【 Thank you for choosing the Golden Peacock, 5-star resort and casino. You are currently registered as a WILDCARD in our system.
Due to a high volume of check-ins, temporary accommodations have been made in our parking garage for all new arrivals. We aim to have all guests moved into their reserved rooms as soon as possible. We deeply apologize for any inconvenience!
All are invited to There Is No Tomorrow, a Phoenix Casino soiree to celebrate our beloved guests. The festivities will begin at 1800 hours on January 20th and end at 1800 hours on January 27th. Please look forward to 168 hours of delight.
In an effort to raise happiness and encourage better guest relationships, attendance is required. The house will assist guests that are too shy to appear of their own accord. Please note that black tie attire is mandatory. As always, we hope you enjoy your stay! 】
PARKING GARAGE
ANY CAR IN A STORM
PHOENIX CASINO HALL
WELCOME TO THE NEXT 168 HOURS
Phoenix Casino is a-flutter with activity and packed to the beak with guests. As a famously ever-changing space, the staff would be remiss if they didn't deck the crown jewel of the Golden Peacock out. The casino glitters from top to bottom, shining brighter than diamonds, rubies, sapphires, opals! Party-goers are shiny and glamorous with picture perfect makeup, fluttering gowns, and sharp suits. Card tables are packed and the slot machines are a-ringing as guests play, play, play! Prizes, luxury, booze, attractive people, it's the place that everyone wants to be at.
Those people being dragged inside by some invisible force...? Silly, they were so excited to come that their bodies moved before they realized what was happening. Those are struggles of joy and definitely not the casino's infamous ghost hands dragging unwilling guests to the party at the behest of the house. Look, they're literally hurling their bodies at the card tables with unrestrained glee!
All clocks indicating day hours and night hours have been removed from the casino. Once a guest has entered, their Watch will jam, making it impossible to keep track of the time. You don't need to worry about that tonight.
▶ All characters on the TDM are WILDCARDS, which means they have not yet been assigned a card value. Suits will not manifest until characters are accepted into the game.
▶ All TDMs are game canon. This TDM acts as the game's January event.
▶ Current characters may top level on the TDM. 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 prioritized and receive attention! If you would be interested in a game invitation, you can note that in your comment header. This month we also have an ongoing ATP / EMP where players can connect. Please feel free to utilize this for all of your peafowl needs!
▶ If you aren't satisfied with these prompts, 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 regardless!
▶ 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.
[ Wow, this guy!! He's licking sprinkles off his face but still has the ability to sass him. What a hoot. Wei Wuxian can't help but grin a little as blame is laid at his feet for the situation they're in. Now that's a familiar feeling.
Thankfully, Wei Wuxian laughs in the face of social niceties so the accusation is just funny instead of offensive. He takes a spoonful of congee into his mouth and hums around it before pulling out of his mouth and replying with a chipper — ]
What do you think we did last night?
[ They did nothing, he's pretty sure. But also, his own memory is pretty fuzzy too. At some point he blacked out and now, he was here. ]
[It's problematic that Wei Wuxian is finding this all delightful instead of off-putting. Accustomed to the derision of others, Matoba supposes that can only mean one thing: they are.... alike.]
[What a terrifying prospect for everyone else in the resort.]
[His donuts are banished, which leaves Matoba flicking his tongue over sticky fingers, and contemplating the rest of the cart. Those croissants look delicious... But perhaps he ought to make some tea, first. And so he slides off from the bed, and crosses next to Wei Wuxian to unstack a porcelain teacup, wrinkling his nose when he finds the only tea to be bagged. It will do.]
I don't know. How is your ass feeling?
[Because Matoba's is feeling pretty flighty and free, so they probably didn't fuck.]
[...Unless this man inspired in him one of his occasional bouts of dominance-aggression. A possibility, for sure, just from talking to him these few minutes here- but that's the purpose of gauging him now, as he pours steaming water over the bag of green tea he's prepared, to decipher what he thinks of the suggestion.]
[ Oops! This is absolutely not good for... someone. Not for them though! This is great news for them! Like meets like and thus, Wei Wuxian has made a friend. He doesn't even know his name yet but he knows they're going to get along. Oh ho ho.
