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The Thin College


>_< 0_0

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On 8/7/2019 at 4:36 PM, Batman76 said:

Oh boy how the wheels turn

Thinking wheels? 🤔

On 8/7/2019 at 9:38 PM, bahbah said:

Had me thinking Jane was about to randomly get hit but what she got hit with was the crimson tide.

Soon, you will realize I had you thinking twice 😁🤨

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Real quick update as I write the next arc hehe

Chapter Thirty-Eight

               Just as soon as the crippling pain had come, it was gone. Warily, I looked slowly upwards, careful not to move too quickly lest the agony begin again.

               “You okay?” Brooke raised her eyebrows quizzically. “You need a trip to the restroom?”

               “Brooke!” Jackie huffed.

               “Sorry. Sorry… just what do you need?”

               “I don’t know what that was,” I stretched my fingers across the table. “It’s over now. I hope it’s over now.”

               “Maybe it was just a cramp,” Jackie said helpfully.

               But what was it? It was like a deep, throbbing sensation emanating from deep inside my bodily organs, and I could’ve sworn that I felt something shifting inside me. This was no stomach cramp or indigestion. Something supernatural had just occurred, but what had caused it?

               It suddenly dawned on me the mistake I had made. I had hexed Jackie to gain five pounds and immediately shift the new weight to a random woman within twenty meters. But I was a random woman within twenty meters! Could it be that…?

               “So you’re okay now, right?” Brooke rubbed her fingers against her fork, anxious to continue binging.

               I felt myself break into a cold sweat. Had I screwed myself? Had I accidentally… no, I couldn’t even bear to think it… had I accidentally fallen for my own hex? I had to check my fattening app. I had to get away from everyone!

               “Hey uh…” I did my best to breathe steadily. “I gotta go. I have to go.”

               “You gonna eat the rest of that?” Brooke called after me.

               But I was already gone, powerwalking in a beeline for the exit. A sea of fellow students brushed past me in all directions, bumping shoulders and brushing their thighs past mine, but I gave no heed to their protests. The bathroom door was just down the hall. I slammed straight through it, glanced nervously in all directions to make sure I was alone, and pulled out my phone.

               “Please don’t list my name,” I whispered to myself as I opened the app. “Please, please don’t…”

               As the app opened, a pop-up assaulted my vision and my heart fluttered fearfully.

               New content unlocked.

               The words assaulted my vision like the final warning letter for an overdue payment. What did it even mean? Did I want to know? Of course not… but I had to. I tapped the message away, and the app opened to the pounds bar menu, except below it was an entirely new bar. Unlike the pounds bar, this one was as red as the ink on an F-grade essay.

               This is your progress bar, a help bubble stated crisply. What did that even mean? Swallowing nervously, I tapped it aside to read the next bubble. This will measure your progress. Level-up quickly, but be careful! The progress bar is irreversible!

               Oh no. I took a slow, rattling breath as I tapped the help bubble away. Oh no, oh shit… The “progress” bar went to a max value of “20” before levelling-up, and it was currently resting at “5.” Five. Five pounds? Had I accidentally gained weight?

               Nervously, I stared at my reflection in the mirror. Brooke’s clothes still fit me as stylishly as they had before, but had something changed? I noticed I was sucking my stomach in subconsciously. When I relaxed, nothing much changed. Were my legs any thicker? I twisted my torso around to get a better look at myself. My jeans were just as form-fitting as before. Was it my imagination, or did they feel tighter? I couldn’t tell anything more without unzipping the jeans or lifting my shirt to glimpse my bare skin, and the prospect of stripping still unnerved me. I couldn’t tell if I was… bigger than before.

               A sharp slam sounded from the corner of my vision. Someone had just entered the bathroom. I hastily pocketed my phone and turned to face the newcomer, attempting to act as natural as possible. It was Brooke, and she was walking a tightrope straight for me, eyes blazing neon pink.

               “What are you doing…?” I gasped.

               “Hey,” she was on me before I could fidget away.

               “Sucky, what is going on?” I wilted in her firm, tentacular embrace. “What happened to me?”

