Content warnings: transphobia and trans erasure
Thursday, February 29th, 2024
Ashleigh returns home from turning down Annie's invitation to spend a night with each other and checks in on her father as the nurse makes the nightly preparations before she goes home for the night.
She texts Annie only to receive error message after error message.
“Come on, come on, go through. Please go through, the number works, we tested it a bit ago!” Ashleigh pleads to the gods
*********
*********
Friday, September 15, 1752
After being given beer and various meats to share, Ashleigh, Zach and Alia have started to strike up a conversation with the wench, Constance. Constance has become a wench to support her family after flu ravaged it.
Ash says to Constance that "It's a honest day's work”
“’Tis helping my family, rather py the piano” Constance replies.
As the three sit in the tavern while Constance goes about the tavern.
Alia begins to think to herself about that st message she got from Jex over the chronodimensionalneural net and how it started these thoughts of unsettleness.
"Your move now, Alia" Alia is thinking what did she mean by that.
Jexia gets that way when she wants to py a game with him or prove some point to her, and with how she reacted to Alia’s personal research, Alia is now worried that if it’s so much more than that, which leads to seriously thinking "Did Jexia find her own human to chronodimensional transfer? If she did, why? She's already doing the switching of the Californias for her thesis project”
Alia wonders who the poor soul was that got trapped into this game.
As Alia wonders about her big worry. The BIG worry. Alia loves to shapeshift into various species as various genders, but in all of that switching he has remained a he, and she hasn't thought of herself as one for decades.
Which Alia thinks even more to herself is the problem.
The shapeshifting is just a gmour. A cheap party trick for a charmraven. What Alia craves is a proper foundation. Be a charmraven woman inside and out. There's just one problem. A problem that he envies humanity for not having.
Charmravens are biologically locked, there is no transness. To them, it's not just in their society, but it is also biologically impossible. Unlike humans and other humanoids where both sets of instructions are in the DNA, and it just kinda happens naturally where someone is born with transness. At least it’s like that now since millennia ago the DNA was completely changed to block a biological change like that. At least that’s how she understood it, she really needs to go back to her quarters and read those books again, as it did not used to be that way.
As Alia thinks, an idea comes to mind, but that idea is wrapped in a worry wrapped in a doubt.
She had a thought after scanning and reading all of Ashleigh's books instantly. There's this thought on every Earth and a few other pnets in many universes that transition would be better if it could be done magically in an instant.
As Alia read more of those books, she also read how if that was the case then it would make the entire transition process a mockery. Transition is a long, long grueling process, even if there is no medical transition and the more Alia read the more she realized that what she wants for herself. ‘No shortcuts, trust the process, let yourself be yourself.’
Her biggest worry is one of biocompatibility. would it even work beyond the gmour, would the human estrogen kill her? Alia is thinking so because of the changes in Charmravenian biology to prevent it. Yet, she wants it so badly.
It is that process that would provide the foundation that Alia craves into becoming herself physically and mentally.
Alia also knows that she can just shift into one and it would be fine, but it's not what what she wants. Inside and out, Alia wants to be herself. Fully and completely, no questions asked.
Alia loves humanity, trans people most of all, and to her, they're the most humany humans that ever humaned.
She also realizes that she really shouldn't have repeatedly scanned those Doctor Who blu-rays.
As Alia continues to spiral, Ash tries to get her attention
"Earth to Alia!" Are you deep into your head? Can you even spiral?" When did I start getting worried for him?
As Alia finds her resolve, she has one st thought. She doesn't want the biohacking process to turn her human.
*********
*********
Monday, February 9th, 2026
While shopping Annie thinks about that first date and that wondrous first night of intoxicating passion, where the night began at the no-kill shelter meeting Ashleigh and all the cute messages they sent back and forth.
Annie looks at a gif that Ashleigh just sent from the car as she stayed in to not deal with the florescent lighting at Fred Meyer
It was a gif of a cat trying to grab a straw in a gss of co. Did Ashleigh need to send the gif, no she didn’t. It is also Ashleigh’s way to ask for something in a adorable way.
