HOME | DD

Description
“It was a dark and stormy night…

“Well, afternoon. But at least I got the ‘stormy’ part right,” Francis thought to himself as he stared out the window of his office. Giant raindrops beat against the window relentlessly as thunder roared in the distance. It hadn’t stopped since this morning, and the weather app on his phone predicted much of the same for the next few hours.

He sighed as he turned back to his computer screen. He hoped that he’d have been able to play cornhole with his boyfriend on his one day off from work, but as soon as he woke up to an unexpected thunderstorm, he resigned himself to working indoors instead. “At least I’ll get the next video done quicker,” he thought as he began rigging one of his hand-drawn characters. Pretty soon the purple bat would be able to wiggle her arms and legs, at which time she’d be added into his new animation video.

These types of animations took ages to complete, and he suspected that if he didn’t have so many fans to impress, he would have given up making these ages ago. His Patreon donors provided their own characters to be added into his animations, with some even including voice-acted lines. They were always unbelievably grateful for the opportunity to be a part of his projects. That was mostly what kept Francis going; not the thought of the views or fame he would get from animating, but the fact that he could make other people smile through them.

This bat in particular was the fursona of a girl who seemed really sweet when he spoke with her online, so it was ironic to him that she would be playing the rudest person he had ever met in his life; some crazy woman who rear-ended him after driving erratically on the highway, and then had the gall to yell at him for “getting in my way” by driving “too slow” (a.k.a. at the speed limit). He usually didn’t make negative videos, so he knew she wasn’t going to be the star of the whole story. Even so, he just couldn’t bring himself to not include her after how she had treated him.

With his rig complete, he wiggled the bat around, bending her backwards and forwards and waving her arms and legs all around. He always got a tiny bit of satisfaction whenever he finished a part of his work, no matter how small.

Just as he was about the press the save button, a bolt of lightning suddenly struck right outside his window, lighting up the room for a split second before everything went dark. The strike had just cut out the power to the house. Francis groaned in frustration as he stared at his blank computer screen, realizing he just lost half an hour of work. He jammed the power button on his computer, desperately looking for some way to salvage his lost effort. “What am I doing? It’s no use,” he thought to himself. “The power’s gone. This thing won’t even turn… on?”

To his surprise, the room was suddenly lit up by the faint glow of his computer screen. It wasn’t functioning the way it was supposed to; it was staticy and kept blinking on and off, but he could still make out what was happening on-screen. In the background, he could see the scene he had been creating; a real-life image with his animated characters placed atop it. He tried to move the mouse, but it looked like it was frozen. After trying the mouse, his eyes were drawn to a message that had just popped up. It showed a simple loading bar with the message “Exporting. Please wait...”

Francis watched in a perplexed manner as the loading bar slowly ticked upward. He knew he wasn’t exporting anything when the power went off. What was his computer even trying to export? More importantly, how could his PC be working while all the electricity was off?

“Hey, Francis! Can you come downstairs for a minute?”

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard his roommate call his name from downstairs. He sighed one more time as he glanced at the strange computer screen. As much as he wanted to wait and see what would happen, he knew it’d take forever with the rate the loading bar was moving. Plus, what would even happen? At most he’d just have some random video file he wouldn’t use.

He hopped out of his cushioned office chair and jogged downstairs. The curtains in the living room were drawn, so he could only make out silhouettes of his roommates, but he could still tell at a glance who was who. The larger, buffer silhouette was his boyfriend Brian (or “Flamen” as he was known to their fans and online friends), and the skinny one was his friend Todd (known as “Koopa” online). Francis was just about to tell them about his odd experience with the computer, but Todd spoke first.

“Brian wants to go to the Home Depot to pick up a generator, and you promised me last time we went to Ikea that you wouldn’t make me come along next time you guys wanted to get something heavy.”

“Brian,” Francis sighed. “Do we have to? Can’t we just wait the storm out?”

The silhouette of Brian shook his head. “Nope. Even when the storm clears, I bet we probably won’t have power for a while. Plus, don’t you think it’d be good to have a generator so that we can always have power when this happens?”

Francis opened his mouth to protest, but thinking about the PC, he couldn’t help but admit that Brian was probably right. Brian didn’t wait for a reply before walking past him toward the garage.

“If we’re not the only ones on the street without power, I bet there’s a bunch of people already headed that way right now. If we don’t get a move-on, they’ll run out before we’ve even gotten our shoes on.”

Francis began following Brian down the hall. “Have fun!” he heard Todd yell, sounding snarkier than he probably intended. As much as he liked Todd, he did get on his nerves once in a while when he didn’t pull his weight around the house.

Francis turned around to say goodbye, but nothing came out of his mouth as soon as his friend came into view. There was something… off about his silhouette. He looked as though he had some kind of protrusion on his face, like a snout.

“Bradler, come on!” Brian urged, pulling Francis along. On a normal day, Francis would wonder why Brian just referred to him by his fursona’s name, but he was too preoccupied by what he just saw.

He watched Brian closely as he pulled the garage door open from the ground-up. Light flooded the room, and he could finally see his boyfriend in full. Nothing seemed off about him. Same brown hair, same pale skin, same sweet smile. Francis shook his head, and hopped into the passenger-side of the Mini Cooper.

“You’re driving!” he yelled. In reality, Francis knew it was probably his turn to drive, but now he didn’t trust himself behind the wheel of a car. That weird experience with the phantom PC must have been making him paranoid. Paranoid enough to think his friend had grown a snout… only now did he realize how ridiculous that sounded. He’d definitely been working too much.

He sat back in his seat and tried to relax as Brian pulled out onto the street and started to make small-talk. He started telling a story about the first time his Dad took him out in the rain while he was learning to drive. Francis wasn’t paying much attention. He stared out the window, watching the scenery on the highway outside. Corn, corn, and more corn… yup, they still lived in Indiana.

As Brian finished telling his story, Francis finally spoke up. “Hey, you know how I was working upstairs when the power--”

His words were cut off once again, this time by a loud car horn. Brian swore under his breath as he swerved the car to the side, having almost gotten run off the road by the car next to them. Whoever was in that car had apparently decided they just needed to be in their lane right now.

