She grins, putting her glasses back on. "Nothing comes to mind. Open to suggestions if you have any, though."

"Well, nothing came to mind for me! Outside of contacts. But you know, nothing to do while you're in the barber's chair!"

"I'll definitely think about that! Thank you so much!"

And then, assuming she's all paid up, she'll head off. Lunchtime? Lunchtime. She catches a subway to the docks, looking for a cafe with a seaside view. On the way, she puts in the order for her HRT and her snek, as instructed by Sylvania.

There are many cafes with a seaside view! Some more traditional, some more futuristic, some in maximalist colors full of anime girls of all kinds, others boardgame cafes with shelves dedicated to the owner and regulars' favorite fantasy and scifi-books. The breadth of options is really near-endless.

Anime girls? Yeah, that's a good plan for today. She orders a chai, or something like it, along with a roast beef sandwich.

And she settles in to think.

She's in a lovely new world, with basic income and better transition and everything, but what is she going to do? She's not really used to stillness.

There are a few people, stopping by to get something tasty to eat or something cool to drink, before making their way back to the water. There are a few rafts, a short swim away from the shore, where people are sitting around a table and talking to each other, enjoying the sun and their companionship. There really is a very strong sense of stillness, here.

She tilts her head and considers. The rest is good for her, but she needs to find something to fill the time. She doesn't really process as well without someone to talk with. And she doesn't like her time being so idle.

Does this world have therapists? Also, she looks into yoga classes.

There's tons of therapists, not really any licensed ones (it's seen as kind of unfair for anyone who'd be unlicensed), and a few yoga classes, although there's way more sparring tournaments, martial arts classes and spin classes than yoga classes.

She picks out a therapist who seems open to pretty Out There situations, books the first appointment that isn't today, then looks at the spread of martial arts. Do they have something that seems more functional than flashy? With a decent mix of strikes and grabs, and maybe a bit of mixed weapon focus too?

There's one therapist who claims to be particularly skilled at handling people who feel "isolated and alienated due to unusual situations", although Sable would have to do the appointments online, and the earliest appointment with her would be 4 days hence.

There's one uncannily MMA-esque martial art, it seems to be a bit of boxing but mostly grabs, especially methods of subduing or arresting attackers, and they have training in the use of bats and batons, so it's a martial art mostly used by thomassian police. There's also an obscene variety of martial arts that are basically just weapons training: pistols, sniping, swords, spears and every other weapon that Sable can think of.

She books the four day out remote appointment, and then tries a different angle on the martial art search if they're going to have this much variety. How about a lightly curved sword like a saber, but mixing in a bit of hand to hand as well? Or wait... what's the legality of carrying a sword?

No laws on swords, only laws on using them, in the form of a very, very severe fine that would drastically lower Sable's basic income if she "irresponsibly carried bladed weapons" (the helpful law making it concrete by listing a bunch of situations where you are GUARANTEED TO NOT have to worry about getting in trouble, that being where you're carrying your sword in an appropriate scabbard, informing all present about your intention to release it from the scabbard, and avoiding any slicing or thrusting motion not pre-announced before it being performed, or such motions done during a pre-arranged showcase with fully informed members of the public at a safe distance.)

Huh! Any self-defense exception? Or is it assumed that you announce before drawing in self-defence too?

Yes, you're expected to announce, if possible, when drawing in self-defense as well.

Reasonable enough. Swords are probably expensive. Do sword arts recommend you own your own sword? Or is that only after you make some progress?

They recommend you wait and see which style of sword you like best, before making such an investment. It's not that swords are expensive (you can get a stupidly sharp blade and a plastic handle at affordable prices), it's more that there's a very meaningful connection you get with the first sword that was really yours.

Ah. These people get it. Good. Instincts say she'll like a saber, but better to try and feel it out, just to be sure. Are the classes affordable too? If so, she'll sign up.

First class is free! If you're fun, so are all the rest, too. They're all ran by passionate amateurs, they're more looking for fun sparring partners than customers.

Oh wow, that's great. Yes please. How often do they meet?

Once a week. They've just met, so it'll be another week to next time.

Very cool. Doesn't solve her immediate lack of things to do, but hell yes. How about sailing clubs? Or board game clubs? She'd consider parkour but her knees are fucked. Do they have anything to fix her knees? It's just wear and tear from impact.

There are tons of sailing clubs, with small ships, and even submarining clubs! When it comes to boardgame clubs, there's a local branch of like, this globe-spanning board game club ran from a cafe where the goal is to have someone playing something there 24/7. There are operations and medications for helping with knee issues, but they can only do so much. Prosthetic legs have been quite a bit better than human legs for quite a while now, and there are special parkour prosthetics, but prosthetic cartilage and prosthetic knees remain out of reach for the moment, for someone who still wants to feel their toes.

An experimental trial of a new prosthetic supposed to be able to do way more than today's methods, but it's in DANGER CLASS 3 of 4, "considered major sacrifice for those outside particularly undesirable situations."

Probably not going to try any of those experiments just yet. When does the sailing club meet? One that does small ships?

Well, there's one meeting later today. Although they seem to take safety very seriously, so there's a good chance that Sable would have to wait until she'd get a combined wetsuit-flotation suit of her own before she'd be allowed to have fun racing on their boats.

Sensible. Do they have links to a recommended version to order? Can she get it in her shade of violet, or something close?