************************************************** "AVERY-WERE" an erotic comic of transformation and travel by Tiliquain ************************************************** WARNING: This text is for readers 18 years and older! It includes sexual themes and obscene language! It is a brainstorming document for an erotic furry comic, after all! Don't read if you're not OK with that! ************************************************** Hi! Tiliquain here! On my Patreon, and later on FA and elsewhere, I'm gonna be posting a TF comic called Avery-Were. It's about a human named Avery who becomes a were-everything. She goes into heat and transforms into an anthro every month, and never knows what species or sex she's going to be. There will be lots of sex and TF. But also lots of story! I am a nut for world-building, and it's really gonna show here. ************************************************** This is a document full of world-building and storyline ideas for the comic. Spoilers, more or less. I have struggled with the question of whether to make this document public before I even start posting pages of the comic. But I have decided to do this, because: - I am hoping, dreaming, that the comic might be successful enough to become a secondary job for me. Maybe even (dare I hope) my primary job, someday. - If my dreams come true, that will mean a lot of people will be following it. - If a lot of people are following it, many of them will be commenting on what might happen next. - If there are enough comments like that, some of them might even guess correctly. - And I have heard horror stories from other authors about this. - Sometimes, readers offer speculation about what happens next, or offer advice on what to do next... and their ideas happen to match what was actually about to occur in the story. - And then, sometimes, they accuse the author of stealing their ideas. - So. To forestall that happening, I am posting my ideas publicly as soon as I have them. - This is a Google document, so you can see exactly when it was posted. There will be multiple versions of it posted over time. So if you're looking for the timing of a particular idea, you can find which version that idea was first included in. - I'm certainly not going to claim that I'm the first person ever to have my ideas. But I never knowingly use ideas that I don't consider original. Even if I use an old trope, I do my very best to use it in a new way. - And I hope this will serve as satisfactory evidence of when I came up with each idea I use. ************************************************** "Aren't you afraid that people will steal your ideas if you post them publicly before you do the comic?" No, for two reasons: 1. Theft of ideas is not nearly as common as the accusation of it. So I'm more afraid that people will accuse me of stealing their ideas. 2. And, anyway, this document provides evidence to defend me in both those cases. "Don't you feel bad about giving out spoilers like this?" No, for three reasons: 1. The enjoyment of a comic is a lot more than just the storyline. 2. The storyline of the comic won't even necessarily follow what I post here. These are just ideas I've had. Whether I end up using them is unknown, right up until I post the finished pages. 3. If you still don't want to see them-- then you're free to choose not to read this document. ************************************************** So, without further ado, here it is. The World-Building of Avery-Were. ************************************************** Main Character ************************************************** Name: - Avery Full name: - Avery Alice Worthington Species: - Human, originally. But now it varies by the month. She's a were-everything. - Also an Utheveger, although she's still trying to figure out what that exactly means. Age: - 29, when This All Started. Afterwards... well, her body doesn't seem to age anymore, so she stopped counting. Continues to give her age as 29. Birthday: - June 6. She remembers the date, but it means nothing in this new universe, so, fat lot of good that does. She counts time mainly by her monthly transformations, since she finds it pretty easy to remember how many animals she's been. Birthplace: - Chicago, Illinois, USA, North America, Earth, Universe Semta-Jalfo (by the Utheveger naming system). - It's a universe pretty similar to ours. But very very different from the one she has suddenly ended up in. Education: - Bachelor of arts at a mediocre Midwestern college. Only parts she really hung onto were languages and literature, plus a random grab bag of obscure facts from other fields that she remembers only because she made puns on them. Skills: - Really good at puns... in English... which most people don't even speak in this universe... and those who do mostly lack the cultural references she likes to pun on. Not so useful here. - Good at writing funny rhyming verse, also in English. Wrote lyrics for a band for a few years. Plays drums okay. Also, weirdly good at paper crafts like snowflakes and origami. Personality: - Snarky and funny but just generally Does Not Give a Shit. Far more likely to joke about any situation than have an actual reaction to it. Curious and sometimes nosy but does not deeply care what she finds out-- just likes finding out SOMETHING. - Readily swears and makes dirty jokes; has always been known for her dirty mind. Nevertheless, was a virgin before All This Happened, largely because she's just not into humans that way. Before all this, had casual friends but was not close to anyone. - Really didn't mind being dropped into a foreign universe, or being transformed into a different creature every month. Finds it mostly quite fun, though parts of it are embarrassing. - However, she is very invested in finding out the why and how of it. It seems like she's part of some weird huge plan. Not understanding that plan? It really bugs her. Taste in entertainment: - Fiction. Especially sci-fi and fantasy and comedy, and mixtures thereof. Real-life humans are somewhere between boring and annoying to her, but she does find it amusing to imagine how they'd act in various weird situations. - And her favorite fiction involves few or no humans. - She's got a particular taste for a certain series of erotic novels about dragons. Her bedroom is full of them. When she came through the portal onto Keyea Island on Planet Tawsmir in Universe Melmel-melmel, a few of those books fell through with her. They're the only things she has left from her old life. - She is PISSED that the ones that fell through are volumes 2, 3, 5 and 7. What fucking kind of matched set is that? But it's her fault for storing her books in messy stacks, and having wild dragon sex in among them. Orientation: - Eh. Whatever. She doesn't usually care that much about human sex, except as a topic for bad jokes. When horny, she gets off to written sex scenes involving aliens or fantasy creatures, especially dragons. Their gender doesn't matter much to her. - And when in heat, she'll take whatever the fuck she can get-- male, female or other. - Her view of her own gender is also "eh, whatever." It doesn't really bother her at all to have her naughty bits switched around from time to time. Only part she finds unsettling is the way it happens, and how out of her control it is. - Despite her usual propensity for joking about everything, she tries to avoid talking at all about her... mating cycle. - She's not used to losing control of herself, either physically or emotionally. Because she's so used to Not Giving a Shit. Her feelings about any situation aren't usually strong enough to overwhelm her decision-making. - And it's uncomfortable for her