#Lotus Clinic

[lotus-pear]

HIII SORRY FOR NO NEW ART have some concept sketches for the fic i'm working on instead

[iwatcheditbegin]

I’m in iop too, just finished php. Insurance basically forced me into a lower level tno.

if you don’t mind me asking what program are you doing? I’m at a Erc and hate it sm

Insurance and all these treatment centers being owned by private equity groups is such an issue. Insurance also kicked me out of residential before I was ready

I am doing iop at a CFD ;)

[masseurrsvp]

Tulasara Facial Treatment Kings Cross Spa and Wellness: Euston's Calmness Sanctuary.

Welcome to Tulasara Facial Treatment, The Ultimate Relaxation Experience: Reinvent Health with The High-quality Male Bodywork Sessions in The UK’s Capital Walk into a Lotus Massage Spa realm of pure tranquility and rejuvenation at my respected masculine massage facility in the heart of the city. The goal is simple: to enhance your overall health through a unique fusion of calming techniques.…

[frummpets]

the doctor and his white lotus boxer ✨

finally watched mignon (which u should totally go watch, the art, story, and animation are all phenomenal!!), and every time mignon called for his doctor, it was a little too reminiscent of another puppy calling out for his shizun.

for those unaware, mignon is basically a boxer in an illegal fighting ring, and the fighting ring's doctor, oh young, patches him up after every fight. eventually, mignon discovers that oh young is a vampire that takes blood from the unconscious fighters in his clinic. mignon strives to win as many fights as he could in order to make sure oh young gets plenty of fighters to collect blood from.

just really reminds me of how lbh is and if ever sqq was a vampire, he'd totally do the same.

✦ TWITTER VERSION

alt palette and no chibi versions✨

[wangxianficrecs]

💙 The River Brought You Here by ChilianXianzi

💙 The River Brought You Here

by ChilianXianzi

Not rated, 11k, Wangxian

Summary: When she found the boy by the side of the river, Zhou Jia knew that anyone who'd come for him is not to be trusted. Not with the dark purple fingerprints around his throat, the veritable map of lashes old and new upon his back. It's almost a blessing, she thinks, that the boy remembers none of the life that had treated him so cruelly. That he's free to just be A-Ying, in this small harbour town that he embraces so readily as his home. The day someone does come for him, she had not expected it to be the war hero Hanguang-Jun - Saying A-Ying name with such fervent hope before it turns into anguish as A-Ying fails to recognize him. Kay's comments: Permanent injury side-effects, my beloved. But for real, I am so weak for when injuries actually come with consequences, even though I know that the genre invites playing off injuries and offering magic cures. Anyways, this story! One of my all-time favourites that I re-read again and again. In which, after Wei Wuxian got strangled by Jiang Cheng after the Fall of Lotus Pier, it leads to permanent side-effect, meaning Wei Wuxian suffers from amnesia and seizures. So, he doesn't find his way back to Lotus Pier and instead gets invited by a village and gets to live the cottagecore life he doesn't remember having dreamt off. Of course, eventually, Lan Wangji also makes an appearance. Excerpt: The boy's name is Wei Ying. It's the only thing he remembers once he wakes up, his grasp of the world and how it turns intact yet with no memory of his own marks upon it. The first time he tries hard enough to remember, Wei Ying collapses into the wooden floors of Meixue's clinic, eyes rolled back in his head and muscles jumping wildly beneath Zhou Jia's frantic hands before Meixue's needles stills his limbs and turns him pliant. They don't try to make Wei Ying remember anymore, after that. Simply ply him with food and reprimands as he goes through his recovery with a stubborness that reminds her of herself when she was younger. "He's definitely as terrible a patient as you are," Meixue points out as she yet again apprehends Wei Ying wandering off from his bed - Trying to help Meixue's apprentice and the youths that frequents the clinic with one chore or another.

pov outsider, canon divergence, post-fall of lotus pier, amnesia, memory loss, past abuse, strangulation, major character injury, seizures, families of choice, lan wangji/wei wuxian get a happy ending, rogue cultivator wei wuxian, genius wei wuxian, recovery, angst with a happy ending, hurt/comfort

~*~

(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

[variousqueerthings]

we have always been here: documentaries about trans people

documentaries about trans people, starting in the year 1953. I don't speak to filmic quality or whether or not something is problematic, what matters here is simply the testimony and the stamp of existence (including in those where the subject matter is spoken about, rather than getting to speak for themselves)

(I haven't seen every one of these yet, so some of them have slightly shorter texts to go along with them)

while (as you'll see) most of these are US-based movies, they are from all over the world. I'd be curious about whether there are any focused specifically on the intersection of transness and disability, I don't personally know of any, although of many speak to issues with access to healthcare (for example southern comfort)

all the ones that have links connected to them are watchable for free

some of these can be watched for free on the archive, youtube, vimeo, many could do with a few coins thrown their way: many of the movies, for example the the aggressives can be rented on vimeo, transgender tuesdays is free on youtube but accepting donations for trans women of colour, lotus sports club is doing festivals currently and is accepting donations to support the team and the vulnerable trans (now men) who have had to leave it to find work, call her ganda is accepting donations to support the family's legal costs in bringing justice for their daughter

remember, finding the stories that have been graciously shared is one thing, supporting our community is the next step

glen or glenda (1953): the first known movie about trans people, a mixed-media semi-fictional account (US)

the queen (1968) (US): following drag-queens at a national beauty pageant two years before stonewall, including footage of crystal labeija (US)

change of sex (1979-1999): a five-part series following trans woman julia grant as she tries to access gender affirming care via the gender identity clinic (UK - available on BBC iplayer)

paris is burning (1990): documenting queer people in the ballroom scene, community, competition, and challenges (US)

shinjuku boys (1995): following five young men who work at onabe bars, which cater to women, as they try to make ends meet (Japan)

transexual menace (1996): snapshots of the melting pot of trans life in new york, from famous faces, to protest, including several immigrants to america from columbia, west africa, japan, hawaii, and germany (Germany/US)

you don't know dick: courageous hearts of transsexual men (1997): about several trans men in different walks of life, who chat about their experiences, politics, and history (US)

the brandon teena story (1998): a documentation about the murder of brandon teena, using testimonies from the people involved (US)

southern comfort (2001): follows robert eads in the final year of his life, before he died of initially treatable ovarian cancer (US)

superstar in a housedress: the life and legend of jackie curtis (2004): a portrait of jackie curtis, one of the earliest punk pioneers, by (mainly cis) people who knew her (US)

screaming queens: the riot at compton’s cafeteria (2005): a rare documentary of the time featuring the voices of trans activists, about the pre-stonewall compton's cafeteria riot (US)

beautiful darling (2005): a portrait of candy darling (one of the trans woman superstars of the 60s) from the perspective of the (mainly cis) people who knew her (US)

the aggressives (2005): centered on black studs, mascs, and trans men, and more, exploring the term "aggressives," race and gender, filmed over five years (US)

Jayne County: man enough to be a woman (2005): a performance by veteran punk musician Jayne County and her band (UK/US) (excerpt)

beautiful daughters (2006): following a group of trans women who performed the vagina monologues in 2005 (US)

still black: a portrait of black transmen (2008): a series of interviews following black trans men speaking about their lives, careers, race, and gender (US)

the advocate for fagdom (2011): a series of political testimonies by queer activists, including the punk musician vaginal davis (US)

she said boom: the story of fifth column (2012): a documentary about seminal 1980s queercore punkband fifth column (Canada)

