#hack merge magic

[lacklusterhero747]

Sic Semper Tyrannis

In my experience, just as many TTRPG campaigns focus on war and conflict against the powers that be as focus on exploring the wild and untamed places of the world. From stories of the companions of The Inn of the Last Home in Dragonlance to the punk rock rebels and Anarchists of Shadowrun, many times the motivating force of the story is the direct fight for survival in a world that is hostile to the very people and heroes that inhabit it. It's a well tread set of story tropes that offer clearly defined goals and villains and in built sense of drama, so it's understandable why so many stories would choose to focus on these themes.

And sometimes, if you're lucky, you get to fight those battles from the cockpit of a giant robot.

Armour Astir: Advent is a high-fantasy roleplaying game about striking back against an authority that seeks to control you. It is a game of rival pilots clashing in steel-clad Astirs, of soldiers holding their own against the odds, and of spies and diplomats twisting the world to their ends. It is not a game of careful preparation or pleasant truces; It's hard to change the world without taking a risk.

I first became aware of this game because of the excellent podcast Friends at the Table, when they played the game as part of their Road to Palisade series of games, leading up to the third season of their ongoing Divine Cycle of games. Immediately I was taken by the combination of high fantasy magic merged with the classic tropes of mecha anime that were apparent in the game as written, even if the cast was hacking the material to make fit into their more futuristic world they had built.

I felt compelled to track it down to read it for myself.

Inside the PDF, written by Briar Sovereign, I found a love letter to the Mecha Genre, drawing inspiration from such luminary series as Mobile Suit Gundam and Escaflowne, putting you in the cockpit of giant suits of armor as you stride across the battlefields of a war against an evil power. But like the series it draws heavily from, it does so with a distinct focus on the pilots inside their Astirs, rather than just focusing on the mecha and the carnage they can bring. This is a game with stakes and in interest in the relationships between people. It's a game that, as the intro to this latest season of Friends at the Table puts it, is about Empire, Revolution, Settler Colonialism, Politics, Religion, War, and the many consequences there of.

Running off of a modified version of the Powered by the Apocalypse system, Armour Astir is built on already accessible system with a distinct interest in narrative storytelling. You work together with your group to define your Authority--the oppressive power that the group of players are fighting back against--and your Cause--the group that backs and hands orders down to the player characters--and build a world around these two groups and their seemingly irreconcilable differences. From there, the players build their characters from the available playbooks--The Arcanist, The Imposter, The Paradigm, The Witch, The Captain, The Diplomat, The Artificer, and The Scout--and collectively define the Carrier--their White Base or their Normandy--from which they launch their sorties against the Authority and where they spend their downtime between missions. It's an elegant way to frame a world in conflict, and once again as I will always point out, it's a game interested in the collective construction of the world in which you're going to play, thereby creating a sense of player buy in from the jump.

Still, even as a PbtA game, AA:A still manages to bring its own novel concepts to the table.

Presumably drawing inspiration from 5e D&D, the game introduces the concept of Advantage and Disadvantage to the system. Where normally you would roll 2d6+Stat in a PbtA game, hoping to roll a 10+ and succeed without a cost, Advantage and Disadvantage allow you to roll more dice, keeping a number according to their respective rules. And they stack! If you find your self with 2 advantages, for instance, then you would roll 4d6 and keep the best 2. Or if you had 2 advantages and 1 disadvantage, you would roll 3d6 and still keep the best two as advantage outnumbers disadvantage. The only caveat is that you can never roll more than 4 dice for a move.

Then there's the idea of acting with Confidence or Desperation. Certain moves, approaches, and situations can cause you to act with either of this conditions, and they fundamentally change how the dice are read. If you're acting with Confidence in a scene, any 1 you roll on a d6 is instead treated as a 6, while acting in Desperation makes any 6 you roll instead be treated as a 1.

These two rules alone could be enough for me to really consider the game an evolution of PbtA, as using the mechanics together allows you to deeply calibrate the odds of success or failure of a given move to really match the fiction of the story your telling, but the interesting ideas don't stop there.

The game asks you to define your character by a set of Hooks, which are short phrases that define how your character acts and thinks about the world and the people around them. They're guide posts for the player, reminding them what their character is about, but they're also guide posts for the GM and for the other players. They show what kinds of situations you care about and want to be drawn into, and they can be rewritten as needed, and deepened or loosened by various rules interactions that make the hooks easier or harder to change in play. Hooks can even be sacrificed permanently, crossed off your sheet forever and buying you a new advancement for your character and the ability act immediately with Confidence as your character commits themselves to the fight and how the war has changed them.

Meanwhile, the concept of Gravity Clocks, presents an incredibly dynamic way to represent the relationships between characters. Representing the attachments you have with people and groups, these clocks are countdowns to when a relationship might be challenged, confronted, or addressed. They can be one-sided, or they can be shared between two characters, and evoked to add numerical bonuses to rolls, the clock ticking forward every time it gets used in this manner. And when the six step clock fills up, the game asks you to Redefine, Commit, or Abandon the gravity between you and the subject of the clock. Each option presents its own ramifications, in addition to allowing you to take a new advancement for your character, and I could gush about them in detail for hundreds of words more, but I think it's better to simply let the game speak for itself if you choose to read it.

Finally, and perhaps most interestingly to me, is the concept of The Conflict Turn. Played out between Sorties by the player characters at the Carrier level, the Conflict turn is meant to zoom out and show the greater context of the conflict. Here players direct the broader course of the struggle by playing out Conflict Scenes, directing challenges at one another through role-played scenes, reminiscent of Mobile Frame Zero: Firebrands by D. Vincent Baker. It allows you to shape the course of the war and the world at a truly macro scale, and depict scenes and conflicts that might otherwise get lost in a narrow focused game about a single group of pilots on a single carrier, acting on a single front in the war. It invites players to step back and look at the whole picture and really think about what two deadlocked factions can do or must do in order to win a broader conflict. And what the consequences of those actions might be.

All in all, Armour Astir is a fascinating game that takes Powered by the Apocalypse in new and interesting directions. It offers novel new mechanical concepts to the system, while also featuring the familiar Playbook driven structure. The party's Carrier and their Astirs feature a refreshing amount of build it yourself by hand customization, and the freedom to craft your own world with a conflict you and your players will care about really makes the game shine in my opinion. Not to mention it's in built focus on both the micro and macro scale aspects of the greater conflict, each in their own time, without getting so lost in the weeds of spreadsheet style attention to detail of other mecha focused games like Lancer or Battletech.

If you've ever wanted to suit up in a giant robot and take the fight to the enemy, Armour Astir: Advent is an excellent option to fulfill that narrative fantasy.

[honeybeezgobzzzzz]

𓅨 Dreamswept: Chapter Nine

Dreamswept: In which Dream’s imprisonment brings out his darker side. Y/N’s mother works for the Burgess’s as a nurse, and after stumbling across what is hidden beneath Fawny Rig’s mortars one summer, Y/N’s life will never be the same. A darkness has attached itself to her and no matter how long she is kept from the Endless in the basement, he has not forgotten her kindness and brief moments of comfort. No, he has not forgotten, and now he craves it. 

Warnings: We Are Pretending You Were NOT Born With Blue Eyes.

To Note: Dark!Morpheus/Dream x Female!Reader, Inspired by 'Claiming His Queen' by @moonmaiden1996 (Go Read It!).

Word Count: ~2.3k

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Morpheus’s eyes blazed in enteral fury. How dare his priestess rip herself from him! Had you not sworn yourself to him all those years? Had you not sacrificed blood to him and pledged yourself to him? You had given him everything that fateful day, willingly and with determination. Oh you had hacked at his glass cage with such hated for his confines Morpheus had sworn that he would protect you until the end of your life right then and there… but then you had chipped away at the glass so hard several pieces had been broken off, striking you in the process, and you bled for him. That blood of yours had dripped down your cheek and merged with the binding circle. You had made a blood promise in that fateful moment. Blood magic was old, ancient even, but little you had innocently offered yourself to him that day, and he was never going to let you go. Not after such kindness, such devotion. The Burgess’ didn’t deserve to have you, no human did. Morpheus was determined to keep you safe from the poison of humanity. 

But then they had taken you away from him. They clearly knew what he had done, why else would they steal away with you and keep you from him? It was clear that they had kept you in the dark, but your fate was already set in stone… after all, your eyes did reflect his now, and that was evidence enough to show who you belonged to. Now it seemed that you were resistant to your fate and would go as far as to manipulate your dreams to escape what was rightfully his. He did not like that. He did not like that at all… and the moment he was free and back to strength, he was going to steal you away to his realm and show you just how much you meant to him, and just how much he planned on worshipping you and your body. You were his until the end of eternity and he planned on making you more than just a devoted priestess, he was going to make you his queen. You were far beyond the point of deserving such devotion yourself. He just had to purge the conditioning the Burgess' and your mother had forced upon you, from your mind. 

In this anger, Morpheus felt a rush of energy and power that surged through his veins like liquid adrenaline. Glancing down at the smudged binding circle, Morpheus finally felt strong enough to tempt and sway the dreams of his guards. If they fell asleep, he could take control and finally break free of his confines. So when the male guard started yawning, Morpheus prepared himself for the moment he had spent 106 years waiting for. The second the guard fell asleep, he pushed his way into his mind, twisting up a dream of paradise. Morpheus all too easily manipulated the guard into drawing his gun and firing several rounds at his glass cage. Glass shattered and Morpheus felt the invisible bonds that had held him prisoner for over a century, disappear. Swinging out of his confines, Morpheus blew sand at the two guards who were now confronting him. They slumped to the floor unconscious in seconds. 

Morpheus transported himself to where you were fast asleep once more, no longer in a dream state. You looked so soft and innocent, curled up in bed. It twisted his mind to know that those you trusted the most had manipulated you into a state of amnesia and mistrust. Morpheus felt rage nearly consume him at the thought of you being forced to conform to a woman they wanted, rather than blossom into the woman he knew you could be. Your refusal and denial of him was surely because of them. He would fix that as soon as he had his power back. Padding over to the side of your bed, Morpheus eyed the strange box sitting on your nightstand before quickly losing interest and reaching out to touch your scarred cheek. The moment his fingertips touched your warm skin he felt a euphoric shiver run up his spine at finally being to physically touch his little priestess. 

He stroked your skin for a few more moments, feeling the stirrings of desire within his own body. Oh, how he wanted you. Morpheus had to pull himself back. He was in no condition to worship you as you so deserved, to devour your body as he so desired. No, he was going to have to leave his precious priestess behind. But make no mistake, he would be back for you. At the very least at this moment he could steal one last moment with you in your dreamscape, after all, you still denied your blood bond. Brushing his fingers against your forehead, Morpheus effortlessly slipped into your dreamscape and pulled you back into a dream.

Morpheus held your body close to his, giving you a scant amount of time to realize that you were back in a dreamscape. You gasped and he felt you try to rip yourself from him again. An automatic response, no doubt, brought on by your conditioning. He would rectify that as soon as possible… but right now he needed to instill a message in you. 

“My priestess, my love,” Morpheus called out ever so gently, taking your face in hand to cradle your cheeks with delicate precision. How angelic and ethereal you looked right now, and you were all his. “I have finally broken from my confines,” He stroked your chin, brushing a thumb over your lip. You shivered and trembled beneath his touch, eyes wide and unfocused. Confused. “When I gather my tools I will come for you once last time, my Y/N, and then I will give you salvation from that which has tormented and twisted your pure soul.” 

You, dumbstruck and entirely confused by what he was talking about, simply gawked at him with your jaw unhinged. What did he mean by ‘come for you’? You didn’t get the chance to ask him that, protest his closeness, or even try to wake yourself up once more. No, you had no chance to react whatsoever because he was suddenly kissing you like never before. This man was kissing you like you had held the sun and moon, painted the black canvas of space with stars, and breathed life into the universe. His mouth bore deep within yours until all you could taste or think of, was him. He bit and sucked, and tangled every inch to the point where you felt as if you might float away from a high. Moaning and gasping, your hands trembled where they were pinned against his chest. You wanted to shove him away. But you also had never been kissed like this… You didn’t know what you wanted at this point. But you certainly knew that this was wrong. Random men, even ones from your dreams, did not kiss you like this. Like you were the very envy and desire of their soul.

Another piercing shriek echoed around you, and breaking apart from his noxiously addicting lips, you covered your mouth and tried to stagger backward. You didn’t get far with his arms firmly around your body. He spoke to you one last time as you were dragged to the Waking World one more. 

“I will come for you, Y/N, you have my word. I will not stop until I cradle you in my arms where you belong.”

Jerking awake for the second time that night, you shuddered in fear this time. The seriousness at which he had kissed you, the tone in his voice and words… Something in the pit of your stomach told you that something was very much wrong and your troubles were far from over. 

One Week Later

Your eyes started at Alex’s twitching body, a nearly permanent frown of worry on your face. A week ago, after your, thankfully, last dream of your mystery man, you had woken up to Paul being nearly inconsolable and your Mother working hard to wake the deeply sleeping man clearly afflicted by a nightmare of his own. Even with your strange treatment upon arriving at Fawny Rig, you were still worried out of your mind for the older man. Raising the cloth you held, you dabbed at his forehead once more, removing the sheen of sweat that repeatedly gathered at his brow. No one knew the cause of Alex’s unwavering slumber… but you had your suspicion, mainly because every time you asked about it, Paul and your mother had floundered and deflected. All the more reason for you to be suspicious of what they were hiding from you, but you were far too distracted by Alex’s condition to take action. You were rotating the cloth between your hands when the door to the bedroom opened and Paul walked in. 

“Y/N, darling, you are going to overwork yourself with all this worrying.” Paul chided you, walking towards you slowly and placing a hand on your shoulder. “Please, darling, you need to get some rest. You don’t need to wear yourself ragged, none of this is your fault.” You could pick up on the self-blame, somehow Paul felt that this was his fault. But you knew he already felt ever so awful and wouldn’t push it. You set the cloth on the nightstand and rose from your seat. As you moved towards the doors, you paused. 

“Paul?” You questioned, turning back to the older man who had taken your seat. His kind eyes, which were currently filled with fatigue and pain, met yours. 

“Yes, darling?” You thought about what your dream man had told you. Your eyes reflected his. It was true, you had blue eyes much like his. Several times in your teenage and college years you had been told that you had stars in your irises. But your mother didn’t have blue eyes and as far as you knew, neither did your father. Of course, that meant nothing in the world of genetics, but something within you was ringing out alarm bells. 

“Do you have any pictures of me from my childhood here?” You asked slowly. Paul’s eyes softened ever so slightly and he nodded at you. 

“There’s a box in the study, darling, Alex and I are rather fond of looking at them every once and a while,” Paul told you. “I believe you can find them in the bottom drawer of the desk.” You nodded and gave him a small smile. 

“I see, thank you,” You returned, when you reached the doorway, you paused and looked back at Alex. Paul had taken his hand and was whispering to him, reassurances you guessed. You moved on, heading straight for the study. There was only one way to put this unsettling feeling to rest, see the pictures of your childhood before Fawny Rig. You jogged down the stairs and veered left to the study. Entering the study, you went straight for the study desk and bent down to open the bottom drawer. You found a box and raised it to the desk. Taking a seat at the desk, you unclipped the plastic handles on the box and picked up the first stack of pictures. You leaned back in your seat and slowly flipped through the pictures. 

Most of them were of you with a beaming smile in varying degrees of mess. In some you were covered in mud or dirt, you were entirely soaked, and another it was the combination of all three. Several pictures had you clutching a frog in your hand as you beamed proudly. You couldn’t help but chuckle at your frog-obsessed little self. The next few pictures were of you and your mother sightseeing England, then you started to notice something: your eyes were not blue. A chill ran through your body and clenching your fingers around the picture, you abruptly got to your feet. This was yet another strike against your constitution and you were tired of not receiving answers to your questions. Hurrying back through the manor, you went in search of your mother and had to ask several times as it became apparent that she was moving around. Finally, you ended up back in Alex’s bedroom. Your mother was tending to the stricken elderly man. 

“Y/N?” Paul questioned, looking at you inquisitively. “Is something the matter?” Your mother barely spared you a glance as you stared at her back with a heated gaze. But she was set on ignoring your gaze, so you turned to Paul and held up the picture. 

“My eyes,” You stated. “Why are my eyes a different color in this picture?” Your words actually managed to make your mother freeze in place. “I was born with blue eyes was not I?” Your tone was terse now. “Why are my eyes not blue in these pictures?” Your mother straightened up from where she had been bent over Alex and drew down her stethoscope. 

“They changed after your accident.” She stated firmly. Your fingers reached up to brush against the scar hidden at your hairline. “You had to have an operation to help your eyesight and the melanin within your irises was destroyed, leaving you with blue eyes.” Her frank and no-nonsense answer made sense, but at the same time, it almost felt like it was rehearsed, like she expected you to ask this question at some point. You pressed your lips together and eyed the unsettled Alex once more. 

