Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“C’mon doll, you can’t seriously tell me you can’t get us away from that tiny little shuttle - this is the best astroyacht money can buy!” I groan as I walk up to my pilot, Trixie Pink. “Shows what I get going for beauty over brains.” I push her out the pilot’s chair, “Go do something productive elsewhere - clearly piloting is a man’s job.”

“Sir, you’re not trained to-” She starts yapping, and with a single look I shut her up. “Go. Do. Something. Productive. Otherwise I’ll throw you out on your useless flat ass at the next refueling station we find.”

Honestly, as if piloting a yacht is all that hard - it’s like a car, but moving in three dimensions, and I’m pretty decent at driving.

I take the helm, flicking off a few of those annoying ‘safety switches’ that’ll only get in the way of my manoeuvring, and quickly turn the yacht off toward the nearest asteroid belt - only about a minute away, and that damned shuttle won’t dare follow us there.

There’s another hail from it, and I roll my eyes as I patch through audio only.

“Astroyacht sigh ‘Starfucker’ please reconsider your current actions. The Affini Compact wishes only for your safety, and if you sail toward that belt I’ll be forced to intervene.” It sounds like a woman, but I know from the design it’s one of those plant things.

I smirk, the name of the Yacht always got a reaction. That’s what you really want in life, be it good or bad, what matters is the size of the impact - and I always make a big impact.

“Shuttle designation ‘Leboo’ ? ‘Ley Bow’ ? However the fuck you pronounce that shit. I am not letting some xeno race tell me what I can and cannot do with my own property. This here vessel is the peak of Terran engineering -  she can handle a few rocks.”

There’s a brief moment of dead air, and the voice that responds is substantially less friendly. “I see. Well then, let it be known I did try ever so hard to make you see sense.”

I roll my eyes, laughing at the attempt to intimidate me with that dumb growly voice. Was there anything in life as adorable as a woman trying to be threatening? If there is, I’ve yet to see it.

“Girly - or, well, I assume you’re a girl plant - never is easy to tell with you lot - I am Jack Motherfucking Wright, and if there’s one thing I know, there’s the wrong way - your way - and then there’s the Wright way. So just tuck your little stamens between your legs and run along if you don’t have the balls to follow me into this here asteroid field.”

I dial up the speed - ignoring the warning sound as I push the ship past its recommended max speed. There’s only a deep, rolling laugh from the shuttle as it cuts the radio off.

Then the whole Yacht shakes as something collides into the side of it. 

I check the readouts, and apparently the back half of the Yacht has the shuttle grafted onto it? That can’t be right.

I tap the screen a few times, refreshing the results, and then the engines go dead. 

The tannoy system I’ve never bothered using before crackles to life. “Attention workers of the ‘Starfucker’ - provided you do not resist, and guide me toward the one who self-identifies as ‘Jack Motherfucking Wright’ you will be guaranteed safety and comfort in the Affini Compact. If you resist, you will be receiving that comfort and safety anyway - I just think you would prefer the first option.”

Self-Identifies? The fuck is all that sissy bullshit doing in a plant’s vocab? Clearly they learned their Terran from those damned Anarchists. Buncha made up bullshit and-

Click

“Stay the fuck where you are, Jack. I got the gun from your desk, and if you try and kill us all in some idiotic self-sacrifice I’ll shoot you first.”

I sigh, spinning around in the chair. 

“Trixie, you dumb slut - you think I keep that loaded?”

BANG

Son of a bitch, I did leave it loaded! I look down in horror at the growing bloodstain on my upper thigh, and back up at Trixie. 

“Are you fuckin kidding me, this shit’s Ventian Silk! Do you have any idea how much I paid for this?” I yell, then the pain hits me like a goddamn truck. “F-Fucking hell! You shot me!”

“Yeah, I did. Now stay the fuck in that seat, or the next one hits those precious oxfords of yours. Besides, of course I fucking know. You never stop going on and on about your fucking suit that costs more than I’d make in a lifetime - about how it’s ‘patented blah blah blah’ means you can even take a shot from say… A low calibre subsonic pistol with whatever the fuck ‘frangible’ bullets are without it being much of an issue.”

I look down at the spreading bloodstain. Clearly I’ve been misled, because this seriously fucking hurts. I’ll have to sue my tailor once I get out of this.

She slowly sidles over to the intercom, pressing it with one hand while keeping the gun trained on me. 

“This is Pilot Trixene Pink - I have apprehended Jack Wright on the flight deck. Please come and collect him before I lose my patience and shoot his sorry ass. Again. ”

The two of us stare each other down, my hand squeezing over my bullet wound - I’ve seen enough action movies to know you have to keep pressure on the wound. I had not, however, counted on that making it hurt more as I cry out in pain.

However, the two of us are both caught off guard by the banging in the halls outside - the mellifluous voice of whatever was in that shuttle echoing through the door.

“Jaaaaack… oohhhh jaaaaaack… You, my dear are *very* important to me. You’d best not be making that poor Pilot have cause to hurt you.”

I lock eyes with Trixie, quietly pleading. “Look - I realise I wasn’t the best boss - but do you really have to turn me over to a weed? You’ve heard the stories about those things - I’ll be torn apart!”

She just scoffs, leaning against the console. “ Sir , respectfully, being torn apart would be too good for you.”

There’s a rolling knock on the door, and that satin smooth voice calls out again. “Darling, are you in here?” 

“In here, I have had to injure him, but it’s noncritical.” Trixie offhandedly refers to shooting me and I feel it necessary to correct the record.

“Yeah, the crazy fucking bitch shot me in the leg for no fucking reason!” I wince, the throbbing pain of the shot flaring up and cutting my voice off as I blink back tears.

The door frame buckles as something slams into it, peeling it out of the way like a wet bikini off a supermodel.

The thing behind the door is immense, hunched over to fit herself through the doorway. It’s clearly a woman, the caked on face paint might be a garish approximation of makeup, but those green tits are definitely not masculine.

“Ah, hello there Jack - You’ll be coming with me. You too, Miss Pink. Though your compliance is very much appreciated. I don’t even think you’ll need a wardship so long as you can make it clear this bullet wound was a one-time endeavour.”

“Hey! She fucking shot me out of nowhere!? Don’t you have a fucking punishment for that at least?” I hiss, catching the plant-thing’s attention.

“Hm? Is that what happened, Miss Pink?”

“I feared for my life - last time he was allowed to do as he liked he ended up putting us on a suicide course for the nearest asteroid field. It was self defence.”

“Oh, you lying who-” I step up from the chair, and a vine shoots out from the creature to slam over my mouth. “Ah ah, no more pottymouth from you. I’ve seen enough to consider the matter, and you are a danger to yourself and others. Miss Pink meanwhile… I am liable to believe. Now, given I’m assuming you won’t be coming willingly-”

I reach up, trying to tear away the vine as she then just sends another two to bind my hands behind my back.

“Hm, given it’s clear you won’t be coming willingly, it’s time you had a little nap.”

I feel a pinprick at my neck, and I drop like a stone.

The sickeningly overpowering smell of jasmine flowers is the first thing that crosses my consciousness as I wake, I practically choke on how heavy the smell is in the air. I can hear the far off trickling off water, and despite knowing I’ve been shot, I can’t feel even a tiny amount of pain.

Am I dead?

I slowly open my eyes, and see a nightmarish scene before me.

God I hope I’m dead.

I’m sitting at a table, some ornate garden thing made of metal with a glass top. Sitting in front of me is a small china plate and a teacup and saucer to the left. On the plate is a dessert of some kind, and sitting opposite me…

Is that thing. Staring at me with a broad smile as it pours that sickly smelling jasmine crap into my teacup through a strainer. I can see through the glass pot the tea leaves swirling, and I try my damnedest not to look at the thing that is sitting opposite me.

“Good morning, darling. I see you’ve finally returned to us, Jasmine. I suppose the surgery was rather intense. How good to see you awake though.”

Jasmine? Is this some esoteric torture method I’m unaware of?

“Who the fuck are you talking ab-” I respond, then freeze as I hear my own voice. 

Or… The voice of whatever the fuck just spoke for me.

It was soft, lilting, breathy and altogether not me. This was the voice of some tarty slut - not a well-respected businessman.

“Wha-” I mutter, and finally look down at what I assume is myself.

My heart drops at the sight. I’m definitely not in my own body. For one thing, my own body doesn’t have fucking cleavage - for another, I’d never wear the frilly bullshit that is currently over this body.

“What the fuck did you do to me? Where am I? What am I?”

The plant-thing giggles, rolling her eyes.

“Come on Jasmine, you’re a clever girl - use your brain. Think about all the stories you’ve heard of us - which one do you think was true?”

Her vines place my teacup in front of me, and I think back to all the various tidbits of information that my advisors have given me on these ‘Affini’.

Clearly I’m not being sent to the mine - my actual body would’ve been better suited for that. Just naturally stronger.

I’m not being eaten, probably, I mean why go to the effort of changing the body of something you plan to eat this much? It would be a waste. 

All that really remains is… Ah. Yeah. That would make sense.

“I’m going to be your pet, aren’t I?”

“Hmm, so there is some brain in there after all~ Good guess. Good Girl.”

I recoil at that comment, rolling my eyes. “I am a man . I recognise that you Xenos probably don’t understand that shit, but I’m not a girl. ”

“Is that so? Because I must say visually you very clearly seem to be presenting as one Jasmine.”

I want to ball my hand into a fist - knock that stupid fucking wooden mask off her face. Of course I do , you fucking made me look like this!

I take a deep breath, glaring at her. “First off, my name is Jack Wright. Secondly, you’ve clearly had a hand in making me look like this, so you know what I really look like.”

“Wrong, actually - your name is Jasmine LeBeau, fifth floret. You really should remember your own name, dear. Such a ditsy little thing you are.” She giggles again, and gestures to the tea. “You really should drink up by the way - it’s getting cold.”

I huff, shaking my head. “Why should I care? I don’t drink tea. I drink Coffee, black. Tea’s a drink for sissies and women, and I’m neither.”

“You know, your continued insistence that you’re a ‘man’ is only going to be cute for so long, dear. Perhaps I should find my brother to help put you in your place?” She hums, lifting her own teacup to her masked lips to drink.

“What, is your brother one of those self-deluding faggots that thinks putting a guy in a dress makes it less gay?” I scoff, crossing my arms and trying to ignore how the usual firmness of my chest was replaced with a plush softness.

“Oh, not at all - my brother is exclusively attracted to women. It’s another reason why I find your posturing so cute. I mean, he very much seems to like you - it’s really just another point of evidence in the ‘good girl’ column.” She smiles, and I go to reply but she lifts my teacup to my lips, forcing me to drink.

“Now, as I said, don’t waste the tea. Your sister Rose will be upset. She worked so hard on making it for you you know, and Matcha will be similarly disappointed if you don’t eat your cake. She’s gotten so good at making them, and even chose to make a tiramisu for you since she knows you like coffee!”

I spit the drink out, glaring at the plant-woman. “Why the fuck should I care? I don’t have any sisters, and if I did I wouldn’t give a shit about upsetting them by refusing to drink their shitty tea.”

There’s a sudden sting across my face and the loud crack of what must be skin against skin. It takes a moment to register that I've just been slapped.

“Now listen to me, Jasmine. I will tolerate you speaking ill of me for now, but your sisters worked very hard for this - they’re so excited to have you join them. So if you dare to say another word against them I shall have to ensure that you are reminded of your place more clearly.” She hisses, refilling my teacup and lifting it to my lips once more.

“Drink . Or I shall make you drink.” Her voice gains a sinister edge, enough to convince me that I don’t want to find out what making me drink would be like. Besides, it’s a cup of tea - I’m not going to lose anything from drinking a simple cup of tea.

“Fine.” I say behind gritted teeth before letting her pour the mixture into my mouth.

It’s… Tolerable. Clearly the source of that sickly sweet jasmine scent. Though it has a bitterness to it that is at least quite nice.

I swallow, and she smiles. “You know it occurs to me I haven’t formally introduced myself, Jasmine. I am Lilian LeBeau, 4th Bloom. She/Her. I’m your owner , dear. I did try to give you an out, let you have a chance at a wardship, I did try ever so hard to make you see sense. My peers agreed, you know. You are a tricky sophont. So… Feral. Very likely to be a danger if you weren’t taken into safe vines. How lucky for me. I was looking for another darling to add to my court. I think you’ll make a lovely lady. Or… Perhaps you would prefer to be a maid?”

I laugh, shaking my head. “I don’t serve. I was the CEO of Wrighttech - a peerless genius. Not a fucking tea-drinking frilly dress wearing maid. ”

Lilian grins, revealing a mouth lined with pearly white pointed teeth. “Oh yes, remind me what happened to that company again?”

I grumble, rolling my eyes. “I was unfairly targeted by my wife - sunk in a matter of days due to underhanded dealings that usurped my position in the market. The bitch ruined me, frankly. She played dirty.”

“Eat the cake, dear. I think you’ll like it. Now, this wife of yours - do you think she had any reason to do what she did?” She scoops up a spoonful of the tiramisu, and I swallow it with a surprised gasp at the taste. Matcha powder sprinkled on the top of mascarpone cream, all layered on top of soft coffee-soaked biscuits. As much as I hate to admit it, it’s delicious.

“None whatsoever! I gave her a life of luxury, and got a knife in my back for my troubles. Honestly I got off lucky - her other husbands all ended up dead. All ‘accidents’ of course. I swear, women get off lucky in our world - all they have to do is seduce some powerful man and steal his hard earned money and they can live a life without a single worry. Hell, they can even get away with murder if they lean into the ‘clueless housewife’ style like she did. Fucking bitch.”

Lilian simply tilts her head, looking me in the eyes with her soft bubblegum pink eyes. “Oh, I truly have found the motherlode with you, haven’t I? So many awful little misconceptions to prune from your pretty little head. This will be oh so much fun, Petal.”

I narrow my eyes, “Misconceptions? Knew you were one of those fucking feminists. I swear, it’s insane how insidious that bullshit is - I would have thought a xeno could see right through it.”

I get fed another spoonful of Tiramisu, and as I swallow I feel heat pooling in my cheeks. I squirm a little in the seat, trying to work out what caused that as the heat slowly spreads.

“You know, perhaps it would be best to introduce you to my brother. I’m sure he can show you just what your new place is in our home. Hmm… Though on second thoughts I would love to toy with you myself.” She chuckles, and I can feel my breathing growing heavier, more ragged.

“What was in that fucking cake?” I shudder as I shift in the seat, the feeling of that frilly nonsense rubbing against my skin sends flickers of static through my limbs - A deeply girly moan escapes my lips and I clamp my hand over my mouth.

“Oh, just a little something to help you become acquainted with your new body Jasmine. Matcha did such a good job balancing the dose - though she did have to take a lot of breaks during taste testing.”

“You fucking drugged me ? ”

“Oh come on. If you’re going to be like this after a little light drugging then you really should just grow up. It’s hardly something to get upset over dear. Besides, you’ll enjoy it. I’m sure~” She reaches a vine out, tracing a small circle in my skin and making me gasp. “Your body can’t lie dear, you’re practically begging for it.”

Chapter Text

The heat spreads through my body like a wave, my breath catching in my throat as Lilian traces her vines in soft circles on the back of my hand.

“Wh-What are you going to do to me, you… Freak?” I try to move, only to realise my muscles are refusing to listen to me. My body’s frozen in the seat, and Lilian grins as she sees the realisation on my face.

“Oh, well… Whatever I want. You are mine darling. My toy to play with. Your body - so lovingly crafted by my vines - is mine to use however I want. You will learn in time to love it.”

My skin crawls, a sneer of disgust forming as I look at her. “This is inhumane, surely there are laws against this kind of treatment of a prisoner!”

“Prisoner? Is that what you think you are?” She laughs, “Oh that is precious. You aren’t my prisoner dear. Prisoners have rights! You are a floret. You have only what I give you. Nothing more.”

I try to force my body to move, to fight back, but my muscles won’t respond no matter how hard I try. 

“Don’t you worry, Jasmine. Like I said, you’ll love being my pet. In fact I think you’ll find a deeper level of happiness with me than you ever could have with that silly little ‘company’ of yours.” She smiles, and I’m about to very loudly protest before I feel something slither over my ankle. 

It slowly curls up my calf, and another wraps around my other calf as my eyes dart down trying to get a glimpse of what’s going on from my limited perspective.

“Oh don’t you worry about those, darling. Just my vines. If I were you I’d probably be more worried about what was in the tea.” She grins, flicking her tongue over her pointed teeth. 

“What was in the tea?” I glance down at the now empty cup with concern, and Lilian laughs.

“Gosh you are so easy to redirect. Very adorable. Very useful~” I feel a firm squeeze at the top of my thigh, and realise I never noticed her moving them further up. “In any case, I wouldn’t worry too much-” I feel a sharp prick on my thigh as her vines snake up my legs, and I realise they’re under the dress she’s put me in. Directly on my skin. “Besides, there’s far less in the tea than what I just injected you with. That injection was just a little class C, some D, E, and F of course. A continuation of your G course, and a booster to the M and A that was in the tea and tiramisu.”

I squint at her, was that in any way meant to make sense? Or is she just trying to distract me from the vines edging closer to my cock?

“Oh, and don’t worry - I’m saving the S, H, and N for later if you’re good, darling~”

She smirks as her vines finally find the spot they’re searching for, and my heart hammers in my chest as instead of feeling them wrap around anything, one instead slowly slides into me.

“N-No… Y-You…” I gasp, the slight movement from her exploration of me sending a shiver through my body. The alien sensation of being penetrated leaves me wordless.

“Mmn, I was wondering when you would notice, Jasmine. I mean honestly, did you think I would let you keep that thing? You’d have no use for it, dear. This suits you so much better.” She grins, punctuating her point by sliding deeper into me, a smaller vine tracing over the outside of my- of the pussy. I… I can’t let her have me referring to this thing as mine. It’s not. It’s wrong.

“Wh-Why are you doing this? What have I done to deserve this?” I can feel a tear burning in my eye, one that I firmly hold back. Men don’t cry, and I am a man. That much is something I can hold on to.

“Oh my darling, all you had to do to deserve this wonderful life was exist.” She smiles, and I feel her coil and twist within me, forcing a moan out of my lips. 

“N-No… Th-This isn’t… It’s… You’re torturing me.” I whimper, and wince at the sound I just made as she keeps up her infernal, stimulating movement.

“I’m sorry you feel that way for now, pet. However I assure you that you will be thanking me before long. Your sisters will tell you, they all viewed this experience similarly at first. However, it was necessary.” She leans forward, filling up the tea cup. “Drink, petal. You’ll feel so much better when you do.” 

She lifts the cup to my lips, and I can’t stop myself from swallowing the hot, astringent liquid. The warmth from it pouring down my throat spreads outward, adding to the warmth in my body from the Tiramisu. “Good girl . Don’t you feel it? That… Intensity?” As she speaks, I feel the textured tip of her vine rub up against something inside me that makes me groan, that sends the heat in my body into overdrive, leaves me feeling like I’m burning up with a sickening need for her to drive herself deeper into me.

“F-Fuck…” I gasp, knowing that if my body could move it would be moving toward this feeling, aching for more. Tears burn my eyes as I look at Lilian. “Wh-Why…” 

“Oh, darling…” She coos, reaching out with a hand to cup my cheek, wiping away a tear with her thumb. “Because I can see the beauty that you will blossom into - once I carve away all this nonsense you seem to think is important. Do you think I don’t notice you holding back these tears? Do you think I don’t know just how attached you were to that useless lump of meat between your legs? You’ve been so deeply scarred by the Accord, my dear. An institution that puts such bewildering value in the accident of your birth. Of all of your births. My darling . I will heal you, and you will flourish in my care. Your body already feels it, already yearns for my touch. In time, your mind will fall into lockstep and you will finally be free.” 

I tremble as she pulls herself out of me, and I bite back the urge to whimper at the sudden emptiness within me. “For now though… Hm… I think it is time you met your sisters.” Another sharp prick, this time on my neck, and she dismisses me with a vine. “Your bedroom is out the door behind me . Turn right, past the knight, and be polite. ”

I feel my body shift, an energy spilling into my muscles as I suddenly rise from my seat. 

I want to lunge for her, to grab the fork she used to serve me that fucking cake and drive it into that smug wooden mask of hers. 

This body however seems to want otherwise. It walks slowly, precisely, feet clicking one in front of the other in heels far too high for me to walk in myself. I reach the door, step into the hallway, and turn right.

“Goodbye, Jasmine! Enjoy your afternoon.” She calls after me, with such a gentle tone I almost wonder if I’d imagined her sadistic glee at my despair over my new body. It only takes a moment for that idiotic thought to be discarded. Of course I hadn’t imagined it - she was the one who did this to me. A sweet sounding goodbye doesn’t negate the irreparable harm she’s already done to me.

I see a long baroque styled hallway, doors leading off on either side of the corridor, and my legs begin to lead me down it. Past a small side table with a fragile looking vase full of flowers, past a floor to ceiling tapestry of a beautiful woman sleeping in a field of what looks to be daisies, past a full suit of medieval plate armour before my body turns sharply to the right and into the next door.

“I’m telling you! She’s a total pushover - she’ll be like I was. I could hear her moaning from the hall!”

“Please, Matcha - no-one could be as much of a pushover as you were. Besides, from the sounds of it she was a total bitch before she got here. Chances are she’s gonna be as much of a pain as Lap was.”

The voices of two women are the first thing to greet me as I enter, and I feel that strange compulsion in the body to move suddenly leave me - letting me finally have the freedom to sigh as I stagger forward in those massive heels. “Uh… H-Hi? Hello? Are you all weird plant things too, or do I finally have a normal person to talk to?”

I look around the room, and see three women sitting around on a small semi-circle comprised of a plush, ornate sofa in the same gaudy baroque style as the rest of this place with two single seater armchairs on either side of it. One of the women is sitting in the armchair on the left in a long and comparatively very plain looking black outfit. A floor length black skirt, with a tightly buttoned shirt that has long straight sleeves which cover her arms down to the wrists with form fitting black leather gloves covering her hands. Not an inch of skin is exposed anywhere on her body below the neck. The collar of her dress covers up to the top of her neck, with an unadorned black ribbon tied tight around it in a loose bow. However, the most striking aspect of her is her right eye. Where it should be is instead a wide black rose, blooming like an eyepatch and covering over any possible part of where her eye should be. Her black hair is perfectly straight, hanging like a wave of silk from her head and kept out of her face by a single black headband.

The second woman is much more colourful, dressed in a deep red and green dress that reminds me very heavily of the kinds of ‘maid’-style dresses I had the option of choosing for Trixie’s outfit aboard the Starfucker. Only where those were cheap, flimsy, and overtly attention grabbing this one was a work of art - lace and fabric brought together in harmony along with careful white stitching to give the second woman an appearance which reminds me in part of a strawberry.

Her hair is much less precise as the first woman’s, two brown pigtails braided down and resting over her chest - which is rather tantalisingly exposed by the low neckline of her dress. Her skin is covered in soft brown freckles, and she wears a pair of round-lensed glasses close to her large brown eyes. In a word, she looks pleasantly mousey. However, the brown leather collar affixed around her neck has me worried.

