Initial Transformations: A New Path Forward

The screen hovering in the sky shifted, revealing their faces once more. And beside each of their faces were words that had been blacked out.

“Here’s where I explain how this is going to work,” Sylvia began. “Each of you will be presented with three different potential transformations. Each of those transformations represents a path. Think of it as an archetype or trope that you will embody during your time here in furtherance of your position in the harem. You will then accrue different transformations along those paths with each challenge you complete.”

“I-I don’t want to change!” Mary winced, wrapping her arms around herself.

“Well, then you’d better win a lot of competitions,” Sylvia informed her. “Because only the winner of each round is exempt from being transformed.”

Everyone gasped.

“Yeah, I thought that would get your attention,” she smirked. “To some of you, the chance of remaining yourself- well, more like your old self, at any rate- could be an even greater motivation than that wish. And remember! Even if you DO win the wish… it won’t undo the transformations you’ve been inflicted with. Those will be with you forever. So with that being said… let’s take a look at our first choice! Gina, here are your transformations!”

Gina:

Clean and Sober: Gina will no longer be affected with the negative effects of drugs or alcohol. She will still experience the mental highs associated with taking them, but the effects on her body will disappear. (This will not have an effect on her existing addictions to those substances) This will apply retroactively and turn her body to a state she should have been in should she have had this ability her entire life. (Party Animal)

Mrs. Right: Gina will become what her parents always wanted to be, their sweet little good girl! All her rebellious punk clothes and accessories will disappear, being replaced with pretty dresses! As a bonus, she’ll return to her natural blonde color as well. (Good Girl)

You Like That, Don’t You Bitch?: Gina’s always been a fan of a little abuse when it comes to sex, but that was driven by her own self-loathing more than any real excitement from it. Now she’ll get the chance to feel what it’s like to adore being treated like trash, and will get sexual pleasure from being belittled or mocked. (Submissive)

https://strawpoll.com/polls/1MnwORBQAn7

Gina raised her eyebrow. “These seem kinda… what’s the word? Contree-dickory?”

“Contradictory,” Dawn corrected her. “I agree. ‘Party Animal’ and ‘Good Girl’ make zero sense together.”

Sylvia smirked. “Exactly. Perhaps the producers want to see a sweet little thing like you straddle the line between being a good girl again, or slip back into being the massive skank you’ve always been. Well? What do you think, Gina? Which of these choices would you like for yourself?”

“Well-"

“Oh, but before you answer,” she turned to Nick, “master, I want you to cast your own vote, for which one YOU would like to see her as."

“Me?” Nick asked, confused. “Why?”

“Well, this is YOUR harem, after all, so you should get some say in this,” she shrugged. “It may not affect the audience’s decision, but as the harem master it’s always good to make your preferences clear.”

Nick glared at her. “You’re not going to make me be a part of your little game.” She was just trying to get him involved somehow to wear down his resistance and get him thinking about what they might turn into. It was obvious she was trying to make him sleep with these girls, and he wasn’t about to go along with her scheme.

“I want the top one,” Gina blurted out. “Clean and Sober.” She began to shake. “My body feels… it’s so cold, I just… I want that one.”

“You just want to defile yourself and not have to think about the consequences!” Mary snapped.

Gina flipped her off and the redhead nearly fainted.

“And which one do you NOT want, for the record?” Sylvia asked.

“The middle one. No thanks. I just KNOW those dresses will be pink,” Gina said, making a face.

“I see. And master, if you would-"

“Not a chance!” Nick snapped.

Sylvia shrugged. “Maybe next round, then. On to our second girl, Dawn! Let’s see what choices you have!”

