(Disclaimer: This story contains depictions of hardship, bullying, verbal abuse, mentions of death, depression, and unfunny cringe attempts at humor throughout.)

"We're live in… 3… 2… 1… roll cameras!", a commanding voice boomed across the entire set. Aventurine's mind was racing as the camera's recording light turned on and it swiveled to face him. He put on his trademark poker face and thought: "This interview might determine if the IPC continues to have a seat at the table in Penacony. I better make this bet count and go all in if I want to win big…" A few spotlights then further illuminated his surroundings, with the applause of a live audience of dozens of people sitting in front of him following.

"Welcome back to "Successful Dreamers", Penacony's most popular talk show!", a charismatic voice erupted from the chair to his left, "I'm your host, Uma, and tonight, we have four special guests with us. And all of them are part of the IPC!" The well-known pepeshi sat in her chair with an eager smile while enthusiastically talking to the audience and cameras, her voice echoing from the small microphone attached to her clothes' collar. Uma turns and looks at him and the other guests while saying, "On this show, we interview our guests, asking them how they are so successful while in Penacony. As well as popular fan questions they will answer from yours truly!", in a fiery and passionate tone.

The live audience thunders in excited applause. Uma gestures her arm towards Aventurine and then says: "First, we have Aventurine, one of the Ten Stonehearts from the IPC! His good looks and fashionable gambling attire has attracted him legions of fans. And his negotiations with the Family have earned him further popularity!" Once this was said, he chuckled playfully and waved to the camera/audience before him, which resulted in a screaming chorus of excitement. Despite this, however, this flamboyant display of confidence was just a mask, hiding his anxiety and insecurity at this tense situation. But he was used to it, and his poker face worked perfectly, assuming a face that said he'd win it all…

"Next, we have Dr. Veritas Ratio from the IPC's very own Intelligentsia Guild! Though his attitude may be cold and overly logical, his features are attractive and his genius status also net him tons of support!", Uma said sequentially. As expected, Ratio didn't like this one bit. He scoffed and commented, "Hmph! Only a fool would assume value from physical appearance. Honestly, being on this idiotic show is a waste of my scholarly pursuits.", in a dry voice. Of course, this only caused the crowd to cheer harder and get more reactions out of him, with many laughing and thinking he was joking (he wasn't).

"And finally, our last two guests are also from the Ten Stonehearts: The beloved Topaz and the adorable Numby, Topaz's iconic warp trotter!", Uma commentated as she gazed upon the pair, "Her genius marketing skills, along with her pet's treasure-finding skills make them an unstoppable duo. This, along with her actions being immeasurable to the IPC's recent success in Penacony, has earned her the respect and admiration of many. Give it up for all of our wonderfully talented IPC guests!" Topaz nodded with a small smile on her face, feeling confident and integral as ever. Numby squealed in delight at the resulting applause and cheering, leading them to jump up and down near Topaz's legs where they sat.

Once the excitement from everyone quieted down, Uma turned her attention back to Aventurine. "With those introductions out of the way, it's time to answer our biggest fan questions for our first guest!", she announced loudly. She leaned forward and asked, "So Aventurine, what many fans want to know are your reactions to all the recent peacock allegations you've been facing. Some say that your flashy clothing is modeled after the beautiful avian and that you are a living symbol of their elegance. What do you say to this?", while the fluff ball on her head swayed in excitement.

He was stunned for a few seconds by this bizarre statement, before smiling devilishly and answering with: "Heh… My dear valued clients… I can absolutely assure that I am, in fact, NOT a peacock. I may admire their beauty and wealthy assets, but that does not make me one. However, my attire is meant to turn heads to let others know I like a good bet, so you can gamble on that!" This drove the crowd wild, with them cheering and whistling in giddiness loudly. But deep down, he knew he would never feel beautiful enough, or that he only wanted the attention so he could justify his pointless good luck and mean something to others who challenged him…

This, oddly enough, caused a noticeable shift in Uma's tone and personality. She sat back in her chair and put on a subtle, yet mischievous smirk. "But are you REALLY sure about that? You LOOK like a silly little peacock to me.", she asked intensely, "Plus, those beautifully exotic eyes of yours remind me of one. All my experience as a talk show host points me in the direction of you actually being like a peacock!" The audience remained silent at this, while Ratio gave an annoyed stare and Topaz looked confused along with Numby.

Aventurine already suspected something was wrong with Uma, but waited for the right moment to say it. Taking out a poker chip and flipping it in the air, he thought briefly about the detail he noticed before saying, "Funny that you mention it… I heard that you were a news anchor for Penacony TV Station, not a talk show host. So, how can you have so much experience being one while knowing so much about me when we only just met? Your poker face is slipping, you know.", as the chip landed back into his palm. This led her to freeze in place for a few seconds, before her mouth grew into a wide and sadistic smile while she said: "Nice catch… I'll be SURE to return the favor. You Sigonians are always so sneaky and clever! You're JUST like how I remembered you…"

The visage of Uma was then swiftly replaced by the cheeky appearance of none other than Sparkle. The audience and Topaz gasped in reaction, with Ratio showing indifference. Aventurine himself smirked in response. "I knew it was you, Masked Fool. Looks like we both played our cards right… What's your goal this time?", he said. "Oh it's simple, really… I just wanna give the people what they asked for.", she stated cryptically, "A show MUST be entertaining to its audience, after all… And I need to have fun if they're having fun! So prepare to be the main event!"

