Binging TV with a Slime Girl

"Why is this guy so fucking mopey?" Felix asked, frustrated. "He's a damn tech millionaire and judging by all the women who showed up during the introductory episode, he also had way more success on that front than any of us had before the start of our season."

They had just gotten through the first challenge of the HH, and because of a time compression option, had managed to do so in the time between breakfast and lunch despite the actual show being far longer. And during that time, the main emotion they had while watching was jealousy. Noah was jealous of a harem where the master was able to get his shit together and help everyone, along with one where the contestants had all this information right off the bat, instead of not getting access to anything until they were in the third round other than a frustratingly brief rules explanation. As for Felix... the slime girl got to hear his complaints all the way to lunch, and as much as Noah was frustrated by it, the guy had a point.

"He can command anyone," Felix strained to not yell. "I meanwhile get **** without penalty if my body enjoys it and only get to wear pants if my harem approves of it. I don't see how anyone with that set of transformations can be called master with a straight face."

"He does have to be careful with wording you know," Noah replied as they entered the mess hall. "I know it's not quite the same but..."

To his credit, Felix managed to avoid interrupting the slime girl before he said. "That's not a big price to pay compared to mine. I know you want me to take initiative more, but it's pretty hard to do that when contestants have a **** out of jail free card."

Felix look set to continue, but then he remembered something. "Ah crap, got to go exercise. I'll be back!"

After quickly devouring a slice of pizza, Felix ran from the room to get a workout in before potential negative consequences. It left the slime girl with a lot of thoughts inspired by the season she had seen. Was Felix correct about his obstacles? Perhaps, but... Hailey was a complication there. As if summoned by Noah's internal thoughts, Hailey strode into the room, and had an oddly distinctive smell.

"Oh hey, I've been experimenting a bit with my transformation in the gun range," Hailey said. "What have you guys been up to?"

"I remembered something the demon told me, and discovered a library," Noah said. "In that library was a TV that had a bunch of older Harem Hotel seasons. We watched one called the HH that made us both a bit jealous."

"Jealous?" Hailey asked. "Was it they had a nicer host who didn't kidnap people for bullshit reasons?"

"There was that, in so far as anybody can be kidnapped for non-bullshit reasons given the situation we're in," Noah said. "Also a lot of other stuff."

Noah then launched into an explanation of everything that had happened on what they had seen of Harem Hotel: The HH. How Andy got taken to an island, how he got to have his best friend with him the whole time, the broader harem of women that often actually liked Andy, and how for the few who disliked him, they didn't actively ruin his life the way so many around Felix had. But the slime girl also went into how Andy, despite clearly grieving something, was able to hit the ground running, and had saved everyone from elimination in their first round. It was the last point which caused Hailey to stop eating fish and chips to interject.

"Andy didn't have Austin White."

The statement needed no elaboration, or qualifications. That it was said by the person who was almost eliminated by Felix's inaction sealed the deal. Having to deal with the whiny, petulant, narcissistic behavior of a man who had molested his own mother... everything was different from that. It didn't matter that Austin White was in the body of a bimbo secretary, because there was no level of sex appeal that could make up for the kind of grating presence Austin was.

"You're right," Noah said. "I wish you hadn't ever gotten so close to elimination, but you make a strong case for why Felix couldn't save you."

"The only person responsible for my situation is the demon," Hailey said. "Not Felix, not you, and not even the audience, just the demon. She chose to kidnap me to make Felix feel guilty, and you are playing into that by thinking Felix should've somehow overcome the terror of being in a bunker where the only people around him are those that hurt him, or at best, ignored him. He may not be flawless, but I cannot in good faith blame him for something he had almost no power over."

"I know, it's just..." Noah trailed off as she gathered herself. "Do you think if he had tried doing more with you, you would've been okay with it?"

