Hug Your Destiny [NSFW] - Explicit / Kink (Trans Protag)

[Radmelon]

We already have Faust (the enthusiastic harem protagonist), and Lyle (the reluctant? harem protagonist.)

Enter Charlotte, the oblivious harem protagonist.

Click to shrink...

Now that's just silly; we all know that it's Blackberry's harem!

 

[The_Letter_K]

Beeps had the hammer out on the table when we got back. She was seated in one of the single-seat chairs, leaned forward with her elbows on her knees, fingers steepled in front of her face just staring at it.

Amy and Blackberry went into the showers, and while I was tempted to follow them, it was for the wrong reasons. I didn't get dirty. I needed to sit down and have a chat with the girls about… wanting to clean them… but I hadn't yet. If I went in with them, I don't think I'd be able to wait until I'd explained, and they deserved better than that.

Charlotte also waited, but for essentially the opposite reason. We sat down around the table too, the hammer's head flashing occasionally with the blue lines of light hidden across its surface. Beeps had built a little stand for it, so that the head of it was off the table, which she must have designed herself. The hammer wasn't exactly standard. The cube looked pretty well stuck in place, but the hammer had been essentially constructed around it, almost like a metal net, and its handle stuck off the back kind of awkwardly, with a counterweight to try to balance it.

Whatever the cube was made of, it must be awfully sturdy to be worth all the trouble, and for a craftsman to use such a frankly ugly tool.

The flashing lights stopped for a significant period, and that was when Beeps began to sing.

I'd heard her sing once before, back at the cave, but this was different. For one, her song there had been very, very simple, for another, it had been in a language I understood. This was complicated, nuanced, emotional, and completely impenetrable.

Her voice was magical, and even though I couldn't understand it, I could hear the frustration in her song, the desperation, and the passion that had always been missing from her voice when we spoke, excluding the brief times recently she'd been able to express herself more clearly.

Whatever she was saying to the hammer, she really meant it.

"Beeps," I said, when she stopped for a moment, "are you okay?"

She looked at me, and said, "Affirmative," before turning back to the hammer again. Once she did, it began to flash once more, and she watched it intently.

I did too, trying to discern some meaning from it.

Which is why we were both surprised when Akubra put a miniaturized sunhat on the head of the hammer with an aire of finality.

"Much better," she said.

Charlotte, Beeps, and myself all stared at her for a moment before looking back at the hammer.

"It actually is kinda cute," I said. "In a weird way."

Beeps looked at me, then at the hat, then at Akubra.

"Humanizing," she said. She didn't make to remove the hat, so I guess it was settled.

"I… can't believe I'm offering this," Charlotte said, "but Samael could probably make a matching outfit for the… hammer… if you asked."

I looked at her. She looked vaguely disturbed, like Beeps was whenever she saw me enjoy Sally's cooking. Cooperating with our nonsense clearly didn't sit well with her.

…But it was for Beeps.

Speaking of whom, she got up almost immediately after Charlotte spoke. She sang a quick song at the hammer, and walked off to Samael's room.

Huh.

"Thanks for that," I said to Charlotte. "It's not everyday someone manages to do something she appreciates, and… I think that suggestion was a big deal to her."

Charlotte just sat there silently for a moment, after which she nodded once.

Something struck me. "You too, Akubra. I really appreciate it, that was thoughtful."

She nodded too, eyes distant as always. She was looking vaguely in Charlotte's direction.

"Mmm. Lady knight, your bandages need changing, I think. Their odor is nearly as ferocious a presence as yourself." She spoke in a sort of chiding, playful way. It might be that was as stern as she could get, honestly. I'd never heard her raise her voice. She was… serene. I involuntarily remembered the way it felt to cradle her body, both as a bath, and as an impromptu chair. I hoped she'd sit on me again.

Her hips shifted subtly but suggestively.

I tried to be mad she was probably toying with me. I failed, partly because the idea she was somehow reacting to my thoughts or urges was both unproven and horrifying, partly because I was way too into it, honestly.

Ugh. Anyway, telling Charlotte she stank was a little rude, but I was half-tempted to do it myself, honestly, so I was prepared to forgive and forget.

Charlotte seemed to agree, a single sniff souring her expression.

"True. Unfortunately, beyond that ridiculous bra armor, I don't have any other clothes."

I lurched toward Charlotte before I could stop myself, and wound up flopping down onto the table as I fought to hold myself back.

There was a pregnant silence.

"Sorry," I said, "I uh… I tripped."

Given that I'd been sitting down I don't think anyone had been convinced by that, but thankfully we moved on. Charlotte hadn't been told the specifics of my clothes and their special properties, so with any luck she had no idea what I'd almost done to her on instinct. Or… at least less of an idea.

At least I didn't splash myself.

"You can probably use a blanket or something as a robe," I ground out reluctantly.

Charlotte made a grunt acknowledging the point, and left to her room, but her eyes didn't ever entirely leave me until she closed the door.

She knows I'm clothes, I realized, horrified.

I let out a small whimper. This was a lot harder than I'd hoped it'd be.

Frustrated, I turned to Akubra.

"You did that on purpose," I accused.

She just smiled at me, lightly.

"I wonder… do we have a laundry room, Lyle? My clothes clean themselves, you see, I've never needed to look. If not, I suppose we'll need some other way to clean them…"

I started breathing heavily.

"Perhaps," she said, "Perhaps Beepatrice has an idea or two? I shall go ask."

I was shaking.

She turned and started to walk towards Samael's room.

Slowly.

Tortuously.

It felt like my body was screaming.

No.

No!

"NO!" I yelled, standing up suddenly.

Akubra turned around. "No?"

"I-I'll make sure they get c-c-clean. N-no need to bother her!" My breath hitched at random. I felt so hot.

I was dripping wet.

Akubra walked towards me, and gave me a gentle hug, stroking my back.

"Okay, Lyle. Whatever you like is fine."

It's… it's fine? It's fine if I like it?

I let out a surprised sob. Suddenly I was hugging her back, gripping her tight.

"Th-thank you." I wasn't sure why I was thanking her.

She kissed my forehead, and we both let go.

By the time Charlotte came back out of her room, covered in a few sheets creatively tied to keep her modesty, I'd collected myself and Akubra had gone.

"Where's your laundry?" Charlotte asked.

"I'll get it," I said. "You go ahead. I should check with Faust, make sure they don't need special treatment. Take your time, I'll have them clean before you're done."

She shrugged. "Alright, makes sense."

She tossed me the wraps.

I caught them and stood.

Perfectly.

Still.

Thankfully, it wasn't long before she was out of sight, into the bathroom, and I heard the doors of one of the private baths lock.

Carefully, calmly, I walked towards my room.

The smell was both rancid, in my memories, my associations, my expectations, and deeply, erotically appealing, in my present, in my arms, in my whole body please right now!

I hadn't realized that the split existed until I finally touched them, but I'd been victim to it all along.

I closed the door behind me.

Cautiously, delicately, I walked into the closet the room had provided me on its creation, the one that had once held a small, private bed.

Our new laundry room.

I locked the door behind me.

Then I let go.

 

[NemoMarx]

Beeps looked at me, then at the hat, then at Akubra.

"Humanizing," she said. She didn't make to remove the hat, so I guess it was settled.

"I… can't believe I'm offering this," Charlotte said, "but Samael could probably make a matching outfit for the… hammer… if you asked."

Click to shrink...

So.... I'm increasingly thinking the hammer contains an AI somehow. And given the way the magical system has changed since beeps and her cohort were last like... around and working the other way, I wonder if it might spontaneously turn into a monster girl. Hammer girl? Another robot? A ghost that possesses weapons?

Her hips shifted subtly but suggestively.

I tried to be mad she was probably toying with me. I failed, partly because the idea she was somehow reacting to my thoughts or urges was both unproven and horrifying, partly because I was way too into it, honestly.

Click to shrink...

Gonna have to get used to her being able to read the narration, okay Lyle? That's just wonderlanders for you!

Akubra walked towards me, and gave me a gentle hug, stroking my back.

"Okay, Lyle. Whatever you like is fine."

It's… it's fine? It's fine if I like it?

I let out a surprised sob. Suddenly I was hugging her back, gripping her tight.

"Th-thank you." I wasn't sure why I was thanking her.

Click to shrink...

Hmmm. Minus points because she kinda manipulated and prompted this whole thing, but at least Akubra is nice and reassuring about it. She does use her meta awareness for good, mostly.

 

[Simon_Jester]

To be clear, these Wonderlanders do in fact possess some sort of exceptionally strong fourth wall breaching power? Or am I misunderstanding?

 

[The_Letter_K]

To be clear, these Wonderlanders do in fact possess some sort of exceptionally strong fourth wall breaching power? Or am I misunderstanding?

Click to shrink...

It hasn't been clearly stated in the text one way or another exactly what's going on. If you'd like to have that spoiled for you, you can feel free to reach out to me via PM, so that we can preserve the mystery for the other readers.

There are hints to what is going on in her scenes in the first story, especially in the scene where they explore her room, although it requires putting together details in a way that Lyle failed to, but people have told me it's too subtle, so...

 

[NemoMarx]

I've been assuming meta awareness ever since she pulled the "oh, do you know I don't already live in your house" thing. It could be literally true, but it could also be "well this wasn't defined on screen" which implies a knowledge of the narrative itself.

 

[The_Letter_K]

It was a good thing I'd locked the door. If someone had stumbled in on me I'm not sure what they'd have thought. I think I only came out of it because I'd told Charlotte I'd be done before she'd gotten herself clean. I peeled myself down off the walls, the ceiling, and out of the corners of the room. Retracted the strands of slime which crisscrossed the room like spider webs as my central core lowered to the floor from where it'd been suspended in the middle of the room.

