Those were the Days
a
Trust Machines story
by
clancy688
"Hey! Wait!" Marvin cried out towards the guy with the blue backpack as he tried to squeeze himself through the dense crowd. For a moment, a big, living plush panda obscured his view and he feared he'd lost him, but then the obstacle was gone and he held sight of the blue backpack again. What would have been a difficult endeavor under normal conditions facing normal people was something else entirely when you were attending overcrowded VennCon and most humans were... well, not human anymore.
But when there's a will, there's a way, and so he continued battling himself towards his target. "'Scuse me." he murmured as he stepped on the tail of a rather poorly Venned Xenomorph, the creature hissing evilly. It was even missing the tell-tale second pair of jaws, pathetic! The next victim of his charge was a goo girl who cried out indignantly as he basically sliced through her watery body, disconnecting an arm in the process. But he ignored the pinkish goo girl's glare as she crouched to reabsorb her fallen arm-puddle and instead smiled broadly as the blue backpack started turning around, apparently having noticed the commotion behind him. Or maybe the Xenomorph, he usually was a sucker for Xenomorph tfs....
A Naga with snakes for arms and a spider-like robot had to be sidelined, then the two men faced each other at last. "Clancy!" Marvin said now and opened his arms wide. Understanding dawned on the face of the other man, and seconds later the two of them embraced each other. "Nice to see ya!"
"And you, too!" Clancy grinned back. "It's been what, two years?"
"Yeah, I couldn't attend VennCon last year, family issues and such. And you, still attending, I see?"
He laughed. "Yeah, of course. I need to build on my stack of entrance ticket." Marvin eyed the impressive collection which his friend raised up now, sporting at least a dozen, probably more, VennCon tickets. "You're still in the organizing team?"
Marvin snorted. "Na, that's too much a hassle. I'm just an auxiliary now, helping out. No stress and I still get to sleep in the hotel of the convention center. You're probably staying in this fancy hotel near the station, the one Thomas always books for his crowd?"
"Of course." he grinned impishly. "Sinfully expensive and sinfully comfortable. But say, why don't we find ourselves a nice, quite place to talk? This place here is a bit... noisy." Clancy motioned at a well Venned Gundam which trudged past loudly, complete with a miniature anime character sitting in the open cockpit, and Marvin nodded.
"Sure, let's go."
*********************************************
Less than five minutes later, the two of them were sitting in the bar of the hotel next to the Con and drinking espressos. They'd attended the same Con for over a decade now and knew all the hidden spots and all the shortcuts, and this location was perfect for chilling out. It was outside the Con area and inside the hotel, so it was considerably quieter, but since one of the Con entrances was right in the bar, they still got a good look at the attendees.
"If you ask me they've gone way overboard with all the weapons, teeth and claws check." Clancy said now while looking at what appeared to be a three-headed cross between a Hydra and an anthropomorphic T-Rex arguing with an entrance guard. "Back in the old times nobody cared about that. What are they doing there, anyway?"
Marvin chuckled. "Doing a bite test. They have to bite into a piece of styrofoam. If there are bite marks, their teeth are too strong and they don't get in."
Clancy oggled his friend. "You gotta be kidding me."
"Nope." Marvin said cheerfully. "The new rules totally irked the furry community. You know how they like their canines, and if they want to get in, they basically need to have plastic foam teeth. Imagine being a seven foot anthro-tiger but having teeth softer than a Haribo gummy bear's!"
"You're right, that would irk me. Although I guess they had no other choice, after this killing spree in the shopping mall earlier this year. Still..." he frowned. "How do they keep them from Venning inside?"
"No idea." Marvin shrugged. "There are plenty of Venn Machines outside, you know how it works, they just pop up, for some reason... but for some other reason, there are none inside." He shrugged again. "And don't ask me how we're doing that, because I'm not sure that we're doing anything at all regarding this. But nobody's complaining as long as it works."
The other man nodded. "Yeah... so... you're still attending, so that means you're still Venning?"
"A little bit... the typical stuff, Venning into something sexy, hitting the clubs. Once every couple of months, to let of steam. Nothing compared with our shenanigans when we were younger. The days when I roamed the woods looking for rabbits and deer to hunt are over. And you?"
"Well..." Clancy looked a bit uncomfortable now. "I haven't Venned seriously in like two or three years. Sure, there have been small changes, mostly cosmetic, but nothing big." He smiled a bit sadly. "It's just that I have so much other stuff to do, and not that much time. And somehow, my interest in Venning has gone down as well... life was way easier when I was still a student."
