And, then, Sable finds herself stretching someplace else. The weather is still pleasant, and things look nice. But it's very obviously not her backyard! It's the roof of a billionare's row-esque skyscraper looking down on the ocean!!!

What.

She's never been prone to hallucinations before, but maybe there's a first time for everything? She walks to the edge of the roof (further than the fifteen feet of backyard she has, interestingly failing to run into her fence) and looks down.

It's a very nice and pretty, chalk-white beach! With lots of umbrellas and people enjoying the breeze and bubbles and the salty, crisp seaside air!

She sits down on the edge and stares. That's a lot prettier than anything she's seen in at least a year.

A tiny hint of a smile crosses her face.

Well, there has to be a way of getting up here AND getting down, otherwise she'd see someone else just as stuck as her. And it only takes a few seconds to see what looks it HAS to be the door for the stairwell to the roof... until Sable can see that it has to be an elevator door, what with the white button shaped like an arrow pointing down.

After a good while of staring down at the beach, she gets back up, finds the door, and pushes the down button. If she's gonna be stranded in a new world, she'd best find someone to get her bearings from.

Stepping in, she can see that there's two rows of buttons, one for each of the two digits of the 63 stories that this building apparently consists of! Presumably, pressing "00" and "1" leads to the first floor?

One would think. She'll try it!

And the big elevator with room for maybe 15 people races down at a very noticeable speed, opening down onto a lobby seemingly consisting of a glass wall with a glass door in it and a bunch of thick marble columns containing elevators like the one that Sable just walked out of. There's nobody in the lobby, presumably because they're enjoying the beach too much.

This is a pretty lobby. And a fast elevator. She heads out the front door, down to the street, and looks around.

The street is made of some kind of special material that's super-nice to walk on. There are really, really big cars, like basically vans, driving along the narrow streets, together with people walking around or using Segways to move along the sidewalks. The skyscraper she just came from isn't the only one; looking up, she can see tons of skyscrapers so tall that it's hard to see their tops, almost forming a kind of wall together with the skyscraper currently behind her. People seem to just be ignoring her as they make their way past, although a few glance at her for slightly too long to be entirely comfortable.

Huh. These people put a lot of effort into comfort. The next time someone looks a little too long, she waves at them. "Hello?"

They wave back, curious about why Sable's appearance is how it is. One of them, a man wearing a pair of swim trunks, decides to start talking to Sable. "Your clothes look a bit... unusual, somehow. Can you tell me anything about them?"

She blushes a bit. "My clothes are a hodgepodge that I picked out because they were very cheap but still provided some semblance of gender euphoria. I think I'm a bit lost, however, because this isn't anywhere I recognize. Where are we?"

The man in the swim trunk listens and nods at Sable's explanation about her clothes. "Well, we're in Leakey Resort? If you don't recognize this, how did you even get where you're now?"

She frowns. "I really wish I knew the answer to that question. Half an hour ago, I was standing in my backyard, in the city of Monroe, state of Louisiana, country the United States of America. Next thing I knew, I was standing on the roof of that building." She points at the building she just came out of. "If you don't mind humoring me, what country and region is this?"

"Country? Well, Leakey Resort is its own country in terms of its own legal code and government. It's not part of another country! The region is the Leakey Island Chain, and that's essentially just Leakey Island and a bunch of beach resorts. I've never heard about Monroe or Louisiana. Maybe it's someplace very far away from here?"

"Um. Um. I am reasonably sure there was no country called Leakey Resort on the planet I was on when I woke up this morning. And if you don't recognize America or Louisiana, given that America is one of the best-known countries on my planet, then... shit. I'm afraid I'm a very very long way from home."

"So... you think you... teleported, is that it? Wait, that must mean you aren't registered for anything. So you don't have any money or any other kind of resources! We need to do something about that, fast! Please come with me." He begins leading Sable towards an anonymous looking building, taking up some of the lower floors of yet another skyscraper, with several people dressed in formal clothing waiting bored behind a counter. Something about them gives off a certain aura of authority. Anyone walking in will just know they're police officers. Or the equivalent, if this is a world that doesn't have Louisiana or police.

"Hi. I think I am an extremely long way from home." She pulls her wallet out of a pocket — thank goodness she wore a skirt with pockets today — and opens it to reveal three forms of ID not issued by any nation on this planet, a debit card from a bank that doesn't exist here, and paper currency these officers will not recognize. 

"Do y'all recognize any of this?"

One of the people behind the counter looks at Sable in total confusion. "...no, no we don't. I think that's quite overwhelming evidence that you're not from this planet. I... well." He takes a moment to regain his composure. "You can register for an account here, so you're able to receive money. We take 10 fingerprints and a retina scan to prove it's you." He starts walking over to a machine, looking quite similar to an ATM, with two pads for his hands and a camera on some kind of flexible cable.

"You just... put your hands on the two pads, and put the camera up to your eyes. And your account will be ready to receive your first basic income payment."

"Thank you." She follows the instructions and gets her biometrics recorded.

"Does basic income include enough to pay for gender transition care?"

"Well, yes. It's really not particularly expensive. And there's a charity founded by trans individuals covering quite a lot of it, too. Do you want to see a doctor about your needs later today? Or do you want to take some time to orient yourself and catch your breath, and think about things first?"

"Okay, this world is officially better than my old one, calling it now. Let's go for seeing a doctor sooner rather than later, if someone's available. I have lived for years in a transphobic state and I'm rather excited about diving into your shiny opportunities."

"Well, there's really one major doctor catering to trans individuals here. I can see when the next appointment is available? It can't be more than a day or two."

"I think you'd want a phone, it's really how you're supposed to pay for things these days." He hands over a card. It uses a special film making it impossible to see what's written on it, unless you're looking at it from a perfect angle. "This is a card with your account number and private key. Find a phone seller, and buy a phone with this card. Then you should have super-easy access to your basic income money for anything else you'd want."

"I officially exist! Yay!" She bounces a little. "Last questions: should I come back here after acquiring a phone, and do you have any tips for an outworlder on location a phone retailer?"

"There really is no purpose for you to come back here after getting a phone. You can ask for some extra foot patrols outside your building, if it'd help you feel safer? I don't see why you'd need that. When it comes to retailers, they're really all the same. And the closest one is a few blocks down that direction", the officer points away from the beach, in the same direction Sable went to get to the station. "So that's my recommendation."

"Wonderful. Can you give me the contact details for the trans care doctor so I can call them once I have a phone?"

"Yes, yes." The officer fumbles around for a business card and writes some contact information and a phone number (that includes letters, to make it a bit shorter presumably) and hands it back to Sable.

She smiles a bit wider, her smiles having become more and more genuine — though it's hard for almost anyone to tell — over the course of the conversation.

"Thank you. Oh! Thought of one last question. Do you have any recommendations for finding housing for tonight, after I handle the other things?"

"The phone has the most up-to-date directory of available long-term and short-term housing options. The phone guy would be happy to help you get started with the software setup for that app and all your other necessities, I'm sure of it." The officer smiles back at Sable, trying to be equal parts reassuring and encouraging.

Her smile freezes for a second as she processes that. These people actually keep all their important contacts in one sensible place? That... is new.

Her shoulders slump just a bit, a bit more of her bone-deep fatigue showing. Her smile is a bit smaller still, but more genuine for it.

"Thank you. I think I'll head right over, unless you have any last advice for an outworlder before I do."

"No, getting a phone first, so you can get the right pockets in your clothing, would be my advice. So, yes. A phone is the first thing you'd want to get, that's my advice. See you later!"

"Thank you, truly. Off I go then."

And with a wave, off she heads to the phone store.

It's got a huge selection of phones, with all kinds of cameras and in a wide array of screen sizes. Interestingly enough, the sizes get smaller as you get further from the entrance. They're also in a huge array of colors and materials, and have plastic backs that produce pleasant, tactile sensory feelings when touched. There's a slik-touch, a wood-touch, and even something slightly squishy. They also use some kind of super-stiff material that makes them feel very, very solid in the hand. There aren't any real ads in the store, just folded spec sheets on densely packed tables under each phone.

.........A phone store designed by sane people? What?

She starts browsing the various options, looking into the durability first, but quickly realizing that these people apparently design their phones to a standard she'd only dreamed of back on Earth. At that point she starts exploring for features and comfort. She settles on a slightly larger phone, with something on the back (whether built-in or added accessory) to loop through her fingers and steady it in her hand. She picks a slightly squishy case material in a swirling inky pattern in dark violet. And then she makes sure it's crammed with plenty of storage.

She finds a phone that comes with its own case with a folding part that she can squeeze between her hands to hold it steady. It also has a somewhat above average camera, presumably so the camera can be held steady using that folding piece. The largest storage option barely costs any more than the smallest, and it's capacious indeed.

She sighs gently, smiling softly, and buys it. Having a local phone is quite the relief. She's not sure who this place shot to avoid becoming as insane about tech as her old world, but she's rather glad they did.

She heads off and finds a bench to start looking things up. Who should she talk to about trans care here in Leakey Resort? How does acquiring clothes work? What's the transition process like, how does it compare to Earth?

Leakey's Report best trans-specialist is named Sylvania, she sticks to the hormones and self-identity part, but she's actually friends with many of the surgeons who've done 1000+ operations.

