TDM 04

[goldmods]

【 Thank you for choosing the Golden Peacock, 5-star resort and casino. You are currently registered as a WILDCARD in our system.

Due to a high volume of check-ins, temporary accommodations have been made on our brand new beachfront for new guests. We will endeavor to have all guests moved into their reserved rooms as soon as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience. Affected guests may convene with the nearest lifeguard or reception for a complimentary swimsuit, at their earliest convenience.

Please remember that beach-appropriate attire is mandatory. Guests found breaking dress code may be escorted off the beach until they return in proper swimwear. We hope you enjoy your stay, and have a beachy keen experience. 】

BEACHFRONT PROPERTY

A BRAND NEW DEVELOPMENT

As the resort moves into what it claims is summer, the days grow longer. The sun is projected well into the evening, the heat of its warmth dialed up to a level some guests complain is unreasonable. Then there’s the most excessive transformation of all – half the Cloud Dwelling Gardens have been transformed into a sparkling beach of white sands and blue waves, seemingly overnight. Statues nearby have been dressed up with wide hats and stylish sarongs. Upbeat music fills the air without any discernible source.

A section of the beach has been reserved for a collection of bungalows. These cute pastel homes open straight onto the sand, and are comparable in size and amenity to a rank 7 or 8 suite. All screens within these bungalows are fixed to a channel that airs reruns of Boobwatch around the clock, a classic TV series about blue-footed boobys running in slow-motion across the beach. Staff and long-standing guests all agree — there’s no better summer programming than this!

IT’S FREE REAL ESTATE

▷ Thanks to a classic move called “overbooking,” new arrivals are being checked in to all this wondrous new property that’s just opened up. The catch? Why, characters are stuffed up to 4 in a room, of course. Don’t worry, that’s what the bunk beds are for!

▷ Characters still wake up naked save for a robe, as is standard for the Golden Peacock. This round’s robes are a light and breezy linen, patterned with tropical flowers and colorful designs. Some of these robes are more sheer than others. Watch out that the gentle breeze on the beach doesn’t reveal more than you wanted.

▷ Existing characters are welcome to temporarily take up residence in any empty slots in these homes. The staff understand that sometimes you want to pretend to be a brand new guest again, all bright-eyed and ready for adventure. They can even lock you out of your real room for an extra bit of authenticity. No need to ask! It’s all taken care of already.

THOSE WHO POUND SAND

▷ Several lifeguards have been newly hired to protect the beach and its visitors. These burly fellows and lasses all have three things in common: skimpy swimwear, rippling muscles, and seagull heads. They spend most of their time hanging out in groups, flexing and gossiping loudly. If characters approach them for their complimentary swimwear, they will provide whatever they’re currently wearing for them to use... by force, if necessary.

▷ Characters who seem particularly vulnerable or are holding something particularly tasty may find themselves surrounded by these lifeguards out of nowhere. The seagulls are relentless, pushing and shoving and pulling hair until they get what they want. Hope you didn’t like your sand castle very much. Those on the lower end of the rank scale will suffer the worst harassment, and they may even go out of their way to harass wildcards, 2s, and 3s just for the heck of it.

▷ Being new hires and fairly low on the resort staff hierarchy, these troublemakers can be easily chased off by someone of a high enough rank, or an assertive enough presence to pass as one. T-they’re not scared! They just remembered they have a mandatory group cawing session to get to! Buzz off!

FUN IN THE SUN

DON'T FORGET TO OIL UP

What’s a beach without fun and games? Dreadfully boring! That’s why all of the beach classics have been expertly set up by staff, including strip volleyball nets, giant boob-shaped beach balls, and plenty of floaties for use in the shallower areas of the temporary ocean. A row of parasols with paired lounge chairs underneath them are placed in some prime viewing areas for festivities. Any time you get thirsty, there’s always a cooler full of canned drinks conveniently nearby, courtesy of Cock-a-Doodle-Doo’s. Sometimes you can hear the staff whispering to each other, “What if it’s too perfect? We won’t be able to deal with the ratings dip once the beach ends!”

