The Sinister Screen Queen

Tanya smiled proudly as she looked at her profile, satisfied with her newfound wealth.

"Hey, Casey." Tanya called, glancing at her EP balance.

"How many points did I get?"

Emotion Points earned, 255! Nice going! Casey's cheerful chimed in.

Tanya grinned. "Perfect. Now, Casey, I want a silver lottery since I earned double the points."

A giggle echoed through the system. Watch this, Tanya

Before Tanya's eyes, her title appeared.

Title: Annoying Stepsister

Halves EP gains if the interaction ends negatively with Keira Knightly.

Her Emotion Points dropped down to 127.

Tanya's eyes widened in fury. "I've been robbed!"

"Why didn't you tell me about this dumb title sooner?"

You didn't ask. Casey replied with a shrugging tone, unbothered.

Tanya trying to reason with the system. "The interaction didn't end negatively! I mean… Keira's face was just a bit—"

You literally stole her first kiss. Casey interrupted with a mock sigh.

She's probably got trauma over what you did to her lips

"This is so unfair." Tanya mumbles.

Its not, ugh, here have a cookie

Another notification dings.

Mission Completed

Milking Sister

Earn 100 EP from your stepsister

Reward: Bronze Lottery

Congrats! Want to draw the lottery? Casey's voice chimed in again.

Tanya, still annoyed, glanced at her EP total, finding it a bit low. "Might as well. I'll buy back younger me memories afterward."

Bronze Lottery loading… Casey announced as a colourful wheel spun on the screen.

Cards flew out from it, one after another, forming a neat row of ten bronze-coloured cards in front of Tanya.

"Wait—ten cards?" Tanya said, surprised. "I thought I'd get, like, one card or something."

Nah, Bronze Lottery gives you ten draws. Silver Lottery gets five, and Gold Lottery gets three.

Tanya's fingers tingle. "Finally, I won't be scammed with overpriced toilet paper."

Go on, open them Casey urged.

She taps the first card, and her rewards start appearing.

A mild soap-scented icon pops up, and Tanya's face twists.

1st Card: Dishwashing Amateur

She made a face. "Ugh, what am I supposed to do with this?"

Wash the dishes?

2nd Card: Self-Heating Blanket

The image of a cozy, thick blanket appears, glowing with warmth.

"Hmm." Tanya murmurs. "Actually… could be nice, I guess?"

Casey pipes up. You won't be freezing on those chilly London nights.

Tanya rolls her eyes but moves to the next one.

3rd Card: Diving Equipment

Tanya stares at the image of flippers, a snorkel, a scuba mask, and a diving tank.

"What am I, a deep-sea explorer now?"

4th Card: Tomato Seeds

The image of a small seed packet fills the screen

Tanya stared, her eyebrow twitching. "So, this lottery turns me into a gardener?"

5th Card: Advertiser Mid Professional

"Now we're talking." Tanya said, feeling a bit of satisfaction.

That gives you the skills of a advertising pro. Casey explains.

You could earn cash promoting things.

"That might be helpful when I'm taking over… certain business deals."

6th Card: Treasure Planet script and rights

Her eyes widened slightly. "Ooh, a movie script? Isn't that, like, super valuable?"

"Wait… so this isn't just a copy. It's mine?"

Casey hummed, pleased. Yep, yours entirely. The original creators have lost all rights to it—you own the script and can decide what happens with it. Sell it, make it yourself, pitch it to a studio…

Tanya laughed, practically buzzing with possibilities. "So, I could use this to get into the industry?"

Absolutely. You could flip it for some serious cash Casey advised.

7th Card: French Fluency

Tanya blinked, raising an eyebrow. "This could come in handy. Bonjour, high society."

"Paris va m'aimer."

Casey chuckled. Nothing like a multilingual 15-year-old. Très sophistiqué

Next card.

8th Card: Rope

"Okay, no. Seriously. What am I supposed to do with rope?" Tanya deadpanned, looking at the image of a sturdy coil of rope.

Hey, rope's versatile. Casey argued.

Perfect for escapes, pranks, maybe even snagging a certain stepsister's heart…

Tanya grinned mischievously. "You're giving me ideas."

Casey laughed. I look forward to it. Just don't forget, half points if Keira doesn't approve

Tanya rolled her eyes and swiped to the next one.

9th Card: Physical Enhancement Minor

A shimmering icon appeared, and Tanya felt a slight warmth surge through her body.

She instinctively clenched her fists, feeling an odd new strength humming through her muscles.

"Physical enhancement? Does this mean… I'm actually stronger now?" She asked, flexing her arm experimentally.

Yep, this one only grants a subtle boost to your physical strength and stamina

You're not breaking walls, but you'll find lifting things a bit easier, maybe throw a punch with a bit more oomph. Could come in handy, right?