As I did, I lost the innumerable mouths and eyes which had coated every surface of the room, all of them draining away into my body. The mouths were fine, I guess, but I immediately missed each eye as it vanished and my sight covered less of the room. Slowly, my humanoid form rose up out of the mushy lump, unsteadily at first, limbs failing to form and glopping down into the morass. Not out of confusion, or difficulty, but from an earnest desire for more.

As I finally filled out and my clothes reestablished themselves, I looked around for the wrappings. Where had I set them down?

I hadn't, of course.

They were still inside me.

I argued with myself for what felt like forever, and finally mustered the will to let them out.

Out my…

…Vagina.

I couldn't even bring myself to be frustrated with what my subconscious had done; I was too excited by the sensations. I lightly tugged at labyrinthine strands of fabric, untangling them and slowly, sensuously sliding them out of me and pleasuring myself with them at the same time.

I felt the opposite ends of the bandages twirling around and untangling in my away-place, the strips of cloth coming out silky smooth like they'd freshly pressed. It felt a bit like swimming in heavy robes, but so much more specific and intimate. I slithered tiny hooks of ooze out of every stich as I gently, insistently led them out, fighting imaginary muscles designed to pull in and caress, to never let go.

By the time I'd fully separated them, enduring the soft, silky friction all the while, I'd orgasmed twice. I'd never had such a clear opportunity to cherish the fact that even my cum was really just more slime, easily cleaned out of the fabric on a whim.

I had to fight hard not to leave any inside the stitching.

It couldn't hurt to leave a little, though? Just to make sure they stay in good repair?

No, no. It'd be a complete violation of her space.

I took a deep breath.

Then a tingle ran straight up my spine. I promised I'd be ready when she was, I needed to hurry.

I made quick work of the distance between me and the living room. It was only a moment after I'd settled in to wait that Charlotte came out of the restroom suite, her hair still damp, once again wrapped up in the sheets.

I fought not to scowl at those sheets.

I managed, I think. "Here you go, Charlotte! All clean!"

She took them with a light hand, avoiding touching me entirely. "Thanks."

"You're welcome!" I said, brightly.

"You didn't do anything weird to them, did you?" She asked.

I did.

"I didn't," I said, "why?"

"Well, you… have a pretty strong smell. Some kind of fruit." Huh. I do? "These smell just like that. It's overpowering," she said. "I know Shoggoth can be… weird, sometimes."

"No, I had Beeps do it." I said. Then I raised my voice. "Isn't that right, Beeps?"

A dutiful "Correct." echoed from elsewhere in the house.

The perfect alibi.

She nodded, slowly. "Maybe some of your... you… just rubbed off. Can you get it out?"

I frowned. "They're clean, Charlotte."

She squared her shoulders. "Then why do they smell like you were the one running a marathon in them?"

I could feel the rest of me roiling around in the away-place. "They're. Clean."

She walked back towards the bathroom. "I'm going to make sure, then. Shouldn't be any problem with that if you're telling the truth."

That was almost true, but…

"You're only going to get them dirty again!" I said, at a reasonable volume. She didn't stop, so I followed her. "There's probably little tiny things floating in the water! Like there are everywhere else! Everywhere else except your wraps!"

She tossed them into the central pool, and I reeled back like she'd struck me.

She turned back to me. "What are you talking about? What 'things'?"

"They're… uh… They're really small." I said, suddenly aware of how mad I sounded. I tried to avoid thinking about them because it made me want to clean everything. "I... can't see them, but I can feel them. Taste them. Mostly it's like tiny pieces of things like trees and dirt and dead skin. I try to clean them up but there's so many and some of them are alive."

She looked a little sick. "And you… you cleaned these... things out of the wraps?"

"I hate them. Little crawly things. Like bugs. They're everywhere." I whispered. I didn't know what they were but I hated them anyway. "Some of the really strong cleaning stuff gets rid of them completely but they always come back. Like high tide."

"Lyle, what you're saying sounds…" she said, trailing off.

"You think I don't know that?" I hissed. "It's crazy! You're covered in them, all of you are, and I can fix it but I can't ask to do that because it's so weird! It's like I'm looking at a priest tapdancing with a Lilim! It's ludicrously unlikely to be real but I can't deny seeing it and if it is real it's just so horrifying that I have to do something."

"And," she said, "If it's not? If it's something that's… been done to you?"

I took a deep breath. "Then… then… then the wraps are still clean. But even if I knew it was false for sure it wouldn't change how it feels to me."

She grimaced, and opened her mouth to say something in response but she was cut off by two voices from the main room. It sounded like they were just coming in from outside.

"Truly, I appreciate you coming out here." Faust said. "I promise your price will be no trouble to pay, I will ensure justice is done. I will not abide larceny in my town."

The other voice replied, "Yeah, yeah. Just bring me the girl, we'll get her measured up and I'll be on my way."

"I bet that's your weaponsmith," I said, needlessly. Charlotte was more than smart enough to work that out herself, but I was desperate to change the subject.

I walked away from the pool area, as Charlotte headed to one of the private rooms to change.

"Two of my co-wives are actually former law enforcement." Faust continued, boasting about us. "They are an excellent team, and I'm sure the culprits will be brought to you before long."

I felt a nice warm feeling as she talked us up.

"Hey Faust," I said, as I left the room. Beeps was leaving Samael's room at the same time, not waiting for me to call her out, she'd have heard Faust too. "It's been a while since Beeps and I had a case but we'll do what we can, Miss…?"

The woman, a Cyclops, well known for their expert weapon-smithing skills, turned to face both Beeps and me, her eye widening.

Mine did too.

"It's you!" She shouted, furious. She flexed menacingly as she trod towards me.

Faust teleported between us, magic flaring across her body. "What is the meaning of this?" she demanded.

"These two are the thieves! They stole my hammer!" the Cyclops owner of 'Don't pass, buy!' said, all but frothing at the mouth.

There was a beat as everyone took in what had just happened.

"Ah… I… Hmmm… I told you they were effective investigators?" Faust said, in lieu of any real response. "Behold, they have brought you your thieves!"

 

[NemoMarx]

It couldn't hurt to leave a little, though? Just to make sure they stay in good repair?

No, no. It'd be a complete violation of her space.

I took a deep breath.

Then a tingle ran straight up my spine. I promised I'd be ready when she was, I needed to hurry.

Click to shrink...

Everyone is gonna end up covered in shoggoth buds after a while, aren't they.

"You're welcome!" I said, brightly.

"You didn't do anything weird to them, did you?" She asked.

I did.

"I didn't," I said, "why?"

Click to shrink...

Good dry humor, and poor Lyle. Just trying to be helpful!

"No, I had Beeps do it." I said. Then I raised my voice. "Isn't that right, Beeps?"

A dutiful "Correct." echoed from elsewhere in the house.

The perfect alibi.

Click to shrink...

Not entirely sure using your loyal robot gal as a witness is convincing, given Charlotte's familiar with you both.

"And," she said, "If it's not? If it's something that's… been done to you?"

I took a deep breath. "Then… then… then the wraps are still clean. But even if I knew it was false for sure it wouldn't change how it feels to me."

Click to shrink...

I like how this, despite being a kinda comedic side bit about Lyle's over cleaning stuff, kind of touches on the central question Charlotte has about Lyle? How much is changed, and what's still changing, and how fast. It's interesting that she's actually felt safe enough to ask that instead of just wondering in her head.

"Ah… I… Hmmm… I told you they were effective investigators?" Faust said, in lieu of any real response. "Behold, they have brought you your thieves!"

Click to shrink...

I laughed out loud. Maximum cheek from Faust, love her

 

[Radmelon]

Nothing like being able to sense microorganisms in a pre-germ-theory society to sound like a raving lunatic. I bet Akubra would know about them and back Lyle up, but she's not exactly the best character witness...

 

[The_Letter_K]

While I loved Faust dearly, I didn't think that was going to work. To be fair, she probably didn't either. Even someone like her could be blindsided, and I guess we'd never gotten her caught up on that particular escapade. She needed time to process, and stalling was a good choice. We needed more than that, though.

"It wasn't stealing, exactly…" I said, from behind Faust's lightshow, "It was more like… liberating?"

That didn't seem to be the answer she was looking for either, judging by the strangled shriek she let out. I couldn't help but notice how odd it was to see her brow crease in anger over only a single eye.

She leapt towards Faust, slamming into a wall of force that flashed in a tiny hexagonal pattern as she impacted, before springing back and trying again. She must be pretty durable on her own, I doubted the thickly stained and densely layered leathers she was wearing were adding much to protect her from her head-on charge.

Literally head-on, at that. She had a large, thick, sharp central horn that she was trying to use to pierce Faust's defenses. The way she tossed her head as she hit looked a little silly from the other side of an indestructible wall, but I had a feeling I'd have had a harder time laughing about it if it were to fall.

"Give it back!" She yelled. I felt a little bad, watching her, if I was honest. It was clear the hammer meant a lot to her, even as it was clear she had no idea what it actually was.

Well, I couldn't blame her for that, I guess. I didn't exactly know either.

Charlotte stepped out of the bathroom door behind me, into the living room with the rest of us, and her gaze swept the room in an instant, taking in the situation. Beeps by Samael's room, towards the back corner along the right side, the side with all the bedroom doors, Faust and the Cyclops near the front entry door, Faust's wall blocking the Cyclop's access to any of our doors other than the exit, and finally she and I, standing by the entrance to the bathrooms, roughly in line with the center of the room along the left wall, the utility side of the house, and all our furniture in the center of the room, surrounding the table.