Not wanting to get stuck behind the crazy driver, Brian decided to pass them and stay in the other lane. He leaned on the horn as he moved their car over, and the other driver responded with a “friendly” hand gesture. However, what caught Francis’s attention wasn’t the gesture itself, but the hand that was making it.

It was purple, with what looked like yellow claws on the end. He even thought he saw a wing-like flap of skin underneath it. It almost looked like…

He whirled his head around to get another look at the driver. Somehow he already knew what he would see, but it still caught him off-guard. It was that bat! That nasty woman he had just drawn for one of his videos! Same colors, same eyes, same pointed nose… and just when he couldn’t be any more sure, she sped up her car even more to pass them. She made direct eye-contact with him as she zoomed past, grimacing at him and showing off her sharp teeth.

“Did you see that!?” he yelled, watching as her car disappeared down the road.

“I know!” Brian replied. “She tried to run us off the road! How does someone that aggressive even manage to get a license?”

“No, I mean did you see-- Aah!” Francis’s heart almost stopped when he turned to face his boyfriend. He had a snout! Where his old mouth and nose used to be, there was now a scaly black protrusion with a large red spot on top. Francis immediately recognized it as being that of his fursona, Flamen the dragon.

“What’s wrong!?” Brian asked, startled.

All Francis could do was point a shaking hand at his face. “Y-Your… Your…”

“What, my nose?” Brian asked, perplexed. He rubbed the top of his snout, but didn’t react to it. Only then did Francis notice that his hands were also different. They were covered in the same black scales as his snout, with red claws that matched the red on his face. There was no way Brian couldn’t have seen what was right in front of his eyes, but he still didn’t even blink. “Is there something on me?” he asked.

Francis gulped. He knew that if he actually said what he was thinking, Brian would think he’d gone insane. “It’s… nothing.” he replied. “I thought there was a bug on your… uh, snout, but it’s gone now.”

Brian laughed. “Since when are you scared of bugs? Must have been a huge one! What, did it have pincers and stuff too?”

Francis laughed nervously as he watched red horns beginning to grow from the top of his boyfriend’s head, as the black scales seemed to move from his snout to the rest of his face. Brian was still completely unbothered by it.

As much as Francis enjoyed cosplaying as his fursona in-suit with Brian, seeing “Flamen” in real-life just felt too freaky. He turned away, and stared out the window into the sea of corn yet again. He tried to think about anything other than what he had just witnessed, and in an instant his mind wandered back to the computer.

“Exporting. Please wait...” Is this what the computer meant? Was his project getting exported into the real world? On a normal day, the very notion of that idea would have made him laugh out loud, but this was far from a normal day. Were all of his characters going to come to life soon? Was he going to turn into his fursona? Would he remember his old self when that happened? What would happen to his fursuit? Would it become a human-suit or disappear? What would happen to everyone else? Is everyone going to transform, or just the people who were already furries? How would they blend in with the rest of society? How was he the only one who seemed to realize what was happening?

His thoughts were interrupted when the car door opened. He had been so lost in thought that he didn’t even notice that they had arrived and parked at Home Depot. He looked up and saw just what he expected; standing under an umbrella was Flamen the Dragon, in all his glory. There wasn’t a part of him left that indicated he was ever human. He even had a tail and wings, with a shirt and pants that seemed to be built to work around them.

Flamen looked down at Francis with his deep, red eyes. “C’mon, Bradler!” he laughed. “You can stare at me later, but not in public, alright?” Flamen’s voice still sounded like Brian’s, which gave Francis a tiny bit of comfort. He held out his arm, and Francis took it, almost shivering as he felt his boyfriend’s scales grasping his hand. As he got out of the car seat, it suddenly felt as though some strange pressure was being taken off of his rear.

Francis’s stomach dropped as he looked behind him. Sticking out of the back of his pants was a tuft of red tail-feathers with black tips. He had expected that he would start changing soon, but the sight of them still shocked him. He tentatively reached out and stroked them with his hand. They were real… and his. Surprisingly soft, but still firm and movable like the rest of his limbs. How had he not noticed them until now?

His observations of his new appendage were cut short when he heard Flamen laughing again. “Bradler, are you going to stop staring at your butt long enough so that we can go inside?”

“Oh, um, right. Sorry,” Francis replied, feeling his cheeks starting to heat up. It felt weird to be called “Bradler” outside of his fursuit, though he realized that he’d probably have to start getting used to it.

As they began walking toward the store together, they huddled under the umbrella while the rain continued to beat the ground around them. Flamen wrapped his hand around Francis’s… er, Bradler’s shoulder as they walked, and wrapped his tail around Bradler’s waist. He probably meant it to be affectionate, and although Bradler didn’t like how alien it felt, he appreciated the gesture. Ironically, leaning against his “new” boyfriend as they walked seemed to be helping him calm down.

He caught a glimpse of himself in the reflection of the sliding-glass door as they entered the store. His changes appeared to have spread to his legs, though once again he didn’t feel it happening. His upper thighs were now bony and yellow, with talons instead of feet. He flexed them as he walked, exploring the new sensation of having a toe on the heel of his foot. Oddly, he wasn’t feeling as frightened as before; his subsided fear was now replaced by a feeling of curiosity.

This time, as they walked into the Home Depot, Bradler was prepared for what he was going to see. Wolves, deer, dragons, cats, and otters walking around throughout the store. Some were still in the middle of transforming, but most of them were fully changed by now. As he expected, nobody seemed the least bit concerned with what was going on.

As he and Flamen continued to walk through the wide aisles, Bradler made sure to keep an eye on the rest of his body as well as everyone else. Feathers of a familiar red were beginning to grow out of his arms, and he could feel a similar softness developing underneath his shirt.

He was so preoccupied with the changes happening that he almost forgot what he was there for. He turned to Flamen. “I hope you know where you’re going, because I have no idea where the generators are,” he joked.

Flamen gave him a perplexed look. “Generators? Why do we need another one? We bought one when we first moved into the mansion, remember?”

Bradler blinked. “Th-Then… why did we come here?”

“To get a hammer and nails to rebuild the broken part of our deck!”

