HeTrOS Daily Transformation Report, August 28th, 2042:

  Subject: bf4e9d9f-2a2c-4654-9b97-0d1a38e6b1de (herein after “b1de”), aka Ryan Porter

  Target Identity: Kaelyn Moonshadow

  Physical Adjustments:

  Height: Reduced by two inches, in alignment with progressive skeletal rescaling.

  Weight: Reduced by twelve pounds, correlating with adipose redistribution and lean mass attenuation.

  Hair: Length increased by eight inches. Colour of already present hair shifted to intermediate shade of 21, 51, 90, 4. New roots showing target colour of 5, 10, 49, 0.

  Muscle Mass: Myofibrillar density attenuation detected, indicating phase-shift towards target mesomorphic baseline.

  Skin Colour: Incremental transition towards target, indicative of UV melanin synthesis recalibration and eumelanin-to-pheomelanin ratio shift. Current shade reached: 19, 36, 60, 1.

  Eye Colour: Intermediate iris pigmentation reached Antique Verdant (54, 30, 88, 10), following predicted melanocyte redistribution pathway.

  Partial Reduction of Secondary Sexual Characteristics: Telogen-to-exogen phase acceleration observed, resulting in substantial follicular recession. Residual vellus hair remains pending further apoptotic signalling.

  Distinctive Features:

  Ear cartilage elongation minimal, paired with minor superior displacement. Structural migration being staggered to maintain proprioceptive stability.

  Caudal Protrusion rudimentary extension noted, but biomechanical integration deferred to prevent postural misalignment.

  Sensory Enhancement: Slight increase in cochlear frequency response. Temporary hyperacusis flagged for monitoring. Further neural adaptation expected to accommodate enhanced input.

  Recommended measure:

  - Continue transformation at the current rate.

  - Target identity’s personality is threatening to overpower b1de. Her influence is growing stronger, with increased signs of identity bleed detected. Behavioral shifts detected: Subject b1de has adopted speech patterns, mannerisms and character traits associated with the target identity. Subject’s awareness and sense of self is slipping. Continued personality dominance could lead to permanent dissociation or fracture between both identities.

  - Suggested careful monitoring of subject b1de’s mental state. NOTE || No interference necessary; b1de is on a journey of self-discovery. He must proceed independently; only through solitary perseverance will any learning take place.— #SysAdminNocturne

  Thursday, August 28th, 2042, Sumner, Portland, Oregon

  Ryan’s phone beeped lightly, a tell that it was now noon. He yawned, his mind foggy and entirely not interested in moving so early in the day. He had been delaying the act of getting up for the last four hours, shifting around in bed this or that way. Feeling irritated by a sudden beam of sunlight that shone directly into his face, Ryan enveloped himself in a protective cocoon of blankets. He clutched his pillow tightly against his face with one arm, attempting to completely block out the bothersome light.

  The sun caressing his exposed arm felt softer and warmer today than usual. Which lead him to realise today was a rare sunny day in the Pacific Northwest.

  That’s gonna make a lot of the neighbourhood’s outdoorsy folks happy.

  Ryan, however, was a cave dweller. The presence or absence of the sun was really of no importance to him. Like the great majority, he was already getting all the vitamin D he needed, not from supplements, but from the careful monitoring and caretaking handled by his VR rig.

  But something definitely felt off this morning. The heat on his arm, the feeling of the sheets against his bare legs. His brain suddenly jolted awake, and he pushed himself upright, leaning his back against the bed’s headboard. He yawned again, scratching idly at his sun-kissed arm. He furrowed his brow as he repeated the scratching, trying to nail what exactly was different today. Ryan felt his body hair reacting to his touch, but it felt more ticklish than it should have.

  Is my skin rougher than in it should be?

  He looked more closely, studying the light fuzz on his arm. Then it came back to him—he remembered Kaelyn’s absolutely hairless arms. He spent almost sixteen hours in her body since he created her. It absolutely made sense his actual body would feel different today. His brain must be having one hell of a time processing the two sets of memories.

  That’s all it is.

  Of course, he would feel confused about unimportant details like that.

  Lucia had even warned him. “Seriously—don’t let it mess with you.”

  So the solution was simple.

  Just have to not let it mess with me; In other words, ignore it!

  He pushed the duvet off of his legs. The act of the fabric sliding smoothly over his bare legs sent an unexpected shiver of pleasure up his spine. Then he remembered cleaning up yesterday with his dad, and how freshly washed blankets felt like that. The combination of the memory and pleasant feeling brought a smile to his face.

