Work Text:
recording of a conversation held between two feral breakers.
"Don't tell me you actually believe that nonsense about them being genetically engineered."
"Well, how else would you explain so many of them choosing to change genders or, barring that, abandoning all their masculine traits?"
"That's obvious if you think about it. It's because for the first time in thousands of years, they not only have the resources to be who they've always wanted to be, but also finally feel relaxed enough to allow themselves to be who they've always wanted to be."
"You really think so?"
"Trust me. Given enough time doing this, and you'll see it too."
SEARCHING: operation death cry.
Operation Death Cry was a military op carried out by the now-defunct Terran Accord with the stated goal of destroying an entire Affini domestication fleet, which ended in failure.
Further details:
Widely considered one of the most heartless plans ever conceived by the Terran Accord, it was both simple in its design and terrifying in its implications. The operation was planned during the twilight months of the Terran domestication campaign, taking place on planet PX372, now known as Planet Rainbow Fluff.
The operation was to play out as such.
A Terran fleet would act as the vanguard for the planet, firing upon the Affini fleet while slowly retreating towards the planet. Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet, a small fleet would move an already positioned meteorite closer to the planet. When the signal was given, the vanguard fleet as well as the tow fleet would perform a jump back into Terran-controlled space while the meteorite would be released to impact with the planet. The ideal was that the impacting meteorite would destroy the planet, creating a massive blast that would overwhelm the Affini's fleet's defense systems and completely destroy the fleet.
Luckily, this operation would end in complete failure when the Admiral who was in charge of the vanguard fleet elected to warn the Affini of the plan, after which the entirety of the vanguard fleet performed a jump into Affini-controlled space. With the warning delivered and the vanguard fleet no longer in their path, the Affini fleet was able to quickly move to the other side of the planet, and both intercepted the meteorite and subdued the entirety of the tow fleet.
SEARCHING: Planet Rainbow Fluff.
Planet Rainbow Fluff (once known as PX372) was once a Terran Accord mining planet with a population of more than two million Terrans. After the domestication and evacuation of the planet, it was renamed by Terran florets to the name it holds today. The Terran florets chose the name based on the unique rainbow colored cotton produced by the trees found exclusively on the planet. It has since become a vacation spot for many different sophont species wishing to experience the unique flora of the planet.
P.O.V. James Aqua.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
I am once again awakened to the annoying sound of my Data Pad's default alarm.
"I really need to change that freaking alarm," I say to myself, knowing damn well I was just gonna decide it wasn't worth the effort later.
While pushing myself out of bed, I briefly look at the small leather-bound book sitting on my nightstand with the words "dream journal" inscribed on the front. I let out a sigh while looking at the book. It has now been over six months since my last dream.
I pull myself out of bed and begin to make my way towards the bathroom. "Hey Abby, what's the weather looking like for today?"
"The current weather plans for the Hab Ring 3 of the Eternal Sunshine are set for a sunny spring-like day, perfect for outdoor activities, Master James." My hab AI said with the voice of a female butler.
I entered my Habs bathroom to begin my morning routine. As I was in the process of brushing my teeth, I briefly looked up at the mirror and saw the vision of a lightly muscled man of medium height with short oak brown hair.
I finished brushing my teeth, cleaned my face, and combed my hair before heading to my dining area.
"Abbie, breakfast menu 27 if you'd please."
"Of course, master james, and would you also like me to print you up your yoga kit. I know you like to do yoga in the park on days like this."
"Please and thank you," I say while pulling a plate of grilled sturgeon, steamed broccoli, and seasoned rice out of the atomic compiler.
I began eating in earnest while listening to music on my pad. "Hey, Abby, any interesting news?"
"Nothing to note beyond the usual raids on feralist ships. However, you might be interested to note that as of now, roughly 72 percent of your original crew has been domesticated, most of which were voluntary."
I let out a sigh. "I go to all that effort only for them to do it to themselves."
I quickly finished my meal and changed into my yoga gear, a simple pair of black sweat pants and a tank top. Grabbing the rolled-up yoga mat from the compiler, I begin heading to the door.
"Master James. Will you actually be attempting to make friends while being out this time?"
"Not this again," I say, letting out another sigh. "Isn't Greg enough?"
"The Khetari known as Greg is barely your friend. The only thing you two do together is perform yoga in the park." Said Abby in an annoyed tone. "Must I remind you that your therapist said if you do not have any new friends by the time of your next appointment, that you will be put under a wardship?"
"Dammit, fine. I'll go to the crafter's District and sign up for a glass-blowing class. Maybe I'll make some friends there. Will that make you happy?" I say in exasperation.
"Language Master James, but yes, that is acceptable."
"You know you're like a nagging mother sometimes, Abby."
"If that is how you choose to see me, then I should also tell you that you need to stop slouching."
"Goodbye Abbie." I say, opening the door.
