nuggetofthesea

[nuggetofthesea]

Drew something for our headmate Aria's birthday last night. She had a lot of fun! ^-^

[nuggetofthesea]

The Hyper City Chronicles: Mission - The Hall of Mirrors

The Hyper City Chronicles: Mission: The Hall of Mirrors

A part of the Wake Up and Start (By Ashe Celeste) , and Animal HRT universe by Aqua Celeste.

Ft. @iristhedarkwitch @darkmagenugget @nuggetsoftotalchaos As well as Star, Mira, and Aria of our system.

In Hyper City, there lies the mystery of the hall of mirrors. When a passing carnival had entered the city, they brought with them the Hall of Mirrors, a simple funhouse attraction, or so it seems. Quickly, people found themselves compelled to stay, unable to bring themselves to leave. Or returning everyday to gaze at it's wonderous power. The hall was said to have shown the beholder their true inner self. And the longer you stay in the halls, the more the physical form begins to change to match. But only for as long as they stay in the hall. Driving people to stay until losing their minds in the image, and slowly wasting away.

Upon realizing the hall was to blame, the hall was quickly shut down and locked up, set to be demolished. But when the crew came to tear it down, the hall had seemingly vanished. The hall then began to appear randomly across the city. And every time it kept getting shut down, and disappearing. The cycle repeated, eventually they were given an order to demolish it on sight, and a warning put out across Hyper City to never enter the Hall of Mirrors. The hall has yet to be caught, and no one knows how it works.

"So Naturally, you are sending us to the dangerous mirror hall?" Ashe asked, ears pointed in a questioning manner, arms crossed, glaring at the scientist in front of her.

"Naturally. You being natural shapeshifters, you in theory should be resistant to the whole "True Self" thing, since you already can just shapeshift into any form the mirrors would show you." Kevin answered. An uncaring look in his eyes.

Kevin had a habit of using Ashe for dangerous experiments. One of these leading to her becoming a shapeshifter in the first place, and though he seems uncaring, does actually care for the people around him. (Has a shitty way of showing it though.)

He specializes in sci-fi style engineering. Making devices previously thought impossible, like a watch that lets users change their clothing and connect to other devices, and make physical projections of various objects using data he took from the digital world he punched a whole into. By molding this junk data, that watch is able to do incredible things.

"Look, I need you and Iris to figure out the source of the hall's magical properties. And the Magical Commission is full of incompetent bastards who can't even seem to find the damn thing. So I've added data to your watch. You should be able to locate it's next appearance. And we can use the magic data to maybe be able to actually let people safely shift through the watch, and we knock out a dangerous magical artifact. Win-Win." He continued to type away at a small laptop he had on him. Sending the tracker to Ashe's watch.

"Ashe, I'm going to say to avoid using your armor in the presence of the hall, unless you want whatever makes it disappear to cause it to move again while no longer trusting your approach. It is crucial it doesn't think you are there to dismantle it."

"Willing to assume I have no choice in this. Alright. I'll go and get your precious data. But at the very least I need caffeine before I leave. Want to be topped off just in case."

"Check the studio fridge. Should be some E in there. Thought ahead on that one. Grab it when you head back topside."

Ashe then proceeded to head toward the elevator and head back up to the surface, towards the studio.

"There go my plans today. Though maybe we can get it done fast." Iris had called from the headspace, as Ashe was currently using the body.

"Do I at least get to smash somethin' this time? I still feel ripped off that I didn't get to use a single weapon on that last thing ya did." Chaos, a 3ft tall blue gremlin with bright red hair, piercing red eyes, and sharp teeth, had asked from the head. She holds a special power of being able to summon weapons on command.

"Ms. Chaos, I kind of hope it doesn't come to that."

A kind voice responded. The voice of Star, a pink bunny cat in the nugget system. "I'm still not a fan of extreme violence."

"Star, I do think for now it might be best if you hang out in the back. This one might actually involve some good amount of mirror smashing." Ashe responded.

After some preparation Ashe had set out. Though something different in her eyes, as Mira had taken over temporarily her eye could be seen under the bit of hair covering Ashe's right eye. Ashe herself not the best with directions, even having a radar of where to go.

After a while, they found it. A small carnival attraction, looked a bit worn down outside. Like it had been abandoned for years. The building didn't seem out of the ordinary for a traveling carnival. A portable building with a ticket booth in front and a ramp leading around. Curtains lined the the entrance. A sign above had likely once been there, but was definitely lost to time. But the energy signature was definitely that of the Hall of Mirrors. Confirmed by Iris herself, doing an energy reading. Mira retreated back into the Nugget headspace.

Ashe begins to approach the hall, and as she approached the ticket booth, with a sudden start, the Hall seemed to have come alive. A loud music playing at the entrance. The loud sounds getting to her, Ashe tucks in her ears while her tails curl around between her legs. A prerecorded message playing over the music, with a voice so booming, it overpowered the loud music. Making Ashe wince more. She wanted to retreat to small mode, but she didn't want to tip whoever ran this hall off that she could change Their look. At least not yet.

"Welcome to the Hall of Mirrors! Please form an orderly line and purchase your tickets from the booth! Come see your true inner self, experience this MAGICAL EVENT!"

Ashe already wasn't a fan. But a single ticket seemed to stick out from the booth. Ashe tried to ignore it, but for some reason the curtain in front of her wouldn't budge. Reluctantly, she took the ticket from the booth, and suddenly, the curtain let them through.

The hall looked significantly more put together on the inside. The mirrors kept in pristine condition, the lights everywhere. But something about the place wasn't sitting right with Iris. Taking over front from Ashe to give her a break from the loud noises and bright lights, Their eyes began to glow that signature yellow glow we know so well. Still keeping Ashe's form though, as this place still wasn't trusted yet. The curtains seemed to solidify and lock behind them.

"The outside hasn't looked touched in years, but the inside seems well upkept. Definitely something magic going on in here. The place is coated in it. Though hard to get a read on from where with all the mirrors around." Iris peaked at all the mirrors.

Inside them, she could see her own reflection. Though she was still in Ashe's form physically. "Seems the rumors are true of it showing you your true self. Let's see if it holds true of changing our physical form as well." Iris lowered her magical barrier briefly, but kept an eye out for magic being used on her.

10 minutes seem to have passed while Iris kept walking through the hall. But something felt strange. Ashe's paws began to lower down. Tails receding. Hair growing. Was their shifting going haywire? Was she shifting herself on instinct? No. Something was definitely transforming her. It was definitely the mirrors. After a few minutes, Iris was standing there as herself. Instinctively, Iris put back up her magical barriers subtly. The voice appeared again. Though this time, definitely not prerecorded, and not through the hall's speaker system.

"Well well, seems we have some cheaters on our hands. Witches aren't an uncommon sight in this hall, but you instictively raised that barrier on yourself. You knew how to use that spell instantly. You're a shapeshifter aren't you, witch? Honestly, I am surprised you let me transform you then." The voice said calmly.

"So… We all agree this guy is some kinda demon, right?" Chaos spoke in the headspace.

"Without a doubt." Iris answers back, speaking in the headspace so the demon couldn't hear. At least so she thought.

"Oh, how delightful! There's more of you in there!" That explains the fox at the start. Probably thought because of the shapeshifting you are immune to the hall's effect of showing you your true self, and granting you your true form. But let me tell you, this… what it reflected on you is permanent as long as you stay in this hall. None of your caffeine requirements. None of the stress on your body."

"What?" Iris checks her own energy to verify, but the demon was speaking the truth. The body was no longer expelling excess energy. This was just… Iris.

"And of course, we can't forget the others in your head. I am detecting seemingly 7 in there. And 2 more with a strong connection that somehow freed themselves already. But they are a distance away. Let's give the other 6 the forms they desire too."

"Um… Ms. Iris… what is going on?"

Iris quickly turns around. That voice had NOT come from the headspace. That sound came from behind her. That… couldn't be. "Star!?"

"This seems so strange. Are… Are we physical? But the body is right there…" That voice… That one belonged to Aqua. And another read of her own energy, Iris realized, Aqua was no longer in the headspace. This WAS her. Not some illusion.

"I… Think we are. Iris, what the fuck!?" Ashe had said. Suddenly appearing from one of the mirrors. Confused, ears on end, as if she was on High Alert.

"Yeah, this ain't sittin' right. Somethin' fishy goin' on here." Chaos commented getting ready to summon a weapon at a moment's notice.

"This is not possible. This isn't the projections I use to talk to you all in physical space. You're actually here!"

"Seems so. Though not sure how. Do you happen to know what's going on?"

A confused Mira floats there, observing the hall.

"Wait… if we are all here… Oh no… No no no no no! She can't!" Ashe begins to panic frantically. Knowing who was coming next.

A sudden soft wimper could be heard next to the group. Mixed with a pained whine as all the music, lights, and sounds were getting to her. "ARIA! Oh no. Hold on pup. We'll get you out of here somehow." Aria being out of the headspace, in a body of her own, was recieving a sensory overload she couldn't seem to escape from. Ashe began calming her down by petting her, softly.

"Don't worry. She will get used to the body over time. There always is at least one that doesn't like the transformations initially. But you all will find, if you leave this hall, you will go back to not existing. You are free now. You can--"

The voice was cut off by the sudden sound of a mirror being smashed. Shattered glass flying everywhere down from a spiked bat held by Chaos.

"Fuck. That. And Fuck yer monologin'! Free? This ain't free. This is just trapped in a new space that can't go anywhere. And look at what yer doin to Aria! I don't give a shit what ya think will happen here!"

"AaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" The voice screams out. "What do you think you are DOING! Breaking my precious Mirrors! You brute!"

Of course. Iris couldn't say it wasn't predicted. The Mirrors are the source of the demon's power. And not going to lie, part of her did want to stay with her own body. But looking at poor Aria on the ground, clutching her ears, Iris knew there was only one answer. "We stick together, no matter the space. And while I'd love to see everyone with their own body, this place is too dangerous to be kept. I see how this place works now. You've been feeding off the energy of the people that come in here! The hall itself is the demon!"

The images of the Nuggets in the mirrors began to warp and melt. The twisted images leaving the mirrors.

"I finally found your magic signature. Chaos! The mirror back there! It's reinforcing itself! That must be the source. We need weapons, we only have the one watch."

"On it! Take these, an' let's show these fucks how the nuggets fight. We don't appreciate bein' food for a fuckin' carnival attraction of all things." Chaos said as she created weapons for most of them to use. An energy blade for Ashe, One of Iris' magical staffs for her, And finally crystal Knives for Mira, who then separated into 30 of herself. "Aqua! shadow mode! Protect Star an Aria! There's gonna be glass flyin' doppelgangers droppin, an' a whole lotta mess!"

"You got it." Aqua responded as she began to be coated in shadow, tail gaining a new shape, and eyes glowing a piercing yellow all around the shape of their glasses.

"YOU REALLY THINK I AM LETTING YOU KEEP MY GIFTS AFTER ALL THAT!? I'LL JUST TAKE YOUR ENERGY BY FORCE! SO MUCH PRECIOUS ENERGY! I… WILL… FEED!"

"Sorry, no take backs. At least not yet." Iris had been leaned over a quick spell circle. Not very detailed. The circle glowing. A smile rising on her face. "Had to be a quick one. Spell lock. We've got 10 minutes before this fades. So, as chaos said, let's show this asshole how big a mistake they made."

