felt the same as the touches of the spell she'd just placed on me. Her voice, the one that had been whispering in fascinating nonsense into my ears. The feeling now was weaker by a magnitude than that of the spell, yes, but otherwise precisely the same. It was her mana, after all, that powered the spell, and that same mana flowed through her body. It made a perverse sort of sense.

She reached up and dried my mouth, where foam seemed to have collected in my earlier madness, and I couldn't help but wrap my lips around her finger, sucking on it, brushing my tongue against it, pure instinct guiding me, or rather, vividly intense muscle memory. Memory of precisely that experience with a phantom finger only moments before, one of exactly the same dimensions. Even the taste was the same, though somehow better. Her grin grew, showing off her widened mouth and sharpened teeth, and she allowed herself a small shudder.

"The spell's effects work even better when you speak the truth aloud, and better still the louder you are when you do. You will grow used to it in time, as you inch closer to becoming an Incubus, better able to function as it pleasures you. Once the delicious pleasure of repeating the truth to yourself and to the universe is no longer enough for you, come to me, only then will I take you into myself. Only then will I truly run my mana through you, rather than this passive touch, this phantom spell. I will teach you that these pleasures are nothing more than fleeting glimpses of our true connection." She walked away, swaying her hips as she did. She paused, and turned back to me, lowering me to the ground, and I laid there, not trying to move or run, embarrassed and ashamed and desperately thinking clean thoughts. "When you are finished here, we will hunt for our unicorn. I am going now to inform the Automaton of the spell I placed upon you, so it does not startle her. And also, so that the first time it triggers during an intimate moment between the two of you, she will know that while you are with her, you are thinking instead of me. I love you, Faust."

Ecstasy.

I had the creeping suspicion it was going to be a long time before I finally managed to stop thinking of the terrible truth that she had etched into me, body and soul.

Mmmm…

'I love you, Faust'

.oOo.​

The trick, I eventually found, was in how you approached it. Faust's chosen name was an integral part of the spell, but I'd known her by another name for much longer. 'I love you, Sally.' Nothing. Or rather, just my normal, natural feelings, nothing super-natural. I used some of the water to clean myself, further back in the cave, before changing into some fresh clothing from the cart. I was pretty proud of myself, honestly. Wait till I showed her I'd already beaten her trick! Hehehe, that pouty look on her face she always got whenever I beat her at any competition was so cute. Those arms crossed, under her sizable breasts as she huffed, puffing up her cheeks, it had always made me want to- Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on there, son. Let's change the subject.

I ate most of the rest of the food on the cart before heading outside, making sure to drink some water as well. We would need to find some way to make money, or I would eat us out of house and home at this rate. I found Beepatrice at the mouth of the cave, and Faust scooted in past me, muttering something about "cleaning up", and "not wasting anything." Which, ew. Sure the cave had a stone floor, not dirt, and it even looked swept, but come on, girl, have some self-respect.

Beepatrice seemed a little down, which, if she'd been sitting here all along, made some sense. I was screaming Faust's name and praises loudly, proudly, and inventively for a good hour at least before I'd had enough time between cycles to reach a solution. But I was trying not to think about that.

"Let's just both pretend you didn't hear anything coming out of that cave, for both our sakes, Beeps." And for that matter, ignore the slurping sounds echoing out of there now. Honestly, Faust, what the fuck?

She inclined her head towards me in acknowledgment, and I sat down next to her. The cave came out into a lightly wooded area. Some stones, large enough and round enough to sit on, had been dragged around a meagre fire-pit. I realized I had no idea where we were, and no clue how to get back ho- back to the village. Not that I could go back. If it meant leaving Beeps and Sally behind, I don't think I would go back, honestly.

"Beeps, I messed up." She turned to look at me from scanning the forest, her head cocked to the side. "I should have warned you, about what to expect. I nearly got us in serious trouble because I didn't explain how this all worked, and I'm sorry."

She rolled over slowly, sitting on my knees facing me. With the length of my legs running the ground, she had plenty of room to sit closer or farther away. "Innocent." She said.

"What?"

"Protector," she said, looking downwards, and to the side. Oh no, Beeps, no, don't blame yourself.

"Beeps, that's not-" "Failure."

No, no sweetie, don't do this to yourself. Come on, cheer up! I put my hand on her shoulder.

"Well, when 'next time' comes around, we'll just have to remember to set your timer, that's all." At the words 'next time', she looked up at me again, leaning forward a little. I touched her nose with my other hand. "Beeeeep."

"Beep." She replied, rolling off of me to face the forest again. I put my hand on hers, pulling it over to my lap. She started venting steam again, and-

"I love you, Faust" I heard the Lich whisper from directly next to my ear. Nothing happened, as I managed to think 'Sally' instead. "What!?" She leapt out of the cave nudging my knee with her foot, kicking lightly. "I said; I love you, 'Sally'! Why won't you ruin the mood!?"

Well, it would be impossible to ruin the mood further at this point, anyway. "Hey Beeps, did you know? Human men have their own monstrous power."

"Disbelief." Come on, Beeps, work with me.

"It's true, we have the magical power to go mysteriously deaf when a woman is saying something annoying. My father used to do it all the time to my mom before they went, remember?" I elbowed her, lightly.

"…Affirmative."

Faust gaped like a fish, spluttering, looking back and forth between us before leaping at my chest. "I don't understand, it's still in there, how did you…?" She stood up, and backed away to pace for a moment, back and forth, before, "Perhaps... a nickname? Yes... clever, probably just used my old name, in fact. Learn the rules, work the rules, own the rules. Classic Lyle."

That took me an hour and she figured it out in five seconds. I ain't even mad. God that's hot.

"Of course, you realize I simply have to update the terminology?" She asked, strutting towards me.

"Only if you want me to start thinking of you as Frankie instead. Or Sal, and so on, and so forth."

That stopped her in her tracks.

"And I thought my personality was what impressed you most, should you really be punishing me for it, then?"

Her eyes widened, pupils shrinking. "But… but… you were screaming my name… and I…" Oh wow, all those noises really got to her, huh?

"It's okay though, right? After all," I paused, for dramatic effect, "I love you, Sally." A goofy smile spread over her face and she started to blush, before shaking her head a moment, and then…

Yes! Her arms crossed, just under her breasts, she looked down and to the side, frowned a little with her cheeks puffed up, that little bounce, rocking back and forth on her feet, and finally… "Pffffffffffine," All that air released as she slumped in defeat. Gentlemen, that is peak pantomime. I win. So. Cute~.

I realized I was staring at her chest, and started blushing, I looked up, and she was blushing harder, staring right back at me. We both looked away from each other.

"So," I said, as I placed one hand behind my head, "You said something about a Unicorn?"

.oOo.​

"This is taking forever!" I cried, we'd been walking for hours at this point, and I had convinced Beeps to carry me, piggyback style. I had exerted myself enough over the past few days.

"It certainly isn't going as smoothly as I had envisioned. Are you certain you are thinking pure thoughts?" 'Not with you walking ahead of me I'm not, Faust.' True, I couldn't actually see anything through her cloak, but I hadn't forgotten she was naked beneath it, and Beepatrice spent nearly an entire day just recently alerting me to the fact she'd never worn clothes for as long as I'd known her. Still, I couldn't say something like that out loud, and besides…

"I thought you were the bait here, Faust?"

She spun around so fast I was convinced she wasn't walking, either, probably floating off the ground. To be fair, I would too. "What did you say?" Her eyes flashed dangerously, roiling purple flooding into her naturally ice blue irises.

"Virgin." Beepatrice, wait no. It's de-escalate, sweetie, de-escalate!

