https://chyoa.com/story/My-Roommate-Is-Possessed-By-A-Brain-Slug.72401 I couldn't get this idea out of my head, so...expect a very slow burn, slice-of-life, extremely fucked up kind of story. Story-in-progress note dump, spoilers ahead. ___________________________ Cast: Mel Arkwright: 18, orphan. Gas Station Attendant. Level 1 [Red Shirt] 000: At 5'8", skinny, with short-cropped brown hair and brown eyes, neither handsome nor pretty, neither booksmart nor developmentally disabled, Mel felt like the median of humanity. 001: One of the few things that had stayed with Mel was the admonition to do a little every day. Stretches, push-ups, crunches, toe-touches. He did ten sets of each, then stepped out into the main room. 001: The orphanage hadn't sent him out into the world with a smartphone or a laptop, just a basic savings account at a federal credit union and a webmail address. 001: stolen library pen 001: bar of basic yellow soap 002: two uniforms in clear plastic envelopes, 005: microwaveable meals. Pad Thai, curry, jambalaya. 005: box of tissues 008: generic plastic razor for way less here, as well as a case of pre-packaged dried ramen noodle cups 009: The credit chip in their hands 018: a small stovetop pot that was just the right size to hold a cup of ramen, a wooden spoon to replace the plastic one he'd been using, a small plastic three-pack of kitchen knives, and a green scrubby and dish soap to clean them with. 018: Fabric carry-out bag 022: 1,001 Ways to Cook Ramen and Slug Sutra: Everything You Wanted To Know About Brain Slugs But Were Afraid to Ask 022: Underwear is gone [Jordan has it. Sometimes wears it.] 038: How To Talk To Brain Slugs. 041: Writing wasn't Mel's best skill. Mel could, barely, do it, but the school hadn't emphasized it and he hadn't had much experience with it. And it wasn't as if he had anyone else to write to. No diary or journal to keep. 041: As he entered the building, Mel glanced at the ancient, brass-fronted block of mailboxes. He stopped in front of the one for 501; the same keycard that unlocked the door to the apartment worked here too. The box stood empty, as it usually did. 041: It was a report from a place called Penwyn Labs. Sample from Mel Arkwright processed. Mel frowned at the numbers. No STIs present. Sperm count high. Motility excellent. Mutation percentage low. [...] "You're clean. And virile." Jordan Carmichael: 23. Brain slug host. Gas Station Attendant. Level 2 [Blue Shirt] 000: Joined the Seacouver Hive six weeks ago. [Actually 24 Dec 2054] 000: Soft blue eyes. Straw-colored hair that had once been shaved on the right side, but which was now growing out, down to her shoulders. 000: She was dressed in athletic pants and a wifebeater, her small breasts clearly outlined against the white fabric, her toes still carrying the chipped paint from the last time she'd painted them. 000: Standing up, he could see how frail she was, which accentuated her height. [6'1"] 000: There were little studs in her ears, five on each side. Placed there and never taken out, Mel guessed. 002: A soft pink hint of nipple visible for the briefest of moments beneath her arm. 002: Freckles on her shoulder. 003: After they finished, Jordan immediately went to brush her teeth. 003: her toothbrush was pink, with odd little purple ridges and a heart symbol—what he thought of as a girl's toothbrush 005: a dozen eggs, a couple pounds of raw vegetables, a carton of yogurt, and more tofu. All whole foods or generic store brands, nothing fancy, nothing extra. 005: Jordan, naked and pale, was in a squat by the bucket. He could clearly see her thin legs, the bony knees, a dark shadow that hid her crotch. She pressed something to her mouth. Cheeks hollowed as she sucked at it. With a sudden sick realization in the pit of his stomach, Mel realized she was sucking on the cum-soaked tissues from his late-night masturbation session. 008: he noticed that she seemed to clean up after herself as soon as she made any kind of mess 010: straight-razor 012: Blue eyes staring ahead, blonde hair just touching her clavicle. The small, soft breasts with the pink nipple as plain as the smooth, hairless crotch with its soft slit just visible, like the cleft of a peach. 013: Jordan had bought the February issue of SLUG FUCKER MONTHLY (also has Jan issue) 020: They weren't porn star bodies. They were women. Skinny, pale, with that softness that comes from not really focusing on building muscles or strength, just the wiry muscles needed to walk miles, carry groceries, lift boxes of product, and push the swifter around. Yet for all that, he felt his heart leap as he dared to let his gaze linger on where their sternum was visible on the skin between their breasts, the little dimple of their navels, where their hip bones showed—and yes, down there, the small slits. 031: The apartment manager was there, and the two made signs with their hands. Mel blinked, exhausted. He hadn't known that Jordan could sign. 036: "She spent her whole life running away from the world. Jordan's two years older; our parents divorced when I was three and she was five. Mom got custody. After that, mom had a succession of bad relationships. Abusive husbands, boyfriends, boyflings. We spent a lot of time at the library reading manga, as far away from the house as possible, or when we were inside, being as quiet and unseen as possible. Jordan grew up trying to please people. Every boyfriend hurt her a little more. Every breakup made her retreat a little more into herself. Abandoned friends. Had trouble keeping jobs. She never finished her degree, because she thought she was going to marry her boyfriend and have babies ever after. When they broke up, she was desolate. Absolutely spent. Not even tears. Just empty inside. The last time I saw her, almost three months ago, she'd been talking about having nothing left. That she'd made all the preparations, and soon no one would be able to hurt her that way again. I was worried, but it wasn't the first time she'd had a bad break. Then she disappeared, and I thought—I was really worried she—" 039: "Her last three boyfriends cheated on her," Rachel said after a while. "They lied to her. One of them stole money. The last one was the worst, because he tried to be the nicest around other people, but in private he controlled her, tried to mold her. Made her leave her friends. Put her down and criticized her constantly. The way she talked, how she styled her hair, how much makeup she wore. Threw out books he didn't want her to read. Made her quit college. Picked out the dresses she would wear. And she tried to convince herself that it was love. That this was what it took to be happy. I don't think he actually hurt her physically, but . . . she came home early one day. He was fucking his girlfriend in the kitchen, just railing this other woman in the ass on the floor Jordie had mopped that morning. When Jordie reached out to his mother, the bitch told her that maybe if Jordie didn't want him to wander, she should work harder to satisfy him in bed. Turned it back on my sister as if it was her own fault." [...] "The apartment was in his name. She owned almost nothing at that point. Jordie had sacrificed almost everything she had to be with him. And he was bored with the relationship. Bored with trying to hide the cheating. Like he'd gotten what he wanted and was ready to trade up. Which eventually he did. Another woman. Rich family. Better opportunities. He turned her out. Just changed the locks, threw her stuff out, and ghosted her." [...] "She tried to pick up the pieces, but it was like something went out of her. She lost interest in life, in eating, in everything. I wanted to get her to a psychiatrist, treated for depression—and then she started disappearing. Hours at a time. Out in the city. Then back at home, to sleep and spend hours online. I didn't know, then, anything about brain slugs. You can't just walk up off the street and join. They run a physical, and there's a government-mandated psychiatric exam. She told me about that. I thought she was getting help." Brain slug: 000: Something wiggled behind her head. Soft and gelatinous. 