The Production Problem

“We’ll see you in the next episode, darlings. Until then: vote well.”

Jocelyn held her pose and bright smile for a few beats.

A sigh escaped her lips, and her shoulders sagged instantly, as if she were a puppet and her strings had been cut.

“Ugh,” Jocelyn let go of her cane and left it floating beside her momentarily while she pinched the bridge of her nose and mumbled. “Seven weeks…”

She slipped her tophat off and reached inside, lamely pulling out a small rectangular titanium slab, with a sheet of glass on the front, housing an OLED display, usually this is what is called a ‘phone’.

“Let's see how things are going,” she sighed.

Kbrdsmsh: wait this wasn’t an Ora gag?

RegalRiskTaker: I want to snap that twink like a Slim Jim

ShyFox69: #JocIsABully #FemJason

Ora: Hey! I don’t do gags! Except the sexy ones!

pervlizard80085: Babs best girl!! #JoceIsABully #BabsDidNothingWrong

JiMbo69420:
*Twink guy claims to be an ass man*
*fuckass blue host only gives us boob related tfs*
(｢•-•)｢ ʷʱʸ?

pervlizard80085: Suck it @JiMbo69420 tits are bettr anyway

Kbrdsmsh: im so in, ghost hunter with a harem of the ghosts he tried to hunt? >>>> genius

RegalRiskTaker: love jocelyn, her showmanship is so cool

Originalhawk89: kinda sad he couldnt fit in a list of living contestants

ShyFox69: #JocIsABully #FemJason

RegalRiskTaker: Babs looked better before :/ hot monster ladies are hot, and her voice was yummy

xxBoobFantasyxx: @originalhawk stfu who cares hes just another loser to break, cant wait to see this btich go full azure on his ass

Dripmammothg: his sister is a hottie tho, add her to the harem!!

Callathen24: bro… she was a kid in those vlogs

Dripmammothg: who fckn cares?

Candybestgirl13: wtf can we get a mod to ban this guy?

[MOD_Lyn]: User @Dripmammothg has been timed out.

Kimisqueen5: lololol get fucked ****

Originalhawk89: Cassandra Byrn died of nominative determinism, also she is probably a chuuni who died in the 90s and just wants to impress everyone.

xxBoobFantasyxx: sure nerd, whatever you say, #cassandrabestgirl

Kbrdsmsh: jason doesnt seem as bad as levi ngl

kingblades8: ghost points are fun and they get to come back to life?

Quietmaster: sylvies options objectively suck, this master is a wimp #BarbaraShouldHaveBeenEliminated #JocelynNeedsLessonsFromYuki

Originalhawk89: Sylvie best girl, but they are all great

ShyFox69: #JocIsABully #FemJason

Pervlizard80085: babs best girl, #JoceIsABully

Pinkautumn24: this season is cooked already lol

Funkythistle: boring tfs tbh, all the cosmetic shit is gonna win

Maryfan193: looool too bad esme is gonna get cowed #btgg

_Ghostfucker32: jocelyn should join the harem, tired of her shit already

Candybestgirl13: lmao username checks out

dropbear_753: just checked and that vlog was years ago steph is a full grown adult now

callathen24: still weirdchamp

ShyFox69: #JocIsABully #FemJason

godripper2: stop with the spam damn

Jocelyn’s eye twitched. “We paid top dollar for that ad…” she muttered. “I’m not some ‘gag’ just because a freaking god started her season before me…” she continued to scroll.

“Everyone talking about ‘booty this, booty that’, but the only thing that sells on here is tits, why even bother?” she grumbled to herself.

Jason watched from his seat. He could tell Jocelyn was doing something, but she was facing away from the stage, so nobody could make out what it was. He turned back to the others, and his eyes landed on Babs, who was currently standing directly in front of Esme, flexing her arms with no shame whatsoever.

She rolled her shoulders, grabbed one thick bicep, then the other, squeezing like she was testing the ripeness of fruit. Her grin was wide and unapologetic.

“Fuck,” Babs said, admiring herself as much as anyone else. “Feels so good to have these back.”

Her gaze slid downward, slow and obvious, lingering on the generous curve of Esme’s cleavage.

Esme didn’t move. She just raised an eyebrow.

“…Anyway,” Babs continued, craning her neck slightly, “what’s with the freaky getup? Died at a funeral or something?”

The glare Esme shot her could’ve cracked glass.

Babs blinked. “Okay, jeez,” she muttered, hands raised in surrender.

Still, she took one more look at the Latina's cleavage before turning on her heel and sauntering back toward her seat.

Unfortunately, the stool she’d claimed earlier was now occupied by a small girl in overalls, who was leaning towards the little blonde one. Babs snorted and dropped onto the next stool over instead, sprawling comfortably.

