The Other Harem

Authors Note: A summary of everyone's TFs and Mods can be seen here.

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Sophia Maoulin

Sophia slowly opened her eyes, expecting the softness of her sheets, but instead finding herself naked and surrounded by mist. Heart pounding, she got to her feet, only to be greeted by an eternal void of darkness and fog.

She tried to take a step, but nearly stumbled as her center of gravity felt utterly off, an unusual sensation after her prior catlike balance. She reached behind her, expecting her tail, only to find it wasn’t there.

“What the?” she muttered, bringing her hands to her head, and realizing her cat ears weren’t there. She brought them down to her face and realized she wasn’t wearing her glasses. Still, she could see just fine.

Looking down, she could see that her catgirl transformation hadn’t been the only thing to be reverted. The increase to her height and breasts that her first TF had given her had also been undone, returning her to her usual petite frame. Her tattoo was similarly gone.

“I’m back to normal,” she said softly, running her hands along her body. She looked around, trying to see if she could identify anything other than the fog and emptiness. “Hello?! Anyone out there?”

“Sophia, is that you?” a voice replied behind her. Turning, she saw an outline of a figure coming to her through the fog. As it got closer, she saw it was Elena, equally naked.

“You have any idea what’s going on?” Elena asked.

Sophia shook her head. “No clue. One minute I was going to bed, then I was here.”

“Maybe we’re dreaming?” Elena offered.

“No, it’s too real to be a dream,” a voice to the left of them objected. Turning towards it and taking a few steps, the pair of girls saw the muscular, bare back of Olivia, standing nude and cautiously looking around the void.

“Olivia? You’re here too?” Elena exclaimed.

Olivia looked down at her arms. “Yeah, and my muscles are back. I was going to bed too, before winding up here.” She cracked her knuckles, as if expecting a fight. “If I had to guess, this is Azure’s doing.”

“Nope! Not exactly!” a high-pitched voice corrected.

The fog parted, allowing a small female to walk out and reveal herself. It had green skin, wide hips, and flowing white hair. She wore a loincloth and cape, along with two straps over her chest that utterly failed to keep her nipples from bleeding through. Her ears were pointed, and her eyes were pink with a dopey, tired expression.

She gave them a wave. “Hiiiii! I'm Three-Sixty-One! I'm Azure’s super special dream master!”

“Dream master?” Elena repeated.

“So, this is a dream after all?” Sophia asked.

The stranger nodded. “Yup, a special one. I’ve brought you here a couple of times before, actually. But that was always for Azure's podcast thingy, so we never got to meet.”

Sophia furrowed her brow. “Podcast?” she asked, vaguely recalling Azure mentioning something about one.

Olivia narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “I don’t remember any podcast.”

“Nope, you don't remember 'cause I made you forget!” she replied. “It’s a Q&A with the audience. The guys in charge said podcast questions could spoil the show, so it was okay to make them, uh, non-canon, and have you forget when you wake up!”

“So that’s why we’re here then? To answer questions?” Elena inquired.

Three-Sixty-One shook her head. “Nope! Azure said no podcast tonight, so I snuck you in to say hi!” She looked around. “But oopsies, only three of you were sleeping! Why are you all up so late? That’s silly!”

“Mrs. Wolf and Tomoko were busy, so they're probably still up,” Sophia explained. “As for Lauren, Ji-Woo, and Levi, I have no idea.”

“Hey, you said his name!” Olivia pointed out. “You didn’t call Master.”

“Duh! This is dream-you!” Three-Sixty-One laughed. “You appear how you envision yourself, even if that’s not who you are anymore.”

“Whatever,” Olivia growled impatiently. “Why the hell are we even here then?”

“I just wanted to meet you!” she replied. “My mom—Azure—talks about you a LOT. Like, all the time!”

Olivia did a double-take. “Azure's a mom?! You’re her child?!”

Three-Sixty-One twirled in place. “Not the only one. I got lots of siblings.”

“How many?” Elena asked cautiously.

The green-skinned girl put a finger to her lip, thinking a moment. ”Last time I counted, she had three thousand four hundred and fifteen!”