“Oh… right,” Bradler pretended to understand. In reality, he was racking his brain trying to figure out what Flamen was saying. Just when he thought he had a grasp on what was going on, his misconception was shattered. Was it more than just people who were changing?

Just as he had that thought, he looked up to see someone approaching them. It was a timid-looking white kangaroo with blue spots around her eyes. She looked nervous, like some of the shy fans Bradler met at furry conventions in the past. However, he quickly realized it wasn’t him she was looking at, but Flamen. When Flamen looked in her direction, her cheeks turned bright red as she waved a shaky hand.

“Hi…” she began. “Sorry to take up your time… I just wanted to say that I’m a big fan of your show, and my husband loves you because you inspired me to learn how to cook better. It would make his day if I could get a photo with you!”

Flamen smiled brightly. “Oh, it’s no trouble at all! I’m always happy to meet new fans!”

The two of them continued to converse about his new cornbread recipe as she pulled out her phone to take selfies with him. Bradler watched from a distance, almost feeling even more confused than when he first saw that bat on the highway. He and Flamen met a lot of fans at furry conventions before, but nobody had ever recognized them out of the blue before. He realized that there was without a doubt more going on than simple changes in appearance. If he didn’t quickly get a firm grasp on everything that was happening, Flamen would definitely start thinking he’d gone crazy. While Flamen and the fan were still talking, Bradler wandered off alone to the bathroom to try and collect his thoughts.

As he slammed and locked the door behind him, he could see that his arms were now complete wings; mostly red, with black lining on the ends and an extra pair of black stripes near where his elbows would be. Luckily, he was still able to move his feathers like fingers, though he couldn’t quite figure out exactly how they worked.

As he observed his feathers moving back and forth, it dawned on him how much sharper his vision was; even from afar, he could see all the individual bristles on his feathers if he focused hard enough. With such sharper vision, it surprised him when he looked at his reflection in the mirror and saw that his glasses were gone. He didn’t remember dropping them anywhere, but then again, he also didn’t remember leaving the house with a blue baseball cap on.

He didn’t have much time to admire his cap, though, as he was distracted by the red and black feathers making their way up his neck. Although most of the changes up to this point felt so natural he didn’t even notice them, growing a beak did not follow that pattern. It wasn’t painful, thankfully, but feeling his lips and nose harden and stretch was discomforting to say the least. He felt even more surprised when he saw his yellow beak appear in his peripheral vision, but his field of vision was still much wider than it was when he wore a fursuit.

He felt the back of his head as his hair was replaced with even more feathers, and with that, “Francis” was no more. A red eagle in a blue cap stared back at him through the mirror. He admired how calm he was able to stay after everything that’s happened today. Maybe it was because he was already used to “playing” this new character; he certainly would feel a lot more panicked if he had no idea who he was supposed to be.

That said, his experience meeting one of Flamen’s fans showed him that there was still a lot more about himself and Flamen he had yet to know. He dug through his pocket, and was relieved to find that his phone was still there. He needed some information, and fast.

For a second he was worried that the touchscreen wouldn’t be able to read his feather-fingers, but he was relieved to see that he could still type just fine. The first thing he did was search his boyfriend’s name on Google, suspecting that he was probably now famous enough to warrant his own Wikipedia page or something.

He was right. A Wikipedia page about Flamen was the first thing that popped up, but Bradler’s eyes were drawn to the YouTube link below that; “Flamen Chef: Weekdays at 5”

It turned out that Flamen was the star of a cooking show now, and the video he clicked was an advertisement for it. “Hey everyone, Flamen the Dragon here!” he announced at the beginning of the video, donning a matching apron and chef’s hat. “Do you like salads, burritos, cakes, pies, sandwiches, soups or just about any kind of food? Then you came to the right guy!”

Bradler watched as scenes of his boyfriend goofing around in the kitchen flashed across his screen, and although Flamen occasionally made one-liners, he was usually drowned out by the background voice saying things like “Don’t miss Flamen Chef, every weekday at 5! Only on DTV.”

Bradler couldn’t help but smile at this new development. Flamen was always a great cook, even as a human, so he fully welcomed this change. This may have been a lot to take in at once, but the thought of more people (Animals? He’ll play that by ear...) getting inspired by his culinary creations brought him joy.

Bradler then moved on to Googling himself, and was surprised to see that he, too, had his own show. From what he could tell from the YouTube clips he found, it seemed to be an art show similar to Bob Ross’s style. He didn’t used to make any kind of YouTube videos like this, but he had toyed with the idea in the past. Some of his favorite moments with his fans came during his live streams, where he would animate his videos and commentate while people watched. It helped to keep him working and avoid burnout, but more than that, he enjoyed the positivity that he could spread with it.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long for him to realize that that same positivity was still playing a major role in his new content. Whether he was painting, sculpting, or drawing on a computer, he always made sure to tell the viewer not to get frustrated if they didn’t get it right away. “Have patience,” he would say. “The expert in everything was once a beginner.” He was overjoyed when he heard himself finish off one of his segments with his signature catchphrase, “Help someone smile today!” He wasn’t sure why that, of all things, didn’t change with the rest of the world, but he was glad it hadn’t.

After he had watched his share of YouTube videos, he closed the app, intending to head back outside. Before he could, however, the Twitter app on his home screen caught his eye. He just couldn’t help himself… he was too curious about this strange new world.

It was a weird mix of disappointment and relief to see that nothing on Twitter was much different. Vacation selfies, dim-witted politicians, useless celebrity gossip... He was surprised to see how much tabloid-style “news” there was about his and Flamen’s relationship, but at least there was an occasional tweet from one of his fans which cheered him up. It wasn’t long before he realized that what was really interesting was not the posts, but the faces behind them. A quick glance at his mutual-friend list led to quite a few pleasant surprises.

Their roommate Todd, now Koopa the badger, was the producer for their shows. Quite successful for someone so young, though the same could probably be said for him and Flamen as well. Similar things seemed to be happening to some of his other furry friends.