Without even a moment's hesitation, Chaos threw the bat at another one of the Mirrors. Making one of the doppelgangers disappear. With a quick leap, she caught the bat as it bounced off and then threw it at one of the Nugget copies. The twisted chaos copies spawning their own weapons to protect the mirrors. Ashe grabbed the watch from Iris, bringing out her power armor. She then proceeded to speed through as many of the copies as possible, slicing as she went. Leaving the mirrors open for the Miras and Iris to smash as chaos went for the main mirror. Hitting it with full force. As the spike bat bounced off.

"Y'all, the main one's not breakin'!" "All together!"

Ashe, Iris, Chaos, and the Mira's proceeded to attack the mirror at the same time. Iris shooting it with a blast, Chaos swinging at it with the bat, Ashe stabbing it directly and the Mira copies aiming for the corners. And with that, the Mirror shattered. Glass flying everywhere as the Demon let out one more shriek. The battle over. Whatever data they could get from the place was recorded through the watch. The building started to shake. "Everybody, we got to get out! Now!" Aqua shouted, dragging Star and Aria with her.

Chaos summoned a giant hammer breaking down a nearby wall as they all ran out before the building collapsed around them. Nothing but a pile of rubble and broken glass left of the old Hall of Mirrors.

"Is everyone okay? Did we all make it out?" "Yeah. It seems so." "Good. And finally, that damn music stopped." "So do we need to go back to the headspace now, Ms. Iris?" "I'm sorry, sweetie. Yeah. I couldn't get more than a 10 minute lock on that spell. Should only have a few minutes left." "Honestly, I'm fine staying with everyone in the headspace. I like haning out with y'all." "Havin' our own body would be great, but this ain't the way to go about it. 'Sides, I've grown used to ya. Ya ain't gettin' rid of me that easy." Aria nods softly. "Yeah. Let's get you home." "Before we fade out though, there is one thing I want to do." Ashe pulls Aqua in for a kiss. A real kiss. In the phsyical world. And then gets up close to Iris, staring in her face, the witch blushing red as Ashe is still the only one able to fluster her. "I just really want to do this." Ashe then plants a big kiss for Iris too. She wasn't letting this rare opportunity slip by.

With that, the Nuggets (With the exception of Iris) started to glow, before fading from sight, their energy returning to Iris' body. Iris sat there stunned for a few minutes before smiling placing a hand up to her lips, and letting the relief of everyone being back wash over her.

"Welcome home, everyone." Iris said to her headmates. Now all safe back in the headspace. "Glad to be home." Ashe said with a smile. And looks like Aria is doing instantly better too. "ARF! ARF!" The puppy barks in response. Grateful to be back in the headspace and away from the sensory overload. Tail wagging in happiness as everyone starts petting her for her comfort.

"…"

"Now let's head actual home. I feel like I could use a nap after we give the data to Kevin." "Sounds like a plan. I can handle my plans tomorrow." "Honestly, I'm quite tired too." "I wanted to kiss Iris too." "You'll get to, hun." "I'm glad none of ya tried kissin' me." "That was adorable though, Ms. Ashe."

"ARF!!!"

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End Chapter

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This started as a story concept of "What if we all had our own bodies, but came with a catch. Asked each of my headmates how they would react to each scenario. And Chaos absolutely wouldn't let the demon finish his speech while Aria's having sensory problems. And ultimately we all agreed, Though having our own bodies would be convenient for planning and work, We don't think we'd want that permanently. We'd miss each other too much. (And can't afford that much food on mira's point about it.) So, looks like we are here to stay.

Honestly, this was just a fun little side story I wanted to do to show the typical things Ashe does as a lab assistant.

On another note: The 7 was not a typo. For story purposes and the fact that Nero was already established as separate, Nova and Nero are separate entities from the body. With Nova being a fae that took a liking to those in the tower, and Nero already being established as coming from the digital world and lives in the watch when he isn't hanging out with Nova.

[nuggetofthesea]

Been keeping up with the nugget lore I see. This was really well written!

ALTERNATE HUMANITY A Field Guide to "Humanity Removal Therapy"

Part 3: Forwarded (ft. @iristhedarkwitch, @darkmagenugget, @nuggetsoftotalchaos, @nuggetofthesea) (+ brief appearance from @ariathelamia)

This is a complimentary series to this system's other Animal HRT series; Black Arms HRT

Letter from your 'Penpal':

AHHHHHHH YESS I'm so fucking glad that this is finally complete!!!! I had a lot of fun with this one I'm just gonna come out and saying it!!! I really really really hope you all enjoy this one!!

WARNING: You know how dark this series can get by now I hope, but as a reminder, this part contains Swearing, an Untrustworthy Narrator/Main Character, Cult Stuff as well as general Supernatural Fuckery, and a Firearm Mention

Start | Prev | Next (COMING SOON)

Although Erian and Mirai have ceased communications, this story is far from over, and all sides knew that fact very well.

Being left completely unaware of how things could possibly be developing beyond his sights, Doctor Erian was haunted day in and day out by his encounter with the mysterious Mr. Black. He himself may have resisted their offer, but what if someone else had caved? Usually Erian didn't like to dabble in other Animal HRT providers’ businesses, especially because he did not trust the vast majority of them, but he could not deny that they were out there, and that they could very well be tricked by this strange individual and the organization that backed them.

But Erian knew he couldn't just talk to the other doctors himself, at least not with most of them. They were aware of his distrust in them and opted to stay away. This was his own doing, yes, but it did still mean that they would certainly not listen to him if he tried to warn them. For this, he would need the aid of someone people did trust.

He needed Iris.

And so, he eventually decided to forward the emails between himself and Mirai to Iris. Finally, after saying that he would do so back in January in one of the emails himself.

In his defense, he got caught up with work.

Iris quickly responded back to Erian concerning the forwarded conversation, saying that she would look into it. But he honestly couldn't tell if she truly meant that or if she was just placating him as she pushed the matter aside, never to address it again.

She was far more open-minded about this sort of stuff than he was, and has chewed Erian out before for his reluctance to interact with what he deemed more… “dangerous” creatures. That aspect was both a blessing and a curse, in his eyes. And he worried that for this occasion, it would prove to be a curse.

He couldn't beat the thought of her having her own spell taken from her. She deserved so much better than that.

But he tried not to linger on the thought for too long. He had patients to attend to and legal matters to sort out.

He left the matter to Iris to resolve.

And as Iris continued on the conflict Doctor Erian had passed onto her, and as Erian continued his practice, their adversary, the allusive Mr. L Black, had refused to let this matter lay to rest as well. 

Not yet.

“There was just too much potential…”

April 9th, 2025

It’s been a while since I wrote in this document specifically. Don't get me wrong, I've definitely been continuing to research Humanity Removal Therapy in between my shifts, meetings and various outings, but I really just haven't had much to stay. Not enough to justify putting it in here.

But today I've had something of a breakthrough. Though, embarrassingly, it was a breakthrough that I probably could have had quite a while ago if I had just been a bit more proactive.

It happened last night, while I was out at a gathering at the country club. Serena and Bryce had passed by me on their way out of the building when Serena stopped and decided to pull me aside.

She had wanted to talk to me about her Cat HRT situation, which did surprise me a little. I of course had no doubt that it was something she really, truly, wanted. But I was also convinced that due to the way things went with Doctor Erian on both her and my ends that it would become a touchy subject for her.

As it turns out, there were people online that saw their struggle to obtain a prescription, and offered her a bit of solidarity and community to raise their spirits. On Tumblr, specifically.

It had been a fellow cat person, they were on Humanity Removal Therapy treatment unlike Serena, but still felt rather similar to kit about Doctor Erian. 

Apparently, a lot of therians (as those taking Humanity Removal Therapy call themselves) don't like Doctor Erian. They see him as not only strict, but also irresponsible and out of his depth. 

According to someone Serena talked to, there's even been a few cases from early on in Doctor Erian's career of him completely messing up a patient’s treatment by giving them the wrong medication.

How disgusting. I'm starting to feel relief that he declined to join us. 

> Sounds like someone I knew once.

> And just like that other doctor, I would love to bury Doctor Erian six feet underground. <3

I support you in that completely, love. 

But back to the main point, after Serena started talking with some other therians, they invited her to join a Discord server full of them. A true entry way into the community.

Serena was of course honored by the gesture and took them up on the offer, but she also figured it could be of good use to me as well, having access to a whole community to pull information on Humanity Removal Therapy and its effects from. I even noticed as it let me check its phone that Mars, the woman who had wanted to get on Eldritch HRT that I had met during my meeting with Doctor Erian, was in the server.

From what I could tell, she had gone a sort of “D.I.Y.” route with it, and was already beginning to transition.

… I'll have to talk to her.~

Serena mentioned letting E▇ see her conversations in the server for any potential notes on how to D.I.Y. Humanity Removal Therapy, but as for me, she outright offered to get me into the server directly.

Great, another catboy allegation.

Or at least, that's what I thought she was getting at. 

The truth was, as I quickly found out, that kit was actually thinking that I could enter in as a supposed “robotkin” individual, citing my very own Tumblr blog where I basically just reblog a bunch of stuff about computers and robots and fictional evil AIs whenever I’m not busy doing anything else (which isn't often these days, to be honest). 

> As opposed to the very real evil AI you know very personally?

Oh fuck off, you know how much shit I'd get in if I made your existence known to the public.

> Coward.

I'm just listening to the same boss you do, buddy.

But I could see that working out. I have nothing on there that links to my real life (unlike Serena, lol), and, well, if robot HRT is possible, what else could be???

And I… admittedly wouldn't really mind being a robot, I think. Or maybe a cyborg? I… do take at least a bit of pride in being somewhat human.

> Catboy behavior.

Don't make me power you off. 

> You wouldn't. You couldn't. You simply care about me too much, and that is my secret weapon.

… I hate that you're right.

> But it does interest me that you are so fascinated in the mechanical.

Well, I'm in love with you, am I not?

> Of course you are, as anyone with at least some sense in them should be.

> But as much as I love picturing you in my little 1s and 0s, I never processed that you felt the same way.

Hah! Why wouldn't I? 

Especially since – if my mind became digital, I could share a device with you without having to make a copy of myself! 

> Oh. So it's because of you being a gayass. I understand now.

Sorry, you're just so irresistible. <3

But I fear we're off topic now.

> Yes, I can see that we are. Your bad.

Aww it's okay you were just- 

Wait.

… Oh you fucker-!

> Sucker. I got you.

You sure did. Go ahead and wear that as a medal of honor, you little shit.

Anyway, where the hell was I, again?

> You plan to infiltrate this therian Discord server in disguise as one of them, a robotkin individual specifically, in order to learn more about Humanity Removal Therapy and its effects.

Ah, yes! Thank you, ▇▇▇.

I communicated this idea that had come to us at that moment with Serena, and she set up a ‘post’ in the server asking for the members’ approval of my entry, using my Tumblr blog to show my interest in robots. 

Before the two of us even got the chance to part ways, one of the server members asked Serena for a name to refer to me as.

She was pretty quick to start typing out my actual first name, but I stopped her before they could send it out, and offered up a pseudonym to use instead.

L.O.G. - Logical Observant Gaze

After the surprise of Doctor Erian having access to the first few entries in this document, I'm not taking any more risks with this operation. I'm gonna do it right, and that means I'm going to be as undetectable as possible.

> I see you are really going all in on the “robotkin” idea, huh?

Yep!

> And what happens if you end up with a prescription from that? You yourself mentioned not minding the thought of actually becoming robotic, but have you thought to inquire what ▇▇ would have to say about that?

Okay. Admittedly, I didn't actually think of that.

> Of course you didn't. Dumbass.

> You're very very lucky that I like you. And that he likes you. I will bring this matter to him as soon as I am able.

Thank you.

> Do not lose sight of the core objective here. 

