Round 2 Penalties and Prizes

Throughout their decade of association and intimacy, Hannah had learned to speak the language of Jake’s body. Standing among the tables as Leah sprang the proceedings on them, she read tension, and twitchiness: He was gearing up for a fight.

She gingerly stepped up behind him, reaching out to brush his wrist. She stood on her toes to whisper in his ear before he could fully turn to her.

“Don’t.”

His eyes flitted about the room and, aware he would soon be the center of attention. When he responded, his voice was low, though no less angry for it.

“Don’t what? You know what they’re about to do to you.”

”More than you know,” she wanted to tell him. ”I’m out myself if I don’t impress here.”

“Yes, and they’ll do it whether you fight them over it or not,” then, having tried advising his pragmatism, pled to his empathy. “What we need right now is support. You can’t stop what’s about to happen, but you can be there for us.”

It landed solidly, as she knew it would. Jake frowned, hesitated, then ultimately nodded assent. He didn’t miss a moment. A hush had fallen over the assembly, each girl settling into place. Julie, Rachel, and Megan locked into place like rabbits as headlights bore down on them. Her cuts cleaned, AJ only watched, simmering, alternating between holding a champagne bottle to her swelling eye and drinking from it. Others still came together; Loretta settled in beside Farrah, who sat with one armed draped around her double’s waist, head leaning on her own shoulder. Farrah’s free hand entwined with the former cheerleader’s as all three turned to face Leah.

When she turned to find her own seat, she was unsurprised to find Emily standing behind her. Emily, her rival turned lover; her first comfort since her breakup, and likely the mistake that would damn her.

“It’ll be alright,” Emily said, extending her hand.

“Yes,” She agreed, taking it as she smiled at Jake. “It will be.”

It will have to be. Things will go on in any case.

Once satisfied that her charges were settled and in place, Leah turned to nothing, preening, as though to a camera no one but her could see.

“As always, we begin with our last place contestant,” She started, “And unfortunately this one will result in our first elimination of the evening.”

Hannah felt her heart flutter, certain, as the brunette turned her amber eyes, that they would settle on her. But Lean’s gaze turned, fixing on someone else.

“You all finished rather close. Unlike the last round, the averages were not terribly far removed from one another. No dream finished with an average higher than four stars, nor any lower than two.”

There was a pregnant pause, then she faced Julie

“Except one. With something near ubiquity, our audience deemed your entry to be a surrender,” Leah said, “I’m sorry, love, but you entered this round with Victory Point total of -1. To advance, you needed to place in the top three, but with a score of only 2.94, I’m afraid you will be losing 10 instead.”

JulieShe might have deflated, or folded in on herself. Instead, the mother turned teenager turned household assistant straightened, her back arching as she held her head high.

“Well…I knew it was coming,” She admitted, taking a long swallow of the whiskey she’d been working on. “What happens now?”

“Now the audience votes on the punishment. This will be an elimination vote, by the by. And here are your options.”

She motioned to the large projector screen, meant for presentations and now showing a vivid list of fates that awaited Jake’s former babysitter. They made Hannah’s skin crawl.

Jul-E- Julie is changed from a human to a very lifelike android. Her appearance can be modified by the master and top ranked harem member at will. She will be given a large array of ‘Modes’, similar to her jobs, each with skills, a uniform, and tweaks to her original personality. When not given a mode, she will act in blank and robotic fashion.

Unpaid Labor - Julie ‘belongs’ to the harem. A different contestant ‘owns’ her each day, and she’s owned by Jake in perpetuity. She will obey any command given to her from said owners, and can be assigned jobs at any time. When performing them, any bonus points accumulated by her are given to the contestant she’s serving instead.”

Surrogate - Julie is the new au pair and surrogate for the harem. She must live with and work for the entire harem. She will always appear as though she is 6 months pregnant, and any pregnancies incurred by the rest of the harem can be transferred to her.

