Bullying at your age is just embarrassing

The choice seems obvious to me. Her bullying is what’s wrong with her, therefore that’s what her Path should be about. Call it karmic irony, if you will. Plus, if she actually does decide to reform herself and stop bullying, her Path will simply stop applying. In a way, it’s poetic justice.

I select option 1, Bullying at your age is just embarrassing. Her profile now displays:

Beliefs:

• Self humiliation is the most effective way to be a bully. (Path belief. Effect strength may increase on its own over time.)

Resistances

• Target will resist the idea that she should act in a juvenile way.

As usual, the Path starts out a bit weaker than advertised, but it’s not as bad as some others. Between that and her kingpin trait, bullying should be much less of a problem in the school from now on. Well, unless someone else decides to take up the torch. After all, now that she and her goons are going to be “on the bottom”, someone else might take it upon themselves to get “on top”.

I put my phone back into my pocket.

I don’t really have anything else scheduled for the day, so I decide to swing by Jenny’s office and say hi.

As I make my way out of the room --- actually taking my stuff and properly closing the door behind me this time --- I think about my next move.

What happened with Tatiana was a mistake.

I’ve let my lust, anger, and thirst for control get the better of me. The bitch had it coming, and she deserves no sympathy, but I shouldn’t have let my rage dictate how I use the app. I need to make sure I don’t let it happen again.

All forms of classical ethics would agree that mind control is wrong, but let’s be honest here, I’m not going to stop using the app. I couldn’t. I don’t have that strength in me. So the next best thing is to set some ground rules --- an ethical framework --- on when and how to use it.

I can think of three base principles to follow, right now. If a belief meets at least one of them, I can consider it fair game. If it doesn’t, I’ll need to change it or select another target.

The first principle is that of direct help. If the app can solve a problem in someone’s life, then it’s fine. Rachel’s social anxiety is a good example of that. Yes, I might add a clause in her new belief that lets me have some fun with her, but at the end of the day, I’ll be making her life easier, so it’s all win-win.

The second principle is that of happiness. If the belief I implement leads to more happiness for those affected, even if it doesn’t really solve a problem, it’s acceptable. My last conversation with Ellen is a good case in point: I made everyone enjoy sexual harassment, and I made her get a kick out of exposing herself applying my rules. Everyone will be happier thanks to it.

The final principle, and the one I hope to apply the least often, is that of retribution. If someone deserves to be punished and shows no remorse for their actions, or if I need to stop them from hurting others, then I can instill a belief into them, even if it doesn’t solve their problems or doesn’t make them happier. I still need to make sure that the punishment is proportional to the offence, and if possible, I want to keep a door open for redemption, should they seek it. Out of sheer luck, Tatiana’s Path ended up kind of meeting this third rule, but it could’ve easily gone in a completely different direction. I need to think more carefully about how I phrase things in the future.

My very first use of the app is a good example of a belief that doesn’t fit any of the criteria. When I convinced Ellen not to worry about what happens in my class, I was only helping myself. And when I made sexual threats acceptable, I wasn’t making anyone happier. In fact, I kind of made things worse for Rachel in the end.

Will respecting these rules make my actions ethical? Of course not. I’m still corrupting over 200 people for my own sexual satisfaction. But not all unethical actions are created equal, and these rules will definitely make my actions just a bit less unscrupulous. Even evil must have standards, after all. If I can bring these women happiness in the process, we’ll all sleep better at night.

I reach this conclusion around the same time I do the corridor leading to Jenny’s office. One of the ugliest corridors in the school. A gaudy affair with walls painted in a colour that can best be described as equal parts orange and psychological warfare. Her door is open, as it usually is when she’s not too busy. As I look through the threshold, I see her sitting at her desk, dutifully pouring over some legal documents. I knock against the doorframe to grab her attention.

She raises her head in a startle, like a meerkat who just felt a tremor in the Earth. Her surprised expression fades into a welcoming smile as she realises it’s me.

“Hey Adam! Come on in!”

She points at the chair across her desk.

“How’s it going Jen?” I ask as I sit down.

“Eh, I gotta say I’ll be relieved when the higher-ups are back next week. You’d think taking on the responsibilities of three people would give me more power, but all it does is give me triple the paperwork,” She laments as she goes to fetch me some coffee.

As she does, I can’t help but notice that her motions seem a bit different than usual. There’s a bit more sway in her chino-clad hips, and she bends down at the waist when she grabs the coffee pot, even though it was high enough that she could’ve easily done so while standing.

For the second time in less than an hour, I find myself enthralled by the sight of a woman going out of her way to flaunt her butt.