One friend, a blue dog named Fish, was a popular stand-up comedian now. He was known as “TheWeirdOneOut” before in the human world, and although he was always funny and witty, as a human he was always too shy to even consider something like stand-up. Bradler did always suspect that embracing his furry side would have helped his friend’s self-confidence, and this was about as much proof he needed.

His skunk-deer friend Billion Rick was now a BMX legend, which was something he’d always loved as a human. His most recent Tweet was about his new video-game based on his name. Bradler’s heart skipped a beat when he saw who developed it; a successful game studio by the name of Full Time Lizards. He knew the leaders of that studio before, so he was glad to see how well they were doing now.

He probably could have continued looking through his phone for hours before a knock on the door jolted him back to reality.

“Bradler! Are you alright in there?” he heard Flamen call from outside.

“Uh… yeah! I’m just finishing up!” Bradler yelled back. He flushed the toilet, even though he hadn’t used it.

“Okay,” Flamen replied, lowering his voice. “I just wanted to let you know… when you leave, keep your head low.”

Bradler froze the middle of washing his wings. What did he mean by that? He would have asked, but since he was already finishing up, he decided to just head outside and see what Flamen was talking about. How bad could it really be?

He opened the bathroom door, only to be immediately blinded by flashing lights. He held his wings in front of his face, already wishing his vision wasn’t as strong now. He could barely hear Flamen’s voice over the roar of other voices that began berating him with questions; autograph requests, personal questions about his and Flamen’s relationship, future projects… he couldn’t even make out the majority of it. It was mostly a blur.

Before he could even react to what was happening, he suddenly felt Flamen’s strong hand grab him by the arm and begin to lead him away. As they speed-walked past the crowd that formed, Bradler’s eyes finally adjusted, and he could begin to make out the cameras and phones of the paparazzi and fans who had gathered to wait to see them together. He knew he was more famous than before, but he didn’t realize people now thought he was this important. He wondered if every major celebrity felt like this when they went out in public.

He tried to stay calm by focusing on the back of his boyfriend’s neck as he was pulled away from the crowd. Flamen looked just like every celebrity who’d been through this routine a million times before, so he tried to mimic him as best he could. Don’t make any eye contact, maintain fast strides, act like you have somewhere important to go. The fact that Flamen seemed to be so used to this situation made Bradler sick to his stomach. What was the point of spreading so much positivity if he would have to sacrifice a personal life to do it?

Although the crowd continued to follow them, Bradler could hear Flamen whispering to him as they walked. “I should’ve known this was going to happen… you take one selfie with a fan, and suddenly every journalist in the country has tracked you down. Don’t worry, I already bought the stuff. We’ll just head out to the car. By the time we reach the parking lot, they should get the hint.”

Bradler didn’t respond, and just kept his gaze focused on the back of Flamen’s neck. He didn’t expect Flamen to be right about them being left alone, but to his surprise, nobody followed them outside the store. He reasoned that it must have been because nobody wanted to bring their cameras and phones out in the rain. He didn’t mind leaving them behind. A rollercoaster of emotions had begun to flood his head, and he didn’t want anyone around in case he broke down.

Flamen pulled out his umbrella as they left, and the pair continued to walk quickly toward the car. Bradler looked around the parking lot for their Mini Cooper, but didn’t see it anywhere. He still felt as though he were about to cry... all he wanted to do was go home and do so in peace. Where on Earth was the car?

His question was answered with the sound of a car unlocking. A stylish blue sports car lit up, the glow from the headlights shining distinctly against the fog. “Oh, right…” Bradler thought to himself, having to duck his head as he climbed inside the cramped vehicle. “What kind of celebrity would drive a Mini Cooper around?”

The car seat felt strange and uncomfortable. It had an opening in the side of it, which Bradler thought was a stylistic choice at first, until he looked over and saw Flamen sitting down. Their tails were both sticking out of the back of their seats, an indication that this design was actually ergonomic.

Bradler knew he should have been happy to have a much more expensive and “luxurious” car, but he was already missing the functionalism of his trusted Mini. He tried to focus on the thought that he would finally be home soon, but even that didn’t provide much comfort. Hadn’t Flamen called it a mansion before?

Tears began to fall down Bradler’s face. The irony that he was crying about having a bigger house was not lost on him. He knew he should have been happy about this change, but he just couldn’t. After everything that happened today, he wanted nothing more than to retreat to the familiar. He wanted to duck back into his tiny bedroom and flop onto his small but cozy bed. He wanted to unwind by playing EarthBound in the living room, sitting on the out-of-place Ikea furniture. He wanted to enjoy Brian’s cooking back at the old house, at the quaint wooden table in the kitchen. There were so many comfortable nuances of his old life that he would never be able to experience again. As thoughts of them flooded his mind, his tears suddenly broke into sobs.

He felt Flamen’s scaly hand rub his back as he cried. He heard Flamen ask him what was wrong, but he was crying so hard he couldn’t speak. It’s not like anything he could have told him would have made sense anyway. Who would ever believe that a glitch in his computer turned the whole world furry?

Flamen quickly got the hint that Bradler wasn’t able to speak. He just sat there next to him in the car, rubbing Bradler’s back as he continued to sob. Occasionally he offered a few comforting words, but even when he wasn’t speaking, Bradler could somehow sense what he wanted to say.

Bradler wasn’t sure how long he cried for, but eventually the tears began to fade. He wasn’t sure if it was because his body had just run out, but at the very least he felt a lot better than before.

“Hey, look!” Flamen pointed out the window. “The rain’s letting up!”

Bradler looked up, squinting into the setting sun. The raindrops against the car had gone from a constant pounding to a few droplets. The sight was reinvigorating in a way he couldn’t describe. He turned and looked into Flamen’s red eyes.

“You know…” Flamen continued, “The rain’s probably going to finish up by the time we get home. If we can make it home quickly enough, there might just be enough light left for a game of cornhole!”

“You’re on!” Bradler immediately replied, a big smile crossing his face.

Flamen grinned just as widely in return. “There’s that smile I was waiting for!”

With that, he leaned forward, wrapping Bradler in his arms as their lips met. The experience was new to Bradler, yet still as familiar as ever. He’d never felt a bigger sense of relief in his life. Now, he finally understood: The world may have been different, but what was important remained intact.

