2. he understands that you have customers, and he's only going to do some inspections of the place, and you spent the time to prepare for his arrival. If we didn't prepare, I would say 1, but since everything was all set, You should be able to focus on two things at once with little issues.

2. Time to go to work.

2 and make sure you re-dress in your ugly fire-resistant gear while covering your snout with the ugliest mask you have.
Fire safety over fire style.

1, this isn't going to go well for Dotti whether you intervene or not, but if you give her advice and it doesn't work out then she might conclude that listening to you was a mistake. She'll be more receptive to your advice after the fact, so don't focus on her.

Give the Fire Marshall your full attention. There's a low but non-zero chance that he may try to create problems to interfere with your business. You don't know the scene here well enough to say for certain this guy isn't taking bribes from any of your competitors. The odds of him trying anything while you're breathing down his neck are far lower.

>>1050333
1. Two reasons:
a, the Cafe is your first priority, and you already know this inspection isn't totally on the level.
b, Dotti needs to make her own mistakes, so she can learn from them.

1, let dotti make mistakes, to err is to be human which is what she wants

1. Dotti is clever and can handle her own social learning. You need this inspection to go off perfectly!

2. The marshal will take note of how you treat your guests, even if it's not part of his official business.

Kayk 2022/11/28(Mon)19:15 No. 1050447 ID: 8483cf
File 166969173196.png - (3.62KB , 300x300 , LF6-50.png )

It’s an agonizing decision to make. Even though my shop has just closed for the day, I still don’t want to leave Dotti to handle serving her own date. I was supposed to help out myself and act as chaperone, but… I have to keep my doors open. I point to some leftover treats and coffee, and Dotti nods. She is very perceptive of when there’s free food for the taking.

I follow the Fire Marshal back into my kitchen and don’t let him out of my sight. The oven is cooling off, and it’s just about cool enough to work on. A part of me is worried the Marshal might try to sabotage the oven. Would he really do that? What if he was bribed?

“Tell me about your dragonfire containment,” he says, rolling up his sleeves. “I know the craftsman’s work for the hearth, but who’s the djinn responsible for the extinguisher?”

That’s a trick question. I point at the back of the oven, where there’s a label calling it out, and when the spells were last refreshed.

The Fire Marshal nods and checks a box on his clipboard. “Thanks. Can you help me with your evacuation plan?”

I point it out. It’s tacked to the wall. The exits are also labeled in glow-in-the-dark signage.

“Good. What are you using to store your flour? Can you show it to me?”

Flour is shockingly flammable. I escort him to the storage room.

“Got it. Let me measure the distance to the oven.” He checks his clipboard again, then pulls out a roll of polyester with markings on it. He goes to the other side of the wall and measures the distance from the storage wall to the oven, then comes back in and marks an X. Not a check.

Wait. Is he measuring the distance from the oven to the flour and ignoring there’s a thick wall of brick between them? That doesn’t seem right. I don’t call him on it. Not yet, at least. I don’t want him knowing I know, or knowing how close attention I’m paying to what he’s doing. Not right now. If he’s really being paid to fail me for something, better he fail me for something I know I can argue against and probably win.

The Fire Marshal makes several more checks and a few more X’s, which I have a decent idea of what he’s looking for. They’re the same thing: applying poorly written fire code, like measuring distance from flammable objects or trash bins, without accounting for natural blockages by fire-resistant materials. I suspect he’s going to try and argue that dragon fire is hot enough to burn even brick, but I don’t heat my oven that hot, and it’s designed to shut off if it does get out of control. I know I comply with the code, he’s just going to be muleheaded about it. I think. I’m suddenly very grateful I have Serah to help later with the actual arguing part, if it comes to it.

“That’s that,” the Fire Marshal says. “Now, could you go over your standard operating procedure for this oven? Ignition, extinguishing, cleaning, refueling, and everything else. I’d like to make sure you’re treating it properly.”

This is what I’ve trained for! I’m nervous at first, but the words come easier as I get into it, and by the end I’m forgetting it’s an inspection. The follow-up questions are easy, too, thanks to the prep I did the night before.

“I think that about covers it for part one of three,” the Marshal says.

There’s THREE PARTS?!

Kayk has gained 15 STRESS.

“Now, how about the flat above us? I have in my notes it’s due for an inspection. I’d like to follow the flues, too. Do you have a minute to let me in?”

And here it is. He’s asking to inspect my home. I’m kind of upset at the invasion of privacy, knowing what he’s really looking for.

Seeing my hesitation, the Fire Marshal sighs. “I know it’s not part of your inspection here. Technically, the second floor of this block is all up for inspection, and as they’re multi-family units being leased out, I’m required to inspect them every so often, and I’m just behind, is all. I’m not even assessing your business. In fact, it’s your landlord I’d be asking to make changes if I find anything. You’re completely fine.”

It’s a lame excuse (and he’s probably telling the truth). But it still stinks.

“If you let me cross that off my list, you’d be doing me a big help,” the Fire Marshal says.

Do I let him inspect my flat?

No. His actions have made it clear that he does not have our best interests at heart here, so we have no requirement to make this easier on him. Especially not when it may potentially open yet more doors for him to shut you us down.

Call him out for his willfully malicious application of fire code to explain why he's not going anywhere near your flat today until he's resolved things here.

No. I think we only have one inspection in us today, we can't get too far from our shop while we still have customers.

>>1050447
Yes. He's looking for your hoard, and a surprise inspection that you ALLOW will be a solid step towards convincing the city you don't have one.

Let yourself be convinced; he's looking for your hoard, after all, and it would be improper to just cave on this... but you DO want them to know you don't have a hoard here. Though you could start treating your sweaters like a hoard, gushing about how much you love them and collect them and love showing them off, maybe? So he can tell the others that you're a crazy dragon that considers 'very comfy textiles, not even particularly rare or expensive ones' her hoard, so they can stop bugging you!

"Look, I'll just be up front: I don't keep my hoard anywhere near where I live. Greed can kill you, especially if it's the heavy kind of greed stuck on the top floor of a (relatively) fragile building. I've got security guarding my wealth far, far away from the city."
(Security is yer mum)

asking your landlord to make major renovations that will shut down the whole place is within the realm of possibility here. And not leaving the shop while there are still members of the public present is a solid excuse for the hospitality industry.

Yeah, we have nothing to hide. And i feel he is going to deduct more points if we refuse.

If he looks into our clothes closet or dresser tho for our fishnet stockings, and sweater, you have every right to call him a pervert

Kayk 2022/11/28(Mon)21:34 No. 1050465 ID: 8483cf
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There are so many things riding on this Fire Marshal’s inspection: the Council wanting money, the Bakers’ Guild trying to mess with me, and public safety complaints about me and Dotti trying to take over the City or something.

I have the major advantage of knowing that the Fire Marshal has likely been ordered by the City Council to go looking for a dragon hoard. It’s an invasion of privacy, and he has the ability to mess with my Landlord if he doesn’t get what he wants, and he can come back again later with the proper paperwork to enter a residential unit. It’s in my best interest to make this particular problem go away quickly.

On the other hand, Dotti and Otis are here, and they’re technically customers, even if the bakery is closed at the moment. I don’t want to leave them alone.

Ahhh! What do I do?

What would Mom do?

That’s easy. Mom would be assertive. She’d go full Dragon Mom, call out what a jerk the Fire Marshal is being, point out how he’s willfully misapplying the fire code, and dare him to fail her inspection. Go on, fail me and see what happens!

…But Mom doesn’t have to live in a city full of people she’s threatening. And she doesn’t want to sell them pastries either.

Maybe I should try the Dad approach, and be assertively honest. I need to play up the angle of “innocent, but appropriately protective of my ‘hoard.’” It helps that this is, in fact, 100% true.

“I can’t leave my customers alone,” I tell the Fire Marshal. “And I don’t want to let a stranger into my home unsupervised. Um… no offense.”

“None taken,” the Fire Marshal says. “Though, isn’t the fox spirit an employee? You trust her to mind the shop, don’t you?”

“She’s on a date,” I say. “A date that’s been somewhat interrupted.”

“I’ll be quick,” the Fire Marshal says. “Look, between you and me, these residential inspections are routine. I just need to make sure there aren’t any candle mountings set directly underneath to a wooden support beam. Things that are blatantly obvious hazards. It’ll be a quick in-and-out, and we can get on with the real work.”

“You promise?” I ask warily, playing on my own uncertainty of if he’s about to screw over my landlord. “I really can’t leave Dotti and her date alone for very long. It’s terribly rude of me as their host.”

“I promise.”

I allow myself to be convinced to allow him upstairs. He checks the lighting in the entryway and gives it a cursory nod.

“Just the lighting fixtures and any stoves you have, and we can go back downstairs.”

This is going to be hard, but I believe in myself. Just pretend I’m Dad. You can do it, Kayk!