Dawn:

Twisted Back Around: Dawn was once a star gymnast before she got too old and inflexible. Now she will be again! While her body will remain 27, she’ll regain the flexibility of her youth, and be able to show off all the feats of dexterity she mastered, now for the sake of her master. (Gymnast)

Yes, It’s THAT Anime You’re Thinking Of, Don’t Ask: Dawn has always been a fan of animals, and cats are her absolute favorite! But now she’ll get the chance to be much closer to cats than she ever thought she could be- because she’ll grow cute little cat ears, and an eager little tail to match! Make sure to give her lots of petting. (Animal Lover)

Silver's For Suckers!: Dawn hates to lose. From now on, whatever the competition, whether an official challenge or an impromptu contest of any sort, Dawn will absolutely HAVE to do her best to try and win. (Competitive)

https://strawpoll.com/polls/2ayLk1NaWZ4

Dawn was surprised. Compared to Gina’s, her transformations didn’t seem that bad. But then, even one of Gina’s transformations was sort of a benefit, if you looked at it a certain way. That was true of Dawn’s first option as well. She would absolutely love to have her body be able to bend how it used to, even if the show's reason disgusted her.

“So? Which one would you like to get?” Sylvia asked.

“Th-The first one,” Dawn said, feeling a little embarrassed that part of her was actually looking forward to one of these transformations.

“I see, and which one do you not want?”

“The last one, no thank you. I’m competitive enough as it is, but if I turned everything into a competition, then…”

She shivered. It might give her the motivational boost to win, but she was still reminded of her ridiculous display back at the beginning of the game, where she’d tried to one-up Gina like a petulant child. Would she be like that all the time if she had that transformation?

It was a terrifying thought.

“Hey, uh…” Carly raised her hand, a lopsided smile on her face. “If she doesn’t want that middle one about the cat ears… could that be mind? I’d be able to do some amazing photoshoots with a transformation like that.

“You can wait your turn,” Sylvia said. “We’ve got Dani here to get to first! Let’s take a look at our little tomboy!”

Dani:

Amazon: Dani will no longer need to work out to maintain her muscular physique. Not only that, she’ll receive a six inch boost in her height that brings her up to 6’6”, towering over the other competitors. (Tomboy)

Soft as Silk: Dani’s always been a tough tomboy, but what if she went a different route? Instead, her muscle will give way to soft supple skin and her hair will grow out, turning her into the perfect little lipstick lesbian. (Girly Girl)

Mirror, Mirror: Dani’s never been good at expressing herself in person. Now, she’ll never need to again! However she feels about another person, whether that’s friendship, affection, lust, love, or disgust, the other person will feel exactly the same way about her whenever she’s within 10 feet of them! NOTE: This applies to the master as well, choosing this transformation may result in the master losing all sexual interest in Dani for as long as she remains strictly ladies only. (Lesbian)

https://strawpoll.com/polls/ajnEOepQoZW

“Y-You… you would have us… develop feelings for each other?” Mary trembled, looking like she was on her last legs.

Dani's eye twitched. It wasn’t the first time she’d received scorn for her sexuality, but she wasn’t about to take that now. “I like women! So what, are you going to call me a sinner, too?”

Mary flinched, staring wide-eyed at the girl. Once upon a time, she might have. And she knew her parents would do so without a second thought. But things weren’t that simple for Mary. She’d gone to a liberal arts college. And yes, there were lesbians there. And they’d been perfectly sweet with her. None of them were the sexual predators her parents had warned them they would be.

“N-No, I don’t… I don’t have a problem with it,” Mary mumbled. “The Bible says ‘love each other as I have loved you’, I would never… hate someone for something like that.”

“...Oh.” Dani's expression softened. “I-I’m sorry. It’s just, well, most religious types I’ve met, they’re kinda… not so understanding, you know?”

“It’s fine,” Mary said, smiling shyly. “I’m sorry too. For… those types. We’re not all like that, I promise. Just… don’t make me like you that way, please?”

“Oh, yeah, no, don’t worry,” Dani said, shaking her head. “I don’t want that transformation either. It feels WAY too much like, well… mind control.”

Secretly, Dani liked the idea of any girl she was lusting after finding her just as desirable. But that was purely a sexual fantasy. If she had to live with it, she’d feel like she was sexually abusing people just by getting close to them.

“The one I want is the Amazon one anyway. As much as I like working out it would be a relief to not HAVE to do it anymore, you know? Plus that added height would be awesome.”

“Well, I’m glad to see you have such strong opinions about your possible paths forward,” Sylvia smirked, suspecting that Dani was protesting that third option a little too much. “Now, Carly, let’s see yours.”