Charlotte took a defensive but tightly-coiled stance, and, keeping the Cyclops in her sightline, she quickly and purposefully put herself in a position roughly center to the room, just behind the furniture. From the look of her, I thought she might be able to reach any inch of the room in an instant.

The only acknowledgement she deemed necessary to the rest of us was a brief nod to Beeps as she settled into place, making sure to leave her a clear view of Faust and the Cyclops even around the arrangement of chairs and couches central to our living room. She was leaving Beeps a firing line.

That was when I started to think maybe this was going to go poorly.

Meanwhile, Charlotte's appearance led the Cyclops to pause in her assault briefly, taking in how many of us there were getting to be. Only briefly, though. She dove right back into another attempt almost immediately. She apparently planned to go through all of us if needbe.

I guess I'd have to be the reasonable one, then.

"…Beeps, can you bring your friend out here, please?" I asked, in as soothing a voice as I could manage. The Cyclops stopped throwing herself at Faust at my words, although almost begrudgingly so. She turned to look at me through the shimmering shield, then at Beeps.

Beeps gave me a look which said 'I can't believe we're entertaining this imbecile' as clearly as any words could have done, but she still complied, slipping back inside Samael's room for a moment before returning with the hammer, which was now sporting a slick-but-simple robe that hung nicely on the stand, and had been expertly matched to the sunhat.

"What did you do to it?" the Cyclops asked, aghast.

"Her, I think," I said. Both the woman and Faust looked at me, Faust having to look over her shoulder to do so, her brow arching. She and the Cyclops both spoke over each other, neither really caring what the other had to say.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? You better start talking sense quick, you sticky-fingered freak." "A feminine hammer? As you like, my love, though hammers are traditionally considered quite phallic."

"Well," I said to Faust, mostly, but also the woman, "It's a little complicated for Beeps to try to explain, but it looks like it's made out of the same stuff she is. The head of the hammer, I mean. I think it's… uh… Automa-tech? I guess? She says it's a friend and I believe her. We kinda took it after Beeps knocked her out." I gestured to the Cyclops.

Faust took that information on-board quickly, but the Cyclops didn't really have any reason to listen to me, and something about the way her scowl only deepened made me doubt that she was swayed.

Faust turned to look back at Beeps and the hammer, actually putting the Cyclops behind her. Charlotte and I both tensed, but the wall held as she floated towards the hammer, although it followed her some, and the Cyclops gained ground, Amy's room, then Blackberry's then Faust's lab all slipped past the shield as it settled roughly in front of the furniture, putting me uncomfortably close to the angry violent lady. I shuffled a little, but I trusted Faust's magic, and so held my ground.

"May I?" Faust asked Beeps, who nodded, slowly. Faust levitated the whole assembly before her gaze, staring intently at the hammer, eyes glowing with ribbons of light trailing away from them and lashing out behind her, different colors every few moments.

She seemed to be gleaning something from the experience each time the color changed, but I doubted we'd find out what because, unfortunately, that was when Blackberry's door opened.

On the other side of Faust's shield.

Instantly I was on alert. Blackberry's door had shifted over time into a sort of sliding door, like you might find on a barn. It gave her plenty of room to go through without trouble, but it also opened wide.

As such, it wasn't really possible for her to 'peek out', exactly. When she opened the door, she was suddenly in full view, and the Cyclops let out a strangled cry of frustration as her 'foes' increased in number once again.

"H-hi there!" Blackberry said, a little nervously. "What's going on? And, um... w-what's your name?"

That was a good question, actually. I didn't know either, and the Cyclops didn't seem keen to answer, but... calling her "the Cyclops" was kinda getting clumsy. 'Cye' would work for now.

I could all but hear the gears turning in Cye's head as she realized that Blackberry was entirely undefended. Before I could let out a warning shout, Cye had turned to her and dropped her head into a charge, bellowing challenge and crossing most of the distance between them in an instant.

Faust's barrier dropped, and Charlotte, Beeps, Faust and I all charged forward, each trying to get there in time to stop the inevitable.

Then Blackberry panicked.

She reared up on her hind legs to a terrifying twelve feet tall, and I'd moved just close enough to see Cye's eye widen as she stumbled back. She had just enough time to really consider that she'd just charged someone who technically counted as cavalry before Blackberry's flailing front legs kicked out and knocked the already unbalanced Cye to the floor.

Faust, Beeps, and Charlotte all slowed their approach to a stop as soon as she'd started to panic, but I didn't have to worry about getting hit.

And she was my wife.

I pressed on, cautiously.

"Help, Lyle, help! She's gonna get meeee!" Blackberry screamed, as she bucked wildly, front and back legs lifting of the ground like a wild mustang. Her torso was no more controlled than her horso, and she flailed her arms around randomly, eyes clenched shut, trying to find the threat. She spun mostly in place, hopping around in a tight circle, screaming all the while.

"I'm here," I said, gesturing calm with arms she couldn't see with her eyes screwed shut. I wasn't sure she could really hear me, either. "She can't hurt you, I promise."

That was true, actually, despite my earlier worries.

Cye wasn't in a position to do much at all, in fact. She was, if anything, having a worse time than Blackberry. She got hit by a hoof almost every time two came down, and both missed less often than they both hit. She laid on the ground, stunned, as blow after blow rained down on her from above. She had enough sense to cover her face, but that didn't save her much pain.

Especially not when Blackberry tired of all the jumping around and sunk to her knees, shaking, inadvertently settling her bulk on top of the poor woman.

The moment she settled enough to hear me clearly over her screaming and flailing, I put a hand on her shoulder, which calmed her somewhat almost immediately, reducing her cries to sobs.

Actually… Fuck Cye, frankly.

That was my wife.

I walked around beside Blackberry, and hopped up into her saddle. If I smiled a little at the muffled 'oof' that produced from beneath my loyal steed, well, who could blame me? I cradled Blackberry's barrel with my legs, and wrapped my arms around her from behind, resting my chin on her shoulder.

"Hey." I said, whispering in her ear.

Her sniffles slowed, and she let out a sort of pleased noise that was still half-sob. Heavy breaths shook her body. Really heavy, they were filling her horso's lungs too, and the shakes as they passed through her were intense.

"She didn't get you," I said, softly. "You got her."

"I-I did?" She asked, voice thick with tears and phlegm.

"You did," I confirmed. "It was very brave, I'm quite proud of you."

"It was? You are?"

I pressed the side of my head against her, cheek to cheek, and nodded slowly.

"You pinned her pretty good. You're a natural warhorse. Can you stand up for me?"

She did, and I guided her over to her custom ottoman, leaning into her with my body in lieu of reins. She trotted over slowly, and I set her down gently.

"Faust, Beeps?" I asked, and the two moved towards Cye immediately. Charlotte's eyes never left the Cyclops laying there on the floor. She circled around the couches herself, on route to the same place.

"No," I said, to the two of them, "I need you over here. Keep Blackberry calm for me."

That was my wife.

They changed course reluctantly as Charlotte crept up on Cye, closing ground slowly, cautiously. When they reached us, Faust hopping into the saddle with me and Beeps hugging her daughter from the front, I dismounted.

I reached my hand out, and a torrent of mouths and eyes rushed past Charlotte almost faster than even I could see. I watched Charlotte react in slow motion, reflexes leading her to dive away at such a slow speed she seemed to float.

My tidalself swept Cye up and pressed her into the very corner of the ceiling with a grotesque parody of a hand holding her aloft in its shifting, toothy fist. My whole body bubbled and roiled as I slowly brought her down to eye-level and strode calmly towards her, drawing more and more of myself back in as I did.

Charlotte hit the floor, and life returned to normal speed.

"Our guest and I need to discuss proper manners."

 

[NemoMarx]

"Give it back!" She yelled. I felt a little bad, watching her, if I was honest. It was clear the hammer meant a lot to her, even as it was clear she had no idea what it actually was.

Well, I couldn't blame her for that, I guess. I didn't exactly know either.

Click to shrink...

I do wonder about this. Family heirloom? Personal weapon?

Charlotte took a defensive but tightly-coiled stance, and, keeping the Cyclops in her sightline, she quickly and purposefully put herself in a position roughly center to the room, just behind the furniture. From the look of her, I thought she might be able to reach any inch of the room in an instant.

Click to shrink...

Charlotte sides with the Lyle team! Promising. She could have easily let the mamono fight and considered it not her problem, I think - she's not required by contract to help at least.

"Well," I said to Faust, mostly, but also the woman, "It's a little complicated for Beeps to try to explain, but it looks like it's made out of the same stuff she is. The head of the hammer, I mean. I think it's… uh… Automa-tech? I guess? She says it's a friend and I believe her. We kinda took it after Beeps knocked her out." I gestured to the Cyclops.

Faust took that information on-board quickly, but the Cyclops didn't really have any reason to listen to me, and something about the way her scowl only deepened made me doubt that she was swayed.

Click to shrink...

Right, strongly thinking the hammer is somehow scavenged out of an automatons core. AI core? Brains?

"May I?" Faust asked Beeps, who nodded, slowly. Faust levitated the whole assembly before her gaze, staring intently at the hammer, eyes glowing with ribbons of light trailing away from them and lashing out behind her, different colors every few moments.

She seemed to be gleaning something from the experience each time the color changed, but I doubted we'd find out what because, unfortunately, that was when Blackberry's door opened.

On the other side of Faust's shield.

Click to shrink...