               Instead of answering, she plucked my chin between two fingers and turned my face towards our reflection framed in the mirror above the row of bathroom sinks. Sucky had her leg cocked over my thigh and her arms wrapped around my chest as she rubbed her head against my cheekbone. It was quite a sight, reminiscent of two wood-nymphs playing in the forest in a renaissance painting, and it made me anxious to think that someone else might enter the bathroom at any moment.

               “Now the real journey begins,” Sucky whispered in my ear.

               At this point, did I have the option of refusing? “What do I have to do?”

               She laughed softly before leaning closer, rubbing the muscles tensing along my spine. “Go to the western tip of the island, where the last rays of sunlight touch the cliff’s face.”

               “You mean –”

               “There you will find a cavern. What you need will be within, shining with that waning light. Seize it, and wax strong with power.”

               “Seize what, exactly? What kind of power does it give?”

               “Sorry babe,” Sucky sighed, slowly uncoiling herself from my body. “I’m short on time; I got to go.”

               “Why?” I walked towards her as she made her way towards the door. “Why don’t you ever tell me everything?”

               “Honey, you know I’d never lie to you; I’m loyal,” Sucky peeled the door open and began to edge herself out. “But I’m not the only one who wants you… oh, and… that thing in the cave? It’s heavily guarded, so be careful. Can you do that? For me?”

               “Yeah…”

               “Be seeing you…”

               Alone again in the bathroom, I stared at myself in the mirror. I didn’t look that different. It was possible nothing had happened, but how could I really know? What if I accidentally hexed myself again? And why the hell did I have to grab something in a cave on the western tip of the island? What was even over there?

               Curiosity overcame me, and I pulled my phone out again. This time, I opened GoogleEarth and zoomed-in on Biltmore Island. The western half the island was only a few miles long, but was tangled by countless bays and peninsulas, worn by the full force of the Pacific Ocean. Any one of the peninsulas could be the westernmost one…

               I nearly slapped my head when I realized what the location was. If it stuck into the ocean more than any other point, of course they’d build a lighthouse there. Whatever I needed to find was underneath the “Castle” of Kappa Omega.

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3 hours ago, Batman76 said:

Oh boy, this is hitting all my buttons.

 

1 hour ago, bahbah said:

I love this damn story. I want to log off for a year and come back and read it through to the end...but there’s no way I can’t check this thread every day.

Let’s see what I can pull together this weekend. This next part is something I’ve been looking forward to writing for MONTHS 

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4 hours ago, swahilimonkfish said:

"Tentacular embrace", you describe Sucky so well, treading the same fine line between human and 'other' that she does

The hard part is depicting how Jane realizes just who she is in literary form. One second she sees Brooke stomp in, the next she's like "oh, it's Sucky again."

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  • 2 weeks later...

Duuuuude. I've been doing soooo much out here, it's epic! I still managed to squeeze another chapter out. It's only a prequel of what's to come, but then again, that's every chapter if you think about it.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

               Hands shoved into my jacket pockets and feet firmly planted at the edge of the asphalt road, I craned my neck towards the pinnacle of the Kappa Omega lighthouse. The tower was one of the oldest structures on the island – older than the college itself.  Even after nearly two centuries, the stonework was as sturdily-set as it had been when first cut by the British Royal Navy. Although modern instruments had made the lighthouse obsolete, the rotating beacon was well-maintained by the Kappa Omega sisters, who used it for their wild raves and festivities.

               I took a deep breath as I eyed the imposing tower and sighed as I shrugged my jacket further into place over my slender shoulders. Black clouds were sweeping in from the sea, eclipsing the red sunset, low and heavy with rain. Various Kappas who were still standing on the patio were already shuffling their way towards the door. I needed to get inside too if I didn’t want to get my new clothes wet. As the first dull rumble of thunder rolled across the darkening sky, I strode forward.

               Even as I climbed the first steps of the patio, I already felt like an intruder; never having  dared step this close. There was a woman leaning casually against the wall next to the front door. Sure, she was nodding and smiling at everyone making their way inside, but would she be smiling when she saw me? Was I allowed inside? Maybe if I hid behind the two girls in front of me, she wouldn’t notice…

               “How’s it going?” her eyes stared straight into me like daggers.

               “Oh…” I froze in place, acutely aware that I’d been caught. “Hi… how are you?”

