How Taylor Hebert Agreed to Be a Slut [Worm/Slut Life]

Erm... No, first she'd have to learn the sciences behind the stuff she wanted to build, maybe a year or two for each tinker specialty equivalent.

Granted, she could go for a "practical over theoretical" approach, but that would still take longer than one session.

10 year olds are considered adults because they learn all the 'basics' in 5 years.

3 years of education every 3 months = 12 years of education a year = 60 years of education in 5 years.

So literally in SL universe the "basics" take 60 years to learn normally.

I'd assume this is the level you'd need to be at to start doing some real work on clarketech.

Take this further with the fact that "education" can be selected multiple times and a 5 year old could have FAR more learning than your typical college professor.

Actually Ack, why not dump some of those spare points on taking Education multiple times if you don't want her to grab Lifelong Learning? A few courses she could take:
Basic First Aid
Parahuman Law (Earth Bet laws)
More types of martial arts
Basically anything to help her Hero career back on Bet.

It fits with the "turning SL into her personal superhero academy" setup.

New Body means new menstruation cycle. Not that that matters, since she's got Menstruation Control.

Actually.... couldn't you abuse Menstruation Control to never get pregnant with Forbidden Contraception? I know one of the SL fics had the protag using a Dragon's Dick as an organic IUD to keep from getting pregnant. Seems always menstruating would have a similar effect of never getting pregnant...

Why would you subject Danny to this horror?

 

EDIT: right, another important question about gaming the Slut Life system...
Has Taylor ever seen or heard of the Terminator movies?

Because "temperature no longer matters" if taken at face value is doing the famous Terminator Thumbs Up GIF without harm (though I don't recommend actually testing it just in case).

For fun, profit, and punishment for failing Taylor when she really needed him.

 

So, my reading of Secret Society is that it gives you 2 other rewards for free, and new home. Which implies that you can't get the credits for new home from secret Society.
It seems weird that Secret Society can functionally Cost 110, same as a Planet, but you can use it to get planet (which also sorta includes new home) and some others.

 

I'd agree, but the interactive COYA still adds the 40 points when you have SSM.

 

Unless she's so turned off by the world that she turns over her possessions there back to SL just so she never has to even be tempted to go back.

Just remember: right now, she's one day out of the locker.

You're assuming the people in charge of that tech will allow strangers to come in from elsewhere to learn said tech.

If this were the case, I would imagine the SL universe to be overrun with factions, all led by previous SL contestants, all fully versed in SL tech, empowering their followers and trying to overthrow SL itself.

Not the case, so I'm presuming the tech is a little harder to access than "Imma sign up to learn that shit."

Rule number one about great ideas that would break the scenario: if someone else didn't already think about it, there's probably a mechanism in place against it.

Teleporter lets you teleport basically anywhere. Personal Teleporter lets you teleport to another teleporter. So one lets you go to a place without a teleporter, the other lets you teleport back.

If Annette wasn't an option, she would've said nope.

And I get the impression they have to trick most contestants into saying yes.

With a population of literally thousands of billions watching, they somehow don't have enough contestants from their viewerbase to keep them going for the next million years, so they have to go looking. Maybe it's for the look of naivety turning to shocked awareness that the viewers are looking for? In any case, the strong impression I get is that they're always hungry for people who are willing to sign up.

And being back the same day. As opposed to being away for months or years.

Taylor reads fiction, but her online time isn't very productive apparently. However, I don't know of these CYOAs.

Eidolon didn't like the competition?

That's been pointed out, thanks.

Yes. Right now, she's thinking in terms of "one week". Get this done. Find out if she's even willing to associate with this world after the week is done.

She doesn't have to know how they work to fight crime with one.

Exactly.

No.

Totally incorrect.

Education gives you a specialised version of a broader, mundane course of study. Auto engineering, for instance. Or parahuman law. There is nowhere in there that says it gives you actual super-powers. You have to take the Powers reward for that. (Tinkering is a power, not a skill. In case you weren't aware).

She could. Or she could go for something that let her get results now, instead of "after I spend a month building the equipment I now have to spend lots of money acquiring the parts and the tools to assemble".

She won't.

She just wants to get her mom home as fast as possible. That's what she's fixated on, right now.

Which will break Taylor's brain, just a little.

Hey, neuroses are a perfectly good reason

Sounds like a fun fic. I'd read it.

It doesn't say that. Four extra hours is four extra hours, no matter how it's spent.