“Jesus! And she calls us sluts!” Olivia exclaimed.

“Nu-uh, she didn’t have us like babies!” Three-Sixty-One clarified. “She just made us, like play-doh!”

“What?” Elena said flatly.

“My mom is super artsy! We were all boring humans once, but she made us new and shiny and cool! It's way better!”

“Do you remember what you used to be?” Sophia asked.

“Do you remember when you were eggs and goo in your dads pee-pee?” Three-Sixty-One giggled.

“Uhg!” Olivia groaned, massaging her temples.

“Besides, I’m over two hundred years old, so I’d have forgotten anyway,” Three-Sixty-One shrugged. “It’s tough being one of the oldest. Doesn’t help that most of my siblings are super-duper naughty. It's because of them Mom put us all in time-out in her magic forest, behind a barrier,” Three-Sixty-One explained.

“Normally, the barrier would keep me from reaching you,” she continued. “But she put a exception to it for the show, to let me do my dream magic once a night.”

She ran her fingers through her hair and winked. “Guess she forgot to revert it when she canceled tonight's podcast. Oopsie. But lucky for me, since it means I get to talk with you”

“Fascinating, but I do not care. Send us back,” Olivia ordered, bluntly.

The dream master lifted her hands. “Wait! Please listen! I wanna talk about Mom. She’s been all grumpy and sad, and I hoped you could cheer her up!”

“Cheer her up?!” Elena repeated in disbelief.

“Yeah! She was super mopey last time we talked,” Three-Sixty-One recalled sadly. “She never listens to me, but maybe you can help since you’re always hanging out with her!

“Are you serious? We hate Azure!” Elena shouted.

“She’s kidding!” Olivia disagreed hastily.

Elena raised an eyebrow. “I am?

“Yes, please tell us more about her,” Olivia requested, in a strained, sweet voice. “We… love Azure. She and we are just… the best of friends.” Olivia forced a wide smile, despite her declaration causing her physical pain.

“Oh, yeah,” Elena agreed, playing along. “Best friends.”

“We’d love to learn more,” Sophia added.

“Yay!” Three-Sixty-One cheered. “Okay, so Mom was super happy about her season thingy, but then she got all sad after watching your video, Sophia.”

“What video?” Sophia asked.

“You know, the original season plan. Where you were gonna be the Master of the harem instead of that Levi guy!”

Sophia felt like a bucket of cold water splashed on her face. “HUH?!”

Three-Sixty-One nodded. “Yeah, it only showed the first few days, but it was enough to see you as harem girlboss.”

“Wait? What? Wait? What?” Sophia repeated, caught in a loop.

“Wait, are you saying we were originally supposed to date Sophia?” Elena asked, looking back and forth between the two.

“Huh? No way! You guys weren’t even supposed to be here.” Three-Sixty-One bit her lip. “Didn’t you know?”

“Of course not!” Olivia cried.

“Uh! Uh! Uh! Uh!” Sophia muttered, still processing.

“Uh-oh! Sorry!” Three-Sixty-One apologized. “She told me, and I thought it was okay to share. Don’t tattle on me, please!”

“So, if we weren’t the contestants, then who was?” Elena questioned.

“Well, there were twelve of them…” Three-Sixty-One began.

“TWELVE?!” Sophia shrieked, bringing her hands to her face as it turned beet red.

“A whole dozen. Damn, girl,” Olivia said, looking at Sophia.

“Yeah, but big boss people said no to the season, and Mom was super-duper sad about it,” Three-Sixty-One sighed.

“Oh, that’s terrible,” Olivia expressed without an ounce of sincerity.

“But she picked you anyway, Sophia!” Three-Sixty-One cheered, patting the girl on the shoulder. “She musta thought you were extra special!”

“I… uh… wow… uh…” Sophia stammered.

“I couldn't bring the DVD into the dream world, but I remember everything,” Three-Sixty-One offered. “Wanna hear about it?”

Sophia gulped and took several deep breaths, trying desperately to lower her heart rate. “I mean… I… uh… I suppose… academically… learning about alternative seasons could tell us more about the game.”

“You just want to hear about how you got laid,” Olivia countered.