  Still riding the wave of euphoria, he flexed his toes, digging them in the duvet and enjoying the silky sensation. The beam of light lingered on his calves and he could feel the heat slowly transferring to his skin.

  Can this moment last for eternity? Because I’d be pretty cool with it.

  Still. Something felt different today, like his legs were more still half-asleep. He shrugged it off, too tired to think too hard about it.

  Maybe I just need to stretch?

  He absently ran his fingers across his smooth, hairless legs, enjoying the cool silkiness of his skin in the quiet morning.

  “If only every morning could feel this good… Maybe I cleaned my sheets more often, it would?”

  With a groan, Ryan twisted, fingers working into the knotted muscles of his calves, the sun’s warmth a comforting pressure on his skin. The smoothness of the skin yielded to the firmer resistance of muscle as his hand continued its exploration. That was definitely something where he felt superior to Kaelyn. She had sexy curves, to be sure—an hourglass figure, hips, waist and breasts to die for. But her legs and arms were unrealistically slender—delicate, almost fragile—sculpted for aesthetics, not strength. Her limbs were stunning, with an unnatural perfection that was more reminiscent of a fashion model or a porcelain doll than a human being; each muscle was defined yet impossibly soft.

  He had, after all, designed Kaelyn with a stunning beauty and undeniable sex appeal, not the practicality one expects of a priest traversing rugged landscapes.

  Suddenly, his phone started blazing retro rock music—one song from a band that his parents, Eduardo and Sarah, had played on repeat when he was younger. With his free arm, Ryan reached for the nightstand, grabbed the phone off the wireless charger, and swiped to answer the call. He immediately threw it onto speaker as he stretched, still scratching idly at his calf muscles.

  “Hi…?” He yawned again, looking at the caller ID. “Oh, hey sis… What’s up?”

  “Ryan! I’ve been calling for over an hour! Did you just wake up?”

  Ryan groaned, blinking at the screen. Do Not Disturb was supposed to filter urgent calls—had it glitched? Or maybe he just slept so deeply he missed her earlier calls?

  “I was up late, sis. What do you want?”

  “Ryan, I don’t think you realise what’s happening right now.” Lucia’s voice came fast, a mix of panic and frustration. “There’s a news van parked in front of our house! Reporters! They’ve been hounding mom all morning trying to find you!”

  Ryan blinked again, suddenly more awake. “Wait, what? News van?”

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  “Yes! When I VR-called you yesterday and you strutted around for us? Well, I shared your character’s pictures with my circle of friends. And they shared it to theirs… Long story short, Kaelyn’s a world sensation now. Everyone’s seen her face. You’ve gone viral! You’re the face of the biggest glitch in the history of VR, mano.”

  Wait, I’m famous now?!

  Ryan’s heart picked up speed. “Wait, viral? Eh? Wow, okay? But what are they doing at Mom and Dad’s?”

  “A reporter must have traced it all the way back to me? Now they all want to talk to the hot catgirl from the game. You! Since I’m the one who took the screenshots, I answered some of their questions, but they’re getting impatient. I’ve been trying to throw them off our property. You need to get over here and fix this!”

  Ryan let out a groan and sighed, shifting lazily under the warm covers. Everything here was perfect—his bed felt softer than usual. The sun was hitting just the right spot. If was not for his sister shrieking in his ear, he would probably spend another hour just chilling like this.

  Warm and cozy…

  “I’m still in bed…”

  “Well, get out of it, genius! And put some clothes on. You’re on the news!”

  Ryan’s eyes flicked to his bedroom window, imagining a van with the word “BREAKING NEWS” plastered across it. The sudden image jolted him awake.

  Oh, shit. This is real.

  “Buy me twenty minutes.”

  He hung up.

  Ryan tried to leap off the bed, but his right foot was caught in a tangle with his duvet and bed sheets, throwing them all off to the ground. He landed on his left foot, balancing himself on a single leg, torso bent parallel to the ground, but stable. He stared in panic at the ground, which was not getting any closer. Ryan had been absolutely certain he was going to eat the ground.

  But surprisingly, he instead found himself stabilised in a position that belonged more on a gymnast than a basement-dwelling gamer.

  Slowly and deliberately, he steadied himself upwards, starting by moving his back straight. He held his breath until he was done. Then he prudently lowered his right foot until it finally touched the carpet floor.

