POST-ROUND 1 MINGLE

[idolpro]

[ Once the decisions have been made, everyone is ushered—though those gentle tugs—out their respective mud rooms into the courtyard. An impossibly tall and incredibly dense garden hedge divides one half of the courtyard away—moreover, it increasingly gets taller when climbed, preventing its residents from escaping their slice of the courtyard. From beyond, idols can hear the distant sounds of something rumbling—perhaps it's the ground shaking. . .

The roster is visible on a large screen, though as time progresses, certain names are blacked out. . . ]

[ Mouths and Hands will be able to transform into monsters at-will, though Hands are much more diminutive and Mouths have supernatural abilities at their disposal. Moreover, unit abilities are on. ]

Comments

[crossmyheartandhope]

'Course I'll stay with you. I'm with you right now, ain't I?

So, nothing to worry about.

[unbr8kable]

[She hums, pleased, and shifts a bit around him, arms tight around his back]

Good. I'm so glad...

[She nuzzles into the crook of his neck again, sinking her teeth into the soft flesh]

[crossmyheartandhope]

Wha -

[Edging away a little,]

Hey!

[unbr8kable]

Hold still...

[Edges with him, attempting another nibble. Her eyes are lidded, and her teeth are sharper this time, like little needles.

When she slows upon breaking skin, it seems less hesitation as an attempt to savor the experience]

[crossmyheartandhope]

Xia, c'mon. Quit - quit messing around.

[Actively trying to squirm away, this time,]

[unbr8kable]

[She rears up to look at him, pupils blown and tongue dark as she licks his blood from her lips. Her grip on his waist is perhaps unnervingly tight]

'M not. You smell too good... I don't wanna wait...

[crossmyheartandhope]

You're just acting weird cause of the game.

[Trying to dettach her hold,]

C'mon, let - let go.

[unbr8kable]

[Offended, she leans in even further, tone anguished]

You think a game could do this? Jacob--I love you...so much I can't stand it. Nothing in this place can ever change that.

[She caresses over his face, the backs of her fingers too warm, the skin gone darker than any tan he's ever seen on her, almost black at the sharpened tips]

So you know I'd never want to hurt you.

[Her grip tightens at his waist, and further down, at mid-thigh; her voice determined. Another grumble comes from her stomach, or just from somewhere, as she stares at him, eyes so bloodshot the sclera look pure red]

I can't let anyone else hurt you, either. I have to protect you.

[crossmyheartandhope]

Hey - hey. I know that part ain't the game.

I love you, too. More than I can even say.

But the biting thing, and the teeth, and the nails - that ain't you. That's, like - whatever they're making you turn into.

[unbr8kable]

[Even like this, she blushes at the confession--takes his hands in hers (though the grip on him does not loosen?? weird) and pulls them up for a gentle kiss]

They ain't making me do nothing. Just 'cause I don't say it enough, I still need you to believe me.

I want to keep you close--I need you. I always have.

[crossmyheartandhope]

Hey... I get it. And I do believe you.

It's the same for me, too. I ain't nothing without you.

And we're close now, ain't we? I'm right here.

[unbr8kable]

You are.

[And she places another soft kiss at the corner of his mouth]

...For now.

[And she shifts again, tugging him closer from too many places at once]

They took out too many teams last time. They're gonna go after you for sure. ...I can't let that happen. I have to keep you with me, the best way I know how.

[crossmyheartandhope]

...hey. You don't know that. I might still come through okay.

And we can be together right after the game. Right? Whatever they throw at us, we still got each other.

[unbr8kable]

I know it.

[She cups his face, hot hands stroking gently over his cheek and through his hair--squeezes at his hands and waist and thighs, pseudopods curling down his calves]

And--maybe I'm selfish. But I don't want that to happen to you. I don't want nobody else to taste you but me.

[She leans in for another kiss, soft even as the grips on his limbs tighten]

[crossmyheartandhope]

[Well that choice of wording in a game like this isn't great,]

[He pulls back more firmly,t his time, testing her grip]

I mean. You don't gotta taste me, either.