Hailey had a bitter chuckle hearing that. "Why would he do so? Do you think being surrounded by people you despise is going to put you in the mood for sex? Or being terrified out of your mind because a demon that warps time, space, our bodies, and fuck knows what else has controls your life? No, I needed to assert myself in that situation, because I don't think he had any spoons left to do so himself."

She paused, drinking a bit of soda. "Besides, this Andy guy you're going on about... he's a tech millionaire. Fuck, he had his therapist with him on the island, from what you just talked about. The closest thing Felix had to that was a girl that made him question his own sanity by just existing."

That initially made Noah confused... but then she remembered. Cammy, for awhile, was a creation of the demon, and her memories weren't even true ones until she had taken Felix's virginity. The realization that a fundamental part of Felix's life didn't even exist until about two weeks ago or less, depending on how one counted, left the slime with a brutal realization.

"Alright, I think Felix is going to be busy exercising for a bit," Noah said. "The library had this thing where time slowed down while you watched TV. Up for it?"

Cammy was working out when Felix ran into the room, and started jogging. "Surprised it took you this long?"

"Noah discovered a library with a TV, and we've been watching other Harem Hotel seasons," Felix said. "It's been... frustrating."

She was curious hearing that, but Cammy chose not to press until Felix was well into doing weights. Her patience was rewarded when he said, "This another season has a master called Andy. He's a newly minted tech millionaire because of the sale of his app, and... well, lets just say he had a much better time than I did in his first round."

The explanation Felix launched into made Cammy want to watch the show, as she suspected he was too angry, and jealous, to catch all the details that could clash with his view of things. But even so, she could understand his frustration. Until she showed up, the closest thing he had to people on his side were a nerd that threw him under the bus, and a girl who mostly just ignored him. Cameron had betrayed him, although the full details of that were something she had mercifully forgotten, and everyone else had either made his school life a living hell, or molested his mother. Combined with how terrifying having Vizrokoth as a host was, it made sense that he was in no position to be fair to a master from another season.

"Felix, do you remember all that fanmail we got?" Cammy asked. "Do you think we could see that season?"

Felix stopped working out hearing that, and paused. "Yeah, the host even left me a note on what it was called. We can watch it after I wrap up."

"Good, I've got something to do, but I'll see you in the library." Cammy said while exiting the gym. This conversation had given her one lesson: Felix needed a vacation, and specifically, in a place that wasn't the damn bunker.

Running over to the kiosks, she went to the one covering miscellaneous stuff. There was something Cammy had seen that could fit perfectly with what she needed, but had been far too expensive when she had first seen it.

• Vacation from the Bunker: Do you want to give the master a special time? Do you want an excuse to get out of the bunker the season is named after? With the help of generous time manipulation, you can buy a vacation that lasts for one hour in the bunker, but an entire day outside of the bunker. Do please note that this vacation can only happen in other Harem Hotel seasons, and will require permission from the host and potentially producer of said season. (5000 BP)

That would be perfect for her purposes. Cammy paid for it without a second glance.

Purchased Vacation from the Bunker
-5000 BP

"Excellent choice dear," Vizrokoth announced behind Cammy. "Just tell me what day you want it on, and details about the kind of vacation you want. I'll sort out the details by finding an appropriate host, as I realize you haven't seen a bunch of other seasons."

The demon's surprise appearances could be scary, but they at least she was being helpful. Cammy replied with, "Get me and Felix out of this damn bunker. I want some actual sun, and plants that don't need grow lights to live. Also preferably no concrete, or at least none that's visible everywhere. Lets try Sunday, as I assume even with your power you need some time to set it all up."

"I can certainly do that," Vizrokoth said. "I'll get back to you on the details tomorrow. I assume you want to be a surprise for Felix?"

"Of course, but a pleasant one," Cammy said. "Lets try not to scare him when he's going on vacation."

"That's certainly doable," Vizrokoth said. "Alright, I'll let you go. I suspect you'll get a lot out of the other Harem Hotel seasons..."