000: The thing that pulsed softly, just visible on the back of her neck 001: The little antennae on the slug waved 002: The brain slug, oddly semi-transparent, the pink insides visible. 002: the slug slowly shifted color, from semi-translucent to an emerald green 004: Spicy's brain slug had shifted position slightly, the better to waggle its antennae at Jordan's brain slug. It had to be communication, but of a sort that Mel couldn't eavesdrop on. 008: Jordan slid her hand into Soong's, who slid hers into Blair's, and so on with Tomie and Bobbie. The chain of them looked at Mel, and he was suddenly aware of the green-black translucent heads of their brain slugs poking out from behind their necks. 008: he could see how the edges of the brain slug were nearly transparent, darkening toward the core and tip that he thought of as the head of the thing, which was greenish-black. Through the gelatinous layers, he could see not the skin of her neck, but beneath it. The bone of her vertebrae. Translucent veins through which blood or other fluids flowed. Dense striated muscle. It was like staring through a glass-bottomed boat into a murky sea. 012: The prominent spine, and the semitransparent green shape on her neck. Jordan had pulled her blonde hair over her left shoulder, so he could see all of it. Maybe ten centimeters long, tapered at both ends, as wide as his palm at the thickest bit. Through the translucent skin, he could see vertebrae, muscles, arteries...and something else. Something moved and wiggled there... 013: The two little antennae or nubs on its head seemed to swell and stretch a little. The Field Guide called them sensory tentacles and claimed they included optical spots, vibration sensors, chemosensors, and even some sort of electromagnetic perception. Rachel Carmichael, 21, female, heterosexual, grad student in library science, part-time job at the library 035: The same straw-colored hair, the same soft blue eyes. A little older, and dressed in a brown cardigan and knee-length skirt over leggings, a purse over one arm. 035: distinct Ottawa Valley accent 038: Little robot suitcase 038: Transferring to Seacouver Public Library 039: Portable coffee pot Ha-Yoon: [28, female, bisexual] [Gast Station Attendant. Level 4.] Gold Shirt. Manager. [Recovering alcoholic] 002: an Asian woman with tattoos around her eyes and neck. She was a head shorter than him, with dark skin and a pair of nicotine patches on her inner left wrist. 002: A voice that could peel paint 002: little gold five-pointed stars in the bloodshot whites 015: Has two lovers [James, M, 27; Autumn, transfem, 25] Antonio [Massimi]: [22]. Lives across the hall. Chef at Assante's. Slug-fucker. 004: Short, heavyset, in a chef's whites, with olive-complexioned skin that spoke of some Latin heritage. 011: Antonio, still in his chef's whites, looking tired, carrying cloth bags full of cardboard containers that smelled amazing. Probably leftovers from the restaurant. 041: The whole slug-fucker bit. He apparently got into it online? There's like, this whole community devoted to it, and these magazines Anastasia Massimi: [18]. Antonio's sister. Moving in across the hall. [College freshman, barista] 041: The newcomer was about Mel's height, and compared to Rachel was voluptuous; bottom-heavy, in a pleated black skirt that ran down to her black boots, and a grey cardigan that covered a matching top. Dark of hair and eye, she made a study in contrasts with the taller, thinner, blonder Rachel and the shorter, older Mrs. Chin with her greying locs. Soft skin a gentle olive complexion, no real wrinkles; Mel thought she might be about his own age. She was, technically, heavier than Rachel, but she carried the weight well. It looked healthy on her, and when she smiled there were dimples in her cheeks. Jenny Soong "Spicy Slug": [19]. Lives across the hall with Antonio. Blue shirt at the Cosmic Fill-Up. 004: Asian, the tips of her hair dyed purple, a scattering of acne scars across her cheeks. A brain slug, pale green, was visible on her neck, and she wore a blue-shirt Cosmic Fill-Up uniform just like Jordan's. 007: Dark eyes placid, calm, no sign of anything happening behind them. 009: In her wifebeater Mel could see a series of bruises on Soong's upper arm. Something about the dark splotches, healing toward yellow 016: Soong's nipples were outies, like two little eraser heads on her soft skin. 029: Blood had trickled down from the wound that Antonio had inflicted, along her spine, to pool at the small of her back. [...] the line of black liquid was partially phosphorescent. It looked like a ghost of a river cut through some strange country. 031: an armload of sheets and folded clothes 031: She busied herself with putting away Soong's belongings. Clothes in the drawer. Toothbrush into the bathroom, next to Jordan's own. Sheets and towels into the closet. 031: The box. It was shaped like a small briefcase, dull aluminum, with rivets and rounded corners. Jordan opened it, and Mel, standing behind her, saw the pale, smooth phallic curve nestled in a bed of white foam. If some ancient shamaness in Siberia had carved a double-ended tool for two women from a tusk of mammoth ivory, it might look like that. Clean, but worn smooth. The brain slug on the back of Jordan's neck extended its sensory tentacles, and its colors rippled once—a green band that moved through the darkness, the translucent edges pink—and then resolved to a semitranslucent green. Blair MacKnight: [31] Blue shirt at the Cosmic Fill-Up, great horned brain slug host 008: a tall Black woman with a shaved head in her thirties 015: She was taller, wider at the shoulders, and older, at least, he thought so. It could be hard to tell, but there were those nasolabial lines from her nose to the corners of her lips. Tomie Thompson: [19] Blue shirt at the Cosmic Fill-Up, great horned brain slug host 008: a pale, androgynous mixed-race tomboy with dark hair, epicanthic folds, an abundance of freckles, and the puckered scars of old lip and eyebrow piercings in her late teens 032: She had the same placid expression that Mel associated with brain slug hosts. Thin, face a mix of features. Broad nose, epicanthic folds, a skin tone that was pale but could have been a light-skinned example of any dozen races; scattered races over nose, cheeks, and forearms suggested a lot of time spent out of doors in the sun, at some point. There were small puckered scars on the lips and eyebrows that Mel recognized as the leftovers from piercings, no longer present. The head of her brain slug poked out on the right side of her neck, the markings on the back hard to see from this angle. 032: Tomie's chest had small bumps that could have been small breasts or just an ill-fitting shirt. A collar hid Tomie's throat, so he couldn't tell if there was an Adam's apple. Bobbie O'Neil: [22] Blue shirt at the Cosmic Fill-Up, great horned brain slug host 008: a somewhat overweight brunette with braces in her twenties Amelia [Macnamara], regular at the Cosmic Fill-Up 013: She didn't like brain slugs. 