Really?
"Oh. But it looks unused."
"Because it is. And I sharpened them up some. It's not Nippon steel or anything fancy." And her flush roared up to her rabbit ears, more pink for her sudden embarrassment. "Uh, never mind that."
I blinked in warm surprise. "What, you mean this isn't folded a thousand times to slice rain drops in half?"
She jumped on the spot, and grinned. "Your Earth has those memes, too? I guess anime is eternal."
"Sure seems to be, though I haven't really had time to check what media Bet has."
Madison's mouth broke into a gasp of sheer exuberance.
"Did you have Revolutionary Girl Uttenna?!"
I rocked on my heels. "Uh, yeah actually. That's freaky. I, uh, didn't watch it yet. I kinda never got around to watching a lot of the stuff people recommend."
Stuff where I wasn't able to draw along while watching was less appealing, even though the whole idea of media was to relax and engage.
"Did you at least have Naruto?! One Piece??"
Someone's power level was shining bright. "Yeah, I read them both, actually. Up to the end for Naruto and I can't remember the exact chapter but like eleven hundred something for One Piece? It was still ongoing."
Her delight of finding shared passions broke into shock. "It's still going that long?! You've gotta tell- no! Wait! I don't want to know! Don't spoil anything! But- Is it almost done?"
What a hurricane of feelings she just swept through. I nodded, the enormity of what I'd admitted to knowing sinking in, lips tight in quiet admission. "What arc are you guys on right now?"
Madison regarded me with caution, wary, but she spoke. "…They're fighting Doflamingo in Dressrosa. Chapter 714 was the last one. We get chapters as soon as they're translated by Aleph. It's got to be almost done by then, right?"
She was on the brink of the second most annoying arc - so far - getting into gear. She was so full of hope…
Something in my expression betrayed my thoughts.
"Its still going? For twelve more years?!"
I gave a minute nod, lips tight in sympathy. "And probably five more on top of that. But hey, at least they finally got the giant island."
She slumped into near tears.
In a gesture of cross-dimensional commiseration I pat her awkwardly on the shoulder.
"There's a sequel?!" Madison's glee was so much that she took on a needless whisper.
There was an almost gift-giving cheer sort of feel to carrying secrets from the future and carefully spooning out spoiler-free tidbits to an appreciative audience. But Boruto didn't deserve anyone's excitement.
Madison was almost spinning on my stone-carved couch in her need to exercise her excitement.
No. No, I shouldn't allow my creative cynicism to bleach her spirit of this hope. Who did that to someone? Me. I'd done that. But it was a cruel thing to indulge in.
She could form her own opinions. The media would do the rest. Jump really should have let the guy they crucified to the franchise go off and make the fashion manga he clearly wanted to. But even then his handling of characters was questionable. Especially female characters…
I was sorely tempted to say anything but restrained myself. Being a friend meant doing things for the sake of other people's joy. This whole thing had been a minefield of spoilers and hasty recollections of what I could afford to share.
"Of a sort. Don't go in expecting too much, okay?"
She had a year and a half to brace herself for Naruto shedding his protagonist hair.
Importing anime from another dimension, though. Damn. Did Jump already have an online service, or no? Manga Plus had been an alright site.
"Wait, how long does it take to get to the Boardwalk?"
Madison aborted her wide eyed musings. "From here? Like, half an hour by bus."
We both reached for our phones. We had fifty minutes until my lunch time pick up.
Trepidation zapped my flesh but I swallowed through it.
"Alright, I guess we should head out."
Madison, though, had questions. "You're sure this is a good sale, right? Shatterbird broke a lot of electronics. It would be weird for a guy to just have this on hand, no?"
"He did claim he was out of town, but…" That could easily be a lie. Did people go from bringing their tablet when they ran from an Endbringer's chaotic aftermath to no longer wanting it? He wanted witnesses at the Boardwalk, yet if he was cheating me with a dead device I might not know until I was home.
"That's possible," but Madison's evident misgivings remained. And now I'd caught her cough, so to speak. Damn it. I was really hoping to get this locked in today. If a legit Intuos tablet had to come from out of town then that would take weeks or more. And negate the money I could save with a second hand good. Just shipping it in would take like another hundred dollars on top of Wacom's price.
"Bring your laptop and then we can check the hardware before you buy?"
I recoiled. Madison noticed.
"Oh, I mean. I guess it is expensive."
I nodded absently. "Yeah," but that wasn't all of it.
Long ingrained instincts balked at the idea of bringing my computer anywhere it could catch so much as a scratch, let alone be stolen. One of the first things I'd been warned about that didn't involve parahumans was unpowered henchmen types and pickpockets looking for quick gains.
My desktop genes, through and through, did not like the idea.
But, I guess I was a parahuman. Who mugged someone dual wielding superpowers?
My heart still rebelled at the very idea.
Anything could happen.
I'd have to keep it close. This was my best shot at an immediate art tablet and I couldn't afford to dodge one risk to accept another. I could easily get sold a scam product.
"I'm just being stupid. We need to be sure I'm not wasting cash on a scam."
"It's not stupid to worry. I sure avoid taking my treasures out and about these days. But I think no one will mess with you. And this is really important for you."
I smiled a bit at her encouragement.
Better to take a small risk and be on edge about my laptop for the whole trip. I couldn't avoid every risk. I just had to make smart ones. Worst comes to worst, some guy gets tracked down for stealing government property and I get a different laptop. Hopefully.
This thing was just a loaner Victoria helped arrange.
I pulled a Shadow Stalker backpack from my one bag of belongings; stuffed along with other freebie merchandise, including my now designated sleep t-shirts. They were functionally nightgowns. I put my laptop inside and kept my wallet zipped into my skirt pocket.
Every movement clinked my chains, a noise that was already growing normal.
At the door Madison regarded me anew with a hesitance.
"We're going to be dealing with a lot of people. We should be okay, but it's not going to be fun."
"Yeah, I figured." Madison had as much of a chance of going covert as I did.
Well, I did have my stranger power, but I couldn't exactly due business while ducking in the shadows. Not when buying groceries or shopping. Not when getting takeout food or eating out. When I could afford to do that. While traveling? Sure. But I had to talk to people to buy stuff. And the power didn't extend to other people.
We could also skip the bus.
Shadow could carry us, or rather I could go into Shadow and she could carry Madison. I'd zipped around the testing chambers and it had been pretty fun. Physics mattered not a drop when I was subsumed in Shadow's nothing. Ceiling or wall or bumpy chest high blocks. She zipped over them all without break.
But carrying someone at those speeds? When a slip up could throw someone's body at well over a hundred miles per hour? Only in desperation.
Besides, that was just more attention and far more disruption of other people's day to see some unknown dark mass speeding around. I'd probably be reported by a hundred different panicked persons just on the way to the Boardwalk.
Outside I had Shadow latch the chain to my door by slipping her under the crack. I barely had a thing in there but it was also everything I had.
All it took was a thought and a bit of Shadow fumbling the bead at the end of the chain. Just like that I realized I could break into anyone's home without a trace. How unsettling.
"Are the buses packed at these times?"
We set off down the hall.
"They shouldn't be. But we're going to get stared at and worse. Like five times worse than dressing up for a night on the town and having to beat off the constant heel nipping speed bumps."
That sounded like experience. Which I didn't have any of. "I haven't really gone out much. Was more of a stay at home kinda person."
Madison twirled on the landing, evaluating me like some green recruit boarding for D-Day. "Then we need a plan. Honesty with the wrong kind of guy just lets them in the door." I could imagine. The few lurked behind the many and they didn't have the decency to label themselves as creeps. "And we're dealing with cape tourists to boot. The cold shoulder would probably be best… Give me your best look of disgust. Like 'I can't believe this man shaped mound of crap is talking to me' kinda look."
Oh, okay?
I couldn't really do it immediately. It took some visualizing. Some grasping of the creatures we'd potentially be dealing with and how that sparked my gears.
"Oh damn, that's pretty good. You could probably crush a man's balls just by glaring them down like that."