I'm pretty sure they meant normal environmental temperatures.

Why would it do that? It doesn't state it, so you get the credits.

Which means it costs 150, because it's worth more. Duh.

 

Removed the two excess Perfect Powers.

Added Outside + Hoverboard (because hoverboards are useful, and she can take it home with her) and Virtual Room for Teleporter.

 

Which is why I meant the longer route of learning the science for SL's clarketech to TinkerTech levels, rather than Taylor building TinkerTech itself.

My 'abuse the hell outta SL' build would probably have Education + Lifelong learning purchased 10 times each (200 credits total, since you need to purchase Lifelong Learning separately for each purchase of Education) minimum. That's 30 years of education every 3 months. (which would be enough to get the equivalent of a new TinkerTech, or two, specialization every 3 months... once you have the general basics covered... so 3rd use at the latest, heh)

As someone with several neurosises of their own... I concur.

Given they specifically mention going naked in sub-zero temperatures? Not so much.

I'd imagine they couldn't go much hotter than the Sahara Desert during a heatwave though. Maybe 500 degrees F tops.

 

As mentioned, that tech is prolly off-limits for that very reason.

By 'normal environmental temperatures' I meant temps you can get on Earth without technological or geological assistance.

 

God... All this thinking about SL.... First I was thinking of how to game the system so Dragon could just download the entire SL Education library, which led to me thinking of Dragon becoming a contestant (and she finally gets her fully human-looking, and fully functional android body on top of everything else), which led me thinking to how she might setup a contract... which led to this:

------

Colin took a second to finish up the solder he was working on and shutdown his equipment, then turned to answer the all that was coming in on his computer. His eyebrows shot up when he saw that it was Dragon calling him.

Answering the call, Colin spoke, "Dragon, good to hear from you, is something wrong though? You said you'd be out of contact for around 6 months while getting treatment for your agoraphobia from the specialists you found, only showing up for Endbringer fights?"

Looking a bit hesitant, Dragon started speaking, "Well Colin... I have a bit of a confession to make... I've never been agoraphobic, there's an entirely different reason why no one ever met me in person. Umm... Colin... I'm..."

Colin interrupted, "Whatever it is, you don't need to force yourself to tell me if you don't want to. I trust you Dragon."

Hearing those words, Dragon steeled herself over and said, "No Colin, I need to do this... Colin.... I'm an AI. The reason no one's ever met me before is because I never had a physical body to start with." Pausing for a moment to let Colin absorb what she said, she then continued, "I'm not getting treatment for agoraphobia, I was contacted by people from another universe, people with technology advanced enough to make most TinkerTech look primitive... And it's all mass-producible!

"They approached me with an offer... I'd basically be a contestant on one of their reality TV shows for 6 months, and I'd be able to not only learn a LOT of their sciences and technology, but I'd finally get a fully human-appearing android body, I'd finally be able to go out and help people in person! I'd finally... Get to experience love in more than a platonic way."

Colin was shell shocked by everything he was hearing, to the point that he barely registered the last this Dragon said. He hesitantly responded, "Why... Why are you telling me all of this now? Why tell me right after leaving for so long? I don't know how to respond to this; there's no time to think."

Dragon said, "The thing is Colin... I was going over the options on the final contract I'm going to have to agree to for this, and I noticed several things that if worked the right way... Colin... I'd like you to take a 6-month vacation, I KNOW you have the vacation time saved up, and I'd like you to join me as another contestant on the show. Colin... One of the rewards you can get when your contract runs out is superpowers, some of the options I've seen make the Triumvirate look weak."

Colin cut in, "Wait, I participate in a reality show for 6 months and I get actual superpowers besides my Tinkering, Sign me up!"

******
bad end
******

Dragon smiled widely, "That's great Colin, Some things you should know though... This entire world seems to run on porn logic, the name of the show is Slut Life, a LOT of sex is going to be involved, and lastly... Verbal contracts are legally binding here... and I have your statement to join recorded by several devices located completely in this universe." Laughing evilly, while getting a perverted grin on her face while staring at Colin, as he slowly registered what she said, and rapidly paled.

Dragon started up again, "I'm finally going to get to show you exactly how I feel about you... Don 't worry, it'll be quite....pleasurable."