Description
“It was a dark and stormy night…

“Well, afternoon. But at least I got the ‘stormy’ part right,” Francis thought to himself as he stared out the window of his office. Giant raindrops beat against the window relentlessly as thunder roared in the distance. It hadn’t stopped since this morning, and the weather app on his phone predicted much of the same for the next few hours.

He sighed as he turned back to his computer screen. He hoped that he’d have been able to play cornhole with his boyfriend on his one day off from work, but as soon as he woke up to an unexpected thunderstorm, he resigned himself to working indoors instead. “At least I’ll get the next video done quicker,” he thought as he began rigging one of his hand-drawn characters. Pretty soon the purple bat would be able to wiggle her arms and legs, at which time she’d be added into his new animation video.

These types of animations took ages to complete, and he suspected that if he didn’t have so many fans to impress, he would have given up making these ages ago. His Patreon donors provided their own characters to be added into his animations, with some even including voice-acted lines. They were always unbelievably grateful for the opportunity to be a part of his projects. That was mostly what kept Francis going; not the thought of the views or fame he would get from animating, but the fact that he could make other people smile through them.

This bat in particular was the fursona of a girl who seemed really sweet when he spoke with her online, so it was ironic to him that she would be playing the rudest person he had ever met in his life; some crazy woman who rear-ended him after driving erratically on the highway, and then had the gall to yell at him for “getting in my way” by driving “too slow” (a.k.a. at the speed limit). He usually didn’t make negative videos, so he knew she wasn’t going to be the star of the whole story. Even so, he just couldn’t bring himself to not include her after how she had treated him.

With his rig complete, he wiggled the bat around, bending her backwards and forwards and waving her arms and legs all around. He always got a tiny bit of satisfaction whenever he finished a part of his work, no matter how small.

Just as he was about the press the save button, a bolt of lightning suddenly struck right outside his window, lighting up the room for a split second before everything went dark. The strike had just cut out the power to the house. Francis groaned in frustration as he stared at his blank computer screen, realizing he just lost half an hour of work. He jammed the power button on his computer, desperately looking for some way to salvage his lost effort. “What am I doing? It’s no use,” he thought to himself. “The power’s gone. This thing won’t even turn… on?”

To his surprise, the room was suddenly lit up by the faint glow of his computer screen. It wasn’t functioning the way it was supposed to; it was staticy and kept blinking on and off, but he could still make out what was happening on-screen. In the background, he could see the scene he had been creating; a real-life image with his animated characters placed atop it. He tried to move the mouse, but it looked like it was frozen. After trying the mouse, his eyes were drawn to a message that had just popped up. It showed a simple loading bar with the message “Exporting. Please wait...”

Francis watched in a perplexed manner as the loading bar slowly ticked upward. He knew he wasn’t exporting anything when the power went off. What was his computer even trying to export? More importantly, how could his PC be working while all the electricity was off?

“Hey, Francis! Can you come downstairs for a minute?”

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard his roommate call his name from downstairs. He sighed one more time as he glanced at the strange computer screen. As much as he wanted to wait and see what would happen, he knew it’d take forever with the rate the loading bar was moving. Plus, what would even happen? At most he’d just have some random video file he wouldn’t use.

He hopped out of his cushioned office chair and jogged downstairs. The curtains in the living room were drawn, so he could only make out silhouettes of his roommates, but he could still tell at a glance who was who. The larger, buffer silhouette was his boyfriend Brian (or “Flamen” as he was known to their fans and online friends), and the skinny one was his friend Todd (known as “Koopa” online). Francis was just about to tell them about his odd experience with the computer, but Todd spoke first.

“Brian wants to go to the Home Depot to pick up a generator, and you promised me last time we went to Ikea that you wouldn’t make me come along next time you guys wanted to get something heavy.”

“Brian,” Francis sighed. “Do we have to? Can’t we just wait the storm out?”

The silhouette of Brian shook his head. “Nope. Even when the storm clears, I bet we probably won’t have power for a while. Plus, don’t you think it’d be good to have a generator so that we can always have power when this happens?”

Francis opened his mouth to protest, but thinking about the PC, he couldn’t help but admit that Brian was probably right. Brian didn’t wait for a reply before walking past him toward the garage.

“If we’re not the only ones on the street without power, I bet there’s a bunch of people already headed that way right now. If we don’t get a move-on, they’ll run out before we’ve even gotten our shoes on.”

Francis began following Brian down the hall. “Have fun!” he heard Todd yell, sounding snarkier than he probably intended. As much as he liked Todd, he did get on his nerves once in a while when he didn’t pull his weight around the house.

Francis turned around to say goodbye, but nothing came out of his mouth as soon as his friend came into view. There was something… off about his silhouette. He looked as though he had some kind of protrusion on his face, like a snout.

“Bradler, come on!” Brian urged, pulling Francis along. On a normal day, Francis would wonder why Brian just referred to him by his fursona’s name, but he was too preoccupied by what he just saw.

He watched Brian closely as he pulled the garage door open from the ground-up. Light flooded the room, and he could finally see his boyfriend in full. Nothing seemed off about him. Same brown hair, same pale skin, same sweet smile. Francis shook his head, and hopped into the passenger-side of the Mini Cooper.

“You’re driving!” he yelled. In reality, Francis knew it was probably his turn to drive, but now he didn’t trust himself behind the wheel of a car. That weird experience with the phantom PC must have been making him paranoid. Paranoid enough to think his friend had grown a snout… only now did he realize how ridiculous that sounded. He’d definitely been working too much.

He sat back in his seat and tried to relax as Brian pulled out onto the street and started to make small-talk. He started telling a story about the first time his Dad took him out in the rain while he was learning to drive. Francis wasn’t paying much attention. He stared out the window, watching the scenery on the highway outside. Corn, corn, and more corn… yup, they still lived in Indiana.

As Brian finished telling his story, Francis finally spoke up. “Hey, you know how I was working upstairs when the power--”

His words were cut off once again, this time by a loud car horn. Brian swore under his breath as he swerved the car to the side, having almost gotten run off the road by the car next to them. Whoever was in that car had apparently decided they just needed to be in their lane right now.