that this changes when she's in heat. - The topic both embarrasses her and turns her on, and she's not sure how to deal with that. Recent experience: - Stocked shelves in a bookstore. - Was interrupted while doing this, by a cloaked stranger who pushed her through a magic portal... into a hidden room in a nearby building, where a mysterious ceremony was taking place. - Accidentally knocked someone else out of the way as she tumbled through, taking a magic hit that was not intended for her. - As a result of the spell that hit her, developed unidentified markings on her body. - Escaped and returned to her everyday life... but soon found that the tattoos carried a spell that controls her monthly cycle. - Went into heat. In desperation, went to a bar looking for sex. Met a mysterious woman who immediately took her home. - In heat, transformed into a humanoid dragon. Was serviced happily by her mysterious date-- who did not seem surprised at all, and afterwards, used Avery's cryptic arm tattoos to make a portal and send her into a completely different universe. Current project: - Trying to figure out life in this new universe... learn why this all happened... and figure out how to control whatever weird traveling power she seems to have now. - Also, evading some secretive enemies who seem to be hunting her? Great. Physical condition: - Extremely healthy. Injuries and illnesses tend to heal with the next transformation. - However, she's now got a sort of... anomalous monthly hormone cycle. - Approximately every 28 Earth days (or about 20 Tawsmir days), at the time when any sensible human lady would just be ovulating, Avery is overcome by both a mating drive and a were-creature transformation. - (Seems to follow the cycle of the moon, at least on Tawsmir. As with traditional were-creatures, full moon is TF time.) - The form she takes is different each time, varying in both species and sex. But it tends to be at least generally humanoid instead of a four-legged animal. - She's able to travel magically between universes, but only right after this point in the cycle. And only if she's relaxed enough to open her mind to it. Which does require her to be sexually satisfied. - About half a month later, at the other end of the cycle, she returns to human form and stays that way until her next heat. - Her new human form, however, has some physical differences from her old one: vestiges left from her first transformation. They come back each time she becomes human again. - So far, she hasn't accumulated any traits from other animal forms she has taken. Only her first one, the dragon. Appearance: - Height: 5'6". Weight: 190 lbs. - Dark, short hair, which is present in every form. - In human form her body is fully female, both before and after This All Started-- although her chin, jaw and eyebrows are a bit large, and her posture and demeanor often come across as masculine. - She's curvy but also pretty well-muscled underneath the soft layer; her weight takes up less space than one might expect. - Medium size breasts, on the small end of C. - Small turned-up nose. - Eyes were brown Before This All Started. Now, dark blue with slit pupils. Permanent features also now include: - green skin on hands and feet - sharp blue claws on all fingers and toes - long, mobile, fanned green ears with dark blue webs - moderately pointed upper canine teeth - a row of 6 short blue head spikes - a 2-foot green reptilian tail with a row of 4 more short blue spikes at the base - These are always present when in human form, but all bets are off when transformed. Only things that remain in every form are her head hair and her tattoos. - The tattoos are visible as a pattern on whatever covering she has, whether it's skin, scales, fur or feathers, and they retain the same appearance even as the fur or feathers shift. - They are simple bands around the lower legs, lower arms and neck, decorated with what appear to be infinity symbols. Tattoos and universe-traveling spell: - After transformation (if her heat is sufficiently satisfied) the tattoos on one arm will change. They separate into four bracelet-like rows of tiny circles, two on the forearm and two on the upper arm, with a diamond shape between them, located on the inside of the elbow. - Rubbing a finger against any one of the bracelets will make it scroll like a touchscreen, with the circles closest to the finger being magnified. - Each circle, when magnified, turns out to be decorated with an Uthish symbol. Scrolling through them reveals 60 symbols on each band. All 60 symbols become visible in the course of scrolling, even if the arm is too thin to have room for all 60. - When all four bands are manipulated and then the elbow diamond is touched, a portal opens to a universe determined by the combination of symbols. - It remains open for approximately thirty seconds, in which Avery (and anyone else who is holding her hand) may pass through. Clothing: - Avery used to just wear whatever was cheapest in the thrift store. But she arrived on the island of Keyea with no clothes at all. - When Rho took her in, she bought her an outfit from a local magic tailor. The custom on Keyea, and many places in this universe, is for each person to own only one or two sets of clothing. - Most people learn some basic cleaning and mending spells, which take fairly little energy to perform. So a single outfit can be magically laundered every night, and worn every day, and last a very long time. - Avery chose a simple white woven shirt. It has long, loose sleeves and a neck that's high on the back and sides but low in the front. - She also got a pair of comfortable tan jean-like trousers. And a pair of sunglasses and a wide-brimmed white hat. And thick brown hiking boots, and a sash-like shoulder bag. - She says the planet's too warm and sunny for her liking, and the clothes help her stay cool and not be sunburned and squinting her eyes all the time. - But for the first month she wore them even indoors. Emotional expression - Avery's general attitude of Not Giving a Shit doesn't mean she lacks emotions. - It just means that when she does have an emotion she doesn't know how to handle it very well. - Because Not Giving a Shit is so much easier, and when she finds herself having to give a shit about something, it pisses her off. - Also, her emotions catch her off guard, because they don't really happen at Normal Human Times. - She didn't really mind being dumped into another universe and transformed into a different were-creature every month. Hey, neat! Adventure! - She doesn't mind never seeing anyone from her home world again. Hey, who cares. Didn't give a shit about anyone there anyway. - But when she realized this universe doesn't have Terry Pratchett novels, she fucking LOST IT. - And this unpredictability? It pisses her off too. - So, most of her emotions end up being at least partly anger. The Emotions of Avery: - Happy (When making bad jokes. Or eating candy.) "I'm here to chew gum and kick ass. And I'm all out of ass." (blows bubblegum bubble) - Sad (When thinking about the few things she misses from her home universe) "God fucking dammit I can't go on like this. I might as well die right now, because I give up, I'll never get to taste an orange creamsicle again. Or even an orange creamsicle flavored Tootsie roll. Or orange creamsicle flavored gum-- Of COURSE you don't fucking understand. I am in a literal whole fucking UNIVERSE where nobody understands what I have lost." - Annoyed (When Rho fails to grasp something about things she misses.) "Okay I know you fucking meant well, you brainless dickwaffle, but this fruit salad does NOT fucking taste ANYTHING like an orange creamsicle. It