TRANS (2012): following a series of trans people at varying places in their transition, and the people around them (US)

hide & seek (2013): a group of trans people in pakistan speak about their experiences with the language they have access to (Pakistan)

before the last curtain falls (2014): transexuals and drag queens in their 60s-70s touring a show called "gardenias" (Germany)

mala mala (2014): following a number of trans people in puerto rico from all walks of life (Puerto Rico)

queercore: how to punk a revolution (2017): a primer to the history of queercore with interviews of some of the people who created the scene (US)

laerte-se (2017): a portrait of the underrated visual artist laerte (Brazil)

a year in transition (2018): 20 year old arab-american trans man documents one year of going on hormones (US)

call her ganda (2018): the story about the murder of a trans filipino woman named ganda by a us marine and the repercussions (Philippines)

indianara (2019): indianara is an activist fighting for trans survival and rights in brazil (Brazil)

disclosure (2020): going through a history of trans representation in the media (US)

transgender tuesdays (2020): featuring trans people talking about a groundbreaking gender-affirming clinic that opened in the 90s in the san franciscan tenderloin district (US)

prayers for sweet waters (2021): three trans sex-workers who live in cape town discuss their experience during covid (South Africa)

the end of wonderland (2021): follows erotic photographer tara emory as she goes through changes in her life (US)

travesía travesti (2021): the last performance of a cabaret during the chilean revolt of 2019 (Chile)

casa susanna (2022): documentary about the 50s summer retreat for male crossdressers and trans women (US)

la vida es un carnaval (2022): in a rural town, a group of trans women plan the first gay pride during its annual carnival and a bunch of scar tissue comes up (Mexico)

this is not me (2022): two young transmen in iran with supportive families share their daily lives (Iran)

lotus sports club (2022): a football club in cambodia run by trans man pa vann and a safe space for trans boys and lesbians (Cambodia)

nel mio nome (2022): four italian transmen share their thoughts, experiences, and identities (Italy)

the dads (2023): a group of dads of trans kids meet with the father of matthew shepard for a fishing trip (US)

kokomo city (2023): intra-community, celebratory documentary centering black trans sex-workers in america (US)

[merakiui]

out of curiosity i listened to steampianists ‘the botanist’ that you talked about in the tags of my last ask…it really is perfect for rollo. my god. i can imagine him going to great lengths to ensure his love blooms with his darling. if you ever write that fic ill print it out and tape it to my walls. rollo and the two? fics youve written live rent free in my brain and im composing a playlist for him now. i am. in deep.

-pot roast brain anon from a couple days ago

Pot roast anon, hello!!!!!! >w< omg I'm so happy you listened to the song and agree that it suits Rollo!!! The story is so eerily visceral. I love it so much. "The Detective" is the sequel to "The Botanist" and it involves the singer (the detective) trying to solve the murders committed by the botanist, but in the process he's interrupted by the scientist from "Black Hole" after she brings on the end of the world with her experiment! I adore Steam's work. Every song is so good. orz

I love these lyrics from "The Botanist":

A lady who is allergic to flowers and a botanist who is allergic to humans,,, waaaa it's such a yummy concept!!! Rollo who is allergic to humans (magic) falling for a darling who is so in tune with their magic...... and the way the gloves go from green to red over the course of the song, indicating that something dire happened to the lady (it's revealed in "The Detective" that the botanist would remove the hearts of the women he kidnapped). The symbolism in making someone or something bloom. Rollo whose talent is literally gardening. Rollo who cared for and grew the Crimson Lotus........ I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. OTL he really does feel like the botanist character in the song.

ALSO!!!! The way the lyrics transition from "passionate for flowers" to "passionate for a flower." Going from plural to singular as this flower (the lady) fills the botanist's heart with some sort of crooked adoration. A darling couldn't fix Rollo. In fact, you would just make him worse (more obsessed) unintentionally. >_< I really want to write a fic inspired by this song for Rollo!!! It suits him so well. I'm happy you would want to read a fic like that!! <3

I've only written three fics for Rollo so far (The Diary of Rollo Flamme, Eden, and Crow & Goat in Courtship), but it's not nearly enough. He was so crazy during his confrontation with Malleus, Idia, and Azul in Glomas. The way he actively tried to strike Malleus down????? AAAAAAA. Unfortunately, Rollo will indeed strike him down in the dead dove fic I have planned. ;;;; he's scary,,,,

I think "The Botanist" could also suit Jade if I'm writing him as the clinically detached type (like in Monops's Reflection), but I need to get the eels out of my brain. T^T

[couchcandy]

Psych x Community ??

I love psych and i love community so this vague concept of them existing in the same universe has been floating around in my head. 

The key connecting factor being the references to Shawn/Britta’s similarly eclectic off-screen pasts. They're close in age so I'm like okay - it would totally be possible for them to have known eachother/dated/whatever at some point before. 

psych aired from 2006 - 2014; Shawn born 1977

community aired from 2009 -2014; Britta born 1980

(Take these two quotes just as an example but it's referenced casually throughout both shows)

Britta’s Dad: I mean, every time we get too close, you run off. We sent you a birthday card to your apartment in New York, and the next week you’re setting fire to a Jamba Juice in San Jose.

Britta: How long is that gonna stick with me?

Britta’s Mom: Until arson is legal, sweetie.

Gus: Shawn, you’ve had fifty-seven jobs since we left high school.

Shawn: Yes I have. And they were all fun. But this one takes the cake.

Gus: Oh yeah? Better than the acupuncture clinic?

Shawn: I didn’t realize experience was necessary.

Gus: What about the summer you spent driving the weiner mobile?

Shawn: I did that for the hot dogs.

I think they fit somewhere in the ballpark of each other's types, both sluts(affectionate) and it makes sense for them to have crossed paths at some point during Britta's “anhercists” days. 

So that establishes a link between the groups, but what would it be like if they interacted? Take the arbitrary scenario; Shawn and Gus have gotten themselves and by extension the SBPD into another whacky shenanigan somehow who cares how i'm not writing this

I imagine initially everyone in the study group has a more or less positive impression of Shawn because he's charming, (with the notable exception of…you got it! Jeff)

JEFF

In typical jeff fashion is immediately threatened by Shawn because he has to be the coolestmostlikeabledude™ in the room at all times while simultaneously has to act like he doesn't care so he's quietly seething and - hey what's this new dude doing here making all my friends laugh that's my job! i must now make it my life's mission to prove this guys a fraud and reclaim my status no matter how much a fool i make of myself in the process (a la: advanced documentary filmmaking)

BRITTA

Normal standard “hey old friend” situation, remember when we *insane thing involving multiple felonies and property destruction* haha anyway let me introduce you to my friends - 

ANNIE

immediate skepticism that Shawn is able to sidestep pretty quickly by being charming/flirty (NOT in a gross way *hisses at the jeffannie shippers*) Her reaction being like when the dean “swaps bodies with jeff” or after abed’s don draper impression.

ABED

Knows Shawn isn't really psychic but goes along with it/doesn’t point out that Shawn’s hyper observant because he's invested in watching the psychic/cop show formula play out. He would! and I would too!

(quote from 5x03 Basic Intergluteal Numismatics):

Abed Nadir: [Pretending to read the crime scenes as a psychic] I see a man... using a social disorder as a procedural device. Wait, wait, wait, I see another man. Mildly autistic super detectives everywhere.

TROY

Obligatory: “you’re wrinkling my brain right now” and just general fascination, awe, and wonderment. Asks Shawn to tell him his future

SHIRLEY

Immediate judgment on Shawn's practices not being christian enough for her standards, but easily swayed to liking him once he picks up on something and comments on her ex husband being an idiot to lose her or something

PEIRCE

Does his peirce thing and tries to seem impressive and fails, something level five laser lotus blah blah - u get it thats enough on him 

THE DEAN

Is facilitating the psych crew being there because it might bring in good press for greendale and he def does the hand on shoulder thing when he meets him you know the one - omg and totally is into Lassiter furrowed brows “im packing heat” Carlton, please. – lassie is Not Amused™ 

CHANG

This depends on what point in community canon this interaction takes place because season 1 chang would prob be normal(for him), but like season 5 Chang would do/say something so insane and so chang that i can't even come up with it

As for our psych guys, Gus points out how weird and fucked up and bizarre Greendale is meanwhile Shawn is LIVING for it - signs them up for the Dean’s PA announcements class, and “Gus! buddy! I hope you don't mind. I used your credit card to sign us up for The History of Ice Cream. Come on, it starts in 20 minutes ! :D” Gus: “Shawn! >:0”

Lassie would just nonstop point out all the health and safety violations- he doesn't want to be here- calls a lot of people hippies, generally grumpy demeanor and we love him for it.

