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Pocket System

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Oh lord. At some point, some Borg member is going to get the bright idea to add one of these duck programs to the drone upbringing simulations, and then there will be DuckBorg in reality.

Cause I cant imagine this simulation NOT growing beyond a simulation when interacting with all these people.
 
Andorxor said:
Why would they simulate a welding module in a scenario that has nothing to do with welding?
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You ever had to wear a badge for your job for so long that you develop habits, such as fidgeting with the ends or whatever?

Then later on you found yourself looking for it but it's not there because you're not at work at that moment?

That feeling is 10,000 times worse when there's a module of your arm that's missing when you expect it to be there.
 
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Looks like those 'rare easter egg scenarios' are outright available to be jumped into. And it's probably a 'base scenario can show off the others'. But John accidentally went into a 'sampler' scenario, that actually does show them off. It's either that or it is set to be 'rare'. It's just that there's so many Borg running the easter egg scenarios, that improperly count as another instance of the 'baseline', so the only instance of regular, non-scenario Duck Pond feeding is being told to run an easter egg. John just sort of forgot to make it 'rarely happen in one instance' rather than 'rarely happening in general'. Which probably wouldn't have mattered as much, if it wasn't outright possible to play the easter egg scenarios by themselves. Which probably aren't properly hooked up to the 'hey easter egg time' settings. Since they weren't triggered by said easter egg provider. So instead of having it happen just often enough to be commented on as a 'mystery' thing that can happen, it's just... out there.

I can imagine that John might have wanted it to be 'enough people see the easter egg unlocks it for everyone' or something.

This is also only counting the Duck Dynasty ones. Who knows what the other 'main' intended scenarios are. At this point, John will probably have to make the Duck Dynasty a 'hub' scenario, that allows it to play any of the 'easter egg' ones, maybe even giving a short description (which could include more detail than the basketball one was shown to have on selection). Possibly even a bit of a preview. Along with a setting for it to randomly shuffle in any of them. A 'surprise me' option. And just get rid of the 'rarely happen' thing, outside of an actual setting to time it for that. Since it's kind of too late for them to be easter eggs, given that they can outright be activated at any time. More of a reference than hidden.

And again, allows a bit more customization. Probably a bit easier than the Holodeck setup, since John would likely set it up to give recommendations, and have menus and options rather than being completely freeform. And if there's something not there? Probably wouldn't take too much to do. Either John's System can handle it, or the flexible nature could outright implement user created content. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if it's just a side effect of John reworking things so that his created Scenarios can pull from his other created scenarios. I mean, that's the kind of thing he'd need for a petting zoo. What kind of petting zoo only has one animal type? And it's a scenario so you can explicitly choose which ones that are and aren't there.

Andorxor said:
Why would they simulate a welding module in a scenario that has nothing to do with welding?
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It's probably 'the avatar is telling the scenario how this body works', give it the proper idea on what should happen. It's already been shown that Borg security is... lacking. So it's not that big of a surprise that there isn't any 'hey you cannot use that' built in. Since the implication is that it happened Pre-John added scenarios. Which would have just gone 'Oh hey, neat. I've got that handled easy.'

(Kind of ninja'd by Ace on that, but it's a somewhat different answer. But it does kind of mesh in with it so...)
 
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Busy Thanksgiving week!
  • Informational
    • There may be some delays with updates this week, but I'll see what I can do.

    If it helps anyone, John and friends are still feeding the ducks with car sized crumbs right now and he hasn't noticed that his server is open to the public yet.

    Until someone or something notifies him, he's probably not going to realize what an issue this is... So we've got a bit of spare time before things get busy.
     
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    • I'd notify John myself, but I might be playing sidekick to a duck commander Shepard in a mass effect expy, somewhere around thereish. These fps rpg mixes are awesome in first person!
     
    Man, sexism didn't make much sense to me to BEGIN with, but ESPECIALLY not in a world with magic or the ability to cultivate and get stronger. Bro, ANY of those ladies can bench press stuff or work out for a few weeks and learn how to throw a HOUSE, why the FUDGE would you believe they are 'weak', etc?

    Same idea applies to the other -ism's too, ESPECIALLY in the fantasy worlds.