I show him around, making a point to guide him to the candle holders. I mention how nice my landlord is. She’s a wonderful old lady who takes good care of the building and has her sons work on the wood sidings all the time, and oh, here’s the stove, it’s very nice and modern and doesn’t spit smoke everywhere, no I don’t use dragon fire on it, and yes, there are some candles here, and in the bedroom too, I’m very proud of the flat and how I’ve organized it, and oh goodness is that a sweater on the floor? I’m so messy, let me put that away, so sorry you had to avoid it, it’s just so hard to keep things organized sometimes when it’s hard to choose my favorite one to wear, there are just so many options, especially when the weather gets colder like this, the changing seasons just allow for so many opportunities to show off different colors and patterns, winter is my favorite because you can have so many little doodads sewn into your outfit, like this one, see how fuzzy the tree is? I can’t wear it yet because there’s no snow on the ground, it’s a rule I have, but fortunately I have the pink one and it has stripes which are SO CUTE, it just doesn’t work in the spring, spring sweaters are good too but these shades of pink and purple are colder than green, this one is such a spring sweater and it is so COMFY, sometimes you just hate to choose so you gotta get EVERYTHING, you get it don’t you?

“I… think it would be best if we got back to business,” says the Fire Marshal, waving his hands. “I’ve seen everything I need to, ah, update my records. Let’s go back downstairs.”

Aha! Success! Thanks, Dad!

I somehow avoid fainting and head back downstairs with the Fire Marshal.

“That’s part two of three,” he says. “Now for the last one. Are all your employees trained on emergency management procedures, and how to shut down the oven if they need to?”

“I only have one employee,” I say, “and she’s on a date right now.”

“I see. Is she available afterwards? I need to confirm she’s appropriately trained and of the right temperament to handle a dragon fire oven.”

He’s going after Dotti. That bastard! “What does temperament have to do with the fire code?”

“Nothing,” he admits, “But it is part of your responsibility as an employer to ensure that employees handling hazardous materials, such as dragon fire, are trustworthy and even-handed in an emergency. If I can’t say with certainty that you, Kayk, are allowing only trained and responsible employees access to a highly dangerous fuel source, then I can’t allow you to keep operating.”

“I see,” I say. “Well, I can’t require Dotti to stay here past her shift. I recommend you come back when she’s scheduled.”

“And when might that be?”

I need to buy time to make sure Dotti is ready. Ah…

“She has the next two days off,” I say. “I recommend you drop by after the breakfast rush two days from now.”

“I’ll see her in two days, then.” the Fire Marshal flips his papers back and notches his pencil. “Thank you for your time, Miss Terrorscale.”

I show him the door. Once he’s gone, I give a massive sigh and turn around to see a horribly painful sight. Dotti is wearing a forlorn expression and grabbing at Otis’s hand as he’s in the middle of standing up from the table.

“Why are you leaving so soon? You said you were having a good time! Five times!”

“I did,” Otis says. “And I think you’re a wonderful fox spirit, with incredible passion for… your passions. I just… I think you may be happier with someone who shares them.”

“You…” Dotti’s eyes narrow into tiny slits and she grips his hand even harder. “You’re ruining the date!”

Should I intervene?

Yes. That's not what you say to a date, Dotti! Let Otis go home, he's not having a good time.

No. Dotti needs to learn on her own that her actions have consequences. Let Otis dump her and let her learn from this experience.

BUT only intervene if she starts to hurt the guy.

Uh oh. Better first get the cupcakes and ice cream out. Whether or not you get him to leave gracefully, rejection's gonna hit her like a truck, and you gotta be ready.

>>1050465
Intervene to make sure Dotti doesn't hurt the poor guy. And maybe tell Dotti that if a date wants to leave, then the right thing to do is to let them.

This actually would be a fair time to intervene, if not for Dotti's sake than at least for Otis'.

Approach Dotti and gently separate them. Thank Otis for coming by, and let him leave. Then explain to Dotti what the problem was (the main one at least): That Otis simply didn't share her feelings. A relationship takes two to tango, and that means both parties have to be invested in it.

Otis wasn't ruining the date, he was simply ending it. He didn't feel a connection, and he was honest about his feelings. There was no ill will, he wasn't trying to hurt you. He just couldn't give you what you wanted.

Let her feel sad, it's natural. You can give her advice, answer any questions she has, but more than anything don't forget to address her feelings. This was her first date, and she didn't have any frame of reference to understand how poorly it went until her date suddenly tried to end it. That sucks for her.

1/2 Kayk 2022/12/13(Tue)19:57 No. 1051694 ID: 8483cf
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I really, really don’t want to do this, but I have to. If Dotti is upset enough to grab Otis’s arm, I don’t want her using claws. Or anything else, for that matter.

I step forward and put my hand on Dotti’s shoulder. She jolts and lets go of Otis, looking up at me in surprise. She opens her mouth and takes a breath, then stops herself, visibly struggling to fight the deep need to yowl at me.

Kayk has gained 2 STRESS.

“Thank you for coming, Otis,” I say before Dotti can muster up her own magical voice for some undoubtedly choice words. “I’m sorry I couldn’t serve you in person, but please feel free to help yourself to anything in the display that’s left over. Dotti, could you please come with me?”

“It was my pleasure, Miss Terrorscale,” Otis says, doing his best to step back from Dotti with some dignity for both him and her.

“Please, just call me Kayk.”

“Kayk, then. A good day to you, and Dotti too.”

Dotti looks at Otis, confusion and hurt written all over her face. I keep holding her shoulder as Otis bows out the door. The minute he’s gone, Dotti forces my hand off and turns to face me, paws waving in midair, as if she’s trying to swim her way back into the date.

“Why did you do that?!” Dotti asks me, tears in her eyes. “Why? Why did he do that? Why did he leave? He’s a horrible human! He’s supposed to make me feel happy, that’s what dates do! He’s breaking the rules! I liked him, but now I hate him! He’s evil! I hate him! I hate him so much!”

I open my arms and Dotti runs in for a hug, breaking down into screaming, furious fox sobbing. She continues her ranting and tearful threatening, but her illusory voice fades and weakens, becoming soft and distorted as she loses focus.

“I just wanted a good date. I just wanted to be happy. Why doesn’t he want me to be happy?” Dotti asks, holding me tight. “Why doesn’t he like me?”

“He wasn’t trying to hurt you, Dotti,” I say. “He was being honest about his feelings. It’s okay to be upset. I get upset when my date doesn’t like me back, either. Relationships are hard.”

“Then why does everyone get one but me? You have one. Serah has one. Even Landi has one, and she doesn’t deserve to be happy ever!”

“It takes time and practice. That makes the dates that go well that much better.”

“I’m never going to have a date that goes well!” Dotti says, prompting another round of sobs. “Everyone hates me. I want to turn back into a fox and curl up in my den and never ever leave.”

“Shh,” I say, hugging her again. “I can set up the pillow den again and get some ice cream if you want. You don’t have to work tomorrow, so you can sleep in if you want.”

Dotti nods.

I’m very glad I told the Fire Marshal I was giving Dotti two days off as a way to buy time to train her on how to be trustworthy and responsible in terms of handling dragonfire. It’s a very good thing she wasn’t very stressed out to begin with.

I spend the rest of the evening trying to take Dotti’s mind off the date. It’s very tiring, and we both head to bed early.

Dotti has gained 35 STRESS.

KAYK STRESS: [68/100]
DOTTI STRESS: [63/100]

Day 12

I wake up bright and early and hop in my flat’s bath. I fill the tub up with a few trips and heat the water with a surreptitious, very careful application of hot air. I don’t want any flashes of dragonfire through the cracks in the shutters to tip off the Fire Marshal if he’s got minions watching for that kind of thing. That would be really creepy though, but then, that’s local politics…

Should I take today off? I’ll lose an entire day’s worth of profit, and also lose my momentum I’ve gained with the crowds gathering outside but I’ve been working just as long as Dotti has without a break. If I don’t take the day off, I’ll be leaving Dotti to her own devices. I could probably tell her to go back to the Adventurers’ Guild…

2/2 Kayk 2022/12/13(Tue)20:00 No. 1051697 ID: 8483cf
File 167099043992.png - (8.60KB , 378x400 , LF6-53.png )

While I’m choosing my sweater for the day and deciding whether to go to work, I notice that Dotti is missing from her bed.

I look over and see a fox looking back at me.

I blink.

“…Dotti, is that you?”

Dotti nods.

“Are you okay? Um… did you want to change back?”

Dotti nods again.

This is bad. I think. Is she okay? Is she giving up on being human? What do I do?

Pet the fox.

Pet the dotti, it's ultimately her decision if she prefers an anthropomorphic or feral form in the end, though do remind her that if she stays as a fox that she cant actually work, and if she does that ask her if she's quitting because she is actually your employee. Try to be gentle with the questions, and your resoning, but don't foist your opinion of what is the right form, because that's more a deeply personal thing I think.

>>1051697
Huh, wasn't she stuck in her previous form, unable to shapeshift? Congratulate her on figuring it out.

>>1051705

If memory serves, the issue wasn't that she was unable, but afraid that she'd mess it up further.

We should take the day off, because we can't handle the stress of a one-person shift on top of dealing with... this. That's just too much, you need the break.

As for Dotti, pet her if she's willing, and try to talk with her about her date yesterday. More than anything else, try to impress upon her that nobody hates her, and that one date not going well isn't proof that she'll never have a good date again. We can worry about practical lessons later, first, deal with the emotional fallout.

