Pt. 080.a — Fan Mail Interlude 1

A quick note from the author!

I am so exited and overwhelmed at the response to my fan mail request. You guys have been such great readers and authors and everything else, so I wanted to give this the kind of response it deserved. There are so many letters and gifts that I had to break up the response into three chapters. This event technically takes place just after Andy's wedding, but no spoilers and various time mischief means we can safely publish this thing without ruining anything else.

Thank you all again for all the support and have fun!

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Verena believed fan mail deserved more dignity than a classroom. That was the explanation she had given Producer X, although he insisted it was branding.

The two of them stood at the head of a long marble chamber beneath chandeliers bright enough to turn the polished floor into a second ceiling. White columns climbed toward painted arches. Gold edged the steps of the shallow dais and the dark banners hanging between the columns. Nothing in the room belonged to any nation of Earth, but the effect was impressively ceremonial anyway.

Verena had dressed to match the gleaming marble. Her usual precisely pressed business attire had given way to black, ivory, and restrained gold, the severe lines of the outfit softened only by the long mantle falling from her shoulders. It was formal without being festive and ceremonial without surrendering the authority she preferred.

Producer X had interpreted the same dress code differently. He wore a white dinner jacket over black, dark glasses, and the same curled black mustache that looked no more natural in person than it did on a screen. His semi-luminescent blue skin made the entire arrangement even more conspicuous. A tumbler rested in one hand, half filled with something dark and smelling of smoke.

Behind them, the staff had assembled according to their own tastes rather than a uniform. Alpha had found the most permissive possible interpretation of formal wear. Celia wore pale fabric and soft gold. Mirel Dane had managed to make evening wear look severe enough for a disciplinary hearing. Pixie, Trixie, Lyra, and Nixie stood together in pink, deep violet, cream, and black.

Verena checked the placement of the correspondence one final time, then faced the open floor.

“Begin.”

The wedding party appeared first. Van stood nearest the dais in a black tuxedo, visibly tired but upright. Claire’s dress was deep blue with silver at the edges. Evelyn had kept to black. Fiona wore dark green, the color sharp against her red hair.

By their own reckoning, they were just now leaving the impossible wedding of Andy and his impractical number of brides.

The rest of the cast arrived directly from their beds, sleep still dragging at their consciousness with the elastic grip of dream half finished.

Cassie appeared first, barefoot in the middle of the marble floor. She staggered for half a step before the cold marble shocked her to attention. She registered the gathered staff, the freshly arrived wedding guests, and finally herself.

“Oh, fuck!”

Van, distracted by the teleportation and the new environment, had been studying the arches above his head. At her shout, his attention snapped down. Cassie’s skin was taut with shock and a deep flush bloomed across her face and neck. She crossed her legs and hugged herself to hide her breasts from the room.

A chime sounded before either of them could say anything.

Golden letters unfolded in the air.

CASSIE LIN GAINED 10 VP

Seen Fully Nude by the Master +5 VP

First Time Bonus x2

Cassie read the notification. Disbelief dripped from her voice. “No.”

Lizzy stumbled into being, one cheek still carrying a faint crease from her pillow. Mara appeared a few feet away in a pale nightgown, her blonde hair loose and her movements still heavy with sleep. She took in Cassie, Van studying the architecture with sudden devotion, and the gold text above them.

Her hand came up and an opaque black rectangle swallowed Cassie from the floor to just below her arms. It was wider than her body and deep enough that no angle from outside would reveal her. Her head and arms were free above it.

Sudden relief flooded her, leaving her pale and shaky with a coil of tension in her spine at her helplessness of the situation.

Naomi and Katherine appeared a heartbeat later, side by side. Naomi was also completely bare and still processing the transition when Mara’s other hand moved. Another black box appeared before Van had time to glance toward the new arrivals.

Naomi stood inside it with her arms folded high across herself, dark hair mussed from sleep. Her attention moved from the illusion to Mara. She released a breath. “Thank you, Mara.”

Katherine, in a simple ivory satin sleep set, looked down at the black rectangle beside her and then across the hall to Cassie’s matching one.

“Always efficient, Mara.” She scanned the room, taking in the staff in formal wear and the wedding guests still energized from the ceremony. “What happened?”

Claire turned away as soon as she understood the problem. Evelyn did the same. Fiona’s attention reached Cassie, lingered for one fractional beat longer than it should have, then snapped aside.

“A very crazy wedding,” Fiona said.

