【 Thank you for choosing the Golden Peacock, 5-Star Resort and Casino. You are currently registered as a WILDCARD in our system.
Due to unprecedented high demand we are temporarily unable to check you in to your reserved room. We apologize for the inconvenience. We have arranged for a temporary room while we work on processing your reservation as quickly as possible. We appreciate your understanding.
As a special wedding gift from us, we have arranged for you and your new spouse to stay in one of our junior penthouses while you wait. Congratulations on your new marriage. We are so pleased you have chosen our resort for your honeymoon.
You will be notified as soon as your official reservation has been processed. Your comfort and happiness are our utmost priority. We hope you enjoy the provided amenities and lose yourself in marital bliss. 】
EVENS
EVENS: NEW CHARACTERS
Music plays. Instrumental, the tune gentle enough not to disturb peaceful rest. The sudden insistent beep of the Watch is a cutting cacophony across an otherwise sweet lullaby. Upon opening their eyes, new arrivals will quickly discover that something is wrong. The quilt snug across their body is weighty. Crystals glint in a weave of embroidery and cotton shimmers with threads of silver. Dozens of decorative pillows surround the bed. The gauzy curtains of the canopied bed are drawn, obscuring the rest of the room.
Extravagant for a kidnapping. Too extravagent. What’s more, these new guests will find something even stranger than this new diamond-studded suite tucked into bed beside them. Someone else. Who are they, what are they wearing? What happened last night?!
Guests are encouraged to explore the resort from here! There are paper maps available for those who would like and staff are happy to recommend locations if they have any preferences. Enjoy your honeymoon, you lovebirds!
ODDS
ODDS: SPECIAL RE-ARRIVAL
Never trust a hallway in the Golden peacock.
Cross the wrong threshold and time begins to slow. A short hallway becomes long, sheds its doors, only leading to turns without end. Guests too eager to explore the resort have gotten lost before. For how long always varies, dependent upon capriciousness of the resort. Hours? Yes. Years? Yes. Every guest caught in the winding hallways has reported the same thing: time is different there and too difficult to discern.
Some wayward guests have been caught in the endless hallways since the FIRST TDM. Weeks pass before a single doorway appears in the distance. It creaks upon opening before everything goes topsy-turvy. These guests have been let out of a trap door in the depths of Crane's Respite.
All water corridors will eventually lead back to the populated areas of Crane's Respite. The waters are warm, the scent of bath salts returns, and staff are wild with joy at finally finding all of you. They have been beside themselves searching ever since you vanished!
NOTES
PROMPT NOTES
▶ Because we love all of the new characters premiering on this TDM, we kindly request that our Evens prompt be top level exclusive for new characters. Current characters are encouraged to tag in to these prompts with the caveat that they’ve been picked up from their assigned suite (or wherever else they were before) and dumped into the new arrival’s bed. We would like for new characters to have this prompt unique to their top level comments!
▶ Players are welcome to have their current character riff off of these prompts in the log community with the exclusion of the new arrival element. This request is just for TDM top levels.
▶ Current characters and new characters are both welcome to freely mess around with the Odds prompt with the exclusion of the arrival element. For new characters, players may participate with the idea that their character is exploring Crane’s Respite after their unique arrival in the Evens prompt. The Odds arrival element may also be utilized by current player characters who may have been on an unofficial hiatus in January and did not tag as much as they would have liked, to explain any long IC absence.
▶ Octopi may be killed. If a character decides to eat one of the octopi they may find themselves taking on some of its traits. Which traits are up to player discretion.
ELEVATORS
ELEVATORS
The house has recently ordered a full changeout of art in all high traffic areas. The elevators in particular have received special attention with many different famous artworks and portraits studded to the walls for guests to admire. These artworks are treasures of the modern world that one would typically see behind glass at a museum. Guests may even find works from their own world hanging in the elevators. Even famous works that maybe have been lost to time. So this is where they ended up. Is that Vermeer's The Concert?
Guests may find their elevator suddenly stopping without warning. The portraits on the wall stir, curiously studying them, but there are three main portraits calling the shots. The portrait that controls that particular elevator will make their demands known with the threat that, if they are not obeyed, you will be trapped forever.
Elevators will function after the portrait's demands are met. Guests that hold out and refuse may find themselves trapped upwards of twelve hours. Guests with the ability to do so may crawl out of the top emergency door, free to go wherever they want from there.
GREAT TIT!
GREAT TIT!