Seashells have been arbitrarily scattered along the shoreline, coming in both natural shapes and ones a little more... erotic. The sexiest ones of all are conch shells that let you hear the moans of another guest when held up to your ear; supposedly, if you hook up with the person on the other end of the shell, you’ll be extra lucky in the casino for the rest of the summer. All in all, it’s a carefully tailored creation that can be called nothing short of paradise.

THE BEACH BUNNY BARBECUE BONANZA

▷ This booth constantly has smoke billowing out the top and is manned during the entire day by one man – Steve, formerly from reception. It seems this is his punishment duty for be-bathrooming all of the arrivals, last time. Those willing to lend Steve a sympathetic ear will be entreated to bring him water, since the sweltering heat of the booth dries him out like nobody’s business. No matter how characters try to help him, though, a tragedy always occurs and the water always ends up spilled across the sand. That curse really is something, huh?

▷ The signature item at this cookout are the Flamin’ Hop Skewers. Made due to the current overpopulation in the Conservatory, these spicy-sweet — emphasis on the spicy — glazed skewers temporarily grant those who consume them the soul of a rabbit, including their insatiable desire to mate. Any rabbits that resort-goers have formed an attachment with have not been culled, so don’t worry about your precious buns!

▷ The booth also boasts several other exotic meats and vegetables that are considerably safer to eat, for guests who find themselves unable to overcome their attachment. Some of these skewers also feature fruits, including the hybrid ones from the previous gardening collab with the Dizzy Pigeon. Characters are free to revisit any of the Orchard prompts under the Smoky Nectar section of our PREVIOUS TDM.

A SHOW OF STRENGTH

▷ When the projected sun is at its highest, staff members will start bringing out tarps and watermelons, fresh from the gardens. What’s that, you ask? Oh, of course these were donated willingly! What a strange question!

▷ The goal is to smash the watermelon the staff give you until the succulent red fruit inside is splattered all across the tarp, perfect for falling comically into or... eating, if you’re into that. The rules are that you must use your buttocks to do so, and you only get two tries. Successfully cracking open the watermelon on the first try will earn characters a large payout, and if it’s on the second try, a medium payout.

▷ Failing to bust a watermelon at all won’t have any penalties associated with it, and you can always try again tomorrow! In order to keep their watermelon supplies steady for the duration of the beach festivities, the staff do ask that guests attempt this no more than once per day.

DAYDREAM PARASOLS

▷ Every umbrella set up on the sands has two lounge chairs set up underneath it, with a shared table between them. The chairs are padded and oh-so-comfy — sitting in them for too long while another person is present will result in both characters falling into a deep sleep.

▷ While asleep, characters will discover they’re sharing a dream with their umbrella-mate. The dream is always set on the same beach as the waking world, but there are floating clouds and sparkles in a range of pastel colors. Other beachgoers are faceless, if not entirely absent. It’s just the two of you.

▷ Anything the characters think of can drift in and out of the dreamscape, including but not limited to items from home, scary monsters to dramatically rescue your partner from, and strange abilities to fly or float through the air. However, characters will also be at full suit activation in the dream. Once both characters orgasm or they naturally wake up from their naps, they’ll find things are entirely back to normal, as much as they ever are in the resort.

NOTES

▶ All new arrivals have been issued four food and four clothing vouchers. These vouchers are as good as money around the resort. The staff will strongly insist on characters picking out "summery" attire with it, though.

▶ Existing characters may be booted into the bungalows or locked out of their room against their will. We leave it up to player discretion if this happens and the degree to which they're removed from their normal suite.

▶ For the Daydream Parasols, wildcards may be afflicted by whichever suit their player prefers for the duration of the dream. This will have no bearing on their suit selection when applying, and suit effects should not manifest once back in the waking world. It's just a dream, after all!

▶ The dreamscape has no explicit time limit, so feel free to make them as long or as short as desired. Dreams should also be sexy first and foremost. While you can include your mom dying in the background if you'd like, you have to be horny about it too.