“Olivia!” Elena chastised, hitting her arm with her elbow.

Olivia lifted her hands defensively. “What, that wasn’t a diss. You do you, girl.”

“It… I… ok,” Sophia muttered, growing impossibly redder.

Receiving approval, the green-skinned girl waved her arms dramatically. “Okay! The contestants were split into two teams: Those from Real Life and those from Fiction!”

A 2D image formed itself in front of them, like a computer display, floating in midair. Next to it was a second screen, showing scrolling text with a font large enough to read from a distance.

The image showed a girl with dark skin and spiked green hair. She wore shorts and a punk shirt that showed her midriff. However, most noticeably of all, two large horns sprouted from her head, and she had a long, spiked tail.

Sophia gasped, recognizing her, even with monster parts. “That’s Kate!” She turned wildly to the text, trying to understand why her friend would be there.

---

Katie Taylor

Age: 22

Katie, Kate to her friends, was Sophia's dormmate back in Canada. Extroverted, she often tried to get Sophia to go out more. On her quieter nights, she and Sophia like to play Mario together. Currently studying for her Mechanical Engineering degree.

Transformations

Predating the Bowsett meme by twelve years, Kate will gain horns and a spiked tail, as well as a preference for spiked collars. Can even breathe fire when mad. [Monster, Dragon]

---

“But… she… we… we can’t date,” Sophia stammered.

“Why not?” Three-Sixty-One gasped.

“She… she’s not into girls,” Sophia argued.

“That never stopped anyone,” Three-Sixty-One beamed.

“OF COURSE IT HAS!” Sophia shrieked.

Three-Sixty-One giggled. “There were boy contestants too! Wanna see?”

A second window opened up next to Kate, with its own bio. It depicted a shirtless man with long blonde hair and glowing eyes, and, most notably, large angel wings. The angel features were so overwhelming that Sophia didn’t even recognize who the person was until she read the bio.

---

Sam Mason

Age: 29

Sophia’s cousin who first introduced Sophia to her favorite card and board games. Some of Sophia’s greatest childhood memories were of hanging out in his basement and playing together. Currently works as a software engineer at Intel.

Transformation

Sophia idolized Sam from a young age, so this will make this more visible. Sam will grow angel wings, long golden hair, and a halo, along with attaining twink energy. [Angel]

---

“HE’S MY COUSIN!” Sophia shrieked.

“Mom says that’s barely a taboo compared to what you usually get at Harem Hotel,” Three-Sixty-One laughed. “ Besides, he’s hot, ain't he?”

“That’s besides the point,” Sophia began, before realizing what she said. She cleared her throat, hoping no one noticed.

“Next up is this silly lady,” Three-Sixty-One giggled, bringing up an image of a busty woman wearing a skimpy nurse's outfit, her large bosom on full display.

---

Racheal Wilson

Age: 34

Oversaw Sophia during the period she was in an IEP (Individual Education Plan) program at school. Helped her better understand her autism. Occasionally condescending, albeit unintentionally, and sometimes giving bad advice due to her 90s understanding of autism. Quit teaching in 2004, to get her nursing license.

Transformations

Who needs a fancy nursing degree when Harem Hotel can give her the important part? Racheal will now always dress as a sexy nurse, that shows off her greatest assets. Despite how slutty it may look, no medical institution will find it unusual. [Nurse]

---

“What?! Autism?” Sophia gave an obviously fake laugh. “What are you talking about… I don’t… uh…”

“Dude, it’s fine,” Elena said supportively.

“It is?” Sophia asked. “You don't mind.”

“Why would we be?” Olivia replied, raising an eyebrow. “I mean, full disclosure, I kinda assumed anyway.”

“That’s right,” Elena agreed. “That’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Sophia’s face broke into a smile, her eyes watering. “You guys.”

“Still, if this is too personal for you, we can look away,” Elena offered.

“No, it’s fine,” Sophia beamed. So touched was she that she didn't even notice that the next contestant had been brought up until she looked back moments later, to see a woman an athletic woman with a leather corset and a plaid skirt.