               “It’s good,” she said confidently as she cocked one leg against the stone wall. “By the way, who are you with?”

               “Um…”

               Shit. I was busted.

               “Who’s your Big?” my interrogator folded her arms tighter against her green sports jersey, boosting modestly-sized breasts higher on her frame. “I haven’t met you yet.”

               “My name’s Jane,” I replied as I awkwardly stepped out of the doorway to let others past. “Excuse me…”

               “You’re a pledge, aren’t you?”

               “Oh, that? Well, no… not yet, I mean.”

               “So who invited you, then?”

               “I sort of just… wandered over?”

               “You can’t just ‘wander over’ tonight,” she wagged her head.

               Damn it, I should’ve made something up! “But why not? I’d love to pledge. I’ll pledge to Kappa Omega…”

               She rolled her eyes. “Are you a freshman or something? That’s not how this works. That’s not how any of this works.”

               A heavy hand slapped my shoulder. In spite of myself, I squawked in surprise, then turned to see the tall woman behind me.

               “Brenda?” I exclaimed with a mixture of alarm and horror. The last time I had seen her, she had led a mob of girls in chasing me away from this very lighthouse. I could still hear her words echoing after me as I fled through the woods: Run stalker! Your life is over!

               She raised a quizzical eyebrow, smiling softly. “Have I met you before?”

               “Yes…” I mumbled.

               “Really?”

               “Yes!” I glanced nervously at the makeshift bouncer. “We met in Olds Dorm, remember?”

               “Yeah,” she smirked. “Definitely.”

               But she didn’t. I had been hiding under Emily’s bed as she and her fellow prefect/lover bullied my friend and confiscated her liqueur. My attempt to grab that same liqueur back was why my reputation as Jason had been forever tarnished as a stalker on the run. I should feel nothing but hatred for her, and yet – as she flexed her grip over my shoulder – I felt relief. This might be my chance to get in.

               “How’s it going Brendy?” the bouncer asked.

               “Pretty good, actually.”

               “Your Little decide to show up after all?”

               “Amy?” Brenda shrugged. “Nah, she texted me just now. Said she had to study or something.”

               “Lame!” the bouncer rolled her eyes. “You sure know how to pick them, huh Brenda?”

               “What can I say? I got high standards. Speaking of which,” she slapped my shoulder again. “I couldn’t help but hear you just now. You said you wanna be a Kappa?”

               “Yes?” I answered, firming my jaw.

               “How much do you want it?”

               “A lot.”

               “What’s that mean to me?”

               “What?”

               “What good is your word? It don’t mean shit out here.”

               “Shit!” the bouncer chimed-in.

               “So let me ask it again… what’s it mean to me that you say you want in?”

               “Well…” I grimaced. “I’m not sure where this logic-train is going…”

               “The answer is nothing! So what are you going to do to prove to me that you want in?”

               “I’m not sure?”

               The bouncer laughed.

               “The answer is: anything I tell you, Little! Because first of all, from now on, I’m your Big. Now get your ass into the Castle.”

               “Hell yeah,” I grinned with triumph as I stepped inside.

               “You’ll be sorry!” the bouncer called.

               “Why’s she saying that?” I asked Brenda, opting to play it safe and be friendly.

               “Because you’ll have to earn what you want,” Brenda hadn’t removed her hand from my shoulder, but now she was at my side, looming tall enough for her bicep to be against my ear.

               “I guess it’s pretty hard, isn’t it?” I asked, nervously glancing at our candle-lit surroundings.

               “Oh, you have no idea,” Brenda smiled. “But we’ve all done it.”

               A strange cry echoed from behind a closed door, and I craned my neck towards the disturbance as Brenda herded me forward. We were headed deeper into the lighthouse now, but as we passed rows of heavy, wooden beams and turned several corners, I suddenly realized that the structure was far bigger than I thought. This wasn’t just a decommissioned lighthouse. In fact, with so many scented candles burning on countertops and dressers, I was starting to understand why they called it a “castle.”

               “This place is bigger than I thought,” I noted aloud.

               “How big do you think the Castle is?” Brenda asked.

               “I’d guess… what you can see outside, plus some hidden basement underneath?”