Not wanting to get stuck behind the crazy driver, Brian decided to pass them and stay in the other lane. He leaned on the horn as he moved their car over, and the other driver responded with a “friendly” hand gesture. However, what caught Francis’s attention wasn’t the gesture itself, but the hand that was making it.

It was purple, with what looked like yellow claws on the end. He even thought he saw a wing-like flap of skin underneath it. It almost looked like…

He whirled his head around to get another look at the driver. Somehow he already knew what he would see, but it still caught him off-guard. It was that bat! That nasty woman he had just drawn for one of his videos! Same colors, same eyes, same pointed nose… and just when he couldn’t be any more sure, she sped up her car even more to pass them. She made direct eye-contact with him as she zoomed past, grimacing at him and showing off her sharp teeth.

“Did you see that!?” he yelled, watching as her car disappeared down the road.

“I know!” Brian replied. “She tried to run us off the road! How does someone that aggressive even manage to get a license?”

“No, I mean did you see-- Aah!” Francis’s heart almost stopped when he turned to face his boyfriend. He had a snout! Where his old mouth and nose used to be, there was now a scaly black protrusion with a large red spot on top. Francis immediately recognized it as being that of his fursona, Flamen the dragon.

“What’s wrong!?” Brian asked, startled.

All Francis could do was point a shaking hand at his face. “Y-Your… Your…”

“What, my nose?” Brian asked, perplexed. He rubbed the top of his snout, but didn’t react to it. Only then did Francis notice that his hands were also different. They were covered in the same black scales as his snout, with red claws that matched the red on his face. There was no way Brian couldn’t have seen what was right in front of his eyes, but he still didn’t even blink. “Is there something on me?” he asked.

Francis gulped. He knew that if he actually said what he was thinking, Brian would think he’d gone insane. “It’s… nothing.” he replied. “I thought there was a bug on your… uh, snout, but it’s gone now.”

Brian laughed. “Since when are you scared of bugs? Must have been a huge one! What, did it have pincers and stuff too?”

Francis laughed nervously as he watched red horns beginning to grow from the top of his boyfriend’s head, as the black scales seemed to move from his snout to the rest of his face. Brian was still completely unbothered by it.

As much as Francis enjoyed cosplaying as his fursona in-suit with Brian, seeing “Flamen” in real-life just felt too freaky. He turned away, and stared out the window into the sea of corn yet again. He tried to think about anything other than what he had just witnessed, and in an instant his mind wandered back to the computer.

“Exporting. Please wait...” Is this what the computer meant? Was his project getting exported into the real world? On a normal day, the very notion of that idea would have made him laugh out loud, but this was far from a normal day. Were all of his characters going to come to life soon? Was he going to turn into his fursona? Would he remember his old self when that happened? What would happen to his fursuit? Would it become a human-suit or disappear? What would happen to everyone else? Is everyone going to transform, or just the people who were already furries? How would they blend in with the rest of society? How was he the only one who seemed to realize what was happening?

His thoughts were interrupted when the car door opened. He had been so lost in thought that he didn’t even notice that they had arrived and parked at Home Depot. He looked up and saw just what he expected; standing under an umbrella was Flamen the Dragon, in all his glory. There wasn’t a part of him left that indicated he was ever human. He even had a tail and wings, with a shirt and pants that seemed to be built to work around them.

Flamen looked down at Francis with his deep, red eyes. “C’mon, Bradler!” he laughed. “You can stare at me later, but not in public, alright?” Flamen’s voice still sounded like Brian’s, which gave Francis a tiny bit of comfort. He held out his arm, and Francis took it, almost shivering as he felt his boyfriend’s scales grasping his hand. As he got out of the car seat, it suddenly felt as though some strange pressure was being taken off of his rear.

Francis’s stomach dropped as he looked behind him. Sticking out of the back of his pants was a tuft of red tail-feathers with black tips. He had expected that he would start changing soon, but the sight of them still shocked him. He tentatively reached out and stroked them with his hand. They were real… and his. Surprisingly soft, but still firm and movable like the rest of his limbs. How had he not noticed them until now?

His observations of his new appendage were cut short when he heard Flamen laughing again. “Bradler, are you going to stop staring at your butt long enough so that we can go inside?”

“Oh, um, right. Sorry,” Francis replied, feeling his cheeks starting to heat up. It felt weird to be called “Bradler” outside of his fursuit, though he realized that he’d probably have to start getting used to it.

As they began walking toward the store together, they huddled under the umbrella while the rain continued to beat the ground around them. Flamen wrapped his hand around Francis’s… er, Bradler’s shoulder as they walked, and wrapped his tail around Bradler’s waist. He probably meant it to be affectionate, and although Bradler didn’t like how alien it felt, he appreciated the gesture. Ironically, leaning against his “new” boyfriend as they walked seemed to be helping him calm down.

He caught a glimpse of himself in the reflection of the sliding-glass door as they entered the store. His changes appeared to have spread to his legs, though once again he didn’t feel it happening. His upper thighs were now bony and yellow, with talons instead of feet. He flexed them as he walked, exploring the new sensation of having a toe on the heel of his foot. Oddly, he wasn’t feeling as frightened as before; his subsided fear was now replaced by a feeling of curiosity.

This time, as they walked into the Home Depot, Bradler was prepared for what he was going to see. Wolves, deer, dragons, cats, and otters walking around throughout the store. Some were still in the middle of transforming, but most of them were fully changed by now. As he expected, nobody seemed the least bit concerned with what was going on.

As he and Flamen continued to walk through the wide aisles, Bradler made sure to keep an eye on the rest of his body as well as everyone else. Feathers of a familiar red were beginning to grow out of his arms, and he could feel a similar softness developing underneath his shirt.

He was so preoccupied with the changes happening that he almost forgot what he was there for. He turned to Flamen. “I hope you know where you’re going, because I have no idea where the generators are,” he joked.

Flamen gave him a perplexed look. “Generators? Why do we need another one? We bought one when we first moved into the mansion, remember?”

Bradler blinked. “Th-Then… why did we come here?”

“To get a hammer and nails to rebuild the broken part of our deck!”