“That was my friend's EverQuest character!” Sophia recognized. “Spellgal5. Me and her used to raid together!”

However, her recognition turned to confusion as she read the name the bio had given.

---

George Malone

Age: 24

Sophia knew him by his EverQuest screen name Spellgal5. He and Sophia (ReiUsa19) formed a guild in 2001, and he ended up being the person she interacted with most during that year, before her parents had to step in due to concern that Sophia had become addicted to the MMO. Worked as a manager at Tim Hortons before being brought to Harem Hotel.

Transformations

Sophia only ever interacted with George through his avatar, so let’s give her the girl she remembered. George will gain the body of his Barbarian character in EverQuest. He will gain an instinctive understanding of how to properly handle his female body and hygiene related to it, as well. [Barbarian, MMO, Gender Bender]

---

“Spellgal5 was a guy?” Sophia muttered in surprise. “But he gave such good girl advice.” She shrugged. “I guess it’s not that surprising. I mean, I’ve pretended to be a guy online too.”

“Speaking of Spellgal5, here’s gal-five!” the creature interrupted, switching the slides. “Get it? You were talking about Spellgal5, and now picture five is a gal! I’m so funny!

“We get it!” Olivia groaned in annoyance.

As Sophia looked at the image, she was momentarily stunned by what she saw. It depicted a humanoid dog girl, wearing a tube top and shorts. But unlike Sophia’s cat form, which was human except for ears, tail, and claws, this girl was covered in fur, much like Nora Wolf under the full moon.

---

Adèle Trembley

Age: 23

Was the most popular girl in Sophia’s middle school, who would often bully the poor girl. She was quick to point out all the ways Sophia was weird and encourage people to stay away from her. Fortunately, she was several years ahead of Sophia, so their paths only crossed for about a year, but it was still impactful. Now in college in America, hoping to be a clothing designer.

Transformations

Adèle was a bitch to Sophia, so let’s make sure the outsides match. She will become an anthropomorphic puppygirl. Will also sit or fetch if her master commands it. [Dog]

---

“She sounds like Lauren,” Elena chuckled darkly.

“Kids suck,” Olivia agreed.

“Honestly, I barely remember her,” Sophia said. Though as she did, suppressed memories began to stir, as she recalled the first time she ever hated someone. However, any chance of falling into a bath of reminiscing about painful memories was lost when the sixth contestant was so utterly bizarre that it completely shattered her train of thought.

---

Dell

Age: Complicated

The 2003 Dell Inspiron 8500 Laptop (or Dell for short) is Sophia’s favorite computer. It is the one she writes all her steamy fanfiction on, and where she watches mature content, to keep it off her school computer. Despite being an inanimate object, it is the thing Sophia spends the most quality time with, and is responsible for enabling more orgasms for its mistress than anything else.

Transformations

Dell will be given a small robotic body, no more than two feet tall, capable of moving freely and speaking. Despite not having genitalia, it will gain two hands that are 'just the right size to fit.’ Dell will also be given an AI capable of learning. Perhaps someday it will even comprehend this emotion called love. [AI, Robot]

---

“They brought an inanimate object into my harem?” Sophia exclaimed.

“Yeah,” Three-Sixty-One nodded. “There were even options to keep it a laptop. Azure’s so funny, right?”

“Yeah, barrel of laughs,” Elena growled.

“So who’s next?” Sophia asked.

“Oh, that’s it,” Three-Sixty-One shrugged, before smirking. “Of Team Real Life. Next is the six from Team Fiction.”

“Oh, lord,” Sophia gasped.

Three-Sixty-One waved her arms like a magician, making all the images of Team Real Life disappear! Then she presented the first picture of Team Fiction!

---

Raven

Age: 18

One of the founding members of the Teen Titans. She was the daughter of the multidimensional demon Trigon, who constantly tries to use her to usher in his arrival. She must constantly control her emotions to prevent the devil from taking her over and destroying the world.

Transformations

Trigon will be erased from Raven and replaced by Asmodeus, the demon of lust and pleasure. Likewise, rather than emotions being its source and limit, lust will be; time will tell how this will impact Raven's powers and personality, and what she must do to contain the beast. [Comics, Goth]

---

“Oh, lord,” Sophia repeated.