TWINKLING CURRENTS

THE PARTY NEVER STOPS

As the sun sets in a cascade of colors over the water, lamps are lit and floating lights surface from the depths. Stars twinkle in the sky, and Steve is finally released from his smoky shackles. Though the daytime amenities have gone to sleep, the night promises its own set of beachy wonders sure to please even the most distinguished of vacationers.

Flyers posted in the lobby and in the hallways promise of a bar ran by the most enchanting mermaids you could ever want to fuck, as well as a fireworks show in every color, including ones you’ve never heard of. With the seagulls gone to bed, peace settles across the sands, tinted blue, yellow, and pink from the myriad of lights. For those seeking a more subdued, romantic air — this is the beach for you.

SWIM UP TO THE BAR

▷ While the advertisements promised mermaids, they were careful not to include any photos or illustrations. Wading out into the sea to the floating bar quickly illustrates why: these merfolk are fish on top, not the bottom! If asked about this configuration or accused of being unsexy, they’ll lift their elegant legs out of the water and exclaim, “How else would you be able to fuck us if not for these!” Though a few guests seem unsatisfied by this clarification, there are no complaints about the drinks themselves.

▷ HOLDING ON TO SUMMER. This cocktail brings seaberry-gin, limoncello, white crème de cacao, and freshly squeezed lemon juice over pebbled ice, wrapping you in decadent flavors accenting the season. Drinking this cocktail can cause you to be overcome with the desire to lean back and sink into the ocean itself, but fret not! It also grants you the wonderful ability to breathe underwater, no gills required! And it’s topped with a yummy little ball of white chocolate.

▷ MANGO STAR. A delightfully bright drink in a highball glass, the combination of elderflower rose syrup and seaberry-gin floats a summery pink over the orange mixture of mango juice, lime juice and honey syrup on the bottom. On top are two cute little stars cut out of mango, accented with mint leaves. Guests who drink this cocktail report some confusion in the identity of other guests, as just one drink is enough to shift perception of others. Other characters may appear to be different guests of the resort, or familiar faces from home.

▷ SEABERRY FLORADORA. This is a vibrant cocktail made of seaberry-gin, ginger beer, lime juice and raspberry syrup, highlighted by floral ice cubes and edible flowers. Despite its bright pink color indicating a level of cheerfulness for the summer, this flavorful cocktail causes guests to be quickly overwhelmed with a sense of loneliness. The longer this sensation goes on, the more guests will try to seek out company to aid in the ache, even if it means appearing quite desperate in the process. Each successive drink will increase the severity of the effect.

▷ BLACKBERRY ROSEMARY GIMLET. Blackberries, rosemary sprigs, simple syrup, and a combination of seaberry-gin and lime juice make this aromatic cocktail. It’s double strained over ice and garnished with a blackberry on a pick, giving it a regal appearance. Drinking this cocktail causes obsessive and possessive behavior, however — sometimes to extreme levels. Should your partner choose this cocktail to drink, you may not want to mention anything that could make them jealous. Each successive drink will increase the severity of the effect.

▷ JUST SOME SEAWATER? Questioning the mermaids and mermen on how they came to be the way that they are will result in them offering you an item off the sea-cret menu. Taking a glass from the bar, they dip it into the ocean and offer it right over to you. Drinking the seawater does, in fact, turn you into a very sexy reverse merman or mermaid. This occurs whether or not you drink it from the glass or take in a gulp while swimming, so watch out!

ACROSS THE NIGHT SKY

▷ Where else could you get a perfect view of the stars? Despite the sea of lights below, the artificial nature of the skies in the resort means that all guests get an unrivaled view of the galaxy. Which galaxy? Why, any of them — characters will see a shifting range of constellations from night to night, including ones they don’t recognize, ones shaped a bit like something you might find in Love Dove, and ones that are identical to those from their home. Happy gazing!