Starburns terribly hits on Jules - gets rejected, proceeds to try and sell her drugs - gets arrested.

[blacksapphrodite]

Sweet little story I thought I'd share--so during my last pregnancy I had a necklace I wore to all my prenatal checkups, and even before that when we were going to our fertility clinic for treatments. It felt like good luck! It's not anything fancy, just a silver lotus emblem with a little rose quartz heart attached on a silver chain. I actually got it for free in a package of crystals I got off Etsy, lol. Anyway I looked it up at the time and the lotus is a fertility symbol so I chalked the feeling up to that.

So by now I've had the baby, I'm slowly dipping my toes into reconnecting with my practice and Hellenic Polytheism, and I'm doing some research on goddesses, specifically goddesses for mothers, families, etc. (For obvious reasons, lol) and I'm reading about Lady Hera...who protects people during childbirth. And one of her symbols? The lotus flower that's often on her staff/scepter. 😳

Could absolutely be coincidence, but I also like to think maybe she was reaching out to me even before I was ready to reach out to her again.💕

[sundove88]

A Quick Cookie Run Headcanon:

Considering that The Cookie Kingdom is a place for all cookies to belong, I headcanon that a good chunk of desserts from across Earthbread have a vacation home there! Here are some examples:

Pure Vanilla, Black Raisin, Lilybell, Blue Lily, and White Lily- A mansion colored in both creamy white and Vanillian blue, with stained glass windows and beds of Lily flowers + vanilla orchids. It includes a backyard tree house for Black Raisin and her crows (Plus a guest house for her villagers), and a swing set for Lilybell and Blue Lily.

Strawberry Crepe- A nice home with an outdoor workshop and a hangar for his personal wafflebots. It even has a break area room.

Hollyberry, Elderberry (My OC), WildBerry, Royalberry, Jungleberry, Knight, Princess, and Tiger Lily- A Hollyberrian style mansion with a driveway and fence, plus a fountain in the courtyard and a few balconies here and there.

Raspberry and Raspberry Mousse- A gorgeous raspberry pink mansion with elegant gardens and a driveway. It also has an outdoor training area for the both of them! For those who are curious, Blueberry’s vacation house is blue with the same features, but it also has an afternoon tea area. Bumbleberry’s has the same features but purple, and there’s an outdoor modeling area. And Cranberry’s is the same as the last 3 but red, and with a statue garden.

Dark Cacao, ChocoPearl (My OC), Dark Choco, and Crunchy Chip - A Dark Cacaoan Mansion with elegant Choco Cherry Trees at the sides, alongside stables and maximum security. Also a spot for Cream Wolves.

Caramel Arrow + Watchers- A fortress that has watchtowers that can see throughout the kingdom and everywhere in between. Plus, it even has a free boba dispenser for anyone who’s thirsty.

Golden Cheese, Burnt Cheese, Mozzarella, Smoked Cheese, and Parmesan (My OC)- A Golden Cheesian style mansion with golden statues and even a personal garden with elegant desert plants and Cheesebird tree houses. Even has a landing pad for them!

Pitaya Dragon and Snapdragon- would be a treasure filled mansion inspired by their cave. Lava moat, a jacuzzi, and even a play area for Snapdragon.

Ananas Dragon- would be like their pineapple palace. Palm trees, a personal oasis, and even beach chairs are present.

Lotus Dragon and Hydrangea- would be on a body of water and be like the Lotus Palace. Has a huge koi pond and lotus flowers numbering in the hundreds.

Lychee Dragon- another mansion, but like the cave they’re from. Many plushies of monsters are everywhere.

Longan Dragon and Snakefruit- Would be like the Longan Palace, and has a staircase + lift for guests to enter.

Clotted Cream and Light Cream- A floating mansion that has several entrances to it, along with waterfalls that cascade down into the waterways. Elder Custard’s room is in the basement.

Oyster- A giant beachside mansion in the shape of a seashell. The house is located inside of the clamshell and has tons of pearls and such on it.

Captain Caviar- A beachside mansion with maximum security and a moat filled with sharks that leads to the ocean. Said sharks are harmless and swim in from the sea.

Baumkuchen- A clinic with the Creme Republic’s architecture and such. Idea by @plumcrane93

Comment or Reblog what you think some other Cookies and Desserts’ vacation houses would look like!

[sparklecinnamonbunny]

A Necessary Injury

Wishing a very happy birthday to @thatwritingho's Olive Axworthy today! Here's our gals bein' pals to celebrate! Some jokes in Discord gave me a fun idea for a birthday drabble.

(with the teeniest mentions of @the-loveliest-lotus' Lucy, @procrazedfan's Poppy, and @chordsykat's Caj!)

"Hey, darlin'." Sunday enters the clinic with one hand held up and the other holding a gift bag. "I'd knock, but..."

Dr. Olive Axworthy— mortician, assassin, and Dethklok's doctor/bodyguard— asks, frowning, "What did you do?"

"I uh, I broke a nail. It's bleeding."

The good doctor takes her hand to examine it. "You ripped off your acrylic on purpose, didn't you?"

"You can't prove that," Sunday replies, biting back a smile. "Anyway, I thought I'd swing by, get treatment for this totally legit injury, and drop off one of your birthday presents."

"One of? Sunday, I don't need anything for—"

"You gave me those kickass engraved knuckle bones for my birthday even though you don't believe in osteomancy. I only had a couple weeks notice, but I couldn't settle for anything less than greatness."

She sighs and relents, "Do you want me to open it now?"

"I'd love to see your reaction. How about I wash my hands with antibacterial soap and you unwrap?"

She proceeds to do so, setting the gift bag on the medical cot. Olive murmurs something about it being unnecessary again, but her gaze hasn't left the black and gold bag. As she lathers and repeats, she hears the telltale crinkle of tissue paper.

"Oh, she's gorgeous! Wow! Loooong," Olive coos at the skeleton. It wasn't easy to find a real intact king cobra skeleton, let alone one that met both her and her friend's discerning standards, but the smile on her face makes all the trouble she went to worth it.

"Yeah, it is. I made sure it was ethically sourced, there's some paperwork in the bag, too. I wouldn't give you something you wouldn't feel good about keeping."

"Thanks! I'll find a good place for it in my room. Did you know that king cobras aren't true cobras? They have their own genus, Ophiophagus."

Olive tells fun facts about the snake as she washes up, gets fresh gloves, and puts a tiny bandage on Sunday's fingernail. She's especially enthusiastic about the venom (a potent neurotoxin that could kill in half an hour if untreated), but she wouldn't be Olive if she wasn't. And it's pretty brutal to hear about necrotizing flesh. She should write a song about it before Nathan does. Cobratize? Wait, fuck, he's been writing a song about cobras since their second first date. Damn that talented man.

"Should I expect you to show up with another broken nail and present?" Olive asks, full lips pulled into a wide smile.

Sunday grins back. "Nope. The second gift's more of an experience. Skwisgaar and I maaaay have noticed that you own Smugly Dismissed's full discography. And signed it. We aren't doing a reunion show now or ever, but we thought we could play some songs for you sometime. Not tonight though. Big Pickles has got some, uh, very important plans."

"What's he doing?" She scrambles for her phone, but Sunday puts a hand over hers.

"I really shouldn't say," she starts to protest, but the birthday girl's pleading eyes win out. "It rhymes with uh, passive Georgie."

