A Rank up derails a lot of things.

When Leon bring the camera up to double check his settings for the shoot, he’s surprised to see a new message from Cammy waiting for him.

You have gained your first model, and taken the first step toward your dream. Your Soul is now Rank 2, and a minor Miracle has been granted in accordance with this increase.

Leon Marshall, Soul Rank 2
Mental Tendril: You may now plant a suggestion in a Soul Link's mind, and they will perceive it as their own. This success of this suggestion is not guaranteed. This Miracle may be used on each Soul Link once every 24 hours. To use this Miracle, merely say its name in your head and direct a suggestion towards the intended target.

...huh? Did Cammy just... grant me the ability to use Jedi mind tricks? There's no WAY I would believe this, if it wasn't for the invisible camera.

I wonder why I didn't get cattle prodded this time either. There's got to be a way to talk Cammy into being more consistent with all of this or it's going to be a hassle to keep things straight. In the meantime though... should I try this minor Miracle out? If the suggestion fails, I'll have no way to tell if it really works.

A plan began to formulate in Leon's head. He wasn't sure what he was going to do if the suggestion failed, because he was going to have to dig himself into a hole here, and the only way out was the Mental Tendril. Still, Cammy hadn't failed him so far.

"What kind of pictures did you have in mind today, Mr. Photographer?"

"How would you feel about some sexy ones?" he asked, and hastily added, "while following all your rules of course."

"Right off the bat? I was hoping we could work up to stuff like that..."

Normally that's exactly what we'd do, but I'm not a normal person anymore. I want you to trust me, Jessie, but I don't want to have to wait around for it.

He put the plan in motion. "Doing photos like that actually benefits the both of us, not just me you know."

"Exactly how would showing myself off to you benefit anything other than you and your portfolio?" Her anger took almost no time to surface. "You know how I feel, and you at least partially know why I feel that way. Do you seriously think there's any personal benefit for me to do something like that right now? If so, I'd love to hear it," she said, her anger building faster and faster.

If this doesn't work I might be fucked.

Mental Tendril - Use modeling as a way to take your sexuality back from the person who hurt you.

There were a lot of assumptions being made on his part. He was assuming this Mental Tendril thing even worked, for starters. On top of that, he was assuming he could use it right away. What if it started out on the 24 hour cooldown? That seemed unlikely, but there was no way to know for sure.

He was also assuming a lot about what factors did and didn't affect the suggestion's success rate. Assuming the recipient's mood didn't effect it, assuming that she wanted her sexuality back and if that mattered to the System, assuming she even felt like she'd been robbed of it in the first place.

He gambled on all of it. He gambled for his own selfish desires, but he gambled for her sake too. Almost all of the clothes she owned shielded her body from the world. Almost. Yet he had to believe that her owning this red sweater and form fitting jeans were a wish. A wish to conquer her fear and reach a point where she could be comfortable with her own body again. I'm a sick man conjuring up fantasies, trying to justify altering this poor girl's mind. That's all I'm doing, really. But I swear if this works, I'll use it to help her.

"I know why you feel that way, and that's why I think you shouldn't let it control you," The road to hell... he thought, but didn't need to finish the saying. He knew what it was paved with.

A look of confusion surfaced on her face for a split second, and then she smiled enthusiastically.

"You know... you might be on to something. I was about ready to bite your head off, but maybe I should use this chance. I've always wanted some way to make my body mine again after... everything that happened," she turned an apologetic smile on to him and said, "Sorry about how I reacted. I didn't see where you were going with all of this at first."

An apology, to her manipulator. It cut him like a knife.

"Don't... ahem...don't apologize," he said, clearing his hoarse throat.

"Are you okay, Leon? I'm over here all excited and you look like I kicked you in the stomach. Sound like it too."

"I'll be... fine. I am fine. Just getting a little tired. Maybe we should call off the shoot."

"You're joking right?" She asked, and hit his arm lightly. "You pitch this great idea and then want to go to bed? I don't think so, Mr. Photographer. I know what I see when I look at myself... now I want to see what you see. As long as we follow my rules, of course."

The insistence to stick to her rules made him feel a little better. He hadn't changed who she was as a person, at least.

"I don't know..."

"C'mon! It's not everyday your sister begs you to take sexy photos of her." That doesn't happen on ANY day, for most people.

"Pretty please? Just one photo?"

"One photo?"

"One good one. Just to help me believe I'm worth salvaging."