"Otis said that you were wonderful, full of passion, and that he wished for you to find someone who you could share those things with. Are those the sorts of things you'd say to someone you hated? Would you ever wish Landi happiness?"

"If the only way I could make you happy was to make myself sad, would you feel good knowing that was how I felt? That's why he didn't want to continue the date."

Take the day off, spend time with Dotti doing fun stuff, maybe people watching? Spend some time explaining the *subtle* emotional/social nuances of people as they behave in public, while watching them, including the stuff that they are trying to hide. Dotti needs a sense of 'what people do and how they behave', and enjoying some time watching people as they emote and posture, maybe in a public park or commons or market square, might be fun?

Also, don't assume she's made a long term decision vis a vis her form OR her job OR relationships with the form change. Maybe give her kudos with her decision to face her fears of messing up shapechanging, if it comes up.

Also. Foxes LAUGH, in *exactly the same way and with exactly the same sound that humans do*. There are multiple forms of gekkering, one of which is ABSOLUTELY a laugh at a humorous situation. Set a goal for yourself for today! See if you can get her to laugh, and not feel ashamed of doing so in this form!

>>1051723
>>1051700
support to these

>>1051723

Ohh, I know, make a game of making up hilarious and over the top stories about people while people watching, that educates her on body language and human social posturing and the wonderful, horrible and all-around zany stuff people get up to in their social interactions?

>>1051926

Oohh! Another idea! Picnic and ball or frisbee toss and tag in the park!!

Kayk 2022/12/17(Sat)16:52 No. 1052095 ID: 8483cf
File 167132473911.png - (13.70KB , 497x500 , LF6-54.png )

There’s a line where, once it’s crossed, things start going bad. I don’t know who draws it or why, but if I have to deal with crazy customers by myself as well as handling whatever Dotti is doing, I’m going to sail right over it and keep sailing until I can’t see it anymore.

“I’m taking the day off,” I declare. “I think we both could use a break. Rest and relaxation. Nothing stressful happens today, okay?”

Dotti nods, swishes her tail back and forth, and points her nose upwards toward me.

“Would you like me to give you some chin scritches?”

Dotti points her nose even more insistently, and that settles things. I lean down and give her a good scratching under the chin and rub her face for good measure, earning a long, low purr for my troubles. I’m not sure when to stop, but she doesn’t pull back, even when I’ve given her a thorough fluffing from tip to tail.

“I can keep giving you scratches,” I say, “Or I can make breakfast.” Dotti finally relents and pulls away. I have to wonder how long it’s been since she’s gotten a fox massage. Too long.

I won’t question Dotti’s reasons for turning into a fox, or assume anything about how long she wants to say as one. Dotti hasn’t said a word since I got up. If she wants to play the part of a full, 100% fox and not talk, I won’t question it. However… I don’t have to avoid pointing out the obvious problems with it, either.

“Dotti, what would you like for breakfast?”

Dotti pauses. She looks around my bedroom, seeing nothing she can point at to indicate a preference. She lets out an annoyed yap and relents.

“One egg, please. Whole. Raw. In the shell.”

That’s remarkably easy. I throw together a quick breakfast for myself too. While I do so, I tenderly broach the question at the back of my mind.

“Congratulations, by the way,” I say. “It’s been a while since you last transformed. Your fur is very lustrous.”

“Thank you,” Dotti says. “It was easy. I’m a very good fox.”

“You are,” I say. “Let me know if you want to practice transforming. I’m not as good at it as my siblings, but I did learn a few things I’m happy to share.”

Dotti says nothing.

As the morning warms up, we decide to get out of the shop. My CLOSED sign isn’t disappointing anyone who’s passing by (which kind of disappoints me), but it’s good for us at the moment. Dotti peeks her head out the door, sees the mass of feet stomping around the cobblestones and winces. I offer to carry her in my bag, and she gracefully accepts.

Kayk 2022/12/17(Sat)16:52 No. 1052096 ID: 8483cf
File 167132476672.png - (8.86KB , 508x337 , LF6-55.png )

We head for a well-treaded path in Minga’s central park and make a game of inventing elaborate backstories for all the people passing by. I take the time to point out what each person is acting like, whether they’re uncomfortable, happy, interested, or flirting, and other social cues Dotti probably missed in her date with Otis. Dotti chimes in as well. It takes a few tries, but she catches on to some of the more subtle body language eventually.

Soon the game turns to more fun than education. I point out how a well-dressed man could be a secret spy from a foreign land, smuggling important diplomatic communiqués in his overly tall stovepipe hat.

“What else could he fit in there?” I wonder.

“A chicken drumstick!” Dotti says with a smack of her chops.

“Why stop there?” I ask. “Maybe a whole chicken. A live one! It’s probably nestled in there, laying eggs for him to eat whenever he wants!”

Dotti lets out a long, loud laugh: a real fox laugh, not an illusory one.

“You have a wonderful laugh,” I say when she’s done. She bats the ground with a paw.

“It’s not a human laugh. I’m never going to fit in. Not even when I’m a fox,” Dotti says softly.

“It’s closer than you think, actually,” I say. “Your laugh is just like a human’s. Humans can understand it, and they’d love to hear more of your laugh. I’m sure of it.”

“You’re telling a… a… what’s it called… a white lie! I don’t sound anything like a human.”

“I’m serious,” I say wholeheartedly. “I’m a dragon, why would I lie about what humans sound like?”

Dotti puffs out her chest a little bit. It’s cute.

“People are still getting used to you,” I say. I reach down and give her a chin scratch, which she happily accepts. “They just aren’t familiar what they haven’t seen. How could they be? You’re a smart, beautiful fox, and once people get to know you better, they’ll learn it too.”

“Everyone but Otis. He hates me, and he had a whole date to get to know me.”

“Are you sure?” I ask. “Otis said that you were wonderful, full of passion, and that he wished for you to find someone who you could share those things with. Are those the sorts of things you'd say to someone you hated? Would you ever wish Landi happiness?”

“He… he was nice, sort of, but he didn’t like me. He was being polite.” Dotti’s head droops. “And… I know I said I hated Landi yesterday, but… she’s not all bad. Like when she talked your sister out of hurting me.”

“My sister. She’s a perfect example of how we all have people in our lives who make things difficult.”

We stay silent for a little bit.

“There’s so many people here,” Dotti says. “I think I know how to find the good ones. And I know how to ask them out on dates. But… I don’t have any way to have a good date. I could use my mind magic to make them happy, but that’s not… it’s not real. I need to find someone who shares my passions. That’s what Otis said, right? I need someone who likes art, and hates the confusing parts of human society, and doesn’t mind if…”

“If?”

“If I want to be a fox, sometimes.”

I feel very proud of Dotti right now.

“I’m sure there’s someone out there who’s all those things,” I say.

We have the whole day ahead of us, and will be very busy tomorrow. This might be the last chance for a long time that I have a day dedicated to doing nothing but spending time with Dotti.

I could offer her help with shapeshifting, explore more of Minga, transform myself and take her on a flight to a nearby village or woods to get a change of scenery, or anything else that takes a full day to do.

Also, technically, this is the last day of the ten days Dotti has to go without getting a written warning for me to help her with her contract. Do I bring that up, or was there an implicit assumption that it would only be work days, in which case Dotti will need to wait until two days from now to get my help?

You know what, ask Dotti what SHE wants to do today. This is her day to feel better, so lets give her the choice. It's important to give Dotti choices, she never really gets the chance, especially since she's the one doing things that Serah and Landi wants.

If she can't decide, suggest teaching her shapeshifting, should her motivated to decide if she wants to try being human again or not.

And this isn't a work day, so not yet on the contract thing...

HOWEVER, we can tell Dotti if she wants to take time to learn fire safety tomorrow with you after you are done working during her day off, we can count that as a work day for her and ask Serah tomorrow after Dotti passes our lesson. Should get her motivated to pay close attention to our lessons tomorrow too.

Yeah let Dotti decide.

Do you trust Dotti to be on her best behavior even without an external incentive?

I think you can. She's been trying a lot harder, and putting more effort into doing her job correctly. It may be because of the agreement, but the behavior she had to learn won't just vanish once that's off the table. You should deal with her contract sooner rather than later. Put some faith in her.

Help Dotti with her shapeshifting today. She's gonna need to turn back to her anthro form before tomorrow's shift, so help her get used to altering herself. Maybe take her out to the woods in your dragon form to practice in private, and in a place where you can really show off your own shapeshifting.

Is there a bulletin listing any events today? There might be something fun going on that we wouldn’t know about if we were cooped up in the bakery all day.
Failing that, let’s get ice cream or something, or let Dotti pick out some of the tastier things from your cookbook to make together that you don’t often get the opportunity to make.

Kayk 2022/12/26(Mon)15:29 No. 1052612 ID: 8483cf
File 167209736774.png - (12.83KB , 500x500 , LF6-56.png )

Dotti’s shown remarkable progress in some areas, and struggled in others. The most important thing, I think, is that she’s shown she can fit in with society by putting in effort. She’s been trying. Sometimes too hard, like with Otis.

I decide that if Dotti wants to deal with her contract today, I’ll help her with it. If she doesn’t, I won’t bring it up. Right now, she’s focused inward, on herself; not outward, on Serah and Landi. A contract is a stressful thing, and I want her to feel relaxed. So with that in mind, I ask her what she wants to do after we’re done people-watching in the park.