To her credit, Julie attempted a brave face, but she looked pale, and sick. Her heart went out to the woman, especially since she was in the same sinking boat. Leah offered her no more a response to her fates than she had a choice in them and briskly moved on to the next contestant.

“Loretta,” Leah pivoted toward her.

Loretta giggled, twirling a lock of hair; a joviality contradicted by her hurt, downcast eyes. Farrah gave her hand a supportive squeeze.

“Though your dream was deeply personal, and moved a number of our viewers, it was unfortunately not enough. You ranked about 3.02, our second lowest score,” Leah said, “My apologies, love, but the audience felt it was neither fun nor sexy.”

“It could have been either, but Jake only chose to look into my history,” Loretta said, then added with a bubbly flourish she surely didn’t feel, “Oh well. That’s show business!”

“You will be losing 5 points, with only a single, solitary victory point standing between you and elimination,” Leah said, “And as to your punishments…”

Trophy Girlfriend - No longer the desired, coveted one, Loretta will be Jake’s trophy girlfriend. She will always dress in the manner he asks, will send him pictures of herself and perform acts of affection for him, and can be commanded to do things in exchange for gifts.

Kickback - Ever the politician, Loretta owes everyone favors. Each round, she will owe every contestant a favor that they can call in at any time.

Spirit Girl - Each day, Loretta will be bubbly, slutty and airheaded until she pleases either the master or a contestant in some way. She can clear this condition with the master at any time, but cannot do it with the same contestant more than twice in a row.

Loretta giggled, pressing her chest together with her arms.

“Those sound awful,” She said. “But I reckon they could be worse.”

Leah rolled her eyes, though the gesture was more piteous than mocking.

“Our third lowest finisher, at 3.27, doesn’t lose points; merely receives a harsher than normal transformation,” Leah said, “And it’s me. You try to show your new master the finer things in life, and the audience rejects you for it.”

The hostess sighed and shook her head.

“And here are my punishments,” She said, gesturing to the board.

Hierarchy - As her master, Jake may veto any use of Leah’s powers, command her to use them at any time, or temporarily take them from her for up to one hour at a time.

Unemployed - Leah is relieved of her duties as host of the show. She must choose another contestant to take her place and assume her responsibilities.

Glitchy - Leah will be compelled to use her powers and abilities more often. Unfortunately, when altering the contestants, master or herself, they will become very unstable. Every use of her powers risks a 50% “glitch” probability, which will cause the changes she intends to manifest in opposite or unexpected ways.

Hannah sat up, shocked. Judging by the murmur that passed among them, she wasn’t the only one. Could she truly lose control of her powers? Lose the host’s seat? It all threatened to upend the power balance of the entire game.

“Moving on,” The hostess said, her discomfort evident. “Though the feedback among the fans was that the dream was sweet and charming, Lacy, darling, I fear your vision was not popular with the audience. At 3.29, you are fourth to last.”

Lacy pursed her lips, but nodded with dignity.

“Well, at least I’m not losing points,” She said.

“On the contrary, love, you’ll be gaining them,” Leah corrected. Not much, just two. But you do with highest concentration of both one and five star ratings, you win the honorific for Most Divisive. This brings you to five total points”

Lacy blew a stray bang from her face, then fixed her pretty green eyes on their tormenter.

“Lay it on me. What have you got?”

The options appeared in short order.

“Something unusual,” Leah said, “Rather than providing the audience three choices for your future, we’ve limited it to two.”

They appeared on the screen.

Mixtape - Lacy is given three traits, provided the audience, that alter her personality and behavior. Slutty, Shy, Submissive, Assertive, ect. Voters will leave them in a comment box when selecting this option, and a combination of the most repeated and most interesting will be applied to her permanently.

Shuffle - Rather than traits, the audience will leave a number of archetypes in the comments. Bimbo, Goth, Slut, Nerd, ect. Each day, a different one will be applied to Lacy. These will affect her mind and behavior most strongly, but may also include minor alterations to her attire and appearance. At the end of the round, Jake will choose one to permanently apply, or defer the choice to the audience if he cannot make one.