“What the hell is a Teen Titan?” Olivia whispered to Elena. “Some kind of anime?”

“It’s… not anime…” Sophia said weakly, trying not to drool, recalling all the StarRae yuri fan-fiction she had written.

“Well, if you want anime, the next one totally is!” Three-Sixty-One giggled. “Ready, set, go!

---

Jaiden Yuki & Yubel

Age: 20 (Jaden) and Unknown (Yubel)

Two entities that share a body. Despite the separate souls, they will count as a single contestant.

• Jaiden: A happy-go-lucky student at Duel Academy, Jaiden is a dueling prodigy, but despite his awful grades due to sleeping through class. At the end of the third season of Yu-Gi-Oh GX, he fused with the Duel Spirit Yubel. The two are now intrinsically linked, sharing one body.
• Yubel: A Duel Spirit and the main antagonist of the Dimension World arc. A former childhood friend of Jaden, Yubel was separated from him and subjected to the Light of Destruction. Yubel returned as a spirit, desperate to reunite with Jaden at all costs. Despite the harm they had caused, Jaden forgives them and willingly fuses.

Transformations

• Despite sharing a body, Jaiden is usually the one in control. Well, let’s take a page from the original Yu-Gi-Oh and let them swap whenever they wish. Their bodies will also change to whoever is in command.
• Jaiden can summon the adult Elemental Heroes from his deck into real life. They can only aid in sexual or erotic activities. The cards can also fuse, though they must bump uglies to trigger their Polymerization.

Currently the frontrunner, as of day four.

---

“That’s a lot of lore you’re throwing at us,” Olivia commented, totally lost.

“Why do they get two transformations?” Sophia asked. “Is it because there’s two of them?”

“Nope!” Three-Sixty-One bounced excitedly in place. “The second one was a prize he got for, um, taking your virginity?”

“WHAT?!”

“Yup! Mom showed me the whole thing!” Three-Sixty-One said proudly. “It was so silly! You said ‘throw me down, face down!’ and he was all ‘Time for me to get my game on!’

“Azure showed you that? That pervert,” Elena growled.

Meanwhile, Sophia’s face felt like it would catch fire if it got any hotter. ‘Does my virginity involve Yu-Gi-Oh in every timeline?’

Three-Sixty-One paid no mind to everyone's discomfort. “Okay! Next up is a big, scary guy!”

Both Elena and Sophia gasped when they saw who it was, while Olivia gave a soft whistle.

---

Ganondorf

Age: Unknown

The grand villain of the Legend of Zelda series. He has returned countless times to threaten the kingdom of Hyrule, using his dark magic and cunning. This particular incarnation of the king of evil comes from Sophia’s GanonLink bara fanfic, in which he utterly decimated the Hero of Time's ass. Because he is the only male Gerudo in a hundred years, any children he has with Sophia will be Gerudo females. Will our Mistresses Wisdom and Courage be enough to tame his lust for Power?

Transformations

We will seal Ganondorf's formidable power behind dozens of seals and limiters. Only Sophia can authorize him to access his true might, and only to reward him for serving and/or servicing her. Will our dark king be able to handle serving another? [Game, Villain, Slave]

---

“Azure brought in Ganondorf?! Is she crazy?” Elena gasped.

“Oh, so you played it too?” Spphia smiled weakly, looking back at her friend.

“I don’t get what you’re complaining about. Dude's hot.” Olivia pointed out, crossing her arms.

“He’s the villain!” Elena exclaimed.

“Still hot,” Olivia shrugged.

“Don’t worry, the next guy’s a hero. Literally,” Three-Sixty-One smiled.

---

HERO_NAME

Age: 28

The protagonist for Sophia’s scrapped RPG Maker game, whose name is chosen by the player. An elf warrior from the kingdom of Avalon, he is dedicated to finding the four elemental crystals to defeat the evil Dragon Emperor. Unfortunately, Sophia stopped working on the game before she even finished the first dungeon, but we at Harem Hotel brought him here to continue his story from where he left off.

