Old Echoes

“You know, I was expecting it to be way trippier out here, but this isn’t so bad.” Kat glanced to her two guides. “Although I do have this cut off sort of feeling. Like trying to see through thick fog.” She made a broad sweep of her arm, indicating the sheer darkness around them, broken only by pin-point stars and ribbons of aurora-like energy arcing in the seeming distance. “I feel like this whole… region… should be boiling with chaos, but it’s like… honestly, it’s kind of just like looking out into outer space. Endless black with random points of light, and the light-ribbons instead of nebula. Not unpleasant, really.”

Cyl smiled. “The Beyond is as it sounds. Beyond. Our senses are largely blinded by the shadows of the subconscious. In turn, it makes that which does exist in definition stand out starkly. Even our own expanded senses interpret things in mortal understanding. That which has not yet formed simply isn’t, and so much of the Beyond is essentially empty space. That which is shines as specks of potential lit into form, and so we can see it. But reaching those spots is the challenge. Distance doesn’t really exist out here in the literal sense, but in terms of conceptual dissonance, those other realms are far from us. Far from what we are. And so it takes us effort to reach.” She pointed to one of the arcing ribbons of energy. “Although you do see resonant flow between ideas, and as such, you find these existential jetstreams between Multiverses.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to ride one of those out?” said Kat.

“If they connect where you want to go, certainly,” said Cyl. “We use them sometimes. But in the interest of keeping the Omnyverse isolated, we’ve made sure to keep ourselves distant from such streams, in as much as we can. We don’t usually ride any to and from the immediate vicinity.”

“You can understand why we don’t want to give our position away,” said Reignbeau, giving Kat a bit of a side-eye. “So don’t try to shortcut out here.”

Kat pursed her lips. “I won’t. I’m following your lead, like you insisted.”

“Good,” said Reignbeau. “Keep it up.”

“You’re doing fine, Kat,” said Cyl.

Loosening Up

A Game of Blind Dates: As the number of Omnys increased, and distinct cliques were beginning to form as a result, Whitney thought it would be a fun idea to devise a new game that would open up more chances for her fellow Omnys to connect. Omnys who wanted to participate would throw their names into a hat, and the names would be pulled out two at a time. Those who were paired off would each be sent to a private pocket dimension, committed to spending an entire day with one another.

While the odds often paired off girls who were fully down with playing together, those more isolating or shy Omnys who could be convinced to join the game might get the chance to hang out with someone they wouldn’t have previously considered!

***

Lettie popped into being on a stretch of soft sand. She was in the middle of a tiny, peaceful island, mostly sand with a few trees, the sea gently lapping at the shores. To her left was a small wooden shack with a bed. In front of her was a quartet of logs surrounding a small ring of pale stones, ready for firewood. The sun was already mostly set, and the stars were just starting to peak through the twilit sky. Lettie sat down on the sand, using one of the logs as a backrest, and waved her hand towards the stone ring, creating a self-sustaining fire without bothering to collect any wood first.

A moment later, Megan suddenly appeared. She glanced over to Lettie and scowled.

“Great,” she muttered. “Why do I gotta be stuck with you?”

Lettie gave her a bemused smile and a shrug. “Probably cuz it’d be funny? Cuz I’m the chipperist and you’re the bitterist?”

Megan blinked, then scowled deeper. “Probably. What a pain in the ass.”

“Sorry I’m not Shady,” said Lettie with a smirk. “I know you love her more.”

Megan’s scowled lessened, but didn’t go away entirely. “Love is laying it on a little thick. I like her sometimes.”

“Just sometimes?”

A Scarlet Shade

Since its incorporation into the Second Omnyverse, the World of Apoclypha had yet to see another incident of intrusion. The other Omnys knew better than to impose themselves onto Domina’s personal space. Even Opal and RoseGold, if they had to talk to her, would confront her on the neutral ground of Fulcrum, the Second Omnyverse’s own Fundament dimension. Megan, of course, still came and went as she pleased, but her Splinter-sister had made a point to give her more space since they’d made the move here.

So when another Omny did decide to finally breach her World’s walls, she was instantly alerted to their coming before they’d even crossed the threshold.

Domina had just entered her throne room, teleporting herself straight onto the tangled, shivering mass of broken-yet-still-living mortal bodies she used as her royal chair. The twisted mass let out a creaking chorus of screams as her body made contact, electrifying their frayed nerves with an intense undulation of horrid pain and inhuman pleasures. Before she could get into the moment, however, her attention snapped towards one corner of the room. A few moments later, the shadows of the corner began to boil. From the oily darkness, a scraggily-haired young woman dressed in a tattered black teddy emerged into the World.