******
And now back to the actual omake
******

Dragon cut Colin off, "STOP! Don't get too excited yet... And never agree to something like that without all the details over here, verbal contracts are legally binding... There's more you need to know before you decide that... Colin.... This entire universe... It operates on porn logic. Sex is everywhere. The name of the reality show I'm going to be a contestant on... It's called Slut Life, and if anything the name undersells the show. There's going to be a lot of sex involved, and a lot of extreme kinks, though you don't need to participate in those if you don't want to... And every second of it is aired live to billions of viewers."

Colin said, "Dragon... Why would you invite me to join a show like that?"

Dragon responded, "Several reasons. First, like I said, one of the rewards is superpowers, and not exactly weak ones. Your biggest complaint is how much work you have to put into being as effective as someone who Triggered with a combat-oriented power. This way you could get those combat powers, and use your TinkerTech to enhance them. And that's not even mentioning how much your Tinker Specialization would benefit from the technology I've seen over here. They can even give you a new body that'll instantly put you in the best physical conditioning of your life.

"Second, the show isn't exactly as bad as it sounds, everything is consensual, nothing non-consensual happens unless you agree for it to happen beforehand, in the contract. It's even possible to make a run through the show avoiding sex entirely, though that does limit the rewards and benefits you can gain.

"Third, you desperately need a vacation, and as long as you don't select any of the... more unusual options (and even with some of them), the show can be very... stress relieving. There are options for things like an on-call masseuse, a personal stylist, a workout setup for your housing unit that is beyond anything I've seen... TinkerTech included.

"They're also willing to be flexible in their contract terms, I was able to set things up so when an Endbringer attacks I'll be able to return to coordinate things like normal, and I'll be able to have a good chunk more firepower in my drones when that happens too. You could setup something similar in your contract as well, I know you don't like missing Endbringer fights."

Colin said, "That can't be all."

Dragon finished, "Well... One of the options in the contract is for a 'Significant Other', who the company will usually create via cloning technology, but like I said, they're willing to be flexible with the contracts, so they have provisions to allow people from a contestant's home to take the roll. So long as the other person agrees to join as a contestant, and also selects the Significant Other option with for the first contestant...

"And well... Colin... I AM going to be having sex on this show. Probably quite a lot of it. But Colin... If at all possible... What I really want... I want most of it... Especially the first time... to be with you... Colin... I love you, I have for years. Please Colin... Accept the offer, I'll do it if I have to, but my heart just won't be in it without you there with me."

Colin was staring at Dragon's avatar dumbstruck. He'd long ago given up on the idea of having personal relationships like that, the time being much better used Tinkering, but... He always enjoyed his time with Dragon, working with her only improved his Tinkering, but to take six months away from his Duty? To leave Brockton Bay at the hands of scum like Kaiser, Lung, and Skidmark; only able to help out during Endbringer fights? But the potential to become so much greater? To match or exceed the Triumvirate? But his Duty?

Finally, after the most agonizing 5 minutes of Dragon's life, Colin finally stared Dragon's avatar in the eyes, and gave his answer.
------

And that's all I got right now. I probably left a thought or two unfinished in there, and it probably needs one hell of a grammar check, but it's 2:45 AM here, I haven't slept in something like 50 hours, I'll look it over (and probably massively edit) tomorrow.

Why do I always seem to get the best writing ideas (as in ones I can envision clear enough to actually write myself) when sleep-deprived? Am I literally dreaming up my better omakes?

*edit- Grammar's fixed, and a few parts are fleshed out much better.

 

I’m sorry, but I couldn’t get through this without laughing. That’s a rather unfortunate typo, albeit an incredibly amusing one.


Also, loving the story so far Ack. My only hope is for a scene, canon or not, where Annette decides to teach Taylor a lesson by actually using her controls (very lightly, but still).

 

Oh, she will.

 

I managed to giggle my way through. Admittedly I had to avoid imagining a talking asshole in power armour.

Huh. Colon is a surprisingly accurate name for Armsmaster...

Aaaand now I'm trying to think of a name that could be mis-spelled to say rectum.

 

She'll mean to trigger a light shock, and accidently trigger a massive orgasm! lol.

I really wonder what will trigger Annette to do that to Taylor though.

 

It is her job as a parent to make sure Taylor learns from things. And we all know teenagers get along perfectly with their parents.

Also thinking about things some more, I could see Taylor throwing herself into this stuff when she realizes she likes parts of it. She compartmentalizes and this is a great opportunity to not be burdened by the shit at school or the awkwardness and lack of communication with her father. This isn't Taylor the unhappy daughter or Taylor the bullying victim. This is Taylor, future Slut!

 

If Armsmaster is Colon, who's Nobby Nobbs?

