Other Side of the Raid

Consequences (Part 2)

📻 BBN Transmission Log

World: Post-Comet Earth
BBN Podcast: Latest Character Interview

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Previously on “The Other Side of the Raid”

Chapter 7, Part 1: Consequences

Aria returns home from Japan to find Mittens and Vaeloria sharing tea, both eager to discuss her newfound galaxy-wide fame following the televised fight with Veracitrin. Vaeloria reveals that the Producers—the mysterious higher-ups in the Federation—are now interested in meeting Aria personally, a rare honor that carries significant implications. Though their schedules are backed up for ages, the attention marks a dramatic shift in Aria’s standing within the interdimensional entertainment complex.

The conversation turns practical as Aria proposes implementing the Senso-ji rotation system across other Dungeons globally. Vaeloria explains that using local entities always creates drama compared to regular Federation employees, but agrees to discuss it with the Producers for popular Dungeons that get cleared too quickly. When Aria raises concerns about The Efficient Exterminators and their abusive behavior, Vaeloria clarifies Federation policy: they cannot interfere with locals, but Aria herself is free to do whatever she wants inside Dungeons. Armed with this permission, Aria resolves to confront the notorious party personally.

Life on Earth continues its whirlwind pace. The Prime Minister has already scheduled Aria for the UN summit on Dungeons—a meeting she’d completely forgotten about in her busy schedule. At the Guildhall, she recommends that UK Explorers try the unique Japanese Dungeons and picks up another list of items to retrieve from Kate. More notably, the persistent Daily Mail reporter has mysteriously vanished from his surveillance duties. Mr. Wiskers gleefully explains The Pride’s handiwork: through a campaign of psychological warfare involving origami mice, uphill-rolling yarn, omnipresent cats, and strategically placed catnip, they drove the reporter to such paranoia that he now photographs dogs instead and won’t be bothering anyone anytime soon.

Key Takeaways:

• Aria’s fight with Veracitrin made her galaxy-wide famous with record ratings

• The Producers want to meet Aria personally, marking a rare honor in the Federation

• The Dungeon rotation system may expand to popular locations that clear too quickly

• Vaeloria gives Aria explicit permission to intervene against The Efficient Exterminators inside Dungeons

• The Prime Minister already scheduled Aria for the UN summit on Dungeons

• The Pride successfully neutralized the Daily Mail reporter through psychological warfare

• The reporter now believes cats run a conspiracy and has switched to photographing dogs

• Mr. Wiskers requests more salt and spices, suggesting The Pride’s business is expanding

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Consequences (Part 2)

A few days later, Aria went to a Dungeon to get some lost items while something felt wrong.

Her attention was drawn to what appeared to be a family of tourists approaching the Dungeon entrance. Something seemed off about their appearance - the “father” wore six different hats stacked precariously on his head, while the “mother” had combined a Victorian dress with neon sneakers and a leather jacket.

Either fashion has taken a very strange turn, or these aren’t ordinary tourists.

Tourist Father: “Cheerio, old chap!” he called out with a stiff-legged bow that went precisely 90 degrees. “Absolutely smashing weather for observing your local Earth-based architectural anomalies!”

Tourist Mother: “Indeed, guv’nor!” she added in perfect BBC English before switching to a Texas drawl. “Y’all want to join us for some traditional British sushi?”

The youngest member of the family seemed to be vibrating with barely contained excitement, while the teenager kept accidentally floating a few inches off the ground before quickly dropping back down.

Definitely not ordinary tourists. I wonder if they are related to my second job.

Aria: “Welcome to our historic Dungeon,” she said smoothly, years of diplomatic training kicking in. “I’m Aria, and I’d be happy to assist you with any questions.”

Mr. Wiskers: “Ay, looks like we got some space cases trying to blend in,” he observed from the perch nearby. “Amateur hour, if ya ask me, wise star.”

The youngest alien couldn’t contain their excitement any longer, pulling out a holographic poster that showed Aria’s battle with Veracitrin from multiple angles.

Young Alien: “Can you sign this? Your combat efficiency rating is off the charts across three galaxies!”

Tourist Mother: “KZZZT- I mean, how embarrassing, pulling out such a normal Earth poster that definitely doesn’t hover or glow!”

Suddenly, other poorly disguised aliens began emerging from various hiding spots - behind trees, pretending to be statues, and in one case, attempting to blend in as a particularly unconvincing ice cream cart.

This is rapidly getting out of hand.

Tourist Father: “Quick, capture this moment with our Earth-standard image recording device!” he announced, holding up what appeared to be an ancient Polaroid camera backwards while pressing various parts that definitely weren’t buttons.

Tourist Mother: “Dear, that’s the wrong-” she paused, consulting what looked suspiciously like ‘Earth Customs for Dimensional Travelers, Volume 3’ hidden in her jacket. “You need to point the shiny end at the subject!”

Teenage Alien: “LOL!” the teenager snorted, then quickly added, “That’s the correct Earth expression for amusement, right? I’ve been studying their social media extensively!”