               We stopped in front of a wall and Brenda couldn’t help but grin at me. “Well, it’s even bigger than that…”

               She pushed at the wall and I gasped as it swung open – a hidden door that opened to winding stairs towards some lower level I couldn’t see the bottom of.

               “What’s down there?” I couldn’t help but ask nervously.

               “How about you go down there and find out? You trust me, right?”

               “Yeah… yes.”

               “You know, I got a good feeling about you Little,” Brenda patted my back. “When I saw you up there, there was something about how certain you were about being a part of this sorority that made me think: this one won’t quit on me. This one I can trust like my own sister. That’s what this is all about Little. We’re going to put you through some trials and tests to see if we can trust you as our new sister. Right?”

               “Right…” I winced as I heard some girl howling. I couldn’t tell if it was howls of pain or laughter.

               “Hey. You knew it was going to be like this. The other sororities… they aren’t at our level, so their tests and trials aren’t going to be at our level either. Right?”

               “Right.”

               “So get walking. I’m right behind you.”

               Turning nervously, I stared at the winding steps, flame-light bouncing off the narrow, stone steps, and began to make my way down.

               Brenda, following close behind, swung the door shut behind us.

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16 hours ago, >_< 0_0 said:

 “The answer is: anything I tell you, Little! Because first of all, from now on, I’m your Big. Now get your ass into the Castle.”

 

I never really understood these strange hazing rituals Homo Sapiens Sapiens engage in, specially the tradition that exists in fraternities or sororities. It's like a father who spanks his child because he was spanked by his own father. People are rude to the newbies because other people were rude to them before and now they don't want to pass up the opportunity to make others (not the orginal person, but others) miserable. In game theory this is a negative-sum gamem where there is no reason why anyone should participate, except that they choose to. It is one those things people do "because that's it has always been that way."

I mean if you gave me the choice between skipping the hazing but never have the opputrtunity to haze, or to put up with it, just so I could haze a total stranger later, I would pick the first option every time.

I wonder how it is that people end up in these strange vicious cycles of abuse; it's a flaw of human pshycology, like watching the powerplay of two elephant seals fighting each other for the privilege of sitting on a damp worthless rock in the middle of the ocean. I don't know if I was born without the part of the brain that enjoys dominating others but I find it really silly when people "front" and engage in this strange master/slave behaviour. At best it is immature, at worst downright stupid.

fm2malefite.jpg

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8 hours ago, superweightgain said:

I never really understood these strange hazing rituals Homo Sapiens Sapiens engage in, specially the tradition that exists in fraternities or sororities. It's like a father who spanks his child because he was spanked by his own father. People are rude to the newbies because other people were rude to them before and now they don't want to pass up the opportunity to make others (not the orginal person, but others) miserable. In game theory this is a negative-sum gamem where there is no reason why anyone should participate, except that they choose to. It is one those things people do "because that's it has always been that way."

I mean if you gave me the choice between skipping the hazing but never have the opputrtunity to haze, or to put up with it, just so I could haze a total stranger later, I would pick the first option every time.

I wonder how it is that people end up in these strange vicious cycles of abuse; it's a flaw of human pshycology, like watching the powerplay of two elephant seals fighting each other for the privilege of sitting on a damp worthless rock in the middle of the ocean. I don't know if I was born without the part of the brain that enjoys dominating others but I find it really silly when people "front" and engage in this strange master/slave behaviour. At best it is immature, at worst downright stupid.

It's not abuse (at least these days it's not). 

There's a certain mystery and allure to the whole process. After all, if anyone could do it and was not the least apprehensive about it, where's the Esprit de Corps? 

The whole powerplay that she was talking about, "your ass is mine", etc., is just tough talk.

Think of it like waterboarding- made to scare you, not gonna die. 

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On 8/26/2019 at 7:25 PM, superweightgain said:

I never really understood these strange hazing rituals Homo Sapiens Sapiens engage in, specially the tradition that exists in fraternities or sororities. It's like a father who spanks his child because he was spanked by his own father. People are rude to the newbies because other people were rude to them before and now they don't want to pass up the opportunity to make others (not the orginal person, but others) miserable. In game theory this is a negative-sum gamem where there is no reason why anyone should participate, except that they choose to. It is one those things people do "because that's it has always been that way."