▷ A fireworks show is held every night, from 10PM until 1AM. The noises are just loud enough to block out a whispered confession timed correctly, but aren’t quite enough to inhibit conversation. Most of the fireworks are from a design series known as Matteo’s Masterpieces, and range from the standard burst to abstract shapes to... well, you know. Unlike the sloppy doodles found in the margins of books while Swan Lake was decaying, all of the boobs and dicks blasted across the sky are very well rendered. For fireworks.

SANDY SCAVENGING

A GAME OF BEACHES

It wouldn't be the Golden Peacock without a game for guests to play! All guests that wander into the beach area may find themselves receiving one of two Watch messages. Some very special guests may even receive both challenges — or continuously receive a new challenge when the last 24 hours is up. The resort just wants you to have the most fun possible!

SCAVENGER HUNT: EASY MODE (SFW)

Hello, dear guest. You have been randomly selected to play our EASY MODE: SCAVENGER HUNT! You have 24 hours to complete this hunt. Once completed, please submit your collected items to the nearest SEAGULL LIFEGUARD to claim your reward of Great Tit! Dessert Vouchers and a large payout.

Guests who do not complete the hunt in 24 hours will be hunted down and then publicly spanked by a SEAGULL LIFEGUARD.

Please note that items scavenged may not be personal items. They must be collected from other sources. Good luck!

1. Collect one unfinished drink.

2. Collect two kisses.

3. Collect three pairs of sunglasses.

4. Collect four sets of sandals.

5. Collect five feathers from a lifeguard.

SCAVENGER HUNT: HARD MODE (NSFW)

Hello, dear guest. You have been randomly selected to play our HARD MODE: SCAVENGER HUNT! You have 24 hours to complete this hunt. Once completed, please submit your collected items to the nearest SEAGULL LIFEGUARD to claim your reward of Naked Yolk Kink Vouchers and an extra-large payout. Winners will also be given a limited edition WINNER pin. Any guests wearing a WINNER pin will be treated as kings and queens of the beach, and be permitted to command any other guests as they see fit.

Guests who do not complete the hunt in 24 hours will be hunted down, stripped, and then strapped into the fuck pillory by our SEAGULL LIFEGUARDS. Losers will be free game for other guests to use for their pleasure.

Please note that items scavenged may not be personal items. They must be collected from other sources. Good luck!

1. Collect one cup of cum.

2. Collect two bite marks.

3. Collect three pubic hairs.

4. Collect four nudes (nude images).

5. Collect five bathing suit bottoms.

NOTES

▶ All effects from the swim-up bar last around 2-3 hours, but may be extended by having another drink.

INTO THE DEPTHS

IT'S HIGH TIDE WE GET OUT OF HERE

Though the beach experience is perfect on the surface, things are less elegant behind the scenes. Wave-making machines pulse and rattle down below, shaking the ceiling of the basement suites. Water leaks from pipes, streaking across walls and pooling on the uneven floors. The maintenance levels are abuzz with staff setting out buckets and pans, shooing lost guests away with a heightened level of urgency. Someone got a little too enthusiastic with mopping, they claim. Nothing to worry about at all!

Even the ocean itself isn’t without its issues. Despite appearing as a boundless expanse from the shore, the walls of the Golden Peacock are a very real factor. To avoid any undue damage to the screens that comprise the sky, the sea stops abruptly before it reaches them, cascading into a waterfall all the way down to the depths of the resort. Gentle currents become swirling vortexes and choppy waves, sure to pull down any guests that aren’t careful about where they swim. A few gull-guards patrol the line of buoys that mark the end of the safe swimming area, but the primary line of defense the resort relies on is the utter disinterest most of its guests have.

TUMBLING DOWN

▷ Characters who stray past the line of buoys out in the far sea will find themselves caught in a riptide that sucks them straight over the edge of the water. This applies both to characters swimming, or characters in some sort of vessel, such as a small rowboat borrowed from the staff.

▷ Feel free to make up any sort of vehicle rentals in general, as long as they’re reasonable in size — they should be able to accommodate 1-2 characters at most. A waverider would be okay, but a yacht would not.