More aliens kept appearing, each with increasingly questionable disguises and various recording devices held at impossible angles. One was attempting to take photos with a toaster, while another was speaking into a banana as if live-streaming.

A familiar voice cut through the growing chaos.

Vaeloria: “OMG, this is like, totally not cool!” she appeared in a flash of light, looking exasperated. “You guys are literally the worst at undercover ops! I can’t even!”

Vaeloria: “And don’t even get me started on the social media cleanup!” she groaned while checking multiple holographic screens that popped up around her. “Some genius already uploaded pics to like, seventeen different Earth platforms! Plus that one video that’s somehow gone viral on MySpace - how did they even find that?”

I didn’t even know MySpace was still active. Aria watched as more screens appeared around Vaeloria.

Vaeloria: “Ugh, now I have to track down every single human who might have seen anything weird,” she rapidly typed on various floating keyboards. “Don’t worry though - I’ll handle all the memory cleanup stuff. Can’t have random humans remembering our totally enthusiastic fans!”

Mr. Wiskers: “Dat’s gonna be fun,” he observed sarcastically. “Saw at least three humans livestreaming da whole thing from behind dem bushes.”

Vaeloria: “WHAT?” she shrieked, more screens materializing. “OMG, this is like, literally the worst! Now I have to trace all their followers and viewers and... just... UGH!”

Mr. Wiskers: “Showtime’s over, wise stars,” he called out to the aliens. “Unless youse want da Pride to show ya how we handle unauthorized fan meetups on our turf, nebulisce?”

Vaeloria: “Don’t worry about this mess,” she said to Aria while herding the aliens away. “I’ll handle all that boring cleanup junk. But like, I am so sorry about this! Your ratings are literally through the roof after that fight with Veracitrin!”

From B-rank Explorer to galactic celebrity. Mother would be so proud... and probably terrified.

Vaeloria: “Your fight scene got shared across like, three different dimensional planes!” she continued excitedly. “The production team is totally freaking out about the engagement metrics!”

Aria: “Should I be concerned about more... enthusiastic fans?”

Vaeloria: “Nah, I’m gonna implement some new protocols and stuff. Like, maybe a force field that makes badly disguised aliens look totally basic to regular humans?”

Mr. Wiskers: “Or youse could let da Pride handle security,” he suggested, cleaning his paw casually. “We got experience with crowd control, if ya catch my drift.”

Vaeloria: “OMG, no! No mob stuff!” she protested. “We’ll handle this through proper channels, kay?”

Vaeloria: “Look at this mess!” she gestured at the screens wildly. “Someone already made, like, fifty TikToks about ‘weird cosplayers’ at the Dungeon! And these Instagram stories - ugh, the filters aren’t even hiding the floating!”

Mr. Wiskers: “Got my boys trackin’ down all da phones dat took pictures,” he said with professional pride. “Amazing what humans will trade for some premium catnip, if ya catch my drift.”

Vaeloria: “Wait, what’s this?” she squinted at one screen. “Oh em gee, someone started a Reddit thread about ‘proof of aliens’ and it’s totally trending! Like, who even uses Reddit anymore?”

The situation seems to be spreading faster than they can contain it. Aria watched as more screens showed increasing social media activity.

Captain Whiskers: “Chillax, fam!” he suddenly appeared from a portal behind Vaeloria, wearing his professional camera rig. “I got this! Already started a viral thread about behind-the-scenes footage from a sci-fi movie being filmed here. My Earth followers are eating it up!”

Vaeloria: “OMG, Captain Whiskers! You’re literally a lifesaver!” she bounced excitedly. “Quick, flood all the platforms with like, totally convincing movie production pics!”

Captain Whiskers: “Already on it! My content team’s working overtime,” he adjusted his camera professionally. “We’re pushing hashtags like #MovieMagic and #SpecialEffectsFail. Trust me, by tomorrow everyone will think this was just some low-budget film shoot gone wrong.”

Mr. Wiskers: “And any humans who don’t buy it?” he cleaned his paw meaningfully. “Da Pride’s got some very convincing conspiracy theories ready to go. Nobody believes da guy who thinks cats are running things, see?”

Vaeloria: “Kay, so memory cleanup for the direct witnesses,” she counted on her fingers while floating screens continued to scroll, “social media flooding with fake movie stuff, and... oh no.”

Aria: “What now?”

Vaeloria: “Someone just posted a super clear pic of your alien fans on LinkedIn! Like, who even does that?” she frantically typed on multiple keyboards. “And they’re calling it ‘Networking with Interesting Industry Professionals at Historic Site’ - this is literally the worst!”

Captain Whiskers: “Don’t sweat it - I’ll have my followers spam the comments with CGI accusations. Works every time!”

Vaeloria: “Finally!” she collapsed dramatically onto a conjured floating chair. “Like, all the major platforms are totally under control. Just need to deal with... wait, what’s Pinterest?”

Captain Whiskers: “Already handled! Posted forty DIY tutorials about ‘How to Make Alien Costumes for Your Next Viral Video’,” he checked his analytics. “Engagement’s through the roof, fam!”