“That’s it? No third way?” Lacy asked, clearly unhappy with the choices.

“I’m afraid so. I thought they were very appropriate. Your work to build a new you is laudable, but I agree with the producers that you need a push along.”

“No you don’t,” Lacy grumbled. “You were all for it when I came to see you after I’d picked my new look.”

Sympathetic as she was for her friend, Hannah felt a stirring of hope. They were nearly done with the losers’ portion and their names hadn’t been called. She knew the score. She’d entered the challenge with 0 points; her outcomes were winning…or elimination. Hannah wasn’t alone. With each name called, Emily drew in closer, her breath more bated.

Both their postures sank in unison when Leah turned to them.

“And that brings us to Hannah and Emily. With a cumulative average of 3.44, you fell just outside of winning contention,” The hostess said, “The audience quite enjoyed the positivity and romance of your alternative relationship. Unfortunately it didn’t possess quite enough sizzle compared to what followed.”

“We’ll start with Emily, already saddled with some changes that make others attracted to you, and you them,” Leah said, “We’ve elected to build upon that foundation.”

Magentism - Emily will be physically drawn to others, and others drawn to her. She’ll never feel comfortable unless she’s making contact with someone else.

Catalyst - Emily will act as a living catalyst for the fetishes, desires, and attraction of others. When she’s in the presence of one member of the harem, she shares his or her desires. When she’s near more than one, she broadcasts their desires to others.

Repository - When a member of the harem makes use of Emily, they may temporarily deposit one of their transformations onto her. For the next two hours, any changes relieved in this fashion apply to her rather than the original contestant.

Emily shivered beneath Hannah’s arm, and she gave the younger woman a reassuring squeeze.

“Hannah, I’m afraid your changes are to be considerably worse,” Leah said.

“Yes,” Hannah said with a sigh, “I’m being eliminated. I know.”

She held her head high, determined not to let the audience, or the woman by her side she’d grown so attached to and proactive of, see the fear that hammered in her chest.

Leah seemed to sense it, offering her an approving nod.

“I’ll not belabor the point, then. You have lost everything due to your relationship with Emily, the woman you stole your man from you.”

Her words were a twist of the knife; a reminder of the pall she’d entered this game under. She swallowed as the options unfurled before her.

Co-Signer - Hannah will share all of Emily’s transformations, including any she accumulates going forward.

Communal Property - Despite her dominant urges, Hannah will become the ultimate submissive. Each day, she’ll be bound to a harem member, conforming in behavior and appearance to their fantasies. At any time, she can be “transferred” to the master, and the same applies. She’ll return to normal only with theirs or the master’s permission.

Never a Bride - Instead of marrying the man she’d intended to, Hannah will instead be his bedwarmer. Hannah will be bound to his room as a concubine, prepared to please him or a harem member at all times. Her freedom of movement will be restricted, only lifted in periods in which Jake wishes to spend private time with someone else in his room.

Hannah let out a long breath. Each option was atrocious. Each cemented her subordination. Each would define the rest of her life.

Emily’s hand squeezed hers, her one-time rival leaning in to kiss her.

“It’ll be okay. We’ll talk later, but it’ll be okay.”

Hannah looked up to find Jake staring at her, pain evident in his expression. She pursed her lips, and gave him a reassuring look, to which he returned a nod; wordless, effortless communication that said, “Remember what we talked about? I’ll be fine”, and “I’ll be here for you” respectively. It was the first calm she’d felt all evening. For all that had changed, for all that had passed between them, there was still love and understanding.

After everything, she’d end up with him after all.

“And that brings us to the winners,” Leah said, interrupting her thoughts.

A hushed murmur. Fully six contestants had not been accounted for. Megan’s hand shot up with the question they all were thinking.

“So statistically….how?”

