✅ Potty Genius [NaNoWriMo 2022]

Twenty-Six

¿What did the diaper badge do?

I was so sure it was going to do what I expected. As the badges changed over, it asked me to read the rules and I was so excited about trying a new part of this game. And then the rules were so complicated that I started to space out. Instead of reading what it said, I was thinking about all the things I'd said while I had the teddy badge on, and how much it had affected my thoughts. It was hard to believe that it had such a pronounced effect, and I'd barely noticed it at the time.

I hadn't said anything really embarrassing to my friends; I'd been lucky about that at least. But it was like it had turned off some kind of internal censor. Every time I would think of something, and I'd normally have a voice in the back of my mind telling me not to do that because it was childish or embarrassing, there was just a devil on my shoulder urging me on. Or a baby on my shoulder, I guessed.

I was surprised when the final screen with the badge on appeared, prompting me to drag the diaper badge to the middle of the screen. I didn't even remember sinking into trance while I'd been going through those memories of how easily the hypnosis could change my perceptions. But I knew when I looked at the badge that my mind wasn't critical at all. I didn't suspect that I would behave weirdly and do whatever the words on the screen said; that was something I knew absolutely. I had to do it now. So I dragged the badge into place, tapped the right buttons, and read the instructions quickly before my fingers automatically agreed to the new rules.

> 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚢 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗'𝚝 𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚞𝚗𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚊𝚕, 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗'𝚝 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚢 𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚍. 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚜 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚊𝚍𝚐𝚎. <

> 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚊 𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚢, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝚖𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚜𝚕𝚒𝚙 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚊𝚍𝚐𝚎 𝚘𝚗. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝚞𝚗𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎 𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎 𝚒𝚏 𝚒𝚝 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚞𝚗𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎, 𝚘𝚛 𝚒𝚏 𝚒𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚔, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚠𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚢 𝚠𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚘𝚌𝚌𝚞𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞. <

> 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚊 𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎 𝚞𝚗𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚊𝚜 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚊𝚍𝚐𝚎. <

I accepted the suggestion, visualising a couple of different scenarios and learning how I was going to respond from now on. Then I shook my head, as if that might help to loosen the pink mist that was clouding my thoughts. I looked down at Methplease in my lap; the teddy seemed to have an evil grin from this angle, and it seemed somehow appropriate in the circumstances.