 

There's research on it. Happens for a reason. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hazing#Psychology,_sociology,_purpose,_and_effects

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On 8/25/2019 at 10:25 PM, Batman76 said:

You know, I'm hoping that the stairs up are going to be a lot harder than the stairs down...

Well, we're about to find out in a hot minute.

On 8/26/2019 at 11:06 AM, swahilimonkfish said:

You really brought your A game to the environmental descriptions, they really elevated the mood

Always! Lighthouses are extra creepy, aren't they?

On 8/26/2019 at 1:25 PM, superweightgain said:

I never really understood these strange hazing rituals Homo Sapiens Sapiens engage in, specially the tradition that exists in fraternities or sororities. It's like a father who spanks his child because he was spanked by his own father. People are rude to the newbies because other people were rude to them before and now they don't want to pass up the opportunity to make others (not the orginal person, but others) miserable. In game theory this is a negative-sum gamem where there is no reason why anyone should participate, except that they choose to. It is one those things people do "because that's it has always been that way."

I mean if you gave me the choice between skipping the hazing but never have the opputrtunity to haze, or to put up with it, just so I could haze a total stranger later, I would pick the first option every time.

I wonder how it is that people end up in these strange vicious cycles of abuse; it's a flaw of human pshycology, like watching the powerplay of two elephant seals fighting each other for the privilege of sitting on a damp worthless rock in the middle of the ocean. I don't know if I was born without the part of the brain that enjoys dominating others but I find it really silly when people "front" and engage in this strange master/slave behaviour. At best it is immature, at worst downright stupid.

fm2malefite.jpg

So, as someone who's been in an institution wracked with hazing incidents, I can testify exactly how it happens. It's basically horseplay mixed with camaraderie. A group of people go through some tough times, good times, and great experiences together. They party and celebrate together, then come up with something entertaining or funny. This could be anything from "pinning" (slapping new rank insignias straight into someone's skin) to shaving your head and growing a mustache before deployment. Eventually new people come into the group, and of course, they haven't shared the experiences of everyone else in the group, so they don't really belong yet. A hazing tradition sort of makes them part of the group at a psychological level. It's entertaining at first, but after awhile, the tradition becomes obligatory and intense as people one-up each other to prove how eager they are to be part of the group, until it gets so out of hand that someone notices and puts a stop to it.

But yeah, these things start making more sense when you experience or see it -- not in the sense that it's good, but you understand how it happens over time.

On 8/26/2019 at 9:56 PM, high said:

It's not abuse (at least these days it's not). 

There's a certain mystery and allure to the whole process. After all, if anyone could do it and was not the least apprehensive about it, where's the Esprit de Corps? 

The whole powerplay that she was talking about, "your ass is mine", etc., is just tough talk.

Think of it like waterboarding- made to scare you, not gonna die. 

Esprit de Corps? Hmm...

22 hours ago, bahbah said:

Well I have a guess where that’s going...I’ll keep my fingers crossed. So has Kenneth Branagh got back with you yet about doing the audiobook for this?

The British guy? Nah. He's a better fit for reading Swahilimonkfish's stories. I'm actually a bit more interested in artwork hehe. I'd draw some, but I'm afraid of getting caught and it would take a long time that I could spend writing chapters and going clubbing.

15 hours ago, Russian Troll said:

Ah. Yes. I wrote my own essay just now and scroll down to see this link smh. Oh well. I'm not deleting it; it took too long to write! Speaking of writing, standby for the next chapter...

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Chapter Forty

               I expected some kind of dark, stone-walled basement and more candles, so when the bottom of the stairs was in sight, I caught myself gasping. The stone gave way to elaborately carved wood with designs that laced their way across the walls encompassing a chamber the size of a small classroom. Paned windows stretched across three walls, revealing a breath-taking viewscape of the stormy seas that was hidden from outside view by overhanging rocks in the cliff’s face.

               The first step off the stairway placed me upon a soft, red carpet that led to an ornate, wooden chair placed on the far end of the chamber, where some couple dozen Kappas surrounded some sight that I couldn’t see.

