The rules wash over Ishaza like gentle surf.

She's played hundreds of Desire Games before. Not Orgasm Race anytime recently; but it's clear these rules advantage her, as a longtime member of the Bowers staff. 

Of course, the prize isn't worth much to her, a permanent resident, but it is at least transferable; and there will be plenty of opportunities for her to trade for better things during the game. She wouldn't be surprised if she was chosen as a coach, given her long experience. Wouldn't that be fun. 

Lyn stands a little awkwardly, hands in her pockets. She feels naked without her riding crop in her hand. 

It's coming up to near the end of her stay, but she heard about this game and after some favour trading was able to get herself a spot at the table. 

She's not done at the Bowers, not yet. She needs to win this - but how? 

Winning the coach vote might be helpful, but that takes a reputation and she doesn't have long to establish one. And she didn't bring anyone with her. 

It's going to be an uphill battle.

Hazel hums lowly to herself, a light smile on her face. 

This sounds like it's going to be really fun. And involve a lot of cumming. Managing a team sounds like a pain, but sex for points suits. She'd like to win that prize... 

She should try and find a qualified domme to be her coach. They'll be stronger together. 

Hannah stretches her arms above her head. 

Yadda yadda, rules rules rules. The main point is the fucking and sucking. She doesn't really care about the week at the bowers, she's been here a hundred times before. 

Whatever. 

... It'd be hot to earn the most points though. Be officially best at cumming. Heh.

Cocoa looks around at the other contestants, a quizzical look on his face. 

... They've stuck him in the women's game again, haven't they. Ten to one most of these girls are lesbian. Which is a problem, given that he's a guy! 

Then again, he's kind of used to working with a handicap. And if there's someone here who's seriously bi, he does have a certain unique charm...

It's been another long day of playing music at the bowers, and soon it'll be time to move on again. 

Cytherea reaches out and takes the hand of her partner, squeezing gently.

"We'll win this together," she breathes in Rose's ear. 

"Heh. Don't get overconfident. But yeah, together." 

Rose knows who she's voting for in this one. Another week together with Scythe at the bowers... Now that's a prize worth fighting for. Or, in this case, worth fucking for.

They've put her in the ladies' section again. Which is a problem, given that she prefers men... well, most of the time. 

... the Bowers does seem to have given her one cute boy today, though, so maybe she'll go say hi. She wants to be on his team, for sure. 

Lily feels... a bit uncomfortable, to be honest. This was recommended to her as a way to "loosen up" and "be adventurous", but that week long prize is just too huge! What's she supposed to do, not try and win? 

She has no friends here, no clue as to strategy just yet...

Well, there is one thing...

Theoretically, a non-captain player can leave their team in the last trade round if they can convince their captain to let them go, right? And go to the winning team at the very end. 

But the captains themselves have to win the whole game. 

So she should... nominate someone for captain she doesn't want to win. 

It's counterintuitive, but the logic seems sound to her. 

Neo looks around, eyeing the other players. It's been a while since she played one of these. Nice to see Ishaza, she'd be a good coach candidate. There are a couple other standouts she can see as well.

It'll be fun to see what trades she can make with her points and possible prize. Not like a free week at the Bowers will do her much good, since she's already a permanent resident. It'll be a fun ride either way.

Maya leans her statuesque hull against her admiral as she looks around the room, the rules and prize filtering through her mind. Obviously she's voting for Sable as a coach. No one leads like her admiral, even if this is a rather different battlefield than what she's conquered before. She'll be uncertain about the prize, though.

"I'm sure the other girls will forgive us for taking an extra week, beloved."

Sable wraps her arms tightly around Maya as the battleship leans against her, strategies flicking through her mind as her gaze sweeps the room intently. Her experience with command suggests her as a possible coach, but there are no guarantees. Options: visibly signal being an established couple already comfortable with sex to encourage being drafted together if she doesn't get picked as a coach, scope out a few likely subs and flirt with them as possible team members, watch for people who'd be receptive to trades. She can spot a few potentials already. Her right hand drifts lower to squeeze Maya's ass.

Maya's right that the rest of their little fleet would forgive them, but Sable suspects there are some particularly interesting things a week's stay could be traded for, as well. She licks her lips at the thought of the challenge here. Prize or not, coach or not, this is going to be fun.

"We'll see how things turn out," she replies.

The referee outlines a box atop her podium, and a silver case appears in the space between her hands. 

She opens it; inside there is a ballot box, a stack of a dozen silver envelopes, and a bundle of fountain pens. 

"Ballots will now be handed out. The initial voting phase will last for 60 minutes or until all votes are cast, whichever is shorter. In order to cast your vote, write a single name on the ticket in your envelope, replace it into the envelope, then insert it into the ballot box. Ballots with more or less than exactly one name on them will be considered spoiled and counted for no-one. If your ballot is lost or damaged, you will not be issued a replacement."

She taps the ballot box. "Votes will remain secret until the end of the game; however, the total vote count for each player will be published at the end of the voting phase. You may vote for yourself."

The referee spreads her hands. "Negotiation time will start when all ballots have been handed out. Please form an orderly line and take one ballot and pen each."

Interesting. Very interesting.

"If anyone would like to vote for a domme as their coach, please write in "Lyn" on your ballot!"

Huh, she's probably worth talking to...

Great, an hour of fucking around before the real game starts. 

If she casts her vote early maybe she can take a nap.

Cocoa just gets in line, his gaze intent on the ballot box. 

This is a serious decision...

"Well this part's easy for us, huh?" Scythe grins and runs a hand through Rose's hair.

"Mmmmmhm." Rose smiles and ducks her head, and goes to get in line.

She wants to be on that black-haired boy's team. In which case... probably best to be a coach? Her chances are better if they can cooperate...

She had better get to the front of the line before anyone tries any tricky business with the ballots. No replacements, one per person? There are definitely going to be shenanigans. 

Neo hops into line. It would be easy to steal a ballot, but boring. There's no interesting security, nothing to make the theft really worthwhile. The real fun is in how many orgasms she can wring out of the cuties on her team.

She blows a kiss at Ishaza.