"Really?" Maybe it was the glowy eyes? Or maybe she was just gassing me up some.
"Yeah! With the right makeup and some practice you could really pull off something intense. Have you tried making faces in the mirror before? That was really good!"
I chuckled to get past the compliments. "Not really."
"Well, you did great. Between that and some 'thanks but we're trying to live our lives' maybe we can keep most of the reasonable people at bay."
"Maybe," I agreed.
I got the feeling she didn't fully believe it either. But having a plan didn't hurt.
Stomach finding more dread we walked outside.
It was a good day, sunny and not so warm as to be uncomfortable.
And outside people stared immediately. One guy reached for his phone on sight.
I exhaled what hope I had and followed Madison to the bus stop.
AN: Chapter got massive so its been split in half. Fingers crossed for the short stack. She's going into the lion's den. Like ReplyReport Reactions:TripleCCC, 3memento3mori, Byzantium and 132 othersSantafireNov 23, 2025NewAdd bookmarkView discussionThreadmarks Chapter 8 (Partial Madison Interlude) New View contentSantafire.Nov 24, 2025NewAdd bookmark#133People loved to stare.
Madison was familiar with many stares, but the last five weeks had brought a new breed. Attraction was still there, that poorly veiled curiosity. The appreciation for her style and adorable presentation too, now enhanced by these adorable ears. But the distrust and weariness still fading from many eyes? She'd never been looked at that way before. Not in mass.
Adjusting had been hard.
Erika wasn't taking it with as much stride. She was stiffening and glaring about more and more with every block. Glaring outside, up, or wherever there wasn't a person. Sometimes she'd flick a searing glance someone's way, as if she could fry the phones out of their hands with will alone.
Damn that would be hot. And novel! It was already bizarre to be talking to a full grown person so much shorter than herself. Erika was right at nipple-sucking height, if she went on tiptoes.
But none of those errant day dreams were going to become real. No sir. Erika needed support she could trust. Where else would Erika get someone who understood what she was in for? Most of the thirty-twos were still in the thick of their changes, just as in need of understanding. On the sliding scale of bodily mutations, Madison had hit paydirt. The cosplay scene wouldn't know what hit it with her authentic bunny girl swag.
Madison did her best to make conversation. Erika seemed to know only a few anime so she dropped that branch quickly. Games were doing more to keep her mind off the public. And being occupied tended to keep some people from approaching. So far they'd been really lucky.
"-so, does anything not become a live service game?"
"Plenty, but publishers waste a lot of money on it. The indie scene has to fill in for a lot of genes that would otherwise be dead."
The future was sounding bad, without more staple mmos where would weirdoes go? She wasn't stuck seeking outlets in her room alone now that she was in college, but her heart ached for her kin all the same.
Madison's heart was also full of a new sort of hope. A girl who shared some of her passions. All hers to talk with! Leaving the house really did lead to better days.
"But wow does keep going, right?" That- why did she look like she was about to tell a child Santa wasn't real? "It doesn't die, does it?!"
"No. No, it doesn't. Are they owned by Activision here?"
"Uh, yeah? Is it the cash shop? The odd mount being real money only is pretty bad."
Erika sagged. "It gets worse. A lot worse. The cash shop is far from everything. The game shifts its target audience by a lot. If what you like about it persists then it's not so big a deal. But I lost my main appeals in the game and just haven't enjoyed it since."
"Oh. Well I mostly hang out on RP servers. Playing draenei and putting together adventure packs." 'Packs' was a word for it. It took a deft hand to write a good kinky biography. The secret was not slathering half of the word count on body proportions or vein mapping their preferred dick flavors.
"Then you'll be fine. Mostly. Class abilities change a lot." Erika looked of with a sigh, then away from all of the people staring. "It's just an old disappointment. At least final fantasy 14 is landing next month. That's a relief."
A relief? "Didn't that game bomb super hard?" All Madison knew about it was that they had a lot of cat girls with narrow ears. They'd been popular enough in adult art circles the last couple years.
The few people waiting at the bus stop continued to stare but Erika glared down one guy who went for his phone. People on the other side of the street were not so swiftly shamed. Erika was just too fetchingly gloomy to ignore. As much as Madison wished they would she also got the allure completely. It was still very rude.
"It did. But Yoshida is at the helm here, just like Earth Yod. So many games are taking the same exact course I remember that it could be the blockbuster success we had." Erika got thoughtful, and a pinch doubtful? Anxious? "You know, if it is the same then it has a lot of good emote systems. A huge amount of them, actually. And it had a good roleplay environment. Could be something to check out, if you like it."
"Oh, sure! I'd love to play with you some." What a chaste proposal. But it was delightful to hear. Erika was also looking for a friend.
They continued to talk, all while Madison's heart spun with hope. As did her fluttering lust. Not that she was horny right now. But if Erika asked her to suck down that cock she was packing beneath her skirt then Madison would say 'Yes ma'am!' on the spot. Then drag her to a bathroom to shine up her knob.
That mystery hog had been rutting through her dreams for days.
But she held back. Consent was the foundation of any good encounter and she couldn't imagine a demanding solicitation coming from Erika. She was quiet and thoughtful. Overwhelmed but pushing through. Erika was dealing with a lot. Madison knew only some but it was enough.
She'd been subject to leers and stares of all kinds, enduring or wielding them for years to survive Winslow. Learning how to find a good lay in a field of average fucks at college.
The last five weeks had been new. Never before had Madison been something to strike fear into any-most… hearts.
She couldn't bring herself to complain fully. Once PRT testing with some capes she'd never heard of verified she wasn't going to morph further all of the negatives, the concerns, were swept off the board. That left Madison content to eat up the shunning she deserved. But PRT pamphlets had turned public uncertainty into a new sort of cautious leer.
Now people knew thirty-twos were safe enough to lust after. No contagion or powers. And plenty were lusting. If someone rolled high on the photogenic dice, as she had. From one reason to avoid the public to another.
It was less thrilling than Madison hoped for. At least so far. Fantasy always went just how her womb wanted. Reality wasn't genre savvy, damn it. Why did so many people prefer to make a bad impression instead of accepting a stranger didn't want to bone them?
Her best regular had been really gung-ho about the new Madison. But there was a new distance between the rest and herself. They were less on the same page. She'd become enough that they started to talk about exclusivity.
Erika, whatever she was going to want to do, would run into that same distance in desires. That same gap between what others wanted and what you wanted. Madison knew it. Socializing wasn't so different from sex. People were happy to go in knowing that what they wanted didn't align with what you wanted and they expected you to bend.
Madison wouldn't do that to Erika.
Even if Erika did express vague interest, that didn't mean everything! Someone packing a jaw dropping pussy pounder didn't necessarily mean they were compatible. Madison had leapt too soon before.
It was even worse if core parts of you had to remain buried.
Two years of college had been fraught with disappointments. So many men just didn't trust the evidence of their cocks! One glimpse of her dildo stash and they would just insist she was suddenly loose, despite wringing their dicks out like a toothpaste tube in a mechanical vice minutes prior.
And they just got so damn skiddish if she so much as offhand mentioned prostate stimulation.
Two years and not a one! She wanted to know! It was supposed to be a quick release button and yet guys were just so damn shy about it! They want to shove penis into her butt but not the other way around!? The frustration was endless!
But she'd learned. Letting the freak out was why keep-worthy flings went no contact. Sometimes what you wanted was just not popular, with anyone.
And yet she kept buying more strap-ons. Some things were just a part of you.
Her two other friends were busy or not going out much these days. Friends… Bound by the horrible things they'd done together. The only two girls that didn't ghost her after catching a glimpse of the lust within.
Madison knew she couldn't change Emma. Especially right now. People could only grow on stable ground.
New friends, real friends who knew all of her, hadn't come.
The college anime and gaming clubs had been unbearably sweaty. Where else was she supposed to look? That one orgy had been really persnickety about anonymity.
But maybe now Madison at least wouldn't have to be alone in some of her passions.
She could be allowed that much.
A rickety city bus pulled up. Worn by time, twenty years of duct tape, and somehow hadn't been raided for parts during the first month of recovery efforts.
