Austin knocks on the door of his dorm room, waiting for an answer of his roommates. It doesn’t take long for him to receive an answer from Luc, prompting the wolf to open the door and walk inside. On the top level of the bunk bed, his fennec roommate is reading through a pamphlet while Buck is strumming his guitar. The deer turns to Austin and welcomes him with a wave before returning to his instrument.
‘What’s up gang, how we doing?’, Austin asks.
Luc gets upright, his feetpaws dangling off the bed.
‘Have you seen this?’, the fennec asks.
‘What, your paws? Yes, plenty of times. Up close,’ the wolf responds with a mischievous grin.
Luc rolls his eyes.
‘No, dumbass. This.’
The fennec crumples up the pamphlet and tosses it at the wolf who catches it with his left handpaw. Austin stares at it for a second, then uncrumples it and scans through the document as he sits down in his own bunk.
‘It’s some sort of… invite for an exchange program?’ Austin asks
‘Yup! You should take a closer look at the details. I think you’ll like it. I’m also signing up myself, actually.’
Austin turns to Buck.
‘Are you coming?’
The deer shakes his head.
‘Nah, I can’t unfortunately. Midterms are coming up and I’ll be preoccupied I’m afraid.’
‘Shame,’ Luc replies from above Austin.
Meanwhile, Austin starts to read the details more closely.
‘Any college student currently enrolled at bla bla… artists, athletes, performers… to improve their self-image, feel more comfortable in collaborating and less afraid to be vulnerable… bla bla… reach your true inner potential by getting in touch with yourself… showing off…,’ the wolf mumbles.
‘This all sounds very vague and like standard corpo-babble to me,’ he says as he looks up at where Luc is sitting, only seeing the fennec’s paw pads dangling above him.
‘Yeah but, duh. It’s a corporate funded exchange program. Of course it won’t sound like it’s written by another student. But the premise sounds nice, doesn’t it?’ the fennec responds.
Austin looks down at the pamphlet once more. There’s a massive mansion displayed on the paper, with an even bigger demesne. A forest, a large garden with fountains, and what looks to be several garden sheds the size of regular houses. At the bottom of the page is a QR code with a link that reads “onboarding video and sign-up form.”
‘Have you checked out the video already, Luc?’ Austin asks.
‘Yup! Sure have.’
Austin tries to scan the QR-code, but his phone fails to read through the creases on the crumpled page.
‘Well, the link doesn’t work anymore now,’ Austin sighs.
‘There’s a pamphlet on the table as well,’ Buck says whilst plucking a string. ‘One for the both of us, actually. Every art student got one, supposedly.’
‘Ah.’
Austin turns around to grab his own flyer, not wondering why he as an athlete rather than an art student also got an invite, and hears the soft thump of Luc jumping off the bed behind him, their two tails brushing against each other. Only then does Austin notice that Luc is wearing nothing but his underwear.
‘Have fun with the onboarding and sign-up, I have something to take care of. See you all in a bit!’ Luc says, swinging open the dorm room door and heading towards the communal showers.
‘Are you heading out like that...?’ Austin asks, but Luc has already closed the door behind him and left.
The wolf turns to Buck, who shrugs.
‘He’s been acting weird since the flyer came in. I guess he’s just excited to go and even more excited that you’re willing to join him.’
‘I see.’
Austin throws himself onto the bed, scans his own—uncrumpled—flyer, and plugs in his earbuds as he opens the page, ready to watch the onboarding video and sign up for the event. As the page loads, he squints his eyes at the bright flash on his phone screen. A low buzz begins to play over his earphones, and then suddenly the screen begins to pulse and swirl as a spiral drags all of Austin’s focus inwards at the center of the screen.
Happy Hypnovember everybody! For 2026, I am writing a sequel to my story Exhibition Match, featuring the athletic Austin, theater kid Luc, and many many many cameos with my fans, friends and followers! --- Chapter 1: A mysterious pamphlet arrives at Austin's, Luc's and Buck's dorm room, containing an invite for an exchange program. Of course, the curious wolf simply has to check it out.
![[M4A] The Countdown Contest [Hypnosis][Fractionation]](https://sf.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/6206/6206402_Akkobold_countdown_contest_free_noncustom.jpg "[M4A] The Countdown Contest [Hypnosis][Fractionation]")
![Akko's Hypnovember 2026 Chapter 2 - Invitation [L]](https://sf.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/6218/6218363_Akkobold_chapter_2_-_invitation_l_.jpg "Akko's Hypnovember 2026 Chapter 2 - Invitation [L]")
