How To Squander Your Resources

Tegan

The meeting concluded, everyone slowly gets ready to go about their day. Craig and Tessa both head upstairs immediately. Gaia is supposed to distract Mona until the perversity Tegan still can’t believe she agreed to do over breakfast begins. The blue freak is waiting patiently, but not for very long.

“Mona,” the freaks begins, “Tegan has a special free class this morning for her and a potential new friend. Do you have a suggestion for who your fiancée should try to make friends with?”

The nerve! I was going to decide... eventually.

Mona, meanwhile, muses, “I think Kevin would be best? I know they don’t get along and maybe some time together would help?”

The towering man who stole Mona away from her has a bit of **** in his eyes at the suggestion. Tegan probably does, too.

Mona begs, “Pleeeease, you two? Can you work things out? I want my fiancée and my best friend to get along. Pleeeeease?”

Kevin sighs, “Fine, Mona, I’ll try.”

“If you insist,” is all Tegan can begrudgingly say.

Tegan and Kevin both go to the blue freak. Andromeda bugs Mona for a few minutes; the vicious vixen feels a pang of jealousy, but needs to tamp it down. Tegan strains to listen to that conversation. Something about spending points to make the big-tittied robot cow able to be hornier and bolder?

“Sorry, Andromeda, best I can do with the points you got is one or the other.”

“Bolder, then,” Andromeda decides as she heads upstairs for her morning. Mona punches some things into her phone, mumbling something about how the robot cow can now feel moderately brazen.

In the meantime, whatever Tyalangan said to Kevin in Elvish has made him completely ashen. Heh, serves the fiancée thief right.

Switching back to English, like a respectable person, the blue freaks notes, “Okay, perfect opportunity for you. Report to the Glittering Moonfire Spa. Your instructor will be waiting for you there.”

Kevin doesn’t wait. He just walks out of the throne room and into the castle proper. Tegan doesn’t exactly feel like chasing after him. Instead, she snarls, “And, what, pray tell, are we training?”

“Something you need, but wouldn’t pick. Get to it,” the blue freak responds. Then, in a puff of mist, she is gone.

Mona at least gives her a kiss on the cheek before turning her attention to Gaia. Not knowing exactly where this spa is, Tegan turns to her phone. Seeing that it is on the fast travel list, Tegan bounds her way up to the third floor and uses her door to get there quickly.

She finds herself in a spa lobby, where the fiancée thief is standing before a rock freak with respectable sized breasts in very unrespectful clothing. The woman speaks in a slight Bronx accent, “Morning. I’m Scarlet and welcome to the Glittering Moonfire Spa. My wife said that the two of you are here for an Insight lesson? Come along.”

Tegan is definitely not checking out Scarlet’s delectable back. Nope. She’s perfectly straight. She even has the state of mind to demand, “Insight? Why does the freak think I need lessons in Insight?”

When the woman whips around, Tegan notices that her eyes seem to be filled with fire. That fire is raging, “That is my wife, Tegan. How would you feel if I called Mona a slobbish pig of a girl?”

“She’s MINE! You have no right...”

Scarlet cuts her off, “There. Right there. You need help with understanding other people’s feelings. You know that the nearly constant stream of insults in your train of thought is something the audience has complained about? Maybe learning how to read other people will make you less of a bitch.”

That doesn’t exactly shut up Tegan. At least she is reduced to quiet grumbling in Sylvan. They soon find themselves in a strange office. It’s quite warm, almost sweltering. A small pool of lava sits on one side (behind an office desk) and, after the rock-freak’s clothes slide into her inventory, Scarlet sinks into it. Kevin takes a chair on the other side of the desk. Tegan takes the other.

Kevin finally speaks, “I get why the psycho is here, but why exactly do I need an Insight lesson?”

The rock-freak, body half sunk into lava, responds, “Do you know why Tegan hates you?”

“Because she hates everyone?” Kevin answers. Tegan is tempted to argue against that baseless accusation, but a glance from the rock freak makes the angry archer swallow her tongue.