"Okay, okay, I'll get you the pepsi" Annie messages back adding a gif of a panda bear pying.
Ashleigh responds with a gif of the word yes
As Annie exits the store and enters the car and hands Ashleigh a bottle of real sugar pepsi, Annie says "They didn't have diet or zero sugar"
Ashleigh responds with "Oh, cane sugar is fine"
"Teriyaki?" Annie suggests a standard takeout dinner they regurly get
"Nah, had that a couple nights ago" Ashleigh answers.
Burgers? Annie asks
"Because if we want we can make it all the way up to Seattle for a greasy bag of Dick's" Annie adds
"Oooh, a burger!" Ashleigh answers quoting an obscure 1990s sitcom
"Greasy bag it is!" Annie says
Annie puts the radio to a dancepop station and they head out to Seattle for burgers and maybe a full night out
*********
**********
Wednesday, June 17th, 1987
As the sun rose early in the summer, but not quite summer morning, the shock gave way to an intense hunger as Annie ordered steak and a two egg fiesta scramble with hash browns and toast with cup after cup of pepsi.
Zuniper had the intense foresight to ask an very cutting question.
"You're dressed in a style that is very forward thinking, and you came out of that strange car and you seem to keep gncing at that bck mirror in your bag. Where are you from, doll?”
As Emoria falls asleep in the carrier Annie tells the truth that she's from Pleasant Valley and from the year 2024.
Zuniper answered "Pleasant Valley, as in this nowhere town, Pleasant Valley?"
"Yeah, that's the one" Annie replies
“I also need to know, what is your secret?” Zuniper whispers
“Estrogen and moisturizer" Annie answers
“Still waiting on that estrogen, I’m afraid, but my therapist is great and he says that I only have a couple of months before he considers me starting estrogen.” Zuniper then adds “Does it get better for us, in the future"
"There was a time, I would have said yes, but the past couple of years where I'm from, I don't know anymore" Annie says while sighing
"Jexia, don't worry about giving this one a ride, I got it." Zuniper says.
"Take care of her, she seems to be a very special girl" Jexia says with a nasty look on her face
"Oh, don't I know it, hun" Zuniper answers.
With a couple of finger wiggles, Annie's red Subaru Forester transforms into a beige 1982 Volvo GL
"Huh, guess I was mistaken" Annie enters the car always thinking this was her car the entire time, even as the inside contents stayed the same, with receipts from 2024, a smartphone holder on the dash and a future bluetooth FM HD radio on the center dash.
They ride over to Zuniper's house, which happens to be the same house that Ashleigh and Annie would have lived in if Annie hadn't vanished on the night they had their meet cute.
"Don't worry, my housemates are still asleep, heavy sleepers, I'll introduce them to you ter, find a spot and rest. Oh don’t worry, they’re all transsexuals like us.”
“That’s a comfort” Annie replies with a very relieved voice
“Yeah, we got to stick together. All of us or none of us” Zuniper states proudly
“Way too many people would rather make it so there are none of us” Annie says with a sigh
“Even in the future nothing changes, well that’s a bummer, guess we got to fight harder”
“Yeah”
***********
***********
After fainting in the tavern from her spiral, Alia was taken back to Ashleigh's house, in a cat carrier as she had the foresight to transmutate into a cat and carrier.
"I never seen a man so frazzled before. Huh, I will never used to my new vocabury" Zach says
"Neither will I" Ashleigh adds
"Thing is, I recognize that look, I know that look, I lived that look" Ashleigh continues
"What look?" Zach asks
"That haunted, dead inside, want to escape from my own body look" Ashleigh replies
"What does that look mean?" Zach asks
"I don't know if you're ready for this information, Zach”
"What do you mean?"
"Sigh...I wish it didn't came up so soon, but here it goes. When I was born, the doctor looked at me and made an incorrect assumption about me when he said 'It's a boy' so I went through life under society's lie and lived my life as a boy and a man until I had enough of the lie” Ashleigh says, then adds “I’ll be back let me grab something”
As Ashleigh runs to the garage to grab something, Zach sees in that look, recognition, as that was the look that haunted his older, te brother.