tastes like if a cheese golem jizzed on a pineapple." - Mad (When communication fails. Especially when she thought she was being clear.) "Jesus motherfucking dickballs, poor reading comprehension is the fucking apocalypse for society as we know it. You show people a paragraph that amounts to 'some folks think X, but actually the truth is Y.' And they will fucking skim over 'some folks think' and interpret X as the writer's point. And by the time they get to the next fucking clause, that's so cemented in their dumb little minds that they can't fucking process 'the truth is actually Y.' They either act like they didn't read it at all, or they somehow manage to interpret it as the exact motherfucking opposite. Or they accuse the author of contradicting himself, and then I just wanna shove their goddamn stupid little heads into a fucking garbage disposal where they belong." Afraid (When running from the various groups that want her dead) "I'm not gonna motherfucking die now. I have been a motherfucking honey badger. I cannot fucking die. But let's get the goddamn fuck out of here anyway." Surprised/curious (When learning weird new facts about the new universe she's in) "This is so fucking awesome it's probably gonna kill me somehow." Horny (That Time of the Month) "...Okay let's just fucking get this over with." ************************************************** Second Main Character ************************************************** Name: - Rho Full first name: - Rhotiancotazi. (Avery did not ask about a middle or last name after hearing this.) Species: - Keyea dragon. Birthplace: - South Rivervalley, Island of Keyea, Planet Tawsmir, Universe Melmel-Melmel. Age: - 24 years. (Which is close to 36 in Earth years, and means pretty much what the age 36 would mean to a human. Not old, but old enough that everyone expects her to be a lot more mature than she is.) Education: - Being raised in a dragon village, her first education was in the style of Keyea dragons: very practical and survival-oriented. She learned many simple magic spells for everyday use, and the basics of maintaining a home and a small farm. - Her first language is also the language of the Keyea dragons, which is the dominant language in her home town as well as the town where she lives now. - Like most natives of Tawsmir, she received some education at an Utheveger-run undergraduate school. - Curriculum focused on the history on inter-universal relations, and the customs of various worlds in various universes. - This was enough to kindle a longing for travel, as well as a resentment toward the Uthevegers for being so picky about who they'll transport. - She learned a version of English spoken in a universe similar to Avery's, but there are numerous differences. - For example, the words for "onions" and "mushrooms" are switched. (Avery hates this. She likes onions and hates mushrooms. She does not like the confusion that results.) Skills: - Stealing. Mostly pickpocketing. - She's very, very good at it, but not proud of it. It's a compulsion she's tried and failed to control. That, and hoarding the things she steals. - Mainly shiny things. Gemstones, especially. - Was kicked out of the thieves' guild because she's useless at making money from it, since she's so reluctant to sell her stolen goods. - Also very, very good at hiding things. Her small home has enough well-designed hiding places to conceal a really remarkable amount of stolen jewelry. - Sings and plays a few instruments quite well. Day job as a street musician. (Looks more respectable than stealing, but does not quite pay the bills.) Home: - She lives alone on the far outskirts of a dragon town called Mycliff, in the edge of the forest. - In a tent. A very nice, large, multi-room tent, as big as some apartments. Even has a guest room. (Which, after a while, is basically just Avery's room.) - On the land outside, she grows her own food. Keyea dragons, like black bears, are mostly herbivorous but will eat meat if they have the opportunity. Rho supplements her home-grown fruit and vegetable diet with occasional hunting and fishing. - She also eats any bugs that try to eat her plants. (Because hey, she's gotta kill them anyway so she can have veggies, and this way she can have veggies AND protein! Two birds with one stone, without having to actually kill birds!) - The tent is enchanted with a moderate shrinkage spell, so she can roll up her possessions in it and squeeze it all down to a small enough volume and weight to pull on a cart behind her. In case it ever comes to that. She's been chased out of towns before. Appearance: - Height: 4'11" (Avery's estimate). - Weight: 9.5 barrels. (Either doesn't know or won't say what that is equal to in Earth pounds or kilos. But Avery guesses a similar weight to her own. Given the shorter height, this makes her quite a bit more curvy.) - Female. Genitals and nipples mostly humanoid, and dark brownish red in color. Breasts quite large, D-cup. - Skin is orange with a yellow belly. Covered all over in small reptilian scales. - Yellow color of belly is also present on the palms and soles of the feet, the eyelids, the insides of the ears, the insides of the thighs, and the underside and tips of the tail. - 3.5-foot-long tail is forked on the end. So is her tongue and each of her ears and horns. - Tongue is the same dark red as the nipples and genitals. Horns and claws are all a light off-white color. - Two large, forward-facing eyes with white sclera. Irises are yellow with orange edges and round black pupils. - Muzzle is short and somewhat beak-shaped, with a mobile upper lip. Feet are digitigrade, with four clawed toes, one pointing back. Clothing: - Although nudity is socially acceptable among Keyea dragons, Rho prefers to wear fairly modest clothing. Not because of any desire to hide her body... but because she needs plenty of pockets, or else she's just gonna end up getting caught for all the stuff she steals. - Usual outfit is a low-necked purple shirt and gray cargo shorts, with a long, many-pocketed tan coat over it all. The knee-high, patterned stockings (open-toed to accommodate her feet) also contain hidden pockets. - At home, though, she usually goes without clothes. - At all times, even when otherwise naked, she wears a silver pendant with a large faceted gemstone. - The stone appears bluish-purple in outdoor light, and bright pink in candlelight and most magical light. It has also been known to take on various other colors, occasionally, without explanation. - She denies that it has any sentimental meaning for her; she wears it all the time just because it's the one she finds the prettiest. - This is entirely true. However, her attachment to its beauty is far beyond any normal attachment to a favorite bit of jewelry. She might be willing to run into a burning building to save it. - It's just that sparkly. - She doesn't know where it came from, though. Doesn't even remember who she stole it from. She has asked a jeweler about it, but got only a little bit of info. Personality: - Bubbly and friendly. Quick to explain useful general info about her homeworld. Slow to divulge secrets about herself. - Ashamed of being a thief. Really does not want to admit to Avery or anyone that she steals stuff. (Like Avery, she is embarrassed about loss of control. Eventually this forms a bond between them, but initially there is quite a lot of distrust.) - Very interested in getting Avery to travel and bring her along. Willing to do almost anything to achieve this. - Speaks in short sentences, often fragments. Sometimes it's cryptic without context, and she doesn't clarify until asked. (Sometimes this is an attempt to hide information, but