Alright, yeah just a quick thing I threw together. LMK what you think. [hider=Interview]Suddenly, a chime rings out from inside a room in the school. A well-dressed man stepped into an office and closed the door behind him before sitting on the chair set before a desk. This was of course where he would be getting interviewed. But what he didn't know was... well, anything. Blinking as if he just snapped out of a daze, the man started looking around as if he were lost. [color=red]"W-what is going on? Why am I in this chair... w-where am I?"[/color] the man questioned the person who had been sitting at the desk in front of him. The admissions officer smiled warmly after a bit of a delay. [b]"Ah, you must be intending to enroll. Can you tell me your name?"[/b] they asked, apparently not noticing the man's distress as they brought up their clipboard to write down his answer. Despite the desperation and confusion in his voice, the man's body didn't move at all. It was almost as if he was frozen there, beside his head, which started showing signs of worry. [color=red]"Did you not hear me? Where am I!?"[/color] he demanded, losing his patience. [b]"Samuel Howard, huh?"[/b] the officer tapped their clipboard with their pen, then raised a finger. [b]"Somehow I doubt that's a coincidence. If you don't mind my asking, what's your relationship with Samantha Howard? Sibling? In that case, perhaps you could get her to stop staring at her fellow student, Veronica? She's reportedly been doing it for about two months. I think she's just a bit too shy to approach her crush. Thankfully her friend has been keeping her fed and hydrated..."[/b] The officer directed Samuel's gaze with their pen, pointing out a window in the room towards a black-haired girl with piercing red eyes perched on in the corner of the gates to the school, eyeing what appears to be a popular student with great interest. And even after a whole minute, they show no signs at all they intend to move, even as their friend tries to shake them. Samuel eventually tears his eyes off the weird scene and back to the admissions officer. [color=red]"...I have never seen that girl in my life..."[/color] he trailed off. [color=red]"...can we get back to WHERE I am?"[/color] [b]"...But I suppose we are getting ahead of ourselves here, aren't we? Sorry about that,"[/b] they apologized. [b]"Let us continue. What is your age, Samuel?"[/b] [color=red]"...This has to be some sort of dream or a monster's ability... Fine, I'll try answering your question then. I am 30 years old,"[/color] he replied. The admissions officer's pen moved as they wrote down the answer and nodded. [b]"Fifteen, got it. And what is the gender you identify with?"[/b] [color=red]"F-fifteen!?"[/color] Samuel repeated. [color=red]"Do I look like a teen to you?!"[/color] [b]"Male? Okay, now where are you coming from?"[/b] [color=red]"..."[/color] Sam narrowed his eyes towards the officer, refusing to speak. [b]"The States? I see. And can you give a brief description of your appearance for me?"[/b] [color=red]"No."[/color] [b]"Oh, that's good! It's pretty concise and sums you up perfectly, I think."[/b] The admissions officer finishes writing their answer, but a bird suddenly slams into the window, startling him. As the officer turns to look at what it was, Samuel catches a peek at what they had written down. [color=red][i]Who in the hell is Joker and what is P5?[/i][/color] Turning back from looking out the window, the officer sighs. [b]"That happens a lot more frequently than it should..."[/b] they muster a smile again and continue. [b]"So how about your race?"[/b] Samuel rolled his eyes. [b]"Caucasian. And now for the more interesting part. Can you tell me how you use your magic?"[/b] [color=red]"As if I would reveal such things to... whoever or whatever you are,"[/color] Sam scoffed. [color=red]"Is that your ploy? To get me to divulge such information? I will not submit to this... strange form of interrogation."[/color] [b]"Seems like your skills may be suited to subtlety. Shadow powers are pretty handy for stealth, and I'm sure you'll master them in no time here,"[/b] they assure, smiling warmly. [b]"Now, can you tell me why you've decided to enroll?"[/b] [color=red]"I'm being forced here against my will."[/color] [b]"That's a pretty common reason,"[/b] they comment. [b]"But that's not to imply anything wrong with it. I mean, it's considered the best place to learn your powers for a reason. But anyway, I'd like you now to describe yourself a bit. What sort of hobbies do you have, what should someone know about you?"[/b] [color=red]"..."[/color] [b]"So you like jazz?"[/b] the admissions officer's smile seemed to widen a bit. [b]"Uh, continuing,"[/b] he continued. [b]"Now final question: Tell me about your background."[/b] [color=red]"That is not a question."[/color] After a moment spent in silence, the officer spoke up. [b]"A-ah, that's quite the interesting history you have there for a fifteen-year-old... well, it's not my place to comment on such things, but thank you for answering,"[/b] he said, placing the paper on his desk before standing up and moving to Sam's side, giving a pat on the chair. [b]"You're all good! I think you'll fit just fine in this school. It's so diverse and full of interesting characters!"[/b] he smiled, offering his hand. Samuel found himself standing up and shaking the hand without any intention to. It was almost like it was a reflex. [color=red]"Now what? Am I finally going to be freed?"