✅1️⃣ | Hypnosis Doesn't Work Like That!

184: Conditions

"Good girl, Adelaide," Nyx smiled, and tousled her daughter's hair again. She had a trigger phrase ready, a set of instructions that were carefully tailored for the way Adi's subconscious seemed to process posthypnotic suggestions. This one had been made to ensure Adi didn't get stuck in little space if she wasn't enjoying it, although Nyx was pretty sure it wouldn't make any difference today. Still, it would be a shame to waste the minutes she'd spent memorising a couple of lines.

"You know how absorbed babies get when they're playing with something interesting. Would you like to feel that?" She waited a second for Adi to give a curious half-nod before continuing: "Well, if you were a baby and you were really enjoying something, then you wouldn't want to be distracted even for a bathroom break so you'd just wet your diaper when you need to go and not worry about it. And that's going to make you feel even more safe and babyish, isn't it? But even if you were a baby, if you really want or need to talk to us about adult things, you'll be able to use the bathroom like a big girl, and feel grown-up enough to let us know what the problem is. Understand?"

Adi looked a little confused, but she nodded, and she was still smiling. Nyx didn't really understand why her daughter wanted so badly to be a baby, but if it helped her to study without worrying, and without letting her genius-level ego get in the way, then Nyx was determined to keep on supporting this lifestyle. She led Adi into the lounge, where there were an array of dolls strewn across the floor from yesterday. Adi dived for them immediately, any pretense at adulthood vanishing as she lay on the ground and started talking to her toys in half-formed sentences.

Nyx watched for a couple of minutes, until she was sure Adi had everything she needed, and then stormed up the stairs to find her younger child.

"Garfield!" she barked, with all the anger and energy of a scream but compressed into a low growl that Adi wouldn't be able to hear downstairs. "What do you think you are doing?"

"Well she wasn't using it, and–"

"Not that. I'm talking about trying to sneak those trigger phrases past me in your conversation. Trying to stop your sister caring that you've stolen her things and invaded her privacy again. That is something I won't tolerate."

"I didn't mean to–"

"Enough! You told her that she'd just want to be a baby and play with baby toys all day, and I guess that's what she's doing. But that means that when I ask her if she wants to continue like this, she's compelled to say 'yes'. It means I can't check that she's actually enjoying this, or if she's changed her mind, or if we've misinterpreted some part of her fantasy. How am I supposed to make sure she's happy if she can't give me an honest answer?"

"It's only–"

"One day? Yes, but if I hadn't noticed then I would have assumed she was telling me everything is fine and she wants to continue. I shouldn't need to be paying extra attention to make sure that she's free to answer honestly. It's only because I was giving you my full attention that I know to ask her again tomorrow. You're on thin ice, Garfield, and trying to justify yourself doesn't really help your case. Can you at least show a little restraint? Because I'm really wondering if I should share some stories and pictures with Pete Dibble, and let him decide whether you're mature enough to take responsibility for your actions."

Garfield didn't have a witty retort that time, or some kind of sarcastic comeback. Mom had been holding his attempts at writing fanfiction over his head for a few weeks, to make him go along with whatever she was planning. He certainly didn't want his friend Jack to know what Garfield had imagined him doing with a few characters from popular movies; but sharing those images with Jack's Dad was a whole different matter. Garfield knew what could happen, his imagination filling in the blanks in treacherously graphic detail.

"You wouldn't," he whispered, after a few seconds that seemed to draw out forever. He didn't want to see those mental images again.

"Just like you wouldn't do anything to take advantage of your sister's experiments with hypnosis. She should have been more careful what she chose to listen to, but that doesn't mean you can do what you want. And you should have thought more before you wrote that stuff. Because some of it is really, really dreadful. But you're both my kids, so I'll do my best to make sure that nothing bad comes of your youthful mistakes unless I think you deserve it."

Garfield gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to say anything that might get him deeper into trouble. He liked to think he was pretty good at manipulating people to get what he wanted, but his own mother always seemed able get one over on him. He turned and started walking back to his room.

"Can I take it Adi's laptop will be back where she left it this afternoon?" Nyx called after him. "And that I'm not going to hear you using those words again without my permission?"

He slammed the door behind him, which Nyx took as a grudging admission of defeat.