Gerald's Interview - (Hardric)

Gerald was back at the apartment, feeling more than a little tired. Resuming work at school right on the heels of attending a week-long con might have been pushing things a bit perhaps.

One more day of work done. Some of the middle school children were adorable. Others... Welp, the education system clearly needed fixes, and not ones about putting the weaker students together to sink them further. Still, at this point, reading mangas was still a victory for them. Hopefully that project with the colleagues would go on smoothly too. And this was while going through a job Gerald actually looked for. Imagine going back to the McDonald's to pay the bills. The teammates hadn't been the problem, mind you. But the customers... Sometimes, why the kids were the way they were made far too much sense.

Wanting to decompress after another busy day, Gerald went online. Managing the school library could leave some time to do this too, but there was stuff one should not even try to look for while in a school. Like, let's say, a something called Harem Hotel.

First time Gerald had heard of it had been through a cross-diffusion on other websites more familiar. Been a genderbending show, and while this one was ongoing, Gerald... Well, this one had been eye-catching, to say the least.

The season about Laura Black, or Rose, had been interesting ones too. And the one led by Sylvia ? Welp, rollercoaster was the least that could be said. And welp, there was also the hope the superhero one would also come back from hiatus someday. Of course, with that kind of topic for a show, you also learned to identify what you definitely didn't want to watch. Prisoner of your own body, left with no mouth to scream ? Gerald tried pretty hard to suppress the shudder of horror getting to see that happen.

Still, no updates as of now on the alert tab for today, so time for some gaming and/or reading. Game files late needed attending, and the less was said about the fanfics/books/anime backlog, the better. And, welp, nobody else with to talk about it, or to 'delay' going at it. There were some online acquaintances Gerald could talk to, but welp, they were still generally far away. And while solitude could be comfortable, it could also get... wearisome, at times.

A few hours later though, checking the mail led to a... surprise. To say the least.

The sender was Harem Hotel. And this was an invitation abou-

No.

For real?

Something like this was happening ?

Still, Gerald had to calm down, and think hard here.

Yes. This was an unique opportunity. Something that was simply not going to happen again.

But that was still Harem Hotel. And while there were some costs Gerald wouldn't look at twice, it wasn't the case for everything the show did or could do.

Still, the mail did mention 'You are more than welcome to discuss the full terms of your engagement. Harem Hotel promises you the letter of your demands will be honored.'

'Letter of your demands', though. Still, it was just...

Welp, nothing would come out of it until Gerald agreed. And before it came to that, there would be lots of discussing terms.

Gerald wasn't deluded enough to think this would get quite as good as Shar's season did. But there would be no touching this offer, no matter how unique it was, if it was to end up as the plaything of another Azure.

If anything, better a **** show for whoever would end up as the Host too. Gerald very much doubted any of them would like to become Arlequin's next 'Colombine'...

Gerald had sent a mail to discuss more in detail the conditions of the whole thing. Not accepting to sign in yet, but welp, HH could do some stuff nobody else on the planet could. If the risks were low enough, participation it would be, and the threshold for these unacceptable risks was perhaps not as low as Gerald thought...

The answer doesn't take long. But it's not in the form the man expected.

'Thank you for your application. A response will be sent to you in the next few days.' What's strange is that 'the next few days' is in the form of a hyperlink. As you would expect from a scam or attempted hack.

"Ooooookay..." Gerald said. To be fair, the librarian had rather expected the answer to have been a show of magic, the kind of stuff that would have left no ambiguity on the situation, and put a show of **** at the same time. Heck, Gerald was honestly a little disappointed there.

Still, the mailing address was actually related to the website of HH. Wouldn't hurt to put that link on one of the older laptops available at home. If that was a scam, though luck, it would lead to a machine that would stay unused and unplugged for the rest of its shelf life. Maybe changing some passwords too.

It took a bit longer than expected to get to click the link though. The laptop hadn't exactly be used for a few years by then. Good thing Gerald might be a bit of a hoarder... And that without cars, getting rid of older electronic devices was just harder.

As soon as Gerald clicks on the hyperlink, his screen goes black... Then, slowly, a pattern appears on the screen.

He quickly realizes that he can't look away from the screen. Slowly, his vision narrows. His screen takes up more and more space. He can't look away. The room around him disappears and he feels like he's being pulled forward. Everything goes black.

He doesn't know how much time has passed or if time has passed, or if time is relevant where he is. And where is he? He doesn't know if he's still home or somewhere else, and does "somewhere" have any meaning where he is? He doesn't know if he "is" either. He can't feel anything, he can't see anything, he can't hear anything. The only thing he knows for sure is that he was thinking.