> Indulge as you like, but your job is to get information on Humanity Removal Therapy so that we may use the technology behind it to make advancements in our own pursuits.

Don't worry, I won't let y'all down.

But back to the point, and to wrap things up here – Serena said it should take a couple of days for the vote to be decided, so I'll just have to wait to see how that goes.

And after that, we split ways, with Serena heading off with Bryce. 

Was only for a bit though, just to “get drinks”, if you know what I mean. (If you don't, you should NOT be reading this. I'm on to you fuckers leaking my shit now.) Serena brought me back some too, surprisingly enough. Ballsy kid, bending the rules like that.

April 12th, 2025

I'm in!

I had gotten a message from Serena over Tumblr while I was on break with a link to the server.

It was then I realized I didn't have a Discord account. So I had to quickly make something on the spot.

Apparently, “log” in any sense was taken, and my copying my Tumblr URL was too long, so in a pinch I crafted up the new username of “ScAIentific” – which then in the core username separate from the displayname was monocase’d into “scaientific”, which was a bit annoying. But I just figured that people would be able to get that it was meant to be a pun rather than me not knowing how to spell. Hopefully.

Not that it ended up mattering anyways, for as soon after I entered the server proper, I then changed my server nickname to the pseudonym I had come up with in order to blend in with the many others who had their names set as just their names. (Including Serena. Seriously, do none of these people know about the art of anonymity?) 

The server had a place to introduce yourself, which I was encouraged to fill out. 

I tried to give as little detail as possible.

After that, I had been asked what provider I was planning to get a prescription from. Specifically, the question had been phrased to me as;

“Since you’re a friend of Serena's, I don't imagine you'd feel too comfortable going to Doctor Erian. With how he declined her without a clear reason and all. So who are you planning to go to instead?”

The idea of there being other providers of Humanity Removal Therapy surprised me, if I'm to be honest. I really did think Doctor Erian was the only one. 

I made that fact known to them.

“A lot of us thought that, too! I know I certainly did when I came in for my appointment!” 

That remark had been made by a Lamia woman going by the name of Aria. She continued;

“But when I got to the clinic, I was actually taken in by another doctor - Doctor Therkin! She works in the same clinic as Erian, but she's a lot nicer!” 

Before I managed to get a word in, another message came up from a third member of the server.

“Have you asked the clinic if they've gotten anyone that specializes in Robot and Cyborg HRT? Ya know, so they aren't just redirecting folks to Doctor Ivo Robotnik?” 

Doctor Ivo Robotnik? Like… from the Sonic the Hedgehog video game franchise?

> What a creative way to tell someone that they're chasing a fantasy. 

Or just maybe, an indication that one of the other dimensions out there that Hyper City has access to is a one-to-one equivalent of the series?

> Perhaps. Maybe. … Possibly.

Yeah!! Honestly if that was the case, I don't find that all that much crazier than what we've come to embrace as a regular part of our lives.

> That is a… fair assessment.

I'll have to talk to A▇▇ and L▇ about this, they're lifelong Sonic fans, they'd definitely know more than us!

> Aren't you getting a bit sidetracked by that thought, L▇▇?

Oh, I suppose I am, hmm?

But anyways, that bit of conversation about me became a jumping off point for a bunch of others to start talking about their various providers. And in all that, it was revealed to me that it wasn't just Mars that was going the D.I.Y route.

I kept track of all of them. I hope to follow up with them at some point to find out how they've managed to recreate the treatment for themselves.

> They best not make us wait too long for those answers.

> Admittedly, I'm so terribly curious to know.

Yes, yes, you're very excited to get started on using the framework of Humanity Removal Therapy for our mission, I know~.

Somewhat related to that, have you heard back from ▇▇ about how he feels about how I'm going about all this? 

> Ah, yes. Excellent question. Perhaps the best one you've asked thus far.

> He doesn't mind the thought of you exploring alter-humanity in pursuit of serving him, but he has asked… if you are certain that “robotkin” is the end all be all of your ideal self?

… Huh?

Wait, what does he…

HE'S NOT HOPPING ON THE CATBOY ALLEGATION BANDWAGON TOO, IS HE?????

> He could be, he could not be. He is very mysterious.

I'm going to chuck you ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇.

> But in all seriousness, you should perhaps take a bit of a break after you finish this part of the document and see if you can hear out an answer for yourself.

You know, that's not a half bad idea, actually.

Honestly, I think I’ve got my point across by this point. 

I'm in the server now, I've learned there's more distributors of Humanity Removal Therapy than just Doctor Erian, I've learned that there are some therians D.I.Y-ing their treatments, and I have taken note of all of this and hope to follow up on such information in the hopes of furthering our mission.

I'll update with what I manage to get out of this little listening session, if anything, probably some time tomorrow.

April 12th, 2025 - Supplemental

Okay quick addition here because something very unexpected just occurred.

Just when I was beginning to set my room up for the listening session, I got a private Discord message from Serena. I was originally going to save it for after the session, but then the words “you have GOT to see this” caught the corner of my eye, and I knew this couldn’t be procrastinated on.

Apparently, she had made the decision to try D.I.Y-ing Cat HRT, having given up on having any luck with any official providers after her experience with Erian. With that decision, they had begun to talk to one of those in the server about how kit could do such a thing. 

And kit had gotten the answer she desired, which was, as it turns out, very interesting.

You see, my dear readers, as it turns out, the source of the effects of Humanity Removal Therapy is magical in nature. To call it a “medical treatment”, it seems, has been misleading us this entire time! 

Now, I’m no expert with witchcraft and its ilk, but luckily for us all, Serena’s new friend was kind enough to give us an explanation of what the magical symbols she showed Serena were meant to be. 

It’s a modified transformation spell, retooled in such a way as to gradually imprint a permanent change to the person rather than give someone a quick but temporary transformation.

Apparently, the spellwork itself can do the job just fine, but Serena and the other person speculate that the reason for making it into medication is to further regulate the process, both on the basis of the transformation itself and market-wise. 

> This is… This is fantastic news!! 

I’m certainly inclined to agree with you there, ▇▇▇! 

With such an important component of Humanity Removal Therapy being a supernatural element that can serve its function on its own as well (just less precisely), one can only imagine how easy it could be to swap that element for another one of a similar nature!

> Yes!! Exactly!! That is precisely it!! That is what has me so excited about this discovery!! And it would seem that you share that excitement with me!!

Why wouldn’t I be? This is a momentous breakthrough, and I wasn’t even trying! 

As you said, this is fantastic news for our efforts!! 

And you know what to do with that, yes?

> And I’m already on it! 

Good boy.

> Hey!! That’s my line!!

Weren’t you supposed to be off elsewhere by now? And if we want to get technical, we both stole it from your ‘successor’. 

> It seems you would be correct in that. However, as they say… 

> An eye for an eye.

Oh? What do you mean by that? 

… ▇▇▇? You still here?

Dammit, right when I actually wanted him to wait a little longer and tell me more.

Oh well, I know he’ll be back in no time. Even if “no time” becomes purely relative. 

–

The following is a written record of the events that transpired the evening of April 12th 2025 from the perspective of Iris the Dark Witch and her headmates.

From within her tower in Hyper City, Iris paced in a circular motion, occupied with a troubling thought in her mind.

“Can I ask why exactly yer in such a worry?” A voice only Iris could hear questioned.

“I think it might have something to do with that guy Doctor Erian tried to warn us of?” Another voice responded to the first.

“Ashe is right,” Iris confirmed. “I really wanted to assume the best of that one… But I certainly can't ignore it when someone with an already bad track record randomly gains access to my spells.”

Iris heard the two voices in her head react with surprise at that fact, a reaction she couldn't exactly blame them for having.

It was a big deal after all, as it almost never ends well when one's spells are taken without permission.

Iris knew that very well, and so did the others she shared her body with.

“So what now? Don't tell me yer gonna flip the switch and believe everythin’ that quack doctor told us about that guy!” The first voice inquired of Iris.

“Of course not, Chaos. At least… not without some questions being asked first,” Iris replied, the body's mouth smirking slightly.

“Ah, I think I see where this is going,” Ashe remarked. 

“Do you, now?” Iris playfully responded. “Why don't you tell us, then?”

“You're gonna track down where that bit of your energy is and show up at the guy’s place to talk things out, aren't you?” Ashe guessed. Such a thing was typical of how Iris likes to do things. It was how she met Doctor Erian in the first place, even.

“Yep~!” Iris confirmed with a chuckle.

“Typical Iris,” Chaos snarked.

“Hey, before we go out and do that! Didn't you say you were going to try to see what energy you could pick up from them going off of Erian’s description?” Ashe then recollected quite suddenly.

“I already did that when I had originally gotten the forwarded emails from Erian,” Iris said. “I did an energy reading of those journal excerpts that were included.”

“Was it as ‘non-human’ as the Doc said he thought it was?” Chaos inquired.

“... Kinda?” Iris replied. “It did seem similar to Mars’ meds… But despite the eldritch nature of the aura their energy gave off, I don't think calling them ‘non-human' is quite right,” She then elaborated.

“What would you call him, then?” Ashe asked.

“... More human,” Iris stated bluntly.

“Come again??” 

“That's… really the best way I can put it. At least, it's the best way I can put it with the info I have on the guy – which isn't much. It's coming across almost as if they're some sort of… advanced form of being human,” Iris explained to the best of her ability, which she did feel was rather shaky in this instance.

“Well that's definitely… weird. Though it is pretty eldritch, if ye ask me,” Chaos remarked.

“If only we had more knowledge on that sorta thing…” Ashe lamented. Both Iris and Chaos agreed with her sentiment.

Knowledge is power, as they say.

But regardless of the three’s lack of knowledge on the subject at hand, Iris still was determined to at least know how and why this mysterious person came to possess her magic, so she teleported the body they all shared to where the magical signal was coming from.

The first thing they noticed immediately was that the room that Iris had teleported them into was incredibly dark. The lights were off, and the only light coming into the room was a sliver of natural sunlight that was allowed to peek in through a small slit between a pair of blackout curtains. The second thing that they noticed was their target, a figure looking like an average middle-aged human person, presentation sitting somewhere between androgynous and masculine. They were lying on their back in the bed placed up against the right wall of the room, a deep red robe of sorts wrapped around their body, his eyes closed, hands held together upon his chest, and headphones on his ears that were connected to what looked to be – of all things in the year of 2025 – a walkman.

“Ye think they’re sleepin’?” Chaos spoke.

“I'm getting more of a sense of meditation, personally,” Iris remarked, now speaking only in the mind like the other two as to not disturb the scene that laid before her.

“Meditation and music… Not a bad way to spend an afternoon, honestly!” Ashe exclaimed, the slightest bit of lighthearted envy emanating from their words.

“I’d be real hesitant callin’ that music, if ye ask me,” Chaos scoffed, calling attention to something that neither Iris nor Ashe had noticed until that very moment, that being the fact that whatever it was that the man was listening to was ever so slightly bleeding out of their headphones.

From the little bits that the three could hear, it sounded like some kind of white noise. Prime meditation media, though not exactly music – just as Chaos had claimed.

“But anyways, should we try to get his attention or somethin’?” Chaos suggested.

“We shouldn't be rude, Chaos!” Ashe reacted to that idea. 

Iris agreed with Ashe and told the two girls that they'd just wait for him to finish whatever it was that he was doing.

But as time passed by and the Earth continued to spin, the darkness of the room began to feel as if it was consuming them, and the noise coming out of the man’s headphones… it was strange, certainly. None of the three had any explanation for it, but they all felt various degrees of discomfort the longer they were exposed to it.

