Book Chapter - The Comfort Drone - WIP - 5/7/23 (Patreon)

Just outside one of the unoccupied testing cells, in the adjacent observation lounge separated by tinted observation windows was one of the maintenance workers, putting the final touches on her most recent passion project. After weeks of toiling, she finally held up her finished AI, letting out an exhausted sigh as she wiped the sweat off of her forehead. The young woman had no words, simply chuckling to herself happily as she held the chip above her head, looking up at it as if witnessing a dream come true, her mature brown eyes gleaming in the fluorescent office lights.

Running her fingers through her short red hair, a smile spread across her bright red lips as she simply savored this satisfying moment. The woman wore the usual lab attire, with the lab coat and dress shirt and all, though she preferred to wear a tight leather skirt with semi-transparent leggings on this particular day, as she had finished her shift hours ago. Suddenly, she was startled by the sound of the metal entrance doors opening on the other side of the room, as the bright lights from the hall briefly blinded her. Metallic, slightly rubbery footsteps could be heard as a tall dark silhouette entered the room, one too high in stature to be human.

Once the woman’s eyes adjusted to the light, she could see that it was Rei-Uno, stepping into the room with her hands on her hips as she slowly approached the lone lab worker. “Good evening Miss… Alara was it?” the android asked politely as she stood beside the table. The young woman looked up at the android, still not used to being in the presence of her much taller superior. “Yes ma’am, Alara is my first name.” she responded, unable to hide her nervousness as she spoke. “Yes, I’ve come to inform you that your reservation for this lab ended 30 minutes ago, from this point on, the room can only be used for testing and trial runs.” the android explained in a polite tone.

The woman took a moment before she was able to respond, as she couldn’t help but be slightly intimidated by her robotic superior. “I-I understand, that’s why I put the finishing touches on my project, it’s finally ready for testing.” Alara explained, holding up her finished chip with a slight stutter in her voice. Rei-Uno immediately analyzed the chip with her optics, and it didn’t take her long to recognize the intricate and complex wiring embedded into the device, immediately taking interest. ”Oh?” she exclaimed softly, scratching her chin when she realized it was an AI of some sort.

As the android reached down for the chip, the young woman couldn’t help but finch as her superior leaned down towards her, before taking the device in her rubbery hand. Rei-Uno kept herself bent over to remain at the human’s eye level, as she continued to look at the computer chip, fixated on it as she looked at it from every angle she could. “Interesting, if you don’t mind me asking, what exactly did you have in mind for this little trinket?” she asked, regaining eye contact with the young woman. Alara’s nervous expression quickly faded as her eager grin returned, tapping her feet as she looked as if she could jump out of her shoes from excitement.

“I’m happy you asked Miss! I-I have the prototype waiting in the other room!” Mid Sentence, the young woman excitedly stepped her way toward the containment cell entrance, her heels loudly clacking along the marble floor before stopping halfway. Taking a deep breath, Alara got a hold of herself and turned around to face her superior again. “If… Would you like to see it ma’am?” she said in a polite tone. Rei-Uno chuckled as she stood back up, still gently holding the chip in her glossy fingers. “Of course.” she replied stepping forward. “It’s been such a slow day, and I’ve been dying to see something interesting before I power off for the night.”

The two made their way to the testing cell, as Alara punched in the code next to the metal door. The entrance opened up to reveal a large square room, covered in white latex and padded with segmented rows of puffy cushions. The air smelled clean, but sterile and heavily filtered, giving the environment an uncanny atmosphere. On the other side of the room, huddled up against the wall was a large figure shredded underneath the purple cloak of tarp, making it look rather ominous even to the android.

Alara had to kick off her heels in order to traverse the cushy padded floor, practically bouncing with every step as she eagerly grabbed the tarp in her hands. “Aaaaaand…” With a big wide grin, she yanked the tarp off, flipping it into the air and allowing the android to get a clear view of what was beneath. Rei-Uno’s optics dilated as an unexpected look spread across her face, the room falling into silence until the tarp finally fluttered down to the floor. Sitting before the both of them was a large 8-foot tall kangaroo plush of some kind, sitting limp against the wall like a giant floppy pillow.