"I know what you mean." Marvin nodded. "Since I started working my Venn-time almost disappeared. But if your interest has gone down as well... what are you still doing here?" His smile conveyed that he knew exactly why Clancy was still there, but he still managed to conjure a frown upon his friend's face.
"You know exactly why! For one, there's the Venn Music Video contest. It has become worse every passing year, but... I'm still a sucker for those. And then there's the people, of course. There must be like two dozen guys and gals I only meet once in every year, and that's on this weekend at this location. Plus-" he elevated his nose a bit, "-it's a nice feeling to walk around and know that you've been one of the pioneers of Venning. That you've been Venning when some of the people here were still in kindergarten." Clancy's eyes sparkled now. "Do you still remember the old times? Now there's wikipedias and magazines and tv shows and therapists, all about Venning. But back then, when nobody knew anything about Venn Machines and they just popped up. Weren't those crazy times?"
Marvin laughed loudly. "Well, I don't know about crazy times, but we were certainly crazy. When we gave each other additional limbs was bad enough, but the first time when you had somebody turn you into clothing... most of us, me included, were thinking you were basically committing suicide!"
"Pah." Clancy snorted derisively. "I had no idea why you thought this would be dangerous. I had spot-on intelligence, from the reliable source 4chan, that I'd turn back eventually without any damages suffered. The time when you had yourself turned into a deer for a weekend in the woods was way crazier. Back then nobody knew that you can't die while being Venned, and it was hunting season for God's sake! Speaking of which..." he frowned. "How DID we discover that little tidbit? I think I remember that we discovered it ourselves, and didn't get it from somewhere, but I can't remember..."
"What?" Marvin blurted out half-amused, half-outraged. "You forgot that awesome night when Kimiko joined our teamspeak server in tears and lamented that she'd murdered her roommate?"
"Huh? When did Kimiko- OH! Ah, now I remember... Sarah got her boyfriend to turn her into a massive cockroach to prank her roommate. But Kimiko didn't react like planned and... stomped her." he giggled. "She had it coming, though. Boy, that girl was crazy as fuck. I remember her experimenting with this feature more than anyone else. Do you know what happened to her?"
Marvin shrugged. "Rumor has it that she's made her morbid fantasies her job and now possesses a rather unique - and totally illegal - establishment for rather peculiar 'tastes'. Best you don't ask. You really don't want to know." He added swiftly as he noticed Clancy's questioning look. "But didn't a similar thing happen to you, once?"
"Just like about everyone else. Most of us tried Venning into insects at one point or the other, and sometimes it didn't went that well. Those buggers are small and fall prey easily, after all. It was interesting having such body, but I usually went for more... fun tfs."
"Yeah, I know. Like that one night at one of the first VennCons when I entered our hotel room and there was an orgy going on."
Clancy grinned like a Cheshire cat. "You mean when I was in bed with three hot ladies?"
"No, I mean when a considerably enhanced you was in bed with three other yous, all considerably female." Marvin shook his head in exasperation. "How did you manage to control all these bodies at the same time, anyway?"
"Took me most of the afternoon and the whole evening, and effectively there were only three bodies to control. My male me just had to lie back and enjoy the show. Like you did."
Marvin snorted. "I guess. Not much I could do without hurting you that night. That was the single occasion where I cursed myself for having Venned into a tiger-morph, penile spines be damned."
"Not that you seemed to mind having some hot ladies stroking your fur." Clancy said with grin. "I remember a big, purring Kitty Cat from that night. Oh yeah, those were the days..."
There was silence for a few minutes while both seemed to be lost in thought. Marvin was the first to speak up again. "Well, wouldn't you want to dive back into these days? Just for a nice evening?"
Clancy quirked an eyebrow. "I'm not sure, actually." he said. "It sounds like a fun idea, but I have no idea if I'll really enjoy it. You know me, when I don't like something or become bored I disappear rather quickly."
"Yeah, but what if you can't disappear? Here's what I have in mind... tonight there's the traditional Venn Party and-" He sketched out what he had in mind and slowly Clancy started smiling.
"If you ask me they've gone way overboard with all the weapons, teeth and claws check." Clancy said now while looking at what appeared to be a three-headed cross between a Hydra and an anthropomorphic T-Rex arguing with an entrance guard. "Back in the old times nobody cared about that. What are they doing there, anyway?"
Marvin chuckled. "Doing a bite test. They have to bite into a piece of styrofoam. If there are bite marks, their teeth are too strong and they don't get in."
Clancy oggled his friend. "You gotta be kidding me."