That's just - that's just a game thing.

[unbr8kable]

[He can pull away from the kiss without issue; the limbs elsewhere hold fast--seem to lengthen and curl around tighter the more he struggles]

I do have to, so that nobody else will. I can't mess this up again, not when it's this important.

[She peers over at him, earnest]

I'll keep you safe, alright? I won't let nobody else hurt you.

[crossmyheartandhope]

You don't gotta taste me to do that.

[unbr8kable]

I do, that's the game, you can't not. It's like--I'm so empty...

[She grips at her chest--a little lower, at the dull, gnawing pain inside her belly]

But--if you were there, then I wouldn't be empty. And you'd always be with me--you'd be safe. Forever...

[The tentacles wound 'round his legs squeeze even more, the dark surfaces winking open with countless eyes--shutting again to open with needle-filled mouths, biting into the fabric of his boots and the spandex of his pants and the pale skin below. The ones at his shoulders and waist push him back, though her actual arms stay gentle, cupping his face--as if somehow she can will him to understand]

You get it, don't you? I--I need you...

[crossmyheartandhope]

[He hisses in a breath, as those needle-sharp teeth start to bite in - braces his arms against her and tries to push away, more insistent this time]

I need you, too, dude, but - you don't gotta - you don't gotta do this.

[unbr8kable]

I do. I've lost you too many times...I won't let nobody else have you. You're mine.

[She leaves a soft, tender kiss on his lips. Then, all at once, the now fully black, unnaturally shaped limbs oozing from her back and sides shove him down to lie flat on his back as she moves down his body.

She continues to kiss down his chest, increasingly toothy nips over his sternum and ribs. With surprising gentleness, she bites down maybe a handswidth above his hipbone, slowly--daintily ripping through clothing and flesh alike as she chews and swallows]

[crossmyheartandhope]

[oh]

[that's bad actually,]

[screaming about now,,]

[unbr8kable]

Shh, shhhh... Here, it's okay...

[An oily pseudopod strokes up his cheek, as if attempting to soothe--presses into his mouth, just deeply enough to give him something to bite down on.

In the meantime, she digs back in, more of that existential darkness pouring out of her--distractedly biting at whatever of him they can reach. They twist up even the metal leg, nipping at joint and port and thigh alike, hungrily gnawing at the soft flesh same as her real one, continuing down his belly to meet it]

I'm sorry... It'll be over soon. And then you'll be safe inside...

[crossmyheartandhope]

[He does not in fact "shhh," perhaps to the surprise of nobody - though he does bite down, hard, as those teeth sink into more parts of him, taking more chunks of flesh]

[He's thrashing - or maybe he's shaking his head? It's hard to say]

[Either way, he reaches for the tendrils enfolding him, attempting to pry her off - desperate now]

[unbr8kable]

[She rubs soothingly at his side even as she continues to eat her way down his hip. Blood and gore flop against her chin as she tears through the skin and muscle and viscera, but she makes sure to gulp down every precious bit. The other mouths are just as greedy, slowly but surely grazing through the flesh at his remaining leg, the port itself beginning to loosen and go crooked without the skin and fat and muscle to keep it in place]

You're so good...so perfect...

[Which is a vast simplification, but it's rude to talk while eating, and putting her feelings into words is difficult, so she doesn't wax poetic about the bite of his teeth into her tentacle--not aloud, anyway. She simply offers him more, still stroking gently against his cheek.

There's something poetic about him eating her as she eats him--together forever, an ouroboros of consumption--the ultimate union. Could anything be more apt for their relationship?]

'M yours, forever. And you're mine...

[She sinks her teeth into him again, ripping into the muscle of his right thigh]

[crossmyheartandhope]

[He wails, the sound muffled by the tentacle - digs his fingers as best he can between the mouths biting into his thigh and the flesh that's being devoured]

[It's impossible to tell what he's saying, but he's trying to say something, urgently - trying to get her off]