"...I don't think I am overcomplicating it?  Though perhaps that is because I am still thinking in the context of the original idea.  But so noted.  ...Hm.  Really this project is more like several overlapping subprojects, so perhaps..."

She rotates plans in her mind, then carefully engages in handholding.

Here, have the very distinct sensation of the doctor taking a juicy red apple out of nowhere and stuffing it at her mouth, and reflexively biting down on it. It tastes delicious.

It would have been near impossible to tell that this was fake, if the Foundation wasn't !!! about it in her head. All the details of shadow and scent and air motion look and feel right. Tastes right. Even the bite felt kind of like she'd done it by reflex.

"Whoa.  That's incredible fidelity.  Is it built off of your experiences?  Mine?  Some sort of platonic concept of suddenly shoving a delicious apple into someone else's mouth?  ...Now that I'm thinking about it, it's kind of strangely punny.  Apples, doctors, I'm sure you've heard somebody say the line before."  She pushes a bit of mana over to the doctor for her trouble, regrets that she is blushing, summarily scraps the idea of needing to handle somatosensory I/O - at least on the client end; it might still be useful to provide a preprocessor, though it might also not - and flips the page on her notepad.  Better to have a blank slate, even if she is going to fill it with some of the same ideas.  That transference sigil is going to be useful to many future projects, she's sure of it, and she's starting to get a sense of the design aesthetic she wants to go for, given what already is.

(She'll get the report on what happened later.)

"Some of yours, some of mine. The exact details I consider a teensy bit of a species secret, really. I'm told we can be scary. Like almost anyone or anything with magic. And yes," she nods firmly, "I chose apples for a reason."

The doctor pulls her hand away.

"I'm willing to cut eighty Ogham out of your final bill for attempting a prototype adjustable mannequin at all, and up to two hundred fifty more for delivery of a minimum viable product depending on overall quality. After that initial one, if it's successful we'll want more features, as long as they end up smooth and error-free. We absolutely can't have obvious glitches on any magical equipment customers can see, that's the big one, what if they start doubting our competence? So I'm also going to be paying a tinker I know to check your work. We could write up a formal invoice with objective standards if you'd like."

"I think I can work with that."

(Okay, Alex, step one of starting a small business? by accident, don't panic.)

(She is failing at this, but she is trying to be calm, which helps.)

"...I have just realized that I have no idea whatsoever how this might impact my taxes.  Do you have an accountant or something?"  She cards a hand through her hair, in something of a stress tic.  "Hm.  The biggest cost on my end is going to be actually sourcing the parts, I'm pretty sure...  Well, between that and shop time slash hiring machiners; I'm a computer programmer, I've never done actual hardware in my life.  Besides that one time I soldered like half of a cheap knockoff-brand car.  ...Actually, I wonder if I could cut down the actual focal point to something less bulky than a mannequin...  Hmm.  Maybe, but then the underlying sympathetic link would be more tenuous...  We'll see how it goes.  I'm sure I can use something like that for something even if it turns out to not be useful for this.  Right.  Okay.  ...I'm probably going to have a horrible panic about the idea of being in a position of corporate responsibility the moment I stop hyperfocusing on the project's needs, but getting a good list of requirements is probably important, so the invoice is probably a better idea even before taking into account my preference that all important things be in writing.  Which this would be."

"...Note to self, test with furries if at all possible...  Oh hmm magical species - varietals - species? - I don't know if there's appropriate terms - with nonhumanoid bauplans might have different interactions -"

...Would that work, with the Vitruvian Man undergirding the process symbolically?  She's not sure yet!  She's sure she'll find out!  And find something that works better if that becomes necessary!

"...Well, that's my schedule filled for the next while.  And yes, glitches are very not good to have in things, I try to avoid them."

"We report mana we receive as taxable income and we pay taxes on it. It works like sales tax, basically, where you don't need to report it because the clinic is collecting it at the point where you 'sell' to us. This, meanwhile, is a discount in exchange for services. It's ambiguous. If I were paying you cash, which is an option, I'd be retaining you for your fabrication skills. I'd pay you a flat amount for a specific project, and that would go on another 1099 form as independent contractor income. Being paid in discounts is ambiguous. Technically, you probably should report it for the would-be-cash-value, and pay income tax on it. Practically, if you don't, I don't expect anyone would end up bothering you about it."

"...Huh.  Thanks, good to know.  Wasn't actually expecting you to know that off the top of your head.  ...Iiiii'm gonna take the option that results in me having to file less tax paperwork, and take some comfort in the fact that, at least in tax law, ignorance is an excuse."

"...Hmm. I have a question about your gag reflex, actually. It does serve a useful survival purpose in many cases. Total removal may result in increased danger from choking hazards. Also, for your metabolism- Would.you rather never think about it, or be more optimized for athletics?"

