p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Details are important. Life exists in the details, in the moments. Moments are everything. For me, one moment changed everything. In that moment, I was just minding my own business, browsing the net as usual, when I got an IM from my mom. "Honey, I know you're looking for work. Found this listing, might be worth checking out." With a mental shrug, I opened the link./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Quicksilver Adventures. Travel, Excitement, Wonder. Offices everywhere." I'd never heard of them, but what could it hurt to send them my resume. Figured maybe I'd hear back, get some office job answering phones for prospective tourists. My phone rang literally a moment later. "EssJay? Just read your resume! Looks very nice. Would you be available to take a personality test ASAP?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Sure," I said. "Is it online?" After getting the link and promising to do it in the next hour, I hung up and logged in./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Strangest damned thing ever. The personality test was all about pop culture, ranging from video games to tv-shows to roleplaying games to movies. Not that it wasn't cool, and seriously geeky, but not what I'd been expecting at all. I figured it had to be a joke, but (just in case) I finished it up and sent it off to Quicksilver, already composing a sternly worded "Haha. Very Funny Mom." note. But as soon as the little sending widget appeared, my monitor rippled, shivered, and transformed into a swirling vortex. I may have made an unfortunate noise at that point, as, with a roar, I was sucked into my computer monitor, along with half the junk on my desk top./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"I found myself floating in blackness, clutching my keyboard defensively, as a voice said "Ah! Hello. I'm Quicksilver, and I'm happy to say you've been selected as one of our special class Tourists." I may have said something snarky at this point, but the voice just laughed and explained what it called 'The Rules'./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Ten years in some exotic setting. Ten years in another life. No time would pass back on Earth. I'd be returned to the moment I left. Die in setting and I'd be returned to Earth at the moment I left. Make it all the way through and I'd be rewarded./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"I asked what the catch was, of course. Momma didn't raise no fools, but the voice just laughed some more and said, "No catch. No catch! I'm doing this purely for my own amusement of course, I assure you! Still, I won't drop you into Hell or anything. In fact, we'll start off pretty simple for your first trip." And then a Pokédex appeared in front of me, floating in midair, alongside a wheel with 8 sections marked with the names of Pokémon Regions (and a Free Pick space) and another with numbers between 10-17. A stack of poker chips, 20 of them in 50 Choice Point denominations (I didn't bother asking what a Choice Point was) filled a floating punchbowl. 1,000 CP. Great./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Once the screen of the Pokédex there was a list of 'Free Stuff' that I got just for showing up… my Earth Wallet Cellphone (they appeared on a table that had also just appeared… both of them illuminated by a spotlight that originated at an empty point in the darkness… and the table was top up to me and slowly rotating), One Set of Earth Clothes (those fell out of thin air and slid off the table onto ground that was still invisible despite the fact that the clothes got their own follow spot), a Pokébag (Used to store the things a traveler might need, Bigger on the Inside, hanging on a coat-hook that was apparently attached to nothing), Pokégear (A Pokémon themed PDA, Can be Muted, landed beside the poker chips in the bowl), Pokédex (A list of all the extant species of Pokémon and their details, Already Filled and in your hand), Pokéballs (x5, Standard. Used to catch Pokémon. They scattered as they hit the table, rolling hither and yon), Potions (x3, Bandaid in a Bottle… they too went tumbling), Hat (Red, kinda floppy… landed on my head). Well, this was a promising start./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"I looked up to confront this cosmic joker, only to find myself utterly alone. Shit. Well, I guessed the only way out was through./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Spinning the wheels I ended up in the Hoenn Region (My second to last choice, since I'm not much for hot tropical climates, but maybe I'll come to like it. I'd have rathered Sinnoh or Unova, but at least it's not Orre. Desert, ick.), with an age 16 (a little older than I'd have liked, but keeps most of the growing pains and hormonal flux out of the way… and years younger than my current self), kept my Gender Female (Duh… I mean, who wants to pee standing up anyway), and looked at the list of potential backgrounds… All of them, aside from something called 'Drop In' came with local memories, the memories of the me that existed in this world, the me that had lived as close to my life as was possible in Hoenn… poor thing. At sixteen I was top of my class and top of my game, cheerwise, but psychologically? I was a mess. I wasn't ready for someone else's memories in my head, no matter how close to mine they might have been, so Drop-In it was. That it didn't cost any of my limited supply of Choice Points was a plus./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"The next thing I had to pick was my Starter… Everyone in the Pokémon world begins with a Starter. Starters were your friend/pet for life, your primary battle-buddy. I splurged for a Male Ralts with the Egg Move "Mean Look" (a little pricey, but worth it. Mean Look kept enemies from running away, a vital trick if you're trying to catch them all.) I've done enough Pokécatching to know that Gallade (the second evolution of some male Ralts) are the only Pokémon that get Mean Look and False Swipe (the only attack move that could not lower a Pokémon's HP to zero… since a fainted Pokémon couldn't be caught for 'REASONS') as well as Hypnosis (put enemy Pokémon to sleep) and Thunderwave (Paralyze enemy Pokémon). Sure, Gardevoir (the female version) is cuter, but Gallade is… dashing. [150 (rare) + 50 (Egg Move)]/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"After that came a list of Skills and Abilities, some of which were discounted thanks to my choice of background. They ran the gamut from what I could only think of as stat boosters to skill packages to out and out psychic or spiritual powers. The descriptions were sparse and there weren't any hard numbers, but the things they seemed to offer ran from useful to the things dreams were made of… and the prices were justifiably monstrous. Buying the entire list would have cost 3800 Choice Points… I had 800 and there was also Gear left to buy after that./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"In the end, I selected three of the things on offer, spending 500 of my remaining points to get such delights as Physical Fitness (A body that is healthy and strong, not quite in the Captain America range, but close… I'd take it!), Free Running (Toss in the dexterity and situational awareness of that girl from Mirror's Edge? Yes please.), and the mother of all awesomeness, Savant (Perfect memory, mental math like a calculator, and spatial awareness tacked on to absolute marksmanship with a firearm? At a discount? I was sold!) [100 (PF) +100 (FR) +300 (Savant)]/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Which left 300 for Gear… with options ranging from the relatively commonplace bicycle, parachute, laptop, welding torch (why?), and handgun, up to a sniper rifle and personal helicopter. I didn't need most of that, but the Laptop sure sounded nice. It was a ruggedized solar-powered item with access to the PokéWorld's version of the internet. (Sure, I might be able to scrounge up enough dosh to buy it on my own, but I was going to be doing a damned lot of hiking about until I could get enough cash for a bike and I freaking knew those were for sale. Never actually seen a laptop for sale in PokeWorld. Better get one now.)… but even better sounding was a set of three Masterballs for 100 Choice./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Why a Masterball, I hear you asking? What do you need Masterballs for? Bike's much more practical, it was true. I couldn't be certain I'd ever freaking find a Legendary, but I was gonna be ready when and if I did. And three for the price I'd have paid for one? Fuck yeah!/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"I also splurged for the Hidden Machine Collection (50 Choice Points… hey big spender!). Hidden Machines were used to teach basic utility skills to Pokémon and I had to be able to give my little fuzzy dudes Surf and Fly and Rocksmash and Cut. Seriously important. Don't wanna go begging, now did I? And it was pretty cheap. I wondered if I'd be able to use them again down the road. 50,000 Pokébucks set me back another 50 Choice… I know, I know, it's just money, but I'd rather have it than not. I doubt people are just going to hand it over and the more time I had to spend working odd jobs the less adventure there would be. Had to see how far it goes. Pokeballs seemed kinda expensive at 250 a pop in the games, but that might be because they actually are pricey as fuck… then again, Lemonade was like 50 PB… so was this like, 500 dollars in yen? Seemed likely. Damn… but I didn't have much to spend 50 on, so better than nothing. I also picked up the Thrust Pack (Double Jump? Long distance Wall Run? Allow me to fall a good distance and land okay? Yeah, that's worth it.)/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"And shit… I'd over spent… how was that possible? I had only 1000 Choice Points… where had negative choice points come from… Must not have been paying attention… I was just guessing that I'd have to forgo the Thrust Pack… then the screen of the Pokédex shifted to a section called Flaws The Future. Turned out I could take flaws, just like in some RPG's, to get extra Choice Points. Who knew, right? The section explained that I could take up to two of the nine on offer, which meant I could, in theory, end up with an additional 600 Choice Points… but it specifically stated that Flaws would override Skills and Backgrounds…. and those 300 pointers were serious bad juju./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"I had to have one flaw, didn't I? Crippled would defeat the Free Running. Silenced would drive me bonkers. Scared? No thanks. Cursed? Yikes. Marked or Wanted might not be too horrible, but… honestly, it was gonna be hard enough making friends in this strange new world, I didn't need some unavoidable doom making it that much worse. Hunted and Damned…. Super duper mega eeep. Nonono… I was good with my annoying Zubats, courtesy of the Flaw labeled 'Swarmed'. Plus, a steady supply of Zubats would provide training practice and a good metric for progress, no matter where I went, right? [-100]. As for the future? Assuming I survived? Maybe I could find a way to bring some of my old world friends into the game at a certain point./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"I went through the vending options, feeling a little overwhelmed. "What about my friends… my family… my pets?" I asked thin air, but then I remembered… no time would pass. They'd be waiting for me when I returned from my little 10 year daydream. I was a bit scared. Could I cope with being all by myself for 10 years? I'd miss everyone horribly. Would I even be myself when I returned? Could I pass up this opportunity? I couldn't. Not and be true to myself. And it wasn't like I was leaving them behind, right? They'd never know. It would be like not inviting them to watch a movie with me… right?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"I confirmed the last choice and then said, "Hey, you gave me my cellphone and wallet, right?" I was hoping Quick was somewhere in the darkness, lurking and listening. "They won't do me any good there. Can I take… like, a copy of all the files on my computer in a format that could be used in Pokéland? I mean… I have a backup of all of the important stuff… my game notes and writing in my wallet… but I'd… I dunno. I'd feel better with them with me." Quick appeared, looking like the Question, hand on his chin, apparently considering my request, then laughed./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Sure. That seems reasonable. Can't understand why so many people want to bring Angry Birds with them anyway."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"And then the world went away and I was standing outside Littleroot Town in Hoenn, on Route 101, watching a bunch of Taillows pecking away at an outnumbered and wildly flailing Ralts. I waded into the birds, smacking them away with my backpack and checked on the little green… thing… creature. It was bleeding a little and that brought the stunning realism of the place into sharp relief. I'd been expecting… I dunno… something like the Anime, I guess. Not that I'd watched a full episode ever, but I'd seen clips and stuff, and I'd certainly played a bunch of the games… over a thousand hours actually, across the 6 generations… or is it 7… I hadn't been expecting everything to be pixelated or anything, but still… I wasn't expecting the high fidelity of absolute realism. The grass looked like grass (albeit really tall grass) and the trees looked like trees and my skin… was tanner than I'd expected it to be. And I was apparently Japanese./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I looked down at myself… and blinked. I'd been expecting my own body, I guess. Just in better condition. But it wasn't like that. I was… farmgirl buff. Toned. Toned like I'd never been before. And my face. I felt it and it felt different. Younger certainly. But also the shape was a little different… and the eyes were bigger. Bigger than anything an Earthling would have, but not cartoonishly large, I guess. A compromise between Anime and Realism? Hard to say. I checked in my bag, noticing with interest each item. I'd have to study them more in depth, but right now I was looking for… yes… potion. Three of them. I pulled one out and handed it to the Ralts. "You know what this is?"/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"He… somehow I was certain this was indeed a male, nodded, then grinned up at me and jumped like a tiny greenish Michael Jordan and snatched it from my hand and tried to gnaw on it. I chuckled and took it back, then sprayed his wounds, watching as they closed up in seconds. "There, all better. Stop picking fights with birds." I told him, then pulled the hat out of the bag and dropped it on his head. "Looks better on you than it would on me."/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I pulled out my gear, studying it, confirming that the nearly bottomless bag did indeed contain some kind of strange crystal that looked as if it could plug into my Pokégear. I tried it and indeed, my data appeared to be there in all its digital glory. I chuckled, then found the music folder and dropped the data into the gear's music app. "Ten years without my tunes? Without my audiobooks? I'd go crazy." I considered, then set it to play "Ready Player One" instead of music. "Right. AJ, you coming?"/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"The Ralts looked up at me, pointing to itself and said, "Raaalts?"/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I nodded "Yup. Ralts. You AJ. Me SJ. You, come on. I'll buy you a… snack in Oldale."