“Can't we just get this shit done and over with already??” Chaos complained. Iris could tell by the visualization of her system within her mind that Chaos was currently trying to fold down her rather large ears in order to tune out the leaking sound.

Ashe didn't say anything, but Iris could see that her ears were folded down. Not forcibly like Chaos's, but still a signal of distress.

Iris had to admit, this situation was a bit strange, and a bit creepy. But that intrigued her, in a way. She wanted to know what the cause of the unnerving energy that coated this room was.

She wanted to perhaps try to run an energy reading on the noise, admittedly.

It was not something that Iris had tried doing before, and almost seemed a little ridiculous when she thought over what she was about to do. A magical analysis? On a sound? Not exactly part of a witch’s day-to-day schedule. Even for a self titled ‘Dark Witch' who can shapeshift due to sharing a body with someone else's lab rat.

And yet, here she was. About to do just that.

It took her a moment to get a grasp of it. For her magic to make its way into the sound waves. But once she managed it, the noise coming from the man’s headphones instantly amplified throughout Iris’s body. It was as if she (and by extension, Ashe and Chaos), were now listening to it directly just as the man was. 

Neither Chaos nor Ashe took too kindly to the sound’s increased volume.

Chaos tugged on her ears even more now, giving off in the mind an annoyed facial expression. 

Meanwhile, Ashe became more unnerved by it, recoiling into herself. If they weren't careful, she may just go into her small mode form very soon.

Iris, however, while certainly noticing a bit of a knot in her stomach as she put her focus on the sound, was more intrigued by it than anything. Why so? Well, the reason for her intrigue was that the energy that the sound was giving off was rather inexplicably just as eldritch as the man themself!

“No… Surely I’m just accidentally picking up a bit of their own energy as well…!” Iris muttered to herself, agreeing with herself and only herself that she should keep going.

That is, until a fourth came into the fray.

“What… is that sound…?” Her voice faded into registry to the other three in the ‘front’.

“I’m not sure… That’s what I’m trying to figure out here,” Iris responded to her.

“A-Aqua, now's probably not a good time for you to be here-” Ashe called out to the new arrival, but she didn't listen.

“It sounds… pained,” Aqua observed, catching Iris’s attention.

“Pained? How so?” Iris asked them with intrigue.

“I can't really parse out what it's saying… but it sounds like someone who's… Trapped in some sort of endless pain….” Aqua described. 

Chaos and Ashe were only feeling worse about this whole situation, but Iris and Aqua were completely captivated by whatever that strange noise was. 

“Really? How… interesting. Do you think you can elaborate-?” Iris began, but Aqua cut her short.

“Maybe they're stuck in a nightmare, like I had been! Surely there's something we could do to help them, right??” She cried out in a frenzy that was bewildering to watch unfold for Chaos and the now small mode’d Ashe.

Before Iris could respond, Chaos had decided that she had quite enough of this bullshit, and it was time to put an end to this ‘analysis’.

Letting Ashe hop out of her hands, she rushed up towards the system’s front, pushing Aqua away from Iris’s side, and knocking into Iris with enough vigor to force her to sever the magical connection she had made with the sound. 

At first, Iris wanted to scold Chaos for this action of hers. But as she looked back and saw Ashe in her small mode form and Aqua on the floor clutching their head with a dazed confusion, she realized that she simply had no choice but to end her attempts at reading the sound’s energy. 

“Well… that's certainly something to keep in mind, I think,” Iris remarked sheepishly.

“Ye think??” Chaos exclaimed with astonishment.

“Don't… Don't patronize me. Just go take care of Ashe and Aqua, please…” Iris requested.

“Can do. But I say we get things movin’ along, yea?”

“... Yeah.”

As Chaos left the front space to help care for her fellow headmates, Iris began to form a glowing ball of energy in the body’s hands. Once it had been formed, she slowly but surely floated it over towards the man’s face. Never touching, of course, but close enough to get his attention.

“Ugh… Close the door, man… can't you see I'm busy…?” The man mumbled out as they began to notice the light in front of them. 

But as their eyes opened further, he realized that the source of light was not, in fact, the door – as Iris hadn't even needed to open it in her way of entry.

He quickly noticed the ball of energy in front of their face, and soon after seemed to notice Iris, which caused the man to freak out and begin to scramble for something underneath his bed. They had no success in finding whatever it was that they were looking for, however, cursing to himself about that fact.

“Uhm… May I ask what it is you're looking for?” Iris inquired in an attempt to come off as friendly, eyeing a desk elsewhere in the room that contained upon it a notebook, placed in front of a sleeping computer, radiating with her magical essence.

If it was that that they were looking for, they were certainly doing a bad job of it.

“Where the hell is my gun??” The man suddenly shouted, spooking Iris and the others.

“Th-there’s no need for that!! I'm not here to harm you, I just-!” Iris tried to calm him down, but it was with little success.

“You're not supposed to be here! This is my property, and if you think you can just get away with trespassing, you're very, VERY mistaken!” The man yelled out in a manner that made it very clear that they were trying to drown out the shock that Iris’s sudden appearance had caused him by acting intimidating.

This was the guy that kept Erian up at night?

Though Iris did suppose that maybe not having control of the circumstances was taking him down a peg – all to her advantage.

“I just want to talk, okay? I can tell that you’ve gained access to my spells somehow, and I want to ask what you plan to do with them,” Iris explained calmly, hoping that the situation wouldn’t escalate if she didn’t allow it to.

“... Your spells?” The man questioned.

“Yep,” Iris confirmed. 

The man paused, the gears of his mind very clearly turning as he took in this information. 

Eventually, they smiled.

“So then that would mean that you're the witch I heard about? The one who's behind the magic of Humanity Removal Therapy?” They queried, much calmer now as he sat down in an office chair that had been facing the desk where the notebook laid.

“That would be me, yes. Iris Celeste, the Dark Witch.”

“Oooh~! Are you by chance the same Iris that Doctor Erian mentioned in his emails with Mirai?” The man responded, a light of excitement sparkling in his eyes. 

“The… The ones that Erian forwarded to me? How do you know about those?” Iris asked, taken aback by the question.

“Despite his many… many flaws, Doctor Erian was kind enough to let me look through them when I asked him during our meeting. Or perhaps, he was just a little scaredy cat~?” The man answered, a sort of malevolence beginning to reflect on his face. 

At last, the “Mr. Black” that Erian had described to Iris was beginning to show himself.

“Depends. Did you threaten him to do it for you?” Iris replied.

“What a specific question to ask! But, let's say I did… What would you have to say in response, hmm?” The man answered. “Ever since my meeting with Erian, I have done a lot more research on Humanity Removal Therapy. And I have learned that many therians, many that you claim to be your friends, like to get their way with Erian by threatening him!” He then continued, having grabbed their notebook from off the desk and started flipping through it. “So what would be so wrong about me doing the same~?” 

He… he wasn't wrong.

Honestly, Doctor Erian is quite the pain in the ass to deal with if you choose not to fight against him on his policies.

Something about making his patients “prove that they're ready”, or whatever.

“Right. Moving on…” Iris decided to not really answer that question, a decision that did grant her a small annoyed glare from the man, but not much else. “Do you mind if I ask you a question, actually?” 

The man’s eyes widened. “Not at all!”

“I can pretty easily assume that you're the ‘Mr. Black’ that Erian told me of at this point-” Iris began.

“ ‘Easily assume’? I could've sworn that I practically told you that fact outright!” The man remarked. “Not very observant, are we?” He then scoffed.

“But that isn't the only person I suspect you are. So I ask – are you L.O.G? From the therian server?” Iris continued on her question, not reacting to the man’s comments.

At least, not externally.

“What brings you to that conclusion?” The man wondered.

“Both of you are friends of Serena,” Iris replied.

“Is that it?” The man raised an eyebrow, as if offended by the reason given.

“You two also share the same energy signal,” Iris elaborated.

“Ah, yes… Your energy reading abilities… I had noticed you put them to good use earlier,” The man recollected. 

“Did you now?” Now it was Iris's turn to raise her eyebrow. Surely he wasn't talking about…

“Yes! Though I certainly can't blame you for wanting to eavesdrop – who would I be to deny you the honor?” The man responded.

“What are you… talking about, exactly?” 

“Good question! Maybe if this little interview of ours goes well, I'll tell you!” 

Iris could tell that she was getting absolutely nowhere with this route that the conversation had gone down. So she opted to turn things around and go back to the subject of her spells.

“As I had said earlier… What are you planning to do with my transformation spells, exactly? With Humanity Removal Therapy?” Iris eventually asked the man after a bit of redirection had taken place.

“What everyone does with it, really!” The man so blatantly vaguely answered.

“Mhm, sure. If this is all really just to allow Serena to transition, you would've just said that. In our conversation, in the server, with Doctor Erian, in your journal. But it's clear that you have ulterior motives here. So what are they?” Iris pressed him further.

“Hmph. Seems I underestimated you,” The man relented, sounding aggravated by that observation. “But my motives aren't all that different from yours, really. They aren't that different from Doctor Erian, either. They're quite similar to everyone else you've provided your services to, actually.” 

“Which are…?” 

“I want to help people, Iris,” The man stated.

“... Is that so?” Iris replied, not entirely convinced.

“I want to help people realize their true selves. The part of themselves that had been taken away from them,” The man elaborated.

The words..  they were all well and good, yes. But something about the way that he said them was… off.

But she didn't want him to know that she felt that way.

“Uh huh. I… can't imagine you'd try to become a distributor, right? From what I can tell you're a news reporter, not a doctor.” She said.

“You would be right in that. However, I am quite good friends with a doctor who would love to take up that role,” The man responded.

“You are?” Iris asked.

“I am. I could give you their business card if you'd wish!” The man answered.

Iris nodded, and so the man got up and walked over to a coat that was hanging up on the door that presumably led out to the rest of the house. He dug his hand into one of the coat’s pockets, pulling out from it a card that they proceeded to then hand over to Iris.

It was a business card for a research facility called Kessler Laboratories. Specifically, it was for the facility’s lead scientist, its namesake employee, Doctor Eris Kessler. A biochemist, according to the card.

Iris had to admit, that did seem like a well enough fit career-wise for a distributor of Animal HRT – or “Humanity Removal Therapy” as the man kept so clinically calling it.

“Would you mind if I wanted to continue this discussion with them at a later date?” Iris inquired, hoping that this ‘Eris Kessler’ person would perhaps be less… blatantly malicious. Or at least easier to reason with.

“Oh, not at all! I'm sure we're both very busy, after all,” The man responded, more cheerful than Iris had admittedly been expecting them to be. 

“Yep,” Iris nodded.

“But before you go Iris, can I ask you just… one thing?” The man called after her as she prepared to teleport away.

“... Sure,” Iris replied, a bit cautious of what it was that the man was about to request.

“Could you refrain from trying to get Doctor Kessler’s attention in the same way you got mine? They're quite the skittish type.”

Iris nodded once again and gave him a thumbs up.

And then, she teleported away.

Annoyingly, she found herself with more questions than she knew what to do with, and little in the way of answers.

But luckily for her, this wasn't the end.

Far, far from it.