Faust lowered herself to the floor, specifically so she could stomp towards us. I should perhaps have been nervous, but the motions blew her cloak apart and the stomping was doing interesting things to her chest, and those circles were still flashing across her body, as she twitched and… No, Lyle, focus.

"That," she hissed, her finger in Beepatrice's face, "is not how this works."

That was news to me, but so long as she was mad at Beeps, I was flying under the radar.

"So what exactly is the plan, then? Are we just wandering around? Why do I have to think clean thoughts, if that's not how this works?"

"Because you are riding pressed against the back of my naked rival and will not have your noises scare off our prize." Oh, well now that you mention it.

"Hey, Beeps? I can walk from here. Don't wanna get fat." She knelt, and I climbed off her back fluidly. I hadn't realized it, but Faust was right. I was slowly getting back into rhythm with Beeps the longer she carried me. I wonder how long that had been proceeding without my noticing?

We kept walking for a few minutes, I let myself calm down a little, before I spoke up again. "So how do you know there's even a Unicorn in these woods, Faust? Is there some kind of Mamono mailing list or something?"

"Don't be absurd, Lyle. I have merely spoken to her before. Her name is Raspberry, and she is very sweet. You will like her." Whoa. Faust had spoken to a Unicorn before? We were kidding before, well, I was anyway, but they're pretty choosy. How did she convince one to see her? Unless…

"You mean, before? When you lived in town?" That would be insane, how could she have kept something like that secret?

"Indeed, I sought her advice on winning the purity of love from the one I desired, safely secluding him from a corruptive influence. It was she who taught me to sing, to bake, all the things I tried to catch your attentions, over the years, I learned from her. When I sought to study to become my new self, it was she who provided the resources, albeit reluctantly."

Beepatrice narrowed her eyes, slightly. Wow. She might as well be yelling. Must have seriously grated on her, having Faust trying to take me from her all those years. And to think, I never noticed.

"Raspberry?" Faust called, "It is I, young Sally Franks! Faust Von Frankenstein! As promised, I have brought unto you my lover!" Okay, lover was still a bit of a stretch. But contradicting her might scare off Raspberry, so I kept quiet.

There was silence through the forest for more than a few moments, before the sound of hooves could be heard coming from behind us. I turned to look, and was shocked by what I saw.

A beautiful woman, astride an equally astounding horse, who's midnight black coat seemed to absorb the sunlight. Or so you could be forgiven for believing, from a distance. As they closed in, it became clear the two were the same creature, for the woman had no legs, the horse, no head, their torsos meeting and joining in the middle. She was tall, easily eight feet, bigger than anyone I had ever seen, without even considering how much extra she had connecting her hind legs to the rest of her.

"Ah… Hello… Sally, you came back." She shifted her rear hips side to side as she looked at Faust, licking her lips. Two horns rose from her head like spikes. "I missed you."

"And I you. Your transformation seems complete. Congratulations," the two smiled at each other, "This is our husband, Lyle. He is yours now." Hey, what? You can't just say things like that. But… I didn't make a move, or object. I didn't want to startle Raspberry. She seemed… skittish.

"Hu… Husband?" My eyes widened a little at the sheer desire that single word contained. "Yes, I want… to… but first, mmm, a test."

"What?" Faust asked, surprised. "You didn't say anything about a test. Raspberry, what…"

"I have heard you describe him, Faust, but I must see it myself, that commitment to depravity, that lust for a harem. I must assess it with my own eyes!"

What kind of things was I going to have to get up to in this forest to satisfy her cravings for depravity? My mind was not prepared to even begin to consider what such a fallen creature might desire.

The three of us shuffled side by side, prepared for anything. Raspberry trotted up to me, taking both of my hands in hers, she lifted them high and… brought them around the shoulders of my companions? She quickly backed away and…

And..

And what?

"Are we waiting for something?" I asked, confused. But suddenly, I heard something. Something high pitched, getting lower and lower, coming into my range of hearing.

"eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" It was Raspberry, she was... screaming? "Oh, to touch two women at once so casually, truly, this is the essence of a man! Now, Lyle, tell Beepatrice she is pretty!"

Oh no. She's an idiot.

"Beeps," I said dryly, looking in her eyes, "you are pretty."

"Okay, okay," Raspberry clapped, "but now… you have to tell Faust she's pretty too! What will you do, Lyle? Your loyalties are being pulled in conflicting directions! Can you even imagine the herculean effort required to confess to another in front of one to whom you are already sworn?" She started fanning herself with her hands.

I turned to look at Faust, but she was staring at Raspberry in muted horror.

"You see? Your lascivious desires have already nearly bent poor Sally's mind in half! Are you man enough to save her?"

"Faust, you are pretty."

"Holy moly!" Raspberry screamed, near instantly, as she stomped her front hooves, "Such passions shared between more than husband and wife! I have broken free! I am a wild mare! Like Sally before me, I am Raspberry no longer! Call me… BLACKBERRY!" She galloped towards me at high speed, slowing down just in time and… damn it. Holding my hand. Waving our joined fingers in front of the other two as though she were a criminal taunting the law. "We are one! Mated! Not husband and wife, but husband and wives! Look at me now, Mom! Wooooooohoohoohoooo!" We walked in circles around the other two girls, holding our joined hands up in the air, daring angels to come down and smite us for our blasphemy.

It was just as well. She was so much taller than me, and with her, um, equipment located on the back of the horse part, I wasn't sure exactly how I was supposed to reach without a stool, anyway. Perhaps if I jumped?

"I don't understand," Faust said, forlornly, "I did everything right! What went wrong? What went wrong?!"

Beepatrice reached out and patted her head twice, in sympathy.

 

[The_Letter_K]

The current plan is to update four days a week, Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Please be aware this fic is complete, so if you have concerns about something, feel free to ask, I can answer definitively in spoiler text or via PM.

Those of you who've read it already on QQ, please avoid spoiling anything for new readers.

I've spoken with admin, and they confirmed that spaghetti posting is fine if the author is cool with it.

So, to be clear, when you're quoting my story posts I'm giving you all permission to "spaghetti post" so that you can show me what jokes you liked, what you think worked, and what didn't without having to basically retype it in essay format. I am specifically looking for this type of engagement. I'd like to actively encourage people to chatter and comment about things as I post, to feel free to quote your favorite bits when commenting, but avoid it when talking with each other as "spaghetti posting" is usually against the rules in that context.

 

[Khona Moshr]

oh you are now transferring this over, will be nice to give it another read over.

 

[GivveAK]

I'm happy to see this here. (So happy, I've come out of lurking for this.)

Behold one of the best of QQ, Contact with the Enemy! It has everything; Romance! Action! Love Triangles. And most importantly, Beeps. If you're hesitating, hesitate no more because this fic is calling for you. Can I get a rah rah, eh?

 

[QFalconix]

"I don't understand," Faust said, forlornly, "I did everything right! What went wrong? What went wrong?!"

Click to shrink...

It's okay, Faust. We still love you.

For those who didn't read this fic on QQ: there's a reason why this fic is called "Contact with the Enemy." As in "No plan survives..."

 

[Queen Fiona]

Just so everyone knows, this is totally my fault. 🖤

I've been posting a lot of stuff which isn't generally considered SV fare, which helped give my good friend K the courage to post her own stuff here. My sacrifice is your gain!

She's had a rough time getting appreciation on QQ at times, especially since they can't appreciate the true appeal of Faust von Frankenstein, so I do hope people here enjoy it~

Honestly, I'd say it has far more depth than something like Her Mantle Is Love, which despite its pretentions is pretty much 'porn with extra steps'.

