Remy’s Substitute Teaching of Hypnotism

October 19, 2025

Date: 2025-10-18 13:25

(Remy’s Substitute Teaching of Hypnotism)

[Sat Oct 18 2025]

A Musty Basement Seminar Room
The Plymouth Seminar Room occupies a windowless corner of the basement, its
low ceiling supported by exposed pipes that occasionally emit soft clicking
sounds as they expand and contract. Fluorescent lights cast an uneven glow
across rows of wooden chairs with attached writing tablets, their surfaces
marked by decades of student use. The walls, painted institutional beige,
display water stains near the corners where moisture has seeped through the
foundation. A heavy wooden table sits at the front of the room, its dark
surface reflecting the overhead lights in distorted patterns. The air carries
a persistent mustiness despite the ventilation grates set into the walls, and
the temperature remains several degrees cooler than the floors above. Cork
boards line one wall, their surfaces dotted with faded announcements and
peculiar symbols drawn in chalk that seem to shift slightly in peripheral
vision. The door, reinforced with a small wire-glass window, closes with a
weight that suggests its age and the settling of the building around it.
It is about 60F(15C) degrees. The mist is heaviest At Market and Lake

Remy listens to the banter going around the room and shakes her head. “Let’s not speculate or anything. She may have just slept in or something,” she says to the others, motioning with her hands in a downward motion to suggest everyone should be seated and relax. “So, let’s start with… What is hypnotism?” she asks, glancing around the room, trying to wrangle all the cats into a single herd at least.

Bekki announces shamelessly, “I came here to watch the cripple make the dean crawl around on all fours again.”

Justine turns her eyes to Remy, possibly out of respect, possibly out of sympathy.

Justine is still smoking, though.

“I… don’t know, unfortunately,” Teagan says with a small shrug. “Professor Alejandro might. It was rather sudden, honestly.” There is a slight snort, however, and a note: “There is no dean. I think that was a stunt of some sort. A provost, maybe, but we’re kind of a… different institution than that. Kind of a PR thing, maybe.” She gives a little shrug before looking to Remy and biting at her lip absently before offering up: “Using some means of… persuasion of a kind to subvert a person into behaving or thinking a way they otherwise might not.”

Nemi shrugs softly. “Nothing we can do now, She is’nt dead though. We should respect her, it is her decision and while she was here she made this college what it is and set amazing standards.” she states with a soft nod.

Nemi says “I just wish she would have given that damn deck of cards to Matias.“

Nemi chuckles softly.

Jakem settles back, glancing to Teagan “Heh, first to answer; That’s our overachiever.”

Nemi raises a hand. “Hypnotism is the act of influencing ones mind or body with certain behaviors or complete overwrites of part of who they are or how they act.” She says with a soft smile.

Not raising a hand or otherwise drawing attention, Bekki slips her phone from her animated pigtail, turns it to silent, slips it into a pocket and bellows, “It’s when you make people do shit with eye contact because they don’t, like, got enough brain power to stop you because they suck.”

Jakem seems long experienced at taking kicks to the shins, and even above the shins, and manages to suppress the expected ouch with a throat clear.

Unlike some professors that like to stand up front, Remy apparently likes to be mobile. Her bare feet make tracks all around the front area, and even back up toward the exit a bit. It is not a nervous energy though, merely the desire to be in motion. She mostly stays on the balls of her feet as she goes, turning with grace. She nods to Teagan and says, “Good start. Perhaps we can …” She trails off when another answer comes up from Nemi, nodding a couple of times. “Let’s start with this then,” she says, moving to the chalk board and picking up a piece to start writing. She writes on the board three different headings: Persuasion, Hypnotism, and Brainwashing. “There are three main categories of mental subversion. Let’s try to pin down the specifics of each,” she says, moving over to the first heading of Persuasion. “What are the characteristics of psychic mental manipulation?” she asks, tapping the board under that heading. She has not, as of yet, done any dancing, despite her mobility

Jakem lets out a soft whistle “Shit, did Celestine actually give her a lesson plan? This almost seems like a normal class.” he comments. He elbows Teagan a bit “Hey, you know this one right?”

Bellowing out again, Bekki shares, “You can only do smaller stuff and no one knows.”

Clearly one of the world’s great thinkers, Bekki. She has done her bit. She has engaged. Now she produces gum, chewing noisily before blowing a bubble as she begins to buff her nails.

Mercy peers off to her left somewhere, distractedly.

Justine’s brows knit as her eyes starts darting left to right.

There is a look to Jakem and Teagan blows out a breath as she prods at him with her phone. She does glance off to one side briefly, but just grins. “Unfortunately,” she calls out toward the instructor in their dragon onesie, “the person being manipulated thus generally is wholly unaware and will rationalize everything they experience.”

Jakem hmmm’s as he glances to Bekki, peering over the intervening seats with a neck crane “Oh that one’s answering a lot of questions. Is she like your competition for Alpha brain student?” he asks Teagan.

“Only if she’s after first chair in the orchestra,” Teagan tells Jakem as she looks back to her phone.