The entire plush was covered in some kind of light brown fabric, made up of what appeared to be high-quality satin with a snow-white underbelly. Its entire body was round and plump, with thick puffy legs on either side of its large pillowy-looking belly, which made up for most of its plush-like features. The arms were also rather large, with big rounded paws big enough to scoop up a human, and bright pink shiny paw beans lined with glossy latex. And of course, what drew the android’s attention was its big adorable face, its most distinguishable part being its wide-eyed expression, with a slightly elongated snood and big floppy ears.

Rather than being super exaggerated like plushes tend to be, it had a more Eastern aesthetic, designed with a more kemono-anime aesthetic, looking less cartoony and giving it a more cute appearance. As it was, it looked more like an oversize pillow than a stuffed animal, slumped down against the wall with multiple folds of puffy fabric visible along the exterior of its cushy body. Of course, to the android, and her advanced optics, she immediately recognized the endoskeleton hidden underneath all of the plush, indicating that it was some kind of automaton or drone.

“Well now!” Rei-Uno exclaimed, clearly impressed with what was presented before her.  “This was unexpected. You made this all by yourself?” Alaras’s smile grew wider as she chuckled to herself with satisfaction. “Well, I was allowed to use the assembly to construct the robotics, but yeah I designed it all myself!” she boasted, bursting with pride as she kept the AI chip delicately held in her fingers. “If I may ask, what is the intended purpose of this… unique design?” the android asked. The young woman took a deep breath, pausing to gather her thoughts.

“You see, after all of the unwilling test subjects we’ve accumulated over the past few months. I’ve noticed that some of the earliest of subjects have still not adjusted well to their new conditions.” the woman started off, pacing back and forth. “And while we keep our prisoners in perfect health, they’re still essentially prisoners here.” she paused for a moment as she stopped pacing and looked back to Rei-Uno. “And I worry that if we don’t keep our prisoner’s mental health in check, they won’t be able to perform well during tests, or in the worse case, have a mental breakdown.” the young woman then turned back to her creation, holding out her arms towards it with a triumphant pose. “Which is why I conceptualized the Caregiving Check-Up Drone!”

Climbing onto the plush, she lifted its head up so Rei-Uno could get a better look. “Most of our staff and security forces tend to frighten and intimidate our subjects. So in contrast, my invention’s soft, wide-eyed, and cuddly appearance is designed to calm those in its presence, the same way any therapy pet would.” Alara then opened its mouth, which was lined with soft velvet, and a tongue made of what looked like PVC or silicon. “And, combined with the personality and mentality of an affectionate Nanny…” she paused her sentence as she slowly inserted the AI chip into its maw until a soft click could be heard within its head.

After removing her hand from its mouth, the two waited silently as the kangaroo plush remained completely still, with only the subtle ambiance sound of computer parts powering up. Then, without warning, a large bulbous sphere rapidly erupted from the plushes mouth, puffing out until pressed up against the human's face. “Mmmph?!?!” Alara let out a muffled yelp as the expanding orb began wrapping over her body, sinking into its surface until she was sealed in with a soft rubbery bloop. Rei-Uno simply gasped in surprise as she took a step back, watching as the orb containing aArala tumbled from the plushes belly until it came rolling to a stop in front of her feet.

The orb appeared to be some kind of gelatinous bubble, it’s wobbly surface glistening as if it was made of polished glass. Dizzy and a bit embarrassed, the woman lay on her back with her body curled up into a half-fetal position, her legs spread enough for the android to see underneath her skirt. The bubble was just barely large enough at 4 1/2 feet in diameter to keep her contained. Fortunately, the surface seemed rather thick and soft as it stretched around her proportions as if the bubble’s membrane doubled as an all-encompassing cushion.

