DiapOut: Chapter 29

“Now, I know what you all are thinking! Round Two was so blushy that it seems almost impossible to think we could outdo ourselves!” shouted Cassi, pacing back and forth across her platform until coming to a full stop on her mark and turning to the camera, “Well, don’t worry, ladies and gentlebabs, because we think we’ve done just that! Once again, I’m your ultra-loveable host, CassiRole, and you’re watching DiapOut! The only show on TV made by diaper dorks for diaper dorks!” 

The crowd roared as lights surrounded the players in a very dramatic fashion. For the audience, it was a spectacle unlike any other. But for the contestants, it was as close to staring into the sun as they could get. “Geez, turn down high beams,” joked Cade, placing a hand over his eyes until they were able to adjust to the environmental brightness. 

“Speaking of high beams, how’ve you been holding up, Cade?” asked Kyoko, checking in on the status of her teammate as casually as possible after watching Rupert’s collapse. While Cade continued to insinuate that there was nothing to worry about on the subject of any cannabinoid withdrawal effects, she was a lot less convinced. She also was doing her best to course-correct whatever may have caused half of her team to pick her as the one who needed an attitude adjustment. 

Thankfully, Cade was a lot more reassuring than he normally was. “I’m good, really. Firing on all cylinders over here!” he said, raising his arms and flexing his string-bean muscles. He may have enjoyed being high more often than not, but no one could sober up from a weed induced-stupor like he could. 

“Shhhhhhhh!” said Keelee from the sidelines, holding a finger to her lips as she stared down Kyoko and Cade before gesturing to Cassi, who was still in the midst of her Round Three opening address. She quickly turned her attention back on Cassi, waiting for her verbal cue to bring up the rest of the studio lights. 

“I’m sure you all can remember even a fraction of the simpler time that was your youth. A time when you had all the time in the world. Maybe you played kickball or dress-up for your favorite activity. But not me. As a shy, prepubescent CassiRole, my favorite thing to do was to dive into the gaming closet and pull out one of the dozens of board games. Be it Monopoly, Life, Chess, or Checkers, your girl was a force to be rivaled with. But perhaps no game filled me with more glee than the simplicity of Candy Land,” said Cassi, the audience clinging to every word of her rambling monologue like the suckers they were. Perhaps it was the deep-seated rage over the way Keelee barked at her, but there was a sort of aggressiveness to her speech that made her twice as engaging to watch, “Contestants! Ladies and gentlebabs! Welcome to Round Three!” 

A series of awestruck gasps broke out as a cascade of lights powered on to illuminate the entire studio space, inviting the crowd, the players, and those watching at home into the jewel-toned world of a children’s board game. However, unlike Candy Land, the board wasn’t decorated with candy paraphilia. Instead, the candy-theming had been replaced by what could only be described as a dream nursery aesthetic. Gone were the likes of the Peanut Acres and that dastardly Lord Licorice, replaced by far more ABDL-appropriate locations and characters, such as Mount Thumb Sucker, Baby Food Brook, and some mischievous-looking dude in a massive diaper with the nameplate, Baron Von Blushy. A single, multicolored path snaked through the various sections of the board, leading up to the finish line, which was marked by a large, Cassi Land sign written in the same font as the classic children’s game. 

“Don’t be fooled by appearances! Cassi Land is nowhere near as simple as the board game it's based on. One at a time, each player will roll their dice and move their entire team forward. If your team lands on an event or punishment square, the person who rolled will have to complete whatever task is at hand, or else the team will be forced to return to their previous spot on the board. The players will then rotate, allowing for the next teammate in line to take the next roll,” stated Cassi as the feed cut away to a graphic package, giving the at-home viewers a chance to explore the board before the game begins, “Whichever team crosses the finish line first will win a whopping 40 points. But don’t rush to the end too quickly! Successfully completed events and punishments will come with their own point totals depending on complexity. And with the points as neck and neck as they are, you’ll want to rack up as many points as you possibly can!” 

If the audience was rambunctious before, they were falling out of their seats to heap praise on CassiRole and the design team for Round Three. Even Misa, who was already dreading whatever sadistic punishments were waiting for them on the board, had to admit this was the coolest set she’d ever seen. Having thoroughly enjoyed Candy Land growing up, she was a self-described master of the game, despite the fact that it was purely a luck game. As uniquely exhilarating as it was to be standing within a life-sized board game, she couldn’t let any of it show, choosing to scowl as hard as she could as if her feigned disapproval made her participation any less embarrassing. 

Lelaya, on the other hand, did not share in Misa’s need to downplay her enthusiasm. “O! M! G! This is, like, extra, triple-double amazeballs!!!” she shouted as she began jumping up and down on her tippy toes, unable to contain the excitement that was bursting out of her, “Oooh! Look over there! I think that’s-” 

“Shhhh! Calm down, girl. We’ll be playing soon enough,” said Ayaya, placing her hands on Lelaya’s shoulders from behind in an attempt to simmer her eagerness. Looking around at her teammates as she continued to hold Lelaya steady, it finally hit her, “Okay, seriously, when the fuck did I become the team’s babysitter?!” 

With a microphone in hand, Cassi joined the contestants on their starting mats, ready to kick this game into motion. “Lelaya, Cade, please join me over here,” she said, prompting the pair to step away from the rest of their team, “As you recall, you two have the important job of being your team captains. So, as your first official task, you will now select the order that your team will roll in. Lelaya, we’ll start with you.” She held the mic forward for Lelaya to speak into. 