And Faust was going to try and magically scan it (mind reading? magical presence)...

The moment she settled enough to hear me clearly over her screaming and flailing, I put a hand on her shoulder, which calmed her somewhat almost immediately, reducing her cries to sobs.

Actually… Fuck Cye, frankly.

That was my wife.

I walked around beside Blackberry, and hopped up into her saddle. If I smiled a little at the muffled 'oof' that produced from beneath my loyal steed, well, who could blame me?

Click to shrink...

This is very fair. Like, the Cyclops has stuff going on, and even valid reasons to be upset, but... that's not much of an excuse for hurting people, really.

I reached my hand out, and a torrent of mouths and eyes rushed past Charlotte almost faster than even I could see. I watched Charlotte react in slow motion, reflexes leading her to dive away at such a slow speed she seemed to float.

My tidalself swept Cye up and pressed her into the very corner of the ceiling with a grotesque parody of a hand holding her aloft in its shifting, toothy fist. My whole body bubbled and roiled as I slowly brought her down to eye-level and strode calmly towards her, drawing more and more of myself back in as I did.

Charlotte hit the floor, and life returned to normal speed.

"Our guest and I need to discuss proper manners."

Click to shrink...

Oh this is good. Lovely shoggoth times! And a really good demonstration for Charlotte of what her "opponent" might be like to fight, I think...

 

[The_Letter_K]

"Lyle, wait!"

That sounded like… My eyes swiveled along my arm, taking in the room behind me.

Beeps had Cye in her line of fire, her arm cannons out and glowing, ready to fire. It was nice to see she had my back, not that there'd been any doubt.

Faust appeared to be writing in a notebook, glancing down at it and then back up at a furious pace, and if her flushed appearance was any indicator, she was very turned on. Lord. What a nerd.

Charlotte had backed off, seeming to have taken cover amongst the furniture.

That left…

Blackberry. She was walking towards me, her cheeks and nose still red and puffy from freshly fallen tears. Her hands were clenched into fists, and there was a fearful tremor to her entire body that made the raging fire burning in my heart burn even hotter.

Her eyes, though, were determined.

"What is- What is it, sweetheart?" I asked.

"Please," she said, "Please, let her go!"

What?

"Uh… But she, uh, she tried to hurt you?" I asked, confused.

"She did." Blackberry said, "That was mean. But… she didn't actually do it!"

"But only because you stopped her!" I said, frustrated.

"Maybe." She said. "But now I'm stopping you, Lyle." A chill ran down my spine. Or maybe… it felt like I'd been drenched? It was a wet, cold feeling, like walking a mile in a thunderstorm.

"But..."

"Just because she was mean doesn't mean we should be!" Blackberry said, volume as high as I'd heard her. "You know better than that, Lyle!"

I think…

Is she…

Mad at me?

"I… I uh," I stammered. I wasn't one hundred percent sure what was happening.

"You're sweet, and kind, and thoughtful! Not… Not sour, mean, and violent." Blackberry said. Her tone was thick with tears again, but the sound was different this time, almost harder. I think this time they were my fault. "Please let her go! She's very sorry, aren't you, Miss?"

Some of my eyes caught Cye nodding frantically, but my attention was on Blackberry.

"But… I… I'm trying to protect you? You're my wife! I don't want you in danger! She… I…"

Blackberry closed the rest of the distance between us, and knelt down, wrapping her arms around me.

"She can't hurt me anymore. And!" She leaned her head into my shoulder, whispering the rest into my ear. "I never feel any safer than when you're holding me tight, Lyle. So… If you ever wanna grab somebody up, just grab me up instead, okay?"

I nuzzled into her neck. "...Okay, sweetie. I… I'm sorry I couldn't protect you."

She just hugged me tighter.

I wrapped my arms around her, and I heard a 'thunk' noise as something hit the ground behind me.

I let the warm feeling of her arms wrapped around me lull me into a sort of trance, and I cuddled up against her.

She was okay.

She's okay.

She tried to stand back up, but I didn't let go. That's not to say I stopped her from standing, but I think she was a little surprised. I squeezed her tighter.

"Oh, Lyle…" she said, "It's okay! Don't be sad!"

I nuzzled into her neck even more.

"My husband is so cute." She whispered, breathily, and I heard the clatter of her hooves as she shuffled on them excitedly. I felt like I was blushing, but I wasn't sure. "Hey, um… Sally, Momma? I think…"

"Tend to Lyle as you will, Blackberry. Beepatrice and I will have a discussion with our… new friend. Explain things."

"Politely." I heard Beeps say. I also heard her cannon cylinders revving.

"Okay! Just um… she didn't mean it, okay?" Blackberry said again. "Please be nice."

"...You have my solemn oath, Mrs. Of the Forest."

Blackberry let out a squealing sound, and swept me up in her arms more securely. I didn't really try to fight it. Just being close to her was so important right now. She'd said my hugs made her feel safe, and I wanted her as safe as possible. There… there had to be a way I could protect her without violence. Right?

There had to be.

Blackberry's room had changed quite a bit since I'd last seen it. It had once been a sort of forest clearing with little else besides trees, a pile of straw as a bed, and a small fire pit.

Now, however… It's just, the aesthetics hadn't exactly changed, it still felt a lot like a shaded forest clearing, with bright beams of warm 'sunlight' pouring down from the ceiling, with plenty of open space, but…

Well, there was no getting around how similar it looked to our living room, aside from that. The fire pit was still here, still somewhat rustic, made with piled stone, rather than anything carved or any metalwork, but furniture that surrounded it had gone from simple logs to actual replicas of the circle of seats in our main room, down to the exact placement. The materials were different, some looked like mossy rocks while others were thickly knitted straw, but it was unmistakable. Back behind our replica living room set was a somewhat smaller tent, still large enough for Blackberry to comfortably fit inside.

And maybe bring someone else in there with her.

We passed the fire circle, and sure enough, Blackberry trotted right up to the tent. Inside, all along the fabric walls, there were surprisingly detailed drawings of all of us, as well as women I had to assume were Blackberry's cousins, aunts, and maybe even her mother as well as a man who was likely her father. They hadn't been colored in, but I was struck by the life in them regardless. Faust had said she'd learned most of what she knew from Blackberry, but I'd never really considered what that meant.

Sure, Sally had likely pursued that knowledge beyond what she'd been taught, beyond insanity, even, but Blackberry had to have provided a decent base to start with. ...This was the same girl who'd carved herself an artisan saddle, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised but… well… I guess I was underestimating her.

She was a simple girl, sure, but she was also a person, and people can only be so simple, I guess.

"These are really good," I murmured into her chest, as some of the eyes on my back swept over the decor.

"You like them?" She asked, flattered, as she laid me down onto the ground on my back. The entirety of the floor was a sort of cushiony mat, so it was actually surprisingly comfy.

"I do," I said, "I had no idea you were such an amazing artist."

She smiled down at me, kneeling on the mat, and leaning herself over me.

"I'm glad," She murmured. "I used to try to draw you all the time, but…"

Hmm?

"Well, I never got it right." She said. "You don't look at all like how I dreamed."

Her eyes widened.

"N-not that you aren't handsome, Lyle! You're even more handsome! I! I mean!"

I reached up and put my hand on her cheek. It's been a while since we've done this, but...

Ahem.

"The same is true of you, my heart," I said. "Far more beautiful than I could ever have imagined. I catch you in my gaze and find myself enchanted."

It's a good thing I've had Sally in my life for so long. I've picked up more than a bit from listening to her talk. It's too much effort usually, but…

Blackberry squealed in a very high pitch, right at the edge of my hearing. If I'd still had my old ears, the only clue would have been the slight vibration of her face as she clamped down on her joy to keep character.

"My husband, your love shines so brightly, from your heart into your body. There can be none more handsome than thee, for thy love is… uh… is resplendid in thy skin, in thy eyes, in thy smile."

Heh. She's so cute, I swear. I can't imagine life without her.

I pushed myself up a little up off the floor, bringing us nose to nose. Her face flushed, her eyes dilated. Her breathing started to get heavy.

"I love you, Blackberry."

Then I kissed her.

 

[NemoMarx]

Beeps had Cye in her line of fire, her arm cannons out and glowing, ready to fire. It was nice to see she had my back, not that there'd been any doubt.

Faust appeared to be writing in a notebook, glancing down at it and then back up at a furious pace, and if her flushed appearance was any indicator, she was very turned on. Lord. What a nerd.

Charlotte had backed off, seeming to have taken cover amongst the furniture.

Click to shrink...

The expected reactions for beeps and faust - but Charlotte seems to have been spooked a bit by the shoggoth demonstration.

Her eyes, though, were determined.

"What is- What is it, sweetheart?" I asked.

Click to shrink...

Lyle's managing some self control, though!

"I'm glad," She murmured. "I used to try to draw you all the time, but…"

Hmm?

"Well, I never got it right." She said. "You don't look at all like how I dreamed."

Her eyes widened.

"N-not that you aren't handsome, Lyle! You're even more handsome! I! I mean!"

Click to shrink...

Hmmmm. Interesting Blackberry reactions. She's certainly still into her shoggothy husband, though?

 

[Radmelon]

It's a good thing I've had Sally in my life for so long. I've picked up more than a bit from listening to her talk.

Click to shrink...

Lyle is very good at preparing ham.

 

[The_Letter_K]

Cuddling with Blackberry was all well and good, but I was aching for something a little more… satisfying. Especially after my night with Samael, where I hadn't been comfortable really 'going for it', I was feeling a little pent up. Having some time to myself with Charlotte's wraps had been exciting, but it didn't really compare to sharing that feeling with someone else.