    At least the Borg preach equality: Man, woman, child, pet? They want you! Any species, any gender, any preferences? Come on down! Join the Borg, you will be assimilated; Resistance is futile!

    Hell, I know a lot of college roommates who would join up with the Borg just to insert their phone directly into their brain.

    The Borg Collective: The most inclusive species!
     
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    "innate talent for a thing" + left-overs from pre-cultivation/early cultivation times? after all, those kinds of societies tend to be stuck in the past, with half the past still being alive and all.
     
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    D-d-d-danger lurks behind you! There's a stranger out to find you… What to do?
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    • Temptation giggled as she continued to secretly mess with Grace's settings. "Let's push the random encounter rate up another five percent…"

    In the background, John had completely given up on understanding the situation and was now going with the flow. "I just don't understand this setting's origin media."

    Jessica was cooing over the baby ducklings wearing baby diapers and tiny business suits.

    Grace hummed. "I believe the movie was meant to be one of those 'turn your brain off and just enjoy it' sort of thing."

    Temptation's Master on the other hand threw his hands up! "This movie had BABIES running it! But like, I think sex still exists? Or not? And half the time the babies are super competent secret spies and OTHER times they drool on the memos and can't even read or write…"

    The tiny duckling, mostly still in his shell with holes for his limbs, straightened out his itty bitty tie and then (tried to) snap his feathers as he dismissed the giants in the room, going back to his infiltration mission posing as an egg for the new family.

    John scratched his head. "Not to mention, now that the concept has merged with Duck Dynasty, the plot holes are even BIGGER. Like, WHY are the storks delivering eggs to ducks!? Can't the two species communicate? Does no one question this!?"

    Temptation couldn't change TOO much since controlling the local 'defenses' fell within Grace's domain and would get noticed, but it would probably be fine if she nudged a few more settings here and there, yes?

    Let's adjust the 'improbability' metric a little too…

    Jessica was watching the other eggs with feet waddle about in tiny outfits. "I'm loving this. None of it makes sense, but this is amazing. Is there a plot to this movie?"

    Her Master shrugged. "From what I remember, it follows a boy helping his baby brother who is a secret agent in the war for adults' love, one where babies and puppies struggle for dominance. No, I don't know if kittens have an opinion on this. Or other cute things."

    He sighed. "NOW, however… It's a story about a young duckling discovering his family's new egg is secretly a secret agent in a hidden war between… I'm not sure. Maybe still puppies vs eggs? I'm really not sure how the simulation is going to translate that. Will the puppies be able to talk? Do puppies even exist here, or will they be tiny duck eggs dressed up in puppy outfits?"

    His sister grinned as she quietly followed the secret agent egg as he was delivered to his new base of operations/target for infiltration/nest. "It's surprisingly adorable to see walking eggs with outfits! This all reminds me of Sheldon, from those old cartoons."

    Grace was in the middle of helping the secret agent egg adjust his tiny fedora when she twitched HARD. "Sister? What was that?"

    Oops! "NOTHING!" Shit, undo those last few changes, quick!

    Now all three of them were looking at her, though her sister's suspicions were clearly growing. "Sister?"

    Temptation tried to look innocent.

    It was… Shockingly hard to do, considering her nature.

    If anything, it probably made her look MORE guilty for even attempting it.

    Fuck it, there's no backing down now! "Speaking of distractions, is that an interesting thing over there!?"

    Grace didn't even blink. "What did you do?"

    Triple shit. "Nothing!" As of the last thirty seconds. "Just, you know… Relaxing with everyone and enjoying the odd stuff going on in John's duck server." Shit shit shit. "So are we going to follow the storyline here, or did anyone want to go explore elsewhere and see what we bump into?"

    John lit up! "Oh I know! I want to follow the tiny secret agent egg! Sis, can we follow the…"

    Her Master's interest and easily distractible nature was suddenly caught by Grace gripping his shoulders, holding him still as she focused on Temptation. "What. Did. You. Do?"

    Fuck, that had almost worked. "Basically nothing! Practically, or uh… Statistically everything is the same and I mostly… Um…"

    Grace tapped the air, pulling up a log. "Display Temptation's activity log history. Last five hours, please."

    SHIT BISCUITS! "HEY! There's no reason to…"

    [[Confirmed.]]