other times it's just cultural context that she doesn't realize Avery needs.) Common words: - "Rather" - "Super" - "...see?" - (questions that end as if they were statements, with no upturn in pitch) - "Sparkly!" (General positive adjective. But it's often just a delighted comment on some object that literally sparkles.) - "You dandelion." (Mild insult; means silly or airheaded.) - "You bat-fly." (Annoying person. Comparison to a very obnoxious large biting insect.) - "You pothole!" (Absolute jerk. Avery thinks it's kind of brilliant to compare a jerk to a pothole on the road. But, in this world, it actually refers to the magic portal to the sewer from the inside of a modern chamberpot. When Avery found that out she was a little disappointed and a little disgusted.) Swear words picked up from Avery and misused: - "Oh jeezass." (She somehow fused "Jesus" and "ass" into a general exclamation of shock.) - "He's such a carp crap!" (Rho insists she learned this from Avery. Avery thinks Rho must've misheard "bastard" as "bass turd" and then paraphrased it.) - "Dad gametes!" ("Okay, that is NOT what I said. I said "god dammit." You Spoonerized it and then you, like, bent the spoon with your weird telekinetic brain." "Well, I like my way better, dad gametes!") - "Shit" used like "fuck". ("Mothershitter! Shit you! What the shit? This is shitting awesome!" "You know that's... not the word that goes there, right?" "But it's more satisfying, because it's a dirtier word." "No. Fuck is dirtier than shit." "What?" "On my world it is. Don't ask me why." "Then why do you say it more often?" "Because dirtier words are more satisfying! Like you said!" "How can it still be satisfying if you've said it so much? It must be worn out by now." "Uggh... You know, maybe it is. Shit.") Orientation: - Pansexual. - Not quite a virgin (at the time she meets Avery). Has gotten to first, second and third base, and whatever tail-inside-another-dragon is. Tongue also. Hasn't had anyone else's tail or cock inside her yet. - Has done the other stuff a LOT, though. Often needs to bribe law enforcement, and really doesn't like giving away shiny things, so ... whenever possible, she bribes in other ways. - But... she hasn't yet done anything sexual with someone she really cares about. Which is why there are a few acts she hasn't done yet. She feels like saving them in case she ever gets really close to someone. - Like Avery, she's never really been close to anyone. When Avery's heat comes around for the second time, they both have to reexamine that. Recent experience: - Got into some kleptomania-related trouble that may come back to bite her rather soon. Uncertain how soon. Didn't leave any obvious clues, but some super good detectives are on it. - Started praying rather fervently for a ticket off this world. - Was answered! Found an Utheveger standing around confused on the plaza! A Poala! In dragon form! - Took her home and asked some questions. Found out she doesn't even know what an Utheveger is! Became one by accident! Oh, oops. Doesn't even know how to use the powers. Name is Avery. - Learned some SUPER INTERESTING Utheveger secrets together. Even learned how they transform. - Basically accepted Avery as new roommate and occasional sex buddy. Trying to keep her hidden from scary people who keep sneaking around looking for her. - Also trying to help her learn how to travel. Could be super useful, super soon. For both Rho and Avery. ************************************************** The Setting ************************************************** Universe: - Melmel-Melmel. (More correctly named "Mlemle-Mlemle," from the Uthish word "mle," meaning "home," simply repeated four times. It is the home universe of the Uthevegers, mages who have the power to travel between universes. - On an Utheveger's travel tattoo, the symbol representing "home" may be entered four times to form the combination to travel to a point near their headquarters in the universe Melmel-Melmel. - This place can also be reached just by touching the elbow diamond without entering a full combination of symbols... since it is the default destination. (See below). Planet: - Tawsmir. Earth-like world, somewhat more uniform in climate. Mostly a temperate tropical world. Has both longer years and longer days, both about one-and-a-half times what they would be on Earth. - The planet Tawsmir is used as a way station for travelers between universes. Trade and diplomacy between universes is all centered here. The Uthevegers have many secretive organizations on this world, focused on training their members and organizing the missions they undertake. Country: - The island nation of Keyea, located near the planet's equator, is the central headquarters of the Uthevegers. A town plaza on that island is the default destination of Avery's travel spell. When she struggled with the mysterious woman who tried to send her to another universe, she interrupted the sequence her attacker was trying to put in, and touched the elbow diamond before an entire sequence was entered. The spell's response to that was to send her to the default destination. - Uthevegers are not native to this planet, however. They have a tense relationship with the native species, which include several types of humanoid dragons. - The town plaza and headquarters are surrounded, at a short distance, by several dragon towns, where the dragons try to stay somewhat isolated. (When Avery arrives, Rho brings her to her home village, Mycliff, and tries to keep her there as much as possible.) - The population of Keyea consists mainly of native dragons, Uthevegers, and non-Utheveger humans, alongside a variety of minority species of various shapes. Travelers from different worlds and universes come and go frequently. - In addition to the native wild animals, pets, livestock and plants, Keyea also hosts many imported life forms from other universes. When Avery arrives, she finds a strange assortment of life forms she's never seen... but also familiar ones that now have quite different names and uses. ************************************************** The Uthevegers ************************************************** - A group of inter-universally-traveling mages, very powerful in the universe Melmel-melmel and several others connected to it by trade relations. - Other beings in these universes tend to view them with reverence, awe and fear. They expect to be addressed as "Lord Uthe" (regardless of gender). They are immensely secretive about the details of their profession, and quite selective about who they will provide their services for. Their services include: - transporting people and acting as guides for them while they travel - dealing in goods imported from one universe to another - dealing in information and advice regarding universes - Uthevegers usually appear human, although they may have certain animal features, and some can change into animal shape entirely. - Their homeworld is unknown, but it may be a version of Earth in the universe of Melmel-melmel. - (Non-Utheveger humans also exist in this universe and can interbreed with Uthevegers, and they have also been traveling so long they don't remember where their home planet is. So that's a likely hypothesis.) - There are several types of Uthevegers, with varying powers. Some are able to transform their bodies and some are not. Some can only travel alone; others can bring one or two passengers along. Some are able to make portals only between universes, while others can also jump between points within the same universe. Avery's line of Uthevegers: - One of the more powerful. They are called the Poala. - Their weakness (which they keep very secret) is