How One Is Supposed To Act

Ellen asked from the doorway, “Sir, would you like me to send in Aubrey, or wait a little since you are done rather earlier than anticipated with Flora?”

“Send her in, I’m trying to push through and get some me time, before going to lunch with Allie.”

“Certainly Sir.”

Aubrey came in and closed the door and then sat down on the bed next to Mark. She wouldn’t meet Mark’s eyes, had a slight frown on her face and was looking at her feet.

“Aubrey? What’s wrong?”

Aubrey took a moment to respond, “I screwed up. I’m sorry. I already apologized to everyone else, except Laura and Ellen, who I plan to talk to later today.”

“Okay, well no one seemed to be mad at you during breakfast. So I assume it isn’t too bad or it’s been resolved already.”

“I’m mostly telling you this as I’d rather you learn about it from me than anyone else. The other day, when Talia and Chloe took candies from the random bowl Chloe gave Ellen, Chloe and I went to the Velvet Tower after having tea with Smug. We found Talia milking herself, and saving the milk. She was planning on offering it at breakfast, I’m not sure if she was planning on telling everyone what it was though. While she was rather dumb, I asked her to drink from me. I asked Chloe if she wanted to do the same while she had that addiction. I then milked Talia with the plan of using the milk to make something to offer Sam as a fake ‘peace offering’ the day before the challenge and try to get someone to make her dumb for the challenge. I was probably going to give it to most of the others if I could. I probably would have done that too, if Sam hadn’t essentially figured everything out and confronted me yesterday.” Aubrey couldn’t see it but as she talked Mark’s brow furrowed more and more as she spoke and his frown deepened.

Mark let the silence linger for a bit while he thought over what Aubrey had said. “So, everyone else knows except for Laura and Ellen?” Aubrey nodded, still not looking at Mark. “Well, I’m not pleased by what you did. Talia milking herself and asking or allowing you to do that doesn’t surprise me at all. That’s whatever. I’m not particularly thrilled by you stretching the boundaries of doing things for a challenge, but I’ll concede that it isn’t unreasonable as a strategy to get an advantage in a challenge. That isn’t what I’m overly upset about. It’s you taking advantage of Talia and Chloe, in their compromised states. I assume you used Talia as a guinea pig to get an idea of what the bond would be like from breastfeeding her. Since you let Chloe do it, I assume it isn’t that of a parent and child. Since you apparently didn’t break my rules I assume they at least gave ****. I’m upset because you could have easily waited until they weren’t in that state and both would probably still have said yes.”

“Sam said the same thing.”

“Well, I take it since you are coming to tell me this, that you aren’t going to try to sabotage everyone else?”

“No, I’m not going to do that.” Aubrey shook her head.

“Well, if everyone else knows then I’ll not retaliate. Realize Laura is going to be pissed at you.”

“Yeah… I know. Chloe is probably Laura’s closest friend, besides maybe one teammate, her coach, or her mom.”

“Oh that will contribute to it but that isn’t why she’s going to be pissed at you. While I don’t think they have made it official or anything Laura and Talia are dating. Not just casual sex either, rather Laura has romantic feelings for Talia.”

Aubrey’s head snapped up to look at Mark, her eyes wide and her face went pale. “What?! Laura has never dated anyone before.”

“Yeah, I know. Hence my statement about her being pissed at you. Honestly you have only one saving grace for you right now. Smug told us yesterday if not for you using your magic hair on Laura, she would be pregnant right now. I would expect that most of the gratitude she feels towards you to evaporate after you tell her what you did. Also you best tell her because if she finds out from anyone else you will be in a deeper hole with her, and I will talk to her about this.”

Aubrey just nodded at that. “Mark, I know you aren’t happy with me but I did have something else to talk to you about.”

Mark sighed, “Aubrey, it isn’t that I’m unhappy. I’m disappointed, the compassionate woman I knew back in college would never have done the things you did. You also have been consistently making things more difficult for yourself than they need to be.”

