Thursday, May 6th, Reiwa 42. It was too much to ask to have some time to yourself, huh?
After all the time youâd taken on everything else this week â keeping in mind, of course, you had other coursework to do, chores, and other things in between all the âfunâ stuff! â it was to be expected that Mama and Papa would get you on a whole dayâs outing. Spending that day at Parc Luminous wasnât too bad, but it was mostly younger cousins and their parents, or your younger siblingsâŠeven Marq skipped out. (Guess it figures the kids your age arenât interested in roller coasters or midway games anymore.)
A stopover at Aunt Vestaâs condo was unexpected, but not exactly ideal; sheâs working late and she isnât even here! Not even some extra questionsâŠ
though, will you need them, now?
You stare out across the city on the balcony of Aunt Vestaâs condo, looking out toward the skyline from atop the Martinez district. From here, past the business district and the countless skyscrapers, you can see the hills in the distance to the north, and even the distant peak of Mt. Kaguya in the shadows. Of course, anything past that is a pipe dream â thereâs no way you could see the aerodrome, the industrial and agricultural colonies, nor even the barely-started frame of the Kaguya mass driverâŠ
And here, thousands of miles from anywhere else on the planet, on the equator in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, live forty million people, under a Southern Sun.
âŠand if you want to help them, thereâs no point in hesitating any longer.
You put it off last night. And then you put it off all day today. But with Stella and Korri awaiting you, itâs finally time.
The first tile you touch in your skill tree is red, in the Hypnosis tree, bearing the image of a pendulum swinging right. The tile for Instant Hypnotherapist gains a white glow, as the description expands to show future-past-youâs words:
Hypnosis Opener: Instant Hypnotherapist. You instantly learn everything about inducing trance in a willing subject and using that trance to compel them into certain actions. You are still limited by the traditional limits of hypnosis.
Do you remember Ms. Yiâs classes? Of course you do. The endless possibilities of hypnosisâŠso much potential. Watching Korriganâs eyes fade, watching her smile and drool as she hangs on your every wordâŠgo on. Sheâs yours. Just take her.
(How oddâŠshe uses âKorriganâ, not âKorriâ. Did future-past-you really change so much?)
(You wonder, what that might look like â but, perhaps, thereâs no way it can live up to the promises of future-past-you, nor even Marqâs writing, or Aunt Vestaâs memories. How could it? Itâs still your wordsâŠitâs still Cibele. You canât imagine your talents could ever live up to those of othersâŠ)
âŠ
âŠit doesnât bear dwelling on. You donât feel different, but youâre sure itâll happen when the time comes. For now, you swipe over to the green icons, and despite your nerves, you manage to tap that icon as well, a honeycomb pattern with three hexes filled black:
Enchantment Opener: Suggestion. You may compel a single individual once per day to follow a single, simple command they are not inherently opposed to. You instinctively know what the limits for this command are before making it. This can only be done to a non-hostile target willing to speak with you.
Oh, thereâs so much fun you can do with this. Youâd be surprised how far you can push before it stops working. Youâve seen videos online, of stage hypnosisâŠpeople can be pushed so very far. Stella needs someone to correct her behaviour and attitudeâŠdoesnât this seem like the right place to start?
Ah. This is where the Bad Thoughts truly live, isnât it?
Everything has made it clear that hypnosis, such as it is, can be used for positive things. That it doesnât need to be a violation, even if you could make it one with higher-tier skills. But thisâŠeven if it can only go so far, it can still push someone into a lapse of judgement, and it can still lead you to much darker thingsâŠ
If itâs like that, though, the only thing you can do is trust yourself!
Powers donât make you bad, actions do. As long as you do your best to do the right thing, youâre sure youâll prevail! And maybe, just maybeâŠ
(maybe, you can help people like Korri or Stella smile a little more?)
You wander back into the condo after handling your skills, not really feeling any different, just yetâŠyouâre sure thatâll change, though. Once you get the chance tomorrow, at least.
Since your little siblings were traveling with you, theyâre over in the common room, no doubt playing some kind of party game; itâs the kind of thing you might have chosen to partake in if you werenât feeling so wiped after your outing, or if you werenât so worried about how tomorrow would go. Let alone worrying about the GamerâŠ
Youâre not sure if your upgraded stats feel any different, right now; that said, to be fair, youâre not sure youâve run into situations where itâd be really obvious. Maybe a few more people are checking you out than usual, but youâre not sure you can know that, and Thought Skimmer is useless in crowds. And âIntelligenceâ feels quite nebulous; you donât think going on roller coasters tests it much, based on the narrow description of what it governs!