that they can only jump universes at one time of the month. And that they have no choice but to transform and go into heat at that time of the month. And can only travel if they get laid, and do it enough to be truly satisfied afterwards. - (It's suspected that this weakness is a curse inflicted on them by some really powerful enemy mage who wanted to hobble their great power and totally humiliate them at the same time.) - (They've got a lot of enemies, because apart from that weakness they're really way too powerful.) - As a member of the Poala line, not only does Avery have transformation abilities, but she can also bring a very large number of other people through her portal, as long as they're holding hands in an unbroken chain. The number is limited only by the 30-second time limit on how long the portal can stay open. - She can also make portals between different points within the same universe, any time of the month. (If she ever learns how.) There are some distance limits on this power, but it's less restricted than in most other bloodlines. - (It can be used pretty devastatingly in combat. Close-range portals are more versatile than universe portals. You can push other people into them, and you can close them off at any time you want, even if another person is halfway through.) - Plus, she's got a power that some folks think no Utheveger should ever have. - Other lines of Uthevegers have safeguards on their spell, making sure it can't transport them to anyplace they couldn't expect to survive. - The Poala don't have this safeguard. Their portal will open even if the combination is for a planet or universe that's completely incapable of supporting life. - It's unclear just why they have this ability, since it's not really ever in your best interests to go to a place that'll kill you. And once you've opened a universe portal, you can't just push someone else into it. Others can only go through if the one whose tattoos opened the portal goes first, and holds their hand. - The power has only been used a few times, when certain enemies got so powerful that the Poala Uthevegers decided that 1. this was the only way to kill them, and 2. it was worth sacrificing one of their own for it. - (Uthevegers are NOT okay with having enemies that are too powerful. See above.) - But it's still seen as a deeply dangerous ability, and there are some people who are bent on eliminating it. - (Avery doesn't find out ANY of this right away.) Succession: - The power of the Uthevegers is passed on as inheritance. You can only get it from another Utheveger who is dead or dying and ready to transfer the power to an heir. - For an outsider to become an Utheveger is very uncommon. Their powers are kept for life, and, at death, are almost always passed on to direct descendants, who have been raised to prepare for it. - There's a strong taboo against doing it any other way. The inheritance of Utheveger powers is viewed as pretty much inseparable from genetic heredity. Many outsiders even think the power IS genetically inherited. - It's totally possible to transfer it to a non-relative, though. It may not even be any different in effect from transferring it to a blood heir. Uthevegers tend to put a lot more importance on genetic bloodlines than they need to. - The transfer is done in a special ceremony, where the tattoos controlling the power are magically moved from a dead or dying Utheveger onto the heir who will inherit the role. ************************************************** Backstory and Side Characters ************************************************** Father of the Heiress - In this case, the dying Utheveger, Omataad, had come to Earth in Avery's universe because he didn't have any heirs on his homeworld. - The only blood relatives anywhere nearby were other old men in Poala bloodlines who already had the power. (And their heirs, who they already had dibs on.) - His only hope was a daughter he had, many years ago, with a woman he met on Avery's world. - This is very much hushed up, because Avery's universe is not considered a place that Uthevegers should even go. They already have diplomatic relations with other universes very much like it. There's nothing to gain from it. - So they'd agreed that this version of the universe should be left as, basically, a preserve. They shouldn't interfere with it unless really necessary. Like, maybe later, if they use up all the resources in the other universes like it. But until then, save it and keep it untouched, because you don't know what you might need from it someday. ***** - Or so they claim. They real reason is a bit more complex. Tangential notes here: Although Avery doesn't know it for a long time, Ezzie (the equine-dragon character created by my partner Zmeydros) is a frequent undercover visitor to Avery's world, and she is the main reason why the Uthevegers usually avoid going there. She fights hard to protect it, and many other worlds, from their interference. The Uthevegers have given up on trying to fight her and her armies for the worlds in her protection. They pretend that they chose to keep those worlds as preserves, instead of admitting they lost to Ezzie and her friends. Ezzie is also the writer of the erotic dragon novels that Avery enjoys. The books are part of where Ezzie gets the funding for her protection. She writes them together with her partner from the Dragon's Initiation stories (see more on Zmeydros' FA page). They are, in fact, a version of those stories: a series of autobiographical dragon sex novellas written by actual dragons using human pen names to sell their books anonymously on a human world. Someday Avery will meet Ezzie, and they will have a lot to talk about. ***** - Anyway: - Uthevegers don't go to Avery's world. It's against their rules. - And this Utheveger was careless about that rule. He ended up not only exploring where he shouldn't, but fathering a child there. - And nowhere else. - So, when it comes time to pass on his power, he has to either let his bloodline die with him... or break an even worse taboo and give his power to a non-relative... or secretly go back to Off-Limits Earth and find his daughter. - He picked that last option. He's brought along eight other Uthevegers. Four are Poala like him, to help with the ceremony. The other four are trusted friends from a related but not identical bloodline, to serve as bodyguards. (They'll also be transportation back, for the daughter, since he'll die when the tattoos leave his body-- and she's from a Poala bloodline, so she can't use them for herself until, you know.) - So. He's found the daughter, given her a quick explanation of the facts... and now he's in the process of taking his last breaths and giving her a final goodbye along with an awesome bunch of heirloom tatts. And then... in comes Avery. - She stumbles through a portal, into the middle of this. - And the portal is angled in such a way that the first thing she does is collide with the heiress and knock her down. - And the spell that was supposed to hit the heiress... hits Avery instead. - And then the traveler who pushed her through? She jumps through after her. With weapons. And starts fighting everyone like an absolute badass maniac. - Which Avery recognizes as a great opportunity to take advantage of the confusion and get the hell out. - At this point, Avery has NO idea what's going on. She just knows that she was at work, and now she's suddenly in the backroom of the building next door to work, and apparently some freaky secret stuff is happening there. But this is what was happening: - The woman who pushed her is named Gheun. - She is from a less powerful line of Uthevegers, the Ferether, who