Erika marched inside the moment its doors opened, shying away from the now commonplace police officer stationed by the driver.
Erika did an odd shuffle onto a seat, without her hands leaving her pocket. Madison still caught a glimpse of how that fabric bent around the wealth beneath. Then berated herself for glancing. Erika didn't want anyone looking there.
But once you knew… It was rather telling how the skirt went from floofy layers to a touch supported.
Phones flocked their way. Odd twists and feigned casual gestures. Deniable actions that were belied by how they didn't talk to their friends much. A few were bad enough at social subterfuge to just speak softly about two people who could obviously overhear them. These big floppers weren't for show. And this wasn't some lame, crude bullying tactic where they were meant to be overheard to shame some innocent victim.
Madison did her best to keep talking. This Final Fantasy game sounded kinda neat. She hadn't really touched many dedicated single player rpgs since her childhood on the ps2. How different was an mmo Final Fantasy?
If there weren't going to be many good ones left then she'd have to soak up the ride while it was going good.
Outside the bay was in purgatory, emerging from a muck that had left her and her parents terrified of going outside. They were just within the more secured suburbs of the city. Far enough from the docks and downtown to avoid gangs but near enough that the fallout of Leviathan missed their home.
And none of those passing ruins distracted the other passengers from either of them. Erika didn't know what to do with the attention, how to abuse it or dismiss it and make the intruder feel worthless for thinking they had a chance, as Emma could.
Erika was almost an open book, her heart on her sleeve behind that outward hostility. Her discontent plain. Those glowing eyes were harsh but it was a facade of necessity. Madison had seen the relaxed soul within.
That round face, so cold yet cute was a one of a kind opportunity. Her whole being was. Never had someone so unique existed and every glimpse of her figure was more tantalizing for its sheer potential to mesmerize and project womanly power.
That Erika didn't strut any of her stuff was the first clue she maybe wasn't doing as well as Madison first thought. It could be that showing off just wasn't her thing, but she was also smothering herself. Enough that she maybe never even tried something further than her comfort zone.
The question was how much would she enjoy? How much confidence was waiting to be found in her? She seemed ready to rip someone apart, if they gave her a reason. Otherwise she'd probably crawl back into her hole, as Madison once did. Still did. Everyone needed some time with their holes.
Erika needed some time and encouragement. The last thing Madison wanted was to see the pressure of a cruel world repeat what she'd help forced upon Taylor. Erika needed support, or she could duck away from life just the same way.
"Are you sure you're alright spending the day with me? I'm just going to a thrift store after this."
"Of course, but thanks for asking. That's kind of you," Madison complimented, bringing out some of that deep gray-green that showed Erika's pale skin was flushing. Was her dick a similar green? No, that was a rude thought. She coughed and continued. "I'm on summer break from college, though like half the campus got washed out and needs to be repaired. I'm good for all day!"
Shopping, games, chatting! Maybe even a little bit of makeup demonstration on herself to try and catch Erika's interest! Ooo, or more likely they could just watch some shows. They could just binge One Piece a bit if all else failed!
Make some happy memories, at least one or two.
"Oh, thanks." Erika had a way of softening up when she got touched. Madison wanted to coo but immediately felt worse for the impulse. People had done much to tread on her toes with demeaning comments. Nothing made people infantilize you like enjoying bows or the color pink.
Erika could get it worse. She had to stay thoughtful of what Erika needed.
The bus cranked to a stop. Outside was a not really bustling but still lively Boardwalk, active in spite of being just a half dozen blocks away from Merchant territory and a few more away from a junction with the Undersiders.
Or the path Leviathan had carved while just sparring the tourist hot spot.
People weren't so quick to stand or move to the open doors. Their eyes constantly flicking to us.
Erika stood, and gained a few inches at best. Madison followed, to add what support she could. People tended to move more if a group was trying to get thro-
"Are you people here to do anything or what? You're keeping everyone outside waiting."
And Erika just spoke up herself. Loud, with that skin tingling, ghostly tinge rising to echo an firm tone.
Cowed, people turned to leave, bumping past each other. Some fumed. Like they'd been lectured by a Disney animal. Madison wouldn't voice that comparison.
But Madison was more in awe, and in concern. Erika was stiff, hands jammed into those handy skirt pockets, warring between running off and starring down the herd thinning out enough for them to get off the bus.
Emma would have known what to do. Madison just wanted to give Erika a hug, but that would undercut the moment and slow her down. But she still really wanted to!
"That was really cool," was what she figured best to say. And she meant it.
"Thanks," Erika responded, a bit slowly, caught in her own thoughts perhaps. She had a way of staring nowhere when thinking to herself. Her mind seemed to be racing with constant thoughts. She likely wasn't thinking about how to spice her latest forbidden love fanfiction specifically, but Madison could still relate. Zoro and Sanji rarely left her muse for more than a few weeks. As well as various fantasy OCs.
Outside, more attention swerved their way. Entire groups of rough and tumble teens killing daylight, tides of tourists with cameras in hand, and wary, well-armed boardwalk enforcers turned their way. Erika's magnetism at work. And Madison was the only thirty-two in sight. Attention beget more attention.
Erika sighed mightily and trudged on. Madison breathed deep and explained where to go so she could get her out of here as soon as possible.
I passed on getting food. Those prices were extortion. If a tourist trap was already gouging prices then a tourist trap paying for muscle protection and paying for repairs was twice as awful.
Who could afford it? Well, I was surrounded by examples. They made themselves painfully available to my perusing eyes. And flooded my ears with comments both speculative and rude.
Cape tourists. Wealthy, disaster curious, and now in my face.
With my laptop bag clutched to my front I was feeling like a cornered animal.
Saturation therapy worked, it turns out. Hearing people talk about everything from my powers to my perceivably fat ass took me from being queasy in the stomach to just having no appetite whatsoever.
In a way, they saved me from spending ten dollars on each slice of pizza. In another I had no patience for people who have no concept I could be here for my own needs instead of theirs.
After twenty declines the sixth gaggle of curious amateur filmmakers finally shoved off, only for more to fill the hole. Being slowed to a stop by one group had let so many others feel entirely comfortable to huddle in on me and Madison.
"-Wild, so this is a pr stunt?"
"Seems iffy."
"…short these days, huh."
"figure she do? Maybe some control power? Zap your shad-"
"-se animal types are dangerous! Saw one who was biting those Nazi thugs out near the mountain-"
Shadow was roiling with my indignity and frustration. Every attempt at speech cut short by another camera chud elbowing their way in.
"_please, we're just here for a quick trip. This isn't some PR stunt-"
The geek standing in my personal space wasn't having any of what Madison was failing to speak over the murmur of the crowd.
"People can you please let us out."
Some heard me. A few tried to shuffle out. The nearest. But the rest of the swarm of onlookers wasn't really listening to me.
The murmur of the crowd was painful to my acute ears. Madison had to be suffering some too. Like a pressure of noise upon my inner workings. All focused upon us due to the tide, backed against this fish and chips shop.
We'd done fine at first, keeping ahead of interest. But then braver assholes started asking questions. Getting in our space. Once we stopped moving the pack caught up.
I doubt it was on purpose but they were all emboldened by other people pressing in.
The temptation to just Shadow out was there, but getting Madison out was-
"-ourse I know what I'm talking about. The PRT does these market test stunts all the time if you look in the right places. They're clearly going to try and meld Goth with the cyber future aesthetic and having their new monster cape do a tour-"
I was so fucking close to just saying fuck it, but Shadow would likely cause a panic. And a panic could lead to someone getting trampled. And me having to spend time explaining everything to the PRT. And possibly Madison getting dragged in too.
After almost a week in their care, I did not want to go back. Like running back home the day you move out.
With my heart full of fury and mind thinking of my surely warm bed, I went for an alternative strategy.
I grabbed my new keys and jangled them. The one apartment key on the ring clanged against my po box key ineffectually. But the gesture caught some people's eyes. In aflash they froze, as if aware they had body trapped someone with powers.