Felix finished his workout, and went back to the library after a quick shower in the master suite. Upon coming back, he saw Hailey, Cammy, and Noah watching TV. The time compression was even more powerful, because they were already wrapping up the first challenge, even though they somehow did it in even less time than Noah and Felix had, assuming he had his math right. That, he glumly thought, was admittedly unlikely given his struggles with the topic.

"Hey guys, how did you find it?" Felix asked while walking over to the couch. "How does Andy come off?"

"He's a sad boy despite having millions of dollars," Hailey said in a mocking tone. "Hotter than I thought he'd be though, I'm not surprised he has so many ex-girlfriends they could put in a harem."

"I mean, sounds like this Laura person was pretty important, lets not be too harsh," Cammy said. "Besides, I think we don't all know all the details yet."

"I'm sure we don't, but I've seen enough to know he had a bit more of a glide path to success than I did," Felix said while taking his place on the couch, and grabbing the remote. "Alright, I promised Cammy to show her the season full of people we got all that fanmail from, lets give it a shot."

What followed replaced Felix's jealousy with downright horror. He knew from the letter that the master got altered against her will, but knowing that and seeing it were two very different things. The contestants all being lesbians, and the utter horseshit of forcing them into a relationship with an initially male master just compounded the cruelty of what happened to Francis. The contestants had to, whether they wanted to or not, participate in tormenting their master through layering on transformations, while the master had to constantly participate in tormenting women who didn't want to fuck men in the first place by their very position. And this whole fucked up structure was created by a host named Beckie Peterson.

The host wasn't just cruel, but also incompetent, the kind of infuriating combination that everyone watching was far too familiar with. After all, that combination of traits almost perfectly described Austin White, and shades of that cruel incompetence were something they had all run up against, as such powerful idiots were littered all over the place in the most definitive evidence that, even before Harem Hotel, they did not live in a just world, or a meritocracy. However, seeing that kind of person as a Harem Hotel host made it much, much worse, what with her trying to prove a theory in a way that made her incompetence become just more cruelty from the power she over everyone on the show. Felix didn't even understand why there were so many mermaids as staff, given how in his experience they could just use magic and technology to avoid such things, especially given the problems it caused to everyone involved.

"Well that's fucked up," Noah said while turning off the TV after the show's first round challenge wrapped up. "Wait, how did any of these people get to the point where they could write us Harem Hotel letters later?"

"I don't know but I got a letter from Tyalangan, who used to go by Francis," Felix said. "In a really fucked up way, the theory sort of got borne out because the master did get transformed enough to fit the needs of their contestants. Eventually. Also seem to become a really powerful monarch, but don't ask me how that happened."

"I never thought I'd say this but I'm happy my sexual orientation got changed," Noah said. "I haven't fully thought it through but if the choice is either being stuck in a harem with someone I'm not attracted to, or having my options... expanded lets say, I'm starting to think the latter ain't so bad."

"What about Sam?" Cammy asked, incredulous. "She was just fine, at least so far, and Arabella doesn't come off as the type to just destroy her-"

"Yet," Noah interrupted, "she hasn't done anything yet. For all we know the next challenge Sam gets turned into an incredibly erotic coffee mug because she, I don't know, angered the audience or something. Besides, Sam is on a season full of women willing to fuck the master, whereas we..."

Noah trailed off but the implication was clear. The vast majority of their cast used to be male, and of equal importance, not attracted to men. Vizrokoth had steadily altered that, initially by swapping everyone's sex, and then by steadily turning everyone bisexual or pansexual. There was an exception in Hailey, but otherwise, the implicit question remained: Was it better to just alter everyone's sexuality, so that they wouldn't have any problem with having a male master, or to brutally modify the master until they were suitable for the harem's sexual preferences? Both were terrible answers, and yet, this was the kind off moral dilemma they suddenly pondered from the show they had just watched the first round of.