“Oh, yeah! Can’t wait!” Carly clapped her hands together. She was the only one actually excited about this. Yeah, she felt bad for the other girls, but personally? She was addicted to new experiences, it’s why she’d gotten into cosplaying in the first place.

Carly:

Climb That Mountain: Carly will have a powerful urge to “just say yes”. If someone’s suggesting something to do? Yes! If someone needs her help with something? She’s right there. Her open-minded nature becomes even more pronounced, as the idea of *not* at least trying something new becomes hard (but not impossible) to wrap her brain around. (Adventurous)

My Dress-Up Darling: Every day, Carly will be given a new outfit out of the many in her collection (and those she does not have) she will be compelled to wear this costume and cannot put on any other pieces of clothing. (Content Creator)

Spotlight: If there’s something Carly likes, it’s being the center of attention. The more people who look at her, the better she feels. Wearing less clothing increases this effect. (Exhibitionist)

https://strawpoll.com/polls/40Zmq1vAAZa

“So, what do you think?” Sylvia purred. “Do they live up to your expectations?”

“Hahumm…” Carly’s resolve faltered a little. Hers seemed a little riskier than the ones the other girls got. “So... the costume is chosen at random then? I don’t get to pick?”

“That’s right,” Sylvia nodded. “For the rest of your life, you’ll be forced to wear a random, different costume every day, and you can’t wear anything else!”

Carly turned a little pale. For the first time, her can-do attitude had been dented. “I-I suppose… the third one’s pretty good,” she stammered, trying to force out a positive. “I do like when people are around me.”

“And what about that first one?” Sylvia inquired. “You’re a pretty adventurous girl already, right? How could you say no if you got that one?”

Carly shook her head. That one scared her the most. It was one thing to take on fun stuff because it sounded fun, or at least give it a shot even if it didn't. But not being able to say no to ANYTHING? Or at least, finding it very difficult to say no? Peer pressure was a hell of a thing, and she didn’t want to deal with it.

Sylvia smirked. She was pleased that she’d found the right combination of transformations to make even the adventurous cosplayer baulk.

It was time for the REAL knives to come out, though. “Holly, Holly, Holly,” Sylvia clicked her tongue. “What are we going to do with you?”

Holly winced, shrinking back in her seat. If this contest was about making Nick happy, then as the person here he probably had the biggest grudge against, she was in a tough position.

Sylvia smirked as Holly's options appeared on screen.

Holly:

Shrinking Violet: Holly will now shrink away from confrontation. When she talks it will be with a stammer and she’ll be very flustered and clumsy around others. (Socially Awkward)

Better Than I Deserve: Holly will become increasingly excited by the idea of seeing Nick with other women. The knowledge that he likes them more than her will turn her on. (Cuckquean)

AGS (Absolute Gullibility Syndrome): Holly will now believe everything she is told, regardless of whether or not it is true. The less convincing the lie, the longer and more forcefully she may resist believing it, but she will accept it as true eventually. So being told “Nick molested me” will be significantly easier for her to believe than being told “the sky is red”. Holly will not be made aware of this transformation (but if you tell her she has it then she’ll eventually believe you). (???)

https://strawpoll.com/polls/kogjk7Q5PZ6

Holly said nothing. Her jaw dropped as she stared at what was written on the screen- or more importantly, what WASN’T written there.

“AGS?” She spat, turning to Sylvia. “What’s THAT mean? What happens if I get that one?”

Sylvia smirked. “Maybe you’ll find out,” she offered cryptically. “But I gotta say, I don’t envy the position you’re in now, my girl. At least the others have some hint of the fate that lies in store for them. But you… my, my. This must be rough, being left totally up to the whims of the audience.”

“Not that one. Please, not that one,” she begged.

“Tell them my girl, not me. I’m not voting for anyone.” Sylvia waved vaguely off into the distance. Holly turned towards the water, hoping she was looking at the camera. “Please,” she pleaded, her eyes tearing up. “I don’t know what it is, but knowing this show, I know it can’t be anything good.”

“Well, now that we know which one you DON’T want, why don’t you tell me which one you do?”

“NONE of them!” She blurted out. “They’re both awful! Either I can’t even talk clearly, or I get excited at the prospect of Nick doing… ugh, ‘that’ with other girls? No! Neither!”