Aubrey frowned at Mark’s view of her actions on the show as a whole. “Mark, I know I messed up here, but what do you want from me for everything else? Am I simply supposed to fall in love with you because the alternative is horrific? I’m trying my best to protect my family, Mark. Or did you forget that Cassandra essentially told me that if I place low in the challenges, she might bring on some of them like she did Isabella.”

“I didn’t forget, but you are going about trying to protect them all wrong Aubrey. Are you even trying to experiment with your boons? Have you tried making friends with the others besides Chloe or Laura? You’ve also alienated the audience to some degree too. Who might have been your saving grace because you are likely to end up placing low in a challenge again eventually. If they really liked you enough they might be willing to not bring on your family.”

“Didn’t you say they would almost always pick to add someone to the harem?”

“I did, but sometimes the audience is kind, especially to a well liked individual. Isabella was going to be added for sure since both Allie and I were interested in her, and the TF said that she was interested in us. Sure Allie wasn’t happy about her being **** into this, but she is happy that she can be with Isabella. For you though, unless you secretly harbor incestuous thoughts, bringing your brother on would be something you truly would dislike. Between my disinterest in guys, and you not liking the idea of your family being added, the audience might have been merciful. I doubt that will be the case now.”

“So, what do I do?” Aubrey was nearly in tears.

“I don’t know. Make friends, try to repair your image to the audience, stop knocking cow-girls, maybe embrace getting milked and try to figure out a way to bond with me that isn’t about getting you pregnant.”

“Okay… I guess that actually brings us back to the other thing I wanted to talk to you about, my TF.”

“Aubrey, figure it out yourself or ask one of the others for help. I’m not inclined to help you right now. I have limited BP to fix things this round. The only thing I will say is if you can convince everyone to consent to you getting the upgrade so you have a desire to raise my kids, I’ll buy that one for you since it isn’t an option for you to get yourself, but if even one person isn’t saying yes, I won’t be buying that. Otherwise buy an upgrade for yourself.”

Aubrey stifled a sob, “So, I’m just on my own? You’re giving up on me?”

“No, I’m not giving up on you. Aubrey you have plenty of BP of your own, so use it. I have multiple people making requests of my BP, and there are things that I want to or need to buy. Like contraceptives for most of you. Talia, Merida, Ellen, and Isabella all have problems of their own that need my help. Laura is considering something that might also need my help. If in the next round you still haven’t solved it yourself, and it gets worse, I’ll help.”

Aubrey just looked at the floor in defeat. “I guess I’ll go then.” Aubrey stood up to leave.

Aubrey was startled when Mark grabbed her arm and pulled her onto his lap and kissed her. “Aubrey, I do like you. I told you before, ask Sam for help. She’ll help you if you ask.” Mark kissed her again, and then pushed her back to a standing position and lightly swatted her butt. “Now get going, I do have other people demanding my time this morning.”

Aubrey walked out of the cottage. Well that went differently than I thought it would. Now I just have to face Laura.

Ellen showed Merida back into the cottage, “Here you are, Sir. You are currently thirty-five minutes ahead of schedule.”

“Thank you Ellen.” Ellen shut the cottage door as Merida lay down on the bed next to Mark. “So, how is my soon to be vixen?”

“Oi, careful there, mister. Bein’ a fox-lass ain’t goin’ tae be so bad, but that doesnae mean I’m happy aboot that. Plus I’m no’ goin’ tae deliberately make myself a fox-lass this round, mind, I get tae craft them myself.”

“Sure, within certain limits. Cassandra might say that one of those limits is that you have to include getting fox-ears and a tail. I don’t think that is the case, but depending upon where you place in the challenge it could still be worth considering doing this round. I’m not pushing it though.”

“If I somehow make it through the TF round that could turn me intae a fox-lass and no’ get it, will ye **** that on me?”

“No. But, remember if you don’t end up a fox girl, you are probably becoming a bear girl. I can think of a few more that would work but those are your top two.”