“Oh… right,” Bradler pretended to understand. In reality, he was racking his brain trying to figure out what Flamen was saying. Just when he thought he had a grasp on what was going on, his misconception was shattered. Was it more than just people who were changing?

Just as he had that thought, he looked up to see someone approaching them. It was a timid-looking white kangaroo with blue spots around her eyes. She looked nervous, like some of the shy fans Bradler met at furry conventions in the past. However, he quickly realized it wasn’t him she was looking at, but Flamen. When Flamen looked in her direction, her cheeks turned bright red as she waved a shaky hand.

“Hi…” she began. “Sorry to take up your time… I just wanted to say that I’m a big fan of your show, and my husband loves you because you inspired me to learn how to cook better. It would make his day if I could get a photo with you!”

Flamen smiled brightly. “Oh, it’s no trouble at all! I’m always happy to meet new fans!”

The two of them continued to converse about his new cornbread recipe as she pulled out her phone to take selfies with him. Bradler watched from a distance, almost feeling even more confused than when he first saw that bat on the highway. He and Flamen met a lot of fans at furry conventions before, but nobody had ever recognized them out of the blue before. He realized that there was without a doubt more going on than simple changes in appearance. If he didn’t quickly get a firm grasp on everything that was happening, Flamen would definitely start thinking he’d gone crazy. While Flamen and the fan were still talking, Bradler wandered off alone to the bathroom to try and collect his thoughts.

As he slammed and locked the door behind him, he could see that his arms were now complete wings; mostly red, with black lining on the ends and an extra pair of black stripes near where his elbows would be. Luckily, he was still able to move his feathers like fingers, though he couldn’t quite figure out exactly how they worked.

As he observed his feathers moving back and forth, it dawned on him how much sharper his vision was; even from afar, he could see all the individual bristles on his feathers if he focused hard enough. With such sharper vision, it surprised him when he looked at his reflection in the mirror and saw that his glasses were gone. He didn’t remember dropping them anywhere, but then again, he also didn’t remember leaving the house with a blue baseball cap on.

He didn’t have much time to admire his cap, though, as he was distracted by the red and black feathers making their way up his neck. Although most of the changes up to this point felt so natural he didn’t even notice them, growing a beak did not follow that pattern. It wasn’t painful, thankfully, but feeling his lips and nose harden and stretch was discomforting to say the least. He felt even more surprised when he saw his yellow beak appear in his peripheral vision, but his field of vision was still much wider than it was when he wore a fursuit.

He felt the back of his head as his hair was replaced with even more feathers, and with that, “Francis” was no more. A red eagle in a blue cap stared back at him through the mirror. He admired how calm he was able to stay after everything that’s happened today. Maybe it was because he was already used to “playing” this new character; he certainly would feel a lot more panicked if he had no idea who he was supposed to be.

That said, his experience meeting one of Flamen’s fans showed him that there was still a lot more about himself and Flamen he had yet to know. He dug through his pocket, and was relieved to find that his phone was still there. He needed some information, and fast.

For a second he was worried that the touchscreen wouldn’t be able to read his feather-fingers, but he was relieved to see that he could still type just fine. The first thing he did was search his boyfriend’s name on Google, suspecting that he was probably now famous enough to warrant his own Wikipedia page or something.

He was right. A Wikipedia page about Flamen was the first thing that popped up, but Bradler’s eyes were drawn to the YouTube link below that; “Flamen Chef: Weekdays at 5”

It turned out that Flamen was the star of a cooking show now, and the video he clicked was an advertisement for it. “Hey everyone, Flamen the Dragon here!” he announced at the beginning of the video, donning a matching apron and chef’s hat. “Do you like salads, burritos, cakes, pies, sandwiches, soups or just about any kind of food? Then you came to the right guy!”

Bradler watched as scenes of his boyfriend goofing around in the kitchen flashed across his screen, and although Flamen occasionally made one-liners, he was usually drowned out by the background voice saying things like “Don’t miss Flamen Chef, every weekday at 5! Only on DTV.”

Bradler couldn’t help but smile at this new development. Flamen was always a great cook, even as a human, so he fully welcomed this change. This may have been a lot to take in at once, but the thought of more people (Animals? He’ll play that by ear...) getting inspired by his culinary creations brought him joy.

Bradler then moved on to Googling himself, and was surprised to see that he, too, had his own show. From what he could tell from the YouTube clips he found, it seemed to be an art show similar to Bob Ross’s style. He didn’t used to make any kind of YouTube videos like this, but he had toyed with the idea in the past. Some of his favorite moments with his fans came during his live streams, where he would animate his videos and commentate while people watched. It helped to keep him working and avoid burnout, but more than that, he enjoyed the positivity that he could spread with it.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long for him to realize that that same positivity was still playing a major role in his new content. Whether he was painting, sculpting, or drawing on a computer, he always made sure to tell the viewer not to get frustrated if they didn’t get it right away. “Have patience,” he would say. “The expert in everything was once a beginner.” He was overjoyed when he heard himself finish off one of his segments with his signature catchphrase, “Help someone smile today!” He wasn’t sure why that, of all things, didn’t change with the rest of the world, but he was glad it hadn’t.

After he had watched his share of YouTube videos, he closed the app, intending to head back outside. Before he could, however, the Twitter app on his home screen caught his eye. He just couldn’t help himself… he was too curious about this strange new world.

It was a weird mix of disappointment and relief to see that nothing on Twitter was much different. Vacation selfies, dim-witted politicians, useless celebrity gossip... He was surprised to see how much tabloid-style “news” there was about his and Flamen’s relationship, but at least there was an occasional tweet from one of his fans which cheered him up. It wasn’t long before he realized that what was really interesting was not the posts, but the faces behind them. A quick glance at his mutual-friend list led to quite a few pleasant surprises.

Their roommate Todd, now Koopa the badger, was the producer for their shows. Quite successful for someone so young, though the same could probably be said for him and Flamen as well. Similar things seemed to be happening to some of his other furry friends.

