deernet | [Transmission 09][un:A_Wesker013][Filtered to Sleepers 18+]

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[Transmission 09][un:A_Wesker013][Filtered to Sleepers 18+]

[Irked, pained groans from a masculine pair of lungs come over the link, as it shows a view of a bathroom from above the sink (perhaps on a shelf or the sink ledge): a stained-glass window, the end of a clawfoot bathtub with a torn-down shower curtain draped across the side, water still running from the shower head. Greenish-red blood spatters the curtain. A thick ribbon of cast skin drapes over the side of the tub.]

[The pitch of the gasps changes, grows somewhat higher. Something moves on the floor and a damp, blonde head rises as a feminine figure sits up, then rises on wobbly legs. The figure looks toward the sink, the reddish-gold feline eyes blinking. But the form below is decidedly female-presenting, by shape and organs. The figure is decidedly nicely muscled, but with a softer, more feminine presentation.]

Well. This is an interesting form to shed into [The tone is impressed, even intrigued. The voice is still low-pitched and throaty, think Lauren Bacall rather than Richard Waugh. He - or she? or they? - folds one arm across the chest, the other lower, while stepping closer to the sink and reaching up to the mirror, clearly wiping it off. A smirk crosses their face as they glance up and down their reflection. Stepping out of frame, they return with a black bath towel, wrapping it around their torso, covering their dignity.] I'd hoped to see my sister's face in this world. However, I never expected to be wearing that face myself.

[The eyes tick toward the device and she reaches as if to cut the feed.]

Was that transmitted? I have to admit, this a particularly embarrassing display. [Looking out of the corner of the eyes into the device, with a tiny smirk.] Though it is a fetching form for me to take, don't you think?

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[Ariadne's never understood the Human preoccupation with nudity and its taboo. Even so, when the video comes on, she senses it's not something she was especially supposed to see.

So she waits until the figure on the other end is covered (since Humans seem to equate that with dignity) before she makes her response.]

Um, well. At least it wasn't Cipher's fault this time?

We're going to go shopping and the first thing we're grabbing is an Omni case for you. [ Her tone makes it clear it's not something that is up for discussion ]

But this is what your sister looks like? I wonder why this is the form you shed into. Were you twins?

I've experience the same kind of transformation myself once. It was shocking at first but I got used to it after awhile. What caused the change? Do you know?

[Because if he has that to look forward to in his future then it would be better to be prepared. He wouldn't be surprised if the world was going to throw something like this at them. But he doesn't own any female clothing so he will need to prepare if that is the case.]

Mmmm, you do have a knack for sharing these moments with the rest of us don't you?

[The background is showing the distant city at the moment. Somehow, Vira-Lorr was managing to boost the signal just enough to get the message out. She wasn't in the other world just yet.]

So... this is your sister?

[The view shifts as Wesker takes up the Omni and leave the bathroom, stepping into what looks like the adjacent bedroom.]

For once, it was an intentional transmission, however, it went awry, as often seems the case. I was summoning assistance, as I'd suddenly felt very strange, when I hit the video broadcast option rather than the audio. I suppose it would have come out by one means or another.

[Cypher, meanwhile, peeks meekly from behind their Sleeper's neck, edging down their shoulder and peering at the side of Wesker's head, studying the Sleeper from this side before looking straight at the Omni.]

[Wesker eyes the Omni sidewise.]

I certainly wasn't expecting this transformation, but it will do. It's a shade better than turning into a child version of myself like I did earlier this month.

[At the moment, Wesker has pulled a grey singlet on and is holding up a pair of trousers to themself, trying to see if they're doable.]

Is that the typical female shopping rite of passage? I thought it was shoe shopping, though that might be my recollections from the 1990s coming through.

A good question. This is very close to what she ...looks like. We were often mistaken for twins, though we weren't genetically related. As far as we could tell, she was of Eastern European ancestry, either Ukrainian or Russian, and I was of British and German ancestry. [A glance at the back of their hand.] I'd be curious to know what the Shedding does to us on a cellular level, but I suppose that's my scientific curiosity at play.