“Before the show, I was a grad student pursuing a psychology degree. While the game keeps me from practicing it, I can still listen. You two are going to help each other out. Hopefully, that will lead to Tegan being more pleasant and you, Kevin, from doing something stupid with Winter.”

The purple-skinned freak with the respectable breasts? What does that freak maid have to do with Kevin?

Kevin sighs. He pulls his clothes in and shifts to Caoimhe. Tegan does not stare at Caoimhe’s bare breasts. Certainly not.

Kevin: +1 XP (Bare One’s Ogle-Worthy Breasts for Another Contestant [Tegan])

“A question. Since my stats change based on my form, these skill lessons haven’t exactly been consistently applied to both of me. Why?”

“Things that rely on your physicality are necessarily going to need to be developed separately between your forms, as a general rule. Mental aspects, like today’s lesson, apply to both. Shall we begin?”

Thus, the lesson begins. While Scarlet does note that most DoD players exclusively use Insight checks to determine if someone is lying, it can be useful for a wide variety of situations. She goes over verbal and visual cues, body language, little tics and quirks of behavior. Things to look for to better understand the person in front of you. Tegan can notice things.

They practice with each other, asking questions and evaluating the intent behind the answers. Tegan is very accusatory at the beginning, trying to interrogate Caoimhe. As they go back and forth, she slowly starts to understand. Like with Mona, Caoimhe has no idea what happened, only that Tegan was, in his/her mind, an irrationally angry and hateful person for all of his/her life. All of the things Kevin did were responses to Tegan’s anger, which he/she viewed as unjustifiable.

Caoimhe starts to put together the pieces, too. She is the first to apologize, “Sorry, Tegan. I never thought that Mona meant so much to you. Will you forgive me? Or, at least, put this feud aside for her sake?”

That is a good question. My fiancée wants me to get along with the others. That includes her precious Kevin. Or Caoimhe right now. Can I forgive? Tegan sighs, her tail wrapping around an ankle. “I can’t promise that I will. I can only promise that I will try.”

Tegan sees the little flame glow above her tail, then sputters out as she summarizes her observations. Caoimhe casts a spell on herself, a prayer in Elvish, before she does the same. The rock-freak smiles. “Good job, both of you. You made a good start resolving your conflicts. Keep going, on your own time. Now, I believe you were going to be putting on a show for Mona shortly? You two should go grab some lunch.”

Kevin: Success – Insight skill training

Kevin: +7 XP, Insight skill proficiency (Training)

Tegan: Success – Insight skill training

Tegan: +5 XP, Insight skill proficiency (Training)

Tegan does feel hungry. Caoimhe dresses herself in her goth punk outfit as she walks out of the office. Tegan jogs to catch up; she doesn’t want to get lost on the way back.

Gaia

Okay, just like we discussed at breakfast. My job is to entertain and distract Mona before the big surprise at the park.

“Hey, Mona, wanna hang out?”

Mona boops the feather tuft sticking out of Gaia’s head, cooing, “Cute.” Then, she shifts her hips to answer the question properly, “Sure! What do you want to do?”

“Don’t suppose you would want to take another walk in the garden, kid?”

Mona looks like she considers it for a beat. “We did that on our date. How about some video games?”

Such a waste of electricity. “Eh, how about something out in the sunshine instead? You can join me on a Nature lesson?”

“Isn’t that just going to be a walk in the garden with homework?” Mona complains.

That is a fair point, I guess? Gaia still continues to walk towards the outdoor space. They run into the nice blasphemer Skye. Inspired, Gaia asks, “Hey, is there a way to get a Nature lesson that doesn’t just involve walking through the botanical garden?”

“I was just about to go do some gardening in the vineyard, if you two want to come.”

“C’mon, Mona!” Gaia exclaims, “We are going to go do gardening, not just look at gardening!” Gaia pulls out her phone to buy her lesson and seal the deal.

Gaia: -20 BP

Mona sounds less than enthusiastic about that. Still, the Mistress perks up as Gaia skips ahead of her. Must be how I am shaking my tail feathers!