"Passive... Wait. He's planning a massive—"

"Well, I won't keep you any longer. You've got a line out there, and I promised to meet Caj at the helipad." Sunday grabs two lollipops, pocketing one and unwrapping the other.

"You can't just tell me we're having a massive orgy and split! And what do you mean there's a line?"

"Haven't you noticed you're running out of bandaids?"

As Sunday struts out, Olive looks out the door after her. No fewer than ten people stand in line, each nursing their own wounds, from the probably superficial (Lucy Desmond with a vial of blood and a grin) to the possibly complicated (#4245, Poppy, looking roughed up and delighted). It's looking like a long day and an even longer night. That's okay. She prefers it that way.

[thecandywrites]

Monster March 2024 Day 7- Incubus/Succubus/Concubus-

The Lotus House- Clinic Practicum

Woo, sorry, been a busy day today. But I made it! So, this is, also a continuation from this prompt from last year. So here's Part 1.

As always, thanks to @borealwrites for their Monster March 2024 prompt list. Enjoy

Monster March 2024- Day 7- Incubus/Succubus/Concubus- 

The Lotus House- Continued- 

Clinical Trials

Senora took a deep breath as she approached- what was to her- could either be- the biggest possible threat to her academic career, or could be her biggest ally. Or something in between. This was essentially a black grab bag of possibilities. Because for every approach there could be a thousand possible outcomes. She instead had tried to simplify the equation, down to two variables. Her,and the person behind that door.

Xorrax. 

This was his favorite suite. Because on the other side of the back wall was Professor's Xeneth’s office. This suite was always given to Professor Xeneth’s favorite student. He found one every 3 years. Would usually hand pick the very best incubi student, who had the most potential. And that student would go from Student, to Master in any field after the student graduated, as the student was even given credit on Professor Xeneth’s research papers and thesis papers that were always groundbreaking. But Professor Xeneth didn’t have a class where they taught regular classes, because if they did, just about every student would be in attendance. 

Xorrax was the favorite student and personal assistant to Professor Xeneth the Practicum Master who was the Head of the Clinical Committee who oversaw the Clinic as a whole. 

Professor Xeneth however, was notoriously busy and always practically buried in paperwork, reviewing students in their performance reviews and exit exams from the Clinic Practicum. Professor was rumored to be quite old, cranky and had little to no patience to deal with bureaucratic bull shit or prima donna students. And was always said to be blunt, honest but fair in his reviews, but also, close to retirement. Professor Xeneth also, used Xorrax- to give any student who dared to become predatory- a clinical hour of their worst nightmares before they were escorted off the premises and banned from returning. 

But Senora had noticed that the students who had willingly put Xorrax in their practicum curriculum early, and sought him out, usually excelled and aced through the course. Others saw him once a semester to help them make steady improvement. The ones that sought him out- practically gushed and beamed and praised that when it came to honest feedback, he was the best. But those who sought him out, hoping to bribe him into turning a blind eye to anything going on in the clinic or to take part in any scheme, was usually dealt with by Professor Xeneth himself who immediately launched investigations and used Xorrax to spearhead them and would be exposed on a school wide and community wide scale. 

However, others did all they could to avoid Xorrax in the clinic altogether because the last thing they wanted was to open themselves up to his overly harsh criticisms or were usually the students who had something to hide. Plus, Xorrax had also built a reputation that- he liked to fuck his way through every female in the school, and specialized in students in the Bride Program and especially 3 C’s. 

It was rumored that Xorrax could make even the most devout sexual abstaining nun into a whore in five minutes flat. It was also rumored that he personally investigated anyone and everyone who even hinted at one student who would have any romantic attachments to any other student. And do so, without ever having to oversee any sessions. They would just need to walk past him, and he’d practically sniff it out like a hound which is why Professor Xeneth used and protected him and basically let him have the whole clinic as his playground, until Xorrax would eventually age out, become either a doctor or a teacher in their own right.  

Xorrax’s skills as a very powerful incubus were a class all their own. And all a student needed to do was be within his presence for 15 minutes and he would narrow down their biggest obstacles and biggest points of weakness. And that if the student worked on those, they would come out and improve their Student Overal Score by at least 50- 100 points, if not more. 

Senora, didn’t need the help academically. But she did want an honest appraisal, which is why she was not surprised when- the moment her class was released to start to schedule in the clinic, all of the top students in her class had filled in Xorrax’s schedule. And she had been lucky to even get this spot the first week. And she did not want to schedule anything else until she met with him first. Xorrax, of course, always gave deference to the newest students, or the students earmarked for needed extra improvement. Which filled his schedule up. 

And while he did spend, most of his time in the clinic- the man did have a home of his own. Where? She didn’t know. And all the details of his personal life were a mystery, just the way he liked them. 

But Senora, just because she wasn’t in the Bride Program herself, she wanted Xorrax to treat her as if she was. Because she wanted to be honestly assessed, tested and proven so that she would know how best to proceed, she thought of herself as a pretty well rounded student, but she still felt she needed a fresh pair of well trained and experienced eyes to really see her and her abilities as they were to give her a better understanding of herself and something of a baseline going forward. 

She had spent the last year, both preparing for the clinic, but also doing research on her own and had tracked down any and every student she could who had had sessions with Xorrax. All with varying degrees of success and every single one having a slightly different experience, but all of them, admitting that he didn’t give them what they wanted, but what they needed. 

But Senora, also, wanted to meet this Xorrax- head on. And get the one thing she wanted more than a sexual release. She wanted an honest appraisal of herself as a student. And that could only be given if she was really seen as she was. And the one looking- really saw her as she was.  

She knocked and heard a deep, and practically velvety voice answer. 

“Enter.” Xorrax answered before she did and simply stepped into the room and closed the door and waited. She was surprised when it didn’t look all that different from any other standard room. Most students, who got released into the clinic- liked certain styles of certain wings of the clinic. Others wanted it to be as bright and colorful as they were, yet others, wanted as close to a medical clinic as it could be. 

But this was as plain and generic as it could be. The perfect canvas. 

“Correct.” Xorrax praised from the shadowy corner where he was seeing her and sensing her. 

“Why?” Senora asked as she continued to appraise the room instead of looking into the dark corner where she had heard his voice come from. 

Although, if his skills were as good as his reputation built them up to be, he could practically make a room out of nothing and have a session without ever touching his partner, for how quickly and easily he could get into his partner’s head and manipulate them. 

“However, I am curious as to how you came to the conclusion that the room is a blank canvas.” He prodded curiously from a different corner as Senora simply grinned but instead had walked around the bed in the middle of the room, as if she was appreciating an art piece in a museum. 

“You’re an artist. Every woman in Dorierra is supposed to be a work of art- either in the making or already finished. And a blank canvas is just a way for her to expand her own work of art. But in this setting. It could either show the art in all it’s glory, or have it put under a microscope and scrutinized and judged and picked apart for its flaws. Besides, the best lovers simply mirror the love of a beloved. However, a mirror only works if the art is under the right light. Too harsh- and the lighting damages the pigment, makes certain colors fade or wash out and the art itself depreciates, not enough- it’s just a blob of barely deciphered color in the shadows.” Senora offered as she glanced at her reflection in the mirror on the wall before she simply moved to the bed to appreciate the ever changing inkblot art on the wall. 

She could feel him poke and prod her mind by changing the art, trying to find something she would like, something that she would see an image of something in. As the ink itself changed colors, seemingly at random as he seemed to be dialing her in but she did what she was advised to do- keep her mind free and clear, let things flow like a gentle breeze or a small stream in a forest. Don’t hold onto anything because whatever you tried to hold onto, Xorrax would take. Whatever you tried to hide, he would find. So, she didn’t hide anything. She didn’t hold onto anything either. Not even Xorrax. 