"Nope." Marvin said cheerfully. "The new rules totally irked the furry community. You know how they like their canines, and if they want to get in, they basically need to have plastic foam teeth. Imagine being a seven foot anthro-tiger but having teeth softer than a Haribo gummy bear's!"
"You're right, that would irk me. Although I guess they had no other choice, after this killing spree in the shopping mall earlier this year. Still..." he frowned. "How do they keep them from Venning inside?"
"No idea." Marvin shrugged. "There are plenty of Venn Machines outside, you know how it works, they just pop up, for some reason... but for some other reason, there are none inside." He shrugged again. "And don't ask me how we're doing that, because I'm not sure that we're doing anything at all regarding this. But nobody's complaining as long as it works."
The other man nodded. "Yeah... so... you're still attending, so that means you're still Venning?"
"A little bit... the typical stuff, Venning into something sexy, hitting the clubs. Once every couple of months, to let of steam. Nothing compared with our shenanigans when we were younger. The days when I roamed the woods looking for rabbits and deer to hunt are over. And you?"
"Well..." Clancy looked a bit uncomfortable now. "I haven't Venned seriously in like two or three years. Sure, there have been small changes, mostly cosmetic, but nothing big." He smiled a bit sadly. "It's just that I have so much other stuff to do, and not that much time. And somehow, my interest in Venning has gone down as well... life was way easier when I was still a student."
"I know what you mean." Marvin nodded. "Since I started working my Venn-time almost disappeared. But if your interest has gone down as well... what are you still doing here?" His smile conveyed that he knew exactly why Clancy was still there, but he still managed to conjure a frown upon his friend's face.
"You know exactly why! For one, there's the Venn Music Video contest. It has become worse every passing year, but... I'm still a sucker for those. And then there's the people, of course. There must be like two dozen guys and gals I only meet once in every year, and that's on this weekend at this location. Plus-" he elevated his nose a bit, "-it's a nice feeling to walk around and know that you've been one of the pioneers of Venning. That you've been Venning when some of the people here were still in kindergarten." Clancy's eyes sparkled now. "Do you still remember the old times? Now there's wikipedias and magazines and tv shows and therapists, all about Venning. But back then, when nobody knew anything about Venn Machines and they just popped up. Weren't those crazy times?"
Marvin laughed loudly. "Well, I don't know about crazy times, but we were certainly crazy. When we gave each other additional limbs was bad enough, but the first time when you had somebody turn you into clothing... most of us, me included, were thinking you were basically committing suicide!"
"Pah." Clancy snorted derisively. "I had no idea why you thought this would be dangerous. I had spot-on intelligence, from the reliable source 4chan, that I'd turn back eventually without any damages suffered. The time when you had yourself turned into a deer for a weekend in the woods was way crazier. Back then nobody knew that you can't die while being Venned, and it was hunting season for God's sake! Speaking of which..." he frowned. "How DID we discover that little tidbit? I think I remember that we discovered it ourselves, and didn't get it from somewhere, but I can't remember..."
"What?" Marvin blurted out half-amused, half-outraged. "You forgot that awesome night when Kimiko joined our teamspeak server in tears and lamented that she'd murdered her roommate?"
"Huh? When did Kimiko- OH! Ah, now I remember... Sarah got her boyfriend to turn her into a massive cockroach to prank her roommate. But Kimiko didn't react like planned and... stomped her." he giggled. "She had it coming, though. Boy, that girl was crazy as fuck. I remember her experimenting with this feature more than anyone else. Do you know what happened to her?"
Marvin shrugged. "Rumor has it that she's made her morbid fantasies her job and now possesses a rather unique - and totally illegal - establishment for rather peculiar 'tastes'. Best you don't ask. You really don't want to know." He added swiftly as he noticed Clancy's questioning look. "But didn't a similar thing happen to you, once?"
"Just like about everyone else. Most of us tried Venning into insects at one point or the other, and sometimes it didn't went that well. Those buggers are small and fall prey easily, after all. It was interesting having such body, but I usually went for more... fun tfs."
"Yeah, I know. Like that one night at one of the first VennCons when I entered our hotel room and there was an orgy going on."
Clancy grinned like a Cheshire cat. "You mean when I was in bed with three hot ladies?"
"No, I mean when a considerably enhanced you was in bed with three other yous, all considerably female." Marvin shook his head in exasperation. "How did you manage to control all these bodies at the same time, anyway?"
"Took me most of the afternoon and the whole evening, and effectively there were only three bodies to control. My male me just had to lie back and enjoy the show. Like you did."
Marvin snorted. "I guess. Not much I could do without hurting you that night. That was the single occasion where I cursed myself for having Venned into a tiger-morph, penile spines be damned."
