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ɢᴏʟᴅᴇɴ ᴘᴇᴀᴄᴏᴄᴋ ᴍᴏᴅs ([personal profile] goldmods) wrote in [community profile] peacockstop2024-04-15 09:00 pm
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TDM 03





【 Hello, dearest guests. We hope you have been enjoying your time in the Golden Peacock and utilizing our many amenities.

Reception would like all guests to be aware that some new arrivals have been misplaced. Due to the nature of the resort, new arrivals may have been misplaced in unexpected locations. This includes your personal suites. We are very sorry for this inconvenience.

Please do not be alarmed if you come across a misplaced new arrival. We kindly request that any guests that find a misplaced new arrival escort them to the main hub, where we have arranged a central meetup where all new arrivals can claim their complimentary robes and welcome baskets.

All guests are invited to come mingle at the main hub and meet new arrivals. As always, we hope you have a pleasant day! 】



DEALER'S CHOICE
STEVE, WHERE DID YOU PUT THE NEW ARRIVALS?

The Golden Peacock has swept away the hues of winter and welcomed vibrant pops of color for a change of pace. Gone are the snow whites and cool golds. Vases of bright florals have been staged all throughout the general hubs and hallways. Statues have been cheekily decorated with bright clothes, such as charming hats and billowing dresses with cheerful prints. This peacock has cleaned up nicely, its brilliant feathers shaking with a warm palette to please the senses.

Staff are bustling during the decor turnover. While some diligent employees are steadfastly decorating the hallways with sprawling vines and spectacular blooms, others are darting back and forth in search of something. Or rather — someone. Several someones. Front reception is in an outright panic while flying over the phones and furiously slamming their hands on keyboards.

"Steve, I know you're new, but you can't just press any button that pops up on the computer screen! The new arrivals are supposed to go into temporary suites." Deborah, the head receptionist, sighs, "Now who knows where they are. I hope they're okay... I'm sure they're quite confused, wherever they wound up. Steve, stop crying. The house won't fire you for this. Probably. How's your resume looking?"

THE BATHROOM BUTTON ▷ Due to a mistake at front reception, new arrivals aren't waking up in a temporarily assigned suite like usual. All new arrivals will wake up in a bathroom somewhere in the Golden Peacock. Steve, bless his heart, chose the wrong button and directed all new arrivals to bathrooms. Why do they even have a "bathroom" button at front reception, anyway? Who is that for?!

▷ Players are encouraged to get creative and have their character wake up in any bathroom location across the resort. Please feel free to reference our LOCATIONS for ideas as to where your character might wake up. As long as it's in a bathroom, it can be anywhere. Almost all locations within the resort have a bathroom!

Not even current character suites are safe. New arrivals may wake up in tubs, toilets, and showers in suite locations as well as general resort locations. For low rank rooms, the communal bathroom is also fair game for sudden new naked arrivals to wake up in.


THE MAIN LOBBYA welcome station has been set up in the main lobby. After getting their bearings and finding their way to the main lobby after an unexpected bathroom adventure, new arrivals will find racks of plush terrycloth robes and yellow tracksuits. They will also be given a welcome basket with general toiletries and snacks to get them started in the resort. Some gift baskets include special sex toys picked out just for them! They haven't tell anyone about that specific kink before? The house knows its guests well. No need to say anything at all.

Front reception has arranged a welcome party to greet new arrivals and help get them more comfortable. Not because they feel extremely guilty about the bathroom mixup and are hoping that these new arrivals won't complain to the house. Definitely not! With the help of 24K and Birdbucks, new arrivals and guests alike will be treated to alcohol or coffee at the front desk's expense. The fireplaces are roaring and several couches have been set up to create a comfortable atmosphere. Some long-standing guests have joined in to tell stories about how much fun they've had at the resort while enjoying a drink by the fire.


TIME FOR BED... BUT?Due to the initial mistake at reception there are no empty suites available for new arrivals to borrow. Staff have set up twin-sized cots at the back of the main lobby for new arrivals while sprucing up the situation as a giant slumber party. All new arrivals will be assigned a cot and given a privacy screen. Unfortunately, there isn't much privacy to be had when you're shacking up in a public spot.

▷ Don't worry — this will only be until check-in has been properly completed and guests have been assigned to their correct suite. We're so sorry, please don't complain to the house! Or if you do, blame Steve!

The ghost that haunts the main lobby isn't thrilled about this either. He's just a nice, low-key ghost that likes to watch people and knock over cups at Birdbucks when no one is looking. How is he supposed to do that with these people sleeping in the main lobby? In an effort to spook off these new arrivals, the ghost haunting the main lobby may whisper some odd things into their ears at night. Odd things like, "The person next to you is watching you sleep, you should run away," and "You just farted and everyone knows it was you. You should leave." Surprisingly effective, no?

In the end, Steve didn't get fired. But he did get reassigned to trash duty.