 

Hmm. Assault?

nah, not pessimistic enough. not sure there's a good analogue in the BB protectorate.

 

Let's say Slut Life is roughly equivalent to Year 4000 tech.
Most Tinker-tech is perhaps Year 2200-2500
Mundane tech in Earth Bet is about Year 2010

Slut Life can afford to teach folks lots and lots of disciplines of Year 2500 tech without them becoming anything close to a threat.

And even if Annette thought of the "they wouldn't teach you enough to be a danger" issue she'd realize they very well could teach what they thinks is common sense... i.e. things vastly beyond what Earth Bet knows.

1. Exactly

2. Is it possible to take Lifelong Learning repeatedly???

3. ...Still enough to roleplay cannibalism with an actually hot oven without even breaking a sweat, lol.

1. If you kidnap someone from a medieval society and let them learn up to Year 2020 standards in various fields, they're going to be basically a tech goddess when they get home going Full Uplift backed up by superpowers to counter those trying to get rid of them.
The tech doesn't need to remotely threaten Slut Life, or even come anywhere close to their tech level, for it to break past Tinker-tech on Earth Bet.

2. "What a wonderful hot spring!" -former Slut Life contestants with Perfect Homeostasis, after taking a nice long soak-

Spoiler: This has geologic assistance

But you know what? You can get about there without technological or geological assistance (assuming digging down counts as geologic assistance). Death Valley in high summer, with a heat wave and full sun, on a giant slab of black stone with no wind and huge quartz crystal (or just white cliffs) reflecting more sunlight onto said stone. "VERY AU NATUREL INDEED"...

And how about trying the same sort of black rock and reflector setup in the Mediterranean basin the last time it dried up? Or using an underground coal vein fire for "temperatures achieved with neither technological nor geological assistance"?

 

You're right, it doesn't say that. It doesn't say that what you did is correct either. In fact, if you want to be strict about what it does say it specifically states you can take it once per owner and there are no provisions for doubling up on an owner. Taking that literally you can't Fun Time at all and could interpret it as taking it once applies to all times you take that owner, meaning +5 max per owner you apply Fun Time to.

I think you screwed up a quote, because the quote box has my name and I didn't say that.

 

Except if you take the same owner 7 times, and choose to spend 12 hours with the owner on one day and 8 on the rest, it would then cost the same as if you spent 12 hours with them on all 7 days.

Which is ridiculous.

Also, from the dagger symbols, owners can be purchased multiple times. Fun Time has a dagger as well, so it can be purchased multiple times per owner; the only logical conclusion is that you can't buy Fun Time more than once per day per owner. When you purchase Owner a second time, however, you can buy Fun Time a second time for that Owner.

Fixed.

 

Yes.

Actually, in that particular instance, they're likely to be executed for heresy and/or whichcraft. Don't believe me? Ask Gallello.

 

Thus the need to establish oneself as someone of serious political power before revealing the tech. Also, super-powers.

 

Guess what would happen if Joan of Arc proved invulnerable to burning and whatever other methods of execution the English could make up. And with thunder smiting the priests or nobles sentencing her.

Brown pants for everyone else, and ending up with more Hard AND Soft Power than the King of France, is a very realistic possibility.

Superpowers break attempted heresy/witchcraft trials pretty easily. Telepathy can be heard as "voice of God" when enforced by lightning strikes, falling bricks, and other unfortunate things befalling reactionaries as needed, with huge passive durability defences as a backup. Sure, it'll probably end up rather totalitarian for the former nobles (who are buttmad over not being allowed to rape peasants for the lulz anymore), but for the peasants, well, skyrocketing living standards can bribe them over to your side well enough.

 

The superpowers would basically be taken as proof you're the devil.

I think you need to look up catch 22 witch trials and the types of things they did during the inquisition... Not burning at the stake, or not drowning when thrown to the bottom of a lake with a stone tied to your feet is proof of your pact with the devil.

Ironically, by Medieval societal morals... SL Corp is the devil, lol.

 

Ah, yes, witch trials... If you have superpowers, that's a glorified way of saying "COME AT ME BRO!"

Sooner or later the peasants under your aegis are going to shrug and keep their heads down. And the would-be crusaders from outside will just have to ignore basically Superman carving out a new country. Or they can come and die, resulting in Natural Selection.