Cassie’s eyes narrowed. “That doesn’t explain much.”

Fiona shrugged. “It explains more than you’d think.” She took a deep breath, then let it out again. “It’s been a long night.”

“Enough,” Verena said quietly. The immediate cross-talk thinned as everyone oriented toward the dais. Verena folded her hands in front of her. “No local time is passing while this event takes place. Those of you who were asleep will return to the same point in the night from which you were removed.”

Lizzy rubbed at one eye. “So, they went to a whole wedding between snores and now we’re in some kind of system church?”

Katherine gave her a small shrug. “That was very good. I wouldn’t try to improve the explanation.”

“Thank you.”

“We knew the wedding was coming,” Cassie said. “I thought there’d be some warning before four of you came back dressed like that.” She glared up at Verena. “And maybe some warning before dragging some of us”—she gesticulated wildly at the black censoring box around her—“naked into a black tie event!”

“The timing was inopportune,” Verena said evenly. “Unfortunately, this was the available window.”

Fiona laughed. “You should’ve seen the wedding, Cassie.” She appealed to Claire and Evelyn for support. “It was like every other person was at least semi-nude. We ran out of shock pretty early.”

Cassie tracked the three wedding guests, then Van.

He kept his gaze safely above the top of the illusion. “What she said.”

“Fantastic,” Cassie said. “You all went to a cross-dimensional wedding and came back with nudity fatigue.”

A small smile touched Evelyn’s mouth. “That isn’t what I would call it.”

The gold notification still hovered over the room. Eleven Victory Points. Cassie had gone to sleep with one. Humiliation had arrived first, hot and immediate. The helplessness followed close behind: no clothes, no warning, and now she had been literally placed in a box.

She was used to being dangerous, to being the whole entire problem. Now, if she moved too far or Mara’s concentration broke, she would be exposed again. And the fucking system had put a number on it.

She pointed at the notification. “Can that go away now?” The letters vanished as she made the complaint.

“Thank you,” she growled.

Naomi looked over the top of her own box. “Are we staying here long?”

“Long enough to complete the event,” Verena said. “You will not lose sleep because of it.” Verena allowed a few seconds for the group to settle, then she turned slightly toward the man beside her. “There is one additional introduction to make before we begin.”

Most of the cast turned toward Producer X, who lifted his glass in a mock salute.

Verena stepped in before the exchange developed. “Producer X is a senior member of the production structure responsible for Genesis Response. Until now, you have not been formally introduced.”

Fiona’s gaze hardened. “Producer.”

“Yes.” The satisfaction packed into the single word only hardened Fiona’s stare.

X spread his free hand. “Contestants. Van. A pleasure to finally meet the people responsible for several very expensive meetings.”

Cassie blinked at him. “That’s your opening?”

“I had a warmer one.” X took a drink. “Verena rejected it.”

Van had shifted from tired to cautiously amused. “What exactly do you produce?”

“Problems, primarily.”

Verena closed her eyes for half a second.

X continued before she could stop him. “Officially, I oversee portions of production, audience engagement, inter-season coordination, and certain matters that are better left un discussed. Unofficially, I am the person people blame when something works exactly as intended and everyone hates it.”

“That does sound like production,” Katherine said.

X pointed toward her with the glass. “You and I are going to get along dangerously well.”

“No you won’t,” Verena said.

Producer X faced the cast again. “You have been watched, discussed, argued over, defended, criticized, analyzed, and occasionally turned into memes. More importantly for tonight, people wrote to you.”

His tone lost a little of its performance without losing the smile. “Some of them are viewers. Some are people living through seasons of their own. A few know far more about this system than you currently do. A few know much less and are extremely confident anyway. They took the time to send something across realities because they wanted you to hear it.”

He lifted his drink toward them. “You’d do well to garner these kinds of interactions. Audience participation is critical to the success of your season.”

For one brief beat, Verena let the compliment land.

“So,” he added, “please disagree entertainingly.”

Her professional mask snapped back into place. “X.”

“What? I did the responsible part first.”

Verena turned toward the floating cameras positioned around the hall. “To those watching, and especially to those who participated in the correspondence period, thank you.”

The room quieted around her.

“Some submissions came from readers speaking only for themselves. Others came from Masters, contestants, staff, and Hosts associated with other seasons. You were asked to write honestly.”

She rested one hand against the edge of the lectern. “The messages presented tonight will be delivered in full. The recipient’s responses belong to them.”