               As I felt Brenda’s breath at my back, I clenched my jaw and attempted to slow my breathing. This was no basement. This was a throne room, and I had the distinct feeling that I did not belong.

               “So you don’t wanna go through with it?” A firm, feminine voice asked from within the crowd.

               “I’m sorry,” a fainter voice replied from deeper within the crowd. “I just feel really… uncomfortable.”

               “Oh!” someone jibed. “She’s uncomfortable!”

               The crowd laughed heartily.

               “Little,” the firm voice said steadily. “We’ve all done it. Every one of us.”

               “I know…”

               “So stop embarrassing me. You’re my Little! Listen to your Big, okay? Do you trust me?”

               “I trust you…”

               “So do what I say! Got it? You lost the match… so drink from the grog!”

               “Yeah, drink!” someone called.

               “Drink the grog!” a girl raised her fist. “Drink!”

               Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink!

               The infectious chant began, steadily building tempo as the unseen victim submitted to the wiles of her peers. As I crept closer to the crowd, I couldn’t help but overhear the “little” sputtering as she did her best to stomach whatever toxic concoction the “grog” was. When the chant broke in to a crescendo of cheers, I knew that the deed was complete.

               “She spat it out!”

               “Little!” Big chided. “What the fuck?”

               I leaned closer into the crowd in attempt to glimpse what was occurring. I could hear little’s voice close to the floor as she coughed violently, gagging the grog all over the red carpet.

               “She got it on your shoes!”

               “Little!” Big bellowed. “How could you? Assaulting your own Big!”

               “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!”

               “Whatever. You know the drill,” Big snapped her fingers. “Be a footstool until I get tired. Right in front of the throne. That’s it. Steady abs now… close enough…”

               Brenda pushed me aside and waded herself deeper into the crowd.

               “Brenda…” someone gasped.

               “It’s Brenda!” someone cried. “Alright everyone, the show’s over! Form up!”

               Within seconds, the crowd parted onto either side of the red carpet, leaving only three souls behind: a distraught, pale-skinned blonde on all-fours before the chair, a tall and imposing Brenda, and me. I could feel my very soul shrivelling under the gaze of so many silent strangers. Brenda, however, only smirked, twisting around with her hands on her hips to drink-in the attention.

               “No, not you,” someone hissed in the little’s direction. “Stay put! You’re a stool. Stop embarrassing me already!”

               “Ladies,” Brenda stretched a hand forwards. “The show’s only just begun. Strip your tops!”

               A girl standing in the far corner of the red carpet stomped her foot and raised her chin. “Strip tops! Strip ‘em ladies!”

               As one, the girls gripped the lower hems of their shirts and rolled them over their bodies and above their heads. Tit-flesh jiggled with effort against bras of various sizes and design, and I felt my skin burn with bashful heat.

               “That means you!” a tall girl wearing yoga pants towel-whipped my back with her shirt. “Strip your top!”

               Oh no. Oh, this couldn’t be happening! I couldn’t strip in front of so many people! It was hard enough when I was alone! I was too uncomfortable with this body! It was too soft, too curvy and provocative, too –”

               “Hey.”

               Brenda faced me, still wearing her t-shirt. With a single step, she closed the distance between us, looming a full-head taller than me. I noticed now that her tanned arms bulged from her short-sleeves, coiled with muscle, and felt a spike of adrenaline course through my veins.

               “What’s the matter, Little?” Brenda slapped a heavy hand against my arm, making me wince. “You have nothing to hide, do you? There are no secrets between sisters…”

               Forearms flexing, Brenda crossed her arms to grip her shirt and began to wriggle free. Like a snake shedding outgrown skin, she swayed herself out, baring the strongest, most cut set of abs I had ever seen on a woman.

               I gawked at her physique as the Kappas whooped like dogs. Brenda’s body was cut like stone, every muscle defined and well-developed. Without a single ounce of spare fat to be seen, her figure put Greek gods to shame. Not even Zoltan could challenge her devotion to absolute fitness. It was like staring at the Rule 63 version of Xerxes himself.

               “Now strip,” she commanded. “Show me what you got! You wouldn’t hide anything from your own sister, would you Little?”

