Katie's Interview - (Hindy)

Katie stared into the remains of her French 75. The buzz of **** slowing her brain down.

She glanced up. It was a mistake coming to this gathering. All the people she liked had not come, leaving all the blowhards. She sighed, grabbed her phone and opened it to a tabletop group finder. She browsed this often, why though? It not as if she went to any of them anyway. Well that will change she decided.

"I'm gonna join one and go." She whispered to herself.

She looked to recently created and found one near her that was recently created. Like an hour ago. Let's see what the requirements were for this game. She found the form for it and it had the header Harem Hotel: Tabletop. Her heart skip a little. Someone was going to do a game base on HH? How scandalous.

She finished off her drink and decide that she was going to join this table. The worse thing that could happen was a bunch of fat sweaty 20 somethings would be there. In that case she would jet. However, it could be that she'd find some like mind people she could call friends.

She opened the attachment to the posting and scanned it. It seemed to be a custom character sheet for HH. Name, weight, height, gender, sex, and a million little things. She started filling in the sheet. After submitting the sheet, the only other requirement was to meet with a Little Miss. Presumably to see if she would fit in the group.

---

Katie arrives in front of the meeting place. An old Victorian-style house. The few marble steps leading to the entrance are cracked in places and no light comes through the window curtains. For a moment, she wonders if there is really anyone here. Arriving at the door, she finds an old bell hanging.

Ding-giling ♪

She waits a few moments without much hope, but suddenly she hears the doorknob turn and a woman with long white hair, tied behind her head in a long ponytail and dressed in a suit with a red tie and black gloves, stands in the doorway.

“Come in, she’s waiting for you.” The voice is soft and inexpressive.

Katie is led by the woman into a small parlor room and finds herself in front of a pink haired girl wearing a green business suit, a white button-up blouse, and her hair tied with a green ribbon, facing the window. Katie glances around the room. There are two plush chairs with a coffee table in the middle, slightly at odds with the outside of the house. A little fireplace blazes away. A tabby cat with a long stripe of black running from its forehead to its black tip tail sits on the coffee table. Katie clears her throat.

"Umm, are you Little Miss?"

"Meow. Meow?" The cat interjects.

The door closes behind Katie, and the pink-haired woman looking out the window turns around. She wears strangely familiar black round templeless glasses

"At last." She says with a smile. "Welcome, Katie. As you guessed, I'm Little Miss."

She motions for the woman to take a seat. And for the cat to leave the room, the house, and this plane of existence.

The cat stares at Little Miss, stretches and meows, then proceeds out the door.

Katie watches the cat leave and then takes the indicated seat before clearing her throat. "So, how does this work?"

The host's assistant sighs and with a gesture ensures that the butler, outside the room, attends to the house owner's every need. "It's relatively simple. I ask questions and you answer. No jokes, no lies, you answer each question as truthfully as possible."

"Ok, I will give it a shot." Katie answers with a small shrug.

The assistant smiles again and sits down across from Katie. "Do you want something to drink? Do you like milk?"

Katie smiles back uncertainly. "Tea with milk would be good."

Little Miss nods and the butler enters the room with tea and milk on a plate with two cups. "Do you know where you are and why you're here, Katie ?"

Katie picks up her cup and takes a sip. "I was applying for the H. H. Tabletop group. I presume that this is the interview for that?"

"What do you know about Harem Hotel?"

"Oh, I read a lot of the CHYOA or at least the first five. People stuck in a game show like atmosphere trying to be the one to control their fate. Oh, the thrill of it tingles me. We are going to have a new season of it for this tabletop?"

"Kind of... It's more of a live action role-playing game. You can imagine that you're not being interviewed for a tabletop rpg, but for the real Harem Hotel." The pink-haired woman takes off her glasses. "So, now, tell me a little about yourself."

Katie takes a sip of her drink. "Uh, ok. I thought this was for a tabletop but I'll give it a shot. My name is Katie Wu as you probably know from my form I submitted. I work as the University of Deneri as an IT troubleshooter. I have extra time to make this work out, although I might miss a few sessions. Is that all right with you?"

"This poses absolutely no problem. We will organize the show in such a way that you don't miss a day of work. Let's continue." Taking it out from under the table, Little Miss opens a folder containing the registration form. "If you don’t mind, we’ll do a quick review of your form."

"No problem."

"So you work at the University of Deneri. How is it going? Do you have friends there? Maybe a boyfriend? Or family?"