Clothes are acquired at "tailors". They're call them tailors even if they sell off-the-rack clothes, they're basically sole proprietors of clothing stores who have a real passion and interest in them, and that can extent do things like lingerie, diving equipment, snowsuits, PPE and other things that can be considered clothing.

The transition process is hormones/electrolysis/clothing first, with doctors mostly assisting with the hormones step, because there's a huge selection of different protocols to choose from. Any kinds of operation tends to happen following a relatively long period of social transition, and a relatively high % of transpeople don't do bottom surgery because they sort of like being "a gender of their own" and don't really feel the kind of dysphoria that warrants surgery. There is 0 gatekeeping for either hormones or surgery, but very, very few people handle their own hormone protocols or feel comfortable tracking their bloodwork without a doctor in the loop.

She slumps in visceral relief. 

And spends a good few minutes like that. Maybe a tear falls. And then she puts herself back together and calls Sylvania.

The phone answers almost instantly. "Hello, you've reached the office of Doctor Sylvania, how can I be of assistance to you?"

"Hi! My name is Sable, and I was wondering if Doctor Sylvania has any openings for a new patient soon."

"Yes, yes I have an opening in about 2 hours at present, if you want a same-day consultation. Is that acceptable? Most people like getting more time in advance."

"Wonderful." She noticed a navigation app, so that should be easy. Is two hours enough time? "I'm rather new to Leakey Resort. Is two hours enough time to get there from the beach? I'm on..."

She looks around for a street sign and names it when she finds one.

The street sign says "Vaccines Boulevard". "Well, yes. There's a subway station that can get you here in 20-odd minutes, you just need to find the entrance. It's next to the bakery". And looking around reveals a bakery with all kinds of cupcakes and chocolate cakes and bread on the shelves, right next to a door that blends into the omnipresent skyscrapers, with a simple pictogram of a subway on it.

"Thank you so much. That time is perfect then. What info do you need from me?"

"Well, you can tell me your age, expectations, and any prior experience with transitioning, whether that's hormones, blockers, or even just wearing affirming clothes. While we're on the phone anyway."

"Thirty-one, expect hormones to produce gradual fat redistribution over months to years and breast growth determined by my genetics over a similar timespan, expect hormones won't do a thing about my voice or body hair, have some experience wearing a skirt around the house and self-identifying as female in text conversations with friends, no time on hormones or blockers yet."

"Well, those are very sensible expectations. We'll see about the breast growth, but I think we can offer some good surgeries for that. Voices tend to be tough, yes, even if we're getting better every day. But I can share some good news about how well we can deal with the body hair. So you haven't done anything social, or in person, while female presenting? And 0 hormones or blockers yet, do you feel comfortable telling me why?"

"How open are you to an extremely bizarre story?"

"Completely open, I think that knowing my patients well is absolutely critical for being able to provide the best care possible. I think it's something you should really tell me."

"Well. I think it will be noticeable in a lot of aspects of my behavior, many of which may imply odd questions if I don't tell you this story. So I think we'll have a much less confusing and frustrating relationship if I tell you this."

She takes a deep breath.

"I'm from another world. I know this is a typical delusion, but I have a wallet full of ID and currency referencing countries that don't exist, and will gladly show it all to you when I get to the office. And the region where I lived in this other world was much more transphobic than this lovely world I found myself in this afternoon."

"Transphobic? I don't think I'm 100% sure about what that means, sorry. I'm struggling to guess the meaning of those words put together."

"Wait what. You don't... Okay then! Estimates of how nice this world is are going up further still. So, transphobia is what my old world called the shaming and rejecting attitude many people had toward trans folk. The word was derived from an earlier word, homophobia, which was shaming and rejecting behavior toward people who are attracted to the same gender. The construction of the word using the -phobia root was likely from a combination of the frequent fear-mongering some people did about the non-cishet community, as well as the fact that this kind of shaming behavior is often rooted in fear deep down."

"Oh, so trans in that way? I thought it must have something-else trans-phobic, if that makes sense?"

"Yeah, my old world was not very accepting of differences. Realize you're a different gender than you were assigned at birth? Realize you're attracted to someone other than who you're supposed to be? Half of one of the most powerful countries in the world thinks you're weird and gross and possibly a predator now. Have fun."

That couldn't possibly be old bitterness seeping into her voice, could it?

"Well! That must have been miserable. But at least things are getting better, here. I think you should try not thinking about bad things that aren't happening anymore." The subway train seems to have one fewer seat in width, to make each seat extra spacious and comfortable for Sable and everyone else. And the subway is almost uncannily quiet, as it races past the stops.

She nods to herself and lets out a slow breath. "You're right. Dwelling on the dumpster fire of a world I came from is a good way to stress myself out. Better to dwell on the new opportunities here. Anyway, in short, yes, living in one of the most transphobic regions in the previously mentioned powerful country is why I hadn't transitioned yet. But now I'm here, surrounded by people who seem to do things much more sensibly and comfortably and pleasantly."

"Well, we try our best! Let's think about what's next, not what's some day soon or some day then. Think positive!"

"Yeah! So, next steps, I get to the office, learn about different courses of hormones y'all offer here, receive one, get appointments to deal with hair, and then go to a tailor and buy a few days of clothes to tide me over while I find someplace to live."

"I mean, there's more than enough vacant apartments for you? You won't need to be tided over for a few days, unless I'm misunderstanding you?"

The subway stops are all open and bright, with minimalistic murals of blocks of colors painted onto the walls. There are many vending machines around, carrying small food items for travelers, and lots of seating. The train seats use a kind of office-chair like mesh, that's incredibly soft and nice and breathable in the warm weather.

"Oh wow. This world actually builds enough housing? Awesome. I'm used to there being multiple days of steps to move into an apartment, and days to acquire furniture, and hauling the clothing back and forth between places being an ordeal, and just the whole process being overcomplicated." 

"I'm trying to understand the idea of a world that doesn't build enough housing? I'm just confused, are there, like, sprawling, bombed-out wastes everwyhere? The furniture and clothing things are still an annoyance, though. But nothing here's overcomplicated, we take not having overcomplicated things very seriously!"

"No, people are just very badly confused, confuse themselves worse with how the politics work, and then they regulate the wrong things and put economic incentives on different wrong things."

"Well, I guess it'd be some complicated medieval systems with tons of parts and constituencies and a complicated mess of laws bumping into each other? I can see how those would be hard to deal with and cause big problems."

"Yep, pretty much. Oh, and we use first-past-the-post voting. Which has been mathematically demonstrated to be garbage, but we use it anyway."

She sighs softly and looks out the windows. "Saner country in a saner world. Gotta remember that."

There are a few more detailed murals, now. With various presumably-famous scientists in front of equations and scenes from their lives and illustrations of their inventions. There's one illustration of a man in scientific-looking glasses staring at a small, glowing orb, probably an LED. There's also an image of someone with a clipboard of some kind looking at a huge pane of glass, examining it thoroughly. And all sorts of other scientific achievements.

"Oh wow, this world puts scientists on the murals in subways? Goodness. That's... so much better." The smile in her voice is audible at this point.

"Who else could deserve it? Outside of people responsible for revolutions to introduce democracy, of course. But honestly, I think about those people kind of like scientists, and they said themselves that it'd probably be a bad idea to have murals built of them."

"You'd think that would be obvious, but my old world mostly had politicians or civil rights leaders. Usually they were on there for doing something good, but sometimes it was for doing something confused."

"Well, they're really defined by their times and their methods were really intended for their context, right? So what they did won't work next time, usually. But scientists sort of followed a process that'll work today as well, so admiring them results in less obsessing over how to stop those dastardly coal barons and their ingenuous abuse of the Common Infrastructure Investment Act of 1811."

"Exactly. 'Take a guess, test your guess, take notes about how your guess held up, repeat' is a fundamental process that holds up in lots of places on lots of topics and in lots of time periods. It's a pretty great thing to grow up admiring. I think my old world would suck less if kids grew up admiring that."

"Yeah, and that's something you'll need to keep doing during your transition, together with keeping up with your blood work to let you use the hormones safely while achieving the right dosages."

She nods and smiles, getting off the train as she reaches the subway station closest to the doctor's office. Out into the sunlight she goes, looking for landmarks and signs.

There's an absolutely gigantic park right across the street from the subway station, yet again hidden between the other doors leading into the skyscrapers. There are very few signs, although there are tons of statues in grayscale and bright colors in the park if Sable wants some landmarks.

"Gosh, your world puts an awful lot more effort into things looking lovely than my old one does." She spends a moment getting oriented and checks the time. How long does she have before the appointment?

She has just about 90 minutes, as a matter of fact.

"It has been an absolute delight talking with you, but I don't want to take up all your time, and I should probably get some food. It was just before supper when I got unexpectedly transported, so I'm a bit hungry. Any recommendations in the area?"

"Honestly, I just order anything that looks good from wherever. I like Indian food, and you could order some of your own? I don't really have a favorite restaurant, I honestly pick somewhat at random because they're all good."

"Reasonable. Well, I'll pick someplace at random and give the food a try. Thank you very much, and see you soon!"

She looks around. Indian food would be really great, honestly, and she can afford to eat out at least once, given that she doesn't even have an apartment yet.