The third meanwhile can best be described as a witch. It’s just plainly clear that is what she is. With a wide-brimmed black hat tapering back to a point and a long ruffled dress in a deep blue that’s speckled with stars. She’s got a baggy purple knitted cardigan buttoned over the top that is covered in patterned eyes. Half-moon glasses with a silver chain dangling from them rest on the end of her nose, and the black fabric choker around her neck makes me wonder if these women are my captor’s other ‘Florets’. Whatever that term means.

The three of them are staring at me, and in turn glance between themselves before the figure in black stands and walks toward me with her hands clasped in front of her. She’s taller than me, towering over my current form. Her cool grey eyes study me, taking in every detail of my awful new body and making a few hums and sounds of consideration which deeply unsettles me.

“My guess is maid, same as Matcha.” She comments. The second woman, strawberry girl, giggles as she shakes her head. “Nu-uh, she’s got way too many frills for that to be practical. Plus, those blonde ringlets? She’s way too prissy looking for a maid…”

The third sighs as she regards me, then glances at the other two. “Sisters, can we not refer to her as if she’s not standing right there? Hello. I’m Souchong. One half of the Third Florets Pluribus.” I see her eyes flicker to a deep red as she tips her hat back. “Could you introduce yourself ?”

I feel that compulsion return to my mind as my body is once more wrested from my control. With a curtsey, I hear my new voice reply. “This one is Jasmine LeBeau, Fifth Floret. She/Her. It is a pleasure to meet you.” in a sudden, the compulsion leaves me and I stagger back with a gasp. “Wh-What the fuck was that?”

“Conditioning, Jasmine. Specifically, it’s a command we all have. If someone asks you to ID then you have to do it.” The first woman speaks up as she walks around to the front of me, peering down at me with an inquisitive eye. “Perhaps our princess finally has a doll?” She speaks in that same entirely dismissive tone, as if my own presence was irrelevant to the conversation at hand.

“Excuse me, but my name is not that. I’m-”

She holds up a hand, and I feel my words die in my mouth.

“Your birth name is irrelevant now, and really you would adapt better to your current situation if you were to simply forget it. I am Rose LeBeau, Second Floret. She/Her. I recommend you discard any notion you are anything other than Jasmine LeBeau. It will make it so much easier for you if you just give in .” Her voice is cold, devoid of emotion as she walks back to her seat and returns to ignoring my presence.

The second woman folds her legs up under her on the sofa, rolling her eyes. “Rose, you really should learn to be a bit less blunt - the poor girl’s petrified!”

“I-I’m not-” 

“Yeah, whatever. Look, don’t stay so attached to what you were. Rose is kinda right. It’d be best to just like… Let go of that shit. Lily’s not gonna let you keep it, so holding on tight to it is only gonna drag out the less-fun-for-you stage even further. Oh, I’m Matcha by the way! Nice to meet you! I’m LeBeau’s Fourth Floret.” She smiles, and I see red.

“Matcha? You’re the one who made that fucking cake !”

I stomp toward her, and my body once again freezes up. “I apologise, that was rude of me. The Dessert was delightful, thank you!”

I grimace as control returns to me, and it’s painfully clear from their utter lack of a reaction that this level of control is hardly unexpected.

Matcha just giggles. “I heard you, you loved it~ Anyways, quit fighting so much - come sit down! We were just deciding what to do with our afternoon before Sir shows up.”

“Ah, on that note…” It’s Souchong speaking now, her raspy voice drawing my attention. “Apologies in advance for your evening - Sir does tend to enjoy breaking in the new girls. I’m sure any of us would be happy to help you prepare if you want it.”

The thought of being ‘broken in’ sends ice through my veins. “Y-You mean…?”

Rose speaks up now, “Yes, she means he’ll have his way with you - it shouldn’t hurt too bad. Lilian doesn’t tend to give us bodies that can’t handle him.”

“N-No.” I feel that cold sting of fear again. “I-I’m not a girl. He can’t just… He can’t use me like one! I’m a fucking man ! My body’s not some fucktoy for a weird plant thing!”

There’s a simultaneous intake of breath and Souchong sighs. “Alright, consider my offer of help revoked. Jeez, were you this bad at first, Rose?”

“Hmm, I was bad but not in this way. Clearly Jasmine has some things to work through.” Rose leans back, placing an index finger on her cheek as she studies me.

“Hey- what the- Can you all quit fucking talking about me like I’m not here? Look - unlike all you, I’m not a woman. I woke up in this fucking body like half an hour ago.” I step forward, glaring at each of them. Souchong shudders as her eyes turn a deep cobalt blue.

“Ooh, can I tell her? Please! It’s always so fun to see the reaction!” She claps her hands together, and Rose just nods in response. “Sweet! So, uh… You’re not special , Jaz! We all woke up in our bodies just like you did. Granted, me and Souchong weren’t so surprised. Lily kept telling us about ‘what a pretty girl we’d make’ when she was chasing us.”

I shake my head, “Right, sure. But like… I had a cock before. Five o’clock shadow, that whole deal!”

Matcha giggles. “Yeah, join the club girl. Mine was like… Nine inches. Still kinda annoyed I didn’t get to keep it.” Souchong scoffs at Matcha in disbelief.

“Wha- No… I mean…” I stare at her, my body feeling like it’s on the precipice of a cliff. Yet the terror doesn’t fully seem to sink in. I know it’s there, but it’s like I’m locked off from accessing it.

“Ooh, the penny’s dropping! Hehee, I’m so glad I got to see it this time.” Souchong giggles and points over behind her. “Bathroom’s that way if you wanna get a good look at yourself by the way! That’s usually how these things go. It’s how it went for us, and Matcha, at least.”

The bathroom, yeah. I’ll go there, and splash myself with some water and wake up from this fucking nightmare.

I shakily step across the room, my feet wobbling on the heels I’ve been forced into. I can feel my legs threatening to give way as I crash through the wooden door and fall against the bathroom counter. I look up into the mirror.

A beautiful blonde bombshell of a woman stares back at me. Her lips are cherry red, eyes a bright emerald green. Her hair falls about her face in tight ordered ringlets, and…

I feel sick. I… I need to be sick. I lean over the edge of the sink, throwing up the mixture of matcha tiramisu and jasmine tea. A heavy, wracking sob forces its way out of me.

What the hell did she do to me? Where the hell is any trace of the man I am?

I stare into the reflection, my now dainty hands working their way over my soft jawline, my thin blonde eyebrows… My skin is flawlessly soft and tanned like I’ve spent a summer in the sun. I massage my neck, feeling the lack of my normally so prominent Adam's apple, and… I feel my own collar. A thin metal band with no seams I can find.

Fucking hell, I’m the personal barbie doll of a lunatic plant lady that takes men and makes them into… Whatever the hell I am now.

I feel a hand on my shoulder and I jump, my head twisting to see Rose standing over me, a handkerchief in hand. “You’ll be alright, Jasmine. You’ll be happy. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but you will.”

“Please…” I croak, “I’m not…”

“You are. I’m sorry that this is hard to accept right now, but you are. I can call you Jaz if you prefer? Minnie? Maybe Jazzy? Hm… No, you don’t really seem like a Jazzy. Listen, there is nothing about manhood you will miss a year from now. You’ll be okay.”

I suck in a ragged breath, looking at myself again in the mirror. At my red, tear filled eyes.

“Fuck… Why’d she have to make me look like such a slut though?”

Rose bristles, sighing as she pats my back.

Chapter Text

After a few minutes of turbulent emotional distress, I steel myself and take a deep breath. Straightening up, I look through the mirror’s reflection at Rose.

“So… This Sir guy…” 

“Yes, you will have to do what he says. Trust me, the punishments for disobeying are not something I imagine you in your current state would enjoy. I mean I enjoy them immensely, but… In any case I advise you to be obedient until you’ve had the chance to properly settle in.”

I shudder as I try to work out what a plant dead set on fucking me might consider to be a punishment. With a sigh, I stare at myself in the mirror, looking into my new eyes and taking a deep breath.

“Okay. So how do I make it go as smoothly as possible? Like… How do I just get it over with ? I’m not an idiot , I know there’s no reasonable hope of escape once an Affini’s got you this much in their clutches.”

“Hm, honestly I’m not sure you can get entirely prepared enough between now and then. Do you want me to give you the full, unfiltered truth?” Rose closes the bathroom door behind her, ushering me to scooch over.

“I feel like you’ve all been giving me that from the start so what the fuck does my opinion matter?”

Rose tuts, rolling her eye. “You are, I’m assuming, a very classically masculine man, yes?”

I just nod, staring at her as I try to work out her angle on this.

“The reason I ask is because all of us were like that. You are a rather painful reminder of our foolish past selves. the others may not wish to have this reminder around, so naturally they’ll be very much the opposite of helpful until you get your head out your ass.”

“Wow, well then fuck all of you, I guess? Not my problem if you failures of men see me as some rough reminder!”

Rose grabs me by the collar, pulling me close. “Listen to me, Jasmine. Listen fucking close. You don’t need to be a man. You don’t need the bullshit you are going to cling to as armour. That impulse to insult our manhood, which I may remind you none of us have any kind of attachment to anymore, is just the toxic core of what will be excised from you in time. It’s a defence mechanism from the part of you that wants you to stay shackled to your unhelpful thought patterns. It’s a goddamn cancer and you are better off without it. I will give you the benefit of compassion and patience while you still have that in there, and I guarantee one day you will thank me for it so do me a favour and try to be less of an unpleasant cunt to us, okay? I recognise you’re going through a terrifying experience - but calling us ‘failures of men’ is hardly going to change that. We’re the four people most likely to be sympathetic to your current situation, and alienating yourself from us is not doing yourself a favour.”

“Fuck! Alright, fine! Look, I’m just… This is all…” I step back, and let myself crumple back onto the toilet seat.

“I get it. It’s terrifying, and you - if you’re anything like I was - are built to believe that you should be above being terrified. I know none of us are doing you any favours, but I am trying , okay? I’ve tried helping with the rest of them and honestly it seems to have worked pretty damn well with Matcha.” Rose runs her hand through her hair, sighing as her tone becomes softer. “Also… I’m sorry if my comment about it hurting worried you. He won’t be like that with you unless you want it. Trust me, because… Well, I wanted it and I can tell you that the others definitely haven’t gotten quite the same treatment as I did.” She bites her lip, cheek flushing as I stare at her in disbelief.

“Wha- Why… Why are you telling me that?”

“Oh, well… because we’re sisters - even if you haven’t accepted that just yet. Sisters share things.” She shrugs, speaking like it’s the most self-evident truth. “So, you get to hear all about the kinky stuff I love Sir doing to me. Oh, actually that reminds me… I remember that coming to terms with my body in that context was kinda the biggest hurdle at first. If you want, I can help you ease into it before you have to meet him?”

Now I’m just utterly confused. “I thought you said ‘sisters’ and now you’re talking as if you wanna… what, give me girly sex pointers?”

“Yeah, sisters share. That includes intimacy, Jas. what, you think we just sit around all day looking pretty? We’re not men - that means we don’t have to give a shit about starving ourselves of physical intimacy just because we feel like we should.”

“Right, okay, what are you suggesting? Because we just met, I’m a total wreck-” I gesture at my teary eyed reflection, “-and like a minute ago you were calling me a cunt so… what the hell, Rose?”

She shrugs, smiling at me. “Jasmine, all I am offering is a gentle dip into getting you acquainted with your new body before you have to go spend time with either of our owners.”

I sigh, leaning back against the wall. “What would it involve?”

“Well that depends - how familiar are you with the female body?”

I laugh, “oh, very. Trust me I know my way around when it comes to that.”

She just stares at me for a moment. “Of course you do, so where’s the clit?”

“Trick question, it’s a myth.”

“Good heavens, your poor partners…” She glances back at the door and then grabs my hand, leading me out the other door of the bathroom and into a wide open bedroom. It’s clearly a shared room, with five beds spaced out around it. One of which is covered with a dark, heavy canopy.

“Okay, so… First things first, your body is going to be sensitive in a lot of ways you will not be used to. I imagine Lilian’s given you some introduction to that, given how much she enjoys making tea time a bit more… Interesting ?”

I wince at the memory, at the thought of the entirely alien feeling of being the one being penetrated. “Y-Yes. She…” I feel myself tearing up, and all of a sudden I’m pulled into a tight hug. 

“It’s okay, Jas. It’s okay. I know this is a lot to handle, and honestly you’re keeping surprisingly stable through all this. I was screaming bloody murder at this point in my florethood.” She cradles my head, and pulls me close to herself. I let the tears come, I don’t have the energy to hide them anymore.

“I promise you, as hard as it is to believe, she wants nothing but the best for you. All affini do… They just…” She sighs, stroking my hair. “They sometimes don’t realise how distressing such a sudden change can be. So… Focus on the positives. How did it feel?”

“How did it feel? It felt like a violation! Like my body wasn’t my own, and I was a prisoner in some horrific meat suit! Like I still am! ” I pull away from the hug, disgust evident on my face. “Just… Stop with all this… Stop siding with her! You’re a terran, Rose! What happened to your spirit?”

She laughs, shrugging as she looks at me. “All that ‘spirit’ ever got me was pain, and a bullet through the skull.” She gestures at the rose. “Meanwhile, Miss LeBeau has given me peace. Mister LeBeau has granted me penance, and liberation. You’re not going to sway me, Jasmine. So… I ask again… Dig deeper. How did it feel ? Physically, not emotionally.”

I stare at her in defiance, making the promise to myself to never become as far gone as Rose clearly is. She simply keeps her eyes on me, waiting for my answer.

“It felt… Good. Good, but wrong. It shouldn’t feel good. I’m a man , I’m not meant to find it pleasurable to be the one in that position! It’s… It’s sick. ”

“Okay. Then how about I show you how to feel good without that penetration aspect? Would that be a kind of good you can let yourself feel without guilt?”

I blink, utterly speechless. I wasn’t expecting her to just accept that. “Wh-What?”

“Jas, it’s clear you’re making a lot of progress already - I don’t need to push through that particular mental block of yours to help you. I mean, I get that you’re clueless about women’s bodies but you do know penetration isn’t the only way to feel good in one, right?” Her mouth curls into a smirk. “Right?”

“Uh… Y-Yeah, of course I know.” I laugh, trying to play off my ignorance.

“Right, well then let me show you specifics. Need help getting out of that frilly nightmare?” She gestures at the dress and I give a sigh of relief. 

“Oh my stars, yes! The heels too, they are a nightmare ! I don’t get why she seems to have shrunk me so much only to put me in heels that make me pretty much my old height…” I wince, reaching down and yanking off the heels before planting my now bare feet back on solid ground. Meanwhile, Rose walks around behind me and begins undoing what feels like a ludicrous quantity of knots on my back. The dress slowly loosens, and eventually it slides off entirely.

Then it hits me. I’m naked. In front of Rose. In… this body. I move to cover myself up only to feel her gloved hands grab onto my wrists and pull them down to my sides. “It’s okay. It’s nothing you should want to cover up. Besides, you’ll get a good look at all of us eventually.”

“Wait, really?” I tilt my head, and Rose laughs. “Oh, that get your attention? Suddenly seeing the positives of this arrangement you’re in? Y’know, Matcha’s been very eager to have new blood join us - she’s got a bit of a thing for serving, and I imagine she’d be happy to do so for you once you apologise for calling her Tiramisu a cake, at least.” She leans in close, pressing her body up against my back. “Now, close your eyes. Try and divorce what you’re about to feel from what you think you should feel about it, okay?”

I feel her breath on my neck, her hand snaking around my body and softly resting on my belly. “Now, I’m going to touch you in some rather intimate places, if you want me to stop - just ask. Okay?” I feel her other hand join the first, and then she lets go of me. I’m about to ask what’s wrong before I suddenly feel the soft touch of her skin against my own.

Her hand slides down my stomach, and I feel a ticklish rush of adrenaline as she trails her fingers slowly down between my legs.

“You should know,” She whispers in my ear, making my heart race as she finally rests her tip against the very top of my new genitals. “This spot here-” She softly begins to rub, and I feel a shuddering ripple of pleasure and heat begin to pool within me “Is your clit. Think of it like a very sensitive little ball of potential pleasure…” 

I gasp as she rubs it in small, slow circles. “A-Ah… M-More.” I moan, that heat spreading through me, no doubt the remains of whatever drugs Lilian dosed me with. It’s making me hungry, desperate for more pleasure in a way I haven’t been for decades.

“Hm, not yet. After all, there’s so much more to teach you. Just relax, let your big sister Rose handle it~” I gasp at her voice, the words sound so wrong … But I can’t argue with how she’s making me feel.

Her finger moves away from my clit, and she begins to trace along the outside of my… Along the lips of my pussy? That feels like the right term for them. She presses in, rubbing a little harder but still being gentle enough to leave me yearning for more.

“These parts are less sensitive, but still very receptive to touch. You can be a little rougher with them if you want…” She leans in and bites my earlobe as she spreads me open with her fingers. I gasp, pressing back against her. 

“ Do you want that, Jasmine?”

I blush, I know I shouldn’t, but she asked me to try and ignore what I think I should feel and she is the closest thing I have to an ally here.

So I answer her, as truthfully and shamelessly as I can. 

“F-Fuck… Yes! I… I need more. ”

“Hmm… Well… I really shouldn’t.” She sighs, and I whimper in protest. “After all, I’m sure Sir wouldn’t want me spoiling you. Only good girls get spoiled.” her right hand moves up my chest, cupping my right breast as she whispers in my ear.

“Are you a good girl, Jasmine?” 

I moan, my back arching. I’m desperate for more. My body is on fire and the only thing that dulls the burn is her touch.

I shouldn’t… I know I shouldn’t. I’m… I’m a man. I’m not…

“Mn-Aaahh~ P-Please…” I gasp. Surely she won’t make me say it. Surely she can see how desperate I am.

“Gosh you are such an adorable little sister. You know, I don’t even think Matcha was as needy as you are at first… Just let go of that little voice telling you that you shouldn’t. I’m here for you, I’ve got you. Just… Say it.” Her index and middle finger squeeze around my nipple, tugging gently on it and sending another ripple of static through my body.

“P-Please! I… You can’t…”

“Say you’re a good girl, and I’ll give you just what you want~”

“I-I’m… P-Pleas-” My body burns as I pant, shivers of pleasure now tearing through me with any touch of her skin against mine.

I can feel my resolve faltering, my mind desperate to give in to her demand. I open my mouth, the words about to leave my lips.

Then I hear a soft yawn off to my right, and my eyes flick open in panic.

“Mn, Big sis…?” Says a soft and curious voice from within the canopy bed at the centre of the room.

I feel Rose’s hands freeze up, and she slowly removes her hands from me. “I’m sorry, dear sister. We’ll have to finish this later. After all, I assume you don’t want an audience?” 

At this point, I was conflicted. Maybe I would accept an audience if it meant more of her touch. I turn and see her hurriedly pulling on her gloves. A glimpse of skin is all it takes for me to get an idea of why she’s so covered up. Pale white lines criss cross across the back of her hand, a myriad of scars that make me wonder how she could have gotten so many.

She brings a gloved finger to her lips, and I just shakily nod.

“Are you awake, Cammy? We have a new sister joining us today - I was just helping her get dressed.” Rose smiles, her demeanour shifting from her precise and directly maintained posture to more of a relaxed and looser stance.

“Ooh, new sister!?” A face suddenly pokes out of the canopy, and I see what can only be described as a princess . Long silver hair swept back out of her face by a soft pastel blue headband/sleeping mask. She’s staring at me with wide golden eyes, gleaming with life and eagerness as she grins.

“I’m Chamomile, or Cammy-” She pauses, yawning loudly. “Mn, sorry… I’mma lil sleepy still. I’m Mama and Papa’s First Floret!” 

I glance over at Rose, then back at Chamomile. “It’s… A pleasure to meet you. I… Uhm… I’m Jasmine, I guess? Fifth?” 

Rose gives me a smile. “Exactly, Jasmine LeBeau, Fifth Floret. She’ll be such a lovely addition to the family, don’t you think Cammy?”

“Oh, yes! She’s very pretty! I bet she’d suit like… A nice blue checkered dress!” Her tone is so… Innocent. It’s hard to believe she was the first to be taken by Lilian. Though judging by her referring to Lilian as ‘Mama’ maybe she was just brainwashed into being a good daughter for her? I wince at the thought, but I’m quickly distracted by Rose leading me back through to the bathroom. “Of course, Cammy! That sounds like a great idea - I’ll just get her changed into one of those and bring her back through to show you!”

No sooner has the door closed than Rose has returned to her stern exterior. 

“Listen, I strongly recommend you don’t mention your old name, or anything about being a man around our Princess. She’s… Well… She needs a gentle touch. None of us will be happy with you if you manage to trigger her. Okay?”

“Ugh, fine… Stars there is way too much getting thrown at me today. I’m not even gonna ask.” I chew the inside of my lip, still rather frustrated that Rose’s touch had to stop there.

“Good, now then…” She walks over to an indent in the wall, typing something into a panel beside it and in the blink of an eye there’s suddenly a blue gingham dress being pulled out from the indent and thrown over my head.

Rose takes care of making it sit properly on my body, and pulls my arms through the sleeves before turning me back to face the mirror. “There you go, looking lovely honestly. Cammy’s got a good eye.”

I hate that I kind of agree with her. This suits me far better than the frilly nightmare Lilian had me in. Not to mention it was far more comfortable.

…Still, I don’t like it. I’m just putting up with it for now.

I’ll find myself something less clearly womanly to wear later. When my head finally stops spinning over all the wild shit that’s happened to me in the last day.

Chapter Text

Thankfully I’m spared from having to do the full fashion show runway presentation, though Chamomile and Rose both seem nothing but complimentary of my current look. I try to stay pleasant and cheery, but once I ask Rose if there’s anywhere I can go for some alone time it’s becoming pretty clear that I seriously need some time to just process this insane situation I’m in. Luckily Rose directs me to a small courtyard in the middle of the house where I can get some fresh air. 

So I finally get some time to myself, and I let out all the frustration that’s been building up inside me. I cry. I’m… Honestly not ashamed to say that it feels so good to cry. It takes so much of the edge off of my emotional state, and before long I’m lying back on a metal garden chair, just breathing in the soft scents of the garden around me and trying to relax.

What surprises me the most about all of this is the sheer decadence of everything. I’ve lived most of my life in the lap of luxury, but there’s a level of wealth on display here that I would have been lucky to spot on a trip to the sol system. I walked through a fucking library to get here - and the books were real! I checked!

No wonder the LeBeaus had gone off the deep end. This much wealth is like a poison. Give yourself everything you could ever possibly want and you’re cursed to want more and more sordid things.

I was lucky I was never more than just moderately wealthy. I could afford nice meals, fancy clothes, hell even a well-tuned superyacht but I never let it get to my head. I never grew complacent or tired of the luxuries I had. I was always painfully aware of what it was to lack. I mean I grew up in veritable destitution compared to what I had before the LeBeaus caught me.

I mean, I never had to slum it with the really poor folks - the kinds of people that couldn’t afford anything but synthcubes to eat. All those folk were definitely there by their own fault though. Drug addicts, perverts, people who couldn’t just work a normal job for normal pay. People who thought that society as a whole was some kind of personal affront to them for some reason or another. In any case, I lived my childhood on the lowest rung decent people ever ended up on, and these LeBeaus clearly never did.

Everything was ornate and gilded, every tiny piece of every room was glittering with jewels or polished metal. It was such a decadent display of just how much they clearly had.