“Interesting.” Xorrax hummed, as if pondering the merits of her theory. 

“But that is just my opinion, and not the truth. So will you tell me the truth or will you simply have me believing my own opinion as correct?” Senora asked. 

“Well your opinion is one of the better ones I’ve heard.” He mused. 

“But it’s not the truth unless you say it is or it isn’t. I’m not one of those students who always has to be right or always has to win. But I am a curious one, who believes that a single truth should outweigh any number of opinions.” Senora urged. 

“Yes you are. And it’s that quest for wanting to see everyone else for who they really are, and understanding the why- that drives you. It’s why you’re the top of your class. It’s why you’re a favorite of your teachers and among your other paired classes. Because you care about accepting your partner, as they fully are, it lulls them into a sense of vulnerability without the threat of exposure.” He seemed to recall, as if he had already done his research on her too. 

“But, I also have learned that very few people are comfortable showing, much less being who they really are. Because of things like acceptance, or fear of rejection, or social norms, or attractiveness based on appearance, specifically the symmetry of their form.” Senora offered. 

“Ah, so I see, someone has already used their cubi- powers to hide themselves from you. That’s why you’re so incessant on being truthful and getting the real and true picture of your partners. Such an approach has gotten you very far. But such an approach will burn you here in the clinic.” He predicted. 

“How so?” Senora asked as her head tilted to the side curiously. 

“In the clinic, very few are interested in being seen as they truly are. If they want such things, they go to a therapist, not to The Lotus House. The Lotus House is a proving ground, and a place for students to build their ability to change themselves to suit anyone and everyone else. The Lotus House is about teaching students to build the right illusion, while not losing themselves in their own illusion. There is a huge difference in being seen as you are, and being seen as you want to be seen as. And that’s what most truly want. And what they desire above all else. They want to slip into a fantasy where their faults don’t exist, that their flaws are minimal, that they’re attractive and that all the reasons they would ever have to be critical of themselves or loathe themselves don’t really matter.” He plainly, and rather cynically appraised. 

“And that’s why the Bride System and 3 C’s produces individuals- capable of making any number of grooms believe such things.” Senora calmly concluded. 

“Is that why you’re not in the program? Unable to swallow such things down with a smile?” He asked as Senora could almost sense him almost pacing behind her, staring into the back of her head and could almost feel his sarcastic, perhaps almost snarky smile in his almost sneering tone. 

“That’s part of it.” Senora nodded. 

“But you didn’t answer my question. Why is the room plain?” Senora redirected him as she cast a curious look over her shoulder to barely see a shadowy figure move out of her area of view as she resisted trying to follow the figure and simply turned and stared at the blank wall in front of her once the pictures on the wall seemed to settle on pretty pictures in appealing colors, which was her cue that he had already dialed her in to a degree.  

“You were right, it is a blank canvas, but not for the student’s benefit. But for mine. I do like to think of myself as something of a piece of art in progress myself, but also part mirror, and part light and artist, all in one. I learn something from each piece of art that comes through that door. And a plain room is no different than a clean and clear artist gallery. Just open space and a series of lights, switches and dimmers and candles and lanterns to provide or hide any and all light needed or wanted. Some students come in, hoping I will find and expose their faults, others come in, hoping they will be able to hide whatever they want to from me- under their own school uniform. Others try to distract with their own brazen nakedness, in order to conceal their true vulnerability.” Xorrax expounded. 

“It’s a shame that I only came in naked then. Simply wanting you to see all of me, as much or as little as you wish to see to give me an honest appraisal.” She offered with a smug smirk as she slipped the silken robe off of her shoulders to simply sit on the bed. Not sucking in, not posing, just simply sitting comfortably, even slouching a little as she simply focused on sitting comfortably. 

“A naked subject is hardly an open book.” Xorrax practically scoffed. 

“And an open book is hardly the whole story. You know as well as I do, that the writer can either add or take away as they see fit through various revisions. Or pages can be torn out, or glued together. Or the print can be faded. Or in an unknown language altogether.” Senora pointed out. 

“So you came here for a philosophical debate? You’re better off meeting Professor Xeneth for that.” He almost taunted her. Was he having a bad day or something? Was he in a bad mood? Was he tired? Exhausted from the barrage of new new students in the clinic, all of them eager to have one on one time with him?

“No. I came to be honestly appraised by you. Not by Professor Xeneth. But, if you do refer me to Professor Xeneth, I would accept such a referral, but it was not why I came to you. I applied for this session with you. I specifically put on the session notes that I wanted an honest appraisal, which you already accepted. And I came naked, just in case that appraisal needed to be more intimate than just this conversation. I simply wish to see myself as I truly am. And I’m told no one is better with honest appraisal than you. That you can make even the most obsessive perfectionist or the worst lying charlatans see the truth of themselves. Surely you can do the same for me. I requested your professional assessment.” Senora maintained. 

“So you’ve tried to do all the research you can- to prepare yourself for your session with me?” He posed. 

“Well, while I do like to be prepared, I also try not to be convoluted either. I know I’m not the smartest student in class. I know I still have a lot to learn throughout my courses here at The Lotus House. I know that I don’t know everything, or know everyone. Nor do I wish to. All I’m looking for is understanding of myself. You are the personal assistant to the Head Clinic Practicum Master himself after all and are second only to him.” Senora appraised. 

“I hear you’re working on another thesis with Professor Xeneth that will rock The Lotus House to the core once it’s eventually published, just like the last one did. That it will most likely, at the very least improve, if not- rewrite our curriculum and even change how we approach The Lotus House and sex in general. And that Professor Xeneth has used you to then use and test every student who has willingly walked through that door- as a test subject for their various theories. But while I won’t object to you testing any out on me, I am still waiting on my honest appraisal.” Senora offered. 

“Then please slip your robe back on.” Xorrax insisted before she did and only a moment later, a stool seemed to appear before her before a white cane came out of the shadows, with a blind man holding it before he sat down. He was dressed really modestly. He was actually rather thin and almost frail and looked nothing like how he was usually perceived to look like. 

“You are both surprised, yet smug in your perceived appearance of me.” He offered. 

“You are cubi, a powerful one. One who can change everything about yourself to suit anyone else’s tastes. Usually when we lose one sense, the others grow stronger. If you are either naturally blind, or are simply choosing to appear to me- to be blind, that would account for your cubi powers to be dialed in and dialed up to an unimaginable maximum. But it would also account for the bare minimalist room. Less things for you to trip over in here, and less you have to worry about manipulating for your partner’s benefit, or the less potential there is for anything to happen to you as you would move about in here to interrupt the illusion.” She offered as she slipped the robe back onto her body to re-establish her modesty. 

“Precisely.” He smiled. 

“And it’s why you can hide in the shadows in the corners, and simply let your cubi- senses- sense the person who comes in here. And once you get into someone else’s head, you can see both yourself through their eyes, but also, themselves through their own eyes. And if you’re able to do that much, you probably don’t even have to physically touch them. It’s their own minds that do the rest.” Senora boldly mused. 

“Correct.” He confirmed with another nod. 

“But then again, this all could just be an illusion you put into my head too, to satisfy my own curiosity.” Senora realized. 

“Perhaps. But you wanted honesty in your appraisal. And you wanted the truth as to why the room is plain. Which I am showing you, instead of telling you. So, since you are so ready to accept me in any form I wish to show myself to you in- even if it’s not the form you are expecting. I will do you the honor and the justice to give you what you have asked for. An honest and fair appraisal.” He began. 

“Miss Senora, it is clear to me, that you could have sex with every student, regardless of gender in this school. And you could get perfect scores doing so. But there is a sense of comfort and safety that one carries when their true heart is held, protected, cared for and nurtured by another. And that is what you have - and it is how you have breezed through the pairings of the class. You have your true, inner heart- so securely cared for, loved, protected and shielded that it doesn’t matter what I or anyone else says or does. Nothing will change how you feel about your beloved, or how your beloved feels about you- no monogamous relationship needed. And it’s because you trust the person whose own heart you hold, just as carefully, just as securely, just as tenderly and just as protectively, that they look at the clinic as a trial by fire, but you and your love have made them fireproof as their love for you has made you fireproof in turn.” He calmly, and if anything, rather proudly appraised. 