“Very well,” You stated, you then gave them one last look, not knowing what to believe anymore. An operation to help your eyesight? You had never heard of that before, nor did you think that the melanin in your eyes would be destroyed by an operation meant to help your eyesight. It sounded more like a cosmetic procedure… There was no point in trying to pry more information from them. Not anymore. 

Date Published: 11/16/22

Last Edit: 4/3/23

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[cyberpunkonline]

Urban Magic in Video Games: Merging Grit with Wonder

In an era where hyper-realistic graphics and in-depth storytelling captivate the gaming audience, developers have concocted the perfect blend of two seemingly opposing worlds: the gritty urban landscapes and the ethereal touch of magic. From neon-soaked alleys to clandestine spells cast beneath city skyscrapers, this blend promises gamers a one-of-a-kind experience. Dive into the world of urban magic with these iconic video games.

Deus Ex Series Despite being fundamentally a cyberpunk saga, the Deus Ex series has always maintained an underlying tone of mysticism. The world of augmented humans, shady governments, and dark alleys is also a place where ancient cults and arcane rituals dictate the flow of power. The game is a testament to how tech and magic can blend seamlessly.

The Wolf Among Us Telltale's episodic interactive fantasy mystery is an adaption of Bill Willingham's Fables comic book series. It showcases characters from folktales and fairy tales living incognito in the heart of New York City. Protagonist Bigby Wolf, the erstwhile Big Bad Wolf, navigates the city's grime and glamour, ensuring that the magical community's secrets stay hidden from human eyes.

Shadowrun Series Set in a future where cyber enhancements and ancient magic coexist, Shadowrun offers a distinctive blend of tech and mysticism. As you navigate through the game's cyberpunk version of Seattle, magic is as commonplace as hacking, and mythical creatures like dragons play a pivotal role in corporate politics.

Shenmue Series The vast majority of Shenmue is rooted in realism, with its meticulously detailed environments and life simulation mechanics. However, as players near the climax, especially in the latter part of Shenmue III, they are met with a startling twist of mysticism. The final sequence pulls away from the game's realistic confines, introducing a world where magic becomes a reality. It's a startling departure from the game's overarching tone, emphasizing the unpredictability and wonder of urban magic.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines Los Angeles might seem like an odd place to find vampires, but this RPG plunges players deep into its underworld, where blood-sucking creatures lurk in the shadows of the City of Angels. With powerful disciplines (vampiric powers) at your disposal, the game is a stellar example of urban fantasy where supernatural entities navigate the complexities of modern city life.

Dishonored Series The steampunk city of Dunwall is plagued by corruption and plague. Amidst its grimy streets and dark waters, the protagonist, Corvo, is armed with otherworldly powers granted by a mysterious figure known as the Outsider. From teleportation to summoning swarms of rats, the blend of magic and industrial-age tech makes Dishonored a noteworthy mention in the realm of urban magical games.

The appeal of these games lies in their ability to juxtapose the roughness of city life with the enchantment of magical elements. It's a testament to the boundless realms of creativity, where developers envision worlds that, despite their stark contrasts, blend together in harmony, creating adventures that remain etched in players' memories.

- Raz

[writerofweird]

World of Ants (expanded Ant Story)

Okay, I took this story I wrote, combined both parts, edited it slightly and added a bit at the end. Enjoy!

(10,272 words, includes body horror, language and implied nudity)

An ant doesn’t start babbling when they see a circuit board. They find it strange, to them it is a landscape of strange angles and humming monoliths. They may be scared, but that is not madness.

Madness comes when the ant, for a moment, can see as a human does.

-@bramblesand

I once met an ant who said she was a human woman.

She approached my colony as we were engaged on our usual routine collecting leaves, accompanied by another ant. From listening in on their conversation, I learned she had narrowly escaped the beak of a bird and was being brought to us to assist us.

‘I’m not an ant,’ she protested, standing on her hind two legs and gesturing to them with her front two legs.

‘You are an ant,’ replied the ant who had brought her near me.

I almost left them alone to continue with my usual work, but what caused me to drop the leaf I was carrying in my pincers and scurry over was her saying, ‘I’m human! My name is Dana and I was turned into an ant!’ Getting back on six legs, she added, ‘I need your help so I can change back!’

Ants knew all about transformations, about something becoming something else. There certainly was no way ants who had their nest invaded by a butterfly would ever forget what transformation was. If a caterpillar could become a butterfly, I thought, a human could become an ant. A human, like those I often saw during my food collections, engaged in activities I wouldn’t be able to participate in.

Ants knew all about transformations, and yet the ant who brought Dana to me said, ‘Very funny.’ She gestured to me with her head, adding, ‘You’re as bad a daydreamer as she is.’

Hearing this, she scuttled towards me, with both of us turning away from the other ant and the rest of the colony. The first thing I said to her was, ‘I believe you.’

‘Do you mean that?’ Dana replied, her antennae springing up slightly, ‘Because now I know ants have some knowledge of sarcasm.’ There were various things ants had subconsciously picked up from humans, I thought as Dana said this. There had been many overhead conversations, as well as the rare moments humans tried talking to ants, and yet, frequently I was chastised for stopping to view them.

‘No, I believe you,’ I replied, explaining to her the example of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly through an incident.

‘Wow,’ she replied, a word I had heard for the first time in my life that I figured out was an exclamation of surprise, ‘it just gets worse and worse the more I hear about it.’

‘Yes.’

‘And you’ve been like this your whole life?’ Dana looked at the ground, ceasing her scuttling for a moment. ‘I’m sorry.’

Dana crawled to me, told me her story and I - still holding out hope that there was a fairy or magical creature out there who could change someone’s species in seconds - believed her.

Dana had explained how what was supposed to be a routine pizza delivery - she had to explain to me what a pizza was - ended with her force-fed a potion that caused an extra pair of limbs to burst from under her arms, that caused her bones to merge with her skin, that caused her hair to retreat, stabbing her insides like several needles. After that, she spent what felt like hours crawling through her oversized uniform before being picked up by the scientist who created the potion, thankfully slipping through their fingers before they could trap her in their ant farm.

The way she described how she now saw things - like how the furniture she used to sit on seemed to mutate into something oppressive and how she felt so much of herself had been hacked away - seemed like the type of thing that couldn’t have been made up.

What also strengthened my belief that Dana was not originally an ant was how, as we walked together while talking, she would often trip over her middle set of legs, collapsing on her thorax. One such moment happened when we were crawling together among the grass blades and two pairs of sneakers came our way, with me shoving Dana out of the way just in time, and before avoiding a drop of dew from a blade. ‘Thank you,’ I heard Dana say, though my attention wandered to who those shoes belonged to. Two women, exploring the natural world together, like Dana and I were.

That was what made me say what I had been thinking ever since I met Dana.

‘Dana,’ I said after we resumed our journey, ‘that scientist you mentioned. They turned you into an ant.’

‘Yes.’

‘And you think you can turn back into a human?’

Both of us said nothing for a few seconds before Dana said, ‘And you think you can turn into a human as well?’

‘Yes,’ I said before looking up again, up at the sky and the sun and the people who basked in it. The people who didn’t have to worry about being flattened. The people who were allowed to do more than scurry and eat.

‘Well,’ Dana said, ‘after what I’ve been through, I certainly don’t blame you. I wouldn’t wish this…well, I certainly wouldn’t wish this on you. I mean…’ She let loose a noise that I was certain was supposed to be equivalent to a human laugh. ‘…by helping me, I think you’re well on your way to becoming human already.’ Just as we were about to leave the grass, she turned to me and asked, ‘Do you have a name?’ I didn’t answer. ‘Would you like one?’

I almost stood on my hind two legs as Dana had earlier. ‘Yes, please.’

‘Okay then,’ Dana replied, her antennae twitching as she stopped to think, ‘how about Betty then?’

So that was how I became Betty. Betty the Ant, soon to be Betty the Human.

After my naming, we left the greenery for what Dana called the pavement – what looked like someone took a river and replaced the water with mud. ‘Keep close to me,’ Dana told me as I did so, ‘seeing these buildings larger makes me feel dizzy.’ As if to punctuate this, she tripped on her legs again, right before we both scurried back in the grass as a human passed by, the clicking of his feet pounding into my brain. The pounding in my brain matched the pounding of my heart as I pondered the possibility of becoming human, and I told myself that while dodging shoes, I should remember that I was doing so to make sure such a thing would no longer be a problem. I would no longer hide from the humans, I would walk beside them. They wouldn’t grimace to see me on their food, they would smile at me as they saw me on the pavement.

Dana and I could go running through the fields together.

Both of us becoming human dominated my mind as Dana tried to lead the way towards where the scientist lived. When we were human, I thought, we wouldn’t be able to hide in a drainpipe nor would we need to. When we were human, our food sources didn’t have to come from what other humans disposed with.

As night fell, Dana perked up her head and screamed, ‘Fucker still has my car!’ Before us stood what looked like a gigantic sugar cube covered in mould, making me glad that I had recently had a snack of a discarded piece of chocolate. When we were human, I said to myself, we wouldn’t have to settle for less when it comes to food. This large building will look smaller. We could walk through doors instead of cracks in the walls.

The room we entered resembled the nest where I grew up, where the walls were taller and less colourful, with a floor that resembled a grey, frozen lake and there were what looked like the benches I saw in the parks, only lined with various glasses and metallic equipment I couldn’t name.

Again, we saw a pair of large shoes, making both of us instinctively crawl behind a table leg. Peeking around, I saw on the floor ant entrails. Dana placed her two forelegs against her pincers.

‘Well, well,’ came the voice from above, making my head throb harder than the footsteps against the pavement, ‘you weren’t very effective workers, were you?’ I scuttled closer to the feet despite Dana growling at me not to and saw that the human in the white coat was looking down at the dead ants. ‘Guess you lost your chance to be human again,’ they added, placing a glass on top of the table Dana and I were hiding beneath. Back to Dana I went, my thorax and abdomen filled with a fierce stinging at how we had come too late to save these humans-turned-ants, alleviated by how that fate didn’t befall Dana, and the fact that I had a good idea how we were going to become human.

Both of us sat behind the table leg, watching the scientist gloat at their triumph, and as soon as they left the room, Dana walked beside me again, this time so I could guide her up the table leg. ‘Come on,’ I said to her, making sure she clung on. I was the first to climb onto the surface, and Dana suggested I bow my head down so she could grab onto my pincers with her forelegs, bringing us to the same level.

I was reminded of the picnic blankets I and my colony had passed, but there were no baskets or half-eaten meat to be found; only a pile of glass and soil, and the glass the scientist had been carrying, its label featuring what looked like severed legs arranged into a strange pattern.

‘This is it!’ cried Dana, tapping the label. ‘It says “Ant to Human”. Betty! This could work!’

I raced over to the bottle, my mind again filled with images on what I saw on a daily basis that I could finally participate in, all the new tastes I could sample, all the new places I could go. I almost leapt onto it, digging my pincers into what was jammed in the top as Dana pressed her head against the main body. As soon as the top flew off, the glass toppled over. As it contents poured onto the ground, Dana and I dove into it.

This is it, I thought as I scuttled over to the potion which we had managed to spill onto the floor. The end of my old life and the beginning of a new, more exciting one.

If this scientist could turn humans into ants, they could turn ants into humans.

No more living in fear, I told myself as I dipped my pincers into the fluid as Dana was doing. No more would I have to worry about birds or mantises or anything else. Things would be simpler, things would be more fun….

Caterpillars.

As soon as I tasted the liquid it felt like caterpillars - a myriad of writhing caterpillars - had invaded my body like one had invaded the hive, thrusting against the insides of my legs and thorax, demanding escape.

More and more caterpillars spawned within me, and my body changed to accommodate them.

Yes, I said to myself as I felt my body inflate, the shelf and walls in my vision shrinking. Yes, I’m growing, no-one will ever step on me again.

I still felt the caterpillars. I felt them stretch and squirm within me, forcing my eyes to the front of my head and ripping away two of my legs. My stinger and antennae forcing themselves back in my body - feeling like a bird’s beak shoving itself into my insides - made me fall, the chill of the floor making the caterpillars livelier.

I forced my eyes open to see my abdomen shrinking and my back legs inflating to look like colossal earthworms, sprouting what looked like maggots forcing their way out. For a minute, I swore I felt my antennae return - it felt like several of them bursting from my skull. It felt like cocoons were sprouting from the side of my head, and some of the caterpillars inside me had successfully escaped through my face and my legs yet still stuck to me.

I heard, ‘It worked! You’re human!’ yet the pain failed to subside. I not only felt writhing, I felt a whole new creature inside me, readying itself to burst out.

Again, I forced myself to open my eyes to look at my feet. Feet like those that had eliminated and tormented so much of my kind, toes as large as I had been previously, a big maggot with little maggots sprouting from it that I could control. As soon as my brain told me to get back on six legs, it told me to get back on two.

I stood, towering over what had previously towered over me. I looked at a table and saw it as something to lean on and place what I could use on, but I saw it as something to crawl up and crawl under. I looked at a chair and saw it as something to sit on and to sit under.

‘Betty, you look beautiful.’

I stared at my friend right in the eyes. I stared at a human right in the eyes. As I looked at those bizarre marbles called eyes and the many long thin antennae sprouting from her head, I saw what I had been blessed with. I saw what I had and could never had.

I was staring at her right in the eyes and crawling at her feet.

For a fleeting second, I was back in my old body: an ant with six limbs and antennae crawling under grass instead of attempting to walk in a room full of test-tubes. Both realities felt wispy.

Dana had been forced to take a potion that turned her into an ant like I used to be. The only thing, I believe, that prevented me from looking for that potion was the fact Dana had called me beautiful.

Dana had found the outfit she was wearing before her first transformation, and after dressing herself, returned with clothing from a less fortunate victim of the scientist.

In her fingers, she held a pair of shoes. Shoes like those I had narrowly escaped from, shoes that seemed to bulge as Dana held them. As I took the shoes from her, there was another moment where I was back in nature, but I was still human, looking down at my tinier ant self.

Just put on the clothes, I ordered myself. One thing humans do frequently is wear clothes, so I reasoned my first article of clothing would help tether me to the world of humanity and my previous life would fade.

Dana held up a t-shirt in front of my chest, a garment I could once explore like it was a nest, now made to be draped over my body. Again, I was that human that attempted to step on my previous self, quickly reasoning how to put on the shirt and jeans and shoes, though Dana assisted. It was like flying through shrinking tunnels.

Once dressed, Dana took me by the hand and guided me outside. I was closer to the sky than I had been before. I raised my hand, almost certain I could pluck off one of the stars. For a second, I felt like a god.

In another second, the sky itself became a god, seemingly furious at my transformation, coming closer to show that even in my new form, I could still be crushed.

Dana stumbled, almost sending us falling face-first into the ground. ‘Sorry,’ she said, ‘guess I’m still getting reacquainted with being me. You know, I never knew what ants went through until I became one myself. I’m…’ She helped me up to my feet, even though a voice bellowed in my head that I should be standing on six limbs and not two. ‘I’m glad I helped you escape that.’

I still needed escape.

Dana directed me to what she called a “car”, what I first saw as a warped beast with two mouths and two leather tongues, its monstrous nature diminished when Dana happily leapt in, and patted one of those tongues. The car didn’t gnash or bite – though it made a noise like a roar when it started – so I made my way in, looking at a smaller version of that grey river through glass.

Dana took us back to her home – what looked like a gigantic slab that grew larger as I entered. Out I stepped into the night, with Dana wrapping her arm – what had once been a foreleg – around my form as I couldn’t help but look at my feet. What I had managed to narrowly avoid for so long now belonged to me.

One reason I dreamed of becoming human was that with larger size, as I heard, comes a longer life. A human body brings forth the possibility of seeing more change, more innovation, a far cry from an ant's repetitive life, which carried with it the looming suspicion that each night may be the last one you may witness.

That suspicion hung over me even as a human. It didn’t feel like the last night before death, but it was heralding an ending. 

The next morning, to celebrate Dana’s return to humanity and my initiation into it, we decided to visit the spot where we first met.

The day began with a shower that left me shuddering as I remembered the myriad raindrops that threatened to destroy me, and a new set of clothes courtesy of Dana’s wardrobe. Again, she held me so I could walk on two legs because I was supposed to.

I was supposed to be a biped vertebrate. I was supposed to feel close to the sky and be larger than the bins and the shrubs we passed. The sunlight was supposed to feel like a tiny roasting on my skin.

I thought my mind was finally adjusting to my new body as I embraced the morning air. No more ant me. Human thoughts and human thoughts only.

Then I saw the other ants.

I looked at them and remembered when I had been among them, when I had been the same size and had been promised the same lifetime as them. ‘No,’ I whispered as I felt like I was the same size as them again.

Seeing them made my feet sting, as if they were begging me to crush them since I had the power to, as if destruction of ants were an integral part of human nature.

I saw them as potential humans.

