TF Results

Alan opened his mouth, considered asking several questions that felt important now that he knew the show controlled time, and closed his mouth instead. The people were more important than the magic being used, at least for now.

"Okay." Ariadne blinked. "Shockingly close votes for the popularity poll. Samuel lost, but that's not a major surprise. I think the only transgirl who won was in the season where everyone else was cisgender male before transformations got involved."

"Huh." Alan just ignored that particular mind fuck. "Why do they have a popularity vote?"

"There are several reasons to hold one. It helps give feedback to contestants who are engaged, and on competitive seasons it is something to compete over. It's one of most dangerous elements of the show for contestants, as it can lead to poor decisions." Ariadne frowned. "Let's list the winning transformations and see who gets Alan's veto."

"Chloe got Under the Bus. Samuel got Do You Wanna Date My Avatar. Natalia got The Wolf and the Sheep. Christian got Thelema. Laurel got All My Life's a Circle. I got Selkie." Ariadne rattled off the list.

Alan frowned. "So, we can't talk to them before I veto, right?"

Ariadne nodded. "I'm the exception for obvious reasons, which is a direct advantage. Exploitation of that advantage could be counterproductive, of course."

"Chloe and Christian sound like the harshest winner." Alan thought for a moment. "You said you didn't want the Selkie transformation, and everyone else seemed okay with the options that one. Chloe thought the confusion might be useful, and Samuel had no great option..." Alan suddenly smiled. "You said I could add one of the losers, right?"

"Yes?" Ariadne was surprised. "I would have thought you needed more time before you started adding to fetishes in play."

"Well, can you read Samuel's loser, the shape shifting one again?" Alan asked.

When Samuel kisses another member of Alan's harem, or an Eliminated former contestant, he can choose to assume the appearance, mannerisms, and speech patterns of the fellow contestant. This takes three seconds of sustained contact. Samuel can do this any number of times to change into another member of the harem, or to become a member he previously dropped. (This has no off switch. Samuel can't kiss himself, after all.) (Fake)

Ariadne blinked.

"So, if Samuel had two bodies, one of those bodies a woman, that would give another Samuel to kiss. I believe the drawback of the avatar was teasing, the body that is comfortable and the uncomfortable one. I think we just solved the issue, right?"

"I think you're right." Ariadne nodded. "Let's say that the shape shifting only applies to the original body, and Samuel still can't copy the avatar. However, I think that addresses the issue with the Fake path to a degree. You couldn't confuse or impersonate with the combination."

"Wouldn't you want more identical twins?" Alan gestured at Chloe and Christian. Chloe looked excited, while Christian seemed worried.

"Yes, but the overlap with your friends..." Ariadne nodded. "Alright, veto goes to Samuel, giving them two transformations at once. Ariadne leaned towards Samuel and Alan carried her towards them. "So, any thoughts from our lucky individual?"

Samuel looked serious. "Did you plan this?"

"I don't believe I did." Ariadne answered.

"Well, thank you." Samuel nodded at Alan. "This is a lot, but I think you're right. Part of me wants to take this as a win. Most of me. Eh, screw it." Samuel leaned forward and kissed Alan.

The two male presenting humans held contact for a second before breaking. Samuel blushed, and Alan shrugged.

"Couldn't you have waited until after you presented as female?" Ariadne sounded a little worried.

"Ari, please get to the TF." Alan glared.

"Alright, the first is applied. The second will require lowering Alan's inhibitions for a description." Ariadne waved a tendril at Alan.

"Alright..." Alan considered. This could be bad.

"Hit me." Samuel sounded impatient.

"So, Christian and Chloe are Spanish. European Spanish, maybe one of those minorities that Spain pretends aren't real? Anyway, Roswell was full of the kind of Hispanic that don't pass as white, so that was kind of awful, but they are super cute with their real hair and when Chloe went redhead I seriously considered checking to see if she was up for dating by now. I am pretty sure that's what she wanted, but fuck I was not in a good place to ask her out in tenth grade. So, as great as sticking with Samuel's pale redhead traits would be, Chloe and Christian are more important and I've noticed we don't have any blondes. Ari's bald, Natalia's got dark hair and looks a lot like the twins, while the family's brown hair is great on my hot new mom. I think we should go with tiny blonde for Samuel, just to diversify. Delicate features, chesty, short, generally move as far away from being "guyish" as possible. No offense, but guys aren't my thing. I think the contrast would be way more fun if we go all the way on Sam."

