#cw.mindcontrol

you doodle him on the edges of paper when you're supposed to be doing anything else. (regardless of anyone's artistic skills, it's not difficult to draw a triangle with a top hat and an eye, is it?) and in this world, you are hardly the only one who likes him, who, perhaps, ships himself with him, who thinks about him a lot. who makes drawings and writes or reads fic. you don't think it's all that unusual.

in a stroke of luck or, depending on how you look at it, the exact opposite, the universe's idea of a cosmic joke, you are the one to catch bill's eye. (it's, after all, much easier to infiltrate the dreams of someone who already has you on their mind. makes sense, doesn't it? a tentative, wavering link had been formed already.) there, in your dreams, he tells you what to say--triangulum, entangulum. meteforis dominus ventium. meteforis venetisarium--and the next morning, you remember it clear as a memory.

you do it. for funsies. why wouldn't you? you don't expect it to actually work. he's a fictional interdimensional demon. why would it work? but much to your surprise, and horror, because surely a screw must've gotten loose for this to be happening, one of your little doodles has life blown to it. as a response to your summon, a tiny little bill cipher darts across your paper, alive but still confined.

(you've given him an in. now, he only has to take the crack you've opened for him, dig his fingers in, and tear it open.)

oh, he'll be funny! he'll be exactly what you thought of him. perhaps he even voices a line of dialogue you swore you wrote down somewhere days prior. yes, he's read whatever you wrote or read, whatever you looked at. he's keeping it himself for now. it's not easy to inflate his ego further, but you might have succeeded. rather than a meatbag, bill first looks upon you with the eye of someone presented with a puppy. fundamentally lesser, but capable of being something with the right training.

he urges you to make a deal with him and the promise he'll act out whatever fantasy you've been cooking up in that brain of yours, even if it's gross and weird and physically impossible!

he'll warp your dimension to make all of it possible!!! it's great!!! don't worry about it!!!!!!

…you don't do it. you don't touch the paper. you've seen the show, and you aren't stupid. bill nearly balks. he'd expected you to be the easiest mark of all time, but he suppose he forgot that even puppies have teeth. that's fine. he can work with this. because even though you have not let him in yet, and you refuse to shake his hand through the paper, you don't seperate yourself from him just yet.

you could oh so easily take the piece of paper he's on and throw it in the nearest shredder. or set him on fire. in you, he recognises lingering curiosity, and the excitement at having stood out, at being chosen, in one way or another. it's not hopeless yet.

he can play a bit of a longer game, then. he's been at this for a long, long time. he'll tolerate the paper he's on being folded into a little square and tucked into your breast pocket, granting him a view of your life and the world you're living in. (all the time, his hunger grows.) your decision not to throw him away ends up being your downfall. spending so much time with bill, letting him joke around with you, complaining about your problems… it takes a while for you to realise that, for a while now, he has not been speaking out loud anymore, but instead through your mind.

a connection that cannot be cut has been formed in between two of you.

on bill's part, he had thorougly expected to be bored. but perhaps it's your genuine interest in him, not the things he's offering, which he does not often see. (he's been down this road before. won't end well. but...) the sheer mundanity of your life that makes him wish he could twist and turn it all around. or just a random alignment of the stars. the heart doesn't always follow logic. in this scenario, at some point, bill realises that he has become genuinely invested in you, too. and at that point, you'll never manage to slip away. he's already dug in his heels in your mind far enough. you had no adequate protection.

You: no waaaaaayyyyy You: where’s the /j?? birdie i swear lmao You: you’re kidding right You: or are you actually being serious?? wait wait ok You: ok if you’re serious. ily girl and no offense but like. send me a picture of you and a note with my username on it or smth? cuz im sure you can imagine it’s kinda hard to believe you’re THAT Robin

And she does! She sends you multiple pictures in fact, in multiple poses, to reassure you that the images aren’t A.I.-generated. When she apologises to you for hiding who she really is, she does it through a voice message, and you can hear one of the most envied voices in the galaxy speak just to you. It’s… Kind of overwhelming? But at the same time, it doesn’t change all that much.

She’s still your friend, who you’ve talked about to your struggles and gushed about your interests to, who always listens and always has a nice word to say. Who, if she has any faults, is always too hard to herself, never seeming to cut herself a break. Who always seems to be asleep at different times, and can disappear for days at a time. You thought she just had a horrifically wrecked sleep schedule, but this would explain that! Maybe it helps that, though you’re definitely familiar with Robin, you wouldn’t call yourself a fan or stan of hers.