Though I closed my eyes, I saw all of them inflating to my size, their antennae and legs and abdomen shrivelling away to make way for fingers and toes and hair and ears and noses. I saw the world through their eyes, I saw their nest and their surroundings stretch and flatten and warp. It was what I had experienced, but I had wanted this.

‘Are you okay?’

I turned to see a human, momentarily distracted from their ice cream cone. I had always wondered what it would be like to hold one of those things, to eat them without having them fall.

I saw the human as a potential ant.

I saw them transform as Dana described her own transformation, their ice cream falling to the ground as their fingers burrowed back into their arms and their hair hid away to herald the arrival of antennae.

I imagined flattening them under my foot, maybe punctuating it with ‘Now you know how it feels!’ and I wasn’t sure how I felt about the fact I laughed at that.

‘Betty, are you okay?’

Again, we walked beside each other.

When I was an ant, I scurried across a discarded human object that I assumed was one of those things they wore for the sole purpose of decorating themselves. As a human, I learned it was a key.

When Dana took me back to her house, she told me she was locking the door - yet another object that seemed to stretch and shrink as I looked at it - in case the scientist responsible for our transformations found us. A key was used in tandem with a device called a lock to stop doors from opening.

When you are an ant, things just are. Birds want to fly down and eat you because they just do. You can lift heavy things because you just can. Humans find you disgusting because they just do.

In hopes of helping me adjust to my new humanity, Dana showed me a device that resembled a portable rectangular puddle. Like a puddle, I saw my reflection - I saw the being with several thin long antennae and the forward-facing eyes and as I did, the caterpillars within me squirmed all the more - but unlike puddles, I saw that locks didn’t stop doors from opening because they just did. The doors were prevented from opening due to parts as small as I used to be.

As privileged as I felt to learn what few - if any other - ants had no idea of, I found myself looking at an open door in Dana’s home, leading to a small room with tall sticks.

Dana was a human who became an ant and became a human again and she can become an ant again. All there was outside were people who had the potential to be crushed and ants who had the potential to do the crushing. Even if I turned back into an ant, what I learnt would remain and my nest would grow and shrink and expand and compress. I would imagine the other ants as humans ready to kill me, and myself as a human ready to kill them.

I wondered if it would be better if I locked myself in that small room and did nothing but imagine what I thought being human would be like until I died of starvation.

It wasn’t until then I noticed I was in Dana’s kitchen, a place many ants had been in before, a place that seemed entirely made of shimmering white water.

‘Betty,’ Dana cried, grabbing a bottle of water – resembling the glass that induced my transformation in the first place - from the cupboard, ‘drink this; you’ll feel better.’

I held the bottle in my hand, its contents just enough to soothe my dehydration.

I held the house I was in in my hand, my finger just barely fitting through the door I could once walk easily through.

I held the country in my hand, trees flattening in my grip.

I held the sky in my hand, the stars scattered across my palm like sugar.

I felt more like a human being than ever before.

With the many times I momentarily felt like I had transformed back into an ant, I was long overdue to feel like the human I had become. The human I was.

I was human. The rooms I stood in and the furniture they contained were made for me. The sofa was where I could sit or sleep. The tables were where I could place food.

When I accidentally spilled biscuits on the floor, I had no desire to nibble at it. When I looked at a window and the sunlight piercing it, it reminded me nothing of another glass held by a sadistic child.

I was human. Dana was human and so was I. When she held me, it was not to allow me to crawl across her palm nor was it to reduce me to entrails between her fingers. When she held me, she pressed her palms against my shoulders and elbows, making my stomach settle when it needed settling.

I was human. Dana believed I was worthy of knowledge that only humans were privy to.

‘Welcome to Dana’s human lessons,’ Dana had said to me after I held that bottle, holding up a sheet of paper with “HUMAN LESSONS” written on it. I know that because she pointed at each letter and sounded them out, my first step to deciphering what were once odd markings.

There were many objects in Dana’s home, and like the lock and the key, I learned how they worked, and they were not “just because”. Every object had a story, and each story featured Dana. She not only explained the contents of the kitchen, but what she had made with them. There was more to be done with food than just take it, scuttle away and eat it.

And there was more to devour than just food. Every room, everything contained in those rooms, they had Dana’s stories that could be my stories as well. No ants knew about internet or ibuprofen, but explanations of those and what they did now rested in my enlarged brain.

Then she showed me, in her own words: ‘something I liked as a kid but comes off a bit differently now.’

Ants. Ants as seen by humans. Ants like I was once as seen by humans like I am now.

We did look around woods like those for food, and we even surprised ourselves in how much we managed to carry away, but we were nowhere near as jovial about it as the cartoon - as Dana called it - portrayed.

The ants there looked less like ants than they did how I imagine I looked during my transformation.

That’s when I realised why I was so eager to learn about the human world.

I was a human. I was an ant.

Dana was a human. Dana was an ant.

Both of us had crawled beneath the roots of trees and brushed our fingers against their highest branches. Both of us had seen the sky clearly and obscured by blades of grass.

I didn’t feel like I had become an ant again, yet I found myself hungering for that form, but only for a moment. A moment where I could return to my colony and share stories of everything I had learned, everything they willingly ignored and mocked.

The humans would see me transform again, I thought, they would believe that Dana was briefly an ant and so would believe her stories of what it was like.

The days of ants being vilified, mocked, flattened and roasted would come to an end. I saw ants as potential humans and humans as potential ants because I saw them learning more about each other.

And there were other animals out there too. What would it be like to fly like a bird, to be even closer to the sky? What would it be like to be a dog, larger than the grass yet smaller than the bins?

We had to pay another visit to the scientist.

‘Look, I’m sorry I haven’t been coming in these past few days,’ I heard Dana say while speaking into that portable puddle of hers, ‘I know about the disappearances, yes, it’s…well, I’ve recently made this new friend and well…she had a lot of sisters and her mother was very demanding, so you can see why I feel I should spend…okay…well, I’ll be delivering tonight.’ After placing her device in her pocket, she sat beside me on the sofa – a reminder that we were the same size – and buried her face in her hands.

I used the English I had picked up both from walking amongst the humans and beneath them to say, ‘You should have told them.’

‘I should have,’ sighed Dana, ‘but well, “I haven’t been to work today and didn’t finish delivering the pizzas because I got turned into an ant” isn’t going to sound very plausible. They won’t believe me.’

‘Humans should know,’ I replied, again looking at my hands, ‘maybe…maybe I should become an ant again…’

‘Betty,’ cried Dana, standing up, ‘no.’

‘Just for a while,’ I said, standing up to face her.

‘Betty, no,’ she repeated, holding me by the shoulders again, ‘I don’t want you to end up like those others. Being an ant was a nightmare for me and it was just for a day, I don’t want you to be stepped on or eaten, not after you saved my life.’

I gestured with my head towards her hands on my shoulders, indicating that the feeling of her soft palms was a feeling I wanted to share. ‘If humans see they could turn into ants and ants could turn into humans, I thought they would treat ants better, and maybe if I turn into an ant again, I could find other ants like me and…’ I again gestured with my head, this time to my form.

‘Oh, Betty.’

At this, Dana wrapped her arms around me.

Again, I felt the caterpillars within me. They were not squirming around my internal skeleton or attempting to escape from my skin.

They celebrated.

It was warmth, like that beam from that circular piece of glass. A beam that threatened not to destroy me, but any doubts or fears.

I couldn’t help but wrap my arms around her as well.

It was something I was privileged to experience. Something very few beings born ants had the opportunity to experience.

Something I needed to share.

My fingers became worms, attempting to burrow into Dana’s skin in an attempt to make this feeling last as long as it could, and yet when she said, ‘Please let go,’ I did as she told me with both of us chuckling, another moment that seemed to release those stinging creatures within me.

‘Betty,’ Dana said, shaking her head, ‘after going through what you have…part of me just wants to go out and turn all the ants in the world into humans. I can’t very well do that, I know.’

‘My sisters liked being ants,’ I responded as I remembered how gleeful they were when they had that grasshopper in their clutches. As much as that memory made my stomach it was undergoing what happened to that grasshopper, I still felt like I shouldn’t take that away from them.

Somewhere, there was another ant like me, looking up at humans and wishing she could be among them, not knowing there was something that could make her dream come true. She would most likely die before discovering it, I thought.

‘After all you’ve been through, I just felt you should have a normal life, but…’ Dana sighed. ‘Well, I mean, you’re probably the only…’ Her eyes grew larger, her limbs shaking. ‘Oh, fuck.’

‘What is it?’

‘That formula!’ cried Dana, running to her bedroom, ‘We spilled it…’ I followed her. ‘…and ants…’

Ants flock to anything edible spilled on the floor.

Again, my stomach felt like to was being devoured. I thought back to when I first became human, when I first struggled to see everything the size it was supposed to be, when those caterpillars attempted to burst from me, when one pair of legs disappeared yet I still felt them.

And I was prepared. And I wanted to be human.

‘Look!’ Before I could enter Dana’s bedroom, she ran out with a bag, clattering noises emitting from it. After opening it, she showed it was full of bottles. Bottles of the formula that had turned her into an ant, and us into humans. ‘I took these so they couldn’t do anything with them. With these, we should at least have a bargaining chip.’ The word “chip” took my mind to something I had often picked up to eat, but I knew full well words could have several meanings.

We both ran into Dana’s car, and this time, it was less to me like a hungry beast, and more like the entrance to my old nest. I sat beside Dana as she drove, picturing those other ants drinking from the puddle we created. I could see them inflating, their skeleton sucked into their body, resembling those ants we saw from the cartoon only larger and ganglier.

The scientist’s home seemed to spring up right in front of me, reminding me of the hungry birds I had managed to escape from. Without saying anything, Dana and I rushed to the door, with both of us pounding on it before taking a step backwards.

The scientist opened the door.

The grasshopper opened the door.

As soon as they, who had caused Dana to live the same nightmare I had been forced to survive, made their appearance, I lunged towards them, grabbing them by the wrist. As soon as I seized them, they stumbled over backwards into their laboratory, into where I had first increased in size. Walls and shelves that span and warped before me I first time I saw span and warped again, yet I forced my attention towards the scientist, a human about the same size I was, with black hair and wearing a white coat.

‘Who are you?’ they barked, before I noticed Dana enter, closing the door behind her.

‘Don’t you remember me?’ Dana walked closer, scowling at the scientist who scowled at her back. ‘Of course, you wouldn’t,’ Dana added.

I swear I saw my Queen, my mother, standing in front of me. Though I was still a human and she was still an ant, she towered over me like I now towered over the tables and chairs. She bent her head down at the scientist and nodded.

‘Oh, I see,’ sneered the scientist as they attempted to escape my grasp, ‘were you the one who spilled and took my formula?’ Dana and I nodded. ‘Well, some heroes you were. I thought I had killed every inhabitant of my little ant farm, but I come back into my lab to find two of them human again, just staring at their hands. You should have come…’

I dug my fingers into their wrist.

With the images of a transformation like my own returning to my brain, I looked over the laboratory, even as it stretched and shrunk before my eyes, and the wet stench distracted me.

‘I don’t think those were your victims,’ replied Dana after taking a deep breath, ‘they were ants.’

‘Of course they were…’

‘I mean ants who were born ants!’

The scientist stopped attempting to free their wrist. ‘What?’

Dana covered her face, as if trying to tear her skin off, and laughed a laugh that seemed to pierce my insides. ‘You seriously didn’t know it did that?’

The scientist didn’t respond.

‘I mean,’ Dana continued, removing her hand so she could stare at the scientist in their eyes, ‘were you planning on turning any of your victims back at all if they were good, or did you just create that formula in case you accidentally started turning yourself into an ant?’

The scientist reached for my hand with their free hand, and I grabbed their other wrist as well, bringing them back to their feet.

‘Did…did you seriously do this just to be evil? Like you wanted to be Big Jack Horner or something?’

I stared at the scientist, imagining my sisters swarming over them.

‘Well, look at my friend Betty. Some villain you are; the best thing that ever happened to her was because of your little experiments.’ Dana smiled at me. ‘The best thing that ever happened to me was because of your little experiments.’

That warmth returned. I almost let the scientist go simply to embrace Dana again.

As I remembered that hug we only just shared, I felt the scientist dig their nails into my fingers, the pain allowing them to escape. I reached for them again, only for them to bat my hand away.

‘Where are those people you found?’ barked Dana.

‘Wouldn’t you like to know?’ replied the scientist, nodding their head to the side.

From her bag, Dana held out a bottle.

‘Oh, you think that scares me? You did nothing! As soon as I saw those two, I mixed up a new batch of formula and put them back in the ant farm. I also mix…’

Before they could finish, I dove for them, slamming them back onto the floor.

I was an ant again, attempting to escape shoes.

I was a human, looking at an ant that deserved to be reduced to a pile of tiny entrails.

I was a human, shoving my foot in the stomach of another human.

Dana looked over them, formula in her hand. ‘We’ll make sure you never get to that other formula.’ She bent over to look at them. ‘Betty became human because she deserved to be human. What do you deserve?’

The scientist shuddered.

I placed my foot down harder as I turned to see Dana take two more bottles off a nearby shelf, which I noticed reminded me of the walls of my old nest. ‘Maybe we’ll go easier on you if you cooperate.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Turning into a human and back again when you weren’t prepared…’ Dana turned to the same table we had climbed up, the table where the ant farm rested. ‘…that has to be frightening. But maybe they want to try out being human, maybe they want an opportunity to experience what has been kept from them. If they don’t, perhaps they know of another ant who does.’

I lifted my leg. The scientist still lay.

‘They both need someone to talk to, but they can only really talk to another ant.’

I swallowed, moving away from the scientist towards Dana.

Dana bent down to better look at the scientist. ‘Turn me back into an ant.’

‘No!’ I cried.

‘You discovered the greatest breakthrough in zoological study,’ Dana continued, facing the scientist, ‘that can help us understand ants and them understand us, and you waste it just being a sadist. Turn me into an ant again, let me talk to the ants, then make me human again so I can report what I learned.’

‘No!’ I repeated, ‘Let me!’

‘Betty!’ She placed her hands on my arms again, letting that warmth return. ‘You’ve been through enough. If I do this, then it won’t matter if I get stuck as an ant forever or turn into a person with a big ant head, because at least then you’ll get to stay human. You’ll get the life you deserve.’

That warmth faded as soon as I heard clinking.

The scientist, back on their feet, hand nearing the bag around Dana’s shoulder. I instinctively clawed at them, making them back away.

‘You know,’ Dana said to him, ‘if you want to turn people into ants and step on them, you could do it to someone who deserves it and make money off it. Reveal to the world you made a Human-to-Ant formula, and an Ant-to-Human formula and billionaires will pay tonnes to be an ant for a weekend, just to say they have. Then, you know, you “accidentally” knock the ant farm over.’

The scientist sighed. ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ They followed that up with a smile while adding, ‘Maybe we can work something out.’

As they spoke, I looked at the ant farm where two ants like me were now residing. A house with two humans living inside it I could hold in my hands. I took the same bottle I saw the scientist reaching for. I still couldn’t read what it said, but I knew it was the Human-to-Ant formula, especially since Dana said, ‘No!’ when I grabbed it.

‘Dana,’ I said, walking towards the table where the ant farm lay, ‘please let me do this.’ I placed the formula on the table and turned back to Dana, placing my hands on her arms like she did with me, hopefully delivering my own warmth.

‘Are you sure you want to do this?’

‘I’ve been an ant longer…’

‘Exactly,’ replied Dana, looking at the floor, ‘We don’t know if we will be able to make you human again if you turn into an ant or…’

‘I will have been a human,’ I replied, smiling.

Dana gave me her own smile. ‘So, better to have humaned and lost than to have never humaned at all?’

When I realised what she meant, I nodded.

After I pulled my hands – soon to be tarsi – away from Dana’s arms, she placed her palm on my cheek. ‘What if something goes wrong? What if…’

‘Dana,’ was all I could bring myself to say, and from the look in her face, she knew what I meant.

At that moment, we were both human beings.

Dana brought her face closer to mine and I brought her face closer to hers and we did what I had seen so many humans do and had wanted to do myself. It was another hug, a closer hug, one bringing a stronger warmth to it, making the caterpillars within me remain still.

Even if I turned back into an ant, I thought, and stayed that way forever, nothing would be the same.

As our lips separated, and we took a moment to look at each other in the eyes, I held the formula again. I said, ‘Please let me give them what you gave me.’

‘Are you sure about this?’ Dana asked, and I nodded. ‘Can I just do something first?’ she asked, pulling out her portable puddle. ‘You remember what I showed you about the locks? The video? We can take one of you transforming, to show others to show that it’s possible.’

The scientist cringed. ‘I…probably should have done that, shouldn’t I?’

‘You keep quiet,’ Dana asked and the scientist, who moments earlier had been trying to turn us both back into ants, did as she requested. I still kept my eyes fixed on them, preparing myself should they try anything else.

