The Improvised Interlude

Now that the cameras were off, it was time for Jocelyn to see how things were going with the audience again.

RegalRiskTaker: Joc really seems to not have the tightest hold on this ship

ShyFox69: #JocIsABully #FemJason

Pervlizard80085: BOOOO we wanted more BE!! This host is a hack!! #JaceIsABully #BabsDidNothingWrong

Kingblades8: Mika is a cute fox. Yay! Girly Girl has a chance!

JiMbo69420: finally some ass stuff to vote on

pervlizard80085: booo ass stuff :thumbs-down:

Originalhawk89: woo, new costumes for those 3 I guess :eye-roll:

Funkythistle: half of this is just cosmetic slop

xxBoobFantasyxx: woohoooo!!!! Esme looks amazing!! And mika is adorbs!

Quietmaster: bleh, don’t care for animal girls, at least esme is sexy, babs really should have gotten the girly one

RegalRiskTaker: wasn’t babs supposed to get taller? Or was it just barely noticeable?

ShyFox69: #JocIsABully #FemJason

Pervlizard80085: babs best girl! We were robbed of her height, too! Joc should make her 12 inches taller to make up for it!!! #JoceIsABully

Maryfan193: ESME!!! #btgg

godripper2: I guess the veto was cool, better than all the BE spam we get.

Legofan2134: wtf no points for new girl? #JocIsStillABitch #TreatAprilBetterYouEctoplasmicStain #GiveCassandraHerCauldron

Blepfrot453: #CauldronForCass

xxDeepner24: Joc kinda looks familiar…

Lordofpenguins: April new best girl? Why the hell doesn't she get points?

Duckgeod: nah Mika EZ

Pervlizard80085: you are all wrong its literally babs #jocisabuklly

–2blurper22: this guy is literally in every chat thirsting for the muscle girls

ShyFox69: #JocIsABully #FemJason

[MOD_KITSUNE]: User @ShyFox69 5 minute mute, spam

Kingblades8: Classic jocelyn bully behaviour, april deserves points! #JocIsABully

Originalhawk89: should really give April 1660BP, seems unfair to give her nothing.

Gachatollxx1: #JocIsABully gonna drop this if the contestants dont get fair treatment oras season is enough

Genericusername99: seriously #GiveAprilHerPoints

Pervlizard80085: and give Babs’ height!!

Snaptipus: #GiveAprilHerPoints

Tom: #giveaprilherpoints

Toritillaboy: #GiveAprilHerPoints

Xstationitch: #GiveAprilHerPoiunts

Shitstain35: #GiveAprilHerPoints

xxBoobFantasyxx: screw april, give sylvie her boobs!! We were robbed!! #JocIsABully

Bottleopener4: dude we are over that #GiveAprilHerPoints

The chat scrolled relentlessly, a wall of opinions, outrage, thirst, and hashtags piling on top of each other faster than she could read.

Jocelyn hovered closer to the screen, squinting.

“…Oh for the love of—”

She yanked at the brim of her hat, stretching it nervously as her eyes darted from message to message.

“Crap, crap, crap, crap… I forgot the damn height change,” she groaned. “The whole last-minute contestant drama completely distracted me!”

She scowled at the screen. “And that veto wasn’t even—whatever.”

Her gaze snagged on one particular thread of comments.

“…Why do people care so much about her points?” she muttered. “She wasn’t even here!”

She straightened suddenly, eyes unfocusing, then snapped back and stared at the screen.

“…Ugh. Fine. Whatever. She gets points. Yay.” Jocelyn raised both hands in mock celebration. “Happy now?”

She clapped once.

“Right. Back to it.”

The lights flared as the cameras snapped back on.

“Hello and welcome back!” Jocelyn announced brightly. “It seems that before the break, we had a tiny little glitch with one of the transformations—Barbara’s in particular! No worries though, we’ll fix that right now!”

“Huh?” Jason asked. “What was wrong with it?”

“Oh, there was a physical component, darling,” Jocelyn replied breezily. “Did you forget already? It just… didn’t implement itself properly.”

She lifted her cane.

“But that’s easily remedied.”

The cane slammed down.

Babs barely had time to react before a sharp pulling sensation seized her back and thighs. She gasped as a pleasurable tingle spread rapidly, growing into intense, full-body pressure. Her knees buckled and she slipped off the stool, landing hard on them as heat flooded through her muscles.

