#MiniFiction
You know how it is. You ask a mage for a binding spell and all you get is some gibberish that doesn't help at all with flattening your tits but now you also live with a demon who does not do the dishes.

What if I was a purpose-built android and you were the human operative leading the mission but you blatantly refused to read my operating manual and thus ignored social procedures when handling me so we end up falling deeply in love.

... And we were both boys.

#scifi #minifiction #mlm #gay #gaywriting

Si sentiva inutile, sentiva la vita sfuggirgli via senza senso.
Eppure era uno stimato dirigente nella più grande multinazionale dei servizi specializzata in autodichiarazioni.

#minifiction

@golgaloth Well, it was a #writingPrompt, so I wrote something that might not ever otherwise appear in print. #1stdraft. Sorry if a bit rough.

#excerpt:

I pushed open the door to the walkup, then had to push harder. I guess the difficulty substituted for lack of a lock. As the door creaked open, I jerked my head back at the scent of urine. Guess it hadn't worked again today. I thumped up the steps two at a time, up four flights, lit by my blue-green thaulume and wan moonshine through broken dirty windows. Nobody greeted me; perhaps nobody would except in fullshine as, though I looked like a student, I was also one of those shady characters, despite being reasonably girlish and almost pretty. Perhaps I radiated it.Perhaps the thaumlume sprite floating before me was too bright and discomforting.

A rare talent. Which was why I was a student.

I'd just finished a job, too. The idiot would pay back his loan; all I'd had to perform were minor miracles and pyrotechnics that frightened the angel from flying away. Hadn't had to hurt anyone. It was my deal with the boss. I'd be his most efficient enforcer so long as I didn't have to hurt anyone, and I hadn't. The dark angel could have fought, and I'd have defended myself and felt bad about the mess afterwards.

Well, a little bad. Maybe.

I'd been flush with gold from the job, which is why I was happy to be home. Tea and scones with plenty of butter in my tummy, I pushed open my door. No lock, but you guessed that, right? I felt a field tingle passing through, which verified nobody had been so stupid as to enter while I was gone, but I threw the slide bolt behind me. It guaranteed people having to barge in loudly if they wanted to confront me, giving me time to defend myself.

I'd torn off all the wallpaper, leaving stained lath and plaster which to me seemed like a new-art wash of dun and grey that was both pleasing and calming. I'd spent days sanding, filling, and varnishing the partially rotted and distressed floorboards -- could it be pine? It was mud color, so the knots were barely a clue. I had a table, similarly refurbished by me, and a periwinkle china wash basin I'd glued back together. No sense on spending anything except on books, food, and rent as far as I was concerned. Beyond that, and the oval window, was my stack of hay. I inhaled. It smelled fresh, since I'd brought it yesterday, and reminded me of not-city. It combined with the scent of the trash fire at the end of the block. I heard kids laughing and talking.

Kids? They were older than me, but they hadn't been other people's sharp tool so my years counted double! At least.

I still liked the burnt smell. City incense, right? I grinned, dropping my book bag. I dug out my new tome. Leatherbacked. Gilt lettering. Rare and delightfully musty. Merchant Ducket's Codicils and Interlocutory Physics, 3rd Extended Edition. The 19th had been redacted heavily by the Directorate. It cost plenty, but nothing made me happier than warping reality, and I really did love the math. It never hurt when something in your head helped you do the arithmetic! I fluffed the hay up, snuggled into it despite the initial itchiness against my skin. I started reading, figuring I could finish my homework later.

I'd earned this. Lit by my sprite and the moonshine that over the next hours passed across the open book, I read and learned new stuff.

Eventually, I had to stretch.

That revealed a familiar blue envelope. Right. The window had been open and I usually closed it. Bolt, the boss' light angel runner had dropped it in. An urgent job, doubtless. Lots of gold.

Foo on that. I swiped it away. Let the boss try to make me work extra. Wouldn't end well.

I went to sleep, hugging the book like a plush rabbit.

#writing #author #sff #fantasy #story #shortfiction #minifiction #writingLife #boostingIsSharing.

Me: I promise. It's going to be hard. And it's going to hurt sometimes. But you're going to be okay, because I know you can handle this. We can handle it together. I love you, and I'll always be there for you, now and forever. So can we try things my way? Without the mask?

Child (sniffling): Okay. I'll try.

(My inner child and I embrace.)

Me (proud): That's my girl.

Child: Thanks, Mom.

🧵 9/end :heart_trans: #minifiction

Inner Child: So you're... My mom?

Me: Yes. Kind of. For this, yes.

Child: I still want this mask.

Me: I know you do. It was really important for a long while. It kept us going through a lot of tough times. But you don't need it anymore. You're so strong, Daphne. You have better tools to deal with those feelings now. And when it feels like too much, or even when it doesn't, I'll be there to help you process.

Child (teary eyed): ... Promise?

🧵 8/ #minifiction

Present (cont.): Things are different now. We're surrounded by people who love and support us in the way that we need. And... You have me.

Past: What do you mean, "I have you?"

Present: Well, when you transition later in life, you sort of become your own parent. You're responsible for raising the little girl inside yourself who's been trapped in there and never got to express herself.

Past: Oh. That's...

Present: That's you, yeah.

🧵 7/ #minifiction

Past: I... I don't want to be a boy.

Present: I don't either; that's the problem. So I'm trying to get rid of this mask.

Past (worried again): But without the mask I don't feel safe. Am I... The girl who screws up?

Present: No! No. We made that mask because we couldn't handle the feeling of being a screw up. But we couldn't handle it because we didn't have emotional support that worked for us, and we didn't know how to support ourselves.

🧵 6/ #minifiction

Present: Not exactly. The "kid who screws up" is a very specific person. Being okay with screwing up is a tricky thing to rationalize, and we did that by tying it to male privilege.

Past: I don't understand.

Present: Basically, screwing up is okay because it's okay for boys to screw up. And we feel bad for taking advantage of that, but it's still better than feeling like a screw up.

Past: Oh. So when we put it on...

Present: ...we feel like a boy.

🧵 5/ #minifiction

Present: You are. *We* are. And it's wonderful. But it's made using this mask awkward.

Past (drying her tears): Why? I can still hide behind it to feel safe.

Present: You can, but... We get really good at putting it on. So good that it happens automatically; we put on the mask without thinking, and it's hard to take off.

Past: But we're safe while it's on.

🧵 4/ #minifiction

Past (scared): No-one's supposed to know about that.

Present: Things are different in the future, and we see other people telling secrets like that. Lots of them. And it's okay! Because it turns out you *were* born a girl.

Past (crying): I was?

Present: Yes! It takes us a long time to understand, but yes. And we name ourselves Daphne, and we grow into a beautiful woman, and the world opens up to us.

Past (still crying): I'm a girl.

🧵 3/ #minifiction

Present: It is. We use it for a very long time. But it's becoming kind of a problem. I've been looking for a way to get rid of it.

Past: What? Why? This keeps us safe!

Present: (deep breath) This is going to take a bit of explaining, and it's going to feel scary, but I want you to know that we're in this together. Okay?

Past (worried): Okay.

Present: You know how you've been going to bed night after night, wishing that you were born a girl?

🧵 2/ #minifiction

Past Me: I made this!

Present Me: Neat! What is... Oh.

Past: It's a mask. When I screw up real bad, I can put this on and be "the kid that screws up." And the kid that screws up is okay with screwing up. Heck, they might even become good at it!

Present: Yeah... They get very good at it.

Past: Oh yeah? I thought it'd be useful!

🧵 1/ #minifiction