"Lets... watch something else," Hailey said, perhaps wanting to draw attention from herself. "Surely there's a season more fun than that on offer?"

"Well, we've got either Haunted Castle if you want incestuous lesbians or Bros to Hoes if you want take another shot at male to female," Felix said. "I just realized both of these options kind of suck given what we just watched but..."

"Bros to Hoes," Noah said, suddenly coldly, as took the remote and changed it to the season in question. "I need to see another attempt at that, as apparently the season guide says it's a fun, lighthearted, sexy season. Besides, lesbians in Harem Hotel seem to have a pretty shitty time. Even Sam constantly joked about being turned into a dog, and maybe she learned something from Claire we didn't see on screen."

Cammy just left, clearly deciding she needed to decompress from everything she just watched. However, in a bit of irony, the next season proved to be far less terrible...

Hailey hadn't expected to get into a season with men turning into women, given she was a part of one. The only reason she hadn't stormed off with Cammy was that, other than using guns at the gun range or exercising somehow, she didn't have anything else to do. Heck, she was straight, to the point that it wasn't like she could fuck other women on the show while bored, and even if she was open to that, seeing so many people get tormented by an incompetent asshole of a host kind of killed the mood.

Despite, or maybe because of what watched before hand, Bros to Hoes was great. She knew that the contestants probably had their minds messed with to make them accept it more, and that she should be bothered by the fundamental altering of these people were. But... Hailey just couldn't be skeptical or cynical towards it. The host was too kind, and soft, while everyone else seemed at most mildly irritated to be there, and... fuck, she was crying over it! She was like every teenage girl who got too obsessed with some trashy reality dating TV show, why she was fucking crying over Harem Hotel?

"Hey guys, wait, WHAT?!" Hailey's initial heartfelt question turned to anger as she saw Felix cumming into Noah's gooey hand.

Jerked Off Master = 5 VP

"What?" Noah asked. "Oh come on, you talk about inappropriate sex stuff with me at every opportunity, I think it's completely fine for me to jack off Felix while we watch what's basically a porn show."

"But... it's more than just... porn..." Hailey mumbled realizing how ridiculous it sounded.

"Yeah, it's something that twists people's minds and bodies for the amusement of an audience they can't see, us very much included," Noah said. "You do remember we're on our own season, right?"

"Well, yeah, but this is... different..." Hailey continued to mumble.

"It is different," The voice of Paisley said behind them. "You're seeing one of the seasons that helped cause yours to exist."

The group turned around to see someone they really hadn't expected to see, and that Hailey realized Noah hadn't had much interaction with. They all looked like they were kids caught doing something naughty, but the host just smiled instead.

"Don't worry, I'm not mad at any of you," Paisley walked closer to them. "I'm just here to tell you that what Hailey here has experienced is what an amazing host, like the one of Bros to Hoes, can do. Anyone can just break a contestant's mind, body, and even soul depending on how you look at it, but...

Paisley let the words hang in the air to build anticipation. "...It takes something else altogether for a host to make the audience to forget that. A good host makes Harem Hotel entertaining, and very hot. Not just for straight men either, as Hailey, I can show you some seasons aimed at those into male flesh if you want."

The look Paisley gave Hailey made her blush deeper than she ever had before. It reminded her of when on the very first day, she had to reveal, implicitly, the kind of guys she was into on a sexual level. Being reminded of that Harem Hotel's staff were very aware of her sexual preferences, and were very interested in accommodating them, was a mixture of embarrassing and horrifying that she didn't know how to deal with.

"A great host makes the audience forget, entirely, the cruelty of what we're doing here," Paisley continued, satisfied with how she had made Hailey squirm. "Or, in some cases, a host will make the audience think that cruelty is justified, which seems to be the approach your demonic host wants to take. Whether she succeeds... well, I can tell you she was more successful than the predecessor to this show was."