But there is one sign of a differenceâŠ
âHey, Cibele! Good to see you! You look great!â Aunt Nikita opens her arms up for a hug, which you gratefully return; she likes to alternate between white hair and auburn, and today itâs the latter. âDid you do something with your hair?â
âŠpeople keep asking you that!
âNothing different than usual,â you say. You did spend a bit more time working out your outfit today, maybe tried new makeup, but you look in the mirror and you still look like you. Maybe Aunt Nikita notices you a bit more, but sheâsâŠwell, Aunt Vestaâs a very distant cousin and Nikita, one of her partners, is very obviously not related, but itâs still someone youâve known your whole life! Maybe sheâs a bit pretty, butâŠ
âHmn, itâs been a while since weâve seen each other, hasnât it?â Nikita comes and goes a lot â sheâs got her own girlfriends to worry about, separate from Vestaâs. Itâs a bit complicated, but theyâre a great example to look up to of making a complicated polyamorous relationship work. (Perhaps, itâs down to Aunt Vesta? If she uses hypnosis â no, bad thoughts, bad thoughts!) âYou really should consider my offer. Family discount! I can make your worries melt away~â
âUh, thatâs fine, Aunt Nikita! I really donât think I need a massage ââ
âŠwait.
Those images in your mindâs eye, from Thought Skimmer and reading Nikitaâs mind â
thatâs not a massage at all!
M-masage was a euphemism this entire time! A-aunt Nikita is a sex worker! H-how embarrassing! How did it take you so long to figure it out?! At least this explains why she kept saying sheâd give you a massage âwhen youâre olderââŠ
(But, she does find you cute, at least, so maybe you should be a little happy? M-maybe someday consider that offerâŠ)
âŠthough, as Aunt Nikita lets you go, giggling to herself, it does make you wonder. Just how is it, that despite reading peopleâs minds, you still know so little about them? You tend to only do it in short bursts, sure â besides all the ethical issues, you seem to get headaches if you overuse it â but even if you just kept it on all the time, youâre sure youâd be missing key parts of a personâs motivations and desires.
Perhaps, the secret lies in your higher-level telepathy skills, like the T1 Mentalism skill Thought Delver? Or maybe itâs just a matter of Adaptability still being at 1; Intelligence is no substitute for social skills, and even a higher Adaptibility would be no substitue for actual experience.
âYou shouldnât tease her, Kolya! She might get the wrong idea, you know?â Ah, thatâs Aunt Percy, in the kitchenâŠcompared to the purple-haired Percy you saw in Vestaâs mind, instead the one youâre familiar with is currently wearing blue, twenty years hence. You saw her getting hypnotised, and she loved itâŠ
You just bought Instant Hypnotherapist, though, so in theory you could be making other girls make those lovely faces! But you donât feel any different yet, do you? Even as you look at Percy, and consider: Percival Lowellâs eyes are often drawn to distracting stimuli, so either a visual focus or a blindfold would be ideal; a strong, stern, and direct command would pull her focus entirely toward you, but the truth is, sheâs so well-suited to it that she could be hypnotised by the moonâs pendulum, which is simply a particularly feminine rock â
ah!
âŠwhere did all that come from?
âItâs fine!â your mother says, laughing â and oh jeez, she knows what Nikitaâs been saying this whole time, is she just okay with it?! Y-your motherâs quite modern, but isnât that a bit far?! âCibeleâs been working very hard lately. Thatâs why weâre leaving her to her assignment tomorrow.â
âWeâre all rooting for you,â Percy says, as she begins her own espresso pull. Ah, you suppose everyone thinks of it as something that will produce a love confession, which â youâd be very happy if it did! If, perhaps, Stella really is tsundere, butâŠt-thatâs all just wishful thinking and idle speculation!
No, more than thatâŠthe way you look at Percy, and can see the way you might draw her in with your words, into a trance â
the knoweldge isnât justâŠentirely beamed into your head, all at once. You didnât just wake up and go, âI know kung fuâ or anything. But itâs all there, just waiting to be retrieved when you need it most. A grand mass of knowledge and technique, tantalizingly close to your fingertips, the moment a girl puts her head in your hands.
The way the information came, when you considered it, when you needed it, makes you think of the idea of some vast library, within which lies all the knowledge of hypnosis in this world. And rather than sorting through it all, contradictory and vague as the topic is, you have some kind of librarian who brings you the information you need, when you need it!
It is, as your powers have been before, kind of awesome!