He watches as Matoba slides off the bed and joins him at the cart, taking a few more spoonfuls of congee into his mouth and almost finishing off his small bowl. At the question, he gives a hum of thought, not missing a beat. ]
Unfucked.
[ He debated pretending, to see how far the ruse would go but it's admittedly a little funnier to just reply to bluntness with bluntness. Alas, his poor virginal ass. Well, probably not virginal. Actually, he has no idea if the person who had his body before him got laid or not so there's a high chance it might actually be virginal. Man, he misses his old body.
And then, he polishes off his congee, reaching for a piece of bacon. As he chews — ]
Unless that's something you want to change?
[ Just immediately upping the stakes of this terrible conversation because he wants to see Matoba's response. ]
[Matoba raises the cup to his lips and blows on the steam wafting from it, enjoying the aroma before taking a short sip. Closer to the man now, his eye wanders back over towards him, considering his... shape, his presence. What is it? He doesn't smell burnt, like the possessed might. No reek of blood... And yet, this lingering malice was just poignant enough that it permeates the edges of his senses.]
[An ayakashi in disguise...?]
[He blinks away his thoughts again, taking notice of Wei Wuxian's offer, and raises a delicate eyebrow.] Hmmm. [Taking a slow sip of his tea, he tilts the cup back down from his lips again, settles it into one palm, and then darts his hand out to intercept the other man's wrist as he reaches for the bacon.]
[If he manages to snatch it successfully, he'll raise it to look at the Watch strapped to his wrist- and to examine the face of it. With WILDCARD printed across the digital screen, Matoba twists his lips, and then returns his arm to him.]
As I suspected. [The tea returns to his lips.] It isn't worth my time to pursue a wildcard until I know I will get something out of it. But, if you're interested...
[Matoba's tongue runs along his lips, flicking away tea.] Well, I am a businessman. Make me an offer.
[ Wei Wuxian is still feeling... assessed. He's not sure why, but imagines it has to do with the aura he's picking up from Matoba. He feels like a cultivator, but not. Just a little different and there's a lingering burn of yin energy from him that doesn't seem to be part of the hotel's natural abundance of yin.
But he doesn't make any action to guard from it or pry into why Matoba might have that sense. After all, he knows his own spiritual energy is a bit different than the other cultivators as well.
He's reaching for the bacon when his wrist is snatched and he lets out a surprised noise but doesn't tug it away, just lets Matoba assess. He doesn't think he's going to get hurt, and if he was it's not like Matoba could stop him from summoning protection.
At this point, he understands the definition and context of the word wildcard so he's not surprised by the rejection, just amused. He raises an eyebrow and when his wrist is returned to him, he just plucks the piece of bacon and takes a bite. ]
No sex for sex's sake, I see. How boring.
[ Wei Wuxian likes sex, would have it with just about anyone who showed interest. He doesn't understand the attitude of not doing it if there isn't purpose because, well, then it'd be infinitely more boring. Still, he could make Matoba an offer, if he really wanted to push the envelope. ]
An offer, huh? I have no chips to trade, no suite to offer, nothing but the shirt on my back and my own... abilities. Which I doubt would interest you.
[Shoulders shrug easily.] Do not give away for free what you can use to get something of worth, [Matoba counters, stopping to take himself one of the flakey chocolate croissants on their complimentary breakfast tray before retreating back to the end of the bed.] Unless, I suppose, you are a saint? Ah, but even many of the monks I have met in my time are not quite so selfless.
[He sits there and crosses his legs at the ankles, tea in one palm, and setting the croissant atop the robe pooled in his lap.]
...That said. [He picks up his croissant to bring it to his lips, and this time when Matoba's eye flicks back up and catches on Wei Wuxian, there is an unmissable gleam of interest. If he thought he was being assessed before, this is like the staring down of a snake.] You never know? Enlighten me. What manner of "abilities" do you possess for the trading?
[ Ha. Ha. Ha. Wei Wuxian looks amused but in a wry way, rolling his eyes at the teasing. So, he's a monk now, for being open to having sex for no reason? Interesting juxtaposition. ]
Not nearly that selfless, no.
[ He chews casually on some bacon, eating a piece, getting halfway through another by the time Matoba is settled down on the bed again and asking after his abilities. For some reason, he doesn't want to tell Matoba what he can do, feels like he should keep it close to the chest. Even though that also feels kind of silly too — he's never hidden what he is, what he can do. A cultivator is too obvious to be anything but a cultivator. ]
Nothing to trade, no. But I'm not completely useless. Do you know what cultivation is?