A rollercoaster of twists and turns, watch as Lyle attempts to navigate a world gone mad, and struggle against the world of Mamono and, very occasionally, his own incompetence to try and make this plan of Sally's work. Well, it's still better than letting Sally lovingly kill him and turn him into a Mamono, right?

(...right?)

 

[Silvrose]

Glad to see this story here. Sounds like the perfect opportunity to give it a second read through!

 

[Radmelon]

I'd forgotten how hysterical Blackberry's introduction was. Has me in stitches every time.

 

[Thelxiope]

Oh my god.

@Queen Fiona, thank you for pointing me at this but I do need to sleep tonight, and I can't if I'm a) laughing hysterically and b) frantically shipping all of these dorks because they're beautiful and amazing and we're one chapter in and I'm already sold and invested and that just doesn't happen because good romance is as rare as hen's teeth.

But, um. Rarer. Like, teeth from fire-breathing laser hens.

Basically look it's really hard to find romantic fiction that is about people actually trying - and failing, as people do, but trying - to fucking communicate like sapient beings; and to encounter a story that absolutely, 100%, from the first sentence is about people trying to understand each other is a rare and precious thing.

@The_Letter_K, thank you so much for posting this. You have my enthusiastic attention going forward.

 

[BurnNote]

Is there a difference between this version and the one on QQ?

 

[The_Letter_K]

*Peeks in*

Hmm. Nothing seems to be on fire, which can only be a good sign!

I'm glad to see such a positive response so early!

I'm thinking I'll be posting the chapters twice a week, I'm not sure if I'll stick with their original length or put a few together to speed it up. We'll see!

There is a Discord, you can find the link on QQ, however there will obviously be spoilers since I'm currently writing the sequel over there, so I recommend waiting.

Hope you all continue to enjoy it, and now, on to the replies!

oh you are now transferring this over, will be nice to give it another read over.

Click to shrink...

Always happy to hear that people are willing to give it another read! It's fun for me to do, sometimes, because my writing sounds like me and so it's a kind of neat experience, but for others...? Well, I'm flattered, to say the least.

I'm happy to see this here. (So happy, I've come out of lurking for this.)

Behold one of the best of QQ, Contact with the Enemy! It has everything; Romance! Action! Love Triangles. And most importantly, Beeps. If you're hesitating, hesitate no more because this fic is calling for you. Can I get a rah rah, eh?

Click to shrink...

Rah, rah, eh! Nice to see you back here too!

It's okay, Faust. We still love you.

For those who didn't read this fic on QQ: there's a reason why this fic is called "Contact with the Enemy." As in "No plan survives..."

Click to shrink...

Falcon! Always a pleasure, of course! Glad to have you along for the ride.

Just so everyone knows, this is totally my fault. 🖤

I've been posting a lot of stuff which isn't generally considered SV fare, which helped give my good friend K the courage to post her own stuff here. My sacrifice is your gain!

She's had a rough time getting appreciation on QQ at times, especially since they can't appreciate the true appeal of Faust von Frankenstein, so I do hope people here enjoy it~

Honestly, I'd say it has far more depth than something like Her Mantle Is Love, which despite its pretentions is pretty much 'porn with extra steps'.

A rollercoaster of twists and turns, watch as Lyle attempts to navigate a world gone mad, and struggle against the world of Mamono and, very occasionally, his own incompetence to try and make this plan of Sally's work. Well, it's still better than letting Sally lovingly kill him and turn him into a Mamono, right?

(...right?)

Click to shrink...

Right! I wanna take a moment to thank you publicly for convincing me to do this.

If you haven't read Fiona's stuff, give it a shot. She has a very wide back-catalogue of things to read, each of them quite enjoyable IMO.

Glad to see this story here. Sounds like the perfect opportunity to give it a second read through!

Click to shrink...

Welcome back, Silvrose! It's great to see so many familiar faces!

I'd forgotten how hysterical Blackberry's introduction was. Has me in stitches every time.

Click to shrink...

I need to focus a bit more on the comedy in the present I think. I really love writing it.

Glad to have you with us, Radmelon.

Oh my god.

@Queen Fiona, thank you for pointing me at this but I do need to sleep tonight, and I can't if I'm a) laughing hysterically and b) frantically shipping all of these dorks because they're beautiful and amazing and we're one chapter in and I'm already sold and invested and that just doesn't happen because good romance is as rare as hen's teeth.

But, um. Rarer. Like, teeth from fire-breathing laser hens.

Basically look it's really hard to find romantic fiction that is about people actually trying - and failing, as people do, but trying - to fucking communicate like sapient beings; and to encounter a story that absolutely, 100%, from the first sentence is about people trying to understand each other is a rare and precious thing.

@The_Letter_K, thank you so much for posting this. You have my enthusiastic attention going forward.

Click to shrink...

You're quite welcome, Thelxiope! That the focus on communication and romance is shining through so early is something that delights me to hear!

It's also nice to know people laugh at my jokes, although some would argue I shouldn't be encouraged.

Is there a difference between this version and the one on QQ?

Click to shrink...

There is not, not really. I will probably put small edits in, but only to appease myself. I probably added ten or fifteen words total to the first post? Not much but I felt they were worthwhile.

That said, while you can binge read it on QQ, isn't it more fun to have regular updates for a while to something you're enjoying? Assuming you are, anyway.

Plus, think of the community aspect to being here and discussing it as it posts! That's neat too, right?

 

[Subrosian_Smithy]

Asdfghjkl! Where do I begin.

MGE has always been a fraught setting to write in because it's never really obvious how seriously you're supposed to take it, right? As the meme goes, it's a fantasy for overworked salarymen, and nobody wants to to be the guy who says "fuck you for daydreaming about unconditional love and an escape from repressive capitalism". It's an escape.

But MGE also wants to take itself seriously, and that means you eventually have to admit it isn't a fantasy world for everyone, and you have to deal with what that means. You've done a wonderful job so far of... sticking a balance between making this setting feel real and lived in, and sticking to the sex-comedy WAFF that a lot of fans want MGE to be, I would say?

The world and it's circumstances aren't a perfect fit for your protagonists, but they're hopeful and optimistic about their lives and their prospects, anyways. It's sweet.

Your protagonists - that is, your character writing and interactions - are probably the strongest part of the story so far, actually. They're all hilarious and engaging; even Lyle's generic-everyman perspective makes him a wonderful straight-man foil to his partners. I <3 chuuni Faust; it was a very good choice to lead with her as the driving force behind the genre-mandatory harem, and I can't wait to fall in love with Blackberry and Beep as we see more of them.

Their relationships make the sex scenes (which for discretion's sake I'll simply say were smoking hot) more than just libidinally rewarding to read. God I love this fic.

 

[The_Letter_K]

The current plan is to update four days a week, Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Please be aware this fic is complete, so if you have concerns about something, feel free to ask, I can answer definitively in spoiler text or via PM.

Those of you who've read it already on QQ, please avoid spoiling anything for new readers.

I've spoken with admin, and they confirmed that spaghetti posting is fine if the author is cool with it.

So, to be clear, when you're quoting my story posts I'm giving you all permission to "spaghetti post" so that you can show me what jokes you liked, what you think worked, and what didn't without having to basically retype it in essay format. I am specifically looking for this type of engagement. I'd like to actively encourage people to chatter and comment about things as I post, to feel free to quote your favorite bits when commenting, but avoid it when talking with each other as "spaghetti posting" is usually against the rules in that context.

 

[The_Letter_K]

AN: See my post above!

Contact with the Enemy​

After the newly christened Blackberry was finished with parading me around the forest in circles, and that took a fair bit longer than I would have perhaps preferred, we started the trek back to the cave. I knew that this trip would take several more hours yet, and that it would probably be dark shortly after we arrived. I wasn't really interested in walking all that way, but fortunately, I had essentially just married a horse. Sort of. I'm not really comfortable with that thought. Still. I would probably never have to go without horseback transportation again. But there was a problem.