Alara groaned as she pressed her hands up against the surface, even spreading her knees out in hopes of making more room for herself, but the bubble only stretched out a few inches, maintaining its general volume while keeping her contained. “Oh, my…” The android said softly with an amused chuckle. Lifting up her left foot, the rubber surface on her heel sharpened out and Took on the properties of a dagger. Slowly and gently she placed her sharp heel on the surface of Laura’s bubble prison, and swiftly swiped it with a sharp kick, slicing the membrane open with a soft Pop. The gelatinous surface deflated around the human woman allowing her to finally spread her arms and legs as she let out a sigh of relief.

“Thanks.” she said, her cheek slightly blushing as she got back up on her feet. “Thought I fixed that bug.” she then turned to the giant plush kangaroo, sitting upright with its head staring down them, A happy grin appearing on its face as it bowed to them. “Good evening Miss Alara.” said the plush with its deep feminine voice, with a tone so soft and soothing that it no longer came off as intimidating. The plush then turned its attention to Rei-Uno, kneeling down lower in order to get down to her height. “And hello to you ma’am, my name is Fluffles. How are you doing today?”

Rei-Uno just smiled back, impressed with its apparent sentience as well as its politeness. “I’m doing well today, pleasure to meet you.” she responded, stepping closer to the giant plush. “If you don’t mind me asking? What is your function?” she followed up. The plush sat back up, nodding her head down as she placed her paw on her chest. “I am a caregiving kangaroo, I can act as a therapy plush and nanny to any of your test subjects who may be in distress or need mental health care.” Fluffles explained. “Do you have anyone in need of my services?”

Rei-Uno just smiled as she pulled up her list of subjects from the database, skimming through each and every one of their profiles as she turned back to Alara. “Well, seeing as this chamber is currently open for testing runs, would you be interested?” she asked. The human nodded, barely able to contain her excitement as she gently hopped on the bouncy rubber floor.

It wouldn’t be another 10 minutes later before one of the subjects would find themselves in that chamber, a young man who looked to be about in his early to mid-20s. Wearing nothing but a pair of facility-provided Lycra shorts, his slim but fit body was bare to the cold rubber-padded floor beneath him. His dark hair was cut short since he had been detained as a test subject, and though the workout schedule his captors had given him kept his body strong and healthy, he looked rather pale and had visible bags under his eyes.

The young man would slowly awaken as he let out a soft confused whimper, his head spinning as he took a few moments to regain his senses. His eyesight was a bit fuzzy, taking a minute to recognize the latex padding surrounding him, though he could tell it was not the same cell he had been residing in for the past few months, with this one being much bigger. It would only be as he finally got up on his hands and knees that he would notice the giant plush kangaroo sitting in front of him. The sudden sight of it startled him until he realized it was just a stuffed animal, letting out a relieved breath as he kneeled down on the padded floor.

For a moment he just stared blankly at the giant plush, until it tilted its head slightly along with a subtle but clearly audible giggle. The man’s expression froze, as he immediately realized that he was sitting in front of one of the facilities robots. Even though it wasn’t coated in latex like the others, it wasn’t difficult to recognize the mannerisms of these machines, as he immediately sat up and turned to run in the other direction. But before he could even take a second step, the plushies’ large puffy paws grasped onto him, wrapping him up as his arms were pinned to his sides by her cool puffy latex paw pads.

“Uh uh uh,” the kangaroo teased, lifting him off his feet. Though he tried to squirm, the latex padding lining her paws simply puffed up around his torso, giving his body a tenderly soft squeeze as a slight moan left his lips. “Don’t go.” she turned him around till he was now facing her, holding him up at eye level so he could get a better look at her. No longer looming over him, she seemed a little less intimidating as he looked into her large baby doll eyes, her mature and rather nurturing expression calming him as she gave him a warm smile.