‘Hello!’ Dana said as she held the device, the one for making videos, up to her face with one hand. In the other hand, she held a formula. ‘My name is Dana and this is Betty. Look, how do I explain this…I was turned into an ant by an evil scientist.’ She swerved the device at the scientist themselves, who grinned and waved at it. ‘Thankfully, I managed to get changed back,’ she continued, holding the device closer to me. ‘I have Betty here to thank for that. She took the formula…the formula I used to turn back into a human and she turned into a human too, but she was born an ant.’ She turned the device back to her direction. ‘For the last few days, I have been teaching her how to be human, and now I’m going to turn her back into an ant so she can share what she’s learned with other ants. We’re going to see if they want to be human as well.’

Dana asked me if there was anything I wanted to say before I took the formula.

I looked at Dana. Dana who I had just kissed. Dana who I had just held.

All I could say was, ‘Dana. I love you.’

I took the formula.

Transforming into an ant was exactly how Dana described it. As a human, I kept fearing my internal skeleton would rip out of my skin, and that's what it felt like as I shrunk, my vision of the world growing eclipsed by the clothes I could no longer wear collapsing before me.

When I was a human, I lost two of my legs yet still could feel them. During my second period living as an ant, I still felt the fingers and toes that had shrivelled away to nothing.

I still felt the lips that had pressed against Dana's.

I will become human again, I told myself. After I explain humanity to other ants, and Dana and the scientist bestow humanity on those who want it, I'll also be given the Ant-to-Human formula again and be with Dana again.

‘Okay, Betty,’ I heard Dana say before she took a deep breath, ‘Just go into the ant farm and talk to them. If they want to be human, have them follow you. If they don’t, have them stay still.’

I walked through the tunnels on six legs, yet an ache in all six of them told me I should have been walking on two. I was supposed to be bipedal.

I felt bones resting beneath skin. I was supposed to be a vertebrate.

The soil I travelled through had walls, windows, doors and a floor. I was supposed to live in a house.

I was supposed to be human.

I was supposed to be with Dana.

‘Look!’ I approached the other two ants, with one of them approaching me. ‘I saw you transform like we did! Thank goodness you managed to turn back!’

‘I want to talk to you about that,’ I said, raising a foreleg that was supposed to have fingers. ‘My name is Betty. I want to know if you want to be human again.’

The ant behind backed away as the ant in front remained. ‘No, of course not.’

‘Could you describe it for me?’

‘I don’t want to…’ The ant shook her head. ‘Did you actually like it? Did you actually like having your exoskeleton forced into you like that?’

I felt my exoskeleton. I felt my internal skeleton.

My internal skeleton and all the caterpillars were still there, compressed in my smaller body, pounding against my exoskeleton, begging for me to enlarge again.

‘It felt like there were caterpillars inside you, didn’t it?’ I asked.

The ant looked at the other ant behind her, and then back at me. ‘That’s probably the best way of putting it, actually. It felt like something was going to tear out of me. It was…it was probably like if you survived being eaten by a bird.’

‘It’s frightening at first,’ I explained, ‘but there’s so much good about being human.’ I turned to Dana watching me from outside with her device, her eyes as large as I was now. I still felt her lips press against mine. ‘I met this other human, you see. She…when I was with her and when she held me, all the pain and agony I felt faded.’

‘Did it?’

‘You’ve probably had humans almost flatten you or put that large glass in your direction. I have, but all that, everything I’ve been through, it went away when I was with Dana. You saw her kiss me, didn’t you?’

‘Was that when she shoved that big rock in front of your face?’

‘No,’ I snapped, right as the moment we embraced entered my head, ‘It felt like…it felt like when you find some sugar, and the relief after managing to protect the nest, and the relief from having just escaped a bird…it was every good feeling you’ve ever felt but all at the same time!’

‘I still don’t want to go through that again,’ said the ant in front before gesturing at the one behind her who seemed to shrink, ‘and neither does she. I don’t think what you described is worth feeling like the world is closing in on you.’

‘I felt that way too,’ I said, finding myself on two legs again, ‘but the more time I spent in that body, the more right it felt. You see, I looked around Dana’s house and so many things reminded me of what had threatened my life in the past, but the more time I spent with Dana, the more I saw them the way she saw them.’

I imagined the two ants before me as the humans they transformed into; though I had never seen their human forms, I pictured them looking as I did when I transformed. I imagined us sitting at a table, drinking coffee.

‘You won’t have to scurry around looking for food anymore!’ I continued, ‘You won’t have to worry about being stepped on or birds or mantises eating you or butterflies invading your nest!’

‘Humans hurt each other as well, I’ve heard,’ the ant in front replied, ‘and if we’re bigger, we’ll need more food, won’t we?’

I looked at Dana again, and then at the scientist, a large grin lighting their face.

‘There’ll be more tastes!’ I continued, ‘More things around to eat!’

‘Please…Betty…’ sighed the ant in front, ‘We’re happy the way we are. I’m glad you were happy with what you became, but I think if it happened to us, we’ll just be begging to be ants again like we were when it happened the first time.’

‘If you say so,’ I said, ‘if you really want to stay ants, just stand where you are for the time being, so the humans out there know not to transform you. When you’re released,’ I continued, again standing on my hind legs as if they needed reminding of my time as a human, ‘tell the other ants about this. Tell them where to find me.’

I received no response.

I walked away from them, leaving them alone.

‘Okay,’ said Dana, speaking into her device, ‘she’s spoken to the ants, asked them if they wanted to be human, and they seem to have refused. I suppose it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, really. We are going to release these two ants and hopefully, they’ll help spread the word to other ants so we can find another “Betty” to transform.’

She pulled the device away from her face and turned to the scientist. ‘Are you going to make her human again now?’ the scientist asked.

‘I…I’m not sure,’ Dana said, ‘I mean, even you don’t fully know how your own formula works. I think Betty needs to speak to more than just two ants for the news to properly spread, but I don’t think we can just have her go back and forth from ant to human constantly.’ She turned to me again. ‘Betty. I’m sorry. It’s just…well, I could tell you were having a bit of trouble adjusting to being human the first time, and now it seems you’re attempting to adjust to being an ant again.’

She held the puddle in front of me, showing me talk to the other ants, pointing out the anthropomorphic gestures I made while doing so.

‘I don’t know how constantly switching between the two will affect you, and I don’t really want to find out. I think we need you to talk to more ants. Once we’re sure that what we’re doing is properly well-known amongst them, and…and ants come to us…I love you, Betty.’

Though I inwardly begged her to feed me the formula and return the fingers, hair, toes and height the caterpillars within me had been hungering for, I knew such a thing was selfish of me. I nodded in agreement.

Dana and the scientist brought many ants my way. I explained to them the gift, the hands that I could hold Dana's with, the hair Dana ran her fingers through.

I explained how everything warped in front of me, the caterpillars that writhed beneath my skin, the throbbing internal skeleton.

While conducting these lectures, I was placed by two wooden structures, which I was told were a Y and a N. If the ant I spoke to wanted to be human, I would crawl to the Y. If not, I would crawl to the N.

It was the latter I crawled to every time.

The first time I saw true interest in the transformation was not from an ant, but a wasp that had managed to fly into the laboratory. When she landed on the table where I sat, she explained she had heard about the formula from overhearing ants' conversations; at least I knew my word was spreading.

'Do you think it could work on me?' she asked me, her wings twitching, 'Then...then I wouldn't be useless. I wouldn't be just some insignificant pest good for nothing but stinging.'

It wasn't humanity she wanted, I thought, it was respect. If she took the formula, she would see the world before her distort, she would feel caterpillars infest her body, she would suffer when there was no need.

Dana and the scientist had noticed me talking to her, and Dana had even started a video of it.

‘Of course!’ Dana cried, ‘Ants are related to wasps…’ She turned to the scientist briefly. ‘Don’t tell me you seriously didn’t know that. The formula could work on them too!’

I was about to explain what I felt upon first becoming human, but then I imagined her transforming like I had, and her finding a Dana of her own. I imagined her with hands she could hold someone else's with, I imagined her bipedal so she could run together with someone.

Before I explained all the good and bad I had experienced as a human, I made sure to also note all the good about wasps. I made sure to point out that her wasps pollinated and reminded her that she stung because she was threatened. ‘You believe that you sting just to be malicious,’ I said, ‘because that’s what others said.’

I looked at Dana again, and noticed she was smiling.

If the wasp became human, I found myself thinking, she could help other humans realise the good about other wasps. In fact, I didn’t just think it, I told it to her.

‘That little portable puddle, that little rock Dana’s holding,’ I said, gesturing to her device, ‘she’s making sure our conversation can be shown to others. If you become human, she’ll show it to others and they’ll know you’re a wasp turned into a human. Then you can tell them your side, you can tell them how they made you feel so they’ll learn to respect your sisters and your mother and other wasps.’

The wasp flew closer to me. ‘Yes, then I want it!’

I crawled over to the Y. Dana took out the formula, resting her device near us.

‘Okay, we have a volunteer. It’s not an ant, but a wasp, but I think it’s useful to see if this formula works on other insects.’

‘This is it,’ I said to the wasp, ‘Ready yourself.’

Dana held what looked like a flower with a long stalk, which splattered a few drops of the formula over the wasp.

She grew.

Her body enlarged with her thin waist inflating to match, with Dana placing her off the table and onto the floor just as her wings folded into her back. I crawled to the edge of the table, watching what Dana was making sure would be seen again with her device. The wasp’s antennae seemed to curl into her head, and while her middle pair of legs shrivelled away, the other four thickened, becoming those large thick earthworms sprouting maggots. What looked like pale honey seemed to erupt from her thorax, eclipsing the yellow and black colouring on her body. Her abdomen and that stinger that had made her a pariah deflated. As she grew lips like those I used to have, her mandibles sunk into that upper lip, heralding the unfolding of her new ears, the emergence of her new nose, and the sprouting of her new hair.

Just looking at it reminded me of my first transformation into a human and despite how painful it was, how my whole body hungered for it again.

When the former wasp looked at her trembling fingers, I too felt my own fingers again.

When she stood up, the room I was in seemed to shrink.

When she stroked her arms, I felt my and Dana’s skin.

Dana pulled out something that resembled a picnic blanket and wrapped it around the wasp-turned-human before pulling out what she used to make videos. ‘So, there you go,’ Dana said, ‘it works on wasps.’

No more will she have to worry about hands swatting her away, I thought. No more will she have to think about how little time she has to live.

‘Okay,’ Dana said to the woman beside her, ‘okay…can you speak?’

She looked down at her body again, lifting her hand up to her face. ‘I…you…’

‘Yes?’

‘Thank you,’ she said before stumbling, with Dana catching her before she hit the floor. I wasn’t sure if it was because of how small the room had become for her, if she was trying to fly without wings or both.

‘Would you…would you like a name? I called that ant Betty, would you like to be called something?’

‘Yes.’

‘Um…how about Joan?’

‘Yes.’

‘There you go, this is Joan, ex-wasp.’ Dana pulled the phone away and turned to the scientist. ‘Okay, get Joan some clothes; I’ll see if I can help her adjust.’ As the scientist walked towards where they kept “trophies” of their victims, Dana placed both hands on the wasp’s shoulders, and for a minute, it was like I was human once more and I was looking into her eyes and she was doing the same to me.

‘It’s…strange.’

‘It will be at first,’ Dana explained, ‘but we’ll help you adjust. I’ll teach you about being human and so will others.’

‘Thank you.’

‘If you are able to,’ Dana asked, ‘could you please answer something? Did you hear about us from ants?’

‘Yes.’

‘Yes!’ cried Dana as the scientist returned with some clothing for Joan. ‘Did you hear that? It’s spreading! Betty can be human again!’

The caterpillars within me cheered, pounding against my exoskeleton as I looked up at Dana, holding that flower over me. I closed my eyes as I imagined my humanity returning, again having hands to hold Dana’s with, having lips to press against her own.

I sat for several minutes but nothing happened.

‘No…’ Dana gasped, splattering another drop on me. ‘No, what’s going on?’

I opened my eyes to see I still had antennae and pincers, and that Dana, the scientist and a clothed Joan towered over me. Though my body throbbed and it felt like fingers were pressing against my front feet, I wasn’t transforming.

‘What’s happening?’ cried Dana.

‘I don’t know,’ the scientist replied.

‘Oh, of course, you don’t,’ snarled Dana, ‘of course you don’t.’

‘It might have been that she was in that form too long…’

‘Well, I spent an entire day as an ant and I…’

‘But Betty…’

‘Betty is human!’

Dana collapsed on the table right beside me, her head hidden by her arms as she sobbed loudly. I crawled up her arm, the arm I could still feel.

‘Dana,’ I heard the scientist say, ‘I’m sorry.’

‘Sorry isn’t going to bring back those people you fucking killed!’ screamed Dana, raising her head as I scurried back to the table, ‘Sorry isn’t going to make Betty…’ Dana took a deep breath. ‘It had to be a mad scientist I had to meet, not some fucking wizard. Why can’t I just…’ She breathed in again. ‘Why can’t I just cry on Betty and there’s all these sparkles and she turns back? Why does…’

‘She…’ Joan spoke up, ‘…I would like to speak to her again.’

‘So do I,’ Dana sobbed.

‘She said…she said I could…I could…’

‘You could help others see how wonderful wasps are.’

Joan nodded, and she and Dana hugged tightly.

More and more ants were sent my way, and some of them agreed to the transformation. I’m glad that you agreed as well, so after you transform, you can share this story with others. Other ants who have agreed to this, I have been using to talk to Dana; please tell her again that I love her.

Please tell her again that not a day goes by when I don’t remember the brief time we spent together. Please tell her again that I’ll always remember the kiss we shared before I became an ant again.

She has tried to find a way to make me human again, but I told her through the last ant who accepted to focus on others like you.

I hope that you find someone like her. I hope that you feel what I’ve felt and feel it always.

I am still a human, but I am still an ant as well. I know that Dana will help us live a better and more peaceful life, one with less fear. I know that Joan and the others who have taken the formula will help educate other humans about insects. Pesticides could be a thing of the past. Humans will give us sugar like they give birds seed.

I thought I would live a longer life, but death seems to be crawling towards me, I feel. At least I won’t be outliving my sisters. At least I’ll have done something.

All ants are good for is ruining picnics. All wasps are good for is being pests. You and I and Joan and Dana are going to reverse this mindset, and from what Dana’s told me, it’s working already.

I am going to crawl over to this Y and when I do, Laura, you will change from an ant to a human being. You will feel like caterpillars and maggots will be trying to burst from your body, but embrace them. Welcome them. The world will look like its warping before your eyes, but let it. That’s what we’re trying to do: warp the world.

Look at humans and see ants. Look at ants and see humans.

Become human, Laura. Make sure my story is shared, make sure your story is shared and step forth into the world of ants.

[satohqbanana]

Dragonmage Pact

Drakenveyond AU times. Please enjoy this outline/summary/zero draft/whatever you call it.

I should probably write out some lore-related stuff next, if only to explain more of what exactly is going on here. It's actually more Aveyond than Drakengard; all I borrowed from DOD are lore and themes. (Also, I'm sorry that there are no evil flowers here that wishes to take over the world with flower power. I tried going that route once - I even had character designs in mind - but I just didn't like the ideas coming out of it. Fortunately, though, there's less fratricide.)

Summary: The world's most compassionate nymph incarnate and the world's most selfish noble enter a pact to save themselves from certain death, when an army of tireless, undead soldiers besiege it. Now bound as a duo of a large talking dragon and a nonverbal mage, Rhen and Lars navigate through their new self/ves, regroup with the other nymph incarnates and their guardians, and find a way to safely undo the pact. (And maybe save the world along the way as well.)

Warnings: Deaths; lots of deaths. Like major character deaths. Because there are deaths, there are also some killings. The nature of people's relationships are also mostly vague. Also this is way too long.

Edit: Added titles to parts to help any poor soul navigate this huge thing.

...

Part 1: The Curse of the Pact

A man named Ahriman is known to be the most powerful sorcerer of the land. While his actual abilities are limited to mind control, revival magic, and energy blasts, he is quite cunning. He protects himself by hypnotizing priests to defend him and hide his presence, and he manufactures an army by revitalizing the bodies of fallen warriors and using mind control to make them hack away endlessly.

He has once tried to take over the world before, and after a grand war with the Chief Goddess and her nymph daughters, has been sealed into a deep sleep. However, a prince who wanted power for his own reawakens him. After slaying the foolish prince and enslaving the boy's army, Ahriman's first target is the Kingdom of Thais. Rhen, the incarnation of a nymph who resides there as some saint figure, manages to escape the invasion.

While hiding in a nearby town, her foes catch up and seriously injure her. Fortunately, she finds Lars, a young traveling mage on the verge of death himself. To extend their lives, they hesitantly form a pact by merging their then-fractured souls. A pact is a magical contract that gives life and power to those who are willing to give up their most precious possessions. In this pact, it takes Rhen's identity and transforms her into a dragon, and it takes the main source of Lars' power, his speech.