She and Maya get in line as well, cuddling while they eye the group. She's pretty sure the elegant beauty with the purple skin and horns is on staff — she's seen her before. That makes her a solid candidate for a coach. Then there's another blatant couple. They'll be trying to pair up too, which means they're angling to make one of them a coach. And Lyn, of course, has announced her candidacy as well. The adorable snailgirl is eyeing her, which suggests Lyn has a shot already. Finally the silver-haired girl is paying rather a lot of attention to the lone boy, which suggests another pair in progress.

That's five coach candidates already, counting herself. This will take some interesting politicking to get everyone arranged onto teams.

The referee passes out pens and envelopes one by one. 

Lily surveys the line once she has her own ballot and pen; contrary to her fears, it seems everyone has gotten their own pen and envelope.

Ishaza takes a moment to survey the crowd, and catches Neo's eye. She winks back and nods.

So. It looks like there are four serious coach candidates aside from her. Lyn, Scythe, the purple-haired girl with her girlfriend, and one of either the black-haired boy or the silver haired girl. 

If she's a coach - and that's a real if, being a mere player is not disastrous to her - what does she want?

Well, she wants good picks from the rest of the players, which means she wants either the lowest number of votes while still becoming a coach, or for all of her competitors to be committed to selecting their own partners. If Lyn is in the competition she's competing for the same limited pool of players in the first pick round, while the obvious couples are going to want to first-pick each other. Thus, if all three of them win and she's the fourth, she gets a first round bye to grab the best player from the rest of the selections. It's not as good as being the lowest voted coach, but it still gives her the first "free" pick. 

So she should angle for a moderate votecount while competing specifically with Lyn. If she doesn't make the votes to be a coach, she can compete easily as a 3rd on any team - she has no real alliances at this point, which is an asset to her. 

Okay, Lyn, think about this seriously. 

You're going to need a sub, ideally a masochist. And if you're going to win this, you need to be a coach - being the third person on a team with another coach as a domme is a losing game. Sure, it's advantageous to be the first person who picks players, but she can always trade later - she doesn't have friends here yet, so she can play a little more fluidly. 

So what she needs to do right now is build alliances, even if it means being stuck with less than ideal players or paying a few favours. 

She waves to the cute snailgirl. "Hey! What did you say your name was again?"

Hazel steps in towards Lyn. "Hazel. You're really pretty," she says. "Um, you were saying you were a domme? What kind?"

Well, she'd better not mess this up. "I uaed to be kind of strict, but over the years I've gentled a little. I enjoy painplay - strikes with a crop, that kind of thing - but it's not essential to me at all. What about you, what do you like?"

"Well..."

Hazel steps over to the side of the room, and rests her shell on one of the beds. "I like painplay, actually. So long as it's, um, gentle..." 

Lyn sits down next to Hazel, and smiles. "Go on then, tell me all about it..."

Hannah looks across the room at Hazel and Lyn sitting together, and rolls her eyes affectionately. 

She walks over to the northeast bed and flops down on her belly, envelope stretched out in front of her in her hands. 

Who cares about the voting, seriously? 

She shimmies, rolls over, gets comfortable on her back. Pulling the envelope onto her chest, she slips out the ballot and looks at the blank line. 

She could just vote for Ishaza. That'd be easy enough. But then again, maybe she could get someone to give her a favour or two for her vote... 

Hmmmmm. Now that's an idea...

Cocoa looks around the room, and - oh, hey, a silver haired girl is looking right at him with an obvious blush on her face. 

He sashays over to her and offers her his hand. "Hey," he says. "I'm Cocoa, who are you?"

Vivian takes his hand and shakes it. "Vivian. I, um. I think we might have been matched, I, ah -" She looks around at the room. "I might be bi, but I prefer boys. Team?"

"Sure," says Cocoa. "Team. Who do you want to be captain?"

"You can have it, I think. I don't really want the stress of managing a whole team..."

"Me either, honestly, but I'll take it if you don't want it."

"Let's grab a bed and go talk it over."

Cocoa lets go Vivian's hand and nods seriously. "Sure, works for me."

"Honestly," Scythe says to Rose. "We might as well cast our votes now." She tilts her head. "Or would you like to play the field?"

"Nah." Rose slips her ballot out of its envelope and clicks out the nib of her pen. "Let's just get this done."

"You can write on my back," Scythe offers.

"Thanks, babe."

Sable hums thoughtfully. Two votes guaranteed for each of her, boy-or-silver, and red over there. Strong odds of two votes secured for Lyn. Four votes in play. Securing one or two of the open votes would solidify her spot as a coach, but there's the question of influencing the composition of the opposing forces.

Lyn at first glance seems like a slightly less established domme, but that could be misleading. She's handling herself just fine with the snailgirl by the looks of things. Probably Lyn's so eager to get into play as a domme because she's not confident about her play as a non-coach. If she gets stuck in that position, she may learn something about herself, and either way the odds of success for Sable's own team improve.

Can the snailgirl be poached? Should the snailgirl be poached? Who can be seduced into voting for Lyn's competition? Who should she and Maya recruit to vote for her? The brunette flopped on the bed looks like she's waiting for offers. The lone purple-haired girl doesn't seem to have someone in mind yet either.

"Crowded field. Scoop or spoil?"

What's her Admiral's play here? Ah. Whether to uplift what already is happening and help Lyn land the coach spot, or spoil Lyn's play and enable her competition. Spoil is likely to get them a more interesting game, among other reasons, so...

"Spoil. I'm on the brunette?"

"And I'll talk to the cute snail. Whoever finishes first talks to purple."

And off they head.

Neo tilts her head and then sashays over toward Ishaza. <Coaching,> she signs?

<Depends,> Ishaza signs back. <We'll see how many votes I get.> She runs her non-signing hand through her hair, twisting a strand around her finger. <Nice of you to say hello.>

<It's good to see you. Be nice to have a coach I know already, but whatever works.>

She goes to write Ishaza's name down, then pauses, weighing the pen thoughtfully in her hand. Odd! She grins, examining to see where the bulk of the excess weight is located.

It seems that the excess weight is in the upper half of the pen, where the ink capsule should be.

Ishaza glances down at the pen in Neo's hand. 

<Something amiss?> she signs.

<Topheavy pen,> she signs, then carefully tries to disassemble the pen if it can be.

The pen unscrews neatly. 