“Most of these are undetectable after the fact, or should be, unless used on a lunatic that starts acting erratically,” Remy says, moving over to make a column for All. She writes under that, ‘Undetectable, mostly?’ as the phrase. “Ok, unawareness is separate, they should all be unaware, unless they are say … awake for the brainwashing,” she says, writing ‘Unaware, mostly’ under all. She moves to Brainwashing and adds ‘Can be awake, then Aware’ under it. Then she moves over to Hypnotism and writes ‘Undetectable to target, detectable by third party.’ “So can psychic manipulation be detected?” she asks, tapping the board under that heading again.

Justine turns sharply to her right, but the only thing she sees is the row of seats and depressingly painted walls. “Oh, you lot are a sackful of laughs.”

Not even bothering to lower her tone, Bekki stage whispers back- thus proving alpha brain isn’t even vaguely in Bekki’s periphery, “I’m getting extra credit.” -She’s not. “I, like, know some stuff about hypnotism though. It’s how I got everything I wanted in school.”

Nemi hums softly. “Generally by someone else? For sure. Close friends may notice any extreme difference, or work partners.” she says with a soft nod.

Bekki says “Psychic persuasion cant be detected at all.“

Jakem nods, and slides Bekki a subtle thumbs up with an approving glance before he hmmm’s with a look to Justine. “That one’s bugging out a bit.” he comments softly, then looks back to someone. “Huh, brainwashing? Kinda curious what Remy knows about that. Kinda takes some knowhow doesn’t it?”

Jakem nods, and slides Bekki a subtle thumbs up with an approving glance before he hmmm’s with a look to Justine. “That one’s bugging out a bit.” he comments softly, then looks back to Remy. “Huh, brainwashing? Kinda curious what Remy knows about that. Kinda takes some knowhow doesn’t it?”

Justine tilts her head, eyeing Remy, then raises up a hand. “How deep does the rationalization go?”

Again Bekki knows a thing about a thing. This is shared, and so her attention can return to the important part of this conversation. “What’s an orchestra?” she asks Teagan.

Point two as to the lack of alpha brain.

Nemi looks at her phone as she debates doing something but shakes her head softly.

And in return for that question, Teagan just turns to Bekki and stares for a moment. She opens her mouth and, mildly flabbergasted, just says: “Google it.” And opens her Dr. Pepper to drink. Jakem is ignored.

“I have been studying,” Remy claims to Jakem, ticking her nose up just a little. She moves to Persuasion on the board and writes ‘Difficult to detect’ under it. She points to Bekki and says, “Psychic persuasion is hard to detected, and the target is utterly unaware of it. But under most circumstances it really does slide under the radar.” She writes ‘Target Unaware’ under both Persuasion and Hypnotism. Under Hypnotism, she writes ‘Intense Eye Contact,’ then under Persuasion, she writes, ‘Strange phrasings,’ and then steps back to let the others linger on that for a moment or two.

Nemi nods softly in agreement with Remy. “Honestly, In a city where half the people could easily hypnotize someone else, who would’nt be on edge that someone they know is hypnotized or being manipulated?”

Nemi nods softly as she sighs a small bit. “Thats fair.”

“These are just the supernatural methods. You’re being manipulated by everything around you. So let’s try to leave the existential angst at the door,” Remy says moving back and forth in front of the board for a few moments. “Why did I write odd phrasings under psychic persuasion?” she asks, turning to the assembled students to see if that point was under stood.

“The last lesson was more fun. We got to poison Nemi.” Bekki again unneededly claims. “And Kai was here- He’s a ninja.”

The bimbo’s attention wanders, another bubble is blown, her phone comes out of her pocket again and she’s back to browsing.

“Why worry about it.” wise words from the dollar store Barbie. “Just knock someone out if you think they ight try, tie them up and, like, drop them in the tunnels.”

This time, Bekki does raise a hand- University levels of intellect in full swing. “What’s existential mean?”

Jakem nods a bit to Nemi, gesturing to someone “You see? You got the brain here coming up with all the solutions to your questions of agency. Just gotta listen to the smart ones, they won’t lead you astray.” Turning his attention back to someone “Cause it’s hard to phrase things so they make sense in conversation, and in someone’s head at the same time.”

Justine stubs her cigarette and raises up a hand slowly, still eyeing Remy.

Nemi shudders softly at the memory Bekki references. “Please don’t remind me of that….”

Jakem nods a bit to Nemi, gesturing to Bekki “You see? You got the brain here coming up with all the solutions to your questions of agency. Just gotta listen to the smart ones, they won’t lead you astray.” Turning his attention back to someone “Cause it’s hard to phrase things so they make sense in conversation, and in someone’s head at the same time.”

Jakem nods a bit to Nemi, gesturing to Bekki “You see? You got the brain here coming up with all the solutions to your questions of agency. Just gotta listen to the smart ones, they won’t lead you astray.” Turning his attention back to Remy “Cause it’s hard to phrase things so they make sense in conversation, and in someone’s head at the same time.”

“You… got to poison Nemi?” Teagan looks at Bekki, then at Nemi. She blinks a couple of times, then grimaces at the question that follows. There is a sigh as she goes back to her terribly, wonderfully healthy snack of sour patch kids and Dr. Pepper. She’s just getting her energy up for the ball later, really.

Nemi says “It was an alchemy class- The potion we ended up making tasted absolutely fucking horrid….“

“Why?” Bekki asks.

The gum comes out, is helpfully splatted on to the back of the chair in front of her, and she asks Nemi, “It was, like, fun. I walked out of there happy as shit. Someone was having a bad day. It was great.”