“That kind of love- and acceptance- is never going to be against the rules, or against anything that The Lotus House teaches and stands for. If anything, it’s what the Lotus House is geared towards. To help those who stay in Dorierra to have successful relationships, however they wish to quantify and qualify said success. It’s why you’re comfortable baring yourself as much as you are, because you have already bared yourself to your beloved and he has already accepted all of your true self and your true heart as much as you have accepted him in turn and you both wear such affections like a suit of armor. You have already understood that there can be a difference between physical, mental, emotional and psychological fidelity or infidelity. And you are simply waiting to weather the Clinical Practicum Trials, no matter how they would test you- either by a trial of fire or a trial of flower petals.” He appraised as the very fire he was speaking of seemed to alight from his staff, and the very flower petals seemed to fall about them like snow before disappearing a moment after. 

“You have already won the war, whereas others have yet to really fight their first battles, because you have been honest and humble with yourself first.” He honestly appraised with a fond grin. 

“ Is my beloved that obvious to you?” Senora asked curiously, because she thought she had done a good job of neither hiding Volron nor showing him off in her mind. 

“Oh yes. Because while you tried to hide yourself in plain sight. I still can’t help but see him when I’m looking in the background of your mind, the truth plainly plays out in your subconscious. Everyone’s inner mind is like a physical place. Different thoughts are like phantoms of either people or structures. And you hid Volron in plain sight, all around you as you would be with him both in memory and fantasy. However, to the untrained eye, he would have blended into the background perfectly and had practically been invisible. You worked very hard and were very good in making sure there was only ever one of him at a time. Never more than one at any one time, just like no one in the real world is ever in more than one physical place at a time. Some people, when they try to hide who they don’t want me to see, I see copies of them everywhere all at once and it’s like I see nothing but them, others try to lock their secrets into safes while the code is practically stamped on their foreheads.” He chuckled with a subtle shake of his head. 

“But, with you, what I see in the distance, where you imagine yourself being one day, is not your graduation, or even, your wedding day or the birth of your first child with Volron. But simply, what you imagine him and yourself being one day- a pair of old people, walking side by side, hand in hand, your tails wrapped around the other as they trail behind you. It’s adorable. And what’s even more adorable, is his version of you is the same in his own mind. It’s his fantasy that he uses to soothe himself after every clinical hour he puts in here. And it is quite adorable. And I don’t even need to be in a session with him to see it. But don’t worry. He will not get in trouble, and neither will you. If anything, he is a better man for his true loyalty to you. You want to be a counselor. And there is nothing in your way of achieving that., and all he wants is to make you happy, and there is nothing but his own fear at being found out in his own way.” He offered with a nod of approval. 

“You are otherwise, a pretty well rounded student, academically, you’re obviously, top of your class, but you are not desperate to stay at the top of the class academically, like some of your fellow students. My only caution to you is to understand that the Clinic Practicum is all about illusion and fantasy. And that others that come into the Clinic are looking to escape into any number of fantasies, and they’re coming, looking for sexual release and to blow off excess steam with you and the other students in a safe and controlled environment. And your ‘I’ll show you all of me so you can show me all of you’ approach- while has it has helped you in practice between the paired classes, especially when you’re new and young and naive and still gaining experience and it forgives awkward fumbles. The Clinic is looking for smoothness in manners and self confidence and self assuredness. Your current approach can be quite dangerous. It’s far from unique and usually, at the beginning, it can boost your clinic session score, because it’s seen as ‘new’ and ‘individual’ and ‘refreshing’. It will however, get old. And once it gets old, suddenly your clinic practicum scores will plummit because either they grow bored, or they grow hungrier for that private, intimacy with you. It’s a great way to find a husband and settle down and having to test out of The Lotus House early, if that’s what you really want. But if you want to give yourself and this part of your education justice, it’s a dangerous disservice.” He warned. 

“For one- it opens you up to the more emotionally needy clients who will drain you faster than a water hose left open on full blast. Two, you run the risk of more than just your Beloved falling in love with you and actually genuinely, romantically pursuing you and wanting to be romantically involved with you and only you because you’ve made the emotional involvement too easy to entangle yourself and themselves in. 3. It will absolutely jeopardize your relationship with your Beloved and it will be a test too far and it will break the relationship and bring out the worst in you both. And I would hate to see The Lotus House break up yet another happy couple, that could have been just fine, if no one had interfered.” He cautioned as he held up one of his hands to list them off. 

“You need to stay in control of yourself and what happens and what transpires in the Clinic Practicum. Because if that power is given to your client instead of to you- the client is going to be greedy and take and take and take until you are empty and then they’re going to give you bad scores for being used up, which is not fair at all. There should be a little give and take during the session, yes. But you should not be the only one giving. Because, as I’m sure you’ve understood in your Dominatrix and Submissive classes, it’s the Submissive who is in real control. Always stay in control of yourself and the room during the session. And the only time that control should be given up- is in private, with your Beloved. No where else.” Xorrax offered.

“But that’s it. Otherwise you’re lovely, inside and out.” Xorrax grinned. 

“Thank you Xorrax.” Senora thanked him.  

“Professor Xeneth would like to meet with you. You will find your uniform in the changing room on the other side of this door to change to meet him formerly.” Xorrax offered before he stood and touched the light switch on the wall to reveal a truly blank room. The paintings, long since revealed to be nothing more than empty frames on the wall as he went to the door before he knocked a peculiar knock before he opened the door and showed her into the dressing room as she quickly changed into her regular uniform and once she was done, there was another knock on the other door. 

“Yes?” She answered as she opened it to reveal Professor Xeneth on the other side. 

“Yes Miss Senora, a pleasure to meet you. Dr. Zellora has given me quite the glowing review. You are one of her favorite students in this year’s class.” Professor Xeneth offered as he shook her hand and then showed her to a comfy chair on the other side of his desk before he walked around and sat down, her official student file on his desk as he was looking through it and reading it before there was another knock on one of the other doors to his office before Xorrox came in and went to his own desk- that was remarkably clear except for a tray of stamps, each with braille label. 

Senora watched, rather in awe as Xorrox didn’t need a cane as he walked around the desk and sat down and used his sense of touch to find the right file in a filing cabinet next to his desk before he took the paper out and then used a special frame next to a special platform over the paper before he pressed a series of stamps into the paper before he got it back and put it onto Professor Xeneth’s desk before he touched Senora’s shoulder as she reached up and squeezed his hand over it and couldn’t help but smile fondly up at him, even though he was blind, and probably couldn’t see it but the mutual respect and fondness was still felt as she felt him fully disengage with her so he could engage with his next client in the next session. 

“Well, Xorrax is yet another who has given you a glowing review. But a fair criticism nonetheless.” Professor Xeneth noted as she smiled at the various “stamps” that while they simply looked like strange symbols, were a language and held vast meanings. 

“Xorrox has advised that you do an Accelerated Program in the Clinic Practicum.” He offered. 

“What kind of Accelerated Program?” Senora asked. 

“This kind.” Professor Xeneth said as he took the paper Xorrax had stamped and went to his own filing cabinet to get a copy of each of the worksheets and made sure he got at least two copies of each one before he put them into a neat stack on his desk before he put additional marks on Xorrax’s assessment. 