As it's opened, a small silver cylinder falls out into Neo's hand. There's a button on one end. 

Ishaza raises an eyebrow. 

<That looks like a vibrating bullet to me.>

She smirks, nods, and pockets it, then reassembles the pen and writes Ishaza's name on her ballot before skipping off to turn it in.

Meanwhile, Maya strolls over to Hannah's bed and sits down next to her. "Hello there~," she purrs. "Any good offers yet?"

Hannah props herself up against the headboard. "No," she says. "You're the first." She smirks. "Come to woo me, huh?"

"Mmmmmmhmm~," she replies with a warm grin and a nod. "I'm with the violet-haired woman over there," she points out Sable, "and my Admiral regularly manages to keep up with a polycule of four horny shipgirls, counting myself. You'd be in good hands."

Then she gestures at herself, her smile growing a bit challenging. "And of course, getting to enjoy all this isn't something to sniff at."

"I see." Hannah raises an eyebrow. "Anything you're willing to offer as a convincer? Nobody says we have to wait till the action rounds to have fun, hm?~"

She leans forward, her blouse hanging a bit lower and giving Hannah quite a view. "I could offer rather a lot. What do you have in mind?"

Hannah smirks. "Let me see... Eat me out and I'll vote for you, or your Admiral if she's who you want as your coach."

She scoots further onto the bed and kneels between the brunette's legs. "Aye aye," she says with a grin. "My name is Maya, while my Admiral is Sable. Whom do I have the pleasure of pleasuring?"

Hannah grins. "Hannah Ashford, at your service." 

She slips off her panties, and lifts her skirt to expose her slit. 

"Now I think you've got better things to do with your mouth."

She grins and leans down, lapping warmly and skillfully at Hannah's pussy.

At the same time, Sable is striding confidently up to Lyn and the snailgirl, smiling warmly but oozing what her fleet likes to call "command aura".

"Hello there, you two."

She looks both girls up and down, assessing them efficiently.

Lyn falters for a moment, but then her spine stiffens and she looks Sable in the eye. 

"Hello," she says. "Nice to meet you, my name's Lyn." 

She extends a hand to shake. 

Hazel smiles. "And I'm Hazel!" 

Her eyes flick between Lyn and Sable for a moment, and then down. A light blush comes to her cheeks.

Sable's grin widens subtly when Lyn straightens up. This might be interesting. She takes Lyn's hand, then leans down to kiss the knuckles, before looking up at her with a smirk and replying, "Admiral Sable Powell."

The she straightens and takes Hazel's hand to do the same, adding "pleasure to meet you both," as she does.

The corners of Lyn's lips quirk up when Sable kisses her knuckles.

"Charmed, I'm sure," she says, and inclines her head. "So you heard my earlier announcement, then?"

Hazel flushes a little at having her hand kissed, and smiles.

"I certainly did," she replies with a calm smile. "Though I am a switch, and I will admit to some curiosity as to your skills as a domme, I find myself more interested to see when you last tried the other side of the mirror."

Lyn pauses for a moment. 

She can get into a clash of wills with this so-called admiral right now, in front of Hazel... but actually...

If she wants to win, it's better for her to walk away from this with an ally of one of the established coaches. She's not blind; the girl Sable came in with is literally eating out some other girl right now. This "admiral," whoever she is, moves fast. 

She ducks her head a little, and smiles. "It's been some time," she says. "But I've always enjoyed being the right hand of someone genuinely competent." She raises an eyebrow at Sable. "I know only one team is supposed to win this, but... Somehow I feel I'd rather be on your side than opposing you. Coach or no coach."

"Good answer," Sable replies with a grin. "You're going to be fun, wherever you wind up. One thing I will add is that I'm somewhat less attached to the prize than I am to the challenge. There are very likely prices at which I'll part with it."

"I'm strongly attached to the prize, myself. I have business in the Bowers that I would very much prefer not be over just yet." She reaches out and lays an arm around Hazel's waist. "Hazel here and I have been talking about it, and each of us is feeling fairly motivated to win this entire. You could say it's something we have in common."

Hazel blushes at the sudden possessive touch, but smiles. "Yeah. We're going to take this seriously. And that means I'm voting for Lyn, because I want a captain who's going to try like I would."

"Oh good," she says with a delighted and intrigued expression. "I hate when there's no risk for me. Fight as hard as you can. Goodbye for now, ladies. It's been a pleasure."

Lyn smiles, and gives Sable a small nod.

"We'll do our best!"

Scythe speaks in whispers with Rose, sharing information gathered from opposite ends of the room.

From where they've been standing and listening, the standings look like...

Sable: Self, Maya, Hannah

Scythe: Self, Rose 

Ishaza: Self, Sign Language Girl [Neo]

Lyn: Self, Snail Girl [Hazel]

Catboy [Cocoa]: Self, Silver Haired Girl [Vivian]

One voter left over: The purple haired girl who looks like she belongs at a funeral. [Lily]

Sable has just promoted herself to Coach. Lyn doesn't look like she's going to back down, given the interaction Sable just had with her... 

"You go talk to the shy girl," Scythe instructs. "I'll go see about the catboy."

"On it."

Lily looks over the crowd. 

She's... not really certain what to do. Should she try to get on a team? Her vote is going to be secret anyway... 

She could approach someone, but she doesn't really trust anyone here, and this is... really just a big issue. 

She fiddles with the pen in her hand, clicking the end of it like it's a fidget toy. 

Suddenly it buzzes in her hand!

She swears and almost drops it, her knuckles whitening on it.

What the heck kind of prank is this, a buzzing pen???

She clicks the end again, and it goes still.

... Whew?

Rose approaches. "You really jumped for a moment there. Is something the matter?"

Lily shakes her head, a sudden blush coming to her face. "No, I - I'm just not sure what to do, that's all."

She extends her hand. "Lily."

Rose shakes it firmly. "Rose." She smiles slightly. "Have anyone in mind to vote for yet?"

"I'm still thinking about it..."

Sable strolls up as well, smiling. "Can be a tough question indeed. And don't worry, I'm not here to campaign for your vote. I've got my position lined up already. I'm just here to see how I can make life more interesting."

Lily tilts her head. "Interesting, like, how?" She narrows her eyes slightly, looking from Sable to Rose and back again.