Mr. Wiskers: “And my boys just finished... persuadin’ the last few humans with original footage,” he reported with professional satisfaction. “Amazing how many phones accidentally fall into fountains these days, nebulisce?”

Aria: “Should I be concerned about any of this?” she asked, watching another screen pop up with what appeared to be a TikTok dance challenge inspired by the ‘movie shoot.’

Vaeloria: “Nah, this is like, totally standard damage control,” she waved dismissively while typing. “Though those alien fans are SO getting their Earth-visiting privileges revoked! Like, who even approved their disguises?”

Captain Whiskers: “Speaking of content control,” he adjusted his camera thoughtfully, “might want to check the deep web. Some conspiracy theorist is claiming they’ve got proof of-”

Mittens: “Oh, don’t concern yourself with that particular individual,” she appeared with elegant grace from another portal nearby. “I’ve already had a most illuminating conversation with their household feline. The evidence shall be quite thoroughly shredded by morning.”

Vaeloria: “Kay, final checklist!” she manifested a holographic clipboard. “Social media cleaned? Check! Witnesses dealt with? Check! Fake movie campaign trending? Check! Conspiracy theories redirected to something about pigeons being government drones? Check!”

I’m not sure whether to be impressed or terrified by how efficient they are at this.

Vaeloria: “Oh, and like, sorry about your Earth social media accounts,” she added with an apologetic bounce. “Had to temporarily delete them all just to be safe. But don’t worry - they’ll be back up tomorrow with totally normal content!”

Aria: “I had Earth social media accounts?”

Captain Whiskers: “Course you did! I set them up ages ago,” he checked his analytics again. “Your official government profile was getting amazing engagement in the ‘International Dungeon Policy’ circles.”

Aria: “You’ve been managing my professional social media presence?”

Captain Whiskers: “Just the Earth-side stuff - totally normal, boring government official content,” he preened proudly. “Your galactic fanbase is on completely different platforms. You should see your follower count on StarGram - it’s astronomical!”

Vaeloria: “OMG, can we like, focus? Earth social media first, galactic fan management later!”

Vaeloria: “Anyway, crisis avoided!” she stood up, the screens starting to vanish. “But maybe we should like, set up some protocols for future fan situations? I’m thinking maybe a holographic disguise filter around all Dungeons...”

Mr. Wiskers: “Or we could just let da Pride handle security,” he suggested again. “One good yarn avalanche usually gets da point across.”

Vaeloria: “NO YARN AVALANCHES!” she shouted, then composed herself. “Like, I’m still dealing with the paperwork from last time!”

Vaeloria: “Oh! Almost forgot!” she manifested one final screen. “Just gotta post this super viral video of a cute puppy to totally distract everyone and... done!”

Captain Whiskers: “Classic redirect strategy! Added some cat reaction videos for extra engagement,” he checked his metrics. “Algorithm’s already picking it up - trending in three... two... one...”

Mr. Wiskers: “Ya know,” he observed thoughtfully, “for a bunch of advanced civilizations, youse guys sure rely a lot on cat videos.”

Mittens: “One must acknowledge their universal appeal, darling,” she replied with dignified amusement. “Though I do wish they’d feature more sophisticated felines.”

From intergalactic crisis to cat videos. Somehow this feels perfectly normal now. Aria watched as the last traces of alien presence were efficiently erased.

Vaeloria: “Kay, so like, here’s the plan for next time,” she began bouncing excitedly. “We’re gonna set up a proper meet-and-greet system! With actual good disguises and everything!”

Aria: “Next time?”

Vaeloria: “Well duh! You’re like, literally the biggest thing since that Procyon V reality show about singing black holes!” she rolled her eyes. “We totally need to manage your fan interactions better.”

Captain Whiskers: “Already working on a content calendar,” he said while rapidly typing. “Maybe we could do some controlled collabs? The engagement potential is insane!”

Mr. Wiskers: “And da Pride can provide security,” he added hopefully. “We got some great ideas involving strategic catnip deployment...”

Vaeloria: “NO! No catnip!” she interrupted firmly. “Last time you guys did that, three diplomats from Sirius B ended up chasing laser pointers for six hours!”

I probably don’t want to know the full story behind that incident.

Mittens: “Perhaps we should conclude this impromptu meeting,” she suggested with elegant authority. “I believe Aria still has a business in the Dungeon to complete, and these conspiracy theories won’t redirect themselves.”

Vaeloria: “OMG, you’re right! Gotta run - still have like, fifty more memory cleanups to do!” she started to vanish, then popped back. “Oh, and Aria? Your next fan mail delivery is gonna be delayed. Something about a quantum postal strike?”

With that, she disappeared in a flash of light, leaving Aria to process yet another surreal addition to her daily routine. The cats dispersed to their various tasks, though Mr. Wiskers could be heard muttering about “wasted catnip opportunities.”

Mother always said I should aim for an interesting career...

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📡 End of Transmission

Oliver here - That was quite a chapter! Our dimensional frequency is picking up intense emotional resonance from Aria’s world. What did you think of her decision? The comments below are buzzing with theories from other interdimensional travelers...