Having Blackberry leaning down over me was a really nice feeling, too. She was intimidatingly large, even if her soft, round features took the edge off of it. Having someone that big looking down at me sent a thrill of instinctive danger through me, something I was able to enjoy here, safe in her arms.

If her eyes were anything to go by, she was thinking along the same lines as me, though. Normally a clear, honest, forest green, she was so aroused that they'd dilated to be nearly entirely black. Her long braid was hanging down over her shoulder, her black hair resting on my chest, and I felt a sudden, mad urge to take it in, and re-braid her hair for her. It looked like it had been a while since it'd been put up. That couldn't be healthy.

Her breath smelled like the powder we'd been living on since I'd turned, and her lips tasted like it too, sort of grainy and unpleasantly earthy like she'd been snacking on chalk. It was gross, but she was great so I dealt with it. The smell was very quickly being drowned out by her arousal anyway. She had to be cared for twice, after all, and her horso's pussy was significantly larger. In an enclosed space, like this tent, it was entirely impossible to ignore what I was doing to her.

"How are you doing, sweetheart?" I asked. "It's been too long since we had some time alone, you know?"

I knew that she was spending 'quality time' with at least Amy and Faust. In fact, there seemed to be a really complicated web of sexual adventures all throughout our little group, but that didn't change the fact that she and I hadn't had the chance lately.

"Mhmm…" She murmured. "Love you lots."

She shifted her torso, and we were pressed close enough that her enormous breasts brushed against mine, and I let out an involuntary moan.

"H-hey," I said, arousal growing by the moment, "C-can I ask you something weird?"

"You're not weird, Lyle, s-so you can ask me anything~!" She said. Her usual pep sounded just a little bit throatier, more growly.

"W-well… I'm part Shoggoth, you know?" She nodded. I was having trouble controlling my breathing. "So, I, uh… I eat dirt, sometimes, and…"

A sharp intake of breath, louder than my own ragged, irregular gasps by an order of magnitude.

"And," Blackberry said, her tone sly, "and I'm a dirty, dirty girl, aren't I, Lyle?"

"Lord yes," I said. "You're so, so dirty, Blackberry. Please, let me, let me… I want to-!"

"Hmmmm…" She said, making a big show of thinking about it, "I dunno, Lyle…I like being your dirty girl. Every time I think about you, about Sally, Amy, even Momma… I just get even dirtier. Can you really clean me up?"

I whined, in lieu of an answer.

"I'm so dirty, Lyle, so dirty I changed into something else. I don't think you can clean me that deep down. But… You can try as hard as you like if you really want to~"

A sound like an ocean boiling suddenly roared in my ears as I expanded out, out, out!

"I want to, I really, really want you!"

Her eyes widened as I swept her up like a wave, pouring over her with a torrent of kisses I couldn't contain.

I felt her go completely limp under the sheer weight of the sensations, and I made a concerted effort not to go in on her as hard as I actually wanted to go. Rather than moving each piece of myself independently across her, I moved in waves and pulses, let myself become something she could anticipate.

Slowly, she gathered herself again, and I pulled myself free of her torso so I could focus on cleaning her horso more thoroughly, as well as give her a chance to talk.

All she did was moan, though.

Feeling pretty smug, I raced across her, unknotting fur and gently dissolving tiny thorns and seeds that had gotten stuck in her coat. She seemed at a loss as to what to do with herself, and I watched as her hands crept towards her hips, slowly, likely on instinct.

I slithered up her back, and her hands fell limp as she let out another low, dazed moan. I pulled most of my standard body out of that little stream, and suddenly I was wrapping my arms around her from behind, my hips vanishing into the murky depths of our mingling bodies.

I held her tightly, leaning in as close as I could and rubbing my neck into hers.

"Please, my fated one, allow me to sate your desires," I whispered, kissing her cheek.

I pulled the front of her apron-like dress aside, and felt down her torso, trailing fingers lightly across her body. Always slightly lower on her body than I'd expect, she was already soaking wet. I pulled the excess juices into me, luxuriating in the taste coupled with the idea that she was cleaner from my efforts.

She leaned back into me, hard, and I almost lost cohesion. Instead, she started to rub her back and shoulders against my chest, her head lolling back. I ducked under her sharp, somewhat stubby horns. Even short Bicorn horns are still pretty long, especially right next to her head like this.

They slid gently across my scalp as my forehead came closer and closer to contact with her head. She was arching her back and neck back pretty hard now. Her head was twitching in tiny, happy nods as she burbled little noises of delight from deep inside her chest.

I honed in on her braid, as she slid further into delirium. I was gonna clean that thing so good and then there wouldn't be a hair out of place!

I hissed a satisfied little breath out as I brought my hands up to her braid. My hands were also still teasing Blackberry's pussy, too, but I tried not to focus too hard on how I was doing what I was doing.

I just wanted to do it, so I did.

Then her horns caught against mine.

Somebody…

Somebody was screaming absolutely shameless things.

It… probably wasn't Blackberry.

"Hohhh, ohhh! Fuck! Fuck! What the shit is this?!"

I couldn't look around for who it was though, my focus was entirely on the friction between Blackberry's horns and mine. The length of her two straight, pointed horns, trapped underneath the crown-like halo of my own conjoined horns, each tiny movement was a litany of sensation beyond any description I could muster. I yanked on her braid as we both went wild under the assault on our senses. The smooth enamel of our horns occasionally scraping across something more textured, whether her ribbed lengths, or the bumps and valleys of my own crown-like horns.

I could feel the vibrations in my skull, my lips, my nose, my eyes…

My brain.

That I didn't really have any of those things anymore was irrelevant under the sheer, stupefying numbness of everything else in comparison to this singular feeling.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuugggghhhhhhh."

I swung around her, reveling in the friction between us as I twisted myself around. When I finished we were chest to chest, and I was hanging off her forehead by our horns, hers like two fingers holding me by my handle, like I was nothing more than a fancy bag.

She lifted me effortlessly, rubbing her forehead into my hair and her horns against mine. I kissed at her neck as best I could, but I felt drunk and unbalanced.

Master?

M-mistress?

I… I can't… uh…

I don't know what to do.

"Lyle, Lyle, please… I wanna… I want you to make me…"

"m-m-make you?"

"Feel gooood"

An overwhelming urge to oblige her, to obey the woman I loved, the one who held me so completely, it swept across me and swept me up before I knew what had happened.

I made her feel good.​

 

[NemoMarx]

"How are you doing, sweetheart?" I asked. "It's been too long since we had some time alone, you know?"

I knew that she was spending 'quality time' with at least Amy and Faust. In fact, there seemed to be a really complicated web of sexual adventures all throughout our little group, but that didn't change the fact that she and I hadn't had the chance lately.

Click to shrink...

Poly management! This is kind of a background thing for most of the story, but it's good Lyle is keeping aware of those dynamics and all. And everyone does have a few other connections, so the overall polycule seems pretty healthy...

Then her horns caught against mine.

Somebody…

Somebody was screaming absolutely shameless things.

It… probably wasn't Blackberry.

Click to shrink...

I could feel the vibrations in my skull, my lips, my nose, my eyes…

My brain.

That I didn't really have any of those things anymore was irrelevant under the sheer, stupefying numbness of everything else in comparison to this singular feeling.

Click to shrink...

Hmmm. See now I'm thinking about shoggoth hybrid logistics? Like, does Lyle form a denser slime to make a "skeleton" for the horns? Or are the horns actually physical and just moved around when going into the tide mode or other blobbier forms?

 

[The_Letter_K]

By the time Blackberry and I were ready to head back out again, the Cyclops had gone. Not terribly surprising, I doubted she'd been eager to stick around, but I couldn't decide if I was disappointed by that or not. She'd technically apologized to Blackberry while I'd been pinning her against the wall, but I really wanted to get something more sincere out of her. Blackberry deserved better than an apology given under duress.

It was out of my hands for now, though.

Blackberry slipped right into Amy's room, no doubt off to tell her best friend what she'd just been up to. Blackberry was, well… if there'd been a mean-spirited bone in her body, I'd have said she was a gossip. As it was, she was just really chatty, and maybe a bit of an over-sharer? I guess stuff like 'I just got fucked in every hole at once by my blob-husband' is actually more of a mainstream topic here, so maybe it wasn't over-sharing and I just needed to adjust a bit more?

Either way, she could hardly wait to gush, and so off she went.

That left me in the living room with an odd grouping. Well, not that odd, I guess, since Faust, Beeps, and Charlotte had all been out here when I left, and Akubra wasn't here, so it wasn't nearly as odd as it could be by default, but Samael was here too, and I hadn't seen Charlotte willingly in the same space as her since they'd arrived here.

Even though they were seated across from each other, rather than next to each other, it was still a big deal, in my opinion. Beeps and Faust were between them on each side, making a rough square in our circular seating arrangements, and they were all looking at several thin, long papers rolled out onto the table.

Charlotte was doing most of the talking, surprisingly, and Faust was staring at her whenever she wasn't looking, naked, barely restrained desire on her flushed face, though she disciplined herself whenever Charlotte glanced her way.

"That wouldn't work. It's a spear, not a sword. You're thinking in terms of slashes and cuts when you need to be thinking pokes and jabs. The energy flow is entirely different in this case. If we arranged things that way, all you'd have, runically speaking, is a long-handled axe with a really tiny blade. You can use a full spear for blunt strikes, like a staff, but a short spear is much less effective that way."

Faust replied to Charlotte after a moment, "So instead of trying to spread the effect across the entire swing or strike, we should be looking for something that triggers all at once? Perhaps on impact?"