[She gives only a small smile. And a little wave to the Omen.]

Back home, we always say that new years are about new beginnings.

It never really meant new bodies before.

[But this is Trench. It's almost expected. She shakes her head.]

Do you need help?

It's more to keep you from accidentally fat-fingering videos onto the network. And come on, shoe shopping as a rite of passage? Please.

Is that something you could determine here? I may have kept some of my shedding if you need it.

At least this time, I'd intended to connect with someone. That 'someone' happened to involve anyone who saw this feed when I hit the wrong button.

[A softened version of their usual pleased smirk crosses their face.]

This, more or less, is how she looked. And yes, we occasionally got mistaken for twins, outside of times people saw us together and noted the differences.

[They glance into the device as if looking into the background of the video.]

I see you've done some travelling. I've only just heard about the new city that's been revealed. A previous Shedding had me...in no state to go in search of it. [A pause.] I'm tempted to ask: is it as deserted as they say?

Sheddings. Fortunately, I've brought enough moisturizer to keep any of that at bay this year. [She made a face] Good that you are intact, despite the circumstances. Certainly I can see the family resemblance.

... As for the city? Desolate. I believe the only living thing in this place is likely Riteior itself, if it is truly alive in the way that we understand it. Its presence and will are decidedly felt.

I've heard a saying in my world of origin: "New year, new me" which people generally define as 'I'm going to improve myself'. But it seems Madame Generosity took that literally.

[Cypher sits up tall on their haunches, waving into the device, calling out, ''Allo!'.]

[Wesker meanwhile glances down at themselves.]

I'm going to need some feminine undergarments. My usual gentlemen's linen won't fit, since I'm smaller than I was, to say nothing of the different anatomical organs involved.

I have my old corset, if you'd like. It's not very comfortable, though. I haven't bothered with it in a while.

[Or any other undergarments.

Which she doesn't quite realize is taboo to admit.]

That should suffice. I'm nearly a head shorter than usual. My sister used to grouse about the brassieres that women in our world tend to wear: you'd be in good company, though I suspect she'd be a little too curious about you. I might be stronger than her, but in some ways, she was the more dangerous of the two of us.

...do you mean to say she'd want to...experiment on me?

[It's a word she's come to know a fear a bit, here in Trench and before.]

I was applying moisturizer, but it seems I missed a few spots: At least you've encountered a version of me with which you can carry on a full conversation. The three-year version of me made a return and ended up in Koz's Orphanage. You'd either find him adorable or irritating. I was a mouthy little pest.

...Ahh, I have to admit, a part of me was tempted to move out there to give myself some distance from the sea. Has anyone found Riteior's weakness?

I ... swear I saw you young once. Mouthy was definitively part of it, if my memory is correct, though that was some time ago regardless.

My understanding is that we are looking into a blood ritual which can hopefully keep their influence in check through repeated implementation. One that involves all blood types, or at least all sleeper blood types.

[The feed shows Wesker buttoning up a grey flannel button-down shirt, a few sizes too big, which gives the air of a woman wearing her male loved one's shirt.]

I have a few theories: before I came to Deerington, when I was still in my world of origin, I was seeking my sister after I lost contact with her. She was very much in my mind and - dare I say - in my heart when I literally fell into Deerington. I saw her there as one of the Wastes, before she passed when the town was dying. Some mind over matter may have occurred during this Shedding.

I have to ask, since you've experienced Shedding from male to female, do you have any advice on adapting to this new form?

It would take some analyzing, and I'd prefer a skin scraping from your usual form to compare it to. But it could be quite revelatory, if the changes are skin deep or if they go down to our very substance.

Knowing her, she'd likely try at least to take some tissue samples without your permission, though I might have been able to convince her to respect your person and your personal space. She generally listened to me when I advised her.