When she confesses her feelings for you, it’s over the phone, a rare trembling enter his voice as she carefully considers her words.

“I’ve thought… A lot of times about how to put this. I still don’t really know how,” she says, laughing lightly. “I don’t want to lose what we have now. In my life, you’re one of the few people I can always turn to— Who I can show… Other sides of myself. I’ll just say it. It’s not really as romantic as the books we’ve read, but, I’ve fallen for you. Would you care to meet, sometime? And go on a date? I don’t want to pressure you, or feel like you have to do this. If you’re not interested, I still really, really would like to be your friend.”

There are a lot of conversations to be had when you begin to date Robin. It’s not going to be exactly easy. Not only do you need to be prepared to be put on blast on social media and feature in gossip articles, you’ll have to deal with the fact that she’ll be away on travel most of the time. Including to dangerous places, such as active warfronts.

This is something that, regardless of their love for you or anyone else, is integral to Robin’s life, and one thing she’ll never change. If that is something you cannot come to terms with and this reveals itself during your conversations, you’d be better off remaining friends. You can accompany Robin on certain travels, maybe even all of them, depending on the kind of person you are, but for a long while at least, Robin won’t settle anywhere permanently.

But if you manage to get through all of this, Robin is a wonderful girlfriend. She writes you letters and sends you gifts no matter where she goes, and makes time to call you at least once a day whenever she can. In interviews, she’ll bring you up as one of the people who give her strength, and her face lights up when she speaks of you. At events, she’d enjoy helping you dress up in whatever style you want, and constantly keeping your arms interlinked as you walk around.

While she isn’t all that touchy in public, she’d be clingy whenever it’s just the two of you. Making up for lost time together. Another thing she would enjoy is putting the both of you in increasingly elaborate disguises for public outings together! She has to make the fact she’s nearly always followed around by paparazzi fun somehow.

One of the largest ‘hurdles’ when dating Robin is, funnily enough, meeting her older brother Sunday. She speaks of him with nothing but affection and the occasional tinge of worry (though, when you tell her that she has the exact same kind of habits towards overworking herself, it’s suddenly not so bad after all).

Robin herself seems to have no fears that you won’t meet her brother’s standards, but you have your doubts, really. If your glances over the letters he’s written her are anything to go by, he loves Robin just as much as she loves him, if not even more so. While his approval is important to her, you’re certain that she would never break up with you over it, or anything of the sort. Still… You can’t help but feeling nervous.

Your worries aren’t unfounded. Over a dinner in Penacony’s Dreamscape, Sunday seems to scrutinise you, gaze boring into your forehead. All the time, there is nothing but a gentle smile on his face. Yet, you’ve never felt to be under such a strong spotlight, not even at events accompanied by Robin, walking across massive stages. Your head hurts, but you’re guessing it’s just from the general stress that you’re feeling.

As Robin laughs about the type of meal manifested on her brother’s plate (“An Alfalfa Salad for yourself? I really thought you would’ve gone for something sweeter, brother!”), you shift on your seat in discomfort and attempt to keep small talk conversations going.

Perhaps it’s your mind being tricks on you, perhaps you are ‘spiraling in on yourself’, as Robin sometimes calls it, but you really do believe that this man does not like you whatsoever. When you can’t take it anymore, you move your chair. Its loud scraping breaks up any conversation.

The smile on your face is wobbly. “I’m just going to go to the bathroom for a second. Excuse me.”

Robin puts her hand on your arm. “I can show you where it is? The mansion’s layout can be a bit confusing at times, even though I’ve been here plenty of times myself.”

Sunday, across the table, shakes his head and gets up. “Please stay seated, sister. As the host, it is my duty to guide your… Partner, to wherever they may need to go. Allow me to guide you.”

Somehow, your attempted escape has become a new trap in and of itself. It’s practically impossible to deny to go with him now, though, so you straighten your shoulders, nod, and follow Sunday further into his home. The clacking of his shoes on the marble floor is the only noise keeping you two company as you walk a step behind him. He stops. There is no bathroom, here. Only a giant paint of Robin situated on the wall. She’s smiling. Sunday turns half a circle around and stares at it, hands folded together behind his back.

“You…” he speaks slowly. “Do you think you can make her happy?”