[ He doesn't have to explain demonic cultivation, but cultivation itself should be fine. ]
[Imagine, not wanting to tell the guy making a habit of saying strange and unpleasant things about your trade secrets....]
[But it's because they understand the same world, or at least a similar one, that Matoba predicts that he can act that way and still ask these questions of Wei Wuxian without too much worry. Indeed: a mage is too obvious to be anything but a mage, no matter their particular circumstances. And they're all damn weirdos.]
I'm familiar with the basics, [He agrees, a mumble over his croissant. Cultivation... That was the origins of onmyouji practices, though he knows little about what, if any modern state it existed in. He tears off a bite and chews thoughtfully for a moment, and after he swallows, adds,] In the past, our clans and those with magic such as yours were far more separate. Nowadays, with most of those families no longer in business, we exorcists tend to come into possession of their remnants, and make use of what we can.
[Time and differences in culture might separate the exacts, but Matoba is certain that the foundations would be similar enough to recognize. And that means it is something he can use.]
...Well. That's how it is for everyone, though. [He adds as an afterthought, and his eye lands back on Wei Wuxian's with a coy smile.] But I disagree that we can't trade. Around here, such abilities are quite useful. Have you noticed, yet? What kind of place this is.
[ Matoba's assessment isn't wrong, even with Wei Wuxian's trepidation, he's not ... not going to tell him things. He just knows that there are certain things that even in his world, he should keep to himself. Infamy is fine there, but he doesn't want his reputation to follow him here.
Still, Matoba's answer is interesting, has Wei Wuxian curious despite himself. Our clans, he says. Exorcist he says next and that's something he's familiar with. A practice that deals with the dead, but not in the way he does. More they drive out the malicious ghosts than use them for their own purposes.
... Interesting. This man might be incredibly useful to him, he realizes.
The question comes, what kind of place this is and Wei Wuxian is tempted to make a coy remark about how it's a degenerate's fantasy but. He doesn't think that's what Matoba is asking. He eats his bacon, he looks back at him for a long moment before he lifts a hand to push some hair out of his face and answers simply — ]
It's haunted. The supernatural controls this place, the dead make their living here, the yin energy is immense and suffocating. It plays on the idea of just being focused on sex and that's it but even I can tell, in a few days time, there has to be more to it than that. The dead don't hang around for no reason, not in a place like this. Something's keeping them here.
[Speaking of, it remains strange to him every time it happens in this place: when Wei Wuxian doesn't hear 'exorcist', doesn't see the bullseye-like eyepatch over his right eye, and immediately understand who he is, doesn't immediately balk at the idea of trusting him, like most do when learning they are faced with a Matoba. Very beneficial for him, no doubt, and so he never looks this particular gift horse in the mouth. Contact with the strange and unnatural may breed strange and unnatural behavior, but just as much of it was self-inflicted.]
[After all, being in the business of exorcising ayakashi never stopped the Matoba from making use of the ones they can.]
Haha, those ghoulish resort guests wandering the halls are an interesting bunch, hm? Most of them don't seem to realize they're dead. [Matoba grins, brightly vicious and pleased with Wei Wuxian's assessment, and leans back to finish the croissant off. He crunches it down, and then flicks his tongue out between his lips to lick away at some of the crumbs on his fingertips between lightly muffled commentary.] A realm where humans are spirited away and slowly drained until they become ghosts themselves...... There are old stories like this, where I am from, but this is on another scale.
[Finished stuffing his gullet, Matoba brushes the remaining flakes of the croissant off of his lap. Mostly onto the floor. Sorry not sorry, housekeeping, but you should have visited his poor basement room more often.]
[ No, Wei Wuxian does not recognize the name, the eyepatch, nothing like that. But in the same vein, he doubts Matoba will know the name Wei Wuxian when he finally introduces himself. They've gone this long without exchanging names though, what's a few more minutes?
He watches him finish his bread, not familiar with what a croissant is, and tilts his head in understanding. That's a familiar enough story to him too, but he didn't expect the reality of it. Though, there's no saying that's actually what's happening here either — just the most likely.