“Oh,” Teagan says in response to Nemi as she eats another of the candies. “The one that Miss Kane scheduled at my request… and then the monster ‘napped me.” She grimaces a little. “I hope it was a good class, at least.”

Remy snaps her fingers and points at Jakem. “Most people are doing these things for personal gain. It’s hard to ask someone to give you their wallet if they don’t know who you are and without sounding like a dunce for referencing yourself in the third person,” she explains before folding her hands together behind her back. She looks back and forth between Justine and Bekki expectantly for a moment. “Existential is concerned with the concept of existing,” she finally says to the latter before gesturing toward Justine.

Nemi nods softly to Teagan. “it was informative overall…. If I knew it was the last class she would have taught I would have made a retirement cake or something.”

When Justine talks the light flat out vanishes from Bekki’s eyes.

The bimbo returns to her happy place- vacuousness- and nods at someone’ answer, a reply coming soon after. “I don’t usually think about not existing. Pretty sure I’m, like, real.”

“More about bypassing linguistic barriers to avoid snags while processing occurs. If I make you want to give me your wallet… And your brain hears ‘give me your wallet,’ you’ll get confused, because you already have your wallet, why would you need to give it to yourself?” Remy says to Justine, letting some of the more scientific stuff pass her by with a roll of her shoulders. “Whereas if I made you want to give Remy your wallet, well, now I just said my own name out loud, and I sounded silly for it, right?” she asks, gesturing around for affirmation.

When Justine talks the light flat out vanishes from Bekki’s eyes.

The bimbo returns to her happy place- vacuousness- and nods at Remy’s answer, a reply coming soon after. “I don’t usually think about not existing. Pretty sure I’m, like, real.”

Helen slips into the room and walks over towards one of the nearest seats which happens to be in the back. She settles down and leans herself into it, crossing one leg over the other and giving some familiar nods and a smile to those nearby.

Nemi hums and nods softly as she listens to the substitute teachers.

Nemi hums softly, shaking her head. “No it’d be confusing but as previously mentioned it’d be something the mind would rationalize.”

Justine appears genuinely curious, even leaning forward, though the twitch of her eyelid betrays she’s doing her best to concentrate on looking foward.

Bekki says “Umm… you can use give me stuff. It’s intention, not wording that matters.“

“Absolutely. The whole purpose of these is to be seamless insertions. Any snag at all makes the brain analyze it that much more, and any friction what so ever can cause catastrophic or unexpected results,” Remy says, glancing off to the side with a lingering stare before shaking her head. She moves away from the board to get some more movement into her lecture then asks, “Who here is capable of exerting psychic manipulation, raise your hand?”

Nemi raises a hand slowly. “I might be able to with a ritual? Other then that? Not on a whim….”

Jakem lifts a hand to wave to Helen from his seat next to Teagan.

Bekki pauses in her nail buffing to raise a hand, then promptly returns to the act.

Remy cannot see emotes, so anyone raising their hand would need to use Announce.

Helen scoots herself closer to Jakem and Teagan with a familiarity in her wave back to him and the woman next to him. She remains relatively quiet when she says, “Good afternoon, figured I would see if this was going on today.”

Justine doesn’t raise her hand, instead fumbles for her pen to write something down.

There’s a nod to Helen, but Teagan is making sure not to raise her hand in any way. Even to wave. “Celestine did not show,” she explains quietly. “So Remy came to substitute. I was hoping for a classic video or something, but seems like a real class.”

Jakem calls over to Helen “Remy’s subbing in for one of the other profs for the class. Except I’m pretty sure she had all this prepared, cause she’s got like categories and stuff.”

Nemi raises a hand as she shrugs softly. “I might be able to with a ritual? But I’m still learning….”

Nemi says “Not on a whim though. “

Helen raises her hand into the air at Remy’s request and says, “I have been known to be able to do such things, though I don’t practice it often.”

Helen nods towards Teagan as she says, “I see. Probably a late night, someone might have overslept! At least a good substitute is here. I think I could have winged it, but nothing to the detail that seems to be happening right now. I wanted to meet Remy, anyway, so it is good this is happening.”

“Don’t think we have time for a ritual,” Remy says toward Nemi. But then Helen comes to the rescue. Remy motions the new arrival up to the front of the area and says, “Let’s hear it for our volunteer, Miss…?”

Bekki says “Why would you practice it. Just, like, do it.“

“It seems I’ve volunteered,” Helen says to Teagan and Jakem as she begins to rise up from her seat. She steps over towards Remy and says to her, “Helen Wagner. I do believe we were just speaking through the phone a while ago. Remy, yes? It is nice to meet you in person.” She walks up towards the other woman in the front and moves to stand near her.

“Well, Helen, you wanted to meet me, so welcome to class,” Remy says before giggling quietly then motioning to the class. “Nice to meet you, now. Who would you like to manipulate, for demonstration purposes only?” she asks, looking over the class as if she might pick for Helen if she does not know who to pick.

“Thank you, running late, but better than never,” Helen says to Remy as she looks over the class and says, “You pick someone since you’re going to be leading the class, yes? I think I am fine with anyone.”

Mercedes wiggles her fingers at Teagan and beams a smile, “Howdy.”

Mercedes slides in next to Remy. She leans against her, still beaming a bright smile to those around her.