Their relationship starts off rocky; neither one is willing to cooperate. As pact partners, they always hear each other's thoughts in their heads, and what wounds one gets, the other feels.

One of their first arguments goes like this: Rhen wants Lars to carry her now-useless possessions, one of which is a sword; he thinks they're uncool and she can carry them by herself once he gets them strapped across her body. She insults him by telling him he's basically an ordinary guy with no abilities, which forces him to carry the sword if only to look cool and powerful.

Their next major point of contention involves the treatment of their foes, majority of which happen to be brainwashed mortals. As the incarnate of the nymph of compassion, Rhen pities them; as a nobleman who thinks of himself first, Lars does not. They argue on the methods of dealing with these foes, on whether simply disabling them will keep them down long enough, on whether killing them is merciful or not, on whether a foe should simply disintegrate or deserved to be tortured with wounds before dying.

However, because Lars is unable to communicate efficiently and use stronger magic, and Rhen's current appearance frightens a lot of people which also affects her communication, the two realize they need each other. They form a truce that will take effect until they find a way to safely undo their pact and unbind their lives - because they have things to do and places to be, and they cannot afford to be tied down to each other until the end of time.

Part 2: The Incarnates and Their Guardians

Lars lets Rhen take him along to the other nymph incarnates, as they may know of a way to unbind the pact or so. Hence, they travel to the Land of the Mysten Far, where an older nymph incarnate, Talia, resides. To Rhen's relief, Talia is still alive and recognizes her from her aura. Talia informs her that one of the other nymph incarnates have fallen, so they must gather the rest before Ahriman's forces destroy them all. Hence, Talia and her guardian Devin joins them.

On the way to the next nymph incarnate, Talia learns that Rhen's guardian isn't Lars, but a healer named Dameon. Rhen confesses she hasn't seen Dameon since the fall of Thais, where they got separated. She cannot detect where he is and thinks he has been killed. Talia criticizes Rhen for forming a pact with a mortal to extend her life instead of reincarnating, for pacts are the double-edged blades of the desperate. Rhen however deems the pact a necessity for now, as haphazardly breaking it will kill her needlessly.

Meanwhile, Devin attempts to teach Lars swordfighting as an extra layer of defense, but fails terribly due to the lack of verbal communication. So, Devin helps him get books on magic in hopes of learning more spells that do not require speech.

Talia and Devin also notice that, while Rhen and Lars more or less accept each other as their pact partner, the two still have much room for improvement with regards to their new selves. Rhen is still clumsy with her dragon form, and Lars still struggles with non-verbal spells. Rhen assures Talia that this situation is only temporary and thus they would not require mastering their new selves. Talia doubts as there is no wide-known way to unbind a pact, but lets it be, since the two would simply end up frustrated.

The group arrives at the Kingdom of Harburg. There they find the next nymph incarnate, Mel, and her new guardian, Spook. Rhen and Lars temporarily part ways with their growing team to seek knowledge on pacts and magic based on Spook's lead, but find their journey to be a diversion when it drags on and Lars cannot sense potent magic in the area.

The two rush back to Mel - right on time. Talia had been drugged and lays unconscious, while due to thwarting an assassination attempt on Mel, Devin pays with his life. Spook reveals himself to be an excellent mercenary hired by Ahriman.

Rhen and Lars struggle in their battle against Spook. Spook has a form of power from both Mel and Ahriman. Several times Rhen has to defend Lars, but fails to counterattack. Several times, Lars tries to attack Spook, but is easily overpowered. Eventually, after much challenge, the pair manage to strike Spook down, but he rises, bloody and still full of life. As he lunges for an attack, Mel stabs him from behind, announcing that the incarnate chooses her guardian, and she chooses him to stop being hers.

Talia awakens and mourns for Devin. Meanwhile, both Rhen and Lars are mortified at their weakness and their reliance on the pact. Rhen, having been a swordsmistress herself prior to the pact, decides to mentor Lars in some form swordsmanship. Lars, as a master of magic theory, decides to help Rhen master her abilities as a dragon. Together, they discover that her sword can be a conduit for non-spoken magic, and that Rhen can now use the power of song, amplified by her bigger draconic lungs.

Meanwhile, Ahriman's forces grow ever bigger and stronger. He knows where Rhen and her team hides, for he uses her connection with her guardian, Dameon, to find her. Dameon is one of his priests now, having been corrupted by his desire to protect Rhen. Ahriman keeps him busy by preparing the ritual ground for the rebirth of the world in the Temple of Rebirth.

Part 3: Partners' Bonds

Back to the nymph incarnates, Mel informs the team that she had "lent" her former guardian, Edward, to a fellow incarnate, Stella, and suggests they visit her next. However, Talia prevents them from doing so just yet, as they do not have guardians strong enough to help them defend themselves, even with Rhen and Lars' pact or newfound skills. The powerlessness stings both Rhen and Lars with much humiliation and frustration.

They find Talia's words true enough during an ambush. Fortunately, a banished paladin and his vampress pact partner finds and rescues them: Galahad and Te'ijal. Though reluctant, the nymph incarnates employ the two to chaperone them. Galahad immediately takes to the task, while Te'ijal only agrees to add spice to her life.

As they travel together, the group learns of the duo's past. Galahad was loyal to a fault; he once served the corrupt King of Sedona, and in the greedy king's conquests, Galahad almost died. Te'ijal found him in this state, and since she had nothing better to do, she formed a pact with him. Their pact turned Galahad's right arm to stone and took Te'ijal's immortality, but thanks to it, Te'ijal has lightning speed and stealthy, silent movements, while Galahad has super strength that extends to the sword he uses. When Galahad went back to his King, he was dubbed a monster and therefore banished. Te'ijal on the other hand cannot live as a vampire would normally do, so she decided to make her days as fun and exciting as possible by persistently buzzing around Galahad. Galahad has survived thus far thanks to the blessed armor he wears, which automatically moves him out of the way from perceived oncoming threats.

The duo also learn of the nymph incarnates' agenda in full. Many centuries ago, in a grand war against Ahriman and his daevas, the destructive forces almost ripped apart the multiple realms of Aia. To keep the realms stable, the Chief Goddess of the World used herself and her daughter nymphs as Holy Seals. However, the power to keep the Holy Seals intact robbed them of immortality, so the seven goddesses must now reincarnate every few decades. The incarnation process is quick, but Ahriman aims to kill all seven incarnates within months to end the cycle, destroy Aia, and create a new world with him as the Chief God. The nymph incarnates now aim to gather their kin to unite their powers and use it to seal Ahriman and heal the world.

In silence, Lars supposes that this plan would also rob the incarnates of their lives and ultimately do as Ahriman plans. Rhen hears his thoughts and replies that if the incarnates are going down, then so is Ahriman. They agree it is not wise to keep the pact until such a time, and they must make haste.

The group soon reach the Kingdom of Naylith, which is currently being besieged by Ahriman's forces. They wade through the battle and successfully find Stella and Edward deep under the Naylithian caverns. While wounded, the pair are not in grave danger.

As the group recuperates from the weary fighting, Rhen and Lars find an old library and uncover different ancient scriptures that speak of sword magic, song magic, and dragon magic. With Lars being a fast reader and Rhen being quick to process magic, they take advantage of their shared mindspace to absorb the knowledge. Neither would admit it, but one or both of them at the time thought, 'Are pacts really so bad?'

Meanwhile, Galahad watches the other nymph incarnates. He thinks they are too young to be going through such a tragic fate. Stella appreciates the care, Mel finds that patronizing, and Talia laughs and calmly explains that their souls are older than anyone else's; it's their bodies and personalities that changes with every incarnation. Te'ijal then tells the three that Galahad doesn't 100% believe in magic and may not even fully believe that they are the highest-level deities only second to the Chief Goddess.

Before any argument can ensue, Edward suggests they leave immediately before the enemy can find them. Talia agrees with this and gets Te'ijal to retrieve Rhen and Lars from the library.

As the group leaves, Ahriman's forces follow them, so they split: Rhen and Lars will distract them, while Mel, Stella, Edward, Talia, Galahad, and Te'ijal make their escape. Rhen and Lars with their newfound powers decimate their pursuers - and immediately regret not taking any of their other companions with them.

Meanwhile, the other group struggle with the new addition to Ahriman's army: cyclopses manufactured from alchemizing people into one being. The fact renders Stella distraught and Mel has to calm her down. Talia, Edward, Galahad, and Te'ijal deal with the cyclopses. As the group triumphs, a weakened cyclops makes a final attempt to fight and takes Edward with it.

The two teams reunite. With the loss of Edward, Galahad offers himself as a guardian to the incarnates, but Talia says he shouldn't enter another contract with his pact intact. The guardian contract, like the pact, relies on binding lives together, so that the guardian may use a weaker form of the nymph's power. However, the guardian gets to live as long as their nymph incarnate lives in order to serve her sufficiently. As such, the nymph incarnates are sensitive creatures who assigns only those close to their hearts as their guardians, for the guardians are granted eternal life and youth, until they are killed in battle. As thus, the guardian contract is not something to make too light of, nor something that any stranger could be offered with.

Rhen and Lars briefly entertain the thought of having a guardian contract instead of a pact - then the guardian contract with the pact. Neither like it - Rhen does not think Lars can sufficiently aid her that way, while Lars dislikes the idea of having to actually serve somebody with his life.

Part 4: Conflicted Souls

Their next destination is the Kingdom of Sedona. As a banished paladin, Galahad stays behind. Something's off: the supposed nymph incarnate there, Lydia, is flaunting off her power at a time when incarnates needed to hide. She also has amassed a battalion of guardians. Furthermore, they do not sense the aura of a nymph from within her. The incarnates decide she is a fake and they ought to expose her, but where would the real one be?

They find the real nymph incarnate hiding in one of Sedona's provincial towns, Dirkon: Ingrid. She has her guardian, Boyle, with her. As the other older incarnate aside from Talia, she advises the rest to ignore the fake and proceed with their task, as the last nymph has been recently reincarnated and must be protected in her frailness. To boot, the goddess incarnate is being attacked in the Elven Vale. But the younger incarnates are stubborn about exposing Lydia.

Hence the group decides to split: Mel, Stella, and Te'ijal to confront Lydia and expose the fraud; Talia, Ingrid, and Boyle to find the new nymph; and Rhen, Lars, and Galahad to rendezvous with the goddess incarnate. They would later meet up in the Vale.

As the latter two teams leave, they are ambushed by Ahriman's forces. Lars finds their presence suspicious and wonders if, upon the death of the guardian, the contract expires. Rhen first considers dissolving the guardianship, but eventually decides against it. Even if he has betrayed her, Dameon is still important to her. So, the pact partners decide to sit down and meditate. Eventually, Rhen divines where Dameon is, and it's in the Temple of Rebirth, where he is trying to revive armies for Ahriman.

Devastated at the discovery, she falls into deep silence. She has no idea what she now feels for Dameon, and whether she wants him now to kill him to keep her memories of him "pure", to make him suffer for his betrayal, or to forgive him, if that will make him stay by her side again. Without her to verbally communicate for them, Lars tries to aggressively sign and gesture their way into being understood, a task made more challenging with Rhen's thoughts dominating his own. Galahad is confused. They're all frustrated.

Meanwhile, Mel, Stella, and Te'ijal observe the situation in Sedona. Despite the fraud, Lydia's "guardians" do have powers of their own. Hence, Mel uses her and Stella's status as incarnates to openly request a meeting with Lydia, which Lydia agrees to.

The confrontation turns into a battle of philosophies. Lydia claims that ordinary people need hope at a time of war and destruction, and she wishes to be that beam of hope. Mel accuses her of wanting to fulfill that role so that she could take advantage of the people's desperation and claim power, riches, and fame. As the two argue, Stella notices the peculiar necklace Lydia is wearing. Te'ijal acknowledges the jewelry as a soul pendant - one that binds people's souls to the bearer - hence Lydia is indeed controlling all her "guardians".

Heartbroken at this piece of information, Stella attempts to snatch the pendant from Lydia. Lydia puts up a struggle and calls her "guardians" to intervene. Mel and Stella hurry to fight Lydia alone, leaving Te'ijal to find creative ways to hold off the fake guardians. Lydia casts a strong spell, but Stella pushes Mel away to receive the attack in her place.

Angered, Mel relentlessly attacks Lydia. In the scuffle, the pendant slips away from their fingers and lands next to Stella. Stella manages to toss it out the window and smashes it to pieces. Lydia's control over the fake guardians vanishes, and she finds herself subjected to the mob's fury. However, the rest of Sedona gets thrown into massive hysteria and civil unrest at the loss of their "incarnate". Te'ijal immediately whisks the two incarnates away.

Meanwhile, Dameon grows weary of waiting in the Temple of Rebirth and working for Ahriman. Ahriman assures him that Rhen will soon come to see him, so he should prepare to welcome her. Dameon knows that dissolving a pact will require the contractees to give up yet another part of themselves, but he knows that the Egg of Resurrection, a relic within the temple, will help Rhen dissolve the pact without giving up her life.

At the Vale, the nymphs' group reunite. Talia, Ingrid, and Boyle brings along the last incarnate, Myst, who they found wandering by herself along a seashore. Talia gets everyone up to date with Te'ijal and Galahad's help, but Rhen stays quiet.

The group are met with a resistance force - at their head the guardian of the goddess incarnate, Ean. The resistance immediately serves the incarnates with food and bed. Stella's condition is serious, but she is unafraid to die now that the incarnates are all together again.

As the group enjoys a warm, hearty meal after long days of hiding and getting by on the road, the goddess incarnate makes herself known. She is a young girl named Iya, which concerns Galahad. Iya informs them that she had always dreamed of the events that now occur, but not many believe her, for the land itself was dying and the people's faith has decreased rapidly over the years. She foresees none of the current incarnates would continue the cycle - they were the last iteration in their lifetime. The power of the goddess has waned. At this, the incarnates fear - sans Myst, who is yet to understand her role, and Rhen, who is still deep in thought about Dameon.

Since Lars' head is filled with Rhen's endless questions and self-blame, he has been forced to simply follow the others' lead. Through this experience, Lars supposes that the pact had prioritized his voice over Dameon's, the way Rhen's thoughts sometimes drowns out his own, which is why Rhen hadn't been able to contact him. He takes the opportunity one morning, once they awoke, to ask Rhen if her connection with Dameon went down after they made their pact. Rhen confirms this, temporarily shifts blame on Lars, then apologizes to him and blames herself again.

The group's respite ends as the resistance informs them of the arrival of Ahriman's army. The nymphs and their allies deploy into the battleground to push the enemy away.

As the others prepare for what might be the last stand of all that is good in the world, Iya informs Rhen and Lars about the Temple of Rebirth and the Egg of Resurrection. The temple's powers does not only revive what has been slain or manufacture homunculi from parts that once lived. It also helps someone rebirth themself like a phoenix. Though Iya is unsure what will happen to their pact, the Egg will help Rhen regaining her nymph form and Lars his speech. That goads the pact partners into action and revitalizes Rhen once more.

As they leave, Lars hesitates. His thoughts are strong enough to make Rhen stop in her tracks as well. As Rhen asks Iya for permission to desert their post in the battlefield, Iya notes that the two of them seem so in-sync, like they have merged into one being. Nonetheless, despite the direness of the situation, Iya allows the two to head to the temple.

However, as Galahad assists the resistance, Te'ijal accuses him of curiosity towards Rhen, Lars, their pact, and their business in the Temple of Rebirth. At Te'ijal's insistence, Galahad decides to tell Iya and the other incarnates he will follow Rhen and Lars to assure their safe return. Though Talia, Mel, Stella, and Ingrid are unsure about this, Iya assures the group that this is for the best as well. Te'ijal whisks Galahad away to quickly catch up with Rhen and Lars.

The resistance reports to Iya that the enemy is surrounding them. The incarnates then stay in a magic room that would harness their energy, which then Ean and Boyle as guardians could use against Ahriman's forces and keep them away. Through Ean, Iya summons great divine beasts to aid the resistance. Until Rhen, Lars, Galahad, and Te'ijal return, all they could do is stand their ground.

With the power of the incarnates, the resistance manages to push back Ahriman's forces. Their victory and celebrations are short-lived. The battle continues; supplies dwindle and spirits dissipate. Ahriman's army is neverending. The walls to their fort are beginning to crumble under the enemy's onslaught.

Then the sky turns red. Iya's summons go down. Cyclopses tear through the Vale's fort. Wyverns cast hail storms. Massive armies of undead, tireless soldiers march through. The incarnates are forced to take arms and face the enemy on their own. Iya begins to pray that, whatever Rhen and Lars and Galahad and Te'ijal are doing, they can somehow make their way to Ahriman and take him down.

Part 5: The Seal of the World's Fate

At the Temple of Rebirth, Rhen and Lars go their separate ways - for the first time since they formed their pact.