▷ While falling down the waterfall, characters will temporarily black out before hitting anything solid. They will resurface anywhere there is standing water, whether that be a flooded hallway, in the Crane’s Respite, or even in someone’s open toilet bowl. There are no limitations on where in the resort the resurfacing can happen; even the bathrooms at Roost aren’t safe from this teleportation.

A RISING FLOOD

▷ Drainage is a difficult aspect to manage. Though the majority of the seawater is recycled to maintain the ocean above, enough of it is siphoned off for deeper filtration that the resort’s plumbing systems simply can’t handle the volume. Leaks are happening on all floors below ground, increasing in depth the further down into the basement characters go.

▷ Characters living in the rank 2, 3, and 4 suites may notice that in addition to having leaks in the hallway, their own rooms are also flooding. This can range anywhere from a constant, unpleasantly damp floor, to having an entire cascade of water blow them and any other unsuspecting guests down several hallways the moment their door is opened. Life vests are recommended.

▷ The flooding will intensify as the event goes on, culminating in some of the maintenance levels being entirely underwater towards the end of the event. Once the event is over, the flooding will recede within about a day, leaving only a few water stains here and there as evidence of their presence.

NOTES

▶ Any amount of standing water is a valid target for a character’s resurfacing, even something as minor as a glass of water. For situations where a character would not actively fit into the source of their arrival, they will be violently flung out of it, knocking over or spilling it in the process if that’s possible.

▶ As always, players are free to control the level to which their individual characters are affected, and being flooded out of their space is not mandatory.

---

OOC NOTES

INVITES | RESERVES | APPLICATIONS

▶ BLANKET CW: alcohol; altered states; aphrodisiacs; breeding urge; delusions; forced clotheswearing; hallucinations; harassment and bullying; jealousy; thalassophobia; transformation; unreality

▶ All characters on the TDM are WILDCARDS, which means they have not yet been assigned a card value. The house is still observing and deciding. As rank and suits are assigned upon acceptance your character's suit will not manifest until they are accepted into the game.

▶ All TDMs are game canon. This TDM acts as the game's June event. The beach will ICly be present from June 15th - June 30th.

▶ Current characters may top level on the TDM. Any current characters posting to the TDM should note they are current in their subject header.

▶ The top level directory is for new characters only. We want to make sure new characters are prioritized and receive attention!

▶ If you aren't satisfied with these prompts, please feel free to check out our LOCATIONS to explore more of the resort! There are recent additions to the locations page as well, for those who have yet to see them!

▶ Smut threads that take place on this TDM can be used for rewards. If both parties in the smut thread join the game, you may retroactively apply the character's initial card values to your 52 bank. If one character does not join the game the thread will not be applicable toward rewards (as that character would not have a card value). The character that does join would still receive a small payout for the encounter. Hopefully it was a fun thread regardless!

▶ We ask you to kindly add content warnings to your threads as appropriate.

▶ If you do not currently have permissions and kinks listed in your character’s journal we suggest leaving a note in your top level of any limits or boundaries for other players to reference.

▶ Don't forget your sunscreen! We'd hate for any chicken wings to come out burnt.

NAVIGATION • LOG • NETWORK • OOC • MEME

Comments

canonpoint shenanigans, go. also hi i love aventurine

[starcinoma]

[ a chuckle - or, well, what passes for one from the taciturn trailblazer. a quick breath, an exhale through her nose, a slight upward turn to her lips. it's not like he's wrong, exactly. she's even tried it out a few times before. listening to pom-pom berate her, asking the front desk for potions on a whim... it's fun. a little minigame to play in these dreams outside the dream.

right now, though, she has better things to do than correct him on minutiae. ]

Maybe. I just think everyone looks better with hooves. [ and then, with that little deadpan out of the way- ] I knew you'd find your way back. From one dream to another, right?

he's just a little guy it's his bday... i'm excited for canonpoint shenanigans tho 😌

[waged]

( does everyone look better with hooves? for a moment, he tries to imagine the people he knows with them. topaz might just like the change. ratio and jade... he could almost laugh.

what she says next is what surprises him, though. there's a particular sense of familiarity to it that hadn't been present after their... two interactions, only. it answers many questions, though it creates even more of those. topaz had been the only one directly involved with penacony that he had with him in these past four months, and now - the main character (not literally but also?).

so aventurine does what he always does best: play along, and forge lies. surely something he'll get from this. )

I would say dream-hopping is within my repertoire of skills. Makes it less surprising I was the one assigned Penacony. ( and the gamble this time comes with this: ) The sentiments are appreciated, though. I am quite hard to kill, after all.