“Aye, I thought o’ plenty o’ ithers too. Whatever, I’ve accepted I’m goin’ tae be a vixen. Noo aboot craftin’, I’d like tae ken, hae ye any thoughts on the direction I should consider takin’ each path? I’m honestly sort o’ lost.”

“Honestly it’s sort of hard to give suggestions without knowing what tier of TF you will end up getting. Like for your [Posh Vixen] path, if it was a boon, I might actually suggest trying to go for a Kitsune TF, and milk as many magical abilities out of that boon as you can. If it was a normal tier TF, I don’t know if you could go for a Kitsune as opposed to just a vixen TF, I think leaning into the posh aspect of your path might be better there. There is also the question of what happens if you place high enough and get a boon normally, because all your TFs will be of higher quality this round, even if it is a boon. Laura was able to become a literal minor goddess from a boon, for all we know she might be immortal now. Imagine what a… I guess super boon, would be like.”

“Well, that is an intriguin’ thought, I guess I need tae dae well this time, tae find oot.”

Crap, and if I try to discourage her from doing something reckless to place first now, she’s likely to do something more **** to place first. “It would be interesting… for your other two paths, those are hard, I guess you could go with something like Rose-Tinted Goggles, for a normal TF, making you remember things more fondly and romantically. No idea about a boon for that one though. For the [Brave-Merida] path, for a boon maybe a TF about seizing your own fate, and a normal one, well you could make it so you were always Scottish, maybe even Scottish nobility.”

“Hmm… I dinnae ken aboot changin’ my family history aroon’, or seein’ everythin’ in a romantic context either. Things tae think aboot, I guess. Noo I was wonderin’ if I could convince ye tae boost one o’ my TFs.” Merida slid one hand up Mark’s thigh, “I can be very convincin’.”

“Hmm, it would depend which one but I’m also inclined to use it on Chloe’s Fairy Godmother to permanently improve it. I only have one boost left for the round since I used three on Flora and lost one to the casino.”

“Why no’ hae Chloe ask Cassandra tae boost her TF as a favor? As for which TF, well honestly I hae a few I’d like tae ken whit the upgrade for would be. I think maist o’ my TFs are actually pretty fine, wi’ the only no’ great one bein’ the Fiery Lassie. I think that is the one I’d like tae ken the maist as right noo I’m honestly considerin’ just spendin’ my BP for upgrades tae my TFs, I’m considerin’ buyin’ the option that upgrades one o’ my TFs at random, since it is cheaper. Though I’m concerned aboot whit the Fiery Lassie upgrade would be.”

“You aren’t concerned about any of the others, upgrading in a way you wouldn’t like?”

“Not really, why do you think I should be?”

“I don’t know, I would be most concerned about your posing TFs upgrading. I don’t think they will make you a doll or anything like that, but adding a desire to be posed, a desire to literally let me dress you, or something to cause you to instinctually pose, are all possibilities.”

“Wait, I thought thae were supposed tae be upgrades. How are any o’ thae upgrades?”

“Well… I would like all those things, at least to some degree. ‘Upgrade’ is a bit of a misleading word. In general I wouldn’t say they are harmful but they might not be what you are expecting. Take Flora’s, Just Pretend I’m Not Here, my boost made it so she can be unnoticed longer but I can see her unless she specifically wants to hide from me. Though any time past the first hour has a side effect. Also that side effect applies if she tries to hide from me at all. So, if what Flora wanted was to hide from me, you could actually say it was either a sidegrade or downgrade, not an upgrade. Again I actually think this is better for her, and she seems fairly happy with it, just be prepared for the upgrades to be different than you expect. After all, think about Sam’s initial upgrades as well: she got limited to skirts, dresses, and skintight outfits that will also be more revealing than normal; She internalizes my constructive feedback; Finally she got curvier. That last one, while it makes sense in context of the song the TF is from, is very different from the base effect of seeing you all as family and a desire to make you all proud.”

“I see… so ye think I shouldnae just upgrade my TFs at random?”