She sucked in a breath she couldn’t quite release as sweat beaded across her skin as the pressure peaked, her vest tugging tighter, her jeans pulling upward as her body subtly shifted—

Then it stopped.

Just like that.

Babs slumped forward, panting. When she pushed herself upright, she noticed her vest now showed a little more stomach than before, her jeans riding higher above her ankles.

Jocelyn smiled. “There we go. Much better.”

She turned briskly back to the camera. “And now, one more tiny adjustment! April here wasn’t present for the popularity vote, and unfortunately, we don’t have time for a redo.”

Jason frowned.

“So,” Jocelyn continued, “by popular demand, we’ll award her the average placement.”

The screen flashed.

“Congratulations, April! You receive 1680 BP!”

April blinked. “…Oh. Yay?”

“Love the enthusiasm!” Jocelyn chirped. “Now! While we’re here, why don’t we take a look at the results of your vote, hmm?”

April nodded slowly. “Yeah… sure.”

“Well then, let’s have a looksie!” Jocelyn zapped the screen.

• 9 Lives: Black cats are unlucky, right? This transformation gives April a set of black cat ears and a tail. [Luck] — 48.15%
• Impact Absorbers: April is prone to taking falls. This transformation gives her a larger ass to help cushion them. [Clutz] — 37.04%
• Third Wheel: April dropped in uninvited, much like a third wheel. With this transformation, April does not get her own date night and is instead randomly paired with another contestant. [interloper] — 14.81%

“So, as it says here,” Jocelyn said, tapping the screen, “it appears Jay is about to end up with two adorable pets to play with. However,” she lifted a finger, grinning, “before that, I’d like to invoke my veto.”

Jason blinked. “I thought you said you only got one veto?”

“Yes, one veto per voting round,” Jocelyn replied breezily. “But April wasn’t part of the original round. New vote, new veto!” She snapped her fingers. “And frankly, I like the schedule exactly as it is.”

She pointed her cane at April.

“So congratulations! You’re officially a third wheel and a cat girl, April!”

The cane recoiled violently in Jocelyn’s grip as she 'fired' it.

April gasped.

Just like Mika before her, an intense itch flared at the base of her spine, immediately followed by deep pressure, then the same strange sensation bloomed across her scalp. Only this time, it happened fast.

She barely had time to reach up before her fingers brushed soft fur.

“…Oh.”

Her hands slid over fully formed ears. She turned sharply and froze at the sight of a long black tail swaying behind her.

“That happened way faster than mine,” Mika muttered.

“Well yes,” Jocelyn replied flatly. “She’s eating into time we weren’t allotted in the first place. No theatrics for now.”

Mika frowned. “So you can do them instantly. You just dragged mine out for fun?”

“Not just for fun,” Jocelyn corrected. “People like a show. Now hush.”

She floated over to Jason, gesturing broadly.

“Look at her! Absolute cutie, wouldn’t you say, Jay?”

“Uh… sure,” he said automatically.

But his mind was spinning. These other girls had been abstractions to him, names, concepts even, but April wasn’t. She was his neighbour. Someone he’d nodded to in passing. Someone he now knew had died.

And he’d just watched her become a cat girl. The weight of it all began to hit him at once.

April however, was experimentally flicking her tail; her ears twitched as she tried to make sense of the new sensations. Mika met her eyes and gave a small, understanding nod, and turned back to look at her own tail as it swished slowly. April nodded back in understanding.

Jocelyn clapped once, ending the little moment.

“Now that we are finally done with transformations, let’s move on to the week’s schedule!”

The screen flashed again.

1. Sylvie Langford — 24%
2. Mika Tanaka — 22.2%
3. Barbara Dalton — 15.7%
4. Cassandra Byrne — 14.8%
5. Eleanor Whitmore — 11.7%
6. Esmerelda Medrano — 11.3%

“Now,” Jocelyn continued, tapping her cane against the floor, “one small issue is that these results correlate rather closely with the popularity poll. Entirely coincidental, I’m sure. But I’ll be extra careful about these sorts of things in the future!”

She flashed a grin and turned to Sylvie.

“Sylvie, my dear,” Jocelyn sang, turning toward her, “it appears you’ve once again come first in our vote. Truly impressive! People must have loved watching you…” she tilted her head, “…read a book? I’m sure there was absolutely no biased voting involved whatsoever!”

