Gail Ouelett, AKA "The Anti-Hero"

“God fucking damnit… There’s always got to be something, doesn’t there?”

First, it was the announcement that her favorite camera operator had suddenly called in for a long-term vacation, leaving them scrambling for a replacement. Then, it was the studio lights malfunctioning - again - and making it almost impossible to keep production on track. And then, if that wasn’t enough, now the switcher board was acting up, which threw all of the preset audio levels out of whack, forcing what is now the fourth mic check in the past ten minutes. All just so the producer can really make sure everything is set properly, despite being unaware of what the 'proper' levels actually are for this studio.

“If they call for a fifth mic check, I swear, I’m going to break that fucking switcher board over the producer’s head…”

Standing off in the corner of the set, Gail aimlessly scrolls through her phone, her sharp brown eyes locked to the screen. Despite the stunning sapphire-colored sheath dress she clad herself in, Gail still felt completely overdressed for what it is she’s doing here. Another interview with some local schmuck who’s got a story to share. Another fluff piece they can throw in-between commercial breaks, or to use as filler for when something inevitably doesn’t make it on the air.

Of course, the people in charge of the station loved how she looked, given how much of her warm skin was being shown off to the camera. Her mother always compared it to some of the flowers she grew in her garden back home, but all that comparison ever did was remind Gail of how much she truly despised almost everything her job truly entailed. The way she has to objectify herself, forcing herself to be such a perfect little princess for the eyes of the cameras. The way she couldn’t just let go and handle her body the way she wants it to be handled. The way she has to bend to the whims of the people that are paying her, making sure not to offend them by covering up too much of herself. Or - God forbid - going out and getting a tattoo, like she’s wanted to for the past decade and a half. No, instead it was always ‘show more of your legs’. ‘Give the viewers at home a bit more up top’. ‘ Don’t be afraid to stick yourself out a little more’. As if she had anything to truly be sticking out in the first place. ‘Use your maturity to your advantage’. That was one of their favorites. A comment given to her, despite the fact she was nearly on the wrong side of thirty five, without the body or the livelihood to show for it, except for a couple of one-night stands, and those almost-nightly fantasies of hers. The ones about someone whisking her away from the crummy apartment she calls 'home' and giving her the excitement that these mind-numbing interviews could never afford her.

“Places, everyone! We’ll be going for another mic check shortly, just to be safe. Once that is all done, we should be good to go on the interview!” The assistant director calls out, snapping Gail out of her idle internet browsing and semi-lustful daydreaming.

Unfortunately for the assistant director, his calling of a fifth mic check is also enough to snap whatever patience Gail had left inside of her. Striding up to the assistant, Gail goes to give him a piece of her mind. A tirade is already brewing up inside of her brain, one that will make him wish she just punched him and stormed off. But before she can give him what’s for, a sudden wave of nausea washes over her. Stumbling, Gail collapses to the floor, one of her high heels snapping under the janky movement. Her fall draws all eyes towards her, leaving her scrambling to try and get up onto her feet. Soon, the other heel snaps, and she collapses once more. Her ears can't help but hone in on their comments. The one she perceives to be directed squarely at her.

Gail coils in on herself, trying not to draw any more attention than she has to. As the world closes in around her, Gail snaps her eyes shut, ignoring the assistant director’s audible call for help. The darkness creeps in further. Her bout of nausea intensifies. Reaching out for help, Gail opens her eye. The last thing she sees is the assistant director’s concerned gaze, as she vanishes completely, without a trace.

With the director looking to where Gail once was, he turns away, perplexed. How could they have been doing mic checks without a host?

“Great, another problem for me to fix… Does anyone here know where I can get an interview host on short notice?!”

“...To the current model interviewer of Chestnut TV, and fellow coworker of this season’s Master, Miss Gail Ouelett!”

Gail Ouelett's theme song

Following Serenity’s introduction, another round of applause rings out over the much punchier sounding theme that rings out through the arena. Soon after, the aforementioned coworker of Christian comes walking down the ramp. Compared to Penelope, she looks to be a lot more frantic in fighting against the compulsion propelling her forward, a visible look of frustration on her face as she fails to fight against the **** movements. Her heels also look to have been repaired during the transit, making her gait a lot more seductive, albeit accidentally.