Second Thoughts

It had taken her a couple years to really figure out what she wanted, but once she had everything ironed out, Opal wasted no time constructing her own World. Azure Horizons, a realm of neon cities and fantastical naturescapes, where mystical powers tied to Colors and Song granted the rare individual the status of “Wizartist”.

Alright, so maybe it would need a bit of tweaking as it went, but she had a pretty solid foundation at least. Naturally, her bar and nightclub chain, the Blue Illusion, had establishments in the extant cities, overseen by Created staff. On a routine basis, she would check on the stores, inserting herself among said staff.

One such visit was rather suddenly diverted as the blue-haired Omny felt a very familiar presence touch her mind across the borders into her World. Only her mothers resonated with her essence more strongly, but only just.

She accepted the unworded invitation, and materialized inside one of her currently-closed bars for a private meeting. She set up one table for two, and even though it was hardly necessary, set up drinks for her guest. A moment later, Jax appeared, and they shivered a bit as their cosmic energies thrummed in a sympathetic vibration.

Opal smiled warmly as she beckoned him over. “Hey, Uncle!”

Jax smirked as he came over to join her at the table. “Am I your Uncle or your Brother?”

Opal thought for a moment. “Let's go with Bruncle.”

The Omnymphotents, Book Four: Twists and Trysts

 

Salamando: Alright, fine, one more book! You can buy it on my Smashwords page at: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1496482. Now will you all get off my back for a while?
 
Cyl: Oh, don’t act like you don’t love it when we tap on your brain!
 
Salamando: No, I’m serious! This is it! No more Salamando books! Salamando is retired! I’m done!
 
Cyl: Uh-huh. You said that before, and yet here we are. And we are grateful for it, so thank you.
 
Osha: Yeah, I was a little miffed you tried to end things right after my debut, but I got to do a bunch of stuff this time around!
 
Illia: I also appreciate the extended screentime.
 
RoseGold: And I appreciate you deciding to include me after all.
 
Opal: Big same!
 
Shady: Yeah, well, goody for you bitches, but I barely got to do more than make cameos this time around! Sal! You better make a Book Five with me front and center!
 
Opal: Damn, Mom, one whole story was about you helping to make me, that wasn’t good enough for you? I see how it is!
 
Shady: You barely got to do anything either!
 
RoseGold: Fret not, all we need do is continue tapping on our author’s brain every once in a while.
 
Salamando: No, look, I like you all as a cast, and yeah, it was nice to able to get more done with you, but I mean it. The Salamando Era is finished.
 
Cyl: What about the mortal adventures stuff? You never did publish that one.
 
Salamando: Actually, I just went back and added all the Empowered and Created stories to Book One. So, some people might want to go back and get the new version. I’m not going to write any more of those, and there wasn’t enough material to make it its own bundle, I felt. They fit the earlier tone of the series better anyway.
 
Cyl: Ah. Well, I suppose that works.
 
Osha: Hey, I don’t see the Wayfarer stuff included! What about them? You’re not going to just abandon that, are you?
 
RoseGold: You only care about that because your Avatar is involved.
 
Osha: Yeah, what’s your point? }:3
 
Salamando: Man, I don’t know. If I really want to do a serious attempt at the Didsy stories, it’s probably going to have to be in some form not related to the Omnyverse. She’s really much more one of my genre-fic characters, so I kinda feel like she’d be getting held back being linked to all my taboo erotica baggage. No offense.
 
Osha: Aw, that’s no fun! C’mon, you can still do smutty adventure stories! People love those!
 
Salamando: No! I don’t just write erotica, goddamn it! I swear!
 
Shady: Aw, don’t try so hard to be such a born-again prude! Omnymphotents Book Five, Sal! Make it happen!
 
Salamando: I told you I’m done!
 
Cyl: That remains to be seen! Possibly-maybe see you next book, folks!

The Wayfarers - Pilot Episode

The World of Willowatt is a realm of fantasy magic, steam-and-gear-punk aesthetics, and a variety of sapient species. Although the World holds several systems of Magic, they are not practical for wide-scale use, leading to the development of industrial machines emerging alongside the refinement of magic systems, leading to somewhat haphazardly leapfrogging developments in both mysticism and technology.

Recently, a small wandering guild calling themselves the Merry Men (it’s funny because the group is almost entirely female) has taken residence in Willowatt, registering with the Wayfarer Network and devoting themselves to the investigation and handling of especially strange incidents. Presently, five members of the group have assembled at one of the Wayfarer’s branch offices to see what work need be done this day.
 