“I didn’t say that, you are right it is a lot cheaper. Just go into it knowing the risks. I am a little surprised that you want to upgrade almost any of them, besides Fake It Until You Make It.”

“Well… hae ye gotten any memories frae other Marks that were Masters?”

“No. Have you gotten memories from other Meridas that were contestants?”

“Aye actually, I’ve also gotten one frae where I was the Mistress on the show and you were a contestant too. Well… where Mary was a contestant.”

“Huh, well at least they ended up happy together.”

“Aye well, I only got that after ye could be Mary anytime. The reason I asked is because I’ve seen some o’ the upgrades they hae. They seem fine.”

“Your call Merida. If Chloe can ask for that boost from Cassandra I’ll boost your Fiery Lassie if you want though.”

“Really? Awesome!”

“Yes, is there anything else you wanted to talk about?”

“Aye, as I mentioned, I got some memories frae other contestant versions o’ me. Some had different paths than I did. I was wonderin’ if ye might be willin’ tae reroll one o’ my other paths, no’ the new one, for me.”

“I’m not opposed in theory, I assume you want a specific path. I don’t know how much that would cost. So, I can’t promise it, also just because the other me liked that path doesn’t mean I would so keep that in mind too. I would also caution you against changing your paths too quickly. What is the path you want?”

“There were actually three tae catch my eye, [Hive-mind Honey], [Multiversal Muse], [Faerie Princess]”

“Well I can tell you right now that the first one is out. Not interested in you being an insect girl, at least not the ones you would be from that one.”

“She wisnae an insect lass.”

“Okay what was that Merida’s TFs, and what round was it?”

“T'was the second round… and she had multiple bodies.”

“Hmm… willing to bet she ended up a bee-girl eventually. Did multiple bodies interest you?”

“A bit… It is actually similar tae the [Multiversal Muse]. The last one would be a replacement for my [Merida] path.”

“Well, between your two original paths do you actually dislike either? Or are these just more interesting to you?”

“I’m fine wi’ the TFs I got frae them, I guess, just I sort o’ like thae a wee bit mair, at least the TFs I saw were all better than whit I’ve been offered.”

Mark looked at what they would cost to reroll for her. “Okay, well you aren’t getting [Faerie Princess], I think Cassandra really doesn’t want you re-rolling your fairytale path like this, it cost -25,000BP. The hive-mind one costs 4,000BP, and the multiverse one costs 1,000BP. I feel like Cassandra just makes up the cost based upon what she feels like.”

“Well, that last one is no’ too expensive, would ye be willin’ tae get that for me? Apparently, only ye can **** a specific path.”

“Talk to me towards the end of the round. If you want the multiverse one that might be doable this round, the hive-mind probably won’t be.”

“Okay, noo, one last thing I thought I should tell ye.” Merida paused for a moment. Blast it, how the hell am I supposed tae mention this withoot breakin’ the rules…

“That you should tell me, what?” Mark asked after Merida just sat there with her brow furrowed for a while.

“Sorry, tryin’ tae find a way tae say this withoot breakin’ yer rules. Okay so, in my alternate memories as a contestant, one or mair o’ the Lundevall sisters were pairt o’ the harem. Wi’ Hilde bein’ the second maist common sister.”

“Merida…” Mark grumbled.

“Hey, I didnae break yer rules, did I? I just thought that information was somethin’ that ye might want tae ken. Considerin’ that was the case for every single one o’ them.”

“You didn’t break them. I’m seeing that actually using the rulebook in a meaningful way will be tricky.”

“So, dinnae.”

“You don’t want me using the rulebook? I thought you were in support of me using it for the system.”

“Oh, sure it is better than the first system in my opinion, aye.”

“But…” Mark gestured for her to continue.