Boiled over I shouted. This wasn't going to end without someone taking as much action as necessary and no one was going to manage. Madison especially shouldn't have to.
"Hey! Hey! Down here!"
I jangled them some more and clapped my hands for good measure.
Every eye turned my way, finally seeing me instead of talking past me. The noise dimmed. Maybe they'd remembered their human decency. Maybe Shadow writhing beneath me was a bit intimidating and my ghostly shouting was hard to speak over. Either way, I now had to address the crowd and I was steamed up enough to push through every bit of me that didn't want to be dealing with this shit.
"Alright! I get none of you really did this on purpose. But no! This is not some stunt. I am not here to get ogled. I'm just a person trying to buy something. And neither of us can leave! We are literally cornered. By ALL of you! You understand?!"
The proverbial classroom was caught off guard. A few heads nodded. Everyone else seemed more, confused. Especially when I stared each of them in the eye. Then it turned to baffled offense or denial.
Some spoke up to defend themselves but I just jangled my keys over them.
Or under them, the effect was the same. They felt small. Too bad.
"I don't care! I'm not passing fucking judgment here! Now clear out so we can get back to our lives. You've had your pictures, though you'd delete them if you respected us. I'm sure you all have better things to do."
My very blood was almost curdling from the effort of keeping my face scowling and stern.
They parted ways. Some mumbled apology. Many just shuffled off in this way or that. Many kept filming.
Enough had regained the humanity that we had a path out.
I took it, making sure Madison followed.
Ugh. I was going to have to avoid any clips of me online. That I could end up seeing this moment again would conjure up all kinds of post-event embarrassment.
Madison grabbed me from the side.
"Way to go, Erika! You were amazing!"
Oh, we were hugging now. She could really get a wrap around my tiny shoulders.
It was good and warm, a gesture of human bond I sorely missed. My first full hug in nearly a week and the first one on Earth Bet! But boobs from both ends were a bit mooshed. How awkward. I gave her a squeeze in return and did my best not to think about it. I just enjoyed the comfort of a warm friend.
"More like they were just that unbearable. Come on, we should find my guy and get the fuck out of here before they get more ideas."
Cameras caught that moment too, but they allowed us to leave this time. I tried to just enjoy having empty air around me again. But the sights brought questions. And speaking was something other than watching the voyeurs.
"Did Leviathan do all of that?"
"Do wha- Oh. The Boat Graveyard? No. That was from when the shipping industry tried to fuck their workers over. They never found who specifically scuttled everything."
I hummed in faint disappointment. Brockton Bay must have been doing poorly for some time.
Were all of these well-dressed people really just tourists?
With my glower at full chill people gave us some distance. No acting required, just full on done-with-their-shit anger. But I could feel their eyes on our backs, their words clear enough to be heard. I kept them from mind.
"There, I think that's him."
A spindly guy in a blue shirt and glasses was looking around, wearing a mostly empty backpack. Of course by sheer weight of many eyes being our way he looked, amazed and baffled. And got antsy about how I was looking at him. Like he was about to run-
Did he think he was going to get robbed? Here? In broad daylight?
I tried a wave. That aborted his action for now, but he kept some distance.
"What do you want." And he asked that with a clear dose of cautionary scrutiny.
He actually thought we were trying to rob him.
"HHBoobenheimer69? I'm Vex, your Ebay buyer."
He choked on nothing, more surprised than dramatic. Some passersby slowed down to eavesdrop. He stared and tried to speak a few times.
"You okay, dude?" I ventured, cautiously.
Please don't be a fucking paranoiac man. The way you're cradling that thing makes me so hopeful it works. That promised tablet was where like eighty percent of my persistence was coming from right now. The knowledge that as long as I pushed I would soon be home with that sweet machine and could put this fiasco behind me.
"Yeah? Yeah, yeah yeah. Just- surprised. Wow."
And he's gaping at me like I came out of wonderland. I had nothing so I just nodded slowly, encouraging him through whatever this was. No phone in my face yet so small victories.
"How about we go somewhere we can just verify things and finish this trade, alright? Where we aren't being stared at by fifty people." And if I raised my voice and glared around when I said that, I fucking earned it.
"You got the install cd?"
"Uh, yeah." He passed me a freshly packaged disc, undisturbed. If he hadn't been holding the Intuos in his bag I'd assumed it was just unboxed.
I took the disc and slid it home into the laptop immediately.
His hand stayed where I'd taken the disc for a bit, before slumping. Again I was reminded of zoos. He was looking me all over from that chair. It wasn't a pervy sort of looking but I still felt other, and bothered.
Tucked away in this little coffee shop with overpriced water things were more quiet. Every table was hushedly filming us but the staff had taken unkindly to masses with no interest in a beverage trying to crowd in after me.
"You, uh, draw?"
"Yup." The install was going fast. The laptop was also a noise machine. Not alienware turbine levels, but it was up there. This thing wanted to be plugged in at most times.
The mouse pad was a right pain too but I'd make this work.
Madison shot me a glance after he spoke, a commiseratory one. She spoke up quickly and with a polite friendliness. "So, you guys just came back in to the city? Your family?"
"Yeah, just last week." He also didn't say much else. Or spare Madison more than a long glance at her ears. "Was worried about our stuff but we got lucky."
"That is really lucky. So, aspiring artist, huh? What kind of stuff did you draw?" Madison was really trying to pull this guy's attention. You go girl.
"Not much. Didn't work out." He turned back to me after one last glance at her ears. "What kind of drawings do you do?"
"Job drawings. Just stuff people want done."
"Oh. Cool."
I really didn't want to get locked into a long conversation. But I also didn't want to totally cold shoulder the guy. He kept a grip on the tablet throughout, as if he could rip it out and dash away should the need come. Which was a bit of a relief, if not for his contradictory interest in me.
Even though I had flashed the money.
But I guess I was also keeping it in my pocket, just in case some fucker tried to swipe it. Just like how I had Shadow ready to grip my laptop if the same happened. Her black was pooled around its frame. Boobenheimer was careful to not rest his arm near her, despite infecting me with his paranoia.
"Shadow is harmless. Like I said, I just want to make sure this thing is working."
"No, I get it. Just being cautious. My friends told me to. He also made it through that whole Nine mess but didn't get the fuzz package."
Madison shifted back at that, a full body cringe and thinning of her smile. "You might want to be careful bringing that up. People really suffered surviving that."
"Oh… I should have thought about that. Makes sense"
I glanced again towards my friend. Madison had been near the Nine?
When the prompt appeared I had my laptop restart. A slow process, thanks to it not having an ssd. I threw another glance Madison's way but she shook her head, trying to relieve my open concern.
What do I do about that kind of potential wound? I was hardly qualified to sort out that level of potential trauma. But Madison also seemed levelheaded and normal, not twitching at shadows and senses like other thirty-twos. As much. Loud enough noises got to any floppy ears.
I'd just have to offer what support I could and make sure she knew I cared.
Food could work-
"Is it going well? I haven't used this thing in a while."
"The hardware was recognized, just rebooting the drivers to be certain there's no sensitivity issues."
"That's all good," HHBoobenheimer69 said quickly. "So, you're pretty familiar with digital art?"
I nodded absently. He strummed his fingers a bit and rocked in his chair.
"Not too good at it myself, but I guess you can figure. Art's not for everyone, huh."
Oh. One of those. I tried not to pull a frown. "I guess. Not everyone has the time to put into it or gets off on the right foot."
He leaned forward. "Yeah, you've got to be talented to do art!"
"I mean, some people are. It's more that art is a constant process of learning. Without a lot of guidance or the right approach to the problem solving it can become easy to stall out and not know how to expand your skill set. That kind of time commitment isn't for everyone."
Once the fun was gone and all you could see was what you didn't know how to do? People quit.
I pulled open my government copy of photoshop cs5. "There. Can I try it out for a minute?"
HHBoobenheimer69 held out the tablet. I maneuvered it in his hands to the table and tried out some of the default brushes. "Good DPI." I pulled up settings menus and adjusted the pressure curve. Having to go full weight to get max pressure just wore down the plastic nub tips. Some more swipes with textured brush and various tones and values. "Seems like everything is working fine."