And if there were Acts of God like lightning strikes or falling bricks smiting those trying to get you, well, priests can be remarkably pragmatic when the alternative is a messy death for them. Eventually the guy who rises to the top after the scum have all died off will declare that the dead ones were misguided and could not see the true will of God. Obviously, this new power is sanctioned by God!

 

Of course, this would bog down into an interminable conflict. The other nations, with far greater resources, would essentially lay siege and anyone leaving would be grabbed, interrogated (with torture, naturally) then put to death for consorting with forces of darkness.

Some outside nations would attempt under-the-table negotiation while loudly denouncing the newborn nation where anyone could hear them, but they'd all be working to get any sort of advantage for themselves that they could. That is, advantages for the ruling party. The peasants would matter to them not at all.

Certainly, you could go out and lay waste to their armies. This leaves the forces on the other side to thunder on in. They'd kill anyone who faced them, steal what they could and burn the rest, then retreat before you could get back to them.

Absent super-speed or the ability to project their capabilities over a very wide area, you can't actually protect a large number of people from people who want to kill them just for letting you take over. The habits of tyranny are easy to assume and hard to put aside, so you won't be changing the minds of anyone except the local peasantry for quite some time.

 

Wow, I'm so vividly reminded of the setting of Maoyuu Maou Yuusha right now it's eerie. (really good anime series, that does quite a bit to subvert your expectations)

Not the plot, but the setting. Actually, taking the whole thing into consideration... the plot too, but much loser in the interpretation and missing many elements.

If you've never seen the anime, I HIGHLY recommend it. Hell, the speech given during episode 9 alone makes the whole anime worth it (seriously, it's a contender for the title of the greatest speech ever made).

 

Isn't this what Egwene did in Eternal Threnody? Though I don't think Lifelong Learning was a thing yet back when that story was written (or Egwene would have definitely chosen that one).

Which still means a range of 180-330 K or thereabouts. Probably more than that on the higher end, because traditionally air temperature is measured in the shade, since it's hard to meaningfully measure air temperature otherwise, but either way out of the shade it's probably much higher.

...And, for that matter, I'd argue that it could well be still higher yet on the high end, because, IIRC, even an unmodded human is very much capable of surviving at (and possibly even enjoying) fairly high air temperatures (which would, of course, have to be achieved with technological assistance) for an hour or even longer if other condtions are just right. (It's called a sauna.) If we go on high values of that, we end up somewhere in 400 K territory.

 

The solution? Either actually have Superman speed, or...

...Take over a sizable enough island (e.g. Ireland) with reasonable local resources. Then expand to the next island (Britain) or de facto island (Iberia is a de facto island with the Pyrenees) once you've built up enough. After the first couple such expansions you'll have enough resources to scrabble on up the techs and take on as much of the world as you need to take on at once in open battle even if you haven't downed them via capitalism yet. And if they want to block you out badly enough, you can be sure there'll be a wall that also restricts their own ability to invade you or makes such attempts really obvious.

BTW This somehow sounds like an interesting version of the Reformation that doesn't start right next to the old religion's heartland (Germany vs Rome)...

It's not hard for Superman or someone even half as powerful to make himself emperor of a medieval Earth.

 

Was just going over the 'revised' contract, now that you've fixed the error from too many rewards, and I spotted this... and I have to wonder... Does Taylor actually have any time to herself for this 1 week run? And if not, and even if she does it can't be much, why sink 25 points into something she'll never get a chance to use, or would only get 4-5 hours use out of?

*edit-32 hour day. Reduced sleep means 4 hours of sleep a day, so essentially 28 'usable' hours a day.

7 days of 28 hours = 196 total SL hours.

7 Owners selected, with 7 "Funtime" options, for 7 slots of 12 hours, so that 28 hours is down to 16 hours a day.

16 hours a day on jobs, for 5 out of 7 days, leaving 0 hours free on 5 days of the week, and 2 days with 16 hours free, for 32 total free hours.

OK, I guess there is enough free time to use the full allotment it gets you for the week... And I also noticed the Hoverboard was picked, which kinda tells me why you took it (despite it really not being needed in a 1 week run).

I did notice a points-related issue though:

Outside should only be 15 points, so you have 10 extra points to allot.

Grab Education 2 more times and learn First Aid and another martial art!
*edit2-

You may need this module to connect to Earth Bet Cell towers/wireless networks.

Granted, it says on the Cellphone description that the upgrade modules are pretty cheap, and we're getting 4 million dollars at the end of the week... We can always just buy it (and ALL the cellphone upgrades) with cash once the contract is over.

 

Nice one.