Thomas Haywood, Retiring History Professor

The first shot shown is a title card of the Harem Hotel. The shot fades into looking up a gravel driveway to a grand four-story English manor. A forest surrounds it, and it seems to go on for miles. The camera swivels to the right, revealing a broad crystal pond. It then swivels left past the manor. In its view were a series of sports courts of all descriptions. The camera swings and moves up to the old oak doors that open for it, looking into an opulent foyer. It swivels to the right, showcasing a large ballroom. The camera swings and moves left into a dining room and right into a library.

The camera stops on a slender Chinese woman sitting in front of a fireplace. Her black hair flowed like liquid onyx, and she smiled at the camera with bright pearl teeth. Her dress was a sunset red. It covers her from her modest bust to her smooth-out thighs. A pair of red ankle-strap sandals complete the ensemble. A reasonably tall man in butler attire stood in the corner of the shot. His hair matches the host as well as her ethnicity. A blank look of politeness radiated out from him.

"Hi everyone, Welcome to a new season of HAREM HOTEL! I am your host, Justine, and that over there is Justin." Said the revealed woman, indicating a tall Asian man.

"We are tickled that all of you people have tuned in to this season of Harem Hotel. For those of you watching for the first time, Harem Hotel is a show where we draft a group of women to compete for the affection of a chosen master. We are sitting in a special location. We’re at a location that hosted a previous iteration of this show. Back to the tele-radio and before that letters. It has had a decline since those days. But now we are back! For a live-streaming TV audience, we have restored this historic venue."

She stood up and moved over to a bookcase. She grabbed a weighty tome and yanked it down. The bookcase gave a soft click before swinging open. Partly obscured by the woman, the camera shows expansive grounds leading up to a forest. As the woman steps through the portal, an Olympic pool and a small stage come into focus. Eight deck chairs and a small blue two-seater sofa surrounded the small stage in a semicircle.

As the woman walked towards the sofa, the camera turned about to reveal a wall where they presumably came from. The man appears to step out of the wall. The camera swings back to the host.

"And what do you know? This old place has many secrets. I just showed you one of them. I’m sure our lovely cast will love discovering what this place has in store." Justine grinned as she lowered herself on the sofa.

"Before we introduce this season's master, we cover some details for this season. In a moment, dear viewer, you will see a list pop up and display the first transformation for this season."

Contestant #1

Honor Bound

Hotel Service

Honest Press

Contestant #2

Vivre la Vie

Appeasement

Advanced Warning

Contestant #3

Bletch Arse

Say It Again

Study Up

Contestant #4

Not One Word Back

Delays Happen

Suck in Triplicate

Contestant #5

Split Minds

Leave Nothing to Waste

Please Unzip Your Pants and Enjoy

Contestant #6

Love Talker

Eternal Texas Rose

Convenient Bond

Contestant #7

Panzer Vore

Back to Your Roots

It All Adds Up

Contestant #8

Soft Underbelly

Binary Options

Easy Bellini

"That's right. We are continuing the tradition of the transform guess. For those unaware, here is how it works. Each title of the transformation is a theme created by our lovely writers. If you can guess all the references and even the transformation relating to the contestant, you get the right to put in a wild card transformation and give that card to that contestant. Wild cards can enhance a round. They also can be a debuff. Both of these options are purchasable by our contestants. These wild cards will be temporary and have some restrictions. We will explain them in depth later in the show. But don't let that stop you from being creative. If you submit something truly great, your submission might be an actual transformation."

Justine smiled as she brushed her hair so the bulk fell behind the sofa.

"The more precise the answer and the earlier it is submitted, the better chance your wild card comes up. What the actual transformations are will be revealed at the normal time. I will explain the special rules for this game more once we introduce our master and contestants."

Justine slowly raised her arms in a grand flourish, "And now, let me introduce this season's Master: Dr. Thomas Hayward!"

AN: Thank you for choosing to read this branch. I hope this is written decently well. Thanks to Weeb, Alic, Dissonant Soundtrack, and others on the Discord Harem Hotel Fan Edition for checking my work. Round 0 Voting is happening.