view the Poala line as both too powerful and too corrupt. - She has found out about Omataad's secret illicit journey to find his daughter. And she is determined to stop it, so that one more bloodline of Poala Uthevegers will die out. - But she doesn't want to risk attacking Omataad himself while he's surrounded by bodyguards. - Or attacking the daughter after the ceremony, when she will also be surrounded by bodyguards... And maybe too powerful on her own, since she's from Omataad's bloodline and there's a good chance that her mother raised her to inherit and use his powers someday. - Well, okay, Gheun would be totally happy to attack them, even if it kills her. But not when there's still any chance that either of them has the power she wants to eliminate. She's determined to make sure that power is neutralized before she risks her life. - Her plan is to arrange things so the power gets transferred onto some nobody who won't know how to use it. And then deal with that nobody later on. - So, she follows the secret procession to Off-Limits Earth. - She brings a friend along. Gives the friend instructions in case she fails in the first part of the plan. - But that part goes well. She succeeds in getting the tattoos transferred to a rando she found in a bookstore. She succeeds in fighting the heiress and bodyguards long enough for that rando to get far away. - And she doesn't even get killed. - They do capture her, though. And they're entirely focused on her, taking her back to Melmel-melmel for interrogation. - The few bodyguards who stay behind looking for Avery don't find her. It's a big city, and they aren't really supposed to be interfering with it, and they don't know much about it anyway. I mean, she got on a bus, and they don't even have bus fare. What are they supposed to do? - So they give up after a while and plan to come back later when they're better prepared. After all, she won't go anywhere if she doesn't know how to use her power, right? Enter the friend, with part two of the plan. - Her name is Tass, she's from Gheun's line of Uthevegers, and she's just as rabidly against the Poala line as Gheun is. But younger and less experienced. - Her mission is to find Avery and kill her. And not in a way that leaves ANY remains. Because remains, even ashes, will still carry a trace of the power for at least a few years, and she cannot risk anyone finding them and carrying that power back to Melmel-melmel to transfer onto their chosen heir. - The plan is to use Avery's own doomsday weapon against her. As soon as it's the right time of the month, Tass will get Avery alone and, um, prepare her to travel. And then she'll push her right into some universe where the very laws of physics won't even let Avery's goddamn atoms stay intact. - This fails. Tass slips up, and Avery guesses that something's not right. Avery struggles, interrupts her, and ends up at the default location, jumping through without bringing Tass along. - Tass's mission now? To travel there, round up some backup, and find Avery before the Poala do. - Meanwhile, the Poala mission is to find Avery first. They also intend to kill her, because the tattoos can't be transferred and leave her alive. And there's an heiress waiting for them. The heiress: - Her name is Jen, currently twenty-five years old. Her mother is a hardworking Chicagoan accountant, who's had a series of short-lived romances since the one that gave her the daughter. - Despite Gheun's fears, Jen's mother did not raise her to be the next Utheveger in the line. - Her mother simply refused to accept that the guy who got her pregnant was from another universe. (Even though she's seen ample proof of his abilities, and he's come back to check on her at least a couple times.) - The mother passed on that denial to the daughter. She's never been told about all this universe-traveling nonsense. - She has been raised to have a normal human life, and not to believe in anything like this. - She was a cheerleader in high school. Her hobby is flower arranging. She's on her way up the ranks in her mom's accounting business. - Her life is the perfect balance of boring and mildly interesting. Normal is her bread and butter. - So when they come to give her the power, she just refuses to believe any of this is real. - Even afterwards, when they've taken her back to her father's universe, she just keeps insisting that this must all be some weird illusion or dream, and all she wants to do is wake up back in her bed at home. - The Uthevegers in her line are still determined to find the one who's stolen Jen's power and bring it back to her. But she's not going to accept that easily. - This is concerning to her captors, because they've been hoping to conceal the fact the successor to Omataad was born in the forbidden universe. - If she's not going to cooperate with that plan, they may have to resort to passing her off her as tragically insane. ************************************************** Other recurring villains: ************************************************** Gheun and Tass can reappear from time to time. - Gheun, after escaping from the Poala captors, is more vengeful than ever. - Tass is ashamed that she has not caught Avery yet, and is beginning to despair and lose any confidence she had in her own abilities. - Gheun seeks Tass out again, and uses her depression and low self-esteem to control her... and get her to do more and more reckless things to fight against the Poala line. ************************************************** Dialogues between Rho and Avery: ************************************************** "Is turning human bringing back memories? Missing your home?" "The weird thing is I haven't missed it at all. I guess I had nothing tying me down there." "Not even family?" "There wasn't much. Just me and my parents. And it's not like they were asshole parents. They just never talked about their feelings. Never asked me about mine. Helped me any time I asked for help, but they never, like, made any effort to stay in touch with me. Even when I lived in the same goddamn town. So I hadn't felt, like, close to them in a long time. It's just hard to feel close to someone who won't open up to you about anything, y'know? I guess I never learned how to be close to ANYONE." "Me neither. I mean, where I came from, family didn't mean much. The whole village raised the kids. Together. Not like humans. But my village didn't work out for me." "You do something that got you in trouble there?" (behind them, Rho's tail is stealing a bracelet) "I just didn't fit in. I never fit in anywhere." ************************************************** "...your necklace. I could swear that stone used to be purple." "It was. In the light outside. In other light it can be different colors." "Oh. Yeah, I think there's a stone like that where I come from too. It's called... alex-something." "Alexitishenstone." "Huh, that's what it's called in this universe?" "Not this one. It's imported." "From another universe." "That's what the jeweler told me. Says it's often used in transformation amulets." "That a transformation amulet?" "No. Just a necklace." "Huh. What universe is it from again?" "Don't know. One I'd like to go to, sometime. If I ever get the chance." "Hey. I'm working on that." ************************************************** "Aaaarrgh I miss the internet so much." "What do you mean. How do you even know what the internet is?" "...because I'm a goddamn millennial?" "You said your universe has no magic. How could they make the internet without magic?" "I... you know, I honestly don't know. Sufficiently advanced fucking technology. Wires. Silicon. Electrons. I don't know how it works, but