Instant Girlfriend/Boyfriend

[Brandnewbuddy]

So years ago there was an anime called “Instant boyfriend.” It was just a romance show, nothing special. But when I heard the title, I thought it was going to be about a girl who buys a literally disposable boyfriend. Like one of those Dino sponge tablets.

So, why not explore that idea? What if you could just buy a little capsule, douse it in water and BAM! You have a companion who you can have a date with or sleep with one time?

And of course…all the things that could go wrong with that.

 

[anthrodisiac]

Instant Boyfriend, with a lifespan of a mayfly. Woman's been using them for years when she has dry spells, but one day, she uses one and this one is just... perfect for her. She loves it, until she realizes he's only going to last 24 hours. So race against the clock to either make the most out of those 24 hours, or find a way to make him permanent.

 

[Brandnewbuddy]

Exactly!

Another idea:
Lonely girl finds a whole box of instant partners that are being tossed out as they are past their expiration date. She grabs them and starts using them. And at first, they are all fine…but then they start coming out wrong. Sometimes it’s subtle: they’re blind, or missing fingers. But some are humongous…and she’s really scared of the capsules that seem to be fused in the packaging….and then a leaky roof floods the basement where she was storing the box.

But back to the idea of them being short lived.

A. Girl or Guy tries to keep them past their 24 hour date but they don’t really have a plan and they start to degrade.

B. You can buy a specialized SD card and keep uploading and downloading to keep your partner’s memories. Only two catches: there is no uploading a backup to your PC or the cloud. Lose the card, lose your boyfriend. Also, the company decides old cards won’t work with new models of partners so people start hoarding.

 

[anthrodisiac]

You could go horror element with it.

Nobody really knows the company behind it. The product just sort of showed up one day. But as people use the products, sometimes, the more someone has sex with one, it starts to leech off of them. Maybe some demonic entity that needs essence of a sort to stabilize in this realm. The pills aren't pills, they're eggs. They grow into someone's idealized partner, then suck the life force from them. If they get enough, they basically take the person's place. Either assume their form or simply displace them from this reality and stablize in this one. Slow invasion type deal.

 

[Brandnewbuddy]

Though of course, the company wants to maximize profits so they release them gacha or mystery prize style: buy a capsule and see what you get!

So suddenly you have scalpers buying boxes, people having TikTok’s and unboxing but they are all getting people who are confused and realizing they are only going to be around for 24 hours.

But on the more dramatic side: woman has a particular instant boyfriend she always likes. There’s no way to share memories but this particular model always knows the right way to touch her and how to comfort her even though from its perspective it’s meeting her for the first time every time. She then finds that model is being discontinued so has to decide whether to hold on to the few she has left or indulge

 

[Brandnewbuddy]

You could go horror element with it.

Nobody really knows the company behind it. The product just sort of showed up one day. But as people use the products, sometimes, the more someone has sex with one, it starts to leech off of them. Maybe some demonic entity that needs essence of a sort to stabilize in this realm. The pills aren't pills, they're eggs. They grow into someone's idealized partner, then suck the life force from them. If they get enough, they basically take the person's place. Either assume their form or simply displace them from this reality and stablize in this one. Slow invasion type deal.

Love it!

 

[anthrodisiac]

Though of course, the company wants to maximize profits so they release them gacha or mystery prize style: buy a capsule and see what you get!

So suddenly you have scalpers buying boxes, people having TikTok’s and unboxing but they are all getting people who are confused and realizing they are only going to be around for 24 hours.

But on the more dramatic side: woman has a particular instant boyfriend she always likes. There’s no way to share memories but this particular model always knows the right way to touch her and how to comfort her even though from its perspective it’s meeting her for the first time every time. She then finds that model is being discontinued so has to decide whether to hold on to the few she has left or indulge

Sort of hording "I only have a few uses of this boyfriend left." It's like gamers and super-powerful potions. "But, I might need it one day. I mean, really, I'll use it!" Of course, then never use it.

So take that to the logically conclusion, she's had it for decades, down to her last one, and decides to have one last hurrah, knowing she only has a few weeks to live. She's really scared the boyfriend will find her old and gross, but he's just as sweet and wonderful as always, and gives her a day of happiness in her remaining days.

Or, she never used it, and her granddaughter finds it one day. The things had been banned decades ago for issues around ethics and consciousness. She doesn't remember them as anything other than a weird fad in her history books, but suddenly, here's one, and at first she's kinda grossed out because she realizes it was her grandma's, but she starts to see the appeal, and goes on dates, trying to convince her friends it's someone she met, totally a real person!

 

[liliput1]

Exactly!

Another idea:
Lonely girl finds a whole box of instant partners that are being tossed out as they are past their expiration date. She grabs them and starts using them. And at first, they are all fine…but then they start coming out wrong. Sometimes it’s subtle: they’re blind, or missing fingers. But some are humongous…and she’s really scared of the capsules that seem to be fused in the packaging….and then a leaky roof floods the basement where she was storing the box.

But back to the idea of them being short lived.

A. Girl or Guy tries to keep them past their 24 hour date but they don’t really have a plan and they start to degrade.

B. You can buy a specialized SD card and keep uploading and downloading to keep your partner’s memories. Only two catches: there is no uploading a backup to your PC or the cloud. Lose the card, lose your boyfriend. Also, the company decides old cards won’t work with new models of partners so people start hoarding.

The conventional fiction version of this is Kiln People, David Brin. People clone themselves to do dangerous, tedious, or time consuming tasks. The clones last a day. A detective’s original gets murdered and his clones try to solve the murder before they fall apart.

 

[AlinaX]

The conventional fiction version of this is Kiln People, David Brin. People clone themselves to do dangerous, tedious, or time consuming tasks. The clones last a day. A detective’s original gets murdered and his clones try to solve the murder before they fall apart.

Damn, I’ve had a very similar idea for a novel for years, possibly older than this book, not sure. Did a lot of research creating the setting, but the plot never quite came together in my mind.

 

[liliput1]

Damn, I’ve had a very similar idea for a novel for years, possibly older than this book, not sure. Did a lot of research creating the setting, but the plot never quite came together in my mind.

His is a bit weirder than I stated for brevity. Worth checking to see if you overlap too much.

 

[TheWritingGroup]

Damn, I’ve had a very similar idea for a novel for years, possibly older than this book, not sure. Did a lot of research creating the setting, but the plot never quite came together in my mind.

Kiln People doesn't hang together for me. The explanation for the duplication tech is astonishingly arbitrary, and the happy ending is, "Never mind, everything we told you about this world was wrong so the hero lives." Not one of Brin's best.

 

[sirhugs]

Just reading the thread title I instantly thought "Just Add Water".
A potential title?

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Reminds me of Marvin's Instant Martians.