"This has the potential to be so thrilling. People trading favors, orgasms everywhere, and risk. I want side bets, forfeits, and stakes. I want to see as much of this delightful madness as I can."

She spreads her hands wide. "I want this to be the best ride it can be."

Lily purses her lips. "I see." 

"You don't sound impressed."

"In my experience, simple, straightforward play is much more effective and reliable than... wacky hijinks."

She shakes her head with a thin smile. "Oh, I certainly don't want to get my hijinks into my core gameplay. My actual strategy remains quite simple: be coach, get a solid team, give and have lots of orgasms. I just find myself in a position where I care about having fun more than I care about the prize. Complementary time at the Bowers will not change my life, nor that of any of my polycule, but I can't bring myself not to try my best to win. Thus I want to see who's up for trades or bets, who wants the prize more than I do and can make an interesting offer, and so on."

She shakes her head and quirks an eyebrow at her. "So, miss, I have two question: what is your name, and what do you want?"

"My name is Lily. And what I want is my own business."

"Well said."

Lily rounds on Rose. "Don't think that just because I dislike her I'll fall for the game you're playing, either." She crosses her arms and frowns. "Get thee gone, both of you. I make my own decisions."

She laughs delightedly and nods. "Off I head, then. My name is Sable, and it has been a pleasure. Enjoy the game, both of you."

And with that, she strolls off toward the lovely lavender-skinned beauty and the tricolor cutie who'd been talking with her in sign.

"Alright, I'm going."

Well that was a bust.

She'll go join Scythe, why doesn't she.

Sable meanders up and smiles at the last two possibly-free agents. "Hello there, you two. I'm Sable."

"Evening." Ishaza's lips quirk up. "I'm Ishaza and this is Neo. She prefers sign, if you speak it."

She shrugs. <Don't know that I'd say "prefer". I don't mind people talking aloud, and the translation aura handles sign just fine.>

"That's convenient," she replies with a smile. "I sadly don't know sign. There was never time to pick it up, in the Navy."

She shakes her head. "On the plus side, I understood that well enough. So what're you two thinking thus far?"

"Neo here has already cast her vote for me. I intend to honor her trust in me by attempting to coach, but if I fail it's no great loss; I'm a switch, so I'm comfortable in any role in this game." She looks over at Neo. "I could try for a third vote to assure my position, but votes are somewhat thin on the ground. Most everyone's already paired up."

She nods thoughtfully. "I'm locked in at this point. All the other pairs only have each other so far. Lily is the only remaining free agent. I'm very curious to see what they'll do with a tie."

Neo shrugs and smiles.

"Lily?", Ishaza asks. "I haven't had time to be introduced to everyone yet."

"Darker purple hair than mine, outfit leans a little toward the elegantly goth side of things, over that way," she nods her head in Lily's direction.

Ishaza nods. "Ah, the woman you were talking to a few minutes ago, yes? What was your impression of her?"

Sable hums consideringly. "Very guarded. On edge. Suspicious of people's motives."

"Sounds like she needs time to think, then. Thank you for the information."

She smiles slightly. "See you in the action rounds, then? I expect we're both going to be rather busy."

She nods, smiles, and strolls off to the ballot box to fill out and deposit her and Maya's ballots.

When she allows herself a brief moment of fidgeting with clicking the pen before writing, there's the briefest expression of surprise, before she clicks it again, writes the ballots, and tucks both pens securely into her pocket. Then she meanders back toward Maya and Hannah.

Meanwhile, Scythe sits down on a bed next to Cocoa and Vivian. 

"Hey you two," she says in a low purr. "What's your names? I like your look, catboy, you've got a certain... je ne sais quoi."

Cocoa's ears twitch. "Cocoa. And do I really. More than one bi girl in this crowd, huh?"

"Looks like I might not get you all to myself after all," Vivian teases. Then she looks back at Scythe. "Did you just come here to hit on us, or...?"

"A little bit. Look, I've got a proposal for the two of you, Cocoa and whatshername. I'd like to make a team of four."

"A team of four? How would that work? Even if you get to be a coach, you'd still have to trade for someone. How are you going to get someone to give up a whole team member?"

"A little persuasion and a little perfidy. You see, my girlfriend Rose, who I brought here with me, is an obligate sadist. So she's not very much use to anyone who doesn't have someone willing to take a few hits. I qualify, but I bet a lot of teams would prefer not to have her. Similarly, Cocoa, you're a boy. So a lot of teams would prefer to have a woman, in this predominantly lesbian crowd. So if the four of us decide to work together, we could quite plausibly get an extra player for a really good deal."

Cocoa tilts his head. "... I see what you're saying, but I think this is a bit brittle. If we get drafted by other teams, I mean."

"I can almost guarantee us the first pick, so long as we're all willing to work together. You see, there's four of us, and if you don't try to be a coach, Cocoa, we can cast one vote for every team - meaning every team except us has their total set of votes, plus one, and then we have exactly one vote. Making us the lowest voted team, and thus first to pick. With that first pick I could grab you, silver hair girl, and then if we have to trade for both Cocoa and Rose that's just fine because we should win both those trades."

"That's... an audacious plan. It could work, definitely, but it does have the risk of you not ending up coach."

"And it would give away Cocoa's shot at captaincy."

"Honestly, that troubles me less than the potential for some other random person to self-vote for captain and ruin the whole thing. We don't know how ties are resolved."

"If you don't like that risk, we could always go for votecount of two. I'm pretty sure one of the teams has three votes already, and with our spare two votes we could push the remaining two teams higher."

"... That would seem safer."

Vivian looks over at Cocoa. "What do you think?"

"I think there's a risk that Scythe just first-picks Rose, but... I didn't really want to coach anyway, I just wanted to be with you. I think it's worth the risks."

"Hey, Scythe," Rose says, coming up beside her. "Am I missing anything?"

"No, I'm just explaining our team of four strategy to Cocoa and this other girl who still hasn't given me her name."

"It's Vivian."

"Vivian."

Rose smiles. "Sounds good to me. Nice to meet you two." She doesn't extend her hand to shake.

Vivian manages a small smile. "I think... It's a bold strategy, but I like it. Let's try it together."