She notices me looking, and I avert my gaze out of reflex, before remembering that I don’t need to bother myself with such trifles of decorum anymore, and I instead openly show my appreciation of her features, ogling her down with abandon.

There isn’t actually that much to see, as the dress code of the school is still terribly prudish, but it’s the fact that I can look that makes it so enjoyable.

She brings back the pot and a cup, but in lieu of sitting back at her desk, she goes around it, towards my chair. I expect her to simply pour my coffee while standing next to me, but she instead decides to sit down sidesaddle across my lap.

I’m so surprised that I nearly jolt her — and the pot of boiling hot coffee — off of me.

She looks confused at my astonishment, but then the penny drops.

“Oh, right! It’s not normal to you. Man, even when I know you made me act all sexual around you, it’s still easy to forget. It just seems so obvious to me, so logical,” She explains as she carefully pours the coffee into the cup.

I feel myself growing stiff under her, as she shifts her weight on my lap, almost massaging my lower body with hers. I try to ignore my firmness as best I can and try to keep the conversation going.

“Er, yeah, it must feel really weird to know that you’re mind controlled, but still feel its effects.”

“Hmhm. It’s like, what if I told you that you were brainwashed into thinking that the sky is blue, but that, actually, it’s red, and everyone knows it. Even if I showed you unquestionable, unequivocal proof that the sky is red, and you accepted it on a rational level, deep down, you’d always think of it as blue, you know? It'll just feel right for the sky to be blue, and wrong for it to be red.”

“Yeah, I think I see what you mean. It’d just feel strange to think about... Hey, you’d... tell me if the sky were red, right?” I ask jokingly.

“Well, you know how much I love seeing people’s mind being all messed up... But I think I could make an exception for you. We need you fully aware if we want you to be a good hypnotist overlord!” She says with an innocent smile, as she boops my nose, before teasingly running her finger down my chest.

“Thanks... I suppose,” I grunt, struggling to focus on anything other than the feelings of her body against mine.

She chuckles with adorable mischief before putting one sugar into my cup, without even needing to ask me.

Making an effort to remember how people drink their coffee is one of the most underappreciated acts of casual human kindness, and I’m genuinely touched she kept it in mind.

She likes hers just black, no milk or sugar, by the way.

“Thank you,” I manage to say as I consider the complex logistics of drinking a cup of steamy hot coffee while a beautiful woman sits across my lap with the unambiguous goal of keeping me hot and bothered for our entire conversation.

Before I can reach a conclusion, however, she simply stands back up, staying by my side, and showing no intention of getting back to her seat.

“Hey, aren’t we supposed to be best friends?” She asks with concern in her voice. “Why aren’t you touching me? I know it doesn’t feel normal to you yet, but now that you’ve gone out of your way to fuck my mind until I think it’s a natural part of our friendship, you might as well use it!”

... She’s right. Why do I find it so hard to just indulge in what I’ve made? Am I still more beholden to the rules of society than I’d like to admit? If so, in a way, maybe the app does bring a certain form of freedom, from the unspoken shackles of human civilisation.

I look up at her, standing right next to me, bending her arms out, with her palms to the sky in an inviting, almost defying posture. Touch me if you dare.

Well, don’t mind if I do.

In an instant, my right arm is on her thigh, caressing it through her trousers, going up and down their length, all the way up to her ass, and then some.

And with the other hand, I actually start enjoying my coffee.

What else does a man need in life than caffeine and asses to grab?

+10 BS. 24 remaining.

“You were right,” I admit casually. “This does just feel right.”

“Told ya! Anyways, I forgot to ask, how was your day?”

Images of Tatiana and Rachel flash through my mind. I tell Jenny about everything that’s transpired, as well as my decision to put up some ground rules about how I use the app. All the while, we keep casually touching each other’s bodies. Midway through, she kneels and rests her head on my thigh, just a few centimetres away from my crotch. It seems like to her, it’s a natural way to show concern, in the same way as most people would rest their hand on somebody’s shoulder.

She seems pensive after I ask her what she thinks of the situation, and whether the principles I’ve thought up seem reasonable. Eventually, she looks up at me, her cheek still on my leg.

“Well, it’s hard for me to say... I kinda struggle to see what you did to Tatiana as wrong in any way. I mean, hypnosis is always good, and you always know best how to use it, so of course you have to have been right, even if you were acting rashly. But at the same time, I know I would’ve felt very differently about this a few days ago... It’s difficult to tap into that part of me, even when I know it’d be useful...” She trails off.