FLORAL RIOT
A STRIKE OF COLOR
🌸🌸🌸 Come experience new floral delights! Prepare to be ravished by a symphony of color and aroma. Romance, love, and pleasure all await within corridors of beauty. 🌸 🌸 🌸

Days before the grand unveiling, the gardeners of the Cloud Dwelling Garden distribute flyers announcing that their special floral exhibition is now ready for guests to enjoy. Long-standing guests vibrate in anticipation, eagerly stomping around the gardens until the ribbon is cut and the newest resort amenity has been revealed. The gardeners make a point to approach new guests and encourage them to join in on the fun, explaining that the house likes to create a new floral experience for guests every few years or so.

Exhibition opening is set for mid-month. On the 15th precisely, the gardeners line up in front of the white sheet hiding the project, each taking a turn to bow and say a few short words about how grand and generous the house is for giving them such rewarding jobs.

The curtains fall away to a wall of shockingly bright florals. Guests ooh and aahh at not only the array of shades but at the luxurious meld of so many different kinds of flowers. Wisteria and roses, lilies and carnations. Lilacs, peonies, daisies, daffodils, sunflowers. More and more and more and more. The staff explain that this flower maze is perhaps their most intricate piece of work yet and that there is grand surprise waiting at the heart. Additionally, as part of the festivities, several prizes have been hidden around the maze at dead-ends. Long-standing guests clap and cheer before charging inside.

THE FLOWER MAZE ▷ The flower maze is a winding marvel of foliage boasting over ten feet tall. Like the hedge maze, there are various twists and turns for guests to explore. This maze is a coalition of every flower thinkable, with many squared sections highlighting particular breeds. Bright pops of whites, pinks, and yellows knit with deeper purples, reds, and blues. Trees rich with blossoms hang low. Bushes rich with waxy leaves guide the way to different hidden alcoves and pockets. The flower maze is complicated and very easy to get lost in for hours. However, there is nothing magical or paranormal about it. It's just a flower maze.

▷ Guests may find statues overgrown with ivy within the maze. Despite the flower maze being a new addition to the garden, these statues are marked with age. They are weathered, having survived through the elements despite there being no real weather in the garden. Some statues are chipped and missing appendages. Despite how these old statues feel out of place in a brand new exhibit, they do not give any sense that they aren’t simply decor.

▷ Romantic gazebos have been incorporated into the design of the maze. These are popular rendezvous spots for guests to overlook the sprawling flowers and small ponds on the comfort of a small couch or a swinging bench for two. Some special gazebos have been furnished with daybeds and other comfortable furniture.

Treasure chests can be found hidden throughout the flower maze. Many of these chests are filled with sex toys and lubricants to help players get into the mood to play 52, but not only sex related items are available. Some chests may have clothes, some may have treats, some may even be filled with rocks.

▷ A few mimics have snuck in alongside the treasure chests. When opened, a mimic chest will curse the opener with a horny tongue. For a short period, the cursed individual will find themselves making erotic freudian slips. "How are you doing?" may end up coming out as, "How are you fucking?" While this curse will eventually wear off on its own, the embarrassment is forever.


THE GRAND FLOWER LAWNGuests that find the heart of the maze will discover the grand flower lawn. Also called the flower sea by staff, this brilliant landscape is covered in a lush carpet of flowers in shades of blue. Blue roses are the crown jewel of the flower sea, carefully dethorned so that guests may spread out on a velvety bed of petals.

▷ It isn’t impossible for our hardworking gardeners to miss a thorn or two. Even with careful checking, a few thorns have escaped scrutinizing staff. Guests pricked by a thorn while on the rose lawn will begin to feel drowsy. Effects may range from light exhaustion to falling into deep slumber. The cure for the rose's thorn curse is a kiss. Don't worry: true love need not apply in this case.

▷ Picnic baskets are available for guests that would like relax out on the lawn. Included in the picnic basket set: a blanket and set of pillows, fruit sandwiches, champagne, small cakes, and cookies. Hot tea and coffee is also available upon request. Staff are happy to accommodate any other special requests as well. Ask and ye shall receive.


SPECIAL LAWN GAMESAll guests lounging on the lawn will receive a cheerful message on their Watch: 【 WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY A LAWN GAME?

Guests that select the NO option will be left to their snoozing and merriment. Guests that select YES will receive a follow-up message.

▷ 【 Thank you for participating in the Lawn Game. Please choose one of the below options. You will be informed of what surprise task you have chosen after selecting an option. All level one tasks will reward in a small payout upon completion. All level two tasks will reward in a medium payout upon completion. All level three tasks will reward in two extra-large payouts upon completion.

LEVEL ONE
【 1♡ 】Serenade another player with a romantic ballad.
【 1♢ 】Perform oral sex on another player.
【 1♧ 】Discover a secret about another player.
【 1♤ 】Steal an item from another player.