/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Getting used to the world of Hoenn wasn't easy. Took me days to stop reverting from Japanese to English, weeks just to get used to walking everywhere, and months to get used to people calling me Shiko Jin, which is what my Trainer Card said my name was. I also quickly began to regret signing up for the Zubat Harassment Conga. Anytime AJ and I were outside during the night we'd be attacked. Sometimes twice a night if we were someplace near the caves they called home, but they were always there. The little differences were also a hassle. The Japanese style toilets took a bit of getting used too, especially in the small towns. The lack of familiar foods too. And the prices. Arceus Christ, the prices. I took up challenge fighting just to make ends meet. Picked up some nice gear along the way, but I wasn't trying to complete the Dex or anything./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I was hunting for specific Mon and trying to level AJ into a lean, mean, Fighting-Type machine. Picked up a Poochyena because they're cute, and a Zigzagoon for pretty much the same reason, plus they can use Surf and Cut and Rock Smash when they level up, but I wanted my favorites, and I was going to find them. I made a list, half from memory, half from the picture files and notes from back home. I wasn't certain things would be the same, but I was pretty certain most things would be. I needed an Abra. I needed a Magikarp. I needed an Aron. I wanted a Zangoose. I wanted a Bagon and a Beldum… and I wanted the Regis. Didn't know if I could get them… or any of the legendaries, but I was going to try. Especially if I could get Rayquaza or Deoxys. I had ten years. And nothing better to do with my time./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"To that end, I cultivated my reputation for hunting and catching dangerous Pokémon. Especially rogues. The games and animes don't talk about them a lot, but apparently that's a big thing. Dangerous fire monsters attacking wooden towns. Insane ghosts haunting supermarkets. Swarms of frickin Zubats! My team evolved and grew. AJ became a Kirlia around the same time I picked up my Magikarp… Doomwaffle… and if you think training one of those things to become a freakin Gyarados is hard in games, you've no idea. The reason they just flop around is because they can't freaking breathe air! You've got to have a lot of fights in water… and they're freshwater, not seawater. Toss them in the sea and they do okay, but they get kinda… slimy in salt water. But I persevered. Taught my Zigzagoon… who I named Ziggy because I'm an idiot, to Surf, but he was just too small to ride. Finally picked up a Spheal… named her Bubbles… couldn't ride her either, but I could hold on as she bounced over the waves./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I want to claim I went through the Gyms like they weren't no thing, but the reality is different. They really weren't no thing. Getting those badges? Yeah. Not a big deal. And it costs Pokébucks just to try. You're not really saying "I beat the master of Petalburg Gym". You're saying "I was good enough to qualify there." It's nothing like the games. It's a business. People come and watch you challenge the gym leaders… and they mock you when you lose. After that first time… I didn't lose. I was… ruthless. I trained all the time, my newfound strength and stamina meaning I could go practically anywhere in Hoenn and (without a home) I did just that. Just me and AJ, Doomwaffle (which was a name I was beginning to regret), Ziggy, and Lilith… the Mightyena. What a bitch./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Getting my Abra took the longest time. I didn't like wasting Pokéballs (those things are really pricey) so I waited, and waited, and waited. Picked up a tranq rifle from a ranger in exchange for dealing with the Slugmas trying to burn down the local bamboo plantation. Might be cheating, but that's what brains are for. With the normal Pokémon, that's what nets and physical strength are for too. Getting it to stop biting me every time I woke it up for battle was also a challenge they don't cover in the game. Turns out they like gummy candies and pretzels. Who knew. Named her Fancy./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"My team was getting a bit full round this point, but after 5 years… just after I'd thrown a Second 21 party for me and some of the friends I'd made who totally didn't understand the concept of a 21 year old throwing a party to get drunk at… I had my Gallade (AJ), my Gyarados (just Waffles now), Fancy the Kadabra, Lilith the Mightyena, Ziggy the Linoone, and Bubbles the Walrein. I had to make room. Reluctantly, I found a good home for Lilith with a pooch fancier with a big ranch and I released Bubbles back into the sea. That left me with four, though Ziggy was getting a bit old for fighting, he was still good for snuggling and playing around with./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I began hunting my heavy hitters. A Bagon I could evolve into a Salamence and a Beldum I could evolve into a Metagross. I was still aiming for Rayquaza and Registeel, but knew I'd need a top tier team to get there. Not that I could tell how powerful my friends were. The Real Pokémon world doesn't have handy stat and level guides. Had to guess. And that meant taking risks. I also began running into the Teams. The games make it seem like they're all local, but they are in the same way terrorist cells are. They're trading with each other all the time… and they didn't take too kindly to my research or my turning them down when they tried to hire me to capture Latias and Latios. Or when a group of us "Concerned Citizens" shut down their attempts to raise Kyogre and Groudon./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Eventually, by year 8, I figured I was ready. My team was five strong, Rocky the Metagross, Freya the Salamence, AJ the Gallade, Waffles the Gyarados, Fancy the Alakazam (turns out, you don't need to trade a Kadabra to evolve it. You have to give it a second spoon. Who knew?). Ziggy was with me for moral support, but he would have been punching waaay above his category to try and take down a Legendary. I tested myself against the Final Four. 6 times that year. Failed each time, but was getting closer, even though they were learning my routines too. Then I broke through to the Champion on my 7th try, 8 days after my 9th arrival-day. The fight went on and on. I was hampered because I didn't have a full six roster unless I sent in Ziggy, and he wasn't a spring chicken. And I lost. Came down to the last mon for each of us, Rocky against the Champion's Milotic. I tell you, I could not have been less prepared to go up against a leader with all Water Pokémon, since I had almost nothing typed to defeat his minions, but I almost did it. I'd try, one more time… right before the year was up… but for now, I had three masterballs that needed filling and the team to get me where I wanted to be./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I'd thought about hunting a Jirachi, or a Celebi… or maybe heading across the sea to one of the other regions and finding one of their legendaries, but I always kinda wanted a giant steel robot, so I tracked down a Relicanth and used it to bribe Wallace (the Champion) to bring along his Wailord and promised to show them something cool, very cool… as well as promising him that he'd get to see RegiIce. We dove down, down, down, into the depths of Route 134, searching until we found the Secret Chamber. I have to say… Not a huge fan of being that far underwater, nor of caves to tell the truth, but we found it and I deciphered the ancient language of Braaaaiiille! And we unlocked the secret chambers. Then it was just a matter of following the legends and my memory, perfect ever since I'd arrived in this world, to the domain of the three titans. Together, we managed to capture Regirock, though it took quite a number of tries, but we'd agreed we'd turn him over to Professor Birch for study. Next was RegiIce, where I watched (and shivered in the cold) as Wallace managed the capture by himself. It was a matter of pride. I bid him adieu, then went hunting my own Regi… Registeel. It was a short fight./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Next up was Rayquaza. Getting to the Skypillar wasn't hard… I promised Wallace I'd show him how to find the Ice in exchange for the information, when you're hunting a God you need every advantage, right? My team, thanks to liberal applications of bribery, grooming, poképastries, good tasting berries, and lots of potions, made it to the top. All I had to do was get the big Ray to attack and hold still long enough for the ball to lock on and I was golden. I was not expecting it to be so… loud. I dropped the master ball. Good thing Ziggy thought it was a game and scampered after it, chasing the ball all around the tower top as my team battled the quite enraged skydragon. Finally Rayquaza noticed Ziggy however, and loomed overhead of the utterly unimpressed ferretoid… who nosed the Masterball right towards the green giant as if asking "What? You want to play?" In a moment that could have been scripted by Rumiko Takahashi, the ball popped open and, with a woosh and a clatter, the skydragon was caught. Ziggy got much tummy rubs that night… but the fight wasn't over./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"See, the Skypillar is on the edge of space. Sure, it's easy for me to say (and for you to think) "Yeah, yeah, edge of space." But it is freaking really high up there. Only the ancient machinery of the tower keeps atmosphere there at all. And that's where you can find Deoxys… who is one very very fast Mon. But since it's not a very loud Mon, I wasn't freaking out and didn't drop my Masterball. Three up, three down./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"The rest of the year went… well. I used my new "friends" to absolutely wreak havoc on the various teams. I wasn't using Ziggy for anything but companionship by this point, and most of my team didn't spend much time in their balls, unless they were injured… and I'd finally drummed up enough dough to buy a damned bike… as well as some basic combat gear to beat up the Team Trainers who really deserved it… but I knew my time was coming to an end. I had one last chance at beating the league and getting into the Hall of Legends, and I was going for it. With three gods on my team, I breezed through the Final Four, and Wallace and I squared off one last time. It was a good fight… but I still lost. Ah well. I had a heck of a party, blowing every last Pokébuck I'd managed to get my hands on over the last decade. As the party wound down way past midnight, I stepped out into the beach, Ziggy drapped across my shoulders, Fancy and AJ arguing in the background, the others asleep in a mostly dragon pile, and waited for the sun to rise one last time… and fought off some damned Zubats!/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Three pillars rose from the sand around me and time shuddered to a stop. The pillars said… "Well Done. We are most… entertained. Your Flaw is hereby Revoked. Choose your fate, Return Home, Stay Here, or Move On to the Next Adventure."/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I tilted my head, thinking of the future, and the past. I missed home. But knew it was right where I'd left it. I knew I'd miss the people here… but not as much. I still thought of this a little as a game, and had tried not to grow too attached. I patted Ziggy's sleeping head. "If I go, who will take care of my… friends?" I asked./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;""You may take five of them with you, plus AJ. And you may, of course, keep all the skills, abilities, memories, and equipment you've picked up along the way."/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I looked out at my small cabin cruiser and raised an eyebrow "Even the boat?"/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"The Pillars displayed a grinning face, "Not a problem."/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I considered, then sighed, "Okay. Moving on, I guess. Any hints as to where's next?" There wasn't a response, so I turned to my friends and considered. AJ and Ziggy were coming. And Rayquaza and Dynamo (My Deoxys)… that was four. I considered long and hard the remaining five; Registeel, Gyarados, Salamence, Metagross, Alakazam. I said "Give me… twenty minutes more here?" The pillars said nothing, but the sound of the surf told me time had resumed. I called forth Waffles and had him bend over, kissing the giant fishdragon on the nose. "Go on. There's a big sea out there, waiting for you. It's calling your name, big guy. Go, find a nice girl fish dragon and make… I dunno, something better than Magikarp." I can't tell if he understood, but he swam out to sea, making his strange cry as he went. I tried not to weep./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Next, I went inside and shook Wallace awake. "Hey, Do me a favor. Find a kid who's coming up and give her this." I handed over the ball with Freya in it. "It's my Salamence. She likes Anchovy Pizza." And then, giving up my dreams of having a robot butler, I handed over Registeel's Masterball. "And give this to Steven. I know how much he loves Steel Type." Wallace wanted to ask, I could tell, but I just shook my head and headed outside again, stepping back into the pillars. "Okay, Boss. Next assignment ho."/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"And the world went black around me./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I have to say I was expecting to reappear in the darkness of 10 years previous, but I didn't. Instead I appeared in an almost empty warehouse. With my enhanced spatial awareness, I pegged it at being right around 200 feet long and 200 feet wide, and about 30 feet high, give or take. A black Monolith, right out of 2001 was standing in front of me, just off from where my cabin cruiser was resting on its cart thing… which it hadn't been anywhere near the last time I'd seen it./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"The Monolith boomed, "This is your warehouse. It is for the storage of your STUFF. You may outfit it as you like." And then the Monolith turned into a Quicksilver Vending Machine (™), and 15 10-Choice coins bounced out of the coin return. I flipped through the options as Ziggy and AJ wandered around the vast emptiness./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"There were a number of options for utilities, storage, facilities, and even some really weird shit like stasis pods and a door labeled 'returns'. I decided to go with the basic Utilities; Electricity [10/140/150], Plumbing [10/130/150], and even Local Net [30/100/150] (just in case I couldn't find Wifi outside.). I didn't think I needed the ForceWall (designed to keep people out) or GravityLink (to allow me to dial the gravity up or down) for any real reason. For structures, I gratefully accepted the free Shelving… 2,000 square feet of shelving is damned big, especially when it's two stories tall. I passed on the Terminal that would log where everything was (perfect memory, biatch) and Robots that would grab stuff for me or put stuff away I guess… but snagged the fully functional Medbay [20/80/150] for emergencies. It said it could fix anything medical besides a stopped heart… or maybe it meant it could fix anything as long as the patient still had a heartbeat. Yeah, that sounded more reasonable./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"In the Miscellaneous (i.e. weird shit) category I selected The Portal Option [30/50/150], just so I didn't have to worry about finding a door in an emergency… plus, an 80 square foot hole would make launching my boat much easier… though it could have been bigger. 80 square feet is little smaller than the smallest two car garage doors. It said it replaced my Warehouse Key, which would work on any door no matter how big. /span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Oy? Can I keep the key? Just in case I need to move bigger stuff in and out?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Like what?" the machine asked, sounding intrigued./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Oh… I dunno… my cabin cruiser for one? a semi-truck or one of those really really big campers that are the size of busses… in fact, why is the portal so small anyway?