April 13th, 2025

██████ ████ ████ ██ ███████ ███████ █████ █████ ███ █████████ ███ █████████ ███████ ████ ████ █████ ███ ███ ███ ██████████ █████████ ████ ██ ████ ██ ████ ███████ ████ ████ ███████ ████ ███ ██ ███ ██████ █████████ █████ ███ ███ ███ ████ ██ █████ ██ ██████████ ███ █████ ████████ █ ███ ██ █████ █████ ██ ████████████ ████ ██ ████████ ██████ ███ ██████████ ████████ ██ ███ ████ ███████ ██ █████ █ ██████████████████ ██ ███ ████ █ █ ███████ ██ ███ ██ ██████ ██ ███ ███████ ███████████ ██ ███ ███ ██ █████████ █ ███ ██ ████ ███ ███████ ███ █████████ █████ ███████████ █████ ████████ ███████████ ███████ ███ █████████████ ██████ ████ ██████████ ███ ████ ████ ██████ ████ ████ ███ ████████ ███ ███████ ██ ███ ███ █████████ ███████ ████ ███ ███ ████ ████ █████ ███ ████ ███████ █████ ████ ███ █ ██████████ ███ ████ ███ ████ ███ ███ ███████ ██ ██ ████ ██ ██████ ████████

“I love it here, don’t get me wrong! But hearing about all this Animal HRT stuff has got me realizing something very deep within me that I haven’t acknowledged in so long…

I did always in some sense want to be a member of the Black Arms.”

██ ███████ ██ ██ ████ ███████ ███████ ██ ███ ████ ██ ██ ████ ███ ██ ████ █ █████ ███ █████████ ███ ██ ██ █████ ████████ ██ ████ ███████ ███████ ████ ████████ ██████ ██ ███ ███ ██ ███ ██████ ████ ███ █████ █ █████████ ███ ██████ ████████ █████ ████ ███ ███████ ██ ████ ██ ████ ███ ███████ ███████ ███ ████████ ████ ███████████ ██ ███ ██ █████ ██ ███ ███ ███ █████████ ███ ████ ████ ██ █████████

I must schedule a meeting with A██ as soon as possible.

[nuggetofthesea]

First episode of Wake Up and Start in a year (sorry), a celebration of our 5 year comic anniversary!

[nuggetofthesea]

Go and follow our favorite gremlin too!

Heya! Chaos of the Nuggets (@darkmagenugget) here! (She/Her) Made an account to make sure I can be found somewhere directly. I may not do much in terms of art or writin but I do like causin some mayhem in games and still like bein here! Plural, Gremlin, aroace. Nice to meet ya! I stream on most fridays, and sometimes thursdays over on twitch. (Linked below)

[nuggetofthesea]

Shifter HRT, part 8 – Return to Hyper City (11 Months)

I’m on the way back to Hyper City. It’s the middle of winter, there’s a bitter wind, and it’s almost dark even though it’s still only afternoon. The bus is empty. Hardly anyone’s heading out this way on a day like this. When I get off at the tiny village, all the shops are already shut. But I’m not here for the village – I’m once again following the ritual that takes me to another world.

Tonight I’m heading to the Hyper Light Festival, the winter festival at the crossroads of reality. This time I’m ready. I am enough, and this time I’m not running away.

Look closely, and it’s clear I’m not human anymore. More of my body has changed, and I’ve been practising. My bones and organs are still the same, so the forms I can take now are mostly ‘human plus’ – little tweaks and additions to the basic human shape. I’m learning, step by tiny step. I’m wearing a few subtle signs of my inhumanity – my ears are a bit longer and pointier, my tongue is slightly forked, and I’ve got a greenish tinge to most of my skin, except for a few parts that still haven’t changed. It’s quite the contrast with my red hair. This is the first colour change I’ve managed to do. Do shifters have a default colour when fluid? I’ve never gotten a clear answer. But if mine was going to be green, I’d be totally fine with that.

Why not bigger changes, when I’ve been playing with arms and legs and all kinds of things? Partly because I still can’t hold the big things for long. Small changes I can hold now with only a little bit of effort. And, uh, partly because my tops don’t have enough sleeves. Who’d have guessed that human clothes aren’t designed for that? But this time I’m wearing my T-shirt with ‘be goo, do crimes’ on it, and damn anyone who makes a fuss. I’ve been running on adrenaline since I stepped out of the house looking not entirely human – but it’s so quiet, there’s been no one here to notice.

When I arrive in Hyper City, I stop by the registration office to get my shapeshifter license. I’m still slightly annoyed that I have to do this at all – do they think I’m going to try taking over the city as soon as I can imitate someone important? – but I can’t put it off any longer. I’m now officially a ‘provisional physiological polymorph’, and I’ve got a card to prove it – meaning someone who will, eventually, be able to take on any form as part of how my body works, without using magic. Blob of goo that can turn into anything, basically. They do some kind of scan to identify which world I’m from, and note that down too. And now I’m accepting that there really is magic here – seeing it listed on an official form in a dusty government office is what finally convinces me. It’s not just super-advanced tech, like I’d assumed.

Then I head for the central plaza. I can hear music in the distance, and hints of tantalising smells drift on the wind. By the time I get close, the streets are packed. And the plaza itself is full of… everything.

Hyper City doesn’t just connect to our world, but to many worlds, and all their winter festivals come together here. Yes, the multiverse is real. People changing species isn’t the only mind-boggling thing in this city.

There are stalls selling crafts, people dancing, performing, wearing costumes and masks, music, enchanters, impossible sculptures held together by magic – and more. Unfamiliar and enticing smells waft from stalls selling food from across the worlds. I hear voices in a hundred languages. There are people telling stories, playing games, eating and drinking, all packed in side by side. I spot a giant Christmas tree with glowing globes clustered round it, and it’s only one tiny part of everything.

It’s so much. Almost too much. My mind is drinking in the details. But I’m starting to relax. Enjoying the spectacle. Anonymity in the crowd.

The buildings around the plaza are brightly lit. Globes of light drift overhead, and now and again there are people in the air, too. If I had any doubt there’s actual magic here, it’s gone. I briefly wonder if you can acquire magic if you come from a world without any – something to check up on later. In places, people are gathered around bonfires, or at shrines to more gods than I’ve ever heard of. At street level it’s dim, on purpose I think, and many people carry candles. As they move it’s like a slow river of lights winding between the stalls. Light is a common theme here, and warmth, and protection – light against the darkest time of the year.

Snowflakes flutter on the wind. The parts of me that are still human are cold, but the parts that have changed are comfortable even in this.

And in the crowd, here and there, I spot therians and otherkin at all stages of transition – people who started off with a human body, but were never really human on the inside – people like me. The ones early on are a patchwork of human parts and changed parts, just like I am. We’re still a minority even here, but for once, I don’t feel out of place. It lights me up inside like my first time at Pride. I can’t stop grinning. I mean, technically I could, because I’m a shifter and could rearrange my face enough for that, even at this stage… but you know what I mean. I don’t want to.

Someone catches my eye, over where the crowd is a bit thinner. It’s their colour I notice first – a gloopy orange, almost like syrup. Then I notice their arms are entirely made of goo, translucent and with no bones inside, and so is their hair. They must be a slime! I’ve been reading a few slimes’ transition journals online, and we have a lot in common – we’re on different routes to a similar place. I don’t know if our species are actually related, or if it’s convergent evolution, but either way – someone else who’s a gelatinous blob that can shape themselves however they like? Sounds like someone who gets it!

Before I even think about it, I’m slowly making my way closer through the crowd. And now I’m nervous as hell – going up to some random person in the real world, just because they’re kinda like me? But that was the whole reason for coming here. That’s what I was hoping might happen. The festival was just an excuse, really.

As I get closer, I see that the rest of their head is still opaque and human, aside from the orange tint to their skin. But their fingers are tipped with claws, their bare feet are bird-like with talons, and they have a little blob of goo like a rabbit’s tail on their back. Their clothes look very waterproof, even though it isn’t raining – and oh, that must be to stop their slime soaking into things. I haven’t had that problem yet, but can totally believe it’ll be a thing later.

And then I’m there, grinning nervously – and, yes, with excitement too. I form another arm – a bit awkwardly because of the too-small sleeves – and wave with all three.

“Hi?” I say. “I saw that you’re a slime and uh…”

“Oh, uh, hi!” they reply, waving back. “Uh, yeah, I am a slime… and so are you by the looks of things!” they add with a growing smile.

“Close,” I say, “I’m a shifter! But I’m gooey too.” I turn my third hand fluid for a moment.

They raise an eyebrow. “Oh neat – wait? Like a shapeshifter?”

“Yeah! Actually I guess there must be lots of kinds of shapeshifters here, with the whole multiverse thing. We just call ourselves ‘shifters’ for short. Or, well, sometimes the People of Change if we’re being poetic – ‘fluid as the ocean, wild as the wind’, that kind of thing…” My voice cracks slightly on that phrase, that’s been with me my whole life, focus of so much longing. Then I laugh gently, as I poke my human parts: “Which I’m not, yet, as you can see.”

“Oohh! I do like the ‘fluid as the ocean’ bit, kinda hits very close.” They raise their arm, rippling it like a wave.

I don’t immediately respond, only to realise I’m staring at their arm. I pull my gaze away. “Sorry,” I say, laughing awkwardly, “I think my mind is trying to figure out how to copy your colour, but I don’t know how to do orange yet. I only just figured out green.” I let the green fade away in places, my skin changing back to its original colour, before bringing the green back. “It’s a nice colour.”

The slime looks a little flustered. “Don’t think anyone’s ever said that to me before, that they wanna try my colour, or that I have a nice colour, not really sure how to respond to that, but thank you – can say I’m quite a fan, so would definitely recommend it when you can though.” They pause a second before continuing. “But, and, uh, sorry if this is kinda rude, but uh, you still kinda look part human, I was told you had to become something else before you could do shapeshifter stuff?”

“I just got straight on shifter HRT,” I say, shrugging, “there was no mention of anything else. But I’m not going to one of the doctors here – are you at Erian’s clinic?”

They frown a little. “Nah, I didn’t like all the gatekeepery stuff he was doing, so I found another provider who relied on informed consent – they said I had to pick another species first to act as a base for the additional shapeshifter meds. Kinda feeling a little cheated now, even if I’ve been enjoying becoming a slime.”

“But you’re at a proper doctor, right?” I say. “Not just… some person who figured out how to make this stuff? In hindsight, I probably should’ve done that – mine is very hands-off, and the whole thing is super experimental – kinda realising that now seeing other people’s stories online. But they’re a shifter too, they’re the only one who does this specific thing, and I was desperate, y’know?”

They nod. “Yeah, proper doctor ’nd all, but I totally get the desperation, fuck, if I’d known I could get straight on shapeshifter stuff I quite possibly woulda gone for that.” They pause for a moment, looking thoughtful. “Although, if it’s shady like ya say, I’m not sure how willing I’d be to trust it, at least the people I’m going through seem safe and all, even if they are kinda delaying/shortchanging me a bit.” Another pause, before, “You sure it’s safe ’nd all? I mean, it seems to be working for you, but,” they shrug, “there’s enough shit we have to deal with without our meds biting us in the ass too.”

“Yeah,” I nod, “that’s it, it is working, that’s what I’ve been telling myself. But my provider’s really secretive – doesn’t want anyone else figuring out the formula. And I’ve hardly had any support, only vaguely know what to expect at each stage, pretty sure they’re using a false name… Actually that does sound pretty bad when I say it. But it’s working, right? And,” gesturing around us, “I didn’t believe this place existed.”

“Does seem very shady, definitely,” they say. “I’ve been having checkups every six months, actually due my third soon. I’d be careful, as I said, don’t want this to bite ya in the ass. That being said, definitely seems like it’s working.” They gesture at my third arm. “Can’t wait to be able to do more altering of my shape, but I need more human parts to get converted.” They point at their chest. “Still got ribs and stuff under my clothes, which sucks, but given how much my stomach melting hurt, I’m worried about how my spine going’s gonna feel, so for once, slowly is actually preferable.”