Of course, being **** to walk in high heels doesn’t exactly make things any easier on her, but she still manages to make it up the steel steps and through the middle and bottom rope, her compulsion at least being kind enough to not **** her to step over the middle rope in that sapphire dress of hers.

“Miss Ouelett! Welcome to Harem Hotel! My name is Serenity, your host for this season, and I just wanted to-”

Before Serenity is even able to finish that sentence, Gail is already marching up to her, and then past her, as she strides towards Christian. This blatant dismissal causes the host to trail off, pouting in annoyance.

“Christian?! What the HELL are you doing here?!” Gail snaps. “I thought you were on some sort of vacation!”

Before a response can be given, Gail pivots towards Serenity, now marking her the target of her ire.

“Better yet, what the hell am I doing here? I have an interview I’m supposed to be hosting in less than thirty minutes! And, while it’s nice to see that my coworker is all fine and dandy out in some fancy resort in the middle of bumfuck nowhere, that doesn’t mean I can afford to stay here and help babysit him! You already have yourself and the other bimbo here, what the hell do you need me for?!” By the time Gail's finished, she is red-faced, huffing for breath. Penelope glances towards Gail, offended by the potshot thrown her way, but isn't allowed to say anything in return.

“...You finished?” Serenity asks.

“Answer my fucking question!” Gail retorts. “And then tell me how I can get back to my job!”

Serenity takes a deep breath, and suddenly, a chair appears underneath Gail, in which she’s compelled to sit down in.

“Okay, first off? Thank you. Thanks for showing some appreciation for all the work I put into crafting this place. I mean, really! It’s nice to know that some people can appreciate the architecture around them.” Serenity shoots a dirty look to both Penelope and Christian. The blonde remains fuming over the prior comment, whilst Christian looks away, appearing meek and caught off-guard. “Second off, if you’ll let me speak for a moment, I’ll be happy to answer any and all questions you have for me, okay?”

Before Gail can launch into another verbal storm, Serenity crouches down, placing a hand upon her thigh. Immediately, all of her rage and tension slips away, as an overbearing sense of calmness radiates throughout her system, flushing away any anger pent up inside of her.

“O-Oh… F-Fine, I guess. Just… Just go, already.” Gail says, struggling to speak through both gritted teeth and the overbearing sense of calmness infused into her.

“Alright! Now then, as for your questions, I think I can answer them all within one single answer.” Serenity smiles. “This is Harem Hotel, a reality show where you and seven other women, including the 'bimbo' sitting next to you, will compete for not just the love and affection of your new Master, but also for a roster spot in the newly founded Harem Hotel Wrestling! As for your job, there’s no need for you to worry - everyone at your current place of employment has been informed of your departure, and will not be able to hold it against you, no matter how long you’re gone for. And believe me, you do not want to be leaving here any time soon. After all, I’m sure that Penelope here can tell you all about what happens to those that are eliminated here on Harem Hotel.”

Penelope rapidly shakes her head ‘no’, her face turning pale. Gail slowly nods, absorbing the information as best she possibly can. Once Serenity pulls her hand away from Gail’s leg, the interviewer feels her emotional state reset back to neutral. Rather than it boiling over, Gail lets her temper simmer, as the given information lodges itself in her head permanently. She glances over at Christian, not with pure anger, but rather a mix of that and intrigue.

“So… We’re supposed to please you?” Gail asks, still wary, but with a slight smirk on her face. “And as long as we do that, we get to stay here?”

“Yep!” Serenity pipes in. “Every prospective roster member here gets an all expenses paid stay here at The Palace at Harem Hotel, no strings attached!”

Of course, Christian doesn't buy a word of what Serenity is saying, once she tacks on the ‘no strings attached’ at the end of her explanation. Him having a vague understanding of what the host seems to be capable of does make it easier for him not to trust her, after all. However, it seems to be more than enough of an explanation for Gail, who nods her head in response.

“Alright, cool. And uh, as for the uh, dress code?” She asks, gesturing down to her dress. “I don’t have to be all like, dolled up for the camera or anything, do I?”

