Esmie the Calamity Chapter 15 (Patreon)

** Gosh, this character has really taken on a life of her own. Like, holy shit. I'm finding myself wanting to focus an entire story on her. She was a spur of the moment addition!!! Whytyyyyy. Goodness gracious. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I did while writing it! Let me know what you think in discord or in the comments! Thank youuuuuuu **

George’s PoV

My new friends were very odd. Fun, cute, and definitely likeable, but odd. Most importantly, I felt like I could become real friends with them. If they let me, it was weird that I was a guy who was a few years older than them. I’d understand if they kept me at arm’s length.

Honestly, the hardest thing for me was adjusting to a relatively safe and normal life. It had been three years since I left the academy, only to be kicked from the force two months after graduation. Then, I spent another three years fighting for every scrap of freedom, security, and sustenance among the most desperate citizens of UNC.

Until, in the blink of an eye, Ruth had plucked me out of that mess and into her idol agency. The shift was jarring, almost nauseatingly so. It didn’t feel real.

And yet here I was, standing in my VR quarters within the Idolive HQ, preparing to load up CORA for the first time. Had it really only been two days since my meeting with Ruth? God that woman worked fast.

I was a little hesitant to hit the button though, the apprehension of what was about to happen outweighing my usual gung-ho attitude.

Exhaling slowly, I went through the meditation steps I had been taught at the academy. Originally designed to help steady the aim of a rifle, I was now using it to calm myself down before I… what, turned into a woman? God, my life was all over the place.

My apprehension didn’t come from a reticence to become a woman because there was anything bad about being one. No, my unease came from the stories I’d heard. People were very clear, playing as the opposite gender could lead to some serious mental health problems. Did I think I was above the laws of nature and the universe or whatever? Maybe not, but I’d do my best, because I needed this escape.

Which again led me to flipping my anxiety on its head. I couldn’t afford to not press the button to launch CORA. That was my go-to fix for any indecision I ran into. Ask myself the opposite question, and the way usually became clear.

“Pod, launch CORA, please,” I said into the empty room.

I was subjected to a bunch of lore bullshit immediately, and I mostly ignored it and waited for it to be over. I had never been all that interested in the ultra back-end story of a game. I wanted to know about the day to day stuff, the nitty gritty reality, the struggles and triumphs of the everyday denizen of the world. It was much more relatable to me as someone who had never known his parents. My life had been full of hardship, but also full of excitement and fun. It was a mixed bag, I guess.

Eventually though, I was placed into a fancy looking wooden room. Huge beams of dark timber held up the roof, each one carved with little scenes that were probably from the lore. Around me, various pieces of serviceable wooden furniture stood ready for use. It reminded me of a medieval tavern, but without a bar and the rowdy patrons that came with it.

Standing in the center of the room was a genderless human figure made out of a smooth grey substance. From the reading material that Ruth had given me, I knew the mannequin was the character creation dummy. Time to get to work, I guess?

Unlike with Esmie and Lynna, who had created their characters before Ruth had the idea to go full idol colonialism on CORA, I was going in with a rough idea of what I should be making. Plus, I was going to get a chance to use a skill I hadn’t touched in a very long time.

Approaching the mannequin caused a plethora of holographic menus to appear, and I had to take a moment to get my head around it all. Uh… okay, first I needed to choose my race. This part wasn’t something Ruth and I had planned, other than that it needed to be some sort of demi-human. Virtual Idols couldn’t be a boring old human, after all.

God, me… a virtual idol. Again, my life is fucking weird.

I needed something fast and strong, while also being pretty to look at. Maybe unique too, if I could manage it? Ah, but unique came from the randomizer. Did I dare to let it decide for me? They said it let you make gender and cosmetic changes after you used it, so should I just do that?

Fuck it, why not. I bopped the randomize button.

The model shifted immediately, morphing and changing before my eyes. Eyes that widened in… awe? I don’t know what the emotion I was feeling was, but the woman who now stared blankly at me was… impressive.

Hard blue eyes gazed out of a face that was framed by a huge mane of navy blue, green, and purple hair. No, wait… those were feathers. Wow!

Her face was angular and almost hawkish in shape, far more than I was comfortable with. At least the lashes were long and pretty. Then there were the scales, scattered high up on the cheekbones, right near the elfin ears. They looked like big freckles, and when I tentatively reached up to touch them, I was surprised to find that they were both soft and hard. They felt like warm frosted glass.

Feeling self conscious, I pulled back and fought my embarrassment back down into the dark pits of my mind. This was my body, I could touch my own damned body, even if I wasn’t inhabiting it yet.

Of course, that just gave me a good look at her naked body, and I had to avert my eyes. Jesus christ. She embodied sexual strength. Wide, curved hips and thighs were covered in lean muscle, while scattered scales protected areas that might suffer abrasion. There was also the matter of the thick, muscular tail that extended out behind her, scales giving way to an impressive fan of colourful feathers at the end.