“Now, in my professional opinion, I will second everything that Xorrax has admonished to you. But I wish to add one more thing. Usually what the student does not like, or- is an acquired taste, is usually what the student needs more of- to be well rounded. So, you will find two copies of each of these assignments. One is for you to use with any other student or client at your discretion. The other- will be an assignment, given by the Clinic Managers, for they usually know each of the classes and each of the students in those classes, better than their own teachers will, because we can not escape some form of favoritism and bias but the Managers have enough distance to be objective in said assignments. You can either choose to have the assignment first, and then have the joy of choosing the second. Or, use the choice to prepare you for the assignment. I have seen many students choose either- or, and have had success with both. Once you look at these assignments, you can decide.” Professor Xeneth noted as he wrote down which of the assignments were being assigned to her. 

“Next, I want you to know that once you do these assignments, you will have satisfied the Clinic Practicum Requirements.” 

“Wait, what?” Senora blinked in shock. 

“What part of accelerated program do you not understand?” Professor Xeneth asked as he looked at her over the top of his glasses. 

“I…I….I didn’t think it would  be that accelerated.” Senora stuttered. 

“Senora, you are young and your mind is still quite the sponge. You wish to be a Student Counselor here at The Lotus House. And you show amazing aptitude for it. And your ability to sympathize and empathize, and really understand others struggles in this program should really be nurtured and developed, especially while you’re still malleable. And doing the whole- normal clinical hour requirement, would be, honestly, a waste of your time. Sometimes, the longer you are in Clinic, while you gain experience, it drains your empathy and sympathy and can jade people a very ugly shade of green. And Xorrox, and I and the other staff do not wish for that to happen to you. You will still get plenty of experience. But with you not being in the Bride Program, and instead, still have a wonderful career in front of you. I don’t feel meaningless hours and exhausting, unneeded experience in the Clinic Practicum will help you with your ambition or your career. So, I am about to do, what very, very few students get to ever earn the right to do. Since you are in the accelerated program. If you will do this half of these assignments as assigned. I don’t care if you choose to do every other single one with the same student. Or if you choose to have every homework assignment done with the same partner from here on out. It will be allowed. Your career and your future should not be impeded by The Clinic Practicum, it should be supportive of it as well. And this accelerated rate- will see to it.” He added. 

“So, allow this old man to offer a pre-emptive congratulations. Congratulations on passing the Clinical Practicum Trials.” He congratulated her as he handed her Xorrox’s assessment and the small, practically miniscule stack of assignments. 

“What?” She asked as she took it and looked at the paper. According to the special paper- she had just done two years worth of clinical trials in a single session. She was still free to partake in the clinic if she wished to after the assignments were completed. But she otherwise aced it and- at the completion of these assignments would be considered graduated from the Clinic Practicum.

“Why?” Senora asked as she just stared at the pages in awed bewilderment. 

“Because you cared enough to want to see the real Xorrax and were honest in showing him the real you. Even at great risk. The truth means everything to you, as does endurance of any and every trial. And such a noble endeavor deserves to be commended and supported.” He offered. 

“So, Xorrax, really is blind? That was really him? That was the real him?” Senora asked. 

“Yes. That was the real him. Doctor Xorrax- really is blind. But his phantoms can see just fine. And he uses his clients to be his eyes and ears for him as well. It’s what has made him an exceptional student and perfect for this role.” Professor Xeneth praised. 

“He’s a doctor?” Senora asked. 

“Yes, he just pretends to be a student. But that first thesis we put out? That was his doctorate thesis. And he is a scientist. It’s because he is blind that his cubi powers were enhanced to such a great degree that his work on a person’s subconscious- is how we can test to see if a student is really mentally mature enough for the Lotus House. It’s how he can investigate everything that he does. Because his cubi powers are practically superpowers, he is able to do everything that he does and more. You will actually be working quite closely with him from now on for he is instrumental in helping pair the right students to the right counselors and vice versa.” Professor Xeneth explained. 

“You are an exceptional student Miss Senora. And you will make an excellent counselor. If you wish to continue to use the clinic you may- if you feel you need the experience, but otherwise, the sessions will not add to your already impeccable score. However, I suggest, having one last session outside of these assigned ones, with Volron. Using this. If he can do all that is specified on this paper in a single session, it will be his own exit exam from the clinic and he can be your only homework companion if you both wish him to be. He came into the Clinic Practicum, expecting it to be a trial by fire, he should leave it as a trial by flower petals, don’t you think?” Professor Xeneth offered one last piece of paper with Volron’s name and student number already written by Professor Xeneth on it. 

“Thank you. Can I hug you?” She asked as she took it and couldn’t help but start crying tears of relief as both pieces of paper were more precious than anything she had ever held before. 

“Of course.” He held out an arm as she came around and hugged him on the side and kissed the top of his head. 

“Sorry.” She offered as she tried to wipe her tears from his hair. 

“It’s ok. You’re not the first, nor will be the last to cry on me today. Go and enjoy the rest of your day, and leave out that door, you leave from this door and you’ll intrude on Xorrax. And I do not wish to court his ire.” He chuckled. 

“Thank you!” She thanked him before she took the precious papers and left and she felt like she practically floated all the way up to front desk before she handed all the papers to the Clinic Manager for that wing who readily handed her the copies of her own private assignments back while earmarking the others that would need to be assigned as Dr. Oresha immediately knew who Senora should have for the assignments. 

“Congratulations Senora.” The Clinic Manager- Dr. Oresha cooed as she happily hugged Senora once she was done and showed the students names written in pencil first to Senora who nodded her agreement to the assignments before Dr. Oresha wrote over them in ink to make them more permanent. 

“Thank you.” Senora smiled and couldn’t stop smiling, or crying more tears of happiness. Most of her classmates, much less the other students, hadn’t even gotten through half of their sessions yet. But Senora happily flipped through the book and found Volron’s last open day and scheduled herself for the session with him. And knew it was going to be his exit exam from the clinc practicum. She got the other paperwork back and practically skipped through the halls to leave the clinic and practically floated back to her classroom where Dr. Zellora was in her classroom, grading papers in the school, so she didn’t have to bring them home and risk grading them there, and having any of her grandkids accidentally make a mess of them. 

“Knock knock.” Senora said as she knocked on the door frame.

“Miss Senora! Hi! Come in, come in, tell me, how was Xorrax?” Dr. Zellora invited as she invited her student to come and pull up a chair next to her desk. 

“You mean Dr. Xorrax don’t you?” Senora beamed with a bright smile before Dr. Zellora practically squealed in delight as her tail whipped and wiggled excitedly as Senora’s did as well. 

“Oh you aced it! You aced it! I knew it! I’m so proud of you!” Dr. Zellora practically bounced her seat over to Senora to hug her tightly. 

“Tell. Me. Everything. Right now!” Dr. Zellora gushed as she immediately put her papers to the side to turn to Senora so they could talk and gush about the experience. 

“Holy shit, he showed you the real him? He showed you the cane? Aw, you really must have made him feel safe and secure enough for him to show you that. He’s so sweet and so nice. I mean, he can be a hard ass too. But that’s only to the students who try to pull a fast one. But to the truly meek, mild and humble? Oh he’s a dream. And his honest appraisal of you as a student is exactly what I was hoping for. It’s good but honest and fair. Now I do agree with Professor Zeneth’s advice as well. But once you go through the assignments, these choice ones will be not only a breeze, but a pleasure and a joy. And I agree, having you do the entire Clinic Practicum is not only- unwarranted but would be a waste of your time, but mostly a waste of your sympathy and empathy too. And you need to save as much of that for your future students as you can. You will still be getting all the Clinic Practicum you need to stay well rounded and stay well informed and well experienced. You should absolutely keep your focus on your studies and your career. And I know this will be one less thing for you to worry about in class. And one less distraction from your chosen career path. I’m so happy for you. Ok, so, tell me, do you have any ideas about this?” Dr. Zellora asked once she held up what was going to be Volron’s exit exam. 

“Oh gosh, well it was encouraged that his clinic practicum has been a trial by fire so far, and it should end as a trial of flower petals.” Senora grinned. 