That said, there is one more power that you need to test out. Suggestion is very Bad Thoughts, sureâŠbut maybe, just maybe, thereâs something you can do to test it out that wonât be too much of a violation?
Actually, you think you might have an idea.
âOh, Aunt PercyâŠyou were on a date with Aunt Vesta last night, werenât you?â you ask the bluenette in the kitchen. From what you understand, itâs pretty common for Vesta to be working long periods and not be able to get home, but she seems to be able to make her girlfriends happy nonethelessâŠmaybe you can figure out her secret?
âO-oh, you knowâŠwe spent some private time together, is all!â Percy laughs, and tries to play it off, concentrating back on her latte art â enough that your Thought Skimmer canât reach! It definitely sounds like something juicy, too!
So, you let it happen.
You can feel it, tingling on your lips, as you allow the ancient magic within you to join your voice. The way you can reach out to minds is no longer a mere act of observation; you can feel the pressure building, from within you, and released upon the wind by your words:
ââŠwould you tell me about it, Aunt Percy?â
You can feel it.
That pressure briefly, very briefly, impresses itself upon Percyâs mind, and molds it into shape, just for that briefest of moments. And you can see her turning around, her face looking slightly dazed for the briefest of moments â
âA-ah, itâs very, umâŠitâs very private! Actually, excuse me, I need to go to the washroomâŠâ
E-eh?
Percy rushes off, and both Nikita and your mother giggle a bit, as if they know something you donât. No way! It says right there on the description that you canât use it if it wonât work! Is your Suggestion defective or someâ
bzzt-bzzt
You quickly pull your phone out of your purse, tapping the fingerprint sensor and seeing that youâve got a text from, uh, âduchessanthraxâ? What kind of name is â
!
Y-you hastily turn your phone away, seeing nothing less than a photo of Percy herself, in an elaborate harness of rope â you think thatâs called âshibariâ? â and some kind of suspension setup that makes you really hope itâs totally safe (yet knowing that her partners would make sure); all with her blindfolded in candlelight, and the simple words, âdonât tell anyoneââŠ
O-oh my.
This tells you quite a bit, besides, um, merely having that photo for later. (For completely innocent purposes, of course.) Indeed, the Suggestion is a guaranteed success, but thereâs quite a lot of leeway in how itâs fulfilled. With that in mind, itâs not exactly a silver bulletâŠthough, the Bad Thoughts potential is immense. Itâs enough to make you a bit more comfortable holding such a power, at leastâŠif, perhaps, not so comfortable imaginine just what the rest of the Enchantment tree could do for you, and to other pliant, vulnerable minds. (N-not that youâre looking forward to it or anything, mind you!)
Of course, the real question isâŠ
what kind of heckinâ relationship is Aunt Vestaâs polycule that this is somehow a âreasonableâ answer to a question from her cousinâs daughter?!
(M-maybe some questions are better left unanswered.)
Judgement Day arrives, as it must: Friday, May 7th, Reiwa 42.
And so it is, inside that same basement room you and Korri have spent so much time in the past few years sharing together, and your family mercifully all out of the house and giving you the necessary privacy for your unusual assignmentâŠyou have sweet, wonderful, beautiful Korri sitting right in front of you on that same couch, just waiting to be hypnotised, of her own free will.
Ugh. Why, why, why did she say that? Why did she offer her help?! You couldnât very well tell her no after that, right? Youâre sure, if she knew what fantasies youâd not been having these past two weeks, let alone the powers you had, or what youâve done with them, sheâd be completely and utterly disgustedâŠ
âYou look really cute today,â Korri says, casually, bundled up in one of her many hoodies, smiling ear to ear, hair just the slightest bit damp from another day of Southern Sun rain. (If only those words held more meaning than a straight womanâs appreciation.) âDid you do something with your hair?â
âN-no,â you mutter, once more embarrassed. You really canât tell, what your increased Charisma has done; all you see in the mirror is Cibele, same as ever. Youâre just going to have to trust future-past-you, huh? Even if sheâs told you all about what you could do to KorriâŠ
And here she is. Korrigan Trelawney, ready to be hypnotised, ready to entrust herself to your words, your voice, your guidance.
All you need to do is walk her through the process. With such a rich, imaginative inner mind like Korri has, something few others get to appreciate but you, you should have no trouble bringing her under â and youâve even set up a camera already, just in case. (You doubt Ms. Yi would accept this as part of her official assignment, butâŠyou get the sense it might come in handy? Korri doesnât seem to mind, at least)
But imagination is only one part of it. Or even experience, which Korri has hinted she might well have. After all, Aunt Vesta, your brother, Dr. Newton, and the myriad authorities within your âlibraryâ of hypnosis knowledge have all told you that the most important part of hypnosis isâŠ
ââŠtrust. Do you trust me?â you ask.