    System, you traitor! "Now before you all go bother with those dusty text files, I would just like to mention for no particular reason that there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for anything that may or may not appear in…"

    Grace stabs a finger at the information! "YOU'VE been the one messing with the simulation settings! You've been doing that THIS WHOLE TIME!"

    John blinked… And sighed in relief! "Oh thank goodness! My Pocket System ISN'T corrupting itself on a Conceptual level, unraveling reality and sanity and the core existence of my only loved ones while destroying everything in storage that proves my own escape from endless torture and loneliness!"

    That… That brought everyone to a standstill as they turned to look at him.

    Her Master blinked at their expressions, confused. "...Which is good, yes? I mean, I was pretty HOPEFUL that was the case ANYWAY, so yeah! This is a big load off MY mind, at least!"

    Grace pointed at him. "You nearly broke our Lord."

    Shit. "Yeah… Yeah, that's my bad. Sorry, I… I just wanted to play a bit of a harmless prank. Maybe get to spend more time together, since we couldn't leave here while the 'crazy' stuff kept happening."

    Jessica was holding her Master in a warm hug, which John accepted even if he was still confused about the emotions going on right now in everyone. "Well I for one LOVED the zany stuff going on, Temptation! And I know John did too… Just maybe a heads up if it seems like he is over thinking stuff like this in the future, alright? Especially if it goes on for so long."

    Grace huffed as she thumped Temptation's arm. "And STOP messing with MY modules! I handle security and defense, YOU handle offense and information gathering! The only reason you can ACCESS my settings is because you are a trusted member of our family!"

    Ouch. The guilt was growing a bit. "I… Yeah, that's my bad. Sorry, everyone."

    John shrugged, his new drone body simulation still being hugged by his currently same sized sibling. "I mean, I don't really understand pranks that well to begin with, so uh… Maybe this count's as a learning experience? Hmm…"

    His sister sighed. "No, you may not alter reality, or a simulation indistinguishable FROM reality, to prank individual people. Not over a long period of time like this… A few seconds or so is one thing, but Temptation had you worried for a few days now. That's how it crossed the line from 'prank' to 'bullying', even if we only found out just now."

    Temptation felt her holographic shadow wings slump. "Sorry."

    Jessica gave Grace a look, and her sister sighed, stomped over, and yanked Temptation over and into a group hug. "Apology accepted."

    …Her Master wiggled. "Ahm a mit shtuck."

    His sister hugged tighter. "Shh, this is a bonding moment."

    Meanwhile, in the background, a young duck was shocked that his family had just BROUGHT IN a new egg! Without even TELLING him! What the quack!?

    ~~~Pocket System~~~

    John grinned in satisfaction!

    Things were staying FIXED now! Every time prior while he was messing with the configuration files and altering the simulation's hardware and enhancing the complexity of the logic and stuff in the background, stuff would alter soon after he thought he caught all the issues.

    But after Temptation had confessed to her prank, fixing this stuff was so trivial!

    …Mostly.

    All the OTHER simulations he had spawned had been trivial to fix.

    This one however… Well, it was the one he had fiddled with the most. Especially when things kept going odd WHILE trying to fix them.

    It had gotten to the point where he had actively reenable the 'Auto Modify' settings in his System, albeit limited to Duck Dynasty only, JUST so he could document what it was trying to do.

    Theoretically, studying the too helpful Auto Crafting process would clear up why everything kept shifting and changing around even when the feature was disabled!

    Though, again: It was his demoness messing with stuff, so turning on the 'Change Stuff' feature didn't actually help him figure out how to fix it all.

    What it HAD done, however… Was mutate this server to hell and back.

    As he added and modified equipment, the code would shift to accommodate the upgrades.

    When more and more media was fed into the 'random event generator', they began to interact and alter each other.

    As impossible situations and improbable coincidences continued to pile up, his System attempted to do the undoable: To make it all internally consistent and enrich the Lore of Duck Dynasty to encompass it all.

    Aliens. Super science. Magic. Small nations run by children card games. Countries dominated by battling small spinning tops to determine laws and policy. Talking animals (That were NOT ducks), talking objects, etc.