Yes, he thinks, so he knows he is. And who he is. His name, his appearance. He knows the shape of his body, he knows the feel of the ground beneath him, he can hear the beating of his heart and, feeling the rhythm of his heart, he can tell that time is passing. He knows he is, he knows where he is, he knows when he is. He opens his eyes and in the darkness of the void that surrounds him, a door has appeared, in front of him.

Gerald has to suppress a harsh shudder as some kind of reality asserts itself back with the door's apparition.

Welp, there goes my display of magic, thank you Ironic Overpower. And I haven't even signed anything up yet.

Still... That was still proof this was the real deal. And there was always walking out if the terms looked too harsh... Yeah, Gerald totally believes that one. **** but open the door then...

The door opens into a small room. A huge window on one side, a huge mirror on the other side and in between, a table with two chairs facing each other. And on one of the chairs, the one with its back to the mirror and facing him, a woman with pink hair, looking at him.

"Welcome. Please have a seat."

Gerald walks briskly towards the chair, eyes always locked on the woman. Only starting to talk after getting seated.

"Well, I should know better after getting to watch some seasons of this show, but really? You take the time to put together something like a mail, then that?"

Gerald did try to keep a level tone here.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Little Miss." The woman says in a calm and soothing voice.

"Gerald Richards, but you know that already, I assume. And I mean, I'm telling this for you too. You might have noticed you and your colleagues have a tendency to end in the splash zone of whatever thing you set up."

Okay, the voice tone might have been level-ish, but the slight panic of that... Teleportation was clearly not doing Gerald any good.

The short woman looks at a paper in one hand while pouring milk into two cups with the other.

"You seem a little troubled, can I offer you something to drink, Mr. Gerald?"

"Troubled, sure, let's go with that. Let's say coffee. And some cocaa powder to put inside," Gerard says, the second part coming on a spur of the moment. "Going to assume you can get it. Same pot for both of us to drink too?"

"I'm sorry, I can't accommodate your request. The only thing that was provided by the host for you is our top-selling Susan's Milk. But I can assure you that it has a unique and delicious taste. You should definitely try it."

"Let's... can it for now. I think it's clear something like that is happening sooner or later, but let's the 'sooner' not be now." Yeah, no way Gerald could actually walk away, the show definitely wasn't like this. Also, when the fuck could this have happened? Susan was still going through her season, provided it was this Susan. Then again, time-space BS.

"I don't know what you expect, but as you wish." She takes a sip from her own cup, then places the paper on the table. It's perfectly blank, with nothing written on it.

"... You're not very good at this discussing stuff, are you?" Screw it, Gerald was likely done for, and sucking up to the Host? Not working if she was a sadist anyways. Might as well get some words out before it was too late. Or learn to shut up.

Little Miss gives him a reassuring smile. "I just thought I'd let you take your time to calm down. I understand that the journey from your home to my office might have shaken you up. But now, if you tell me that everything is okay, we can talk."

She clears her throat and looks at her sheet as if she's reading something on it. "I've been informed that you have questions regarding our offer to join the next season of Harem Hotel, so I'm here to answer them. And if you agree with what we have to offer and would like to participate, the second part of our discussion will be an interview to help us introduce you at the beginning of the show."

"So... What kind of season will this one be? I... realize something like Shar's one is unlikely to repeat itself, but if I'm still really given a choice, you'll understand that this is what I hope I'd end up in if that was to happen. This one, or Vanessa's, or Sage's even, when it's not blowing up..." Gerald starts again, rambling a bit along the way. And while it had its perks, maybe not mention Sylvia's season. Some of the features here would make you think twice. "... And, hopefully, not something out of the mind of someone like Azure. Or this Yuki." Gerald had taken some time before checking this one out, more to see what this so famous Host was exactly up to. And it was clear her cast members were her toys first.

"I see. You understand that I can't reveal the exact content of the upcoming season. But I can tell you that it will be a new host and that she has expressed interest in Shar's season. I think you were able to guess that part with the drink she offers you."

"That, or you're flexing on how much you know about me that you'd go for what is my favored season of your show."

"Maybe, and if I tell you that I only know about you what you tell me, you might think that I'm lying, or not."

"Touché." And that was the bottom of it in some ways. They could talk for hours, but Gerald would need to put some trust and take risks to jump in. And welp, intimidation or not, the bells and whistles did tend to show it wouldn't lead to a future of being one kind or another of living sex toy. "Sooo... What is this season's stance on Eliminations, and earning VPs?"