There is a look to Mercedes and an ‘ah’ from Teagan. “So we do have the two Mercies in one room now,” she says with a flash of a grin and a glance over to Mercy in the other back row. She looks back to Mercedes with a nod. “Teagan,” she offers by way of introduction.

Helen makes her way back towards a seat she had earlier now, smiling and waving to Celestine and noting Mercedes when she arrives, “Hey there!” She nods towards Remy, “You’re welcome, it is nice to meet you. Maybe after this we can sit down and chat some more.”

The percussive ‘THUNK’ of Celestine’s cane heralds her arrival far before she manages to shamble into the room, each forward press of the shaft into the flooring beneath dragging her forward with the inevitability of an oncoming plague. Her leftmost leg seems to shudder as she walks, locking in place only as she settles all of her weight upon it… its uncanny, metallic creaking filling the room with a rasping melody reminiscent of aching bones. Making her way right up to stand next to someone by the front, Celestine reaches up to remove her sunglasses. Wide, owlish eyes gaze upon the room like twin full moons… basking the gathered crowd in the radiance of their luminous, eerie glow. “NON!” She snaps, rather suddenly, as though trying to bite someone’ nose with a wide and wicked grin. “This is EXCELLENT Primer. I live by your example. You have done a wonderful job.” Celestine turns around to face the class, SLAMMING her cane against the chalkboard with a dull ‘THWACK!’ “EVERYONE! We are low on time. The world is ending as we speak and you fools are all SQUANDERING IT. I want you all to call out what EVERY single method of mind alteration is. Do Not be shy!”

The percussive ‘THUNK’ of Celestine’s cane heralds her arrival far before she manages to shamble into the room, each forward press of the shaft into the flooring beneath dragging her forward with the inevitability of an oncoming plague. Her leftmost leg seems to shudder as she walks, locking in place only as she settles all of her weight upon it… its uncanny, metallic creaking filling the room with a rasping melody reminiscent of aching bones. Making her way right up to stand next to Remy by the front, Celestine reaches up to remove her sunglasses. Wide, owlish eyes gaze upon the room like twin full moons… basking the gathered crowd in the radiance of their luminous, eerie glow. “NON!” She snaps, rather suddenly, as though trying to bite someone’ nose with a wide and wicked grin. “This is EXCELLENT Primer. I live by your example. You have done a wonderful job.” Celestine turns around to face the class, SLAMMING her cane against the chalkboard with a dull ‘THWACK!’ “EVERYONE! We are low on time. The world is ending as we speak and you fools are all SQUANDERING IT. I want you all to call out what EVERY single method of mind alteration is. Do Not be shy!”

The percussive ‘THUNK’ of Celestine’s cane heralds her arrival far before she manages to shamble into the room, each forward press of the shaft into the flooring beneath dragging her forward with the inevitability of an oncoming plague. Her leftmost leg seems to shudder as she walks, locking in place only as she settles all of her weight upon it… its uncanny, metallic creaking filling the room with a rasping melody reminiscent of aching bones. Making her way right up to stand next to Remy by the front, Celestine reaches up to remove her sunglasses. Wide, owlish eyes gaze upon the room like twin full moons… basking the gathered crowd in the radiance of their luminous, eerie glow. “NON!” She snaps, rather suddenly, as though trying to bite Remy’s nose with a wide and wicked grin. “This is EXCELLENT Primer. I live by your example. You have done a wonderful job.” Celestine turns around to face the class, SLAMMING her cane against the chalkboard with a dull ‘THWACK!’ “EVERYONE! We are low on time. The world is ending as we speak and you fools are all SQUANDERING IT. I want you all to call out what EVERY single method of mind alteration is. Do Not be shy!”

Mercy tilts a glance over to Teagan, still present just sleepy and distracted evidently. “Ain’ ever gonna b-” she stops at the THWACK, jumping in her seat a little and eyes going forward.

“The world isn’t ending.” Bekki calls out. “I wasn’t born yesterday, OMG, like, seriously.”

Justine blinks, slowly sitting back. “Celestine, you sounded more… grounded this morning. Everything all right?”

Jakem calls up “Brainwashing. That was the one Remy didn’t cover.”

Remy confesses quietly toward Jakem, “Because I have no idea how to do it, other than what TV has shown me…”

Jakem smirks to Remy “Hah! So you were stalling with the other two methods!”

Mercedes holds up a hand and begins to count fingers, “Let’s see… Hypnotism, subliminals, telempathy, psychic persuasion…” she squints, “I feel like I am forgetting…? Brainwashing…”

Helen watches Celestine with an amused expression as she flits her eyes over the students here. She doesn’t answer by calling out potential mind-altering ways of the world, and instead, watches the reactions of the others.

“Technically the world is ending,” Teagan murmurs, “but that’s sort of… heat death of the universe stuff. Millions of years in the future, after we’re all dust and long forgotten.” She puffs out a breath and looks down to see that her… candy is gone. She pouts at it, shoving the empty bag in her messenger bag to be disposed of later. All she has is her soda now. “Amnesia. Meditation. Most drugs. There’s actually a lot of mundane methods, too.”

“It is way more involved,” Helen says to Remy and Jakem, nodding her head up and down, “A whole thing. Unlike some of the more subtle versions where someone can just speak some words and try.”