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""To keep you from trying to steal skyscrapers, aircraft carriers, or jumbo jets, obviously."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Nawwww… that doesn't make any sense," I protested. "See, if it was for that reason, the key wouldn't work on any size doors. Jumbo jets go through doors when they go into their hangars. Arguably, a canal lock is a pair of doors. If I install a keyhole on the Panama Canal, I could, in theory, drive the Enterprise into the Warehouse… though it wouldn't fit. In fact, why is the internal space limited to 40,000 feet?" It was, according to the text of the Free Space option which doubled the space from 40k to 80k./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Because I said so."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Oh… okay… but why square feet instead of cubic feet? Are you like a 5th dimensional being that occasionally forgets you're dealing with a 3rd dimensional being instead of a 2nd dimensional being, because this is a storage space… how high is the ceiling?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""As high as it needs to be… you are wasting time!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Dude… chill… I just spent a decade in Pokeland… how much time do I have until I have to go into the next world?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""svndz," came the muttered reply./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""What was that?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Seven days. You may remain outside of all realities for seven days at a time."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Were you going to tell me that? Are there other rules you haven't told me?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Yes. Eventually. But you don't have anything in here to amuse yourself besides your pets at the moment. I anticipated telling you later!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Fine… but I reserve the right to question you at any time about this stuff… and maybe change my mind if I don't find it useful… and I want a bigger portal!" I stomped my foot petulantly./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Fiiine. How big?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""80 square meters!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Meters? Why meters?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Metric is better."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""You're American."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Was. Also a mathematician and science nerd."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""That's 861 square feet. I'll go as high as 100… feet."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""900 feet!" I yelled, Ziggy squeaking with me in solidarity./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Oh no no no. We are not playing this game," the midi voice of the machine said./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Fine. What's your maximum," I demanded./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""What's your minimum?" The machine responded./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""How about 80 feet on a side… that's 640 square feet, or almost exactly 60 meters square. You can even make it so that the bigger sizes take more concentration and time?" I allowed, then added "And 40,000 feet on a side for the warehouse."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Ahahah. no. That's 160,000,000 square feet."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Okaayyy… how about 160,000,000 cubic feet?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Hmmm… I assume you're not planning on making the space a cube 542 feet on a side?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""You said the ceiling was as High as it needed to be… technically, I could just keep stacking 40,000 square foot storage zones on top of each other forever."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Yes… well… I didn't mean… fine. How big do you want the footprint to be?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""1,500 feet on a side. that's 2,250,000 square feet, or roughly the size of the San Diego Convention Center's grand hall I think… and gives me a height of 71 feet…. call it 500x500x25 meters?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""You're terrible! That's 6,250,000 cubic meters! That's just over 220,000,000 cubic feet! No! You'll take 480x480x24 and like it!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""You got it, Boss." I said, smirking inside. "and the door?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""What? oh, yes fine! 80 square meters, what does it matter."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"It wasn't a question so I didn't answer it. span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"That left me with 50. I considered the Heat AC and the Housing (after 10 years in the tropics, it would be nice to have a cool place to come back to at the drop of a hat. Not to mention a bathroom instead of finding a convenient bush) but with the plumbing and electrical hookups I could easily just back an RV in (especially with the larger portal) until I could get a house built or build one myself. That pretty much discounted the Workshop too. I mean… I could raid a Home Despot if I needed to. And I'm not exactly handy. Same with the Loft. I could hire someone to build one of those, right? MMM… come to think of it, did I really need Electricity [-10/60/150]? I could just grab batteries or run a generator, right? Something had to be scrubbing the air or the CO2 would kill me before long. Same for heat. That's brought me back up to 60… or should have. /span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I noticed that the Boss had brought up a flashing sign in the bottom of the screen saying I still owed the system 20. Apparently, he'd charged me 30 for the size increase. Normally, that would have been [30/30/150] just for a doubling of the footprint, but I couldn't really argue. /span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"After checking the fine print on the Return Option (the major print said 'You may spend ten more years in a world you have visited before' but didn't say if that was a single use thing or a single use per world or what.) I grabbed it for [20/10/150]. The small print had had a list of bulletpoints that I could live with./span/p
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style-position: inside; list-style-image: initial; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"After every 4th completed sojourn (or once every 10 years if you ever choose to stay or go home) you will earn a Return Credit./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"You may return to a world only after you have spent a decade away from that world, or 10 years if you ever choose to stay or go home./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"You may not use two or more Return Credits in a row to return to the same setting back to back, even if you have visited two different worlds in the same setting./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"When you return to a world, you will be returned to the very moment you left from if at all possible./li
/ul
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"That all seemed reasonable, though I wasn't certain I'd ever use it. With my last 10-Choice, I selected the Food Supply [10/0/150], which promised a constant food supply, enough to keep 5 people fed and had a list of items that essentially looked like what a college student might buy; 6 loaves of bread a week (several choices), two large jars of peanut or almond butter (chunky or smooth), fresh fruits and vegetables, ground beef, chicken (breasts or whole), eggs, cheese, ramen… it looked like about 300 dollars in groceries a week. That was good and would/spanspan style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" almost definitely come in handy… Ziggy had a big appetite. Sadly, it did not include cookies… or snack cakes./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"JUMP 1, After Aftermath: THE BODY MOD POD/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Having finished spending all my Warehouse Choice (and noted that the walls had not moved a centimeter), I was, once again, expecting a return to the darkness, but the machine just pinged, then changed into a kind of body pod that said "Climb In". I stared at it for a loooong, long moment, then sighed. "What the heck. The Boss could have screwed me over at any time, no point being paranoid now."/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"The pod was fairly comfortable, if a bit claustrophobia inducing, and it projected menus on the inside that said "Welcome to the Body Mod Shop. You have 1000 Choice Credit. Please make your selections from the list below. Be aware that once you complete your base Base-Form selections, you will be unable to modify it unless you have purchased the Variability Option in the Powers section. All Perks, Skills, Powers or other improvements gained while in your Base-Form apply to all Alt-Forms equally and or proportionally. Upon gaining an Alt-Form, such as being assigned a new race or species by a World Document or from an option you have selected, that form may be adjusted to within the parameters set by the options you have purchased below." Below that were choices for Sex, Proportions, Hair, Coloration, and Extra Bits. Ah ha. A custom designed body! Excellent! I was guessing that the form I'd had in PokeLand (6'2″, 210 lbs, FFF-Cup, broad of hips and shoulders, creamy blonde haired and grey-eyed, with naturally tanned skin) was what would qualify as an Alt-Form. I wondered how I went about switching back… oh well, I was certain everything would be explained in time./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Up first was Sex, where I could (for free) choose to be either male or female, physically speaking. If I felt like it, I could pay a small fee to choose any one non-standard sex I could come up with… including some usually only seen in the pages of certain prurient publications or on more risque websites. I decided I was fine with the double-X chromosomes and moved on./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Proportions, which governed more than just my bust, hips, and waist-sizes, had three options: Within the scale of what was possible for a natural human, within the scale of what modern surgical body-modification could do, and within the realm of theoretically biologically viable. I saw no reason to change my original form… well, no reason to change my height at least. Sure, being 4'8″ wasn't great… but it wasn't all bad… though I did bulk myself up to 90 lbs in the right places, firming my curves a little. No point spending points on something silly. Okay, okay… I may have bumped my Bs to a C… I'm not proud of it… but I deserved those beauties! Sooo perky!/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"There were three tiers of Hair-related options as well: Anything natural with a slider for just how visible my body hair was; a slider that controlled just how much body hair I had; and an option to replace hair with scales, feathers, or a shell… or some combination of all four! MADNESS! And not in Sparta! I have to admit… I was really tempted to say fuck it and just take the baseline, which was free… but dammit… I haaated shaving. No. If it cost me 50 CC, I could make that sacrifice to never have to run a razor over any part of my body ever again. I hit the Tier 2 option and slid that slider all the way down until the only body hair remaining anywhere on me was on my scalp, eyebrows, and eyelashes (and inside my ears and stomach… those hairs stayed). I even knocked a little off my brows… just so I'd never have to pluck again. Smooooth. [50/950/1000]/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Then it was color's turn. Eye, Hair, Skin… plus birthmarks, beauty marks or freckles. Hmmm… it was tempting to go with the Tier 2 here as well… but did I really want metallic silver hair and eyes the color of fine jade, skin the color of bone china? I did not. Okay, I totally did… but I didn't take the option. Instead, I just made my naturally white hair glossier, smoother, and less curly, and turned my hazel eyes pure green… really green… with tiny gold flecks. Totally possible naturally… I also made my skin as pale as I could, with a nice peach underhue to really sell it. I did give myself a distinctive birthmark someplace very secret, but I'm not gonna tell you where./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Then it was time for Extra Bits… and honestly? I barely even skimmed the names of the listings. Bioluminescence? Prehensile Tail? Gills? Thanks but, uh… no thanks. I hit confirm on all the options and an image of my new self to be appeared above me, shifting through a different outfit every couple of seconds. Not bad. Not bad indeed… oh dear… that was a very skimpy swimsuit… electrical tape and fishnets… I hadn't done that since I was 19… the first time! I hit confirm before I got lost in the narcissism of the thing… is it narcissistic to think a custom designed body is gorgeous? Sure, it was based on my original form… but, you know… better./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"A screen flashed up, replacing my image. It said "Anomalous Options" in flashing red letters, then 'Hit Here For Details'. I did. 'You may gain a few extra CC by selecting one of these options. They are not drawbacks and are an inherent property of your new form.' There were three of them, each including all the strength of the ones before it. For 100 CC, I would stand out, for good or ill, attracting much more attention than I otherwise would. For 200 CC Total, I'd elicit a sense of unease for at least some of the people I'd be bound to run into. 300's option just wasn't worth it./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Hey, it says I can only use these extra points in this section… but I only spent 50 CC in this Base-Form deally… what happens to the extra 50 CC if I take the lowest level?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"The screen flickered, 'You can spend it in this section.'