Camping Day 0: Considering the options.

After Chris had sobered up, he came to his bed. Ryan and the Jessies were playing cards in the living room. “You guys could have gone to the canteen without me, or did you guys hope for a kiss from me?”

“Yes, of course, master, that is what is most important to us. No, dumbass, we wanted to make sure you were okay. There is no hurry for the canteen. We have a week for the noticeboard. We could have always checked before dinner. Not to say that the kiss wouldn’t be welcome, we just don’t expect it.” Ryan said, receiving a chuckle from the duo. “We also needed to figure out some logistics. The tent is currently too small. Who is going to pay for the upgrade? That sort of stuff.”

“We can check with Alex,” Chris said before taking out his phone.

Chris showed the class. “That solves one issue, we had another, which is the question of Heather, Becky and Missy, if you are into femboys?” Jesse asked.

“One that I like feminine dudes does not mean I don’t like women. I do like something to grab, which won’t be an issue with Becky. I fucking dated Missy for five years. Was she always as bad as she is now, Ryan? Was I blind, or did it slip in as we went on?”

“No, it slipped in. She always had self-serving tendencies, but my god did they get worse. The bitch might have hidden it at the start. As she knew she could get away with it, she showed more of it. Hard to say, but you weren’t blind at the start. As time went on, you kind of fell into a sunk cost fallacy and ignored what she was doing. That caused her to feel like she had more permission, and the cycle continued.”

“So my best way of dealing with her now, according to you, is to be tough on her? Don’t help her too much actively, if she crashes and burns, she does?”

“Yep, I know it will be hard for you. Your quest for Giraffe might have been too easy if Syl hadn’t made it harder. I don’t think you should have given him that. He is her accomplice. I don’t fault him personally, but I do think for you it is different. You are the victim. You should be allowed to be angry for a bit if you want to. Pushing it on yourself is… not the healthiest. I know you don’t want anybody to be hurt by your actions or inaction, but… think of yourself every once in a while.” Ryan said as he came in for a gentle hug.

Chris looked down. “Do you still want that kiss? And please add for what reason?”

“Chris, I still want that kiss because I love you. I have had a crush on you for a long while, but thought you were straight and therefore didn’t make a move.” Chris’s eyes went wide as Ryan puckered his lips with that response. He leaned in and gave him that promised kiss.

Kissed Master: +1 VP, +3 VP True first time bonus (Ryan)

Jesse looked at the phone he shared with Jessica, “Man, that was a huge spike compared to what we have seen, four in one go!”

Jessica slapped the back of his head. They were supposed to be two halves of the same person. How did that work? She didn’t know what he was about to do before he did it. Is there a delay, Chris thought. What would happen if we agreed that both are the true Jessie? Maybe Syl can clarify? He thought before taking out his phone.

“What are you going to ask of our captors next?” Ryan inquired.

“I was wondering what would happen if the Jessies and I agreed that they were both the true Jessies. Syl is the head of the writing team, so she might know.”

“Why is it relevant? We both know I am!” Jesse stated.

“No, you aren’t by definition. We agreed earlier that we would see how it would be if we had leaned more into our feminine side. Why are you back paddling?” Jessica asked.

“He likes femboys.” He said, looking at the floor.

Chris walked over to both of them. “Sure, I like femboys. I also like tomboys. You were my first crush. That is why I thought the other transformation might have been better. I hoped it might have shown you a life where we actually dated…” He blurted out confidently but regretted it to some extent. “You could still get it if you are curious because of that tidbit. I wonder how knowledge-based transformations work for the two of you? More reasons to text Syl.” Before he took out his phone, Syl had already appeared.

“Chris, please don’t text me for everything. I get that you are curious, that you want to know how things work. Can you do me a favour and write them down on a piece of paper and wait?”

He looked at Ryan and then back at Syl for a moment. “I don’t text because I want an immediate answer for starters. I text to have it written down somewhere, also, I don’t have paper to write on. It isn’t in the backpack or in the cabin, and the phone doesn’t have a note app. Texts work for that. Sorry if you felt obligated to respond. Any boss who obligates you to do so is a dick.” A chuckle came from the hostess at that comment. “Seeing as you are here, can you answer the questions I had regarding the Jessies' transformation?”