âOf course!â Korri says, with a big, broad smileâŠ
âŠwell. This is awkward. Because thereâs another lesson youâve learned about trust:
trust is a form of love.
Upon that soft and comfortable couch, you settle in behind Korri, giving subtle, comforting touches to her hands. You may have a skill called âHandshake Inductionâ â and donât get too distracted about the possibilities of bringing someone under with a single touch â but the real, non-cheat-skill techniques of touch in hypnosis (as opposed to the supernatural kind) can help you here. Korri is touch-starved and craves stimulation; using that, using that need, to guide her focus, is an ideal way to bring her into your power.
âPlease get comfortable for me, Korri,â you say, and you already feel her tiny, underweight frame go slack from your words.
It helps that sheâs willing to do this. So much of the work of hypnosis is on the other side, on the side of the person receiving it; in a way, all hypnosis is self-hypnosis, and you merely serve as a conduit for Korriâs natural ability. Multiple authors in both Ms. Yi and Aunt Vestaâs reading lists have told you that a hypnotic trance is not such an unusual state; forms and elements of it are common in everyday activities. The kind of altered focus one has when on a crowded train, able to shut out outside stimulusâŠor simply being âin the zoneâ artistically, pushing yourself into your work and letting the outside world fade.
Thereâs so much you can do to create an environment where this can happen, of course. To make her truly comfortable letting go. And yet, when the time comes for Korri to sink, things are all her. If she were unwilling for it to happen in the first place, or didnât believe in itâŠ
In this case, itâs not really a concern. Korriâs pretty into unusual phenomena. Sheâs not quite a believer in such things (although sheâs less skeptical than you), but theyâre certainly a topic that interests her deeply. Divination, chaos magic, the occult, that kind of thing. Hypnosis sort of crosses those boundaries, a quasi-spiritual state with a scientific basis, or perhaps a quasi-science whose true potential lies outside the falsifiable.
(Or, maybe youâre not giving it enough credit? Ms. Yi seems fond of itâŠand what a strange thing, for her to be fond ofâŠ)
âI want to know something,â you ask, your tone of voice changing. The happy-go-lucky cuteness fades as you concentrate on the idea of yourself, of âCibeleâ, as an authority. Someone who can be listened to, trusted with such things. âWhat do you find most relaxing?â
Itâs almost scary, the way your voice shifts. The way youâre capable of holding within you that kind of authority. Itâs still you, of course, justâŠjust not the âyouâ youâre used to. A âyouâ created for the purpose of guiding vulnerable minds, like that of Korrigan Trelawney.
Is this what happened to future-past-you? Are you, even in this, merely playing into her hands?
ââŠsleeping,â Korri says, and you can hear her focusing on your words, your touch. Such a simple word, yet filled with such meaning. Itâs not the first time youâve heard it, either; in her darkest days, within the Duchy of Cornwall, the only thing that brought her peace was sleep. Being able to sleep, and shut things out, brought Korri back from the brink, a place where felt her only comfort was an eternal sleep. Something she could never tell another soul; it could only be you.
Youâre her most important person, the only one she can trust with her darkest thoughts.
(âŠsheâs not right to trust you, is she?)
(You hope sheâll forgive you someday.)
âI want you to imagine something for me, then,â you whisper, pressing yourself against her from behind, breath tickling the back of her neck as you trace small circles with your fingers on the backs of her hands. âI want you to imagine weâre in kindergarten again, okay?â
âOkay,â says Korri.
âI want you to imagine that itâs almost naptime, okay?â Korri nods as you whisper to her, and you can feel her relax in your presence. âI want you to imagine that Iâm right there beside you, like I always was, holding your hand.â
Youâd like to say you had an anime cliche experience, like you promised to get married someday back then, or something. But you didnât. And Korri didnât have you there, for years after she left, until she returned to the sunny shores of Southern Sun. You wish you could have been by her side, saved her from all of her hurts, just as youâve fought for her since the moment she returned to youâŠ
âIt feels nice,â says Korri.
âThatâs good,â you say. âYouâre warm and safe, with me by your side.â
You know youâre already associating the coming state of trance with the idea of being with you. Only just, but itâll add up. Youâre already manipulating her.
Maybe hypnosis isnât really about trust after all.
âWarm and safeâŠâ she whispers. Your Thought Skimmer has different levels of intensity; right now, youâre only Skimming Korriâs emotions, rather than her thoughts. Youâre a bit worried if you skim her thoughts it might confuse you in some manner, or cause those headaches, but the emotions are enough for this act.
