6. The Containment Crisis
Things are spiraling in Sasstopia, and the citizens are feeling it. This week in The Containment Crisis, let’s just say… the hustle is hitting hard. For the first time, the city’s anti-hustle safeguards are cracking under pressure. Anxiety is up, peace is down, and productivity mania has breached containment. From late-night reorganizing to street protests against rest (yes, really), this week’s storyline peels back the layers of how deeply hustle culture has infected the mindsets of even the most ease-committed citizens. If you’ve ever found yourself bragging about burnout or side-eyeing your own pillow, this one’s for you.
Diva JuJu from the Dare Divas Special Ops Team gives Mayor Tiggy an update that the HCT levels continue to rise.
Dare Divas Special Ops
Diva JuJu: Madam Mayor, we ran the numbers again. The HCT levels aren’t just rising — they’re breaching zones we’ve never seen compromised. The situation is rapidly getting worse. It seems like the chaos that hustle culture has wreaked in other parts of the world is really starting to impact Sasstopians. The hustle is starting to mutate and looking for new places to spread their toxicity.
Diva Udo: And at the speed it’s spreading? We’re talking full-on psychological infiltration. People are skipping breaks, skipping meals, bragging about burnout like it’s 2015. We have to get this under control.
Mayor Tiggy: I was afraid of this. The containment fields were never designed to handle this level of outside influence. We fortified Sasstopia against the toxicity that hustle culture brings, now we’ve become vulnerable.
Diva JuJu: That’s why we are here ma’am. The Dare Divas and special ops team have been training for a moment just like this. We always hoped that this day would never come, but we were always prepared. You know the saying, stay ready so you don’t have to get ready. We need to talk arsenal, strategy, and deployment. Time is not on our side.
Diva Udo: We just took inventory. We have grounding kits, calm bombs, mindset shields, rest-gas diffusers — we can deploy any of it on a moments notice. But once we do, there’s no going back.
Mayor Tiggy: Wait a minute. Are you saying what I think you’re saying? That the city might need… a rebellion?
Diva JuJu: At this rate? You’ll have to decide if Sasstopia officially wages war against the rising hustle culture toxins and works to eliminate the source of contamination.
Diva Udo: And Mayor? You don’t have much time. The longer we wait… the faster the hustle spreads. We certainly don’t want that because if we lose our people to the hustle, things will never be the same.
Mayor Tiggy: Then let’s start getting things prepared. I’ll make the call when the moment comes.
Marge answers a call from Soleil who is having hard time getting rest.
Mindset Division Overload
Marge: Welcome to Mindset Division, how can we protect your peace today?
Soleil: Oh my god! I just reorganized my entire apartment at 3 a.m. because I suddenly felt like my life wasn’t productive enough. Is this… normal?
Marge: No, sweetheart, things have been glitching in Sasstopia due to rising HCT levels. What you are experience? That’s the hustle taking over. You know, feeling like you have to be on all the time? Performing? The Mayor and Council of Calm have been issuing advisories. Take three deep breaths and unplug your right mind-screen. You can put me on hold.
Soleil: Like, I guess I can try that.
Lonnie: Hey Marge. Line six is ringing again. And seven. And nine. They’re all lit. I just started my shift an hour ago. What are we going to do?
Marge: I had a feeling this was going to happen after the press conference. We’ve been answering calls nonstop for hours.
Soleil: Ok, I’m back. Nothing has changed. I even tried to meditate but I felt guilty for taking time to center myself instead of grinding to get organized. WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME?
Lonnie: Calm down, Soleil. I can assure you. You are okay. You’re in Sasstopia where softness and ease are our default state. The hustle? It’s not normal or healthy. Your nervous system is reacting to external exposure to hustle culture toxins. Why don’t we do this. Look at a soft object. Preferably pastel.
Soleil: …Like my pillow?
Lonnie: Perfect. Stare at it. No. Scratch that. Lay down. Close your eyes and stay that way until you fall asleep. Don’t get caught up in the hustle. Put on some calming music and get rest. You can resist.
Marge: Oh great! Another triple-stack meltdown.
Lonnie: We’re gonna need backup to handle the intensity of the hustle.
Marge: At this point, my dear, we’re gonna need a miracle.