I could cry with the relief.
"See, it's all as I said."
"Yup," my shoulders relaxed some, at last. "Here."
I pulled out the hundred and thirty from my skirt pocket and held it out.
But he didn't quite take it. There was an idea in those eyes. He spoke with a hesitance but firmed up as he finished. "Do you want it for free?"
Oh ew. I spoke before Madison could get her words in. Seeing her leap to do so warmed still some of this fresh disappointment.
"It wouldn't be free. Please don't make this weird."
I placed the bundle of bills on the table and pushed them towards him.
He frowned but wilted, face turning red and bundle of bills still untouched. "I guess it would be weird .Sorry."
I immediately started packing things up into my purple backpack.
"Had to take my chance, you know?"
Did he just not get out much? Did he not know he was essentially asking for my contact information and a relationship of some kind for a freebie? How else did someone return a favor like that!
Madison put her hands on my shoulders. I could see her staring him down from the corner of my eye.
"Did you really, though? Wasn't just a pleasant exchange enough?"
He shied away from Madison when she asked that.
I slowed a bit, shutting down the laptop. "I guess I get the attraction at least." I looked down at myself, a figure no one could find anywhere else. "There's a lot of stress you can't know about, like how bad it was just to get here. But this just isn't the way to get a date. Or the time."
He was crushed, face twisted, but he just nodded and grabbed the money. "I said I was sorry."
He left.
I slumped. "And now I somehow feel like the asshole for trying to explain why that was gross."
"Not, it's his fault. Entirely."
I already knew that, but hearing Madison's firm insistence did help some. Which just felt more stupid, that I need reassuring. I breathed all of that stress out, heavy and insufficient for the malaise that put on me. I was going to be dumping heavy sighs all day every time I thought back to this.
"I'm gonna have to handle guys all the time, I guess. At least he wasn't a dick about being shot down."
"Yeah," Madison admitted with brief dismal tone before bouncing back to encouragement. "But we got your tablet and it's all great! Gotta keep our eyes on the prize, no matter how bothersome other people make anything."
I nodded, hauling my bag up in front of me again. I wasn't letting this thing out of my sight for a moment.
"Now come on, we've got some thrifting to do!"
Another crowd of onlookers had to be navigated, and a haggard barista apologized to, so we could leave. She'd done a great job keeping the store from getting flooded. And I didn't have the time to properly extend my appreciation, or we'd just get surrounded again. Paying for water we barely sipped would have to be enough.
Out on the streets we got away from the bulk of the crowd and I made myself comfortable knowing I had no reason to go back to that tourist trap.
"You need cups, right?"
"Yeah-"
"Plates?"
"Yeah, those too."
Stuff was piling up quickly. Towels. Odds and ends of clothes. I now had two dozen pairs of black kid socks that, by all guesses, would fit just right. After I washed them.
But that meant I'd need my own detergent, which a thrift store wouldn't have. Nor would they have toothpaste. And I didn't trust the tooth brushes.
But they had loads. And Madison was infectiously excitable.
"Oh! How about this? What do you figure 'You Dried' is from?"
I stumbled, but quickly added that black towel with its red lettering to the stack in Shadow's arms. "It's a Dark Souls reference. How the heck did that get here? The game isn't even two years old."
Madison could only shrug. "Isn't that a stupidly hard series? Maybe they raged out or something?"
Or something was the only thing I could think of. "Sorta? it's more that games people are used to encourage a different skill set. Shifting gears is what people are struggling with. The game doesn't ask a lot from anyone on reflexes or combos."
I really shouldn't ramble about that, since she probably wasn't too interested. But she found something else quickly, a rabid rabbit rummaging through the racks.
"Oh! This is perfect!"
"No its not," I said instantly upon sighting the dinky bathrobe she had in hand. Fluffy, black and white checker patterns with little spade and skulls in each square. A culmination of all things soft and questionable villainous. It was also clearly meant to abort on a grown woman's thigh at a sexy, tantalizing length. "That thing got sold her for a reason."
I was also rather certain my balls would be visible from hem height.
"Oh come on, try it on! You have to at least give it a feel!"
I backed away from her giddy giggles but got cornered against a rack. Soon it was forced in my hands and- Yes. It was stunningly soft.
"Mnnghhh…." Admitting that it was nice felt like a loss. "I dunno."
This was another one of those new things-
"Come on, every girl needs a comfy bath robe and this one could be just your size."
She did not relent. I hefted my backpack into her arms and with one last betrayed glance I shrugged the thing on.
I did my best to hate it. Dug deep and searched for every flaw.
But it was just some comfy. It was big in a cozy way and the sleeves fell far past my hands but rolled up easily enough. It even covered enough of my thighs. Barely.
"I guess I don't suddenly feel possessed to kidnap Dalmatians…"
Madison's little fist pump was pretty cute. "See! It looks great on you. Come on, picture!"
And soon I was looking at a caught entirely off guard image of my new self, fluffed out in chessboard chic and encouraged to throw up double peace signs. At least Madison probably doesn't know what ahegao is. I could probably pull it off, which left my stomach to debate how uneasy it should get at the thought.
How quickly I was feeling this face was my own, beyond just seeing my emotions in these big glowing eyes. Something people and fiction always insisted I should be hung up over.
The robe joined the pile and our scavenging continued.
When done we were down a couple of hours and almost four hundred dollars for an assortment of miscellaneous clothing items, cheaper accessories, and all kinds of bare necessities.
Some of that time was spent getting things bundled just right so the ceramic plates wouldn't get dinged.
Shadow was more caravan beast of burden than otherworldly power beneath it all, long fingers becoming racks for the many cheap bags. None of it could slip into her form as I could with the clothes I wore. Somehow. So instead we just triple bagged the heavy stuff. I needed trash bags anyway.
Madison was electrified. "She's just so cool! So dark and moody!"
She was still hopping around my projection after many minutes of loading.
Shadow and I both shied away from that volume. "Madison!" I hissed with, voice squeaky. "Not here!"
Madison clammed up with an apology. "Oh, yeah. Sorry."
We were close to dangerous areas. That symbol of bugs and eyes just a block away was warning enough.
No matter what the internet said I did not trust that gang territory was safe. I had my inner mind on the soul trigger. Ready to shield up or flood some swaggering fuckers with heavy malaise so we could get the fuck out of here.
Fortunately, no crook emerged.
What I did see were ragged survivors off in the distance. Scraggly beards were common, hygiene kept as much as they were able. They were lining up at a warehouse, one of many that made up the horizon. Bowls and children in hand.
A soup kitchen. One tagged with those same eyes and spiders.
Right on the edge of their territory. The ground we were on was the very rim of what the PRT was able to enforce, until the Undersiders were shoved out.
Was there that much hunger left that even gangs had to provide? Or did they benefit from this, somehow?
I didn't know nearly enough to trust any guess of mine.
We left when people with confidence started to turn our way. Ones who didn't stick out for what they wore, but how they carried themselves. Keen, on alert. Children noticed and stared with awe.
One girl's eyes went wide and she ducked behind her mother.
A look that told me what she thought of parahumans.
Away from their eyes I fell back into my thoughts.
Was this why so much second hand was freshly on sale? What had people shed to last the last weeks? How much of the money being spent on me had come from these people's tax money? How much of it was the proceeds from the merchandise the PRT sold?
Buying things from the thrift store was why they had somewhere to sell their stuff, right? But that was still an uncomfortable thought.
No one should have to liquidate their possessions to get by.
No, I was being extreme. Plenty of them had to have shelter still.
Yet as much as I knew this was a scale only a government could resolve, this was bad, no? Over a month and people were still going hungry? Just how bad were things?
A warm rub of the shoulder pulled me from the spiraling thoughts.
"Come on Erika, the route to my house is fast."
I didn't have the energy to nod much. But maybe something there would distract me. Any hangout pastime would do. Knowing Madison she probably had something in mind to cheer me up already.