/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""I don't want anything else from this section," I responded, annoyed./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"'Very well. As it is only 50 CC, you may spend it in the Augments section, but only to purchase a Tier 1 Augment.' I think I might have begun to annoy the Boss. Oh well. If this was all it took to annoy him, he was in for a rough however long it took for him to realize I was a horrible employee and he should definitely fire me… or maybe he couldn't. I grinned at that idea. There hadn't been anything about him sending me home or whatever. It seemed it was all up to me and my consequences. If so, best job ever… but I wasn't going to push it. [+100/1050/1100]/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Cool… what are Augments?" I asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"The screen cleared and showed 'AFFINITIES' instead, as if that answered everything… or anything. It didn't… well. maybe it did. There were three choices, all of them mutually exclusive. Apparently, this was the Body Mod version of a background, since buying an Affinity gave discounts on certain Augments, though I wasn't required (apparently) to buy an Affinity at all if I didn't want to. They were each 100 CC, and were called Matter, Mind, and Heart… though as I read the word 'Matter' it was scribbled out in crayon and replaced with a red pulsing 'BODY' instead. The text inside its descriptive box was also rewritten, apparently by a pastiche of a muscle bound lunkhead./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Scanning over the listings for each, it looked like Augments were statistics in the RPG sense of the term. Matter/Body covered Strength, Endurance, Speed, Resilience, and Reflexes; Mind covered Logic, Memory, Resolve, Coordination, and Perception; and Heart covered Charisma, Appeal, Empathy, Flexibility, and Fertility. Fertility? Really? And what kind of crappy power is Heart? Oh, would you look at that, it says I should take Affinity – Mind. Really? No fucking kidding. [100/950/1100]/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"So I did. Now granted, I'm already damned fucking smart and thanks to Savant, I had a really excellent memory… and I was already pretty coordinated and had… some resolve… and I wasn't that oblivious… but unless these stat boosts were for shit, I could always use a… well… boost. I watched as all five values under Mind rose besides Memory and Logic. Those two were already at Tier 2 and marked 'Native Ability'./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"I hmm'd, wondering what it assumed was my native ability… none of the others were at even Tier 1… though some were close (Flexibility and Empathy and Resilience). I pulled up the information on Logic and Memory./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Combined, the first two Tiers of Logic stated that I could easily comprehend difficult topics and concepts, placing me among the smartest of normal people, and that I could structure data in the most accessible ways, allowing for rapid and effective communication to an audience. Both of those made sense. I had been top of my class in high school without appreciable effort and graduated with top honors in college as well, though that had taken mild exertion. I'd been, if I do say so myself, an excellent tutor, gm, and teacher over the years. Out of curiosity, I pulled up the the third tier./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""You can follow the smallest of clues to the most obscure solutions and there is no concept you cannot wrap your mind around eventually, as long as you have the faintest scrap of evidence to define it. You can visualize mental images as easily as you could see them with your eyes."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Oh… well.. when it put it that way… I dumped [100/850/1100] CC into pushing Logic to Tier 3. It's not that logic was everything… but in decision-making? It was the bedrock upon which everything else rested./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Memory I didn't bother with increasing. Tier 2 said my mind was like a steel trap and I learned things twice as fast as other people. At least. There were a few minor advantages to be gained from Tier 3… but I had 13 more Augments to go through and limited points./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Resolve, Coordination, and Perception at Tier 1 were all wonderful as well. I could have paid to raise them, but I was actually pretty sanguine with what they did at that level and didn't feel the need to push it (or squander CC). Resolve 1 would allow me to motivate myself to do any task I was nominally willing to do eventually… essentially eliminating procrastination. Resolve 2 was more about ignoring instinct and fighting addictions and social conditioning, neither of which I'd ever really had trouble with. Coordination 1 would boost my already decent body control to that of an olympian or a circus acrobat. Tier 2 would just give me control over individual muscle groups. And sure, Perception 2 was hearing like a bat, sight like an eagle, smelling like a bloodhound, and sense of touch like something that had a really amazing sense of touch… but I didn't know if that would be sensory overload and was more than happy to settle for peak human senses instead. No more glasses for one thing!/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"All told, I was good with that. Now, Body or Heart? Heart or Body? Eh… I liked being physically gifted and wasn't so fond of people some times. Body it was. The first tier of strength would make me as strong as a dedicated and strictly maintained training regimen would make me without needing that regimen. Tier 2 would push that to the lifting capacity of a strongman and the striking speed of a top tier martial artist… didn't Physical Fitness cover this?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Oy… Boss… I got that Physical Fitness package! Do I need any of this?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""It modifies your baseline, and if you ever find yourself powered down or stripped of your perks and powers, this is what you'll default to," came Quick's voice. "I do hope that has been illuminating?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Yup… Good… hmmm…" I set Strength to 1, then considered, and pushed it up to 2… I'd been overpowered by those stronger than myself more than once in my life… might as well make that ever so much less likely. I didn't lock it in, but the points were spent. [100/750/1100]/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Endurance started off with the stamina to run five kilometers as fast as I could while only growing fatigued at the very end, and reduced the amount of sleep I'd need to a mere 6 hours a night. The next level raised the distance to 42 kilometers and lowered the sleep to 3 hours… that was a bit much, so I settled at Tier 1. [50/700/1100]/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Speaking of running as fast as I could, Speed 1 was peak human speed over both long and short distances. Speed 2 was peak cheetah speed over short distances (120 kph) and peak pronghorn speed over long distances (56 kph), as well as a swimming speed of 129 kph… which was just madness. Catch me if you can, I guess. Might as well invest and get familiar with the joy of running. [100/600/1100] I'd used to enjoy it… but then, I'd used to be 8 years old and non-asthmatic…/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""My body in Pokeland had my old body's asthma and allergies. Will this one?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Not with Tier 1 Endurance and Resilience. It is the same as the lack of need for optical correction from Perception Tier 1."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Excellent. Excellent. Then I'll get Resilience 1." [50/550/1100]. I pulled up the description to make certain I didn't want it higher. At Tier one, it would give me an impressive immune system, the ability to power through most pain, and to take a beating. Tier two was Bruce Lee bullshit about snapping quarterstaffs with a forearm block. Meh./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"That left Reflex, where Tier 1 was, again, more than enough, giving me the reflexes of a professional. It didn't say what kind of professional, but I assumed that it varied with the situation. Tier 2 was better… but more and I was running low on points. Ehhh… fuck it. Anything that kept me from accidentally punching my friends when surprised was probably a good thing. [100/450/1100]/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Which brought me to the, sighhh, Heart Quintet. Charisma 1 was basic manipulation and psychology. Sure. Fine. Good. [50/400/1100] Empathy 1 was reading body language for baseline emotional state. Right. Okay. Probably should take that. [50/350/1100]. Flexibility 1 was the flexibility of a professional gymnast. 2 was the level of a contortionist. I'd been pretty flexible in my youth… but not on the level of a prima ballerina… I took Tier 1 there too [50/300/1100]. Fertility was control over fertility and the ability to set the length of my period? blah. Stupid waste of points./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"That left Appeal. I was expecting something to make me sexier or something… but it wasn't that. No… this was about not being disgusting. Tier 1 meant that unless I exerted myself or came into contact with yuck, I'd never grow dirty or develop body odor, and even a little discipline would allow me to maintain my figure, not that I really needed that last. Unfortunately, I liked exerting myself and often came into contact with yuck…. so Tier 2 it was. At that level, Appeal meant that even the stickiest of contaminants could be removed without effort from both my body and clothes, and they'd slough off without a trace in a matter of seconds otherwise. Sickness and injuries would only leave the most attractive of scars… if I even chose to keep them. [100/200/1100]. It might have been vain… but I enjoyed looking good. I also liked light color clothing, which stained easily./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Augments temporarily settled, I turned to the last category… Powers. Those were divided into Shapeshifting, Variability, Permanence, Adaptability, Quality of Life, and Incentives. While Shapeshift was awesome, the powers in that section (and the Variability section) would have cost all my remaining credits and then some to get the good stuff. Permanence had Regen and Agelessness which were both affordable, but only Agelessness was really worth it. Especially if I did decide to go home, it would keep me at my biologically prime age. [100/100/1100]/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Adaptability had a freebie in it, one called Ascension, which would allow me to improve my Augments by actually putting in the effort when powered down… I guess that was to encourage me to take Flaws that did that? Seemed dangerous to me… but no risk, no reward, right?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Incentives had two freebies. The first being a Shirt that was very comfortable and could be summoned at any time. It read across the chest 'I got my Body Mod after Pokeland and All I got was this Stupid Shirt!'. Classy. The second was called a Solid Foundation and I'd earned it by spending more than half my credit on Augments. It guaranteed that all training and study I did would be twice as effective. So yay for that./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"My last 100 went to pay for two minor (but awesome) Quality of Life cheats. Waste Not meant I'd never have to use the toilet again… weird… but yay! and Want Not meant that I'd be able to maintain adequate hyradtion and neutrition off of practically anything I shoved in my gob as long as it was actually, you know, food. It also reduced my absolute minimum food and water requirements by a rather drastic amount… like 200 kCal and half a liter of water a day drastic… about a sixth of normal. No more malnutrition!/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I reviewed my purchases and what I hadn't bought. No body fat. No acne. Practically no BO… eat pretty much whatever I wanted, as much as I wanted? This was the best vacation ever! If only I wasn't so alone…. ah well. I shrugged and hit confirm before I tried to figure out how to afford something silly like Winged or Futanari. Two sexes might sound fun, if only for experimentation, but… not worth it. Too aspensive./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Next: a style="box-sizing: border-box; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom-color: #c5c5c5; border-image: initial; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #8e44ac;" href=" 2016/04/18/world-2-infamous-1st-daughter/"Gang Wars, A New Jump/a/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Resources: a style="box-sizing: border-box; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom-color: #c5c5c5; border-image: initial; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #8e44ac;" href=" powers-abilities/jump-stuff-01-05/"Build/a, Warehouse (and original Body Mod) a style="box-sizing: border-box; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom-color: #c5c5c5; border-image: initial; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #8e44ac;" href=" /a/VDDwF"Document/a, Body Mod Supplement a style="box-sizing: border-box; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom-color: #c5c5c5; border-image: initial; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #8e44ac;" href=" file/d/1xE88D56qgm1-mEekuH99TuIUZTHbCv34/view"Document/a/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"If you like what I do, please consider supporting me on a style="box-sizing: border-box; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom-color: #c5c5c5; border-image: initial; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #8e44ac;" href=" posts/13683092"/a./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"AN: This has been updated to make use of the new Body Mod Supplement created on the Space Battles forum. For the sake of posterity, here is the original Body Mod section/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"JUMP 1, Retromath: The Original Body Mod Pod/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"The pod was fairly comfortable, if a bit claustrophobia inducing, and it projected menus on the inside that said "Welcome to the Body Mod Shop. You have 600 Choice in credit. Please select a Build Type. All choices are subject to change until you hit confirm." The Builds were Light, Medium, and Heavy, all of them free. Ah ha. A custom designed body! Excellent!/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I decided to get back to my roots and selected Light. Up next were Body Types: Bodybuilder, Athlete, Charmer, and Bestial. I steered clear of the Bodybuilder and Bestial, waffling between the Charmer's Charms and the Athlete's Athleticism, before deciding I'd rather be healthy than busty. That cost me [100] Choice, which was stupid. Why offer something you had to take and have all the options have a cost? Why not simply lower the stipend and have only Bestial (the only one that cost more than 100) cost 50. Sure, it said I could skip this step… but why would I?/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Next up were the stats; Strength, Endurance, Speed, Dexterity, Appeal, Shape, and Sense. Athletic Body had apparently given me two ranks in Speed (Run at a constant 15mph, Olympic level, not shabby) and two in Dexterity (Which would have granted me Basic Parkour skills… but I already had those from the Pokeworld. I asked, half joking, if I could cash that in for something else, but I was informed the Dex mods would increase my already perfectly serviceable coordination by about 30%… whatever that means. I decided not to argue.) I decided not to boost my Strength, since I was already damned strong from Physical Fitness, easily crossing the Strength 3 line and probably the Strength 4 too, for that matter. My Endurance was similar, so I left those as they were and decided to focus on the other facets. Appeal 3 was good for me, giving me beauty without being too much. That cost me [150]. Shape 2 gave me good proportions, but again, nothing too extreme. Another [100]. I didn't need much to be happy. Sense 1 was 20/20 vision… I wondered if it was like that for everyone, or just people who'd needed glasses in the real world. I took it, just to get rid of the hated things. Who knew if I'd end up in a world without optometry in the future./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"That just left Perks. I thought about Height, but decided to stick with the default range. 5 foot, give or take a couple inches was fine. Flexibility 1 was free for Athletes, which was nice, and I decided to splurge on Metavore [100] to keep me healthy no matter how many tacos or icecreams I ate, and Evercleansed [100], because more than once in the last 10 years I'd been a bit… ripe. Blame it on the jungle and the lack of soap. No body fat, No Acne, No BO? Eat as much as I wanted… this was the best vacation ever. If only I wasn't so alone./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;" /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I reviewed my options, then shrugged and hit confirm before I tried to figure out how to afford something silly like Winged or Genderswap. 