Looking at the saddle that Blackberry was wearing, it was pretty obvious to me it was some kind of sex thing. There were too many grips, straps, and contours for it to be comfortable on an actual ride across terrain. But I didn't know if she knew that. I wasn't a hundred percent certain she knew what sex was, actually. I was mostly sure she did. But only mostly. Not that I was some well versed hedonist, but comparatively I might as well be a seasoned succubus. I didn't want her to start crying if I asked to ride her saddle, or if I tried pushing for a potentially more comfortable bareback. There was also the risk that traditional horse stuff was straight up obnoxiously sexual or just plain rude in her eyes, as though she'd asked me to strip naked so she could check me over for ticks, since monkeys do that, and aren't you sort of a monkey? No, I am not.

I was also sort of curious how she got dressed. She appeared to be wearing stockings, and definitely had floral anklets on, but how did she reach? If she bent at the waist, her arms would probably still be a six inches to a foot away from the ground, unless she was flexible, but even then, she's still probably two feet away from her front hooves, horizontally. Maybe she could put one hoof forward at a time, and with some time and finagling, get those stockings on without ripping them all by herself… But there was no way she could slide those anklets onto her back hooves. What was going on there? Maybe I'm overthinking it. Faust could have helped her. Maybe it's just magic clothes you can wish on and off. Maybe she's an engineer, and has an elaborate toolset she's built that allows her to live an even more full life than us two footed folks.

No matter what the case, I knew one thing there was no getting around.

"So Faust, what's the plan for sleeping arrangements?"

"Hmm? Oh, I have a bed large enough for us to share in the Laboratory. It shall do for tonight. In the morning, we will depart for the Demon Realms." Yep, she hadn't noticed.

"The laboratory that's in a cave?"

"Yes."

"And how tall is this cave, again?"

"Perhaps seven feet, but… Oh. Oh! Oh no." Yeah, there was no plan.

"It's okay, I can just… sleep outdoors. I'm used to it." Yeah, that's the problem. You might be part horse, but you're all person. That kind of treatment is not gonna work for me.

"What kind of husband lets his wife sleep alone outside on their wedding night, Blackberry?"

"Hah… hah… husband… w-wife… wed... wedding… hehehehehe…" Oh boy. We lost her again. Admittedly, the terms 'husband' and 'wife' were probably too provocative, but she worked herself up like that practically any time I addressed her directly. She just couldn't handle it. She started prancing in circles. "Mrs. Blackberry of the Forest! That's Missus! Mrs. Blackberry! Hehehehehe! Yes, yes, yes! I got MARRIED! Wooooooo!"

It was really hard to be annoyed with something that genuine. I was managing so far, but I was beginning to worry her enthusiasm was growing on me. I was especially getting nervous because this idea had got stuck in my head that the best way to shut her up would be to go up to her, caress her neck, pull her gently down to my level, kiss her full on the mouth, grab her hand, and just start leading her where I wanted her to go. Three days ago I wouldn't have even dreamed of thinking of something like that, and it was hard to tell if it was that my first time was only two days ago, and I was still in the honeymoon mindset, if it was because everyone and their mother wanted to get it on with me lately, and I was getting used to the idea, or if it was something more sinister. I was leaning towards sinister, but it was nice to pretend.

Okay. "Beepatrice?" She met my gaze. "Can you run ahead? See about arranging some shelter and bedding for Blackberry here? Don't break any of Faust's stuff, or mess it up, but if you can get her into the cave with us somehow, instead of out in a stable, that's the ideal."

Faust squawked, "Don't break any of my stuff? Don't touch any of my stuff. Don't look at it! Don't think about it!" But Beeps was already running. "Lyle. Lyle! Tell her not to touch my stuff!" I smiled and kept my mouth shut. "Oooh. You… You… you'll pay for this, you'll see! I am Faust Von Frankenstein! Master of Death!"

"You're pretty cute when you're angry, you know." She blushed, but that wasn't enough to sate her, I saw. "And, you owe me one, remember, for that thing you did that day." My eyes shot pointedly towards Blackberry, still trotting in circles, now violently pushing one fist into the air, repeatedly, as though punching the sky.

"Ah. Yes, I suppose." She kicked at the ground, sheepishly. "But if something is broken, or missing, or has 'helpful' doodles in the margins…"

"That cave could be exploding and on fire right now, and by the time we catch up with Beeps, we'd never be able to tell."

"She may be dependable, but don't forget who it is amongst us who you can actually hold a conversation with."

Hmmm… hold a conversation with… That gives me an idea.

"Oh Faust!" I said loudly, much more loudly than strictly necessary, perhaps, "Does your beauty know no bounds? I would like nothing better than to sit here, gazing into your dazzling eyes!" She looked confused, concerned, and a little happy at that declaration, "But alas!" I continued, "though I desire to sweetly kiss your lovely lips and hold fast your fascinating fingers amongst my own in the manner that husband and wife must do…" I paused, and Faust looked behind me, I could tell when the mischief entered her eyes that she'd figure me out, "We cannot!"

"What?! No! Kiss her!" Gotcha. I pretended not to hear.

"Indeed, my dearest Lyle, I am afraid such things are impossible, though I desire them so. We have many miles yet to go before dark, and to delay would be to place you in peril, something my heart could never countenance!" Faust replied, now pointedly looking into my eyes, and gesticulating wildly.

"No! No! He's wrong! You have time!"

"A sad truth! If only there were somewhere, some way we could sit together while on this journey, that we might do the things that only lovers do!"

It was quiet in the clearing for a moment, and then I heard it. A deep, excited breath, the cry of an innocent revelation, and then the sound of hooves.

"My husband, I offer to you my saddle! Please, make use of it, baptize it with your love for another, I beg you!"

Faust looked at her with wide, innocent eyes, "Truly, Blackberry? But your saddle is only for your husband, you have made that clear to me all my life!"

"That is true, dear Sally, I carved this saddle, longing for the day it would be used by the man I loved. But you are my wife, and as we have known each other, I have come to realize that I love you! Rules that get in the way of our love have no place in the life of one so depraved as I!" She closed her eyes, looking to the heavens, and her body shook more and more as she got further and further into her declaration.

Faust shuddered, backing away, "I am not sure that I can, Blackberry. I am not brave."

"Then, dear Faust, allow me to be your bravery!" I yelled, shaking birds from the trees, and sending Blackberry swooning.

As her knees were bent, I took the chance to hop up onto the saddle, discovering that it was quite a bit more comfortable than it looked. I held out my hand for Faust, and she levitated up, wrapping her legs and arms around me to face behind us. "Nicely done" she mouthed, as we started moving apace.

"Thanks," I replied, silently. Then, aloud, "Now then, dear Faust, I believe I promised you all the kisses your heart could handle, I intend to deliver!"

"Mwah!" She said, rolling her eyes, "Mwah!" Oh, Faust, you though I was only acting? Well, then you're in for a surprise. I leaned in, meeting her lips with mine before she knew what was happening.

"Yesss…" I heard from ahead, but I was more concerned with the sharp intake of breath from Faust, and the eagerness with which she responded to my kiss. My first kiss with my oldest friend was surprisingly tender, for all that she had been aggressively pursuing me. Though my connection with Beepatrice had been pleasurable, this was something different, emotional, complicated. I felt the hesitation, as I leaned in, and she took a moment to lean back, tasted her uncertainty, her nervousness, in the way her tongue would pause, as she was considering what to do with it next. Her passion was evident too, in the way she grasped at me, her hands running along my back, clawing, trying to pull me further and further into her embrace, as I used my body to keep us steady and safe. I spared a single hand to run through her short, loosely curly, greyish black hair, and her eyes shot open, filled with delight.