"Exactly. A spear is a spacing weapon, best suited for area-denial, so I see where you're coming from, but its spacing is a function of reach, rather than arcing strikes. That said, a short spear doesn't really have that reach, but having a shield is paramount when fighting Mamono. Taking too many demonic hits to your armor is a great way to wind up inside a freshly formed Living Armor, and that never ends well. The extra disposable layer is indispensable, and a short spear provides the best ability to strike while still behind it."

Charlotte glared at the documents, and Faust shuddered silently. I arched an eyebrow at her, but she only had eyes for Charlotte at the moment.

"Hey ladies," I said, "what's all this?"

Charlotte hardly glanced up at me, but Faust caught my raised eyebrow and met it with a small scowl. Hehehe.

"Enchantment." Beeps said, and she stood up, turning to face me.

"Blackberry?" She asked.

"She went into Amy's room. She's probably only just started gushing, if you wanted to hear it."

Beeps nodded once, walking towards me. She opened herself up wide, arms splayed, offering a hug. Her face was the same composed disinterest as always, but I knew her too well to fall for that. I brought her in for a solid embrace, and took the chance to polish her up a little where we made contact.

She let out a small, surprised breath, and I made a note that it'd been too long since I'd cleaned her clockwork, and that it would probably be much easier now. Something to think about.

"How are you doing, Beeps? Any troubles?"

She shook her head, firmly, short pink hair swaying. "Contented."

"Okay. Lemme know if you need something."

She nodded, and I let her go, moving past her into the circle of chairs and couches.

I heard her use the door behind me, and I sat down in an empty space, making myself a little chair. I nodded to Samael, who was also mostly focused on Charlotte.

I frowned. I guess I was a little too used to being the center of our group, but it didn't feel great to have Faust so focused on someone else, and no one around to compensate. Maybe I should have asked Beeps to stay back with me?

"So what's the thinking, here?" I asked, gesturing to the papers vaguely.

Samael glanced up. "Enchantment layouts. It's pretty technical, you sure you're up for it?"

"Nope!" I said, cheerfully. "But it can't hurt to try, right? I used to listen to Sally babble about thaumic resonance delineations, concave versus convex glyphic distortion effects, and multiplanar chromatic stacking with um… diesul and widdershins? I never really got it, but sometimes just explaining helped her out, so…"

Faust beamed at me. "Laying out spell circles, yes! I am impressed you remember the terminology, at the least." She looked at Charlotte and Samael. "If I may, I'd like to attempt to explain what I've gleaned so far?"

Charlotte just grunted, and that was enough for Faust, apparently.

"My understanding is thus;" she began, "modern anti-mamono armaments are designed to take advantage of the limitations of the Succubize defensive spell, since it is all but instinctive in even magically weak Mamono. Only those entirely absent magical talent cannot cast it, and they are often defended other ways. Even yourself, as an Alp, would likely do it reflexively more often than not, although it works better when done with intent."

I nodded. "I sort of know about that, it's what makes Mamono so hard to fight with magic, right? They turn incoming magical attacks into pleasure spells and then just enjoy them?"

"Precisely. It can be thought of as a corruption effect applied to incoming magic. Magical attacks are free-floating thaumic energy directed by will that has been shaped and then left the body, and as such it no longer has the resistance that a soul provides it with its agency. It merely is what it is, and cannot meaningfully resist being turned to more orgasmic ends. The same principle is actually used in more traditional counter-spells in powerful magical duels, and those with finesse can turn an opponent's attack into their own once redirected, saving significant energy."

I nodded politely.

"However, there are limitations. A pillar of earth beneath the feet of a Succubus might spear her in a very different way than you intend, but the pillar remains, and Succubize no longer affects it after its summoning is complete and the magic is spent. A force spell may caress the target instead of brutalizing them, but they will still be moved roughly the same distance as if hit by the intended effect. Put another way, Succubize is much less effective against indirect effects."

"Okay, so how does that change things?"

"There are other implications for magical combat, such as the focus on using binding spells, area-of-effect spells to manipulate the battlefield indirectly, and other such workarounds, however, in practical terms, for this discussion, it means runic weaponry, which is essentially a spell which has already been cast into an object, is widely used. Much less adaptable than conventional spellwork, but it requires far less investment on the part of the user, and is less open to corruption from Succubize. Weapons can still be corrupted, but it takes time, often much more than any ten battles."

"So… if Charlotte's spear shoots fire, it's still effective, when a fire spell isn't?"

"Exactly. Once the fire has become physical, rather than magical, Succubize no longer functions, it is a solely magical defense, and you cannot easily corrupt spellwork that has already been cast. A runic weapon is merely activated."

"Like… if you were building a house, somebody could slip extra bits in while you were sleeping, and make it into a… library or something, but if you brought a house with you, it's already what you wanted, and you just need to set it down?"

She nodded excitedly. "However, there is compromise even here. Beepatrice, after all, is technically a runic artefact. Living Armors and Cursed Swords can quickly arise, should you get too complicated with what you're creating. Simple effects leave less room for… creative interpretations to take hold."

"It's a huge headache," Charlotte interjected. "The effect has to be strong enough to overcome supernatural toughness, but records show that the first Chochin Obake and Gargoyle were likely born of an over-enchanted lantern and statue, respectively. We think Living Dolls too, but there's no proof. So many ideas get rejected because they wind up being too complicated to actually pull off, or too weak within the limits of what we can safely do. I had this idea for a hand-portable ballista made from a crossbow that… Ugh, never mind."

Faust grinned, and continued. "It's confirmation of an effect I noticed myself, that certain varieties of Mamono appear to be freak accidents at first, but that now one can create, say… a Karakasa Obake by merely over or under-valuing one's umbrella, and be slurped up into her embrace before you recognize the danger. Reckless enchanting risks not only creating a novel monster, but creating a pathway for more of the same type to spontaneously manifest from everyday objects. With enough carelessness, it would be possible to make it too dangerous to attempt to actually arm your army. One can imagine the difficulty if every field tent, for example, held the potential to come to life when one of your soldiers had an unfortunate dream."

She sighed. "It is a fascinatingly nuanced dance that requires the craftsman to be supremely knowledgeable, ruthlessly cunning, and devastatingly efficient." She glanced at Charlotte again, blushing once more. "Even knowing the aim is to destroy those such as I, I cannot but be impressed by the feats of magical engineering."

Her hips wiggled a little as I was watching. I had a suspicion of just how 'impressed' she was. My nose was pretty good these days.

"Would you say that was an accurate summation?" Faust asked. It could have been a question for either Samael or Charlotte, but it was clear who she wanted to hear from.

Charlotte nodded, absently, but from the look on Faust's face, you'd think she'd just sung her praises.

"Oooookay, so what are we going with, then?" I asked. "Fire probably wouldn't do much to me or Beeps, for example. You need to be able to handle anything the journey between here and home can throw at you, right?"

Charlotte gave me an odd look.

"Yeees…" she said, slowly, "What… what do you think would do the trick?"

"Um…" I said, "If you threw enough dirt and muck at me, I might get too distracted to do much else but clean it. That doesn't seem likely to work on many other people, though. Even Beeps would probably power through. She's a lot more single-minded than me."

"Electricity is a good one, but there are at least a few Thunderbirds in the area, and that would only draw them in." Samael said.

"Hmm… You said binding magic, right Faust?" I asked.

She nodded, thoughtful.

"What about water?" I asked Charlotte. "There can't be many aquatic Mamono hanging around outside the lakes and oceans, right? They could shrug it off, but they're not here, so…"

Charlotte grinned. It was almost feral. "I agree. I've been thinking about ice. Even you couldn't do much frozen inside an iceberg, Lyle."

I shivered. Sometimes I forgot she was thinking about fighting us too.

I was happier when I didn't remember that, because shortly afterwards I always remembered her manhandling a Dragon.

"Yeah…" I said, "Well, I need to find Akubra, so I'll leave you girls to it."

They refocused quickly.

"With a little work," Charlotte said, "We can probably work enough force into the shield to shatter-"

Wow was I glad I wasn't really much of a fighter.

 

[NemoMarx]

Beeps nodded once, walking towards me. She opened herself up wide, arms splayed, offering a hug. Her face was the same composed disinterest as always, but I knew her too well to fall for that. I brought her in for a solid embrace, and took the chance to polish her up a little where we made contact.

She let out a small, surprised breath, and I made a note that it'd been too long since I'd cleaned her clockwork, and that it would probably be much easier now. Something to think about.

Click to shrink...

Distracted about cleaning is gonna be a recurring Lyle mood.

"Nope!" I said, cheerfully. "But it can't hurt to try, right? I used to listen to Sally babble about thaumic resonance delineations, concave versus convex glyphic distortion effects, and multiplanar chromatic stacking with um… diesul and widdershins? I never really got it, but sometimes just explaining helped her out, so…"

Click to shrink...

The best rubber ducky a mad scientist could ask for! Even gets all the terms!

She sighed. "It is a fascinatingly nuanced dance that requires the craftsman to be supremely knowledgeable, ruthlessly cunning, and devastatingly efficient." She glanced at Charlotte again, blushing once more. "Even knowing the aim is to destroy those such as I, I cannot but be impressed by the feats of magical engineering."

Her hips wiggled a little as I was watching. I had a suspicion of just how 'impressed' she was. My nose was pretty good these days.

Click to shrink...

...Faust, be careful being horny about science that's intended to hurt you.

Charlotte grinned. It was almost feral. "I agree. I've been thinking about ice. Even you couldn't do much frozen inside an iceberg, Lyle."