Producer X tilted his head toward one camera. “And thank you to the other production teams who facilitated cross-season routing. Interdimensional postal administration is exactly as thrilling as it sounds.”

Pixie murmured, “You made three interns cry.”

“Two. The third was already crying.”

Verena continued without looking at him. “Before we move to the correspondence, those who attended the wedding may answer a small number of questions. Keep them brief. This is not a wedding debrief.”

Cassie’s attention snapped to Fiona.

Fiona sighed. “Of course you do.”

“What was it like?”

Fiona thought about the answer. “Big.”

Cassie waited. “That’s it?”

“There were people from different seasons, different worlds, different species, and apparently several definitions of appropriate wedding clothing. There was food. There was drinking. There were conversations. They got married.”

Claire laughed. “That is technically true but it lacks all of the flair of the event.”

Lizzy turned to Van. “Was it nice?”

He glanced toward Claire, then Evelyn, then Fiona before answering. “Yeah.” The word came easily. “It was strange. Some parts were harder than I expected. But yeah. I’m glad we went.”

Mara’s attention rested on him for a second, then moved to the women beside him. “You’re all okay?”

Evelyn answered first. “Yes.”

Claire nodded.

Fiona said, “We’re fine.”

Verena stepped in before the questions could multiply.

“You may discuss the experience among yourselves after you return. For present purposes, everyone who attended has returned safely, and nothing that occurred there consumed local time within Genesis Response.”

She moved away from the lectern. A long table stood below the dais, arranged with stacks of envelopes and parcels separated by recipient. Some were plain. Others were decorative enough to announce themselves before anyone touched them. Several black envelopes bore silver wax seals. Boxes and wrapped packages sat among the paper.

Lizzy leaned slightly to see around Mara. “That is a lot.”

“It is,” Verena said. “Some correspondents included additional material,” Verena said. “We will address those submissions when we reach them.”

Producer X smiled into his drink.

Verena ignored him. “The correspondence is grouped by recipient. Each letter will be presented in full before the recipient responds. We will finish one recipient’s group before moving to the next unless the content itself gives us a reason to do otherwise.”

She reached for the first stack. “We will begin with staff correspondence.”

The first envelope was addressed to Producer X. Verena read the name and handed it over.

“See?” he said. “Already a strong start.”

Verena returned to the lectern without answering.

Producer X broke the seal and unfolded the letter.

—----------------------------------------------------------------

Hi X,

Huge fan. Love what you’re doing with the season. Love the stakes. Love the cast. Above all, I love your sense of humour. Just because we’re doing important work doesn’t mean we can’t have fun with it, right?

I’m almost tempted to ask about swapping with Verena, as I don’t get on with my own Producer, but I don’t think I can play the straight-man as well as she can and that’s very important for your dynamic. If you do ever consider changing things up, then I'm good at quips, which seems like it would fit in well with the modern superhero genre. I’m also supernaturally gifted at slapstick humour, though I’d rather not rely on that if at all possible.

Anyway, I know you said no gifts with effects but I hope you’ll accept the attached anyway in appreciation for our shared sensibilities. It’s a little model of one of the staff from my season, with a little slice of their power. I’m sure a Producer has no need of it, but Verena might enjoy its presence during your next meeting with you. Either that, or she’ll hate it. Probably hate it.

Yours,

Scarlet (Host of Harem Hotel: Storytelling Edition)

—--------------------------------------------------------------------

Producer X lowered the page. “I like her already.”

Verena had already reached for the accompanying package. “Of course you do.”

The box was small enough to fit in one hand. Verena opened it and removed a six-inch figurine of a green woman with an oversized head, exaggerated hips and bust, skintight lycra, underwear worn outside the costume, and a cape fastened around her neck.

She read the small card packed beneath it. “Mind Goblin Figurine.”

Mara tilted her head. “What’s a mind gob-”

Lizzy turned toward her so quickly that sleep vanished from her face. “I’ll explain it later.”

Mara blinked. “Why?”

Producer X had opened his mouth to respond to Mara’s question.

Lizzy pointed at him. “Nuh-uh mister. She didn’t finish, so you don’t get the payoff.”

He seemed genuinely impressed but Cassie was laughing inside her box.

Verena examined the figurine one final time, then reached toward a small disposal aperture that opened beside the correspondence table.

Producer X’s hand closed around her wrist. “No, you don’t.”

Verena’s eyes dropped to his hand. He released her at once. “It is trash,” she said. “It is an active magical novelty item submitted in direct violation of the stated correspondence rules.”