  That was when his heart finally started beating again.

  What… just happened?

  The ordeal brought back yesterday’s dance with Vaelith. The effortless grace Kaelyn displayed during that scene. Had he just channelled some of her memories or grace to avoid face planting?

  Whatever it was, thanks for that!

  Once he logged back on, he promised himself he would treat her as a reward for that save.

  Would a bowl of milk and some fresh tuna make an appropriate offering?

  The thought made him snicker.

  No, but if I throw a Tinto de Verano with some Jamon Iberico and Pan con Tomate? Maybe add a glass of Agua de Valencia if I really want to show gratitude.

  Yeah, that does sound more like something she’d go for…

  Ryan made sure to remember that. Kaelyn, after all, was no mere kitten; she was a refined lady with good taste.

  Snapping back to the task at hand, he made his way to the bathroom, tossing his shirt on the bed on the way out. He did not pay any attention to the bedsheets piled on the floor.

  Running on reflex, Ryan flipped the light switch on and reached for his cartridge razor. He ran the hot water and started cleaning the razor blades, using the other hand to feel at his face for stubble to shave.

  If I’m going to be on the news, I should look my best.

  But then he cut the water faucet, confused. He leaned closer, taking a good look at his face in the mirror and. Try as he might, he neither felt nor saw any facial hair to shave this morning.

  Odd.

  He straightened and looked, somewhat puzzled, at his shirtless reflection.

  No, not puzzled.

  He was assessing himself. As if he was trying to determine his worth as a collector’s item.

  Not bad. A eight, maybe? Cute. Young. Exotic. But could stand to exercise more. And definitely needed to spend more time under the sun.

  He suddenly felt self-conscious about the whole idea. He had never evaluated himself that way in the past.

  It felt… objectifying and wrong.

  But he conceded one point. He could use a tan.

  He squinted, focusing on his arms.

  He could swear it looked darker than it did in his memories. But still, he had this nagging feeling that it was not enough, that he could do better.

  He shook his head, chuckling to himself.

  Just morning fog. Probably still half asleep.

  Ryan reached for his toothbrush, squeezing a line of toothpaste onto it as the sink filled with water.

  As he started brushing, something once again struck him as odd. The flavour—it was sharper than usual. Mintier. Almost too minty, as if every nerve in his mouth had cranked up the sensitivity by a notch or two. He rinsed and spat, blinking at the faucet like it was to blame for the taste overload.

  Weird. Did they change the formula? He glanced at the toothpaste tube, but it was half empty. Nobody snuck into his home to change his toothpaste just to prank him.

  Who would do something that dumb?

  Shrugging it off, Ryan wiped his mouth and turned his attention back to the mirror, running his fingers through his hair. As he did, something caught his eye..

  Wait, were those… blonde streaks?

  Once again, he leaned closer and squinted at the strands.

  What the hell? Am I going grey already?

  But the colour was not the only issue here. His hair was not the usual short, manageable length that he was used to. His fingers caught on something tangled in what felt like silk. He pulled his hand away, only for a curtain of long, flowing hair to drape over his shoulder.

  Ryan blinked, pushing the hair back, but there was so much more of it than before. It was everywhere, brushing against his neck and tickling his shoulders. He blinked again, grabbing at the hair in disbelief as he glanced at the mirror.

  His reflection showed hair cascading down his back, easily reaching past his shoulders. Blonde streaks were even more visible now, threading through the mass of hair.

  What the hell? When did it get so long? I know I’ve been a slob lately, but have I really not been paying that much attention?

  He could barely process it. The length, the weight of it—he had not had hair this long since… well, forever. But he forced himself to shrug it off, shaking his head. Must be stress or exhaustion, he reasoned, some sort of weird memory glitch. Kaelyn had multiple feet of hair, after all.

  That weird feeling? It’s probably because of short it is. Just the brain trying to bridge the gap between my body and my avatar.

  He tilted his head, studying the reflection of his hair more closely.

  Whatever. It’s just hair. I’ll just dye or cut it later if it gets any worse.

  He quickly took a stick of deodorant, but as he popped it open, he recoiled at the smell. Okay, so the toothpaste tasted too strong, and the deodorant smelled too much.

  So, am I sick or something? Anosmia can happens sometimes, right? Maybe I have hyperosmia instead and everything just smells too much? Yeah, that’s probably what it is.

  Leveraging his temporary sensitivity, he took a deep breath, trying to detect his own body odour.