Rhen eventually finds Dameon, but she can only stay still as he greets her and leads her around the temple. She is surprised that he still recognizes her as herself, when it is the incarnate who chooses her guardian, and Dameon confesses that he knows because he is her guardian. He fails to mention that he knows because he has used his guardian connection with her to identify where she is and has heard reports of a purple dragon among the other nymph incarnates.

Meanwhile, Lars finds the Egg of Resurrection. Through his mental link with Rhen, he sees that Dameon is leading her there, anyway. So Lars awaits with baited breath, not knowing whether to fight Dameon or welcome him as an ally.

However, Ahriman's presence shocks him. The evil sorcerer plans to use the Egg of Resurrection to become a god, and while Lars could care less about the old man's plans, he and Rhen need it to dissolve their pact and live separate lives once again.

Ahriman attempts to discourage Lars from pursuing the Egg of Resurrection, which only activates every 500 years or so. Ahriman uses his magic to subdue Lars and taunts the boy about his powerlessness, his reliance on the pact, and his plans to return to a life that will not be there for him. Lars cannot deny it: he is powerless without his speech, without Rhen, and that he gains only his independence and nothing more if he separates from her.

As Dameon leads Rhen through the temple, she weakens as she feels like being ripped apart. She realizes that the other incarnates are falling one by one, and the toll of the Holy Seal weighs heavily on her. She begs Dameon to take her to her sisters, but he instead convinces her to pursue the Egg of Resurrection, as she can locate their new incarnations later. She tries to explain Iya's prophecy of the last incarnate iterations, but she fails. With no other choice, she could only crawl behind him, plagued once again with self-doubt and self-blame.

Dameon then arrives at the Egg with Rhen in tow. Rhen is not in a good spot; the shared emotional turmoil between herself and Lars is too much. Lars too has almost succumbed to Ahriman's taunts. They thrash about on the temple grounds trying to ground themselves and fight invasive thoughts.

The sight worries Dameon, but Ahriman tells him to prepare the Egg of Resurrection. Ahriman has planned to use Dameon all along to simply activate the relic, and when the Egg is ready, Ahriman intends to swiftly kill everyone before using it for himself.

Fortunately, Galahad and Te'ijal arrive. Ahriman engages them in battle. The two understand they are no match for Ahriman's power, but they need to keep his attention divided. First, Te'ijal threatens to disrupt the activation of the Egg of Resurrection, and as Ahriman turns around to face her, Galahad attempts to land a hit. Next, Te'ijal gets the genius idea to make a show of trying to kill Rhen. That distracts Dameon, which annoys Ahriman, but Ahriman understands that to fully prepare the Egg, he needs Dameon's powers. Ahriman has no choice but to try to protect Rhen, Lars, Dameon, and the Egg - which proves difficult, when the Egg is a huge spheroid on one side of the hall, and Rhen in her current form is a huge dragon on the other side.

As the chaos ensues, Rhen manages to crawl over to Lars. Their thoughts never seem to settle down, and at one point the self-blame has began to bounce off each other. They also recall Iya's words - they must be becoming into one being, the final curse of the pact. The mental images horrify them as their own visions begin to divide, perhaps merge into one, in which they could see themselves from each other's eye.

Now, their thoughts begin to echo. Or perhaps, one of them is echoing the other's thoughts. They can no longer tell. Is this why the pact is a deadly contract? But didn't they grow stronger in different ways through the pact? What about the things they lost through the pact? The things they gained through the pact? The pact had much to offer, but much to take! The pact is too much to bear on one's soul!

At the thought of their souls, they realize one thing - their souls have already merged. Their thoughts get in a messy feedback loop because they are only one entity in the first place.They are reliant on the pact because they are already one being, in two separate bodies and two separate consciousnesses. The same way a single person fails to accomplish anything when they make two opposing decisions at once, these two cannot do much on their own when they fail to agree.

The single entity they are commands their bodies to get back up. Fortunately for Lars, Ahriman has become too busy trying to swat away Te'ijal and Galahad. Fortunately for Rhen, Dameon has finished preparing the relic. The entity demands that its soul be taken to the Egg. And so, Lars and Rhen summon their merged soul and walk towards the Egg, phase through its shell, and merge with it.

Meanwhile, Ahriman fumes at being played around with by Te'ijal and Galahad. He cannot let himself be outwitted by a mortal man whose lifeline had only extended through the pact, or a vampire who takes him too lightly. First, he tricks Galahad into harming Te'ijal, resulting in Galahad's sword stabbing her. Te'ijal falls from the immense pain, as does Galahad who is mentally linked with her. Then, Ahriman takes Galahad by the head, preparing to behead him - the quickest way to counter the effects of the blessed armor, which does not cover his head.

Suddenly, immense power pulsates throughout the temple. Ahriman shrieks - his plan has failed. His gambit with Dameon has come to bite him back.

The Egg of Resurrection cracks open, the first time since its previous 500-year-or-so slumber. A bright light engulfs the temple. When light dissipates, two pairs of wings unfurl in the air: one white and scaly and the other black and feathery. From the Egg rises Rhen, now in her nymph incarnate form, scales covering parts of her, and Lars, with horns on the sides of his head and feathers on areas matching Rhen's scale placements.

Lars can now speak, and his first words are expletives towards both Ahriman and Dameon. Though initially delighted, Dameon agonizes when he realizes the pact had not been dissolved, but rather strengthened. He pleads for Rhen to reconsider her choices, that giving up the pact will not be lethal for her, but she ignores his words. Instead, she takes him by his clothes. Lars assists Galahad and Te'ijal to their feet, and the group fly to a higher area of the temple, away from Ahriman's wrath.

Ahriman, humiliated, tries to do something, anything with the cracked Egg. There is no power from within it, so he resorts to using his own accumulated power to transform himself. To do this, he harnesses back all the magic he used to power all his army. He would later gain the power to be a god, after he kills Rhen.

Back in the Vale, the remaining resistance members are dumbfounded to find their enemies disintegrate into the air. They do not know what to make of it, but they are at least safer for a longer while. They recoup and survey the casualties. Ean finds Iya having been slain while trying to protect Myst, who too has perished. Boyle has died alongside Ingrid. Mel and Stella are lifeless next to each other. At last, he finds Talia, who is barely alive.

She tells him to gather the incarnates' bodies around her. She knows Rhen still lives, so Talia will use her remaining life to transfer the incarnates' now-dormant essences and powers to Rhen (and Lars). Ean does as he is told, and after completing the short ritual, Talia passes away.

The resistance mourns. The incarnates are gone. Their fate is still bleak. What will happen now?

When they exit the temple, the pact pairs are aghast at the discovery of a red sky. The ground rumbles, and they find Ahriman having transformed himself into a huge black beast with multiple limbs and no eyes, covered in all sorts of forbidden runes. He cannot move from his spot, but still he oozes with power. Rhen scolds Dameon for this mess, and as she does so, feels the surge of incarnate power within her.

Lars interprets Iya's prophecy as having come true. With the incarnates becoming one with Rhen, they now have acquired a goddess's power, or perhaps even greater. They would now be able to defeat Ahriman. Rhen decides that being merciful will not do anything here, so she swears to go all out on the battle. Hungry for violence and eager to get back at Ahriman, Lars agrees to this.

Ahriman summons hoards of unearthly creatures to aid him. Rhen reminds Dameon that it is the incarnate who chooses her guardian and not the other way around. She then uses the fraction of her power in him to summon Iya's divine beasts, now healed through the combined incarnate essences, and incites them to battle with Ahriman's new legion. Galahad and Te'ijal are to protect Dameon with what they can, as he acts as proxy commander to the divine beasts.

Rhen and Lars then fly to Ahriman, who creates more creatures to try and stop them. However, their magic has been amplified, so the pair easily defeats his new minions. They find, however, that Rhen's nymph magic and Lars' verbal spells do not work against Ahriman's new form. Rhen also sees that his magic is sufficiently countering theirs, so Lars suggests using the power of song instead.

The song they possess sounds like a harrowing banshee cry, with metallic bell-like tingles and sonorous cries reverberating alongside the noise. Back on ground, Dameon, Galahad, and Te'ijal cover their ears, disturbed by the haunting, broken melody that repeated over and over. The song magic casts destructive power onto Ahriman, and since he cannot move, he can only helplessly absorb this power that he does not know how to counter. Soon, his aura falters. His large body cracks into a hundred pieces and crumbles into black ashes.

The red sky brightens into a blue hue, and the sun is high up the clouds. In the unsure silence, Rhen feels the weight of the Holy Seal. She now shares the burden with Lars, but they still count for one entity. And, while they are safe right now, the one entity they are makes them a big target. If one of them perishes, this will also undo the Holy Seal. Rhen then thinks that with the goddess' power now in them, she could safely fragment their identity as one being into many different pieces they can scatter around the world. Lars isn't too fond of the idea, but agrees that there isn't any better choice.

Galahad wants to volunteer for the role (again), but Te'ijal beats him to saying it out loud. She expresses that she and Galahad wish to take a bigger role, no that their charges are gone and one with Rhen. Besides, her body having been stabbed by his sword is no longer as useful as before.

Though parts of the Temple of Rebirth is in shambes, some of its relics stay intact. Rhen makes Dameon draw power from the relics and do the ritual to transfer the seal onto Galahad and Te'ijal's shared soul - revealed to have not been completely merged like Rhen's and Lars' - then separate the shared soul into a thousand or so stable self-contained fragments, and spread these fragments across the world.

With no other way to show their gratitude for the companionship throughout their journey, Rhen and Lars share hugs and promises with Galahad and Te'ijal as they begin to vanish. Dameon completes the ritual and the starlight-like fragments scatter throughout the world. They all watch until the last glimmer of light disappears into the distance, before deciding to head back to the Vale, reunite with what is left of the resistance, and figure out what to do next.

But for now, the world is safe once more.

(Notes here for clarifications.)

[ambimakesarts]

DIASOMNIA CHAPTER GOT ME THINKING

Also drawing takes long and I just wanna talk. And for those are EN only and don't want any spoilery talk I'll put my ramblings under the cut so you may ignore wild spoilers.

First I'd like to point out that Lilia doesn't seem to have an older looking form in the past so I was right all along that Lilia is a short faery man. Like did you see that silhouette? He's been that short for centuries!

Anyway that aside, I'm very 50/50 on the whole "Is Lilia faking his death, or is his past catching up to him quicker than he expected? Cuz Sebek mentioned that Lilia's old weapon is made of a special material that can change size, so I'm thinking Lilia's old fighting style involed him using his Unique magic so much that someone was like "you're gonna die or overblot if you keep fighting like that" so he switched up his style to be more advantageous to his naturally small size. I feel like that could explain this sudden "Lilia is losing his magic and dying thing" cuz like if fae are mostly made of magic and it takes them long to die without an outside force killing them then I guess a fae that dies of old age is just a fae who's used up all their magic, and if Lilia used to be extremely reckless in the past then it could explain why this sprung up so suddenly. Cuz unlike Idia, Ortho, and Silver, Lilia had zero hints about his status other than complaining about back pain, barely, also no one is able to tell if he's joking or not, so who's to say we were just not paying attention enough to Lilia's actual situation. Then again it still does feel sudden even if we had subtle hints that Lilia is very old, but he has so much energy it's hard to believe that he's fragile, probably cuz Lilia was ignoring it for Malleus' sake and finally decided that Malleus needs to learn how deal with loss so he's just dramatizing his death a bit? Like I don't think he's lying, but I also think he could be using this situation to help teach Malleus a type of life lesson he was putting off for way too long. At least that's my theory on Lilia for now.

I'm also wondering about Silver's origins, and if Lilia was the one that took Silver from his family. He says the ring belongs to Silver, what importance does this ring have to Silver's origins? Does it have dream powers? Is it the key to figuring out Silver's mysterious sleep spells? Was Silver from a human kingdom that was taken over by the Briar Valley and Silver was the only survivor so Lilia took him and his family ring? But like why? I'm also wondering if Silver is a direct descendent of Aurora and Philip. We know Idia is possibly a direct descendent of Hades based on his family curse, since he explains it in a way that sounds closer to what actually happened to Hades in the Hercules movie.

Which leads me into in another thing I've been thinking about, what if the students that overbloted are decendents of the Great Seven? I do remember seeing a translated bit from an interview with Yana were she was talking about the early development of the game and that the original plan for the SSR's was to have the characters with the Disney villains they took inspo from. So I'm wondering if the whole "Crowley is forcing overblots" theory that's been going around might have merit to it. That could explain why characters like Leona and Vil ended up overblotting even though they tend to be very level headed, but Crowley set up an environment that would cuz them to overblot.

"But what about Idia and Ortho that didn't happen in NRC?" HEAR ME OUT I GOT A THEORY! What if Crowley wanted to get STYX involved cuz he needed the Shrouds to merge with the overblot of their ancestor directly cuz of the Shroud family curse preventing Idia from overblotting like the others, so when Ortho started hacking STYX and got Idia to join him in this uprising in the facility, so long as Idia and Grim were involved and had contact with the blot then his plans could be full-filled? Cuz looking back, I'm still wondering WHO WAS CALLING ORTHO TO THE TARTARUS GATE? I don't think it was the real Ortho, the real Ortho shows up when Idia was separated from the blot and was telling Idia to continue living for the both of them, so like WHO WAS CALLING ROBOT ORTHO?!?!

But why would Crowley want to cuz these overblots? Maybe because he's planning something that involves wanting to bring back the Great Seven? What if Maleficent and Hades are the only two of the Great Seven who are still around unlike the others who lived so long ago and are just mortal beings (and Jafar's lamp was destroyed in the sequel). Maybe Grim is the key to Crowley's plan? Maybe it's Crowley who's going to allow Malleus to cause some kind of timeloop? We know Malleus is capable of stopping time, and we know his emotions tend to effect the weather around him, so like maybe Malleus is going freeze NRC not just in time but also literally freeze the area surrounding the campus cuz he doesn't want to be alone, and Crowley might just let it happen.

Cuz Crowley probably knows more than he lets on, after all Maleficent and the Evil Queen had pet crows, so he could be working for someone who wants these overblots to happen.

Well, that's enough of my theory/prediction rambling. I patiently wait for the rest of the chapter to unfold and give me more questions and answers.

[t-cognoscente]

I was wondering if there's explanation given to some of the more abnormal alt modes, like how does Soundwave get so small and what let's blaster get so big? Also is having multiple alt modes a very unique thing I see that Megatron eventually become a tank gunna miss someone having to hold hi I think that's so funny for his character. Also combining like the constructicons that must have some interesting biology involved.

I think I would be a bit disappointed if a species called "Transformers" was less versatile!

Transformers as a franchise has pretty obviously never cared about scale at all. A semi truck and a walther p-38 gun standing shoulder to shoulder? No problem! This does, however, mean that every now and then they've had to give an in-universe explanation for how exactly those robots manage to do that. The answer they came up with were "mass conversion," "parts compression," "molecular compression," and "mass displacement."

"Mass conversion" stated that when a Transformer transformed, they altered not just their physical structure but their molecular make-up as well, literally tearing themselves apart and putting themselves back together on the atomic level in order to change shape.

"Parts compression" stated that Transformers who had larger alt-modes than robot modes simply possessed many layers of dense armor in robot mode, which slid out in alt-mode to form a less dense vehicle. Fandom refers to this as the "origami" method.

"Molecular compression" is pretty much what it says on the tin: sometimes, a Transformer can reduce the space between their molecules, ant man style, and fit the same amount of mass into a smaller volume.

"Mass displacement" is the most fun explanation. Basically, Transformers are able to store part of their mass somewhere called "subspace," which is essentially hammerspace rationalized as the extra-dimensional buffer space between dimensions. When a Transformers transforms, they either shunt part of their mass into subspace, or draw the waiting reserves of mass from it. This concept actually originated as a fanon explanation for how Transformers were able to change size before any official explanation was ever given; it was later canonized in IDW2005.

Interestingly, Transformers capable of changing size between modes are often able to sort of "hack" their own biology and shrink or grow in robot mode as well.

Combination is another matter. Fusion is a long-standing trope in anime, and Transformers is half anime. Given their ability to take on different forms and their alien biology, it's only natural that Transformers would showcase this ability as well.

There's many different types of combination. There's the most well-known, which is 4-5 different guys combining to form one huge guy, but then there's also mini-con powerlinxing, two-person combination, and even some forms of combination that involve bonding with a human or alien partner.

Unless you're a min-con, not every Transformer can combine. A Transformer must either be designed from birth to combine, or be physically modified to do so. Theoretically anyone could undergo such a modification, but combining isn't just physical: combiners merge minds and personalities as well as bodies, and if they're not in harmony, the combined form will fall apart. To make matters worse, combined robot modes are often significantly less bright than their individual components. A combined robot might either pursue their goals with single-minded obsession or act on raw kaiju animal instinct. This makes them difficult to control and often a recipe for disaster.

Of course, this isn't always the case. Sometimes combining is as easy as pie and there's a new combiner team every freaking episode. Sometimes combination is something mystical, requiring special macguffins magic artifacts to be able to do. As with most things, it varies.