“Sure, that is part of my job, but the first isn’t a scenario we worked out in the writers' room. I would need to check and maybe even with my higher-ups. I will text you the details when I know the answer. Knowledge transformations chosen for one don’t affect the other. I will say that buying them allows the purchaser to pick who to affect or even both. So if both want a specific transformation, I would recommend buying it.

On a different note, your analysis of how the Jessies would be affected by Perfect Partner I is correct. For them to see effects, they probably need a much higher one with your current preferences. Smart kid.”

“I am 32. I can hardly be called a kid.”

“Yeah, for a human that is adult, but I am an elf… How old do you think I am?”

“This is a trap one drilled into me by my Mom’s friends; never guess a woman's age.”

“Do it! If you guess correctly, I will give you a free upgrade voucher.” She dared him.

Chris tried to logic it out. She uses old-timey language; she is an elf. My guess is 500-ish. “450 years old, give or take a decade.” Fuck she can rewatch this later and hear the actual guess. He realised too late.

Syl smiled like a woman did when you guessed she was younger, guessing 10% under never fails. “Close enough, I am a tad older than that. But good effort nonetheless. I will give you the voucher. The shop will know.” She told him before twisting towards the Ember and, by proxy, the camera she was holding. “Don’t worry, he can’t exploit it to gain a bunch of BP. He can still claim the reward, but since no BP was spend no BP reward.”

“Can you tell me what my ‘Friend of Nature’ upgrade does? Or the Jessies ‘Tale of two Jessies’, for that matter?”

“Sadly, I cannot, Ryan’s is an exception since his is clear if you think about it. That transformation was designed around being upgraded. The others are flexible and wobbly. I wouldn’t go upgrade ‘Tale of two Jessies’ until you have my answer, though. I said Ryan’s could be upgraded further, but not how it would for the same reason.” The hostess said with a shrug. “I do need you and Ember to review the letter I have for Tyalangan.” She held out a piece of paper.

“Isn’t it a bit stiff? And again with calling us young, how old is Ember anyway? But in terms of what you are asking, I have no notes. Since this is supposed to be your words, this is fine.”

[150 years and counting, but she is correct, that is young for elementals that can, in theory, live forever if they find the right place to live, a source of energy, etc. 500 is not unreasonable for a fire elemental. Most others would still consider that young, but their essence is more abundant, more stagnant. Chris, I think the letter looks good. Lady Syl, you have my permission to send it,] Ember replied

“It is often better to be too polite than to be perceived as rude. Especially when asking for favours of those more powerful than oneself. Please remember this. Now I am back to work, I will see all of you later.” The hostess disappeared as quickly as she arrived, leaving a notebook and pen on the table.

“Isn’t her work being the host of the show?” Ryan asked.

[Yes, but also writer, coordinator, game balancer, and checking that Alberto and the editing team do their work,] Ember replied to no one but Chris, who was happy to relay the info.

“She has a lot of plates to keep spinning. I hope she balances them well. Her choice nonetheless. Talking about choices, who or better put, what transformation are you going to use that voucher on, Chris?” Jesse asked.

“I will save it for when I need it. I might need it later for one of you or to get someone out of a tight spot.” Chris said knowing that some of the transformations others had were a lot nastier than the ones collected in the room. All the things we have might be described as boons with some luck. Missy’s are straight punishments; the rest is in between them. Not that I am going to use it on Missy unless she begs me. “Some people I might help out easier than others, but that is always in popularity contests. I will use it before the end of the round; it seems there is a double-up reward based on what Syl said to the camera. Shall we go check?”

“So you are saving it to see which person needs and deserves the upgrade?” Ryan rephrased it, receiving a nod in response. “Not that I want to get more femboyie. Sure, let’s go check what quests there are.” He added in mild panic, while blushing.