013: The pregnant Black woman who came in for milk and coffee while her Toyota Pulsar was charging was a regular. Mel had seen her three times, twice when he was working the counter, and each time she always came to him, even if one of his brain slug host coworkers was free. Her brown eyes tensed when she looked at his fellow co-workers, always looking at neck-level. She avoided being in the same aisle as the brain slug hosts when they were using the swifter, too. Mel watched her head to the bathroom, only to physically recoil and cradle her swollen stomach protectively as Soong stepped out, hands freshly washed and dried. 015: Calls Mel "human guy" 040: tie-dyed t-shirt and stretchy maternity pants not quite covering the gravid abdomen that jutted out in front of her and hung down over her thighs. Det. Yvraine MacElroy, brain bat cop 025: Then an older woman arrived, tall and broad-shouldered, in a business suit with wrap-around shades, and some sort of turban. The effect should have been ridiculous, but somehow she carried herself imperiously. A badge hung on a lanyard about her neck. At the sight of the badge, the uniformed cops shut up. She glanced at Mel, then headed straight to Jordan's room. Mel glanced in. Soong was still topless, chest down on the bed. Jordan sat on the edge of the bed, clasping Soong's palm. The older woman held up her right hand, palm up. Jordan placed her palm on top. [...] he woman's neck was bare, no sign of a brain slug. 027: Something very much like a squid seemed to sit on her head, its four dark eyes wet and black, with elongated pupils that reminded him of the eyes of goats. Its skin was rust-colored, oddly textured, dry and scaly in patches, and he saw now where its six tentacles were embedded deeply into the scalp, the reddish-brown merging perceptibly into the darker human skin. [...] One of the other alien species, related to the brain slugs. A brain bat. He could see the flaps of skin between the tentacles that would let it glide like a flying squirrel through the air, or swim through the water. The turban had hidden the bulbous, soft-looking head, the tentacles that wrapped around and burrowed into her skin. Yet she didn't have the placid face of a brain slug host. The grey eyes focused on him, and there was an intense impression of personality, focused on him. 028: It wasn't that MacElroy was particularly tall or fat, but she was broad-shouldered, with thick fingers and the impression of sheer mass beneath her suit. Maybe not pure muscle, but built like a linebacker, only more compressed. 028: Small glowing patches appeared in patterns rippling across the brain bat's ruddy skin. They were pale violet, and Mel saw they were actually beneath the skin, several sections of which were apparently transparent. Like if the inner layers of an onion suddenly turned neon. Mrs. Chin, apartment building manager, [52] 031: a short Asian woman with grey streaks in her black hair and round-rimmed glasses Ashante, social worker, [45] 000: The agent, a tired-looking Black woman named Ashante with graying locs and a world-weary smile 033: She looked up, with those brown eyes and greying locs, and assessed Mel with what might have been more respect than before. [Tomas] O'Malley, truck driver [38] 040: Fortunately, the hydrogen truck drove up, and Mel was soon too busy listening to the driver, a tall man named O'Malley, who had a husband and an ex-husband, and the husband also had an ex-husband, and both of the ex-husbands were apparently doing something involving catfishing __________________________ LOCATIONS: Year: February 2055 Seacouver (Pacific Northwest; ambiguous as to whether USA or Canada) 003: the Seacouver Immortals Apartment Building: 000: coin-operated washer and dryer five floors below, at street level. 009: The credit chip in their hands bought coin-like tokens, the tokens bought packets of detergent and fed the ancient, apparently indestructible washing machines and dryers. Jordan and Soong dumped their laundry in the same machine, and sat side-by-side on old orange plastic chairs bolted to the floor, holding hands. Mel & Jordan's Apartment [number 501] 000: The light on the electronic doorlock turned green as Mel waved his passkey. There was the chunk of bolts moving aside. 000: A central room that was living room and dining room all in one. Two bedrooms. One bath. A kitchenette with fridge and electric stove. Some sort of closet. Bigger than a dorm and better than he could have afforded on his own. It smelled faintly of pine-scented cleaning chemicals, the ones that never actually contain any pine but have that back-of-the-throat feel like you jammed your head in a Christmas tree. There was a flatscreen television bolted onto one wall, tuned to a blank blue screen, and a couch facing it. 000: The closet turned out to be a linen closet, with two white towels and hand towels, neatly folded, both of which he figured were hers. 000: Both bedrooms had a simple iron-framed single with boxspring and mattress. One of them was made, and had stacks of neatly-folded clothing on the floor. 008: microwave 011: A chest of drawers. Four long drawers, with little brass knobs and four stout legs. The top of the chest was scratched and stained, pale wood showing through the old varnish. Except it was real wood, with a definite grain, not any particle board. 016: On his way out, he checked the lock on the bathroom door and realized it was broken. The door wouldn't lock at all. No wonder Jordan could always open it. Apartment 502 (across the hall, mirror layout) - formerly Antonio & Soong's now without occupant 021: Apartment 502 was a perfect mirror of Mel and Jordan's own apartment in terms of layout. Yet it was otherwise completely different. There was a small, glass-topped dining room table with four chairs, two throw rugs, and large, black-and-white photographs of naked women in aluminum frames on the wall. The kitchen was spotless, but there were two magnetic bars mounted on the wall that held knives, a dish drain, a cutting board, spice rack, and some appliances—a blender or food processor, an air fryer, a rice pot, a small mint-green microwave, and a kitchen scale. Garlic hung suspended from the ceiling by a hook. Jordan and Soong sat on the couch—a government-issued version identical to their own, save for the fleecy throw over the back of it—and the television swiftly resumed the program that they had been watching. Seacouver Public Library 022: He slid the book into the reception slot, but instead of going to look for another, something else caught his eye: a small room off to the right, next to the bathrooms, with a hand-lettered sign that read: FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY BOOK SALE. He turned and looked in. An old woman, dark-skinned with grey hair like steel wool, sat at a desk reading a romance novel and smiled up at him as he entered. Mel's eyes ran over the ex-library books for sale—novels, mostly. Political memoirs. Old science and math books. Self-help—and then Mel's book found the cookbook section. Macleod Street Co-op 018: Fresh produce, cookware aisle, self-checkout Cosmic Fill Up 002: The Cosmic Fill-Up was a 24-hour operation, and the parent company's commitment to fair treatment and the most minimum fucking wage possible meant it mostly attracted extraterrestrial employees. 002: It was about thirty city blocks to the Cosmic Fill-Up, a charging station for electric and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. Call it three kilometers. The station looked like it was dreamed up by a mad scientist in a 1940s movie serial. Ming the Merciless would have approved of the odd brushed-aluminum flanges and rings that seemed ready to crackle with some esoteric energy. Bold colors, smooth lines, weirdly artificial shapes that seemed out of place with the prosaic Mitsubishis and Toyotas that dominated the lot. 002: a clean, well-lit place that looked like a small supermarket had somehow plopped into existence next to an automat. Six stations offered different self-serve cuisines, two of them marked with an alien language that Mel didn't know how to read. With a blush of embarrassment, he realized one of them was actually Korean, in some kind of Art Deco-inspired script that made the characters unfamiliar. 