Once Jocelyn stopped talking to the ‘audience’, Mika had shuffled over to sit next to Sylvie. At first, Sylvie was nervous and just looked the other way. Why would she bother moving here? What does she wan—

“Psst”

“Eeep!”

Sylvie practically launched up in the air, and not being as used to having actual weight, she quite literally flung herself off the chair and landed right on top of Jason's suitcase, knocking it to the side.

“Oh— oh god, I’m sorry!” Mika blurted instantly, already moving.

She crouched beside Sylvie and held out a hand without hesitation.

“You okay?” Mika asked, voice steady, eyes scanning her quickly. “You hurt?”

Sylvie stared at the offered hand like it was some kind of puzzle.

She seems nice. Just grab her hand, just… reach… up… and—

“Hey,” Mika said gently, keeping her hand there. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

“…Uh— ah… thank you,” Sylvie finally managed to croak out, her voice small.

She took Mika’s hand, instantly she noticed the firmness with which Mika had hold of her, along with the roughness of her calloused hands, very unexpected for such a cute looking girl. It was secure, like nothing bad could happen while it held her.

“You ok?” Mika asked while pulling her up.

“I- yeah…” Sylvie said once she was fully stood back up, she met Mika’s eyes, and just… stared.

Before she could say much more, she heard a cough to her left and turned to see literally everybody in the room staring back at them. Well, except for Jocelyn, she was still doing… whatever it is she’s doing.

She covered her face with both hands, peeking through her fingers as the embarrassment finally caught up to her. She’d been so flustered by the fall that she’d forgotten to be embarrassed about it.

Through the gap between her fingers, she spotted Jason standing a few steps away, his posture tense, concern written all over his face. He’d bolted upright the second she fell, but the moment he saw Mika had everything under control, he’d stopped himself, staying back instead of crowding in.

The others had watched too. Cassandra looked amused. Eleanor looked worried. Esme looked thoughtful. Babs looked like she was suppressing a grin.

Jason opened his mouth, about to ask if she was alright—

Clap. Clap.

Jocelyn had turned back toward them, a smile plastered across her face.

“Alright, what are you lot doin’?” she chirped. “Back to your seats. It’s time for your transformations~” she wagged her cane towards them as she spoke.

No one argued; everyone who wasn’t already seated made their way over to a seat.

Jocelyn drifted across the stage, making a point of checking everyone off visually. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven! Alright thats everyone present and camera-ready.

She fiddled with her hat for a moment, trying to get the placement just right, and—

“Three.”

“Two.”

“One.”

“Action!”

Jocelyn struck a pose and put on her best announcer voice.

“Welcome back everyone! I’m sure you have all been eagerly awaiting the results of this latest transformation poll over the last week!” she announced brightly. “You had so many juicy options to pick from, I hope you all picked well~”

Jason furrowed his brow. Did she just say week? It's been a few minutes at most, what—

Suddenly, the suitcase Sylvie had tumbled on to began to rumble in place.

“Huh?” Jason was startled by the sudden movement, but it wasn’t the weirdest thing to happen in the last few hours.

The vibrations began to increase in intensity, growing more violent by the second. It clattered wildly around the floor, loud enough to finally grab Jocelyn’s attention.

“What the—” Jocelyn started, “what’s the meaning of this?”

Sylvie gasped. She leaned towards Mika and gripped the back of her overalls, almost cowering behind her.

The case gave one big jolt. Then another. Then another. The latches clattered wildly while the case bounced around in place, the rhythmic beats almost sounded like some giant creature repeatedly bashing against the lid.

Mika, Cassandra, and Jason leaned forward slightly, eyes locked onto the case. Babs and Esme seemed unfazed, and Sylvie continued to cower behind Mika.

A glow began to shine through the seams of the case, dim at first until it was like lasers shooting through the cracks.

The suitcase burst open, blinding light filling the studio momentarily, causing everyone to have to shield their eyes (except Babs, who was wearing her sunglasses). Just as the light began to dim, a figure burst from the source, hovering in the air.

There, floating above the wreckage of the shattered suitcase, was a short dark-skinned girl.

She looked as confused and fearful as ever. She wore a pink drawstring hoodie with frayed and chewed sleeves and some blue denim shorts. Her legs had multiple wrappings and bandages, layered unevenly, and the same went for what little was exposed of her arms.

Her thighs were softly rounded despite her slim frame. Wide amber-brown eyes darted around in panic beneath a halo of thick brown curls, her large afro bouncing as she spun, dotted with colorful star-shaped hair clips that caught the light.

“Uwahhhh!” she screamed as her body began to rotate faster, arms flailing uselessly as she drifted higher, then tilted sideways, completely unable to control her movement.

Jason’s heart pounded in his ribs. Another ghost? I thought there were only supposed to be six, though? Though… she was cute, actually, wait a minute, she’s very cute... and very recognisable? Why did he know that face? Where had he—

“PAUSE!” Jocelyn screamed, slamming her cane into the ground as she did.