“Well ok, so, how far do you want to take that?” Dr. Zellora asked. 

“How far am I allowed to take it?” Senora asked. 

“Oh Honey, I have had some students make their room a damn honeymoon suite. If it’s going to be both of your guys’ last time in the clinic. Make it the best session ever. Make it the best- last time together as students. Make it yours, make it his. Make it memorable. And a day and possibly night, he will never forget. But most importantly. Use any number of these room numbers.” She offered before she wrote down a series of room numbers. 

“But that’s Dr. Xorrax’s wing.” 

“Exactly. Dr. Xorrax only assigns those rooms to who he is watching and who he is investigating, or I’ve seen him use that whole wing, each with a phantom of himself in each one and able to keep all 12 rooms occupied and to the point that none of them knew they were ever in those rooms alone. And I know for a certainty that these, are otherwise, unused. Most students don’t even want to go down this hallway. So you’ll be able to make all kinds of noise and make all kinds of racket without an audience which is what the final practicum exit exam room has. And without interference. And the rooms are purposefully just as plain as his is. Make any of those rooms, your perfect canvas to create your perfect final piece of art. Enter that room as a student, and leave it as Volron’s beloved, loud and proud. Hell, you have my permission to leave it as his fiance if he is so inclined.” Dr. Zellora cooed schemingly as that seemed to make Senora blush and giggle and practically vibrate with happiness. 

“Really?” Senora asked. 

“Hey, the minute you check these check marks and sign here, he’s done. Make sure you sign before he proposes though.” Dr. Zellora urged. 

“Ok.” Senora nodded in understanding. 

“I have some shopping to do to prepare for this then.” Senora happily and giddily offered as she took it, carefully slipped them into a protective folder and into her backpack. 

Off to tell her Beloved The Best News Ever.

[rosyredlipstick]

shaking

Shaking THIS IS BRILLIANT. Everything. oh my god. oh my GOD. Oh my god. i have 28394929020483827273858382919010 thoughts.

THE DEATH STAR PLANS sobbbbhinnggg nico and will are so SO soft and you know, jason’s near death had me thinking leo would not survive that either. SO THANKS FOR NOT KILLING HIM.

did any of them really question nico? oh my poor heart.

that whole section was written amazingly by the way, nico being that laser focused, asking for help, and coming up with that plan was SO good.

ngl calypso’s whole thing was sort of giving lotus casino BUT i was still surprised when the troopers showed up

and yknow, lastly, i love that you write will as shorter it’s so different lmao?? i NEVER see that it’s hard to imagine too, but it’s sweet i love it

IM SO GLAD YOU ENJOYED ANON <3

did any of them question nico. excellent question. the answer is no not really really HOWEVER out of all of them ..... jason definitely did have to remind himself that he trusts nico down to the bone and whatever nicos doing he would NEVER put the others at risk (a fact jason knows as sure despite his serious projecting in the training room). nicos uhhh punishment to canaveer didn't help either lmao

i also dearly love will solace <3 i love writing little scenes where he's all focused and clinical and i love writing his little jokes and muah chefs kiss <3

[operat0r]

The Tenno holds no memory of who or what suggested he pay Cetus a visit. Were he the sort to gamble, he may have begrudgingly placed his credits upon the Lotus, who remains ever eager to tug his strings one way or another across the stars. The particulars of this memory escape him, as so many others do, and it is only when he is attending to his weapons in orbit of Venus does the thought of passing nearby Earth even occur to him.

Conferring with Ordis confirms that his docket, nebulous as it has been these past days, could certainly allow him a detour from wherever it is duty takes him next. The Tenno considers it while he oils the barrel of the Vectis he's taken to lately. Slowly, slowly, his ship crosses into Venusian night.

New Loka can wait. The thought of dealing with the Perrin Sequence agitates him more than he thinks he can bear. Of the Red Veil, he remains uncertain and uneager for rendezvous, overdue as it may be. So, the matter is settled.

"Set a course," the Tenno says aloud in a ship near silent as a grave, and he prepares himself for planetfall.

-------

The very last thing he takes note of is the smell of it all.

Fondness for Earth is more instinct than anything. It is the home he cannot fully recall, the mother he knows only through hearsay and missives and histories available to him only by other accounts. Its atmosphere is bruised with toxins yet to heal, ugly whorls that, he is told, once existed only in cautionary tales well before planetary invasion was ever a possibility. That the planet is now infested by Grineer boils something deep within the Tenno, hateful without truly knowing why. This, too, is an instinct so deep it may as well be primal, and as the orbiter peels beneath atmosphere and crosses before the face of a singular, tremendous tower of suspiciously Orokin design, he prepares himself for the worst.

He hears the ocean before he disembarks. He hears other things, too: the barking of people from across the settlement, the shriek and laughter unmistakably belonging to children no older than he himself once was before the Void cracked he and so many others open. The Saryn he commands this day, jet black and indomitable in combat, barely makes it off the landing pier before he is rushed by young faces - young human faces, who babble excitedly at him in a language he does not recognize. And when they are chased off, herded by an older woman built like a barrel, thick in the middle with arms that look as though they could bend steel, the Tenno can only stare. Dark smears of blue enshroud bright, steely eyes, as well as a brow the Tenno only belatedly realized is arched, unimpressed.

She lifts a meaty, beckoning hand, and then she is gone, swallowed by the course of natives and travelers both that pour into Cetus.

Outside his consciousness, the Tenno hears Ordis chirp, "Oh, doesn't this seem like fun?"

-------

The sight of other Tenno has long since ceased to fill him with wonder. Not that it really ever did after the first few encounters: the novelty of their misfortune and the realization that it is shared lost its luster quickly enough, and when he crosses them in the field or upon the relays, he himself tends to keep his distance.

Here, they are impossible to avoid. It is a far cry from the clinical cleanliness of the relays, with their broad bulkheads and pristine corridors. Here, the ocean itself is drowned out by more chatter than the Tenno can remember hearing in his life; here, the narrow passages between tables and stalls and craftsmen hunkered down on small, rough-spun rugs are teeming with Warframes and people alike. Someone cries out about knives and dashes of viridian, cerulean, the colors to make the eyes of a lover shine bright and brilliant. Another hoists a sliver of some sort of flesh for the Tenno to presumably appreciate, though the color of it is immediately off putting. People in bloodied aprons cry over people with sharp blades, and then the people with pottery and stoneware and small jeweled keepsakes join in the cacophony, loud as seabirds, louder than the sea itself.

It is alive in a way the Tenno cannot immediately parse. This small settlement persists at the very edge of a world that, for all the galaxy knows, no longer welcomes them. Yet still they smile and laugh and raise their hands to greet the metal-and-curse beings that mill amongst them, weapons of war with weapons of war strapped to their spines. Yet still they live.

It is unlike anything he can remember. It is too noisy and too wet and there is a smell, he realizes, of salt and animal blood and sweat and strange fruits and hearth-fire, a bouquet so strong compared to the sanitized and recycled nothing of his vessel that he genuinely fears it will imprint upon and stain his senses permanently, that anything and everything forever more shall be overpowered by the smell of Cetus.

Another Tenno, cloaked in the form of a Rhino, gently buffets him aside. He tracks their form to a narrow stall near the center of the thickest part of the markets, where a young human is masked in the crude but unmistakable affectation of a Trinity. Behind them, rows of other masks are loosely hung upon a rack, where the Tenno can recognize Volts and Mags and something else, bulbous about the brow like some deep sea fish. The Rhino gestures, says something the Tenno cannot hear, something that makes the young stall-keeper laugh bright and loud and shameless.

There are worse smells, the Tenno decides then, watching small, delicate things pass between hands both living and false. The Rhino holds a Volt mask with care, as though it were still a living thing and not just carved from formerly living things. There are worse smells, the Tenno decides, than salt and sea and life.