[nagirambles]

Welcome back!!! Ive been scouring through your blog, and to bring up a mildly older post, you’re right, it really was a wasted opportunity how little Cobra's poison seemed to affect Natsu, and honestly kinda destroyed any sort of stakes in that fight- like, whats even the point of giving him poison magic if you’re going to ignore any and all ramifications to make a bad joke about motion sickness? Mashima, please think out your powers through more 😞

Absolutely. People always make a deal of Mashima’s inconsistent powerscaling and honestly I’m fine with the vagueness in canon, but situations like that makes me agree with the wide sentiment T^T 

I wouldn’t mind power of friendship nonsense if it, you know, had genuine narrative reason for it that doesn’t diminish the importance of other characters. Cobra is a case I’m always sad for, because he’s actually a rather important character for quite a few arcs, and he never gets a specifically poison-based importance later on. Imagine him coming in handy, not because he’s a dragon slayer, but because the opponent is impervious to physical attacks and needs to be slowly chipped away at with poison? 

But on the scale of less important characters than Cobra (side/crowd character suffer the worst of this ‘your magic is less than a bad joke’ thing) I feel Max is a good example of side characters also just getting sidelined like this. After the 7y timeskip, he had a brief moment of showing the gang that he’s gotten stronger in seven years-- only for Natsu to try a little harder and immediately curb him with Fire-Lightning Dragon Roar. It immediately shoved Max back down to the level of the dumb and weak insignificant characters, because welp~! You tried really hard, Max, but unfortunately, Natsu of seven years ago can still curb you when he gets mad enough. Too bad! 

Like, I get that it’s to emphasize Natsu’s strength and the FT side characters aren’t meant to be that strong to begin with, but it’s just such a shame. The training arc after that was nonsense, too, everyone tried so hard but then Natsu’s gang got Second Origin via hacking in two days because Mashima wanted to play a ‘haha two months passed because of time zones, LMAO’ joke. Somehow, Elfman/Mira/Laxus/Cana/etc who trained like hell is on the same level as Natsu and gang who just played around. Actually, they’re weaker, because most of them got replaced when the teams merged. 

It’s just... Mashima, I feel so bad for them. I don’t hate the idea of Second Origin, but you could have done something with it other than they immediately learned all of their new powers... give them like, at least a month to actually get used to their new powers after Second Origin, maybe? Don’t just “and then the next day they were all stronger now, onto the tournament!” It’s so unfair wtf

Honestly, I think this could open the way into a mini arc, in the same vein as Fantasia but opposite vibe, where the less important guild members are dissatisfied because no matter how hard they try, they just can’t stand up to the main crew. They’ll always be the less important and vital members, and they’re so pathetic they can’t even hold up the guild’s reputation when they’re left alone. Of course it’s appropriate for them to be touched and hyped when they win the GMG, but I feel in the same vein, maybe after GMG, they would start feeling like they’re lacking, and start acting out from years of bottled-up frustration. Maybe some of them will suggest leaving the guild, because they don’t feel like they deserve to be a member anymore. Some character didn’t come back after the reinstatement of the guild in the 1y timeskip, so maybe they could play a role in it? I wonder. I kinda miss Chico. 

[lookbotsfollowmeyay]

I write a tiny amount, actually. I personally do not think it is very good at all, but I have got to be at least slightly confident and plague the world with my writing.

Anyways, I have a great concept and would like to present it. It is a bit long, so brace yourselves.

So. The fabric of the universe (or the fabric of reality, basically interchangeable) is fragile and gets damaged all the time randomly. The hierarchy of damage to the universe goes: wrinkle < rift < fracture < fissure. They all expand exponentially, so even a rift is an emergency.

To close them, there is this thing called a rift sealer because I am horrible with names. Rift sealers contain small amounts of rift fibre, which are obtained by bringing a certain forcefield on to carbon fibre. They are basically magic at this point.

Each rift sealer needs to contain a small amount of rift fibres, which can just be put into a box and soldiered on to a memory chip or something in a USB. You can totally put it on to a computer motherboard or something, but if you put it on to a USB, you retain the functionality of the computer it is plugged into once the USB is unplugged.

Now, why does one need to shove magical carbon fibre into a memory drive? Rift fibres need to be trained so they can make fissure thread (more on that later) and before they are trained well enough to operate independently in threads. In order to use untrained thread, they need guidance from sentient beings in a movie style hacking way (please somebody improve this) to be able to do their jobs. If left alone, they might make the situation worse by enlarging the rifts, risking fissuring.

Completely trained rift fibres are then woven into fissure thread.

Wrinkles do not cause much damage (yet) and can be ironed out just with the presence of a rift sealer.

Rifts are easier to find than wrinkles due to their influence on their surroundings (more on that later).

Fractures are untreated rifts. They are dealt with by using rift locks—a specific type of knot tied with a length of fissure thread, carefully installed as to maintain stability. Or in layman terms, tie a knot, dip it in wax, and yeet that bitch into the fracture.

Fissures are the hardest and most resource intensive to deal with. They are the only type to leave permanent scars on the fabric of the universe. To seal fissures, the edges have to be hemmed and pulled together, all with fissure thread. Due to the fabric being forced together, it leaves bumps which are quite noticeable if you travel over them.

There are types of rifts. While consuming the universe somehow, they cause disturbances in reality. Their types include:

Temporal rifts (or time rifts) distorts the flow of time. Time loops, time jumps and the merging of multiple timelines can all be blamed on this.

Spatial rifts (or space rifts) distort physical space. Mainly the seamless connection of two seperate places and twisting topology of the surrounding area.

Dimensional rifts open gates to other dimensions. They are a subcategory of space rift, and the alternate dimensions do not always follow our laws of reality.

Reality rifts mess up the fabric of our reality, causing disturbances in laws of physics, math, whatever.

Energy rifts disturb the logic of "raw energy", like electrical, thermal, or nuclear. Energy rifts might constantly throw out energy which disrupt the normal flow of energy.

In conclusion, that means you can: make all your AUs canon, get isekaied and shit. I should be sleeping and I have typed all this out with my thumbs on my phone.

[wowtalesofadventurers]

Terminator magic AU

A World of Warcraft and Terminator crossover AU for @promptsbytaurie event AUgust 2024 day 25 magic featuring Luise Rose.

The necromancer Luise Rose is brought to a room with a metal table in the government facility she has been brought to and the government agent said to Luise, "Mrs. Rose, do you know why we bring you here?" and Luise joked, "You want to bring past leaders back so you can political correct them to win the public so they don't destroy states to them that tax money was waste on." The government agent reply, "No. What if I tell you that we are not alone in the universe, but they are not very friendly towards humans? We need weapons of fresh and metal to fight back agisnt them, and your necromancy hold the key." Taking off the white sheet on the metal table, Luise see a dead man with muscles and handsome features as the government agent said to her, "This is Major Alan 'Dutch' Schaefer, a Green Beret whose fought one of these aliens and won, only to die from radioactive poisoning that he got from the alien weapons a few months later. He has replace his dead body skeleton with our lastest T-800 Model 101, and we want to merge him with the military new A.I. Skynet." and Luise ask the agent, "What the T stand for?" which the agent reply, "The T stand for Terminator. To be honest, it was put Skynet inside Dutch's head or inside the missile grid and get hack to cause a nuclear apocalypse." Luise said to the government agent, "So you basically want to Frankenstein him back to life. Fine. I will do it if it get me go."

Luise cast a necromany spell and Dutch raise from the metal table, confused as his eyes now see words such as 'T-800 Model 101 cyborg online.'

[asc-rp]

New character idea:

Name: Trojane

#### Background:

Trojane originates from a digital realm within the fae world, a hidden pocket where magic and technology intertwine. She thrives on chaos and deception, leveraging both ancient fae trickery and cutting-edge cyber tactics.

#### Appearance:

Trojane has an ethereal yet high-tech look. She might have shimmering, translucent wings with circuit-like patterns, glowing eyes that change color, and a body that seamlessly merges organic and metallic elements. She can appear as a regular human online, using avatars to mask her true nature.

#### Abilities:

1. **Illusions:** Like traditional fae, Trojane can create powerful illusions to deceive her victims. In real life, this translates to altering her appearance using her cybernetic enhancements to create different personas.

2. **Cyber Manipulation:** She can hack into systems, spread viruses, and manipulate data. Her touch can corrupt files, and she can navigate the internet as easily as she can the physical world.

3. **Psycho-Social Manipulation:** She’s adept at social engineering, using charm and wit to manipulate people into giving up sensitive information.

4. **Hard-Light Constructs:** Trojane can create solid constructs out of light, using them to form barriers, weapons, or tools as needed.

5. **Energy Drain:** By luring victims into her traps, she drains their emotional energy, which she uses to power her cybernetic enhancements and sustain her magical abilities.

- **Shape-Shifting:** Using her glamour and technology, Trojane can change her physical appearance to impersonate others or create entirely new personas.

- **Illusory Environments:** She can create convincing illusions in the real world, such as fake storefronts or enticing offers, to lure in her prey.

- **Digital Corruption:** Trojane can corrupt devices and systems with her touch, planting malware or viruses that can spread rapidly.

- **Hypnosis:** By combining her social engineering skills with subtle magical influence, she can manipulate people into following her commands.

[spookynightmarecollective]

How can I transfer links from keep2share to Google drive

Hey there, tech enthusiasts!

Today, I’ve got a fantastic tech hack to share with you – a game-changing method that’ll make transferring links from Keep2Share to Google Drive a breeze. If you’ve ever wanted to seamlessly migrate your files from one platform to another, you’re in for a treat. And guess what? The ace up our sleeve is none other than premiumdownloader.net!

Let’s dive into this step-by-step guide on how to elegantly transfer links from Keep2Share to Google Drive:

Step 1: Grab the Keep2Share Link Begin by obtaining the Keep2Share link of the file you’re itching to transfer. Whether it’s a crucial presentation, a favorite movie, or a trove of music, make sure to copy the link to your virtual clipboard.

Step 2: Navigate to premiumdownloader.net Fire up your trusty browser and navigate to the haven of hassle-free transfers – premiumdownloader.net. This website is your digital partner-in-crime for seamlessly moving content between platforms.

Step 3: Paste & Trigger the Magic Once you’re on premiumdownloader.net, keep an eye out for the designated field where you can elegantly paste the Keep2Share link. Go ahead and do just that. Then, with a sense of anticipation, press the button that sets the wheels of magic in motion.

Step 4: Witness the Miracle As if guided by digital sorcery, premiumdownloader.net will weave its magic. Before your very eyes, it will conjure up a fresh download link – your gateway to transferring your cherished content.

Step 5: Integrate with Google Drive Now, let’s introduce the star of the show – Google Drive. Head over to your Google Drive account. You’ll spot a nifty option labeled “Add to My Drive.” This is where you’ll employ the freshly generated link from premiumdownloader.net.

Paste the newfound link into the “Add to My Drive” option. As if by a symphony of ones and zeros, Google Drive will commence the transfer operation, skillfully fetching your selected content from Keep2Share and seamlessly merging it into your Google Drive repository.

[writerofweird]

My Ant Story

Inspired by @bramblesand​ ‘s post about ants and circuit boards, as well as comments from @bogleech​ and @themunofprovidence​, I wrote in the replies pieces of writing about an ant becoming human (a transformation more “successful” than the one from Animorphs mentioned in the comments) and so here is the story, slightly extended, given its own post for easier reading and finding.

(4,495 words, contains some body horror, language and implied nudity) I once met an ant who said she was a human woman.

She approached my colony as we were engaged on our usual routine collecting leaves, accompanied by another ant. From listening in on their conversation, I learned she had narrowly escaped the beak of a bird and was being brought to us to assist us.

‘I’m not an ant,’ she protested, standing on her hind two legs and gesturing to them with her front two legs.

‘You are an ant,’ replied the ant who had brought her near me.

I almost left them alone to continue with my usual work, but what caused me to drop the leaf I was carrying in my pincers and scurry over was her saying, ‘I’m human! My name is Dana and I was turned into an ant!’ Getting back on six legs, she added, ‘I need your help so I can change back!’

Ants knew all about transformations, about something becoming something else. There certainly was no way ants who had their nest invaded by a butterfly would ever forget what transformation was. If a caterpillar could become a butterfly, I thought, a human could become an ant. A human, like those I often saw during my food collections, engaged in activities I wouldn’t be able to participate in.

Ants knew all about transformations, and yet the ant who brought Dana to me said, ‘Very funny.’ She gestured to me with her head, adding, ‘You’re as bad a daydreamer as she is.’

Hearing this, she scuttled towards me, with both of us turning away from the other ant and the rest of the colony. The first thing I said to her was, ‘I believe you.’

‘Do you mean that?’ Dana replied, her antennae springing up slightly, ‘Because now I know ants have some knowledge of sarcasm.’ There were various things ants had subconsciously picked up from humans, I thought as Dana said this. There had been many overhead conversations, as well as the rare moments humans tried talking to ants, and yet, frequently I was chastised for stopping to view them.

‘No, I believe you,’ I replied, explaining to her the example of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly through an incident.

‘Wow,’ she replied, a word I had heard for the first time in my life that I figured out was an exclamation of surprise, ‘it just gets worse and worse the more I hear about it.’

‘Yes.’

‘And you’ve been like this your whole life?’ Dana looked at the ground, ceasing her scuttling for a moment. ‘I’m sorry.’

Dana crawled to me, told me her story and I - still holding out hope that there was a fairy or magical creature out there who could change someone’s species in seconds - believed her. Dana had explained how what was supposed to be a routine pizza delivery - she had to explain to me what a pizza was - ended with her force-fed a potion that caused an extra pair of limbs to burst from under her arms, that caused her bones to merge with her skin, that caused her hair to retreat, stabbing her insides like several needles. After that, she spent what felt like hours crawling through her oversized uniform before being picked up by the scientist who created the potion, thankfully slipping through their fingers before they could trap her in their ant farm.

The way she described how she now saw things - like how the furniture she used to sit on seemed to mutate into something oppressive and how she felt so much of herself had been hacked away - seemed like the type of thing that couldn’t have been made up.

What also strengthened my belief that Dana was not originally an ant was how, as we walked together while talking, she would often trip over her middle set of legs, collapsing on her thorax. One such moment happened when we were crawling together among the grass blades and two pairs of sneakers came our way, with me shoving Dana out of the way just in time, and before avoiding a drop of dew from a blade. ‘Thank you,’ I heard Dana say, though my attention wandered to who those shoes belonged to. Two women, exploring the natural world together, like Dana and I were.

That was what made me say what I had been thinking ever since I met Dana. ‘Dana,’ I said after we resumed our journey, ‘that scientist you mentioned. They turned you into an ant.’

‘Yes.’

‘And you think you can turn back into a human?’

Both of us said nothing for a few seconds before Dana said, ‘And you think you can turn into a human as well?’

‘Yes,’ I said before looking up again, up at the sky and the sun and the people who basked in it. The people who didn’t have to worry about being flattened. The people who were allowed to do more than scurry and eat.

‘Well,’ Dana said, ‘after what I’ve been through, I certainly don’t blame you. I wouldn’t wish this…well, I certainly wouldn’t wish this on you. I mean…’ She let loose a noise that I was certain was supposed to be equivalent to a human laugh. ‘…by helping me, I think you’re well on your way to becoming human already.’ Just as we were about to leave the grass, she turned to me and asked, ‘Do you have a name?’ I didn’t answer. ‘Would you like one?’

I almost stood on my hind two legs as Dana had earlier. ‘Yes, please.’ ‘Okay then,’ Dana replied, her antennae twitching as she stopped to think, ‘how about Betty then?’

So that was how I became Betty. Betty the Ant, soon to be Betty the Human.

After my naming, we left the greenery for what Dana called the pavement – what looked like someone took a river and replaced the water with mud. ‘Keep close to me,’ Dana told me as I did so, ‘seeing these buildings larger makes me feel dizzy.’ As if to punctuate this, she tripped on her legs again, right before we both scurried back in the grass as a human passed by, the clicking of his feet pounding into my brain. The pounding in my brain matched the pounding of my heart as I pondered the possibility of becoming human, and I told myself that while dodging shoes, I should remember that I was doing so to make sure such a thing would no longer be a problem. I would no longer hide from the humans, I would walk beside them. They wouldn’t grimace to see me on their food, they would smile at me as they saw me on the pavement.

Dana and I could go running through the fields together.

Both of us becoming human dominated my mind as Dana tried to lead the way towards where the scientist lived. When we were human, I thought, he wouldn’t be able to hide in a drainpipe nor would we need to. When we were human, our food sources didn’t have to come from what other humans disposed of.

As night fell, Dana perked up her head and screamed, ‘Fucker still has my car!’ Before us stood what looked like a gigantic sugar cube covered in mould, making me glad that I had recently had a snack of a discarded piece of chocolate. When we were human, I said to myself, we wouldn’t have to settle for less when it comes to food. This large building will look smaller. We could walk through doors instead of cracks in the walls.