LEVEL TWO
【 2♡ 】Confess any romantic crushes you may have to another player. The player need not be one of the crushes in question.
【 2♢ 】Find a unique item to use as a dildo. Allow another player to use this unique item to fuck one or more of your orifices.
【 2♧ 】Describe, in explicit detail, one of your erotic fantasies and/or desires to another player.
【 2♤ 】Take on a submissive role and please another player, either sexually or non-sexually.

LEVEL THREE
【 3♡ 】Make passionate love to another player while in the missionary position.
【 3♢ 】Engage in any sex act involving penetration on the Grand Flower Lawn with another player.
【 3♧ 】Participate in a sex act you have never engaged in before with another player.
【 3♤ 】Kidnap another player for 24 hours.

Players will be prompted to select an option without knowing what the corresponding task is. The task will be sent to their Watch after they have selected an option. To see what your character is lucky enough to receive as their task, simply click the dropdown!

▷ There is no penalty for characters that wuss out and are unable to complete their prompt aside from a mocking message to their Watch,【 LOSER, LOSER, LOSER. BIG LOSER.

The flower maze will only last as long as the most fleeting flowers do. The flower maze will remain open to the public for several weeks, after which it will close for further remodeling.

"We'll be open again with another complex arrangement," one of the gardeners explains cheerfully. "A maze isn't fun once you've learned the layout. We'll open again after creating a whole new design for guests to enjoy. Maybe even some new flowers, too. A lot of the ones on the lawn got funky after guests came all over them..."



SMOKY NECTAR
DRIBBLE OF SWEETNESS
The conservatory is even busier than the gardens. Unlike the easygoing staff in the garden, employees in the conservatory are busy zooming to and fro with brooms while trying to get a handle on the unexpectedly huge amount of pollen. From flowers, from trees — so much pollen. The ground is coated and the air is thick. Several long-standing guests visiting the area have fallen into sneezing fits. Even with cleaning efforts to mitigate the build-up, the pollen becomes thicker as the weeks go on. Staff eventually give up on trying to sweep it away.

This pollen is not standard. Guests that inhale this pollen will begin to feel feverish and strange. Continued exposure to this pollen will heighten a desire for sex to the point of all-encompassing need. Orgasms become much more intense. Nipples are constantly hard. Guests may also be overwhelmed with the urge to "fertilize or become fertilized" — to aggressively deliver or receive cumshots. Gardeners soon realize that normal pollen has been tainted by the cross-breeding of their new spectacular fruits, resulting in an extremely potent sex pollen that affects people and animals. This sex pollen is stronger than any of the current aphrodisiacs in the resort, baffling the gardeners. They weren't even trying to make horny fruit!

The effects of the sex pollen will ease after a few days unless exposure is continued. Guests with too much exposure to the sex pollen may find themselves passing out from violently intense successive orgasms. Any guests found unconscious post-orgasm will be delivered to the Broken Wing clinic for recovery.

THE ORCHARD ▷ The gardeners are thrilled to present this season's fruit orchard. When the previously closed-off portion of the orchard opens, guests will find that some of the delicious fruit hanging on the trees are ... strange. In collaboration with the Dizzy Pigeon, the gardeners of the conservatory have crossbred several standard fruits to create new fruits with delicious, never before seen flavors. Sure, there are the typical apple and orange trees to pick from, but why not give something new a try? Each of these new breeds have been imagined with paying homage to one of the glorious suits in mind.

ORANGEBERRY: A blend of oranges and blueberries. This delicious new citrus has a hard outer peel but tender flesh inside. Sweet with a slightly tart aftertaste. Bred in homage to the Diamonds suit. Those who eat this fruit may experience heightened sensitivity to touch and temperature for a short period time.

PEARAPPLE: A blend of pears and pineapples. A brilliant combination of mildly sweet with a punch of tang. The outside of this large fruit is rough and prickly. Once cut into, the flesh is firm but juicy. Bred in homage to the Hearts suit. Those who eat this fruit may experience intense positive emotions, such as a sudden onset of one-sided love or excessive positivity, for a short period of time.

PEAPLUMTO: A blend of peaches, plums, and tomatoes. This succulent fruit is powerfully sweet, with a fuzzy skin and silky inside. A new favorite for juicing. Bred in homage to the Clubs suit. Those who eat this fruit may find themselves being extremely impulsive for a short period of time.

CHERRYUZU: A blend of cherries and yuzu. These tiny bunches of fruit are sour enough to make the strongest-willed person scrunch their face up! Small but powerful, these fruits are satisfying to bite into with a pop. Bred in homage to the Spades suit. Those who eat this fruit may experience intense negative emotions, such as sudden possessiveness or jealousy, for a short period of time.