"Oh, because you're unfamiliar here: we don't have sit-down restaurant outside of the most expensive and fancy high-end ones. The way that it works is that you can rent a seat in a cafe or bakery and have the food delivered to you there while enjoying their coffee, tea and pastries as well". There's a charming bakery, decorated in all kinds of woody tones, with a natural-looking interior. And there's a much more futuristic, but still charming and inviting cafe, with all-white interiors and mesmerizing, simple murals along the walls, giving the vibe of being the inside of the spaceship version of the Titanic.

"That sounds absolutely delightful. I think I see a lovely little cafe to try this out in. Thank you!"

Off she goes to the futuristic cafe. Spaceship vibes look like fun.

There's a bunch of bench seats everywhere, that work like super-nice and comfy armchairs. The constant aroma of delicious pastries and many different amazing teas fill the room, creating a fantastic sensory landscape. Finding an app to let Sable order some very promising-looking Indian food doesn't take much time at all. And everything in them is very, very affordable indeed.

Well, then she'll have a nice green tea or something like it from the cafe while she waits, and order some garlic naan and maybe something with chicken. She's got a timer on her phone to make sure she gets to her appointment on time, and her phone's set to vibrate so she doesn't disrupt anyone, and she's got tasty tea and very shortly tasty food.

And she's definitely not feeling kind of brittle around the edges, no ma'am.

A robot that's more or less a rolling table makes its way over to Sable, with a cup of green tea placed on top of it. She can just take the tea, and the colorful cup covered in big blue and green dots for herself.

15 or so minutes go by before the robot returns again, carrying a garlic naan together with a bowl containing a fantastic-smelling chicken-something-or-other placed onto the table that held the green tea previously, together with the necessary cutlery on a nice, square porcelain dish of its own. Taking a taste of the meal reveals that it's simply heavenly.

She sighs tenderly, smiling. This is a world that clearly takes the little things seriously. Maybe... 

She'll figure out where that train of thought was going later. She doesn't feel like breaking down in a public cafe. Focus on delicious food and wonderful ambience. She looks around and sighs warmly and has another few bites.

There are other people appreciating their own meals, from all kinds of different cuisines. Or just enjoying some croissants or hot chocolates while talking with their friends.

They're all so... content here. Things are pleasant. And straightforward. And reasonable. She takes a steadying breath and smiles lopsidedly and sips her tea. Why couldn't Earth be like this? Why couldn't she have had this for decades already?

No. Breathe. 

She takes her time, breathes, and looks around, and smiles. It's going to be okay. It might actually be okay.

Quite so! One feature of thomassian cuisine, that Sylvania failed to mention, is that portions are unusually large. There is something strangely-satisfying about finishing such a big portion, but it takes more time than a meal would typically take. The alarm on Sable's phone begins to vibrate right after she's done. And it vibrates in a very obvious, powerful way.

Ooh. That's a very satisfyingly distinct and impossible to ignore vibration. And an impressively large portion. Satisfying, but she's possibly not in-shape enough to keep that up indefinitely. Guess she'll have to take up yoga. Or maybe they have some medical treatment that can fix her knees and she'll take up something with any impact to it. She looks around to figure out what to do with her plates. Was there something obvious people were doing when they finished their meals?

They place their plates on one of the lower shelves of the waiterbot, avoiding putting any dishes or cutlery on the top shelf used for bringing food or drinks to a the tables, as it makes its way back to the staff counter.

Aha. Convenient. Impressively so. She does the same, making sure everything's neatly in place, and then heads off toward Doctor Sylvania's office. She admires the park a bit more on the way. This world — or at least this country — puts an awful lot more care into aesthetics too. It's nice.

It's not particularly far to walk before reaching Sylvania's office. It's in a clinic that's on the lower floors of a building overlooking the park, with a very nice two-story waiting room and lobby full of people. There are people lying down on patches of soft green material, or slowly breathing something in through a plastic mask over their mouths while nursing an arm or leg, and people reading some of the pretty PSAs attached to the walls. Looking around, Sable can see a bunch of doors with random-seeming strings of numbers on them. One of them has the phone number of Sable's new phone written on an LCD screen, together with Sylvania's name and a green square.

Huh. Green square. Do other doors have other colors of square? Is that an "I'm ready for you to come in" signal? If it's mostly green squares and red squares-or-somethings, she'll try knocking softly on the door.

It's about 90% red squares, although there are multiple doors that have a green square and "WALK-IN" written on their LCDs. When Sable knocks, Sylvania walks over, and looks at her with a mixture of curiosity and excitement in her face. "Sable, miss. Please walk on in! I think that there's much to talk about."

She smiles and steps inside. "I think you're right. This is going to be a very interesting conversation."

The office is unusually spacious, with a bunch of pretty PSAs and sterile stables placed against one of the walls. And every (both) chairs are basically ultra-nice armchairs. Sylvania sits down first, with an unusual posture with spread legs and her arms taking up much of the space in the room. "Sable, not to be cruel. But you're 31, and you have no experience of blockers or hormones. Do you want to... talk about why? I think it'd help for you to let it all out and to understand what the situation is now, and why that situation is what it is."

She blinks, as she settles into the chair, and exhales hard. "I... yeah. I didn't know. I spent so long not knowing why I was ambiently miserable. I spent so long not even remembering all the little signs that I tried so hard to ignore growing up. There were no transgender people to see as examples, no available explanation for why I was suddenly filled with dread when I started growing visible leg hair and stopped wearing shorts after that. And I wasn't one of the kids who could derive the insight on her own. Puberty kind of broke me and I didn't know why. Didn't realize it until I was thirty."

She pauses, slows her breathing, blinks a few tears away.

Sylvania lets Sable sit in silence for a bit. "Well, you don't have to live with any of that anymore. So we'll fix everything. Hair is the first thing you'll see, all my clients feel amazing relief at having their hair problems fixed, I can get you a real electrolysis session to fix that right up. The shorts... another thing that really helps, very quickly, is new clothes. Especially new, nicer underwear, with pretty lace, that makes you look how you feel and feel how you want. But I think those are surface steps. I think the real work, and the real reward, will come from you thinking about who you really are. And who you really want to be. So, do you feel comfortable trying to think about that? Just a bit?"

She nods. "Yeah, I think I can do that."

She breathes slowly, a few last tears prickling around the corners of her eyes, and considers.

"I... I wouldn't mind pants again once I've got the figure to easily pass anyway, but they probably still wouldn't be my go-to? That's maybe getting ahead of myself? Um. I can give an answer in aesthetics and vibes, maybe?"

"Aesthetics and vibes is really the question. I think the answer should also be about that, yes."

"I don't know if all the aesthetics line up on this world, but... if you fused 'caring and sincere princess' with 'dashing and roguish pirate queen'? Maybe fill the gaps with a helping of 'magical girl'?"

"I'm, uhh, quite sure I don't know what that would look like. But I'm not the one who has to know your true identity; you must do that."

"The third thing, beyond electrolysis and clothes, is the question of HRT. We've managed to end up at a really huge array of options, and we've made some real leaps and bounds in how well the transition goes, especially for anyone transitioning post-puberty. The new, advanced options also require more frequent bloodwork, which I'm assuming you'll be able to handle yourself? If that is an inconvenience, a more traditional choice of hormones and anti-androgens can still achieve perfectly acceptable results. Ultimately, there is no way around experimenting with the regimens, and I'm sure we'll make adjustments along the way. But I'm sure you can handle those."

"Ooh. Shiny advanced options with more science and note-taking. Sounds like fun. Once upon a time I was scared of bloodwork or injections, but I mostly got over that. This is a pretty good reason to go the rest of the way. What sorts of improvements can those provide over the old-fashioned versions?"

She's getting a bit more excited as the conversation shifts to options, drumming her fingers on her thigh and wiggling a little bit in her seat.

"A bit of everything? It means both faster results, and a better final outcome. The breasts tend to come out earlier and better. Fewer mood swings and other side effects, better for your general health, just incremental improvements in various areas. And the precise bloodwork helps even more in amplifying the advantages for both the pace of your transition and your safety during it."

"And, to get any fertility worries out of the way, do you want to do gamete harvesting to feel 100% safe about your fertility?"

She bobbles her head back and forth as she considers. "I... on some level the idea of ever having a kid is a viscerally terrifying level of responsibility? I can't rule out that I'd ever want to, but... hmm."

She looks down at her hands for a long moment.

"The smart thing to do would be to set some aside. It's not like it would be a commitment to do anything with them."

Eventually she nods. "Yeah, should do it."

"Yeah, we can get that done for you, it's really not a big deal. And it's cheap enough that it's a fantastic investment for peace of mind, a lot of people like getting them preserved just for that feeling of safety."

"Now, I think that I'll want to try going through some of the main HRT options with you. Some of them might be less appropriate due to your medical background, and others might have side effects that are dealbreakers. I have several compact tables with the regimens that I recommend my clients most often. If you could walk up and look at these?"

She points at some of the information-dense tables attached to the wall of her office, listing up quite a few different combinations of hormones and other medications together with their side-effects and how precise you have to be with your bloodwork. Then she sits down in front of a computer screen to look up more information on them, before managing to find a solution that's probably the best starting point for Sable.

She leans close and looks through the tables carefully, nodding thoughtfully. "Y'all really have put a lot into improving the options here. Definitely better than what my old world has."