"Alright. Then Cocoa, you vote for Ishaza - that's the lady with the horns - and Vivian, you vote for Lyn. Feel free to try to get favours from either of them for your votes. For now, let's break up so it's not obvious we've allied."

Cocoa nods. "Alright. What you say goes, boss."

Vivian looks over at Cocoa, runs a hand through her hair, and nods. "Alright."

Scythe gathers up her girlfriend on her arm, and walks away.

On the other side of the room, Hannah finally gasps out an orgasm from Maya's not too gentle ministrations. 

"Ah, fuck. Alright. Alright, you've earned your vote. Fuck."

She runs a hand down her breast through her shirt, then picks up her pen and her ballot envelope. "Who do you want it made out to?"

Maya sits up and licks her lips, quite pleased with herself. "Make it out to Sable."

She kisses Sable gently when she sits down. "Hello, love."

"Ooh. You certainly taste like y'all have been having a good time."

"We have.~"

Hannah gives Maya a deep grin. "Yeah, we sure have." She fills out the form with Sable's name, and recaps her pen. "Alright, I'm going to go hand in my things, then." She wriggles over to the side of the bed and sits up, not bothering to put her panties back on.

And after a warm parting smile, Maya cuddles up with her Admiral on the bed, awaiting the results of the voting.

Sable snuggles her battleship close, smiling softly, though she also taps a quick bit of morse code into Maya's arm, [The pens contain vibrators. Three clicks quickly.]

And then she simply continues snuggling and peoplewatching while she waits.

Across the room, Vivian approaches Lyn. 

"Hey," she says softly. "Nice to meet you, I'm Vivian."

Lyn smiles and inclines her head, one arm still wrapped around Hazel. "Hey," she says. "I was expecting you to still be together with that catboy of yours." 

Vivian nods. "We discussed for a while, and thought about forming a team, but... both of us agreed that it seemed like a hassle to coach. But we can still get together a pair of votes, so... We decided to ask if anyone was willing to pay us to drop out of the coaching vote as a team. I can give you a third vote to guarantee your position as a coach, even if Cocoa disagrees - Cocoa's the name of the catboy, he's a sweetie - but you'll have to make it up to me."

Hazel shares a look with Lyn.

"Make it up to you how? I'd like to win this if I possibly can."

"Three things, then.

"One, if you have the opportunity, you draft me for your team and make all reasonable efforts to get me onto the same team with Cocoa. Two, if you win, I get a day of time in the rose bowers out of your prize. And three, you remember that I came to you first, and not one of the other coaches." 

Lyn considers thoughtfully. 

... It is the deciding vote that'll make her a Captain.

"I accept." 

"Shall I fill out the vote for you in front of you?"

Lyn nods. "Please do."

She does.

Meanwhile, Cocoa sits alone on his bed. 

While he thinks Scythe's plan is a decent one, the horned lady with the hooves - Ishaza - carries herself with an air of quiet dignity and grace. 

Best not to be greedy and maybe risk giving the game away. He'll just fill out his ballot and turn it in.

Well, given that she wants to vote for someone who she dislikes, she thinks her vote is between the two groups who both tried to recruit her. 

The pink-haired girl was kind of slimy. What was her name again? Rose, that's right. 

And the other purple-haired girl wasn't very nice either. Sable. But she was actually trying to be a team leader, so... she thinks she'll nominate Rose. 

Should she vote for herself, or one of the other leaders?

It's looking like the field is Sable, Lyn, silver haired girl and catboy, herself, and the demon girl. 

The threshold for a chance of play looks like two votes, assuming all five are still in the running. But it's alright if she doesn't become a coach...

The world where she's not a coach is one where she's probably picked in the first round by a decent coach. It could be slightly awkward if she's picked by the catboy. And people have incentive to vote for other captains, if she's thought of it others could too...

She's going to risk voting for another team leader. Of the ones she has the names of, she thinks Lyn has fewer votes. So that's where her vote will go.

Lyn, Vivian and Hazel all go and deposit their votes together. 

And after them, Scythe deposits hers. 

"Your attention please! All votes have now been submitted. The vote count will now be revealed."

The referee closes the case with the ballot box and the stack of returned pens, and it vanishes. She clicks her clicker, and the screen behind her comes up with vote counts.

Lyn: 4 Votes
Sable: 3 Votes 
Ishaza: 2 Votes
Scythe: 2 Votes
Rose: 1 Vote

"Scythe and Ishaza are the two elected coaches with the lowest number of votes. They may either mutually negotiate a resolution to their pick order between themselves now, or a fair coin will be flipped to decide the first pick. If either party refuses to negotiate, the coin will be flipped instead."

"I'd like to negotiate."

"I would like to negotiate as well."

"Very well. You have ten minutes."

Scythe pulls Ishaza aside, and speaks with her in hushed tones. 

"I have a specific first pick in mind. Do you?"

"Not in particular, no."

"Then if you let me have the first pick in the first round, you can have the first pick in the second round. Deal?"

"I suppose that's equitable enough." Ishaza cracks a small smile. "Alright, then. Let's keep this moving."

She steps back to the referee. "Scythe will take first pick in the first round, and I'll take first pick in the second."

"Very well, then. Coaches, please each select a bed now. Non-coach players, please gather in the center of the room and wait to be drafted."

Sable strolls over to the bed Maya and Hannah had used earlier and taps the frame lightly. The frame turns to a lovely brushed steel, the sheets and covers a deep violet, and the tile an irregular pattern of violet and black.

Lyn steps up to the next bed clockwise around the room.

It fills out into a deep blue color, matching her scarf, with a wrought-iron frame. The floor tiles shift to inlaid hardwood, waxed and polished so the grain shows.

Ishaza follows suit, and lays a hand on her own bed's frame. It fills out into cherrywood with crimson sheets; the floor tiles shift to white marble interlaid with veins of rose quartz. 

Scythe is last to claim a bed: she crawls up onto it and lounges with one hand propping up her head. Hers has black sheets, a red-and black tile pattern of interwoven thorns on the floor, and a steel frame. 

When the rest of the players have gathered in the center of the room, the Referee raises a hand. 

"The draft phase will now begin!"

Scythe steps forward. "I name Vivian as my first player."

Vivian looks Scythe in the eye, and walks across the room to her side.