    Each new change trickled down, shifting ENTIRE backstories and historical events to accommodate the endless chaos that continued to gather and swell here in this odd creation of his.

    What was odd though, and why John was STILL messing with this mess even after fixing up so many OTHER servers already, was these same changes.

    There were too many.

    Theoretically, the random alterations should be focused on John and his people. On Temptation as she altered things, on Jessica as she interacted with the programs, on Grace when she enforced her abilities to keep them all safe and comfortable despite any threat or danger that cropped up.

    But now?

    There wasn't just a single planet being simulated here.

    Now there were multiple galaxies, all dominated by ducks, that had their OWN histories and intergalactic trade agreements and cultures and…

    It was a LOT of ducks.

    It ALSO explained why John had been forced to enhance the hardware in the background so many times over the last few days during his debug attempts. Even the endless resources and power provided by Borg Society had soft limits here and there…

    At this point, Duck Dynasty was becoming a thing. A self reinforcing, self modulating simulation, one where NPC's were closing the gap to sentience at a measurable rate… Though thankfully not yet, considering the rules of this Realm and how it disliked automation.

    Still.

    It was too many changes, even considering all that. Far too many.

    Tapping the data screen… He suddenly narrowed his eyes. "Close the technical feeds. Pull up the general logs."

    Shit.

    They were massive. And growing.

    A glance explained everything. "The server went public."

    There were BILLIONS of visitors here now. The Borg populous was wandering about, interacting with an endless self evolving network of near-sapient eggs, ducklings, and ducks.

    Which honestly didn't make sense.

    THIS should have been enough to trigger the 'KILL ALL AUTOMATION' effect already!

    Why HADN'T it!?

    Flickering through the data at high speed, John narrowed his eyes. "Show me more source material for the random events Temptation chose to include."

    Hmm. "Ducks and Ladders, The Super Avian Brothers Show, Duck Duck and Slightly Bigger Duck, Tomb Nester, Live and Let Waddle, The Young and the Featherless… Oh."

    Feather the Vampire Slayer. "More data on this one, please."

    A young duckling had adventures of the title character, Feather Summers, a juvenile duck who, as the chosen slayer of her generation, has to battle vampires, geese, and other assorted supernatural forces of evil.

    Shit. "Is this random event currently loaded?"

    [[Feather the Vampire Slayer has been initiated and has become established at the following location…]]

    John shifted his avatar's location and… Yep.

    There was Doe Park.

    Filled with Iron Golem Ducks and busy with visitors, residents, and an underground society with a bustling market and entertainment district.

    And most importantly: It was ALSO John's [[Home.]]

    One that was somehow running on hardware in a world, no… In a REALM without Magic.

    Seeing something that was undetectable, John began tracing the raw power of Belief and Magic as it seeped into the duck variant of Sunnydale… And how it was growing roots into the programming itself.

    No wonder the 'Kill AI and Automation' shit wasn't going insane right now: This entire mess was now being defended by his personal defense modules.

    John slumped. "Can this particular 'random instance' be 'completed'? Or closed? Or canceled?"

    [[Due to the alteration of the local instance and direct modification of ongoing code, severe actions would be required to accomplish this.]]

    He absently shifted back to the simulated duck version of their non-park [[Home]] at the edge of town. "How severe? Full reboot of the entire Server cluster?"

    [[At minimum, the utter destruction of all hardware involved with the simulation would be required.]]

    …Welp, that was indeed pretty damn severe. "And at maximum?"

    [[Eradication of current Planet (48328614) 2436 MG₃₃ and potentially any Planet that had visitors join the Simulation after timestamp 586166966630.]]

    Hoo boy. "Let's… Let's not do that." Sigh. "What about all this energy propagation I'm detecting? Is all this limited to this specific planet within the Duck Dynasty simulation?"

    [[HOST's [[Home]] has reported the following update about the ongoing alterations: 'T̷h̴e̷ s̸i̸m̸u̵l̴a̴t̴i̸o̵n w̸i̴l̴l̷ b̶e̴ a̷s̸s̸i̵m̷i҈l̸a̸t҉e̵d̸.̶']]

    John winced at the oddly aggressive tone. "Alright, alright! Just… Let me know if you need anything?"