( unfortunately 😔 )

[starcinoma]

[ everyone. no exceptions, aventurine. she is imagining your ass with hooves right this second. ]

...that's one way to put it.

[ is she still bitter about needing to fix her entire comp and to handle a stupid aoe mechanic? no, absolutely not. am i? possibly. she shakes her head after a moment, finally returning to his first question. ]

It was for a friend. In the dream before this one- [ wait. hold up. ] -no, two dreams before this one. Before Penacony, even.

[ anywhere else, maybe she'd play her cards closer to her chest. if they were still navigating penacony's treacherous landscape, she'd keep aventurine exactly as close as she needed to keep an eye on him. but in a place like this... well. no harm in letting her guard down.

after all, it's not like the ipc can do anything in a dream. right? ]

[waged]

( do the hooves at least make him a little taller...... please stelle...!! )

Seems like you're still well-traveled. ( and, just like he had, also sees this place as a dream. perhaps it's the effect penacony has on them, that such a large world can exist within a dreamscape. with no exits in sight, isn't this the only answer? ) And I'm glad to see you're as sentimental as ever. Should I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor, that the friend you seek shall meet you in your sweet dreams?

( despite the way he is, he means it, really. such is the way of hearts aventurine. )

[starcinoma]

[ no- okay fine, yes, they absolutely do. and the antlers help a bit there too. she is just deadass making a canterwit au of you in her head now, my guy. ]

Always moving forward. [ the path of trailblaze is a tricky one, at times. but... this is just another stop, as far as she's concerned. ] And... Sure. As long as it's you making the roll.

[ look. she's the sort of person to hit hard pity and just keep going. if they only get one roll, aventurine's probably a better person to ask. ]

[waged]

( would he be a peacock hybrid... get that fursona commissioned, he'll love it, actually. )

Exploiting me so soon? I can't say I don't like it.

( it is mostly a joke, but it's equally weird that it tugs at his heart strings, somehow. being used and using others has been the quid pro quo of his life since the very beginning.

maybe, just maybe, he doesn't actually like it. but at least he knows how to keep his controls in check better, when aventurine glances down at his left wrist and sees his hearts mark completely darkened. sounds about right. )

No rolls are needed in a heartfelt sentiment, my friend. Instead, ( and though a dream within a dream, when aventurine snaps his fingers, a die still appears in between his fingers. customized, no less - each side has lucky numbers only, and he tosses it at stelle. ) May this die keep safe in your journey. In a place like this,

( not the dream, mind, but the resort - )

You may need it more than you think.

[starcinoma]

[ peacock horse fairy... maybe he could have strelitzia growing through his hair? important things to remember for the future, clearly-

not that half-joked wonderings about a fursona matter when aventurine has actual gestures of kindness to deliver. she catches the toss on instinct, looking down to her hand and smiling once she realizes just what she's been given. ]

I'll hold onto it, then. [ stelle rolls the die between her fingers, and though her motions are much less practiced than aventurine's her hands are still empty when she holds them up to show him. in the world of dreams, people can make whatever they wish - and even someone like stelle can pretend at aventurine's finesse if they choose. ] Though... I think there are worse places we could have ended up.

[ memories filter through her mind. tearful reunions. kisses and laughter. the feeling of flame searing her from the inside- and if the temperature raises just a bit around them, there's no need to worry. it's not like she's here to make it real, after all. no matter how awful this place might get, she's pretty sure she's seen some of the worst things she can already.

but none of that is what she should be focusing on. stelle, pushing her reminiscing aside, just says- ]

Unless the IPC makes you take a vow of celibacy?