002: There were three other people in uniforms, two behind the check-out counter, one pushing some of kind of motorized sanitizing device. All of them, Mel noted, had brain slugs. 002: Ha-Yoon's office was a cramped cubicle wedged between the family bathroom and trucker shower station. There was a small computer terminal where Mel re-entered all the information he'd filled out on the paper application, while Ha-Yoon gave him the basics. 006: the system for employee meals. Fountain drink, burrito, sandwich, salad, cup of soup, or rice bowl. No frills, and probably the closest thing to real nutrition the place offered. 017: There was an ATM at the Cosmic Fill-Up. Mel ran his hand with the embedded credit chip over the scanner. His bank account came up, and showed that his first paycheck had been deposited correctly. 017: Men's room, women's room, family bathroom, and the biowaste disposal kiosk we save for the K'lur'k 040: Inventory check meant the two of them squeezed into the small, cramped room at the back of the Cosmic Fill-Up where they kept all the stock that wasn't out for sale. Pallets of snack food, canned and bottled drinks that didn't need to be refrigerated. Most of which was tracked by RFID tags, but some of the cases were open, so their barcodes had to be scanned by hand. __________________________ History: 000: [Current Year - 10] They called it the Exodus. Thousands of ships spilling out of the sky, refugees from some distant and complicated cosmic calamity. The planet Earth's bio-diversity had increased to the order of several million new residents from over a hundred species. They were tired, sick, exhausted—but they had technology. Some set up little fiefdoms; most negotiated treaties with governments, corporations. The technological boom that followed had been miraculous, supposedly. 000: The appearance of actual extraterrestrials had given all of the UFO religions a real shot in the arm, even the crazy ones. __________________________ Brain Slug Lore: 000: When they were first discovered among the refugees, they seemed like every science fiction trope of the evil parasite. Slimy creatures that attached themselves permanently to a host and took over the major brain functions. Puppetted the bodies around as part of a collective hive mind. That had caused a lot of excitement until the scientists had pointed out that the brain slugs weren't trying to assimilate everybody. They were pushing for legalization. 000: The hive collectives are strictly voluntary, and they don't proselytize. Most people think of the hives as these big communal structures where everybody lives together, controlled by some central hive mind, but reality is that just like humans evolved on a savannah as endurance hunters, brain slugs evolved as apex symbionts, opportunistically taking advantage of what hosts were available and using their adaptations to make the most of the environment. Which isn't spectacular for humans in urban environments. The practical reality is that rent in the inner city is high and the collective tends to minimize the needs of individual hosts. On their own planet, they'd fabricate a structure in the wild, on a starship they'd colonize some unused space. Here...well, many of them live on the street. Most of the hosts are gainfully employed in some fashion, they need a safe, secure environment to rest when they're not out making money for the collective 001: Xenolimax cerebri devorator is an apex symbiont from an unknown xenoplanet. There are at least four different subspecies that have been identified, which arrived on sixteen different ships during the Exodus. Each ship carried one or more broods, each of which displays distinctive coloration and adaptations or behaviors. Legends and anecdotes suggest brainslugs were initially aggressive predators or opportunistic parasitoids that preyed upon subjects that were asleep, but those who reached Earth as refugees are primarily complacent, working with local authorities and attempting to integrate into Earth cultures. 001: There were diagrams showing the way the brainslug connected with and merged with the spinal cord. Preferred humidity and temperature range—which is apparently what made this hive choose Seacouver, as they preferred cooler, moister environments with less sunlight, which made the Pacific Northwest about perfect for them. Different means of brain slug reproduction—Mel knew he'd have to look up some of these words. 006: Mel had stayed awake, poring through the book to see if it had anything to say about brain slugs and sex. There wasn't much; xenobiologists apparently weren't even sure how the damn things reproduced. 010: What he learned, ultimately, was that there was far less solid information on brain slugs than he knew. The hosts themselves didn't communicate openly much; no one had ever seen how brain slugs reproduce, though some dead examples had been dissected, nobody had found eggs, ovaries, or gonads. What they did find is that brain slugs secreted chemicals very close to some human hormones—notably, antiandrogens, testosterone blockers. 003: According to the book, the brain slug provided some advantages to the host—improved immune response, additional bacterial load that expanded what the host could digest. On their own world, that helped the host live longer and process different foods, the better to sustain itself and the brain slug. Which meant that she wouldn't get salmonella from raw eggs, or the soft block of pale white bean curd. Probably. 002: Brain slugs do not process information in the same way that humans do, and human hosts often appear to struggle with communication and social cues. However, in some aggressive hives this is a deliberate tactic to deceive potential hosts as to their true intentions. Always remember that despite their size, the brain slug is but one node of a vast consciousness, and potentially has access to the accumulated knowledge and experience of the entire hive. Do not underestimate them. —Brain Slug Infestation: Cause and Avoidance, Chapter 1 003: In the wild, brain slugs prefer to target hosts that are physically healthy, comfortable, possess good access to resources and a safe lair. These advantages become the brain slug's when possession takes place. To expand, a hive may entice potential hosts by sharing food and shelter. —BRAIN SLUG INFESTATION: CAUSE AND AVOIDANCE, Chapter 2 004: Social species like humans that form relationships with other species like dogs, cats, and horses are particularly vulnerable to brain slug infiltration tactics. They will treat human hosts as if they are still human. They are not. —BRAIN SLUG INFESTATION: CAUSE AND AVOIDANCE, Chapter 2 005: Brain slugs have no sense of personal space. They do not understand either intimacy or inappropriate contact. This is a major obstacle to their infiltration of human society. —BRAIN SLUG INFESTATION: CAUSE AND AVOIDANCE, Chapter 2 007: In the wild, brain slugs hunt primarily by chemoreceptors, and communicate largely by biochemical markers and scent-trails. Human hosts to brain slugs rely heavily on scent and taste. Strong odors like garlic can deter them, though this is not an absolute protection against possible assault. —BRAIN SLUG INFESTATION: CAUSE AND