AN: Decided to post the next chapter a bit early since I got it all done. Next chapter is going to be the last big block before the world starts to really churn and all of this build up starts to make sense. It's also going to hopefully be the only sex scene of its size. Hopefully. We'll see. A lot is going on in that thing and I need to edit it all still.Last edited: Nov 24, 2025 Like ReplyReport Reactions:TripleCCC, Byzantium, 3memento3mori and 134 othersSantafireNov 24, 2025NewAdd bookmarkView discussionThreadmarks Chapter 9 (They Fuck) New View contentSantafire.Nov 28, 2025NewAdd bookmark#149Madison's neighborhood felt like another world. If not for a few houses still boarding their windows I would have guessed we'd left the Bay. One house still had makeshift barriers to their porch.
Unbidden gurgling from my stomach shattered the quiet. I evaded Madison's knowing eyes. The unwanted noises had been happening for most of the trip. Including on the bus.
It was near dinner time. Obviously. Hunger was starting to get pushy. Making my stomach seem downright cavernous with these growling reverbs.
A woman out walking her dog was utterly gobsmacked by Shadow drifting along.
Offically the last person I spooked on this trip because Madison's house was right there.
I hustled up the walk to duck from the bystander's sight. But Madison was freshly concerned with me, glancing between myself and Shadow.
"I'm still thinking your projection uses your food somehow. That's the only power output."
Madison had a question a minute. And had hugged Shadow numerous times, which somehow made me feel awkward, despite there being no feedback.
"Maybe? I don't really know where it all goes." Well, I had a different theory. But I hadn't been keen to test it while in PRT care. Free food would have really helped but circumstances were already uncomfortable enough that I wasn't about to beat off even more in a federal building.
Madison swayed in thought, then bounced, as if buoyed by her own idea. "You could stay a bit. My parents are working late but we've got a lot of leftover pizza and I could cook something up."
That was all said invitingly and my hungry stomach was aching to accept. And I was doing my best to ignore the jumpy cave creature in my heart that wanted to keep her distance from commitments.
Guilt also mixed but we couldn't feed people by just running Madison's food to them. I only ate enough for three men but concern didn't express itself logically. My mind was scrambling at vapors because there was so little I could do to meaningfully impact this mess.
"You okay, Erika?" Madison's earnest concern shook me from my thoughts. And made me feel worse for making her worry.
I managed a nod.
"Lost in thought, mostly." Too much thought. What did I even know about the specifics of the Bay's food crisis? I was stranded myself, barely standing thanks to government safety nets for empowered people. The impotence was aggravating enough to finally shake off those concerns for now. I had nothing I could do for them right now or any time soon. "I guess I'll impose, for now. I'm going to feed you back for all of this kindness someday."
That promise did more than I expected for my reluctant heart. Building bonds was as alluring as they were intimidating. Expectations I knew I could meet were still seemed so large. They were irrational fears. A body crying for the familiar and afraid of the new.
But knowing didn't make doing any less intimidating.
Madison smiled brightly.
"Hehe, I'll look forward to it. Come on in."
Indoors was dense with rugs and pictures. A hundred childhood photos tiled floral wallpaper. Three different wall clocks ticked along, weights swaying. A little hallway was above, a railing overlooking this foyer.
There wasn't any pink but this still felt like where a darling person like Madison would be raised.
Fitting Shadow through the door took some maneuvering. Many of the dozen bags pulled from her fingers in turn. Once the clutter wasn't a bother she blorped through, melding to the surfaces as unimpeded shadow and set down the rest of my haul.
Madison took in my delicate maneuvers with bare curiosity before remembering herself.
"Welcome! Come on, we can put your stuff over here. Then I can show you what shampoos I've got while we microwave some food."
"Oh, sure." Her energy was still infectious. And frankly I didn't have much I wanted to just ponder right now. I needed a break from it all or this city was going to overwhelm me. Between the crowds and the problems I had too much to rub my mind raw over. Even outside of art it was good to avoid tunnel vision. All I'd been doing was repeating the same questions. Redrawing the same lines with the same mediocrity.
Madison already had her shoes kicked off and raced into their… living room? Another space dense with photos and tasteful if old furnishings. Another antique collector filling every corner of their household with their spoils. It was familiar, comfortable almost, if not someone else's house.
She already had the fridge unpacked of pizza in their kitchen when I finally managed to get my boots off. They were cool but a dozen straps was a lot to undo. Style was suffering.
My socked toes wiggled on the new frontier.
Why did other people's floors always feel weird?
Their kitchen was clean, and some of the counter space was decorated with little grandma statues. Or whatever they were called. I only knew them because I saw them in every ancient relative's home back on Earth Yod. Maybe Madison's grandparent lived here? One of them?
The idea of potentially meeting more people tapped my already depleted social energy. But Madison's family must be good people. I just had to do a bit more. Make a good impression and finally go home to rest after a nice meal for that precious alone time.
"So, we've got pepperoni and cheese, sausage, some veggie lovers."
"That's a lot of pizza." It was. At least five large pizzas worth packed into assorted containers.
"Yeah, my cousin got their pizzeria going again so we've been trying to patronize them a lot. It also helps in case food availability lapses again. Though it's been like three weeks since a major shipment to our area got hit. It takes two or three convoys getting smacked to have trouble hit us."
"Oh." Was all I managed to say, uncertain what to express for her hardships. The vast frozen pizza collection took on a new light. It also did not sound like a good time to have a super human appetite. "I hope their business keeps up."
Madison gave a sound of agreement. And glanced back at the pizza.
This was when I'd usually rub family on the back, or give a hug. Gestures of support. But I literally met her this week and didn't want to potentially overstep.
"I'll take some cheese and pepperoni ones," I quickly said. And shuffled like an idiot.
Plates were stuffed into a nineties looking microwave. "Come on, maybe you'll recognized some of my manga collection. I can loan you some if you want stuff to read."
Madison was at the stairs tucked alongside the living room before she was done talking. I followed, anxious to not be alone in any room of this house. That would just feel too weird. But at least the weight of the moment had passed.
"Maybe," I said, knowing I'd decline almost anything. I was swamped with stuff to do to the point where more, even to relax, brought out that frustrating reluctance. But I could at least respond to our shared interests some. Try and find something we could do together to nourish the friendship.
She was already up the steps when I started. Even the carpet felt foreign. And the steps were slow. Two stairs at a time was for taller creatures than me.
I took a moment to catch up.
And there's all of the pink I was missing. Light, low saturation, and with enough whites and gentle blues to keep it from searing the eyes.
Madison was to the side, proud and anxious. "It's not nearly everything I've watched or read but I could only squeeze out so much from summer jobs."
Her collection towered.
Shelves of creamy light pink stacked dense with manga and anime dvds consumed a whole wall of her room, floor to ceiling.
Actual dvds. Carefully and meticulously organized. Many of the titles predated the explosion of online anime, but she had recent ones too. This was a level of anime fandom that thoroughly eclipsed my casual viewing. She even had somewhat obscure things like Devil Lady and Gunbuster.
"That's amazing." Honestly it was staggering. I immediately made a promise to not let my cynicism for the industry ruin her passion.
A photography set up was along one wall, with a large darker gray sheet rigged as a back drop.
There was a fluffy bed dense with old stuffed animals and anime plushies all pushed to one side. The other was neat and tidy, with enough room for a Madison sized person to curl into the toys. And there was a body pillow of some Gundam guy in surprisingly chaste uniform. A bit odd but-
And something else dead center on her bed, commanding my attention like a red exclamation mark.
"That's a penis." I slapped my palm to my mouth, stunned that had just blurted out of me. I should have just ignored it for her sake.
Madison had missed it, eyes on her prize collection. She bleached white. In a flash the massive doggy dick dildo was yanked behind her back. Those great ears were alert, high and stiff.
"It's- It's just my- no. It's- Okay its mine! But it wasn't supposed to be out! I dry them. In the bath. Its hygiene! But I always triple check to put them away! My mom must have- Ohhh! Please don't get the wrong idea!"
"Hey, it's not a big deal," hands out and reassuring.