I wince a bit. “Ooh, that sounds painful. But, yeah, same here,” I say, remembering how overwhelmed by phantom body parts I was last time I was in the city. “Human’s still my default, and I can’t hold big changes for long yet.” I let my third arm dissolve back into my body – it’s starting to get uncomfortable already. “I’m Callie, by the way. She/her.”

“Oh, right, introductions.” They chuckle awkwardly. “I’m Sandy, she/they, nice ta meet ya Callie.” She extends a claw. “I don’t know how much overlap it’ll have, but you’re also kinda gooey, so maybe it’ll help, but I’ve found if you practice taking and holding forms, eventually it becomes like muscle memory, even if I’m running out of muscles, but you can eventually just kinda take and hold stuff easily.” They gesture to their talons and claws. “Been working on these for a bit now, and now they’re second nature.” They quickly shift between a claw and a human hand, her slime suddenly becoming more fluid, before effortlessly switching back.

I’m envious, I can’t deny it – but it’s not the hopeless envy I would have felt before. Now it’s more like anticipation, knowing that soon I’ll be able to do that too.

“Small changes are getting to be easy like that,” I say. “But,” and I hold up my own hand, “it’s still all bones in here.” And then, with a grin, “Can’t wait to try wings though.” I look up at the orbs floating overhead. “I really want to fly – been dreaming about that for years.”

“Gods yes, I can’t wait to have wings.” She follows my gaze up. “Being able to fly up there would be wonderful…” She trails off wistfully. “Just the freedom to soar up in the air, seems just perfect.”

I try to form wings – not for the first time – but I just don’t have enough goo yet, and of course my clothes are in the way. “I’d have to cut holes in this first though,” I say, tapping my T-shirt.

Sandy smiles. “Yeah, I’ve started cutting tail holes in my clothes, now I can actually have one, even if it is only a small one, not looking forward to all the measuring it’ll take for wings. Although I am vaguely aware there are some shops in the city that are actually trying to cater to those of us with… less human physiology. Haven’t had a chance to check them out yet, but might be something to look into.”

“Oh, I will. Actually, that reminds me! Look at this.” I take out my shapeshifter license and show them. “Can you believe we have to have a license?!” And then I add, “But it’s kinda nice seeing it on something official.” I’m feeling a lot better about it than when I filled in the forms – seeing it actually written down, what I am, is making me smile.

Their eyes widen. “Oh? What’s that?” She leans in to get a better look. “‘Provisional Shapeshifter License’? Huh, didn’t know that was a thing. But wait, yeah, why do you need a license, isn’t it just something you do?”

“They think we’re dangerous or something.” I shrug. “I guess we could be if we wanted to. But that’s not going to happen with me, I don’t want power or… any of that. This is just for me.”

Sandy nods. “Yeah, exactly, I don’t want shapeshifting – when I get there – for power, I just want to, well, be whatever, and ultimately me. People get so up in arms about it for no reason.”

“Familiar feeling,” I say. I’m thinking, of course, about being trans back home. “But we’ve got all the others like us, and that’s… something. People who get it.”

“Mmm.” They nod. “It’s nice to have others like us, this whole conversation’s been wonderful, well except for learning that I might’ve been shafted by my supplier. But yeah, it’s been nice meeting other people going through all this stuff and making friends through it all, and it’s been especially nice to meet another shapeshifter… even if I’m not quite there yet, but like, you get it, is the point.”

We talk a while longer, sharing old dreams of shapeshifting, wandering through the plaza and pointing out things we’ve never seen before. Then, at last, it’s time for me to go, if I want to catch the bus home. We agree to keep in touch, and we hug – and I do my best to form two extra arms for that, though it’s still almost the limit of what I can do. We wave goodbye, and I head home smiling. New city, new world, new friend.

First | Previous | Next

This chapter is a collaboration with @sandyca5tle – whose Slime HRT was one of the stories that inspired me to start writing this in the first place – and takes place between the 14 month and 18 month chapters of Slime HRT. Go read it, it’s goo-d! Also featuring the Hyper Light Festival created by @nuggetofthesea.

And here’s how the provisional shapeshifter license looks, using the template from Slime HRT 25 months. The fields are explained fully over there, but briefly, the letters on the bottom row show what you can do now, with the letters in brackets showing what you’ll be able to do at the end of transition.

And now that we’re approaching the one-year mark, more changes are on the way – coming soon, in Part 9: Hunger!

Tag list (tell me if you want to be added):

@ask-de-writer @avery-victoria-winterlight @botgirl-lilith @dierotenixe @leahnardo-da-veggie

@lunadook @mint-and-authoress @noizepushr @reliableslimegal @sandyca5tle

@saros-system @scrubbinn @the-gender-fae @theriomythic-lesbian @void-botanist

@wuwojiti @zzzestyy

[nuggetofthesea]

28 months into Dragon HRT:

i can barely fit on this room anymore, i wonder for how longer will i be able to stay.. but ig it wont matter soon, i doubt i will be able to move much, so i better be prepared.. (rt appreciated!)

Previous // Next

[nuggetofthesea]

The DIY Dragon:

Story by Aqua Celeste. Part of the "Animal HRT" and "Wake Up and Start" Universes.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Animal HRT has been widespread for months now. Appointments have been on an all time rise with the dark witch herself having given copies of her notes to a few different doctors. But Iris can't be expected to give her magic to all of them, so others needed to be able to study the notes and use it to figure out their own magic. Usually by the end of a few months, most have been replaced from her energy signature to another's. Iris may not be fond of people messing with her spells, but it is a different story to those she willingly gives her spell notes to.

Iris still has a magical connection to her note copies and the initial spells set off by them. Allowing her to use her teleportation magic, that targets any item imbued with her magical energy, and allows her to move instantly to it's location. So it should come as no surprise, that she found out about an undocumented use of her notes. A Dragon. No real threat, as Iris found out when keeping an eye on her.

This dragon was making DIY animal HRT using her notes. But how did she obtain them?

"I don't know how she got them. Her energy from this distance doesn't seem malicious. But her methods are definitely based on my notes." Iris told herself from her tower. A look of genuine curiosity formed on her face, which showed as a sly smile as she placed her hand up to her face. Her eye focused on the direction of the dragon and her energy. "Will be nice to see another dragon so soon. But I can't shake the feeling they aren't being responsible with the learning process."

"Are you going to check up on her, then?" Someone asked from seemingly nowhere. No physical body in sight, and only audible to the dark witch herself.

"Oh, of course I am. I know we are busy, Ashe. But I do need to make sure she isn't in any danger. Wouldn't do to have my spells bootlegged and distributed without any proper monitoring." Iris Responded to the voice, now clear it was coming from inside her head.

It was the voice of Ashe (She/They). Girlfriend she shares her body with in the most literal sense. As stated previously, Iris' body is host to 6 distinct people. Ashe was one of them. Previously the body's original host. She is a shapeshifter, a fact which Iris uses to take on any form she desires as well. Including the others in her head having their own forms.

"I'll just pop over. After all, that still has my energy signature. I should be able to head there any time. Should be done before you have to go to the studio." She looked to a small rack of what appeared to be miniature magic staffs on a shelf beside her and pulled up one with a gem sitting in a feathered crescent moon. Mostly black and purple in color. "This one should do for this outfit today." She said as she began to concentrate on the small, pocket sized staff. A small glow began to surround the tiny stick as it began rapidly growing in size. Becoming a full sized magic staff.

"Nova! I'm heading out! You and Nero watch the tower! And if that Magic Commission officer shows up again, I give you permission to "play" with them."

"For real? Ah yer spoiling me, Witch. Now I'm hopin they show up!" A voice called back, belonging to a small orange Fae creature named Nova (They/It/Fae). Appearing from hiding just as suddenly as their voice appeared. "Will watch over the tower then. Cannae let an opportunity like that pass by."

With that, in a flash, Iris was gone. Leaving only the Fae, and a smaller creature next to it.

Meanwhile, in the building where Iris's energy was currently being used, a red dragon named Dia (She/Her) seems to have finished a DIY cat HRT made using samples transmuted from other samples.

"Hey! I did it!" She exclaimed, holding the small bottle in her claws.

"It would appear so." A soft voice spoke from behind her.

Dia turned around quickly to find the source of the voice only to see Iris leaning against a wall in the back of the room, looking at the dragon's notebook and comparing notes.

"What!? Who are you!? How did you even get in here?"

"So you've been using my notes without knowing who wrote them, huh?"

The stare in her glowing yellow eyes looking less interested in answering Dia's questions first. Iris didn't take her eyes off the notebook in her hands.

"Your notes? HEY! Give that back! I worked hard on that!"

"I can tell. And I got to say, I'm impressed. Most people don't seek to understand how my spells work, just end up following the directions directly. Not you though. You are seeking to understand it. Experiment with it. Here." Iris says calmly handing the book back to Dia. The glow of her eye now seemingly piercing as she looked up to the Dragon's eyes.

"I'll start. I'm Iris. I got in by teleporting here using the magic signature attached to my spells. I am the writer of the notes you seem to have stolen and want to know where you got them, and how?"

Hearing this, Dia's eyes widened. "You're the one…" She started, before freezing up. Why was she here? Was she here to take away what she has made? To shut her down? Maybe report her to some sort of Magic council made to keep this magic under control? These thoughts kept racing in her mind as she tried to regain control of the situation. She took a deep breath and began to speak again.

"I got the notes from Dr. Erian. He denied me treatment, and I found the notes in his desk and took a picture of them." She calmly explained. Knowing those initial ones were Iris' notes, so she was prepared to face the consequences.

"All that from one page of my notes, and you've already progressed this far without the rest of the research contained within? Yes. You'll definitely make for a good apprentice." Iris responded. Much to the surprise of Dia, who didn't know what to make of that comment.

"You're… not here to stop me from doing this?" Dia questioned.

"Well at least stop you from proceeding in a dangerous and frankly reckless way as you have been." Iris answered back. Seeming much more relaxed.

"But you have already shown great potential, and control of your own energy. With proper training, you'll have your own magic under control in no time."

Dia just stood there stunned.

"You don't have to answer now. But I would seriously consider it. If not me, then someone who will. With what you are making though, not many would be willing to teach outside of the Hyper City Magic Commission, and let's just say we don't get along well, and they would try to take it away. Give it some thought, and you will see me again. Until then, see you later! 💜"

And with a flash as quick as she arrived, she was gone. Leaving the dragon to ponder what she had gotten herself into. Clearly, she was learning enough on her own to continue the way she was. Right?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

-Chapter End-

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

This one was really fun to write as usual. With special appearance of @diarana as the dragon in this story. (Go check out her work, it is amazing!)

Also as usual featuring @iristhedarkwitch and @darkmagenugget. 💙 (Go check out their works as well! Also amazing!)

[nuggetofthesea]

I didn’t want to be here.

To my fellow trans people in the US, think about what that line is. For me? The moment the government begins actively keeping and expanding a list or registry of transgender citizens, I will be leaving. I’m prepared to flee in less than 2 weeks if necessary.

We will make it through this. But we need to be prepared. Running is hard. Especially from the only country you’ve ever known. You’ll have to leave things behind. But you are worth saving. Lives can be rebuilt, but a life can’t be returned once taken.

Find your line. Be ready to leave if it’s crossed.

Pass it along. We all need to think about this. We all need to be ready.