AVOIDANCE, Chapter 3 010: Brain-slug hosts often engage in mutual grooming activities. Sometimes this escalates into pseudo-mating behaviors. Human attention to these behaviors is sometimes used to attract potential hosts. —BRAIN SLUG INFESTATION: CAUSE AND AVOIDANCE, Chapter 6 006: Human hosts for brain slugs are receptive to sex. It is one of their main methods of building social bonds and acceptance. They are noted to be entirely passive, never initiating sexual relations, allowing their partners to use their bodies. The brain slug has no emotional frame of reference for sex, no concept of love or compassion. —BRAIN SLUG INFESTATION: CAUSE AND AVOIDANCE, Chapter 6 008: On their homeworld, brain slugs mated their hosts and bred domesticated strains. In this way, they slowly conquered their environment, and formed the World Hive. Attempts to spread beyond their home planet were met with resistance; the brain slugs on Earth are descendants of those brain slugs sent out to explore and conquer the universe. Given the opportunity, they will do the same here as they did on their homeworld. —BRAIN SLUG INFESTATION: CAUSE AND AVOIDANCE, Chapter 7 011: The Exodus introduced at least three hundred species into Earth's biosphere, not counting potentially thousands of bacteria and viruses. Fifty-three of these species are designated as sapient. The majority of these extraterrestrial species come from worlds biologically similar to or compatible with Earth; being carbon-based and oxygen-dependent, with a handful of exceptions that can only survive in Earth's most extreme environments or artificial biomes. Among the most adaptable species are parasitoids such as the North American Brain Slug, the Great Horned Brain Slug, and the Brain Bats. —National Geographic Field Guide to Extraterrestrial Species of North America, Chapter 1 012: North American Brain Slugs are the most social of the parasitoid species, but often struggle to communicate with individual humans. On their home world, the hive-mind of the brain slugs was active in engaging with similar hive-minds, bartering resources, and cooperating on projects of mutual benefit. On Earth, the hive-mind is more comfortable dealing with faceless bureaucracies or large corporations, whose impersonal nature more closely resembles the hive-minds it evolved alongside. —National Geographic Field Guide to Extraterrestrial Species of North America, Chapter 1 013: The North American Brain Slug can theoretically attach anywhere along the spine, but prefers placement across cervical vertebrae C4-C6. As part of the host conversion process, the brain slug releases a mild nerve agent that removes pain response in the area as the brain slug's foot dissolves into an acid that dissolves the host's skin, allowing the slug to directly access the spinal cord and cardiovascular system, and rendering the brain slug forever immobile. This initial period of attachment takes only seconds, although brain slug and host continue to integrate biologically continually. Once the process of attachment has begun, the brain slug cannot survive on its own. No host has survived the death or removal of a brain slug. They become, for most purposes, a single organism. —National Geographic Field Guide to Extraterrestrial Species of North America, Chapter 1 020: A hallmark of North American brain slug hives is coordinated activity. In pre-industrialized settings, it is theorized that this allowed the hive to effectively undertake community projects like rearing structures, digging wells, and managing factory-line style physical labor. In the wild, it allowed sophisticated pack hunting and foraging for resources. Even today, these instincts and behaviors remain. —National Geographic Field Guide to Extraterrestrial Species of North America, Chapter 1 017: Once the foot dissolves, the brain slug extends several specialized tentacles into its host. Some seek out the circulatory system, connecting directly to the host's blood supply, acclimating the brain slug to its new host environment. Others attach to the nervous system. Once the connection is established, the brain slug maps the host's neural architecture, extending additional tentacles into the host's brain. Primitive parts of the brain responsible for autonomic functions like breathing are left largely intact, while higher cortical functions attract additional connections. An individual brain slug's brain is about the size of a pea, commensurate with its size; it is when it is connected to a large-brained host that a brain slug achieves true sentience. The two neural structures merge, and when the host opens its eyes, the brain slug is truly aware for the first time in its life, possessed of all the skills and connections its host body needs to survive. —National Geographic Field Guide to Extraterrestrial Species of North America, Chapter 2 014: Some extraterrestrial accounts maintain that on their home planet, some preferred host species evolved in tandem with brain slugs and willingly sought out possession upon adulthood. Other extraterrestrial records maintain that this is brain slug propaganda, used to lull potential hosts into a false sense of security, and that brain slugs are ambush predators who bond without the consent of the host. Almost nothing from extraterrestrial sources can be verified or corroborated. —National Geographic Field Guide to Extraterrestrial Species of North America, Chapter 2 016: North American Brain Slug hosts formerly used elaborate "courting" behavior to attract potential hosts. Human governments considered these behaviors coercive and passed laws restricting the hives' actions to attract potential hosts by offering material goods or sexual services. —National Geographic Field Guide to Extraterrestrial Species of North America, Chapter 2 018: The additional caloric demands of the brain slug on the host are relatively small, but the integration of extraterrestrial biology imposes unusual requirements on the host system. Brain slug hosts typically display anomalous eating habits to provide necessary nutrients for the brain slug's further integration. Access to sufficient nutrition can rapidly increase the process of integration toward stage 2. —National Geographic Field Guide to Extraterrestrial Species of North America, Chapter 2 021: The North American brain slug is still finding its place in the complex ecosystem of Earth. Their survival is not guaranteed. Interaction with humans remains the leading cause of death for brain slugs and their hosts. —National Geographic Field Guide to Extraterrestrial Species of North America, Chapter 2 022: When dealing with the North American Brain Slug, the most important thing to remember is that, as a hive organism, injuries and insults inflicted on individual brain slug hosts will be communicated to every other host. The hive remembers those who hurt it. —National Geographic Field Guide to Extraterrestrial Species of North America, Appendix 023: Imagine a video game where you control a group of simulated people in a simulated environment, going about their lives. At any moment, you can jump into them and see what they see, feel what they feel. Taste the food they eat. Feel the heat of their desire as they make love. Except for the hive mind, that isn't a simulation. Each host is a node of their consciousness, but one that can attract greater attention when the host is doing something particularly interesting (like sex) or is in danger. Sexual assault attracts a great deal of the hive's attention very quickly. —Slug Sutra, introduction 025: Humans process sexual response in a number of areas of the brain. Each individual brain slug connects to its host's brain in a unique