“Exactly,” Remy says to Jakem, apparently having succeeded in her own eyes on the topic. She smiles at him, offers a wink, and then focuses on being quiet for the other students to actually get some information. Like she is trying to glean from the discussion too. She keeps her arm around Mercedes though, petting her gently.

Nemi, despite seeing the thwacks coming, just continues to watch, jumping a tiny bit which each THWACK that rings out as she sighs softly. Listening close as she nods a small bit. “Surgical, Ritual, Direct magic, Inherent persuasion such as angels sensitivity to what people really want…. curses.” She hums softly as she nods firmly.

Nemi nods.

“If you are shy, or inattentive, you get the collar!” Celestine shouts with a wide and wicked grin, shaking the collar at Bekki. She seems about to continue, but Justine manages to interrupt the tumultuous storm of her arrival, turning aside to eye Justine with a sobered smile. “I am fine, mademoiselle. Just sleepy.” She jumps, as Jakem speaks up, and moves to write it on the bored. “GOOD! Brainwashing is one. With the use of a machine specialized to the task. Alchemy — though provided an indirect example by Mademoiselle Teagan, is another.” Celestine turns back to the class, waving an encouraging hand. “Come along! Why am I holding this?” Celestine shakes the collar.

Nemi coughs softly. “Surgical, Ritual, theres also less mind control but more forced persuasion in the form of that thing angels suffer from- that compulsion to do what some people around them really want.”

Justine settles into her seat, now just listening to this bedlam around her. “I’ve had better afternoons.” is what she mutters to herself.

Mercedes raises her hand high into the air for Celestine to see, “Oooh! That’s must be a cursed object! A favorite of mine as they’re often archaeologically important.”

Justine pulls out another cigarette but doesn’t light this one. She glances to the side, as if expecting to see something.

“I’m not wearing a collar.” Bekki calls down to Celestine from where she’s still buffing her nails.

Fully engaged, the bimbo has her priorities straight.

“Good, Nemi!” Celestine taps to where ‘Persuasion’ is already listed on the list, then ‘Brainwashing’, before shooting out her cane to point at Mercedes like a pistol. “PERFECT!” She calls, writing both ‘Cursed Objects’ and ‘Ritualism’ Onto the board. “The conclusion is, everyone.” Celestine muses. Settling her cane down upon the tiled floor in front of her as she pointedly ignores Bekki’s interjection, grinning out at the class like a banshee. “There is non shortage of ways for your mind to be compromised. How, then, Do we protect ourselves?”

Ah, something else Bekki does know, and so a hand raises- The freshly buffed nails glinting. “Sunglasses can help for hypnotism, but ain’t, like, a sure thing. But being stronger than the person trying, knocking sus people out before they can try, not taking shit strangers give you.”

Celestine adds, for reference, a list to the ADDDESC of the room for easy reference

Jakem nods in agreement with Bekki’s words “Only take things they don’t give you.” he affirms.

Teagan snorts quietly in amusement at Jakem.

Remy quietly nods with Jakem’s assessment, snickering quietly nonetheless.

Justine says “This happened the last time Miss Kane took a vacation, the school turned into a circus.“

Mercedes plays with her own choker as she beams down at Celestine’s lesson. She then smirks and raises a brow over at Jakem.

“Sunglasses do help against hypnotism, oui. Which means that safety is ACTUALLY cool — and you are all silly for laughing at those ‘RADICAL’ commercials in your childhoods.” Celestine concludes, nodding along with her students. “Do not take unfamiliar objects, Oui. I am looking for two particular responses! WHAT ARE THEY. One can be performed by anyone. The other? Only by a specialist.” Celestine wiggles her fingers menacingly.

Nemi looks towards the other as they speak and then towards Celestine, simply delivering a single word. “No.” Clearly Nemi would not be the one wearing it.

“Really?” Bekki asks Justine, eyes wide. “I bet a fae did it.” – Literal then. How again did Bekki get this far through the education system?

Nemi shakes her head softly as she stares at the collar Celestine holds.

“With tigers and clowns, the whole shebang, yeah.” Justine says dryly aside to Bekki, still eyeing the ‘professor’. “Come on Celery, wrap it up, the world’s ending.”

Bekki says, cracking her knuckles, “Fire! Clown fear is the best. I like the way their makeup runs when they cry.“

(Repost from earlier, as I am forgetting to announce) “Good, Nemi!” Celestine taps to where ‘Persuasion’ is already listed on the list, then ‘Brainwashing’, before shooting out her cane to point at Mercedes like a pistol. “PERFECT!” She calls, writing both ‘Cursed Objects’ and ‘Ritualism’ Onto the board. “The conclusion is, everyone.” Celestine muses. Settling her cane down upon the tiled floor in front of her as she pointedly ignores Bekki’s interjection, grinning out at the class like a banshee. “There is non shortage of ways for your mind to be compromised. How, then, Do we protect ourselves?”

“YOu can use the ritual thingy to ward yourself.” Bekki more asks than says, half-remembering something someone once said and she may not have been listening to. “You can also, like, guard your mind to make it, like harder.”

“We don’t,” Teagan says in a dry tone of voice. “Not perfectly, at least. We just do our best. And build a circle of people that can keep an eye out for us.” A beat and she adds, glancing to her phone. “We hope.”