What are you going to do Matoba asks and Wei Wuxian looks thoughtful, licking some of the bacon grease off his fingers when he's finished with the strip he's eating. ]
Mm, nothing yet. I don't know enough about this place to do anything. Yin energy isn't inherently malicious, and if the ghosts here really only care about, well, sex, then what's wrong with that?
No, just like you, I'd like to know how this would benefit me as well.
[Despite the absurdity of their situation, the atmosphere in the room has become very business-like. Matoba has become accustomed to that in the now year that he has been in this resort, putting aside over-familiarity as a necessary element of adapting. The intentions of monsters can be debated, with or without underwear.]
[Something in Wei Wuxian's reply catches Matoba's interest, from the way his eye alights with it, but in replying, he doesn't yet draw attention to it.]
Aaah? Well, there is after all the promise of this game's winner. A single "wish" granting the desire of whoever gains every card.... That has been a subject of much debate amongst players, but at least we have some evidence that it isn't merely a ruse.
I'll tell you this, [Matoba prefaces first, with his spritely and mischievous air returning to him in full force. Reading between the lines: not every hint is free.] There are past winners among the resort's denizens.
...Haha, of course, every whim granted by spirits isn't without cost, is it...?
[ ... Oh. Now that's interesting. Wei Wuxian hasn't learned much about the game 52 other than passing mentions of it, and he knows enough to know that the goal is to gain every card. But the idea of a wish, that's something he can't help but be intrigued by.
Does he have a wish though? He's made his peace with his past mistakes, he doesn't want to go back and rewrite them. It might be nice to have his old body back again, but this body is working just fine too. Hm, he'd really have to think on it. ]
You're not wrong. The power to grant any wish, that's powerful magic and not something I think I'd trust. Not really.
[ So, he doesn't want the wish, he thinks. Maybe? Hm, he wishes Lan Wangji were here so he could talk to him about what he should do. Play the game or not...? ]
Do you want to tell me who's won or will I have to go find out these people myself?
[Matoba's smile tilts, approving and coy, at Wei Wuxian's response. Those who knew the natures of gods and spirits knew not to trust promises of power so lightly.]
I have been here for about a year's observable time, for what little reference we have of it. There is quite a bit to this realm and its exact nature that I and others I have discussed with do not yet have a full picture of, but the best and most sensible guess is that, in some way, our presence is adding to its power. Whether by being drained of it ourselves, or something that is generated by the "activities" that it so wants us to engage in.
I have my own ideas, of course. But that is not to say that the promise of "a wish" seems impossible. Merely that what form it takes will surely not be without a cost.
...As to those that have been here... [Matoba seems to chew on Wei Wuxian's request a moment, as if weighing in his mind what he'd like to give up.] There is something like a phantom bar. "Roost". You won't find it easily, nor its boss. But sometimes, he likes to come to us. Perhaps you'll come across him in a good mood. Bring a token of value to pay- or play- your dues with.
The other one is easier to find, but much harder to get anything useful from. I hope you like to eat.
[Satisfied with his answers, Matoba rolls up from his seat on the edge of the bed. The robe is loose enough that it falls in a loose drape over the lines of his body, and gapes a little to show an upper body far more trained than the rest of him when he raises his teacup to knock back what was remaining in the bottom. Drained, he drops it with a clatter back onto the serving cart, for room service to do what they will with it when they come to clean up the mess.]
Whether there is truly any victory to be had or not is something we will have to discover for ourselves, I think. But for the time being, I intend to amass resources. After all, it is better to have than have not.
[Matoba stands in the open space between the bed and the rest of the room, and deliberately considers Wei Wuxian. Someone skilled in reading and manipulating energy flows would be extremely useful to keep close- whatever form that might take. He ought to keep this one in mind... and maybe, figure out what that strange, negative energy about him was.]
For formality's sake- not that it means much here- Matoba Seiji, the current head of the Matoba clan of exorcists. We specialize in purification and extermination. If my business interests you, let's chat when you have a proper card.
[ That's a lot of information to take in and it's clear Wei Wuxian is listening and chewing on it, trying to digest it. It's not a clear answer to his question, he still doesn't have names but it's something. Something to look into.
He agrees with the assessment too. He hasn't been here long but he knows that's the result he would've landed on as well. So, he just nods his head and listens.