2 sex switches every 10 years sounded pretty fun, if only for experimentation, but… not worth it. Too aspensive./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Quicksilver Adventures. Travel, Excitement, Wonder. Offices everywhere." I'd never heard of them, but what could it hurt to send them my resume. Figured maybe I'd hear back, get some office job answering phones for prospective tourists. My phone rang literally a moment later. "EssJay? Just read your resume! Looks very nice. Would you be available to take a personality test ASAP?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Sure," I said. "Is it online?" After getting the link and promising to do it in the next hour, I hung up and logged in./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Strangest damned thing ever. The personality test was all about pop culture, ranging from video games to tv-shows to roleplaying games to movies. Not that it wasn't cool, and seriously geeky, but not what I'd been expecting at all. I figured it had to be a joke, but (just in case) I finished it up and sent it off to Quicksilver, already composing a sternly worded "Haha. Very Funny Mom." note. But as soon as the little sending widget appeared, my monitor rippled, shivered, and transformed into a swirling vortex. I may have made an unfortunate noise at that point, as, with a roar, I was sucked into my computer monitor, along with half the junk on my desk top./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"I found myself floating in blackness, clutching my keyboard defensively, as a voice said "Ah! Hello. I'm Quicksilver, and I'm happy to say you've been selected as one of our special class Tourists." I may have said something snarky at this point, but the voice just laughed and explained what it called 'The Rules'./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Ten years in some exotic setting. Ten years in another life. No time would pass back on Earth. I'd be returned to the moment I left. Die in setting and I'd be returned to Earth at the moment I left. Make it all the way through and I'd be rewarded./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"I asked what the catch was, of course. Momma didn't raise no fools, but the voice just laughed some more and said, "No catch. No catch! I'm doing this purely for my own amusement of course, I assure you! Still, I won't drop you into Hell or anything. In fact, we'll start off pretty simple for your first trip." And then a Pokédex appeared in front of me, floating in midair, alongside a wheel with 8 sections marked with the names of Pokémon Regions (and a Free Pick space) and another with numbers between 10-17. A stack of poker chips, 20 of them in 50 Choice Point denominations (I didn't bother asking what a Choice Point was) filled a floating punchbowl. 1,000 CP. Great./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Once the screen of the Pokédex there was a list of 'Free Stuff' that I got just for showing up… my Earth Wallet Cellphone (they appeared on a table that had also just appeared… both of them illuminated by a spotlight that originated at an empty point in the darkness… and the table was top up to me and slowly rotating), One Set of Earth Clothes (those fell out of thin air and slid off the table onto ground that was still invisible despite the fact that the clothes got their own follow spot), a Pokébag (Used to store the things a traveler might need, Bigger on the Inside, hanging on a coat-hook that was apparently attached to nothing), Pokégear (A Pokémon themed PDA, Can be Muted, landed beside the poker chips in the bowl), Pokédex (A list of all the extant species of Pokémon and their details, Already Filled and in your hand), Pokéballs (x5, Standard. Used to catch Pokémon. They scattered as they hit the table, rolling hither and yon), Potions (x3, Bandaid in a Bottle… they too went tumbling), Hat (Red, kinda floppy… landed on my head). Well, this was a promising start./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"I looked up to confront this cosmic joker, only to find myself utterly alone. Shit. Well, I guessed the only way out was through./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Spinning the wheels I ended up in the Hoenn Region (My second to last choice, since I'm not much for hot tropical climates, but maybe I'll come to like it. I'd have rathered Sinnoh or Unova, but at least it's not Orre. Desert, ick.), with an age 16 (a little older than I'd have liked, but keeps most of the growing pains and hormonal flux out of the way… and years younger than my current self), kept my Gender Female (Duh… I mean, who wants to pee standing up anyway), and looked at the list of potential backgrounds… All of them, aside from something called 'Drop In' came with local memories, the memories of the me that existed in this world, the me that had lived as close to my life as was possible in Hoenn… poor thing. At sixteen I was top of my class and top of my game, cheerwise, but psychologically? I was a mess. I wasn't ready for someone else's memories in my head, no matter how close to mine they might have been, so Drop-In it was. That it didn't cost any of my limited supply of Choice Points was a plus./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"The next thing I had to pick was my Starter… Everyone in the Pokémon world begins with a Starter. Starters were your friend/pet for life, your primary battle-buddy. I splurged for a Male Ralts with the Egg Move "Mean Look" (a little pricey, but worth it. Mean Look kept enemies from running away, a vital trick if you're trying to catch them all.) I've done enough Pokécatching to know that Gallade (the second evolution of some male Ralts) are the only Pokémon that get Mean Look and False Swipe (the only attack move that could not lower a Pokémon's HP to zero… since a fainted Pokémon couldn't be caught for 'REASONS') as well as Hypnosis (put enemy Pokémon to sleep) and Thunderwave (Paralyze enemy Pokémon). Sure, Gardevoir (the female version) is cuter, but Gallade is… dashing. [150 (rare) + 50 (Egg Move)]/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"After that came a list of Skills and Abilities, some of which were discounted thanks to my choice of background. They ran the gamut from what I could only think of as stat boosters to skill packages to out and out psychic or spiritual powers. The descriptions were sparse and there weren't any hard numbers, but the things they seemed to offer ran from useful to the things dreams were made of… and the prices were justifiably monstrous. Buying the entire list would have cost 3800 Choice Points… I had 800 and there was also Gear left to buy after that./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"In the end, I selected three of the things on offer, spending 500 of my remaining points to get such delights as Physical Fitness (A body that is healthy and strong, not quite in the Captain America range, but close… I'd take it!), Free Running (Toss in the dexterity and situational awareness of that girl from Mirror's Edge? Yes please.), and the mother of all awesomeness, Savant (Perfect memory, mental math like a calculator, and spatial awareness tacked on to absolute marksmanship with a firearm? At a discount? I was sold!) [100 (PF) +100 (FR) +300 (Savant)]/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Which left 300 for Gear… with options ranging from the relatively commonplace bicycle, parachute, laptop, welding torch (why?), and handgun, up to a sniper rifle and personal helicopter. I didn't need most of that, but the Laptop sure sounded nice. It was a ruggedized solar-powered item with access to the PokéWorld's version of the internet. (Sure, I might be able to scrounge up enough dosh to buy it on my own, but I was going to be doing a damned lot of hiking about until I could get enough cash for a bike and I freaking knew those were for sale. Never actually seen a laptop for sale in PokeWorld. Better get one now.)… but even better sounding was a set of three Masterballs for 100 Choice./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Why a Masterball, I hear you asking? What do you need Masterballs for? Bike's much more practical, it was true. I couldn't be certain I'd ever freaking find a Legendary, but I was gonna be ready when and if I did. And three for the price I'd have paid for one? Fuck yeah!/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"I also splurged for the Hidden Machine Collection (50 Choice Points… hey big spender!). Hidden Machines were used to teach basic utility skills to Pokémon and I had to be able to give my little fuzzy dudes Surf and Fly and Rocksmash and Cut. Seriously important. Don't wanna go begging, now did I? And it was pretty cheap. I wondered if I'd be able to use them again down the road. 50,000 Pokébucks set me back another 50 Choice… I know, I know, it's just money, but I'd rather have it than not. I doubt people are just going to hand it over and the more time I had to spend working odd jobs the less adventure there would be. Had to see how far it goes. Pokeballs seemed kinda expensive at 250 a pop in the games, but that might be because they actually are pricey as fuck… then again, Lemonade was like 50 PB… so was this like, 500 dollars in yen? Seemed likely. Damn… but I didn't have much to spend 50 on, so better than nothing. I also picked up the Thrust Pack (Double Jump? Long distance Wall Run? Allow me to fall a good distance and land okay? Yeah, that's worth it.)/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"And shit… I'd over spent… how was that possible? I had only 1000 Choice Points… where had negative choice points come from… Must not have been paying attention… I was just guessing that I'd have to forgo the Thrust Pack… then the screen of the Pokédex shifted to a section called Flaws The Future. Turned out I could take flaws, just like in some RPG's, to get extra Choice Points. Who knew, right? The section explained that I could take up to two of the nine on offer, which meant I could, in theory, end up with an additional 600 Choice Points… but it specifically stated that Flaws would override Skills and Backgrounds…. and those 300 pointers were serious bad juju./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"I had to have one flaw, didn't I? Crippled would defeat the Free Running. Silenced would drive me bonkers. Scared? No thanks. Cursed? Yikes. Marked or Wanted might not be too horrible, but… honestly, it was gonna be hard enough making friends in this strange new world, I didn't need some unavoidable doom making it that much worse. Hunted and Damned…. Super duper mega eeep. Nonono… I was good with my annoying Zubats, courtesy of the Flaw labeled 'Swarmed'. Plus, a steady supply of Zubats would provide training practice and a good metric for progress, no matter where I went, right? [-100]. As for the future? Assuming I survived? Maybe I could find a way to bring some of my old world friends into the game at a certain point./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"I went through the vending options, feeling a little overwhelmed. "What about my friends… my family… my pets?" I asked thin air, but then I remembered… no time would pass. They'd be waiting for me when I returned from my little 10 year daydream. I was a bit scared. Could I cope with being all by myself for 10 years? I'd miss everyone horribly. Would I even be myself when I returned? Could I pass up this opportunity? I couldn't. Not and be true to myself. And it wasn't like I was leaving them behind, right? They'd never know. It would be like not inviting them to watch a movie with me… right?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"I confirmed the last choice and then said, "Hey, you gave me my cellphone and wallet, right?" I was hoping Quick was somewhere in the darkness, lurking and listening. "They won't do me any good there. Can I take… like, a copy of all the files on my computer in a format that could be used in Pokéland? I mean… I have a backup of all of the important stuff… my game notes and writing in my wallet… but I'd… I dunno. I'd feel better with them with me." Quick appeared, looking like the Question, hand on his chin, apparently considering my request, then laughed./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Sure. That seems reasonable. Can't understand why so many people want to bring Angry Birds with them anyway."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"And then the world went away and I was standing outside Littleroot Town in Hoenn, on Route 101, watching a bunch of Taillows pecking away at an outnumbered and wildly flailing Ralts. I waded into the birds, smacking them away with my backpack and checked on the little green… thing… creature. It was bleeding a little and that brought the stunning realism of the place into sharp relief. I'd been expecting… I dunno… something like the Anime, I guess. Not that I'd watched a full episode ever, but I'd seen clips and stuff, and I'd certainly played a bunch of the games… over a thousand hours actually, across the 6 generations… or is it 7… I hadn't been expecting everything to be pixelated or anything, but still… I wasn't expecting the high fidelity of absolute realism. The grass looked like grass (albeit really tall grass) and the trees looked like trees and my skin… was tanner than I'd expected it to be. And I was apparently Japanese./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I looked down at myself… and blinked. I'd been expecting my own body, I guess. Just in better condition. But it wasn't like that. I was… farmgirl buff. Toned. Toned like I'd never been before. And my face. I felt it and it felt different. Younger certainly. But also the shape was a little different… and the eyes were bigger. Bigger than anything an Earthling would have, but not cartoonishly large, I guess. A compromise between Anime and Realism? Hard to say. I checked in my bag, noticing with interest each item. I'd have to study them more in depth, but right now I was looking for… yes… potion. Three of them. I pulled one out and handed it to the Ralts. "You know what this is?"/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"He… somehow I was certain this was indeed a male, nodded, then grinned up at me and jumped like a tiny greenish Michael Jordan and snatched it from my hand and tried to gnaw on it. I chuckled and took it back, then sprayed his wounds, watching as they closed up in seconds. "There, all better. Stop picking fights with birds." I told him, then pulled the hat out of the bag and dropped it on his head. "Looks better on you than it would on me."/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I pulled out my gear, studying it, confirming that the nearly bottomless bag did indeed contain some kind of strange crystal that looked as if it could plug into my Pokégear. I tried it and indeed, my data appeared to be there in all its digital glory. I chuckled, then found the music folder and dropped the data into the gear's music app. "Ten years without my tunes? Without my audiobooks? I'd go crazy." I considered, then set it to play "Ready Player One" instead of music. "Right. AJ, you coming?"/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"The Ralts looked up at me, pointing to itself and said, "Raaalts?"/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I nodded "Yup. Ralts. You AJ. Me SJ. You, come on. I'll buy you a… snack in Oldale."