New TF Story

[Blowfly]

Definately waiting on the next installment...

[SoylentOrange]

I'll be honest, work's been hell these past 2 weeks. I've got some progress on the story so far, but not a lot...

[Nihtgenga]

I just finished reading the story so far, and am bloody impressed. This is really good stuff. I can't wait to see what happens to the CDC representative.

I did notice a few typos, though- while they aren't bad enough to actually ruin it, they do detract slightly from the flow of the story.

Also, Hmmm, I'm liking the pictures. They really capture the feeling of it.

[shadowstreets]

I think it is awesome how you have all these details already figured out about the parasite even though it hasn't come up in the story yet. And the story is awesome as well.

This was such a good story. Is it not going to be updated anymore?

[SoylentOrange]

Sorry, been super-busy. I'm actually close to done with the next Juggalos update, and then there's a small standalone story I've been working on, and then I'll be back with MAry.

Plus, I've been super, super busy with non-process stuff recently. Once I'm off for the holidays I'm sure I'll be getting a lot more done story-wise.

well no worries if its just the real world thats slowing you down. must be hard to work on all those projects at the same time. I was just worried that this was forgotten.

I'm sorry for my selfishness for wanting more and my rude impatience that couldn't last longer that 2 months.

[hmmm!]

*blows dust off of thread*

Hey, I know it's been a long while since Soy or I have done anything for Mary, so have this picture we just finished!

The other pictures can be found here: http://www.process-productions.com/f...4&postcount=99

[SoylentOrange]

For anyone scratching their heads, this is how Mary sees herself in her dream, the hypothetical ending if Mary just let the Body do whatever it wanted. Sort of the "Game Over" screen, if you will.

[dracolych49]

First saw this on DevArt. Nice to see it's expanded a bit. The new art is nice too. Much better than the Zerg-like thing I imagined! Keep it up, cause this, like other art, with this quality, I can afford to wait!

[dinnertime]

Ah, that looks great, hmmm! I think that picture captures Mary's dream quite well!

Soy, any chance we'll see that next chapter up anytime soon?

[SoylentOrange]

Man, it should NOT have taken this long to get any further on this.... -__-

Ayways, here's the next chunk. Things are about to get real ugly in oregon...
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When Mary woke up, she found Shandra's leash draped over her head, Shandra herself rooting in the refridgerator. She'd taken off her long coat and wrapped it around her waist, making a kind of skirt out of it. Turning her head towards the front, Mary saw Shandra's pants being slowly digested by her lair. As Mary sat forward, the large tentacle that leashed Shandra to her lair dropped halfway to the floor before the slack ran out. Shandra took half a step back and turned her head, her tentacle-braid pulling tight behind her.
"Oh," was all she said as she closed the fridge, the skin on her cheek darkening slightly. "You're awake."
"There's nothing to be embarras-" Mary started as she rose to her feet, stopping as she realized she was just plain rising. Mary looked down to see she was supporting herself on eight large tentacles, and her arms were similarly split into a quartet of tentacles each. Mary scowled and turned herself back to normal before continuing. "You don't need to be embarrassed about having to eat so much. We all do," she said, trying to sound empathetic.
"Well, it's not just- hrrk!- that..." Shandra said, another tentacle falling out from under her skirt. Mary and Shandra both looked at the tentacle for a moment as it began slithering towards Mary's lair, before looking back up at each other.
"They pretty much never stop," she continued, putting a hand on her stomach. "I can feel them in there all the time."
"I really am so sorry..." Mary said, frowning.
"Well, if you want to make it up to me, get me those fruit cups in the back of the fridge," she said, gesturing to the door. "I can't reach that far back there."
"Oh, sure," Mary said, stepping past Shandra and opening the door. "Here, take a seat at the table- it reaches that far, right?"
"O-okay," Shandra said, easing herself down into the chair closest to Mary's lair. Mary bent down and grabbed a pair of fruit cups from the back of the refridgerator and set them at the table, almost taking a seat herself but stopping in mid-sit.
"Oh, right," Mary said, going to the back of the kitchen and pulling out the silverware. "Forks."
Mary brought the silverware back to the table, handing one to Shandra and setting her own by her cup. Mary had just peeled the foil back from her cup when Shandra perked up.
"So- so you have any paprika?" She asked.
"Paprika?" Mary echoed as she popped the cube of canteloupe in her mouth.
"I always liked to put paprika on melons," Shandra explained. "Could- do you have any?"
Mary put her fork down and looked over her shoulder at the kitchen. "YOu know, I think so," She said, standing and walking towards her cupboards. "Let me just take a-"
But Shandra was already on her feet, grabbing her fork in a fist and driving it into the back of Mary's neck, the force of the blow knocking Mary to her hands and feet.
"Hey!" She exclaimed, wobbling back up to her feet. Mary heard a scraping sound, and turned just in time to see the tines of her fork sink into her right eye, Shandra burying the fork up to its hilt in Mary's face.