THE BUTTERFLY DOME ▷ The butterfly dome is exploding with color. Bright dots of yellow and orange speckle greenery without restraint. An assortment of butterflies lazily fly from buttercup to tulip. These butterflies are unafraid of people and may approach guests, dusting them with the thick pollen that coats their wings before they flutter off elsewhere. The pollen here is thicker than anywhere else in the conservatory. Guests may feel the effects of the sex pollen more strongly while in the butterfly dome. Breathing in pollen for one hour in the butterfly dome is equal to breathing in pollen for several days in the rest of the conservatory.

▷ Several flowers glitter with moisture in the light. Upon closer inspection, guests will find that it isn't morning dew — it's floral nectar. Its light and smoky scent may trigger an intense desire to drink. Guests that give in to the urge and drink the nectar will find themselves overcome with unbearable thirst afterward. No amount of nectar, water, or any other beverage will satisfy. The thirst can only be satisfied by swallowing semen or vaginal fluid. The longer one goes without satisfying the thirst, the thirstier they will become.


BUNS GONE WILD ▷ The normally docile giant flemish rabbits that wander the conservatory have gotten into the spirit of 52 as well. These romantic rabbits have been mating relentlessly since the pollen hit, and now the vegetable patches have been overrun with hundreds of young rabbits looking for food. No vegetable is safe while dozens of baby rabbits are running free, not knowing that they shouldn't eat directly from the patches. Due to the recent vegetable shortage restaurants in the dining quarter have been complaining about not getting their produce deliveries. It's a real problem!

The gardeners have been begging guests to assist in catching these baby rabbits. There are too many for them to catch on their own. Guests who are willing to help will be instructed to catch the young rabbits and deposit them into the large wooden pen built to house them. However, this won't be an easy job — these little rabbits are fast!

▷ While the gardeners can't offer chip payment for the help, they will happily give any guests that assist good plots of land to raise their own vegetables. Rabbit adoption is also on the table!

The sex pollen will fade out within a few weeks, when the new breeds of fruit have all been harvested and delivered to restaurants. The gardeners collectively agree to be more careful when engineering new breeds in the future. "I do think," reports one worker in the conservatory, "the house will be impressed that we've managed to engineer an even stronger aphrodisiac. Great things happen on accident!"



PETAL-STAINED LIPS
A BLOOMING DISEASE
👩‍🦰 "Hack hack, hack hack... what do you mean, 'please cover my mouth when I cough'? I'm a rank nine. Nine! You can't tell me what to do. Now, clean up this mess. I've been coughing up flower petals all day." 👩‍🦰

Wet, smudged petals scatter across the floors of the Peacock. The source is initially unclear, since the perfectly groomed flowers in their decorative vases are in perfect condition. Soon the number of guests coughing into their fists begins to rise and more soggy plants plague the hallways.

After the garden and conservatory unveil their Spring additions the clinic will begin to over-run with guests complaining of various symptoms. There aren't enough beds and there certainly aren't enough doctors and nurses to meet rising demand. Guests continue to visit the clinic complaining of some sort of flower cold while spitting up petals and leaves. Advanced cases involve a deeper spread of vines through the patient's body.

Though this illness manifests in many different ways, the head doctor in charge is quick to clock that it's the Blooming Disease working its way through the resort's population. Not an especially dangerous disease. More troublesome than anything and a mess to clean up. Luckily, there are extensive notes in their files about this particular disease and how to treat it.

THE BLOOMING DISEASEA strain of hanahaki disease is running through the resort. Unlike the typical hanahaki disease that is brought on by one-sided love, this blooming variation has no single discernible cause. The nurses muse that it is perhaps a side effect of the intense pollen from the conservatory, but this is speculation.

Similar to the standard hanahaki disease, the main symptom is coughing up flower petals. However, the blooming strain manifests in many different ways, and doctors have seen variations of petals and vines creeping out from every orifice. Players are welcome to get as creative as they like with how the blooming disease presents.

▷ Doctors will make one point thoroughly clear: while medications are available to ease discomfort, the cure for this subset of hanahaki disease is sex. Only fucking another person will completely eradicate the disease. If the disease is not treated it will progress until the afflicted patient has turned into a monstrous pile of flora themselves.

It is possible to catch the disease more than once. Having sex will cure it but some guests have caught the disease in quick succession, requiring multiple sessions of vigorous fucking. Doctors are unsure as to why some guests only catch the disease once while others are susceptible to catching it multiple times. The nurses gossip about how they think it's those guests particularly desperate for love that are prone to re-catching it, but again — speculation.


ALL HANDS ON DECKWithout enough manpower in the clinic to meet demand, guests that have experience in the medical field have been asked to volunteer their time to help treat those suffering with the illness. Those kind enough to join in the effort to mitigate the disease will be given a full kit of medical supplies, which they will be allowed to keep once their stint in the clinic has finished. For the duration of their time working in the clinic they will be fully considered staff doctors and able to direct both employees and guests as they see fit.