“A whole day with just you and me and no work?” Dotti lets out a contented purr. “I’ve heard there are people who dress up in pretty outfits and pretend to be other people, just like they’re characters in my books. Serah keeps talking about going to see a theater, but she never takes me. I want to go see a play!”

“That sounds wonderful,” I say. “Ah, we may not be able to get seated tickets. Day-of shows usually have standing room only.”

“Oh,” Dotti muses. She looks at herself. She is, indeed, very short. She looks up and gives me a big wide look of pleading. “May I please I sit on your head?”

“If you behave,” I say with a roll of my eyes.

“You’re fun, Kayk,” Dotti says. “I like you. Have I ever told you that? You’re a good person.”

“Thank you,” I say. I don’t know how many people Dotti has said that to. It feels like high praise.

We go and grab standing-room tickets at a collection of short plays near the park. It’s not high society, and the audience is loud and unruly, but Dotti likes it very much. A few people stare at Dotti as she hops out of my bag and sits on my head to get a better view, but no one is bold enough to question it. Just a few benefits of being a dragon, I guess.

Dotti laughs along with the crowd in the funny bits, and even yowls at the villain a few times. Each time, her fox voice is joined by the crowd’s, and she’s really losing herself in it. By the end, no one’s questioning the fox on my head. I don’t think Dotti notices, but they’re even taking cues from her at some points on how hard to laugh. She’s the most enthusiastic member of the audience by far.

Once the plays are over, Dotti hops right back into my bag, and I hurry out of the theater. I don’t want anyone to distract Dotti from her good mood (plus I also don’t want anyone to step on my tail). I step out into the alley, and Dotti pokes her nose out of my bag and gives me a toothy grin.

“That was fun!” Dotti says. “That playwriter really understands a lot! ‘If you've never eaten while crying you don t know what life tastes like.’ “

“Wolfgang von Goethe seems like a great writer,” I agree. “ ‘Nothing shows a man's character more than what he laughs at.’ Your character showed a lot during that play, then.”

“I laughed at the best jokes, which makes me the best character,” Dotti says. “I want to draw a scene from that play. Let’s go back to your place!”

“You’ll probably need to change into a shape that has thumbs,” I point out, and Dotti yaps in irritation. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll do great. Do you want me to go over what my mom taught me?”

“Okay,” Dotti grumbles, and I happily tell her my mom’s advice. Staying calm, focused, and having a clear image of what you want is key. I don’t have a clear description of how to manage the magic, that’s Cadmus’s thing, but I know how mom taught me how shapeshifting should feel, and I hope Dotti can learn a bit from that. When I’m done, we’re almost back at my flat.

“I want to be a human,” Dotti says, “But it’s hard. Humans are hard.”

“You don’t have to try to change into a human if it makes you nervous,” I say. “You can have fun with shapeshifting, too.”

“Have fun? How? It’s draining and stressful and I got stuck last time. I don’t want to get stuck again.”

“You can try something you’re comfortable with,” I say, “And add a few fun tweaks. The key is to be comfortable with the process of change, feel excitement for however it might come out, and accept it might not be exactly what you wanted.”

“I’m not excited at all,” Dotti says.

I feel like if I can get Dotti excited to try a variation on her humanoid fox form, she might actually go for it- and it might even work.

Should I try to get Dotti to try changing up her humanoid/anthropomorphic fox form, just a little? If so, how do I get her excited for it?

>>1052612

Get her excited by talking about all the new ways of experiencing and interacting with the world that shapechanging magic eventually allows for!


"Humans are interesting creatures, are they not? All that expanse of skin, without much hair except at the very top. It lets them sweat everywhere, which means that, even without magic, fit humans can jog long distances or do endurance work when it is hot and not too muggy practically forever. They can survive rapid temperature changes that would send many other species into thermal shock. Their hands and opposible thumbs are very dextrous, and can manipulate and interact with objects with extremely impressive dexterity. Their upright stance lets them see very far for their mass, and their eyes are one of the better middle-of-the-road compromises for daytime visual acuity, movement sensing, and color differentiation. They have this ability where, with a bit of practice, they can throw things and intuitively predict trajectories with an incredible amount of accuracy.


"And yet! And yet... Their eyes are prone to detached retinas and have this silly little blind spot in them, and in fact are not actually the theoretical best compromise for various types of daytime vision, and they can't see or differentiate between certain types of colors very well; there are colors that humans, outside of very niche mage circles, don't even have words for. They're prone to a myriad of horrible diseases and parasites of all sorts, and prone to back, joint, and muscle pains. For all they are omnivores, the range of foods they can safely eat is quite small! They age poorly, and are prone to senescence as they age. The human female reproductive system follows a downright cruel 'period' cycle, rather than any of the more sane other options. Their senses of hearing and smell is quite poor, both in acuity, as well as the sorts of things they can sense-- they can't even communicate with or determine health by scent! They don't even have a tail with which to balance like some of their distant primate relatives. Their brains are prone to certain energy-saving shortcuts which cause regular, predictable calamities in human civilizations. They can not sense emanations form magnets --lodestones-- nor the electrical emanations made by all living things, like some fish and birds can. They can not see heat like some bugs and snakes can.


"They are not especially strong or fast, and can not climb or leap especially well, and can not regrow limbs or replace lost teeth, and their nails are a laughably inadequate replacement for retractable claws. They can not use echoes to determine the area around them in the dark of air or water, and their ability to hold their breath is quite poor. Their eyes don't have nictitating membranes for underwater vision or protection from the elements. They can not signal mood with movement of the ears or tail or crest, and unless they remember not to, they tend to smile by baring their teeth! They are naturally poor at camouflage, and require extensive tool use and training to make up for this lack.


"All of these abilities I mentioned, by the way, are found in the animal kingdom, without a need for magic. A master of shapeshifting magic can mix and match all of these abilities, as needed, using only the smallest trickle of magic, and can even subtly hide the fact that they have many of these abilities with most of their favored forms. That's completely aside from the more magic-requiring adding and removing of mass or number of limbs, with all the benefits and options that allows. It's a skill that, if you take the time to master, will help you lead a rich, rewarding, long, diverse life, full of beauty in the world around you, and the freedom to experience every environment and condition the world has to offer!"

Get her to try being taller. She won't have to sit on your head to get a good view if her own legs are that long.
Humans can also be envious of traits they lack - therefore, the fluffier your tails the better.

Tell Dotti that shapeshifting is much like her artwork. Sure, it's not going to look good when she starts out, but with plenty of practice, her artwork has significantly improved from what you saw in her sketches. She's trying different artstyles that she is most comfortable with, practicing her skills with those artstyle, and then venturing into new techniques and artstyles in her art once she feels most comfortable to improve. Shapeshifting is like that, you find aspects about your shapeshifting that you are most comfortable with, practice on that, and then when your think you've mastered an aspect of shapeshifting you like, you try out different styles, and take out the aspects you don't like.

Remind Dotti also that at the time when she tried transforming into a human, it was her first time doing it, and all things considered, she did a good job shapeshifting her first time even if she got stuck. Now that she has improved with her magic, you're sure she is going to get closer to shapeshifting into a form she wants. And even if she gets stuck again, remind her to look at the improvements she done towards her shapeshifting and be proud of those and that she got closer.

Also, tell her that since her magic improved and she basically mastered her previous shapeshifted humanoid look, she should looking into venturing into improving new territories for shapeshifting her body. For instance... you remember seeing a sketch of Dotti looking a bit more... enhanced in the chest area here: >>1045198

why don't we get her excited by suggesting she try out different sizes of that part of her body to something she is most comfortable with

... just as long as they aren't too large that they get in the ways of anything she is carrying of course.

>>1052638

Human female fertility signalling characteristics isn't just boobs. It's also butt and hips, and sometimes belly. Show Dotti a book on humanoid beauty standards and fashion throughout history, that includes drawings of some ancient figurines with highly exaggerated figures, and explain that based on things like how much food was available to a culture and how it was obtained, that beauty standards differed greatly.

>>1052657

It turns out one of the drawings of one of these statues is of a kitsunemimi, a beautiful (seemingly) human woman, with slightly exaggerated breasts and ass and hips, but with fox ears, two very fluffy and long fox tails, and hands with slight foxpaw features, who is apparently a regional fertility goddess somewhere.

let her stay as a fox, don't pressure her into something.

trying to get her to appeal to physical beauty standards will only set her up for future dating failures.
not being "sexy" enough was hardly her problem before it wouldn't resolve a single thing now.

>>1052665

The point isn't to pressure her. The point is to make her aware of the sorts of things humans value, so she can make an informed decision. And humans are often incredibly superficial. Else why are so many of the women in their stories, tales, myths, and legends mostly described as being either very beautiful or very ugly? And often only notable for how they interact with or influence men? Also notable is that, outside of stories, those that are very beautiful or very cute are often given more leeway and allowance to make social mistakes and gaffes. The Patriarchy is very, very real.

