Merlwyb gets Carded (FF14 Card/Doll TF) (Patreon)

Annnd story three. I hope folks enjoy, and I'll see you next week!

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Rain lashed down on the towering streets of Limsa Lominsa, the dark skies only occasionally lit by piercing flashes of levin, striking out to sea. A miserable night by anyone’s standards, though not an altogether uncommon one in the pirate city. It wasn’t much of a problem – sailors were used to dealing with bad weather – but even so, most would want to stay inside tonight.

The view from the Admiral’s window – located near the top of one of the highest spires in the city – spelled that out plain for anyone to see, though the only person who would actually be seeing it at this hour was the Admiral herself. Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn, leader of the Maelstrom, head of the sailor’s city state, and well-known workaholic. Whether it was raiding garleans, commanding the navy, or just normal paperwork for running a city, Merlwyb always had something she was working on.

That was as true tonight as it was most evenings, and not even the peals of thunder outside her office windows was enough to deter her. Most city officials had already headed to bed by now, but she anticipated another few hours of work left in her before she hit the hay herself. That level of dedication and sharp work ethic had been two of the reasons she’d climbed her way to the position of Admiral in the first place – though her two pistols, Death Penalty and Annihilator, had certainly played their parts as well.

Aside from the storm, it was a quiet night. There were few issues that needed her personal attention. The garleans had been quiet, the beastmen weren’t causing trouble, her own people were behaving themselves for once… For once, there was no emergency that needed tending.

Perhaps that should have been her first warning that something was wrong. Instead, that honour went to the silence. The clock was edging on close to midnight when the Admiral’s pen stopped mid-sentence, her suspicious eyes looking up towards the door. Her office was one of the most secure places in Limsa – nay, in all of Eorzea. Few were admitted entrance, and none without her express permission. There were guards posted to every hall on the way up, with access only being granted via an elevator system that was rigorously controlled by her security detail. While there was no doubt that the good woman could handle herself, she preferred to be able to work without having to concern herself with potential assassins or attackers distracting her. They really made a mess of things.

All in all, there was no end to the security precautions put in place around her workplace. So then, why was it so quiet? It shouldn’t have been. Her ears were sharp, honed over a long career of watching her back, and normally she would have been able to pick up on the sound of shifting armour, murmuring guards, and the footsteps of patrols through the stone floors. But right now, all she heard was the rain.

Frowning, she rose to her feet, Death Penalty sliding into her hand so naturally an observer might wonder if it had ever left. Lightning crackled, the room filled with a momentary flood of white, but the Admiral never blinked – her eyes still focused on the door, the one way into this room. Cautiously, quietly, she moved around her desk, each cautious step moving her closer to the hallway outside, and the revelation of this mystery…

Only to spin around at the last moment, pistol pointed square at the forehead of the masked, cloaked figure standing just behind her.

“Oh, you really are good.” The man grinned.

She fired. The crack of gunpowder echoed through the office.

“And direct!” The unharmed man chuckled, the bullets simply passing through him. “Always nice to see.”

“Ascian.” Merlwyb growled, eyes narrow. She knew all too well what this man was – and equally, she knew there was precious little she could do about them. Ascians were infamously hard to kill, and as skilled as she was, she was no Warrior of Light. If it came to a battle, she was at a disadvantage. “What are you doing here?”

It was an important question. Powerful they may be, but Ascians typically stuck to the shadows, fancying themselves more as master manipulators than direct players. If one was acting so openly, then that could only mean trouble.

“What, can a man not simply drop in on a lesser creature’s society to see how it’s doing?” The arrogance flowing through this man’s voice made it clear he certainly meant the sentiment, even if his words as a whole weren’t true. He truly considered the people of Eorzea – no, perhaps the whole world – beneath him. “It’s almost as though you’re not happy to see me!”

“Only a fool would be happy to see your ilk,” the Admiral spat, glaring. “You’ve plagued our peoples for long enough, and the day we’re finally rid of you will be a bright one for all of Eorzea.”

Alas, that just drew an amused chuckle from the shadowy figure. “Ah, you wound me!... But not truly. Be rid of us? Such things are far, far beyond your ability, Admiral.”

“Mine, perhaps.” Merlwyb’s eyes flashed. “But not everyone shares my limitations. I’ve heard your numbers are looking an awful lot thinner than they used to, Paragon. How many of you has the Warrior of Light felled already? Tell me, are you beginning to learn the meaning of fear at last?”

Some people might have considered it foolish to taunt a magical creature that bordered on being an eldritch abomination while it was standing in your office and you had no way to defend yourself. Such people rarely made the climb to Admiral of a pirate fleet.

And it seemed she’d struck a nerve. Even behind his mask, she could see that Ascian’s eyes narrow. “You speak more truly than you know, Admiral. Our halls are indeed emptier than they were. Though, I think your people might not find the bright dawn they’ll greet without us nearly so much to their liking as you imagine. With the masters of the house gone, the servants are free to play as they please…”

The Pirate Queen scoffed. “Enough of your riddles. What is it you want, Ascian? If you’ve no business with me then I have paperwork to be getting on with.”

