Some people are born lucky, some are seemingly cursed with bad luck. But for most people, their luck never seemed particularly more good or bad, except for particularly big strokes of luck. Such was the case of Philip. He considered himself a pretty average guy. Ok, so maybe he was a bit of a nerd. But at least he didn't live in his mom's basement. It was actually his dad's basement. Philip hadn't seen his mother ever since his dad caught her cheating and divorced her. That divorce left them with the house and a hefty settlement.
Anyways, the day Philip's fortune changed could be seen as a product of dumb luck. In the early part of last year, Philip had gotten a stock-purchasing app. Philip didn't really know much about the stock market, he had bought the app mostly out of boredom. He had no idea of which stocks would be rising or falling. He mainly purchased a share of GameStop stock mostly because it was one of his favorite shops. Imagine his surprise when a sudden rush of investments suddenly made his share of stock extremely valuable. Of course, this sudden rise was only temporary, but at least Philip was able to cash in on his investment before the bubble popped. Now that he was considerably well-off, he decided to do something he had dreamed about for years.
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Philip had wanted to be an Animalian ever since they first came into being. But he had considered it a pipe dream at the time because the conversion was highly-priced at the time, not to mention the sheer expense of moving, buying new clothes and furniture, etc. But thanks to his newfound wealth and the lowered price of conversion, he was able to achieve his dream. He already knew what kind of Animalian he wanted to be as well. Fennec foxes are almost universally considered the cutest animals on Earth. That combination of tiny body, pointy nose, big eyes, and even bigger ears was an equation for adorable. Philip knew he wouldn't be as massive or muscular as other Animalians. But he'd be fine with being his most favorite animal. Not to mention that he'd be a vixen magnet with his new looks.
That's when fortune took another unexpected spin, though it was a bit unclear at the time if it was for good or bad. Considering a fennec's small size, Philip only expected to just get in a healthier shape without getting any bigger. What he did not expect was for him to shoot up in height and get bodybuilder muscles. Exactly how he had gotten so big was not very clear. It might be he had some peculiar ancestry from a few generations back. It didn't seem very likely it was because of a chemical reaction to something already in his body. Currently, it seemed likeliest that he had accidentally gotten an overdose of Animalia virus and became double-dosed. Though considering this was the second time a conversion resulted in a larger Animalian than expected, some were starting to wonder if the virus itself was starting to change and adapt as viruses are known to do.
Whatever the case, Philip wasn't prepared for this. He wasn't the largest fox in Animalia, that would be Steve Blair, but he was literally head and shoulders over his expectations. This made clothes and furnishing a bit more of a hassle than he expected. Also, he was a little worried how he'd be received by the ladies. While obviously they liked the big, muscular Animalian men, he worried he'd look silly with his fennec head on top of a bodybuilder body. As it turned out, he didn't have to be so worried. For fortune decided to throw him another curveball.
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Philip hadn't been much of a gym-goer before his conversion. And looking at his new body, he had thought he wouldn't need to hit a gym. But he was told that while the virus had given him a bodybuilder body, that didn't mean he would keep it without doing proper maintenance. But then, he was pretty curious about how much he could lift with his new muscles.
He passed a sign that said that the gym would closed soon for renovations, so it looked like he got here in time. The weight room was deserted when he walked in. That might not just be because of the upcoming renovating. There was still a pandemic going on so there was a limit to how many people could in the room at a time, mask or not. Philip looked around, a little uncertain about how to start. At least he could do the barbell. Walking over, he saw it was already set for 40 pounds. That looked like a good place to start off with. Gripping the bar, he soon found himself lifting it up without a lot of difficulty. He was definitely a lot stronger than before.
Philip was doing some reps when he heard a female voice said, "Oh, you're definitely new here." Philip nearly dropped the barbell in surprise. A particularly sexy fennec vixen had walked into the weight room. Her sports bra and gym shorts did nothing to hide her bountiful curves. Her black hair only went down to her chin, but that didn't detract from her allure. "Oh, sorry, thought you'd hear me coming," said the vixen.
"Uh, still not used to this hearing yet," said Philip. His large ears did pick up a lot of sound, though he wasn't always sure how close that sound was.
"Oh, I get that," said the vixen, "I bet it's your first time in a gym like this as well."
"Is it that obvious?" asked Philip.
"Mostly the way you're keeping your legs together," said the vixen, "You'll get a lot more support if they're more spread out."
"You mean like this?" asked Philip, putting his legs further apart. He belatedly realized that it would make the bulge in his gym shorts more obvious. He really hoped that she didn't notice.
He was pretty sure the vixen's eyes darted down for a second, but she didn't comment on it. "That's better, though I bet you don't know the proper way to use the machines," she said.
"Well..." said Philip sheepishly.
"Don't worry, I'll run through them with you," said the vixen, "I'm Joanne, by the way."
"Uh, Philip," he responded.
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Philip got to know Joanne pretty well after that and she was quite a surprising woman. She wasn't after him for his wealth. She was already the richest woman in Animalia, running her own fashion company and owning a mansion. Apparently her double-dosing had given her a mild form of RHS, which is certainly not as pronounced as people with more obvious cases. Still, Philip couldn't believe his luck that such a wealthy, influential, and beautiful woman like her would be drawn to him.
The biggest hang-up about his new relationship with Joanne was that she already had a grown daughter. Nicole seemed rather annoyed that her mother was dating someone who was no older than her, chronologically. At least Philip was trying to reach out to her. He wanted to be at least friends with, especially if her mother became more interested in a committed relationship.
Nicole was at least willing to talk with Philip. In hindsight, Philip probably should have paid attention when he first mentioned his dad. Nicole seemed to develop an unusual interest in his dad, especially after he mentioned that he was single. A lot of her questions became about his dad, such as his name (Lars), where he lived, and how we was getting along. Philip probably should have caught the triumphant smirk on Nicole's face when he mentioned his dad was pretty lonely. But then, he wouldn't have known how much trouble this would cause for him in the future.