I shivered. Sometimes I forgot she was thinking about fighting us too.

Click to shrink...

A little naive, to get through most of a conversation about how to fight mamono and only realize at the end that Charlotte is thinking about you. Oh, poor Lyle...

 

[Thelxiope]

Oh my gosh it's an entire chapter of Charlotte and Faust being dorks.

Stop. Stop. My teeth are rotting it's too cute.

...Faust, be careful being horny about science that's intended to hurt you.

Click to shrink...

I mean, we already know that Faust is into, like, nemesiscitude? I'm not sure that the idea that Charlotte might use this weapon against her -

wait too many negatives confusing rephrase -

I'm pretty sure that Faust would be very excited about the prospect of facing Charlotte in an over-the-top life-or-death struggle while Charlotte is armed with a weapon Faust helped make

With enough carelessness, it would be possible to make it too dangerous to attempt to actually arm your army. One can imagine the difficulty if every field tent, for example, held the potential to come to life when one of your soldiers had an unfortunate dream."

Click to shrink...

Questions:

1. Why aren't there mamono deliberately fucking up enchantments like this as an offensive measure?
   1. Are there mamono deliberately fucking up enchantments to create new monstergirl species and generally sow terror and confusion amongst non-monsters; only...
      1. It's actually really hard to fuck up that badly and Charlotte was just taught to be over-cautious on general principles?
      2. It can't be done deliberately?
      3. Mamono aren't actually capable of this particular form of runic enchantment for some reason?
   2. Are there not any mamono doing this because their side, as a whole, is much less invested in the narrative of this mamono/non-mamono conflict as a war; and thus don't see the need to devote time and effort into ... mystically creating a self-perpetuating force of deep-striking assets?
   3. Has no one actually realized they could do that yet?
      1. Is there a reason why they can't?

 

[Radmelon]

Questions:

Click to shrink...

My guess is that it's mainly that mamono are sorta deliberately holding themselves back; they haven't won yet because to do so would court disaster. Resources are stretched enough as it is, and if everyone is converted then no more humans.

 

[The_Letter_K]

Questions:

1. Why aren't there mamono deliberatelyfucking up enchantments like this as an offensive measure?
   1. Are theremamono deliberately fucking up enchantments to create new monstergirl species and generally sow terror and confusion amongst non-monsters; only...
      1. It's actually really hard to fuck up that badly and Charlotte was just taught to be over-cautious on general principles?
      2. It can't be done deliberately?
      3. Mamono aren't actually capable of this particular form of runic enchantment for some reason?
   2. Are there not any mamono doing this because their side, as a whole, is much less invested in the narrative of this mamono/non-mamono conflict as a war; and thus don't see the need to devote time and effort into ... mystically creating a self-perpetuating force of deep-striking assets?
   3. Has no one actually realized they could do that yet?
      1. Is there a reason why they can't?

Click to shrink...

It's difficult to format my answer except in the same way you formatted your questions, so I hope it doesn't come across like I'm poking fun. I'm always happy to answer thoughtful worldbuilding questions!

1. There are some, but not many, who are doing this, for reasons deeper down this answer.

1. There are Mamono doing this, and​

1. It's harder than Charlotte is making it seem, but one screw up anywhere affects the entire planet, not just a localized area. That type of monster now exists and can manifest where it couldn't before. The humans being as careful as they are makes it vanishingly unlikely they'll screw each other over that way.​

2. It can, but it's difficult because humans aren't generally trying to do this and...​

3. Mamono enchantment uses Mamono magic, IE, magic already infected. Their runes don't get corrupted, they start out filled with dark energy. A Mamono who enchants a tent with the same runes a human would use creates a stable enchantment. If they set out to enchant a tent monster, not only would they have to use completely different runes, since they'd be trying to directly achieve the effect of creating a monster, it would actually be substantially less likely to occur organically, the kind of monster that would be created would be more like a Golem than a Living Object, and so would be much less likely to arise from enchanted tents accidentally. Although, they still can't sell their traditionally enchanted wares to humans because the items radiate dark energy. It's possible to create human safe enchantments using husband-power, which could then risk infection the same way, but that's like saying you can power your home with delicious candies. They have a hard time saving up enough and remaining disciplined enough to actually use it that way.​

2. While Mamono aren't a cultural monolith, they have their extremists like everyone else, this is the closest answer to the truth. The humans see this as a war, while the monsters see it more like high-risk dating. It's been briefly mentioned in the story, but at this point they're essentially sustainably farming human settlements, so it would be counterproductive to their interests to make a huge push.​

3. I don't think it's common knowledge, exactly, either. The kind of folks most likely to do this are in the Faust category, or maybe in the Twinklestar category, where it's either about mad science or creating something useful, or maybe bringing art to life, or uplifting a helpful or important sentimental item.​

1. See above! *wink wonk wink*​

 

[The_Letter_K]

AN: Hey folks, this section starts the lead up to what's likely to be a controversial chapter. In this setting, monster girls get their food from human dudes, and while that's obviously never going to be the focus of this fanfic, it's very important to me to engage honestly with the source material at least once before subverting it. The specific chapter with the actual act will be tagged with a warning, so it's not going to surprise anyone, although it's a lot more businesslike than romantic anyway. For me and for the characters, the emotional resonance of this problem is an important part of the journey, part of what spurs Lyle forward on her eventual path, part of taking charge of her life and the way she wants to live it.

However, if at any point it gets to be too much for you, send me a message, and I will personally let you know when this section is over. I completely understand.




It didn't take long to find Akubra once I started looking for her in earnest. We'd planned this date only yesterday, so it wasn't like she'd've forgotten. It wasn't long at all before we were on our way. We made quick time, apparently Akubra was a powerwalker.

It became apparent very quickly that walking through town with Akubra was a strange experience.

To be fair, anything with Akubra was a strange experience, but this went beyond the weird hums and odd clicking sounds she made to herself, seemingly completely oblivious to everything else, beyond her propensity to sometimes be slightly elsewhere after you blinked, beyond her airy, disconnected tone and vacant, distant gaze, that when combined made her seem as though she was paying attention to something far more interesting yet completely invisible, and even beyond the room in my house she'd somehow produced unbeknownst to everyone else.

Well, maybe it did.

Maybe I was just getting used to her instead.

I shuddered a little at the very idea of her ever seeming normal.

Tonight's strangeness was centered on the reactions of others, though, nothing to do with my own opinions. The closer we got to wherever we were going, the more pronounced and common the reactions were. Flashes of recognition far beyond what a simple milliner should have been getting, and distinctly different from the people who only recognized her as a Mad Hatter, a Wonderlander, and therefore worth crossing the street to avoid getting entangled with.

As if that would have somehow stopped her, if she'd had business with them.

Akubra smiled, and I shuddered a little more. I didn't yet have the courage to ask her if she could hear me thinking, but it sure seemed she could, at times. It was intimidating, moreso in the low light. Her smile looked somehow slightly more threatening under the stars, in the lights of the street as the shadows jumped across her face.

Unfortunately for me, I was in love with Faust. A little friendly intimidation only really got me in the mood, so to speak.

Well, 'unfortunately' was probably unfair. I liked Akubra pretty well, about as well as I could like someone so inscrutable and mysterious, and she'd done more for me in a few short weeks than most I knew in my lifetime. The only thing that was absolutely transparent about her was that she cared deeply about me and all the others in our house, and that was really all I needed to know about her. The rest was a mystery, sure, but I used to do mysteries for a living, so I wasn't exactly a stranger to the sensation.

Plus, she knew how to use her body, and possibly more importantly, how to use mine.

I shuddered a third time, at the mere memory, but this was a very different sort of shudder, and my knees felt a little weak.

I leaned into her a little, and while she didn't look like she'd noticed, her hand found a rather comfortable spot right on my butt cheek, pulling me a little closer still, and I resisted the urge to squeak.

"So…" I said, "You said we were… getting something to eat, right?"

"Mmm," she hummed.

I had to admit, I was enormously nervous. It wasn't strictly speaking something I wanted to do. Much like someone who'd somehow managed to fall asleep in a cave next to a bear, though, and was now very awake and too frightened to move, avoiding it would only bring my fears to life, eventually. If I did this on my terms, I could set those terms, and have a chance at a much better time. Waiting until I was starving beyond reason was a recipe to come back to myself in a tangled pile of flesh, slime, and regret, having to simultaneously introduce myself to and apologize to someone I'd already… uh… 'gotten to know' pretty intimately.

A girl's gotta eat.

I took a deep breath, and continued.

"What is the plan, exactly?" Expecting to get a straight answer out of her was a little foolish, but I could maybe tease something out if I gave her everything I already knew. "You said it was a restaurant you were familiar with, right? I don't really know what that… um… what it means in this context, I guess."

I shivered a fourth time. And a fifth, then a sixth. …Wait, no, that wasn't me… Was, was the ground moving?

"A restaurant like this is where one might satisfy one's hunger, Lyle. I hope that this late into your relationships you understand what that means?"

I grimaced, and the ground continued to indulge in its newfound desire to shake. It felt almost like a heartbeat. I saw items on the nearby stalls, liquids especially, thumping to the same rhythm. Couples on the street moved in sync with it, some bobbing their heads. Almost like it was…

Where were we going?

As we approached the very edge of town, a building started to come into view. It wasn't obvious from a distance, given the dark of the night and all the lights and sights between us and it, but honing in on it now, it had to be at least three stories. Three stories, that is, not counting the enormous, black top hat atop the building. The brim had beneath it the distinctive rippling texture of Akubra's own more unusual, rugged-looking hat. Whether it actually was an enormous mushroom or not, I'd only ever seen one other building like that, and Akubra'd owned it.