For a moment, time seemed to stop in place. Mary just stood there, frozen in shock, her one intact eye looking at the contorted grimmace of fear and anger in Shandra's face. Eventually, shandra let go of the fork, taking a step back as her rage faded into confusion. Mary, for her part, sighed and shook her head.
"Now what was that for?" she asked, shrugging and putting her hands up.
"You... you..." Shandra started.
"Nooo, this isn't about me," Mary retorted. "I'm asking why you stabbed me."
Shandra backed up a step, tripping on her chair's seat and dropping clumsily back into it.
"Look," Mary said as she grabbed the fork in her eye and pulled it out, the eyeball still speared on the tines like a white cherry tomato, "if you wanna take a stab at me for getting you involved in all this, sure, I can understand that." The eye on the tines began to turn green and unfurl, even as Mary felt The Flesh re-forming a new eye inside her head. "But none of this actually hurts me. If you wanna blow off some steam, be my guest, but if you're looking to actually hurt me, you should probably just give up now." She flicked the fork towards the ground, flinging the speared tentacle off the fork before tossing it back on the table. "Now eat your damn fruit cup."
Shandra just stared, alternately at the fork and at Mary. Thankfully, Katie coming through the front door trying to hide her slick green bosom behind her sleeves gave both of them something else to stare at.
"Maryyyy," Katie whined as she staggered forward, "I thought you fixed this yesterday!"
"I- I thought I did!" Mary said, turning to Katie, her brow furrowing.
"Well, stab me again before I bust my pants!" Katie said. I'm already late for class as it is!" Katie pulled her arms away, catching sight of a dark spot on her sleeve. "Dammit!" She exclaimed, arms falling violently against her expanding hips.
"Wait," Mary said, cocking her head to the side as the needle-fang was about to pierce the skin. Mary slowly placed her palm against the burgeoning flesh, her hand sinking into it ever so slightly.
"Sister, tell me you're not copping a feel while I'm late for school, or so help me..."
"You're ripe," Mary blurted out.
"Huh?" Katie replied, the left-field answer catching her too by surprise to come up with an angry retort.
"I can... read you, or something," Mary said, taking her hand off Katie. "I could smell your heart, hear your guts- I don't even know."
"Focus, Mary," Katie said, snapping her fingers in front of Mary's face twice. "What do you mean, 'ripe'?"
"You- It means you need to get rid of your milk. You're filling up and it's pushing against my shots. And, believe me, when the flesh pushes against you, you lose," She said.
"Okay, so I drain these dumb things and then the shot will work?" She asked. "So get some pots or something, I'm late if you forgot."
"Oh! Right, let's see-" Mary said, turning and looking back at the kitchen.
"Whoa!" Katie exclaimed, her eyes going wide.
"What?!" Mary said, snapping back to look at Katie.
"You've got a fork in your neck!"
"...Oh! Yeah, that. Kinda forgot." Mary turned back to the kitchen, pulling the fork from her neck as she did so. Mary saw the detritus from Shandra gorging herself, and inspiration struck.
"You know what, go to the bathroom," She said to Katie.
"I don't have to pee!" She said, arms now cradling her breasts as she tried to keep her balance.
"No, the tub!" Mary said. Just lean on the rail and empty yourself into the tub!"
"Oh!" Katie said, brightening. "Great idea!"
"Just remember to stop it up!" Mary called after her as Katie waddled towards the bathroom as quickly as she could. "Don't want any of that winding up in the ocean!"
"Right!" Katie yelled, followed shortly thereafter by the sound of a popping seam. "Dammit!" She cursed.