âMhm, warm and safe,â you say. âWarm inside your blankets. Safe beside me.â
Korri nods, and you can already see her fading. You bet sheâs done this before if itâs like this â and oh, that does give you such hope, that she could want you, even as you know how unlikely it is â and you encourage her as you feel the positive response from these words.
âWarm inside your blankets.â
âMm.â
âSafe beside me.â
âMmâŠâ
You breathe hotly as you feel yourself starting to get t-turned on from this. Fudge, this is justâŠthis is future-past-youâs fault for teasing you so much! N-not to mention those erotic stories, or those images of Percy. I-itâs not because of you.
(âŠright?)
âWarm inside your blankets.â
âMmâŠâ
âSafe beside me.â
âMmmmm.â
You repeat yourself a few times, getting the tone and the pattern just right, adjusting with your Thought Skimmerâs feedback. Your touches, too, are an important part of it, keeping her from getting too used to things, forcing her to keep focusing. (How you long to slip under her shirt, and touch her bare skinâŠand how you hate, how you hold those desires, knowing what Korriâs been throughâŠ)
And once youâre sure youâve prepare her enough, you set the stage. âYes, Korri, thatâs goodâŠâ You canât see her smile, but you can feel it, from here, how she enjoys the praise youâve given her for following your instructions.
(Y-youâre sure that if you tried this without Instant Hypnotherapist, your arousal would be obvious even to KorriâŠy-you almost wish, you could make her dance for youâŠ)
âNow, weâre both warm and safe, and the teachers are going to turn off the lights.â You speak those words, with all of your authority as a hypnotist. With the Charisma youâve gained through your efforts. Itâs only a matter of time, now.
âMm,â Korri mutters, and you just feel how ready she is to be brought into a proper trance. (Even as you know for a fact sheâs not sexually aroused by it like you are.)
âThe teachers are going to turn off all five lights. And when they turn them out, youâll sink so deeply, wonât you, Korri? Youâll fall right to sleep, just like you used to.â
âMmâŠ!â
âŠfuc-er, fudge this is hot. S-sheâs about to go under, from you, your words, your voice, your powerâŠ!
âAlright, the teachers are going now. Iâm here with you, Korri. Youâre warm, with me. Youâre safe, with me.â
âMmmâŠâ
âTheyâre turning off the first switch, Korri. Four left.â
âFourâŠâ
âThree left.â
âThreeâŠâ
âFour left.â
ââŠfourâŠâ
Introducing a little confusion is helpful, according to some authorities. Distracting your subjects from conscious thoughts so the unconscious can take charge, or something like that. To be honest, a lot of these things contradict themselves, both from your reading and from your library, butâŠyou just need to find the best thing to work with for your subject, in the moment.
And more importantly, speak with conviction so she thinks it works.
âThree left.â
âthreeâŠâ
âTwo left.â
âtwoâ
âOne left.â
âoneâ
âSleep.â
âŠand Korriâs body justâŠ
sinks.
Her whole frame slumps down in your arms, her unfocused black eyes staring out into space as she half-smiles, her lips slightly open as her breathing slowsâŠyou swear sheâs going to start drooling any second. ItâsâŠ
itâs
itâs the hottest thing youâve ever seen.
NoâŠnot just âhotâ. Hot is an injustice compared to what you witness.
Korri â sweet, wonderful, beautiful Korri, your very best friend â is sat there, her slight weight held up by your own, her breath and movement slowing, calming in a way youâve never seen before. Her lips are so delightfully parted (and it makes you wish, so badly, that you could kiss her), even her legs seem to almost s-spread, and bad thoughts, but her eyes, just stare out, her mind feels so still and pliant, so warm and pleasant, and you just want to grasp it in your hands and mold it into your chosen shape, shape Korri into something small and smooth and pleasing to the eyeâŠ
What you witness now â that is, Korrigan Trelawney, hypnotised, entranced, yours â is an utter work of art, the truest form of beauty in this world. An alien beauty to be sure, like the mother-spider Maman, one youâre sure youâd struggle to explain to anyone but those few who can truly appreciate a mind beneath their ownâŠbut beauty nonetheless. And the fact that this was all you, and youâve only begun to hypnotise herâŠ
You could cry. From the joy of this act, and from the fear of what it could mean.
âŠyou wonât cry, of course, because Korri would notice. You can tell from your telepathy sheâs not exactly in the deepest trance you could get her, or even the deepest sheâs been, but itâll be enough. You can sense how her defenses are lowered, what you could ask, and â
and you kind of wish you couldnât, because you donât think such temptation is a good thing.