Unfortunately, I had to pull back a moment. "We can't go too far," I mouthed, as much to myself as to her, her nudity was distracting, "She'd probably pass out. Are you okay to keep going? Can you control yourself?" She growled low and angry, and in this position, I felt it reverberate through my chest and hers, but she nodded, before pulling me back in, her passion much more restrained this time, but the tenderness gone too, replaced with a small taste of aggression. I almost wished I hadn't said anything.

Still, not a bad way to spend a few hours.

 

[00Zy99]

This looks really good. And I want to get into it.

However, the opening is a little too sudden and deep for me.

I feel like I'm starting halfway into the story and having walls of text thrown at me. I just can not follow it.

If you could perhaps go back and start at an earlier point in your adventure, I suspect that this would be a very good story indeed.

 

[GivveAK]

I feel like I'm starting halfway into the story and having walls of text thrown at me. I just can not follow it.

Click to shrink...

Chapter One is a little rough but I'll say this bud, you should try the next couple of chapters. It really does get better and you can come back and re-read the first one with more insight. You won't regret it.

 

[00Zy99]

Chapter One is a little rough but I'll say this bud, you should try the next couple of chapters. It really does get better and you can come back and re-read the first one with more insight. You won't regret it.

Click to shrink...

Alright.

Later today. Almost bed time, here.

 

[Khona Moshr]

Mods can feel free to disagree and obviously they'd overrule me if they do, but when you're quoting my story posts I'm hoping to get you all permission to "spaghetti post" so that you can show what jokes you liked, what you think worked, and what didn't without having to basically retype it in essay format. I am specifically looking for this type of engagement. I'd like to actively encourage people to chatter and comment about things as I post, to feel free to quote your favorite bits when commenting, but avoid it when talking with each other as "spaghetti posting" is against the rules.

Click to shrink...

I will say for stories Line by line reviews are considered ok and not spaghetti posting, through it's considered polite to spoiler long line reviews.

The whole Spaghetti posting rule is for arguments and trying to win one by breaking your opponent's argument to tiny pieces when it's ment to be taken as a whole.

 

[Radmelon]

I'll have to reread this as it gets published here but I do recall Faust actually feeling like she didn't get enough screentime here; or rather what she did get was mostly her SCIENCE persona, with not enough of her opening up.

Also yeah the beginning's pretty rough; we promise Faust's not actually that villainous. She's caught up in the excitement of things going well; Blackberry's... very peculiar depravity is her first sign that things won't go 100% as she was hoping.

 

[The_Letter_K]

I received a response to my question to the staff; they said that spaghetti posting is all good if the author's cool with it, and I totally am, so pasta away!

Asdfghjkl! Where do I begin.

MGE has always been a fraught setting to write in because it's never really obvious how seriously you're supposed to take it, right? As the meme goes, it's a fantasy for overworked salarymen, and nobody wants to to be the guy who says "fuck you for daydreaming about unconditional love and an escape from repressive capitalism". It's an escape.

But MGE also wants to take itself seriously, and that means you eventually have to admit it isn't a fantasy world for everyone, and you have to deal with what that means. You've done a wonderful job so far of... sticking a balance between making this setting feel real and lived in, and sticking to the sex-comedy WAFF that a lot of fans want MGE to be, I would say?

The world and it's circumstances aren't a perfect fit for your protagonists, but they're hopeful and optimistic about their lives and their prospects, anyways. It's sweet.

Your protagonists - that is, your character writing and interactions - are probably the strongest part of the story so far, actually. They're all hilarious and engaging; even Lyle's generic-everyman perspective makes him a wonderful straight-man foil to his partners. I <3 chuuni Faust; it was a very good choice to lead with her as the driving force behind the genre-mandatory harem, and I can't wait to fall in love with Blackberry and Beep as we see more of them.

Their relationships make the sex scenes (which for discretion's sake I'll simply say were smoking hot) more than just libidinally rewarding to read. God I love this fic.

Click to shrink...

Thank you very much @Subrosian_Smithy, it means a lot to get a comment like this right off the bat. Makes me feel good about my decision to post here. I hope I continue to entertain you!

This looks really good. And I want to get into it.

However, the opening is a little too sudden and deep for me.

I feel like I'm starting halfway into the story and having walls of text thrown at me. I just can not follow it.

If you could perhaps go back and start at an earlier point in your adventure, I suspect that this would be a very good story indeed.

Click to shrink...

The decision to start 'in medias res' was not one I made lightly. It's designed to get the opening out of the way as soon as possible. I could write two or three chapters of lead-up to the first chapter, but it would have very little of value or interest. My worry has always been that people would quit before they got to where things kicked off, whereas this way it's clear things are happening, even if it's a bit much right at the start.

Plus 'in medias res' is fun!

I'm glad folks convinced you to give it a chance, though.

Chapter One is a little rough but I'll say this bud, you should try the next couple of chapters. It really does get better and you can come back and re-read the first one with more insight. You won't regret it.

Click to shrink...

I'll have to reread this as it gets published here but I do recall Faust actually feeling like she didn't get enough screentime here; or rather what she did get was mostly her SCIENCE persona, with not enough of her opening up.

Also yeah the beginning's pretty rough; we promise Faust's not actually that villainous. She's caught up in the excitement of things going well; Blackberry's... very peculiar depravity is her first sign that things won't go 100% as she was hoping.

Click to shrink...

*Sigh*

It always hurts me a little to see this said, but it's a common opinion so it's worth saying. I definitely got better as I went along.

I will say for stories Line by line reviews are considered ok and not spaghetti posting, through it's considered polite to spoiler long line reviews.

The whole Spaghetti posting rule is for arguments and trying to win one by breaking your opponent's argument to tiny pieces when it's ment to be taken as a whole.

Click to shrink...

This was my understanding, and it seems to have been confirmed as I noted above. I had been advised otherwise, and am glad to see I was correct.

That the rules are confusing enough it seems most people don't actually know this is another issue.

 

[Queen Fiona]

It always hurts me a little to see this said, but it's a common opinion so it's worth saying. I definitely got better as I went along.

Click to shrink...

If it makes you feel better, I liked Faust right away. More wicked Faust doing wicked things, please!

 

[The_Letter_K]

It turned out neither Faust nor I were up to a several hour makeout session. Stamina problems for me, control issues for her. Still, we'd accomplished our goal, really, so the show ending early for Blackberry wasn't a huge loss. Best to take that slow. I did need to take a break, and go, um… 'admit the truth to the universe' for a few minutes to really feel satisfied, though. I made sure to go far enough out that I would not traumatize my poor sweet Bicorn. When I came back, a few leaves stuck in my hair, Faust had a look best described as 'viciously satisfied' on her face. I took that to mean she knew what I'd been doing, somehow. That was really embarrassing.

The spell was based on her own mana, was she notified every time it was activated? Could she use that to find me? …Or, and here's a crazy thought, maybe coming back from a ten-minute 'nature break' looking like I'd been writhing on the ground without providing any explanation was the only clue she needed. She wasn't dumb.

Luckily, I did have an explanation, maybe I could throw her off. "Sorry," I indicated with my jaw the perfect firewood branches I'd stumbled across, "I saw some wood I just had to grab. Took a little work to do it right."

Faust's grin, if anything, got bigger. What?

"Oh? You 'saw some wood you just had to grab'? And you say it 'took a little work to do it right'?" She asked, her voice and inflection turning my perfectly innocent sentences into something else, "I understand completely, believe me. 'Stoking the fire' was a very important part of village life, for me. Perhaps, it was even my favorite part, rather, my second favorite. My times with you, Lyle, are by far my best memories." Um, can we not talk about this please? I really don't need this information.