And just like that, all the cruelty of what Harem Hotel was came crashing back into Hailey's mind. Looking over the couch, she could tell it had the same effect on Felix and Noah. They may have been turned on by what they saw, but they were just reminded of how they were being manipulated. Just like whoever was watching them was being manipulated, although for what purpose?

"Why are you telling us this?" Noah asked. "Seems like you just revealed how we're being manipulated."

"Just because a magician tells you how they do a trick doesn't make it any worse as a trick," Paisley said. "Besides, the reactions you had were very real. And I want to assure that even if it is a manipulation, we care a lot about it. There is not an ounce of cynicism in that host you saw, she genuinely loves what she does. To be honest, you don't make it as a host unless you love what you do."

"Why do all of this?" Felix asked. "You have all this power, why use it to make this? Do you gain something from people watching?"

"In case you're wondering, no we don't suck out your soul," Paisley said while smiling. "We want to keep people watching... forever, and they can't do that if we take their souls or something. Not just watch, we want them to debate in internet forums and across social media. We definitely want them to masturbate to it, and fantasize about being the master, or the contestant, depending on the season. All of those are things that are sustainable, whereas taking someone's soul is not sustainable. Ask the demon about it, she knows a bit about that sort of thing."

Before they could even react, Paisley teleported away. Realizing it was time for dinner, and feeling awkward about what just happened, they went to the Mess Hall...

Felix, seeing his girlfriend in the mess hall, chose to have a relatively healthy meat sandwich for dinner, while Hailey and Noah gorged on fried chicken. Every emotion they had from watching Harem Hotel left them in a confused state. He knew he wanted to watch more, just to find out what happened to others, but was he just telling himself to that so he could continue watching without guilt?

"Well, we do have a date tonight," Noah said. "And despite how fucked up what Paisley just told us what... I'm still horny."

"What did you guys see?" Cammy asked. "Was it even more screwed up than that Sapphic season?"

"No, quite the opposite," Hailey said, wiping tears from her face between bites of fried chicken. "It was the most soft, dare I say romantic shit I've ever seen, but... Paisley had to kind of ruin things by reminding everyone of whose pulling the strings."

"I mean... it's not all bad," Cammy said awkwardly. "You got to be a badass chick with guns, right?"

"Not worth the price I paid for it," Hailey said. "But sure, I guess it's kind of nice."

Hailey then wrapped up her dinner, took one last drink, and then fled from the room. Whether it was to cry, or try to binge the show when she thought nobody was watching, if not both, Felix didn't know, but he was certain it was going to be one of those two. Meanwhile, he was stuck with the realization that Cammy kind of had to defend the show because her whole existence arose from it. That only further complicated the stew of emotions he had from what they had just experienced.

"I lost my cowardice," Noah said. "I'm scared of what could happen to others, and heck, to our world given Kei Winters is fucking it up with magic but I... I can't hate it."

"You got turned into a pile of slime Noah, how do you-"

"Because I'm not a coward anymore," Noah said while drinking some water. "And I don't hurt people around me because I'm too scared anymore. Look, there's a lot I miss, and I do hope at the end of this I can see my family again but... I'm not pathetic anymore. I just wish it didn't come at the cost of what almost happened to Hailey."

"I... I hope that's really you, and you found happiness, rather than being brainwashed," Felix said. "I really do want someone to get something good out of this, it's just..."

"You feel guilty when you're happy about something coming out of this?" Cammy asked while putting her arms around Felix from behind. "Think of it this way: Even something horrible can do good things. And you should hold onto those things, even when it's hard on you."

She then kissed Felix on the back of the neck, and left the mess hall. After he finished his sandwich, he turned to Noah, and said, "Okay, lets get back to the master suite. We can do whatever you want Noah."

"Oh, there's a lot I want do," Noah said while taking his hand and leading him back to the master suite. "I have a new body to test out after all, and some delightful aphrodisiac effects as well. Maybe watching something that made you feel internally conflicted about all of this is could be a good test for it..."