Love it, and want to use it! Go to Comment

4.0/5

I dislike being the first to cast a vote on any submission, the only thing I like even less is a sub with no/little voting activity. So here ya go!

I like it, like Moonlake, modern isn't my 'usual' setting, but this is good.

Congratulations on the completion of a good 30! Go to Comment

I think the formatting of this is brilliant and I do think this 30 rounds out the Player Cult nicely and adds great depth to it in terms of the inner intrigues that're going on. However, I do have to say modern is just not my thing so I sort of stopped reading halfway through the Puzzle Gamer section (I did jump ahead and read Exodus and thinks that gives a very good reason for the Death Bringer Guild arising within the Player Cult).

I'm not voting on this particular piece b/c I think I might do it an injustice. I wouldn't change a single thing on it (which according to what I revealed abt my voting practice should be a 5) but if someone really force me to vote on it, my gut feeling would tell me to vote a 4. And yes, I did mention (when I revealed my voting standard) that I will refrain from voting on subs that are just not my 'cup of tea' regardless of their quality. Go to Comment

Update: Fixed up the formatting a bit, and went over it again for spelling/grammatical errors. Go to Comment

Thanks for that, Moonlake. I went ahead and tagged the piece as "Modern" to help give other people a heads-up about it, as well. Go to Comment

This is a very complete 30. It is very useful for both, as you said, a gang member, or their actual purpose: being a Player. This does a very good job at fleshing out the Cult and its ambitions. I have a feeling that I should critique you on something in this, but I can't think of what.

Good job, Dossta. Go to Comment

I enjoyed this read, and I like the concept. Storage cubes are interesting and give me all sorts of smuggling, human trafficking and otherwise technoabuses Go to Comment

Could I order a tame Giant Spider through them? Go to Comment

Interesting! Pokemon ball meets Scras' Cosmic Era, was my main takeaway. Really like the sample pets! Weird and memorable. + .5 for all the samples. Go to Comment

as Cheka might say..."I want one!" Go to Comment

11) Buruvian Shellcrackers

T’adshi’gazmu, as they are known in the far-flung galaxy where they originate, resemble sea-scorpions, anywhere from six to eight inches in length, but are not aquatic by nature. Unusual creatures comprised almost entirely of chitin, with numerous appendages, feelers, antennae, prodders, and pincers, they are not a good choice for those wanting emotionally satisfying interactions with their pets. Their claim to fame is the astonishing, prehensile strength of their pincer grips. If they can grasp an object, they can crush it like kindling, up to and including titanium steel or even harder materials! Originally, these critters were used by the highly unpleasant Buruvi race for crushing and opening the bizarre, stone-hard shells of the mollusk-like creatures of their home world. Over the centuries Shellcrackers have found their way inside the PetDex cubes, and are now prized by owners for their ability to destroy *anything* they can get their pincers around (approximately something 1.5 inches in diameter or smaller) once taken out of their cube. Creatures of little intelligence (thankfully), great care must be taken when letting “loose” the Shellcrackers, as one Captain Kurkus Three-Finger can attest to, for example. Starship engineers have also been documented using Shellcrackers to snap cables and wiring in emergency situations.

They require little “care”, as they feed on invisible particles, found in almost any given environment, and seem perfectly content to simply crush and break, any object put in front of them. There are rumors of giant Shellcrackers somewhere out there in the vastness of space, and tales of these creatures ripping through starships as if through aluminum foil, but thankfully those have not found their way into PetDex cubes…as of yet.
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Only voted Go to Comment

Even though I'm not personally into pets, I do find the idea of this sub likeable. However, I don't quite get why govts. want to get their hands on some unkeyed Pet Cubes. Is it sth like the Pet Cube can capture any species in the whole universe and so they can store even humans in a Pet Cube if they wanted?
P.S Will add some to the Creature Dex when I have time and some ideas. Go to Comment