Nemi hums softly. “Magic? Artifacts? Avoiding it? We keep ourselves safe with the very thing that can cause us the harm. Fighting fire with fire? But that is’nt fullproof as Teagan said” She states with a soft nod.

Jakem feels that makes more sense than her previous question of ‘why am I holding this’. “You can ward your mind with stickers. That’s why they used to sell them out of vending machines until the powers that be decided to put a stop to it.”

“Seclude yourself from others, live as a hermit, and have minimal contact with the outside world, then die cold and alone in a pit,” Remy offers as the best way to avoid being mind controlled.

“We submit?” Justine calls out suddenly. “Make a vast ocean of our minds, so vast the manipulator drowns.”

“I still like knocking people out.” Bekki decides, piggybacking off of Justine’s point- She’s clearly filing the sticker comment from Jakem away for later though.

Mercedes bats her eyes a moment and then looks down towards Justine with a snicker, “That’s rather creative.”

“Bekki is correct! And thus, She is spared from the collar.” Celestine taps the chalk against the board, drawing a wide circle around the first list… before writing ‘Ritual Wards’ and ‘Guardmind’ Below. “What does it mean to guard our minds, you ask? We all know that ritualists can cast wards up on themselves like a shield. But why can anyone do this second option?” Celestine taps at ‘guardmind’ with her chalk. “…It is a strength of the will. A practice of mental fortitude. If you can learn to meditate, to bolster your own mind, you can shield yourself so simply as THINKING.” Celestine taps the chalk against the side of her own skull, as though to demonstrate. “Now! Who would like to be our volunteer?”

“Well, I should try to learn something today, maybe?” Justine says as she again raises up a hand, putting her head on the chopping block.

“Lovely! Mademoiselle Justine, come on up here, oui?” Celestine grins wickedly, beckoning her up with a wave of the hand.

“I bet I could break your arms before you manage to put a collar on me.” Bekki calls down with characteristic demonborn aggression. Curiously, there’s no heat in it, as if the bimbo is articulating an internal monologue and lacks the social skills to not just say what ever pops into her head.

“Well,” Teagan says as she glances at her phone and stands, gathering her things. “Unfortunately, I have to get to my prep work for the ball.” She gives Celestine an apologetic smile. “Normally I would not duck out, but with the schedule and your dog hypnotizing you into delays and…” She gestures vaguely. “Sorry, sorry-” she gives apologies as she slips her way around and past people to make her way out of the room, slipping the bag cross-wise over her torso.

Justine says, standing up, “You lot better organize a go fund me for me.“

Jakem waves to Justine “We’ll let your loved ones know you’re in the circus now.” he calls helpfully.

Waving Teagan off with a reassuring smile, Celestine simply shakes her head. “Shoo, Shoo.”

Justine descends down to the podium, eyeing the collar dubiously.

Nemi shakes her head. “No, I was already the test dummy last class. And I don’t think a collar fits my costume.”

Mercy slides a dim glance towards Bekki for a moment.

Holding out the collar to Justine, Celestine gives the woman a reassuring smile. Leaning in to whisper.

Nemi says “Well, outfit for the ball- not costume….“

As the collar is passed off to Justine, Celestine holds a hand back out expectantly.

Justine shakes her head, trying to stifle a laugh. “Fuck, this is what came to, good ol’ parlor tricks?”

Holding out the collar to Justine, Celestine gives the woman a reassuring smile. Leaning in to whisper. She then holds out a hand, as though expecting it to be returned to her.

Justine holds the collar in her hand, standing still. Her gaze softens, looking at the thing. She doesn’t raise her eyes as she simply hands it over on command.

Reaching up, the instructing Celestine shocks all those spectating by raising the collar to her own neck, and snapping it closed around her throat. “Now! Why would this object not work if I simply forced it onto Mademoiselle Justine? Who knows. BUT! What shall we have our terrible, terrible instructor do? Hop around on one leg? Dive over a cliff? Give to me suggestions!”

“Aren’t you always hopping on one leg?” Remy asks immediately after Celestine’s comments.

Jakem calls up “Have her join the circus. She loves circus’. She was talking about ’em nonstop.”

“Remove your peg leg and then try cartwheels.” Bekki heckles from the peanut gallery.

Nemi stays quiet as she sighs softly while looking at the demonstration.

“What do you mean who knows, it’s a crucial piece of info, why wouldn’t this shit work if you forced me to take the collar?” Justine butts in loudly.

“Clever!” Celestine calls out to Remy, before turning to face Justine. “Cursed objects are only half as effective if they are forced onto their target. Current study suggests that the psychic trauma of a subconscious mind instinctively lashes out against external influence in moments of extreme stress. Thus, rendering a curse relatively ineffective.”

“If one is not suspecting a curse, and carelessly chooses to put it on…” Celestine gestures to her own neck, the heart-shaped tag jingling as she moves.

Justine’s unease around Celestine radiates like a busted core of a power plant, she’s scanning the woman with narrowed pupils, all the details that make this chicken wing of a person seem OFF. She recoils instantly, despite Celestine’s polite tone and nice french words.

“Mademoiselle Justine!” Celestine snaps, snapping her fingers before the woman to punctuate each syllable. “Your audience wants to see a DEMONSTRATION. Give to them one.”