way. As a result, some brain slug hosts experience a heightened sexual response compared to others. The "brain slug slut" is a reality, although only a minority of hosts exhibit this neurological response and accompanying behavior. —Slug Sutra, Chapter 1 027: Do not touch the brain slug. The outer membrane is sensitive to pressure, temperature, and various chemicals; it can easily survive rain and even full immersion in water if the host bathes or swims, but physical contact will often trigger stress vocalizations, and damage can take weeks to heal. Physical trauma or damage can kill both the brain slug and the host. —Slug Sutra, Chapter 1 028: When you kiss a brain slug host, you are performing an intimate act with an entity that spans hundreds of bodies and whose memories may go back thousands of years. If that doesn't turn you on, stop reading now. —Slug Sutra, Chapter 1 029: Brain slugs do not love. They do not understand love. They understand extraction, pleasure, and reciprocity. Many struggle with the concept of cuddling, at least at first. —Slug Sutra, Chapter 1 030: Brain slugs do not have a word for love. They have a complex biochemical marker for the addictive properties of specific neuropeptides and hormones that the host brain secretes. Oxytocin is a hell of a drug. —Slug Sutra, Chapter 1 031: A koan: If two brain slug hosts have sex, is that masturbation? —Slug Sutra, Chapter 1 032: On their original homeworld, hive minds bred their hosts for a variety of reasons, both to increase their numbers and to enhance specific traits. Hive minds sometimes competed for especially prized studs and breeders, or developed sharing arrangements. It wasn't until the brain slugs came to Earth that they encountered the concept of jealousy. —Slug Sutra, Chapter 2 033: First contact between brain slugs and homo sapiens occurred through intermediaries. On their homeworld, brain slugs could explore a new area swiftly by bonding with a local organism, immediately gaining a viable form evolved for the environment and incorporating relevant knowledge and experiences. However, centuries of contact with various extraterrestrial species and cultures had taught the hive minds that new species usually didn't appreciate immediate incorporation of members into the hive mind. This led to wars of extermination. The hive mind learned patience. The first human hosts were criminals sentenced to death who volunteered for the process and were carefully documented by Earth governments. —Slug Sutra, Chapter 2 034: In hindsight, giving extraterrestrial parasites condemned criminals as their first introduction to humanity was not the best idea. The individuals involved were often charged with murder, sexual assault, acts of heinous violence, and pathological deceit. It exposed the hive mind to the worst of human nature and experience. Xenobiologists did not understand until later how fundamentally this influenced the hive mind. They taught it how to conceal its intent, to circumvent laws and rules, to commit overwhelming violence, and to hide the evidence afterwards. To manipulate people for its own ends—and what the brain slugs desired, initially, was to expand to more hosts. —Slug Sutra, Chapter 2 035: The second wave of brain slug hosts, before the government restricted the practice and while the legal status of the hosts was still being litigated, were selected based on several criteria. They were predominantly involved in the periphery of the Pacific Northwest BDSM community. Individuals who evinced sexual excitement at the idea of an ultimate act of subjugation, or at least curiosity at the prospect of being an "alien sex slave." The criminal core of the existing brain slug hive experience weeded out the dilettantes or those with strong worldly connections and focused on the most vulnerable to manipulation, the likeliest marks. What was not expected was that the new hosts would bring with them their own experiences, which would profoundly alter the character of the Seacouver hive. —Slug Sutra, Chapter 2 036: Those first volunteers to be brain slug hosts were explorers into the unknown. Astronauts on a one-way trip. They were told, in no uncertain terms, that there would be no way back. That the bond was permanent. Their lives as they knew them would cease. The brain slug had no emotional connection to their family, friends, jobs, pets, or hobbies. It was, quite possibly, tantamount to suicide. No one knew if the hosts retained any awareness after integration. If the damage caused by the brain slug's tentacles invading the brain destroyed their personality and memories. What became apparent was that whatever the conjoined being was, it was not the personality that had occupied the body previously. It was something new. Something alien. A being that was learning what it was, and what it could be. And what the hive mind learned immediately was that the overwhelming human host condition was lonely and horny. —Slug Sutra, Chapter 2 038: As a consequence of their initial human hosts, brain slugs gained an understanding of dominance, submission, and leverage. These acquired attributes interact oddly with the brain slug's natural desire to mark its property and potential hosts. Sometimes, to affirm their relationship requires public or semi-public displays. To kiss a brain slug in front of someone else is not just a moment of shared affection; to brain slugs and related species, it is a signal to others that this individual is marked as theirs. —Slug Sutra, Chapter 2 009: This is a work of entertainment only. No brain slugs or hosts were harmed in the making of this magazine. —SLUG FUCKER MONTHLY, January 2055 015: Some of these brain slug cum sluts find a splooge-source they just can't get enough of! They try to drain their favorite cocks at every opportunity. Most men can't keep up with these insatiable cocksuckers! —Slug Fucker Monthly, February 2055 039: Most brain slug hosts possess excellent hearing, and brain slugs are fluent in the same languages as their hosts; brain slugs whose hosts are in contact with one another can share understanding or rapidly teach new languages. Initial integration strongly affects the host's ability to speak coherently, as the speech centers are a primary site for neural integration and development. Advanced stages of brain slug integration induce changes in the physiognomy of the tongue, further restricting the ability to speak. Most brain slug hosts prefer sign language for casual interaction, and this book will include a brief introduction to common signs and phrases, as well as basic biochemical markers and intimate massage. —How To Talk To Brain Slugs, introduction 040: Brain slug eye spots are weak optical sensors, useful for navigating their native temperate rainforests based on the intensity and location of their local sun, moon, and stars. Human eyes are much more prominent and critical sensory organs. When integrated into a human host, the host's eyes become primary sensory organs, but the eye spots don't cease operation. This is part of the reason why brain slugs prefer to be exposed on the host's neck. This means hosts literally have eyes in the back of their head (just not very good ones). —How To Talk To Brain Slugs, Chapter 1: Sight 041: Face the brain slug directly. Conversation should begin with eye contact, just to make sure you have their attention, but their eyes will drift as you begin to sign, as they follow the movements. If it is helpful to you to speak aloud while signing, do so. Remember that most brain slug hosts have excellent hearing. They may not be able to vocalize, but they can hear and, through sign language, speak. Do not mistake silence for lack of intelligence; a brain slug attached to a host is highly intelligent. —How To Talk To Brain Slugs, Chapter 1: Sight 042: Just as a brain slug's eyespots complement the host's vision, the brain slug's chemoreceptors complement the host's sense of smell and taste. Most brain slugs emphasize connections to these sensory organs and their processing structures in the brain, which can make them very sensitive to strong smells and tastes. Most brain slug species have allergies to certain aromatic compounds common in garlic, onion, and plant and animal oils; their hosts do not typically share these allergies, and can contact, consume, and process such foodstuffs safely, but the instinctive avoidance remains. Scents that attract them, conversely, they like to keep close. It isn't unusual for brain slug hosts to wear clothing that their sex partners have worn, to keep their scent nearby. —How To Talk To Brain Slugs, Chapter 2: Smell