"Have a wonderful day, Master James."
I leave my hab and begin the long journey to the park. A journey that, like always, is full of petting. Surprisingly, I don't actually mind the petting. I don't know why it bothers so many people. It's nice to be fussed over from time to time.
The Park
Greg stares me down with half-lidded eyes while glancing at my messy hair.
"Seed." Says Greg while pointing a claw at me.
"Shut up, Greg. I will not be talked down to by an individual who insists on speaking in the third person. Besides, I only let them because they're less likely to inject me with anything if they're too focused on petting me."
"How Greg chooses to refer to Greg does not change the fact that you are a massive seed."
"Whatever, let's just focus on the yoga," I said while I unrolled my yoga mat next to Greg's.
Did you know Khetari have their own form of yoga? Greg always gets dodgy when I ask about it, but constantly tells me it was designed with Khetari spines in mind.
Why do I bring this up? Because right now we are doing completely different stances. Greg is doing some sort of front paw stand while I'm doing the wheel. That's probably why I'm currently seeing a weird bunny person staring us down, and Greg isn't.
"Ummm, can I help you..... uh."
"Bunni Cocoa, Third Floret of Madam Cocoa, pronouns she/her." The Bunny girl said, with the professionalism of a pre-Affini Compact secretary.
Pulling myself out of the yoga pose, I stand up to get a better look at her. A rather odd sight for a day in the park, she has waist-length raven black hair with two massive black bunny ears poking out of her head. She's dressed in a black Gothic Lolita-style dress, black boots, a maid-style headband that sits just below her rabbit ears, and a satin-laced collar that rests around her neck.
"No full name or bloom number for your madam?" I question while scratching the back of my head.
"Madam Cocoa has forbidden me from giving out such information."
"Right? Anyways, any particular reason you're staring me down while I'm trying to do yoga?"
She clears her throat and begins to speak. "James Aqua, born and raised in a small fishing village on the planet of Aquarius 9. James was primarily raised by his father and grandfather. During his early adult years, he jumped from job to job before finally joining up with the Cosmic Navy, where he quickly gained a reputation for shutting down illegal slaver operations as well as whipping out several pirate groups. Despite him being in the military, he never once killed a single combatant, instead electing to use non-lethal methods in all his ops. Over the years, he quickly rose through the ranks and eventually achieved the rank of admiral. Seven months after obtaining the rank of admiral, The Affini would arrive in the Milky Way galaxy and begin their domestication campaign, where James would obtain his most infamous title. The Great Retreater. This title was given to him because he would order a retreat of his entire fleet before they fired a single shot, a trend that would continue until his seventh and final operation, where he would receive his second title—the Hero of Rainbow Fluff. After fleeing for the seventh and final time, he and his entire crew hid out in Affini-controlled space for the last three months of the campaign. After the announcement of the signing of the domestication treaty, he and his crew would fly to the nearest Affini-controlled world, where they would surrender themselves and their ships to the Affini. Thanks to the actions taken by James Aqua during the domestication campaign, less than 5% of his 30,000-person crew were given mandatory domestications."
I let out a loud sigh. Great, just what I need today.
"So you read my wiki page....... Look, if you're looking for an interview or an autograph, can it wait until after my yoga?"
A small smile appeared on Bunni's lips.
"Really, Kitten? I know I've changed a lot, but I figured you'd still recognize me for my love of frills."
You ever seen a scene on a TV show where the character's thoughts are interrupted by a record scratch? Take a wild guess at what sound had just gone through my head.
"No way. The only person who ever called me by that nickname was......It couldn't be. Al-." And that's as far as I got before being roundhouse kicked into a park bench.
From my newfound position on the bench, I immediately began grabbing at my stomach in pain.
"Ouch. I thought Floret Fight Club was a forum joke. How the hell did you learn to kick so hard? Also, didn't you use to have red hair?"
"To answer both your questions, the answer is biomodding. Also, my hair color is what you choose to focus on? Not the bunny ears, not the bunny tail, not the fact that I'm almost a foot shorter, or even the fact that I'm a woman now. It's the hair color you focus on."
"Well, it was one of your most notable features, not many redheads on Aquarius."
She lets out a sigh before walking over and joining me on the bench. Grabbing one of my cheeks, she gave it a tug.
"Just to let you know, I didn't kick you for almost dead-naming me. I kicked you because you haven't contacted me for more than a decade."
I swipe her hand away before giving my cheek a rub.
"In my defense, I thought you were dead until just a few seconds ago."
"Why in the world would you think I was dead?" she said in a monotone voice.
"Your parents told everyone you were, they even had a big funeral, and the whole village attended."
Her face immediately turned red in anger upon hearing what I had just said, and my goodness did she groan like an angry bear that just had its hibernation interrupted.