    His [[Home]] smugly said nothing as it slowly claimed dominance over the Dynasty of Ducks.

    Sheesh. "Well, uh… I'll just be going back to the others now? Alright?"

    His [[Home]] didn't say anything, but he still felt the usual warmth and acceptance.

    Great. "I'll just go now."

    New safety protocol: NO simulations of [[Home]] or any location which INCLUDES their [[Home]] by any Pocket user or module.

    It would be best if any FUTURE [[Homes]] be established INTENTIONALLY, after all. THIS time everything turned out fine, mostly, but things could have REALLY gone wrong if they had been less lucky.

    …Best to tell his sis to avoid lying on any future paperwork about their '[[Home]] residence' too, just to prevent his house from altering reality to retroactively force it to be true.

    Just in case.

    ~~~Pocket System~~~

    Jessica blinked as her brother was suddenly just THERE. "I'M BACK!"

    Then he got tackled by a black blur as Temptation went full glomp with Grace pouting to one side.

    She sipped her tea again. "So… How did it go? Everything fixed now?"

    Her blushing brother wasn't exactly sure where to put his hands, a situation that Temptation was NOT helping him with. "Ah, sorta? Might have messed up the Laws of Existence a bit though… Anyway, we can all go back to designing stuff now at least without getting harassed by the Realm anymore. Just as long as we keep all the activity in here and… AH, watch your hands!"

    Grace stomped! "I AM watching her hands! Move, sister! It's MY turn!"

    …And that was just about enough. "You know what? You can fill me in later. I'm going to refill my cup with some de-quack, maybe get a snack."

    She hummed as she left her brother behind in 'great peril', off to get a muffin or something.

    Taking another sip, she sighed with satisfaction… Silly names aside, the simulated coffee here was AMAZING. "Yeah, another cup please."

    "Quack."

    Mmm, coffee!
     
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    • Thanks for the chapter. I usually lurk here but just wanted to let you know that I have been following your work since the chapter where Vicky is afraid of goats. Only made this account few months back to track stories when I actually started reading other stories on this site, whereas before I would just use a chrome bookmark to check 'Broken Adventure' once every few days. Anyway, just wanted to say, thank you so much. I love both your fics.
     
    So, The Feather of the BTVS reality is backed by Doe Park, with its own Mayor and versions of the Doe Home or just connected to Home?

    Did it make or connect to the places they visited? Mary Poppins or Muppet?
     
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    Never mind, updates will be on time.
  • Informational
    • I did NOT predict the next Realm to be visited. At all.

    Like, I had a couple of suspicions... And a couple that would have required John to insert himself in odd ways to properly operate... But uh, nope.

    There is also a bit of a 'Q level' concern involving this stop, but I'm not sure if he is actually cannon in this Realm just yet. It's risky to check too closely either, else he forces himself to exist just because you were curious. Like, not as dangerous to the fourth wall as Deadpool or anything, just...

    Hopefully they won't interfere with anything.

    Also, good on her for going into advertising! I'm sure Jerry Smith will tell you that it isn't a simple career field.

    Actual [[Transfer]] was detected on Friday, update today will be as usual.
     
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    • The time of thanks and giving.
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    • Jessica nudged open the hotel door to John's room. "Breakfast time! I'll be out here when you all are ready!"

    Distant grumbling and giggling was good enough confirmation.

    She walked back to the table, which was covered with various morning dishes. There were significant perks to being the older sister to the creator of a simulation, and unlimited access to in-sim resources was only the most basic ones.

    John stumbled into the room, avatar clearly swapped out for one that was theoretically 'awake and ready for the day' while he slumped into a chair. "Morning."

    Grace floated (literally) to his side while Temptation… "Put some clothes on, please."

    The demoness huffed. "Fine… Stupid Indecency Hangups Suck, Make Up!"

    With black and blood stars and swirls, she twirled in place as her body flickered and flashed and ribbons of a scandalous outfit SLOWLY covered up her nudity. "By your social hangups and prudish natures combined, I AM NOW FULLY CLOTHED!"

    John snorted. "Too energetic. Too early."

    Grace had already set a cup of tea by her Lord's plate. "At least she respected your limits when we were cuddling. Mostly."