"Very handy. Might come in useful if I have to put anyone in their place… or haul around any big bags of cash." Tanya already imagining the possibilities.

10th Card: The Hours script and rights

Her eyebrows shot up again. "Two scripts? Are you telling me these are also mine? Full rights?"

Indeed. Both the scripts and all legal rights, no one else can legally produce them now

They're officially yours to use or sell

"Do people even care about The Hours?" Tanya doesn't know what it's even about.

Casey laughs. It's got Meryl Streep and Nicole Kidman. Trust me, it did very well

"Sure." Tanya internally wonders if Casey has information on how all films will do.

Tanya scans her rewards, mumbling. "Diving gear, dishwashing skills, tomatoes… They're not all that useful."

She looks at Physical Enhancement minor and French Fluency, clearly pleased.

Some good draws, some… interesting ones, right?

Tanya shook her head, half amused, half exasperated. "Honestly, some of these are like winning a jackpot, and some of them… I'm not sure whether I won or got punked."

Well, that's the thrill of the lottery

"Profile." Tanya requested, watching as the screen opened up before her.

Name: Tanya Pendragon

Title: Annoying Stepsister

Age: 15

Skills: Dishwasher Amateur, Advertiser Mid Professional

Emotion Points: 127

Store

Inventory

Tanya squinted at the new skills. "Dishwasher Amateur? Advertiser Mid Professional? I don't know how to feel about these…"

Everyone has to start somewhere Casey chimed in.

Tanya wished she had a rabbit's foot. "What about my physical enhancements and the French fluency? Why aren't those showing up?"

They've been integrated inside you Casey replied smoothly. They don't need to be shown as separate skills

That wouldn't be economical

"What, French doesn't even count as a skill?"

You got it as a fluency upgrade Casey said cheerfully.

It's automatically available when you speak. Go ahead, try it

"Bonjour, Casey." To her surprise, the words felt natural, rolling off her tongue effortlessly.

See?

But it's Bonsoir Tanya Casey taught Tanya. Bonjour is for daytime

Tanya's cheeks reddened "I knew that."

What was that?

"Nothing."

Tanya looked around. "And where are my other items? Like the rope and tomato seeds? How do I… get them?"

With a chuckle, Casey opened up a tab labelled Inventory

Inside, Tanya saw all the items she'd won in the lottery. Her eyes sparkled as she scanned through them.

"So… I can store stuff in here and pull it out whenever I want?" A little awe was heard in her voice.

Yes, though only lottery items are free to store.

But storing items you find or buy in the world? Those require a storage fee. You'd have to pay with EP. Casey informed her.

No freeloading!

"Of course, nothing comes for free nowadays." Tanya was a bit exasperated.

Tanya tapped on the Tomato Seeds, and suddenly a small packet of seeds appeared in her hand. She turned it over, inspecting it, before putting it back in the inventory with a tap.

"Let's try something bigger." Then she pressed Diving Equipment, and immediately her room was filled with all the necessary gear: wetsuit, fins, snorkel, goggles, and even an air tank.

She let out a surprised laugh. "Appear!"

Curious, Tanya tried to lift the air tank, surprised at how easy it felt.

Already showing off? Casey chuckled.

Tanya held the weight of the tank comfortably in her hands.

Out of curiosity, she twisted the air valve, only to hear a loud hiss.

She yelped, quickly turning it off. "That was not what I expected."

What did you expect? Casey asked out of curiosity.

"Something else?"

Casey huffs. Idiot

Tanya ignores her.

Tanya places everything back into her inventory.

The items vanished from sight with a shimmer, and Tanya marveled at the convenience of it all. "Disappear!"

"This… this is amazing."

She scanned the inventory once more and spotted Treasure Planet.

She pulled out the Treasure Planet script next, hugging it like a prized possession.

"My very own movie script."

She flips through the pages with a smile. But as she skimmed through, her expression became a bit puzzled.

"Casey doesn't this seem… a little… I don't know, childish?"

It was made for kids Casey replied casually.

Tanya sighed, slumping back against her bed. "It's an animation, isn't it?"

Obviously. It's designed as a kid's adventure movie Casey's amused tone only made her more annoyed.

Tanya let out an exasperated sigh and tossed the script to the side, letting it land somewhere across the room.

"Animation! I don't exactly have millions lying around to make an animated film! I might as well flush money down the toilet."

With a sigh, she fell back onto her bed, gazing at the Store option on her profile screen.

"Well." She muttered.

"Time to retrieve my younger self's memories, Can't I get a discount."

No.

Tanya sighed, resigned. "Alright, Casey, Buy my 15-year-old self's memories."

The screen blinked, and her EP total dropped to 27.

Integrate now?

Tanya closed her eyes. "Do it."