Ishaza steps forward. 

"I would like Neo as my first selection."

Neo smiles and sashays over to her.

Sable steps up and nods.

"I'll take Maya as my first selection."

She strides confidently over to her Admiral's side.

"I would like Hazel as my first selection."

Hazel hops over with a smile and a little wiggle of her hips.

"Ishaza begins the selections for the second round."

"I would like..."

Ishaza surveys the remaining four players; the catboy, Lily, Scythe's girlfriend Rose, and Hannah. 

Lily is suspicious and shy; Rose is clearly Scythe's player; Hannah is willing to cut deals; the catboy is unknown. None of these are ideal picks. 

She doesn't want Rose, she's not going to be loyal to her. The catboy is going to want to be on the same team as the silver-haired girl, which means she'd have to cut a deal with Scythe; she dislikes that. So it's between Lily and Hannah. 

She's much more familiar with Hannah, so despite her lax attitude she'll pick her over Lily.

"Hannah."

Hannah grins, and sashays over to Ishaza's side. "Thought you might say that."

Scythe tangles her fingers in her hair.

Well, now. It's between Lily or one of her players.

If she lets Cocoa go now, he'll have a lot of questions and things will be awkward for her alliance-wise, but she'll have a shot at a five player team, which would almost immediately win her the game. 

However... Lily is prickly, given what Rose said about her, and seems unlikely to appreciate being drafted. If she had been left Hannah she might have thought about it more seriously, but at this point she thinks it's got to be...

"I select Cocoa."

Cocoa grins and walks across the room to Scythe's side.

Tough question. Pinkette is absolutely going to want to end up with Scythe, which makes picking her a guaranteed trade. None of Scythe's players will want to be separated. That means picking Rose is guaranteed to leave her down a player. Lily is going to be complicated, but hopefully workable.

She gives Lily a questioning look with a quirked eyebrow. Do you mind if I draft you, goes the unspoken question.

Lily gives a little shrug and rolls her eyes.

"I select Lily."

Lily walks across the room to Sable's side, and leans against the bedframe. 

"So," she says. "Together again."

She smiles calmly and nods. "Quite. Now that we're on the same team, I'd appreciate knowing a few things: kinks, anything you can share about how to make this as fun for you as possible, overall goals for the contest. We're aiming to win this, mostly because we enjoy a challenge and all the sex. The prize is beside the point for me. If you want it, though, I'll do my best to ensure you get it."

She looks across the room. "Scythe is aiming for a four-person team, clearly. We're going to have to go hard to compete against that. It's doable, but openness will definitely help."

"Well," Lily says. "I prefer to top. I'm... A little shy about trying things, I haven't experimented a lot. If you could get me a strap-on I'd appreciate it..." She fiddles with her necklace, fingering the oval silver charm. 

"And I'd like to win, if I can."

Across the room, Rose walks over to Lyn's side without even asking to be drafted. 

She nods firmly. "Right. That'll have to be bought on the first trade round. Other purchase priorities include aftercare potions or anything that enhances the experience ongoingly. We'll try to pool to get everything we need. Maya leans bottom and sub. I'm a switch, vers, and I've got a cock, so given your preferences our best play this round is likely an A with me on my back. How do you feel about receiving cunnilingus?"

"Er, positive?"

"Great. Oh, just remembered."

At that she pulls her and Maya's pens out of her pocket, tilts to feel where the weight is balanced, then unscrews one to reveal the bullet vibe contained within. "If you kept your pen, we've got a little bonus in it apparently. It's not a strap-on, but it's a start."

She passes one of the vibes to Maya, who nods.

Lily smiles. "I noticed as well, actually." She slips her own pen out of her pocket and unscrews it, dumping the bullet out into her hand. "So it seems we've got one for each of us."

"As for me, I'm a shipgirl. We tend to be more sensitive than humans and are stereotypically insatiable. My Admiral keeps up with four of us back home, so stamina shouldn't be our main bottleneck, but it's worth covering all angles when we can."

Lily's eyebrows shoot up. 

"I... Alright! That is quite a fact!"

Over in the blue quadrant of the room, Lyn is contemplating her life choices. 

It looks very much like she got taken for a ride by Vivian. She was first picked for Scythe's team. And Lyn's ended up stuck with Rose as her third, thanks to two extra votes from nowhere. No guesses as to who gave her them; clearly it was Cocoa and Vivian working together.

Rose is no good to her, but Rose can't get off her team without her consent. So she can at least threaten to make Rose lose with her if she goes down.

Scythe is going to want to talk to her in the first trade phase. She'd better get together her approach.

Well. The setup phases have gone alright for her. She has two solid team members, and she's made a position as coach. Unlike Lyn, who's clearly suffering at this point. 

It looks like Scythe is going to be the early leader, with her and Sable jockeying for second and third and Lyn bringing up the rear. It might be smart for her to make some diplomatic overtures to Lyn and Sable...

She turns to Hannah. "You wouldn't happen to have kept your pen, would you?"

"No, I turned it in along with my vote. Why?"

"There was a vibrator in it. But it's alright; we can manage without a third one."

Neo smiles, then attempts to drape herself across Ishaza and Hannah's laps.

Ishaza will accept a lap Neo, and in fact let a hand of hers linger in Neo's hair.

Well, this phase has gone entirely according to plan. Now she just has to use her advantages to win. 

She misses Rose a little already... but she's confident they'll be reunited soon.

The referee claps her hands. 

"The draft phase has been completed! I will now introduce the list of purchasable items, and some additional details of the scoring system."

She rests her hands on the podium. "At any time, any player may redeem some or all their points for any item on the following three lists."

She clicks her clicker, and three lists come up. 

