Maniac’s Mayhem: A guide to being a corporate slave

“you know, having an indentured workforce is perfect. You give them food and shelter and make that cost more than the interest on their debt. An easy cheap workforce that can’t quite.”

“isn’t giving them expensive food and shelter still costing us money?”

“Who said anything about it being expensive? We can throw whatever price tag we want on it. They don’t have any money, so they have no choice in the matter.”

-- Secret recordings of Zamano shared by the purple truth raise up citizens.

 

“How long have you known I was awake?” Claire says, in an unsure tone.

“Since Magenta started talking weirdly,” I say while poking her cheek. “so, what is your opinion on the matter?”

“Uhm, well, I was the one that suggested that Magenta bring it up,” she says in an embarrassed tone.

“Why would you do that?” I ask in surprise.

“I thought it would sound more convincing to come from someone other than me.”

“That makes it sound like you are not entirely convinced yourself.” I point out.

“I mean, it would be different seeing your lover with someone else, right?”

“It is definitely interesting, I would say.”

“Wait. Did Cierra ever cheat on you?” She says in a dark tone

“Ooh no, she would never. But we did have a threesome before.” I say while pitching her cheek.

“And how was that?” she asks in a curious tone.

“It was kind of a mess, but that was more because of politics involved and such. The sex was fun.”

“Politics? Like they voted for a different mayor or something?” she says while scrunching up her face in confusion.

“That would be funny, but no, she was paid by her mom to seduce Cierra and take her away from me. Let's just say things did not end well once she found out.”

“Really, my impression of Cierra is that she is rather weak-willed.”

“I mean, you would be correct, I guess, but she is not always that bad. Sometimes she will bite back”, I say with a giggle. “Also, it would be good to realise that her being timid does not mean she is weak.”

“What do you mean?”

“Where do you think I get my roundabout revenge plans from? She might not like direct confrontation but will completely ruin your business in an instant, if you piss her off. She is a scary businesswoman.”

“I will keep that in mind for when we are officially introduced to each other,” she says with a smile.

A cold shiver went down my spine at the thought. I guess they have to meet eventually. “Yeah, that is fair.”

“You don’t want us to meet?” Claire says with concern in her voice.

“It is nothing like that. It is just, you know, it is going to be a weird fucking meeting, right? So you know, kind of dreading it, but it is important to do it, so not much choice, right?“ I say, trying to reassure her.

“I thought she was a huge samurai fan?” Claire says

“Yeah, she is. She has an entire display case with figures, and I am pretty sure if she was not required to wear suits or dresses all the time, she would be rocking samurai merch instead; the worst part is I think she is actually a fan of Glowstick.”

“Don’t tell her that; she might get a big head about it?” she says, with mirth. “But I am a samurai. Would it not stand to reason that she would somewhat like me as well, then.”

“I mean, it sounds logical, but I think it simplifies the issue a bit. Like there is a difference between meeting and interacting with people you idolise, and it is a whole other to make them part of your life.“

“Yeah, well, I guess we can only bludgeon through it, I guess.” Claire says. “Speaking of, have you told her that you are Maniac yet.”

“No, I don’t even know how to broach the subject. Like, hey, I am a samurai now, but not any samurai. I am the one that everybody keeps calling insane, and I plan to kill most of your family, so from some angles, that is an accurate statement.”

“I mean, I would not bring it like that for sure, but there must be a right way to say it. Maybe her bodyguard can help. You two are close, right?”

“I would not say we are that close; we just have some mutual respect for each other. But our relationship has been steadily improving. That reminds me, I need to talk with her about something.”

“Anything I should know about?”

“Maybe, apparently, Cierra OD’d at one point, kind of want to know why or how that even happened.”

“She has drug problems?”

“As far as I know, she does not. I have never seen her take any, at least. She is weak to alcohol. But that does not seem as bad.”

“Do you have any similar issues?”

“I don’t think so. The first encounter with drugs is my samurai stimulants, and I take those to do a job, not have fun.”

“You could have fooled me with the way you laugh while fighting. What about alcohol? How well do you hold up? Actually, what are you like when drunk? I like the idea of a drunk Maniac.”

“I can assure you that a lot of people don’t like that idea. Then again, I have never had alcohol, so I would not know.”

“Really, you were not allowed or something?”

“No, it was more that I felt under threat all the time, so I wanted to have all of my cognitive functions; that means no alcohol for me.”

“Well, maybe when you feel safer, we can do some drinking or something else. I guess it does not matter if you drink or not”, she lets out a yawn. “Okay, I am tired. Time to go to bed.” With that, she gets up, stops halfway, and gives me a kiss. It is a quick thing, just a slight grazing of our lips, and then it is over. She almost seems to sprint into the tent afterwards.

I just sit there for a bit, trying to process it all. I put a finger to my lips and just smiled.

Lyssa would like to schedule another appointment for a therapy meeting to discuss your relationships with others.

‘Really? now?’

Not now; Lyssa will put it on your calendar for a later day.

‘Right, well you do that. Have your fun, I am going to sleep.’