But at the end, it feels like Matoba is ending this conversation and Wei Wuxian is fine with that. He'll introduce himself and go about his business as well. He's learned a lot in this little interaction. ]
Wei Wuxian. [ He doesn't say anything else. Refuses to use the title Yiling Patriarch here when no one knows it. They can just know his name and that's it. ] I'll definitely come seek you out when I have a card, Matoba-gongzi.
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peacockstop2025-01-15 09:00 pm
no subject
Thankfully, Wei Wuxian laughs in the face of social niceties so the accusation is just funny instead of offensive. He takes a spoonful of congee into his mouth and hums around it before pulling out of his mouth and replying with a chipper — ]
What do you think we did last night?
[ They did nothing, he's pretty sure. But also, his own memory is pretty fuzzy too. At some point he blacked out and now, he was here. ]
no subject
[What a terrifying prospect for everyone else in the resort.]
[His donuts are banished, which leaves Matoba flicking his tongue over sticky fingers, and contemplating the rest of the cart. Those croissants look delicious... But perhaps he ought to make some tea, first. And so he slides off from the bed, and crosses next to Wei Wuxian to unstack a porcelain teacup, wrinkling his nose when he finds the only tea to be bagged. It will do.]
I don't know. How is your ass feeling?
[Because Matoba's is feeling pretty flighty and free, so they probably didn't fuck.]
[...Unless this man inspired in him one of his occasional bouts of dominance-aggression. A possibility, for sure, just from talking to him these few minutes here- but that's the purpose of gauging him now, as he pours steaming water over the bag of green tea he's prepared, to decipher what he thinks of the suggestion.]
no subject
He watches as Matoba slides off the bed and joins him at the cart, taking a few more spoonfuls of congee into his mouth and almost finishing off his small bowl. At the question, he gives a hum of thought, not missing a beat. ]
Unfucked.
[ He debated pretending, to see how far the ruse would go but it's admittedly a little funnier to just reply to bluntness with bluntness. Alas, his poor virginal ass. Well, probably not virginal. Actually, he has no idea if the person who had his body before him got laid or not so there's a high chance it might actually be virginal. Man, he misses his old body.
And then, he polishes off his congee, reaching for a piece of bacon. As he chews — ]
Unless that's something you want to change?
[ Just immediately upping the stakes of this terrible conversation because he wants to see Matoba's response. ]
no subject
[Matoba raises the cup to his lips and blows on the steam wafting from it, enjoying the aroma before taking a short sip. Closer to the man now, his eye wanders back over towards him, considering his... shape, his presence. What is it? He doesn't smell burnt, like the possessed might. No reek of blood... And yet, this lingering malice was just poignant enough that it permeates the edges of his senses.]
[An ayakashi in disguise...?]
[He blinks away his thoughts again, taking notice of Wei Wuxian's offer, and raises a delicate eyebrow.] Hmmm. [Taking a slow sip of his tea, he tilts the cup back down from his lips again, settles it into one palm, and then darts his hand out to intercept the other man's wrist as he reaches for the bacon.]
[If he manages to snatch it successfully, he'll raise it to look at the Watch strapped to his wrist- and to examine the face of it. With WILDCARD printed across the digital screen, Matoba twists his lips, and then returns his arm to him.]
As I suspected. [The tea returns to his lips.] It isn't worth my time to pursue a wildcard until I know I will get something out of it. But, if you're interested...
[Matoba's tongue runs along his lips, flicking away tea.] Well, I am a businessman. Make me an offer.
no subject
But he doesn't make any action to guard from it or pry into why Matoba might have that sense. After all, he knows his own spiritual energy is a bit different than the other cultivators as well.
He's reaching for the bacon when his wrist is snatched and he lets out a surprised noise but doesn't tug it away, just lets Matoba assess. He doesn't think he's going to get hurt, and if he was it's not like Matoba could stop him from summoning protection.
At this point, he understands the definition and context of the word wildcard so he's not surprised by the rejection, just amused. He raises an eyebrow and when his wrist is returned to him, he just plucks the piece of bacon and takes a bite. ]
No sex for sex's sake, I see. How boring.