CONSUMABLES
0 Pt: 1 Dose Sinflower (Increases sensitivity and libido for one hour; caps out at a "standard" multi-orgasmic level for all participants)
5 Pt: 1 Dose of Aphrodia Essence (Directly causes pleasure when drunk; 1 full dose should induce orgasm) 
5 Pt: 1 Aftercare Potion (Fully recover from one orgasm)
10 Pt: 1 Dose Brightbreath (Grants pleasure from performing oral and lack of need to breathe for one hour)
10 Pt: 1 Dose Empathy (Allows sensation & emotion projecting, sharing and reading for one hour)

TOOLS
2x Purchase Price of non-Aphrodia Consumable: Permanent enchanted item with the given effect.
1 Pt: Simple aids that do not directly generate sensation. (Lingerie, rope, lube.)
5 Pt: Direct sensation generators. (Vibrators, Violet Wands, Floggers, etc)
10 Pt: Remote Tablet for Item Orders & Point Viewing
100 Pt: Permanent sensation modifiers. (Slideables Kit, Sense-Mapping Kit)

TERRITORY UPGRADES - These are applied to a given play area, and cannot be removed once purchased.
2 Pt: Cosmetic or minor upgrades (Cushioned floor, hardpoints, etc)
5 Pt: Bed Curtains & Soundproofing charm
10 Pt: Additional Piece of Furniture (Chair, Table, Bed)
50 Pt: Custom Sex Machine (Artificial partner)

She pushes her hands down on the podium, and it slides into the center of the room and sprouts four tablets, one facing each bed.

"Items can be ordered at any time at the central console, or via a remote tablet purchased there. Please note that there is no rule against theft in this game; teams or individuals are permitted to attempt to seize purchases that are not theirs." The referee touches her hands together. "A Captain may eject anyone in their territory to the nearest territory border with a touch and an effort of will." 

The referee clicks her clicker again, and another screen turns on, this one displaying four zeroes corresponding to the four quadrants of the room. "The official team scoreboard will be displayed here. It updates automatically at the end of each Action phase, and does not include any of a team's holdings in equipment. Point totals for individuals will not be displayed publicly, only each team's cumulative score. Individuals may transfer their points to anyone else via a simple act of will at any time during the game. You may check your own point total using any tablet or console."

The referee clasps her hands. "To recap, the game will now proceed through six half-hour rounds, each consisting of an Action phase followed by a Trade phase. Edges and orgasms are only counted during the Action phase; an orgasm is worth ten points, and an edge is worth one point. Points initially belong to the person who experienced the orgasm or edge, and can be spent or transferred freely. During Trade phases, players may be traded between teams by their captains in exchange for any compensation the captains wish. The team with the most points at the end of the final Trade phase wins the game."

The referee looks around the room. "Are there any final questions before play begins?"

Sable shakes her head to the referee, then turns to Maya and Lily. "We'll start off in an A-frame like I said, unless either of you've got a different idea. Soon as you come, Lily, unless you feel another coming on quick Maya transfers ten of her points to you and then you go get Brightbreath for Maya, your choice of strap-on, and Sinflower all around."

Lily flushes, but nods.

The referee looks around, sees no raised hands, and nods sharply. 

"The first round will begin... Now!" 

She claps her hands, and everyone else's clothing disappears. At the same time, a large timer appears between the four point counts, and starts counting down from twenty minutes.

"Eep!" Hazel jumps and covers herself with her hands.

"There's no time for modesty, get on the bed -"

Scythe darts forwards towards the central consoles and starts spamming Sinflower purchases. 

Cocoa flanks her on her right, 

And Vivian flanks her on her left.

Rose casually wanders over towards Scythe's territory, and sits on her bed.

Hannah flops onto her back on Ishaza's team bed and starts blatantly masturbating. 

Ishaza tosses Hannah her vibrator and looks over at Neo. "You on top," she calls. 

Neo climbs atop Ishaza with a grin, grinding her cunt against a lavender-skinned thigh for a moment before leaning down into a kiss.

Sable flops back onto the bed, already hard, having been looking forward to this enough to already be a bit warmed up. She throws Lily a playful wink.

Maya straddles Sable and sinks down on her cock immediately, sighing softly, one of the bullet vibes held to her clit.

Lily hesitates for a few moments, but then manages to slot herself into the spot Sable and Maya clearly expect her to take.

Scythe passes Sinflower doses to Cocoa ans Vivian and both of them down them, and Scythe hurries back to her bed with an armful more cradled against her body.

Cocoa and Vivian follow, keeping the space near the cargo of potions clear.

Meanwhile, Lyn's pushed Hazel down onto her bed. 

"Where's your clit, I don't see it - ?" 

"H-hey!" Hazel squirms under Lyn. "Careful!"

Ishaza kisses Neo deeply, and starts to grind back against her, setting a fast pace, body pressing in hard -

Hannah grabs the vibrator with her free hand, and starts it buzzing against her clit as she fingers herself with her other hand. 

"Hhhhhaaaahhhhhh..."

Neo bites Ishaza's lower lip and keeps grinding, one hand cupping one of Ishaza's breasts and groping roughly, the other slipping between her legs to plunge two fingers inside.

"You're beautiful," she breathes, before diving in, lapping tenderly from Lily's clit to her entrance.

Maya leans forward and captures Lily's lips in a hungry kiss, moaning into her mouth, while she continues rising and falling atop Sable's cock.

Lily shudders, and kisses Maya back, her hips instinctually grinding against Sable's face - 

Meanwhile, Scythe dumps out her stockpile of sinflower onto her bed, downs one of the potions, and gestures for Cocoa and Valerie to get up onto the bed - 

Rose scoops the fallen potions towards her and gathers them up into the pillowcase from the pillow at the head of the bed. 

Vivian shoots at glance at Cocoa - 

Who's already stroking himself to hardness as he gets up onto Scythe's bed.

"Seriously, where is your clit -"

"It's internal, okay, stop mashing your fingers into my thigh -"

"Oh! Why didn't you say then -"

"Hhhhhhhhh----aaah!" Hazel squirms hard against Lyn as Lyn's fingers spear into her unexpectedly.

"Oh, is someone sensitive -"

Meanwhile, Ishaza reciprocates with Neo, putting her own carefully manicured fingers into her sex and smoothly stroking, the motions practiced and firm - 

Hannah, meanwhile, is starting to moan and toss her hair -  

Hazel jerks away from Lyn. "Stop shoving your dry fingers in places they don't belong, seriously -" 

"Sorry, sorry, I'm sorry -" 

Ishaza winces a little internally. It sounds like Lyn is really struggling.

Fortunately, her own body's got more than a few adjustments for contests just like this, so Neo's own attempts on her are doing much better. 

She sighs, and rolls her hips against Neo's fingers.