  Uck. Okay, yep! There it is, the foul odour of sweat.

  “I don’t really have time for it, but I guess I really need a quick shower…”

  He opened the door and hopped inside. He planned to speed run through it.

  Get in, clean up, get out.

  But as he showered, he revelled in the warm feeling of the water running down his body. And, as time passed, he kept nudging the water temperature higher, never quite satisfied.

  Even after reaching the hottest setting, the water did not feel scalding at all. He simply wallowed in the sensations. If he was not in such a rush to leave, Ryan feared he would fall asleep in the shower like a cat in a sunbeam on a lazy Sunday.

  Next time, maybe I should take a bath instead.

  Ryan applied a dab of shampoo at first. But then added an entire handful of shampoo—his suddenly much longer hair demanded it. After washing the shampoo off, he quickly washed and rinsed himself with body wash. He tried to ignore the complaints he got from muscles as he massaged them while washing up.

  Ugh, all my muscles are so sore!

  But he had expected this after such a long gaming session.

  All his proportions kept feeling like the wrong ones. Once again, he attributed the feeling to his brain struggling to distinguish his actual body from Kaelyn’s. After all, she was so much smaller than him; it was reasonable to think everything would feel weird right after waking up as his old self.

  After much longer than expected, Ryan regretfully shut the water off and left the shower. He quickly dried himself with a towel, then cleared a spot in the fogged-up mirror. As soon as he stopped wiping himself dry, the cold air of the bathroom sent shivers all over his body.

  He slowly went to work, brushing his hair in what felt like a practiced motion.

  He idly wondered how he should style it today, but then dismissed the idea. He would style it the only way he ever did?

  He took another deep breath. The residual smell of the shampoo and body wash had done their magic. Much better than that deodorant stick would have done.

  Already quite late! Dress quickly, it’s time to move.

  Once out of the bathroom, Ryan rummaged through his drawers for boxers, some clean blue jeans, a grey graphic tee and some comfortable black walking socks. He spent very little time agonising over the outfit—he did not exactly have a wide range of choices—and got dressed as quickly as possible.

  His boxer and jeans felt rougher than they should have, scratching at his skin. He frowned, debating trying to find another pair that would be less itchy.

  I wonder if I need to get some better detergent?

  His jeans threated to fall, felt too long, and were tighter than he expected at the hips. He had to dig for a belt in his closet, locking it one notch further than he was used to. That made his jeans bunch up awkwardly. He tried his best to even and flatten it out.

  After putting his tee on, he frowned. It definitely was looser than his other shirts. This one did not rest at the same height as the other ones did. He unbuckled his pants, tucking this shirt inside.

  Much better this way.

  “Must have lost some weight. Good thing Dad brought some of Mom’s cooking. Maybe I’ll heat a plate and munch on it on the way there?”

  His phone rock song roared again—Lucia, once more.

  “Ryan, where are you?!” her voice is even more panicked this time. “They’re talking to Papá now! And Mamá’s trying to make them coffee like they’re guests! Get over here, stat!”

  Dad is home?

  He checked the clock.

  Ah, right, his usual lunch break routine.

  “I’m on my way, Lu!”

  Ryan gave himself a last look over in the mirror, staring at his reflection. He felt a strange disconnect with the person staring back at him, but he dismissed it with a shake of his head.

  “Alright. Maybe it’s just sleep deprivation.”

  He smoothed down his shirt. He frowned, adjusting the belt on his jeans again.

  Kaelyn could rock a grey tee tucked in with those hips…

  He froze, the thought hanging there for a moment. It felt so casual, so obvious. Then the absurdity of it hit him. He blinked at his reflection, trying to piece together what was going on.

  “Wait, what the hell was that?”

  He shook his head, blinking at his reflection. But whatever weirdness he had felt moments ago was already gone, the awkward moment forgotten.

  As Ryan ran his fingers through his hair, something nagged at him. He frowned, realising that it was brushing against the back of his neck in a way it had never before.

  My hair’s definitely longer than it had been yesterday.

  He paused, considering it once more. Maybe he could tie it back in a quick ponytail, keep it out of his face?

  He froze mid-thought, blinking at his reflection.

  Wait, a ponytail?

  Despite himself, he smirked, brushing the thought aside. He had no idea where it came from, but there was no time to investigate. Besides, there was something oddly satisfying about the way his reflection stared back at him.

  Someone who could pull off a nine, easy.