[ Wei Wuxian likes sex, would have it with just about anyone who showed interest. He doesn't understand the attitude of not doing it if there isn't purpose because, well, then it'd be infinitely more boring. Still, he could make Matoba an offer, if he really wanted to push the envelope. ]
An offer, huh? I have no chips to trade, no suite to offer, nothing but the shirt on my back and my own... abilities. Which I doubt would interest you.
no subject
[He sits there and crosses his legs at the ankles, tea in one palm, and setting the croissant atop the robe pooled in his lap.]
...That said. [He picks up his croissant to bring it to his lips, and this time when Matoba's eye flicks back up and catches on Wei Wuxian, there is an unmissable gleam of interest. If he thought he was being assessed before, this is like the staring down of a snake.] You never know? Enlighten me. What manner of "abilities" do you possess for the trading?
no subject
Not nearly that selfless, no.
[ He chews casually on some bacon, eating a piece, getting halfway through another by the time Matoba is settled down on the bed again and asking after his abilities. For some reason, he doesn't want to tell Matoba what he can do, feels like he should keep it close to the chest. Even though that also feels kind of silly too — he's never hidden what he is, what he can do. A cultivator is too obvious to be anything but a cultivator. ]
Nothing to trade, no. But I'm not completely useless. Do you know what cultivation is?
[ He doesn't have to explain demonic cultivation, but cultivation itself should be fine. ]
no subject
[But it's because they understand the same world, or at least a similar one, that Matoba predicts that he can act that way and still ask these questions of Wei Wuxian without too much worry. Indeed: a mage is too obvious to be anything but a mage, no matter their particular circumstances. And they're all damn weirdos.]
I'm familiar with the basics, [He agrees, a mumble over his croissant. Cultivation... That was the origins of onmyouji practices, though he knows little about what, if any modern state it existed in. He tears off a bite and chews thoughtfully for a moment, and after he swallows, adds,] In the past, our clans and those with magic such as yours were far more separate. Nowadays, with most of those families no longer in business, we exorcists tend to come into possession of their remnants, and make use of what we can.
[Time and differences in culture might separate the exacts, but Matoba is certain that the foundations would be similar enough to recognize. And that means it is something he can use.]
...Well. That's how it is for everyone, though. [He adds as an afterthought, and his eye lands back on Wei Wuxian's with a coy smile.] But I disagree that we can't trade. Around here, such abilities are quite useful. Have you noticed, yet? What kind of place this is.
no subject
Still, Matoba's answer is interesting, has Wei Wuxian curious despite himself. Our clans, he says. Exorcist he says next and that's something he's familiar with. A practice that deals with the dead, but not in the way he does. More they drive out the malicious ghosts than use them for their own purposes.
... Interesting. This man might be incredibly useful to him, he realizes.
The question comes, what kind of place this is and Wei Wuxian is tempted to make a coy remark about how it's a degenerate's fantasy but. He doesn't think that's what Matoba is asking. He eats his bacon, he looks back at him for a long moment before he lifts a hand to push some hair out of his face and answers simply — ]
It's haunted. The supernatural controls this place, the dead make their living here, the yin energy is immense and suffocating. It plays on the idea of just being focused on sex and that's it but even I can tell, in a few days time, there has to be more to it than that. The dead don't hang around for no reason, not in a place like this. Something's keeping them here.
no subject
[Speaking of, it remains strange to him every time it happens in this place: when Wei Wuxian doesn't hear 'exorcist', doesn't see the bullseye-like eyepatch over his right eye, and immediately understand who he is, doesn't immediately balk at the idea of trusting him, like most do when learning they are faced with a Matoba. Very beneficial for him, no doubt, and so he never looks this particular gift horse in the mouth. Contact with the strange and unnatural may breed strange and unnatural behavior, but just as much of it was self-inflicted.]
[After all, being in the business of exorcising ayakashi never stopped the Matoba from making use of the ones they can.]
Haha, those ghoulish resort guests wandering the halls are an interesting bunch, hm? Most of them don't seem to realize they're dead. [Matoba grins, brightly vicious and pleased with Wei Wuxian's assessment, and leans back to finish the croissant off. He crunches it down, and then flicks his tongue out between his lips to lick away at some of the crumbs on his fingertips between lightly muffled commentary.] A realm where humans are spirited away and slowly drained until they become ghosts themselves...... There are old stories like this, where I am from, but this is on another scale.