The vaguely rounded building was covered in luminescent paint of every color, each overlapping each other like someone had painted a single word onto it over and over at differing angles and in unique styles until each and every inch had been covered over. The lights around the base of the building flashed in time with the beat, as did the large sign over the entrance, the name emblazoned made of opulent lights, washing over the enormous line formed outside the door with a rainbow of colors. The lights spelled out the same word as the paint displayed.

Nightcap's.

As we approached, the beat became clearer and clearer, the phantom sensation something that ran through my body like a physical force, yet now that we were closer, still so clearly a sound. I didn't know sound was something you could feel like this. The heartbeat of the music pounded loud and fast, and its sway over those this close to the building was tangible. Conversation was had in time to it, everyone's steps aligned with it, every motion a slave to the frantic pace of bodies deeply bound up in passion and feeling.

Still pressed closely to her body, I felt Akubra's heartbeat as it slowly started to sync with it, her breathing in rhythm. Mine was as well, I realized. The music was inside us all. I'd never felt anything like it.

I realized I hadn't said anything in some time, just overwhelmed by what I was seeing, hearing, feeling. Experiencing. There was really only one word that described the sheer, bizarre, delightful novelty of it.

Wonder.

"Wow." I said. It was all there was to say.

Akubra chuckled, but that was the only response I got.

We were quite close now, and I could see the people at the front of the line were arguing with what must have been an employee. She was an enormous Manticore, her body a parody of the human form, muscled beyond what I could believe, far beyond Fran, Charlotte, or Samael. If she'd been human, she might have had trouble moving. As a Mamono, though, she had a feline grace, and more, as a Manticore, a sort of inborn menace. The fur on her arms and legs was jet black, and her claws wickedly sharp. Her wild, chin length hair was metallic silver, and blew in the breeze like fire.

Judging by her expression, and her flat, grey eyes, whatever the couple was saying to her, she wasn't buying it.

"I don't care who you think you are," she said to the succubus and her boy toy, "You ain't on the list, so you pay up or you get lost."

Her voice carried much like Fran's did, and I couldn't hear what it was the succubus whined in response over the sheer presence of the beat, but the Manticore's tail came up, threateningly, and the woman changed her tone really quick.

It looked like she was about to decide she had other places she'd like to cuddle her 'friend' as we approached the door. The line was down around the corner and out of sight, but I was following Akubra, not the crowd, and she didn't seem bothered, so I swallowed my nervousness.

The mountain of a woman didn't so much as glance at Akubra as she waltzed right past her, and when it became apparent I was reluctant to pass, the Manticore moved out of my way.

I heard the Succubus' indignant squawk, then a familiar 'snkt' noise. I turned around just in time to watch her fall boneless into the arms of her friend, who looked very apologetic as he dragged her away, one of the Manticore's venomous spines buried in her left breast. She was already starting to masturbate as she was pulled away, not that that was exactly unusual on the streets of Morningwood, I guess.

I turned back to Akubra, who was waiting patiently for me, not apparently interested in any of this. I shook my head and followed her up the red carpet to the entrance, conscious of the stares I was getting from behind, from those in the line.

I forgot them as soon as Akubra opened the door.

 

[NemoMarx]

Alright, so at least one encounter with a guy for Lyle, makes sense.

To be fair, anything with Akubra was a strange experience, but this went beyond the weird hums and odd clicking sounds she made to herself, seemingly completely oblivious to everything else, beyond her propensity to sometimes be slightly elsewhere after you blinked, beyond her airy, disconnected tone and vacant, distant gaze, that when combined made her seem as though she was paying attention to something far more interesting yet completely invisible, and even beyond the room in my house she'd somehow produced unbeknownst to everyone else.

Click to shrink...

Well, since we were talking about her earlier... I do feel like this backs up my thoughts on wonderlanders a little bit. Moving between positions when not observed, paying attention to things that aren't just the physical around her (the narration, maybe?) both seem like they fit being meta.

I had to admit, I was enormously nervous. It wasn't strictly speaking something I wanted to do. Much like someone who'd somehow managed to fall asleep in a cave next to a bear, though, and was now very awake and too frightened to move, avoiding it would only bring my fears to life, eventually. If I did this on my terms, I could set those terms, and have a chance at a much better time. Waiting until I was starving beyond reason was a recipe to come back to myself in a tangled pile of flesh, slime, and regret, having to simultaneously introduce myself to and apologize to someone I'd already… uh… 'gotten to know' pretty intimately.

Click to shrink...

Well, good to be aware of this stuff in advance. Lyle doesn't want to end up proactively dating someone! That's reassuring.

I shivered a fourth time. And a fifth, then a sixth. …Wait, no, that wasn't me… Was, was the ground moving?

"A restaurant like this is where one might satisfy one's hunger, Lyle. I hope that this late into your relationships you understand what that means?"

I grimaced, and the ground continued to indulge in its newfound desire to shake. It felt almost like a heartbeat. I saw items on the nearby stalls, liquids especially, thumping to the same rhythm. Couples on the street moved in sync with it, some bobbing their heads. Almost like it was…

Where were we going?

Click to shrink...

Very interesting! And ominous.

As we approached, the beat became clearer and clearer, the phantom sensation something that ran through my body like a physical force, yet now that we were closer, still so clearly a sound. I didn't know sound was something you could feel like this. The heartbeat of the music pounded loud and fast, and its sway over those this close to the building was tangible. Conversation was had in time to it, everyone's steps aligned with it, every motion a slave to the frantic pace of bodies deeply bound up in passion and feeling.

Still pressed closely to her body, I felt Akubra's heartbeat as it slowly started to sync with it, her breathing in rhythm. Mine was as well, I realized. The music was inside us all. I'd never felt anything like it.

Click to shrink...

Oh, I see. I wonder if this lines up with my other thoughts? A very modern kind of night club, more than most places in the world seem to be, and probably with magical music...

The syncing up is very interesting too. Music already does that a little bit, but... I mean obviously this implies a little corruption or compulsion to go with the flow, right?

 

[Thief of Words]

Okay, two-day binge-read of CwtE and HYD: completed.

Thoughts....many. Glad to be on point with her Alping. Thematically, I'm gonna be honest, this one hit pretty hard for me.


Like, We Know the Devil but with an added element of dealing further with the social and cultural stigmas of hedonic behavior, sexuality, and kink/perversion/fetishes/etc.


I've gotta say, I was disappointed to hear that Blackberry is a character some people really didn't like, because she's honestly one of the most relatable to me on certain levels. I mean, I get Lyle on the level of transness, since you thankfully excised a lot of the built in homophobia and transphobia in the way the source material (and a majority of the fanwork creators) treats alping. But I also super get Blackberry's perspective, having grown up Evangelical and still dearly loving a family that I know will never fully accept me as I am.

Likewise, as an extreme introvert with depression and anxiety who often became a nuisance to people during attempts to simply power through it...well, I super understand Amy/Fran's perspective.

Just...you've done a good job translating an often-shallow "rape as plot or mechanical device for masturbation fuel" setting into a nuanced examination of societal and religious stigmas against the Othered, the pain that causes both the in-and-outgroups, the costs to individuals on each side to their sense of self, their relationships, their lives and livelihoods, as well as a critique of mindless capitalism / neoliberalism being less than ideal even when the alternative is an oppressive reactionary set of incestuously intertwined institutions and a deeply paranoid and dehumanizing military-religious-industrial complex.

Thank you for writing this and sharing it somewhere I'm actually able to read it. I have a lot more thoughts, but these are just the ones I feel comfortable expressing off the top of my head without going back to re-review and spaghetti-post whole chunks of both stories up to this point.

 

[Aranfan]

So I am blitzing through this instead of reacting to every post, but I just finished the Faust 4-parter and I have to pause and speak.

I was pretty critical of Faust in the previous story, but murdering Thagolynn blows everything from that story out of the water. I mean, just to start, killing people is bad, it reduces someone from a living thinking being with thoughts and feelings and reasons to an inert piece of meat, which is bad. But it gets worse. While Faust does plan to revive her, killing Thagolynn subjects her to a stint in rape hell, which is something Faust is fully aware of since she's the one who told us about rape hell in the first place.

Even the excuse that Thagolynn was a threat to people Faust cares about falls flat. Thagolynn is a sore loser, sure, but she is precisely zero threat to Charlotte. If she wants a rematch she can either challenge Charlotte to a formal rematch, which Charlotte would need to be a fool to accept, or she'd need to attack her outside the ring of honor. If the dragon tries that she not only has to deal with Charlotte, who already defeated her once, but also Samael who is head over heels for Charlotte, Beepatrice who is kinda a big deal, and Faust herself, a powerful lich who is very politically connected in Morningwood.

Which brings up another way Faust has fucked up. Lyle's temptation is centering on the material benefits Mamamo society has over human society, among which is that the communities are safer. Well, once Faust presents Thagolynn's head, Charlotte will know that Morningwood is a place where if someone politically connected takes a disliking to you they can straight up kill you without a trial and not expect to face any repercussions at all. Which kinda undermine's Lyle's argument.

Even for all I criticized her in Contact, I was always rooting for Faust. I can no longer root for Faust in HYD, I can only root for her to become better than she presently is.

--

Also also, holy shit this story is fantastic I love it and you should feel good about making such a great story. Lyle is great and I cheer for her. Charlotte is great and I cheer for her. Beeps continues to be the best. Amy is great and Blackberry continues to be a pure and innocent maiden. eeeeeeee, so good.