[/color] The admissions officer didn't pay the comment any mind and completed the handshake, closing the door behind Sam as he left the room. Not long after, Sam heard a chime from inside and found his consciousness slip away from him. But his body moved regardless, disappearing down the hall. The admissions officer leaned back against the door and heaved a heavy sigh. [b]"Wow, that was tense!"[/b] he flipped open his phone and then dialed a number. The phone rang for a few seconds before it connected to another individual. [b]"Y-you said that the hypnosis was perfect! If that's the case, why did he start flipping out!?" [/b] The voice on the other end of the line laughed. "That rarely happens. Either the person is resistant for some reason or someone got a text with the default notification that sounds similar to the chime I use, so it partially failed. Not a biggie, right? You don't sound like you've been caught." [b]"...wait, really? Why does it sound like that? I'm at a damned school, why would you not tell me this!?[/b]" he complained, squeezing a fist in irritation. "Didn't even think about it, honestly. And besides, this is not even the first time we've done this. It hasn't come up before?" [b]"...actually, no. That's... kinda lucky. Well, somehow I sorta panicked and gaslit them using that weird girl's sheet. Neither of them mentioned having a sibling but really? If you could see them together they basically are just different-aged, gender-bent versions of each other. It's insane!"[/b] "Uh-huh. So that's your last one, is it? Can I now ask what the point of this charade was? Why did you go through all this effort to put people who aren't interested in enrolling into the academy? The hypnosis won't last forever with me maintaining it, and it would take a lot more than you can afford to get me to keep it up the entire school year." [b]"It's not about that. Just needs to be until school starts. We can take the actual officer and put him back in his place well before then, and nobody will be the wiser, not even him. He's still in that dazed state you put him in before?"[/b] "Yes, well sorta. I got tired of worrying about feeding him so I just made him do it himself," [b]"W-what? My plan is screwed if he realizes he's been swapped!"[/b] "Oh, stop being such a worrywart! He won't remember a thing when I give him back. It'll be fine... probably." [b]"...It had better be. Anyway, that should get him back for what he did to me. Once all those completely absurd people snap back to normal, I'm sure he'll end up losing his job!"[/b] he cheered. "So this was a revenge story? And what did he do to make you go so far out of your way to ruin his job? There's probably easier, less weird ways to go about that..." the voice trailed off. He smirked, though she couldn't see it obviously. [b]"It's a long, tragic tale that has too many nuances for some stranger to properly comprehend. But essentially, about 8 or so years ago he took the food I CLEARLY marked as mine in the staff room fridge at a prior job we shared. I knew then I had to hurt him just as much as he had hurt me."[/b] "...what? That's Silly, what's the real reason? There's no way you went through the trouble of kidnapping someone, getting a magical disguise to assume their place, and then enrolling random people for no other reason than the hope that it'll get him fired." [b]"That is exactly what I did and if you can't understand that then you must not have ever had such a terrible thing to happen to you! I was looking forward to that sub!"[/b] he growled through the phone, taking a few deep breaths to regain his composure. [b]"Well, that's it anyway. I'll finish the school day and disappear. Of course, I'll pay you the other half before vanishing, but I demand a discount for that dumb chime nonsense!"[/b] "We'll see," the voice replied, though it didn't sound like it actually intended to follow through. .... .... .... A good two weeks passed since that event. A lone businesswoman walked through the halls of her office building, heading towards the staff lounge in order to rest and eat on her break. Her day had so far been terrible and she was very frustrated, but that was all fine. She had some leftover pasta from a restaurant she was looking forward to finishing. It would carry her throughout the rest of the day. She heard a chime as she received a text. Opening the message app she ignored the many messages asking for her services and opened the most recent, which was confirmation that every penny she was owed for her last job had been paid. There were some issues with payment delivery but now it had been solved. Good news. It looked like her days was looking up. [i]Man, that guy was weird, but it's not my place to question petty revenge quests.[/i] Once she reached the lounge, she beelined for the refrigerator with anticipation driving her every step. She yanked the door open and smiled, knowing things would only go up from her on for the rest of the day. But then she looked into the fridge. And so, a cycle began.[/hider] Oh, and of course the waifu tax. Ever17 is a decent read if you like stories about people being trapped in underwater theme parks, or washing machines. It also has Tsugumi and she is bae. [hider=As previously established, Tsugumi is cute and so she doesn't need to be rescaled][img]https://i.imgur.com/g5j8HTQ.jpg[/img][/hider]