“Nope!” Serenity shakes her head. “Here at Harem Hotel, you can dress however you want. In fact, if you wanted to go around naked 24/7, we’d be more than happy to allow it! After all, it’s not just about what the cameras want, it’s what the Master wants as well! And with a body like yours-”

“Woah, woah, woah, hold your horses there, host girl.” Gail cuts her off, keeping her eyes away from Christian and on the host. “I’m not here to be objectified or to dress up like some bleach blonde bottle-dyed Barbie doll slut, okay?”

Penelope narrows her eyes at Gail upon hearing this, but opts to say nothing about it, much to Serenity’s disappointment.

“If you’re here, offering an all expenses paid resort vacation, and all I have to do is keep this schmuck happy?” Without looking towards him, Gail points her thumb at Christian, smirking in the process. “Then count me in, host girl. I’ll gladly live it up in the lap of luxury, if that's all it takes. Bring on the champagne, caviar, and as many boxes of condoms as the so-called 'Master' could ever want or need!”

With Gail's rather abrupt change in perception, Christian's jaw is left slightly agape. He can't help but stare at Gail, who relaxes in her seat, already savoring the thought of being pampered... Amongst other things, of course. "Seems like those fantasies are finally coming true~..."

“That’s great to hear, Gail! But… You’re seeming to forget an important part of the equation.” Serenity giggles, leaving Gail perplexed.

“Huh? What are you talking about? I get the free vacay to for fucking my coworker. What more am I missing?”

“No, you get the ‘vacation’ for pleasing the Master. And that doesn’t just mean having sex - although, I'm happy you're so accepting of it. That also means vying for your roster slot within this newfound company.”

“...What do you mean 'my roster slot'?” Gail’s face scrunches up. “And-, wait, newfound company? I thought you said this was a reality show?”

“Indeed it is!” Serenity replies, pinching Gail’s cheek, before she steps away from the resulting flail of Gail's arms trying to get out of the host's grab. “But this season, things are being done a little bit differently. You’re not just here to win the Master’s favor, you’re here to win some championships! This is Harem Hotel Wrestling, after all!”

Once more, Gail’s expression becomes indiscernible. Slowly but surely, she turns towards Christian, eyeing him up almost suspiciously.

“Wait, Christian... Is this anything like that weird shit you told me about a couple years back? I thought you said you hated that fake stuff? Or, at least, that you stopped watching it.”

A few moments pass after Gail asks that question, until Serenity starts laughing. The sound of it only further confuses Gail. As the host's laughter continues, that confusion turns to a sense of alarm. She turns towards the host, seemingly in a slight sense of panic.

“W-What? What is it? What did I say?! I don’t get it, what did I say?!” Gail asks, only for Serenity to continue laughing.

Finally, almost a full minute after the laughter started, Serenity manages to calm herself down, and throws an arm over Gail’s shoulder, who continues to panic internally.

“Oh, you are going to be a joy to have here, Gail.” Serenity says, wiping a tear from her eye. “But, as a friendly word of advice? Watch out for that f-word around here, okay? You might be a touch unaware, and that’s fine! Buuut, some of our viewers at home really don’t like it when people like you call pro wrestling fake, okay?”

Pulling away from Gail, Serenity heads towards Christian, placing herself down upon his lap. She turns her face towards the camera, giving a semi-serious look straight into the lens.

“In fact, to most people, wrestling is as real as it gets! It’s still real to them, damnit! And nothing exemplifies that better than the ****-defying car crash that is colloquially known as deathmatch wrestling!” Serenity cheers, motioning for the camera to get a good close-up, which it obliges her on. “Now, some people might think that deathmatches, and most hardcore styles of wrestling are nothing more than some ‘outlaw mud show bullshit’ reserved for only the sickest and most depraved fans out there in the world. But we are here to put some respect onto the name of hardcore wrestling, and that starts with our next contestant here! She might not be the living legend like some of her hardcore icons, but she is one sick, deranged individual, and is willing to put her life on the line each and every night, just for the thrill of it all, and the adulation of the fans!”

Still planted on Christian’s lap, Serenity turns her attention towards the entrance ramp.

“Please, would you all kindly give a warm and welcoming ovation to the person who will be playing the role of ‘The Hardcore’...”