it does." "Your universe... approximated magic? With simple tools?" "Well, they weren't simple after a while... Wait. You mean you DO have the internet here? In, like, magic crystal balls or something? Why the fuck haven't you let me log on?" "Because logging on is a spell, you dandelion. You can't do any spells. I'm not going to stand over you all night moving your cursor for you. What would you even look at, anyway?" "You got Twitter?" "No." "Fuuuuuck." ************************************************** "So, does being from a non-magical universe make me special here? Immune? Like, if I can't do magic, then I also can't be hurt by it?" "Ha. No. And you wouldn't want it that way. Trust me." "What? What d'you mean?" "In my hometown, once, there was a child born cursed. His curse was being immune to magic. Unaffected by it. The curse came on as he grew. Got stronger and stronger..." "...okay?" "When he was five years old, magic barely did anything. Hurricanes sent by wind-magic couldn't blow him over. Boulders thrown with earth-magic passed through him. A magical plague caused a famine, he still had food to eat. Food that was intangible to everyone else." "Whoa, damn. That's--" "But it went for everything, see? The farmers used magic to grow food to end the famine. That food was intangible to him. His mother once used a spell to kill a bat-fly that was chasing him. It still kept chasing, biting him. Like a ghost she couldn't touch." "...yikes." "All of us children, we tried to play with him. But some children were born because of magic. Their parents met because of magic. Or could only conceive through magical means. Those children he couldn't play with. They didn't exist for him, you see. Oh, and sometimes some of us got sick and a magic healer saved their lives. And then, those ones were lost to him too." "Oh. Shit." "Because he was fading, see." "Fading...?" "Magic affected him less and less. And affected more and more things around him. So he was fading away. After a while it couldn't even affect him indirectly. Not even by causing things that affected him many steps later." "So, like, he couldn't even interact with anything that existed because of magic." "And nearly everything does, of course. So he faded more and more as the curse got stronger. He stopped talking to us. Started talking to people we couldn't see. Eventually he was just-- gone." "Geez. ...Do you think he's still alive, in some non-magical universe somewhere?" "His parents liked to hope so. But no. I think he just became too immune to magic. So much that he couldn't even coexist with it. Not even with magic things that happened in the distant past." "Oh. Yeah... there's been magic here forever, right? I guess if you look far enough back in the chain of events, all your existences were kinda caused by magic, at some point along the line." "And his curse reached far enough to touch that point. And so he stopped existing." ************************************************** "Humans. You make no sense." "I'm not totally a human anymore, you know." "Still. Humans make no sense." "Tell me about it." "Dinner conversation. You talk while you eat. Two actions using the same hole. Doing them at once can make you actually choke to death. But you still do it." "I didn't like it. Even when I was human." "You want to talk to someone. And so you take them out to eat. Or to see a show. Or to play a game. To do things that make it forty times as hard to talk! You do these things BECAUSE you want to talk to somebody! How does that make sense?" "It doesn't. You're preaching to the choir." "And your reproduction is disgusting." "My...? Hey. You never complain about the sex." "Not sex. Reproduction. Imagine I was a human. And imagine that I forced a small human child to put his penis into my vagina. That would be socially unacceptable for humans, correct?" "What the FUCK. Yes! Of course that would be unacceptable. What-- are you saying dragons are okay with that?" "No. No! But. Imagine I'm still a human. And now imagine that I force the same thing on-- not just a child's penis, but his whole BODY. In the other direction. From inside, going out. THAT is considered a NORMAL thing for a human to do." "...Okay, you got me. That IS how humans give birth. What do you guys do, split in half like amoebas?" "Lay eggs. Like any reasonable species!" "Yeah, I'm guessing those still go through your lady parts." "They do. But, at that time, the embryo inside is only a few cells. And there is a decent outer covering between it and our-- parts." "Okay. I give. You dragons have more respectable fucking reproduction. Not that it matters, since you and I have never DONE any of this shit..." "I have laid eggs! Infertile ones. So have you. Humans ovulate, the only difference is yours are too small to see." "... Are you, like, totally sure yours are infertile, though? I mean you haven't exactly stayed off my dick whenever I have one." "I don't think dragons and Uthevegers can breed together. But who cares. Who shitting cares if they are fertile or not. I eat them before they would develop enough to tell, anyway." "You-- Holy fuck, I am NEVER letting you cook me an omelette again." "I don't feed YOU my eggs, you dandelion. And you're one to talk. When you have babies it's basically child molesting." "I DON'T have babies." "And neither do I. So we're even." ************************************************** Possible side storyline introducing pets? ************************************************** -Rho goes away on mysterious business, leaves Avery alone for a couple days. Avery promises to stay out of trouble. -Avery gets into some trouble. -It involves finding a very valuable object... realizing someone is chasing her to get it back... and then having to unload the object onto a street vendor by offering it as a trade for some of his wares. -Details to be determined. The object may be part of a larger scheme by the Poala. -The wares she trades it for? They happen to be three live birds in little cages. They appear to be a starling, a house sparrow and a pigeon. -When Rho gets home she sees Avery with the starling. "What the shit is THAT." "Hi, Rho! Meet Crow!" "WHERE DID YOU GET THAT. That is not a crow. It's called a speckled blackbird." "In my universe it's called a starling. And 'Crow' is just his name." "DAD GAMETES. WHY and HOW did you get a speckled blackbird. And... name it... Crow." "You would not be able to appreciate his full name. YOU have only earned the right to call him Crow." (Rho sighs) "Anything else when I was gone? Any other outrageous purchases?" (pigeon and sparrow fly over and land on Avery's hands) "Meet Azzy and Addy." "YOU DID NOT. GO OUT AND BUY. A SPECKLED BLACKBIRD, A HOUSE SPARROW AND A GRAY SHINER. How many of my possessions did you sell to afford all those? Do you have any idea how expensive those are?" "Well, where I come from, they're free. They grow wild, and if you take them from the wild someone'll probably give you a fucking medal, 'cause they're like the unholy trinity of invasive goddamn pests. Although, I could argue that the only real invasive species on my Earth are God, the Devil and mankind..." "What the shitting shit are you talking about." "Making a brilliant cultural reference that you will never understand." "You KNOW that whenever you say that, I just assume you're talking nonsense." "Well, maybe I am. You'll never know." "You dadgam bat-fly." Later it turns out that Addy, the house sparrow, is ridiculously strong. In this universe, house sparrows are just as tiny as usual, but they are called house sparrows because they have magical strength so enormous that they can move a house. Next time Avery and