The resulting solution winds up with more reliable early breast growth and a bit of help overcoming genetic predispositions to a smaller bust, quicker fat redistribution, less risk of interfering with sexual function, and very good odds of preventing male pattern baldness. It also avoids the electrolyte issues that some androgen blockers like spironolactone run into.

"Yup, it's common enough that you can get it as an all-in-one pill, don't even have to get it custom-ordered. It's totally OTC and easy to find somewhere, if you can't bring a fresh pill bottle with you before going on a trip."

"And this is a bit awkward to mention, but... there's a tailor. A lingerie tailor that really helps the trans community and people just at the beginning at the transition, you know, like you. And for the blood work, you're going to need to choose a snek. Most of my doctor friends insist on one of those Friendly Sting models, supposedly as painless as the blood work ever gets. I think that you're going to want to pay that little extra considering how much blood work you'll be doing with this new regimen."

She smiles softly and appreciatively at the mention of the special tailor, then giggles suddenly. "Y'all have portable blood work kits, and you call them sneks? That's adorable!"

"Yes, that's what they are. Well, I think there's more geckos because they're cuter and less scary for kids, so most hospitals use those? But even if it's a plastic gecko with all the bloodwork stuff, we still call them sneks."

"Gosh there's so much care that goes into making everything comfy and nice and good here. Like so much more of the world is built around trying to be just that little bit kinder to people."

She flops back into her chair with a happy smile and a bit of a wiggle.

"Well, I think that's the main points done. I think you want to go over to getting new clothes? Maybe especially some new underwear. And precut tape kits, if those are also a helpful tool for your needs."

She nods. "That does seem like the next thing. That and however getting my other appointments works."

"I can get you the address to the tailor I was talking about. It's within comfortable walking distance from here." She writes out an address on her phone, showing it to Sable. "She also knows about makeup routines and beauty products and hair and stuff, she really knows a bit about everything."

"She sounds incredibly helpful. Thank you so much."

Sable notes the name and address down in her contacts, and saves it.

"Probably there aren't any hair appointments left today?"

"No electrolysis appointments! And I get the impression that you'd want to have permanent hair removal on many parts of your body, which can't be done without the hair being grown out first, so a sugaring would get in the way of that, sorry."

"Just so. Alas. Well, I'll have to book something for the morning. Anyone you'd recommend in particular?"

"There's this other place, that a lot of my clients went to and liked, which does lots of other beauty stuff, too? But you can't really cross-compare different services, so I'm not sure they're really any better. I think they're really all the same, they use all the same equipment, you know. But I'll write down their address, too."

"Shiny. Thank you."

That goes into her contact list too.

"Anything else you'd recommend for today? And how often should we book follow-ups?"

"I don't really have any recommendations, in general? It's really up to what makes you feel nicer. For the longer-term, I think a slumber party would be nice and affirming, they sure make me feel sexy and awesome. In terms of follow-ups: I'll give you a dirty secret, everyone just follows a bloodwork flowchart anyway. Unless you get worried or one of the Meaningfully Worrisome side effects happen to you, you won't need to book any physical follow-ups. Feel free to call me if there's something you want to ask about, but I think that just telling the lab to send all the bloodwork results to me is all the follow-up that's really necessary."

She blushes and sputters a bit. "A slumber party? Who even... I... what..."

Sable clearly has not considered the idea that slumber parties were a thing she would ever get to have.

"Well, it's more of a long-term thing! I couldn't really come up with anything that I thought would be necessary on your end, so I thought about something that could be an example of something you might eventually like."

"I mean, yes, but... do thirty-year-old women just get to have those here? There's no cultural pressure to be more 'mature' or something and not do that?"

"I mean, it's considered mature to go to ritzy parties for rich nobles or investors and be all dressed up? To be clear, you don't have to be rich to have slumber parties these days, they just still sort of have that sheen."

She just blinks for a long moment.

"The underlying logic, the foundational beliefs in this world are more different than I'd thought."

"I mean, it's weird that the things rich people did decades or centuries ago are meant to be proper behavior for everyone today? But culture is weird like that."

"It's... the basic things that society prioritizes across all levels. In my old world, the high status things were demonstrations of capability, of unflappability, of ability to set aside 'childish comforts'. But here, one of those 'childish comforts' is a high-status thing that rich people do. And the phone store was structured sensibly, and there were so many different case materials for different tastes, and someone gave me advice to get a phone first before clothes so I'd know what size pockets to get, which implies that there's flexibility in pocket sizes. Everything is connected to these different foundations."

She has a bit of a faraway look on her face now, as she starts connecting all those points. 

Sylvania just looks at Sable. "I'm happy that you're happy, there will probably be lots of pleasant surprises going forwards! But, I have other patients to see, and I think you know just about enough to start getting going. So... was preparing that initial hormone regimen and my tips for things that'd make you feel better everything you needed me for?"

She blushes a bit and grins sheepishly, nodding. "Whoops, got rambling a bit there. Yes, that's everything. I'll leave you to it. It's been lovely talking with you today."

"Lovely seeing you as well, miss! I'm sure you'll do just fine here."

"Thank you! Bye for now!"

And off she goes. Next stop, the recommended tailor. She pulls up a route and hops into the subway.

And just like that, she's outside a store with a bunch of mannequins out front, wearing increasingly fewer pieces of women's clothing as one heads from left to right.

In she goes, a shy smile on her face. "Hi?"

Walking in reveals what looks more like a showfloor than a real store, with mannequins wearing all sorts of dresses, skirts and lingerie, together with photos of models dressed similarly, spread out all over the shop floor. A woman, wearing a very short skirt and a black sports bra under a sheer top that reaches a few inches over her skirt, walks over to Sable. "Hi, who do you dream of looking like?" She gives her a wry grin.

"Best question." She pulls out her phone, loaded with several images, and grins a bit in return. "Demented fusion between magical girl, princess, pirate queen, and manic pixie dream girl. So some middle ground between these things, but with the theme color being a dark orchid violet. Also, I'm told you sell lingerie that helps with tucking, and other such things."

"Those are some stupidly cool-looking ladies, aren't they? You'll be looking very, very unique indeed... I think this will be an unusually long tailoring session. And one I'll really, really enjoy." She takes Sable towards several adjacent changing rooms placed next to a shelf filled with lingerie designs of all different designs and all different colors, including some with a lace-over-nude color scheme. Inside the changing room is quite spacious, with a wall-sized mirror and a wide bench with lots of space to sit down and place any clothes.

"I'll send any clothes you're wanting to try through the hatch. But before anything else, I'll want to take your measures. All your measures. You're free to take them yourself, if it'd be uncomfortable to have me doing them."

"They really are absurdly cool." She blushes at mention of measurements, though. "I don't mind you taking them."

"A lot of people feel better having their measures taken when inside the changing rooms; do you want me to do that for you too?" She makes what looks like a pen appear from a pocket in her skirt, before looking at Sable. "This tool means I don't have to touch anyone, I can just scan them, so that avoids any awkward touches."

She nods with a shy smile. "Thank you. Also, my measurements are likely to change over the next several months. Just started hormone therapy."

They walk into the changing room. "Now, you know, I can't get accurate measurements with that skirt in the way. It'll just take a few seconds, and I promise I won't make it awkward, OK? I can leave this here if you're wanting to measure yourself; it has the name of the body part that you'll measured, and you can ask for instructions while I wait outside, if that's more comfortable on your end."

She takes a deep breath and drops her skirt.

The tailor quietly and rhythmically moves the pencil across Sable's body, taking only a minute or two, before rapidly flicking it over her crotch and nodding very distinctly 2 times. "That was all your measurements taken, just like that! Now, ahh, I'll come back with some more flattering underwear for you to have on. Something really feminine, you know? In a cut that really flatters you?" She awkwardly makes her way out of the room.

She blushes a bit more. "Thank you." And she pulls her skirt back up. 

Very soon after, underwear in all sorts of different cuts are thrown through the hatch: some in all black, some in a combination of black and white, some with lace, and some in a very strange color combination: a nude color that matches Sable's skin uncannily, with a very sheer and thin, flowery lace, on the front of it. All of them let Sable tuck herself almost totally flat with an unexpected degree of comfort, although some of the ones with less material in front squeeze her more than the others.

"These are amazing." She tends not to keep the very skimpiest cuts, preferring at least a little more coverage than that, but seems to love everything that's been suggested so far.

"Amazing, you say? That's great to hear! Now, you'll be wearing more than that, of course. Are you in the mood for any dresses? Or do you just want the piratey jacket and magical-girl-esque skirt, at least for now? And do you have any thoughts on athletic clothing, for working out or other activities?"

"Yes to all of it. And athletic clothing js a good idea. I want to get in better shape. I used to be a long distance runner, but my knees are a bit wrecked, so probably yoga or martial arts or both, instead. Maybe a swim suit too, since these panties work so well?"

"You'll be walking off with a lot of clothes today, huh? I can happily get you some yoga pants and a swim suit; they can really feel so freeing and adventurous, you know? So, that's a pirate jacket, magical girl skirt, yoga pants and a swimsuit? And you'll want a bra, too; working out without one gets miserable quick. I'll try putting some of them together. The automated sowing and cutting machines work fast, but only so fast; you'll have to wait a bit for the pirate tops, I think."