/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Getting used to the world of Hoenn wasn't easy. Took me days to stop reverting from Japanese to English, weeks just to get used to walking everywhere, and months to get used to people calling me Shiko Jin, which is what my Trainer Card said my name was. I also quickly began to regret signing up for the Zubat Harassment Conga. Anytime AJ and I were outside during the night we'd be attacked. Sometimes twice a night if we were someplace near the caves they called home, but they were always there. The little differences were also a hassle. The Japanese style toilets took a bit of getting used too, especially in the small towns. The lack of familiar foods too. And the prices. Arceus Christ, the prices. I took up challenge fighting just to make ends meet. Picked up some nice gear along the way, but I wasn't trying to complete the Dex or anything./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I was hunting for specific Mon and trying to level AJ into a lean, mean, Fighting-Type machine. Picked up a Poochyena because they're cute, and a Zigzagoon for pretty much the same reason, plus they can use Surf and Cut and Rock Smash when they level up, but I wanted my favorites, and I was going to find them. I made a list, half from memory, half from the picture files and notes from back home. I wasn't certain things would be the same, but I was pretty certain most things would be. I needed an Abra. I needed a Magikarp. I needed an Aron. I wanted a Zangoose. I wanted a Bagon and a Beldum… and I wanted the Regis. Didn't know if I could get them… or any of the legendaries, but I was going to try. Especially if I could get Rayquaza or Deoxys. I had ten years. And nothing better to do with my time./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"To that end, I cultivated my reputation for hunting and catching dangerous Pokémon. Especially rogues. The games and animes don't talk about them a lot, but apparently that's a big thing. Dangerous fire monsters attacking wooden towns. Insane ghosts haunting supermarkets. Swarms of frickin Zubats! My team evolved and grew. AJ became a Kirlia around the same time I picked up my Magikarp… Doomwaffle… and if you think training one of those things to become a freakin Gyarados is hard in games, you've no idea. The reason they just flop around is because they can't freaking breathe air! You've got to have a lot of fights in water… and they're freshwater, not seawater. Toss them in the sea and they do okay, but they get kinda… slimy in salt water. But I persevered. Taught my Zigzagoon… who I named Ziggy because I'm an idiot, to Surf, but he was just too small to ride. Finally picked up a Spheal… named her Bubbles… couldn't ride her either, but I could hold on as she bounced over the waves./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I want to claim I went through the Gyms like they weren't no thing, but the reality is different. They really weren't no thing. Getting those badges? Yeah. Not a big deal. And it costs Pokébucks just to try. You're not really saying "I beat the master of Petalburg Gym". You're saying "I was good enough to qualify there." It's nothing like the games. It's a business. People come and watch you challenge the gym leaders… and they mock you when you lose. After that first time… I didn't lose. I was… ruthless. I trained all the time, my newfound strength and stamina meaning I could go practically anywhere in Hoenn and (without a home) I did just that. Just me and AJ, Doomwaffle (which was a name I was beginning to regret), Ziggy, and Lilith… the Mightyena. What a bitch./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Getting my Abra took the longest time. I didn't like wasting Pokéballs (those things are really pricey) so I waited, and waited, and waited. Picked up a tranq rifle from a ranger in exchange for dealing with the Slugmas trying to burn down the local bamboo plantation. Might be cheating, but that's what brains are for. With the normal Pokémon, that's what nets and physical strength are for too. Getting it to stop biting me every time I woke it up for battle was also a challenge they don't cover in the game. Turns out they like gummy candies and pretzels. Who knew. Named her Fancy./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"My team was getting a bit full round this point, but after 5 years… just after I'd thrown a Second 21 party for me and some of the friends I'd made who totally didn't understand the concept of a 21 year old throwing a party to get drunk at… I had my Gallade (AJ), my Gyarados (just Waffles now), Fancy the Kadabra, Lilith the Mightyena, Ziggy the Linoone, and Bubbles the Walrein. I had to make room. Reluctantly, I found a good home for Lilith with a pooch fancier with a big ranch and I released Bubbles back into the sea. That left me with four, though Ziggy was getting a bit old for fighting, he was still good for snuggling and playing around with./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I began hunting my heavy hitters. A Bagon I could evolve into a Salamence and a Beldum I could evolve into a Metagross. I was still aiming for Rayquaza and Registeel, but knew I'd need a top tier team to get there. Not that I could tell how powerful my friends were. The Real Pokémon world doesn't have handy stat and level guides. Had to guess. And that meant taking risks. I also began running into the Teams. The games make it seem like they're all local, but they are in the same way terrorist cells are. They're trading with each other all the time… and they didn't take too kindly to my research or my turning them down when they tried to hire me to capture Latias and Latios. Or when a group of us "Concerned Citizens" shut down their attempts to raise Kyogre and Groudon./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Eventually, by year 8, I figured I was ready. My team was five strong, Rocky the Metagross, Freya the Salamence, AJ the Gallade, Waffles the Gyarados, Fancy the Alakazam (turns out, you don't need to trade a Kadabra to evolve it. You have to give it a second spoon. Who knew?). Ziggy was with me for moral support, but he would have been punching waaay above his category to try and take down a Legendary. I tested myself against the Final Four. 6 times that year. Failed each time, but was getting closer, even though they were learning my routines too. Then I broke through to the Champion on my 7th try, 8 days after my 9th arrival-day. The fight went on and on. I was hampered because I didn't have a full six roster unless I sent in Ziggy, and he wasn't a spring chicken. And I lost. Came down to the last mon for each of us, Rocky against the Champion's Milotic. I tell you, I could not have been less prepared to go up against a leader with all Water Pokémon, since I had almost nothing typed to defeat his minions, but I almost did it. I'd try, one more time… right before the year was up… but for now, I had three masterballs that needed filling and the team to get me where I wanted to be./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I'd thought about hunting a Jirachi, or a Celebi… or maybe heading across the sea to one of the other regions and finding one of their legendaries, but I always kinda wanted a giant steel robot, so I tracked down a Relicanth and used it to bribe Wallace (the Champion) to bring along his Wailord and promised to show them something cool, very cool… as well as promising him that he'd get to see RegiIce. We dove down, down, down, into the depths of Route 134, searching until we found the Secret Chamber. I have to say… Not a huge fan of being that far underwater, nor of caves to tell the truth, but we found it and I deciphered the ancient language of Braaaaiiille! And we unlocked the secret chambers. Then it was just a matter of following the legends and my memory, perfect ever since I'd arrived in this world, to the domain of the three titans. Together, we managed to capture Regirock, though it took quite a number of tries, but we'd agreed we'd turn him over to Professor Birch for study. Next was RegiIce, where I watched (and shivered in the cold) as Wallace managed the capture by himself. It was a matter of pride. I bid him adieu, then went hunting my own Regi… Registeel. It was a short fight./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Next up was Rayquaza. Getting to the Skypillar wasn't hard… I promised Wallace I'd show him how to find the Ice in exchange for the information, when you're hunting a God you need every advantage, right? My team, thanks to liberal applications of bribery, grooming, poképastries, good tasting berries, and lots of potions, made it to the top. All I had to do was get the big Ray to attack and hold still long enough for the ball to lock on and I was golden. I was not expecting it to be so… loud. I dropped the master ball. Good thing Ziggy thought it was a game and scampered after it, chasing the ball all around the tower top as my team battled the quite enraged skydragon. Finally Rayquaza noticed Ziggy however, and loomed overhead of the utterly unimpressed ferretoid… who nosed the Masterball right towards the green giant as if asking "What? You want to play?" In a moment that could have been scripted by Rumiko Takahashi, the ball popped open and, with a woosh and a clatter, the skydragon was caught. Ziggy got much tummy rubs that night… but the fight wasn't over./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"See, the Skypillar is on the edge of space. Sure, it's easy for me to say (and for you to think) "Yeah, yeah, edge of space." But it is freaking really high up there. Only the ancient machinery of the tower keeps atmosphere there at all. And that's where you can find Deoxys… who is one very very fast Mon. But since it's not a very loud Mon, I wasn't freaking out and didn't drop my Masterball. Three up, three down./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"The rest of the year went… well. I used my new "friends" to absolutely wreak havoc on the various teams. I wasn't using Ziggy for anything but companionship by this point, and most of my team didn't spend much time in their balls, unless they were injured… and I'd finally drummed up enough dough to buy a damned bike… as well as some basic combat gear to beat up the Team Trainers who really deserved it… but I knew my time was coming to an end. I had one last chance at beating the league and getting into the Hall of Legends, and I was going for it. With three gods on my team, I breezed through the Final Four, and Wallace and I squared off one last time. It was a good fight… but I still lost. Ah well. I had a heck of a party, blowing every last Pokébuck I'd managed to get my hands on over the last decade. As the party wound down way past midnight, I stepped out into the beach, Ziggy drapped across my shoulders, Fancy and AJ arguing in the background, the others asleep in a mostly dragon pile, and waited for the sun to rise one last time… and fought off some damned Zubats!/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Three pillars rose from the sand around me and time shuddered to a stop. The pillars said… "Well Done. We are most… entertained. Your Flaw is hereby Revoked. Choose your fate, Return Home, Stay Here, or Move On to the Next Adventure."/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I tilted my head, thinking of the future, and the past. I missed home. But knew it was right where I'd left it. I knew I'd miss the people here… but not as much. I still thought of this a little as a game, and had tried not to grow too attached. I patted Ziggy's sleeping head. "If I go, who will take care of my… friends?" I asked./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;""You may take five of them with you, plus AJ. And you may, of course, keep all the skills, abilities, memories, and equipment you've picked up along the way."/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I looked out at my small cabin cruiser and raised an eyebrow "Even the boat?"/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"The Pillars displayed a grinning face, "Not a problem."/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I considered, then sighed, "Okay. Moving on, I guess. Any hints as to where's next?" There wasn't a response, so I turned to my friends and considered. AJ and Ziggy were coming. And Rayquaza and Dynamo (My Deoxys)… that was four. I considered long and hard the remaining five; Registeel, Gyarados, Salamence, Metagross, Alakazam. I said "Give me… twenty minutes more here?" The pillars said nothing, but the sound of the surf told me time had resumed. I called forth Waffles and had him bend over, kissing the giant fishdragon on the nose. "Go on. There's a big sea out there, waiting for you. It's calling your name, big guy. Go, find a nice girl fish dragon and make… I dunno, something better than Magikarp." I can't tell if he understood, but he swam out to sea, making his strange cry as he went. I tried not to weep./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Next, I went inside and shook Wallace awake. "Hey, Do me a favor. Find a kid who's coming up and give her this." I handed over the ball with Freya in it. "It's my Salamence. She likes Anchovy Pizza." And then, giving up my dreams of having a robot butler, I handed over Registeel's Masterball. "And give this to Steven. I know how much he loves Steel Type." Wallace wanted to ask, I could tell, but I just shook my head and headed outside again, stepping back into the pillars. "Okay, Boss. Next assignment ho."/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"And the world went black around me./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I have to say I was expecting to reappear in the darkness of 10 years previous, but I didn't. Instead I appeared in an almost empty warehouse. With my enhanced spatial awareness, I pegged it at being right around 200 feet long and 200 feet wide, and about 30 feet high, give or take. A black Monolith, right out of 2001 was standing in front of me, just off from where my cabin cruiser was resting on its cart thing… which it hadn't been anywhere near the last time I'd seen it./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"The Monolith boomed, "This is your warehouse. It is for the storage of your STUFF. You may outfit it as you like." And then the Monolith turned into a Quicksilver Vending Machine (™), and 15 10-Choice coins bounced out of the coin return. I flipped through the options as Ziggy and AJ wandered around the vast emptiness./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"There were a number of options for utilities, storage, facilities, and even some really weird shit like stasis pods and a door labeled 'returns'. I decided to go with the basic Utilities; Electricity [10/140/150], Plumbing [10/130/150], and even Local Net [30/100/150] (just in case I couldn't find Wifi outside.). I didn't think I needed the ForceWall (designed to keep people out) or GravityLink (to allow me to dial the gravity up or down) for any real reason. For structures, I gratefully accepted the free Shelving… 2,000 square feet of shelving is damned big, especially when it's two stories tall. I passed on the Terminal that would log where everything was (perfect memory, biatch) and Robots that would grab stuff for me or put stuff away I guess… but snagged the fully functional Medbay [20/80/150] for emergencies. It said it could fix anything medical besides a stopped heart… or maybe it meant it could fix anything as long as the patient still had a heartbeat. Yeah, that sounded more reasonable./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"In the Miscellaneous (i.e. weird shit) category I selected The Portal Option [30/50/150], just so I didn't have to worry about finding a door in an emergency… plus, an 80 square foot hole would make launching my boat much easier… though it could have been bigger. 80 square feet is little smaller than the smallest two car garage doors. It said it replaced my Warehouse Key, which would work on any door no matter how big. /span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Oy? Can I keep the key? Just in case I need to move bigger stuff in and out?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Like what?" the machine asked, sounding intrigued./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Oh… I dunno… my cabin cruiser for one? a semi-truck or one of those really really big campers that are the size of busses… in fact, why is the portal so small anyway?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""To keep you from trying to steal skyscrapers, aircraft carriers, or jumbo jets, obviously."