“Yeah, I get that. Let’s look at it this way, how would you feel if the roles were reversed? If you had mind control powers and you got angry at Tatiana and fucked her up in my stead. How would you react?”

She still seems to struggle with the idea.

“It’s... a bit easier to think about it this way, but that’s not saying much. Ugh, I need a smoke. Do you mind?” She asks as she stands up and walks to her purse by the window. “I usually go outside, but since the vice-dean isn’t around to howl me down about it, I might as well enjoy some freedom.”

“Oh, sure! I... I kinda forgot that I was supposed to help you with the smoking. Sorry...”

“Oh, it’s okay. I noticed you’d forgotten, I could’ve easily reminded you. But now, I guess you’re going to have to mind control me at least one more time,” she winks.

“Clever girl,” I concede with a chuckle. “Didn’t I make sure you couldn’t manipulate me like that anymore?”

“You made sure I couldn’t manipulate you into mind controlling me or others. But here, I was simply not bringing it up. In a way, I was manipulating you into not mind controlling me. If you feel obliged to honour your promise later, that’s your decision! You were smart to put that rule in, but I’ll always be a step ahead of ya!” She boasts while rummaging through her purse.

“Well, fair enough. What’s the point of rules if not to find loopholes? You’ve deserved your hypnosis session. It’ll have to wait until I’m done with Rachel though.”

“Yeah, don’t worry, you know best,” she mumbles through lips pursed around an unlit cigarette as she tries to find her lighter.

Simply removing her addiction would only cost around 15 BS. Of course, knowing myself, I’ll probably find a way to add something for myself into the mix as well, so let’s say 25.

Jenny produces a small object out of her purse and proceeds to finally light her cigarette. I can see the wrinkles on her forehead disappearing nearly instantly. Poor girl’s really hooked.

“Ah, that’s better,” she sighs in satisfaction, before going back to the matter at hand. “Alright, I think if I didn’t believe hypnosis to be always automatically good, and if I were the one who had to call the shots on it, then I would probably set some rules in the way you did. That being said, the ones you’ve decided on don’t really limit you much. I mean, you could just say ‘also you like that’ at the end of every new belief and it’d automatically satisfy the enjoyment rule. I think the rules about help and punishment are fine, but the happiness one is just too wide to be useful.”

“Hmm, yeah, I think you have a point...” I trail off as I gaze down into my cup. “How about we instead say that on top of making people happier, the action itself has to also bring something positive to the table? Like how we made groping not just a source of happiness, but also of discipline and motivation for the students? Julian’s used it today, and I’m sure her girls are going to be a lot more attentive from now on!”

“That’s going to be a bit difficult to define, but it does sound better,” She nods. “We’ll still have plenty of ways to have fun and corrupt everyone around us, but at the same time we won’t ever make the world a worse place. Even though I struggle to even imagine mind control having negative consequences anyways...”

“I really did a number on you, didn’t I?”

“Yep! And I’m loving every minute of it. Speaking of, it’s ultimately your decision, but don’t you think those rules don’t need to apply to me? I mean, I’m aware of it all, so we can simply discuss any potential belief and I’ll tell you if I’m okay with it.”

“But won’t you always be okay with it anyways?”

“Exactly! So don’t respect the rules and just fuck me up whenever you feel like it! Also... what was it you said about Julian applying the rules in her class? You can't just say that and not elaborate,” She demands as she puts out her cigarette and comes back from the window to sit back on my lap, wrapping her arm around my back.

This time, I feel a lot more confident, immediately letting my hand around her delicate waist, then letting it explore her curves through her clothes as I tell her about Julian’s pedagogical endeavours.

What’s incredible is how quickly it does become casual. I’m talking to Jenny while she’s sitting on my lap with her hands exploring my back and mine her chest in an unambiguously sexual way. I’ve been hard for most of my time in the room, and I’m sure this is having an effect on her too. And yet, there’s no tension, no subtext, no romance. We’re just two friends, and we like to tease each other sexually and give one another the occasional handjob. And probably more in the future! But it’ll always feel natural, casual, friendly.

And I think this is the healthiest relationship I’ve ever had with anyone.

Hello everyone! Thank you for reading this new chapter!
It was a bit difficult to write, and ended up ballooning up in length to become the second longest chapter in the story. Crazy to think that some of the early chapters were less than 1000 words, and now we're rarely ever under 2000, and regularly get close to 3000!
In any case, I hope you liked this, and I would like to use this opportunity to thank Blackjaguar for their generosity on my ko-fi!
I'll see you all soon (next chapter is likely to be pretty long too, so stay tuned!)