Great Tit! is the Golden Peacock’s popular dessert bar and cafe. With its bright pops of color and whimsical treats, guests simply can’t resist stopping in for a butt shaped cookie and hazelnut coffee. After catching wind that the resort has decided to celebrate a dessert shop's most lucrative holiday, Great Tit! is ready to impress the masses. Advertisements for limited edition drinks and desserts rain the main lobby; one can’t go three steps without slipping on a neon pink coupon for 10 percent off nipple buns. Guests that decide to pass by the cafe will find themselves assaulted with confetti cannons and eager employees ushering them inside.
Guests will find a temporary communal shower room upon exiting Great Tit! where they can wash off after a fun day of rolling around in sugar. All guests will be gifted a tee branded with a, CHOCOLATE IS MY LOVER logo.
NOTES
PROMPT NOTES
▶ This portraits prompt has been triggered by several characters expressing interest in and investigating the lore of the resort paintings. This is just dipping a beginning toe in, but congrats to all for poking around!
▶ Portraits in the elevator should not be destroyed, purely for continuity’s sake. If a character would go far enough to attack one of the portraits, the portrait will slap them back with ghostly power.
▶ Characters may also figure other ways out of the elevator if they have specific abilities to do so. While the portraits can control the elevators, they cannot control your character(s). Any destruction to the elevator itself is liable to result in a rush of security dragging the culprit(s) away to the Iron Net.
▶ Great Tit! is running a massive sale! Even characters who are on the broke end of the spectrum will be able to afford to join in on the fun and indulge in sugar at these prices.
▶ Players are encouraged to make up any other elements for the Hall of Chocolate. If it’s a dessert and edible, it’s there. Enjoy your sugar coma!
▶ While the chocolate boxes are ICly limited due to Alessandro’s skills as a chocolatier, this is only an IC mechanic. There is no OOC limitation on this prompt as far as chocolate rarity goes.
THE NEST
ALICE AND THE PARROTS
Fashion boutiques are a dime a dozen in the Nest. The shopping hub is massive, lined with stores all trying to aggressively appeal to guests. A challenge in itself — but the guests of the Golden Peacock are no ordinary people. Used to being pampered and fed excitement, if these boutiques don’t bust their bottoms to appeal to the fickle nature of their patrons, they won’t be in business for much longer! One particular boutique, Alice and the Parrots, is riding winds of romantic thrill and churning out a couple of brand new fashion lines sure to draw in loads of chips.
Guests are welcome to try on clothes in Alice and the Parrots' dressing rooms. These dressing rooms are small and can only accommodate two people sharing at a time. Such is the life of a small boutique store. Sharing is no big deal, right? And there’s no way you can buy clothing this expensive without giving it a test first.
NOTES
PROMPT NOTES
▶ Players are encouraged to make up whatever cute outfits they would like for this prompt.
▶ Wedding clothes do not have to be cute and frilly; this section accommodates tastes of everyone.
▶ Alice and the Parrots is more expensive than Love Dove. Their clothing quality is excellent but their price tags are high. Staff may watch low ranks extra diligently to cut off any stealing. Thieves will be chased by NPC security! Anyone caught gets a day in the Iron Net.
CASINO CHAPEL
CASINO FLOOR
A Pop up Chapel has appeared in the Phoenix Casino. Guests are delighting in playing out weddings and pretending to get married — and a few guests are even tying the knot for real. They aren't worried about the sanctity of marriage; they can divorce tomorrow if they get bored of each other. And everyone knows that getting married doesn't mean you can't fuck whoever you want!
Since the resort isn't keeping track of how many marriages a guest has, all guests are encouraged to marry as many people as they would like. The more the merrier!
Wild wedding events will continue all throughout the month of February, until the guests find it's gotten stale. A divorce rush will round out the fun at the end of the month.
NOTES
PROMPT NOTES
▶ Weddings are not legally binding. Birdvis is not registered as a real officiant, but he does have an excellent beak and pompadour.
▶ Prizes from easy mode slot machines are automatic and do not require mod thumbs up to claim.
▶ Chip prize from difficult mode slot machines is automatic. The special prize is 5 reward points to add to your bank on rewards. Players who wish to claim the special prize should link the finished thread (the kink in question has been completed) under their rewards header with the header, Wedding Slot Machine. If you do any combination of 6/6 (finger hand lol) we ask you somehow make this sexy or involve a climax in order to claim the points.
BLANKET CW: Aphrodisiac; Compulsion; Costumes; Dubcon; Entrapment; Foodplay; Gambling; Lingerie; Matrimony; Tentacles; NSFW Images and Language; NTR; Nudity; Roleplay; Sacrilegious Themes
▶ All new 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 new 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 February event.