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Nawwww… that doesn't make any sense," I protested. "See, if it was for that reason, the key wouldn't work on any size doors. Jumbo jets go through doors when they go into their hangars. Arguably, a canal lock is a pair of doors. If I install a keyhole on the Panama Canal, I could, in theory, drive the Enterprise into the Warehouse… though it wouldn't fit. In fact, why is the internal space limited to 40,000 feet?" It was, according to the text of the Free Space option which doubled the space from 40k to 80k./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Because I said so."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Oh… okay… but why square feet instead of cubic feet? Are you like a 5th dimensional being that occasionally forgets you're dealing with a 3rd dimensional being instead of a 2nd dimensional being, because this is a storage space… how high is the ceiling?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""As high as it needs to be… you are wasting time!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Dude… chill… I just spent a decade in Pokeland… how much time do I have until I have to go into the next world?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""svndz," came the muttered reply./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""What was that?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Seven days. You may remain outside of all realities for seven days at a time."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Were you going to tell me that? Are there other rules you haven't told me?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Yes. Eventually. But you don't have anything in here to amuse yourself besides your pets at the moment. I anticipated telling you later!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Fine… but I reserve the right to question you at any time about this stuff… and maybe change my mind if I don't find it useful… and I want a bigger portal!" I stomped my foot petulantly./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Fiiine. How big?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""80 square meters!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Meters? Why meters?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Metric is better."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""You're American."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Was. Also a mathematician and science nerd."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""That's 861 square feet. I'll go as high as 100… feet."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""900 feet!" I yelled, Ziggy squeaking with me in solidarity./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Oh no no no. We are not playing this game," the midi voice of the machine said./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Fine. What's your maximum," I demanded./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""What's your minimum?" The machine responded./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""How about 80 feet on a side… that's 640 square feet, or almost exactly 60 meters square. You can even make it so that the bigger sizes take more concentration and time?" I allowed, then added "And 40,000 feet on a side for the warehouse."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Ahahah. no. That's 160,000,000 square feet."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Okaayyy… how about 160,000,000 cubic feet?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Hmmm… I assume you're not planning on making the space a cube 542 feet on a side?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""You said the ceiling was as High as it needed to be… technically, I could just keep stacking 40,000 square foot storage zones on top of each other forever."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Yes… well… I didn't mean… fine. How big do you want the footprint to be?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""1,500 feet on a side. that's 2,250,000 square feet, or roughly the size of the San Diego Convention Center's grand hall I think… and gives me a height of 71 feet…. call it 500x500x25 meters?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""You're terrible! That's 6,250,000 cubic meters! That's just over 220,000,000 cubic feet! No! You'll take 480x480x24 and like it!"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""You got it, Boss." I said, smirking inside. "and the door?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""What? oh, yes fine! 80 square meters, what does it matter."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"It wasn't a question so I didn't answer it. span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"That left me with 50. I considered the Heat AC and the Housing (after 10 years in the tropics, it would be nice to have a cool place to come back to at the drop of a hat. Not to mention a bathroom instead of finding a convenient bush) but with the plumbing and electrical hookups I could easily just back an RV in (especially with the larger portal) until I could get a house built or build one myself. That pretty much discounted the Workshop too. I mean… I could raid a Home Despot if I needed to. And I'm not exactly handy. Same with the Loft. I could hire someone to build one of those, right? MMM… come to think of it, did I really need Electricity [-10/60/150]? I could just grab batteries or run a generator, right? Something had to be scrubbing the air or the CO2 would kill me before long. Same for heat. That's brought me back up to 60… or should have. /span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I noticed that the Boss had brought up a flashing sign in the bottom of the screen saying I still owed the system 20. Apparently, he'd charged me 30 for the size increase. Normally, that would have been [30/30/150] just for a doubling of the footprint, but I couldn't really argue. /span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"After checking the fine print on the Return Option (the major print said 'You may spend ten more years in a world you have visited before' but didn't say if that was a single use thing or a single use per world or what.) I grabbed it for [20/10/150]. The small print had had a list of bulletpoints that I could live with./span/p
ul style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; list-style-position: inside; list-style-image: initial; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"After every 4th completed sojourn (or once every 10 years if you ever choose to stay or go home) you will earn a Return Credit./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"You may return to a world only after you have spent a decade away from that world, or 10 years if you ever choose to stay or go home./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"You may not use two or more Return Credits in a row to return to the same setting back to back, even if you have visited two different worlds in the same setting./li
li style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"When you return to a world, you will be returned to the very moment you left from if at all possible./li
/ul
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"That all seemed reasonable, though I wasn't certain I'd ever use it. With my last 10-Choice, I selected the Food Supply [10/0/150], which promised a constant food supply, enough to keep 5 people fed and had a list of items that essentially looked like what a college student might buy; 6 loaves of bread a week (several choices), two large jars of peanut or almond butter (chunky or smooth), fresh fruits and vegetables, ground beef, chicken (breasts or whole), eggs, cheese, ramen… it looked like about 300 dollars in groceries a week. That was good and would/spanspan style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" almost definitely come in handy… Ziggy had a big appetite. Sadly, it did not include cookies… or snack cakes./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"JUMP 1, After Aftermath: THE BODY MOD POD/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Having finished spending all my Warehouse Choice (and noted that the walls had not moved a centimeter), I was, once again, expecting a return to the darkness, but the machine just pinged, then changed into a kind of body pod that said "Climb In". I stared at it for a loooong, long moment, then sighed. "What the heck. The Boss could have screwed me over at any time, no point being paranoid now."/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"The pod was fairly comfortable, if a bit claustrophobia inducing, and it projected menus on the inside that said "Welcome to the Body Mod Shop. You have 1000 Choice Credit. Please make your selections from the list below. Be aware that once you complete your base Base-Form selections, you will be unable to modify it unless you have purchased the Variability Option in the Powers section. All Perks, Skills, Powers or other improvements gained while in your Base-Form apply to all Alt-Forms equally and or proportionally. Upon gaining an Alt-Form, such as being assigned a new race or species by a World Document or from an option you have selected, that form may be adjusted to within the parameters set by the options you have purchased below." Below that were choices for Sex, Proportions, Hair, Coloration, and Extra Bits. Ah ha. A custom designed body! Excellent! I was guessing that the form I'd had in PokeLand (6'2″, 210 lbs, FFF-Cup, broad of hips and shoulders, creamy blonde haired and grey-eyed, with naturally tanned skin) was what would qualify as an Alt-Form. I wondered how I went about switching back… oh well, I was certain everything would be explained in time./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Up first was Sex, where I could (for free) choose to be either male or female, physically speaking. If I felt like it, I could pay a small fee to choose any one non-standard sex I could come up with… including some usually only seen in the pages of certain prurient publications or on more risque websites. I decided I was fine with the double-X chromosomes and moved on./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Proportions, which governed more than just my bust, hips, and waist-sizes, had three options: Within the scale of what was possible for a natural human, within the scale of what modern surgical body-modification could do, and within the realm of theoretically biologically viable. I saw no reason to change my original form… well, no reason to change my height at least. Sure, being 4'8″ wasn't great… but it wasn't all bad… though I did bulk myself up to 90 lbs in the right places, firming my curves a little. No point spending points on something silly. Okay, okay… I may have bumped my Bs to a C… I'm not proud of it… but I deserved those beauties! Sooo perky!/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"There were three tiers of Hair-related options as well: Anything natural with a slider for just how visible my body hair was; a slider that controlled just how much body hair I had; and an option to replace hair with scales, feathers, or a shell… or some combination of all four! MADNESS! And not in Sparta! I have to admit… I was really tempted to say fuck it and just take the baseline, which was free… but dammit… I haaated shaving. No. If it cost me 50 CC, I could make that sacrifice to never have to run a razor over any part of my body ever again. I hit the Tier 2 option and slid that slider all the way down until the only body hair remaining anywhere on me was on my scalp, eyebrows, and eyelashes (and inside my ears and stomach… those hairs stayed). I even knocked a little off my brows… just so I'd never have to pluck again. Smooooth. [50/950/1000]/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Then it was color's turn. Eye, Hair, Skin… plus birthmarks, beauty marks or freckles. Hmmm… it was tempting to go with the Tier 2 here as well… but did I really want metallic silver hair and eyes the color of fine jade, skin the color of bone china? I did not. Okay, I totally did… but I didn't take the option. Instead, I just made my naturally white hair glossier, smoother, and less curly, and turned my hazel eyes pure green… really green… with tiny gold flecks. Totally possible naturally… I also made my skin as pale as I could, with a nice peach underhue to really sell it. I did give myself a distinctive birthmark someplace very secret, but I'm not gonna tell you where./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Then it was time for Extra Bits… and honestly? I barely even skimmed the names of the listings. Bioluminescence? Prehensile Tail? Gills? Thanks but, uh… no thanks. I hit confirm on all the options and an image of my new self to be appeared above me, shifting through a different outfit every couple of seconds. Not bad. Not bad indeed… oh dear… that was a very skimpy swimsuit… electrical tape and fishnets… I hadn't done that since I was 19… the first time! I hit confirm before I got lost in the narcissism of the thing… is it narcissistic to think a custom designed body is gorgeous? Sure, it was based on my original form… but, you know… better./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"A screen flashed up, replacing my image. It said "Anomalous Options" in flashing red letters, then 'Hit Here For Details'. I did. 'You may gain a few extra CC by selecting one of these options. They are not drawbacks and are an inherent property of your new form.' There were three of them, each including all the strength of the ones before it. For 100 CC, I would stand out, for good or ill, attracting much more attention than I otherwise would. For 200 CC Total, I'd elicit a sense of unease for at least some of the people I'd be bound to run into. 300's option just wasn't worth it./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Hey, it says I can only use these extra points in this section… but I only spent 50 CC in this Base-Form deally… what happens to the extra 50 CC if I take the lowest level?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"The screen flickered, 'You can spend it in this section.'