I like the idea. “Dude, I have questions. How much for the skill teacher. Escrima. Wait. What about drumming?

"Kevin, you are a sufficient expert at drumming that a novice-level coach is unlikely to make a substantial difference in your skill."

“Can I buy a better coach?

“You currently have 108 R-Thaums after spending one to gain 2 tubes of thaumic transformation gel, and refilling the energy spent on healing. An intermediate coach costs ten O-Thaums, and you appear to be well past that skill level as well. To actually help yourself as a drummer, you’d have to spend Y-, or G-Thaums. You’re right now near the limits of old Earth skill."

“What about tail exercises? I still don’t feel like I know how to use it well.

“It seems like you could gain substantial value and coordination from working on tail exercises. 10 R-Thaums.

“How much for echolocation?

“Was there a connection there that I missed?

“That little knobbler snuck up on me to shred my arm. I couldn’t tell where he was because I was looking at Monkey two, that incidentally, I kicked the shit out of. Having better rear-view vision will definitely help with my combat moves. Like eyes in the back of my head. But better.

“How will it help you with your drumming?"

"Dude. I’ve got a tail. It’s behind me. I don’t always need to see what I’m doing, but when I’m switching things around, and working with my newest body part, I definitely need to see to be at my best."

"I was worried for a moment there that you actually had survival instincts."

"I do. I mean, it’s more important to not be surrounded than it is to see my rear-drums, right. That’s just an auxiliary benefit here."

“I’m sure. The echolocation costs 87 R-Thaums. But your ears aren’t perfectly positioned to capture the sound. It will be only moderately effective."

“Can we upgrade it. Sound is vibrational energy, and it’s captured by hairs that connect to the ear. What if we turned my ‘hawk into an echolocation-sensitive hair field. We’d have to anchor the hair better into the skull, but they’re largely rigid, and I’d bet the acoustics would work.

“Are you a secret professor of acoustics, Dr. Snackenbridge”

“Dude. I’m a drummer. This is basic shit. Any musician knows all that. And it’s Snake, or Kevin. None of that other shit. No Snackenbridge. No Earl. No Earl fucking Kevin Snackenbridge. Just Kevin or Snake. Got it?”

“Earl Snackenbridge seems like a very prestigious name, your highness. Are you certain?” Apparently the plant can understand hand-gestures. It continues on a different topic, “It would cost an additional 10 to adjust your mohawk to be the primary receiver for an echolocation ability.”

“My dad was fucking with the pronoun police. He wanted my pronoun to be Earl. But then full automatic anonymization for online communication came through, and the pronoun police lost the VR-PR wars. But I’m still named Earl. Or at least I was. Don’t have to tell anyone that ever again. Anyhow. I’m in. Gimme echolocation, the mohawk add-on, and the head coach for Escrima. Preferably a version of escrima involving the tail and the ability to see in all directions”