“And I am approving it anyway.” His grin was industrial grade. “I like it.”

Verena’s posture locked. “X.”

He held up one dimly glowing finger, “Producer X.”

Verena’s hand stilled on the figurine. “You are invoking production authority over a novelty figurine.”

“You bet,” he said gamely. “Rank. Privilege. Et Cetera.”

Verena held the little green woman between two fingers. Its face remained blandly neutral.

Producer X leaned closer. “Oh, this is magnificent.”

“That proves nothing.”

The figurine’s mouth twitched upward. Verena’s did not.

X slowly turned his head toward Verena. The figurine broke into a broad grin. Verena’s mouth stayed flat. Cassie laughed harder, Claire covered her mouth, and even Fiona’s shoulders moved once.

Producer X took the Mind Goblin from Verena with both hands, handling it with the solemn care of a priceless artifact.

“Scarlet,” he said toward the nearest camera, “if you are watching, your contribution to inter-season diplomacy will not be forgotten.”

Verena adjusted one cuff while X’s smile widened. “I hate that thing,” Verena said. “That’s the only reason you like it.”

“Yes.”

Verena turned to face the crowd again, saying over her shoulder, “Put it down, at least.”

Producer X set it carefully beside his drink where it had an unobstructed view of the lectern.

Verena returned to the correspondence table. “Next.”

The next envelope was black. Organic gold detailing curled along its edges like vines that had been taught symmetry, and a silver wax seal held it closed. The seal bore a capital A between a pair of angel wings.

Verena recognized the intended recipient before she turned it over. “For me.”

Producer X leaned toward the envelope. Verena nudged the Mind Goblin farther from the lectern with one finger as she broke the seal.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Verena,

Congratulations on the season! I’ve been watching since its debut, awaiting each new episode with baited breath. Your candidate and transformation selection have been top-notch, I must say! Not enough hosts take the risk of having someone that deeply hates the Master stick around as herself, and you’ve already blasted past the 50th percentile just by keeping Fiona around through the challenge! I look forward to seeing what that challenge ends up being, and hope to see heavy use of powers there. Please, continue the great work.

With love, Aurelia

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Fiona folded her arms. “I’m glad my continued existence is good for the numbers.”

Aurelia’s praise left Verena with the smallest hint of satisfaction around the eyes.

Fiona’s attention moved between Verena and X. “So what exactly does ‘keeping Fiona around’ mean?”

“It means Aurelia understands that removing you would have been the easier production decision and approves of the fact that I did not make it.”

Fiona folded her arms a little tighter.

Verena met it evenly. “You were selected for this season because you belong in it. Your resistance does not negate that.”

Producer X gave Verena another glance. She placed the letter with the completed correspondence.

“Next.”

Alpha’s envelope was considerably less ornate. The combat coach stepped forward before Verena called her name, ponytails shifting behind her. “Oh, I know that one’s mine.”

Verena handed it over and Alpha opened the letter and read aloud.

—--------------------------------------------------

Alpha,

This is the first time in quite a while that I was even remotely excited to write one of these fan-mail things. You are such a joy to watch. I will admit to cribbing a couple of training techniques off of your sessions on your season.

I don’t know your situation, but, if you are free after the season, would you like a gig at my gym? My clients are much, much more open to being flirted with during a good workout. And shower room sex after. To steal a line from my old lady’s fish-wife, Wink.

I am sorry if the show robbed you of your ability to enjoy adult bedroom fun. But, I have a couple of solutions for you. First, I bet my old lady could fix you permanently. There would be some... consequences, but I’m sure we can overcome them. Let me know.

The second was a fun project for Mattie. See attached. Also, I sent some samples of my Wulf Den Labs supplements for the cast over there to try out. High-quality, all-natural creatine powder and protein shakes, derived from organic hu-cow milk, and flavored with my proprietary Vagi-Taste alchemical formulation. Guaranteed to taste exactly like the last girl you’ve eaten out, assuming you have done the deed. Give it (cunnilingus and my supplements) a try!

Josie Owner of The Wulf Den Join the Wulf Pack! Click the link to book your complementary first gym session!

—-----------------------------------------------------

Alpha reached the end beaming. “I like her.”

Mirel Dane turned on her. “That is the only reaction you have to all of that?”

“She likes my training.”

“She also offered to alter your reproductive anatomy through an unknown third party.”

Alpha’s smile softened without disappearing. “That was thoughtful too.”