Ashleigh returns with a photo album and opens it to a photo of Ashleigh 20 years prior with a very short haircut, a full beard and just about two hundred more pounds on her frame.
“This was me in my past” Ashleigh simply states.
Zach looks at the photo and the woman in front of him. Back and forth he goes for a couple of minutes before Ashleigh tells him to stop.
"I see a woman here, a very beautiful young maiden of light red hair and a bit of softness underneath. Honestly that story reminds me of my brother William." Zach replies
"Oh, I'm not that young. I'm only 38, that old picture of me was taken when I was 18.” Ashleigh tells Zach as his brain begins to short circuit.
"Oh no, I broke him. Zach? Zach? What about your brother? Zaaaach....?" Ashleigh said worriedly.
"Sorry, sorry, but miss, you look no older than 20, I would say you look younger than you did there” Zach says, then continues "My older brother William was born a girl, and he...he just wanted to live his life, he was a butcher and they…they.. they used his own tools…” Zach begins to cry
Ashleigh pulls Zach into a hug "It's okay, It's okay. You don't need to say anymore, okay?" Ashleigh says as Zach nods
"I'm transgender and I'm sure your brother was too. Specifically, I'm what's known as a transsexual, a mostly outdated term in my time, but it's a pretty apt term for me”
As Zach runs the gears in his head, Alia wakes up and shifts back to her base form. A dark purple birdman with hints of bck and red.
"Oh, needed that rest. Oh no. I'm nude in this form, give me a sec" Alia says as she shapeshifts back to the scrawny male form she had ever since she arrived.
"So Alia, anything you want to tell us" Ashleigh asks
"I'm not ready yet, but I overheard you both so I have a good idea of what it is"
"Whenever you're rea-" Ashleigh starts before she's interrupted.
"Ever since I was young I was the odd egg out, I wasn't like the other male charmravens”
"That feeling grew when I got older and grew deeper into my century of schooling. So I started to go to the great grand libraries in my 140s, spent decades reading more and more literature from many universes, many pnets and their doubles, many Earths and they all say of what you call transness”
"But on Aviania 65, no, that's not a thing, it never was a thing. it's biologically impossible it says. always was, is, and always will be impossible.
Yet, here I am a charmraven and I'm feeling this sense of overwhelming wrongness and always have, so either i'm wrong, or my pnet is”
"That can't be true, it can't. Why? Why would they do that" Alia screams
"I don't know, but the time you pulled me from? They're heading in that direction." Ashleigh says
Ashleigh adds "I don't know how it's going to py out now that you pulled me out and I feel scared. So scared.”
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Ashleigh and Annie return home after that trip to Seattle where they grabbed a greasy bag of Dick's, went to see a movie and on the way home grabbed and shared a slurpee from 7-eleven.
"Oh, that was a fun time, Annie" Ashleigh said
"It surely was, but my doggies are tired and mama needs to rest”
"I'll put it on one of the old game show channels for you" Ashleigh offers
"Oh, leave it here. I love Body Language" Annie excims
"I know, 'Kennedy is a master of being a game show host'" Ashleigh jokingly quotes Annie.
"While I'm watching, you're going back on Scribblehub?" Annie asks
“Yup"
"You know, I feel content, I got you, I got Emoria, life is good” Annie says in a content, no worries tone.
"Even with your soulcrushing overnight supermarket shift" Ashleigh asks
"Yes, even with the boringly boring overnight supermarket shi-, " Annie says before her work callsAnnie tries to expin to her boss that she was promised this week off after coming in to work on day off, after day off, after day off for the past year. Annie was promised that she will have the rest of the week off, she just needs to come in tonight. Annie relents
"Ugh, don't tell me, you'll be spending the night with insomniac shoppers, bored teens up way too te, other overnighters and early risers tonight" Ashleigh wonders
"Unfortunately so"
"I thought you were off this week" Ashleigh tries to remind herself
"I did, but Erika called in sick, and I’m the only cashier avaible at these hours”
"Oh, Poo" Ashleigh sarcastically remarks
"Ash, say what you really want to say"
"Oh fuckity fuck fuck fuckers!"