"Well done." Ariadne nodded. "Are you ready for me to lower the inhibitions or do you want to keep going?"

"What?" Alan and Samuel burst out at the same time.

Ariadne gave a laugh through her nose. "Just tell yourself that was a joke, 'master.' Anyway, that gives me a lot to work with."

A flash of pink light revealed a naked woman who fit Alan's requests. Delicate, almost elfine, with blonde hair which held some pink streaks. Naked, outside of a pair of heels. The new body's nipples were high contrast, and a surprising amount of blonde body hair was visible.

"Um..." Alan studied Samuel's avatar, and blushed, looking away.

"I admit I am confused." Samuel started circling the avatar, who held still.

"You'll have to experience shaving and waxing for yourself." Ariadne giggled.

"Oh that's just..." Samuel's avatar snorted. "Okay, that feels nice. There's a lot going on here," Samuel's original body continued.

The avatar spoke up. "Oh, thank God, I don't need to learn how to talk or something." She stepped forward, wobbled, and Samuel prime steadied her.

"Heels are hard." Samuel's original body spoke. "Now, one last thing." He moved forward and kissed Ariadne, who spasmed slightly with her tendrils. Alan stayed still for a few seconds before another large snake fell to the floor after another burst of light.

"Are you you okay?" Alan asked.

"Huh, I am." Samuel spoke from the floor. "This is even weirder, though. You know she's talking through her nose, right? It feels super strange but I feel comfortable like this."

Alan laughed and Ariadne giggled. "Well, let's hope you can rise in the popularity rankings this week. We have to move on." Ariadne leaned towards Christian and released the binding spell.

"Magic!" Christian fist pumped.

"It feels like you've got an unambiguous win." Alan nodded.

"Alright, it's applied. Do you have your eyes on anyone to unlock a spell?" Ariadne winked.

"Um..." Christian considered a group consisting of a stranger who presented as male and may have had sex with her sister, her estranged sister, the crazy mother of her childhood crush, a celebrity old enough to be her mother, and a giant snake. "What counts for unlocking a spell, anyway?"

"You'll get to find out." Ariadne laughed. "Chloe, any thoughts on the new change?"

Chloe found herself still bound and got annoyed. Christian frowned, looked over at her, then back at Ariadne. "Did you actually do the spell or is that a joke?"

Ariadne released Chloe from the binding. "Alright, that's done. Let's hope this isn't too confusing."

Chloe and Christian circled each other, heading towards the Samuels.

"Well, that leaves Natalia and Laurel." Alan moved towards the nearby Natalia.

"You got your favorite as well." Ariadne spoke up, her eyes on the cluster of contestants by her new doppelganger. Chloe and Christian were whispering, eyes scanning the room. The Samuels were holding back, hunched and looking ready for an attack.

"Thank you." Natalia nodded diplomatically. She had an unfocused look in her eyes. "Why did I get an augmented reality interface?"

"Your transformation is complex, and I felt that was a simple method to make it functional without altering your brain in some fashion that was harder to explain. You will note a number of options including wardrobe, makeup, scene by scene selection, and greyed out options for when your character was pregnant."

"Also greyed out options for superpowers." Natalia was thinking out loud. "Do you mind if I hold off on experimenting until I understand the interface?"

"I do mind, actually." Ariadne replied. "It would make for a better episode if you gave us an immediate change."

Natalia nodded and a flash of pink light revealed a very different Natalia Porter. She had aged down to her early twenties at the oldest, wearing a futuristic white outfit Alan was sure he had seen on cosplayers. Natalia bounced on her feet, looking suddenly excited.

"What is it like?" Alan asked.

"I feel good." Natalia nodded. "You forget how much your body changes, especially after you have kids. This already feels amazing!"

Ariadne nodded. "I'm glad you like it. Last but not least, Laurel?"

"Well, nothing cinematic this round." Laurel stretched her arms and got up. "Can we explore the new hotel, or do we need to finish anything else?"

"Um, there is the issue of how to handle your absence in the real world." Ariadne flicked a tendril over the group. "This can be handled in a few ways. We should assume you will be here for five weeks or more by the real world clock. Right now none of you are obviously missing, but that will change soon. We have some options."

"You said my family negotiated with you." Alan frowned. "What do they know?"

"They went over the rules and helped write a contract. Violation of the contract would carry immediate penalties, and right now I am **** to them in a more immediate fashion than the Producers. They are prepared, but weren't aware of the exact nature of the coming abduction." Ariadne explained.

"That's a lot to unpack..." Christian and Chloe had moved closer to Alan. "Aren't you forgetting a transformation?"