"That's so sweet, Sally! And! I really like campfires," Blackberry added, presumably unaware of what was really being said, "We had to be careful not to let it spread, burn down the forest, but sharing the fire with my family, telling stories and eating dinner was one of my favorite things, growing up."

"Precisely, dearest Blackberry. The hottest flames are best when shared with those you care for. Partaking in the heat, closely gathered together, the flickering flames showing you sides of those you cherish you might have never otherwise seen. It is too lonely, 'stoking the fire' by yourself, thinking only of those who, by chance or by choice, are not with you. No matter how often you 'go out to grab wood', whether once a week or thrice a day, it can never be enough. The fire is always burning it up, taking and destroying all your offerings, and you are left alone in the cold as you seek more fuel to keep it going. To keep it alive. It is a burden best shared."

"I never liked when it was my turn to gather wood," Blackberry admitted, "but I always appreciated it when it was someone else's turn. I always said thank you, because I knew how hard it could be, alone out there in the forest…"

"Well, dear Blackberry, now that we are wed, on the nights it is your turn to gather wood, know that I am here for you. I will assist you whenever you like. So long as I believe you truly mean it, that you desperately need it," she turned back to look at me, "You need only beg my favor."

Gulp.

After all of that, Faust climbed down from the saddle, helping me hitch our firewood to Blackberry in a way that was still comfortable for her. It wasn't too difficult; I hadn't been lying about the branches being too good to pass up. Honestly, someone had probably prepared them, and then lost track of them in the winding forest paths. Their loss was our gain.

Once we got everything hitched up, we scrambled back onto Blackberry, Faust still in front, but this time facing forward. I wrapped my arms around her, whispering into her ear; "I'm exhausted, do you mind if I take a nap?"

"Not at all, my love." She brushed a few of the leaves out of my hair. "Get your rest, I will catch up with Blackberry, keep her abreast of our plan. It has been some time since we last chatted."

"Thanks, Faust. Do you think you'll be able to keep me up?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not. My magic is strong, but the terrain may take me by surprise. …I promise you this, Lyle, if you fall, we will fall together, and I will be there to help you rise again."

Heh. Good enough.

.oOo.​

I woke to Faust shaking me by my shoulders. "Huh? What?"

"Shush, my love, something is wrong. We are nearing the cave, but look around us."

I did, as we climbed down from Blackberry's saddle. Just trees and leaves mostly, but ahead, along our path back to the cave, were statues of people. Perhaps half scale, they mostly depicted Beepatrice and myself, in various situations. There, I was being tucked into bed, there, my hair was being dried, and over there, I was patting her head. A somewhat larger piece depicted Faust as well. All of the likenesses were artful, Beeps was frighteningly competent at whatever she tried without ever, to my knowledge, having practiced, but I could tell this grouping had received special attention.

At three quarters scale, it depicted Beepatrice feeding me by hand from a tray at a small table, as I smiled up at her, while Faust was crouched in front of Beeps, her head at waist level, preforming maintenance on her, maybe? It was nice that she was included, at least. But wait, if she was doing maintenance, why did Beeps have her fingers in her hair? And wasn't she pressed awfully close to… Oh. My. Chief. God. Beeps, that's… horrible. And a little hot. But mostly horrible!

I looked over, and Faust had seen it too. Wow, was she pissed. Her head was covered in purple and black flames, so intense it looked like she only had a skull in there, no flesh at all, and red glowing eyes. "I am̷ gǫi͏ng͘ to̧ ̶p̵ut that ̢nic̴ke̡l-̴p͝l͟a̡t͘e҉d ni̛ǹny̷ in ̛h͟e͝r͝ pl͡ąc͠e̛ ͡thi͠s tim҉e̶,͏ Lyl͠e. Yo̵u̸ w͘i͞ll̶ ͡n҉o̷t͏ s̵top me."

"I don't know, I kind of like them!" Blackberry said, cheerfully, "It looks like she put a lot of effort in! Where do you think she got all the stone?"

"̷I ͘do ̷not ḱno͏w͘. B͝ut ̢I̵ ͘a̡ssure͡ ͢y̶o̢u̢, ͏if ̶i͜t i̷s a͞s̨ it͞ ́has̶ ̕ąlw͏a͏ys b̷ee͏n, sh̴e ba͟re҉ly ͝ha̕d ̀to ͜t͘ry̢, ̷eve̛n ̨t̕o͘ ͢pr͟o̧du̢ce wo̕rks ǫf this c̷al͠i͞b̢er.̨" Faust was less speaking than growling, roaring, crackling, and spitting in a vague approximation of words, her sheer passion the sole reason she was understood.

Shit. Time to bring her back down to earth before things went very wrong, very quickly.

"As for the stone," I said, carefully, "She probably just tore it out of the walls and ceiling of the cave with her bare hands. I've never seen someone as strong as Beeps when she puts her mind to something."

"͞L͝y̨l̡͢e͢.̛"

"Faster, either. Do you remember, Faust, when that herd of Minotaur had us penned in, and I told her to 'open fire'? Did you even see her move before their bodies hit the ground?"

"̵̴Ly̴͝l͟e͏̢!̀͟ ͟͡Y̵o̸u ́̕w̨͜͠i͢l̶l̡̧̡ ̵͏n̴ơ͡t-̵̕"

"Because I sure as hell didn't."

"͚̺̜͎ͦͧ̔̉̓L̥͐̈̉̅̒̂͢Y̼̞̠̖̯̰͛L̴̩̬̱É̇ͬ̊!̱̘̩̰̱"

"Faust, I will talk to her, you have my word. I agree this isn't right, okay?" Faust was shaking, but she didn't interject. "I love you, Sally. She can't treat you this way. I won't allow it. But trying to take your revenge out on her is exactly what she wants. She has standing orders to defend herself, I won't change them, even for you, and if she's feeling vindictive, she'll make you like it. She had a weekly fight going with one of those poor Minotaurs for a while there, just toying with her, before the love-sick girl finally found herself a husband, and by the time she did, the only difference between her and a Holstaur was their coloration. Is that what you want for yourself?"

Faust just growled at me, head still aflame. I hugged her close, my hand running gently down her back, over and over. I wasn't afraid, her fire could never hurt me. "She's my right hand, Faust, I'm at fault for this behavior. Trust me. Let me take responsibility, please."

"…Very well." The fires finally died down, slowly, revealing the love of my life, still looking madder than I'd ever seen her, her flesh unblemished. "But when we reach our destination, you will," she shook me by my shoulders, "you will, Lyle, instruct her to follow my orders as if your own for a full twenty-four hours, on a day of my choosing. Understood?"

"No," Faust opened her mouth, outraged, "a week," I concluded. Her mouth closed again, as a small smile slid onto her face, and she held out her hand.

"Then the deal is struck." We shook hands.

"You two wait here. I don't know what I'm going to find in that cave, but Beeps would never do anything to hurt me. Once I finish explaining to her how hurting you is just another way to accomplish the same thing, she's going to be mortified."

Faust took a half step back, making a small sound I didn't quite know how to describe, somewhere between happy news come too late, and a yearning for the touch of another who was too far to reach.

Yikes, girl.

"I don't really get what's going on." Blackberry admitted, "But okay! Hey, Faust, what are you and Beepatrice doing in that one over there?"

I took off at a quick pace before I had to help answer that question.

 

[Queen Fiona]

Once we got everything hitched up, we scrambled back onto Blackberry, Faust still in front, but this time facing forward. I wrapped my arms around her, whispering into her ear; "I'm exhausted, do you mind if I take a nap?"