014: Mel glanced down and saw that it was a two-page spread on the cover article "Sex Secrets of the Cum-Craving Slug Sluts!," which prominently featured a blank-faced woman with a brain slug on her neck with her tongue out, emptying the contents of a used condom onto it. The camera had caught the thick white stream perfectly. 004: "They're not lesbians," Ha-Yoon said, as if reading his thoughts. "Human skin, when it's sweaty, is a decent conductor for these low-level electrical signals that brain slugs use to communicate. When they're holding hands, they're having a conversation. Or maybe the brain slugs are communing as part of some bigger consciousness or something. The important part is, it's not sexual or romantic. Trust me, weirded me the fuck out the first time I saw three of them holding hands in the break room during lunch." 004: One of the reasons we've got so many brain slugs working here is because there was a major problem; on the ships, sex work was legal. On Earth, it's complicated. The brain slugs were whoring their hosts out, using the money to take care of the rest of the nest. Some organized crime types tried to take advantage of that, the cops got involved...it got real messy. Some folks said the brain slugs were taking people over and forcing them into sex work, pulling out the whole sex slavery trope. Some hosts ended up in prison, didn't last long [...] So there was an agreement reached, between the government and the hives. No more whoring. To make up for the lost income, the government helps with job placement, rent-controlled apartments...anything to keep them off the streets, selling themselves. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Some rogue operators out there, smaller hives that split off on their own, that kind of thing. Still a lot of slug-fuckers out there. Hell, we've got a magazine, SFM—Slug Fucker Monthly! 011: Jordan, Soong, and Blair ate together. The three of them sat together, each bringing something different to the table, and Mel watched as they split their meals up and shared with each other. Tomie and Bobbie sat at their own table, and did much the same. [...] "Those three are the Seacouver Hive. The others are part of the Greater Pacific Northwest Collective. Different subspecies or something, different organization. They can talk to each other, coexist peacefully, but don't mingle much since they're basically competing for hosts." 011: "It's more fundamental than that, I think," Ha-Yoon said. "Like dogs and wolves. The Seacouver Hive has been faster to adapt. They were the ones really pushing for legalization. The Collective is—I guess you'd say, more conservative? Traditionalist, maybe. A lot of the hosts you see still on the street are Collectivists. They tend to form their own structures, group homes, that kind of thing; but the Seacouver Hive seems to be trying to integrate with human society, thanks to the whole government subsidy program." 006: Xenobiologists say that brain slugs evolved on a planet similar to Earth's in terms of atmosphere and gravity, and human biochemistry is closer to their own than many extraterrestrial species. Human semen contains biochemical markers similar to the brain slug's own secretions, as well as trace elements that are often absent from the host's diet. Brain slugs are drawn toward consuming cum; and direct their hosts to consume it by whatever means necessary! 017: Sharing. One of them discovers something and shares it throughout the network. It's actually really handy for training, because you can train one to do something, then they'll hold hands for a while, and they'll both be able to do it. I'm sure there's a limit to it—seems to happen most often with physical gestures. Finger snapping, whistling, hopscotch, that kind of thing. 029: Physical injury prompts immediate response, but I am more concerned about emotional injury. Brain slugs navigate the social bonds and networks of their hosts with practice, but human emotions are new to them. They aren't used to them, don't understand them. You might hurt them in your ignorance; they might hurt you in theirs 033: "Brain slugs," she said. "Primarily communicate through biochemical markers. A touch, a kiss, sometimes they mark things with saliva, vaginal secretions—even urine, like cats—as a message to others. When a brain slug leaves a mark on your neck like that, it's a message to other hives: mine. A kind of territorial marker. That can be both very good and very dangerous." [...] If two brain slug hives cannot work out a sharing agreement [...] It inevitably means conflict. 036: They send you a notice when they go through the brain slug thing? The old person is legally dead. Probate, all of that stuff. Like who they were is gone, and whatever's left is just this biological mecha piloted by a soulless alien parasite. 024: Ramen began as a variety of Southern Chinese noodle dishes in the Chinatown of Yokohama, Japan in the 19th century. It was the food of the poor and dispossessed, adapting what they knew to a new place with new ingredients. After World War II, the inexpensive dish gained mainstream popularity in Japan; it was a warm, calorie-rich foodstuff in a nation that had known years of wartime rationing followed by longer years of post-war poverty. In 1958, Momofuku Ando created an instant noodles version, consisting of pre-cooked noodles sold in dried bricks. This is the story of ramen. Now you are a part of it. —1,001 Ways to Cook Ramen, foreword by ramen scholar Eiji Takamura 026: Seacouver belongs to the HIVE —Graffiti on Seacouver International Bridge 037: Rache, By the time you read this, it will be too late. I'm sorry I couldn't bring myself to tell you in person, but I knew you might have stopped me. You're the only one who would have. But this is what I've chosen. I've finally found acceptance. I love you. Please remember that. One day, I hope you find someone who can love you as much as you deserve. Your sister, Jordie —Jordan Carmichael to Rachel Carmichael, 12 Dec 2054 __________________________ Other aliens: 017: K'lur'k [...] six-foot stick-insect looking things 028: Brain Bat. "On our original homeworld, where our species evolved, there were numerous parasitoid species. You've met the brain slugs; various subspecies of hive mind organisms who adopt different modes. Some are ambush predators that drop on the unsuspecting hosts; others have a more symbiotic relationship, enticing hosts to join with them willingly; there are also scavengers who inhabit corpses—rare on this world. We brain bats share an evolutionary niche, but we evolved as higher-order hunters; we don't need to join a host to achieve sentience. It gives us a level of independence and individuality. Every brain slug host you meet is part of a larger hive mind, but each brain bat you meet is a unique individual," she explained. 