After a minute, a skirt that reaches slightly above Sable's knees falls through the hatch. It's incredibly airy and breathable, and swishes a bit more than such a skirt would be expected to swish. A pair of grey yoga pants and a dark blue one-piece swimsuit, both of them well-designed to let Sable stay tucked comfortably, show up a while afterwards. Everything fits impressively well and stays in place once put on.

"Gosh. Quite a convenient world this is." She keeps trying things on, increasingly impressed. "You're good at this."

"It's not just me that's good at this, I'm using the knowledge and design and experience of tons of other designers, too!" She walks back, throwing in a few ruffled shirts and a leather-looking "pirate jacket" into Sable's changing room. "I'll throw in a fancy, tight, red dress next. Unless there's some other design you had in mind?"

"That sounds great!"

She twirls. And then twirls some more. "Wow. I love how swishy this skirt is!"

"Yes, it has, like, wind tunnel testing and things! Really awesome." She leaves Sable to try out various clothing combinations for a while, before throwing a slinky red dress closely fit to Sable's current figure through the changing room's hatch. "And finally, something that'll make you look really stunning, for when you really want to look like a bombshell."

She tries the dress on and her jaw drops.

"I—"

There are no words. She hasn't gotten her hair handled yet, but... she feels more like herself over this past session trying on clothes than she has in years. 

A little sniffle escapes her. She keeps grinning, even as a tear spills down her cheek.

"I can also get you some creams, and sunscreen, and various toiletries, deodorants, perfumes? I think that it's an easy thing to forget the importance of the cosmetics, as well. Not just the clothes you have on, but also a proper beauty routine. It makes you look even better, no matter how fantastic you already look. I... I think that you've found a very good place to start, at least."

She nods. "Thank you. I'd appreciate your help with all of that. I know I'm not in a starting position I'd appreciate, but you're making a world of difference. Probably going to handle electrolysis tomorrow, along with maybe getting my hair dyed, if there are options that won't mess up my curls."

"Oh, yes, there are plenty such options! They're doing nano-something hair dyes, these days. Hmm. Which address do I ship all the clothes, and all my beauty items, to? This is probably enough that it's worth paying one of the porter robots to carry all these clothes, but I'd need to know where to send them."

"Eep. Um. Need to get one of those."

She pulls out her phone and starts fiddling with apartment hunting.

She won't be able to rent anywhere larger than, like, 600 square feet. And all the cheapest units are on the 30th floor, or the 35th floor, in that general region. And they're all in complexes that barely have gyms and maybe a library that's just or two of those quiet reading nooks, with the bookshelves, let alone "real" common areas. And the bathrooms have those claustrophobic shower cabinets, where you're almost touching the glass if you spread out your arms.

That's the kind of place you live in, when you're on basic income in thomassia, while still having enough money left over for your other needs. But, well. Apartment hunting is at least a painless process; she won't have to think about deposits or dealing with landlords or anything else.

Wow. This world is actually a good place.

Are any of them a short walk from the beach or the harbor or the marina?

Yes, a few! They're not looking out on the beach, but there is one that's 4 or 5 blocks away, a few more 6 or 7 blocks out. And they're 500 square feet. But they are in Sable's basic income budget.

Amazing. She takes one of the further ones. 

"Got an address now."

And she gives it to the tailor.

A keycard gets downloaded to Sable's phone. She gets a message regarding her new apartment. "For security reasons, in case of software or hardware failure, please note that a physical key is also placed within the unit itself. Please keep it readily available in case it proves necessary during an emergency evacuation."

The tailor nods, waiting for one of the stronger porter-bots to carry all the things Sable just bought, as she prepares to load it with the wide variety of items that Sable has purchased. "Oh! Another piece of advice: you should try the softening cream. It helps with chafing or itching, and makes you feel less pressure on any body parts that you're, ahem, pushing together. It just makes things more comfortable."

"Ooh, sounds handy. Thank you."

And then, when the bot has carried everything off, "I will definitely be back when things grow in more properly. Thank you very much."

"You're welcome! Good luck is what I would say... but you don't need to be lucky when the new treatments are all working this well. You haven't even started on my makeup routine yet, and you're already a cutie!"

Goodness she blushes at that.

"Awwww.... Thank you."

And then off she goes to find supper on her way to her new home. She catches the subway to her new neighborhood, then looks to see what little cafes and bakeries are in the area. 

Well, there's one bakery where everything is extra-cute. With like, cat cupcakes, and strawberry-covered cakes. And there's this cafe with a historical theme, that's supposed to take place during the time when famous philosophers met there to change the world. There are old-timey newspapers and furniture that looks like it'd be used by an 1800s aristocrat.

Oh she adores the cute one. She'll settle there and have a cup of cocoa. Is there a dumpling place in convenient delivery range?

Thanks to the new robots, just about anywhere is convenient delivery range (they're able to use subways to travel even faster, in fact). All the cafes and bakeries, let you bring outside food. There's nothing stopping Sable from just getting some dumplings as she's enjoying the cocoa.

Dumplings it is. Meanwhile, she'll book things for tomorrow. Can she book her electrolysis appointment? What about a hairstylist? 

She can do both at the same place, even! Sable would notice that the standard electrolysis sessions all take 8 hours, which. Uhh. Is a lot of time for one session?

Um. That's definitely unusual. Well. It's apparently usual here? Do they do the whole body at once? Do they have a way to make it not take repeat sessions? Plausibly she won't know until tomorrow.

The dumplings sure are tasty, though.

After booking that and finishing hereal, she heads off toward her new apartment.

There's the same kind of elevator lobby as Sable saw last time, with many elevators inside of pillars taking her directly to her room. It's on floor 31, too low for the best views and too high up to get a good look at the ground, but why should that matter?

Anyway, the apartment is brilliantly designed to feel as spacious as possible, with a huge main room and an all-glass wall, together with a king-size bed and a very open-feeling bathroom. It kind of seems like thomassians are paranoid about claustrophobia, and try making all their apartments as claustrophobia-friendly as possible.

The apartment is amazing. She twirls around in it for a moment, savoring the space. Does it have a kitchen, or do most people eat out? Presumably she has packages of clothes to hang up in.the closet, unless the robots are quite clever and did that too.

There isn't any kitchen, just a microwave with a bunch of accessories placed above a fridge. Sable would have to hang up all the clothes herself. There's lots of space in the closet, though, including in a drawer under the coat rack. The coat rack even has a special 2-piece coat hanger that lets her hang her panties on the lower piece, instead of stuffing them in a drawer!

Clearly this culture has embraced the comforts of delivery. Good for them. And that's quite the clever little closet, nicely efficient. Pretty soon everything is hung up.

She brushes her teeth, washes up, and gets into bed. Big day tomorrow.

The electrolysis and hair clinic is a quick (the subway is really amazingly fast and smooth here) ride away, with a very inviting atmosphere. There's a nice-looking hair salon, lots of cute plants installed near the entries, comfortable chairs and everything else. A well-dressed woman notes Sable making her way in. "I guess you were the one ordering one of the electrolysis sessions? Please come with me."

"Yep, that's me." She follows, automatic charm smile stretching across her face like clockwork.

The room is quite open and spacious, with a white bed that looks like a hospital bed, while being much nicer and more comfortable. A pair of machines get taken out of a corner of the room, and the woman motions for Sable to lie down before lifting up what looks like an oxygen mask. "So, I want to know where the limit goes. How much hair we're getting rid of." She awkwardly reaches for a marker and holds it. "I do that by starting high up and making my way down, and you say "stop" when I've hit the limit of how far up I'll be doing the electrolysis."

She starts at Sable's hair, slowly making her way down before stopping for a moment just under her eyebrows. "The most common option is for me to remove absolutely every single strand of hair below this point, including all peach fuzz", she says. "Does that sound good to you? Or is there anyplace you don't want me to take everything? If not, I'll mark that with my marker and get you started."

"Oh wow. I'll keep the eyelashes, but yeah, everything below that can go, peach fuzz included. Does it take repeat sessions, or does modern tech let you do it one and done?"

"We do need repeat sessions, yes, usually just one or two more. We've been experimenting with upping the electrolysis current, hoping that it'd work more powerfully against hair cells, but it can only do so much. I'll be doing the max electrolysis current this time, though, to try getting as much as is I possibly can this first session. You'll still look beyond amazing for a good while afterwards, even if you're not completely finished."

"Wonderful. Thank you so much. What do you need me to do? I presume clothes off and all that?"

"Yes, clothes off, it's awkward on my part. And then you lie down here, and breathe in this." She points at the oxygen mask she's holding. "And then I'll be ready to start without worrying about you being in pain or squirming around."

"Oh wow. Okay!" She strips down, lays down, and accepts being anesthetized.

There's something strange about the anesthetic, it almost gives Sable a kind of high, before she's knocked out.

And she wakes up and feels really great and incredibly well-rested afterward, not even groggy or anything, without a hair of body hair to be seen. And there isn't even any hint of lingering pain at all. The woman doing the procedure smiles at Sable. "Nice seeing you awake again! I gave you enough of a buffer to not experience any lingering pain afterwards, I hope?"

"Nope, not a bit! Just feel like I had the absolute best nap and woke up with all the hair gone. You did marvelously."

She hops up and checks herself out in a little bit of wonder.