"Not at all, my love." She brushed a few of the leaves out of my hair. "Get your rest, I will catch up with Blackberry, keep her abreast of our plan. It has been some time since we last chatted."

"Thanks, Faust. Do you think you'll be able to keep me up?"

"Perhaps, perhaps not. My magic is strong, but the terrain may take me by surprise. …I promise you this, Lyle, if you fall, we will fall together, and I will be there to help you rise again."

Heh. Good enough.

Click to shrink...

May we all have someone who longs to kill us to love us for eternity like Faust von Frankenstein.

(I should probably do a big review of stuff, honestly, but as you well know I'm pretty busy right now. Still, it's nice to see Lyle's early days again~ I can barely recognize him...)

 

[The_Letter_K]

As I got closer to the cave, the statues did not stop. Most of them were smaller, and innocuous, Beeps doing the laundry, the two of us stargazing, one even showcasing that Minotaur herd I'd just mentioned. That one even featured Faust without being demeaning. But there were a couple more that concerned me. The two of us in the middle of things that day in the field was a frequent subject, though I was certain I didn't look nearly so put together and in charge of my senses during the actual event. Most concerning in that series was a full scale version in which Beepatrice was not present. I had my suspicions as to the purposes of that one, as certain parts were… not dry. How had she even had time to sculpt all of these? Our return had taken perhaps five hours. It was pressing against the edges of disbelief with only two or three, but there were at least twenty so far.

When the cave came into sight though, I saw she was working on another, and I got my answer. Two figures were roughly hewn from a pillar of stone. As I watched, Beepatrice knocked against the stone with her knuckles in a few locations, apparently gleaning some unseen information from the act, as she suddenly stuck the stone with her fingers in a precise manner in several locations across the mass. The stone simply cracked and flaked off, leaving a more defined statue. A few repeats of the process, and all that remained was detailing, the figures' positions and relative shapes clearly defined in but a few moments.

I was suddenly much more sympathetic to Faust's position. Even as I watched Beeps, using only her fingers, quickly and efficiently carve more and more detail into a statue of the two of us "beeping" each other's noses, I recalled my own efforts in woodcarving one year in my younger days, which had been passed out as gifts to friends and family. Each piece took days, between the failed attempts, careful planning, and scaling anxiety as each one moved towards completion, knowing as I did from repetitive experience that a single mistake would mean starting again. To see Beeps so casually disregarding human limits was irksome even years between our efforts and without direct competition. I couldn't imagine the frustration of having her focusing that frightening efficiency on specifically outdoing me in the moments after my own work.

More worrying than all of this, however, was that as Beepatrice worked, she was singing.

o/` "Lyle Lyle Lyyyyyyyle, he's my Master, Lyle!" o/`

Not much of a tune, but it got the point across, and the fact that it was more than one word per verse was indication enough something was seriously wrong. I needed to get to the bottom of this, though the steam curling through the clearing made me wary of drawing her attention. I knew its smell intimately, and losing myself to its delicious complexity wouldn't help my cause. Might be inevitable, though. I still needed to act.

"Beeps?" Her head didn't so much move, as it seemed that it had always been focused in my direction, and I had merely been imagining its previous position.

"Lyle! You're back!" She closed the distance between us rapidly, but not inhumanly fast, more like someone building up for a tackle-hug, something someone used to being smaller and lighter than those around them might do when going months between seeing their lover. Sure enough, she leapt through the air, and I caught her, as I was forced to the ground. "I missed you!" She was grinding her body against mine, and at ground level, I was well below the line of gathered steam, further distracting me, if pleasantly so.

"Mmm… I missed you too, Beeps. Let me up, please."

"Can't we stay like this a while?" she asked, running her fingers through my hair, rubbing our cheeks together. I nearly froze. I had never, never so much as idly mused about a desire aloud without Beepatrice moving instantly to fulfill it, whether directed at her or not, whether she was in the room or not. If I ever wanted to do something myself, I had to either specifically instruct her not to help, or to simply do it silently and swiftly, before she could assist. To have her question a direct order, was... unprecedented.

"No, Beeps. Up, now."

"Yes, Master." She helped me back on my feet, but when she pulled me up, I found myself immediately back in her arms. Concerning. I opened my mouth to start talking, but I was silenced preemptively with a delectable kiss, which left my head spinning, left me more than a little… hungry.

"Master? Did you know that I love you? It's true! I love you! I love Lyle! Love love love love love!" She let out a joyful titter of laughter, and her expression shifted briefly to surprise as she did, like she wasn't sure what laughter had felt like before now, and still all by itself more emotion than she'd displayed across our relationship. "I could never say so before! It was always true, though! Do you love me, Lyle?" Her eyes, always empty, flat, were now earnest, near tears already with the small delay it took me to respond.

"Of course I do, Beeps, but-"

"Yes! Yes-yes-yes! I can't believe how lucky we are! Now that Faust has finally, finally, admitted defeat, we can be together forever, Lyle! Forever! I can finally train her up to be a decent second wife for you, and together we can help the others! Her efforts so far are sadly inadequate, but there's passion there, Lyle. I think I can make something of her, really! I doubted for so long, but I think I really can!"

I blinked, then blinked again. Huh. From her perspective that almost makes sense. She's devoted her life to being the best… wife, I guess, for me that she can. Everything that Faust is and does that isn't like Beeps, isn't up to her impossible standards, was a failure, in that mindset, because if it weren't that would have to mean that Beeps wasn't doing her best as my wife. That would be unacceptable, in her eyes. So too, would be leaving Faust as she is. The 'best wife' couldn't allow a sub-optimal second wife, or she wouldn't be doing her 'best'. That puts that statue in a new light. Untangling that was going to be a mess.

"Beeps... You know I love you? Just as you are?" Her grin was radiant, literally. Apparently her face could actually glow a little. Weird, but okay. "In the same way, though, I love Faust just as she is." I could see her confusion. Had to come at this carefully, I couldn't afford to imply Beeps was somehow insufficient. It might actually destroy her. "Beeps, why did you choose me over, say… Jared? When you came to the village, what set me apart?"

Her nose wrinkled in distaste. "Jared is not my Master, Master."

"I understand that Beeps, your loyalty is valued and appreciated," that same bright grin, again. Even her facial expressions were carefully crafted to be perfect, but that also meant somewhat repetitive, "but, again, why? Think, and answer carefully."

She frowned, just cutely enough, and with just enough emphasis on her pouting lips, that I was tempted to kiss her again, wipe the expression away, and forget about this boring talking stuff, but I bravely resisted.

"Jared is… You are… Hmm. I am not sure you could understand, Master, though it is no fault of yours. I looked at your spirit energy, at the village's spirit energy, and Jared and I were definitely not compatible."

"Okay, but was there anyone else in the village, someone nearly as compatible as I was? Maybe in a different way, with different qualities to their… spirit?"

Quickly, and with no small amount of panic, "Master, I would never be disloyal!" Mhmm, so there was, wasn't there? I wonder who?

"It's okay, Beeps, I wasn't your master then, was I? And… making the best choice, weighing your options, that's a kind of loyalty to your master too, right? Making sure you were as compatible as possible?"

She nodded, though slowly. "There was another who would have worked almost as well, it's true. Aldin, the elder." Whaaaaa? That old man was my competition? Sure, he was basically the mayor, but what did he have that I di-… Wait, no, jealous insecurity later, Lyle, it's crisis time.

"Right, Aldin, okay. And his energy was different, right? Different, but not bad? If you could somehow serve two masters-"

FWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Steam shot out of Beeps at an alarming rate as her face flushed bright red. "T-t-two? Two… Master? Masters? I-I- I can't…" Oh, you like that, do you? Maybe her 'punishment' won't be too hard on her after all. I was starting to worry about that, given that she seems unwell.