I mean, no-one would willingly choose to live in a home like this unless it were a symbol - a way of signalling to everyone around you that you were better than them. Because you could afford a golden toilet to piss in.

I sigh, lifting a hand up to the air in front of me, studying my new hands. I still hate that they’re my hands, but at least that initial dissociation seems to have passed. 

‘Look at the positives’, she said. Well, my fingernails have never been so immaculate in my life. Just their neatness alone seems to have quelled my habit of chewing them to pieces. It seems a shame to ruin them.

Plus, my body now might be the polar opposite of who I am but… It’s clearly at most half the age of my old one. No random aches or pains, no sudden stiffness if I sit in one position for too long. Hell, even my libido being properly back is kind of amazing, as much of a double edged sword that is.

I stare up into the sky above the home I’ve found myself in and wonder where I am. I can see stars, an endless milky sea of glittering lights. This isn’t the kind of sight you’d get planetside, too much light pollution on most worlds for that, but I find it impossible to think that I could be on a spaceship right now.

I sigh, closing my eyes. It’s been too long to still fool myself into thinking this is a dream,but the reality seems far too hard to believe.

Eventually, I crack open an eye and peer around the courtyard. I can feel something. Something’s watching me.

“Hello?” I call out, trying to muster all my masculine bravado to present myself as more than the diminutive woman I’ve become.

There’s a rustling of leaves, and my nose catches an odd scent. It’s like some kind of salty sweet something that I can’t quite put my finger on. Like a kind of fancy chocolate I maybe had once upon a time in passing. It’s oddly enthralling .

It immediately puts me ill at ease. Anything that smells that welcoming has to be something I should be wary of.

“I see you are settling in rather well to our home. I’m happy to see it.”

My attention is immediately brought to focus on the source of that voice - a deep, honeyed voice that clearly belongs to the only man I’ve heard mention of since waking up.

“Well, it’s never too late to mess up a good thing…” I mutter, staring up at the lithe figure of a bespectacled plant man.

His eyes are round and droopy, both of them formed of a mosaic of soft purple light. His mouth is a much more relaxed shape than his sister’s wooden facade. In fact, whereas her face was like a mask of hard bark, his is smooth green plant matter.

“Oh, well I will endeavour to avoid doing so. I am Allamore LeBeau, Fourth Bloom. He and Him, thank you. To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?”

I roll my eyes. He’s not going to win me over with soft speech and manners. “You know who I am. I’m your newest resident sex slave, aren’t I?”

He recoils, scowling at the thought. “Oh good heavens, no! You are a Floret! Certainly not some… Ugh, I can hardly even bear to repeat that term. You are not that.”

“That’s why you’re here though, isn’t it? You want to get your sick kicks by fucking a man in a woman’s body. It’s some perverse power play, right?”

“We’re really getting off on the wrong vine here… I feel you have some misconceptions…”

“Just cut the bullshit. Let’s not make this more painful than it has to be, please?”

“Hmph. My dear Jasmine, this is not a productive start to our relationship.”

“Well, kiss my ass - the ass your sister gave me by the way. How nice to have a sibling that’ll facilitate your horny fantasies, isn’t it?” 

“Quiet.” He silences me with that single word, I try to retort, but the sound dies in my throat.

“Listen to me, I will forgive your rudeness for now . You are mistaken in thinking I care for my florets out of some perverse desire. I do not. I do it because it is what you need. It is the cure for the poison that has been allowed to settle in your heart from the moment you were old enough to understand the conditioning your vile society put into you.”

Fucking hell, if he’s going to give me a fucking feminist lecture I’d honestly rather skip to the part where he fucks me. At least then I’d be getting something out of it.

Luckily I can still roll my eyes. So I do.

“Hm, I can see you’re not receptive to this. Very well, we can start with the practical lesson then. Don’t worry, I’ll not do anything to you that you don’t need.” 

He might be able to shut me up, but I can still move. So I leap off the seat, making a beeline for the door back into the rest of the house.

Only for a vine to trip me, and for more vines to grab me before I hit the floor. 

“Listen, Jasmine… You will find yourself a far more pleasant life once you shed that ridiculous aversion of yours to accepting your new body. I had thought that your moment with Rose would have taught you of the positives of that.”

He was watching? Well now I hate him even more.

“I recognise that you have likely taken pride in your masculinity in the past - but what good has it actually gotten you, Jack? ”

I look back at him, the sudden use of my old name cutting through my impulse to ignore him.

“I did some research. Divorcee, next to no social life, a failing company, and enough loans coming due that your best bet for keeping the standard of living you’ve become accustomed to was… Stealing your yacht before it was repossessed.” He sighs, tutting as he lifts me up by my wrists to his eye level. “Here you will have a loving family - a life of leisure and self-improvement! Do you truly wish to go back?”

I glare at him, hoping my withering look gets my point across.

“Oh, don’t pout . Think about it for a moment. You spent your life chasing the ideal of a great man, and all you had to show for it is a vanity yacht with an awful name.”

I wince. He’s not wrong … It doesn’t make him any less detestable.

“So, allow me to show you what you need , Jasmine. To show you the place in this world that we have built for you.” He smiles, pulling me close and kissing me. I try to struggle, to pull back, but I feel a sharpness on his lips and my own lips begin to tingle.

“Just a little Class-A, my dear. That one… Well, it’s a pleasure enhancer. A personal favourite.” He grins, and vines begin to wrap and writhe over my body. I’m suddenly thankful for my imposed silence as he winds one vine down my back, over my ass, and up between my legs to the front of my crotch. I screw my eyes shut, trying to avoid feeling the way I felt with Rose. With her it was so much more tender. With him, it’s... It just feels different...

That impression intensifies as blade tipped vines slice me out of my clothes, and they fall to the ground in tatters.

“By the way, you may speak. I only wished to talk uninterrupted and you seem so disinclined to allow that.”

I scoff, “Only because you seem so eager to spout bullshit! ‘Only what I need’, yeah fucking right. Because I’m totally craving to be perved on by some condescending giant plant man.”

“Hm…” Is his response, as his vine presses up against my pussy. “Is that so? I assume this wetness is just… What? Nerves?” He smirks, and I clam up. Damned new body betraying me like this. I don’t like it! This is just… some instinctive reaction to stimuli! 

“Oh, actually you might not know - you see Jasmine, this is what happens when a woman is aroused.”

He pulls the vine up to eye level, the glistening wet surface of it making me look away. I don’t want to see that. 

Suddenly I feel a vine on my cheek that forces my head back to look at what he’s showing me.

“Don’t try to hide from this - you should know that this? This reaction is all you. All we’ve done is put you in a new body - this response? Well… It seems you’re just eager to be used, my dear.”

“F-Fuck off! I’m not some xenofucking homo!” I scowl at him, and he just laughs.

“Darling, it would be okay if you were. After all, as I said, I’m doing this for you. If you preferred the company of women exclusively then… Well I suppose my sister would help with that.”

“You know what I fucking meant, I’m not a fag .”

He looks at me, unimpressed. With a sigh, he just tuts in response. “Honestly, so… vitriolic. I know that deep down inside of you is an itch you’ve never dared scratch. Just… Relax, and let me find it~”

With that, he presses the tip of his vine against me and I cry out as he slowly slips inside. First one inch, then several. He stops right as I’m starting to feel the strain of it, the discomfort of being spread so deeply. I bite my lip to hold back a moan.

“You know, we have your digital storage from that yacht of yours. Such an interesting variety of content on there…”

Oh no… No! Not-

I feel another vine snaking up my legs, and in a matter of moments I feel its slender lubricated tip against my asshole.

“Honestly, if I weren’t so intimately familiar with terran biology your collection would have me rather confused as to which was the traditional hole to use… there were so many more scenes using here than the front…”

I gasp as he presses the vine in, pushing slowly and gently as he eventually stops. My breathing is heavy now, my chest heaving with each gasped lungful of air. The sensations are all so alien, so entirely unlike anything else I have ever felt…

So… Good. 

I shudder at the thought that I would find something like this to be anything less than disgusting. It’s… Unsettling.

But he pushes a little deeper, and I hear myself moan in response.

It’s so hard to square these feelings away - I should be fighting this, why aren’t I fighting this?

“Feeling okay, petal? I can start moving more if you’ve gotten accustomed to this feeling.

“St-Stop… Please .”

“Oh, I made it perfectly clear dear - I’m not stopping. This is for your own good dear.”

“N-No… Not completely - just… At least let me get used to this.” I know I’m not going to convince him to just stop , but I need a moment to pull myself back together at least a little. Hopefully he’s open to compromise.

“Oh, well now that I can certainly do. Just come here, petal~” He pulls me closer with his vines, and wraps his arms around me as he sits down on one of the benches in the garden. “I can take as long as you need, petal. In fact I’m more than happy to just sit with you like this.”

“Wh-Why?” I gasp, shifting my position and causing my muscles to tighten around him. I can’t even hope to hide the pathetic moan that pulls out of me.

“Well, I want you to realise what you’ve been missing dear. So long as you’re working with me then this doesn’t have to be difficult.”

I close my eyes, leaning against his chest. “Why don’t I hate this? I… I should hate this… I mean… Only sissies like being… Well… used like this.”

“If I may, Jasmine… What would be so wrong about being, as you say, a ‘sissy’?”

“Well… It’s wrong! No man should feel good from tha~ aahh ~” He plays dirty, pulling out and pushing back into both of my holes at once while I answer.

“Just saying ‘it’s wrong’ isn’t an answer dear. Try again.”

“F-Fuck… Okay, it’s wrong because men aren’t meant to play that role in reproduction - We’re the ones who do the fucking, not getting fucked.” I scowl. Try and find a hole in that answer, asshole.

He pulls his vine slowly out of my ass, and then pushes in. I feel it swell inside me, and I gasp, my eyes fluttering in overstimulation as I cling to him.

“Need I remind you of the contents of your digital storage? I don’t think you’re the type to be concerned about ‘reproduction’. Besides, you’re a woman now - just… Let that guilt go and enjoy yourself.” He laughs, and I can feel my cheeks flush bright red at the mention of my digital stash. 

“I-It was just a curiosity! I just… I’ve never done that - My ex wife would have thought it was disgusting…” 

“Did you ever ask her, Jasmine?”

“ Ask Brigid? Fucking hell no, she already hated me enough just for existing. If that tight-arse found out I wanted in her tight arse…” I laugh, rolling my eyes at my own dumb joke. “Point is, she definitely wasn’t the type. Hell, I got the feeling she only ever slept with me because she felt obligated. ”

I feel his soft hand on the back of my head as he pulls me into a hug. “You never know unless you ask, little one. Lucky for you I’ve got a full list of all the filthy things you want to do… I do wonder how much of it you’ll be eager to be on the receiving end of…”

“P-Please don’t-”

“Tell you what, manage to take these both without moaning for… Hmm… Thirty seconds and I’ll believe you when you say you don’t want me to do each and every sordid little thing you have saved in that folder to you.”

“Fuck… Fine.” 

It’s only thirty seconds, only thirty… I can handle that. I can take it.

He starts slow, the vines moving in a staggered rhythm. As one pulls out, the other pushes in. I bite my lip, taking a slow breath in. This is doable. I’m a man. He’s not going to leave me whimpering like a desperate whore in thirty seconds.

He leans in close, grinning as he whispers. “Five seconds…” As he does, I feel him speeding up. It’s difficult, but I can handle it.

Then he starts to thicken his vines inside me, pulling them slowly out and letting me feel every moment of intense stretching before thinning back out and sliding in deep far faster. 

“Ten seconds… A third of the way~” He chuckles as I press my face into his chest, the smell of that salty sweetness of his scent filling my mind as I can feel myself bouncing on him now, my hips being forced up with each thrust in. 

“Fifteen…” He mutters, hand stroking through my hair. A gasp spills out of me and I wince as it’s followed by a groan.

“Not even twenty seconds? My my, what was all that about how you ‘should hate this’?”

“F-Fuck off, that was a groan - not a moan! Completely different.”

“Hmm, that so?” He smirks, and grabs onto my hips with both hands. “Fine, I’ll stop holding back then.”

“Wha-” Is all I manage before I feel him speeding up, another thinner vine wrapping and squeezing softly around my clit as two more make their way to my nipples.

“Ten… Nine… Ei-”

I can feel the pressure building, like a kettle boiling over within me as his vines fuck me hard.

I can’t even try to keep the moans contained, my head tipping back as I feel myself building to something…

Then, all of a sudden, he pulls himself free of me, and I’m left woefully empty in his hands.

I pant, staring up at him as I feel that build up of pleasure slowly fade.

“Wh-Why?” I plead, squirming at the sudden emptiness I feel within me.

“Oh, I promised only to give you what you need, my dear - You don’t need that just yet.” He smiles, leaning in and kissing my forehead. “Now, I think it’s time I let you get a good sleep. You’ve had a long day.”

He carries me off to the door and I yelp in protest. “H-Hey! I can walk by myself! I know the way!”

“Oh, darling… As cute as it would be for me to let you try, you’re not getting out my vines that easily.

Chapter Text

I am indignant as I am carried unceremoniously through the house. Honestly, being put to bed ? I’m a full grown adult, and this is just demeaning. Though I suspect that’s why he’s doing it to me. I’m not going to give him the satisfaction of being indignant about it.

“You know I am rather proud of you, Jasmine. You are adjusting to your new self remarkably well.”

I scoff, looking up at him. “Seriously? What, are you expecting me to be screaming and yelling about how you’ve mutilated me? Sorry to disappoint.”

“ Mutilation is a very extreme word to use. We fixed your joint pain, removed your allergies, fixed your visual acuity and even cured a few issues you likely weren’t aware you had. However, If you are referring to your current gender presentation as ‘mutilation’ then honestly… That is a mindset we will have to rid you of.” Allamore sighs, and I scowl up at him.

“I imagine you see nothing wrong with scooping every ounce of me out of my head to leave you with a nice mindless pet, hm? After all, what’s a little identity murder between friends?” I take a moment, looking around the hall he’s carrying me down. “Let me down, I can walk the rest of the way.”

“Hm, if you insist. Though, if I may, what are you counting as you? Your toxic adherence to an antiquated view of gender that was instilled upon you by the Accord? Your mistaken prioritisation of a system that was designed just as much to trap you as it did your fellow terrans? Or perhaps you’re meaning your deeply ingrained sense of shame and guilt that gives you a convenient excuse to hate a change that’s made you happier than you’ve likely been in decades?” He places me down on my feet and I sigh.

“Really? So you see nothing wrong with just… Reaching into my head and exercising parts of me? I am a person - I am a combination of all of my thoughts and feelings. Taking parts of that away is… Well it’s changing me. Making me an entirely new person.” I plant a hand on my hip, staring up at him in disbelief.

“Really? So losing an argument and changing your mind would constitute a complete loss of who you are? All that excising that wrong opinion would do is expedite that process. I am interested in the real you - the you that is free from what you were forced to be.” He kneels, letting himself lower to eye level with me. “I assure you I have no interest in making you a ‘mindless pet’. You will change, but you will be better for it Jasmine.”

“Right, you want to free me from what I was ‘forced’ to be by… Forcing me to be a woman and forcing me to take pleasure in something I find utterly demeaning? Something that I would never willingly wish to do?” I laugh, shaking my head at the utter insanity of his thoughts.

“If someone is suffering , I find that asking them if they wish to receive care and treatment is nothing but a waste of time.”

“You have a very strange definition of ‘care and treatment’.”

“Perhaps, but I know my treatment will leave you happier, more fulfilled. I mean… You’ll be better in so many ways it would leave us both exhausted were I to list them. So I know that in time you will see I am right. Besides, it’s not as if you have an alternative. You endangered the lives of your crew, disregarded multiple attempts to let you see reason, and I am certain that had you had the gun your pilot found then you would have shot at Lilian.”

“I would have, she was trespassing on my personal property. I have a right to self defence.”

“Hm… Had. My point being you proved you were unable to be trusted to keep those rights in the compact. You were given opportunities to avoid this. Do not act like we simply plucked you up out of nowhere with no chance to prove yourself fitting of independence in the compact. Do you believe that rights are some incorruptible, gods given thing? That you, sailing out in space an immense distance away from the nearest terran settlement might be given the grace of Terran law when you were in fact in the midst of Affini space? You were in our space, so you are subject to our laws.”

He pauses for a moment, then sighs. “I do not wish to argue with you, Jasmine. What’s done is done. I enjoy conversing with you, but this is… It’s very clear you do not wish to listen to my position.”

I shrug, walking off in the direction of the bedroom I was in earlier. “Fine, I assume I’m sleeping in that place with all the other ‘florets’?”

“Only if you want to - I have preparations for a solo room should you prefer.”

I stop, thinking over my options. “Hah, right and I’ll be punished for choosing that I assume? Or I’ll lose some ‘privilege’ to take that choice?”

“Not at all - I keep telling you that my sister and I only want what is best for you. If you find you prefer having a space of your own, you may have it. The others just prefer sharing a room.”

I look back at him, narrowing my eyes. It seems like he’s telling the truth, at least. 

“Alright, I want my own room then.”

“Very well, may I carry you? It will expedite the trip to your new bedroom. It’s quite a complicated pathway.” He reaches out his vines, and I laugh. There’s the catch. ‘ Want some freedom? You’d best play the part of my pet.’

“Why on terra do you have such a massive sprawling place? I’ve never understood the use of giant houses beyond just… Showing off.”

“My daughters have a wide range of hobbies, and I do my best to provide a space for them to indulge in said hobbies. I have no reason to show off - a home like this is just as easy to acquire as any other.”

“Hah, spoken like a true aristocrat. So how is it you got your hands on the amount of money where making a whole mansion is not even something you consider the price of? Terran trafficking? Or are you just ‘old money’?”

He laughs, and I find myself stepping back from him as he rolls his eyes. “Oh, Jasmine… You should know that we Affini have developed far beyond any need for ‘money’. Scarcity is no longer an issue for us. We simply live in the house we wish to live in.”

I look around at the garishly indulgent decoration, the gilded wallpaper and polished hardwood flooring. At the fucking chandeliers hanging from the ceiling of this entirely unassuming hallway.

“You chose to make your house look like Marie Antoinette’s more ostentatiously wasteful cousin vomited all over it?”

“Well… That seems a little uncalled for. Taste is subjective.”

“Please tell me my room isn’t the same as all of this?”

He gives me a polite smile, I sigh.

“It is, isn’t it?”

He nods.

“Right, carry me - I’ll need to do some redecorating before I sleep. All this gold trim and brightness is giving me a headache.”

“Hold on, Petal - you’re just assuming we’ll let you redecorate? You’ve hardly been co-operative. Why should we?” He looks down at me with a curious look - like he definitely intends to let me, but he still wants to know the answer.

“Listen, if you’re going to be assaulting the rest of me the least you should do is let me cultivate a spot where my eyes won’t be assaulted.”

That seems to shut him up, and he scoops me up into a princess carry (Because of course, can’t possibly give me any dignity if he can help it) before taking me off to my room. The door swings open unprompted as we enter, no doubt triggered by proximity. It’s exactly as awful as I was picturing. Gold gilded intricate wooden chairs with cushions embroidered with gold thread in all kinds of detailed patterns, a bed with sheets that frankly strain the eyes to look at they’re so bright, and a massive chandelier that fills the room with so much light that I immediately look for a lightswitch to turn the fucking thing off. 

Allamore beats me to it, dimming the lights to a far less offensive brightness. He places me back on the floor and I study the room with a grimace.

“This is… Not ideal. I assume, as much as you are somehow miracle workers when it comes to anything not involving informed consent, that redecorating this entire room is something that will likely need to wait until tomorrow?” I glance back at him, and he sheepishly nods.

“Yes, I do have a suitably large compiler for furnishings and such but it will have to wait until tomorrow. Once I put you to bed, I have the others that need to be put to bed too.”

I sigh, walking over to the bed and pulling off the duvet and tossing the pillows aside. “I shall make do with properly redoing the bedcovers then. Go on and fawn over the florets that don’t hate you.”

He sighs as well, walking over and picking up the bedsheets. “You hate me then? I must admit, I’m upset to hear that.”

He carries them over to the compiler and with an eye-wateringly fast folding between his vines that compresses them enough they are tossed into the compiler and disintegrated.

“Allamore, what were you expecting? You can’t just pluck me out of my life, completely change my body, tell me everything about me is disgusting and broken, and expect me to fucking like you.”

I see his leaves wilting at my words. Good. Bastard deserves root rot for all he and his sister have done to me.

“I see. I’ll do better, then. I have neglected to mention the parts of you that I love.” 

I stare at him in confusion as he turns away from the compiler to face me.

“L-Love?” I squint. “What the fuck? You met me like all of an hour ago.”

“Enough time to notice things about you that are… Well… Things I would never dare change about you. You know you’re the first of our florets to take the offer of your own room, the first to dare speak against our style of decoration. With the others at times I can feel them holding back, feel them choosing their words carefully… but you wear your heart on your sleeve - for better or worse.”

I can feel my cheeks flush at his words. When was the last time someone spoke like that about me? It’s… Uncomfortable. 

“Stop. Flattery will get you nowhere with me.” I lie, feeling a need for him to continue. Are there really parts of me so easily notable that he decided he loved them already?

“No, no. I’ve focused far too much on what you should grow away from - it’s my mistake. You should hear the parts of you I intend to nurture. It’s only fair.”

Oh no it’s not.

I cross my arms, fixing him with what I hope is a suitably withering stare with my new face. “Go. Go tend to the others! You can lovebomb me later, you manipulative plant.”

“Hm… You’re tired. Very well, I assume you know how the compile-”

“Yes, now go! I bet the others have their panties in a twist waiting for you. Let me rest. ”

He nods, reluctantly leaving my room.

“Lilian will help you bathe and dress in the morning - I advise you to be awake by 9 or she’ll just get started and pick an outfit while you’re still sleeping.”

I don’t even bother commenting on how utterly creepy that is. Clearly I’ll need to prepare my outfit for tomorrow before I go to sleep. I’m not wearing another frilly maximalist nightmare again. At least the gingham dress Rose and Chamomile put me in isn’t such a pain to exist in.

As I walk to the compiler, I shrug the dress off my shoulders and let it fall around my feet. I try to avoid thinking about how much colder it feels being without body hair everywhere.

Honestly, it was bad enough making me a woman - making my body a woman - but did they have to make me some porned up hairless bimbo ? I huff, opening up the menu on the compiler for clothes and of course - It’s all women’s clothing. 

Whatever. I compile a pair of cotton pyjamas - a simple pair of trousers with a drawstring waist and a button-up shirt that, other than its offensively pink colour and the unicorns embroidered into it, is at least not too feminine.

Next is the bed, which luckily is a lot less irritatingly bright. I get myself a brown mattress cover and a dark green plaid patterned duvet cover as well as a warm looking duvet to go inside it. I quickly compile some matching pillows and haul them over to the bed, tossing all of it on before walking over and tapping the light off. 

Finally in darkness now, I let out a sigh of relief. The room is so much more comfortable in the dark. So much less oppressively bright and cheery. I trudge over to the bed and flop into it, pulling the covers tight around me and curling up into a ball. 

It takes me a long time to get comfortable, tossing and turning in the admittedly very comfy bed. The problem isn’t the bed, it’s me. 

I’m completely different - my centre of gravity is different, my fucking chest is so… Awkward to find a spot that’s comfy.