Sparkle manically chanted a few words, then fish apparitions appeared from her body and flew over to Aventurine quickly. They circled around him, accelerating faster and faster until they exploded into a thick smoke cloud, enveloping him completely. When it subsided, he felt… very different. He tried to say something, but only a screech came out. He also felt much smaller, like he wasn't human anymore. But the strangest thing of all was that his clothes felt like they were part of his body now, sort of like… feathers. Once he opened his eyes after the smoke truly cleared up, he saw that he was now a peacock for real!

While the crowd went the wildest yet over this reveal, Sparkle and the other IPC members had reactions that were more unconventional. Topaz stared curiously at her colleague's now-bird form. "So this is the supposed illusory magic of the Masked Fools? How interesting… I wonder if they would be interested in investing in us?", she said aloud. As the peacock started to chirp and peck the seat out of confusion, Ratio commented: "Hmm… I always figured you to be a bird brain. What a foolish endeavor this has turned into." Numby, meanwhile, was running in circles out of fear of Sparkle, who just giggled in satisfaction.

On the other hand, Aventurine's mindset inside his new temporary peacock body was a mess. The sudden confusion on what was happening reminded him of the confusion he felt when his sister told him to run and play dead to save himself from the horrors of war on his home planet… The spotlight above him blinded him, much like how the sand of Sigonia-IV blinded him when ran through it. Deeper down, he thought he would lose this bet to keep his job, ending his unwanted winning streak, and the suffering he faced from it. As he tried to remember his family's faces before they died, he thought, "...At least Mama Fenge would stop cursing me…", in the mental spiral downwards…

Much like earlier, though, he then realized that he could assert himself yet keep playing by the IPC's restrictions in his own way. While the thrill of a gamble was the possibility of finally breaking his winning streak to him, he could be more chaotic in this peacock form without having to worry about repercussions from his superiors. Plus, it would keep the IPC's reputation in Penacony intact, since the Masked Fool caused this chaos, and playing to the crowd will boost their reputation more than a royal flush. So, he pushed away his low self-esteem and depression for the moment and prepared to truly embody the peacock's flashy appearance.

First, he got everyone's attention with a loud screech, much more high in volume than before. Then, he did a strange sort of rhythmic dance, stepping from side to side and front to back in multiple intervals while pecking the chair at the same time. To finish it off, he ruffled and shook his massive and colorful tail feathers in a display of beauty and wealth, entrancing the entire audience as they watched in awe. Although, his IPC colleagues were not very impressed by the dance routine, with Sparkle finding it pathetically hilarious.

A few minutes passed before the peacock suddenly stopped in place, screeched at the sky, vibrated his feathers, and then exploded into yet another cloud of smoke, revealing Aventurine back into his regular form. He bowed and threw a bunch of credits at the audience as a showstopper. "My dear valued clients… Looks like your questions have been answered.", he finished, "Consider this bet won, and give it up for Ms. Sparkle! She made this all possible!" He stood up straighter as the entire audience gave a standing applause, cheering and whooping all the while. The cameras zoomed in closer on him, savoring the incredible moment.

Ratio was the first to voice his grievances, as usual. "How utterly stupid… I suppose only the ignorant masses could enjoy such mind-numbing entertainment like this.", he said while holding his head in his hands. Topaz shook her head and looked at Aventurine, saying: "That surprisingly didn't tank our shares… I guess he is business-savvy when he needs to be. I wonder how Diamond and Jade will react when they hear about this?" Meanwhile, Numby ran towards his shoes and nuzzled their head on them before running back to Topaz and doing the same thing there. Having had enough of all the attention and antics, Sparkle hopped off the chair and said, "Ugh… I'm BORED now. You ruined my prank, and I live to have fun! So, I guess I'll just make like a rat and leave. It's been fun, catch ya later when I wanna PLAY again!", before turning back into Uma's appearance and walking off the set and out the studio's exit door.

Aventurine looked back to the camera and knew that the show would be ending any minute now, so he thought of what to say to the audience. "I've learned a lot while I've been here in Penacony. But the best thing I learned in my time here is just how easy it is to lose a game here, if you're not careful…", he concluded, "Whether it's your leader, your news anchor, or even yourself, you always got to stay out of your head and keep on raising the bets, no matter the risks. Just don't be afraid to call your chips in too, in case you're in a bind. Pick your risks, I say! Thank you for having me tonight!" Even though he was still suffering internally, this brief move of agency and control over a non random outcome made him hope a little better for his future. He could even feel approval by his colleagues for once, even if only slightly. A last round of cacophonous applause reached his ears before the director on the set yelled: "That's a wrap!"

[Writer's Commentary: I finally wrote a story about everyone's favorite gambler! I'm worried I mischaracterized him, since he's tricky to write about, so don't kill me, Aventurine fans! I tried to keep his internal struggles and depth, but I'm worried the tone clashes with the weird stuff too much… I had this idea about Sparkle turning him into a peacock for a while now, and I hope the Uma twist worked well. I also feel like there might be lore inaccuracies, but hey, no one's perfect. I hope you enjoyed the appearance of the other characters as well. There's not much left to say, so enjoy your day!]