One friend, a blue dog named Fish, was a popular stand-up comedian now. He was known as “TheWeirdOneOut” before in the human world, and although he was always funny and witty, as a human he was always too shy to even consider something like stand-up. Bradler did always suspect that embracing his furry side would have helped his friend’s self-confidence, and this was about as much proof he needed.

His skunk-deer friend Billion Rick was now a BMX legend, which was something he’d always loved as a human. His most recent Tweet was about his new video-game based on his name. Bradler’s heart skipped a beat when he saw who developed it; a successful game studio by the name of Full Time Lizards. He knew the leaders of that studio before, so he was glad to see how well they were doing now.

He probably could have continued looking through his phone for hours before a knock on the door jolted him back to reality.

“Bradler! Are you alright in there?” he heard Flamen call from outside.

“Uh… yeah! I’m just finishing up!” Bradler yelled back. He flushed the toilet, even though he hadn’t used it.

“Okay,” Flamen replied, lowering his voice. “I just wanted to let you know… when you leave, keep your head low.”

Bradler froze the middle of washing his wings. What did he mean by that? He would have asked, but since he was already finishing up, he decided to just head outside and see what Flamen was talking about. How bad could it really be?

He opened the bathroom door, only to be immediately blinded by flashing lights. He held his wings in front of his face, already wishing his vision wasn’t as strong now. He could barely hear Flamen’s voice over the roar of other voices that began berating him with questions; autograph requests, personal questions about his and Flamen’s relationship, future projects… he couldn’t even make out the majority of it. It was mostly a blur.

Before he could even react to what was happening, he suddenly felt Flamen’s strong hand grab him by the arm and begin to lead him away. As they speed-walked past the crowd that formed, Bradler’s eyes finally adjusted, and he could begin to make out the cameras and phones of the paparazzi and fans who had gathered to wait to see them together. He knew he was more famous than before, but he didn’t realize people now thought he was this important. He wondered if every major celebrity felt like this when they went out in public.

He tried to stay calm by focusing on the back of his boyfriend’s neck as he was pulled away from the crowd. Flamen looked just like every celebrity who’d been through this routine a million times before, so he tried to mimic him as best he could. Don’t make any eye contact, maintain fast strides, act like you have somewhere important to go. The fact that Flamen seemed to be so used to this situation made Bradler sick to his stomach. What was the point of spreading so much positivity if he would have to sacrifice a personal life to do it?

Although the crowd continued to follow them, Bradler could hear Flamen whispering to him as they walked. “I should’ve known this was going to happen… you take one selfie with a fan, and suddenly every journalist in the country has tracked you down. Don’t worry, I already bought the stuff. We’ll just head out to the car. By the time we reach the parking lot, they should get the hint.”

Bradler didn’t respond, and just kept his gaze focused on the back of Flamen’s neck. He didn’t expect Flamen to be right about them being left alone, but to his surprise, nobody followed them outside the store. He reasoned that it must have been because nobody wanted to bring their cameras and phones out in the rain. He didn’t mind leaving them behind. A rollercoaster of emotions had begun to flood his head, and he didn’t want anyone around in case he broke down.

Flamen pulled out his umbrella as they left, and the pair continued to walk quickly toward the car. Bradler looked around the parking lot for their Mini Cooper, but didn’t see it anywhere. He still felt as though he were about to cry... all he wanted to do was go home and do so in peace. Where on Earth was the car?

His question was answered with the sound of a car unlocking. A stylish blue sports car lit up, the glow from the headlights shining distinctly against the fog. “Oh, right…” Bradler thought to himself, having to duck his head as he climbed inside the cramped vehicle. “What kind of celebrity would drive a Mini Cooper around?”

The car seat felt strange and uncomfortable. It had an opening in the side of it, which Bradler thought was a stylistic choice at first, until he looked over and saw Flamen sitting down. Their tails were both sticking out of the back of their seats, an indication that this design was actually ergonomic.

Bradler knew he should have been happy to have a much more expensive and “luxurious” car, but he was already missing the functionalism of his trusted Mini. He tried to focus on the thought that he would finally be home soon, but even that didn’t provide much comfort. Hadn’t Flamen called it a mansion before?

Tears began to fall down Bradler’s face. The irony that he was crying about having a bigger house was not lost on him. He knew he should have been happy about this change, but he just couldn’t. After everything that happened today, he wanted nothing more than to retreat to the familiar. He wanted to duck back into his tiny bedroom and flop onto his small but cozy bed. He wanted to unwind by playing EarthBound in the living room, sitting on the out-of-place Ikea furniture. He wanted to enjoy Brian’s cooking back at the old house, at the quaint wooden table in the kitchen. There were so many comfortable nuances of his old life that he would never be able to experience again. As thoughts of them flooded his mind, his tears suddenly broke into sobs.

He felt Flamen’s scaly hand rub his back as he cried. He heard Flamen ask him what was wrong, but he was crying so hard he couldn’t speak. It’s not like anything he could have told him would have made sense anyway. Who would ever believe that a glitch in his computer turned the whole world furry?

Flamen quickly got the hint that Bradler wasn’t able to speak. He just sat there next to him in the car, rubbing Bradler’s back as he continued to sob. Occasionally he offered a few comforting words, but even when he wasn’t speaking, Bradler could somehow sense what he wanted to say.

Bradler wasn’t sure how long he cried for, but eventually the tears began to fade. He wasn’t sure if it was because his body had just run out, but at the very least he felt a lot better than before.

“Hey, look!” Flamen pointed out the window. “The rain’s letting up!”

Bradler looked up, squinting into the setting sun. The raindrops against the car had gone from a constant pounding to a few droplets. The sight was reinvigorating in a way he couldn’t describe. He turned and looked into Flamen’s red eyes.

“You know…” Flamen continued, “The rain’s probably going to finish up by the time we get home. If we can make it home quickly enough, there might just be enough light left for a game of cornhole!”

“You’re on!” Bradler immediately replied, a big smile crossing his face.

Flamen grinned just as widely in return. “There’s that smile I was waiting for!”

With that, he leaned forward, wrapping Bradler in his arms as their lips met. The experience was new to Bradler, yet still as familiar as ever. He’d never felt a bigger sense of relief in his life. Now, he finally understood: The world may have been different, but what was important remained intact.