Eventually I find one though, and I’m about to let myself hopefully drift off before I remember two things. One, I forgot to compile a sleeping mask - something I cannot sleep without, and two I forgot to set an alarm.

With a groan, I pull myself out of bed and over to the compiler. Once I’m briefly blinded by the light of the screen I find myself something comfy to cover my eyes with and I stagger back to the bed as I call out to the voice operated system I have to assume they have.

“Hello?”

“Hi there, Jasmine! Would you like me to let Lilian and Allamore know you need help with something?”

“ Fuck! No! I just… Can you set an alarm - 8am?”

“Understood, cutie! I’ll set an alarm for you for 8am. How would you prefer to be woken?”

“Uhh… I guess just like… Something not too jarring? Like, don’t startle me awake.” I shrug, pulling the sleeping mask down as the voice responds to let me know it’s set.

Then I lie there in bed.

I try not to move too much, settling into my comfortable position.

It doesn’t seem to help me sleep though.

I roll onto my back, pulling off the mask and staring up at the darkness of the ceiling far above me.

What the hell am I going to do about all this? 

How do I keep me from not being me anymore with the constant pressure of two overbearing aliens and four whole other people trying their damnedest to indoctrinate me?

How do I square away what I am with what they’re making me?

My mind drifts back to the feeling of his vines, and I try to push that thought away.

But I can remember it so clearly, the utterly novel feeling of it. The feeling I should hate - that I need to hate. 

I sigh, grabbing one of the extra pillows I compiled and pulling it into a hug. I need to just try and forget about how it felt. About how he stretched me around him… About how good that feeling of fullness was.

With a groan, I realise I’m probably soaking through these pyjamas now. Was I always so rabidly horny? So easy to turn on? It’s hard to piece apart the bits of me that are me and the bits that might just be their weird plant tech…

I’m going to hope the part of me that is fighting the urge to see if my fingers can’t quell that feeling of emptiness inside me is a part they put into me.

I don’t know what I would do if it weren’t.

Would it make my whole life a lie? All my effort, all my fighting to be a good man? 

I shut that thought out. No sense dwelling on it.

Just try to sleep. Hope that the night passes and I wake up back on my yacht - back in Accord space, without those damned plants filling my head with this nonsense.

Eventually I drift away, my mind succumbing to the weariness of the day.

Thankfully my night is dreamless. Blissful nothing. A far cry from the overly busy day.

Chapter Text

I wander the corridors and rooms of my old home on Ventis. It is strange, different. Sunlight bathes the walls and floors. The windows are less openings to the outside world, and more raging stars, flooding both the house and my mind with a too bright light. I shade my eyes with the back of my hand, noticing the rough texture and hairs on the back of it. It's both comforting, yet weirdly out of place. My gaze drifts downward. My body is as I remember it - a bit skinny, but virile, and powerful. For some reason this sends a whisper of quiet horror running down my spine.

I make my way to the stairs, footsteps on cold marble ringing out in the eerie silence.

She is standing there.

Brigid reaches out a hand and offers it to me, an enigmatic smile on her face. 

“Hello there, Husband. Been a while,” she says with uncharacteristic warmth. 

“Brigid, since when have you ever been pleased to see me?” Then it hits me with a jolt. I’m dreaming.

“Don’t overthink it Hubby. C’mon! I want to show you something.”

I am dragged past walls of blinding light and over the threshold. Concrete walls and floors surround us. Filled with all the plain signifiers of Brigid’s style of decor. This was my room, yet I can see no trace of me within it. Even in dreams she has taken everything away from me.

Dream-Brigid cups my face in her hand. “Hey grumpy! There’s something more important to pay attention to?” She smirks, and as I look back, she’s naked. Her body wantonly on display in a way that sends shivers of… something down my spine.

“This… You’ve never-” Her finger against my lips silences me.

“Don’t overthink it.” Her smirk is suggestive as she turns towards the bed. Giving me an eyeful of her plump asscheeks, and the ruby-tipped buttplug nestled between them.

“Fuck~” I mutter, as my mind drops into comfortable blankness. I just want to be here. To be  me her in this moment…

I step toward her as she offers this gift to me.

“Like what you see, handsome beautiful?” she growls. “Come on! Give me something thicker to enjoy~”

I stride over and tease the plug out of her. Luxuriating in the slutty moan that escapes her our my lips. I grab my half-swollen cock in my other hand as I step up behind her

“C’mon Jack Jasmine! Isn’t this what you crave? I’m surprised you’re not standing at attention already.” She chuckles, the ice in her words suddenly all too familiar.

I close my eyes, moaning at the feel of her around the head of my cock. It’s almost enough to make me fully hard.

So I grab her hips, and I thrust.

The blinding light outside the windows dims a little, and I gasp. Wrapped in her warm tightness. She we I moan with desperate need, and I open my eyes to look down at her.

“I can’t believe you never mentioned this! You probably could’ve had this you know, I mean don’t pretend like we hated each other from the start!” She giggles, pushing her hips back to meet mine. 

My mind drifts at that thought - when did we start hating each other? At what point did things get so bad that they couldn’t be salvaged?

“ Did you ever ask her, Jasmine? ”

His voice resonates within me, my stomach churning as I feel his presence near me. 

“St-Stop! Don’t… You can’t take my fucking dreams from me!”

I suddenly feel the space around me warp and twist, and that fullness returns.

I’m bent over the bed, someone thrusting into my ass from behind. I try to twist, to look back, only to feel a hand on my back push me into the sheets.

“F-Fuck… Brig- This is everything I had hoped it would be.” I hear my own voice, and feel myself spread around… A thoroughly disappointing softness. 

I whimper, trying to move - to get myself free. My limbs however refuse to listen, flopping uselessly at my sides. I feel my old self thrusting into me, the nightmarish feeling of not only being penetrated, but being penetrated in a way that just leaves me yearning - that leaves me needing Him. 

“Why don’t you try asking , Jasmine?” I hear his voice, a deep growl in my ear as I gasp. 

“P-Please…” I whimper, my old bedroom falling away from me as I find myself on my back, legs spread upon an utterly awful looking garish bedspread. I look up, seeing him leaning over me, his hands on my knees keeping me spread as he grins.

“I knew you wanted this - knew you needed it… You shouldn’t deny yourselves such pleasure, my darling.”

I try to squirm, try to push away only for him to shift himself forward, pushing his hips toward mine and I feel him enter me. Not his vines, not his fingers… Him.

My head tips back as I groan, the perfect fullness that he brings me making me feel so much better than I could with Brigid.

I shudder as he pushes in deeper and deeper, spreading my ass wider as his hips eventually press against my asscheeks.

“I know you want this, you need my cock, Jasmine. Why deny it? What point does clinging to your old ideals even fucking make any more? You’re Mine. You’re not escaping, you know you’re not. Why not just give in?”

He bears down on me, thrusting harder as vines coil outward from his body and wrap around my breasts. I gasp as the tips of them open up like a flower blooming to reveal a textured interior. They latch onto my nipples and suddenly I’m hit with a whole new dimension of pleasure.

I feel the world around me shift and fall away again, my back now resting on the cold concrete of my old home. I look up into His fierce eyes as he leans down and hungrily kisses me. More intensely and passionately than I’ve ever kissed before. I moan against his lips, my back arching up off the cold concrete as I feel one of his vines lining up against my cunt. I can’t hold myself back, I need more. I crave more…

He pulls away from the kiss, staring down into my eyes.

“Don’t lie, you wanted this from me the moment you heard I’d be taking you. You want to be claimed - to be ruined for any cock but mine. You don’t care if that makes you a sissy, because you know it feels so good. Isn’t that right, Jasmine?”

I bite down hard on my lip, forcing my eyes shut as I squirm under him. “N-No! I-I don’t want this! I’d never want this! It’s some dumb fucking plant hypnosis or something! G-Get off me!”

There’s a low, possessive growl from the nightmare dream version of Allamore as he moves in toward my ear. 

“Open your fucking eyes. Don’t hide from this. It’s what you want. What you need. To be put in your place and fucked like the slut you are.”

I gasp, my eyes opening of their own accord as I hear the faint voice of Brigid off to the side of me.

“No wonder you could never get it up for me - clearly you never wanted to use it in the first place.” She laughs derisively as Allamore pins me to the floor, my hands clasped over my head in a tight vine grip. He laughs along with her.

“Of course she didn’t. Look at her, squirming away under me like she’s not loving every second of this.” He scoffs, leaning in again “Speaking of seconds - you couldn’t even last thirty without moaning, could you? Such a failure of a man. I’m sure the rest of our florets could last that long even now. It’s just shameless. You’d be so much better, so much happier as a woman.”

He pauses, tilting his head. “Hmm, no… Not just as a woman . As a whore. How lucky for you that I like a good whore. Is that what you are? A good whore?”

He grins, and I feel my head spinning, the lines between my body and his melting into nothing but unrestrained lust and pleasure as I moan. This isn’t what I want! This isn’t what I am!

I open my mouth, gasping as I reply. “Y-Yes! I’m Daddy’s Whore! I-I’m yours!” 

He laughs, his thrusting echoing the staccato of it as he rolls his eyes.

“Of course you’re mine. Dumb slut can’t even remember that you were mine already?”

I whimper, my body tingling with pleasure, my mind reeling from the overstimulation as he moves in around me. All I can see is vines and bark. All I smell is the salty sweet scent of Daddy. All I know is the pleasure he brings me, and as it draws to a triumphant peak…

I wake suddenly, gasping from the intense bliss of my dream. Panting heavily, I feel my cheeks burning with embarrassment over the fact that my mind made me feel all that. I try to push it out of my mind - dreams don’t mean anything. It’s just my brain trying to process everything that happened yesterday. It doesn’t mean anything.

I shudder at the thought of what I said at the end… Of being His . I don’t want that. I can’t want that.

As I slowly drift back into wakefulness I shift in the bed only to feel something.

No… I can’t have…

I throw off the sheets, my heart pounding in my chest. Surely I’ve not fucking pissed myself my first night in this place?

I look down at the wet patch I’m lying in, and smell the thick musk of my own arousal in the air.

Oh .

Oh fuck.

Okay. Not piss then. This is okay . I was clearly given some weird plant drug to make me super horny and dream about weird shit. This doesn’t mean anything.

“Miss Jasmine, you asked me to wake you at 8am - as you are already awake, I merely wish to inform you that the time is in fact 8am.”

I jump at the sudden voice, only calming when I realise it’s the voice assistant thing.

“Fuck, thanks… uh… Do you have a name?” It feels weird to ask an ai voice if it has a name, but it’s weirder not referring to something by name.

“I am the HabAI - Miss Chamomile calls me ‘Habby’. You are welcome to refer to me as you like, provided you do not use profanity.”

“Huh, okay.” I laugh nervously as I suddenly realise I only have an hour before Lilian drops by. An hour to clean all this stuff up, hide the very obvious smell, find an outfit without fifty thousand frills, and relax enough to not look like I’ve just been rushing about.

It’s then that I notice a weird itch on the inside of my arm. Looking down, I spot a small pinprick of dried blood. Scratching the spot, I can’t help but realise with a sense of dread that where that spot is is the perfect spot to inject something…

Well, no wasting time. Don’t dwell on it! 

I leap up out of bed, grabbing the duvet and two of the pillows under my arm as I quickly ferry them over to the compiler. I manage to stuff the pillows and my sodden pyjamas into it and decompile it before trying my best to stuff the overly fluffy duvet into it as well. I get it most of the way in and luckily that seems to be enough for the decompiler to get rid of enough of it that I can toss the rest in with the other pillows.

Next, the mattress. I stare at it, knowing it’ll definitely be too big to decompile. Time for plan B.

I flip the mattress over after pulling off the mattress cover, then quickly recompile a clean copy of my bed stuff. Getting it all tossed onto the bed is good enough, I don’t bother neatly making my bed before returning to the compiler.

“Scents… scents… Oh! Incense works well, and works quickly. If Lilian asks… I dunno - just tell her there was a weird smell.” I hastily type that into the compiler.

I tab through the various scents, trying to find something strong and- ah !

I grin as I compile some jasmine incense - surely this’ll help me get in their good books and maybe take some of the heat off me.

I set it up, lighting the incense with this weird flameless lighter that seemed to be the only option in the compiler. Probably for dumb stupid safety reasons - as if anyone dumb enough to burn themselves with a match doesn’t deserve burnt fingers.

I look down at the flameless lighter. Weird how it works, I wonder if it’s through like… induction heating or something?

One curious touch and a yelp of pain later I place it down beside the incense, trying to avoid thinking about how fucking dumb that was.

I decide to soothe my wounded ego by looking for an outfit - after all, I’m a man - clearly I’ll be able to pick out a hot as fuck outfit for my new body. Most women never pick outfits that properly show off their assets anyway.

Obviously I’d rather pick sweatpants and a t-shirt - something baggy enough that I could look in the mirror without immediately seeing curves. The only problem with that is I am certain Lilian would tear those clothes off me and stuff me in some horrific uncomfortable frock.

So, compromise.

First, the underwear. Easy shit. I find a matching bra and panties - something lacey and black. Thong, obviously. The bra’s something with an ‘underwire’ for support and shit so I quickly pull that on too - managing to get it clasped in what feels like only about ten minutes.

Next is the outfit… Blonde hair and tits like these don’t exactly scream ‘demure madam’ - so I find a short pencil skirt, some black tights, and a dark yellow blouse I can button up just enough to cover the bra.

Finally, I step in front of the mirror, grinning as I see my reflection. Perfect. She’ll definitely not think I’m too masculine to go unchanged.

Pouting a little and squeezing my elbows together, I can’t help but check myself out.

I mean, horrific disregard for bodily autonomy aside they have made me look damn hot. Like a secretary you’d hire not for her typing skills, but for office morale.

It's a shame I was in here because honestly this body would be a hell of a body for a woman to have.

The door to the room suddenly creaks as its pushed open, and my head swivels to see Lilian stepping in through the door, trailing her long dress of leaves along the floor as she does.

She finally lands her gaze on me, and she fixes me with the most curious smile.

“Well now… I see your little dalliance with my brother has done you a world of good. Finally accepting your new reality?”

I laugh as I lean back against the gaidy golden dressing table - which reminds me I need to burn all the furniture in this room at the earliest possible convenience - and I shake my head.

“I’m just aware that going along with some of what you have planned for me saves me from the most objectionable shit you plan to do to me.” I shrug, gesturing to my outfit.

“Ah, so your decision to dress like the office whore was a compromise ? Fair enough - I was perfectly happy to let you dress as you like for the first few weeks so you could find a style, but it seems you’ve found one”

I narrow my eyes at this - should’ve known not to take Allamore’s advice. Asshole.

Thoughts of vines pumping into-

Okay, clearly I need to associate that dickhead with a different pejorative.

“ Right… Maybe I should get changed then, if you’re not going to make me-”

“Oh no no, it’s far too late for that now. You’ll be helping Matcha with the breakfast, and I would hate for you to keep her waiting. Can you cook, Jasmine?”

I stare at her blankly. What does she fucking think? 

“Hm. You’ll learn.” She then pauses, running her eyes over me. “You forgot your shoes, dear.”

She strides past me toward the compiler, returning with a simple pair of black shoes with a shorter blockier heel than the ones she had me in before.

“Here, I do apologise for giving you such unwieldy footwear yesterday. Sometimes I do forget that walking in those kinds of heels is a skill. However it is one you would benefit from learning.”

I take the shoes, looking up at Lilian as I can’t help but wonder.

“Why?”

Her eyes light up at the question, golden shimmers flickering across them as she looks down at me.

“My dear, you have lived a life of paranoid avoidance of anything that might be dismissed as feminine - a life which has decided such things are lesser. I will not enforce femininity on you once you have decided for yourself where you will be the most comfortable - but to make that choice properly you must be informed and educated on what life outside of the stifling box of ‘masculinity’ is like.”

“Right. I guess that makes sense. Wait, so does that mean once all this shit is over you’d let me go back to being a man?”

She chuckles, patting my head. “If you truly desire it and it is what you need, then sure. However, you won’t.” 

“Well… What if I miss my cock?”

She laughs, rolling her eyes. “You don’t, and even if you did - what makes you think having one would make you a man? Anyway, hurry up and put those on - I'd like you to help Matcha with the breakfast today.”

Gods, these plants are a headache. Why’d the aliens have to be so alien?

Chapter Text

I walk into the kitchen, still a little wobbly on the admittedly miles more comfortable heels as Lilian shows me around. “Now, this is the kitchen - normally we affini would take care of all of that but my darling Matcha is far too eager to cook and bake for us all. So I figured it would be the perfect opportunity for you two to get to know one another and for you to try a new hobby at the same time! Now, I need to go and get Chamomile changed and put her shows on so you two have fun and behave!”

Lilian backs out of the room as Matcha smiles at her “Will do Mama! I should have breakfast done in like… maybe a half hour?” 

Once the kitchen door closes behind me and I’m left in the room with Matcha, I awkwardly clear my throat.

“So uh… About the whole Tiramisu thing…” I start, and she groans.

“Are you still hung up on that? I just made the dish - I didn’t serve it to you!” She huffs, crossing her arms.

“No, no! I… I actually wanted to apologise. I’m sorry… honestly It was really tasty.” I rub the back of my head, giving her a weak smile. “I don’t really wanna make enemies if I don’t have to - and Rose made it clear that being myself would make me plenty of enemies. I know I can’t escape - hell I’ve not even seen anything like a front door since I got here and every time one of them takes me somewhere new it’s like-”

“Living in a maze? Yeah… I remember thinking that. They’re just really enthusiastic about supporting our hobbies so we’ve got like dedicated rooms for all sorts of shit. Hell, Rose has a whole room just for meditating in.” She sighs, leaning on the kitchen island and nodding at me. “Alright, apology accepted. Also, sorry for being kinda bitchy. I’ve been the new girl the whole time I’ve been here and now I feel like I need to find a new thing y’know?”

“I mean… You’re still the new girl if that helps?”

For now, anyway.

Fucking plants have me all messed up - thinking insane stuff… 

I need to find out how potent their mind fuckery is. Maybe if I ingratiate myself with Matcha.

Or, y’know, just ask like a normal person.

I take a deep breath, “Anyways, I’ve been sent here to help - so what do you need me to do?”

“You ever cook much before?” Matcha raises an eyebrow, leaning against the kitchen counter.

“Uh…” I anxiously bite my lip. “Does cereal count?”

She laughs, rolling her eyes. “Alright - let’s do french toast - it’s really hard to fuck that up. Go fetch an egg carton from the compiler, as well as cinnamon… Oh, and fetch me the bottle labeled ‘Matcha-1’ from the stasis unit - that’s the thing that looks like a fridge”

“Oh thank god, I thought you were gonna make me peel like twenty potatoes or something dumb like that.” I laugh, making quick work of compiling what she asked for and bringing it to her before heading to the stasis thing and grabbing the bottle. As I bring it over I unscrew it and catch a whiff of what’s inside.

Daddy?

I freeze in my tracks, the smell of that salty sweetness almost as paralysing as the immediate thought that crossed my mind.

Matcha notices me stop, chuckling. “Oh, yeah - sorry, maybe I should’ve warned you. That’s salted caramel syrup. Smells just like him, huh?” She licks her lips. “Hand it over - it goes great on french toast as a topping.”

“Uh… yeah - I was totally caught off guard. Wasn’t expecting an unpleasant reminder of him this early in the morning.” I pass the bottle over, crossing my arms.

Liar - you loved it.

“Hah, sure. Look - the first step’s easy. Just crack… Hmm… Well there’s five of us now who’ll eat, so just crack the whole dozen into a bowl - they’re under the counter you’re in front of - and mix it all up with a fork, those’re in the top drawer to the left of the fridge. I’m gonna go grab my bread and get it sliced up and buttered.” Matcha skips off to prepare the bread, whistling to herself as she does.

Right, cracking some eggs and mixing it up. A task so easy I could do it with my eyes closed… Probably.

I quickly fetch the bowl and a fork, opening the carton of eggs and grabbing the first one.

Wait… How do you break an egg without getting the shell everywhere?

I can’t ask that. That has to be like… basic common sense.

With the fork maybe?

Oh, yeah maybe getting one point of contact will minimise the fragments. Right, so over the bowl and-

Fuck .

Fuck. Fuckity fuck that’s a whole bunch of shell already in the bowl.

I glance over at Matcha, she’s got her back turned to me and she’s humming away. Perfect, I can salvage this. Just gotta scoop out the pieces… With a fork… I mean, I could go fetch a spoon, but then she’d be all like ‘why did you need a spoon for that super simple task?”

I place the largest shards of eggshell back in the carton, and gently begin to try and tease some of the shell pieces in the bowl over to the edges with the fork. Eventually, after realising I’m getting nowhere with this approach, I just reach in and accept my fingers are going to get gooey. 

It takes a while, but after the fourth egg I’m getting the hang of it. Cracking the shell, scooping out the bits that fall in the bowl, I’m a natural!

After a while, it’s almost meditatively repetitive.

“Hey uh… Y’know if you crack it on a flat surface it’s less splintery, right?”

Gah!

I jump at Matcha’s words, when did she get behind me? Wait, when did I finish cracking all the eggs?

“You alright? Sorry if I spooked you. Anyways, next time try crackin’ them on the counter or another flat surface  - works well for me.” She smiles, leaning in and kissing my cheek before I can fully duck away. “Good job though, just mix that up and add the cinnamon - then bring it over to me, I’ll get the stovetop heated up.”

“Uh, yeah - of course!” I feign a smile, and she stares at me for a moment. 

“You okay? You seem a little… spacey.”

“Huh? Oh uhm… Had a good dream - it’s had me distracted all morning.” Wait. What? “No, sorry - it was a bad dream.”

Evidently she can see my confusion, and she places a hand on my shoulder. “Hey - hey… Look at me. Deep breaths. You want me to fetch one of our owners?”

“ Yes! No! Fuck, I…” I wince a little, what do I want?

Daddy, obviously.

Definitely not that.

“Let’s… Let’s just keep going with the breakfast - I think I’m getting a headache.” I give her a reassuring smile, and she shrugs.

“Alright, just… Y’know what, you watch - I’ll show you how it’s done. Frankly getting the eggs ready was more help than I thought you’d give me.” she gives me a smile in return, one twinged with concern as I lean against the kitchen counter.

I can’t really double down on being ‘fine’ without it being even clearer it’s a lie, so I’ll just have to hope she’s not that concerned about me.

She takes the eggs, tossing in the cinnamon and carrying it over to the stovetop as she cranks up the heat and tosses a small amount of butter in. “Now, you wanna make sure the heat isn’t so high it burns the butter - plus you want it to be reasonable so that it doesn’t char the bread either. So while that’s heating, I’m gonna prep the bread. Nothing complicated - just dip it in the cinnamony egg mix and make sure it’s well covered before popping it onto the plate in preparation for frying.”

As she cooks, I find myself staring at the process, my mind filtering out a lot of the noise in my mind as I just wonder what is up with me today.

Well, it’s conflicted feelings. A desire that we’re trying to deny, and a whole lifetime of defence mechanisms set up to help us try to deny it.

Yeah. A perfect theory that’s only flawed in one tiny aspect. I hate Allamore. 

But the girl thing? That’s not a problem?

Of course it is! I’m not a girl. Just like, straight up not in the slightest. I’m a man. 