She didn't mention this, but she's also applied an aloe vera cream to various parts of Sable's skin to make it even softer and smoother. And she also removed any hint of stubble or peach fuzz on Sable's face, as well. It makes her skin feel very sensitive, but the hair being gone makes it so, so obvious how rough and coarse and uncomfortable it is to feel the hair being pushed against your body. Especially having the hair removed from Sable's bikini area, has removed a big source of discomfort and itchiness that Sable never even realized was there.

"Oh wow. Just... Wow."

She gets to have this. She actually gets to have this.

"How soon should I come back for the follow-up?"

"Probably two months or so? The hair has to be fully grown out, and the time that takes varies from person to person. But I think that you'd only need one more session like that, two more if you were very unlucky. And that'd be your last time ever, of course."

She grins, excited. "Thank you so much."

As she puts her clothes back on, she asks, "Is there time to dye my hair, too?"

It's currently a messy mass of black curls hanging about her ears, having been very slowly growing out for a few months.

"Yes, there absolutely is. What color are you thinking? We don't carry too much inventory, so we might have to wait for a bot to bring it from the warehouse."

"Dark orchid violet." If readers think this sounds like the Pirates' moiety, that's because it is. "If there's a color picker, or a set of standard colors listed online, I can try to pick out the one I mean."

"There's about a billion color pickers, I can show you the one I think works the fastest?" She brings out a phone from a hidden pocket in her skirt, putting it in Sable's hands. There's a square swatch in a corner, in a dark violet color quite similar to the one she's thinking about, but there's a circle of similar colors that she's able to choose from taking up most of the phone's screen, so she can get exactly the color she's looking for. Unfortunately, the exact color she wants is only in a warehouse thousands of miles away at the moment. But she can get an incredibly close hair dye sent to the salon in 15 minutes using a cargo robot. "And that's not just one application of the dye, that's a fairly big container that'll last a while."

"Awesome."

She did not expect knowing the hex code of her favorite color to pay off this well.

"So, let's just get a haircut and a dye at once, while we're still here?" She motions for Sable to sit on one of the chairs. "Can you get me a photo of your ideal hair, too? I want to impress you."

She pulls out her phone and finds a curly-haired image. "This is probably the best we can do with my hair as it is now. The ideal I'm going for eventually is more like these though." And she shows two different images.

The woman nods at Sable. "Well, it's just a question of waiting, then? I can get started on fixing your hair while we wait for the dye to show up, and then I'll finish up by dying your hair, does that sound fine to you?"

"Sounds like a plan!" She settles into the haircutting chair and takes her glasses off.

"Oh, those aren't fashion glasses? I'm kind of surprised, basically everyone does contacts these days." She begins working on Sable's hair, shaping it so the curls are all pretty at a very high speed. She shows an impressive level of precision and dexterity with her hands, quickly giving Sable the haircut she asked for. "I'll head off to grab the hair dye now, just wait a moment." She returns to finish off Sable's haircut and finishes off dyeing her hair as well. "Was that everything you needed, now that you're already in the barber's chair?"

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? 

They have a recommended tailor! It's a waterfront store that's a fair distance from the cafe she's in, and if she's willing to wait, she can them to make her an outfit in exactly her color, as opposed to just something very similar. They're a full-service scuba and watersports supplier, as well. So she can get scuba tanks or rebreather systems, full-face masks, kayaks or anything else she might want, although the jetskis and the submarine and boat builder are a 30 minute subway ride away.

No, she is not going to buy a fucking kayak. Not yet. She doesn't have anywhere to put one, and she wants to focus on finding people first.

She finishes her food, puts the dishes on a porterbot's lower shelf, and heads off to the waterfront store.

They have a lot of dense tables of information, and a lot of illustrations of models wearing their wetsuit-flotation suits, having fun in the water, as well as almost a diorama with different kinds of diving gear. Near the entrance, there's almost a vending machine of different kinds of scuba tanks; they're all made of heavy steel, so you don't have to wear a heavy belt, and they are pre-filled with all kinds of combinations of breathing gases, from normal air to helium-filled in case you ever want to go deep to pure oxygen with helium diluent for the rebreather users. Additionally, you can get custom-fit full-face masks designed to cut down on the CO2 buildup as much as possible while letting you breathe through your nose.

The man wears just a pair of shorts and a pair of dive goggles on his head, giving a real sense of him being an experimenter who's been diving for as long as diving was a possibility. "Hello, girlie. What do you wish to buy here?"

She grins brightly at him. Gender euphoria is a hell of a drug. "Looking to get a wetsuit/floatation-suit to join this sailing club." She shows him the recommendation on her phone. 

He nods. "Your tailor who made you that lovely outfit probably sent you your measurements to your phone; I'll put together something that'll let you stay safe and warm in the water in a jiffy, just give me your measurements and I'll put together the outfit you'll need for that lightning-quick."

"Thank you! Think we can manage it in my favorite color in time for the club meeting?" She pulls up her measurements, along with the color on the color picker.

"In time for the club meeting? I can get you something fairly close, but I'd need to order the material by plane from the factory if you want it to be exactly your favorite color. I won't be able to get the plane to ship its cargo here fast enough. But if the best material I have" he taps his phone, showing Sable a swatch of a color a few shades brighter than her favorite color, "is good enough, I can get it done in time, yes."

"I can work with that!" She twirls delightedly in place.

Then she pauses and tilts her head. "Are there any rules about what I can wear under that?"

"You're supposed to wear nothing under it. It's tight, but not water-tight, so anything under it gets soaked and pushed against your skin, making you miserable and wet and cold. And it can be actively dangerous; cold, soaked clothing can be far more dangerous than you'd think, even beyond being absolutely miserable to have pushing against you."

Oh. Oh dear. "Um. That's going to be. Complicated. I... I'm trans. And so that means I need special panties or bikini bottoms or waterproof tape or whatnot."

She looks down and blushes.

"Well, you have the right kind of tape for this, right? I got told by one of my tailor friends that the new tape that gets used for this kind of thing is near-perfectly watertight. That's how my trans clients handle it. They can also get special underwear designed to be worn with suits like these, although the tape ultimately works better. I don't want to put something together I honestly can't, just so I can pretend I'm better than I am. So I really insist that you use one of those solutions coming from someone who's actually qualified for this."

"The kits and tape're watersafe? Okay." Tap tap tap, tuck kit ordered. "Ordered."

"Did you come from an alien planet? They'd have to make them work like that, otherwise they'd be near-unusable, wouldn't they?"

She blinks at him, a bit shocked. "Eep? You're the first person to just guess it. Wound up here yesterday, came from a world that's not nearly as accepting of trans people."

"Huh? What? How? That..." he stops himself, before walking off to make her the wetsuit/flotation-suit she was asking for.

He walked off to his workshop, returning with Sable's new outfit. It feels really amazing to wear, with the inside of the swimsuit using a fleece-like material that gives a sensation like being inside a blanket. The outside is slick and feels vaguely like a raincoat, if a raincoat could somehow be made less plasticky. It's quite formfitting, but still loose enough to give complete freedom of movement, and it's warm enough to make Sable feel like she's almost snuggled up under a thick blanket.

While he was away, she pulled out her old ID and currency. "Wish I knew how," she replies when he gets back, "but I have no clue. Like this world better, though. This is the best wetsuit I've ever seen. Thank you so much."

"Yes, I'm happy to deserve such positive reactions." Sable could see the little bot carrying the tuck kit wait outside the store, eager to deliver her the goods so it could continue on its rounds.

She grabs it, resists the urge to give the bot a headpat, and heads back in. "Mind if I use your changing room real quick?"

"Not at all, miss! It's just a few steps this way." He leads Sable through an impressive variety of diving equipment, before finally finding another changing room quite similar to that of the one from the other tailor. It's plenty spacious enough to let Sable apply one of the closely-fitted tuck kits (they were designed according to her measurements by her other tailor, like all the other clothing she's acquired)

This world is kind of amazingly comfy. 

She steps back out and twirls. "Ridiculously comfy wetsuit and a ridiculously well-fitted tuck kit, check. Thank you kindly, sir. Off I go to make friends in a brave new world."

Sable can see a bunch of small sailboats at the pier, with tons of men and women dressed in wetsuits quite like hers. They're just talking with each other casually at the moment, cheerfully conversing about how awesome things went last time in their small sailboats.

She walks up and waves. "Room for one more?"

One of the men looks over Sable. "Sure, but a lot of us like going really fast and being on the edge of falling over. It's more a question of whether it'd be fun for you."

"Hah! Yes please. Haven't sailed in fifteen years, so let's assume I've forgotten nearly everything, but I learn quick."

He lets Sable step onto the boat, before untying it and letting it slowly build speed as the wind blows it forwards. He slowly introduces her to the basics of sailing small, fast boats like his, as it races over the waves.

She laughs delightedly, everything coming back like riding a bike. "Oh I've missed this."

Her hands flow smoothly across the ropes, she leans hard into the turns, her grip is steady. She plays out the ropes when she needs to, and her sea legs are back like out-of-touch besties.

He's impressed by how Sable's sailing skills return, noticing how quickly she manages to use the ropes and steer the boat. "You're a natural at this, you know that? You're really flying over the waves."

She grins brightly at him, hands still on the ropes and the rudder, eyes sparkling. "Every time I get on a ship I feel like I'm coming home. Thank you for the compliment."

"I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it! I think some of the quick submarines can be really fun to cut through the waves in, if you love flying on the waves like this."