You hold Korriâs hand, touch her, tip her cheek so you can look into her eyes, so blank and lovely. Guiding her with whispers and touches.
Much as you hate to admit it, your future-past-self was right. Girls are sexier this way; the faint echo of Vestaâs own hypnosis is incomparable to the real thing.
And yet, âsexierâ isnât good enough. You think â you suspect, you hope â that hypnosis is better than sex.
Future-past-you said just what she needed to say. She knew you, because she was you.
Maybe Korriâs not the only one being hypnotised.
Once youâre certain sheâs deep enough â although hypnosis is hardly an exact science â you start asking Korri things under trance. Slipping past her conscious masks, her personas to face hardshipâŠand into the depths of her mind, with Thought Skimmer to help determine the truth of it.
âKorriâŠplease, tell me how you feel.â
âFeelâŠgood, and nice,â she says. âSafe, and warm.â
âThatâs good.â (It takes so much to not say âgood girlâ.)
âCibbyâsâŠgood at this,â she says. (A bit of drool escapes the corner of her lips.)
âT-tell me, Korri.â You swallow, trying not to show just how badly you want her. Just how much you want to bring her head close, and consume her lips in your own. âIs there anything youâd like to change about yourself? Anything youâd like me to help with?â
âŠthe complex well of emotions your telepathy showsâŠthereâs so many conflicting feelings. Itâs not bringing her out of trance, at least, but obviously you canât expect a complete answer just from this.
But you need to know, as much as you can, about your very best friend.
âIâŠwanna understand peopleâŠwanna be more confidentâŠwanna be able to help people, make them happyâŠwanna help you, CibbyâŠâ
Fudge.
You want so, so badly to tell her to be your girlfriend. To tell her thatâll make her happy, to be your perfect girlfriend, one of many girlfriends, in a big gay happy love pile. To control her, utterly and completely, to make her yours, in every way that you can.
The skill name âI Want The Controlâ has never seemed so appropriate before now.
A perfect body, a perfect soul.
âŠbut you know itâd never take. Oh, Korri wouldnât reject it, but thatâs almost worse. You can tell from her thoughts sheâs not thinking of you that way, right now, and you know sheâd sacrifice her own happiness and sanity for you if you asked â sheâd gladly force herself to be your girlfriend, if she ever allowed herself to be. Sheâd gladly consume everything she is, just to make you smile one more day.
Fudge.
Well, at least you can try and help her. You can try and help her, with what she wants, not what you want. Thereâs only so much you can do, this first time, butâŠitâll be something to build on when you have your higher-level Hypnosis skills.
âKorri, I want you to imagine a box, okay?â you say, as Korri nods, smiling so brightly, still drooling for you. You hope this is straightforward enough for her, because she responds better to clearer language; youâll have to be careful with that going forward. âThis is a box for feelings. You can put feelings in here, and youâll feel better about them, okay?â
HypnosisâŠânoâ is a difficult concept in trance. It makes some of the language harder. You canât simply tell her to ânotâ feel things, not so easily, you have to express that negative space in a positive way. (At least, thatâs one of the perspectives in your library. Fudge, maybe you should hypnotise yourself so you have a better idea of how to access it, give yourself a nice little sexy librarian in your headâŠ)
âMhm! I see the box,â Korri says, swaying hazily, staring out into space, as you witness her image in your own mindâs eye. Fudge, sheâs still so beautiful like this. So perfect.
âWhat feelings do you want to put in the box, Korri?â
âmnâŠdunnoâ she says, head swaying side to side, your hands slipping around hers, her pale skin covered with your olive hue. Like this, she may not be able to think about itâŠbut you know what it is sheâd want help with most.
âWeâll start with guilt.â Korri feels so guilty all the time, after all. About what she fails to do, about her pastâŠeven though youâre the same age, she lost an entire year of school to her darkness. Sheâs lost so much, and she can only blame herself, when it was never her choice at all. âWrap all your guilt into a little ball, and put it in the box.â You can help her. Even if itâll only do so much like this, you can help her.
YeahâŠif you can help her, maybe you wonât mind if she canât be your girlfriend.
(âŠright?)
âokay,â Korri says, nodding when sheâs completed her mental task.