Mary sat back down, using the removed fork to continue eating her fruit cup.
"What strange rituals this meat has," the Body said, causing Mary to bite down on her fork in surprise. Correction, Mary thought as she felt the four loose scraps of metal in her mouth, it caused her to bite through her fork. "It is almost as if the meat were trying to harm the Flesh- but nothing of the Flesh would wish to harm the flesh?"
Mary swallowed the tines, and used the nubs to stab a strawberry half. "Yes, uh, a ritual. It was an expression of dominance. By proving that I could not be hurt, I proved my capability to lead the Flesh on its great purpose," Mary said, wary of their conversation on the roof the night before. "Had I lashed out and harmed her, it would have proved my weakness."
"Interesting," the Body said as sounds of splashing milk echoed from the bathroom. "But if that was the nature of the test, why didn't the meat use something that would actually harm the Flesh?"
Had Mary a gag reflex still, she likely would have choked on her grapes. It was a feat of restraint to not actually ask the Body outright what could hurt it, because she was wary of raising its suspicions. But it was enough for now: by its own admission, the Flesh knew it could be *hurt*.
Mary looked at Shandra, who appeared to be in shock; she was staring dumbly at her fruit cup and fork, mouth hanging slightly open, hardly even blinking, except for when a slight twitch heralded the creation of another tentacle from her stomach.
"All right," Katie said as she shuffled her way out of the bathrom, her pants around her knees while her breasts hung down to her waist. "Gimmie the shot and let me get out of here," Katie grumbled. "I'm going to show up looking like a bag lady. Or go change again and be even later..."
"Sorry, Katie," Mary said, standing up and giving Katie the shot.
"Guh, that's worse than a tetanus booster..." Katie said, wincing. As her curves began to shrink back down to normal, Katie fidgeted her clothes back over them. "Oh, so how'd you wind up with a fork in your neck, anyways?"
"Oh, well, uh, Shandra sorta stabbed me," Mary said, sitting back down.
"She what?" Katie said, pausing with her blouse half-buttoned.
"It's not like it did anything," Mary said, shrugging. "Remember the head thing yesterday? A fork is nothing."
Katie's lips pulled tight as she exhaled sharply out her nose. "You ungrateful bitch," She said, looking at Shandra.
Apparently that was enough to snap Shandra out of her stupor; she turned to Katie, mouth open in befuddled outrage, one corner of her mouth crooked down while one eyebrow furrowed in confusion. The slight tilt of the head completed the ensemble, looking to Mary like a puppy trying to decipher a legal brief.
"You have no *idea* what she's saving you from, do you? That thing inside of her could EAT you in a couple seconds, and you'd be nothing more than a chunk of that green rug over there. Yeah, I know the green thing sucks- hell, do I look like I'm enjoying myself?- but for you to actually take a hand to her like she's not doing you a huge favor just keeping your sorry ass *alive*-" Katie let the words hang as she finished the last button on her blouse. "You've got some real nerve, sister, that's all I'll say about that. If it wasn't for Mary your ass would be dead."
Katie frowned once more at the milk-spot on her sleeve and turned on her heel, stepping over Mary's lair and heading out the door.
"I'll just, uh..." Mary said, gingerly stepping over Shandra's leash and headed for the bathroom.

Mary whistled as she came into the bathroom, seeing her tub filled with a pool of milk. Mary knelt down and stuck her finger down in tub, her brow wising when the milk rose all the way to her top knuckle on her index finger before she hit the bottom.
"Okay, how to do this..." Mary thought, pulling her finger out and putting her hands on her hips. Sighing, she let herself change back the the tentacled shape she had woken up in. For what she was about to do, the thought she needed to go au naturel. Or, unnatural, as the case may be, Mary thought as she dipped one of her tentacles into the tub. Instead of just "drinking" the milk, Mary sucked it up near her shoulder, the tentacle fattening as the liquid filled it. The tentacle bloated, filling with milk like some kind of big green waterskin. Mary moved the end of her tentacle around the bottom of the tub, sucking up as much milk as she could, until she was confident she had gotten it all. She could feel the weight of the gallons and gallons of milk in her tentacle; it looked like she was sporting a duffel bag attached to her shoulder. Gently, Mary pulled on the end of the tentacle, the engorged appendage seperating from her body, another tentacle quickly growing to replace the one she removed. The myriad of senses Mary was expeirence bordered on disorienting. In the same breath, Mary could feel the milk inside of her tentacle-waterskin, her hand gripping the end of said waterskin, as well as Shandra standing on her Lair and ever the tentacle leash wrapped around Shandra's braid. It was a bit like unfocusing one's eyes- she was able to "see" everything around her, but it was indistinct, all the sensations running one into the other. Mary shook her head, trying to focus herself into the here and now, or rather the *her* and now.

Mary formed herself back to normal and carried the sack of milk into the front room, dropping it down in the corner of her lair next to Shandra.
"Wh-what's that?" Shandra asked, eyeing the sloshing green sack suspiciously.
"It's milk," Mary said as she crossed the room to her couch and flopped down.
Shandra's lip curled. "Milk? In *that*?"
"Yup."
There was a brief pause as Shandra let out a small grunt, and Mary felt the presence of the newly-birthed tentacle joining her lair. "You... You don't seriously expect me to drink that, do you?" She asked, regarding the milk-sack with disdain.
Mary thought for a second, arms folded behind her head as she stared at the ceiling. "I guess so," She finally said, putting her feet up on the armrest. "I'm sure you're not thrilled at the prospect, but if it comes down to drinking the milk so you have something in your stomach or starving and going crazy again, you'll take the milk."
Shandra's face immediately dropped, her lips tightening, but Shandra wasn't stupid. Mary knew Shandra's pride and fantasies of resistance wouldn't be enough to allow her to slip back into that feral state. No one would; Mary, certainly, wouldn't ever let herself be reduced to that state. Although, it did bring up some uncomfortable questons. Mary turned on her side, staring into the back of the couch. If, as Katie had talked about, the Body tried to alter her perceptions, would she be able to tell? She'd already used her tentacles when she'd mean to use her regular limbs- could the body do the same thing to her sense of logic, her feelings of right and wrong? Shandra was convinced she was going to starve if she didn't eat immediately- could Maddi somehow be convinced that eating somebody wasn't a bad thing?