Have you considered small things first like different colours and patterns?
You are an artist, I bet if you put your mind to it then you could come up with some fun ideas like maybe making yourself blue, pink or maybe doing spirals and zigzags on your fur. Today isn’t a serious day so don’t take it too seriously, if you make a mistake then let’s try to have fun with it before you change it back.
We should probably try and join her a little to help her get into it.

>>1052691

Good idea. Show her neon and metallic colors! Maybe a pattern book? You have to have some sort of magic knick-knack somewhere that shows odd colors, right??

Kayk 2023/01/05(Thu)22:20 No. 1053328 ID: 8483cf
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“You don’t have to go straight to humans,” I say. “Even if humans are hard, you can mix and match things you practice and see in the wild. Humans can eat a fairly limited range of foods; with practice, you can hang on to your, ah, flexibility if you decide to jump all the way there.”

“Shapeshifting is a lot like drawing,” I continue. “When I was learning, I messed up a lot, but I tried again. If I were to try different stuff now, I’d still mess up. I’m just used to my particular style of me. If I wanted to be taller, or sharper, or shapelier, I’d need to practice it. I’m very impressed that you got so close for your first time trying to turn into a human. You must have tried very hard.”

“I did,” Dotti said. “I tried really, really hard.”

“What if you didn’t try as hard?” I ask. “What if you just try something easy, with your regular fox form? Humans can be jealous of things they don’t have. Dragons, too. Most dragons aren’t fluffy. You could be the fluffiest fox in the world!”

“Fluffy…” Dotti smiles. “I like being fluffy.”

“We’re almost back at my flat,” I say. “It’s very private there. No adventurers or anyone to interrupt you if you want to experiment with how fluffy you can get. Or anything else! I’ve seen arctic foxes near my mom’s lair. Have you ever wanted white fur? Or black?”

“Black! Yes! I’d be invisible at night,” Dotti says. “And inside trash bins, too. It’s perfect! I would blend right in!”

I decide not to encourage that particular line of thought.

“There are so many colors to pick from. Why not blue? Or pink? Maybe add some decorations to your fur. There are so many options to choose from.”

“Yeah,” Dotti says. “Yeah! I choose fluff first!”

We step inside the bakery and she races upstairs, magic crackling around her as she goes. I hurry along, and by the time I ascend up to my flat, she’s perched atop the dresser, examining her newly added fur.

“I am now fluffy,” Dotti declares, staring at herself in the mirror. “Would I make a dragon jealous?”

Her fur color and placement is a little awkward, but it’s the energy and enthusiasm that counts.

“Yes,” I say. “My little brother Jekster would love to be as fluffy as you.”

Dotti preens herself proudly. She seems open to new ideas, even if she probably won’t nail them on the first try.

Suggest shapeshifts Dotti might like to try. She may refuse if they’re too awkward or difficult.

Ask if she can shapeshift her size! become smol fox, or beeg fox...

Actually, just smol fox. Beeg fox might ruin your home if she messes up and becomes too beeg... unless we move outside!

Cat Dotti. Polka-dot fur. Dragon Dotti. Elf Dotti.

>>1053328

Heterochromia! Fancy colors for the eyes, different for each! Maybe experiment with pupil shape? Like more rounded or slitted, or try exotic things like w or crescent shaped?

>>1053330

She could try for a maned wolf or a dhole, those look kinda like a big fox!

Big ol' fox! Big fluffy fox that you could use as a bed!

Leggies! Trying making your legs long for dainty steps.

* Durr hurr giant dumb ugly fairy and mock Landi.
* Foxtaur with a fifth leg! Oh wait, that's not a leg~
* Catfox - hard to tell where the cat begins and the fox ends, but the harder the humans look the stupider they get.
* Spy frog with a manly tie.
* You're a sexy fish and totally not an undead cat-naga with a huge ass.
* Dwarf.
* Drow-Dwarf hybrid.
* Puppy that meows.
* Cat with a donkey face.
* Sqid without the calming facemask.
* The evil things that killed you but now they're fluffy and have big eyes and bigger boobs.

Be fluffy and beeg! The if its too unfortunate, become smol. You can even adjust your shape after so you are only 80% feral instead of 95%!

Those colors are great but you might look fantastic in a bright red and white, Dotti. You're already fluffier than a certain other fox, after all. Maybe you can outdo her on her own colors even.

A gnome! A gnome!

It's like a human but small and with a fluffy beard.

You know... maybe if its easier for Dotti to shapeshift into things she is familiar with, like things she sees in the wild, maybe... we can suggest she tries shapeshifting into Petra? She knows Petra really well, and is even using Petra's voice to talk. So if she can replicate her voice real well, Maybe she can... have an easier time becoming human by shapeshifting into Petra?

Of course, only suggest this when she's comfortable enough doing that after she practices with other forms. Let her know she doesn't have to do that today, but only when she is ready. Let her know she can do this to help people get a visual of what she looks like too in order to get help finding her.

It is time to be looooooooooong!
You ever seen those long silly dogs? Well it’s time for long silly fox.

It is also time for glitter.

>>1053328
Become snek.
lizard

>>1053339
>>1053342
I support any of these two and also just make a midget sized dotti to make fun of her like >>1053337 said bc that'd be hilarious and also would canonize chibi landi.

How about 'fox version of other creatures'? Like a fox with accents from other creature types? If an elf is basically an angular, svelte human with a slightly differently shaped face, bigger and pointier ears, and slightly different proportions, what would an elf version of a fox be?

>>1053336
>>1053335

Ahem. A Maned Wolf is kind of like a big fox but BIG and with BIG LONG LEGS!

1/4 Kayk 2023/01/07(Sat)15:05 No. 1053416 ID: 8483cf
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“Have you ever seen a maned wolf?” I ask. Dotti shakes her head. “Well, they look a little similar to you, but their legs are very, very long. And they’re very large.”

“I can be bigger?” Dotti asks. “Why would I want to do that? I wouldn’t be very good at hiding in my den.”

“When you’re big, you don’t need to hide,” I point out. Dotti cocks her head to the side. It’s good logic, but it’s dragon logic. She’s a fox. Will she like it?

Apparently, the answer is yes. She scrunches up her features, closes her eyes, doubtlessly imagining herself larger and long-legged. No need to hide. No need to run. Just Big Fox.

This is the first time I’ve seen a fox spirit transform. It’s different than a dragon’s way of changing shape. There’s no fire or heat like when I transform. Just a tingling at the base of my spine, and a pressure at my back, like there’s a supernatural wind blowing that I can’t feel physically. Dotti’s shape swirls and her colors whirl together and back, as if someone took a brush and dragged it across the canvas of her fur, blurring her into something unbound by reality. The only thing that doesn’t change or contort is the bow on her head.

She settles into a very large fox shape, larger than any dog I’ve ever seen.

“How do I look?” Dotti asks.

“You look incredible,” I say. “Go on, see for yourself.”

Dotti looks in the mirror and lets out an excited yap.

“I’m so pretty!” Dotti gushes. “I’m so pretty and big!”

What comes next is a rush of Dotti gekkering loudly, running around my flat and proclaiming her mastery of shapeshifting.

She’s a spirit, and I wonder if that means her forms are more flexible than mine. If so, I don’t have to worry about teaching her the right biology, so much as encouraging her and keeping her in the right mindset and not getting stuck in one particular form. As long as she isn’t worried about getting stuck, hopefully it won’t become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

“Have you ever seen those funny little dogs that look like sausages?” I ask.

“Yes!” Dotti says. “Why are they like that? What are they good at?”

“Being cute,” I say, “And getting tummy rubs.” I decide not to mention that they’re also good at diving into fox dens.

2/4 Kayk 2023/01/07(Sat)15:05 No. 1053417 ID: 8483cf
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“I enjoy both those things,” Dotti says. She squints her eyes and draws more energy from that otherworldly source, and her form once again blurs.

She gets longer.

And longer.

And longer.

“Now I will have ALL the tummy rubs,” Dotti declares. She rolls over and demands rubs. “None for dogs. Only foxes.”

I begin to rub her tummy and quickly realize that I have a lot of work to do.

Dotti looks into the mirror and her imagination runs wild. As I rub my way up the Dotti Tummy River, every time her eyes blink, her irises change color and shape.

That level of flexibility is a little too much for me see and not be jealous. That’s something Cadmus did when we were kids, just to show off. She’s doing it without even knowing how hard it is for non-spirits.

3/4 Kayk 2023/01/07(Sat)15:05 No. 1053418 ID: 8483cf
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I finally finish petting Dotti, and she shrinks back into her regular fox shape. Except this time, she’s flickering between different sets of fur colors. Once again, her bow stays the same color: pink with white dots.

“Now I’m not only the best fox,” she says, “I’m the best fox spirit, too! Look at me, Kayk! Anything those old fox spirits can do, I can do just as good!”

“You sure can,” I say. “You’re a full-fledged fox spirit!”

Her confidence is inspiring. I don’t think I should push the envelope yet; a full human transformation might make her come crashing down. For the moment, it’s a small risk to ask, but I do have to see if she’s willing to go back to her halfway-human form. I know she sees it as a failure, but if I can change her opinion…

“I can be whatever kind of fox spirit I want to be,” Dotti says proudly.

Aha!

“And what kind do you want to be?” I ask.

“The best,” Dotti says.

“Can the best fox spirit draw?” I ask.