▶ Current characters may top level on the TDM. Please make sure to review the arrival prompt notes! 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 priority and receive attention!
▶ If you aren't satisfied with the prompts on this TDM please feel free to check out our LOCATIONS to explore more of the resort.
▶ 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 anyway!
▶ 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.
▶ Thank you for spending Valentine's Day with us! You're our sweetheart this year. 💕
[ Archer doesn’t usually appear ruffled when strange things happen, and this time is no exception. He listens as the bizarre painting says its piece, gray eyes sharp and calculating even though he projects an easy sort of practiced indifference.
He considers the response of the man trapped inside with him and merely tilts his head slightly in response. ]
The House has ways of knowing things the rest of us would blush at, I’m sure.
[ Thanks for that unhelpful, cryptic comment, Archer. But no, he is wholly convinced this resort is an elaborate trap of some kind. The power to transcend space and time is nothing to laugh at, and part of him feels like he’s waiting for shoe to drop at any moment.
But those are his own private thoughts, not to be shared with this stranger. No, he’d much rather poke the bear, so to speak. There’s nothing better to do, after all. ]
Though I wonder if you’re more concerned about the prospect of crimes being known or if it’s the idea of being punished that bothers you more.
If they already know, then demanding a confession is fairly pointless, don't you think?
[Honestly, it's almost a — not comfort, exactly, but it's a familiarity, the generally impassive way that the stranger in his midst takes to the painting's challenge. It's the sort of brevity he'd expect from one of his Turks: no howling, no whining, no flying off the handle. Just rational assessment and business.
Good. Maybe they'll actually be able to get something done, here.]
Besides, I'll only be punished if my supposed crimes are worse than yours. And if you thought you were more blameless than I am, you'd have already set the wheels in motion with a confession of your own.
[ Archer sees no point in fussing over their current predicament. That would draw unnecessary attention, and he doesn’t plan on letting the House get the better of him now - or ever, if at all possible.
To the question, he simply quirks a brow. ]
Because knowing isn’t the point. What matters here is the game.
[ He hasn’t been piece together the full scope of what is going on here since there isn’t much information available - but instinct tells him that’s what all of this is. It’s just a question of how sinister their hosts truly are beneath the glamour and glitz. ]
It takes two to play, doesn’t it? There wouldn’t be much of a point in my confession if you’re truly determined to stay here a while.
Though if you do want to get this over with, I certainly don’t mind going first.
[Spoken like a man with something to hide, Rufus thinks, like he is not ALSO A GUY WITH A LOT OF THINGS TO HIDE. It's fine. It's cool. We're not talking about him right now.]
Let's play, then. I'll hardly walk away from a challenge — assuming, that is, that there were room to walk away from anything in our present confinement.
[Regardless, he waves his hand in light indication at the other man.]
[ Archer has so many things to hide. And yet, one of the ironic perks of having such a long list of terrible things to choose from, it's easy to present something that would make most ordinary people cringe (or worse) without touching on something too personal.
He tips his head briefly in acknowledgment of the willingness to play - and then, after a light pause, he lays his card on the table. (One would think, in such a game, that choosing the least offensive crime would be paramount, but Archer, apparently, has no such reservation.) ]
The deaths of millions of people at my hand and the destruction of countless alternate timelines.
[ He says it like he’s giving a weather report so it’s difficult to say how much what he revealed actually bothers him. Suffice to say, it is something he finds haunting, but there are other sins that lie much closer to his heart which he will not reveal. ]
[...WELL OKAY THIS IS GOING TO BE THE EASIEST "WHO'S WORSE" COMPETITION HE'S EVER WON, HOLY FUCK. And yet for a second, the prospect of winning goes by the wayside in favor of something significantly more compelling — this business of countless alternate timelines. Just what does something like that mean, really? How would one even identify an alternate timeline to begin with, much less destroy it?
(Those things that had swarmed his building — could it bear any similarity to —)
All of a sudden, this captivity seems considerably less oppressive. The fact that he's locked in with a self-confessed mass murderer takes a natural backseat to the fact that this could make for a significantly interesting conversation.]
...Alternate timelines.
[Archer should feel triumphant; this may well be the most Rufus has emoted in pretty much the entire time since he's been here.]
How can you be certain of that? You'd have to have some means of identifying such a timeline to begin with.
[ Congratulations on being locked in with someone with more blood on his hands than you, Rufus, it’s a great day! And interesting conversations are always a bonus, aren’t they?