    Temptation strut her stuff as she swanked her way to her chair. "I deserve EXTRA head pats for not 'playing with the goods' too, let me tell ya! Bad enough we aren't just jumping to the later bases or going for a 'home run' as it is."

    Jessica watched her brother wave off the literal temptation. "Maybe in the future… To be honest, a bit of kissing and cuddling is my limit for now. Also: My sister is like, RIGHT there, so could we change topics? Please?"

    She couldn't help but chuckle. "To be fair, you've already stumbled on ME a few times when I was less than presentable, I won't judge… Just, be safe if you do take that step later on. And you know, make sure everyone involved is physically and mentally mature and consenting first."

    After all, considering HER younger years? Anything TOO harsh would just be beyond hypocritical.

    Besides, she had checked in to make sure he wasn't being pressured or pushed around earlier, and the whole 'potential orgy' situation had devolved down into hugs and cuddles pretty quickly, no matter HOW salacious Temptation tried to make things seem today.

    Her brother ate another fork full of eggs, then blinked. "Oh, and we all got invited over for Thanksgiving dinner today. So uh… Just so everyone knows."

    That caught EVERYONE a bit off guard.

    Grace was the first to catch up. "Invited by who?"

    John shrugged. "Hen Jessica and Duckling John. Fun fact: The duck version of me doesn't have his own Pocket, but he DOES have local Administration credentials to the Simulation. It's able to fake what I can do pretty well, to a certain extent."

    What? "You mean the ducks living over in that Sunnydale simulation? The one where our [[Home]] is taking over and Doe Park is being emulated?"

    He nodded. "Yeah, I know that OUR travel oddity makes it hard to track time, but in their simulation zone? Today or tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Not… Not entirely sure which, actually, since both their planet and THIS planet have odd orbital patterns and years are measured oddly and all the random background modifications to the Simulation keeps shifting how time is calculated, but still."

    Huh. "Do they still have turkey? Since it's Thanksgiving, I mean."

    Her brother's eyes flickered as his System fed him data. "Mostly smoked ham actually. Especially in Sunnydale, since evil Turkeys are a real issue over there. Hey, did you know that KFC is still a think in Duck Dynasty?"

    That got Temptation to cough, still half eating her bacon! "Wait, WHAT!?"

    He gave a tired chuckle. "Yeah, it stands for 'Kentucky Fried Corn' here. It's a pretty popular tradition to order it around Christmas in some nations. For the record, even though America and Kentucky exist in this Simulation, they are all still RUN by chinese ducks. Because… Well, I honestly don't know why."

    Probably because the original theme of 'Duck Dynasty' was acting as a core fundamental identity for this entire place. "What about duck related food? Like duck a l'orange?"

    John shrugged. "Snuff films, apparently. That dish shows up as part of the plot in the local Hannable Lector adaptation of 'Silence of the Geese', from what I understand."

    That was… More than a bit messed up. "So, our duck versions want us over for Thanksgiving then?"

    John wiggled his hand. "Sort of? Obviously MY alternate self loves the idea, but YOUR Hen variant is concerned that the two of us brothers might merge or whatever. We've told her that it would be fine and all, and just in case I shifted the automatic 'combine similar Bodies' option over to manual assimilation so it won't happen accidentally, but you know what kind of worry wart you can be."

    She narrowed her eyes. "Excuse you?"

    He blinked… And flinched! "I mean, what kind of a worry wart SHE can be! Not that YOU… I mean,,, My, Jessica-Big-Sister-Dearest-Sister, these waffles are just AMAZING!"

    Her expression didn't shift. "Thank you, I ordered them myself."

    John kept stuffing his mouth. "Well, they are just amashing amf eye cahhn't belieeef howsh…"

    Sigh. "Stop talking with your mouth full… And yes, we can join them for Thanksgiving dinner."

    Her brother grinned with bulging cheeks as he gave her a thumbs up!

    Humph. "And I'm sure the duck version of myself will LOVE to hear about how overprotective she is."

    John froze in horror! "MMMPHM MMRM MMMUMP!?"

    Heh. "Stop talking with your mouth full."

    Temptation was sitting with joy in her heart and sparkles in her eyes! "So dominating! See Grace? A proper lady knows how to be refined AND how to step on others!"