/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""I don't want anything else from this section," I responded, annoyed./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"'Very well. As it is only 50 CC, you may spend it in the Augments section, but only to purchase a Tier 1 Augment.' I think I might have begun to annoy the Boss. Oh well. If this was all it took to annoy him, he was in for a rough however long it took for him to realize I was a horrible employee and he should definitely fire me… or maybe he couldn't. I grinned at that idea. There hadn't been anything about him sending me home or whatever. It seemed it was all up to me and my consequences. If so, best job ever… but I wasn't going to push it. [+100/1050/1100]/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Cool… what are Augments?" I asked./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"The screen cleared and showed 'AFFINITIES' instead, as if that answered everything… or anything. It didn't… well. maybe it did. There were three choices, all of them mutually exclusive. Apparently, this was the Body Mod version of a background, since buying an Affinity gave discounts on certain Augments, though I wasn't required (apparently) to buy an Affinity at all if I didn't want to. They were each 100 CC, and were called Matter, Mind, and Heart… though as I read the word 'Matter' it was scribbled out in crayon and replaced with a red pulsing 'BODY' instead. The text inside its descriptive box was also rewritten, apparently by a pastiche of a muscle bound lunkhead./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Scanning over the listings for each, it looked like Augments were statistics in the RPG sense of the term. Matter/Body covered Strength, Endurance, Speed, Resilience, and Reflexes; Mind covered Logic, Memory, Resolve, Coordination, and Perception; and Heart covered Charisma, Appeal, Empathy, Flexibility, and Fertility. Fertility? Really? And what kind of crappy power is Heart? Oh, would you look at that, it says I should take Affinity – Mind. Really? No fucking kidding. [100/950/1100]/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"So I did. Now granted, I'm already damned fucking smart and thanks to Savant, I had a really excellent memory… and I was already pretty coordinated and had… some resolve… and I wasn't that oblivious… but unless these stat boosts were for shit, I could always use a… well… boost. I watched as all five values under Mind rose besides Memory and Logic. Those two were already at Tier 2 and marked 'Native Ability'./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"I hmm'd, wondering what it assumed was my native ability… none of the others were at even Tier 1… though some were close (Flexibility and Empathy and Resilience). I pulled up the information on Logic and Memory./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Combined, the first two Tiers of Logic stated that I could easily comprehend difficult topics and concepts, placing me among the smartest of normal people, and that I could structure data in the most accessible ways, allowing for rapid and effective communication to an audience. Both of those made sense. I had been top of my class in high school without appreciable effort and graduated with top honors in college as well, though that had taken mild exertion. I'd been, if I do say so myself, an excellent tutor, gm, and teacher over the years. Out of curiosity, I pulled up the the third tier./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""You can follow the smallest of clues to the most obscure solutions and there is no concept you cannot wrap your mind around eventually, as long as you have the faintest scrap of evidence to define it. You can visualize mental images as easily as you could see them with your eyes."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Oh… well.. when it put it that way… I dumped [100/850/1100] CC into pushing Logic to Tier 3. It's not that logic was everything… but in decision-making? It was the bedrock upon which everything else rested./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Memory I didn't bother with increasing. Tier 2 said my mind was like a steel trap and I learned things twice as fast as other people. At least. There were a few minor advantages to be gained from Tier 3… but I had 13 more Augments to go through and limited points./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Resolve, Coordination, and Perception at Tier 1 were all wonderful as well. I could have paid to raise them, but I was actually pretty sanguine with what they did at that level and didn't feel the need to push it (or squander CC). Resolve 1 would allow me to motivate myself to do any task I was nominally willing to do eventually… essentially eliminating procrastination. Resolve 2 was more about ignoring instinct and fighting addictions and social conditioning, neither of which I'd ever really had trouble with. Coordination 1 would boost my already decent body control to that of an olympian or a circus acrobat. Tier 2 would just give me control over individual muscle groups. And sure, Perception 2 was hearing like a bat, sight like an eagle, smelling like a bloodhound, and sense of touch like something that had a really amazing sense of touch… but I didn't know if that would be sensory overload and was more than happy to settle for peak human senses instead. No more glasses for one thing!/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"All told, I was good with that. Now, Body or Heart? Heart or Body? Eh… I liked being physically gifted and wasn't so fond of people some times. Body it was. The first tier of strength would make me as strong as a dedicated and strictly maintained training regimen would make me without needing that regimen. Tier 2 would push that to the lifting capacity of a strongman and the striking speed of a top tier martial artist… didn't Physical Fitness cover this?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Oy… Boss… I got that Physical Fitness package! Do I need any of this?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""It modifies your baseline, and if you ever find yourself powered down or stripped of your perks and powers, this is what you'll default to," came Quick's voice. "I do hope that has been illuminating?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Yup… Good… hmmm…" I set Strength to 1, then considered, and pushed it up to 2… I'd been overpowered by those stronger than myself more than once in my life… might as well make that ever so much less likely. I didn't lock it in, but the points were spent. [100/750/1100]/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Endurance started off with the stamina to run five kilometers as fast as I could while only growing fatigued at the very end, and reduced the amount of sleep I'd need to a mere 6 hours a night. The next level raised the distance to 42 kilometers and lowered the sleep to 3 hours… that was a bit much, so I settled at Tier 1. [50/700/1100]/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Speaking of running as fast as I could, Speed 1 was peak human speed over both long and short distances. Speed 2 was peak cheetah speed over short distances (120 kph) and peak pronghorn speed over long distances (56 kph), as well as a swimming speed of 129 kph… which was just madness. Catch me if you can, I guess. Might as well invest and get familiar with the joy of running. [100/600/1100] I'd used to enjoy it… but then, I'd used to be 8 years old and non-asthmatic…/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""My body in Pokeland had my old body's asthma and allergies. Will this one?"/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Not with Tier 1 Endurance and Resilience. It is the same as the lack of need for optical correction from Perception Tier 1."/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;""Excellent. Excellent. Then I'll get Resilience 1." [50/550/1100]. I pulled up the description to make certain I didn't want it higher. At Tier one, it would give me an impressive immune system, the ability to power through most pain, and to take a beating. Tier two was Bruce Lee bullshit about snapping quarterstaffs with a forearm block. Meh./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"That left Reflex, where Tier 1 was, again, more than enough, giving me the reflexes of a professional. It didn't say what kind of professional, but I assumed that it varied with the situation. Tier 2 was better… but more and I was running low on points. Ehhh… fuck it. Anything that kept me from accidentally punching my friends when surprised was probably a good thing. [100/450/1100]/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Which brought me to the, sighhh, Heart Quintet. Charisma 1 was basic manipulation and psychology. Sure. Fine. Good. [50/400/1100] Empathy 1 was reading body language for baseline emotional state. Right. Okay. Probably should take that. [50/350/1100]. Flexibility 1 was the flexibility of a professional gymnast. 2 was the level of a contortionist. I'd been pretty flexible in my youth… but not on the level of a prima ballerina… I took Tier 1 there too [50/300/1100]. Fertility was control over fertility and the ability to set the length of my period? blah. Stupid waste of points./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"That left Appeal. I was expecting something to make me sexier or something… but it wasn't that. No… this was about not being disgusting. Tier 1 meant that unless I exerted myself or came into contact with yuck, I'd never grow dirty or develop body odor, and even a little discipline would allow me to maintain my figure, not that I really needed that last. Unfortunately, I liked exerting myself and often came into contact with yuck…. so Tier 2 it was. At that level, Appeal meant that even the stickiest of contaminants could be removed without effort from both my body and clothes, and they'd slough off without a trace in a matter of seconds otherwise. Sickness and injuries would only leave the most attractive of scars… if I even chose to keep them. [100/200/1100]. It might have been vain… but I enjoyed looking good. I also liked light color clothing, which stained easily./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Augments temporarily settled, I turned to the last category… Powers. Those were divided into Shapeshifting, Variability, Permanence, Adaptability, Quality of Life, and Incentives. While Shapeshift was awesome, the powers in that section (and the Variability section) would have cost all my remaining credits and then some to get the good stuff. Permanence had Regen and Agelessness which were both affordable, but only Agelessness was really worth it. Especially if I did decide to go home, it would keep me at my biologically prime age. [100/100/1100]/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Adaptability had a freebie in it, one called Ascension, which would allow me to improve my Augments by actually putting in the effort when powered down… I guess that was to encourage me to take Flaws that did that? Seemed dangerous to me… but no risk, no reward, right?/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Incentives had two freebies. The first being a Shirt that was very comfortable and could be summoned at any time. It read across the chest 'I got my Body Mod after Pokeland and All I got was this Stupid Shirt!'. Classy. The second was called a Solid Foundation and I'd earned it by spending more than half my credit on Augments. It guaranteed that all training and study I did would be twice as effective. So yay for that./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"My last 100 went to pay for two minor (but awesome) Quality of Life cheats. Waste Not meant I'd never have to use the toilet again… weird… but yay! and Want Not meant that I'd be able to maintain adequate hyradtion and neutrition off of practically anything I shoved in my gob as long as it was actually, you know, food. It also reduced my absolute minimum food and water requirements by a rather drastic amount… like 200 kCal and half a liter of water a day drastic… about a sixth of normal. No more malnutrition!/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I reviewed my purchases and what I hadn't bought. No body fat. No acne. Practically no BO… eat pretty much whatever I wanted, as much as I wanted? This was the best vacation ever! If only I wasn't so alone…. ah well. I shrugged and hit confirm before I tried to figure out how to afford something silly like Winged or Futanari. Two sexes might sound fun, if only for experimentation, but… not worth it. Too aspensive./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Next: a style="box-sizing: border-box; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom-color: #c5c5c5; border-image: initial; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #8e44ac;" href=" 2016/04/18/world-2-infamous-1st-daughter/"Gang Wars, A New Jump/a/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"Resources: a style="box-sizing: border-box; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom-color: #c5c5c5; border-image: initial; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #8e44ac;" href=" powers-abilities/jump-stuff-01-05/"Build/a, Warehouse (and original Body Mod) a style="box-sizing: border-box; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom-color: #c5c5c5; border-image: initial; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #8e44ac;" href=" /a/VDDwF"Document/a, Body Mod Supplement a style="box-sizing: border-box; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom-color: #c5c5c5; border-image: initial; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #8e44ac;" href=" file/d/1xE88D56qgm1-mEekuH99TuIUZTHbCv34/view"Document/a/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"If you like what I do, please consider supporting me on a style="box-sizing: border-box; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-bottom-color: #c5c5c5; border-image: initial; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #8e44ac;" href=" posts/13683092"/a./p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"AN: This has been updated to make use of the new Body Mod Supplement created on the Space Battles forum. For the sake of posterity, here is the original Body Mod section/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"JUMP 1, Retromath: The Original Body Mod Pod/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"The pod was fairly comfortable, if a bit claustrophobia inducing, and it projected menus on the inside that said "Welcome to the Body Mod Shop. You have 600 Choice in credit. Please select a Build Type. All choices are subject to change until you hit confirm." The Builds were Light, Medium, and Heavy, all of them free. Ah ha. A custom designed body! Excellent!/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I decided to get back to my roots and selected Light. Up next were Body Types: Bodybuilder, Athlete, Charmer, and Bestial. I steered clear of the Bodybuilder and Bestial, waffling between the Charmer's Charms and the Athlete's Athleticism, before deciding I'd rather be healthy than busty. That cost me [100] Choice, which was stupid. Why offer something you had to take and have all the options have a cost? Why not simply lower the stipend and have only Bestial (the only one that cost more than 100) cost 50. Sure, it said I could skip this step… but why would I?/span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"Next up were the stats; Strength, Endurance, Speed, Dexterity, Appeal, Shape, and Sense. Athletic Body had apparently given me two ranks in Speed (Run at a constant 15mph, Olympic level, not shabby) and two in Dexterity (Which would have granted me Basic Parkour skills… but I already had those from the Pokeworld. I asked, half joking, if I could cash that in for something else, but I was informed the Dex mods would increase my already perfectly serviceable coordination by about 30%… whatever that means. I decided not to argue.) I decided not to boost my Strength, since I was already damned strong from Physical Fitness, easily crossing the Strength 3 line and probably the Strength 4 too, for that matter. My Endurance was similar, so I left those as they were and decided to focus on the other facets. Appeal 3 was good for me, giving me beauty without being too much. That cost me [150]. Shape 2 gave me good proportions, but again, nothing too extreme. Another [100]. I didn't need much to be happy. Sense 1 was 20/20 vision… I wondered if it was like that for everyone, or just people who'd needed glasses in the real world. I took it, just to get rid of the hated things. Who knew if I'd end up in a world without optometry in the future./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"That just left Perks. I thought about Height, but decided to stick with the default range. 5 foot, give or take a couple inches was fine. Flexibility 1 was free for Athletes, which was nice, and I decided to splurge on Metavore [100] to keep me healthy no matter how many tacos or icecreams I ate, and Evercleansed [100], because more than once in the last 10 years I'd been a bit… ripe. Blame it on the jungle and the lack of soap. No body fat, No Acne, No BO? Eat as much as I wanted… this was the best vacation ever. If only I wasn't so alone./span/p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;" /p
p style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: 'PT Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: #303030; text-align: justify;"span style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"I reviewed my options, then shrugged and hit confirm before I tried to figure out how to afford something silly like Winged or Genderswap. 2 sex switches every 10 years sounded pretty fun, if only for experimentation, but… not worth it. Too aspensive./span/p