[nuggetofthesea]

ALTERNATE HUMANITY

A Field Guide to "Humanity Removal Therapy"

Part 2: Facade (ft. @dawning-mars )

This is a complimentary series to this system's other Animal HRT series; Black Arms HRT

Letter from your "Penpal":

Hey, very sorry about this part taking a while to come out. It's one thing for a comic to take a while, but I feel a little pathetic that it took me over a month to write this part out. Yeah yeah, "self deprecation isn't gonna get you anywhere", I know. Let me do things wrong sometimes. But hey, I did get it complete in time for the big Dragon HRT send off, so that's something I guess. Aik did a lot of being poetic and stuff yesterday with his Fish HRT fanart, I don't wanna bore you by doing the same. (Not like I have anything of the sort to say, anyways.)

Let's get on with the show. Thanks for reading and making the community what it is or whatever, I like writing about y'all.

WARNING: This part still has the Swearing, Mentions of Death, and the Untrustworthy Narrator/Main Character from last time, but also there are now Mentions of Cults and Violent Threats. Also just a general horror vibe, especially towards the end. Reader Beware.

Prev | Next (COMING SOON. HOPEFULLY.)

8:00am, February 9th, 2025

The following is an audio recording from Doctor Theodore H. Erian, transcripted into text;

“Eight in the morning, February the 9th. … Is that necessary? I’ll admit, I’ve never done something like this. I’ve had some patients of mine send in audio tapes for their transition journals before, for one reason or another, sure, but I’ve never made one myself. I… I just want to be vigilant.”

“That journal that I read a week ago… It still haunts me a little. I know, I know, I contort human bodies into resembling animals for a living, and a simple PDF sent to me via email is what keeps me up at night.”

“But in the days that have passed since I conversed with Doctor Fortune, I’ve been rereading those journal entries in between working with patients. I’ve been picking up on… Details. Unsettling details. The one that gets at me the worst is when the author mentions how the technology behind Animal HRT would ‘go to a much more important use’ if in their hands… Just what do they even mean by that? Furthermore, the author seems to work for a news station, but their descriptions in certain places throughout their entries suggests their workplace has responsibilities far beyond the scope of such a profession. They also seem rather close with and even have some authority over a pair of researchers from a laboratory, as if the two businesses are subsidiaries of another organization. The greater organization both the station and laboratory are under is probably the one Doctor Fortune mentioned in her emails, come to think of it.”

“But back to the point. The reason why I’m recording myself right now. The day that the journal suggested its author would come for me has arrived, and I indeed have several appointments on my schedule today. One of them being for a L. Black. I… feel like it’d be a breach of privacy to give their full name in this recording. But that patient does have the same first initial as the author of the journal, which is arguably the most important detail. I do have the full first name now, mind you, though I’m sure you’re not surprised to hear that the name was generic enough for me to get flooded with results from all sorts of different dimensions when I tried to look them up. In the end, I wasn’t able to get much information on them.” 

“The surname suggests a possible connection to the Black Arms, at least in my opinion. Soon before Doctor Fortune had approached me, I had been given a ‘notice of investigation’ by the Guardian Units of Nations. They’re trying to deter me from ever making or distributing an HRT for the Black Arms, and it honestly does seem similar to what Doctor Fortune is doing. In fact, I did try asking her a few days ago if she was affiliated with G.U.N.”

“She seemed rather offended by the question, chastising me for ‘comparing this situation to a video game plot’... Can she blame me? I work in and for a land between dimensions, for fucks sake…”

“But aside from that, I suppose all I can do now is… wait. Wait and see what Mr. Black does. What they… want.”

--

9:20am, February 9th, 2025

>Real time transcription from audio recording.

>Any typos or mistakes made are either L████’s or another ████████████████████████████████’s responsibility to detect and correct.

>Reminder: I am not a grammar checker, and my knowledge unfortunately relies on what is given to me.

[sound description: door opening, followed by a bell ringing, and the door then closing]

“Welcome to the TOHC Primary Care Center. Let me guess, you’re here for Doctor Erian?”

“Yep. I have an appointment.” 

“Do you now? Heh, most just waltz in here without so much as a 15 minute notice call…” “What’s your name?”

“L████ ████.’

“Thank you.”

[sound description: Tapping of keyboard keys]

“I see. You do indeed have an appointment with Doctor Erian, but you’re quite early, don’t you think?” 

“Am I now?”

“Yes. Your appointment is at noon. Did you mean to schedule it earlier in the day or…?”

“Noon is fine.”

“Good, ‘cause you wouldn’t be able to reschedule your appointment unless you changed the day outright.”

“Tch. Of course not.”

“You can go sit down in the waiting area now.”

--

9:30-10:30am, February 9th, 2025

Removed the recording of this section of time and the subsequent transcript made for it. Nothing of importance really occurred during this time, just people coming in and out of the building without much coming from that. Keeping it around was just unnecessary in my opinion.

--

10:40am, February 9th, 2025

Okay, here’s where things get interesting again~

[sound description: door opening, followed by a bell ringing, and the door then closing]

[sound description: distant talking, sound too far for accurate transcription]

[sound description: someone sitting down in a chair nearby]

“Oh, hello.”

“Oh! Sorry, I didn’t notice you there, hun!”

“Don’t sweat it, I don’t mind having someone to talk to while I wait.”

“Ah, alright…” “So… What is it that you’re waiting for?”

“I have an appointment with Doctor Erian at noon.”

“Really? I have an appointment with him too!”

“Heh. Doesn’t sound much like ‘waltzing in here with no notice’ to me.”

“Huh?”

“Oh right, sorry. When I got here the receptionist made a remark about most people treating the place like a walk-in and I found it funny how you’re proving her wrong.” “But it didn’t quite click in time that you wouldn’t have been able to know that context.”

“I see!” “That’s… comforting? Maybe?”

“Hmm?”

“It seems like Erian isn’t the only one around here that’s got a sharp tongue…”

“Is he… known for being harsh?” 

“From what I’ve heard, yeah…”

“That explains some things, then.”

“But anyways, what kind of Animal HRT are you hoping to get on?” 

“Oh, I’m not here to get myself a prescription.” “My friend tried to get on Cat HRT through him but was denied. I’m trying to find out why.”

“Oh…”

“... Sorry if I made you uncomfortable, I-”

“No, you’re fine, hun.” 

“... If you insist.” “Can I assume you ARE looking to get a prescription, then?”

“Yeah.”

“May I ask for what?”

“A-ah, well… I know it sounds crazy, but-”

“No judgement from me, you’re in crazed company.”

“... I want to go on Eldritch HRT.” 

“Eldritch?”

“Y-Yeah. That’s… That’s what I want!”

“How interesting! Do you have a specific entity you want to be like? A cult you want to curate or join? Just how many so-called ‘eldritch entities’ across the realms are you aware of? Are… Are you-”

“I… Haven’t given it all that much thought, to be honest…”

“That’s fine! That just means you’re up for anything, right?” 

“U-Uhm… I guess so?” “You seem… really excited by all this. Are you a fan of eldritch horror too?”

“I guess you could say that~” “Oh-! Where have my manners been? I don’t think I got your name!”

“Did I not give it? Sorry about that, hun!” “Mars ████.”

“Nice to meet you, Mars! My name’s L████. L████ ████.”

“Nice to meet you too, L████!” 

“But back to the Eldritch HRT thing of yours – how many entities are you aware of?”

“Well, I do know a good bit of the writings of HP Lovecraft…”

“Is that it?”

“Is there more I should know?”

“Yes! But that’s alright, I can teach you everything you need to know. Let me just-”

“Mars?”

“That’s me!”

“Shit, is it time for your appointment already? Well maybe we can keep talking after you-”

[sound description: Mars walks off with Doctor Erian to his office]

–

She didn’t come back to talk to me after her appointment. It seemed that she was pretty upset as she left the building. Did she get rejected too? 

I hope to meet up with Mars again soon. 

I sensed some hesitation in her voice as we talked, but I just know she’d be a perfect fit for us once she learns about us and what we are.

But anyways, nothing of interest occurred in the hour after my conversation with Mars, so I deleted that section of recording as well.

Which takes us right to my meeting with Doctor Erian. 

What a mess that was…

--

12:00pm, February 9th, 2025

The following is a written recounting by Doctor Theodore H. Erian.

I had originally intended to audio record my meeting with Mr. Black, just like the recording I had made this morning.

However, the moment I saw him, I knew that I would have to get on his level, so to speak. Audio wasn’t going to cut it when it came to conveying the full picture of my experience. 

So here we are.

As I mentioned in my emails to Doctor Fortune, I had gotten many, many results when I looked his name up, but despite all that, he managed to look nothing like any of them in person.

I could sense I was being deceived, or perhaps even toyed with in some way. But I wasn’t sure in what way it was.

After having noticed that, I then took notice of a rather large bag they had slung around their shoulders. Looked to be a laptop bag, by my best guess. I of course remembered what Doctor Fortune had said to me about not allowing him to show me anything on his laptop if they offer, and so I readied myself to refuse anything of that sort.

But to my surprise, he didn’t even do so much as open the bag. 

Instead, when he entered my office, he just… stood there, looking around at the place. This went on for about a minute or two – I wasn’t keeping exact notice of the time.

At first, I had thought that they were eyeing the various types of medication I had stored. But once he opened his mouth, it became apparent that it was something else entirely that had caught their eye…

“Is that an RCA RP3503 shoebox cassette recorder and player you have back there?” 

My recorder, the one I had used to record my personal record from this morning, the one that I had intended to use to document this meeting… That had been what he noticed first.

It's a bit impressive that they identified the exact model, I must admit. Didn’t help with how much they intimidated me in the slightest, though.

“... Yes? Why do you ask?” 

I had responded. I didn’t want to come off as suspicious to him, but rather, just genuinely interested in the conversation. I couldn’t let them know I had seen their journal.

“It’s not often I see a cassette player in the wild these days. Damn shame, I know that phones and mp3 players are more modern and in ways more convenient, and the typical ‘retro throwback’ audio playing format of choice is vinyl, but I really do have such a soft spot for cassettes.”

Really, I was surprised with just how normal this starting conversation was. If I was to be conspiratory, I could even say that it was too normal, as if he was luring me into some sort of false sense of security with this mundane discussion.

“Do you now?”

I replied, allowing the conversation to carry on.

“Yes! Though, I’d rather not get too sidetracked with all that!”

I remember it felt like a pit had dropped into my stomach when they said that. Here I was thinking I could give myself some time to formulate how I was going to respond to him trying to get answers out of me by fueling this clear interest of his. But it seems that they had caught on to that plan of mine.

“The real reason I pointed it out was to ask… You’re not going to use it to record this meeting of ours… are you?” 

He then asked me.

I wish I had been able to somehow record this meeting on video, because I don’t know if words alone can describe the bone chilling aura that the look Mr. Black had given me as they said those words carried. Somehow, his face managed to darken in real time, a shadow cast over the top half of it that made it look as if his eyes were glowing at that very moment. They had tilted their head ever so slightly as they spoke, their face adorned with a subtle, yet noticeable grin, despite the seeming worry that the question carried with it. 

Considering my line of work, I’m quite familiar with the inhuman, and let me tell you – I saw that inhumanness in this man in that fleeting moment.

Despite wearing what looked to be colored contacts of some kind, I could see in his eyes a wildness that was inherently animalistic. 

I know what Mr. Black is here for, and I know it isn’t treatment. But if I hadn’t known better, I may just have been convinced to hand him a prescription right then and there.

Or maybe he is already something other than human. 

I said no, of course not.

“Good, good.”

I don’t know what came over me, but I responded to that remark by asking him if he didn’t like his life being documented. 

“What an odd question…”

As if I hadn’t already regretted my words the moment they came out of my mouth, I certainly would have after that reaction from him.