“I guess?” Dotti cocks her head to one side. “I’d need thumbs for that.”

“And you’d need to reach the easel,” I say.

“I can do that,” Dotti says. She looks at herself. “I could try going back to my… my weird body. But now that I’m the best fox spirit, I can be even better at… uh… doing fox spirit things. So I don’t have to go back to my messed-up body. I can change it. I can make it better.”

“Your body wasn’t messed up,” I say. “I’ll say it again: it was very, very good for a first try. And our customers love to see you. They don’t think you’re messed up.”

Dotti doesn’t respond.

For now, Dotti’s not focusing on human things; she’s focused on being a fox spirit, and she doesn’t even know what fox spirits do, aside from what she’s been told. I get the feeling this is a very important moment.

4/4 Kayk 2023/01/07(Sat)15:14 No. 1053421 ID: 8483cf
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“Now that you’re the best fox spirit,” I say, in my best imitation of my mom when she’s trying to teach me something, “Would you like to try a form that makes you better at doing things you like to do?”

“Yeah!” Dotti says. “Uh… like cooking! I need fur that won’t shed. No hairnets ever! I hate hairnets. I would like cooking a lot more without those.”

“We can practice that,” I say. “What else?”

“I want to go on dates where I don’t get rejected!” Dotti says. “Humans like big boobs, right? If I had huge boobs, Otis wouldn’t have left.”

“That’s… probably not true,” I say. “Otis seemed like he wanted to talk to you more than anything else. If you have great conversations with your date, that makes it more fun for him, and you know in advance if they’re not enjoying it.”

“Humans are so complicated!” Dotti huffs. “I’m never going to understand them. They should try to understand me!”

“There are plenty of humans who would like to try,” I say. “But relationships have to be based on communication. You can look like whatever you want, but at the end of the day, if you, Dotti, don’t try to talk with and understand your date, things will go badly.”

“I guess,” Dotti says. “But… I know for sure that dates will be easier if I have huge boobs. Serah has them and boys are always asking her to go out on dates.”

“She’s also very polite and kind,” I say. Dotti growls. “Do you want to try looking and acting more like Serah?”

“Serah is really tall,” Dotti says. “None of my clothes would fit.”

“You don’t have to wear clothes,” I say, waving at myself. “Not when you’re covered in fur or scales, or when you’re trying on a new form. I won’t make fun of you, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“No! No way! Not happening. Everyone makes fun of naked people,” Dotti says. “I have to wear clothes.”

“Sure, sure. I have clothes,” I say. “Do you want to try some of mine?”

“Do you have dresses?”

“Some,” I say. “If you’re about my height, we can make it work.”

“Then…” Dotti scrunches her eyes. “I want to try the new non-shed fur in my messed-up body. Just a bit.”

“It’s not messed-up,” I remind her. “If you make a few changes, would you feel better about using it?”

“What kind of changes?” Dotti asks.

Suggest changes for Dotti to try in her halfway-human form.

Dotti is right on the money, enhance knockers. Serah's wardrobe is often phasing out old things, right?
But you can't have a carrot without some stick. Perhaps a longer snout and more fangs would align her physicality more with her personality.

>>1053421
Bigger ears.

If Dotti feels comfortable with larger breasts, then let her. But warn her not to go overboard or they might get in the way, and you might not have a bra to fit her if she goes bigger than you.

She can probably make her chest fluffy again if she wants tho. Dotti seemed to love being fluffy.

But my main suggestion: lets give her a new hairstyle. make her hair straighter (not curly) put it about... neck length. have most of the hair dangle on one side of her hair... basically make it like Petra's! https://questden.org/kusaba/questarch/src/162148405228.png

>>1053426

Fennec Ears!!!

>>1053421
If Dotti thinks having bigger assets would help with her dating and feels comfortable with it so be it, but remind her that people should like her for who she is not for what she looks like, if she still wants to be with someone that would always accept her even as a small fox whenever she wants to be.

>>1053471
Yeah, it's important to bring that up too. Let her know that people shouldn't just love her for er appearance, but for her personality, because there are some creeps out there that only cares about a person's appearance, and nothing else.

Well, it's *useful* to be able to do a form that's 'conventionally attractive' for the local human society. That's definitely a skill to have for her hybrid form, when she wants to get a form that passes as 'obviously adult', ie, of the same size and height and build as fit and healthy humans in the area. But there's not a lot of hurry to do that until she's physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, and sexually interested in adult sorts of relationships. Maybe just practice a little bit here and there, for use in the future when those things matter? As one of those things to 'have but not need yet', perhaps? But for now, there's nothing wrong with leaning into the child-like adorableness thing as her default!

If she gives herself big boobs, then remind her to keep them proportional to the rest of her body. In other words, don't make them so big that they get in the way and try to keep them at a size that fits her body.

>>1053486
Also, not everyone would be interested in big boobs. Sometimes people are more interested in big butts/hips/thighs. But again, keep it proportional to the rest of her body, nothing too big and make sure it fits the rest of her body.

Dotti should mimic Kayk's proportions, since Kayk is right here to use as reference.

Big fluffy booty.

>>1053486

And also one thing to keep in mind that there's probably an 'optimal' size (of body, butt, height, hips, boobs, chunkiness) for 'beautiful sexually mature female human', and that size probably varies from culture to culture. Maybe make it a learning question -- what does she thinks the local standards for human beauty actually are, and why does she think that, from her observations of people interacting?

See if she can give her breasts a storage ability to suck up fluids, purify them, and 'expel' them. Internal tissue should be 'spongy' to hold more fluid.

Also, add some cat features.

>>1053496

Oh I came up with a few more things. How about facial symmetry, waist to hips ratio, bodyfat percentage, unblemished skin and the like? Or evidence of using some form of cosmetic magic whose only use is to visibly differentiate those with wealth from those without wealth? There's lots of interesting and truly weird ways humans make up their standards of beauty.

Kayk 2023/01/14(Sat)15:55 No. 1053783 ID: 8483cf
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“There are plenty of ways to change your appearance while keeping it close to what you’re used to,” I say. “Different hairstyles, bigger ears, maybe you could even change their shape to be like a fennec fox instead of a regular one?”

“Fennecs…” Dotti’s ears twitch. “Fennecs are dorks. What else?”

“Well,” I put a claw to my chin, “You’ve always said how much you enjoy being fluffy. Maybe you could be even fluffier?”

“Yeah!” Dotti says. “And I know just where to put it!”

“About that…” I add. “If you want to try larger breasts, go ahead. But just remember that there are plenty of people who might treat you nicely just because you have them, and not care about who you are as a person.”

“How can you tell the difference?”

“By talking,” I say. “That’s why conversation is such a big part of dating.”

“So if I’m good at conversation and have huge boobs,” Dotti says, “Then I’ll have the best boyfriend?”

“I suppose,” I say. “But ‘best’ is different for everyone. You should always-“

“Sure, sure,” Dotti interrupts. She leaps atop her blanket fort. “Can you get me some of your clothes that’ll fit BIG boobs?”

I roll my eyes and go to fetch an outfit, feeling that familiar rush of wind behind me. She seems enthusiastic about the idea of changing shape back to her old form; is she going to be okay? As it turns out, I needn’t have worried. By the time I get back, she’s back to her halfway-human form, wrapped in her blanket bunker, and grinning madly.

“I did it!” Dotti declares. “Gimme those, and turn around!”

I give her some privacy as she dresses up, and once she gives the okay, I turn around.

“Ta-da!”

“Con…gratulations,” I say. “Ah… they’re very nice.”

“Thank you,” Dotti says. “I’m keeping them!”

“Even when you have to help bake? And clean the oven?”

“How hard can it be? It’s just a little bouncing.”

I decide to let Dotti make her own mistakes. Besides, we have a full day tomorrow where the bakery’s closed. I’m sure she’ll find out fast enough.

The day is over, and Dotti is exhausted from all her shapeshifting. We hit the hay and fall into a deep sleep.

Dotti has lost 40 STRESS from being pampered and overcoming her fear of shapeshifting.
Kayk has lost 10 STRESS from gaining some confidence in Dotti.

KAYK STRESS: [53/100]
DOTTI STRESS: [23/100]

We wake up a little later than normal; the day is ours to spend. Dotti and I get dressed; she’s wearing the same oversized outfit as yesterday.

I should teach her about how to handle difficult situations with the oven, the specifics of the extinguisher system, and other emergency preparedness at some point today. However, Dotti is excited to show off her newfound shapeshifting powers to Serah, and I expect she’ll want to renegotiate her contract too. However, if she and I get tired today, we might not have the energy to argue with Landi.

I also need some help collecting fresh ingredients for another week of business, and the sooner we get to the suppliers at the market, the better pick I’ll have. I suspect that Dotti will quickly realize the difficulties of being so blessed, but I’d honestly rather not have her deal with it in public.

Should we first:

1. Go Through Oven Training and Emergency Preparedness
2. Reserve Fresh Ingredients for Baking
3. Go visit Serah and Landi

Reserve ingredients, go over oven preparedness, and then talk with Landi.