Archer had a feeling this was the sort of man that was unlikely to balk at such a pronouncement, and it seems he was right. He doesn’t especially care about winning this particular game, after all, and the prospect of being ‘punished’ doesn’t really bother him. ]
If there is a magical or technological means created by human hands that is capable of discerning such things , I haven’t yet encountered it.
[ Alas for the lack of FGO knowledge. ]
The only way I know of is to work within the system itself under the purview of entities that oversee human history.
[WOW WHAT IS THIS SLANDER HE IS A BLAMELESS AND INNOCENT CITIZEN. Plotting to kill his dad is a public service if you really think about it. Someone should award him a medal for his altruism.]
And which entities would those be?
[He reflects a moment, then decides there's nothing to be lost by venturing speculation, and possibly something quite significant to be gained.]
Not floating specters in hooded shrouds, by any chance?
[ Most blameless and innocent people wouldn’t take a detour to talk about timelines as opposed to millions of dead people, but Archer can hardly fault him. He’s the one who got them on this topic, after all.
To the question, though, Archer shakes his head. ]
The entities I know of are without form or color. It is more accurate to think of them as…passive spirals of energy that detect and react to threats.
Because they have no physical form, they often rely upon agents that do. Not knowing more about your…specters…I could not comment on what they might be.
[He lets that remark put a note of finality on the thought, though whether that's because he's unwilling or incapable to discuss more about his own mysterious entities is anyone's guess. Still, passive spirals of energy that detect and react to threats, manipulating human history for the sake of...what? Eliminating inconvenient timelines? Pruning the desired one like a decorative tree?
The whole of it doesn't make much sense, but the man is so matter-of-fact about the whole business that it's unlikely that he's manufacturing a story wholecloth. What the ramifications of that might be, well. That's something he'll have to consider another time.]
Well, I can hardly confess to any crime so weighty as that.
[The crimes his company might have committed are, strictly speaking, not his. The fact that he bears responsibility for them regardless is still a technicality he's willing to slip neatly through here.]
[It's not as though respect was in abundance in either direction, after all. It would've been one thing if they'd simply disliked each other or been at odds. But to not even consider him a credible threat when he'd —
No, no. Better not to dwell on that, now. They're not asking the former president, after all. They're asking the painting, and each other.]
We've confessed. Now we're to determine amongst ourselves which is more deserving of punishment, isn't that right?
[ Ah, parents. The topic makes Archer briefly think of his own father. A man who wasn’t his relation by blood, but rather, a tragic, misguided fool who’d pulled a half-dead child from the wreckage of a fire he’d caused himself…and therein found his salvation. A man who passed his ideals along to his son before he died — a sinful way of living that inevitably became a curse.
The irony is rather thick in his tone when he answers. ]
How fortunate we are, then, that neither of our fathers are here to judge us for our crimes.
[ Kiritsugu might die of shame, and Archer can’t decide if he finds that to be a depressing or satisfying thought.
The painting rattles slightly at Rufus’s question as Judgmental John clears his throat. ]
You are both sinners worthy of punishment!! However… only one of you has confessed to the slaughter of innocents! Is that a greater crime than disrespecting one’s parent - a sin against heaven itself?? The two of you must decide!!
How fortunate for our fathers, rather, to be spared the encounter with us.
[It's a comment that could be interpreted nobly, if taken at a certain angle. Something about sparing the father the shame of witnessing the son, or some garbage like that. Given the lightness with which Rufus says it, though, it seems to suggest that said fathers are lucky they aren't present for significantly different reasons than to spare them turmoil.
Curious.
He doesn't leave long to dwell on it, though, as he moves briskly on:]
Well, the decision seems straightforward enough. You have no particular objection to my crime, but I object to the slaughter of millions. So it seems it falls to me to be your figurative executioner, hm?
cw: mention of character death and....thoughts of patricide
[ Well, well. A kindred spirit with parent issues. He could be wrong, but seeing as Archer isn't sure whether he would want to hug or strangle his adoptive father if he ever ran into him, he isn't in a position to judge.
To the question, though, Archer simply offers that faint, ironic smile once more. ]
I suppose a figurative one should be viewed as more merciful than a literal one.
[ Says the man who was hanged for a crime he didn't commit. ]
Though I suppose it depends on what you have in mind for my punishment.
[Oh, the volumes upon volumes these two could discuss on the topic of sons carrying the burdens left behind by their fathers — but alas, it's a discussion that is never to be, or at least not during this particular elevator ride.
When it becomes clear that the other man isn't going to resist his assessment, however, something in Rufus's demeanor smooths out and settles; with the dynamic between them more firmly solidified, he takes a slight step backwards to make more room in the elevator before motioning idly towards the new space he's just vacated.]