She absorbed a little too much of our keeper's philosophy, while I was the one who questioned some of it. For that reason, she was our guardian's golden child and I was the problem child. She also didn't get the chance to cross paths with the one who made me better, though in Deerington, I glimpsed a version of her who had a different second chance.

Edited 2023-01-31 23:57 (UTC)

[As is always the cast with Albert, it's a lot to unpack. But Ariadne nods, knowingly. While she may not understand that scientific upbringing...

Well. She knows what it's like to be the "problem child."]

It must be hard, looking like her now.

I can't offer much advice really other then to just take it slow with figuring things out. I didn't feel much different in the other body but I also had someone I cared about help me deal with it. Do you have someone you trust here?

That's more or less how I feel: I've not lost some of my strengths, however, it's an odd sensation being almost a head shorter and about fifty pounds of muscle and bone lighter than usual.

There are... a few Sleepers whom I trust with a change this sudden and peculiar. I suspect they're as accustomed to strange and sudden happenings as I, thus this will be just another odd happening as so many others.

This... isn't the first time I've Shed: earlier this season, I'd turned into my childhood self, which happened to me last year about this same time. I think I prefer this one: at least people can carry on a full conversation with this new face. [She might roll her eyes slightly at the recollection.]

In some way, it is. In other ways, not as much as one would expect. In spite of the ways our keeper favored her, she and I were still close. She was physically frail after a long illness when she was young: I was the one she leaned on when she needed someone to lean on. She protected me from the worst of our keeper's harshness, or at least the verbal aspects. Also...I protected her from annoying males who didn't understand that a female might have other priorities than their unwanted attentions.

[A weighted pause and their eyes might widen briefly.] I'm going to have to fend off my own set of unwanted attentions, aren't I?

Skin scraping sounds awful FYI but I guess I can let you have one.

[Ariadne frowns thoughtfully.]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. No one in Trench ever seems all that interested in attractive females.

Except maybe Usagi.

Edited 2023-02-01 03:01 (UTC)

There's an easier route: exfoliating the skin of, for instance, the outside of your arm before a shower, over a sheet of dark paper. It's a little tricky folding up the paper to keep the sample from sifting out, but it can be done.

There do seem to be a lot of males interested in other males, though I've seen some male Trenchies bother some of the female Night Walkers in ways they didn't welcome. I may have put an end to that.

[They look at the device from the corner of their eye, with a tiny smirk intended to look friendly.]

If it's any consolation: I still find females attractive, even in this form.

I'm not sure "consolation" is the word.

But I am sure that you can take care of yourself, if you run into any sort of trouble.

[A slow nod and the smirk fades to a softer version of their usual calm deadpan. Did something almost dismayed flicker in their eyes? It passes quickly. Cypher comes in closer, nestling into their Sleeper's neck.]

Ahh, I take it you prefer the company of males for more intimate matters?

All right, that sounds much less awful. I can do that.

Intimate?

[She blinks in surprise.]

If you mean copulation, then no. Never.

Ahh... you're disinterested, or asexual, as I think people are calling it these days?

In a spirit of transparency... I'm not much interested in coupling, though if the woman I'm drawn toward desires it, I'm open to the action. I believe that's called a grey-asexual. [Saying this, their gaze shifts away from the device, while their face is turned to it and their posture shifts, somewhat ill at ease with being this open.]

It's...uh...a little more complicated than preference.

[But hey, she's been living openly for so long. And while she knows humanoids get awkward talking about reproduction and copulation...she's never really understood the point.

Why hide a fact of life? Literally.]

Actually, Alastrians are born believing that there's no greater achievement than finding your mate.

Unfortunately, there are no Alastrian males my age...anywhere.

[A pause.]

Oh, but don't feel bad for me or anything. I've made my peace with it. Even if I sometimes...am curious about...more to life.