Lady Beatrix walks past protesters who are rallying against rest. She is so confused.
Citizens Protest “Enforced Ease”
Danita: STOP TELLING US TO REST! I HAVE A RIGHT TO GRIND IF I WANT TO! Sasstopia is feeding you with lies, y’all. There’s no such place for softness and ease.
Livia: Ease is oppression! Let me hustle in peace!
Beatrix: Umm…are y’all really outside protesting… calmness? You can’t be serious?
Danita: It’s about freedom! If I want to burn out, I should be able to! You are the enemy for promoting calmness and rest. That’s not realistic.
Beatrix: But what you are doing is? That sounds… unhealthy.
Livia: Don’t judge me! Stress is my love language! Just this morning, alone, I woke up at 4am to exercise. I also cleaned my apartment, washed my clothes and made breakfast before I started work at 7am. I had back-to-back meetings and now I’m here. Ready to grind even harder raising awareness about hustle and grind culture. Sleep when? What have you accomplished other than bullying us for working harder than everyone else?
Beatrix: Ma’am, you have been infected by rising HCT levels. They seem to have impacted your brain. You do realize that, right?
Danita: No naps! More apps! No naps! More apps!
Beatrix: Okay, so it seems like there’s nothing I can do to convince you that this is wrong?
Livia: They want to control us with rest! That’s what they want! We want more. More work, more grinding and more performing our productivity!
Beatrix: Look, nobody is trying to control you. We’re trying to keep you alive. Have you taken your self-care serum?
Danita: Lady! Go away!! Stop trying to control how I feel.
Beatrix: This is scary. These HCT levels are making people lose their ever-loving mind. Let me get home before I get infected.
Mayor Tiggy announces the start of the Peace Patrol to a crowd with mixed reviews.
Tiggy Speaks @ Clock It! Square
Mayor Tiggy: Citizens of Sasstopia — listen. I know you heard the news. Sasstopia is being impacted by rising HCT levels. The hustle has made its way to our sanctuary city. I know you’re scared. I know you’re feeling overwhelmed. But falling apart is exactly what the hustlers want.
Esperanza: People are arguing in the streets, Madam Mayor. Some haven’t rested in days.
Madame Mae: Sister! There were shouting matches outside the Wellness Ward. Folks are spiraling. What are we going to do?”
Mayor Tiggy: That’s why we’re forming something new today: The Peace and Presence Patrol.
Esperanza: A patrol? Are you trying to police our behavior? In Sasstopia?
Mayor Tiggy: Not to police, Esperanza— to support. To check on neighborhoods. To hand out grounding kits. To remind people that they’re not alone. We haven’t issued lockdown orders yet and there’s no need to mask up. Hustle culture toxins do not spread through human-to-human contact. It’s psychological.
Madame Mae: Do you think these grounding kits will work?
Mayor Tiggy: I don’t know. But we have to try calming measures before bringing out the heavy artillery. Ease is who we are. And panic is not going to let the hustle take over.
Esperanza: What if HCT levels rise to uncontrollable levels?
Mayor Tiggy: Then we’ll be ready to wage a rebellion. One that is based on killing hustle culture toxins with ease, calmness and the kind of truth bombs that they will never see coming.
What we’re witnessing in Sasstopia isn’t just storyline drama. It’s a mirror. The chaos creeping into the city? It’s the same chaos many of us have normalized. But as Mayor Tiggy and the Dare Divas gear up, one thing is clear: a rebellion is brewing, and it’s not going to look like what we’ve been taught. It’s going to be soft, intentional, and revolutionary. So if you’re feeling the pressure to “do more” or “be more,” maybe it’s time to ask yourself: What’s contaminating your ease? Stick around! The rebellion might just be what your nervous system ordered.
Download the Containment Check-in worksheet to help you explore mindsets that keep you moving forward. Curious about the story behind the story? Check out my latest Hustle Rewritten Substack, Year of Intelligent Rebellion, to plan your year of rebelling against toxic narratives, with ease and intelligence. Explore the world of Sassy | Chic | Geek, check out our content here on Substack, on YouTube for our Prelude to Intelligent Rebellion series and Pinterest. We occasionally post on IG , Facebook and Threads.