Guests that do not have medical experience but who wish to help in the clinic will also be accepted. While they will not have as much power as experienced guests assigned to the doctor role, they will be onboarded as nurses and given basic tasks. All nurses will be given scrubs which can be kept after their job has been completed. Nurses are expected to defer to doctors but can dictate to patients.

▷ All guests that assist in the clinic will be given an extra-large payout for their efforts. The head doctor in charge will be so grateful that he will be happy to grant any other small favors and gifts if asked. While something like taking one of the patient beds would be too much, he will turn a blind eye to guests who want to pocket items like scalpels and stethoscopes.


CLINIC ENERGY ▷ So many guests have piled into the clinic that private rooms are no longer available. Large rooms will be utilized as group hubs with many patient cots, while smaller rooms normally meant for one patient will be doubled up on. All guests staying in the clinic for treatment will be paired with at least one other patient due to space constraints. Private rooms will be available only for patients separated out for treatment with one of the doctors or nurses.

All of the rooms in the clinic are fully stocked with condoms, lube, and sex toys. After the head doctor announces the cure for the disease, nurses will make sure every room has supplies available for patients to use. They will encourage guests to go ahead and get fucking since it's the only cure! While doctors and nurses are available to fuck as well, they are short-handed, so most patients will have to make do with other patients. To those stubborn guests who don't want to fuck for their health, staff will firmly explain that if the disease progresses they'll be reduced to nothing but a pile of vegetation.

Patients with particularly bad cases of the disease will not be allowed to leave the clinic until they are cured. Patients that have only been lightly affected will be given a prescription to fuck and sent on their way, with strict instructions to return if they do not fuck and the disease progresses.

The height of the disease will hit toward the end of the month. Thanks to the hard work of the doctors and nurses in the clinic, cases will begin to decrease as the days pile on, with the majority of the affected guests treated and sent on their way by the beginning of May. Activity in the clinic will begin to decline as patients fuck it out and cure the disease, with only a handful of scattered cases heading past the first week of May.



PROMPT NOTES
PROMPT NOTES
Arrival, The Bathroom Button: Multiple versions of arrival are possible. Characters may be flushed down the toilet or tub to wake up in several different locations across the resort.

Gardens, The Flower Maze: While players are welcome to imagine whatever they like in these chests, we do ask there be some limits. Characters should not find their special awesome sword or other personal items that were taken away by the resort upon arrival, for example. Items that would generally be available within resort stores or without regains are fine.

Conservatory, General: While this location is currently being influenced by sex pollen, players that do not enjoy this kink may have their character immune to its effects. This will not affect engaging in the hanahaki prompt.

Conservatory, The Orchard: Players are encouraged to get creative with effects from these fruits. While we've offered a couple suggestions, any of the affiliated suit's effects are available to tap into. For example, consumption of Orangeberry, aka the Diamonds fruit, can cause any Diamond-adjacent physical effects.

Broken Wing Clinic: Players are allowed to get as delicate or grotesque with the presentation of the Blooming Disease as they’d like; you can even use this as an opportunity to engage in some vine-y bondage play. From the medical perspective, feel free to envision access to any sort of equipment you’d like, so long as it makes sense within a (sexy) clinical setting.

OOC NOTES

GAME UPDATE | RESERVES | APPLICATIONS

BLANKET CW: Altered States; Aphrodisiacs; Body Horror (potential); Dubcon; Illnesses; Medical Play; NSFW Language; Paranormal; Somnophilia; Sex Pollen; Sex Toys
▶ All new characters on the TDM are WILDCARDS, which means they have not yet been assigned a card value. 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 April event.
▶ Current characters may top level on the TDM. Current characters posting to the TDM should note they are currently in-game in the subject line.
▶ The top level directory is for new characters only.
▶ 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.
▶ 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.
NAVIGATIONLOGNETWORKOOCMEME
philancer: (066)

[personal profile] philancer 2024-04-18 07:12 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Sylvain's jaw literally drops open at these words as he stares at Felix in confused disbelief for a moment.

Never, in all the years he's known Felix, has he stated Sylvain's situation so bluntly. Or ever let on that he'd seen him so clearly. It's always been about what Sylvain was doing wrong, but that wasn't that uncommon when everyone else was the same way. Which was warranted, Sylvain knew. He was an asshole. He deserved every measure of their disgust. ]


Are you sure you're feeling okay?

[ That... was probably not the response Felix was hoping for.

He shakes his head again, still looking utterly confused at this sudden vehemence on his behalf, not even sure where it was coming from. ]


It's because everyone's always wanted me for my Crest that I'm fine here. At least no one here is looking for forever. Or wants me to knock them up. Or trap me in some empty arrangement I'll never get to escape from. [ Grim fates, all of them, in his opinion. But his future has been a noose about his neck since the day he'd been born.