The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

“All good, Jas?” Matcha waves a hand in front of my face and I realise I’ve just completely blanked while she’s been cooking. I can smell the cooking egg mixture, hear the sizzling of the bread.

“Huh? Oh, uh… Just trying to sort out my mind a bit I guess?”

“Arguing with yourself, more like. You kept making these faces like you were disagreeing with something.” She laughs, rolling her eyes. “Reminds me of lap and s-” She pauses, then looks into my eyes as she narrows her own. “ Were you arguing with yourself?”

“Well, yeah, I guess?” I shrug, wondering why she asked that.

“Hm. Well, go set the table - we only need four places since Chammy tends to eat separately.” She smiles, and I just nod and go fetch the plates and cutlery for the table. I’d move quicker, but this damn skirt rides up if I take anything more than could be described as ‘dainty tiptoes’ and my blouse is threatening to unleash the twin terrors they’ve bolted onto my chest if I don’t take care to avoid having any kind of bounce in my step.

Why the fuck do women wear this shit? It’s so damned uncomfortable.

I set each place, making sure everything’s arranged properly. It doesn’t take long for Matcha to walk over and let out a curious ‘Hmm…’

“What, doubting my ability to set tables now? I’m not a completely unskilled simpleton.” I huff, planting a hand on my side.

“Nah, it’s just… That’s how they do it over in Oreius. You an Oreian?”

I shoot her a narrow glance. “Yeah, born and raised. Why?”

“Well… You don’t sound Oreian.” She taps a finger on her chin, regarding me with curiosity.

Fucking uppity Ventians. No shit I don’t sound it. I had that shit trained out of me before I left school.

“Well yee-fucking-haw, ah sure ahm sorry ah’m not living up to y’all’s standard! If y’all’d’ve said somethin’ i’d’ve lived up t’ yer expectations more!” I snipe back at her, the sarcasm dripping from my overplayed accent.

“Whoa, hey! Sorry, I just… No offence meant, I just usually have a good ear for accents!” She raises her hands, and I sigh.

“Yeah well, sounding Oreian is a surefire way to lose business. So I sucked it up and decided to sound all ‘proper’ like you Ventians.” I sigh, “Can we just drop this - I’d rather not have a fucking thing about my speech on top of everything else today.”

Matcha walks up to me, reaching out and placing a hand on my shoulder. I try to duck away, but she catches me with a surprisingly firm grip. “I’m sorry - but don’t feel you have to hide anything like that from us. Honestly, I always thought Oreian accents were cute~”

Well yee-fuckin’-haw - Ain’t that a surprise?

I take a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

“Don’t do that. Alright? Don’t toss a compliment at someone right after insulting ‘em - they’ll think you’re just trying to flatter them to smooth things over. So, wait a while next time you try to flatter me with shit you don’t mean.” 

“But I-”

“And doubling down only makes ‘em doubt it more. So just drop it. I know it makes me sound like a backward potato farmer, okay?” I give her a sneer, then glance over her shoulder. “Now, anything else to set up f’r breakfast or would you also like to call me a sisterfucker while you’re at it?”

I mean we did fuck around with Rose.

Which is different - we’re not fucking related. We were just kidnapped by the same damn plants.

She bites her lip, and turns away as she heads back to the kitchen. “Sorry - I… I didn’t mean to cause any problems! It was just noteworthy!”

Now she feels bad! For no damn reason!

“No, look… I… It’s okay, alright? Let’s just move past this, forget the whole thing. It’s no big deal.” I lean over the breakfast table, massaging my forehead. “Seriously, it’s fine. I’m just… Sensitive about that, I guess.”

Matcha’s looking at me with an irritating look of pity, but I hold back my urge to say something about it - I don’t want to upset her any more than I already have.

“Y’know, it’s fine to be upset by things - we all have stuff that we’re sensitive over.” She steps toward me, reaching out to no doubt give me a damn hug or something. I just shoot her a glance and she stops.

“It’s fine. I’m not sensitive . I’ve just learned most folk’ll use my upbringing as a reason to think less of me.” I shrug, and she sighs.

“We wouldn’t. I mean honestly Jas - we’ll accept you no matter-”

“Yeah, sure. No matter what. ‘Cept if I’m a man, of course.”

“Well… I mean…”

I shake my head. “Just leave it. What else do we need to do for breakfast?”

“Oh, uh… Well, nothing really. The others should be on their way. Just gotta bring the french toast over and grab some juice from the fridge.” She points a thumb back over her shoulder, and I just walk past her to retrieve the meal. “Seriously though Jasmine, you don’t have to pretend to be something you’re not here. That includes the whole manhood thing. I mean, what has it given you that’s ever been good? I never got anything but misery out of being a guy - I just… Never really noticed that until our owners found me.”

I mean, she is right. All we’ve ever really gotten out of being a man is repression and loneliness. Brigid only ever gave us any attention because of our money - and all the guys we knew through work only ever talked to us if they thought they could get something out of it.

I take another deep breath, pushing those thoughts down into the back of my mind. It didn’t matter what I got out of it. I’m a man, and nothing those plants will do can change that. Identity isn’t something you can just wriggle out of if it isn’t suiting you.

Says the person faking her accent so no-one realises she’s Oreian.

I take the plate piled high with soft white bread drenched in egg and cinnamon, each cooked slice looking so damned fluffy and delicious.

I can worry about all this shit after breakfast. I need something in me before I exhaust myself.

Need something in me like Da-

I shut that thought down immediately with a pinch on my arm, walking back to the table and placing it in the centre.

It’s not too long after I fetch the drinks that the others filter in. Rose is wearing yoga pants and a long sleeved black work out shirt with a high collar. Black leather gloves over her hands too. Judging by the sweat dripping off her she’d been working out just before coming here. Must be uncomfortable in that outfit.

Lapsang - or is it Souchong? - meanwhile is wearing a mesh shirt over a black sports bra, with long tattered jeans held tight against her by a frankly unnecessary quantity of belts. Through the mesh I can make out that her entire upper body seems to be covered in tattoos. Deep black ink patterned in long swirling coils that catch my attention and draw me in, almost begging me to get lost in them.

As she passes, she gives me a curious look, then takes her seat.

The last to arrive is Him. Allamore LeBeau walks with all the casual flow of someone who didn’t fucking violate me last night.

Gods, I wish he’d do it again.

I grit my teeth, glaring at him as he slowly makes his way around the table, leaning down to kiss the forehead or cheek of each of the others. Eventually, he makes his way to me.

Please… Please kiss us too!

“Good morning, Jasmine. I’ve taken the liberty of having the furnishings in your room removed. I was hoping we could plan a more comfortable space for you after breakfast.” He smiles, reaching out and patting my head before sitting at the head of the table.

Bastard. Being all sweet now won’t make me forget how little you care about me. The real me. 

I huff, walking over and taking my own seat as Matcha dishes out the toast. Lapsang reaches for the salted caramel syrup, pouring it over her meal before offering it to me.

Luckily the grimace on my face is enough to make her pass it over to Rose instead.

“So, how are you settling in Jasmine? I’m a little surprised we didn’t see you in the main bedroom last night.” Rose reaches for a fork, pausing as she notices the cutlery all lined up on the left, glancing back at me with a smile as she takes it. “Oreian style - y’know my second in command was Oreian. Terrific soldier. He always used to set the officer’s table like this.”

I look over at Rose, reading her expression. It’s warm, oddly so. Far more caring than it should be given she barely knows me.

“When did you last see him?” I ask, darting a glance toward Allamore. Granted it’s not subtle, but I need to know if the others are allowed to leave. Could be a possible escape route for myself.

“Oh, just last week. It was celebrating finally getting the last round of surgeries on itself. Class-Gs works miracles, but even they have their limits. Can’t turn skin to porcelain, as much as my old second in command wishes it could.” She smiles, taking a bite of the toast before pouring the syrup over the rest of it.

“Wh-What?” I stare at her. Porcelain skin? What the fuck are the Affini doing to people… 

“You should know, Jasmine…” Allamore starts, “Your past preconceptions of what people can be are very narrow. It’s why I’m so adamant you should move past this whole man thing. There’s far more options out there than you know.” He smiles, and I feel a shiver down my spine.

What the fuck kind of options is he talking about?

And how do we find out what they are?

Chapter Text

Breakfast, thankfully, was brief. I finished the french toast off, and just as I’m about to leave and get started on changing my room decor into something that isn’t migraine inducing I feel Souchong’s hand on my shoulder.

“Hey there, new girl. Wanna help taste test some coffee roasts for me? I’d ask one of the others but… I dunno, I feel like I can trust you more to be honest about if it’s shit.” She smiles, and I swear her ruby red eyes almost sparkle .

I glance around the room and then back to her. Honestly taste testing coffee doesn’t sound like too bad of a use of my time. Especially given Allamore seemed keen to help me with my room and this’ll let me put that off. 

“Hmph… Fine. I’ll help you out. Lead the way.”

Aww, but - we could have Daddy help us with our room?

I grit my teeth, feigning a smile at Souchong as I try to ignore the voice in my head. She luckily doesn’t seem to notice my discomfort as she guides me off through the labyrinthine halls of this home. Couldn’t possibly have a nice and simple layout, no. Clearly my owners have decided it’s of utmost importance to leave me thoroughly confused every time I need to go take a piss in the middle of the night.

Eventually though Souchong seems to have led us both somewhere far less obnoxiously decorated than the halls of the house. It’s dark, lit only by a number of candles that give off enough light to be comfortable but not overwhelming.

In the centre of the room is a cauldron - frankly I shouldn’t be surprised given her witchy vibes - along with various pieces of brewing paraphernalia. I recognise a few implements - simple immersion and pour over methods of making coffee, as well as a few things recognisable as teapots - but the rest begins to just look like random pieces of chemistry setups. All in all, a positive sign for the likely taste of the coffee.

Souchong takes off her witch hat, tossing it with perfect aim toward a hatstand by the door that is very clearly modelled to look like a broom standing on end with clear plastic moulded into jagged shards of various magical looking shapes to rest the hats on. As Souchong unravels her tightly wound iridescent purple hair, it cascades over her shoulders and I can’t help but be caught by just how beautiful she looks. Certainly not my usual type, but she’s got a rather unusual charm to her. Almost ethereal.

“So, coffee? I’ll be serving it black if you don’t mind - if I add milk or sugar then it’ll just hide a lot of the nuance of the taste.”

“Yeah, that’s fine with me. Honestly I’m surprised it’s not been replaced by some weird alien drink full of drugs that make you subservient or something.” I laugh, “I’m just happy to have coffee - even if it’s not exactly my preferred style.”

Sounchong chuckles, rolling her eyes. “Nah, I’m not giving you my fun drug coffee - I make that stuff by hand, and I save it for special occasions. This is just a recreation of an old Terran style called ‘Blue Mountain’ - apparently there was this small region on Terra that would make this amazingly gentle flavour of coffee. Naturally of course, the mass ecological collapse of Terra was pretty rough on coffee production. Only the cheap shit that was the most ‘profitable’ was saved - so this specialty stuff died out. It’s only an approximation, but it should be pretty dang tasty.”

As she speaks, she’s setting up one of the pour over methods of making coffee, a large glass funnel with a paper filter atop a carafe. To the side is a long necked kettle, and what looks to be some kind of hand-cranked something. 

I find out what it is as she opens up the top and scoops a handful of coffee beans from a nearby bag into it. 

“Y’know, I’m not a coffee expert, but aren’t you usually meant to weigh the beans you’re using?” I step closer, watching her work with a smile. It’s clear she’s very well practiced.

“Oh, normally, but I’m currently just trying to get a good idea for the overall feel of this roast - the precise tweaking and whatnot will come later.” She shrugs, and once she flicks the kettle on she starts to hand grind the beans.

“So, Jas, I have a question.” She leans against the counter, flicking her hair back over her shoulder. “When did you start arguing with yourself?”

Oh?

“What do you mean? Doesn’t everyone have those kinds of arguments? It’s how you make up your mind.”

Souchong’s eyes flutter, the colour shifting to blue. “Pfft, nope! C’mon silly, if that were really the case then it wouldn’t have suddenly gotten different would it?” She smirks, and I take a step back.

“Uhh… No? I guess not? What’s your point?” 

Maybe they know more about us than we do!

“Well, point bein’ there’s two of ya! Like me and Souchong!” She grins, and I stare at her.

“Aren’t you Souchong though?” 

“Nope! I’m Lapsang - call me lap if you want. There’s two of us in one body, and we think you’re the same!”

Whoa, so I’m a totally new person? That’s kinda neat.

No, you’re not. You’re just… Thoughts. People can’t be two people - that’s insane!

Lapsang, as she’s apparently called, giggles. “Yup! There it is, you’re arguing with yourself aren’t ya? Hmm… I can see your doubt though, Jas. How about this - see that voice in your head? What do they think? I bet it’s something that you aren’t fond of thinking about, right?”

I sigh, and Lapsang’s eyes flutter again back to red as she finishes grinding the coffee and tips it into the filter. Her expression shifts back to that more reserved look I expected to see from her as she gives me a wry smile. “What’s your favourite colour, Jasmine?”

“Blue, obviously.”

Pink, obviously.

“Huh… Okay, but this can’t be real. Like, I can’t just have a whole other person in my head. That’s… It’s…” I stumble over my words as who I assume must be Souchong chuckles.

“You’re disagreeing with yourself - and you think it’s ‘crazy’ don’t you? Well, here’s the way I see it. You and I got kidnapped, fully changed into as far as I can tell a fully female body, and live in a society where making something out of basically nothing is as simple as saying ‘Hab, can you compile me two empty coffee mugs?’ - Is it really so difficult to believe you might be sharing your head with another personality? We had it in the Accord, though they pathologised it to hell and back.” There’s a whir of the compiler firing up, followed by a blink of an eye as Souchong shifts back to Lap with a giggle “Ooh, ‘multiple personality disorder’ soo spooky! It’s like Jekyll and Hyde! Clearly we need to treat this like it’s some bizarre disease of the mind rather than just accepting it for what it is.”

I lean against the counter, massaging my temple as I wince at the headache that’s slowly forming. “I-I don’t see how that could happen to me though…”

“What does your other half think, Jas?” Another blink back to red eyes - it’s getting dizzying keeping track of who they’re meant to be as Souchong takes the kettle and begins to pour. “Let them speak, picture your mind like a car or something, give them the wheel for a bit.”

I take a deep breath. This is mad, I can’t possibly be thinking that this has any kind of credibility…

Still, there’s a part of me that’s curious - Hi! It’s me, I’m the curious bit! - and I feel like I should at least give it a shot.

So I picture it, imagining myself taking my hands off the wheel and-

“Whoa! Heck yeah! I’m in the driver’s seat now!” I hear my body giggle and the world around me dulls, my perception narrowing as something takes control of me.  “So! You wanna know what I think? I think you’re right - like… I’ve been here for ages and he always ignores me! We finally get something fun and exciting happening to us and grumpy gills here still ignores me all while trying to run away from the fun stuff!”

What!? How can I ignore something that didn’t exist!?

“Heh, he still doesn’t realise… Honestly, we’ve been sharing a body for years - but nooo I can’t possibly be real. C’mon dude, who do you think you’ve been offloading all that shit you don’t wanna think about on to?” 

The body takes a deep breath, and I feel my hands slip completely off the controls.

There we go. Now I can have a little fun for once! I smile, running a hand through our long hair and looking over at the other duo.

“Sorry, just making sure ‘Jasmine’ can’t kick me out the driver’s seat.” I giggle, and Souchong raises an eyebrow. 

“Huh, well hi! That’s a pretty strong shift… Do you have a name we can use for you?” She returns to pouring water over the coffee and I shrug.

“Dunno, never really been given the chance to think of one. You all have tea themed names though… Is there anything related to Jasmine tea I could use?”

Souchong thinks for a moment, then nods. “Well, Jasmine tea can come in a few styles - one of the styles has them roll up the tea leaves into a tight ball they call a ‘Pearl’ that unfurls when it gets put into hot water. So would that work?” 

“Ooh, Pearl’s a lovely name! I like it! Plus, like, I do feel like I’ve been all restricted and stuff until now. I guess Daddy’s like my hot water, letting me unfurl and bloom at last!”

This is insane - you can’t just force your way into my life! Definitely not if you’re going to talk about my captor like that!

“Hehe, Jas doesn’t like how cool I am with all this. Anyways, thanks for helping me Sou - can I call you Sou? Or do you prefer Souchong?” I grin, and Souchong shrugs.

“Well, I’m okay with either. Though… You’re not going to just take over are you? That body’s Jasmine’s too - she deserves time in the front just as much as you. Trust me, not getting along with someone you share a head with leads to a lot of headaches. Lap and I know firsthand how exhausting it can be.” She sighs, and places the kettle back. “Honestly, It’ll be tempting to try and cling to that front as much as you can, Pearl, but legally in the compact each part of a pluribus is given the same rights as a person. This means that our owners will do as much as they can to help you - but they’ll do just as much to make sure Jasmine isn’t sidelined. Especially given… Well, honestly I don’t know how it’s going to work out but I think you technically might not be their floret yet?”

I freeze up, my eyes going wide. “I… What? I might not be Daddy’s? B-But…”

“Whoa, whoa! Calm down, I’m very sure they’ll take you as a floret - but legally you’re a distinct person from Jasmine and… Ugh, I’m not helping things. Lap?” She shudders, and then darts forward pulling me into a hug. “It’s okie, Pearl! You’ll be a floret with us soon I’m sure!” 

I look up at her, staring into her now blue eyes. “O-Okay… But… They’d better take me! I-I mean Allamore’s the whole reason Jasmine started being able to hear me! All this gender stuff… She’s been repressing it for decades!”

Like hell I have been, I’m a goddamn man!

“She… Well… It’s complicated. It’s why I’m here, I guess? To be the part of us with no shame about what we are…” I sigh, shrugging. “I dunno - for all I know I’m just a fluke? Anyway, I uh… Thanks, you two.” I smile, and hug Lapsang back tight.

“Want us to go fetch Allamore then? So you can get brought into the family right away?”

“No! No… Not yet. I’m… I’m not ready. Besides, you spent all that effort making us a coffee - can we just drink that and like… give me a chance to prepare myself? I mean… What if he doesn’t want me? Maybe he won’t think I’m any good since I’m like… pre-broken?”

Breakfast was a success, at least. I can relax a little. Jasmine seems to be settling in okay - though obviously she needs more time to adjust to all of this. Still, she seemed happy to walk off with Lapsang & Souchong to help them taste test one of their new coffee roasts. She’s getting along okay with the other florets well. It is a little odd that the duo decided to reach out to Jasmine, but perhaps that hushed conversation with Matcha had something to do with it?

“Brother dearest, are you going to just sit in your office and brood all morning? We have five florets other than Jasmine to take care of, and they all miss your company!” My sister’s calm voice filters in through the door, and I sigh.

“Lilian, you know just as well as I that you are a more than capable owner for them all - I’m trying to puzzle out Jasmine. I feel like there’s some part of her I’m missing… She feels so… Temperamental. Part of the time I feel like she’s fighting herself. Do you understand?” I turn back to the door as Lilian walks through, and she rests a vine on my shoulder.

“Of course I do, brother. You and I are a lot alike after all. Two beans in a pod! I’m just as fascinated by her. Honestly, that outfit she chose!” Lilian laughs, holding a hand up to cover her mouth as she does.

“Oh, I saw! Honestly, where does she get the idea that dressing like that was a good idea? Going from flats to stiletto heels, wearing a skirt so short that she couldn’t bend over without showing off? If she wasn’t so misogynistic and likely just picking what she wished women wore I’d assume she would fit right in with the Compact!” I laugh, running a hand through my leafy hair.

“Still… She has a fire I want to nurture. I just hope our process doesn’t dim that flame, you know?” I shrug, spinning in my chair to face my sister. “How are the others by the way? I looked in on them over breakfast, but I didn’t want to be overbearing.”

Lilian laughs, rolling her eyes. “Oh, brother… When will you learn that they want you to be overbearing? You’d think your time with Rose alone would make that perfectly clear! You’re too much of a softie, dear.”

“I’m just worried that they only like us because we conditioned them to, you know? Keeping my distance lets me assure myself they’re not just swaying to my biorhythm.”

My sister leans against my desk, laughing again. “Oh, you really haven’t done yourself any favours. They all think you’re some scary figure that only shows up to deal with their physical needs, Brother!”

“Wh-What!? But-”

“Because you only really stick around during that time! What else could they be led to believe when you scamper off the moment they’re satisfied?” She smirks, poking my forehead and leaning in close. “It doesn’t help that you disappear off to that Jafe nearby rather than cuddle the florets you have!” Lilian stands up, walking off toward the door again.

“Hmph… Lilian, you… I don’t do that for no reason! I just don’t want to overwhelm them! Though… If I already am because of my avoidance…” I stand up, puffing out my chest. “Then clearly I’ll have to rectify that! I can’t have our darling daughters feeling that way toward me!”

She clasps her hands together, nodding eagerly. “At last! You make a sensible decision! How do you intend to rectify things then?”

“I… Uh… Hm. Well, I suppose I can go and see what they’re up to - take an interest in their hobbies? I’ll also be helping Jasmine with her room, too. So she’ll hopefully not end up with that impression of me! In fact I’ll see to it that I dispel this notion that I’m some sex-crazed Affini!” I plant my hands on my hips, nodding firmly to myself.

Lilian, staring at me in bemusement, just laughs. “Sure thing, brother. Though you should know a lot of them like that side of you. I mean, you managed to break down Jasmine’s barriers more than I thought after just one evening with her.”

“I… Well… It’s hardly my fault that she responds to… well… such physical reinforcement! Some sophonts need to be shown the delights of the Compact in a very specific way before they can accept it.”

There’s a knock at the door, and we both glance toward it. From behind, a soft voice I recognise as Lapsang calls out.

“Uhm… Sir! We’ve made a bit of a discovery with Jasmine and… Well… Can you just come see? It’ll be easier than explaining it all!”

Lilian gestures to the door with a smile. “Well, here’s your chance to dispel those misconceptions dear brother. Go and make sure she’s okay.”

“Very well, I shall. Just a moment, Lapsang! I’ll be right there!” I take a moment to gather myself, smoothing down my unruly leafy hair as I smile, and stride toward the door and out toward my waiting florets.

Chapter Text

“Daddy! Oh my gawd it’s you! ” I tackle him the moment he comes through the door, my keen nose picking out that salted caramel scent that I love! Oddly, he tenses up, and I receive a very tentative pat on the head.

“I uh… Care to illuminate what exactly has happened here, dear Lapsang?” He looks over at Lapsang, and I whimper at the cold shoulder he’s giving me.

“Oh, so… Uhm… She’s like me and Souchong - This side’s called Pearl, and she seems to be a lot more happy with all this than Jasmine is.” Lapsang laughs nervously, looking at me with a shaky smile and mouthing ‘You can do it!’ at me. 

I nod along to her explanation, then look back up at Daddy with a smile. “Yeah! I’m so so so glad you found us! Jasmine’s such a bore, and you’re such a…” I trail off, tracing my fingers over his plantform body. “...Such a lovely Owner.”