"Oh, I guess I am. Selkie." Ariadne made a strange noise and spat a marble into a tendril.

"What on Earth?" Chloe asked.

"It's my device. Kind of like a smartphone, but Crawlers have a chamber for it in the roof of our mouths. Ariadne explained. "Hey, Samuel, try it out." She tossed the computer to Samuel, who caught it in their mouth.

A flash of pink light revealed a tall young woman with brown skin the same shade as her serpentine body was now pressed against Alan, who disentangled from her gently. The woman was hairless and nude, which was the same as before. She looked uncomfortable.

"Huh." Laurel stepped forward. "You really did turn from a friend noodle into a young woman."

The two hugged. Both girls looked awkward.

"What about our families?" Natalia reminded Ariadne.

"Oh, right. The simplest option is the most invasive. We simply give a cover story and cloud their minds a bit during the show. They'll think you're off on something ordinary, and won't notice the lack of contact. We could also cloud their minds a little less, but keep them from freaking out when we tell them the truth. We could also tell them nothing, or tell them the truth but avoid the mind clouding. I'm sure you can imagine variations on the theme, but those are the obvious answers. Some seasons do more time dilation, but we aren't budgeted for that. Dad's working on some big milestone season, leaving the facility with a trickle of power as he invests in the big project. Technically we could bring some of them here, but that's a terrible idea on many levels even if they aren't inserted into the harem." Ariadne continued to look unsure of herself in the humanoid body, her voice and mannerisms lacking her earlier confidence.

"Um, let's go with option one." Natalia looked worried. "Their father can handle his kids until I get back, right?"

"That works for your family." Ariadne nodded. "Samuel?"

"Um, sure." Samuel nodded the avatar's head, shrinking away. "I'll tell them the truth when I'm back from um, wherever we are."

"This is the Atlas Hotel, a museum and resort expanded from my father's personal residence." Ariadne exposited. "Depending on the end game it might be inserted into the Severed World, but currently we are unreachable by conventional methods."

"Um, can we just not tell my parents?" Christian asked. "No clouding, no explanation, just drop off the face of the Earth?"

"Why?" Natalia sounded aghast.

"They deserve it." Chloe and Christian spoke in unison, a habit they hadn't been able to use in years.

"Believe me, they do." Alan backed them up.

"Oh, is there a way to make up for the missing point?" Chloe asked. "I don't get what the 'unapproved fetish' thing was about, though."

"I'll take this." Laurel had managed to cover her chest to her satisfaction by arranging the gown around her shoulders. She stepped forward. "You can lose VP in a few ways, like insulting the master or attacking the host. Now, occasionally there's a contestant who is completely insane and thinks something is sexual, like shitting on the master or surprising him with a dead cat. Now, if you attacked a host that would be much worse than losing a VP, but if you happened to have a very poorly timed attempt at foreplay using a shoe, that would get a minor penalty."

"Oh..." Chloe nodded. "Well, I'll keep that in mind."

"Hm, if you want to earn back a VP, how about I give everyone homework?" Ariadne laughed. "I've taught before, and while you might just want to get drunk and pass out, it's not even noon. You might want a project." She waved her hand, looking at it with some trepidation. "Everyone, you will find a restricted desktop in your room with an assignment. Write the biography as assigned..." Ariadne turned to Natalia.

"Could I help her?" Alan asked. "I mean, she's the only one who hasn't met anyone else, right?"

"Oh, that works." Ariadne nodded. "Samuel, you get Natalia's bio, so you will see some research materials from the Internet to help. Everyone else is assigned someone to write about. Tomorrow's Laurel's day, and the order of dates is in the handout. Now, I'm gonna get wasted."

Ariadne left through a new door in the wall. A plaque read "Team Crone" and the door opened into poorly lit room. "Christian, we're roommates!" She called back.

"Um..." Christian looked at Chloe and the two locked eyes. "See you as soon." Christian followed Ariadne.

The other doors were "Team Too Old For This Shit" and "Team Daddy Issues." A third and final plaque read "The Master's Suite."

"Well, I guess we go to our rooms?" Samuel and Samuel, snake and girl, entered the "Team Too Old For This Shit" door. Natalia followed.

Laurel grabbed Chloe's arm. "We need to talk." She turned to Alan. "Nice to meet you, sorry everything about this is fucked up, congrats on the harem."

Laurel and Chloe disappeared into the door for "Team Daddy Issues." Alan sighed and left, entering "The Master's Suite."