Penance begins on one's knees, doesn't it? So why don't you start with that.
[If the hoot out of Judgmental John is any indication, it's a very good start indeed.]
[ 'Penance'. 'Sin'. As far as Archer is concerned, both of them are meaningless concepts. And if he ever did have any sins to his name, surely, he's already paid for them. The repetitive cycle of death and destruction was in itself a punishment so the idea that he needs to 'repent' for it is absurd.
But this is the game, is it not? And for whatever reason, he chose take the fall, in this particular case.
The reason why is complex, and it's unlikely he'll explain it. It's just what it is, and he'll suffer the punishment he essentially signed himself up for with grace.
There's a rustle of fabric, as Archer obediently sinks down on both knees. He seems quite calm about all of this -- but then, a man who has faced literal execution without flinching and countless other terrible things surely cannot find the prospect of being 'punished' by a man he doesn't know to be too far out of the norm.
Still...there is one boundary he will set. ]
We can start and end here if you like... The only thing I ask is we leave asphyxiation off the table. For your sake more than mine.
[ He says it evenly, without much inflection. Even though he doesn't have to breathe, he's not sure how well he'll react to that. Death by hanging isn't really a pleasant way to go, after all, and he doesn't really want to test his tolerance for that sort of thing at the moment. ]
[It's a curious thing to ask for, really. Not necessarily because making requests of things to avoid is unheard-of, or even that being choked out is an odd thing to seek waiver from, but mostly because it even came up at all. What sort of circumstances has a man like this seen and experienced, he wonders, to set such a boundary so reflexively?
Regardless, it aligns perfectly fine with his own motives. He picks up his foot instead and brings it to rest on the kneeling man's shoulder; since they're resort-issue, like the rest of his clothes, the most they've touched up until now is carpet.]
For my sake? How generous. A gift from the penitent to his punisher.
[Though conspicuously, he's not putting a whole lot of weight on the man's shoulder — even though the way he's shifted his stance makes it look like he is.]
But no. Why not payment in kind? To be cleansed of your guilt, why not clean something else.
[ Archer has seen every evil, every vice, every cruelty that humanity visits upon their own for millenia, over and over and over again. In that respect, it's easy for him not to react to certain things for the simple reason that normal feelings like being shocked or appalled have been seared out of him. Being a servant without free will to an entity with neither love nor care, only the impulse to destroy threats, hasn't done much for his sense of pride or self-esteem either.
It's why he doesn't balk at the heel on his shoulder, on what others would surely consider a humiliation. He simply stares back at Rufus with those steely gray eyes of his. Silently considering. ]
[He's quiet a moment, though whether it's from thoughtfulness or simply not wanting to dignify the question with a response at all is really anyone's guess; there's something about having to spell out his whims that for an instant almost seems to bother him, like he's used to being able to convey such things with a nod or a look and have them seen to instantly.
But maybe that is, in its own way, this kneeling man's way of keeping a measure of dignity. Making him be the one to say it outright. There is, he'll concede, a level of power in that.]
Kiss it.
[It's brief, and probably in part to see if it'll be enough, or if they'll have to continue another round yet with clarifications.]
[ Archer can certainly appreciate the sort of relationship where a look or a shift in body language says all that needs to be said. There is at least one person he can read well enough for that. For their purposes, though, strangers who haven’t even exchanged names, he sees no reason to be that accommodating.
Perhaps that’s why his expression doesn’t change. Why he can turn his head and leave a single, lengthy kiss on Rufus’s boot, while still finding a way to stare up at his ‘executioner’ with that cool, unwavering stare.
[Out of the corner of his eye, he's watching Judgmental John moreso than he is the little performance going on in front of him, ever gauging to see just how much of this they both need to put up with before the elevator begins to move again. As punishments go, it's reasonably tolerable — his companion seems compliant enough for all that he might not like it, and falling into the role of a dominant tormentor isn't all that different from running a corporation, all things considered.
(It would've been so much worse if he'd been the one on his knees. He's going to have to be wary of that, if he takes these elevators again.)
But the painting does seem to be watching intently, at least. Hopefully that means they're getting close.]
Again. Like you mean it.
[Almost there, he tries to convey with the cadence of his tone, unwilling to motion to the painting outright, but focusing his attention on Archer as he says it, on the off-chance that he's waiting for a signal.]
[ Archer is waiting. And he, too, spares the briefest of glances at the painting. He’s not entirely sure how far this little charade will have to go for them to be released, especially since this place has made no secret of what it’s all about… But perhaps a good show is that will be needed.