“I… See…” He kneels down, placing his hands on my shoulders. “Pearl, can you look at me for a moment, into my eyes? ”

“Oh, uh, sure! What for?” I grin, looking up and suddenly freezing at the sight of his deep purple pulsing eyes. They’re irresistibly enthralling, each one a mosaic of shattered segments that pulse in an odd rhythm. I can’t quite pick it out, but I get the feeling if I just keep staring I’ll see what the pattern is.

“Thank you, sweetheart - that’s very helpful. Now I want to learn more about what’s happened to you and Jasmine, so be good and answer honestly, okay? ”

“Yes, Daddy!” I nod, and giggle a little. I mean honestly, does he think I’d ever lie to him? He’s the first person to really ever affirm that I’m… Well, that being me is good! That Jasmine should listen to me! Even if he didn’t really knowingly say it yet.

He will though, I know he will.

“Firstly, I want to quickly check - has this happened because of my and my sister’s recent actions?” He furrows his brow, ushering Lapsang and Souchong over as he inspects me.

“Nope! I’ve been here for years - I’m like… All the bits of Jas that she suppressed.” I grin, “No need to worry Daddy! You didn’t hurt us.” 

“Right, well that is good to know - though this does complicate things a little. With Lapsang and Souchong, we knew about the split from the start.” He sighs, a vine cupping my cheek, turning my head and checking my pulse as he presses a vine against my neck. “Did Jasmine know about you before we picked you both up?”

“Nope - she just thought I was like, an annoying voice in her head I think.” I shrug, “But why’re you so concerned about her? She was such a pain - she didn’t want to be nice to you even though you gave her this sweet body and let her know how good it could feel!” I cross my arms, staring up at Daddy.

“Hm, well be that as it may, she is still my floret - I have a duty of care for her. While I am glad to meet such an eager sophont like yourself, that doesn’t mean I’ll forget about her.”

I roll my eyes, huffing as I realise he’s still attached to her. “Why? She’s grumpy, she’s- Wait, is this because I’m like technically not yours yet? I wanna be! You can take me, daddy! Use me however you want! P-Please!” I feel the panic set in as I grasp for his vines, trying to hold onto him.

“Whoa, whoa! It’s okay, Petal. If you want to volunteer, then you will be our floret too - This isn’t me showing preferable treatment to Jasmine just because she’s mine.

Ugh, ‘mine’ - like I’m some kind of fucking possesion. I’m a goddamn person!

Pfft, like you can talk - how many times did you refer to Brigid as ‘yours’? How many times did you try and stake a claim on other people?

Oh fuck off ‘pearl’ - that’s different.

“Pearl, are you talking with Jasmine just now?” Souchong pulls herself to the front, studying my expression. I sigh, nodding in response to her.

“Yeah, she’s being such a bitch though. Like, she’s all ‘ ew don’t call me yours - I’m not a possession!’ Like, c’mon… She always treated her partners like things . It’s just the way it works. The guy’s the one who gets to be in control. That’s just how it is. Right, Daddy? She just hates being on the other side of it.” I grin, looking up at him with wide eyes. Though my grin fades quickly as I see the firm look on his face.

“Petal. You will not refer to your headmate in such a way. That is rude , especially given we are working our hardest to rehabilitate her from her old toxic mindset. A mindset I can see you are not immune to yourself. I am in control because I am your affini - not because I am a ‘man’.”

I freeze up. I disappointed him. Oh no… No no no! I can’t disappoint him. “I-I’m sorry Daddy! I-I was just… She’s been so mean to you and…” I feel my eyes burn as they tear up, and I press my palms into my eyes. “S-So stupid… I’m sorry!”

Vines wrap around me, pulling me into a tight hug. I feel Him around me as my tears stop just as soon as they started. “Petal, it’s okay - you’re not stupid. Just please don't call her such nasty things. You’re headmates, you will be sharing a body for your whole lives. Of all the people to get along with, she is definitely the most important!”

I feel him shift around me, pulling me into a comfortable hug as his vines push my head up to look at him. “I am very glad to have a new darling to fawn over, but-”

“A-And you’ll do that stuff you did with her to me right?” I cling to his vines, and he tenses up.

“I… Yes. I can. However, that is not all I can do, dear. I think maybe it’s best we work out more about you before we do anything like that.”

Hmph, so he’s all happy not to r- ravish! you bu-

Wait, what the hell? You’re not even going to let me think about the fact that he did all that against my will!?

Pfft, you liked it - don’t try to lie.

That had to have been you, though! I would never-

Nope, all you! You’re a good girl too, Jasmine~

“-arl, Pearl? Are you still there, petal?” I hear Him and turn my attention back to the outside with a smile. 

“Yup! Right here, Daddy! Jasmine was just being… Uhm… Difficult again.” I fiddle with my hands, not wanting to disappoint him again.

“I see - would you mind if I brought her into the front, Petal? I think I need to talk to her about some things. Clarify her position in this.”

Good! Maybe I can convince him you’re dangerous and trying to hijack my body!

“Hmph… Fine. But only because you asked, Daddy.”

The switch happens as soon as I feel pearl take her hands off the controls, and I Immediately try to clamber out of Allamore’s grasp.

“Ah, Jasmine - good to see you back.” He chuckles, vines immediately restraining me in his lap and overpowering me in a matter of seconds. “Not so fast though, we need to talk.”

I cross my arms, glaring at him. “Fine. Ask what you have to ask. Just… Make it quick and let me go. It’s bad enough I’ve got this invader in my body without having to deal with this shit too.”

“ Jasmine. Do not think that I will allow you to be rude to Pearl either. ” He fixes me with his gaze, and I squirm a little before sighing.

“ Fine , but don’t expect me to suddenly be all buddy buddy with the bimbo who just moved into my brain.”

Aww, you think I’m a bimbo? That’s the sweetest thing you’ve said to me.

“Jasmine! What did I just say?” Allamore bristles as his vines tighten around me. 

“She liked it! It wasn’t rude! You can’t get mad at me for that!” I huff, looking away from him.

“Oh, uh… Alright then. Well, I don’t expect you two to suddenly be friends, but can we not be enemies right off the bat? As I said, you both share a body - so at least try to get along. Now, I want to ask - was Pearl at the front before today? Please be honest, Jasmine. ” He leans in closer to me, and I squirm as I consider the question

“I… Uh…”

Pfft, nope! No getting out of this one, Jas!

“No… I’ve been the only one in control before today. Like, this morning I just thought she was some irritating intrusive thought. This has all been really… Really confusing.” I wince a little, I can feel a stress headache creeping into existence, and this bright ass room isn’t helping. The candles are too much. I need dark.

Then, before I can even mention it, I feel a leafy vine wrap over my forehead, leaving my eyes in shade. 

Aww, he’s so sweet!

He probably just did that to stop you from hurting. Fucking… What do you call a teacher’s pet for your kidnapper?

Daddy’s Girl?

Not that.

“Hmm, okay - I know you were enjoying some coffee with Lapsang and Souchong, but I think we need to get you somewhere better suited for you Jasmine.” He stands up, pulling me close in those strong arms of-

Wait, no! Not that, he’s… clutching me tighter in his treacherous grasp!

Pfft, you are so in denial.

“C-Can we just get somewhere dark? My head is really starting to hurt.” I push my face into his chest, ignoring the smell of salted caramel and cinnamon as I desperately just try to get somewhere darker.

“Ah, that might be head pressure Sir - It happened to us a lot when we first started switching.” Souchong sounds genuinely concerned, which… Feels weird. She barely knows me.

She’s just compassionate, Jas. That is a thing some people with hearts are.

I have a heart!

Nah, I’ve got full custody of it. It’s okay though, I gave you the liver in return.

You and I both know that’s a shit deal - our liver’s fucked.

I’m suddenly pulled out of our internal conversation by the feeling of Allamore moving quickly. 

“Hey, what- What’re you doing?”

“Getting you to your bedroom. You need somewhere dark, cool, and probably somewhere to lie down. So, your bedroom. The redecorating isn’t done, but I’ll work on that while we talk. I was able to find a bed that fit your new sheets.”

“Oh, uh… Thanks.”

See! He’s so nice! Why do you hate him so much?

Are you being serious? You know why.

Yeah, but like… Apart from the kidnapping and assault. He’s so sweet!

I shiver, “Allamore… I… don’t know if I can handle sharing a head with her. We are so different. She’s got some really concerning thoughts that I think will get me into problems.”

He chuckles, rubbing the back of my head. “Oh? And you’re coming to me with this concern? I’m honoured!”

“Oh shush! I just… I don’t know about all this headmate stuff and Souchong’s not here to ask.” I huff, shaking my head at him.

God, you’re such a brat.

Shut up, Pearl. 

Make me, brat.

“Look, I just… I wanna have peace in my own head! Surely that’s not an unreasonable thing to want?” I sigh, clutching my head in my hands. “It’s bad enough I get fucking migraines when I’m stressed, I don’t want to have to deal with all this too!”

“You get migraines? Oh, petal - you should have mentioned. We can help with those. It might take a little trial and error but we affini have helped with that in countless sophonts. One second.”

There’s a sudden jab on my arm, and I jump

“Hey what the-” I cry out, then a sudden wave of cooling relief and calm washes over me. “...hell?” I blink a few times, the pressure in my head immediately lessening and the pain subsiding. “What the fuck did you just do?”

“Specially targeted painkillers, for sophonts with migraines. Our darling Chamomile gets them rather often, so I was luckily prepared. I was going to use a general painkiller once we got to your room, but I didn’t realise it was that bad. You should have said.”

“I-I… I mean it wasn’t that bad. Only a five out of ten really.” I shrug, but it’s appreciated. Even if it wasn’t that bad.

“Oh, darling… A five out of ten is a major concern! If it’s above a one or two you tell me, Lilian, or the HabAI immediately! If it is a one or two, you let us know and we’ll take care of it.” He clutches me close, hugging me tightly in his vines as he carries me into my room.

“Oh, uh… Okay? But wait, how did you do that? Doctors said they couldn’t find a way to get rid of the pain without severe side effects. I… I don’t feel any different. Other than no pain…” I look out from his arms, taking in the still garishly bright room and gasping when it doesn’t even cause a flare up.

“Well, Terran doctors have nothing on Affini Veterinarians darling. You’ll find any problem you have with your body can be addressed by affini expertise.”

“What about Pe-” I begin, getting Allamore’s vine pressed to my lips to shush me.

“No, having Pearl in your head with you is not a problem.”

“Hmph. Fine.” 

He puts me down in my bed, and I have to admit the dark wooden victorian-style canopy bed does look nice. From the looks of it those dark green curtains are blackout curtains too.

Stars, why’s he so fucking considerate? I’ve just been an asshole to him - justifiably, but still…

“Now, is the bed to your liking?” As he speaks, I get a chance to properly look around and see the room’s been completely emptied except for the bed. Even the walls, floor, and ceiling are a very neutral cream colour. 

“When did you clean this all up? There was a whole room full of furniture here before breakfast… The uh… The bed’s perfect though, thanks. Maybe a little soft?”

“Oh, don’t worry about that - decompiling things takes no time at all really.” He shrugs, pulling out his datapad and pressing a button. Immediately, the mattress stiffens up under me. “Better?”

“How the-” I stop myself, sighing as I nod. It’s affini magic. Best to just assume the explanation would fly over my head. “Yeah, that’s perfect. How’d you know I’d want this kinda bed?”

“Extrapolation from your private space yacht, and including what I know about your light sensitivity. Is that solely because of the migraines by the way?” He sits at the bottom of the bed, vines tapping away at his datapad.

“At first, yeah - but now bright stuff’s so associated with pain I just… I prefer darker decor. What are you doing by the way?” I sit up, crawling over the bed to get a better look at the datapad.

He’s flicking through pages faster than I can fully process, but I can see he’s flicking through a catalog of furniture. “Finding appropriate furnishings for you. If you have any issues with them, then you can let me know.”

Tell him we need a vanity for our makeup and stuff! With a mirror!

Ugh, if we get makeup it’ll be all yours. But sure.

Yaaay!

“Pearl wants you to make sure we get a vanity with drawers and a mirror. For - urgh - makeup.” I roll my eyes, and he chuckles.

“Understood - anything you want, Jasmine? We’re perfectly capable of making whatever you desire for your space.” 

“Not really, but… Didn’t you have questions to ask me?” I settle in next to him, watching the flurry of pictures of various different variations on the Victorian Gothic style he seems to have pegged me as liking.

It does look good, to be fair to him. I’d probably have decorated my yacht like this if wood wasn’t so fucking expensive.

“Yes, primarily one. Pearl mentioned she is the ‘parts Jasmine suppressed’ - any thoughts on that?” He glances over at me with a smirk, and I recoil back from him. 

“Ew, no - she’s wrong. I’ve never had anything like her be a part of me! She’s a giggly ‘daddy’ obsessed girl. I was- am a pretty typical man.” I shake my head. “I’ve never had any shred of curiosity about the things she is.”

“Interesting. Well, regardless of if that’s true - she seems to believe it. Can she hear us?”

Yeah!

“Yes, she can hear us.” I groan, her energy level is draining to listen to.

“Good, in that case I’ll inform you both. Given she wishes to be my floret, I will amend your contract tonight to include her, along with making her a proper file for the central bureaucracy to keep tabs on. From now on you’ll introduce yourself as your name followed by ‘Fifth Florets Pluribus’. I’ll make sure your implant properly registers her too - once that happens, I should be able to more accurately keep tabs on you both.” He smiles, patting me on the head.

My scowl deepens as Pearl celebrates in my head. “Alright, fine… I’ll admit, you might have taken me against my will and raped me, but you are at least clearly trying to keep me happy outside of that. Just… Stay the fuck away from my genitals.”

“Oh? They’re yours now are they? Last I checked, that cunt was mine, darling.” He smirks, and I shudder at the jolt of excitement I feel from Pearl’s side of the brain

It’s not all from my side, sis-

All from her side of the brain.

“So… You intend to do it again then? Even if I fight back?” I bite my lip, chewing on it anxiously. “Don’t I get any say in this? Like, at all?”

“You will when it’s not your shame talking, Jasmine. When you’re not saying no just because you think you shouldn’t like it.” He smiles, and my skin crawls.

“So that’s a no, then. You don’t care what I think… I bet this shit with Pearl has you convinced I’m just some closet pervert trann-”

A vine shoots to cover my mouth as he glares at me. “I will not allow you to refer to yourself with that particular slur, Jasmine. For what it is worth, I would have hoped your room would make it clear I care immensely for your preferences. When they are genuine, and not a response programmed into you to serve the interests of your society’s ill-advised priorities.”

I can’t speak, not that he’d listen, so I just slowly nod. Message received, asshole. 

Chapter Text

Each day starts the same in what might as well be paradise - wake up in time with the Ship’s simulated day cycle, spend an hour running around the neighbourhood, then back home for a freshly made breakfast with my sisters. It’s what happens after breakfast that tends to vary. Today, it seems Lap & Sou will be busy with the new girl, Matcha tends to spend her time working on the garden after breakfast, and knowing our owners they’ll likely be hovering over Jasmine the whole day - so I’ll spend time with Cammy.

First though, a shower. As much as I am eager to spend time with Cammy, she’s never fond of my post-run sweatiness. I’d take a bath, but those always end up running too long. Walking through the labyrinthine home I’ve come to be so attached to, I find the closest bathroom - one attached to the changing rooms for the indoor pool I sometimes use at night for swimming laps.

Stepping through the changing room, I tug off my leather gloves and toss them casually to the ground. After that is the skin tight exercise shirt, peeled off my body and dropped alongside them. Then the black textured yoga pants, and lastly my sports bra. I never bothered with underwear when I go to exercise in the mornings. It’s not like I’m going to be called out for indecency in the compact. I’d seen enough couples, both affini and floret as well as presumably independents, taking advantage of the relaxed attitude toward public displays of affection to do far worse than just running with a noticeable cameltoe. 

Striding into the showers, I pause to take a look at myself in the mirror. I’ve changed so much, both inside and out, since my days as Admiral of the tri-system fleet. Ventis, Oreius, and Dunmere. Back then I was the very picture of the ideal officer - short cut hair styled professionally, broad shoulders, and a well-defined and muscled body. Not to mention, over thirty and a white guy. I was never particularly attached to that body, not in the way that I’d come to understand many men were. However, I was proud of it. Of the effort it took to keep it in prime condition. 

In that sense, my body now was no different. Lean, defined, healthy . However, my skin is riddled with scars, little reminders of sessions with Sir.

I trace one particularly lengthy scar on my abdomen. It started just below my belly button and a few inches to the left before curving upward and tapering off a few inches below my breasts.

I absently smile, remembering the claw slicing through my skin, remembering how shocked Sir was upon seeing the blood bead up behind it. Poor thing was so worried he’d gone too far, as if I hadn’t been pressing his hand firmer against my skin to ensure he left a mark. 

I knew I need only say the word and they would clear every mark from my body, leaving me with a fresh and unmarked canvas - but I didn’t want that. My body had become a journal, each entry etched deep into the many layers of my skin.

Still, I knew the kind of effect these scars had on people. It only took one outing in a short sleeve shirt to see the concern in some individuals’ eyes. I didn’t want that reflecting badly on Sir, or on Ma’am. So I took to covering them up in public. 

Stepping into the shower, I reach back to my hair and pull it free from the tight bun I’d kept it in, turning on the water at a high temperature and sighing as I feel the heat leeching some of the ache out of my muscles.

I take the soap, working it up to a lather over my body as I let my mind drift.

There’s six of us now, the home’s becoming all the more lively. Though, our owners have a habit of pushing themselves too far. Perhaps I should step up more in looking after Cammy? The others do keep her company from time to time, but it’s me she’s most clingy with.

Not that I can blame her, not after-

I crank up the temperature on the shower, the fierce heat of the water pulling me away from those memories.

“ Miss Rose, the temperature of your shower is coming close to the safe limits your owner has specified - please be careful .”

The HabAI echoes in the empty shower room, and I nod. “Understood and acknowledged, CAS.” I sigh, turning the heat back down. Turning around, I tip my head back and begin to massage the water through my dense head of hair.

It was nice, I had to admit, having this silky head of hair. Sure it got in the way sometimes, but of all the changes to my body this was probably my favourite. The rest of it I didn’t especially care one way or the other, it was a necessary appearance. My hair however? It felt right. More than anything else about the way I look.

“CAS?” I call out, and the HabAI responds, “ Yes, Miss Rose? ”

“Where is Chamomile LeBeau situated at present?” I take the shampoo, working it into my hair before starting to rinse it out.

“ Princess Chamomile is at present situated in the tea room. She is engaged in intense diplomatic discussion with representatives of the Cushion Queendom and the Duchy of Pillowton. ” CAS was always happy to play along with Chamomile’s games, and it was sweet knowing she was having fun.

“Very well, inform her that Duchess Rose will be bringing refreshments along shortly.” I find myself smiling. ‘Duchess Rose’ was the title Cammy gave me not long after Lilian realised she’d make an adorable princess - and I have to admit, it’s a role I do take some joy in getting to play for her.

After engaging the drying function in the shower cubicle, I step out and mull over what outfit would suit best for my morning with her. “CAS, please compile ‘Rose_4’ for me. Thank you.” I step over to the compiler just as the outfit comes into existence. It’s a fitting outfit for me, black jodhpurs, matching black leather riding boots and gloves, along with a loose fitting regency style white dress shirt and a black cravat. Sitting beside the piled up outfit is a pair of plain black cotton panties and a matching bra. 

Spending that one afternoon loading full outfits into the compiler and giving CAS the associated codes had been such a time saver, and it doesn’t take long for me to get dressed, pausing for a moment to compile a powder blue hair tie to match with what Chamomile is likely wearing.

Taking a glance in the mirror, I admire the aesthetic I’ve managed to cultivate for my new self. My old first mate calls it ‘Fuckable Librarian Chic’ - and while I don’t particularly love that title, it’s nice to have a distinct visual identity.

Come to think of it, perhaps Jasmine would enjoy meeting Penelope? It does have a knack for getting along with individuals, and it always enjoys getting to introduce sophonts to the possibilities of life in the compact. 

I’ll worry about that later - chances are she won’t be allowed out of the house for a while anyway. For now, I’ve got a Princess to fetch snacks for.

The trip back to the kitchen is swift, but as I’m on the way I see Allamore being led by Lapsang off presumably to Jasmine. Looks like I wasn’t wrong that our owners would be kept busy by her.

All the more reason to keep Cammy happy. I make a beeline for the stasis unit, taking out small portions of the various sweets and cakes that Matcha always enjoys making. Cinnamon and almond cookies, battenberg cake, little thumbprint cookies with jam, and some shortbread. Along with those, I notice something new - macarons! Cammy’ll love those. 

Retrieving them all, I get to work laying them out on a shiny silver platter. It’s a little silly, but I like making sure they’re organised neatly for her. It doesn’t take long, and once I’m done I rest the silver platter on one hand as I start to walk off to the tea room.

On the way, I pass Allamore carrying Jasmine in his arms, her face covered by his foliage.

“-migraines. Our darling Chamomile gets them rather often, so I was luckily prepared. I was going to use a general painkiller once we got to your room, but I didn’t realise it was that bad. You should have said.”

I give him a smile, and he notices the tray before mouthing a ‘thank you’ to me that gives me a little boost of warmth.

I wasn’t initially much fond of the floret life, but it was necessary - and the LeBeaus are marvellous owners. It didn’t take long before I found myself loving them both.

That mention of migraines though, such a shame for Jasmine. At least Affini tech would take care of everything but the onset. 

“I-I… I mean it wasn’t that bad.”

I chuckle at Jasmine’s reply as I walk off in the opposite direction, that was a surefire way to get yourself coddled for the day. I hope she enjoys it.

It doesn’t take long before I’m pushing open the door to the tea room with my hip, and I catch the tail end of one of Cammy’s talks.

“-I think you’ll find the trade arrangements between our domains to be more than adequate. Given the LeBeau Queendom provides all of you with sanctuary from the nasty mean Terran Evildom, we could exercise our right to domesticate your nations if we wished.” She holds a confident smirk on her face, hands on her hips. She’s wearing one of her favourite dresses, a frilly blue dress with bands at the hem in black, purple, and red. The colours of her sisters. Of her family.

Putting on a gruff voice, she picks up Syr Snifflepup, a grey terrier plush in a tiny three piece suit, and mimes him along to her speech. “This is outrageous! Such wanton profiteering from our time of crisis is unconscionable!”

I bite my lip, suppressing a laugh as I announce myself to the room.

“Princess Chamomile LeBeau, Duchess Rose at your service! I bring a platter of sweet treats for you.” I smile, and Cammy spins on her heel before sprinting toward me and tackle-hugging me with a giggle. “Big Sis! Hi hi hi! Cassie said you’d be here soon!” She looks up at me with her sweet golden eyes and I gently pat her on the head.

“Indeed - I hope these treats are to your liking Princess.” I gently step out from her hug and place the plate on the table before taking my seat on her royally decorated chair. I barely even have time to pat my lap and invite her before she rushes over and snuggles onto my lap.

“Hehehe, I’m so glad you’re here Big Sis! I missed you!” She clutches onto the arm I wrap over her waist and I reach forward to grab one of the slices of mini-battenberg cake, bringing it up to her mouth as I tap her cheek. She opens up nice and wide, and I pop the cake into her mouth, settling into the soft rhythm of gestures Lilian taught me to use with her. 

It was a good idea, especially with Cammy - she had a habit of forgetting to chew enough and often ended up choking a little without guidance. Once I trace down her throat to get her to swallow, I decide to learn more about this diplomatic meeting she’d set up.