"What would you prefer? And I'm asking you seriously. Would you like to be able to avoid elimination altogether, no matter how badly you do on the show? As for the VPs. I can't tell you, that's for the host to explain."

"Well, if I do this, I will try to avoid it. But... Yes, if I could avoid Elimination altogether, I would prefer to. Some of the stuff it does..." Gerald shuddered. Trapped inside a wildly changed body with no control of anything? That was **** with extra steps of suffering before the end. "Even something like Sally's Elimination by inches she does on accident. At least I hope she's doing this by accident rather that being a stealth Azure... Bottom line... I want to be able to look in the mirror and still see myself by the time it ends. And yes, I know this 'me' would be wildly different looking. Wild mind wipes and rewrites are also something scaring the fuck out of me. They call it '**** of Self', after all."

"I guess you want to keep some kind of free will. And the ability to act for yourself."

"Pretty much. I'm not stupid enough to think my brains would be making it out of this unscrambled to some degree, but at least that much. And being able to actually get out of whatever place we end up and being able to function in whatever place this will be."

"That's understandable. It's true that the fate of some contestants is not really enviable. But the host prefers people to be able to live more or less normally, well... as normally as an experience in a Harem Hotel can leave someone. Let's just say she prefers 'functional harems.' So I guess ending up as a living sex doll is not on the list of possibilities. In a word, I think she wants people to be 'happy' at the end of her show."

'Functional Harems?' Well, this was good to hear. Gerald takes a breath, shoving aside worries for now. There were things to say about how HH could see happiness, but again, that was way too much efforts put into one more schmuck for the grinder if it was sadism. And if it was sadism, it was all decided already, before even getting the mail, anyways.

So, that did leave the next part. And while Gerald felt calmer now, that was not going to be an easy one. But welp, this show was also likely the only way to get certain things, barring finding magic in this world without any clue of where to find it.

"So... Miss Little Miss. What is it exactly that you need to know?"

"First of all, do you want to participate in this next season?"

"I'd say I said 'Yes' the moment I asked my last question, but if you need a signature, just give me a paper. I do hope you won't mind me reading it if that's the case?"

The assistant nods and turns the paper she had placed on the table towards him. He can see that everything they discussed is written on it.

"Could you sign here please?" She points to a space at the bottom of the paper and gives him a pen.

Red ink. Of course. "Welp, guess Southpaw Master Race fits for this..." Gerald says before signing the contract. After having looked at the back, empty. Useless again, it could appear after, but hey why stop now? "Also, late stupid question, but will it be possible to follow some of the other seasons while participating, sending letters to them? I am invested in a few ones."

Little Miss waves her hand and the paper disappears. It's been there for so long, but she can finally put it in the 'completed events' folder.

"Again, I can't tell you. But if not, maybe you can negotiate that with the host. Now, if we can begin the interview. I'm going to ask you to stand in front of the Mirror and introduce yourself."

Gerald walks in front of the mirror. Curious, to be left so calm now, after signing up for a reality altering show like this. Had to be acceptance that there was no turning back now.

"Gerald Richards, 30, school librarian, and single. I like books, papers or online, novels or mangas, with a focus for fantasy, rolep-laying, tabletops and video games, snowboard, rock climbing, did some cane fighting in the past too for instance. And forgetting lots of stuff to list. I have three brothers and still my family, although I live alone so far. Social wise... I signed for this show, I think it says everything."

"Thank you, you may return to your seat. That was a very good presentation. Still not in the mood for milk?"

"What? You can't wait for the show making it happen?"

"Making what happen?" Little Miss asks, genuinely confused.

"The way you keep going at it, I assume you'll be doing it to your Contestants soon enough."

"... You know, it'll be easier if you say what you think directly. Is there a problem with milk? Are you lactose intolerant maybe?"

"No. But... Breast milk from another contestant in another season, one in the seasons I follow the most closely? Let's call it creepy and move on, please. And let's not even talk about her consenting, or not, to this, I assume."

"Oh, I see. Well, that's a shame because, if you know the show, you know what the contestant thinks about it. But it's your choice. Now, next question. You know that at the beginning of the show, each contestant has three transformation paths. What would yours be?"

"She's also okay with this with the members of her own Harem. That I'm not. Most she has about me is a lengthy letter." Still, Gerard has to get about this. Paths, paths, paths...

"How about 'Librarian' for the first one?" That covered books, but hopefully computers too. Better be, given they were a core part of the job. Hopefully there would be an in for writing in stuff...