She turned to make her way back to her desk. While she knew full well she’d not get free of this situation so easily, she also knew there was no point in keeping her eyes on the creature. No, the best way to play this was with words, not actions.

To her surprise, she didn’t get far before the cloaked man appeared in front of her once again. “Ah, but I’m afraid we do have business, Admiral.” He grinned. Merlwyb was sure he felt he looked charming, but it was more like the smile of a corpse. “Indeed, you put word to why yourself. With so many of my brothers and sisters now silent, the forces of light suddenly have an unthinkable advantage over us. I am here to redress the balance.”

“… I see.” His flowery language did little to disguise his intent this time. It would seem he planned to be rid of her. How very direct, for an Ascian. Perhaps if she unloaded with both pistols, she might stand a better chance… “Then you’re certainly being wordy about it.”

“Oh, I’ve no intention of being unsporting. I’ll give you a chance to defeat me, to prove your worth. It’s only when you fail to do so that I’ll have you disappear.”

She drew her guns, still running through her options in her head. Unfortunately the silence in the rest of the tower meant that calling for help wasn’t going to do any good. Still… “I hope you don’t expect me to go easy on you.”

But to her surprise he simply rolled his eyes and laughed. “Such barbarity. I’ve no interest in a physical fight – it’s not as though you’d have a chance, either. No, I think we’ll determine your fate in a far more civilized way.” And then with a flare of shadows, he summoned…

…

Merlwyb squinted. “Is that supposed to be a Triple Triad deck?”

His amusement was plain. “I believe that’s what your people call it these days, yes. Of course, the true name and nature of this game has been lost to spoken history. You see it as a mere card game, and fail to respect its power – so typical of your kind. Why, I remember playing it back when- Ah, but that would be telling.” He grinned. “None the less, it will suffice as a fair contest between us.”

“What nonsense is this…” The Admiral would have thrown him out of her office, had she the power to do so, just for being this plain ridiculous. Unfortunately, as it was it seemed she’d have to deal with the Ascian’s madness head on. “You broke into my office and did hells know what to my guards to challenge me to a children’s card game?”

The cloaked figure shrugged. “We all have our hobbies. Are you going to play? Or just forfeit and skip right to the penalty?”

She glared – but once again had to admit there was little she could do but go along with his desires, at least for now. Hopefully she’d find a way of turning things around. With a grunt, she strode over to her desk and thumped it. A secret compartment sprung open on the side, revealing her own deck. An Admiral was always prepared.

“That’s the spirit!” The Ascian cheered, and she rolled her eyes. “Now then… Start!”

The initial cards hit the board, and Merlwyb eyed her opponent cautiously. She didn’t recognise the cards he played, diverse as they were, but she could recognise how strong they were. The numbers were plain as day. Still, he hadn’t played any aces yet. Whether he was holding back or just didn’t have them was unknown, but like this, she could easily win. Her deck was hardly weak itself.

The corners were snapped up early, cards taking secure positions and limiting the field. Standard Triple Triad flow – the corner spaces offered the strongest protection for weaker cards, protecting them from attack on two sides. Once those spaces were gone, though, that was when there was nowhere left to hide – and you either swam to attack, or floundered.

Here, though, she had an advantage. The Ascian had gone first, which meant he would always have more cards on the board, leaving her free to attack on every turn. The object of Triple Triad was to flip your opponent’s cards by placing a card with a higher number than it had next to it – and then at the end of the game, the winner was the one who had the most cards on their side. With this, her chances of victory rose drastically, no matter how powerful his cards may have been.

Her chance finally came towards the endgame, as there were barely any spaces left. This was the most chaotic period of any match, when every square was surrounded by multiple cards that could potentially be flipped, where earlier defensive preparations could pay off, or devastating attacks would be the most effective. And a devastating attack was exactly what she had planned.

There was a slap of paper on wood as she played her card, followed shortly by a snort of amusement from the Ascian. “Your own card? My my, how narcissistic.”

And indeed, it was the Triple Triad card depicting the Admiral herself, in all her glory, with an ace and a 9, two of the strongest attack values, played directly against the Ascian’s cards. “The card is popular with the men of the Maelstrom, so naturally it would make its way into my hands. I’d be more worried about the cards you just lost if I were you.”

For he had lost cards – the centre, and the bottom left, claimed by the Admiral’s colours, and putting her at full advantage, holding seven points to his three. With one spot left on the board, the game was as good as hers.

Which was why it was troubling that he didn’t look worried. No, he looked as arrogant as ever. “Quite so, quite so. You’ve left me in quite a predicament. If it wasn’t for a card I had to go on quite a long journey to retrieve, I’d be in trouble…”

His card hit the table in the last space, the middle of the top row. It was a strange one, a card she’d never seen before, but not wholly unfamiliar – which just made it more disturbing.

The picture seemed to depict Y’Shtola, one of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn – a heroic group that Eorzea often found themselves depending on. But Y’shotla would never have dressed in such garish clothes, practically like one of the dancers you might see on the streets of Ul’dah. And her body had never had such inflated proportions. Were it not for her face, and her rather unique eyes, the archon would be utterly unrecognisable.