2, 3, 1

Start with the ingredients to be safe. Don't open the door for failure, it will gladly come. Request that Dotti go for a smaller chest size for just this trip. They don't gotta be as small as before, but keeping them that big will be a problem. You can try to explain why, but if she doesn't take to the answer just promise she can amp them back up before you go to see Serah and Landi.

Afterwards, Serah and Landi time! You promised you'd do this, so you can't risk getting tired and not being able to maintain your agreement.

And finally, end the day off by teaching her what she needs to know about the oven.

3, then 1, then 2

3 to get the contract stuff settled while we're not tired, then 1 to get us prepared to pass the test the next day while we still have energy left, and then get food. We might not get super fresh food for our business, but I think if our performance with the Marquess goes well, it won't matter too much as we'll get more customers regardless if word spreads.

>>1053783
2, 1, 3

>>1053788
>We might not get super fresh food for our business, but I think if our performance with the Marquess goes well, it won't matter too much as we'll get more customers regardless if word spreads.
We need the fresh ingredients for the entire week. We can't let our business suffer for an entire week.

Also, not having fresh ingredients will also impact our performance with the Marquess and she might look at us negatively if our food isn't great due to not very fresh ingredients.

>>1053783

2, 1, 3 for the order

>>1053783
1,2,3
We need to explain the importance of showing the fire marshal that Dotti knows what to do

1/2 Kayk 2023/01/22(Sun)14:40 No. 1054412 ID: 8483cf
File 167442720782.png - (67.25KB , 441x600 , LF6-63.png )

As much as I’d like to avoid having Dotti Problems in public, I need to reserve the choicest ingredients for the next week. Not only will it affect the freshness of my fruit pastries and batter, I’ll need every advantage I can get in order to stand up to Marquess Mallory’s scrutiny. After that, the next highest priority should be to ensure Dotti is fully paying attention for my safety lecture. She already knows how to operate the oven, but she’ll need to remember some very fine details for the Fire Marshal’s quiz tomorrow. I’ll be tired at the end of it all, so I won’t be on my A Game for negotiating Dotti’s contract with Serah today.

Dotti and I venture out to select ingredients from the early morning market. I consider leaving her at my flat, but I’ll need the extra hands to carry as much as possible; the extra stuff will be delivered later, for a fee. And so the problems commence.

Dotti’s new enhancements are getting quite a lot of attention. I only own one bra that I never use, and it’s not even close to fitting Dotti’s size, so she’s on her own, so to speak. For what it’s worth, Dotti is enjoying herself. I try to ignore her, but the early-morning merchants we pass are doing double-takes strong enough to snap necks.

“Your strawberries from last week were very good,” I say to one of my favorite merchants. “Do you have a new batch?”

“You’re just in time,” she says. “And, ah, I don’t remember your companion having those watermelons last week. That’s quite a harvest.”

“Thank you!” Dotti says. “I grew them myself!”

“Dotti, keep your voice down,” I whisper.

I try haggling for the rest of the ingredients, using Serah’s suspicion that I’m paying more than the guild rates. I don’t have any luck, though. Does the Bakers’ Guild have a secret agreement with the merchants that they get the best price? Maybe. I’ll have to ask Serah about how to try and get that rate.

Dotti and I carry as much as we can back to the bakery. At first, Dotti is having fun balancing her payload on her chest, but as she goes on, the weight gets harder to bear. She’s straining to keep upright as we get back to the bakery, and when we set everything down, she lies right down on the floor.

“You know,” I say, “You don’t have to keep those all day. Maybe just shrink down, and then go back up when you want them?”

“No way!” Dotti says. “These are my boobs and I’m proud of them. I want Serah and Landi to see how good I’ve become at shapeshifting.”

“Okay,” I say, but I don’t point out the obvious flaw in her logic. Maybe she’s afraid she won’t be able to get her shapeshifting right today, even though she had such a good run yesterday. Better not to press.

I spend hours with Dotti putting away the ingredients and going over the details of the dragonfire oven and its very highly-regulated extinguishing system. It’s cheaper and easier for me to run than a regular oven, since it’s my own fire and it burns hotter with less fuel. However, if I have to use the extinguisher in an emergency, the cleanup is difficult and expensive, so she has to get it right. Plus there’s all the extra scrutiny from the Fire Marshal. By the time she gets all the questions right and has it memorized, we’re both mentally worn down, but satisfied.

Kayk and Dotti have gained 7 STRESS.
KAYK STRESS: [60/100]
DOTTI STRESS: [30/100]

2/2 Kayk 2023/01/22(Sun)14:40 No. 1054413 ID: 8483cf
File 167442722797.png - (85.25KB , 500x500 , Contract.png )

Now all that’s left to do is bring Dotti back to the Adventurers’ Guild, and for me to make good on my agreement to ask Serah and Landi to give Dotti more freedom under her contract.

This is a big moment for Dotti. She’s proud of her progress in shapeshifting, but as we prepare to go back, she’s hesitating, looking at her chest and outfit. I ask her what’s wrong.

“I’m worried,” Dotti says, “I want to show how I’ve gotten better at shapeshifting when we talk to Serah and Landi, but… I feel comfiest in my old pink dress, and that doesn’t fit me like this. And I don’t want to be a fox when we’re talking about how I fit in with society and why my contract is bad.”

“That’s very wise,” I say. “If you like, we can leave after you’ve slimmed down and changed into your old outfit.”

“But then how would I show off my shapeshifting to Serah and Landi?”

“You can, but you don’t truly have to,” I say. “You said it yourself: I’ll be talking about how you’ve done very well at your job, and how you can be trusted to conduct yourself well around difficult customers, like those teenagers.”

Dotti wrings her paws. “I guess.”

She’s nervous. It’s understandable. I’m also a bit worn down, so I’m not as sharp at arguing in Dotti’s favor as I could be otherwise. I don’t know the terms of Dotti’s contract, but I know Landi’s rights should be slimmed down so she can’t bully Dotti like she has been.

This is it: the renegotiation. This is a big moment for Dotti.

1. Does Kayk provide any suggestions for how Dotti can show off her shapeshifting, or does she encourage Dotti to not show off at all?
2. Having spent more time with Dotti, does Kayk push for more freedoms under Dotti’s contract? Does she consider asking to end Dotti’s contract entirely?
3. What other things can Kayk do to strengthen Dotti’s negotiating position?

Lazy Fairy POV 6 will update in one week. Suggest wisely.

Okay so here’s what I’ve got.
Dotti should show off her shapeshifting, and I see a relatively easy way to cut the cord between the pink dress being comfy versus shapeshifting the extra fluff-throw up an illusion of the fox wrapped in a blanket while Dotti changes clothes.
This nicely could dovetail into agreeing to a new clause of not using shapeshifting or illusions to impersonate other people-Dotti’s not interested or hasn’t thought of that, and it might give wiggle room to argue for reduced Landi favors. Possibly with the idea that it can be allowed if Dotti receives permission from someone else in the contract.
Another thought- if we can’t argue down the amount of favors, a compromise of Dotti being able to ‘veto’ a favor, in exchange for owing more favors that can be called in. I’m thinking something like ‘if Dotti vetos a Landi favor, she’ll owe someone else in the contract a favor’. This might be a good idea to push for on it’s own merit, since it actually lets Dotti engage with other people with a mindset of treating them as people, instead of simply bosses giving her orders.
On that note, we might be be able to add Kayk as someone Dotti owes favors to, since Serah is busy these days and getting favors away from Landi seems to be the major sticking point.
No changing the freedoms on following laws, though.
So to try and summarize:
1.Show off Shapeshifitng, with illusions to maintain decency.
2.possibly insert Kayk as someone Dotti can owe contract-backed favors to, ideally in exchange for Landi, but we will have to talk about that. Also, we should check with Dotti about owing favors to Kayk
3.Argue for vetoing specific favors in exchange for more favors later-probably a limit of so many vetoes a day, but favors that are vetoed are lost for the day-run this idea by Dotti first since it will mean having to discuss this and May mean more favors given overall.

Dotti needs vacation days on her favors - days where she isn't obligated to stay on beck and call for Landi, even for three tasks.

Ban the use of sexual favors and murder favors, which aren't supposed to be legal anyway. Once Landi gets envious of Dotti's Doubles she'll start forcing the fox to use them in humiliating situations and we can't have that.

Actually, increase the number of favors per day, but in turn, add a soft-cap limit. Once Landi or Serah use three or more favors in a single day, the next day they will owe Dotti a gift, which she can choose at her leisure; this is restricted to a limited-cost purchase based on current salaries of all affiliated parties. In addition, using one or two favors alone has a small chance of triggering a single gift accrual from Dotti, determined by a chaotic RNG interdimensional standard. This will balance out Landi's compulsion to use 'stale' favors at the end of the day. Dotti might have a larger workload, but Landi will be more willing to reserve her favors for long-term tasks or when it's particularly funny.

1. Have Dotti show off her shapeshifting by wearing something that conceals her figure, like a puffy coat, and then shedding it.
2. Argue for more freedoms. She definitely isn't ready to be taken off the leash, but it could be longer.
3. Emphasize the positive bits of Dotti's experience so far in apprenticeship - meeting new people and having her first date (learning experience!), learning the craft of baking, and dealing with strangers and setting boundaries. The fact that she hasn't bitten anyone is a sign of progress. Further progress will be encouraged by awarding her this relaxed contract.