Katie sighs. "Well my job is ok. It's a lot of running around to people's office to find out that they don't have an understanding of what a power button is. I work with other but not really anyone close. For one they are all students, I'm the only full-time person there right now. No boyfriend on my part, though who knows, maybe this will be the time to get one? My family is mostly in Taiwan as of right now. They are having a family get together. I couldn't make it due to work. At least the health benefits are nice."

"I'm sorry to hear you can't be with your family. That must suck. But, just out of curiosity, do you think any of your family members would like to join our show? Assuming we can get them to us, of course."

Katie shudders at the idea. "I would think not. I keep this part of myself as far away as possible from them. It would cause me some embarrassment. The only one that might be in is my cousin, Amanda, but that's just based on vibes."

"I see." Little Miss writes something on the form, out of sight of her interlocutor. "Well, you're in good company with us. And by us, I mean me and the rest of the team that will run the show. We are all glad you like Harem Hotel and no one will judge you."

Katie nods her head.

"Now, let's test your role-playing skills. I'm going to ask you questions that may seem stupid, out of place, or inappropriate. You're going to answer them all, act like your subconscious is forcing you to answer, okay?"

"Ok... Ok."

"Do you like cats?"

"Yes. More specifically I like watching them. You never quite know what they will do."

"What's your favorite drink? And why is it Milk?"

"I like a chocolate martini once a while and that has milk in it. I keep a bottle for when my cousin comes with her cat."

"What's your bra size?"

"Umm, last I checked it was a B cup. Though those don't fit nearly as well as the A cups, but maybe it's the brand right?" Katie asks.

"Probably. It's like every brand has their own size charts and doesn't want to stick to a common one. What's your favorite season of Harem Hotel? And why is it Shar's?"

"I have read the original, several of the ones that went no where. I do have a soft spot for Bros to Hoes. I don't remember Shars very well, have to go and read it again."

"I ask you again, why is Shar's season your favorite?"

Katie frowns. "Which one was that again?"

"The one with the tall, muscular, intelligent, and amazingly red-haired host. Not like some lustful, lunatic, and lazy lizard lady."

"I really can't say. Vibes mostly."

"Not bad. Like I said, I have some stupid questions to test you. I see in your form that you chose three paths. Can you explain them? What transformations do you expect?"

"Well, Adventure's really my dig. If I'm going to be so game with stakes on the line I would like to have one path I like. And Adventure seemed to call to me on well and adventure. I imagine the good sides will let me do so of those stunts in adventure movies and at worst be a sexy damsel in those movies." Katie explains before taking another sip. "Tech was just my job, and don't most of the contestants have at least one path similar to what they do? And I don't know why I picked service, it was a bit random. Something told me that I need at least one path that would be less ideal to my impression of adventure."

Little Miss nods. "Kind of like a filler, I guess. What's your favorite color?"

"Blue-green. That shade. Never could find the name for it."

"Turquoise?"

"I don't know. Every time I try and find a name for it I get confused." Katie answers with a shrug.

"Don't worry. I know someone who will be happy to try to find the answer."

"Ok." Katie takes a sip of her drink and then spurts out, coughing.

"You will see that we are not a group of role-players like the others. Everyone will be very invested in their character. We have many means that could make you believe that it is magic. I will ask you to never break the role at any cost. Do you think you can do it?"

Katie is still coughing. "Hu... I think so. What on earth was that?"

"An example of what we can do. Did you notice when we changed your drink?"

Katie peers into the cup. "Is this whiskey? How on earth?" She looks up. "You people are very good, you know."

"Thank you." Little Miss replies with a sincere smile. "I don't get that often. Since you seem to know your way around computers. Do you plan on trying to hack devices or the system if the situation arises?"

Katie puts down her cup. "Well, I did spend some time hacking. It not like it is in the movies. Most of the time it's social engineering. It's also having the people on the other end make the mistake of doing all the work for you. Movie hacking is mostly rubbish. I might try if I really need to or what not. You're not going to access anything illegal, right?"

"I can assure you that everything we do is perfectly legal. I ask you this because we had a problem with a contestant in another season. If you plan to do something similar, I will have to take measures so as not to hinder you in your roleplay."

"Fair enough."

"I don't have many more questions. First of all, what do you think about dragons? If you could choose, who would be your master? What is your sexual orientation? Are you more dominant or submissive?"

"Ok, um, I think dragons are cool. They are staples in fantasy. Western dragons are kind of brute beasts. Eastern ones are much more wise and god like in their stories. Western ones you could theoretically beat, depending on the setting. Eastern ones are a nope on that score. I don't know on the master. I am attracted to males. I really don't know on the dom-sub question. Never had a relationship get that far... Um crazy question. Is that mirror a mirror?"