Well, yes, I can't tell (until I looked it up just then), Pokemon is sth I know the existence of but never got into it (I had practically outgrown cartoons by the time it hits) Go to Comment

4) Nine-tailed foxes

Physical Description: Fox-like creatures that are kitten sized and with a face resembling Alaskan Malamutes. Depending on their growth phase, they have up to nine tails and come in a range of (pure) colours

These cuties are popular with the ladies as they have a tendency for snuggling up against owners and especially enjoy being stroked on their lustrous tails. Unlike their namesake in Chinese myths, these creatures are common domesticated pets on their native planet and do not have any supernatural abilities. They are also vegetarians. They have much longer life spans compared to a human and this has given rise to a new trend of these creatures being passed down from mother to daughter as a keepsake.

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5) Soft-shelled turtles

Physical Description: Identical to normal turtles in physiology except for their shells being somewhat soft, much like a soft-shell crab. Up to five years in age, young soft-shelled turtles are, however, completely indistinguishable from normal turtles, even to the hardness of the shells.

Every five years, soft-shelled turtles shed one layer of their shells and regrow one that is partially of the exact same colour and tone as the layer it just shed and partially of a random colour and tone. Unlike normal turtles, soft-shelled turtles have a much shorter life span. Usually, it is able to accompany a single owner for all of his/her life and then will be quite close to the end of its own natural life.

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8) Whirling Cocktails

Physical Description: Spinning vortexes of viscous liquid

They range from being thumb-sized to being about half a human in height. Little maintenance is required for the Whirling Cocktails. There is no need to clean their droppings for they leave none. Their diets are also simple (any gas, liquid or oil would do). Despite their liquid form, the growth in Whirling Cocktails is not proportional to the volume of material fed to them. Also, besides a growth in volume, the Whirling Cocktails will change in colour, viscosity and spinning speed according to the material fed to them. They ‘eat’ only periodically (usually about once every 3 months). They will emit a clanging sound as if cutleries coming into contact with one another whenever they require feeding and purr with a light ‘ting’ sound once their appetites are sated. If they are fed material indigestible to them i.e. any solid materials, they will emit a thin wail and quickly spin away from such offending materials. Keep the Wailing Cocktails well out of reach from human toddlers, youngsters and other addled members of this particular species- while accidental ingestions of the Whirling Cocktails leave the creatures themselves unharmed, this will cause severe vomiting and diarrhea for the humans who swallowed them.

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12) The Sharalacs 

Physical Description: A bolt of fibre-like material, velvety to the touch

Popular with those required to make frequent inter-galactic travels, the Sharalacs are prized for both their high utility and low maintenance costs. These creatures are basically used as easy-to-carry (they can be rolled up just like a bolt of cloth with adverse effects to them) multi-dimensional storage devices with automatic sorting and instant recall features (that activate on telekinetic command). They do not feed on anything. Rather, they grow with their ‘usage’. The more and varied the content and the more frequent and complex the recall requests are, more of a stimuli if provided for these creatures’ growth. In particular, Sharalacs’ growth are characterised by them physically becoming thicker and taking on more characteristics of an intelligent being in their telepathic communications with their owners.

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Update: Rearranged the information a little to make it group better. Added the bit about Restoration. Added Plot Hooks. Started the Creature Dex -- I really hope others add to it! Go to Comment

1) Grilins

Physical Description: Something like a blue, 5-tailed squirrel with suckers on its toes instead of claws.

Grilins are docile, friendly and extremely sociable little critters. The perfect starter pet for many young children. They don't have claws, can barely bite, and like to snuggle. The only catch is their speed and extreme climbing ability -- these things can go straight up a sheer wall (thanks to those tiny suckers) and often escape their owners if they don't have their Pet Cube handy. For this reason, wild populations of Grilins are becoming established in metropolises around the galaxy. They may become as ubiquitous as the old-Earth pigeon, in time. Go to Comment