"There we go, do you feel better?"
"No, I do not, I wanted a quiet night at home again, Ann"
"I know Ash, maybe tomorrow night"
"I really hope so. I really do”
*********
*********
As the sun gets brighter and the summer warmth enters the house Annie wakes up in a cuddlepile that she and Zuniper were inadvertently the start of when they crashed in the room that was all mattress floor.
"Of course, even back then" Annie sarcastically remarks
"Sorry, should have warned you”
"It's okay Zuniper, it's fine, I should have expected it, considering the mattress floor. What time is it now?" Annie asks
"It's should be around 11am now, which means EVERYONE SHOULD WAKE UP NOW!!!" Zuniper yells to the cuddlepile
A chorus of confusion and sorries is suddenly uttered by the five housemates.
"Good morning" Zuniper says sarcastically
"That tall leggy blond is named Emily"
"Hi, cutie" Emily says directed at Annie
"That cute red-headed doll with the curls is named Chrissy"
"Hello" Chrissy shyly says with a southern drawl
"The cute dark-skinned beauty there is named Missy"
“Love, it’s too early for introductions” Missy says in a Australian accent
"That shortie with the dark curls is named Tilly"
"Heya, chica" Tilly says with a big hint of chicana in that accent
"And stly, this st one is named Julie" Zuniper finishes pointing at a full-figured woman with short pixie cut
"So, what's your name, hun?"
"My name is Annie and I'm lost”
"Is this your kitten?" Chrissy asks
"Yes, I got her st night, and her name is Emoria" Annie answers
"You said you're lost, what do you mean?" Emily asks
"It's a very long story and I see you dies got nothing but time"
"Yes, Ma'am" Chrissy replies
"I wouldn't even know where to start”
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Saturday, September 16th, 1752
Emoria's meowing couldn't stop the cuddled sleep going on between Zach, Alia and Ashleigh. Neither does the house resetting yet again 24 hours since the st reset on the dot.
It was noticed when Come On Eileen pyed again at 6 am and everything reset position
"Okay, it happened again, exact same time, exact same song" Ashleigh says as they woke up after the 80s cssic started to py.
"It is a catchy song" Zach admits
"This shouldn't have happened, no really, resets are impossible like this" Alia says
"Oh, that makes me ugh, shifter" Ashleigh says
"How so" sayeth the raven
"You said that resetting like this is impossible, yet you cim to be impossible yourself" Ashleigh says matter-of-factly
"I can't be trans, my species and pne-" Alia starts
"No. Your existence itself disproves every one of their so-called truths" Ashleigh says angrily
"I know! I know it does! I read books saying how it was possible millennia ago before they engineered it out of us!! You know what I'm thinking right now, human?"
"What is that, Alia?"
"If I exist then so do any other, please don't make me say it, it goes against everything I've been taught" Alia pleads
"No, I want to hear what you have to say next" Ashleigh says
"I'm a trans Charmravenian and there are likely others, maybe it’s correcting itself and overriding the engineering, I don’t know, but if I exist, it might not be just me”
"There we go, we got there." Ashleigh says as she cps over the door knocking.
"Is that my boss?" Zach asks as he sees a man outside the door window
"How would we know" Ashleigh answers
"Zachary, I was told that you are in this strange-looking house” the man yells through the door
Zach answers the door
"Yes, I am Mr. Franklin."
"I cannot have one of thy paper boys miss work for another day"
"Sorry, Mr. Franklin"
"Oh, who is this fine maiden" Mr. Franklin asks looking directly at Ashleigh as the 80s cssic Pump Up the Jam begins to py
"I'm Ashleigh, and you are?"
"Oh, you can call me Ben.” Ben says with a smirk that says ‘I like what I see’
"What"
"Ah, what beauty graces thee"
"What!"
"Oh, I understand now, dear boy,"
Two thoughts run through Ashleigh's mind, 1. She's being ogled to no end right now and 2. Benjamin Franklin is a goddamn chaser, and he's drinking out of the st of Ellie's mugs. "Hey! Who make the goodest girls? NASTY BOYS!"