He shrugs, looking uncomfortable under the weight of Felix's all-too intent stare. ]


At least this is a game I can win. Sort of.
putupyourdukes: (10)

[personal profile] putupyourdukes 2024-04-18 09:17 pm (UTC)(link)
[This is exactly why he doesn't often confront Sylvain on his real issues. He minimizes, masks, and promises he's fine to Felix's face. Perhaps because when they were little, Felix always cried his eyes out whenever Sylvain was hurt by his brother or anything else.]

[He feels that itch starting around his eyes now, but scowling harder stops it. He lets go of his arm and breaks eye contact again, focusing his glare on the flowers instead.]

[Trouble is, Felix doesn't have a solution for Sylvain. What Sylvain's doing might really be the best thing for him in such a tightly constructed situation. If winning affects how you live, then winning is survival. And it's true that at least what they want is less than going after him for his crest, his nobility, or out of spite. But the idea of pretending it's fine and normal makes him sick.]


...Alright... do what you want. But if I hear again out of your stupid mouth that this is fine for you, then I'm going to kill you.
Edited 2024-04-18 21:22 (UTC)
philancer: (032)

[personal profile] philancer 2024-04-18 09:29 pm (UTC)(link)
[ He doesn't point out that he really is doing fine here. It's refreshing, being a nobody. Not having perceptions of him already formed the moment he introduces himself. He doesn't have a reputation here (yet), not like back home, and he's fine with that.

It means that he doesn't have to question the motives of everyone he meets quite so much. That he can maybe find people who are actually interested in being friends with him and not just the Heir of Gautier. Back home, he could still count that number on the fingers of one hand.

It's one of the reasons he's always shown those masks. It was safer that way. For everyone. ]


I'm more worried about how you're going to do here. [ He reaches out, tugging on a dark lock of hair. Eyeing it curiously now, because he's never seen Felix wear his hair like this. It's different, but he likes it. ] Did they give you a rank yet, or are you still a wildcard?

[ Changing the topic seemed like a wise idea right about now. ]
putupyourdukes: (12)

[personal profile] putupyourdukes 2024-04-19 04:59 am (UTC)(link)
[Felix glowers at the hair tugging and swats his hand aside.]

I didn't ask you to worry about me.

[He's not done with Sylvain yet, but he lets him change topic, though he doesn't like this one either. So what if he has no experience and the only kiss he's ever had happened just a few minutes ago.]

And I don't have a rank.
philancer: (013)

[personal profile] philancer 2024-04-19 05:20 am (UTC)(link)
[ He lets his hands drop back to his lap as he makes a face. ]

Well. That might make things complicated for you until they do. I heard there was some sort of arrival mixup this time and people didn't arrive where they were supposed to or something.

[ He actually hadn't heard the whole story, just a lot of complaining about some guy named Steve. ]

My quarters here are pretty small, but if you don't mind squishing a little, you can stay with me until they get you your own room. [ He pauses to give Felix a curious look before his lips twitch in an effort to bite back a laugh. Even though Felix probably wouldn't find it funny. But then again, Sylvain's always had an inappropriate sense of humor. ]

Your luck, you'll probably get one of the top floors or something.
putupyourdukes: (11)

[personal profile] putupyourdukes 2024-04-19 09:19 am (UTC)(link)
I can't tell if you think I'm lucky or unlucky.

[He hadn't thought at all about where he would stay, but invading Sylvain's space sounds like a logical choice he might have made on his own anyway. Unless that's where Sylvain brings everyone he sleeps with. He sighs.]

...Sure. I'll stay with you. I suppose it's either that or going back to sleep right here until the next person trips over me.
philancer: (032)

[personal profile] philancer 2024-04-19 01:17 pm (UTC)(link)
In this place? It feels like it’s always a little of both. [ He makes a face, half-grimace and half-laugh. ] The higher ranks definitely get nicer lodgings and stuff - or at least room for more than just a bed. But a lot of them get more attention, too. The higher rank you are, the more eyes you have on you. [ Which is something he figures Felix would see as a big con.]

Meanwhile, I’m stuck in the basement in a room barely big enough to hold a single bed, but I’m pretty anonymous and I kind of like it that way. For now, anyway.

[ But he did have Plans. He was just taking his time and getting a better view of the board before he started making his moves. That and he already had people here he was keeping an eye on, and wanted to make sure they were looked after in the same way.

Glancing around this secluded little corner of the maze, he has to chuckle before he pushes to his feet and offers Felix a hand to help him up. ]
Come on, lets get out of this place before a flower sneezes on us and I end up fucking you against the nearest solid surface. Or vice versa.

[ Three guesses on if that’s an exaggeration and the first two don’t count. ]
putupyourdukes: (12)

[personal profile] putupyourdukes 2024-04-19 10:37 pm (UTC)(link)
[Felix flusters at that powerful visual, his face reddening again, but accepts the offered hand and climbs to his feet.]

I hope you're not serious. If you lose control of yourself from a flower, I'm knocking you out.

[He's still mixed up over that kiss. He's not prepared to hear that either one of them might try to fuck the other out of obligation or effect too. Not with Sylvain...]