“Okay, ladies,” Skye begins, “We are going to check the grapes and cherries for ripeness, scrape out some honey from the apiary, weed all the crops, and water the plants. I’ll talk about how to do this and answer questions as we go. Any immediate questions?”

Mona blurts out, “Why are we doing all of this?”

Skye smiles. “Where do you think food comes from, Mona?”

“The store!” Mona looks proud of herself.

Skye and Gaia both sigh. The drow delivers the follow-up, “And where does the store get the food from?”

Mona looks confused, “Another store? Or, ooh, a warehouse!”

“The long answer, Mona, is that we grow food here. A lot of food comes from the outer farmlands around the city, but, the more we grow ourselves, the less we have to tax our citizens for. If we have the skill and resources to relieve a little taxation suffering, we should. The short answer is that it’s almost time for me to make another Evermead batch.”

“Evermead?”

“A very intricate and flavorful wine that elves make. I’ve been making batches of it since we got here, tweaking the recipe to make it my own. I also make Drow Mushroom Wine and I harvest tea and grow a wide variety of vegetables.”

Oooh, growing vegetables! That sounds like something I should learn how to do!

So, Skye puts them to work. They learn to visually and tactically inspect fruit for ripeness, which is mildly interesting. Gaia feels bad about weeding, thinking that it is senseless to kill plants just because they sprouted “in the wrong place.” Mona does step away for a few moments to answer a text (and get out of some weeding work). The two have a little water fight that Gaia excuses (at least the water DID get into the ground for the plants eventually).

Finally, the most offensive part of the lesson: honey harvesting. Skye has a smoking branch that she is waving around a big box with little gaps in the slats.

“Why are you being mean to the bees?” Gaia whines.

“I’m not. I’m just making them sleepy for a bit so I can harvest some honey.”

“Well, harvesting honey is being mean. They made it.”

“But honey tastes good?” Mona tries to argue.

“We CAN live in harmony with nature by carefully interacting with it. We make sure that the bees have everything they need: protection from the elements, protection from pests, fresh water, and a whole slew of flowers to get nectar from. The hive produces way more honey than what it needs to maintain itself. I only take from the excess of what the hive needs.”

“And if you left their honey alone?”

“Assuming we kept providing for them, the bees would overpopulate. They’d harvest too much at once, kill off the local flora, then die off. Nature would recover, eventually, but the damage would still be felt. Some of the plants in the garden only grow here in this dimension. People need to manage their local environment to make sure a balance is maintained. Whether humans or bees exploit too much, any one species breaking the balance is a problem.”

The idea that nature can kill itself is weird. Skye provides more examples. Gaia shifts into her more bestial form, trying to make sense of it. Her lower half turns to orange bird legs and her arms shift to full wings. She mostly gets it, but something doesn’t quite add up.

Gaia: Success – Nature skill training (4 XP / 5 XP)

Gaia: +4 XP (Training Session)

“Wow, Gaia! That is so cool! You’re, like, more bird!” Mona’s hands so all over Gaia’s feathered body. It tickles a little and revs Gaia up a lot. The temporary bird-girl drops the shift. She squeezes down her arousal. We’ll have time for that later.

“Lunch, then we got a surprise for you on your way to your exercise class.”

Mona looks excited as she grabs onto Gaia’s arm, nuzzling into the feathers on it. “Oooh, a surprise! Yay! Is it something that lets me skip working out and get a sexy body immediately?”

Gaia’s already leading Mona back to the canteen, enjoying her Mistress hanging on her arm. She musses Mona’s hair, “You are already plenty cute, kid. It’s not that, but still something you’ll enjoy. Trust me.”

Mona pecks Gaia on the cheek, “Okay, B. I’ll trust you. I guess I need to book my workout. What time should I shoot for?”

The two walk and talk towards lunch. This was a great morning.

Mona: Weekly task complete! Spend one-on-one time with each contestant +100 BP

Craig

Craig storms his way up to the Dungeons for Damsels store. It was the closest thing he knew to a shop that would have his stupid Size Queen Trainer transformation on sale and he wanted his cock freed from this stupid cage. The **** of watching that bunny-skank bouncing on his cock, experiencing orgasm after orgasm, and not getting to feel it was maddening. He wants out.