There was a time I came back from the sea in teenaged form. You might have crossed paths with that version. I can't say I was much better at that age, except my vocabulary was better.

...I'm usually not one to support those who'd take out the Pthumerians, since they seem deeply entwined with this world's ecology, but if there's anyone who'd take on Riteior and send them into the beyond, I'd almost be willing to assist them. However, a Blood Ritual might be a good stopgap till we can come up with a more permanent solution to that particular pest.

I suppose it's impertinent for me to ask, but... Would you consider seeking and finding a mate outside of your species?

[It's as much a question from a concerned and curious friend as it is a question from a soul in search of their mate.]

You're not entirely alone in that regard: My sister and I as well as our siblings were manipulated to be the next phase in human evolution. Unfortunately, only Alex and I survived the process. Given our relationship and how we viewed each other, it wasn't exactly the route either of us wanted to take. As far as I know, there's no one else in my world of origin - and certainly not in this one - quite like me, either.

Anything to reduce the unease. Let me know when you do, and I'll fetch what you collect. This could be quite revelatory.

I've wondered if there's a means to induce this change at will or as needed, or if it's something we should embrace as it comes, like the changing of the seasons...

[She wrinkles her nose.

Yes, she had brothers, of course. But she wouldn't ever consider that either.]

No, no. I like humanoids very much. I'm just not sure one would ever actually consider me. Not...not for real. Not for...that kind of commitment.

I've heard rumors that some people will shift bloodtype during a shed and they never revert to their original type. Personally, I'd be worried that changing at will could increase the chances of it becoming permanent.

But I guess that's something for you to dig into and me to worry about from the sidelines.

Sometimes it is like that...if you change once then you seem to change often. As if the world knows exactly what it takes to keep your guessing. But it is definitely easier to deal with then some of the things that can happen to you.

It's too bad we can't control it ourselves. In some cases being able to change would come in handy depending on the situation.

Yes, that was the one I was thinking of. [She nodded.] So, then, this was a time even before that one. That makes sense.

That, or at least remove the potential threat for the foreseeable future. It is perilous to destroy them, but restricting? I find that more helpful.

It happened to a good friend of mine last year: she shifted from Paleblood to Vileblood and it seems to have remained that way, something I don't wish on anyone, particularly someone as close as we are.

Is it that bad? I sometimes don't mind the idea of changing bloodtype.

I might mind the suddenness of the change, however... the change itself, the shapes I've taken intrigue me. There's something to be learned from each, it would seem, though a part of me wonders why I became a child version of myself. This female version I'm engaged by. I'm more at ease with females than with males, though I'm comfortable with my own maleness. I suppose this change might have been summoned by that sentiment.

I wouldn't be adverse to having some control over the Shedding. It would help in certain situations where a complete quick change would be ideal. Or necessary. [From the note in their voice, they've been in their share of these situations.]

Maybe you could test the theory. think about what you would want to change into next month and see if it happens. It would be interesting to know if it is somehow linked...

Aside from the misanthropy directed at folk with Vileblood, there's the physiological aspects to consider: my blood is quite literally toxic, which is typical of Vileblood, which in turn has affected other bodily fluids, making contact with them dodgy, except for Paleblood folk. I've been warned that in time, that toxicity is likely to damage my nerve endings, eventually leading to problems with touch sensations. There are reports of folk with Vileblood losing the ability to sense pain... or pleasure for that matter. I haven't experienced this yet, but I doubt a little shy of eighteen months is enough time.

Oh, shit, I didn't know it could get that bad. Think there might be a way to change that?

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[Transmission 09][un:A_Wesker013][Filtered to Sleepers 18+]

[VIDEO]; UN: [Airy]

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Video - UN: Runeseeker

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Re: video | un: sds

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Re: Video - UN: Runeseeker

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(Missed the notif on this one. I am so sorry >.<)

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totally fine!

Re: totally fine!

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[CW: Fantasy misanthropy referenced, potential physical debilitation discussed]

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