“As it happens, we have no third place contestants,” Leah said, “With identical scoring averages of 3.65, Megan ties for second with Rachel, Lindsey and Sabrina.”

“Fuck! Yes!” Lindsey shouted.

She leapt from her chair, both hands meeting Sabrina’s in a two handed five. She wrapped her arms around Rachel’s waist, planting a comical kiss on each cheek.

“Your game inspired landscape was widely cited as the most creative use of the dreamscape technology. As a result, you’ll each receive 15 Victory Points, and the following rewards.”

Sabrina

Item Bonus - Sabrina will be given access to a closet of clothing, makeup and accessories she can use to boost various physical and mental attributes.

Audience Engagement - At varying points, Sabrina can chat directly with the audience, taking “sponsorships” in the form of bonus points, or even victory points, for responding to comments and accepting assignments from them.

In Character - Sabrina will be able to cosplay as various attractive characters, and in doing so, will gain limited versions of their skills and abilities.

Lindsey

Manic - True to her gambler’s spirit, when Lindsey takes on audience transformations, she can now adopt permanent ones for Victory Points.

Pixie - Calling back to her dream performance, Lindsey will have the ability to adopt a fantasy race, taking on any physical traits, magical abilities, or associated behaviors that go along with it. For bonus points, she can select one at random each day.

Dream Girl - Lindsey will gain access to the dreamweaver machines, allowing her to craft dreams for the master and other contestants. This can include multiple contestants at once. All limitations that applied to the previous challenges apply to her creations.

Rachel’s potential rewards appeared next. Hannah studied them, but they slipped through her head like sand through her fingers. She tried again to the same result. Then this oddity itself followed, flowing from her mind as something dull and unremarkable, before she forgot about it entirely.

Rachel

Physical Wellness - In addition to making minor mental adjustments to the women who exercise in her gym, Rachel is now capable of causing physical alterations as well. These transformations will only be noticed well after the fact, and the contestants unable to connect the cause and effect.

Get Physical - After a workout, Rachel emits a pheromone that attracts others to her, and makes them more naturally suggestible, honest and willing to believe her.

Enhanced Workouts - Once per workout, Rachel can select someone working with her and steal a physical or mental trait from them, or impose much more dramatic mental transformations on them. These will reset when Rachel sleeps.

As the board was wiped away, Leah turned to Megan.

“Our audience, and the Master both, were very impressed by your positive interpretation of what life in a harem could be. It’s earned you one of the following.”

Prodigy - When Megan becomes intimate with someone, any act she or her partner performs on one another is done at a masterful level, and perfectly to each other’s tastes. Despite her lack of experience, Megan learns this proficiency permanently.

Cram Session - Megan can spend up to two hours a day training in any skill or educating herself on any topic to perfect proficiency. She will retain this skill or knowledge for the rest of the day.

Wallflower - Shy and quiet, Megan gains the ability to blend into the background. This allows her to enter areas or linger around others unobserved. This ability disappears as soon as one of her sexy accidents triggers.

Megan read these options, adjusting her glasses.

“Those latter two would really be of tremendous utility,” She said, “I’m guessing I’ll get the sex one, instead.”

Leah snorted a laugh.

AJ watched the exchange, taking a swig of champagne from the bottle.

“So, lemme get this straight,” She said, “If they all tied for second…”

“You and Farrah tied for first,” Leah finished, “With a perfectly matching 3.75 cumulative average. Each of you will receive 25 Victory Points.”

For the first time since her return from the storm, AJ grinned.

“You and me at the top, eh Doc?” She said, extending a hand.

Farrah extended one of her own, shaking it.

“A worthy adversary. Though I’m curious…what did you do with your dream?

“She…gave me a chance to be a woman,” Jake answered, “Offered me a choice, anyway. Which I took her up on.”

Farrah nodded.

“I suppose I should have suspected something like that. Bold.”

