Jason Ramirez, a part time grocery clerk and unsuccessful YouTuber, who finds a new app on his phone (Gfoxx2; Status, dead)

Note: This path is my first time writing in about a year. Can't promise I'll update often or anything, I've just finally got some free time and felt like adding to this rather than going back to something else I've written. It's going to involve romance, awkward flirting, the realization that there's more to life than indulgence, and giant fucking tits. Because of course. It's kind of my thing.

Update 2/25/2020: This story is going to involve transformation as a regular theme. Pretty much every woman our protagonist pursues is going to transform somehow.

You're bored out of your mind. This is a state that is not foreign to you.

Currently, you're standing in the express lane labeled "12 Items or Less", behind the checkout counter of Bailey's grocery store. Aisle after aisle of household goods stretch away from you into the store, even in a relatively quiet store such as this. Truly a testament to the robustness of American capitalism. You've got your white polo and black apron on, easily marking you from a distance as an employee, and your name-tag proudly displays "Jason". You're in the last 30 minutes of your shift, also known as the longest 30 minutes of your shift. You have no one in line, and no customers in sight; this is slightly surprising, as the store itself is closing in 15 minutes. Normally you expect a small gaggle of last minute customers, eager to waste your time (and their own) shopping for a half hour after the store is closed. Hopefully, this won't be the case tonight.

Standing nearby, casually leaning back on the counter, is a young woman also wearing the white polo and black apron of solidarity. Her apron, however, is only a half apron, marking her as what corporate has termed a "Courtesy Clerk", and what everyone else calls a bagger. Her expression (and the phone in her hand) easily tell you she's as bored as you are. She's got short and straight jet black hair, probably dyed if you had to guess, shaved on one side in to an undercut hairstyle, with the rest of her hair flopping to her right to expose it. It contrasts nicely with her extremely pale skin, though you've never been sure if she's naturally that pale or if she's using makeup to enhance it. She's got a nose-ring in her left nostril; unsurprising, given what you know of her, though a definite breach of company dress code. She's a little bit shorter than you, but not by much, being pretty average in height. She's got a petite build, decidedly feminine, though it doesn't particularly fill out her uniform, not that the Bailey's uniform is designed to be flattering anyway. That said, she's certainly not unattractive. Her slightly angular features strike a balance between classical beauty and cute girl-next-door, and her black lips and winged eye shadow make her look just out of the ordinary enough to be interesting.

This is Morgan, and she's the only reason (other than laziness) you haven't quit this job yet.

"You know we're not supposed to have our phones out," you say to her in a tone that indicates you don't care one way or another.

She shrugs. "No customers, and Karen is busy with the safe," she replies in a low register, her voice with the tiniest bit of rasp to it. "Keep an eye out for me?"

"Yeah, sure. It's not like I've got anything to do." You, being a good drone, left your phone in your company provided locker, a mistake you're never going to make again. You turn back towards the store, keeping watch for your friendly bagger. You can only see down a few of the aisles near you, but given the time of night, anyone coming in would probably be in the liquor section anyway.

"Doing anything tonight?" she asks, though her tone tells you she doesn't really care.

"Nah. I've got another shift tomorrow morning, so I'll probably just stay in and play some games," you reply honestly.

"Same," she says. "Kinda fucked up that they can make us close and then expect us back here tomorrow morning." She gives you a small wry smile. "Makes me think about throwing this name tag on the ground and walking out."

"If you're looking for another job, once my YouTube channel hits a million subscribers, I'll hire you on as my PR manager," you say with grin. "With your sunny disposition, I'm sure you'd excel at it."

She gives a quick snort of a laugh in response. Internally, you praise yourself. Any shift you can get a laugh out of Morgan is a shift not wasted.

Luckily, the next fifteen minutes pass in relative ease, only occasionally punctuated by small talk between the two of you. You've known Morgan ever since she started here last summer; given that it is currently January, you'd like to think you've become something like friends.

It isn't long before your manager Karen has your drawer counted and you've clocked out. It's pretty standard policy for you to walk out with whatever bagger closes with you, so you quickly run into the break room to grab your phone. As you pull it from the locker and unlock the screen, though, you're surprised to find an app icon you don't recognize. It's an image of a heart with a plus sign. Before you can consider that it's a bad idea to use unknown apps, you find yourself opening it. You're confronted with a black screen with white text on it.

"You have been chosen. Everything from here rests on your choices. Enjoy this gift."

What the fuck?

The text fades away to reveal an interface of what you can only assume is some sort of management simulation game. There's multiple names with matching profile pictures set in a list format with a series of colored progress bars next to each of them. The one at the top, which is the only one with no bars, has your name and picture, but the ones underneath appear to be an assortment of people you know.

Again, what the fuck?

Clicking on your picture, you're taken to a profile detailing you.

Jason Alejandro Ramirez - Age 24

Occupation - Grocery Cashier/YouTuber

Relationship - Single

Likes - Video Games, Fantasy, the Hard Sciences, Rainy Days, Women

Dislikes - , Bigotry, Pseudoscience, Shitty Customers, Getting Ghosted

Wants - Junk Food, No More Customers Tonight, Somebody to Love

Gems: 500

Again again, what the fuck? This app seems to know a lot about you. Do they have bots trawling your social media to build a profile about you? That seems... well, given the shit a lot of tech companies are doing, it's par for the course nowadays. What's weird is the fact they're letting you see it.

The last thing on your profile appears to be some sort of in-app currency. Not surprising, they'd have to have some scummy way to monetize this game.

Backing out of the profile, you click on the next profile down. The face in the profile image looking back at you is quite obviously Morgan's.

Lilian Morgan Lochridge - Age 19

Occupation - Courtesy Clerk/Student

Relationship - Single

Likes - Rainy Days, Gothic Fashion, Tarot, Medieval Weaponry, Video Games

Dislikes - , Bigotry, Preachy People, Hot Weather, Shitty Customers

Affection: 15 (Work Friend)

Love: (Not Unlocked)

Lust: (Not Unlocked)

Wants - (Not Unlocked)

Wow, this app is pretty invasive. And, again, why the fuck are they giving you access to this information? You're having difficulty making heads or tails of this thing, and on top of that, you're starting to feel a little guilty about peeking in on Morgan's aggregated profile. Or... Lilian's? Does she go by her middle name?

What you can't explain though is the last four things on the list, each one accompanied by the progress bars you saw on the previous screen. What exactly does all this mean? How is this a gift?

You're broken out of your thoughts by someone outside the break room.

"Hey Jason, what's taking you?! Get your phone and let's fucking go!" Morgan shouts from the lobby.

Right. You've still got to walk her to her car. You quickly shove your phone into your apron pocket and head out of the room. You can deal with this weird fucking app later. Right now, your shift is done, and you'd just like to get the hell out of here.