“But, I think ye should just use the rulebook how ye want. I also think ye should just resolve any issues ye hae wi’ oor actions how ye want tae, regardless o’ any so-called rules.” Mark looked at Merida bewildered. “Mark, it’s nice and all that ye want tae try tae be fair and kind. I appreciate that, really I dae, but this isn’t a fair situation we find oorselves in, and tryin’ tae treat it as such isn’t all that helpful. Mark, ye are in charge, end o’ discussion. Anyone thinkin’ otherwise is deludin’ themselves. If ye want us tae hae a say, great, but that is still you bein’ in charge. Ye arenae handin’ power over tae us, ye cannae as far as I can tell. Cassandra made that clear tae ye wi’ that issue we arenae discussin’ any mair. I prefer no’ tae pretend that we hae any real control, is all. I think that tryin’ tae close all the loopholes is goin’ tae be a nightmare. It barely took a day for us tae bypass a fairly straightforward rule withoot breakin’ it, and multiple people hae abused some o’ the rules tae their advantage, or used the fact that they arenae technically breakin’ the rules as cover for their behavior. So, if ye want tae create some rules that are fun, sexy, or interestin’ tae you then dae so. If ye hae a problem wi’ someone’s behavior it’s okay tae punish them. Just make sure it is an appropriate response.”

“So, you trust me not to screw up?”

“Look, there are two, maybe three times so far I would say ye did somethin’ ye probably shouldn’t hae. The initial issue wi’ Flora, the maist current issue wi’ Flora, and maybe some o’ yer actions durin’ the sleepover. Here is the thing though, Mark, ye were under a lot o’ stress just like we were at the beginnin’. Anyone who says ye hae this easier is full o’ shite. That includes myself if I actually said that tae ye before. I dinnae think I did but cannae recall. Ye essentially were made responsible for the lives o’ nine, noo ten, other people. Ye didnae ask for that responsibility and it is a heavy one. Ye also had yer romantic life dictated tae ye, and the woman ye hae wanted tae marry for years was suddenly in real danger. So, aye, ye were understandably stressed, tryin’ tae figure stuff oot and weren’t thinkin’ clearly. Durin’ the slumber party, I think ye were a bit rude toward Laura. But ye were just turned intae a woman, ye were made bisexual,” Mark winced at the memory, “ye were then given several additional mind alterin’ transformations, all o’ which made ye hornier and hornier. I’m sorry aboot that by the way, ye were right, whit I asked Ellen that night was mean. The maist recent time, ye were under the effect o’ thae Corrupting Caramels o’ which I specifically tried warnin’ them against givin’ ye. Even then ye still apologized and promised tae fix yer mistake while still under the effect o’ the candy, which ye followed through on as soon as reasonably possible. Look, ye arenae makin’ everyone happy wi’ this method anyway, so at least make yersel’ happy. Write rules but make it clear that simply because it isn’t ‘against the rules’ doesnae mean ye are goin’ tae let it slide, if someone does somethin’ ye dinnae like, punish them, just make sure the punishment fits the crime.”

“So, you wouldn’t have a problem with me punishing you then for coercing Ellen into making Chloe promises?”

“Mark, no one's gonna like gettin' punished except maybe Ellen… maybe Talia too… actually… Laura might find that fun in the right context as well. Anyway, no' the point, in general, folk arenae gonna enjoy bein' punished. That's why it's a punishment. So, would I like that, no. Am I okay with the idea o' that, aye. If ye think I crossed a line, while I'd like a chance tae defend masel', if ye arenae happy wi' my response afterwards, aye, go ahead, punish me. I will say I'm no' sorry at all for gettin' Ellen tae promise thae things tae Chloe. Tell me, Mark, dae ye think Laura would hae had that pregnancy scare if ye werenae on the caramels, eh?”

“How, do you know about that and no, probably not.”

“Flora didnae blab on purpose; rather when she explained tae me whit happened tae hersel’ and I put her in a trance, I asked for some mair detail tae see if I could fix things. She let that pairt slip oot. My point stands, though. Sure, there might hae been other things that contributed tae the scare happenin’, but the caramels played a pairt. That doesnae even begin tae address the multiple other ways that things could hae gone horribly wrong. I think I was mair than reasonable. In fact, I somewhat regret no’ callin’ ye and simply spoilin’ their plan after learnin’ whit happened. If ye dinnae like that, fine, dae whit ye are goin’ tae dae.”