"I've never tried a submarine before. Worth a shot, at least." 

She trims the sail a bit as they turn closer into the wind.

The wind keeps blowing them forwards, sending a strong spray of water all over Sable's body. The sea is calm enough that it stops the boat moving too unexpectedly, letting Sable control where she's going. Several people enjoying the beach are looking on at Sable in admiration.

Well, let's give them a show. See if she remembers how this works. She needs a lot of speed going into it, but...

She turns to run entirely with the wind, easing the sail out all the way to build up as much momentum as she can. Then comes the tricky part. She has to trim and ease the sails very fluidly and precisely throughout, to keep her speed up. First she starts a slalom, dipping back and forth without losing speed. And then suddenly she sharply steers into a circle, using the momentum she's built up to carry her all the way through the wind not once but twice, before zipping back toward the docks and slowing back down.

By the end of it her muscles burn just a little at the unfamiliar exercise and she's sure any of these sailors could do better, but she's proud of herself just the same. 

The man on the boat is delighted at seeing Sable steer it so well, cheering as she maneuvers it faster and waster through the wind and waves. "You're a natural, you know that? You could give most of the guys meeting here a run for their money! Name's Charles, by the way." After coming back ashore, he rushes to find his phone and asks to share numbers with Sable. Near the beach, another woman, dressed like Sable and swimming on her back, waves at her. "Can you send me on a ride like that some day? That looked so unbelievably fun!"

She grins, blushes a bit, and exchanges numbers. "Oh, I don't know about that. I'm sure y'all have people who've been doing this longer and can do better. But I definitely had a lot of fun and plan to keep coming back."

She blushes a decent bit more when the woman swimming compliments her and asks for a ride.

But she breaks into a big grin and nods. "I'd love to. Name's Sable. Wanna exchange numbers when you get back out of the water?"

"Or we can hang out some other time?", she continues. "I think you're looking really pretty in those clothes, too. I like how formfitting the outfit is. And the color, I think it's just fantastic."

Did she just get hit on? She just got hit on. What.

The shock doesn't get to stop her at all, though. She manages to keep is almost entirely internal, and replies with a grin. "Definitely. I'm new to the music scene around here. Would you like to grab a meal and a show sometime?"

"Absolutely! Would you ever be in the mood to try out diving with me? They've put out a bunch of new chests to find, and I'm really excited to see what's inside them with someone else."

"Ooooh. That sounds fun. I'll need to get a bit of diving gear, don't have any tanks, masks, or snorkels yet, but exploring with a new friend — and a pretty one at that — sounds like a great time."

She slowly and elegantly makes her way out of the water, revealing that she's tall, with long legs and arms, long black hair that reaches her shoulders and slightly tan skin. Her facial features seem like a mix of many ethnicities, with Sable struggling to recognize which ones. "Yeah, doing it for the first time, and doing it with newbies, is such amazing fun. I know it's gonna be fantastic." Her suit, startlingly similar to Sable's is quite tight in the rear, like everywhere else...

Ink and Salt she is so gay.

"Shared experiences always improve things like this, agreed. Goodness, I'm going to have to go back to the wetsuit guy. Do we want snorkel, tank, or free-diving for this?"

"Well, it'd be very uncomfortable to free-dive or snorkel for the chests! But yes, it'd make sense to meet the watersports tailor. He has a huge supply and range of options. I'd really enjoy helping you pick out some gear, it's just that it'd be a bit late to get started with the process now, I think. But I'm very free to join you in getting some equipment and practicing in a pool tomorrow, if you're really eager!"

"Sounds like fun! Meet at the store? What time works for you tomorrow?"

"Around 9? That's enough time for a breakfast, too."

"Looking forward to it. What's your name?"

"I'm Helena, now I want to know yours."

"Pretty name, Helena. Lovely to meet you. I'm Sable."

"I have a very, very good feeling about making your acquaintance, Sable! It's gonna be so much fun to have someone new to introduce to the world of diving."

"It's gonna be pretty delightful to get introduced. I'm excited about all of this."

She grinning pretty wide.

"Anyway, I wanted to head home right about now. Watch a few shows, order something for dinner. Let me just quickly give you my info." She says a few numbers and letters, letting Sable know how to contact her, before walking off with her bags in a public bathroom. She emerges wearing a scarily short skirt and a sheer, white top that works to show off her black bra, before finding a subway and riding off to her own apartment somewhere in the city.

Well. Today was one hell of a win.

Fuck yes.

She sits down on a nearby bench, grinning wide after a moment, and looks around.

There are a lot of people on the beach, still; there's about a 50/50 split between wearing a wetsuit and wearing a bikini or trunks, and lots of people swimming or reading. The beach stretches on for quite a while; Sable can see a duo wearing some kind of training armor and sparring with swords a fair distance away. It's quite amateurish, but they're still swinging at each other ferociously.

Well, off she strolls to go see. She'll admire the various beachgoers along the way, but soon enough she reaches the sword-fighters. They certainly have spirit. She won't interrupt.

They're wearing padded bodysuits that covers their entire bodies, together with helmets made of some kind of mesh that flawlessly protects their heads and faces. And all this lets them swing their wooden-looking swords at each other with total abandon. It's a disorganized melee, with them constantly overextending and swinging at each other, but their enjoyment and excitement is obvious. They don't notice Sable.

Gosh that's cool. She'll just watch until they pause on their own. They're clearly having a lot of fun.

Eventually, they do get exhausted, and the turn towards Sable. "Hi! I'm glad you enjoyed our dueling." It's a male voice, and the man keeps his anonymizing helmet on for the moment. "Have you ever tried sparring like this?"

"I haven't! I was planning to check out one of the clubs, maybe the saber one in about a week, but haven't tried anything yet. Sure looks exciting."

"Well, yeah. You don't need to join any club to get some protective gear and wail on someone with toy weapons. We like not thinking about our defense, it's actually quite fun to just swing wildly and try to overpower the other guy."

She grins and giggles. "Yes, there's something to be said for just going wild on it. Y'all certainly looked like you were having fun."

"We sure did, miss! I bet you're gonna have some amazing fun if you ever get some protective gear and toy swords like us, and get to just swing it as hard and fast as you want without a care in the world!"

"Anyway, my other friend over there is off to play some board games in a smoking room. So I'll probably head off; I can't really wail on myself."

She tilts her head. "Probably isn't anywhere to get that kind of gear still open, is there? When're you likely to try again?"

"I don't follow a schedule? I can call you if I'm going out to have with another one of these battles where I'm just wailing on people, though. And can let you know if any of my friends wants someone else to spar with, too."

"Sounds great." She'll happily exchange numbers with New Friend. "I'm Sable."

"And I'm Henry! Nice to meet you, Sable."

"Likewise, Henry. I should probably go find myself supper, but it's been lovely, and I hope to hear from you soon about a chance to beat each other up with practice swords."

"Same here! It's a really great, satisfying workout, as well. I can really feel the improvement in my cardio!"

"Looking forward to it, Henry."

She pauses just a moment. Tilts her head.

"Wanna go find a meal together? I'd love to hear more about how you got into this, if you don't mind sharing."

"Well, I was just about to head home! I'd be happy to meet up another time, if you wish. But I'm not quite in the mood for sharing a meal today, really."

"Entirely valid. Enjoy your evening!" And she'll wave and head off to find a cafe near the water. Herbal tea, pesto chicken noodle dish, maybe finish it up with a little brownie?

Ooh, she's lucky that she can order food from anywhere! A charming faux-1800s-aristocrat cafe offers both a fantastic herbal tea and amazing brownies, and the pesto chicken noodle coming from a ghost kitchen that had particularly tasty-looking images is fresh and delicious by the time it arrives to her table. The robot bringing it over actually used a subway to travel part of the way, to let it go faster while saving its battery and dodging people and cars above ground.

Gosh. This world is going to spoil her. This is absolutely delicious. She takes her time savoring it, sighing contentedly.

Eventually, after a while savoring that, people-watching, and watching the waves, she catches a subway back home. She has deliveries, doesn't she?

That she does! There's a fair bit of space between the columns in a skyscraper, so any deliveries can fit quite well next to each of the elevators. The clothes and pharmaceutical supplies are contained in a few boxes placed next to the elevator leading into Sable's apartment, where they can quite easily slide along the floor and into the elevator heading up.

She hauls everything in with a smile, and starts putting things away. Clothes get hung up, pills get set on the table, and then she starts with the instructions for her snek. Assuming it's all straight-forward, she'll mark down a "before treatment" reading.

The instructions say to place one of the included vials behind the neck of the snek, turning it slightly until you can hear a click. Then, you find a place, like behind your arm, that's relatively insensitive, open the jaws of the sneck, and shove them against the area you're drawing blood from. After a 4 second safety delay, it takes the sample, loosening its jaws so it can easily be pulled off.

This world is unspeakably adorable. She is in love. She takes her sample as instructed.

Then, the sample is to be sent to one of the labs at the local hospital, where they'll give Sable and Sylvania the results of the bloodwork, to help ensure that Sable receives a safe and effective dosage of the hormones and other medications mixed into the (conveinently small and easy to swallow!) pills.

She packs it up and signals whichever delivery bots are responsible for that, and then starts reading her pill instructions. Once daily or more? Morning? Evening? With food? Without food? Any other important rules?