Transformations

HERO_NAME will continue his quest to get the elemental crystals, each of which will give him a spell. However, he can only earn each by mastering the sexual aspects each element represents. This includes the fire of passion, the stable hardness of earth, the flexibility and bodily fluids of water, and the freedom and improvisation of air. Should he demonstrate such perfection in one or more of those elements while fucking Sophia, he will be awarded the corresponding crystal and learn its spell. [Game, RPG, Elements]

---

“Are you kidding me?! My crappy RPG!” Sophia groaned in embarrassment. “I hadn’t even thought of that in like a decade!”

“Ha! You said that in the video too!” the dream master pointed out. “Then Mom was like, ‘let’s show off your newer stuff, then!’”

Sophia’s embarrassment only grew as the next contestant was revealed.

---

Princess Sofie

Age: 19

The OC and self-insert for Sophia’s longest-running non-fandom work. The holy princess of the kingdom of Ester. Despite her magic and holy destiny, she frequently finds herself in bondage, as a damsel in distress, or in noncon situations. While this might have been traumatic for most, her author never dwelled on that sort of stuff, so neither does she. In fact, she rapidly developed a kink for it, passed down from her author.

Transformations

The frequent ‘misfortunes’ from her stories will continue in real life, as the universe will conspire to put her in bondage, in need of rescue, or in sexually embarrassing situations. Whenever this happens, it will be guaranteed to be kinky, though. [ENF, Bondage]

---

Sophia buried her face in her hands, suddenly turning down Elena’s offer to look away. The reveal of her kink was only half the story, however, as she cringed at the reminder of her crappy writing. “Can we just move on?”

“Kay-kay!”

---

Trunks Briefs

Age: 18

The last surviving Saiyan, and only remaining hope in an apocalyptic future devastated by Androids. He went back in time to save both the past and future from the threat. However, his time machine brought him to Harem Hotel instead.

Transformations

The androids of Trunks' time will become even stronger and will be given special protection, meaning they can only be defeated by the children of Trunks and Sophia. It is up to him to ensure that he and Sophia make their own Saiyan race to free the future. [Anime, Superpower, Breeding]

---

“That’s… messed up,” Sophia mumbled.

“Damn, too bad you didn't get his dad,” Olivia chuckled. “Now, he’s hot.”

Sophia disagreed. “Vegeta would be a horrible boyfriend.”

“Says you. He and Bulma got on great,” Olivia argued. “Honestly, he was a way better dad than Goku. I mean, at least he didn’t throw his child at Cell without telling him about it, before abandoning them for seven years. Plus, even when he was revived, he ditched them again to go train some rando.” Olivia argued.

Elena and Sophia stared at her, the latter of whom was especially shocked, feeling like Olivia had just out-nerded her a moment there. Olivia blushed under their gazes and looked away. Sophia resisted the temptation to ask Olivia’s thoughts on GT, or if she ever watched the original Dragon Ball, deciding to put a pin in it. “So, that’s everyone then?” she asked.

“Nu-uh,” Three-Sixty-One countered. “One more.”

“Huh?” All three asked in confusion.

---

Inuyasha

Age: 200+

The child of a demon and a human. Persecuted throughout his childhood for his halfbreed nature, he sought to use the Shikon Jewel to become a full youkai. However, the Jewel's human guardian sealed him to a tree with a magical arrow. There he remained for five years, before being rescued by Harem Hotel.

Transformations

Inspired by another of author Rumiko Takahashi's work, every time Inuyasha is splashed with cold water, he will become a woman. On the other hand, hot water will turn him back into a man. The universe will conspire to make such water-related mishaps more common, especially when it would be most comedic. [Anime/Manga, Gender Bender]

---

“Oh, hey, I recognize that guy,” Olivia declared. “His show was on Adult Swim.”

“Hold on, that’s thirteen,” Elena pointed out before Sophia could.

“Yup, he was a reward,” the dream master nodded. “Mom’s season was a team season. The Fiction team won a challenge, so got a bonus member.”

‘The winning team gets more players? Seems like that could easily snowball,’ Sophia thought, but decided not to share her issues with Azure’s understanding of game balance.