What surprised me was that she was taller and stronger even than my normal body. Sure, the shoulders were slimmer and sported a gentle slope to them. Yes, the hips were wide and the waist was thin. True, the breasts were large and perky… but this chick could also kill. She was a hunter, a killer, and it was… it wasn’t good.

Too much sex, too much violence. Not enough cute. Nobody would believe this chick was an idol.

That was fine though, because the rest of her was absolutely perfect. I just needed to take the sculpting tools and have a little fun! I was actually sort of happy to be able to put my incredibly strange and niche skills to use. See, when I was a kid in the orphanage, I’d gotten obsessed with modeling clay. I’d play with the stuff constantly, and by the time I was knocking on the door of teenagehood, I was damned good. My brothers and sisters had also helped by frequently trashing my sculptures, forcing me to remake them better and more beautiful each time.

I began with the face, smoothing out the sharp edge of her jaw until it was a lovely, gentle curve from ear to point. Then, I rounded out her cheeks, doing away with the somewhat gaunt appearance and replacing it with a more youthful one. The type that would dimple when she… when I laughed or smiled.

The nose turned out to be a lot of work to get right. It had almost resembled a beak, and I had to shave it down considerably. In the end though, I stepped back to admire a small, cute little nose that brought a smile to my face. Perfect.

As I worked on turning the cutthroat into a gorgeous idol, I glanced over at the stats I had been given. Okay, the race was based on a raptor, but not the bird kind, the dinosaur kind. She had the sharp teeth to prove it too. The feathers were all bird of paradise though. They shimmered with hidden hues depending on the angle you viewed them, creating a spectacular and somewhat gaudy appearance. Perfect for drawing the attention of dumb beasts away from my teammates.

The skill trees that had been chosen were… oh, interesting. Swordplay, Wit, and Grace. The whole build appeared to be that of a duellist, designed to dodge deadly blows by a hair, then riposte with vicious accuracy. It was extremely exciting. God, that sounded like fun, and I knew I could pull it off. It would also look fucking incredible on camera. Very anime.

I left the body mostly intact, adding just a small amount of body fat to soften up the whole image, while still keeping a more dangerous vibe about the whole thing. I was tempted to make the breasts smaller, but decided against it in the end. As much as they would get in the way during combat… they would help me in other areas.

When I stepped back, I found myself nodding and smiling at my work. Yes, I still had it. Of course, then I realised that I was staring at the body of a naked woman and turned away. God, she… uh, me… I  was very attractive. I was definitely being a prude, but the way she was just standing there completely naked… goodness.

The next part was the most intimidating by far. My hand hovered over the button to take control of my new body for a few moments, before I scrunched my eyes shut and jabbed at it like I was launching a barrage of missiles.

My perspective blinked, one moment I was staring at a gorgeous, cute, dangerous looking woman, and the next… the next, I was her. I shivered slightly as my naked skin reported a chill in the air. Glancing down, I stared at my arm, fascinated by the soft skin coming up in goosebumps. The hair was so fine, just the slightest hint of colourless fuzz. Lifting a strong but fine boned and elegant hand, I brushed it up my forearm.

My breath caught. Holy shit, was… was my skin meant to be that sensitive? It was like I was experiencing a sense of touch for the first time ever.

Exhaling slowly, as though I needed to be careful not to shatter myself by breathing too heavily, I turned to a nearby mirror and… immediately pulled my eyes away again. I had met my own gaze… the storm of emotion it raised within me was intense and unexpected. God damn, this was a lot to process.

Alright, come on Geo— oh shit. I needed a name. I needed a name.

What had the generator given me? It should have made me with a name attached so, if that was good I could just—

Iria Arono.

My whole world focused in on that name. Iria. Iria. Iria Arono. My hand had reached out unbidden, fingertips brushing lightly against the holographic panel that displayed it. Iria.

Dropping my hand, I turned my attention back at the mirror and stared. Was I an Iria? I tilted my head, watching as my long mane of feathers shifted, tickling my shoulders and back.

“Iria, is that you?” I asked, then stopped cold as I heard my own voice. Sweet and melodic, with just a hint of bass riding below the surface. Another long, calming breath, and I found the answer. “Yes. I’m Iria. Iria Arono. Fuck with my girls and I’ll shove four and a half feet of steel through your gut.”

A grin broke through my scattered thoughts, and I let out a delighted laugh. Oh, yes. Oh very much yes. That was it.

My little shit talking speech had allowed me to take command of myself and this new body, at least a little, and I pulled my shoulders back, standing proud. The smirk that followed was everything I’d hoped for when I was carefully sculpting this face. Hell to the yes, this was me, for sure. God, what a sight. What a glorious sight.