Let's go through this one at a time!

> Does Kayk provide any suggestions for how Dotti can show off her shapeshifting, or does she encourage Dotti to not show off at all?

Her hands, her head, and her tails are all exposed. She could easily shift any of these elements to show off her shapeshifting. I think the tails would be a good choice, though I'm not sure how doable that is given that they seem tied to her magic. Like, can she shift to just having one tail? Or maybe more than she currently has?

If not, I think a safe bet would be to alter her hair. Maybe she could make hers long and flowy like Serah's? I say encourage it. Dotti wants to show off something cool she's finally started to get a handle on, so just let her feel good about it!

> Having spent more time with Dotti, does Kayk push for more freedoms under Dotti’s contract? Does she consider asking to end Dotti’s contract entirely?

No, ending Dotti's contract would be detrimental to her living situation.

>>1043037

I went over this a lot here, and I think the basic points still stand. Serah getting to request favors from Dotti is a favorable deal in return for all Dotti receives from her. We shouldn't scrub this.

HOWEVER!

That doesn't mean we can't add helpful stipulations. Currently Serah can request favors from Dotti at any time she wishes. This is nice, but I can think of two simple changes that would make this system less exploitable:

-Favors cannot be issued during work hours/may be rejected if they would interfere with Dotti's employment.

-Designate hours where it is appropriate for favors to be requested that guarantees Dotti at least some amount of free-time. Not to mention time for her to sleep.

As for Landi, my position remains the same. Most of her benefits need to be stricken down entirely. She shouldn't get favors, she shouldn't be allowed to use Dotti as a bed... MAYBE we can keep her in the rule about courtesy and respect, but frankly that oughta be a two-way street.

I can see the argument that Landi should get something for making the contract and handling it, but giving her authority over Dotti hasn't been working out. She can still influence Dotti through Serah, and that's just going to have to be enough for her. If Serah is refusing to issue Landi's favors, then they were probably ones that shouldn't have gone through.

> What other things can Kayk do to strengthen Dotti’s negotiating position?

Ask Ellie for assistance? Maybe ask for her before you tell Landi what you're up to if you need her help summoning the fairy. Having another fairy would be helpful, given your lack of real knowledge on contract law.

Ask Serah to sit in on the conversation, since the contract affects her as well, and try to convince her that these changes are for the best. Tell her about how well Dotti has handled her job, and lightly touch upon the fact that Landi has definitely been taking advantage of their little arrangement. Just try to make her see that there does need to be a change.

That's about all you can really do. The facts of this matter are on your side. There NEEDS to be a change.

A few ideas...

The dotti treating landi and serah with courtesy and respect? Yea, this clause needs to be an omnidirectional 'all parties to the contract treat all other parties with respect and dignity'. NOT courtesy. You can act with respect towards someone and behave as if they are worthy of dignity and still call them out for being an ass, and be appropriately un-courteous as needed.

The bed clause needs to go, completely. The fairy should be able to get an amazing bed using her own resources. If landi wants to cuddle Dotti at night, she needs to earn permission for this with kindness, seduction, and/or appropriate bribes!

The contract needs a neutral, binding, third party arbitration clause with regards to misuse of favors, and as a way for Dotti to seek exit of the contract. There needs to be a clause preventing malicious and demeaning and disrespectful and cruel use of favors; favors need LIMITS on the types of things that can be asked!

Dotti also needs to get a modest stipend/allowance, as Serah's income and wealth access allows

Dotti needs a means of terminating the contract, even if the other two are against her, even if there's a delay and she needs to buy out her contract or go through the neutral third party arbitration clause, and it cannot be TOO onerous to do!

I think the main thing I want fixed from this contract: No more favors that treat Dotti less than a human, such as humiliating and demeaning requests such as being used as Landi's bed, or wearing a worst fox collar. I think Serah can agree to that. Oh yeah, no more ear pulling that Serah has been doing. Tell them you were shocked to hear Dotti had been treated this way.

Let's talk about Landi a little more.

I think it's important to keep in mind that Dotti is going to have a hard time arguing elements of her contract in the future, even if she does get help from Kayk. This is because, to put it simply, neither of them have any experience in law. Landi does, which is a problem when she's both a beneficiary of the contract and the one causing Dotti the most grief. Let's not forget that this is how Dotti has described her:

> “I hate Landi,” Dotti says softly. “I hate her, and I hate the contract. She makes me do the worst things, like wear collars that say ‘worst fox’ and take baths. I hate it so much.”

This is why I would argue more in favor of fully nixing Landi's favors altogether. Whatever limitation we try to set, Landi will always be capable of being a jerk within the boundaries of the contract if she wants to. Possibly even in ways we explicitly try to prevent if she can figure out a loophole in the phrasing (or try to slip one in).

"Favors issued to Dotti must show the same respects offered to any sentient race"? Well technically petplay is a kink practiced by many sentient individuals, therefore asking her to wear this collar and be leashed should not be in violation of any rules.

"Dotti can veto a number of favors each day"? Landi makes a point to ask a number of unreasonable ones first before actually using her real ones.

Alright, but what if we go stipulate "if Dotti vetos a Landi favor, she’ll owe someone else in the contract a favor" though? The issue here is that Dotti could just veto all of Landi's favors, which could only be solved by setting a cap on the amount of vetos she gets. So either you get the original pitch of simply not giving Landi favors anymore, or you get the previously described scenario of Landi just making completely unreasonable requests before asking for what she really wants that Dotti would hate.

Dotti has 6 potential favors to perform a day, but only 3 of them are actually problematic. The worst thing Serah does is fiddle with Dotti's ears, and frankly that would cease in a heartbeat if Dotti just told Serah she didn't like it. That's a communication issue, it's easily solved without need to renegotiate the contract.

The root problem that all of these suggested alterations to the favor system want to fix is that Landi isn't nice to Dotti sometimes. That is an issue that absolutely needs to be worked on as a party, but until then, giving Landi power over someone she doesn't care for has lead to clear abuse of the system. Her authority only deepens the wedge, and it needs to be removed. Both of them would benefit from doing so.

One other suggestion I wanna touch on:

>>1054653
> Dotti also needs to get a modest stipend/allowance, as Serah's income and wealth access allows

Dotti already has a job. That, and Serah is providing Dotti with housing, meals, education, and legal protection in return for simple tasks. These terms are already VERY favorable for Dotti, so it's probably best not to bite the hand that feeds her.

COMPLETE AGREEMENT on the points about neutral third-party arbitration though, that's super important. The ability for Dotti to end the contract less so, as she really does still need all of the positives Serah provides, but it would be a nice touch to grant her the independence. It would be a terrible move for her, but it probably should be her right to fuck up if she wants to.

1: I don't think shapeshifting is relevant to the contract. She can do it if she wants to show off, I guess.
2: Dotti is clearly improving but still needs some common sense rules in place. Which restrictions are a problem for her, specifically? She can have a frank conversation with everyone about it, and you can vouch for her behavior. Ending the contract seems like a bad idea, and leaving Landi completely vulnerable to retaliation seems bad too, because there will be conflict between them.
3: Removing or greatly reducing Landi's favors seems like a good talking point, since she's abusing them. At worst this will mean Landi has no favors, leaving her to have to ask Serah for help if she needs Dotti to do something, and at best will get her to feel bad (maybe impossible) and/or swear (in a binding fashion, and/or in a clause in the contract) to stop using them to be mean to Dotti. Even the playing field, so they're safe from each other.

In summary, the contract should be changed so that Dotti has protections from Landi's abuse (possibly defined by Serah's perception of whether a favor is degrading or not), while keeping the fairy safe from Dotti's jaws and claws. Next revision should be long enough where they'll be getting along enough not to be at risk of violent conflict.
I wonder if you could reframe the contract as something similar to employment?

We need to talk about the incredible progress Dotti has made. She's been learning incredibly quickly about living in a community among civilization. She already values how people perceive her, and is learning boundaries in how to be assertive without being overbearing with expressing her wants and needs. She's made incredible progress in valuing delayed, long term gratification rather than immediate fulfillment of short term desires. She's learned cognitive empathy, and is making progress with affective empathy. She recently went to a comedic play, and was laughing without self-consciousness, and strangers started taking their social cues from her! She's learning how to manage social stress, including when she's been legitimately wronged via bullying, and recently bounced back from a stressful date that failed due to incompatibility. She's learning how to balance conflicting wants and desires, including for nuanced and often contradictory things like belonging and community and how to balance her need for self expression, self identity, and self actualization. She's learning how to hold down a stressful, heirarchical, customer service job and how to manage the money that gives her.

With this level of progress, I'm not actually convinced that the contract needs to be punitive or heirarchical at all; it could simply be changed to an agreement that all parties help provide all other parties with reasonable support in mutial maintenance of access to clothing, shelter, food, and safety of person, to treat each other and the personal property of the others with respect, and to forego engaging in violent or demeaning acts upon the other parties.

>>1054677

There is the bit about not breaking laws. Dotti is learning to not want to break laws and social norms in the first place, but she still has a ways to go. And there are also times where the just thing to do IS to break a law, but only in a specific kind of way. and she doesn't yet have a good insight on that kind of thing.