Sylvie froze.

“H-huh?”

“Nevertheless!” Jocelyn clapped. “This means you get first pick of your date day with the Master!”

Day 1 —

Day 2 —

Day 3 —

Day 4 —

Day 5 —

Day 6 —

Sylvie stared at the list, breathing shallowly.

“I—um—”

Her eyes flicked over the options, panic building—

“The last one!” she blurted out, louder than she meant to.

The room went quiet.

Sylvie clapped both hands over her mouth, face blazing red as she stared at the floor.

“…Day six?” Jocelyn echoed, amused. “Very well!”

She made a note in the air.

“Next up, our runner-up! Mika Tanaka—what day would you like to claim?”

“Day three,” Mika answered immediately.

“Oh?” Jocelyn raised a brow. “You were ready for that. Any particular reason?”

Mika shrugged, tail flicking once. “It’s… in the middle of what’s left.”

“Fair enough,” Jocelyn nodded. “Practical!”

She spun on her heel.

“Next, our darling Barbara Dalton! Which day would you like to spend with your Master?”

“One,” Babs barked without hesitation. “Get this sexy date going as soon as possible—fuck!”

She stomped the floor in frustration the moment the word left her mouth.

“Ohhh, very eager!” Jocelyn teased. “I hope you enjoy~.”

Babs just huffed and crossed her arms.

“Next, Cassandra Byrne,” Jocelyn said brightly. “Which day will you stake your claim on?”

Cassandra lifted her chin.

“Your audience once again proves its taste is flawed,” she said coolly. “Had I been in the lead—as I deserved—I would have chosen the first day to secure my advantage. But alas…” She sighed dramatically. “I will take day two.”

“Lovely!” Jocelyn chirped.

She turned to the final pair.

“And finally, Eleanor Whitmore. There are only two options left—four and five. Whatever you don’t choose goes to Esme, so choose wisely.”

Eleanor paused, then turned her head.

“Which would you like, young lady?” she asked Esme gently.

Esme blinked, surprised, then shrugged. “Whatever. Just pick.”

Eleanor hesitated, clearly a bit taken aback by the bluntness, but nodded anyway.

“Day five, then.”

“And that leaves Esmerelda with day four!” Jocelyn clapped. “Perfect!”

She turned sharply toward April.

“Now! Let’s sort out your day, April.”

April stiffened.

“With your winning transformation,” Jocelyn continued, “you won’t be getting your own solo date. Instead, you’ll be sharing a date night with another contestant!”

A massive wheel appeared beside the stage, flashing lights circling six names.

“We’ll spin this handy little wheel to find out who!”

Jocelyn spun it hard—then zipped over to Jason and shoved something into his hand.

“Here!”

Jason looked down. “…Is this a knife?”

“Not just any knife, it's a throwing knife, silly!” Jocelyn said brightly. “You’ll throw it at the wheel to choose April’s date!”

“I– I don’t think—”

“Oh, don’t be shy,” Jocelyn waved him off. “Just get over here.”

An unseen **** yanked Jason forward.

“And throw! Okay!” She gave him a thumbs-up.

“O-okay…”

Jason lifted the knife awkwardly and hurled it toward the wheel.

It clattered to the floor, slid forward, and bumped the base of it uselessly.

Jocelyn stared.

“…Really? Don’t you Americans love baseball? You should be great at throwing.”

“Uh… sorry?”

“Whatever. Move closer.”

Jason shuffled forward.

“A little more.”

He shuffled again.

“More.”

He was barely two meters away now.

“Perfect! Now throw!”

A fresh knife appeared in his hand. Jason yelped, then threw it with all his strength.

It struck the wheel cleanly.

The lights flashed faster… then slower… until the wheel clicked to a stop and it could be made out which segment he had hit.

Barbara Dalton.

Babs perked up. “Wait—so what’s happening?”

“April here will be accompanying you on your night with the Master!” Jocelyn announced.

Babs turned, looking April up and down. The corners of her mouth curled into a slow smirk.

“…Alright.”

Jocelyn blinked. “That’s it? No quippy remark?”

“What?” Babs asked flatly.

“…Never mind.”

Day 1 — Barbara & April

Day 2 — Cassandra

Day 3 — Mika

Day 4 — Esmerelda

Day 5 — Eleanor

Day 6 — Sylvie