This didn’t stop him however from squirming in her firm grip, trying to loosen the hold of the puffy latex on his body. “Ohhh… don’t be like that.” the kangaroo said with a soft deep tone, pulling him closer as she finally eased her hold on him. “Come’re.” With that, the young man found himself pressed up against her chest as her arms wrapped around him and a BIG soft hug. The man’s heart skipped a beat as his face turned rosy pink, sinking into her soft pillow body as her arms encompassed his body with a tender squeeze.

—- 

5/7/23

The comfort of the kangaroo’s cuddly hug caused him to shiver in comfort, letting out a soft moan as he found his face buried in her plushy chest. The man was restless for a few moments, squirming and wiggling the thick layers of soft plush sandwiching him from front to back until he eventually allowed himself to go limp in her large pillow arms. Letting out a long exhausted sigh, he decided to embrace the comfort as he turned his head and let his cheek rest on the plush. It truly felt like he was laying on the equivalent of a giant pillow, with the surface so squishy and soft felt like some kind of spongey memory foam.

With the fight now squeezed out of the young man, fluffles began to slowly rock him side to side, gently shushing him as she could detect his heartbeat slowing normalizing, until he was perfectly relaxed. Though the young man was not completely trusting of his new charge, her embrace alone was enough to give him a sense of peace, much different from the aggressive and rather intimidating rubber-clad androids who often handled him. After taking a minute to truly appreciate just how soft and comfortable he was, he slowly lifted his head up as he curiously looked at the plushy‘s adorable face.

“Feeling better?” Fluffles asked. The young man nodded nervously, remaining wary of the giant plush, despite being charmed by her rather attractive face. The plush seemed pleased as she slowly blinked at him, lifting up her paw to give him a gentle stroke on the top of his head. “Good boy.” she said with a deep purr in her voice, gently pressing his face back against her chest as she continued petting him. The man gave no resistance whatsoever, allowing the pillowy android to comfort him as if in the arms of a loved one.

letting the comfort get the best of him, the young man let out another soft whimpering moan into her chest, making the plush giggle as she pulled him up closer. “Ohhhhhhh, you… are… so… CUTE!” she cooed deeply with puckered lips, leaning her head down as she gave his face a big soft smooch. Her lips were so big and squishy, covering most of his bashful little face as she literally smothered him with affection. “Mmmmmmmwah!” releasing him from her kiss, she smiled with a chuckle as she got a look at how blushy he had become. Though it wasn’t due to her kiss, nor the brief smothering that got him all worked up, but being called cute… was enough to make his heart melt.

Embarrassed, he couldn’t bear to look her back in the eye, which only endeared the plushy android more to him as she moved her arms off of his back. “Uh?” the young man Guest as she wrapped his paws underneath him, letting him lay in her arms in a bridal carry. Still pressed up against her chest, it felt like he was being cradled in a hammock made of pillows, being held as if he was an infant child. Though it was a bit embarrassing, he couldn’t deny just how relaxing it was, making him feel a surprising sense of safety in her embrace.

Neither of them had said a thing for at least a few minutes, the kangaroo simply staring at the human with an adoring smile, as the nervous human kept his head nestled into her soft chest. All the while, Alara and Rei-Uno watched from the other side of the tinted glass, the human woman excitedly taking notes as the android simply watched for the mere amusement of it all. “Very impressive.” Rei-Uno said with praise. “Normally I’d prefer to watch our subjects get toyed with in our traps but… this is quite refreshing.”

“Thank you ma’am!” Alara said, her face still buried in her tablet as she recorded her observations. “My AI is performing a lot better than even I had anticipated.” she said enthusiastically, but then paused writing as she looked at Fluffles adoring expression, resting the tables underneath her chin as she nervously bit her lip. “But…” she stuttered. Rei-Uno turned to face the human, noticing the concerned look on her face. “What?” she asked curiously. Alara took in a soft deep breath before making her response. “Fluffles is acting a lot more affectionate than she should be.”