029: We share the same communication protocol. Bioelectricity, subsonics and ultrasonics, chemical biomarkers—on our original home world, the interconnected network of brain slugs, brain bats, and similar life forms gave rise to the World Soul. A kind of gestalt awareness. A pool of information and impressions, communicated constantly. Not aware in the same sense of a hive mind, but a connective link. Here, on Earth, the World Soul is nascent; there isn't a sufficient density of our kind to bring it forth yet. But I pick up on things; information is communicated. __________________________ 000: Mel Arkwright arrives at apartment, meets Jordan Carmichael [Monday, 8 Feb 2055, Mel's birthday] 001: Mel goes to the library, applies for jobs. Jordan arrives with a job application. [Tuesday, 9 Feb 2055] 002: Mel goes with Jordan to the Cosmic Fill-Up. Meets Ha-Yoon (manager/gold shirt). Gets the job. [Wednesday, 10 Feb 2055] 003: Mel and Jordan watch TV. [Wednesday, 10 Feb 2055] 004: Mel meets Antonio and Spicy Slug, learns about slug-fuckers. [Thursday, 11 Feb 2055] 005: Mel waits for Jordan to go to bed, masturbates. Wakes up to Jordan sucking the cum from his tissues. [Thursday, 11 Feb 2055] 006: Mel steals a copy of Slug Fuckers Monthly. [Friday, 11 Feb 2055] 007: Mel masturbates again, to see what Jordan does. She seems to feed one of the cum-filled tissues to Spicy Slug. [Friday-Saturday, 11-12 Feb 2055] 008: Jordan finds Mel's copy of Slug Fuckers Monthly. [Saturday 12 Feb 2055] 009: Laundry day. [Sunday 13 Feb 2055] 010: Mel leaves for the library. Comes back to find Jordan & Soong grooming. [Monday 14 Feb 2055] 011: Work: Day shift. Valentines chocolate on sale. Mel and Jordan find a chest of drawers on the sidewalk. [Tuesday 15 Feb 2055] 012: Home: Dinner in the nude. Mel jerks off onto the sink. Jordan cleans it up with her tongue. [Tuesday 15 Feb 2055] 013: Work: Day shift. Start to recognize regulars. Jordan buys condoms. [Wednesday 16 Feb 2055] 014: Home: Jordan spends more time naked around the apartment. Mel tries to resist masturbating. Jordan gets Mel to fill a condom for her. [Wednesday 16 Feb 2055] 015: Work: Day shift. Mel finds a wallet full of money, has a crisis of conscience [Thursday 17 Feb 2055] 016: Home: Jordan hands Mel another condom. This time, both Soong and Jordan watch. [Thursday 17 Feb 2055] 017: Work: Day shift. Payday. Sharing/eye roll. [Friday 18 Feb 2055] 018: Home: Sees Mel with pots, gives an impromptu cooking lesson. Jordan keeps clothes on around Antonio. [Friday 18 Feb 2055] 019: Work: Day shift. Woke to see Jordan sniffing his dick. Ha-Yoon assigns him to night shift next week. [Saturday 19 Feb 2055] 020: Home. The last condom. Jordan leans closer this time. Spreads her labia when Mel asks. [Saturday 19 Feb 2055] 021: Home. Laundry day. Soong hangs out. Antonio brings slugs home to cook for them all, puts the girls off. [Sunday 20 Feb 2055] 022: Library. Book sale. Jordan: Period [Monday 21 Feb 2055] 023: Home: Antonio finds Soong and Jordan naked. Gets jealous. Set up for assault. Jordan: Period Soong: Period [Monday 21 Feb 2055] 024: Work: Night shift. People sexually harass Blair, Mel steps in to protect her. Jordan: Period Soong: Period [Tuesday 22 Feb 2055] 025: Home: Assault on Soong. Jordan: Period Soong: Period [Wednesday 23 Feb 2055] 026: The Doom of Antonio Jordan: Period Soong: Period [Wednesday 23 Feb 2055] 027: Work: Day shift. Late. MacElroy arrives. Jordan: Period Soong: Period [Wednesday 23 Feb 2055] 028: Work: Night shift. More questions. Jordan: Period Soong: Period [Wednesday 23 Feb 2055] 029: Home: Soong and Jordan suck Mel off. [Thursday 24 Feb 2055] 030: Home: Little sleep. Suckfest all night. Work: Night shift. On shift with Tomie and Bobbie, a cry goes out that distracts them [Thursday 24 Feb 2055] 031: Home: Soong moves in with Jordan & Mel, sleeps in Jordan's room. Soong stays at home as she recovers from the attack. Payday. More cops. [Friday 25 Feb 2055] 032: Work: Night shift. Encounter with Tomie in the bathroom. [Friday 25 Feb 2055] 033: Home: Jordan marks Mel. Social worker visits. [Saturday 26 Feb 2055] 034: Work: Night shift. Slow night. Left alone with his thoughts. Asks Ha-Yoon about sign language. Tomie follows Mel home. Arranges deal with Jordan. & Soong Threesome blowjob. [Saturday 26 Feb 2055] 035: Home: Morning blowjob. Laundry Day. Jordan's sister Rachel Carmichael visits. [Sunday 27 Feb 2025] 036: Home. Rachel. Hard questions. [Monday 28 Feb 2055] 037: Home. More hard questions. [Monday 28 Feb 2055] 038: Library. Rachel sleeps on the couch. [Monday 28 Feb 2055] 039: Home: Morning. Jordan and Soong sucking off Mel, Rachel interrupts. Soong lick it off her face. Rachel watches. [Tuesday 1 Mar 2055] 040: Work: Night shift. Amelia has false labor. [Tuesday 1 Mar 2055] 041: Home: Rachel still there. Antonio's sister Anastasia arrives to deal with his remaining property. Rachel decides to move in next door. Will take a week to set up. [Wednesday 2 Mar 2055] 042: Home. Mel wakes to find Jordan and Soong next to him, and Rachel watching. [Wednesday 2 Mar 2055] Payday: Friday 18/25 February / 4 Mar Laundry day: Sunday 20/27 February / 6 Mar Jordan/Soong period: 21, 22, 23 Feb / 21, 22, 23 Mar
Debating on using the forum thread as a lore dump, but haven't decided yet. Maybe see how things are going at the end of next week.
The story is getting interesting. The latest chapter makes me wonder how correct Mel's book actually is.
Ah, you picked up on that. Yeah, the book is an unreliable narrator. Many of the characters are giving information that may not be entirely correct. I do want to get a bit more sexy times, I just don't want to rush to it.
To me they are fine. Maybe don't make them much shorter, but now story is moving forward with each chapter.
Okay, so first post in this thread is now going to be the notes-and-lore-dump spot for the story. Updated sporadically.
Have a tentative outline until chapter 34, or about 11 weeks of writing at this pace, with some vague future events planned beyond that. Slow burn, but some excitement, some drama, and some sexytimes ahead.
Sounds good. There certainly is nice tension going now . It is interesting to see how it will play out.
Need to go through and do a couple chapter tweaks. I want to standardize titles (All italics rather than all caps). If you've read this far then yes! Things will start to get a bit spicier. But I'm still trying to slow-burn it, and I'm trying...not sure how to say this...avoid my normal style of porntastic description?
Updated the lore dump. Expect very much a continual slow escalation of sexy times, there won't be a sudden orgy or anything. But I've mapped out the plot until chapter 40, so everything is on track for regular MWF updates.
I know the pace has been sluggish, and it's really been a slice-of-life, day-by-day story at this point. I won't say that things are going to get spicy immediately, but there is A PLan, and hopefully it'll be worth the wait.
Well, the slugs seem bit sluggish. Puns aside, pace seems pretty good to me and there is plenty to puzzle about slugs while things are developing.
Updated the lore dump. I promise, more sex in the future, but this is going to be one of the slower stories for sexy scenes.
Sorry for the delay on the lore dump, been a busy couple of weeks, and I'm extending the initial outline a bit, which requires some revision.
Small typo in the latest chapter Oddly Okay With It: First Jordan should probably be Mel in"Jordan worried someone might come along and see a naked Jordan standing there."