-------------------------------
 
Today’s Merry Men Roster
Didsy Dolopia – Lopfollo (near-human rabbitfolk), jack-of-all-trades multi-magician
Raiment – Didsy’s living dress, string magician
Woodsy – Free-range Wood Goddess, wields “nature powers” (secretly an Avatar of Osha)
Crotia McLaud – Raven-winged elemental magician
Wander – Interdimensional teleporter, swordsman, slacker
 
-------------------------------
 
“Library Ghouls?” Rai laughed as she popped her hat off Didsy’s head, twirled once, and flopped back down. “We got one right here! Case solved!”
 
“Haha,” muttered Didsy, rolling her eyes up at her wearable companion. “So what are they after?”
 
“Last witness says they were just stealing all the books and bringing them down to the basement level,” said Crotia. “Then they started running out of the library and stealing all the written material they could find throughout town.”
 
“Sounds like a bunch of data horders,” said Wander. “Maybe we just hand them a bunch of smartphones and point them to Google?”
 
“Willowatt doesn’t have an internet yet,” said Didsy. “And even if we rigged a custom local computer for these things, I doubt it would be what they’re looking for.”

Wander On Board (Didsy Prologue)

Sal was normally able to sense when an Omny was approaching, his dimensional teleportation powers keened into every one of their unique cosmic signatures. The Omnys, of course, could block him from detecting them at any time, and it was mostly either a courtesy that they didn’t, or they simply didn’t think about it.
 
Unless they wanted to pull a little prank, of course! As Sal stood atop a high cliff in the Rockies of Thrae, a womanly form suddenly pressed itself against his back. It had been a while since anyone had been able to sneak up on him, and he jerked forward in a moment of actual panic, attempting to whirl, only for slim feminine arms to slip around and hug him firmly from behind. Soft, warm lips fastened onto an erogenous spot on his neck and suckled briefly, causing him to let out a little mew of pleasure, his body to shiver, and for his pants to get much tighter.

Further Possibilities

Heat and sweat and sound and motion and love of life. For a moment, she almost forgot what she was, losing herself in the song and the beat, and the cheer of the crowd. But then, something snapped her back to self-awareness. She didn’t miss a beat, didn’t even hitch her voice mid-lyric, but she opened her eyes and her gaze snapped up to match that of another woman watching from the back. One woman observing her from two sets of eyes. And when her show was over, after she bowed and thanked the lovely crowd of rockers young and old, Opal and her band exited the stage, and the blue-haired Omny teleported herself to the roof of the club.
 
RoseGold was already there, her nearly twin bodies waiting in their customary airs. Rose stood with her hands clasped behind her back, a calm expression on her face. Gold had her arms folded, her foot tapping impatiently, her smile quirked in such a way that couldn’t seem to decide between bemusement and smugness.
 
“A lovely show,” said Rose, bowing respectfully.
 
“A screamin’ set,” said Gold, her mouth deciding on a grin.
 
“Thanks,” said Opal, putting a hand on her hip. “You a music head, too? Or you just introducing yourself to the newbie?”
 
“Barely newer than me,” said Gold, dropping her arms and slinking up to the blue haired Omny. She leaned closer, her grin salacious. “Osha sure moved on quick from us, didn’t she? Fire and forget.”
 
Opal smiled bemusedly. “You’re still one of her favorites. Trust me, I know.” Her hand whipped out, snagged Gold by her tie, and yanked her in for a deep kiss. Gold met her in kind, coiling herself around the other Omny, and the two moaned deeply in passion.

Demi-Urge

The Planar Void boomed with the sounds of combat! Normally a place where the Omnys would go to make love unrestrained, it was also proving to be an excellent sparring ground for the Five, the foremost defenders of the Omnyverse.
 
“Come on, ladies, put your backs into it!” Reignbeau let out a laugh as the Mingles attempted to flank her, Demi going low, Wyllow going high. Demi lashed out with a whip of flames, while Wyllow whirled with a gleaming scythe, which flashed into a nodachi mid-swing to try and catch the rainbow warrior off-guard.
 
As they did so, they both bent reality around them, warping space and twisting time, to try and get their opponent off-balance, skewing her from multiple angles. As always, Reignbeau parried every attempt at their esoteric offense, and took their strikes head-on, forcing what should have been a whirl of reality-bending maelstroms into a pure melee spar.

Two Makes Blue

 In a little cabin in a vast woods trapped in eternal night, two women were finding themselves being unusually hesitant. Neither Shady nor Osha were prone to second-guessing their wants, but one supposed there was a first time for everything!

 
“So, uh…” Osha’s smile was nervous.
 
“Yeah…” Shady was frowning slightly in thought.
 
“You’re sure you really want to do this?” said Osha.
 
“I said I’d do it, didn’t I?” huffed Shady, crossing her arms and glaring at her.