Maddi sat up from the couch, looking down at herself. And why wasn't she wearing any clothes, she thought as she stood up and made her way to the bedroom. Sure, she was having a hard time staying the same shape for any appreciable length of time, but that didn't mean she should just give up on clothes. Mary shook her head as she stepped into her panties; there had just been too much going on too quickly. She was losing her head. Got to keep focused, got to stay sharp, she chided herself as she pulled her top over her head. She had a renewed purpose, now; the Body admitted it could be hurt, and now Mary needed to explore that, gently, carefully, so as to not arouse suspicion. Mary was adjusting her top, wondering why it felt smaller than normal, when she realized she was still "using" Katie's measurements from when she'd worn her clothes to the supermarket. Mary quickly deflated herself to her original measurements, sighing a bit at the much less dramatic profile she cut now.

Mary slapped herself in the face, the blow stinging a bit but, of course, doing no lasting damage. "Stop it!" She said to herself. "Stop changing yourself like it's normal! You need to be *you* as much as possible, you've got to hang on to what makes Mary Mary, or else you're gonna get lost in the Flesh!" Mary shook her head once more, clearing her head. Mary took a deep breath and smoothed her clothes, crossing from her bedroom to her bathroom and checking herself out in the mirror. Normal. Human. Looking good. Except...
Mary leaned in close to the mirror, looking at her reflection. Around her pupils, faint but noticable, one could see a green tint in the whites of her eyes. Mary tried to return her eyes to normal, to will away the color, but it stubbornly refused.
"Like a serial killer's calling card..." Mary mused before she remembered she was talking about herself. She smiled at the mirror, happy that at least her teeth were staying white and cavity free despite all the strange things she had been eating.

Mary's self-examination was interrupted as she felt Shandra grab the sack of milk. Apparently she was willing to give it a shot so long as Mary wasn't there to see it. That, or she was beginning to get hungry again and wasn't taking any chances reverting to that feral state. Still, it seemed like it could work out. Katie needed to drain herself regularly, and shandra could use the milk to stave off her cravings. It was almost like two pieces of a jigsaw that fit together- though knowing the Body, that's probably exactly what it was, given that the end result just meant more and more tentacles to build its "lair". Mary shook her head for what felt like the hundredth time. She was getting cabin fever. She needed to get out and go do something or she'd go nuts. But what about Shandra? She couldn't leave her unsupervised.

Then again...

Mary Closed her eyes, and reached out with her consciousness. When she opened her eyes again, it wasn't the ones in her head she was opening; Two eyeballs formed inside the mat of tentacles halfway up her wall, and found them flexible enough to look at Shandra, who was chewing on her lip as she looked at the milk-sack, obviously trying to resist drinking it all down at once. Mary closed her eyes and re-opened them to find herself back in the bathroom where she'd been standing. "Oaky, this wouldn't be so bad," she thought as she stopped in her bedroom to grap a sweater, "I can handle this."
"Okay, here's what's going to happen," Mary said as she walked into the front room, picking a pair of shoes up from the cubby by the door and heading over to her chair. "I'm going to go out for a while, and you're going to be very quiet. You've got two choices: I can gag you, or just keep you from talking. Your choice."
"Do I have to?" She asked.
"Yes. You're on, what, your third escape attempt already? Sorry, you used up all your freebies." Mary said as she slipped her shoes on.
"...I'll take the gag," Shandra said, cringing as a tentacle detatched from Mary's Lair and wrapped itself around her mouth.
"I'm just gonna be gone for a little bit. You just ate, so you should be good to go for a litle while. And remember, I can see, hear, smell, taste, feel, everything in here. You try anything- anything- and there *will* be repercussions."
Shandra just bowed her head, wincing as another tentacle squirmed out of her. Mary opened the door, took half a step out, and turned back to Shandra.
"...Do you need anything while I'm out?" Mary ventured, trying to be diplomatic. Shandra shot her an incredulous look. "Just asking," She shrugged, closing the door behind her.
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