His gaze flickers back up to Rufus, and in the space of a breath, he runs through several calculations and scenarios.
Without explaining why, Archer glances down at the floor and nudges the boot on his shoulder with his hand. It’s a bit awkward, trying to do this from this angle, so if he’s allowed, Archer will maneuver the man’s heel to the floor of the elevator.
It’s an exceptionally undignified position now, having to lean all the way over to accomplish his aim, but Archer is a pragmatist before anything else. Given a choice, he wouldn’t do this — but he’s not willing to risk being trapped here longer than is necessary either.
It’s why every kiss he leaves on Rufus’s boot will be traced over by a deliberately sensual swipe of his tongue. He takes his time with it, and when he’s well and truly done, he’ll look up with that piercing stare of his.
He could continue to the second…but instead, he waits. ]
[It's a relief, almost, that the new position renders Archer unable to look up until his work is done, because where just putting a boot on his shoulder hadn't done much but look good in a performative show of dominance, bearing witness to the escalation is —
It's —
Anyone, really, would be affected by something like it. Certainly with the way Archer makes a show of it, laving his tongue over the leather in such an utterly compromised position, going about his task in a way that can't help but produce the faintest of noises, wet on wet. He forgets to breathe at some point, and only notices it when his lungs start to burn, and he has to rush to compose himself just before Archer looks up at him, expectant.
Well. It's his turn to bring it home, then, isn't it?]
That's a good boy.
[The remark comes easy, velvet, modulated; a clever ear could probably surmise that he's a pet owner himself, with the way he reaches down easily and pets his fingers through Archer's hair precisely the way he might if he were rewarding a faithful hound — and sure enough, Judgmental John begins hooting and cackling, finally appeased in his aims.]
[ Though Archer remains perfectly still, there’s a brief flash of something dangerous in those steely gray eyes of his when Rufus’s fingers sink into his hair. The fury he very rarely shows the world, the burning fire that kept him sane through a thousand times a thousand different iterations of hell — there’s just a flicker of it, there and gone in a moment. Instead, he dips his head, as if accepting the praise.
All of this is part of the game, of course it is — but that doesn’t mean there isn’t something visceral inside him that revolts at the very idea of submitting to anyone.
The laughter from the painting subsides, finally, and they are treated to their reward. The doors slide open, and once Rufus’s hand lifts away, Archer will rise gracefully and walk out of the elevator.
He performed well, but he needs a moment to breathe. ]
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peacockstop2024-02-10 11:29 am
B. Judgmental John
He considers the response of the man trapped inside with him and merely tilts his head slightly in response. ]
The House has ways of knowing things the rest of us would blush at, I’m sure.
[ Thanks for that unhelpful, cryptic comment, Archer. But no, he is wholly convinced this resort is an elaborate trap of some kind. The power to transcend space and time is nothing to laugh at, and part of him feels like he’s waiting for shoe to drop at any moment.
But those are his own private thoughts, not to be shared with this stranger. No, he’d much rather poke the bear, so to speak. There’s nothing better to do, after all. ]
Though I wonder if you’re more concerned about the prospect of crimes being known or if it’s the idea of being punished that bothers you more.
no subject
[Honestly, it's almost a — not comfort, exactly, but it's a familiarity, the generally impassive way that the stranger in his midst takes to the painting's challenge. It's the sort of brevity he'd expect from one of his Turks: no howling, no whining, no flying off the handle. Just rational assessment and business.
Good. Maybe they'll actually be able to get something done, here.]
Besides, I'll only be punished if my supposed crimes are worse than yours. And if you thought you were more blameless than I am, you'd have already set the wheels in motion with a confession of your own.
no subject
To the question, he simply quirks a brow. ]
Because knowing isn’t the point. What matters here is the game.
[ He hasn’t been piece together the full scope of what is going on here since there isn’t much information available - but instinct tells him that’s what all of this is. It’s just a question of how sinister their hosts truly are beneath the glamour and glitz. ]
It takes two to play, doesn’t it? There wouldn’t be much of a point in my confession if you’re truly determined to stay here a while.
Though if you do want to get this over with, I certainly don’t mind going first.
no subject
Let's play, then. I'll hardly walk away from a challenge — assuming, that is, that there were room to walk away from anything in our present confinement.
[Regardless, he waves his hand in light indication at the other man.]
Go ahead, then. What weighs on your conscience?
no subject
He tips his head briefly in acknowledgment of the willingness to play - and then, after a light pause, he lays his card on the table. (One would think, in such a game, that choosing the least offensive crime would be paramount, but Archer, apparently, has no such reservation.) ]
The deaths of millions of people at my hand and the destruction of countless alternate timelines.