"Not that you seemed to mind having some hot ladies stroking your fur." Clancy said with grin. "I remember a big, purring Kitty Cat from that night. Oh yeah, those were the days..."
There was silence for a few minutes while both seemed to be lost in thought. Marvin was the first to speak up again. "Well, wouldn't you want to dive back into these days? Just for a nice evening?"
Clancy quirked an eyebrow. "I'm not sure, actually." he said. "It sounds like a fun idea, but I have no idea if I'll really enjoy it. You know me, when I don't like something or become bored I disappear rather quickly."
"Yeah, but what if you can't disappear? Here's what I have in mind... tonight there's the traditional Venn Party and-" He sketched out what he had in mind and slowly Clancy started smiling.
*********************************************
Her hair was a deep shade of blue, her lips a brilliant green and her eyes were fiery red, although with round pupils unlike a cat's slit ones. The red dress absolutely clung to her spectacular body, and the black heels on her feet accentuated every curve of her awe-inspiring legs.
"Well,-" she said loudly and with a massive grin as she took a photo from herself, both for her own collection and for Clancy to see how he'd looked on her feet once he turned back, "-sometimes you just have to celebrate the old days!"
"Wow, it's been ages since I've been in one of these." Clancy said with a wondrous face as they faced each other in one of the many Venn Machines around the Con twenty minutes later.
"I hope you haven't forgotten how to use them." Marvin quipped back. "I don't wanna end up as a plush Panda like when I showed my sister the Venn Machines for the first time." He chuckled in amusement. He'd have never shared the whole episode with anyone, but his sister, the little weasel, had taken photos and posted them online...
But his friend was already busy mumbling commands and selecting bubbles on the other side. "You sure you don't want anything special? No extra limbs? A couple of heads perhaps? Fur?"
"No, just make me a bit exotic. Multiple limbs are more your thing, and double the heads only give me triple the headache. And as for fur... you do know how hot it is inside a club?"
"Spoilsport... but as you wish..." Clancy said and pressed the button, and eyed his creation. "I must say..." he mused satisfied, "...I haven't lost my touch. I'm pleased with how you turned out."
"Really?" Marvin asked in a soft, throaty contralto and looked down himself, or rather, herself. Instead of her usual, heavy-set male body she now possessed an undeniably female body with curves like a racing circuit and a perfect pair of breasts. "Only one head, check, two legs, check, two arms check." She purred, "I'm positively surprised. Normally I'd have expected you to give me some extras somewhere, but- Oh!" She reached up her temples and felt a fluffy pair of cat ears twitching.
"I remembered that you rather liked cats." Clancy chuckled. "Not that this is the only extra feature."
"Hm?" Marvin held her hands up and flexed muscles she hadn't possessed previously, and suddenly ten razor sharp claws erupted out of the tips of her fingers. "Oh my... it's a good thing access control at the party is a lot more lax than over here."
"I figured. You like?"
Marvin sheathed her weapons again and gave the screen a kiss. "I love."
"Great." Her friend grinned. "So now it's my turn. I hope you still have your former speed, because you only have fifteen seconds left until the doors open."
"Is that a challenge?" She quickly looked down herself. There was some jewelry on her arms and hands, and her shapely body was squeezed into a crimson one-piece dress. From the feelings she got from her breast and groin, Clancy had provided satin underwear as well, so that only left... "Really?" she asked.
Clancy simply grinned back. "Five seconds. Really. Hit me."
"With pleasure." With lightning speed Marvin's hand flashed forward, and in the next moment, the doors opened. Grinning, the girl with cat ears darted out of her side of the booth and went to the other side. Not that she needed any haste, Clancy's new form was patiently waiting for her.
"My, my, haven't you turned out well." she purred as she contemplated the pair of strappy sandals with an at least four inch heels which stood in front of her. Swiftly, she slipped her feet into the shoes and closed the straps. Like to be expected with Venn products, the heels were a perfect fit. They felt like an extension of her feet, and Marvin grinned as she thought about how awesome they must make her legs look now.
Within moments, she was striding out of the Venn Machine on her new shoes, towards the lockers where she'd stored her stuff. There was no faltering or shakiness like some men Venned into girls displayed when walking in high heeled shoes. Marvin had worn heels plenty of times, but she hadn't worn someone as heels nearly as often.
Being turned into shoes was something most Venn folk frowned upon, and having tried it once, Marvin could only agree. While hugging someones feet with your body felt really nice, the abrasive motion of your 'skin' on concrete and other harsh surfaces tended to be... unpleasant. And this only increased with heel size. In fact, Clancy had been the only one Marvin had ever met who loved being transformed into and worn as high heeled shoes.