Her numbers, however, were shockingly impressive. Two 8s, one on either side, and an Ace down below, balanced out only by the pitiful 1 at her head. A very powerful card, or, at the very least, a powerful insult to one of the realm’s heroes.

“What is this?” Merlwyb stared at the card in shock, even as the three cards surrounding it flipped over, handing the Ascian the win at six points to four. “That can’t be a legal card. Why would you make this?”

“I already told you, your people barely scratch the surface of the ancient ritual you treat as a simple game,” the cloaked man said with a shrug, basking in his victory. “But if you must know, I didn’t make this card – I simply retrieved it. I didn’t want to risk her companions retrieving her and possibly restoring her. Best to remove a troublesome player from the board when you have the chance, no? Or, at least, move her to a different board all together.”

The Admiral’s brow furrowed, still staring at the card. There was something about it – and something the man was implying – that said there was a lot more to this than it seemed. But this couldn’t possibly be… “What are you talking about? Are you saying that card is the Archon herself?”

“Yes indeed!” The Ascian laughed at her expression. “She has gotten herself in quite a fix, hasn’t she?” He picked up the card depicting what could only be a brainless mi’qote stripper and held it up proudly. “Though I must say I like the new look. As for how this happened to her, though, I wouldn’t worry about that. You’ll find out soon enough.”

There was obvious ill intent in his words – but before she could ask what he meant there was a flash of light, the glowing outline of a Triple Triad card appearing around her. All of a sudden, she found she couldn’t move, her body frozen in place by a nefarious magic. Angered panic spiked in her chest, the Pirate Queen struggling to break free, but she couldn’t so much as twitch a finger – and then the feeling got worse as the world around her started to grow taller. Or, to put it more accurately, she started to shrink. Soon, she was sinking down below the Ascian’s waist, and a strange tingling feeling was building up in her front and back as her body began to narrow…

A moment later, there was another slap of paper on wood – this time caused by Merlwyb’s own card falling to the floor, lying face up on the ground with her trapped inside it, rendered as little more than a two-dimensional image. She couldn’t do anything, even as the man in the mask bent down and picked her up, smirking at her frozen image.

“Not bad. Regal, almost! You make a fine card, Admiral. But…” He raised his other hand, holding up the Merlwyb card that she’d used in their duel earlier. “I’m afraid there’s already a Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn Triple Triad card around. We’d best make some alterations before anyone gets confused.”

She didn’t have time to reflect on his ominous words – even as he spoke, a new feeling started spreading through her, sweet, tinging aether flooding through her form. A light, airy feeling filling her…

Being unable to move, she couldn’t see the changes beginning to take place. The way that her picture shifted, her formerly dignified pose moved out, her arms and legs spreading as her clothes vanished in a puff of foam. For a moment, she was left completely naked, her pale body presented proudly.

But the magic wasn’t done. The airy feeling intensified – and slowly, creeping up from below and climbing upwards, her skin began to take on a plastic sheen as it began to puff out. It started with her legs, her thighs plumping up into light hollow cylinders that dangled uselessly in the air, already spread and open.

Pleasure spiked as the wave of plastic swept up between her legs, turning her nether lips into an open, inviting blue fuck hole, shaking her brain so hard that her eyes would have rolled in her head if they were able. She was barely even aware of the change to her waist as it slimmed under the plastic onslaught – as opposed to her chest, which swelled out far, far larger than it had ever been before, turning her breasts into true tit torpedoes. By the time the changes reached her neck, her arms had already been completely consumed, her fingers merging together to turn her hands into useless mitts.

Then the airy feeling was pumping directly into her head, and growing stronger by the moment. Had she been able, the Admiral would have moaned as her lips puffed out into nice thick cocksuckers, forming a permanent O shape as they turned blue, another fine fuck hole waiting to be used. She would have trembled as her features smoothed out, her eyes turning into simple painted on images creating an eager come-hither expression. And she would have squealed as her hair turned into a flat nylon wig, perfect for gripping or cleaning.

But she couldn’t do any of these things. In fact, as the pleasure built and the plastic took her completely, she found she couldn’t even think them, the air in her head slowly mixing in with her thoughts until her mind was just as hollow as her body – left with one, simple thought, repeating over and over.

‘Fuck me… Fuck me… Fuck me…’

And with that, it was done. The image on her card had been transformed from a proud and noble city leader, to an empty-headed sex doll – and the change had gone all the way down to her core. Even if she was to be released from her card prison, all that would come out was a simple sex toy – a set of holes to be fucked, and nothing more.

The Ascian smiled at his handiwork, satisfied. Another ally to the heroes of light, removed from play. Perhaps not in the way his allies in darkness would have done it… but removed none the less.

“Welcome to the deck, Admiral Blowupdoll,” he chuckled, slipping her in with the rest of his cards. “Why not enjoy the Archon’s company. And don’t worry – you won’t be the last to join my collection~”

Then he vanished in a swirl of darkness, and outside, the long night wore on…