[ He says it like he’s giving a weather report so it’s difficult to say how much what he revealed actually bothers him. Suffice to say, it is something he finds haunting, but there are other sins that lie much closer to his heart which he will not reveal. ]
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(Those things that had swarmed his building — could it bear any similarity to —)
All of a sudden, this captivity seems considerably less oppressive. The fact that he's locked in with a self-confessed mass murderer takes a natural backseat to the fact that this could make for a significantly interesting conversation.]
...Alternate timelines.
[Archer should feel triumphant; this may well be the most Rufus has emoted in pretty much the entire time since he's been here.]
How can you be certain of that? You'd have to have some means of identifying such a timeline to begin with.
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Archer had a feeling this was the sort of man that was unlikely to balk at such a pronouncement, and it seems he was right. He doesn’t especially care about winning this particular game, after all, and the prospect of being ‘punished’ doesn’t really bother him. ]
If there is a magical or technological means created by human hands that is capable of discerning such things , I haven’t yet encountered it.
[ Alas for the lack of FGO knowledge. ]
The only way I know of is to work within the system itself under the purview of entities that oversee human history.
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And which entities would those be?
[He reflects a moment, then decides there's nothing to be lost by venturing speculation, and possibly something quite significant to be gained.]
Not floating specters in hooded shrouds, by any chance?
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To the question, though, Archer shakes his head. ]
The entities I know of are without form or color. It is more accurate to think of them as…passive spirals of energy that detect and react to threats.
Because they have no physical form, they often rely upon agents that do. Not knowing more about your…specters…I could not comment on what they might be.
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[He lets that remark put a note of finality on the thought, though whether that's because he's unwilling or incapable to discuss more about his own mysterious entities is anyone's guess. Still, passive spirals of energy that detect and react to threats, manipulating human history for the sake of...what? Eliminating inconvenient timelines? Pruning the desired one like a decorative tree?
The whole of it doesn't make much sense, but the man is so matter-of-fact about the whole business that it's unlikely that he's manufacturing a story wholecloth. What the ramifications of that might be, well. That's something he'll have to consider another time.]
Well, I can hardly confess to any crime so weighty as that.
[The crimes his company might have committed are, strictly speaking, not his. The fact that he bears responsibility for them regardless is still a technicality he's willing to slip neatly through here.]
I disrespected my father. Shame on me.
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I would think that would be more of a duty than a crime.
[ If you’re not giving your parents shit at some point in your life, there’s something wrong with you. ]
Though I suppose our friend over there has the final say.
[ He gestures at the painting. ]
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[It's not as though respect was in abundance in either direction, after all. It would've been one thing if they'd simply disliked each other or been at odds. But to not even consider him a credible threat when he'd —
No, no. Better not to dwell on that, now. They're not asking the former president, after all. They're asking the painting, and each other.]
We've confessed. Now we're to determine amongst ourselves which is more deserving of punishment, isn't that right?
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The irony is rather thick in his tone when he answers. ]
How fortunate we are, then, that neither of our fathers are here to judge us for our crimes.
[ Kiritsugu might die of shame, and Archer can’t decide if he finds that to be a depressing or satisfying thought.
The painting rattles slightly at Rufus’s question as Judgmental John clears his throat. ]
You are both sinners worthy of punishment!! However… only one of you has confessed to the slaughter of innocents! Is that a greater crime than disrespecting one’s parent - a sin against heaven itself?? The two of you must decide!!
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[It's a comment that could be interpreted nobly, if taken at a certain angle. Something about sparing the father the shame of witnessing the son, or some garbage like that. Given the lightness with which Rufus says it, though, it seems to suggest that said fathers are lucky they aren't present for significantly different reasons than to spare them turmoil.
Curious.
He doesn't leave long to dwell on it, though, as he moves briskly on:]
Well, the decision seems straightforward enough. You have no particular objection to my crime, but I object to the slaughter of millions. So it seems it falls to me to be your figurative executioner, hm?
cw: mention of character death and....thoughts of patricide
To the question, though, Archer simply offers that faint, ironic smile once more. ]
I suppose a figurative one should be viewed as more merciful than a literal one.
[ Says the man who was hanged for a crime he didn't commit. ]
Though I suppose it depends on what you have in mind for my punishment.
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When it becomes clear that the other man isn't going to resist his assessment, however, something in Rufus's demeanor smooths out and settles; with the dynamic between them more firmly solidified, he takes a slight step backwards to make more room in the elevator before motioning idly towards the new space he's just vacated.]