Rho have to move, he is able to pull the cart that carries the tent and all their possessions, while they ride on top of it. Besides Addy being their superpowered draft horse, Azzy and Crow may also end up having useful magic abilities. To be determined. ************************************************** Dialogue that I wanna put in somewhere. I dunno, this just popped into my head and wanted to be written. I might just make a storyline just so I can fit this in. Speaker #1 is Avery. Speaker #2 and his culture, and whatever person and situation they're talking about, have yet to be developed. ************************************************** "But it's got be true. Look at everything he suffered because he admitted it. Why the hell would he confess to something so absolutely damning for him, if it wasn't fucking true?" "Among my people, madam, there is a story..." "Shut up." "It is said that long ago, in a village far from here, there was a woman who was mysterious. There was much that the other townspeople did not know about her, and they all burned with curiosity." "I'm not interested in your story. I'm saying--" "Her greatest mystery was that she owned a knife, a beautiful knife with a blade that was as transparent as water. No one knew where it came from. Some said the blade was pure diamond. Others said it was only glass. She would never answer questions about the knife, or speak of it at all." "Okay. But..." "But one day, without saying a word, she walked to the center of the town square, pulled out the knife... and used it to cut out both her own eyes." "What the fuck." "And everyone suddenly understood. 'It must be made of real diamond,' they murmured to each other in awe. 'Otherwise she would never have done that.'" "What?!" "Exactly." "...That's it? That's the story? It makes no sense. What was the point of that?" "The point is that it does not make sense. The point is to illustrate this exact situation." "What the fuck." "Hearing the story, we easily understand that the townspeople were wrong. Of course, seeing her cut her eyes out with the knife did not prove that it was diamond. And, of course, saying that it was diamond does not explain why she cut her eyes out with it. We easily see that both those thoughts are foolish." "...Ohhh." "Exactly." "So. Okay. So you're saying that what he said was SO bad for him, that... it being true isn't enough explanation for him saying it." "Yes. It may be true or not, but it does the same harm to him either way. There is no clear reason why he would choose to do such harm to himself. The most likely explanation is that he was, somehow, threatened with even worse harm if he did not say what he said." "Hmm." "But it being true or untrue? That has no effect on how much it harms him. And therefore no effect on how likely he would be to say it. Glass can cut as badly as diamond. You would not choose to cut yourself with either, unless you had a good reason." "That's a real story among your people?" "A frequently told one." "So your... people. They don't feel that telling the truth is enough reason in itself to risk danger?" "Oh, no, like your people, they do often suffer from the illusion that it is." "Illusion, huh." "A common one. Hence the need for the story." ************************************************** Heiress Jen and her tutor ************************************************** "...of passengers, transport and sale of imported goods, and... Jen Uth-Omataad, are you even listening?" "Shut up. I'm trying to--" "Trying to sleep? During your lesson?" "No. I'm sick of being asleep. I am TRYING to WAKE UP." "Jen. I know this has been sudden for you, due to your mother's negligence. But as time goes on, you WILL come to realize that this is your new reality, and not a dream." (silence, stares into space) "As I was saying. Once you do receive your inheritance, you will begin practicing your trade within a month. With the news of your father's passing, you will soon be receiving travel applications. You will select three applicants and schedule an appointment for the appropriate date." (yawns) "On that date you are expected to meet your passengers in your office, no later than twenty minutes after your partner has prepared you for travel. Once--" "Um... Partner? Prepared me?" "Yes, by then you will of course have selected a mate. However, until further notice, you will copulate only to stimulate travel, while wearing the required contraceptive amulets. Reproduction will not be tolerated until there is a gap in our schedule large enough to accommodate maternity leave..." "...Do you take constructive criticism? 'Cause if this is trying to be a sex dream, it's, like, the absolute least sexy one I've ever had." "Ehm... if you would prefer to discuss mating in more detail, there are currently several eligible males of compatible bloodlines. There is no requirement that you mate for life. However, you may NOT remain unpartnered for more than ten days. Missing an opportunity to transport passengers is out of the question." "Lovely. In this dream I'm not only the heir to a secret cult of uptight travel agents-- but apparently I travel by fucking. Wonder what Freud would make of this." ************************************************** More Jen thoughts ************************************************** This dream's gone on a long time, for a dream. But then, they always seem longer when they're happening. I don't think I've ever felt pain in a dream before. Don't think I've ever been able to read a book in a dream before, either. But then, that's just my memories of dreams I've had before. And I can't trust memories, because I HAVE had dreams where I remembered things that aren't real. Or forgot things that are. So... can I be sure it isn't real? Can I be sure it is? I mean, can anyone? Ever? What even is reality, anyway? Does it even matter? I guess at some point you've just got to go on as if things are real, and if they're not you just deal with that later... ************************************************** Storyline for later: ************************************************** The Poala manage to capture Avery, and are keeping her imprisoned until they can get Jen ready for the transfer ceremony. Jen finds out that they're planning this. Realizes that: 1. she's now in imminent danger of having this whole Utheveger thing forced onto her for real 2. this stranger is in imminent danger of being killed in order to do this Jen goes to where they're keeping Avery, and offers to help her escape if she'll take her back to her own universe. Of course this can only be done by having sex with her as she goes into heat-transformation. So we get an awkward but intense Jen/Avery sex scene. Two possible ways this storyline could go: 1. Avery does not yet actually know the code for Off-Limits Earth. - So, once she's gotten what she needs from Jen, she just opens the portal she knows how to open, and takes her to the plaza in Melmel-melmel. - Or somewhere else (I guess wherever Rho is currently living.) Or leaves her behind and jumps through without her. - Avery is back to her usual life, and Jen has to deal with whatever situation Avery has just left her in. Or: 2. Avery HAS learned how to travel to Off-Limits Earth by now. And she does take Jen there. - Jen is reunited with her Earth family, and tries to go back to normal life. - Avery waits around for the next cycle so that she can go back to wherever she wants to go next. - Both of them find it very strange to interact with Earth people again, after what they've experienced. - Eventually they do go back. Details to be determined. Many possible scenarios. **************************************************