Hmm... So we only get the basics if we don't do anything too risque, but we can't have any luxuries? Then doesn't that mean you can live comfortably without finding a partner?
[Though actually...]
Do you have a choice whether or not you can do it? They're so vague with their instructions, I feel like they can trick you into doing things you're not ready for.
[No, not "sort of." Even if you have enough vouchers to support yourself, you'll still turn to stone if you don't have sex. How exactly should he break that to her, though?
It's always difficult. Meeting these wide-eyed new arrivals and having to be the bearer of bad news. But as someone who's been trapped here much longer than she has, he's basically her "senpai." And as her senior, and her partner for this activity, he wants to help. Both by telling her what she needs to do to survive, but also by telling her what she doesn't need to do, so she won't push herself too far.
He quits hemming and hawing and addresses her seriously.]
They will try to trick you, I'm sorry to say. And if you avoid going to bed with someone for over a month, you'll start to run into trouble. Which is absolutely horrid, since that's the sort of thing that shouldn't be forced on anyone. Still, there is some degree of choice, no matter how awful the system is.
[He clears his throat, pointing in a finger in the air.]
First of all, you don't need to go "all the way." I knew someone who was saving that for marriage, and he never got penalized for it, as far as I'm aware. Second of all—
[He holds another finger in the air.]
—there are a surprising number of loopholes that can work. For example, simply watching someone else can count; if two people invited you to watch them be intimate, you could get their cards without having letting anyone touch you. Which I know might sound strange, but it takes some of the pressure off, doesn't it? And simply exchanging pictures or messages can also work, as long as someone "enjoys themself" to the fullest. That's what the commoners call "sexting," apparently. I know doing that sort of thing can be somewhat nerve-wracking as an idol, though.
[He holds up a third figure.]
And third of all, you should always get to choose your partner. This place may try to shove you together with certain people, but you can always say, "Nope, no thanks!" Even if someone begs you for help with their suit, it's still within your right to say, "I don't feel like it today, so go find someone else!"
[His voice rises in volume. He's already invested in her well-being and he wants her to be alright, even if this place is absolutely, positively awful.]
You mustn't let anyone guilt you into things. There are always willing people here, and you seem like a lovely woman whom anyone would want, which means you can be picky as you please. And if anyone has a problem with that, they can cry themselves a river. Understood? That all makes sense, doesn't it?
It does, it does! That's a lot of good things to know.
[Oh wow, he sure is passionate about this. It's so nice to hear someone so concerned about her wellbeing enough to warn her of the ways that she could be tricked, and even the mention of consent! What a kind young man.
Would he be disappointed to find out that the warning was unfortunately a little too late.]
... It must have been a really hard battle for you and your friend. So he's still keeping that up?
Only for her next words to take all the wind out of his sails, causing him to deflate like a balloon. Great, another horrible thing he has to warn her about.]
No, not exactly.
[He hesitates for a second, trying to figure out how to phrase himself before settling on something vague.]
He's no longer an active guest at the moment. People come and go a lot in this place.
[His expression was an odd one considering he was delivering what one might consider as good news. After all, being forced to have sex when you're not feeling it sounded dreadful, but if people can leave (and often too!) then that means good things, right?
Right?]
I'm not sure I'm following... Isn't that a good thing?
[Another long moment of hesitation follows. He thinks about saying, "There's no proof he's gone home," or something along those lines. Then she'd understand why he's worried. But that's not quite true, is it? He knows where Rinne is: in Reign's room, as a statue. Should he really explain that right now, though?
His shoulders slump. In the end, even the charismatic and ever-talkative Hiyori Tomoe can't spin a good answer out of nothing.]
... sorry. I hate to bear even more bad news, but people don't always go home when they disappear.
[Another pause, his voice sounding heavy and exhausted.]
He's been taken off the guest list, but he is still here. It just doesn't seem like "him," since he's turned into a stone statue.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kicks captcha i waited long enough
Hmm... So we only get the basics if we don't do anything too risque, but we can't have any luxuries? Then doesn't that mean you can live comfortably without finding a partner?
[Though actually...]
Do you have a choice whether or not you can do it? They're so vague with their instructions, I feel like they can trick you into doing things you're not ready for.
no subject
[No, not "sort of." Even if you have enough vouchers to support yourself, you'll still turn to stone if you don't have sex. How exactly should he break that to her, though?
It's always difficult. Meeting these wide-eyed new arrivals and having to be the bearer of bad news. But as someone who's been trapped here much longer than she has, he's basically her "senpai." And as her senior, and her partner for this activity, he wants to help. Both by telling her what she needs to do to survive, but also by telling her what she doesn't need to do, so she won't push herself too far.
He quits hemming and hawing and addresses her seriously.]
They will try to trick you, I'm sorry to say. And if you avoid going to bed with someone for over a month, you'll start to run into trouble. Which is absolutely horrid, since that's the sort of thing that shouldn't be forced on anyone. Still, there is some degree of choice, no matter how awful the system is.
[He clears his throat, pointing in a finger in the air.]
First of all, you don't need to go "all the way." I knew someone who was saving that for marriage, and he never got penalized for it, as far as I'm aware. Second of all—
[He holds another finger in the air.]
—there are a surprising number of loopholes that can work. For example, simply watching someone else can count; if two people invited you to watch them be intimate, you could get their cards without having letting anyone touch you. Which I know might sound strange, but it takes some of the pressure off, doesn't it? And simply exchanging pictures or messages can also work, as long as someone "enjoys themself" to the fullest. That's what the commoners call "sexting," apparently. I know doing that sort of thing can be somewhat nerve-wracking as an idol, though.
[He holds up a third figure.]
And third of all, you should always get to choose your partner. This place may try to shove you together with certain people, but you can always say, "Nope, no thanks!" Even if someone begs you for help with their suit, it's still within your right to say, "I don't feel like it today, so go find someone else!"
[His voice rises in volume. He's already invested in her well-being and he wants her to be alright, even if this place is absolutely, positively awful.]
You mustn't let anyone guilt you into things. There are always willing people here, and you seem like a lovely woman whom anyone would want, which means you can be picky as you please. And if anyone has a problem with that, they can cry themselves a river. Understood? That all makes sense, doesn't it?
no subject
[Oh wow, he sure is passionate about this. It's so nice to hear someone so concerned about her wellbeing enough to warn her of the ways that she could be tricked, and even the mention of consent! What a kind young man.
Would he be disappointed to find out that the warning was unfortunately a little too late.]
... It must have been a really hard battle for you and your friend. So he's still keeping that up?
[Man must really want to keep his dick dry.]
no subject
Only for her next words to take all the wind out of his sails, causing him to deflate like a balloon. Great, another horrible thing he has to warn her about.]
No, not exactly.
[He hesitates for a second, trying to figure out how to phrase himself before settling on something vague.]
He's no longer an active guest at the moment. People come and go a lot in this place.
no subject
Right?]
I'm not sure I'm following... Isn't that a good thing?
no subject
[Another long moment of hesitation follows. He thinks about saying, "There's no proof he's gone home," or something along those lines. Then she'd understand why he's worried. But that's not quite true, is it? He knows where Rinne is: in Reign's room, as a statue. Should he really explain that right now, though?
His shoulders slump. In the end, even the charismatic and ever-talkative Hiyori Tomoe can't spin a good answer out of nothing.]
... sorry. I hate to bear even more bad news, but people don't always go home when they disappear.
[Another pause, his voice sounding heavy and exhausted.]
He's been taken off the guest list, but he is still here. It just doesn't seem like "him," since he's turned into a stone statue.