[waged]

( worse places is an understatement, stelle. especially for someone like aventurine, who has most definitely lived through the worst of his life - and continues on living through a nightmare in itself. a sex resort could be so much worse in so many ways, but a life in faux luxury is hardly anyone's real nightmare. there's comfort. there's easy money. there's the spoiling of royalty, if they make it high up enough. there's everything one might need, and everything one might not even need, and really, isn't this just penacony, but r18?

as per trailblazer fashion, though, the last question he's asked makes him pause, before aventurine just laughs. wouldn't that be hilarious, though? )

Did Topaz give you that impression? ( you know. workaholic and all. ) Sorry to say, but there's nothing like that in the IPC at all. Though if you're really curious, you can try joining us and checking the other departments. They have their own set of rules.

( though, something about this almost makes him fond, and aventurine knows it has to do with his suit being activated. those who know of sigonia and the avgin would have immediately guessed the extreme opposite, of a person like him. that surely, he's making home in a sex resort, using his charms and body to hook people in, much like a snake who has found its prey. that stelle implies the very opposite is a welcome change of pace, however inaccurate it is. )

And I figure, from how nonchalant you seem to be, ( though this is just stelle default, lbr ) that the nature of this place doesn't bother you either. I can't help but wonder what would bother you, if anything.

[starcinoma]

Not really. I mean, she has to stay in shape somehow, right?

[ not everyone can be a spindly little twig like her. some people have perfectly sculpted thighs. those things don't come easy, you know!

all jokes aside, though, she listens to his explanation with that same expression of mute interest. there's a tiny motion when he suggests she join - a small shake of her head, a small twitch upwards at the corner of her lips - but still she stays silent, all the way up until that last bit. she thinks for a moment, visibly turning the question over in her mind. and finally, after a good four seconds, she just says: ]

...you probably wouldn't want to hear it.

[ because he's absolutely right. this place doesn't bother her, and more than that, she can think of one or two things that would. things she has direct experience with, even! but they're not the sort of thing you dump on someone unwilling. ]

[waged]

( if only you knew she wakes up at ass o'clock to go to the gym every morning, stelle. waking up to an empty bed next to you every morning because topaz sleeps so little and works so much becomes routine, eventually. nothing that bids saying, surely she would find out about it eventually. the thighs certainly do not come easy.

color him surprised, though, that there are things that could bother his stellaron friend. it begs an arch of his eyebrow, fully interested, but part of him wonders if it has something to do with bad memories attached to it. for a man even less inclined to share about his own personal life, let alone his past of all things... well. he muses a proper answer in his mind. )

You don't think I would be willing to listen? Isn't that what friends are for?

( he wouldn't know, but. aventurine looks around all the same, a scenery even more fake than what the golden peacock already is. a dream within a dream. )

This is your dream. What happens in here, stays in here, and it's entirely your domain. Not a word about what happens in this dream will ever get out of here.

cw: traumagames, gore, and eye horror whoops

[starcinoma]

[ for all her inexperience, stelle's not entirely foolish. she knows just what harm can come of trusting someone with secrets held close to her chest. she knows that the ipc, friendly though they may act in their overtures, does not always hold the preservation she believes in as their version of the ideal. aventurine, a friend? didn't he only just try to kill her, for the sake of whatever point he was trying to prove?

and yet-

an offer of clemency - a promised secret, here in this dream within a dream. a chance to say the things she may never get to speak openly about again. how could she not give in, just this once? ]

There was a scavenger hunt in the basement. [ down beneath the lobby, far further than a single floor should reach. an elevator to a room with a trapdoor. ] Body parts. A pint of blood, two ribs, an arm, an eye-

[ she winces, squeezing her right eyelid shut; a dark crimson trail leaks out the corner. when she finally reopens it, it's a cauterized mess, burned all the way from within the socket. ]

-and a heart. [ her voice is a pitch higher than usual, strained with the effort of not crying out. it's been a long time since she felt this, after all. ] There was something in the air. Hazy. Like the skewers. It made it... a lot easier to get the parts.