Madison only grew more panicked, backing up to her anime shelves and curling in on herself. "That's what everyone else said! And then they never texted back. Or avoided me at school!"
"Madison! I don't care if you masturbate! It's normal!" I couldn't digest everything she'd just said so I just kept going. "I mean it. It's not something that grosses me out. I'm not some puritan."
"Really?" she challenged, like a kicked puppy. Suddenly that red rocket was back out, held like a cross before a demon. "It's a kinky dildo! A dog dick! Everybody gets weird about it! About everything I'm into!"
She wasn't really hearing me. Tears were forming in her eyes. This was clearly a huge worry for her and she was seeing her fears instead of hearing me.
How did I get through to her? She was working herself up fast.
Not by playing things safe. Only by sharing my own vulnerable interests. By taking risks.
I pushed aside my anxiety.
"I draw porn." I swallowed dryly. "Like, when I say I do figure art I mostly mean I draw a lot of weird porn."
My eyes kept twitching to refuge, hunting for other places to look, but I dragged them back to Madison's stunned face.
Quiet took over the room as we both marinated in the bare admission.
Uncomfortable. I decided on another risk. I was already betting the farm so why not.
"Look, do you mind if I give you a hug?"
Madison was on me in an instant, still crying but with relief. I returned it as meaningfully as I could. Body to body. Warmth to warmth. The best gesture a person could give.
"Please tell me Rover is clean," I begged. Floppy silicon was jabbing me in the jaw with his jumbo doggy tip.
"Sorry! Of course he is," Madison sobbed through happy relief. And I too shared that relief when she put her hound aside onto the carpet. "Mom just wanted him out of the bathroom, probably. I wash all of my toys regularly. They'd get nasty fast otherwise."
Some things I just didn't ask questions about. Like parents handling her outright sex toys. "Okay. That's good."
"So you're also a pervert?" Madison asked, full of hope.
"Of a sort? I like drawing bodies and sex is a fun way to do that. There's a lot of stuff I want to see but will never exist if I don't draw it."
"What kind of stuff? Like, big boobs? Really fat bappers? Or more butts? Anime?"
If a pure, dainty doe just strut up to me and asked me wide-eyed about my sex life down to the wettest detail I imagine it would feel exactly like this.
"Oh, you know" she had an anatomically accurate doggy dildo. She wouldn't find my fetishes weird, right? This sure put that shopping trip side-eye she was giving me into a new light. "Futanari, short stacks, and a lot of horse dicks mostly. Kinda makes my current circumstances amazing, if not for everything else in the proverbial package."
"Triggers are supposed to be weird. Live changing and personal." She sniffed. "I'm just glad you're here."
She pressed tighter against me, deepening the hug. Hopefully finding some comfort in me. Turned out tits were pretty good at picking up a heartbeat when mashed against another pair. I was trying to keep that out of mind so this monster cock didn't ruin the moment. My shorts were getting a bit tight already.
None of that made this less welcoming. My closeted degeneracy accepted without hesitation. That must be how Madison was feeling.
Madison snuffled, cheek to mine. "Thanks for telling me. I'd love to see your work, once you get going." She sucked down a deep breath in that wet way that followed a good cry. "People have given me a lot of grief over my hobbies. Or tried to. If not for Emma blackmailing the other bitches high school would have been a nightmare."
"I…" wasn't good with words. I just hugged harder and rubbed circles on her back. "You didn't deserve to go through that."
She hummed. Almost like she disagreed but that couldn't be. "How did you find people to share your passions with?"
So much weight was behind this quiet question. I had no happy answer.
"I didn't. Outside of some close family it's just people online."
That hadn't been what she was hoping to hear. "Oh. I'd hoped things went better for you. When I was younger I thought other girls must be doing the same things I was. But everyone I made any admission to, made any reach for, just… It didn't work out. Even Emma just doesn't get it. She just tolerates my passions. Same with Sophia."
I kept rubbing her back.
She pulled away enough to catch my eye. "I didn't want to hit you with all of this. Didn't want to seem like I was only being nice to… you know." She made a meaningful glance to my crotch. "I might be a nymphomaniac but I know what it's like to be lonely."
"I kind of already figured some of that out. Not nearly this much but some." She had been a bit obvious but it just seemed like a sweet and maybe somewhat sexually curious woman wanting to peer into the unknown. Actually whipping it out would have put her into fight or flight, or so I thought. "I appreciate how you helped me regardless. The PRT was ok but stifling and uncomfortable. Some of the thirty-twos were nice but I had to leave. Couldn't do any drawing with that many people around. It sucks a bit but I'm used to being alone."
"Oh Erika. You shouldn't be alone." I was smothered again. "This is probably the happiest I've felt in a long time. Some things really can be better than sex," she laughed through another snuffle.
"I never thought I was that good at comforting people. But I'm glad I was enough. If you want someone to talk to about anything then I'm your girl."
Some comfort was slipping back into me, now that the initial unknowns and fears had yet again been proven wrong.
"Anything, huh?" There was a wistful hope in there. "I've always wanted friends I could share everything with. Absolutely everything. I've spent years looking yet every class and party just showed me how close someone could get to what I hoped for while still thinking I'm too much."
Oh. I had a very sudden, dick-concerning grasp of what she meant by everything.
The skittish doe in my heart was hitting all of my flight mode buttons. Every pulse became a pounding throughout my ears.
Madison pulled back again, enough to catch my eyes. I missed her warmth but that was a retreating feeling.
A larger topic loomed.
"Erika?"
My heart pounded loud, hitched by the sudden weight of how she said my name.
I knew what was coming. My weakest self-wanted to run from the moment, to try and stay where it knew, stay where it was comfortable. I didn't let that coward speak.
I knew risk taking was how anything changed. But putting it into practice was like teetering on a cliff edge. Of disappointing her with my issues, of being less than she needed.
"Yes?"
Madison took in all of me with those big brown eyes.
"Would you like me to just not ask? We can just be friends who accept each other. I don't want to make you feel backed into any corner. But I also feel like we could be more to each other. Do you want to try being friendlier?"
I nodded. Somehow I nodded.
Madison's glee was immediate, and tight. Really tight.
Somehow I'd smothered my weakest self-enough to agree to becoming fuck buddies with the only full friend I had.
The implications and expectations were clear, what with the dog dildo right there on the carpet. Maybe some of it was this penis spurring me on, chasing any greater stimulus than what I could give. That fake dick was huge, in a novelty sort of way.
Yet Madison had used it.
This stupid novelty sized horse cock could potentially have sex. Pussy filling sex. Madison could potentially do it.
But I didn't want that to be why I accepted. It had to be for me, the person. And for her, my friend. Helping her through this moment showed me what I wanted. We'd hardly known each other, not even for a week. Yet between the pain of future heart break and the safety of refusing the now? I knew which I'd regret less. And seeing her heart broken loomed large against the appeal of just running away.
Who knew if this would last, yet I wanted to go deeper.
"I'd love to see you. All of you."
No corner of my mind doubted she meant that fully. She was wired on my person. Entranced. Yet ready to receive my decline.
Some tiny corner of myself wanted to feed that look. I held it close against the unwanted second guesses spiraling in my hindbrain.
Deep within my core my arousal sparked to life. A clench so mighty the surge pressed against my skirt. At once these shorts became unbearable, a prison for a building growth that needed more room than they could give.
Madison caught that moment and gave a brief gasp.
Drenched in jitters I struggled my thumbs to unlatch and unzip my skirt.
"Not much for it now, if I don't want to rip these shorts in half. Once this thing starts growing it doesn't really stop."
Babbling didn't sooth my tingling nerves. None of the swirling jitters and rushing blood dimmed the mechanisms. My cock did not concern itself with its confines or my opinions.
The fabric was undone. I held it and folded it, obsessing over each crease, aware yet trying to ignore how my every shape was so intensely visible. Despite how I was in actual pain.
Madison's electric interest was coated with concern for my squirming discomfort.
"Has it been that much to deal with? I've been trying not to think about you that way-"
"Yes. Fuck, it's been a lot. You'll see."