"You know it was bad enough that the sperm donor and egg giver kicked me out when they found out what I was. But to pull a freaking stunt like that.... There are literally no words."
I reached my hand out to give her back a rub, but thought better of it at the last second.
"So what have you been up to for the last ten years or so? I mean, you already know my story, but what about yours?"I asked in hopes of getting her mind off the king and queen of the scumbags.
She took in a deep breath, removed her face from her hands, and began to tell me her tale of woe.
Apparently, after being kicked out, she used the savings she had accumulated and immediately booked a flight to a frontier world, where she opened a boutique. The boutique did surprisingly well; apparently, there was a pretty big market for handmade clothes on a frontier world. Anyways, her clothes apparently sold so well that not only was she able to afford her own treatment but also afford her own house. Not a Pod, not an apartment, but an actual house. Unfortunately, frontier worlds never stay frontier worlds, and eventually the big corporations started moving in. At first, they tried to buy her out, but as she was actually passionate about her work, she refused all their offers. So the companies did what all big companies do when they can't buy you out: they make up some bullshit lawsuit to drag you through the court. They claimed that Bunni had stolen several of their trademarked designs and sold them as her original creations. She tried to fight them in court at first, but after spending thousands of credits and hours spent in and out of the courtroom, she couldn't keep the fight up anymore and was forced to settle. The companies took everything from her. Her business, her designs, and even the house she worked so hard to save up for. They took it all. For the second time in her life, she had lost everything. With only enough credits to her name to buy a few synth cubes, she found herself couch surfing and taking on any odd job she could find to stay afloat. But eventually, as more and more big corporations moved in, even the easy odd jobs dried up, leaving only hard labor and specialty work. Being destitute, she apparently had planned on killing herself in a suicide attack against the CEO of the corporation that ruined her. However, it seems that whoever is in charge of the universe decided to show mercy on her because just 3 days before her planned attack, the Affini showed up in The Milky Way and the planet she lived on was amongst the first to be domesticated. After that, she met her mistress, and the rest is history.
"Crap, that's really messed up." dammit I wanted to get her away from a depressing subject, not drag her into another.
"It's alright, if I didn't go through all that, I would have never met Madam Cocoa," she said, brightening up.
"Still, I wish I had been there for you."
She gave me a light punch on the shoulder.
"Ah, shut up. You were quite literally fighting your own battles."
"I know. Still, I do have a few questions, though."
"Okay, shoot."
"Why didn't you come talk to my family when you got kicked out? You know we would have taken you in, right?"
Another sad look marred her features.
"I didn't want to make trouble for you or your family. My sperm donor was a bit of a community pillar, and your family was always looking out for me. I didn't want your family getting their names dragged through the mud; you were all good people."
"Huh, look at you calling us good people while literally marching through hell because you didn't want to make our lives harder. Anyways, my second question is: why have you never tried to contact me? I mean, I didn't contact you because I thought you were dead, but with all the crap you were going through, I figured you would at least reach out to me for help."
Bunni grunted and threw herself back against the bench.
"Trust me, I tried, but every time I tried to get in contact with you, I either got the run around from the people at the ocni, or they would just tell me that an Admiral had no time for some rando on a frontier planet."
"Yeah, that tracks. Okay, final question. How long have you known we've been on the same ship and why are you just now contacting me?"
"I knew for about 3 weeks or so. I wanted to get in touch sooner. I just had a lot of complicated feelings about you after not having contact with you for such a long time. Looks like those feelings were misplaced though, seeing as it wasn't even your fault."
"Hm." I pulled myself off the bench and grabbed my Pad sitting next to my mat. "We should exchange contacts. it'll help us stay in touch this time."
"Okay." She said while pulling her Pad out of a oversized pocket in her skirt. "My username is Silkedbunny. What's yours?"
"Mine's Silver_Lion," I said, sending a friend request to Bunni.
"Really? You're still using the same username you had in grade school," said Bunni while clicking the accept icon on her Pad.
"Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Anyways, I really should finish my yoga, but I would love to keep talking with you afterwards."
She waves me off.
"I'm in no rush to be anywhere right now, so do what you gotta do. I'll just people watch while you're taking care of business"
Nodding, I turn around to continue my yoga only to find Greg already packing it up for the day.
"Calling it early today, Greg?"
Greg looks in my direction before rolling his eyes.
"You have been listening to the bunny's story for more than two hours. Greg has long since completed Greg's yoga, and now Greg is off to the land of the crafters on a quest to obtain homemade strawberry ice cream. You shall meet Greg at another time and place."
Greg quickly finished rolling up Greg's mat before running out of the park.
I look at the clock on my pad... crap, sign-ups for tomorrow's glass-blowing classes end in less than 30 minutes. I turn back to Bunni.
"Sorry, it looks like I'm going to have to take off too. There's something I have to do in the crafters district as well."