Penance begins on one's knees, doesn't it? So why don't you start with that.
[If the hoot out of Judgmental John is any indication, it's a very good start indeed.]
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But this is the game, is it not? And for whatever reason, he chose take the fall, in this particular case.
The reason why is complex, and it's unlikely he'll explain it. It's just what it is, and he'll suffer the punishment he essentially signed himself up for with grace.
There's a rustle of fabric, as Archer obediently sinks down on both knees. He seems quite calm about all of this -- but then, a man who has faced literal execution without flinching and countless other terrible things surely cannot find the prospect of being 'punished' by a man he doesn't know to be too far out of the norm.
Still...there is one boundary he will set. ]
We can start and end here if you like... The only thing I ask is we leave asphyxiation off the table. For your sake more than mine.
[ He says it evenly, without much inflection. Even though he doesn't have to breathe, he's not sure how well he'll react to that. Death by hanging isn't really a pleasant way to go, after all, and he doesn't really want to test his tolerance for that sort of thing at the moment. ]
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Regardless, it aligns perfectly fine with his own motives. He picks up his foot instead and brings it to rest on the kneeling man's shoulder; since they're resort-issue, like the rest of his clothes, the most they've touched up until now is carpet.]
For my sake? How generous. A gift from the penitent to his punisher.
[Though conspicuously, he's not putting a whole lot of weight on the man's shoulder — even though the way he's shifted his stance makes it look like he is.]
But no. Why not payment in kind? To be cleansed of your guilt, why not clean something else.
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It's why he doesn't balk at the heel on his shoulder, on what others would surely consider a humiliation. He simply stares back at Rufus with those steely gray eyes of his. Silently considering. ]
What did you have in mind?
cw: bootlicking, just to be safe
But maybe that is, in its own way, this kneeling man's way of keeping a measure of dignity. Making him be the one to say it outright. There is, he'll concede, a level of power in that.]
Kiss it.
[It's brief, and probably in part to see if it'll be enough, or if they'll have to continue another round yet with clarifications.]
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Perhaps that’s why his expression doesn’t change. Why he can turn his head and leave a single, lengthy kiss on Rufus’s boot, while still finding a way to stare up at his ‘executioner’ with that cool, unwavering stare.
Challenging, even in his obedience. ]
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(It would've been so much worse if he'd been the one on his knees. He's going to have to be wary of that, if he takes these elevators again.)
But the painting does seem to be watching intently, at least. Hopefully that means they're getting close.]
Again. Like you mean it.
[Almost there, he tries to convey with the cadence of his tone, unwilling to motion to the painting outright, but focusing his attention on Archer as he says it, on the off-chance that he's waiting for a signal.]
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His gaze flickers back up to Rufus, and in the space of a breath, he runs through several calculations and scenarios.
Without explaining why, Archer glances down at the floor and nudges the boot on his shoulder with his hand. It’s a bit awkward, trying to do this from this angle, so if he’s allowed, Archer will maneuver the man’s heel to the floor of the elevator.
It’s an exceptionally undignified position now, having to lean all the way over to accomplish his aim, but Archer is a pragmatist before anything else. Given a choice, he wouldn’t do this — but he’s not willing to risk being trapped here longer than is necessary either.
It’s why every kiss he leaves on Rufus’s boot will be traced over by a deliberately sensual swipe of his tongue. He takes his time with it, and when he’s well and truly done, he’ll look up with that piercing stare of his.
He could continue to the second…but instead, he waits. ]
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It's —
Anyone, really, would be affected by something like it. Certainly with the way Archer makes a show of it, laving his tongue over the leather in such an utterly compromised position, going about his task in a way that can't help but produce the faintest of noises, wet on wet. He forgets to breathe at some point, and only notices it when his lungs start to burn, and he has to rush to compose himself just before Archer looks up at him, expectant.
Well. It's his turn to bring it home, then, isn't it?]
That's a good boy.
[The remark comes easy, velvet, modulated; a clever ear could probably surmise that he's a pet owner himself, with the way he reaches down easily and pets his fingers through Archer's hair precisely the way he might if he were rewarding a faithful hound — and sure enough, Judgmental John begins hooting and cackling, finally appeased in his aims.]
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All of this is part of the game, of course it is — but that doesn’t mean there isn’t something visceral inside him that revolts at the very idea of submitting to anyone.
The laughter from the painting subsides, finally, and they are treated to their reward. The doors slide open, and once Rufus’s hand lifts away, Archer will rise gracefully and walk out of the elevator.
He performed well, but he needs a moment to breathe. ]
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