Lily's concentration breaks a little at the sound of Hazel so obviously not enjoying herself. She looks over concernedly - 

Scythe runs back to the central console, leaving Cocoa and Vivian making out on the bed and groping each other.

Only for Sable to flick her tongue across the hood of Lily's clit, promptly distracting her. She keeps thrusting up into Maya, moaning a bit into Lily's folds as she expertly laps and sucks.

Maya feels for Hazel, she really does, but there isn't time for that. She rolls her hips and bounces, murmuring, "focus on me," between kisses.

Not every shipgirl is insatiable or always wet, but many are, and Maya is absolutely one of those. Heat builds steadily within her.

Lily gasps, and returns her focus to Maya as best she can, kissing her to distract herself from the awkward scene happening just across the room. 

Meanwhile, Neo is eagerly gasping and panting atop Ishaza, grinding and fingering and grinning.

Ishaza pulls Neo in hard against her with her free arm, and nibbles her shoulder and neck, her whole body moving in rhythm with the fingers inside her - 

Hannah shudders and tenses and then relaxes a little, just shy of an orgasm - 

But Ishaza has her head buried in Neo's neck and is more than a little too preoccupied to notice Hannah's building arousal.

Meanwhile, Vivian and Cocoa are both stroking at each other and kissing deeply on Scythe's bed, while Rose sits on the edge with one hand between her thighs and the other outstretched towards Scythe at the console -

Scythe clearly has a menu open and is stroking herself off as well while leaning against the central console.

Meanwhile, Lyn's backed off of Hazel. "Okay, from the top. You eat me out?"

"... Yeah, that would be a lot better."

They move, changing position so Lyn can ride Hazel's face.

Neo gasps and shudders and writhes in Ishaza's grasp, riding closer to a peak herself.

Maya buries her hand in Lily's hair and moans into the kiss, her chest heaving. She grinds harder and faster against Sable, bouncing again and again, her hands shaking, her eyes fluttering closed. Her moaning builds in intensity, long and liquid, rising into a cry as she tips over the edge into her first orgasm.

Sable gasps and shudders underneath her partners, driven by her building arousal to lap faster and suck harder, her tongue teasing up and down Lily's folds, dancing across her clit, and plunging inside her pussy for moments, driven with desperation to get Lily off before she comes herself. She clenches for a moment, slowing her pounding into Maya for the briefest few thrusts, and edges.

Despite her distraction, Lily shudders as well, that driving tongue sending flashes of heat through her whole body... But she stops just short of orgasm, edging herself with a low whimper. "Close," she gasps into Maya's mouth.

Maya, slowing her bouncing atop Sable's cock for the moment to recover just a little from that orgasm, leans into Lily. She kisses her deeply, her breasts squishing against Lily's, before breaking the kiss and kissing her way down to Lily's neck. One hand wraps around Lily's right breast, the other cups her ass, and she murmurs between kisses, "Come for us, Lily. Come all over Sable's face."

Lily moans, long and low and liquid, as Maya's husky voice sends shivers down her spine. Suddenly everything feels much more intense; electricity crawls from the back of her neck all the way down her body and earths itself between her legs, where Sable's flicking tongue suddenly feels hot like a sauna. 

She clenches, heat flaring inside her core, and comes with a high gasp, her body shuddering and bucking. 

Meanwhile, on Scythe's bed...

Cocoa breathes heavily, the heat of Vivian's body against his intoxicating, the touch of her spit-slicked fingers on his cock smooth yet so intense. He moves his own fingers softly, carefully, stroking at vivian's clit gently so that the lack of proper lube is less of a concern. 

As Vivian strokes at the sensitive underside of his cock, he lets out a hot breath and bites on his back teeth. "Fuck, " he murmurs, leaning his body in more heavily against Vivian. "You're good at this."

Vivian leans in against him closely, feeling each slight motion of Cocoa's fingers as electric filigree, her breath slow but tense, each breath laboured to keep the evenness. "Fuck, you're so hot," she murmurs. "I knew it was a good idea to pick a team with you on it."

She strokes her thumb across his cockhead firmly, grinding it in like she's pressing the D-pad of a controller. 

"Close yet?", she asks.

"Yeah," Cocoa replies. "I can feel the sinflower in me. Warming, opening up every nerve to your touch..." 

He rolls his hips slightly into Vivian's hand. "Hhhhhhh, c-close, very close -" 

He closes his eyes and concentrates, holding himself on the edge...

... And Scythe's points balance on her screen suddenly ticks up by one. 

She flicks through the menu and presses two buttons, and a bottle of lube appears in thw tray below the tablet.

She snatches it up, and throws it at Rose. "Catch!"

Rose snatches it out of the air, then quickly opens the bottle and pours some into her hand. 

"Give me his cock," she instructs Vivian. 

Vivian holds Cocoa's cock still for Rose to slather the lube on, and gives him a lavicious smile.

Rose gives Cocoa a grin as she rubs on the lube with both hands, firmly squeezing and rubbing every inch of his cock.

It's all too much. He was on the edge already, and now he's been stared down by two incredibly attractive women while one holds his cock and the other milks it. 

His hips buck, his fingers on Vivian's clit stumble, and he leans heavily against her as his cock pulses and shoots a a heavy spurt of seed all across Rose's hand. 

"Fuck...", he gasps, and kisses Vivian's shoulder.

Rose gives him a little teasing smile. "Still good for another round? You'd better be."

Cocoa looks over at Vivian, his drooling cock still in Rose's hands. 

"Yeah," he says. "I'm still good."

Meanwhile, Ishaza's finally settled into a rhythm, grinding and rocking against Neo. Her breath comes in ragged bursts, her hair falling around her face, her body slick with sweat. She presses in and kisses Neo deeply, making out with her shamelessly. 

"Haaaaaaah..." She shivers all over. "Close," she says to Neo. "Very close."

Neo presses back eagerly, panting and gasping with arousal, not far behind Ishaza at all. She bites Ishaza's neck, nuzzles along her cheek, kisses her deeply, all while plunging her fingers deep in the other woman, curled just right to caress her g-spot, and stroking her thumb gently across the hood of Ishaza's clit. She locks eyes with Ishaza, silently urging her on, even as she bites her lips and pants at the intensity of the touches she's receiving.