But if her friend wanted this... who was she to argue? From her position, the heels felt wonderful. As Marvin refilled her new purse from the locker, she got an impish smile and kept her phone in her hand. The new girl grinned widely as she struck a pose in front of one of the many mirrors which had been installed next to the Venn Machines. Clancy hadn't been lying when he'd said that he was pleased with how she'd turned out.
"I hope you haven't forgotten how to use them." Marvin quipped back. "I don't wanna end up as a plush Panda like when I showed my sister the Venn Machines for the first time." He chuckled in amusement. He'd have never shared the whole episode with anyone, but his sister, the little weasel, had taken photos and posted them online...
But his friend was already busy mumbling commands and selecting bubbles on the other side. "You sure you don't want anything special? No extra limbs? A couple of heads perhaps? Fur?"
"No, just make me a bit exotic. Multiple limbs are more your thing, and double the heads only give me triple the headache. And as for fur... you do know how hot it is inside a club?"
"Spoilsport... but as you wish..." Clancy said and pressed the button, and eyed his creation. "I must say..." he mused satisfied, "...I haven't lost my touch. I'm pleased with how you turned out."
"Really?" Marvin asked in a soft, throaty contralto and looked down himself, or rather, herself. Instead of her usual, heavy-set male body she now possessed an undeniably female body with curves like a racing circuit and a perfect pair of breasts. "Only one head, check, two legs, check, two arms check." She purred, "I'm positively surprised. Normally I'd have expected you to give me some extras somewhere, but- Oh!" She reached up her temples and felt a fluffy pair of cat ears twitching.
"I remembered that you rather liked cats." Clancy chuckled. "Not that this is the only extra feature."
"Hm?" Marvin held her hands up and flexed muscles she hadn't possessed previously, and suddenly ten razor sharp claws erupted out of the tips of her fingers. "Oh my... it's a good thing access control at the party is a lot more lax than over here."
"I figured. You like?"
Marvin sheathed her weapons again and gave the screen a kiss. "I love."
"Great." Her friend grinned. "So now it's my turn. I hope you still have your former speed, because you only have fifteen seconds left until the doors open."
"Is that a challenge?" She quickly looked down herself. There was some jewelry on her arms and hands, and her shapely body was squeezed into a crimson one-piece dress. From the feelings she got from her breast and groin, Clancy had provided satin underwear as well, so that only left... "Really?" she asked.
Clancy simply grinned back. "Five seconds. Really. Hit me."
"With pleasure." With lightning speed Marvin's hand flashed forward, and in the next moment, the doors opened. Grinning, the girl with cat ears darted out of her side of the booth and went to the other side. Not that she needed any haste, Clancy's new form was patiently waiting for her.
"My, my, haven't you turned out well." she purred as she contemplated the pair of strappy sandals with an at least four inch heels which stood in front of her. Swiftly, she slipped her feet into the shoes and closed the straps. Like to be expected with Venn products, the heels were a perfect fit. They felt like an extension of her feet, and Marvin grinned as she thought about how awesome they must make her legs look now.
Within moments, she was striding out of the Venn Machine on her new shoes, towards the lockers where she'd stored her stuff. There was no faltering or shakiness like some men Venned into girls displayed when walking in high heeled shoes. Marvin had worn heels plenty of times, but she hadn't worn someone as heels nearly as often.
Being turned into shoes was something most Venn folk frowned upon, and having tried it once, Marvin could only agree. While hugging someones feet with your body felt really nice, the abrasive motion of your 'skin' on concrete and other harsh surfaces tended to be... unpleasant. And this only increased with heel size. In fact, Clancy had been the only one Marvin had ever met who loved being transformed into and worn as high heeled shoes.
But if her friend wanted this... who was she to argue? From her position, the heels felt wonderful. As Marvin refilled her new purse from the locker, she got an impish smile and kept her phone in her hand. The new girl grinned widely as she struck a pose in front of one of the many mirrors which had been installed next to the Venn Machines. Clancy hadn't been lying when he'd said that he was pleased with how she'd turned out.
Her hair was a deep shade of blue, her lips a brilliant green and her eyes were fiery red, although with round pupils unlike a cat's slit ones. The red dress absolutely clung to her spectacular body, and the black heels on her feet accentuated every curve of her awe-inspiring legs.
"Well,-" she said loudly and with a massive grin as she took a photo from herself, both for her own collection and for Clancy to see how he'd looked on her feet once he turned back, "-sometimes you just have to celebrate the old days!"