Wearing a stupid smile on her face, it wasn’t even a full two seconds before the power she was granted went straight to her head. Tapping her chin playfully, she examined her teammates indecisively. “Well, obviously, I’m going first! After thaaaaaaat…hmmm…” 

Standing behind both Mia and Misa, Ayaya was quick to gesture to the two people in front of her, pointing to Mia while holding up two fingers before shifting to Misa and holding up three. A few chuckles were squeezed out of the audience as a few of its members caught sight of Lelaya’s back-seat captain. 

“...hehe, I was thinking the same thing!” said Lelaya, pretending as though she wasn’t being heavily influenced, “Mia will go next, then Misa, then Ayaya.” 

“Excellent deliberation skill! You picked that order fast! One can only wonder where your inspiration comes from,” said Cassi with a hint of sarcasm tucked into her voice. She did her best to withhold her laughter over Lelaya’s adorable Littleness as she shifted the mic to Cade, “Alright Cade, you’ve had extra time so I expect you to be ready.” 

Nodding his head, Cade spoke into the mic, “I am. Since Rupert’s hanging in there with some stomach issues, I’ll have him go last. And sorry guys, I don’t wanna throw myself onto punishments if I can help it, so I’ll go second to last.” 

“That leaves Kyoko and Zeke,” said Cassi, pulling the microphone back to her mouth briefly as she narrated Cade’s decision-making. 

Looking back and forth between his President and Vice President, Cade was racking his brain to come up with any justification to have one go before the other. Both were equally capable, so that wasn’t as much of an issue. Thinking back to how he previously voted, he finally came to a clear decision. “Kyoko, since I voted for you early on that attitude adjustment, you can go second. Sorry, Zeke,” he said, his gaze falling to the floor. 

Sighing, Zeke had a feeling that he would be rolling first for his team. Shrugging his shoulders, he did everything in his power to take the pressure off of Cade. “It’s fine by me. The Biggest among us should go first, after all, right?” he said cheekily, earning chuckles from both his teammates and the crowd. 

“Perfect! Go ahead and return to your teams,” said Cassi, dismissing Cade and Lelaya back to their starting mats, “Next, I need Ayaya and Kyoko to join me, if you’d both be so kind! 

Eying each other up as they approached Cassi, Kyoko was taken aback by how much Ayaya was mad-dogging her. Yeah, they were opponents in this game but she had nothing personal against this girl or anyone on the enemy team. 

However, what Kyoko thought was Ayaya displaying her animosity towards her was actually the result of her being caught in the crosshairs of Ayaya and Keelee, who were busy glaring at each other. Their reasoning was pretty straightforward. Keelee knew Ayaya was up to something, and Ayaya, who was indeed up to something, despised Keelee for refusing to get off her back. It was only a matter of time before such a volatile pair inevitably butted heads. 

“Ooh! I’m sensing some tension!” remarked Cassi, never passing up a moment to squeeze as much drama out of her cast as possible. Spotting Ayaya’s heated expression, she approached her first with the mic, “Any words for your rivals before we kick off Round Three?” 

In an instant, Ayaya’s attitude shifted as she remembered the cameras that were all around her. She’d let Keelee get the better of her and needed to recover without painting herself as a villain in the eyes of the audience. Taking a deep breath in through her nose, she softened her expression into a cheeky smirk, “Just try not to mess yourselves too bad out there when we spank you in front of all these people,” she said, riling up the crowd with her schoolyard taunts. 

“In your dreams,” responded Kyoko, her competitive nature getting the better of her as she spoke without the microphone in front of her. 

“CUT!” shouted Jackson from the side of the stage, “You need to wait for Cassi to approach you. And you’re supposed to be lisping, remember?” 

Groaning, Kyoko bonked herself on the forehead with her palm, having momentarily forgotten about her new acting gig. Scrunching up her face, she was less-than-pleased with the idea that whatever comeback she said needed to be vocalized with a hypnotically-induced lisp. Gritting her teeth, she waited for Cassi to cross over to her with the mic, dreading the embarrassment that was coming her way. 

“Some tough words! Any response, Kyoko?” said Cassi, utilizing every ounce of media training she had to keep from giggling at what was to come. 

Looking Ayaya dead in the eyes, Kyoko decided to keep it simple, knowing anything more would amplify her faux impediment. “Bwing it on, mushy tush,” she said, her cheeks burning as the audience chuckled and cooed at her “babified” voice. To her credit, she did manage to get Ayaya to blush as well by reminding her of her hypermessing from Round Two. 

“Love the energy! You both are gonna need that as we move into Round Three,” said Cassi as she handed out two small medallions with binkies engraved on them, one to Kyoko and one to Ayaya, “You’re also gonna want this! That medallion allows you to veto any one punishment or event and can be used for anyone on your team. Since your teams trust you both so much, I’m sure you’ll make the right decisions.” 

Dismissing Ayaya and Kyoko back to their respective mats, Cassi rotated 180 degrees and faced the camera that had been positioned directly behind her. As she posed between the two teams, she wondered if she was almost more excited to see Round Three play out than any member of her adoring audience. “The board has been set! Let the games begin!” 

TO BE CONTINUED…