Posted by FarBeyondStrange 8 months ago Report

Great read.

Love the begrudging resignation aspect as a result of the pheromones. It's more interesting to me when the prey being controlled isn't a mindless zombie; but much more lucid. Although I wonder how much was the pheromones and how much was genuine feelings between the two.

The fact that it's open-ended makes it even better to me.

Posted by Sauvegarde 8 months ago Report

Thank you! What I read about the liver fluke and toxoplasmosis morbidly fascinated me, but I have an inkling the complex human brain is much more difficult to subvert than mice' or ants'.

Still, the question remains: why are cats so damn cute? Are we mind controlled by a parasite or is it a result of a long history of shared companionship? I believe it's the latter, but the former is way funnier to imagine.

One of the woman's cut lines went like: "did I brainwash you, or did I merely reveal something that was already inside of you?"

She used to be described as utterly unremarkable except for her 'perfume' (a light vanilla fragrance masking her natural scent) which fascinated our protagonist. The implication was that her pheromones helps her find suitable, more suggestible prey.

I discarded all that, as it was turning into a romance novel on its own, but the sentiment remains :)

Posted by Mechdragon1k 8 months ago Report

Is the pill meant to drive predators to extinction.

Posted by Sauvegarde 8 months ago Report

This side-effect of the pill is meant to control pred population, but it would take a lot more than that to drive them all to extinction. For one thing, it's not mandatory. The AntiPred® pill is still a private product marketed by private interests for people who likes it dangerous. As for preds, as you've read, they're evolving fast.

Since the base effect of the pill is to turn your blood poisonous at their contact, it's not difficult to imagine how even a slight 'improvement' could make human ⨯ predator coupling infertile.

There are other factors to consider too. In this setting, human ⨯ predator are about 10% as fruitful as human ⨯ human, and predator ⨯ predator are only at 25% due to the wild variety of their mutations.

Predators present a complex ethic challenge for the governments, because they look, talk, and work almost exactly the same as regular humans. Their origin are unclear, the 'Gift' is latent in some population and activates seemingly at random during or after puberty.

And then, four or five people begin to disappear a year, seemingly at random.

Posted by JohnnySniper 8 months ago Report

This is fantastic. I love the worldbuilding, and the way you write vore sequences is perfectly paced and detailed.

Also, the fact that the prey feels betrayed by the pred but still comes back to be swallowed is lovely. Then pheromones must be real strong, ey?

Posted by Sauvegarde 8 months ago Report

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy the pace, this is something I've been working on ^^

As for the prey, I've heard that toxoplasmosis makes mice unafraid of cats, going as far as to make them seek their company. This is nuts. Nature can be beautiful at times, but we shouldn't forget how it becomes a dark and cruel place comes the night.

Then again, love also can be a dark and cruel force :p

Posted by Sarus 8 months ago Report

Loved it!
You nailed the perfect dosage of mind control.

Also you manage to cram so much interesting world building in a short story :D

My only complaint is I would have loved the digestion part to last a bit longer.

Thank you for sharing this awesome piece!

Posted by Sauvegarde 8 months ago Report

You're welcome ^^

I was running out of time for the digestion part, but in retrospect I should have made it harsher and crueler; add more regrets into the sauce!

Something to consider for next time :)