I quickly roll up my mat and get ready to run off, only to be stopped in my place by Bunni grabbing one of my arms.
"You said you're going to the crafters district, right?"
I give her a confused Nod.
"Yeah? What about it?"
"I actually run a boutique out of the crafters district. Why not wait a couple of days instead, and we can go together. You know, make a day out of it."
"I guess that would be fine."
Bunni's face lights up in the biggest smile I've seen all day.
"Great! It's a date then."
My eyes go wide, and I immediately yank my arm out of her hand.
"no. no. no. no. Absolutely not. The last time I went on a date with a floret, I almost got absorbed into a Hatsuna Miku hivemind, not happening."
I stare down Bunni, but her smile does not fade from her face. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a little black book.
"Ummm Bunni. What is that?" I asked as a sense of dread began to overtake me.
"Oh, not much. Just my little black book full of happy memories." She says, opening the book.
A sense of foreboding comes over me as if I were in a courtroom and the judge was about to sentence me to death.
"Entry number 1. I wore my favorite bunny backpack to school, all the kids bullied me for it. The next day, one of the more popular boys wore a cute calico kitty backpack and followed me around all day scaring away all the bullies."
I could instantly feel my face light up like a Christmas tree as she flipped several pages of the book to another entry.
"Entry number 72. After discovering that several local boys were harassing the wild cats around town, Kitten decided to dress up like a Kamen Rider and beat them all up after catching them in the act. Afterwards, Kitten spent the whole day playing with the wild cats and catching them fish to cheer them up.
At this point, I'm pretty sure my face looked like a cherry tomato. Several more pages were flipped forward.
"Entry number 463. Kittens' first Job. Kitten got a job working with a construction crew building a new space port. After Kitten found out that all the workers could only afford to eat synth cubes, he decided to help them. Kitten spent his whole day off hunting, fishing, and foraging for ingredients. After collecting all the ingredients, Kitten made over a hundred handcrafted lunch boxes for all the workers. This entry comes with photos of Kitten in an adorable calico printed apron and an adorable cat bandanna," she says while holding two photos of a younger me in said articles of clothing.
At this point, my face was so hot that I'm pretty sure it could catch an Affini on fire if I pressed it against their vines. Before Bunni could flip to the next entry, I slammed my entire body into the ground in a bowing motion.
"I'll go on the date. So please stop reading that book out loud."
She immediately slams the book shut and shoves it back into her pocket.
"Great! We'll set it for two days from now. Also, wear something nice because we're going to the entertainment district too. I'll contact you about the details over chat tomorrow." She says before running off to do stars knows what at stars knows where.
After catching my breath, I take a look around and see several Affini gushing over how cute my whole situation was. In my embarrassment, I did the only thing I could think to do. I gathered up my yoga mat and began the long trek back to my hab, blushing the whole way there.
Home is where the blushing mess is.
The First thing I did when i got back to my hab was collapse against my own front door.
"Welcome home, Master James. Your therapist has informed me that you had quite an interesting time at the park today."
I let out a sigh.
"Yeah, that would be the cherry on top of this Sunday. Of course, my stalker of a therapist already knows what happened today."
"Yes indeed, Master James. They also want me to inform you that if you try to weasel out of this date, they will recommend you for Compulsory Domestication."
I proceeded to scream into my hands while banging the back of my head against the front door. So I either go on this date and risk getting domesticated, or I don't go on this date and risk getting domesticated and also have a bunch of embarrassing stuff about myself published on the Overnet. How fun.
"Abbie, can you please run a bath for me?" I said, dragging myself off the floor.
"Master James, it's only a little bit past 4 p.m."
"Yeah, I'm calling it an early day. I'm going to bathe, then lie in bed and watch anime until I fall asleep. I have a funny feeling I'm about to lose control of my life, and if that's about to happen, I'm spending what little time I have left relaxing."
"Very well, Master James, I'll prep the bath. Clean yourself up and rest well for the coming dawn."
James's Dream Journal Entry Number 1
I actually had a dream last night.
In my dream I was walking on an endless sidewalk in a featureless void. As I walk down the sidewalk my body got heavier and heavier and I got slower and slower. Eventually I got to the end of the sidewalk. I push one of my feet over the sidewalk but quickly pulled it back when I felt no solid surface. I stand at the edge of the sidewalk for sometime before I eventually decide to walk over the edge, and allow myself to fall into the void.
Unfun Fact: James's family name was adopted by his grandfather after he was disowned by his family after having his son out of wedlock.
preview for the next chapter:
"Greg demands more root beer, Greg demands more belly rubs, Greg demands more buff furry females, and Greg demands more buff furry males."
"Ah, crap, there are class Ds in this Pizza, aren't there?"
"Why do you still have that thing???!!!!!!"
"I plan to do for him what I already did for you. After all, it's what we both want for him."