Your head throbs. Your head hangs a little to the side, as you stare at the painting. “I think… When I met Robin, she was already happy. In a sense. She has a purpose. A goal she’ll always keep striving for— No matter what. Chasing that, I think it makes her feel more fulfilled than many people… Like me.”

You slowly shake your head. “So, no, I don’t think just myself could make her happy. But as things are now, she is. I do add something to her life, but… I don’t think the rest could be taken away.”

You stare at Sunday. If there is a thought that hits you now, in the painfully placid nature of his expression, in the manner he has watched you all evening, it is not merely protectiveness that fuels him. In part, it is jealousy, too.

You sway a little on your feet.

“You act as if Robin does not care for you,” you smile wistfully, turning to the painting in turn. “You don’t know how she talks about you, if you aren’t around. I think about it, sometimes. If you and I… Were hanging off of a precipice, and she could only save one of us— I can’t say for certain who she would pick. But if I’m honest with myself, as much as it would pain her, and how much it hurts me to think, I really do believe she would save you.”

You squeeze your eyes shut as the corners of your vision turn blurry. “I— I don’t know why I’m saying any of this.” You press your hand to the side of your head, and drag it down your cheek. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I’m feeling very well.”

“Is that really the truth?” Sunday asks.

“To me it is, I guess.” You mumble. “If you asked Robin, she would answer… That she would find a way to save both of us. No matter the cost. Because that is the kind of person she is. But I can’t seem to think that would be a reality.”

Sunday hums, then turns around you. When he nods, your nausea dissipates, you straighten your back, and whatever stupor you had found yourself in leaves your mind. All at once, shame crashes into you. What the hell have you been babbling on and on about for the past five minutes? When he looks at you now, his gaze is not quite as oppressive as before, though you are not entirely sure how to feel about him.

He lowers his head a tad, ears fluttering. “Thank you for allowing me to understand you better,” Sunday tells you. “You are a different type of person than I imagined you to be— Perhaps you and I are more similar than I believed. Due to my personal feelings, it seems I led my thoughts stray into disharmony. Will you forgive me?” Though the ice has left his tone, it is now as if he has shaved off every edge, covering it all in fabric. It is almost condescending.

But you, honestly, still kind of need to piss. And you’re over all of this, really. “I— Yeah. Yeah, sure. Spirit of harmony, and all that.”

She wants someone who cares about her opinion more than anything else. Who she can mould into her perfect little lover, into the most beautiful version of yourself. You’ll get a list of ‘new dress code regulations with a new uniform, shoes and instructions for how to style your hair. It’s all very specific, and you quickly discover it’s only applicable to you. Lusamine just wants to see you in outfits she likes, without outright gifting them herself. Yet. Even if you stand out, as long as she praises you for how lovely you look, you’ll be accepting, won’t you? Though it’s inappropriate for a boss to have such an obvious favorite among her employees… Lusamine doesn’t care. You’re one of her most valuable employees, you can get some special treatment!

What she desires most of all though, is for you to view her as a motherly figure figure. She’ll take you underneath her wing with that in mind. (She won’t even excuse it to herself by saying it’s to get close to her. She just likes it.) It’s hard to ignore. She’s always going on about how you should come to her with any issues, fixing your clothes for you, leaving little notes on your desk, bringing food along for you, giving you projects she’ll know you like, praising you… She’d be delighted if you ever referred to you as her mother by accident. Oh, it just makes here want to whisk you away and never let you into that awful outside world again!

In the end, her fantasy is to turn you into someone who will look consider her opinion beyond doing anything. Essentially, she wants you completely dependent on her, for you to freak out if you’re away from her for too long. The closest thing a living person can get to her frozen beauties. She doesn’t really want someone who will talk back to her, just someone to look after and dote on. If you’re sweet and obedient, you’ll end up getting spoiled beyond belief! She’ll relieve you of all your duties, if you wish (and she’ll definitely plant the idea in your head), so you can be her personal plaything instead.

Though, with how your relationship has been going so far, you might not imagine your boss having romantic feelings… She definitely is interested in you. But she’ll ease you into it, just like becoming a dependable figure to you! It starts out with getting her personal phone number ‘for emergencies’, but she ends up texting you quite often. (To see what you’re doing when you aren’t around, only out of curiosity, of course.) She’ll make you accompany you on checkups for the Pokémon in the reserve and she keeps holding your hand the entire time. Or start greeting you with a kiss on the cheek. She’s hoping you’ll develop a cute little puppy crush on her all on your own! 