    Her sister huffed as she refilled John's drink. "Don't bring your kinks into this. John, both of us would love to go with you to visit your simulation duck family. I'm sure we will have a lovely time."

    Jessica felt her mind snap back from wonderful leather-full memories of stockings and 'knowing her place'. "Should we bring an appetizer or something?"

    John swallowed down his breakfast and finished it down with the fresh tea, giving his angel a smile. "Yeah, and it won't cost much… Apparently stale bread is a traditional housewarming or visiting gift."

    Because of course it is. "Let's stop back at that cafe before anything else… I want another cup of coffee before we start running around."

    This one would be FULLY quack-inated. She needed something to wake her up this time.

    ~~~Pocket System~~~

    "Quack! Quack quack quack, quack quack!"

    John grinned at his brother from another flutter. "Thanks! I'm just glad you all decided to invite us."

    Duck John ('D-John' sounded like a mustard, so that nickname was out) was a pretty happenin quackenin bird when you got to know him!

    Plus? He had ALSO created an entire army of Iron Golems, most of which were female ducks with attitude, and had his own tiny version of Grace and Temptation: Duck style!

    Though it was less 'Many species' and more 'Ducks with hats and outfits'. Duck Grace had a tiny halo and was a white American Pekin, while Duck Temptation was a beautiful solid black Velvet Scoter… They both were talking to their non-duck versions of themselves.

    Anyway, meeting other versions of himself was kind of cool. "Hey, uh… Between you and me, are you handling this whole puberty thing better than I am?"

    His avian companion slumped and began gesturing with his wing. "Quack. Quack quack quack… Quaaaaack."

    Sigh. "Yeah, I know right? Just light 'petting' makes me feel like my heart is going to freak out of my chest. At least Temptation mostly just teases verbally, if she honestly tried to pressure me to go further than I am comfortable with I probably couldn't say no to her."

    Both Johns sat in solidarity as they watched their sisters getting along like a house on fire. "Quack." "Yeah, I'm glad they are both finding common ground." "Quack QUACK quack quack." "No, mine used to do that too… Wait, you call it the 'Undernest' instead of the 'Underpark' here?" "Quack." "Huh. Sounds more cozy." "Quack. Quack quack QUACK quack quack." "Ah."

    Yeah uh… That was more than a bit TOO cozy. "So what is up with the evil geese thing?"

    Small John shrugged his feathered shoulders. Which probably shouldn't be possible. "Quack."

    He blinked. "Wait, they are ALL assholes!?"

    Duck John nodded solemnly. "Quack. Quack quack quack 'Quack Quack Quack'?"

    Oops. "THAT'S the game that merged with the local simulation?"

    Another nod. "Quack."

    Shit. 'Untitled Goose Game' might have had a cult fan following, but it did NOT portray the birds as kind and easy going creatures. "Sorry about that."

    The smaller John shrugged it off. "Quack. Quack quack, quack?" He held up a wooden stake.

    Fair point. "I guess most things die with a bit of heart stabbing. Anyway, how's the park in general doing? Is the Magic Pit giving you any issues, since this simulation is sort of devouring the entire server?"

    The unconcerned duck shook his head. Cool. "Then I'll just… Let it be for now. But if there is an issue or anything, you'll tell us right? Even without the Pocket System, our [[Home]] will let me know if you try to contact me."

    "Quack."

    Cool.

    John hesitated… But something felt like he needed to mention this now. That time was a bit more limited in this Realm than he expected. "Also, here."

    The additional feature was unlocked in Duck John's interface. "Don't enable it here and now, not when our sisters are so close by… But uh, that is an optional 'bonus benefit' for outsiders coming to visit your simulation in the future."

    That drew the duckling's attention. "Quack?"

    Checking for listeners, John nodded. "It isn't QUITE immortality, but it fakes it pretty well. I've set this thing up so that, after you enable it, every user who connects will have the latest scan of their mind run autonomously after they log off."

    He nodded at the animal's interest. "If they log back in later, their memories will sync up. Sure, it can be abused to 'do more' at the same time, but most importantly? If they NEVER log back in, their loved ones and family can find a version of them living here. Well, not here, but on a number of simulated planets to prevent overcrowding or whatever, but you get the idea."