"Ah...  Hmm.  Maybe not all the way gone, I don't know.  ...There's really too much of that going around, today.  I don't exactly know how often I should expect to face, ehm, non-consensual, choking hazards?  There aren't often discussions of potential second-order medical problems even in works that attempt to reify porn logic, but it's not like I've ever gone and needed a Heimlich before."

"...I would much rather not have to think about my metabolism than have to expend significant effort managing it, but I don't know what significant effort would mean.  Though I do kind of expect that I will have little success in changing my dietary habits, unfortunately."

"Reduced reflex, maybe. Or only activating when unconscious... There's a subset of people who want to be as healthy as possible. It's part of their self image. It's sort of a spectrum from a Honda Civic to a formula one racecar. If you're going to eat burgers, fries, ice cream, and other salty, fatty, or cholesterol filled foods, I recommend driving a Civic. You don't actually need to decide everything today, though. The first few treatments are essentially speed running HRT- You can see how you feel after that when we start doing detail work. I can also actually get into the biochemistry if you're interested, instead of the accessible gloss."

"...Yeah, I'd rather drive the Civic, then.  The biochemistry does sound interesting, but not in such a way as to take up more of your valuable time over.  So let's speedrun HRT!  ...Oh no, the mental image of someone with like, a literal speedrun channel with the timers and a bunch of glitch explaining...doing that for transing their gender...It's too funny..."

She's gonna take a second to catch her breath.

"Alrighty, so, how does the magic actually go, anyway...?"

"Let's go over the treatment plan and make sure you understand and agree to it. Then, all you have to do is lie down. It'll take about an hour, which overruns your original appointment but we had some cancellations. I recommend eating and drinking just before we begin, and resting and eating well for the rest of the day. I also recommend making sure you have loose clothes available, you'll start seeing results within hours, and definitely overnight. We have pamphlets on what to expect."

(The treatment plan she proffers definitely contains a lot of detail that isn't made up by a non-doctor.)

She's ready for it!

(And she has definitely read, understood, and even offered occasional lay comment upon the said details!)

The doctor touches various parts of Alex as she lays on an exam table. It doesn't feel like much. A faint tingling, and a lingering warmth, especially focused on the scalp, face, hips and waist, and upper chest.

"I recommend a very high caloric intake, around twice what you would normally eat, and one appointment every three days until we're all done. As we discussed, you'll need to complete the first four sessions before your transition will be stable and effectively permanent and maintenance-free, and the latter four will focus very heavily on general health. Please let us know if you experience any negative side-effects, and good luck with the mannequin project."

She nods.  "Will do."

Now, to (book her followup appointments), go home and get to work.

She texts Wren -

Appointment went well; apparently I rate just a little under 40 'Oghams'.  38.6, technically, but I do wonder how much of that was in-process recharge.  Note to self: mana-storing fidget toy?  Stress ball?  Having to go to a fixed point is so inefficient...  Plus overflow loss!

- and messages OS:

Succubi: Very cool.  Capable of incredibly high-fidelity - uh, illusions, mind tricks?  Genjutsu? - haven't looked at the report just yet.  May have accidentally started a small business; I brought up the idea of making, like, a mannequin/test-dummy but for biosculpting and they're intrigued enough to accept them as alternate payment.  ...Now I just gotta find, like, parts.  Halp, how do I industry and hardware.

I mean I'm sure I can go ask the engineering department...

...Hm, yeah.  Right.  Time to go...Print out a sign or something.  Heavens know I'm not gonna start a conversation on my own.

...To the library!  ...Okay maybe not right now.  She is very much done socialing for the day.  But she has so many ideas bouncing around in her head...

Dammit, I have too many ideas.  And not enough hardware experience.  Like.  This is in fact the first time I have set out to design a wholeass physical object that's not made of Legos.  Or indeed one made of Legos, really, my various Bionicle kitbashes(?) aside.

...Ooh.  I wonder.  I should see if I can dig up some useful Bionicle stuff.  It's got the right sort of cachet, and a coherent identity.  At least, the old ones.  Reboot series, maybe less so; from what I'm hearing the writing has kind of gone flat, which is a shame.  Though it does have the small benefit of probably putting more old-series parts in circulation, which is helpful.

...That aside.  I'm gonna need, like, stuff.  Hoo boy.

...Note to self: Toa Ignika animated/empowered by lightning; this could be replicated; see also Toy Story for additl. oomph?  ...That gen is full of probably-useful things, actually, not just the heroes themselves.  Just gotta get them done right.  ...I'm gonna have to actually learn how to write the fancy font, aren't I.  At least it's hexagons.  Hexagons have useful geometric implications.  And I bet it can be printed pretty easily, too.  ...Can't get ahead of myself, though.  I don't have the supplies for that, either.