Let's just get out of here. I don't care if there's one bed. I can take a chair or the floor.
philancer: (005)

[personal profile] philancer 2024-04-19 10:50 pm (UTC)(link)
There's no chair and not very much of a floor.

[ Sylvain informs him of this cheerfully, even though it's very much been a problem. Hell, the bed barely holds his frame as it is, but it should be wide enough that they can squeeze. They've slept in worse conditions.

Maybe? Actually he has no idea if Felix has, if he's been a Duke since he was 17. What did that mean for the war? For Dimitri? For them?

He bites back the questions, though, focusing instead on trying to catch Felix up on what he needs to know now, the knowledge on how to survive in this place. Or at least make the best of it. ]


I am, unfortunately, very very serious. The pollen here is pretty potent, especially since it's spring. It's been sending people into... well. Heat, basically. [ At least Felix missed the bunny event. He woulda been really mad then. ] But there's a lot in this place designed to... encourage us to play the game. Stuff in the food. The drinks. Hell in some of the places, I think they pump it into the air. So, uh. Don't be surprised if you suddenly find yourself unexpectedly aroused.
putupyourdukes: (01)

[personal profile] putupyourdukes 2024-04-20 04:17 am (UTC)(link)
Fine. You'd better not hog the entire bed.

[After listening to the pollen explanation, his expression turns sullen, as he wonders for a moment if he should be staying away from Sylvain, if they have the potential to target one another without actually meaning to. But the thought is dismissed quickly. The last thing he wants to do right now is leave him. And avoiding Sylvain might actually be the most genuinely hurtful thing he could do to him... didn't they promise to stick together until they die together? So he'll figure this out... maybe with Sylvain's help.]

So you're saying I'll want it anyway. ...But I haven't... actually slept with anyone before.

[Maybe Sylvain already knew that, maybe not. He hates bring it up, so much. But Sylvain's giving out advice and Sylvain IS the undisputed expert, and clearly Felix is going to need to adapt where sex is a means to get by and not so much a useless distraction.]
philancer: (014)

[personal profile] philancer 2024-04-20 04:45 am (UTC)(link)
[ You know, sex can also be fun, Felix.

That admission has his steps pausing shortly after starting again, shooting a surprised glance over at his friend.

Oh, he'd wondered, but that wasn't something Felix was ever interested in talking about. In fact, bringing it up usually derailed any conversation directly into an argument. Or worse. ]


Never?

[ Well. That made things... complicated. ]

Was there ever anyone... you wanted to?
putupyourdukes: (Default)

[personal profile] putupyourdukes 2024-04-20 08:52 am (UTC)(link)
[He's very firmly looking AWAY from Sylvain, like he needs to look out and guard them against attack from... that flower over there......]

I... might have, I just...... it never mattered, I've never had a moment of time to breathe since becoming duke, general, and Dimitri's right hand, or have time to fool around and risk getting us killed over distractions and daydreaming...

[He's getting upset, and getting upset means getting angry.]

Forget it. I shouldn't have said anything.
philancer: (054)

[personal profile] philancer 2024-04-20 10:39 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Hey, don’t underestimate the flowers in this place. They definitely have it out for everyone.

Hearing Felix stutter over that answer has him turning to face his friend, however, hands coming out to rest against his shoulders. A good half of that explanation raised a dozen new questions and inconsistencies in his mind, but he ignored those for right now to focus on the current crisis. ]


Hey. Look at me. You know I’m the last person who would judge, right? It’s not something to be ashamed of. But it also… presents a little bit of a complication now that you’re here. This place… it definitely prioritizes quantity over quality. Not that you can’t have both, but…

[ But abstaining wasn’t really an option here. Not without some pretty fucked up consequences. None of which he wanted to see Felix go through. ]
putupyourdukes: (12)

[personal profile] putupyourdukes 2024-04-29 02:15 am (UTC)(link)
[He won't look at Sylvain, but at least he allows the hands to stay on his shoulders. For now. He's tensed like a cat that's not in the mood to be pet. Don't go for the belly, he will claw you.]

Ugh. Why did I even begin to think I should get advice from you? You give the worst talks.

[He quiets for a moment. He's still there... a couple years back, he would have swatted Sylvain's hands away and walked off by now.]

I'm not ashamed of anything. I'm just... not built for this. I'm made for blood and battle. ...But with the war ended recently, there was going to be less of that anyway.
philancer: (059)

[personal profile] philancer 2024-04-29 04:26 pm (UTC)(link)
[ what about your tail?

Also he does not give the worst talks, you just don't like the same topics he does. Also you're very bad at talking in general, so he really doesn't think you're one to criticize here.

Even if Felix had made some very good points, ones that he couldn't really argue. Although he'd intended to try. At least until that last sentence comes out and Sylvain just. Freezes.

Blinks at him, mouth dropping open again. ]


....What do you mean, the war ended?