"Very well and I agree with you. Western dragons are nothing but brutes. But the beggar is not the one who chooses." Little Miss says, then turns to the mirror. "Let's say that for you, it is."

"Okay." Katie replies as she stands up. "I just have this feeling that there is someone there." She says as she reaches out her hand. "So when do I find out if I'm in this show?"

"You can check if you want. And if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. As for the show, it's going to start very soon. I have people to interview like you before. And besides. Once the show starts, I'll ask you to act like you don't know what's going on. For you, this is a real season of Harem Hotel and you've just been kidnapped. You must not give up the role at any cost. Understood? If you tell anyone that you volunteered to participate in the show or something like that... well... It's not going to end well, and that would be a shame."

"Ok. I guess I see you then." Katie replies before leaving the room.

As soon as she leaves the room, the camera cuts to show the set where a hologram of a cat is talking to the host and her assistant. "Well... it could have been better. I hope she won't be as boring during the show."

"Well I hope so. It took some of my set for that interview. If I am not happy about the results I come over and demand all your catnip wine." The cat answers. "Also you were boring as well. No magic tricks."

"You can get it in the Harem Hotel shop, you know? And I would have loved to do some magic tricks. I wanted to do this interview in the style of The Matrix. But you totally killed the effect from the beginning and she didn't even react to the 'At last.' "

"Na na na. My set. I get to be where I want. You get to do what you want when you get a set."

"She had a set, and blew it." Wrynn interjects, the dragon woman having been content to just observe so far while she drank sips of whiskey from a bucket.

Little Miss keeps on complaining, while doing her best to ignore the drinking woman. "You even took control of my butler and as a result, she didn't say her sentence before letting that nerd into the room."

"People get tired of references. And you have plenty of time for that. If she gets one back then. I can't keep up with everyone."

"She is a computer nerd who wants to live an adventure as if she were in a movie. It was the perfect thing to do."

"Yeah, why did you say something evasive."

"Well when you snatched her you should have her touch a mirror and do the whole wake up in the 'real' world thing." Wrynn chimes in.

The cat perks up at that. "That'd be so cool. Guess she did get a clue at the moment."

"I can call her coppertop even." The dragon woman muses.

"Or I just rewind the whole interview, erase her memory and start over." Little Miss proposes.

Wrynn shakes her head. "Nah, just have a cracked mirror fix itself when you snatch her, no tech nerd worth their salt could resist touching the mirror after."

"Heck, film as many times as possible for cool points." The cat exclaims.

"She's already kidnapped. They're all already kidnapped." The assistant explains.

"So edit her memory to make her think the last thing she did is touch the mirror. Easy fix, that's why I'm host." The dragon woman says as she takes a sip.

"And that was the plan at the beginning. I would have liked to make her believe that she was not kidnapped but freed from a simulation to appear in the real world. Here."

"So why not do it?"

"But how do you explain the questions about bra size, cats and color?" The pink-haired woman asks.

"I'll totally offer her a couple of pills and everything. I think I can make a pair of sunglasses balance on my nose."

"The interview has already aired. But I can do something..." Little Miss muses.

"It can be edited like her memory. Time shenanigans and what not."

"Yeah, yeah. Lucky for you that I can do that. The original interview will be in the director's cut."

"Cool, now I just need to get this mirror hot enough to melt for the whole covered in silver effect." The dragon woman says, visibly looking forward to it...

... Only for her assistant to brush her off. "No need. We currently have Matrix mirrors in stock."

"I never get to pour molten silver on anyone anymore. This job sucks." Wrynn pouts.

"And if you melt a mirror you don't get the same effect as in the movies."

"You get a fun scream out of it."

"Now please, I have to do some 'time shenanigans.' "

"Anyway, I might visit you during you production. It sounds fun. I can leave my dog of a companion to run things for a moment. Not like anything exciting is happening for a hot tick." The cat says to the dragon woman.

"Yes, right, off to fix your mistakes. I have more whiskey to drink. And feel free to drop by, you can see Little Miss in her normal attire and see how the tail looks for yourself." Said woman answer, right before the cat disappears.

"I already have one host to obey. It would be cool if there wasn't a second one." Little Miss says with a sigh.

"Are you still here? Refill my bucket before you go."

A strange thing happens as an alternate reality appears. A reality where the interview plays out differently. With a more Matrix vibe. And at the end, Katie disappears from the room, leaving behind a pile of clothes and an exhausted assistant... And a only slightly **** dragon in search of a larger bucket.