âNow do the same for your fear. Wrap it in a ball, and put it in the box.â
âokayâ
Fudge, sheâs so obedient. Hearing her respond to your commands like thisâŠfeeling how readily she accepts your wordsâŠ
âAnd now, your shame. Wrap it up, and put it in the box.â
ââŠokayâ
âGood girl,â you slip out. You almost bite your lip, butâŠbut she doesnât notice. Or maybe she doesnât care â
âŠno, your Skimming tells you it was the ânoticeâ one. Puddinâ heck, you need to get a hold of yourself!
âNow, Iâm going to close the box, and lock it up, okay, Korri? And the key will be with me. So you know itâs safe.â
âokay.â
Guilt, fear, and shameâŠthe three emotions Ms. Yi hates the most in the world. Sheâs gone on such tirades against them, about needing to accept oneself completely to have control over the will, about how those feelings caused so many awful thingsâŠabout how religions used them to control people and cover up atrocities like child abuse, about how they poisoned individuals until they burnt out. Well, maybe sheâll be proud of you, for this:
âThe box is closed, and locked. Youâre safe now.â
Korri smiles.
Youâve set her free. (Or as free as a single trance can manage, at least.)
âthanks, cibbyâŠâ She looksâŠso happy. So wonderful.
Such a lovely, sexy, beautiful, perfect hypnotised girl she is, and so accepting of this, so wonderful, you want her to be yoursâŠ
âŠbut, you want to give her some basics, too. More obvious hypnotic tricks. A trigger to get her to do things, and a trigger to bring her back under. And the usual safeties and reinforcements that came with such things, of course.
âNow, KorriâŠwhen I move my hands like this ââ you make âfake glassesâ around your eyes with your hands ââ and I tell you to do something, youâll do it without thinking, okay? And you wonât remember what I say. Itâll fade from your conscious mind.â
âokay,â Korri says, smiling and drooling.
You want to reach over and kiss that drool. You want to suck it up, lick Korri, and bring her lips into yours while sheâs still under.
but you donât.
âAnd when I clap my hands three times, when weâre alone together, youâll fall right back into trance.â
âokayâŠâ Korri smiles wider. Fudge, sheâs so cute.
You donât settle on just that, of course. You test. You tease. You ensure everything is (relatively) safe, although you donât expect Korri to be in a situation where she can be taken advantage of.
And you hold yourself back, because you want to do terrible things to her, and you could never forgive yourself if you did. Ensuring your words take hold, without ever letting yourself cross that line.
And, eventuallyâŠ
You count Korri back up, with each of the lights. You watch, as she becomes more and more alert with each, and are forced once more to confront how sexy hypnosis truly isâŠand, in a way, how disappointing it is that she isnât hypnotised all the time.
Even so, that desire notwithstanding â itâd pose a lot of logistical problems, wouldnât it? â once the lights are all on, you clap your hands loudly â just once! â bring Korri right out of trance! (You, uh, canât snap your fingersâŠmouuu, you need to learn if youâre going to be a sexy hypnotist!) âWake up, Korri!â
âW-woah!â Korri sits right up and looks around, still disoriented from her tranceâŠuntil she turns around and hugs you tight! A-ah, sheâs just so amazing, Korri is the best⊠âOh, Cibby! That wasâŠkinda nice, actuallyâŠâ
âOf course it was! Hypnosis isnât anything bad,â you say, giggling a bit. Which isâŠkinda true, you guess. (Maybe not in this case, though.)
âHm, but how do I know it really worked?â Korri blinks, her eyes so wide and full of curiosity, you just, sheâs soâŠperfectâŠ
(She should belong to you, that part of you whispersâŠ)
Ignoring your Bad Thoughts, you place your âglassesâ around your eyes, just like you instructed in her trance. âCluck like a chicken, Korri!â
âBwgark!â Korri says, waggling her arms like chicken wings even within your embrace. âW-woah! How did you do that?â Even your suggestion to forget the command worked, it seems!
âThatâs my little secret~â You laugh, so happy, so wonderful, so much, itâs just, everythingâs so, itâsâŠaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
âYouâre amazing, Cibby! Wow, I didnât thinkâŠhypnosis is really cool, huh? I never thought it could feel as good as that!â KorriâsâŠKorriâs really into it now, huh? You must be pretty goodâŠor at least your librarian is. âMaybe I shouldâve expected it, though. You seemâŠdifferent, today.â
âMaybe Iâm just cuter?â you joke. Sure, it sounds like a jokeâŠbut itâs literally true if your Charisma description is correct. Maybe you should trust it, rather than just worrying because you canât see it in the mirror?