“The audience certainly approved, particularly that you let Jake choose the course of events,” Leah said. “Now they’ll choose one of the following rewards.”

Bad Girl - AJ’s domestic instincts now come with a secret edge. When she hosts, cooks, mixes drinks or performs any wifely duties, she gains temporary dominion over them, able to make modest alterations or commands to them. Jake is included in this.

Pills - As in her dream, AJ has a box of pills that can swap sexuality, swap gender, and do either with or without the awareness of the pill’s consumers. These can be given to anyone, and refill each day.

Personality Crisis - Despite her sexuality, AJ will be Jake’s new housewife, taking up residence with him in the master’s quarters. As a married couple, she will act as a partner, with masterly authority over all harem members currently placed beneath her.

As with Rachel’s rewards, a strange feeling of vapidity settled over Hannah; as though she’d read the changes but hadn’t absorbed them, and thought nothing of this in spite of them. Unlike in her case, though, AJ stood up angrily.

“Fuck. This.” She protested, glaring at Leah, “You think I don’t see what you’re trying to do?”

Leah crossed her arms, regarding the taller woman as she stood over her.

“What leads you to believe that I’m doing anything?”

AJ wasn’t hearing it.

“You’re trying to make me the bad guy. Corrupt me into this. Well fuck you, I’m not going for it.”

“Can someone please explain what’s going on?” Jake asked, stepping between them.

“AJ here has gotten a set of awards she doesn’t like,” Leah said, a bit of her old lilting cruelty having returned to her voice, “As though any of us are supposed to like this.”

She cocked her head.

“So what’s it going to be, love? Are you going to sit down and accept this like everyone else has?” Her dark eyes fixed on AJ’s, “Or are you going to quit?”

Gently but firmly, Jake took AJ by the upper arm. He leaned close, whispering something in her ear. For a moment, she went quiet, but finally sat down.

“Whatever, I’ll play the fucking game,” She brooded, “Same way I always have, though. If you think any of this shit will change who I am, I gotta million dollar condo in Hudson Bay for you..”

“Good,” Leah said, her turn turning gentler. “I truly didn’t want to remove you, you know.”

AJ replied with a glare, and then sullen silence. Straightening her dress, Leah turned her attention to Farrah.

“And finally, your clever dream splitting yourself and Jake into two separate experiences produced everything the audience asked for. Drama, growth, a unique experience, and some very spicy lovemaking.”

“I don’t need to hear that,” Lacy groaned.

Her rewards appeared.

Sabbatical - Farrah can dismiss one of her bodies for up to a day at a time. While away, she learns up to two new skills or subjects, becoming perfectly proficient in them. The next time she does this, the chosen proficiencies are forgotten, and she gains new ones.

TA - Each day, Farrah may choose a teaching assistant, or a member of the harem who becomes subordinate to her. They will assist her with any tasks she requires. At the end of the day, she can assign a Grade to them, along with a minor punishment or reward commensurate with it. These wear off at the end of her next TA’s tenure.

Faculty Board - Instead of having two bodies, each half her original age, Farrah can now have up to three, each a third that. She gains the ability to split into three 20 year old versions of herself (rounded up from 19.33), each operating from a single mind. She can maintain this split up to one day, but is unable to do it again until a time equal to three times the split has passed.

One Farrah placed her hands on her hips, the other crossing her arms beneath her breasts. Both studied the board with interest, and ultimately pique.

“I can’t quite absorb what you offered AJ, but I see why she’s lashing out. Several of these options appear designed to put us in an adversarial relationship with one another,” She noted, “From a position of dominance, certainly, but adversarial all the same.”

“I’m afraid you have our number, professor,” Leah said with a smile, “Yet it is a contest, is it not? You are adversaries. And I’ll remind you again that only one of you can win.”

A silence descended over them.

“So what now?” Farrah asked, breaking it. “We simply wait for the votes?”

“Precisely,” Leah agreed. “And the voting begins now!”

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