[Finished stuffing his gullet, Matoba brushes the remaining flakes of the croissant off of his lap. Mostly onto the floor. Sorry not sorry, housekeeping, but you should have visited his poor basement room more often.]
.........What are you going to do?
no subject
He watches him finish his bread, not familiar with what a croissant is, and tilts his head in understanding. That's a familiar enough story to him too, but he didn't expect the reality of it. Though, there's no saying that's actually what's happening here either — just the most likely.
What are you going to do Matoba asks and Wei Wuxian looks thoughtful, licking some of the bacon grease off his fingers when he's finished with the strip he's eating. ]
Mm, nothing yet. I don't know enough about this place to do anything. Yin energy isn't inherently malicious, and if the ghosts here really only care about, well, sex, then what's wrong with that?
No, just like you, I'd like to know how this would benefit me as well.
no subject
[Something in Wei Wuxian's reply catches Matoba's interest, from the way his eye alights with it, but in replying, he doesn't yet draw attention to it.]
Aaah? Well, there is after all the promise of this game's winner. A single "wish" granting the desire of whoever gains every card.... That has been a subject of much debate amongst players, but at least we have some evidence that it isn't merely a ruse.
I'll tell you this, [Matoba prefaces first, with his spritely and mischievous air returning to him in full force. Reading between the lines: not every hint is free.] There are past winners among the resort's denizens.
...Haha, of course, every whim granted by spirits isn't without cost, is it...?
no subject
Does he have a wish though? He's made his peace with his past mistakes, he doesn't want to go back and rewrite them. It might be nice to have his old body back again, but this body is working just fine too. Hm, he'd really have to think on it. ]
You're not wrong. The power to grant any wish, that's powerful magic and not something I think I'd trust. Not really.
[ So, he doesn't want the wish, he thinks. Maybe? Hm, he wishes Lan Wangji were here so he could talk to him about what he should do. Play the game or not...? ]
Do you want to tell me who's won or will I have to go find out these people myself?
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I have been here for about a year's observable time, for what little reference we have of it. There is quite a bit to this realm and its exact nature that I and others I have discussed with do not yet have a full picture of, but the best and most sensible guess is that, in some way, our presence is adding to its power. Whether by being drained of it ourselves, or something that is generated by the "activities" that it so wants us to engage in.
I have my own ideas, of course. But that is not to say that the promise of "a wish" seems impossible. Merely that what form it takes will surely not be without a cost.
...As to those that have been here... [Matoba seems to chew on Wei Wuxian's request a moment, as if weighing in his mind what he'd like to give up.] There is something like a phantom bar. "Roost". You won't find it easily, nor its boss. But sometimes, he likes to come to us. Perhaps you'll come across him in a good mood. Bring a token of value to pay- or play- your dues with.
The other one is easier to find, but much harder to get anything useful from. I hope you like to eat.
[Satisfied with his answers, Matoba rolls up from his seat on the edge of the bed. The robe is loose enough that it falls in a loose drape over the lines of his body, and gapes a little to show an upper body far more trained than the rest of him when he raises his teacup to knock back what was remaining in the bottom. Drained, he drops it with a clatter back onto the serving cart, for room service to do what they will with it when they come to clean up the mess.]
Whether there is truly any victory to be had or not is something we will have to discover for ourselves, I think. But for the time being, I intend to amass resources. After all, it is better to have than have not.
[Matoba stands in the open space between the bed and the rest of the room, and deliberately considers Wei Wuxian. Someone skilled in reading and manipulating energy flows would be extremely useful to keep close- whatever form that might take. He ought to keep this one in mind... and maybe, figure out what that strange, negative energy about him was.]
For formality's sake- not that it means much here- Matoba Seiji, the current head of the Matoba clan of exorcists. We specialize in purification and extermination. If my business interests you, let's chat when you have a proper card.
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He agrees with the assessment too. He hasn't been here long but he knows that's the result he would've landed on as well. So, he just nods his head and listens.
But at the end, it feels like Matoba is ending this conversation and Wei Wuxian is fine with that. He'll introduce himself and go about his business as well. He's learned a lot in this little interaction. ]
Wei Wuxian. [ He doesn't say anything else. Refuses to use the title Yiling Patriarch here when no one knows it. They can just know his name and that's it. ] I'll definitely come seek you out when I have a card, Matoba-gongzi.