âWell, Cibby is the cutest already, so I donât know how you could be.â (Even Skimming, you know Korri doesnât mean that in the right way.) âAnything else you want me to do?â
You nodâŠand clap three times, not bothering to warn her. (Always test your triggers after installation, kids!) With that simple application, Korri goes slack immediately â right back to that beautiful, nearly-drooling trance face, that makes you want toâŠt-to just, deal with those urges!
(FudgeâŠy-you might need to masturbate between Korri leaving and Stella arriving, assuming the guilt doesnât get to you first.)
A-and apeaking of guiltâŠ
âKorri, when I wake you up, youâll forget what happened in this trance,â you say, whispering to Korri, holding her there, wishing you could kiss her. âYouâll know you were under, but youâll forget, and youâll be okay with forgetting.â
âokay,â Korri says, not even registering the breach of trust. (Or is it that she trusts you completely, and would never consider this a violation at all?)
âKorriâŠâ You swallow once more, as what spills out afterward is assuredly already too far, let alone what youâd want to do. âWhat do you think of me?â
âyouâreâŠmm. youâreâŠmy best friend. wannaâŠwanna make sure youâre happy. was hoping that someday soon i could find you a girlfriendâŠâ
And there it is.
Your telepathy confirms it, within her mind, within those glass pebbles seeping blood â pebbles that feel more ordered and structured after your trance, and yet bleed more from it. Not an iota of romantic love â or at least, nothing you can recognize as such, anyway. JustâŠjust a deep friendship. The kind people tell you in stories you shouldnât disrupt with romance, but isnât romance just a kind of friendship, in its way? Is it truly so different?
YouâŠtry not to frown. You try not to hate this.
(You donât do a very good job.)
âWake up, Korri,â you manage after a moment, clapping your hands, and your very best friend looks right at you again.
âWoahâŠthat was neat!â And with that, Korri hugs you tightly! Wah, too close, too close for being this wet between your legs â
âWoah, hey!â
âAw, you helped a lotâŠI feel kinda okay,â Korri says. âLetâs, um. Letâs do this again soon?â
âŠyou think of refusing her. You think of telling her to run. But canât bring yourself to say ânoâ.
âYeah. Soon,â you whisper, so close to Korri, to your very best friend, so sweet, and wonderful, and beautiful, and perfect.
Or at least, as perfect as Korri can be, without being under your power. Without a dazed expression, without drooling lips, without a focused mind.
âŠyou want to tell her to run, but you canât.
Because if you gain more power, if you gain more skills, if you start buying the abilities that let you perform far greater violations than mere mundane hypnosis ever could?
By the time youâll grasp her like this again, youâre sure youâll be able toâŠ
I was about to say, on your previous chapter comment - I don't think you'll be disappointed by Cibele. đ€
Cibby will need to grow into it more than some protagonists do, maybe she'll need to find a path to it that suits her...but she can't exactly resist this anymore. Right?
Not now that she's seen Korri's face...
@queenfiona mmhmm, I knew that patience would be rewarded!
Her aunts live interesting lives.
And the journey begins. Just need to change the idea of what makes Cibby happy.
N.B. Cibele has mentioned the nonexistence, mythical status, or just plain unlikeliness of tsunderes in the real word, at least 3 times now. In particular, she doesn't think Stella could be one.
That sounds like a flag. Time for the universe to prove her wrong?
It's a bit of a flag, yeah! Maybe not in the way you'd expect, though.
Hey, in thirty minutes, you'll get to find out!
In writing, this is called Chekov's Foreshadowing.
ah, it's good that you're back :)
nothing terribly clever to say tonight, i'm afraid.
Like I said in another comment, I build up a backlog and post daily once that's there. Tomorrow's chapter is already ready, though - I did both the 'first time' hypnosis scenes at once.
Maybe Korriâs not the only one being hypnotised.
Hmm, yeah, Memes operating at a distance, other things future-past Cibele could do. That's not a "maybe."
Wondering what this chapter did to deserve a heart? I can see it impacted Cibele a whole lot, and it's a much-anticipated chapter, but it's not a lot steamier than others. Those exerpts of Marq's writings, say.
Anyway, this chapter lived up to its promise. As fitting for the first, everybody kept their integrity. I wonder how things will go with Stella?
It might be a 'kink > sex' thing for me - I happen to know a lot of people who feel that way, including myself at times, so I know people like my friend Rosenlied would appreciate it.
At the very least, for people who are coming into this quest wanting to read hypnosis specifically, I felt like this counted as a full chapter consisting mostly thereof. In my mind, most of the earlier stuff may be steamy, but it's kind of 'foreplay', if that makes sense?
Next time around should be a bit steamier. Korri is someone Cibele would never cross a line with, but Stella...