Speaking of writing... "And... 'Fantasy' for the second one." Magic was a large part of why Gerald was interested in that show despite the risks after all. That, and it was a better thing than trying to split up hobbies to the point of ridicule.

The third option took a bit more thinking though. "How about... Roliste, I think, for the final one?" Screw it, for once, French was the better option for the word.

Little Miss gives him a thoughtful look as she goes over his choices. "Librarian because that's your job, right? And Fantasy because it's a field that brings together a lot of things that interest you. But Roliste? Are you sure? Why not try something more exotic? Something that doesn't come from who you are, but that you could dream of being?"

On one hand, exotic was dangerous in HH. Other hand? Gerald was already in, and indeed, why focus on play pretend when you could just change?

"I guess 'Dreamer' covers Roliste, and opens up more possibilities..."

"Dreamer? Interesting, not too far, but not too close to who you are either. And it leaves room for imagination. Very good. And between these three, if you had the possibility to ensure at least one of these paths was available for viewers to vote on, which would it be?"

"Let's say Librarian. I like books and stories, working with them, hopefully writing them too in the future, be they on paperback or online. Original Production or fanfic. Provided they're good ones."

"Noted. Now I have some questions that will not be so easy. I will ask you to answer honestly and not to evade any of them."

"Fire away."

"Firstly, can you talk about your sexual experience ? If you already had any sexual adventure, what do you like in sex, everything that comes to your mind."

"Well, regarding sex..." Welp, there were going to be a lot of realities and people who were about to know this soon anyways, but you know what? Fuck them, Gerald wasn't going to be meeting any of them. Normally. "No personal experience. Never tried for it, not even in a lukewarm way. Still, I do know what I like when I look for it. Switching in terms of Top/Bottom, for instance. Polyamory and group sex are also things that get my interest hard. Pun unintended, but assumed. Sex between men and women, or lesbian sex. Never got an appeal for gay sex, but it never made me drop a story I read." And I'm pretty sure... It won't be a problem very soon... "Positions that leave the options of groping the breasts sound good. I'm curious about the voyeurism/exhibitionism duo, and role-playing. Provided this is consensual. Not interested in humiliation and masochism that I know, and again, consensual, and limited to the bedroom. I do know I freaking hate the average porn story visible outline, where a descriptionless nobody just rapes women into living sex toys and nothing stops them against literally any possible logic because 'her body is being honest' or whatever shit line like those existing. Forget mind control too. I'd say I do like corruption at play when it's not completely wiping and rewriting minds, but comes from a gradual process, with the willing choices of the people involved at play. Seen enough and read enough moments of oral or... hand sex to think this is not a turn-off either."

"Interesting." Her tone, still calm, hints at signs of boredom, but she keeps her professional demeanor. It reminds her of those annoying librarians who shush you when you're just trying to have fun with a guy or two behind the shelves. "About women, what is the favorite physical attribute that you look for the most? And for you, what is the best breast size?"

"Favori- I do guess this is indeed a show from someone following Shar's work... Well, no point in dodging, breasts are something I look at a lot. For a favorite size, I'd say D going to F. Maybe a bit bigger, or smaller, but not by that much. I do know there are contestants like Susan to only name her making it work too, but I have also seen pieces of art not managing to make a bust her size work for the body type of the characters. Honestly, part of why I do follow Shar's season is that I do appreciate the look of the women there. Still, any busts do look only as good as it fits along the rest of the body. And just because the waist is thinner doesn't make anything necessarily better. I mean, the idea the ideal weight is 'living skeleton' with no curv-" Gerald stops dead, realizing this was going on a wild tangent. "Apologies, I can get rambling when nervous. And you could not care about this, but... Best body in the world means fuck-all when the personality is utterly rotten." He was trying real hard to not think about a certain season here. The stepmother of that Host looking like a Witch might be a safer pic to focus on.

"What's your favorite color?" Seriously, that question is really boring too, but she has to ask it...

"Favorite color? Red, but I'm not wedded to the idea of making this the only color I like. Orange, black and purple also come to mind."

"And your favorite season of Harem Hotel? I guess it's Shar's, but maybe you have other preferences too."

"It is indeed Laura Black's season hosted by Shar. But I discovered HH through Dan Whittaker's season, with Vanessa's hosting. And while I follow it, and appreciate it greatly... I am also awaiting to see what destination is going to happen for Sylvia's."

Yep, boring as fuck. Little Miss hopes he'll get more interesting as the show goes on.

"Can you tell me... Why..." The assistant sighs. "... Why dragons are infinitely better than flammable little pink-haired brats?"