Craig slams the bell so hard that the stained glass vibrates from the **** of the tone. The mermaid dyke rises up from the water at the other end of the counter. “Oh, hi Craig. Someone is enthusiastic today. You don’t have enough XP for Level 2. What else could I help you with.”

“Get me out of this fucking cage right now!”

The mermaid has a slight grin, “Well, I can’t get you out. Don’t you remember? The quest reward includes MONA getting the key back, not you. Still, I can sell you the transformation to complete your quest. Would that suffice?”

Craig snarls, “I guess it’ll have to fucking do.”

Craig pays most of his BP and he feels his cock tingle for a moment. Guess that’s that.

Craig: -40 BP

Craig: Quest complete! +3 XP, Key returned to Mona

Size Queen Trainer – Mona likes the idea of being a size queen, but is super scared of it in practice. When having sexual contact with Mona, Craig’s cock will shrink down such that it will only stretch Mona comfortably full. When Mona can successfully take the size to the base, the shrinking effect will be reduced. When Mona can take Craig at his normal size, his cock will permanently gain size (Big Canadian Cock).

Three XP? I spent all my fucking game money for a transformation I don’t really want and I only got three XP? Bullshit!

Still, he should at least be able to get unlocked. He angrily texts Mona: “Where are you? I need you to unlock me right now! I am sick of having this fucking cage on my cock!”

The wait was infuriating. Her eventual answer was also infuriating: “Thank you for returning my access to MY cock. Good boy! I am spending time with my girlfriend right now. I will unlock MY cock when I have need of it. I’ll talk with you later. Do not contact me again until I summon you. That’s an order.”

Craig snarls, throwing his phone at one of the fucking stained glass windows in the room. The decor cracks and shatters in a satisfying way. Then he hears the ding and his phone is restored in his hand. He rages at the notification: WARNING! Further intentional destruction of Hotel property will result in XP penalties!

He stomps out of the room and starts to pace the hallway. Okay, think. I have 5 XP and 5 BP. I need at least 5 more XP to not be instantly eliminated, or 8 more XP to qualify for the challenge thing. Training costs 20 BP a pop. I need Mona to act as a sugar mama and pay for my training, but she just bitched out on me. I can’t put her under my thumb instantaneously; I need fucking time I won’t have if I am eliminated in a couple of days. Fuck! What do I do?

He remembers that one ad he saw repeatedly between those flashback episodes. A girl advertising deals for 5 VP. Maybe I can make a deal to make me immune from eliminations? Or one that’ll put the bitch under my control? Couldn’t hurt.

It took some doing to find “the usual channels.” Still, he eventually finds a phone number.

A sickly sweet voice answers the call, “Kikki’s Delivery Service! Your deliverance is a step away! This is Kikki, how may I help you?”

“Yeah, I need a deal. How does this work?”

“Oh, Big Bro! I would love to make a deal with you! You are obviously not in my Big Bro’s harem, so I need to pull up your VP account. Just a moment.”

The bitch put me on hold! The music in the background is like sonic cotton candy. Craig’s eye twitches.

When she returns, her voice is laced with mock sadness, “Oh, I am sorry, Big Bro, but our records indicate that you only have 1.25 VP. You need 5 VP to make a deal. Please try again when you aren’t wasting my time!”

“Now, listen here, you little bitch. I have 5 XP. The ad said I only need 5 XP. So, you are going to give me a deal to get me out of my fucking jam or, so help me, I will find a way to wring your probably scrawny little neck until your face pops like a zit! You hear me?”

He hears the ding before her response, “You are a big meanie. Have you considered that XP, whatever that is, is not VP? There’s an exchange rate. Also, you are down to 1 VP. Tsk, tsk. Maybe don’t be so naughty next time!”

Click.

Craig sees the notifications and almost smashes his phone against the wall again.

Craig: -1 XP (Stop it with the Slurs Already!)

Craig: -1 XP (Kikki Delivery Service is Not a Toll-Free Number)