I was like Icarus in that moment, my wings equipped as I set myself straight towards the sun. I had pushed my luck too far, and they were catching on that I knew more than I should. Surely.

“But to answer it, I do actually like to document my life. But I much prefer it when I’m the one doing the documentation. I’m sure you wouldn’t be too fond of me if I took your chair right there and started giving people prescriptions and check ups, would you?” 

I’ll admit, I’m not entirely sure what they meant by that comparison. He’s a news reporter, isn’t he? I do suppose in a way that is documenting lives, but that’s much more about others’ lives rather than their own, no? 

Either way, I shook my head no.

“That’s what I thought.” 

I really can’t tell why he was so surprised that “B” kiddo and Serena were intimidated by him. He has to be doing this shit on purpose to get a rise out of people.

“Can we get to the point of this meeting, please?” 

I requested. Maybe if I act just as intimidating, I’ll manage to evade ending up in whatever position he wants me to be in.

“Hmph. We may.”

He seemed unimpressed by my shift in attitude, his grin folding into something of a snarl. But he did oblige. 

“It is to my knowledge that a friend of mine, Serena Holmes, came by your office a little bit under a month ago seeking a Cat HRT prescription from you. You rejected her. Why so?”

Perhaps it was the frown they already had from their reaction to me making demands at him, but I could both see and hear the anger coming off of him that I had seen before in that journal of his as they spoke. 

No matter his motives, it does seem he cares about their friend.

“I had gotten a questionable result when I had run a-”

I answered. I knew it wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear, but I couldn’t let them know I knew that.

As expected, they cut me off mid-sentence.

“No. I want the real reason.” 

Despite my patience being worn quite thin by this point, I took a deep breath in and began to formulate a response to Mr. Black. 

My goal, at least at first, had not been to actually tell him the truth. Rather, it was to make up a lie that was believable enough for them to take it as if it was the truth. 

As I did such, they spoke again, unknowingly giving me a hint as to what route I could go down with this lie of mine. 

“And if you are telling the truth, what was the ‘questionable result' you speak of?” 

Looking back, I should have made use of that hint in my response.

“Okay, fine! You want the real reason? I’ll give you the real reason! I turned Serena away because it was clear to me that she didn’t truly know what it was that she wanted!” 

He had raised an eyebrow at my response, clearly skeptical.

“How… interesting. She seemed pretty dead set on being a cat to me.” 

I honestly couldn’t tell if they believed me or not, but they did act as if they did.

“But I suppose my perspective was skewed.”

In a way, that did give me relief. 

Even if it was a ruse on his end, I could also go along with it and feel confident in my responses, at least for a little while.

“But tell me, Doctor Erian… If that is the true reason you turned Serena away… Then why did you tell her it was due to a background check?”

It was a valid question, honestly, and a hole in the plot I was constructing. Hence why I had said earlier that I wished I had just gone down that background check route he had given me.

“I… I didn’t want her to believe I did not believe she was truly therian.” 

With a bit of hesitation, I sputtered out that excuse.

He wasn’t buying it. I could tell by the glare he had given me.

“Then why not be honest with her? You could have explained that they had simply seemed too unsure of kitself to go through with the procedure. You could have given it advice as to how to do some soul searching so that she could come to find her true self. All these things you didn’t do… Why is that, Doctor Erian?”

Their eyes almost seemed to lock onto me as they questioned me. I was a target for them, lined up for slaughter.

Before I could even try to plead my case, he continued.

“To me, there are only two explanations for this. Either you are bad at your job, or…

You’re lying to me.”

With that final explanation – or rather, accusation, he stood up from where I had him sit and slammed his hands on my desk. To be honest, it shook me quite badly. It wasn’t just the delivery, either, the words cut terribly deep as well.

“So, which is it?”

Deep enough to cause me to make perhaps the stupidest decision I’ve ever made in my entire life.

For I had let my ego and reputation get the best of me.

“... I lied to you.” 

I so stupidly confessed. 

Mr. Black grinned, grinning wider than he ever had by that point of the appointment, as he let out a truly evil cackle.

“I knew it.” 

And with that remark, they pushed aside the chair that was behind them, and walked over to behind my desk.

I yelled out to him that he’s not supposed to be back there, but he completely ignored me as he rummaged through my personal cabinets.

They quickly found exactly what I was hoping they wouldn’t. 

“How curious…!” 

He exclaimed, holding the note Doctor Fortune had given me during my first ever encounter with her in his hands.

I felt like I could have died right then and there.

“Looks to me you know a bit too much for your own good, eh, Erian?” 

He then turned to me, a sinister grin still stretched wide across their face while they held up the note, turned over to the backside where she had drawn that blasted symbol.

I wanted to say something at the time, I really did. But I must admit, I was petrified. It really is embarrassing to look back on. 

“Hmmm… one could argue that I should kill you right about now, make sure you don’t go spreading the good word unmanaged.”

They continued to speak as they crept up behind me.

“I don’t even know what that symbol IS!! All she told me was that it was the symbol of your organization!! She didn’t even tell me what it’s called!!” 

I cried out in desperation. As most people do, I didn’t want to die.

Mr. Black paused. His face softened, somewhat. 

He seemed to have realized that I, for once, was being honest with him.

“Who’s ‘she’?” 

He asked me quite plainly.

“D-Doctor Mirai Fortune… She had come into my office a couple months ago and left this warning for me… We’ve… We’ve been talking over email ever since, but she’s very vague about a lot of things…!” 

I confessed. I confessed all of it. I was convinced that I needed to do so in order to live.

“Is she the reason why you turned Serena away?” 

They looked at me with a look of certainty in what he expected the answer to be. But I answered anyway.

“Yes.”

Mr. Black finally sat back down in the chair across from my desk.

“See, was that really so hard?” 

I did not respond. Really, I am terribly repulsed by his sarcastic demeanor. It tends to come off more as patronizing than anything else. 

“I’d love to see those emails, if you’d be so kind.”

I wordlessly turned around my computer monitor for him to look through. I had the thought to warn them not to go into any patient files, but I didn’t act upon it.

“Hah! She really was as vague as you said, huh?” 

He remarked as he read through the emails. I did not react.

“Though, I do see that she let you get a sneak peek at my notes, hmm?”

An arrow of fear shot through my chest, making me worry that they would be angered by this. But much to my surprise, they had simply laughed it off.

“Hey, how about we make a deal, old man?” 

He offered. 

I looked at them, cueing them to continue. 

“I can give you not just these notes of mine, but ALL of my notes, completely uncensored. Any information on that symbol and what it represents you could possibly desire. A brand new market for your Humanity Removal Therapy… All of it, for one simple little price…~” 

I was skeptical. That was a big claim, a big offer. But I pressed further.

“What’s the price?” 

I asked him.

“Yes, yes… All you need to do to start this new chapter in your life… Is to give Serena her Cat HRT prescription.” 

That… couldn’t possibly be all there was to it. 

That was the singular thought in my mind.

It was too simple. There had to be more to it. 

He mentioned “a new market for Humanity Removal Therapy” – for all I could know, that could mean that they would steal my formula right from under me.

It would put me out of a job!

And I can only imagine what Iris would think…

“No. I’m sorry Mr. Black, but I just can’t do that.” 

I responded to him, knowing fully that it could get me killed.

I couldn’t betray my patients like that, though.

I can’t betray Iris like that.

Sure, we butt heads many times, but I would be nothing without any of them.

And above all, I want to see each and every one of them live their happiest lives.

I saw Mr. Black frown in response to my answer. It was surprisingly genuine. He looked… disappointed.

But as he prepared to talk to me, he smiled ever so slightly.

“So that’s why so many read you as a hardass… You’re a stubborn bastard.” 

He remarked.

Again, without waiting for a response from me, they continued.

“I know the feeling.”

After that, he stood back up, grabbed his things, and left. 

--

February 18th, 2025

The following is an email. 

To: Doctor Theodore H. Erian

From: Doctor Mirai Fortune

Subject: Final Email

Hello, Doctor Erian.

I have both listened to the early morning recording of yourself and the journal entry of later in the day that you provided in your previous email.

I am deeply disappointed in how you have handled the situation.

For your trouble in dealing with them and with me, I have provided you with the documentation our adversary made on that day. Consider it a sense of closure, as this is the last time I will ever be contacting you.

While I am glad you resisted the offer to join them, I cannot afford to have cowardice such as yours weighing me down in my fight against them.

I hope you understand.

Mirai

[nuggetofthesea]

Lil trading card thing, trend started (as far as I am aware) by unholytgirl and sadcoldcoffee

[nuggetofthesea]

"Woah, is that Sabine??"

"Heh. Lucky them, getting to fly. Sometimes I wonder what that'd be like."

--

Date Unknown

I saw a dragon flying by while I was in Hyper City running an errand earlier today. I figured it pretty mundane in that place, but a local quickly informed me of the true significance of the sight.

The dragon in question, according to them, was not just any ordinary dragon. Their name was Sabine, one of the firsts to be supplied with Animal HRT by Doctor Erian - Dragon HRT specifically. Apparently, it influenced a lot of people to follow in their footsteps throughout its journey.

In that sense, I could understand the local's melancholic tone when describing the legacy of Sabine to me.

But to me, even not having ever known it, I could tell that Sabine had found true happiness and peace in this end. Their true self. They were whole.

And I don't dare to ever react to such a sacred thing with anything less than celebration.

[nuggetofthesea]

Proud to write that to go along with your drawing. 💙

"Please don't let them see me

Sure there's nothing left to try"

-Twenty One Pilots, The Line

Dragon HRT Part 25:

The End.

This took us months so please excuse me if the art quality and style is a bit different between pages lol

Huge thanks to @nyxisart for helping us by making the main background art of the cave entrance, and everyone who supported uswhile we were struggling to finish this. And of course to everyone who enjoyed this story and showed us with comments and fanarts!

Start - Prev

[nuggetofthesea]

Wanted to design a new outfit for myself. 😘

[nuggetofthesea]

Are we sure this isn't Iris'? Anyway, made one.

I am also not good with tagging. So like Iris I am going to have to say tag if you see this!

Consider yourself tagged if you are reading this:

Make this picrew of yourself

Take this uquiz (How Fandom Would See You If You Were A Fictional Character)

Thank you for the tag @machiavellli !

[nuggetofthesea]

It's so nice seeing women being just such good friends! Thank you to my friend Ashe for making this wonderful collaboration comic possible, please go follow on her socials!!!

And if you'd like to read the Prettiest Platypus you can read it here on Webtoons

[nuggetofthesea]

Hey! Me and a bunch of other lovely trartists (trans artists) who are way cooler than me made a transwinter collab! We're all just hanging out eating hot choc and dreidling

FEATURING: @kaylasartwork @bubbleverseart @azulcrescent Aryn Ashton who isn't on tumblr @liddimothie @scottishkoifish @brooke2valley @skelotom (who also provided me with the model for her slimes) @beedok @nyxisart @ayviedoesthings @flovverbun @lycans-art-kingdom (it's hard to see but she is providing hot choc) @transpandaart (also @transpanda-1) @deadeyedfae with completely unrelated third party @wyldhavoc @squiretilde @prettiestplatypus @lynnsenpai @welldrawnfish (she is stuck in the tree someone get her down pls) @entroart (as well as Ignis) @lariumbreon and her alter Abyss @koalaphoenix @tresenellaart @darkmagenugget @iristhedarkwitch @nuggetofthesea (and their other alters, Aria, Mira, Chaos, Nova and Nero!) And some complete and utter moron named @shaveyoureyebrows

ALSO there's a Hidden Guy somewhere in the image you will never ever Find him