Justine turns to her ‘audience’, as if only now realizing she’s in the spotlight. “What do you mean?” her question to Celestine betrays something she tried to hide, a primal fear maybe. And embarrasment at showing any weakness.

Mercedes shudders where she stands and then shakes herself off, beaming a bright smile now. “Oh this is a very delightful lesson indeed.”

“I am at your command, mine liege!” Celestine demonstrates with a flowery bow, showing off the collar affixed to the crook of her own throat. “…Tell to me to do something. Anything. I was very meticulous in cursing this collar and I will not have it wasted.”

“Excuse me, I do need to take a call and get myself ready for something before the ball tonight,” Helen says as she begins to stand up, nodding and smiling towards those nearby before making her way towards the door.

Again from the peanut gallery, Bekki calls out, this time to Justine, “Hypnotise the cripple to do something fun.”

(repost) “I am at your command, mine liege!” Celestine demonstrates with a flowery bow, showing off the collar affixed to the crook of her own throat. “…Tell to me to do something. Anything. I was very meticulous in cursing this collar and I will not have it wasted.”

Justine(OOC) Sorry, damn router

“Um…” Justine stares at Celestine, taking a step back. “I don’t know, take off your leg.”

Mercedes cups her hands and calls down to the demonstrators, “Make her cluck like a chicken!” she giggles.

Jakem calls out helpfully “Make her cluck like a dog.”

Bekki calls out unhelpfully, “Make her bark like a chicken.”

“Um…” Justine stares at Celestine, taking a step back. “I don’t know, take off your leg.” (repost)

“Make her bark like a chicken!” Remy continues in the theme of ridiculous suggestions.

Collapsing onto the floor below like a marionette snipped of her strings, Celestine simply lets go of her cane, letting it clatter to the floor. She rolls back her pants leg to expose her prosthetic to view… before simply twisting, and detaching it with a low, mechanical ‘HISSS…’ Letting it clunk against the floor below. As Justine makes demands of her, Celestine turns to face the class, collar still worn.

Justine’s expression changes. She seems off, herself. She leans over Celestine, one hand helping the woman up, the other cupping her cheek. She starts muttering.

Jakem whistles softly as he looks at the leg “Oh, wow, that is some design in that right there.” he says appreciatively.

With a twisted half-smile, Justine speaks into Celestine’s ear. “Now bow to your students.”

“Thank you!” Celestine calls out to Jakem, before reaching aside to find her cane, and push herself to her feet. She bows to the gathered audience, leaning heavily upon the aid of her cane for support. “Now!” Celestine reasons, eyes drifting lazily about the room, as though slightly dazed. “Why… Is this so dangerous?”

Remy reads something on her phone and contents herself to what it says, keeping her arm around Mercy as she focuses on what is happening up at the front of the room.

Mercy sucks her teeth after glancing at her phone screen, noting the time, and gets up to excuse herself as quietly as possible so as not to interrupt.

“Order her to punch Jakem,” Remy calls out as her answer for why it is dangerous.

Jakem calls over to Remy “She can’t, she’s a counselor. It’s against their hopicrutic oath.

“It’s, like, not.” Bekki answers with the confidence of someone who’s got their money’s worth and intends to enjoy the rest of the show. “Now throw your cane away.”

Justine blinks, really trying to keep her mouth shut. Something doesn’t let her. “Go and punch Jakem.” she seems in shock at what she’s saying to Celestine.

Taking a hobbling step towards Jakem, Celestine seems to be struggling to move… the absence of her leg making each forward step a carefully calculated hop. But then… Bekki’s eyes meet her own. And Celestine’s eyes grow distant and glassy… clouding over with the haze of indecision. She takes her cane, and winds back to throw it at Jakem. only to topple, faceplant into the nearest desk, and collapse onto the floor below with the dull ‘CRACK’ of her skull hitting the wood.

Nemi coughs softly. “Fun.” she says with a smile as she sighs softly.

Jakem looks down at someone “Huh, lucky me, seems she tripped.” he comments absently.

Jakem looks down at Celestine “Huh, lucky me, seems she tripped.” he comments absently.

“Jesus fuck!” Justine scrambles down to help Celestine. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

Mercedes taps her chin as she ponders Celestine’s question, “Just imagine one with nefarious intent and a tendency toward authority. By not defending your mind, you risk becoming enslaved like some careless angelborn, indoctrinated like a cultist, or betraying your own cause. Or…” she snickers, “You hand over your precious expensive watch to a woman in a bar who you feel suddenly deserves it. Hypnotism can be a very useful tool for robbing people blind,” she then bats her eyes over to the violence happening next to her and with another smile forming on her lips, “Or… You could end up commiting acts of violence. Like so.”

Nemi nods softly. “Or that happens.”

Bekki actually claps, the bitch. Her lips part in a rictus, the preverbial cheshire cat who’s got the cream.

Remy may not have gotten a direct translation of her suggestion. She closes her eyes after a moment and gets a sadistic little smirk on her lips. After another second or so, she gets up, leaving Mercedes for the moment to head down to check on Celestine. “Are you ok?” she asks as she crouches down near Celestine, but she clearly has no medical training whatsoever.

Jakem hmmms and looks down at someone as Mercedes speaks “I dunno, I don’t feel very violenced.” he comments. “This is like that time Eva kept tripping while she was trying to stab me. Except she bungled both legs instead of just one.”