[ You can't just drop impossibilities like that on him out of nowhere, Felix! ]
putupyourdukes: (11)

[personal profile] putupyourdukes 2024-04-29 10:06 pm (UTC)(link)
...What, now you're going to tell me it never ended?

[Frustrated, he rubs the side of his head. Inconsistencies keep popping up, and he doesn't know what he should be doing about them.]

If we start comparing notes on the entire war, we're probably going to be standing here in the middle of toxic flowers for days.

[...He realizes, after a moment, that leaving it at that without spoiling the much-anticipated ending would be too mean even for him.]

...We succeeded, by the way.
philancer: (066)

[personal profile] philancer 2024-04-30 12:12 am (UTC)(link)
I... need to sit down.

[ Luckily there's a stone bench nearby, but he does sink down on it. A hand scrapes over his face as he huffs out a deep breath, head spinning at the implications in those seemingly innocuous statements.

The war was over. There was an over. He didn't know if the same could be said for the memories he had of his home - or why none of them matched. He didn't know what time was doing back in his home, if it was still moving on without him or it was just....frozen there somehow. Neither was a good option, really. One would have him labelled a traitor and a coward for abandoning his prince and his friends on the eve of a crucial battle and the other... had him still having to step foot onto that battlefield when it was the last place he wanted to be.

People might think he was crazy, but so far? Staying here and not having to face either of those options was still his best bet. Even with as fucked up as this place was.

But Felix had answers - of a sort - and that has his head coming back up to narrow his gaze at his old friend. ]


And Dimitri? Ingrid? The Professor? We really drove the Empire back? Completely?

[ That had seemed so impossible, with all that had been arrayed against them. ]
putupyourdukes: (08)

[personal profile] putupyourdukes 2024-04-30 01:51 am (UTC)(link)
[He sighs, and moves to stand directly in front of Sylvain, looking down at him.]

There's still some straggling forces in the south to mop up, but the empire has lost all of its key leaders and strategists. It's done for. And I don't know which professor you're talking about, but Dimitri and Ingrid are fine.

[Which professor is worth the extra mention of concern? Professor Jeritza was hardly around, only Mercedes was looking out for him. Felix frowns, already feeling a discrepancy coming up.]
philancer: (101)

[personal profile] philancer 2024-04-30 02:00 am (UTC)(link)
[ That statement just has Sylvain's head coming back up again to give Felix an incredulous look. ]

Our Professor? The only reason we were even doing as well as we were in that war? Byleth, Felix.

[ Surely their own worlds could not be so different as that? ]
putupyourdukes: (10)

[personal profile] putupyourdukes 2024-04-30 02:21 am (UTC)(link)
[He snorts at that.]

That sounds like a joke. I can't begin to imagine The Ashen Demon as a professor. Our professor at the academy was Jeritza, for the short time we were there.
philancer: (038)

[personal profile] philancer 2024-04-30 02:37 am (UTC)(link)
[ His mouth opens and closes for a moment, unsure of what he should actually say to that. ]

I... what? Jeritza? [ Was that guy still even alive? He'd barely paid him any mind, even when they had been back at the Academy. ] And we were there for almost a year, Felix. That wasn't really a short time.

[ It had certainly been more than enough time for Byleth to make an impression on all of them. Even Felix. ]
putupyourdukes: (11)

[personal profile] putupyourdukes 2024-04-30 05:57 pm (UTC)(link)
A year?

[He sinks his fingers into his hair at the side of his head.]

Sylvain, what is this supposed to mean? From what I remember, the academy was closed just a few months into classes. But Dimitri and I dropped out even sooner.
philancer: (009)

[personal profile] philancer 2024-04-30 06:08 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't know. [ He's shaking his head, still looking utterly bewildered. ] In my past? Yeah, we were all there almost the full year.

It was only once Edelgard revealed herself to be the Flame Emperor and outright attacked the Monastery that things were closed. And then, everyone thought Dimitri and the Professor were dead, and you and I had our hands full keeping the Empire out of the North. We definitely we weren't winning - more like delaying the inevitable. Not until we all met up after those five years, like we all promised, and learned that neither Dimitri or the Professor were dead. That's when the tides of the war started to shift.

[ Because he hadn't left Felix's side through all of that. It had been Dimitri they'd thought lost to them, all that time. He doesn't understand why Felix apparently came from a place where everything was so different. What had changed? ]
putupyourdukes: (12)

[personal profile] putupyourdukes 2024-04-30 06:40 pm (UTC)(link)
[Felix scowls and glances away. The idea that Sylvain hasn't had familiar experiences and memories feels like a wound. He doesn't like it at all, but he doesn't know what to do with it or what it means.]

Sounds like a different war with the Empire.
philancer: (025)

[personal profile] philancer 2024-05-02 11:07 pm (UTC)(link)
[ That just has his gaze narrowing slightly on his friend. ]

Different how? How did it happen for you?

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