One day, she’ll test you again by calling you over to her office for a ‘talk’. During which she orders you to take all of your clothes. Embarrassment is fine, and so is a little hesitation. You care about how you appear in front of her, which she finds adorable. As long as you do undress in front of her, she’ll make sure you’re rewarded for it. You’ll get to sit in her lap while she’s ‘inspecting’ your body, stroking and feeling up every part of your skin. In that moment, you are the prettiest thing to her, and she’ll make sure you know. But if you outright reject her during this, she won’t be very forgiving.

She is very, very sensitive to your rejection. You don’t even have to outright deny her, only show a bit of doubt about where your relationship is headed. In her eyes, she has already been abandoned by her husband and both of her children. Any sign of hesitancy is a big deal to her. She’s immediately lashing out at you, calling you an ungrateful child.Hasn’t she been giving you so much of her special attention? So much of her love? So this is how her kindness is repaid, yet again. This is an easy way to get you locked up amongst the rest of babies, just not in a frozen state. She won’t allow you to have the opportunity to get out and run away from her.

But if your relationship remains stable… Lusamine usually makes you get her off instead of returning the favor, but she always makes sure to let you know how much of a great job you’re doing. She likes having you underneath her desk and eating her out. Even during sex she’ll insist you call her mother, though mommy is acceptable as well. She likes having you latch on to her nipples as well, sucking on them. If you’ve been particularly sweet and she’s in a good mood, she’d like to use a strap-on on you. But you’re never getting that far for ages if you’ve rejected her at any point. 

How could you not overflow with affection for the holy being who freed you from your suffering? Who decided that, out of the countless people roaming your previous planet, you were the only one worthy of being saved? You cling to his every word, worshipping the ground he walks on. He’s your saviour. Volo grows addicted to the way you look at him in constant awe, and it just makes him want to give you more reasons to do so. You melt at every scrap of affection and word of praise, only feeling honoured at anything more intimate. Even if the dynamic is so skewed you’re more like a pet than anything resembling a partner. But you’re a follower of his, aren’t you? All is as it should be. 

Volo shows off his Spiritomb to you a while after he gets it- It makes sense! To you, at least. It’s a very rare Pokemon, and, as a fellow trainer, you’re l one of the few people in Hisui who could appreciate it for what it is. You’re busy admiring it when he mumbles something you don’t quite catch. Before you even have the chance to look up at your friend… Your vision starts to swim, bordered purple, and you lose your balance. Everything goes black. 

You wake up, cradled in his arms, voice pulling you out of your unconsciousness. ...Ake up. Are you alright? That was quite the sudden fall there, friend. You’re lucky I was around! His expression is the same as always though, so you can’t help but feel he isn’t all that concerned. All you can get past your is a groan. He chuckles, before clicking his tongue. You need some more rest, huh? My, perhaps you should take better care of yourself. He gently sits down with you still resting against him. As soon as you’re able to function, Volo brushes off your apologies with a laugh and a shake of his head

It was definitely weird. And embarrassing. But you’re fine right after, and you never notice anything off about yourself. That is, until you find yourself at the Temple of Sinnoh, faced with a friend-turned-foe. 

Kneel, he tells you, and you fall to your knees. A sharp jolt of pain shoots up through your legs, but you cannot make a sound. Even your lips are frozen. Volo smiles as he walks over, every step slow and deliberate. He looms over you. A pleasure doing business with you, as always. Truly, you’re his favourite! Now, hand over the plates. You want to give them to him, don’t you? You nod, immediately hating yourself for it.

Him keeping a little group of weak, frail humans under almost complete control, having them gather food for him and worship the very air he breathes... He doesn’t care if it’s with empty eyes and false words. But while the others disgust him more than anything else, you’re the exception. Maybe you don’t need as much coercion as the others, almost eagerly bending to his will, handing over all thought. Maybe your scent makes his mouth water. Maybe he just thinks you’re cute.

Either way, you end up stuck in his web during all hours of the day, his face pressed into your hair as he makes soothing clicking noises. He’s so large compared to you, his multitide of eyes peeking out from underneath his hair. Your mind is kept permanently pliable, a haze in which you’ll panic as soon as he’s not there to guide you. Volo will pull every little thought from your brain, leaving you depending on him for everything. (And he’ll make sure it feels good too. You’re at your happiest, happier than you could ever be living a normal life, when following your god’s orders.) There’s so much praise, even if you have no choice but to obey.