Once daily, evening, with food. There aren't any other rules to follow; the bloodwork is meant to include the interactions from her diet and lifestyle, so it'd be inappropriate to use samples taken in the morning. It's the same kind of small delivery bot used for delivering food to people, although the vial is to be packed into a very thick padded case to protect it on its way to the hospital and back to Sable.

Well then. She'll order a last little cookie or three and a little bit of milk, to be entirely solid about having had it with food. What's the state of the art on Thomassia for keeping your pills handy for taking with supper? Pill organizer in your purse or something?

Sable can easily buy a mini-size bottle of pills, letting her carry a few with her while minimizing their bulk, or place them in padded plastic bags to protect them if she carried them inside a purse or backpack.

Then she'll order a mini-bottle and tuck it in a purse. Problem solved. The cookies and milk are delicious, the pill goes down easy, and then she brushes her teeth and curls up on the couch to read a little fiction before going to bed.

The main genre of fiction here seems to be pseudo-biographies, containing various episodes from the life of a soldier, general or just someone present for many historical or fictional moments. One about a mom and daughter who lived through a century of their country going from poor to prosperous is incredibly engrossing, comparing how the mom spent all day carrying her daughter on her back when she worked on a farm and lived in a straw hut, to when her great-grandchild was sent to be cared for by the nurses at the nursery that was built into the skyscraper that her granddaughter lived in and recovered in after her birth. And thomassians quite possibly might have lived a life seeing the world change similarly!

An utterly fascinating perspective on life here. She bookmarks where she stops, tucks into bed, and goes to sleep with a contented sigh.

Sable wakes up, feeling quite amazing. The light in the ceiling gently brightened over a long period, letting her wake up refreshed, relaxed, and full of energy. The alarm, coming from her phone, is the sound of a pleasing, slow-paced song. She can easily wait a while on the wide bed, snoozing for a while longer, before finally waking up for real; alarms are generally set earlier than when you get out of bed, to give you some time to rest in bed before getting out.

Yep. This world is totally spoiling her. Probably that's a good thing.

She lounges for a bit, luxuriating, then gets up and washes up for the day ahead. 

Once she's all freshened up, she gets dressed in a swishy skirt that comes to her lower thighs, a poofy blouse, some cute little wedge heels, and puts her wetsuit and a tuck kit into a bag along with the mini pill bottle. And then she's off for breakfast. She'll find a bakery near the watersports store and have some apple and cheese pastries, and maybe a cup of cocoa.

They offer all three, while they're also baking bread in small batches through the day, letting a powerful, pleasant scent of fresh bread constantly fill the bakery.

Gosh that's lovely. Cue contented sigh.

A little before nine, Sable walks up to the watersports store and heads inside, perusing the various tank options.

There are slightly smaller tanks, and some slightly larger, but they are quite similar. Beyond that, they're all made of high-strength steel, so they can handle quite impressive pressures, although they also weigh a fair amount. But that's helpful; it means she'll be able to wear a less heavy belt around her waist to maintain a neutral buoyancy.

Well, she'll be curiously perusing these when Helena shows up.

Helena walks into the store, quickly making her way over to Sable. "Hi Sable! I'm so excited to buy new gear for you and to get started with everything! Do you already have some idea of the kind of gear you'd like? A mask that lets you breathe through your nose, perhaps? Would that be a major feature on your end?"

"Probably would," she agrees, turning to Helena with a smile. "Don't have a lot of thoughts about what kind of gear apart from that yet, though. I'm still feeling out the option space. I think I might prefer a larger tank rather than smaller, just at a guess?"

"Well, these days we've basically gone totally over to rebreathers, so the big decision is basically semi open as opposed to one of the CCR rebreathers. Personally, I don't really dive deep or long enough for the extreme longevity of the CCR to really be the right decision, and a semi open unit is way lighter because you don't extra emergency tanks. I'm probably going to stick to the easier chests this season, so I doubt the CCR will prove at all necessary." 

A smile of comprehension stretches across her face and she nods. "Aha. That makes sense. Probably I don't need the extra dive-time." She turns to take a look at the rebreathers. How long can the semi-open ones go?

They seem to last around an hour, using an impressively compact tank and scrubber system. But the real advantage is their simplicity, safety and low weight if you're not doing super-long dives.

She hums thoughtfully, then nods. "Yeah, semi-open should be fine unless I'm getting up to quite the mischief. You make a good point."

She looks back at Helena with a smile. "What else do I need?"

"Well, the mask fitted to your face. Everything else is really commodity hardware you can just buy anywhere. So, it's time to get a face scan and try some 3D printed inner masks, see what's comfortable without having much dead space."

"Okay! Lead the way!" She grins brightly at Helena. Gorgeous, interesting woman introduces her to a whole new hobby. What a life this is.

She takes her over to the same man who tailored the wetsuit she had on yesterday. "Good morning, miss. You already have the wetsuit, so now I'll presume that you want a scuba mask so you can take it further? Please look at this." The man takes her over to a frame holding cameras looking at Sable from every angle, slowly creating an intricate and precise 3D scan of her face. Afterwards, he hands her what looks like oxygen masks made of a soft, transparent plastic.

"You'll want something that doesn't push against your nose too much, but still doesn't leave any room in front of your nose or mouth. Basically, it's supposed to not be touching you, but coming as close as it can without doing so."

She holds it up and examines it. Does this conflict with her glasses at all? If not, she'll try it on right now.

It does, in fact, bump into her glasses, due to how it also goes over her nose.

Well. "Guess I'm overdue to switch to contacts." She takes them off and tries on the mask. How's the fit? Does it match what the guy suggested? How easily can she breathe?

It pinches against the bridge of the nose, a little. And it leaves a bit more space than it really needs around the mouth and the tip of her nose, so the fit isn't quite perfect. It's not easy to breathe in, but it does let some air in through a few small gaps. Meaning it wouldn't be waterproof, or stop the air leaking out of her mask and into the water, causing much of it to be wasted.

She frowns consideringly. "Couple gaps, pinches a bit here, and leaves a little extra space around the nose." She points out the locations of all of that. "Maybe shoulda had my glasses off."

"Yep, that was just the closest thing I had just lying around. The 3D printer is currently spinning up, trying to see how small we can get that orinasal mask volume, without squeezing you uncomfortably." He waved at Sable for a moment, before walking off and coming back with a similar oxygen mask, this one with small pockets that followed the contours of Sable's nose and mouth closely. "This one shouldn't pinch your face and basically leaves no extra space around your mouth and nose, so you minimize the CO2 buildup. And it should be airtight until I attach the air supply port here at the front of it."

Okay, she curiously tries that on. Airtight? Doesn't pinch?

Yes indeed, it's both. And if Sable exhales, she'll find that it really produces a lot of pressure, because the air doesn't have anywhere to go. "That's basically the main fit done. You can also get it with more initial space, and then lower the dead space volume by using foam. I prefer doing it like this, though. The foam can get hot and sweat when you exhale."

"So, that's the inner mask. Next thing is choosing the outer mask, that this plugs into. You can choose to do something relatively old school, with basically a pair of goggles with this mask attached the bottom, or you can have the single-pane design, that shows more of your face. The second option makes you look better, but it's a bit less convenient; the air inside gets pushed up by the water, and it's harder to get a right seal. But the differences between any options are honestly quite small."

"Hmm. Tough decision. Look cuter, or be practical."

She bobbles her head back and forth a bit.

"Which kind do you have, Helena?"

"The cuter one! It's really not a big disadvantage, and those bigger masks that show your face are basically only an issue if the somehow slip off your face. They feel nicer than having the rubber of a traditional mask squeezing around my eyes, as well."

She grins and nods. "Fair 'nuff. Cuter one it is. Got something close to my shade of violet?"

"Yes, that we do. The plastic this is made of can be custom-dyed and made into a mask in exactly your color, or you can just buy this." He shows Sable a mask in a color that's a near-perfect match for her favorite shade of violet, with a wide glass window that shows off her entire face when underwater.

"Ooooh. That'll do marvelously." Happy bounce? Happy bounce.

"Well, that's the custom-part done. Next up is just plugging the mask into a regulator, and the regulator into the fully analog rebreather kit, and you're ready to explore the depths of the oceans while staying warm in your wetsuit."

"Thank you!" She'll happily collect all these things, assembling them as instructed and intermittently shooting grins at Helena.

The rebreather looks like an extra short oxygen tank, plugged onto the end of a normal oxygen tank. It becomes part of the breathing loop, and it comes with a fan system that constantly blows air through the loop. It creates a gentle flow of air in Sable's face, making it incredibly easy to breathe while keeping the air in the tiny, closely-fitted pocket surrounding her mouth and nose fresh and cool.

It works! Cue bouncing and grinning. "Thank you!"

Helena taps Sable on her shoulder. "It's going to be so fantastic to see how you react to diving for the first time, and seeing your first chest!" She thinks for a moment. "Honestly, with all the safety features and me being there, I'd be comfortable with you getting to slowly, and casually, dive for a really safe chest near the the surface. Do you feel as comfortable as I feel with you trying that?"

Hmmm. Does she?

She does. She can read the guidelines on the way there, and she kind of trusts Helena. Already.

"Yeah, let's do it! Got a link to the basic guidelines I should review real quick on our way there?"