Jakem hmmms and looks down at Celestine as Mercedes speaks “I dunno, I don’t feel very violenced.” he comments. “This is like that time Eva kept tripping while she was trying to stab me. Except she bungled both legs instead of just one.”

Rolling around on the floor, Celestine responds only with a pained grimace… before her eyes lock upon Jakem’s own and she begins to crawl her way towards him like an inchworm in flight. Her skull shows some slight bruising from where she hit the floor — but there is no blood, which perhaps counts for something. “The collar…” She hisses, eyes locked with his own.

Mercedes snorts a laugh down at Jakem, “That sounds like quite a party. I suspect Eva was influenced…” She peers over down at Celestine curiously, twisting a strand of black hair as she carefully observes for the moment.

“God dammit!” Justine but straddles Celestine’s back, trying to undo the collar as well as restrain the woman. But for a moment there’s a parody of a smile on her lips.

Jakem nods to someone as she crawls towards him, waiting for his comeuppance with suprising patience. He’s even texting as she avances menacingly on him to ensure she has enough time. “It’s very fetching.” he agrees absently.

Jakem nods to Celestine as she crawls towards him, waiting for his comeuppance with suprising patience. He’s even texting as she avances menacingly on him to ensure she has enough time. “It’s very fetching.” he agrees absently.

Jakem shrugs to Mercedes “Maybe, though I dunno. Usually stuff just sorta happens when people try and whack me.” he says as he watches his phone, completely open to someone’ intense and aggressive impulses towards him.

Jakem shrugs to Mercedes “Maybe, though I dunno. Usually stuff just sorta happens when people try and whack me.” he says as he watches his phone, completely open to Celestine’s intense and aggressive impulses towards him.

Justine presses her knee between Celestine’s shoulder blades, hopefully stopping the crawl and fiddles with the collar, finally managing to unclasp the damn thing.

“That’s some fae stuff if ever I heard any,” Remy remarks toward Jakem, smile still on her lips. When it seems Celestine is mostly ok, or at least being detained. “You could also just order her to be still,” she suggests to Justine helpfully regarding the struggling Celestine. She steps back though and checks her buzzing phone on the way back to her seat.

The collar isn’t particularly difficult to remove — it quite literally looks as though Celestine went to the nearest pet store to buy a collar for this class. It unclasps with a simple ‘click!’ Before pulling away from her neck, letting Celestine roll free to grasp for breath. She snatches the collar back from Justine’s hands, trying to push herself to her feet, and crawl instead to her discarded prosthetic leg. “And this, my friends.” Celestine muses, sitting back to affix it to her leg. “…Is why you NEVER allow for yourself to lower your guard. I will be asking monsieur Tenzin whether he would be willing to host a meditation class for University students to learn how to guard the mind. Until then? Class dismissed.”

“Don’t.” Bekki suggests from where she’s luxuriating in her seat, watching this all go down.

Nemi nods softly, sighing softly. “Oh that would’nt be bad honestly….. And holy hell yes I’m running before that gets slapped onto me…. Anyone here a hair stylist?”

Jakem blinks, looking up from his phone “Wait, did I get hit? I’ll sue.”

Mercedes gives a little classroom appropriate clap, beaming, “Wonderful Celestine! I’m so glad I could attend your lecture! I do need to brush up on my meditation as well.”

Jakem calls over to Celestine “Great lecture, teach. We never did learn how to do cult indoctrination though.”

Nodding, Celestine glances up to lock eyes with Nemi as she pulls her leg back on. “Take this as your warning. Never, ever, lower your guard to anyone. Had I been in a more helpless state, that compulsion could have been locked onto me permanently. I would be punching Monsieur Jakem months from now. Lurking in wait for him like… well.” She flushes. “Like a cripple, let’s be honest.”

Justine rakes a shaky hand through her hair, looking at once embarrassed and elated. She takes a step back, leaning against a desk to catch her breath and dignity.

“I already know how to meditate.” Bekki claims, “I’m a Buddhist.”

At Nemi’s question though, Bekki motions to her- not with a hand but one of her pigtails, animated as it is. “I’m like fire at hair styling.” … No… no she’s not.

Mercedes calls out to Jakem, “Let me know if you need any help wrangling those minotaurs,” before looking back towards Celestine, “And you should keep me in the loop on tea!” she says before turning her attention back to Remy, “For now I need to keep true to a promised appointment.”

Once the class is dismissed, Remy reaches over to take one of Mercedes’s hands and says, “Bye!” She sends out another message on her phone though on her way out with Mercedes in tow.

Jakem waves to Mercedes “See yah around other-Mercy.” he calls after her.

Justine casts a quick look over those remaining, face scrunching in disgust how blase everyone seems to be.

Nemi looks over Bekki as she debates that, then decides to just leave with a wave. But she stops and turns to Celestine. Suddenly her hand shifts to between her bag and back, grabbing on and yanking on something she grabs a sword from its sheath. “I’m never not on guard. I’ve no reason to trust anyone anymore.” She states with a soft sigh. “Now I gotta disassemble this….”

Standing, Bekki heads for the door, attention back on her phone.

She walks, face first into said door, doesn’t even seem to notice, punches it, leaving a crack, then navigates it, finally slipping out.

Nemi sighs softly.

Nemi waves softly.