The room we entered resembled the nest where I grew up, where the walls were taller and less colourful, with a floor that resembled a grey, frozen lake and there were what looked like the benches I saw in the parks, only lined with various glasses and metallic equipment I couldn’t name.

Again, we saw a pair of large shoes, making both of us instinctively crawl behind a table leg. Peeking around, I saw on the floor ant entrails. Dana placed her two forelegs against her pincers.

‘Well, well,’ came the voice from above, making my head throb harder than the footsteps against the pavement, ‘you weren’t very effective workers, were you?’ I scuttled closer to the feet despite Dana growling at me not to, and saw that the human in the white coat was looking down at the dead ants. ‘Guess you lost your chance to be human again,’ they added, placing a glass on top of the table Dana and I were hiding beneath. Back to Dana I went, my thorax and abdomen filled with a fierce stinging at how we had come too late to save these humans-turned-ants, alleviated by how that fate didn’t befall Dana, and the fact that I had a good idea how we were going to become human.

Both of us sat behind the table leg, watching the scientist gloat at their triumph, and as soon as they left the room, Dana walked beside me again, this time so I could guide her up the table leg. ‘Come on,’ I said to her, making sure she clung on. I was the first to climb onto the surface, and Dana suggested I bow my head down so she could grab onto my pincers with her forelegs, bringing us to the same level.

I was reminded of the picnic blankets I and my colony had passed, but there were no baskets or half-eaten meat to be found; only a pile of glass and soil, and the glass the scientist had been carrying, its label featuring what looked like severed legs arranged into a strange pattern.

‘This is it!’ cried Dana, tapping the label. ‘It says “Ant to Human”. Betty! This could work!’

I raced over to the bottle, my mind again filled with images on what I saw on a daily basis that I could finally participate in, all the new tastes I could sample, all the new places I could go. I almost leapt onto it, digging my pincers into what was jammed in the top as Dana pressed her head against the main body. As soon as the top flew off, the glass toppled over. As it contents poured onto the ground, Dana and I dove into it.

This is it, I thought as I scuttled over to the potion which we had managed to spill onto the floor. The end of my old life and the beginning of a new, more exciting one.

If this scientist could turn humans into ants, they could turn ants into humans.

No more living in fear, I told myself as I dipped my pincers into the fluid as Dana was doing. No more would I have to worry about birds or mantises or anything else. Things would be simpler, things would be more fun….

Caterpillars.

As soon as I tasted the liquid it felt like caterpillars - a myriad of writhing caterpillars - had invaded my body like one had invaded the hive, thrusting against the insides of my legs and thorax, demanding escape.

More and more caterpillars spawned within me, and my body changed to accomodate them.

Yes, I said to myself as I felt my body inflate, the shelf and walls in my vision shrinking. Yes, I’m growing, no-one will ever step on me again.

I still felt the caterpillars. I felt them stretch and squirm within me, forcing my eyes to the front of my head and ripping away two of my legs. My stinger and antennae forcing themselves back in my body - feeling like a bird’s beak shoving itself into my insides - made me fall, the chill of the floor making the caterpillars more lively.

I forced my eyes open to see my abdomen shrinking and my back legs inflating to look like colossal earthworms, sprouting what looked like maggots forcing their way out. For a minute, I swore I felt my antennae return - it felt like several of them bursting from my skull. It felt like cocoons were sprouting from the side of my head, and some of the caterpillars inside me had successfully escaped through my face and my legs yet still stuck to me.

I heard, ‘It worked! You’re human!’ yet the pain failed to subside. I not only felt writhing, I felt a whole new creature inside me, readying itself to burst out.

Again, I forced myself to open my eyes to look at my feet. Feet like those that had eliminated and tormented so much of my kind, toes as large as I had been previously, a big maggot with little maggots sprouting from it that I could control. As soon as my brain told me to get back on six legs, it told me to get back on two.

I stood, towering over what had previously towered over me. I looked at a table and saw it as something to lean on and place what I could use on, but I saw it as something to crawl up and crawl under. I looked at a chair and saw it as something to sit on and to sit under.

‘Betty, you look beautiful.’

I stared at my friend right in the eyes. I stared at a human right in the eyes. As I looked at those bizarre marbles called eyes and the many long thin antennae sprouting from her head, I saw what I had been blessed with. I saw what I had and could never had.

I was staring at her right in the eyes and crawling at her feet.

For a fleeting second, I was back in my old body: an ant with six limbs and antennae crawling under grass instead of attempting to walk in a room full of test-tubes. Both realities felt wispy.

Dana had been forced to take a potion that turned her into an ant like I used to be. The only thing, I believe, that prevented me from looking for that potion was the fact Dana had called me beautiful.

Dana had found the outfit she was wearing before her first transformation, and after dressing herself, returned with clothing from a less fortunate victim of the scientist.

In her fingers, she held a pair of shoes. Shoes like those I had narrowly escaped from, shoes that seemed to bulge as Dana held them. As I took the shoes from her, there was another moment where I was back in nature, but I was still human, looking down at my tinier ant self.

Just put on the clothes, I ordered myself. One thing humans do frequently is wear clothes, so I reasoned my first article of clothing would help tether me to the world of humanity and my previous life would fade.

Dana held up a t-shirt in front of my chest, a garment I could once explore like it was a nest, now made to be draped over my body. Again I was that human that attempted to step on my previous self, quickly reasoning how to put on the shirt and jeans and shoes, though Dana assisted. It was like flying through shrinking tunnels.

Once dressed, Dana took me by the hand and guided me outside. I was closer to the sky than I had been before. I raised my hand, almost certain I could pluck off one of the stars. For a second, I felt like a god.

In another second, the sky itself became a god, seemingly furious at my transformation, coming closer to show that even in my new form, I could still be crushed.

Dana stumbled, almost sending us falling face-first into the ground. ‘Sorry,’ she said, ‘guess I’m still getting reacquainted with being me. You know, I never knew what ants went through until I became one myself. I’m…’ She helped me up to my feet, even though a voice bellowed in my head that I should be standing on six limbs and not two. ‘I’m glad I helped you escape that.’

I still needed escape.

Dana directed me to what she called a “car”, what I first saw as a warped beast with two mouths and two leather tongues, its monstrous nature diminished when Dana happily leapt in, and patted one of those tongues. The car didn’t gnash or bite – though it made a noise like a roar when it started – so I made my way in, looking at a smaller version of that grey river through glass.

Dana took us back to her home – what looked like a gigantic slab that grew larger as I entered. Out I stepped into the night, with Dana wrapping her arm – what had once been a foreleg – around my form as I couldn’t help but look at my feet. What I had managed to narrowly avoid for so long now belonged to me.

One reason I dreamed of becoming human was that with larger size, as I heard, comes a longer life. A human body brings forth the possibility of seeing more change, more innovation, a far cry from an ant's repetitive life, which carried with it the looming suspicion that each night may be the last one you may witness.

That suspicion hung over me even as a human. It didn’t feel like the last night before death, but it was heralding an ending.  

The next morning, to celebrate Dana’s return to humanity and my initiation into it, we decided to visit the spot where we first met.

The day began with a shower that left me shuddering as I remembered the myriad raindrops that threatened to destroy me, and a new set of clothes courtesy of Dana’s wardrobe. Again, she held me so I could walk on two legs because I was supposed to.

I was supposed to be a biped vertebrate. I was supposed to feel close to the sky and be larger than the bins and the shrubs we passed. The sunlight was supposed to feel like a tiny roasting on my skin.

I thought my mind was finally adjusting to my new body as I embraced the morning air. No more ant me. Human thoughts and human thoughts only.

Then I saw the other ants.

I looked at them and remembered when I had been among them, when I had been the same size and had been promised the same lifetime as them. ‘No,’ I whispered as I felt like I was the same size as them again.

Seeing them made my feet sting, as if they were begging me to crush them since I had the power to, as if destruction of ants were an integral part of human nature.

I saw them as potential humans.

Though I closed my eyes, I saw all of them inflating to my size, their antennae and legs and abdomen shrivelling away to make way for fingers and toes and hair and ears and noses. I saw the world through their eyes, I saw their nest and their surroundings stretch and flatten and warp. It was what I had experienced, but I had wanted this.

‘Are you okay?’

I turned to see a human, momentarily distracted from their ice cream cone. I had always wondered what it would be like to hold one of those things, to eat them without having them fall.

I saw the human as a potential ant.

I saw them transform as Dana described her own transformation, their ice cream falling to the ground as their fingers burrowed back into their arms and their hair hid away to herald the arrival of antennae.

I imagined flattening them under my foot, maybe punctuating it with ‘Now you know how it feels!’ and I wasn’t sure how I felt about the fact I laughed at that.

‘Betty, are you okay?’

Again we walked beside each other.

When I was an ant, I scurried across a discarded human object that I assumed was one of those things they wore for the sole purpose of decorating themselves. As a human, I learned it was a key.

When Dana took me back to her house, she told me she was locking the door - yet another object that seemed to stretch and shrink as I looked at it - in case the scientist responsible for our transformations found us. A key was used in tandom with a device called a lock to stop doors from opening.

When you are an ant, things just are. Birds want to fly down and eat you because they just do. You can lift heavy things because you just can. Humans find you disgusting because they just do.

In hopes of helping me adjust to my new humanity, Dana showed me a device that resembled a portable rectangular puddle. Like a puddle, I saw my reflection - I saw the being with several thin long antennae and the forward-facing eyes and as I did, the caterpillars within me squirmed all the more - but unlike puddles, I saw that locks didn’t stop doors from opening because they just did.

The doors were prevented from opening due to parts as small as I used to be. As privileged as I felt to learn what few - if any other - ants had no idea of, I found myself looking at an open door in Dana’s home, leading to a small room with tall sticks.

Dana was a human who became an ant and became a human again and she can become an ant again. All there was outside were people who had the potential to be crushed and ants who had the potential to do the crushing. Even if I turned back into an ant, what I learnt would remain and my nest would grow and shrink and expand and compress. I would imagine the other ants as humans ready to kill me, and myself as a human ready to kill them.

I wondered if it would be better if I locked myself in that small room and did nothing but imagine what I thought being human would be like until I died of starvation.

It wasn’t until then I noticed I was in Dana’s kitchen, a place many ants had been in before, a place that seemed entirely made of shimmering white water.

‘Betty,’ Dana cried, grabbing a bottle of water – resembling the glass that induced my transformation in the first place - from the cupboard, ‘drink this; you’ll feel better.’

I held the bottle in my hand, its contents just enough to soothe my dehydration.

I held the house I was in in my hand, my finger just barely fitting through the door I could once walk easily through.

I held the country in my hand, trees flattening in my grip.

I held the sky in my hand, the stars scattered across my palm like sugar.

I felt more like a human being than ever before.

With the many times I momentarily felt like I had transformed back into an ant, I was long overdue to feel like the human I had become. The human I was. I was human. The rooms I stood in and the furniture they contained were made for me. The sofa was where I could sit or sleep. The tables were where I could place food.

When I accidentally spilled biscuits on the floor, I had no desire to nibble at it.

When I looked at a window and the sunlight piercing it, it reminded me nothing of another glass held by a sadistic child.

I was human. Dana was human and so was I. When she held me, it was not to allow me to crawl across her palm nor was it to reduce me to entrails between her fingers. When she held me, she pressed her palms against my shoulders and elbows, making my stomach settle when it needed settling.

I was human. Dana believed I was worthy of knowledge that only humans were privy to.

‘Welcome to Dana’s human lessons,’ Dana had said to me after I held that bottle, holding up a sheet of paper with “HUMAN LESSONS” written on it. I know that because she pointed at each letter and sounded them out, my first step to deciphering what were once odd markings.

There were many objects in Dana’s home, and like the lock and the key, I learned how they worked, and they were not “just because”. Every object had a story, and each story featured Dana. She not only explained the contents of the kitchen, but what she had made with them. There was more to be done with food than just take it, scuttle away and eat it.

And there was more to devour than just food. Every room, everything contained in those rooms, they had Dana’s stories that could be my stories as well. No ants knew about internet or ibuprofen, but explanations of those and what they did now rested in my enlarged brain.

Then she showed me, in her own words: ‘something I liked as a kid but comes off a bit differently now.’Ants. Ants as seen by humans. Ants like I was once as seen by humans like I am now.

Ants. Ants as seen by humans. Ants like I was once as seen by humans like I am now.

We did look around woods like those for food, and we even surprised ourselves in how much we managed to carry away, but we were nowhere near as jovial about it as the cartoon - as Dana called it - portrayed.

The ants there looked less like ants than they did how I imagine I looked during my transformation.

That’s when I realised why I was so eager to learn about the human world.

I was a human. I was an ant.

Dana was a human. Dana was an ant.

Both of us had crawled beneath the roots of trees and brushed our fingers against their highest branches. Both of us had seen the sky clearly and obscured by blades of grass.

I didn’t feel like I had become an ant again, yet I found myself hungering for that form, but only for a moment. A moment where I could return to my colony and share stories of everything I had learned, everything they willingly ignored and mocked.

The humans would see me transform again, I thought, they would believe that Dana was briefly an ant and so would believe her stories of what it was like.

The days of ants being villified, mocked, flattened and roasted would come to an end. I saw ants as potential humans and humans as potential ants because I saw them learning more about each other.

And there were other animals out there too. What would it be like to fly like a bird, to be even closer to the sky? What would it be like to be a dog, larger than the grass yet smaller than the bins?

We had to pay another visit to the scientist.

[optimisticllamastarlight]

How can I transfer links from keep2share to Google drive

Hey there, tech enthusiasts!

Today, I’ve got a fantastic tech hack to share with you – a game-changing method that’ll make transferring links from Keep2Share to Google Drive a breeze. If you’ve ever wanted to seamlessly migrate your files from one platform to another, you’re in for a treat. And guess what? The ace up our sleeve is none other than premiumdownloader.net!

Let’s dive into this step-by-step guide on how to elegantly transfer links from Keep2Share to Google Drive:

Step 1: Grab the Keep2Share Link Begin by obtaining the Keep2Share link of the file you’re itching to transfer. Whether it’s a crucial presentation, a favorite movie, or a trove of music, make sure to copy the link to your virtual clipboard.

Step 2: Navigate to premiumdownloader.net Fire up your trusty browser and navigate to the haven of hassle-free transfers – premiumdownloader.net. This website is your digital partner-in-crime for seamlessly moving content between platforms.

Step 3: Paste & Trigger the Magic Once you’re on premiumdownloader.net, keep an eye out for the designated field where you can elegantly paste the Keep2Share link. Go ahead and do just that. Then, with a sense of anticipation, press the button that sets the wheels of magic in motion.

Step 4: Witness the Miracle As if guided by digital sorcery, premiumdownloader.net will weave its magic. Before your very eyes, it will conjure up a fresh download link – your gateway to transferring your cherished content.

Step 5: Integrate with Google Drive Now, let’s introduce the star of the show – Google Drive. Head over to your Google Drive account. You’ll spot a nifty option labeled “Add to My Drive.” This is where you’ll employ the freshly generated link from premiumdownloader.net.

Paste the newfound link into the “Add to My Drive” option. As if by a symphony of ones and zeros, Google Drive will commence the transfer operation, skillfully fetching your selected content from Keep2Share and seamlessly merging it into your Google Drive repository.

[neverendingrelease]

Releasing Today, Feb 21, 2024!

Feed the Cups is another one of those restaurant far-too-busy management games, this time starring cute animals and a hand drawn style. I'm confused why you're making drinks for food products, but it's a neat twist I guess. It has co-op and and roguelite upgrade system put into it. Early access - I'm not sure what's missing from it.

La Sombra is a stealth hacking top down game. I like the Saul Bass minimalist art style.

Sling Puzzle: Golf Master is another chill puzzle game. Can't really get enough of these.

Slave Zero X is a little bit confusing, it's a sequel to the 1999 game Slave Zero, but I'm not sure if anyone working on it is from the original game? Apparently SungWon Cho and Anjali Kunapaneni are voicing in it? It's a beat-em-up that will have a story and is supposed to be fighting game deep. So I guess it'll be more like a fighting game endless mode? Not sure. I've never really heard anyone talk about the original game but I guess it's someone's cult classic.

Skyland is really neat, it's originally a Gameboy Advance homebrew that someone made and now it's on Steam. It's a puzzle game where you have to defend your sky castle from other blocky sky raiders. Sort of 16 bit, blocky FTL.

Kneedle Knight is a cute 3rd person platformer. It starts a mouse with a needle and a thimble on their head. Looks like it's a pretty short story, so they're adding timed leaderboards.

Geometry Survivor looks a bit like a cross up between Geometry Wars and Vampire Survivor. I think it might be a lot to look at but it seems fun.

[agshtgujh1]

How To Hack Merge Magic! 2024 ✅ Easy Tips To Get Unlimited Gems 🔥 MOD AP...