Lol

They came up with a PC word for it

Isn't that Irish?

The actual name is ofc 'orgasms'

It means that a succubus could make you cum 38.6 times in a row before you're completely exhausted and tapped out~

You can order lumber pre cut to specific sizes at like Home Depot

There's also woodshops near me that people rent/borrow to make, like, boy scout cars with

(Ugh, I always had to do one even tho it was dad who enjoyed them)

And u can get cloth and random other crafting stuff at Hobby Lobby

And order 3D printed models off the internet but they might be sub par for magic?

I'm more confused by the hour at how magic is supposed to work tbh

To Wren:

...Well that is!  Certainly a fact!

And yeah I think it's to do with standing stones?  Or something.  There's definitely, like, at least one important Thingy by that name.

To OS:

Honestly if I could get away with wood shop...  I wouldn't be horribly uninformed about how to work there, I guess.  For the same unfortunate reasons.  But I think this ought to have metal bits for appropriate dramatic effect, is the really annoying problem.  Maybe I can make something work, though.  ...Gotta figure out physical transmission if I want to do that though...

Magic works how everybody thinks it works, when you don't instead throw power into simply rejecting reality and substituting your own; imo that's the beginning and end of it.  I'm not sure what's up with the power levels or why there's some sort of specific fidelity of control that must be honed, let alone why there's a minimum level of - narrative weight - you have to have been assigned by chance to do magic whatsoever, but - it's all about assembling the right tropes, unless you're Bullshit.  Or perhaps becoming your own trope is how you become Bullshit.  That would explain the way everyone's so paradigmatic, though it's probably also sunk-costs.

There definitely does seem to be a lot of random bullshit involved here

Hardly anything can definitely be considered fake

Bigfoot probably really exists somewhere, if only because some troll decided to make him

Paradigmatic?

Paradigmatic: behaving in accordance with a specific paradigm, e.g. the various 'classes'.

 

...Any succubus could probably make you into Bigfoot with enough mana.  So yeah definitely.

...Anywho, my wiki-dive into half-forgotten Bionicle lore aside, I'm trying to find some useful random bullshit.  Hm.  What could we use for...

Oh, there's a thought.

Or maybe as many as several thoughts.

Hmm.

Hmm.

Then again, I don't really want that sort of thing to leak.  And I'm not sure how able I am to protect me from my own memes.

...And, I probably could try wire-wrap...  Unrelated to the prior thoughts.

...Am I really about to create a fucking pocket dimension based off a sigil derived from the TARDIS?  ...Well, uh.  Yes.  Probably.  I hope.  If it's actually useful.  Which I'm not sure of really.  TARDIS-interior has some properties where I don't know if they really suit.  ...Other useful popculture: Ant-Man?  I still need some actual connective tissue to pull it together, though...  ...Wasn't that what I had thought to use the TIS-100 for, actually.  That and the transference/input sigil.  ...Right, it was.  Okay.

Hm.  Where even was I, anyway?  Before my train of thought derailed.

...Right, so, the body-modeling device.  Right.  What does that actually need.

- User input by non-thaumaturgic means.

- Substance? with which user input can be rendered pseudoreal.

- Biothaumaturgical validity check?

...Now how do we get there.

That's the tough part.

- Conceptual computing.

- Artificial souls are a horrible idea, me, don't.

- Crystal memory?

- Virtual particles, duh,

-- Note to self: Feynman diagrams?

- ...Should the body have an idle animation?  Probably.

- Actually, am I playing TIS-100, or Shenzhen I/O?  Probably the latter.  Really though, TIS is the better acronym.

- Magical Bluetooth Keyboard.  For debugging purposes.  This totally makes sense.  Really I'd install a USB port if I had one.  ...I could just get one.  Or make one, or rather a means of reading it by magic.  It is Universal Serial Bus.  It has a sigil.

- Circuit diagrams?

- ...Is plain-English instruction language actually sufficiently magical?  Very unknown.  Pseudocode for pseudocomputing?  ...Sigil typing needs to be figured out.  I guess there's emojis?  esp. ala Discord?  How to input/define those, though - I really need a sonic screwdriver, ffs.

Or maybe culture reflects reality

Or maybe humans really like stories and sorting things into boxes, so we see stories amd boxen

Start simple and work up? 'Pseudoreal' projection of like

A rubber ball

Then some way to control it

One step at a time like

Nyehhh I don't want to make toy projects when I could instead make real projects with the same mana.  Don't do that to me.

That's not saying that I couldn't make a smaller project of the same sort, but like.  Nyehhhhhh.  I have spent so much time doing useless toy projects.

So.  Maybe I could solve some of my material problems this way.  That's practical.

Opus Magnum don't fail me now.