“And guess what? You got magic prizes too, Sophia! Wanna see?” Before she could get a response, Three-Sixty-One revealed the final slide.

---

Sophia Moulin

Age: 21

Boons

Sophia will always have perfect hygiene and appearance without needing to apply makeup or do care routines. She will also not have to deal with periods, and all her pregnancies will be painless and last no more than a month.

---

“Damn, that's nice,” Elena expressed.

Sophia, meanwhile, was massaging her temples, the impact of everything hitting her. “Can you conjure a chair or something? I think I need to sit down.”

Three-Sixty-One nodded, and a sofa appeared next to her, which Sophia flopped down into.

“This is all interesting, and all, but why share all this with us?” Olivia asked.

Three-Sixty-One hesitated a moment, not sure herself. “Oh—oops! I forgot! I wanted to tell you why Mom was sad. I got all distracted! Mom was SO excited for your show, Sophia, but those meanie producers said no. It broke her heart.”

“Oh, no, that’s tragic,” Olivia lied.

“She tried again and again! She switched out the boys for the girls, thinking that was why they didn't like it, but they eventually told her twelve was too many. Said seven was her limit. That made her super mad! Other hosts got more! Those dumb producers—I wish I could punch them in the nose!”

“So, she landed onto us?” Elena clarified. “But the tone seems totally different.”

“Oh, Mom always wanted a dark season. But she figured she’d start with a, uh, how did she say it? ‘Mainstream one to get her foot in the door.’ Then she’d go super dark in her sequel, once they saw how good she was,” Three-Sixty-One explained. “But after spending so many years being jerked around, she decided not to hold back. She wanted to do a payback season, so she found a master with lots of bullies.”

"So, all that Azure said, about me being here because of a fanfic I wrote?" Sophia sked, already knowing the answer.

"A lucky connection," Three-Sixty-One confirmed. “She wanted an excuse to keep you. She must have really loved you.”

“Lucky us,” Elena muttered.

A silence fell over the crowd, as everyone thought about what they had learned. While Elena and Sophia were preoccupied with thoughts of what could have been, Olivia felt her blood start to boil over the 'sad' tale of Azure.

"Why the hell did she even care that they rejected it, if she didn't want to do a lighter season anyway?" Olivia asked.

"Because they said no," Three-Sixty-One replied, as if that were obvious. "Mom gave them art, and they said it wasn't good enough. It was mean."

“So basically,” Olivia said slowly, with barely contained fury. “We’re here, fighting for our lives, because of Azure's temper tantrum? Am I getting that right?”

Three-Sixty-One shrugged. “I guess?”

Olivia stomped her foot. “You’ve got to be kidding me! That whiny, entitled cu…” She caught herself before she could finish her curse. She took a deep breath to steady herself. “Uh, I mean, oh, how could they do that to your poor, poor Mom?”

“Yeah, it’s so sad,” the girl sighed, totally oblivious to Olivia’s anger. “On top of all this and the stuff with her sisters, why does everyone have to be so mean?”

Elena raised an eyebrow.

Three-Sixty-One gasped and put her hands over her mouth. “Oh, I totally shouldn't have said that. She told me not to.”

Olivia stepped forward, wanting to know anything that could lead to Azures weakness. “Come on, tell us, please?” she insisted, forcing a smile. However, the girl merely shook her head.

“No! She’ll be mad,” she insisted. “That would make me a bad therapist!”

Olivia raised an eyebrow at this self-appointed title, but didn’t comment on it. Meanwhile, Elena took a deep breath and walked over to the green-skinned individual.

“Please, Three-Sixty-One, we all want the same thing.” The princess placed a hand on her shoulder. “We all love Azure for giving us new forms. We want to make her happy, to pay her back. If there’s anything you can tell us about why she’s sad, and how we can help, please do. For your mom's sake.”

‘Damn, she’s good,’ Olivia thought, impressed by the utter sincerity Elena was able to fake.

“You really mean it?” Three-Sixty-One smiled. “You’ll help Mom?”

“I promise,” Elena nodded.

“Ok. I’ll tell you,” the girl nodded back. “About where Mom came from.”

---

Bonus Image