    His duckle-ganger tapped a wing to his bill. "Quack quack quack quack?"

    John shrugged. "Well, if they DO show up, they will just merge with their memories again. Sure, they will still remember being trapped or shifted through time or whatever, but they will ALSO remember the time spent here in the simulation where their loved ones can find them. Not only will it help them recover and readjust to society, but I hope it will prevent a lot of heartbreak later on."

    True, if they actually die and Souls work like they should here, they would pass on to the local variant of the afterlife and all that while the digital avatar lives on… But honestly, John himself liked the idea of some part of himself being able to take care of his loved ones even when it was impossible to do so directly.

    Glancing at the bustling room, Duck John gave a quiet nod. "Quack."

    Good. That itch to 'do something' also let up a bit, even if he still felt something pushing him to move on already.

    Jessica clapped her hands at the edge of the room! "Everyone wash up, dinner's just about ready!"

    "Wahoo!" "Quack!" "Sister, you shouldn't be so loud…" "Quack!" "Yeah, what my duck sis said!" "Quack?" "No, my other duck sister, the one that looks sort of like me." "Quack."

    Oooh! "You guys got sweet potato pie, right? I used to love pumpkin pie but something about sweet potato has really grown on me since I tried it back in Phineas and Ferb's world."

    A quick wing up! "Quack."

    Sweet! "I call dibs on a slice of sweet potato pie!"

    Jessica huffed. "AFTER the main course. Now go wash up and don't just throw away your body and Craft a new one, you hear?"

    Aww… "Fine…" At least the duck bathrooms were awesome since most of them were just huge bird baths. Made washing up a snap!

    ~~~Pocket System~~~

    Jessica leaned back, a bit TOO full. "I never expected stuffing to taste that amazing!"

    Her bird twin quacked a laugh before nudging her side. "Quack?"

    Oh dear goodness no! "I'm FULL, thank you very much! Honestly I expected this to be mostly a vegetarian affair, even though you did tell my bro that there would be ham here."

    The older duck tilted her head. "Quack quack quack. Quack?"

    Nope. "I had no CLUE you guys were omnivores. It just never came up before… I mean, I guess I knew ducks could eat fish and stuff? So maybe I just never sat down and thought it all through."

    The Hen twin made a sort of humming sound, then offered a suggestion. "Quack quack… Quack?"

    Oh! "A crawfish boil!? Wait, you guys have cajun food!? Oh yeah, I NEED those recipes! We might have to move on soon, but I KNOW my brother will love a good crawfish boil… Probably. I better test how well he handles spicy food, since most recipes can be a bit much for someone unprepared for the heat."

    The bird pointed at avian John, busy talking to his human counterpart. "Quack, quack quack quack."

    Jessica shook her head. "Nah, we can't rely on that. Not only is your John a different species with different tastes than mine, but my brother has swapped bodies a FEW times now and we probably need to make sure his favorite foods don't shift with each new tongue anyway."

    The duck gave a serious nod, in agreement.

    Leaning back in her chair, she couldn't help but wonder… "So how much of a 'me' are you anyway? Do you have my memories? Or like… My memories, after being ducked over?"

    The avian Mallard In Black agent held up her own tiny neuralyzer, twirling it with her wing as her other pushed some sweet black sunglasses over her eyes. "Quack."

    Damn girl! "That's pretty sweet, I won't lie." Speaking of which… "Does that mean you also have a duck version of Agent T… One who keeps forgetting to file your paperwork too?"

    The bird gave a frustrated nod. "Quack."

    What a pain. "Fuck Agent T, he's a prick." Almost got flagged because of him!

    Her smaller self returned the feeling. "Quack quack quack."

    Relaxing into her seat, everything felt warm and safe and full and… Fuck it. "Fine, just a little more stuffing. BUT ONLY A LITTLE! And this will be the LAST second serving!"

    Oi, don't you smirk like that! Ducks CAN'T smirk, damn it!

    Stupid birds and their amazing bread related cookery.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • A whole new meaning to "getting stuffed".
    Technically.

    I just hope the next stop isnt a Mighty Goose version of Mighty No. 9. That might get awkward.
    Maybe Battle Network instead? 🤔
     
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