“So, my Princess - I see the lesser houses are up in arms over our guidance again?”

“Uhuh, I keep tellin’ em Mama and Papa just want what’s best for ‘em, but ya know how silly they get.” She sighs dramatically, and I chuckle. 

“Oh, of course - those silly notions of independence. Such a bizarre matter to stake your future on. After all, neither of us are independent and we’re doing very well aren’t we?” I give her a little squeeze and she giggles at me.

“Yuhuh! An’ that stinky Accord is independent and they all stink.” She pouts, and I feed her one of the jam cookies - giving the little circle on her cheek to remind her to chew properly.

“They really do, Princess - but some of them can be saved! Like Jasmine, she used to be a stinky, grumpy terran, but Sir gave her a bath and now she’s just grumpy.” I smirk, and Princess giggles as I gesture for her to swallow.

She claps as she leans back into me “Hehehe, she did seem a little grumpy - but so was Matcha and Witchy when they first showed up! She’s so beautiful too! I love her hair!”

“Yes, long blonde hair - it’s certainly a look that suits her. At least, it suits the her she is when she lets down her guard a bit. I just wish she could see that.” I sigh, shrugging as I take a mini-macaron from the plate and feed it to Cammy. As she chews on the tasty almond treat I hug her close.

“How are you, Cham? Are you doing okay? I get so worried for you, you know…” I give her the gestures to chew more and swallow, and she nods slowly.

“Yeah… I’m okie. Mama and Papa keep all the bad memories away, an’ I got you and my other sisters to keep me safe! No mean, nasty guys around to ruin things.” She squirms a little, making grabby hands for the platter. “Can I have more batty bug cake? I like the spongy bits!”

“Of course, Cammy. Anything for my little sister. It’s the least I can do.” I kiss the back of her head, grabbing a small slice of the ‘batty bug’ cake and feeding her it.

Once she’s finished, she giggles and looks back up at me. “ Anything ? Like… Cuddle with me while I watch my favourite shows?”

I bristle at the thought. Her favourite shows were mind-numbing at best and actively headache inducing at worst.

“I’m kiddin! Is okie, I don’ want you to be bored. Just teasin ya, big sis!” She giggles, then quietens down as she snuggles up with me. “Thankies again for saving me, big sis. I don’t ‘member a lot of it, but… I know you were there. Mama and Papa want me to always remember that!” She shuffles around on my lap and wraps her arms around me, cuddling me tight.

I just give her a shaky smile, patting her on the head and holding her close. “It’s okay, I’m just sorry I couldn’t save you bef- Well, save you sooner.”

“Is not your fault!” She pouts, poking my nose. “Mama and Papa tell me that too.” 

“Alright, alright. It’s not my fault…” I idly stroke her hair, keeping her head resting against my chest. “It’s not my fault.

Of course I know that intellectually, it wasn’t me that did that to her. Not directly. It was, however, a ship under my command. A ship I failed. That weight was never going to leave me, no matter how hard they tried to lift it from me.

Still, that wasn’t something Cammy should have to worry about. Just smile, hold her close and listen to her talk about those cartoon characters she’s so eagerly fond of.

One day, I hope, I can apologise to her in a frame of mind where she actually understands the weight of it. One day I hope the healing progresses enough that she can live a fuller life.

She’s happy now, I know. She spends each day surrounded by people who love her, of course she’s happy. 

It’s selfish of me to want her to remember - to ease my burden at the cost of her own. 

She shouldn’t remember what happened to her. One lone woman on an isolated, broken down old destroyer ran aground on an asteroid. I’m just glad I got to her before the crew ran out of synthcubes… and that I got to the crew before the affini did.

“Sister?” I hear her soft, innocent voice and I snap out of my introspection. “Can you feed me one of those almondy thingies again? They’re tasty!”

“Of course, Chamomile. Princess gets whatever she wants.” I smile, reaching out and grabbing another macaron to feed her, still idly stroking her hair as I look at the room around me.

I wonder what would have happened to her if the Affini hadn’t found me? Hadn’t shown up in time to plug up the hole in my head that bastard captain gave me. 

Dead, likely.

Best not to think about it. Don’t think about it.

I push that thought to the back of my head, focusing on the plushies around the table. Syr Snifflepup, Lady Wigglesworth the giant isopod, and that one I can never remember the name of based on those sloth folk from the central ring.

Taking a deep breath, I exhale slowly as I cuddle Cammy. “Want a cinnamon cookie?” I ask, grabbing one for her as she nods excitedly. I give her the signal to open, close, chew, swallow and settle in for a laid back tea party with her.  

Chapter Text

“Jasmine, I have a question for you - one I would like you to think through and answer in good faith, okay?” Allamore looks up from the half-assembled vanity past the end of my bed. I roll my eyes, looking up from the frankly insulting floret game I was distracting myself with - I’d tried to help with the furniture but Allamore threatened me with Class-M if I didn’t take the chance to rest through my migraine. The pain might be gone, but the fatigue was still there.

Honestly I hate how considerate he was of me for that. Most folk would’ve let me help despite it requiring me to push through fatigue. Stupid kind rapist.

Hey! Don’t be mean about Daddy!

Look, you’ve got your pet name for him - let me have mine. “What do you want to ask me?” I sigh, knowing whatever it is it won’t be fun . 

“Why do you want to be a man?”

I blink a few times, of course that’d be the question.

“Seriously? I don’t want to be a man, I am one! Do you want to be an affini? It’s patently absurd to consider shit like that. People can’t want to be something they already are!”

“Is that so? Because personally I find caring for precious sophonts like yourself is the most fulfilling act in my life. From the bottom of my core I am overjoyed to be an Affini. It is something I truly want to do more than anything else. To fulfill the societal role of my species.” He speaks so softly, so carefully. Speaking to me and addressing my point head on.

It would only be fair to do the same.

“Alright, so under that criteria - do I enjoy filling the role of ‘man’? Yes. I do. I’ve always been very good at it. Provided for those in my family, even if they didn’t appreciate it. Worked hard, been a solid emotional rock for those around me. I’m a damn good man.” I sit up on the bed, tucking my legs to my side as I cross my arms.

“I see. Well, being good at something is different from enjoying it, petal. Different from being truly content in the role you’ve chosen. We are not in the Accord, Jasmine. You are not valued because of your utility. You are valued. Full stop.”

I wince a little at the use of my new name. Why do they insist on not letting me have anything from my old life?

“Allamore. Why are you so dead set on dragging me kicking and screaming through this? On making me kill the old me and step forward as some frankensteinian creation emulating a femininity that does not suit me. I tried this morning, genuinely. I wanted to give you a shot, see if I was missing something - you know what I got? Shoes that hurt, an outfit that fit me so poorly that I felt I was wearing a costume the whole day, I ended up with eggshells in the breakfast mix. I cannot be a woman.” I huff, shaking my head as I look up at him. “I cannot fill this role, I am happy in my old role. Let me be happy. ”

He clicks his faux-tongue against the roof of his mouth, chittering in consideration.

“You didn’t address my point, and again you rely on your skill at something as justification to take it on board. Dirt, you even ended up listing things that are not a requirement of femininity. Do you believe that gender is nothing more than its roles?”

“No! But if my biology, my fucking genes don’t matter any more then what do I have to define my gender by? If I cannot point to my stubble, my broad shoulders, my body hair, then I have to point to behaviour.” I shuffle forward on the bed. “I have to point at the pre-constructed ideas our society has around my gender. About how I am a provider, an emotional rock of support for those around me.”

“Alright, and if I point out that women can be providers, that they can be that kind of stoic supporter you believe defines a man?” He spreads his hands out in front of him, fixing me with a gentle smile.

“Why the fuck are you doing this, Allamore? What do you gain from pushing me into a corner in this discussion?” I squeeze my hands into fists, this whole farce beginning to get to me. Why does he insist so intently that he wants what’s best for me yet so regularly seems to be determined to make me miserable?

“I’m merely trying to understand you better, Jasmine.”

“ Jack. ”

“No, I think not. You have so many presumptions tied to that name. Jack was a divorced ex-ceo. A man who had by every metric you have laid out failed in his performance of manhood. You had no friends, dwindling resources, no social capital, and no family to support. I wish to wipe those expectations clean and allow you the chance to become who you want to be apart from those expectations.” He finishes assembling the vanity, turning the mirror to face me. “Look at yourself, and tell me what you are. Without expectations. Without a predetermined box to inhabit.”

“I-I’m…” I flinch, looking away from my bleach blonde new self. “I’m a fucking monster is what I am. I’ve been forced into a body I cannot fulfill the expectations for. I don’t know makeup, I can’t cook, I doubt I’ll be able to properly maintain this hair or my skin - it’s so different from what I was and I don’t have the tools to cope.”

“Hm, all fair concerns. Though again - women do not need to know how to paint their face or cook. Rose keeps her face plain outside of the barest hint of eyeliner that she happens to personally like the look of. If you asked her to cook she could certainly make something serviceable, something that would meet a need. It wouldn’t be transcendental though. It would simply taste fine.” Allamore steps toward me, unravelling one of the vines that compose his arm, the needle tip of it glinting in the low light of the room. “May I try something I think will help you?”

“It depends, are you going to make me one of those drooling simpletons you parade in front of the camera?” I roll my eyes, leaning away from the outstretching needle.

“Nothing so intense. Just a Class-D xenodrug, designed to make it impossible to make you lie - either to me or yourself. No coping mechanisms, just truth. ”

“Hmph, fine. Do it if you wish, you’ll find I’ve been truthful this whole time.” I stretch my arm out, underside facing up to provide him with the easiest place to inject me. There’s a sharp sting of his needle sliding under my skin, and after a few moments I feel something shift inside me. “Hm… I think it’s worked? Let me test it - Allamore, I hate y- how much I can’t bring myself to hate you.”

What?

What?

“Oh good, it seems to be working.” He smirks.

“Oh, don’t you get all uppity because of that. I don’t like you, you’re just annoying. A weird blend of considerate and inconsiderate. I can’t square away why you seem so eager to insist you want me to be happy while denying me my manhood.” I roll my eyes at his admittedly kinda cute smile.

“Well, let me elucidate something for you petal. Why do you want to be a man?” He leans in, eager to see if my answer’s changed.

“I mean I guess I don’t - It was just what was expected of me, so I did my best to be it.” I sigh, then feel an icy shudder run through me. That cannot be true, can it?

“There we go - much better. Now, given you don’t really want to be a man - what kind of woman are you?”

“I’m not really. A woman I mean. I’m just not. ” I shrug, and internally sigh. At the very least I know that is true.

“I see. Interesting. Well, that is progress at least.” He shrugs, and I glare at him.

“Really now? What happened to me ‘getting a say when it’s not my shame talking’? Hm? I just told you point blank - I’m not a woman. That’s not ‘progress’ - that’s a finish line. I don’t know what the hell that makes me, but surely I get a say in this!”

“I will gladly discuss that once you’ve learned about what you’ve been denying yourself for your whole life. Pearl didn’t come out of nowhere, petal. Being true is not the same as being right. You might find you are a woman once you’ve had a less toxic immersion in it.” Allamore reaches out, patting me on the head.

I keep my eyes fixed on him, not letting that little contradiction slide. “Hmph, hypocrite. You only want what is ‘best for me’ as you see it.”

“How I see it is right, petal. After all - you enjoyed our previous time together, didn’t you?” He smiles, and I feel the reply bubbling up.

We did, Jas! Both of us!

I keep it back, staying silent. That has nothing to do with this. 

Come onnn! Just admit it! It’ll be good for you!

“Regardless of how I felt, you did it against my will. You violated me, Allamore. If I abused you, then chemically dosed you into believing it was an enjoyable experience then does that make the abuse right? All because ‘it was good for you’ in the end?” I narrow my eyes, and Allamore blinks as he stares down at me.

“Well, of course - what matters is happiness. Provided you are happy and content in the end, I will do anything to make you reach that finish line.” His smile remains fixed on his face, the horror of what he just said seeming not to have even crossed his mind.

I recoil, staring up at him with shock. I wasn’t expecting him to admit it.

“Wh-What?”

“Princess, petal, my darling Jasmine. Do you think I love you so little that I would deny you the greatest happiness of your life purely because I could not bring myself to destroy and violate you to get there?”

Ice floods my veins. He’s insane. I can’t believe I ever deluded myself into thinking he was just mistaken - that I could convince him to stop this by pointing out how much it hurts.

“Y-You’re a monster…” I retreat back across the bed, my breathing becoming more rapid as I start to panic.

He’ll make us happy Jas! Let him help us!

I’m not even safe in my own mind from this madness. I can’t trust anything, anyone. Who’s to say he hasn’t turned the others into his willing puppets from such a vile approach? That he simply tore through their brains removing anything but idiotic happiness blind to the suffering he’s inflicted.

From the quickly intensifying panic in my mind a memory resurfaces.

“The punishments for disobeying are not something I imagine you in your current state would enjoy. I mean I enjoy them immensely”

I turn and see her hurriedly pulling on her gloves. A glimpse of skin is all it takes for me to get an idea of why she’s so covered up. Pale white lines criss cross across the back of her hand, a myriad of scars that make me wonder how she could have gotten so many.

So, he slices Rose up and makes her love it after the fact? I can’t rule that out. I might have assumed she was just some pervert who deluded themselves into finding pain pleasurable - in taking some twisted joy from harming themselves. Now though, now I have a very clear idea of just how things probably unfolded.

“Petal-” He begins, reaching toward me.

“N-No! Stay the fuck away from me, you… You did this to them didn’t you? You made them into mindless toys for your pleasure! Out of some misguided belief that intoxicated bliss is some kind of higher happiness!”

I kick out, my heel colliding with his mask before he suddenly lurches forward and binds my limbs down against the bed with a force I cannot hope to overcome.

“ Petal. I will not stand for this. I have brought happiness to my florets - all of them. Raised them up from the misery of their old lives…” He looks down at me, fixes me with his purple eyes. I squeeze my eyes shut, knowing he’ll scoop this memory out of my head. Simply leave me ignorant of how he’s tearing me apart piece by piece so he can make me some patchwork empty-headed whoretoy.

My mind flashes to Chamomile, to that childlike manner. Is that my future? My inevitable end point?

I find myself crying, and flinch as I feel his vine wipe the tears from my cheek.

“I can see you’re not going to be convinced by anything I have to say.” He sighs, a heavy pain in his voice. No doubt from the fact that I finally found him out.

“J-Just do it already! Scoop out everything that makes me me and turn me into some drooling child then! Someone utterly unable to even comprehend the horror you’re forcing on me and the others!” I keep my eyes shut, trying to cling to the parts of me that I need - the parts of me I cherish.

“Petal, I do not intend to do anything like that to you.”

I desperately scramble and cling to anything - to any part of me I love to try and keep it safe.

But my hands come back empty.

I go limp. 

There’s nothing, is there?

Oh, you finally get it?

Pearl, he’s going to erase me! I-I can’t let him!

Why? We’ve got nothing worth keeping.

Tears flood their way down my face, the searing heat of their path burning into my mind.

“P-Please?” I mutter, unsure if I’m asking him to spare me, or to just get it over with and spare me the pain of realising there’s no part of me I’d care to save.

“No, petal. I love you. Even if you don’t love yourself.”

I feel him lean closer, that indescribable something that radiates out from him alongside the scent of salted caramel seeps its way into my mind. A sharp sting on my arm pulls me out of the cloud of anxiety I’m languishing in.

I feel a glimmer inside me, a tiny distant reminder of who I used to be.

Hands caked in dirt, nails chipped and messy from eager digging as I help my Mom on the farm - back before Father’s business took off, and we moved into the city.

That was something I would die to protect. Those memories of freshly tilled soil, the enthralling scent of nature, and the sowing of potato seeds that would eventually grow into the only thing keeping us afloat on Oreius. 

When did I forget that? Those days spent under the hot Oreian sun, putting my damned hands to use…

I shakily open my eyes, looking at my hands pinned up above my head. They were thin, dainty, entirely unblemished by the calluses of hard work.

I feel the tears surge back, and Allamore’s voice breaks through my reminiscing.

“Petal? What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking of home.”

God, Mom was too good for Father. Why’d she stay with him?

Because of us, Pearl.

“Jasmine… Look at me. I promise you I won’t hypnotise you - I won’t drug you. Just… Look at me.”

I keep my gaze averted, but I feel Pearl’s hand on the steering wheel - my eyes darting back over toward his.

“Thank you. What about home are you thinking about?”

My eyes dart to the window, to the smallest glimpse I’ve had of the outdoors since arriving.

“...Memories. Ones I can’t lose.”

“ Then you won’t, Jasmine. I promise you. ” He smiles, and I hate that I believe him.

I stay silent, and I feel his vine on my cheek gently pulling my gaze back to his.

“Jasmine, I only want what’s best for you.”

Sawdust and fresh sap filters into my mind as I remember my Mom teaching me to make things out of the tiny trees that grew on Oreius - too small to be profitable, but large enough to keep your hands busy in the winter months. Any failures of carpentry could just be tossed into the fire after all.

When was the last time I made something? I was the CEO of Wrighttech, a massive technological powerhouse in the nearest three systems - but I left all the actual making to the design teams. Left the assembly to the drones.

“...Let me make something.”

If he’s going to destroy me, then let me make something that will survive beyond me.

Even if it’s only a trinket. Some silly little wooden novelty that serves no actual purpose beyond looking nice.

I can’t help but dryly laugh. It’d be just like what he wants to make me into then.

He grins, those sharp teeth unsettling me as he nods. “With pleasure, my darling. What do you want to make? Little robots like your company used to make?”

He so dismissively refers to my life’s work - to the company I took from my Father and turned from a small business to a massive corporate empire.

I can’t find it in myself to disagree though. It wasn’t anything of real value. I had so many competitors that made better things, that made helpful things that I just strong armed out the market and destroyed.

No, not metal.

“Wood. You’re post scarcity right? So let me make something out of wood. Proper wood. Big fucking planks. Not tiny sticks.”

He nods, pulling back.

“Alright, but not unsupervised. I don’t want you hurting yourself.”

I shrug, taking the tiny victory with a weak smile.

There! Is it so bad to work with him, Sister?

Yes, Pearl. Don't paint over what he's done to me - to us. No sense in denying myself any happiness though. I may as well try to squeeze some joy out of this before he removes me and just cherishes you in my place.

Chapter Text

I look around the room he brought me too, the plain off-white concrete floor, walls, and ceiling. The only feature being a single pedestal with a compiler atop it.

Allamore brought me here, but left as he said he needed to make sure the others were okay. So I just had to wait for presumably Lilian to show up.

I glance down at my outfit, regrettably far more comfortable in the style he picked out for me than I want to be. Blue jeans, and a dark red long-sleeved t-shirt with a faint plaid pattern. The black flats he’d picked out for me were also annoyingly comfortable, and as I idly hug my arms against my chest I try not to think about how he’s managed to make me look so much more me than I’d managed alone. No makeup, no fancy heels or short skirts. Just… A nice casual, practical outfit. With his help, I’ve tied my hair up in a loose bun to keep it from bugging me as I work on the wood, and with a better look at my new face I saw a light scattering of freckles over my nose and cheeks - like seeds scattered over fresh soil.

I hate that I like the way I look like this. Granted the curves were still more than I could accept, but my face still had a few features I liked. Small genetic reminders of my Mom’s face when she was younger. Back before she-

Thankfully I’m not left waiting too long in this large blank room as Lilian’s immense feminine form strides in through the door with a smile. She’s carrying a small cherry red toolbox under one arm as she immediately walks up to me and hooks a vine under my chin, pulling my gaze up to meet hers.

“Another flower begins to bloom… You look radiant , my pet.” She smiles, and I can feel pride radiating off her as she pats me briefly on the head. “Brother has informed me of your wishes, and we both felt this room would be somewhere you could claim. Just down the hall from your private bedroom, and with just as much bubbling potential as you have.”

“Does this giant house have a lot of empty rooms?” I plant a hand on my hip, staring up at her with what I hope is a suitably withering look.

“Less than you might think, but enough for you to stake your claim upon. This one will serve marvellously as a carpentry workshop I think.” She steps past me, leans over the compiler and with a few quick beeps and clicks I hear the soft whirring from the compiler diminish. “There we go! Raw material mode. The only things you’ll be able to compile within this room is unprocessed wood.”

“Wh-What? Isn’t that really stupid? Where’s the workbench? The tools? I don’t even have a fucking stool to work on things at.” I step close to her and the now weakened compiler. “I thought the whole appeal of this place was being able to make anything appear from those machines pre-made.”

“Yet, you have a yearning to create, yes? What better way than to build your workshop yourself? Any non-wood components will be accessible, but anything that could be constructed from wood will be inaccessible. Now, take this.” She hands over the toolbox, moving it with such effortless ease that I wince as I take it and suddenly feel the immense weight of it.

“F-Fuck… You could’ve let me keep my damn muscle mass from before when you gave me this body.” I drop onto a knee, placing the toolbox down as I ready myself to open it up.

“Oh, we did Petal. You are, if anything, more physically capable now than when we found you.”

Lol, weakling.

Oh hush, Pearl.

“Whatever, so I take it you’re here to make sure I don’t like… Do something stupid with the tools in here?” I glance down and smile as I see some familiar tools. Rasps, saws, files, planes, all kinds of material for not just whittling small pieces of wood like I knew, but also for more substantial projects.

“Yes, Petal. However, once you prove that you can use these tools safely and responsibly, I'll unlock the door so you can come here anytime you like to work on projects. For your first project I would recommend a workbench. That way you have a solid foundation to work upon.” As if to punctuate her point, she quickly eyes me up and places a vine at just about waist height. “Probably this height, with legs starting here? Or perhaps a low workbench at first so you aren’t working too long on the first project…” She hums to herself, and I shrug.

“Maybe later. For now, I wanna start smaller. My Ma- Mom taught me how to make little things with the treelings on our farm and… There we go!” I pluck out a small knife from the box, while it looks more high tech than I’m used to it’s got a sturdy handle and a sharp blade. Though this one has an odd mechanism that I find myself staring at, trying to puzzle out.

“Ah, I see you’ve noticed the safety mechanism.” Lilian plucks the knife from my hand “Given this is a tool, it seems reckless not to have one. The blade has a heat sensor inside that will retract it if it comes into contact with flesh - see?” She presses it against one of her vines and a soft click rings out before she reveals that her vine has the tiniest of scratches. “It would be difficult to harm yourself with it - but I never put such things past the ability of terrans. You all seem to chase headfirst into danger with the reckless disregard of a Xachi on their End Pilgrimage.” 

“Hm, well I appreciate the concern. Wouldn’t want me hurting myself when that seems to be the purview of yourself and Allamore.” I dryly laugh, earning a raised eyebrow from Lilian.

“Hah, cute. You think anything we’ve done counts as true harm? What we are doing is akin to a body fighting off a virus, raising the temperature to burn it out.” She leans down, vine softly caressing my cheek and causing it to flush. “See? Already your body is becoming so much more honest petal.”

I just glare at her, taking my knife back and walking to the compiler. “Soft wood block, 2in by 2in and 12inches tall.” There’s a soft hum as the wood apparates into existence, and I grab it before turning it over slowly in my hands as I try to consider what to start carving.