“You have to pick one. If you don’t, then we’ll have no choice but to give you both of them next round.”

Holly went pale. But even then, she was considering whether that combination was preferable to the risk of the third option being voted.

She decided it wasn’t.

“Fine,” she spat. “Better Than I Deserve. At least that way I won’t have to be the one having sex with him!”

Sylvia smirked. “While we’re on the topic of not having sex…” She turned to Mary with a wicked gleam in her eye, and Mary gulped.

Mary:

Aw, Shucks!: No more of this frail little southern belle. Mary’s accent will grow more pronounced, and she’ll be filled with positivity and a strong worth ethic, like a good cowpoke should! (Farmer’s Daughter)

Suffer the Little Children, Cum Into Me: Mary has been raised to be a good Christian girl, and that’s why she firmly believes that sex for purposes outside of procreation is a sin. So starting right now, she’ll be driven by an uncontrollable urge to fulfill her Biblical obligations to be fruitful and multiply. (Marriage)

Lead Us Not Into Temptation: Mary is a good girl. She’s a Christian. But sometimes… sometimes she has urges. Voice telling her to do bad things. Things that would make her parents look at her with shame in their eyes. And when she thinks about how that makes her feel… she likes it. (Corruption)

https://strawpoll.com/polls/BDyNEDPWeZR

Mary stared at her choices and let out a little squeak. She was so pale her freckles looked like paprika sprinkled over a snowwoman.

“So what do you think? Are you excited my girl?” Sylvia asked with a big smile. Teasing Mary was quickly becoming her favorite part of being a host.

“I-I-I! I!” The second one was disgusting, defiling such a meaningful passage from the Bible in such a perverse way. And the third one was simply out of the question!

“Yes, you,” Sylvia nodded. “I tried very hard to keep you from having to do anything you weren’t comfortable with. See that second one? I’m helping you become a good Christian, my girl,” she said, patting Mary on the shoulder. “…Ignoring the premarital sex you’ll be having, of course. But then, the hotel DOES have a chapel if you’d like to tie the knot with your master real quick and then-“

“THE FIRST ONE!” Mary blurted out. “I’ll take the first one please!”

“Oh really?” Sylvia giggled. “Even if it means changing who you are on a fundamental level? Is that REALLY better than just barebacking it every once and a while?”

Mary swallowed and nodded.

“Okay then,” Sylvia shrugged. “If you say so. But you know it may make you want ride Nick reverse cowgirl, right? Just so we’re clear?”

Mary gave her a blank stare. “What, uh… what does that mean?”

Sylvia smirked. Oh, this would be fun. “Moving on! Our last transformation for today, Kim!”

Kim blinked, surprised. She glanced at Dakota, who had relaxed a lot since her resurrection, watching over the others from her perch on the stage with an inscrutable look in her golden eyes.

What about her?

Kim:

Service With A Smile!: When you’re on the job, it’s important to give it your best. So you should always be smiling! From now on, from 9 in the morning to 5 in the evening, Kim will be unable to wear any expression on her face other than a smile. (Service Industry)

Brand Reliability: Just like how a company guarantees a certain level of quality to their customers, Kim now guarantees a certain amount of reliability to her friends. She now becomes ride or die, no longer capable of betraying others, lying to them, or scheming behind their backs. If she says she’s your friend, she means it. (Hard Worker)

Teacher’s Pet: Kim is significantly younger than Nick, and is still a student. And while he never noticed before, he’s going to find it hard to remember a time when she was anything else now that she can only wear schoolgirl outfits. (Student)

https://strawpoll.com/polls/kjn18wKMjyQ

Kim winced. Her choices could have been better. But they also could have been _much _worse, as Holly and Mary demonstrated. Service With A Smile? Kim’s best feature was her smile, so that wasn’t a huge imposition. Brand Reliability? Kim hated people who went behind others’ backs anyway. And since she was a stranger to most of these girls, guaranteed proof that she was a trustworthy ally might actually be more useful in the long run than if she tried to be a schemer.