               “I…” I stuttered as my brain over-loaded with lust, fear, and adrenaline. “I’m…”

               “Come on!” someone called. “Stop making this weird! Strip already! Strip!”

               Strip! Strip! Strip! Strip! Strip!

               Heart pounding, I shrugged my jacket from my shoulders and meekly pulled my arms through the sleeves of my t-shirt to oblige the mob. The chanting overwhelmed my senses, and I let my screaming doubts be drowned in its heavy rhythm as my jaw clenched with anxiety. Breathing one last time with my head and arms within the shirt, I pushed the cloth away, feeling goosebumps ripple across my skin as I felt every current in the air around me. The sensation of soft, imperceptible winds seeping into my laced, pink bra made my nipples harden. I blushed intensely, ashamed of how pleasing it felt.

               “Yeah!” a woman with scarlet bra cups jerked her head upwards. “There it is! There we go!”

               “Not bad,” another put hands to her hips, long-lashes lowering over her narrowed, piercing gaze.

               For my part, I felt a strange sense of relief wash over me. I had submitted to the will of the mob, and in doing so, had perhaps become one with them in some way. It was strangely empowering – intoxicating, even – and a strange new desire overcame me: I wanted to please them again. I wanted to be accepted, to be one with them, to belong.

               Brenda, however, barely even looked at me.

               “You hesitated,” she stared past me. “Why?”

               “I was… I’d never done that before…” I stared at the little still acting as a stool behind her. “I was afraid.”

               “Why? Don’t you trust me? I’m your Big.”

               “I’m sorry…”

               “Sorry!” she bent over me. “You failed! Sisters can do anything together!” her abs flexed with every barking breath as she continued her rant. “Anything! But you held back! You failed! What will you do? How can you make that up for me? What will you do?”

               “Anything!” I replied without thinking.

               “You’ll do anything, Little!”

               “Anything!”

               “What will you do?”

               “…I’ll drink from the grog!”

               The room bustled with appreciative remarks, but Brenda raised a hand to silence them.

               “No. I won’t allow it. A big sister is responsible for her little sister…”

               She turned away from me, striding confidently towards the chair. Gracefully, she turned and reclined atop its seat, crossing one massive quad over another as she spread her fingers over the chair’s arms. With a sigh, she lifted her legs and rested them over the “stool’s” back, who bent her head in shame.

               “Little,” she cocked her head. “Serve me a pint of grog.”

               She gestured towards a tin pail full of rich, red liquid and half-submerged fruit slices laying close to her feet. I and the entire crowd stared at the pail with widened eyes.

               “Are you sure?” I asked nervously.

               “This’ll hurt me more than it hurts you,” she said steadily. “And for doubting me again… lend me your jacket.”

               I blinked. This, perhaps, was a step too far. “It’s my favourite jacket…”

               “Give it to me before I forget to give it back,” Brenda extended her hand towards me, palm up. “Jacket, please.”

               The stool glanced nervously at me as I stared down at my jacket on the floor. It truly was my favourite piece of clothing. When I was a man, it was almost a part of me; I didn’t feel like myself without it. The black fabric, the utility pockets and plain zipper, all combined in a look that reflected my very soul. But the eyes of the mob on my bare back spurred me to actions I never thought I’d commit. I crouched down, picked the jacket up, and handed it to Brenda.

               Brenda rubbed the cloth between her fingers, gaze lingering on the tear made the night of my escape from arrest, then shrugged and donned the jacket over her muscular frame.

               “Crown,” she ordered, fidgeting with the front to fully-expose her chest.

               “Crown!” the girl on the far corner stomped her foot again.

               Two women darted to a far corner of the wall, retrieved a plain circlet adorned with intricate carvings reminiscent of the designs on Central Hall’s roof, and rushed to Brenda’s side, kneeling as each held one half of the “crown.”

               “Empress,” one of them recited with a bowed head. “As the strongest among us, lead us through the revelry of the night.”

               Nodding slightly, Brenda closed her eyes and let herself be crowned. When she opened her eyes, she broke into a grin. “Little. Give me a pint of grog.”