“Anything you’d require to be more comfortable Petal? I can let you sit in my lap if you’d like?” She moves up close to me, vines tracing over my neck and making me shudder.

“Do I have a choice?” I glance up at her head that’s leaning over the top of me, and she chuckles.

“Of course, Petal. You can choose to be uncomfortable for no reason other than spite - or you can be the ‘bigger sophont’ and allow me to help you like I have always wanted to.” She smiles, and I give her a weary sigh and nod of acceptance.

With that, she bundles me up in her arms and pulls me into a soft cuddle - one that is annoyingly comfortable. “Isn’t this better, Jasmine? If you stop fighting us on the small things you’ll find your new life to be very pleasant. Now, what is it you’re going to make today? I’m curious what my little firecracker wishes to create.”

“A dog, big floppy ears and shaggy fur. My Mom taught me to make it, based on a dog owned by family friends. This big lumbering goofball of a dog that was just… Really sweet. I love dogs.” I can’t help but smile, remembering the fluffy idiot and his habit of excitedly dashing about and crashing into walls.

I place the edge of the knife against the wood, digging into the material and beginning the long and meditative process of whittling away at the block to start shaping it into the beginnings of a canine form.

As more and more wood shavings curl back and off the block I find myself remembering when my Mom started teaching me.

“C’mon Jackie! Lets see ya heft those trees back home - I know you’re strong enough!”

“I am Ma, I am! They’s just kinda… weird to carry! Too long!” I heave the long slender trunks of the trees she and I had removed earlier in the day to make more room for crops, and Ma laughs as she walks back to me

“If y’needed help ya shoulda said! Ain’t no-one gonna know you need help if ya don’t tell ‘em!” She gives me a warm smile, scoopin’ up the back half of the bundle of thin logs and helping me lug them back to our home. “Now, ‘member what I said about all this y’hear? Y’r Father’s not gonna take too kindly to you ‘wasting y’r time’ on this stuff - so keep it between us sweetheart.”

“Oh, of course! I mean, it ain’t like he ‘n’ I talk much anyways. I mean sometimes it feels like he don’t even see me as worth talking to y’know?” I shrug, it’s a situation I’ve long since come to terms with. Besides, I’ve got Ma. I don’t need Father t’ talk to.

“Aww, y’know he loves you sweetheart - he jus’ has a funny way of showin’ it sometimes.” She leans forward, ruffling my short sun bleached hair. I give her a shrug and a noncommittal sound in response. Maybe it’s true, Father’s always been bad with his emotions.

“Now, don’ go cuttin’ down any other trees for this, okay? No sense in takin’ more than you need. This here’ll last ya a while - even if y’make a lotta mistakes. Which there ain’t no shame in doin’. Y’r a kid, honey - gotta learn somehow.” I can feel her smile in her words, and I smile too.

This was, after all, so long ago. Before all that bullshit Father filled my head with. 

We make it back home, and the two of us sit cross-legged on the carpet as my Ma demonstrates how to de-bark the logs we had. They’re thin, small enough that even as a kid I could just about fit my hand around its circumference.

After that, we took the small wood axe we had and use it to chop the logs into roughly footlong segments, piling them up in a haphazard pyramid before we each take one and Ma hands me her spare pocket knife.

“Now, this thing’s dangerous, okay son? Y’gotta make sure y’re careful with it. It’s sharp as all hell, and that’s so it don’t get caught on the wood - only issue is with it bein’ so sharp y’r liable to hurt yourself somethin’ fierce if y’don’t watch the edge. So never cut t’ward y’rself. Always cut away. An’ keep y’r fingers on the bottom of the wood.

I get into the rhythm, gently shearing off layer after layer of wood, the cutting motion flicking the stray shavings off away from me - just like she taught. I smile as I see the start of a curve, and the large segments of flat surface reminds me of his hammered-metal eyes. 

Heh, see! You don’t totally hate him!

I can’t bring myself to totally disagree. He’d be great company if he weren’t so horrifyingly detached from morality.

“There ya go! Keep cuttin’ just like that, y’ve gotta focus on the broad strokes first - ain’t no way to un-cut the wood, so be gentle, only slice when y’re sure it has to go. Oh - and caref-”

The knife sticks, and before I can push harder to force it through, Ma grabs it from me. 

“Yeah, see - this here’s happened ‘cause you went against the grain - see them lines? You gotta carve with ‘em sweetie. Ain’t no problem though, y’just gotta-” She slowly pries the knife back, then adjusts the angle and slices cleanly through the segment I’d cut. “See? Just like that.” She hands them both back, and I nod along as I take in the lesson.

“Hey Ma?” I ask, slicing away in shaky, uncertain cuts as I consider things.

“Yeah, sweetheart?” She smiles, looking across at me.

“Why do we work the field all day while Father goes off to the city? Ain’t he gonna help with the field too?”

I stare down at the half formed sculpture, the loosest outlines of ears and a tail atop the bulk of a body and head. 

Best to leave the memories behind. That one doesn’t end too well. Sure as a child I might’ve missed certain things, little warning signs of how things would end up, but looking back those red flags stuck out so painfully.

“It’s looking good, petal. Do you want to bring it along and keep working on it while I check in on Rose and Chamomile?”

I wince a little at the reminder of those two - the prime examples of what I never want to become under the whims of my deranged plant owners. Still, I can’t hold it against them for what they’ve been morphed into.

“...Sure.” 

She scoops me up, keeping me remarkably stable. “Don’t worry about the shavings - those will get cleaned up overnight, Petal. Keep working, I’ll keep you steady.”

I sigh with annoyance at how difficult it was becoming to hate her too. 

Aww, such a Tsundere~

What the fuck does that even mean?

I roll my eyes, disregarding my nonsensical headmate as I return to carving the dog into wood. I’d managed so far to get the loose outline - now it was just a matter of slowing down and working out the finer details - like carving the mouth, the nose, indenting the eyes into the wood and beginning on the texture of the fur. 

I feel my tongue sticking out the corner of my mouth - a sign of focus I haven’t done in so long that it momentarily distracts me as I realise just how fun it is to do this. Not making something for money, or for renown - just carving a little wooden puppy because I like it.

“Hmm, you know that’s reminding me of one of my Friend’s florets - perhaps I should introduce the two of you sometime? She’s terran, heavily biomodded to be a lovely fluffy dog though. She gives such eager cuddles.” Lilian reaches a vine out, softly patting the wooden dog on the head.

“Huh? Oh, well… Sure? I wasn’t aware I’d be allowed visitation rights in this prison .” I laugh dryly, rolling my eyes as I feel Lilian sigh. 

“If you behave, then there is nothing I will disallow you from doing, Petal. Even, before you ask, becoming a man once more if you truly want it. Though Allamore informs me you’ve relented on that particular matter.” She chuckles, and I wonder if I should have perhaps whittled a shiv first to stop this incessant gender shit from my captors.

“I’ve not said I’m a woman, because I am not. So don’t go cheering and clapping like you’ve won some great victory over me. I’d rather be one of those weirdos that isn’t either than a woman.” I shrug, and Lilian surprisingly doesn’t immediately chastise me for calling them weird.

“Hmm… Is that so? Well, they’re not weirdos darling - and if that is the path that you ultimately end up taking then so be it. I do not want you labouring under the misapprehension that I foresee only one rigid path for you to follow.” Lilian softly pets me on the head, “If you stop fighting so hard, I won’t have to pull the leash taut. I prefer to show my soft side to my florets dear, but not if you insist on clinging so hard to things that hurt you. You’re so very sweet like this you know? Happily carving away at the wood and making something. It suits you.”

I bristle, but eventually relax. “Fine - just quit doing things that hurt me then. You and him aren’t idiots - you know that shit is wrong. You’re just justifying it with nonsense.”

She just shrugs, carrying me in her vines into a wide floral-scented room that looks for all the world like a storybook princess’s room - bright white walls with gold patterning, a polished wood floor that almost glimmers with how clear the reflection in it is.

“Darlings! I’ve brought your sister along - though she’ll likely just focus on her woodcarving. I hope you’re both having a splendid day!” 

I see Rose, and I’m hit with a conflicting mess of emotions - trepidation at interacting with her, knowing what he’s done to her; excitement at the thought of my last memory with her before breakfast; and pity at how it seems this over-serious woman’s been roped into an imaginary tea party with Chamomile and her plushie brigade.

“Mama!” Shouts Chamomile, “Me an’ big sis Rosie were playin’ tea party! Also hiya new sister! I’m Cammy!”

I chuckle, rolling my eyes. “We’ve met - I’m Jasmine, remember?”

“Oh yeah! Jazzy! Hiya Jazzy! Wanna play with us?” She looks up at me hopefully, and my eyes dart to Rose. Am I going to be forced to take part?

“Not just now, darling. Jasmine has had a tough few days and she wants to work on a little project of hers.” Lilian pats me on the head and takes up a seat by the table, fending off Chamomile with a soft smile and softer words.

“Oh, okie! That’s cool, whatcha making?” She cranes her neck to get a look, and I proudly display the dog sculpture to her. “Ooh! Puppy! So cute!” She giggles, making grabby hands as Rose wraps an arm around her shoulder. 

“Now now princess, let’s not stop her from finishing it. I’m sure sister Jazzy will happily make you one later if you want. Right?” Rose shoots me a glance, and I nod as I give the regressed little princess a smile.

“Of course, they’re super easy! I’m sure I could teach you too if you want?”

I feel an odd warmth, one I haven’t felt in a long time. It’s weird, but I always wanted a sister.

In a weirder way, I guess I have six of them now? 

Chapter Text

She’s carving a dog. A cute little brown haired fluffy companion, something so loveable and excitable that one couldn’t help but grow warm to it over time.

Is she aware? Does she know that her ex-wife is the very thing she was currently sculpting? I’d seen her in passing a few times at the board games meetups that Matcha dragged me to, the ones that without fail descended into unrestrained hedonism before I could get a good game of ‘Astra Militarum - Domestication Campaign Expansion’ running. I swear, it was as if no one but myself and the oddly eager Private Scott were the only ones interested in a game of grand strategy.

In any case, Brigid - or ‘Bree’ as she tended to eagerly introduce herself as, is a bonafide dog woman now. Or puppygirl? She’s just so exceptionally innocent and joyful that it was hard to remember she’s older than me sometimes. Well, innocent-seeming at least. That dog’s got a hell of a lot of eager stamina for not so innocent things, from what I’ve seen.

My point being, is this some subconscious sign of her missing an old flame? 

I’ve decided, I’m going to find out.

Once the tea party is over and Jasmine looks up from her fixated carving to see Miss LeBeau carrying Chamomile out of the room, I catch her attention.

“Hey, want to join me in the garden? You seem to be a more hands-on sort than I expected, and we have a rose garden that needs tending.”

She eagerly accepts, the prospect of not only going outside but also gardening seemed to make her explode out of the gloomy shell she often hid within.

So I take her through the halls - though not without mentioning my plans to our owners first via my tablet - and lead her into the garden.

“Oh my stars, I haven’t seen the sun in so long… This really is just too nice. It’s like, the perfect temperature too! Not too windy, but with a pleasant breeze. I bet the ‘ffini have some weird ass weather machine doing this.” She laughs, placing her carving in progress down on the garden table along with the knife and planting a hand on her hip.

“So, what is it you need help with? Pruning, weeding, fertilizing? I mostly worked with food crops, but I bet I can get a handle on Rose maintenance with a bit of help.” She smiles, and for a second I realise it’s probably the first genuine smile I’ve seen from her.

“Huh, you’re enjoying yourself. That’s lovely to see, Jasmine.” I smile, and she shyly loses the smile.

“Well uh… Just making the best of a terrible situation I guess.” She shrugs, and I curse myself for ruining the moment for her by pointing it out.

“Sorry, so… I couldn’t help but notice the carving. Cute dog, is she based on any dog you know in particular?” I gesture to it as I grab the tools for tending to the garden from the small wooden shed at the base of the stone terrace that often held garden parties with the LeBeau’s friends and our respective pinnates.

“Oh, him? Yeah - family friends had a dog way back on the farm I grew up on. Lovely beast. I always used to keep him company when my parents took me over for dinner. The McDroses didn’t have any kids, see, so I had to entertain myself.” She smiles at the memory, but after a moment it turns to a frown. “Pity he ended up getting lost. I always assumed one of the other farms stole him for food in the winter months. Things got tough on Orieus. Real tough. I don’t blame whoever decided they needed to do that. Damn though, I really missed him.” She sighs, and I reach out to offer her a supportive hand.

To my surprise, she pulls me into a hug. “Hey Rose? I… I’m sorry. I think I’ve taken some of my frustration with the LeBeaus out on you and the others. It’s not fair on any of you, and I’ve honestly been a real ass.”

I freeze up, and after a moment wrap my arms around her, stroking a hand through her straight blonde hair. “It’s okay Jasmine, honestly I think we were far worse to you than the reverse… You were put in a really stressful situation - that warranted a grace we never gave you.”

“Shucks, don’t go one-uppin’ my apology like that! I really agonised over that shit!” She giggles, and I find myself beaming. There she is . A truer side of Jasmine than I think she’s shown anyone in a long time.

“Well, don’t worry - we’re sisters. That’s all water under the bridge okay? If I couldn’t forgive you a little gruffness then what good would I be doing as your big sis?”

“ Big sis? Now hold on, how old even are you? I’m old as hell!” She laughs, rolling her eyes at me.

“Hah, I’m not telling - but I am meaning ‘big sis’ in a more senior, experienced way. I had to do all the stuff you’ll end up getting help with on my own. See this makeup? I was a damn mess for ages before I finally learned the skills needed to look this good. Lucky for me I never had to learn how to match my eyeshadow and make it symmetrical. You however will be receiving hands-on instruction from like… Probably at least three of us.”

“Eh, I’m not a makeup person. Though Pearl’s eager to learn.”

“Pearl?” I narrow my eye. Is she like Lap and Sou? Gosh, poor thing must have really been struggling before Lilian found her.

“Oh, uh, yeah I apparently have a whole ass extra person in my head. Pearl. She’s way more comfortable with the whole gender thing, and seems head over heels for Allamore. Today’s been… eventful. So thanks for asking me to help with the garden. I think this’ll really help me to destress and process things a bit.”

“Jeez, you really have been having an eventful few days… Hey, forget about the gardening for a second. What do you want to do? Like, all thoughts of what our owners might think aside. Let’s say I could get us the ability to do basically whatever you want. What is it?” I cross my arms, fixing her with a smile. “C’mon, tell me.”

“Oh, uh… Honestly? I’d quite like to help with the roses.” She laughs, “Helping on the farm was always a time my Ma and I would bond and chat for hours on end. It’s got a lotta positive memories associated with it. Truth be told, I’ve kinda missed it, and I think I need a good simple afternoon doing something productive to distract me from the fact that I’m probably a few days off being completely brainwashed and erased as a person for being so… Resistant. Hell, I need distracting from the fact that you are probably being routinely abused and injured for his pleasure and-” She stops, her breathing already growing ragged and laboured. “I-I uh… Fuck… S-Sorry…”

I pull her into a hug, holding her tight. “Hey, hey… It’s okay Jasmine. I promise you I am not being abused. In fact, to be quite honest if you’re referring to the scarring, Allamore’s doing that purely for my pleasure. I doubt the idea would even occur to him if I hadn’t suggested it.”

“Well… How do I know you’re telling the truth? What if he’s brainwashed you like he did with Chamomile? He turned her into a damn child!” She shakes, the stress of everything that’s happened to her in the last few days is clearly getting to her. Honestly, it would be a mercy if Allamore was the type to hypnotise his florets like that. Then she wouldn’t be worried like this. Still, he must think it necessary.

“I don’t think there is a way for me to guarantee I’m telling the truth here. However, you should know that Chamomile’s state was… Well… She was like that before Allamore got to her. We’ve been trying to help her heal through it, but some folks live a more regressed life. If it lets her be happy, then so be it.” I pull back from the hug, tilting Jasmine’s chin up to look at me. “I wouldn’t let Allamore do anything to harm her, you know? If I weren’t entirely certain it was for her own good I’d’ve taken a stake to his core a long time ago.”

She tilts her head, staring into my eye, and before I know what’s happening she leans in and kisses me.

I freeze up again, unsure of whether this is some desperate anxiety-prompted impulse or if she needs someone to be here with her physically at this moment.

She breaks away from the kiss, blushing as she looks away. “S-Sorry… That was… I don’t know…”

“Hey, Jasmine. Don’t worry about it. Just… Let me know what you’re thinking - tell me what prompted that. It’s totally fine. I just need to make sure you don’t regret it, y’know?”

“I uh… I don’t know. I just… You’re nice to me, even knowing what I am. Nicer than I think anyone’s been to me in a long time, and I just… I needed to know there was still someone in there, and that was the best way to feel something from you, y’know? Some confirmation that you’re not just a puppet for Allamore’s amusement.” She averts her eyes, and I can’t help but laugh.

“So you decided the best way to do that was kiss me? Did it work?” I smirk, and she darts her eyes back to me.

“Uh… Well…” She stammers, and I immediately know how to set her mind at ease. She does need a distraction, but I think a different kind of hoeing from the garden sort is in order.

“Hm, perhaps we need a repeat to make sure.” I grin, pulling her into another kiss, a proper one this time, and wrapping my arm around her waist. “Though honestly… I wasn’t aware my little sister was so lewd! Have thoughts of that little interaction we had yesterday been sticking in your mind?”

She lets out a soft eep of surprise, looking up into my eye. “O-Okay, I believe you now! You’re not brainwashed or whatever… You uhm… You can stop.”

“Oh? And if I don’t?” I smirk, “After all, what if he’s just using me to placate you with empty flirting? Maybe I need to take this a little further to convince you I’m doing this because I want to? What do you think?”

“Jeez, this is so weird… I-I shouldn’t be in this position…”

“Why? Because a man doesn’t let himself be pursued? Tell me honestly, Jasmine, are you a man?”

“W-Well… Okay, no but-”

“Then let me take the lead. Try it out for once, and see if you like it. If you don’t, then we can stop. How does that sound?” I cup her cheek in my hand, and I can see the conflict in her eyes, that back-and-forth wavering as she tries to weigh up the pros and cons. It’s so cute seeing her genuinely considering things rather than just shutting them down unilaterally.

“I uh… F-Fine. Okay! Just…” She squirms as I push her back against the table atop the terrace.

“Be gentle?” I smirk, and she blushes and looks away

“Well… I mean…” I can see her biting her lip. Stars above, how she ever thought she’d made a good man when there was something this beautiful hiding within her is beyond me.

“Ohh, do you not want gentle? Because as I’m sure you’re aware I’m perfectly well versed in being rough~” I reach a hand up to my mouth, biting the middle finger of my glove and tugging it free off of my hand as I reach forward and use my now bare scarred hand to turn her back to me.

Her face is pale, other than her bright red cheeks, looking for all the world like a deer in the headlights.

“I don’t know , Rose… I’ve never really been in this position before…” She nibbles her lip, brows furrowed in just the most adorable look of contemplation.

“Well, we can always start small. I don’t want to drop you into the deep end with no warning.” I shrug, placing my thumb against her lip. “Let’s start here, shall we?” I lean in again, kissing her and taking a more forceful approach. I slide my leg between hers, making her spread them as I push past her lips and slip my tongue into her mouth. She gasps, moaning softly as her hands flail at her sides, and I can feel myself grinning as I keep us locked together.

Eventually, I break away and leave her panting and gasping for air as she looks up at me with such pleading eyes.

“R-Rose… I-I-” She begins, and I place my thumb back over her lips.

“Shhh, it’s okay Jasmine, I’m here for you. I know this is intense, but I also know you’re loving it, right?”

She flusters, her mouth hanging open but her words dying on her rosy lips. After letting her flounder for a few moments, I just smirk. “It’s okay Jas, let me show you the bright sides of your new body.” I move my hand down from her face to her neck, then down to cup one of her breasts. “For example, these should be wonderfully-” I squeeze gently and get interrupted by her choked gasp of arousal. “-sensitive~”

“I-I shouldn’t-”

“Shhh, don’t you worry about what you should or shouldn’t be feeling. Just let yourself feel it.” I grin, pulling my hand back and tracing a finger in slowly to her nipple, flicking lightly over it and earning another gasp. I slowly rub my thumb in tight circles, and as she throws her head back with an indulgent moan I dive in and bite down on her neck.

She shudders, freezing up as my teeth press just hard enough to leave a mark, and I can feel her heart hammering away through the veins beneath my tongue. I suck in, pulling away and admiring the flushed hickie I left as she seems utterly lost to the sensations.

“How was that, Sweetheart?” I grin, and her eyes slowly focus on me. With a fevered intensity she lurches forward and pulls me into a kiss, biting down on my bottom lip and making me groan as she grinds herself against my leg.

“Rose… I…” She mutters as she breaks the kiss. “How can I trust this?” 

I just grin, resting my forehead against hers. “Jasmine, if the deception is this sweet… Do you really want reality? I promise you, you’ll be happy.” 

She hesitates, eyes burning with tears as she looks at me. “I… I don’t want to disappear.”

“You won’t.” I lean back, staring into her eyes with all the sincerity I can muster.

“But… I’m so… What if they prefer Pearl? Prefer me to be some giggly Daddy’s girl?” She sighs, “What if they decide it’s best for ‘us’ if ‘me’ isn’t a part of things?”

I feel a twinge in my chest. Poor girl’s never had anyone really love her in so long huh? Couldn’t picture someone keeping her around even if she’s flawed. I know what she needs now. Just someone on her side, someone who’ll let her know she’s not alone.

“Then they’ll have to go through me, Jasmine. I don’t know Pearl, but I know you, and I won’t let you go. You’re so willing to try , to be better that I can’t tolerate the thought of not letting you work toward that betterness.”

My mind returns to the last woman I gave a promise to help. This wouldn’t be like that. I’d keep her safe. Properly safe.

She looks up at me, searching my eye for some spark - some clue that I really do mean this, and I smile. 

After a moment, she smiles back. 

“I… I’m a real mess, you know. You really wanna put yourself on my side here? Like… You don’t have to do this…” She stares into my eye, trying to read me. 

“I do, Jas. I can’t just leave someone who genuinely wants to be better. I can’t stop myself from helping. Especially if you’re asking me with those big, beautiful green eyes.”

She blushes, “I-I’m not beautiful.”

“Oh, I assure you, you are. Now, I was going to keep going with our little exploration of your body, but I sense you might need a break.” I smirk, she’d not only soaked through her trousers - but mine too. 

“A-Ah… Yeah… Maybe…”

“Alright, then let's go work on those Roses shall we? I think burning off some energy might be good for you.” I offer her my ungloved hand, and she takes it with her own. Squeezing softly, I give her a reassuring smile. “I promise you, this whole situation isn’t as bad as your mind is making it. You’ve gotten over some of the worst of the hurdles from what I can see. Now you just need to get over yourself. Stop getting in your own way, Jas. Okay?”

“I’ll try. Just… Can you help? The others are nice, but…”

“You’ve got a crush on me and not them?” I smirk, and she eeps in response.

“M-Maybe… I’ve never really met a woman like you.”

“Thanks, now get your cute little ass over here. We’ve got a garden to tend to.”

I pull her by the hand toward the rose bushes, because she seemed so damn excited to garden, and I want to give her a good afternoon. Maybe I can even ease her up enough that Allamore doesn’t immediately spoil her mood later.