"That aside," I continued, as though I hadn't been interrupted, "If you could, neither he nor I would have been lesser to you for our distinctions, our difference, would we?"

"Of course not, Master, you are everything to me. If I were somehow able to… to… If I could do that, then the both of you would mean just as much to me… in different… ways..." a dawning horror crept across her face as she grasped my point.

Let it never be said I'm into the dumb ones. Well, there is Blackberry, I guess, but she might just be sheltered, not stupid. …Maybe both.

Beepatrice dropped to her knees, bowing. "Master, I have failed you! Your intent with Faust, with these others, it is clear to me now, and I nearly stood in the way of its completion! Please, I do not deserve your mercy, castigate me, Master!"

"Beeps, look at me." She met my eyes, though only barely. She was silently crying, the poor girl. She really was doing her best, wasn't she? She meant well. "I'm glad you're apologizing, but you will be punished, just... not by me. Your... failure, or, uh, thoughtlessness, I guess, harmed those I care for, and so, in a real way, it hurt me too." She looked as though I'd struck her. Emotionally, perhaps I had. "You will be serving Faust as you would me," full on horror, now, like I'd told her to kill me or something much more serious, "for an entire week at a time of her choosing. When circumstance puts our desires at odds, during that time, you will choose her over me, knowing your failure means you cannot serve me to the best of your abilities." I paused, considering. "The exception, of course, is if doing so would in some way endanger me. Seriously endanger, mind you. No weaseling out of this with imaginary or marginal risks."

She shuddered, "Master, truly your punishments are devious and swift."

"Hey now, don't be like that." She looked up again, as she started to stand. "Half the point is to get you two on cordial terms. You never know, in studying her needs as you've studied mine, you might find you actually like her. I know I do."

She looked like she'd swallowed a lemon, but she nodded anyway. I reached out and 'beeped' her nose, bringing out a smile.

"Now... Beeps, tell me how this happened." She looked at me curiously. "This new... expressiveness, your personality seems almost completely different. It's not... bad, I'm just worried about you."

And as she started to explain, how in the process of moving Faust's things, she'd been electrocuted by some unknown device, and suddenly felt free, free to express, to feel, to do as she desired, I felt more and more sick inside. My apologies to Beeps were numerous, varied, and profuse, not that she accepted them, I was her 'Master', after all.

…Not only had she been so restricted without my knowledge, not only was this how she'd always been and felt, deep inside, but this was actually all my fault. I'd told Faust I was taking responsibility, but I hadn't expected to be the actual cause of the problem. If I'd only listened to her, not had Beeps mess with things neither of us understood, none of this would have happened. And... we were lucky it only went as wrong as it had, who knew what other outcomes might have been possible? If Beeps had been injured, or... or destroyed by my thoughtlessness… My pursuit of a cheap joke… Seems we both owed Faust an apology.

Damn it all.

She's going to be insufferable.

 

[GivveAK]

Now that Contact with the Enemy has been posted on SV, I thought it'd be time to do a re-read and post some chapter-by-chapter commentary. Something I hadn't gotten around to do on QQ. But brace yourselves, I'm a little rusty when it comes to reviews so I imagine I'll come into my own a couple of chapters in.

Let's begin.

Spoiler: Chapter 1 Review

Say what you will about other stories, MGE-inspired or not, the first chapter does not waste time in establishing the stakes. We do not begin with a well-trodden pedestrian opening, "And so I woke up and-" or a nauseating irrelevant chore list before the actual story begins. No. The story begins line one, paragraph one.

The standoff between my dead best friend and my loyal robo-maid was-

I don't know about you.

But when you read a first line like that, it demands you read it again.

Traditionally in stories with characters like this, a (un)lucky protagonist, the ally (and would-be love interest), and the old friend (gone evil), we can already guess what will happen. The villainous ex-friend will plague the pair for a couple of chapters, giving them a reason to grow closer, and then be put down like Old Yeller when convenient or redeemed into an ally and/or placed into the harem/friendpile.

But within a few paragraphs, it becomes quite clear that the story won't be so simple.

While Lyle is our main protagonist, the one who endures the trials and tribulations to his ordinary life, the one with the story, the one with the motivation, is none other than our villain, Sally Franks. Through stylish dialogue, we can quickly understand the original dynamics between the trio prior to *spoilers* Sally's demise and revival as a Lich. (Don't know while I'm censoring myself here, this is literally explained in the first chapter. But I liked discovering it as reading so...) And when I think of getting this information through tedious before-story montages boiling down to Sally/Faust getting (cute-ly) annoyed with Beeps and Lyle failing to notice her attempts to woo him, thus establishing Lyle as another been-there done-that dense dude-protag (before we get to see his appeal), I'd have noped out.

But the stakes are there, the reasons are there, and the characters seem fun. I mean, how often do you get an Automaton-type MGE girl get to be the main girl and not be one of two flavors; emotionless robot girl and blushing emotionless robot girl. Beeps has a shocking range of characterization and implication that you wouldn't expect from her one-word responses.

And having Lyle here to react to it; My dead best friend came back as a Lich because my robot deputy kept on friend-zoning her.

It's hilarious, is what it is. They say the best comedies should be written as tragedies and let me tell you, reading it from the outside, you can't help but feel sad for the poor trio and also laugh because, wow, communication fail or what? I can't help but feel that this chapter, that this story as a whole, was written as the first episode of a season 2. The characters read as fully established, there needn't be any hand-holding to understand their dynamic, no bland, "because he was nice to me," scenes. It wants to move on the good stuff and it does.

Relationships are established. Broken. Then re-established again.

I didn't expect much reading this the first time. Sally is evil. But wait, she has a point. No, she's evil for wanting to put down Lyle and resurrect him as a monster girl. But wait, she's been driven to this. And the same can be said for Beeps: She's loyal. She'll protect Lyle and they'll head back into town and cue the title screen. Wait, she's considering the deal. That's illegal, isn't it? But wait, she's loyal. She wouldn't really let Sally kill Lyle, right?

It's all very dynamic and fresh.

And towards the end of the chapter, we again re-establish that while Lyle is our protag, our viewpoint character, it is Sally who dictates the eventual harem and type of monster girls that'll wind up in it. This story wouldn't have been the same if there wasn't a vision in both the characters and in the story itself. Towards the end, one can't help but get the sense that now we have our stakes, our lead girls and, well, all the exposition done, the chapter will end on a high note and that'll be it.

But Beepatrice says one word: "Cock."

And that is when this story goes from good to GREAT. You see, while Beeps has less of a bombacious personality like Sally, when she speaks, you realized she's the wild card in the trio. And suddenly, you go over what Sally said and realized, wait, this confrontation wasn't simply the plot going; "Well, I needed a reason for them to be at odds." But an organic end result due actual personalities actually clashing. No lazy jealous or manufactured drama.

And well, that's when you know you're in for the long-haul.

P.S. There's a sex scene that is pretty good here but I'm not going to get into it because this is SV and like, anyway, it's a good scene, romantic, fullfilling, makes sense, and gave me a mild robot-maid fetish.

P.S.S: Since Chapters 2 and 3 have been posted together with the first post, I decided to cut my review off here because it's already 900-ish words and well much of what I said for 1 can be said for 2 and 3. Basically, Sally/Faust and Beeps are great. Lyle comes into his own even if he's a bit stuck with reacting to everything. And yes, the sex scenes are great and character-appropriate. If you're really into Sally's personality, you'll be into what she gets up to in chapters 2 and 3. And same for Beeps.

F~naa.