Even the third one, Teacher’s Pet, she was ambivalent about. Yeah, it was clearly designed to appeal to a certain fetish, but then again, that was the point of the show, right? To get Nick to like them. Besides, she doubted they’d vote for that one. Compared to some of the girls here like Carly, or the still naked Dakota, what would anyone get out of seeing her in a schoolgirl uniform?

“So what’s it gonna be?” Sylvia asked. Kim hadn’t even noticed her sneaking up. The blonde stared at her like a cat who’d cornered a mouse. “Which choice do you want most?”

“Brand Reliability sounds nice,” Kim answered. She didn’t elaborate why.

Sylvia smirked.

“I see. And are there any you DON’T want to get?”

Kim shook her head. “Not really, no. I don’t see anything too wrong with any of these.”

Sylvia rolled her eyes.

“Sounds like you’re a teacher’s pet already then, they might not even need to vote for it,” she snorted. “Now then ladies! Those are all our transformations today.”

“But what about her?” Dawn demanded, pointing at Dakota. The stringy-haired girl stared back at the doctor with a calm expression.

“Dakota here… well, she already received a transformation today,” Sylvia explained. “Where do you think that new body came from? We certainly wouldn’t have her compete with her waterlogged corpse. So the producers and I both agreed that, in the interest of fairness, giving her the benefit of another transformation on top of that just wouldn’t be good for the game.”

“Benefit?” Dani’s jaw dropped. “These are supposed to be benefits?”

“Of course!” Sylvia crowed. “All these transformations, they’re to make you girls sexier! More appealing to the master! Which means the more you get, the better! Look your best! Try your hardest! Show him how hot for him you can be, and you’ll ear Victory Points! Get 100 of those, and you’re set! Fail, and well… I don’t think you’ll like the results,” she promised.

The girls shivered again. Nick glared at her. The way she was doing this… it was sick. He didn’t want to think about the girls getting these transformations. He’d tried to block them out of his thoughts as Sylvia brought them up. But he couldn’t help himself. He remembered how flexible Dawn had been in her prime. He pictured Dani towering over him, wrestling him to the ground with her buff physique. Or Carly, giving him private shows of her new outfits every day, showing him things her fans never got to see.

Even Holly and Mary, girls who hated him. He couldn’t help but picture Holly stewing in her own juices as he had sex with Carly or Kim, feeling turned on that he’d picked someone else over her. Or Mary… good God, Mary’s choices… Sylvia wanted to turn her into his broodmare, his little shotgun wedding bride. It should have sickened him, so why did it turn him on so much?

Even Kim, who he’d been attracted to… he never would have thought she was so young. 20 years old, not even old enough to drink. And yet she seemed so mature… what if she went the other way, dressed up in a pleated skirt, with her shirt unbuttoned to reveal her cleavage as she asked him for “extra credit”…

The only saving grace he had was Dakota. As beautiful as she may have been, he still couldn’t bring herself to see her in an erotic light. Not until he’d had the time to get her alone and figure out what the hell was going on. Was it really her, back from the dead? Did she have memories of a whole life where she’d been alive?

…Was she still in love with him, all these years later?

God. What was wrong with him? Just a few hours ago, he was trying to work through his crippling issues with women with his therapist. Now the sources of all his traumas had gathered in front of him, and he was being told he could do whatever he wanted with them. It shouldn’t have turned him on… but he couldn’t pretend that it didn’t.

---

While Nick was dealing with his crumbling morality and the girls waited on baited breath for the votes to be tallied, Sylvia sidled away and sighed in relief."This is so haaaaaaard..." She groaned. Playing the evil vixen was difficult, even if she was a pretty bad person deep down. It was just so tiring being that "out there" all the time. But if she didn't make a name for herself, how would she stand out among the greats? The host was the center of the show, after all, the one people remembered. She hoped she'd done a good job. Were the producers happy with the ideas she'd come up with?

If they weren't, she wouldn't be asked back to do another season, and would probably be fired.

And on Harem Hotel, getting fired was a little more literal than most places.

She gasped.

"Oh, I almost forgot," she whispered to a private camera streaming to the audience. "Don't forget to vote in the popularity poll!" She winked.

https://strawpoll.com/polls/jVyG814wzn7