               Overcome by rapid succession of events, I was suddenly struck with a shocking epiphany. Surely, I wasn’t a pledge – pledge week had already passed! No, I was a sacrifice, doomed to be taunted and abused in this hidden torture chamber beneath the lighthouse to the hearts’ content of my tormenters. In me, Brenda had seen a willing victim to the slaughter – a source of entertainment for her peers – and if I wasn’t careful, I would be stripped and humiliated to the utmost limits of their feminine imaginations. Old, familiar thoughts of paranoia wracked my psyche, an all-too-familiar sensation that every woman I knew hated me and sought my ruin.

               But so much as I wished to escape, I knew that I was trapped threefold: by the power of the mob, the locked door above us, and my own desire to seek what I had been sent to find. I couldn’t simply run away, nor could I simply refuse the will of the Empress. Instead, my best course of action was to keep walking steadily towards the grog.

               The grog’s aroma alone was intoxicating; my eyes watered as I dipped a glass stein into the can. Then my instincts kicked-in: I extended my Feasting Ring finger towards the stein as I dipped it under the concoction, noting its rise with cursed liquid. As I steadied the pint-sized drink, I felt my courage returning.

               “Here,” I cupped the stein with my palm while pointing the handle towards Brenda. “A pint of grog.”

               Brenda clasped her hand over the stein, ignoring the handle. Her dark fingers wrapped around my own as I nervously held my breath.

               “Nice ring,” her eyelashes flicked with keen curiosity.

               The stein shook as I shivered with a sudden bout of fear. Staring into her eyes, I opted to remain silent.

               “Two rings,” she noted, rubbing her fingers against mine. “Where did you get these?”

               Again, I remained silent. How could I answer safely? My sense of personal doom continued to grow.

               “They look nice. Let me have one.”

               “I can’t!” the words came before I could stop them.

               “You can,” her eyes burned with playful malice.

               “But I can’t! They’re mine!”

               “You said you’d do anything!” Brenda barked in my face, fingers clawing into my own. “You’d do anything for us!”

               “Anything but that!”

               “So you lied!”

               “I didn’t!”

               “You lied,” Brenda repeated firmly, voice lowering to a simmer. “Sisters never lie to each other. You’ve betrayed me. Hurt me.”

               “I didn’t mean to,” I said slowly, wincing at the pain of her fingernails digging into my hand.

               Now she reached around with her free hand to cup the back of my head and draw me closer until our foreheads touched. The stein of grog was between us, the rise and fall of our chests making it wobble as the fumes burned the insides of my nostrils.

               “Tell me, Little,” Brenda’s eyes stared at me past fleeked brows. “What could possibly be more important than the trust and confidence between us, hm? What makes a couple rings more valuable to you than the love between sisters? Well? Do you love your sisters?”

               “I love my sisters…” I replied carefully.

               “Good…”

               “But…” I took a deep breath. “These rings are from someone I love, and I can’t betray her… no matter how much I want to.”

               Brenda said nothing, but her eyes glared wide and white at me, unblinking. At last, she closed them and began to recline against her throne again, releasing her grip on my hand. The spell was broken.

               “Love,” Brenda spoke loudly. “Love, my sisters, is a bond that should never be broken.”

               Heads bowed in acknowledgement.

               “But now,” Brenda beamed, clapping her hands together with childlike mirth. “We must think of something else for my Little to do!”

               “We… huh?” once again, I was dumbstruck.

               “Little,” Brenda smiled happily. “I told you it would be hard, and you knew coming here would test you like no final exam or research paper ever could. In place of sharing… you shall drink from the grog!”

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23 hours ago, bahbah said:

FEKKKKKKKKKKK you are KILLING ME it’s so good and I can’t WAIT for this we don’t even know how much she added to the grog!

Brenda and Jane hehe:

Animated GIF

16 hours ago, Jotunthewriter said:

Wait did she added the pounds into the barrel or the pint? 

Well, he hexed the grog as he was filling the stein, so... both?

14 hours ago, swahilimonkfish said:

Wowzers, this was so cruel and evil and awesome! There was so much tension that it was practically elevension. KUTGW!

Tension is one of my favourite elements of storytelling. Quentin Tarantino's movies are a huge inspiration -- that and anime, of course.

leonardo dicaprio calvin candie GIFCTD GIF

*today is multiple gif day!*

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