“I don’t think what you did was reasonable Merida—”

“Did ye no’ listen tae me just noo, then punish me if ye want tae. Ye think I’m just gonnae change my tune because I hae tae face consequences? Because I’m no’ gonnae change my view, as long as it is a reasonable punishment.”

Mark flicked her forehead, “I’m pretty sure I’ve asked not to be interrupted mid-sentence before.”

“Sorry.” Merida rubbed her forehead.

“Now as I was saying, I don’t think it was reasonable. There were other ways you could have handled that, and you aren’t in charge of the others. You could have asked for the support of the others but you didn’t. The thing is you would have been outvoted if you did that. Because I know Allie, Ellen, Talia, Laura, Chloe, and Sam all knew about what the candies were called. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that Allie told Isabella and Flora while they were all in the library. The only person I know for sure that wasn’t aware of the candy effect was Aubrey. Which sure you might have gotten her on your side, but I doubt that would have swayed anyone else but Chloe. I want to make it clear you don’t have a right to tell the others what they can and can’t do. Persuade them, don’t dictate.”

Merida waited for Mark to pause, then responded. “Mark, ye’re bein’ a hypocrite here. I cannae tell the others whit they can and cannae dae, sure, I can get behind that. Just like they didnae hae a right tae tell me I couldn’t call ye and let ye ken whit candies Chloe has this week and which ones Ellen was plannin’ on givin’ ye. Mark, how would ye hae felt if ye had bought a permanent upgrade frae the BP store for one o’ us? One we wouldnae like.”

“But I didn’t.”

“How many caramels did ye take?”

“Two.”

“If Ellen had her way, she would hae given ye all three. Dae ye think ye would hae resisted doin’ somethin’ stupid then?”

“I don’t know.”

“That’s my point, Mark. I trust ye no' tae dae somethin' like that as ye are noo, ye are a guid person. Folk arenae their darkest impulses or urges. Plenty o' folk wish they could kill someone but dinnae, no' simply because o' the legal consequences but because they ken it is wrong. Thing is, I didnae ken exactly whit the caramels would dae, but frae the name I could make an educated guess. There are too many things that are horrific in your BP store that ye could buy for me tae risk that. Look, Ellen might feel like it was **** or extortion, but tae me, it was self-preservation. I didnae ask anythin' for masel', I didnae demand payment frae her for my silence. If I had, then it would hae been extortion. Let me ask ye a question, are ye plannin' on punishin' Sam and I for how we handled Aubrey's stupid plan?”

“I don’t know all the specifics but no probably not.”

“Well, I dinnae see whit Aubrey was plannin’ tae be much different frae Ellen’s plan. It posed a credible danger tae at least some o’ us. I’m also mair than willin’ tae be honest, I did extort Chloe aboot that. Though I’m pretty sure that she still would hae owed me for no’ turnin’ her in, even withoot me requirin’ her tae say that she owed me for that. Noo like I said, punish me or dinnae. I can accept that ye think I crossed a line even if I dinnae view it that way. Just dinnae be a fuckin’ hypocrite or play favorites, and make the punishment appropriate. Mark, I’ve seen other yous in your position, you can be in charge. I’m startin’ tae come aroon’ tae Cassandra’s viewpoint that things would be a lot smoother if ye actually took charge. Anyway, I’ll let ye think aboot that.”

Merida got up and began to walk towards the door when Mark said, “Merida, you want me in charge? Then I highly suggest you find a good reason for Cassandra not to pull you to the stores today. Because I will definitely be telling Talia what I do and do not like about goth style today, in detail.”

“See, that is exactly how I think ye should be actin’. Ye arenae threatenin’ me, ye are warnin’ me that ye arenae goin’ tae hold back.” Merida walked out of the cottage.