With that weird notion out of the way, I head into the tent as well. On the right side, Magenta is completely passed out, taking up most of that side of the tent. And to my great relief, the lights in her hair have been turned off. Claire has already bundled herself up in a sleeping bag, facing the left wall of the tent. Well, I guess I am sleeping in the middle, then.

I take off most of my clothes and throw them to the side; then, I get in the sleeping bag. I have little butterflies in my stomach. This is somehow really exciting; I am doing something new. I lay down on my back for a bit, observing the tent canvas above me, then realise there is no reason for me to be lonely while sharing a tent, so I scoot over and wrap an arm around Claire. I feel her heartbeat accelerate for a second and then relax. She leans in to me and that is how we fall asleep.

I wake up in my warm and cosy sleeping bag, which is awesome, like a warm hug, and that is on top of the warm hug I am already receiving. Cuddling is nice. I open my eyes to see a messy mop of purple-pink hair. And I am wide awake. I will bet anyone three sandwiches and a hyena pup that this was not the same girl I was hugging last night while trying to sleep. I slowly, very carefully, get out of the vice grip's grasp. I head out of the tent there; I find Bubbles trying to brew something over the campfire.

“Good morning.” I say, while I stretch out.

“Good mo……” she turns around and stops talking as soon as she sees me.

Well, that is flattering. I don’t think I ever made a girl speechless with my bed hair before. Improvements.

“Evelin, why are you only wearing underwear?” she says with a cute red flush on her face.

“Because I thought sleeping in the clothes I wore all day would be gross, so I took them off,” I say. Well, looking at the pot of whatever. Okay, whatever is wrong. It smells like chocolate, and I want some.

“But why did you not put any clothes on before walking out? What if someone saw you?” she said. Girl, my eyes are up here.

“Who is out here? There is only us and some plants, and those want a different kind of piece out of me. But I guess you are right; I should put something on. It is still kind of chilly, Lyssa. You got something?”

New Purchase: Comfy Clothes

Points reduced to... 9821

A white shirt appears with pink text: ‘I need therapy’ on it and a pair of jogging pants. Well, you know what, I quite like white T-shirts so you won’t hear me complain. I put the clothes on under the watchful eyes of Bubbles. At least, I like to say watchful; there was definitely an ulterior motive in those eyes. After getting dressed, I sit down beside her, and she gives me a cup of what, to my taste buds, is primarily sugar, but at least it is hot.

“So how was it to cuddle with Magenta?” she says with a smirk.

“It was nice, she was really soft, but you better have taken a picture.” I say.

“Why do you want a picture?” she asked, while removing some of the remnants of the liquid from her face.

“Well, I want to lord it over her head that she was hugging me in her sleep.”

Claire laughs, and sends me a file with a total of 26 pictures. ”Uhm, why do you have so many?”

“Well, you two were cute together, so I wanted to capture the moment. I am also using it as my home screen now.”

Well, I am not quite sure how to react to that one. But I guess it is fine. I lean into her some more and say: “We should probably finish our chat from last night.”

She looks at me, confused. “Did we not already finish that one?”

“Then what was the conclusion?” I ask her, while taking another sip

She blinks at me, then starts thinking, getting a little frown on her face. “That we like each other?” she says questioningly.

“Really, I don’t remember saying any such thing,” I say, while poking her brow.

“Wait, you don’t like me?” she says, concern in her voice.

“I did not say that. I do like you. What I was trying to say was that it is dangerous to make assumptions in a relationship. So asking things is important, proper dialogue and all that. And I do like you.”

She turns to me with a smile. “I like you too. And I guess you are right, so what should we still talk about?” she says, looking at me curiously. “I guess we should discuss what we want our relationship to be like.”

“That be a good start, yes. Setting boundaries is also a thing.” I say. “I think that I would prefer if we took it slow, go on a few dates first, and whatnot.”

“Okay, that is reasonable. Do you have any hang-ups?”

“Hmm, let me think. I don’t like men; sorry, my brain just rejects having any attraction for them. Other than that, I am not sure. Don’t be too possessive, but a little bit is fine. Fuck, that sounds vague, doesn’t it.”

“It kind of is. Guess you just have to tell me if I go too far. As for you not liking men, does that extend to trans girls?”

“I don’t see how trans girls are related to men.”

“Well, they used to be men. You might have a hangup about it.”

“I also don’t like children, but that does not mean I hate everyone because they used to be them. Who even cares what they used to be? If there's a girl, now is all that matters.” I say.

“Well, a surprising amount of people seem to care about it,” Claire says, with a surprising amount of spite.

“Well, in all honesty, I have not given it much thought, but as long as I like the person, I don’t think I care. What about you? What would you like our relationship to be like?” I ask.

“I want to call you my girlfriend.” She says, and then stops, “Is that not okay?”

I must have made the wrong face. “Uhm, no, I mean, when I am Maniac, I have no problem with it. When I am Evelin, I would like to limit the contact between me and other samurai so I don’t stand out even more.”

“Is that a forever thing or until you reveal your identity kind of thing?”

“Just until New Hope is gone or my identity gets revealed, whatever happens first.”

“Well, I don’t like it. I do have another request?”

“Right. What kind of request is that?” I say with some trepidation.

“Can I go out with Magenta as well?”