Verena opened the first attached package. Inside were neatly packed tubs and sachets bearing the Wulf Den Labs label.

Alpha leaned closer. “Oh, those are cute.”

Verena held one of the tubs out to her. Alpha accepted it with both hands and turned it around to read the label. “I can’t benefit because I’m not organic, but I still appreciate the spirit of the gift.” Alpha hugged the tub lightly against her chest. “Thank you.”

Cassie looked at the label from inside her box. “Are we just skipping over the flavor part?”

“Yes,” Evelyn said.

“Correct,” Mirel added.

Lizzy nodded far too quickly.

Alpha turned the container in her hands. “I mean, scientifically—”

“No,” Mirel said.

Alpha laughed as Verena reached for the second package attached to Josie’s letter. The second package was smaller. Verena opened it and stopped. Producer X leaned sideways.

Alpha stepped closer. “What is it?”

Verena removed the device from its packaging. The shape answered the question before anyone needed to explain it. It was an artificial vagina, rubberized and probably filled with tiny motors.

Lizzy made a tiny choking sound.

Cassie leaned as far as the black box permitted. “Oh, wow.”

Alpha, on the other hand, brightened. Attached to the packaging was a small card.

—-------------

External Hard-drive – Lacking a port for a (not-so)-floppy disc? Well, let Mattie help! This portable pocket pussy is wired up with sensors and can connect to a gynoid via Bluetooth. Dishwasher safe. Plenty of sensitivity and other programmable settings. Better than the real thing? Enjoy!

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Alpha took the device when Verena offered it. For the first few seconds, her reaction was exactly what the room expected. She turned it over in her hands, inspected the controls, and grinned.

“That is adorable.” Then the smile weakened, only slightly. Alpha ran one thumb along the edge of the casing and read the connection instructions. “It probably won’t work.”

The sentence came out quieter than the rest of her response. Cassie stopped smiling. Alpha seemed to realize she had let something show and pushed the brightness back into her voice.

“But!” She held the device up. “I appreciate the engineering. And the thought. Very much.”

Verena studied her for another second. “You may keep it.”

Alpha tucked the device back into its packaging with more care than she had shown the supplement tub. “Thank you.”

The last staff envelope bore Dr. Dane’s name. Mirel took it with the wary air of someone who had already decided correspondence was more trouble than it was worth.

—-------------------------------------------------------

Dr. Dane,

This letter writing exercise feels odd to me. Not that I didn’t appreciate the letters I received, but, with the batch of contestants over there, I’m not sure how much help I could be. I don’t have any particularly relevant insights to share or fun little connections to relate with.

But, my “Mistress” asked us to write to someone over there. So, please indulge this bit of selfishness. I figure with the others at least trying to help them, I could get some help for us on our end. Like your season’s set, we are being prepared to tackle a potential world-ending monster at the end of our season. A foe that we, frankly, don’t have much information on. All we really got for leads is an image of a cuddlefish-centipede – thing – and the name of a neutralized minion: Gorglonoth, the Hive Graft. The library here does not have much. I know our staff is collecting seismic data and whatnot for us, to be given to us eventually, but, since we are writing anyways, you have any relevant information?

Your assistance would be appreciated.

Forgive the mistress added weirdness. You know how quirky they can sometimes be,

Kevin Mona’s bestest bud and Winter’s sexy bull My favorite dinosaur is the Triceratops

—-----------------------------------------------

Mirel finished reading, “I’m sorry, but no.” Kevin’s request had been specific enough that the answer did not need elaboration.

Claire looked toward her. “You’ve never heard of it?”

“Gorglonoth, no. Hive Graft, no. The description is insufficient for useful biological comparison.”

She looked at Verena. “Am I permitted to reply with questions?”

“Yes.”

“Then I will need the image he references, any anatomical observations they possess, samples if their rules allow transfer, details on the neutralization event, and whatever they mean by ‘Graft.’ Title, species designation, biological function, or local terminology would all produce different research paths.”

Producer X smiled. “That is the most romantic response anyone has received tonight.”

Mirel turned her head toward him, meeting his grin with an exhausted look of her own, “I will also need to know whether their staff have already performed tissue analysis,” Mirel continued, ignoring both of them. “If not, I can provide a sampling protocol that minimizes contamination.”

Verena inclined her head. “Include the requests in your response.”

Mirel tucked the letter beneath one arm. “Good.”

Verena returned her attention to the larger stacks waiting on the table. “Staff correspondence is concluded.”