Gerard blinks at hearing this one. Welp, it sounds like she and her Host were... At odds, to say the least. This sounds like someone might be at risk of joining the Harem in the splash zone. Well, too late to worry about the risks of petty power plays.

"I suspect this is because the dragon is one that can use fire, although it doesn't seem as sociable as the How To Train Your Dragon ones." No. Joke. About. Good. Handbags. Not your brother, not a Warhammer game.

"We are coming to the end so, if you could choose, who would be your ideal master or mistress?"

"Well." Gerard says, warming up into another ramble while going through the details. "This is part of why I prefer Dan's and Laura's seasons. I'd prefer for a master or mistress invested in seeing me, and the rest of the Harem, as people to relate with, not sex toys, someone I can live with, share passions and the likes, and able to take disagreements heads-on and build up and move on, not someone needing to win every argument they're in. Also someone who would also feel secure with the idea people inside the Harem form their own relationships besides the one with them, and willing to use our future TFs for fun and pleasure where possible, not clubs to wield to keep people in line. So yes, **** compliance or changes **** by the Master or Mistress alone? Nope. And someone willing to help with the more burdensome TFs, within reasonable limits, I'm not demanding to hog them over these. And maybe someone secure enough in bed to not need to be Master or Mistress in bed too... I said that last one out loud, didn't I?"

"Finally, last question. Do you want to remember your volunteering for this season or do you want to live the classic Harem Hotel experience and forget everything we talked about ? For you, it will be as if you were kidnapped like in any other season."

"Volunteering memories kept. It would feel disingenuous to act surprised in front of the audience and the others after... This, happened, even with the memories erased. Also likely less psychosis-ing on the situation for me, I'll take that."

Little Miss had asked her last question, had remained as straight as possible. And she thought she could do it. It was a question of willpower, something she didn't lack. She had to keep smiling, be calm, adopt a soothing voice to calm the guy down. Everything was going well. In a few seconds she would use the same artifact that had brought her interviewee and send him into the show. She just had to want her body to continue. Just the strength of will and order everything in its place at the right time. Yep ... No. Like an overly tight rubber band, a thread had snapped inside her. One moment she was there, the next moment the notion of time and space had disappeared and her body decided to do the same. Shit.

She disappeared from the small room, but on the stage, her body had collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.

Gerald was taken aback when Little Miss just, disappeared in a blink of an eye. She had looked a bit pale for a moment. Gerald was trying to remember from when...

Please tell me the Host isn't petty enough to think the way she questioned me or handled that dragon question was enough to make her put the screws on.

The minutes stretching along in silence were doing nothing for Gerald's nerves, to say the least.

From the shadows Wrynn shook her head. She knew Little Miss was pushing herself too hard, and now trying to use unproven alien tech as well instead of just saying something. Well she'd have to step in now.

As suddenly as the pink haired woman had disappeared, now standing in the room with Gerald was a different woman that towered over him. More shocking than her height though was the large draconic wings that spread behind her. "Fear not for yourself or my assistant. The only harm to her is what she has done to herself, and that is just exhaustion."

Meanwhile, at the very same time Wrynn also appeared on stage and bent to gently lift Little Miss in her arms as one would a small child. "Silly girl, you don't have to do everything yourself. This isn't your show anymore." And with that they vanished together.

Back in the interview room, Gerald watched the whole thing through the mirror with some amount of surprise. Guess there was a caring side to this Host indeed. That was good for everyone involved. Better chances for everyone to make it out relatively okay.

"Now I'm afraid this is out of order but there's no help for it now." The imposing woman grins at Gerald, showing very sharp teeth. "So an introduction. I am Wrynn Soulcatcher, Elder Wyrm of the Outer Darkness, but you may simply call me Wrynn. Or Mistress if you prefer." She laughs again, making the small room quake. "My assistant pretty much finished up your interview, the final point she missed is you must not inform the others that you volunteered for the season. It will be your secret to keep, and keep well. Any questions before I pull you out of this collapsing singularity?"

"Uh, no, I mean, the situation is clear. I'm... mostly curious about the Master. Or Mistress?" Okay, that was another reason this host liked Shar. Pure Queen of Darkness aesthetics. And yet if she was what Little Miss told, that still made her part of the **** hosts this show could get. What were the odds?

The host shifts to the side looking out the window, giving Gerald a look at her tail. "For now the Master is a mystery, you will meet them with the others. We wouldn't want to deprive the audience of your reaction now would we?" More thunderous laughter as she gestures and the walls are lit by fiery runes. "Now hold on to your hat, it's showtime!"

And for Gerald things go black as he feels himself shift in a direction he didn't know was even there.