This almost didn't feel real. I'd been determined to ride things out on my own. Who could even handle this much penis? Absurd wasn't a daunting enough word.
Now the idea of new hands laying touch on this dong was all consuming.
I finagled my fingers into the rolled up waist band. Madison leaned in, intent as a laser.
Undressing wasn't an easy process.
All of me jiggled fighting this band over my hips. More wrestling for my dick's life than sexy strip tease. Every bounce and bend a desperate bid to liberate my unstoppable erection.
"Do you need more hands?" Madison ventured.
My skin burned at the idea, nerves raging. But I nodded. "Yeah."
Her warm touch rent those fears silent, every contact against my flesh sending chills.
Together I was made bare. Exposed. The air communing with every mote of my skin.
Madison's help froze, shorts choked on my dummy thick thighs. She clasped her hands tight to her heart, overwhelmed. Delight rose and rose into a gleeful grin.
"Wow… A horse penis? That's amazing! Better than I ever dreamed of seeing! You're beautiful. All of you! You're fantastic, Erika!"
With every word she drew closer until her very breath was molesting my cock. All over I was inspected, from every angle and depth.
She held her hands close to her chest. Polite, if not for how they seemed more like serpents coiled, desperate to know me in every way.
I kept fighting my shorts down, unsure what to say. Compliments for my paintings were already hard to handle beyond a blanket thanks. What was a girl supposed to say to this pure expression of endearment and appreciation?
I hadn't really done anything in fulfilling her lurid dreams of fat woman horse dong. This body just was.
My face was burning, but that was small potatoes next to the raging cock downstairs.
Laser like heat told me where she was staring at every moment. Attention my erection consumed to fuel its mechanisms along.
"You're massive! It really is the most inconvenient penis in the world! How big does it get?"
That laugh was all wondrous joy.
"Too big, really. I could probably rest my chin on it at full mast. Even the greatest size queens would struggle to fit this thing."
Unbound, my shaft was unfurling swiftly. A dam unstymied, meat sliding into place with urgent pounding that belied my awkward shuffling. Dick knew what it wanted. Meanwhile I felt a mile from stable ground but getting cold feet sounded even more awkward.
Social paranoia working to my benefit for once.
"We'll see about that! Oh, hang on! I'll strip too! I don't want you to feel lonely."
Madison attacked her clothes with frenzy enough I almost thought she ripped them. Instead they were kicked, thrown, and otherwise ejected towards her bed. Every article in the air before the first touched her mattress.
She was poised and flaunting when her panties landed. I barely noticed they were obscene scanty things, black and sheer T-back, because her nakedness commanded attention.
"So, wonderful? Beautiful?" she giggled with humor and lust.
Pale, with healthy hints of pink. Padded yet demure. A sudden unveiling too much for my sensibilities.
The very smell of her filled my nostrils of all else.
Her tops had hid that much breast? She wasn't teetering with tits but that was still a lot more than I expected. Still modest but intensely perky. In every way a petite and adorable woman. How much time did she spend to keep herself so cleanly shaved? Even the intrusion of fur from her hands and feet up their respective limbs seemed groomed. Little tufts emphasized her knees and elbows along the exterior joint, white and pale. Was she thinning hairs to get it so articulate?
My boner leapt to double time. Pushing itself to a rigorous rod, rising from my calves to salute the shapely beauty.
"Yeah. Beautiful. Your skin is so clear and you have really intricate hip definition in the thigh pelvis relation." I belatedly realize I'd just said I like the cut of her cunt. But Madison took it all in stride. "Amnd I really like what you've done with your fur."
"Aw, thank you. Should have figured an artist would notice. But look at you! Look at all of that you're packing. Give yourself some show, girl! Give me a bounce!"
I did. A little. The stiffening beam flopped about from any shift of my legs.
"More, really get into it. You've got so much to flaunt!"
She was waving her arms around like she wasn't butt naked without so much as a tint of shame. My ears were pounding with embarrassment. But I did give my legs more flex.
Dick wobbled around heavily, a weight that made my trembling feet stumble.
"Woah! I gotcha!"
She did. My shoulders blazed from her touch. Her thigh a fingers width from my shaft.
The clenching continued. Even as the upward bent firmed and stiffened to full sized the rhythmic pumping continued. I remembered why as I seized my cock and hauled it upward to smother the head with a palm.
Pre burst against my hand. Stray strands redirected towards my chest where I broke the rest of their momentum. Fluids hot and slinging all over my breasts.
At once the air was foul with my musky sweet smell.
"Do you have towels or something? I forgot how much of a mess this thing makes."
Madison took a moment to hear me, enraptured and mouth parted, locked upon my stained hand.
'Wha? Yeah. Yeah! Hang on. Oh this is so cool!"
I felt chill when she left, body wired up with butterflies. Bare feet thumped along to her closet where- holy fucking arsenal gear!
Madison had shifted garments within her closet aside to reveal a hoard.
Shelves of dildos. In all sizes and makes. Every kind of tentacle and beast foot and bumped monster cock and animal dong. All large or massive.
Was that a feathered white penis? What?
Madison emerged with a thick white towel. "Here!"
I caught it. Detergent of some kind had just washed this thing back to its fluffiest cleanest condition. I tried to not feel guilty about despoiling it as I wiped at my front.
"It's my spare towel for when my main masturbation one gets soaked through."
Did my dick leap as I choked on air? Yes.
Did I throw away what had to be the filthiest clean towel I'd ever touched? No.
Arousal was one hell of a drug. After three pained glances I kept wiping., then held it to my cockhead to intercept the next burst.
When it came away my dick was glistening with its product. But not dripping, thank fuck.
Meanwhile, the moment had really caught up with Madison. She was bouncing about, unable to contain herself.
"That's a whole leg! Like- an actual full horse cock, right there! And look at the rest of you! I've never seen an ass that fat! And your little waist! You're amazing, Erika! You're a walking dream!"
"Uh, thanks. I didn't really do anything though."
"Well you did save my room from your bitch breaker's cunt lube." I nodded mutely trying to understand how she could say that sentence so naturally. "And just be happy with yourself! No one makes their own body. If I had half that much ass- and gosh! That cock! -I'd feel on top of the world!"
"I think most of the world would prefer me to be on top of them." How discomforting.
More pre was caught.
"Orgies are a lot of work. I can get the reluctance." Madison nodded with a sagely presence. Another mystery admission by the sex beast before me. Naked and her slender pussy flashed openly. Shamelessly. Hands at ease on her hips. Meanwhile mine were flitting between a hundred places. "You need some confidence. Come on, give yourself a shake. Show me how hot you are! Just go for it!"
She demonstrated and gestured for me to follow.
I did, rather meekly. Not even fully turning my rear her way. I could only echo so much of Madison's enthusiasm. This was all still dauntingly new, but it would get easier. With months.
"Fuck, yours bounces like crazy to. You really have me beat."
I protested immediately. "That doesn't matter. You're more than hot enough yourself."
She cooed and even my trembling dick took a dose from the rush of hot embarrassment. "Aw, you get so worried about me. Don't you sweat me, Erika. I'm fully confident in my petite appeals. You're the one who needs cheering on right now. Gimme an ahegao!"
So she did know!
I failed to do the look with any kind of surety. It was just too obscene.
"Ah well. A slut isn't built in a day."
"What?" I asked, almost offended and entirely off guard.
"It's reclamation! I refused to be shamed for banging people I like and you shouldn't be shamed either! Sluts can be proud!"
"Oh. Well, yeah. But I don't really know how many people I plan to fuck." I wouldn't judge her lifestyle but everything I knew said that couldn't be me. Managing a herd of fuck buddies sounded like a chore and a half.
I had noticed some man buns in a new way the last few days. That was new. But still. That was a lot to take on before I had myself some art days to decompress. I'd question my desire to fondle guy butts when it was convenient to do so.
And my dick didn't flag a bit. If not for this almost flaming boner whose heat was radiating onto my front I'd feel like a flake of snow on Madison's volcanic sea of lust. Even her pussy was oozing profusely.